It wasn't easy pulling Sthyth through the window and burying him in the woods some distance from the inn. The trio had to roll him up into a carpet that had been on the floor of their room, and haul his carcass outside. Luckily, rigormortis had long passed and his body had become limp again. Still, it was a lot like wrestling with a giant tractor spring. Sthyth's body would just not cooperate. All three had put on different disguises to do this deed in case they were seen. Rachel was dressed as the sheep maid that had come into the room, Cheyenne was leary of getting back into Austin right away, so she had given it to Alex who wore it with delight, and she herself had put on the costume of Raven. Stealing some tools from the groundskeeper's shed, they made their way into the woods to dispose of Sthyth. Meanwhile, back at Dark's palatial mansion..
Reynard leaned casually against the wall near the massive double doors that led to Dark's council room. He had his hands in his pocket and he was fingering the stone of deflection that had saved him from Shade's spell and teleported him back here. A most handy device, to bad it has only limited uses. He straightened up when the doors were swung open by an armed servant. A toad of some sort, warty and grey with a broad mouth and a flabby body. The toad had a sword strapped to his corpulent waist and Reynard thought to himself that if flatulence walked on two legs, it would look a lot like this toad and would use the blade to cut cheese. He supressed a grin as he walked into the council room. Dark was seated on a throne, Andrea, as usually kneeling very close by, her head in his lap, being stroked.
"Report!", barked the dark rabbit.
"My liege lord", said Reynard. "The plan has unfolded perfectly since the very beginning. Mortally wounding Sthyth was a brilliant maneuver on your part sir and your calculation of his cold blooded response was flawless. He led me right to Mieou and the others, and from there, disguised as you with the limited powers you bestowed upon me, I was able to finish off Sthyth and take Meiou back here."
Dark waved his hand as if he were dismissing Reynard's reply. "Yes! Yes!, I know all this. Aluara and Jim help him escape, you follow them back to Meiou's secret hideout, tell me something I don't know!"
Reynard grinned. "Well sire, while I was back at the mansion, my dear sister was plotting against the Order and you, with Shadow. You realize of course that she rarely performs her own assassinations anymore? I do most of them disguised as her."
"I am now aware of this and perhaps you will be given a better position, but other than this you have told me nothing new.", said Dark sternly.
"I beg your pardon my liege, but I am not finished.", said Reynard. The words on his tounge tasted like honey and he was savoring each syllable. "Shade lives sire!"
Dark leaned forward in his chair and stared hard at Reynard. "Is this true? Are you sure it was her? Not another operative in disguise?"
"Her power was strong my lord. Much stronger than when she disappeared. Any costume that used her psyche to convey her magical abilities would have been much weeker. I am sure it was her. Once I destroyed Sthyth, with your indulgences, I knew it was only a matter of time before she came out of hiding to attack us again!"
Dark leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chin. "Your performance this evening has been admirable. You shall be rewarded.", Dark waved Reynard off. "Retire to your chamber to rest while I consider how to handle this small matter."
Without another word, Reynard bowed deep and swept from the room like a wraith. He travelled down the hall and into a dark corner staircase where he descended into the crypts below the castle. His room was down here, a place where he surrounded himself with death and the trophies of his fulfilled contracts. Slipping into a nearby chamber, he closed the heavy door. His inner sanctum was as quiet as the tombs around him. The only modern convenience he had was electric lights. Reynard flipped on the switch and dimmed the lights. He set up a portable altar and prepared himself for a divination. Reynard was a sanguinist, a blood mage of some skill, he was also an urban druid, another unique combination of magic and technology.
Reynard took a large bird egg from a nest that was sitting on a crude shelf. Cracking it into a copper bowl, he watched as deep crimson blood poored into the vessel. He closed his eyes and concentrated as he shook the bowl and turned it in a random series of directions. He was careful not to spill a drop. Once he was finished, he peered into the bowl to divine the message drawn out in patterns of blood. Smiling to himself, he walked over to his closet and opened the door. He pushed his way through the clothes that hung there and opened a second closet hidden behind. Within this closet hung a rack of suits. One in particular hung towards the back. A deep, purple colored, female rabbit with wings. Shade. Reynard touched the costume and murmured to himself, "Soon, your power will be mine..." He shook of his reverie and grabbed a different suit to perform his next mission of deception and murder. He was careful to hide his stone of deflection on his person. It still had a couple of uses left. Reynard reached for...
Tue Dec 25 17:43:08 2001