Vadimas Lugosi (hammerfall) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2009-02-12 20:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | hephaestus, npc, vadimas lugosi |
Who: Hephaestus, Freyra, and Freyr
What: Investigating
Where: The sight of the Egyptian massacre
When: Still Tuesday, Feb. 3
Warnings: None.
It was almost empowering. The last time she had simply left Ridgekeep Compound without a word to anyone she had been looking for her brother as well. At least this time Freyra was calm and knew where to look for him, not mad and searching everywhere. Besides, her brother had claimed madness as coping, she thought to herself as she stepped out of cab, dismissing it offhandedly as she approached the burnt out ruins. She walked around them as if surveying them in her silk wrap top and satin knee length skirt. Once the taxi was on its way, she brought her eyes to the other woman there. The other woman was just as out of place as she was; it must mean that she was there for a purpose, “Where are they?”
Caiera pointed, seemingly disinterested. "At the bottom of the stairs. Please," Caiera indicated that Freyra was to descend first.
If this was some form of trap, this disinterested woman would feel the eldritch might of ages lost, but Freyra did not give the woman another thought or care. She rushed down the stairs and looked around the grim, burnt out ruins of the slave pits and work area. So, this was the place... She didn't blame her brother. It drove her own heart to anger as well, but hers was at least contained. She approached slowly and confidently, calling out in lyrical language she had instructed Hephaestus to use, but with her speaking it, Freyr instantly turned his gaze to her.
Hephaestus thought it odd that Freyra descended the stairs alone, but realized that he had given Caiera conflicting orders. Oh well. With Freyra on the scene, Hephaestus relaxed. He had been holding the same firm pose for some time now. However, he still kept Kingbreaker at the ready.
Freyr kept the metal rod in his grip ready as well, but at first it seemed he recognized his own sister. But that did not make him lower his guard. Torn between berserker rage and shades of memory that pressed him on all sides, he could not be sure. He had seen her in these pits before, but she had never been real. Always just a donkey in a mask.
But Freyra approached without fear. If he struck her, it didn't seem like she cared. She stopped before him and pulled out a thin silver blade. “Farain...” She murmured to him but his grip tightened around the metal rod and she sighed slightly as he began to raise it. Her lyrical words continued but they no longer seemed directly to him nor where they spoken softly. The blade glowed a bright blue before she plunged it into his shoulder. “See? I am no illusion. Now don't fight the magic. The battle is over.”
Hephaestus' eyebrows raised as Freyra stabbed Freyr. He hoped whatever she was doing was working and not just serving to further enrage her brother. It was apparent she was weaving some sort of enchantment, but Hephaestus had no way of knowing what that enchantment was.
“This is not surrender. This is not defeat. This is your sister telling you to rest. The battle is over now. There is no one left here to fight. You have faced all the enemies here you can.” Freyra continued to speak, even though her words were in English they seemed beautifully accented and still lyrical like the other language was not far from her words. Maybe tone and accent had their own power.
“Amaine...” Freyr choked out, his breathing growing heavier, the madness ceasing to flicker against his green eyes. Exhaustion replaced it with each second.
Freyra nodded and helped him sit down, but when he was seated she twisted the blade. “This is the battlefield. And that is the pain that tells you all the blood has been shed. Feel the pain and then rest.” With a kiss to his forehead, she returned to her feet again and glanced over to Hephaestus. “You can lower your own weapon, too.”
For a second, Hephaestus wished that he had a sister like Freyra. Then he remembered that he did, except the knives his sisters used were not so easy to see.
"Thank you." Hephaestus sheathed the axe once more. "After what happened with Erato, I'm glad to avoid another misunderstanding." Hephaestus also didn't feel like shedding any more ichor in this hole, but he didn't think that Freyra would understand that sentiment.
“I honestly didn't realize this was so close to where he was moving to...” Freyra shook her head. Partly at Erato for moving him so close to this trauma and partly for how quickly Freyr jumped into the dark chambers. Of course, it was probably one of his reasons for agreeing to come to Miami so readily. “I'm glad you called me. I have not seen him in that kind of rage in a long time.”
Hephaestus rolled his shoulders to loosen them up, "I'm glad you came. I would hate it if my death caused any uneasiness between Freyr and Erato."
Hephaestus cast his gaze around the ruins. "I wasn't expecting to meet anyone here. That is, anyone I wasn't expecting to kill. It seems everyone just wants to put what happened here behind them, but I'm not convinced that's a good idea." Hephaestus glanced at the seated Freyr. "And, apparently, neither was Freyr."
Freyra looked down at her brother for the second as well. His eyes were closing. That was fine by her. Looking around at the destruction around her, she could assume some of it was his and it did look exhausting to do... Then being consumed by a Warrior Madness? She had to resist her own urge to yawn, and she didn't have an enchanted dagger coaxing her to relax. “I think putting it behind him was exactly what he was trying for. I hope it worked.”
Hephaestus nodded, "For Val's sake, I hope so, too." For the first time, Hephaestus questioned why Freyr and Val returned to Miami at all. It was, perhaps, the most hazardous place for them.
Hephaestus turned and face the ruins of the Egyptians' device. "As for myself, I'm here to make sure that the thing the Egyptians built is no longer a threat." He moved to the remains of the device. He noticed that a wall had been knocked down near it, the only one that had. It all looked like so much rubble to him, but he had to make sure.
He turned back to Freyra. "If you wouldn't mind helping me secure this location, I'd greatly appreciate it." He knew that his request had to be properly phrased for Freyra to provide him with the help he wanted. He felt he had succeeded.
Freyra had heard Hephaestus, even though she had wandered off from Freyr's side. A whip along the ground had caught her eye and with it in hand, she was sure the barbs of it were not always black, but made that way from dried and shed ichor. She wondered how much of her brother's had helped dye it so... Her lips curled in disgust and she dropped it again to the ashy ground. “What did you plan for this place?”
Hephaestus smiled. He liked this part. "I was going to check if the Egyptians had left any of their devices or power foolishly laying around. If they did, I would harness it to protect my family." Even if they didn't deserve it.
“They don't look like they left much behind besides testaments of their cowardliness.” The ash from the whip had gotten on her silk top and Freyra's disgust had been transferred to how it better not ruin her outfit. She walked back over to him. “And to them never having adopted the invention of a broom.”
Hephaestus sighed. "Oh, well. Looks like my gamble didn't pay off. Now I own a burnt out hole in the ground that's going to be impossible to clean." Hephaestus shook his head. "Thank you for your help. You can tell Freyr that soon there won't be anything left of this place. With nothing of value left, I'm razing this place to a depth of several hundred feet. That way I can harness the magma flow I created the last time I was here. If I can't steal the Egyptians' power, I'll just make my own." It was the best he could hope for on America's east coast, volcanoes not being particularly abundant.
“We could look it over more carefully.” Freyra was done brushing off her flattering top. She was just going to have to get the thing dry cleaned. “I did only come up with that from glancing at this place. Though it does look like someone took a flaming sledgehammer to most of it. “
Hephaestus laughed. "That it does. And I would believe it, considering the state of things when I... withdrew from the battlefield." Hephaestus felt a tinge of shame in the face of the battle oriented Vanir. He decided to change the subject. "Caution should be the name of the game. I'm not sure, exactly, what the Egyptians were doing here, but it certainly wasn't pleasant." Hephaestus noticed the smudges on Freyra's blouse. "Or clean."
"I suppose I can't be too annoyed. No one really bothers to clean up a battlefield. Though they're usually more bloody and less needing of a dustrag." Freyra sighed just slightly and pulled out her phone from the back pocket of her skirt. Quickly, she texted a message to Frigga. The whole storming on out without a single word had probably put her roommate and adopted sister-in-law on high alert. Someone at Ridgekeep should know where she was -- those were the protocols that she, herself, had come up with after all. Not that the message would go through while she was underground, but when she returned to the surface it would get sent. That was good enough for her. "Afterwards, can you help me bring my brother to his fiance? I assume you have a car around here."
Hephaestus nodded. "Right outside. I could have Caiera bring Freyr to Erato now, if you wish." The 'bot wasn't doing anything of critical importance at the moment, and she would probably appreciate a clear command after Hephaestus' previous contradictory orders.
"Somehow, I think bringing my brother to her asleep and stabbed would only freak her out. Probably best if I go along with him and try to explain to her why he's like that. Not that he was mugged by some magician burglar." She didn't know much about her soon-to-be sister-in-law, but she knew Erato could be dramatic. Best to keep things as calm as possible so things didn't explode into unneeded fireworks.
Hephaestus chuckled a little. "It's hard to predict my family. A break up will drive them into a suicidal or homicidal rage, but a beating can pass without comment." However, if Freyra thought it best to go and talk to Val, so be it. Hephaestus wondered if there was any deeper reason for Freyra wanting to go with Freyr to Val's house. "I would like to start examining some of these ruins. Let me know if you have any insights on them. Warn me if there's any magic." Much like ghosts, Hephaestus was pretty sure he couldn't see magic.
Freyra had come to the conclusion that her clothing would need to go to the dry cleaners no matter else she did today, so she no longer had any problem getting further covered in ash. She glanced over to her brother, a hint of an affectionate smile gracing her beautiful face that he was resting comfortably enough, as she settled down on the ground and placed her hands in the ash. "I will tell you if there's magic in one second..." Closing her eyes, she whispered and muttered words and concentrated. And the like a bolt of lightning had managed to strike her underground, a loud crackle erupted from her and the Elven Witch jumped up holding her head with a growl, "... I found out that their goddess of magic died exactly where I decided to do that. I couldn't have a chosen a worse possible place than that to see if there's magic."
Hephaestus moved over to Fryera, concerned. "Are you injured? Do you need any help?" He paused. "I have some extra work clothes in my car, along with some armor, if you want to change." Hephaestus felt stupid. What good would clothes do? Well, he rationalized, if I can't protect her, I can at least help her stay clean in this mess. Hephaestus shook his head slightly. He was not thinking straight. Something was distracting him.
"I should be fine. Though the screaming wail of her soul's dying breath is going to be quite a headache for a bit." It made Freyra shiver just a tad. The knowledge that their goddess of magic had died unable to scream physically, while her soul very much could. Not only was it creepy, but that kind of helplessness chill her to the bone. "Though if you could find me something to sit on, that would be nice. I think I do need to sit down, but good news...." She smiled a little. At least she had found something in the attempt, "There was definitely magic here at one point. Strong, powerful magic... enough to tear something asunder. What they were trying to tear apart, I don't know though. But they almost did it and then they died. At least their goddess of magic did. That I know for certain..."
Hephaestus rushed to find Freyra a seat. He pushed over a large piece of rubble, covering it with his jacket in case a deity had chosen to die on it He helped Freyra sit before he spoke. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I am pleased to hear that the Egyptians suffered heavy losses." Magic may be beyond his ken, but Ptah had been the one doing the building. And whatever Ptah could do, Hephaestus was sure he could do better. "Rest as long as you need. Let's see what I can find out." Hephaestus moved over to the rubble of the machine Ptah had been building. Even if all that was left was rubble and ash, there should be some clues left for Hephaestus to exploit.
She gave him a rather enchanting smile in silent gratitude as she sat down and shook her head to rid of herself of the cobwebs that had suddenly entered her brain. "It's fine. Magic is dangerous, especially in this world and this age." Magic was reduced to parlor tricks and few even believed in those. "Whatever happened here... What the Egyptians did," Their names were slurred with complete disgust when she spoke it, "Was going to be an overwhelming event and whatever killed them... That certainly was."
Hephaestus sifted carefully through some of the rubble, being careful to avoid the spot where he killed Ptah for the moment. "I was given the distinct impression that whatever the Egyptians were planning, they meant it to kill my family. I won't shed any tears for them if they were hoisted by their own petard." Of course, some of the Egyptians were still around, harbored, Hephaestus assumed, by some of the other Greeks. Hephaestus kept that under his hat in the event that Freyra felt the need for vengeance. He turned his full attention on the rubble in front of him, trying to discern something of what it had been.
"I do enjoy that they seemed to have suffered. Without hope and without help, at least from what I can tell from... Isis? I think that was their witch." Freyra replied slowly, her blue-green eyes, more green now in the dimmer light, fell to her sleeping brother again. If she could not have avenged him and if he could not have properly avenged himself, at least they had suffered. It would let her sleep with a smile on her face when it was her turn to rest. Lifting her head and shifting her attentions, she looked over to Hephaestus now, "Did you find anything?"
Hephaestus scowled. "Yes." He looked over to Freyra, but quickly looked back at the rubble. "But it's not what I expected. Whatever they wanted this thing to be, it wasn't a weapon. It looks like we misinterpreted our intel a tad." Hephaestus shook his head. Of course they had. Not that that made the Egyptians' device any less dangerous. It had exploded and destroyed most of the Egyptians. Which begged the question... "Of course, if it wasn't a weapon, why did it explode?" It wasn't like a builder deity like Ptah to make such a grievous mistake. Just like Hephaestus himself... Hephaestus stiffened. He knew why it had exploded. At least, he had a theory. "They must have brushed against something greater than themselves and gotten burned." Hephaestus knew a little about that from personal experience.
That certainly caught Freyra's attention; it even stopped her from fussing with her hair, trying to get it to behave after the magical backlash... even though it looked exactly the same before and after. "Brushed against something greater than themselves?" She glanced around the ash covered room again, half leaping-half merely shifting from her seat to return to her feet and knee down to touch the battleground. For a woman who disdained her clothing being stained, she had little problem when it came to her hands, but perhaps it was different. She closed her and whispered ancient words again, this time with greater care while her other hand wrote out runic wards beside her. "I think you may be right... Someone or something broke in... and then violence."
Hephaestus doubted she was referring to Hephaestus' family's aborted attack. "The Egyptians designed this construct to access something. I don't know if they reached their intended target, but they accessed something, all right. Something powerful. And that something was likely the 'flaming sledgehammer' that reduced this place to its current state." It was half-guesswork, but Hephaestus was confident in his theory. The chain of events were too similar. Hephaestus had been spared the fate of the Egyptians because his machine had been less ambitious. But he couldn't be completely sure. Not yet. He needed a more detailed study of the rubble. He set his P.K.E. meter on top of what had been a piece of Ptah's machine. He set it to relay all its recordings to his workstation at home. He turned back to Freyra. "But, all my readings show that whatever was here has gone, leaving behind only the echoes of its power and the dying screams of the Egyptians." Hephaestus looked over at Freyr and hoped that the Egyptians had not died too easily.
"Hmm, I should thank whomever it was then. Maybe learn from them. They do good work... terrifying work." Terror had always been part of the battle strategy she knew of. The Aesir/Vanir were the gods of "terrors of the North" after all. Freyra dusted off her hands and returned the ash to the ground as she straightened up again. "I think. From what I can tell from Isis' final, silent screams. I normally wouldn't approve of a one-sided slaughter, but these people deserved no honor." She walked over and then knelt before her sleeping brother. If true vengeance could not be gained, let her enemies die in dishonor. "We'll probably always be guessing about what happened here to some degree."
Hephaestus shrugged indifferently. "Perhaps, but we can learn enough not to repeat their foolish mistakes." Hephaestus stood, dusting himself off absently. The P.K.E. meter beeped, signaling that it had finished taking its readings. Hephaestus picked it up and hung it back on his belt. "I'm done here. Now comes the fun part, pouring over the information I've gained." Sadly, Hephaestus was not joking. He really was looking forward to doing some hardcore data analysis. "But before we go, I'd like to lock down the property to keep anymore..." he glanced at Freyr "unexpected guests from dropping by." Security was Freyra's specialty, and Hephaestus would make use of it while he could.
Freyra understood what he was implying and nodded. Freyr had fought his demons, him being able to return here would not be helpful to him anymore. "Can you get him into your car, while I do a walk around to figure out how to help you best secure this place?"
"Anything to help. Come on, big boy, don't try anything." Hephaestus approached Freyr cautiously. He didn't want to get a cage in the face. For his part, Freyr seemed safely docile, but Hephaestus kept his guard up. He briefly considered making Caiera do it, but he knew he would be better able to weather an attack from the mad elf than his beloved robot. So, Hephaestus wrapped his arm around Freyr's shoulders and half-dragged/half-guided him up the stairs. Caiera opened the door to the car with but a look from Hephaestus, and soon Freyr was sprawled in the back seat. Glad to have come through it unscathed, Hephaestus turned to see Freyra coming up the stairs, apparently finished doing whatever it was she did.
"I made sure you can get back in. It is not my best job, but it would still take way too much effort for someone to get in there to make it worth their time and I have to assume anyone with any power who wanted to go in there has already done so." She uncharacteristically downplayed her work as she peeked in at her brother. It was too much to ask for any magic tomes to be left behind after so much time, but the fact that the Egyptians had nothing of the sort written down and laying around anywhere was the proof of her assumption. The magical backlash and her continued use of spells... and then using arcane might to speed up the securing process, it was making her head spin. Or maybe knowing she was going to have to explain why Freyr was stabbed to Erato was doing it. Whichever. "Thank you for driving us to his fiance's, by the way."
Hephaestus nodded. "It's my pleasure. And the least I could do after all your help today." Hephaestus was glad to finally have someone who could help him out when he needed it. Few in his family seemed to understand what Hephaestus did in even the smallest way. Hephaestus seated himself in the front passenger seat while Caiera took the actual driving duties. Glancing in the mirror, he saw Freyra tending to her dozing brother. He looked forward to the inevitable confrontation between Freyra and Erato. As the car pulled out into traffic, he briefly wondered if he should stop for snacks.
Summary: Freyra comes to save Hephaestus from Freyr. While she's there, Hephaestus decides to ask for her help trying to glean information from the ruins of the Egyptians' machinations. They find some disturbing clues, but decide to put off thinking about them so they can go pay Val a visit.