Trespassers
Elessaria flew out of the Inn taking the steps two at a time with her cloak billowing behind her. The wards to her building had not been breached — yet; however, the ones guarding the courtyard had been crossed. As she sprinted down the cobblestone lane towards home, the worried empath hoped the enchanted key would alert Michael to the events that were transpiring. After all, that was why she had created it and gifted it to him. When she arrived at the end of the lane that led to Heart Notes, she could hear the alarmed squawking of her pet peafowl over the thundering of her adrenaline infused pulse. The nimble empath skidded around the corner, narrowly avoiding catching a precarious heel in a cracked paver, only to cover her sensitive ears as a piercing shriek of pain reverberated throughout the wrought iron enclosed courtyard. A second cry, just as shrill, but not nearly as loud followed closely behind. Tears clouded her vision, but she pried open the gate from sheer memory, her hands moving deftly and it clattered as it banged into the metal fencing.
The petite elfess nearly stumbled over King John, his wings unfurled as he hissed and pecked out in terror. Reflexively Eless lowered her empathic shielding to release a soothing wave of her mana, letting it flow out from her in a surging wave to soothe the frightened bird. Cleopatra was hiding behind John, but Helena seemed to be missing. The blue flames flared wildly in her eyes and she siphoned off mana from the anger and fear welling up in her, without thinking. A ball of blue flame formed and held in a tiny, trembling palm. A quick survey of the courtyard revealed no readily visible intruder. In the distance she could hear the shouts and footsteps of the Watch, somebody must have alerted them to the disturbance; yet, a muffled, erratic drumming had caught her attention.
Head cocked to one side, the elfess traced the sound, every muscle in her diminutive frame taut with tension. It was fading fast, but even once it fluttered to a halt Eless could easily follow the trail of pain an terror to its source. A gasp of horror tore from her throat. She had found the peahen, Helena, an obsidian dagger pierced each of her beautiful wings, pinning her to the wooden surface of the back door. A rivulet of blood poured from the bird's breast, pooling on the top step, and began to trickle to the next step.
Elessaria flew out of the Inn taking the steps two at a time with her cloak billowing behind her. The wards to her building had not been breached — yet; however, the ones guarding the courtyard had been crossed. As she sprinted down the cobblestone lane towards home, the worried empath hoped the enchanted key would alert Michael to the events that were transpiring. After all, that was why she had created it and gifted it to him. When she arrived at the end of the lane that led to Heart Notes, she could hear the alarmed squawking of her pet peafowl over the thundering of her adrenaline infused pulse. The nimble empath skidded around the corner, narrowly avoiding catching a precarious heel in a cracked paver, only to cover her sensitive ears as a piercing shriek of pain reverberated throughout the wrought iron enclosed courtyard. A second cry, just as shrill, but not nearly as loud followed closely behind. Tears clouded her vision, but she pried open the gate from sheer memory, her hands moving deftly and it clattered as it banged into the metal fencing.
The petite elfess nearly stumbled over King John, his wings unfurled as he hissed and pecked out in terror. Reflexively Eless lowered her empathic shielding to release a soothing wave of her mana, letting it flow out from her in a surging wave to soothe the frightened bird. Cleopatra was hiding behind John, but Helena seemed to be missing. The blue flames flared wildly in her eyes and she siphoned off mana from the anger and fear welling up in her, without thinking. A ball of blue flame formed and held in a tiny, trembling palm. A quick survey of the courtyard revealed no readily visible intruder. In the distance she could hear the shouts and footsteps of the Watch, somebody must have alerted them to the disturbance; yet, a muffled, erratic drumming had caught her attention.
Head cocked to one side, the elfess traced the sound, every muscle in her diminutive frame taut with tension. It was fading fast, but even once it fluttered to a halt Eless could easily follow the trail of pain an terror to its source. A gasp of horror tore from her throat. She had found the peahen, Helena, an obsidian dagger pierced each of her beautiful wings, pinning her to the wooden surface of the back door. A rivulet of blood poured from the bird's breast, pooling on the top step, and began to trickle to the next step.