second rune; death; video

[deadelfwalking]

 [When the feed starts, the netbook's camera shows you a view of the forest floor.  A deer carcass lies among the grass and twigs, and it's obvious that the poor thing did not have a clean death.  It's in the advanced stages of decomposition, even though the blood around its body is red and fresh.  The camera does not linger on this image for more than a few seconds; it pans upward, to show Koltira's face.

 He's standing over the deer, holding the device in one hand, holding Byfrost with the other.  Agony creases his expression: his jaw is clenched, his eyes narrowed, every muscle in his pale, sallow face is taut with pain.  The guttural growl of his voice occasionally rises in octave as he talks, as though something is beating the shit out of him from the inside.]

Were we brought here to fight for something, or to waste time reliving the past?  Send.  Us.  On.  A mission.

[He stabs the tree next to him with Byfrost, and the sword glows sickly green; the tree bark begins to decay rapidly, as though it's practically melting.  Diseased fumes pour out of the bark, forming a nasty miasma around Koltira's body.]

I need a battle. [he hisses, and blood trickles from the corner of his mouth as he bites down on the inside of his cheek.]  Now.

Comments

video;

[confesses]

[Kahlan looks tired. Exhausted, really. But something in her eyes sharpens at this display. She straightens her shoulders, her back.]

A baneling? [Her eyes narrow; she studies the image carefully.] Here?

Re: video;

[deadelfwalking]

[He would honestly know he she feels! But at the moment he's just a bit confused. He growls, but it's not a mark of hostility; just a consequence of trying to tamp down on another spasm of pain.]

... pardon?

video;

[confesses]

[Well if he's asking what it is, it's unlikely he is a baneling, so she explains - but quickly.

The growling doesn't seem to shake her up, but her eyes narrow a bit.] Banelings, servants of the Keeper of the Underworld. [And to clarify:] In order to remain in the world of the living, they have to kill for the Keeper each day to maintain their lives.

[She adds, carefully:] They exhibit...symptoms similar to your own.

[deadelfwalking]

[really truly, he would have had more pertinent questions to ask about this bit of foreign lore on any other day. For the moment, though, he spits back.]

Would that I had such a curse! I would simply let this unlife end, in that case.

[confesses]

I see. [The answer is so...noble. It's enough to surprise Kahlan briefly, before she recovers.]

I know you must be in terrible pain, [He certainly seems to be, anyway, and she really does look sympathetic about it -] but what is the nature of your curse?

[She wants to help :(]

[deadelfwalking]

[his response is interspersed with pauses, to re-focus and fight back the spasms.] It is the curse of undeath, my lady. There is nothing for it, I'm afraid.