Long Shadows

[madimpossibledreamer]

A whole three lines are actually taken from her dialogue (the black tendrils, the clue, and the aftershocks).

Main Points:
Assassin's Creed/The Secret World
Summary: Desmond finds an enemy he hates more than the Draug, and may have found the reason he's been subconsciously avoiding the bridges in Solomon Island.
Word Count: 2185
Rating: Teen

 

         He’s chasing down ravens again on some sort of weird scavenger hunt, only this time, he’s not alone, and they’re very real, and he’s absolutely seeing the difference, here. It’s not very clear at a glance what’s wrong with them, and it’s not until they’ve chased off the third flock that he gets it—they’re not moving like ravens. He gets the idea that Rukh is weird and magical and probably not a normal raven, sure, but there’s something just wrong and unnatural about how they move.
         And then they start circling, and Nate mutters about how he hates Revenants and Chelsea chimes in with the fact that apparently someone named Rose does too shortly before they get ambushed by the new kind of undead.
         Revenants, it turns out, are even more annoying than Draug. Mostly, this is because they are more insulting than the Wannabe Hitman Man. The thing is, they look and kind of behave like a corrupted Assassin, if said Assassin also had a raven-like theme. The hood’s maybe a bit more pointed, kind of like a beak, the tattered garments it wears with visible stitches, but the only reason it’s not pure Mentor black is the blood stains Desmond identifies at a glance with experience—whose, he doesn’t even know, at this point. Or maybe the hood is supposed to be more reminiscent of a plague doctor’s mask? They don’t use Hidden Blades, but the first one they encounter is duel wielding knives. Others seem to favor bigger blades, particularly jagged ones with a saw-like edge, but they’re pretty much all dual wielding and just as adept with the blades as any Assassin.
         They’re also quiet. Really quiet. You can spot one nearby, maybe, if you notice a bunch of the weird not-ravens (or rats, or spiders, or bats, or, apparently, according to Nate, worms, although they don’t spot any of that, though whether or not it’s just because that’s really hard to spot is hard to say) hanging out in a spot, but they’re not even predictable. You step in a spot with one, and it’s a variable amount of time before they pop out at you, trying to stab you or send swarms of animals at you before turning right back into the not-animals, but they are really quiet in between, and the hood’s up so it’s not like you could see a face even if there is one underneath to begin with.
         It occurs to Desmond, rolling out of the way in a desperate urge to not be stabbed, that maybe that’s why he’d run into so many animals that just...were unnaturally silent. And then others probably were quiet to avoid being seen and targeted, because these guys aren’t even targeting vitals, and yeah, they do use poison, but the choice of poisons is really revealing. Between their weapons (chosen to inflict maximum damage, not for a swift kill), the fact that their animal swarms inflict poison or what feels like illnesses, and then the fact that the poisons they use on their weapons are specifically chosen not to induce a swift end, but to hurt, to prolong the pain, these guys are absolutely sadistic bastards, and he doesn’t have to see their face or hear them cackling with glee to know that they take pride in the fact that proud Chelsea, nonverbal and as stoic as one can be in the face of a bullet wound, was sobbing.
         When Rukh comes back during the third fight, he takes one look at the proceedings and decides to be just as insulted, making that car alarm noise as loud as he can and harrying the Revenant until the combined effect of their attacks drives it off. Desmond’s attempting to figure out how to just...erase it from reality, using the Calculations, but he hasn’t worked it out just yet.
         It’s a bit of a relief that someone’s taking this as much of an insult as he is. No one else seems to care, too much—just another monster for them to fight, just another day at work. It’s also...he’d figured Rukh could take care of himself, but it’d still been weird having the bird out of his sight, and he’d been concerned about the little guy. Rukh accepts a few pets regally before starting to try to peck the money pouch off of his neck. Desmond helps him; they could use the break anyway.
         “Other than the color, I couldn’t tell the difference,” Lydia remarks snidely, and she really has to figure out when to stop ticking people and birds off.
         That seems to be one insult too many, too, because Rukh waits until the second Desmond has the pouch loose before diving at the teenager. Desmond’s about to call him off when the raven starts flying back and there’s no sign of a wound. Her response is a belated “Hey!”, probably because she hadn’t expected any actual repercussions.
         As Rukh glides closer, it becomes clear what the raven had been after as Desmond spots the chain dangling from his beak—he broke the clasp on her necklace and stole it, but he doesn’t come to rest on Desmond’s shoulder again, this time sitting in a branch close to him. Probably not quite sure how Desmond’s going to react to blatant thievery.
         “Hey. Tell your bird to give that back,” she demands, and, well, there goes that. He glances at Rukh, who inches away, looking a little defensive.
         “He’s not exactly a pet, and I didn’t train him. I can almost guarantee, though—apologize, and he will. I’ll pay for fixing the clasp, or whatever.” Apparently, something in his tone got across to Rukh—or maybe he’s just that smart, because he puffs up slightly and inches back closer to Desmond, still carefully holding the necklace in his beak.
         While she thinks that over, Desmond looks through what Shaun (or maybe Rebecca, since a care package does kinda seem more like Rebecca’s style) sent back—mostly snacks, like nuts and jerky and dried fruit, which is appreciated and probably intended for him to share with Rukh, which makes Desmond suspect Shaun might have spoiled the bird a little, not that he’d ever admit to it.  Also, a magically refilling water bottle, which is hugely appreciated, since Desmond’s been getting a little dehydrated sometimes, even with...whatever’s going on with him, these days. He also included four Bluetooth headsets, so they can more easily keep in contact if they’re separated (and, weirdly, the exact design is super familiar even though he’s never heard of the brand) and a note about how they’re still looking into Beaumont. He’s listed on some of the more internal stuff as a Morninglight Recruiter and Overseer, although what he oversees they’re still working on. It’s probably a thanks for the books, although maybe he should just thank the guy anyway?
         “Our eyes just aren’t as good as yours, all right?” Lydia bursts out with, finally, and Desmond glances up from looking at all that to exchange a look with Rukh, who seems to be thinking about it, turning his head and blinking a lot, before gliding back over to drop the necklace back in her hands.
         It’s another odd thing, Desmond realizes, because now that he’s looking even without Eagle Vision, he can tell the difference almost immediately, and so can Rukh, but—can the others not? “Is there a way to tell where a Revenant is?” he asks Nate, almost expecting him to agree that it’s obvious, but almost immediately, his Agent shakes his head.
         “We’re getting through this pretty quick, actually. It’s usually hours of wandering around—and sure, I don’t mind a good hike, but being on edge all the time wondering if you’re going to get ambushed is just...dirty work. Why do you think it took so long to stop the Black Death?” That—huh. Though he seems to be realizing something, too. “I’d say it’s thanks to Rukh—he’s got pretty good instincts—but he wasn’t even here at the beginning.”
         This is probably as good a time as any. “I’ve got the Third Eye, apparently. Everyone rested up?” He doesn’t particularly want to answer any more questions, even if it’s pretty clear everyone has some, Lydia and Chelsea excited while Nate is mostly just thoughtful.
         “Absolutely!” Chelsea responds with enthusiasm, and he’ll take it.
         They find a dead guy at the fountain in the Children’s Park (cheery), who had been trying to banish the Revenants. Apparently feathers specifically from Revenants placed in a pentagram (drawn with, thankfully, not blood for once) can drive them away, at least for a while. Like a lot of the instructions Desmond’s been fighting, they neglect to mention that this empowers the Revenant a little and you actually have to fight it one last time to send them all away.  By this point he’s starting to get used to that, so he was at least a little prepared for one to come charging at him from behind, and the pause and harder attacks after he manages to dodge show a little frustration, which, good. He hopes that their every wish gets thwarted, and if he has to be the one to do it, well, it’s his pleasure. He puts a little extra oomph into the final blow, though—who knows, maybe it’ll get...extra banished, or something? Is that even a thing? If not, he really hopes he can make it be a thing.
         They barely have time to breathe before Madame Rogêt’s calling him on his cell phone, babbling about more visions. He didn’t give her his number, but she got it somehow anyway (which, yeah, okay, so she’s got visions, she’s got an excuse, but this is still getting to be this weird trend and he’s not exactly comfortable with that).
         “You’ve heard the poem, haven’t you? Two paths diverge, but you, Desmond, you’ve taken both, haven’t you? Burnt inside and out, the wrath of a star. Exodus. And another—I see black tendrils rising to embrace you, voices seeking to corrupt you. A path in the shade, a path in the sun. On the tip of the pyramid, your path shall be revealed.” She finally takes a breath, the frantic tone slowing. “Sorry about that. I wanted to make sure you heard before it was gone.”
         There’s...a lot to unpack there. He’s pretty convinced. “Is this something I need to act on now?” Not that he’s planning on ignoring it, but...it’s useful for planning purposes.
         “I...believe so, yes. Sometimes I get more visions, like the aftershocks of an earthquake. I’ll contact you with anything more.” She sighs and adds, “I wish I could tell you it will get easier from here.”
         “Don’t worry, I’ve never expected it to be easy. Thanks,” he tells her before she hangs up. “Something about ‘the tip of the pyramid’? Though with this town, there’s pyramids everywhere…”
         “If the last one was a sign, then maybe it’s something literal again. A street name, or shop, or something like that?” Chelsea suggests—a bit of progress, at least she’s listening to Lydia a little.
         “Good idea, hang on.” He sends them all the map pictures he’d taken on his phone, and it doesn’t take long before Nate spots it.
         “Pyramid Point.” Right. The area down the street from Norma’s with all the cultist zombies.
         “That’s a bit of a walk, though, and visions like this usually involve a scavenger hunt,” Lydia suggests—maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to walk, but splitting up—in pairs of two—might be a good idea, here.
         “Okay, Lydia and Nate, you stay here and wait for the next one—but first, the Templars have sent goodies.” Chelsea’s the only one who hasn’t had any experience with an earpiece like this, but it doesn’t take much to get her up to speed, and then they’re off.
         There’s the occasional misstep, and they’re sometimes a little slower as they attempt to work out the location based on her next vision. It feels like, at every location, they’re doing...something. Desmond wouldn’t have a clue what, but the golden spot speaks to him with the Bee-woman’s voice, at the tree he’d run away from Jack the Lad (thankfully, no sign of him, or, oddly, of John, which he was half-expecting), and he gets the feeling they’re undoing some sort of Illuminati ritual. Eventually they’re at one of the bridges, and another ghost ambushes them. It’s stronger, so it’s a good thing Lydia and Nate catch up with them halfway through the fight, and it’s not like James but Desmond might be seeing an oily tendril here and there. It’s kind of hard to tell when the bridge light broke when they were halfway crossing it and the ghost seems to be absorbing light itself. Still, when it’s gone, and the natural light starts filtering back through the walls of the covered bridge, it feels like they can cross, finally.
         “Go team!” Lydia cheers, maybe a little bit mocking, but not entirely, and even Chelsea smiles at that.