Post by Joliette Thorne on Jul 17, 2007 11:21:38 GMT -5
Aboard Eternity
Redhale was sitting cross-legged as Tenebrae entered, thin lips opening to speak in the middle of a colourless and frighteningly gaunt face. As he spoke he rose, grey tatters of robes trailing behind him like ghostly mist, "You said you might be able to help me, and I hope you can. At this moment I'd do near anything to regain my abilities... Just look at what I am without them..." He looks down at his hands, the left glove still hanging limp as expected; fastening it to the sleeve end did little to hide its condition. His lips seem to keep moving his lips without talking and looks back up to Tenebrae, the eyes just below a ratty fringe desperate, mad even.
Tenebrae stepped down into the hold to fetch a mop for the upper deck, and was aghast to find Redhale in such a state, the man clearly in a bad way. "Oh, of course I would help..." Her lower lip was chewed, in dismay. "My own have not returned, as yet. But it's a matter of finding the right sustenance, nothing difficult. You, though..." She studied the man, compassion in her eyes. "I'd need to know what they were, to begin with. I know some mages, or there's.." Tene would pale a bit. "Well, there's other options."
Redhale stepped back, face contorted in confusion but his eyes still somewhat feral, "I don't know what you're talking about, but I need to be... cured." His voice sounds far different from what it may have a few weeks ago, rough and dry, and he must clear his throat before going on, "If you can't tell me what to do, and soon, then I'll... I'll..." The man slumps a little. He simply sighs in frustration and looks down at the floor to hide his face.
Tenebrae paled a little more. The obvious -- and most expedient -- solution to Redhale's dilemma was dire in consequence, potentially. Not just for the man himself, either. It'd take time to find the right mages, time she didn't think he had left to him, according to his look. "I know a way. It's dangerous, and will cost you dearly. I can't say how.." Her gaze dropped to the boards of the deck below. "Could be anything. But you'll get what you most desire."
Redhale tilts his head and watches Tenebrae through a veil of hair, chin still low. His curiousness is evidenced in his look, though suspicion also shines in his eyes, "...Continue then..." Apparently willing, at least at this point, to look into what the woman offers.
Tenebrae spoke simply. "There's a Pool, in my headquarters. It has.. certain abilities. But the cost is always high, for a desire granted. I can take you there.." She shuddered. "If you'd go."
Redhale raises his head, thinking for a moment. Any schooling the man may have had would tell him to learn more first, but apparently animal drive is stronger for the moment, "Take me there." A quick moment later, "Uhm, please..." He scratches at his left arm with his right hand anxiously.
Tenebrae sighed deeply, and nodded. "It's on the Milous Plain, far to the south. A fortress that doesn't look.. right. Can't miss the thing. I'll meet you at the gate." She would need to leave a note, explaining her absence. "Do not enter the place without me. It's treacherous."
Redhale nodded and moved out, raising his hood and replacing his mask before leaving the boat, hiding his features as he travelled.
--The Eldritch Fortress--
Redhale wanders along the plain, feet scuffing at the ground. Spotting Tenebrae he makes his path a little more deliberate, arriving wordlessly but bearing an open, expecting look in his eyes.
Tenebrae stood with her back to the fortress, its fell shadow looming as though to grasp at her feet. In the chill wind, her ragged cloak fluttered like the tatters of some ancient spider's web. She'd wait 'til Redhale had caught up with her rapid striding, before turning to face the colossal edifice. "There is it.. headquarters. Just a word of warning. Don't listen to the voices. Don't lose me in the hallways. Don't take anything as entirely real, but don't presume it isn't, either. Above all.. be prepared to face the consequences of what you are about to do. Any questions?" The unwell half-elf was given an expectant look, Tene's features stamped with a sheen of what could have been nervous trepidation.
Redhale holds up his right hand, index finger raised, "Just one..." The man looks up at the building with a mingled expression of hope and fear, "What exactly might happen should I go through with this, adversely I mean. You said you couldn't be sure but..." The man shrugs, standing his ground for the time being though obviously wanting to get moving.
Tenebrae shrugged, fingers closing what remained of the hem of her cloak to tug it close against the gusting breeze. "Can't say for sure. There's a pool in there, the water black as onyx. It's a living thing, I'm sure of it, though nothing of this world, I fear. And it grants wishes. Desires, more precisely, though what you truly desire isn't always what you'd ask it for. But that's what you get- you heart's desire. The cost.." She glanced down at her threadbare garment. "It takes something you need. You might not know you need it, until its missed. It's the way of this place, everything in shrouds and shadows."
Redhale listens to the woman intently, brow furrowed beneath his mask. Once she had finished he nodded his head, looking to the imposing structure and back to Tenebrae, "Lead the way then..." He speaks quietly and low, indicating forth with his hand. Already he is seeming calmer, perhaps knowing just a bit more about what is to come helped ease him, perhaps he simply just wishes to get through this ordeal as soon as he can. It is obvious he misses his powers, which apparently are used to keep his entire life together and working, even if there is little use for them by other people.
Tenebrae let out a sigh that would not be heard over the whistle of the wind, and stepped forward into the darkling grasp of the fortress' shadow; black of tresses and grey of garb, she'd almost blend, chameleon-like, to the surrounds. The cyclopean building loomed overhead, its walls bastions of vast blocks, irregular of shape and cut to many angles, that slotted together like the pieces of an insane puzzle. She'd lead Redhale through the scrollwork iron gates, mammoth and twisted, the design a discomfiting mockery of arcane symbologies; from there, to the hallway. "Hold to the edge of my cloak," she'd instruct him. "Don't let go, or listen to whispers. It's not somewhere you'd want to be lost." And indeed, the tortuous twists and turns that path into the building took, with its many off-shooting passages and the odd sense of often doubling-back would prove adequate explanation for the warning. That, and the susurrating, sensual hiss of a breeze that had no business being there, the echo of it against the walls resembled half-formed words- Tene was immune to them, but she couldn't be sure of what the half-breed might hear, so she'd reach behind to grasp his wrist and tug him onward, toward the clan's vast Hall.
Redhale did exactly as Tenebrae told, while venturing into unknown territory it was always wise to follow advice. Indeed several times during their journey through the hallways he did slow, his mind easily preyed upon by the atmosphere while in his current state. Strange noises tugged at his attention and once he did falter, though a hand gripping his wrist pulled his attention back to reality and he continued forth with her. A sigh of relief was heard as they entered the open hall, turned into one of wonder as he let his optics survey the area. After turning a full circle he looked back to Tenebrae, voice choked a little again, "...Interesting spot... Now what?" He was either nervous of how exactly to proceed or, and perhaps more likely, had somewhat forgotten what they were here for as they had followed the odd corridors that led here.
Tenebrae had halted them just inside the great, open space. She was used to the way folk reacted to the Hall. Truly, the room was enormous; its dimensions were not congruent with the fortress' less lofty exterior, and the furnishings all seemed outsized, as though build for beings of larger stature than elf or man. Tene raised a wry chuckle at Redhale's understatement, a forced humour to ward off the dread that ever threatened to deaden her will not to turn tail and run from this place. A forefinger peeked from under her cloak to indicate a stone pool in the centre. "There it is. Redhale.." Turning to face him, her eyes were grave. "Listen to me carefully. That Pool.. it's bad enough looking into it, and you will need to place your arm in, is my feeling. People.." her breath caught, images of those lost to Eldred waters rising in her memory. ".. have been drawn in, and never come back. Or returned insane, or vastly troubled. I'll secure you, against that danger." From her pack the woman drew a rope, not taking time for niceties as she tied it around his waist, knotted it firmly. "Remember, focus on what you most desire, try to really feel that want. Hopefully it'll feed on what's in your mind, and not something deeper. Now, tie that rope to the pillar over there. Then, kneel by the Pool." She, herself, seemed unwilling to near the thing.
Redhale took the rope as if in a daze, slightly nervous now that he was actually here and ready to go forth with what was needed. Doubts were flaring in his mind as he tied the rope securely and tested it for strength; What if he didn't get his magic back, instead something else? What could be taken from him in using this pool? What on earth was it anyway? He turned to face the pool, gulping as he shuffled towards it. Despite being rattled by the situation, something the man considered an uncommon occurrence, he seemed to calm as he drew near, either egged on by some deeper power or simply accepting the facts. As he kneeled at the edge he seemed completely calm, then his demeanour broke. Sitting at the edge of the pool nausea hit him and he swayed a little, threatening to fall over. In an attempt to regain composure he freed his head from mask and hood and breathed deep, eyes looking elsewhere around the strange room, eventually settling upon Tenebrae with wordless doubt.
Tenebrae felt as might a child looking into the eyes of a lamb she'd raised, held in the arms of a father who'd carry the creature to the slaughter-block. The vampiress did not speak, her voice frozen in her throat, but would nod a reassurance as best she could. It felt like the lie it was, heavy and venomous in her mind. The black waters, not truly waters at all but only holding the appearance, were as still as though frozen, the ripple-less surface reflecting perfectly the torches - that oddly had been already lit on their entrance - and uncanny figures carved on the walls surrounding, in the manner of a mirror of polished obsidian. She could do nothing now, but wait and watch, and though she didn't dare to pray to any god in this hellish building's confines, would make an inner wish that Redhale be one of the lucky ones, and remain relatively unscathed by his quest.
Redhale turned his head back to the pool, though something about it seemed to offend him and his gaze averted once more, again taking in the surroundings, noting the more prominent features of the room. At the same time one shivering hand removed his gauntlets, allowing them to simply drop to the floor with a clatter, the left hand glove revealing nothing at the end of it's arm after being unfastened from it's spot at the end of one mangled sleeve. His attention was still wandering about the room, allowing at least some part of the man to be in wonder and wishing he could note down some features of this place to keep with his rarely seen stack of notes, when his hand stretched towards the dark pool. One finger touched the surface and a miniscule bolt of energy ran up the half elf's arm, causing him to jump a little. Encouraged, though still refusing to regard what was going on with his gaze, Redhale plunged his hand beneath the surface... A smile spread itself across his face fairly quickly as the pool apparently did exactly what the man wanted. He stretched a little as he kneeled at the edge of the pool, feeling his dearly missed powers return to him. His eyes stared at Tenebrae from over his shoulder; though the man's face was still haggard and sallow you expected he would deal to that once this event was over. As it seemed the transfer neared an end Redhale's arm dove a little deeper into the pool, and his eyes finally jerked back to the black liquid. With little warning the man's body hurled forwards, plunging face first into the pool and disappearing up to his neck in the substance before the rope pulled taught. The scarred stump at the end of his left arm pushed against the edge of the pool, unable to find grip and succeeding in only giving the rope short moments of slack. Seconds passed slowly as you could hear muffled shouts come from the man. Without warning, though with some measure of relief, the half elf's body was hurled backwards, gasping heard as his head is freed. The man sits in a daze with his back to you, deathly silent though not showing any stress through his body language, breathing even and steady. Redhale stretches his back and as he does so you notice a dripping sound, soft yet steady patting on the floor of the chamber.
Tenebrae was the cause of that abrupt withdrawal he made from the darkling waters, fingers wrapped hard to the saviour-rope and hauled with her preternatural strength to pull the man from the maw of what was likely his doom should he stay half-submerged. She let the rope slacken as he landed on the floor, trying not to notice the sluggish, ebon rivulets that dripped to the stone below him and seemed to somehow -writhe- toward the main body of the Pool, as though seeking refuge with their matrix. "Redhale..?" His name was a breath on her lips, a desperate question.
Redhale looked around to the voice of Tenebrae dreamily, though looked may be an odd word to use in such circumstances. His turning revealed a nightmarish image. In the centre of the man's face, where his eyes should have been, were two fleshy holes. Lids had been torn off neatly and eyeballs simply gone, each socket allowing a thin trail of blood to run down his cheeks, meeting at his chin. The half elf's face had become a kind of sick parody of the mask he carried with him, which you could see lying on the ground just beyond where he sat, "Something's wrong, I can't feel my face... Tenebrae..." He looked rather disappointed, perhaps unknowing to his condition, though after a moment he turned again, and his expression changed as he turned. A hand was held out to open air and closed upon itself and he whispered a few words. He would have closed his eyes in some form of contentment, though the muscle movement merely twisted his eye sockets and gave his expression, otherwise rather agreeable, a ghoulish nature.
Tenebrae’s stomach lurched, the sanguine thickness of her last meal rising sourly to her throat. She swallowed, hardly breathing.. “Dear gods…” The words were ragged, only half-spoken, and followed by no others as she stumbled toward the pillar where the rope was tied, though never looked away -- could not look away -- from Redhale's ghastly visage. When the sisal cord had stopped resisting her trembling fingers' attempt to unknot it and slithered free of its hitching-place, Tene forced herself to make a single step toward the half-elf, though her legs threatened to buckle beneath her, and every nerve in her body was screaming for her to bolt. "Your.. eyes.." The grisly pared-out holes where orbs had rested seemed to gaze in empty accusation at her. "We have to.. Redhale, we have to get out of here."
Redhale seems to only vaguely listen to Tenebrae, though responds to her desire to leave. He stands, rope slipping off him easily, evidence that he has indeed regained his powers. He opens his hand with some sense of regret and holds it out to Tenebrae, "You may have to lead me again, I can't see very clearly. I think it did something to my face..." After speaking he looks behind him, a smile turning up the corners of his eye holes and causing more blood to flow, a second snaking stream falling from the right one and meeting with the first halfway down his cheek. You hear him mutter something like "come on" over his shoulder before turning to face fowards again, hollowed sockets staring at the woman with an unexpected and disturbing amount of emotion.
Tenebrae needed no further urging. She moved quickly to take his sleeve, ignoring the inexplicable feeling in the vacant holes and the blood wept from rent sockets, and led Redhale back into the labyrinthine corridor and out to the Gates. Passing the archway that served as the fortress' mouth, she would shudder and sigh her relief, leaning on the newly-blinded man as her limbs weakened once more. "I'm so sorry..." There was a genuine regret in the woman's tone, while she ushered him out to the healthier air beyond the pall of the headquarters’ shade. "I never thought.. Redhale, your eyes.."
Redhale follows Tenebrae through the mazelike hallways, looking back every now and then with a smile or chuckle, and stopped as they emerged, feeling the light upon his face. He stumbles a bit as Tenebrae leans on him unexpectedly, but holds still once he realises. Upon hearing her words he lifts his still ungloved hand to his face, feeling around his right eye. He immediately regrets the decision and flinches a little, gasping. A moment later he reaches to his face again, more gently, and once he places his finger actually into the abscess where his eye should be jerks his arm down. His breath quickens and his brow furrows, encouraging more blood yet to flow, before looking to one side, "Yes... But I'll be fine..." He looks down at his feet for the moment, blood dripping from his chin, and now his nose, onto the field at his feet.
Tenebrae said, unconvincingly, "Yes, you'll be alright." He wouldn't see the troubled look she wore. "But I think we might find you a healer, anyway, to tend to those sockets, alright?" Hooking her arm to his again, she'd turn him northward, if he assented, and start pacing back toward the Gorge overpass. "We'll head to Corpse, it's warm there, and I'll get you a drink, while we wait." She’d have to rouse Steadman and send him for help. As they walked, she had the urge to glance back at the Eldred fortress, and gave in to it. Something else to add to her regrets-- the building seemed to -shift- in some indefinable way, as though internally reconfiguring itself, its exterior stones sliding to new interlocking patterns. The fortress was.. growing? Tene shuddered at the thought, and looked away.
Redhale was sitting cross-legged as Tenebrae entered, thin lips opening to speak in the middle of a colourless and frighteningly gaunt face. As he spoke he rose, grey tatters of robes trailing behind him like ghostly mist, "You said you might be able to help me, and I hope you can. At this moment I'd do near anything to regain my abilities... Just look at what I am without them..." He looks down at his hands, the left glove still hanging limp as expected; fastening it to the sleeve end did little to hide its condition. His lips seem to keep moving his lips without talking and looks back up to Tenebrae, the eyes just below a ratty fringe desperate, mad even.
Tenebrae stepped down into the hold to fetch a mop for the upper deck, and was aghast to find Redhale in such a state, the man clearly in a bad way. "Oh, of course I would help..." Her lower lip was chewed, in dismay. "My own have not returned, as yet. But it's a matter of finding the right sustenance, nothing difficult. You, though..." She studied the man, compassion in her eyes. "I'd need to know what they were, to begin with. I know some mages, or there's.." Tene would pale a bit. "Well, there's other options."
Redhale stepped back, face contorted in confusion but his eyes still somewhat feral, "I don't know what you're talking about, but I need to be... cured." His voice sounds far different from what it may have a few weeks ago, rough and dry, and he must clear his throat before going on, "If you can't tell me what to do, and soon, then I'll... I'll..." The man slumps a little. He simply sighs in frustration and looks down at the floor to hide his face.
Tenebrae paled a little more. The obvious -- and most expedient -- solution to Redhale's dilemma was dire in consequence, potentially. Not just for the man himself, either. It'd take time to find the right mages, time she didn't think he had left to him, according to his look. "I know a way. It's dangerous, and will cost you dearly. I can't say how.." Her gaze dropped to the boards of the deck below. "Could be anything. But you'll get what you most desire."
Redhale tilts his head and watches Tenebrae through a veil of hair, chin still low. His curiousness is evidenced in his look, though suspicion also shines in his eyes, "...Continue then..." Apparently willing, at least at this point, to look into what the woman offers.
Tenebrae spoke simply. "There's a Pool, in my headquarters. It has.. certain abilities. But the cost is always high, for a desire granted. I can take you there.." She shuddered. "If you'd go."
Redhale raises his head, thinking for a moment. Any schooling the man may have had would tell him to learn more first, but apparently animal drive is stronger for the moment, "Take me there." A quick moment later, "Uhm, please..." He scratches at his left arm with his right hand anxiously.
Tenebrae sighed deeply, and nodded. "It's on the Milous Plain, far to the south. A fortress that doesn't look.. right. Can't miss the thing. I'll meet you at the gate." She would need to leave a note, explaining her absence. "Do not enter the place without me. It's treacherous."
Redhale nodded and moved out, raising his hood and replacing his mask before leaving the boat, hiding his features as he travelled.
--The Eldritch Fortress--
Redhale wanders along the plain, feet scuffing at the ground. Spotting Tenebrae he makes his path a little more deliberate, arriving wordlessly but bearing an open, expecting look in his eyes.
Tenebrae stood with her back to the fortress, its fell shadow looming as though to grasp at her feet. In the chill wind, her ragged cloak fluttered like the tatters of some ancient spider's web. She'd wait 'til Redhale had caught up with her rapid striding, before turning to face the colossal edifice. "There is it.. headquarters. Just a word of warning. Don't listen to the voices. Don't lose me in the hallways. Don't take anything as entirely real, but don't presume it isn't, either. Above all.. be prepared to face the consequences of what you are about to do. Any questions?" The unwell half-elf was given an expectant look, Tene's features stamped with a sheen of what could have been nervous trepidation.
Redhale holds up his right hand, index finger raised, "Just one..." The man looks up at the building with a mingled expression of hope and fear, "What exactly might happen should I go through with this, adversely I mean. You said you couldn't be sure but..." The man shrugs, standing his ground for the time being though obviously wanting to get moving.
Tenebrae shrugged, fingers closing what remained of the hem of her cloak to tug it close against the gusting breeze. "Can't say for sure. There's a pool in there, the water black as onyx. It's a living thing, I'm sure of it, though nothing of this world, I fear. And it grants wishes. Desires, more precisely, though what you truly desire isn't always what you'd ask it for. But that's what you get- you heart's desire. The cost.." She glanced down at her threadbare garment. "It takes something you need. You might not know you need it, until its missed. It's the way of this place, everything in shrouds and shadows."
Redhale listens to the woman intently, brow furrowed beneath his mask. Once she had finished he nodded his head, looking to the imposing structure and back to Tenebrae, "Lead the way then..." He speaks quietly and low, indicating forth with his hand. Already he is seeming calmer, perhaps knowing just a bit more about what is to come helped ease him, perhaps he simply just wishes to get through this ordeal as soon as he can. It is obvious he misses his powers, which apparently are used to keep his entire life together and working, even if there is little use for them by other people.
Tenebrae let out a sigh that would not be heard over the whistle of the wind, and stepped forward into the darkling grasp of the fortress' shadow; black of tresses and grey of garb, she'd almost blend, chameleon-like, to the surrounds. The cyclopean building loomed overhead, its walls bastions of vast blocks, irregular of shape and cut to many angles, that slotted together like the pieces of an insane puzzle. She'd lead Redhale through the scrollwork iron gates, mammoth and twisted, the design a discomfiting mockery of arcane symbologies; from there, to the hallway. "Hold to the edge of my cloak," she'd instruct him. "Don't let go, or listen to whispers. It's not somewhere you'd want to be lost." And indeed, the tortuous twists and turns that path into the building took, with its many off-shooting passages and the odd sense of often doubling-back would prove adequate explanation for the warning. That, and the susurrating, sensual hiss of a breeze that had no business being there, the echo of it against the walls resembled half-formed words- Tene was immune to them, but she couldn't be sure of what the half-breed might hear, so she'd reach behind to grasp his wrist and tug him onward, toward the clan's vast Hall.
Redhale did exactly as Tenebrae told, while venturing into unknown territory it was always wise to follow advice. Indeed several times during their journey through the hallways he did slow, his mind easily preyed upon by the atmosphere while in his current state. Strange noises tugged at his attention and once he did falter, though a hand gripping his wrist pulled his attention back to reality and he continued forth with her. A sigh of relief was heard as they entered the open hall, turned into one of wonder as he let his optics survey the area. After turning a full circle he looked back to Tenebrae, voice choked a little again, "...Interesting spot... Now what?" He was either nervous of how exactly to proceed or, and perhaps more likely, had somewhat forgotten what they were here for as they had followed the odd corridors that led here.
Tenebrae had halted them just inside the great, open space. She was used to the way folk reacted to the Hall. Truly, the room was enormous; its dimensions were not congruent with the fortress' less lofty exterior, and the furnishings all seemed outsized, as though build for beings of larger stature than elf or man. Tene raised a wry chuckle at Redhale's understatement, a forced humour to ward off the dread that ever threatened to deaden her will not to turn tail and run from this place. A forefinger peeked from under her cloak to indicate a stone pool in the centre. "There it is. Redhale.." Turning to face him, her eyes were grave. "Listen to me carefully. That Pool.. it's bad enough looking into it, and you will need to place your arm in, is my feeling. People.." her breath caught, images of those lost to Eldred waters rising in her memory. ".. have been drawn in, and never come back. Or returned insane, or vastly troubled. I'll secure you, against that danger." From her pack the woman drew a rope, not taking time for niceties as she tied it around his waist, knotted it firmly. "Remember, focus on what you most desire, try to really feel that want. Hopefully it'll feed on what's in your mind, and not something deeper. Now, tie that rope to the pillar over there. Then, kneel by the Pool." She, herself, seemed unwilling to near the thing.
Redhale took the rope as if in a daze, slightly nervous now that he was actually here and ready to go forth with what was needed. Doubts were flaring in his mind as he tied the rope securely and tested it for strength; What if he didn't get his magic back, instead something else? What could be taken from him in using this pool? What on earth was it anyway? He turned to face the pool, gulping as he shuffled towards it. Despite being rattled by the situation, something the man considered an uncommon occurrence, he seemed to calm as he drew near, either egged on by some deeper power or simply accepting the facts. As he kneeled at the edge he seemed completely calm, then his demeanour broke. Sitting at the edge of the pool nausea hit him and he swayed a little, threatening to fall over. In an attempt to regain composure he freed his head from mask and hood and breathed deep, eyes looking elsewhere around the strange room, eventually settling upon Tenebrae with wordless doubt.
Tenebrae felt as might a child looking into the eyes of a lamb she'd raised, held in the arms of a father who'd carry the creature to the slaughter-block. The vampiress did not speak, her voice frozen in her throat, but would nod a reassurance as best she could. It felt like the lie it was, heavy and venomous in her mind. The black waters, not truly waters at all but only holding the appearance, were as still as though frozen, the ripple-less surface reflecting perfectly the torches - that oddly had been already lit on their entrance - and uncanny figures carved on the walls surrounding, in the manner of a mirror of polished obsidian. She could do nothing now, but wait and watch, and though she didn't dare to pray to any god in this hellish building's confines, would make an inner wish that Redhale be one of the lucky ones, and remain relatively unscathed by his quest.
Redhale turned his head back to the pool, though something about it seemed to offend him and his gaze averted once more, again taking in the surroundings, noting the more prominent features of the room. At the same time one shivering hand removed his gauntlets, allowing them to simply drop to the floor with a clatter, the left hand glove revealing nothing at the end of it's arm after being unfastened from it's spot at the end of one mangled sleeve. His attention was still wandering about the room, allowing at least some part of the man to be in wonder and wishing he could note down some features of this place to keep with his rarely seen stack of notes, when his hand stretched towards the dark pool. One finger touched the surface and a miniscule bolt of energy ran up the half elf's arm, causing him to jump a little. Encouraged, though still refusing to regard what was going on with his gaze, Redhale plunged his hand beneath the surface... A smile spread itself across his face fairly quickly as the pool apparently did exactly what the man wanted. He stretched a little as he kneeled at the edge of the pool, feeling his dearly missed powers return to him. His eyes stared at Tenebrae from over his shoulder; though the man's face was still haggard and sallow you expected he would deal to that once this event was over. As it seemed the transfer neared an end Redhale's arm dove a little deeper into the pool, and his eyes finally jerked back to the black liquid. With little warning the man's body hurled forwards, plunging face first into the pool and disappearing up to his neck in the substance before the rope pulled taught. The scarred stump at the end of his left arm pushed against the edge of the pool, unable to find grip and succeeding in only giving the rope short moments of slack. Seconds passed slowly as you could hear muffled shouts come from the man. Without warning, though with some measure of relief, the half elf's body was hurled backwards, gasping heard as his head is freed. The man sits in a daze with his back to you, deathly silent though not showing any stress through his body language, breathing even and steady. Redhale stretches his back and as he does so you notice a dripping sound, soft yet steady patting on the floor of the chamber.
Tenebrae was the cause of that abrupt withdrawal he made from the darkling waters, fingers wrapped hard to the saviour-rope and hauled with her preternatural strength to pull the man from the maw of what was likely his doom should he stay half-submerged. She let the rope slacken as he landed on the floor, trying not to notice the sluggish, ebon rivulets that dripped to the stone below him and seemed to somehow -writhe- toward the main body of the Pool, as though seeking refuge with their matrix. "Redhale..?" His name was a breath on her lips, a desperate question.
Redhale looked around to the voice of Tenebrae dreamily, though looked may be an odd word to use in such circumstances. His turning revealed a nightmarish image. In the centre of the man's face, where his eyes should have been, were two fleshy holes. Lids had been torn off neatly and eyeballs simply gone, each socket allowing a thin trail of blood to run down his cheeks, meeting at his chin. The half elf's face had become a kind of sick parody of the mask he carried with him, which you could see lying on the ground just beyond where he sat, "Something's wrong, I can't feel my face... Tenebrae..." He looked rather disappointed, perhaps unknowing to his condition, though after a moment he turned again, and his expression changed as he turned. A hand was held out to open air and closed upon itself and he whispered a few words. He would have closed his eyes in some form of contentment, though the muscle movement merely twisted his eye sockets and gave his expression, otherwise rather agreeable, a ghoulish nature.
Tenebrae’s stomach lurched, the sanguine thickness of her last meal rising sourly to her throat. She swallowed, hardly breathing.. “Dear gods…” The words were ragged, only half-spoken, and followed by no others as she stumbled toward the pillar where the rope was tied, though never looked away -- could not look away -- from Redhale's ghastly visage. When the sisal cord had stopped resisting her trembling fingers' attempt to unknot it and slithered free of its hitching-place, Tene forced herself to make a single step toward the half-elf, though her legs threatened to buckle beneath her, and every nerve in her body was screaming for her to bolt. "Your.. eyes.." The grisly pared-out holes where orbs had rested seemed to gaze in empty accusation at her. "We have to.. Redhale, we have to get out of here."
Redhale seems to only vaguely listen to Tenebrae, though responds to her desire to leave. He stands, rope slipping off him easily, evidence that he has indeed regained his powers. He opens his hand with some sense of regret and holds it out to Tenebrae, "You may have to lead me again, I can't see very clearly. I think it did something to my face..." After speaking he looks behind him, a smile turning up the corners of his eye holes and causing more blood to flow, a second snaking stream falling from the right one and meeting with the first halfway down his cheek. You hear him mutter something like "come on" over his shoulder before turning to face fowards again, hollowed sockets staring at the woman with an unexpected and disturbing amount of emotion.
Tenebrae needed no further urging. She moved quickly to take his sleeve, ignoring the inexplicable feeling in the vacant holes and the blood wept from rent sockets, and led Redhale back into the labyrinthine corridor and out to the Gates. Passing the archway that served as the fortress' mouth, she would shudder and sigh her relief, leaning on the newly-blinded man as her limbs weakened once more. "I'm so sorry..." There was a genuine regret in the woman's tone, while she ushered him out to the healthier air beyond the pall of the headquarters’ shade. "I never thought.. Redhale, your eyes.."
Redhale follows Tenebrae through the mazelike hallways, looking back every now and then with a smile or chuckle, and stopped as they emerged, feeling the light upon his face. He stumbles a bit as Tenebrae leans on him unexpectedly, but holds still once he realises. Upon hearing her words he lifts his still ungloved hand to his face, feeling around his right eye. He immediately regrets the decision and flinches a little, gasping. A moment later he reaches to his face again, more gently, and once he places his finger actually into the abscess where his eye should be jerks his arm down. His breath quickens and his brow furrows, encouraging more blood yet to flow, before looking to one side, "Yes... But I'll be fine..." He looks down at his feet for the moment, blood dripping from his chin, and now his nose, onto the field at his feet.
Tenebrae said, unconvincingly, "Yes, you'll be alright." He wouldn't see the troubled look she wore. "But I think we might find you a healer, anyway, to tend to those sockets, alright?" Hooking her arm to his again, she'd turn him northward, if he assented, and start pacing back toward the Gorge overpass. "We'll head to Corpse, it's warm there, and I'll get you a drink, while we wait." She’d have to rouse Steadman and send him for help. As they walked, she had the urge to glance back at the Eldred fortress, and gave in to it. Something else to add to her regrets-- the building seemed to -shift- in some indefinable way, as though internally reconfiguring itself, its exterior stones sliding to new interlocking patterns. The fortress was.. growing? Tene shuddered at the thought, and looked away.