• Closed • Plucking Feathers.

[Squirrel]

36th of Saun, 717.

The late-evening breeze chilled the undersides of his wings as he glided high above Almund, and he flapped once more to pull himself higher. Not that he truly needed to make any effort to keep himself afloat. Despite his size rivalling that of any bird known to the insignificant specks dotting the streets below, the wind shaped itself around him, forcing him higher as he wished. In his personal opinion, it took all the fun out of flying, having the wind hold him in place and guide him as easily as if a pair of hands were wrapped around his body. He could have changed back into his human form and his position wouldn't alter by a hair. His wings were beautiful, but unnecessary. Everything about this body was beautiful, but unnecessary. He couldn't even make the claim that he was doing it for disguise - apart from the fact that he would never lower himself to hide his beauty from weak little mortals good for little more than worshipping it, he could just hide in the wind if he really wished to pass unseen.

With an inward sigh, he leaned left, dipping down through a yawning opening in the air itself. For a moment, he wasn't just a bird - he was the wind itself, sweeping over the landscape at speeds far beyond anything else known, dancing between buildings, around people - and the next, he was stepping out again, a human walking through the streets. Bare from the waist-up, bedecked in a bright necklace made of shining beads and jewels resembling feathers. Despite his wishes, better judgement told him to avoid anything too ostentatious, even if most turned and stared at him in passing as he strode through the streets as if he owned them.

He was not here to draw attention. He was here for something very important.

He'd never openly admit it, knowing that it'd draw the ire of many of his companions, but the simple truth was, having something was always so much sweeter when other people wanted it too. Stealing from mortals was far too easy, and by far the least rewarding thing of all; they never had anything good, and besides which, who cared what mortals felt about anything? Mortals were mortals. They lived and died so fast that anything they did, bar worship him of course, was pathetically pointless, no matter how much they seemed to scream over it. No, slighting mortals was too much of a one-sided game. Slighting his fellow Immortals was another ball-game. Of course, there was only one thing Immortals truly loved above all else. Even the crazy ones like Faldrun. Followers.

Without turning his head, he reached out mid-stride and grabbed the nearest passer-by by the shoulder. From this close, he could feel it. At a touch, it practically exploded in his head. Syroa's writhing presence sat heavily on this one. Out of all the Immortals, her ire was perhaps the worst that he could invoke... and invoke it he would, if he tried to steal one of hers. Oh, but it was oh-so-tempting. He wheeled the young man around and stared down into his eyes from above, a predatory grin sliding over his face like it belonged there. "Hello there, little one," he greeted Tio in a voice like spun silver. In the faint glow of the street-side lamps, the Immortal still practically glowed.

[Tio Silver]

Tio liked to categorise his trials into three distinct groups: good, bad and downright weird.

The good trials were of course the ones where most things ended up going just the way he wanted them to. His thieving endeavours would succeed, nothing ended up bothering him, and sometimes he'd get lucky enough to bring someone back home with him. The bad trials were the ones when his work didn't work out, some bad luck befell him, or even when nothing special happened at all and he ended up bored senseless. And the weird trials, which had been disturbingly more frequent of late, were the rare occasions where something strange or magical happened that kept him awake at night trying to figure out what in the world just happened.

Today had been another one in a series of bad trials. He'd been performing a minor burglary in the higher end part of town, but had been surprised to find that his recon of the place had missed the fact that the owners had recently bought a new poodle. The damn thing had been yapping at him the second he'd picked the lock, and he'd foolishly assumed that it's bark was worse than its bite. He only realised his mistake when the little dastard clamped its teeth down into his ankle as soon as he turned his back on it, and it had taken the best part of an hour to get the damn thing off without harming it. Worst of all was that he'd been wearing his expensive black satin suit, so not only did his ankle hurt but his trousers were ruined. Perhaps he should send the bill for repairing them to the owners? He didn't expect them to pay it of course, but the cheek of it would make him feel a bit better.

It was still light tonight, but seeing as Saun was almost over that light was growing closer and closer to darkness every trial, and the air was finally cool enough to be relaxing. As he walked through the streets of Almund, Tio’s mind once again turned to the string of bad luck that'd been following him at work as of late. Whenever he did something morally dubious something inconvenient seemed to happen to him, like an unexplainable chilly wind hitting him and making him lose his grip just as he tried climbing up to someone's window, or a plant pot falling on his head when he picked someone's pocket. If he didn't know better he'd say he was being haunted, but that was just ridiculous. He hadn't done anything to piss of a ghost.

Well, not recently anyway.

His musing was suddenly interrupted as, out of nowhere, a hand suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, and Tio was spun around like a dancer to face a tall, handsome man with a sharp grin on his face. Scratch that, a tall, handsome man without a shirt and a sharp grin. Also was it him or was the guy glowing? Yep, he was definitely glowing. Well it looked like he'd been wrong after all. This wasn't going to be a bad trial, this was going to end as one of the weird ones.

“Umm… hello there tall, half-naked glowing person. Is there something I can do for you?” He asked slowly, clearly bewildered and more than a little bit suspicious. His eyes caught the expensive looking necklace and a flash of desire in them betrayed how his thoughts turned to stealing it, but almost as soon as it had come the look was gone, hidden behind a mask of friendly politeness. He glanced at the man’s bare torso, and raised an eyebrow. “If this is going where I think it's going I'll tell you now buddy I'm going to need dinner and a theatre show first. A guy's got to have standards after all.”

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[Squirrel]

His hand twisted, turning Tio's head to one side, and then the other. He studied Tio as though he were cattle on the market, which, in a way, he was. This was not a matter of interest, nor strength, nor anything of the sort. Little more than a casual interest, if even that. Boredom was something that even Immortals succumbed to unfortunately, and though the methods of slaking its thirst differed from one being to the next, slake it they must. It just so happened that his method was to take a new toy. That didn't mean that toys couldn't be useful for more than just mere amusement, though. Especially ones with talents like these. How delicious it would be to take one of Syroa's own and use them for his profit? Potentially even her loss, if she decided to make herself involved in these plans.

Besides which, what was the harm in setting one up to fail? Toys broke. There were always plenty of others to replace them.

His smile quirked, becoming a tad more amused. "My, you're a funny one, aren't you?" He liked spirit. No wonder she'd taken an interest. He actually decided to humour him a little and slid an inch closer, just enough to invade the limits of Tio's personal space. "Trust me. You won't find anyone better." His beauty was unrivalled by any man. Only Zanik could possibly come close, and even then, he normally settled for compensating it with his personality and pleasant attitude. Every inch of Delroth's body was unblemished, cast in iron and darkened to a light tan. Pieren had shaped his finest creation and all others had looked upon his form with avarice; and that was around other Immortals. Compared to the snivelling wrecks that were mortals, he was as close to a god as they'd ever see. "If you fulfil your task well enough, I might even consider it as more than just an amusing joke."

The fingers closed around Tio's jaw turned to finger-sharp points as the nails grew and folded on themselves, becoming razor-sharp talons that traced along the veins of his neck with their tips. "There's something here in Scalvoris that I want. You can call it an artefact if you want, but it's far more than that." Mortals only saw the surface of what those made by the raw power of the Immortals could do, which made it even more hilarious to gift them to unsuspecting creatures, to let them use a battleaxe to cut baby carrots. But then, if they ever discovered the true worth of what they held, they'd never be entrusted with the things in the first place. "It is an orb... sometimes made of glass, or wood. Or metal. It changes every season, and is never the same thing twice."

His eyes brightened. "You will find it, and fetch it for me. When you have it, you will return to this spot, at this time, and I will retrieve it." His claws tapped playfully along Tio's chin. "If you really wish to please me... the person you find with this artefact, I want you to ruin his life." For a moment, just a brief moment, Tio got a touch of the true power of an Immortal. The full rage. He could feel it bubbling beneath the man's skin, burning in his eyes. It would be dangerous to even come close to a mortal when embroiled in such power, but he could always find other mortals, if he truly felt like it. Millions roamed this world - what was one more charred carcass? "I don't care how you do it. Steal everything in his house. Murder his only daughter. I don't care. But I want him to feel pain. Understand?"

[Tio Silver]

There was something thoroughly unpleasant about how the strange man looked down on him with smug condescension and pushed Tio's head around as if he were checking a slave for signs of good health, but despite himself the Yludih couldn't muster the defiance to slap the offending hand away. Although the glowing person was perhaps the most handsome man he'd even seen something about the guy unsettled him, frightened him even, in a way that felt similar to the prickling on his neck he got around his old necromancy master Zavious. But this was stronger, so much stronger, and gut instincts warned him that the shirtless man could kill him easily if he displeased him and wouldn't spare a second thought about it afterwards.

That fear grew and visibly manifested as a tightening around the muscles on his face as the stranger's nails warped into sharp talons right before his eyes, scratching gently over the veins on his neck in a subtle threat to draw blood. Damn it, who in the beneath was this guy?! A mage?! He'd heard tales of magic that could allow a person to assume the form of an animal, but to cast a spell without any indication of effort at all proved that the man must be monstrously strong! It would explain the superior attitude though, after all humility was never the mark of a good magician.

However Tio's expression began to relax slightly as the stranger began talking about a strange object, and orb that changed the material it was made from each season, and how he wanted him to steal it for him. Now this was a situation he was more familiar with, the discussion of a job between a thief and an employer. As powerful and intimidating as the mage still was Tio now knew that his intentions weren't to harm him, they were to hire him, and so instead of treating him like a potential threat he could treat him like someone he had far more experience dealing with; a customer. Even when the mage grew angry and just for a moment Tio felt a flash of a truly insane amount of magical power rush through him, power that made his head spin and his hands shake in shock, it didn't stop the smirk growing on his face. In order to understand a person the most important thing to know was what they wanted, and now that he knew this mage wanted that orb they'd mentioned he was confident that they wouldn't kill him as long as they considered him a good option for getting it.

"So that's what this is about. You're looking to hire my services." He said, his tone surprisingly light despite the talons tapping along his chin. If there was one thing he could do even when his life was in danger it was capitalize on a chance to make money. "Alrighty then, let's work out the details of this contract. So the stealing of the orb is the primary concern, and ruining the owners life will earn me a nice bonus, but what exactly is the reward here? My standard rate for artifacts of unknown magical power is 1000gn, which not only guarantees my undivided attention in getting it as soon as possible but my complete silence on the matter if anyone comes asking questions about it. Ruining a man's life is also a pretty heavy task, so I'm thinking that an extra 700gn should cover it if I complete that request as well. Normally I'd asked for half the payment in advance, but since most of my clients don't have sharp talons pointing at my throat I'm willing to settle for the whole payment being made upon completion in this case."

"I've also gotta ask if there're additional details you can provide me to make this heist go smoother. Can you tell me where I can find the owner, what this orb can do or how I'll be able to recognize it. You can keep as many secrets about it as you like, I understand the desire for confidentiality in this business, but the more you tell me the faster I can get this done for you."

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[Squirrel]

His smile twitched. Just a hair. It became an effort to hold it on his face, and eventually it slid off completely. "Now you're testing my patience." Humour was like a fine wine - excellent in regulated doses, but even for him, too much could quickly spoil one's appetite. He was feeling very spoiled. Actually, he was starting to feel insulted. Greed was one thing he enjoyed very much, since it made those beneath him easy to control and manipulate. More than that, greed was a sign of strength - the desire to take what they wanted, when they wanted it, and so assure dominance and the will of true survival. However, when others became greedy and started trying to ask things of him... well, that was when he needed to make corrections to this attitude.

"I think you've made a rather simple mistake here, in assuming that there is a we in this contract you speak of. Whatever it is you call it. What there is here, is a command. I want you to do this for me... and so, you will do it, because I am the one that told you, and because you wish to obey me. It is, at your core, at every mortal's core, what you exist for. To serve the greater beings that brought you into this world, and can take you back out of it with little more than a stray thought and a flick of our fingers." His index finger twitched no more than an inch, tracing along the tip of his adam's apple. "Only the truly chosen among my followers are granted the ability to ask anything of me. Are you truly so arrogant, little one?" In another situation, he might have truly taken a liking to this one. He was greedy and vain indeed... but if he bit the hand that fed him, he'd soon learn just how far he'd fall.

"I will tell you nothing, because it is for you to find out. If you succeed, I will give you the opportunity for great rewards in the times to come... rewards that stand beyond what your little gold coins can buy." Only the opportunity, of course. He would not be the only one partaking in this game. Though he might soon be the one with the greatest disadvantage. "If you try to take this artefact for yourself, or conspire with its owner, or try to twist this task and outsmart me, I will turn you into jewellery." If Tio were a human, he'd eat him. Mortals had surprisingly tender flesh; he couldn't be sure how many Immortals partook in the delicacy, but he could be sure it wasn't just him who enjoyed the occasional rare-done mortal. They weren't too far from cattle, after all - not to mention much more numerous, and much more stupid. "To be honest, I don't care if you fail. Or quit. It just means you're not strong enough for what comes next, and I'd sooner not waste time on the weak and feeble."

His eyes narrowed. "Or that would be what I normally say. But, it seems you yet need more incentive, regardless. No; you DEMAND it!" That power was gathering once more, but it didn't touch Tio, yet. "So, generous as I am, I shall give you some. Enough for you to, what was it? Guarantee your undivided attention, and complete silence!" His face was as dark as a thundercloud, and his voice rolled in waves. Others could stop and stare. The whole of Scalvoris could hear, for all he cared. His mind was a razor-sharp point, a single talon focused squarely on Tio, pressing against his forehead and burrowing through his skin and bone. "You're hungry for gold, aren't you? To demand it from the Immortal of Greed, you must be very hungry indeed. From now on, food and water will not sustain you. Gold will." His grin returned, this time sharp and wicked. "You will have a constant, desperate desire to eat gold. Your gold, anyone's gold, it really doesn't matter." As he said it, it became so. The curse had no outward markings. But then, Tio wouldn't need any. "If you perform my task as I've instructed... if, next time we meet, you show some proper respect... and perhaps most of all, if you're lucky... I might even give you all that gold you've asked me for. And I might not make you eat that, too. So... how fast do you think you can get this done for me now?"

[Tio Silver]

The smile dropped from the mage's face, and with a sinking feeling Tio realised that he may have pushed things a little too far. That feeling grew like a weight in his stomach as the mage began to talk of how he had followers, and suddenly recalled a moment not too long ago when he'd also felt this out of his depth; the night Syroa herself had embraced him for just a moment and bestowed the demon-wing tattoos upon his back. Perhaps what he was dealing with here was no mage after all? Perhaps it was something far more powerful?

Was he dealing with an Immortal?

The suspicion was confirmed as the stranger dug one of his talons right into the middle of his forehead, growling thunderously about how arrogant he was to demand gold from the Immortal of Greed. Now Tio was no expert on the Immortals but he knew all to well which Immortal presided over greed, after all the underworld was full of thieves and other criminals who offered their prayers to him. Heck he'd prayed to the guy occasionally for luck before a job, but he never expected to actually meet him! And now this same Immortal was now not happy with him!

Oh bugger!

"Delroth?! You're-... You're Delroth?!" Tio gasped out through the pain in his forehead, eyes wide in pure fear. Did Delroth think he could bully him into doing his bidding? Because he could, very easily. A mage, no matter how powerful, was something he was confident in his ability to strike a bargain with, because no matter how far their power grew they were still bound to the confines of mortality. But a god?! No, dealing with a god was way out of his league! In fact he was pretty sure it was out of everyone's league!

The pain in his forehead faded slightly, but whether that was because Delroth had eased of with his talon or because he'd gotten a bit more accustomed to it he didn't know since he dared not look up and break eye contact with the angry Immortal. He felt a small trickle of liquid run down his face as his body's natural illusion created a few phantom drops of blood from his cut, but the fact that he knew it wasn't real blood offered no comfort. "Well when you put it like that... I'll just drop everything else and get it for you as soon as possible shall I?" He replied, a quiver in his voice betraying how cowed he was. "I'll definitely get it for you by this day next season, if not sooner. I'll even wrap it up nicely for you! How's that sound?"

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[Squirrel]

Oh, there really could be nothing more satisfying than watching Tio's face drop like a stone. He wouldn't forget this face, or his manners, soon. Not for a very long time. "That sounds much better. I'm glad we could reach an agreement," he replied in a mockery of sincerity. He straightened himself and folded both arms behind his back, eyes staring down his nose at the boy. The sheer fury that'd once enveloped him had cooled to smug satisfaction, almost to a degree that he was rather happy for such a rude little customer. Many failings over the past few trials had left him with a rather bitter taste in his mouth, but now that he had something to air his frustrations upon, he felt refreshed once more. It didn't mean that he wouldn't slice Tio's head from his shoulders should he give one more syllable of lip, but at this point, he'd do it with a smile on his face and a hearty laugh.

"Though before you begin planning, I suppose I'm entitled to tell you a little more. I withhold what I do because this isn't some stupid errand or fetch-quest, whatever you people call it. If I really wanted something so trivial I would swoop down and take it for myself long before even considering handing such a task to a..." his upper lip curled, "... mortal such as yourself. No no." Trivial as it was, any artefact of the Immortals, whether his own or belonging to any other, were strictly the property of the Immortals. Perhaps some of the Mortalborn, although some of them truly didn't deserve the title, fraternising with their lesser halves and refusing to accept their true heritage. Any mortal in possession of one, even if it had been given willingly, was little more than a common thief, and if he knew that they had it, they were a poor thief at that. Some thieves he actually enjoyed and thought of fondly, but it was an entirely different matter when they started stealing from him. But he was sliding off-topic. "This is a test of your skill and ability, to see whether you are worthy of... greater challenges in the future. Mmh."

"Which is why... ugh." With a small disgusted noise, he looked away for a moment, staring into the distance. "Which is why, at your discretion, I will allow you one use of my chariot. ONE! It will transport you to Rharne, where the artefact lies, in no more than a few trials, if that. Call upon it with the phrase, Ek'sahlrand, whispered into anything above a light breeze." He really didn't like it, but he had to give this little one a fighting chance as much as the rest of them. No doubt Navyri would have the greatest advantage, but the more competitors, the greater the chance that someone of perhaps even greater skill would manage to outshine her in some fashion. "I expect nothing less than success... because remember what I said. If you complete your task as instructed, I might just remove your curse. Of course, if someone else were to grab the orb and deliver it to me before you... well, you wouldn't be able to complete your task... well, ever."

With that, he left. He turned and the wind... parted. It sliced open in a vertical slash, a fold in the air itself that he stepped through. The inside was like that of a tornado, dust and sand and various other things cobbled together into walls. His chariot was not as gilded and elaborate as he would have pleased, but it did its job well enough. The moment he stepped through, the hole pulled back over itself and vanished, leaving Tio stood alone in the street once more.

[Tio Silver]

Thankfully his change in attitude seemed to please Delroth, and the Immortal finally let go of his neck and fixed him with a smug smirk. Without the sharp talons pressing to his neck Tio found that breathing was much easier, and unconsciously took a small step back to put a bit more distance between them in case the god decided to attack him anyway. It wouldn't do much good of course, but the feeling of being less vulnerable, no matter how false, was a small but sorely needed comfort. Delroth didn't seem angry any more, in fact if anything he seemed a little more happy than he had at the start of the conversation, but even so his instincts warned him not to test him again.

He listened warily as Delroth explained that his reasons for assigning him this mission weren't because he particularly wanted the artifact, but because he wished to test Tio's worth as an agent for use in greater challenges to come. So this wasn't just a one time thing then? Delroth was considering making him into a proper asset? That was... a tad concerning actually. It wasn't that Tio had a problem working for an Immortal, especially one who's domains matched him quite nicely, but that was normally on the condition that he actually got paid somehow for his work. Since there was no getting out of it this time his best option seemed to be to complete this mission and whatever else Delroth had in store for him and see what the rewards for his effort were like, and if it turned out not to be worth it then he'd have to figure out a way to slip out from under the Immortal's radar before he got himself killed, if such a thing was even possible. Hopefully Syroa wouldn't get too mad if she found out he was taking orders from another god.

Did this mean there was a lot more throat-grabbing and cursing to come? Clearly he'd need to brush up on his manners if he wanted to keep his head.

A childish delight overtook Tio as Delroth begrudgingly claimed that he'd allow Tio to make use of his personal chariot in order to get to Rharne quickly, where the artifact was located. He was going to get to ride in the god of the wind's chariot! That was awesome! Unbelievably awesome! Was it made out of solid wind?! Was it pulled by birds?! How fast would it go?! Maybe Delroth really did know how to reward his agents after all, because if he was allowed to take an Immortal's chariot out for a spin in exchange for a couple of thefts he was game any time!

With one last reminder that the only way to remove his curse was to complete the mission, Delroth literally sliced a hole in the air itself and walked through it, disappearing into thin air as if he'd never even been there to begin with. Tio turned away and made haste down the streets of Almund, making a beeline straight to his lodgings. If he was going to do this properly he was going to need his best gear, and the sooner he gathered it all the sooner he could ride that awesome chariot!
About an hour later Tio stood in an empty alley in the back streets of Almund, his gear packed and ready to go. He whispered the word "Ek'sahlrand" as instructed, and closed his eyes to shield them as a sudden strong gust of wind blew a wave of dust into them. When he opened them again before him lay a chariot of pure silver, mostly undecorated but created in a sleek and elegant design that made it beautiful to behold. The air around it lay completely still, almost as if the world was holding its breath while waiting for him to mount it, and tentatively Tio took a slow, careful step up onto its surface and held on to the crossbar.

"So... how do I get this thing to work?" Tio muttered to himself, looking around for any indication of how to start the chariot. There were a pair of reins that were set up as if tied to a horse, but which quite literally faded into thin air in front of him, as if tethered to the wind itself. Gently he picked them up and gave them a little flick.

"Giddy up."

And as if shot out of a cannon the chariot blasted forward and flew up into the sky with speed enough to rival a bolt of lightning, disappearing into the clouds above and taking a screaming Tio along with them.[/color]

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[Squirrel]

Loot Ahoy!

Tio

Points: 20
Knowledge: Delroth: Immortal of Wind, Vanity, Greed and Birds.
Delroth: Finds greedy people amusing. Finds people who try to take money from him disgusting.
Delroth: Can appear as a tall, slightly-glowing shirtless man.
Injuries: Glutton for Gold.
Tio has been cursed by Delroth in a very personal way. He now suffers from a constant, eternal hunger that can only be satiated by swallowing gold. This can include coins, rings, necklaces and all other forms that gold can be shaped. Because Delroth does not want to kill him, the gold will not poison him, and his body is capable of surviving on nothing but gold. Any other type of regular food will taste like dust, ash, or something equally disgusting.
Fame:

Additional Information

Whew, sorry that took so long to grade. I still enjoyed writing this a lot! If you've got any other concerns or issues, just throw me a PM!