Su-Gar
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Winterhawk99
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Su-Gar

Post by Winterhawk99 »

su-Gar


Dissolving from a crimson hue to an indigo darkness, night fell, as the final rays of the sun winked out over the craggy horizon. A lone figure moved busily about the torch-lit cave nestled in the mountainside that overlooked the bustling city of Quorull. After putting on the final layers of her ‘work’ clothes, making sure that all the scabbard and harness straps were tightly secure around her black riding leathers, su-Gar replaced her keen-edged scimitar and magical dagger, testing the blades’ movement in both scabbard and sheath to ensure easy removal, and then finished off with her black leather gloves. She opened a small sealed oaken barrel and plunged both hands into a chalky powder, shaking the excess back into the barrel, and tightly resealed it. Confident that she had all she needed, su-Gar turned toward the entrance to the cave and with a flick of her head ‘sent’ a message out the entrance, “Rynthrax, the night approaches! We fly.”.

Outside, atop a ledge near the entrance to the cave, a mound of darkness stirred. From his prone position, the sleek black dragon unfurled his mighty ebony-tinted wings, and with a mighty push became airborne into the moonless night. “I await you, mistress.”

Pulling up the hood of her vest and tightening the drawstrings, su-Gar began running toward the smooth edge of the lip to the darkness outside. She leaped out as high and as far as she could, her arms and legs spread out. She almost appeared to be flying when suddenly su-Gar began to plummet toward the dangerous rocks below. With her eyes focused and senses ready, she waited, and then wasn’t disappointed, as a large shadow seemed to swell from below her, catching her in mid-drop. The gloves, coated in the special powder, came in contact with the dragon’s hide and held her in place as she wrapped her legs in the comfortable position she had used countless times. The wind roared all around her as the wings beat the steady rhythm of powerful flight. Speech was next to impossible with the tumultuous noise, so her ‘sending” ability proved invaluable. ”Tonight’s the night we get our prize, Rynthax. The waiting is over.”

For nine days she had planned for this, paying a fortune in information from the Red Scarves Guild about the merchant and his habits. She had staked out the Peridor warehouse and memorized the city guards’ patrol patterns. But it was all worth it. The payoff for this heist would more than compensate what su-Gar had invested. ”Make sure to approach from the water’s edge like we practiced. Coming in low and fast will make us undetected.”

Rynthrax glided just inches above the surface of the harbor’s entry and flew smoothly toward the building they sought. Silently he made his way to the rooftop and watched as su-Gar quietly leaped down and made her way to the grated vent. ”Rynthrax, go now and keep an eye on things out here, while I try and find that scroll.” She made quick work of opening the vent plate, removed her riding gloves, took out her last bottle of Cat’s Grace Potion, drank it and went inside.

The interior was gloomy but not dark to the point of being unable to discern any features. Su-Gar walked along the support beam of the roofline until she was positioned close to the guard hounds. She took three darts and a vial from her pouch and opening the end cap of the vial, coated the tips of all three darts in the sticky liquid. Careful not to get any on her exposed skin, su-Gar replaced cap and vial before moving on to the end of the beam. Poised directly over the hounds, and with her reflexes heightened as the potion began to take hold, su-Gar released all three darts into the backs of the unsuspecting beasts. Within seconds, the sleeping agent of the coated darts took effect and as one, all three of the hounds dropped to the floor, snoring soundly. After a moment or two of ensuring that no one else was around, su-Gar climbed her way down the vertical support beam to the lower level. She walked over and retrieved her darts from the unconscious hounds and placed them back into her pouch.

”How are things outside?”, su-Gar ‘sent’ as she absently rubbed at the scar, just above her left brow, of the mark made at the ritual of bonding. Having a telepathic melding with her dragon had always been a blessing to su-Gar.

”All is quiet, mistress.”

The place looked like it was used for storage and it appeared the owner had an interest in furs. Several different animal furs were hung from pegs along the walls. All of the furs had been altered so they could be worn. She approached one of a winter wolf fashioned to be worn over the body like a poncho. Another was of a small black bear fashioned to be worn as a cloak. Another fur hanging on the wall was of a red fox, and it had been altered so that it could be worn as a cape, where the fox’s head would sit atop yours and its body would flow down the back of the neck. On the ground below the fox fur su-Gar noticed something laughable. Two small, white rabbit furs had been sewn into fuzzy, ridiculous looking slippers. She turned her gaze away from the rabbit slippers and noticed a small peg at about eye level, that didn’t look like the other pegs on the wall. Looking closer, su-Gar discovered there was a small crack on the wall forming a square around the peg. She pulled on the peg and a hidden compartment opened up to reveal what she had come for.

Blending into the shadows like a thin wisp of smoke, su-Gar deftly moved her trained fingers over the surface of the chest. It did not appear to be locked so she carefully opened it and saw a single longsword which just spoke of superior craftsmanship. There were several features that marked this weapon as a cut above the rest. The blade itself had a fine tracery of vine-leaf patterns upon the surface trailing and winding down toward the guard, where a small green leaf was set behind a circle of crystal. The guard was a flowing design akin to a tree; with symmetrical branches reproduced in darker silver and curling upwards. The piece seemed more decorative than protective. Small painted leaves had been added to the tree to further enhance the guard’s design. A sturdy hilt was attached to the guard and flowed smoothly downwards, covered in good quality dark red leather; this too had been covered in a tracery of vine and leaf patterns, stitched in the material with silver thread. The pommel was worked in silver with images of intertwining branches at the head of which sat a multi-faceted pale, misty blue gemstone. With hardly a glance, su-Gar was able to identify the stone as a pricy sapphire.

But the sword was not what su-Gar had come to retrieve. Gripping the pommel and hilt tightly in each hand, she unscrewed the cap off revealing the secret hiding place. Nestled inside was the small scroll she was hired to take. Throwing the cap back inside the chest, su-Gar reached in with her fingers to pull out the parchment.

”Mistress!! Seekers!!”

Rynthrax’s sudden warning exploded in su-Gar’s head, causing a brief second of disorientation and panic. “Sardir’s Shadow!”, she cursed, and without hesitation threw the longsword back into the chest and ran out of the concealed chamber. “Rynthrax, meet me at the vent, I am coming right away. We have to leave. Close your mind…NOW!!” A painful sensation pierced su-Gar’s brain as Rynthhrax severed the mental link between them.

Seekers were relentless hunters that could pick up the thought patterns of any that could link telepathically, and this was the only way to throw them off the trail. But damn if it didn’t hurt. She knew that once on her dragon’s back, she would be able to guide him to a place of safety, and then give the signal to reconnect the link they shared. Putting her gloves on as she ran, su-Gar easily climbed the brace beam back up to the horizontal support beam and sprinted toward the opening of the vent. “I was so close!”

Grabbing a hold on each side of the frame, su-Gar threw herself out into the night air …


Landing on the rough forest ground, su-Gar looked up and around to what lay before her. It appeared that she was in a quiet glade, having fallen out of what seemed to be a shimmering mirror atop a stone platform. Getting up, she brushed herself off and yelled, “Rynthrax!!”, but heard nothing but a light breeze blowing through the trees. “What just happened?” Dazed, su-Gar walked aimlessly away from the stone steps. She knew her dragon was here – she could still feel him, like one could feel an arm or a leg, without looking to see if it was still attached.

Hearing a whimpering sound, su-Gar looked down to see a small child, with tears running down his pudgy cheeks. “Can you help me? I can’t find my turt… Eeep!” Grabbing the boy roughly by his shirt, su-Gar lifted the infant so they looked at each other face to face. “Listen here, you snot-nosed little mamby-pamby! I don’t give a hoot for your ‘turt’. You tell me, where…is…my…DRAGON?”

A woman, who appeared to be the child's mother, pleaded, “Please, I beg you, put the child down. He is simple and means no harm. Of dragons, I know not much, but a few moments ago a winged beast as black as night just flew by here and headed north…towards the mountains.”

Tossing the crying boy into the arms of the woman, su-Gar headed north to get to higher ground, knowing that Rynthrax would seek to find their cave. And until su-Gar found him, the link between them would stay severed.









As it became quiet once again around the shimmer portal, the smooth surface was suddenly broken by the jutting profile of the emerging Seeker.

*edit: added reference near the end to the woman being Jack's mother*



Story Written by Graewerld
CTP team member
http://www.harvestmoonconsortium.com
Chief cook and bottle washer for Harvest Moon

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