Malerage
07-19-2006, 10:46 PM
A time before this time…before Malerage. Before The Dark Lady takes me. Sometimes when my mind slows, when I relax weary bone and muscle and allow my thoughts to drift aimlessly, wreckage on a rolling sea, images comes to me. Are they memories or illusions? Truth or desire? I suspect the former. In those times, a name comes unbidden, a link to a life lost…
Nix…
…Nix crouched in a swath of shadow alongside the building, concealed from all but the most attentive of passers-by. Her stomach rumbled. Two stories above, a fresh loaf of bread steamed in an open window. The smell from the bakery almost masked that of the sweaty people pushing their way along the street, kicking up dust, but the pungent smell of sweat and body odor ubiquitous in Stormwind during the heat of summer still penetrated her nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and tried to focus on the smells from the window. The wonderful smells.
To most people, the closely-set bricks of the building appeared unscalable. To Nix, they may as well have been steps on a ladder. Her only concern was a thick patch of sunlight directly beneath the window. That would be a problem if anyone actually looked up as she climbed.
Nix cursed. It was foolish to risk herself for a loaf of bread and whatever else she could carry back down the wall. But she’d worked hard in the bakery all morning until Teydra’s son tried to put his meaty hands all over her. She hadn’t kicked him that hard – just enough the make him remember his manners. But Kerin whined to his mother and accused Nix of stealing. She’d been thrown out onto the street without pay. Now it was up to Nix to compensate herself. It was a matter of principle. She was new to the city and she wasn’t going to start off by taking such treatment from the likes of Teydra and her son. Or anyone else, for that matter.
She drew a quick breath and began ascending, quietly and effortlessly as a cat up a staircase. She didn’t stop when she felt the warm sun on her back. The bread lay only a few feet away and she approached it with single-minded determination –
- only to have it snatched from in front of her by a pair of hairy hands emerging from the window.
Kerin! Nix froze, her rising anger competing with the need to remain unseen. She toyed with the idea of putting a dagger into the man. She could easily throw one through the open window. She sighed. No, she wasn’t here to kill anyone. She’d get some bread and maybe some other food – just enough to cover her wages – then she’d be on her way. She looked down from where she clung to the wall. People were moving along the street, going about their business. The soft babble of their voices rose to her ears. None of them looked up. Good. Though Nix could become virtually invisible in even slight shadow, hiding in direct sunlight was beyond her abilities.
A door slammed shut. Nix pulled herself onto the cracked windowsill and peered inside. The room was dim, with only a little sunlight coming in through the window. Shelves lined the three walls that Nix could see, each stacked with pots and pans, sacks of flour and other baking ingredients. In the far wall was a heavy wooden door. Closed. The room was happily free of Kerin so Nix scrambled over the sill and melted into the shadows inside.
She crept quietly to the door. Nix knew it led into one of the kitchens because she’d worked on the bakery’s second floor before being evicted from the premises. She held her breath and listened at the door. Not a sound.
The door creaked as Nix opened it. She winced, gritting her teeth as the sound seemed to echo off of the walls. There was no one in the room beyond. Opposite her, Nix saw another door that led to a hallway and Teydra’s second-floor office. Next to the door was an enormous metal oven, closed and latched. The rest of the room supported shelving full of assorted baking implements and ingredients. A large rectangular table occupied the floor in the center of the room and on that table sat the cooling loaf of bread. Assorted other breads were scattered across the tabletop, in addition to small bags of apples and walnuts for use in some of Teydra’s specialties. Nix grinned. She could get a few days worth of food here and be gone before anyone saw her.
Nix put the bread in a bag at her side. It was pleasantly warm. Moving with practiced ease, she swiftly added some apples and walnuts, as well as a handful of small rolls. She was considering the logistics of hiding a long baguette on her person when the door opened.
Kerin looked startled as he entered, but his wide mouth slowly twisted into a grin.
“Changed your mind, have you?” he asked.
Nix backed a step, baguette still in hand. “Keep away from me, Kerin.”
Kerin edged forward, his grin growing wider as he eyed the baguette. “I think you’d better do what I say or this time I’ll have the guards here. I have proof of your thieving now.” He pointed at Nix’s bag.
Nix grimaced. If Kerin called for Teydra or, worse, the city guard, she’d look like the thief he’d accused her of being. That would lead to her arrest.
Sensing her hesitation, Kerin moved forward, fumbling at the clasp of his breeches. “Come on, Nix. I’m better equipped than that bread.” He chuckled, then grabbed at her.
Nix lunged, baguette extended. It struck Kerin square in the throat and he bent over, coughing. Nix discarded the crumbling bread and scurried under the table. Before she could get all the way under, Kerin grabbed her long hair, yanking her from the floor. Pain seared her skull as she left the ground and crashed into a shelf of pots and pans. She was on her feet in an instant, head throbbing and the clattering of metal ringing in her ears. Kerin grabbed at her again but this time his hands closed on air. Nix scrambled up the shelving and pushed off hard with her legs, tucking into a backflip. She landed on the center table before Kerin had time to turn around. She had an iron skillet in hand.
Kerin managed a half-turn before Nix clubbed him with the skillet – a fast blow that caught him across the jaw. He dropped without a sound.
And the door burst open.
A large woman entered wearing a white baking cap, flour-covered hands clutching a broom. Teydra. Behind her was Gerd, one of the many bakery workers - a small, thin man who was always sweating. Teydra looked down at Kerin and screamed.
“Ai! Help! She’s killed my boy! The little thief has killed my boy!”
Nix stopped cold. Surely Kerin couldn’t be dead. No, she could see his chest rise and fall out of the corner of her eye. Relief washed over her. Killing him might have meant her own death.
“I never stole anything from you,” said Nix, staring defiantly at Teydra.
Teydra’s gaze fell to the bulging sack on Nix’s waist and her expression grew dark. Nix blushed.
Teydra cursed and ran forward. Nix whirled the iron skillet at her head. It spun like a flying disc but Teydra dodged to one side. The skillet struck the unsuspecting Gerd in the forehead and he joined Kerin on the ground. Teydra swung her broom in a wide arc, striking Nix in the leg and knocking her from the table.
Nix rose, her leg throbbing. Teydra scowled and wiped at her damp brow with a flour-covered hand, leaving a streak of white powder. She advanced, holding the broom to one side like a club. Nix backed against a shelf and waited until Teydra rounded the table. Then Nix leapt forward. Teydra swung the broom forcefully but Nix was already in the air, one foot extended. Nix sailed over the broom, her body turning a complete circuit as she rose. Her extended foot caught Teydra on the side of the head and sent her sprawling to the ground.
Nix could hear commotion in the adjoining rooms. The fight in the kitchen had obviously been heard. She needed to be gone when the guards arrived, so she patted the sack at her waist and turned –
- to find Teydra standing before her pulling a loaded crossbow from behind a sack of flour. Nix felt satisfaction when she saw the red imprint of her foot on Teydra’s face, but that satisfaction faded at the sight of the sharp crossbow bolt.
“You’re a quick one,” said Teydra. “But not quick enough to dodge a bolt, I suspect.”
At such short range, Nix wasn’t eager to test the truth of Teydra’s statement. Teydra, on the other hand, seemed entirely in favor of the experiment.
Nix stepped back into the dim light along the wall. Fading into shadow was something she’d never tried with someone looking directly at her, but it was now her only option. As Teydra approached and leveled the crossbow, Nix willed the cool shadows to spread over her body, weaving the threads of grey into a shroud that covered her physical form. From the widening of Teydra’s eyes, she knew her efforts were successful.
With a shriek, Teydra fired.
Had Nix not moved she would have taken the bolt in the stomach. As it was, the tip of the bolt sliced through the flesh of her forearm and thudded into the wall.
Teydra yelled in anger as Nix crept unseen along the edge of the room, one hand clutching the wound on her arm. Teydra was reloading the crossbow, cursing loudly and eyeing both doors.
Nix considered the situation. Even with her gift, she wouldn’t be able to hide running through a doorway. Then again, Teydra didn’t know that.
Nix crept to the edge of the door that led back into the room with the open window. Still hiding, she pushed the door open with her hand. Teydra turned, wide-eyed. She must have assumed Nix was escaping because she ran toward the door yelling “thief!”
Nix waited until Teydra reached the open doorway and then leapt from her hiding place, swinging her clenched fist hard. She connected with Teydra’s chin, her own knuckles cracking. A jarring pain ran up her arm.
Teydra stopped in her tracks, stumbled forward a step, then slumped to the floor.
Nix checked her bag for the food she’d taken and made her way to the open window. The blood on her arm had stopped flowing and by the light of the sun she could see that the wound, though bloody, was superficial. It hurt like hell.
In the street below, Nix saw the blue and gold of the city guard as they moved toward the bakery. She waited until they passed and then crawled out the window, climbing up the brick wall and onto the roof. She ate quickly, flexing her aching fist and moving her injured arm gingerly. After she’d eaten enough to quell the pangs of hunger, she put the remaining food back into her bag and set off across the rooftops to find another line of work...
…and then I return to the present with a jolt, as I always do. The memories of now come to the fore, the thoughts of Malerage. I serve The Dark Lady. I have no wish to look back. But for a moment, as I move into the moonlit night, my nostrils fill with the scent of baking bread.
Nix…
…Nix crouched in a swath of shadow alongside the building, concealed from all but the most attentive of passers-by. Her stomach rumbled. Two stories above, a fresh loaf of bread steamed in an open window. The smell from the bakery almost masked that of the sweaty people pushing their way along the street, kicking up dust, but the pungent smell of sweat and body odor ubiquitous in Stormwind during the heat of summer still penetrated her nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and tried to focus on the smells from the window. The wonderful smells.
To most people, the closely-set bricks of the building appeared unscalable. To Nix, they may as well have been steps on a ladder. Her only concern was a thick patch of sunlight directly beneath the window. That would be a problem if anyone actually looked up as she climbed.
Nix cursed. It was foolish to risk herself for a loaf of bread and whatever else she could carry back down the wall. But she’d worked hard in the bakery all morning until Teydra’s son tried to put his meaty hands all over her. She hadn’t kicked him that hard – just enough the make him remember his manners. But Kerin whined to his mother and accused Nix of stealing. She’d been thrown out onto the street without pay. Now it was up to Nix to compensate herself. It was a matter of principle. She was new to the city and she wasn’t going to start off by taking such treatment from the likes of Teydra and her son. Or anyone else, for that matter.
She drew a quick breath and began ascending, quietly and effortlessly as a cat up a staircase. She didn’t stop when she felt the warm sun on her back. The bread lay only a few feet away and she approached it with single-minded determination –
- only to have it snatched from in front of her by a pair of hairy hands emerging from the window.
Kerin! Nix froze, her rising anger competing with the need to remain unseen. She toyed with the idea of putting a dagger into the man. She could easily throw one through the open window. She sighed. No, she wasn’t here to kill anyone. She’d get some bread and maybe some other food – just enough to cover her wages – then she’d be on her way. She looked down from where she clung to the wall. People were moving along the street, going about their business. The soft babble of their voices rose to her ears. None of them looked up. Good. Though Nix could become virtually invisible in even slight shadow, hiding in direct sunlight was beyond her abilities.
A door slammed shut. Nix pulled herself onto the cracked windowsill and peered inside. The room was dim, with only a little sunlight coming in through the window. Shelves lined the three walls that Nix could see, each stacked with pots and pans, sacks of flour and other baking ingredients. In the far wall was a heavy wooden door. Closed. The room was happily free of Kerin so Nix scrambled over the sill and melted into the shadows inside.
She crept quietly to the door. Nix knew it led into one of the kitchens because she’d worked on the bakery’s second floor before being evicted from the premises. She held her breath and listened at the door. Not a sound.
The door creaked as Nix opened it. She winced, gritting her teeth as the sound seemed to echo off of the walls. There was no one in the room beyond. Opposite her, Nix saw another door that led to a hallway and Teydra’s second-floor office. Next to the door was an enormous metal oven, closed and latched. The rest of the room supported shelving full of assorted baking implements and ingredients. A large rectangular table occupied the floor in the center of the room and on that table sat the cooling loaf of bread. Assorted other breads were scattered across the tabletop, in addition to small bags of apples and walnuts for use in some of Teydra’s specialties. Nix grinned. She could get a few days worth of food here and be gone before anyone saw her.
Nix put the bread in a bag at her side. It was pleasantly warm. Moving with practiced ease, she swiftly added some apples and walnuts, as well as a handful of small rolls. She was considering the logistics of hiding a long baguette on her person when the door opened.
Kerin looked startled as he entered, but his wide mouth slowly twisted into a grin.
“Changed your mind, have you?” he asked.
Nix backed a step, baguette still in hand. “Keep away from me, Kerin.”
Kerin edged forward, his grin growing wider as he eyed the baguette. “I think you’d better do what I say or this time I’ll have the guards here. I have proof of your thieving now.” He pointed at Nix’s bag.
Nix grimaced. If Kerin called for Teydra or, worse, the city guard, she’d look like the thief he’d accused her of being. That would lead to her arrest.
Sensing her hesitation, Kerin moved forward, fumbling at the clasp of his breeches. “Come on, Nix. I’m better equipped than that bread.” He chuckled, then grabbed at her.
Nix lunged, baguette extended. It struck Kerin square in the throat and he bent over, coughing. Nix discarded the crumbling bread and scurried under the table. Before she could get all the way under, Kerin grabbed her long hair, yanking her from the floor. Pain seared her skull as she left the ground and crashed into a shelf of pots and pans. She was on her feet in an instant, head throbbing and the clattering of metal ringing in her ears. Kerin grabbed at her again but this time his hands closed on air. Nix scrambled up the shelving and pushed off hard with her legs, tucking into a backflip. She landed on the center table before Kerin had time to turn around. She had an iron skillet in hand.
Kerin managed a half-turn before Nix clubbed him with the skillet – a fast blow that caught him across the jaw. He dropped without a sound.
And the door burst open.
A large woman entered wearing a white baking cap, flour-covered hands clutching a broom. Teydra. Behind her was Gerd, one of the many bakery workers - a small, thin man who was always sweating. Teydra looked down at Kerin and screamed.
“Ai! Help! She’s killed my boy! The little thief has killed my boy!”
Nix stopped cold. Surely Kerin couldn’t be dead. No, she could see his chest rise and fall out of the corner of her eye. Relief washed over her. Killing him might have meant her own death.
“I never stole anything from you,” said Nix, staring defiantly at Teydra.
Teydra’s gaze fell to the bulging sack on Nix’s waist and her expression grew dark. Nix blushed.
Teydra cursed and ran forward. Nix whirled the iron skillet at her head. It spun like a flying disc but Teydra dodged to one side. The skillet struck the unsuspecting Gerd in the forehead and he joined Kerin on the ground. Teydra swung her broom in a wide arc, striking Nix in the leg and knocking her from the table.
Nix rose, her leg throbbing. Teydra scowled and wiped at her damp brow with a flour-covered hand, leaving a streak of white powder. She advanced, holding the broom to one side like a club. Nix backed against a shelf and waited until Teydra rounded the table. Then Nix leapt forward. Teydra swung the broom forcefully but Nix was already in the air, one foot extended. Nix sailed over the broom, her body turning a complete circuit as she rose. Her extended foot caught Teydra on the side of the head and sent her sprawling to the ground.
Nix could hear commotion in the adjoining rooms. The fight in the kitchen had obviously been heard. She needed to be gone when the guards arrived, so she patted the sack at her waist and turned –
- to find Teydra standing before her pulling a loaded crossbow from behind a sack of flour. Nix felt satisfaction when she saw the red imprint of her foot on Teydra’s face, but that satisfaction faded at the sight of the sharp crossbow bolt.
“You’re a quick one,” said Teydra. “But not quick enough to dodge a bolt, I suspect.”
At such short range, Nix wasn’t eager to test the truth of Teydra’s statement. Teydra, on the other hand, seemed entirely in favor of the experiment.
Nix stepped back into the dim light along the wall. Fading into shadow was something she’d never tried with someone looking directly at her, but it was now her only option. As Teydra approached and leveled the crossbow, Nix willed the cool shadows to spread over her body, weaving the threads of grey into a shroud that covered her physical form. From the widening of Teydra’s eyes, she knew her efforts were successful.
With a shriek, Teydra fired.
Had Nix not moved she would have taken the bolt in the stomach. As it was, the tip of the bolt sliced through the flesh of her forearm and thudded into the wall.
Teydra yelled in anger as Nix crept unseen along the edge of the room, one hand clutching the wound on her arm. Teydra was reloading the crossbow, cursing loudly and eyeing both doors.
Nix considered the situation. Even with her gift, she wouldn’t be able to hide running through a doorway. Then again, Teydra didn’t know that.
Nix crept to the edge of the door that led back into the room with the open window. Still hiding, she pushed the door open with her hand. Teydra turned, wide-eyed. She must have assumed Nix was escaping because she ran toward the door yelling “thief!”
Nix waited until Teydra reached the open doorway and then leapt from her hiding place, swinging her clenched fist hard. She connected with Teydra’s chin, her own knuckles cracking. A jarring pain ran up her arm.
Teydra stopped in her tracks, stumbled forward a step, then slumped to the floor.
Nix checked her bag for the food she’d taken and made her way to the open window. The blood on her arm had stopped flowing and by the light of the sun she could see that the wound, though bloody, was superficial. It hurt like hell.
In the street below, Nix saw the blue and gold of the city guard as they moved toward the bakery. She waited until they passed and then crawled out the window, climbing up the brick wall and onto the roof. She ate quickly, flexing her aching fist and moving her injured arm gingerly. After she’d eaten enough to quell the pangs of hunger, she put the remaining food back into her bag and set off across the rooftops to find another line of work...
…and then I return to the present with a jolt, as I always do. The memories of now come to the fore, the thoughts of Malerage. I serve The Dark Lady. I have no wish to look back. But for a moment, as I move into the moonlit night, my nostrils fill with the scent of baking bread.