#mournholdrp

[mournholdrp]

Chapter 9

(Bigger picture-> LINK)

Ilyssa Therayn

Maggoth’s younger sister, eldest of all his siblings. She chose to leave her family city in order to see how the life in bigger and more civilized settlements looks like. She’s been living with Maggoth for quite a long time, both of them enjoying each other’s company and the opportunity to divide housework in two.

Ilyssa is a short, rather plump girl with long, chestnut hair – straight and silky, in opposite to her brother’s. They have rather similar facial features, though it’s hard to notice due to the disfigurement of his face. She dresses in a very feminine way, most of time she can be seen in a sleeveless dress or a blouse and a long skirt. Also, no matter what kind of weather is outside, she never wears any shoes other than sandals. She likes to wear warm, earthen colours, such as greens and browns, usually spiced up with multiple colourful ornaments, embroidery or various trinkets. Everything is good, as long as it’s bright, pretty and shiny. She makes most of these embellishments herself, since she is a skilled craftsman – and she never lets other forget about that, usually showering them with small gifts, such as an embroided scarf, a necklace or even a clay pot.

She is a really cheerful person, optimistic, kind-hearted, thoughtful and generally she tries her best to always stay positive – and to make others feel the same. This may be tiring, especially after a longer time, but most people see it as charming, spontaneous and definitely genuine. She is also very clumsy, often tripping over her own legs, getting tangled in her skirt or just bumping into things. Another important trait is how talkative she is. Once she starts talking, she can go on and on for hours, chatting about everything, quite chaotically and fast, but with a lot of interest and enthusiasm. What people tend to miss, is that she is a really good listener. She is able to pick a lot of information from listening to others, and she has quite good memory. Her natural charm is also very helpful, since people seem to trust her quickly. She almost never complains, which is pretty unusual habit for a Dunmer.

Her relationship with Maggoth is a really good one, they care for each other deeply, despite how different they are. She often visits him in the office, where she tends to stay and chat with guards or other workers, sometimes doing small tasks for them. She has a habit of calling her brother a diminutive nickname “Maggy”, which he doesn’t seem to mind at all... at least unless she does it in front of somebody important.

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Maggoth mentioned that they'll talk soon. The cases of attacks and the traitors were still an issue to rosolve. He left the room and Dalance sat near the window, thinking. She needed some time to sort things out and to recover. Soon, Ilyssa came back with a friendly smile on her face.

- Hi again! I hope I won't bother you if I'll be here for a while. Guys from the watch really want someone to stay  in the room.- Ilyssa said.

"I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I jumped out after this assasin "- Dalance thought, looking away from the window. She seemed less brittle than before and nodded politely;

- It's not a problem.

- I'll try not to talk your ear off! It will be quite hard, I always wanted to see you, especially after all the stories I heard. Even if the bards tend to exaggerate, as they always do, you are still amazing! But... yes, I was supposed not to talk you to death, especially since you are still tired I guess. If you want to eat or drink something just say the word, I'll ask the cook to prepare something.

Dalance smiled slightly in response and walked back to her bed to sit on it. She habitually wanted to take her schoes off but there was no need right now. Her feet were covered with thick layer of bandages. She silently comited not to leave the house without footwear ever again. Ilyssa, again,was not discouraged by her lack of answear. She sat in the  same spot she was doing her handwork before and took the braid and beading from her pocket to continue it. She glanced at Dalance curiously while doing the adornment.

She endured about a quarter of an hour without speaking.

- Have you met the Ashlanders? - she asked eventually, clearly eager to talk.

- Yes.- Dalance answeared shortly. Ilyssa didn't give up.

- How were they? I know it's a silly question but there are any Ashlanders where we live.. You know, in this part of Morrowind. They prefere those less crowded places with less cities. And there are so many settlements here! Even in the mountainous land I came from are quite many inhabitants. And I always wanted to meet the Ashlanders...

- They're an interesting community... Very conservative one.

- Oh. Yes, I guess they don't like outlanders, even dunmer outsiders. And what they're like when you get to know them a bit better?

- Still, intereting and conservative.- Dalance paused for a while like if she was checking if her answear was satisfactory.- And once you are entitled to be the part of their little society they... the'yre good and righteous dunmers. And very persistent. Those are harsh lands they live in.

Ilyssa figured out, that Dalance isn't really eager to tell stories about Ashlanders, so she changed the subject of the conversation quickly.

- They always seemed so interesting to me, but I doubt I'll ever have an opportunity to meet any of them... And how do you find Mournhold?

- The city is beautiful.- Dalance gave the short answear again. She found it hard to descibe it and remain diplomatic. Terms like "cold", "overwhelming", "associated with unpleasant memories" came to her mind.

- Yes, it's so beautiful and so... huge. And a bit alien. Maggy's been living here for years, he knows every corner of it, but I came to the city quite recently. I think I still like Akamora better, even if one hat to climb to get anywhere. And it's so... strange here, especially after the plague. It seems serene, but also so sad at the same time. But I guess all big cities are like this.

- I guess so.

- I wouldn't like to live here on my own. It's different when I have my brother here, even if he is at work for the better part of the day, it's still nice to sit and talk in the evening. I guess that's why I'm talking so much, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. - she smiled slightly.

- No. Don't worry about it.

Dalance was a bit embarassed with her lack of enthusiasm for talking but she really didn't feel like doing it. But still tried to. Her mind still felt clouded. Was she usually this frigid?

Ilyssa smile widened after she heard the answer.

- Very well then! It's hard to talk to the guys who guard this place, they are all so serious and quiet, hard to get a single laugh out of them. I think they are afraid it would be inapropriate to talk to me, or that Maggy will get angry at them... and none of them ever was on Vvardenfell. I heard really nasty rumors, people say it's a terrible place, that half of the isle belongs to the Hlaalu and another half to the Telvanni, and what's left is just a grey desert. But I don't think it can really be that bad, I mean... people live there and like it.

- It is said to be savage and horrid. All that is true. And there is no such place as Vvardenfell. It's incredible in a specific way. I personally adore it.

- It really is like that? Amazing. I'd like to see all these fascinating places one day, but I don't think it'll ever happen. I'd ask my brother to take me somewhere, but he's always so busy with his work... and he really hated Vvardenfell. He's been there once, you know, for almost a year. He's been in some cities, but he said that it's mostly just ashes, ruins and rocks, not to mention daedra and corprus. He went back in a terrible mood and only complained about the isle since then. He can be really grumpy sometimes, but it's not so often. And apart from that he is really fine.

- It's not a very friendly place, he has the point. Whatever floats your boat.

- Ah, he said that too, but I hoped he was exaggerating... and he also said that our people... I mean Indoril, that they are much more... unkind towards others on the isle. Less civil maybe, especially with prisoners. He got himself in quite a pickle after he interrupted and investigation led by one of the inquisitors. He was trying to get the interrogated person released, this guy was... a Telvanni I think, or an Ashlander. Or maybe both. They kept him there for days, without a trial, imprisoned under accusation of heresy. And they treated him really badly. I mean, it's scary what kind of people some heretics are, but... they should at least have a real trial. Anyway, Maggy said that after they set that guy free, he wasn't even able to walk. He just took an amulet from the things they gave him back and activated a teleportation spell. He didn't even want to hear about getting help from a local medic, they scared him that much.

- Yeah... it happens. More often than one will admit.

- It really sounds like a dangerous and savage place. - she looked a bit disappointed, but just like previously, she jumped into another subject immediately - and how do you find working with my brother? Just asking out of curiosity, if you don't mind.

- Very good. He's a smart guy.- Another evasive answear came.

- He is, truly. Still, a lot of people seem to be biased because of the scars... really don't know why. I mean, it's not like they really say anything about a person.

-  Exactly.

Ilyssa smiled when Dalance agreed with her.

- Are you hungry? You probably should eat. And I was told not to bother you too much...

- I'm not hungry. And... It's fine. Really. I'm not very talkative and I don't feel well. But I'll gladly listen to what you have to say.

Ilyssa smiled cheerfully whenshe heard that. This wide smile, a certain spark in the eyes and her narrow, pointy nose made her realise that the girl really looked a lot like her brother. It was eerie, especially since the only time when Dalance saw Maggoth smiling this way was during her own interrogation. Still, the uneasy feeling didn't last long, not with Ilyssa's kindness.

- It's really nice of you! I never talked to a real hero before. I mean, there was one guy in our inn in Akamora, he claimed to be a hero of the legion, but he was drinking most of time and telling the same story over and over, more exaggerated every time. And you were in so many places and you have seen so much! You talked to so many interesting people, to the savage Ashlanders, sneaky Hlaalu, weird Telvanni, conservative Dren... and you were fighting with the beasts and defeated the Dreamer... it's all so amazing! Especially from a point of view of somebody who mostly sits around, helping their father in paperwork or making trinkets.

- Maybe.- Dalance to laughed under her breath- But I bet a lot of things from "the casual life in the big city" would be fascinating for me.Those are different points of view.

- Yes, that's true.- Ilyssa smiled again.- But all the stories about the powerful wizards from the north coast, hunters wearing beast hides and feathers, with their faces covered in warpaint, about ancient ruins, filed with darkness... It sounds so wonderful. Too bad I can't fight.

- And what do you want to fight for?

- What for? - Ilyssa seemed rather surprised by the question - Do I need to fight for something? I mean... a lot of people don't really fight for anything, for themselves maybe, but they know how to defend themselves so they can see the world. I can't even hold a sword. I just would like to travel, but it's dangerous, when you don't know how to fight.

- I hope you'll fulfill your dream.

- Thank you! Father has enough daughters to secure the future of his buisness, so maybe one day I'll manage to start travelling on my own. That's one of the reasons why I came here, I wanted to find somebody who could teach me how to fence... you know, to be somebody more than just a daughter and sister. Maggy isn't really happy about it, he says I hae no idea what fighting is really about, but he didn't really try to stop me.

- And have you found somebody to teach you to fight?

- Not yet...- Ilyssa answeared a bit awkwardly.- I mean... yes. But I can't afford it now. That's why I want to earn as much as possible. Sure, I could ask Maggy to help but he'll be angry and he'll claim to know better what is proper for me. But he would agree eventually, I'm pretty sure. But it won't be right to ask him for the money. He has his own expenses. And he thinks I don't know about some of them.- Ilyssa to bursted out laughing.- I don't have a steady job yet. But one merchant eagerly buys my handwork! And sometimes I sell pictures as well. So I'm slowly getting closer to my goal.

- I wish you luck. And competent people to guide you.

- Thank you!  And now... I'll better let you sleep. You look a bit pale. And Maggy won't be happy to see that you're not well rested because I talked all night.

Dalance nodded and layed down more comfortably, looking at the ceiling. She was really tired after all the talking, but it was still really good to have some company. It gave her the feeling of reality and the impression of normal life, which she needed so badly during last few days. She drifted of slowly, listening to the raindrops hitting the window and glass beads clicking in Ilyssa's hands.

[mournholdrp]

Chapter 7

In the beginning Dalance was sure neither where she was, nor what actually happened. She slowly began to receive some signals from her surroundings, heaviness of blanket, softness of bed, the quiet sound of rain, muffled voices from another room, smell of something being cooked... but for a moment all these were just a bunch of loose actuations, severed from their logical meaning. Yet slowly they dragged her back to reality, releasing her from the nice forgetfulness of dreamless sleep. When she opened her eyes eventually she noticed, that she was back in her room at the inn. It was daytime, cloudy and grey, but still it managed to flood the room with bleak light, making the room seem rather cold, morbid and unwelcoming. She closed her eyes once again, giving herself a moment to come around.

She was feeling weary and reluctant to get up. Slowly, memories of the recent events began coming back to her. Chasing the assassin, ghouls, abandoned mansion... images from that night hit her like an avalanche, all what she heard from that masked cleric, his escape, fight with other Indorils... with memories another thing came back: the strong sense of danger. She got up quickly, looking for her sword, ready to fight anything. She scoped the room quickly, realising that her wounds were tended to and she was dressed in clean clothes. She was feeling a slight torpor, which pushed away any other sensations, such as pain or discomfort.

It appeared that in fact – she was not alone. Behind the window she could see a Mohawk characteristic for Indoril helmets and in the room, next to the table was sitting a young, a bit plump but nice-looking Dunmer girl. She was occupied with weaving something with colourful strings and beads, unaware of the fact that Dalance woke up before she got up so violently. When it happened, the girl looked at her slightly surprised for a moment, without saying anything. After she gave Dalance a brief moment to come around, she began to speak in a really cheerful voice, so unfitting in all the greyish, cold atmosphere of the room.

- Hello! You finally woke up I see, it took you quite a long time but I guess it’s no wonder, since you looked really badly when they brought you back here. I mean, not that you looked ugly, just that you seemed to been through a lot, with all the blood, mud and other things on your clothes. You were also a bit blue, it really looked nasty, the medic came right away, even two of them and then it appeared that it mostly wasn’t your blood and everybody calmed down a bit. Still, you looked rather bad, unconscious and fevering, so they decided to let you sleep as long as you need.

Dalance didn't answear, looking at the woman in a very confused fashion. It took a while before she grasped all the given information. Including the fact that she was among allies now. This single claim was enough to calm Dalance down a bit. But she still looked uptight, sitting on the bed instead of laying down what would be more thoughtful in her current state. The view of dunmer lady doing some kind of handwork completely baffled her. Dalance opened her mouth like she was ready to talk but nothing to say came to her mind right now. She looked away at the window, recognising the silhouettes of some guards in the garden. She found it hard to focus, her thoughts wandered back to the last nights events again and again and could not get rid of feeling uncalled-for, incongruous. After all she have heard her wish was to leave the Indorils protection or even leave the city itself.

(Bigger image-> LINK )

The girl went on, clearly not even slightly insulted by the lack of answer from Dalance.

- I have no idea what happened or even where they found you, nobody told me anything and I know it’s because it’s all secret and they can’t talk about it with anybody outside the watch, that would be illegal and somebody could get punished for telling even a slightest detail, they definitely can’t do that. But the most important thing is, wherever they brought you from, that now you are looking much better. In the morning one of the medics said that you should wake up soon, since you recovered from fever, but I wasn’t so convinced after you were laying unconscious for such a long time. Oh, and by the way... aren’t you hungry? I can bring you something to eat.

- No. I'm not hungry...- she said shortly. After a little moment and before the dunmer started another monologue, she added:  - Why are you here?

- Are you sure?... Ah, I’m sorry, where are my manners?! Probably left them next to my raincoat, you know it’s easy to get distracted in such situation, it’s not every day when one meets a hero! My name is Ilyssa Therayn and I am here to... well, basically they asked me to watch over you, making sure that nothing happens and scream when something does. They just wanted me to keep an eye on you for a while without bothering you. Because you know, it would be bad if these guards in heavy armours were constantly walking around your room, they can make enough noise to wake up a dead, not to mention you. And you had to get some rest, you know, so they just walk around the whole building and sit in the main hall. And I hope I didn’t wake you up? I tried to be really quiet, but sometimes when I work I tend to forget myself and I begin humming or whistling, but I didn’t do that, did I? And are you sure you don’t want to eat anything? You look rather pale...

- No.- she repeated, impatiently. She was not eager to talk, her thoughts were elsewhere. Dalance looked around again, anxiously, averting dunmers gaze.- Have the guard that followed me been found? Was anybody else alive in the mansion you found me in?

- Oh my… I really don’t know – she said, shaking her head – They didn’t tell me anything about that what happened before they brought you here, and definitely nothing about anybody being dead. But you know, now that you are awake I should actually let somebody know about it, they will definitely want to talk to you. Unless you want to sleep more, then I can pretend I didn’t see anything. – she smiled a bit impish.

Dalance hesitated with her answer. She wanted to know what was happening and if they discovered anything about this whole conspiracy but on the other hand she wasn't sure if she was ready for questioning and dwelling on a subject. She felt like isolating herself again like she did in the past years. But right now even getting up seemed beyond her means. The feeling of coldness was overwhelming, both physically and inside her. Dalance knew she would not fall asleep then.

- Tell them that I'm awake.

- Of course. I’m sure somebody will come here soon. – she smiled once again before she put her strings and beads down on the table and left the room, closing the door behind her.

[mournholdrp]

Chapter 4

Dalance woke up suddenly, with a strange impression of being observed. The room was silent. For a moment she thought that it was only her imagination or impact of a bad dream. But then she saw a movement; there was a dark figure standing close to her bed. It froze for a moment  when it noticed that she wasn’t sleeping anymore. Before she could do anything the intruder rushed to the window, visibly panicked. Waking her up wasn't the part of his plan, definitely not. Dalance heard a sound of metal hitting the floor, as the dark figure moved swiftly to the window, opening it. For a moment she could see clearly a dark-haired dunmer dressed in leather armour and armed with a crossbow. She sprung out of the bed, grabbing her sword – habitually placed next to her, even during the night... or especially then. The dark figure jumped out. It was a ground floor after all. Dalance didn’t hesitate, and followed him, just grabbing her coat. She never was one to think a lot before doing things, rushing into every situation, without hesitating even slightly or thinking about the danger. Her habit of doing things fast, with not always justified confidence  used to save her life or put her in lethal circumstances. On her way to the window she noticed a dagger, laying on the floor. Though the day was nice, night appeared to be rather cold. Dew on the grass drenched legs of her pants very quickly, but she ignored it, running after the man, who dashed through the garden, heading to the main gate. This guy clearly was there for another assassination attempt and this time she as not going to let him run away. She was aware that she was given some guards to watch over her life but she used to do troubleshoot on her own. Especially when the damn assassin managed to enter her bedroom despite of all the protection. When she passed the main entrance to the inn, two of the guards saw her, and yelled after her. She didn’t answer though, focused on the intruder. It took a lot of effort not to lose him in the streets, but at least the night was quite bright, with two full moons shining in the sky. Soon Dalance heard heavy steps behind her, as the guards managed to follow her. Man with the crossbow was quick, but not quick enough to run away from her – she had quite impressive endurance, both in battle and in running – so after few minutes he turned suddenly, and dashed into one of many entrances, leading to the sewers, disappearing in the darkness. She had no problem following him – the padlock seemed to be broken recently. One of the guards followed her, while another stayed, to call for reinforcements – he had trouble keeping up with their pace anyway. It was no easy task to run in a full armour after all. They descended into the darkness, which quickly proved to be rather difficult to navigate in. The man they were following was ahead of them, they could still hear echo of his footsteps. Guard took one of the torches, which were kept in the barrel next to the entrance, and lit it – if the man was so far already, there was no need for them to stumble into the walls in the pitch dark corridors. Soon the warm light surrounded them, revealing a passage in rather poor condition. Fortunately, this district was left abandoned after the plague and sewers under it were more bearable to walk through than during the times they were in use. It was something. They followed the sound of footsteps and in some areas they could see some footprints in the muck covering the floor. With the light they managed to keep quite a good pace, still not able to catch the intruder, but definitely able to follow him. After some time – though it was hard to say how much, in the darkness everything seemed to go forever, including the long, ruined passages with dirty walls – they walked into a much bigger hall. Dalance remembered these, they usually were place where the drains from few parts of the sewers met, and the sewage was flowing down the central one, to the older part of the sewers. When she saw them first, she was shocked over how big and complicated the whole construction was. One could say that the sewers under Mournhold were almost as big and impressive as the city itself. This hall though was a bit different from what she remembered from when she had to go down the sewers last time, few years earlier. There were piles of debris laying around, quite a lot of it to be honest, and the layer of dark, sticky muck covered the whole floor. And it took her only few steps into the hall to realise that not only it was much harder to breath here, as the air was filled with disgustingly sweet odour of decay, but also the piles consisted of more than just rubble. Corpses. Thousands of corpses piled up, some reduced to the dried bones, some still covered with half dried and half decayed skin, all just laying there in a grotesque mass of bones, limbs and rags. The guard seemed more disgusted than shocked, like he knew about it.

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- Wha... what is *that*?! – she asked quietly, looking around in horror. - During the plague this district had it really bad, it was cut out from the rest of the city in a quarantine. Soon there were more dead then living left there, and since there was not much room to bury the bodies within the district itself so... you know, they had to do something to remove them. So... they began to throw them down through the drains. – he said pointing to the ceiling, where Dalance could see some big grates, probably meant for rainwater to flow down the sewers. – And later nobody really wanted to go there to clean up, people still afraid of the plague or... other things. Dalance didn’t answer, still beholding the horror of the scene. Suddenly she felt that leaving the shoes by the bad was a serious mistake. She didn’t dare to look down and tried not to think about what the thick layer of muck really consisted of, for her own sanity. Fortunately, she didn’t step into anything sharp yet, so there still was a chance to avoid any infections or amputations. Suddenly, she noticed something. The hall was brighter thanks to the grates in the ceiling, so she was able to distinguish some shapes in the distance. And one of them, a familiar dark figure, moved away from one of the larger piles of corpse and debris, heading to the western corridor. Probably he didn’t notice them, with the distance between his and theirs position being rather long, but Dalance told the guard to stay behind one of the crumbling columns. Then she followed the man silently, trying not to step into anything... nasty, which wasn’t an easy task. Fortunately, the man was walking slowly, probably still catching breath after their pursuit, so she managed to get quite close to him, close enough to see that the crossbow he was holding in his hand was a local one, light model mostly associated with smugglers and highwaymen. Unfortunately, it was much darker in the tunnel where he headed, so soon once again she could barely see the tip of her own nose, not to mention the man in dark clothing. Dalance reached the end of the corridor and tried to figure out where to go next. Before she could see anything in the darkness she heard the terrible scream behind her. It was the guard. She reacted immediately, reaching for her weapon. The assassin appeared to be ahead of her. He was alarmed by the scream and just then noticed Dalance and decided to attack. He had a quite clear shot but not enough time to aim. She clinged to the wall to avoid the bolt, uneasy because of the darkness. It was the guard who carried the light and he was nowhere within view. After the loud whoosh cut the air beside her, she leapt forth to reach the attacker before he could reload the crossbow and attacked blindly with her katana. Assassin dodged it, noticeably better managing the darkness. He grabbed her wrist to prevent another attack and tried to disarm her but it wasn't that easy. Dalance fought back, trying to free her hand and give him no chance to reach for any other weapon he might have. They scuffled for a while. Having no shoes wasn't helping, leaving aside feet freezing to the point Dalance wasn't feeling much pain in them, kicking the opponent appeared to be a mistake. She finally managed to free the hand and unbalance her opponent, thrusting elbow into his face, what felt strangely satisfying after the trouble he caused. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and froze motionlessly. The assassin muttered few swears under his breath but suddenly stopped fighting as well- they were not alone in the corridor.

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A whole herd of nasty looking creatures surrounded them, lurking out from darkest nooks of to dilapidating walls and underground ruins. They seemed to be nimble, effortlessly climbing walls, gripping to uneven stone with bony skeleton-like hands with long claws. Their wide jaws were full of sharp teeth and the round heads with small, glassy eyes were focused on two intruders. The beasts were the corpse eaters, ghouls. Considering the amount of dead bodies in the sewers it stroke Dalance that they didn't think of this possibility before.

(Bigger Image-> LINK)

Right now she had no idea what to do, afraid to move or even breath loudly. The creatures could leap at them any moment, the border between their curiosity and ruthless aggression was thin. The only way out was behind the herd...or behind them. There was an old metal door at the end of the passage. She had no idea if they would be able to reach them- let alone to open them but right now it was the only sensible thing that crossed her mind. Fighting this many creatures (especially without armour or shoes!) seemed pointless. The Assassin, looking around in horror, must have reached similar conclusion. And he acted faster. The dunmer  swiftly lunged and started to run, pushing Dalance away. Ghouls reacted immediately. They followed their prey, leaping from their positions, to pushing and shoving fiercely just to reach them. Dalance immediately followed the assassin, trying to reach the door. They got there simultaneously and started to scuffle again, almost desperately, trying to open the door and push the other one away. In a matter of seconds their fight was over- the dunmer was shoved back and had no chance to do anything before the shitload of ghouls bodies pinned him down, attacking with claws and teeth, almost tearing him apart. At the same time Dalance managed to slip through the narrow opening. Metal door were hard to budge with bare hands. She tried to close them in a hurry but ghouls were just there, crowding the entrance in complete chaos as the entanglement of limbs was trying to reach her. She almost closed the door so aperture was narrow but it was the matter of time with their impact. Dalance was in panic and acted more instinctual than rational- she put her hands on the door and focused, trying to summon some magic from the quite pathetic supply of this skill. She felt warmth under her fingers as the metal slab started to heat quickly. She felt pain and was tempted to take her hands off it but managed to withstand it just for a while longer. And it worked. The ghouls, pressing their bodies to the door were effected as well and it was too late for them to back away. Metal was dangerously hot, the flesh touching it melted immediately, turning into a bloody mess. Screeches and shrieks of creatures which were unfortunate enough to stay too close to the hot door pierced Dalance’s ears, as she moved away from them. Her hands were burned nastily, but not that bad as the ghouls on the other side – she could smell the odour of scorched flesh. She stood up, still shaking after this experience and wandered away from the corridor filled with shrieking creatures, stumbling in the darkness. The passage was much cleaner, it resembled sewers much less than the one she left behind, and soon she reached another door, this time wooden and unlocked. Ignoring the sharp pain caused by blisters forming on her hands, she pushed them, entering dusty, cluttered room.   It was not what she expected.

[mournholdrp]

Some armor concepts. Me and Rayhe are both drawing illustrations to the story and we should stay at least a bit consistent with guards appearance. New chapter tomorrow!