(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

When it was over the ward was eerily silent... everyone else had fled. There
was only the crackle of dying embers, and Annah's soft whimpers as she
knelt over the corpse of the kindly old man. Grace murmured a prayer.
And that was all.
~~~~~
None of us wanted to be alone. Dak'kon sat in meditation, Grace sat on the
couch trying to contemplate a single rose. Annah sat in a corner, in the
shadow of one of the pillars. She always seemed more comfortable there.
Ignus himself had been banished to the balcony for now... and until I could
figure out what to do with him, he'd have to stay there.
Clearly he was too dangerous to let loose, and too insane to keep around.
But if we tried to kill him... well, with his power one of us would surely die,
and I wasn't confident I could call back anyone from the dead with what he
could do. Ignus' power seared someone deeper than bone, left burns on the
soul...
But for now, I had other battles on my mind.
The small metal toy I held in my hands was the Modron Cube I bought from
Vrischika, a replica of a cube-like creature with huge eyes on one of its faces.
Maybe it was a collector's item. Not in its original packaging, so it was
certainly free for play.
I moved the arms and made sword-fighting noises. Swoosh! Whish! K-ching!
The toy clicked and whirred as I moved its clockwork joints. Within
moments, the tiny cube had vanquished every imaginary opponent I had
sent against it, and settled back to its normal position.
I waved its arms and made cheering noises. Raaaaaah! Raaaaaaaah!
Hordes of imaginary creatures from across the Planes cheered the cube's
victory. I could almost see a tiny oily tear brimming on one of its eyes... it
was a hero, the greatest cube ever to roam the Planes, and everyone loved
it. In my mind, Grace and Annah hugged it and showered it with kisses.
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