Wonderland

[Jairus Starvald]

Naos Asteroid Belt
Wild Space

The business side of things was thriving.

Fa Holdings was slowly making a name for itself as a successful investment firm, headed by a Thirriken who cared deeply about humanitarian causes and ecological-sound design. The former was merely good business, the latter was very important for the Lord Fa indeed. Perhaps it was because he was a space peacock and as such had a deeper connection with nature and all that came with it than others.

Or maybe it was his spiritual side that also demanded an adherence to feng shui, zen gardens, tai chi, that made him far more understanding of the long game.

There isn't much to rule if you let everything turn into ashes, after all.

All that being said, there was another side of his that could not be neglected. The Sith side, he who sought knowledge and used it for his own gains. The Order of the Feather found this fortress by spending days pouring through obscure texts and ancient databanks seemingly left forgotten by everyone.

Vigor Troopers and the Golden Guard had secured the outer parameter, but it was up to the three unlikely heroes (depending on perspective) of this story to breach through the inner defenses and enter the sanctum. It was mutually decided between [member="Maleagant"] and him to include [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] in this endeavor.

Muscle could come in handy, if some defenses turned out to be less rooted in magic runes and more in deadly Sithspawn.

 

[TB-705]

Sadly, even entering the fortress itself proved a conundrum. Thengil arrived to find the place in a virtual state of quarantine. Lord Fa and Vigo Maleagant's forces formed a security perimeter at various stages around the outer rim of the fortress, but no amount of manpower could overcome what they had come across unless they wanted to blast everything inside the fortress into oblivion.

The Cathar prowled forward until he stood before their paradox: seemingly the only path into the fortress. It was innocuous enough, a simple arch built into the surrounding structure, with a series of Massassi glyphs etched along its surface. Unfortunately, looks could be deceiving. The first three peons who had tramped through the archway were now literal piles of ash, vaporized by what the others described as a wall of "red lightning."

A low rumble formed in the back of Ri'shajirr's throat, like an idling engine. Amber eyes fixed on the glyphs etched into the masonry.

"Hyal nu hâsk." ​

​

Beneath these letters and on the right pillar of the arch read a smaller series: "Tsyok."

Thengil snorted and glanced at the Thirriken, waiting to see if he could unravel the banal test.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

It had only been a few weeks since the first round of practice combat between the Syndicate's forces and Fa Holdings. Maleagant had since returned to his careful, muted, neutral state as opposed to the fidgety competition high he had previously entered. That had been an abysmal lapse in composure and Maleagant had excused himself from bearing witness to any of the matches between the two companies since then. He had also stopped visiting his arenas. There were too many things that required his attention, he could not afford to distract himself with meaningless measuring contests. He had a job to do, both to the Helix Syndicate and his Sith allies.

Which was what brought him here, standing outside of a Sith ruin with a peacock and a Thunder Cat.

Strange times.

Lord Fa had mentioned he had located the library during their first meeting at Vigor Base. Maleagant suggested inviting Thengil along. Not out of any sense of charity, but maybe he would die a gruesome death at the hands of the Sith Spawn within, or fall victim to some nasty trap. That would allow Maleagant to take his plantations back and resume his rightful sixty-six percent cut of the profits. In theory. Unfortunately, Thengil was smarter than that and probably more useful in the long run. For instance, Maleagant could not read or speak Sith. He rarely had enough time as it was to seek out proper teaching in the Dark Side, he was not about to pick up a dead language as well. Maleagant said nothing, remaining squarely behind and between his two companions.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

I crave anguish.

Squeeze here.

That did not bode well.

Lord Fa was many things, literate and studied were two of them, but craving of anguish? Most likely not. It was clear that one who squeezed that handle would probably be administered a shock or some other form of punishment, a sacrifice of sorts as a payment to enter through the arcs without being burned to ashes.

This was not exactly his idea of a good time.

But, luckily, it helped that Tai was not in the possession of hands and so he could avoid this fate.

​

"Sometimes, my dear friends.​

I stop questioning some things.​

Like why the Sith lose."​

​

"Constantly and without fail."​

​

"Quite disappointing.​

It seems anguish is our way.​

We hold the handle."​

​

"Then we can pass through."​

Maybe if the Sith spend less attention on getting off on hurting themselves and more attention on building up their empires in such a fashion where betrayal was not the constant method of the day? They'd still be here, instead of constantly disappearing into the shadows like the inept idiots they were.

 

[TB-705]

So, the Thirriken could read. Ri’shajirr chuffed a little. "I crave anguish."

Vague enough to imply a price, just as Fa had deciphered. Entry into the ancient fortress did not come free.

A sacrifice to break the chains.

Eyes of paralytic yellow scanned the thugs assembled in the distance, milling about like a herd of nerfs. A sacrifice of little worth that would mean nothing to the Sith. Thengil’s gaze swiveled to bore into Maleagant. They narrowed ever so slightly.

One claw extended, pointing at the spot just below the runes for “tsyok.” He spoke to the Rattataki in a voice like thunder.

“You will find a hidden latch there, if you dare to turn it.”

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Fa thought he could get out of this by claiming he had no hands with which to turn the latch? As if not a single person present had seen the animated gif in his signature, which clearly displayed him holding a spear? Yet this was only internal dialogue and not fit for anyone to address. Better to pay this paragraph no mind and continue directly to the lines below it.

Perhaps Maleagant did not speak or write Sith, but he was able to gleam the gist of what was going on. Someone was going to be put through a lot of pain and agony in order to open up those doors. If any present thought Maleagant would do so without the promise of substantial monetary payment, they were sorely mistaken to his character.

"Alas, I am unworthy." Maleagant said without even looking at Ri'Shajirr. His tone was rather scornful. "The honor should go to you, Lord Thengil."

Maleagant would do most things when asked politely by an ally. He did not consider Thengil an ally. More like an oversized house cat that was just along for the ride. It called to memory a certain species of shark he had learned about back in his school days on Lianna. A large, nasty beast, but one that was followed around by smaller fish. The shark largely ignored these fish and, in return, the fish nibbled at whatever scraps the shark left behind from its violent feeding frenzies. Not necessarily a parasitic relationship, but not one of great value to the shark either. The shark only tolerated it because dismantling the relationship would take more effort than it was worth.

If you had asked Maleagant, he would have said that the shark should have made something better of that relationship. Make those fish pull their own weight and all that. Or, in this case, get electrocuted to prove their loyalty to the cause. The ambiguous, loosely defined cause of "just the three of us." It would be as easy as stealing plantations from an Aqualish who worked for a Shi'ido on the other side of the galaxy.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

Thunder on one side of the equation and spite on the other.

Lord Fa was growing weary of this charade and growing weary quite quickly. He did not like this culture based around the fetishism of pain, anguish and supposed strength. If the Sith way was the way of power and strength, they wouldn't be decimated every few decade or so, because they could never get their crap together to make any real difference. It was always about the short game, about the little pleasure and the minuscule gains.

It was distressing that at least one portion of his associates was clearly just as adoring of those old failed ways as those same failures in the Sith Order.

"Enough." The Thirriken finally stated before taking a step forward. Maleagant was the only one who truly earned his respect enough to break those silly Haikus, but this practice in futility was growing tiresome.

For a moment the Sith studied those glyphs again.

Then his wing revealed itself from the folds of his robe. It had long claws, talons even, weirdly flexible and able to function in a similar fashion as regular hands, if slightly less dexterous. Tai did not wait, did not hesitate or change his mind mid-action. Do or do not, there is no try.

A Jedi's saying, but strangely fitting.

His talons fitted strangely along the handle and then the Thirriken squeezed.

A click.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Then pain coursed through his little body as red lightning pulsed back and forth from head to toe. He almost bend through the knee in retort, but refused. The pain was agonizing, but it was also... inspiring? This was not something Lord Fa had ever experienced before in his lifetime.

And just as soon as it began, it was over once again.

Black smoke rose from his feathers, yet, they were strangely unharmed. The pain only resided within.

"We press on." The Sith finally stated, calmly. No looking back at his associates. Instead he simply, but carefully, strode forward into the darkness and beneath the archway.

 

[TB-705]

The hair on the Cathar's neck rose in a rippling wave, then flattened.

Without reply to the tattooed wastrel's mewling, nor to the flightless avian's undoubtedly "selfless" sacrifice, Thengil prowled behind Tai Fa for several paces. Year by year he had suffered the spite of petty fools while locked in a windowless cage without the touch of wind or smell of grass.

He could suffer a little longer.

They passed through the arch and on, but Ri'shajirr did not believe this would be the last trial they faced.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Maleagant raised an eyebrow as Fa electrocuted himself for the sake of keeping the peace. A noble sacrifice, truly, from an equally noble bird. Wasted, though. Thengil was clearly about to do it. Nothing quite moved the heart and soul of that beast than babble about worthiness and honors. Not that it mattered now. Maleagant politely waited for the Thirriken before following after Ri'Shajirr. Truly this was to be a long and arduous expedition. Especially if all of the trials they had to go through were going to be based on violence and other such nonsense. The trio entered the courtyard, which was a similarly deserted ruin. But there were no traps. Once they passed through the main doors and into the structure itself, however, there was another impediment waiting for them.

The main chamber was filled with rotten, destroyed furniture. Bookcases, shelves, the tattered husks of paintings and tapestries clung to the wall. It was also rather dark, but Maleagant had thought ahead and brought a high-powered Space Flashlight, which he flicked on. It appeared as though Fa and Company were not the first ones who had overcome the trap at the outer perimeter. Anything of value was long gone, looted by people who had been unable to penetrate further. On the opposite side of the room was another imposing set of heavy double doors, probably lined with quadranium or something equally absurd.

They did not look to have been opened for centuries.

As Maleagant wandered closer, he shone the light just above the doors to find another etching of Sith glyphs. Dwomutsiqsa. He wasn't entirely sure what that could have meant, but he imagined it was a popular turn of phrase in certain circles. Dwomutsiqsa this, dwomutsiqsa that. I dwomutsiqsa , you dwomutsiqsa. He, she, we dwomutsiqsa. Dwomutsiqsology, the study of Dwomutsiqsa. It was first grade stuff, he was quite sure. The closer one got to the doors, the more one could feel the Dark Side radiating from them. This could only mean they were sealed with some kind of maddening Sith spell. Either that or a Zambrano had waged genocide with those exact doors and then tortured a random Jedi lass on top of them.

While Maleagant was examining the door, smoke began to collect on the other side of the room. It soon collected into an amorphous, billowing cloud of jet black fumes. The inept might have mistaken it for a Smoke Demon or something of the kind. In fact, it was actually a Sith spirit. Whether this would be better or worse remained to be seen. After growing to about the same size as an adult human, it began to float gently, quietly, over towards the trio. Maleagant, of course, was too transfixed with the door to notice this development. Hopefully someone else would.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

Unknown to them was that this was Dathka Graush's citadel.

The secret fortress constructed by him within the Naos Asteroid Belt in Wild Space after his victories and subsequent crowning as King of Korriban and the Sith. Of course, he fell prey to assassins on Korriban and buried there in one of the numerous tombs scattered across the world. The asteroid citadel, on the other hand, was forgotten and lost to time.

For the most part anyway, considering others had managed to find and loot the outside workings of the citadel throughout time.

The point of this exposition was to point out that this was not, in fact, Graush's Sith Spirit coming to test their worth. While some powerful Sith Lords were known to retain a measure of sentience after their death in the form of a spirit, Graush had been buried on Korriban. This was not a sentient spirit testing them. In fact, it was a quite ravenous spirit wishing to drain them of their very life.

"Maleagant, you may want to step back." Lord Fa calmly said, while exchanging a look with Thengil. If there was one thing he had little trust in, it was his associate's ability to fight while studying those damn doors.

Between the long claws at the end of his wings lightning started to cackle.

They all had their specialisation. The Thirriken was quite good at Force Lightning and would hopefully only going to get better at it with time.

A barrage of blue hissing lightning escaped the tips of his claws and burst against the Sith Spirit.

 

[TB-705]

The spiraling pillar of smoke twisted and undulated. Thengil felt nape of his neck grow cold, a chill which ran all the way down to his spine. He heard the howl of wind in his ears. In the wind, he heard a voice that spoke without words into his mind. It spoke to him and him only, whispering of the box without windows. The place where the sun went to die. Of the emptiness within it, touched by neither pain nor love. It promised to send him there again. Forever.

The voice knew him.

And Thengil knew fear.

Forking tongues of azure erupted in an encapsulating cascade against the pillar of smoke, but to no avail. The whispers lessened as the sulfurous being turned its attention on the Thirriken. Ri'shajirr fought the terror, a growl escaping between bared teeth.

"Maleagant, your lightsaber."

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Maleagant heeded Lord Fa, turning away from the door just in time to see the cloud looming over him. His mouth opened, but no words came out. Maleagant did manage to take a few steps backward Two glowing red orbs were taking shape within the depths of the roiling smoke cloud, probably to denote eyes. Then again, everyone else so far had grossly mistaken the nature of the Spirit. Tai Fa would probably mistake them for bright red dodge-balls, if he were at all familiar with that crass mammal practice. Fa was not familiar with Sith Spirits either, it seemed, for this one was not particularly ravenous. It remained in place where it had been, staring at the trio with its burning eyes.

Of course this was not the spirit of Dathka Graush. What kind of imbecile, what utter moron, would assume themselves important enough to be visited by the vile spirit of Dathka Graush? This was not him. As previously noted, it was almost certainly the spirit of one of his followers. One that probably was outlived by him, then bound to this room in some sort of profane ritual to serve as a gatekeeper to test the mettle of those who entered. Maleagant was too startled by its presence to consider this and Fa was too angsty from his previous electrocution to consider it either. Perhaps that was why the normally rational Thirriken elected for the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach.

The lightning erupted from Fa's quasi-useless bird appendages towards the cloudy spirit, somehow despite being grievously electrocuted not even ten minutes ago. The eyes, or maybe dodge-balls, vanished momentarily as the spirit shifted itself into the form of an oval, allowing the lightning to pass directly through it. As quickly as it had shifted, it resumed its previous shape. "Weakness." It noted, a voice of shadow and steel, shortly before a single smoky appendage shot out from it at an unreasonable speed. Assuming it successfully struck the Thirriken, the uppercut Fa received would send him sailing to the other side of the room- possibly into one of the bookshelves.

Although the writer certainly felt one way rather than another, Maleagant's position on Tai Fa remained unchanged. That was an ally of his, after all, and he had just been roughed up by this spooky ghost. With the proper urging from Thengil, Maleagant's lightsaber snapped to life in his hand. He raised it to slash at the spirit, failing to see a better option, but was cut short when the gatekeeper winded him with an equally fast punch to the gut.

"Hrk."

"More weakness."

A second tendril snaked itself around Maleagant's ankle, yanking him upwards, and flinging him behind the spirit. An afterthought, like someone chucking a crumpled napkin over their shoulder. The eyes did not part from Thengil the whole time. Maleagant landed on a crumbling table with a loud crash and seemed to remain there for the time being. Thengil had been saved this ritual humiliation by his own fear of the spirit and capacity to adopt a "wait and see" approach. Well done Thengil. Lacking conversation partners more worthy of its edification, the spirit spoke to Thengil.

"Thengil Ri'Shajirr." It said. Oh no, it's telepathic too. What a bad day this was turning out to be. "Do you know the pass-phrase?"

Had Maleagant still been in that general vicinity, his eyes would have flicked over to the etching of Dwomutsiqsa above the door. Unfortunately, largely thanks to Lord Fa, he was not. His eyes were only partially open, regarding the ceiling painfully amid muted groans of pain.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

What an indignation.

A Jedi could let the Sith Spirit of Darth Bane simply pass through him, but this mongrel of a spirit. Not even named, not even a first name, was lashing around with his tentacles, like some kind of profane fetishing of their least favorite writer, and sending them all flying. It was unbelievable, yet, Lord Fa had no recourse to this attack at this exact moment.

Instead he was sent flying, his air driving out of his preciously small lungs, and there he went. This noble being, this Sith Knight of repute. Always understanding and civil to his partners in crime.

There was no other option, because his fellow writers were barbaric petty individuals who simply needed to see their NPCs be treated with a modicum of respect. Very well, then. The Sith spirit with no name accomplished exactly what he wished as the Thirriken crashed into a nearby wall with quite some force behind it. His feathers managed to absorb some portion of the crash, yet, pain flashed within his senses regardless. Lord Fa simply rested there, stars before his eyes and a painful gurgle coming out of his little beak.

"Urgh." was all the Sith had to say, before trying to rise and failing, instead falling on his face this time.

For now the proud Lord Fa had little to retort.

This would most likely change in the following scene, otherwise this would be quite the dreadful short thread with nothing accomplished.

 

[TB-705]

Immobilized by the spirit's prying of his mind, Thengil could only watch as the being easily dispatched of his colleagues in a blur of motion. The painful thumps of flesh against hard objects caused a rumble of frustration to issue from the Cathar's throat.

As the fourth wall took a sound beating from the battering rams of heavy-handed pens, Ri'shajirr struggled not to cower from the malevolent gaze of the shadowed spirit. The question it posed seemed so innocuous, almost child-like in its simplicity. Speak the code word and watch the gates to an imaginary kingdom open.

Unlike Maleagant, Thengil did not need a lamp to accentuate his low-light vision. Consequently, he had noted the inscription upon the ruined doors, but thought little of it. Whatever beings had ransacked the place before them had surely triggered the spell. Now, however, matters appeared to be substantially different.

Notably, Thengil's companions lay in inanimate huddled heaps upon the ground and Ri'shajirr himself felt paralyzed by the sensation that this being, whoever it might be, knew him to his very core. Every weakness laid bare, every moment of shame exposed to such prying eyes left his mouth dry and his stomach light. So he spoke the only words that might prove use, knowing no other secret pass code that might grant them access.

"Dwomutsiqsa."

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

There was a low rumbling. Not coming from the doors- those remained locked and immobile. It came from the spirit. It went on for a few seconds, sounding like a growl or grumble of... Approval? It was difficult to tell. It remained where it was for a moment, eyes on Thengil, before floating past him and upwards. "You speak Sith. Good. Perhaps you are not as unlearned as your predecessors." If its position above Thengil had caused it to seem more intimidating, the fact that it had climbed a few more feet to float just above the barred doorway was not helping. It stared down at the Cathar. If it had a face, it might have appeared bored and disinterested. It had gone through all this before.

The bones close by to where Lord Fa had landed were a testament to that. Lots of bones and more than a few broken lightsabers. Some were recent enough that the tattered fragments of both Jedi and Sith robes still clung to the skeletons. The corpses of the unworthy.

Still, by now some people were probably wondering why the doors had not opened, despite the recitation of the pass-phrase. "These doors do not answer to outsiders; only those of power and those who tend the citadel. For all others, they remain sealed." This might have been the hundred thousandth time the Spirit explained this much. Or maybe not. The Jedi explorers had only tried to destroy him, so he killed them. The Sith who could not read or speak Sith disgusted him, so he often killed them. Those who could read and speak Sith were often so upset at being a sort of implied unworthy that they tried t destroy the Spirit. It all ended the same. Killing ghosts was hard. As for the rest of them...

"Since you have served some form of amusement to me, you may go. Leave. Return when you have recaptured what was once yours, Thengil Ri'Shajirr." It paused. "And take your servants with you."

Maleagant might have objected to being called a servant if he could hear anything over his excruciating pain.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

There were many paths to success.

Never did Lord Fa consider getting the crap kicked out of him by a nameless NPC to be one of them, but apparently this was what they were doing right now. So the Thirriken might as well have committed fully to the path picked out. He was still laying in the rubble of the looted and broken-apart bookcase, where he had crashed. Sadly Fa's writer was not controlling a NPC at this moment and had little else to say to the situation.

Perhaps Tai could awaken at the opportune moment. To dispense some wisdom or utter a haiku or two, but his writer friends would probably be annoyed at him again for not taking the appropriate amount of hits for this encounter.

Clearly they had to show the proper deference to the Sith Spirit.

Who still had no name. And as such was just as powerful as any other faceless, nameless background character in any self-respecting story. But it was okay. As long as his friends were happy with this path, then Lord Fa, too, would be pleased with the way this story was proceeding.

Friendship is magic.

 

[TB-705]

As his companions seemed mute or frightened to their cores or blissfully unconscious, Thengil rolled his shoulders and forged ahead. He mulled over the words. Tend to the citadel...

Abruptly, Thengil reached down and picked up the remnants of a chair. He walked over to a corner of the room and dumped the wood fragments there, then he stalked over to where the Rattataki lay huddled. Bending down, he attempted to grab the man by the scruff and haul him upright.

"Up, we have work to do. We must tend to the citadel. Lord Fa, grab that broom. Let us see if our efforts open barred doors."

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

One moment, Maleagant was entering that blissful territory between the waking world and unconsciousness. The pain reduced itself to an iritable throb and he began to lull gently to sleep. Then, as usual, Thengil decided to ruin his happiness. The Cathar grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him up, waking Maleagant with an unflattering jolt. The Shi'ido looked around, wild eyed, rapidly remembering the sequence of events that brought him here. Immediately his eyes flicked over to the hovering Spirit, then back to Thengil as he processed his words. Tend? To the citadel? Maleagant was released a second later, falling awkwardly on the flats of his feet. Oh, the blow to his dignity. And to make it worse...

"I am not a janitor." Maleagant grimaced, holding out one hand. His lightsaber shot out from the rubble pile and returned to his grip. He deftly clipped it back to his belt, giving a scowl to the spirit.

The Sith Spirit was incapable of emotive facial expressions as it currently was. Yet if it were, it would have been looking very perplexed. Perhaps baffled as well, but also thoroughly amused. It had been some centuries, perhaps even thousands of years ago, that it had laughed. It was not laughing now either, but this was as close as it had gotten since then. It did not look at Maleagant, merely continuing to observe as Thengil piled up debris in one corner of the room. They were most likely going to have to do a better job than that if they wanted any amount of credit for their work. But Maleagant was unconcerned with that, instead crossing to the other side of the room to see how Tai Fa had fared.

Hopefully he would still be talking sense, unlike Ri'shajirr.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Maleagant"]

In the meantime Lord Fa managed to crawl back to his little peacock feet.

He was still swaying very much, but at the very least he was not at danger of falling on his face again and completely ruining his robe. It was good that he had it treated in ancient alchemical rituals, so it was far more resilient than the usual attire he wore.

It was good to be prepared.

"Thengil." The Thirriken address his associate calmly as Maleagant arrived next to him. "Why are you moving around that wreckage?"

As far as Fa could see the Cathar had not been hurt by the Spirit in any way. So, there had to be some rational explanation why the cat sith was playing alderaanian maid in front of them. It did not seem to help much, all things considered, the room was filthy and ruined.

Picking up and dropping the rubble from one side of the room to the corner was only shifting the main issue away.

 

[TB-705]

The Rattataki tried to storm to the corner after yet again offering derision to Ri'shajirr. Such an attitude did not befit conduct between equals. And if they could not be equals...

Hard bone driven by powerful thews surged up in the form of a surprise knee, blindingly fast and on a collision course for Maleagant's groin.

...then the pecking order would need to be reestablished.

Thengil's whisper was barely audible, except perhaps to a Shi'ido doubled over in pain who found his stomach suddenly did not agree with its contents.

"Twice you've tested my patience. There will not be a third."

Senses alert for any reprisal, but ignoring subsequent mutterings, Thengil turned to regard Lord Fa, then glanced at the spirit. To the spirit he said. "Who may enter the doors?"

And again it said, "These doors do not answer to outsiders; only those of power and those who tend the citadel. For all others, they remain sealed."

Thengil's eyes flicked back to Fa, waiting for the shoe to drop... if Fa's little peacock feet even wore shoes.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]