A Burning House
Part 1
"Only a fool fights in a burning house."
--Klingon proverb
===
Dramatis Personae:
Tennibrook Balmossie, Air Marshal of Dethsiris
James Vodera, Dethsiris Rook Rider
Dame Tennibrook Balmossie is in the rookery with her black-feathered, orange-beaked rook bird, Jilbo, grooming out his feathers as her mount lets out little coos of delight and occasionally brings one of his feet off the ground to scratch at the air behind him in pleasure. She's preparing to take him out on a patrol, and she always grooms him before tacking him up.
James`Vodera-Deth was not far from the rookery, being in the mephos barn tending to Azal, lightly patting her neck as he brushed her purple mane out. "Ready to go, girl?" he asked the large creature, who lifted her head to look at him with azure gaze and trill at him before she stood up. "Heh, alright alright, lets go then." James clicked once with his tongue as he headed out of the barn, Azal plodding happily along behind him.
Tenni finishes grooming Jilbo and begins tacking him up. The four-tailed vulpine paladin cleric is dressed in a mithril chain mail shirt over a green-and-gold gambeson; black pants; and black boots; with mithril gauntlets and greaves, and a mithril longsword, mithril dagger, and iron shield, her sole remaining heirloom as far as weapons are concerned. Seeing James and Azal approaching-- Tenni had specifically requested that James go out with her today on patrol-- Tennibrook comments to her compatriot, "You and Azal have got a very good rapport going."
James`Vodera-Deth came to a rest a few feet from Tenni and Jilbo, Azal pausing just behind him though she did trill at Jilbo upon seeing him; James nodded slightly to Tenni's comment, chuckling as Azal's head appeared at his side to nuzzle him. "Aye, I've been around her since she was a hatchling... She knows me about as well as I know her." As he said this he'd pat Azal's snout, who trilled again before pulling her head away.
Jilbo replies to Azál's trill by squawking, "AZAL!" and leaning into her nuzzling; as before when they met, Jilbo is absolutely smitten by the lovely mephos. "I can't believe how selfish I was when I won the lottery and earned Jilbo. I wanted a mephos instead, and I said as much. Now I can't imagine life without him." Tennibrook gives Jilbo a gentle scritching beneath his chin, and the mephos murrs, "LOVE YOU, MAMA!" "I love you too, sweetheart," Tennibrook says.
James`Vodera-Deth grinned a bit as a gloved hand smoothed his beard. "Same here, I can't even fathom not having Azal in my life," he'd say before reaching hand out to stroke her snout again. "Isn't that right?" he'd ask as he glanced down at his mephos, who rumbled and nuzzled her head into his side. "Heh, so, shall we get going then?" he asked as he turned mismatched gaze back to Tennibrook.
"Yes, we shall," Tenni says with a grin. She climbs aboard Jilbo and leads him to a small clearing. "We're going to make a full circuit of the northern sector of Dethsiris, starting west to the vulpine temple, and then down south."
James`Vodera-Deth flicks his ears a bit as he listens, nodding once to confirm before he climbed into Azal's saddle, auspiciously devoid of the normal safety straps you'd see on a mephos saddle; instead boots found their way into a pair of tailored slits cut into the saddle flaps as he settled himself, picking up the reins. "I'll follow you then, Tenni."
Tennibrook gets Jilbo off to a running start and lifts him up into the air; the rook expertly retracts his feet like landing gear to allow for better aerodynamics. They soar 50 feet into the air, and make their way in the direction they were facing, which is west, towards Shuka Triesta's temple. Tenni glances over her shoulder to see James's position.
James`Vodera-Deth would have taken off right after Tenni, Azal's wings flapping hard to get them airborn quickly to keep pace; the pair would fall into line behind Tenni and Jilbo but off to their left a bit, as Tenni looked one of James hands would lift and wave, before giving a thumbs up.
Jilbo and Azal are going slowly enough that Tenni and James are able to communicate as they fly. "Perfect flying weather," the fox says. "Not too hot, not overly windy. But you feel the way the wind ruffles through your tail, and floats underneath your mount's wings? I live for that feeling."
James`Vodera-Deth sat rather relaxed in the saddle, nodding slightly as he listened. "Aye, couldn't have asked for a better night... Nearly full moon and not a cloud to be seen." He said as free hand gestured upwards into the night sky. "You expect we'll see anything tonight?" He asked then as they flew on.
"It's entirely possible," Tenni says. "One thing I've noticed about serving noble houses is that things are never quiet for long. I enjoy the little bursts of action, myself. Helps remind me of what I'm fighting for." They pass the vulpine temple on its right, and swoop around it to start traveling south.
James`Vodera-Deth nodded slightly, chuckling even as he thought about that. "Yeah, things were never dull in House Fire when L`aquera was still running it" He said as he tried to remember half of the things that happened there, but deaths cold touch had eaten holes into his memories here as well. As they passed the temple in that wide curve James would bank a bit lower, taking the time to get a better look at the place before climbing back to Tenni's altitude.
From The Lady's temple, Tenni and James travel south towards the portal, and in the distance, there's some light on the ground. At first, Tenni just thinks it's the last bit of sunset, or perhaps a fully lit-up house, but then she realizes it's something far worse. "James," she says. "We've got a fire to the southwest. Looks like a single brick house, two-story."
James`Vodera-Deth blinked and turned his attention to the southwest, quickly spotting the building in question. "I doubt thats an accident." He said as he snapped the Azal's reins. "Lets go, Azal." He was already banking to break formation, strong flaps carrying them towards the fire. As they came in for a landing James was already leaping from Azal's back to the ground, eyes darting here and there as he took in the situation. "This looks bad, Tenni." He didn't know if she had followed him, so those words sent to her via the Message spell.
Tenni lands behind James and climbs off of Jilbo; as soon as they land, a very pregnant chirot woman rushes up to James. "Please, you've got to help!" she says. "My husband and my parents are still in there! He ran back in to save them!" She has a look of absolute panic on her face, as well as soot and some blood.
James`Vodera-Deth nodded grimly to the woman, pointing back towards Tenni. "Get back, I'll handle this." With those words the hellcat strode forward until he was close to the house, holding out his hands towards the inferno as he concentrated; slowly tendrils of smoke and fire began to draw towards James outstretched hands, his face twisting with effort to bring the blaze under control. Slowly the fires began to recede, but before they could go down too far James was forced back by the front door blowing off its hinges due to a backdraft. "Shit!" Word voiced as he narrowly avoided being hit.
Tenni stays far back from the house, comforting the pregnant woman in her arms as James tries to dampen the flames with his powers. When James is nearly hit by the flying door and makes his exclamation, Jilbo hears it and exclaims, "SHIT!" If not for the fact that the situation is very dangerous right now, Tenni would be upset that Jilbo learned that word. What's more important, however, is James's condition. It looks like the door just missed him. "Are you all right?" Tenni asks. "Can you get the flames out?"
James`Vodera-Deth was right back to his original pose quickly, hands reaching as he drew on the house fire again. "I'm working on it, but I've never put out a house before!" James called back as he began to approach the house then, pulling on energy of the fire more and more until his gloved hands began to smoke; the fire was indeed going down, albeit slowly but he kept his efforts up despite the wave of burning pain he felt in his hands. Eventually he pulled one hand back and lifted it skywards, releasing a torrent of flame into the night sky like a signal flare in an effort to redirect the energy he was holding.
As James shoots a large flame into the sky, redirecting the fire of the house, part of the doorway comes down, still smoking but no longer on fire. The pregnant chirot says, "They're in the bedroom on the right side of the first floor!" Tenni directs James to help her unclutter the doorway, and the two of them crawl on their hands and knees towards the aforementioned room to avoid the smoke. Tenni lifts part of her gambeson up to cover her mouth. They find the hardy, barrel-chested chirot man in the bedroom, struggling to lift a wooden beam that had fallen down onto his in-laws and trapped them in their bed. The older chirots are gasping in pain, and Tenni can surmise that several of their ribs are broken. The man sees help coming, and the first thing he asks is, "Is my wife safe?" He struggles to get the beam off, but he can't lift it alone.
James`Vodera-Deth was still working to lower those flames even as they began entering the house through his will alone; James couldn't help but cough as they crawled but he didn't bother with a face covering as they emerged into the bedroom. "She's safe, let me help you." James moved to stand beside the chirot man, his body straining as they both tried shifting that heavy beam; seeing it was barely moving James lifted his voice above the noise in his head. "Need a little help here Tenni, grab the other end if you can!"
Tenni is down at the side of the two older chirot, about 60 years old each, checking them with the Discern Ailment spell on her enchanted ring. "We've got a problem," she says. "Their legs are broken, and they each have multiple rib fractures. Even if we got the beam off of them, they can't get up on their own." Fortunately, Tennibrook is a priest, and has magic at her disposal. "I'm going to lift the beam with my Titan's Touch spell, and then James, you grab the man, and you, the woman. On three."
James`Vodera-Deth felt his ear twitch as he listened to Tenni a grimace on his face as he relaxed slightly, looking at the other man and nodding to each other before looking back to Tenni, both of them making ready to grab up the two elder chirot once the beam was moved. "One.... two....." he'd slow slightly, looking to Tenni to be sure she had her magic ready to go. "Three." As Tenni's spell allowed her the power to move the beam James and the chirot man moved quickly, James grabbing up the elder male in a hoisted carry in both arms, careful not to jostle him too much.
On the count of three, Tennibrook casts her Titan's Touch spell, and lifts the heavy wooden beam, which probably weighs about 300 pounds, high above her head. As James grabs the old man, the 30-something father-to-be tenderly scoops his mother-in-law up off the bed, and she lets out an anguished cry as her rib bumps against his arm. "Sorry, Mama," he murmurs gently. James and the chirot carry their charges out of the room as Tenni heaves the wooden beam to the side of the bed-- and falls over, her stamina all but depleted. Doubling over, she coughs, stars appearing in her vision.
James`Vodera-Deth paused at the exit of the room when he heard the thud behind him, turning to cast a worried look at Tenni. "Come on Tennibrook, on your feet!" He'd call to his friend, his upper body beginning to slowly emit tendrils of smoke as he still drew from the fires around them, still working to snuff the fire but at the risk of his own health as his body strained to contain it all; James turned to the other man, shooing him on. "Go, go!" he said as he followed after with his charge in arm.
Tenni feels herself on the verge of losing consciousness, but she staggers forward one step at a time as the man gets his mother-in-law out of the smoke-and-fire-ravaged house. Tenni grits her teeth, digging fingers and toes into the wooden floor as she moves down the hallway. Her face, neck, hands, and tail-fur are covered with soot.
James`Vodera-Deth was coughing by the time he got his charge out of the smoldering house, setting him down as gently as he could before he turned and ran back inside the house, quickly finding Tenni he'd come to her side; taking her arm he'd pull it across his shoulders to support her, taking measured steps as he helped her out of the building. Once outside he could barely hold those flames anymore, releasing Tenni's arm James stumbled a few feet away from her and the chirots before falling to his knees as more smoke poured from his clothing before he lifted his head skyward and yelled out in pain, a heavy gout of fire accompanying it as both erupted from his throat.
Tenni leans weakly on James's body as she allows him to help her out of the house; slowly she gains her footing and is able to assist him in moving her. When he releases her arm, she falls to her knees, coughing desperately to get air into her lungs. She rolls over onto her back, and at about the time James breathes fire out into the darkness, several people wearing Dethsirian uniforms come to help Tenni and James. "We saw the light in the sky and got here as soon as we could," one says. They load the injured elders onto Floating Discs, and one comes over to heal Tenni's smoke damage.
<+James`Vodera-Deth> By the time James is through with the display of fire he'd slump and fall over onto the ground, hands clutching at his throat as he gasped for air; one of the healers would come over to assist him, stripping off his robes and jacket and shirt to reveal second degree burns on most of his torso. "You should not have pushed yourself so hard, sir." words spoken to the hellcat as healing was applied to him. As his burns slowly healed back up James could finally catch his breath, panting as he started to sit up. "What about... Tenni..?" he'd ask as gaze came across his fallen comrade.
Tenni gasps as she suddenly regains her breath from the healing energy rushing through her battered lungs. She has some first- and second-degree burns too, that are slowly healing. "I'm feeling... a little better," she says, her coughing beginning to subside. She realizes that that first fiery plume from James before they'd entered the building, that he'd cast into the night sky to dissipate the flames' energy, had served as a beacon to the healers and fire brigade now present. "You're both heroes," the pregnant woman says. "Thank you." She places her hands on James and Tenni's arms. "How could this have happened?" her husband asks. "We weren't using the fireplace, and we'd extinguished our cooking fire." One of the fire brigade members speaks up, and says, "Ma'am, sir... I don't think this was an accident." He holds up a bundle of white feathers.
James`Vodera-Deth was nearly fully sat up when he saw those white feathers in the mans hand, brow arching slightly as he looked over to Tenni, a look of confusion on his face. "Ok... I'm at a loss... What's with the feathers?" He asked as he still panted for air. After another couple moments James would stand, albeit slowly, back to his feet and make his way on unsteady steps back over to Tenni, motioning at the feathers. "Any ideas?"
Tenni is a bit slower to get to her feet, but is aided by one of the healers giving her a Medium Stamina Potion to help her regain some energy. After the use of her Titan's Touch spell to lift that tremendously heavy wooden plank, she'd been wiped out and had needed James to come back for her and rescue her. It had been a team effort all the way through; even the head of the victimized family had had his role to play. Tenni looks at the feathers and has an idea what they symbolize, but before she can speak, the man of the house speaks up. "*Torians,*" he says, spitting it as an invective. "I can't believe they'd stoop so low." His wife lays a comforting hand on his arm. "I can," she says. "The Morannia family has been our family's sworn enemy for seven generations. More than one of the fights between us has ended with one of us burying a loved one." "Yes," her husband says, "but they've never done *this* before. Our homes, and our children, have always been off-limits."
James`Vodera-Deth turned slowly to face the chirot man, brow raised. "Torians?" Gaze would go back to the bundle of feathers with a sigh. "Why is it always a generations long feud?" This was more muttered to himself before his voice raised back up again. "Tenni... I'm honestly not sure how we should handle this..." He said as he looked back to Tennibrook, his right hand reflexively closing as he bit back his growing outrage. "My own wife is chirot, and this.... This angers me..." As he finished his hand would close tightly into a fist with several loud pops before it trembled, that anger he mentioned just barely kept under control.
Tenni lays a comforting hand on James's shoulder, and speaks professionally to the man and his pregnant wife. "We will investigate this, and I give you my word that I'll do my utmost to make sure the person responsible for this is brought to justice. In the meantime, I request that you be our guests in the castle until things quiet down and you can get your house rebuilt." The man speaks up. "That won't be necessary. The Trenlo family is a hardy sort, and I don't intend to back down from those Morannia bastards." But his wife counters, "Darling, I don't feel safe. If they're willing to do even this, there's no telling what they'll do. I think we're better off taking protection where we can." The man looks at his wife. Then speaks to Tenni and James. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" Tenni nods. The two go off on a sidebar, and Tenni looks at James. "What do you think?" she asks him. "You think it's the Morannia? Or someone setting them up?"
James`Vodera-Deth stilled his trembling fist at Tenni's touch, still mad but not to the point of wanton killing as he took a breath to settle himself, looking between Tenni and the smoldering house as he shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure, I'd wanna have a talk with these Morannia's before I jump to a brash decision, y'know?" He sighed and slumped his shoulders a bit, still exhausted from the ordeal with the house. "But not tonight, if I try talking to these people tonight I'll likely flame first and ask questions later." As he spoke he'd pull a small flask from a pouch on his belt, opening it and taking a short swig before recapping it, offering it out to Tenni. "Drink? Its only water."
Tenni nods, "Don't want that to happen. We want to ask them some questions, not kill them." She takes the offered flask and sips a little bit. The water feels good; she didn't realize how much water she'd lost in the fire. "Tomorrow afternoon, then, on our patrol. Of course, we'll need to ask the Trenlos where they are." Speaking of which, the husband and wife break their huddle to speak to the Dethsirian soldiers. "We'll go with you," he says. "Mama and Papa need the help of your healers anyway. And we want to be close to them." "But we want answers," the woman continues. "Whoever did this almost destroyed all that's left of our family. Our family's past, present, and future." She pats her belly.
James`Vodera-Deth nodded slightly as he listened to Tenni, feline ears twitching as he looked at the husk of the house again. "Aye, tomorrow then, when we're both not sore and agitated from this... Mess..." As the chirot family came back from their huddle and spoke their plans, James would nod. "We'll get you those answers, for now listen to the soldiers, they'll get you safely to the castle for the time being." He turned away from them then and gave a sharp whistle, and Azal, who'd been sitting off to the side with Jilbo came plodding over, her head nuzzling James exposed torso. "I'm fine, I'm fine." He said soothingly to the mephos as he patted and rubbed her muzzle.
"Jilbo, here boy!" Tenni says, and he takes off about two feet into the air, tucking his four legs, and zooms over to Tenni, landing about a yard in front of her. "MAMA!" he exclaims. "JILBO WORRY!" Tenni strokes him beneath the chin lovingly. "I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry. But I'm okay." She looks to the Trenlo family. "I'm sorry about your home. We'll do what we can to make you whole again." She climbs up onto Jilbo. "Jilbo, back to the castle." He gets a running start and takes off.
James`Vodera-Deth gave Azal one final pat on her neck before he mounted up as well. "Follow Jilbo." At the command Azal spread her wings out fully, several flaps taken before she was airborn as well, soaring after the rook and Tenni.