Short coming Success
"Wait,
say that again, you want me to help you do what?!" Alexander wrinkled his nose in annoyance,
not that Gilian gave two fucks. The two of them sat in Gilian's office. Well,
he was sitting, Alexander was too busy pacing back and forth, obviously
avoiding the dragon's disorganized mess. His office looked like a hurricane hit
it. Papers, scrolls, and books were scattered across the floor, and what
wasn't, was in several horrendous unorganized stacks. Not to mention all the
energy drinks and whiskey bottles he had thrown all over the place, which was
to help him stay some what sane through this hellish paper work. "Please pay attention this time
Gilian, I'll not repeat myself again." Alexander said, his voice was rich,
strong, yet smooth. "I have gotten confirmation from a source that Kissaki has gained an artifact, one that
holds the power to tell the absolute future." "And that has to do with us sneaking
into that bastard's palace, why?"
Gilian motioned for him to continue. "Haven't you ever wondered how
Kissaki has been so good when we bet on the outcomes of mortals?" Alexander's
eyes grew hard. "If he uses this artifact to predict the outcome, it proves
that he is cheating. And it is against the rules established long before your
existence for such a thing to happen." Gilian rubbed the bridge of his
nose, trying his hardest not to reach over and bitch slap the angelic wolf for
that little insult. It was one thing for the white wolf to come stomping into
his realm and demand his audience, which he truly hated the deity of light for
doing. However, for him to even propose such a ridiculous idea; oh yeah, he
must have lost his mind. Yes, Kissaki was accurate as fuck when it came to the
bets they played. Even though they all could glance into the future, they were never
a hundred percent sure what could or could not happen. So, it had always been
fun to bet on the outcomes. However, he knew for a fact that such an artifact
could not exist. If it did, he would have already had it. "So, Alexander, why don't you just
walk up into his palace like you do my mansion? Then demand him to give you
said artifact?" "Gilian, surely you're not that
stupid?"
"Alexander, surely you're not
trying to get slapped?" They both paused from the loud cough
coming from his office door. Tempest, Gilian's butler and his right hand man
stood at attention, a china tea set with silver engraving in his paw. He gave a
polite nod to Alexander, followed by a trained smile as he placed a cup in
front of each of them. "Sorry to interrupt you, but I thought you both might
want some tea." The beauceron said, pouring their tea while glancing to Gilian.
As well as to stop you from destroying
everything in here. So,
no punting the wolf out of my realm? Damn, I thought that'd be fun! Gilian relayed
through their link, followed by a heavy sigh. "Thank you Tempest. Also
Alexander," he glanced back over to the wolf who stood more at ease, "would you
mind taking a seat? While you're at it, turn down the brightness? I think
Tempest and I both would prefer not to have to wear these every time you're
here." He tapped his sun glasses. Alexander went to say something, but
thought twice about it. His overall aura died down leaving a less glowing wolf
sitting in his presence. "Better?" Gilian nodded as he took off his sun
glasses. Alexander's gaze followed Tempest
for a moment, watching as he took two massive stacks of paper, and carried them
out the door to his desk outside. "I'm still amazed." he finally said, focusing
back on Gilian. "That someone like you, can have someone so diligent, hard
working, and organized as your Second."Please do
not destroy anything. Tempest's thoughts rang loud and clear as Gilian clenched
the arm of his chair. If you do, don't
look to me to help you catch up on any of your work.Bastard. He
snorted, gaining a curious little stare from Alexander. "So why don't you ask
for audience with the big bad ice wolf?" Alexander gave an over exaggerated
sigh as he neatly tucked in his six massive wings to take a seat. "Would you
expect Kissaki to just admit to having such an artifact? That, and without
proper evidence, I cannot convict another of the seven of such a crime." "So, in other words, you want to do
an undercover mission to see if your sources were telling the truth?" Alexander
nodded, taking a sip of his tea. "So why do I have to go with you?" Alexander cocked his brow. "Are you
telling me that the winds would not be interested in such an item that can pull
off something that the gods themselves cannot do?" Okay, he had him there. Though he was pretty
damn certain that no such artifact existed. It wouldn't hurt to join in and see if it was true. That, and if
Alexander's accusations were proved to be false, it did not mean that he still
couldn't possibly... pocket one of the many treasures of Kissaki's realm. This
way he could sell it and pay off his blasted debt to the wolf. A risk he wouldn't
normally take. However, with a scape goat like
Alexander, it was a risk worth taking. Hooking his claw around the tea cup,
Gilian took a deep whiff of the aroma. "How certain are you of this?" "If I wasn't certain, I'd have never
come here." Gilian sighed and took a sip of his
tea before placing it down, "Alright, when are you looking to do this?" The capital in the realm of Ice was as cold as any other day
the dragon had visited. The sky was blanketed in a soft grey as snow showered
down across the buildings that lined the street. It was not a place for the
weak of heart. The cold alone held an icy grip that only those with a body of
steel could take for days on end. That and the inhabitants were not the
friendliest bunch to outsiders. All of this made it hard as hell to
attempt to even get close to the center of the capital by himself. Now with
Alexander tagging along, who was as sneaky as a pissed off Elephant, it made
this mission damn near impossible. Before they left, both Tempest and Gilian
had a hard time convincing Alexander to wear one of the tattered hooded cloaks
they had made. It would meld their presences in with their surroundings so not
to give off their scent nor elements and to make them look like the lower
class. Which meant they had to act the part, a task too degrading for
Alexander. He couldn't count how many times he had to elbow the angelic wolf to
stop acting out of character. After much griping, yanking, and pulling, Gilian was finally
able to get the both of them close to Kissaki's palace without being notice.
From the outside, the dire wolf's palace was like a gothic cathedral made out
of nothing but thick crystal clear ice. In the snow it gave off a hue that set
it apart from all the other ice sculpted buildings in the capital. No matter
how many times he visited the place Gilian couldn't get over just how beautiful
it was. His eyes glanced over to one of the windows that was near the ground.
If his memory proved to be right, that was their ticket in. Tapping Alexander's shoulders, he waited for the white wolf
to stop gazing over the palace. "There? You see that window?" He pointed to a
tiny window near the ground. "If I remember correctly, I caught Kissaki's son
sneaking through that window when he was a cub. It leads to the kitchen and if
I also remember correctly, it's usually unlocked. From there we can climb in
and sneak inside till we find Kissaki's vault. That's where this little
artifact you're looking for should be.""And by any chance," Alexander said as he tilted his head
off to the side to block the oncoming wind, "that you may know the location of
this vault?"Gilian shrugged and huddled up under the cloak. If they
stayed out in this weather much longer he doubted either one of them was going
to be able to move, much less stealthily break into the palace. "Nope, not at
all."
"You can't be serious?""You can't honestly think Kissaki would tell me where his
vault was located?" Alexander sighed. "I was hoping he trusted you more than
that, but the ice shall always be weary of those that are not of their own." He
glanced up and waited for Gilian to give the queue.Well, at least he wasn't going to make this any more difficult. Like they planned before, Alexander lifted
one foot up off the ground as Gilian made a swirl motion with his claw. The
winds were reluctant to move at his command, but allowed the deity of light to
tread on them. This way it would make it a lot harder to hear them coming.With a quick nod to each other, Gilian sprinted off first
with Alexander easily keeping up. At the window, Gilian would whip his cloak
off. With ease, launched himself up on the ledge and shoved open the window.
Then slipped inside. Thankfully there was no one there to see his flawless
entry. His ears perked as he hopped off to the side to let Alexander pull off
the same maneuver, just with more class as he landed with his wings spread out."Show off." Gilian muttered as Alexander looked back at him
with a puzzled look. Apparently the two of them had completely different ideas
for clothing. Gilian wore a long sleeve wool shirt and a pair of jeans.
Alexander wore his best outfit, a silver and gold robe that might as well have
belonged to one of the Vatican priests, minus the atrocious hood. "Nothing." Gilian waved his paw. "Nothing at
all."Alexander didn't look the slightest bit convinced, but he
turned his head to the open kitchen door. "It's been far too long since I last
stepped foot in these halls, so I am not sure where this leads.""Pretty much its the hallway that connects to the main
section of the palace, but also trails off towards the more private areas. I
remember Kissaki taking me down here to his Library to play a game of chess.""Well, since you have more knowledge of our location. You
should lead." Alexander motioned.Shaking his head, he took Alexander along the path he knew.
If the vault was to be anywhere, it had to be in the inner depth of the palace.
Somewhere hard for anyone to reach, as well as a place Kissaki held the
absolute advantage. Nothing suited the dire wolf more than this. As they walked
along, Gilian noticed more and more statues
of woman wearing toga's littered across the floor. Each of which was holding
a glass bowl in one hand that had a blue flame flickering with in it. Not that
Gilian could see any signs of them melting, nor did they seem to rid the halls
of their chilled embrace. Sadly though, he had less time to take in the finer details,
not with having to baby sit Alexander. "Hmm, I know it has
been some time, but I must say. I am impressed with Kissaki's taste." Alexander
said aloud, ready to trail his claws along one of the statues cheeks. Gilian bit his lip as he took hold
of Alexander's paw and pulled it down to his waist. "Don't fucking touch
anything!" He growled at the wolf. "What little does it matter if I
admire the craftsmanship?" Alexander pulled his paw away from Gilian's. His
eyes narrowed as the small rod that connected the matching golden lace around
his hair glowed lightly. "Cause everything here is connected
to Kissaki you dunce. If you touch the statues, he'll sense you instantly. Why
else do you think I have the winds acting as your support to walk on?" Alexander looked thoughtfully for a
moment and nodded his head. "Fair enough. I shall restrain myself. Though it
would be best to continue, the longer we wait the greater the chance of Kissaki
becoming aware of our presence. Whether I touch the statue or not." Gilian slapped his face and shook
his head. Note to self, do not help
Alexander again. "Just, try to be quiet. Would you?" "What little difference does it
make? You are the winds, sound is in your domain." "Yet again we come back to the point
that Kissaki can sense our presence. I'm not risking our asses by over using my
powers on the winds just so Kissaki can pick up on it." Alexander sighed and shook his head.
"This is far harder than I thought it'd be."
This is far more than I need to be dealing with. The scales along Gilian's
spine grew cold, colder than the rest of his body. Grabbing Alexander by the
scruff of his collar, he yanked him around the closest pillar, placing a claw
on the bewildered wolf's muzzle. "Hush!" Gilian hissed. Thump, two more thumps,
five more thumps, seven more thumps. Loud and thunderous, they echoed through
the halls, shaking even the pillars themselves. Ice trolls, gotta love them! If
not for their smell, it's their massive grotesque bodies. Seven marching
behemoths walked down the halls. Each were armed with a massive spiked club
that hung from their waists while battle armor clung tightly to their already
thick hides. You
wouldn't normally have gaurds like that roaming around just to protect a palace. He
thought as he willed the winds around them to mask their scent, keeping his eyes
locked on to the set of keys disguised as a pair of earrings. He waited till they had vanished behind a corner before
releasing Alexander's robes. "Sorry about that." He smiled at the annoyance that
gleamed in the wolf's eyes."You could have just told me those grotesque things were
coming."Gilian could have, but it was more fun to have a reason to
yank Alexander up by his collar. "Will make note of that next time, but did you
notice that big ice troll in the middle?" "Was hard to notice any of them with
your grimy paw on my muzzle." Alexander huffed. "Okay well, he had a duller hide,
claw marks across his eye, and a ragged tooth that looked like it should've
been pulled out years ago." "Get to the point." "I thought you like to gossip."
Gilian smiled as he quickly ran in the direction where the trolls went too,
stopping short from the doorway. "He had keys about the size of a grown man's
hands dangling from his ears. Something tells me its for the vault." Alexander's head snapped back at the
thought as he lingered behind Gilian. "Why in worlds would Kissaki let the keys
to his vault be used as an earring?" He asked after he was sure the dragon was
done listening to what was around them . Gilian shrugged, expect the impossible. That was
something he learned from Kissaki a long time ago. The wolf did things that
were truly out of the ordinary, and because of it, it made him so
unpredictable. Sometimes he had to wonder,
was the wolf really meant for the ice or the winds? Something he never asked
Kissaki. He knew he'd get a firm boot to the face if he did. He motioned for Alexander to follow
as they kept to the walls. They needed to stay close enough to not lose track
where their prey went, but at the same time far enough so that they wouldn't
smell them. Ice trolls may be stupid and
ugly, but in general have a good sense of smell. He had no choice but to cloak
their scent the last time and he couldn't risk it again. The halls had begun to grow narrow
the further they went, and the chill from the walls were worse than ice winds
from outside! Every now and then he'd glance back to see Alexander's fur
puffing up to keep him warm. The lucky son of a bitch. Alexander must have
known what he was thinking because he was quick to give Gilian a sly smile,
which only made him want to slap the angelic wolf even more. Finally the sounds of footsteps
stopped, and so did they. Gone were the flames that reflected through the water
blue pillars, and the beautiful stain glass that gave a sense of elder beauty.
Now they stood in the inner depths of Kissaki's palace. They were surrounded by
thick glacier walls. The icicles hung above their heads like deadly daggers ready
to pierce deep in their flesh. In front of them was a staircase just large
enough that the ice trolls could walk down. "How much longer do
we stand guard?" One of the bumbling idiots rambled, saying each word slow and
with care, yet there was a high pitch whine behind each word.
"Till the Lord of Winter deems
it necessary!" Another with a deeper voice said. "But we been doing this for three
months!" Mr. Whiner complained. "And we'll do it even longer if it
means gaining the territory in the north like we were promised!" Gilian's ears
perked up at this one. He wasn't like the others. His words were smooth and
thought out, far more intelligent than most ice trolls he met. What caught his
attention was the sounds of metal hitting metal, like a pair of earrings. He caught movement from the corner of his eye. Alexander was
twitchy, he noticed how he was constantly looking back and forth between the
light next to him and Gilian. Fuck.
He had almost forgotten. The only lights around them were the dim yellow lights
flickering from the energy crystals along the walls, which did not illuminate
the halls enough for the white wolf. He could only hope the bastard wouldn't
give into his nature and attempt to light the area up more. If he did, it would
definitely alert someone of their presence and there was no way in hell they
were going to find any place to hide in this long narrow corridor. "They're bitching about being here." He said
softly after noticing the demanding gaze Alexander was giving him. "I do not blame them. I would want
to escape this crypt as well." Alexander muffled, sticking closer to Gilian
than he would have preferred. "However, that doesn't tell us what we need to--" "Shh!" Gilian held up a claw,
gaining a nasty little glare at his back. "What is so important about guarding
the big door? No one is stupid enough to risk the Ice Lords rage." Whiner
grumbled. "Oh, but some have." The smart one
chimed. "Fools who didn't know what they were getting themselves into had attempted
to steal from our lord. Some had even come close, but the poor fools now face
something far worse than death." He gave a cruel, blood curdling snicker.
"That's why he has us here. To give the poor bastards a quick death." Sounds
like Kissaki. He thought as he got on his knees and leaned in just a bit
further. It was hard to make out anything at this angle. Light from a flame, two guards standing at the staircase entrance, and
shadows of the others. Lovely. He
couldn't risk killing the bastards. It would be an open invitation of war on
his part. None shall kill those who
reside in the seven realms. Those that do shall invoke punishment or threaten
their realm with war. The words echoed in his head from Katrina, the deity
of water. The same reason went for why they could not enter another's domain
wielding their full power. "Well fuck. This just gets better
and better." Gilian grumbled under his breath as he scratched his goatee. "What is it that you heard?"
Alexander said as he knelt by his side. "Well, I was right about them being
guards to the vault. From the sounds of it Kissaki hired them to give anyone
stupid enough to attempt to steal from him a quick and painless death, versus
letting him get a hold of them." "Typical of the ice." Alexander
looked at Gilian. "They have never been one to show mercy, definitely for that
which they hoard. Viringar was the same, only makes sense his predecessor would
be as well." "You make it sound like you wouldn't
do the same."
Alexander's eyes widened. "I
do not kill mercilessly. I punish, and kill only if it is truly deserved. If
one attempts to steal my riches, they deserve punishment, but the life shall be
spared." Gilian simply nodded in agreement. "Well
it seems like thats all they had to say about the vault. Now they're just
talking about the ice nymphs they have their eyes on." "Which holds little value. We need
to get past them and get this key." Gilian cocked his head to the side. "Easier
said than done. You ever try sneaking right by an ice troll? Its not pretty,
and they sure wouldn't mind having a snack." "True, but if they can't see us, nor
smell us, then it would be different no?"
Okay, he'll bite at this. "How,
pray tell, would they not see us? I'm not sure about you, but hiding our scent
again would more than likely alert Kissaki of our presence." Alexander gave him a confident grin.
"The flames still produce light, and by manipulating the strands of light, I
can make myself invisible to the naked
eye. That, and being surrounded by such odorous creatures such as they, do you
think warping the winds a bit to hide my scent would be such a treacherous
task?" He opened his mouth, then closed it,
then tapped Alexander on the shoulder. "By George I think you're on to
something there. That might just be crazy enough to work. But there's still the
tricky part." He said motioning to the staircase. "How will you get the keys
from the seven dwarves down there?" The corner of Alexanders lips curved
up further as he pulled loose the small rod that connected the hair tie. With a
flick of his wrist, he let the chain fly as he got to his feet. By the time it
hit his palm, it was no longer a hair tie but a golden staff that was near the
same size as the wolf. "Let me handle that. Just mask my scent." He said as
walked down the stairs. He hoped Alexander knew what the hell he was doing. Masking
the wolf's scent wasn't hard, not when all that odor was around. However;
before Alexander reached the end of the staircase, his appearance flickered and
vanished. Gilian didn't even have time to admire just how fast he was able to
pull off that trick, not when seven loud grunts and groans echoed up the
staircase followed by seven large thuds of the big oafs hitting the ground. Rushing down the stairs, Gilian
almost whistled as he saw Alexander standing above the Ice troll who had the
key earrings. The entire crew were sprawled out across the floor, large welts
clear on their heads and necks. "That, was fast." Alexander tossed the keys to Gilian.
"I'm the light." He said, as if that explained everything. "Now I hope you can
find out where to go from here?" Catching the keys, Gilian looked
around. They were in a big dome room, large in size, with seven chairs and a
fire place being the only thing that lit the room. This was perfect for the
trolls since they normally did not like to be in the light that often. "Well
they stopped here so that could only mean one thing." Gilian peered down the only
other door that was in the room, which lead to yet another staircase. "Down we
go." He saw Alexander tense and then sigh
loudly. Yeah, he wasn't liking this either. The staircase had less lighting
than the previous one and it was deeper underground. Which meant one thing.
They were both going where their elements were weaker. "I suppose you shall have to go
first." Alexander said before Gilian could vouch for him. "You're ears are far
better than my own, and I can't see amongst the dark." I
hate you so much. He bit his lip then paused as he glanced over to the
wooden chairs. He walked over to one of them and with ease slammed his foot
into it's massive leg, snapping it like a twig. "Now who said you can't be a
little innovative?" He grinned and lit the tip with the flames from the fire
place. Alexander let loose a sigh of relief.
At least one of them was more at ease. Gilian couldn't help but become more
tense the further they went. Even the winds they walked on flickered weakly,
which didn't do well for his conscience. If they had to go any farther they
would soon give out unless he gave them more energy to sustain themselves. That
meant risking Kissaki's attention. Alexander laid a paw against Gilian's
shoulder, however; the friendly gesture had the opposite effect. "We are almost there." Alexander said from
behind, the light from the flames being pretty much the only source of light in
the room. Down here the energy crystals were so dim that they barely lit up the
stairs in front of them. "Better be." He growled. He was
nervous, more than he should be, though not for being underground. Something
else was unnerving about this place. It was as if an icy hand wrapped around
his spine and squeezed tighter and tighter the further they went. His nerves
felt like they had been dipped into an arctic pond, frozen hot. The energy down
here was something he had not felt before, and yet had. Being a sapphire dragon
from the northern mountains of Fitilia, gave him the ability to sense magic
around him and to see it when he so chose to. Yet it was a gift and a curse. In
times like this he would rather not be able to sense such an unnerving dread
coming from the walls around him, or that something horrid was waiting for
them. Nearing the end of the stairs, they paused, the light of the
flame flickering across the icy statues that lined the corridor. "I swear,
Kissaki has some strange taste in statues." He said, noting the life like
nature of them. "Indeed." Alexander walked past
Gilian to look at one. "Do not worry, I will not touch--" Eyes snapped open and
a loud muffled scream came from the statue, causing Alexander to fly backwards,
staff ready and aimed. Oh
my god. Now it made sense why he felt like a cold grip was clutching at his
spine, which was only growing stronger as more and more eyes snapped open, all groaning
in pain. "These are the prisoners they spoke of." Finally calmed, Alexander placed his
staff to his side and shook his head. "I see Kissaki has picked this up from
Viringar as well." Gilian nodded, and took a deep
breath. It was something he read a long time ago. The elder gods as well as
some of the deities would practice binding mortal men in an eternal torment for
their greed. Which he found to be...inhumane. Though no matter how much he wanted
to feel bad for them, he knew that they had it coming. He just hoped he wasn't
going to join them in the land of popsicles. Alexander tapped him on his shoulders
and pointed further down. A silver glint caught Gilian's attention and the
chill in his body intensified. Licking his lips, he walked past the halls of
eyes, ignoring their muffled protest as he neared the massive vault door made
of nothing but silver blue ice. Yeah, the sensation was coming from
this, and it was Alexander who answered the question that was lingering in his mind.
"I'm impressed. Kissaki must have truly wanted to keep his treasure trove safe
from any intruders. Since he went through the expense of making the vault door
out of The Eternal Ice." "The Eternal Ice?" Alexander looked at him puzzled then
the realization hit him. "Ah, right. You're still too young to even know of
this, aren't you?" "Careful Alexander, else I'll put
out the flames and leave us in the dark." The white wolf glared at him. "Don't
you dare." He simply grinned. Who knew a pissed
off wolf could make his unease go away?
"So what is The Eternal Ice?" Alexander wrinkled his nose as he
placed the tip of his staff on the door. Ice almost instantly crept up the tip
of it, threatening to consume it till Alexander pulled it away. "Holy shit."
Gilian whistled. "For an ice door to freeze over your weapon, now that's
something terrifying." Alexander nodded. "In each of our
realms, there is a pure substance that is close to the Essence we serve. It's
so pure, so old, that not even we can command it. For in a sense like our
weapons, they are an embodiment of the essence." He said. "This is The Eternal
Ice, something only found in the farthest depths of Kissaki's realm. Whatever
is in here must be truly important for him to make a vault door out of this." Gilian didn't need him to say
anything more. He knew exactly what he was getting at. "The artifact?" "Aye. Now we must use the key to
unlock it and find it." "Well, you see there's one problem." "What is it?" Gilian looked at some of the ice
prisoners. Those near the vault door had one arm missing, and he could see why.
In the middle of the vault was a massive hole, just big enough for an arm to
reach inside. After seeing what that door could do, he could see too clearly
how they ended up in the state they were in. It didn't take Alexander long before
he caught on to what Gilian was looking at. "Darn it!" He snarled, his tail
fluffed up and swayed as his shoulders grew tense. "How are we to get in there
now?" "Hmm." This was a vault made by
Kissaki. There was sure to be a trick to it, and he had no doubt that the keys were yet
another lie to make one believe that it could open the door. That, and he
wasn't about to phase to wind and appear on the other side, Essence forbid how
many runic seals the wolf had possibly placed... He snapped his claws and tossed the
handmade torch to Alexander. "Hold that." He said as his eyes glowed slightly.
"Holy flying fuck..." "What? What is it that you see?" What didn't he see? Hundreds of
runes were hidden in the door, shifting around in circles like a ton of
tadpoles in a little pool of water. Though, that wasn't what took him by
surprise. What really caught his attention was the set of cyphers placed on
each rune. The bloody ice wolf had made a specific code for each of these runes
using, no doubt, different languages. Which were then ran through what looked
to be not one , but multiple cypher encryptions. The
fucking bastard. He bit his lip. If they were all in the same language, and
did not have cyphers placed on top of cyphers, there was a chance he could have
possibly undone the seals in the chamber and unlocked the door. Sadly, with the
way they were, it would take Gilian a year to figure out the runes before he
could even attempt to unlock the vault. "Looks like we came to a dead end
Alexander." He grumbled in disdain, running his claws through his hair. "No way
in hell I'm going to crack open this safe. There's too many runes with too many
cyphers on them. It'll take too long to even bother with it. So we might as
well...What are you doing?" Alexander was whirling the golden
staff between his claws, the torch on the ground, not that they needed it with
the light that was being produced by the staff. "Simple. I'm going to break
down the door." "Waitwhatwhatwhatwhatwaitwhat?!
Alexander, hold your horses! You don't know what--" A pillar of golden light flashed
past Gilian, followed by the mass amount of heat billowing from the attack. The
sound of ice shattering and breaking apart filled the room as an icy mist
blocked their view of the entrance. "THE FUCK?! Alexander what the hell
are you thinking?!" "We don't have time for this Gilian.
Kissaki will be here any moment. We need to obtain this artifact so that we can
bring it to trial." "You idiot! Don't you understand the
notion of stealth?!" He paused, ears twitched as he slowly glanced over to the
walls. Thousands of icy tips were pointed all in their direction, from the
floors, ceiling, and walls. "Alexander..." "Yes...?" "I hate you..." Before those damn spikes had a
chance to even budge from their resting place, a beam of light and lightning
shot inside of the vault, skidding belly first on the hoard of gold coins. The
entrance was, now blocked by a wall of spikes. Alexander coughed and grumbled as he
got to his feet. "We need to make haste. If Kissaki..." The sound of a coin purse echoed in
the dimly lit vault. Standing not to far from in front of them was a tall greyish
blue wolf decked out in a black silk shirt and matching slacks, with a smaller black
wolf who wore a pair of jeans and a
trench coat standing beside him. "Kissaki...Curse?" "It seems like I won this bet."
Curse said with a grin as Kissaki simply shook his head. "Thanks Gilian." "Wait, what bet? What are you
talking about?" "Kissaki!" Alexander erupted,
slamming his staff on the ground. "What have you done with it?" Kissaki tilted his head in a
quizzing manner. "What on earth, are you talking about Alexander?" "Do not toy with me Kissaki. My
informant had told me of what you have done." He growled, obviously not seeing
the coin purse that curse was jiggling around in his paw. "He had overheard
your conversation with Curse in regards to the artifact you use to predict the
future of the bets we take place in! Where is it?" "Hold up..." Gilian stood up. "Are you
telling me. Your informant got this information...by eavesdropping on a
conversation between two brothers...one of which is the Lord of Shadows? The
deity who is worshipped by assassins and thieves...alike?" "Exactly." Alexander said, never
taking his eyes off of Kissaki, who kept that perfected poker face with a
cocked brow. "Raizel, my second, had heard their conversation, and had reported
back to me on it as soon as he was sure they had not noticed him. So answer me
this Kissaki. Where. Is. It." "Alexander, I have no idea what
you're talking about." Kissaki said. Curse coughed, dragging their
attention to him. "Maybe I should explain. There really isn't any artifact. We
just thought we make a quick bet on the two of you. So I came up with an idea
on an artifact that you would have
been interested in," he pointed to Alexander. "We knew you wouldn't be stupid
enough to try and sneak in by yourself and knew the only person you'd go to
would be Gilian. So. We made a bet. I said Gilian would come along. Kissaki
didn't think Gilian would be stupid enough to do so." "A likely story Curse." Alexander
snarled. "Though one I'll not believe so..." He glanced at his staff which didn't
glow. If a lie was told in front of Alexander, his staff would glisten gold.
"So...there wasn't such an artifact in your midst..." He glanced to Curse who
simply shrugged. "So you tricked me into believing..."Alexanders eyes grew wide
with rage. "How dare you! This is outrageous! To even think of using me as a
means for a bet! Gilian, what are you doing? Stop being so quiet and...Why are
you sparking?" "Oh. I don't know Alexander." He
said through gritted fangs, lightning surging across his very frame, crackling
across his fingers. "You tell me. How you thought, that you're no good,
sneakier than a pissed off Elephant of a second, could have hoped not to be caught by Curse. And to deliver a so
called MESSAGE of a so called ARTIFACT that does NOT exist!" His hair stood on
end as the static in the air began to pop, crackle, grow. Small strands of
lightning flickered back and forth across the entire vault as the winds began
to swirl around him. "Kissaki...Curse...do me one favor." "Hmmm?" a light smirk spread across
Kissaki's face. Pulling forth Kervanos, he watched as the
lightning surged forth from his sword, licking the dragon's cheeks. "Look the
other way, just for a split second." He growled. Alexander's eyes grew wide as he
clutched his staff, only to see the shadows crawling across the walls. Obviously
it hampered the lights powers. Glaring at Curse, the black wolf only held his
paws up. "You fucked up, so only right you get fucked." He
turned around."Gilian...Gilian Sapphire...Wait, we can talk about--""Talking." He clutched Kervanos' hilt tightly as the blade
roared to life. "Is done, and over. Next time, think, before you act.""Wait, Gilian, WAIT!"The dragon pointed his sword at Alexander, directing the lightning at the white wolf
with a shit eating grin as he basked in the screams and howls that filled his
evening. A soft rap came on his door,
followed by a very annoyed, "Gilian, wake up and stop drooling all over the
papers!" "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes and looked
down. Oh. That's right. He got stuck behind on the paper work yet again. He
glanced around to see several extra stacks had magically appeared on his desk that were in need of his disapproval
or approval. "What the hell? When did this shit happen?" "Since you been asleep..." Tempest
sighed as he walked over to his side. "Mmm...why didn't you wake me up?" "Cause you had been quite grouchy
since you came back from Kissaki's realm. I rather not have you creating a
whirlwind and disorganizing the paper's again." "Again?" He paused and thought back.
It was still a haze. He remembered a bottle of whiskey in his paw, and loud
yapping, and a pair of rough, strong lips on his. Then papers swirling around
and Tempest barking at him. "Did I get drunk again?" "Yes...Don't worry I escorted the
shepherd you brought with you back home." Tempest said. Though he could see the
annoyance in his eyes. "Not that you cared so much for it. Since, you got upset
and blew all the papers away." "Hmm...sorry?" "I'm sure. Even though I had to spend
the entire evening reorganizing everything." He sighed and handed him a letter,
with the seal of the ice. "This is for you." Gilian's brows furrowed as the
encroaching headache was becoming more...evident. "What does Kissaki want this
time?" "I do not know, sir. Open it." He drug his claw underneath the
folds and neatly opened it. Gillian,After your
recent adventure into my palace with Alexander and the unfortunate
misunderstanding you both had, it has occurred to me that my palace and vault
was damaged in the incident. Now I know this entirely wasn't your fault but you
both did enter my palace to relieve me of my possessions. And even though it
failed and none of my treasure was lost, the damage still has to be repaired.
Attached here is an itemized cost of the damages and it is with great regret I
have to tell you that you are required to pay half of it. Due to your
involvement in the matter. Thankfully you already have a running tab with me
and I will simply add this on. Your Friend,The Lord of Winter,Kissaki.P.S. If you are willing. There is
some work that could be done to help pay off this debt by aiding in the repair
of the door. "It does
seem..." Tempest placed his paw on Gilian's shoulders. "That you're debt with the
ice is increasing ever more." "Tempest." "No." Tempest shook his head. "I'll
be taking my vacation here soon. So I wont be helping you fix Kissaki's vault." "I hate you...so much." Tempest patted his shoulder as Gilian's
head hit the desk. "Its okay sir. I know...I know..."