• Solo • Fire in the Dust

[Nell]

8th Vhalar 716
Dust Quarter

Nell clutched the piece of paper in a tight fist, a frown on her face. She'd never met an Aukari before, but she'd heard that their blood was made of fire and their temperaments weren't much better. Still, a job was a job, and Nell needed the nels. So she took it, but she knew that this was likely to be the most dangerous job of her career. She didn't know what to expect with an Aukari, but she hoped to finish it quickly and be done with the whole thing.

She donned her leather armor and cloak, strapping her longsword to her side as she looked in the mirror. She barely recognized herself. Had it not been for the typical armor and long war-braid, she would have thought a different woman stared back at her. She looked older, more weathered, more tired... Running was not for her. Nor was informing, but she did what she had to do. She always did what she had to do.

As she slipped her shield onto her back, she looked back at the crumpled paper on the cot, crinkled enough to obscure most of the drawing underneath. A red-haired woman in the Dust Quarter was selling secrets to the Aukari in Sirothelle. Nell would have stopped her anyway, had she heard about it and not seen the bounty. She figured she might as well make some money while doing it, though. Such was the life of a mercenary.

She looked back in the mirror. This could be the trial that she died, burned to death among rubble and ruin. Justice. Nell thought, before turning sharply and heading out the door. She had work to do, and standing in the room thinking about whether she deserved punishment wasn't going to put food on the table.

Maulaura. The woman's name bounced around her head, threatening to overwhelm her as the din in her ears. She'd not seen her in the Dust, but that didn't mean too much, honestly. Nell had been so busy since the creatures attacked that Maulaura could have walked by her and nicked her coin purse, and she likely wouldn't have noticed. Nell would have smiled, had she been able to feel anything other than rage at the thief. The bounty offered more for her alive, but didn't specify a condition. Nell would be happy to deliver the Aukari, beaten and broken. That did bring a grin to her face, though it wasn't one borne from happiness.

And it wasn't a trill later in that mindset that she became Death Nell. She walked through the gate of the Dust Quarter with a frown, and immediately cold blue eyes started scanning. Nell knew that Maulaura was too clever to allow herself to be seen openly, and was more trying to gauge the damage and try to find a place to start. The people of the Dust knew Nell a little, maybe she could begin by asking them questions... She needed to start somewhere, or she'd never get the job done.

As she wandered through damaged streets, she kept her eyes open. She inspected everything she could, and found no overt signs of Maulaura. Death Nell wanted to tear through the buildings, slaughtering until she found the woman. Instead, though, she held herself in check. Maulaura was too dangerous to crassly attack. Nell had to be smart and patient.

As she approached the epicenter of the quarter, where the attack from the Shadows had originated, Nell found that there were more people. They were placing bodies onto large wooden pyres, stacks of them. Tears pervaded the solemn event, and Nell found that even she had time to pay her respects to the dead. It seemed that they found more bodies every trial, more reasons to burn funeral pyres. Nell knew the Shadows had caused damage to the Dust, but nothing so permanent as the breaking of its people spirits.

And so she watched quietly, postponing her mission for a break or so. She helped them carry bodies, helped them lift them... She even lit one of the pyres when the woman holding the torch collapsed on the ground in agony. The woman's daughter was hidden in the pile of bodies on it, and she couldn't bring herself to ignite it. Nell did so for her, wrapping an arm around the woman's shoulders to lead her away from the cloying smell of human flesh incinerating.

With Maulaura all but forgotten, Nell wordlessly did her duty, and she found more than a few appreciative smiles for her work. With a nod, she answered them by working harder and faster, more diligently than most of the rest of them. She worked until her face was strewn with soot, lined by sweat that rolled down her forehead and cheeks. When she sat for a drink, a man sat next to her, eyes red for crying. His short black hair was missing in spots where he pulled it out, wracked with depression and anguish. Nell clenched her jaw. She felt sorry for him. He looked more haggard than she.

"We appreciate your help, miss. We've no money to give you, but you've our gratitude." Nell stared at him for a moment, eyes taking in everything about the man's face. She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting.

"No payment necessary. My condolences." She tried her hardest to put some sympathy in her voice, but it just came out quiet and soft. Still, he nodded his acceptance of her words, and silent tears fell down his face. Suddenly, Nell had an idea. "But I wonder if you've any knowledge of a woman I seek. Red-haired, Aukari by birth. Goes by Maulaura. I was told she was seen in the Dust just after the gates were reopened. Perhaps she has helped with the efforts?"

She produced the sketch, and the man studied it with swollen eyes. After a trill or two of silence, he nodded.

"Aye, she was here. But not to help. Mostly she just watched. Last I saw, she was headed towards one of the houses in the Quarter that got destroyed something fierce. Barely anything left standing..." He looked to her, and she was smiling. A genuine smile, that didn't happen often for Nell. She stood and looked down at him.

"Thank you. I'll be back to help again." With that, she was off.

[Nell]

The building was ramshackle, sure, but no worse than the others in the Quarter after the attacks. A wall was down, and the roof sagging in because of it, but it looked no worse for the wear than those closest to the destruction. Still, it wasn't a nice home, and Nell could understand why someone would barely want to spend any time in it. She'd been in some tents that were nicer than the inside of the home... Marshal Wolfsdotter would have found this absolutely unacceptable.

But it was Maulaura's for sure. Singed and burnt furniture lined one of the still-standing walls, and a writing desk sat back in a room with a quill and ink next to it. Probably used to send information back to Sirothelle, the well was open and the quill coated and unwashed. Whatever had caused Maulaura to leave had caused her to do so in a hurry, and Nell had a bad feeling that it wasn't long before she found the house. She looked around a bit more, but the house was very sparsely decorated.

Nell didn't know why, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Maulaura knew she was being trailed. It was too suspicious that someone who'd been selling secrets to Sirothelle would leave her home as much a mess as it was unless she was alerted to her imminent capture. To Nell, that spoke volumes. She growled and shoved over the chair sitting next to the writing desk, angry at her failure. It wasn't until she calmed down that she realized there was a small vial on the floor near the chair, and it was filled with a strange yellow liquid. Likely a poison.

Had Nell stepped on it, the chemical would have reacted with the air and killed her. Though she wasn't sure of its contents, she was positive of its intent. With a snarl, she set the poison on the desk and spun on her heels, drawing her dagger. The Aukari was still close enough, she knew. She had to be. She would have to ensure that Nell was dead after the poison took hold, and that meant being close enough to investigate.

Quiet, Nell crouched and stalked through the house. There was no sign of Maulaura, but Nell had a sense about it. The Aukari was watching her, and Nell would find her. And when she did, Nell would hurt her. Very badly. She knew that Maulaura couldn't be in the house, so she exited and stood outside, blue eyes cast around, looking for the woman. Movement on a rooftop caught Nell's eye, and she pretended not to notice. She surveyed some more "clues" and then took to climbing to Maulaura's roof. She knew that the vantage would help her, and if Maulaura was the one watching from the nearby roof, Nell could end this job. She could return to the center of the Quarter and continue to help with removing the dead.

As she leveled herself on the roof, though, she saw nobody. There was no person watching her from behind the shadows, nobody waiting to leap out and murder her. With a sign, Nell walked across the roof. She was cautious where it looked weak, and examined as much as she could from the vantage point. A glint on the other roof caught her attention, and she ran and leaped across.

As she landed on the other side, she dropped into a roll to distribute her momentum. When she came up, she swooned. She'd landed on the vial, and this time, it dispersed into her nostrils. With a moan, she fell to the ground and rolled, sunslight losing focus. Just before she passed out, a head came into view. The hair was not red... It wasn't right... Something was wrong... And then black.

[Nell]

Heat. It was hot. Not the air, but something was hot. Nell groggily became aware of a flame near her face, close enough to sting the skin and rouse her. Immediately, she tried to struggle, but found she was held tightly to the chair. She was back in Maulaura's home, but the woman in front of her wasn't Maulaura. Instead, it was a mousy woman with brown hair, slight and unassuming. In her hands, she had a candle and was holding the flame close to Nell's cheek. The skin burned and stung, but Nell kept her calm. She turned her head and blew through her nose, extinguishing the flame.

The woman stepped back, but not in fright. Instead, her dull brown eyes seemed to light up some, excitement evident on her face. She leaned in and grinned in Nell's face, rotten teeth showing in her shark-line mouth. The teeth were broken and brown, but sharp and dangerous looking. Her breath smelled of fetid flesh, like a body left in the sun too long, and Nell knew all too well what her intentions were. As it was, the woman planned to tell her.

"Oh, wakey-wakey, pretty. She said someone would eventually come look for her... She said that I'd get a plaything. And lookie here. Here you are. And a pretty plaything, pretty please play, plaything."

Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky, especially singsong in her boasting. Not a muscle on Nell move, aside from her eyes, which followed the mousy woman as she paced back and forth. With a squeak, she was back in Nell's face, this time with a dagger in her hand. She ran the cold metal over the burn on Nell's cheek, offering a brief reprieve from the stinging burn.

"But I can't play long, my pretty. No, instead, I must play quickly and then move on, before we are found and the whole thing is CAPUT!" She screeched the last bit, which startled Nell. She didn't move, however, not affording the torturer the satisfaction of her fear. Instead, the woman slid the dagger under the burn, cutting a line parallel to it. The blood rolled down Nell's cheek slowly. The pain was insignificant.

"So we'll try the Dragon's Breath and then be done with it, won't me, my love? My pretty, lovely love..." Her breath made Nell want to vomit, and she had to stifle the reflex to. Instead, Nell tested the strength of the restraints on her hands. They were secure. She had to commend the woman. She had accounted for everything. Nell struggled slightly, and the chair slid a centimeter. Nell had to suppress a grin.

The woman swooped away, turning her back to Nell. When she turned back, there was a greenish sheen to the edge of the dagger, and Nell knew she was going to find out what Dragon's Breath was. The woman hovered the point of the dagger above the cut she'd made, not touching the two together yet. The shine in her eyes was back, this time burning with desire. As she pressed the tip of the dagger to the wound, a burning pain exploded across Nell's cheek, causing the edge of her vision to blur with tears. She refrained from crying out, but only just so. The torturer noted the physical reaction.

"Oh! It works! Mm, can you tell me how you feel?" Her voice was honeyed with delight. Nell turned her gaze to the rotted grin, and glared with all her might. She opened her mouth to answer, but instead spit directly in the woman's face. She watched as the grin turned to a look of pure hatred, and Nell's face changed for the first time since she'd awoken: she grinned. The woman responded with a hard headbutt, bloodying Nell's nose and causing her to moan in pain.

"Oh, pretty wants to play tough, does she? Tough bitch, is she? We'll see how tough she really is..." And she set the dagger to work. She dragged a thin line across the webbing of each of Nell's fingers on her right hand, causing her whole arm to burn as if it were on fire. Nell screamed, but it only brought a smile to the woman's face. She cut a small line on Nell's left cheek, mirroring the other. Nell nearly passed out from the pain, but was brought back to consciousness with a hard slap to her temple.

The pain was immediate, but so too was the relief. The poison still burned, but compared to the initial pain, it was nearly non-existent. Nell didn't know how much more she could handle, especially since her right hand was nearly useless. Trying to close her hand into a fist caused the burning to shoot up her arm, eliciting a grimace. The torturer was drunk with glee. She raced around the room in a craze, whooping and laughing. Every time she passed Nell, she slapped her or punched her or screamed at her. Nell danced in and out of consciousness, until the vision in front of her face was filled with the woman's face.

"Okay, play time is over, tough bitch. Now you die..." The menace in her voice was palpable, and suddenly, Nell was no longer there. She was replaced with Death Nell, and the warrior instinctively slammed her forehead into the rotten smile. A few of the jagged teeth cut her forehead before giving way under the force, and the torturer fell back with a shriek. Death Nell lifted off the ground with her feet, arching her back to get the chair off the ground. With a powerful thrust, she flipped over and landed on the chair, shattering it beneath her weight. Pain shot through her back and wracked her momentarily, but the adrenaline relegated it to a secondary feeling.

She was on her feet and rushing at the torturer, who was still reeling from the headbutt. Nell lifted her to her feet and punched her in the mouth, again knocking more rotting teeth to the floor. The woman slumped in her grasp, so Nell slammed her against the wall.

"I'm only going to ask once. Where is she?" The torturer laughed and spit blood on the floor, causing Nell to shake her. She slammed her against the wall, letting her slide down into a heap at the base. Nell looked around for the dropped dagger, the one coated in poison. She wasn't going to let this one go without a fight. She found it not far from where she'd left the woman, and with it in hand, she returned. She placed the tip of the dagger to the woman's jaw.

"Talk." When the response was a laugh, Nell dug the tip in and dragged the blade down to her chin. The resulting scream would likely haunt Nell to her final trial. It was heart-piercing, and had it not been Death Nell, it may have stopped her. The woman's eyes rolled back in their sockets, and her head fell forward. Death Nell wouldn't have it. She slapped the woman, then again. After a few trills, she was revived enough to be lucid.

"Last chance." And it came like water from the clouds. As the information poured out of her mouth, Nell's chest heaved. Maulaura was a powerful woman, it seemed, and more than adequate to elude her investigations. With a frown, Nell listened to what the woman had to say. When she finished, she begged for her life.

"That is all you know?" The woman nodded, and Nell cut her throat. The warm blood ran down into the woman's brown sack-like shirt, and Nell wiped the dagger on the woman's pants. She searched her pockets, and sure enough there was a small vial with a tiny amount of the liquid remaining. Nell pocketed it, and set out from the house. The Dust Quarter held no more answers for her.

[Patrick]

Name: Nell

Knowledge:
-Location: Dust Quarter, Rharne
-Bounty: Maulaura the Aukari
-Investigation: Asking for Information
-Paying Respects to the Dead
-Acrobatics: Rolling Distributes Momentum
-Maulaura: Has Dangerous Friends
-The 'Playful' Poisoner
-Dragon's Breath: A Poison
-Playing Tough
-Maulaura: Powerful and Cunning

Loot: 1 vial with only a quarter of Dragon's Breath left! Use it wisely!
Injuries: Cuts to the face that'll heal within 7 trials, soreness in the back will linger for 4 days
Fame: 2
Magic: These points cannot be used for magic.

Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Comment: A very interesting read! I enjoyed learning how compassionate Nell really can be underneath that cold exterior she displays. Solid work and good writing structure! While I'm at though I noticed Nell doesn't seem to have endurance as a skill, seeing as how she's being put through torture it didn't seem entirely fitting not to have endurance. Aside from that costing a point the content itself looks good! Should be an interesting plot to read further on down the line.