Post by Melia Birchheel on May 26, 2006 7:27:12 GMT -5
M'lady Birchheel,
Darkest greetings. I trust that Solomon reached Firefox fine, and I am quite certain that you are preparing to question him upon recovery from his little accident, no?
I shall make this nice and brief. You are to meet me in a small shop at the very back of the ruins of Triangle Tunnel called The Night's Shadow. You'll notice it when you get to this deserted part of the ruins-- it is one of the few shops in that area still standing.
You will bring only one person with you; Professor Kat Elensar, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I have met with her before and have deduced her to be level-headed enough to hold a decent meeting with, and have reached an understanding with her. You will need to inform her yourself of her expected appearance; I am only sending one owl.
Should you bring anyone else to the shop or should anyone 'accidentally' follow you, I assure you, my dear, that the death toll will be that of a small village in response.
Do not bother replying to this owl. I look forward to your arrival.
Signed,
~Count R. Scorpius~
Melia had read the note several times before it had the chance to sink in. Once it had, there were several questions which she desired the answers to. Why would the Count be contacting her? Of course, she was probably his best known opponent, besides Solomon, who lay incapacitated in the hospital wing, and Winwaltz, who had fled before him that same night. But what did he want from her? Did he even want anything other than to eliminate her and the school's defence against the dark arts teacher so that any attack he made against the school would be relatively unencumbered? It would be dangerous to go, but it may prove equally as deadly not to attend - the wrath of Scorpius was legendary, and it was possible that he didn't want to merely kill her. For a moment Melia paused, a deep frown settling on her dark skinned face as she sat in her quarters, pondering the issues. One thing was certain; she had to let Kat Elensar know of this.
Rising from her chair, the mahogany-haired witch moved over to her desk where a fine looking snowy owl sat snoozing in her cage. Releasing the bird, Melia stroked its fine plumed head with a single forefinger, and with a wave of her wand, duplicated Scorpius' note and attach the copy to her messenger's leg. Murmuring a few words of haste, Melia took Adelaida to the window and set her off on her course. Elensar shouldn't be too far off, within the school grounds, at least. Adelaida would find her quickly. Meanwhile, Melia had some decisions to make.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
It was the early hours of the morning when Melia found her way to the Triangle Tunnel. The place was still a mess. Under any other circumstances the shops and businesses and bars would have been rebuilt within the week - magic certainly made things easier to do so - but it was the lack of people that was the problem. Hundreds had been massacred during the attack, and the stench of death still lingered in the stagnant air, while those who had managed to flee with their lives would not return. It was said up and down the length of Spain that the Triangle was now cursed, and few now would brave its narrow streets. And yet Melia did so without trace of fear. The carnage was still shockingly evident, but her hawk-like gaze showed no glimmer of pity or horror, and her steps kept going unwaveringly, her shining boots with their large silver buckles causing echoes to rebound off every surface. If it were not for Professor Elensar, she would have been totally alone.
Soon she had reached what some might consider to be the seedier side of the Triangle, filled with darker corners, with less wholesome magical supply shops and dingy inns and bars. Among these leaning and shabby buildings there was one that stood out, like a rotten tooth against the black gums of its companions. The Night's Shadow. Melia saw the amusement in Scorpius' choice of venue for this meeting, but it raised no smile on her prematurely lined face. Drawing her rich fur-lined cloak about her slender frame, she shook back her darkly shining hair and entered the inn.
There was a rather scrawny looking boy standing there, waiting to greet Melia and her companion, or at least to warn his master of their arrival. Her yellow gaze fell upon him, and for a moment the man quelled at the sheer force of her will, and took a step back, but after a minute's silence he had once again summoned all his frail courage and with a nod, led her to the Count's quarters. With a cold glance she dismissed him, even before Scorpius could say a word to his manservant, and she turned to face her enemy. For a second or two, their gazes met, two strong wills battling for dominance, but after what some might have considered a draw, she took a seat opposite the Lord of Shadows, and a slight smile graced her features, a nod to the niceties expected between educated foes.
"Count Scorpius," she said politely, her voice pleasantly accented, kind to the ear. "Your note was certainly rushed through, I must say. One would think that you were going to attack the school tomorrow. I take it this meeting was one of the utmost urgency, yes?" Her face betrayed none of her inner emotions, but her eyes were lit with a yellow fire. She would have to tread carefully, oh yes, but so would he.
And if he though to take advantage of her to further some grand plan of his, well, he'd got another thing coming.
Darkest greetings. I trust that Solomon reached Firefox fine, and I am quite certain that you are preparing to question him upon recovery from his little accident, no?
I shall make this nice and brief. You are to meet me in a small shop at the very back of the ruins of Triangle Tunnel called The Night's Shadow. You'll notice it when you get to this deserted part of the ruins-- it is one of the few shops in that area still standing.
You will bring only one person with you; Professor Kat Elensar, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I have met with her before and have deduced her to be level-headed enough to hold a decent meeting with, and have reached an understanding with her. You will need to inform her yourself of her expected appearance; I am only sending one owl.
Should you bring anyone else to the shop or should anyone 'accidentally' follow you, I assure you, my dear, that the death toll will be that of a small village in response.
Do not bother replying to this owl. I look forward to your arrival.
Signed,
~Count R. Scorpius~
Melia had read the note several times before it had the chance to sink in. Once it had, there were several questions which she desired the answers to. Why would the Count be contacting her? Of course, she was probably his best known opponent, besides Solomon, who lay incapacitated in the hospital wing, and Winwaltz, who had fled before him that same night. But what did he want from her? Did he even want anything other than to eliminate her and the school's defence against the dark arts teacher so that any attack he made against the school would be relatively unencumbered? It would be dangerous to go, but it may prove equally as deadly not to attend - the wrath of Scorpius was legendary, and it was possible that he didn't want to merely kill her. For a moment Melia paused, a deep frown settling on her dark skinned face as she sat in her quarters, pondering the issues. One thing was certain; she had to let Kat Elensar know of this.
Rising from her chair, the mahogany-haired witch moved over to her desk where a fine looking snowy owl sat snoozing in her cage. Releasing the bird, Melia stroked its fine plumed head with a single forefinger, and with a wave of her wand, duplicated Scorpius' note and attach the copy to her messenger's leg. Murmuring a few words of haste, Melia took Adelaida to the window and set her off on her course. Elensar shouldn't be too far off, within the school grounds, at least. Adelaida would find her quickly. Meanwhile, Melia had some decisions to make.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
It was the early hours of the morning when Melia found her way to the Triangle Tunnel. The place was still a mess. Under any other circumstances the shops and businesses and bars would have been rebuilt within the week - magic certainly made things easier to do so - but it was the lack of people that was the problem. Hundreds had been massacred during the attack, and the stench of death still lingered in the stagnant air, while those who had managed to flee with their lives would not return. It was said up and down the length of Spain that the Triangle was now cursed, and few now would brave its narrow streets. And yet Melia did so without trace of fear. The carnage was still shockingly evident, but her hawk-like gaze showed no glimmer of pity or horror, and her steps kept going unwaveringly, her shining boots with their large silver buckles causing echoes to rebound off every surface. If it were not for Professor Elensar, she would have been totally alone.
Soon she had reached what some might consider to be the seedier side of the Triangle, filled with darker corners, with less wholesome magical supply shops and dingy inns and bars. Among these leaning and shabby buildings there was one that stood out, like a rotten tooth against the black gums of its companions. The Night's Shadow. Melia saw the amusement in Scorpius' choice of venue for this meeting, but it raised no smile on her prematurely lined face. Drawing her rich fur-lined cloak about her slender frame, she shook back her darkly shining hair and entered the inn.
There was a rather scrawny looking boy standing there, waiting to greet Melia and her companion, or at least to warn his master of their arrival. Her yellow gaze fell upon him, and for a moment the man quelled at the sheer force of her will, and took a step back, but after a minute's silence he had once again summoned all his frail courage and with a nod, led her to the Count's quarters. With a cold glance she dismissed him, even before Scorpius could say a word to his manservant, and she turned to face her enemy. For a second or two, their gazes met, two strong wills battling for dominance, but after what some might have considered a draw, she took a seat opposite the Lord of Shadows, and a slight smile graced her features, a nod to the niceties expected between educated foes.
"Count Scorpius," she said politely, her voice pleasantly accented, kind to the ear. "Your note was certainly rushed through, I must say. One would think that you were going to attack the school tomorrow. I take it this meeting was one of the utmost urgency, yes?" Her face betrayed none of her inner emotions, but her eyes were lit with a yellow fire. She would have to tread carefully, oh yes, but so would he.
And if he though to take advantage of her to further some grand plan of his, well, he'd got another thing coming.