Activity

@sparrowhawke

I remember you saying Liorah liked to adopt characters. It seems that that might be happening to  Torsten

It absolutely is! I was definitely going to do that XD

Ferran.

Liorah was quietly speaking to the tortoise-like creature. Her words were too quiet to understand, but then she raised her voice. To insult Lorcan, of course.

“And that is the murderous son of a sow who tried to kill me,” she said, with a glare.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but he didn’t seem to appreciate the insult. A pig was the lowest of animals, more unclean than any other.

“Firstly, I didn’t try to kill you,” Lorcan said, haughtily. “I was just giving you all a proper warning. I made sure not to hurt her. I don’t harm people unless they have attacked me first.”

I leaned on my staff, more relaxed now. He didn’t seem to have any further bad intentions. Even though he was kind of acting like an idiot, I understood his feelings. Ending up here was disorienting, confusing, and downright frightening. I’d had Gav and Liorah to explain what was going on, but he was alone among strangers.

I had seen that he hadn’t actually harmed Liorah, even though he had probably been able to. I decided on a compromise. If he came near Liorah again, I’d smash his skull, but if he didn’t, I’d give him a second chance and pretend this hadn’t happened.

Lorcan shot Liorah another glare.

“Besides, you need to be more careful with that tongue of yours. There are beings far worse than I hiding in every corner. And I guarantee you they will not be friendly towards the likes of you.”

Liorah threw back her head and laughed, long and clear. Even though she was clearly making fun of him, the sound still made me smile, and her laughter was the only thing that mattered right then.

“So everyone says, yet nothing has happened to me yet,” Liorah said.

That was true. She had gained a reputation for recklessness and ‘undiplomatic actions’, which meant she thought many high-ranking people took themselves too seriously, and she wasn’t afraid to tell them so.

Still half-smiling, Liorah continued her conversation. She seemed to be handling it fine, so I didn’t interfere.

Lorcan lost his patience and began to pace. Back and forth, back and forth. I didn’t stop him, even though it was making me nervous.

I heard my name and glanced at her. She seemed to be introducing everyone. I shot the newcomer a half-hearted smile.

“And I’m Liorah,” she finished. “What can you do, Torsten?”

“Umm, I can cook,” he said slowly. “Is there any food around here?”

Liorah sat back on her heels, tossing her braid over her shoulder. She gave a melodramatic sigh.

“I wish. I haven’t eaten since noon and in the meantime, I’ve had at least ten near-death experiences.”

“From what Gav told me, it was closer to four,” I interjected.

Liorah rolled her eyes, a habit she’d picked up from Gav. She waved her hand dismissively.

“Four, ten, who cares?”

“I refuse to stand here and do nothing,“ Lorcan barked, pacing even faster. “There has to be a way out. There just has to.”

Liorah shot me a look that said ‘Are you seeing this idiot?’

I pulled a ridiculous face at Lorcan’s back. Liorah burst out laughing and Lorcan spun around, eyeing me suspiciously. I had straightened my face out just in time and now only looked cold and indifferent.

“Someone doesn’t know what trapped means,” Liorah said, pointedly.

”I know what it means, human, thank you very much,” Lorcan said.

I watched him with interest. Something about him was… off. I frowned.

“What does this castle even want with us? Why choose us specifically? Oi, Castle, What’s your deal?”

I wish I had answers to his questions. Even Liorah, who could usually invent any answer she didn’t know, didn’t have anything to say.

Lorcan lost all patience, strode to the wall, and before I could stop him, he punched it, as hard as he could. I waited for the inevitable crack of his hand breaking, but nothing happened. He didn’t even flinch but punched it again. The wall vibrated with impact, even more than it had done when I’d hit it with my staff earlier.

Even though I was several years younger than Lorcan, I was at least as tall and probably should have been as strong. His bare-handed blows should have had less power than my hard-wood staff. This wasn’t natural. I gripped my staff again, not that it would do much good.

“If you didn’t get through the first time, it’s not happening,” I sighed. Lorcan ignored me.

“Please tell me there’s a way out,” Lorcan snarled. “I refuse to believe that we’re trapped. It’s not possible.”

Of course, it was possible. It was even probable, let alone true.

“Unlike the rest of us, you have weird magical abilities,” Liorah snapped. “You want to do something? You can teleport or whatever. So – why don’t why put that ability to use, idiot!”

Lorcan spun toward her. He wasn’t taking her mocking well. People with large egos rarely did. Though, she was taking it a bit far this time. I shot her a look. Not scolding, only questioning.

Liorah tossed her head, her braid snaking over her shoulders. She was already sick of this entire castle, and Lorcan was the last straw.

“Firstly, what I am using is not magic. That is a name not fit for the skill that I use. Sacred Metamorphosis is a form of science – it abides by the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of-“

”Blah blah blah, none of us have a clue what you’re on about,” Liorah rolled her eyes.

“Good. If it was magic, we’d have to stone you,” I murmured. I thought that was fairly funny, but he didn’t seem to and ignored me entirely.

“Secondly, it doesn’t work like that genius. I need to see where I’m going in order to shadow travel.”

Liorah gave Lorcan a dirty look. She was exceptionally talented at giving people dirty looks, though perhaps it was long years of practice. Probably both.

“No one asked you for an entire scholarly thesis.”

Lorcan was literally quivering with rage. I didn’t know whether to be amused or feel sorry for him. Liorah wasn’t letting him finish a single sentence without a sarcastic interruption.

I remembered what that was like. I smiled, the years had made the memories almost fond, despite how frustrating it had been.

“Are you literally going to antagonize every single word that comes out of my mouth?” Lorcan demanded. “Believe it or not human, that’s not going to help us.”

”Why on earth do you keep referring to us as humans?” Liorah snapped. “In case you haven’t noticed, this one here isn’t a human. And are you not one as well?”

“For your information,” Lorcan said, through gritted teeth. “You are correct. I am not a human being. And I sure as heck am delighted about that huge detail.”

My eyebrows flew up in surprise, even though I’d more or less figured that out already. Oh, what did it matter, after all?

Liorah turned back to Torsten since Lorcan wasn’t saying anything she could argue with.

Lorcan raked his hands through his hair. He seemed confused and frustrated.

I shrugged my staff onto my shoulder.

“Sorry for my explosion. Shouldn’t have done it like that,” I broke through the silence. I wasn’t sorry I had defended Liorah, but I could have been less forceful.

“She’s not so bad. She just really doesn’t care whether you like her or not.”

I couldn’t help a wry smile. It was one of Liorah’s traits that was both frustrating and admirable. She would get along much easier if she cared a little more, but she had a certain independence, so entirely free from other’s opinions. I didn’t envy it. It seemed lonely, even isolating.

“Stop fighting back. She’s enjoying this more than you know and she won’t stop until you do,” I said, finally.

Lorcan’s face registered disdain and even anger.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Of course, I know my place. A lowly human wouldn’t dare command you, but that’s my advice, take it or leave it,” I said, brusquely. My voice had perhaps slightly more bitterness than needed.

I had enough experience with knowing my place. I was only a goldsmith and a commoner. Even being friends with Gav and Liorah was crossing a line of social class. Gav realized it and actively ignored it, and Liorah had never noticed that our friendship was politically precarious.

As far as I knew, it hadn’t actually been forbidden, but there was always a certain barrier between Gav and me. Unlike Liorah, he was acutely aware of other’s opinions and tried to please everyone, and mostly succeeded.

One day, when Liorah noticed that I wasn’t like her and never would be, that same barrier would appear between us. I dreaded the day.

The ground vibrated beneath us. “Now I think it’s time to spice things up a little,” the castle announced.

Liorah cursed. Loudly. Thankfully, it was in Lehabim, so none of us understood it, but her tone left no room for interpretation.

____________

Hey, y’all! What’s the plan for the next trap?

@jasmine

Are we still going with the laser tag thingy? It might be fun!