The Mother of Monsters

It was three days after Teyva and Azrael began adventuring through Osan that the summons from the King came to Teyva’s door. She was starting her morning the way she had the past few days, indulging in what was becoming a very bad habit. She was leaned up against the headboard of the bed, Queenie skittering over her fingertips as she turned her hand over to admire the senior of her mockeries. The creature’s eyes were open wide, observing its surroundings and stopping now and then to stare at Teyva’s companion for the evening.

Yaga was rolled over, sleeping soundly as activity began to pick up outside the door. The staff could be heard coming and going, cleaning and preparing for another morning in the Pinnacle. Teyva set down Queenie and glanced over at the corner of the bed where Nephral had curled into a ball, his wing flicking here and there in his slumber. Teyva turned to Yaga and ran a finger over the scars on her back. The woman made a sound somewhere between a groan and a purr. She rolled over to face Teyva and cocked an eyebrow.

“Don’t get affectionate with me, Akura,” She warned.

“Can’t handle appreciation?” Teyva asked, getting out of the bed and stretching.

“I can appreciate a lot of things,” Yaga said with a bit of tone to her voice.

Teyva looked back over her shoulder and grinned before turning to get dressed. While she did, she had time to think a little about what she was doing. She wasn’t even sure how it had gone this far. Perhaps she was just starved for company and Yaga filled that gap in her life. She sighed as she adjusted the strap on her boots and checked herself over in the vanity. While she was there she experimented with her [Alter Self] power, seeing if she could make some eyeliner happen. It took concentration to elicit small changes over big, dramatic ones, and her first few attempts at makeup were shoddy at best. Eventually, she had to take a break so it wouldn’t frustrate her and she cleared the slate.

“You done trying to make yourself look pretty, devil woman?” Yaga asked. 

Teyva turned and crossed her arms. The two shared a look before Teyva snorted out a laugh and shrugged. “I know it’s crazy given all of…” She gestured to herself, “This, but a girl still has to try, you know?”

“Not really, no,” Yaga said, tying her hair up into a tight ponytail. She grunted and glanced down at her inner arm where a black spot had been singed into her skin. She looked up at Teyva and frowned, “You need to be more careful with that.”

“Well its a good thing your tunic has sleeves,” Teyva said, tossing Yaga her top before turning to Nephral. “Nephral dearie, breakfast! Come on now, wake up lazybones.”

The Sphinx was struggling to his feet when the fateful knock came to the door. Teyva glanced at Yaga who had gone pale at the idea of being caught by Azrael. While Azrael knew the two of them had been intimate she didn’t know that they’d continued to meet. Teyva raised her voice for whomever it was behind the door to hear, “Yes?”

“Teyva Akura, you have been summoned to His Majesty King Thrake of the Azar’s Court, please present yourself promptly with your companions. The Four will be in attendance as well, so be prepared to greet them properly,” A man said on the other side. Teyva shot a glance at Yaga who frowned and marched toward the door. Teyva raised a hand to stop her but was too slow. Yaga threw the door open and crossed her arms at the guard who stumbled backward at her sudden appearance.

“Master Yftha!”

“I wasn’t notified of this summons,” Yaga snapped, closing the door behind her.

Teyva sighed and waited a few minutes before stepping out of her room herself, Nephral on her shoulders. Queenie scampered across the floor and climbed up her leg, nestling into Teyva’s pocket before falling still. Outside of her room, Yaga was giving the guard a dressing down for something that clearly wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t have possibly known that she was not in her own chambers. As she lectured him, Azrael and Elat stepped out of their own room and spotted Teyva leaning against The Marble. She waved and they returned the gesture before looking at Yaga. Azrael rolled her eyes.

The four of them descended on the lift together after that. Azrael and Teyva bickering quietly while Elat looked himself over for the fifth or sixth time to make sure he wasn’t in any way unclean for meeting with a King. Yaga stood by stoically, arms crossed and eyes fixed on the wall. Occasionally she would glance back to see Teyva or Azrael needling the other with comments or physical jabs before shaking her head and resuming her unblinking vigil. When they arrived at the lowest level they parted ways. Yaga entered the throne room from the rear while the others took the side passage out of the lift chamber and down a narrow hall that lead to a small door at the side of the suspended glass hallway ahead of the throne room.

“I guess we should see what this is about,” Teyva said nervously, turning to Azrael who was chewing on her lip.

“I don’t like getting surprise summons,” Azrael said.

“You don’t?” Elat grunted, “At least you’re related to the guy.”

“He has a point,” Teyva muttered.

“Shut up both of you,” Azrael hissed and pressed against the doors. They opened to the voice of the head of the guard who introduced the three of them in turn. The usual guards ringed the room but this time all four members of The Four stood at posts on either side of the King’s throne. Yaga looked a little red in the face next to Argus who had a small grin. Tiisha was her usual bright-eyed self while it was clear that Barin Kot was trying to force down a yawn. As the three of them entered the doors shut behind them. Teyva swallowed and turned her eyes on the King who was back to his stoic self. He leaned on his elbow, resting his chin on his knuckles and staring at the trio as they made their way to the center of the circular room.

He got to his feet.

“I have conferred with the Four concerning your request, Teyva Akura,” He said, “With their unanimous urging I am forced to grant you permission to enter Nulakam. I have already removed the seal.”

Unanimous? Teyva blinked, glancing at Yaga who looked away. She forced herself not to grin, focusing instead on the king. It was a relief that she had at least a chance to find some sort of answers or at least a lead toward a cure for her ghost problem. She bowed low, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“There is a condition,” He said, holding up a hand, “You must return with something of use and value to Osan, not just yourself. I am formally recognizing you as a member of my house and my family and as such, it is your responsibility to do what is in the best interest of Osan and its people.”

“Joining your family was the agreement, your majesty,” Teyva confirmed.

“That includes protecting your sister and those close to her, Teyva,” The King growled.

Teyva placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head, “I accept.”

Teyva blinked at the notifications and glanced over her shoulder at Azrael who had also received the quest prompt. She squared her shoulders and nodded at Teyva. Teyva looked back in time to see Tiisha begin to clap. She turned to the King and whispered in his ear and he nodded. She made a delighted sound and turned from the King to quickly descend the ramp before pointing at a pair of guards off to the side. She snapped her fingers and they reach down to lift a large trunk of some kind that Teyva hadn’t noticed when they entered.

“I am sure you dears are going to have a lot of fun down there,” She crooned, “But just to make sure you all come back safe, I whipped up a few things. I hope that’s okay,” She said, pressing her fingertips together and giving Teyva a wily grin. 

Teyva raised her eyebrows, “They’re already done?”

“Of course! I had my people work for three days straight on the projects, not to mention the enchantments from Barin over there,” She gestured to the man who yawned again, rubbing his eyes before slowly moving his way down the ramp. Argus and Yaga came next until all four of them had made their way to the trio. “I’ll save yours for last, though because I love a good surprise!” She teased, opening up the trunk so that the three of them couldn’t see inside. Nephral tried to crane his neck but Argus gave the feline a warning cough.

“First for big, handsome Elat,” Tiisha said, “I understand that Orcish warbows are sacred, passed down from family lines so I wasn’t about to do something so crass as a new bow. However,” She came back up with a gauntlet large enough for him to slip over his hand. “This glove will make the need for arrows obsolete, it draws on your mana to produce projectiles. I’m sure you’ll make excellent use of it,” She handed the glove over to Elat who stared at it with wonder in his eyes. “But!” She continued, “Just in case you do run out, I daresay these arrows tipped with Lydan claw will be more than sufficient to make up the difference,” She pulled a large quiver filled to the brim with arrows from the trunk and passed it over to the bewildered orc.

“Thank you ma’am!” He grunted.

“Use them well,” Tiisha winked and then turned to Azrael.

“Now for you, love, I have two things as well, but one of them I think someone else wants to present you with. But I’ll go first,” She laughed and drew out a pair of jet-black gauntlets, plated boots, and a breastplate. Beneath the black sheen Teyva could see orange-gold chainmail glittering in the light from above. Azrael gaped at the equipment and then looked up at Tiisha. “Lydan claw, of course, but some metal gifted by your friend Teyva here went into the chain links. Remarkably light stuff and with a few defensive enchantments added on you should be able to handle anything they throw at you down there.”

That was when Yaga stepped forward and thrust her arm out, in her hand was a black scabbard for a sword. “Your Warden blade will suit you just fine for now,” Yaga said, “This, however, should empower it to do more than it could ever before.”

Weighed down by the gifts, Azrael looked just as gobsmacked as Elat did. That was when Tiisha finally turned to Teyva and cracked a wide smile. “Now, as for your special order, Teyva dear. I argued for hours with my design team about what would suit you best. In the end, we settled on a design that I think is most appropriate for your look. I hope you agree.”

First came a new pair of gloves, white leather and reinforced with orange-gold chainmail underneath. The knuckles were studded with gleaming black material and there were slits in the fingertips for Teyva’s claws. She took them into her hands and eyed them with wonder.

Before she even had a chance to react, out came the second piece. A pair of new boots. These were also made of the same white leather and metal. She could tell by the heft that they’d been plated on the front to protect her toes. 

“I told you I’d make you something special, dear,” Tiisha said, pulling out the next piece and leaving Teyva stupified. It was a set of white leather clothes complete with a sash and britches beneath. The pants were lined with chainmail as was the jacket. The entire piece was stitched with the orange-gold metal, pulled into thin wires, and lined with chainmail. Then there were the collar and forearms, both of which had been reinforced with jet black Lydan Claw that had been carved into sweeping plates. Teyva gawked at it as Tiisha put it in her hands.

“I have something else in the works, but it’s not quite done yet,” Tiisha said, tapping her nose. “In the meantime, Barin wanted to give you an update on that project you gave him,” She said and turned to Barin who had been standing by, his arms folded across his chest. He inclined his head.

“The Mask is coming along well, though it resists me at each turn. I daresay it has a mind of its own,” The magi said and shrugged, “I will try to make sure it is done before you return to us. I would make an effort to improve your Mana Manipulation before you even touch it, though.”

Teyva turned from him to Tiisha and bowed her head deeply, “I can’t thank you enough for these gifts, I promise to use them well.”

“I’m sure you will, dear. We’re rooting for you,” Tiisha said and turned to Argus, “Your turn, Argus.”

He grinned, “Now it’s my job to guide you down there, so you lot better go get suited up, I won’t wait around forever.”

Teyva and the others nodded to him and turned toward the doors leading out of the Throne Room only for the doors themselves to fly open as a shout rang out. Everyone in the room, the small gathering at the center and the guards ringing the room turned to see an orc struggling against the guards. Teyva recognized him immediately as Hakal, one of the guardsmen that served under Elat. 

“Elat!” Hakal shouted, “Please! I need to speak with you, sir! The settlement is being held, hostage!”