Unearthed Obsession
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Dirigible on 12-04-2010, 22:23:53</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 22:23:53</strong>
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				<strong>Syrian Desert<br>80 miles / 120 kilometres north-east of Damascus</strong><br><br>The last few dozen yards of the slope were merciless, rough and jagged brown rocks scorched by centuries of sun and displaying millions of years of strata. The sun was almost a physical force, even as it descended towards its evening position. From the altitude of the barren hill they climbed, the three expedition members could see the vast vista of nothingness in all directions; to the east, desert upon desert, across the Syrian countryside until it became Iraq. To the west, at least there was a distant silver strand of sea-coast visible, again beyond Syria's borders and through Lebanon. Nearer still in that direction was a grid of muddy brown lines, irrigation channels interspersed with golden smudges of grain or wilting date plantations. At the foot of the hill, a wide dusty plain was marked with its own grid of wooden stakes and string boundaries, this one laid out by the University of Edinburgh's archaeological expedition.<br><br>Grad students and professional archaeologists would be doing the painstaking work of examining rocks to see whether they were once part of a wall, or a shard of pottery, measuring them, putting them back. Hard, back-breaking, hot... as much as she knew the importance of such routine, Luci Chaucer was glad that Professor Chesterton seemed to have something different in mind for her. Even slathering on the sun block, her milky white skin did not handle the dry air and unrelenting sun of<br><br>“It's just up here, yes, Muiafa?” he puffed, scaling the slope easily despite his short stature and rounded build. He wore dusty, worn khakis and his legs below the knee were crusted with scars from years of kneeling on the ground, working to extract some fragment of a relic inch by inch from its context.<br><br>Behind Luci, the local guide called up, “Yes, professor.” Muiafa al-Dossadi was a tall, lean man, another grad student but in engineering rather than archaeology, hired for his local knowledge rather than his skills. He spoke English with a French accent, due to his education. Chesterton grumbled something, then gave a crowing cry of delight as he reached an unremarkable-seeming gully in the side of the hill. He stopped, putting his hands on his hips, and gave a gopher-cheeked smile as the other two caught up. “Yes! Here exactly!”<br><br>The gully was a raw stone wound in the hillside, the mark of a recent slip – though that could mean any time in the last decade, given the way the desert preserved things. It had revealed a cave, a dark passage into the earth just high enough for Luci or Chesterton to enter without bumping their heads. At first, she could not figure out what was so interesting about it... until she saw the inscriptions. On one wall, just by the entrance, was a tapered <em>cross patee</em>, a Crusader cross, with a sword under it, and the words <em>GRATIA MICHAEL SANCTUS DIABOLUS OCCIDERAR ANNO 1246</em>. On the other, a crescent moon and star was carved, and with difficulty someone had also etched flowing, archaic Arabic script into into the rock.<br><br>Still breathless from the climb, Chesterton beamed and clapped his hands together excitedly. “This is a tomb, Luci, right in the middle of what was contested ground between the crusader kingdoms and the Islamic states... and that is the symbol of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, an order from the Baltic regions that was never thought to be involved in the Holy Land... and was wiped out in <em>1236</em>, supposedly. Interesting, no?”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 22:23:50</strong>
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				Luci was a first year grad student at the University of Edinburgh's archaeology program, and she was thrilled to have been chosen for this excursion to the Middle East...usually only reserved for juniors or seniors. She absolutely adored Dr. Chesterton, and she had really come to appreciate Muiafa as well. She had originally been nervous about going to the desert, as redheads were known to simply disappear from burning to a crisp in this climate. Already she had a hat on, sunscreen and a personal fan as they walked. She was wearing capris, a lightweight t-shirt and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. <br><br>Walking behind the two men, the heat made it hard for her to keep up, but when the professor&nbsp; stopped suddenly, Luci was able to catch up. Even she had to smile when his excitement took over the heat induced exhaustion. Raising up a hand to add even more sun protection to her already sunglasses covered eyes, she listened with rapt attention. The main reason she was invited was her interest in Medieval Baltic cultures. Obviously she wanted to find something here as well, and when he showed her the tomb's inscription, she clapped once in excitement and beamed.<br><br>"I knew it! I knew you were right, and now the association will have to recognize your theory!"<br><br>She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to study it a bit more closely. Taking a soft paintbrush from her backpack, she brushed off the dust from the Latin words and repeated them aloud.<br><br>"Not only were they here, but this is a full decade after the previous scholars had decided. How wonderful!"<br><br>Standing back up, she sat down on a nearby rock and pulled out some water to drink before turning to her mentor.<br><br>"What is our next step?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 22:06:30</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Beaming at his student's enthusiasm, Chesterton translated the words as she spoke them. “<em>By the grace of Saint Michael, in the Year of the Lord 1246, here the demon was slain</em>. And if I guess right... Mr. al-Dossadi? Can you read this?”<br><br>Muiafa had been standing a few paces back, squinting out down the hill and rolling one of the tarry cigarettes he preferred. Chesterton's voice startled him, and he nearly inhaled the tobacco, glancing up with a harried expression. He sighed, putting the remains back in a leather wallet, and stepped up to join the two archaeologists.<br><br>Peering at the Arabic carving, he gave an embarrassed look. “It's archaic Classical... and I'm no linguist or historian.” Chesterton shook his head, muttering something about 'doomed to repeat...' Muiafa ran his fingers over the inscription, right to left, lips moving. “But this... this word is <em>Meekal</em>, the archangel Michael... it gives the year 622 After the Hijira... and this is<em>ghul</em>, a devil, a flesh-eating demon.” He straightened, glancing at the professor.<br><br>Chesterton bobbed in excitement. “622 AH... yes, that corresponds. Interesting... whoever was interred here was equally reviled by Christians and Muslims alike! Miss Chaucer... shall we take a look?”<br><br>Muiafa opened his satchel, producing three flashlights, and with a hard-done-by roll of his eyes and half-smile at Luci, followed the professor's gestures and ducked into the cave.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 01:02:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Demon? That's odd. Why would they mark the grave of an enemy?"<br><br>The mystery made the excavation all the more exciting, though, and she nearly burst with eagerness to research more. Looking over at Muiafa, she chuckled when he quickly put the tobacco away. As he read more of it, she repeated the words they said quietly, trying to sound them out on her tongue.<br><br>"Perhaps a traitor?"<br><br>She could think of few else who would garner such hostility. Still, she wanted to find out. Luci was more than happy to get out of the beating sun, so when Muiafa entered the cave, she followed him, with Chesterton behind her. Walking slowly as to not bump into the walls or anything. She was notoriously clumsy, and rocky terrain wasn't a friend of hers. Still, she loved the feel of going into such an ancient tomb, and she couldn't wait. She was able to walk standing up, as her 5'4" frame didn't reach the ceiling. Muiafa had to crouch, though, and she didn't stop to look around at Chesterton. Speaking to Muiafa, she smiled.<br><br>"Thank you for being our guide. You've been wonderful."<br><br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>16-04-2010, 09:15:40</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Muiafa's torch swept the tomb as the two scholars followed him in. He knew enough to hunch against the wall, saving any ground-based artefacts from his boots as he lit the path for them. Luci's words made him glance across at her in surprise, and he smiled weakly. “<em>C'est rien.</em>”<br><br>'Tomb' perhaps did the underground chamber too much honour. It was irregular, roughly kidney-shaped, the walls were only roughly worked, and it was about twelve or fifteen feet across on the longest axis. The ceiling looked as if it had been higher once, but geologic forces had gradually buckled it until it was scarcely five and a half feet in most places, and lower still in the middle of the space. Under that downwards bulge of stone was a grave, a stone coffin, like a crude sarcophagus without the lid.<br><br>Chesterton shone his light into that depression, and Luci's skin prickle. The light cast eerie shadows as it silhouetted a set of human bones. A well preserved skeleton, baked yellow-brown in the dry desert air and long ago passed through rot and corruption into stark lifelessness. The teeth seemed frozen in an eternal scream, jaws wide, and she saw something jutting out of the ribcage.<br><br>“It's remarkably well preserved,” the professor chirped as the three of them stood in the claustrophobic cavern. Muiafa looked pale, but Chesterton zinged with excitement. “Luci, I'd like you to do some preliminary measurements. Height of the remains, major bone lengths... and take some samples of that wooden spear point lodged through the poor fellow's sternum, for carbon dating. Professor Cawdor and I will come back tomorrow to do a full anthropometry and take a bone slice. I trust you can handle it, m'dear?”<br><br>He gave her a cheerful, chubby-cheeked smile, and he and Muiafa twisted the caps on their flashlights to turn them into upright lanterns, placing them in the cave to give her enough light to work with as the afternoon wore on.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>16-04-2010, 09:30:25</strong>
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				She smiled at Muiafa's modest response, nodding and following once more. When they reached the end, she felt a bit claustrophobic, but not enough to do anything. After all, she was studying to be an archaeologist. Claustrophobia was hardly helpful for that. Still, her mother had been extremely claustrophobic, so some of that wore off. As the light caught the skeleton, she initially backed away a bit, obviously new to this...but soon the excitement washed over her as well, and she noted that it was, indeed in good condition. She was more interested in artifacts than actual bones, but she knew the procedures, and the fact that Chesterton was trusting her with this was a big deal. Nodding happily, she answered in the affirmative.<br><br>"Of course! I'd be happy to."<br><br>Smiling, she put her backpack on the ground and used the flashlights' beams to help her get out a brush, sample bag, scalpel and measuring tape...along with a notebook and pencil. Going forward, she heard the professor and guide leave, and she got to work. Slowly and carefully, she measured, marked down the numbers, and sliced a very thin piece of the wooden stake to put in the sample bag. However, she couldn't resist going back to study it more in depth after she was done. Using her brush, she dusted some of the bones off and inspected them. Something seemed off, but she didn't know what it was. The sarcophagus had another inscription on it, and she couldn't resist reading it aloud. Sighing, she prepared to leave.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 04:01:17</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Luci settled herself on the hard stone floor, wriggling until she managed to organise herself comfortably. The surface was neither especially hot or cold, but it was unyielding and managed to bite her sensitive flesh any time she rested too long in one position.<br><br>Painstakingly, she went to work. Measuring the bones revealed they belonged to a tall, well-built male of indeterminate race (probably Caucasian, though, she thought, looking at the shape of the skull). He showed no signs of the malnutrition endemic to the era, but several bones had healed fractures ossified into them, particularly the on left, shield arm. He had been a warrior, clearly – and a strong one, judging by the deep grooves where muscles would have attached in life. She checked her watch, pressing a button to light up the screen in the cave; a couple of hours had passed. Taking out her sampling tools, she prepared to get a sliver of the wooden point that was rammed through his chest. It was dry, no, desiccated, and she had to be careful not to...<br><br>But the wood was so ancient that any contact beyond air molecules was destined to destroy it. Heart leaping into her throat, Luci watched in horror as it disintegrated into ligneous powder as soon as her blade prodded it. <em>Oh... shit</em>. The professors were sure to be <em>furious...</em><br><br>Suddenly, a sense of eerie <em>wrongness</em> filled her, a crushing weight of dread. She heard... she felt a breath on the back of her neck, something inhaling for the first time in Stygian centuries. She felt sick, dizzy, ice cold, and she blacked out for a few moments. When she managed to pick herself up she bolted back out the passage in a near-panic, until she burst out of the tomb into the dying rays of the dusk sun, heart pounding behind her breast, hands shaking with a nameless fear.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 06:23:17</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				When the stake disintegrated, Luci swore...which she never did.<br><br>"Shit."<br><br>Trying to catch as much of the powder as she could, she put it into a bag and sealed it quickly. However, she had no sooner put that bag away when she felt the air change. Eyes widening, her throat turned dry as she felt a shudder run down her spine. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and before she could even identify what was happening, she passed unconscious. When she woke, she didn't know how long she'd been out, but she didn't want to find out. Grabbing her backpack, she ran through the tunnel with a panicked expression and burst out into the heavy desert air with a gasp. Looking around, she didn't see anything, but she was still shaking from the unknown entity that had just scared her half to death. She was panting and her hand went to her pounding heart, unsure of what to do. She didn't exactly know where she was, and she was never very good at directions...she often got lost in the simplest of situations, let alone a strange environment. Still, she didn't want to wait around in that area. Something was very, very wrong. <br><br>Walking quickly, she began heading toward the direction she thought the camp was, but really she was just getting away. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>17-04-2010, 22:35:05</strong>
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				Luckily, even in the dying light, there was one force that remained constant to guide her back to camp: gravity. All she had to do was pick her way down the slope, trying not to slip on any of the loose rocks stirred up by the landslide that had uncovered the tomb, heading towards the flat ground where the tents and people would be.<br><br>If only it were that easy. Gnarled roots, uneven pebbles and loose scree conspired to turn the climb down into an obstacle course, and she fell more than once, scraping her knees bloody and gashing her palms, wrists aching from catching herself. The last time she tripped, she felt something pass overhead, like a vulture had swooped down so close that its passage stirred her hair... maybe she was lucky to have ducked, that time!<br><br>As she reached the foot of the slope, she saw the campfire up ahead, and made her way towards it. Sitting around on folding chairs or their own packs were the other students, professors and local volunteers, roasting sausages on sticks over the flames and drinking cans of beer, the archaeologist's ambrosia.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>18-04-2010, 20:09:45</strong>
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				She was notoriously clumsy, and by the time she returned to the camp, she was bloody and filthy. Still, she had her backpack, and immediately she went to Dr. Chesterton to pull him aside. Swallowing nervously, she looked around in worry before taking out the dust from the wooden stake. <br><br>"I'm so sorry, professor. I was as gentle as I could possibly be, but as soon as my tool brushed the stake, it disintegrated. I gathered as much of the dust as I could, and my measurements are in this notebook."<br><br>For now, she left out the part about the "presence," as she knew it would sound crazy. Still, he would be able to see the forming bruises, scrapes and cuts on her pale skin...as well as the dirt and her wide paranoid eyes. Licking her dry lips, she pushed some hair out of her face and handed him the notebook as well. She kept looking around behind her and rubbing her hands along her arms, as if she could remove the goosebumps that still remained there by simply massaging them away.<br><br>"Is it alright if...I mean...can I retire early tonight? I'm more tired than I thought."<br><br>In reality, she just wanted to curl up in her sleeping bag and hopefully wake up refreshed and unafraid.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>19-04-2010, 10:11:55</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Chesterton was deep in discussion with Professor Cawdor, a tall, gaunt man for whom the term Saturnine seemed to have been coined. The air was heavy with the smells of the citronella candles and harsher chemical repellents used to keep the desert's flying night fauna at bay, and the imported (not to say smuggled) Scottish beer her fellow students guzzled as they toasted the day's finds. The shorter, plumper teacher looked up and beamed a smile at Luci, but the expression faded to a serious frown as she took him aside and he saw her unhappiness.<br><br>“It <em>disin...</em> Oh, my God! Of all the stupid... You clumsy brat! Can't I even trust you to do a simple...” He snarled, and his hand whipped around to slap her cheek, causing a flare of redness. The pain was all the more terrible for coming from such an unexpected, kindly source, like being savaged by a beloved family pet.<br><br>“Thomas...” Cawdor said warningly, coming up towards them. Chesterton's shoulder flexed as if he was about to hit her again, but he narrowly subsided. The friendly, jovial teacher she had known seemed to have vanished, replaced by a scowling, seething brute. “Ahh, God. Who knows what damage you've done, you stupid cow!” He glanced up the hillside, not liking the look of the ascent at all, let alone during the night. “We'll have to go up at first light, Cawdor. See if there's anything to salvage.”<br><br>He glared at Luci. “Yes. You should go to bed. Hopefully you won't damage anything irreplaceable there.” Professor Cawdor placed a restraining, distracting hand on Chesteron's shoulder, and gave Luci a slight tilt of the head that said <em>Yes, perhaps you should go, so I can calm him down.</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 07:42:06</strong>
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				Luci saw his expression change, and she winced as he spoke so angrily.<br><br>"I'm so sorry, I swear I was as careful as was humanly possible! It was impossible!"<br><br>She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she controlled them...that is, until he slapped her. She gasped as her head snapped to the side and her pale skin turned crimson. Holding a hand to her face, she looked at him with betrayed and sad eyes...suddenly brimming over with tears. They ran down her face and she swallowed as misery consumed her. She flinched and cowered a bit when he raised his hand once more, but took a deep breath when Cawdor came and stopped him. Still holding her face and crying softly, she nodded and ran to her tent, quickly entering and closing the flap. There, she collapsed into her sleeping back and began crying in earnest. She couldn't believe what had just happened, especially after the terrifying ordeal in the cave. Sobbing quietly, she slowly cried herself to sleep...
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>24-04-2010, 10:40:37</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Eventually, cheeks crusted with tears, Luci managed to drift off into the tempestuous sea of dreams...<br><br><hr><br>The air was icy-cold, and smelled of pine needles and the cold salt of the northern seas, far removed from the burning, mineral scent of the Syrian wastes. A thick mist surrounded her, turning the dark serrations of the trees, the winding track and the precipitous cliffs into silvery ghosts of themselves. The stars in the moonless sky did not twinkle; they hung like funery lanterns over her dream-realm.<br><br><em>Come to me...</em><br><br>The voice – unless she only heard it in her mind? – seemed to come from behind her, and she turned. Only as it wavered around her legs did she realise that she was differently dressed than before. A gown of the lightest azure silk clung to her body, smooth and diaphanous against her skin. It should have provided no protection against the cold, but though she felt the chill, it did not seem to bother her here. As she looked back, she could feel an ominous presence drawing closer, a sense that she was being hunted, or sought.<br><br><em>I am coming for you...</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 20:57:33</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Luci often had vivid dreams, but none quite so vivid as this one. Following the seemingly familiar path through the snowy woods, she marveled at its beauty. It seemed like she was in Scandinavia...or somewhere much more suited to her complexion than Syria. Spinning around as she took in all the sights, sounds and smells, she heard the voice and paused. What was that? The dress fit her like a glove, and she felt like a princess in a fairytale. This was a good dream...<br><br>Or so she thought. When the strange voice continued and said it was coming for her, she stopped dead in her tracks and furrowed her brow before speaking.<br><br>"Who's there?"<br><br>Her voice held no trace of fear or hesitation, only curious wonder. After all, this was a dream...right? Although generally she didn't know she was in a dream as she was. All around, this was odd, and she looked around her to find the source of the ominous feeling.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>14-05-2010, 21:15:30</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>Who's there... who's there... who's there...</em><br><br>The fog and hanging branches should have stifled the echo, but instead they returned her words to her in a cruel, frosty echo. Whichever way she turned, the path seemed to coil to follow her, always stretching ahead and behind with a forboding, predestined aura.<br><br><em>Clomp... clomp... clomp...</em><br><br>She saw the silhouette first – or perhaps the burning eyes. It strode towards her, a shadow in the mist, gradually resolving into a towering, male form with a cloak flowing behind. Pauldrons widened already broad shoulders and a breastplate thickened the powerful body, while a face almost too gaunt and like a death's-head to be handsome sat unhelmeted above, a torrent of wild black hair falling to the shoulders. Eyes gleamed like will o' the wisps in deep sockets, watching her unblinkingly.<br><br>The man moved with an unencumbered, primal grace as he approached, seemingly unhindered by the weight of the scarlet-painted plate armour he wore. “<em>I</em> am here,” he said, his voice deep but rasping. His accent was strange, and Luci knew instinctively that though she could understand him, he was not speaking English; but rather a language not voiced by a living tongue for seven hundred years. His pace slowed as he approached, but showed no signs of halting at any distance from her. His terrible, fierce, mesmerising gaze ran up and down her form, and suddenly the gossamer silk dress felt so very revealing.<br><br>"I have come back to you."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>17-05-2010, 22:11:54</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The natural word didn't seem to exist here, so physics was pointless. Breathing hard, her breath showed in the supposedly cold air although her body didn't feel the bite. She knew she was lost, although she didn't have a destination or home in this world anyway. All she could do was walk in what seemed like circles and hope that she "found" what she was "looking for." Whatever that was...<br><br>When she heard the crunch of another's feet in the snow, she whipped around and her eyes searched the seemingly empty forest for the source of the sound. Suddenly she caught a shadow in the corner of her eyes and her gaze zeroed in on the figure. Instead of backing away like any rational human being would have, she took a step forward to try and figure out just who...or what...the silhouette was. <br><br>The burning eyes did catch her attention first, and she narrowed her own eyes at the pair she saw. When he came more fully into her view, she ran her eyes up and down the man and took in every detail she could. He was tall...very tall...and armored. He didn't seem skinny, necessarily, but his face was rather gaunt. His hair was flowing and dark, and although his features themselves were handsome, his overall appearance was a bit unnerving. <br><br>When he spoke, it was unlike any human voice she'd heard, and she knew he was the same voice from earlier. She was rather confused that she could understand this foreign language, though, and her lips were slightly parted in wonder as he approached. Unlike most, he didn't stop a respectable distance away from her, and she ended up having to back up anyway. Her back soon hit the trunk of one of the tall and glorious pines in the forest, though, and she stared in wonder at him. She shivered...not from the cold, but from his intense gaze and appreciation of her body.<br><br>"Come back to me? I've never seen you before in my life. Who are you?"<br><br>Her tone wasn't angry, just full of confusion.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>18-05-2010, 03:21:18</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The analytical part of her mind that had not been drowned out by the Wonderland-illogic of the lucid dreamworld studied the armour of the approaching man. She recognised it from her area of expertise; the style of full plate characteristic of the Baltic lands around the time of the crusades. The breastplate was embossed with a blade and cross, though they were marred, lacerated as if by some beast's talons. And the language the man spoke... could very well be the tongue of that time and place.<br><br>The mist swirled around the imposing but haunting figure as he drifted towards her, unblinking. He didn't arrest his gait as she retreated, and when she stood pinned against the tree he came close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating off him, as if all the metal he wore was fresh from the forge and only starting to cool. He lifted a red gauntlet as if to touch her cheek, but paused, fingers hovering near her skin. She felt her blood react to his proximity, a hand-shaped blush leaping to her cheek where Professor Chesterton had struck her.<br><br>The knight's eyes hardened, then without warning he dropped to one knee before her. His head bowed, dark tendrils falling around his grim face.<br><br>“I am yours, my lady, for you have returned me to the immortal coil after centuries of ashen sleep. Tancred of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, last and most accursed of that order, lives by your hand and serves your will.”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>18-05-2010, 23:45:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She did recognize the armor. Ah. This made sense, then. It must be her mind inventing a warrior like those she studied, and sending him to her in her dreams. But still...this didn't feel like a usual dream. Her gaze focused on the slash marks across the breastplate, and she reached out a hand to touch the metal. Although she expected it to be cold, the metal was warm...warm like a human's body. However, he didn't seem purely human. <br><br>He moved closer, and she looked up into his eyes, almost hypnotized by his strange gaze and the intensity it contained. Who was this man? As his hand lifted, she almost closed her eyes from the warmth that it produced, seeming to make her cheeks flush. She couldn't see the hand-shaped mark, but she did see his face change. For a moment, she worried he might harm her, but suddenly he was kneeling at her feet in a long forgotten act of chivalry.<br><br><em>Tancred of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword.</em><br><br>Furrowing her brow, she looked down at him and swallowed before speaking.<br><br>"Tancred...I'm Luci...well, short for Lucinda."<br><br>She didn't know why she was telling him this, but if this was a dream, what could it hurt?<br><br>"And I don't understand. How did I return you? You don't owe me anything. You must be mistaking me for someone else."<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>19-05-2010, 21:18:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Bowing and kneeling before her, the eerie knight murmured her name, articulating the unfamiliar syllables; “Luci...”<br><br>An icy gale blew through the trees, tormenting her hair, and suddenly the mean reached up, his armoured hands clasping her hips with a frightening strength – a crushing, possessive desire, a a paper-thin restraint. Tancred leaned forward, his face pressing to her body; the wind plastered the thin silk dress to her form, so it was as if his nose and jaw were pressed to her sex, her stomach, her breast as he nuzzled against her, standing until he loomed darkly above her. He inhaled her as he rose, drinking in her scent, her warmth...<br><br>“You freed me, my lady, from seven centuries of ashen sleep.” His gauntlets seized her hand, and planted it over his heart, against the warm steel of his breast plate. He merely gazed at her, burning eyes unblinking as she protested. “For that boon, I am your servant...and I will make you my mistress...”<br><br>Tancred suddenly leaned down, his body forcing her against the tree, powerful arms seizing her petite, feminine body in a dominating embrace. He seemed to swell before her, a sweltering darkness that filled her vision and overwhelmed her mind. Then, his mouth was on her throat, a toothsome kiss...<br><br>Darkness.<br><br><hr><br>“Ahhh! Help! Oh GOD! HELP!”<br><br>Luci shuddered awake, her tear- and sleep-crusted eyes opening to see that it was still night. Her partner, an older, blonde Scotswoman named Ginnifer struggled awake in her sleeping bag adjacent. The cry came from outside, a male voice lost to panic.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>19-05-2010, 21:34:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The way he pronounced her name sent chills down her spine, and she realized it was more seductive and erotic than she thought her name could ever be. Swallowing hard, she stared down at him and gasped at his sudden movement. If he had squeezed her hips any harder, he surely would have broken a bone. However, he seemed to restrain himself, and she was grateful...even if this was just a dream. When his face pressed itself into her body, she tensed and tried to move away from him with no success. Looking up and around the trees as the awkward embrace continued, she was glad when he was fully upright and looming once more. <br><br>Her hand went to his breastplate, but she did try to pull it back very soon, obviously uncomfortable.<br><br><em>I will make you my mistress...</em><br><br>The dark promise of those words hit her, and she opened her mouth to protest.<br><br>"What do you...?"<br><br>She didn't get to finish her sentence, though, as his mouth descended onto her throat and she felt the sharp kiss.<br><br><hr><br><em>“Ahhh! Help! Oh GOD! HELP!”</em><br><br>She sat up so quickly she was almost dizzy, and she was on her feet in seconds. Running out in her white t-shirt and blue pajama shorts (http://www2.victoriassecret.com/images/prodpri2/V299908.jpg), her red curls were a mess around her head and her flushed face was wide eyed with worry. Looking around, she tried to determine the sourcce of the scream as Ginnifer did the same.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>20-05-2010, 23:26:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The desert night was starkly cold, making Luci's nipples harden against her light top and reminding her vividly of the Baltic chill of her dream. Unlike that vision, though, the Syrian air was desiccated, not mist-shrouded. <br><br>Always audacious, the redhead was one of the first out into the camp, where the fire's embers glittered redly, and a few electric lanterns provided light and were plastered with insects – dead insects, littering the ground in a crunchy carpet. The scream came from another archaeology post-grad, Jono, who was backing away from Professor Chesterton's tent, pale and shaking, his hands clenched to his mouth. Cawdor and Muiafa were also up; the tall, thin professor's tent was next to Chesterton's, and Muiafa's reflexes were honed by living in a more dangerous country than the Scottish or American youths. The dark young man clutched a trowel fearfully, padding towards the tent's flap.<br><br>The three peered inside, and were greeted by a grisly scene.<br><br>Chesterton sprawled atop his sleeping back, head twisted back at an impossible angle, eyes bulging like pearls in the gloom. His chest had been... lacerated, mauled, mutilated. Flesh and fat and muscle had been torn apart, surrounding him with a pool of black, clotted blood and gristly lumps. Broken ribs jutted like pale branches amidst the gore, framing violently shredded organs. A look of terror was etched on his bloodless lips and reflected in unblinking eyes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>21-05-2010, 00:10:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luci knew that the desert air would be frigid, but she had forgotten to cover up before rushing out of the tent. Because deserts had little to no vegetation to help regulate their temperature, they saw both ends of the spectrum in 24 hours' time. During the day it was unbearably hot, and at night it was almost the polar opposite...literally. Still, she didn't seem to mind or notice that her nipples were almost visible through the thin jersey fabric of her white t-shirt.<br><br>It was no surprise that Luci was one of the first to the tent flap, and she only paused when she saw Jono's face. He was not easily shaken, and the look of absolute terror etched in his features was enough to make her stop and her heart race. Still, she rushed in the tent with no worry to her own safety, and was greeted with a sight that would haunt her thoughts and dreams for the rest of her life. Muiafa held up a hand to his mouth and dropped the trowel, while Luci gasped and swallowed back the bile that threatened to spill forth. That was saying a lot, as Luci had a strong stomach. Growing up on a farm, she had seen grittier scenes than most people, but this...this was like something out of a bad horror movie....like Hostel...or Nightmare on Elm Street. Ginnifer peeked in after a while and immediately ducked back out to vomit on the ground. Jono had already thrown up his food from the past 5 days, and ironically it was the three people in the tent that managed to control their stomachs. Luci was about ready to bend down and see if she could do anything when Cawdor came over and put his hand around her shoulder. His long fingered left hand reached over to cover her eyes and he steered her out of the tent. It seemed that chivalry wasn't dead with the aging professor. <br><br>Muiafa followed soon after, and Cawdor took Luci over to a folding chair to push her gently into it. Her face was blank, but then she spoke.<br><br>"No! We have to get help! We have to..."<br><br>Cawdor shook his head and sighed.<br><em><br>"He's already gone, Luci."</em><br><br>Muiafa walked over and Cawdor turned to him.<br><br><em>"Stay with her...and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish."</em><br><br>Apparently they knew her all too well, and as the professor straightened back up on shaky knees, and looked around. Muiafa spoke.<br><em><br>"Whatever animal did that might still be close. We have to secure the camp."</em><br><br>Cawdor nodded and ran a hand through his thinning hair.<br><br><em>"I agree."</em><br><br>Luci suddenly remembered something and turned to them.<br><br>"Earlier, in the cave, I felt something...like, heavy breathing on the back of my neck. It didn't feel human, so I would guess that might be the attacker. If I had to guess, I'd say the cave was its lair."<br><br>Muiafa looked to Cawdor and the professor considered it for a moment.<br><em><br>"Alright...but if the animal is nocturnal, which it seems to be, then it would be better to try and get at it during the day. We can get a group together in the morning and head for the cave."</em><br><br>Luci stood up.<br><br>"But what if it comes back? We need to go now!"<br><br>She was clearly agitated, and Muiafa went closer after receiving a look of direction from Cawdor. Putting his tan arm around the redhead, he shook his head.<br><em><br>"Luci, you know that isn't smart. If the animal wanted more than one attack tonight, then it wouldn't have left."</em><br><br>He left his arm around her after that, and his thumb even rubbed tiny absentminded circles around her upper arm. He seemed to be holding her close for more than her own safety, but she didn't notice it. Turning with her, he walked her back to her tent, and went through the flap while Cawdor went back to some of the other professors and began working out what they were going to do. Muiafa sat on her cot with her and gradually urged her to lay back down. Running a hand through her hair, Luci finally noticed the awkward actions but said nothing. Muiafa smiled gently and then stood up to leave the tent. However, Luci waited mere minutes before getting up quietly and going back outside. She was wide awake, and determined to find out what had happened. Knowing that the professors kept some firearms in the jeeps, she snuck quickly over to the vehicles without alerting anyone to her presence. Getting into the back of one of them, she pulled out a .22 pistol and slipped back into her tent to get a sweater, shoes and her backpack...filled with all the emergency equipment. Once more, she left the tent and escaped the campsite fully, heading back to the cave...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 02:03:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Climbing the hill had been no picnic during the day, with the scorching sun and rising slope; in the evening, she still bore cuts and scrapes from tumbling down in the twilight; but at night, with only the gibbous moon to guide her... every rock underfoot turned into a potential neck-breaker, every shrub a frightening and unseen set of claws to rake at her legs, every slip of gravel or loose dirt a frightening moment of lost balance. She longed to use the flashlight in her backpack... but that would have given her position away instantly to the nervous eyes watching from the camp below. So, Luci fought her way uphill, earning more scratches and gashes and bruises while trying not to feel like a fool. Any sweat she managed to work up instantly became a cold and clammy sheen on her skin, but at least she didn't have to worry about sunburn. Insects, on the other hand... the air was heavy with the feathery bodies of moths that seemed to make a game of flying as close to her face as possible, as if they could score points by hitting her eyes or nose or mouth.<br><br>At last, with aching legs and shoulders from the heavy pack, she stood at the mouth of the tomb again. In the daylight, it had looked like a murky passage into Hell... but at night, oit was just another patch of darkness in the star-lit desert.<br><br><hr><br>“Was it a jackal? Could a jackal have done that?”<br><br>“Maybe, Ginnifer,” Muiafa said patiently, trying to pull the woman's hand off his arm. Privately, he added <em>If it was the biggest fucking jackal in the history of the world.</em> But that wouldn't help calm her. His thoughts strayed towards a different sort of creature. He'd heard stories that, when they took Baghdad, the American soldiers had blown open the cages in the zoo – or maybe the keepers had opened them before they fled, so as their charges would not starve – and that for a while there had been lions prowling the streets of the city. That was not the only zoo in Iraq, after all, not to mention the private animal collections of rich Baathists. He had even seen an Ethiopian man with a heavily-muzzled hyaena in the markets of Damascus, once. Those jaws and muscular paws could do a lot of damage...<br><br>“I have to go,” he said, firmly but as politely as he could manage, among her nervous grip off his arm. He gave a silent sigh as the woman moved off to bother someone else, and returned to Luci's tent to check on her. In case she had managed to fall asleep, he didn't announce himself (all right, perhaps he was half-hoping to catch a glimpse of her naked, as well), but just stuck his head under the flap.<br><br>In the darkness of the tent, he blinked to adjust his eyes, and saw a bulge in the sleeping bag. He smiled, and was about to withdraw... when he realised it wasn't <em>her</em> shape, which he was quite familiar with by sight.<br><br>“Luci...?” he queried, stepping into the tent. He poked the bulge experimentally... bags of clothing.<br><br>“&lt;Oh, <em>damn</em>. 'Don't do anything stupid', Cawdor says, and what does she do? <em>Something stupid.</em> God curse all women, everywhere, with a plague of boils! Or give them the common sense of a man – or even a donkey!&gt;”<br><br>He slung the bolt-action .22 rifle he carried under his shoulder, and prepared to tell the professor that Luci was missing. He had a fair idea of where she might have gone, too... <em>The tomb.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>24-05-2010, 03:42:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luci scrambled over the rocks and hills as she made her way rather blindly back to the tomb. Luckily she had excellent night vision, and was much more suited to cold and darkness than the bright sun and heat. However, she was also notoriously bad with directions and spatial relations, so it took her a while to find the cavern. The scrapes and cuts sustained from her earlier flight were scabbed over, but she was making some new ones as she fell a few times on her way. As she finally reached the flat land that indicated she was close, she stumbled over the inscription she had seen earlier. Now that she was far away from camp, she turned on her flashlight and entered the tomb. <br><br>She was not easily frightened, but the desert was not her friend, and she was not a fan of reptiles and the like. Still, she was determined to find whatever animal had done this to Chesterton. Yes, he had hurt her feelings, but he had still been a mentor for years...and he didn't deserve any pain, let alone what had been done to him. Logically it just didn't make sense, but she had felt an ominous presence in the tomb earlier, and then this had happened. Surely it couldn't have been a coincidence. <br><br>It was still night, so undoubtedly if the animal did live here, it would either be awake or still out. Still, she had to try. The only time she'd shot a gun was during the preparation for this trip, and her aim had been awful. Still, she cocked the trigger and held it at her side cautiously. Walking slowly through the cave, her shoes crunched over the age old sand and soft rock.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>24-05-2010, 21:19:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Risking a look back down the hillside, Luci saw the broad beam of an electric lantern sweeping upwards. Her absence had been noted; pursuit (or rescue, as they no doubt prefer to think of themselves) was coming, though she was a ways ahead yet. The beam from her own light was hidden by the walls of the low passage as she stepped into it.<br><br>Somehow, the cavern-tomb seemed more welcoming in the night; there was not the sense of transgressing from the scorching sunlight into the ancient darkness, just a progression from one shadow to another. The archaeology student carefully picked her way along the tunnel and in to the irregular stone cyst of the burial chamber. The empty sarcophagus mocked her like a gap-toothed smile. <em>Isn't this all just impossible, Luci? Aren't you just going mad?</em> She swept the beam around the chamber; as desolate as when she had left that afternoon.<br><br>Suddenly, there was a scrambling rush as something lunged at her. She saw a pallid shape reach out, grabbing the flashlight and quenching its glow with a smothering palm, jerking it out of her hand with unnatural speed and strength. Her eyes ached at the plunge into blindness.<br><br>“My... lady...” the voice was the same from her dream, but a hideous rasp instead of a sonorous, deep tone. Medieval Estonian words overlaid with an echo of English in her mind. It sounded as dry as the desert. “Vy have you come?” The voice slunk away from her, retreating into the dark of the tomb with a leathery creak.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>29-05-2010, 23:37:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Luci cursed under her breath when she saw the lantern light weaving its way up the hillside to undoubtedly look for her. She'd hoped that with the professor lying mangled in a puddle of blood they would be distracted enough to overlook her absence. However, it didn't seem that she would be that lucky. Huffing in frustration, she ducked inside the cave and began walking back to the tomb slowly. Just when she had reached the alcove that held the skeleton, she gasped as something dark and ominous descended on her with unnatural speed. <br><br>At first she assumed she'd found the lair, and that the shadow was the beast coming to do the same thing to her as it had done to Chesterton. However, instead of a snarl or pant, she was left upright...missing only her flashlight. It was pitch black within nanoseconds, and she inhaled sharply and swallowed before looking surprised at the voice she heard. Human? This didn't make any sense! Who would be staying in this hole? And what was worse, he sounded familiar. Suddenly her awakened mind remembered her dream, and she gasped. But...that was impossible! She must be going crazy! That had to be it. Well, at least, crazier than usual. Swallowing, she stared into the darkness toward the voice and tried to walk forward. <br><br>"Who are you? Tancred?"<br><br>She reached out a pale hand to try and find him, but was only met with black air. Suddenly her protective instincts kicked in, and she spoke quickly.<br><br>"You have to get out of here. A man was attacked at my camp....it was...awful. It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen, and only an animal could have done it. Earlier I felt something...inhuman...here, and I thought the animal might have lived here. You're not safe!"<br><br>She tried to feel around with her arms for him, but couldn't manage to find him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dirigible</strong> on <strong>30-05-2010, 23:10:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				“Yesss.”<br><br>The word was hissed like a death-rattle, laden with scorn and self-loathing. The claustrophobic echoes of the cave surrounded her, making the hushed, rasping sounds of movement seem to come from all around and far away at once.<br><br>“Tancred, I was... and Tancred I may be again. That name... it echoes down the centuries, at least in here; I doubt anyone has recalled it in the wider world since I was cast into stone and darkness. Why did you return me to this coil of lamentations?” The voice took on a pitiable tone at the end, and as she fumbled, arms outstretched into the darkness, Luci's heart jumped as she touched something. It felt like a wrinkled, cracked leather glove... or an old, old man's hand, with long, jaggedly broken nails that lightly brushed her soft skin. Tancred inhaled roughly, then uttered a long, aching sigh, thick with nameless hungers, thirsts and desires.<br><br>The hand drew back as she continued. “An animal. How right you are. A beast, created by my hand, conjured through the centuries by yours!<br><br>“My lady... <em>something inhuman is here with you now.</em>”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Unearthed Obsession</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Clio</strong> on <strong>31-05-2010, 21:37:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She was beyond confused by him, and instinctively knew that this was no ordinary man. Why had she even thought that to begin with? After all, she'd seen him in a dream! Besides, he was in a cave in the desert at night, and he talked in an ancient language. Something was wrong here. Was she mad? Was he simply an auditory hallucination? When her hand met his, she gasped before he pulled it away. No...this wasn't an auditory hallucination, and the broken nails had left a thin scratch in her arm that bled slightly. Surely hallucinations and dreams didn't do that!<br><br>She didn't back away, but she swallowed and spoke softly. His next words made her very nervous.<br><br>"What do you mean? I don't understand...I didn't return you to anything! Coil of lamentations? And what do you mean something inhuman is in here now? Have you seen this animal?"<br><br>Somehow she knew that he wasn't speaking of an actual animal...but she tried to hang on to whatever rational thought she could. <br><br>"Are you sick? You don't sound well."<br><br>That was an understatement, but he truly sounded like an ancient man on the verge of death...very much unlike the man she'd seen in her dream.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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