{Grimm} Adventures in Tarz {Katz}

Guest

He smiled watching her get up, almost as if he completely forgot she was a pathogenic liar and trailed after her, placing his cup upon the bar counter and thanking the bartender in the process, he started up the stairs after her except as he reached the top, he noticed a vase with a small tree in it at the top, the topsoil covered by gravel inside, which he placed a large clump of in one of his pockets and then started after her, arriving at the door of the room, he knocked politely on the door and asked inside "Do you wish for me to wait outside for you to perhaps change or am I free to enter?".

He fumbled at the gravel in his pocket with his hand, although not that strong, he began using his magic to crush it into small sharp fragments, his gauntlet clad hand not being effected by the sharpness of them, he smiled to himself as he did so, he did this often out of boredom but now it got him to thinking to himself one of two things, was she actually lying and she was just a young manipulative woman who actually showed an interest in him or was she a liar who she could reveal her secrets with threats of violence.

“Oh no, I’ll sleep as I am thank you, come in!” Eliza called back through the door. She was growing suspicious – Malakath had been acting strangely for a while, and she didn’t know what to make of his actions any longer. Plus he was a magic user – for all her admiration, her trust for him was greatly lessened by that fact. She was almost completely weak to magical attacks, which made her feel vulnerable – a feeling she hated, and was unaccustomed to entirely.

The room was actually very reasonable. Of course, being the spare room in a small tavern made it a little cramped, but there were two beds, each with fresh looking sheets and a fluffed pillow. There was a vase of flowers on the table too, but they had all wilted and died off by then. Ah well, it was the thought that counted, and Eliza could probably feel quite at home there.

“If you want to change, I can leave you for a while...?” she offered, suddenly remembering her manners. It had been a long time since she had shared a room with someone she hadn’t already decided to kill, and the etiquette was foreign ground for her.

Guest

He entered the room and walked over to the bed, sat on it to test it's confined, then rose once more and walked over to the other side of the room "Not too large is it? But never mind" he looked at her and she seemed a little off as if arkward around him as opposed to now, he walked up to her and said with a very red face which didn't look like it belonged "I am sorry if I come across as odd, I don't have many friends and you are beautiful, I am simply, well, unsure of myself" he moved back and slumped down sighing sorrowfully.

He turned to her and said slowly "I know you were lying, you were off about it from the start, so I need to ask, honestly" he paused for a moment to think "I planned to hurt you, I didn't know what else to do but I am hoping that you can be honest and tell me" he moved slowly and sat in what looked like a meditation stance upon the ground, right in front of the door, removing the stone shards he placed them on the ground around him an closed his eyes for a moment.

After a second or two of breathing, the rocks rose into the air and elongated as if stretched like putty forming a long sharp piece of needle like rock , these all accumulated to widen a large spike that twisted like a drill as he opened his eyes once more "Please be honest, I will say you were very convincing however there is one issue, I like you, or at least think I do and I only hope you can retain that in your explanation, then I will reveal some secrets about my life, like how I doin out I could harness magic and anything else you'd like to know"

Eliza smiled at the compliment, almost completely weak to them. She adored people telling her she was pretty, which as it turned out was a dangerous mistake to make. Damn, she’d been caught in the act – how the hell did he know she was lying?!

“I – I wouldn’t lie about anything!” she started to protest, before she realised the tiny shards of rock. Oh, so he was an Earth magic user? Interesting… but back in the room. That ‘ever-so-interesting- magic was posing serious threat to Eliza’s person, and that wouldn’t be allowed.

“Wait, stop! Fine, I haven’t been completely honest, but if you absolutely need to know, I’ll talk. Just keep that… that, away for me, please!” She got a little frantic as the giant earth-drill got closer. That would hurt, almost as much as fire magic did judging on the natural opposition of elements.

The promise of some titbit of information about the magic that was allowing Malakath to threaten her so was tantalising, and she relented. If the town heard of her true nature, she was as good as dead… but if she didn’t say anything, she was definitely dead. Neither outcome was ideal, but this way she might be able to improve her magical knowledge, and maybe one day learn magic herself.

“What exactly would you like to know? And please, the magic is terribly impressive, but it’s making me more than a little uncomfortable…” she said, much more clamly, her hands folded in her lap to stop herself twitching with anxiety. The threat of death send chills down her spine – her human form was horribly full of emotion, and she got frightened very easily indeed.

Guest

He smiled, and looked at her cruelly "First things first, what are you, and why avoid the water like you did? And believe me, i will not stand for lying a second time". He was unwavering in his expression, unaware if he was watching her face for any furrows or if he was focussing to maintain the spike. He let it slow considerably as he waited for her to give the benefit of the doubt that he was giving her a chance "That is after all if Eliza IS your name?". He looked at her sternly and said simply "No more lies, I have not lied to you once, that is the truth also, so it is only fair that you do the same back". Slowing the drill to a stop he exhaled allowing him to conserve his strength for when he may need to use it again, only hovering it is easier than rotating it at speed after all, but he never for a second took his eyes off the snake in woman's clothing before him.

Eliza cursed through her teeth. She had hoped to avoid explaining anything, but her life was on the line, and she could run away much more effectively if her head was still attached as opposed to impaled on an earth-spike. "Water reveals a little more about myself than I like to let on. I would urge you not to press the matter, but I can see that will have little effect. What I am should not affect you directly, but you're right to assume I'm not all I appear. And yes, my name truly is Eliza, although my full birth name is Elizabeth." There, that was already more than she would have liked to explain. She only hoped there were no older residents of Tarz in the area that might recognise her by her appearance and name combined.

"And what about you? You may not have lied to me, but I have no idea where you're from or what you're doing here. I won't lay my soul bare for you without more information, and you can start by explaining that magic. I have a great interest in the subject, and a first hand account would help my research immensely." This one would be hard to kill straight off, so she was going to have to try a different method, and in the meantime she may as well actually try to learn something. She still had the vague hope that she could figure out a way to learn magic herself. It seemed so unjust that she was an innately magical species, and yet she had no control over even a single magical ability.

Guest

He smiled and said simply "I did say that I would tell you how i had magical ability, the place i am from however is a small village on the Elven islands, my magic is a different story, and one i will not divulge unless you tell me exactly what i want to know, so i'll ask again, what ... are ... you?" He was growing impatient at how she was still playing her game from a position where she has no power, years of having her way must have affected her in that way.

He stood now and walked up to her, looming over her he stooped and said simply, again "What are you then? I have promised to explain my origins of magic if you tell me and believe me, i wont get scared from you, Outcasts generally aren't unnerved by other outcasts after all. You are beautiful and this is a ruse but I assume your other form cannot be that bad to look at surely?" He was intreagued by this however apparent change she went through in contact with water, realizing only now scanning through all of the books in his memory he had read about creatures with that ability, yet still watching her intently, waiting for her to try and make a reaction or start talking, the spike looming over his shoulder like some odd pet

Eliza made a hissing sound in the back of her throat in frustration, but conceded. "What I am should be no concern of ours, but I can tell you won't settle for that as an answer. I am a species know as a Water Sylph. I am the Monster of Tarz; the Spirit of the Pools, the Watery Huntress - I have been called many things, but above all I am a scholar. That's why I am interested in your magic - I'm studying the property that awakens magical ability in different species to discover if the property is innate or learned." The blurb about her studies was more to throw Malakath off the scent of that great long list of names; she wore them all with great pride, but she didn't need him to question them. She could do without explaining what made her such a 'monster', or such an excellent 'huntress'. As for her other form; well, some said it had a grotesque allure, and once she had fully infatuated her prey they were blind to it anyway, but she wouldn't go as far as to say her second-skin was comely.

"There, you have the truth then, so you can stop threatening me. There has to be some trust between us, if we both intend to live past this encounter, and I assure you that I for one very much do." She hated this sense of forced trust - it was alien to her, along with the other human emotions that had died the day she drowned.

Guest

He wavered and allowed his shard of stone to fall to the ground as he looked at her with more interest than ever, he moved very close to her, less than 6 inches away and said calmly and happily oddly against what seemed right "Ok and thank you, so it turns out we are both hated deep down, but I would not call you a scholar, a selfish girl who wished to become a being of magic and lusts for more is not a scholar but a psychopath, I am probably just as mad but I don't seek power anymore, I seek purpose and calling in life". His voice cracked as his words developed he got quieter and more sinister in his voice "I promised you the knowledge of how I came to learn it could use magic, and sadly, my method will not help you but nevertheless, you have given information, I will return that in kind." He stopped and sat down once more but still spoke quietly as he said "I was a small boy, and my whole life u had been despised by people in my town and the towns beyond there, I was told I was cursed by the superstitious and dubbed a freak by the others, bullied and beaten on a regular basis I fled and tried to did somewhere else, one day, the child of a priest approached me and stuck a blade into my gut at which point I fell to my hands and knees, it was only when my had touched the floor and sank into it and a warm rain coated my back I knew what I had done and discovered as I lay dying beneath a cruel statement of defense, a mage rescued me and told me of my power"

Eliza let out an audible sigh of relief when the earth spire dropped from her throat, but righted herself at once. She sat delicately, with her hands folded in her lap, very prim and proper. She used to be very polite young lady, and that still shone through at times. “Whether you would call me a scholar or not, it’s true. I own an extensive library, and I firmly believe that there’s a fair bit about magical theory that I could teach the leaders of the stupid Northern Academy. It doesn’t matter if you accept that or not, it’s true. As for a liar, well you have me there, but it doesn’t do for a lady to reveal all of her secrets too readily.” She shut up quickly when Malakath began to explain, resisting the urge to find a pen and take notes.

It was a pretty common story, not one she was unfamiliar with. Extreme situation, extreme response. Sadly Eliza had been as close to an extreme situation as she ever intended to allow herself, and no such miraculous powers had come forth. It must be a natural response then… she stopped, forcing herself to focus on Malakath. This was probably a pretty big deal for him, so her academic side could wait for a little while longer. She had clearly lost interest by the end of the story, however – something she couldn’t keep out of her expression.

“I’m sorry about that… it must have been hard. Thank you.” She said quietly after a moment. “You do have a fairly exceptional magic ability, so you can’t blame me for admiring it.”

Guest

Malakath didn't smile, he'd glazed over at this point, thinking back to that awful day had left him jaded to everything else as he frowned deeply he looked at her and his face contorted into one of anger "You have no idea in fact how easy it was, and your calculating demeanour betrays you Eliza, I have not a care in the world if you find me interesting or my magic" he lay in his bed but kept a watchful eye on the woman.

Still not trusting her, he kept watch upon her until she may fall asleep herself, he would watch her intently, only now observing how beautiful she was, her hair falling perfectly, her facial structure, her eyes, her lips, generally her physique was also appealing, but he had to know better than to try anything with her, she was bad news after all. But nevertheless, she was pretty.

Eliza was pleased to see that Malakath had a little more between his ears than most humans seemed to. He had noticed her lack of interest, obviously, but at least he wasn’t threatening to kill her anymore. In fact, he almost looked comfortable around her. It wasn’t something she was used to.

As Mal settled down in his bed, Eliza climbed into hers awkwardly. It felt alien to her – she only ever booked a room as a cover up, so she hadn’t actually slept in one for decades. However, she felt the need to keep up appearances still, so she would stay there. She could maintain her water levels for one night, but after that she would need to return to the waters on an evening, or risk dehydration – a much more serious issue when your life-blood was in fact river water.

She did not sleep, however. She lay on her side, her eye open just a fraction, peering through her eyelashes just in case. She had learned better than to trust anyone while she was in her weaker, human form, and Malakath was too dangerous by far. It was going to be a very, very long night or mutual distrust, she could tell.

His lingering gaze did not go unnoticed, and it was all she could do to keep up the pretence of sleeping to avoid smiling. She liked that humans found her pretty, but this one, well, he saw her as dangerous too. It was a spectacular combination, and exactly how she wanted to be perceived.

Guest

Malakath began to waver in his watchful eyes, more looking in her general direction with heavy lids, in truth, she interested him, he'd never seen her and he smiled as he watched her chest rise and fall with her breaths, and he could tell she was awake, mainly because her eyes were moving under their lids, he then said slowly "I need sleep, seeing as you aren't human and water reveals more to you, I suggest we part ways for now. Head back to your river, I'll meet you there in the morning where I met you today".

Malakath smiled, knowing that it was mutual distrust keeping them from both acting and reacting with one another, and he wanted to move past that, to a more upbeat, civil conversation where neither had a hypothetical knife or literal spear of stone at the others throat. He turned over and began to fall asleep as before he fell silent to try and sleep he said "I'll meet you at dawn, maybe there is a chance to improve our relationship without the hostility?"

That was all Eliza needed to hear. She sat up, throwing off the pretense of sleeping quickly, and walked out of the room without a word. She kept her calm until she had left the building altogether, but then bolted. She ran, heading towards her pool, and vanished beneath the surface. Her form changed instantly, before vanishing altogether.

Part of her didn't want to meet Malakath again - it would put her in danger, and the last sixty years of her life had been spent avoiding danger above all else. Plus, she had already heard enough about is magic to document her discovery and be done with it. But this was her home, and she had n intention of fleeing permanently.

Besides, the man had foolishly shown her his power already. Now she had precious few hours to find a way to counter them, should he decide to turn on her. She knew everything there was to know about natural magic types, with a fair amount of knowledge on the Triad magics thanks to the tear dragon she had kept until so recently. Something in her archives would be able to help her.

She moved straight through the water, against the current (creating visible waves on the surface despite her invisibility in the clear water), until she found a point where the water deepened. Swimming down,s he found the crevice she was looking for. There was an underwater tunnel, which ended in an underground waterfall in a wide cave.

She followed the waterfall, climbing out of the water onto the banks. There was a thin tunnel leading upwards, supplying fresh air (her human form did need it after all) and light during daytime hours. She carefully lit a lantern as her form switched back, revealing a fantastic, hidden library. She owned hundreds of books, and although her most precious tomes were stored elsewhere,away from the damp, these books should suffice.

She sat there all night, reading, and preparing to meet Malakath when morning came, keeping an eye on the thin tunnel to see when dawn was approaching.

Guest

Malakath slept until the morning, not expecting I fight but preparing for one if it was required of him, luckily for him, he hadn't revealed all his tricks to the water woman and still had his pretty powerful magma magic at his disposal. The abilities he had weren't massively offensive when it came to earth magic, but magma in combination with earth was a dangerous sight to behold, using geothermals to melt the earth then use the tar like lava to assault her was his best et for this moment and as he thought out several different strategies he slept. Broken due to his thought, but it was rest he wouldn't have gotten if she was there.

The next morning he woke and exhaled, then left as quickly as he entered, he was to head to the place they met the previous day. Now wether it was him having trouble remembering or choosing to avoid it he took his grand old time getting there, playing out scenarios, including one rather steamy variant which was quickly erased from memory, she was beautiful, and that was as much a blessing as a curse, at least to Malakath. He eventually got to the point and sat, watching the place she should be waiting for him, for it was still before dawn and he had to know if he could find out any more about her before she arrived.

As soon as the light coming from the surface began to pale, Eliza closed the book she was holding and set off. She would leave the water elsewhere, and walk to the place she intended to meet Malakath,in her full human form. She didn't care that he already knew she wasn't quite human - she knew for a fact he wouldn't have shown her all of his tricks, and she didn't intend to show him all of hers.

She surfaced where the underground river bubbled up as a freshwater spring, under the shelter of a thin copse of trees - not truly a forest, but covered enough to protect her identity. As soon as her skin changed back to a pale peach colour, rather than blue, she was walking briskly towards the pools where she had first met Malakath. She hoped that she would not need to confront him, but she had spent the night preparing just in case.

She was surprised to find the man already present when she arrived. She hopped over the river at a narrow fording point (taking great care not to splash her toes), and curtsied. "Good morning, I do hope I haven't kept you waiting long." She smiled sweetly, straightening her dress. She refrained from batting her eyelashes to complete the charm offensive, choosing to look around at the pre-dawn landscape for a moment. She had seen a lot of sunrises, and her Sylph half truly didn't care for them, but the part of her that was still human loved to stand and watch as the sky lightened.

But she had seen the sun rise over Tarz a great many times, and if she ever hoped to see it again, she would have to get down to business with Malakath. "As much as I enjoy your company, I have a feeling there was a more pressing matter you wised to discuss." She mentioned lightly after a moment. She wanted to avoid hostility at all costs.

Guest

Malakath smiled from the tree he was sat in as she approached "Few hours, nothing more" he dropped from the tree and stood in front of her, he watched the spectacle of the dress straightening and felt a little weak at the knees, he knew she meant trouble but he couldn't help it, she was almost surreal.

He shook his head and knew she meant trouble, but he still couldn't help it. She was amazing, and he was a man, slave to his own animal instincts but he stopped all these thoughts when she asked her question "Actually, I-I don't know, I just wanted to see you again" he then smiled "To ask you a question I feel you may know the answer to, do you know anything about the monster of Tarz?" Thinking about it now ... She was beautiful, she avoided touching water, and she seemed to make men swoon for her, there were stories of women who lead men to their deaths at sea.

But Malakath didn't get scared, but more interested, socially, not physically, though that still mattered he put it on the back burner, and stuck to intellect, he needed to if he was going to survive

Eliza suppressed a smile as she noticed her charms were having an effect on Malakath, but kept her calm. It was part of the Sylph magic - while she was an attractive woman anyway, a good part of her allure came directly from her magical nature. "Oh, is that so? Well, it's a pleasure to see you again - hopefully on kinder terms that our little discussion last night."

She was prepared to be questioned, but she snorted in derision as the way Malakath phrased it. "I happen to know everything there is to know about every magical and mythical creature known to the Cove, along with a variety of legends from other cultures. So yes, I know plenty about the Monster of Tarz." She was showing off, and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. Knowledge was the most important thing to her, even coming before her vanity, and magical theory was her specialty. If only the blasted Academy had agreed to let her teach...but that was a story for another time.

"But I know you didn't come to me for trivia on the subject. As I said yesterday, I'm not quite the lady I appear, and yes, some have called me a monster." she spoke in a level tone, all manners and smiles. Her human form had this delusion that she was still a good person, in spite of every death attached to her name.

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