[GW2] The Dream is Over

[Talon]

((A work in progress and subject to change))

It was a simple piece of parchment, torn from somewhere. The writing was neat and easily read.

Today is the day I die. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. This cursed item has brought nothing but trouble. My death is the only way.

The note scrap was found by a young woman. She had met the Sylvari, briefly, but they had not spoken. As is the wont of the curious and arrogant she took it upon herself to search for more information by going through the young Sylvari's lodgings while he was out. This note had seemingly been forgotten in the back of a drawer.

Alarmed, the intruder noticed that the other belongings of the Sylvari visitor were not present. She rushed outside but saw no one, the scrap still tightly pinched in her left hand.



A backwater area was the best place, I had chosen well. They were right outside, I had seen them across the street, clearly waiting for me. I remember, I shook my head. Their finding me at such an out-of-the-way place confirmed that my death was the only way for this to end. It was distasteful but necessary.

I opened the doors and walked out into plain view and continued down into the plaza, removing my mask so they could see it was me. It was a very quiet day so there were very few people around. That was good, no cross-fire dangers.

I looked up and across the street. A rifle was levelled at me. I ran to the right but the barrel followed me. I didn't want to make this seem too easy. Two shots rang out, both misses. The few bystanders quickly fled to safety and crounched behind convenient carts, debris or buildings. I fired back a bolt from my sceptre, it was a pitiful shot that went wide, the rifleman was in no danger but he didn't need to know that.

The sound of a third shot pierced the silence and I felt the distant prick and sting of the projectile. I closed my eyes for a second ... I had to hold on a bit longer. Staggering, I made my way to the well. It was really just a hole that led to a stream or something that ran under the town. They fired again and I fought to keep going, concentrating on just moving forward. I tipped into the well and fell. Desperately struggling not to give in just yet. Just a little longer. The splash came and then silence.



Backing away from the window, I pulled up the hood and secured my mask before heading outside and over to the well. Fortunately, everyone was still confused and scattered. I quickly dropped another mask into the well. That mask would be all they'd find, the illusion of myself having long since dispersed.

I will burn this notebook shortly but I needed to write this down to keep my own sanity. The gang of thugs that relentlessly pursued me and my friends believe they have disposed of the last of us. It will have come at the cost of finding out what we did with their precious artifact but, finally, I look forward to some peace.

[Talon]

((Again, while unlikely to happen, I reserve the right to change any of this))

Hurtling through the air with nothing beneath you is an unsettling sensation. There is the thrill of charging away from gravity for those fleeting moments before its determined fingers wrapped around your leg and dragged you downward like a drowned victim wanting company beneath the waves.

"Ugh, when did I become so dramatic?" I shook my head. The thoughts had only been to distract me from the danger but they were still a bit pretentious.

The landing was safe and that was good enough for me. I stumbled a bit but gained my footing and looked ahead to where I needed to go. The thief was there, perched confidently on a crumbling balcony railing. His perch had once been ornate and oppulent but now only patches of its beauty remained and yet it had acquired another, unique kind of beauty in its state of ruin.

I cannot explain the sensation I feel when I explore ruins. It is almost as though the history of the place thickens the air and tries to fill me as I enter. My curiosity overflows, perhaps to keep it out. The questions I ask myself are near to endless and there's always a hope I'll be able to answer at least a few. I have never answered them all and I don't imagine I ever will.
'Why' is usually the most complicated. But I digress.

With another run-up with the required following leap, I finally caught up to the thief. He hadn't moved despite my catching up. He maintained his smug smile, even when we were within striking distance. Unconcerned, the sylvari thief jerked his head, indicating behind me. Naturally, I turned.

I remember, my face slackened as awe and appreciation took over my mind. I admired the sarcophagus and pedestals with reverence, revelling in the untouched history and the way the light filtered in from the broken stained-glass window above them.

Rushing past me as I stood transfixed, the thief bounded gracefully over the remaining remnants of what had once been a connected path. He began picking at a lock on a chest beneath the stone sarcophagus. I quickly fought to catch up.

"Stop!" He paused and looked up at me. "This place may have guardians," I said.

The thief skittered back and perched on another railing. I shook my head. "One of these days your footing won't hold, Twig," I said, eyeing the railing suspiciously. He was my closest friend and his nickname continued to make me laugh but, despite being friends, his signature smirk still irked me. He was so seemingly casual but, I knew, never completely careless.
"How about we pay more attention to the treasure?" He suggested.
I rolled my eyes. "Just remember to be careful. This is a resting place and we should have some respect, it's something the humans do in places like these. My companion looked solemn and nodded. Krytan tombs weren't something I'd been seeking out but I had tried to adopt the native culture's approach to visiting such places.

That he was so keen on the treasure wasn't unusual, he could be greedy, but in retrospect I should have asked more questions about why he dragged me to that place. Getting past one little puzzle to access the main chamber of the tomb was probably why. My knowledge of history and a smattering of understanding of the various other races far outstripped his own.

My friend finished his lockpicking and I saw the widest grin he'd ever sported. I peered over his shoulder. It was beyond description. I presumed it was a circlet but it had an aura about it that exuded power. He pocketed it while I crouched behind the sarcophagus to take a closer look at the inscription. My Krytan was a little rusty but I made out the usual kind words contained in an epitaph. The tomb's owner, however, was curiously not named. I shrugged, perhaps this was part of an estate so it would be implicit as to who was interred here.

There was some more in the lower corner, out of casual sight. I thought it odd and therefore worthy of reading.

A shout caught my attention. Gunshots rang out so I reconsidered popping up to look around. A very unpleasant voice followed those shots. "That belongs to the Sect! Drop it or die!"

"Stay hidden," Twig whispered to me as he vaulted the sarcophagus and pratically skipped up a wall to a higher ledge. Daylight was flooding in so perhaps it was a way out. I certainly hoped so but I kept down and quiet. By the sound of things, the intruders left in pursuit, probably trying to intercept him outside. I waited a long time before I felt it safe and headed back to our meeting place.

"Oh Twig, what did you get me into."

[Talon]

It was a few days before we met again. This Sect must have seen me leave the crypt because I had been trying to evade them since. Finally Twig and I met at a rendezvous point we relied upon in case we became separated during an expedition, though he preferred to call them adventures.

Sometimes I envied him and how he saw the world. Not at that moment, however. It seemed I had fared much better than he; he had a number of scratches and his outfit was torn. Some of his sap still clung to the cuts and ripped cloth. I tended the wounds carefully while he laid back with his normal, casual façade.

"I guess I owe you an explanation," He said after a few moments. I said nothing. "You're mad?" He knew better: I didn't get angry, I never had. I had seen others rage but I never understood it. I continued to work on the damage to his body.

"You suspect I may like to know why I've been hunted over the last week. Please continue," I teased. He scoffed and then winced as his sudden movement caused me to bump a wound a little too sharply. After glaring at me, ineffectually, he told me the whole story.

I smiled at the memory and sighed while turning over on the cot and looking at the bars. Remembering the two of us in safe quarters was a balm but it couldn't keep reality away forever. After Twig had been patched up we split up again to keep our pursuers guessing. We didn't know it then but it never took long for them to find us. I suspected scrying magic but Twig just figured it was good scouting. I suppose we all cling to the familiar, tainted by our experiences.
It had been barely half a day when they surprised me. Back then, I was not as spry or adept at keeping hidden so I was easy prey. They'd caught me easily, it was rather embarrassing, but they had not damaged me ... Yet. That threat loomed, no doubt an interrogation technique to snap my mind. The last day or so had been tense with the constant threat of violence just outside my cell.

"Oi. Wake up." A voice said from the darkness.

"... Twig?" I whispered and sat up immediately. I wondered if perhaps my mind had snapped already. He moved into the light with a few iron tools and worked at the lock. I tried to peek through the bars and down the corridor but the angle wasn't very helpful. Luckily, Twig was adept at most things sneaky and the door opened easily to his nimble fingers with the help of his tools. Unsurprisingly, my best friend looked very smug. "Get me out of here then you can gloat," I whispered and followed him out of the camp of these ruffians. I frowned as we left. We were still cautious but I couldn't see anyone at all. Once they had captured me and saw I didn't have the artifact, they must have left in search of my accomplice. I still thought it odd that I had been left completely unguarded. I should have known better.

Still, we didn't dally and quickly made our way as far away as we could manage. Divinity's Reach held an Asura Gate through which we made our way to Lion's Arch.



We hadn't used the gates to arrive in Divinity's Reach, having walked and explored the long way from The Grove, so we were amazed to find ourselves transported a large distance in an instant. The sensation wasn't unpleasant but it was curious. Twig immediately recoiled, though. The city was a wonder; large and full of people. He was uncomfortable and felt vulnerable, I could feel it.

We hurried to safety. Apparently he knew someone nearby that could give us shelter and some food while we planned our next step.

[Talon]

I sighed. It had been a month since I'd seen Twig. We'd been separated in Lion's Arch for only a moment but that was long enough for one of us to be chased away to protect the other. Or, worse; captured

I was used to his vanishing, though, so I tried not to worry. He would contact me again when he could. In the mean time, I was going to follow up on the mysterious Sect.

It was an asura that had given me the lead. I've never been tremendously fond of the asura as a people. Their curiosity, I admire, but their limitless ambition seems to leave them with more curiosity than sense, let alone ethics. Malomedies is proof of that and while the pale tree bid us let bygones be such, it still does not sit well with me.

This asura, however, had something I wanted so I kept my barbs to myself and now I was in the mountains, crouched and waiting for an opening.

I shivered and grew out the leaves to wrap around myself for protection from the frozen winds. It took considerable effort, I could feel most of them wilting already. The Shiverpeaks were beautiful but their blizzards and inhospitable climes did nothing for a plant.

Finally, as I was about to wither, a large group of humans and some norn left the cavern. I watched them from my scouted safe spot. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in and out. Then, impatient and desperate to get out of the wind, I moved forward.

There was only one or two men left in the hideout and I showed them the letter the asura had given me. It satisfied them and I was free to roam about, taking pieces of parchment and journals, anything written that I could examine later. There were maps, too. I wished Twig was with me, he was far better at keeping such thefts undetected and less obvious. Then again, he also like to take anything that wasn't nailed down.

I chuckled, despite the situation and wove through the side passages in this cave that was far larger than I expected.

Finally, I found it. A room with a large crystal formation. It was red and purple and blue and ... All right, it changed colour at a whim. Now to pay the price. The document that got me past the guards couldn't be used by the asura, himself. Apparently he wasn't very popular in this cave.

I checked behind me and saw no one. Closing my eyes, I remembered where I was and where I had been crouching, outside. Concentrating, I urged the two together. Not a good fit, with the blowing wind outside and the cool calm of the cavern but that wasn't about to stop me. The cavern would like a rocky outcrop with some snowy soil.

And so, the cavern now had some snow in it along with a chilly wind. The portal had appeared before me and was letting some of outside in. Suddenly the asura materialised in a shower of chaotic energy and he grinned a sharp-toothed grin. I shrugged.

The biting, never-ending wind was a harsh welcome as I appeared back outside. I closed my eyes again and the portal seemed to melt into the snow. Then I made my way back to Lion's Arch.

[Talon]

When Twig explained our situation, I wasn't sure I could believe him. He and I spend a lot of time honing skills of deception to the point that we may deceive each other, even ourselves, albeit unintentionally.
What can I do, though, but assume it's the truth.
The artefact we recovered from that ruin is valuable in both gold and heritage. The Sect seek it for more nefarious purposes, I presume. Apparently, they believe it is enchanted by one of the six gods of the humans, though that does explain why the majority of their members seem to be human.
Whether or not it is truly magical and powerful doesn't matter to me. This cult of cutthroats has attempted to kill my closest friend and me - now believing they have succeeded - so I'm not inclined to give them an item that could give them more power to harm.
Going into the cavern, even with deception, was risky. If The Sect knew that my death had been an illusion, I would never have peace again.
It was a necessary evil, however. The asura gave me access but there was something in that cave he wanted. In return for his assistance I had to get him past the guards. The letter worked for me but, apprently, he could not have used it, himself. That fact gave me pause but I saw no harm in a little quid-pro-quo, considering the occupants.

Splicing two locations together with a mental bridge is more effort than it sounds, though, and while I enjoy doing it, I cannot maintain a portal between the two for long. The asura knew this. Our agreement, however, was to get him inside and not back out.
Still, I wonder what the crystal he was after is for. Knowing the asura, something untoward or selfish. As much as I would like to know, I shall not see him again as we had both decided it best after our escapade.
Delving into dark and dangerous places seems to have become a habit but one I plan to give up from now on. No more 'adventuring'; no more expeditions into ancient ruins or running afoul of some secret society bent on my death and robbery.
Despite my intention to burn this journal once I exorcise these thoughts, I will not record what Twig and I have done with the artefact. I should say, what I have done. Twig was not impressed when I told him it was gone. I know him, he is too blinded by desire for wealth to consider any option other than fencing it and so I dealt with it myself.

It was almost impossible to bring myself to destroy such a beautiful piece of history, the

Oh, Twig. I fear for his safety. He has never been out of contact this long. Is he just upset with me or is he in danger? The journals and other bits and pieces I recovered from that cave have been most informative regarding The Sect's plans and make-up. They will not use that cavern any more so that leaves only one other location.
I shall search for him.