RP:Cornelius surrenders Jolie to Vuryal

Background

This is part of the Kidnapping of Joliette Thorne story arc.

After successfully kidnapping Jolie, he is shocked to discover the execution of the child Niawtu was to occur earlier than on the previous day.

In the hopes that something could be achieved nonetheless, he continues with the transaction.

The Thorne Estate, Jolie's Basement

Cornelius starts from his chair as a voice from beyond echoes through his, and Jolie's, consciousness "Oh child. I see you. Do you see me? Perhaps I shall bring you closer!" The voice is familiar, as it should be. Cornelius had, after all, felt that voice in the aftermath of Vuryal's display in Kelay Way. It seemed that their precautions had failed, and that the Timelord had brought the hour of execution much earlier this day. The man rises to his feet, starts pacing, mind flashing through idea after idea, each one less probable than the last. The dandy halts, and shakes his head. He glances fondly at his captive, held in one of her own 'examination' chairs. Jolie was not quite lucid, according to his calculations on the soporific's efficacy, and even if she was, the paralytics affecting her limbs and tongue would keep her quiet for now while Cornelius tries to think.

A short time later, a voice called throughout the lands of Hollow, reaching from sea to mountain. "I, Vuryal, Emperor of Archmosia, Messenger of the TimeLords, Parasite and Plague, offer up this child to the depths of Hell due to the failure to bring me someone upon the chosen list." Something breaks inside the Vailkrinni gentleman. A frailty unveiled by the dark fortress, linked to a memory that even now the dandy tries to no avail to keep locked away. Cornelius fumbles the shackles loose from the chair, and stumbles to a wall, sliding down it to stare off into a distant past, of blood and fire, and of children's screams. Locked into his catatonic state by the force of these memories, time passes, and the toxins are defeated by Jolie's powerful Lycan metabolism. The dandy would be there still, staring off into the distance, the salt-tracks on his face refreshed every so often with old and new tears.

Jolie said, "Mggrrrrphhhh?" This time, it had nothing to do with ponies. The necromancer was groaning softly, her head filled with wet concrete, or it so it seemed, that was slowly hardening and thereby forcing her skull into a shape that did not allow for proper thought. And gave her a bit of a headache. A lot of one, really. "Where….? Wha….?" One green eye cracked open. The other wasn't so obliging, not that it made a difference since everything was fairly fuzzy beyond a radius of about three feet and was spinning, albeit it very slowly. Her limbs appeared to be filled by the same wet mortar, and refused to move as yet. She could smell somebody though. Flowers. Who smelled like that? Why did the name 'Buttercup' arise in her mind? She made another nonlingual burr of sound, which was meant to be "Who are you and where am I and what the f---"

Jolie tilted forward and, shackle-less, fell out of the chair. Jolie said, "Oof."

Cornelius would blink as the sounds of the real world slowly filter through the swampy layers of his memory. With a concerted effort of will, the dandy would reach into his satchel and send a vial skidding across the floor to Jolie's feet. A dull monotone would drop leaden from apathetic lips "Antidote". It seemed somehow worse, the vision of a chandelier-lit and bloodied dining room, when overlaid on the cold stones of Jolie's basement.

Jolie heard the tinkle of the glass, and made every effort to caterpillar her prone and half-paralysed body around to find it. But that was simply not an option. "Thanks," she mumbled, with her concrete tongue, her voice a rasp and the word rendered barely sensical, but all the same the wryness might show through it. The speaker… was that…? "Corny…?"

A few minutes pass as the memory courses through Cornelius' consciousness in all its grotesque horror. In that brief moment between the memory ending and restarting, the dandy becomes aware of the question. "I was too late. Again." More time would then pass as the dandy lapses back into a catatonic state, head resting against the stone wall, eyes caught in the echo of an old horror. Without further dosage, the paralytics would start wearing off in their entirety for the Lycan, and the antidote, if used, would help clear Jolie's mind of the aftereffects.

It wasn't long before the pins and needles started - sharply and grating on nerve endings roused from somnolence. Jolie managed to scrunch herself around to find the vial, and stare at it a while until her fingers permitted her to pick it up. More time passed, until they were nimble enough to unstopper it. All the while, she was trying to think, to recall what, exactly, had happened. She'd been shopping… that new dress had cost her a small fortune… she'd stopped for a drink… spoken to that vampire in the library… wandered into Kelay. Read the notice. The list. "Corny," she croaked, dropping the vial and attempting to lift herself off the floor via her palms and pretty much succeeding to hands and knees, her hair hanging over her face so she spoke through it. "Did you… seriously. Did you slip me a mickey?" The ire she truly felt as a black knot in her chest perhaps did not as yet find its way into her tone.

Her words slip through, and a ghastly smile makes its way to Cornelius' face. The dandy echoes the words he spoke to her before she'd fallen unconscious "The love potion. Masque ball. We're even." The dandy hasn't changed, his clothing still stained with Jolie's blood. All in all, not quite his usual dashing self.

Jolie had, actually, just noticed how her arms stung, and the crusted blood that adhered to them all the way down to her fingertips. Her forehead hadn't quite come to itself yet but she managed to frown. Although - he was indeed right. They were even. But… "Should I ask…" she struggled upward, one hand planting to the chair she'd been tied to, "… what exactly you -did- to me?" Failing in that endeavour, she seemed content to merely lean against the furniture. "Feel like I was kicked by a horse."

Cornelius is slowly dragged back to reality by the normalcy of conversation with someone who had existed in both his past and present. "Dwarf. Arena. Increased the potency, planned to use it on Kuzial. May still be able to, but won't have time to craft new batch." The dandy finds it difficult at first to force words through his skull, over his tongue, and into the cold room. "Was going to even slate for the cake thing too, wot" A half-hearted 'wot', but its presence a slow return to form as the dandy shifted himself from past to present. "Figured I'd give you to Vuryal, save the child, and see if he'd marry you instead of sending you to hell. Wonderful plan. Managed to get past Tiphareth. But the child still died." a wave of grief passes through Cornelius once again, as he whispers "Too late... always too late. Every damn time."

Jolie shoved the hair out of her face, mobile enough by now to turn herself around so her back was leant on the chair and she could stare at the dandy. "Marry…. Vuryal? Are you…?" Mad, she was going to say, and found it too redundant. Oh she was angry, alright. But their rivalry depended on patience and guile and surprise, and she'd get even sooner or later. "Did anybody see you drag me off?"

Cornelius chuckles. A chuckle which builds into a slightly hysterical laugh. "Who didn't see my triumph?" With reckless abandon he lists them "Tiphareth - oh, and wasn't he annoyed! He'll kill me anyway if Kuzial fails me a third time. Lared, a priest of Kanos, Syrus, Gwenilyn, numerous citizens of Kelay, Ranok, Tysinni, and of course Niawtu, the dead cub, though her witnessing is a moot point." Cornelius trails off "Oh, weren't they all so surprised. Heh. Idiots." He peers at Jolie through bloodshot eyes

Cornelius hauls Jolie upright, and acts as a crutch. The dandy, on inspiration, calls out "Oi, Vuryal, Mister High and Mighty master of Time and Space. Now is the time and now is the space, so get your fancy ass here."

Vuryal phases into view, the darkness becoming just a tad bit darker before the fiend appears within the confines of the Thorne Estate. "It would be much easier to just let you drag her to where I am versus coming to you. Much more fun, that is, for me."

A conversation ensues, and ends when Jolie cuts into the possibility of further dangerous banter between fiend and dandy with: "Shall we just get on with it, then? To Kelay."

Vuryal nods before disappearing into the blackened night.

Cornelius hoists Jolie on his shoulder "Call me buttercup again, and I shall stab you for real"

Jolie dangles appropriately. "Buttercup....?"

Another day, another gallows

In a raspy, deep voice, Vuryal calls out for the realm to hear, "Tenebrae comes forward for punishment at the gallows. The public is invited to witness what happens to those that failed the Empire."

The dandy, still stained with Jolie's blood, and carrying the aforementioned woman over his shoulder, calls out to Vuryal "Master of time and space, I have brought you Tenebrae in exchange for Niawtu - unharmed, unmodified, not in your custody or those of your minions or allies, and for her not to be sought by you or anyone affiliated or hired by yourself and/or your allies again. I'm certain that is possible with your vast powers, wot. I also believe there is the matter of gold"

Shalamar coming out of the tavern looking around to see what all is going on this time. She moves over towards the tavern to lean up against it to watch as this spectacle unfolds in delight.

Jolie appeared to be drugged heavily, and was upside down over the dandy's shoulder. She moaned softly, but showed no real sign of being fully conscious yet.

Vuryal snaps his fingers, the child Niawtu appearing upon the gallows, bound in time chains and wearing a collar that the TimeLord placed upon her.

Derry rushed into the area, his staff strapped to his back and his book following loyally. The young vampire had a large grin on his face, he heard the call of the time lord, and it meant he could finally talk to the fiend about the whole vendetta business. Derry just chuckled at the thought of a large paycheck, but stopped suddenly when he saw the crowd, his book not slowing down and colliding into his back.

Redhale had crawled out from under whatever rock he had been hiding not to take part in the punishment of his ally, but merely bear witness to the events.

Vuryal said to Cornelius "Are you asking for something that is not yours to ask for? The gold is the only bounty you shall receive, as that is all that was promised. Do you have a problem with that, poppet?"

Niawtu looks around as she is, again, poofed here. Though on different circumstances it would seem. The child is wearing an odd collar around her scrawny pale neck, and says nothing.

Ranok strides among the crowd, cutting a huge swath through it. Anyone who didn't move got shoved. He had no time for playing nice. He wanted to be at the front of the crowd.

Jolie seems to have roused, and feebly struggled to be released from the dandy's grip. "Who... what?" Her voice was groggy. "Put me down..."

Cornelius walks forward with the gravitas of a man who has made enemy of the entire mage's guild to achieve the task of saving a single child's life. His words are spoken simply for the normally verbose dandy "She is yours, Vuryal. I only hope that you honour both letter and spirit of the agreement." Cornelius deposits his childhood companion on the gallows "One tainted life for one pure life."

Redhale is almost surprised at how many people seem keen to see Jolie punished, then he remembers who the woman before them all is.

Ilydia quietly sat in the corner, hiding as she tried to observe the situation. Something was happening but she did not know what.

Niawtu looks swiftly at the gallows as Jolie is brought there. She has a stern look in her young eyes, but she still can't seem to say anything. Mostly from shock of this happening.

Lahk is a deeper darkness against the shadows of the city streets, a pair of eyes in the dark that look upon this scene with an unreadable expression closest to... sorrow, perhaps. Or closer still, regret.

Jolie's eyes were glazed as she lifted her head toward Cornelius and then Vuryal, in turn.

Vuryal brings forth the child to within arm's reach of Cornelius. "I shall deal with the Mistress of the Night first." And with that, the TimeLord's staff polymorphs into a cat o' nine tails. The hideous whip lays in slumber, its tips of steel dangling freely and even scratching the wooden structure with their pointy blades. "Stand, poppet, and receive your punishment for failure to defend my empire!"

Aatos : A large boar sits barely visible within a grouping of tall bushes near the gathered crowd. Aatos has no intention of being remembered here. Call him paranoid, call him cautious, but the wereboar prefers anonymity when it comes to landscaping events sweeping across the lands. However he may in time be forced into such. Even the most subtle of watchers can become a player. For now the beast will be a watcher.

Cornelius stands back, determined to watch the outcome of his betrayal without turning aside.

Derry watched in eager anticipation amongst the crowd. This was the time lord that had caused such a stir, this was the man whom had listed so many and so many prices, this is the man that Derry had to fear, and to respect. Although he didn't know the full story, he saw the woman drugged on the gallows, and only raised a brow, why would the time lord leave the trust of his empire to a woman who could have been subdued so easily.

Spawne weaves through the crowd, hulking shoulders providing an extra shunt to those more obtrusive of his current direction. Crimson features were shadowed by the brim of his hat, though a man such as himself would hardly be inconspicuous through such a shroud. Rowen was spotted first, though his attention would turn to the chilling rasp of Vuryal as he approached her.

Jolie grabbed the timber, struggling to right herself. "To hell with you, Parasite," she spit, and swiped a claw-nailed hand ineffectively in his direction. "Make me." She scanned the crowd, who all seemed a little blurry to judge by the way she squinted, until her gaze settled on Rowen. "Only way I'll do this without a fight you might lose is if you agree to take my people off your bloody list." She spoke again, to make it clear who her people were, "Shishi and Rowen. Free them, and I'll do whatever you ask."

Ciya removes his twisted horned helmet and demons maw as to have an unobstructed view of the punishment.

Jolie could not have fought her way out of a wet paper bag, if we were being utterly honest, not after the drugging she'd endured, but it was worth a shot apparently.

Niawtu looks up at Cornelius as she is brought within reach of him, however when she sees the whip out of the corner of her eye she turns her head, flinching when she sees weapons that her skin had know well in the past. Yet, she still speak naught.

Rowen the little hiding rat shudders at the sight of that terrible cruel whip. She clasps a paw over her mouth. Unsure whether to pity her friend for the terrible torture or feel relieved that this punishment may not be fatal.

Vuryal laughs at the demands of the woman. "Who are you, oh failed general, to make demands of your emperor? Of all...," he trails off, looking out amongst the gathered crowd, eager for this spectacle. "of them? You want a trade? How about I give you a chance to live?" And with that, the chronomantic fiend cracks his whip, taking with it part of the gallows beneath, a gruesome display of what it can do to something non-flesh like.

Lahk shakes his head silently to himself in the shadows, wondering what crime this creature could have committed. Wondering still what vengeance was to be had from those who wished her head. A poor sport to be sure, to send a soul, dark as may be, to the beyond in such a drug-addled state.

Jolie's lip curled. "Make your offer, you scabrous worm, but Shishi and the ratwoman are off that list. Or I won't go down without taking you with me. I promise you that."

Rowen weeps tears at her friends futile efforts to protect Shishi and herself, and huddles deeper into the rat hole.

A muscle tics on the ghastly pale, salt-tracked features of Cornelius' face. His eyes as bloodshot as his clothes, the gentleman of Vailkrin does not look his best.

Jolie clawed her way up that timber until she stood, unsteadily, but stood on her own feet, facing her erstwhile nemesis with obvious defiance blazing from red-rimmed eyes.

Vuryal smirks, his pitch coloured face delighting in the scene before him. "Defeat the Fold. Banish them to live forever within Craughmoyle. Prove to me that you are not a weakling."

Rowen wonders what Craughmoyle did to upset Vuryal.

Niawtu watches this display with wide, fearful eyes. The child absentmindedly touches the collar with her spindly finger as she watches. One would notice an icy coloured rose now graced the child's hand, another rose that she found in Frostmaw that wasn't killed...

Jolie's snarl would be heard even to the back rows of that large crowd that had gathered. "You quibble like a fishwife, as ever, Parasite. Strike my people off your list. Swear upon your own Lords that you bring no harm to any who wear my banner, now and forever. Then you may have your will, and I shall not fight it."

Aatos sniffs the air, nostrils flaring, and retracting with rapid succession. Such a mingle of scents, a fusion of different races, species. It is fascinating to say the least. The display taking place before him, and the stretched crowd, does not register as either 'right', or 'wrong.' Clearly Vuryal has earned the right as one of strength to punish those he despises. This is no crime. It is no different than he, Aatos, tearing apart fresh prey. It is truly a manifestation of the natural order. Nothing less.

Jolie pointed to the wolf-child. "Cornelius. Adopt her. She will be under our banner. Do it now."

Vuryal said to Jolie, "I shall not harm any of your banner should you succeed in the demise of The Fold. And as for your 'friends', turn around. One lash per friend. Let us see just how deeply you care for them."

Niawtu opens her eyes wide at Jolie's words, her mouth dropping at such a thing. She then looks to Cornelius, then searching out the crowd, then back up to Jolie and Vuryal. Words have seemed to have permanently escaped her this time.

Vuryal wags his finger at Cornelius. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Move and I shall punish the child for your motions."

Rowen the rat winces in sympathy looking at that terrible lash.

Spawne halted movement beside Cornelius, leathery palm rested atop his should. From amongst the crowd he watched, restrained for the moment. Moments of anger tugged and twisted at his features, a deep growl rising in his throat.

Jolie gave Cornelius a desperate look, and slowly turned about, her hands gripping the crossbeam of the gallows. "Name them first, Parasite." She was angling for time...

Derry stood disappointed, he came looking for a slaughter, he came looking for another soul to be thrown into that pit. Derry remained vigilante in his watching of this 'trial' of sorts, he wanted to see what kind of man this time lord was.

A look of unrestrained grief temporarily breaks the dandy's stoic facade before he regains his composure "I formally adopt Niawtu into House Penzance, under the auspices of the leader of the Eldritch Cabal. None may touch this child without declaring war on the Cabal."

Tysinni had slipped out of the tavern with the rest of the crowd needing to see if there was anyway to save Niawtu. She too makes her way to the front of the audience, watching grim-faced as Cornelius tried to trade one life for another. A quick search with her eyes and she locates little Nia standing along the stage once more. The thief would attempt to send her a reassuring smile if she could see it.

Vuryal grins with vast approval upon seeing the one named Kasyr appear to watch the spectacle. "Rowen!" he screams, the fiendish voice hurtling itself throughout the land as if Hell itself has opened up to administer the lashes. The steel claws rip into the woman's back, taking forth large chunks of cloth and flesh alike, for it cares not what it feasts upon this eve. With a fervent tug, the gruesome devices retreats from Jolie, its tips tainted with sinew and skin, a makeshift pool of blood dripping from each tip.

Ranok stands at the front of the crowd, silent. Watching yet again. But this wasn't his show. It was the Dandy's. Only how tightly his hand is clenched shows his tension. He looked ready to fight, to bash someone's head it.

Lahk passes has gaze from the dandy, drained of blood, to the diminutive child, so obviously with the scent of wolf about her. Despite himself, his lip curls in a brief snarl at the thought of her in the care of the fop. His attention turns once more the sordid scene on the eerie gallows.

Jolie's throat constricted with the effort of swallowing the scream that rose in it, as the cruel lash stripped through cloth and bit her flesh. It was worth it. It would all be worth it..

A hellish whip crack is heard, resonating through each kingdom as if a thunderclap were echoing.

Rowen screams in sympathy as Jolie suffers such excruciating agony to save her life.

Niawtu flinches when Vuryal's gruesome whips hits Jolie's back. The child watches with wide and empathetic eyes at Jolie's pain. She was stone still.

Redhale was suddenly a little hungry, and visibly flinched as one of those hunks of flesh fell nearby.

Tysinni breaks her gaze away from Niawtu as Jolie's punishment began. She forces herself to watch, knowing that in part she was responsible for her being in such a position.

Ilydia watched carefully as she began to move. She was no friend of theirs, but she could not simply stand to allow others to be hurt around her. Yet though her training had changed her, it had not made her stronger. She knew she could not fight against the crazed man. Yet she could see the people in the crowd clearly, she could feel them. The tension that existed. Perhaps she would join them to help if they were to move.

Ciya's eyes light up at the sight of flesh being torn from the woman's back, "Excellent."

Shalamar watching with intense interest as the woman is tortured sparking her interest in the man performing the torture even more she moves a bit closer to get a better look at what is to happen next.

Kasyr isn't exactly trying to hide his appearance, given the rather audible thudding noise that had occurs just moments before he starts brazenly nudging his way through the crowd.

Cornelius is forced to watch on passively as the woman he knew as a child three hundred years past is brutally flayed. With the Timelord's admonition the dandy of Vailkrin summons the same willpower which kept him mostly sane those centuries spent encased in a curse of stone. Each blow past the first, each torn bit of flesh from Jolly-girl's back, was a debt incurred to her. Marriage to Leifong had been nothing compared to the punishment currently being inflicted upon the only friend who had survived his lengthy incarceration.

Zira stands in silence staring up at the woman, respect at the necromancer's strength shining in her eyes, secretly wishing she could help.

Aatos listens to the chaotic symphony not as a man, but yet not completely as a wild animal. The wereboar's mind, as his body, is a fusion of both. This compilation has reproduced a dark, twisted offspring of bestial desensitisation, and the human capacity to enjoy the agony of others. But boars do not laugh. Low grunts of satisfaction remain inaudible below the screams, and cries of those tormented by the Timelord.

Rowen weeps consumed with guilt at how dear Tenebrae suffers on her behalf.

Mesdoram grins wickedly at Vuryal's torturous assault, the impact of the blow only heightening the drow's interest during this dark time.

Lahk heaves a sigh at the hateful bargain, bought with blood, pain and fear upon the little stage. He casts his eyes heavenward as the echoes of the lash fade, that cruel cry forgotten all so quickly by the skies. He turns from the spectacle, passing as he does in fluid lines to lupine form, and is silently, simply no longer there.

Jolie's nails tore, even as they tore into the timber, splintering the beam. She groped for stronger purchase on the gallows, awaiting the next lash.

Vuryal shouts "Shishi" as the second crack comes down upon the mistress' back, this one nearly on top of the other, allowing for deeper penetration inside the woman. Before pulling back upon the cruel device, the chronomancer turns to the audience. "This is what happens to someone who fails me. Cross me or come against me, and this will look like a nap compared to your misfortune." A dire warning, ended by an even greater tug, the claws whistling through the air as do pieces of tissue, flesh, and blood spatters. The chronomancer then turns towards Cornelius. "The child is mine. Bounty for a life, not life for life. Here is your gold, judas." And with that, Vuryal tosses a bag of gold towards Cornelius as the fiend disappears into a fog that comes over the entirety of Kelay. It seems to envelope the child as well, taking her back to her misfortunes she received earlier this day. Vuryal gave 20000 gold to Cornelius .

A second hellish whip crack is heard, even louder than the first.

Jolie was shaking, visibly, the ruin of her back bleeding gouts from flesh torn loose by the barbs of the whip. "She is of my people, Parasite," the necromancer managed to say, though her words were choked. "The dandy has adopted her. I accepted her as one of my own. Break this pact at your peril."

Rowen screams in sympathy again, forcing herself to watch Tenebrae's flesh torn open, she feels as if she owes her to at least watch.

Jolie fell to her knees, her forehead resting on the upright of the gallows, and a wracking sob shook her shoulders though it was permitted no sound.

Cornelius said to Ranok, ""Take the gold." You gave 20000 gold to Ranok.

Vuryal speaks over the area. "Consider her my gift if you should succeed, Mistress... Fail, and she will die in my prisons..."

Jolie spoke low, but distinctly, her teeth grit against the dire agony redolent on her back. "So be it."

Aftermath of the punishment

The dandy then collects Jolie from the gallows, and picks her up, clothes rapidly drenching in her blood. He starts walking in the direction of the healer.

Tysinni lets loose a strangled cry of denial as the TimeLord once again takes Nia away. "Nnnnngh!" Unwittingly she takes a step forward, bumping the side of the gallows.

Ranok strides out to assist Cornelius if he would let him. If not, then the man would cut the way. If not by simple size, then he would get violent. Kicks, lashes, elbows, everything his ample seven foot frame tempered by the trade of blacksmith had to offer. Cornelius would have a clear path wherever he wanted to go.

Aatos can only revel in the bloody tang that permeates the air. His stomach growls, the swine licking tusks, and lips alike. But this is no carrion feast. He is forced to covet the flesh of those tortured souls from the bush and remain content with fantasy. The boar continues to inhale the fresh odours as a penniless child lusts in a candy store.

Vuryal : The fog seems to dissipate now, the charade apparently ending for the fiendish TimeLord.

Derry said, "Now that was quite the exit..."

Cornelius finds tears once again making a mess of his face "Always, I am too late to save them. Always too late for my children" He trudges onwards like a condemned man, save away from the gallows.

Jolie said to Ranok, "Do not offer us your help, smith." She was weak, dangling again in the dandy's grip. "For we are now enemies. That's how it must be.""

Ilydia || Closing her eyes, she listened to her surroundings even as she fished around her belongings. She had no herbs left, nothing to heal, yet she still had her power. Still, her power was still weak and the damage was too great. She would fail, she knew that, yet she would offer it. Yet, it was not the time for her to offer it. Too many eyes still watched.

Redhale couldn't help himself, and bent down a little as his arm stretched out to pluck the cooling piece of flesh from the ground, which promptly disappeared up his sleeve seemingly of its own accord. A shiver ran through his form as he made his way down the road.

Rowen scampers out of the rat hole where she had been and over towards her dear friend kneeling in agony. Rowen is to overwrought with emotion even to pray for Jolie just now, She gently touches the necromancers ankle with her little pink nose to try to offer comfort.

Redhale disappears in a cloud accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Sterling pads into the area, following the scents of death and the buzzing of conversation.

Kasyr's expression is one of marked determination, flickering about the area, trying to discern as much as he can about the situation he's stumbled into- and about the ringmaster to this particular 'spectacle'. Still, even the Kensai can't ignore the display at the centre of it all, something which coaxes him to finish violently shoving his way through the crowds, intent upon moving over towards Cornelius and Jolie.

Tysinni would've thought this a fine time to go about relieving some unsuspecting townsfolk of gold, except for the overwhelming guilt and sadness over her part in tonight debacle. And what was it for? Nia was still imprisoned and a woman had cruelly suffered.

Damian rushes through everyone shoving them all out of his way to get to Tene. Hands glowing blue ready to heal her if he should be allowed.

Vexar is getting right peeved off what with being 'shoved' on apparent numerous occasions.

Jolie glanced down to Rowen, only now allowing a tear to fall from its peridot eye, since her hair was over her face to hide the shame of it. "Tell the others. We are at war. With the Fold."

Ilydia saw the healer moving and with a silent nod of approval, she slipped back into the shadows to watch.

Cornelius said to Damian, ""Do whatever you can for her."

Rowen cannot speak, for her own tears,however the little three legged rodent nods her understanding of dear Jolie's instructions.

Jolie snapped a look to Damian. "No! Touch me not!"

Damian unable to speak he points for Cornelius to place her on the ground and with a wave of his hand he motions for everyone to get back.

Cornelius snaps at Jolie "Stop being so damned stubborn, woman! Accept the healing!"

Jolie said to Cornelius, "No light magic.. you forget what I am. I need a chirurgeon. Stitches..." She was fighting not to turn into the accursed animal she had sworn never to become again. "No light..""

Aatos can only hope to find prey tonight as delectable as what he is coveting now. But he quickly regains control of those predatory thoughts. Yes life revolves around food. But no food is worth his life. The wereboar backs further into the bushes, silently preparing to leave once the situation is resolved. That sadistic tendency gnaws at his legs when he attempts to leave. If Aatos cannot eat their flesh, he will drink their suffering.

Sterling listens carefully to the words being spoken between the crowds until boredom seemingly takes over the black wolf. With a lazy pivot, the beast turns and retreats from the area.

Rowen speaks, thought her voice can hardly be understood so distressed is the little rodent. "Would you permit me to pray to Daedria to aid your wounds dear friend?"

Cornelius sighs at the blood-drenched woman in his arms "Bloody Lycans. Nothing is ever easy with you, is it?" He nods to Damian "Thank you for the offer, though"

Damian looks to Cornelius. with a question playing across his face wondering is he to heal Tene or not.

Spawne moved himself in front of the dandy and Jolie. He crouched down to inspect her features, the stream of tears running down her pale cheek, welling at the apex of her lip where they would fall to the ground, spattering over dirty stone. He spoke to Cornelius, his gaze fixed upon his companion, "I have some bandages... enough to cover her wounds. She'll require a surgeon, but it will stave the bleeding." Spawne whispered something to Jolie.

Cornelius passes Jolly-girl to the massive man he knows as O'Bannion "Please do what you can. There are mundane healers nearby."

Mesdoram shrugs as the exciting part seems to be over. He pours a shot glass filled with vodka and quickly shoots it in attempts to be more entertained. Mesdoram drank a dark vodka.

Kasyr audibly curses after a few moments, his empathy serving only to reinforce what he had already been fairly certain of: his nemesis was already gone. His attention no longer divided, he simply sprints the last bit of distance towards Joliette, a thickness in his voice, "What's happened here?" It's only when he's within a few feet that he jabs the sheathe of his blade into the ground, using it to abruptly come to a halt- "What, in every single hell, has passed here?"

Jolie lifted her head to the Catastrophe and only smiled before letting it fall again.

Ilydia moved quietly until she was near enough to speak, yet not quite easily visible. She quietly spoke, her words only intended to carry far enough for the wounded to hear, "My healing is weak, but it is not holy but of a different sort of magic, yet I cannot heal you much, only enough to slow the flow of blood."

Damian moves off to the side as his hands change back to normal

Rowen said to Kasyr, "Tenebrae suffered thus to save Shishi and myself, have them removed from the list, old friend."

Cornelius turns to Ranok, and whispers something into the man's ear.

Ranok looks over his shoulder, "Vatever ve do, ve do it qvick. Dat's a lot uf blood. Hyu know vat heppens to pipple like her ven dey're pushed to de edge uf life." He was indirectly referring to Jolie's lycanism, speaking mainly to Cornelius.

Spawne hooked his forearm around the rear of Jolie's knees, her ragdoll-body limp against his shoulder as he hoisted her off the ground. To her smile, he'd only grunt with disapproval.

Tysinni joins the rather large crowd of people (and one rat) around Jolie.

Spawne said to Cornelius, "My things are at the corpse."

Zira steps forward to join the group, trying to think of a way to help.

Ilydia whispered something to Jolie.

Jolie could not help the howl of pain she roared as she was lifted. Despite her sworn oath to deny the blood of the pirate wolf life in her veins, she could feel herself slipping.. "Hurry," was all she said after that.

Cornelius nods "Between the large man" He nods to Spawne "and myself, I am certain all will be well in that regard."

Cornelius said to Spawne, ""The healers are much closer. Let's not waste time.""

Rowen hops into Spawne's pocket for the ride

Ilydia ||Seeing that there were many to help, she moved away. She was not needed here she was sure, still, she regretted being so weak, so feeble. One day she would gain strength, but today was not her day.

Cornelius would then lead spawn in a run towards the nearest chirurgeon in Kelay, having had use for their services in the past.

Spawne turned toward the setting sun, a grim sigh set the Catastrophe Westward. He'd waste no time waiting for others to move from his path, assuming they were not stupefied enough to do so. "Any parting words, pet?"

Kasyr gives Rowen a particularly bleak look, before he pulls his sheathed blade from the ground and places it back over his shoulder, "... So she turned herself in. You got captured, to force her hand so..didn't tu?" Whether or not she's conscious enough to acknowledge her presence, the vampire simply moves in the wake of Jolie's 'group'.

Aatos can hardly contain the urge to hunt any longer. Should he remain, the hunger will overwhelm any sense of rationality, likely resulting in a reckless assault against someone tougher than he. The boar squeals, stomach acid ravaging his insides, the scent of a forest bound child marking a clear path to the beast's night feast. The squeal is followed by feral grunts, and the swish of fallen leaves, indicating the wereboar's departure.

Jolie ruined Spawne's garb with a blotch of runny mascara and a lot of blood. She would speak no more, but focus on not allowing herself to become the wolf she hated.

Ranok frowns. "Hy hef no need uf dis money, Kornelius. Hyu know dat." He sighs. He knew he wasn't going to get away with handing it back to Cornelius for the moment. He says, as an additional note, "Kome find me later. Hy hef tinks for hyu. Hy'd radder not give dem to a messenger boy und dere are tinks dat Hy'd radder ecksplain."

Cornelius nods to Ranok in passing "Of course. I shall speak with you anon"