Introduction
DISCLAIMER:
The land of Valcrest, its cities, history, as well as the Wolfpack and its rules, are my own creation and are not to be used without my consent. (As well as any of my characters).
This Rp is a sequel to Shadows of the Enlightened.
All past events contained in the former rp that are pertinent to this story will be explained in an ooc thread, and it is advised to new players to read it.
Thank you.
Blackbird26 – Your friendly GM. ^_^
INTRO:
Assassin’s Camp
“Crys... I’m sorry. There was nothing more I could do.”
The words went through Crys as painfully as if they were knives. She lowered her head for a moment and tears escaped her as she spoke. “It’s alright Lena, I… I understand.”
The older woman laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Is there anything I can do for you, child?”
“No. I’m afraid there isn’t. I will announce my mother’s death to the remaining of our clan, and make arrangements for her burial.”
“Crystal… Will you be alright on your own?”
Crys almost smiled at the question. “I will have to be alright. I am the leader of this clan now.” She opened a slight smile, and added “Nevertheless… I am definitely not alone.”
Lena smiled. “Well… You have changed since I last saw you, Crys.”
Crys nodded. “A lot has changed. If you will excuse me… There are a few people that I want to inform of my mother’s death personally… Before everyone finds out.”
Lena bowed her head respectfully to the new leader of the Wolfpack.
“Of course. What should I tell Allison when I see her?”
Crys sighed. “Simply tell her that I need her back immediately.”
“I will. If anything should happen, don’t hesitate to call me.” With that said, Helena Turner left the Wolfpack and returned to her home in the ruins of Blackhurst.
The Ruins
Allison Blake smiled while hearing the younger apprentices whispering to each other, while peeking at her from a distance. It had been a long time since an assassin had stepped foot on those grounds.
“What is she doing?”
“I don’t know. She’s just sitting there… Breathing.”
“That is so strange…”
Then Ali heard a very familiar laughter, of an older girl. “She is meditating. You should all try it sometime. Allison, my mother wants to see you. Now.”
Ali opened her blue eyes and the last words she heard before doing so was a shocked boy’s voice. “She can hear us?!”
She stood up, picking up her bow that had been lying in the grass next to where she had been siting, and walked towards Annie, watching with amusement in her eyes as the apprentices fled, not very discretely. “They’re like scared little rabbits…” She chuckled.
Annie nodded “They’re just children, and… Well… You’re nothing like what they’re used to seeing around here.”
Ali allowed herself to laugh a little while longer before her expression turned more serious. “Lena said there was no need for me to return just yet. Something happened, didn’t it?”
Annie sighed. “She didn’t say, and you know what she is like, but… If I was to guess, I would say something has happened.”
Ali let out a long sigh, concern spreading across her face. She knew the camp had been raided, but… That was all she knew. “Annie, do me favor… Gather my things. I’m going home today, not matter what your mother tells me.”
Assassin’s Camp
Ali took two days to arrive at camp. The first friend she spotted was Jake. She didn’t like the look in his eyes when he approached her. “Crys is waiting for you.”
She nodded in agreement, but Jake stopped her before she took her next step. “No, Ali… “He pointed her towards the leader’s cabin. “She’s there.”
Ali knew immediately what that meant, but didn’t want to believe it. She walked to the cabin and knocked on the door. Crys’ voice answered. “Enter.”
Ali opened the door and entered the cabin. The place looked exactly the same as it did the last time she was there. The only change was that Crys’ things had been moved there. Crys hadn’t said anything yet. Ali knew her friend was simply giving her time to put all the facts together. It was Ali who spoke first. “How did this happen?”
Crys sighed. “Poisoned dart. Lena did all she could, but… In the end, it just wasn’t enough.”
Ali kept her eyes fixed on Crys, her voice was filled with grief, but she appeared to be taking this a lot better than she would have a year ago. She was leaning against the wooden table the exact same way her mother used to do. It was a very interesting sight, to say the least. “I’m really sorry Crys.”
“It’s alright.” Crys answered with a sad smile on her face.
Ali walked to where Crys was and leaned on the table as well. “Have you chosen someone for second command yet?”
Crys sighed. “Yes. I have. Haven’t announced it yet. I have spoken with him about it already though. This brings me to the actual reason why I called you back...” She smiled. “Not that my mother’s death is not a reason, but there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Ali nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
“Teach.” Crys answered simply. “I’m promoting you.”
“Crys… “Ali laughed. “I’m only seventeen, and not so long ago I was barely fit to be an active.”
“I was only seventeen myself when I became an instructor, you have grown up a lot in a year, and we’ll be short one instructor since I’m promoting Evin.” Plus we need good archers and you’re currently the best, so why not teach them yourself?”
Ali didn’t seem to listen to anything Crys had said except the name. “Evin, huh? Should I ask?”
Crys chuckled. “Well… I needed someone who is capable of questioning me, and… We all know who’s the best at doing that.”
Ali laughed. “True…” She sighed. “So… We’re under a new leadership. Interesting. What’s our first priority now, then?”
Crys nodded, and a smile crossed her face at the question. “Survival.”
THE HISTORY:
The land of Valcrest originally consisted of five great cities and some smaller villages. It has a vast forest and one great river that run from one side of the land to the other. The first two cities to be created there were Blackpond and Newhaven. These two cities exist ever since there is a record of human life in Valcrest and they co-existed in harmony for many centuries until the other cities were built and the land started to expand. Several power struggles started to shake the peaceful existence of the two cities, after many years of minor disputes, the two cities finally declared war. Out of the three other cities, the city of Elffort took the side of Blackpond and the city of Brightvale took the side of Newhaven.
The fifth city, Blackhurst, decided to remain neutral. Ironically it was the first to be attacked.
After the great war that raged for many years across the land of Valcrest, out of the five cities that existed there, only two remained. Originally in opposite sides of a dispute that has been long forgotten, the cities of Blackpond and Newhaven continue to fight each other until this day.
THE LAND:
1. Valcrest: The land of Valcrest was once rich and full of life. Now its territory is only a shadow of what it once was. Most of the population is now concentrated around the forest, the two remaining cities and the ruins of what once was Blackhurst and its adjacent villages, leaving the rest of the territory mostly uninhabited.
Once upon a time, when Valcrest was still young and prosperous the people were divided amongst the woods, the desert, the plains, and the mountains.
a) The Woods (Center of the land): The great forest is the center of Valcrest and, at present time, the most populated area. Deep inside of the forest, the territory of the assassin clan as well as small mercenary groups can be found. The open trails that cross the forest and lead to the nearby cities are mostly respected and watched from a distance by the assassins, but straying from them may cause anyone, even the most experienced tracker, to become lost. Wandering into the wrong territory unannounced is something that can get any person killed fast.
Several small streams can be found amongst the trees, but only one bigger lake is present, in the outskirts of the Wolfpack territory, making it off limits to any human outsider that walks that forest.
Wildlife is abundant as well as other sources of food. Mostly wild boar, rabbit, and deer can be found easily for hunting purposes. No one has actually been attacked by predators larger than a snake in these woods, but it is told that wolves live there as well, and in quiet nights their howling can be heard in any point of the forest. Adjacent to the forest and at a distance sometimes considered uncomfortable, are the two remaining cities of Valcrest. A little more than a day on foot can get a traveler from one city to another and from any one of them to the depths of the forest. Assassin usually take short cuts through hidden paths and can reach those point in a matter of hours.
b) The Plains (West): This territory now is far less inhabited than it once was. However where the ruins of Blackhurst now lie, the healers have made their home. The still fertile soil, once used to grow crops, is now used to grow healing herbs, flowers and spices. One or two food crops are still planted there, mainly for the purpose of survival. The healers mostly still receive supplies from the two cities, although they are slowly breaking out of that dependency and becoming self-sufficient. The great river that runs across the territory provides water and fish for its inhabitants, as well as marks the end of the territory of Valcrest. Crossing it would mean leaving the land, which many of the survivors of the everlasting war have seriously considered doing.
A long, long, time ago in this territory, the great city of Blackhurst once stood proud and tall. The city looked like one ever growing village, the houses and shops mixed together and scattered within its stone walls, The ruler’s home only recognizable for being larger and more isolated. The army mostly consisted of archer that guarded the walls and could shower attackers with arrows at miles away… Once past them though, the city was defenseless. Most people who lived on the inside of the city walls were scholars, medics and teachers, peaceful and educated people. Outside the walls smaller villages formed as ramifications of the larger city area, those villages were composed mostly of fishermen and craftsmen, as well as their families. When Blackhurst suffered its defeat in battle the villages stood and their inhabitants refused to leave. As consequence, many massacres occurred in that area. It is rumored that most of the population of the city consisted of Enlightened and that was the actual reason behind the furious attacks on the city and its population. Both sides carried too much fear of what would happen should Blackhurst choose to get involved in the dispute.
c) The Desert (South): To the South of the forest lays a small wasteland where the merchant city of Brightvale once stood. Now completely deserted, the area is rarely visited and only inhabited by a few bandits and runaways that prey on any unsuspecting and bold adventurer that crosses the territory. Most people see no point on going through these parts unless the person is leaving Valcrest forever or in need of hiding. The people who once occupied the city of Brightvale were experienced horsemen and sturdy travelers. Some were known to brag about traveling to the furthest lands known to men in order to acquire their goods, and therefore had seen it all. The rocky and dry soil as well as the absence of vegetation and water sources makes this land a hazard for any traveler to venture through, and one of the worse possible places for a human to live. However there are food sources although they are scarce as well as an occasional rain. Most of the people who presently made this area their home frequently trespass into the forest in search of water and end up killed by the assassins for invading on their territory, which makes them dislike the Wolfpack with a passion.
d) The Mountains (Further South): Beyond the desert, snowcapped mountains determine the limits of the Land. Protected by the stone walls of the mountains, the brave men and women of Effort once lived. The people that once lived there were known as proud warriors and horsemen. They were also known for their mining skills and for fabricating the first explosives seen in Valcrest. They were not the most educated people in the land, but were honorable and proud men and women. A population made extinct when they marched into war beside Blackpond and went into direct confrontation with the nearby city of Brightvale. Having their supplies cut short and their territory being the constant target of attacks… Effort also came to an end. The mines and home left abandoned until this day.
2. The city of Blackpond (North end of the forest): The losing side of a very long war. After war was declared between the two cities, Blackpond has been sinking. And ruler after ruler, the situation is not getting any better. The city itself is made mostly of small houses made of stone. The people are poor and humble, and have already lost all hope of a better life. However, after the last ruler was betrayed by his nephew and he took control of the city, things started changing for the better.
The city is divided into the Living Area and the Castle grounds, where the ruler and city guards live. All of the houses are made of stone, still most of the houses in the Living Area are falling apart, and all shops that existed there were abandoned years ago. The Castle Grounds have bigger and better houses for the castle guards and army officers to live in. The houses are more taken care of, and they always seem to have food and weapons somehow. After the recent demise of the ruler of Newhaven, the army of Blackpond has been constantly raiding the rival city and managed to weaken them significantly. Something their ruler seems to think of as a victory and the general population sees as a waste of time and resources. Needless to say… They’ve seen enough of this war, and don’t understand why their leader has changed from his former ideas of a truce, to suddenly trying to destroy Newhaven.
3. The City of Newhaven (East end of the forest):Newhaven was once the winning side of a great war that raged for many years. It has the best soldiers and weapons, but since they have lost their ruler the army has divided its efforts between protecting the city, searching for the missing brother of their deceased leader, and attacking the Wolfpack. Doing so has left the city extremely vulnerable to attacks from Blackpond. The Castle area of the city, were the ruler, knights and army officers used to reside, is now deserted. Most shops in the Market Area are shut down and the living area is scarred with burnt down buildings and deserted homes. All of the soldiers and officers left in the city are occupied protecting the remaining residents. The once unbreakable city walls, are now destroyed.
4. Assassin’s Camp (Within the forest): Between the grounds of the two cities, deep inside the forest, lies a clan of assassins, they name themselves “The Wolfpack”, or simply “The Pack” and they have prospered for years eliminating targets on both sides of the feud. The camp consists of one huge clearing surrounded by woods and several hidden paths that lead across them. Inside the clearing there are several cabins made of logs, and also tents. One big, more secluded cabin is the home of leaders. In the very center of the camp there is one big camp fire which is lit every night.
More recently the Pack’s camp has been raided frequently since their location was given away to the ruler of Blackpond. Their numbers have been severely reduced, and their facilities and supplies destroyed. The assassins have never seen times like these before, and now they struggle to survive.
5. Healer’s Camp (The Plains – West of the forest): Located on the most deserted side of the land of Valcrest, where once the peaceful city of Blackhurst and its adjacent villages existed, lies the resting place of a clan of healers. Amongst the rubble of the once beautiful city, tents of all sizes are accommodated as well as several gardens of herbs and flowers. Upon entering, travelers are greeted with the scent of herbs and alcohol, and very friendly and (seemingly) peaceful people. The ruins are considered a safe and neutral zone.
THE PEOPLE:
Blackpond: The people of Blackpond who managed to stay honest are usually soldiers. Even the soldiers aren’t all that honest. Most people have little means of survival, and steal to keep their families fed. Those who are caught are severely punished, but are usually released when accept to join the city guard. The soldiers of Blackpond are not the best trained men, but they are ferocious and are usually willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Still, they are growing more and more tired of the war, as well as everyone else in the city.
Newhaven: The people of Newhaven live well, mostly. They vary from farmers to merchants and soldiers. Their laws are strict, but are usually followed to the full, and there is very little crime to speak of. Street performers and all kinds of shops can be found in the city market, it is the best place to go for clothes, supplies, weapons and armor… However, if you are not a citizen of Newhaven, you will not be allowed inside the city walls.
The Wolfpack: The inhabitants of the assassin camp are a very diverse group of people. They vary from skilled assassins to women and children. The laws of The Wolfpack are strict, and punishments vary from minor chores to death. There are usually always two leaders in the clan, and the command has been passed to members of the same family for generations ever since it was created. Even though they are assassins, the Pack members are trained from a young age and taught to hit nothing other than the target, unless they are seen, which has happened very little in the course of history.
The Enlightened: There are people in the land of Valcrest that are born with a special ability that manifests when they reach the age 12. Those abilities can be anything from hearing other people’s thoughts to conjuring and manipulating fire. They have the appearance of regular people except that their eyes glow, very lightly or change colors, when they use their ability. That is why they have been named the enlightened.
No one knows where those abilities come from. All that is known is that they usually occur repeatedly amongst the members of the same families, although it is not guaranteed that a child of an Enlightened will have any ability, and there is no way of knowing for sure until the child in question reaches the age of 12.
The White Shadows – The healers: Known for letting anyone in their territory without questions asked… The White Shadows are allies of the Wolfpack since the starting of the clan. Their current leader being a former assassin herself has actually strengthened those ties. Lena Turner is one of the few people to ever be released of the oath that once bound her to the assassin clan, and has been leader of this group of healers since a considerable young age.
Lena chooses very carefully who she allows to become a member of her clan… First the person must be an enlightened. Second that person must have been born in Blackhurst or one of its adjacent villages. Third, the person must rid him/herself of his/her past through a ceremony, which is kept a very well hidden secret within the clan. None of those who survived it ever spoke of it. That’s right… I said those who survived it.
The healers of this group are believed to study not only healing herbs, poisons, antidotes, and have extent knowledge of human anatomy. .. They are also believed to hold knowledge on the source of magic in the land of Valcrest, and to study ways to further develop their abilities as enlightened. They are also believed to protect this knowledge with their lives.
THE STORY
A year has passed since The Shadow, aka the Enlightened Killer, aka Perry Jones, was defeated. Unfortunately the truth never reached the public eyes and the story that was spread throughout Valcrest was that the Wolfpack assassinated the beloved ruler of Newhaven in retaliation to the bounty offered for the location of their camp. If the assassins were hated before, now they were being hunted by every man woman and child in Newhaven. Especially since the ruler of Blackpond took the opportunity to attack Newhaven with all the strength of his army, leaving the city in a nearly devastated state.
Former members that resided in the city and scouts that were working to rebuild the destroyed Inn were forced to flee. There was no safe place left for the assassins except for their camp, and not even that lasted very long. The still standing bounty offered by the ruler of Blackpond led to a betrayal, and even though the traitor was eliminated… Damage was done.
Over and over, the Wolfpack was attacked, and the last of those attacks led to the death of their leader, leaving her 22 year old daughter in charge of the clan’s survival.
The land of Valcrest seems to be currently falling apart as Newhaven is left in complete anarchy and the ruler of Blackpond is too busy attacking the rival city to realize that someone has been plotting to take his place.
Is now up to the assassins to restore balance in Valcrest in order to guarantee the survival of their clan.
Important character info.
Assassin Clan – The Wolfpack (The Pack)
HIERARCHY
1st in command: The leader of the clan. The word of the leader is law unless it contradicts the 4 general laws of the clan (stated below). Every living breathing human inside the limit of the Wolfpack’s territory is the responsibility of the leader. And it is up to the leader to keep the clan and its member’s best interest in mind at all times.
2nd in command: The main duty of the second commander of the Wolfpack is to discuss with the leader all matters referring to the clan and their members. Even though the 1st in command will always have the final say, it is a position given to someone the leader respects and trusts (since the leader’s death will immediately grant the 2nd commander control over the clan), therefore it is unlikely for the clan leader to make a decision without reaching a common sense.
Instructors: Assassins who are experienced enough to train other's. (Instructors can be as young as 18)
Actives: Assassins who have completed training and are ready to complete assignments. (Actives can actually be as young as 15 and wear a silver ring called a Graduation Ring given by their instructor at the moment they become actives)
Messengers/Recruiters: Assassins who live outside camp, in the cities, and gather information from targets, meet with clients, and scout for possible recruits. There are usually two of them stationed in each of the two cities, working at the inn. Not anymore though.
Workers: People who stand guard, cut firewood, gather supplies and such.
Recruits: Those undergoing training. Bottom of the food chain. The only thing that keeps them from being eaten alive is the protection of their instructors. Recruits can be as old as 21, since they can only become Actives when their instructor decides they are ready to take on an assignment. After that age if they have not been considered ready to become Active they are kept in camp grounds and work as guards.
LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS
4 General laws:
1. If two or more members are sent on assignment together, all must return to camp, dead or alive. Unless all members of the party are killed. Leaving a companion behind is unacceptable. Violation of this rule may be viewed as treason.
2 .Any form of violence directed at another clan member is strictly forbidden. Seriously injuring or killing another member will be considered treason and therefore punished accordingly.
3. Deaths that are not authorized by the leaders will be considered a risk to the safety of the clan and will be viewed as treason. Unless the before mentioned death is a result of sefl-defense, or necessary for the preservation of the clan member’s identity.
4. Treason is punishable by DEATH.
Hierarchy:
- Instructors can only be punished by the leaders.
- Actives can only be punished by instructors or the leaders
- If a recruit has an issue with another member of the clan, he or she must report the problem to his/her instructor. No recruit is allowed to talk back to any other member of the clan.
Other Rules:
- No alcohol is to be consumed inside camp grounds
- Anything a recruit tells his/her Instructor is confidential.
- Shooting arrows/knives/darts inside camp (excluding the training field) is a big no-no.
- Recruits are not allowed to carry weapons outside of training.
Punishments:
Suspension: Member has his/her weapons taken and is forbidden to leave camp grounds for a certain period of time. During that time the member might be confined to his/her chambers or ordered to do minor works.
Expulsion: Member is sent away and forbidden to ever step foot on camp grounds, or keep in contact with any other member.
Execution: Self-explanatory.
Character sheet (Wolfpack):
Healer Clan – The White Shadows
HIERARCHY:
Leader: The leader is the keeper of all information regarding the clan’s history, methods and rituals. The leader is to choose a successor prior to his/her death, and train this person personally.
Spiritual Healers: Theses are Enlightened healers who have the ability seal wounds by transferring part of their own energy onto the patient. It is said that other abilities are tied to this form of healing, but this information is neither confirmed nor denied by those that have come into contact with these healers. Spiritual healers are trained from a young age to manipulate their own vital energy and in some rare cases they have the ability to seal their own wounds. These healers are rarely seen outside The Ruins and the few people who have come into contact with them were the ones who gotten extremely close to death. They are usually the ones who train the apprentices on how to deal with their enlightened abilities once they are discovered, at age 12.
Medicinal Healers: These are healers who have studied and mastered the use of several species of plants and other substances in order to make medicine, antidotes and, in some cases even, poisons. They are also knowledgeable in human anatomy and are the ones usually sent to assist the cities and the assassin camp in times of need. They are usually left unharmed by both armies as well as the assassins, therefore are free to roam the land safely. They are also usually the ones who teach the younger apprentices on how to properly identify plants, poisonous animals and properly treat wounds.
Apprentices: Apprentices are usually born into the clan. Outsiders are rarely accepted, and, when they are, they are usually viewed with suspicion by other apprentices. Apprentices born into the clan begin their studies at age 5, and are graduated at the age of 18. Outsider apprentices are usually older therefore, more severely trained in order to keep up with the others. Most of them don’t make it to graduation and are asked to leave the clan, or stay in to work as assistants.
[/b]Assistants:[/b] Assistants are viewed mostly as tools. Most of them are apprentices who never completed their studies for some reason. Every graduated healer is entitled to an assistant although most of them don’t really see the use for one. Every assistant is the responsibility of his/her master, and therefore are bound to that healer unless dismissed. That basically means that if the healer violates to rules his/her assistant is bound to suffer the same punishment. (Assistants are NOT slaves. They work for the healer simply to be allowed to stay in the clan).
LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS
Laws of the clan:
1. No acts of violence are to be committed, and no weapons are to be brought into The Ruins.
2. No request for help is to be ignored under any circumstance.
3. No one is to be judged on their past.
4. Whatever is said by any patient is confidential.
5. Any information regarding the clan’s teachings costumes is confidential.
Character Sheet for the White Shadows:
Military Ranks of Newhaven:
White Knights: Those in charge of guarding the city, and making sure the castle is not invaded. There are five of these knights, they were the ones left in charge of the city after their ruler’s death. And they have been the closest warriors to the rulers of the city since the beginning of times. They are the most loyal men and women in Newhaven, and sworn to give their lives to protect their city from any evil that may seek to destroy it.
They are of noble blood and highly respected. They use a bright silver armor and a silver pendant of a cross. They control the mass of the city’s army)
Black Knights: Aside from the Wolfpack, these are the most vicious killers known in Valcrest. Former mercenaries and other types of criminals, these knights have been trained by the best of the White Knights and been stripped of their former identities. There are five of them. These men and women have nothing left in them but the will to fight. They answer only to the captain of the White Knights and are known to be unnecessarily vicious when not kept on a very tight leash.
Their true identities are unknown to the public, and they are rarely ever seen roaming the streets of Newhaven. When they are seen they have their faces concealed by their black helms. They have only one task at this present time: Find every member of the Wolfpack, and destroy the assassin clan forever. They control a small amount of soldiers, no more than 50, but are rumored to have infiltrated one of their own inside the assassin clan. They wear black armor and shields, and are always concealed by their helms.
Castle guard: Once the personal protection of the city ruler… Now they mainly protect the castle walls. The castle has been sealed after the ruler’s death and now these brave men and women are left to defend it not only from outsiders, but also from the city population itself, since there are citizens constantly attempting to seek shelter inside the castle walls.
Soldiers: What’s there to say? They are those replaceable ones you kill in order to get to the big guys. Honest men with families to feed, and extremely dedicated to their duties.
Military Ranks of Blackpond:
Knights: The elite warriors of Blackpond. They usually lead the troops of soldiers into battle and are the closest to the ruler. They are usually the ones who advise the ruler in all matters of war. They are of noble blood and very well respected amongst the general population. They are currently the ones in charge of running the attack on Newhaven. They are known for avoiding confrontation, but it is said to be impossible to go against one of them in battle and live to tell.
Castle Guards: These are the best trained fighters in Blackpond. They are rarely ever seen away from the castle grounds, and are the ruler’s first line of defense.
City Guards: The city guards are mostly citizens that have been arrested for committing crimes are granted pardon in exchange of joining the city guard. They are unorganized and known for leaving when confronted by stronger groups, such as Pack members or one of the many thieves that terrorize the streets of Blackpond. They offer more protection to certain homes in exchange for bribes, and are not opposed to killing are stealing themselves if needed be.
Soldiers: Same as Newhaven.
Military Character sheet:
The land of Valcrest, its cities, history, as well as the Wolfpack and its rules, are my own creation and are not to be used without my consent. (As well as any of my characters).
This Rp is a sequel to Shadows of the Enlightened.
All past events contained in the former rp that are pertinent to this story will be explained in an ooc thread, and it is advised to new players to read it.
Thank you.
Blackbird26 – Your friendly GM. ^_^
INTRO:
Assassin’s Camp
“Crys... I’m sorry. There was nothing more I could do.”
The words went through Crys as painfully as if they were knives. She lowered her head for a moment and tears escaped her as she spoke. “It’s alright Lena, I… I understand.”
The older woman laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Is there anything I can do for you, child?”
“No. I’m afraid there isn’t. I will announce my mother’s death to the remaining of our clan, and make arrangements for her burial.”
“Crystal… Will you be alright on your own?”
Crys almost smiled at the question. “I will have to be alright. I am the leader of this clan now.” She opened a slight smile, and added “Nevertheless… I am definitely not alone.”
Lena smiled. “Well… You have changed since I last saw you, Crys.”
Crys nodded. “A lot has changed. If you will excuse me… There are a few people that I want to inform of my mother’s death personally… Before everyone finds out.”
Lena bowed her head respectfully to the new leader of the Wolfpack.
“Of course. What should I tell Allison when I see her?”
Crys sighed. “Simply tell her that I need her back immediately.”
“I will. If anything should happen, don’t hesitate to call me.” With that said, Helena Turner left the Wolfpack and returned to her home in the ruins of Blackhurst.
The Ruins
Allison Blake smiled while hearing the younger apprentices whispering to each other, while peeking at her from a distance. It had been a long time since an assassin had stepped foot on those grounds.
“What is she doing?”
“I don’t know. She’s just sitting there… Breathing.”
“That is so strange…”
Then Ali heard a very familiar laughter, of an older girl. “She is meditating. You should all try it sometime. Allison, my mother wants to see you. Now.”
Ali opened her blue eyes and the last words she heard before doing so was a shocked boy’s voice. “She can hear us?!”
She stood up, picking up her bow that had been lying in the grass next to where she had been siting, and walked towards Annie, watching with amusement in her eyes as the apprentices fled, not very discretely. “They’re like scared little rabbits…” She chuckled.
Annie nodded “They’re just children, and… Well… You’re nothing like what they’re used to seeing around here.”
Ali allowed herself to laugh a little while longer before her expression turned more serious. “Lena said there was no need for me to return just yet. Something happened, didn’t it?”
Annie sighed. “She didn’t say, and you know what she is like, but… If I was to guess, I would say something has happened.”
Ali let out a long sigh, concern spreading across her face. She knew the camp had been raided, but… That was all she knew. “Annie, do me favor… Gather my things. I’m going home today, not matter what your mother tells me.”
Assassin’s Camp
Ali took two days to arrive at camp. The first friend she spotted was Jake. She didn’t like the look in his eyes when he approached her. “Crys is waiting for you.”
She nodded in agreement, but Jake stopped her before she took her next step. “No, Ali… “He pointed her towards the leader’s cabin. “She’s there.”
Ali knew immediately what that meant, but didn’t want to believe it. She walked to the cabin and knocked on the door. Crys’ voice answered. “Enter.”
Ali opened the door and entered the cabin. The place looked exactly the same as it did the last time she was there. The only change was that Crys’ things had been moved there. Crys hadn’t said anything yet. Ali knew her friend was simply giving her time to put all the facts together. It was Ali who spoke first. “How did this happen?”
Crys sighed. “Poisoned dart. Lena did all she could, but… In the end, it just wasn’t enough.”
Ali kept her eyes fixed on Crys, her voice was filled with grief, but she appeared to be taking this a lot better than she would have a year ago. She was leaning against the wooden table the exact same way her mother used to do. It was a very interesting sight, to say the least. “I’m really sorry Crys.”
“It’s alright.” Crys answered with a sad smile on her face.
Ali walked to where Crys was and leaned on the table as well. “Have you chosen someone for second command yet?”
Crys sighed. “Yes. I have. Haven’t announced it yet. I have spoken with him about it already though. This brings me to the actual reason why I called you back...” She smiled. “Not that my mother’s death is not a reason, but there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Ali nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
“Teach.” Crys answered simply. “I’m promoting you.”
“Crys… “Ali laughed. “I’m only seventeen, and not so long ago I was barely fit to be an active.”
“I was only seventeen myself when I became an instructor, you have grown up a lot in a year, and we’ll be short one instructor since I’m promoting Evin.” Plus we need good archers and you’re currently the best, so why not teach them yourself?”
Ali didn’t seem to listen to anything Crys had said except the name. “Evin, huh? Should I ask?”
Crys chuckled. “Well… I needed someone who is capable of questioning me, and… We all know who’s the best at doing that.”
Ali laughed. “True…” She sighed. “So… We’re under a new leadership. Interesting. What’s our first priority now, then?”
Crys nodded, and a smile crossed her face at the question. “Survival.”
THE HISTORY:
The land of Valcrest originally consisted of five great cities and some smaller villages. It has a vast forest and one great river that run from one side of the land to the other. The first two cities to be created there were Blackpond and Newhaven. These two cities exist ever since there is a record of human life in Valcrest and they co-existed in harmony for many centuries until the other cities were built and the land started to expand. Several power struggles started to shake the peaceful existence of the two cities, after many years of minor disputes, the two cities finally declared war. Out of the three other cities, the city of Elffort took the side of Blackpond and the city of Brightvale took the side of Newhaven.
The fifth city, Blackhurst, decided to remain neutral. Ironically it was the first to be attacked.
After the great war that raged for many years across the land of Valcrest, out of the five cities that existed there, only two remained. Originally in opposite sides of a dispute that has been long forgotten, the cities of Blackpond and Newhaven continue to fight each other until this day.
THE LAND:
1. Valcrest: The land of Valcrest was once rich and full of life. Now its territory is only a shadow of what it once was. Most of the population is now concentrated around the forest, the two remaining cities and the ruins of what once was Blackhurst and its adjacent villages, leaving the rest of the territory mostly uninhabited.
Once upon a time, when Valcrest was still young and prosperous the people were divided amongst the woods, the desert, the plains, and the mountains.
a) The Woods (Center of the land): The great forest is the center of Valcrest and, at present time, the most populated area. Deep inside of the forest, the territory of the assassin clan as well as small mercenary groups can be found. The open trails that cross the forest and lead to the nearby cities are mostly respected and watched from a distance by the assassins, but straying from them may cause anyone, even the most experienced tracker, to become lost. Wandering into the wrong territory unannounced is something that can get any person killed fast.
Several small streams can be found amongst the trees, but only one bigger lake is present, in the outskirts of the Wolfpack territory, making it off limits to any human outsider that walks that forest.
Wildlife is abundant as well as other sources of food. Mostly wild boar, rabbit, and deer can be found easily for hunting purposes. No one has actually been attacked by predators larger than a snake in these woods, but it is told that wolves live there as well, and in quiet nights their howling can be heard in any point of the forest. Adjacent to the forest and at a distance sometimes considered uncomfortable, are the two remaining cities of Valcrest. A little more than a day on foot can get a traveler from one city to another and from any one of them to the depths of the forest. Assassin usually take short cuts through hidden paths and can reach those point in a matter of hours.
b) The Plains (West): This territory now is far less inhabited than it once was. However where the ruins of Blackhurst now lie, the healers have made their home. The still fertile soil, once used to grow crops, is now used to grow healing herbs, flowers and spices. One or two food crops are still planted there, mainly for the purpose of survival. The healers mostly still receive supplies from the two cities, although they are slowly breaking out of that dependency and becoming self-sufficient. The great river that runs across the territory provides water and fish for its inhabitants, as well as marks the end of the territory of Valcrest. Crossing it would mean leaving the land, which many of the survivors of the everlasting war have seriously considered doing.
A long, long, time ago in this territory, the great city of Blackhurst once stood proud and tall. The city looked like one ever growing village, the houses and shops mixed together and scattered within its stone walls, The ruler’s home only recognizable for being larger and more isolated. The army mostly consisted of archer that guarded the walls and could shower attackers with arrows at miles away… Once past them though, the city was defenseless. Most people who lived on the inside of the city walls were scholars, medics and teachers, peaceful and educated people. Outside the walls smaller villages formed as ramifications of the larger city area, those villages were composed mostly of fishermen and craftsmen, as well as their families. When Blackhurst suffered its defeat in battle the villages stood and their inhabitants refused to leave. As consequence, many massacres occurred in that area. It is rumored that most of the population of the city consisted of Enlightened and that was the actual reason behind the furious attacks on the city and its population. Both sides carried too much fear of what would happen should Blackhurst choose to get involved in the dispute.
c) The Desert (South): To the South of the forest lays a small wasteland where the merchant city of Brightvale once stood. Now completely deserted, the area is rarely visited and only inhabited by a few bandits and runaways that prey on any unsuspecting and bold adventurer that crosses the territory. Most people see no point on going through these parts unless the person is leaving Valcrest forever or in need of hiding. The people who once occupied the city of Brightvale were experienced horsemen and sturdy travelers. Some were known to brag about traveling to the furthest lands known to men in order to acquire their goods, and therefore had seen it all. The rocky and dry soil as well as the absence of vegetation and water sources makes this land a hazard for any traveler to venture through, and one of the worse possible places for a human to live. However there are food sources although they are scarce as well as an occasional rain. Most of the people who presently made this area their home frequently trespass into the forest in search of water and end up killed by the assassins for invading on their territory, which makes them dislike the Wolfpack with a passion.
d) The Mountains (Further South): Beyond the desert, snowcapped mountains determine the limits of the Land. Protected by the stone walls of the mountains, the brave men and women of Effort once lived. The people that once lived there were known as proud warriors and horsemen. They were also known for their mining skills and for fabricating the first explosives seen in Valcrest. They were not the most educated people in the land, but were honorable and proud men and women. A population made extinct when they marched into war beside Blackpond and went into direct confrontation with the nearby city of Brightvale. Having their supplies cut short and their territory being the constant target of attacks… Effort also came to an end. The mines and home left abandoned until this day.
2. The city of Blackpond (North end of the forest): The losing side of a very long war. After war was declared between the two cities, Blackpond has been sinking. And ruler after ruler, the situation is not getting any better. The city itself is made mostly of small houses made of stone. The people are poor and humble, and have already lost all hope of a better life. However, after the last ruler was betrayed by his nephew and he took control of the city, things started changing for the better.
The city is divided into the Living Area and the Castle grounds, where the ruler and city guards live. All of the houses are made of stone, still most of the houses in the Living Area are falling apart, and all shops that existed there were abandoned years ago. The Castle Grounds have bigger and better houses for the castle guards and army officers to live in. The houses are more taken care of, and they always seem to have food and weapons somehow. After the recent demise of the ruler of Newhaven, the army of Blackpond has been constantly raiding the rival city and managed to weaken them significantly. Something their ruler seems to think of as a victory and the general population sees as a waste of time and resources. Needless to say… They’ve seen enough of this war, and don’t understand why their leader has changed from his former ideas of a truce, to suddenly trying to destroy Newhaven.
3. The City of Newhaven (East end of the forest):Newhaven was once the winning side of a great war that raged for many years. It has the best soldiers and weapons, but since they have lost their ruler the army has divided its efforts between protecting the city, searching for the missing brother of their deceased leader, and attacking the Wolfpack. Doing so has left the city extremely vulnerable to attacks from Blackpond. The Castle area of the city, were the ruler, knights and army officers used to reside, is now deserted. Most shops in the Market Area are shut down and the living area is scarred with burnt down buildings and deserted homes. All of the soldiers and officers left in the city are occupied protecting the remaining residents. The once unbreakable city walls, are now destroyed.
4. Assassin’s Camp (Within the forest): Between the grounds of the two cities, deep inside the forest, lies a clan of assassins, they name themselves “The Wolfpack”, or simply “The Pack” and they have prospered for years eliminating targets on both sides of the feud. The camp consists of one huge clearing surrounded by woods and several hidden paths that lead across them. Inside the clearing there are several cabins made of logs, and also tents. One big, more secluded cabin is the home of leaders. In the very center of the camp there is one big camp fire which is lit every night.
More recently the Pack’s camp has been raided frequently since their location was given away to the ruler of Blackpond. Their numbers have been severely reduced, and their facilities and supplies destroyed. The assassins have never seen times like these before, and now they struggle to survive.
5. Healer’s Camp (The Plains – West of the forest): Located on the most deserted side of the land of Valcrest, where once the peaceful city of Blackhurst and its adjacent villages existed, lies the resting place of a clan of healers. Amongst the rubble of the once beautiful city, tents of all sizes are accommodated as well as several gardens of herbs and flowers. Upon entering, travelers are greeted with the scent of herbs and alcohol, and very friendly and (seemingly) peaceful people. The ruins are considered a safe and neutral zone.
THE PEOPLE:
Blackpond: The people of Blackpond who managed to stay honest are usually soldiers. Even the soldiers aren’t all that honest. Most people have little means of survival, and steal to keep their families fed. Those who are caught are severely punished, but are usually released when accept to join the city guard. The soldiers of Blackpond are not the best trained men, but they are ferocious and are usually willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Still, they are growing more and more tired of the war, as well as everyone else in the city.
Newhaven: The people of Newhaven live well, mostly. They vary from farmers to merchants and soldiers. Their laws are strict, but are usually followed to the full, and there is very little crime to speak of. Street performers and all kinds of shops can be found in the city market, it is the best place to go for clothes, supplies, weapons and armor… However, if you are not a citizen of Newhaven, you will not be allowed inside the city walls.
The Wolfpack: The inhabitants of the assassin camp are a very diverse group of people. They vary from skilled assassins to women and children. The laws of The Wolfpack are strict, and punishments vary from minor chores to death. There are usually always two leaders in the clan, and the command has been passed to members of the same family for generations ever since it was created. Even though they are assassins, the Pack members are trained from a young age and taught to hit nothing other than the target, unless they are seen, which has happened very little in the course of history.
The Enlightened: There are people in the land of Valcrest that are born with a special ability that manifests when they reach the age 12. Those abilities can be anything from hearing other people’s thoughts to conjuring and manipulating fire. They have the appearance of regular people except that their eyes glow, very lightly or change colors, when they use their ability. That is why they have been named the enlightened.
No one knows where those abilities come from. All that is known is that they usually occur repeatedly amongst the members of the same families, although it is not guaranteed that a child of an Enlightened will have any ability, and there is no way of knowing for sure until the child in question reaches the age of 12.
The White Shadows – The healers: Known for letting anyone in their territory without questions asked… The White Shadows are allies of the Wolfpack since the starting of the clan. Their current leader being a former assassin herself has actually strengthened those ties. Lena Turner is one of the few people to ever be released of the oath that once bound her to the assassin clan, and has been leader of this group of healers since a considerable young age.
Lena chooses very carefully who she allows to become a member of her clan… First the person must be an enlightened. Second that person must have been born in Blackhurst or one of its adjacent villages. Third, the person must rid him/herself of his/her past through a ceremony, which is kept a very well hidden secret within the clan. None of those who survived it ever spoke of it. That’s right… I said those who survived it.
The healers of this group are believed to study not only healing herbs, poisons, antidotes, and have extent knowledge of human anatomy. .. They are also believed to hold knowledge on the source of magic in the land of Valcrest, and to study ways to further develop their abilities as enlightened. They are also believed to protect this knowledge with their lives.
THE STORY
A year has passed since The Shadow, aka the Enlightened Killer, aka Perry Jones, was defeated. Unfortunately the truth never reached the public eyes and the story that was spread throughout Valcrest was that the Wolfpack assassinated the beloved ruler of Newhaven in retaliation to the bounty offered for the location of their camp. If the assassins were hated before, now they were being hunted by every man woman and child in Newhaven. Especially since the ruler of Blackpond took the opportunity to attack Newhaven with all the strength of his army, leaving the city in a nearly devastated state.
Former members that resided in the city and scouts that were working to rebuild the destroyed Inn were forced to flee. There was no safe place left for the assassins except for their camp, and not even that lasted very long. The still standing bounty offered by the ruler of Blackpond led to a betrayal, and even though the traitor was eliminated… Damage was done.
Over and over, the Wolfpack was attacked, and the last of those attacks led to the death of their leader, leaving her 22 year old daughter in charge of the clan’s survival.
The land of Valcrest seems to be currently falling apart as Newhaven is left in complete anarchy and the ruler of Blackpond is too busy attacking the rival city to realize that someone has been plotting to take his place.
Is now up to the assassins to restore balance in Valcrest in order to guarantee the survival of their clan.
Important character info.
Assassin Clan – The Wolfpack (The Pack)
HIERARCHY
1st in command: The leader of the clan. The word of the leader is law unless it contradicts the 4 general laws of the clan (stated below). Every living breathing human inside the limit of the Wolfpack’s territory is the responsibility of the leader. And it is up to the leader to keep the clan and its member’s best interest in mind at all times.
2nd in command: The main duty of the second commander of the Wolfpack is to discuss with the leader all matters referring to the clan and their members. Even though the 1st in command will always have the final say, it is a position given to someone the leader respects and trusts (since the leader’s death will immediately grant the 2nd commander control over the clan), therefore it is unlikely for the clan leader to make a decision without reaching a common sense.
Instructors: Assassins who are experienced enough to train other's. (Instructors can be as young as 18)
Actives: Assassins who have completed training and are ready to complete assignments. (Actives can actually be as young as 15 and wear a silver ring called a Graduation Ring given by their instructor at the moment they become actives)
Messengers/Recruiters: Assassins who live outside camp, in the cities, and gather information from targets, meet with clients, and scout for possible recruits. There are usually two of them stationed in each of the two cities, working at the inn. Not anymore though.
Workers: People who stand guard, cut firewood, gather supplies and such.
Recruits: Those undergoing training. Bottom of the food chain. The only thing that keeps them from being eaten alive is the protection of their instructors. Recruits can be as old as 21, since they can only become Actives when their instructor decides they are ready to take on an assignment. After that age if they have not been considered ready to become Active they are kept in camp grounds and work as guards.
LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS
4 General laws:
1. If two or more members are sent on assignment together, all must return to camp, dead or alive. Unless all members of the party are killed. Leaving a companion behind is unacceptable. Violation of this rule may be viewed as treason.
2 .Any form of violence directed at another clan member is strictly forbidden. Seriously injuring or killing another member will be considered treason and therefore punished accordingly.
3. Deaths that are not authorized by the leaders will be considered a risk to the safety of the clan and will be viewed as treason. Unless the before mentioned death is a result of sefl-defense, or necessary for the preservation of the clan member’s identity.
4. Treason is punishable by DEATH.
Hierarchy:
- Instructors can only be punished by the leaders.
- Actives can only be punished by instructors or the leaders
- If a recruit has an issue with another member of the clan, he or she must report the problem to his/her instructor. No recruit is allowed to talk back to any other member of the clan.
Other Rules:
- No alcohol is to be consumed inside camp grounds
- Anything a recruit tells his/her Instructor is confidential.
- Shooting arrows/knives/darts inside camp (excluding the training field) is a big no-no.
- Recruits are not allowed to carry weapons outside of training.
Punishments:
Suspension: Member has his/her weapons taken and is forbidden to leave camp grounds for a certain period of time. During that time the member might be confined to his/her chambers or ordered to do minor works.
Expulsion: Member is sent away and forbidden to ever step foot on camp grounds, or keep in contact with any other member.
Execution: Self-explanatory.
Character sheet (Wolfpack):
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Alias (if Active assassin):[/b] Name for which your character is known professionally
[b]Gender:[/b] Male or female (well, duh!)
[b]Age:[/b] How old your character is (15 minimum)
[b]Ability (if enlightened):[/b] All abilities must include a down side, or side effect to them. Also note that the younger your character is, the less control he’ll have over his ability, since they awaken at age 12.
[b]Description:[/b] Detailed description (images are optional, words are NOT)
[b]Personality:[/b] How your character acts.
[b]Equipment:[/b]
[b]Background:[/b] Must include place of birth (any of the above mentioned cities, the camp, or smaller village which you may create).
Others: Anything you'd like to add... theme songs, fears, likes, dislikes... Have fun with it.
Healer Clan – The White Shadows
HIERARCHY:
Leader: The leader is the keeper of all information regarding the clan’s history, methods and rituals. The leader is to choose a successor prior to his/her death, and train this person personally.
Spiritual Healers: Theses are Enlightened healers who have the ability seal wounds by transferring part of their own energy onto the patient. It is said that other abilities are tied to this form of healing, but this information is neither confirmed nor denied by those that have come into contact with these healers. Spiritual healers are trained from a young age to manipulate their own vital energy and in some rare cases they have the ability to seal their own wounds. These healers are rarely seen outside The Ruins and the few people who have come into contact with them were the ones who gotten extremely close to death. They are usually the ones who train the apprentices on how to deal with their enlightened abilities once they are discovered, at age 12.
Medicinal Healers: These are healers who have studied and mastered the use of several species of plants and other substances in order to make medicine, antidotes and, in some cases even, poisons. They are also knowledgeable in human anatomy and are the ones usually sent to assist the cities and the assassin camp in times of need. They are usually left unharmed by both armies as well as the assassins, therefore are free to roam the land safely. They are also usually the ones who teach the younger apprentices on how to properly identify plants, poisonous animals and properly treat wounds.
Apprentices: Apprentices are usually born into the clan. Outsiders are rarely accepted, and, when they are, they are usually viewed with suspicion by other apprentices. Apprentices born into the clan begin their studies at age 5, and are graduated at the age of 18. Outsider apprentices are usually older therefore, more severely trained in order to keep up with the others. Most of them don’t make it to graduation and are asked to leave the clan, or stay in to work as assistants.
[/b]Assistants:[/b] Assistants are viewed mostly as tools. Most of them are apprentices who never completed their studies for some reason. Every graduated healer is entitled to an assistant although most of them don’t really see the use for one. Every assistant is the responsibility of his/her master, and therefore are bound to that healer unless dismissed. That basically means that if the healer violates to rules his/her assistant is bound to suffer the same punishment. (Assistants are NOT slaves. They work for the healer simply to be allowed to stay in the clan).
LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS
Laws of the clan:
1. No acts of violence are to be committed, and no weapons are to be brought into The Ruins.
2. No request for help is to be ignored under any circumstance.
3. No one is to be judged on their past.
4. Whatever is said by any patient is confidential.
5. Any information regarding the clan’s teachings costumes is confidential.
Character Sheet for the White Shadows:
- Code: Select all
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Rank: Healer (spiritual, or medicinal), Apprentice (15 is the youngest you can be), or assistant
Ability (all healers of this clan are Enlightened):
Description:
Personality:
Equipment: (No weapons… Yet)
Background: (Where you were born, how you arrived at the clan, how you learned of your special abilities… Write a novel if you like. I’ll read it and love it.)
Others: Anything you'd like to add... theme songs, fears, likes, dislikes... Have fun with it.
Military Ranks of Newhaven:
White Knights: Those in charge of guarding the city, and making sure the castle is not invaded. There are five of these knights, they were the ones left in charge of the city after their ruler’s death. And they have been the closest warriors to the rulers of the city since the beginning of times. They are the most loyal men and women in Newhaven, and sworn to give their lives to protect their city from any evil that may seek to destroy it.
They are of noble blood and highly respected. They use a bright silver armor and a silver pendant of a cross. They control the mass of the city’s army)
Black Knights: Aside from the Wolfpack, these are the most vicious killers known in Valcrest. Former mercenaries and other types of criminals, these knights have been trained by the best of the White Knights and been stripped of their former identities. There are five of them. These men and women have nothing left in them but the will to fight. They answer only to the captain of the White Knights and are known to be unnecessarily vicious when not kept on a very tight leash.
Their true identities are unknown to the public, and they are rarely ever seen roaming the streets of Newhaven. When they are seen they have their faces concealed by their black helms. They have only one task at this present time: Find every member of the Wolfpack, and destroy the assassin clan forever. They control a small amount of soldiers, no more than 50, but are rumored to have infiltrated one of their own inside the assassin clan. They wear black armor and shields, and are always concealed by their helms.
Castle guard: Once the personal protection of the city ruler… Now they mainly protect the castle walls. The castle has been sealed after the ruler’s death and now these brave men and women are left to defend it not only from outsiders, but also from the city population itself, since there are citizens constantly attempting to seek shelter inside the castle walls.
Soldiers: What’s there to say? They are those replaceable ones you kill in order to get to the big guys. Honest men with families to feed, and extremely dedicated to their duties.
Military Ranks of Blackpond:
Knights: The elite warriors of Blackpond. They usually lead the troops of soldiers into battle and are the closest to the ruler. They are usually the ones who advise the ruler in all matters of war. They are of noble blood and very well respected amongst the general population. They are currently the ones in charge of running the attack on Newhaven. They are known for avoiding confrontation, but it is said to be impossible to go against one of them in battle and live to tell.
Castle Guards: These are the best trained fighters in Blackpond. They are rarely ever seen away from the castle grounds, and are the ruler’s first line of defense.
City Guards: The city guards are mostly citizens that have been arrested for committing crimes are granted pardon in exchange of joining the city guard. They are unorganized and known for leaving when confronted by stronger groups, such as Pack members or one of the many thieves that terrorize the streets of Blackpond. They offer more protection to certain homes in exchange for bribes, and are not opposed to killing are stealing themselves if needed be.
Soldiers: Same as Newhaven.
Military Character sheet:
- Code: Select all
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Rank:
City:
Ability (if Enlightened):
Description: (pictures are optional, words are NOT)
Personality:
Equipment:
Background: (Where you were born, how you entered the military, how you learned of your special abilities, if any… Write a novel if you like. I’ll read it and love it.)
Others: Anything you'd like to add... theme songs, fears, likes, dislikes... Have fun with it.
Threads
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The Story
"Forgive me." The words were nothing more than a whisper as Jake stared at the cold gravestone before him. Only one sentence was read in its surface, he figured only Crys would have picked it out. It read: "Daniela Rivers - Finally at rest." To an outsider that might have come off as inappropriate, but it was an inside joke anyway. Any time Crys would tell her mother to relax or take a rest she would answer with. "I'll have plenty of time to do that when I'm dead." Jake let his eyes rest on the words and he let out a small chuckle.
Jake hadn't been in that camp in over a year. The clan as a whole saw his return as suspicious. Understandable. To them he had already committed treason once. He had been there for almost a week now, trying to do his share and avoiding Crys at all costs. He barely caught a glimpse of her or two as she passed by. Her mother's death was getting to her, he knew that. He also knew he couldn't possibly be as close to her as he would like. Not right now.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head respectfully. The last conversation he had with the leader of the Wolfpack was quick, and slightly unfriendly. Although he remembered the concern in her voice as he accepted his task, when she proceeded to list all the reasons why he shouldn't accept. Dani was never an emotional person, but that was her way of showing that she cared for his safety. Tears escaped the man's blue eyes as he recalled the day of her death. Seeing his leader fall to the ground from behind a black helm was something he would never forget. As the pain brought him to his knees, his fingers sunk into the dirt before the grave. "Forgive me." He repeated.
"What are you doing?" The familiar voice sounded in his ears and he opened his eyes. "Stand up, you idiot." Crys added.
Jake didn't move, he didn't think he would stand to turn around and face her right now. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder, she had knelt down next to him before he could even notice. "Jake, what are you doing?" She repeated the question.
Jake nodded, trying to get his voice to come out. Finally he answered. "I'm paying my respects, Crystal. Is there a problem with that?"
Crys sighed beside him and and he felt her skin against his as she ran her fingertips along the side of his face, he hadn't been this close to her in a very long time, under the circumstances it made him slightly uncomfortable. "You look different." She stated, her fingers stopping on the scar above his left eye.
Jake opened a half-smile. "You still look the same."
"You're not looking at me, silly." She laughed.
Jake sighed. "I don't have to. You'll always be the same stubborn child."
"Don't take me for a child, Knight. I can still give you a nice beating." She stated, in a playful tone, poking the scar. "Or have you forgotten?"
Jake finally looked at her. Crys did look exactly the same, the same familiar smirk crossing her face as she bragged about being able to beat him... Nothing had changed. He smiled. "No I haven't forgotten that." He wiped his hands on the front of his shirt before touching the gravestone with his right hand and standing up. "Don't ever call me that again." He told her. A hint of coldness crossed his voice for a second. Before she could answer a man's voice echoed across the camp.
"CRYSTAL!"
-------------
Allison had been busy scouting. She had very little time to mourn Dani's death, she had been working non-stop to keep the camp as secure as possible under the circumstances. In the week and a half she had been there she barely got any sleep. She wasn't complaining though. Anything that she could do for the clan, she would do it. Tending to recruits was the worse though. Not that she didn't enjoy being an instructor, but... The questions were inevitable. They wanted to know about the Shadow's attack on her and expected her to brag about killing a White Knight. She had no idea how people even knew about those details. In the Pack though, once the word is out... It spreads quicker than a forest fire.
Crossing the main entrance and heading to the center of the camp she heard talking amongst some actives. The same talk had been going on over and over. She stopped, not looking at group of men talking, not even to register their faces. She leaned against a tree and listened. A slight frown crossing her expression.
"She hasn't given us any word on what our plan are! Someone needs to confront her at some point!"
"The question is: How rational can she still be? She's not talking to anyone and leaving us in the dark. We're the ones who are dying because of whatever they did in Newhaven. Why must we pay for her mistakes?"
"She is Dani daughter."
"She is not Dani. She is more Bastian's daughter, if you ask me. I never once trusted that outsider to begin with."
"Lionel... That's too much."
"No, I'm done. This ends now." The active by name of Lionel stated. Then he walked a few step and shouted. "CRYSTAL! SHOW YOURSELF!"
Ali raised her head and her blue eyes darted at the man. He couldn't possibly be that stupid. Crys came walking, slowly from the memorial and she immediately stopped a few steps before the man who had called for her. "Show yourself?" She repeated his words. "I was unaware that I was hiding, Lionel."
"I am done with this." He stated. Walking a step closer and pointing his finger at her disrespectfully. Ali let her hand slide towards her quiver. Then she heard Crys chuckle. Coldness in her voice as she answered the man. "Stop yourself before it's too late." She warned him.
"No. I challenge you!" He shouted.
The whole camp stopped as he said those words. As if time had suddenly stopped, or slowed considerably. Crys sighed. "I'll give you five seconds to leave my presence before I'm forced to kill you. Five..."
The man didn't move so she kept counting slowly:
"Four..."
"Three..."
As she spoke the word "Two." Ali heard one of the recruits scream. She had missed the split second when Crys pulled out her Sai and stabbed the man. The metallic sound of a knife was the only sound in the clearing as the dagger Lionel had pulled fell to the ground. Crys let the active fall to the ground at her feet before getting on one knee beside him and slitting his throat in one clean move. Then she rested his dagger over his chest, closed his eyes and whispered. "Rest in peace, my brother."
She stood up and sheathed the bloody Sai before finally speaking. "There is enough people killing our members already. Once this is over you can all turn on me. Right now, we should be fighting them and not each other." Her voice was calm and void of emotion as she spoke. Ali knew Crys a little better though... Killing one of her own men was a painful thing for her. Ali nodded as Crys turned her back, speaking as she walked away from the center of the camp. "Give this fool a proper burial, then return to your assignments."
Ali wanted to chase Crys down and talk to her, but she had her assignment to fulfill. There was just no time for friendship right now.
Jake hadn't been in that camp in over a year. The clan as a whole saw his return as suspicious. Understandable. To them he had already committed treason once. He had been there for almost a week now, trying to do his share and avoiding Crys at all costs. He barely caught a glimpse of her or two as she passed by. Her mother's death was getting to her, he knew that. He also knew he couldn't possibly be as close to her as he would like. Not right now.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head respectfully. The last conversation he had with the leader of the Wolfpack was quick, and slightly unfriendly. Although he remembered the concern in her voice as he accepted his task, when she proceeded to list all the reasons why he shouldn't accept. Dani was never an emotional person, but that was her way of showing that she cared for his safety. Tears escaped the man's blue eyes as he recalled the day of her death. Seeing his leader fall to the ground from behind a black helm was something he would never forget. As the pain brought him to his knees, his fingers sunk into the dirt before the grave. "Forgive me." He repeated.
"What are you doing?" The familiar voice sounded in his ears and he opened his eyes. "Stand up, you idiot." Crys added.
Jake didn't move, he didn't think he would stand to turn around and face her right now. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder, she had knelt down next to him before he could even notice. "Jake, what are you doing?" She repeated the question.
Jake nodded, trying to get his voice to come out. Finally he answered. "I'm paying my respects, Crystal. Is there a problem with that?"
Crys sighed beside him and and he felt her skin against his as she ran her fingertips along the side of his face, he hadn't been this close to her in a very long time, under the circumstances it made him slightly uncomfortable. "You look different." She stated, her fingers stopping on the scar above his left eye.
Jake opened a half-smile. "You still look the same."
"You're not looking at me, silly." She laughed.
Jake sighed. "I don't have to. You'll always be the same stubborn child."
"Don't take me for a child, Knight. I can still give you a nice beating." She stated, in a playful tone, poking the scar. "Or have you forgotten?"
Jake finally looked at her. Crys did look exactly the same, the same familiar smirk crossing her face as she bragged about being able to beat him... Nothing had changed. He smiled. "No I haven't forgotten that." He wiped his hands on the front of his shirt before touching the gravestone with his right hand and standing up. "Don't ever call me that again." He told her. A hint of coldness crossed his voice for a second. Before she could answer a man's voice echoed across the camp.
"CRYSTAL!"
-------------
Allison had been busy scouting. She had very little time to mourn Dani's death, she had been working non-stop to keep the camp as secure as possible under the circumstances. In the week and a half she had been there she barely got any sleep. She wasn't complaining though. Anything that she could do for the clan, she would do it. Tending to recruits was the worse though. Not that she didn't enjoy being an instructor, but... The questions were inevitable. They wanted to know about the Shadow's attack on her and expected her to brag about killing a White Knight. She had no idea how people even knew about those details. In the Pack though, once the word is out... It spreads quicker than a forest fire.
Crossing the main entrance and heading to the center of the camp she heard talking amongst some actives. The same talk had been going on over and over. She stopped, not looking at group of men talking, not even to register their faces. She leaned against a tree and listened. A slight frown crossing her expression.
"She hasn't given us any word on what our plan are! Someone needs to confront her at some point!"
"The question is: How rational can she still be? She's not talking to anyone and leaving us in the dark. We're the ones who are dying because of whatever they did in Newhaven. Why must we pay for her mistakes?"
"She is Dani daughter."
"She is not Dani. She is more Bastian's daughter, if you ask me. I never once trusted that outsider to begin with."
"Lionel... That's too much."
"No, I'm done. This ends now." The active by name of Lionel stated. Then he walked a few step and shouted. "CRYSTAL! SHOW YOURSELF!"
Ali raised her head and her blue eyes darted at the man. He couldn't possibly be that stupid. Crys came walking, slowly from the memorial and she immediately stopped a few steps before the man who had called for her. "Show yourself?" She repeated his words. "I was unaware that I was hiding, Lionel."
"I am done with this." He stated. Walking a step closer and pointing his finger at her disrespectfully. Ali let her hand slide towards her quiver. Then she heard Crys chuckle. Coldness in her voice as she answered the man. "Stop yourself before it's too late." She warned him.
"No. I challenge you!" He shouted.
The whole camp stopped as he said those words. As if time had suddenly stopped, or slowed considerably. Crys sighed. "I'll give you five seconds to leave my presence before I'm forced to kill you. Five..."
The man didn't move so she kept counting slowly:
"Four..."
"Three..."
As she spoke the word "Two." Ali heard one of the recruits scream. She had missed the split second when Crys pulled out her Sai and stabbed the man. The metallic sound of a knife was the only sound in the clearing as the dagger Lionel had pulled fell to the ground. Crys let the active fall to the ground at her feet before getting on one knee beside him and slitting his throat in one clean move. Then she rested his dagger over his chest, closed his eyes and whispered. "Rest in peace, my brother."
She stood up and sheathed the bloody Sai before finally speaking. "There is enough people killing our members already. Once this is over you can all turn on me. Right now, we should be fighting them and not each other." Her voice was calm and void of emotion as she spoke. Ali knew Crys a little better though... Killing one of her own men was a painful thing for her. Ali nodded as Crys turned her back, speaking as she walked away from the center of the camp. "Give this fool a proper burial, then return to your assignments."
Ali wanted to chase Crys down and talk to her, but she had her assignment to fulfill. There was just no time for friendship right now.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
In the court of the Barracks, a single voice could be heard chanting the familiar call of a battle drill. A slim woman could be seen pacing back and forth in front of a line of soldiers, watching them carefully as they worked through the drills. It was a familiar practice, one that she could carry out without thinking. Which meant that she could think about the thing that was truly bothering her. Battle was easy. Simple and straight forward. But this business of carrying out an overarching campaign, that was more difficult. She had to consider every possible move from all angles, balancing the risks against the rewards. And there were all the things that she wasn’t happy about, but did anyway, simply to continue to protect Newhaven. This was her duty and her calling, and she would not fail in it.
“Halt! Fall out and form pairs, continue block and parry drills.”
She considered the events of the last few years. Finally the Wolfpack was on the decline, and they might even fall within the next few months. One good push might finish it off. She only hoped that she would be around to see the end of it. And after that?
“Halt! Fall out and form pairs, continue block and parry drills.”
She considered the events of the last few years. Finally the Wolfpack was on the decline, and they might even fall within the next few months. One good push might finish it off. She only hoped that she would be around to see the end of it. And after that?
The general hubub of conversation faltered slightly as the tavern's bulky oak door was shoved open to reveal the tall figure of Eulalius. Other than a few whispers and nervous glances exchanged among the patrons, they quickly resumed their stupor induced tales and slack-jawed soliloquies known to the local populace.
Eulalius' eyes scanned the lobby area of the tavern, his gaze eventually falling upon a young man-Whom couldn't have been as old as 18 or 19- who was busying himself engulfing massive bites of salted pork and washing them down with what Eulalius presumed was ale.
He gracefully-Well, as gracefully as his age would allow- maneuvered his way through the thick crowd of growing-drunk civilians until he stood next to the boy seated in the corner, who sat alone up until then. The boy waved a hand for Eulalius to sit next to him, and he complied.
Their conversation was short, and to the point. Eulalius told the man he had what he requested, presenting the man a sealed envelope in exchange for a sack of coins that Eulalius found surprisingly heavy.
--
It was the first true information exchange that Eulalius had done in years. After he had be admitted into the Woflpack- Which he now called 'The Pack', much like most of his fellow members- he had dropped the business entirely, using his age as an excuse if some former customer should ask about it again. But this exchange was different, and Eulalius prized the man's endeavors.
The boy said he was a freelance assassin whom wasn't interested in joining the Pack, and took out targets for his own personal purposes. He sold the man information on the boy's target because it was a pompous businessman that Eulalius personally found annoying, but he was one that the Guild didn't have a written contract for, and Eulalius didn't want to wait. He wasn't sure how the Pack's leader would respond to his actions.
Regardless, Eulalius returned to the camp, scanning the area behind him frequently to make sure he wasn't being followed.
Eulalius' eyes scanned the lobby area of the tavern, his gaze eventually falling upon a young man-Whom couldn't have been as old as 18 or 19- who was busying himself engulfing massive bites of salted pork and washing them down with what Eulalius presumed was ale.
He gracefully-Well, as gracefully as his age would allow- maneuvered his way through the thick crowd of growing-drunk civilians until he stood next to the boy seated in the corner, who sat alone up until then. The boy waved a hand for Eulalius to sit next to him, and he complied.
Their conversation was short, and to the point. Eulalius told the man he had what he requested, presenting the man a sealed envelope in exchange for a sack of coins that Eulalius found surprisingly heavy.
--
It was the first true information exchange that Eulalius had done in years. After he had be admitted into the Woflpack- Which he now called 'The Pack', much like most of his fellow members- he had dropped the business entirely, using his age as an excuse if some former customer should ask about it again. But this exchange was different, and Eulalius prized the man's endeavors.
The boy said he was a freelance assassin whom wasn't interested in joining the Pack, and took out targets for his own personal purposes. He sold the man information on the boy's target because it was a pompous businessman that Eulalius personally found annoying, but he was one that the Guild didn't have a written contract for, and Eulalius didn't want to wait. He wasn't sure how the Pack's leader would respond to his actions.
Regardless, Eulalius returned to the camp, scanning the area behind him frequently to make sure he wasn't being followed.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
The camp was silent for once. There was no commotion of battles and no intensive training going on. Evin finally had a chance to get some well deserved sleep. It almost seemed that Evin hadn't slept since the battle in Newhaven took place almost a year ago. The battle was a walk in the park compared to what had to be done around camp to make sure that no one came close to destroying the camps. The promise he made to Dani hadn't even crossed his mind until she had died. He just had no time to take care of Crystal and make sure she didn't get into trouble. He had far more pressing matters to attend to.
Ella was a perfect example of this. It took a year of emotionally torturing her until she finally cracked. Just a few days ago, he had caught her plotting to kill Evin. It would only be a matter of days until she would actually go on with her plan. Then step one of her training would be complete and he could move on into working the more intensive stuff and actually sending her on missions with him.
Another thing he had to worry about was the attacks themselves. He was part of the tactics task force who was responsible for creating tactical offencive and defencive lines for when the attacks happened. If it wasn't for that work, the camp would have been lost a long time ago, but as the Knights started learning the tactics, the tactics had to be changed. So this job became a day by day struggle to stay one step ahead.
Finally, there was the new task that he was dealt with. One of Dani's last dying wishes was to make Evin second in command of the camp. On top of everything else, he had to take almost full responsibility of the camp now. Over look Crystal's decisions and discuss all the doings of the camp. It was too much for Evin to handle. No wonder Dani always seemed so bitter.
Suddenly, just as Evin was drifting off into sleep, he heard a man yell from outside, "CRYSTAL, SHOW YOUR SELF!"
He tried to ignore it, but the commotion continued. When Evin finally had enough of it, he swung open the cabin door and ran to the center of the camp where everything was happening. On the ground, just in front of the fire was Lionel, with his throat slit. Evin looked around for any possible attackers, but saw none. He quickly realised what must have happened.
Evin sighed and muttered a few curses under his breath, "Where the hell did Crystal go!" He demanded with authority, even if he didn't enjoy doing so that much.
Ella Page walked from the center of the crowd that was surrounding the dead man. The fear that he usually saw in her face was no longer there and it was one of an almost sick pleasure. Evin would find himself facing Ella's blade soon, but for now she co-operated with his demand. She didn't say anything. She just looked a certain way. It was enough for him to understand though and he went towards where he believed he would find her.
After a few minutes of walking down a narrow path, he caught up to Crystal. She was exactly where he expected her to be, by the lake.
He spoke, "Do you really think that you can do that to members of the Pack Crystal?" Before she had a chance to justify her actions, Evin continued. "Just because the man threatened you does not justify the fact that you took the life of one of our assets. Most of these men can only remember the life in the Wolf Pack and they remember it the way Dani handled things. That is all they know. It will take time for them to trust you, but I'll tell you now that killing will not help break that trust barrier. No matter how angry you get, you have to understand this."
Evin sat down beside Crystal, looking out into the lake. It was such a beautiful sight at this time of day.
Ella was a perfect example of this. It took a year of emotionally torturing her until she finally cracked. Just a few days ago, he had caught her plotting to kill Evin. It would only be a matter of days until she would actually go on with her plan. Then step one of her training would be complete and he could move on into working the more intensive stuff and actually sending her on missions with him.
Another thing he had to worry about was the attacks themselves. He was part of the tactics task force who was responsible for creating tactical offencive and defencive lines for when the attacks happened. If it wasn't for that work, the camp would have been lost a long time ago, but as the Knights started learning the tactics, the tactics had to be changed. So this job became a day by day struggle to stay one step ahead.
Finally, there was the new task that he was dealt with. One of Dani's last dying wishes was to make Evin second in command of the camp. On top of everything else, he had to take almost full responsibility of the camp now. Over look Crystal's decisions and discuss all the doings of the camp. It was too much for Evin to handle. No wonder Dani always seemed so bitter.
Suddenly, just as Evin was drifting off into sleep, he heard a man yell from outside, "CRYSTAL, SHOW YOUR SELF!"
He tried to ignore it, but the commotion continued. When Evin finally had enough of it, he swung open the cabin door and ran to the center of the camp where everything was happening. On the ground, just in front of the fire was Lionel, with his throat slit. Evin looked around for any possible attackers, but saw none. He quickly realised what must have happened.
Evin sighed and muttered a few curses under his breath, "Where the hell did Crystal go!" He demanded with authority, even if he didn't enjoy doing so that much.
Ella Page walked from the center of the crowd that was surrounding the dead man. The fear that he usually saw in her face was no longer there and it was one of an almost sick pleasure. Evin would find himself facing Ella's blade soon, but for now she co-operated with his demand. She didn't say anything. She just looked a certain way. It was enough for him to understand though and he went towards where he believed he would find her.
After a few minutes of walking down a narrow path, he caught up to Crystal. She was exactly where he expected her to be, by the lake.
He spoke, "Do you really think that you can do that to members of the Pack Crystal?" Before she had a chance to justify her actions, Evin continued. "Just because the man threatened you does not justify the fact that you took the life of one of our assets. Most of these men can only remember the life in the Wolf Pack and they remember it the way Dani handled things. That is all they know. It will take time for them to trust you, but I'll tell you now that killing will not help break that trust barrier. No matter how angry you get, you have to understand this."
Evin sat down beside Crystal, looking out into the lake. It was such a beautiful sight at this time of day.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
As Sir Sidin made his supervising rounds across the city, it occurred to him that the sky above Newhaven was entirely unfitting for the current situation. The morning was a brilliant blue, with the sun shining brightly overhead and not a cloud in the sky: perfect weather for a time of peace. A more forgiving time, where the nobleman would have been lazing about at the family manor, basking in the pleasures of youth, and entirely ignorant of the world around him. But in this time of war, with the city still in disarray and the advantage lying with Blackpond, a cloudy sky would have been more appropriate...
Which is not to say that things were entirely doomed: Newhaven was the best city in the world, and even these numerous turns of misfortune were only a temporary setback. Thomas was sure that the people of Newhaven would at least be able to fight Blackpond to a standstill, at which point the knights could determine whether or not it would be a good idea to continue the war or see if the city to the North would accept a peace that would eventually lead to the economic dominance of Newhaven.
By that point, Sir Sidin had made his way to the castle walls, where he stopped - after all, he expected to be meeting someone here - and took a glimpse at the once magnificent structure that the walls protected. Thomas' mind involuntary went back to the day of his knighting, as personally performed by the king himself - it was a grand ceremony, but one that was unlikely to be seen again. Unless...
"The missing prince..."
Thomas murmured the words to himself in an unbelieving whisper: the White Knights had served at the side of the rightful King of Newhaven for generations, which is why they had sent out a party to find the last known scion of the royal line. But the odds of finding him were slim, and the knight was very much occupied with the dealings of the city that were occurring in the here and now.
With that, a man in a hooded green cloak came up to the walls and saluted Sir Sidin. Thomas saluted the man back, and figuring him to be the messenger that his spy had sent, handed the man a letter with the seal of the White Knights on it and instructions to deliver the letter to Commander Boris by the former East Gate. As the man scurried off, and Thomas walked back towards the direction that he came from, the knight was somewhat saddened by the knowledge that neither would reach their destination as intended: seeing as both Thomas and his spy knew that the man in the latter's employ was a Blackpond agent who had previously been fed false information and now was nothing more than a liability. The envelope was covered with a slow-acting contact anaesthetic that would put the man to sleep sometime on his way to the East Gate and Boris had been instructed to keep a few men on watch for a man who collapsed in the middle of the street so that he could be quietly imprisoned under the guise of having the guard take the man away to a hospital. Of course, the man would have to be replaced by one who Thomas could guarantee was in his employ so that the charade could continue and his enemy counterpart wouldn't suspect a thing, surely as the same was being done in Blackpond at this very moment. Such was this war, closer to politics than the actual fighting...
With that, Thomas let out a yawn: In order to make sure that the man didn't suspect a thing, the knight hadn't worn any gloves, subjecting himself to the same anaesthetic - so it seemed that he would be getting to lie around like a lump after all. But unlike the messenger, Thomas had taken care to ensure that his nap was going to be followed by a pleasant (and not a rude) awakening.
Which is not to say that things were entirely doomed: Newhaven was the best city in the world, and even these numerous turns of misfortune were only a temporary setback. Thomas was sure that the people of Newhaven would at least be able to fight Blackpond to a standstill, at which point the knights could determine whether or not it would be a good idea to continue the war or see if the city to the North would accept a peace that would eventually lead to the economic dominance of Newhaven.
By that point, Sir Sidin had made his way to the castle walls, where he stopped - after all, he expected to be meeting someone here - and took a glimpse at the once magnificent structure that the walls protected. Thomas' mind involuntary went back to the day of his knighting, as personally performed by the king himself - it was a grand ceremony, but one that was unlikely to be seen again. Unless...
"The missing prince..."
Thomas murmured the words to himself in an unbelieving whisper: the White Knights had served at the side of the rightful King of Newhaven for generations, which is why they had sent out a party to find the last known scion of the royal line. But the odds of finding him were slim, and the knight was very much occupied with the dealings of the city that were occurring in the here and now.
With that, a man in a hooded green cloak came up to the walls and saluted Sir Sidin. Thomas saluted the man back, and figuring him to be the messenger that his spy had sent, handed the man a letter with the seal of the White Knights on it and instructions to deliver the letter to Commander Boris by the former East Gate. As the man scurried off, and Thomas walked back towards the direction that he came from, the knight was somewhat saddened by the knowledge that neither would reach their destination as intended: seeing as both Thomas and his spy knew that the man in the latter's employ was a Blackpond agent who had previously been fed false information and now was nothing more than a liability. The envelope was covered with a slow-acting contact anaesthetic that would put the man to sleep sometime on his way to the East Gate and Boris had been instructed to keep a few men on watch for a man who collapsed in the middle of the street so that he could be quietly imprisoned under the guise of having the guard take the man away to a hospital. Of course, the man would have to be replaced by one who Thomas could guarantee was in his employ so that the charade could continue and his enemy counterpart wouldn't suspect a thing, surely as the same was being done in Blackpond at this very moment. Such was this war, closer to politics than the actual fighting...
With that, Thomas let out a yawn: In order to make sure that the man didn't suspect a thing, the knight hadn't worn any gloves, subjecting himself to the same anaesthetic - so it seemed that he would be getting to lie around like a lump after all. But unlike the messenger, Thomas had taken care to ensure that his nap was going to be followed by a pleasant (and not a rude) awakening.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Alexandra was practicing when she heard the man's shouting. She chose to ignore it, it had nothing to do with herself and besides, whoever wanted to pick a fight with Crystal obviously had some screws loose. She figured they deserved whatever they got.
And so she continued with her illusions, wincing as the usual cuts appeared on her hands. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind as she formed and dissolved and reformed this illusion and that, making it appear as though shadows were dancing or fire was crackling. She almost felt warm when she created the fire but knew it was in her head as illusions usually are.
She had become curious after a few minutes of forming and reforming different scenes and creatures and decided to see what had been the result of the idiot's, well, idiocy. She made the illusion dissipate and left the small clearing she had been in for the past few hours. She walked quickly to the camp and glanced around, there had definitely been no attackers; she had been correct in that assumption. Alexandra moved slowly toward the body she noticed lying on the ground, shaking her head. " Really Lionel..? You were a good fighter and all, but apparently you didn't have any brain to match." She said to the bloody corpse before she turned on her heel, muttering " Idiot."
And so she continued with her illusions, wincing as the usual cuts appeared on her hands. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind as she formed and dissolved and reformed this illusion and that, making it appear as though shadows were dancing or fire was crackling. She almost felt warm when she created the fire but knew it was in her head as illusions usually are.
She had become curious after a few minutes of forming and reforming different scenes and creatures and decided to see what had been the result of the idiot's, well, idiocy. She made the illusion dissipate and left the small clearing she had been in for the past few hours. She walked quickly to the camp and glanced around, there had definitely been no attackers; she had been correct in that assumption. Alexandra moved slowly toward the body she noticed lying on the ground, shaking her head. " Really Lionel..? You were a good fighter and all, but apparently you didn't have any brain to match." She said to the bloody corpse before she turned on her heel, muttering " Idiot."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia willed the forest to make no noise were she stepped and she gracefully came to the Wolfpacks territory. She had heard the old leader had died and She had a strange need to pay her respect to the woman. She stepped out and used her skill to shadow herself so she wouldn't be noticed, at lest for awhile. She stood at the grave and felt tears slide down her face and she didn't understand why. She crouched down and placed a single purple rose on the grave. "I wish I had known you" she whispered and her voice carried gently almost like a breeze its self. She sat for awhile just whispering to the grave.
Kranden turned the corner in the castle only to be struck by a dagger which luckily hit his breast plate and bounced off. Before his eyes even adjusted he was punched in the face. He recovered quickly pushing his attacker back. She fell to the ground but rolled back onto her feet grabbing another dagger. Mageria walked around the corner farther down the hall.
"Mageria Loo.." was all he could say before he was karate chopped in the throat and she was stabbed twice in the back and twice in the chest by two different assassins.
The female who had ambushed him first put her foot on his throat and asked cruelly, "Any last words, captain?" She made a mockery of him by baby voicing the word captain.
Before he could answer she jumped into the air, did a flip and brought the daggers down to his throat.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed waking up. His scream hit the ceiling of his room caving it in. A bed fell through the ceiling and into his room. His scream echoed out his window and down the hall way out other windows over the town. Now there was going to be some tenseness throughout the city, as if something had gone wrong.
"Everything alright captain?" Someone asked from outside the door to his chamber.
"No, it isn't Luken." He said upset. "We need to get some workers to move this bed and plaster the ceiling.
"Sir, this is the second time this wee.."
"I know," Krander interrupted.
The bed was hauled out and Krander tried to wander back to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning Krander felt tense and tired. He was sore and his voice was hoarse. 'Must have been one hell of a scream,' He thought to himself.
He did his rounds and passed the training grounds. He listened and laughed to himself as Mageria yelled at the recruits. She was one stuborn killing machine, and he was glad to have her as a teammate. She executed every order (and person) she was commanded extremely well and as quickly as possible. He was certain he could call her a "brother" as well as a friend.
He looked around him and took the secret path back into the castle. "Oh, King, What has become of us?" He asked as he began walking to the top of the castle.
"Mageria Loo.." was all he could say before he was karate chopped in the throat and she was stabbed twice in the back and twice in the chest by two different assassins.
The female who had ambushed him first put her foot on his throat and asked cruelly, "Any last words, captain?" She made a mockery of him by baby voicing the word captain.
Before he could answer she jumped into the air, did a flip and brought the daggers down to his throat.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed waking up. His scream hit the ceiling of his room caving it in. A bed fell through the ceiling and into his room. His scream echoed out his window and down the hall way out other windows over the town. Now there was going to be some tenseness throughout the city, as if something had gone wrong.
"Everything alright captain?" Someone asked from outside the door to his chamber.
"No, it isn't Luken." He said upset. "We need to get some workers to move this bed and plaster the ceiling.
"Sir, this is the second time this wee.."
"I know," Krander interrupted.
The bed was hauled out and Krander tried to wander back to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning Krander felt tense and tired. He was sore and his voice was hoarse. 'Must have been one hell of a scream,' He thought to himself.
He did his rounds and passed the training grounds. He listened and laughed to himself as Mageria yelled at the recruits. She was one stuborn killing machine, and he was glad to have her as a teammate. She executed every order (and person) she was commanded extremely well and as quickly as possible. He was certain he could call her a "brother" as well as a friend.
He looked around him and took the secret path back into the castle. "Oh, King, What has become of us?" He asked as he began walking to the top of the castle.
Mageria found Captain Krander with relatively few problems, simply asking a few of the servants that she passed. Not being on duty as a Black Knight, she simply wore the uniform of a high ranking Castle guard. It allowed her to carry her weapons, not be questioned, and protect her alternate identity. That was enough for her, since the point of being a Black Knight was to not be recognized while on duty.
She found Krander at the top of the battlements, not entirely a surprise. She leaned her back against the wall next to him and glanced at him out of the side of her eye.
“So, apparently you brought down an entire floor of the castle, dumping at least a dozen people out of their beds, waking the rest of the castle, and terrorizing at least a dozen maids.” A rare moment of good humor softened the lines of her face, with a smile tugging at the right side of her face. The wind gusted, blowing a few strands of coppery hair into her eyes. She brushed them out of the way absently as she turned and leaned against the wall, studying the town below them.
“So when are we going to strike next? I have my sources in the camp, and Pondus is out there as backup if needed. I’ve got more Knights in the field that here. This is the time to finish it. The Pack is weak right now, under strength and their leader is struggling to stay in control. One good campaign will finish them off and we can go back to concentrating on the rest of our enemies.”
She found Krander at the top of the battlements, not entirely a surprise. She leaned her back against the wall next to him and glanced at him out of the side of her eye.
“So, apparently you brought down an entire floor of the castle, dumping at least a dozen people out of their beds, waking the rest of the castle, and terrorizing at least a dozen maids.” A rare moment of good humor softened the lines of her face, with a smile tugging at the right side of her face. The wind gusted, blowing a few strands of coppery hair into her eyes. She brushed them out of the way absently as she turned and leaned against the wall, studying the town below them.
“So when are we going to strike next? I have my sources in the camp, and Pondus is out there as backup if needed. I’ve got more Knights in the field that here. This is the time to finish it. The Pack is weak right now, under strength and their leader is struggling to stay in control. One good campaign will finish them off and we can go back to concentrating on the rest of our enemies.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Crys had walked towards the lake almost immediately after killing Lionel. She hadn't yet bothered to wash the blood off her blade. She didn't enjoy having to do that, but she felt no hesitation, no doubt, no fear, given the chance he would have killed her. If he had been bluffing, if it was just talk... It didn't have to go that far. "Damn fool!" she muttered, tossing a small piece of rock into the water. Then she raised her head when she heard footsteps. She sighed, quietly. She didn't as much as flinch when Evin spoke to her. She listened to his words of course, although she didn't think he quite understood the situation.
The moment he sat beside her, she moved away from him a little, more on an instinct than for any other reason. As if somehow he would know what she was thinking if she sat any closer. Although she knew for a fact that he couldn't. "If you're here just for the sake of scolding me, then don't bother. I'm very much capable of doing that myself." She mumbled. Finally she pulled out her Sai and a piece of cloth. She dipped the cloth in the water before using it to wipe off the blood on her blade. She could still smell the blood on her hands. It sickened her. It was the first time blood ever bothered her. Including the night she discovered her father dead in the Inn at Blackpond. Once the blade was clean, or she thought it to be clean, she raised her head to face Evin.
Her voice sounded slightly more clear this time as she spoke. "I don't think I can kill members of this clan, just because I'm angry Evin, that would be treason. I did not do this because Lionel threatened me, to make some kind of example out of him, or to try and impose respect on the clan." She sighed. "I did it because I knew that if I didn't he would have killed me. Without the slightest hesitation." She flipped the dagger between her fingers as she allowed herself to think for a moment. "I honestly wish he had been bluffing. I could have easily overlooked that... Everyone is angry right now, I wouldn't hold it against him. I'm not like that." She was sounding apologetic now, so she stopped herself and went silent for a moment or two.
She smiled slightly to herself for a second as if she suddenly remembered something funny as she felt someone at the memorial nearby, she wondered who that was, but shut down the smile immediately. "So... Is your recruit finally turning on you?" She asked him, trying to fake a severe tone. She had given up on trying to criticize Evin's methods a long time ago. She did catch herself remembering the girl though. Aside from a split second during the battle at the castle, when she thought she sensed something interesting in her, she didn't pay much attention to Ella. Suddenly she felt that she should.
The moment he sat beside her, she moved away from him a little, more on an instinct than for any other reason. As if somehow he would know what she was thinking if she sat any closer. Although she knew for a fact that he couldn't. "If you're here just for the sake of scolding me, then don't bother. I'm very much capable of doing that myself." She mumbled. Finally she pulled out her Sai and a piece of cloth. She dipped the cloth in the water before using it to wipe off the blood on her blade. She could still smell the blood on her hands. It sickened her. It was the first time blood ever bothered her. Including the night she discovered her father dead in the Inn at Blackpond. Once the blade was clean, or she thought it to be clean, she raised her head to face Evin.
Her voice sounded slightly more clear this time as she spoke. "I don't think I can kill members of this clan, just because I'm angry Evin, that would be treason. I did not do this because Lionel threatened me, to make some kind of example out of him, or to try and impose respect on the clan." She sighed. "I did it because I knew that if I didn't he would have killed me. Without the slightest hesitation." She flipped the dagger between her fingers as she allowed herself to think for a moment. "I honestly wish he had been bluffing. I could have easily overlooked that... Everyone is angry right now, I wouldn't hold it against him. I'm not like that." She was sounding apologetic now, so she stopped herself and went silent for a moment or two.
She smiled slightly to herself for a second as if she suddenly remembered something funny as she felt someone at the memorial nearby, she wondered who that was, but shut down the smile immediately. "So... Is your recruit finally turning on you?" She asked him, trying to fake a severe tone. She had given up on trying to criticize Evin's methods a long time ago. She did catch herself remembering the girl though. Aside from a split second during the battle at the castle, when she thought she sensed something interesting in her, she didn't pay much attention to Ella. Suddenly she felt that she should.
Evin sighed while Crystal was whining about her only choice. Anger began to develop deep down in Evin's stomach, but he held it back. All he thought about was how Sebastian would handle the situation. That was what Dani wanted from him anyways. He needed to keep the promise he made to her no matter what. Now was the perfect time to start. He just continued to listen. He made sure that he wouldn't show his emotion, even if Crystal could feel them. It would just show that Evin understood her enough that he didn't want to express his feelings, but she still understood how he felt deep inside. Evin called this way of communicating with Crystal his telepathy. Although Evin did not possess any such power, he was still able to communicate emotions to Crystal on a whole other level that most people wouldn't understand.
As Crystal finished, her expression quickly changed, just for a moment. She felt something unusual somewhere near by. He came to realise what it was when he heard noises in the bushes behind him. Crystal continued the conversation on another topic. This time, she spoke about Ella and how her training was going. "So... Is your recruit finally turning on you?" This just came to solidify Evin's suspicions of what exactly Crystal had felt just seconds before.
"You'll see in a second." Evin took a few seconds after he said that to draw one of his daggers from out of his sleeve. In an instant, Evin turned around to catch the dagger that was aimed to pierce the back of his neck. The tang noise from the two daggers clashing caused all the birds in the trees around the pond to fly away into the sky's. Evin grabbed the wrist of the attacker and kneed her in the stomach to make sure she wouldn't be able to get up for another couple of minutes.
"That was a worthless attempt at best Ella, but you did what I have been waiting for none the less. Tomorrow, you will start your next part of training. Now that you are willing to kill, you will be allowed to join me in training for properly planning a hit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella didn't do much for the next minute. She was just lying on the ground trying to hold back the tears that she so desperately did not want to show. Her plan had failed and now she barely catch her breath. What did this mean for her. Would Crystal see this a treason and have her executed. She didn't want to think about the several possibilities of outcomes for her. Even worse would be what Evin might do to her now. What type of sadistic training would he have her preform now. Or was it all over. She only hoped she could tell. She smiled up to Evin, her sadistic smile and said, "You... sick bastard." She could barely catch her breath as she spit out her words.
She got up from the mud she was laying in and went back her little cabin to freshen up the best she could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cute kid, don't you think?" Evin turned himself back around to face Crystal. He sat back down, this time facing her. "And just so you know, I didn't need the hint that she was coming thank you very much. I could tell that she was coming without you hinting that you sensed her."
As Crystal finished, her expression quickly changed, just for a moment. She felt something unusual somewhere near by. He came to realise what it was when he heard noises in the bushes behind him. Crystal continued the conversation on another topic. This time, she spoke about Ella and how her training was going. "So... Is your recruit finally turning on you?" This just came to solidify Evin's suspicions of what exactly Crystal had felt just seconds before.
"You'll see in a second." Evin took a few seconds after he said that to draw one of his daggers from out of his sleeve. In an instant, Evin turned around to catch the dagger that was aimed to pierce the back of his neck. The tang noise from the two daggers clashing caused all the birds in the trees around the pond to fly away into the sky's. Evin grabbed the wrist of the attacker and kneed her in the stomach to make sure she wouldn't be able to get up for another couple of minutes.
"That was a worthless attempt at best Ella, but you did what I have been waiting for none the less. Tomorrow, you will start your next part of training. Now that you are willing to kill, you will be allowed to join me in training for properly planning a hit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella didn't do much for the next minute. She was just lying on the ground trying to hold back the tears that she so desperately did not want to show. Her plan had failed and now she barely catch her breath. What did this mean for her. Would Crystal see this a treason and have her executed. She didn't want to think about the several possibilities of outcomes for her. Even worse would be what Evin might do to her now. What type of sadistic training would he have her preform now. Or was it all over. She only hoped she could tell. She smiled up to Evin, her sadistic smile and said, "You... sick bastard." She could barely catch her breath as she spit out her words.
She got up from the mud she was laying in and went back her little cabin to freshen up the best she could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cute kid, don't you think?" Evin turned himself back around to face Crystal. He sat back down, this time facing her. "And just so you know, I didn't need the hint that she was coming thank you very much. I could tell that she was coming without you hinting that you sensed her."
Allison had finished training one of her recruits a bit early. She had to send the 13 year old boy to the healers. Served him right for trying to grab her bow out of her hands. "Idiot." She muttered as she walked towards the lake. She snickered as she caught a glimpse of Ella walking away from the small clearing. As the girl passed her, Ali heard something in the bushes and turned around. She saw nothing. Facing the lake she saw Crys and Evin sitting there. She nodded. "So, you went back to stalking her now?" She asked in a whispering tone. Jake made himself visible and shot a glare towards Evin to make sure the man hadn't noticed him. Didn't look like he had. Then he sighed. "So, what if I am?"
Ali took a good look at her friend, Jake looked miserable. As if he hadn't slept in years. "You look awful." She stated.
He chuckled. "Well, thank you, you look very unattractive yourself."
She smirked slightly. "Oh, that's just your opinion, Jacob." Her expression turned slightly more serious and she looked towards Crys. "I think she's finally losing it."
"No... She's not. She might though." Jake shot a glare at Evin again as if he stated that he was responsible for making sure she didn't. "She lost her mother, days ago, and everyone expects her to just..."
"They're frightened Jake, and angry. They want to feel like there is someone thinking clearly for them because they can't. It's her responsibility to be that person, or at least pretend." She sighed. "I love Crys too, and I really wish we could all hold her hand right now, but let's face reality here... Leaders only get challenged in this clan if they show themselves weak. Evin is doing a good job, but if we simply sit here and hope we can fend them off forever, soon there won't be much left of us. We're cornered."
"I know that." He stated, and walked away. Ali watched him leave with a slight frown. Wondering what had happened to him in Newhaven. The Jake she knew would never walk away like that.
----------------
Crys nodded, smiling slightly at the girl's lame attempt to take Evin out. "I do know, and you're welcome, but I wasn't actually hinting you." She chuckled. "She has a valid point though... You are a sick bastard."
"Look who's talking." Ali stated as she walked towards the lake and sat down, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Stupid recruits." She muttered.
Crys snickered. "Look who's talking now." Then she she nodded. "Trouble?"
"That depends... Breaking my recruit's ribs is not treason, right?"
"No." Crys answered, with a chuckle. "How many of yours have I broken?"
"All of them I think. That one time at least." Ali mumbled trying to remember. "How come you guys are always here? This is supposed to be my spot."
"I came here to be alone." Crys shrugged. "Not happening though."
Ali sighed. "Do we have a plan Crys? I mean..."
"I know what you mean." Crys stated, with a slight frown. "I have been thinking about it. We're low on supplies our people are getting attacked whenever they go hunting for food... If not by the soldiers by those stinking mercenaries." She sighed. "No matter how long we manage to stand our ground, eventually they'll break us."
"There's one thing we can do." Ali stated. "While I was in the ruins I violated one of the rules, so... Lena put me to work as punishment. I met some injured soldiers while working there. One of them mentioned that the ruler of Newhaven, the former ruler, had two children. The younger sibling has been missing for years now. That person technically is the ruler of Newhaven."
"And we have no idea where to look..." Crys mumbled. "If we could get this person on our side, that could make our lives easier."
"That's what I thought." Ali stated. "I didn't ask many questions though. I didn't want the man to figure out who he was really speaking to."
Crys smiled. "Oh, I'm sure Lena would have handled that." She frowned slightly and turned to Evin. "You think Ella would know something about this story? I mean, she was close to the real king."
Ali took a good look at her friend, Jake looked miserable. As if he hadn't slept in years. "You look awful." She stated.
He chuckled. "Well, thank you, you look very unattractive yourself."
She smirked slightly. "Oh, that's just your opinion, Jacob." Her expression turned slightly more serious and she looked towards Crys. "I think she's finally losing it."
"No... She's not. She might though." Jake shot a glare at Evin again as if he stated that he was responsible for making sure she didn't. "She lost her mother, days ago, and everyone expects her to just..."
"They're frightened Jake, and angry. They want to feel like there is someone thinking clearly for them because they can't. It's her responsibility to be that person, or at least pretend." She sighed. "I love Crys too, and I really wish we could all hold her hand right now, but let's face reality here... Leaders only get challenged in this clan if they show themselves weak. Evin is doing a good job, but if we simply sit here and hope we can fend them off forever, soon there won't be much left of us. We're cornered."
"I know that." He stated, and walked away. Ali watched him leave with a slight frown. Wondering what had happened to him in Newhaven. The Jake she knew would never walk away like that.
----------------
Crys nodded, smiling slightly at the girl's lame attempt to take Evin out. "I do know, and you're welcome, but I wasn't actually hinting you." She chuckled. "She has a valid point though... You are a sick bastard."
"Look who's talking." Ali stated as she walked towards the lake and sat down, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Stupid recruits." She muttered.
Crys snickered. "Look who's talking now." Then she she nodded. "Trouble?"
"That depends... Breaking my recruit's ribs is not treason, right?"
"No." Crys answered, with a chuckle. "How many of yours have I broken?"
"All of them I think. That one time at least." Ali mumbled trying to remember. "How come you guys are always here? This is supposed to be my spot."
"I came here to be alone." Crys shrugged. "Not happening though."
Ali sighed. "Do we have a plan Crys? I mean..."
"I know what you mean." Crys stated, with a slight frown. "I have been thinking about it. We're low on supplies our people are getting attacked whenever they go hunting for food... If not by the soldiers by those stinking mercenaries." She sighed. "No matter how long we manage to stand our ground, eventually they'll break us."
"There's one thing we can do." Ali stated. "While I was in the ruins I violated one of the rules, so... Lena put me to work as punishment. I met some injured soldiers while working there. One of them mentioned that the ruler of Newhaven, the former ruler, had two children. The younger sibling has been missing for years now. That person technically is the ruler of Newhaven."
"And we have no idea where to look..." Crys mumbled. "If we could get this person on our side, that could make our lives easier."
"That's what I thought." Ali stated. "I didn't ask many questions though. I didn't want the man to figure out who he was really speaking to."
Crys smiled. "Oh, I'm sure Lena would have handled that." She frowned slightly and turned to Evin. "You think Ella would know something about this story? I mean, she was close to the real king."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
"Stand And Deliver!!"
Eddie's voice echoed down the forest path, followed by a thunder of hooves as the Coach driver urged his mounts on to an even greater speed, a heartbeat later, more hoof-beats sounded upon the trail as Eddie Clarke, closely followed by the dozen other leather and chain clad warriors that made up the infamous mercanary group konw as the 'Red Raven' galloped out onto the path and, kicking up great clouds of dust in the process, thundered off after the reateating coach!
Driving his boot heels into his horses flanks, Eddie broke away from the group, riding ahead, hell for leather and gaining on the coach all the while, the Bandit cheif grinned, pearly white teeth glinting out of his tanned, un-shaven face, long, slicked back dark hair whipping out behind him around the blood red bandanna that marked him as a member of the Raven, the Mercanary laughed, this was the life!
As Eddie gained, he suddenly spied the coach driver leaping up onto the flat roof of his own pitching coach, and take a bead on the Mercanary Captain, a loaded crossbow in his hands!
Eddie swore loudly, as the dirver fired, pitching himself sideways, the Rouge felt the bolt whip past his ear and a split second later, found himself hanging sideways off his saddle, desprately trying to right himself!
With a shouted curse, Eddie pulled himself back up onto his seat, in time to see the coach driver throw back his cloak, rip a pair of ornate silver daggers from his belt, and, with a running leap, flew straight off the end of the coach, turning in the gracefully air as he did so...
"Ah shit... ASSASSIN!!"
Eddie screamed, before the coachmans riding boots hit him square in the chest, knocking him head over heels off the back of his saddle, and landing him sprawled in the dirt of the track!
Eddie scrambled to his feet, groping for his sword as the Assassin leapt lightly down from his mount, twirling his daggers as he advanced on the Mercanary...
"Ah... can we talk about this..?"
Eddie began as with a, smug, arrogant grin and slight shake of the head, the Assassin leapt...
...Only to be smashed clean out of the air by a viscious, two handed stroke of a huge, blonde maned man, swining a massive warhammer from atop his thundering charger!
Bone cracked and crimson sprayed across the dirt as the Assassin was knocked across the path to smash against the trunk of a sturdy oak some distance away, before crumpling to the ground like a broken doll!
The rest of the band gathered round as the huge blonde man swung himself down from his saddle and, shouldering his warhammer, extended a hand down towards his leader.
"What seized fucking brain, little man?"
The big man growled,
"Riding ahead of the group, like a troll with a poker up its arse!"
Eddie looked up from the dirt, and grinned wickedly,
"Leader's privilege Bjorn,"
The Bandit Captain told his second in command, accepting the Barbarians offered hand and letting the big man haul him to his feet,
"To live fast, be the first in the fray and to take the finest pick of the spoils, that or die young and leave a beautiful corpse!"
Eddie cackled and, whipping his hip flask from his belt, took a long, well earned swig, up ahead, the driverless coach had trundled to a halt some distance down the path....
"Right lads,"
The Rouge Captain adressed his men, dusting himself down as he did so and jerking a thumb towards the coach,
"Lets see what our freind over yonder was carrying!"
Eddie's voice echoed down the forest path, followed by a thunder of hooves as the Coach driver urged his mounts on to an even greater speed, a heartbeat later, more hoof-beats sounded upon the trail as Eddie Clarke, closely followed by the dozen other leather and chain clad warriors that made up the infamous mercanary group konw as the 'Red Raven' galloped out onto the path and, kicking up great clouds of dust in the process, thundered off after the reateating coach!
Driving his boot heels into his horses flanks, Eddie broke away from the group, riding ahead, hell for leather and gaining on the coach all the while, the Bandit cheif grinned, pearly white teeth glinting out of his tanned, un-shaven face, long, slicked back dark hair whipping out behind him around the blood red bandanna that marked him as a member of the Raven, the Mercanary laughed, this was the life!
As Eddie gained, he suddenly spied the coach driver leaping up onto the flat roof of his own pitching coach, and take a bead on the Mercanary Captain, a loaded crossbow in his hands!
Eddie swore loudly, as the dirver fired, pitching himself sideways, the Rouge felt the bolt whip past his ear and a split second later, found himself hanging sideways off his saddle, desprately trying to right himself!
With a shouted curse, Eddie pulled himself back up onto his seat, in time to see the coach driver throw back his cloak, rip a pair of ornate silver daggers from his belt, and, with a running leap, flew straight off the end of the coach, turning in the gracefully air as he did so...
"Ah shit... ASSASSIN!!"
Eddie screamed, before the coachmans riding boots hit him square in the chest, knocking him head over heels off the back of his saddle, and landing him sprawled in the dirt of the track!
Eddie scrambled to his feet, groping for his sword as the Assassin leapt lightly down from his mount, twirling his daggers as he advanced on the Mercanary...
"Ah... can we talk about this..?"
Eddie began as with a, smug, arrogant grin and slight shake of the head, the Assassin leapt...
...Only to be smashed clean out of the air by a viscious, two handed stroke of a huge, blonde maned man, swining a massive warhammer from atop his thundering charger!
Bone cracked and crimson sprayed across the dirt as the Assassin was knocked across the path to smash against the trunk of a sturdy oak some distance away, before crumpling to the ground like a broken doll!
The rest of the band gathered round as the huge blonde man swung himself down from his saddle and, shouldering his warhammer, extended a hand down towards his leader.
"What seized fucking brain, little man?"
The big man growled,
"Riding ahead of the group, like a troll with a poker up its arse!"
Eddie looked up from the dirt, and grinned wickedly,
"Leader's privilege Bjorn,"
The Bandit Captain told his second in command, accepting the Barbarians offered hand and letting the big man haul him to his feet,
"To live fast, be the first in the fray and to take the finest pick of the spoils, that or die young and leave a beautiful corpse!"
Eddie cackled and, whipping his hip flask from his belt, took a long, well earned swig, up ahead, the driverless coach had trundled to a halt some distance down the path....
"Right lads,"
The Rouge Captain adressed his men, dusting himself down as he did so and jerking a thumb towards the coach,
"Lets see what our freind over yonder was carrying!"
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Helena Turner had an exhausting night. Headaches had kept her from sleeping, and her body was aching for just no reason at all. Maybe she was falling ill, maybe she just wasn't the child she used to be anymore... But that was the least of her concerns at the moment. The ruins were crowded with injured people. Soldiers, civilians... Assassins... Even people who weren't hurt, but simply wanted to get away from the constant battles. The White Shadows would take anyone as long as they left their weapons behind. With all that, and after having sent small groups of healers to both cities as well as the Wolfpack camp, Lena had her hands full and that to say the very least.
Pressure on the war was building to a breaking point. Blackpond was putting pressure on the healers to stop aiding Newhaven. They claimed that if they took over the city it would all be over. Even if that was true, Lena didn't listen to it. Even amongst her own clan opinions were torn as some believed that they should simply step aside instead of feeding the war. It was valid point, Lena couldn't deny that, but... As long as they could be useful, she couldn't really bring herself to accept the idea of doing nothing. Innocent people were involved after all.
"Mom?"
Lena lifted her eyes from the book she was pretending to read and looked up at her daughter. She had called for Annie and had completely forgotten why until that moment. The woman let out a long sigh, before finally speaking. "I need you to pack your equipment and head for the Wolfpack's camp."
Lena watched as the girl's brown eyes narrowed and she questioned the order with suspicion in her voice. "For what reason, may I ask?"
"No, you may not ask, Annie. Do as I say." Lena answered. "Come see me again once you are ready to leave.
Annie let out an impatient and annoyed sigh. "Yes, mother."
--------
Annie was not pleased with her mother's decision. Not in one bit. She didn't see why she should go if they were so short on healers at their own camp. She didn't like the idea of traveling all that much either. Blackpond guards have been spotted harassing healers lately, to keep them away from Newhaven. They weren't being violent, but Annie was tiny compared to almost any man and she was incapable of avoiding conflict if they happen to try and intimidate her. She usually annoyed people easily. She sighed, checking that her antidote kit was all complete before packing it. She lifted her bag once she had everything with it and on the ground underneath it she found an envelope. looking at it curiously she picked it up and opened it. Inside there was a small dagger, and a note. It read: "I took your advice, now you take mine. Stay safe kid, it's a messed up world out there."
Annie laughed at the note and hid the dagger on the belt she wore beneath her robes. She knew how much it must have cost Allison to sneak that dagger in, the least she could do was take her efforts into consideration.
As she was done packing she went back to her mother's tent, and stepped inside. "I'm ready to leave." She stated. Her voice was a little more calm than it was at their first conversation.
Annie watched her mother as she closed the book she had been staring at. Not much reading, but simply staring at it. She then handed the book to Annie. "This book here contains important information on that missing dagger. Last time I saw Jacob, he demanded this information." She smirked slightly when she said demanded, as if it was hilarious that Jake thought he could afford to make any demands. "I denied him his request, for obvious reasons, but... Now that the weapon is gone, maybe it will be useful in some way."
"Should I give this to Jake?" Annie asked taking the book.
"No. Straight to Crystal. She can't read it, but she'll know who's reliable enough to do it. I don't this information anywhere near Jake. He has obsessed enough over this dagger in the past year."
"Yes mother." Annie nodded and bowed her head slightly before turning to leave. As she walked out of the tent she heard her mother's voice.
"Stay safe kid. It's a messed up world."
Annie laughed as she walked out. She was more than used to not being able to hide anything from her mother. She added the weight of the book to the contents of her bag and began to make her way towards the forest.
Pressure on the war was building to a breaking point. Blackpond was putting pressure on the healers to stop aiding Newhaven. They claimed that if they took over the city it would all be over. Even if that was true, Lena didn't listen to it. Even amongst her own clan opinions were torn as some believed that they should simply step aside instead of feeding the war. It was valid point, Lena couldn't deny that, but... As long as they could be useful, she couldn't really bring herself to accept the idea of doing nothing. Innocent people were involved after all.
"Mom?"
Lena lifted her eyes from the book she was pretending to read and looked up at her daughter. She had called for Annie and had completely forgotten why until that moment. The woman let out a long sigh, before finally speaking. "I need you to pack your equipment and head for the Wolfpack's camp."
Lena watched as the girl's brown eyes narrowed and she questioned the order with suspicion in her voice. "For what reason, may I ask?"
"No, you may not ask, Annie. Do as I say." Lena answered. "Come see me again once you are ready to leave.
Annie let out an impatient and annoyed sigh. "Yes, mother."
--------
Annie was not pleased with her mother's decision. Not in one bit. She didn't see why she should go if they were so short on healers at their own camp. She didn't like the idea of traveling all that much either. Blackpond guards have been spotted harassing healers lately, to keep them away from Newhaven. They weren't being violent, but Annie was tiny compared to almost any man and she was incapable of avoiding conflict if they happen to try and intimidate her. She usually annoyed people easily. She sighed, checking that her antidote kit was all complete before packing it. She lifted her bag once she had everything with it and on the ground underneath it she found an envelope. looking at it curiously she picked it up and opened it. Inside there was a small dagger, and a note. It read: "I took your advice, now you take mine. Stay safe kid, it's a messed up world out there."
Annie laughed at the note and hid the dagger on the belt she wore beneath her robes. She knew how much it must have cost Allison to sneak that dagger in, the least she could do was take her efforts into consideration.
As she was done packing she went back to her mother's tent, and stepped inside. "I'm ready to leave." She stated. Her voice was a little more calm than it was at their first conversation.
Annie watched her mother as she closed the book she had been staring at. Not much reading, but simply staring at it. She then handed the book to Annie. "This book here contains important information on that missing dagger. Last time I saw Jacob, he demanded this information." She smirked slightly when she said demanded, as if it was hilarious that Jake thought he could afford to make any demands. "I denied him his request, for obvious reasons, but... Now that the weapon is gone, maybe it will be useful in some way."
"Should I give this to Jake?" Annie asked taking the book.
"No. Straight to Crystal. She can't read it, but she'll know who's reliable enough to do it. I don't this information anywhere near Jake. He has obsessed enough over this dagger in the past year."
"Yes mother." Annie nodded and bowed her head slightly before turning to leave. As she walked out of the tent she heard her mother's voice.
"Stay safe kid. It's a messed up world."
Annie laughed as she walked out. She was more than used to not being able to hide anything from her mother. She added the weight of the book to the contents of her bag and began to make her way towards the forest.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Blackpond
Phelix wandered the halls aimlessly. "Such a waste" he mumbled to himself. He was even more restricted to the castle than ever. Not only that but NO one really was ever in the castle, even assasins were few and far between.
"Can't get a good brew, can't get a good brawl, and can't even get some good ass." he muttered under his breath. He instantly thought of Kranden and the wonderful times they had spent together since they met.
"Phelix, salute!" Commanded his superior.
"Ten, Hut!" He saluted. They both kept walking down the corridor. He would pass him again in about another 5 minutes, and the scene would be repeated.
Life was boring for Phelix. He hoped every morning that some day, some how, he would be able to get out and see his lover, and kill a few assassins.
"All this training is going to waste!" He said, loud enough for a slight echo. Echoing also brought his mind to Krander. He sighed deeply and repeated the scene with his superior.
If only something interesting would happen to the castle, or somewhere close by, so they could all leave and he could release some pent up energy by using his ability...
"Can't get a good brew, can't get a good brawl, and can't even get some good ass." he muttered under his breath. He instantly thought of Kranden and the wonderful times they had spent together since they met.
"Phelix, salute!" Commanded his superior.
"Ten, Hut!" He saluted. They both kept walking down the corridor. He would pass him again in about another 5 minutes, and the scene would be repeated.
Life was boring for Phelix. He hoped every morning that some day, some how, he would be able to get out and see his lover, and kill a few assassins.
"All this training is going to waste!" He said, loud enough for a slight echo. Echoing also brought his mind to Krander. He sighed deeply and repeated the scene with his superior.
If only something interesting would happen to the castle, or somewhere close by, so they could all leave and he could release some pent up energy by using his ability...
Krander listened as Mageria spoke.
"Well two problems. One, and more importantly, the Night terrors. You aren't Enlightened," he said gently, "so you don't understand, but I know you ARE capable OF understanding." He let out a grin which he quickly pulled back. "The first was about Phelix, and he was killed. The second, just this morning, was an ambush on the castle in which you were killed and was I." He looked at her. "I know it was a dream, because you died, but it still freaked me out."
He sat in silence for a moment then looked around. He needed to be more careful when he spoke of Phelix. Such a relationship would be treason to his 'King.' He only trusted his White Knights and a few select Black knights to tell his personal life to, as did they to him.
"The next problem. Wolfpack or Blackpond? Blackpond is giving us THIS much trouble, and they haven't even released their castle guards to fight yet. That is a dangerous situation for us if that happens. I fear we are spread too thin Mageria. We should meet with the Warlord and discuss the appropriate approach, as all of them right now seem to be a lose lose." He sighed, straightened up, and began walking towards the secret portion of the castle that housed the Warlord known only as Xypher.
"Well two problems. One, and more importantly, the Night terrors. You aren't Enlightened," he said gently, "so you don't understand, but I know you ARE capable OF understanding." He let out a grin which he quickly pulled back. "The first was about Phelix, and he was killed. The second, just this morning, was an ambush on the castle in which you were killed and was I." He looked at her. "I know it was a dream, because you died, but it still freaked me out."
He sat in silence for a moment then looked around. He needed to be more careful when he spoke of Phelix. Such a relationship would be treason to his 'King.' He only trusted his White Knights and a few select Black knights to tell his personal life to, as did they to him.
"The next problem. Wolfpack or Blackpond? Blackpond is giving us THIS much trouble, and they haven't even released their castle guards to fight yet. That is a dangerous situation for us if that happens. I fear we are spread too thin Mageria. We should meet with the Warlord and discuss the appropriate approach, as all of them right now seem to be a lose lose." He sighed, straightened up, and began walking towards the secret portion of the castle that housed the Warlord known only as Xypher.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
The direction that this conversation had gone was good. Crystal seemed to be in a better mood. She was even poking fun at him by agreeing with Ella. Things lightened up even more when Allison showed up and began to reply to comments that were made to Evin. The conversation continued on it's way with the three of them. They discussed what was on Crystal's mind. When Allison asked, "Do we have a plan Crys?" The entire tone of the conversation shifted.
Even in the secluded area of the lake, they could not escape the morbid reality that they would be doomed without some serious political intervention. Crystal wasn't looking at all the options though. Evin understood that he had discussed making a pact with Blackpond before and she turned it down, but now they were starting to run out of options. Maybe this time Crystal would consider it a little better. Before he could express his train of thought, the conversation shifted again. This time they were talking about Ella and the fact that she was close to the king before his death.
"The truth is that she hasn't really talked about that all too much to me. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't trust me and wants me dead though. Maybe one of you would have better luck with this." He then decided to express the urgency of what was going on once again, Hopefully she would understand why they needed to make a pact. "Another thing I would like to tell you before things get out of hand is that we need to make a pact with Blackpond. If we give them our services, they will return the favor with troops. Maybe they could even supply us with essentials for the camp that we can't get because of the army blockade outside our camp. If you send me with someone, I could go down to Blackpond and see if we could do something about it. Of course I would also have to bring Ella with me. It doesn't matter that she is still in training. We need her to be trained as quickly as possible so we can get more assassin's working for our cause."
He remembered the last time he had requested to go out to go on a personal mission. It was the start of the entire chain of events the lead them to this moment. He just hoped that this time, this mission would be the start of a chain of events to save the lives of everyone in the Pack.
Even in the secluded area of the lake, they could not escape the morbid reality that they would be doomed without some serious political intervention. Crystal wasn't looking at all the options though. Evin understood that he had discussed making a pact with Blackpond before and she turned it down, but now they were starting to run out of options. Maybe this time Crystal would consider it a little better. Before he could express his train of thought, the conversation shifted again. This time they were talking about Ella and the fact that she was close to the king before his death.
"The truth is that she hasn't really talked about that all too much to me. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't trust me and wants me dead though. Maybe one of you would have better luck with this." He then decided to express the urgency of what was going on once again, Hopefully she would understand why they needed to make a pact. "Another thing I would like to tell you before things get out of hand is that we need to make a pact with Blackpond. If we give them our services, they will return the favor with troops. Maybe they could even supply us with essentials for the camp that we can't get because of the army blockade outside our camp. If you send me with someone, I could go down to Blackpond and see if we could do something about it. Of course I would also have to bring Ella with me. It doesn't matter that she is still in training. We need her to be trained as quickly as possible so we can get more assassin's working for our cause."
He remembered the last time he had requested to go out to go on a personal mission. It was the start of the entire chain of events the lead them to this moment. He just hoped that this time, this mission would be the start of a chain of events to save the lives of everyone in the Pack.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia had wondered the camp out of curiosity and had wandered upon three people in a serious conversation "What are you guys talking about?" she asked without thinking, letting the shadow she had pulled to her return to where it was supposed to be. She realized her mistake immediately and was already pulling it back willing the earth to let her borrow the darkness from it. She sighed with concentration, She was afraid to get in trouble she wasn't supposed to be here.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crys nodded when Evin mentioned Ella hadn't spoken to him about her past. "I don't see why she wouldn't open up to you. You're so comforting." She joked, smirking a little. "Maybe Ali can share some of her stories about how I tortured her and see if that'll get to her."
Ali chuckled. "Oh, I have plenty of stories. Like when you made me hold my bow drawn for eleven hours. I couldn't move my arm for over a week after that."
"For six days. It would have been less if you had followed my instructions, so quit whining." Crys replied pushing Ali towards the lake, not strong enough to push her in, but almost.
"Hey, stop it." Ali complained, although she laughed.
When Evin mentioned Blackpond though... Crys' smile shut down fast. Truth is, she hadn't ruled that possibility out completely, even when she turned it down the first time. "This could blow up in our faces is so many different ways..." She sighed. "I don't see that we have much of a choice. What bothers me is if they decide that we owe them allegiance once this is over." She frowned slightly. "We are not an army for hire and I will not have that. So the possibility of getting out of a bad situation and into another is my main problem with this." Crys was in doubt, her mother repeatedly told her to never trust a city ruler. This was beyond a matter of trust now. They needed Blackpond. Hell...
Crys ran her fingers through her hair and scratched the back of her head. Anyone who knew Bastian would immediately recognize that as the same gesture he always made when he couldn't make up his mind. After a moment or two of silence. She spoke again. "Alright. We don't have a better option. Make sure you take someone reliable with you, besides Ella, I mean. " She wanted to go herself, but the way things were, that was out of the question. "And make it clear to them that they need us, we're not asking for favors." The moment she said that, Ali got on her feet and nocked an arrow as a strange voice sounded. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Healer." Crys mumbled, not moving. "She was in the memorial a few minutes ago." She faced the girl. "Don't bother hiding, because you really can't."
Crys heard the string of Ali's bow relax as she spoke with an irritated tone in her voice. "You're an apprentice. You're not allowed to leave the ruins. I suggest you go back before Lena knows you're missing."
"Let her stay." Crys shrugged. "She can stay with other healers. I can talk with Lena if she gets angry." Crys really didn't want that girl wandering about on her own with the way things were lately. It didn't bother her to have another healer around, apprentice or not.
Ali chuckled. "Oh, I have plenty of stories. Like when you made me hold my bow drawn for eleven hours. I couldn't move my arm for over a week after that."
"For six days. It would have been less if you had followed my instructions, so quit whining." Crys replied pushing Ali towards the lake, not strong enough to push her in, but almost.
"Hey, stop it." Ali complained, although she laughed.
When Evin mentioned Blackpond though... Crys' smile shut down fast. Truth is, she hadn't ruled that possibility out completely, even when she turned it down the first time. "This could blow up in our faces is so many different ways..." She sighed. "I don't see that we have much of a choice. What bothers me is if they decide that we owe them allegiance once this is over." She frowned slightly. "We are not an army for hire and I will not have that. So the possibility of getting out of a bad situation and into another is my main problem with this." Crys was in doubt, her mother repeatedly told her to never trust a city ruler. This was beyond a matter of trust now. They needed Blackpond. Hell...
Crys ran her fingers through her hair and scratched the back of her head. Anyone who knew Bastian would immediately recognize that as the same gesture he always made when he couldn't make up his mind. After a moment or two of silence. She spoke again. "Alright. We don't have a better option. Make sure you take someone reliable with you, besides Ella, I mean. " She wanted to go herself, but the way things were, that was out of the question. "And make it clear to them that they need us, we're not asking for favors." The moment she said that, Ali got on her feet and nocked an arrow as a strange voice sounded. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Healer." Crys mumbled, not moving. "She was in the memorial a few minutes ago." She faced the girl. "Don't bother hiding, because you really can't."
Crys heard the string of Ali's bow relax as she spoke with an irritated tone in her voice. "You're an apprentice. You're not allowed to leave the ruins. I suggest you go back before Lena knows you're missing."
"Let her stay." Crys shrugged. "She can stay with other healers. I can talk with Lena if she gets angry." Crys really didn't want that girl wandering about on her own with the way things were lately. It didn't bother her to have another healer around, apprentice or not.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia smiled and dropped the shadow. "I have to go soon but i felt like i should pay my respects to the past leader, i don't really know why but i did." she said and slipped close to them. She pulled a purple rose from somewhere and handed it to the female who was still sitting down, "I'm Blanditia, And i am in deed an apprentice healer, but you already know that" she said her soft voice filling the air with its musical quality.
Mageria paced gravely alongside Krander as he left the battlements. She squinted against the sun and discreetly checked where the nearest guard was. Reassured that no one could hear, she leaned in close and whispered.
“I don’t know why you haven’t kidnapped that boy years ago and locked him up in your closet. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Her eyes shaded toward a blue green while a seldom seen smile briefly flashed across her face. “Think about it. You could climb up to his window in the middle of the night, sweep him off on your white steed, and the both of you live out your lives happily ever after somewhere.” She pulled out a knife and idly cleaned under her nails with it.
“You know that I’m going to pull for attacking the Pack as soon as possible, but you’re right in that it might not be the best idea. But you know things are going to be bad if Blackpond just decides to hire the assassins and send them after us instead of getting their hands dirty. My source will let me know, but. . . . we need as much time to prepare as possible.”
“I don’t know why you haven’t kidnapped that boy years ago and locked him up in your closet. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Her eyes shaded toward a blue green while a seldom seen smile briefly flashed across her face. “Think about it. You could climb up to his window in the middle of the night, sweep him off on your white steed, and the both of you live out your lives happily ever after somewhere.” She pulled out a knife and idly cleaned under her nails with it.
“You know that I’m going to pull for attacking the Pack as soon as possible, but you’re right in that it might not be the best idea. But you know things are going to be bad if Blackpond just decides to hire the assassins and send them after us instead of getting their hands dirty. My source will let me know, but. . . . we need as much time to prepare as possible.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Crys frowned slightly at that girl's attitude as she offered her what appeared to be a rose. Ali let out something similar to a snicker and mumbled. "Healers are the weirdest creatures..." Crys figured she resented some of the time she spent at the ruins apparently. Smiling slightly at Ali's contempt, Crys accepted the rose and nodded. "Alright, Blanditia. If you must leave, then I suggest you be on your way and be careful not to sneak up on anyone again. You were very close to have an arrow through your chest. There is a war going on or haven't you heard?" She was slightly amused by the girl's mannerisms, she didn't really seem to be aware of how dangerous that camp was at the moment, even for a healer.
--------------
Jake sighed as he watched the workers arrange for Lionel's burial. His two brothers had looks of complete rage as they watched the preparations. Jake stopped next to the eldest of the two. "My condolences." He offered the man.
"Don't bother. The idiot got what he deserved." The man answered.
"Crys crossed the line even so... She's not being herself lately." Jake stated with a slight shrug.
"I thought she was your friend Jacob..." The active looked at him with a slight frown. "My brother pulled a knife at the clan leader. She didn't have to kill, but it was within her right by the rules."
"That's a noble attitude you have, Sean. I wouldn't if I was in your place." Jake nodded watching Lionel's body being taken away. He was thinking that this would be enough to make clan revolt against Crys, but apparently not quite yet. Before he did anything else, though, he needed to speak with her alone.
--------------
Jake sighed as he watched the workers arrange for Lionel's burial. His two brothers had looks of complete rage as they watched the preparations. Jake stopped next to the eldest of the two. "My condolences." He offered the man.
"Don't bother. The idiot got what he deserved." The man answered.
"Crys crossed the line even so... She's not being herself lately." Jake stated with a slight shrug.
"I thought she was your friend Jacob..." The active looked at him with a slight frown. "My brother pulled a knife at the clan leader. She didn't have to kill, but it was within her right by the rules."
"That's a noble attitude you have, Sean. I wouldn't if I was in your place." Jake nodded watching Lionel's body being taken away. He was thinking that this would be enough to make clan revolt against Crys, but apparently not quite yet. Before he did anything else, though, he needed to speak with her alone.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
If Kraden had been drinking water, he would have spit it out at that comment.
“I don’t know why you haven’t kidnapped that boy years ago and locked him up in your closet. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Mageria spoke under her breath to him.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" His voice boomed and echoed out over the horizon. The guard ahead flinched and the birds in the nearby trees took off startled.
After regaining his composure he listened to the rest of what she had to say, trying as hard as he could not to smile at the joking comments made before. He noticed Mageria smiled, but only for a moment.
"You know Mageria, I remember a time when you used to smile more. You weren't as ruthless, but it wasn't bad. Besides, you are very pretty when you smile." He wasn't lying either. She went from androgynous to pure woman when she smiled, but few people really got to see that.
"I know your hatred for the pack is deep seated, but we have to look at this from not the perspective of the victim, but as a ruler. What happened to your family was despicable, but you musn't allow it to cloud your judgment. We will meet with Xypher and discuss all three situations, in detail, although I have one that may also be valuable." They had finally approached the guard. He opened the door and closed it behind them. "But I need to be trustworthy in who hears it, you never know who is a spy or an assassin around here."
They continued walking and he finished, "And you know, while the assassins may be cold-hearted killers, they do have loyalty and honor. I don't think they would be easily bought when they can take what they want from most people anyway. There are just too many factors for my young brain to do alone, that is why we meet with Xypher."
As they rounded the corner to the long corridor approaching Xypher's quarters he noted, "I would like that too, but I don't know how even I could go up against some of the greatest fighters in Valcrest." He let out a long sigh as they neared the door. "Hopefully we both survive, and you as well, and after the war, all is new." He knocked on the door and waited to be invited in.
“I don’t know why you haven’t kidnapped that boy years ago and locked him up in your closet. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Mageria spoke under her breath to him.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" His voice boomed and echoed out over the horizon. The guard ahead flinched and the birds in the nearby trees took off startled.
After regaining his composure he listened to the rest of what she had to say, trying as hard as he could not to smile at the joking comments made before. He noticed Mageria smiled, but only for a moment.
"You know Mageria, I remember a time when you used to smile more. You weren't as ruthless, but it wasn't bad. Besides, you are very pretty when you smile." He wasn't lying either. She went from androgynous to pure woman when she smiled, but few people really got to see that.
"I know your hatred for the pack is deep seated, but we have to look at this from not the perspective of the victim, but as a ruler. What happened to your family was despicable, but you musn't allow it to cloud your judgment. We will meet with Xypher and discuss all three situations, in detail, although I have one that may also be valuable." They had finally approached the guard. He opened the door and closed it behind them. "But I need to be trustworthy in who hears it, you never know who is a spy or an assassin around here."
They continued walking and he finished, "And you know, while the assassins may be cold-hearted killers, they do have loyalty and honor. I don't think they would be easily bought when they can take what they want from most people anyway. There are just too many factors for my young brain to do alone, that is why we meet with Xypher."
As they rounded the corner to the long corridor approaching Xypher's quarters he noted, "I would like that too, but I don't know how even I could go up against some of the greatest fighters in Valcrest." He let out a long sigh as they neared the door. "Hopefully we both survive, and you as well, and after the war, all is new." He knocked on the door and waited to be invited in.
East of where the Wolfpack dwells, located within a small clearing of the great forest, there dwelled an encampment. It was a small joint with men coming to and fro carrying this or working on that. Voices that gently called out to each other issuing communication to keep the workforce solid. Resembling more a colony of ants then that of a human camp site. Everyone was bustling and staying busy, there was no weak link in their structure. Each mood was light and the shrill sound of careless whistling was easy to find on the lips of the labor. Hands were eager to the task. Jaunts and walks were straight-backed and strong.
Centered within the crowds was a solitary figure being prompted by another. Chandos was a balding man with a stern voice. Wearing an eye firm as a rock and just as grey, for the other was hidden beneath the leather of a patch. A scar running along the right side of his face filled in the details. There was no questioning what happened to the veteran soldier of Newhaven. Yet his experience belied his understanding of ranking as he chastised the black behemoth that rested before his feet.
“If I can call a plan out upon its stupidity, this is the one! We have barely over two score of men working on a shoddy base. They’re going to find us Sir Grim, and when that happens what will we possibly use to fend off the wolves?”
The figure he bellowed toward would have been a man if not mistaken for a large lump of obsidian. Sprawled on the grass, his gauntleted hands beneath his helmed head, was the legendary Blade of the Black Knights. He was called War by his men, a little joke that he never cared for, but it kept them pleased. To the more formal acquaintances he was Grim Pondus. Often hailed the most ferocious of his group not to mention the biggest. An intimidating figure to gaze upon no doubt and there he was this evening laying in the grass. Drawing deep wells of breath to keep the sweating at bay beneath the pounds of metallic plating that he adorned. Idly bickering with his most trusted gopher and first lieutenant Chandos.
“Well, I’ve given it much thought Chandos. We shall use feces first… and failing that there’s always sharp sticks and harsh words. Surely no finer weapons made on this earth. Unless of course we roll the sticks about in the privy first.”
The elderly man was less then enthusiastic. Crossing his arms with disapproval he continued his spat. Driving harder with his words and harsher with his voice. Games were far from fun with death on the line, and he understood the Wolves to be very dangerous playmates.
“ I’m not going to tell the men to roll sticks in dung because you refuse to oversee our operations past pitching the tents and cooking dinner. There’s lives at stake Sir Grim, and I can’t comfort the men with the assurance that their leader will be fortifying the outhouses!”
A lofty sigh breached the dark helm. “Then I’ll give it to you straight old friend,” he started. “We’re not here as an invasion force. Our job is to simply make sure their camp doesn’t up and decide to move without our knowledge. We also serve as a fronting point should her lady manage to convince the higher-ups on an attack. The Wolves will find us, make no doubt about that. Perhaps they’ll attack who knows. I’m doing my job, but you on the other hand…”
“I’m not doing anything involving waste for your enjoyment.” He hissed the words with a bit of venom. Having suffered through certain situations in the past. Being made an example of kept Chanos in line, but he hated every minute of it.
“Not at all, I need you to eradicate any Newhaven sigils that may be marking up the place. If we’re fortunate they will be confused and thus leave us alone. Either way it is not a good idea to solicit that their bitter enemies are sleeping on their doorstep.”
The exchange concluded with the lieutenant rushing off to his duties, and his superior lounging idly by. Though none would have guessed it, Grim was sinking into his thoughts. Processing many alternatives and possibilities that could arise during this mission. Always conscious of the one specific order that had fallen onto him. “Stay alive,” She had ordered, and he meant to keep it. There was also a matter of the other Black Knights. Jack and Setareh, neither had been by to talk in some time. He hoped they were both doing well.
Centered within the crowds was a solitary figure being prompted by another. Chandos was a balding man with a stern voice. Wearing an eye firm as a rock and just as grey, for the other was hidden beneath the leather of a patch. A scar running along the right side of his face filled in the details. There was no questioning what happened to the veteran soldier of Newhaven. Yet his experience belied his understanding of ranking as he chastised the black behemoth that rested before his feet.
“If I can call a plan out upon its stupidity, this is the one! We have barely over two score of men working on a shoddy base. They’re going to find us Sir Grim, and when that happens what will we possibly use to fend off the wolves?”
The figure he bellowed toward would have been a man if not mistaken for a large lump of obsidian. Sprawled on the grass, his gauntleted hands beneath his helmed head, was the legendary Blade of the Black Knights. He was called War by his men, a little joke that he never cared for, but it kept them pleased. To the more formal acquaintances he was Grim Pondus. Often hailed the most ferocious of his group not to mention the biggest. An intimidating figure to gaze upon no doubt and there he was this evening laying in the grass. Drawing deep wells of breath to keep the sweating at bay beneath the pounds of metallic plating that he adorned. Idly bickering with his most trusted gopher and first lieutenant Chandos.
“Well, I’ve given it much thought Chandos. We shall use feces first… and failing that there’s always sharp sticks and harsh words. Surely no finer weapons made on this earth. Unless of course we roll the sticks about in the privy first.”
The elderly man was less then enthusiastic. Crossing his arms with disapproval he continued his spat. Driving harder with his words and harsher with his voice. Games were far from fun with death on the line, and he understood the Wolves to be very dangerous playmates.
“ I’m not going to tell the men to roll sticks in dung because you refuse to oversee our operations past pitching the tents and cooking dinner. There’s lives at stake Sir Grim, and I can’t comfort the men with the assurance that their leader will be fortifying the outhouses!”
A lofty sigh breached the dark helm. “Then I’ll give it to you straight old friend,” he started. “We’re not here as an invasion force. Our job is to simply make sure their camp doesn’t up and decide to move without our knowledge. We also serve as a fronting point should her lady manage to convince the higher-ups on an attack. The Wolves will find us, make no doubt about that. Perhaps they’ll attack who knows. I’m doing my job, but you on the other hand…”
“I’m not doing anything involving waste for your enjoyment.” He hissed the words with a bit of venom. Having suffered through certain situations in the past. Being made an example of kept Chanos in line, but he hated every minute of it.
“Not at all, I need you to eradicate any Newhaven sigils that may be marking up the place. If we’re fortunate they will be confused and thus leave us alone. Either way it is not a good idea to solicit that their bitter enemies are sleeping on their doorstep.”
The exchange concluded with the lieutenant rushing off to his duties, and his superior lounging idly by. Though none would have guessed it, Grim was sinking into his thoughts. Processing many alternatives and possibilities that could arise during this mission. Always conscious of the one specific order that had fallen onto him. “Stay alive,” She had ordered, and he meant to keep it. There was also a matter of the other Black Knights. Jack and Setareh, neither had been by to talk in some time. He hoped they were both doing well.
Bjorn Heldenhammer, the huge, blonde haired Barbarian who acted as Eddie's second in command and, more often than not, body-guard, reached the halted coach first and, gripping the door firmly with one massive fist, proceeded to rip it clean out of its frame as the rest of the Red Raven gathered round to peer inside...
Eddie, meanwhile, sauntered slowly over to where the broken body of the Assassin lay crumpled at the foot of the large oak tree and, coming to a stop, took the time to remove his cigar case from his pocket, selected one of the fine cigars, inserted it into his mouth, and returned the case to his pocket, the then crouched down beside the slumped Assasin.
The man was still breathing, just, reaching out, Eddie lifted the Assassin's chin with one gloved finger and looked into his eyes,
"Where is The Wolfpack?"
The Raven Leader asked, the Assassin merely glared at him through bloodshot eyes, Eddie sighed and made to rise... When the sunlight glinting off something silver and gold caught his eye... it was the Assassin's dagger.
Retriving the weapon, Eddie got to his feet and turned the blade over in his hand, he grinned,
"A fine weapon indeed,"
He told the fallen Assassin, before lifting his boot and placing it heavily on the mans throat,
"Now... Where Is The Wolfpack?!"
The Assassin looked up at the Rouge, and spat, before turning his head and, with a shudder, stopped breathing.
Eddie shrugged and, removing his boot from the fallen man, turned the blade over in his hands once more, it was indeed a fine weapon, its blade keen, its hilt decorated and gilded, his mind made up, the Rouge Captain thrust the dagger into his belt as a loud roar of glee sounded from the men surrounding the Coach...
Eddie, meanwhile, sauntered slowly over to where the broken body of the Assassin lay crumpled at the foot of the large oak tree and, coming to a stop, took the time to remove his cigar case from his pocket, selected one of the fine cigars, inserted it into his mouth, and returned the case to his pocket, the then crouched down beside the slumped Assasin.
The man was still breathing, just, reaching out, Eddie lifted the Assassin's chin with one gloved finger and looked into his eyes,
"Where is The Wolfpack?"
The Raven Leader asked, the Assassin merely glared at him through bloodshot eyes, Eddie sighed and made to rise... When the sunlight glinting off something silver and gold caught his eye... it was the Assassin's dagger.
Retriving the weapon, Eddie got to his feet and turned the blade over in his hand, he grinned,
"A fine weapon indeed,"
He told the fallen Assassin, before lifting his boot and placing it heavily on the mans throat,
"Now... Where Is The Wolfpack?!"
The Assassin looked up at the Rouge, and spat, before turning his head and, with a shudder, stopped breathing.
Eddie shrugged and, removing his boot from the fallen man, turned the blade over in his hands once more, it was indeed a fine weapon, its blade keen, its hilt decorated and gilded, his mind made up, the Rouge Captain thrust the dagger into his belt as a loud roar of glee sounded from the men surrounding the Coach...
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Annie made it to the Wolfpack without any problems. It paid off that she resembled her mother so much, few people would dare touch her knowing she was Lena's daughter. She had quite a reputation. As she passed the entrance of the camp the first person she spotted was Jake, the second thing she spotted was the dead body being prepared for burial. "Whatever happened here?" The girl mumbled to herself, as she made her way to the healers cabin to get settled. As she went into the cabin she simply nodded to acknowledge the other healers that were there working, she left her bag where she knew it wouldn't be touched and walked back outside to see what the commotion was about.
She walked a straight line to where Jake was and hugged him, shouting, "Jakey!" Half the assassins turned to look, some even laughed.
Jake chuckled, pushing her off. "Stop it, Annie. What the hell."
She shrugged. "What, can't I be happy to see my cousin? I didn't even know you were back in camp." She said, smiling innocently at him.
He nodded, laughing. "Oh, well, you seem happier about it than most people." Then he patted the top of her head, and added. "You seem taller, cousin. It's been what, over a year?"
"Yes, it has." Annie let her eyes wander to the dead body again. "What happened here?" Then her eyes widened. "That's Lionel!"
Jake sighed. "Yes, it is Lionel. He challenged Crys this morning and she killed him."
Annie frowned slightly, a concerned look on her face. "I thought they were friends..."
"They were. Lionel grew up with Crys, they trained together as recruits." Jake nodded. "I don't know what the hell he was thinking, but... It's too late to think about it now."
Annie nodded quietly as people lined up to pay their respects. She let out a long sigh, watching Jake with the corner of her eyes. "How is she doing?"
Jake shrugged. "I'm not sure. I... Didn't get the chance to talk to her alone yet. She seems to be... Sad, I think."
"You're her best friend, Jake. If anything, she listens to you." Annie said, with a small smile.
Before Jake could answer though an active walked up to him. "Jake, Markus hasn't returned yet. He should have been here an hour ago."
"He left for supplies?" Jake asked, not seeming too worried about the news.
"Yes. He was supposed to be back by now though. You think the soldiers caught him?"
Jake sighed. "I don't think so. Probably some mercenary scum... If he's not back, don't count on finding him alive." He looked at the man. "I advise you not to go looking for him, but do inform Crys as soon as possible."
The man seemed insecure to hear that. Jake smirked slightly and added. "Just don't pull a knife at her and you'll be fine."
Annie smiled at the assassin. "I can do it if you're scared."
The man frowned at her. "I'm not scared. I'll do it." He said, irritated, as he walked off.
Jake nodded, laughing as the man walked away. "Annie, you're evil."
"No, I'm not." She smiled at him. "Why would you say that? I just offered to do the man a favor. I do need to speak with Crys anyway."
Jake snickered. "Sure Annie. It was perfectly innocent, I'm sure."
Jake stepped away from Annie and entered the line of people waiting to say their goodbyes to Lionel before he was buried.
She walked a straight line to where Jake was and hugged him, shouting, "Jakey!" Half the assassins turned to look, some even laughed.
Jake chuckled, pushing her off. "Stop it, Annie. What the hell."
She shrugged. "What, can't I be happy to see my cousin? I didn't even know you were back in camp." She said, smiling innocently at him.
He nodded, laughing. "Oh, well, you seem happier about it than most people." Then he patted the top of her head, and added. "You seem taller, cousin. It's been what, over a year?"
"Yes, it has." Annie let her eyes wander to the dead body again. "What happened here?" Then her eyes widened. "That's Lionel!"
Jake sighed. "Yes, it is Lionel. He challenged Crys this morning and she killed him."
Annie frowned slightly, a concerned look on her face. "I thought they were friends..."
"They were. Lionel grew up with Crys, they trained together as recruits." Jake nodded. "I don't know what the hell he was thinking, but... It's too late to think about it now."
Annie nodded quietly as people lined up to pay their respects. She let out a long sigh, watching Jake with the corner of her eyes. "How is she doing?"
Jake shrugged. "I'm not sure. I... Didn't get the chance to talk to her alone yet. She seems to be... Sad, I think."
"You're her best friend, Jake. If anything, she listens to you." Annie said, with a small smile.
Before Jake could answer though an active walked up to him. "Jake, Markus hasn't returned yet. He should have been here an hour ago."
"He left for supplies?" Jake asked, not seeming too worried about the news.
"Yes. He was supposed to be back by now though. You think the soldiers caught him?"
Jake sighed. "I don't think so. Probably some mercenary scum... If he's not back, don't count on finding him alive." He looked at the man. "I advise you not to go looking for him, but do inform Crys as soon as possible."
The man seemed insecure to hear that. Jake smirked slightly and added. "Just don't pull a knife at her and you'll be fine."
Annie smiled at the assassin. "I can do it if you're scared."
The man frowned at her. "I'm not scared. I'll do it." He said, irritated, as he walked off.
Jake nodded, laughing as the man walked away. "Annie, you're evil."
"No, I'm not." She smiled at him. "Why would you say that? I just offered to do the man a favor. I do need to speak with Crys anyway."
Jake snickered. "Sure Annie. It was perfectly innocent, I'm sure."
Jake stepped away from Annie and entered the line of people waiting to say their goodbyes to Lionel before he was buried.
Setareh ran the steel blade down the length of the willow shaft, thin scraps of wood falling in the dirt at her feet. Her eyes glanced around the camp, which seemed to be bustling with activity today. She examined the shaft before carefully shaving a spiral around it. She'd barely lifted her eyes from her work as the man challenged the leader and was struck down. She watched one of the healers run to the mans side, starting to try and resuscitate him.
She tied off her hair to one side and continued her work, knifing out a place to slip in her eagle feathers. Eagle feathers were expensive and high quality, they shot straight and smooth slicing through the air. She thought about the letter she'd received from her father only a few days ago.
Setareh,
You'll be having a new addition that you might recognize. Keep an eye on him, keep his back and watch him. I'm sure you two will become close friends. His name is Jake. The family sends their regards.
Keep the faith, Father
The moment Jake had entered the camp she recognized him, though she doubted he'd recognize her. She'd seen him once or twice over the year, when she'd go and report to their commander. She'd never spoken to him directly, she didn't really know of him except what her father had said to her.
She watched the healer say a blessing over the mans body and walk away. Setareh went back to her arrow that she was specially making for her next target.
----------------------
Nicolette watched in horror as the known leader of the Wolfpack slaughtered a man in front of everyone and simply walked away. Nico broke through the crowd to the side of the fallen man. His blood still pooling around his body. She broke out her box of aiding and drew up her caplet over her shoulders. The mans blood formed small beads on her resin coated gloves.
The woman has hit is main jugular and she was sure he was already dead, though she tried to stop the bleeding, she realized the man had stopped pumping blood a while ago. She took out a mixture of goldenrod, garlic, and heather and sprinkled it over his form while offering a simple prayer of protection.
She rose and conversed with a few other healers in the camp to have him properly buried. She wiped her gloves off with a cloth, and went towards the lake, she found the leaders sitting with her second in command at the lake. A young assassin in training was doubled over behind them. She could tell she was alright, simply had the breath knocked out of her.
She faced the leader of the clan, and said, "I mean the utmost respect for you, Miss Crystal. But I must ask that you not kill members of your clan. You may incapacitate them to loss of consciousness, excessive bleeding, or dismemberment. All of those I can help, I cannot help a dead man. Maybe he was momentarily crazy. I don't know, I just don't want to bury any more bodies if I can help it."
Nico finally breathed out, and turned toward the water, wiping what blood she'd missed off of her gloves.
She tied off her hair to one side and continued her work, knifing out a place to slip in her eagle feathers. Eagle feathers were expensive and high quality, they shot straight and smooth slicing through the air. She thought about the letter she'd received from her father only a few days ago.
Setareh,
You'll be having a new addition that you might recognize. Keep an eye on him, keep his back and watch him. I'm sure you two will become close friends. His name is Jake. The family sends their regards.
Keep the faith, Father
The moment Jake had entered the camp she recognized him, though she doubted he'd recognize her. She'd seen him once or twice over the year, when she'd go and report to their commander. She'd never spoken to him directly, she didn't really know of him except what her father had said to her.
She watched the healer say a blessing over the mans body and walk away. Setareh went back to her arrow that she was specially making for her next target.
----------------------
Nicolette watched in horror as the known leader of the Wolfpack slaughtered a man in front of everyone and simply walked away. Nico broke through the crowd to the side of the fallen man. His blood still pooling around his body. She broke out her box of aiding and drew up her caplet over her shoulders. The mans blood formed small beads on her resin coated gloves.
The woman has hit is main jugular and she was sure he was already dead, though she tried to stop the bleeding, she realized the man had stopped pumping blood a while ago. She took out a mixture of goldenrod, garlic, and heather and sprinkled it over his form while offering a simple prayer of protection.
She rose and conversed with a few other healers in the camp to have him properly buried. She wiped her gloves off with a cloth, and went towards the lake, she found the leaders sitting with her second in command at the lake. A young assassin in training was doubled over behind them. She could tell she was alright, simply had the breath knocked out of her.
She faced the leader of the clan, and said, "I mean the utmost respect for you, Miss Crystal. But I must ask that you not kill members of your clan. You may incapacitate them to loss of consciousness, excessive bleeding, or dismemberment. All of those I can help, I cannot help a dead man. Maybe he was momentarily crazy. I don't know, I just don't want to bury any more bodies if I can help it."
Nico finally breathed out, and turned toward the water, wiping what blood she'd missed off of her gloves.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Eddie Clarke swaggered towards the coach and his gathered mass of cheering men as Bjorn, reaching into the carriage interior, pulled its cargo out into the road...
It was a girl.
Eddie blinked in astonishment as he joined his men, and grinned, she couldn't have been more than eighteen summers, clad an expensive looking gown and adorned with assorted jewlery and trinkets, the Raven fanned out into a circle as Eddie stepped forwatd, and rubbed his rough chin thoughtfully...
"Your no pesant girl,"
The Rouge commented, she glared at him,
"An expensively clad maiden..."
This description bought snorts of laughter and mock dissbeleif from his men,
"Riding through the out-skirts of the central woods in an expensive coach... personaly guarded by an Assassin..!"
Eddie drew his newly acquired dagger, and twirled it through his fingers absent-mindedly,
"Who are you?!"
He demanded, the girl squared her shoulders and glared at him,
"I am Gilbrea Even'star, Cousin to the Duke, a minor nobel on Blackpond."
Eddie grinned as a loud, mocking "Ooooohh!!" choursed from his men, the Mercanary Captain chuckled,
"Ah that old tale, some Nobel in a war torn city sends his beloved neice to safety and hires an Assassin as her personal guard?! Your old man must have acesss to some coin... but where would you run too, there's only one safe haven aroound these parts, and thats the healer camp...ah!"
Eddie Clarke had spoken these last few words almost to himself, but now he looked up again and laughed!
"The gods finaly remove cock from ass and present us with an oppertunity!"
With that, the Mercanary turned on his heel, strode over to where the dead Assassin lay slumped and, tugging the desceased man's cloak off, threw it round his own shoulders, and pulled up the hood!
"Now I, madam, am your dashing Assassin guard, I shall escort you to the Healer camp and there..."
The Mercanary grinned wickedly as he pulled himself nimbley up the side of the carrige and into the drivers seat,
"There, The Wolfpack are bound to make contact with their agent!"
A loud shout of laughter echoed from the gathered men as understanding dawned, at a nod from his leader, Bjorn bundled the protesting girl back into the carriage and slammed the door behind her, Eddie nodded once more as the Barbarian strode around to the front of the coach.
"You sure about this, little man?"
Bjorn asked, Eddie nodded firmly,
"Yes, we have an oppertunity and I intend to seize it! Disspose of the body and meet me at the healers camp in two days time, it will seem suspiscious if we arrive together, plus that gives the Wolfpack time to contact their 'Agent'..."
Bjorn grinned and nodded, the two freinds shook hands, before the huge blonde man turned to shout orders at the waiting mercanaries, Eddie meanwhile, took up the reighns and with a loud "HA!" urged the coach off down the road at a gallop!
It was a girl.
Eddie blinked in astonishment as he joined his men, and grinned, she couldn't have been more than eighteen summers, clad an expensive looking gown and adorned with assorted jewlery and trinkets, the Raven fanned out into a circle as Eddie stepped forwatd, and rubbed his rough chin thoughtfully...
"Your no pesant girl,"
The Rouge commented, she glared at him,
"An expensively clad maiden..."
This description bought snorts of laughter and mock dissbeleif from his men,
"Riding through the out-skirts of the central woods in an expensive coach... personaly guarded by an Assassin..!"
Eddie drew his newly acquired dagger, and twirled it through his fingers absent-mindedly,
"Who are you?!"
He demanded, the girl squared her shoulders and glared at him,
"I am Gilbrea Even'star, Cousin to the Duke, a minor nobel on Blackpond."
Eddie grinned as a loud, mocking "Ooooohh!!" choursed from his men, the Mercanary Captain chuckled,
"Ah that old tale, some Nobel in a war torn city sends his beloved neice to safety and hires an Assassin as her personal guard?! Your old man must have acesss to some coin... but where would you run too, there's only one safe haven aroound these parts, and thats the healer camp...ah!"
Eddie Clarke had spoken these last few words almost to himself, but now he looked up again and laughed!
"The gods finaly remove cock from ass and present us with an oppertunity!"
With that, the Mercanary turned on his heel, strode over to where the dead Assassin lay slumped and, tugging the desceased man's cloak off, threw it round his own shoulders, and pulled up the hood!
"Now I, madam, am your dashing Assassin guard, I shall escort you to the Healer camp and there..."
The Mercanary grinned wickedly as he pulled himself nimbley up the side of the carrige and into the drivers seat,
"There, The Wolfpack are bound to make contact with their agent!"
A loud shout of laughter echoed from the gathered men as understanding dawned, at a nod from his leader, Bjorn bundled the protesting girl back into the carriage and slammed the door behind her, Eddie nodded once more as the Barbarian strode around to the front of the coach.
"You sure about this, little man?"
Bjorn asked, Eddie nodded firmly,
"Yes, we have an oppertunity and I intend to seize it! Disspose of the body and meet me at the healers camp in two days time, it will seem suspiscious if we arrive together, plus that gives the Wolfpack time to contact their 'Agent'..."
Bjorn grinned and nodded, the two freinds shook hands, before the huge blonde man turned to shout orders at the waiting mercanaries, Eddie meanwhile, took up the reighns and with a loud "HA!" urged the coach off down the road at a gallop!
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Eulalius wanted to be quick. He wasn't sure how Crystal would respond to his exchange made earlier. It was that fear which drove him to almost run across the center of camp and skitter into his quarters. His haste was stopped only by a small crowd gathering around a body.
At first, Eulalius panicked, thinking that an unknown enemy had found its way into the camp, but firther analysis proved that it was not an enemy but was, in fact, Crystal herself.
He would have liked to stay and give his respects, but Eulalius' current priority was to stash away his profit gained from what he worried was an illegal exchange. Nonetheless, he continued his brisk walk towards his quarters, only to encounter another problem:
The bag ripped open.
Eulalius cussed as he hurriedly bent over frantically in an effort to gather the coins, but he was sure someone would have seen. He grabbed as many as he could in two handfuls, and continued on...
At first, Eulalius panicked, thinking that an unknown enemy had found its way into the camp, but firther analysis proved that it was not an enemy but was, in fact, Crystal herself.
He would have liked to stay and give his respects, but Eulalius' current priority was to stash away his profit gained from what he worried was an illegal exchange. Nonetheless, he continued his brisk walk towards his quarters, only to encounter another problem:
The bag ripped open.
Eulalius cussed as he hurriedly bent over frantically in an effort to gather the coins, but he was sure someone would have seen. He grabbed as many as he could in two handfuls, and continued on...
Evin ignored the girl who seemed to have no clue how difficult the world around her was. She was a fool to even try what she did, but didn't even realise that she was only a slight movement of a hand away to being killed. He just ignored what the girl had to say and went along with the things he needed to say. "I will be gone in the ten minutes. I'm going to promise them one free kill from us, no matter who it is. Other than that, I will let them know exactly what they want." He had a feeling that Crystal wouldn't like the idea of giving them a free hit, but Evin knew that it would be the only way that Blackpond would ever agree to this deal. "If I am to see anything suspicious going on as I move through the forest, I will let you know on my way back. I also decided that I'll bring Eulalius with me. He might not be the most trustworthy, but he is very able to break a rule, and you know how much I like rule breakers."
Evin stood up from facing Crystal. He walked through the bushes where people were seeming to appear out of no where by the second.
"Remember that every issue can't be answered with blood." He walked away
Moving through the same path that he had come from, he began to hear a commotion in the center of the camp. Evin sped up to a fast walk to see what was going on. When he made it to the camp where the fire was being lit and the burial ceremonies were beginning, he saw Eulalius grabbing large quantities of cash off of the ground. He was back from his personal mission. Evin had caught him doing some snooping around camp a while back and realised that he was working on something that was obviously unknown to anyone in the camp. Now he realised why Eulalius had taken this secret mission. He was loaded with cash. It was also why Evin decided to take Eulalius with him. If Crystal was to find out, she wouldn't be happy, but if he was out of the town for a couple of days, the man would be safe from her wrath.
Eulalius began to run off, but he quickly caught up to him. He also saw the Ella had gone to pay her respects to the fool who took on Crystal. He called her over then addressed the two.
"I want to leave right away so I'll get strait to the point. The two of you are to come with me so I can discuss some politics with the leaders of Blackpond. This mission, although it sounds simple will not be. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of Newhaven soilders out there and we will need to pass them undetected. I need you two in case we become detected. We leave now."
With that Evin headed towards the main exit of the camp, expecting that Ella and Eulalius would follow.
Evin stood up from facing Crystal. He walked through the bushes where people were seeming to appear out of no where by the second.
"Remember that every issue can't be answered with blood." He walked away
Moving through the same path that he had come from, he began to hear a commotion in the center of the camp. Evin sped up to a fast walk to see what was going on. When he made it to the camp where the fire was being lit and the burial ceremonies were beginning, he saw Eulalius grabbing large quantities of cash off of the ground. He was back from his personal mission. Evin had caught him doing some snooping around camp a while back and realised that he was working on something that was obviously unknown to anyone in the camp. Now he realised why Eulalius had taken this secret mission. He was loaded with cash. It was also why Evin decided to take Eulalius with him. If Crystal was to find out, she wouldn't be happy, but if he was out of the town for a couple of days, the man would be safe from her wrath.
Eulalius began to run off, but he quickly caught up to him. He also saw the Ella had gone to pay her respects to the fool who took on Crystal. He called her over then addressed the two.
"I want to leave right away so I'll get strait to the point. The two of you are to come with me so I can discuss some politics with the leaders of Blackpond. This mission, although it sounds simple will not be. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of Newhaven soilders out there and we will need to pass them undetected. I need you two in case we become detected. We leave now."
With that Evin headed towards the main exit of the camp, expecting that Ella and Eulalius would follow.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria held up one hand in a halting motion as Krander brought up the assassins.
“Do not start down that road again. I can’t be rational about it. They may have a code of honor, but what is the difference between killing a child and leaving them orphaned and alone in the world?” Old anger caused her eyes to wash out to a pale grey.
It’s strange how memories can be so powerful . . . . .
I remember leaving my family that morning. Mama and Da, waving at me as they sent me to stay with friends to see how things were done. My siblings, Tessa and Gin, Dalin and Max were all fighting about something, but they each took time to wish me well. Little Gin proudly showing me her new tooth and saying that by the time I got back it would be all grown in. Dalin trying to sneak a bug down my shirt, till Da caught him and sent him to count things in the store room.
A few weeks later a man coming to knock on the door in the middle of the night, to tell me that it’s all gone. All of my family, all of the memories, everything was taken by an assassin’s blade; for no better reason than to make sure that someone else had the upper hand in the trade. I spent years training and learning, working on becoming better so that I could make sure such a thing could never happen again. And now I’m here . . .
Mageria came back to herself after only a moment. She didn’t like to dwell on what had brought her to her current path, instead focusing on the events in front of her. In her line of work, a moment’s inattention could be deadly. Deliberately pushing it to the back of her mind, she shrugged and stared idly down the hall as they waited for the door to open.
“As for smiling more often? Black Knights don’t smile. Nor do we eat, sleep, laugh or shit. We just clank around looking for things to kill.” She cocked one eyebrow and glanced at Krander. “Everybody knows that.”
“Do not start down that road again. I can’t be rational about it. They may have a code of honor, but what is the difference between killing a child and leaving them orphaned and alone in the world?” Old anger caused her eyes to wash out to a pale grey.
It’s strange how memories can be so powerful . . . . .
I remember leaving my family that morning. Mama and Da, waving at me as they sent me to stay with friends to see how things were done. My siblings, Tessa and Gin, Dalin and Max were all fighting about something, but they each took time to wish me well. Little Gin proudly showing me her new tooth and saying that by the time I got back it would be all grown in. Dalin trying to sneak a bug down my shirt, till Da caught him and sent him to count things in the store room.
A few weeks later a man coming to knock on the door in the middle of the night, to tell me that it’s all gone. All of my family, all of the memories, everything was taken by an assassin’s blade; for no better reason than to make sure that someone else had the upper hand in the trade. I spent years training and learning, working on becoming better so that I could make sure such a thing could never happen again. And now I’m here . . .
Mageria came back to herself after only a moment. She didn’t like to dwell on what had brought her to her current path, instead focusing on the events in front of her. In her line of work, a moment’s inattention could be deadly. Deliberately pushing it to the back of her mind, she shrugged and stared idly down the hall as they waited for the door to open.
“As for smiling more often? Black Knights don’t smile. Nor do we eat, sleep, laugh or shit. We just clank around looking for things to kill.” She cocked one eyebrow and glanced at Krander. “Everybody knows that.”
'I need you two in case we become detected. We leave now.'
--
And Eulalius did just that. Without further question, Eulalius pocketed the money he could, sinched his knives thighter to his belt, and followed behind Evin. Oh sure, Eulalius would've liked to ask questions-He certainly had a fair share- but it was the mutual respect he had for Evin that kept Eulalius from bombarding him with them. Besides, in the several conversations Eulalius has had with him Evin over the years, he finds Evin quite the down-to-earth kind of person. If he has an opinion to a situation, he'll let you know and he'll stick to it. That trait was something Eulalius nearly admired.
Eulalius also noted that Ella, a female recruit, would be joining them. Eulalius never could seem to figure her out in the time she had been here. Truthfully, he didn't talk to her much. Yes, She was fairly social within the organization, but Eulalius viewed her as almost too social.
Though he almost always saw her grinning, whenever he caught a glimpse of her looking right at him, he couldn't help but look away. There was just something behind all the happieness; a look in Ella's eyes that just screamed:
Help.
Regardless, Eulalius followed his two companions, both nervous and excited for this mission. It was the first joint-mission he had had in a while with Evin-Possibly the first ever-, but the thought of thousands of individuals searching for a mere three was enough to cause an entity of helplessness to shift around in Eulalius. But such feelings were to be put down, and Eulalius did the best to manage it.
--
And Eulalius did just that. Without further question, Eulalius pocketed the money he could, sinched his knives thighter to his belt, and followed behind Evin. Oh sure, Eulalius would've liked to ask questions-He certainly had a fair share- but it was the mutual respect he had for Evin that kept Eulalius from bombarding him with them. Besides, in the several conversations Eulalius has had with him Evin over the years, he finds Evin quite the down-to-earth kind of person. If he has an opinion to a situation, he'll let you know and he'll stick to it. That trait was something Eulalius nearly admired.
Eulalius also noted that Ella, a female recruit, would be joining them. Eulalius never could seem to figure her out in the time she had been here. Truthfully, he didn't talk to her much. Yes, She was fairly social within the organization, but Eulalius viewed her as almost too social.
Though he almost always saw her grinning, whenever he caught a glimpse of her looking right at him, he couldn't help but look away. There was just something behind all the happieness; a look in Ella's eyes that just screamed:
Help.
Regardless, Eulalius followed his two companions, both nervous and excited for this mission. It was the first joint-mission he had had in a while with Evin-Possibly the first ever-, but the thought of thousands of individuals searching for a mere three was enough to cause an entity of helplessness to shift around in Eulalius. But such feelings were to be put down, and Eulalius did the best to manage it.
Blanditia simple smiled with apology showing that she really didn't understand what she had done. She nodded her head to them for departure and stepped backwards and disappear in to the forest. It took her allot less time then most people to go through the forest to get to the healers camp. She stepped inside and walked quickly to an grove right outside of the camp. The grove was filled with roses, mostly purple and orange but the colors varied and she relaxed in her little heaven.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
As Evin walked away Crys mumbled. It might have gone unheard to others, but Ali caught the words perfectly. "It's hard to forget when it's on my hands."
Allison sighed in annoyance, her eyes narrowed as another healer neared the lake and asked Crys to stop killing her own men. She watched the woman as she began to wash her hands on the lake. Ali gave the woman a snicker and responded. "Look at it this way... It's far less work for you. If the man's dead he requires no healing"
Crys' sighed and the tone in her voice caused Ali to shiver. "Have a little respect, Allison." Then she replied, to the healer in a calmer tone. "You can't help it. You will bury your share of assassins before this war is done with. If it makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should go back to the ruins instead of asking me this. I'm a lesser threat compared to what Newhaven will certainly send our way soon."
Ali looked down at her feet as Crys spoke. That was the unfortunate truth, she knew it. To hear it, was a whole other thing. She sighed. "This place is getting too crowded for my liking, so... I'll go pay my respects to Lionel and then check on my recruit. I hope the little brat is in pain, maybe that'll teach him." She mumbled, before bowing her head slightly to Crys before adding. "Let me know if I'm needed."
As she walked back to the center of camp Ali paid her respects to Lionel and, after passing through her recruit's cabin to make sure he was alright, her eyes caught a girl making an arrow. She stopped at a short distance from the girl and watched her with slight interest. Then after a while of staring she spoke, more to herself than to the girl. "Nice work." It wasn't exactly a compliment, more an observation. Ali didn't remember seeing that girl anywhere before, but then... She was away for little over a year.
---------------
Jake caught a glimpse of Evin's recruit as the girl walked to him. He hadn't spoke to Evin since... Actually, he barely remembered speaking to Evin when he worked with the man. The last time he remembered an actual conversation was before his expulsion, and that was a long time ago. A sighed escaped him as he watch him leave with the girl and Eulalius. What was he up to? That was enough of waiting, he needed to talk to Crys... Now.
He walked towards the lake, not saying a word he simply stood there, ignoring the healers. Crys sighed as she noticed him there, but didn't move. Jake insisted. "We need to speak."
He watched Crys stand from where she was. She walked past him, and grabbed him by the hand while doing so. "Alright, we will speak."
She led him back to the memorial, and knelt down before her mother's grave, she pulled him down with her. "Kneel" She said, with her head down. "This is the only place where I'm not bothered lately."
Jake got on his knees, it bothered him to be there. "I'll be heading out now." He informed her.
"Before you do, tell me... How are you holding up?" She asked him, for no apparent reason, except maybe she knew that Jake felt awful.
"I'm not sure." He answered. "They are good people... The Knights." He mumbled.
"Jake, are you sure you can complete the assignment, if it comes to that?" She asked, concern in her voice.
"My life belongs to the Pack." He stated. "I live by the oath, you know that."
"You didn't answer me. Will you complete the assignment if I give you the order?"
Jake hesitated for a moment. Fulfilling the assignment meant assassinating the Black Night captain, and Jake couldn't pretend that the possibility didn't bother him, Crys wouldn't buy into pretending. "I won't lie, it makes me uncomfortable. I spent time with those people, they're not very different from us." He nodded. "Still, if I get the order... I will fulfill my assignment."
"Do you have something you can tell me? Anything?" The question meant she was satisfied with his answer.
"Nothing different than I told your mother last time I reported, but... Maybe when I come back I'll have more to give."
Crys sighed. "You have to tell them something. What will you say?"
Jake smirked. "The truth... That Evin has left camp, probably towards Blackpond and that the clan is weak under your command."
Crys frowned. "You honestly believe that?" She turned to face him.
Jake sat down on the ground. "When a wolf is sick, it distances itself from the rest of the pack to die alone. This is how people see you right now Crys. You're distancing yourself from the rest of the clan. All they see is that you can't handle it."
Crys sat down as well, facing him. She lowered her head. "I suppose I have been..." She nodded. "I have been hiding, in a way."
"How long do you plan on hiding, then?" He asked. "I honestly fear for you if something like this happens again."
She stood up, nodding. "I will pay my respects to my friend, I will make sure our defenses are still holding up while Evin is away." She sighed. "If anyone challenges me again, I will handle it. I'm done hiding."
Jake frowned when she said that. "Handle it how?"
She smiled. "My own particular way. Now move along, and try not to let anyone see you leave."
Jake stood and bowed slightly before making himself invisible and cutting through the trees, to another camp not too far, only a few hours of walking. One little stop before heading for Newhaven to report.
Before entering the small clearing he made himself visible. As he entered though, he had to fight two soldiers to the ground before they realized who he was. Jake had completely forgotten the fact that his clothes announced him as an assassin. "Damn idiots!" He muttered He helped the men up, with a half irritaded, half amused, tone in his voice. They had responded quickly, he could give them that. As he let the men walk back to their duties he found the person he was looking for, nodding to some men as he passed them he walked a straight line to where Grim was. Standing next to the man in black armor, Jake spoke casually with a slight nod. "Bored already? I'm on my way to report and figured I should stop by and entertain you with some gossip." He smiled slightly as he spoke.
Allison sighed in annoyance, her eyes narrowed as another healer neared the lake and asked Crys to stop killing her own men. She watched the woman as she began to wash her hands on the lake. Ali gave the woman a snicker and responded. "Look at it this way... It's far less work for you. If the man's dead he requires no healing"
Crys' sighed and the tone in her voice caused Ali to shiver. "Have a little respect, Allison." Then she replied, to the healer in a calmer tone. "You can't help it. You will bury your share of assassins before this war is done with. If it makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should go back to the ruins instead of asking me this. I'm a lesser threat compared to what Newhaven will certainly send our way soon."
Ali looked down at her feet as Crys spoke. That was the unfortunate truth, she knew it. To hear it, was a whole other thing. She sighed. "This place is getting too crowded for my liking, so... I'll go pay my respects to Lionel and then check on my recruit. I hope the little brat is in pain, maybe that'll teach him." She mumbled, before bowing her head slightly to Crys before adding. "Let me know if I'm needed."
As she walked back to the center of camp Ali paid her respects to Lionel and, after passing through her recruit's cabin to make sure he was alright, her eyes caught a girl making an arrow. She stopped at a short distance from the girl and watched her with slight interest. Then after a while of staring she spoke, more to herself than to the girl. "Nice work." It wasn't exactly a compliment, more an observation. Ali didn't remember seeing that girl anywhere before, but then... She was away for little over a year.
---------------
Jake caught a glimpse of Evin's recruit as the girl walked to him. He hadn't spoke to Evin since... Actually, he barely remembered speaking to Evin when he worked with the man. The last time he remembered an actual conversation was before his expulsion, and that was a long time ago. A sighed escaped him as he watch him leave with the girl and Eulalius. What was he up to? That was enough of waiting, he needed to talk to Crys... Now.
He walked towards the lake, not saying a word he simply stood there, ignoring the healers. Crys sighed as she noticed him there, but didn't move. Jake insisted. "We need to speak."
He watched Crys stand from where she was. She walked past him, and grabbed him by the hand while doing so. "Alright, we will speak."
She led him back to the memorial, and knelt down before her mother's grave, she pulled him down with her. "Kneel" She said, with her head down. "This is the only place where I'm not bothered lately."
Jake got on his knees, it bothered him to be there. "I'll be heading out now." He informed her.
"Before you do, tell me... How are you holding up?" She asked him, for no apparent reason, except maybe she knew that Jake felt awful.
"I'm not sure." He answered. "They are good people... The Knights." He mumbled.
"Jake, are you sure you can complete the assignment, if it comes to that?" She asked, concern in her voice.
"My life belongs to the Pack." He stated. "I live by the oath, you know that."
"You didn't answer me. Will you complete the assignment if I give you the order?"
Jake hesitated for a moment. Fulfilling the assignment meant assassinating the Black Night captain, and Jake couldn't pretend that the possibility didn't bother him, Crys wouldn't buy into pretending. "I won't lie, it makes me uncomfortable. I spent time with those people, they're not very different from us." He nodded. "Still, if I get the order... I will fulfill my assignment."
"Do you have something you can tell me? Anything?" The question meant she was satisfied with his answer.
"Nothing different than I told your mother last time I reported, but... Maybe when I come back I'll have more to give."
Crys sighed. "You have to tell them something. What will you say?"
Jake smirked. "The truth... That Evin has left camp, probably towards Blackpond and that the clan is weak under your command."
Crys frowned. "You honestly believe that?" She turned to face him.
Jake sat down on the ground. "When a wolf is sick, it distances itself from the rest of the pack to die alone. This is how people see you right now Crys. You're distancing yourself from the rest of the clan. All they see is that you can't handle it."
Crys sat down as well, facing him. She lowered her head. "I suppose I have been..." She nodded. "I have been hiding, in a way."
"How long do you plan on hiding, then?" He asked. "I honestly fear for you if something like this happens again."
She stood up, nodding. "I will pay my respects to my friend, I will make sure our defenses are still holding up while Evin is away." She sighed. "If anyone challenges me again, I will handle it. I'm done hiding."
Jake frowned when she said that. "Handle it how?"
She smiled. "My own particular way. Now move along, and try not to let anyone see you leave."
Jake stood and bowed slightly before making himself invisible and cutting through the trees, to another camp not too far, only a few hours of walking. One little stop before heading for Newhaven to report.
Before entering the small clearing he made himself visible. As he entered though, he had to fight two soldiers to the ground before they realized who he was. Jake had completely forgotten the fact that his clothes announced him as an assassin. "Damn idiots!" He muttered He helped the men up, with a half irritaded, half amused, tone in his voice. They had responded quickly, he could give them that. As he let the men walk back to their duties he found the person he was looking for, nodding to some men as he passed them he walked a straight line to where Grim was. Standing next to the man in black armor, Jake spoke casually with a slight nod. "Bored already? I'm on my way to report and figured I should stop by and entertain you with some gossip." He smiled slightly as he spoke.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
There was quite a commotion that started up in the campground. Shouts erupted over the air and men rushed in from all different places. They were armed but helpless, and before anyone completely understood what was happening there was two awestruck guards. Only uncertainty hung with the men quizzing another as to what exactly happened. Was there a killer loose in this base? Why were the guards still alive? So many questions left by a figure whom was long gone from the scene.
When word reached Chandos he acted with authority that wasn’t entirely his. Pulling together a quick analysis of the situation and issuing orders with poignant affirmation. Sweeping the grounds for any intruders, of course when the shade was insight Chandos swore aloud. Calling off the alarm and forcing the spooked soldiers back to work.
Grim would have risen to see the chaos, but Jake was to him before anyone else knew he had infiltrated the site. So instead he played coyly keeping to his laziness. Listening to Jake invite him to a friendly chat about other’s dirty laundry. These conversations were always entertaining not to mention enlightening, but Grim could have sworn he held these meetings more for himself then anyone. Not that this bothered him, Jake was a good friend and trusted comrade.
“Bless you,” He freed his arms outstretching them in a mock embrace. “Deliverance at last from these doldrums. Between everyone’s logical fear of being overrun by the Pack and Chandos’ bellyaching I haven’t been able to talk about Captain Krander’s girdle with anyone.”
Of course his tone was sarcastic and light. Joking seemed to only be found when Grim was troubled. An obvious masque when he was pressured or under duress. It was how he kept collected in the eyes of his followers. The mirth however died from his voice after.
“No one was home to take orders so here I am.”
When word reached Chandos he acted with authority that wasn’t entirely his. Pulling together a quick analysis of the situation and issuing orders with poignant affirmation. Sweeping the grounds for any intruders, of course when the shade was insight Chandos swore aloud. Calling off the alarm and forcing the spooked soldiers back to work.
Grim would have risen to see the chaos, but Jake was to him before anyone else knew he had infiltrated the site. So instead he played coyly keeping to his laziness. Listening to Jake invite him to a friendly chat about other’s dirty laundry. These conversations were always entertaining not to mention enlightening, but Grim could have sworn he held these meetings more for himself then anyone. Not that this bothered him, Jake was a good friend and trusted comrade.
“Bless you,” He freed his arms outstretching them in a mock embrace. “Deliverance at last from these doldrums. Between everyone’s logical fear of being overrun by the Pack and Chandos’ bellyaching I haven’t been able to talk about Captain Krander’s girdle with anyone.”
Of course his tone was sarcastic and light. Joking seemed to only be found when Grim was troubled. An obvious masque when he was pressured or under duress. It was how he kept collected in the eyes of his followers. The mirth however died from his voice after.
“No one was home to take orders so here I am.”
The Wheels of Eddie Clarke's newly 'acquired' coach bounced across the dirt road as the carrige thundered on towards its destination, Eddie grinned wickedly as he cracked the reigns, urging the horses on to greater speed, ignoring the shouted protests of his 'passenger' with the wind whipping through his hair, the Rouge threw back his head and laughed!
After about an hour of this breakneck pace, the trees of the central forest began to thin out as they melted into the Western plains, Eddie reckoned that he and his charge would reach the White Shadows camp by sunset, then it would simply be a case of waiting for the Wolfpack to make contact with their 'Agent.'
Reighning the horses to a stop, Eddie stood and swung himself lightly down from the drivers seat and onto the running board of the Carrige, poking his head through the window, he grinned at his cargo, Gilbrea Even'star, the kidnapped Blackpond nobel, glared back at him!
"Evening miss,"
He chuckled, before leaning back swiftly as the girl attempted to slap him across the face,
"Now that wasn't too freindly,"
He told her, leaning back forward and fixing her with a stern gaze,
"Now listen to me, when we get to the Healers camp I am your dashing Assassin guard and you are under my protection, do not raise suspiscion, play your part well and you shall go free, seek to betray me and you will find a blade in your guts, are we understood...?"
There was a moments scilence as the girl looked into his eyes, and knew he meant it, reluctantly, she nodded, Eddie grinned.
"Then I think we shall get on just fine! Hold on tight now, we'll be at the camp within the hour!"
So saying, the Rouge Captain swung himself back up into the drivers seat, and took hold of the reigns once more!
After about an hour of this breakneck pace, the trees of the central forest began to thin out as they melted into the Western plains, Eddie reckoned that he and his charge would reach the White Shadows camp by sunset, then it would simply be a case of waiting for the Wolfpack to make contact with their 'Agent.'
Reighning the horses to a stop, Eddie stood and swung himself lightly down from the drivers seat and onto the running board of the Carrige, poking his head through the window, he grinned at his cargo, Gilbrea Even'star, the kidnapped Blackpond nobel, glared back at him!
"Evening miss,"
He chuckled, before leaning back swiftly as the girl attempted to slap him across the face,
"Now that wasn't too freindly,"
He told her, leaning back forward and fixing her with a stern gaze,
"Now listen to me, when we get to the Healers camp I am your dashing Assassin guard and you are under my protection, do not raise suspiscion, play your part well and you shall go free, seek to betray me and you will find a blade in your guts, are we understood...?"
There was a moments scilence as the girl looked into his eyes, and knew he meant it, reluctantly, she nodded, Eddie grinned.
"Then I think we shall get on just fine! Hold on tight now, we'll be at the camp within the hour!"
So saying, the Rouge Captain swung himself back up into the drivers seat, and took hold of the reigns once more!
Jake laughed slightly at Grim's mention of the Pack. "I wouldn't worry so much with the Pack at the moment. Those puppies are way too busy chasing their own tails to pay any attention to what goes on around them." Jake frowned slightly as he said that, in a way the truth of that statement was disturbing and he hoped Crys was able to pull together now. Specially since Evin wasn't there to set her straight anymore. The moment passed and he went on talking as if it never happened. "Their leader was challenged this morning and killed one of her men. They are weak and tense right now. I don't think they'll hold together for long."
He stretched a little and crossed his arms behind his head, looking up. "I wouldn't get too comfortable, my friend. When I reach Newhaven with the news that the Pack is in complete chaos, I'm pretty sure we'll be ordered to attack." He let his gaze back down to the armored man and added, in a more serious tone. "I stopped here because I figured it would be fair to give some information beforehand. After all..." He smirked. "It is your black-armored butt on the line here." Jake looked back to the tree branches above and a yawn slipped before he could contain it. "I should reach the city by nightfall, if I hurry. A nice hot meal, a bed, and maybe some company for both... That is all I wanted right now. Doubt I will be getting any of it though. Most likely I will be sent right back." he reached to touch the golden chain around his neck, fiddling with golden locket that hung from it. If Jake could be completely honest with anyone, specially himself, right now... He'd say that out of the both sides of this story, the Black Knights seemed far more promising.
He stretched a little and crossed his arms behind his head, looking up. "I wouldn't get too comfortable, my friend. When I reach Newhaven with the news that the Pack is in complete chaos, I'm pretty sure we'll be ordered to attack." He let his gaze back down to the armored man and added, in a more serious tone. "I stopped here because I figured it would be fair to give some information beforehand. After all..." He smirked. "It is your black-armored butt on the line here." Jake looked back to the tree branches above and a yawn slipped before he could contain it. "I should reach the city by nightfall, if I hurry. A nice hot meal, a bed, and maybe some company for both... That is all I wanted right now. Doubt I will be getting any of it though. Most likely I will be sent right back." he reached to touch the golden chain around his neck, fiddling with golden locket that hung from it. If Jake could be completely honest with anyone, specially himself, right now... He'd say that out of the both sides of this story, the Black Knights seemed far more promising.
It had been just about an hour and a half since they had left thew camp and not much had gone on. Ella was getting anxious and she wanted to know exactly what was going on, and why he was taking her along with him. He never took her anywhere out of the camp. She was always mad at him for never doing that, but now that she was actually coming along on a mission, she just felt awkward. It didn't help that no one was saying a word though. Even worse was the fact that she had just attempted to take the mans life, but he still let her come along. What was wrong with this man. Where did all of his issues come from and why did he save her life just to mentally torture her like this? Too many questions to be answered at one time, but there was one thing that she wanted to know as the three of them walked down this lonely path.
"What are we doing exactly?" She asked.
"We have a few things we need to do. The most important thing would be to speak to the ruler of Blackpond and see if we could get assistance from them. A little side task I have given us is to find any hidden encampments close to the camp, just so we can stay in the know about our enemies. Our third task will probably be a target. The ruler of Blackpond will probably want our services in exchange for the soldiers. Although, we might take care of the target later, after the soldiers have done their jobs for us. We have no time to be killing targets. We are stretching ourselves a little too thin to-" Evin was cut short when he realised that they were walking strait towards an enemy encampment. He stopped in an instant and dropped to the ground, hiding within the dense forest floor. When he looked up again to get a better picture of what he saw, he noticed that there were a lot of people patrolling the perimeter of the camp. This was not a place for any ordinary Newhaven military group, he could tell that much for sure.
"I'm going to get a better look of the inside of this camp. Ella, find a good place to hide, Eulalius, see if you can find a way in through the other side of the camp. We will meet back here when we are done."
With that Evin took off towards the new found camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella wasn't happy that he had left her all alone in the forest while he and Eulalius did something productive. Why did he take her along with them if he was just going to treat her like a weight on his shoulder. It was probably another one of his stupid mind games that Evin would expect her to fall for, or maybe it was some sort of test. A discipline test of sorts. Maybe he was seeing how long it would be before she broke the rules. Well she wasn't going to satisfy him in any way.
Ella only had her dagger with her at the moment. All of her other weapons, Evin wouldn't allow her to have, actually it was Crystal who really wouldn't allow it. The fact was that Recruits were not allowed to have weapons of any sort with them unless they were training. She shouldn't have even had that dagger, but Evin had managed to convince Crystal that it was a part of the training. She hoped that it would be enough for her to get out of any trouble she would get herself into.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin made it past the entrance of the camp. It was almost amazing that he could get past the eyes of that many people, just by using his enlightened ability for a second in real time. From there he hid behind a tent that was set up just a few paces ahead of him. He slowly peered around the tent and when he saw an opening to move further, he ran deeper into the camp where a big tree stood. Evin ran up to the big tree and hid behind it. Just on the other side of the tree, he could hear to soldiers talking to each other about their friends back home. Of course they weren't talking about more important stuff. It only took a few seconds for the conversation to change though. Another voice appeared out of no where. "One of the other Black Knights is here visiting the commander right now. This might be the news we've been waiting for. We might be going on the attack soon."
Evin didn't hesitate after that point. He walked around the big tree to come face to face with the soldiers, at least two of them. The third one was nowhere to be seen.
"How about you tell me where I can find the Black Knight you speak of. I might spare your life if you do so." Evin said.
The two soldiers just laughed his comment off. Suddenly Evin felt someone reach around his arms from behind and then lock his fingers behind Evin's head. It was the third soldier that he didn't see, but of course, he knew about where the third man had been. He had seen him slip behind the tree as he turned the corner.
"Now, are you going to show me where the Black Knight is yet?" Evin asked again patiently as one of the other soldiers slowly approached Evin with a pocket knife in his hand. When the man got close enough, Evin lifted his legs off the ground and kicked the man with the knife in the groin. The man went down grunting in pain. Evin then spun his body around quickly and drove the man who was holding him up against the tree. Evin could hear the mans spine crack and he let go of his grip. The third man tried to run, but didn't get far. Evin caught up to him before he could make it to any clearing where other soldiers would be. He tackled the man and then covered his mouth before he could yell for help.
"Now once again, I would like to know exactly where the Black Knight is."
Evin let the man up and let him lead Evin towards the Black Knight. He made sure that the man would take the routes where not many of the soldiers would be. When he was about twenty meters away from the location of the Knight, he could see him. He was talking to another man, but he could not clearly see who he was.
"What is the name of the Black Knight there?" Evin asked.
"His name is Grim." The soldier said. Fear trickling out of his voice.
"And the other man?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well tell Grim that I wish to speak to him."
The man didn't say another word. Evin watched as he approached Grim and the other man that he was talking to. He could see the surprise across his face as the guard explained what happened. Then the guard pointed in Evin's direction and the guard left to probably inform the rest of the camp about the intruder. He wouldn't have as much time as he wanted with the Knight as he wanted, but he was sure that it would be enough.
"What are we doing exactly?" She asked.
"We have a few things we need to do. The most important thing would be to speak to the ruler of Blackpond and see if we could get assistance from them. A little side task I have given us is to find any hidden encampments close to the camp, just so we can stay in the know about our enemies. Our third task will probably be a target. The ruler of Blackpond will probably want our services in exchange for the soldiers. Although, we might take care of the target later, after the soldiers have done their jobs for us. We have no time to be killing targets. We are stretching ourselves a little too thin to-" Evin was cut short when he realised that they were walking strait towards an enemy encampment. He stopped in an instant and dropped to the ground, hiding within the dense forest floor. When he looked up again to get a better picture of what he saw, he noticed that there were a lot of people patrolling the perimeter of the camp. This was not a place for any ordinary Newhaven military group, he could tell that much for sure.
"I'm going to get a better look of the inside of this camp. Ella, find a good place to hide, Eulalius, see if you can find a way in through the other side of the camp. We will meet back here when we are done."
With that Evin took off towards the new found camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella wasn't happy that he had left her all alone in the forest while he and Eulalius did something productive. Why did he take her along with them if he was just going to treat her like a weight on his shoulder. It was probably another one of his stupid mind games that Evin would expect her to fall for, or maybe it was some sort of test. A discipline test of sorts. Maybe he was seeing how long it would be before she broke the rules. Well she wasn't going to satisfy him in any way.
Ella only had her dagger with her at the moment. All of her other weapons, Evin wouldn't allow her to have, actually it was Crystal who really wouldn't allow it. The fact was that Recruits were not allowed to have weapons of any sort with them unless they were training. She shouldn't have even had that dagger, but Evin had managed to convince Crystal that it was a part of the training. She hoped that it would be enough for her to get out of any trouble she would get herself into.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin made it past the entrance of the camp. It was almost amazing that he could get past the eyes of that many people, just by using his enlightened ability for a second in real time. From there he hid behind a tent that was set up just a few paces ahead of him. He slowly peered around the tent and when he saw an opening to move further, he ran deeper into the camp where a big tree stood. Evin ran up to the big tree and hid behind it. Just on the other side of the tree, he could hear to soldiers talking to each other about their friends back home. Of course they weren't talking about more important stuff. It only took a few seconds for the conversation to change though. Another voice appeared out of no where. "One of the other Black Knights is here visiting the commander right now. This might be the news we've been waiting for. We might be going on the attack soon."
Evin didn't hesitate after that point. He walked around the big tree to come face to face with the soldiers, at least two of them. The third one was nowhere to be seen.
"How about you tell me where I can find the Black Knight you speak of. I might spare your life if you do so." Evin said.
The two soldiers just laughed his comment off. Suddenly Evin felt someone reach around his arms from behind and then lock his fingers behind Evin's head. It was the third soldier that he didn't see, but of course, he knew about where the third man had been. He had seen him slip behind the tree as he turned the corner.
"Now, are you going to show me where the Black Knight is yet?" Evin asked again patiently as one of the other soldiers slowly approached Evin with a pocket knife in his hand. When the man got close enough, Evin lifted his legs off the ground and kicked the man with the knife in the groin. The man went down grunting in pain. Evin then spun his body around quickly and drove the man who was holding him up against the tree. Evin could hear the mans spine crack and he let go of his grip. The third man tried to run, but didn't get far. Evin caught up to him before he could make it to any clearing where other soldiers would be. He tackled the man and then covered his mouth before he could yell for help.
"Now once again, I would like to know exactly where the Black Knight is."
Evin let the man up and let him lead Evin towards the Black Knight. He made sure that the man would take the routes where not many of the soldiers would be. When he was about twenty meters away from the location of the Knight, he could see him. He was talking to another man, but he could not clearly see who he was.
"What is the name of the Black Knight there?" Evin asked.
"His name is Grim." The soldier said. Fear trickling out of his voice.
"And the other man?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well tell Grim that I wish to speak to him."
The man didn't say another word. Evin watched as he approached Grim and the other man that he was talking to. He could see the surprise across his face as the guard explained what happened. Then the guard pointed in Evin's direction and the guard left to probably inform the rest of the camp about the intruder. He wouldn't have as much time as he wanted with the Knight as he wanted, but he was sure that it would be enough.
“Perhaps there will be a day when we can put all these battles behind us and go home. Personally I don’t understand why the Pack hasn’t shown us their bellies yet. Especially if what you say is true. Better to be disbanded or surrender those responsible then to be hunted down and annihilated.”
A sigh breached his lips as he casually sat up. He was charged with destroying the assassins and to purge their tainted influence where ever it may emerge. Oath after pledge went hand in hand to assure his sires his good intentions. There was always doubt though, the war with Blackpond was far from over and pooling resources into two fronts was costly. Who was right and wrong was too muddled by propaganda. He understood Newhaven’s misgivings however and served his home with loyalty. Always hoping that there could be closure to the wounds.
“Jake you know their minds best, can’t we find a way to coexist without fear? I mean isn’t that what this is about anyways? Newhaven fears having their figureheads destroyed, the wolves are afraid of well us and-”
A solitary soldier rushed into the clearing his arms flailing to beg their attentions. Alarm was in his voice and his eyes were widened with terror. Nervousness shook his body and he could hardly stand straight to deliver his message.
“S-s-sir, a m-m-man has come to see you. He- He’s uh- well.”
“Easy soldier, show me where is this man that has come for me?”
His hand upraised and pointed back to the far side of the camp away from the clearing. Grim accommodated by finally drawing himself into a stand. Glancing sidelong in the direction he pointed, taking quick note of an odd figure on the horizon.
“Go alert Chandos. I doubt such bravado is purely show and if I know anything about wolves they don’t hunt alone. I want the outer perimeters checked and arrows pointed on our new friend. Go on then lad, quickly.”
The man gave a quick salute before rushing off to his duties. Of course the orders were more a precaution then anything. There was no telling who this guest was, but logic would dictate he came from the Wolfpack. Further logic would say he didn’t come into the campsite without plenty of tricks. He patiently waited until the grunt was out of view before addressing his company.
“You better go Jake. Call it a hunch but I don’t think this is going to end without bloodshed.”
With that he drew up his broadsword slinging the blade over his shoulders, jaunting stoically in the direction given to him. Grim was a walking monolith of dark metal. From head to toe he was protected and very few areas left flesh exposted. His helm of course had an opening where his eyes and nose could be spotted, though the visor sat just below his brow giving only the most excellent of marksman a chance at his face. On his shoulders protruded what most would perceive as decorative adornments, giving his visage a more commanding presence. The truth was that they were rather high for shoulder pads and protected his neck from the sides. The only other weak point was underneath his arms as the gauntlets only covered the topside. Of course this was to allow him to swing his weapon without hindrance. The steady pace of his feet proved the suit wasn’t cumbersome to Grim, he could move comfortably and showed no fatigue.
When he finally encountered Evin he looked less then thrilled. Beaming down on the Wolf disapprovingly. Evin looked rough and small, hardly an adversary to a giant like Grim. They were of opposing styles and worlds. Evin the shadow walker, the silent killer, and the practitioner of subtlety and subterfuge. Grim was the berserker, a wielder of the sword, and kept courage and bravery as his shield.
“Welcome to my temporary home. If I had to guess you’re a delegate from the Wolfpack, am I right?”
A sigh breached his lips as he casually sat up. He was charged with destroying the assassins and to purge their tainted influence where ever it may emerge. Oath after pledge went hand in hand to assure his sires his good intentions. There was always doubt though, the war with Blackpond was far from over and pooling resources into two fronts was costly. Who was right and wrong was too muddled by propaganda. He understood Newhaven’s misgivings however and served his home with loyalty. Always hoping that there could be closure to the wounds.
“Jake you know their minds best, can’t we find a way to coexist without fear? I mean isn’t that what this is about anyways? Newhaven fears having their figureheads destroyed, the wolves are afraid of well us and-”
A solitary soldier rushed into the clearing his arms flailing to beg their attentions. Alarm was in his voice and his eyes were widened with terror. Nervousness shook his body and he could hardly stand straight to deliver his message.
“S-s-sir, a m-m-man has come to see you. He- He’s uh- well.”
“Easy soldier, show me where is this man that has come for me?”
His hand upraised and pointed back to the far side of the camp away from the clearing. Grim accommodated by finally drawing himself into a stand. Glancing sidelong in the direction he pointed, taking quick note of an odd figure on the horizon.
“Go alert Chandos. I doubt such bravado is purely show and if I know anything about wolves they don’t hunt alone. I want the outer perimeters checked and arrows pointed on our new friend. Go on then lad, quickly.”
The man gave a quick salute before rushing off to his duties. Of course the orders were more a precaution then anything. There was no telling who this guest was, but logic would dictate he came from the Wolfpack. Further logic would say he didn’t come into the campsite without plenty of tricks. He patiently waited until the grunt was out of view before addressing his company.
“You better go Jake. Call it a hunch but I don’t think this is going to end without bloodshed.”
With that he drew up his broadsword slinging the blade over his shoulders, jaunting stoically in the direction given to him. Grim was a walking monolith of dark metal. From head to toe he was protected and very few areas left flesh exposted. His helm of course had an opening where his eyes and nose could be spotted, though the visor sat just below his brow giving only the most excellent of marksman a chance at his face. On his shoulders protruded what most would perceive as decorative adornments, giving his visage a more commanding presence. The truth was that they were rather high for shoulder pads and protected his neck from the sides. The only other weak point was underneath his arms as the gauntlets only covered the topside. Of course this was to allow him to swing his weapon without hindrance. The steady pace of his feet proved the suit wasn’t cumbersome to Grim, he could move comfortably and showed no fatigue.
When he finally encountered Evin he looked less then thrilled. Beaming down on the Wolf disapprovingly. Evin looked rough and small, hardly an adversary to a giant like Grim. They were of opposing styles and worlds. Evin the shadow walker, the silent killer, and the practitioner of subtlety and subterfuge. Grim was the berserker, a wielder of the sword, and kept courage and bravery as his shield.
“Welcome to my temporary home. If I had to guess you’re a delegate from the Wolfpack, am I right?”
Bjorn Heldenhammer truned from the edge of the ravine down which a pair of Red Raven mercanaries had just dumped the body of the slain Assassin, before moving to join their Lieutenant, Bjorn nodded to the two men.
"Ras, Lelkum, best mount up, we have a hard days riding ahead of us."
Ras rubbed the back of his neck with one gauntleted hand and nodded,
"Aye, that we do, but why did we have to dump that damn Assassin's body, surely we should leave it as a warning to the rest of 'em... waste of bloody time if you ask me!"
Lelkum chuckled,
"Bosses orders mate, you know he's got a plan in the works..."
Ras sighed,
"Another bloody plan... I still have the bruises from the last one!"
Lelkum grinned,
"Oh aye and the Healer says my piano playing days are over, still, everything worked out in the end, it always does... somehow."
Bjorn nodded,
"To the Healer's camp then... before Eddie does something stupid..."
===================================================================================================
Eddie Clarke slowed the carrige down to a gentle pace with as he approached the out-skirts of the White Shadows camp, rows and rows of white canvas tents and flourishing herb gardens and flowerbeds stretched away before him, as Eddie drew the coach to a stop, a pair of HEalers emerged from the nearest tent and approached.
Taking a moment to breath in the sweet aroma of herbs and alcohol on the air, Eddie pulled the hood of his Assassin's cloak up over his eyes, and greeted the Healers with a raised hand.
"Hail brothers!"
He called, the Healers nodded,
"I am Adimis, of the Pack, I seek only a moments sanctuary for me and my charge,"
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the coach,
"And the chance to contact my brethren."
The Eldest of the two healers, a silver haired old man with bright, keen eyes, nodded,
"Of course my son, but first we must ask you to hand over your weapons, as you know, even menbers of the Pack are not allowed to carry arms within our camp."
Eddie smiled plesantly and, unbucking the straps which held his cutlass in place at his waist, passed the weapon down with a nod, the Healer took it, and bowed.
"It shall be here when you return."
Eddie returned the bow, using the gesture to mask the mischevious grin that now played about his lips, before urging his horses into a gentle canter with a jingle of the reigns.
"Ras, Lelkum, best mount up, we have a hard days riding ahead of us."
Ras rubbed the back of his neck with one gauntleted hand and nodded,
"Aye, that we do, but why did we have to dump that damn Assassin's body, surely we should leave it as a warning to the rest of 'em... waste of bloody time if you ask me!"
Lelkum chuckled,
"Bosses orders mate, you know he's got a plan in the works..."
Ras sighed,
"Another bloody plan... I still have the bruises from the last one!"
Lelkum grinned,
"Oh aye and the Healer says my piano playing days are over, still, everything worked out in the end, it always does... somehow."
Bjorn nodded,
"To the Healer's camp then... before Eddie does something stupid..."
===================================================================================================
Eddie Clarke slowed the carrige down to a gentle pace with as he approached the out-skirts of the White Shadows camp, rows and rows of white canvas tents and flourishing herb gardens and flowerbeds stretched away before him, as Eddie drew the coach to a stop, a pair of HEalers emerged from the nearest tent and approached.
Taking a moment to breath in the sweet aroma of herbs and alcohol on the air, Eddie pulled the hood of his Assassin's cloak up over his eyes, and greeted the Healers with a raised hand.
"Hail brothers!"
He called, the Healers nodded,
"I am Adimis, of the Pack, I seek only a moments sanctuary for me and my charge,"
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the coach,
"And the chance to contact my brethren."
The Eldest of the two healers, a silver haired old man with bright, keen eyes, nodded,
"Of course my son, but first we must ask you to hand over your weapons, as you know, even menbers of the Pack are not allowed to carry arms within our camp."
Eddie smiled plesantly and, unbucking the straps which held his cutlass in place at his waist, passed the weapon down with a nod, the Healer took it, and bowed.
"It shall be here when you return."
Eddie returned the bow, using the gesture to mask the mischevious grin that now played about his lips, before urging his horses into a gentle canter with a jingle of the reigns.
Jake was listening to Grim as he asked if there was a way to coexist, a smile crossing his expression. That was such a distant dream. What the Pack had done, or had been accused of at least, was unforgivable. Crys knew it, Jake knew it, and so did the rest of the land... As long as everyone believed that murderer was the king, there would be no peace. Not for him at least.
When the soldier came rushing towards and told Grim someone wanted to see him, Jake didn't really have to look to know who that would be. There's only one person who would stumble upon a campsite like this and not turn back to report... That was Evin. With the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of only a shadow of a man at a distance... Jake felt a sick desire to let Evin see him just to see what he would do, if he would understand what he was doing or consider him to be a traitor. Truly, he probably was a traitor at this point. He nodded, pushing that thought out of his mind. Crys had specifically ordered him to not be caught with the Knights by anyone in the Pack, not even her. If that ever happened she might even have to execute him for treason, he didn't want to put her through that. One of the many reasons Dani had given him not to accept the task. Why the hell didn't he listen to her? Life would be so much easier now if he had.
He snapped out of his shocked state and bitter thoughts to catch Grim's final words to him before heading towards Evin. Jake made himself invisible and even with the painful possibility of someone being killed here... To intervene would go against all of his orders and if he didn't leave, he would have to intervene. All he could do was hope that somehow both his friends would be able to keep their calm and get through this encounter alive. Jake sighed and walked away from the two men, finding his way through the forest back to the path he was supposed to follow in the first place: The one that led to Newhaven.
When the soldier came rushing towards and told Grim someone wanted to see him, Jake didn't really have to look to know who that would be. There's only one person who would stumble upon a campsite like this and not turn back to report... That was Evin. With the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of only a shadow of a man at a distance... Jake felt a sick desire to let Evin see him just to see what he would do, if he would understand what he was doing or consider him to be a traitor. Truly, he probably was a traitor at this point. He nodded, pushing that thought out of his mind. Crys had specifically ordered him to not be caught with the Knights by anyone in the Pack, not even her. If that ever happened she might even have to execute him for treason, he didn't want to put her through that. One of the many reasons Dani had given him not to accept the task. Why the hell didn't he listen to her? Life would be so much easier now if he had.
He snapped out of his shocked state and bitter thoughts to catch Grim's final words to him before heading towards Evin. Jake made himself invisible and even with the painful possibility of someone being killed here... To intervene would go against all of his orders and if he didn't leave, he would have to intervene. All he could do was hope that somehow both his friends would be able to keep their calm and get through this encounter alive. Jake sighed and walked away from the two men, finding his way through the forest back to the path he was supposed to follow in the first place: The one that led to Newhaven.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena was tending to a wounded soldier when one of the healers approached her and informed her of the new arrival, telling her the name the man had given and where he said he was from. She nodded, and rose from where she was crouched down next to the man. Lena doubted that even with all her knowledge she could save him. She passed the other healer and whispered to him while doing so. "Make him comfortable, and don't leave him until he takes his last breath." Her blue eyes sparkled, only slightly, as she spoke. As if she stated that she would know if her instructions weren't followed. Most healers found it unnecessary to stay with a person that couldn't be helped. Lena saw it differently. To her they were the last faces those people would ever see. To her, a man who was dying away from his home and his family deserved to, at least, not die alone.
As she walked out of one of the many tents her eyes caught the cloaked man. A smile spread across her lips as she caught sight of him, as if somehow his mere presence had brightened her day. "A sheep in a wolf's skin. How entertaining." She whispered in a snickering tone. Some nearby healers would have felt a chill go down their spines as she said that. They knew so little of their leader's past. However they knew what she was capable of, and that was all they needed to know. She followed the man with her eyes as an animal watching its prey. Who was he, and what was his business? Whatever it was she didn't want any of it anywhere near her territory.
Lena wasn't guessing that he was an impostor, she knew it for a fact. He was obviously not a member of the Pack. First of all... He stated he was from the Pack, and no assassin in his right mind would announce himself like that. A member of the Pack would have simply asked for her and showed off the graduation ring, which this man did not posses. Crys had also given her notice of who she would be sending, and that man wasn't Markus. So many mistakes... It was almost insulting that this person thought she could be that easily fooled, or he didn't know who he was dealing with. Which simply made him a complete fool.
As she approached the man however, the only thing her expression would show was a slight curiosity and a welcoming smile. Her voice sounded as pleasant as music as she addressed him. She was the perfect image of what one would imagine the leader of a peaceful healer clan to be: Friendly and harmless. "Greetings traveler." She said, her gaze curiously lingering on the coach for a moment. "What brings a member of the Pack to our humble encampment?"
As she walked out of one of the many tents her eyes caught the cloaked man. A smile spread across her lips as she caught sight of him, as if somehow his mere presence had brightened her day. "A sheep in a wolf's skin. How entertaining." She whispered in a snickering tone. Some nearby healers would have felt a chill go down their spines as she said that. They knew so little of their leader's past. However they knew what she was capable of, and that was all they needed to know. She followed the man with her eyes as an animal watching its prey. Who was he, and what was his business? Whatever it was she didn't want any of it anywhere near her territory.
Lena wasn't guessing that he was an impostor, she knew it for a fact. He was obviously not a member of the Pack. First of all... He stated he was from the Pack, and no assassin in his right mind would announce himself like that. A member of the Pack would have simply asked for her and showed off the graduation ring, which this man did not posses. Crys had also given her notice of who she would be sending, and that man wasn't Markus. So many mistakes... It was almost insulting that this person thought she could be that easily fooled, or he didn't know who he was dealing with. Which simply made him a complete fool.
As she approached the man however, the only thing her expression would show was a slight curiosity and a welcoming smile. Her voice sounded as pleasant as music as she addressed him. She was the perfect image of what one would imagine the leader of a peaceful healer clan to be: Friendly and harmless. "Greetings traveler." She said, her gaze curiously lingering on the coach for a moment. "What brings a member of the Pack to our humble encampment?"
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Eddie Clarke watched the Leader of the white shadows approach him, and barely managed to conceal another mischevious grin, this was too easy, these Healer types had bought his ruse as soundly and seemlessly as he had geussed in the blinding flash of impulse and insperation which had struck him back in the forest.
Eddie truly loved it when a plan appeared to be coming together...
The Leader of the Raven reigned in his horses and bowed his head to the Healer as she stopped beside the coach, a picture of pacifism and tranquility...
"Greetings traveler. What brings a member of the Pack to our humble encampment?"
Eddie put on his most winning smile in reply as he awnsered,
"Ah, nothing more than a moments sanctuary after a hard day on the road, my charge and I wont take up much of your time, I simply wish to linger here a while, also, I believe the Pack will soon try and make contact with me here, and I wouldn't want to miss that!"
The Rouge countinued to smile plesantly as he reguarded the Woman carefully and decided that he hadn't missed his geuss after all... not that he had ever doubted himself, of course.
===================================================================================================
As the members of the Red Raven rode from beneath the thinning trees of the Cenrtal forest and out onto the Western plains, Bjorn Heldenhammer paused a moment to check his men-
Ras and Lelkum, two of the bands most trusted swordsmen, rode on either side of him,
Sticks, a broad shouldered, bald headed Mercanary who weilded two large clubs in battle, also rode nearby, as did 'The Brothers' a trio of ruthless pirates who harldy ever spoke, their skin was as black as night and they each carried a long, wickedly curved Scimitar that, Bjorn knew for a fact, they all most definatly knew how to use.
All of these men wore the Red bandanna of the Raven, as well as the small wing tattoo above the left eye, which them out as an elite Warrior of the band.
Bjorn reighned in his horse as the rest of the band drew level with him, more men had joined them as they rode towards the rendezvous and they now numbered around twenty, Bjorn rubbed his blonde beard with one large, gauntleted hand as he considered Eddie's final instruction.
With a grunt, the big man straightend his shoulders, shook back his long, matted mane of golden hair and urged his mount forward into a quick trot, the rest of the band followed his example and soon the Red Raven's where moving at a steady pace, out from under the eaves of the forest and forward onto the Western plains.
Eddie truly loved it when a plan appeared to be coming together...
The Leader of the Raven reigned in his horses and bowed his head to the Healer as she stopped beside the coach, a picture of pacifism and tranquility...
"Greetings traveler. What brings a member of the Pack to our humble encampment?"
Eddie put on his most winning smile in reply as he awnsered,
"Ah, nothing more than a moments sanctuary after a hard day on the road, my charge and I wont take up much of your time, I simply wish to linger here a while, also, I believe the Pack will soon try and make contact with me here, and I wouldn't want to miss that!"
The Rouge countinued to smile plesantly as he reguarded the Woman carefully and decided that he hadn't missed his geuss after all... not that he had ever doubted himself, of course.
===================================================================================================
As the members of the Red Raven rode from beneath the thinning trees of the Cenrtal forest and out onto the Western plains, Bjorn Heldenhammer paused a moment to check his men-
Ras and Lelkum, two of the bands most trusted swordsmen, rode on either side of him,
Sticks, a broad shouldered, bald headed Mercanary who weilded two large clubs in battle, also rode nearby, as did 'The Brothers' a trio of ruthless pirates who harldy ever spoke, their skin was as black as night and they each carried a long, wickedly curved Scimitar that, Bjorn knew for a fact, they all most definatly knew how to use.
All of these men wore the Red bandanna of the Raven, as well as the small wing tattoo above the left eye, which them out as an elite Warrior of the band.
Bjorn reighned in his horse as the rest of the band drew level with him, more men had joined them as they rode towards the rendezvous and they now numbered around twenty, Bjorn rubbed his blonde beard with one large, gauntleted hand as he considered Eddie's final instruction.
With a grunt, the big man straightend his shoulders, shook back his long, matted mane of golden hair and urged his mount forward into a quick trot, the rest of the band followed his example and soon the Red Raven's where moving at a steady pace, out from under the eaves of the forest and forward onto the Western plains.
Blanditia had seen the travelers arrive and didn't like the feeling she got from the man, With practiced concentration she sent out touches of her power and was already asking the earth to do as she willed. The young girl was different from many healers and did not mind the idea of harming someone if they harmed those she cared about first. She felt the earth shift as it agreed to help her if it came down to that, She Watched as Lena went to talk to him and saw the glint in her eye. The girl stepped closer slightly not liking the gleam that had entered the mans eyes when Lena walked up to him.
'Eulalius, see if you can find a way in through the other side of the camp.'
--
Eulalius didn't have time to acknlowledge the order as Evin sped off silently towards the main entrance of the camp, leaving Eulalius to fend for himself in searching for another route.
Thinking there may be some other way in at the back of the camp, Eulalius started off that way, only to realize that Ella would be left dangerously vulnerable, even if she did find a suitable hiding place.
'Ella, it would be safer to follow me as I head towards tha back of the camp. It may be against Evin's orders, but I personally believe you could use the experience.'
Those were the first words Eulalius had said to her in quite some time.
Regardless, Eulalius started off, again, towards the back side of the encampment. He moved from tree to tree, marking the locations of any sentries stationed on the rough wooden walls or patrolling the perimeter of the camp. After he had maneuvered a good ways in towards the base, Eulalius spotted a path that seemed to lead off in a direction towards Newhaven. At first, Eulalius thought about using that path to infiltrate his objective, but stopped as a figure appeared in his view. Ducking behind a tree surrounded by shrubbery, Eulalius waited until the man passed before continuing on.
--
As he reached the rear end of the camp, Eulalius scanned the wall for any sort of entry point he could exploit.
He found one.
Not far form where he was, Eulalius spotted a small group of loose wooden planks that could be open or closed at will, and seemed to be used to dispose of garbage as well as other waste from the camp.
Egh..anything for the mission, I suppose. Thought Eulalius as he silently crawled through the sludge of half-eaten rations, rotten milk, and gods know what else. Finally inside, Eulalius checked his surrounding again to make sure he hadn't been spotted.
Brushing himself off, he started towards the center of the camp, only to be stopped as he heard soldiers coming his way.
Diving behind what appeared to be a training dummy made out of hay and straw held together with leather cords, Eulalius awaited their approach, dagger drawn.
There were two men coming down the path. One appeared to be a more warrior-like fighter, a large broadsword in its sheathe dangled at one hip. The other was an archer, clad in lighter armor than the warrior and wielding a longbow, an arrow nocked and ready to fire at a moments notice.
Eulalius quickly devised a plan, and executed it.
While the warrior's back was turned as he talked to the archer, Eulalius silently took a position behind him, being careful not to draw the eyes of the archer.
In one smooth motion, Eulalius quickly sprung on the warrior, reaching around the mans arm and pulling the armor-clad man towards him. He quickly exploited a flaw in the armor, an exposed neck. Eulalius' knife dug deep into the mans throat, the blood quickly running down Eulalius' own hand.
Instead of kicking the body away, as he normally did, Eulalius clung to the collar of the man's armor, using his corpse to shield him from the archer that was obviosuly aware of his presence.
Eulalius could hear a few muffled Thk! sounds as a few fired arrows found their mark but failed to penetrate Eulalius' human shield as he withdrew his small, one handed crossbow, which Eulalius liked to keep loaded at all times for convinence and safety.
Reaching the crossbow-wielding hand around the corpse, Eulalius peered above the body, aimed, and fired. The bolt found its target, and the archer yelped as he slumped to the ground, grasping the projectile in his stomach.
Eulalius quickly sprinted to the crying archer, and quickly finished him off with his dagger...
--
Eulalius didn't have time to acknlowledge the order as Evin sped off silently towards the main entrance of the camp, leaving Eulalius to fend for himself in searching for another route.
Thinking there may be some other way in at the back of the camp, Eulalius started off that way, only to realize that Ella would be left dangerously vulnerable, even if she did find a suitable hiding place.
'Ella, it would be safer to follow me as I head towards tha back of the camp. It may be against Evin's orders, but I personally believe you could use the experience.'
Those were the first words Eulalius had said to her in quite some time.
Regardless, Eulalius started off, again, towards the back side of the encampment. He moved from tree to tree, marking the locations of any sentries stationed on the rough wooden walls or patrolling the perimeter of the camp. After he had maneuvered a good ways in towards the base, Eulalius spotted a path that seemed to lead off in a direction towards Newhaven. At first, Eulalius thought about using that path to infiltrate his objective, but stopped as a figure appeared in his view. Ducking behind a tree surrounded by shrubbery, Eulalius waited until the man passed before continuing on.
--
As he reached the rear end of the camp, Eulalius scanned the wall for any sort of entry point he could exploit.
He found one.
Not far form where he was, Eulalius spotted a small group of loose wooden planks that could be open or closed at will, and seemed to be used to dispose of garbage as well as other waste from the camp.
Egh..anything for the mission, I suppose. Thought Eulalius as he silently crawled through the sludge of half-eaten rations, rotten milk, and gods know what else. Finally inside, Eulalius checked his surrounding again to make sure he hadn't been spotted.
Brushing himself off, he started towards the center of the camp, only to be stopped as he heard soldiers coming his way.
Diving behind what appeared to be a training dummy made out of hay and straw held together with leather cords, Eulalius awaited their approach, dagger drawn.
There were two men coming down the path. One appeared to be a more warrior-like fighter, a large broadsword in its sheathe dangled at one hip. The other was an archer, clad in lighter armor than the warrior and wielding a longbow, an arrow nocked and ready to fire at a moments notice.
Eulalius quickly devised a plan, and executed it.
While the warrior's back was turned as he talked to the archer, Eulalius silently took a position behind him, being careful not to draw the eyes of the archer.
In one smooth motion, Eulalius quickly sprung on the warrior, reaching around the mans arm and pulling the armor-clad man towards him. He quickly exploited a flaw in the armor, an exposed neck. Eulalius' knife dug deep into the mans throat, the blood quickly running down Eulalius' own hand.
Instead of kicking the body away, as he normally did, Eulalius clung to the collar of the man's armor, using his corpse to shield him from the archer that was obviosuly aware of his presence.
Eulalius could hear a few muffled Thk! sounds as a few fired arrows found their mark but failed to penetrate Eulalius' human shield as he withdrew his small, one handed crossbow, which Eulalius liked to keep loaded at all times for convinence and safety.
Reaching the crossbow-wielding hand around the corpse, Eulalius peered above the body, aimed, and fired. The bolt found its target, and the archer yelped as he slumped to the ground, grasping the projectile in his stomach.
Eulalius quickly sprinted to the crying archer, and quickly finished him off with his dagger...
Evin watched as the Black Knight put on his helmet and walk towards him. He flinched a bit when he drew his sword. This was meant to show vulnerability and a sense that even though he was an assassin, he was incapable. Or at least, Evin wanted it to seemed that way. When he got closer, Evin also realised that the man was holding a wooden shield. If things went south, he was going to try his best to avoid that shield. A Black Knight who carries a wooden shield does not use it for protection. They have a more sinister reason for it.
“Welcome to my temporary home. If I had to guess you’re a delegate from the Wolf pack, am I right?”
"I'm sure the leader of the Pack would not exactly want me to be a delegate in any way. I'm too much of an annoyance to ever be a delegate. The only reason I'm on this mission is because the leader knows that even if she refused me to go on this mission, I would go anyways."
Evin took a look at the man's sword. It was a very large sword and in the position he had it in, it would take Grim at least a second to get it into a proper fighting position. Evin took out his dagger and then threw it about ten paces away from him. He didn't want a fight just yet, for now he wanted to talk.
"I will tell you right now, that dagger isn't my only weapon, but the other weapons I have on me are long range and are useless at this distance. If you want you can try to attack me, but that will get you nowhere. If I die, my friends that are watching us will certainly fight back and let me tell you, they would probably be able to fire an arrow right through that slit in your helmet from here." Of course that was a fib, but Evin wanted the psychological advantage if things did get out of hand. Suddenly, he heard some shouting from the other side of the encampment. It sounded like Eulalius had his hands full where ever he was.
"Now, as you can clearly hear, one of my friends is already making work of your soldiers. I didn't come here for a fight though, I would like to make a request. My mission is to retrieve a mass of soldiers from Blackpond to assist the assassin's on our front. If you do not move this entire encampment back to Newhaven, this will be the first one to feel the wrath of the the combined Blackpond, Wolf Pack alliance. You have two days to comply."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella was unsure what to think of this offer to come along with Eulalius. She was surprised that he was going to directly disrespect his orders like that. It was something that she had never expected out of this man, although she didn't talk to him all that much so she didn't know much about him. She decided that it would be the best way to infiltrate the encampment though and she tagged along. By the time she had made the decision though, Eulalius had already began walking towards the other side of the camp.
They spent a few minutes to analyze the situation and find an opening or flaw in the construction of the wall. Eulalius was quick to find a flaw. It was a loose piece of wood, but she would have to get really dirty in order to get to it. She didn't want to do that so she looked for another opening. There was a small divot in the ground that was just large enough that Ella would be able to squeeze through. When she did though Eulalius was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was a wall that separated the two. This wasn't good, although she was planning on taking off on her own anyways so it shouldn't have been a surprise. She wasn't going to turn around now. Evin wanted to train her to sneak around undetected, now was her chance to do so.
Ella walked down the path. She was surrounded by tents everywhere and it seemed that the only way she could go was forward. As she continued forward, she noticed two men standing just at the end of the only path she could take. There were no trees nor were there any place where she could climb up to to hide from them. She quickly dropped to the ground like she examined Evin did when he saw the encampment just a few minutes ago. There was no cover, but she guessed that lower was better.
She could hear the men laughing and joking about something that had obviously happened to them. She had heard them mentioning a doe and a few smoke bombs they had found in the forest that an assassin had dropped. It was an interesting story to say the least, but nothing that she could brag about to Evin when she told him what she did. Then he herd one of the men mention having to "take a leak." He used his hands to motion where he was going. He pointed directly down the path where Ella was. The man started walking with his head up high. She was lucky for now, he didn't realise her. As he drew closer and closer to her, she began to get nervous. If the man saw her, then she would be dead and the fact was, she was going to be caught any second. She decided to make the first move, before he noticed. She got up from the ground and ran towards the soldier. The soldier looked shocked as if she came from under the ground. When Ella got close, she closed her eyes and raised her fist at him.
Before Ella could even realise what happened to her, she found herself face first in the ground with the two hundred pound man placing all his weight over top of her.
"Grim will be glad to see I caught chea' little girl." The man said with a sick, toothless grin on his face.
“Welcome to my temporary home. If I had to guess you’re a delegate from the Wolf pack, am I right?”
"I'm sure the leader of the Pack would not exactly want me to be a delegate in any way. I'm too much of an annoyance to ever be a delegate. The only reason I'm on this mission is because the leader knows that even if she refused me to go on this mission, I would go anyways."
Evin took a look at the man's sword. It was a very large sword and in the position he had it in, it would take Grim at least a second to get it into a proper fighting position. Evin took out his dagger and then threw it about ten paces away from him. He didn't want a fight just yet, for now he wanted to talk.
"I will tell you right now, that dagger isn't my only weapon, but the other weapons I have on me are long range and are useless at this distance. If you want you can try to attack me, but that will get you nowhere. If I die, my friends that are watching us will certainly fight back and let me tell you, they would probably be able to fire an arrow right through that slit in your helmet from here." Of course that was a fib, but Evin wanted the psychological advantage if things did get out of hand. Suddenly, he heard some shouting from the other side of the encampment. It sounded like Eulalius had his hands full where ever he was.
"Now, as you can clearly hear, one of my friends is already making work of your soldiers. I didn't come here for a fight though, I would like to make a request. My mission is to retrieve a mass of soldiers from Blackpond to assist the assassin's on our front. If you do not move this entire encampment back to Newhaven, this will be the first one to feel the wrath of the the combined Blackpond, Wolf Pack alliance. You have two days to comply."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella was unsure what to think of this offer to come along with Eulalius. She was surprised that he was going to directly disrespect his orders like that. It was something that she had never expected out of this man, although she didn't talk to him all that much so she didn't know much about him. She decided that it would be the best way to infiltrate the encampment though and she tagged along. By the time she had made the decision though, Eulalius had already began walking towards the other side of the camp.
They spent a few minutes to analyze the situation and find an opening or flaw in the construction of the wall. Eulalius was quick to find a flaw. It was a loose piece of wood, but she would have to get really dirty in order to get to it. She didn't want to do that so she looked for another opening. There was a small divot in the ground that was just large enough that Ella would be able to squeeze through. When she did though Eulalius was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was a wall that separated the two. This wasn't good, although she was planning on taking off on her own anyways so it shouldn't have been a surprise. She wasn't going to turn around now. Evin wanted to train her to sneak around undetected, now was her chance to do so.
Ella walked down the path. She was surrounded by tents everywhere and it seemed that the only way she could go was forward. As she continued forward, she noticed two men standing just at the end of the only path she could take. There were no trees nor were there any place where she could climb up to to hide from them. She quickly dropped to the ground like she examined Evin did when he saw the encampment just a few minutes ago. There was no cover, but she guessed that lower was better.
She could hear the men laughing and joking about something that had obviously happened to them. She had heard them mentioning a doe and a few smoke bombs they had found in the forest that an assassin had dropped. It was an interesting story to say the least, but nothing that she could brag about to Evin when she told him what she did. Then he herd one of the men mention having to "take a leak." He used his hands to motion where he was going. He pointed directly down the path where Ella was. The man started walking with his head up high. She was lucky for now, he didn't realise her. As he drew closer and closer to her, she began to get nervous. If the man saw her, then she would be dead and the fact was, she was going to be caught any second. She decided to make the first move, before he noticed. She got up from the ground and ran towards the soldier. The soldier looked shocked as if she came from under the ground. When Ella got close, she closed her eyes and raised her fist at him.
Before Ella could even realise what happened to her, she found herself face first in the ground with the two hundred pound man placing all his weight over top of her.
"Grim will be glad to see I caught chea' little girl." The man said with a sick, toothless grin on his face.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena still smiled pleasantly. Not even someone who knew her extremely well would be able to tell if the smile wasn't real. In a way, it was. She was enjoying the little act she was putting on, and absolutely thrilled to see that the impostor seemed convinced to have fooled her. Back when she was still an assassin she would have tried to lure him to a secluded area and slit his throat open, however... Now she just wanted him away from the ruins, quietly and without causing trouble. The Pack's problems were their own... Crystal should be the one to handle them. Lena's hands were clean, that is how she liked them. She approached the horses and examined them with interest. "These animals need water." She stated gently patting one of the horses. "Well... I won't hold you. I'm sure whoever you're expecting will show up soon. Just remember to be careful with what you say. We have people from everywhere here, you wouldn't want to be overheard... I'm sure your leader would dislike that."
With that said she walked away from the man and towards the young apprentice that had been watching them. Lena put one hand on her shoulder as she passed and pulled the girl to walk beside her. "Don't worry about him. Whatever happens here I can handle it. However, I need you to run to the assassin's camp, find their leader and tell her that there is an impostor here claiming to be from her clan. Tell her the man has very little knowledge of the clan, but even so... She should look into it."
With that said she walked away from the man and towards the young apprentice that had been watching them. Lena put one hand on her shoulder as she passed and pulled the girl to walk beside her. "Don't worry about him. Whatever happens here I can handle it. However, I need you to run to the assassin's camp, find their leader and tell her that there is an impostor here claiming to be from her clan. Tell her the man has very little knowledge of the clan, but even so... She should look into it."
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Blanditia nodded her head "Of course" she didn't release the power she held she kept it close. "Let me grab my things and I'll leave now" She brushed her hair from her face, "I don't like him, he doest seem like the other Assassins" she said very softly. Her observation was based not just on the man but how she had seen Lena react to the man. She bowed her head in respect and went off to grab her things. "should I come see you before I leave? or just go?" she asked knowing that this should go to the Wolf Pack as soon as possible but also understanding that Lena might want to see her before she is gone.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena let out a small chuckle at the girl's comments. "No. He is nothing like the other assassins." She sighed, the corner of her eyes still catching a glimpse of Eddie in the distance. "You should just leave. We don't want our friend to think we suspect him. That would be unkind of us." She stated, with a slight nod. "If you happen to see my daughter running around camp, kindly remind her that she was given a task." Lena said with a slightly severe tone that wasn't meant for the girl she was actually speaking to. "She will now what it is." With a sincere smile, although there was barely a noticeable difference, she parted ways with the girl to let her be on her way.
Soon enough she found the healer she has left with the dying soldier. He informed her the man had passed. Lena sighed. "Contact his captain in Blackpond and arrange for his comrades to come retrieve his body." She nodded in frustration, heading towards her tent. "Keep an eye on that assassin Alistair... If he so much as sneezes within our grounds I want to hear word of it." The man bowed as to acknowledge his orders and turned around as Lena entered her tent. As she sat on the floor an exhausted sigh escaped her. "This war needs to end." She whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to meditate.
Soon enough she found the healer she has left with the dying soldier. He informed her the man had passed. Lena sighed. "Contact his captain in Blackpond and arrange for his comrades to come retrieve his body." She nodded in frustration, heading towards her tent. "Keep an eye on that assassin Alistair... If he so much as sneezes within our grounds I want to hear word of it." The man bowed as to acknowledge his orders and turned around as Lena entered her tent. As she sat on the floor an exhausted sigh escaped her. "This war needs to end." She whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to meditate.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Blanditia nodded her head in understanding and gr abed her few belonging and left camp, her feet quickly taking her through the forest. She didn't wonder or linger she was given a job and before she could rest that job must be completed. When she entered the Wolfpacks camp she felt eyes follow or linger on her as she made her way through the camp, each step was filled with measured certainty. She didn't look at any one, just her target the Leaders cabin. when she got there she rapped the door quietly "Excuse me" she said to it, hoping the Leader would be in there.
"Well... I won't hold you. I'm sure whoever you're expecting will show up soon. Just remember to be careful with what you say. We have people from everywhere here, you wouldn't want to be overheard... I'm sure your leader would dislike that."
Eddie smiled plesantly and nodded his thanks as the Healer walked away through the rows of tents, stopping only to address one of her apprentices on the way, the Rouge Captain grinned as he turned to urge his horses forward once more, the daft old woman had been caught hook, line and sinker, now all he needed to do was to bait himself a Wolf.
Eddie pulled his coach to a stop beside a large water trough and, while the horses drank their fill, dissmounted and swaggered round to the Carridge's door, pulling it open, he let his passenger out and handed her a small purse.
"Here, you played your part well miss, now piss off and never speak of this to anyone, you understand?"
Gilbrea Even'star stared at him in dissbeleif,
"Your letting me go..?"
She asked, clearly suspiscious, Eddie nodded.
"I don't have any further use for you, take one of the horses and get out of here, before things turn ugly."
Eddie spoke plesantly, but the girl did not need telling twice, snatching the purse from his hands she all but fled from him through the rows of tents, pausing only once to glance back over her shoulder.
Eddie sighed and flopped down in the shade of the coach with his back resting against one of the large, wooden wheels, his legs strached out comfortably in front of him.
Casually removing a cigar from the silver case he always carried, casualy twirling the fine smelling roll of tobacco between his fingers, he watched the young girl he had seen the head Healer speaking to earlier hurry past, a few belongings slung over her shoulder as she exited the camp at high speed in the direction of the forest.
Inserting the cigar into his mouth, Eddie Carke ginned a wicked grin,
"I love it when a plan comes together."
Eddie smiled plesantly and nodded his thanks as the Healer walked away through the rows of tents, stopping only to address one of her apprentices on the way, the Rouge Captain grinned as he turned to urge his horses forward once more, the daft old woman had been caught hook, line and sinker, now all he needed to do was to bait himself a Wolf.
Eddie pulled his coach to a stop beside a large water trough and, while the horses drank their fill, dissmounted and swaggered round to the Carridge's door, pulling it open, he let his passenger out and handed her a small purse.
"Here, you played your part well miss, now piss off and never speak of this to anyone, you understand?"
Gilbrea Even'star stared at him in dissbeleif,
"Your letting me go..?"
She asked, clearly suspiscious, Eddie nodded.
"I don't have any further use for you, take one of the horses and get out of here, before things turn ugly."
Eddie spoke plesantly, but the girl did not need telling twice, snatching the purse from his hands she all but fled from him through the rows of tents, pausing only once to glance back over her shoulder.
Eddie sighed and flopped down in the shade of the coach with his back resting against one of the large, wooden wheels, his legs strached out comfortably in front of him.
Casually removing a cigar from the silver case he always carried, casualy twirling the fine smelling roll of tobacco between his fingers, he watched the young girl he had seen the head Healer speaking to earlier hurry past, a few belongings slung over her shoulder as she exited the camp at high speed in the direction of the forest.
Inserting the cigar into his mouth, Eddie Carke ginned a wicked grin,
"I love it when a plan comes together."
A long silence stood between the opposing figures. This assassin was cunning as he was tactile and there were many riddles in his words. Grim was clever but not all of the answers were bare before him. In fact more disturbing was just how little he knew despite how freely Evin spoke. So he remained quiet while digesting each sentence, deciding for himself was the best to handle this situation was.
“You make many heavy threats that I don’t believe you can keep Wolf. Yet you’ve come to warn me of an impending doom? Forgive my skepticism but I doubt you’ve entered this place with good intention. Much less to spare the lives of a Black Knight and his men. Perhaps you were curious of our size or stability, mayhap you’ve never met a Black Knight and needed to find my vulnerabilities. Maybe it’s a game to you or a challenge. Whatever the true reason you’re as good as dead standing before me.”
With a calm fluid motion he brought his blade down from his shoulder. He bore its weight with a single arm and was able to pivot the weapon without trouble. With a quick thrust he forced its tip into the earth and buried it enough to keep it anchored. A sign that he too wished to be passive from conflict for now. Returning Evin’s gesture to a degree.
Of course the cries of his men bothered him, and he silently prayed under his breath for their safety. If not for Evin he would have already hunted after this other intruder. Grim wasn’t a man that relished battle, but the yells were dire. Still he remained in conference with the assassin not willing to turn his back to him. After all that may just be what this deadly stranger was hoping for.
“You know where I’m from, and likely you know what I am. Then you must also understand that I will serve my purpose with loyalty and honor. I will not move from this spot unless I am given such an order. If you are so keen to see us removed you’ll have to ask someone with the proper authority. Of course if you or your pack would be willing to surrender those responsible for the murder, we may be able to come to some sort of ceasefire. In fact I’d even personally plea your case and we could work on getting a truce or with luck an end to this war.”
He already guessed the answer to his offer. The Wolfpack was too prideful to make such a compromise. It didn’t stop Grim from trying though. He had made no mention of Blackpond. That was another difficulty altogether and one that he had little experience with. The endless struggle with their only neighboring city was one that he felt was utter stupidity. No one could recall exactly why Newhaven and Blackpond won’t get along, and those that did were often too old to care anymore. It was a bitter feud that had been raging on for a long time now.
“What say you Wolf?”
“You make many heavy threats that I don’t believe you can keep Wolf. Yet you’ve come to warn me of an impending doom? Forgive my skepticism but I doubt you’ve entered this place with good intention. Much less to spare the lives of a Black Knight and his men. Perhaps you were curious of our size or stability, mayhap you’ve never met a Black Knight and needed to find my vulnerabilities. Maybe it’s a game to you or a challenge. Whatever the true reason you’re as good as dead standing before me.”
With a calm fluid motion he brought his blade down from his shoulder. He bore its weight with a single arm and was able to pivot the weapon without trouble. With a quick thrust he forced its tip into the earth and buried it enough to keep it anchored. A sign that he too wished to be passive from conflict for now. Returning Evin’s gesture to a degree.
Of course the cries of his men bothered him, and he silently prayed under his breath for their safety. If not for Evin he would have already hunted after this other intruder. Grim wasn’t a man that relished battle, but the yells were dire. Still he remained in conference with the assassin not willing to turn his back to him. After all that may just be what this deadly stranger was hoping for.
“You know where I’m from, and likely you know what I am. Then you must also understand that I will serve my purpose with loyalty and honor. I will not move from this spot unless I am given such an order. If you are so keen to see us removed you’ll have to ask someone with the proper authority. Of course if you or your pack would be willing to surrender those responsible for the murder, we may be able to come to some sort of ceasefire. In fact I’d even personally plea your case and we could work on getting a truce or with luck an end to this war.”
He already guessed the answer to his offer. The Wolfpack was too prideful to make such a compromise. It didn’t stop Grim from trying though. He had made no mention of Blackpond. That was another difficulty altogether and one that he had little experience with. The endless struggle with their only neighboring city was one that he felt was utter stupidity. No one could recall exactly why Newhaven and Blackpond won’t get along, and those that did were often too old to care anymore. It was a bitter feud that had been raging on for a long time now.
“What say you Wolf?”
"What say you Wolf?" Grim asked Evin. Little did he know, was that one of the killers stood right in front of him.
Evin stood there a while. Pretending as if he was thinking about the offer. In actuality, he thought about the way the man was acting. His body language was very interesting to Evin. The man had the urges to go and help his comrades who were most likely dying from the blade of Eulalius, but Grim probably knew that Evin would have a chance to attack if he did so. He also caught a glimpse of a prayer that Grim was uttering under his breath. For a man with such ruthless techniques like the Black Knights, he sure did seem to be honourable. he probably would have been a good man to fight beside, but the fact was that he didn't fully understand what happened to the real King. No one in Newhaven understood what happened. Only the assassin's who fought within the castle walls when everything went down would truly understand.
"I do not have the authority to give up all of them. I'm sure my leader would not approve of it either, but you do not fully understand the circumstances anyways." This would be the first time he discussed the story with anyone other than the people who were there. "You see, the assassin's did not kill your king. Well you could technically say that one did, but he was no longer an assassin when it happened. The reality is that your King was murdered by the one who was killing the enlightened people. He was once a friend of mine who's name was Perry; He was presumed dead after a mission went wrong. He had a sinister plan to gather enlightened powers for himself and rule over Valcrest."
Evin paused for a few seconds and then continued. "When the assassin's found out about the bounty on their heads, a group which included me went to the castle to discuss what we knew about the killer with your king. When we arrived at the castle though, we realised that he wasn't the king, but the killer. He was after the enlightened powers of the people in my group. It was a kill or be killed situation and since he wasn't the real king, we found it fit to end things there. That is why there hasn't been an enlightened death since then, other than the ones caused by this war that is."
Evin understood that this was a lot to take in all at once, but he needed to understand the reality. He began to speak to Grim once more.
"If you care for your soldiers like I know you do, you will move them back to Newhaven before my soldiers arrive to strike. Now that you understand the truth, you can start a cease fire now without any trade." Although it wasn't directed as a question, he expected a clear answer to what he said. If not, Newhaven would not know what hit them.
Evin stood there a while. Pretending as if he was thinking about the offer. In actuality, he thought about the way the man was acting. His body language was very interesting to Evin. The man had the urges to go and help his comrades who were most likely dying from the blade of Eulalius, but Grim probably knew that Evin would have a chance to attack if he did so. He also caught a glimpse of a prayer that Grim was uttering under his breath. For a man with such ruthless techniques like the Black Knights, he sure did seem to be honourable. he probably would have been a good man to fight beside, but the fact was that he didn't fully understand what happened to the real King. No one in Newhaven understood what happened. Only the assassin's who fought within the castle walls when everything went down would truly understand.
"I do not have the authority to give up all of them. I'm sure my leader would not approve of it either, but you do not fully understand the circumstances anyways." This would be the first time he discussed the story with anyone other than the people who were there. "You see, the assassin's did not kill your king. Well you could technically say that one did, but he was no longer an assassin when it happened. The reality is that your King was murdered by the one who was killing the enlightened people. He was once a friend of mine who's name was Perry; He was presumed dead after a mission went wrong. He had a sinister plan to gather enlightened powers for himself and rule over Valcrest."
Evin paused for a few seconds and then continued. "When the assassin's found out about the bounty on their heads, a group which included me went to the castle to discuss what we knew about the killer with your king. When we arrived at the castle though, we realised that he wasn't the king, but the killer. He was after the enlightened powers of the people in my group. It was a kill or be killed situation and since he wasn't the real king, we found it fit to end things there. That is why there hasn't been an enlightened death since then, other than the ones caused by this war that is."
Evin understood that this was a lot to take in all at once, but he needed to understand the reality. He began to speak to Grim once more.
"If you care for your soldiers like I know you do, you will move them back to Newhaven before my soldiers arrive to strike. Now that you understand the truth, you can start a cease fire now without any trade." Although it wasn't directed as a question, he expected a clear answer to what he said. If not, Newhaven would not know what hit them.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crystal stayed in the memorial for a few moments longer after Jake left. She ran her fingers through the name carved in the stone and shed a tear or two for her mother. "Once this is over..." She whispered to the grave, before standing and turning her back, walking to the center of camp. They wouldn't bury an active before the leader paid her respects, the only exception to that tradition had been Crystal's father. That after Crystal shouted at the healers that her mother wouldn't be paying her respects to her husband in front of the whole clan. She might have even cursed at one of them, but she really didn't remember anymore.
As she approached Lionel's body she could feel the silence falling down around her, she became used to that silence. It followed her everywhere ever since her mother died. She got down on one knee and whispered her goodbyes, before standing... She felt the tip of a cold blade on the back of her neck. It was Lionel's little brother, she knew that even before hearing the boy's voice. "I won't let you get away with this."
Crys didn't move, letting out a weary sigh. This was going way too far. "Go ahead." She answered, standing up. As she did so, the boy flinched and took a few good steps back. It was obvious that he really didn't have it in him to kill the leader of the clan. She turned to face the fourteen year old active and opened a smile, putting both her hands behind her back. "Go ahead. I won't fight you. First though, you need to challenge me like Lionel did. You need to say the words, otherwise you'll be committing treason." She explained casually. "Say the words." She insisted.
The boy didn't answer, he seemed frozen where he stood. Crys nodded. "Alright. I'll pretend you said them. You seem very sure of yourself. I'll help you." She pulled out the Katana she carried sheathed beneath her cloak at all times. "This is my father's sword..." She offered him the hilt of the sword. "Take it and strike me down if you will. If my life makes up for what you lost, then you may have it." Her tone of voice was nothing like the one she had used on Lionel only a few hours before. It was calm, almost kind.
She gave the boy a few moments to decide. Since he didn't move, Crys sheathed the sword. "Alright." She laid one hand on the boy's shoulder and added. "Here is what you should do: Go home, cry for your brother, and when you have no more tears to cry... Ask yourself if you still want me dead. Come see me when you have the answer. I'll be waiting." After saying that she gently pushed the boy towards his older brother, giving the man a simple nod. "I'm responsible for every life in this clan. Death, by my hand or any other, is failure. I will not have that. Not anymore. If we don't stand united we will not survive this."
"We want answers, Crystal." One of the actives shouted the demand, probably before he could stop himself.
Crys chuckled at the man's hesitation. She could sense they were still waiting for her to snap and kill someone. "Understandable. I've sent Evin out on an assignment. I will address the clan once he returns. Until then, there are no answers I can give." She nodded. "Bury Lionel, and return to your tasks. I give my word that as soon as I have any answers I will let you all know." She made that promise and walked away from her actives and went into her cabin.
Those words seemed to momentarily calm people down, however, Crys was not calm. She wasn't exactly sure if reaching out to Blackpond was the right thing to do, even if it was all they could do at the moment. It made her feel like she was simply committing the crime she was being accused of. Not to mention her mother would have been against it completely. She sighed, sitting by the same wooden table her mother used to constantly lean against. This was one huge whole they had dug themselves into.
A sound at the door caused Crys to lift her head. "Excuse me." She heard a female voice say. She recognized the voice as of the healer apprentice that had spoken to her earlier.
Crys answered the girl, resting her chin on her hand and aiming her eyes at the doorway. "Yes, how may I help you?"
As she approached Lionel's body she could feel the silence falling down around her, she became used to that silence. It followed her everywhere ever since her mother died. She got down on one knee and whispered her goodbyes, before standing... She felt the tip of a cold blade on the back of her neck. It was Lionel's little brother, she knew that even before hearing the boy's voice. "I won't let you get away with this."
Crys didn't move, letting out a weary sigh. This was going way too far. "Go ahead." She answered, standing up. As she did so, the boy flinched and took a few good steps back. It was obvious that he really didn't have it in him to kill the leader of the clan. She turned to face the fourteen year old active and opened a smile, putting both her hands behind her back. "Go ahead. I won't fight you. First though, you need to challenge me like Lionel did. You need to say the words, otherwise you'll be committing treason." She explained casually. "Say the words." She insisted.
The boy didn't answer, he seemed frozen where he stood. Crys nodded. "Alright. I'll pretend you said them. You seem very sure of yourself. I'll help you." She pulled out the Katana she carried sheathed beneath her cloak at all times. "This is my father's sword..." She offered him the hilt of the sword. "Take it and strike me down if you will. If my life makes up for what you lost, then you may have it." Her tone of voice was nothing like the one she had used on Lionel only a few hours before. It was calm, almost kind.
She gave the boy a few moments to decide. Since he didn't move, Crys sheathed the sword. "Alright." She laid one hand on the boy's shoulder and added. "Here is what you should do: Go home, cry for your brother, and when you have no more tears to cry... Ask yourself if you still want me dead. Come see me when you have the answer. I'll be waiting." After saying that she gently pushed the boy towards his older brother, giving the man a simple nod. "I'm responsible for every life in this clan. Death, by my hand or any other, is failure. I will not have that. Not anymore. If we don't stand united we will not survive this."
"We want answers, Crystal." One of the actives shouted the demand, probably before he could stop himself.
Crys chuckled at the man's hesitation. She could sense they were still waiting for her to snap and kill someone. "Understandable. I've sent Evin out on an assignment. I will address the clan once he returns. Until then, there are no answers I can give." She nodded. "Bury Lionel, and return to your tasks. I give my word that as soon as I have any answers I will let you all know." She made that promise and walked away from her actives and went into her cabin.
Those words seemed to momentarily calm people down, however, Crys was not calm. She wasn't exactly sure if reaching out to Blackpond was the right thing to do, even if it was all they could do at the moment. It made her feel like she was simply committing the crime she was being accused of. Not to mention her mother would have been against it completely. She sighed, sitting by the same wooden table her mother used to constantly lean against. This was one huge whole they had dug themselves into.
A sound at the door caused Crys to lift her head. "Excuse me." She heard a female voice say. She recognized the voice as of the healer apprentice that had spoken to her earlier.
Crys answered the girl, resting her chin on her hand and aiming her eyes at the doorway. "Yes, how may I help you?"
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia smiled at the girl "Lena says there is an impostor at the Healer camp claiming to be from your clan. The man has very little knowledge of the clan, but even so... She says you should look into it." she stated clearly but softly so only The young leader could hear. She ran a hand through her hair and stood stock still waiting for the girls reaction, She could see in the girls eyes the tiredness that she was hiding and felt bad to add this on her. She fingered the chain around her neck out of nerves, but it was the only sign of what she was feeling.
“That is the most ridiculous explanation ever give- “
Something robbed him of his vigor for a moment. His memories flooded into a sort of epiphany which had overthrown his conscious. So much of the past presented itself before his listless eyes. There was much confusion during the last act of the war. Tragedy had fallen onto many even in the aftermath. Setareh wasn’t a whole person. Krander was lonely inside though no one knew it. Nobody guessed what secrets Thomas had. Mageria dedicated her life to vengeance, and even Jake hid his longing on his neck. As for Grim he was orphaned at fairly young age. What was key though was his parents both were Enlightened. Both were killed in action, but there had always been an air of uncertainty to that event.
Quietly he debated if it was possible this story had some truth? If so were his mother and father victims and not heroes? This enlightenment troubled him to no end, try as he might to cast it aside.
“You understand how hard it is to believe the words of a rogue. I will look into the matter. If what you say is true then I will do what I can to bring the truth to the people. If what you say is false, then no army from Blackpond is going to spare you or your ilk. The children of Newhaven are much stronger then you can imagine.”
Evin’s words had already set plenty of schemes in motion. Grim decided to return to Newhaven with this information. He would ultimately rid himself of his soldiers and go on a private quest. Understanding that now was not the time for soul searching, but he had to seek the truth. If it meant sparing the lives of thousands it was worth the price.
“Be on your way then Wolf you’ve been heard. Should fate have us meet again, I hope it is not on the field of battle.”
Something robbed him of his vigor for a moment. His memories flooded into a sort of epiphany which had overthrown his conscious. So much of the past presented itself before his listless eyes. There was much confusion during the last act of the war. Tragedy had fallen onto many even in the aftermath. Setareh wasn’t a whole person. Krander was lonely inside though no one knew it. Nobody guessed what secrets Thomas had. Mageria dedicated her life to vengeance, and even Jake hid his longing on his neck. As for Grim he was orphaned at fairly young age. What was key though was his parents both were Enlightened. Both were killed in action, but there had always been an air of uncertainty to that event.
Quietly he debated if it was possible this story had some truth? If so were his mother and father victims and not heroes? This enlightenment troubled him to no end, try as he might to cast it aside.
“You understand how hard it is to believe the words of a rogue. I will look into the matter. If what you say is true then I will do what I can to bring the truth to the people. If what you say is false, then no army from Blackpond is going to spare you or your ilk. The children of Newhaven are much stronger then you can imagine.”
Evin’s words had already set plenty of schemes in motion. Grim decided to return to Newhaven with this information. He would ultimately rid himself of his soldiers and go on a private quest. Understanding that now was not the time for soul searching, but he had to seek the truth. If it meant sparing the lives of thousands it was worth the price.
“Be on your way then Wolf you’ve been heard. Should fate have us meet again, I hope it is not on the field of battle.”
Krander listened to Mageria intently. He let out a stifled laugh.
"Yes, I know, that is why you have your own shitter, right?" He reflected on what she said.
He did think that what had happened to her was insane, and unfortunate, but she was blessed with life. She was a ruthless killer and yet, somehow gentle, in her own way.
He was interrupted by a short dark skinned man with crazy white hair opening the door.
"Ah, Krander," Xypher said, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He eyed Mageria and nodded respectably to her.
"Xypher, we have come to discuss battle tactics. We seem to be at a standstill right now, and that makes me nervous."
Xypher said nothing but motioned them to come in and sit and he shut the door behind them.
"We have discussed withdrawing our forces from hunting assassins, withdrawing from blackpond, and attacking the other, respectably. Also discussed staying how we are and hoping for the best, which is my least favorite choice. Mageria here, "he motioned to her," Also suggested guerrilla warfare tactics. Burn their crops, cut off trade, kill any and all merchants or wanderers around the city, but not actually attack their city. But I have a crazy Idea."
He paused for effect.
"What if we withdrew all of our soldiers into the castle. We stockpiled food while we stayed as we are, and moved the people to a camp heavily guarded, but our best fighters we kept in the castle. WIth no action we can confuse and disorient both of our enemies. Then as they come into the castle we can take them out one at a time, using the secret chambers to our advantages. I also suggest we move our people in small portions, less than 10 at a time, to someplace quite far away. Leave our best fighters here on the grounds, and our strongest enlightened to protect the people."
Xypher noded for a few seconds after Krander had finished speaking.
"I will give it some thought. It is interesting, but as with all of our other possibilities, we have not much choice where life and death are concerned.
Xypher turned to Mageria, "Any other ideas my dear?"
"Yes, I know, that is why you have your own shitter, right?" He reflected on what she said.
He did think that what had happened to her was insane, and unfortunate, but she was blessed with life. She was a ruthless killer and yet, somehow gentle, in her own way.
He was interrupted by a short dark skinned man with crazy white hair opening the door.
"Ah, Krander," Xypher said, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He eyed Mageria and nodded respectably to her.
"Xypher, we have come to discuss battle tactics. We seem to be at a standstill right now, and that makes me nervous."
Xypher said nothing but motioned them to come in and sit and he shut the door behind them.
"We have discussed withdrawing our forces from hunting assassins, withdrawing from blackpond, and attacking the other, respectably. Also discussed staying how we are and hoping for the best, which is my least favorite choice. Mageria here, "he motioned to her," Also suggested guerrilla warfare tactics. Burn their crops, cut off trade, kill any and all merchants or wanderers around the city, but not actually attack their city. But I have a crazy Idea."
He paused for effect.
"What if we withdrew all of our soldiers into the castle. We stockpiled food while we stayed as we are, and moved the people to a camp heavily guarded, but our best fighters we kept in the castle. WIth no action we can confuse and disorient both of our enemies. Then as they come into the castle we can take them out one at a time, using the secret chambers to our advantages. I also suggest we move our people in small portions, less than 10 at a time, to someplace quite far away. Leave our best fighters here on the grounds, and our strongest enlightened to protect the people."
Xypher noded for a few seconds after Krander had finished speaking.
"I will give it some thought. It is interesting, but as with all of our other possibilities, we have not much choice where life and death are concerned.
Xypher turned to Mageria, "Any other ideas my dear?"
Eulalius was quite surprised that no more soldiers had come to aid what had obviously sounded like a call of attack.
Though, to Eulalius' dismay, his original thought was wrong.
The soldiers that were now coming didn't seem to be in any hurry whatsoever to get to their destination, and Eulalius was almost certain a few of them were drunk, their armor splattered with bits of foodstuffs and a fluid that was several shades of brown.
This encounter had Eulalius much more outnumbered than last time, and Eulalius decided to rely on skills of deception rather than combat.
Removing a helmet from one of the corpses, he dragged both of the corpses into the closest tent to him, leaving a rather thick blood trail. Much to his luck, the tent was empty- for the time being, anyway.
Eulalius snatched off his hat and placed the heavy iron helmet onto his head, finding a nice seat on the corpse he had taken the helmet from.
-
As Eulalius had expected, several of the guards followed the blood trail into the tent where he was. They asked no verbal questions, the look on their faces said it all.
'Wot'? Can't a man git' dress'd in is arm'r in peace?' Eulalius purposely slurred his speech in an effort to sound drunk, which was easily audible even through the thick grill of the helmet.
One of the guards made a gesture towards the bodies laying on the floor.
'Ah, these two ruffians were out 'ere fightin', they were. 'ad to stop the banter, of course. Gave ol' Izad a bleedin' nose, too!'
At that statement, one of the guards chuckled. The others remained stalwart and silent, glaring at him with their almost ghostly visages. There was a long and awkward pause, but finally they left, one of the guards bading him to clean the mess up.
Eulalius smiled as he pulled off the helmet and replaced it with his hat.
Well played, dear boy! He thought as he silently pulled the tent flap open and stepped back out into the open, the group of guards now nowhere to be seen as they continued their patrol through the camp.
Now I just need to find Evin in this godforsaken place an- Ella! Eulalius shuddered as he realized that his companion was not behind him as he thought she was. He darten around the nearest wall-nothing. Not a soul, not even a guard.
But a muffled cry could be heard from nearby, and Eulalius tracked the sound to its source..
..it was Ella, a guard subduing her with the raw weight of his armor.
Eulalius panicked and acted on instinct, charging at the closer guard- whome was laughing at the sight of a helpless gurl and not paying Eulalius any mind- without any weapons drawn.
He tackled the man, pinning him up against the wall before yanking off his own helmet and using it to beat the man in the head a few times.
Turning around, Eulalius worried that Ella's fragile bones may soon crack under the weight they were enduring. He needed to get that guard off of her, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
He used what was avaliable at that very second, and threw the helmet as hard as he could at the guard that held Ella, hoping more to stun him than hurt him. He then charged at this guard, withdrawing his unloaded crossbow and swung the thing wildly-handle first- when he was close enough.
Though, to Eulalius' dismay, his original thought was wrong.
The soldiers that were now coming didn't seem to be in any hurry whatsoever to get to their destination, and Eulalius was almost certain a few of them were drunk, their armor splattered with bits of foodstuffs and a fluid that was several shades of brown.
This encounter had Eulalius much more outnumbered than last time, and Eulalius decided to rely on skills of deception rather than combat.
Removing a helmet from one of the corpses, he dragged both of the corpses into the closest tent to him, leaving a rather thick blood trail. Much to his luck, the tent was empty- for the time being, anyway.
Eulalius snatched off his hat and placed the heavy iron helmet onto his head, finding a nice seat on the corpse he had taken the helmet from.
-
As Eulalius had expected, several of the guards followed the blood trail into the tent where he was. They asked no verbal questions, the look on their faces said it all.
'Wot'? Can't a man git' dress'd in is arm'r in peace?' Eulalius purposely slurred his speech in an effort to sound drunk, which was easily audible even through the thick grill of the helmet.
One of the guards made a gesture towards the bodies laying on the floor.
'Ah, these two ruffians were out 'ere fightin', they were. 'ad to stop the banter, of course. Gave ol' Izad a bleedin' nose, too!'
At that statement, one of the guards chuckled. The others remained stalwart and silent, glaring at him with their almost ghostly visages. There was a long and awkward pause, but finally they left, one of the guards bading him to clean the mess up.
Eulalius smiled as he pulled off the helmet and replaced it with his hat.
Well played, dear boy! He thought as he silently pulled the tent flap open and stepped back out into the open, the group of guards now nowhere to be seen as they continued their patrol through the camp.
Now I just need to find Evin in this godforsaken place an- Ella! Eulalius shuddered as he realized that his companion was not behind him as he thought she was. He darten around the nearest wall-nothing. Not a soul, not even a guard.
But a muffled cry could be heard from nearby, and Eulalius tracked the sound to its source..
..it was Ella, a guard subduing her with the raw weight of his armor.
Eulalius panicked and acted on instinct, charging at the closer guard- whome was laughing at the sight of a helpless gurl and not paying Eulalius any mind- without any weapons drawn.
He tackled the man, pinning him up against the wall before yanking off his own helmet and using it to beat the man in the head a few times.
Turning around, Eulalius worried that Ella's fragile bones may soon crack under the weight they were enduring. He needed to get that guard off of her, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
He used what was avaliable at that very second, and threw the helmet as hard as he could at the guard that held Ella, hoping more to stun him than hurt him. He then charged at this guard, withdrawing his unloaded crossbow and swung the thing wildly-handle first- when he was close enough.
Mageria leaned against the wall and frowned.
“I don’t like the idea of turning the city into a trap. We’ve already lost too much to various factions. I don’t think that we have the resources to fight in such a way. And anyway, where would we send our people? And how would we convince them to leave? We’d lose almost as much getting them to move as we would to a fight I think. If we were to choose to focus on one enemy, I’d say that Blackpond was the more significant threat. The Wolfpack is already weakened and they may choose a risky alliance if we continue to push them. If nothing else, if we push them to an alliance with our enemies, then I think that would be the worst end result.” She shrugged and walked over to a map on the wall.
“There is one thing that we cannot do as soldiers. We are without a King at the moment, which I think makes us even weaker than we realize. We have no one to be the final voice, no one to be the focus of the people’s hope and efforts.” She turned around and faced the men.
“Is there any word on the younger brother of the King? My soldiers might not be good for such a search, being rather more straight forward, but maybe Sidden might be able to use his contacts to find him.”
“I don’t like the idea of turning the city into a trap. We’ve already lost too much to various factions. I don’t think that we have the resources to fight in such a way. And anyway, where would we send our people? And how would we convince them to leave? We’d lose almost as much getting them to move as we would to a fight I think. If we were to choose to focus on one enemy, I’d say that Blackpond was the more significant threat. The Wolfpack is already weakened and they may choose a risky alliance if we continue to push them. If nothing else, if we push them to an alliance with our enemies, then I think that would be the worst end result.” She shrugged and walked over to a map on the wall.
“There is one thing that we cannot do as soldiers. We are without a King at the moment, which I think makes us even weaker than we realize. We have no one to be the final voice, no one to be the focus of the people’s hope and efforts.” She turned around and faced the men.
“Is there any word on the younger brother of the King? My soldiers might not be good for such a search, being rather more straight forward, but maybe Sidden might be able to use his contacts to find him.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Crystal let out a sound that was close to a snicker, but not quite. The idea of some fool presenting himself as a Pack member to Lena was hilarious to her. That woman knew that clan better than Crys would ever be able to in her lifetime. It was a ridiculous notion. "Some mercenary fool seeking us for a bounty." Crys smiled thinking of how she could use this to their advantage. Rogues were a minor threat to Pack compared to the Knights and she had more pressing matters to attend, however if it was gold this man was after, the Pack had quite a bit to offer him. After all, the kind of services the Pack provided were not cheap ones in the least. As she thought of her options she reached out to the silver chain around her neck, not realizing that she was, in some level, imitating the girl's gesture. Jake's graduation ring hung from that chain, but it remained hidden underneath her shirt.
Crys stood up from where she was seated. "Please sit for a moment." She pointed a chair across from where she had been sitting, as she passed the girl to reach the door. Standing at the doorway she let out a loud whistle, and said in a calm tone and rather soft tone. "Ali, I need to see you now." After doing that she closed the door and sat back down on her chair, waiting, until the cabin door opened again and Allison walked in through it.
--------
Ali was taking one rare moment of rest. Finally finding no one near the lake, she managed to just sit and stare at the water. That until she heard a loud whistle, which she recognized as being Crystal's. "Nice. What am I a freaking dog?" She mumbled. Enhancing her hearing she could hear her leader's words. "I need to see you now."
Sighing, Ali stood up, grabbed her bow and walked to Crys' cabin, opened the door and walked in. The first thing her eyes caught was the healer girl from before. She closed the door and leaned against the wall beside the door, resting her bow gently on the top of her left boot. "What do you need me for master?" Ali said with a slightly amused tone in her voice.
Crys smiled, it was slightly relieving to see her do that. "Be quiet, kid. Listen to me, because I have a job for you, and it's important." The tone in her voice was serious despite the smile.
Ali nodded, quietly. "I'm listening." She stated, with a nod that Crys wouldn't see.
Crys nodded as well. "Very well. This apprentice here..." She indicated Blanditia with a slight nod. "She came to inform me that there is a man in the ruins passing himself as one of our clan. A mercenary, probably after a bounty."
"You want me to take him out?" Ali asked with a slight frown. "In the ruins that would be impossible. It is a neutral zone."
"No... I have something else in mind for this person. He is foolish, but I have to admit it was a very brave move." Crys pulled a small bag of gold coins, and placed it on the table. "Offer this man our compliments, and kindly explain that he has no idea of what his gotten himself into."
Ali stepped forward and took the bag of coins, tossing it in the air and retrieving it a couple of times, she mumbled. "This is... Generous."
"I'm a giving person." Crys stated with a little smirk. "Hey, be careful though Allison. Rogues can never be trusted, if your eyes catch a slight glimpse of a knife, then kill him. No mercy. Understand?"
Ali nodded. "I understand."
Crys smiled. "Good. I'm sure that by the time you get there Lena will have information for you. Take the apprentice with you, you never know, she might be useful."
Ali didn't like that idea in the slightest, but she supposed it made sense to travel to the ruins with a healer. "Alright. Then I suppose if we leave now we should get there within a few hours." She said, finally looking at the girl. "Is there anything you need to do before leaving?"
Crys stood up from where she was seated. "Please sit for a moment." She pointed a chair across from where she had been sitting, as she passed the girl to reach the door. Standing at the doorway she let out a loud whistle, and said in a calm tone and rather soft tone. "Ali, I need to see you now." After doing that she closed the door and sat back down on her chair, waiting, until the cabin door opened again and Allison walked in through it.
--------
Ali was taking one rare moment of rest. Finally finding no one near the lake, she managed to just sit and stare at the water. That until she heard a loud whistle, which she recognized as being Crystal's. "Nice. What am I a freaking dog?" She mumbled. Enhancing her hearing she could hear her leader's words. "I need to see you now."
Sighing, Ali stood up, grabbed her bow and walked to Crys' cabin, opened the door and walked in. The first thing her eyes caught was the healer girl from before. She closed the door and leaned against the wall beside the door, resting her bow gently on the top of her left boot. "What do you need me for master?" Ali said with a slightly amused tone in her voice.
Crys smiled, it was slightly relieving to see her do that. "Be quiet, kid. Listen to me, because I have a job for you, and it's important." The tone in her voice was serious despite the smile.
Ali nodded, quietly. "I'm listening." She stated, with a nod that Crys wouldn't see.
Crys nodded as well. "Very well. This apprentice here..." She indicated Blanditia with a slight nod. "She came to inform me that there is a man in the ruins passing himself as one of our clan. A mercenary, probably after a bounty."
"You want me to take him out?" Ali asked with a slight frown. "In the ruins that would be impossible. It is a neutral zone."
"No... I have something else in mind for this person. He is foolish, but I have to admit it was a very brave move." Crys pulled a small bag of gold coins, and placed it on the table. "Offer this man our compliments, and kindly explain that he has no idea of what his gotten himself into."
Ali stepped forward and took the bag of coins, tossing it in the air and retrieving it a couple of times, she mumbled. "This is... Generous."
"I'm a giving person." Crys stated with a little smirk. "Hey, be careful though Allison. Rogues can never be trusted, if your eyes catch a slight glimpse of a knife, then kill him. No mercy. Understand?"
Ali nodded. "I understand."
Crys smiled. "Good. I'm sure that by the time you get there Lena will have information for you. Take the apprentice with you, you never know, she might be useful."
Ali didn't like that idea in the slightest, but she supposed it made sense to travel to the ruins with a healer. "Alright. Then I suppose if we leave now we should get there within a few hours." She said, finally looking at the girl. "Is there anything you need to do before leaving?"
Blanditia looked from girl to girl "No, I'm ready to go" she said with grace she was slightly tired because she hadn't dropped her power but she wasn't tired enough to make a mistake. "If your ready, we can go" she was all ready "speaking" to the earth around her making sure the trail was safe, She didn't care about her own life just those of others.She gave The girls a bright smile "I'm sorry but I don't know your names?" she said in a questioning tone, understanding if they refused to give it.
Seterah ran her small knife once more up the shaft before flicking her eyes toward her admirer. She matched the woman's eyes for a split second before refocusing on her work. It was almost done, only the feathers needed fitting into place. She placed the knife between her teeth as she bent down to retrieve the feathers from her side satchel, her dark hair falling in sheets around her face.
While her hands moved deftly and expertly over the arrow, her eyes poked out from under her brow, she felt a vibration and a small thundering behind her ears as she focused her eyes outward, seeing Jake leaving the leaders side and disappearing into the wood. Setareh knew there was more to the two of them than they let on, if there was any advantage to being emotionally void, it was that you could pick it out easily if there were emotions or tensions between people.
She shut her eyes and allowed the small din behind her ears to stop before opening them, seeing nothing but glints against weapons, armors, and the shine from her arrow feathers, that had been perfectly placed in her quiver. Her temporary blindness would only last a few moments, her level of use was tiny in comparison to normal, but she took a walk to the meadow outside the camp.
Setareh heard a angry voice coming in the way of the meadow, and was greeted by an angry "What?!" when she ventured too close. Out of instinct, her bow and arrow were already pulled, but she hesitated. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Nicolette, a healer from the Ruins. I'm stationed here."
"Setareh." She slipped her bow and arrow back into her sack, her mind running with alternative places she could relax, she didn't want to be here with a chatty cat. She wanted peace and she could just feel the overwhelming friendliness in this woman's voice.
"Are you an assassin? I mean, of course you're an assassin, you're here and look at you. How do you manage without your eyesight?" The woman inquired, and she looked down mentioning it was her temporary side effect before walking away from her.
There was a small clearing in the glades where water lilies grew everywhere and kudzu blossoms climbed the trees mixed with honeysuckle. She decided she'd go there, try to get away from camp for a little while.
---------------------------------------------------
Nicolette sat in a small clearing of the meadow that she'd made, planting various useful herbs and flowers around it. A streak of dirt smudged her cheek as she worked hard on replanting goldenrod sprouts that had been uprooted by careless recruits. Her eyes were fiery and alive. She was infuriated with what that Ali person had said.
"Less work? LESS WORK? She just speaks of it like these people have no lives, no families, no children of their own. She is a rude, insensitive, demoralizing, shrew of a woman. The nerve of her! " She spoke heatedly under her breath, turning on her heel as the sound of someone coming near. "What?!" she spoke angrily.
She saw a young girl, barely an adult clutching her bow in one hand and an arrow in her other looking down. Nicolette immediately recognized the blindness, and regretted letting her anger get the better of her. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Nicolette, a healer from the Ruins. I'm stationed here."
"Setareh." Was all the woman said before sliding her arrow into her quiver and the bow to her back.
Nicolette smiled at her, though she couldn't see her. The young woman shared the same name as the baby sister she'd lost long ago. "Are you an assassin? I mean, of course you're an assassin, you're here and look at you. How do you manage without your eyesight?"Nicolette bit her tongue, she had always been too inquisitive and didn't even stop to think if the girl might be sensitive about it.
"It's only temporary. My side effect." She turned and walked away toward the woods, not even saying good bye to the healer.
"Goodbye..." Nicolette said quietly before turning back to her work.
While her hands moved deftly and expertly over the arrow, her eyes poked out from under her brow, she felt a vibration and a small thundering behind her ears as she focused her eyes outward, seeing Jake leaving the leaders side and disappearing into the wood. Setareh knew there was more to the two of them than they let on, if there was any advantage to being emotionally void, it was that you could pick it out easily if there were emotions or tensions between people.
She shut her eyes and allowed the small din behind her ears to stop before opening them, seeing nothing but glints against weapons, armors, and the shine from her arrow feathers, that had been perfectly placed in her quiver. Her temporary blindness would only last a few moments, her level of use was tiny in comparison to normal, but she took a walk to the meadow outside the camp.
Setareh heard a angry voice coming in the way of the meadow, and was greeted by an angry "What?!" when she ventured too close. Out of instinct, her bow and arrow were already pulled, but she hesitated. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Nicolette, a healer from the Ruins. I'm stationed here."
"Setareh." She slipped her bow and arrow back into her sack, her mind running with alternative places she could relax, she didn't want to be here with a chatty cat. She wanted peace and she could just feel the overwhelming friendliness in this woman's voice.
"Are you an assassin? I mean, of course you're an assassin, you're here and look at you. How do you manage without your eyesight?" The woman inquired, and she looked down mentioning it was her temporary side effect before walking away from her.
There was a small clearing in the glades where water lilies grew everywhere and kudzu blossoms climbed the trees mixed with honeysuckle. She decided she'd go there, try to get away from camp for a little while.
---------------------------------------------------
Nicolette sat in a small clearing of the meadow that she'd made, planting various useful herbs and flowers around it. A streak of dirt smudged her cheek as she worked hard on replanting goldenrod sprouts that had been uprooted by careless recruits. Her eyes were fiery and alive. She was infuriated with what that Ali person had said.
"Less work? LESS WORK? She just speaks of it like these people have no lives, no families, no children of their own. She is a rude, insensitive, demoralizing, shrew of a woman. The nerve of her! " She spoke heatedly under her breath, turning on her heel as the sound of someone coming near. "What?!" she spoke angrily.
She saw a young girl, barely an adult clutching her bow in one hand and an arrow in her other looking down. Nicolette immediately recognized the blindness, and regretted letting her anger get the better of her. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Nicolette, a healer from the Ruins. I'm stationed here."
"Setareh." Was all the woman said before sliding her arrow into her quiver and the bow to her back.
Nicolette smiled at her, though she couldn't see her. The young woman shared the same name as the baby sister she'd lost long ago. "Are you an assassin? I mean, of course you're an assassin, you're here and look at you. How do you manage without your eyesight?"Nicolette bit her tongue, she had always been too inquisitive and didn't even stop to think if the girl might be sensitive about it.
"It's only temporary. My side effect." She turned and walked away toward the woods, not even saying good bye to the healer.
"Goodbye..." Nicolette said quietly before turning back to her work.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Xypher sat silent a moment.
"I really don't know why you kids wasted not only my time but your own. You were right Krander, that would be an extremely interesting tactic, if we had the ability and resources I would say to do that in fact. But Mageria is right as well. We must not push the assassins to an alliance that could break us. We should use those guerrilla tactics on Blackpond until they cry mercy, then take some of their riches and set up guard there while we finish off the Pack."
He spoke sternly, quickly, and matter of factly. He sat down and seemed to forget that the two were there.
Krander looked quickly at Mageria holding back a grin and stood up and left the room. After Mageria had left he quietly closed the door.
"So, get your men ready, and see how many we can pull out from the Pack territory without actually having put more Black Knights at risk of death. We begin seige on Blackpond Tomorrow Eve."
"I really don't know why you kids wasted not only my time but your own. You were right Krander, that would be an extremely interesting tactic, if we had the ability and resources I would say to do that in fact. But Mageria is right as well. We must not push the assassins to an alliance that could break us. We should use those guerrilla tactics on Blackpond until they cry mercy, then take some of their riches and set up guard there while we finish off the Pack."
He spoke sternly, quickly, and matter of factly. He sat down and seemed to forget that the two were there.
Krander looked quickly at Mageria holding back a grin and stood up and left the room. After Mageria had left he quietly closed the door.
"So, get your men ready, and see how many we can pull out from the Pack territory without actually having put more Black Knights at risk of death. We begin seige on Blackpond Tomorrow Eve."
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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The sun was sinking low over the distant horizon when Bjorn Heldenhammer approached the Healers camp, alone, reighning in his great war-charger, the Barbarian glanced casualy back over his shoulder, there was no sign of the rest of the Mercanary band, good, they where keeping well out of sight, poised and waiting for his signal should anything go wrong.
as with Eddie, a pair of healers exited the nearest tent and approached the Mercanaries horse, Bjorn grinned down at them wolfishly, they appeared to flinch back for a second, before the Elder aparantly remembered himself, and bowed his head.
"Greetings traveler," He spoke softly, Bjorn nodded.
"And to you, I seek only a nights sanctuary."
"Of..of course,"
The Healer replied, uncertianly,
"However we must ask you to give up your weapon."
Bjorn shrugged and, unslinging his giant Warhammer from his back, the Barbarian passed it down, the Healer that took it stumbled back, struggling under its weithg for a moment, before tripping and falling heavily to the ground.
"Don't scratch it now little man,"
Bjorn told him, biting back a grin, before touching his horses flanks with his heels, and urging his steed forward into the White Shadows camp.
Bjorn spotted Eddie fairly quickly, apparantly snoozing peacefully in the shade of the coach they had taken, the Mercanary captain appeared to be dead to the world, but Bjorn had seen his old freind use this position too often to be fooled.
Keeping his distance, Bjorn found a spot for himself and his horse next to a large stone water trough and, dissmounting, the Barbarian left his mount to drink while he settled down to wait.
as with Eddie, a pair of healers exited the nearest tent and approached the Mercanaries horse, Bjorn grinned down at them wolfishly, they appeared to flinch back for a second, before the Elder aparantly remembered himself, and bowed his head.
"Greetings traveler," He spoke softly, Bjorn nodded.
"And to you, I seek only a nights sanctuary."
"Of..of course,"
The Healer replied, uncertianly,
"However we must ask you to give up your weapon."
Bjorn shrugged and, unslinging his giant Warhammer from his back, the Barbarian passed it down, the Healer that took it stumbled back, struggling under its weithg for a moment, before tripping and falling heavily to the ground.
"Don't scratch it now little man,"
Bjorn told him, biting back a grin, before touching his horses flanks with his heels, and urging his steed forward into the White Shadows camp.
Bjorn spotted Eddie fairly quickly, apparantly snoozing peacefully in the shade of the coach they had taken, the Mercanary captain appeared to be dead to the world, but Bjorn had seen his old freind use this position too often to be fooled.
Keeping his distance, Bjorn found a spot for himself and his horse next to a large stone water trough and, dissmounting, the Barbarian left his mount to drink while he settled down to wait.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Getting into the city of Newhaven dressed as he was, would be tricky for Jake if he couldn't use his ability. Gladly it wasn't raining and he could get to the house were he once lived, while he was still a simple mercenary. There he changed into the clothes he usually wore when in the city. To anyone he passed by, he would be seen as simple castle guard. It made him slightly uncomfortable to think how a simple change of clothes could easily slip him into the castle. Few people actually knew his name and face, and he did prefer it that way.
Inside the castle Jake wandered the halls aimlessly, whistling to himself, only stopping to greet one or two acquaintances. As he walked he heard in conversations amongst the guards that captain Krander had woken up half the castle in the middle of the night. He nodded as he heard that, a slightly amused grin spreading across his face. It didn't surprise him to know that the man had bad dreams. Jake was lucky if ever managed to fall asleep at all. He simply kept walking,
Jake's eyes darted towards the two people coming out of a room a little further ahead. "It was easier than I thought." He mumbled. Not wanting to intrude on the conversation, he stopped at a distance where their voices wouldn't reach his ears and leaned against the wall, simply waiting for Captain Mageria and Captain Krander to spot him there.
Inside the castle Jake wandered the halls aimlessly, whistling to himself, only stopping to greet one or two acquaintances. As he walked he heard in conversations amongst the guards that captain Krander had woken up half the castle in the middle of the night. He nodded as he heard that, a slightly amused grin spreading across his face. It didn't surprise him to know that the man had bad dreams. Jake was lucky if ever managed to fall asleep at all. He simply kept walking,
Jake's eyes darted towards the two people coming out of a room a little further ahead. "It was easier than I thought." He mumbled. Not wanting to intrude on the conversation, he stopped at a distance where their voices wouldn't reach his ears and leaned against the wall, simply waiting for Captain Mageria and Captain Krander to spot him there.
Mageria clasped her hands behind her back as she walked along with Krander.
“The way that man thinks worries me sometimes. He needs to get out more." She shook her head.
"But I can ready my men and send a messenger to my forces in the woods. If I pull them out, it may leave my sources in the Pack unprotected, but they’ve been there long enough that I think they can maintain their cover. I hate leaving them like that, but I have to trust them to do their jobs.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking over at Krander gravely.
“How many do you think we can send to Blackpond? And do you want to send the White Knights as well as the Black? I don’t think we should pull to many from defense of the walls, and the whole point of guerrilla tactics is that we don’t need a lot of people if we do it right.” She bit her lip thoughtfully.
“But the thing to watch out for is we can’t touch the healers at all. Anything we do to make them angry is something we must avoid at all costs.”
A castle guard leaning against the wall caught her attention, partially because he was leaning when he should have been patrolling, and partially because he looked familiar. A closer look revealed that it was Jake. A subtle relaxation loosened her shoulders before she touched Krander on the arm. “I’ll be right back.”
As she walked over to Jake she felt a small knot of tension under her breastbone relax just a bit. She truly hated to send her people out where she couldn’t watch their backs.
“Jake. How are things?”
“The way that man thinks worries me sometimes. He needs to get out more." She shook her head.
"But I can ready my men and send a messenger to my forces in the woods. If I pull them out, it may leave my sources in the Pack unprotected, but they’ve been there long enough that I think they can maintain their cover. I hate leaving them like that, but I have to trust them to do their jobs.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking over at Krander gravely.
“How many do you think we can send to Blackpond? And do you want to send the White Knights as well as the Black? I don’t think we should pull to many from defense of the walls, and the whole point of guerrilla tactics is that we don’t need a lot of people if we do it right.” She bit her lip thoughtfully.
“But the thing to watch out for is we can’t touch the healers at all. Anything we do to make them angry is something we must avoid at all costs.”
A castle guard leaning against the wall caught her attention, partially because he was leaning when he should have been patrolling, and partially because he looked familiar. A closer look revealed that it was Jake. A subtle relaxation loosened her shoulders before she touched Krander on the arm. “I’ll be right back.”
As she walked over to Jake she felt a small knot of tension under her breastbone relax just a bit. She truly hated to send her people out where she couldn’t watch their backs.
“Jake. How are things?”
Jake was a little lost in his mind, humming some random song to himself while he waited. That until a voice caused him to raise his head and stand up straight. “Jake. How are things?”
Jake let out a small chuckle as he thought about how exactly to answer that question. "That depends of what things exactly you refer to..." He stated finally, a slight frown forming behind his overall relaxed appearance. "I wasn't planning on coming back this early, but... things have been tense in the Pack lately. Crystal was challenged this morning, she killed an active. She's having trouble controlling the clan the way her mother did. They don't trust her as much." Crys was the only person who's name he ever mentioned, since it was known that they were childhood friends. He always made sure to never mention any other names, unless he was asked. "The second commander left this morning with another assassin. I suspect he plans on reaching out to Blackpond for assistance. I know for a fact that if it was completely up to Crys that would never happen. So, she must be feeling cornered to have agreed."
He ran a hand through his hair before adding the last piece of the little information he had. "I stopped by the spot where Grim was camped, mostly for the sake of chatting, but... As I was there, the second commander of the Wolfpack invaded the camp and demanded to see Grim. I chose to leave not to blow my cover, so I can't guarantee everything turned out alright. Still, if I was to bet... I would say that if his intention was to attack, he would have been more cautious than he was being. So I assume he was there to say something." He sighed, leaning his back completely against the wall, and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm only speculating on this last matter, however." He looked the woman in the eyes and added. "I know very little of the man's behavior, except for what Crys eventually complains about him being annoying and constantly breaking rules." He chuckled, barely concealing his amusement. "Childish stuff, really... I do know for a fact that he is incredibly clever. If he had seen me I doubt I would have been able to talk my way out of it."
After that he went silent. Waiting for the information he had given to sink in and form some kind of reaction. Now his mind was wandering back to the campsite and wondering what had happened there. Hopefully it all went well, for everyone.
Jake let out a small chuckle as he thought about how exactly to answer that question. "That depends of what things exactly you refer to..." He stated finally, a slight frown forming behind his overall relaxed appearance. "I wasn't planning on coming back this early, but... things have been tense in the Pack lately. Crystal was challenged this morning, she killed an active. She's having trouble controlling the clan the way her mother did. They don't trust her as much." Crys was the only person who's name he ever mentioned, since it was known that they were childhood friends. He always made sure to never mention any other names, unless he was asked. "The second commander left this morning with another assassin. I suspect he plans on reaching out to Blackpond for assistance. I know for a fact that if it was completely up to Crys that would never happen. So, she must be feeling cornered to have agreed."
He ran a hand through his hair before adding the last piece of the little information he had. "I stopped by the spot where Grim was camped, mostly for the sake of chatting, but... As I was there, the second commander of the Wolfpack invaded the camp and demanded to see Grim. I chose to leave not to blow my cover, so I can't guarantee everything turned out alright. Still, if I was to bet... I would say that if his intention was to attack, he would have been more cautious than he was being. So I assume he was there to say something." He sighed, leaning his back completely against the wall, and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm only speculating on this last matter, however." He looked the woman in the eyes and added. "I know very little of the man's behavior, except for what Crys eventually complains about him being annoying and constantly breaking rules." He chuckled, barely concealing his amusement. "Childish stuff, really... I do know for a fact that he is incredibly clever. If he had seen me I doubt I would have been able to talk my way out of it."
After that he went silent. Waiting for the information he had given to sink in and form some kind of reaction. Now his mind was wandering back to the campsite and wondering what had happened there. Hopefully it all went well, for everyone.
Krander listened to Mageria as they walked and noticed that a guard seemed to be waiting for one of them.
"I'll be right back," She had said to him.
He waited and mulled over what she had said. What was he to do?
He thought he had an answer, he just needed Mageria and all the other white knights as well as some other Black Knight leaders to hear and approve his plan. He could call it in if he wanted as captain, but he was one for democracy, and he was noble. He decided to wait.
"I'll be right back," She had said to him.
He waited and mulled over what she had said. What was he to do?
He thought he had an answer, he just needed Mageria and all the other white knights as well as some other Black Knight leaders to hear and approve his plan. He could call it in if he wanted as captain, but he was one for democracy, and he was noble. He decided to wait.
Evin could tell that he had convinced the Black Knight. Although Grim didn't exactly say it, he could tell that Grim would leave with his soldiers. It was all Evin needed to reassure him not to go to Blackpond. Although, he would have to discuss these things with Crystal before actually doing anything about it. For now their mission was complete. Any threat against the assassins at this point would be pointless without this important encampment.
“Be on your way then Wolf you've been heard. Should fate have us meet again, I hope it is not on the field of battle.”
"And if it is in battle, may it be for a more honourable cause."
Evin then heard the screams of a girl. He recognised it the second he heard it, it was Ella. Evin didn't hesitate to move. Evin ran to his right where he had thrown his dagger, without stopping he then jumped into the tree that Grim was standing bellow. Hanging off of one of the branches, there was a dagger and a small explosive pouch. He smiled at Grim as he grabbed his equipment and then he ran off into the direction of the screaming.
Evin hoped that one day the two of them would meet again like Grim had said. He just hoped that they could meet one time under some less tense circumstances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella could hear her heart beating. She knew it wouldn't be for much longer if she was to stay here. She could barely breath from the weight of this man. The man himself wasn't all that heavy, but the armour he had on was. As the soldier slowly drew his blade, Ella began to contemplate her mistakes. Why did she have to stop listening to Evin? Was it the wrong choise and why did she have to prove herself to this him? It didn't really matter all too much anymore though. Her life would almost be over.
All of a sudden, he heard the noise of metal hitting the soldier on top of him. It was a helmet that had hit him right in the head. He fell right off of Ella. The sudden change in pressure was such a relief and a smile ran across her face as some fresh air flow into her lungs. The soldier got right back up though and Ella did the same. She realised the Eulalius was the one who threw the helmet. Ella decided that instead of a punch this time, she would try to use her dagger. While Eulalius was running to assist Ella, she took out her dagger and attempted to stab the man right through the chest. The man simply dodged the girls attack and then punched her in the face. He then proceeded to grab the dagger out of the girls hand and then place it against Ella's neck.
"Take one more step and this girl's dead." The soldier said to Eulalius.
Ella screamed. There was no other way to react to this situation. Once again she was stuck in a situation that would cost her her life and this time there was no one here to save her. If Eulalius did anything, she would be dead. Would he do anything? She didn't know the man well enough to know if she would risk Ella's life just to kill this man. Tense seconds passed as the man slowly backed away from the assassin standing in front of him, but suddenly the man just fell to the ground. Ella had no idea what had just happened. She looked behind her, to see Evin cleaning blood off of his hands.
"I thought I told you not to run off!"
"I know, but I just wanted to prove myself."
"You have nothing to prove unless you have the proper training, now we are going back to the camp. We no longer need any soldiers from Blackpond."
“Be on your way then Wolf you've been heard. Should fate have us meet again, I hope it is not on the field of battle.”
"And if it is in battle, may it be for a more honourable cause."
Evin then heard the screams of a girl. He recognised it the second he heard it, it was Ella. Evin didn't hesitate to move. Evin ran to his right where he had thrown his dagger, without stopping he then jumped into the tree that Grim was standing bellow. Hanging off of one of the branches, there was a dagger and a small explosive pouch. He smiled at Grim as he grabbed his equipment and then he ran off into the direction of the screaming.
Evin hoped that one day the two of them would meet again like Grim had said. He just hoped that they could meet one time under some less tense circumstances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella could hear her heart beating. She knew it wouldn't be for much longer if she was to stay here. She could barely breath from the weight of this man. The man himself wasn't all that heavy, but the armour he had on was. As the soldier slowly drew his blade, Ella began to contemplate her mistakes. Why did she have to stop listening to Evin? Was it the wrong choise and why did she have to prove herself to this him? It didn't really matter all too much anymore though. Her life would almost be over.
All of a sudden, he heard the noise of metal hitting the soldier on top of him. It was a helmet that had hit him right in the head. He fell right off of Ella. The sudden change in pressure was such a relief and a smile ran across her face as some fresh air flow into her lungs. The soldier got right back up though and Ella did the same. She realised the Eulalius was the one who threw the helmet. Ella decided that instead of a punch this time, she would try to use her dagger. While Eulalius was running to assist Ella, she took out her dagger and attempted to stab the man right through the chest. The man simply dodged the girls attack and then punched her in the face. He then proceeded to grab the dagger out of the girls hand and then place it against Ella's neck.
"Take one more step and this girl's dead." The soldier said to Eulalius.
Ella screamed. There was no other way to react to this situation. Once again she was stuck in a situation that would cost her her life and this time there was no one here to save her. If Eulalius did anything, she would be dead. Would he do anything? She didn't know the man well enough to know if she would risk Ella's life just to kill this man. Tense seconds passed as the man slowly backed away from the assassin standing in front of him, but suddenly the man just fell to the ground. Ella had no idea what had just happened. She looked behind her, to see Evin cleaning blood off of his hands.
"I thought I told you not to run off!"
"I know, but I just wanted to prove myself."
"You have nothing to prove unless you have the proper training, now we are going back to the camp. We no longer need any soldiers from Blackpond."
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Ali nodded. "Alright. My name is Allison, you may call me Ali if you will. And I do have something to do before leaving, so... If you could please wait by the main entrance of the camp. I will meet you there in a few minutes."
As Ali turned to leave, Crys' voice caused her to stop at the door. "Maybe you should take an active with you, just in case."
Ali lowered her head and a slightly annoyed sigh escaped. "Do I have to? You know I dislike working with other people."
"I know you dislike people." Crys answered with a chuckle. "Wolves are sociable creatures, Ali. We hunt in groups. Take an active with you, that's an order."
"Yes, master." Ali mumbled in a slightly disrespectful tone, which gladly Crys always seemed to overlook. She looked at Blanditia again and repeated. "Meet me at the entrance." With that she left the cabin. Frowning slightly and thinking that she didn't really care for having another assassin going with her. She sighed, thinking that she would settle it all in a minute, but... First things first.
She headed for the memorial and knelt down between Dani and Bastian's graves. "I realize I haven't been here since I came back... Things have been crazy, but, mostly... I guess I didn't want to face this." She sighed and touched Dani's grave with her right hand. "The day I graduated you gave me the ring and you said that finally I had become someone people could trust with their lives. It meant a lot to me, even if I didn't believe it." She smiled slightly, and stood up. "Good-bye Dani, and don't worry about a thing." Ali said, nodding before leaving the memorial and walking a bit into a small clearing just outside camp grounds.
She stopped walking when she saw that the same girl she had watched working before was there. Ali flinched, for a split second before speaking. "Hey... Do you have any assignments pending?" She asked the girl. She figured that asking the first person that crossed her path wouldn't be any worse than thinking about it. She looked around the small clearing while waiting for a reply. She had been there before. Although the lake was her favorite place, this was nice as well.
--------
Annie spent some time tending to injured assassins along with some of the older healers, but there were no serious injuries to tend to and she got bored with the company rather fast. The other healers never gave her much conversation. "Alright people, you are all very entertaining, but I guess I'm going for a walk." She stated, using the water from a bowl to wash her hands. She walked out of the healers' cabin and walked through center of the camp, looking around and nodding at some familiar actives as she passed.
She was actually looking for Jake. When she saw him earlier he didn't seem very well... He didn't seem to be anywhere though. Eventually she figured he would be on assignment somewhere. She kept walking around aimlessly until she caught sight of a small clearing she was sure she hadn't seen before. She noticed another healer was working there and took a step forward towards the woman. "Hello there... Did you plant all these?" She asked, her brown eyes wandering around the clearing curiously.
As Ali turned to leave, Crys' voice caused her to stop at the door. "Maybe you should take an active with you, just in case."
Ali lowered her head and a slightly annoyed sigh escaped. "Do I have to? You know I dislike working with other people."
"I know you dislike people." Crys answered with a chuckle. "Wolves are sociable creatures, Ali. We hunt in groups. Take an active with you, that's an order."
"Yes, master." Ali mumbled in a slightly disrespectful tone, which gladly Crys always seemed to overlook. She looked at Blanditia again and repeated. "Meet me at the entrance." With that she left the cabin. Frowning slightly and thinking that she didn't really care for having another assassin going with her. She sighed, thinking that she would settle it all in a minute, but... First things first.
She headed for the memorial and knelt down between Dani and Bastian's graves. "I realize I haven't been here since I came back... Things have been crazy, but, mostly... I guess I didn't want to face this." She sighed and touched Dani's grave with her right hand. "The day I graduated you gave me the ring and you said that finally I had become someone people could trust with their lives. It meant a lot to me, even if I didn't believe it." She smiled slightly, and stood up. "Good-bye Dani, and don't worry about a thing." Ali said, nodding before leaving the memorial and walking a bit into a small clearing just outside camp grounds.
She stopped walking when she saw that the same girl she had watched working before was there. Ali flinched, for a split second before speaking. "Hey... Do you have any assignments pending?" She asked the girl. She figured that asking the first person that crossed her path wouldn't be any worse than thinking about it. She looked around the small clearing while waiting for a reply. She had been there before. Although the lake was her favorite place, this was nice as well.
--------
Annie spent some time tending to injured assassins along with some of the older healers, but there were no serious injuries to tend to and she got bored with the company rather fast. The other healers never gave her much conversation. "Alright people, you are all very entertaining, but I guess I'm going for a walk." She stated, using the water from a bowl to wash her hands. She walked out of the healers' cabin and walked through center of the camp, looking around and nodding at some familiar actives as she passed.
She was actually looking for Jake. When she saw him earlier he didn't seem very well... He didn't seem to be anywhere though. Eventually she figured he would be on assignment somewhere. She kept walking around aimlessly until she caught sight of a small clearing she was sure she hadn't seen before. She noticed another healer was working there and took a step forward towards the woman. "Hello there... Did you plant all these?" She asked, her brown eyes wandering around the clearing curiously.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia nodded her head and bowed her head at Crys "Have a good day Ms Wolf pack leader" she said respectfully. She stood from her sitting position and walked toward the main entrance. And sat there not caring if she was in the way, currently she was trying to use as little power as possible in case she needed it. A soft breeze touched and she smiled happily at it for it brought the scent of herbs and soft soil. She played with the purple rose that was pined in her hair, one of the three she had started out with. A soft sigh slipped from her mouth because she didn't like waiting, she had a hard time listening to people at all.
Mageria chewed her lip as she thought.
“Assistance from Blackpond? Bloody hell, that’s the last thing we need.” She thought for a moment and nodded. “We may have pushed them too far if that’s what they’re thinking. Is there anyway we can make sure that doesn’t happen? If we have to face their combined forces then we won’t have a chance.” She crossed her arms and frowned into the distance. “Our alternative plan might be best then, it would eliminate the need for that . . . but it would mean calling back the soldiers in the camp.” She focused on Jake again. “If we pull back, will it give this Crys a chance to reestablish greater control? Spread the rumor that we did it because we’re weakened or something? As bad as the Wolfpack has hurt us in the past, it would be worse to have a couple dozen well trained assassins running around with no one to control them.”
“Assistance from Blackpond? Bloody hell, that’s the last thing we need.” She thought for a moment and nodded. “We may have pushed them too far if that’s what they’re thinking. Is there anyway we can make sure that doesn’t happen? If we have to face their combined forces then we won’t have a chance.” She crossed her arms and frowned into the distance. “Our alternative plan might be best then, it would eliminate the need for that . . . but it would mean calling back the soldiers in the camp.” She focused on Jake again. “If we pull back, will it give this Crys a chance to reestablish greater control? Spread the rumor that we did it because we’re weakened or something? As bad as the Wolfpack has hurt us in the past, it would be worse to have a couple dozen well trained assassins running around with no one to control them.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Setareh picked a honeysuckle bloom, pinched off the end and drew out the inner stem, a bit of the flowers nectar on the end and placed it on her tongue. She let the sweetness travel over her tongue before tossing the flower into the lake. The sickly sweet smell buzzed around her, creating a haze and a cloud of fragrance.
She loved it in this place, she was rarely interrupted because people seemed to prefer the lake. They never stopped to actually realize it was just a large puddle. Flowers were truly what made a landscape beautiful, she preferred untamed wildflowers to the kept and controlled gardens, but flowers were flowers and they were all beautiful.
She heard a crunching underfoot near her and noticed her eyesight had gone back to normal, she waited until the person crossed her path, and then stopped. She'd heard the active at the memorial, barely glanced up from the kudzu blossom she twirled between her fingers. She noticed the woman's hesitation as she asked,"Hey... Do you have any assignments pending?"
She matched eyes with the woman from her seated position. "I have one assignment." Setareh said. "In a month and half a merchant will travel by here. I'm to kill him before he reaches Newhaven. His wife called it out." She added pressure to the stem and tucked the flower behind her ear, her index and thumb pads stained green from the flower. "Do you have an assignment that needs to be taken care of?"
---------------------------------------------
Nicolette watched as the young woman walked away without saying goodbye. She was sick of this place, and the rude people who inhabited it. Though she could blame them, everyone was on edge. With the leader passing away, the new leader simply killing one of their own in front of the Pack, and the raids on the camp, anyone could be on edge.
She knelt down and started again at her plants. Picking off pests and ladybugs, gently wiping away eggs and cobwebs from them. Her hyacinth would be ready by the next day and the sage could be harvested at any time, she preferred to let it age a bit before, it was much more potent that way.
"Hello there... Did you plant all these?" Nicolette turned at the noise she'd not noticed, her heart skipping a beat. The small girl from the ruins stood there, looking over her garden with inquisitive eyes.
"Uh, yes. Yes I did. Well, except for the hawthorn, when I saw that I knew this would be a good place to grow. It's one of the pickiest plants. It has to have the right temperature, humidity, sunlight, shade, and rich soil for it to grow. I've planted many varieties for infections, antidotes, parasites, and sleep aid." Nicolette gave a big smile, "Do you enjoy herbalism?"
She loved it in this place, she was rarely interrupted because people seemed to prefer the lake. They never stopped to actually realize it was just a large puddle. Flowers were truly what made a landscape beautiful, she preferred untamed wildflowers to the kept and controlled gardens, but flowers were flowers and they were all beautiful.
She heard a crunching underfoot near her and noticed her eyesight had gone back to normal, she waited until the person crossed her path, and then stopped. She'd heard the active at the memorial, barely glanced up from the kudzu blossom she twirled between her fingers. She noticed the woman's hesitation as she asked,"Hey... Do you have any assignments pending?"
She matched eyes with the woman from her seated position. "I have one assignment." Setareh said. "In a month and half a merchant will travel by here. I'm to kill him before he reaches Newhaven. His wife called it out." She added pressure to the stem and tucked the flower behind her ear, her index and thumb pads stained green from the flower. "Do you have an assignment that needs to be taken care of?"
---------------------------------------------
Nicolette watched as the young woman walked away without saying goodbye. She was sick of this place, and the rude people who inhabited it. Though she could blame them, everyone was on edge. With the leader passing away, the new leader simply killing one of their own in front of the Pack, and the raids on the camp, anyone could be on edge.
She knelt down and started again at her plants. Picking off pests and ladybugs, gently wiping away eggs and cobwebs from them. Her hyacinth would be ready by the next day and the sage could be harvested at any time, she preferred to let it age a bit before, it was much more potent that way.
"Hello there... Did you plant all these?" Nicolette turned at the noise she'd not noticed, her heart skipping a beat. The small girl from the ruins stood there, looking over her garden with inquisitive eyes.
"Uh, yes. Yes I did. Well, except for the hawthorn, when I saw that I knew this would be a good place to grow. It's one of the pickiest plants. It has to have the right temperature, humidity, sunlight, shade, and rich soil for it to grow. I've planted many varieties for infections, antidotes, parasites, and sleep aid." Nicolette gave a big smile, "Do you enjoy herbalism?"
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Jake let out a sigh. "I suppose a little breathing room could do the trick. Crys would welcome an excuse not to owe Blackpond any favors. In spite of disliking our attacks on her camp, she seems very discontent with their ruler's attitudes in the past year, more specifically the change in his attitude from seeking peace to, well... This. She wouldn't side with them unless it was necessary for means of survival." He crossed his arms behind his head, turning his eyes to the ceiling, and added with a frown. "Constantly harassing the White Shadows hasn't exactly left Blackpond on her good side either. However, the healers would never go as far as to deny anyone help... No matter how much they might be an annoyance. Otherwise I would be tempted to visit my aunt and try to convince her to stop aiding their men." He said with a grin. He knew that it would be useless, not to mention offensive, to make such a request to Lena, but it would surely help end this a lot sooner if that was a possibility.
"It might be late though, if he left moments before I did, damage might already be done. Of course we both stopped to see Grim and, who knows how long it took him to get out of that camp, if he even did." He stretched in a gesture that showed something between exhaustion and laziness. "Should I go back and find out?" He asked, actually wondering if Evin had gone to Blackpond. He hadn't actually asked Crys, but she didn't deny it, and seemed discontent enough for it to be true.
"It might be late though, if he left moments before I did, damage might already be done. Of course we both stopped to see Grim and, who knows how long it took him to get out of that camp, if he even did." He stretched in a gesture that showed something between exhaustion and laziness. "Should I go back and find out?" He asked, actually wondering if Evin had gone to Blackpond. He hadn't actually asked Crys, but she didn't deny it, and seemed discontent enough for it to be true.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Allison kept standing for a moment, her eyes examining the girl. She let her bow rest on the top of her boot as she thought, her hand still wrapped tightly around the silver-lined grip. Finally she opened half a smile and spoke. "Crys wants this rogue taken care of. The man showed up in the ruins announcing himself as a member of the Pack. She wants me to talk him into an alliance I guess, and the last thing we want is to draw a weapon on the White Shadows' territory, so... I suppose you'd be tagging along in case something goes wrong." She gave a small shrug. "It'll most likely be boring, but I guess it beats being stuck in camp with all the tension." She turned around and began to walk back towards center of the camp. "If you want to come, then move. I'm leaving now."
--------------
Annie nodded at the question. "Amongst many other things." She answered with a smile. "You should leave the ladybugs though. They feed off those little pests such as aphids, and other smaller bugs that tend to ruins plants. Plus, they are pretty." She stated in a cheery tone as if the prettiness alone summed everything up. Then she walked a little closer to examine the plants, pacing carefully. "It's impressive that you actually managed to grow something around here without it getting stomped." She said jokingly. "I'm Annie, by the way. Annie Turner."
--------------
Annie nodded at the question. "Amongst many other things." She answered with a smile. "You should leave the ladybugs though. They feed off those little pests such as aphids, and other smaller bugs that tend to ruins plants. Plus, they are pretty." She stated in a cheery tone as if the prettiness alone summed everything up. Then she walked a little closer to examine the plants, pacing carefully. "It's impressive that you actually managed to grow something around here without it getting stomped." She said jokingly. "I'm Annie, by the way. Annie Turner."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria nodded. “Right then. I assume you’re telling her that you’re using your gift to get this information? Either way, tell her you found out that we’re pulling back our forces to concentrate more directly on Blackpond. That should give everyone involved a little breathing room. I’m sorry to send you back out so quickly, but if there’s any chance to keep this from blowing up in our faces, I’d like to take it.” She started to turn away, then stopped and laid a hand on Jake’s arm. For a moment the invisible mantle of Captain of the Black Knights fell away and she was simply Mageria.
“Jake, I know these people are your friends. It can’t be easy lying to them like this. I’m worried about how long you can keep it up. When it get’s to be too much, let me know and we’ll find another way.”
“Jake, I know these people are your friends. It can’t be easy lying to them like this. I’m worried about how long you can keep it up. When it get’s to be too much, let me know and we’ll find another way.”
"I don't usually tell her how I get information, not unless she asks and that is rare." Jake answered the question with a light shrug. "I think she just assumes." He took a step away from the wall, preparing to walk away, when he felt her hand on his arm.
“Jake, I know these people are your friends. It can’t be easy lying to them like this. I’m worried about how long you can keep it up. When it get’s to be too much, let me know and we’ll find another way.” The words were so similar to what Dani had told him last time they spoke, that his first reaction was to let out a small laugh in face of the irony. Then his expression turned a little more serious, although he smiled at the woman as he answered. "I appreciate the concern, Captain." He stated. "They are my friends, and they are good people. I personally wish this could be resolved without any further killing, but... That is not my decision to make. And since this is our situation, I will follow my orders for as long as it's necessary." He smiled. "I'm sure that I can handle it." That was a lie, and not a good one, but Jake was just that stubborn. He bowed his head in respect as he turned to leave. "Better I leave now. Although, the way things are over there, no one might notice I'm gone." He said jokingly as he began to wander off down the hall and towards the exit of the castle, waving over his shoulder.
“Jake, I know these people are your friends. It can’t be easy lying to them like this. I’m worried about how long you can keep it up. When it get’s to be too much, let me know and we’ll find another way.” The words were so similar to what Dani had told him last time they spoke, that his first reaction was to let out a small laugh in face of the irony. Then his expression turned a little more serious, although he smiled at the woman as he answered. "I appreciate the concern, Captain." He stated. "They are my friends, and they are good people. I personally wish this could be resolved without any further killing, but... That is not my decision to make. And since this is our situation, I will follow my orders for as long as it's necessary." He smiled. "I'm sure that I can handle it." That was a lie, and not a good one, but Jake was just that stubborn. He bowed his head in respect as he turned to leave. "Better I leave now. Although, the way things are over there, no one might notice I'm gone." He said jokingly as he began to wander off down the hall and towards the exit of the castle, waving over his shoulder.
Krander watched as the guard walked down the hall.
"Mageria, if you are finished I think I know what to do. Gather your men and women of great stature and I will gather the other four White Knights. We need to have this completely figured out so as to not leave any room for error."
Krander turned and hustled down the hall. He hoped this would be good enough not only to help end the war, but also to get the love of his life back.
"Mageria, if you are finished I think I know what to do. Gather your men and women of great stature and I will gather the other four White Knights. We need to have this completely figured out so as to not leave any room for error."
Krander turned and hustled down the hall. He hoped this would be good enough not only to help end the war, but also to get the love of his life back.
Mageria felt a weight of regret settle on her shoulders. If only I could trust you completely she thought as she watched Jake walk back down the hall. She wanted to, but she just didn’t think that she could. Crys was an empath, so if she accepted Jake back into the Wolfpack, then that meant that she was very sure of his loyalty. Which meant that anything Jake brought to her had to be checked with her other sources.
She turned slightly as she heard Krander speak. Then she had to suppress a sigh at his words. She settled for shaking her head and turning to find a messenger to send to Grim. Nobles.
She turned slightly as she heard Krander speak. Then she had to suppress a sigh at his words. She settled for shaking her head and turning to find a messenger to send to Grim. Nobles.
A messenger found Grim a few hours after the assassin did.
Things have changed. Bring your men and come home quickly
Things have changed. Bring your men and come home quickly
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
(Eulalius and the 'E' squad!)
--
'Ell-!' Eulalius didn't finish his sentence.
The blade that now jutted through the soldier threatening Ella finished it for him.
Eulalius let out a sigh of relief as the body of the soldier slumped to the ground to reveal Evin standing behind the man. Eulalius wiped the small blothces of blood off of his beard from the bloody exchanges, and looked to Evin for further planning on what to do.
No words were given, but Evin's face said enough. He and Eulalius wanted to get out of the camp, with Ella hopefully alive.
The only problem was, in his haste, Eulalius had forgotten where exactly he had came in from, and Evin had come in from the main entrance, which Eulalius was sure was already blocked and guarded well.
But he had divised a plan, by some amazing feat, or perhaps luck. Hoisting Ella's quivering figure over his shoulder, he carrier her and led Evin to a crude wall that was in need of repair. Instead of breaking down the wall itself, he leaned up against the wall, letting Ella now stand beside him.
He bid Evin to climb on him to get on top of the thin wall. With great grace and agility- and a rope dart-, Evin completed the task in a heartbeat. Eulalius lifted Ella into the the hands of Evin, who in turn lifted her over the wall and gently placed her on the other side. Then Evin helped Eulalius do the same.
Now out of the encampment, the three began the long walk back to the Pack's camp, no conversations being held and no questions asked about Evin's business being there.
--
'Ell-!' Eulalius didn't finish his sentence.
The blade that now jutted through the soldier threatening Ella finished it for him.
Eulalius let out a sigh of relief as the body of the soldier slumped to the ground to reveal Evin standing behind the man. Eulalius wiped the small blothces of blood off of his beard from the bloody exchanges, and looked to Evin for further planning on what to do.
No words were given, but Evin's face said enough. He and Eulalius wanted to get out of the camp, with Ella hopefully alive.
The only problem was, in his haste, Eulalius had forgotten where exactly he had came in from, and Evin had come in from the main entrance, which Eulalius was sure was already blocked and guarded well.
But he had divised a plan, by some amazing feat, or perhaps luck. Hoisting Ella's quivering figure over his shoulder, he carrier her and led Evin to a crude wall that was in need of repair. Instead of breaking down the wall itself, he leaned up against the wall, letting Ella now stand beside him.
He bid Evin to climb on him to get on top of the thin wall. With great grace and agility- and a rope dart-, Evin completed the task in a heartbeat. Eulalius lifted Ella into the the hands of Evin, who in turn lifted her over the wall and gently placed her on the other side. Then Evin helped Eulalius do the same.
Now out of the encampment, the three began the long walk back to the Pack's camp, no conversations being held and no questions asked about Evin's business being there.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
(King Rory)
--
The king himself was nearly too tall for the chair he was given, his height surpassing the other finely dressed men around him by a good couple of inches. King Rory was in no hurry to start this conference, in fact, he almost didn't want to be there entirely, hoping to much rather send an emmisary of sorts to deal with this meeting. But such an act would have penalties, and news spreads quickly in Blackpond. Before long, Rory could have the whole town intrigued on his personal issues on why he didn't attend the meeting in person.
Regardless, King Rory took a long swig of water from the golden and ruby-engraved chalice that lie in front of him. He cleared his throat, and began his introduction to the conference:
'Welcome all of you ladies and gents' to this conference room within Castle Blackpond itself. Those of you among me represent only my best advisors in military, finance, and public relations, among others. As I am king, you will await my orders for you to speak and provide me with your daily, weekly, and monthly reports, in said order. Just by being here you take the risk of breaking a rule and thus being fined, but being the good king I am, I will allow you all a chance to turn in your written reports-provided you brought them- and leave this room. That chance is starting..now.'
One overweight man slowly arose from his chair, a look of near horror shrouding his face and sweat dripping onto his clothing. He hustled to stand in front of Rory, gave as low a bow as his figure would let him, and handed the Graybeard his requested papers.
'Ah, thank you, mister Hallifax.'
Immediately, "Mr. Hallifax" was taken by each arm by a guard and thrown out of the room, the now open door slamming shut.
'Any others?'
There was a moment of almost tangible intensity in the room. Not a soul moved.
'Alright, lets begin. We'll start with you, Ratcliffe,' King Rory stared at the man seated closest to him at the elliptical-shaped table, 'what news bring you from the financial world?'
The slender, hook-nosed man stood, gave a slight bow, and spoke directly to the king:
'Your highness, all taxes have been collected today, each citizen giving his share. There was no hastle at all from the populace. The guildmaster also told me that there has been an increase in overall use of mercantile instead of barter, which has given us a substantial increase in montly profit by sixteen percent. However, a few of your surrounding fiefs haven't submitted their yearly housing taxes.'
'Ah, I see. Ratcliffe, I would like you to notify Lieutenent Nook. Provide him this information and tell him he has my permission to use force if needed to collect those taxes.'
The lanky man bowed, then hurried out of the room.
'Moving along, lets have Mr. Canterbury give his reports next, shall we?'
The quickly balding and rosy-cheecked man also stood, much more casually than the previous two, and bowed before giving his report:
'My leige. Local farming has had a nice increase over the past few weeks, much to your indication of an increase in irrigation. We've had a large percentile increase in crops grown.'
'Very good. Eh, Mr. Canterbury, if you will, inform the treasurer to tone down the budget spent on food imports from 15 percent to 12 percent, and up the imports of stone and metals by two percent each.'
'God speed, sire!' This man also turned and left the room, leaving only a handful of candidates now left at the table.
As Mr. Canterbury left the room, a short yet muscle-bound man trodded in, garbed in simple black clothes and wearing a black hat with a large goose feather protruding from one side. King Rory recognized this man.
'Ah, it appears a more serious business has just arisen. Go, the lot of you. Go home and eat and make love to your wives, and leave your written reports so my servants may collect them.'
As if one singular body, the large group of people all got up in near perfect unison, exiting the room one by one.
King Rory was now left alone with this mysterious figure, whom he knew as 'Mr. Smith'.
Rory was convinced that Mr. Smith was a mute, as through his many encounters with the man he had never spoken a word. He always bore intriguing news from a source that King Rory still hadn't identified, and the news was usually equally worrying and hope-inducing.
The small figure trodded to Rory, handing him a small handwritten note before leaving as quickly as he came.
The note read:
The anonymous sender always signed his letters with a lone 'I'. The king rubbed an itch out of one eye, than returned to his throne room to begin making preparations and planning for the assault on the encampment. Afterwards, the King himself planned to travel to the sacked camp-Provided the victors were Blackpond forces- and aid in the search for any useable information regarding the location of the Wolfpack.
--
The king himself was nearly too tall for the chair he was given, his height surpassing the other finely dressed men around him by a good couple of inches. King Rory was in no hurry to start this conference, in fact, he almost didn't want to be there entirely, hoping to much rather send an emmisary of sorts to deal with this meeting. But such an act would have penalties, and news spreads quickly in Blackpond. Before long, Rory could have the whole town intrigued on his personal issues on why he didn't attend the meeting in person.
Regardless, King Rory took a long swig of water from the golden and ruby-engraved chalice that lie in front of him. He cleared his throat, and began his introduction to the conference:
'Welcome all of you ladies and gents' to this conference room within Castle Blackpond itself. Those of you among me represent only my best advisors in military, finance, and public relations, among others. As I am king, you will await my orders for you to speak and provide me with your daily, weekly, and monthly reports, in said order. Just by being here you take the risk of breaking a rule and thus being fined, but being the good king I am, I will allow you all a chance to turn in your written reports-provided you brought them- and leave this room. That chance is starting..now.'
One overweight man slowly arose from his chair, a look of near horror shrouding his face and sweat dripping onto his clothing. He hustled to stand in front of Rory, gave as low a bow as his figure would let him, and handed the Graybeard his requested papers.
'Ah, thank you, mister Hallifax.'
Immediately, "Mr. Hallifax" was taken by each arm by a guard and thrown out of the room, the now open door slamming shut.
'Any others?'
There was a moment of almost tangible intensity in the room. Not a soul moved.
'Alright, lets begin. We'll start with you, Ratcliffe,' King Rory stared at the man seated closest to him at the elliptical-shaped table, 'what news bring you from the financial world?'
The slender, hook-nosed man stood, gave a slight bow, and spoke directly to the king:
'Your highness, all taxes have been collected today, each citizen giving his share. There was no hastle at all from the populace. The guildmaster also told me that there has been an increase in overall use of mercantile instead of barter, which has given us a substantial increase in montly profit by sixteen percent. However, a few of your surrounding fiefs haven't submitted their yearly housing taxes.'
'Ah, I see. Ratcliffe, I would like you to notify Lieutenent Nook. Provide him this information and tell him he has my permission to use force if needed to collect those taxes.'
The lanky man bowed, then hurried out of the room.
'Moving along, lets have Mr. Canterbury give his reports next, shall we?'
The quickly balding and rosy-cheecked man also stood, much more casually than the previous two, and bowed before giving his report:
'My leige. Local farming has had a nice increase over the past few weeks, much to your indication of an increase in irrigation. We've had a large percentile increase in crops grown.'
'Very good. Eh, Mr. Canterbury, if you will, inform the treasurer to tone down the budget spent on food imports from 15 percent to 12 percent, and up the imports of stone and metals by two percent each.'
'God speed, sire!' This man also turned and left the room, leaving only a handful of candidates now left at the table.
As Mr. Canterbury left the room, a short yet muscle-bound man trodded in, garbed in simple black clothes and wearing a black hat with a large goose feather protruding from one side. King Rory recognized this man.
'Ah, it appears a more serious business has just arisen. Go, the lot of you. Go home and eat and make love to your wives, and leave your written reports so my servants may collect them.'
As if one singular body, the large group of people all got up in near perfect unison, exiting the room one by one.
King Rory was now left alone with this mysterious figure, whom he knew as 'Mr. Smith'.
Rory was convinced that Mr. Smith was a mute, as through his many encounters with the man he had never spoken a word. He always bore intriguing news from a source that King Rory still hadn't identified, and the news was usually equally worrying and hope-inducing.
The small figure trodded to Rory, handing him a small handwritten note before leaving as quickly as he came.
The note read:
Lord Protector Rory, I write this to inform you of recent activities that you may wish to know about regarding the infamous Wolfpack. My informant tells me that a representitive from the "Pack" was recently on his way to confront you with non-hostile intent. We have come to believe that the Wolfpack may be hoping to make an impending deal with the city of Blackpond, but for what we can't say. Recent reports on the representitive say that he has returned to the Wolfpack encampment already, and that is largely due to the Newhaven-owned military encampment outside of the city that may block the route to the headquarters. We know you don't know the location of the headquarters, but the encampment may hold clues, maybe even a map itself. We suggest that you send a battalion- possibly two- of soldiers to raid the camp and see what they can find. We send our greatest regards- I.
The anonymous sender always signed his letters with a lone 'I'. The king rubbed an itch out of one eye, than returned to his throne room to begin making preparations and planning for the assault on the encampment. Afterwards, the King himself planned to travel to the sacked camp-Provided the victors were Blackpond forces- and aid in the search for any useable information regarding the location of the Wolfpack.
As one of the protector of the kings, and one of the strongest fighters in the castle, Phelix and a few others were exempted from leaving the room. Phelix was cautious though. He knew everytime that man had come something bad, beyond the fixing of his powers, had happened.
Phelix dare not be caught reading the note, so he used his peripheral vision to read it, looking straight forward but 'luckily' being able to see the note.
Lord Protector Rory, I write this to inform you of recent activities that you may wish to know about regarding the infamous Wolfpack. My informant tells me that a representitive from the "Pack" was recently on his way to confront you with non-hostile intent. We have come to believe that the Wolfpack may be hoping to make an impending deal with the city of Blackpond, but for what we can't say. Recent reports on the representitive say that he has returned to the Wolfpack encampment already, and that is largely due to the Newhaven-owned military encampment outside of the city that may block the route to the headquarters. We know you don't know the location of the headquarters, but the encampment may hold clues, maybe even a map itself. We suggest that you send a battalion- possibly two- of soldiers to raid the camp and see what they can find. We send our greatest regards- I.
He stifled a sigh. He knew what was going to happen.
"Excuse me, my lord, what will be doing next? Some taxes haven't been taken care of and as you know, well, Nook isn't the most proactive person, nor does he have the greatest work ethic. Also, who do you want to take care of the other reports. When some left it seemed as if there weren't as many reports as were asked for. We are at war, we mustn't let any slip ups occur. If it happens here, it will happen on the field. So again, what will we do next?"
Phelix dare not be caught reading the note, so he used his peripheral vision to read it, looking straight forward but 'luckily' being able to see the note.
Lord Protector Rory, I write this to inform you of recent activities that you may wish to know about regarding the infamous Wolfpack. My informant tells me that a representitive from the "Pack" was recently on his way to confront you with non-hostile intent. We have come to believe that the Wolfpack may be hoping to make an impending deal with the city of Blackpond, but for what we can't say. Recent reports on the representitive say that he has returned to the Wolfpack encampment already, and that is largely due to the Newhaven-owned military encampment outside of the city that may block the route to the headquarters. We know you don't know the location of the headquarters, but the encampment may hold clues, maybe even a map itself. We suggest that you send a battalion- possibly two- of soldiers to raid the camp and see what they can find. We send our greatest regards- I.
He stifled a sigh. He knew what was going to happen.
"Excuse me, my lord, what will be doing next? Some taxes haven't been taken care of and as you know, well, Nook isn't the most proactive person, nor does he have the greatest work ethic. Also, who do you want to take care of the other reports. When some left it seemed as if there weren't as many reports as were asked for. We are at war, we mustn't let any slip ups occur. If it happens here, it will happen on the field. So again, what will we do next?"
(King Rory)
--
"Excuse me, my lord, what will be doing next? Some taxes haven't been taken care of and as you know, well, Nook isn't the most proactive person, nor does he have the greatest work ethic. Also, who do you want to take care of the other reports. When some left it seemed as if there weren't as many reports as were asked for. We are at war, we mustn't let any slip ups occur. If it happens here, it will happen on the field. So again, what will we do next?"
-
Rory glanced at the man, who in turn looked at him. When Rory saw his face, he realized it was Phelix, one of the Castle Guards.
Rory liked to be close to the castle guards, and in more than a physical standing. Though many of them refused to believe it, they were the elite of the elite, most of them put through twice or even three times as much training and discipline as any regular town guard. Castle Guards of Blackpond were renowned for their ability to maneuver and fight in the heaviest armors, and very few people of Blackpond actually had the pleasure of seeing a Castle Guard clad in their beautiful hand-made armor.
Pheilix was...odd, however. Different than the other Castle Guards. While the others usually broke down at some point in their training and submitted to being an obedient and stalwart figure devoid of all vestiges of personality, Phelix had managed to keep his witty and caring ways with him all the way through his training. To King Rory, he considered Phelix to be more 'Human' than the others, and that trait alone had Rory convinced that Phelix was the strongest of all his Castle Guards. Rory would have loved to replace Lientenent Nook with Phelix, but the higher chain of command would have several issues that Rory hoped to settle before he even elaborated further on the plot.
King Rory addressed Phelix with a more casual tone than in the conference room:
"Ah, Phelix, you must've had youself hidden behind our other guests. I was just about to send for you. To answer your questions; We will be attacking an encampment of White Knights that have dug in outside of the city. With the help of an informant, I've come to believe that the camp may have information on the whereabouts of the Wolfpack, which could prove to be more useful than most of the soldiers tend to think.
As for Nook, I know he may be quite the lazy man, but he is the only one avaliable to complete the task for me. With the battalion being led by Second Lieutenent Hastings, it is the only thing I can do from keeping the man from complaining about feeling useless.
And then you come in, Phelix. Get yourself out of this Castle for a while, it must be torture staying here all day. Collect the reports that were left and figure out who hasn't turned them in. When you're done with that, gather up the remaining ones in town, without disguise. I know how some of you Guards are careful when it comes to letting others know about your identities, but you are respected among the citizens, I've heard.
After that, why don't you come and talke to me about a promotion?" Rory smiled through his beard as he turned and started back towards the living quarters of Second Lieutenent Hastings to inform him of his plan and start plotting the strategic loadout of the battalion, as well as how to approach the siege of the camp in general.
--
"Excuse me, my lord, what will be doing next? Some taxes haven't been taken care of and as you know, well, Nook isn't the most proactive person, nor does he have the greatest work ethic. Also, who do you want to take care of the other reports. When some left it seemed as if there weren't as many reports as were asked for. We are at war, we mustn't let any slip ups occur. If it happens here, it will happen on the field. So again, what will we do next?"
-
Rory glanced at the man, who in turn looked at him. When Rory saw his face, he realized it was Phelix, one of the Castle Guards.
Rory liked to be close to the castle guards, and in more than a physical standing. Though many of them refused to believe it, they were the elite of the elite, most of them put through twice or even three times as much training and discipline as any regular town guard. Castle Guards of Blackpond were renowned for their ability to maneuver and fight in the heaviest armors, and very few people of Blackpond actually had the pleasure of seeing a Castle Guard clad in their beautiful hand-made armor.
Pheilix was...odd, however. Different than the other Castle Guards. While the others usually broke down at some point in their training and submitted to being an obedient and stalwart figure devoid of all vestiges of personality, Phelix had managed to keep his witty and caring ways with him all the way through his training. To King Rory, he considered Phelix to be more 'Human' than the others, and that trait alone had Rory convinced that Phelix was the strongest of all his Castle Guards. Rory would have loved to replace Lientenent Nook with Phelix, but the higher chain of command would have several issues that Rory hoped to settle before he even elaborated further on the plot.
King Rory addressed Phelix with a more casual tone than in the conference room:
"Ah, Phelix, you must've had youself hidden behind our other guests. I was just about to send for you. To answer your questions; We will be attacking an encampment of White Knights that have dug in outside of the city. With the help of an informant, I've come to believe that the camp may have information on the whereabouts of the Wolfpack, which could prove to be more useful than most of the soldiers tend to think.
As for Nook, I know he may be quite the lazy man, but he is the only one avaliable to complete the task for me. With the battalion being led by Second Lieutenent Hastings, it is the only thing I can do from keeping the man from complaining about feeling useless.
And then you come in, Phelix. Get yourself out of this Castle for a while, it must be torture staying here all day. Collect the reports that were left and figure out who hasn't turned them in. When you're done with that, gather up the remaining ones in town, without disguise. I know how some of you Guards are careful when it comes to letting others know about your identities, but you are respected among the citizens, I've heard.
After that, why don't you come and talke to me about a promotion?" Rory smiled through his beard as he turned and started back towards the living quarters of Second Lieutenent Hastings to inform him of his plan and start plotting the strategic loadout of the battalion, as well as how to approach the siege of the camp in general.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin didn't have too much trouble in silence on the way back. He was kinda used to it now that he had been promoted to second in command, but even before, it seemed this way to him. Evin seemed to work best in silence anyways, that is, besides when he decides to speak. Maybe that was an advantage Evin had over Crystal, maybe it was the fact that not many people really knew a lot about Evin's life to really make judjment over her. The fact that everyone knew about Crystal since birth did not help her case. Even Evin could remember all of the little things that made her immature at times. Everyone knew her story.
They approached the main entrance of the camp only a few hours after leaving the camp. It was a little odd to come back feeling like they had done so little, yet they had done so much. Evin left the Black Knight truly feeling as though he had just changed the whole course of things. With more troops moving out, that meant that they could move forward. The land that they would take would give them a tactical advantage over their enemy and Evin knew that for sure. He knew the forests in Varlcast almost too well for his own good. He knew every little detail about every little tree or rock in the forest. He had been everywhere he could possibly go in his times. Through the dense thick area where people believed that the spirits of those who the Wolves took out haunted to the lighter areas where trees become less tree and more grass. The are leading up to the Ruins. He knew that that area was picked for the Black Knights for more than just secrecy. It was one of the closest strategic strongholds to the Wolf Pack. This was great.
Evin rushed through the crowds in the center of the camp to get to where he needed to go. Down the path he could remember oh so well when Dani had told him that he would take Crystal's position after her death. He didn't even care if Eulalius or Ella were following at this point, it didn't really matter. He guessed that it would be best they knew why they went with him anyways. He continued down the path until he reach a rather large cabin. A great upgrade from his old home. He opened the door and then announced himself.
"Crystal, I have some dam good news for you." Evin said, with the intentions to gloat. "While traveling, we came across an enemy encampment about an hour and a half walking distance from here. It happened to be inhabited by a Black Knight whose name was Grim. Him and I had a discussion and I convinced him to move his entire army out of there. They are making preparations to leave for Newhaven probably as we speak."
They approached the main entrance of the camp only a few hours after leaving the camp. It was a little odd to come back feeling like they had done so little, yet they had done so much. Evin left the Black Knight truly feeling as though he had just changed the whole course of things. With more troops moving out, that meant that they could move forward. The land that they would take would give them a tactical advantage over their enemy and Evin knew that for sure. He knew the forests in Varlcast almost too well for his own good. He knew every little detail about every little tree or rock in the forest. He had been everywhere he could possibly go in his times. Through the dense thick area where people believed that the spirits of those who the Wolves took out haunted to the lighter areas where trees become less tree and more grass. The are leading up to the Ruins. He knew that that area was picked for the Black Knights for more than just secrecy. It was one of the closest strategic strongholds to the Wolf Pack. This was great.
Evin rushed through the crowds in the center of the camp to get to where he needed to go. Down the path he could remember oh so well when Dani had told him that he would take Crystal's position after her death. He didn't even care if Eulalius or Ella were following at this point, it didn't really matter. He guessed that it would be best they knew why they went with him anyways. He continued down the path until he reach a rather large cabin. A great upgrade from his old home. He opened the door and then announced himself.
"Crystal, I have some dam good news for you." Evin said, with the intentions to gloat. "While traveling, we came across an enemy encampment about an hour and a half walking distance from here. It happened to be inhabited by a Black Knight whose name was Grim. Him and I had a discussion and I convinced him to move his entire army out of there. They are making preparations to leave for Newhaven probably as we speak."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
Phelix was taken aback.
"Uh, are, uh, you sure sir?" He asked questionably. He regretted it immediately. He had the trust of the king and he was questioning his commands.
"Yes sir," he said picking up the rest of the reports. He then hurried out of the room to his own dormitory and began sorting through the reports. He made a note of all that were short and those that didn't add up and sent them to his "assistant" who was a female apprentice to the castle guards. He didn't think she would make it, and if she did, she would become another mindless zombie like the rest.
He finished and packed a small bag for the night. He slept in his armor, wary of the assassins even though they were "friendly" to one another. In the morning he would venture to New Haven and find his lover. He craved it. He couldn't stop thinking about him. Before he knew it he was sleeping deeply, something he hadn't done in a long long time.
"Uh, are, uh, you sure sir?" He asked questionably. He regretted it immediately. He had the trust of the king and he was questioning his commands.
"Yes sir," he said picking up the rest of the reports. He then hurried out of the room to his own dormitory and began sorting through the reports. He made a note of all that were short and those that didn't add up and sent them to his "assistant" who was a female apprentice to the castle guards. He didn't think she would make it, and if she did, she would become another mindless zombie like the rest.
He finished and packed a small bag for the night. He slept in his armor, wary of the assassins even though they were "friendly" to one another. In the morning he would venture to New Haven and find his lover. He craved it. He couldn't stop thinking about him. Before he knew it he was sleeping deeply, something he hadn't done in a long long time.
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
Crystal was deep into her thoughts, her hands kept busy by cleaning and polishing her father's sword. She had become as obsessively careful with that Katana as Ali was with her brother's bow. She had only used it once: In the battle in Newhaven. She always made sure that the blade was in the best condition though.
In her mind, her thoughts varied through many of her concerns. Her conversation with Jake had made her worried for him. He was breaking, she could tell. He also felt guilty, which was expected, but something told her that there was more to it than what she knew. It concerned her. Less than a year ago she would completely trust Jake to tell her anything. However now... Something had changed in him. The thought of it frightened her. Losing someone else that she loved frightened her.
Blackpond also concerned her. She trusted Evin to handle the situation, of course, but this wasn't at all what she wanted. The Wolfpack had never sought or accepted allegiance with any of the cities in any moment in its history. Of course, the clan had never been in a situation like this before in its history. In a way though... She could feel her mother yelling at her for letting this go this far. Crys sighed at that thought.
The day her mother died Crys had stayed with her until her last breath. Agonizing hours of holding her hand and holding back the tears until she could no longer see them. Her mother's last words of wisdom, "Remember why you're here", still haunted her dreams. The night after the battle, at the last celebration the clan would ever see in a very long time... Crys told her mother that she knew what that meant... She had lied. She was tired, in pain, and didn't really want to think about it. Dani had tried to tell her something important that night though, and Crys deeply regretted not listening.
She had heard the many times her mother reminded her that the City Rulers saw their assassins as nothing more than tools, and not human beings. "They will leave us at peace as long as we're needed. When the day comes when we become a hassle they will try to dispose of us. Then we most show them that we are not to be set aside by anyone."
Crys nodded. "The day came... We weren't ready for it." She mumbled. The Pack always took pride and being more united and organized than any city army ever was... Not even that Crys managed to maintain intact. In a matter of days she almost tore the clan apart with her distant behavior. She couldn't let it go on this way, she would work to earn the respect of her clan... She had decided on it.
As she heard the door open and Evin start to speak, she set aside the piece of cloth that she was using to polish the blade and, running her fingers through it once, she decided that her work was completed. Sheathing the sword and letting it rest on top of the wooden table, she raised her head and smiled lightly. "That is very good news indeed. I suppose that gives us a good space to breathe now, even without Blackpond." Although she was stating it, she made sure not to impose that statement. She knew that help would make a great difference, but... something in her gut kept saying that it was a bad idea. She couldn't shake that feeling off, and it bothered her. Any excuse not to go there would be welcome.
She grinned. "Sparing me of the details, that surely I don't want to know, of how you infiltrated an enemy camp with only one assassin and a recruit as back up, could you tell me how exactly you managed to convince a Black Knight to remove his men?" She was curious on how Evin had managed that. It was surely impressing although, that was something he would probably not hear from her anytime soon.
In her mind, her thoughts varied through many of her concerns. Her conversation with Jake had made her worried for him. He was breaking, she could tell. He also felt guilty, which was expected, but something told her that there was more to it than what she knew. It concerned her. Less than a year ago she would completely trust Jake to tell her anything. However now... Something had changed in him. The thought of it frightened her. Losing someone else that she loved frightened her.
Blackpond also concerned her. She trusted Evin to handle the situation, of course, but this wasn't at all what she wanted. The Wolfpack had never sought or accepted allegiance with any of the cities in any moment in its history. Of course, the clan had never been in a situation like this before in its history. In a way though... She could feel her mother yelling at her for letting this go this far. Crys sighed at that thought.
The day her mother died Crys had stayed with her until her last breath. Agonizing hours of holding her hand and holding back the tears until she could no longer see them. Her mother's last words of wisdom, "Remember why you're here", still haunted her dreams. The night after the battle, at the last celebration the clan would ever see in a very long time... Crys told her mother that she knew what that meant... She had lied. She was tired, in pain, and didn't really want to think about it. Dani had tried to tell her something important that night though, and Crys deeply regretted not listening.
She had heard the many times her mother reminded her that the City Rulers saw their assassins as nothing more than tools, and not human beings. "They will leave us at peace as long as we're needed. When the day comes when we become a hassle they will try to dispose of us. Then we most show them that we are not to be set aside by anyone."
Crys nodded. "The day came... We weren't ready for it." She mumbled. The Pack always took pride and being more united and organized than any city army ever was... Not even that Crys managed to maintain intact. In a matter of days she almost tore the clan apart with her distant behavior. She couldn't let it go on this way, she would work to earn the respect of her clan... She had decided on it.
As she heard the door open and Evin start to speak, she set aside the piece of cloth that she was using to polish the blade and, running her fingers through it once, she decided that her work was completed. Sheathing the sword and letting it rest on top of the wooden table, she raised her head and smiled lightly. "That is very good news indeed. I suppose that gives us a good space to breathe now, even without Blackpond." Although she was stating it, she made sure not to impose that statement. She knew that help would make a great difference, but... something in her gut kept saying that it was a bad idea. She couldn't shake that feeling off, and it bothered her. Any excuse not to go there would be welcome.
She grinned. "Sparing me of the details, that surely I don't want to know, of how you infiltrated an enemy camp with only one assassin and a recruit as back up, could you tell me how exactly you managed to convince a Black Knight to remove his men?" She was curious on how Evin had managed that. It was surely impressing although, that was something he would probably not hear from her anytime soon.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
Later that day Zath Alen, the head castle guard was at his post when he remembers saw Phelix walking down a sidestreet, toward the palace, determining if to follow his tracks or not, Zath decided not to take action. He was the head guard after all, and he had more pressing matters to attend to.
Not really, Zath haden't seen action in days, and things were becoming very ominous, He wondered if Phelix had anything to do with this, he decided to go and ask him. As he headed up to Phelix's quarters, he heard some one crying out for help!
His call to action, Zath turned in the direction of the noise, someone in a grey peasent shirt was running away with another lady's gold pouch. Zath took a sidestep right into the way of the intruder, knocking him to the ground. He need to haul this thief to prison, Phelix could wait.
"That you for stopping him!" the woman said.
"No problem," Zath replied, "...but there is a recovery fee," He looked into the woman's sack, there was 20 pieces of gold inside, so he took out 20 pieces of gold.
"...this should handle it" he smirked. " Here is your pouch back, Don't spend it all in one place!" he thought of himself as witful as he hauled the thief off to prison. Now if only he could contact Phelix...
Not really, Zath haden't seen action in days, and things were becoming very ominous, He wondered if Phelix had anything to do with this, he decided to go and ask him. As he headed up to Phelix's quarters, he heard some one crying out for help!
His call to action, Zath turned in the direction of the noise, someone in a grey peasent shirt was running away with another lady's gold pouch. Zath took a sidestep right into the way of the intruder, knocking him to the ground. He need to haul this thief to prison, Phelix could wait.
"That you for stopping him!" the woman said.
"No problem," Zath replied, "...but there is a recovery fee," He looked into the woman's sack, there was 20 pieces of gold inside, so he took out 20 pieces of gold.
"...this should handle it" he smirked. " Here is your pouch back, Don't spend it all in one place!" he thought of himself as witful as he hauled the thief off to prison. Now if only he could contact Phelix...
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
Evin was proud of himself. The best part about it was the interest that Crystal was starting to show in it. Originally, it had seemed that she wasn't paying any attention to him and just polishing her father's sword. Which made him feel a little underappreciated, but asking him about the things he did was like asking him about his first mission. It was like a kid in a candy store. He was waiting for someone to ask him that question.
"Well you see," the tone of his voice told anyone who listened how cocky he felt about this, "I started by asking, well more like threatening a guard to get Grim for me. When he approached, he had his sword over his shoulder and I assumed that he was ready for a fight. I started the conversation trying to keep myself shrouded in mystery."
"When have you ever been mysterious?" Ella interrupted, trying to insult.
"Where was I born?" Evin asked in an irritated voice.
Ella didn't answer. Evin was born in the camp, but when Ella asked him, Evin would just play around with his words to confuse Ella and then move on. Evin started to laugh at her and pushed her into a desk. She knocked over some of the stuff sitting there, including a few documents that Evin hadn't seen. They were dated for just a few days before Dani had died. Evin was curious about it, he hadn't read any of them yet and as second in command he needed to know what was going on. Instead of producing his interests, he continued with his story.
"Anyways, I tried to ease the tension a bit so I threw my dagger away. Of course I had a plan in case he did attack. Then I explained to him that there would be a mass of Blackpond soldiers would decimate him and his soldiers, but he didn't seem to afraid. So then I just simply explained to him what really happened in the castle and he seemed to understand. I think we have some sort of mutual respect for each other now. Of course, if he has lied to me, I will see his head on a stick for all of his soldiers to see."
Evin was so proud and excited with himself. It was the very first time he was able to defuse a conflict as apposed to escalate one. He hoped that it wouldn't be the only time for him, but he knew that this type of problem solving wasn't his favorite. He would have to go out for blood eventually. It was just his nature.
"Well you see," the tone of his voice told anyone who listened how cocky he felt about this, "I started by asking, well more like threatening a guard to get Grim for me. When he approached, he had his sword over his shoulder and I assumed that he was ready for a fight. I started the conversation trying to keep myself shrouded in mystery."
"When have you ever been mysterious?" Ella interrupted, trying to insult.
"Where was I born?" Evin asked in an irritated voice.
Ella didn't answer. Evin was born in the camp, but when Ella asked him, Evin would just play around with his words to confuse Ella and then move on. Evin started to laugh at her and pushed her into a desk. She knocked over some of the stuff sitting there, including a few documents that Evin hadn't seen. They were dated for just a few days before Dani had died. Evin was curious about it, he hadn't read any of them yet and as second in command he needed to know what was going on. Instead of producing his interests, he continued with his story.
"Anyways, I tried to ease the tension a bit so I threw my dagger away. Of course I had a plan in case he did attack. Then I explained to him that there would be a mass of Blackpond soldiers would decimate him and his soldiers, but he didn't seem to afraid. So then I just simply explained to him what really happened in the castle and he seemed to understand. I think we have some sort of mutual respect for each other now. Of course, if he has lied to me, I will see his head on a stick for all of his soldiers to see."
Evin was so proud and excited with himself. It was the very first time he was able to defuse a conflict as apposed to escalate one. He hoped that it wouldn't be the only time for him, but he knew that this type of problem solving wasn't his favorite. He would have to go out for blood eventually. It was just his nature.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
The orders from Captain Mageria arrived just a few hours after the excitement from the assassins started to wain. All together there were three dead from the attack, two decent soldiers and one whom they were better off without if truth be told. He had been disciplined several times for his behavior in the past, and no one really mourned him as they prepared the bodies for travel back to Newhaven.
Of course there was a great deal of grumbling from the men as they packed up supplies and tents that they had just started to set out, but it was all done away from where the officers could hear. Given that they hadn’t even been there long enough to finish setting up, it was fairly quick to break down and get back on the road. By early evening everyone was back.
Of course there was a great deal of grumbling from the men as they packed up supplies and tents that they had just started to set out, but it was all done away from where the officers could hear. Given that they hadn’t even been there long enough to finish setting up, it was fairly quick to break down and get back on the road. By early evening everyone was back.
Mageria stared at Chandos in disbelief. For the most part she managed to keep her emotions under control, but her eyes always reveled the strength of them. In this case her temper was slowly climbing, washing the color out until they reached an unsettling light blue grey.
“Let me see if I have this straight.” She had to pause to take a breath. “While you all were setting up camp, three of the Pack managed to work their way in. Two of them took out three soldiers while the other one simply walked up to Grim and started talking to him. After which he ran off and they all disappeared into the forest. Do I have this correct?” The icy politeness of her tone gave no lie to her state of mind. She was pissed. Chandos shifted uncomfortably where he stood in front of her.
“Yes ma’am. That is correct. But I was too far away to hear what was said. And Pondus went off to check on something as soon as he got back”
Mageria pinched the brow of her nose. “Very well. See to your men and tell Grim I want to see him as soon as possible.”
As Chandos left Mageria resisted the urge to swear. Much as she wasn’t happy about leaving the Pack alone right now, it was what had to happen. But what they did, both recently and in the past . . . . she couldn’t forgive or forget.
After a long moment she pushed away from her desk and went to find Krander in the War Room.
“Let me see if I have this straight.” She had to pause to take a breath. “While you all were setting up camp, three of the Pack managed to work their way in. Two of them took out three soldiers while the other one simply walked up to Grim and started talking to him. After which he ran off and they all disappeared into the forest. Do I have this correct?” The icy politeness of her tone gave no lie to her state of mind. She was pissed. Chandos shifted uncomfortably where he stood in front of her.
“Yes ma’am. That is correct. But I was too far away to hear what was said. And Pondus went off to check on something as soon as he got back”
Mageria pinched the brow of her nose. “Very well. See to your men and tell Grim I want to see him as soon as possible.”
As Chandos left Mageria resisted the urge to swear. Much as she wasn’t happy about leaving the Pack alone right now, it was what had to happen. But what they did, both recently and in the past . . . . she couldn’t forgive or forget.
After a long moment she pushed away from her desk and went to find Krander in the War Room.
(King Rory)
--
He found him fast asleep in his down-filled bed, an open bottle of wine standing alone among several previously opened and drained bottles that were scattered across a lopsided table next to the bed.
This was Samwell Hastings, in all of his glory.
Second Lieutenet Hastings was a tall and burly man, his height nearly surpassing that of his king, and he was the greatest of archers that King Rory had ever known is his lifetime. There were many legends around great and challenging feats that Hastings had apparently done, most of which weren't true, yet the man retained no sort of an ego. He cared not to be viewed as the hero he truly was. He respected Hastings as much as he did Phelix, even though Hastings had a drinking problem.
"So, this is the glory of the Blackpond military?"
The man immediately jolted awake, sending the empty glass bottle that was in his hand skittering across the floor. He flaild about madly, trying to identify the speaker and pass off that he wasn't asleep. His demeanor changed when his eyes fell upon King Rory.
"I've told you many a time before, Hastings, I will not have any man drinking like this while on duty.."
Hastings' expression dimmed even more,
"And not offer any of it to me!"
Immediately both men smiled and laughed.
Rory patted Hastings on the shoulder as he sat down next to him, smoothing out his cloak so it wouldn't bunch up as he did so.
"Hastings, I need you to gather up a battalion of good and hardy men, with three or four squads of spears for backup and frontline troops. There is a Newhaven encampment just outside of town, near the edge of the forest, I believe, and I expect you to lead the assault in the morning."
"B-but my lord, it will take until morning just to equip the troops, let alone-"
"Mr. Hastings, do you defy my orders so openly? You will have my troops ready by morning that is fi-"
He was interrupted by the infamous black suited man that now stood behind him in the dooway, staring at the two men with an almost ghostly demeanor. Again, he held a note, this time it was neither formally addressed nor signed.
Rory sighed and stood back up, shooing off the man in black. He turned once again to face Hastings,
"By morning, Mr. Hastings." And with that, he was off again, heading towards the opposite end of the long hallway.
--
He found him fast asleep in his down-filled bed, an open bottle of wine standing alone among several previously opened and drained bottles that were scattered across a lopsided table next to the bed.
This was Samwell Hastings, in all of his glory.
Second Lieutenet Hastings was a tall and burly man, his height nearly surpassing that of his king, and he was the greatest of archers that King Rory had ever known is his lifetime. There were many legends around great and challenging feats that Hastings had apparently done, most of which weren't true, yet the man retained no sort of an ego. He cared not to be viewed as the hero he truly was. He respected Hastings as much as he did Phelix, even though Hastings had a drinking problem.
"So, this is the glory of the Blackpond military?"
The man immediately jolted awake, sending the empty glass bottle that was in his hand skittering across the floor. He flaild about madly, trying to identify the speaker and pass off that he wasn't asleep. His demeanor changed when his eyes fell upon King Rory.
"I've told you many a time before, Hastings, I will not have any man drinking like this while on duty.."
Hastings' expression dimmed even more,
"And not offer any of it to me!"
Immediately both men smiled and laughed.
Rory patted Hastings on the shoulder as he sat down next to him, smoothing out his cloak so it wouldn't bunch up as he did so.
"Hastings, I need you to gather up a battalion of good and hardy men, with three or four squads of spears for backup and frontline troops. There is a Newhaven encampment just outside of town, near the edge of the forest, I believe, and I expect you to lead the assault in the morning."
"B-but my lord, it will take until morning just to equip the troops, let alone-"
"Mr. Hastings, do you defy my orders so openly? You will have my troops ready by morning that is fi-"
He was interrupted by the infamous black suited man that now stood behind him in the dooway, staring at the two men with an almost ghostly demeanor. Again, he held a note, this time it was neither formally addressed nor signed.
Time is running out, Lord Graybeard. My informant tells me that there has been alot of activity in the camp recently, and we both know what that means, don't we? Yes, the camp will be moving out soon, and any chance of you finding any information regarding the Wolfpack will be gone. I trust you will attack by dusk tomorrow, for they may be gone by then.
Rory sighed and stood back up, shooing off the man in black. He turned once again to face Hastings,
"By morning, Mr. Hastings." And with that, he was off again, heading towards the opposite end of the long hallway.
(Eulalius)
--
Eulalius made sure to accompany Evin as he gave his reports to Crystal, standing next to Ella in silence as the events unfolded. He had originally planned to confess his private business- which now felt more like ancient history- to Crystal, but ultimately decided against it.
Eulalius approached Ella after Evin's 'shove', taking her by one arm to the other side of the room. Not necesarilly out of hearing range, but not close enough that every word would be able to be made out.
"Forgive Evin for that gesture, he can sometimes be that way. He also plays..eh, mind games, you could call them." He paused for a moment, examining Ella.
"So, Ella. In my years of being at this school you may be one the recruits I know the least about. I hope to fix that here and now."
Eulalius smiled, and awaited Ella's response.
--
Eulalius made sure to accompany Evin as he gave his reports to Crystal, standing next to Ella in silence as the events unfolded. He had originally planned to confess his private business- which now felt more like ancient history- to Crystal, but ultimately decided against it.
Eulalius approached Ella after Evin's 'shove', taking her by one arm to the other side of the room. Not necesarilly out of hearing range, but not close enough that every word would be able to be made out.
"Forgive Evin for that gesture, he can sometimes be that way. He also plays..eh, mind games, you could call them." He paused for a moment, examining Ella.
"So, Ella. In my years of being at this school you may be one the recruits I know the least about. I hope to fix that here and now."
Eulalius smiled, and awaited Ella's response.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crys listened to Evin, not really reacting to the story, or Evin's poking at Ella until it was done. Finally, she nodded, holding back the laughter and trying to sound responsible, which was hard to do when Evin was acting like a cocky teenager. "You told him the truth? You're lucky to be alive." She stated. "All of you." she added, staring at the spot where Ella and Eulalius were and staring at the girl for a moment before turning back to Evin. "Although, if he actually believed you, I'm glad that you managed that. It is a small, and probably momentary, victory, but a victory nonetheless. We haven't had one of those in quite some time..." She wondered, if this Knight had actually believed what Evin told him, what could he really do about it. "If only there was some way to actually prove the truth... All this conflict is bad for everyone. Newhaven has severely weakened their defenses by coming after us. I'm sure that if we could solve this issue, they would be glad to leave us alone."
She turned the wave of laughter she had been holding in, into a small smile. "Oh, and I know where you were born. My mother even knew a few childhood stories that, luckily for you, she never shared with me." She stated jokingly, the smile turning into a little smirk. "Which I consider to be a little unfair since almost everyone knows mine." She added, a slightly irritated tone in her voice amongst the amusement. "Anyway, just so you know... While you were gone, one of Lena's healers came here. The girl informed me that there is this fool in the ruins attempting to pass himself as one of our assassins. The man probably put on a cloak and entered Lena's camp announcing he was a member of the Pack, the idiot. I sent Ali after him." She informed.
At that moment the door opened and Jake walked him. Based on his tone he seemed very uncomfortable to have found Evin and the others there as well. "Oh, hum... Crys I need to talk to you, as soon as you can."
Crys nodded. "Alright Jake. Why don't you go get some rest and I'll find you when I have some time."
Jake didn't answer, he simply walked out again. Crys frowned slightly at his behavior, but brushed it aside. She didn't want Evin to ask about Jake's assignment, mostly because she couldn't give him that answer. Not yet, at least. She sighed, only slightly, before she had the chance to stop herself. Then she spoke again, out of the blue. "Oh, before I forget. Eulalius... Whatever it is you are doing behind my back... Be sure you don't get caught." She smiled at the man. "I wouldn't want to feel obligated to enforce the rules again so soon." She said that in a nice and pleasant tone. The last thing she really wanted was more trouble anytime soon, so whatever he was up to, she really didn't want to know right now. She turned back to Evin. "Anything else I should know?" she made a habit out of asking that, even if she believe she had been told everything.
--------------
As Jake came into the camp he walked a straight line to where he was told Crys would be. As he opened the door he saw Evin there and flinched at the sight of him, not even noticing the other people. "Oh, hum... Crys I need to talk to you, as soon as you can."
She told him to get some rest, she would find him as soon as she was free to talk. He nodded, and walked back out. The thought of how close Evin was to seeing him earlier had made him shiver. He couldn't let that happen, that would be suicide. Jake walked to the lake, happy that Ali wasn't there. She was probably on an assignment somewhere. He knelt down and washed his face. Damn, if they ever knew the truth... Not even Crys would forgive him for what he had done. "I'm going to get myself killed this way." He whispered to himself, staring at the water.
She turned the wave of laughter she had been holding in, into a small smile. "Oh, and I know where you were born. My mother even knew a few childhood stories that, luckily for you, she never shared with me." She stated jokingly, the smile turning into a little smirk. "Which I consider to be a little unfair since almost everyone knows mine." She added, a slightly irritated tone in her voice amongst the amusement. "Anyway, just so you know... While you were gone, one of Lena's healers came here. The girl informed me that there is this fool in the ruins attempting to pass himself as one of our assassins. The man probably put on a cloak and entered Lena's camp announcing he was a member of the Pack, the idiot. I sent Ali after him." She informed.
At that moment the door opened and Jake walked him. Based on his tone he seemed very uncomfortable to have found Evin and the others there as well. "Oh, hum... Crys I need to talk to you, as soon as you can."
Crys nodded. "Alright Jake. Why don't you go get some rest and I'll find you when I have some time."
Jake didn't answer, he simply walked out again. Crys frowned slightly at his behavior, but brushed it aside. She didn't want Evin to ask about Jake's assignment, mostly because she couldn't give him that answer. Not yet, at least. She sighed, only slightly, before she had the chance to stop herself. Then she spoke again, out of the blue. "Oh, before I forget. Eulalius... Whatever it is you are doing behind my back... Be sure you don't get caught." She smiled at the man. "I wouldn't want to feel obligated to enforce the rules again so soon." She said that in a nice and pleasant tone. The last thing she really wanted was more trouble anytime soon, so whatever he was up to, she really didn't want to know right now. She turned back to Evin. "Anything else I should know?" she made a habit out of asking that, even if she believe she had been told everything.
--------------
As Jake came into the camp he walked a straight line to where he was told Crys would be. As he opened the door he saw Evin there and flinched at the sight of him, not even noticing the other people. "Oh, hum... Crys I need to talk to you, as soon as you can."
She told him to get some rest, she would find him as soon as she was free to talk. He nodded, and walked back out. The thought of how close Evin was to seeing him earlier had made him shiver. He couldn't let that happen, that would be suicide. Jake walked to the lake, happy that Ali wasn't there. She was probably on an assignment somewhere. He knelt down and washed his face. Damn, if they ever knew the truth... Not even Crys would forgive him for what he had done. "I'm going to get myself killed this way." He whispered to himself, staring at the water.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Zath)
Later that night there was a knock on king Rory's door. Standing outside was the king's newely appointed Head of the Castle guard, Zath Alen. As head guardsman, he had to be able to see the king when he needed to speak to him. not just for conversation, but for reassureance on some suspicions he had about his allies.
"It's open" Zath had heard, so he opened the door, and promplety bowed before the king.
"Your magisity" Zath said with the utmost respect.
"Hello, Zath, I have been expecting you," the king said "...what is it you would like to discuss?" Zath took center stage and smiled nerviously upon the king, ovbiously slightly intoxicated.
"I would like to know if you are Informed about Phelix?" the king was going to awenser when Zath cut him off to finish his question..."is going to Newhaven" again the king opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Zath "I would like your permission to follow him to Valcrest, and report any strange activity to you." again the king opened his mouth to speak, but... was silenced again with more words from Zath" or, if your magestey wants, i could go deal with the issue of two black knights... I belive i could take them on, as long as i recieve a few men, i could eleminate them..." this time the king silenceced Zath, and Started to Speak...
Later that night there was a knock on king Rory's door. Standing outside was the king's newely appointed Head of the Castle guard, Zath Alen. As head guardsman, he had to be able to see the king when he needed to speak to him. not just for conversation, but for reassureance on some suspicions he had about his allies.
"It's open" Zath had heard, so he opened the door, and promplety bowed before the king.
"Your magisity" Zath said with the utmost respect.
"Hello, Zath, I have been expecting you," the king said "...what is it you would like to discuss?" Zath took center stage and smiled nerviously upon the king, ovbiously slightly intoxicated.
"I would like to know if you are Informed about Phelix?" the king was going to awenser when Zath cut him off to finish his question..."is going to Newhaven" again the king opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Zath "I would like your permission to follow him to Valcrest, and report any strange activity to you." again the king opened his mouth to speak, but... was silenced again with more words from Zath" or, if your magestey wants, i could go deal with the issue of two black knights... I belive i could take them on, as long as i recieve a few men, i could eleminate them..." this time the king silenceced Zath, and Started to Speak...
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin's excitement slowly faded as Crystal spoke. It wasn't the way she was speaking to him, it was just the fact that Evin didn't want to start going overboard if Crystal began to condescend him or ridicule him like she liked to every now and then. It was all in fun for Crystal, but Evin could take it quite seriously depending on his mood and right now he needed to relax a little or things might get ugly. He was lucky to do so too. When he was less mature and less able to control himself, he would have gone off when Crystal mentioned Dani and the stories. He did want to say something about that though.
"You know, if Dani knew the worst of it, she would probably want me dead." He chuckled.
Crystal ignored that and moved on about a poser at the Ruins, but then she was interrupted by someone at the door. When he swung the door open, Evin could tell that something was wrong with him. It was Jake and it seemed like it was awkward to have everyone else here, especially Evin. Evin found this very curious. Why was he trying so hard to avoid Evin. He hadn't spoken to him since he arrived back at camp, so what was wrong with him? The weirdest thing was that it looked like he had seen someone wearing similar clothing at the Black Knight camp. Evin didn't want to jump to conclusions, but everything seemed a little peculiar. When Jake left, Crystal continued once again. This time she directed Eulalius, so Evin didn't pay much attention.
Crystal turned away from Evin after speaking to Eulalius. "Anything else I should know?" She asked.
Evin saw the way she turned away as arrogant. She had done it before, but this time it seemed to bother him a little more than usual. With a frown he said. "Yes there is something I would like to ask, but I know I wont get the answer to it if I ask, so I'll just explain the position I am in." He walked closer to Crystal who was still facing away from her. He whispered in her ear so neither Ella or Eulalius could hear. "Seeing Jake today, I'm now under the impression that he was in the encampment when I had broken in. Now I know, you wont tell me why I would find Jake talking to a Black Knight so I am going to find out for myself."
Evin walked to the door, opened it and then spoke again, "Of course, it is only an assumption." He walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Evin pushed Ella into the desk and she hit her elbow. It was very painful, she had hit the nerve in there that really hurt. Eulalius took her aside and explained to her that Evin could be hard to handle sometimes. That was for sure. He had once stabbed her in the middle of the night. He explained to her that she had to be alert at all hours of the night even when she was asleep. She couldn't use her right arm for a week. after that. When she complained to Dani, Evin had explained that it was training and that she was over reacting. Ella sure didn't think of it that way.
There was another time when she had been forced to stand on one leg while balancing a bucket a quarter full of water. About an hour into it, he started throwing his knives at her and she had to avoid them. He had her do that for a total of two hours. Just a couple of hours afterwards, he made her run the obstacle course in the training grounds. It was impossible with her cramped leg. When she failed, he made her sleep without any covers for that night. She really hated that man sometimes.
Then he said. "So, Ella. In my years of being at this school you may be one the recruits I know the least about. I hope to fix that here and now."
"Well, what would you like to know?" she said with excitement. It was great when people found some sort of interest in her. It was rare that she had people interested in her as an orphan. The only person who really had interest was the King of Newhaven.
"You know, if Dani knew the worst of it, she would probably want me dead." He chuckled.
Crystal ignored that and moved on about a poser at the Ruins, but then she was interrupted by someone at the door. When he swung the door open, Evin could tell that something was wrong with him. It was Jake and it seemed like it was awkward to have everyone else here, especially Evin. Evin found this very curious. Why was he trying so hard to avoid Evin. He hadn't spoken to him since he arrived back at camp, so what was wrong with him? The weirdest thing was that it looked like he had seen someone wearing similar clothing at the Black Knight camp. Evin didn't want to jump to conclusions, but everything seemed a little peculiar. When Jake left, Crystal continued once again. This time she directed Eulalius, so Evin didn't pay much attention.
Crystal turned away from Evin after speaking to Eulalius. "Anything else I should know?" She asked.
Evin saw the way she turned away as arrogant. She had done it before, but this time it seemed to bother him a little more than usual. With a frown he said. "Yes there is something I would like to ask, but I know I wont get the answer to it if I ask, so I'll just explain the position I am in." He walked closer to Crystal who was still facing away from her. He whispered in her ear so neither Ella or Eulalius could hear. "Seeing Jake today, I'm now under the impression that he was in the encampment when I had broken in. Now I know, you wont tell me why I would find Jake talking to a Black Knight so I am going to find out for myself."
Evin walked to the door, opened it and then spoke again, "Of course, it is only an assumption." He walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Evin pushed Ella into the desk and she hit her elbow. It was very painful, she had hit the nerve in there that really hurt. Eulalius took her aside and explained to her that Evin could be hard to handle sometimes. That was for sure. He had once stabbed her in the middle of the night. He explained to her that she had to be alert at all hours of the night even when she was asleep. She couldn't use her right arm for a week. after that. When she complained to Dani, Evin had explained that it was training and that she was over reacting. Ella sure didn't think of it that way.
There was another time when she had been forced to stand on one leg while balancing a bucket a quarter full of water. About an hour into it, he started throwing his knives at her and she had to avoid them. He had her do that for a total of two hours. Just a couple of hours afterwards, he made her run the obstacle course in the training grounds. It was impossible with her cramped leg. When she failed, he made her sleep without any covers for that night. She really hated that man sometimes.
Then he said. "So, Ella. In my years of being at this school you may be one the recruits I know the least about. I hope to fix that here and now."
"Well, what would you like to know?" she said with excitement. It was great when people found some sort of interest in her. It was rare that she had people interested in her as an orphan. The only person who really had interest was the King of Newhaven.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena was done meditating when Alistair went into her tent. "We have a new traveler, and I sense the presence of others, however I can't exactly place them."
"Hum..." Lena mumbled. "I wouldn't expect him to be alone. No one is that foolish. As for people outside our territory, they are of no importance to me."
"If they get into a confrontation..." Alistair started.
"They wouldn't. If Crys sends someone to handle this, well... She knows better than to try and start a fight in our grounds." Lena stated with a small smile. "Let us simply keep an eye on our visitors. As long as they keep to themselves they are not our problem."
Alistair bowed respectfully. "As you wish."
Lena laughed at that response. "I know what you actually mean when you say that Al... What is troubling you my friend?"
Alistair seemed to flinch at the question. After a while of silence, the man sat on the floor in front of his leader and spoke. "Dani Rivers."
Lena's expression hardened and her voice sounded slightly cold when she responded. "What about her?"
"Don't... Don't get me wrong when I say this, Helena, but... You haven't been yourself since you returned from the Wolfpack camp." The man stated, avoiding her eyes and trying not to sound judgmental. "You haven't exactly lingered too far from your tent lately, which means your headaches have been debilitating you and you have avoided contact with others which tells me you have been in a lousy emotional state." He explained.
Lena chuckled. "You know me too well. I might have to kill you in your sleep." She joked. "Dani was my family, and she's gone. Is my behavior that unusual to you?" She asked.
"You always accepted death quite easily... Even your mother, and Sar-" Alistair stopped himself before he said the wrong thing.
"Yes, even Sarah and she was a child." Lena answered, coldness in he voice. "I appreciate your concern, friend, but I will be fine."
Lena's tone of voice was a clear warning for Alistair to leave. The man accepted that response even though he knew it was a lie, he stood up and slowly made his way out of the tent, and back to his duties.
Lena watched the man leave and sighed. Alistair was a good friend, but what troubled her was something beyond Dani's death... It was the whole mess that she left behind. "Damn... Daniela, what have you done? These kids are going to kill each other unless they know the truth." She whispered to herself with a frown. What Dani had told her she couldn't tell anyone, not even another healer. That would be a violation of her oath, and Lena took that very seriously. Eventually she stood up and went back to tend to her patients. Whatever happened next... There was nothing she could do about it. Her hands were tied.
"Hum..." Lena mumbled. "I wouldn't expect him to be alone. No one is that foolish. As for people outside our territory, they are of no importance to me."
"If they get into a confrontation..." Alistair started.
"They wouldn't. If Crys sends someone to handle this, well... She knows better than to try and start a fight in our grounds." Lena stated with a small smile. "Let us simply keep an eye on our visitors. As long as they keep to themselves they are not our problem."
Alistair bowed respectfully. "As you wish."
Lena laughed at that response. "I know what you actually mean when you say that Al... What is troubling you my friend?"
Alistair seemed to flinch at the question. After a while of silence, the man sat on the floor in front of his leader and spoke. "Dani Rivers."
Lena's expression hardened and her voice sounded slightly cold when she responded. "What about her?"
"Don't... Don't get me wrong when I say this, Helena, but... You haven't been yourself since you returned from the Wolfpack camp." The man stated, avoiding her eyes and trying not to sound judgmental. "You haven't exactly lingered too far from your tent lately, which means your headaches have been debilitating you and you have avoided contact with others which tells me you have been in a lousy emotional state." He explained.
Lena chuckled. "You know me too well. I might have to kill you in your sleep." She joked. "Dani was my family, and she's gone. Is my behavior that unusual to you?" She asked.
"You always accepted death quite easily... Even your mother, and Sar-" Alistair stopped himself before he said the wrong thing.
"Yes, even Sarah and she was a child." Lena answered, coldness in he voice. "I appreciate your concern, friend, but I will be fine."
Lena's tone of voice was a clear warning for Alistair to leave. The man accepted that response even though he knew it was a lie, he stood up and slowly made his way out of the tent, and back to his duties.
Lena watched the man leave and sighed. Alistair was a good friend, but what troubled her was something beyond Dani's death... It was the whole mess that she left behind. "Damn... Daniela, what have you done? These kids are going to kill each other unless they know the truth." She whispered to herself with a frown. What Dani had told her she couldn't tell anyone, not even another healer. That would be a violation of her oath, and Lena took that very seriously. Eventually she stood up and went back to tend to her patients. Whatever happened next... There was nothing she could do about it. Her hands were tied.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Assassin's Camp
Crys let out an irritated sigh at Evin as he mentioned Jake. She didn't respond to any of it though, not with the other people in the room. She sat where she was and simply let Evin leave without giving him another word. She had to actually swallow the response she wanted to give him, and the unpleasant gesture that would have followed it.
As soon as he left the cabin so did she. She didn't mind leaving Ella and Eulalius there, she simply walked out and walked to the memorial. A few actives stopped her along the way to ask for information. She stopped to talk and assured them that she would speak to them a bit later, and kept walking. When she reached the memorial she simply sat there by a tree and sighed. "Argh, Evin! Why can't he just leave things alone? Just this one time!" She muttered, an angry tone in her voice. Her mother had made her swear not to talk about Jake's assignment with anyone. Not even Evin, not even Ali, no one. Crys found that strange at the time, she couldn't help the feeling that she was only getting half the story herself, but she promised anyway. She was seriously considering going back on her word and telling Evin the whole thing. If he started investigating this he would eventually find something... And anything he discovered could get Jake killed. That was a dangerous situation. "Damn..." She muttered.
----------
Jake sat by the lake for quite some time. He caught a glimpse of Crys passing towards the memorial, but didn't even consider following her there. She said she would find him and now he really needed to be away from her. After a while he stood up and walked through the center of the camp, not towards his house, but to the dining area. There one of the nice ladies there greeted him cheerfully. "Jacob! We haven't seen you in a long time."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I've been moving around a lot these days." He said, forcing a small smile and letting the woman serve him a bowl of soup. He didn't really go there to eat, but... He might as well. He hadn't eaten in over a day, hadn't slept either, but he didn't count on actually resting anytime soon anyway. The place was almost empty, it was silent. He hoped it would stay that way. It's been too much excitement for one day.
As soon as he left the cabin so did she. She didn't mind leaving Ella and Eulalius there, she simply walked out and walked to the memorial. A few actives stopped her along the way to ask for information. She stopped to talk and assured them that she would speak to them a bit later, and kept walking. When she reached the memorial she simply sat there by a tree and sighed. "Argh, Evin! Why can't he just leave things alone? Just this one time!" She muttered, an angry tone in her voice. Her mother had made her swear not to talk about Jake's assignment with anyone. Not even Evin, not even Ali, no one. Crys found that strange at the time, she couldn't help the feeling that she was only getting half the story herself, but she promised anyway. She was seriously considering going back on her word and telling Evin the whole thing. If he started investigating this he would eventually find something... And anything he discovered could get Jake killed. That was a dangerous situation. "Damn..." She muttered.
----------
Jake sat by the lake for quite some time. He caught a glimpse of Crys passing towards the memorial, but didn't even consider following her there. She said she would find him and now he really needed to be away from her. After a while he stood up and walked through the center of the camp, not towards his house, but to the dining area. There one of the nice ladies there greeted him cheerfully. "Jacob! We haven't seen you in a long time."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I've been moving around a lot these days." He said, forcing a small smile and letting the woman serve him a bowl of soup. He didn't really go there to eat, but... He might as well. He hadn't eaten in over a day, hadn't slept either, but he didn't count on actually resting anytime soon anyway. The place was almost empty, it was silent. He hoped it would stay that way. It's been too much excitement for one day.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
(King Rory)
--
Rory stared at his trusted Head Guard for a moment.
The Head Guard was quite the position of honor, in terms of Castle Guard hierarchy. His duties were to simply keep the Castle Guard disciplined and kempt, as well as assign rooms or potiential VIPs for them to guard.
The armor of the Head Guard (Sometimes referred to as the Guardian's Armor among the Castle Guards) was much more decorative than the others, often displaying badges and awards and the like. The base was the exact same as any other Castle Guard armor- Save for the trophies and pearl-colored trim instead of gold-, but the thing that really pointed out the position was the helmet.
The Helmet of the Guardian, as it was often called, was a beautiful masterpiece of steelcraft and metalworking. Not many people know the story behind its existence, but the Helmet is believed to be as old as Blackpond itself, possibly even older.
It had a darkened steel, spherical-shaped base, with the neccesary eye, nose, and mouth slots. From the bridge of the nosepiece to the back of the head was a small ridge-Often called the 'Dragon Spine' for its bone color and shape. From brow to brow was a crown of iron thorns that were made from a darker metal than the steel, to the point where it almost appeared to be obsidian. Finally, on either side of the ridge in the middle was the phrase 'We will endure', engraved by the master smith of Castle Blackpond upon Rory's ascension to the throne.
But even in all of the armor's glory, Rory was often dumbfounded that Zath-Whom was the acting Head Guard- often chose not to wear it.
Rory turned his back to the man, continuing his writing in his jorunal. Without looking up from the page, he spoke:
"I give you permission to follow Phelix into Newhaven, but nothing more, Zath. Do not touch him, and stay a good distance away at all times. Mistrust is a silent killer, and I won't have any of it here."
Zath started to respond, but Rory cut him off with a hand gesture and waved the man off.
He continued writing the journal entry:
--
Rory stared at his trusted Head Guard for a moment.
The Head Guard was quite the position of honor, in terms of Castle Guard hierarchy. His duties were to simply keep the Castle Guard disciplined and kempt, as well as assign rooms or potiential VIPs for them to guard.
The armor of the Head Guard (Sometimes referred to as the Guardian's Armor among the Castle Guards) was much more decorative than the others, often displaying badges and awards and the like. The base was the exact same as any other Castle Guard armor- Save for the trophies and pearl-colored trim instead of gold-, but the thing that really pointed out the position was the helmet.
The Helmet of the Guardian, as it was often called, was a beautiful masterpiece of steelcraft and metalworking. Not many people know the story behind its existence, but the Helmet is believed to be as old as Blackpond itself, possibly even older.
It had a darkened steel, spherical-shaped base, with the neccesary eye, nose, and mouth slots. From the bridge of the nosepiece to the back of the head was a small ridge-Often called the 'Dragon Spine' for its bone color and shape. From brow to brow was a crown of iron thorns that were made from a darker metal than the steel, to the point where it almost appeared to be obsidian. Finally, on either side of the ridge in the middle was the phrase 'We will endure', engraved by the master smith of Castle Blackpond upon Rory's ascension to the throne.
But even in all of the armor's glory, Rory was often dumbfounded that Zath-Whom was the acting Head Guard- often chose not to wear it.
Rory turned his back to the man, continuing his writing in his jorunal. Without looking up from the page, he spoke:
"I give you permission to follow Phelix into Newhaven, but nothing more, Zath. Do not touch him, and stay a good distance away at all times. Mistrust is a silent killer, and I won't have any of it here."
Zath started to respond, but Rory cut him off with a hand gesture and waved the man off.
He continued writing the journal entry:
I have begun making preparations for the assault upon an apparently well-hidden Newhaven White Knight garrison outside of the city grounds, its location revealed to me by the infamous 'Mr. Smith' earlier today at the morning report conference. I have hopes that information within the camp may lead to further insight on the Wolfpack, who also apparently have been hoping to make some sort of aggreement with Blackpond. KNowing the Wolfpack's endeavors, they wouldn't seek to make such a deal unless it was beneficial to both parties.
I've also come to grips with myself with the situation of the war with Newhaven. I wish to end the war, much like many of Blackpond's citizens, but Newhaven seems to be more power-hungry than ever before. I won't have that kind of devilish evil mar the beauty of these lands. Newhaven must be stopped, destroyed, or captured at all costs.
But to take down Newhaven will be a slow and grueling process, and if they are receiveing constant aid from the Healers than this war could drag on for ages to come. I don't want to directly start a war with them, so I have hopes to passively intimidate and taunt them into motion against Blackpond, than capture whom I can and force their services on my own forces. Should they resist, than the Healers will be wiped out of the equation.
I've got an itching palm upon my sword's hilt at my side. There's a method to this madness.
I've also come to grips with myself with the situation of the war with Newhaven. I wish to end the war, much like many of Blackpond's citizens, but Newhaven seems to be more power-hungry than ever before. I won't have that kind of devilish evil mar the beauty of these lands. Newhaven must be stopped, destroyed, or captured at all costs.
But to take down Newhaven will be a slow and grueling process, and if they are receiveing constant aid from the Healers than this war could drag on for ages to come. I don't want to directly start a war with them, so I have hopes to passively intimidate and taunt them into motion against Blackpond, than capture whom I can and force their services on my own forces. Should they resist, than the Healers will be wiped out of the equation.
I've got an itching palm upon my sword's hilt at my side. There's a method to this madness.
(Eulalius)
--
"Well, what would you like to know?"
Eulalius stared at the young girl for a moment, but looked away. Again and as always, he caught sight of her eyes. Her deep eyes that cryed out in silence.
"Well, I'd assume start with the basics. I'll go first, I suppose."
"As you know, my name is Eulalius. My birthname was Eulalius Titus, but when I first arrived here at the Camp I changed the name to Eulalius Aurelius, in an honor to the village I gre up in, Goldhollow. Perhaps you have heard of it? Anyway, I grew up as an information broker in Goldhollow itself, my "shop" just beyond the rear gates of Newhaven. I tried to get into a seperate business and moved into Newhaven itself, but the information exchange called me back to Goldhollow. I was hooked, if you needed to know anything about anyone within Goldhollow and most parts of Newhaven, I was the kid to come to."
"And what happened to the business? I grew up. I had heard of the Wolfpack, and apparently they had heard of my business as well, as they were first to find me while I was actually on a search for them, ironically enough. I gratefully accepted the proposal, and would have done so even without the dagger to my throat. AFter that, I went through training just like everyone else and you are now, and here I am years later."
He paused, than looked back to Ella,
"So kid, whats your story? You seem to be awful young and-pardon if you take offense- fragile to be looking to becoming an assassin..."
--
"Well, what would you like to know?"
Eulalius stared at the young girl for a moment, but looked away. Again and as always, he caught sight of her eyes. Her deep eyes that cryed out in silence.
"Well, I'd assume start with the basics. I'll go first, I suppose."
"As you know, my name is Eulalius. My birthname was Eulalius Titus, but when I first arrived here at the Camp I changed the name to Eulalius Aurelius, in an honor to the village I gre up in, Goldhollow. Perhaps you have heard of it? Anyway, I grew up as an information broker in Goldhollow itself, my "shop" just beyond the rear gates of Newhaven. I tried to get into a seperate business and moved into Newhaven itself, but the information exchange called me back to Goldhollow. I was hooked, if you needed to know anything about anyone within Goldhollow and most parts of Newhaven, I was the kid to come to."
"And what happened to the business? I grew up. I had heard of the Wolfpack, and apparently they had heard of my business as well, as they were first to find me while I was actually on a search for them, ironically enough. I gratefully accepted the proposal, and would have done so even without the dagger to my throat. AFter that, I went through training just like everyone else and you are now, and here I am years later."
He paused, than looked back to Ella,
"So kid, whats your story? You seem to be awful young and-pardon if you take offense- fragile to be looking to becoming an assassin..."
(zath)
The next day,
Zath was summoned to the king's chamber again. He Didn't know why, but haden't the nerve to ask why. As he stepped in front of the king, the king looked at him with a steely grin,
"Zath, my head-guard, you are here." the king pronounced
"your madjesty?"
"I Have a request for you." the king said, "I want you to wear The Guardian, when you leave to follow Phelix, it's very cruel out there, espically if the people from newhaven know who you are, if you have armor you can protect yourself"
"My king," Zath started " I humbley rufuse your request, not beacause i want to, but because i have to."
"Have to?" the king questioned.
"Yes" Zath responded modestly.
"Why?" The king questioned. King rory was intrested in hearing this.
"Because in my village, Oaki, we do not wear armor, it disrupst our physiological flow. 'If you wear Armor, you are weak like everybody else, but without, you are strong.' That's what my father told me when i was young, before he died. You see, the clothing i wear isn't just regular clothing, it is blessed to match my spirit. If i put on armor, all my attacks would be worthless, I would be another Civilian, When I use my Shadow copy or death cry, i require my spirit and body to be one, if i wear the armor, not only can i not hide from my opponents, but defend myself." Zath was Inturrupted my the king.
"defend yourself?" the king was mistified my his usually cocky head guard's serious responce.
"Yes, I can't use my abilities with armor on, i need to be in tone with my shard." Zath responded and gestured to his hooded Cloak he always wears, and whipped his wrists back, and two Katars fused out of his wrists. "If i wear armor, i cannot summon my blessed soul Katars." This was the king's first time seeing Zath acually weilding his Katars, he was shocked that any living being could do that. "The head monk that took me in when my father was killed blessed my katars to always protect me, and he fused them into my wrists, at first it hurt, a lot, but after awhile the pain went away, and i was told to never take off my cloak for the reason that if it leaves my body, my Katars become regular Katars, and slice my wrists off."
The King was amazed, with this new relelation, "Then, Return to your post." the king replied, "...and see that your cloak never comes off"
"Yes your madjesty" Zath replied, and left to his post for the day.
"Just when you think you've seen it all," King Rory mumbled to himself...
The next day,
Zath was summoned to the king's chamber again. He Didn't know why, but haden't the nerve to ask why. As he stepped in front of the king, the king looked at him with a steely grin,
"Zath, my head-guard, you are here." the king pronounced
"your madjesty?"
"I Have a request for you." the king said, "I want you to wear The Guardian, when you leave to follow Phelix, it's very cruel out there, espically if the people from newhaven know who you are, if you have armor you can protect yourself"
"My king," Zath started " I humbley rufuse your request, not beacause i want to, but because i have to."
"Have to?" the king questioned.
"Yes" Zath responded modestly.
"Why?" The king questioned. King rory was intrested in hearing this.
"Because in my village, Oaki, we do not wear armor, it disrupst our physiological flow. 'If you wear Armor, you are weak like everybody else, but without, you are strong.' That's what my father told me when i was young, before he died. You see, the clothing i wear isn't just regular clothing, it is blessed to match my spirit. If i put on armor, all my attacks would be worthless, I would be another Civilian, When I use my Shadow copy or death cry, i require my spirit and body to be one, if i wear the armor, not only can i not hide from my opponents, but defend myself." Zath was Inturrupted my the king.
"defend yourself?" the king was mistified my his usually cocky head guard's serious responce.
"Yes, I can't use my abilities with armor on, i need to be in tone with my shard." Zath responded and gestured to his hooded Cloak he always wears, and whipped his wrists back, and two Katars fused out of his wrists. "If i wear armor, i cannot summon my blessed soul Katars." This was the king's first time seeing Zath acually weilding his Katars, he was shocked that any living being could do that. "The head monk that took me in when my father was killed blessed my katars to always protect me, and he fused them into my wrists, at first it hurt, a lot, but after awhile the pain went away, and i was told to never take off my cloak for the reason that if it leaves my body, my Katars become regular Katars, and slice my wrists off."
The King was amazed, with this new relelation, "Then, Return to your post." the king replied, "...and see that your cloak never comes off"
"Yes your madjesty" Zath replied, and left to his post for the day.
"Just when you think you've seen it all," King Rory mumbled to himself...
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
Ella was very interested in Eulalius' story. She believed that this man had a very interesting life, with a lot more interesting moments to speak about than he had told her. It was the bare minimum, but there was no reason to doubt why he was chosen by the assassin's. Unlike Ella, he had done suspicious stuff for a living, all Ella did was sit around in a room and cry for most of her life. Eulalius seemed to see the same thing as Ella did. She was no where near capable of being an assassin, yet everyone seemed to believe that she was. She tried to prove herself, but failed miserably and it almost cost her her life, yet he was interested in the her. In the person whom Evin would sometimes call, "worthless." Despite this, she entertained him with an answer.
"My life is rather Boring. I don't understand your interest in it but... My full name is Ella Page, no middle name. I was born in Newhaven to a family I never knew, but not because they are died before I was born, but because my mother was a teenager who was raped and wasn't ready to have a child. That's what I was told at least." What a thing to tell a child she thought. "I met the the King when I was young, more like the prince. The king didn't want anything to do with me for some reason. The Prince on the other hand was attached to me like he knew me or something. When the his father passed the throne down to him, the new King let me live in the castle. He was really interested in me and treated me like a part of the family. When he got ridiculed, because the people thought that their king was having a bit too much fun with me, he had to send me away, just before my birthday. I had only lived in the castle for about a year. The last thing he told me before he sent me off was that he would tell me a secret when I was old enough."
"That never happened. As the years pasted, I waited for him to come back and tell me this secret, but he was killed before he could tell me. The Shadow killed him and then posed as the King. This fake king sent his white knights to take me from the orphanage. I was sent to the dungeons and tortured. Then one day the prison guard took me to this fake king and he was going to kill me, but then Evin and the other assassin's came and saved me. I was taken here and the rest is history."
Ella took a big sigh. It took a lot to tell this story, and she was beginning to tear up. Maybe her life was interesting, just in another way. Choking back tears, she said, "Would you like to know any more?"
"My life is rather Boring. I don't understand your interest in it but... My full name is Ella Page, no middle name. I was born in Newhaven to a family I never knew, but not because they are died before I was born, but because my mother was a teenager who was raped and wasn't ready to have a child. That's what I was told at least." What a thing to tell a child she thought. "I met the the King when I was young, more like the prince. The king didn't want anything to do with me for some reason. The Prince on the other hand was attached to me like he knew me or something. When the his father passed the throne down to him, the new King let me live in the castle. He was really interested in me and treated me like a part of the family. When he got ridiculed, because the people thought that their king was having a bit too much fun with me, he had to send me away, just before my birthday. I had only lived in the castle for about a year. The last thing he told me before he sent me off was that he would tell me a secret when I was old enough."
"That never happened. As the years pasted, I waited for him to come back and tell me this secret, but he was killed before he could tell me. The Shadow killed him and then posed as the King. This fake king sent his white knights to take me from the orphanage. I was sent to the dungeons and tortured. Then one day the prison guard took me to this fake king and he was going to kill me, but then Evin and the other assassin's came and saved me. I was taken here and the rest is history."
Ella took a big sigh. It took a lot to tell this story, and she was beginning to tear up. Maybe her life was interesting, just in another way. Choking back tears, she said, "Would you like to know any more?"
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria was stalking toward the War Room when she saw Sadi walking down the hall. About a year ago she had formed him and a small group of others into a sort of informal watch group that patrolled the city and watched for spies and enemy soldiers trying to sneak in. Generally they kept tabs on trouble makers and reported to her about once a day. Not even the White Knights knew about them. Being nobles, they probably wouldn’t understand the need for such a thing. Mageria on the other hand, was quite aware of the need to listen to, and watch over the general population. At a signal they both ducked into a side room. Mageria listened at the door for a moment until she was sure no one had seen them, then turned around and raised one eyebrow.
“Anything new to report?”
Sadi shook his head.
“The usual grumblings about food and other supplies. A couple of people who want to try and take over in order to run things better their own way. No spies that we’ve found so far, other than the one’s that we already suspected. Per your orders, we’ve not tracked Jake, so we’ve no record of his movements in or out.”
Mageria nodded.
“Good. Continue watching then. I have the feeling that things are going to start getting worse soon. If you see someone that you believe is suspicious, send someone to get me. Under no circumstances are you to confront them yourself.”
Sadi nodded and quietly checked the door. Once he was sure it was secure, he left, quietly slipping out through the corridors. Mageria stayed behind for a minute more, frowning out a window. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but she had the same feeling that she usually got when seeing a storm front on the horizon. Whatever came next, it was going to be big.
“Anything new to report?”
Sadi shook his head.
“The usual grumblings about food and other supplies. A couple of people who want to try and take over in order to run things better their own way. No spies that we’ve found so far, other than the one’s that we already suspected. Per your orders, we’ve not tracked Jake, so we’ve no record of his movements in or out.”
Mageria nodded.
“Good. Continue watching then. I have the feeling that things are going to start getting worse soon. If you see someone that you believe is suspicious, send someone to get me. Under no circumstances are you to confront them yourself.”
Sadi nodded and quietly checked the door. Once he was sure it was secure, he left, quietly slipping out through the corridors. Mageria stayed behind for a minute more, frowning out a window. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but she had the same feeling that she usually got when seeing a storm front on the horizon. Whatever came next, it was going to be big.
Phelix woke up feeling feeling refreshed. He hadn't felt this good since the day after his inception to the black knights, when he got to sleep in. He got up and dawned his peasant clothes and packed some bread and water, and grabbed a jar for milk on his way past the farms. He was extremely excited about the next few days.
As he was leaving he walked by to bid Rory goodbye. He over heard part of the conversation he was having with someone that sounded like Zath.
"I want you to wear The Guardian, when you leave to follow Phelix, it's very cruel out there, espically if the people from newhaven know who you are, if you have armor you can protect yourself"
"My king," Zath started " I humbley rufuse your request, not beacause i want to, but because i have to."
"Have to?" the king questioned.
"Yes" Zath responded modestly.
"Why?" The king questioned. King rory was intrested in hearing this.
"Because in my village, Oaki, we do not wear armor, it disrupst our physiological flow. 'If you wear Armor, you are weak like everybody else, but without, you are strong.' That's what my father told me when i was young, before he died. You see, the clothing i wear isn't just regular clothing, it is blessed to match my spirit. If i put on armor, all my attacks would be worthless, I would be another Civilian, When I use my Shadow copy or death cry, i require my spirit and body to be one, if i wear the armor, not only can i not hide from my opponents, but defend myself." Zath was Inturrupted my the king.
"defend yourself?" the king was mistified my his usually cocky head guard's serious responce.
"Yes, I can't use my abilities with armor on, i need to be in tone with my shard." Zath responded.
"If i wear armor, i cannot summon my blessed soul Katars."
"The head monk that took me in when my father was killed blessed my katars to always protect me, and he fused them into my wrists, at first it hurt, a lot, but after awhile the pain went away, and i was told to never take off my cloak for the reason that if it leaves my body, my Katars become regular Katars, and slice my wrists off."
The King was amazed, with this new relelation, "Then, Return to your post." the king replied, "...and see that your cloak never comes off"
So, Phelix was going to be followed? He gestured his hand putting a minor spell on the king, perhaps he would slip and fall, or all his quills would go missing today. Phelix trusted the king, and was hurt to know the king did not trust him back. With a tear in his eye and anger in his heart he turned and hurried out of the castle only stopping to get the milk he had planned on getting, but even that didn't cover up the bad taste he had in his mouth.
As he was leaving he walked by to bid Rory goodbye. He over heard part of the conversation he was having with someone that sounded like Zath.
"I want you to wear The Guardian, when you leave to follow Phelix, it's very cruel out there, espically if the people from newhaven know who you are, if you have armor you can protect yourself"
"My king," Zath started " I humbley rufuse your request, not beacause i want to, but because i have to."
"Have to?" the king questioned.
"Yes" Zath responded modestly.
"Why?" The king questioned. King rory was intrested in hearing this.
"Because in my village, Oaki, we do not wear armor, it disrupst our physiological flow. 'If you wear Armor, you are weak like everybody else, but without, you are strong.' That's what my father told me when i was young, before he died. You see, the clothing i wear isn't just regular clothing, it is blessed to match my spirit. If i put on armor, all my attacks would be worthless, I would be another Civilian, When I use my Shadow copy or death cry, i require my spirit and body to be one, if i wear the armor, not only can i not hide from my opponents, but defend myself." Zath was Inturrupted my the king.
"defend yourself?" the king was mistified my his usually cocky head guard's serious responce.
"Yes, I can't use my abilities with armor on, i need to be in tone with my shard." Zath responded.
"If i wear armor, i cannot summon my blessed soul Katars."
"The head monk that took me in when my father was killed blessed my katars to always protect me, and he fused them into my wrists, at first it hurt, a lot, but after awhile the pain went away, and i was told to never take off my cloak for the reason that if it leaves my body, my Katars become regular Katars, and slice my wrists off."
The King was amazed, with this new relelation, "Then, Return to your post." the king replied, "...and see that your cloak never comes off"
So, Phelix was going to be followed? He gestured his hand putting a minor spell on the king, perhaps he would slip and fall, or all his quills would go missing today. Phelix trusted the king, and was hurt to know the king did not trust him back. With a tear in his eye and anger in his heart he turned and hurried out of the castle only stopping to get the milk he had planned on getting, but even that didn't cover up the bad taste he had in his mouth.
(Eulalius)
--
Choking back tears, she said, "Would you like to know any more?"
Eulalius felt a new swathe of sympathy for the young recruit, seeing as she was only moment away from having tears stream down her face, not counting the ones that already were.
Eulalius still gave a slight smile and sigh as he rubbed Ella on the top of her head and patted her on the shoulder, before embracing her altogether. The first hug he had given anyone since..well, as long as he could remember.
"Thats enough for now, Ella. I can tell your past isn't something you like to talk about openly, and it must be hard."
Eulalius drew away and glanced back towards where Crys and Evin were, to find that neither of them were there. He started towards the door.
"Perhaps sometime soon we can continue. I can tell there are a lot of feelings bottled up inside of you, and we can't have that bottle overflow, now can we?"
Eulalius gave one last, quick smile before heading out of the room...
--
Choking back tears, she said, "Would you like to know any more?"
Eulalius felt a new swathe of sympathy for the young recruit, seeing as she was only moment away from having tears stream down her face, not counting the ones that already were.
Eulalius still gave a slight smile and sigh as he rubbed Ella on the top of her head and patted her on the shoulder, before embracing her altogether. The first hug he had given anyone since..well, as long as he could remember.
"Thats enough for now, Ella. I can tell your past isn't something you like to talk about openly, and it must be hard."
Eulalius drew away and glanced back towards where Crys and Evin were, to find that neither of them were there. He started towards the door.
"Perhaps sometime soon we can continue. I can tell there are a lot of feelings bottled up inside of you, and we can't have that bottle overflow, now can we?"
Eulalius gave one last, quick smile before heading out of the room...
(King Rory)
--
The dreaded morning had come where the Blackpond forces were hoped to assault the Newhaven Encampment outside of the camp. Rory left his throne room after his conversation with Zath and headed towards the Castle Courtyard to find that the battalion he had requested for was finishing their prepartations for the assault. King Rory took a moment to inspect their loadout further.
Hastings had chosen to equip the troops with mainly swords and hammers rather than axes and spears. Nearly half of the battalion was also equipped with tower shields. Alongside the battalion were the four squads of spearmen that would act as a supporting force for the battalion during the siege. They were to be placed around or in the battalion as Hasting's saw fit, which Rory trusted was good judgement.
After observing his force, he turned to find Hastings himself preparing for battle, his squire readying his armor and equipping it on him accordingly.
Rory strolled up to Hastings, and personally strung his bow before hadning it to him.
"Hastings, I trust you have readied some sort of plan of action before marching forth, and I would like to hear it..."
--
The dreaded morning had come where the Blackpond forces were hoped to assault the Newhaven Encampment outside of the camp. Rory left his throne room after his conversation with Zath and headed towards the Castle Courtyard to find that the battalion he had requested for was finishing their prepartations for the assault. King Rory took a moment to inspect their loadout further.
Hastings had chosen to equip the troops with mainly swords and hammers rather than axes and spears. Nearly half of the battalion was also equipped with tower shields. Alongside the battalion were the four squads of spearmen that would act as a supporting force for the battalion during the siege. They were to be placed around or in the battalion as Hasting's saw fit, which Rory trusted was good judgement.
After observing his force, he turned to find Hastings himself preparing for battle, his squire readying his armor and equipping it on him accordingly.
Rory strolled up to Hastings, and personally strung his bow before hadning it to him.
"Hastings, I trust you have readied some sort of plan of action before marching forth, and I would like to hear it..."
Zath walked out of the palace and caught a glimpse of Phelix, as he didn't see him back, he decided to catch up and explain that he was ordered to follow him.
"Phelix, Wait up!"He seemed not to hear him "the king ordered i follow you into Newhaven on important buissness, so i mineaswell hake the most of it..."
He started walking at the same pace as Phelix, they were off.
"Phelix, Wait up!"He seemed not to hear him "the king ordered i follow you into Newhaven on important buissness, so i mineaswell hake the most of it..."
He started walking at the same pace as Phelix, they were off.
Krander walked into the War room and instantly Silence befell everyone.
He walked to the front of the room and got behind the podium. He seemed to yell, but this was just his natural one step up from speaking voice without any modification at all.
"We are gathered here to day on rather dark business. As most of you know, we have a small battalion outside of Black Pond. I bring this up because I expect you all to forfeit one to four soldiers each. We will be sending them there with fully formed plans on how to defeat Black Pond. Not that no one in here is untrustworthy, but the plans will be kept between Mageria, Myself, Xypher, and the other captains, but they are well known and will be executed. Please send relatively fit soldiers and perhaps some of the stronger of your enlightened. If we are bombarded and defeated at this encampment, we will have to pull all of our troops out of all remaining parts of Valcrest and play defensively." He paused for emphasis. "We do NOT want this." His not came out somewhat emphasized and shook the room slightly.
"You have three hours to equip and send for your men and women. If you cannot handle it, you will be replaced by someone who can. Dismissed."
He looked at Mageria for support, because inside he was torn apart by what might happen not only to his people, but also to his lover.
He walked to the front of the room and got behind the podium. He seemed to yell, but this was just his natural one step up from speaking voice without any modification at all.
"We are gathered here to day on rather dark business. As most of you know, we have a small battalion outside of Black Pond. I bring this up because I expect you all to forfeit one to four soldiers each. We will be sending them there with fully formed plans on how to defeat Black Pond. Not that no one in here is untrustworthy, but the plans will be kept between Mageria, Myself, Xypher, and the other captains, but they are well known and will be executed. Please send relatively fit soldiers and perhaps some of the stronger of your enlightened. If we are bombarded and defeated at this encampment, we will have to pull all of our troops out of all remaining parts of Valcrest and play defensively." He paused for emphasis. "We do NOT want this." His not came out somewhat emphasized and shook the room slightly.
"You have three hours to equip and send for your men and women. If you cannot handle it, you will be replaced by someone who can. Dismissed."
He looked at Mageria for support, because inside he was torn apart by what might happen not only to his people, but also to his lover.
Mageria nodded back. She understood the risk that Krander was taking, but he knew that it was necessary as well as she. There was a good chance that some of them were going to be killed in this upcoming fight, but it seemed that it was one that couldn’t be avoided. She waited until the rest of the soldiers filed out, talking quietly among themselves. Once the room was clear she walked slowly up to the front, hands clasped behind her back.
“This is what has to happen Krander. Blackpond isn’t going to leave us alone, and it’s too dangerous to try and let the fight come to us. We have to choose the battleground, try and find the strongest point to fight from.” She nodded at the map of the realm pinned on the wall. “Once you pick your point, I’ll surround it with my troops in the woods. Hopefully we can bait the trap with something tempting enough that they ignore the risk. If nothing else, they’ll be a safety net and a fall back position for the rest of you.” She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You know that I’ll watch out for Phelix. If I see him, I’ll ‘capture’ him and bring him back for interrogation. He knows me, so he shouldn’t fight too hard.” She winked at him. “Who knows. You might come home to find him stuffed in your closet after all.” She gripped his shoulder reassuringly for a moment more before stepping back.
“I have to go get my people ready. We’ll head out as soon as we can in order to get into place.” She tilted her head to one side.
“Anything else?”
“This is what has to happen Krander. Blackpond isn’t going to leave us alone, and it’s too dangerous to try and let the fight come to us. We have to choose the battleground, try and find the strongest point to fight from.” She nodded at the map of the realm pinned on the wall. “Once you pick your point, I’ll surround it with my troops in the woods. Hopefully we can bait the trap with something tempting enough that they ignore the risk. If nothing else, they’ll be a safety net and a fall back position for the rest of you.” She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You know that I’ll watch out for Phelix. If I see him, I’ll ‘capture’ him and bring him back for interrogation. He knows me, so he shouldn’t fight too hard.” She winked at him. “Who knows. You might come home to find him stuffed in your closet after all.” She gripped his shoulder reassuringly for a moment more before stepping back.
“I have to go get my people ready. We’ll head out as soon as we can in order to get into place.” She tilted her head to one side.
“Anything else?”
Krander listened and nodded as Mageria talked to him. She was right after all.
"No Mageria, that will be all. You are dismissed." He joked. As she turned to walk he sat down and cried. He cried and cried for himself, his people, his lovers, his ancestors. The tears just came. He felt very vulnerable and instead of bringing attention to himself he modified his voice volume to almost not existent. He was howling but no one could hear anything. It was actually quite the sight to see. After a few minutes he took off his modification and went to his room. He needed to sleep. He would eat in the morning, train, and then play it by ear from then on out.
"No Mageria, that will be all. You are dismissed." He joked. As she turned to walk he sat down and cried. He cried and cried for himself, his people, his lovers, his ancestors. The tears just came. He felt very vulnerable and instead of bringing attention to himself he modified his voice volume to almost not existent. He was howling but no one could hear anything. It was actually quite the sight to see. After a few minutes he took off his modification and went to his room. He needed to sleep. He would eat in the morning, train, and then play it by ear from then on out.
Mageria twitched in her sleep. If one happened to be looking, one would have seen her eyes dart around beneath her eyelids. She tossed restlessly, one hand unconsciously seeking out the dagger she kept under her pillow.
She stood with her Black Knights as they attacked the Wolfpack’s camp. Five black shadows, faceless and known only to each other, they had given up everything of their past in order to be worthy to strike this blow. These assassins had killed their King, and now they would pay. At a silent cue, they all charged forward, blades at the ready. The Pack had only been surprised for a short moment before they joined the fight as well.
As Captains, Mageria and Krander had repeatedly told the soldiers that any obvious civilians were not to be harmed, but in a fight such as this anyone who picked up a weapon and fought back would be treated as the enemy.
Mageria had been in the thick of the fight, managing to not take any joy in it, simply doing her job. But suddenly it all went wrong. The fight swirled around her in one of those odd moments of peace that one sometimes finds. She was looking around for another target when a man with coal black hair stepped out of the shadows, swinging a shining blade on a long rope around his head. Mageria recognized him, even after all the time had passed. I know you, she thought, staring at her old friend wearing the cloths of an assassin. Struck absolutely dumb by the sight, she dropped her guard for one, critical moment. He brought the hooked knife up and around, using it to knock her helm off and at the same time scoring a deep cut across one cheek. She moved with the strike, turning away before swinging back and raising her sword once more. She saw the same shock spread across his face. Time seemed to stop, even though from a distance she could hear Grim bellowing in blood rage as he cut his way through the camp. He brought his own blade up, readying for another strike . . . .
With a muffled scream Mageria shot straight up in bed, her dagger held out in front of her to fend off the blow. Her breathing was ragged as she scanned the room, trying to figure out what had been a dream and what was real. Finally she collapsed back, fishing out the sheath for her dagger and slamming it in. Clenching her fists in her hair, she tried to stop shaking, but it was a losing battle. How do you get over losing a friend like that? With another muffled oath, she pushed out of bed and walked over to her cloths chest, kneeling down to fish out an old book bound in black leather with gilt lettering. It was an old book of children’s tales, the kind her mother had used to read her to sleep with. He had sent it to her, when she had mentioned one night that she had lost her family’s copy when they died.
“You’ll need this someday,” he said. She had laughed, but secretly she had cherished the chance to reclaim some small part of her childhood. With a sigh, Mageria climbed back into bed, slowly leafing through the pages to look at the illustrations. Somewhere along the middle was a tale where a monster from the forest tried to come into a brave farmer’s home. The monster wore a mask, but the brave farmer wasn’t fooled and drove him away with his family’s help. Mageria spent a long time simply staring at the illustration of the monster, hiding his true face away behind his mask. Then she gently shut the book and put it aside, curling up in bed and closing her eyes.
How do you get over losing a friend like that?
You don’t.
The next morning Mageria donned her black armor and strode out into the courtyard. Before her were a couple dozen of her best soldiers, all of them trained in ‘unusual’ battle tactics. She nodded to them as she went to check her own mount, a warhourse of frightening intelligence and utterly indifferent looks. She was a weapon in and of herself, and a good ally to have on the battlefield. Once she and her soldiers got to their assigned locations, they would pick several locations from which to strike. With a sharp whistle, she lead them out, some of them to their deaths. All she could hope for was to be as good a leader as she could be, and not waste the lives entrusted to her.
She stood with her Black Knights as they attacked the Wolfpack’s camp. Five black shadows, faceless and known only to each other, they had given up everything of their past in order to be worthy to strike this blow. These assassins had killed their King, and now they would pay. At a silent cue, they all charged forward, blades at the ready. The Pack had only been surprised for a short moment before they joined the fight as well.
As Captains, Mageria and Krander had repeatedly told the soldiers that any obvious civilians were not to be harmed, but in a fight such as this anyone who picked up a weapon and fought back would be treated as the enemy.
Mageria had been in the thick of the fight, managing to not take any joy in it, simply doing her job. But suddenly it all went wrong. The fight swirled around her in one of those odd moments of peace that one sometimes finds. She was looking around for another target when a man with coal black hair stepped out of the shadows, swinging a shining blade on a long rope around his head. Mageria recognized him, even after all the time had passed. I know you, she thought, staring at her old friend wearing the cloths of an assassin. Struck absolutely dumb by the sight, she dropped her guard for one, critical moment. He brought the hooked knife up and around, using it to knock her helm off and at the same time scoring a deep cut across one cheek. She moved with the strike, turning away before swinging back and raising her sword once more. She saw the same shock spread across his face. Time seemed to stop, even though from a distance she could hear Grim bellowing in blood rage as he cut his way through the camp. He brought his own blade up, readying for another strike . . . .
With a muffled scream Mageria shot straight up in bed, her dagger held out in front of her to fend off the blow. Her breathing was ragged as she scanned the room, trying to figure out what had been a dream and what was real. Finally she collapsed back, fishing out the sheath for her dagger and slamming it in. Clenching her fists in her hair, she tried to stop shaking, but it was a losing battle. How do you get over losing a friend like that? With another muffled oath, she pushed out of bed and walked over to her cloths chest, kneeling down to fish out an old book bound in black leather with gilt lettering. It was an old book of children’s tales, the kind her mother had used to read her to sleep with. He had sent it to her, when she had mentioned one night that she had lost her family’s copy when they died.
“You’ll need this someday,” he said. She had laughed, but secretly she had cherished the chance to reclaim some small part of her childhood. With a sigh, Mageria climbed back into bed, slowly leafing through the pages to look at the illustrations. Somewhere along the middle was a tale where a monster from the forest tried to come into a brave farmer’s home. The monster wore a mask, but the brave farmer wasn’t fooled and drove him away with his family’s help. Mageria spent a long time simply staring at the illustration of the monster, hiding his true face away behind his mask. Then she gently shut the book and put it aside, curling up in bed and closing her eyes.
How do you get over losing a friend like that?
You don’t.
The next morning Mageria donned her black armor and strode out into the courtyard. Before her were a couple dozen of her best soldiers, all of them trained in ‘unusual’ battle tactics. She nodded to them as she went to check her own mount, a warhourse of frightening intelligence and utterly indifferent looks. She was a weapon in and of herself, and a good ally to have on the battlefield. Once she and her soldiers got to their assigned locations, they would pick several locations from which to strike. With a sharp whistle, she lead them out, some of them to their deaths. All she could hope for was to be as good a leader as she could be, and not waste the lives entrusted to her.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin found himself walking around the camp with no direction. He had no clue where he would start on his investigation. In the end, Evin believed that it almost didn't even matter. There were other things that Evin should have been focusing on. Most importantly they had to find the prince of Newhaven where ever he was. Evin thought that maybe he could do both of these things. He could travel to Newhaven and try to figure things out. Maybe he could even get into the Newhaven archives. He could find info on Jake and the Prince at the same time. All these idea, but would he be able to do it?
As he walked past the Dining area, he saw Jake sitting, probably waiting for some food. There didn't seem to be any more people there, so he decided he would stop for a visit. He walked into the room and sat across the table from Jake.
"So, what is it that you don't want me to know?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella seemed to find a sweet spot in this man. She wasn't sure what it was about her that did this to him, but she knew for a fact that this man seemed to like her. It was nice to see that there was someone in the camp that was just so genuine. She had spoken to many people in the camp, but this was the only person who could emote like that to her. Eulalius seemed to her like a genuine friend.
She no longer had to fight back any more tears, she felt better.
"Thanks." She said as Eulalius walked out of the cabin. She wasn't sure if he heard her, but it didn't matter. She walked out of the cabin and went over just to sit by the fire pit. It wasn't lit, but it didn't matter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
The past couple of hours had been spent being suited up for battle. Hastings only demanded the best from his squire. The best armour fitted perfectly to his body that would protect him, yet allow him to stay mobile. The only way he could get through all of this was with his gin by his side.
The sweet smell of alcohol could make any of his pains go away, even the hard parts of life. It was his escape from everything and anything that he wanted and at the moment, it was the long and tedious task of getting suited up. He took a big swig of his gin as King Rory walked in.
"Hastings, I trust you have readied some sort of plan of action before marching forth, and I would like to hear it..."
Hastings motioned for his squire to wipe his mouth for him. The squire took a dirty rag and wiped it over Hastings' rough face.
"I believe that I could push my forces right through their front door. Seeing that they are already packing up to leave, I expect them to be week. I will create a wall of spearman in my front lines, two squads of them. The other two, I plan to have protect the rear. When the spearman have pushed through the main defences, I plan to have about twenty five percent of my soldiers split off to their right flank. I will have one of the spearman squads in the rear follow them, just to be safe."
Hastings took another swig of his gin and then smiled.
"I have a feeling I can finish this camp off in ten minutes at the most. I would put all my money on that, that is if I had any money. I spent it all on that gin you see there." He laughed a raspy laugh and waited to hear what his King and friend thought of his plan.
As he walked past the Dining area, he saw Jake sitting, probably waiting for some food. There didn't seem to be any more people there, so he decided he would stop for a visit. He walked into the room and sat across the table from Jake.
"So, what is it that you don't want me to know?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella seemed to find a sweet spot in this man. She wasn't sure what it was about her that did this to him, but she knew for a fact that this man seemed to like her. It was nice to see that there was someone in the camp that was just so genuine. She had spoken to many people in the camp, but this was the only person who could emote like that to her. Eulalius seemed to her like a genuine friend.
She no longer had to fight back any more tears, she felt better.
"Thanks." She said as Eulalius walked out of the cabin. She wasn't sure if he heard her, but it didn't matter. She walked out of the cabin and went over just to sit by the fire pit. It wasn't lit, but it didn't matter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
The past couple of hours had been spent being suited up for battle. Hastings only demanded the best from his squire. The best armour fitted perfectly to his body that would protect him, yet allow him to stay mobile. The only way he could get through all of this was with his gin by his side.
The sweet smell of alcohol could make any of his pains go away, even the hard parts of life. It was his escape from everything and anything that he wanted and at the moment, it was the long and tedious task of getting suited up. He took a big swig of his gin as King Rory walked in.
"Hastings, I trust you have readied some sort of plan of action before marching forth, and I would like to hear it..."
Hastings motioned for his squire to wipe his mouth for him. The squire took a dirty rag and wiped it over Hastings' rough face.
"I believe that I could push my forces right through their front door. Seeing that they are already packing up to leave, I expect them to be week. I will create a wall of spearman in my front lines, two squads of them. The other two, I plan to have protect the rear. When the spearman have pushed through the main defences, I plan to have about twenty five percent of my soldiers split off to their right flank. I will have one of the spearman squads in the rear follow them, just to be safe."
Hastings took another swig of his gin and then smiled.
"I have a feeling I can finish this camp off in ten minutes at the most. I would put all my money on that, that is if I had any money. I spent it all on that gin you see there." He laughed a raspy laugh and waited to hear what his King and friend thought of his plan.
Ali was frustrated. She hadn't found anyone available to go with her to the ruins. Everyone was busy and the few people who weren't, well... They weren't guys she would trust to watch her back. She would rather take no one than take someone she couldn't rely on. She had lost too much of her time doing this and she had left that healer girl waiting for her. Ali honestly hoped she had gotten tired of waiting and left on her own... She didn't really want any company. She'd rather be quiet all the way there.
She did want to see Lena. She hadn't seen her since the day the woman came back from watching Dani die, she was in a such a mess that Ali didn't know how she didn't realize what had happened, even if all Lena told her was that Crys wanted her back immediately.
The rumors that went around camp told her that the attack in which Dani was killed was the one and only time the Black Knights themselves had raided the camp. It was the worst attack the Pack had suffered... A massacre was the term she had heard. Finding her thoughts running back to Dani and her death she closed her eyes and nodded. As she did so she noticed that she couldn't hear the sound of burning wood at the large campfire that marked the center of the encampment, it hadn't been lit since Dani died. She knew she was passing through it though. She simply kept going, walking towards Crys' cabin to tell her that she would be heading out alone, and to apologize for taking so long to leave.
As she walked though, she still had her eyes closed, and when she headed straight for the entrance of the cabin, she collided, rather painfully, with someone that was heading in the opposite direction. The impact knocked her back, causing her to fall, well... On her butt. "Damn, what the hell..." She muttered, finally realizing that she literally wasn't watching where she was going. She opened her eyes and frowned, looking up at the man that was apparently walking out of Crys' house, she knew Eulalius by name and reputation, but nothing more. She wanted to apologize for being so stupid, but the words that actually came out were completely different. "What are you doing here?" She asked him in a slightly curious tone.
------------
Jake ate his food and simply laid his head on the wooden surface of the dining table. It was getting late, but he didn't want to move. He was tired, he just wanted to lay there and enjoy the silence for another minute. He could feel that the cooks were staring at him, but didn't have the courage to ask what was wrong. Not even the one who knew him since he was just a boy. Slowly he began to close his eyes. He could hear the women discussing if they should ask him to leave or not, but soon there voices faded and another familiar voice overcame everything. He wasn't asleep, not yet, he was simply lost in his memories.
"I think it would be great." Crys said out of the blue.
"What?" Jake asked with a chuckle. They had been sitting by the lake for over an hour without a word, he had no idea what she was talking about.
"To actually be invisible, and not just feel that way." She stated. They had their backs to each other and Crys was leaning against him, so he could feel a slight shrug of her shoulders as she spoke.
"How can you feel invisible? Everyone always seems to be watching you..." He said, frowning at the water.
She laughed. "Well, yes... They watch me expecting me to trip, or have a breakdown, which is justified since I have done all that, but... They don't see me. I suppose that is my own damn fault because I'm just incapable of getting close to another person, but... It bothers me sometimes. How everyone assumes they know me so well, when really all they know are... Random facts." She explained.
"Oh..." Jake laughed. "So I'm not a person?"
Crys went silent and after a few seconds of that silence Jake stopped laughing. Suddenly, he felt her full weight on his back. "Do you feel this?" She asked, in a serious tone.
"Yes, but.."
She cut him off. "This is how much I trust you. So, no... You are not 'a person', you are my best friend. I trust you to always be there to watch my back... In one way or another." She stated. The she chuckled and added. "No pressure."
Jake laughed. "Right, Crys... No strings attached?"
"I wouldn't say that." She answered, with a little snicker. Then she reached over her shoulder and patted the top of his head. "We should go to sleep or my mother will have both our heads. We have to leave before sunrise."
He nodded, as she got on her feet and walked back to the camp.
Jake raised his head and opened his eyes, scolding himself for letting those memories come to life. He hadn't slept that night and the mission they were assigned to the next day was the last of Jake's career as an assassin... Before he was brought back and sent to Newhaven, that is. If he could change anything... He would have changed the outcome of that one assignment so he would never have to leave the Pack at all.
When he snapped out of his thoughts he heard another familiar voice enter his ears, this time the person was sitting right across from him. It was Evin. "So, what is it that you don't want me to know?"
Jake smiled slightly and leaned forward not to be overheard by any of the cooks. "I don't care about what you know. I do care about my orders, and they require me to answer that question with: This doesn't concern you." He stated, a serious look crossing his face as he spoke. "I take it you won't take my word for it, so... I'll explain this the best way I can. The only person who would be allowed to provide you with that information would be Crystal. However she won't do that, because Dani said, and I quote: 'No one else should ever know about this'. Take my friendly warning Evin, push this out of your mind, because digging into it could bring some unpleasant consequences. For me, for you, and specially for Crys." He said all that in a whispering tone, and then stood up to leave.
He hoped he had gotten the message through and not made things worst, but somehow he doubted that.
She did want to see Lena. She hadn't seen her since the day the woman came back from watching Dani die, she was in a such a mess that Ali didn't know how she didn't realize what had happened, even if all Lena told her was that Crys wanted her back immediately.
The rumors that went around camp told her that the attack in which Dani was killed was the one and only time the Black Knights themselves had raided the camp. It was the worst attack the Pack had suffered... A massacre was the term she had heard. Finding her thoughts running back to Dani and her death she closed her eyes and nodded. As she did so she noticed that she couldn't hear the sound of burning wood at the large campfire that marked the center of the encampment, it hadn't been lit since Dani died. She knew she was passing through it though. She simply kept going, walking towards Crys' cabin to tell her that she would be heading out alone, and to apologize for taking so long to leave.
As she walked though, she still had her eyes closed, and when she headed straight for the entrance of the cabin, she collided, rather painfully, with someone that was heading in the opposite direction. The impact knocked her back, causing her to fall, well... On her butt. "Damn, what the hell..." She muttered, finally realizing that she literally wasn't watching where she was going. She opened her eyes and frowned, looking up at the man that was apparently walking out of Crys' house, she knew Eulalius by name and reputation, but nothing more. She wanted to apologize for being so stupid, but the words that actually came out were completely different. "What are you doing here?" She asked him in a slightly curious tone.
------------
Jake ate his food and simply laid his head on the wooden surface of the dining table. It was getting late, but he didn't want to move. He was tired, he just wanted to lay there and enjoy the silence for another minute. He could feel that the cooks were staring at him, but didn't have the courage to ask what was wrong. Not even the one who knew him since he was just a boy. Slowly he began to close his eyes. He could hear the women discussing if they should ask him to leave or not, but soon there voices faded and another familiar voice overcame everything. He wasn't asleep, not yet, he was simply lost in his memories.
"I think it would be great." Crys said out of the blue.
"What?" Jake asked with a chuckle. They had been sitting by the lake for over an hour without a word, he had no idea what she was talking about.
"To actually be invisible, and not just feel that way." She stated. They had their backs to each other and Crys was leaning against him, so he could feel a slight shrug of her shoulders as she spoke.
"How can you feel invisible? Everyone always seems to be watching you..." He said, frowning at the water.
She laughed. "Well, yes... They watch me expecting me to trip, or have a breakdown, which is justified since I have done all that, but... They don't see me. I suppose that is my own damn fault because I'm just incapable of getting close to another person, but... It bothers me sometimes. How everyone assumes they know me so well, when really all they know are... Random facts." She explained.
"Oh..." Jake laughed. "So I'm not a person?"
Crys went silent and after a few seconds of that silence Jake stopped laughing. Suddenly, he felt her full weight on his back. "Do you feel this?" She asked, in a serious tone.
"Yes, but.."
She cut him off. "This is how much I trust you. So, no... You are not 'a person', you are my best friend. I trust you to always be there to watch my back... In one way or another." She stated. The she chuckled and added. "No pressure."
Jake laughed. "Right, Crys... No strings attached?"
"I wouldn't say that." She answered, with a little snicker. Then she reached over her shoulder and patted the top of his head. "We should go to sleep or my mother will have both our heads. We have to leave before sunrise."
He nodded, as she got on her feet and walked back to the camp.
Jake raised his head and opened his eyes, scolding himself for letting those memories come to life. He hadn't slept that night and the mission they were assigned to the next day was the last of Jake's career as an assassin... Before he was brought back and sent to Newhaven, that is. If he could change anything... He would have changed the outcome of that one assignment so he would never have to leave the Pack at all.
When he snapped out of his thoughts he heard another familiar voice enter his ears, this time the person was sitting right across from him. It was Evin. "So, what is it that you don't want me to know?"
Jake smiled slightly and leaned forward not to be overheard by any of the cooks. "I don't care about what you know. I do care about my orders, and they require me to answer that question with: This doesn't concern you." He stated, a serious look crossing his face as he spoke. "I take it you won't take my word for it, so... I'll explain this the best way I can. The only person who would be allowed to provide you with that information would be Crystal. However she won't do that, because Dani said, and I quote: 'No one else should ever know about this'. Take my friendly warning Evin, push this out of your mind, because digging into it could bring some unpleasant consequences. For me, for you, and specially for Crys." He said all that in a whispering tone, and then stood up to leave.
He hoped he had gotten the message through and not made things worst, but somehow he doubted that.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(King Rory)
--
"I believe that I could push my forces right through their front door. Seeing that they are already packing up to leave, I expect them to be week. I will create a wall of spearman in my front lines, two squads of them. The other two, I plan to have protect the rear. When the spearman have pushed through the main defences, I plan to have about twenty five percent of my soldiers split off to their right flank. I will have one of the spearman squads in the rear follow them, just to be safe."
-
Rory laughed with Hastings before turning serious rather abruptly, making it clear that the assault was not to be taken for granted.
"Hastings, I must reiterate that you cannot get to cocky with this mission. Newhaven Knights are clever, and they have been known that they can turn the tide of a battle even with the smallest number of forces.."
Rory was distracted for a moment as he visualised a defensive maneuver that he personally lead in defense of Blackpond some years ago, within the first year of his reign.
, he would later pen in his journals.
Nonetheless, Rory thought about Hastings' chosen strategy for a moment.
"Hm, based off of our experiences with these Knights, I would advise against any of your force breaking off, but after the spear wall breaches the defence, have all four squads move and form four circular schiltron about the battalion. Make sure everyone works as a team, and try and keep the men from routing or fleeing. Its important to have everyone together in one unit, schiltron included."
"I will accompany you to the gates, but no further. I will also send a man to keep watch just outside of city limits and inform me when the battle is over, and who is the victor. If Blackpond forces triumph, than I will meet you in the camp."
Rory started off towards the main gate of Blackpond, expecting to hear Hastings bark his orders any moment..
--
"I believe that I could push my forces right through their front door. Seeing that they are already packing up to leave, I expect them to be week. I will create a wall of spearman in my front lines, two squads of them. The other two, I plan to have protect the rear. When the spearman have pushed through the main defences, I plan to have about twenty five percent of my soldiers split off to their right flank. I will have one of the spearman squads in the rear follow them, just to be safe."
-
Rory laughed with Hastings before turning serious rather abruptly, making it clear that the assault was not to be taken for granted.
"Hastings, I must reiterate that you cannot get to cocky with this mission. Newhaven Knights are clever, and they have been known that they can turn the tide of a battle even with the smallest number of forces.."
Rory was distracted for a moment as he visualised a defensive maneuver that he personally lead in defense of Blackpond some years ago, within the first year of his reign.
The cent of Blackpond blood can not and will not be washed off and atoned for in this life
Nonetheless, Rory thought about Hastings' chosen strategy for a moment.
"Hm, based off of our experiences with these Knights, I would advise against any of your force breaking off, but after the spear wall breaches the defence, have all four squads move and form four circular schiltron about the battalion. Make sure everyone works as a team, and try and keep the men from routing or fleeing. Its important to have everyone together in one unit, schiltron included."
"I will accompany you to the gates, but no further. I will also send a man to keep watch just outside of city limits and inform me when the battle is over, and who is the victor. If Blackpond forces triumph, than I will meet you in the camp."
Rory started off towards the main gate of Blackpond, expecting to hear Hastings bark his orders any moment..
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
(Eulalius)
--
Oh, what to do about that girl? Eulalius thought as he came closer to the door of the cabin. Eulalius was beginning to become drawn to Ella, as a father would a daughter. She had her fair share of problems, and no one seemed willing to listen. It wasn't something Eulalius could personally relate to, but he reasoned with himself that no one really deserves nor needs to keep anything like that bottled up.
Another thought flashed through Eulalius' mind, erasing his previous feeling nearly altogether. He almost cringed at the vision.
Hmm, if I can just get there before morn-
His thought was cut short as he bumped into someone. Well, bumped isn't really the correct word. Slammed, rather, into another being as he exited the cabin.
He was dazed for a moment, but otherwise unscathed. He looked down at the person he had run into.
This girl he had run into certainly wasn't a member of the organization. In fact, she wore attire that didn't point out what faction she serviced for. Before he thought abou drawing a dagger on the girl, he reasoned with himself that it was a healer. Any other citizen-or member of any other faction, for that matter- would have easily been noticed and killed by now.
"And now just where are we off to in such a hurry, missy?"
Eulalius extended a hand to help her up and offered a smile.
Can't go around being all 'moody' and 'unfriendly' can we? Tis' odd that many people find assassins unsociable. WE're just like them. Although maybe its the fact that we kill for a living..
Yep. Definately the killing..
--
Oh, what to do about that girl? Eulalius thought as he came closer to the door of the cabin. Eulalius was beginning to become drawn to Ella, as a father would a daughter. She had her fair share of problems, and no one seemed willing to listen. It wasn't something Eulalius could personally relate to, but he reasoned with himself that no one really deserves nor needs to keep anything like that bottled up.
Another thought flashed through Eulalius' mind, erasing his previous feeling nearly altogether. He almost cringed at the vision.
Hmm, if I can just get there before morn-
His thought was cut short as he bumped into someone. Well, bumped isn't really the correct word. Slammed, rather, into another being as he exited the cabin.
He was dazed for a moment, but otherwise unscathed. He looked down at the person he had run into.
This girl he had run into certainly wasn't a member of the organization. In fact, she wore attire that didn't point out what faction she serviced for. Before he thought abou drawing a dagger on the girl, he reasoned with himself that it was a healer. Any other citizen-or member of any other faction, for that matter- would have easily been noticed and killed by now.
"And now just where are we off to in such a hurry, missy?"
Eulalius extended a hand to help her up and offered a smile.
Can't go around being all 'moody' and 'unfriendly' can we? Tis' odd that many people find assassins unsociable. WE're just like them. Although maybe its the fact that we kill for a living..
Yep. Definately the killing..
Ali didn't quite respond to Eulalius at first, she was pulling the bow she had dropped on the floor behind her and examining it for any scratches. If there were any she would go insane. After throughly examining the surface of the wood and the string for any tears, Ali let out a relieved sigh and stood up, not accepting the aid that had been offered to her. A lame attempt to regain some of her dignity after randomly walking around camp with her eyes closed.
She rested her bow on top of her left boot, so it wouldn't touch the ground as she brushed the dirt off her clothing with her right hand. Finally, she looked Eulalius in the eyes and answered him with a small smirk. "Who are you calling missy, sir? I am in a hurry because I should have left camp on assignment hours ago. I can't find a reliable active to accompany me and now, as it seems, I can't even find Crys." She let out a slightly amused snicker. "This is most definitely not my day." She stated with a slightly disappointed tone in her voice.
Then she smiled. "I'm sorry... I don't think we've actually met, if we had you wouldn't be calling me missy, that's for sure." She stated with a small chuckle. She then offered a hand shake and added. "My name is Allison Blake, I'm an instructor." She often found herself having to say that to people, she looked way too young to be anything more than a recruit, if she could be taken for an assassin at all. The only thing that would give her out for being any more dangerous than any little girl was the sharp look in her eyes, other than that strangers would often take her for a kid carrying someone else's bow. She could find that amusing or insulting, depending on the person's reaction. Eulalius had amused her... Her recruit had not. Therefore the boy was now laying in the healers' cabin with a few broken ribs.
She rested her bow on top of her left boot, so it wouldn't touch the ground as she brushed the dirt off her clothing with her right hand. Finally, she looked Eulalius in the eyes and answered him with a small smirk. "Who are you calling missy, sir? I am in a hurry because I should have left camp on assignment hours ago. I can't find a reliable active to accompany me and now, as it seems, I can't even find Crys." She let out a slightly amused snicker. "This is most definitely not my day." She stated with a slightly disappointed tone in her voice.
Then she smiled. "I'm sorry... I don't think we've actually met, if we had you wouldn't be calling me missy, that's for sure." She stated with a small chuckle. She then offered a hand shake and added. "My name is Allison Blake, I'm an instructor." She often found herself having to say that to people, she looked way too young to be anything more than a recruit, if she could be taken for an assassin at all. The only thing that would give her out for being any more dangerous than any little girl was the sharp look in her eyes, other than that strangers would often take her for a kid carrying someone else's bow. She could find that amusing or insulting, depending on the person's reaction. Eulalius had amused her... Her recruit had not. Therefore the boy was now laying in the healers' cabin with a few broken ribs.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
-Near the Edge of the Forest-
Mageria surveyed the future battlefield with an eye toward the coming battle. She had placed her men around the area so that they could strike quickly and fall back. She shifted restlessly, trying unsuccessfully to ease an itch. Waiting before a battle was always the hardest part. Besides her Star, her warhorse also shifted, but she was more interested in a nearby mouthful of grass. Gently Mageria pushed her muzzle away.
“You know you’re not hungry, you greedy pig.” A sudden movement down below caught her attention. She raised a spy glass to her eye and focused. A grim amusement twisted her lips.
“Well, things are about to get interesting.”
She whistled softly, a signal that was repeated up and down the line of men around her. Some readied their bows, some mounted their horses, some simply settled into their own particular type of battle mind. Come whatever may, they were ready.
Mageria surveyed the future battlefield with an eye toward the coming battle. She had placed her men around the area so that they could strike quickly and fall back. She shifted restlessly, trying unsuccessfully to ease an itch. Waiting before a battle was always the hardest part. Besides her Star, her warhorse also shifted, but she was more interested in a nearby mouthful of grass. Gently Mageria pushed her muzzle away.
“You know you’re not hungry, you greedy pig.” A sudden movement down below caught her attention. She raised a spy glass to her eye and focused. A grim amusement twisted her lips.
“Well, things are about to get interesting.”
She whistled softly, a signal that was repeated up and down the line of men around her. Some readied their bows, some mounted their horses, some simply settled into their own particular type of battle mind. Come whatever may, they were ready.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Setareh had stared at Alison deadpan until the woman finally had walked away. Setareh didn't work in groups or even couples, and she felt the woman hadn't either. She twisted the flower back and forth in her hand allowing it's green ink to stain her fingers. She accidentally let her mind drift to that of her father.
He'd told her to never let anyone close enough to touch her, metaphorically or physically. Love was an illusion and if wielded correctly, a great weapon. He'd told her to keep her allies close, but her enemies closer. He'd told her to gain trust with some of the camp, so that if need be she could be taken from them and held at their mercy.
She then thought back to the woman who'd offered her a job along side. She didn't like group work, but the other woman didn't either. Setareh supposed it was best that way, to at least ally with someone who detested the same things you did.
She breathed out a sigh and walked toward camp, finding the woman in conversation with a tall brick wall of a man. She walked up to them and met Alison's eyes, "I apologize for my rudeness, I'd be honored to come along side of you. This camp's aura is stifling as it is. It'll be nice to get out. I'm ready to move when you are." She nodded to the woman, "Setareh, The Comet, at your service. "
He'd told her to never let anyone close enough to touch her, metaphorically or physically. Love was an illusion and if wielded correctly, a great weapon. He'd told her to keep her allies close, but her enemies closer. He'd told her to gain trust with some of the camp, so that if need be she could be taken from them and held at their mercy.
She then thought back to the woman who'd offered her a job along side. She didn't like group work, but the other woman didn't either. Setareh supposed it was best that way, to at least ally with someone who detested the same things you did.
She breathed out a sigh and walked toward camp, finding the woman in conversation with a tall brick wall of a man. She walked up to them and met Alison's eyes, "I apologize for my rudeness, I'd be honored to come along side of you. This camp's aura is stifling as it is. It'll be nice to get out. I'm ready to move when you are." She nodded to the woman, "Setareh, The Comet, at your service. "
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Near the edge of the forest, the NPC portion of the conflict..)
--
Valcrest could often be a harsh and unforgiving place, especially in the hotter, wetter regions of the northern portion of the great forest. The overcast sky this day did nothing to negate the heat, and, in fact, seemed to amplify it to some extent. The mud-strewn ground and small hills of jagged brown rock made the landscape look both in thirst and over-hydrated.
But that would soon change, but it would not be water that would drench the rocks. It would be blood.
The two armies were maneuvering into final position, their contrasts as striking as their similarities. Pride, as well as the chosen battlefield, demanded that they move around in the open.
Hundreds of fearsome, heavy armor-clad warriors were brandishing their clubs, hammers, and swords, among other weapons; at the same time they roared their impatience with those keeping them from charging forward.
The heavy, repetitive beat of drums stirred the blood of the vast force of Knights, yet the three captains that had gathered them together were not ready to let them loose. Their hesitation derived from a seemingly mutual distrust as from caution against their dispised foe.
In stark contrast, the troops lined up against the Knights suggested a unity and discipline that was almost remarkable, if not unique, for their city's reputation. They wore uniform breastplates that fit them snugly, and most of them bore tall tower shields. Their kilts were fresh and tipped with metal-points. Many also wore tight helmets that gleamed in the mid-morning sun. Theit weapons were the same as their foes, but had obviously been recently cleaned and sharpened in preparation for the conflict. Like the foe, these warriors of Blackpond had been divided into specialty units. Troops with spears led the ranks, followed by swords, then clubs and hammers, next was bows, and finally another rank of spears.
And while no banners flew over the opposing force, this force only showed one. On a field of light grey, the crest of Blackpond loomed lonely and proud.
The drumbeats from the other side grew louder, more incessant, Hastings noted. Some of the petty officers glanced up at their commander, whom was mounted on one of the great muscled horses so valued by the higher castes of Blackpond society. But Hasting's large figure did not give any order yet. His eyes continued to survey the enemy, as if he were inspecting each individual warrior.
Even the Blackpond forces began to grow restive. Despite their shifting and muttering, their leader contiued to act as though he had all the time in the world.
All through the Blackpond army, trumpeteers raised great curled goat horns, blaring out harsh notes. From the opposing side came similar calls. Drummers from both sides began to beat faster, louder, stirring up the warriors.
Then Second Lieutenent Hastings raised one lone hand, and brought it down in a swift chopping motion.
With a unified cry, the soldiers from both sides stepped forward-
--
Valcrest could often be a harsh and unforgiving place, especially in the hotter, wetter regions of the northern portion of the great forest. The overcast sky this day did nothing to negate the heat, and, in fact, seemed to amplify it to some extent. The mud-strewn ground and small hills of jagged brown rock made the landscape look both in thirst and over-hydrated.
But that would soon change, but it would not be water that would drench the rocks. It would be blood.
The two armies were maneuvering into final position, their contrasts as striking as their similarities. Pride, as well as the chosen battlefield, demanded that they move around in the open.
Hundreds of fearsome, heavy armor-clad warriors were brandishing their clubs, hammers, and swords, among other weapons; at the same time they roared their impatience with those keeping them from charging forward.
The heavy, repetitive beat of drums stirred the blood of the vast force of Knights, yet the three captains that had gathered them together were not ready to let them loose. Their hesitation derived from a seemingly mutual distrust as from caution against their dispised foe.
In stark contrast, the troops lined up against the Knights suggested a unity and discipline that was almost remarkable, if not unique, for their city's reputation. They wore uniform breastplates that fit them snugly, and most of them bore tall tower shields. Their kilts were fresh and tipped with metal-points. Many also wore tight helmets that gleamed in the mid-morning sun. Theit weapons were the same as their foes, but had obviously been recently cleaned and sharpened in preparation for the conflict. Like the foe, these warriors of Blackpond had been divided into specialty units. Troops with spears led the ranks, followed by swords, then clubs and hammers, next was bows, and finally another rank of spears.
And while no banners flew over the opposing force, this force only showed one. On a field of light grey, the crest of Blackpond loomed lonely and proud.
The drumbeats from the other side grew louder, more incessant, Hastings noted. Some of the petty officers glanced up at their commander, whom was mounted on one of the great muscled horses so valued by the higher castes of Blackpond society. But Hasting's large figure did not give any order yet. His eyes continued to survey the enemy, as if he were inspecting each individual warrior.
Even the Blackpond forces began to grow restive. Despite their shifting and muttering, their leader contiued to act as though he had all the time in the world.
All through the Blackpond army, trumpeteers raised great curled goat horns, blaring out harsh notes. From the opposing side came similar calls. Drummers from both sides began to beat faster, louder, stirring up the warriors.
Then Second Lieutenent Hastings raised one lone hand, and brought it down in a swift chopping motion.
With a unified cry, the soldiers from both sides stepped forward-
Mageria waited until the two armies clashed together with a mighty roar. For long painful moments she watched from the side as they fought. Finally she drew a small horn and blew a single clear note on it. From each side of the battlefield her forces swept forward, like a silent shadow, bows at the ready. Once they came in range, they released their shot in one mass effort, picking and choosing their targets with care. There wasn’t many places that they could hit easily, but it was enough to distract the enemy from the main thrust of the Newhaven army.
“Three men are dead Pondus!”
Chandos hadn’t been pleased with the events that had happened at the camp. Speculation and rumors were whispered with fear and loathing among the men. Theirs had been wild accusations and guesswork at best. Some in favor of their commanding Black Knight, other’s in spiteful doubts for Grim. All of them marching in tired repetition back to Newhaven. Beckoned by Mageria to return for new orders. Ahead of the group the leaders were hissing words of debate to another.
“You let them walk out of there alive, you let them kill our soldiers!”
“I let them do nothing Chandos, and I do not answer to you.”
The aged man wiped the sweat from his brow he was exasperated from their winded argument and hopeless to do much else but spit venom at the knight. Good warriors had died for no reason, and for Chandos the blame fell to their dotting leader. A man who had encountered an assassin and let him leave without struggle. Even worse they were members of the Pack and deserved nothing short of execution just for being in his presence.
“What’s gotten into you Grim? You’re a Black Knight Pondus the Wolfpack is our most hated enemy. This injustice will not go unpunished!”
Chandos would regret his words once he felt the fist rocket against his face. When the realization struck he was dumbfounded. Absent mindedly holding his cheek as he sifted through the dizziness that appeared. He kept moving though now he stammered a bit, trying to keep the men from seeing him weak.
“Injustice… You’re so buried in your misgivings you’re blind to the reality we’re facing. Newhaven isn’t a fortress and we’re losing ground fast. Every generation this war has dragged through has left us weaker and weaker. It won’t be long before Newhaven is a legend and its people are gone.”
“I can’t let this go Pondus.”
“Then go do what you have to, and I will do the same…”
That conversation had felt like days ago. Of course he hadn’t seen the bald general since they had passed through the gates of Newhaven’s keep. Grim had decided to visit the archives and delve right into his research. Of course the old library retained much history in its walls, but its true purpose served to help educate Enlightened on their conditions and to ease the burden of understanding their gifts. There was also the occasional public novel or poem, but these were for refined tastes and interests.
Grim sat hunched over a small desk pouring through manuals thick with dust and reeking of mold. He was vigilant in his search to find some sort of logs that tracked Enlightened in Newhaven. His hunt was in vain and hours were wasted as he sought for answers. Inklings and hints could be ascertained but he wanted so much more. There had to be proof to the Wolf’s story something more then just mere words. In his heart he knew it.
The research was tedious and Grim caught himself drifting in and out of sleep between scouring scrolls and tomes. Time was lost adrift a sea of information and dreaming. When another life had found Grim it was wholly unexpected. The keeper of the books was an ancient man with thin stick like limbs and a long gray beard. His eyes were dark wizened with years of experience and fleeting knowledge. He moved rigidly with pain in his joints keeping a dim lantern aloft over his head. Lupin he was called by Grim though his real name had been lost to dementia.
“There you are sir knight,” the old man’s voice was barely a whisper and spoke with gentleness. “Many callings have been sent for you. This morning the men went to war.”
“Went where Lupin?” Grim forced himself to his feet masking his concern.
“They ride to Blackpond. I pray for their safe return.”
The Black Knight moved with sudden alarm. Taking up his sword he brushed past the elder heading for the stairs. Moving briskly and with stern intentions. “Thank you Lupin,” he managed in his rush for the exit.
“Till all are one sir knight.”
Grim gave a quiet nod a serene smile taking his lips. That was a line he hadn’t heard in a long time. The small mantra that ensured their reunion to be a joyous one. When or where such reunion would happen was up to interpretation but Grim liked to think that it talked of heaven.
When he had emerged into the Newhaven commons there was no need to plot his course. Advancing toward the stables was just the beginning. Taking a steed strong enough to bear his weight, Grim began his journey toward Blackpond. Knowing that the battle could well be over long before his arrival, he was determined to aid his comrades. There was no way to stop the fighting not right now, the least he could do was fulfill his vows to Newhaven.
Chandos hadn’t been pleased with the events that had happened at the camp. Speculation and rumors were whispered with fear and loathing among the men. Theirs had been wild accusations and guesswork at best. Some in favor of their commanding Black Knight, other’s in spiteful doubts for Grim. All of them marching in tired repetition back to Newhaven. Beckoned by Mageria to return for new orders. Ahead of the group the leaders were hissing words of debate to another.
“You let them walk out of there alive, you let them kill our soldiers!”
“I let them do nothing Chandos, and I do not answer to you.”
The aged man wiped the sweat from his brow he was exasperated from their winded argument and hopeless to do much else but spit venom at the knight. Good warriors had died for no reason, and for Chandos the blame fell to their dotting leader. A man who had encountered an assassin and let him leave without struggle. Even worse they were members of the Pack and deserved nothing short of execution just for being in his presence.
“What’s gotten into you Grim? You’re a Black Knight Pondus the Wolfpack is our most hated enemy. This injustice will not go unpunished!”
Chandos would regret his words once he felt the fist rocket against his face. When the realization struck he was dumbfounded. Absent mindedly holding his cheek as he sifted through the dizziness that appeared. He kept moving though now he stammered a bit, trying to keep the men from seeing him weak.
“Injustice… You’re so buried in your misgivings you’re blind to the reality we’re facing. Newhaven isn’t a fortress and we’re losing ground fast. Every generation this war has dragged through has left us weaker and weaker. It won’t be long before Newhaven is a legend and its people are gone.”
“I can’t let this go Pondus.”
“Then go do what you have to, and I will do the same…”
That conversation had felt like days ago. Of course he hadn’t seen the bald general since they had passed through the gates of Newhaven’s keep. Grim had decided to visit the archives and delve right into his research. Of course the old library retained much history in its walls, but its true purpose served to help educate Enlightened on their conditions and to ease the burden of understanding their gifts. There was also the occasional public novel or poem, but these were for refined tastes and interests.
Grim sat hunched over a small desk pouring through manuals thick with dust and reeking of mold. He was vigilant in his search to find some sort of logs that tracked Enlightened in Newhaven. His hunt was in vain and hours were wasted as he sought for answers. Inklings and hints could be ascertained but he wanted so much more. There had to be proof to the Wolf’s story something more then just mere words. In his heart he knew it.
The research was tedious and Grim caught himself drifting in and out of sleep between scouring scrolls and tomes. Time was lost adrift a sea of information and dreaming. When another life had found Grim it was wholly unexpected. The keeper of the books was an ancient man with thin stick like limbs and a long gray beard. His eyes were dark wizened with years of experience and fleeting knowledge. He moved rigidly with pain in his joints keeping a dim lantern aloft over his head. Lupin he was called by Grim though his real name had been lost to dementia.
“There you are sir knight,” the old man’s voice was barely a whisper and spoke with gentleness. “Many callings have been sent for you. This morning the men went to war.”
“Went where Lupin?” Grim forced himself to his feet masking his concern.
“They ride to Blackpond. I pray for their safe return.”
The Black Knight moved with sudden alarm. Taking up his sword he brushed past the elder heading for the stairs. Moving briskly and with stern intentions. “Thank you Lupin,” he managed in his rush for the exit.
“Till all are one sir knight.”
Grim gave a quiet nod a serene smile taking his lips. That was a line he hadn’t heard in a long time. The small mantra that ensured their reunion to be a joyous one. When or where such reunion would happen was up to interpretation but Grim liked to think that it talked of heaven.
When he had emerged into the Newhaven commons there was no need to plot his course. Advancing toward the stables was just the beginning. Taking a steed strong enough to bear his weight, Grim began his journey toward Blackpond. Knowing that the battle could well be over long before his arrival, he was determined to aid his comrades. There was no way to stop the fighting not right now, the least he could do was fulfill his vows to Newhaven.
On the battlefield, both armies clashed together over and over, too evenly matched to gain an advantage over one another. The commanders yelled orders, the trumpets called, and the warriors fought, but still they could not gain advantage one way or the other.
Along the edges of the battlefield, Mageria’s forces slipped along the main force of the battle, weaving in and out in order to distract the Blackpond forces. Here and there they brought down a target, but still they could not make much of a dent.
Swearing, Mageria brought her people around to gather them for another strike. They had worked their way around the back of the battle and for the most part the forces here were well rested and ready for anything that they might try. With swift hand signals she sent them left and right, keeping only a few men with her to continue to harass the rear flank.
“Captain!” One of her men pointed at a small rise a couple hundred feet from them. They were so close that she could clearly see the ornate armor of an officer. He seemed to be giving orders, a thought that bore out when the ranks of spear men pealed off to either side to push toward the Newhaven forces on either side. The rise was only lightly defended from the back, and with a strong enough push they might be able to take it with little casualties from the Newhaven side.
“Archers, take the left and right flank. Chargers, straight up the back. We only have one chance at this, so let’s do it right. Take the commander alive if we can.” She settled her helm firmly on her head and pulled her sword, grimly preparing herself for the coming moments.
Working quickly Mageria and her men moved back through the forests, their mounts making quick work of the underbrush. She waited until they were all ready, really only a moment, but it felt like so much longer. She checked left, then right, and raised her sword. Wait one more moment, and then she brought it down sharply, leading a sudden charge forward, directly toward the mostly unprotected rear of the Blackpond forces. From either side of her, she could hear the twang of the archer’s bows, and the steady hoof beats of the men beside her. A few men went down, but for the most part the Blackpond forces were too surprised to put up much of a fight. Mageria and her men managed to break through the spear men, using the weight of their warhorses to take the advantage. After that it was only a few feet to the officer, who turned and raised his own sword, gleaming in the light.
Mageria brought her own weapon around, fighting with every ounce of her skill to try and subdue the commander. She didn’t think that she could do it without killing the man, which she truly didn’t want to do. But at that moment, one of her other men must have seen her trouble. He pulled forth a sling, not the most noble of weapons, but one that was eminently useful. He swung once, twice about his head and let it fly. The stone flew true and fast, whizzing through the air to strike the commander full in the helm. Stunned, he dropped his sword and staggered for just a moment. Mageria seized her chance and sheathing her sword, she leaned over and with a scream of effort grabbed the man and hauled him to lay across the saddle in front of her. Wheeling about, she charged back into the forest, her men on either side of her. Working her way back toward the protected flank of the Newhaven forces, she could hear the Blackpond solders starting to fall apart with the loss of their commander. It was the best that she could have hoped for.
Once they reached relative safety, she sent one of her men to report to Captain Krander. He worked his way through the guards that Captain Mageria had insisted on in her paranoia.
“Captain!” He saluted and struggled to get his message out, still winded from the fight.
“Captain Mageria sent me to tell you that she has captured the Commander of the Blackpond forces. She’s withdrawing back to where it’s safer, and suggests that you do so as well. She believes that the Blackpond forces will falter without their leader and that a small force will be able to hold them off.” He pulled off his helm and pulled out a water flask, drinking thirstily.
“She also suggests that capturing the Commander is a far worse blow to moral than we could strike in any other way.” He swayed slightly in his saddle, battle fatigue starting to catch up with him.
Along the edges of the battlefield, Mageria’s forces slipped along the main force of the battle, weaving in and out in order to distract the Blackpond forces. Here and there they brought down a target, but still they could not make much of a dent.
Swearing, Mageria brought her people around to gather them for another strike. They had worked their way around the back of the battle and for the most part the forces here were well rested and ready for anything that they might try. With swift hand signals she sent them left and right, keeping only a few men with her to continue to harass the rear flank.
“Captain!” One of her men pointed at a small rise a couple hundred feet from them. They were so close that she could clearly see the ornate armor of an officer. He seemed to be giving orders, a thought that bore out when the ranks of spear men pealed off to either side to push toward the Newhaven forces on either side. The rise was only lightly defended from the back, and with a strong enough push they might be able to take it with little casualties from the Newhaven side.
“Archers, take the left and right flank. Chargers, straight up the back. We only have one chance at this, so let’s do it right. Take the commander alive if we can.” She settled her helm firmly on her head and pulled her sword, grimly preparing herself for the coming moments.
Working quickly Mageria and her men moved back through the forests, their mounts making quick work of the underbrush. She waited until they were all ready, really only a moment, but it felt like so much longer. She checked left, then right, and raised her sword. Wait one more moment, and then she brought it down sharply, leading a sudden charge forward, directly toward the mostly unprotected rear of the Blackpond forces. From either side of her, she could hear the twang of the archer’s bows, and the steady hoof beats of the men beside her. A few men went down, but for the most part the Blackpond forces were too surprised to put up much of a fight. Mageria and her men managed to break through the spear men, using the weight of their warhorses to take the advantage. After that it was only a few feet to the officer, who turned and raised his own sword, gleaming in the light.
Mageria brought her own weapon around, fighting with every ounce of her skill to try and subdue the commander. She didn’t think that she could do it without killing the man, which she truly didn’t want to do. But at that moment, one of her other men must have seen her trouble. He pulled forth a sling, not the most noble of weapons, but one that was eminently useful. He swung once, twice about his head and let it fly. The stone flew true and fast, whizzing through the air to strike the commander full in the helm. Stunned, he dropped his sword and staggered for just a moment. Mageria seized her chance and sheathing her sword, she leaned over and with a scream of effort grabbed the man and hauled him to lay across the saddle in front of her. Wheeling about, she charged back into the forest, her men on either side of her. Working her way back toward the protected flank of the Newhaven forces, she could hear the Blackpond solders starting to fall apart with the loss of their commander. It was the best that she could have hoped for.
Once they reached relative safety, she sent one of her men to report to Captain Krander. He worked his way through the guards that Captain Mageria had insisted on in her paranoia.
“Captain!” He saluted and struggled to get his message out, still winded from the fight.
“Captain Mageria sent me to tell you that she has captured the Commander of the Blackpond forces. She’s withdrawing back to where it’s safer, and suggests that you do so as well. She believes that the Blackpond forces will falter without their leader and that a small force will be able to hold them off.” He pulled off his helm and pulled out a water flask, drinking thirstily.
“She also suggests that capturing the Commander is a far worse blow to moral than we could strike in any other way.” He swayed slightly in his saddle, battle fatigue starting to catch up with him.
Krander hated being captain some times. He was never allowed to be there right when the battle started, but only to help sway the fight and leave, as was tradition for the White Knight captain. He was born and trained a fighter. He wanted to fight, but was left unable to except during the largest of battles.
He sat in the forest about a quarter mile back, far from archer range with one man and one woman to defend him in case of an ambush. He was humming and warming up his voice when he saw a man riding towards them. The woman drew her bow back and muttered, "On your orders captain."
"Hold your fire. He appears to be with us." As he got closer the Newhaven armor shone clearly in the sun.
Captain!” He saluted and struggled to get his message out, still winded from the fight.
“Captain Mageria sent me to tell you that she has captured the Commander of the Blackpond forces. She’s withdrawing back to where it’s safer, and suggests that you do so as well. She believes that the Blackpond forces will falter without their leader and that a small force will be able to hold them off.” He pulled off his helm and pulled out a water flask, drinking thirstily.
“She also suggests that capturing the Commander is a far worse blow to moral than we could strike in any other way.” He swayed slightly in his saddle, battle fatigue starting to catch up with him.
"Damn. Right as I was prepared to battle. I agree, I will ride into battle, and give the command. I suppose now isn't the best time to reveal my ability either, so everything has worked out except for my boredom."
He kicked his horses flanks and with a "Yah." he was off. He arrived and gave the signal to allow retreat from battle. All blows were now defensive on the Newhaven side. The soldiers started pushing down the Blackpond knights and telling them to leave with their lives. A few stubborn knights remained to fight taking a few more New Haven lives, but once they were eliminated the rest fell back.
He boomed over his command, "Fall back to our marked spot, and set up camp. Those of you who know the drill, set up the perimeter."
He hadn't swung a sword in a long time, and he thought of that as figurative and literal. He wanted to see Phelix badly and he wanted to fight. He would probably be holding spars in the night to keep moral up and to stay warmed up for any possible ambush during the night.
He sat in the forest about a quarter mile back, far from archer range with one man and one woman to defend him in case of an ambush. He was humming and warming up his voice when he saw a man riding towards them. The woman drew her bow back and muttered, "On your orders captain."
"Hold your fire. He appears to be with us." As he got closer the Newhaven armor shone clearly in the sun.
Captain!” He saluted and struggled to get his message out, still winded from the fight.
“Captain Mageria sent me to tell you that she has captured the Commander of the Blackpond forces. She’s withdrawing back to where it’s safer, and suggests that you do so as well. She believes that the Blackpond forces will falter without their leader and that a small force will be able to hold them off.” He pulled off his helm and pulled out a water flask, drinking thirstily.
“She also suggests that capturing the Commander is a far worse blow to moral than we could strike in any other way.” He swayed slightly in his saddle, battle fatigue starting to catch up with him.
"Damn. Right as I was prepared to battle. I agree, I will ride into battle, and give the command. I suppose now isn't the best time to reveal my ability either, so everything has worked out except for my boredom."
He kicked his horses flanks and with a "Yah." he was off. He arrived and gave the signal to allow retreat from battle. All blows were now defensive on the Newhaven side. The soldiers started pushing down the Blackpond knights and telling them to leave with their lives. A few stubborn knights remained to fight taking a few more New Haven lives, but once they were eliminated the rest fell back.
He boomed over his command, "Fall back to our marked spot, and set up camp. Those of you who know the drill, set up the perimeter."
He hadn't swung a sword in a long time, and he thought of that as figurative and literal. He wanted to see Phelix badly and he wanted to fight. He would probably be holding spars in the night to keep moral up and to stay warmed up for any possible ambush during the night.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena hadn't slept all night. She had a group of healers waiting for her command, but she was finding it difficult to keep her clan under control and, at the moment, her advisors were having trouble reaching an understanding. Out of the four men, Alistair was the only one still silent.
"They can simply crush us at any moment. I think the best we can do is keep out distance from this."
"And do what they are trying to intimidate us into doing? Acting like cowards in order to stay out of trouble? I'm not sure I am comfortable with that notion."
Lena let out a small sigh. Her eyes were closed and soon enough the voices around were nothing more than background noise. The question had been if they should send a group to help survivors on the battle that had broken down between the two armies. Somehow that discussion had turned towards Blackpond, and their recent attitudes towards the White Shadows. Once she opened her eyes again, the discussion had escalated into a heated argument, and one of the healers was standing up, clenched fists. "I will not have our people live in fear because we refuse to take a stand!" he exclaimed.
"Sit, or I will make you." Lena ordered in a calm tone.
The man hesitated for a second, but eventually he took his seat on the floor amongst the others. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his tone before speaking again. "Our healers are afraid of traveling to Newhaven. The soldiers from Blackpond have been harassing them and making threats. The last group we sent returned before even reaching half of the path to the City."
Lena smiled gently at the man. "And you suggest that, since they are threatening us, we should simply do as they, oh so kindly, ask and stop aiding Newhaven?" She laughed. "That is not the smartest way to proceed. We would be pretty much stating that we can be pushed around and bent to any Ruler's will if they persist enough. That is not a message I am willing to send."
Alistair finally spoke his opinion. "I say we address their King and kindly remind him that when Blackpond was being massacred in the past we did not hesitate to offer them our services in spite of Newhaven's requests. If even so he is not willing to leave us at peace, then maybe we should remind him of how much we are needed."
Lena glared at him. "I'm not comfortable with leaving soldiers to die simply to prove a point, Alistair."
Alistair bowed his head slightly. "I understand, but something needs to be done. We cannot sit and accept this kind of disrespect. Hopefully the threat will suffice."
Lena stared at the men, locking her gaze on each one of them at a time, finally she opened a half-smile. "I will send their King Rory a personal message. Meanwhile, if no one else has the courage to travel to Newhaven... I will head for the city myself. I doubt any soldier would be dumb enough to try and intimidate me."
Lena stood up from the ground where she had been seated and looked at Alistair. "Send our healers to the battlefield to aid the soldiers... Any soldiers. Make that much clear to them. There will be no taking sides unless I say so."
Alistair stood up and took a bow before leaving. Lena faced the other three men. "Return to your duties."
The other three men left her tent taking respectful bows as they did so. She could tell they were unsatisfied, so was she. It was time she started to show Blackpond that the help of her clan was not something to be taken for granted. Nothing in the world ever comes for free.
"They can simply crush us at any moment. I think the best we can do is keep out distance from this."
"And do what they are trying to intimidate us into doing? Acting like cowards in order to stay out of trouble? I'm not sure I am comfortable with that notion."
Lena let out a small sigh. Her eyes were closed and soon enough the voices around were nothing more than background noise. The question had been if they should send a group to help survivors on the battle that had broken down between the two armies. Somehow that discussion had turned towards Blackpond, and their recent attitudes towards the White Shadows. Once she opened her eyes again, the discussion had escalated into a heated argument, and one of the healers was standing up, clenched fists. "I will not have our people live in fear because we refuse to take a stand!" he exclaimed.
"Sit, or I will make you." Lena ordered in a calm tone.
The man hesitated for a second, but eventually he took his seat on the floor amongst the others. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his tone before speaking again. "Our healers are afraid of traveling to Newhaven. The soldiers from Blackpond have been harassing them and making threats. The last group we sent returned before even reaching half of the path to the City."
Lena smiled gently at the man. "And you suggest that, since they are threatening us, we should simply do as they, oh so kindly, ask and stop aiding Newhaven?" She laughed. "That is not the smartest way to proceed. We would be pretty much stating that we can be pushed around and bent to any Ruler's will if they persist enough. That is not a message I am willing to send."
Alistair finally spoke his opinion. "I say we address their King and kindly remind him that when Blackpond was being massacred in the past we did not hesitate to offer them our services in spite of Newhaven's requests. If even so he is not willing to leave us at peace, then maybe we should remind him of how much we are needed."
Lena glared at him. "I'm not comfortable with leaving soldiers to die simply to prove a point, Alistair."
Alistair bowed his head slightly. "I understand, but something needs to be done. We cannot sit and accept this kind of disrespect. Hopefully the threat will suffice."
Lena stared at the men, locking her gaze on each one of them at a time, finally she opened a half-smile. "I will send their King Rory a personal message. Meanwhile, if no one else has the courage to travel to Newhaven... I will head for the city myself. I doubt any soldier would be dumb enough to try and intimidate me."
Lena stood up from the ground where she had been seated and looked at Alistair. "Send our healers to the battlefield to aid the soldiers... Any soldiers. Make that much clear to them. There will be no taking sides unless I say so."
Alistair stood up and took a bow before leaving. Lena faced the other three men. "Return to your duties."
The other three men left her tent taking respectful bows as they did so. She could tell they were unsatisfied, so was she. It was time she started to show Blackpond that the help of her clan was not something to be taken for granted. Nothing in the world ever comes for free.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
"Take my friendly warning Evin, push this out of your mind, because digging into it could bring some unpleasant consequences. For me, for you, and specially for Crys." Jake got up to leave, just as his food was coming in. The lady had prepared a nice soup for him and it was all going to go to waist. Evin looked away from Jake and started playing with his rope dart. Jake continued to leave at a sluggish pace. Before Jake got too far away from him, Evin said, "You know I hid a secret from the clan for a long time. If I hadn't have done that, we could have found the killer a lot sooner, before he even stole the throne. I was too worried about what pain it would cause me, and I didn't look at the big picture. Look where we are now!" He paused for a second, he was getting too worked up. "If you hide a secret for too long, the unpleasant consequences you once thought to be unpleasant will be the least of your worries."
He let Jake go after that. There was nothing else more he could say. Evin could tell that the secret he was hiding was killing him inside, but if only he knew what the problem was.
"Where is Jake going. He looked a little run down so I made a soup for him." The old cook said, disappointed that everything she worked for was in vain.
Evin would have been kind and taken the soup for himself, but he refused to eat the food that was made here. He just sat and watched the woman ponder over soup.
He let Jake go after that. There was nothing else more he could say. Evin could tell that the secret he was hiding was killing him inside, but if only he knew what the problem was.
"Where is Jake going. He looked a little run down so I made a soup for him." The old cook said, disappointed that everything she worked for was in vain.
Evin would have been kind and taken the soup for himself, but he refused to eat the food that was made here. He just sat and watched the woman ponder over soup.
(Summary of the Siege of the Newhaven Encampment)
--
The battle had lasted for much longer than expected. The noon sun shone brigtly in the sky, and yet neither side had really gained nor lost any ground.
The White Knights had taken a beating, much from the deployment of the nearly impenetrable schiltrons, but the overzealous efforts of the Blackpond forces ultimately led to their own demise. Most of the force was demoralised from witnessing their commander fall and then become a hostage at the hands of enemy forces, but a rally was called on their part and they continued to fight, hoping to save the life of their beloved general.
But inevitably the battle was a stalemate. The grounds of Valcrest now littered with blood, a few soldiers and mourners can be seen surveying the dead, looking for lost loved ones or perhaps looking for usable pickings. A tight code of honor is all that kept these citizens and soldiers from being killed on the spot.
--
King Rory
The mangled bodies lay strewn as far as the eye can see, and well beyond that. Severed limbs and other bloody parts could be found everywhere.
The once gleaming breastplates of the armies of both sides now lay in the dirt, caked with both mud and the blood of comrades. Though the battle had ended in a stalemate, few had actually survived, as the cities of Newhaven and Blackpond tended to be brutal with victory and defeat.
Rory walked amongst the corpses, grieving for each slain soldier he laid his eyes upon. His heart cried out further for any of those whom had not been lucky enough to die but had been captured by Newhaven, among them being Hastings.
Rory wept until morning at the loss of his people and for the loss of his beloved Lieutenent.
A servant had come to check on him, but Rory waved him off and bade him to fetch a messenger to his quarters.
Rory then sent said messenger to Newhaven after Phelix, as Rory wished to speak with him as soon as he could.
--
The battle had lasted for much longer than expected. The noon sun shone brigtly in the sky, and yet neither side had really gained nor lost any ground.
The White Knights had taken a beating, much from the deployment of the nearly impenetrable schiltrons, but the overzealous efforts of the Blackpond forces ultimately led to their own demise. Most of the force was demoralised from witnessing their commander fall and then become a hostage at the hands of enemy forces, but a rally was called on their part and they continued to fight, hoping to save the life of their beloved general.
But inevitably the battle was a stalemate. The grounds of Valcrest now littered with blood, a few soldiers and mourners can be seen surveying the dead, looking for lost loved ones or perhaps looking for usable pickings. A tight code of honor is all that kept these citizens and soldiers from being killed on the spot.
--
King Rory
The mangled bodies lay strewn as far as the eye can see, and well beyond that. Severed limbs and other bloody parts could be found everywhere.
The once gleaming breastplates of the armies of both sides now lay in the dirt, caked with both mud and the blood of comrades. Though the battle had ended in a stalemate, few had actually survived, as the cities of Newhaven and Blackpond tended to be brutal with victory and defeat.
Rory walked amongst the corpses, grieving for each slain soldier he laid his eyes upon. His heart cried out further for any of those whom had not been lucky enough to die but had been captured by Newhaven, among them being Hastings.
Rory wept until morning at the loss of his people and for the loss of his beloved Lieutenent.
A servant had come to check on him, but Rory waved him off and bade him to fetch a messenger to his quarters.
Rory then sent said messenger to Newhaven after Phelix, as Rory wished to speak with him as soon as he could.
Phelix had finally gotten to Newhaven, after taking a nice detour and long walk around. He was excited to see Krander but needed the walk to still his nerves. He also had not been around Valcrest much lately so seeing the beautiful nature was a nice break as well.
He entered Newhaven and walked directly to the house he had rented for the week. He inserted his key which had been under the mat and walked in. He immediately wrote a note and folded it into an envelope. He waved some good luck upon it and strolled over to the castle. He found a guard and slowly approached, hand ready to make an attack on himself fail or have the guard fall or something similar.
"Excuse me." he said rather loudly.
The guard stood at attention and turned towards him. 'He was sleeping,' Phelix thought to himself.
"Hi there, if you could find someone to deliver this to Captain Krander it would be very gracious of you. Also, please allow what is private to remain private?"
The guard under the helm gave him a look Phelix could not see, which would have read, 'Oh, I intend not only to read it, but never to deliver it.'
"Of course sir, good day." The Guard grabbed the envelope and "luckily," he forgot his previous notions.
"It may be noted that Krander as at war right now, and we do not know when to expect him back.
Phelix nodded, saddened, and turned to head to his temporary home, alone and defeated.
He entered Newhaven and walked directly to the house he had rented for the week. He inserted his key which had been under the mat and walked in. He immediately wrote a note and folded it into an envelope. He waved some good luck upon it and strolled over to the castle. He found a guard and slowly approached, hand ready to make an attack on himself fail or have the guard fall or something similar.
"Excuse me." he said rather loudly.
The guard stood at attention and turned towards him. 'He was sleeping,' Phelix thought to himself.
"Hi there, if you could find someone to deliver this to Captain Krander it would be very gracious of you. Also, please allow what is private to remain private?"
The guard under the helm gave him a look Phelix could not see, which would have read, 'Oh, I intend not only to read it, but never to deliver it.'
"Of course sir, good day." The Guard grabbed the envelope and "luckily," he forgot his previous notions.
"It may be noted that Krander as at war right now, and we do not know when to expect him back.
Phelix nodded, saddened, and turned to head to his temporary home, alone and defeated.
(At the battle before Blackpond)
The ride was hard and unbearable but somehow the Black Knight had managed all the way to Blackpond’s gates. His horse was tired and welcomed the rest now that their journey was over. Grim however was still fresh but his blade would not go to work this day. For by the time his feet had touched the firm ground Krander had emerged onto the scene and gave the signal to pull back.
Much to his own small comfort it appeared Newhaven had been victorious. A win that the soldiers needed and the people back home would welcome. Morale was such a finicky thing and it felt like they hadn’t had good news in such a long time. Grim even found himself smiling at the knowledge but quickly banished such an outlook in order to focus. He wasn’t here to bask in glory.
When the last of Blackpond’s men withdrew or fell, silence began to settle in. The lines of Newhaven retreated back toward the forest, having likely decided to encamp somewhere nearby. Of course this was all a guess, and Grim decided that to find out was to follow. Trailing behind the glinting armors of his brethren to see where it would take him. He had been unable to spot any ranking officials during the march. There were a few captains that he managed to pick out, but theirs was a rank that could not lead him. Surely there had to be someone more then just Krander behind this operation.
Grim didn’t bother to worry himself with checking in. His was a guise that no one could confuse and with time someone of importance would find him. For now he just walked patiently along idly chatting with those that would speak. Learning much of what had transpired from the mouths of the weary.
The ride was hard and unbearable but somehow the Black Knight had managed all the way to Blackpond’s gates. His horse was tired and welcomed the rest now that their journey was over. Grim however was still fresh but his blade would not go to work this day. For by the time his feet had touched the firm ground Krander had emerged onto the scene and gave the signal to pull back.
Much to his own small comfort it appeared Newhaven had been victorious. A win that the soldiers needed and the people back home would welcome. Morale was such a finicky thing and it felt like they hadn’t had good news in such a long time. Grim even found himself smiling at the knowledge but quickly banished such an outlook in order to focus. He wasn’t here to bask in glory.
When the last of Blackpond’s men withdrew or fell, silence began to settle in. The lines of Newhaven retreated back toward the forest, having likely decided to encamp somewhere nearby. Of course this was all a guess, and Grim decided that to find out was to follow. Trailing behind the glinting armors of his brethren to see where it would take him. He had been unable to spot any ranking officials during the march. There were a few captains that he managed to pick out, but theirs was a rank that could not lead him. Surely there had to be someone more then just Krander behind this operation.
Grim didn’t bother to worry himself with checking in. His was a guise that no one could confuse and with time someone of importance would find him. For now he just walked patiently along idly chatting with those that would speak. Learning much of what had transpired from the mouths of the weary.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
"It's morning." Crys woke up to a familiar voice sounding in her ears. Annie's voice. She immediately realized she probably fell asleep where she was seated, under the tree at the memorial. She immediately felt pain on her knees and her back when she stretched her legs. She felt a blanket slide off of her when she moved. "Annie... How long have you been watching me sleep?" She asked, a little annoyed that the girl hadn't waken her up.
Annie chuckled. "Not long. I went to see some of the healers that were at the battlefield to rescue survivors. They said there wasn't much left to save. Gruesome sight, those were the words they used." Annie made a pause, probably reminding herself of the fact that Crys had just woken up. "Anyway... It's over now. The night was quiet and they were fighting close enough to the forest to be... Bothersome for you, so Jake suggested we let you sleep through it."
"Jake was here?"
Annie sighed. "Oh, yes... He was, but I haven't seen him since the battle started. He told me that... He probably had nothing to tell you that you don't already know. Either way he will be back in a couple of hours. He didn't say where he was going."
Annie said all that really fast. Crys was still a little bit sleepy and didn't catch half of it, plus, she didn't know how long ago the battle ended, but the 'bothersome' sensation was far from being over. Ever since she was a child, Crys could sense death at a considerable distance. The night her father died she carried that sensation with her from Newhaven all the way to Blackpond, before knowing who's death it was she had sensed. It was a rather... Empty, sensation. As if suddenly something inside her had been wiped out.
"I woke you up too early, I guess." Annie stated, probably watching her reaction.
Crys nodded. "No, its fine. I'm already used to it. I barely mind it anymore."
"Your enlightenment wouldn't be such a hassle if you put more efforts into developing it." Annie said casually.
"Are you scolding me Annie? Seriously?" Crys couldn't help but laugh at the girl.
Annie giggled. "Oh, I would never. I'm simply stating it. I mean... Alistair is also an empath and he doesn'thave the same problems you have. He has actually learned to influence people's emotions as well. It is very useful, if used with caution.
"I know that." Crys mumbled in an annoyed tone. "And you think I'm being lazy."
"No. I think you are afraid. Pain is frightening, I understand it."
"You're too smart for your own sake, kid." Crys nodded, smilling as she got on her feet and folded the blanket over her arm. "Wait, what did you said Jake told you?"
Annie sighed. "He asked me to tell you that... He had nothing to say to you that you don't already know, and he'll be back in a few hours."
"Damn liar." Crys muttered to herself. There were definitely things Jake had to say that she didn't already know. Of course, by that he meant he wasn't going to talk about it.
Annie sighed. "I left a book on your bed. I know people come in and out of your house all day, but I doubt they would go as far as to touch your bed. My mother sent it. It's the information on the Shadow's weapon. She thought it might be helpful to you."
Crys nodded. She hadn't really thought about that dagger since after the battle. She would have maybe Ali or Evin have a look at it. She definitely didn't want that book in the hands of anyone outside the group that had been face to face with the Shadow. "Alright Annie, thank you for the information."
"Don't mention it." Annie stated with a small chuckle, then she turned more serious and added. "Crys... Whatever Jake is doing, I honestly think he should stop."
Annie said that and walked away from the memorial. Crys smiled slightly as the girl walked away. She wasn't fooled in one bit by Lena's excuses for having her daughter work in their camp. She didn't consider the ruins to be as safe as they once were and wanted Crys to protect the girl. Which, of course, was the least Crys could do for her. However it did point out the fact that there was no longer a safe place to run away to... The war was just everywhere.
Annie chuckled. "Not long. I went to see some of the healers that were at the battlefield to rescue survivors. They said there wasn't much left to save. Gruesome sight, those were the words they used." Annie made a pause, probably reminding herself of the fact that Crys had just woken up. "Anyway... It's over now. The night was quiet and they were fighting close enough to the forest to be... Bothersome for you, so Jake suggested we let you sleep through it."
"Jake was here?"
Annie sighed. "Oh, yes... He was, but I haven't seen him since the battle started. He told me that... He probably had nothing to tell you that you don't already know. Either way he will be back in a couple of hours. He didn't say where he was going."
Annie said all that really fast. Crys was still a little bit sleepy and didn't catch half of it, plus, she didn't know how long ago the battle ended, but the 'bothersome' sensation was far from being over. Ever since she was a child, Crys could sense death at a considerable distance. The night her father died she carried that sensation with her from Newhaven all the way to Blackpond, before knowing who's death it was she had sensed. It was a rather... Empty, sensation. As if suddenly something inside her had been wiped out.
"I woke you up too early, I guess." Annie stated, probably watching her reaction.
Crys nodded. "No, its fine. I'm already used to it. I barely mind it anymore."
"Your enlightenment wouldn't be such a hassle if you put more efforts into developing it." Annie said casually.
"Are you scolding me Annie? Seriously?" Crys couldn't help but laugh at the girl.
Annie giggled. "Oh, I would never. I'm simply stating it. I mean... Alistair is also an empath and he doesn'thave the same problems you have. He has actually learned to influence people's emotions as well. It is very useful, if used with caution.
"I know that." Crys mumbled in an annoyed tone. "And you think I'm being lazy."
"No. I think you are afraid. Pain is frightening, I understand it."
"You're too smart for your own sake, kid." Crys nodded, smilling as she got on her feet and folded the blanket over her arm. "Wait, what did you said Jake told you?"
Annie sighed. "He asked me to tell you that... He had nothing to say to you that you don't already know, and he'll be back in a few hours."
"Damn liar." Crys muttered to herself. There were definitely things Jake had to say that she didn't already know. Of course, by that he meant he wasn't going to talk about it.
Annie sighed. "I left a book on your bed. I know people come in and out of your house all day, but I doubt they would go as far as to touch your bed. My mother sent it. It's the information on the Shadow's weapon. She thought it might be helpful to you."
Crys nodded. She hadn't really thought about that dagger since after the battle. She would have maybe Ali or Evin have a look at it. She definitely didn't want that book in the hands of anyone outside the group that had been face to face with the Shadow. "Alright Annie, thank you for the information."
"Don't mention it." Annie stated with a small chuckle, then she turned more serious and added. "Crys... Whatever Jake is doing, I honestly think he should stop."
Annie said that and walked away from the memorial. Crys smiled slightly as the girl walked away. She wasn't fooled in one bit by Lena's excuses for having her daughter work in their camp. She didn't consider the ruins to be as safe as they once were and wanted Crys to protect the girl. Which, of course, was the least Crys could do for her. However it did point out the fact that there was no longer a safe place to run away to... The war was just everywhere.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
As always, the aftermath of battle was harder to bear than the fight itself. Sometime during the charge, a soldier had managed a lucky strike with his spear. She hadn't even noticed it at the time, but it had worked it's way into the vulnerable knee joint and left a deep slash. On top of that she had wrenched just about every single muscle in the upper half of her body hauling the Blackpond commander around. All of which meant that she wasn't in the best mood at the moment. Since she was still on duty, she had to stay in her armor. Which meant that the best she could do for her leg was to wrap a rag around it and hope that she didn't tear it open further or it got infected. She had rubbed it with a cloth soaked in alchole, so she didn't think that was going to be too much of a problem.
Ah, the glorious life of a Knight, she thought to herself. How I would miss this if I left.
She looked toward the tent where she had stashed the Blackpond commander. His weapons had been taken, and he had been sat firmly in an otherwise empty tent, with soldiers outside and two inside. He would keep until she got around to him. Right now she needed to find Krander and report in. Honestly, she had captured the man, but she didn't have a clue what to do next. Torturing someone went against every code she believed in, and she didn't think the man would just tell them what they wanted to know. If need be, she'd haul him back to Newhaven and dump him on the Warlord's desk, but before that happened she'd talk things over with her noble counterpart. Groaning slightly under her breath, she limped off to find the Knight commander.
Ah, the glorious life of a Knight, she thought to herself. How I would miss this if I left.
She looked toward the tent where she had stashed the Blackpond commander. His weapons had been taken, and he had been sat firmly in an otherwise empty tent, with soldiers outside and two inside. He would keep until she got around to him. Right now she needed to find Krander and report in. Honestly, she had captured the man, but she didn't have a clue what to do next. Torturing someone went against every code she believed in, and she didn't think the man would just tell them what they wanted to know. If need be, she'd haul him back to Newhaven and dump him on the Warlord's desk, but before that happened she'd talk things over with her noble counterpart. Groaning slightly under her breath, she limped off to find the Knight commander.
Jake had slept a couple of hours, but his nightmares woke him up before daylight. He never had nightmares before, he always slept soundly even after facing death, but after Dani's death he was unable to close his eyes without reliving the last time he saw her: the day he raided the Wolfpack camp with the Black Knights. Dani had insisted on it, she told him he needed to do whatever was necessary to gain their trust. Jake should have never crossed that line, he should never have put himself in that situation.
At the moment, Jake was sitting by a tree, very close to where the Newhaven officers had made their encampment. He had made himself invisible and had stayed away from the trails so that, no matter how many people passed, no one would trip over his feet. He was simply watching the movement of soldiers walking back and forth... He had been there ever since the battle started, and watched from a small distance as the two armies collided. Jake couldn't help but think of himself as useless right now. He was standing in the middle, but he couldn't actually help the Pack or Newhaven right now. Still he felt more at peace near the army than he ever did at the camp... Maybe it was the fact that he had killed Dani... Not only her, but many other assassins, and he couldn't forgive himself.
Jake managed to hide the fact that he was there during that attack from Crys so far, but he knew it wouldn't last very long. Once she found out, the fact that her mother was killed with a poisoned dart would make it obvious that it had been his doing. She would never forgive him for that. Even if that dart was never shot with the intention to kill, that wouldn't matter to Crys. He shot the dart, and he lied, nothing else would matter. He thought of Evin's words as he watched the soldiers... Evin meant well, but he couldn't understand the problem. Not really. Jake was sure the man would be the first one to want his head on a stick when the truth come to public.
As he thought about all that, he caught a glimpse of a black armor and darted his eyes towards the Black Knight captain as the woman passed. He noticed she was walking with a limp and frowned slightly to himself. After a moment or two of hesitation he got on his feet and decided to follow from a distance just to see if he could find out was going on with the war.
Anyone else would consider such move to be foolish. If something was to happen to brake the illusion, Jake would become visible amongst a crowd of Newhaven soldiers. while wearing assassin clothing. However he had made it a part of his routine to walk quietly and not bump into things. There would probably be no harm in walking around.
At the moment, Jake was sitting by a tree, very close to where the Newhaven officers had made their encampment. He had made himself invisible and had stayed away from the trails so that, no matter how many people passed, no one would trip over his feet. He was simply watching the movement of soldiers walking back and forth... He had been there ever since the battle started, and watched from a small distance as the two armies collided. Jake couldn't help but think of himself as useless right now. He was standing in the middle, but he couldn't actually help the Pack or Newhaven right now. Still he felt more at peace near the army than he ever did at the camp... Maybe it was the fact that he had killed Dani... Not only her, but many other assassins, and he couldn't forgive himself.
Jake managed to hide the fact that he was there during that attack from Crys so far, but he knew it wouldn't last very long. Once she found out, the fact that her mother was killed with a poisoned dart would make it obvious that it had been his doing. She would never forgive him for that. Even if that dart was never shot with the intention to kill, that wouldn't matter to Crys. He shot the dart, and he lied, nothing else would matter. He thought of Evin's words as he watched the soldiers... Evin meant well, but he couldn't understand the problem. Not really. Jake was sure the man would be the first one to want his head on a stick when the truth come to public.
As he thought about all that, he caught a glimpse of a black armor and darted his eyes towards the Black Knight captain as the woman passed. He noticed she was walking with a limp and frowned slightly to himself. After a moment or two of hesitation he got on his feet and decided to follow from a distance just to see if he could find out was going on with the war.
Anyone else would consider such move to be foolish. If something was to happen to brake the illusion, Jake would become visible amongst a crowd of Newhaven soldiers. while wearing assassin clothing. However he had made it a part of his routine to walk quietly and not bump into things. There would probably be no harm in walking around.
(A messenger sent by King Rory)
--
He was not supposed to be there. His mere presence was a clear act of war. However, this man did not care. He and the two men with him were sent on a reconaissance mission based on a report passed onto their superior-King Rory- by another scout. The two men with the messenger normally would have passively discounted any word passed to them by the King (Not all of his subjects are loyal), but the mere mention of Newhaven had sent the men off with the messenger into the unfortunately glorious city.
In these times of war, no pardon was given to any citizen of Blackpond, no matter how peaceful their intenet may be. And because of such, cross-city messaging services of both cities were private and stealthy operations. The program in Blackpond had no name, and for a citizen in Blackpond to deliver a message to a citizen of Newhaven required quite a hefty fee and a personal permit from Rory himself. Rory's Second Lieutenent (Formerly Hastings, but now an open position) was often ordered to read the letter before Rory gave his stamp of approval. Such an act was sometimes looked down upon for "invasion of privacy", but Rory would not have conspirators in his city.
-
The three men quietly worked their way under the city through the sewage drains, and surfaced in what seemed to be a graveyard behind a chapel. They immediately did their best to "blend in", the three acting like mourners over a grave. When their surroundings were clear, they continued into the city, following their directions given to them by the scout to where Phelix was staying. One man knocked on the door while the other two watched for anyone that was giving them too much attention...
--
He was not supposed to be there. His mere presence was a clear act of war. However, this man did not care. He and the two men with him were sent on a reconaissance mission based on a report passed onto their superior-King Rory- by another scout. The two men with the messenger normally would have passively discounted any word passed to them by the King (Not all of his subjects are loyal), but the mere mention of Newhaven had sent the men off with the messenger into the unfortunately glorious city.
In these times of war, no pardon was given to any citizen of Blackpond, no matter how peaceful their intenet may be. And because of such, cross-city messaging services of both cities were private and stealthy operations. The program in Blackpond had no name, and for a citizen in Blackpond to deliver a message to a citizen of Newhaven required quite a hefty fee and a personal permit from Rory himself. Rory's Second Lieutenent (Formerly Hastings, but now an open position) was often ordered to read the letter before Rory gave his stamp of approval. Such an act was sometimes looked down upon for "invasion of privacy", but Rory would not have conspirators in his city.
-
The three men quietly worked their way under the city through the sewage drains, and surfaced in what seemed to be a graveyard behind a chapel. They immediately did their best to "blend in", the three acting like mourners over a grave. When their surroundings were clear, they continued into the city, following their directions given to them by the scout to where Phelix was staying. One man knocked on the door while the other two watched for anyone that was giving them too much attention...
Down the road an old beggar woman sat listlessly on the street corner. She had no family, little money, and rarely knew where she was going to sleep at night. One thing she did have a great deal of was time however. Ever since she joined a certain group, she had a bit more coin at the end of the day. The men down at the end of the road were looking far nervous for them to be here honestly. She slouched down a little further and shook her bowl at a passerby.
Talking to a commander was far from Grim’s mind. At the present he enjoyed the peace. Preparations were being made for the night and the men were gravely silent from the battle. Mourners were common and even from where he stood he could hear the mingled sounds of pain and laughter. Some were overjoyed at their victory, and others were laying on a makeshift cot in agony.
As for the Black Knight specifically he preoccupied himself with lending a hand where he could. Aiding in the chores that needed tending. Fetching wood for the fires, helping set up tents or digging ditches. Keeping himself occupied and ultimately ignorant to his captain’s doings. Of course later he heard that there was an enemy general in their custody. It was a good sign and a clever plan, but Grim couldn’t help feeling doubtful as to its effectiveness. Such wit had won the field today, but who knows what tomorrow would bring.
Blackpond was dealt an insult. They would return angry as ever. Grim frowned at that prospect he knew that hate was poisonous. It could grant incredible feats and even fell foes who are otherwise unbeatable but it has a price. It fills the heart and mind with a madness and blinds reason. He understood this well for there was a rage that shadowed his spirit. Some may call it a blessing, and others a curse. For Grim it’s often a struggle. A lifestyle that required some caution. He was sane most of the time but it only takes one wrong event to set in motion a chain of regrets.
As for the Black Knight specifically he preoccupied himself with lending a hand where he could. Aiding in the chores that needed tending. Fetching wood for the fires, helping set up tents or digging ditches. Keeping himself occupied and ultimately ignorant to his captain’s doings. Of course later he heard that there was an enemy general in their custody. It was a good sign and a clever plan, but Grim couldn’t help feeling doubtful as to its effectiveness. Such wit had won the field today, but who knows what tomorrow would bring.
Blackpond was dealt an insult. They would return angry as ever. Grim frowned at that prospect he knew that hate was poisonous. It could grant incredible feats and even fell foes who are otherwise unbeatable but it has a price. It fills the heart and mind with a madness and blinds reason. He understood this well for there was a rage that shadowed his spirit. Some may call it a blessing, and others a curse. For Grim it’s often a struggle. A lifestyle that required some caution. He was sane most of the time but it only takes one wrong event to set in motion a chain of regrets.
(Eualalius)
--
Eulalius glanced at his former instructor.
How long has it been that I didn't recognizer her?
Then again, she did appear to be young. She may not have been an instructor Eulalius saw much of. Because he was admitted into the guild at an older age than most, his training was ever so slightly less tedious than the other recruits that had trained with him at the time. Come to think of it, Ali seemed young enough that Eulalius may not have even had her as an instructor.
Eulalius took Ali's delimma as a proposition for himself.
"Well, I suppose I could fill that spot for a reliable active. So you're an instructor, you say? I don't believe I trained much, if at all, under you.."
Eulalius smiled again and shook her hand, but continued before she answered.
"So, what exactly is this assignment of yours?"
--
Eulalius glanced at his former instructor.
How long has it been that I didn't recognizer her?
Then again, she did appear to be young. She may not have been an instructor Eulalius saw much of. Because he was admitted into the guild at an older age than most, his training was ever so slightly less tedious than the other recruits that had trained with him at the time. Come to think of it, Ali seemed young enough that Eulalius may not have even had her as an instructor.
Eulalius took Ali's delimma as a proposition for himself.
"Well, I suppose I could fill that spot for a reliable active. So you're an instructor, you say? I don't believe I trained much, if at all, under you.."
Eulalius smiled again and shook her hand, but continued before she answered.
"So, what exactly is this assignment of yours?"
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Allison gave Eulalius a small chuckle. "Oh, you wouldn't have trained under my supervision. I haven't been an instructor very long I only have one recruit and he is a thirteen year old brat. I just point it out because people tend to mistake me for a recruit, and then they try to scold me for carrying weapons." She smirked. "It's all good until they try to put their fingers on my bow... Then I have to get rough on them." Sure it was a strange thing for Ali to say something like that to a man twice her size, but it was the truth.
When he asked about the assignment Ali smiled. "Oh, I'm supposed to go to the ruins and deliver a message to some mercenary fool. Nothing big, but Crys wants me to take someone along."
As she said that the girl she had spoken to earlier turned up and introduced herself. Ali watched the girl for a few seconds then nodded. "Alright. Then I figure we should leave before Crys realizes I haven't even moved yet."
"A bit late for that." Ali froze where she was standing when she heard Crys' voice behind her. Crys laughed. "Calm down. I'm glad you didn't leave. I have a different assignment for you, so I need you to come with me." Crys grabbed her shoulder and started pulling her towards her house.
Ali waved slightly at the other two assassins as she got dragged away. "What about the impostor guy?" She asked Crys, with a small frown.
"He can wait, this cannot." Crys stated, pushing her into the cabin and closing the door. "Sit." She said, pointing at a spot where Ali imagined a chair should be.
Ali chuckled, locating a chair on the other side of the room and placing it at the spot where Crys had pointed before sitting on it. "What is this about?"
Crys looked for something on her bed for a few seconds until she finally found a book underneath her pillow. "This."
Ali watched, a little bit intrigued, as Crys dropped the book on the wooden table and sat across from her. "Annie brought me this book. It's all the information Lena had on the Shadow's dagger. You remember that dagger, right?"
Ali laughed at the question. "Are you serious? Of course I remember it."
"Good." Crys stated. "Read this then and see if you can get any information while you are in Newhaven."
"Newhaven?!" Ali jumped into a standing position with the shock of what she was being asked to do. "You can't honestly expect me to make it into Newhaven."
"Sure you can. All you have to do is put on a white robe and announce yourself as a healer." Crys smirked slightly. "You spent a year with them, I'm sure you can pull that off easily. Most of the Knights are still camped out in the woods. It's the best moment to sneak into their archives."
"What would I be looking for exactly?" Ali asked, sitting back down slowly.
"Any information on the missing prince. Take the Ruler's family tree and tear it apart until you find some kind of lead. Understand?"
"Alright. You want me to leave now, I assume."
"Yes, and... Ali... If you will be passing yourself out as a healer, you have to..." Crys nodded towards the bow Ali held in her left hand.
"My bow? I have to leave my bow." Ali sighed. "I never leave my bow behind, ever."
"You can't conceal the bow Ali. You know that. Healers don't carry weapons." Crys said, seriously.
Ali frowned, intensely, at the thought of leaving her weapon behind. Finally she got on her feet and wandered over to Crys and put the bow in her hands. "Take care of it, will you?"
Crys smiled. "Absolutely. Now get going."
Ali nodded, she took the book and left Crys' cabin, walking to her own. Leaving her quiver and putting on the white robe, that had been left in her bed, over her own clothes. She got a traveling bag ready and walked out of her house straight past the gates, towards Newhaven.
When he asked about the assignment Ali smiled. "Oh, I'm supposed to go to the ruins and deliver a message to some mercenary fool. Nothing big, but Crys wants me to take someone along."
As she said that the girl she had spoken to earlier turned up and introduced herself. Ali watched the girl for a few seconds then nodded. "Alright. Then I figure we should leave before Crys realizes I haven't even moved yet."
"A bit late for that." Ali froze where she was standing when she heard Crys' voice behind her. Crys laughed. "Calm down. I'm glad you didn't leave. I have a different assignment for you, so I need you to come with me." Crys grabbed her shoulder and started pulling her towards her house.
Ali waved slightly at the other two assassins as she got dragged away. "What about the impostor guy?" She asked Crys, with a small frown.
"He can wait, this cannot." Crys stated, pushing her into the cabin and closing the door. "Sit." She said, pointing at a spot where Ali imagined a chair should be.
Ali chuckled, locating a chair on the other side of the room and placing it at the spot where Crys had pointed before sitting on it. "What is this about?"
Crys looked for something on her bed for a few seconds until she finally found a book underneath her pillow. "This."
Ali watched, a little bit intrigued, as Crys dropped the book on the wooden table and sat across from her. "Annie brought me this book. It's all the information Lena had on the Shadow's dagger. You remember that dagger, right?"
Ali laughed at the question. "Are you serious? Of course I remember it."
"Good." Crys stated. "Read this then and see if you can get any information while you are in Newhaven."
"Newhaven?!" Ali jumped into a standing position with the shock of what she was being asked to do. "You can't honestly expect me to make it into Newhaven."
"Sure you can. All you have to do is put on a white robe and announce yourself as a healer." Crys smirked slightly. "You spent a year with them, I'm sure you can pull that off easily. Most of the Knights are still camped out in the woods. It's the best moment to sneak into their archives."
"What would I be looking for exactly?" Ali asked, sitting back down slowly.
"Any information on the missing prince. Take the Ruler's family tree and tear it apart until you find some kind of lead. Understand?"
"Alright. You want me to leave now, I assume."
"Yes, and... Ali... If you will be passing yourself out as a healer, you have to..." Crys nodded towards the bow Ali held in her left hand.
"My bow? I have to leave my bow." Ali sighed. "I never leave my bow behind, ever."
"You can't conceal the bow Ali. You know that. Healers don't carry weapons." Crys said, seriously.
Ali frowned, intensely, at the thought of leaving her weapon behind. Finally she got on her feet and wandered over to Crys and put the bow in her hands. "Take care of it, will you?"
Crys smiled. "Absolutely. Now get going."
Ali nodded, she took the book and left Crys' cabin, walking to her own. Leaving her quiver and putting on the white robe, that had been left in her bed, over her own clothes. She got a traveling bag ready and walked out of her house straight past the gates, towards Newhaven.
Crys let Ali leave, still holding the girl's bow in her hand... She didn't feel right holding it, she knew that Ali didn't like people to put theirs hands on that bow. She took a clean blanket and wrapped it around the weapon, leaving it to rest in a protected place, near her bed. It would be there waiting for when Ali came back. Hopefully she wouldn't get herself in trouble.
After making sure the bow was protected, Crys sat back at the table and scribbled down a note:
I can't afford to send anyone at the moment. I had to change my plans. If there is any trouble, don't hesitate to warn me and I will handle this impostor myself. Otherwise, let him get tired of waiting or come find us himself. I have greater problems on my hands at the moment.
Annie is perfectly fine, just in case you are wondering.
I wish you well, as always.
Crystal
She folded the note and exited the cabin. As soon as she did that, she scanned the camp for the girl that had been waiting for Ali by the entrance. Once she located her, Crys walked a straight line to the young healer. "Blanditia... I apologize, but I won't be sending Allison to the ruins after all. Something came up and I had to give her another assignment." She then handed the girl the folded note. "If you could please deliver this to your leader and apologize for the inconvenience I would be very grateful."
Crys knew Lena would understand. She knew that the woman probably had bigger issues to resolve right now herself. This rogue person would have to wait, luckily for him.
After making sure the bow was protected, Crys sat back at the table and scribbled down a note:
I can't afford to send anyone at the moment. I had to change my plans. If there is any trouble, don't hesitate to warn me and I will handle this impostor myself. Otherwise, let him get tired of waiting or come find us himself. I have greater problems on my hands at the moment.
Annie is perfectly fine, just in case you are wondering.
I wish you well, as always.
Crystal
She folded the note and exited the cabin. As soon as she did that, she scanned the camp for the girl that had been waiting for Ali by the entrance. Once she located her, Crys walked a straight line to the young healer. "Blanditia... I apologize, but I won't be sending Allison to the ruins after all. Something came up and I had to give her another assignment." She then handed the girl the folded note. "If you could please deliver this to your leader and apologize for the inconvenience I would be very grateful."
Crys knew Lena would understand. She knew that the woman probably had bigger issues to resolve right now herself. This rogue person would have to wait, luckily for him.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Blanditia dusted herself off and sighed, "Of course" she said with a sweet but slightly tired smile, "I will leave right away, It was nice to meet you. The next time we meet please just call me B." she said and smiled picking up her bag from the ground and taking the note from Crys. She bowed her head and walked out of the camp in a easy pace, not worrying about being late with this note.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
After Jake left, Evin had fallen asleep at the table he was sitting at. It had been a while since he had had some rest and it was well needed for sure. A couple of hours past until the lady who had the soup woke him up. She didn't mind that Evin was sleeping there, but she didn't like the noise that he was making. It seemed that Evin had been snoring while he slept there and it was rather bothersome. She wouldn't have been the first person to be bothered by Evin though without stopping. He left anyways out of respect. She seemed nice enough.
Evin walked down to his cabin. He could tell that Crystal had been there, but he was used to living with someone now. The cabin was rather large and had three rooms. There were two bedrooms and a common room. The common room was where he usually was. It was where all of the work was done and the meetings were held. It had two desks which were placed at the back two corners of the room. Dividing the two desks was a bookshelf that shot out from the wall. On Evin's side, it contained books that Evin enjoyed and studied from. It also contained a few books that Sebastian had when he was second in command. There was even a few special objects that Evin never dared to touch. In the center of the room was a big table where Evin would usually be found eating, but it was usually used for important meetings. The table was always cleared of anything and was very beaten down. It was older than anyone alive in Valcrest for sure and had probably been witness to hundreds of secret and probably tons of blood as well. The Wolf Pack had gone through some tough times in it's past and there was a long family line of leaders that had been assassinated. That was when Crystal's family had taken control and balanced everything out. The rest of the room contained a few paintings, but they didn't really interest Evin.
The room on the right was Crystal's room. He hadn't been in that room very often, so he could never really remember what it looked like. He knew it was a lot larger than Evin's room though.
Evin's room was originally just a large closet that contained a fair amount of the archives of the Wolf Pack, but after Evin moved in and wanted a room to himself, the archives were moved into a secret room in one of the cabins in the camp. His room was big enough for a bed and a small side table though and that was it. Evin was used to that though and didn't mind all too much because of the fun little secret that he found in his room. There was a floorboard under his bed that was able to be moved. Underneath that was a tunnel that lead to a room that was carved into the center of one of the larger trees in the camp. It was rather new and when he first discovered it, there was nothing in it. He filled it with all of his weapons for his own personal armoury. Evin wasn't sure if Crystal knew about it, but he wasn't sure if Dani even knew about it. There was nothing in the room when he found it. Who knows what it was intended for.
Evin went into this secret room to stock up on some weapons. In the next couple of hours, he would be headed for Newhaven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
When Hastings woke up, he had a sudden panic attack. He wasn't in his room in Castle Blackpond like he thought he was when he was waking up. Instead he was in a tent, being guarded by a couple of individuals in Newhaven armour. Those scum that he probably saw on the battlefield were now holding him hostage. Who knew what was going to happen to him. Would he be killed and displayed to the public, would they send his dead body back to Blackpond? It was interesting to entertain the thought of the several things that could happen to him, but it was also good for Hastings to be in this position. He knew that the Wolf Pack would take care of any situation that they found important to their cause. Despite popular beliefs from Newhaven, tides had been turning and the once impoverished city of Blackpond was taking this war. Hastings wouldn't be surprised if the assassins came out to help them to gain some support from Blackpond. Hastings had a feeling that Roy wouldn't fancy any offers from the Wolf Pack though. After they took out the King of Newhaven, he was sure that Roy would be too nervouse.
The Guards realised after only a few minutes that Hastings had just woken up. It was a rather slow reaction time for people who were supposed to guard him. They began making jokes about how pitiful he looked sitting down there, seemingly defenceless. If Hastings wasn't in the middle of a camp full of these drones, he would have killed both of them by now. Instead he sat and listened to them for a few more minutes before he spoke to the two men.
"I believe that I deserve a bit more respect from you two. I may have been captured, but I probably have more sway in decisions that happen in this camp than either of you two." That shut them up. It was sad because it was probably true. Hastings was an important figure in Blackpond and whatever Newhaven did with them, could effect political tides in this war. "May I speak to your commander as soon as possible. I would like to discuss things with him."
Evin walked down to his cabin. He could tell that Crystal had been there, but he was used to living with someone now. The cabin was rather large and had three rooms. There were two bedrooms and a common room. The common room was where he usually was. It was where all of the work was done and the meetings were held. It had two desks which were placed at the back two corners of the room. Dividing the two desks was a bookshelf that shot out from the wall. On Evin's side, it contained books that Evin enjoyed and studied from. It also contained a few books that Sebastian had when he was second in command. There was even a few special objects that Evin never dared to touch. In the center of the room was a big table where Evin would usually be found eating, but it was usually used for important meetings. The table was always cleared of anything and was very beaten down. It was older than anyone alive in Valcrest for sure and had probably been witness to hundreds of secret and probably tons of blood as well. The Wolf Pack had gone through some tough times in it's past and there was a long family line of leaders that had been assassinated. That was when Crystal's family had taken control and balanced everything out. The rest of the room contained a few paintings, but they didn't really interest Evin.
The room on the right was Crystal's room. He hadn't been in that room very often, so he could never really remember what it looked like. He knew it was a lot larger than Evin's room though.
Evin's room was originally just a large closet that contained a fair amount of the archives of the Wolf Pack, but after Evin moved in and wanted a room to himself, the archives were moved into a secret room in one of the cabins in the camp. His room was big enough for a bed and a small side table though and that was it. Evin was used to that though and didn't mind all too much because of the fun little secret that he found in his room. There was a floorboard under his bed that was able to be moved. Underneath that was a tunnel that lead to a room that was carved into the center of one of the larger trees in the camp. It was rather new and when he first discovered it, there was nothing in it. He filled it with all of his weapons for his own personal armoury. Evin wasn't sure if Crystal knew about it, but he wasn't sure if Dani even knew about it. There was nothing in the room when he found it. Who knows what it was intended for.
Evin went into this secret room to stock up on some weapons. In the next couple of hours, he would be headed for Newhaven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
When Hastings woke up, he had a sudden panic attack. He wasn't in his room in Castle Blackpond like he thought he was when he was waking up. Instead he was in a tent, being guarded by a couple of individuals in Newhaven armour. Those scum that he probably saw on the battlefield were now holding him hostage. Who knew what was going to happen to him. Would he be killed and displayed to the public, would they send his dead body back to Blackpond? It was interesting to entertain the thought of the several things that could happen to him, but it was also good for Hastings to be in this position. He knew that the Wolf Pack would take care of any situation that they found important to their cause. Despite popular beliefs from Newhaven, tides had been turning and the once impoverished city of Blackpond was taking this war. Hastings wouldn't be surprised if the assassins came out to help them to gain some support from Blackpond. Hastings had a feeling that Roy wouldn't fancy any offers from the Wolf Pack though. After they took out the King of Newhaven, he was sure that Roy would be too nervouse.
The Guards realised after only a few minutes that Hastings had just woken up. It was a rather slow reaction time for people who were supposed to guard him. They began making jokes about how pitiful he looked sitting down there, seemingly defenceless. If Hastings wasn't in the middle of a camp full of these drones, he would have killed both of them by now. Instead he sat and listened to them for a few more minutes before he spoke to the two men.
"I believe that I deserve a bit more respect from you two. I may have been captured, but I probably have more sway in decisions that happen in this camp than either of you two." That shut them up. It was sad because it was probably true. Hastings was an important figure in Blackpond and whatever Newhaven did with them, could effect political tides in this war. "May I speak to your commander as soon as possible. I would like to discuss things with him."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Mageria had given up trying to find Krander. He was somewhere, but for the life of her she couldn’t manage to track him down. And frankly, she hurt enough that she didn’t care. She had spent the time instead checking on the men that had rode with her in the final charge, checking on their wounds and finally ducking into her tent to bandage her own wound. She had been sitting in one of the medical tents, gently scolding one of her men for being stupid enough not to block a sword thrust that he should have been able to deflect.
“Next time, when I tell you you need to practice your low blocks, your going to believe me, right?” She turned when a runner coughed behind her. She glanced at him and he saluted, murmuring softly that the Blackpond commander had woken up and was demanding to see her. She nodded and bade her soldier goodbye.
“Ye give ‘em hell, Lady. ‘E’ll never expect ye to be a woman.” The man yawned and settled deeper into his bunk and watched as his commander walked out of the tent. Once he was sure that she was far enough away that he was sure she couldn’t hear him, he muttered under his breath.
“Bloody scary woman, too.”
Mageria walked up to the tent where she had the commander stashed, noting that the soldiers on duty looked rather sloppy. Normally she would have given them hell for such a thing, but this time she had told them to do so, so that the Blackpond commander might underestimate them. She nodded slightly to them and received a ghost of a wink from the one on the right before she ducked inside. She knew that she portrayed a rather grim visage, given that her armor still bore the marks of the recent fighting. She had removed her helm given that they were in camp. Flexing her fingers in her gloves she felt her face settling into a cold mask as she stared expressionlessly at Hastings.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Next time, when I tell you you need to practice your low blocks, your going to believe me, right?” She turned when a runner coughed behind her. She glanced at him and he saluted, murmuring softly that the Blackpond commander had woken up and was demanding to see her. She nodded and bade her soldier goodbye.
“Ye give ‘em hell, Lady. ‘E’ll never expect ye to be a woman.” The man yawned and settled deeper into his bunk and watched as his commander walked out of the tent. Once he was sure that she was far enough away that he was sure she couldn’t hear him, he muttered under his breath.
“Bloody scary woman, too.”
Mageria walked up to the tent where she had the commander stashed, noting that the soldiers on duty looked rather sloppy. Normally she would have given them hell for such a thing, but this time she had told them to do so, so that the Blackpond commander might underestimate them. She nodded slightly to them and received a ghost of a wink from the one on the right before she ducked inside. She knew that she portrayed a rather grim visage, given that her armor still bore the marks of the recent fighting. She had removed her helm given that they were in camp. Flexing her fingers in her gloves she felt her face settling into a cold mask as she stared expressionlessly at Hastings.
“You wanted to see me?”
Thomas rubbed his nose and suppressed the urge to sneeze. Again. He didn’t care how often they dusted in these archives, it wasn’t often enough. With a sigh, he shifted one tome to the side and reached for another, flipping it open and running one finger down the close spaced writing. Obviously the previous Archivists were under the impression that they needed to save paper, meaning that he needed a magnifying glass to read it. Her pulled a lamp closer and leaned over the page, eyes quickly scanning down it. To one side he had a page of notes that he had been writing as he looked for any hint of what had happened to the sole remaining ruler of Newhaven. Boring as his search was, he felt a distinct sense of urgency. Out in the forest, Krander and Mageria were leading their soldiers against those of Blackpond. He wished that he could be there with them, but at the moment this was just as important. Mageria had come to him late the night before they left, asking for his help.
“We need to find out what happened, Sidin. And we need a leader again. We can hold it together for now, but we need a leader again.”
Sidin happened to agree with her, which was why he was neck deep in dusty tomes rather than at his comrades' sides. A scuff behind him warned him that the Archivist was once again investigating what he was doing.
“Master Knight. I might be able to help you find something, if I knew what it was you were looking for.” Sidin turned and smiled brightly up at the bent old man. The Archivist looked as if he had been here since the Archives themselves were built, and probably even before that. He was fiercely protective of his domain, and hated to see anyone intrude. The fact that Thomas had practically taken up camp here for the past day grated on him to no end.
“Good sir, if I knew what it was that I was looking for, then I would have found it long ago. I simply need to find out what happened to the younger brother of the King.”
The Archivist snorted and shuffled off to one of the shelves.
“Then you’re looking in the wrong place, you idiot. You don’t want to look at the official records. Not if they don’t want to record something like that. You need to be looking at the personal journals, things that people record that they wouldn’t tell anybody else. Probably you want,” he grunted as he pulled several volumes off and thumped them on the table. “the journals of the people close to the royal family. These will get you started.”
Thomas sighed and pulled the first journal toward him and turned up the lamp, rubbing his temple as he got started. Opening the first one brought a cloud of dust up, causing him to sneeze. He glared at the innocent looking tome and pulled his sheaf of notes closer, scanning quickly.
“We need to find out what happened, Sidin. And we need a leader again. We can hold it together for now, but we need a leader again.”
Sidin happened to agree with her, which was why he was neck deep in dusty tomes rather than at his comrades' sides. A scuff behind him warned him that the Archivist was once again investigating what he was doing.
“Master Knight. I might be able to help you find something, if I knew what it was you were looking for.” Sidin turned and smiled brightly up at the bent old man. The Archivist looked as if he had been here since the Archives themselves were built, and probably even before that. He was fiercely protective of his domain, and hated to see anyone intrude. The fact that Thomas had practically taken up camp here for the past day grated on him to no end.
“Good sir, if I knew what it was that I was looking for, then I would have found it long ago. I simply need to find out what happened to the younger brother of the King.”
The Archivist snorted and shuffled off to one of the shelves.
“Then you’re looking in the wrong place, you idiot. You don’t want to look at the official records. Not if they don’t want to record something like that. You need to be looking at the personal journals, things that people record that they wouldn’t tell anybody else. Probably you want,” he grunted as he pulled several volumes off and thumped them on the table. “the journals of the people close to the royal family. These will get you started.”
Thomas sighed and pulled the first journal toward him and turned up the lamp, rubbing his temple as he got started. Opening the first one brought a cloud of dust up, causing him to sneeze. He glared at the innocent looking tome and pulled his sheaf of notes closer, scanning quickly.
Phelix walked to the door and opened it slowly realizing who was there.
He immediately pulled the first one through the door so hard that he fell flat on his chest inside the cabin and then yanked the other two in to similar effects. He stuck his head out the door and looked around. The only person of note around was an elderly beggar down the street. He shut the door quickly but quietly, not wanting to draw more attention than had already been gained.
Phelix quickly turned waving his hand to protect himself by cursing them all with bad luck. "What are you doing here? Why are you here? Are you following me? And why the hell did you not try to blend in a little more?" Phelix shout-whispered. He hit the closest man atop the head.
"Answer or die by my hands. I am supposed to be on break."
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Krander had been lost in his thoughts. When he had found himself he was in quite the predicament. Alone, in the middle of the jungle, near a bear cub, with a mamma ready to attack. He drew his sword swinging in a large defensive arc connecting with the mamma cutting one of her front legs cleanly off. She roared in pain and charged for a head butt. Krander mistimed his swing and was hit in the chest. Blood was still flying out of her arm as she weakly clawed at his chest tearing the armor sheet latch out of place. His armor slid off as he stood up. He bent down to take it up and she swung again knocking him to the ground. He grabbed his sword and thrust up then rolled out as she fell atop the sword penetrating her heart further to the ground. The baby bear was cowering up against a bush staring at Krander. Krander felt and tasted blood and he was covered in dirt and blood of the bear. He went to retrieve his sword but she weighed far too much. He approached the baby bear and attempted to comfort it.
Interestingly enough it came to his beckoning. He held and petted it until it stopped shivering. Then he whispered, "This is for your own good cub." He grabbed the bear under the chin and yanked back, snapping its neck. He set it down gently a tear falling down his cheek. He sighed and looked around at the scene of death. Perhaps an omen, perhaps just consequence for the bears life. He headed back to camp. He had interrogating to do.
He immediately pulled the first one through the door so hard that he fell flat on his chest inside the cabin and then yanked the other two in to similar effects. He stuck his head out the door and looked around. The only person of note around was an elderly beggar down the street. He shut the door quickly but quietly, not wanting to draw more attention than had already been gained.
Phelix quickly turned waving his hand to protect himself by cursing them all with bad luck. "What are you doing here? Why are you here? Are you following me? And why the hell did you not try to blend in a little more?" Phelix shout-whispered. He hit the closest man atop the head.
"Answer or die by my hands. I am supposed to be on break."
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Krander had been lost in his thoughts. When he had found himself he was in quite the predicament. Alone, in the middle of the jungle, near a bear cub, with a mamma ready to attack. He drew his sword swinging in a large defensive arc connecting with the mamma cutting one of her front legs cleanly off. She roared in pain and charged for a head butt. Krander mistimed his swing and was hit in the chest. Blood was still flying out of her arm as she weakly clawed at his chest tearing the armor sheet latch out of place. His armor slid off as he stood up. He bent down to take it up and she swung again knocking him to the ground. He grabbed his sword and thrust up then rolled out as she fell atop the sword penetrating her heart further to the ground. The baby bear was cowering up against a bush staring at Krander. Krander felt and tasted blood and he was covered in dirt and blood of the bear. He went to retrieve his sword but she weighed far too much. He approached the baby bear and attempted to comfort it.
Interestingly enough it came to his beckoning. He held and petted it until it stopped shivering. Then he whispered, "This is for your own good cub." He grabbed the bear under the chin and yanked back, snapping its neck. He set it down gently a tear falling down his cheek. He sighed and looked around at the scene of death. Perhaps an omen, perhaps just consequence for the bears life. He headed back to camp. He had interrogating to do.
(The Messenger, Norcliffe)
--
Norcliffe rubbed his head in pain at the knock he had received by the blunt end of the handle of a blade. He glanced up a Phelix in fear, belieiving it not to be him for a moment. It had been a long time since Norcliffe had actually seen him, mostly because Norcliffe himself was often in Newhaven or somewhere between the two cities.
But it wasn't the first mission he had been sent to Phelix for. Gesturing for his two comrades to lower their weapons and hoods, he stood:
"Phelix, its Norcliffe. We aren't following you, but someone was. I bear a message from King Rory himself, he said that it is urgent."
Norcliffe embraced the calming quiet that came after he handed the sealed envelope to Phelix.
And it regards Hastings... Norcliffe thought. Oh sure, he had read the letter, but who wouldn't in these times of war? Norcliffe had never been too terribly loyal to Rory, but he respected the man enough to read his mail and make sure the letter was appropriate for the receiver.
In fact, Norcliffe recited the statement enclosed in his head:
-Rory
--
Norcliffe rubbed his head in pain at the knock he had received by the blunt end of the handle of a blade. He glanced up a Phelix in fear, belieiving it not to be him for a moment. It had been a long time since Norcliffe had actually seen him, mostly because Norcliffe himself was often in Newhaven or somewhere between the two cities.
But it wasn't the first mission he had been sent to Phelix for. Gesturing for his two comrades to lower their weapons and hoods, he stood:
"Phelix, its Norcliffe. We aren't following you, but someone was. I bear a message from King Rory himself, he said that it is urgent."
Norcliffe embraced the calming quiet that came after he handed the sealed envelope to Phelix.
And it regards Hastings... Norcliffe thought. Oh sure, he had read the letter, but who wouldn't in these times of war? Norcliffe had never been too terribly loyal to Rory, but he respected the man enough to read his mail and make sure the letter was appropriate for the receiver.
In fact, Norcliffe recited the statement enclosed in his head:
Phelix,
I know that this is short notice, but I need you back here at Blackpond. I will explain the happenings between Zath and I in this letter, but the true intent of this letter will be talked about in person.
I allowed Zath to follow you not out of mistrust, but out of worry. I love my subjects, Phelix, and you especially. I do not doubt your fighting prowess in combat, but you have to realize that there are some scary figures I've learned about that reside in Newhaven. Zath stayed behind you to keep you safe, no more. I can't lose you Phelix, not now. Hastings is gone, and I'm not sure he's even alive by now. I need you to get back here as soon as possible, and as I said the rest we will talk about upon your arrival.
I know that this is short notice, but I need you back here at Blackpond. I will explain the happenings between Zath and I in this letter, but the true intent of this letter will be talked about in person.
I allowed Zath to follow you not out of mistrust, but out of worry. I love my subjects, Phelix, and you especially. I do not doubt your fighting prowess in combat, but you have to realize that there are some scary figures I've learned about that reside in Newhaven. Zath stayed behind you to keep you safe, no more. I can't lose you Phelix, not now. Hastings is gone, and I'm not sure he's even alive by now. I need you to get back here as soon as possible, and as I said the rest we will talk about upon your arrival.
Jake had wandered around the Knights camp and through conversations he had managed to discover that they were holding a commander from Blackpond as prisoner. He also managed to reassure himself that the few people he knew there had lived through the battle. That was all he really wanted to know. Before he made his way back to the camp he managed to sneak his way into captain Mageria's tent and leave something near her things. Two things actually, along with a note.
It read:
The bandages are for your leg. They are soaked in some of the stuff the healers use. They sting bad, but they heal wounds twice as fast.
The vial is for the prisoner. Painful, but not lethal. Just in case. Careful with it.
No wolves have been seen heading for Blackpond.
Sorry I didn't say hello, but then... I was never here.
He left the unsigned, folded, note next to a small kit of bandages and a vial that contained a black needle inside. After that, he left the camp and started to slowly make his way back to the Wolfpack.
------------
Ali walked the trail leading to the city of Newhaven for the first time in a very long time. She felt strangely unprotected without her bow, although she was not at all unarmed. Underneath the white robe, on her belt, she carried several throwing knives, and bot her daggers were sheathed at her back. Even so, she felt strange to be doing this. She wasn't at all the best of liars.
After a few hours of walking she sat on a rock by the trail and pulled an apple from the inside of her bag. Ali closed her eyes, while starting to eat the fruit, carefully listening for any surrounding activity. She wasn't really worried though, she was posing as a healer... Healers were rarely ever bothered in these parts and currently the Blackpond soldiers had better things to do than try to scare away healers. At some point she thought she might have heard something, but after she stopped to listen, she didn't hear anything else.
It read:
The bandages are for your leg. They are soaked in some of the stuff the healers use. They sting bad, but they heal wounds twice as fast.
The vial is for the prisoner. Painful, but not lethal. Just in case. Careful with it.
No wolves have been seen heading for Blackpond.
Sorry I didn't say hello, but then... I was never here.
He left the unsigned, folded, note next to a small kit of bandages and a vial that contained a black needle inside. After that, he left the camp and started to slowly make his way back to the Wolfpack.
------------
Ali walked the trail leading to the city of Newhaven for the first time in a very long time. She felt strangely unprotected without her bow, although she was not at all unarmed. Underneath the white robe, on her belt, she carried several throwing knives, and bot her daggers were sheathed at her back. Even so, she felt strange to be doing this. She wasn't at all the best of liars.
After a few hours of walking she sat on a rock by the trail and pulled an apple from the inside of her bag. Ali closed her eyes, while starting to eat the fruit, carefully listening for any surrounding activity. She wasn't really worried though, she was posing as a healer... Healers were rarely ever bothered in these parts and currently the Blackpond soldiers had better things to do than try to scare away healers. At some point she thought she might have heard something, but after she stopped to listen, she didn't hear anything else.
(Sorry to post a lot, but I'm trying to catch this guy up.)
Thomas was starting to feel as if he was chasing shadows. He had gone through several journals so far, but thus far he hadn’t found anything. But then he found an journal from one the the court ladies that mentioned an old scandal. This was the kind of woman who saw everything, and told nobody but the pages that she wrote on. Actually, the woman seemed to hear everything that went on. It was a little erie.
Apparently a few ears ago the then Prince had taken an interest in a young orphan girl. Rumors about why had ranged from her being the then King’s illegitimate child to the then Prince having a sick interest in her. Thomas felt a spark of interest. At this point any lead was of interest for him.He worked faster, scanning through the pages. It seems that the rumors had gotten so bad that the child had been sent back to the orphanage after a year. Thomas pushed the journal aside and went to look through the official records. There was always some record of the orphans of the state, if only so long lost relatives might be able to track them later. It was the work of only a few minutes to dig out the records, but when he did it only lead him to more dead ends. At some point she had been taken from the orphanage on the authority of the King, for reason of suspected treason. She had been kept for quite some time in the dungeons. Reading between the lines, she had not been treated well. Which pretty much put paid to that line of inquiry. Even if the child had been illegitimate, she wouldn’t have been treated in such a manner, not by her own family. And anyway, records showed that she had disappeared sometime during the same time that the assassins killed the King. She had probably perished during the fighting and never been claimed. A heartbreaking story, but one that was all too common.
Thomas pushed away the records and scolded himself for wasting time on something that didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking for her, he was looking for the brother of their King. He sorted through the records again, searching for something pertaining to the Queen. She would have known what was going on, and there would have been few people for her to trust. Strangely though, there were no records that he could find. When he asked the Archivist, the old man sorted and shook his head.
“The King from then burned them all when he exiled her.”
Thomas felt excitement swell up in him.
“Exile? I thought that she, well, died or something.”
“Eh, no. I don’t rightly know why, but she was sent away years ago.”
Thomas suppressed the urge to shake the man.
“Where?”
The man looked up confusedly. “Hmm? Where what?”
“Where. Was. She. Sent?”
The old man snorted. “Where else? South. Where all the unwanted’s go.”
Finally he had a solid lead. Thomas packed and prepared for a journey of at least a week. First he had to get down there and then find the former Queen, in the hopes that she knew something more about what had happened back then.
Working quickly he left a message for both Commanders Mageria and Krander, if they managed to come back before he did. He gathered some supplies, and forced himself to rest for a short time. Then he left the Castle, heading south in the early morning light, riding one horse and leading another. If he was going to get answers, he needed them fast.
Thomas was starting to feel as if he was chasing shadows. He had gone through several journals so far, but thus far he hadn’t found anything. But then he found an journal from one the the court ladies that mentioned an old scandal. This was the kind of woman who saw everything, and told nobody but the pages that she wrote on. Actually, the woman seemed to hear everything that went on. It was a little erie.
Apparently a few ears ago the then Prince had taken an interest in a young orphan girl. Rumors about why had ranged from her being the then King’s illegitimate child to the then Prince having a sick interest in her. Thomas felt a spark of interest. At this point any lead was of interest for him.He worked faster, scanning through the pages. It seems that the rumors had gotten so bad that the child had been sent back to the orphanage after a year. Thomas pushed the journal aside and went to look through the official records. There was always some record of the orphans of the state, if only so long lost relatives might be able to track them later. It was the work of only a few minutes to dig out the records, but when he did it only lead him to more dead ends. At some point she had been taken from the orphanage on the authority of the King, for reason of suspected treason. She had been kept for quite some time in the dungeons. Reading between the lines, she had not been treated well. Which pretty much put paid to that line of inquiry. Even if the child had been illegitimate, she wouldn’t have been treated in such a manner, not by her own family. And anyway, records showed that she had disappeared sometime during the same time that the assassins killed the King. She had probably perished during the fighting and never been claimed. A heartbreaking story, but one that was all too common.
Thomas pushed away the records and scolded himself for wasting time on something that didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking for her, he was looking for the brother of their King. He sorted through the records again, searching for something pertaining to the Queen. She would have known what was going on, and there would have been few people for her to trust. Strangely though, there were no records that he could find. When he asked the Archivist, the old man sorted and shook his head.
“The King from then burned them all when he exiled her.”
Thomas felt excitement swell up in him.
“Exile? I thought that she, well, died or something.”
“Eh, no. I don’t rightly know why, but she was sent away years ago.”
Thomas suppressed the urge to shake the man.
“Where?”
The man looked up confusedly. “Hmm? Where what?”
“Where. Was. She. Sent?”
The old man snorted. “Where else? South. Where all the unwanted’s go.”
Finally he had a solid lead. Thomas packed and prepared for a journey of at least a week. First he had to get down there and then find the former Queen, in the hopes that she knew something more about what had happened back then.
Working quickly he left a message for both Commanders Mageria and Krander, if they managed to come back before he did. He gathered some supplies, and forced himself to rest for a short time. Then he left the Castle, heading south in the early morning light, riding one horse and leading another. If he was going to get answers, he needed them fast.
Blanditia entered the healer camp and smiled at her home before going to Lena's hut. With quick movements she knocked three times waiting for her to answer trying to think of other places she would be if not in her home. As she waited she hummed to herself and played with the shadows of plants which was great entertainment to the young girl.
Halfway back to camp Jake spotted Ali. He had to hold back on laughing when he saw what the girl was wearing, he would imagine she would have protested to being dressed as a White Shadow, mainly because whenever Lena found out she would be furious, and she knew that. He could tell that she noticed there was someone there, but couldn't see him. He walked a step closer, still at considerable distance, and whispered.
"Where are you going dressed like this?"
The girl sighed and nodded, whispering back, not looking in his direction. "Where the hell do you think? I'm in charge of finding the King's missing kid."
"Oh... I see." Jake finally let out a small chuckle. "You are going to the archives I assume?" He asked.
"Yes, why?" Se replied, slightly annoyed by the laughter.
"Just remember... Files can be destroyed. That's why there is no record in the clan's records that point out the fact Dani sent help after us in the battle... For instance" He snickered. "Remember the tunnels we took to the throne room?"
"Sure. I remember." She answered with a shrug.
"Good. Then you know that walls in that castle have ears." He sighed and added just in case she hadn't quite got the picture. "Find a servant that's old enough to have been there. Shouldn't be so hard, even for you, blondie."
Ali lowered her head to conceal the laughter. "You're pushing your luck Jacob."
"Oh, I know, but it's fun. I have to go, Crys must be dying to yell at me for half an hour. See you later."
Jake let Ali go over the information she was given as he walked back to camp. This was the most important thing anyone could do right now. Hopefully she would find something soon. Hopefully whoever took over Newhaven next would be able to put an end to this.
"Where are you going dressed like this?"
The girl sighed and nodded, whispering back, not looking in his direction. "Where the hell do you think? I'm in charge of finding the King's missing kid."
"Oh... I see." Jake finally let out a small chuckle. "You are going to the archives I assume?" He asked.
"Yes, why?" Se replied, slightly annoyed by the laughter.
"Just remember... Files can be destroyed. That's why there is no record in the clan's records that point out the fact Dani sent help after us in the battle... For instance" He snickered. "Remember the tunnels we took to the throne room?"
"Sure. I remember." She answered with a shrug.
"Good. Then you know that walls in that castle have ears." He sighed and added just in case she hadn't quite got the picture. "Find a servant that's old enough to have been there. Shouldn't be so hard, even for you, blondie."
Ali lowered her head to conceal the laughter. "You're pushing your luck Jacob."
"Oh, I know, but it's fun. I have to go, Crys must be dying to yell at me for half an hour. See you later."
Jake let Ali go over the information she was given as he walked back to camp. This was the most important thing anyone could do right now. Hopefully she would find something soon. Hopefully whoever took over Newhaven next would be able to put an end to this.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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"There is nothing I can do for you, except maybe end this right now." It didn't take Lena very long to come to that conclusion, although she had a feeling that Dani had been expecting to hear it.
"We can't choose how we are born, however we can choose how we die... Sometimes." Dani Rivers chuckled, slightly, while controlling a small coughing fit. "So, thank you, but no thank you."
"This poison is non-lethal for a healthy adult. If Jake had known..."
"If he knew anything, then so would Crys. I couldn't let that happen quite yet." Dani sighed. "You know how these kids are... They can't deal with the fact that some things can't be helped. I had better plans for my time than watching Crys whine, expecting me to drop dead at any minute. It would be a whole new level of unnecessary pressure for her to deal with."
"I think you overprotect your daughter Dani. You have a completely twisted notion of just how much she can take." Lena stated in a severe tone.
"Oh, I know that. I also know that nothing I ever said or done will actually have her prepared for this. However, I dare you to blame me for trying."
Lena laughed. "No, I wouldn't dream on it." She stopped laughing and let out a small sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"As if my lungs were filled with rocks. It's delightful."
"This will end badly, Dani. Let me tell them the truth."
Dani nodded. "No, you can't, please. Promise me you won't say a word about this, to anyone."
Lena flinched. Never, in her life, she had heard Dani say 'please'. It was just not in her vocabulary. After a moment, she sighed. "Alright, I promise."
Being able to close her eyes and see her past flash before them had never bothered Lena before, but now it did. The promise she had made still haunted her. This situation haunted her. She opened her eyes, and let out a sad sigh. She had been trying to write a letter to the King of Blackpond, however she felt that written words wouldn't have the effect she desired. She made a decision, and packed a bag.
Leaving her tent she found the girl she had sent to the assassin camp. She gave the girl an intrigued look. "Hum, you're back already?"
"We can't choose how we are born, however we can choose how we die... Sometimes." Dani Rivers chuckled, slightly, while controlling a small coughing fit. "So, thank you, but no thank you."
"This poison is non-lethal for a healthy adult. If Jake had known..."
"If he knew anything, then so would Crys. I couldn't let that happen quite yet." Dani sighed. "You know how these kids are... They can't deal with the fact that some things can't be helped. I had better plans for my time than watching Crys whine, expecting me to drop dead at any minute. It would be a whole new level of unnecessary pressure for her to deal with."
"I think you overprotect your daughter Dani. You have a completely twisted notion of just how much she can take." Lena stated in a severe tone.
"Oh, I know that. I also know that nothing I ever said or done will actually have her prepared for this. However, I dare you to blame me for trying."
Lena laughed. "No, I wouldn't dream on it." She stopped laughing and let out a small sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"As if my lungs were filled with rocks. It's delightful."
"This will end badly, Dani. Let me tell them the truth."
Dani nodded. "No, you can't, please. Promise me you won't say a word about this, to anyone."
Lena flinched. Never, in her life, she had heard Dani say 'please'. It was just not in her vocabulary. After a moment, she sighed. "Alright, I promise."
Being able to close her eyes and see her past flash before them had never bothered Lena before, but now it did. The promise she had made still haunted her. This situation haunted her. She opened her eyes, and let out a sad sigh. She had been trying to write a letter to the King of Blackpond, however she felt that written words wouldn't have the effect she desired. She made a decision, and packed a bag.
Leaving her tent she found the girl she had sent to the assassin camp. She gave the girl an intrigued look. "Hum, you're back already?"
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Phelix eyed the man suspiciously before recognizing him.
"I'm sorry Norcliffe. These times have me uneasy. Tell Rory I will depart in one day. I need that day off. I would appreciate if you said NEED. If not, have him use the telepath in the prison to contact me. He should still be alive."
He walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned for them to get out.
"I'd advise you move quickly, lest I make you leave." he threatened.
"I'm sorry Norcliffe. These times have me uneasy. Tell Rory I will depart in one day. I need that day off. I would appreciate if you said NEED. If not, have him use the telepath in the prison to contact me. He should still be alive."
He walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned for them to get out.
"I'd advise you move quickly, lest I make you leave." he threatened.
Blanditia looked at her and smiled a small smile and nodded "Yeah, she wrote you a letter" she said and handed it to her. "Are you going some where?" she asked Lena out of curiosity and confusion. She watched the other healers walk past with a loo of happiness in her eyes, this was her home. She felt safe here and loved. "Can I ask why and where?" she knew that she shouldn't but she asked any ways.
Hastings wasn't all too surprised when he saw that the commander was a woman. There were rumours that there were White and even Black Knights that were women and now he had proof. Although, Hastings didn't really believe in women ruling an army, emotions would make decisions for her and she wouldn't be able to clearly see the entire picture, only focusing on the little things (only Hastings' opinion, not mine!). Odds were that she had gotten the positioning not based on her skill level at all, but her sexuality. Things like this made him sick. He was glad the Blackpond wasn't quite the same as Newhaven in that way.
He looked up at this woman, who seemed to have been favoring one leg over the other. Most likely a minor wound on her leg or something along those lines.
"To have me under capture and not tell me what types of acts will be preformed on me is a war crime in Blackpond, I'm sure you understand. Now what is your plans with me?"
He sighed for a few moments after speaking. He had just realised that it had been a while since he had a drink. The last time he remembered was just before battle when he was suiting up for his mission. That battle never came into existence though. The encampment had probably moved out by now as well. There were no chances of him ever getting any information on the Wolf Pack from that camp.
"Oh, and do you happen to have any rum which I could have. I'm parched. Maybe you could get one of your patsy's over there to get it for me?" He motioned towards one of the guards standing in the tent.
He looked up at this woman, who seemed to have been favoring one leg over the other. Most likely a minor wound on her leg or something along those lines.
"To have me under capture and not tell me what types of acts will be preformed on me is a war crime in Blackpond, I'm sure you understand. Now what is your plans with me?"
He sighed for a few moments after speaking. He had just realised that it had been a while since he had a drink. The last time he remembered was just before battle when he was suiting up for his mission. That battle never came into existence though. The encampment had probably moved out by now as well. There were no chances of him ever getting any information on the Wolf Pack from that camp.
"Oh, and do you happen to have any rum which I could have. I'm parched. Maybe you could get one of your patsy's over there to get it for me?" He motioned towards one of the guards standing in the tent.
Mageria nodded and tilted her head to the side, a small smile forming on her lips and being pulled to the side by the scar running down one cheek.
“The rules of war are a bit strange in Blackpond if you think that we would just reveal our plans because you asked for them. Would you tell me your plans if I was in your place?”
She flicked her fingers at one of her men to send him on the way for something for Hastings to drink.
“Let’s start with the easy things. What is your name?”
“The rules of war are a bit strange in Blackpond if you think that we would just reveal our plans because you asked for them. Would you tell me your plans if I was in your place?”
She flicked her fingers at one of her men to send him on the way for something for Hastings to drink.
“Let’s start with the easy things. What is your name?”
---Headed South---
Thomas dismounted slowly and sighed heavily. He had been riding all day, and he knew that he would be riding for at least two more in order to get where he was going. He was deep in the forest, and perhaps had been slightly foolish to start out traveling on his own. But he didn’t think that he could draw anymore people away from the Castle and he wanted to try and slip by unnoticed. A thought that he sincerely regretted as he heard rustling in the trees to either side of him. Unobtrusively he checked his weapons as he looked around. Given all of that, he was perhaps not as surprised as the bandits that stepped out of the trees would have hopped.
“Well well. We got ourselves a bit o silver that wandered our way. What do you say lads? Should we take the toll?”
The men around him laughed crudely as they drew closer.
Thomas gritted his teeth. Too many for him to take on at once. Which meant that he would have to even the odds just a bit. He smiled brightly at the one that seemed to be in charge, and reached inside for where his Enlightenment lived. His eyes glowed softly, although he took care to keep them downcast for now.
“Ah now, you don’t want to be robbing me like that. Not when I can be so much more useful to you.”
The bandit spat to the side, but looked like he was reconsidering things. Thomas increased the strength of his gift, ignoring the headache that threatened. Now all of them should be feeling more kindly toward him.
“And what is it that we might want from the likes of you, other than the silver that you have?”
“Why, news; good sir. I’ve come from Newhaven and I know all of the latest gossip.”
He proceeded to launch into a long involved tale, that was mostly true except for the important bits, and exceedingly funny in its telling. It took some doing, but after a while he had all of them in stitches, some of them having to set down their weapons as they laughed. He stopped influencing them as soon as he could, but he still ended up with a wicked headache that pounded at both temples. In fact, after a bit they got friendly enough that the bandits insisted on taking him back to their camp and having lunch with them. He agreed, and proceeded to ask them about any news that they might have had. They didn’t have much, but it was still useful to know. After eating and talking, he set back out on the way south, a couple of the bandits insisting on traveling with him. They said that they didn’t have anything better to do, but he was a bit concerned that he might have pushed them a bit too hard. Still, he didn’t turn away the company. And he got a few more supplies out of it, which he also wouldn’t turn away.
Thomas dismounted slowly and sighed heavily. He had been riding all day, and he knew that he would be riding for at least two more in order to get where he was going. He was deep in the forest, and perhaps had been slightly foolish to start out traveling on his own. But he didn’t think that he could draw anymore people away from the Castle and he wanted to try and slip by unnoticed. A thought that he sincerely regretted as he heard rustling in the trees to either side of him. Unobtrusively he checked his weapons as he looked around. Given all of that, he was perhaps not as surprised as the bandits that stepped out of the trees would have hopped.
“Well well. We got ourselves a bit o silver that wandered our way. What do you say lads? Should we take the toll?”
The men around him laughed crudely as they drew closer.
Thomas gritted his teeth. Too many for him to take on at once. Which meant that he would have to even the odds just a bit. He smiled brightly at the one that seemed to be in charge, and reached inside for where his Enlightenment lived. His eyes glowed softly, although he took care to keep them downcast for now.
“Ah now, you don’t want to be robbing me like that. Not when I can be so much more useful to you.”
The bandit spat to the side, but looked like he was reconsidering things. Thomas increased the strength of his gift, ignoring the headache that threatened. Now all of them should be feeling more kindly toward him.
“And what is it that we might want from the likes of you, other than the silver that you have?”
“Why, news; good sir. I’ve come from Newhaven and I know all of the latest gossip.”
He proceeded to launch into a long involved tale, that was mostly true except for the important bits, and exceedingly funny in its telling. It took some doing, but after a while he had all of them in stitches, some of them having to set down their weapons as they laughed. He stopped influencing them as soon as he could, but he still ended up with a wicked headache that pounded at both temples. In fact, after a bit they got friendly enough that the bandits insisted on taking him back to their camp and having lunch with them. He agreed, and proceeded to ask them about any news that they might have had. They didn’t have much, but it was still useful to know. After eating and talking, he set back out on the way south, a couple of the bandits insisting on traveling with him. They said that they didn’t have anything better to do, but he was a bit concerned that he might have pushed them a bit too hard. Still, he didn’t turn away the company. And he got a few more supplies out of it, which he also wouldn’t turn away.
(At the site of the battle before Blackpond.)
Much later a specter was sighted near Blackpond’s front door. The dead littered the ground where the armies had collided. Broken spears and weaponry were jutted from the earth like sadistic blades of grass. Dark stains pooled beneath corpses of friends and foes. The red smatterings decorating the faces of tormented warriors. Bodies were broken and mangled, formed into unnatural shapes. Eyes filled with the icy fear of death theirs a mask of pale oblivion. The young and the old, the brave and the foolish. Death cared not whom it took man, woman, or child. So much bitterness only beside so much regret. The very silence screamed out with its eerie symphony, playing it’s melody for those lost. This was their war.
Grim bore his armor with reluctance. If he had believed it safe he would cast his tools of bloodshed aside with respect for lifeless. Even now he could feel their gaze of anguish all of them asking the same question ‘why?’
The engagement was so short and yet it had already cost both cities good citizens. Grim moved among them mindful of his steps. Taking care to quiet each deceased one by one. Ignorant to which side of the conflict the befallen belonged. Delicately straightening the dead laying their weapon beside them.
“Rest child of Valcrest and be at peace. Do not grieve honored soul, for no more pain shall befall you… Till all are one.”
It was a quick and hushed prayer he uttered for each. Closing the eyes with care and proceeding on through the field. He wasn’t alone of course both sides were taking to their loss. Graves were being dug somewhere and families would be informed. Grim only hoped he could ease the anger that saturated the area. Of course his intentions weren’t entirely selfless. It was meant to help find a reason for his stake in this mess. Within there was a part of him that wished to drive the people of Blackpond before the winds. To protect Newhaven with a ferocity only he could achieve. Yet he couldn’t deny the self loathing. The beast in his heart represented many of the things he had come to resent in life.
“When this war ends,” he started “I will banish this magic from me. I will put the beast to rest.” A promise made to the fallen.
Much later a specter was sighted near Blackpond’s front door. The dead littered the ground where the armies had collided. Broken spears and weaponry were jutted from the earth like sadistic blades of grass. Dark stains pooled beneath corpses of friends and foes. The red smatterings decorating the faces of tormented warriors. Bodies were broken and mangled, formed into unnatural shapes. Eyes filled with the icy fear of death theirs a mask of pale oblivion. The young and the old, the brave and the foolish. Death cared not whom it took man, woman, or child. So much bitterness only beside so much regret. The very silence screamed out with its eerie symphony, playing it’s melody for those lost. This was their war.
Grim bore his armor with reluctance. If he had believed it safe he would cast his tools of bloodshed aside with respect for lifeless. Even now he could feel their gaze of anguish all of them asking the same question ‘why?’
The engagement was so short and yet it had already cost both cities good citizens. Grim moved among them mindful of his steps. Taking care to quiet each deceased one by one. Ignorant to which side of the conflict the befallen belonged. Delicately straightening the dead laying their weapon beside them.
“Rest child of Valcrest and be at peace. Do not grieve honored soul, for no more pain shall befall you… Till all are one.”
It was a quick and hushed prayer he uttered for each. Closing the eyes with care and proceeding on through the field. He wasn’t alone of course both sides were taking to their loss. Graves were being dug somewhere and families would be informed. Grim only hoped he could ease the anger that saturated the area. Of course his intentions weren’t entirely selfless. It was meant to help find a reason for his stake in this mess. Within there was a part of him that wished to drive the people of Blackpond before the winds. To protect Newhaven with a ferocity only he could achieve. Yet he couldn’t deny the self loathing. The beast in his heart represented many of the things he had come to resent in life.
“When this war ends,” he started “I will banish this magic from me. I will put the beast to rest.” A promise made to the fallen.
Zath saw him and he kept close to him as he was told, "Where are you going now?, Phelix?" he started to feel a shiver down his spine, so he ejected his katars slowely as he looked around, everything seemed peaceful...
Krander finally returned to camp, exhausted and bloodied. He walked towards the command tent and saw a guard on his way back.
"Lionel, what are you doing out of the tent?"
"Sir," he bowed, "I only leave on Magerias Orders. We captured the commander of the Black Pond forces and he is dehydrated." He motioned towards the cup he was holding.
Krander grabbed it out of his hand and drank a quarter of it. He then undid his armor and urinated into it to fill it up.
"Now, bring it back and do make him drink it. Then do not act not surprised that I am back." He motioned to the tent. After about 5 minutes he walked up to the tent where Hastings was choking.
"How does my piss taste, Hastings?"
"Exactly like your woman there." He retorted looking at Mageria.
Krander smirked. "You know, you are lucky I got here. If anyone is going to be roughing someone up it is better that I do it than Mageria. She is known to kill first, think later." He gave her a look and a smile.
He looked to Hastings and got down on one knee.
"Remember, you are lucky that it's me doing this."
He made a fist, and punched him square in the jaw with a right hook.
"Lionel, what are you doing out of the tent?"
"Sir," he bowed, "I only leave on Magerias Orders. We captured the commander of the Black Pond forces and he is dehydrated." He motioned towards the cup he was holding.
Krander grabbed it out of his hand and drank a quarter of it. He then undid his armor and urinated into it to fill it up.
"Now, bring it back and do make him drink it. Then do not act not surprised that I am back." He motioned to the tent. After about 5 minutes he walked up to the tent where Hastings was choking.
"How does my piss taste, Hastings?"
"Exactly like your woman there." He retorted looking at Mageria.
Krander smirked. "You know, you are lucky I got here. If anyone is going to be roughing someone up it is better that I do it than Mageria. She is known to kill first, think later." He gave her a look and a smile.
He looked to Hastings and got down on one knee.
"Remember, you are lucky that it's me doing this."
He made a fist, and punched him square in the jaw with a right hook.
Hastings smirked at the woman who was standing there. She seemed to be nice enough and he didn't see any harm in giving his name. Maybe she would even know of his name and his reputation. He and the Rory were quite close and it would be no surprise to him if the woman standing in front of him would maybe think twice about harming him. It was a long shot, but he decided it was worth a try, unless it backfired of course. They could see him as a valuable asset for information on the King himself.
"I'm Second Lieutenant Hastings of the Blackpond army. I hope that you understand I mean no harm to you as long as you mean no harm to me. If you intend to kill me, I will ensure I will take out more than my fair share of you beforehand." Hastings licked his lips, trying to moisten them a little to speak. "Now, I hope as apposed to that, we could have civilized discussions instead."
The guard then came into the tent with his cup like he had requested. Hastings hoped that it would be rum like he had requested. He could taste the alcohol already, chills going down his spine as he did. The excitement of it was unbearable. The man put the cup to Hastings mouth and he poured it in. Hastings instantly realised what he was drinking. The bitter, salty taste loomed through his taste bud and into his very mind. It was sickening. Hastings initial reaction was to spit it out, but he knew that this was probably the only liquids he would have in a while so he swallowed it, not all of it though. He left some in his mouth. Enough so he could still talk without anyone realising he hadn't swallowed it all. Then he started working on the ropes behind his back that bound his hands. He could tell they were poorly tied. It wouldn't take to long to get out of it.
Hastings felt along the rope and realised that it was ultimately attacked to the tent, so it would make it harder for him to get up and run off. Then he said to the woman, "I realise now that you wish to do things the hard way." Hastings tried his best to make it look like he had nothing in his mouth. He wasn't sure how well he was doing.
"How does my piss taste, Hastings?"
"Exactly like your woman there." He retorted looking at Mageria.
Krander smirked. "You know, you are lucky I got here. If anyone is going to be roughing someone up it is better that I do it than Mageria. She is known to kill first, think later." He gave her a look and a smile.
He looked to Hastings and got down on one knee.
"Remember, you are lucky that it's me doing this."
He made a fist, and punched him square in the jaw with a right hook.
The seconds before he made that hit, he saw it coming. This new man had slowly raised his hand and swung with great force. Hastings kept his mouth closed, it would be worth it in just a minute.
Hastings was dazed by the blow. It took him a few second to regain fluid thought. He was almost done toying with the ropes. Only a couple more seconds. Then he felt something run down his face. He realised that he was bleeding from the nose. He couldn't exactly feel any extreme pains so he knew it wasn't broken, but it was a good hit.
"I'm lucky for more than one reason." He said to the man.
He spit out the urine that was in his mouth right into the face of the man. Then he freed himself from his bondage and instantly saw a throwing knife in the man's boot. Typical for someone to hide a weapon in a boot. He grabbed as well as the man himself and placed the knife to his neck.
"I would kill you, but you are rather pathetic and besides, I think it would be a waste of my life doing so seeing that your woman there would probably kill me on the spot. If she was in your spot, I would find much more worth in killing her. Now get me something more edible to drink now."
Hastings dropped the knife and then turned around, placing his hands behind his back to be retied. Escape at this point was impossible, but he wanted to prove a point to this man. He was not to be messed with.
"I'm Second Lieutenant Hastings of the Blackpond army. I hope that you understand I mean no harm to you as long as you mean no harm to me. If you intend to kill me, I will ensure I will take out more than my fair share of you beforehand." Hastings licked his lips, trying to moisten them a little to speak. "Now, I hope as apposed to that, we could have civilized discussions instead."
The guard then came into the tent with his cup like he had requested. Hastings hoped that it would be rum like he had requested. He could taste the alcohol already, chills going down his spine as he did. The excitement of it was unbearable. The man put the cup to Hastings mouth and he poured it in. Hastings instantly realised what he was drinking. The bitter, salty taste loomed through his taste bud and into his very mind. It was sickening. Hastings initial reaction was to spit it out, but he knew that this was probably the only liquids he would have in a while so he swallowed it, not all of it though. He left some in his mouth. Enough so he could still talk without anyone realising he hadn't swallowed it all. Then he started working on the ropes behind his back that bound his hands. He could tell they were poorly tied. It wouldn't take to long to get out of it.
Hastings felt along the rope and realised that it was ultimately attacked to the tent, so it would make it harder for him to get up and run off. Then he said to the woman, "I realise now that you wish to do things the hard way." Hastings tried his best to make it look like he had nothing in his mouth. He wasn't sure how well he was doing.
"How does my piss taste, Hastings?"
"Exactly like your woman there." He retorted looking at Mageria.
Krander smirked. "You know, you are lucky I got here. If anyone is going to be roughing someone up it is better that I do it than Mageria. She is known to kill first, think later." He gave her a look and a smile.
He looked to Hastings and got down on one knee.
"Remember, you are lucky that it's me doing this."
He made a fist, and punched him square in the jaw with a right hook.
The seconds before he made that hit, he saw it coming. This new man had slowly raised his hand and swung with great force. Hastings kept his mouth closed, it would be worth it in just a minute.
Hastings was dazed by the blow. It took him a few second to regain fluid thought. He was almost done toying with the ropes. Only a couple more seconds. Then he felt something run down his face. He realised that he was bleeding from the nose. He couldn't exactly feel any extreme pains so he knew it wasn't broken, but it was a good hit.
"I'm lucky for more than one reason." He said to the man.
He spit out the urine that was in his mouth right into the face of the man. Then he freed himself from his bondage and instantly saw a throwing knife in the man's boot. Typical for someone to hide a weapon in a boot. He grabbed as well as the man himself and placed the knife to his neck.
"I would kill you, but you are rather pathetic and besides, I think it would be a waste of my life doing so seeing that your woman there would probably kill me on the spot. If she was in your spot, I would find much more worth in killing her. Now get me something more edible to drink now."
Hastings dropped the knife and then turned around, placing his hands behind his back to be retied. Escape at this point was impossible, but he wanted to prove a point to this man. He was not to be messed with.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena first took the letter and read it over, taking some time to make out the blind girl's handwriting. After she was done reading it she nodded to herself and mumbled "Understandable." Then she looked at the young girl before her, having heard her questions and ignoring them while still a little lost in her thoughts.
After a moment or two had passed she finally answered. "I am leaving for Blackpond. There I will ask to speak with their King. If my request is granted I will try to make him reconsider his current attitude towards our clan. If such meeting is not granted, then I will know for a fact that the matter is not open to discussion. In which case I will be forced into a reaction."
She gave the girl a serious look as if she meant to tell her exactly what reaction meant, but instead she smiled slightly. "Something tells me I won't be gone very long though. If you have never been to Blackpond, maybe you would like to come along. You might not get another chance." Lena wasn't sure why she was asking the girl to come with her, but it wouldn't bother her, so why not?
After a moment or two had passed she finally answered. "I am leaving for Blackpond. There I will ask to speak with their King. If my request is granted I will try to make him reconsider his current attitude towards our clan. If such meeting is not granted, then I will know for a fact that the matter is not open to discussion. In which case I will be forced into a reaction."
She gave the girl a serious look as if she meant to tell her exactly what reaction meant, but instead she smiled slightly. "Something tells me I won't be gone very long though. If you have never been to Blackpond, maybe you would like to come along. You might not get another chance." Lena wasn't sure why she was asking the girl to come with her, but it wouldn't bother her, so why not?
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Mageria had jerked forward to try and stop Hastings from slitting Krander’s throat, but had forgotten the wound and nearly tripped at the sudden fiery pain that lanced up and down her leg. She gritted her teeth and fought down the sudden urge to beat the both of them over the head for being so stupid.
“If you both are done trying to prove which of you is tougher than the other, perhaps we could get on with the more important things?”
Her voice was icy sharp and her eyes had lightened to an off grey color. She walked over to Hastings and retied his ropes, making sure that they were secure but not so tight as to cause harm. Pushing him down onto his stool, she pulled a small silver flask from the pocket of her cloak and took a sip before offering him some. It was a well aged brandy that she kept for special occasions, mostly after battles where she wasn’t sure if she had won or lost. She could see that he was one of those who craved strong drink, which meant that the loss of such would be more keenly felt than a threat would be.
She shifted again, feeling the ache in every muscle in her body. She was, perhaps getting too old and battered for this kind of thing.
“Now, much as I might choose otherwise, we are going to treat you in the same way that we would hope that one of our people would be treated if they were captured by your people.” Her tone clearly made this a warning for Krander as well as a promise for Hastings.
“There has been far too much blood spilled this day, and I for one am getting sick of it.”
She limped closer to Hastings, staying out of lunge reach, and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Now, Second Lieutenant Hastings of the Blackpond army, why is it that your King continues to fight everyone he comes across? He attacks Newhaven, which is bad enough, but he’s attacking the Whiteshadows as well. Which plainly is madness.”
She loosened her shoulders, hearing her armor creak.
“Why is he doing this? What could he possibly hope to gain?”
“If you both are done trying to prove which of you is tougher than the other, perhaps we could get on with the more important things?”
Her voice was icy sharp and her eyes had lightened to an off grey color. She walked over to Hastings and retied his ropes, making sure that they were secure but not so tight as to cause harm. Pushing him down onto his stool, she pulled a small silver flask from the pocket of her cloak and took a sip before offering him some. It was a well aged brandy that she kept for special occasions, mostly after battles where she wasn’t sure if she had won or lost. She could see that he was one of those who craved strong drink, which meant that the loss of such would be more keenly felt than a threat would be.
She shifted again, feeling the ache in every muscle in her body. She was, perhaps getting too old and battered for this kind of thing.
“Now, much as I might choose otherwise, we are going to treat you in the same way that we would hope that one of our people would be treated if they were captured by your people.” Her tone clearly made this a warning for Krander as well as a promise for Hastings.
“There has been far too much blood spilled this day, and I for one am getting sick of it.”
She limped closer to Hastings, staying out of lunge reach, and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Now, Second Lieutenant Hastings of the Blackpond army, why is it that your King continues to fight everyone he comes across? He attacks Newhaven, which is bad enough, but he’s attacking the Whiteshadows as well. Which plainly is madness.”
She loosened her shoulders, hearing her armor creak.
“Why is he doing this? What could he possibly hope to gain?”
Krander stood up after punching the man and was taken aback by the fact that he had escaped his ties. By the time he realized that his own urine penetrated his eyes. He screamed rather loudly but not to enlightened volume. Next thing he knew, with his eyes burning, he was on the ground, his own blade to his neck. He listened:
"I would kill you, but you are rather pathetic and besides, I think it would be a waste of my life doing so seeing that your woman there would probably kill me on the spot. If she was in your spot, I would find much more worth in killing her. Now get me something more edible to drink now."
Krander knew he was in no danger, not for the fact that he thought the man was weak, oh no, but because of his ability. He knew that he could have launched the man into the air, perforating his ear drums if he needed to. He laid there holding back laughter at the irony of the whole event.
He watered his eyes and double checked the ropes for tying. Mageria had done a good job.
"Lionel, strip down bare and walk around camp four times please. Do not cover yourself, and be sure to be seen. I assume you were the one who did not die up our, " he paused, " Guest properly."
Lionel slowly began to strip and walked outside.
After Mageria had spoken he interjected, "Do not think I underestimated you Hastings. Believe it or not I have done my homework. Just know this: The moment you didn't kill me will not only be the moment you regret most, but also the moment all of Blackpond will regret most." He then awaited his answers to Mageria's questions.
"I would kill you, but you are rather pathetic and besides, I think it would be a waste of my life doing so seeing that your woman there would probably kill me on the spot. If she was in your spot, I would find much more worth in killing her. Now get me something more edible to drink now."
Krander knew he was in no danger, not for the fact that he thought the man was weak, oh no, but because of his ability. He knew that he could have launched the man into the air, perforating his ear drums if he needed to. He laid there holding back laughter at the irony of the whole event.
He watered his eyes and double checked the ropes for tying. Mageria had done a good job.
"Lionel, strip down bare and walk around camp four times please. Do not cover yourself, and be sure to be seen. I assume you were the one who did not die up our, " he paused, " Guest properly."
Lionel slowly began to strip and walked outside.
After Mageria had spoken he interjected, "Do not think I underestimated you Hastings. Believe it or not I have done my homework. Just know this: The moment you didn't kill me will not only be the moment you regret most, but also the moment all of Blackpond will regret most." He then awaited his answers to Mageria's questions.
Evin found it very easy to get into Newhaven undetected. The broken sewer grate had not been fixed since he last visited about five months ago. It seemed like no one had noticed it, it wasn't even guarded. The simplicity was just great. He thought about the time when he had gone in with Ali over a year ago. It was exactly the same as it was last time. Surprisingly clean too.
Evin wondered what Ali was doing when he was leaving camp. He had seen her walking around in the White Shadows' cloak when he walked out. It appeared that she might have been traveling back to the Ruins to visit or something.
Evin didn't have much trouble continuing down the streets. He avoided busy roads and tried to stay in the dark alleyways. Things would be a little more difficult in a few hours when the curfew started. Curfew for the people of Newhaven was at ten at night until seven. Security is doubled and almost no street isn't watched. He would have to kill a few people if he got stuck in a bad spot. He knew ways around this though and it was really only a last ditch effort. Of course, since security had been heightened after the death of their 'king', Evin wasn't sure what exactly to expect at night.
When Evin got to his destination, in a narrow alleyway, he made sure no one was looking. There was a door there. This was the old house of Jake last he remembered. When he tried to open the door though, it was locked. This would have to wait. Instead he headed towards the castle to look through the archives.
When he got to the castle, it looked a lot different from the last time he had seen it. One could tell just from the condition of the stone where the destruction took place after that massive explosion Perry caused. That got Evin thinking.
Did Perry mean for this to happen? Did he know that he was outnumbered in the fight and wanted to take us down with him. Well he did a good job.
Evin approached the entrance to the castle. He had dressed himself up as an elderly before he had entered Newhaven, he hoped it was a good enough disguise. It was only about ten minutes until curfew when he made it to the drawbridge where he was stopped by two men who stood guard.
"Oh, don't mind me sirs," Evin trying his best to mimic one of the elderly men he saw on the streets as he was walking here, "I'm just here to pay my taxes. I couldn't pay the tax collector when he come to my door you see, and now I have the money. I would like to give it to the collector personally."
The guard didn't speak, he just grunted and motioned Evin to follow. It seemed the plan had worked. The only problem here was the escort. He would have to get rid of the man silently. As they passed over the drawbridge, Evin began to remember the faithful battle only a year ago. The moment when he first really intended to kill the man was when he was standing on the drawbridge he stood on now. Then of course, the courtyard that followed. Stains of blood could still be seen on the statue where the Shadow had impaled himself. To die because a man tripped over you, what a pathetic way to go, although Perry deserved it.
Evin walked further along the courtyard and finally through the big doors at the main entrance of the castle. The incredibly spacious place, decorated along the sides with suits of armour and fancy portraits. No one else but them were there. It was odd to see such a large space and be one of the only two to be in it. Now was Evin's chance. The guard was walking a few paces ahead of Evin. It was as simple as a kick to the back of the head to cause the man to pass out. Evin realised his next problem, hiding the body.
Evin searched for a place in this barren space to place a body, but found nothing. Then he realised something. He went over to the suit of armour and dismantled it. He began to place the pieces of armour onto the man. It took him about ten tense minutes to put the full thing on. It looked very sloppy and he was sure that the cleaners would find him in the morning.
For now, he was off to the library where the archives were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Ella couldn't hear to much of what Jake and Ali were saying. At least, she believed it was Jake from the sound of the voice, she could see him no where. Ella herself was up in one of the trees. She had been following Ali since she left camp. She was so curious to see what was happening. Slowly though she began to get board. Ali had stopped talking. The conversation was obviously over now and Ella started playing with her ring.
The ring was beautiful and was the only thing that she had to remember anything about her family. She was told that her mother left it with her when she left her at the orphanage. Although Ella didn't care too much about her past family, the ring seemed a little more special and only because of it's beauty. It was white gold with a large emerald in the middle. Around that was a bunch of small diamonds that had the most beautiful shimmer when the sun was out.
Ella found herself a little too distracted by her ring. Before she knew it, her foot slipped and she fell out of the tree and into a bush. She was sure that she would have been heard by Ali. Her and Ali got along really well though. They talked a lot. Hopefully, she could talk her way out of this one. She poked her head out of the bush she was tangled in.
"Hi!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Hastings decided that it would be best to stay honourable. Besides, he already had found a flaw in Krander that he was going to use to it's fullest potential. The moral of this army must have been terrible if punishments were as strict as what he just witnessed. Poor Lionel, having to do such a thing. It was the perfect storm for his newly formulated plan.
Krander began to speak:
"Do not think I underestimated you Hastings. Believe it or not I have done my homework. Just know this: The moment you didn't kill me will not only be the moment you regret most, but also the moment all of Blackpond will regret most."
"My friend, I will kill you one day, but I intend to do so with honour on the battlefield, no matter how deplorable your actions are."
He wasn't going to listen to any more of what that sick man had to say. It wasn't even worth his breath. Instead he directed his attention to the woman. She had asked him a question, and it was worth answering.
"Rory beliefs are different than mine and I cannot say for myself why he wishes to attack the White Shadows. I on the other hand wish to force them into submission. They would work for us on our men and our men alone. I have no intentions to kill them, just use them." He said.
Hastings glanced over to his right. He noticed that the other guard standing there was nervous. His gaze directed towards Krander. He would be out of this camp in no time.
Evin wondered what Ali was doing when he was leaving camp. He had seen her walking around in the White Shadows' cloak when he walked out. It appeared that she might have been traveling back to the Ruins to visit or something.
Evin didn't have much trouble continuing down the streets. He avoided busy roads and tried to stay in the dark alleyways. Things would be a little more difficult in a few hours when the curfew started. Curfew for the people of Newhaven was at ten at night until seven. Security is doubled and almost no street isn't watched. He would have to kill a few people if he got stuck in a bad spot. He knew ways around this though and it was really only a last ditch effort. Of course, since security had been heightened after the death of their 'king', Evin wasn't sure what exactly to expect at night.
When Evin got to his destination, in a narrow alleyway, he made sure no one was looking. There was a door there. This was the old house of Jake last he remembered. When he tried to open the door though, it was locked. This would have to wait. Instead he headed towards the castle to look through the archives.
When he got to the castle, it looked a lot different from the last time he had seen it. One could tell just from the condition of the stone where the destruction took place after that massive explosion Perry caused. That got Evin thinking.
Did Perry mean for this to happen? Did he know that he was outnumbered in the fight and wanted to take us down with him. Well he did a good job.
Evin approached the entrance to the castle. He had dressed himself up as an elderly before he had entered Newhaven, he hoped it was a good enough disguise. It was only about ten minutes until curfew when he made it to the drawbridge where he was stopped by two men who stood guard.
"Oh, don't mind me sirs," Evin trying his best to mimic one of the elderly men he saw on the streets as he was walking here, "I'm just here to pay my taxes. I couldn't pay the tax collector when he come to my door you see, and now I have the money. I would like to give it to the collector personally."
The guard didn't speak, he just grunted and motioned Evin to follow. It seemed the plan had worked. The only problem here was the escort. He would have to get rid of the man silently. As they passed over the drawbridge, Evin began to remember the faithful battle only a year ago. The moment when he first really intended to kill the man was when he was standing on the drawbridge he stood on now. Then of course, the courtyard that followed. Stains of blood could still be seen on the statue where the Shadow had impaled himself. To die because a man tripped over you, what a pathetic way to go, although Perry deserved it.
Evin walked further along the courtyard and finally through the big doors at the main entrance of the castle. The incredibly spacious place, decorated along the sides with suits of armour and fancy portraits. No one else but them were there. It was odd to see such a large space and be one of the only two to be in it. Now was Evin's chance. The guard was walking a few paces ahead of Evin. It was as simple as a kick to the back of the head to cause the man to pass out. Evin realised his next problem, hiding the body.
Evin searched for a place in this barren space to place a body, but found nothing. Then he realised something. He went over to the suit of armour and dismantled it. He began to place the pieces of armour onto the man. It took him about ten tense minutes to put the full thing on. It looked very sloppy and he was sure that the cleaners would find him in the morning.
For now, he was off to the library where the archives were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Ella couldn't hear to much of what Jake and Ali were saying. At least, she believed it was Jake from the sound of the voice, she could see him no where. Ella herself was up in one of the trees. She had been following Ali since she left camp. She was so curious to see what was happening. Slowly though she began to get board. Ali had stopped talking. The conversation was obviously over now and Ella started playing with her ring.
The ring was beautiful and was the only thing that she had to remember anything about her family. She was told that her mother left it with her when she left her at the orphanage. Although Ella didn't care too much about her past family, the ring seemed a little more special and only because of it's beauty. It was white gold with a large emerald in the middle. Around that was a bunch of small diamonds that had the most beautiful shimmer when the sun was out.
Ella found herself a little too distracted by her ring. Before she knew it, her foot slipped and she fell out of the tree and into a bush. She was sure that she would have been heard by Ali. Her and Ali got along really well though. They talked a lot. Hopefully, she could talk her way out of this one. She poked her head out of the bush she was tangled in.
"Hi!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Hastings decided that it would be best to stay honourable. Besides, he already had found a flaw in Krander that he was going to use to it's fullest potential. The moral of this army must have been terrible if punishments were as strict as what he just witnessed. Poor Lionel, having to do such a thing. It was the perfect storm for his newly formulated plan.
Krander began to speak:
"Do not think I underestimated you Hastings. Believe it or not I have done my homework. Just know this: The moment you didn't kill me will not only be the moment you regret most, but also the moment all of Blackpond will regret most."
"My friend, I will kill you one day, but I intend to do so with honour on the battlefield, no matter how deplorable your actions are."
He wasn't going to listen to any more of what that sick man had to say. It wasn't even worth his breath. Instead he directed his attention to the woman. She had asked him a question, and it was worth answering.
"Rory beliefs are different than mine and I cannot say for myself why he wishes to attack the White Shadows. I on the other hand wish to force them into submission. They would work for us on our men and our men alone. I have no intentions to kill them, just use them." He said.
Hastings glanced over to his right. He noticed that the other guard standing there was nervous. His gaze directed towards Krander. He would be out of this camp in no time.
Mageria shook her head and turned away, disgusted with what Hastings was saying. It was an insane plan, one that couldn’t possibly end well. On the other hand, it was such a bad plan, and would cause such trouble for Blackpond, that she was almost tempted to let it happen. Almost.
Years ago the White Shadows had saved her life while she wandered about as a mercenary. She might not agree with the way that they were allied with the Pack, but the healers deserved to have the same choices of everyone else. She had always left orders that any healers that showed up were to be shown respect and allowed to do their work. And the idea of trying to force into submission an entire clan of Enlightened . . . . purest folly. If not for the fact that Blackpond attacking the WhiteShadows would send the realm even further into chaos, she would gladly give them the chance to get taken apart in a variety of interesting and painful ways. Only a fool angers the people who know how to put you back together, because those people are also the one’s who know how to take you apart.
Mageria turned back to Hastings, absently rubbing the scar on her cheek. She watched him closely, alert for the least change in his expression. There was a thought that had been worrying at the back of her mind for a very long time now, and she finally had the chance to perhaps get an answer. She hadn’t missed the way that Hastings referred to ‘Rory’. Such a lack of title meant that he must feel very close and comfortable to the King indeed. Down by her side one hand fiddled with her silver flask, intentionally catching the light with it to draw his attention. Any weapon at hand, right? When she spoke her voice was gentle and deceptively mild.
“So, your Rory. Did he contract with the Pack to kill our King?”
Years ago the White Shadows had saved her life while she wandered about as a mercenary. She might not agree with the way that they were allied with the Pack, but the healers deserved to have the same choices of everyone else. She had always left orders that any healers that showed up were to be shown respect and allowed to do their work. And the idea of trying to force into submission an entire clan of Enlightened . . . . purest folly. If not for the fact that Blackpond attacking the WhiteShadows would send the realm even further into chaos, she would gladly give them the chance to get taken apart in a variety of interesting and painful ways. Only a fool angers the people who know how to put you back together, because those people are also the one’s who know how to take you apart.
Mageria turned back to Hastings, absently rubbing the scar on her cheek. She watched him closely, alert for the least change in his expression. There was a thought that had been worrying at the back of her mind for a very long time now, and she finally had the chance to perhaps get an answer. She hadn’t missed the way that Hastings referred to ‘Rory’. Such a lack of title meant that he must feel very close and comfortable to the King indeed. Down by her side one hand fiddled with her silver flask, intentionally catching the light with it to draw his attention. Any weapon at hand, right? When she spoke her voice was gentle and deceptively mild.
“So, your Rory. Did he contract with the Pack to kill our King?”
Krander sighed a breath of relief, but not physically, more mentally.
'You cannot win at a battle of the ignorant because of them he is king.' he thought to himself.
He watched as Mageria handled the situation and watched as Lionel came back in shivering. Krander got a blanket out of a chest in the corner and brought it to Lionel.
"Here you go son. Go get dressed." He patted him on the rear and sent him on his way.
'Oh, Phelix,' he thought, 'I sure hope wherever you are you are having a better time than I am.'
'You cannot win at a battle of the ignorant because of them he is king.' he thought to himself.
He watched as Mageria handled the situation and watched as Lionel came back in shivering. Krander got a blanket out of a chest in the corner and brought it to Lionel.
"Here you go son. Go get dressed." He patted him on the rear and sent him on his way.
'Oh, Phelix,' he thought, 'I sure hope wherever you are you are having a better time than I am.'
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
The moment Jake stepped foot inside the Wolfpack camp, several actives walked up to him asking for assistance on their assignments. Jake gave them all the excuse that Crys wanted to see him, however, he didn't go looking for her. First he went into the dining area and sat down at one of the tables. The cook from the night before glared at him severely, which caused him to snort out a chuckle. "I'm sorry... I've been having a tough week."
"We don't actually have food to spare, you know that." The woman said, frowning.
"I know, Bethany. Again, I apologize." Jake mumbled, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.
Suddenly he realized the woman had sat across from him. "Has Crystal rejected you, Jacob?"
Jake opened his eyes quickly and frowned at the woman. "What are you talking about?"
"I see you following that girl around since you two were only children Jake. All of a sudden you seem to be avoiding her completely. I assumed she might have rejected you."
Jake sighed, pressing his forehead against the wooden table. "If only it was just that simple." he mumbled.
"What did you say, dear?" The woman asked, curiously.
"I just have been very stressed lately. I see no reason why I should expose Crys to my problems, specially now." He stated, more clearly.
"So she didn't..."
"That... Is none of your concern." Jake cut the woman off before she actually asked the question. He knew where that conversation was heading, and he didn't really like it. He didn't mean to be rude to the woman, she had known him since his arrival in the clan, and Crys since birth. He owed her that much respect, but thinking about the personal implications of his mission was something his mind wouldn't bear at this point. He nodded. "Excuse my manners, it's been... Complicated."
The woman simply smiled. "Say no more. However I do worry about the two of you. Crys has been more and more alone since her father died. It can't be good for her. And you..." She nodded, a small sigh escaping her. "It is apparent that something is seriously troubling you, boy. You should talk to someone about this."
He smiled as he stood up to leave. "No... I just need to make it less apparent."
Then a boy entered the dining area, Jake recognized him a being Ali's recruit. "Jacob... Crystal wants to speak with you. Now."
"Of course. Where is she?"
"At home." The boy answered, before running off.
Jake sighed. There was no way to avoid this now. He left the dining hall and made his way to Crystal's cabin.
"We don't actually have food to spare, you know that." The woman said, frowning.
"I know, Bethany. Again, I apologize." Jake mumbled, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.
Suddenly he realized the woman had sat across from him. "Has Crystal rejected you, Jacob?"
Jake opened his eyes quickly and frowned at the woman. "What are you talking about?"
"I see you following that girl around since you two were only children Jake. All of a sudden you seem to be avoiding her completely. I assumed she might have rejected you."
Jake sighed, pressing his forehead against the wooden table. "If only it was just that simple." he mumbled.
"What did you say, dear?" The woman asked, curiously.
"I just have been very stressed lately. I see no reason why I should expose Crys to my problems, specially now." He stated, more clearly.
"So she didn't..."
"That... Is none of your concern." Jake cut the woman off before she actually asked the question. He knew where that conversation was heading, and he didn't really like it. He didn't mean to be rude to the woman, she had known him since his arrival in the clan, and Crys since birth. He owed her that much respect, but thinking about the personal implications of his mission was something his mind wouldn't bear at this point. He nodded. "Excuse my manners, it's been... Complicated."
The woman simply smiled. "Say no more. However I do worry about the two of you. Crys has been more and more alone since her father died. It can't be good for her. And you..." She nodded, a small sigh escaping her. "It is apparent that something is seriously troubling you, boy. You should talk to someone about this."
He smiled as he stood up to leave. "No... I just need to make it less apparent."
Then a boy entered the dining area, Jake recognized him a being Ali's recruit. "Jacob... Crystal wants to speak with you. Now."
"Of course. Where is she?"
"At home." The boy answered, before running off.
Jake sighed. There was no way to avoid this now. He left the dining hall and made his way to Crystal's cabin.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Ali had finished her apple and was silently going over what Jake had said. It would be unwise to go around asking questions, healers don't do that. Keeping her cover was important as well. However, he had a point: Files can be destroyed. "Hum..." She mumbled, ideas suddenly forming in her mind. "That might work." She whispered to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone crashing down into the bushes. Ali nodded quietly, a smile spreading across her lips. "What is it with recruits and their inability to stay on top of trees?" She mumbled in an amused tone. When she heard Ella's voice though, she simply couldn't help it anymore and broke down in laughter. "You really want to make Evin murder you, don't you?" Ali asked, standing up and watching the girl. She nodded a little bit. "I don't have time to escort you back to camp, although I should, and it would be highly irresponsible to let a recruit wander off alone, so... I guess you're coming with me to Newhaven. If we survive, then Evin can kill you... That if you're lucky."
With that said, she started walking down the path that led to the city of Newhaven. Still laughing a little while doing so.
---------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys was sitting on her bed, fiddling with the metal chain around her neck. She heard the front door open, but no footsteps. "Over here Jacob."
Jake's steps were slow, hesitant, he was dreading this encounter. Crys laid back on the bed. She had her arms crossed under her head, in a similar way to how her mother laid back to think, and let out a small sigh while waiting.
She had made little changes to that room since she moved into that cabin. She removed her father's desk from its place on the corner of the room and moved it to the common room, where it once had been a long time ago, before her father moved in. Aside from her bed and own personal belongings, there was a small wooden table, two chairs and... A book shelf. Those were the contents of Crys' room. Everything in its exact place where she could easily find all that she needed. Her weapons, at their respective sheathes, on the right side of the bed, a jar of water and a glass on top of the small table, no window. Life as been that way for Crys for as long as she could remember it: Everything in its place, at a calculated number of steps away.
When Jake finally stepped into the room he stopped by the door and didn't move.
"Sit." Crys told him, pointing at one of the chairs.
Jake moved, as he walked towards the chair she counted his steps. The chair was out of place, she had tripped over it when she walked in and hadn't bothered to fix it. He let out a sigh as he sat down. "So... Do you have something you want to talk to me about, or... This is about me failing to report?"
Crys nodded. "Both. First thing... I have a question that needs an answer."
"What question?"
"I know you are hiding something from me. I understand that, under circumstances, it's necessary. What I don't understand is why you are so upset."
"I'm not..." He started.
"Oh, don't you dare lie to me Jacob." She warned him, in a cold tone of voice. "Even without my ability I know you all too well, so don't bother lying. Something is eating you up inside. What is it?" She frowned at the ceiling as she asked the question. She could hear his heart banging against his chest as he obviously tried to find an answer that would be acceptable.
"I just don't want to talk about it right now." He stated.
"Why not?" She asked, a little more calm since he was finally being honest.
"If I do, I'll have to lie. I don't want to lie to you, obviously you find that annoying." He explained casually.
"Obviously." She agreed, in an irritated tone. "You surely understand why this bothers me, don't you?"
He sighed. "I know, Crys... I really... I'm sorry. I will tell you eventually, I promise."
She nodded. "So you don't understand why it bothers me. You just think I mistrust you."
"I would if I were you."
"You're not me. So don't try to guess what I feel like." Crys sighed.
"Right... I know for a fact that it annoys you." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Why does this bother you then?"
She sat up and stared at him. "I'm worried, you idiot. You're getting careless, Evin spotted you at the Black Knight's camp."
Jake sighed. "He's not sure of what he saw. Otherwise he would have put his knife to my throat instead of trying to question me."
Crys nodded. "Don't underestimate Evin, Jake. No matter what answer you gave him... He didn't buy it."
"Where is he? Speaking of it."
"Who knows? When he gets himself in some sort of trouble or feels the need to gloat, I'll find out." She stated, in a half amused tone.
Jake laughed. "With my luck he'll probably come back bragging about how he caught a traitor"
Crys frowned at him for the joke. "I wouldn't doubt it. Watch your back, will you?"
"Alright, I will." Jake sighed. "Crys... Don't get me wrong, but... What the hell are the books for?"
She laughed. "Oh, these..." She sighed. "These are my mother's journals. I keep them here so people won't touch them."
"What about your father's journals?" Jake asked, curiously. He had seen Bastian write in his journals. He was constantly making notes.
"I never found them. I think he might have stashed them somewhere... You know dad, he was a little odd." She chuckled.
"Have you been... Eating, sleeping... All that?" He asked.
"Yes, I have." Crys stated. "You?"
"I've been trying. It's getting harder and harder to sleep though." He admitted.
Crys sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to abort this whole mission?"
"I'm sure I can take a little more, don't worry about it." Jake mumbled.
"I'm not so sure about that Jake."
"I'll let you know when I've had enough. I promise I will." He stated. "There are few things I still think I can do."
"Who will you be doing it for?" She asked, seriously.
He chuckled. "I do everything for you. You know that."
Crys sighed. "Sure you do... " Then she laid back on the bed and nodded. "Very well, Jacob... Report."
With that said, she started walking down the path that led to the city of Newhaven. Still laughing a little while doing so.
---------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys was sitting on her bed, fiddling with the metal chain around her neck. She heard the front door open, but no footsteps. "Over here Jacob."
Jake's steps were slow, hesitant, he was dreading this encounter. Crys laid back on the bed. She had her arms crossed under her head, in a similar way to how her mother laid back to think, and let out a small sigh while waiting.
She had made little changes to that room since she moved into that cabin. She removed her father's desk from its place on the corner of the room and moved it to the common room, where it once had been a long time ago, before her father moved in. Aside from her bed and own personal belongings, there was a small wooden table, two chairs and... A book shelf. Those were the contents of Crys' room. Everything in its exact place where she could easily find all that she needed. Her weapons, at their respective sheathes, on the right side of the bed, a jar of water and a glass on top of the small table, no window. Life as been that way for Crys for as long as she could remember it: Everything in its place, at a calculated number of steps away.
When Jake finally stepped into the room he stopped by the door and didn't move.
"Sit." Crys told him, pointing at one of the chairs.
Jake moved, as he walked towards the chair she counted his steps. The chair was out of place, she had tripped over it when she walked in and hadn't bothered to fix it. He let out a sigh as he sat down. "So... Do you have something you want to talk to me about, or... This is about me failing to report?"
Crys nodded. "Both. First thing... I have a question that needs an answer."
"What question?"
"I know you are hiding something from me. I understand that, under circumstances, it's necessary. What I don't understand is why you are so upset."
"I'm not..." He started.
"Oh, don't you dare lie to me Jacob." She warned him, in a cold tone of voice. "Even without my ability I know you all too well, so don't bother lying. Something is eating you up inside. What is it?" She frowned at the ceiling as she asked the question. She could hear his heart banging against his chest as he obviously tried to find an answer that would be acceptable.
"I just don't want to talk about it right now." He stated.
"Why not?" She asked, a little more calm since he was finally being honest.
"If I do, I'll have to lie. I don't want to lie to you, obviously you find that annoying." He explained casually.
"Obviously." She agreed, in an irritated tone. "You surely understand why this bothers me, don't you?"
He sighed. "I know, Crys... I really... I'm sorry. I will tell you eventually, I promise."
She nodded. "So you don't understand why it bothers me. You just think I mistrust you."
"I would if I were you."
"You're not me. So don't try to guess what I feel like." Crys sighed.
"Right... I know for a fact that it annoys you." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Why does this bother you then?"
She sat up and stared at him. "I'm worried, you idiot. You're getting careless, Evin spotted you at the Black Knight's camp."
Jake sighed. "He's not sure of what he saw. Otherwise he would have put his knife to my throat instead of trying to question me."
Crys nodded. "Don't underestimate Evin, Jake. No matter what answer you gave him... He didn't buy it."
"Where is he? Speaking of it."
"Who knows? When he gets himself in some sort of trouble or feels the need to gloat, I'll find out." She stated, in a half amused tone.
Jake laughed. "With my luck he'll probably come back bragging about how he caught a traitor"
Crys frowned at him for the joke. "I wouldn't doubt it. Watch your back, will you?"
"Alright, I will." Jake sighed. "Crys... Don't get me wrong, but... What the hell are the books for?"
She laughed. "Oh, these..." She sighed. "These are my mother's journals. I keep them here so people won't touch them."
"What about your father's journals?" Jake asked, curiously. He had seen Bastian write in his journals. He was constantly making notes.
"I never found them. I think he might have stashed them somewhere... You know dad, he was a little odd." She chuckled.
"Have you been... Eating, sleeping... All that?" He asked.
"Yes, I have." Crys stated. "You?"
"I've been trying. It's getting harder and harder to sleep though." He admitted.
Crys sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to abort this whole mission?"
"I'm sure I can take a little more, don't worry about it." Jake mumbled.
"I'm not so sure about that Jake."
"I'll let you know when I've had enough. I promise I will." He stated. "There are few things I still think I can do."
"Who will you be doing it for?" She asked, seriously.
He chuckled. "I do everything for you. You know that."
Crys sighed. "Sure you do... " Then she laid back on the bed and nodded. "Very well, Jacob... Report."
Blanditia nodded and smiled happily, "now?" she asked and wanted to leave now; something in her was drawing her toward the city. She figured the chain on her neck, the simple gold chain was braided and well made which made. She looked worried and tired but excited, she played with her golden hair with an excited smile at Lena.
{{sorry its short}}
{{sorry its short}}
Hastings hacked out a laugh when Margeria had asked him about the king's assassination. It was almost ridiculous to think that Blackpond would ever even associated with the Wolf Pack. Blackpond didn't like those Pack members just as much as Newhaven did, but they had no reason to attack like Newhaven did. What really made Hastings laugh though was how aggressively they went after the Wolf Pack when it was obviouse that their army couldn't handle battling on two fronts.
"It seems like it would've been a good idea to use the assassin's to take out your king, but the fact is, we don't like the assassin's all to much either. We can't trust that they wont do the same thing to us and kill our king. We don't want to take that risk."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Ella didn't really say anything else to Ali. She understood exactly what she had just told her. Evin would kill her if he ever found out that she went along with Ali to where ever she was going. Actually, Evin would probably kill Ali if he ever found out she brought Ella along with her to where ever she was going. She was taking a big risk doing this and she had to be grateful.
After a couple more hours of traveling, things were just getting a little weird. Neither of them were speaking to each other. She understood why. Ali was probably mad at her for doing this, and she should have known better than to follow Ali out of the camp.
"Why were you speaking to Jake? I didn't see him, but I knew he was there." She hoped that this subject wasn't to touchy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
There was nothing here, nothing at all. Evin had spent hours looking through these archives, and surprisingly, he hadn't been bothered at all.
Jake's records had been completely erased from the archives. There wasn't even a record of him from when he became a citizen of Newhaven back when he was expelled from the Wolf Pack. Evin knew then that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He closed the book that he had been reading and rested his head on it for a few minutes of rest.
"It seems like it would've been a good idea to use the assassin's to take out your king, but the fact is, we don't like the assassin's all to much either. We can't trust that they wont do the same thing to us and kill our king. We don't want to take that risk."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest]
Ella didn't really say anything else to Ali. She understood exactly what she had just told her. Evin would kill her if he ever found out that she went along with Ali to where ever she was going. Actually, Evin would probably kill Ali if he ever found out she brought Ella along with her to where ever she was going. She was taking a big risk doing this and she had to be grateful.
After a couple more hours of traveling, things were just getting a little weird. Neither of them were speaking to each other. She understood why. Ali was probably mad at her for doing this, and she should have known better than to follow Ali out of the camp.
"Why were you speaking to Jake? I didn't see him, but I knew he was there." She hoped that this subject wasn't to touchy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
There was nothing here, nothing at all. Evin had spent hours looking through these archives, and surprisingly, he hadn't been bothered at all.
Jake's records had been completely erased from the archives. There wasn't even a record of him from when he became a citizen of Newhaven back when he was expelled from the Wolf Pack. Evin knew then that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He closed the book that he had been reading and rested his head on it for a few minutes of rest.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena chuckled at the girl's reaction. "Yes, now. I'm leaving this instant." She looked the young apprentice over to make sure she didn't seem to tired to travel that distance. She did seem tired, but not excessively. "We might cross the battlefield on our way there and possibly the encampments where the Newhaven soldiers are stationed, so... Stay close to me at all times. We wouldn't want any incidents." With that final instruction Lena started walking off towards the main entrance of the camp. As she passed then entrance she whispered words to Alistair and then added in an audible tone. "I'll keep in touch." Not elaborating on how exactly she planned to keep in touch. No more words were spoken as the healer headed out for Blackpond, assuming the girl would follow.
---------------------
[Valcrest]
Ali didn't even notice she had been completely ignoring Ella for hours. She wasn't upset with the girl, after all she had done far worse when she was a recruit, she was simply lost in thought. Between what Jake had told her and the actual task at hand, she was confused on what to do. Impersonating a healer was a disrespect, if Lena was to find out what Crys had ordered her to do there would be trouble. The White Shadows were the only actual ally of the Wolfpack, that was one major risk that she was taking.
When Ella spoke Ali stopped walking, letting out a little sigh. "Jake was heading back to camp and stopped to give me some input." She shrugged. "I don't know where he was coming from though. I haven't really talked to him since he came back or since I came back... Doesn't matter." She shrugged slightly. Jake had been strange ever since he came back, she didn't really like that, but she didn't actually have the time to think about it.
She started walking again slowly, but less silent this time. "So, we're getting close to the city now, so pay attention... I'm impersonating a healer. That should grant me access to the city, the castle grounds and the library, which is great. However, if I'm identified as an assassin I'll be dead... If I'm lucky." She paused trying to push away that possibility. "So, I want you to walk one step behind me at all times, only speak if you're spoken to and if asked, only if asked, tell them you are my assistant, got it?" Ali had worked as an assistant the year she stayed in the ruins, as punishment, and for a reason: Assistants were the lowest life forms on that camp. Much like being a recruit at the Wolfpack, but a little bit worse. Still, it was the only explanation for someone traveling with a White Shadow and not wearing the characteristic white robe nor being enlightened. Then she added in a severe tone. "I imagine you have something on you, anything, that identifies you as once being citizen of Newhaven, correct? So, if I happen to get arrested, show them whatever it is and tell them I captured you. If you can cry it'll be better. Unless we happen to be dealing with an actual Knight, they should let you go." She said all that casually as if she was talking about the weather. Not worrying about being heard. She knew for fact that there was no one around.
Ali crossed her arms behind her head as she walked. "Argh, I hate these robes... I swear, Crys is going to get it for making me do this." She muttered, deciding to express her discomfort now before they actually made it to city. She opened a little smirk and added in an amused tone. "So, how's Evin treating you?" Ali thought that if she could imagine something worse than training under Crys' command, that'd be training under Evin's command. At least Crys was forced to be sympathetic, either she wanted to or not. Didn't make it any better though. "My first week of training Crys literally used me for target practice. I still have the scars." She chuckled. "She has an impressive aim for a blind person. Just my luck."
---------------------
[Valcrest]
Ali didn't even notice she had been completely ignoring Ella for hours. She wasn't upset with the girl, after all she had done far worse when she was a recruit, she was simply lost in thought. Between what Jake had told her and the actual task at hand, she was confused on what to do. Impersonating a healer was a disrespect, if Lena was to find out what Crys had ordered her to do there would be trouble. The White Shadows were the only actual ally of the Wolfpack, that was one major risk that she was taking.
When Ella spoke Ali stopped walking, letting out a little sigh. "Jake was heading back to camp and stopped to give me some input." She shrugged. "I don't know where he was coming from though. I haven't really talked to him since he came back or since I came back... Doesn't matter." She shrugged slightly. Jake had been strange ever since he came back, she didn't really like that, but she didn't actually have the time to think about it.
She started walking again slowly, but less silent this time. "So, we're getting close to the city now, so pay attention... I'm impersonating a healer. That should grant me access to the city, the castle grounds and the library, which is great. However, if I'm identified as an assassin I'll be dead... If I'm lucky." She paused trying to push away that possibility. "So, I want you to walk one step behind me at all times, only speak if you're spoken to and if asked, only if asked, tell them you are my assistant, got it?" Ali had worked as an assistant the year she stayed in the ruins, as punishment, and for a reason: Assistants were the lowest life forms on that camp. Much like being a recruit at the Wolfpack, but a little bit worse. Still, it was the only explanation for someone traveling with a White Shadow and not wearing the characteristic white robe nor being enlightened. Then she added in a severe tone. "I imagine you have something on you, anything, that identifies you as once being citizen of Newhaven, correct? So, if I happen to get arrested, show them whatever it is and tell them I captured you. If you can cry it'll be better. Unless we happen to be dealing with an actual Knight, they should let you go." She said all that casually as if she was talking about the weather. Not worrying about being heard. She knew for fact that there was no one around.
Ali crossed her arms behind her head as she walked. "Argh, I hate these robes... I swear, Crys is going to get it for making me do this." She muttered, deciding to express her discomfort now before they actually made it to city. She opened a little smirk and added in an amused tone. "So, how's Evin treating you?" Ali thought that if she could imagine something worse than training under Crys' command, that'd be training under Evin's command. At least Crys was forced to be sympathetic, either she wanted to or not. Didn't make it any better though. "My first week of training Crys literally used me for target practice. I still have the scars." She chuckled. "She has an impressive aim for a blind person. Just my luck."
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
--Headed South--
Thomas hummed softly as he rode through the forest. It had been a stoke of luck to run across the bandits earlier that day, as it had lead to him getting some cloths that had been better suited to wandering about the forest, and traveling food. It had also earned him a bit of an escort before they had to get back to where ever it was that they were denning up. So here he was, dressed a bit more like a bandit, and traveling alone once again. On the other hand, once he passed back by, he had the feeling that they would come in handy. He had to remember to make an effort to recruit some of them once things settled down. Most of his contacts were based in and around the city, including the net that Mageria had set up. He snorted softly. The poor girl thought that she was being so secret, and she really had done well, but he was better.
He shifted restlessly before settling back down in the saddle. At the rate he was going, he was going to find the Southlands sooner than he thought. Whether or not he could walk by the time he got there remained to be seen.
Thomas hummed softly as he rode through the forest. It had been a stoke of luck to run across the bandits earlier that day, as it had lead to him getting some cloths that had been better suited to wandering about the forest, and traveling food. It had also earned him a bit of an escort before they had to get back to where ever it was that they were denning up. So here he was, dressed a bit more like a bandit, and traveling alone once again. On the other hand, once he passed back by, he had the feeling that they would come in handy. He had to remember to make an effort to recruit some of them once things settled down. Most of his contacts were based in and around the city, including the net that Mageria had set up. He snorted softly. The poor girl thought that she was being so secret, and she really had done well, but he was better.
He shifted restlessly before settling back down in the saddle. At the rate he was going, he was going to find the Southlands sooner than he thought. Whether or not he could walk by the time he got there remained to be seen.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Jake was about done telling Crys absolutely everything he had seen and heard since the past days. Wasn't all that much, but there were useful details there that she could use. He seemed tired, she could tell. She sighed. "Do you want to lay down a bit?"
"No, it's..." He yawned mid-sentence, and completed it laughing. "Alright. I haven't been sleeping well, but if I try to sleep during the day it gets worse, so..." He sighed. "I can manage."
Crys nodded. "You are too stressed, Jake. It really worries me." She sat up on the bed facing him.
Jake chuckled. "Then stop that."
"Stop what?" She asked, a little confused.
"Stop saying I worry you. I doesn't really help relieve the stress." He explained, then changed the subject. "Do you ever wonder what is written in these journals? There are about..." He stopped to count the books.
"Twenty six books." Crys completed, standing up and taking one. "Sure I wonder, but... I don't know how to ask someone to read these for me. I mean, I'm not sure my mother would have appreciated that."
"You have a point there." Jake agreed. "However... When you write a journal you instantly assume someone will eventually read it, right?"
Crys sighed. "Alright." She stated handing out the book to him.
Jake immediately pushed the book back to her. "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"It's... Dani's personal business." He mumbled. "I simply can't."
Crys nodded, standing up and putting the book back in its place. "Exactly." She stated
At that moment a hesitating voice called from the other room. "Crystal?"
Crys nodded and walked out of her bedroom and into the room where the active had called out for her. "Dennis. What can I do for you?"
"There is a man dressed as a bandit coming into out territory, heading south. He doesn't seem to be a bandit though."
Crys sighed. "What makes you say that?" She asked.
"He is riding alone and he doesn't carry himself as a bandit. He looks... Noble, actually."
Crys frowned slightly going over the infor,ation. "You don't say? How long until he comes this way."
"A few hours, I assume. Should we intercept him?" Dennis asked her.
"No... I'll go. I want to meet this person."
"What?" Jake's voice sounded in her ear.
"I want to know who he is and what he wants in the desert. I'm interested."
"Crys, what if he is a Knight?" Jake asked.
"What if he is? Do you think he is going to simply kill off a blind girl? Even if he tried, I'm not exactly a pushover." She said, with a little smirk. Taking the katana from where she had left it and walking out of the cabin.
"Even so... If you go, then I'm going with you." He stated following her.
Crys nodded, laughing. "Honestly... You miss following me around, don't you?"
Jake sighed. "You have no idea. Seriously though, you are approaching him like this? Anyone can identify you as an assassin miles away Crys."
She nodded, leading the way out of camp. "True. However, it is now common knowledge that this is our territory, so if he is not out here hunting us, then he is doing something far more important. I'd like to know what that is." She stopped walking as soon as they crossed the main entrance. "So... I'm simply going to inquire him and let him be on his way. You, on the other hand, are going to follow. Carefully."
Jake nodded. "Alright. You might want to stop talking to me now too. You know, I'm not really here."
Crys nodded, walking towards the trail and stopping in a spot where she was sure to be seen, waiting for the man to come riding past them.
"No, it's..." He yawned mid-sentence, and completed it laughing. "Alright. I haven't been sleeping well, but if I try to sleep during the day it gets worse, so..." He sighed. "I can manage."
Crys nodded. "You are too stressed, Jake. It really worries me." She sat up on the bed facing him.
Jake chuckled. "Then stop that."
"Stop what?" She asked, a little confused.
"Stop saying I worry you. I doesn't really help relieve the stress." He explained, then changed the subject. "Do you ever wonder what is written in these journals? There are about..." He stopped to count the books.
"Twenty six books." Crys completed, standing up and taking one. "Sure I wonder, but... I don't know how to ask someone to read these for me. I mean, I'm not sure my mother would have appreciated that."
"You have a point there." Jake agreed. "However... When you write a journal you instantly assume someone will eventually read it, right?"
Crys sighed. "Alright." She stated handing out the book to him.
Jake immediately pushed the book back to her. "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"It's... Dani's personal business." He mumbled. "I simply can't."
Crys nodded, standing up and putting the book back in its place. "Exactly." She stated
At that moment a hesitating voice called from the other room. "Crystal?"
Crys nodded and walked out of her bedroom and into the room where the active had called out for her. "Dennis. What can I do for you?"
"There is a man dressed as a bandit coming into out territory, heading south. He doesn't seem to be a bandit though."
Crys sighed. "What makes you say that?" She asked.
"He is riding alone and he doesn't carry himself as a bandit. He looks... Noble, actually."
Crys frowned slightly going over the infor,ation. "You don't say? How long until he comes this way."
"A few hours, I assume. Should we intercept him?" Dennis asked her.
"No... I'll go. I want to meet this person."
"What?" Jake's voice sounded in her ear.
"I want to know who he is and what he wants in the desert. I'm interested."
"Crys, what if he is a Knight?" Jake asked.
"What if he is? Do you think he is going to simply kill off a blind girl? Even if he tried, I'm not exactly a pushover." She said, with a little smirk. Taking the katana from where she had left it and walking out of the cabin.
"Even so... If you go, then I'm going with you." He stated following her.
Crys nodded, laughing. "Honestly... You miss following me around, don't you?"
Jake sighed. "You have no idea. Seriously though, you are approaching him like this? Anyone can identify you as an assassin miles away Crys."
She nodded, leading the way out of camp. "True. However, it is now common knowledge that this is our territory, so if he is not out here hunting us, then he is doing something far more important. I'd like to know what that is." She stopped walking as soon as they crossed the main entrance. "So... I'm simply going to inquire him and let him be on his way. You, on the other hand, are going to follow. Carefully."
Jake nodded. "Alright. You might want to stop talking to me now too. You know, I'm not really here."
Crys nodded, walking towards the trail and stopping in a spot where she was sure to be seen, waiting for the man to come riding past them.
-Outside the Camp-
Thomas rolled his shoulders to loosen them. Hours of riding wore on both the body and the mind, leaving him exhausted and bored almost out of his mind. Being as he was alone, he had to stay alert, but it was almost impossible at the rate he was going. To try and stay alert he started listing all of his agents in the order of importance and planing what he was going to send them on next. That took a couple of hours. After that he started making plans on how he was going to track down the former Queen once he got to the desert. The only problem with that was that since he didn’t know what the situation was going to be like, he couldn’t really make any real plans. The best he could do was to make plans about how to make plans. Once he realized that he was planing how to plan, he decided that he really needed to think about something else.
Of course, that was the moment that he turned down a twist in the path and saw a young woman standing in the road. The moment he saw her, several things passed through his mind at once. One was that she was dressed like an assassin. Assassins don’t travel alone, which meant that there was probably more in the trees to either side of her. The second thought was that he was grateful that he was dressed rough, nothing like the White Knight or noble that he was. He slouched in the saddle, assuming a posture that was no better than a common bandit might have.
His eyes flicked his eyes over the woman as he drew closer. Now he could see that she carried a katana, not a common weapon. Still, the odds were rather low that she was hear to kill him directly, and he would have heard if the Pack had started killing off the bandits. The crew that he had run into earlier would have warned him if that was the case. So, best idea was to simply ride past her and go on his way. Carefully, he drew off to the side so that he didn’t crowd her and nodded as he got closer.
“Good Day, miss.”
Thomas rolled his shoulders to loosen them. Hours of riding wore on both the body and the mind, leaving him exhausted and bored almost out of his mind. Being as he was alone, he had to stay alert, but it was almost impossible at the rate he was going. To try and stay alert he started listing all of his agents in the order of importance and planing what he was going to send them on next. That took a couple of hours. After that he started making plans on how he was going to track down the former Queen once he got to the desert. The only problem with that was that since he didn’t know what the situation was going to be like, he couldn’t really make any real plans. The best he could do was to make plans about how to make plans. Once he realized that he was planing how to plan, he decided that he really needed to think about something else.
Of course, that was the moment that he turned down a twist in the path and saw a young woman standing in the road. The moment he saw her, several things passed through his mind at once. One was that she was dressed like an assassin. Assassins don’t travel alone, which meant that there was probably more in the trees to either side of her. The second thought was that he was grateful that he was dressed rough, nothing like the White Knight or noble that he was. He slouched in the saddle, assuming a posture that was no better than a common bandit might have.
His eyes flicked his eyes over the woman as he drew closer. Now he could see that she carried a katana, not a common weapon. Still, the odds were rather low that she was hear to kill him directly, and he would have heard if the Pack had started killing off the bandits. The crew that he had run into earlier would have warned him if that was the case. So, best idea was to simply ride past her and go on his way. Carefully, he drew off to the side so that he didn’t crowd her and nodded as he got closer.
“Good Day, miss.”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(At the site of the battle, before Blackpond.)
The dead lay patiently never eager to be and in their silence they had a profound presence. Both threatening and serene. Grim remained vigilant in his work. Setting to rest those that he could, knowing he’d never get to all who had fallen. It was a calling of kindness a gentleness that was contained. Reserved with pity for those who paid the ultimate price. He was still a Black Knight and he still defended Newhaven despite his misgivings on how his kingdom was acting.
He didn’t even notice the group of men approaching until they had circled themselves around where he kneeled. Their shadows casting Grim into a darkness with their ill intent. The first voice called out.
“Leave em’ alone yew bastard!”
Grim beheld four ragged men looming threateningly toward him. Though each possessed bits of armor it took hardly a keen eye to tell they weren’t soldiers. Likely workers of the field that were armed for difficult times. They reeked of sweat and soil, and their gaze was hard with the toils of loss. The Black Knight could see the bitter sting of resentment. Calmly he rose to his feet though the farmers remained their determination too great to intimidate on size alone.
“I mean you no harm, I was praying for those who ar-”
“You were stealin’ from our kin thief. I ave’ half a mind to cut ya down where yew stand.”
Grim threw up his hands dropping his blade helpless beside his feet. It was too late to avoid conflict the first of the earth tenders made his mistake. A sickle flew through the air and his aim was well from threshing wheat for his blade took Grim’s flesh and bit deep. Digging into the underside of his right arm. Grim staggered back curling around his wound as though death itself had taken his arm with an icy grip. The farmers were taken aback by surprise knowing well their forerunner’s attack was far from serious how little they knew.
Pondus shuddered trembling throughout every inch of his form. Shaking with such ferocity that his armor clacked and clanked from the rattling. Whispers were spewed with intensity praying for the souls of the farmers, begging for mercy. Seeking out to unheard ears before he sunk into the darkness. Thrown from reality to a pit where he knew the beast waited. It hungered and anticipated with a predators thirst. It’s unwavering stare watching with untold patience for the chance to devour once again.
“Run! Please!”
Grim could hardly hear his own voice against the wind, though he knew he screamed them with all his might. The unnamed feeling welling up from inside it’s tainted magic tearing through the skin. Holding its wickedness in his heart. The gentle emerald eyes became engulfed in a red haze burning with such intensity that allowed scarlet lights to wisp from his skull. Grim was gone, what remained was what his men called War.
The sickle-wielder hadn’t the chance to escape. A great hand took to his throat and try as he might the weapon he swung bounced harmlessly from his captor’s shell. The fingers curled drawing the ragged man’s veins to view, the vessels pumping blood at such an alarming rate that they threatened to burst. Suffocation is a terrible end. The farmer rasped and clutched dangling like a hanged man from the brute’s clutches. Worry not the peasant didn’t suffer long. Grim’s skull crashed square with the man’s face, the bloodied remains an unidentifiable mush that was cast to the dirt.
The next was caught from behind having tried to escape the hell unleashed upon him. The Black Knight had wrenched his helm free tossing it betwixt the feet of another runner. The prey in his arms already fastened against his chest by a single arm. As though he were a wild beast Grim sank his teeth deep into the dirty worker’s neck biting deeply and rending as he pulled free. Swallowing the gobbet of flesh only to return for seconds. A few more great chomps and the victim buckled from the pain and blood loss going limp in his arms, he was promptly discarded.
Flailing desperately against the ground was another farmer. His legs having been tripped up by a great black helm. Clawing the dirt to gain leverage that he may pull himself free but it was too late the armored hulk was on him. Taking him up by his sides Grim forced the farmer to his back so that he could dwell on the terrorized face of this lowly creature.
“You look so scared heathen, out of sight out of mind!”
His hands reached for the thug’s skull. Cradling the sides of his face with both palms. The ends of both thumbs taking the tormented man’s eyes. Blood and liquids oozed from the wounds pouring down over a screaming mouth. The cry of anguish mingled with Grim’s own laughter light and careless. A joy to the Black Knight reveling in the agony giggling at the horror.
“I will destroy you, all of you! Die maggot of Blackpond. Die, die.. Die Die!”
The thumbs pushed harder sinking and gouging with renewed strength. When the life wouldn’t be snuffed the Knight’s grin only broadened. They were going to play a little longer. Calmly he removed his hands and wedged his bloodied digits into the farmer’s mouth. Two palms were inversed facing the roof and bottom, with a curl of his fingers he gripped both of the helpless thing’s jaws. Gauging carefully placed power he began to separate them. Forcing the maw wide open enough that he could gaze down the wretch’s throat. Literally seeing where the cries were omitted. Further apart they went, and beyond even that limitation. The red eyes lit up like a fire of hate finding thrill at what his toy could take. More pressure was applied and the mouth cracked finally blood seeping from where the break occurred. The toad was soon gone and there was nothing left to fight. The fourth and final gang member having actually escaped.
Grim rose from his feet releasing his captive. The rage was shedding from him. It’s strange control was breaking up and the danger was passing. A quick stomp ended the third man’s life, the only merciful act left. The crimson seemed to smoke out returning his eyes to their green hue and freeing Pondus from the hate. He had nothing more to say there was nothing he could do now. Picking his helm up gingerly he began his trek back to camp. Being sure to collect his broadsword as well. Heedless to the body fluids caked all over his gloves. Wallowing in his own lonely thoughts.
The dead lay patiently never eager to be and in their silence they had a profound presence. Both threatening and serene. Grim remained vigilant in his work. Setting to rest those that he could, knowing he’d never get to all who had fallen. It was a calling of kindness a gentleness that was contained. Reserved with pity for those who paid the ultimate price. He was still a Black Knight and he still defended Newhaven despite his misgivings on how his kingdom was acting.
He didn’t even notice the group of men approaching until they had circled themselves around where he kneeled. Their shadows casting Grim into a darkness with their ill intent. The first voice called out.
“Leave em’ alone yew bastard!”
Grim beheld four ragged men looming threateningly toward him. Though each possessed bits of armor it took hardly a keen eye to tell they weren’t soldiers. Likely workers of the field that were armed for difficult times. They reeked of sweat and soil, and their gaze was hard with the toils of loss. The Black Knight could see the bitter sting of resentment. Calmly he rose to his feet though the farmers remained their determination too great to intimidate on size alone.
“I mean you no harm, I was praying for those who ar-”
“You were stealin’ from our kin thief. I ave’ half a mind to cut ya down where yew stand.”
Grim threw up his hands dropping his blade helpless beside his feet. It was too late to avoid conflict the first of the earth tenders made his mistake. A sickle flew through the air and his aim was well from threshing wheat for his blade took Grim’s flesh and bit deep. Digging into the underside of his right arm. Grim staggered back curling around his wound as though death itself had taken his arm with an icy grip. The farmers were taken aback by surprise knowing well their forerunner’s attack was far from serious how little they knew.
Pondus shuddered trembling throughout every inch of his form. Shaking with such ferocity that his armor clacked and clanked from the rattling. Whispers were spewed with intensity praying for the souls of the farmers, begging for mercy. Seeking out to unheard ears before he sunk into the darkness. Thrown from reality to a pit where he knew the beast waited. It hungered and anticipated with a predators thirst. It’s unwavering stare watching with untold patience for the chance to devour once again.
“Run! Please!”
Grim could hardly hear his own voice against the wind, though he knew he screamed them with all his might. The unnamed feeling welling up from inside it’s tainted magic tearing through the skin. Holding its wickedness in his heart. The gentle emerald eyes became engulfed in a red haze burning with such intensity that allowed scarlet lights to wisp from his skull. Grim was gone, what remained was what his men called War.
The sickle-wielder hadn’t the chance to escape. A great hand took to his throat and try as he might the weapon he swung bounced harmlessly from his captor’s shell. The fingers curled drawing the ragged man’s veins to view, the vessels pumping blood at such an alarming rate that they threatened to burst. Suffocation is a terrible end. The farmer rasped and clutched dangling like a hanged man from the brute’s clutches. Worry not the peasant didn’t suffer long. Grim’s skull crashed square with the man’s face, the bloodied remains an unidentifiable mush that was cast to the dirt.
The next was caught from behind having tried to escape the hell unleashed upon him. The Black Knight had wrenched his helm free tossing it betwixt the feet of another runner. The prey in his arms already fastened against his chest by a single arm. As though he were a wild beast Grim sank his teeth deep into the dirty worker’s neck biting deeply and rending as he pulled free. Swallowing the gobbet of flesh only to return for seconds. A few more great chomps and the victim buckled from the pain and blood loss going limp in his arms, he was promptly discarded.
Flailing desperately against the ground was another farmer. His legs having been tripped up by a great black helm. Clawing the dirt to gain leverage that he may pull himself free but it was too late the armored hulk was on him. Taking him up by his sides Grim forced the farmer to his back so that he could dwell on the terrorized face of this lowly creature.
“You look so scared heathen, out of sight out of mind!”
His hands reached for the thug’s skull. Cradling the sides of his face with both palms. The ends of both thumbs taking the tormented man’s eyes. Blood and liquids oozed from the wounds pouring down over a screaming mouth. The cry of anguish mingled with Grim’s own laughter light and careless. A joy to the Black Knight reveling in the agony giggling at the horror.
“I will destroy you, all of you! Die maggot of Blackpond. Die, die.. Die Die!”
The thumbs pushed harder sinking and gouging with renewed strength. When the life wouldn’t be snuffed the Knight’s grin only broadened. They were going to play a little longer. Calmly he removed his hands and wedged his bloodied digits into the farmer’s mouth. Two palms were inversed facing the roof and bottom, with a curl of his fingers he gripped both of the helpless thing’s jaws. Gauging carefully placed power he began to separate them. Forcing the maw wide open enough that he could gaze down the wretch’s throat. Literally seeing where the cries were omitted. Further apart they went, and beyond even that limitation. The red eyes lit up like a fire of hate finding thrill at what his toy could take. More pressure was applied and the mouth cracked finally blood seeping from where the break occurred. The toad was soon gone and there was nothing left to fight. The fourth and final gang member having actually escaped.
Grim rose from his feet releasing his captive. The rage was shedding from him. It’s strange control was breaking up and the danger was passing. A quick stomp ended the third man’s life, the only merciful act left. The crimson seemed to smoke out returning his eyes to their green hue and freeing Pondus from the hate. He had nothing more to say there was nothing he could do now. Picking his helm up gingerly he began his trek back to camp. Being sure to collect his broadsword as well. Heedless to the body fluids caked all over his gloves. Wallowing in his own lonely thoughts.
(worked this scene out with Seerow earlier)
-Trickster-
Hastings had just claimed that Blackpond had nothing to do with the death of Newhaven’s King when one of Mageria’s soldiers stuck his head in the tent and whispered urgently to her. She listened with her head cocked to the side before turning back to Krander.
“There’s something that I have to take care of. I’ll be right back.” She turned and ducked quickly out, pausing only order the men standing outside to not let their guard down at all. Then she was hurrying away toward the former battlefield. Some of the men had seen Pondus attacked, and were luckily too far away to try and come to his aid. It was lucky, because when Grim was in the grip of his rage, he could not tell friend from foe. Once he came to his senses, he was safe enough, but most of the men were still afraid to draw his attention. Which meant that it was up to her to make sure that he was OK.
Mageria stalked through the camp, her grim appearance keeping the soldiers away as much as her black armor. It took her only a few questions to find where Grim was and it was time for a long overdue chat with him. With hints of a limp still showing beyond what she could conceal, she made her way up behind him.
"Pondus. Report." Her voice was distinctly cool and her eyes had started to shade to a lighter color.
-Seerow
The hulking man was startled at his discovery, having been so entrenched within his own thoughts that anyone could have caught him unaware. Mageria’s voice sounded strong in the Black Knight’s ears. She was his captain and much more, a savior and redeemer, a leader and threshold against all the madness. It was upon her shoulders that he cast his doubts and fears only to find there was still resolve. A finer captain, he believed, then any in Newhaven.
Wheeling about on his feet he came to attention. Standing straight and pulling his helm free from his head. Allowing his dark locks to fall freely about his face. His emerald eyes locked with her own and he gave a salute with his free hand.
“We have won the battle before Blackpond, but to take the city and keep I advise would be an exercise in disaster. The casualties just from such a short skirmish were more then what either city could hope for. However, we have high morale and I believe the enemy now holding within his stone house stews in bitterness.
The Wolfpack remains where it is encamped. If I had to guess they’re resolved to stay put. Jake mentioned a new leader has been selected and that their trust is at its weakest point. He also mentioned that the Wolves were hoping to bargain with Blackpond for support. The truth about that particular rumor, however, is somewhat hazy at best. There is much confusion in the Pack and it could be that high ranking members are acting of their own accord.”
Of course Grim opted to keep Evin from the report. There was much at stake both personally and professionally should it be found out he let a Wolf walk into his camp, and then walk out. He was careful to keep his gaze locked not wishing to appear nervous or uneasy.
-Trickster-
Mageria nodded and shifted to the side to take the weight off her injured leg. The results of the battle were not what she had hoped, but more htan she could have expected with such evenly matched armies. She hated the blood spilled, but still she fought, in order to protect teh people that she had sworn her oaths to.
“We’ve given Blackpond something to think about at the very least. We captured one of their commanders, Hastings by name.” She arched a sardonic eyebrow. “He and Krander are getting along wonderfully. As for the Pack, we’re stepping back the pressure for the moment so that they don’t have any reason to ally with Blackpond. We can’t afford to fight a war on two fronts. Not if the Pack is one of the fights.”
She stared for a moment at Grim, weighing his expression against what she already knew of his experience at the camp with the Pack members that had ‘snuck’ in. She placed an enormous amount of trust in her Knights, and they repaid that with loyalty that was unmatched. Grim was more than the sum of his skills and his Enlightenment, he was someone she could always trust at her back, in or out of a fight. The fact that he hadn’t said anything about the assassins . . . could be taken in more than one way. But she had placed her trust in him and that was not something that she did lightly. Therefore, there had to be a damn good reason for what he did, and what he wasn’t saying. But she had to know. She stepped closer and lowered her voice enough that their words wouldn’t carry more than a few feet.
“Grim, surely you know that by now Chandos has made his report. I know that three men died. I know that three assassins made their way into the camp. One of them talked to you, the other two seemed to be a distraction of some sort. And Chandos was quite . . . upset by the way you dealt with things.” That was an understatement if any, given that Chandos had been all but sputtering with anger and sported a rather colorful black eye that he carefully did not mention how he got. She searched Grim’s face, trying to make sense of things.
“What could he possibly have said, that made you let him go? Did he threaten you, blackmail or something? Whatever it was, we can make it go away, with no one else the wiser. But you need to tell me everything that happened.”
-Seerow-
The emerald orbs cast down from her careful watch part in shame and in contemplation. He considered Mageria’s words and they weighed heavily. There was much to consider, and the words would require a coloring of cleverness. He couldn’t possibly explain his actions on a hunch which for now was what they were. A part of him that knew he was kidding himself with a desperate and private hope. Yet he couldn’t let the matter lay it all had made so much sense. He had to find a solution or at least an explanation, thousands could be spared if what he believed within could be proven without.
He drew in a deep breath before daring to attempt to tell his tale. He returned his stare and in his face was certainty. The words that ebbed from his lips were hushed and held with a seriousness one could only find among those in misery.
“I have hunted the wolves as any other of our order. To each I always offered the same ultimatum. To surrender those responsible in exchange for our battle. Always the answer the same they would have death before ratting another out…
I was given something important. A chance Mageria. This war is going to destroy us all, The land of Valcrest has only two cities of formerly four. In all the land Mageria… there is only -two- cities. When does this madness stop? Who will safeguard the future if not Newhaven? Captain… I have something I must do. If I am wrong then nothing will have changed, but if what I understand is the truth. Then everything will have to alter.”
-Trickster-
Mageria studied the man standing before her. It was clear that he wasn’t going to tell her what had been said and equally clear that it was something that changed the way he viewed things enormously. Something was going on and if only the Pack wasn’t involved in it . . . She took a deep breath and nodded, her expression grave.
“Very well, Pondus. I’ll let you do what you feel you need to, on a few conditions. One, assassins lie. Remember that.” Old pain laced through her voice for just a moment. “Whatever they might have told you, make sure that you have found the truth of it all the way to the bottom. Two. Promise me you won’t do anything foolish. Alone, at least. We’re all that each other have, and we stand together. Always.” She reached forward and gently grasped his arm to emphasize her point, then stepped back.
“Is there anything that you need?”
-Seerow-
Grim gave a sort of sad smile. He knew Mageria worried, they were slowly losing ground on membership. There were fewer Black Knights now then ever and of the four only two were fielded. This lead to some wondering about Jake and Set, he hoped they were well. When he pulled from his trance he found the sensation of touch, she was always worried about her knights.
“You needn’t be concerned my journey will take me only back to Newhaven. I will be absolutely certain and I’ll report to you once I know for sure.”
He reflected on his words earlier and couldn’t help but return his doubts back into the conversation.
“I understand your misgivings Captain. I myself am no sympathizer to the Wolves. If there’s a chance for peace or at least reconciliation with either of our enemies, it would mean the lives of many would be saved from open battle. M’lady I believe we must put aside our differences sooner then anyone will want.”
There is was nothing more he could offer. Of course Grim would continue to serve Newhaven as best he could. Still he was enthralled by Evin’s words a personal discovery that could mean much more. Better yet it could mean an answer to so many questions. He promptly turned and retreated back toward the encampment. With Mageria’s blessings he decided to embark on his quest as soon as possible.
-Trickster-
Mageria watched him walk away before sighing under her breath.
“If only it was that easy, my friend.” She turned away herself and made her way back to her tent, meaning to adjust the bandages that she had used earlier. She was not entirely surprised to find the note from Jake, and immediately put the bandages to good use. They did burn like someone was holding an iron to them, but she had no doubt that they would work as well as promised. Then she picked up the vial and examined it carefully before placing it in a pocket of her cloak. It might come in handy as well, if she could bring herself to use it. Then she pulled her cloak about her shoulders once more and made her way back to the prisoner's tent.
-Trickster-
Hastings had just claimed that Blackpond had nothing to do with the death of Newhaven’s King when one of Mageria’s soldiers stuck his head in the tent and whispered urgently to her. She listened with her head cocked to the side before turning back to Krander.
“There’s something that I have to take care of. I’ll be right back.” She turned and ducked quickly out, pausing only order the men standing outside to not let their guard down at all. Then she was hurrying away toward the former battlefield. Some of the men had seen Pondus attacked, and were luckily too far away to try and come to his aid. It was lucky, because when Grim was in the grip of his rage, he could not tell friend from foe. Once he came to his senses, he was safe enough, but most of the men were still afraid to draw his attention. Which meant that it was up to her to make sure that he was OK.
Mageria stalked through the camp, her grim appearance keeping the soldiers away as much as her black armor. It took her only a few questions to find where Grim was and it was time for a long overdue chat with him. With hints of a limp still showing beyond what she could conceal, she made her way up behind him.
"Pondus. Report." Her voice was distinctly cool and her eyes had started to shade to a lighter color.
-Seerow
The hulking man was startled at his discovery, having been so entrenched within his own thoughts that anyone could have caught him unaware. Mageria’s voice sounded strong in the Black Knight’s ears. She was his captain and much more, a savior and redeemer, a leader and threshold against all the madness. It was upon her shoulders that he cast his doubts and fears only to find there was still resolve. A finer captain, he believed, then any in Newhaven.
Wheeling about on his feet he came to attention. Standing straight and pulling his helm free from his head. Allowing his dark locks to fall freely about his face. His emerald eyes locked with her own and he gave a salute with his free hand.
“We have won the battle before Blackpond, but to take the city and keep I advise would be an exercise in disaster. The casualties just from such a short skirmish were more then what either city could hope for. However, we have high morale and I believe the enemy now holding within his stone house stews in bitterness.
The Wolfpack remains where it is encamped. If I had to guess they’re resolved to stay put. Jake mentioned a new leader has been selected and that their trust is at its weakest point. He also mentioned that the Wolves were hoping to bargain with Blackpond for support. The truth about that particular rumor, however, is somewhat hazy at best. There is much confusion in the Pack and it could be that high ranking members are acting of their own accord.”
Of course Grim opted to keep Evin from the report. There was much at stake both personally and professionally should it be found out he let a Wolf walk into his camp, and then walk out. He was careful to keep his gaze locked not wishing to appear nervous or uneasy.
-Trickster-
Mageria nodded and shifted to the side to take the weight off her injured leg. The results of the battle were not what she had hoped, but more htan she could have expected with such evenly matched armies. She hated the blood spilled, but still she fought, in order to protect teh people that she had sworn her oaths to.
“We’ve given Blackpond something to think about at the very least. We captured one of their commanders, Hastings by name.” She arched a sardonic eyebrow. “He and Krander are getting along wonderfully. As for the Pack, we’re stepping back the pressure for the moment so that they don’t have any reason to ally with Blackpond. We can’t afford to fight a war on two fronts. Not if the Pack is one of the fights.”
She stared for a moment at Grim, weighing his expression against what she already knew of his experience at the camp with the Pack members that had ‘snuck’ in. She placed an enormous amount of trust in her Knights, and they repaid that with loyalty that was unmatched. Grim was more than the sum of his skills and his Enlightenment, he was someone she could always trust at her back, in or out of a fight. The fact that he hadn’t said anything about the assassins . . . could be taken in more than one way. But she had placed her trust in him and that was not something that she did lightly. Therefore, there had to be a damn good reason for what he did, and what he wasn’t saying. But she had to know. She stepped closer and lowered her voice enough that their words wouldn’t carry more than a few feet.
“Grim, surely you know that by now Chandos has made his report. I know that three men died. I know that three assassins made their way into the camp. One of them talked to you, the other two seemed to be a distraction of some sort. And Chandos was quite . . . upset by the way you dealt with things.” That was an understatement if any, given that Chandos had been all but sputtering with anger and sported a rather colorful black eye that he carefully did not mention how he got. She searched Grim’s face, trying to make sense of things.
“What could he possibly have said, that made you let him go? Did he threaten you, blackmail or something? Whatever it was, we can make it go away, with no one else the wiser. But you need to tell me everything that happened.”
-Seerow-
The emerald orbs cast down from her careful watch part in shame and in contemplation. He considered Mageria’s words and they weighed heavily. There was much to consider, and the words would require a coloring of cleverness. He couldn’t possibly explain his actions on a hunch which for now was what they were. A part of him that knew he was kidding himself with a desperate and private hope. Yet he couldn’t let the matter lay it all had made so much sense. He had to find a solution or at least an explanation, thousands could be spared if what he believed within could be proven without.
He drew in a deep breath before daring to attempt to tell his tale. He returned his stare and in his face was certainty. The words that ebbed from his lips were hushed and held with a seriousness one could only find among those in misery.
“I have hunted the wolves as any other of our order. To each I always offered the same ultimatum. To surrender those responsible in exchange for our battle. Always the answer the same they would have death before ratting another out…
I was given something important. A chance Mageria. This war is going to destroy us all, The land of Valcrest has only two cities of formerly four. In all the land Mageria… there is only -two- cities. When does this madness stop? Who will safeguard the future if not Newhaven? Captain… I have something I must do. If I am wrong then nothing will have changed, but if what I understand is the truth. Then everything will have to alter.”
-Trickster-
Mageria studied the man standing before her. It was clear that he wasn’t going to tell her what had been said and equally clear that it was something that changed the way he viewed things enormously. Something was going on and if only the Pack wasn’t involved in it . . . She took a deep breath and nodded, her expression grave.
“Very well, Pondus. I’ll let you do what you feel you need to, on a few conditions. One, assassins lie. Remember that.” Old pain laced through her voice for just a moment. “Whatever they might have told you, make sure that you have found the truth of it all the way to the bottom. Two. Promise me you won’t do anything foolish. Alone, at least. We’re all that each other have, and we stand together. Always.” She reached forward and gently grasped his arm to emphasize her point, then stepped back.
“Is there anything that you need?”
-Seerow-
Grim gave a sort of sad smile. He knew Mageria worried, they were slowly losing ground on membership. There were fewer Black Knights now then ever and of the four only two were fielded. This lead to some wondering about Jake and Set, he hoped they were well. When he pulled from his trance he found the sensation of touch, she was always worried about her knights.
“You needn’t be concerned my journey will take me only back to Newhaven. I will be absolutely certain and I’ll report to you once I know for sure.”
He reflected on his words earlier and couldn’t help but return his doubts back into the conversation.
“I understand your misgivings Captain. I myself am no sympathizer to the Wolves. If there’s a chance for peace or at least reconciliation with either of our enemies, it would mean the lives of many would be saved from open battle. M’lady I believe we must put aside our differences sooner then anyone will want.”
There is was nothing more he could offer. Of course Grim would continue to serve Newhaven as best he could. Still he was enthralled by Evin’s words a personal discovery that could mean much more. Better yet it could mean an answer to so many questions. He promptly turned and retreated back toward the encampment. With Mageria’s blessings he decided to embark on his quest as soon as possible.
-Trickster-
Mageria watched him walk away before sighing under her breath.
“If only it was that easy, my friend.” She turned away herself and made her way back to her tent, meaning to adjust the bandages that she had used earlier. She was not entirely surprised to find the note from Jake, and immediately put the bandages to good use. They did burn like someone was holding an iron to them, but she had no doubt that they would work as well as promised. Then she picked up the vial and examined it carefully before placing it in a pocket of her cloak. It might come in handy as well, if she could bring herself to use it. Then she pulled her cloak about her shoulders once more and made her way back to the prisoner's tent.
[Outside the Pack camp]
The moment Jake caught a glimpse of the man that came riding towards them he whispered to Crys. "White Knight." He had seen Thomas in Newhaven. Crys didn't react except she gave him a very discrete sign which made him worry. It meant: "Whatever I do or say, don't move." Jake didn't like that sign at all, but he was forced to follow that order anyway.
When Thomas started riding past them and said "Good day, miss", Crys opened a pleasant smile and replied with "Good day indeed." However, her eyes glowed a brigther tone of green and the man's horse became slightly uneasy and stopped. Crys didn't move from where she was, she simply leaned against a tree casually. "Horses are sensitive creatures, are they not? They sometimes refuse to follow certain paths if there is imminent danger." She said that without any hint of threat in her tone. "So, may I ask what business brings you into my territory, sir?" She asked in a slightly more serious tone.
-----------------------------
[Battlefield, before Blackpond]
The travel from the plains to the northern end of the forest was silent. Lena was very much lost in thought and fighting the urge to visit the Wolfpack to see how things were doing. She knew she shouldn't though, so she simple moved along.
She did want to see the remains of the battlefield. The healers she sent to aid the injured had described it as a gruesome sight. That coming from a White Shadow was really something. She caught a bit of noise from where the soldiers were camped, but didn't turn that way, not yet. It might seem strange for anyone to actually want to see something like this, but Lena was different that way. She always wanted to see the ugly.
She was walking aimlessly and careless along the path in the woods, however her attitude changed and became more alert when she spotted the first of many dead bodies in the open field. The woman's blue eyes covered most of the battle grounds before she even took the first step. The sight of some bodies already properly arranged for burial, and the sight of fresh blood (amongst other things) intrigued her. Someone had already been there. Maybe more than one person, however, the fresh footprints near all the dead bodies, old and new, were very similar. Between the respectful gesture and the carnage, it was quite an intriguing contrast.
Lena walked amongst the bodies and severed parts, her eyes examining the dead as if she was able to actually retrieve any useful information from them. "Why won't Blackpond claim their dead?" She whispered to herself with a frown. She didn't understand why no one had come for those people when they probably had families who cared for them and deserved to bury their dead. It was simply ridiculous to deny those people the right to mourn.
Her eyes caught the sight of a man who seemed to have been bitten to death. The earth surrounding his body and a couple of others, soaked in blood. If Lena was to believe in monsters she would have sworn a very big one had gone through that place and turned three adults men into a bloody a mess. However, she never believed in any monsters or demons other than ones existent within mortal men. She looked at the ragged clothes in one of the corpses and knew then those weren't soldiers. With a small sigh she crouched down and touched the blood. "Come on, what happened to you?" She sighed, closing her eyes.
"Memories linger after death, Dani, I've seen it. Most people think they don't, but they matter. The last thought you have before your eyes go black... That thought usually goes to the one thing you left unsaid, or undone. Regret is the worse feeling, but it's usually our last."
"I have no regrets."
"Maybe because you won't be here to see the damage."
"I have faith in the people I'm leaving behind, Helena. I have faith that my clan is strong enough to hold together..."
Lena's own memories slipped away from her as others took their place. That man's last moments had been unpleasant ones indeed and yet Lena was able to maintain her focus long enough to relive every second until the very last. After which she jump to her feet, an intense blue glow still present as she opened her eyes. "Who are you?" She muttered. The sight of the black armored figure still fresh in her mind, fresh blood still in her hands. Her eyes finally stopped shining, a mix of fear and curiosity could be seen within them. Lena had seen a lot of things in her lifetime, but nothing compared to this.
After a split second of hesitation, she turned towards the Newhaven encampment. She had to see this man for herself.
The moment Jake caught a glimpse of the man that came riding towards them he whispered to Crys. "White Knight." He had seen Thomas in Newhaven. Crys didn't react except she gave him a very discrete sign which made him worry. It meant: "Whatever I do or say, don't move." Jake didn't like that sign at all, but he was forced to follow that order anyway.
When Thomas started riding past them and said "Good day, miss", Crys opened a pleasant smile and replied with "Good day indeed." However, her eyes glowed a brigther tone of green and the man's horse became slightly uneasy and stopped. Crys didn't move from where she was, she simply leaned against a tree casually. "Horses are sensitive creatures, are they not? They sometimes refuse to follow certain paths if there is imminent danger." She said that without any hint of threat in her tone. "So, may I ask what business brings you into my territory, sir?" She asked in a slightly more serious tone.
-----------------------------
[Battlefield, before Blackpond]
The travel from the plains to the northern end of the forest was silent. Lena was very much lost in thought and fighting the urge to visit the Wolfpack to see how things were doing. She knew she shouldn't though, so she simple moved along.
She did want to see the remains of the battlefield. The healers she sent to aid the injured had described it as a gruesome sight. That coming from a White Shadow was really something. She caught a bit of noise from where the soldiers were camped, but didn't turn that way, not yet. It might seem strange for anyone to actually want to see something like this, but Lena was different that way. She always wanted to see the ugly.
She was walking aimlessly and careless along the path in the woods, however her attitude changed and became more alert when she spotted the first of many dead bodies in the open field. The woman's blue eyes covered most of the battle grounds before she even took the first step. The sight of some bodies already properly arranged for burial, and the sight of fresh blood (amongst other things) intrigued her. Someone had already been there. Maybe more than one person, however, the fresh footprints near all the dead bodies, old and new, were very similar. Between the respectful gesture and the carnage, it was quite an intriguing contrast.
Lena walked amongst the bodies and severed parts, her eyes examining the dead as if she was able to actually retrieve any useful information from them. "Why won't Blackpond claim their dead?" She whispered to herself with a frown. She didn't understand why no one had come for those people when they probably had families who cared for them and deserved to bury their dead. It was simply ridiculous to deny those people the right to mourn.
Her eyes caught the sight of a man who seemed to have been bitten to death. The earth surrounding his body and a couple of others, soaked in blood. If Lena was to believe in monsters she would have sworn a very big one had gone through that place and turned three adults men into a bloody a mess. However, she never believed in any monsters or demons other than ones existent within mortal men. She looked at the ragged clothes in one of the corpses and knew then those weren't soldiers. With a small sigh she crouched down and touched the blood. "Come on, what happened to you?" She sighed, closing her eyes.
"Memories linger after death, Dani, I've seen it. Most people think they don't, but they matter. The last thought you have before your eyes go black... That thought usually goes to the one thing you left unsaid, or undone. Regret is the worse feeling, but it's usually our last."
"I have no regrets."
"Maybe because you won't be here to see the damage."
"I have faith in the people I'm leaving behind, Helena. I have faith that my clan is strong enough to hold together..."
Lena's own memories slipped away from her as others took their place. That man's last moments had been unpleasant ones indeed and yet Lena was able to maintain her focus long enough to relive every second until the very last. After which she jump to her feet, an intense blue glow still present as she opened her eyes. "Who are you?" She muttered. The sight of the black armored figure still fresh in her mind, fresh blood still in her hands. Her eyes finally stopped shining, a mix of fear and curiosity could be seen within them. Lena had seen a lot of things in her lifetime, but nothing compared to this.
After a split second of hesitation, she turned towards the Newhaven encampment. She had to see this man for herself.
-Outside the Pack camp-
Thomas felt a moment of anxiety that he pushed to the back of his mind. The best way to sell a role was to believe it with all your mind. So he built a fortress inside his mind, one that hid the real him and left only what he would want someone else to see on the outside. The man he was pretending to be would be a bit worried, but he wouldn’t see any real harm in one slim girl standing along side the road. He filled the front of his mind with how tired he was, how sore, and how much he was looking forward to the end of his journey. When his horse pulled to a stop, he reached forward and stroked it’s neck, trying to calm it. Then he looked over and the girl and smiled charmingly.
“Beggin’ your pardon miss. I didn’t know that I might be crossing paths with a parcel of land that someone might be callin’ their own. If you’d be so kind as to point out the paths that I shouldn’t be wanderin’ down, I’d be glad to go on my way.”
He wanted to call upon his own Enlightenment, but given that the girl almost certainly had caused something to happen with his horse, then there was a chance that she could detect anything that he might try to do. He shifted a bit and glanced sidelong at the girl, sinking deeper into the role that he was portraying.
“As for my business young miss, while I might ask why you think you have the right to be askin’ me that, I’ll just say that it happens to be my own.”
Thomas felt a moment of anxiety that he pushed to the back of his mind. The best way to sell a role was to believe it with all your mind. So he built a fortress inside his mind, one that hid the real him and left only what he would want someone else to see on the outside. The man he was pretending to be would be a bit worried, but he wouldn’t see any real harm in one slim girl standing along side the road. He filled the front of his mind with how tired he was, how sore, and how much he was looking forward to the end of his journey. When his horse pulled to a stop, he reached forward and stroked it’s neck, trying to calm it. Then he looked over and the girl and smiled charmingly.
“Beggin’ your pardon miss. I didn’t know that I might be crossing paths with a parcel of land that someone might be callin’ their own. If you’d be so kind as to point out the paths that I shouldn’t be wanderin’ down, I’d be glad to go on my way.”
He wanted to call upon his own Enlightenment, but given that the girl almost certainly had caused something to happen with his horse, then there was a chance that she could detect anything that he might try to do. He shifted a bit and glanced sidelong at the girl, sinking deeper into the role that he was portraying.
“As for my business young miss, while I might ask why you think you have the right to be askin’ me that, I’ll just say that it happens to be my own.”
“Sir Pondus there’s an unusual figure approaching the site. Karas spotted her heading directly for us.”
Grim could have cared less. His personal journey filled his mind it occupied the entirety of his will. There wasn’t time for such little things. Could a single individual really cause so much trouble anyway? Besides Mageria was here and about a hundred other capable men. Why bring this to Grim’s attention? A quick glance about the immediate area explained everything. He just happened to be the highest ranking member available at the moment. Not to mention the closest having been floating around with the grunts rather then interrogating Hastings. A long sigh escaped disappointed lips. He wanted to head out right away, but his quest could wait a little longer.
Calmly he withdrew from his packing pulling the black helm carefully over his face once more. Taking up his blade that he may be prepared for anything. In secret he hoped the weapon wouldn’t be necessary. There was enough death for everyone he didn’t wish to add more to the body count. With a slow steady stroll he began to make his way in the direction the runner had mention their guest was to arrive.
It was quite a stroll and it surprised Grim just how far along the way Newhaven was watching. It was a lonely endeavor but then the Black Knight was going to have to get use to traveling alone. In a way he preferred the thinking time, but he hated being such an easy target. Many a mugger had met a bad end by targeting the wrong Knight.
When the figure finally came into view he could have slapped the runner with frustration. The flowing white robes and leisurely walk. She was one of the White Shadows or Grim was a fool. For such an alarm over the appearance of a healer was pointless. They were a peaceful clan so long as one didn’t try to hurt them. In fact they were often merited for their generosity and kindness.
He moved toward her without fear and continued till he was within hearing distance, stopping short before her pathway. He collected himself and gave a short bow of respect, proving he was no enemy of hers. Though he couldn’t hide his anticipation already swaying from side to side. His legs eager to find their way home hoping this little exchange wouldn’t be long. Despite all that he still spoke with respect not wishing to anger their guest.
“Greetings White Rose, I’m afraid the battle is long since over. Though if you wish it many could still use the hands of a talented healer. I’ve come on behalf of Newhaven to welcome you.”
Grim could have cared less. His personal journey filled his mind it occupied the entirety of his will. There wasn’t time for such little things. Could a single individual really cause so much trouble anyway? Besides Mageria was here and about a hundred other capable men. Why bring this to Grim’s attention? A quick glance about the immediate area explained everything. He just happened to be the highest ranking member available at the moment. Not to mention the closest having been floating around with the grunts rather then interrogating Hastings. A long sigh escaped disappointed lips. He wanted to head out right away, but his quest could wait a little longer.
Calmly he withdrew from his packing pulling the black helm carefully over his face once more. Taking up his blade that he may be prepared for anything. In secret he hoped the weapon wouldn’t be necessary. There was enough death for everyone he didn’t wish to add more to the body count. With a slow steady stroll he began to make his way in the direction the runner had mention their guest was to arrive.
It was quite a stroll and it surprised Grim just how far along the way Newhaven was watching. It was a lonely endeavor but then the Black Knight was going to have to get use to traveling alone. In a way he preferred the thinking time, but he hated being such an easy target. Many a mugger had met a bad end by targeting the wrong Knight.
When the figure finally came into view he could have slapped the runner with frustration. The flowing white robes and leisurely walk. She was one of the White Shadows or Grim was a fool. For such an alarm over the appearance of a healer was pointless. They were a peaceful clan so long as one didn’t try to hurt them. In fact they were often merited for their generosity and kindness.
He moved toward her without fear and continued till he was within hearing distance, stopping short before her pathway. He collected himself and gave a short bow of respect, proving he was no enemy of hers. Though he couldn’t hide his anticipation already swaying from side to side. His legs eager to find their way home hoping this little exchange wouldn’t be long. Despite all that he still spoke with respect not wishing to anger their guest.
“Greetings White Rose, I’m afraid the battle is long since over. Though if you wish it many could still use the hands of a talented healer. I’ve come on behalf of Newhaven to welcome you.”
Blanditia had followed Lena dutifully, when she saw the bodies her hand instinctively went into the other arms sleeve to grasp the cuff bracelet that held her dagger, the beautifully made dagger with a gold hilt and diamonds on the edges on the blade itself, onyx stones decorated the hilt. It was old but it was beautiful and it was hers. It was one of the two things she had from her past, the past she couldn't remember. When she saw the emblem on on of the soldiers chest her heart lurched, she had never seen Blackpounds Crest before do to blood covering it or just not noticing but the symbol brought back a feeling in her chest. Fear.
Blanditia stopped in her tracks and stared, a memory semi coming to the surface, it was blurry but she was running from someone with that symbol on his chest. Someone calling to stop him, stop her that what had happened could make it back to.... the memory ended and she took a shuddering breath. She ran to catch up with Lena, feeling small and vulnerable without her.
Blanditia stopped in her tracks and stared, a memory semi coming to the surface, it was blurry but she was running from someone with that symbol on his chest. Someone calling to stop him, stop her that what had happened could make it back to.... the memory ended and she took a shuddering breath. She ran to catch up with Lena, feeling small and vulnerable without her.
When Evin woke up, it was about four hours past curfew. He was almost stunned to see that no one had come over to question the fact that this man was in the archives after curfew. Maybe they just thought that since Evin looked like an old man, they might have just thought he was looking for something important with little time to do so, being an old man and all. These people in Newhaven could be nice sometimes, maybe too nice in this case too. They would have been better off to send him away, although if he did leave he would probably cause more trouble outside the castle.
Evin put away the census of all of Newhaven's population from three years ago back. He was clueless afterwards. He had no idea where else he could look for information on a man who didn't want to be found. Surprisingly, he had a brilliant idea. If Evin didn't want to be found, he would want to be dead. On paper it wouldn't be too difficult to be pronounced dead, especially if he had connections. The Black Knights had connections with anyone they wanted. Evin even recalled a time long ago when the Black Knights wanted assistance from the Wolf Pack once and we graciously obliged. That wouldn't happen again for years.
He rushed over to all of the death records of Valcrest that were known of. Newhaven liked to keep track of as much of Varlcrest in that area as possible. Evin searched through the death records to find a Jake Turner around the same age as the one he knows died in the last year. It didn't take too long for him to find the right person. The record referred Evin to a small report on the death. The report said that about a month after arriving in the city, he had run into the wrong people while walking home one night. It was said to be a mugging gone wrong. The report seemed believable if you didn't know that Jake Turner was still alive. He continued to read and realised that the muggers were being held in the dungeon until the year to come. Evin saw some opportunities in talking to them.
Evin was on a roll and was getting excited. The only thing left to do was to search for records of these people who were in the dungeon. He needed to know some background on these people before he began to talk to them. It was better to understand them before gaining their trust. The only problem was, the records of these people seemed not to exist. He should have known that it was just a false lead. There was only one more thing that he could do, but he wouldn't be able to do that in Newhaven. He would have to find Lena. If there was anyone who would cover something up for Jake it would be that woman, and he would do anything to get information out of her. Other assassins out there might have been scared of this woman, but Evin wasn't. Not anymore. She understood Lena's capabilities clearly, but she knew that she would never show them off in front of her clan. Even then, if she decided to use her powers against him, it didn't matter. His memories were only just memories and could no longer hurt him. Not after he realised the truths about his past.
Evin had one problem while finding his way out of the castle. He had forgotten what way was to the exit. Eventually he found a hallway that seemed a little more up kept than other parts of the castle. This must have been an important place in the castle because it was not only well kept, but also very well decorated. There was a Purple carpet with gold hues stretched across the entire hallway and the stone looked older, but it gave things a nice look to it in a creepy way. There were five rooms running down this hall. It was becoming obviouse that this hallways was either for the White Knights or the Black Knights. It was the only reason that it would be this nice and not be for important people. The way the hall was decorated with the darker tones in it, he assumed it would be better suited for the Black Knights who would probably have a darker sense life to go along with it.
He walked into one of the rooms, he couldn't spend too much time in here. He didn't know when someone would come back. So he had to be quick. He ransacked the room. It obviously belonged to a woman. There was a bunch of female clothing in the chest where all her clothing was stored away. There were two things that caught his eye while looking through the room. One was a bottle of wine that seemed familiar. He didn't drink wine, so he gave an old friend of his a bottle just like it a long time ago. Another thing he found in the chest was a small box. It also looked familiar, but he wasn't sure from where. He was about to open it when he heard voices coming from down the hall. The box would have to wait. He put it in one of his pockets and left the room. Lucky, the people were gone, but he didn't want to take any chances. He decided that it would be best to leave the castle now before he was caught sneaking around.
Evin put away the census of all of Newhaven's population from three years ago back. He was clueless afterwards. He had no idea where else he could look for information on a man who didn't want to be found. Surprisingly, he had a brilliant idea. If Evin didn't want to be found, he would want to be dead. On paper it wouldn't be too difficult to be pronounced dead, especially if he had connections. The Black Knights had connections with anyone they wanted. Evin even recalled a time long ago when the Black Knights wanted assistance from the Wolf Pack once and we graciously obliged. That wouldn't happen again for years.
He rushed over to all of the death records of Valcrest that were known of. Newhaven liked to keep track of as much of Varlcrest in that area as possible. Evin searched through the death records to find a Jake Turner around the same age as the one he knows died in the last year. It didn't take too long for him to find the right person. The record referred Evin to a small report on the death. The report said that about a month after arriving in the city, he had run into the wrong people while walking home one night. It was said to be a mugging gone wrong. The report seemed believable if you didn't know that Jake Turner was still alive. He continued to read and realised that the muggers were being held in the dungeon until the year to come. Evin saw some opportunities in talking to them.
Evin was on a roll and was getting excited. The only thing left to do was to search for records of these people who were in the dungeon. He needed to know some background on these people before he began to talk to them. It was better to understand them before gaining their trust. The only problem was, the records of these people seemed not to exist. He should have known that it was just a false lead. There was only one more thing that he could do, but he wouldn't be able to do that in Newhaven. He would have to find Lena. If there was anyone who would cover something up for Jake it would be that woman, and he would do anything to get information out of her. Other assassins out there might have been scared of this woman, but Evin wasn't. Not anymore. She understood Lena's capabilities clearly, but she knew that she would never show them off in front of her clan. Even then, if she decided to use her powers against him, it didn't matter. His memories were only just memories and could no longer hurt him. Not after he realised the truths about his past.
Evin had one problem while finding his way out of the castle. He had forgotten what way was to the exit. Eventually he found a hallway that seemed a little more up kept than other parts of the castle. This must have been an important place in the castle because it was not only well kept, but also very well decorated. There was a Purple carpet with gold hues stretched across the entire hallway and the stone looked older, but it gave things a nice look to it in a creepy way. There were five rooms running down this hall. It was becoming obviouse that this hallways was either for the White Knights or the Black Knights. It was the only reason that it would be this nice and not be for important people. The way the hall was decorated with the darker tones in it, he assumed it would be better suited for the Black Knights who would probably have a darker sense life to go along with it.
He walked into one of the rooms, he couldn't spend too much time in here. He didn't know when someone would come back. So he had to be quick. He ransacked the room. It obviously belonged to a woman. There was a bunch of female clothing in the chest where all her clothing was stored away. There were two things that caught his eye while looking through the room. One was a bottle of wine that seemed familiar. He didn't drink wine, so he gave an old friend of his a bottle just like it a long time ago. Another thing he found in the chest was a small box. It also looked familiar, but he wasn't sure from where. He was about to open it when he heard voices coming from down the hall. The box would have to wait. He put it in one of his pockets and left the room. Lucky, the people were gone, but he didn't want to take any chances. He decided that it would be best to leave the castle now before he was caught sneaking around.
[Outside the Wolfpack camp]
Crys stepped forward, arms crossed in front of her chest, mainly for the purpose of showing her hands were away from her weapons. She stopped beside the man's horse, and turned her eyes at him. If he hadn't yet realized it, at this point the blindness would be very much apparent. "It's funny how people assume that hiding their identity is as simple as a change of clothes." She nodded, smiling and placing one hand on the horse's neck, gently. "If you were what you are pretending to be, you would know were you stand right now. Since you seem not to know, I'll explain what right I have to ask of your business..." She made a small pause as if trying to stop her tone from straying from the casual one she was currently using. "This territory belongs to my clan. We have claimed it and fought wars to maintain it. Something I'm sure you, sir, are familiar with." Her smile turned into a little smirk, and then faded. " As for your business, I have no interest in them, whatever they are. However, due to recent events I'm not willing to ignore one of your kind riding through my territory. So, if you would be so kind as to reassure me that my clan will not be bothered, you have my word that you will not see even the shadow of a wolf across your path again."
----------------------
[Outside of Newhaven]
As the city of Newhaven came closer, Ali slowly began to change her attitude into a more relaxed and careless one. The White Shadows never appeared worried, or acted unkind. Never. So, Ali allowed a much more gentle look to take over her blue eyes. Deep down, she was hoping this still worked out as planned even with Ella tagging along, however none of her many thoughts showed in her expression as she approached the city's main entrance. One of the guards walked a few steps closer to the two girls as they approached, the other two stayed behind near the gate. "Halt!" The man commanded, in a severe tone. "No one is allowed in the city past curfew!"
Ali sighed, putting on the most honestly apologetic look anyone had ever seen on her face. "Oh, my... I completely forgot about that. I suppose you couldn't make an exception? I understand the laws are meant to protect the public, but, you see... The group I was in all turned back halfway here because Blackpond has been pressuring us, and... I am honestly a little reluctant to the idea of camping under those circumstances." Ali stated, looking around as if she was trying not to appear nervous and was failing miserably. She knew that Blackpond's intimidation had took its toll on the willingness of most healers to travel to Newhaven, so she expected that the guard would let her pass if she showed signs of wanting to turn around and run back to the ruins. She could tell by the man's expression he was tempted to let them in, but he was suspicious. Then he locked his gaze on Ella. "You don't seem much like a White Shadow to me miss, care to explain why you travel with one?" The soldier asked with a eyebrow raised. Ali knew she shouldn't try to speak for Ella, if the question was directed at her, but she could help by playing her part correctly. So she shot a look filled with contempt at the girl. "You heard the man, speak!" She commanded, in a firm tone, but without raising her voice.
------------------------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena raised an eyebrow when she caught sight of the Black Knight moving towards her, but only for a split second. She did recognize the man immediately even without seeing his face. The moment she caught sight of him she could tell the memories were still very much present in his thoughts, amongst other, more recent, things. However he appeared to be, in all, a different person than what she had seen in those visions. Everything about it was odd, even the fact she was able to use her own Enlightenment while being at this distance and without any visual cues or triggers, it had never happened before. She held back a sigh, not wanting her expression to show what she had seen.
She motioned for the girl that was following her close to stand a couple of steps behind her. By the time she stopped walking, a couple of steps before the man, her expression was unaffected by her many thoughts. She bowed slightly, before turning her blue eyes towards the black helm and speaking. "I appreciate the greeting, although I consider to be too much to send a Knight to greet a simple healer such as myself." She stated, in a slightly amused tone, sure that she wasn't announced as a healer. "In spite of the unusual circumstances that have caused me to turn this way, if there is need, I will stay and aid your wounded. However, what brings me here is the... Unusual, sight of the battlefield. Not only I found someone had already anticipated my actions to honor the dead, I have also spotted a quite noticeable mess that seems quite recent. I found it quite intriguing and decided to come this way. If anything, I was hoping to extend my compliments to any warrior kind enough to show such respect for fallen enemies. It is a very rare thing to see nowadays."
Then she made a long pause and laughed lightly. "Forgive my lack of manners, Sir. I suppose I don't leave the ruins often enough to put them to use." She said, now realizing she hadn't stated her name. "My name is Helena Turner, I am also the leader of the White Shadows." She stated, not asking his name as Black Knights were not exactly known to give away their identities. "I suppose I shouldn't hold you any longer, I'm sure you would much rather be on your way home" She stated, casually, not explaining how she knew the man was leaving camp. "However I must ask if you have properly cared for the wound in you arm." She smiled gently. "Most would be surprised to know how frail the human body actually is. One can never be too careful." She stated.
Crys stepped forward, arms crossed in front of her chest, mainly for the purpose of showing her hands were away from her weapons. She stopped beside the man's horse, and turned her eyes at him. If he hadn't yet realized it, at this point the blindness would be very much apparent. "It's funny how people assume that hiding their identity is as simple as a change of clothes." She nodded, smiling and placing one hand on the horse's neck, gently. "If you were what you are pretending to be, you would know were you stand right now. Since you seem not to know, I'll explain what right I have to ask of your business..." She made a small pause as if trying to stop her tone from straying from the casual one she was currently using. "This territory belongs to my clan. We have claimed it and fought wars to maintain it. Something I'm sure you, sir, are familiar with." Her smile turned into a little smirk, and then faded. " As for your business, I have no interest in them, whatever they are. However, due to recent events I'm not willing to ignore one of your kind riding through my territory. So, if you would be so kind as to reassure me that my clan will not be bothered, you have my word that you will not see even the shadow of a wolf across your path again."
----------------------
[Outside of Newhaven]
As the city of Newhaven came closer, Ali slowly began to change her attitude into a more relaxed and careless one. The White Shadows never appeared worried, or acted unkind. Never. So, Ali allowed a much more gentle look to take over her blue eyes. Deep down, she was hoping this still worked out as planned even with Ella tagging along, however none of her many thoughts showed in her expression as she approached the city's main entrance. One of the guards walked a few steps closer to the two girls as they approached, the other two stayed behind near the gate. "Halt!" The man commanded, in a severe tone. "No one is allowed in the city past curfew!"
Ali sighed, putting on the most honestly apologetic look anyone had ever seen on her face. "Oh, my... I completely forgot about that. I suppose you couldn't make an exception? I understand the laws are meant to protect the public, but, you see... The group I was in all turned back halfway here because Blackpond has been pressuring us, and... I am honestly a little reluctant to the idea of camping under those circumstances." Ali stated, looking around as if she was trying not to appear nervous and was failing miserably. She knew that Blackpond's intimidation had took its toll on the willingness of most healers to travel to Newhaven, so she expected that the guard would let her pass if she showed signs of wanting to turn around and run back to the ruins. She could tell by the man's expression he was tempted to let them in, but he was suspicious. Then he locked his gaze on Ella. "You don't seem much like a White Shadow to me miss, care to explain why you travel with one?" The soldier asked with a eyebrow raised. Ali knew she shouldn't try to speak for Ella, if the question was directed at her, but she could help by playing her part correctly. So she shot a look filled with contempt at the girl. "You heard the man, speak!" She commanded, in a firm tone, but without raising her voice.
------------------------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena raised an eyebrow when she caught sight of the Black Knight moving towards her, but only for a split second. She did recognize the man immediately even without seeing his face. The moment she caught sight of him she could tell the memories were still very much present in his thoughts, amongst other, more recent, things. However he appeared to be, in all, a different person than what she had seen in those visions. Everything about it was odd, even the fact she was able to use her own Enlightenment while being at this distance and without any visual cues or triggers, it had never happened before. She held back a sigh, not wanting her expression to show what she had seen.
She motioned for the girl that was following her close to stand a couple of steps behind her. By the time she stopped walking, a couple of steps before the man, her expression was unaffected by her many thoughts. She bowed slightly, before turning her blue eyes towards the black helm and speaking. "I appreciate the greeting, although I consider to be too much to send a Knight to greet a simple healer such as myself." She stated, in a slightly amused tone, sure that she wasn't announced as a healer. "In spite of the unusual circumstances that have caused me to turn this way, if there is need, I will stay and aid your wounded. However, what brings me here is the... Unusual, sight of the battlefield. Not only I found someone had already anticipated my actions to honor the dead, I have also spotted a quite noticeable mess that seems quite recent. I found it quite intriguing and decided to come this way. If anything, I was hoping to extend my compliments to any warrior kind enough to show such respect for fallen enemies. It is a very rare thing to see nowadays."
Then she made a long pause and laughed lightly. "Forgive my lack of manners, Sir. I suppose I don't leave the ruins often enough to put them to use." She said, now realizing she hadn't stated her name. "My name is Helena Turner, I am also the leader of the White Shadows." She stated, not asking his name as Black Knights were not exactly known to give away their identities. "I suppose I shouldn't hold you any longer, I'm sure you would much rather be on your way home" She stated, casually, not explaining how she knew the man was leaving camp. "However I must ask if you have properly cared for the wound in you arm." She smiled gently. "Most would be surprised to know how frail the human body actually is. One can never be too careful." She stated.
-Outside the Pack Camp-
Thomas knew very well who he was talking to, between the blindness and the young age of the girl. Not many assassins would survive being blind, and the fact that she felt sure enough to give a guarantee . . . . all added up to her being Rivers, the daughter of the former Pack leader. Which also meant that she was an empath and probably had sources of information of her own. Which meant that they were both pretending not to know who the other was. A bit pointless really, but it was the sort of thing that let them pass each other on a pass and not kill each other on sight. He smiled gently and leaned forward, resting his forearm on the saddlebow in front of him.
“It would seem to me, young mistress, that identity as you put it, would be more a trick of the mind than anything else, a way of acting with other people and changin’ how they see you, rather than anything else. So long’s you believe it, and th’ person you be talking to don’t have an unfair advantage, then your identity be what you believe it is.” (If Crystal is listening to his emotions, then she gets the feeling that he feels she is an equal opponent and that he’s enjoying the conversation as a test of skill.)
“Now, you have my word that I’ll not be bothering a hair on the head of any of your clan, so’s long as they don’t harm me and mine in return.” He smiled broadly, flashing a grin that she couldn’t see.
“And I’m flattered it is that you’d be thinking highly enough of me to be valuing my word,” he placed one hand a little too dramatically on his chest, “Being as how I’m just a simple traveler, who happened to go down the wrong path. A mistake that I’ll be sure to make sure don’t happen again.” (Truth, and a sort of wary respect)
-Newhaven Encampment-
Mageria had just stepped out of her tent when one of her soldiers ran up to her with the news that one of the White Shadows had been spotted near the camp. While normally she would have welcomed such a thing, the things that Hastings had been telling her had her worried about what one of the healers might face if they tried to aid Blackpond. She thought for a moment, staring into the middle distance while she thought furiously. The bloody stubborn idiots would never accept an escort while on the battle field, but she still felt the need to extend help, in memory of all of her men that they had helped over the years. Wheeling around, she dashed back into her tent and seized a scrap of paper and a charcoal stick.
Not even noticing that she was writing in a code that she taught all of her knights, she scribbled out a quick message.
Believe the White Shadows to be in danger, due to comments made by prisoner. Warn them and offer aid if they will accept.
M[/b]
Working quickly she folded the scrap and sealed it with a blob of black wax. No seal of course, the color of the wax was enough to identify who it came from. Walking back outside she gave it to the man who was still waiting for her orders.
“Take this to Pondus. Run.”
He took off across the camp, perhaps warned by her tone of voice that she would not accept any hesitation. It only took him a couple of minutes to get back to the other Black Knight, even if he felt a bit of apprehension in approaching him. But orders were orders and he walked up, catching his breath as he did so. Collecting himself, he held out the sealed message to Pondus, saying only, “Message from the Captain, sir. She thought it was urgent.”
Thomas knew very well who he was talking to, between the blindness and the young age of the girl. Not many assassins would survive being blind, and the fact that she felt sure enough to give a guarantee . . . . all added up to her being Rivers, the daughter of the former Pack leader. Which also meant that she was an empath and probably had sources of information of her own. Which meant that they were both pretending not to know who the other was. A bit pointless really, but it was the sort of thing that let them pass each other on a pass and not kill each other on sight. He smiled gently and leaned forward, resting his forearm on the saddlebow in front of him.
“It would seem to me, young mistress, that identity as you put it, would be more a trick of the mind than anything else, a way of acting with other people and changin’ how they see you, rather than anything else. So long’s you believe it, and th’ person you be talking to don’t have an unfair advantage, then your identity be what you believe it is.” (If Crystal is listening to his emotions, then she gets the feeling that he feels she is an equal opponent and that he’s enjoying the conversation as a test of skill.)
“Now, you have my word that I’ll not be bothering a hair on the head of any of your clan, so’s long as they don’t harm me and mine in return.” He smiled broadly, flashing a grin that she couldn’t see.
“And I’m flattered it is that you’d be thinking highly enough of me to be valuing my word,” he placed one hand a little too dramatically on his chest, “Being as how I’m just a simple traveler, who happened to go down the wrong path. A mistake that I’ll be sure to make sure don’t happen again.” (Truth, and a sort of wary respect)
-Newhaven Encampment-
Mageria had just stepped out of her tent when one of her soldiers ran up to her with the news that one of the White Shadows had been spotted near the camp. While normally she would have welcomed such a thing, the things that Hastings had been telling her had her worried about what one of the healers might face if they tried to aid Blackpond. She thought for a moment, staring into the middle distance while she thought furiously. The bloody stubborn idiots would never accept an escort while on the battle field, but she still felt the need to extend help, in memory of all of her men that they had helped over the years. Wheeling around, she dashed back into her tent and seized a scrap of paper and a charcoal stick.
Not even noticing that she was writing in a code that she taught all of her knights, she scribbled out a quick message.
Believe the White Shadows to be in danger, due to comments made by prisoner. Warn them and offer aid if they will accept.
M[/b]
Working quickly she folded the scrap and sealed it with a blob of black wax. No seal of course, the color of the wax was enough to identify who it came from. Walking back outside she gave it to the man who was still waiting for her orders.
“Take this to Pondus. Run.”
He took off across the camp, perhaps warned by her tone of voice that she would not accept any hesitation. It only took him a couple of minutes to get back to the other Black Knight, even if he felt a bit of apprehension in approaching him. But orders were orders and he walked up, catching his breath as he did so. Collecting himself, he held out the sealed message to Pondus, saying only, “Message from the Captain, sir. She thought it was urgent.”
“Your reputation proceeds you White Rose.” he used the same name by which he greeted her. A sign that he was aware not only of the individual called Helena Turner but by the sigil she bore. After all he didn’t say White Shadow but had used an singular identifying alias for her. Newhaven wasn’t entirely blind in fact it was rather keen on the movers and shakers of the world. Grim had much understanding of each faction’s leader. He has studied Wolfpack members and potential candidates for both allies and enemies.
The White Rose, Helena Turner, was said to be a seer. Though this remains unconfirmed Grim had no doubts as to the nature of her mysticism. He glanced casually down at his arm, the metal faced the healer the wound concealed beneath the bulk. Her words only reassuring what they both knew. She had seen his brawl with the crop keepers. She had witnessed the terror of his magic.
Shame took his mind, guilt gripped his heart and though it wouldn’t show, a shadow settled over him that would not shake. Defending oneself or protecting his beloved Newhaven was one thing, but every time he took a life out of rage it cost him. It mattered not he would hold that burden steady till his dieing day. Never forgetting the price of every soul spent.
Once he pulled from the deep his eyes took back toward the sudden guests. He eyed the young companion Helena had brought carefully. Gauging for himself that such a frail looking thing could never be more then a healer’s aid. So instead he faced the White Rose speaking with an edge now as he felt uncomforted before her all seeing gaze.
“There is no need to be coy Lady Helena. Your reservation does not escape me, and your thankfulness could go toward the wounded. I am Sir Grim, and I’m afraid that I am short on daylight. So if you wish to proceed I’d kindly ask-”
From behind he could just hear the heavy drop of feet rushing behind him. The behemoth twisted back glancing over his shoulder to spy the Newhaven sigil making its way toward them. By the time he had decided to face the incomer the messenger had actually arrived being fleet of foot and well practiced. He delivered a fine parchment folded into a small delicate scroll. With nothing more then a bow he was on his way back.
Grim’s thumb broke the seal it still hadn’t fully cooled and was stringy at his brush. Pulling the message free from its form he read the message. Deciphering the code took him some time, they rarely had been using letters of late for fear of interception. Yet from the quick scrawl and the smear of the charcoal he could ascertain Mageria was hurried and furthermore concerned. When was the Captain not worried anymore? Grim didn’t reflect the fear that was contained by the words, but he did look long and hard at the healers while he weighed in how to explain what he knew.
“I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to kindly come with me. You’re in danger out in the open. I understand this is much to ask since your pledge of neutrality. All I can give you is my word that I mean you no ill will and that I do not intent any treachery. If you refuse, then I can do nothing more to protect you.”
The White Rose, Helena Turner, was said to be a seer. Though this remains unconfirmed Grim had no doubts as to the nature of her mysticism. He glanced casually down at his arm, the metal faced the healer the wound concealed beneath the bulk. Her words only reassuring what they both knew. She had seen his brawl with the crop keepers. She had witnessed the terror of his magic.
Shame took his mind, guilt gripped his heart and though it wouldn’t show, a shadow settled over him that would not shake. Defending oneself or protecting his beloved Newhaven was one thing, but every time he took a life out of rage it cost him. It mattered not he would hold that burden steady till his dieing day. Never forgetting the price of every soul spent.
Once he pulled from the deep his eyes took back toward the sudden guests. He eyed the young companion Helena had brought carefully. Gauging for himself that such a frail looking thing could never be more then a healer’s aid. So instead he faced the White Rose speaking with an edge now as he felt uncomforted before her all seeing gaze.
“There is no need to be coy Lady Helena. Your reservation does not escape me, and your thankfulness could go toward the wounded. I am Sir Grim, and I’m afraid that I am short on daylight. So if you wish to proceed I’d kindly ask-”
From behind he could just hear the heavy drop of feet rushing behind him. The behemoth twisted back glancing over his shoulder to spy the Newhaven sigil making its way toward them. By the time he had decided to face the incomer the messenger had actually arrived being fleet of foot and well practiced. He delivered a fine parchment folded into a small delicate scroll. With nothing more then a bow he was on his way back.
Grim’s thumb broke the seal it still hadn’t fully cooled and was stringy at his brush. Pulling the message free from its form he read the message. Deciphering the code took him some time, they rarely had been using letters of late for fear of interception. Yet from the quick scrawl and the smear of the charcoal he could ascertain Mageria was hurried and furthermore concerned. When was the Captain not worried anymore? Grim didn’t reflect the fear that was contained by the words, but he did look long and hard at the healers while he weighed in how to explain what he knew.
“I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to kindly come with me. You’re in danger out in the open. I understand this is much to ask since your pledge of neutrality. All I can give you is my word that I mean you no ill will and that I do not intent any treachery. If you refuse, then I can do nothing more to protect you.”
Hastings had spent a while just thinking and nothing but thinking. His eyes had gazed back and forth between the two men guarding him. The one who had been standing there since he had woken up, and the other one was relief for Lionel. The new guard was a lot more bulky than the other. He was at least 6'4 and weighed well over two hundred pounds. His arms were covered in scars of previous battles and even fresh cuts from the battle he just fought. Hastings was surprised this man could have survived so many battles with all those cuts on his arm.
The other man on the other hand was rather small. He was about average height for a man from Newhaven, but was definitely not the average weight. Hastings couldn't help but think about how desperate Newhaven must have been to have to recruit men with the muscle mass of this man. He was practically a toothpick. There was nothing that this man could do to protect himself if Hastings broke free. If the man was enlightened, things would be a little different though. The only problem was that it really made no difference what his power could be. With the moral of everyone working under Krander, it wouldn't be too hard to break free in the first place.
A gentle sleep was slowly making it's way through Hastings/ Just as he began to close his eyes, someone walked through the door. To his surprise it was Lionel, his old friend. It turned out that Lionel was humiliated by what Krander had done to him --no surprise-- and couldn't take the ridicule from all his peers. He decided to get away from all of it by coming back to guard. He relieved the large man from his duties and he sat down on a chair that was placed on the far side of the tent. Now everything was in the right place. Hastings made his move.
"Krander is such a terrible person isn't he?" He said to his guards. "He must not really care too much for his men if he is willing to humiliate them for punishment. He obviously only wants you to die for Newhaven. He only sees you as a pawn in the chess game." Hastings paused to separate his thoughts. "You know, I would never do that to my men. It wouldn't be their fault that they couldn't tie a rope properly, it would be my fault for not training them properly. Instead of punishing the behavior, I would try to teach them how to prevent it from happening again. In Blackpond we don't have pawns. We treat every soldier like the knight they really are."
The two men looked intrigued. They completely believed him and for the most part it was true. Of course sometimes Hastings would punish people, but he didn't want these soldiers to hear that. He could see as their mind began to work. He could almost hear themselves saying, 'if only I lived in Blackpond.' Now it was time to go for these pawns to become knights.
"If only I had people like you in Blackpond. If you could have guarded me like this on the battlefield, there would have been no way that I could have been captured. In my eyes, you two are truly Knights."
"It's too bad you are stuck here, sir. I would work for you even if it meant death." Lionel said. The other one nodded in agreement.
"Well it isn't to late to start. You could start by helping me get out of this place." Hastings said.
The two men looked at each other. Hastings saw the apprehension on both of their faces. Hastings didn't give them another second to think. "If you help me, you will be rewarded greatly by the King, I assure you. Hundreds in Gold."
That was enough to convince them to move forward with Hastings' escape.
For the Next few hours until their shift was over, they went over plans for his escape. The next day, when the two of them were on guard duty for Hastings again, the plan would go into action. Hastings only hoped that the men didn't redecide before that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Just outside Newhaven]
Ella was given direct orders to act as though she was an assistant. She had no idea what it was, but she guessed it didn't matter. All she had to do was tell the guard that she was an assistant when she got there. Ali seemed to give her a simple task. Nothing that would involve much hard work, just a few simple words. There was no way to mess it all up.
As they approached the entrance to the city, a guard walked right towards Ali. Ali had seemed to put on a completely different character. Different than what Ella had always noticed talking to her at least. Ella didn't pay much attention to the conversation though. She was more distracted by what she could see in front of her. The great city of Newhaven was beckoning for her. She hadn't been there for over a year and it just seemed like she needed to go there again. It almost felt like she belonged in Newhaven, up in the majestic castle like the good old days. She imagined her sitting at the throne while the king pretended that she was royalty and he was one of her loyal servants. The king was so nice to her. The closest thing to family she ever had...
"You heard the man, speak!" Ali's voice was sharp and demanding. It didn't sound like the way a healer would talk to anyone.
Ella had been too lost in her memories for too long, she hesitating as she thought about what the right answer was. "Umm, well... you see," Ali gave her a disappointed look. She had screwed it all up, "I'm a... you know, a traveler and this woman saved my life!"
The guard didn't look convinced. "Ok, can I see the wound you have. If she saved your life, you must have a wound."
Ella paused for a second. Of course she would have a wound, why didn't she think of that. Then she got an idea. "No, you see, as I was traveling not too far from here, I became hungry, so I found a tree with some fruit, little did I know, that fruit was poisonous. I'm lucky that she found me. She has to give me a herb to flush my system out every couple of hours or I'll die. That is why I need to travel with her for the next couple of days."
The guard obviously found the story believable. He let them pass. When they got far enough away, she asked Ali, "So, how was that?"
Ella was very proud of herself at the moment. Obviously Evin's quick decision making training worked for her after all.
The other man on the other hand was rather small. He was about average height for a man from Newhaven, but was definitely not the average weight. Hastings couldn't help but think about how desperate Newhaven must have been to have to recruit men with the muscle mass of this man. He was practically a toothpick. There was nothing that this man could do to protect himself if Hastings broke free. If the man was enlightened, things would be a little different though. The only problem was that it really made no difference what his power could be. With the moral of everyone working under Krander, it wouldn't be too hard to break free in the first place.
A gentle sleep was slowly making it's way through Hastings/ Just as he began to close his eyes, someone walked through the door. To his surprise it was Lionel, his old friend. It turned out that Lionel was humiliated by what Krander had done to him --no surprise-- and couldn't take the ridicule from all his peers. He decided to get away from all of it by coming back to guard. He relieved the large man from his duties and he sat down on a chair that was placed on the far side of the tent. Now everything was in the right place. Hastings made his move.
"Krander is such a terrible person isn't he?" He said to his guards. "He must not really care too much for his men if he is willing to humiliate them for punishment. He obviously only wants you to die for Newhaven. He only sees you as a pawn in the chess game." Hastings paused to separate his thoughts. "You know, I would never do that to my men. It wouldn't be their fault that they couldn't tie a rope properly, it would be my fault for not training them properly. Instead of punishing the behavior, I would try to teach them how to prevent it from happening again. In Blackpond we don't have pawns. We treat every soldier like the knight they really are."
The two men looked intrigued. They completely believed him and for the most part it was true. Of course sometimes Hastings would punish people, but he didn't want these soldiers to hear that. He could see as their mind began to work. He could almost hear themselves saying, 'if only I lived in Blackpond.' Now it was time to go for these pawns to become knights.
"If only I had people like you in Blackpond. If you could have guarded me like this on the battlefield, there would have been no way that I could have been captured. In my eyes, you two are truly Knights."
"It's too bad you are stuck here, sir. I would work for you even if it meant death." Lionel said. The other one nodded in agreement.
"Well it isn't to late to start. You could start by helping me get out of this place." Hastings said.
The two men looked at each other. Hastings saw the apprehension on both of their faces. Hastings didn't give them another second to think. "If you help me, you will be rewarded greatly by the King, I assure you. Hundreds in Gold."
That was enough to convince them to move forward with Hastings' escape.
For the Next few hours until their shift was over, they went over plans for his escape. The next day, when the two of them were on guard duty for Hastings again, the plan would go into action. Hastings only hoped that the men didn't redecide before that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Just outside Newhaven]
Ella was given direct orders to act as though she was an assistant. She had no idea what it was, but she guessed it didn't matter. All she had to do was tell the guard that she was an assistant when she got there. Ali seemed to give her a simple task. Nothing that would involve much hard work, just a few simple words. There was no way to mess it all up.
As they approached the entrance to the city, a guard walked right towards Ali. Ali had seemed to put on a completely different character. Different than what Ella had always noticed talking to her at least. Ella didn't pay much attention to the conversation though. She was more distracted by what she could see in front of her. The great city of Newhaven was beckoning for her. She hadn't been there for over a year and it just seemed like she needed to go there again. It almost felt like she belonged in Newhaven, up in the majestic castle like the good old days. She imagined her sitting at the throne while the king pretended that she was royalty and he was one of her loyal servants. The king was so nice to her. The closest thing to family she ever had...
"You heard the man, speak!" Ali's voice was sharp and demanding. It didn't sound like the way a healer would talk to anyone.
Ella had been too lost in her memories for too long, she hesitating as she thought about what the right answer was. "Umm, well... you see," Ali gave her a disappointed look. She had screwed it all up, "I'm a... you know, a traveler and this woman saved my life!"
The guard didn't look convinced. "Ok, can I see the wound you have. If she saved your life, you must have a wound."
Ella paused for a second. Of course she would have a wound, why didn't she think of that. Then she got an idea. "No, you see, as I was traveling not too far from here, I became hungry, so I found a tree with some fruit, little did I know, that fruit was poisonous. I'm lucky that she found me. She has to give me a herb to flush my system out every couple of hours or I'll die. That is why I need to travel with her for the next couple of days."
The guard obviously found the story believable. He let them pass. When they got far enough away, she asked Ali, "So, how was that?"
Ella was very proud of herself at the moment. Obviously Evin's quick decision making training worked for her after all.
[Outside the Wolfpack camp]
Crys laughed lightly, mostly because the man had realized who she was, but also because of what he said. "If that is what you consider identity..." She said, shrugging. "I have a different way of seeing things, so to speak." She said, patting the horse gently before removing her hand. "You can put on another man's shoes, if it comes necessary, but you would be mistaken to assume you will not be making the exact same footprints." She stated, in a slightly amused tone.
She simply nodded when he said he would not harm anyone in her clan. That was expected. If he was there for the Pack, the general tone of that conversation would be much less respectful. "Very well. traveler. As I said... You will not see or hear from my men. Not now, or on your way back. You have my word, and you will find it to be just as good as your own." She stated with a little grin. Then she slowly began to turn and walk away from the trail. As she felt herself standing next to Jake, she stopped and turned to face the Knight again. "One more thing, Sir. When you get home, unharmed, be so kind as to warn your friends that the path they are currently taking is also a dangerous one." She smiled. "Unless something is changed, that is." Crys made this sound more like an offer than a threat. She was not going to explicitly say: tell your captain I just want to end this., but she would hint it anyway. Hopefully this man would take that hint.
As she turned and walked past Jake, she gave him one more signal: Protect yourself. This one order he usually never followed, but she expected him to try this time. After all, he could not afford to be seen and ruin his cover.
---------------------------------------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena sighed and was unable to contain a tone of laughter in her voice due the alias Grim had used for her. It was slightly ironic since the rose she had engraved on her clothing was a reminder of her former self, the one that hid in shadows and in aliases. She nodded, slightly. "I have not been addressed by any name other than my own since I was... Well, your age, boy." She snickered. "The habit of hiding is one that's hard to lose, and I have no wish to regain it." She explained.
The healer watched with curiosity as the Knight seemed to become uncomfortable to be in her presence. She was so used to that reaction, she could identify it even underneath the black armor. She kept a close watch on the man as he fell silent. He probably realized what she had seen.
As Grim began to speak again the healer's eyes had wandered beyond the Knight's figure and towards another that approached with a message. She watched carefully as the Knight read the message brought to him. Afterward which he asked her to go with him for protection. Lena hesitated to that offer. Of course, she was aware of the danger she was in, however, she was not alone. Even if she was, apparently these people had some information she didn't have. After a little while of thinking, she nodded. "Very well, Sir. If it is for my own protection then I shall go with you." She stated, taking a small bow.
--------------------
[Newhaven]
Ali really had to force herself to keep it together when Ella started searching for words to say. She had to act as if the story wasn't new to her when it finally came out of the girl's mouth. However, internally all she could think of was the hundreds of ways that could easily be proven to be a lie. Those thoughts were still spinning through her head as they crossed the gates. Ali only found herself breaking out of them when Ella spoke. Ali sighed deeply at girl's question. She still had the memory of being a recruit very much alive in her head, and she liked Ella. So, she wanted to tell the girl she did a great job and leave it to that, however... The danger involved in this mission demanded her to be honest. "It was acceptable. However, anyone smarter than that guy would have noticed, even though I tried my best to hide it, that I had no idea what you were talking about. Anyone smarter would have asked me the name of such herb I'm supposed to be treating you with and the reason why I couldn't simply provide you with such herb for you to treat yourself. Most importantly... They would have noticed that the story you told completely contradicted the way I behaved towards you."
She said all that in one severe whisper, all the while keeping the same relaxed and carefree exterior. After a while of silence, she looked at Ella and gave a small smile. "Rule number one in these situations is to never try to change the story so... We'll just have to go with it." As she spoke, they both walked towards the castle gates. One look at Ali and no questions were asked. Ali made sure to always greet every soldier with a slight bow of head as she passed, and remind herself no to shy away as it would be her usual. As they entered the courtyard Ali's pace slowed to a halt. Just the sound of her footsteps on those grounds brought her memories she would rather forget. Her eyes wandered momentarily towards the blood stained weapon that pierced through that killer, she didn't turn to face the statue that held it, she simply resumed walking and made her way through the castle doors.
Ali had her doubts when Crys had told her to pose as a White Shadow, but... No one asked a single question or seemed to even mind the fact that Ella was with her. When she reached the Healer's Station she knew why: The place was deserted. That was good too, she was pretty sure she could never fool another healer.The place had several beds meant for patients, and another room to the left where the Healers could sleep. That was Ali's destination.
Once inside she sat one of the beds and looked around the room, her eyes searching for something. The room was simple, had five beds with small bedside tables in between them. Stone walls, stone floor, a window.
After a while of silence Ali started to speak, mostly to herself ."The archives are usually locked and guarded after curfew, so maybe we should sleep and go there in the morning." She said, causally, her eyes still running through the room. Then she opened a small grin as she got on her feet and walked to a loose stone in the wall. "Got you." She mumbled. "I spent a year at the ruins you know... I've learned a lot about the Shadows." She pulled the stone out of its place and found a small book hidden behind it. "Most important thing about them is that they always leave notes behind for other healers to find." Ali sighed looking through the book. "Damn... I have to read all this and it's in code." She sighed.
Ali knew healers left relevant notes on patients hidden for other healers to find, specially when they couldn't carry the information around with them. Obviously, all that information on the castle staff would come in handy to anyone who wished to infiltrate. Ali included. Mostly... The staff members' ages and medical histories. If she couldn't reach the archives just yet, she would start with this. She laid down on one of the beds in the room and began looking through the book mentally breaking the code the healers used. Surely, they never really taught her that, but... They weren't very careful with what they left exposed for her to see. She looked up from the book after only a few minutes and set it aside. She knew exactly where to start.
Crys laughed lightly, mostly because the man had realized who she was, but also because of what he said. "If that is what you consider identity..." She said, shrugging. "I have a different way of seeing things, so to speak." She said, patting the horse gently before removing her hand. "You can put on another man's shoes, if it comes necessary, but you would be mistaken to assume you will not be making the exact same footprints." She stated, in a slightly amused tone.
She simply nodded when he said he would not harm anyone in her clan. That was expected. If he was there for the Pack, the general tone of that conversation would be much less respectful. "Very well. traveler. As I said... You will not see or hear from my men. Not now, or on your way back. You have my word, and you will find it to be just as good as your own." She stated with a little grin. Then she slowly began to turn and walk away from the trail. As she felt herself standing next to Jake, she stopped and turned to face the Knight again. "One more thing, Sir. When you get home, unharmed, be so kind as to warn your friends that the path they are currently taking is also a dangerous one." She smiled. "Unless something is changed, that is." Crys made this sound more like an offer than a threat. She was not going to explicitly say: tell your captain I just want to end this., but she would hint it anyway. Hopefully this man would take that hint.
As she turned and walked past Jake, she gave him one more signal: Protect yourself. This one order he usually never followed, but she expected him to try this time. After all, he could not afford to be seen and ruin his cover.
---------------------------------------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena sighed and was unable to contain a tone of laughter in her voice due the alias Grim had used for her. It was slightly ironic since the rose she had engraved on her clothing was a reminder of her former self, the one that hid in shadows and in aliases. She nodded, slightly. "I have not been addressed by any name other than my own since I was... Well, your age, boy." She snickered. "The habit of hiding is one that's hard to lose, and I have no wish to regain it." She explained.
The healer watched with curiosity as the Knight seemed to become uncomfortable to be in her presence. She was so used to that reaction, she could identify it even underneath the black armor. She kept a close watch on the man as he fell silent. He probably realized what she had seen.
As Grim began to speak again the healer's eyes had wandered beyond the Knight's figure and towards another that approached with a message. She watched carefully as the Knight read the message brought to him. Afterward which he asked her to go with him for protection. Lena hesitated to that offer. Of course, she was aware of the danger she was in, however, she was not alone. Even if she was, apparently these people had some information she didn't have. After a little while of thinking, she nodded. "Very well, Sir. If it is for my own protection then I shall go with you." She stated, taking a small bow.
--------------------
[Newhaven]
Ali really had to force herself to keep it together when Ella started searching for words to say. She had to act as if the story wasn't new to her when it finally came out of the girl's mouth. However, internally all she could think of was the hundreds of ways that could easily be proven to be a lie. Those thoughts were still spinning through her head as they crossed the gates. Ali only found herself breaking out of them when Ella spoke. Ali sighed deeply at girl's question. She still had the memory of being a recruit very much alive in her head, and she liked Ella. So, she wanted to tell the girl she did a great job and leave it to that, however... The danger involved in this mission demanded her to be honest. "It was acceptable. However, anyone smarter than that guy would have noticed, even though I tried my best to hide it, that I had no idea what you were talking about. Anyone smarter would have asked me the name of such herb I'm supposed to be treating you with and the reason why I couldn't simply provide you with such herb for you to treat yourself. Most importantly... They would have noticed that the story you told completely contradicted the way I behaved towards you."
She said all that in one severe whisper, all the while keeping the same relaxed and carefree exterior. After a while of silence, she looked at Ella and gave a small smile. "Rule number one in these situations is to never try to change the story so... We'll just have to go with it." As she spoke, they both walked towards the castle gates. One look at Ali and no questions were asked. Ali made sure to always greet every soldier with a slight bow of head as she passed, and remind herself no to shy away as it would be her usual. As they entered the courtyard Ali's pace slowed to a halt. Just the sound of her footsteps on those grounds brought her memories she would rather forget. Her eyes wandered momentarily towards the blood stained weapon that pierced through that killer, she didn't turn to face the statue that held it, she simply resumed walking and made her way through the castle doors.
Ali had her doubts when Crys had told her to pose as a White Shadow, but... No one asked a single question or seemed to even mind the fact that Ella was with her. When she reached the Healer's Station she knew why: The place was deserted. That was good too, she was pretty sure she could never fool another healer.The place had several beds meant for patients, and another room to the left where the Healers could sleep. That was Ali's destination.
Once inside she sat one of the beds and looked around the room, her eyes searching for something. The room was simple, had five beds with small bedside tables in between them. Stone walls, stone floor, a window.
After a while of silence Ali started to speak, mostly to herself ."The archives are usually locked and guarded after curfew, so maybe we should sleep and go there in the morning." She said, causally, her eyes still running through the room. Then she opened a small grin as she got on her feet and walked to a loose stone in the wall. "Got you." She mumbled. "I spent a year at the ruins you know... I've learned a lot about the Shadows." She pulled the stone out of its place and found a small book hidden behind it. "Most important thing about them is that they always leave notes behind for other healers to find." Ali sighed looking through the book. "Damn... I have to read all this and it's in code." She sighed.
Ali knew healers left relevant notes on patients hidden for other healers to find, specially when they couldn't carry the information around with them. Obviously, all that information on the castle staff would come in handy to anyone who wished to infiltrate. Ali included. Mostly... The staff members' ages and medical histories. If she couldn't reach the archives just yet, she would start with this. She laid down on one of the beds in the room and began looking through the book mentally breaking the code the healers used. Surely, they never really taught her that, but... They weren't very careful with what they left exposed for her to see. She looked up from the book after only a few minutes and set it aside. She knew exactly where to start.
(Newhaven Encampment)
Once Mageria had sent her messenger off, she ducked back into her tent one final time. Like an idiot she had let Grim go off on his own, not even checking to see if he had tended his wounds. Which she knew he hadn’t; he never did. Therefore it was her duty and privilege as Captain to teach him the error of his ways. She grabbed a small kit such as the ones that battlefield healers often carried; this one was similar, but it contained some very specific herbs and tonics. She had put it together at great cost, but the cost of not having it she counted as higher. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked out, headed toward where she had last known that Grim was. She couldn’t stop a sigh of relief when she saw him escorting the White Shadows back through the camp. She raised one hand to signal him, then drew the lot of them to the side away from the crowd of soldiers.
“Apologies Mistress, but there’s something I have to take care of.” She smiled apologetically at Lena and sat Grim down firmly on a camp chair. Her experienced eye found that he was favoring his right arm. She grasped his wrist firmly in one hand and turned it over, carefully unlacing his gauntlet and pulling it off.
“Right mess they made of this, didn’t they?” She continued to hold on to his wrist and dug through the bag with one hand, eventually pulling out a small vial of a pale green liquid. Bitting the cork, she pulled it free and carefully poured it into the cut. Instead of burning or stinging as most cleansing tonics did, she had this brewed to numb the area instead, leaving no chance that the pain might trigger Grim’s Enlightenment. Everything in the kit was similar, since if there were wounded about she couldn’t risk Grim going berserk near them. She plugged the vial back up and pulled out a salve, carefully spreading it along the slice.
“Don’t think it needs stitches. Not this time anyway.” She pulled a roll of bandages out, wrapping the arm firmly and neatly. Over the years she had become a decent field medic out of necessity, all those times when she was alone with people that she was trying to save and not knowing how to keep them alive. She began watching the medics as they worked, and learning from them when they had time. Anytime she could turn Death away, wether it was by blade or bandage, she counted that as a victory. But there were so many times that she couldn’t . . . . .
Carefully she finished her work, casing the dark thoughts back to the back of her mind where they belonged. The present was what mattered now and the people before her. She knotted the end of the bandage and stood up, offering Grim his gauntlet.
“Next time, block a little better.” She smiled wryly at Grim and finally turned back to the healers.
“Again, I’m sorry for the delay.” Her eyes flickered between the two women before settling polity on Lena.
“I’m sure you have important business that drew you here, so I’ll do my best to be brief. During this last battle, we captured one of Blackpond’s commanders. During questioning,” she held up one hand, “and he is being treated fairly and well, he spoke of his plans for the White Shadows. While not privy to what his King plans, he himself spoke of wishing to force the White Shadows into submission, that they might serve him and his men alone.” Mageria drew a deep breath, feeling a weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. “If you were to enter into Blackpond, I do not think that your status would protect you.”
Once Mageria had sent her messenger off, she ducked back into her tent one final time. Like an idiot she had let Grim go off on his own, not even checking to see if he had tended his wounds. Which she knew he hadn’t; he never did. Therefore it was her duty and privilege as Captain to teach him the error of his ways. She grabbed a small kit such as the ones that battlefield healers often carried; this one was similar, but it contained some very specific herbs and tonics. She had put it together at great cost, but the cost of not having it she counted as higher. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked out, headed toward where she had last known that Grim was. She couldn’t stop a sigh of relief when she saw him escorting the White Shadows back through the camp. She raised one hand to signal him, then drew the lot of them to the side away from the crowd of soldiers.
“Apologies Mistress, but there’s something I have to take care of.” She smiled apologetically at Lena and sat Grim down firmly on a camp chair. Her experienced eye found that he was favoring his right arm. She grasped his wrist firmly in one hand and turned it over, carefully unlacing his gauntlet and pulling it off.
“Right mess they made of this, didn’t they?” She continued to hold on to his wrist and dug through the bag with one hand, eventually pulling out a small vial of a pale green liquid. Bitting the cork, she pulled it free and carefully poured it into the cut. Instead of burning or stinging as most cleansing tonics did, she had this brewed to numb the area instead, leaving no chance that the pain might trigger Grim’s Enlightenment. Everything in the kit was similar, since if there were wounded about she couldn’t risk Grim going berserk near them. She plugged the vial back up and pulled out a salve, carefully spreading it along the slice.
“Don’t think it needs stitches. Not this time anyway.” She pulled a roll of bandages out, wrapping the arm firmly and neatly. Over the years she had become a decent field medic out of necessity, all those times when she was alone with people that she was trying to save and not knowing how to keep them alive. She began watching the medics as they worked, and learning from them when they had time. Anytime she could turn Death away, wether it was by blade or bandage, she counted that as a victory. But there were so many times that she couldn’t . . . . .
Carefully she finished her work, casing the dark thoughts back to the back of her mind where they belonged. The present was what mattered now and the people before her. She knotted the end of the bandage and stood up, offering Grim his gauntlet.
“Next time, block a little better.” She smiled wryly at Grim and finally turned back to the healers.
“Again, I’m sorry for the delay.” Her eyes flickered between the two women before settling polity on Lena.
“I’m sure you have important business that drew you here, so I’ll do my best to be brief. During this last battle, we captured one of Blackpond’s commanders. During questioning,” she held up one hand, “and he is being treated fairly and well, he spoke of his plans for the White Shadows. While not privy to what his King plans, he himself spoke of wishing to force the White Shadows into submission, that they might serve him and his men alone.” Mageria drew a deep breath, feeling a weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. “If you were to enter into Blackpond, I do not think that your status would protect you.”
(Newhaven Encampment)
Krander was just getting back to his tent to grab some papers and meet with Mageria when a shadowed bulk of a man came running at him. He instinctively drew his sword and prepared to swing.
The man slowed and spoke, "Krander, it is I, Carlisle, and I have urging news. We must meet with Mageria so I may only tell this once."
He saluted Krander and waited. Krander nodded, grabbed his paper, and came back outside his tent. "Follow me Carlisle, and in this time of war, keep your face shown at all times."
Carlisle nodded and followed behind Krander.
"Cook! COOK!" Krander yelled, holding back using his enlightened power (not that he needed it with his volume anyway). A small feeble but extremely rough looking man approached.
"Yes my liege?" he asked, bowing his head.
"Prepare a feast, use the largest store of meat we brought for in case we were here for a long time. I want it all cooked up, to order, and all of the White Knights, Black Knights, Healers and workers fed. Send your apprentices to take orders. Also, tap into the largest wine barrel and allow ONLY TWO cups to each soldier, we do not want to be weak, but instead we want to be enjoying ourselves. Also, prepare something to order for our prisoner, but check it all for some kind of weapon someone may sneak into his tent. In fact, only YOU should prepare his food, and make it damn good, understand?"
The cook nodded and ran off.
"I must speak with Lionel before we are off Carlisle." Krander said..
"Sir, I suggest we find Mageria first, as Lionel is part of the issue..."
Krander looked awestruck. Lionel, he basically trained him from a weak coward into a strong guard. He couldn't believe one punishment was enough to make him stab him in the back..
"Okay," Krander said trying to hold back the wavering hurt in his voice, "lets find Mageria, immediately."
Krander was just getting back to his tent to grab some papers and meet with Mageria when a shadowed bulk of a man came running at him. He instinctively drew his sword and prepared to swing.
The man slowed and spoke, "Krander, it is I, Carlisle, and I have urging news. We must meet with Mageria so I may only tell this once."
He saluted Krander and waited. Krander nodded, grabbed his paper, and came back outside his tent. "Follow me Carlisle, and in this time of war, keep your face shown at all times."
Carlisle nodded and followed behind Krander.
"Cook! COOK!" Krander yelled, holding back using his enlightened power (not that he needed it with his volume anyway). A small feeble but extremely rough looking man approached.
"Yes my liege?" he asked, bowing his head.
"Prepare a feast, use the largest store of meat we brought for in case we were here for a long time. I want it all cooked up, to order, and all of the White Knights, Black Knights, Healers and workers fed. Send your apprentices to take orders. Also, tap into the largest wine barrel and allow ONLY TWO cups to each soldier, we do not want to be weak, but instead we want to be enjoying ourselves. Also, prepare something to order for our prisoner, but check it all for some kind of weapon someone may sneak into his tent. In fact, only YOU should prepare his food, and make it damn good, understand?"
The cook nodded and ran off.
"I must speak with Lionel before we are off Carlisle." Krander said..
"Sir, I suggest we find Mageria first, as Lionel is part of the issue..."
Krander looked awestruck. Lionel, he basically trained him from a weak coward into a strong guard. He couldn't believe one punishment was enough to make him stab him in the back..
"Okay," Krander said trying to hold back the wavering hurt in his voice, "lets find Mageria, immediately."
(Outside the Pack Camp)
Thomas watched the young woman walk away. A hard look crossed his face, looking out of place.
“If you don’t like the path you travel down, mistress, you shouldn’t have started us all down it yourself.” He dug his heels into his horse’s side, taking off down the path at a fast cantor. The sooner he was out of this area, the better. Once again, he had to question the madness that had led the Pack to killing the King of Newhaven, for no good reason. It might have been remotely understandable if they had a contract, but to simply kill the King . . . . it was suicide. They had to know that they would be pursued to the ends of the earth for that. He shook his head. It could be that he would never understand it. But for now he had a goal that he might actually achieve.
Thomas watched the young woman walk away. A hard look crossed his face, looking out of place.
“If you don’t like the path you travel down, mistress, you shouldn’t have started us all down it yourself.” He dug his heels into his horse’s side, taking off down the path at a fast cantor. The sooner he was out of this area, the better. Once again, he had to question the madness that had led the Pack to killing the King of Newhaven, for no good reason. It might have been remotely understandable if they had a contract, but to simply kill the King . . . . it was suicide. They had to know that they would be pursued to the ends of the earth for that. He shook his head. It could be that he would never understand it. But for now he had a goal that he might actually achieve.
Blanditia whimpered, she didn't not like that idea. She peaked over Lena's shoulder, "Is he safe?" she asked the older woman he blond hair fell into her face and she watched the man with untrusting eyes. Blanditia had just remembered something from her past and it was making her feel unsure about going with the man, For all she knew he knew her and her past.
“My apologies Lady Turner or would you prefer Helena? May I ask who your compatriot is?”
He glanced to Blanditia whom he could tell was in protestation of their accompanying him. The frail girl had an air that was unusual. Grim couldn’t place his finger on it yet. It didn’t matter Blanditia posed no threat for all he knew. He paid her little mind and found his eyes constantly trying to match with leader of the White Shadows. The woman possessed a power that terrified the Black Knight and he eyed her with caution. Being careful not to come seem cross with his look.
Calmly he turned and began his journey back toward the encampment. Being careful to glance back and make sure they were following. He kept his grip around the handle of his blade. There was no telling what could happen out in the open. There was just a hint of fear and excitement and Grim privately wondered if they were in danger even now.
Of course the trek was short and the encampment was a welcoming site. The knight even gave a sigh of relief once he could spot the spit fires and tents. He eased his hand from the hilt, continuing at an even pace. Always checking back or waiting for the healers to catch up. Imagine his surprise when Mageria was waiting near the entrance. Her arm upraised to summon the Black Knights.
Grim looked perplexed when he caught the sign. Could it be that danger had befallen on the encampment in the time he was away? Without hesitation he picked up speed and approached his captain expectantly. To his chagrin he was seated promptly, taken aside from the bulk of the soldiers to be tended with in secret. Mageria was well versed in many aspects of war and she located the wound without so much as a prompt from the Black Knight.
Grim would have protested but he knew the Captain wouldn’t have it. She had his gauntlet on the floor literally within seconds examining where the skin had been split during conflict. Mageria was the only person besides Grim himself brave enough to attempt at mending his wounds. With the nature of his enlightenment he couldn’t be tended by just anyone. She was a pleasant medic and spoke with a mothering tone. Though the nurturing was kindly, Grim was unresponsive allowing her to work without distraction. Grateful for her aid.
Before long his arm was bandaged and he was given words of great wisdom to dismiss him. She was aware that he was trying to escape the encampment, and though Grim wanted to leave he remained if only to listen in to the details behind the message he was delivered. Patiently he waited saying nothing more for the moment. Pondering on the implications of what they had extracted from the prisoner. Could Blackpond really force the White Shadows into servitude? Would the healer’s now ignore the needs of Blackpond incase this information proves true? He was eager to hear Helena’s opinion on the matter and remained seated in the chair to satiate that curiosity. Knowing well he’d be leaving before long regardless what he discovered.
He glanced to Blanditia whom he could tell was in protestation of their accompanying him. The frail girl had an air that was unusual. Grim couldn’t place his finger on it yet. It didn’t matter Blanditia posed no threat for all he knew. He paid her little mind and found his eyes constantly trying to match with leader of the White Shadows. The woman possessed a power that terrified the Black Knight and he eyed her with caution. Being careful not to come seem cross with his look.
Calmly he turned and began his journey back toward the encampment. Being careful to glance back and make sure they were following. He kept his grip around the handle of his blade. There was no telling what could happen out in the open. There was just a hint of fear and excitement and Grim privately wondered if they were in danger even now.
Of course the trek was short and the encampment was a welcoming site. The knight even gave a sigh of relief once he could spot the spit fires and tents. He eased his hand from the hilt, continuing at an even pace. Always checking back or waiting for the healers to catch up. Imagine his surprise when Mageria was waiting near the entrance. Her arm upraised to summon the Black Knights.
Grim looked perplexed when he caught the sign. Could it be that danger had befallen on the encampment in the time he was away? Without hesitation he picked up speed and approached his captain expectantly. To his chagrin he was seated promptly, taken aside from the bulk of the soldiers to be tended with in secret. Mageria was well versed in many aspects of war and she located the wound without so much as a prompt from the Black Knight.
Grim would have protested but he knew the Captain wouldn’t have it. She had his gauntlet on the floor literally within seconds examining where the skin had been split during conflict. Mageria was the only person besides Grim himself brave enough to attempt at mending his wounds. With the nature of his enlightenment he couldn’t be tended by just anyone. She was a pleasant medic and spoke with a mothering tone. Though the nurturing was kindly, Grim was unresponsive allowing her to work without distraction. Grateful for her aid.
Before long his arm was bandaged and he was given words of great wisdom to dismiss him. She was aware that he was trying to escape the encampment, and though Grim wanted to leave he remained if only to listen in to the details behind the message he was delivered. Patiently he waited saying nothing more for the moment. Pondering on the implications of what they had extracted from the prisoner. Could Blackpond really force the White Shadows into servitude? Would the healer’s now ignore the needs of Blackpond incase this information proves true? He was eager to hear Helena’s opinion on the matter and remained seated in the chair to satiate that curiosity. Knowing well he’d be leaving before long regardless what he discovered.
Ella realised that what Allison had said to her was true. There were flaws in what she did, but she put it in much better terms than Evin would have. Evin probably would have praised Ella at first, telling her what a great job she had done. She would be happy for the next few days of her accomplishment, but then she would be struck down by Evin, quite literally. He would come from out of the blue using his powers and punch her square in the face. He didn't hit hard, but it was always enough to knock Ella out for a few seconds. Then he would explain to her what she did wrong, and not in a nice way too. Then came the punishment, anything from collecting fire wood, to dodging Evin's rope dart. It was no fun working with Evin. It was nice to know that she would be freed of him until she made it back home.
Today, they wouldn't do any work. For now they would just sleep. Sleep in her old home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin spent a few hours down one hall. He did not move an inch while he was there the entire time. He mostly spent his time just listening for any sounds that would come down the hall. By the time he finally moved, it was probably around three o'clock. It was then that he determined that no one was going to go into the Black Knight's hallway. It would be a very luxurious place to sleep for the night. It was exactly what he did. He went back into the room he was in before and hopped onto the fluffy bed. Evin could only describe it as walking through a thick fog. It was one of the best sleeps he would ever get.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings had nothing to do from that point. Two new guards had come to take the place of Lionel and his friend. Now would be a good time for him to sleep, but then something happened. Hastings heard a rustling at the entrance of the tent. Two men walked in. One had a piece of paper in his hand and it seemed like he was taking notes.
Hastings knew exactly what this meant, they had come to interrogate him. Best timing for it too seeing that he was so sleep deprived already. An interrogation could go on for hours. He was bound to slip up in the condition he was in at the moment.
The man without the paper spoke to him. "I have been requested to come take your order. We are having a feast and I will be making food and be serving alcohol to everyone who wishes it. Including you."
"Fine." Hastings said.
"What would you like to order." The man asked. The other man was ready to write down Hastings exact words. It wouldn't be easy.
"I would like a Salmon Fillet en Papillote with Julienned fennel bulb, leeks (the white part only), carrots and snow peas. Seasoned with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and coriander seed and garnished with orange wedges. To drink I would like a dry vermouth please."
"Will that be all?" The man seemed rather annoyed.
"Oh, yes, I would like that all to be sent to the man Lionel who was guarding me earlier today. As I'm sure you heard, he was having it rough. I myself would like a glass of dry vermouth as well if you don't mind."
"That is enough! I will have it served in thirty minutes."
"Do it in twenty. My chef does it in only fifteen so it shouldn't be too much a hassle for you to do it in five more. Oh, and be sure to tell Lionel who ordered this for him."
The man said nothing else, he just walked out. The other man took a few more seconds to write down the order before walking away. Hastings just eyed the doorway and waited for his order to come in.
Today, they wouldn't do any work. For now they would just sleep. Sleep in her old home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin spent a few hours down one hall. He did not move an inch while he was there the entire time. He mostly spent his time just listening for any sounds that would come down the hall. By the time he finally moved, it was probably around three o'clock. It was then that he determined that no one was going to go into the Black Knight's hallway. It would be a very luxurious place to sleep for the night. It was exactly what he did. He went back into the room he was in before and hopped onto the fluffy bed. Evin could only describe it as walking through a thick fog. It was one of the best sleeps he would ever get.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings had nothing to do from that point. Two new guards had come to take the place of Lionel and his friend. Now would be a good time for him to sleep, but then something happened. Hastings heard a rustling at the entrance of the tent. Two men walked in. One had a piece of paper in his hand and it seemed like he was taking notes.
Hastings knew exactly what this meant, they had come to interrogate him. Best timing for it too seeing that he was so sleep deprived already. An interrogation could go on for hours. He was bound to slip up in the condition he was in at the moment.
The man without the paper spoke to him. "I have been requested to come take your order. We are having a feast and I will be making food and be serving alcohol to everyone who wishes it. Including you."
"Fine." Hastings said.
"What would you like to order." The man asked. The other man was ready to write down Hastings exact words. It wouldn't be easy.
"I would like a Salmon Fillet en Papillote with Julienned fennel bulb, leeks (the white part only), carrots and snow peas. Seasoned with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and coriander seed and garnished with orange wedges. To drink I would like a dry vermouth please."
"Will that be all?" The man seemed rather annoyed.
"Oh, yes, I would like that all to be sent to the man Lionel who was guarding me earlier today. As I'm sure you heard, he was having it rough. I myself would like a glass of dry vermouth as well if you don't mind."
"That is enough! I will have it served in thirty minutes."
"Do it in twenty. My chef does it in only fifteen so it shouldn't be too much a hassle for you to do it in five more. Oh, and be sure to tell Lionel who ordered this for him."
The man said nothing else, he just walked out. The other man took a few more seconds to write down the order before walking away. Hastings just eyed the doorway and waited for his order to come in.
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena smiled slightly when Blanditia asked if Grim was safe. "He'd have to get through me." She whispered to the girl. Surely, for the man to get through her wouldn't be so difficult, but she was simply meaning to assure the young apprentice that if she wasn't worried, there was nothing to worry about. She then let a hand rest on the girl's shoulder. "We won't be here for long." She said, still in a whisper. She had noticed the girl's attitude change considerably since they passed through the battlefield. She wasn't going to ask her about her now though, not here, so she simply addressed Grim as if the man was unable to perceive the whispering. "Just Lena is fine, actually. Unless you prefer to be formal." She glanced at the girl walking beside her and smiled. "Kid's an apprentice. Been with us since she was eight years old, or so. I suppose it might have been irresponsible of me to drag her through the battle grounds with me. It was a shocking sight even for the most experienced healers." She went into silence for a few seconds, then added. "Her name is hers to give." She stated, patting the young girl on the shoulder gently, encouraging her to speak if she felt the urge.
When they crossed the entrance to the encampment, she watched with interest as Mageria tended to Grim's wound, the woman was certainly skilled and Lena could tell she cared for her men. The manner in which the woman addressed the younger Knight was so familiar, it almost shut the smile on the healer's face. If there was a hint of a reaction, however, it would have crossed her eyes in a split second, and immediately concealed. She kept silent and observant until she was spoken to. Then, she looked the Black Knight captain in the eyes and offered the woman a respectful bow. She couldn't help a tone of laughter in her voice as she spoke. "Hopefully you will excuse me for saying such thing, considering the circumstances, but... You have much more in common with the assassins you hunt than with the nobles you serve." She made a small pause and added. "I mean that as a compliment, I assure you."
Then she sighed, her expression turning into a more serious one. "I am aware of Blackpond's intentions. I meant to speak with their King and try talking sense into the man. My expectations were not great ones, but I felt obligated to attempt communication either way." She smiled and a calmer, more serene look crossed her expression. "This changes things. The plan you speak of will never work. The worse they can do is exterminate us, the White Shadows are independent. We serve all, or we serve no one. However, I would much rather avoid the extermination of my clan, if I have that chance." She stated. Then she let her eyes wander through the campsite. "This... Commander you speak of, would it be much of an inconvenience if I asked to speak with him?" Lena asked, letting her gaze fall back on Mageria's eyes. "It would help me decide on how to proceed on this matter."
Lena smiled slightly when Blanditia asked if Grim was safe. "He'd have to get through me." She whispered to the girl. Surely, for the man to get through her wouldn't be so difficult, but she was simply meaning to assure the young apprentice that if she wasn't worried, there was nothing to worry about. She then let a hand rest on the girl's shoulder. "We won't be here for long." She said, still in a whisper. She had noticed the girl's attitude change considerably since they passed through the battlefield. She wasn't going to ask her about her now though, not here, so she simply addressed Grim as if the man was unable to perceive the whispering. "Just Lena is fine, actually. Unless you prefer to be formal." She glanced at the girl walking beside her and smiled. "Kid's an apprentice. Been with us since she was eight years old, or so. I suppose it might have been irresponsible of me to drag her through the battle grounds with me. It was a shocking sight even for the most experienced healers." She went into silence for a few seconds, then added. "Her name is hers to give." She stated, patting the young girl on the shoulder gently, encouraging her to speak if she felt the urge.
When they crossed the entrance to the encampment, she watched with interest as Mageria tended to Grim's wound, the woman was certainly skilled and Lena could tell she cared for her men. The manner in which the woman addressed the younger Knight was so familiar, it almost shut the smile on the healer's face. If there was a hint of a reaction, however, it would have crossed her eyes in a split second, and immediately concealed. She kept silent and observant until she was spoken to. Then, she looked the Black Knight captain in the eyes and offered the woman a respectful bow. She couldn't help a tone of laughter in her voice as she spoke. "Hopefully you will excuse me for saying such thing, considering the circumstances, but... You have much more in common with the assassins you hunt than with the nobles you serve." She made a small pause and added. "I mean that as a compliment, I assure you."
Then she sighed, her expression turning into a more serious one. "I am aware of Blackpond's intentions. I meant to speak with their King and try talking sense into the man. My expectations were not great ones, but I felt obligated to attempt communication either way." She smiled and a calmer, more serene look crossed her expression. "This changes things. The plan you speak of will never work. The worse they can do is exterminate us, the White Shadows are independent. We serve all, or we serve no one. However, I would much rather avoid the extermination of my clan, if I have that chance." She stated. Then she let her eyes wander through the campsite. "This... Commander you speak of, would it be much of an inconvenience if I asked to speak with him?" Lena asked, letting her gaze fall back on Mageria's eyes. "It would help me decide on how to proceed on this matter."
(Newhaven Encampment)
Mageria had to look downward to conceal her reaction to the Healer’s words. It might have been meant as a compliment, but given her recent experiences with certain assassins . . . . She couldn’t conceal a small flare of anger and pain. Carefully she drew a deep breath and faced the women again, her eyes flickering over the two of them. A brief wry smile crossed her face.
“Nobles do as they will Lady. The rest of us just try and deal with it. And the rest of us would rather that your clan stayed around as well. In that, I’d like to offer you any assistance you’d accept.” She motioned off to the side with one hand.
“If you’d like to talk to the Commander, he’s this way. Although I’ll have to ask that you let your apprentice wait outside.” She started leading them through the camp, giving Grim a hand signal that he could stay or leave as he choose.
It was only a few minutes to lead them to the tent where Hastings was being held and she nodded at the men standing outside. One of them quietly informed her that the prisoner's dinner request had been taken just a moment ago. She nodded and held open the tent flap with one hand.
“Right through here.” She quietly asked one of the soldiers to bring the young girl something to eat and drink. She realized that she was still holding the bag carrying Grim's medical supplies. Absently she handed it to one of the men asking him to hold it for her. Once Lena walked in, she entered as well, standing behind the Healer in a clear guardian position. She stared narrowly at the prisoner, not trusting him in the slightest. If he made so much as a wrong move, she would lay him out on the floor.
Mageria had to look downward to conceal her reaction to the Healer’s words. It might have been meant as a compliment, but given her recent experiences with certain assassins . . . . She couldn’t conceal a small flare of anger and pain. Carefully she drew a deep breath and faced the women again, her eyes flickering over the two of them. A brief wry smile crossed her face.
“Nobles do as they will Lady. The rest of us just try and deal with it. And the rest of us would rather that your clan stayed around as well. In that, I’d like to offer you any assistance you’d accept.” She motioned off to the side with one hand.
“If you’d like to talk to the Commander, he’s this way. Although I’ll have to ask that you let your apprentice wait outside.” She started leading them through the camp, giving Grim a hand signal that he could stay or leave as he choose.
It was only a few minutes to lead them to the tent where Hastings was being held and she nodded at the men standing outside. One of them quietly informed her that the prisoner's dinner request had been taken just a moment ago. She nodded and held open the tent flap with one hand.
“Right through here.” She quietly asked one of the soldiers to bring the young girl something to eat and drink. She realized that she was still holding the bag carrying Grim's medical supplies. Absently she handed it to one of the men asking him to hold it for her. Once Lena walked in, she entered as well, standing behind the Healer in a clear guardian position. She stared narrowly at the prisoner, not trusting him in the slightest. If he made so much as a wrong move, she would lay him out on the floor.
The morning light shone down upon the streets of Newhaven which were already buzzing with life. Traders shouted to the people walking by to take a look at their "exotic" wares. The Smithies had their doors open because of the hot weather and the constant clanging sound came crashing out into the open street every time he thrust his hammer against a piece iron. An amazing smell surrounded the bakery as the baker made her incredible good buns and it attracted quite the audience outside her establishment. She only made those once a week and they were highly valued by the citizens. Out in the central park there was a small circus band who had just arrived to Newhaven a day or so ago. They had already made a lot of gold and the crowd kept on cheering for more amazing tricks and stunts. Between all this classic things and the warm time of the year everything would have been perfect if it hadn't been for that good-for-nothing war going on between Newhaven and Blackpond.
Outside the walls there were citizens with relatives from Blackpond who demonstrated against this useless war and demanded democracy instead of the Anarchy this so called "Wolf Pack" had brought upon them when killing their king and that the White knights so obviously supported. Inside the city, especially outside the castle, there were bands of people calling themselves "patriots" who went on day and night and screamed for vengeance.
"Bring out our armies! Crush Blackpond! Annihilate the Wolf Pack! The means always justifies the ends! Newhaven forever! Long live the King!" They cried together as the people around them tried to ignore anything they said. It wasn't worth it. The best thing was to keep on surviving and hopefully this war would end soon enough. No need to fuel any hatred between the two cities. It's enough as it is. Yet was there really any hatred left between them? Newhaven attacks, Blackpond retaliates and the cycle goes on and on. There would be no end to it unless someone would step in and shout "Enough!" once and for all. However, one thing was sure though; Daniel Zimmerman would not be that 'someone'. It was not that he didn't want the war to end, it was just that he couldn't picture himself doing something so important. Better leave the heroic stuff to the young ones while they still had a shot at it.
Daniel was a White Knight and had been one 25 years out of his 50 years alive. Most called him, out of respect mind you, 'The old dog' or 'the veteran', but he knew what he was doing when patrolling the streets of Newhaven a morning like this. As he passed the group of so called 'Patriots', he simple shock his head at them and moved on. They had filed all the paper work and had the authority to speak their minds, as long as there was no violence included. Walking quietly down the street, Daniel was buried deep in his own thoughts. He pondered on how the war was going, what the Wolf packs next step would be, when Blackpond would attack the next time and when they would make a counter attack against their long-time nemesis city. So much death, so many lives wasted in a war that meant nothing anymore. Who cared who ruled the land of Valcrest? Why couldn't they share it in peace? Why not waste resources on rebuilding both the cities and then the other cities that fell apart in the beginning of this prolonged war? Was it so hard for them to forgive and forget? It was in times like these that Daniel regretted his decision of stepping down from being the Captain of the White Knights. He could have made a peace treaty with Blackpond here and now and then found a suitable ruler of the throne. Who knows what he would have done with the Wolf pack...
Daniel rounded a corner and found himself in the poor area of Newhaven. The streets were dirty, the people were sick and constantly hungry and much talents were wasted down here. So many of these men and women could have become great soldiers in the service of Newhaven, many of them could have helped to rebuilt the city and with their help they could have expanded their corps outside the city and be gone with this starvation once and for all. Passing by a hungry beggar, Daniel dropped ten silver coins into his hands and then moved on. Hopefully the beggar would waste them on a well deserved hot meal and maybe he could sleep with a full stomach tonight. Daniel smiled for himself as he moved out from the poor area of Newhaven.
Suddenly a man in dark brown cloths and a hood over his face walked passed the White Knight and an exchange were made. Daniel was now holding a small parchment that told him of the recent events in Newhaven and what was going on in the city. The smiths wife had given birth to her second child today and Guard Captain Evans daughter had shown signs of Enlightenment during her morning class. Two traders, a White shadow, her female companion and a mercenary had entered the city the night before today. The tavern known as "The Green fire" had ironically burned down this morning. The fire was gone and the owners whereabouts were unknown as for now.
Daniels eyes flashed for a second when he read that an actual white shadow had taken her or his time to come to Newhaven. Would it be too much to hope that they had begun with home-visits in these hard times? Nevertheless, Daniel made a note for himself to seek this healer out later on today before continuing his daily patrol.
Outside the walls there were citizens with relatives from Blackpond who demonstrated against this useless war and demanded democracy instead of the Anarchy this so called "Wolf Pack" had brought upon them when killing their king and that the White knights so obviously supported. Inside the city, especially outside the castle, there were bands of people calling themselves "patriots" who went on day and night and screamed for vengeance.
"Bring out our armies! Crush Blackpond! Annihilate the Wolf Pack! The means always justifies the ends! Newhaven forever! Long live the King!" They cried together as the people around them tried to ignore anything they said. It wasn't worth it. The best thing was to keep on surviving and hopefully this war would end soon enough. No need to fuel any hatred between the two cities. It's enough as it is. Yet was there really any hatred left between them? Newhaven attacks, Blackpond retaliates and the cycle goes on and on. There would be no end to it unless someone would step in and shout "Enough!" once and for all. However, one thing was sure though; Daniel Zimmerman would not be that 'someone'. It was not that he didn't want the war to end, it was just that he couldn't picture himself doing something so important. Better leave the heroic stuff to the young ones while they still had a shot at it.
Daniel was a White Knight and had been one 25 years out of his 50 years alive. Most called him, out of respect mind you, 'The old dog' or 'the veteran', but he knew what he was doing when patrolling the streets of Newhaven a morning like this. As he passed the group of so called 'Patriots', he simple shock his head at them and moved on. They had filed all the paper work and had the authority to speak their minds, as long as there was no violence included. Walking quietly down the street, Daniel was buried deep in his own thoughts. He pondered on how the war was going, what the Wolf packs next step would be, when Blackpond would attack the next time and when they would make a counter attack against their long-time nemesis city. So much death, so many lives wasted in a war that meant nothing anymore. Who cared who ruled the land of Valcrest? Why couldn't they share it in peace? Why not waste resources on rebuilding both the cities and then the other cities that fell apart in the beginning of this prolonged war? Was it so hard for them to forgive and forget? It was in times like these that Daniel regretted his decision of stepping down from being the Captain of the White Knights. He could have made a peace treaty with Blackpond here and now and then found a suitable ruler of the throne. Who knows what he would have done with the Wolf pack...
Daniel rounded a corner and found himself in the poor area of Newhaven. The streets were dirty, the people were sick and constantly hungry and much talents were wasted down here. So many of these men and women could have become great soldiers in the service of Newhaven, many of them could have helped to rebuilt the city and with their help they could have expanded their corps outside the city and be gone with this starvation once and for all. Passing by a hungry beggar, Daniel dropped ten silver coins into his hands and then moved on. Hopefully the beggar would waste them on a well deserved hot meal and maybe he could sleep with a full stomach tonight. Daniel smiled for himself as he moved out from the poor area of Newhaven.
Suddenly a man in dark brown cloths and a hood over his face walked passed the White Knight and an exchange were made. Daniel was now holding a small parchment that told him of the recent events in Newhaven and what was going on in the city. The smiths wife had given birth to her second child today and Guard Captain Evans daughter had shown signs of Enlightenment during her morning class. Two traders, a White shadow, her female companion and a mercenary had entered the city the night before today. The tavern known as "The Green fire" had ironically burned down this morning. The fire was gone and the owners whereabouts were unknown as for now.
Daniels eyes flashed for a second when he read that an actual white shadow had taken her or his time to come to Newhaven. Would it be too much to hope that they had begun with home-visits in these hard times? Nevertheless, Daniel made a note for himself to seek this healer out later on today before continuing his daily patrol.
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena simply nodded with a smile, catching the woman's reaction. She didn't say another word on the matter and simply nodded as the captain indicated where the prisoner was being held. Lena didn't know exactly how speaking to this man would help her, but mostly she wanted to see if he actually had it in him to attempt such a thing or if he was simply making empty threats. She didn't know which would personally bother her more, but if he was incapable of causing the clan any harm, he was not her concern. She followed Mageria to the tent and, before entering, she turned to Blanditia. "Take this time to rest and regain your strength, you have been traveling longer than I have." She stated, remembering the girl was arriving at the ruins as she was leaving. "Once this conversation is over, we will offer our assistance to the wounded soldiers, and leave." She warned. She wasn't sure where they would be heading to, if going to Blackpond would still be safe or not, but either way... She had to keep moving.
As she entered the tent her eyes landed on the man, her expression slightly more cold than it had been when speaking to the others. Her tone was just as calm, however nothing close to pleasant. It was ice cold, and to anyone who was perceptive enough, slightly dangerous. "Commander Hastings." She stated, fully aware that no one had mentioned the man's name to her. She assumed the man would notice she was a White Shadow, she wasn't sure if he would recognize her as the clan leader though. For the moment, she would say nothing to confirm or deny that. "I have been told you have hopes of forcing the White Shadows into submission. That is an impressive idea. So, tell me... In what universe do you see that happening?" She asked the man. If he refused to speak she would simply use her enlightenment on him, even if she considered it unpleasant. However, this seemed like the kind of person who enjoyed speaking even if it was to lie.
----------------
[Newhaven]
Ali tossed and turned for a few hours before giving up the idea of sleep. Her dreams had gotten worse, being in Newhaven didn't really help her at all. She sighed, hiding her face in her hands, breathing in and out as deeply as she possibly could to try and calm herself. She was shivering slightly and, in the back of her mind, she could still hear her little sister screaming, her voice was distant... Out of reach. "Go away. Go away." She whispered, trying to silence the screams, unaware of the tears that now rolled down her face.
"The memories will never fade. That you cannot change." Lena had told her. Visiting the ruins had helped the young assassin ease her desire for revenge, however... Peace of mind was a distant goal to Allison. Her past was haunting, she didn't know which memory was worse: The memory of what she had, or the memory of how it was lost. The dreams now alternating between the night of the fire and the childish bliss of running through the plains with her brother and sister. The pain was too much to bear. "Just breathe." She told herself, her voice less than a whisper. "Just breathe." Ali sat there, curled into a ball, trying to breathe, for a very long time. When she finally lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, it was close to sunrise. Her eyes glanced at Ella, the girl was sound asleep. Ali couldn't help but feel a little jealous. The girl never knew the family she lost... Except maybe the King.
Ali laid back down, deciding to let the girl sleep a little while longer. She probably wouldn't get the chance whenever Evin found out about this. She closed her eyes, wondering how the other were doing. Wondering what ever happened to the real King, how is it that Perry took the man's identity so easily, why was the second heir missing... So many questions. Some of them would never see the light of an answer. Speaking of it, it was morning... Time to get moving. Ali had her digging to do, but there was a place she wanted to visit before that.
She sat up sighing, pulled her travel bag from under the bed and got a couple of apples from it, taking a bite out of one and tossing the other at Ella, hitting her very accurately on the head. "Three minutes to wake up, eat and get on your feet. There's a place I need to visit before I get my assignment taken care of." She stated, a small smile crossing her features.
[Wolfpack Camp]
Crys heard Thomas' last words while walking, she nodded slightly disappointed at the man's response. "Don't pin this on me Sir Knight." She muttered, a slightly bitter tone in her voice. Her anger not really directed at the man, but at the actual guilty party here. The Shadow... That man got off easy, death was bliss compared to what Crys was currently trapped into. Not only her, but the Knights as well, Lena... The war was consuming them all, and it wouldn't stop until someone one person said 'enough', and another one listened. Crys had said it, she didn't think the man was listening though.
She had even considered turning herself in as being responsible for that bastard's death, however... Her mother was the leader then, and she would never allow such a thing, or recover from it if Crys was to do it behind her back. Now she was the leader. In spite of trusting Evin a lot more than she would bring herself to admit, she wouldn't put the clan on his back. She didn't think he could handle it. Plus... She knew what her mother had made him promise, even though she wouldn't mention it for the sake of both their sanities. It was a bit too much to ask, in her opinion.
When Crys broke out of her thoughts she was already in camp, amongst the gravestones at the memorial. She nodded, finding herself before Lionel's grave. "You damn idiot." She muttered. "How could you have taken it this far? Why would you think this was necessary?" She sighed. "I didn't want to do this. Why would you make me do this?"
"Have you noticed that you spend much more time with the dead than you do with the living?" Annie's voice sounded in her ears, slightly amused.
"Does everyone in your family feel the need to stalk me?" Crys asked.
The girl giggled in response. "I was already here. You were too distracted to notice me, that's dangerous you know." She said, innocently. "Also... I have family here too."
"Your grandmother?" Crys asked, with an interested look on her face. "Why?"
"Why not?" Annie said simply. "My mother will not speak of her, but it doesn't make her any less my family. The same as your aunt." Annie stated.
"Right..." She sighed. "You know what... I like it here because it's quiet. Plus, the dead can't feel."
"Hum... " Annie mumbled, sitting down on the ground. "That's true. So there's no interference."
"Correct." Crys stated, sitting next to her.
"You have been working to develop your abilities, then." She smiled. "My mother underestimated your level of interest."
Crys chuckled slightly. "Don't be fooled by this Annie, I remain uninterested. I'm simply not dumb."
Lena simply nodded with a smile, catching the woman's reaction. She didn't say another word on the matter and simply nodded as the captain indicated where the prisoner was being held. Lena didn't know exactly how speaking to this man would help her, but mostly she wanted to see if he actually had it in him to attempt such a thing or if he was simply making empty threats. She didn't know which would personally bother her more, but if he was incapable of causing the clan any harm, he was not her concern. She followed Mageria to the tent and, before entering, she turned to Blanditia. "Take this time to rest and regain your strength, you have been traveling longer than I have." She stated, remembering the girl was arriving at the ruins as she was leaving. "Once this conversation is over, we will offer our assistance to the wounded soldiers, and leave." She warned. She wasn't sure where they would be heading to, if going to Blackpond would still be safe or not, but either way... She had to keep moving.
As she entered the tent her eyes landed on the man, her expression slightly more cold than it had been when speaking to the others. Her tone was just as calm, however nothing close to pleasant. It was ice cold, and to anyone who was perceptive enough, slightly dangerous. "Commander Hastings." She stated, fully aware that no one had mentioned the man's name to her. She assumed the man would notice she was a White Shadow, she wasn't sure if he would recognize her as the clan leader though. For the moment, she would say nothing to confirm or deny that. "I have been told you have hopes of forcing the White Shadows into submission. That is an impressive idea. So, tell me... In what universe do you see that happening?" She asked the man. If he refused to speak she would simply use her enlightenment on him, even if she considered it unpleasant. However, this seemed like the kind of person who enjoyed speaking even if it was to lie.
----------------
[Newhaven]
Ali tossed and turned for a few hours before giving up the idea of sleep. Her dreams had gotten worse, being in Newhaven didn't really help her at all. She sighed, hiding her face in her hands, breathing in and out as deeply as she possibly could to try and calm herself. She was shivering slightly and, in the back of her mind, she could still hear her little sister screaming, her voice was distant... Out of reach. "Go away. Go away." She whispered, trying to silence the screams, unaware of the tears that now rolled down her face.
"The memories will never fade. That you cannot change." Lena had told her. Visiting the ruins had helped the young assassin ease her desire for revenge, however... Peace of mind was a distant goal to Allison. Her past was haunting, she didn't know which memory was worse: The memory of what she had, or the memory of how it was lost. The dreams now alternating between the night of the fire and the childish bliss of running through the plains with her brother and sister. The pain was too much to bear. "Just breathe." She told herself, her voice less than a whisper. "Just breathe." Ali sat there, curled into a ball, trying to breathe, for a very long time. When she finally lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, it was close to sunrise. Her eyes glanced at Ella, the girl was sound asleep. Ali couldn't help but feel a little jealous. The girl never knew the family she lost... Except maybe the King.
Ali laid back down, deciding to let the girl sleep a little while longer. She probably wouldn't get the chance whenever Evin found out about this. She closed her eyes, wondering how the other were doing. Wondering what ever happened to the real King, how is it that Perry took the man's identity so easily, why was the second heir missing... So many questions. Some of them would never see the light of an answer. Speaking of it, it was morning... Time to get moving. Ali had her digging to do, but there was a place she wanted to visit before that.
She sat up sighing, pulled her travel bag from under the bed and got a couple of apples from it, taking a bite out of one and tossing the other at Ella, hitting her very accurately on the head. "Three minutes to wake up, eat and get on your feet. There's a place I need to visit before I get my assignment taken care of." She stated, a small smile crossing her features.
[Wolfpack Camp]
Crys heard Thomas' last words while walking, she nodded slightly disappointed at the man's response. "Don't pin this on me Sir Knight." She muttered, a slightly bitter tone in her voice. Her anger not really directed at the man, but at the actual guilty party here. The Shadow... That man got off easy, death was bliss compared to what Crys was currently trapped into. Not only her, but the Knights as well, Lena... The war was consuming them all, and it wouldn't stop until someone one person said 'enough', and another one listened. Crys had said it, she didn't think the man was listening though.
She had even considered turning herself in as being responsible for that bastard's death, however... Her mother was the leader then, and she would never allow such a thing, or recover from it if Crys was to do it behind her back. Now she was the leader. In spite of trusting Evin a lot more than she would bring herself to admit, she wouldn't put the clan on his back. She didn't think he could handle it. Plus... She knew what her mother had made him promise, even though she wouldn't mention it for the sake of both their sanities. It was a bit too much to ask, in her opinion.
When Crys broke out of her thoughts she was already in camp, amongst the gravestones at the memorial. She nodded, finding herself before Lionel's grave. "You damn idiot." She muttered. "How could you have taken it this far? Why would you think this was necessary?" She sighed. "I didn't want to do this. Why would you make me do this?"
"Have you noticed that you spend much more time with the dead than you do with the living?" Annie's voice sounded in her ears, slightly amused.
"Does everyone in your family feel the need to stalk me?" Crys asked.
The girl giggled in response. "I was already here. You were too distracted to notice me, that's dangerous you know." She said, innocently. "Also... I have family here too."
"Your grandmother?" Crys asked, with an interested look on her face. "Why?"
"Why not?" Annie said simply. "My mother will not speak of her, but it doesn't make her any less my family. The same as your aunt." Annie stated.
"Right..." She sighed. "You know what... I like it here because it's quiet. Plus, the dead can't feel."
"Hum... " Annie mumbled, sitting down on the ground. "That's true. So there's no interference."
"Correct." Crys stated, sitting next to her.
"You have been working to develop your abilities, then." She smiled. "My mother underestimated your level of interest."
Crys chuckled slightly. "Don't be fooled by this Annie, I remain uninterested. I'm simply not dumb."
It had been two days since Phelix arrived in Newhaven and three things worried him. The smell of death on the wind, the fact that he couldn't find Krander anywhere, even on a tour of the castle, and that no one had contacted him since he threw his three messengers out.
He packed up his stuff and slowly walked out of the hut. He turned one more time to look back. The flowers he had picked were now dead, and the candles that had burned all the way down to the end of the wick. He sighed and shut the door behind him.
He left the city limits and as he headed back to Blackpond he was spotted.
"Hey, you, what are you doing out here? Don't you know there is war?" one of the guards shouted.
Phelix took off immediately without a response.
"Come back here!" the other yelled. "he is running the path that leads towards our encampment, go tell Mageria that he is coming so she can figure this out. I will continue chasing him until we get there."
Both took off, one on horse to inform Mageria, the other on foot to keep Phelix running.
Phelix just stayed to the trail. He knew it somewhat well and he knew that he was far enough ahead of the guard to find a spot to hide when so needed. About five minutes later he found himself jogging with the guards no where in site, but smoke billowing up. He continued jogging that way until he saw something horrible: Newhaven symbols, and by the time he stopped to turn around he had been surrounded...
He packed up his stuff and slowly walked out of the hut. He turned one more time to look back. The flowers he had picked were now dead, and the candles that had burned all the way down to the end of the wick. He sighed and shut the door behind him.
He left the city limits and as he headed back to Blackpond he was spotted.
"Hey, you, what are you doing out here? Don't you know there is war?" one of the guards shouted.
Phelix took off immediately without a response.
"Come back here!" the other yelled. "he is running the path that leads towards our encampment, go tell Mageria that he is coming so she can figure this out. I will continue chasing him until we get there."
Both took off, one on horse to inform Mageria, the other on foot to keep Phelix running.
Phelix just stayed to the trail. He knew it somewhat well and he knew that he was far enough ahead of the guard to find a spot to hide when so needed. About five minutes later he found himself jogging with the guards no where in site, but smoke billowing up. He continued jogging that way until he saw something horrible: Newhaven symbols, and by the time he stopped to turn around he had been surrounded...
(Newhaven Camp)
Mageria had been waiting for things to get started with Hastings when she heard a commotion outside the tent. Several voices were arguing, one of them a slightly raised whisper; something about a spy and needing her.
She gritted her teeth and swung the tent flap open. It was one of her sentries; one of her more level headed and trusted ones. With a finger snap she summoned on of the outside guards to back up Helena. Not that she thought that the White Shadow really needed it, but still. Next she grabbed her sentry and pulled him away from the prisoner's tent in the hope that Hastings didn’t hear anything else.
“Report soldier.”
He saluted and spoke quickly. “Captian, we found a spy on one of the trails leading toward the camp.. Average build, tall, brown hair. Wearing city men’s cloths. When we spotted him he started taking off running, right this way. When I last left, they had him surrounded and were going to wait for your orders.”
Mageria was about to tell him that she didn’t want to be bothered and that they could take care of it themselves when the description of the spy caught her attention. There was no way . . . her luck could not possibly be that bad. Although it really could be if it was who she thought it was. Resisting the urge to swear, she thought for a moment. This would take some very careful maneuvering to get everyone out of this alive. She pulled the reins from the sentries hand and mounted the horse herself. Wheeling around, she pointed at the tent.
“Guard those Healers with your life. I’ll be right back.” Quickly she rode off to where the ‘spy’ was being held. Actually, if he really had been a spy, she really needed to talk to her sentries, because he had managed to get far to close to camp on his own. She had gotten close enough to recognize Phelix for sure when she finally figured out what she was going to do. Drawing her most fearsome scowl across her face, she rode directly up to him and belted him smartly across the ear.
“You bloody idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?” She straightened up and glared at the rest of the sentries. “And you lot! He should never have gotten this close to camp. All of you are to go back to your posts immediately, and if any other messengers get past you without identifying themselves you are on PERMANENT latrine duty for the rest of your carriers.” She looked back at Phelix as her men started clearing off. She might look pissed, but her eyes had shifted to the deep blue that only happened when she was happy. However she continued to rail at him, making sure that her voice carried.
“I don’t care how much money you lot think you can make by trying a slipping past my soldiers, this is a time of war and such bone headed stupid maneuvers are going to get people killed. This is something I will not tolerate and it will stop IMMEDIATELY, is that understood?” Luckily there really was such a bet between some of the messengers and the sentries, she had heard the rumors last week and had been about to do something about it when everything happened.
“Now MARCH!” She pointed back toward the camp, continuing to yell at Phelix. Her temper was legendary among the soldiers and she had to make it look good.
“Once you get done explaining things to me, and it had better be good; you get to explain yourself to Captain Krander as well. And he is not going to be happy with you at all. You are going to have to kiss a lot of ass to dig yourself out of this well, if it’s even possible.” After a few minutes of her riding and yelling and Phelix walking along quickly and quietly, they reached her tent.
Mageria swung off her horse, grunting with pain and staggering when her bad leg hit the ground. Still glaring at Phelix, she pushed him into her tent, ordering him to wait there to report to her in a minute. She handed the reings of her horse off to one of the nearby soldiers, telling him that she didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone less than Captain Krander himself while she was debriefing the messenger. He saluted and snapped to attention. After one last look around, Mageria squared her shoulders and walked back into her tent. She laced it closed before turning around and throwing her arms around Phelix and holding him tight.
“Dear God Phelix. Thank God you’re alright.” She couldn’t stop her voice from trembling just a bit, and she might have been shaking. After a moment she pulled back and shook him.
“What were you thinking, walking into an army fresh off the battlefield?”
Mageria had been waiting for things to get started with Hastings when she heard a commotion outside the tent. Several voices were arguing, one of them a slightly raised whisper; something about a spy and needing her.
She gritted her teeth and swung the tent flap open. It was one of her sentries; one of her more level headed and trusted ones. With a finger snap she summoned on of the outside guards to back up Helena. Not that she thought that the White Shadow really needed it, but still. Next she grabbed her sentry and pulled him away from the prisoner's tent in the hope that Hastings didn’t hear anything else.
“Report soldier.”
He saluted and spoke quickly. “Captian, we found a spy on one of the trails leading toward the camp.. Average build, tall, brown hair. Wearing city men’s cloths. When we spotted him he started taking off running, right this way. When I last left, they had him surrounded and were going to wait for your orders.”
Mageria was about to tell him that she didn’t want to be bothered and that they could take care of it themselves when the description of the spy caught her attention. There was no way . . . her luck could not possibly be that bad. Although it really could be if it was who she thought it was. Resisting the urge to swear, she thought for a moment. This would take some very careful maneuvering to get everyone out of this alive. She pulled the reins from the sentries hand and mounted the horse herself. Wheeling around, she pointed at the tent.
“Guard those Healers with your life. I’ll be right back.” Quickly she rode off to where the ‘spy’ was being held. Actually, if he really had been a spy, she really needed to talk to her sentries, because he had managed to get far to close to camp on his own. She had gotten close enough to recognize Phelix for sure when she finally figured out what she was going to do. Drawing her most fearsome scowl across her face, she rode directly up to him and belted him smartly across the ear.
“You bloody idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?” She straightened up and glared at the rest of the sentries. “And you lot! He should never have gotten this close to camp. All of you are to go back to your posts immediately, and if any other messengers get past you without identifying themselves you are on PERMANENT latrine duty for the rest of your carriers.” She looked back at Phelix as her men started clearing off. She might look pissed, but her eyes had shifted to the deep blue that only happened when she was happy. However she continued to rail at him, making sure that her voice carried.
“I don’t care how much money you lot think you can make by trying a slipping past my soldiers, this is a time of war and such bone headed stupid maneuvers are going to get people killed. This is something I will not tolerate and it will stop IMMEDIATELY, is that understood?” Luckily there really was such a bet between some of the messengers and the sentries, she had heard the rumors last week and had been about to do something about it when everything happened.
“Now MARCH!” She pointed back toward the camp, continuing to yell at Phelix. Her temper was legendary among the soldiers and she had to make it look good.
“Once you get done explaining things to me, and it had better be good; you get to explain yourself to Captain Krander as well. And he is not going to be happy with you at all. You are going to have to kiss a lot of ass to dig yourself out of this well, if it’s even possible.” After a few minutes of her riding and yelling and Phelix walking along quickly and quietly, they reached her tent.
Mageria swung off her horse, grunting with pain and staggering when her bad leg hit the ground. Still glaring at Phelix, she pushed him into her tent, ordering him to wait there to report to her in a minute. She handed the reings of her horse off to one of the nearby soldiers, telling him that she didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone less than Captain Krander himself while she was debriefing the messenger. He saluted and snapped to attention. After one last look around, Mageria squared her shoulders and walked back into her tent. She laced it closed before turning around and throwing her arms around Phelix and holding him tight.
“Dear God Phelix. Thank God you’re alright.” She couldn’t stop her voice from trembling just a bit, and she might have been shaking. After a moment she pulled back and shook him.
“What were you thinking, walking into an army fresh off the battlefield?”
(Newhaven camp)
Phelix saw someone riding a horse and she looked furious. He knew what that meant, 2nd to Krander, and 3rd or 4th to the King, Mageria had arrived. He waved his fingers ever so slightly. He figured this would require all the luck he could muster.
After being abused physically and mentally, and watching the guards dissappear back to their positions he followed Mageria. He listened while she yelled and walked quickly and quietly beside her horse.
After being shoved into the tent Phelix made himself at home, momentarily. She walked in like she wanted to tackle him, laced up the tent and threw her arms around him.
Dear God Phelix. Thank God you’re alright.” She couldn’t stop her voice from trembling just a bit, and she might have been shaking. After a moment she pulled back and shook him.
“What were you thinking, walking into an army fresh off the battlefield?”
"Mageria, I swear I had no idea. And for some reason, when the guards saw me, I ran. I believe a backfire of grief and fear took over and I was struck with bad luck in deciding to run." He shook her and said, "What in Gods name are you doing riding a horse and showing off a weakness. Get a healer on that before someone pulls one over on you!" He sat down tired after his run and yawned.
Phelix saw someone riding a horse and she looked furious. He knew what that meant, 2nd to Krander, and 3rd or 4th to the King, Mageria had arrived. He waved his fingers ever so slightly. He figured this would require all the luck he could muster.
After being abused physically and mentally, and watching the guards dissappear back to their positions he followed Mageria. He listened while she yelled and walked quickly and quietly beside her horse.
After being shoved into the tent Phelix made himself at home, momentarily. She walked in like she wanted to tackle him, laced up the tent and threw her arms around him.
Dear God Phelix. Thank God you’re alright.” She couldn’t stop her voice from trembling just a bit, and she might have been shaking. After a moment she pulled back and shook him.
“What were you thinking, walking into an army fresh off the battlefield?”
"Mageria, I swear I had no idea. And for some reason, when the guards saw me, I ran. I believe a backfire of grief and fear took over and I was struck with bad luck in deciding to run." He shook her and said, "What in Gods name are you doing riding a horse and showing off a weakness. Get a healer on that before someone pulls one over on you!" He sat down tired after his run and yawned.
(Newhaven Encampment)
Mageria waved her fingers dismissively and sat down on the bed next to Phelix.
“Slice to the leg right above my knee. I’ve taken care of it and anyway the healers are busy.” She sighed heavily. “I won’t lie to you Phelix. It was a bad fight. Heavy losses on both sides.” She caught the look he threw her and shook her head reassuringly. “Krander’s fine. Well, except I think if he doesn’t get laid soon he’s gonna break something. Most of the officer’s are ok too. But the regular soldiers . . .” she sighed again, wearily rubbing her forehead.
“I’ll go get Krander for you. It should be safe for you to stay here for a while and you can probably make it back to Blackpond later tonight; I should be able to slip you past the sentries then.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on her hands. Just this once, with this person, she didn’t have to pretend she wasn’t tired. She had lost a lost of good people, come too close to loosing more, and then had to ride to the rescue. Anyone would have found it tiring, so it was understandable that she was exhausted.
“Just give me a moment.”
Mageria waved her fingers dismissively and sat down on the bed next to Phelix.
“Slice to the leg right above my knee. I’ve taken care of it and anyway the healers are busy.” She sighed heavily. “I won’t lie to you Phelix. It was a bad fight. Heavy losses on both sides.” She caught the look he threw her and shook her head reassuringly. “Krander’s fine. Well, except I think if he doesn’t get laid soon he’s gonna break something. Most of the officer’s are ok too. But the regular soldiers . . .” she sighed again, wearily rubbing her forehead.
“I’ll go get Krander for you. It should be safe for you to stay here for a while and you can probably make it back to Blackpond later tonight; I should be able to slip you past the sentries then.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on her hands. Just this once, with this person, she didn’t have to pretend she wasn’t tired. She had lost a lost of good people, come too close to loosing more, and then had to ride to the rescue. Anyone would have found it tiring, so it was understandable that she was exhausted.
“Just give me a moment.”
Blanditia ignored Lena's suggestion to give her name, she didn't feel safe in the odd encampment. She had sat down in the tent that Lena left her in and pulled at the earth so she would have the power close at hand when needed. When the argument had started she had all ready been wondering how hard it would be to *escape* the tent to explore. She had an odd need to see more of the place that she was now at, Blanditia looked around the tent when the leader of the camp left. She was bored and tired but her unease about this camp made it hard for her to even try to sleep.
With a tired sigh she pulled out a small journal from her pack and a equal to write with, her fingers twisted the pen gracefully as she wrote about her day; starting about visiting the Wolfpacks deceased leader to leaving the healers camp with Lena. When she finished writing about her day she went to the tents opening and peaked out to observe what was going on around her.
With a tired sigh she pulled out a small journal from her pack and a equal to write with, her fingers twisted the pen gracefully as she wrote about her day; starting about visiting the Wolfpacks deceased leader to leaving the healers camp with Lena. When she finished writing about her day she went to the tents opening and peaked out to observe what was going on around her.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
(Headed South)
Thomas pulled up near a stream. His horse, whose name he didn’t know but whom he had decided to rename New Boots and Steaks, pushed past him for a drink, snorting in his eagerness. Thomas pulled Boots away after just a few swallows, doing his best to make sure that the stupid stubborn inconsiderate brain dead beast didn’t founder. He poured a measure of grain out into a feed bag and hung it over Boots’ ears before walking stiffly over to a boulder and sitting on something that was blessedly stable.
“You know, I don’t think that I’m alone here.” Boots looked over and snorted, as if the answer to that was obvious. Thomas glared back and pulled out his dagger to check it’s edge.
“Not you, you stack of steaks on it’s way to the butcher. I mean I do believe that there’s someone out in the forest following me. I don’t think that they’re unfriendly, whoever they are, but I’m almost certain that someone’s there.” Another snort.
“No, I’m not being self-centered. That Rivers, she wanted to talk with me. Wanted me to pass along a message to the higher ups, which would be; what? That we need to change what’s happening? That she wants the fight to end? That doesn’t make any sense now, does it?” Boot’s switched his tail and pulled on the lead rein that Thomas had looped around a branch. Thomas shifted and settled back, frowning at the stream as it passed by, ignoring his surly companion and continuing to talk to himself.
“Now, as it happens, that makes absolutely no sense. The Pack started this, back when they killed our King. Of course, then we attacked and killed off their leader, Dani. Could be that the daughter didn’t agree with what her mother was doing, and hopes that the change in leadership means that she can change policy.” A loud equine sneeze was all that answered him.
“Mmmm. You’re right Boots. The Pack is more tightly woven than that. So, probably not due to a change in leadership. Maybe it wasn’t authorized at all? But then why haven’t they given up the idiots who brought down the wrath of half of the land on their heads? Unless,” Thomas slapped the flat of his dagger against his leg and sat up. “Unless it was Crys herself that went against orders, killed the King for some insane reason and brought all this on. She wouldn’t turn herself in, and that might explain why the Pack is so fractured right now to all reports.” He slipped his dagger back in its sheath and started to get ready to start back on the trail, refilling his canteen and taking one last drink. He let New Boots and Steaks have one last drink, then headed back out with a sigh. As he headed down the trail he had to wonder what his unknown watcher thought of all of that. He really did want to know the answer to those questions.
Thomas pulled up near a stream. His horse, whose name he didn’t know but whom he had decided to rename New Boots and Steaks, pushed past him for a drink, snorting in his eagerness. Thomas pulled Boots away after just a few swallows, doing his best to make sure that the stupid stubborn inconsiderate brain dead beast didn’t founder. He poured a measure of grain out into a feed bag and hung it over Boots’ ears before walking stiffly over to a boulder and sitting on something that was blessedly stable.
“You know, I don’t think that I’m alone here.” Boots looked over and snorted, as if the answer to that was obvious. Thomas glared back and pulled out his dagger to check it’s edge.
“Not you, you stack of steaks on it’s way to the butcher. I mean I do believe that there’s someone out in the forest following me. I don’t think that they’re unfriendly, whoever they are, but I’m almost certain that someone’s there.” Another snort.
“No, I’m not being self-centered. That Rivers, she wanted to talk with me. Wanted me to pass along a message to the higher ups, which would be; what? That we need to change what’s happening? That she wants the fight to end? That doesn’t make any sense now, does it?” Boot’s switched his tail and pulled on the lead rein that Thomas had looped around a branch. Thomas shifted and settled back, frowning at the stream as it passed by, ignoring his surly companion and continuing to talk to himself.
“Now, as it happens, that makes absolutely no sense. The Pack started this, back when they killed our King. Of course, then we attacked and killed off their leader, Dani. Could be that the daughter didn’t agree with what her mother was doing, and hopes that the change in leadership means that she can change policy.” A loud equine sneeze was all that answered him.
“Mmmm. You’re right Boots. The Pack is more tightly woven than that. So, probably not due to a change in leadership. Maybe it wasn’t authorized at all? But then why haven’t they given up the idiots who brought down the wrath of half of the land on their heads? Unless,” Thomas slapped the flat of his dagger against his leg and sat up. “Unless it was Crys herself that went against orders, killed the King for some insane reason and brought all this on. She wouldn’t turn herself in, and that might explain why the Pack is so fractured right now to all reports.” He slipped his dagger back in its sheath and started to get ready to start back on the trail, refilling his canteen and taking one last drink. He let New Boots and Steaks have one last drink, then headed back out with a sigh. As he headed down the trail he had to wonder what his unknown watcher thought of all of that. He really did want to know the answer to those questions.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
[headed south]
Jake leaned against anearby tree, arms crossed in front of his chest, a grin spread across his features, nodding at the Knight's chat with his horse. Jake had considered telling someone in Newhaven the truth, he was sure he couldn't try that without proof, any proof. Mostly, he was thinking of how close the man had come to the truth, and how far he was from the facts at the same time.
Surely, Crys was there. She was responsible for what had happened too, and technically it wasn't an authorized hit. I was a necessity. Even if they had realized what the consequences would be, it wouldn't matter. In that moment it was do or die. However, they didn't kill the King. Technically they didn't even kill Perry... Evin tripped him and he fell into a weapon. That was not even an assassination. That was a pathetic death. Very well deserved, but still... How could anyone assume it was planned?
He stretched and stifled a long sigh as he pulled away from the tree trunk and got ready to follow Thomas back through the trail. Which wasn't easy in the slightest while trying to be silent and being on foot.
“Unless it was Crys herself that went against orders, killed the King for some insane reason and brought all this on. She wouldn’t turn herself in, and that might explain why the Pack is so fractured right now to all reports.”
Jake frowned severely at those words. That was way off. If Crys thought that turning herself in would protect the Pack, she would do it. Truth is, if they were guilty of the charges, Dani would have beaten them all to death herself. She wouldn't have protected them, not even Crys, if they had actually killed the city ruler. "Bullshit!" Jake thought to himself, frustrated that after all this time he still hadn't found a way to prove that Perry was not the King. How was it possible that no one knew the King was a different man? Jake nodded again, looking up at the sky and hoping that it didn't start raining. That would ruin everything.
--------------
Newhaven
Ali waited for Ella to wake up properly so they could leave the room. Ali wanted to go to the archives, however... She had to visit a place before doing that. So she led them out of the castle and into the city, politely nodding at soldiers as she passed, smiling the best she could. Inside her blue eyes, a hint of sadness crossed as she walked through the people and realized the conditions Newhaven was in. She could barely recognize the city from the last time she had been there. The once clean and peaceful streets of the city were filled with people begging for donations or shouting curses towards the war, Blackpond, and the Wolfpack. If only they knew what would have happened if the Pack hadn't intervened. The girl took another deep breath, as her feet led her through the very familiar path, to a torn apart building boarded shut.
Ali stopped before the door and felt shivers run down her spine at the memory of the fire that had consumed the Inn. At the same time, she smiled widely at the memory of that night. She and Evin had met Theron there, if only the man hadn't stop there to drink... What would have happened? They wouldn't have gone looking for Evin's acquaintance, wouldn't have spotted the killer, the Inn wouldn't have been burned down. Funny how one thing leads to another.
And now... There they were. Theron had left, the Pack was struggling to survive, Newhaven was shaken... It had all started right here. At least for her.
Jake leaned against anearby tree, arms crossed in front of his chest, a grin spread across his features, nodding at the Knight's chat with his horse. Jake had considered telling someone in Newhaven the truth, he was sure he couldn't try that without proof, any proof. Mostly, he was thinking of how close the man had come to the truth, and how far he was from the facts at the same time.
Surely, Crys was there. She was responsible for what had happened too, and technically it wasn't an authorized hit. I was a necessity. Even if they had realized what the consequences would be, it wouldn't matter. In that moment it was do or die. However, they didn't kill the King. Technically they didn't even kill Perry... Evin tripped him and he fell into a weapon. That was not even an assassination. That was a pathetic death. Very well deserved, but still... How could anyone assume it was planned?
He stretched and stifled a long sigh as he pulled away from the tree trunk and got ready to follow Thomas back through the trail. Which wasn't easy in the slightest while trying to be silent and being on foot.
“Unless it was Crys herself that went against orders, killed the King for some insane reason and brought all this on. She wouldn’t turn herself in, and that might explain why the Pack is so fractured right now to all reports.”
Jake frowned severely at those words. That was way off. If Crys thought that turning herself in would protect the Pack, she would do it. Truth is, if they were guilty of the charges, Dani would have beaten them all to death herself. She wouldn't have protected them, not even Crys, if they had actually killed the city ruler. "Bullshit!" Jake thought to himself, frustrated that after all this time he still hadn't found a way to prove that Perry was not the King. How was it possible that no one knew the King was a different man? Jake nodded again, looking up at the sky and hoping that it didn't start raining. That would ruin everything.
--------------
Newhaven
Ali waited for Ella to wake up properly so they could leave the room. Ali wanted to go to the archives, however... She had to visit a place before doing that. So she led them out of the castle and into the city, politely nodding at soldiers as she passed, smiling the best she could. Inside her blue eyes, a hint of sadness crossed as she walked through the people and realized the conditions Newhaven was in. She could barely recognize the city from the last time she had been there. The once clean and peaceful streets of the city were filled with people begging for donations or shouting curses towards the war, Blackpond, and the Wolfpack. If only they knew what would have happened if the Pack hadn't intervened. The girl took another deep breath, as her feet led her through the very familiar path, to a torn apart building boarded shut.
Ali stopped before the door and felt shivers run down her spine at the memory of the fire that had consumed the Inn. At the same time, she smiled widely at the memory of that night. She and Evin had met Theron there, if only the man hadn't stop there to drink... What would have happened? They wouldn't have gone looking for Evin's acquaintance, wouldn't have spotted the killer, the Inn wouldn't have been burned down. Funny how one thing leads to another.
And now... There they were. Theron had left, the Pack was struggling to survive, Newhaven was shaken... It had all started right here. At least for her.
Evin woke up the next morning. He didn't get the greatest sleep despite sleeping in the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in in his life. The only thing he could do while he was in that bed all night was think of the things that had happened the last two times he visited it. If Dani hadn't have allowed him to go questing like he did, none of this would have happened. Maybe Perry would have died anyways from a coup. He was sure that the citizens of Newhaven wouldn't allow Perry to go on forever ruling the city. Someone would have eventually found out and it would be over. The city probably would have been under a new ruler by today too. This intense thought process continued even as he got out of bed.
It inspired him to go somewhere too. When he looked out the window, he saw a woman dressed in the robes of the White Shadow's leaving the castle with what appeared to be a young assistant. Maybe she would know where he could find Lena. In the mean time, he wanted to visit where all the problems today started.
He got dressed into civilian civilian clothing that he had with him. He looked like an average beggar man at least five years younger than usual. It really was a wonder what makeup could do for a face if done well. The fact was that most women couldn't put on makeup half as good as Evin could. With it, he could make himself look like almost anything he wanted. He even managed to make his face identical to an old farmer who he had assassinated once. He passed off for the man for three whole days until he found an excuse for why he could go missing. He had told the family that he was called into fight for the Blackpond army. In a weeks time, the family believed he was killed during battle. It was the perfect hit and a proud moment for Evin.
Evin made his way out into the courtyard and past the castle guard with ease. He recognised one of them as the man he had knocked out the night before. there was a large bruise on his head where he hit him. He didn't even recognize that the man who walked past him was the man who had knocked him out. The makeup was doing the trick. He continued walking down the streets and past all of the poverty and disease. Things had really changed.
He finally made it to his destination, the old inn. Standing there was the woman and her assistant that Evin saw earlier in the morning when he looked out the window. It seemed that he recognised the assistant though. Her long blond hair was the dead giveaway. There was no doubt who was standing before him. He didn't yell out any names, that would have been a major blunder. Instead he walked up to the two.
"What the hell are you doing here Ella." He whispered as he walked around to see her face. It wasn't Ella's face that caught his eye though, it was the one of the White Shadow's. "Better yet, why the hell did you bring Ella along with you Ali."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings barely had time to rest. Not long after the cook walked out did Helena walk in. She gave him a cold stare as she spoke to him. For some reason she gave the impression of being tough, like she had the upper hand on him. Violence was against what the White Shadow believe in and if the leader would do so much as harm someone, there would be consequences. He would make sure that he was heard if anything happened.
"In what universe do you see that happening?" She asked, pertaining to the fact that he wanted the White Shadow's to only tend to his troops.
"In a world where words hurt less the the sword." He replied. "You see, you try to do whats right by tending to everyone, but in reality you just cause the fighting to last longer. If you want the war to end quicker and with less innocent blood being spilt, you need to assist Blackpond for our just cause. It is the only way to properly end the war."
He then hear commotion coming from outside. He believed he heard someone say spy. The second the woman with the knee injury heard what Hastings had heard, she left to go settle things.
"The truth is, Newhaven just wants to have complete power. That is why they go after the Wolf Pack. That's why the go after us. Soon enough, it will be you. If you surrender your services to only us, we can protect you. What do you say Helena, head of the White Shadows?"
At that moment, a man walked into the tent to serve Hastings his drink. The man poured it into his mouth. It was great to finally taste the bitter beverage he craved for. As he enjoyed his drink he waited for a reply to his most pertinent question.
It inspired him to go somewhere too. When he looked out the window, he saw a woman dressed in the robes of the White Shadow's leaving the castle with what appeared to be a young assistant. Maybe she would know where he could find Lena. In the mean time, he wanted to visit where all the problems today started.
He got dressed into civilian civilian clothing that he had with him. He looked like an average beggar man at least five years younger than usual. It really was a wonder what makeup could do for a face if done well. The fact was that most women couldn't put on makeup half as good as Evin could. With it, he could make himself look like almost anything he wanted. He even managed to make his face identical to an old farmer who he had assassinated once. He passed off for the man for three whole days until he found an excuse for why he could go missing. He had told the family that he was called into fight for the Blackpond army. In a weeks time, the family believed he was killed during battle. It was the perfect hit and a proud moment for Evin.
Evin made his way out into the courtyard and past the castle guard with ease. He recognised one of them as the man he had knocked out the night before. there was a large bruise on his head where he hit him. He didn't even recognize that the man who walked past him was the man who had knocked him out. The makeup was doing the trick. He continued walking down the streets and past all of the poverty and disease. Things had really changed.
He finally made it to his destination, the old inn. Standing there was the woman and her assistant that Evin saw earlier in the morning when he looked out the window. It seemed that he recognised the assistant though. Her long blond hair was the dead giveaway. There was no doubt who was standing before him. He didn't yell out any names, that would have been a major blunder. Instead he walked up to the two.
"What the hell are you doing here Ella." He whispered as he walked around to see her face. It wasn't Ella's face that caught his eye though, it was the one of the White Shadow's. "Better yet, why the hell did you bring Ella along with you Ali."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings barely had time to rest. Not long after the cook walked out did Helena walk in. She gave him a cold stare as she spoke to him. For some reason she gave the impression of being tough, like she had the upper hand on him. Violence was against what the White Shadow believe in and if the leader would do so much as harm someone, there would be consequences. He would make sure that he was heard if anything happened.
"In what universe do you see that happening?" She asked, pertaining to the fact that he wanted the White Shadow's to only tend to his troops.
"In a world where words hurt less the the sword." He replied. "You see, you try to do whats right by tending to everyone, but in reality you just cause the fighting to last longer. If you want the war to end quicker and with less innocent blood being spilt, you need to assist Blackpond for our just cause. It is the only way to properly end the war."
He then hear commotion coming from outside. He believed he heard someone say spy. The second the woman with the knee injury heard what Hastings had heard, she left to go settle things.
"The truth is, Newhaven just wants to have complete power. That is why they go after the Wolf Pack. That's why the go after us. Soon enough, it will be you. If you surrender your services to only us, we can protect you. What do you say Helena, head of the White Shadows?"
At that moment, a man walked into the tent to serve Hastings his drink. The man poured it into his mouth. It was great to finally taste the bitter beverage he craved for. As he enjoyed his drink he waited for a reply to his most pertinent question.
The long lonely walks were a trying time for a man like Grim. The silence often awakened discomforted thoughts or feelings, causing ones mind to spin in circles as there was no solutions. At times it grew harsh and nearly insensible with its brash reactions. Of course it also brought a sense of serenity and peace for the weary of mind. Allowing him to reflect and correct previous endeavors with a clear fixation and without the restrictions of work or threat. It also served as a way to kill time and help sharpen Grim’s stability. It gave him the tools he needed to sort out the chaos of living and decide for himself what the next move would be. Of course he was worried about Mageria.
She didn’t know it but against her warnings he was about to do something stupid. Alone and with none to back him up. He decided that this was for the best, not wishing to risk the lives of anyone else. Besides his Captain was busy and with the healers now in the encampment she would be plenty distracted. It helped that they couldn’t afford anymore spies. The Black Knight was confident that Mageria would be blind to his actions so long as he played it smart.
His feet took the path back to Newhaven without question. He left his horse knowing well that his beast of burden could go to better use then to rush him off toward a possible death. Once he had come a ways from the encampment and he was confident Newhaven watch could no longer follow, he veered off in a new direction. The new destination was toward central Valcrest, more specifically the center of the forest. To be among his most bitter enemies the Wolfpack.
Newhaven’s archives had failed him in his search. Though there had turned up correlating evidence it wouldn’t be enough to take before the White Knights. There had to be something more to it. A piece of the puzzle was missing. A frown tuck to the giant’s lips, there were others whom knew of the story. They were the Wolves and perhaps they could help bring an end to their bitter feud. With luck he might even encounter the stranger that gifted him with the tale. He had to try.
She didn’t know it but against her warnings he was about to do something stupid. Alone and with none to back him up. He decided that this was for the best, not wishing to risk the lives of anyone else. Besides his Captain was busy and with the healers now in the encampment she would be plenty distracted. It helped that they couldn’t afford anymore spies. The Black Knight was confident that Mageria would be blind to his actions so long as he played it smart.
His feet took the path back to Newhaven without question. He left his horse knowing well that his beast of burden could go to better use then to rush him off toward a possible death. Once he had come a ways from the encampment and he was confident Newhaven watch could no longer follow, he veered off in a new direction. The new destination was toward central Valcrest, more specifically the center of the forest. To be among his most bitter enemies the Wolfpack.
Newhaven’s archives had failed him in his search. Though there had turned up correlating evidence it wouldn’t be enough to take before the White Knights. There had to be something more to it. A piece of the puzzle was missing. A frown tuck to the giant’s lips, there were others whom knew of the story. They were the Wolves and perhaps they could help bring an end to their bitter feud. With luck he might even encounter the stranger that gifted him with the tale. He had to try.
Ali's ears caught the footsteps before Evin even spoke a word. She would have wished it wasn't who she thought it was, but she had never been wrong before. When Evin asked her why Ella was with her she smirked for a split second before concealing it behind a gentle smile. "What do you think?" She whispered, still smiling and feeling a little bit stupid for pretending not to be annoyed. She wasn't one bit intimidated by Evin though. At least now, he couldn't touch her or they would both be in too much trouble. She shrugged. "She followed me a bit out of camp, so I ordered her to come with me. And, you know, recruits can't ignore a command from any instructors, so... She didn't have much of a choice." She turned her smile in to a grin and added. "She has completely violated the rules and ignored the one and only instruction I've given her so far... You should be proud." She stated with a snickering tone. She knew she'd probably pay for this later, but it was worth the fun. She also made sure to remind Evin that if Ella was there under orders he couldn't punish her, by the rules. Surely he'd find another way though.
She took another look around the Inn and sighed. "I'm not asking why you're here, surely you wouldn't tell me if I did, so... Unless you want to say something to me, I'm leaving now. The more time I waste here, the more I risk getting caught. I'd rather not get caught." She stated casually. All the amusement in her voice had gone as she stared at the ruined building. She hadn't looked away from it for a second.
She took another look around the Inn and sighed. "I'm not asking why you're here, surely you wouldn't tell me if I did, so... Unless you want to say something to me, I'm leaving now. The more time I waste here, the more I risk getting caught. I'd rather not get caught." She stated casually. All the amusement in her voice had gone as she stared at the ruined building. She hadn't looked away from it for a second.
Daniel continued down the street with steady footsteps as he scanned the broken buildings and the poor people sitting around him. It was a sight that felt like a knife to his heart. How could they have let the city fall to such a state? It wasn't Blackponds fault nor was it the Wolf Packs fault; It was their own fault. They had let the city slowly decay into such a devastating state just to be able to continue the war from the gold coins they didn't spend on these neighborhoods. Starvation roamed the streets, violence would soon become a day-to-day thing and there had already been a few reports of child molesting in the darkest corners of the city. Daniel was disgusted to say the least of how everything had fallen apart. What happened with the old glorious days?
War, that's what happened.
Daniels patrol was almost over as he was getting closer to the gate, but before venturing any further a sight caught his attention. A man was talking with the White shadow and her assistant that Daniel had seen before. he didn't recognize the man, but he was clearly a bit upset for some reason. Maybe he was one of those 'Patriots' who wanted to harass the white shadows for staying neutral in this war? Maybe he was upset because a family member had died in their care? Or he could simple just want to vent his anger at someone who he thought deserves it? No matter what his motives are, any White Shadow within the city perimeter are under the White Knights protection. Thus, Daniel began to move towards the three of them with heavy and firm footsteps. The White Shadow just finished her sentence when Daniel arrived and he didn't hear what she had told the man.
"Is this man troubling you, my lady?" Daniel asked with a firm, yet caring voice as he placed his giant plate hand on the mans shoulder. The White Shadow herself was facing the window of the destroyed Inn lying before them and so, he didn't see her face. Her assistant however, looked as if she had seen a ghost when she looked at Daniel.
War, that's what happened.
Daniels patrol was almost over as he was getting closer to the gate, but before venturing any further a sight caught his attention. A man was talking with the White shadow and her assistant that Daniel had seen before. he didn't recognize the man, but he was clearly a bit upset for some reason. Maybe he was one of those 'Patriots' who wanted to harass the white shadows for staying neutral in this war? Maybe he was upset because a family member had died in their care? Or he could simple just want to vent his anger at someone who he thought deserves it? No matter what his motives are, any White Shadow within the city perimeter are under the White Knights protection. Thus, Daniel began to move towards the three of them with heavy and firm footsteps. The White Shadow just finished her sentence when Daniel arrived and he didn't hear what she had told the man.
"Is this man troubling you, my lady?" Daniel asked with a firm, yet caring voice as he placed his giant plate hand on the mans shoulder. The White Shadow herself was facing the window of the destroyed Inn lying before them and so, he didn't see her face. Her assistant however, looked as if she had seen a ghost when she looked at Daniel.
Ella looked very disappointed in herself. Evin could tell exactly what she was thinking when Ali was putting her down. She was thinking about how worthless she was and how she would never be able to live up to anyone's expectations. It was exactly how Evin felt a long time ago when he trained himself. He figured out very quickly that he didn't need to live up to other peoples expectations, because if you do that, you become predictable and the predictable man is not one who lives very long. Ella had to understand that she could gain more respect by doing the unexpected, even if the respect isn't shown.
"Yes... yes, I have more to say." Evin said a little louder. He was drawing attention to himself and began to pay more attention to the way he spoke. "First of all, I am proud. People who follow the rules only obtain their goals slower. If I followed the rules, I would never be in a position I am in the hierarchy of the camp."
He looked at Ella who seemed to be a little more proud of herself, Evin would make that change. "Don't get too cocky though. You always need to improve. The second you feel proud of yourself is the second you lose the will to do better."
"I don't get it Evin. I think this is the first time you've ever been proud of me. I just don't get it." Ella said.
"I've always been proud of you, but if you knew that, you wouldn't work hard to improve and prove that you are better than what you believe I think you are." Evin wasn't sure if that made sense. "In reality, this is sort of a lesson for you. People, like Ali may think that they know better just because they have seniority in the camp. Don't let them tell you that. They know nothing of something they've never tried and it seems like you haven't gotten into any trouble from guards yet. You are doing better than you think you are."
"Thanks." She said.
Evin ignored Ella and looked at Allison. "I have one more thing I want to know. I have a suspicion about Jake. That is why I'm here. Any records on Jake have disappeared from the archives. The only record I could find was a death certificate for him and I know he isn't dead. Do you know anything about Jake and his association with the Black..." Evin stopped when he realised that someone was walking towards them. The armour gave it all away, it was a White Knight. "Follow my lead." Instantly, his eyes began to water, "I need help finding my father, you just don't understand!"
"Is this man troubling you, my lady?"
Evin glanced over at Ella who turned white after looking at the Knight.
"Yes sir, yes there is. I've lost my father. He went to the archives last night to see if he could find any information on his son who went missing while fighting those bloody assassins! He hasn't returned and I haven't seen him since he left a few hours before curfew. I thought that maybe she had seen him since White Shadows live within the castle walls when they stay within the city."
Evin wasn't sure how this would turn out. In case things got out of hand, he would have to become a threat and disassociate himself with Ali and Ella by holding one of the hostage. He carfully placed his hand over his dagger hidden in a secret opening under the left arm of his coat, ready for anything.
"Yes... yes, I have more to say." Evin said a little louder. He was drawing attention to himself and began to pay more attention to the way he spoke. "First of all, I am proud. People who follow the rules only obtain their goals slower. If I followed the rules, I would never be in a position I am in the hierarchy of the camp."
He looked at Ella who seemed to be a little more proud of herself, Evin would make that change. "Don't get too cocky though. You always need to improve. The second you feel proud of yourself is the second you lose the will to do better."
"I don't get it Evin. I think this is the first time you've ever been proud of me. I just don't get it." Ella said.
"I've always been proud of you, but if you knew that, you wouldn't work hard to improve and prove that you are better than what you believe I think you are." Evin wasn't sure if that made sense. "In reality, this is sort of a lesson for you. People, like Ali may think that they know better just because they have seniority in the camp. Don't let them tell you that. They know nothing of something they've never tried and it seems like you haven't gotten into any trouble from guards yet. You are doing better than you think you are."
"Thanks." She said.
Evin ignored Ella and looked at Allison. "I have one more thing I want to know. I have a suspicion about Jake. That is why I'm here. Any records on Jake have disappeared from the archives. The only record I could find was a death certificate for him and I know he isn't dead. Do you know anything about Jake and his association with the Black..." Evin stopped when he realised that someone was walking towards them. The armour gave it all away, it was a White Knight. "Follow my lead." Instantly, his eyes began to water, "I need help finding my father, you just don't understand!"
"Is this man troubling you, my lady?"
Evin glanced over at Ella who turned white after looking at the Knight.
"Yes sir, yes there is. I've lost my father. He went to the archives last night to see if he could find any information on his son who went missing while fighting those bloody assassins! He hasn't returned and I haven't seen him since he left a few hours before curfew. I thought that maybe she had seen him since White Shadows live within the castle walls when they stay within the city."
Evin wasn't sure how this would turn out. In case things got out of hand, he would have to become a threat and disassociate himself with Ali and Ella by holding one of the hostage. He carfully placed his hand over his dagger hidden in a secret opening under the left arm of his coat, ready for anything.
"Yes sir, yes there is. I've lost my father. He went to the archives last night to see if he could find any information on his son who went missing while fighting those bloody assassins! He hasn't returned and I haven't seen him since he left a few hours before curfew. I thought that maybe she had seen him since White Shadows live within the castle walls when they stay within the city." The man who Daniel was holding said as tears ran down his cheek. This White Knight could resist such things, but he wasn't emotionless. Daniel knew far too well that there had been sightings of criminal activity within the castle, if only brief that had swiftly been dealt with. However, that didn't mean this would be one of those cases. His father could have been very old or just a bit senile, if not both.
"Calm yourself, young man. If what you're telling is true, then why didn't you report it to the city guards instead or even better, to a White Knight? I'm sure they are of much more help to you than this lady could be with the matter you're speaking of." Daniel said with his usual diplomatic voice before looking over at the white shadow who hadn't moved a inch from where she stood. It was odd, but Daniel had other things to do than bothering a white shadow while in duty.
"Shall we go and look in the Archives for your father then, Serah?" The White Knight asked firmly and nodded at the castles direction. This would prove to be interesting, or really boring. In either case, it kept him from his dull patrols and a little company back to the castle wouldn't hurt him much.
"Calm yourself, young man. If what you're telling is true, then why didn't you report it to the city guards instead or even better, to a White Knight? I'm sure they are of much more help to you than this lady could be with the matter you're speaking of." Daniel said with his usual diplomatic voice before looking over at the white shadow who hadn't moved a inch from where she stood. It was odd, but Daniel had other things to do than bothering a white shadow while in duty.
"Shall we go and look in the Archives for your father then, Serah?" The White Knight asked firmly and nodded at the castles direction. This would prove to be interesting, or really boring. In either case, it kept him from his dull patrols and a little company back to the castle wouldn't hurt him much.
Allison did nothing other than sigh lightly while Evin spoke. She was expecting that, so she just stood there and let him go on. Surely, she didn't really think he knew her well enough to use the words 'people like Ali', and she had to stop herself from laughing at the word 'seniority'. She really couldn't care less what her rank was, she was perfectly fine with being nothing more than an active for the rest of her life. Hell... Two years ago she was a simple recruit. She accepted the promotion because Crys said they needed better archers and she wanted to help.
A year ago, she would have bothered to feel offended, maybe even argue. Now... She simply couldn't bring herself to care enough. She was there on assignment, and a rather important one. When they were both back in camp, Evin could choose to punish her, by the rules or not, if he wanted, but now she really had more important things to concern herself with.
The first thing Evin said that actually caught her attention was he suspected Jake. Ali's first instinct was to be completely furious with him for even saying that, but then she thought about it. Jake wasn't himself lately, something was happening. "Do you know anything about Jake and his association with the Black..." When Evin stopped talking Ali's eyes wandered from him to Ella. Other than that, she didn't move or speak. She let Evin draw all the attention to himself. Meanwhile, she was weighing her options. She knew Evin probably had a hidden weapon ready to do something completely stupid if lying was to fail. Her instinct was stay and help, but she couldn't give herself away, so she did what a healer would do, which is not get involved.
As soon as the Knight offered to assist Evin she turned to the man, with a respectful bow that conveniently made it hard for him to get a good look of her face. When she spoke her tone was half apologetic, half grateful. "Bless you Sir, I was just about to explain to this gentleman that unfortunately I have no means to help him. It lifts a great weight off my conscience to know he will receive assistance." Then she turned to Evin and offered him her most gentle smile. "Excuse me for not being able to be of assistance in this matter. I sincerely hope you find the answers you seek." That said, she turned and started to walk away casually, nudging Ella very discretely so that she would follow.
She didn't put any emphasis on a single word she said to Evin, but she knew he would take that as the answer to his question. She knew nothing about Jake's connections. He always seemed to have connections everywhere in Newhaven though. She just assumed it was from his work as a mercenary. As soon as she found herself far enough from the Knight and Evin, she spoke to Ella without looking at the girl. She was using her ability so she could hear if there was something wrong. "Ella, do you remember what I asked you to say if I get caught?" She asked in a serious tone. Ali didn't like the fact that there was still a White Knight wandering around in the city.
---------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena simply nodded, as Hastings spoke. She payed no mind to the commotion outside, her cold blue eyes fixed on the Blackpond commander. "If you want the war to end quicker and with less innocent blood being spilt, you need to assist Blackpond for our just cause." The man said. "The truth is, Newhaven just wants to have complete power. That is why they go after the Wolf Pack. That's why the go after us. Soon enough, it will be you. If you surrender your services to only us, we can protect you. What do you say Helena, head of the White Shadows?"
Lena stared at the man for a few seconds as he drank, he was being treated fairly well. Too well in her opinion. She pulled a chair and sat in front of the man, she was tired from the travel. She smiled, a slightly more wicked smile than her usual. "What do I say, you ask?" She finally laughed out at the question. "I say you have not a clue of who you are dealing with, Mr. Hastings. The White Shadows is a peaceful clan. We treat others equally and we save people regardless of who they are. It may seem like a naive view of the world to most people, however... Don't take us for being naive or you will be severely mistaken." Her smile shut as she continued. "You paint Newhaven as the big bad villain and offer me protection, however... The Newhaven army has been nothing but respectful towards my healers. In fact we have repeatedly declined their several offers of protection. The same for the Pack, they have offered us aid repeatedly, even while being attacked. Even mercenaries who wander into our territory seem to show us more respect than you King." Her tone was calm, but still ice cold. She could feel the soldier that had taken Mageria's place behind her begin to move around as he felt the air slightly heavier. Lena took notice of that and breathed in and out slowly to keep herself calm and not trigger her enlightenment. "So commander, you must think fairly highly of yourself to believe that your word alone would make me forget Blackpond's actions over the past year." She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. "I don't see the White Shadows taking any sides in this war, however... If pushed further into making such a decision, it is unlikely that it will favor your side." She stated.
A year ago, she would have bothered to feel offended, maybe even argue. Now... She simply couldn't bring herself to care enough. She was there on assignment, and a rather important one. When they were both back in camp, Evin could choose to punish her, by the rules or not, if he wanted, but now she really had more important things to concern herself with.
The first thing Evin said that actually caught her attention was he suspected Jake. Ali's first instinct was to be completely furious with him for even saying that, but then she thought about it. Jake wasn't himself lately, something was happening. "Do you know anything about Jake and his association with the Black..." When Evin stopped talking Ali's eyes wandered from him to Ella. Other than that, she didn't move or speak. She let Evin draw all the attention to himself. Meanwhile, she was weighing her options. She knew Evin probably had a hidden weapon ready to do something completely stupid if lying was to fail. Her instinct was stay and help, but she couldn't give herself away, so she did what a healer would do, which is not get involved.
As soon as the Knight offered to assist Evin she turned to the man, with a respectful bow that conveniently made it hard for him to get a good look of her face. When she spoke her tone was half apologetic, half grateful. "Bless you Sir, I was just about to explain to this gentleman that unfortunately I have no means to help him. It lifts a great weight off my conscience to know he will receive assistance." Then she turned to Evin and offered him her most gentle smile. "Excuse me for not being able to be of assistance in this matter. I sincerely hope you find the answers you seek." That said, she turned and started to walk away casually, nudging Ella very discretely so that she would follow.
She didn't put any emphasis on a single word she said to Evin, but she knew he would take that as the answer to his question. She knew nothing about Jake's connections. He always seemed to have connections everywhere in Newhaven though. She just assumed it was from his work as a mercenary. As soon as she found herself far enough from the Knight and Evin, she spoke to Ella without looking at the girl. She was using her ability so she could hear if there was something wrong. "Ella, do you remember what I asked you to say if I get caught?" She asked in a serious tone. Ali didn't like the fact that there was still a White Knight wandering around in the city.
---------
[Newhaven encampment]
Lena simply nodded, as Hastings spoke. She payed no mind to the commotion outside, her cold blue eyes fixed on the Blackpond commander. "If you want the war to end quicker and with less innocent blood being spilt, you need to assist Blackpond for our just cause." The man said. "The truth is, Newhaven just wants to have complete power. That is why they go after the Wolf Pack. That's why the go after us. Soon enough, it will be you. If you surrender your services to only us, we can protect you. What do you say Helena, head of the White Shadows?"
Lena stared at the man for a few seconds as he drank, he was being treated fairly well. Too well in her opinion. She pulled a chair and sat in front of the man, she was tired from the travel. She smiled, a slightly more wicked smile than her usual. "What do I say, you ask?" She finally laughed out at the question. "I say you have not a clue of who you are dealing with, Mr. Hastings. The White Shadows is a peaceful clan. We treat others equally and we save people regardless of who they are. It may seem like a naive view of the world to most people, however... Don't take us for being naive or you will be severely mistaken." Her smile shut as she continued. "You paint Newhaven as the big bad villain and offer me protection, however... The Newhaven army has been nothing but respectful towards my healers. In fact we have repeatedly declined their several offers of protection. The same for the Pack, they have offered us aid repeatedly, even while being attacked. Even mercenaries who wander into our territory seem to show us more respect than you King." Her tone was calm, but still ice cold. She could feel the soldier that had taken Mageria's place behind her begin to move around as he felt the air slightly heavier. Lena took notice of that and breathed in and out slowly to keep herself calm and not trigger her enlightenment. "So commander, you must think fairly highly of yourself to believe that your word alone would make me forget Blackpond's actions over the past year." She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. "I don't see the White Shadows taking any sides in this war, however... If pushed further into making such a decision, it is unlikely that it will favor your side." She stated.
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings patience was growing thin. It didn't help too much that he hadn't slept in so long either. Listening to this White Shadow speak became even more frustrating when it seemed that she was gloating about how she was untouchable. She was talking about provoking the White Shadows and how they would take sides if it continued. Hastings never expected threats from a woman who encompassed all of non-violence in Valcrest, but he always knew that people had more than one side to them.
"I wish you not to make an ill-advised decision so I will tell you the truth. The Blackpond army has resources that are unknown to anyone else, but the King and I. These resources make us very capable of destroying your camp without stretching ourselves too thin anywhere else. If you were ever to stop assisting us, be ready to face the consequences."
Hastings paused for a few seconds. He was listening to see if he could hear any more of what was being said outside. Anything he heard about the outside world was to Hastings advantage at this moment. If he knew anything that he shouldn't while he was here, he would be able to use something possibly as a threat. He loved his threats.
"You really like threats, don't you Lena? It makes me wonder about your past and your close ties to nontraditional clans. Tell my Lena, where you once an assassin with the Wolf Pack?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Evin was expecting what was coming to him. It didn't matter too much that the White Knight was helping Evin now. Soon enough this White Knight would be helping him in more ways than he thought. Allison then spoke to the White Knight about how she was so glad that things could be settled without her assistance. All this bullshit coming out of her mouth was for one purpose only and that was to get out of this awkward situation. Evin couldn't help but give Allison a momentary look of disgust with his eyes. Then she spoke the Evin again. It was definitely double entendre. She told Evin that she knew nothing about Jake. To the Knight however, it sounded like she couldn't assist a poor merchant in a search for his father.
"Shall we go and look in the Archives for your father then, Serah?" The White Knight said.
Evin momentarily froze as he thought about what the man had just said. He wasn't sure if he heard the White Knight correctly. He believed that he heard the man refer to him by some one's name. Either he didn't believe the story and was trying to throw him off, or he really thought he was someone who he knew. Either way it wasn't putting Evin in a good spot.
"I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken me for someone else. As for my father, well I've already looked in the archives for him. I was thinking that maybe, he had been kidnapped by one of those street gangs that I've heard about. It just isn't safe going out late at night anymore." He said. This story was believable enough. While looking through the archives, he had seen many documents of people kidnapped within the year by street gangs. Sometimes the bodies were found weeks later outside of the camp. "I was planning, if asking the lady there didn't work, to go looking for him somewhere outside the city. This is such a petty job for a White Knight to do, so I will leave you to your tasks."
Evin began walking away. If this worked it would be a miracle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Ella didn't say a word. She just watched the whole situation unfold around her. It really interesting to watch the two seasoned assassins work so well together. One putting on tears while the other trying to pretend like she had never even met the man. This was definitely something that she would never be able to learn from just sitting back at home. There was no one else in the world who could put on such a masquerade in front of a man who most probably had been trained to detect a lie. Of course the lie didn't seem to work entirely as to planned. The White Knight implied that he would be more than willing to help out with looking for Evin's fictional father. Evin was probably hoping to avoid this in all ways possible, but he was a very unpredictable man, so she wasn't absolutely sure what Evin wanted. She wasn't going to find out though. Before anything else could be heard from the conversation between Evin and this White Knight, Ali puller her away.
"Ella, do you remember what I asked you to say if I get caught?"
Ella had to think for a moment, "Umm, yes I think. You told me to say I was kidnapped by you?" She said as if it were a question. "Or something along those lines."
Hastings patience was growing thin. It didn't help too much that he hadn't slept in so long either. Listening to this White Shadow speak became even more frustrating when it seemed that she was gloating about how she was untouchable. She was talking about provoking the White Shadows and how they would take sides if it continued. Hastings never expected threats from a woman who encompassed all of non-violence in Valcrest, but he always knew that people had more than one side to them.
"I wish you not to make an ill-advised decision so I will tell you the truth. The Blackpond army has resources that are unknown to anyone else, but the King and I. These resources make us very capable of destroying your camp without stretching ourselves too thin anywhere else. If you were ever to stop assisting us, be ready to face the consequences."
Hastings paused for a few seconds. He was listening to see if he could hear any more of what was being said outside. Anything he heard about the outside world was to Hastings advantage at this moment. If he knew anything that he shouldn't while he was here, he would be able to use something possibly as a threat. He loved his threats.
"You really like threats, don't you Lena? It makes me wonder about your past and your close ties to nontraditional clans. Tell my Lena, where you once an assassin with the Wolf Pack?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Evin was expecting what was coming to him. It didn't matter too much that the White Knight was helping Evin now. Soon enough this White Knight would be helping him in more ways than he thought. Allison then spoke to the White Knight about how she was so glad that things could be settled without her assistance. All this bullshit coming out of her mouth was for one purpose only and that was to get out of this awkward situation. Evin couldn't help but give Allison a momentary look of disgust with his eyes. Then she spoke the Evin again. It was definitely double entendre. She told Evin that she knew nothing about Jake. To the Knight however, it sounded like she couldn't assist a poor merchant in a search for his father.
"Shall we go and look in the Archives for your father then, Serah?" The White Knight said.
Evin momentarily froze as he thought about what the man had just said. He wasn't sure if he heard the White Knight correctly. He believed that he heard the man refer to him by some one's name. Either he didn't believe the story and was trying to throw him off, or he really thought he was someone who he knew. Either way it wasn't putting Evin in a good spot.
"I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken me for someone else. As for my father, well I've already looked in the archives for him. I was thinking that maybe, he had been kidnapped by one of those street gangs that I've heard about. It just isn't safe going out late at night anymore." He said. This story was believable enough. While looking through the archives, he had seen many documents of people kidnapped within the year by street gangs. Sometimes the bodies were found weeks later outside of the camp. "I was planning, if asking the lady there didn't work, to go looking for him somewhere outside the city. This is such a petty job for a White Knight to do, so I will leave you to your tasks."
Evin began walking away. If this worked it would be a miracle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Ella didn't say a word. She just watched the whole situation unfold around her. It really interesting to watch the two seasoned assassins work so well together. One putting on tears while the other trying to pretend like she had never even met the man. This was definitely something that she would never be able to learn from just sitting back at home. There was no one else in the world who could put on such a masquerade in front of a man who most probably had been trained to detect a lie. Of course the lie didn't seem to work entirely as to planned. The White Knight implied that he would be more than willing to help out with looking for Evin's fictional father. Evin was probably hoping to avoid this in all ways possible, but he was a very unpredictable man, so she wasn't absolutely sure what Evin wanted. She wasn't going to find out though. Before anything else could be heard from the conversation between Evin and this White Knight, Ali puller her away.
"Ella, do you remember what I asked you to say if I get caught?"
Ella had to think for a moment, "Umm, yes I think. You told me to say I was kidnapped by you?" She said as if it were a question. "Or something along those lines."
Blanditia tired and bored decided that she would go see Lena and this Mr Hastings. When the guard tried to block her way she just raised her eyebrows at him and flicked her wrist sense she still had the power wrapped tightly in her, veins started to grow at his feet and the guards eyes widened understanding that she was going to get her way. He stepped aside, "Sorry Lena, Mr... I forgot your name..." she said bowing her head to Lena and ignoring the man showing obvious disrespect as she walked into the tent. "I got bored..." she said and pouted slightly but a smile played on her lips she knew by the tension in the air she had walked in at a bad time. Blanditia started to feel guilty and stopped smiling, "Sorry Sir, I am tired and have been disrespectful, forgive a simple healer who has heard the threats on her home." to anyone who knew her they could hear that she was censer but that she had also felt just in being rude.
[Newhaven camp]
Lena sighed. Rulers and their armies... How little did they know. "If you wish to know, little man, of my past, I shall enlighten you. I was born in the glorious city of Blackpond after my fool of a mother betrayed the Wolfpack over a city officer that really couldn't bother to care for her, and never knew of my existence. After that she ran to a village just outside of where Blackhurst used to be. When I was two years of age my mother was dragged back to the Wolfpack and executed for treason. I was raised from then on by the woman who killed her, the clan leader."
Her voice was casual as if she was telling the man of some random tale she had heard from a traveler, as it if those were facts of someone else's life. "I was an assassin until I was 20 years old. I also lived and worked in Newhaven as a mercenary for a whole year after that, before I joined the Shadows." She nodded, the wicked smile back across her lips. "I have done and seen things in my life you wouldn't see in your worse nightmares, Mr. Hastings. I have not caused harm to another living being in over two decades, but I am very well capable of doing so, if it was needed. If I have to face judgement by my clan it would be a small price to pay."
She leaned forward in her seat and spoke in a calm, cold and, in a way or two, dangerous tone. "And I don't make threats, I state facts. Surely, you could exterminate my entire clan, and without much of a fight. I am afraid you will probably have to do so too, because we will not be bent down to any ruler's will. We've seen enough of death to know there are far worse things, all of which I personally believe you, sir, are very worthy of suffering. I will consider myself extremely privileged if I get to live to see the day, if not, I take comfort in knowing it will come. We all must face judgement one day."
As soon as she said that she heard movement outside the tent, soon afterwards Blanditia walked in. Lena let the girl speak and then stood and turned to her, back turned to Hastings, immediately posting herself between them.
Her posture as she addressed the girl was of a completely different person than the one that had just wished that Hastings suffered every existent form of torture. It was gentle and caring, even while showing authority. "Child, have you used your ability to enter this tent?" She asked the girl in a half severe, half amused, tone, raising an eyebrow. "If you are tired, why wont you bore yourself to sleep, then? We still have a long path to travel and a healer is of no service if not well rested." She told the apprentice. "I have nothing more to do here. Everything that could have possibly be said, has been said." She said, and then turned to Hastings and smiled at him. "It has been a pleasure meeting you Mr. Hastings." She said, before pushing Blanditia gently out of the tent and leaving after her. After walking the girl a little further and out of hearing range. She sighed softly. "Have you heard anything that was said in there?" She asked the girl.
--------------------
[Newhaven]
Allison sighed, not saying anything else. The Knight wanted to take Evin to the archives. She was almost certain he could talk himself out of such a thing, but just in case... She though maybe she shouldn't head there just now. Instead, she led Ella towards the residential area and found Jake's house, the door was locked. She thought for a moment or two then whispered to Ella. "Wait right here."
If Evin was looking for information on Jake, he probably tried to get himself in there. One small advantage the girl had over him was that she knew Jake a lot better. He always had a backup plan, an alternative, even to get into his own house when in a hurry. She walked around the house, checking the windows until she found one unlocked. "Same old Jake." She snickered, opening the window and letting herself in. The back of Jake's house led to an alleyway, and it was empty, so she didn't worry about being seen doing that. Once inside the house she was able to unlock the door from the inside. She pulled Ella into the house and closed the door. The first thing she noticed was the castle guard uniform folded over the bed. Aside from that, the house was empty, however it showed no signs of being abandoned, Jake had been there. Ali nodded. "Black Knights." She stated, in almost a whisper as if saying that alone would cause the black armored Knights to through the door. "Evin was going to say, Black Knights." She frowned, thinking back to what Jake had told her the night before she left for the ruins. "Dani came out of Evin's house, pulled me by the arm and... She offered me an assignment... It's a big deal. Huge. And I'd have to go back to Newhaven to do it."
Ali sat down on the bed, refusing to believe even Dani would consider such insanity. She could have sent him there for a hundred different reasons, this was too much to ask, even for Dani.
Turning her attention back to Ella she sighed. "I don't know how Evin's mind functions, and after a very long year and a half of knowing him I've given up trying, but I'm sure that whatever he does, he will make his way out of that White Knight. Even so, I think it's best to wait a while before going back to the castle." She explained. "Also... I did mean it when I said he should be proud. It was clumsy, but you managed to think fast and was convincing enough back there." She stated, feeling that she should make it clear that she only meant to annoy Evin with what she had said. Finally she sighed. "I need you to focus now though. Remember what it's like to be locked in a cell in this place, and be far more convincing when you say I captured you. Because if you don't get out, there will be no one to alert Crys I was caught. I doubt they would miss out on the opportunity to thoroughly interrogate me, so I need you to understand how serious this is." It was too much to ask of someone with only a year of training, but the White Knight's presence had made this much more complicated than Ali expected and she needed to make sure Ella would put a greater effort into escaping if something went wrong. She doubted something could be done for her if she got caught, but she'd rather not get Ella killed simply because she didn't want to escort her back to camp. "I'm sorry to have to put you under this kind of pressure this soon, but hey... The best way to learn how to be convincing is when your life depends on it." She said, with a half amused smile. Glad to be acting like an assassin again.
"Boring assignment talk aside..." Ali started, taking the opportunity to check her knives, pulling them out of their hiding spots and checking the blades. "I was wondering how you're feeling. Being back here and all." She said, not actually asking, but encouraging the other girl to talk if she felt like it. There probably wouldn't be another opportunity soon, and they needed to sit there for a few minutes.
Lena sighed. Rulers and their armies... How little did they know. "If you wish to know, little man, of my past, I shall enlighten you. I was born in the glorious city of Blackpond after my fool of a mother betrayed the Wolfpack over a city officer that really couldn't bother to care for her, and never knew of my existence. After that she ran to a village just outside of where Blackhurst used to be. When I was two years of age my mother was dragged back to the Wolfpack and executed for treason. I was raised from then on by the woman who killed her, the clan leader."
Her voice was casual as if she was telling the man of some random tale she had heard from a traveler, as it if those were facts of someone else's life. "I was an assassin until I was 20 years old. I also lived and worked in Newhaven as a mercenary for a whole year after that, before I joined the Shadows." She nodded, the wicked smile back across her lips. "I have done and seen things in my life you wouldn't see in your worse nightmares, Mr. Hastings. I have not caused harm to another living being in over two decades, but I am very well capable of doing so, if it was needed. If I have to face judgement by my clan it would be a small price to pay."
She leaned forward in her seat and spoke in a calm, cold and, in a way or two, dangerous tone. "And I don't make threats, I state facts. Surely, you could exterminate my entire clan, and without much of a fight. I am afraid you will probably have to do so too, because we will not be bent down to any ruler's will. We've seen enough of death to know there are far worse things, all of which I personally believe you, sir, are very worthy of suffering. I will consider myself extremely privileged if I get to live to see the day, if not, I take comfort in knowing it will come. We all must face judgement one day."
As soon as she said that she heard movement outside the tent, soon afterwards Blanditia walked in. Lena let the girl speak and then stood and turned to her, back turned to Hastings, immediately posting herself between them.
Her posture as she addressed the girl was of a completely different person than the one that had just wished that Hastings suffered every existent form of torture. It was gentle and caring, even while showing authority. "Child, have you used your ability to enter this tent?" She asked the girl in a half severe, half amused, tone, raising an eyebrow. "If you are tired, why wont you bore yourself to sleep, then? We still have a long path to travel and a healer is of no service if not well rested." She told the apprentice. "I have nothing more to do here. Everything that could have possibly be said, has been said." She said, and then turned to Hastings and smiled at him. "It has been a pleasure meeting you Mr. Hastings." She said, before pushing Blanditia gently out of the tent and leaving after her. After walking the girl a little further and out of hearing range. She sighed softly. "Have you heard anything that was said in there?" She asked the girl.
--------------------
[Newhaven]
Allison sighed, not saying anything else. The Knight wanted to take Evin to the archives. She was almost certain he could talk himself out of such a thing, but just in case... She though maybe she shouldn't head there just now. Instead, she led Ella towards the residential area and found Jake's house, the door was locked. She thought for a moment or two then whispered to Ella. "Wait right here."
If Evin was looking for information on Jake, he probably tried to get himself in there. One small advantage the girl had over him was that she knew Jake a lot better. He always had a backup plan, an alternative, even to get into his own house when in a hurry. She walked around the house, checking the windows until she found one unlocked. "Same old Jake." She snickered, opening the window and letting herself in. The back of Jake's house led to an alleyway, and it was empty, so she didn't worry about being seen doing that. Once inside the house she was able to unlock the door from the inside. She pulled Ella into the house and closed the door. The first thing she noticed was the castle guard uniform folded over the bed. Aside from that, the house was empty, however it showed no signs of being abandoned, Jake had been there. Ali nodded. "Black Knights." She stated, in almost a whisper as if saying that alone would cause the black armored Knights to through the door. "Evin was going to say, Black Knights." She frowned, thinking back to what Jake had told her the night before she left for the ruins. "Dani came out of Evin's house, pulled me by the arm and... She offered me an assignment... It's a big deal. Huge. And I'd have to go back to Newhaven to do it."
Ali sat down on the bed, refusing to believe even Dani would consider such insanity. She could have sent him there for a hundred different reasons, this was too much to ask, even for Dani.
Turning her attention back to Ella she sighed. "I don't know how Evin's mind functions, and after a very long year and a half of knowing him I've given up trying, but I'm sure that whatever he does, he will make his way out of that White Knight. Even so, I think it's best to wait a while before going back to the castle." She explained. "Also... I did mean it when I said he should be proud. It was clumsy, but you managed to think fast and was convincing enough back there." She stated, feeling that she should make it clear that she only meant to annoy Evin with what she had said. Finally she sighed. "I need you to focus now though. Remember what it's like to be locked in a cell in this place, and be far more convincing when you say I captured you. Because if you don't get out, there will be no one to alert Crys I was caught. I doubt they would miss out on the opportunity to thoroughly interrogate me, so I need you to understand how serious this is." It was too much to ask of someone with only a year of training, but the White Knight's presence had made this much more complicated than Ali expected and she needed to make sure Ella would put a greater effort into escaping if something went wrong. She doubted something could be done for her if she got caught, but she'd rather not get Ella killed simply because she didn't want to escort her back to camp. "I'm sorry to have to put you under this kind of pressure this soon, but hey... The best way to learn how to be convincing is when your life depends on it." She said, with a half amused smile. Glad to be acting like an assassin again.
"Boring assignment talk aside..." Ali started, taking the opportunity to check her knives, pulling them out of their hiding spots and checking the blades. "I was wondering how you're feeling. Being back here and all." She said, not actually asking, but encouraging the other girl to talk if she felt like it. There probably wouldn't be another opportunity soon, and they needed to sit there for a few minutes.
This situation was getting weired, if not even more suspicious, by the second. Now the man before Daniel thought the White Knight had mistaken him for someone else and he seemed to be moving away from Daniel as if he had something to hide or had a problem with the White Knight, whatever it might be. He did mention he thought his father had been captured by one of these street gangs that were active during the night, but it didn't make much sense that they would ambush an elderly man so close to castle. There were guards nearby and the chance of walking into the so called 'Dark knight' at Night time was big and deadly. Suddenly the man began to walk away from Daniel, leaving him with more questions than answers. Seeing the man turn his back towards the White Knight and walk a few steps away from him made him break his quiet and disciplined stance. Therefor, he grabbed the stranger by the arm with a soft yet controlled grip.
"No need to be afraid, young man." Daniel begun and pulled the stranger back to him. "Here, let us see if we can't find your father somewhere, I'd hate to leave you without some kind of lead or help. Maybe Mr. Harris, the Doctor of the city, knows anything."
Daniels motives were false; He didn't think there were any 'father' involved at all and thus, the reason he would bring this stranger to Mr. Harris was because the Doctor could recognize every face in the city and he wanted to know who this stranger was, without causing any problems. He obviously had some sort of problem with Daniel, may it be because of his skin colour or the fact that he was a White knight. Both of them continued up the street, the stranger walking ahead of Daniel.
"So tell me, who is this father of yours and where do both of you live?" He asked with his most serious voice as they kept on walking through the damaged streets. The sun shone brightly down upon them.
"No need to be afraid, young man." Daniel begun and pulled the stranger back to him. "Here, let us see if we can't find your father somewhere, I'd hate to leave you without some kind of lead or help. Maybe Mr. Harris, the Doctor of the city, knows anything."
Daniels motives were false; He didn't think there were any 'father' involved at all and thus, the reason he would bring this stranger to Mr. Harris was because the Doctor could recognize every face in the city and he wanted to know who this stranger was, without causing any problems. He obviously had some sort of problem with Daniel, may it be because of his skin colour or the fact that he was a White knight. Both of them continued up the street, the stranger walking ahead of Daniel.
"So tell me, who is this father of yours and where do both of you live?" He asked with his most serious voice as they kept on walking through the damaged streets. The sun shone brightly down upon them.
(Newhaven Camp)
Mageria sat back up after a moment and smiled stiffly at Phelix. “Just stay here for now.” Ducking back out of her tent, she nodded at one of the sentries and asked him to take the horse back to the picket lines. Looking up she could see the stars starting to pick their way out of the deepening gloom. It was late and there was still a lot to do. With a sigh she wrapped her cloak securely around her and started back to the prisoner's tent. Along the way a number of soldiers came up to her with problems that needed solving or repots that needed hearing. By the time she got back she was greeted with the strange sight of one of her men trying to cut his way free of some vines that wrapped all the way up his thighs. Mageria snorted softly and stooped to help him.
“Tried to stop one of them, did you?” She took one leg while he concentrated on the other.
“Report, soldier.” Whispering under his breath, the man repeated everything that had gone on in the tent while she was gone. He had very good hearing and memory, so it was pretty much word for word. Once he was done, she patted him on the shoulder and stood.
“Thanks. I’ll take it from here.” She went back in and checked on Hastings to make sure that he hadn’t worked his way out of his bindings.
“Please behave Commander Hastings. As the Captain of the Black Knights, there are very few repercussions for what I have to do. I’d hate for something permanent to happen to you.” She carefully lit a few lanterns and hung them well away from Hastings. Then she smiled gently and sat down in front of him.
“Now, about these resources of yours.” Her face hardened and any good humor leaked away. “Tell me more.”
Mageria sat back up after a moment and smiled stiffly at Phelix. “Just stay here for now.” Ducking back out of her tent, she nodded at one of the sentries and asked him to take the horse back to the picket lines. Looking up she could see the stars starting to pick their way out of the deepening gloom. It was late and there was still a lot to do. With a sigh she wrapped her cloak securely around her and started back to the prisoner's tent. Along the way a number of soldiers came up to her with problems that needed solving or repots that needed hearing. By the time she got back she was greeted with the strange sight of one of her men trying to cut his way free of some vines that wrapped all the way up his thighs. Mageria snorted softly and stooped to help him.
“Tried to stop one of them, did you?” She took one leg while he concentrated on the other.
“Report, soldier.” Whispering under his breath, the man repeated everything that had gone on in the tent while she was gone. He had very good hearing and memory, so it was pretty much word for word. Once he was done, she patted him on the shoulder and stood.
“Thanks. I’ll take it from here.” She went back in and checked on Hastings to make sure that he hadn’t worked his way out of his bindings.
“Please behave Commander Hastings. As the Captain of the Black Knights, there are very few repercussions for what I have to do. I’d hate for something permanent to happen to you.” She carefully lit a few lanterns and hung them well away from Hastings. Then she smiled gently and sat down in front of him.
“Now, about these resources of yours.” Her face hardened and any good humor leaked away. “Tell me more.”
Evin wasn't stupid. He could see right through this man's rouse. Someone like a doctor would know everyone in the city, or so he thought at least. With capable healers like the White Shadows in the world, there would be some people who would just refuse to go to a city doctor, especially after the killings of the enlightened. A doctor could be a prime suspect for a murder case. The doctor's motive would simply be one of power, the more one is enlightened, the more power one has. A doctor could want to use the enlightenment to become just as masterful with healing as the White Shadows themselves.
"My apologies sir, but neither my father or I have any affiliation with any doctor in town. We just don't trust him after the suspicious killings the past year. I know what the nobles said about the assassin's being responsible, but I just don't trust that man. I much prefer the days walk to go to the White Shadows for my health care. That is why I asked that lady for help earlier you see!" Evin said in a chipper tone. "Follow me and I can take you to my house. Mind you, we share a house with a man. He goes by Turner, in case he just so happens to be at home."
Evin directed the Knight down another street. Down long and narrow paths across the city's center. He passed everything and anything that he would have never seen if he was walking down the streets just a year earlier. There were very few merchant shops open and the ones that were open seemed very shady. He wouldn't be surprised if these shops had side businesses going for them. Some places were even open about the business that they served in the back rooms of their shop. There were signs bigger than the merchant signs themselves that advertised the brothels and illegal gambling that happened within the walls of the stores.
Evin had remembered a man telling him once when he visited an illegal gambling spot that there was no better business than bad business. In a way this made sense. Shady businesses were a lot better for kingdoms than any good business could ever be. It allows the King to enforce strict laws on the citizens, restricting their rights even though at the time, these laws would seem right to the people. In times of war, this just made people more proud to be a citizen as well. The draw back of course was the hurt in the economy, but Evin was certain that there was back room deals that were made to keep some of the businesses open. It probably didn't hurt the economy all too much.
After a walk half way across the city, the two arrived at the door of Jake's house. He had a perfect excuse for why the door would be locked. He had time to think about it while he was walking to the house.
"I'll go in a check to see if Turner is home. You just wait outside for a second. I would hate for us to catch him while he is getting dressed or something." Evin turned the door handle, completely anticipating that there would be locked. When the door opened however, he was in complete astonishment. Someone was either in the house right now, or someone had come to the house since the night when he tried to open the door. He didn't stop his fluid motion and acted as if he had been through that door one hundred times before. He shut the door right on the White Knights face. It was rude, he knew, but he had no other choise. Sitting at the table in front of him was...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was wondering how you're feeling. Being back here and all." Ali said.
"I'm actually enjoying being back here. It's felt like so long since I was free to walk the streets, and sleeping in the castle was absolutely nostalgic for me. It reminded me of the times when the King took me in and treated me like I was family." Talking about Newhaven was completely exhilarating. It really felt like she was just meant to come be here.
Ali nodded as she heard Ella speak. She finished checking her knives and soon all four of them were completely out of sight again. "I understand that... It was the first time you felt at home, right?" She said, then she added with a slight chuckle. "Can I ask then, why do you want to endure our training? And don't get my question wrong, because if Dani thought you had potential, then you surely do, but... Why would you want this? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but you don't seem half as happy at camp as you do just talking about this place." It was a valid question, and also an important one. After all, even though Ali enjoyed being an assassin, it was not a life style she would encourage people to pursue unless they were completely comfortable with it.
Ella sighed at this comment. She had thought about it time and time again herself, but she could never find a strait answer. She sighed again before she said anything, "Well, I guess you could say that I want to prove myself. I've never been good at anything in my life and if someone believes I have potential like you said, I will continue even if I never find that potential." That wasn't the right answer, but it was the best answer she could find for her question. "It can almost be said that I am happy as an assassin. I just need to find what I'm good at first. Also, it would help if I killed someone." she chuckled a little.
Ali laughed a little at the comment. "Killing someone always helps. For me, at least." Then she nodded, she wasn't exactly pleased with Ella's answer. "Seriously though... If you don't find your own potential, one of two thing will happen: You will eventually quit, or you will die. That is a given fact" She stated, looking at the girl. Then she picked up a random piece of wood that had been lying around and a knife that she knew was hidden under the bed. "Without a doubt, I'm the best archer in that camp and I will step all over anyone who says they can shoot an arrow better than me. If not on the first try, on the second." She smirked and added. "There has never been need for a third."
Then she started to carve into the piece of wood and continued. "Every assassin in that camp has one thing in common, even if it doesn't always show: We want to win. Being good at it doesn't cut it. You really have to want it that bad." She said that and looked up, still carving the piece of wood. "Being good is important, but you have to crave perfection and not stop until you get it. In that sense, I agree with Evin, and I beg you to never say that to him." She smiled and shrugged putting the piece of wood down on the bed, now carved into the shape of a chess knight, a little message for Jake.. "That's why I ask you to think of what you really want to the point of doing anything to get it." She went quiet, trying to listen to what was going on outside, wondering if it was safe to go already.
Ella just sat there a moment, stunned at the look of the chess piece that Ali was making. It was unlike any other Knight piece that she had ever seen. It had a form of femininity and had curvatures that suggested that it was a female, but there was a fierceness to it that suggested that it was a force to be reckoned with. Something about the piece was just so interesting. It almost made it feel like it had the strength of the queen, the most deadly piece in the game, even more than the king.
"Have you ever thought of being the Queen?" She was deflecting the other question. "You know? Like just being in complete control of the world. Some may look at it as the King being in control, but they just sit there. I mean, have you really thought about what you would do different as the Queen?”
Ali frowned slightly considering the question, then she answered. "Life is not a game of chess." Then she laughed at herself for saying that and added. "What I mean is... The way I see it, there is no such thing as complete control. You can never see the whole board and it you can't really correctly predict the consequences of your actions. You can just move with the little knowledge you have and hope not to screw up too bad." She smiled. "Considering everyone has its place in this world though... No, I'd never see myself as the Queen. You know why? The Queen is the most important piece, and the strongest too, but is also the biggest target. If I'm a Knight though, or even a pawn, if I play just right I might still be standing when the King falls." She said, with a little smirk. "That is my nature, though. I never had a problem with being a smaller piece, as long as I feel myself in the right side of the board." She swirled the knife between her fingers. "You would want to be the Queen?" She asked curiously.
"You know what I've always asked myself? What happens after the King falls?" Ella said with a subtle curiosity. "What happens to the rest of the pieces? Do they keep going after their King is lost? The Queen is next in line to the throne and in the end the Queen has the biggest chance of making an impact on the board. What if the Queen is lost too? She can come back on the field if a pawn finds her," the thoughts continued on, "but what if you can't find the Queen? Chess is just an insult to real life if you ask me..."
Ella realised after saying all that that she forgot the question at hand. "Like I said, the Queen has the biggest chance of making an impact on the board. I would love the chance to make that impact, even if a target was on my head because of it." She was so confused, but she completely understood at the same time.
Ali smiled. She was enjoying this a little, she hadn't really had a conversation of this kind since Bastian died "Chess isn't based on life, I think. It's based on war. War ends when one side proves itself superior, what happens next is unimportant." She shrugged. "Much like war, it's a repetitive game, has it's patterns. Bright people see them easily, others, like myself, grow angry struggling to figure them out." She nodded when Ella said she would to make an impact, despite the dangers. "You are a much stronger person than me, then." She said, with a very honest smile. "Maybe you are wasting your time playing with us pawns." She said, playfully. "Who knows, maybe you deserve a better place on the board. After all, this isn't chess. A pawn today, a queen tomorrow." She stated.
"As if." Ella shrugged off the complement.
Ali laughed. "Don't be so skeptical. We can never be sure of anything, now, can we?" She said, still laughing. Then she suddenly stopped. She was hearing footsteps coming towards the house at a distance. The conversation had made her momentarily forget why they were there in the first place. She stood up in a hurry and nodded towards the window she had used to enter. "It's time to go now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting at the table in front of him was a wooden chess piece. It had been freshly carved. Only Allison would leave something like that behind her. Evin just smiled, she must have left only minutes if not seconds before he entered the house. He walked back to the door and opened it.
"I'm sorry to be so rude sir. Turner would not like it if I left the door open for a stranger to watch. He is a little paranoid like that. Anyways, he isn't home, so welcome yourself in." He smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings just smiled when Lena left the tent. "I've had my nightmares and lived a life that no one should be proud of."
Hastings just began to laugh at what he just said. It was foolish to speak to someone like Hastings the way that Lena did, no matter who it was. Lena understood the bad deeds that a man in Hastings position had to make on a day to day basis. He didn't exactly like it all the time, but it had to be done by someone. The decision of what to do with anything relating to the war usually passed by Hastings before any decision was made and some of those decisions dammed him to eternal suffering to the Chivas, the God of war and destruction. He knew it, but he didn't know when it would come. That was why he laughed.
The mood changed when Margeria walked into the tent then. She asked about his resources. It was a foolish thing to do, even if he was tied up and without control.
"I wont tell you what my resources are exactly, but I will let you know that harming me in anyway would be a very dangerous thing to do. You might be able to do almost anything as a Black Knight and not get punished for doing so, but you will feel the repercussions of harming me. Got it?" He smiled a devilish smile.
"My apologies sir, but neither my father or I have any affiliation with any doctor in town. We just don't trust him after the suspicious killings the past year. I know what the nobles said about the assassin's being responsible, but I just don't trust that man. I much prefer the days walk to go to the White Shadows for my health care. That is why I asked that lady for help earlier you see!" Evin said in a chipper tone. "Follow me and I can take you to my house. Mind you, we share a house with a man. He goes by Turner, in case he just so happens to be at home."
Evin directed the Knight down another street. Down long and narrow paths across the city's center. He passed everything and anything that he would have never seen if he was walking down the streets just a year earlier. There were very few merchant shops open and the ones that were open seemed very shady. He wouldn't be surprised if these shops had side businesses going for them. Some places were even open about the business that they served in the back rooms of their shop. There were signs bigger than the merchant signs themselves that advertised the brothels and illegal gambling that happened within the walls of the stores.
Evin had remembered a man telling him once when he visited an illegal gambling spot that there was no better business than bad business. In a way this made sense. Shady businesses were a lot better for kingdoms than any good business could ever be. It allows the King to enforce strict laws on the citizens, restricting their rights even though at the time, these laws would seem right to the people. In times of war, this just made people more proud to be a citizen as well. The draw back of course was the hurt in the economy, but Evin was certain that there was back room deals that were made to keep some of the businesses open. It probably didn't hurt the economy all too much.
After a walk half way across the city, the two arrived at the door of Jake's house. He had a perfect excuse for why the door would be locked. He had time to think about it while he was walking to the house.
"I'll go in a check to see if Turner is home. You just wait outside for a second. I would hate for us to catch him while he is getting dressed or something." Evin turned the door handle, completely anticipating that there would be locked. When the door opened however, he was in complete astonishment. Someone was either in the house right now, or someone had come to the house since the night when he tried to open the door. He didn't stop his fluid motion and acted as if he had been through that door one hundred times before. He shut the door right on the White Knights face. It was rude, he knew, but he had no other choise. Sitting at the table in front of him was...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was wondering how you're feeling. Being back here and all." Ali said.
"I'm actually enjoying being back here. It's felt like so long since I was free to walk the streets, and sleeping in the castle was absolutely nostalgic for me. It reminded me of the times when the King took me in and treated me like I was family." Talking about Newhaven was completely exhilarating. It really felt like she was just meant to come be here.
Ali nodded as she heard Ella speak. She finished checking her knives and soon all four of them were completely out of sight again. "I understand that... It was the first time you felt at home, right?" She said, then she added with a slight chuckle. "Can I ask then, why do you want to endure our training? And don't get my question wrong, because if Dani thought you had potential, then you surely do, but... Why would you want this? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but you don't seem half as happy at camp as you do just talking about this place." It was a valid question, and also an important one. After all, even though Ali enjoyed being an assassin, it was not a life style she would encourage people to pursue unless they were completely comfortable with it.
Ella sighed at this comment. She had thought about it time and time again herself, but she could never find a strait answer. She sighed again before she said anything, "Well, I guess you could say that I want to prove myself. I've never been good at anything in my life and if someone believes I have potential like you said, I will continue even if I never find that potential." That wasn't the right answer, but it was the best answer she could find for her question. "It can almost be said that I am happy as an assassin. I just need to find what I'm good at first. Also, it would help if I killed someone." she chuckled a little.
Ali laughed a little at the comment. "Killing someone always helps. For me, at least." Then she nodded, she wasn't exactly pleased with Ella's answer. "Seriously though... If you don't find your own potential, one of two thing will happen: You will eventually quit, or you will die. That is a given fact" She stated, looking at the girl. Then she picked up a random piece of wood that had been lying around and a knife that she knew was hidden under the bed. "Without a doubt, I'm the best archer in that camp and I will step all over anyone who says they can shoot an arrow better than me. If not on the first try, on the second." She smirked and added. "There has never been need for a third."
Then she started to carve into the piece of wood and continued. "Every assassin in that camp has one thing in common, even if it doesn't always show: We want to win. Being good at it doesn't cut it. You really have to want it that bad." She said that and looked up, still carving the piece of wood. "Being good is important, but you have to crave perfection and not stop until you get it. In that sense, I agree with Evin, and I beg you to never say that to him." She smiled and shrugged putting the piece of wood down on the bed, now carved into the shape of a chess knight, a little message for Jake.. "That's why I ask you to think of what you really want to the point of doing anything to get it." She went quiet, trying to listen to what was going on outside, wondering if it was safe to go already.
Ella just sat there a moment, stunned at the look of the chess piece that Ali was making. It was unlike any other Knight piece that she had ever seen. It had a form of femininity and had curvatures that suggested that it was a female, but there was a fierceness to it that suggested that it was a force to be reckoned with. Something about the piece was just so interesting. It almost made it feel like it had the strength of the queen, the most deadly piece in the game, even more than the king.
"Have you ever thought of being the Queen?" She was deflecting the other question. "You know? Like just being in complete control of the world. Some may look at it as the King being in control, but they just sit there. I mean, have you really thought about what you would do different as the Queen?”
Ali frowned slightly considering the question, then she answered. "Life is not a game of chess." Then she laughed at herself for saying that and added. "What I mean is... The way I see it, there is no such thing as complete control. You can never see the whole board and it you can't really correctly predict the consequences of your actions. You can just move with the little knowledge you have and hope not to screw up too bad." She smiled. "Considering everyone has its place in this world though... No, I'd never see myself as the Queen. You know why? The Queen is the most important piece, and the strongest too, but is also the biggest target. If I'm a Knight though, or even a pawn, if I play just right I might still be standing when the King falls." She said, with a little smirk. "That is my nature, though. I never had a problem with being a smaller piece, as long as I feel myself in the right side of the board." She swirled the knife between her fingers. "You would want to be the Queen?" She asked curiously.
"You know what I've always asked myself? What happens after the King falls?" Ella said with a subtle curiosity. "What happens to the rest of the pieces? Do they keep going after their King is lost? The Queen is next in line to the throne and in the end the Queen has the biggest chance of making an impact on the board. What if the Queen is lost too? She can come back on the field if a pawn finds her," the thoughts continued on, "but what if you can't find the Queen? Chess is just an insult to real life if you ask me..."
Ella realised after saying all that that she forgot the question at hand. "Like I said, the Queen has the biggest chance of making an impact on the board. I would love the chance to make that impact, even if a target was on my head because of it." She was so confused, but she completely understood at the same time.
Ali smiled. She was enjoying this a little, she hadn't really had a conversation of this kind since Bastian died "Chess isn't based on life, I think. It's based on war. War ends when one side proves itself superior, what happens next is unimportant." She shrugged. "Much like war, it's a repetitive game, has it's patterns. Bright people see them easily, others, like myself, grow angry struggling to figure them out." She nodded when Ella said she would to make an impact, despite the dangers. "You are a much stronger person than me, then." She said, with a very honest smile. "Maybe you are wasting your time playing with us pawns." She said, playfully. "Who knows, maybe you deserve a better place on the board. After all, this isn't chess. A pawn today, a queen tomorrow." She stated.
"As if." Ella shrugged off the complement.
Ali laughed. "Don't be so skeptical. We can never be sure of anything, now, can we?" She said, still laughing. Then she suddenly stopped. She was hearing footsteps coming towards the house at a distance. The conversation had made her momentarily forget why they were there in the first place. She stood up in a hurry and nodded towards the window she had used to enter. "It's time to go now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting at the table in front of him was a wooden chess piece. It had been freshly carved. Only Allison would leave something like that behind her. Evin just smiled, she must have left only minutes if not seconds before he entered the house. He walked back to the door and opened it.
"I'm sorry to be so rude sir. Turner would not like it if I left the door open for a stranger to watch. He is a little paranoid like that. Anyways, he isn't home, so welcome yourself in." He smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings just smiled when Lena left the tent. "I've had my nightmares and lived a life that no one should be proud of."
Hastings just began to laugh at what he just said. It was foolish to speak to someone like Hastings the way that Lena did, no matter who it was. Lena understood the bad deeds that a man in Hastings position had to make on a day to day basis. He didn't exactly like it all the time, but it had to be done by someone. The decision of what to do with anything relating to the war usually passed by Hastings before any decision was made and some of those decisions dammed him to eternal suffering to the Chivas, the God of war and destruction. He knew it, but he didn't know when it would come. That was why he laughed.
The mood changed when Margeria walked into the tent then. She asked about his resources. It was a foolish thing to do, even if he was tied up and without control.
"I wont tell you what my resources are exactly, but I will let you know that harming me in anyway would be a very dangerous thing to do. You might be able to do almost anything as a Black Knight and not get punished for doing so, but you will feel the repercussions of harming me. Got it?" He smiled a devilish smile.
The walk thus far had been uneventful. Though the landscape had changed its ways and the wildlife made appearances at various times, it was altogether a lonely jaunt toward the deeper parts of the forest. Even in these times of struggle the trees only brought a sense of peace and of preservation. They were a constant despite man and all its hazards. The forest was a representative of a natural order a harbinger of the cycle of life. These trees would likely be here long after Grim, long after the war’s end. When all the hate was spent and the last soldier laid to the ground, the wilds would remain.
This thought awed the Black Knight. That theirs was a land of constant, the ill deeds of his kind had no power here. Where the Earth reigned and the animals guarded, there was no injustice here. All was as it should be and Grim wished their ways were similar. That mankind could find a way to resolve all conflict without injustice. Within he understood this was impossible dream. Yet he found that he wished it none the less.
“When all is madness it is on man to create order.”
He muttered the words aloud to no one. Which hit him with a startling realization. The line had flowed easily enough but he couldn’t recall where the quote originated. For a short time his walk was filled with a silent searching. Picking through his memories to try and place a face. It was distant but it bothered him that he couldn’t recall. A moments hesitation and he discovered the connection with regret.
“Father,” he whispered. “My father told me that once.”
Try as he might nothing more could come to him. His parents where ghosts that left lingering imprints on his thoughts. Even with all his focus he could not picture their faces. Nor tell you their names. The agony alone threatened to drown Grim in a sea of desperation. Why couldn’t he recall his mother or father? Only small pieces of their voices could be brought to mind. The rest was hazy and uncertain a riddle with no answer. A puzzle with no pieces.
His fist clenched tightly, flustered and aggravated by his own forgetfulness. No mother’s touch or father’s reassurance. No lazy days spent together with gentle conversation and silly talks. No prideful accomplishments to reflect in their eyes. Grim noticed the loneliness and longing that he hadn’t experienced since a child. Somewhat hollow and lost without the guidance and support. How long had it been now five, maybe ten years? Was he already forgetting them?
He couldn’t shake the guilt but ventured on with determination. The charge left to him by fate proving more important then internal conflicts. There would come a time when he’d sort out with those problems. Only having to hold on until that day. To wait out the storm and find his path. Calmly he collected himself with each step. Driving his thoughts elsewhere to stay keen on his destination. Each footfall bringing him closer to a greater goal.
This thought awed the Black Knight. That theirs was a land of constant, the ill deeds of his kind had no power here. Where the Earth reigned and the animals guarded, there was no injustice here. All was as it should be and Grim wished their ways were similar. That mankind could find a way to resolve all conflict without injustice. Within he understood this was impossible dream. Yet he found that he wished it none the less.
“When all is madness it is on man to create order.”
He muttered the words aloud to no one. Which hit him with a startling realization. The line had flowed easily enough but he couldn’t recall where the quote originated. For a short time his walk was filled with a silent searching. Picking through his memories to try and place a face. It was distant but it bothered him that he couldn’t recall. A moments hesitation and he discovered the connection with regret.
“Father,” he whispered. “My father told me that once.”
Try as he might nothing more could come to him. His parents where ghosts that left lingering imprints on his thoughts. Even with all his focus he could not picture their faces. Nor tell you their names. The agony alone threatened to drown Grim in a sea of desperation. Why couldn’t he recall his mother or father? Only small pieces of their voices could be brought to mind. The rest was hazy and uncertain a riddle with no answer. A puzzle with no pieces.
His fist clenched tightly, flustered and aggravated by his own forgetfulness. No mother’s touch or father’s reassurance. No lazy days spent together with gentle conversation and silly talks. No prideful accomplishments to reflect in their eyes. Grim noticed the loneliness and longing that he hadn’t experienced since a child. Somewhat hollow and lost without the guidance and support. How long had it been now five, maybe ten years? Was he already forgetting them?
He couldn’t shake the guilt but ventured on with determination. The charge left to him by fate proving more important then internal conflicts. There would come a time when he’d sort out with those problems. Only having to hold on until that day. To wait out the storm and find his path. Calmly he collected himself with each step. Driving his thoughts elsewhere to stay keen on his destination. Each footfall bringing him closer to a greater goal.
(Newhaven Encampment)
Phelix looked over at Mageria and just sat there. He was nervous, and excited. She was going to find Krander. This was the closest they had been in ages.
"Oh shit," he muttered under his breath. He had forgotten. He gave the king a time he would be there, and that time was mid-sun tomorrow. He was in a pickle: See his lover, that he had waited oh so long to see, or have the King actually worried, and possibly distrust all the time that he had invested in their friendship.
He had made a decision. He literally did a dance for good luck (hopefully, good that is) and threw on all of his things. It was rather dark now, and he was used to running around the town and castle completely silently, but this was different.
He grabbed his bag and crept out of the tent. He was in the middle of camp but he successfully went to an edge. He oriented himself towards Blackpond and began running. He cried the entire trip to Blackpond.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Newhaven Encampment)
Krander was wandering by the tent Hastings was stationed in when he saw Mageria walk in. He heard, "I wont tell you what my resources are exactly, but I will let you know that harming me in anyway would be a very dangerous thing to do. You might be able to do almost anything as a Black Knight and not get punished for doing so, but you will feel the repercussions of harming me. Got it?"
He walked in and before Mageria could say anything he said, trying to remain calm, "I think you forget who is the prisoner here. We literally can hack off your legs if we wanted, but instead we have just restrained you, rather effectively," he grinned, " and we have fed you. Now you sit here and have the audacity to talk back? I understand, I suppose, how inferior you must feel sometimes. Making the decisions like the king, doing the dirty work for the king, having to fill in for the king, but never ever being the king." He watched his face for any kind of landing of a painful blow, and internally he felt the same way. He moved on. "Another thing. If you and the King are the only one who know about it, and we dispose of you, then, lets say, the King dies tragically, " He rolled his eyes, "How will your people survive? I mean they will be our prisoners eventually, but you can attest to how we treat our prisoners. And this is rather dramatic, because you are of great importance to us. How would we feed them? All your friends, family, and those you share position with? We would not have our people starve for your peoples sake..." He paused and reflected. "Yes, perhaps you can answer our questions and sustain very little damage to your body. And maybe we will even let you take what we remove in a bag with us. And if you think I'm joking, recall back to when you got out, and let me live. It would make my day to have the honor of doing whatever we see fits best to our... 'Little friend.'"
Phelix looked over at Mageria and just sat there. He was nervous, and excited. She was going to find Krander. This was the closest they had been in ages.
"Oh shit," he muttered under his breath. He had forgotten. He gave the king a time he would be there, and that time was mid-sun tomorrow. He was in a pickle: See his lover, that he had waited oh so long to see, or have the King actually worried, and possibly distrust all the time that he had invested in their friendship.
He had made a decision. He literally did a dance for good luck (hopefully, good that is) and threw on all of his things. It was rather dark now, and he was used to running around the town and castle completely silently, but this was different.
He grabbed his bag and crept out of the tent. He was in the middle of camp but he successfully went to an edge. He oriented himself towards Blackpond and began running. He cried the entire trip to Blackpond.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Newhaven Encampment)
Krander was wandering by the tent Hastings was stationed in when he saw Mageria walk in. He heard, "I wont tell you what my resources are exactly, but I will let you know that harming me in anyway would be a very dangerous thing to do. You might be able to do almost anything as a Black Knight and not get punished for doing so, but you will feel the repercussions of harming me. Got it?"
He walked in and before Mageria could say anything he said, trying to remain calm, "I think you forget who is the prisoner here. We literally can hack off your legs if we wanted, but instead we have just restrained you, rather effectively," he grinned, " and we have fed you. Now you sit here and have the audacity to talk back? I understand, I suppose, how inferior you must feel sometimes. Making the decisions like the king, doing the dirty work for the king, having to fill in for the king, but never ever being the king." He watched his face for any kind of landing of a painful blow, and internally he felt the same way. He moved on. "Another thing. If you and the King are the only one who know about it, and we dispose of you, then, lets say, the King dies tragically, " He rolled his eyes, "How will your people survive? I mean they will be our prisoners eventually, but you can attest to how we treat our prisoners. And this is rather dramatic, because you are of great importance to us. How would we feed them? All your friends, family, and those you share position with? We would not have our people starve for your peoples sake..." He paused and reflected. "Yes, perhaps you can answer our questions and sustain very little damage to your body. And maybe we will even let you take what we remove in a bag with us. And if you think I'm joking, recall back to when you got out, and let me live. It would make my day to have the honor of doing whatever we see fits best to our... 'Little friend.'"
(Newhaven Camp)
Mageria turned when Krander came in and listened to his threats with one eyebrow raised. Something had set him on edge, and it was starting to worry her. Setting it aside for the moment, she smiled brightly up at Krander and stood.
“Captian. I was just going to go looking for you when I stopped to have a chat with our guest.” She gently pulled him out of the tent by one arm, while looking back at Hastings.
“If you would excuse us, Commander? Think about what I asked if you don’t mind.” She pulled Krander the rest of the way out and started to whisper to him.
“There’s a messenger from Newhaven that you need to . . .” she trailed off when she saw Carlisle standing nearby and looking extremely agitated. She looked between him and Krander, who was looking even more upset.
“What’s going on?”
Mageria turned when Krander came in and listened to his threats with one eyebrow raised. Something had set him on edge, and it was starting to worry her. Setting it aside for the moment, she smiled brightly up at Krander and stood.
“Captian. I was just going to go looking for you when I stopped to have a chat with our guest.” She gently pulled him out of the tent by one arm, while looking back at Hastings.
“If you would excuse us, Commander? Think about what I asked if you don’t mind.” She pulled Krander the rest of the way out and started to whisper to him.
“There’s a messenger from Newhaven that you need to . . .” she trailed off when she saw Carlisle standing nearby and looking extremely agitated. She looked between him and Krander, who was looking even more upset.
“What’s going on?”
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crys sat with Annie for quite some time, mostly in silence, until finally the silence became bothersome. Mostly because Annie usually never stopped talking. "Alright, what is it that you want to say, ask or do, and can't find the courage to?" Crys asked the girl, completely out of the blue, breaking the silence and apparently startling her.
It took Annie a while to speak. "I wanted to ask if you know who my father is." She sated, a serious tone suddenly taking over her voice.
"What makes you think I would know that?" Crys asked turning to her and raising an eyebrow. "Your mother wouldn't tell me anything about that even if I had considered asking."
Annie. "No, she wouldn't. I don't think she even told your mother about it, but..." She put a ring on Crys' hand. "I have this. I thought it was hers, but the alias engraved on the inside is someone else's. So, I think he was a Pack member." She stated.
"There could be a hundred reasons why your mother had this. Does she know you took it?" Crys asked, her expression turning slightly cold as she asked the question.
"Officially, no. You know my mother though, do you honestly think she wouldn't know it's missing?" Annie asked with a little sigh.
Crys nodded, trying to feel the letters engraved on the inside of the ring. "The engraving is a little worn out, care to tell me what it says?"
"It says: Rapid Fire. Would you happen to know who that is?" Annie asked, a little hopelessly, not really expecting to get an answer.
"No." Crys stated quickly, giving the ring back to Annie.
The girl didn't seem very convinced. "You do know who that is."
"What did Lena say when you asked about your father?" Crys asked, with a small frown.
"She said that I don't want to know about that." Annie said, quietly.
"I think she is absolutely right about that." Crys stated. Then she sighed and added. "Look, even if I felt it was my business to tell you about the owner of this ring, it wouldn't matter. He died."
"When?" Annie mumbled.
"About seven months ago. Don't bother looking in the clan records... A lot of people died that day, you wouldn't find him." Crys explained.
"What do you suggest I do? Pretend none of this ever happened?" Annie asked, in a more angry tone.
"Sulking sounds like a very good option too." Crys said, with a little smirk. Then she laughed lightly and added. "Look, have you ever considered that, maybe, your mother won't tell you this for a reason? Ever thought about asking her about said reason before digging around and regretting afterwards?"
Annie was going to say something else, but stopped herself when a scout came running into the clearing.
"Respect the dead, Mitchell." Crys scolded, before the man had the chance to speak.
"My apologies." He responded, taking a breath. The man seemed to have ran a great distance, only stopping right there. "A Black Knight has been spotted heading towards our territory... Alone." The man informed. "Should approach him?"
"No. We don't want that. If he's alone and heading into our territory, I'm willing to bet his captain doesn't know what he's doing. For what I've heard of the woman she doesn't seem like someone who would allow such insanity." She thought for a moment or two, then got on her feet. "Have our scouts keep an eye on the man, and... Alert every active in camp to be ready for a confrontation, but make it clear that no one moves unless I give the order. The last thing we need is more unnecessary violence in this camp."
Orders received, the scout walked off to leave the camp on alert. Crys lowered her head for a second, trying to imagine what would be the result of this. "Annie, go join the other healers." She smiled. "A Black Knight I can handle, I couldn't handle your mother's wrath if something was to happen to you."
"Oh, well... I take no pity on you. I'll be the dead one." The girl laughed. Even so, she did as she was told and walked back to the healers' cabin.
Now there was nothing left to do but wait.
It took Annie a while to speak. "I wanted to ask if you know who my father is." She sated, a serious tone suddenly taking over her voice.
"What makes you think I would know that?" Crys asked turning to her and raising an eyebrow. "Your mother wouldn't tell me anything about that even if I had considered asking."
Annie. "No, she wouldn't. I don't think she even told your mother about it, but..." She put a ring on Crys' hand. "I have this. I thought it was hers, but the alias engraved on the inside is someone else's. So, I think he was a Pack member." She stated.
"There could be a hundred reasons why your mother had this. Does she know you took it?" Crys asked, her expression turning slightly cold as she asked the question.
"Officially, no. You know my mother though, do you honestly think she wouldn't know it's missing?" Annie asked with a little sigh.
Crys nodded, trying to feel the letters engraved on the inside of the ring. "The engraving is a little worn out, care to tell me what it says?"
"It says: Rapid Fire. Would you happen to know who that is?" Annie asked, a little hopelessly, not really expecting to get an answer.
"No." Crys stated quickly, giving the ring back to Annie.
The girl didn't seem very convinced. "You do know who that is."
"What did Lena say when you asked about your father?" Crys asked, with a small frown.
"She said that I don't want to know about that." Annie said, quietly.
"I think she is absolutely right about that." Crys stated. Then she sighed and added. "Look, even if I felt it was my business to tell you about the owner of this ring, it wouldn't matter. He died."
"When?" Annie mumbled.
"About seven months ago. Don't bother looking in the clan records... A lot of people died that day, you wouldn't find him." Crys explained.
"What do you suggest I do? Pretend none of this ever happened?" Annie asked, in a more angry tone.
"Sulking sounds like a very good option too." Crys said, with a little smirk. Then she laughed lightly and added. "Look, have you ever considered that, maybe, your mother won't tell you this for a reason? Ever thought about asking her about said reason before digging around and regretting afterwards?"
Annie was going to say something else, but stopped herself when a scout came running into the clearing.
"Respect the dead, Mitchell." Crys scolded, before the man had the chance to speak.
"My apologies." He responded, taking a breath. The man seemed to have ran a great distance, only stopping right there. "A Black Knight has been spotted heading towards our territory... Alone." The man informed. "Should approach him?"
"No. We don't want that. If he's alone and heading into our territory, I'm willing to bet his captain doesn't know what he's doing. For what I've heard of the woman she doesn't seem like someone who would allow such insanity." She thought for a moment or two, then got on her feet. "Have our scouts keep an eye on the man, and... Alert every active in camp to be ready for a confrontation, but make it clear that no one moves unless I give the order. The last thing we need is more unnecessary violence in this camp."
Orders received, the scout walked off to leave the camp on alert. Crys lowered her head for a second, trying to imagine what would be the result of this. "Annie, go join the other healers." She smiled. "A Black Knight I can handle, I couldn't handle your mother's wrath if something was to happen to you."
"Oh, well... I take no pity on you. I'll be the dead one." The girl laughed. Even so, she did as she was told and walked back to the healers' cabin.
Now there was nothing left to do but wait.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Edge of the Desert)
Thomas groaned as he reached the edge of forest. It was ridiculous how long it was taking to get where he was going, but he supposed that was the point. If you were exiling someone, then you wanted them to get as far gone as possible. Now the only problem was going to be finding the former Queen, one Sarris. There was literally miles of area to look through, and only him to do the looking. His shoulders slumped for a moment and he felt utterly lost. What madness had sent him down this way with only himself to do the looking? Then he snorted. The fact that he was the only one left who could do the looking while everyone else was off trying to get themselves killed with Blackpond. For a moment worry for the ones that he had left behind consumed him. There were so many of them, and they were all convinced that they could take on anything and live. Granted, everything thus far had proved them right, but that just meant that when someone finally fell, it would be that much worse for the rest of them.
Dismounting, Thomas pulled out the rough map he had of the Southern lands and looked it over carefully. The former city of Brightvale was a few more miles south. If there was any sort of settlement, it would most likely be there. He took a heading off the sun and mounted up again, continuing out into the blasted wasteland. This was going to be simply wonderful. He really hoped that everyone else back home understood someday what he was going through for them.
It was early afternoon by the time that he reached the ruins that marked the site of the former city. It was also at this moment that he realized that he had been ridiculously hopeful in thinking that there would be any sort of settlement here. There was barely enough shelter for more than a few people, and certainly not enough resources to sustain anybody. Thomas was looking around for any sign of anybody when suddenly he felt something wizz past his head. Looking back over his shoulder, he spotted an arrow that suddenly sprouted out of a wall behind him. While most people might be upset at being shot at, Thomas found himself to be ridiculously cheered. Someone shooting at him meant that there was someone there to do the shooting. Which meant that there was someone that he could question. Thomas looked back up, eyes flashing gold for just a moment. There was a very scruffy person standing on a a boulder not to far from him.
“Gimme what you got, you can leave with your life.” Thomas focused on the man to the exclusion of everything else, eyes once again flashing gold.
“Now why would you want to do something like that to an old friend?” Thomas felt a headache starting up in a band around his temples. Normally he didn’t like to push anyone this hard, but it was a case of the greater good. He kept up the pressure until the man’s expression shifted into a puzzled frown.
“Eh, now why ‘ave ye been away for so long? Seems like I ain’t seen you in forever!” Thomas rode forward and leaned over.
“You know how it goes, my friend. But I’m here now. And on a bit of a mission. Seems like a friend of mine is looking for someone in this area, and since I was headed down here they asked me to look her up. You wouldn't happen to know where Sarris lives around these parts would you? Short, blond hair, came into the area about 16 years ago with an older man?”
The scruffy bandit scratched his head for a moment and thought, a process that seemed frighteningly hard.
“Eh, I might know who you’re looking for. Woman that sort of matches that description lives not to far from here. But she’s a hard woman. Might not be who you’re looking for. But I can take you there.” He hopped down off the boulder and started out, leading the way. Along the way he kept up a steady stream of chatter, telling Thomas far more than he needed to know about the life the bandit had been living.
Thomas groaned as he reached the edge of forest. It was ridiculous how long it was taking to get where he was going, but he supposed that was the point. If you were exiling someone, then you wanted them to get as far gone as possible. Now the only problem was going to be finding the former Queen, one Sarris. There was literally miles of area to look through, and only him to do the looking. His shoulders slumped for a moment and he felt utterly lost. What madness had sent him down this way with only himself to do the looking? Then he snorted. The fact that he was the only one left who could do the looking while everyone else was off trying to get themselves killed with Blackpond. For a moment worry for the ones that he had left behind consumed him. There were so many of them, and they were all convinced that they could take on anything and live. Granted, everything thus far had proved them right, but that just meant that when someone finally fell, it would be that much worse for the rest of them.
Dismounting, Thomas pulled out the rough map he had of the Southern lands and looked it over carefully. The former city of Brightvale was a few more miles south. If there was any sort of settlement, it would most likely be there. He took a heading off the sun and mounted up again, continuing out into the blasted wasteland. This was going to be simply wonderful. He really hoped that everyone else back home understood someday what he was going through for them.
It was early afternoon by the time that he reached the ruins that marked the site of the former city. It was also at this moment that he realized that he had been ridiculously hopeful in thinking that there would be any sort of settlement here. There was barely enough shelter for more than a few people, and certainly not enough resources to sustain anybody. Thomas was looking around for any sign of anybody when suddenly he felt something wizz past his head. Looking back over his shoulder, he spotted an arrow that suddenly sprouted out of a wall behind him. While most people might be upset at being shot at, Thomas found himself to be ridiculously cheered. Someone shooting at him meant that there was someone there to do the shooting. Which meant that there was someone that he could question. Thomas looked back up, eyes flashing gold for just a moment. There was a very scruffy person standing on a a boulder not to far from him.
“Gimme what you got, you can leave with your life.” Thomas focused on the man to the exclusion of everything else, eyes once again flashing gold.
“Now why would you want to do something like that to an old friend?” Thomas felt a headache starting up in a band around his temples. Normally he didn’t like to push anyone this hard, but it was a case of the greater good. He kept up the pressure until the man’s expression shifted into a puzzled frown.
“Eh, now why ‘ave ye been away for so long? Seems like I ain’t seen you in forever!” Thomas rode forward and leaned over.
“You know how it goes, my friend. But I’m here now. And on a bit of a mission. Seems like a friend of mine is looking for someone in this area, and since I was headed down here they asked me to look her up. You wouldn't happen to know where Sarris lives around these parts would you? Short, blond hair, came into the area about 16 years ago with an older man?”
The scruffy bandit scratched his head for a moment and thought, a process that seemed frighteningly hard.
“Eh, I might know who you’re looking for. Woman that sort of matches that description lives not to far from here. But she’s a hard woman. Might not be who you’re looking for. But I can take you there.” He hopped down off the boulder and started out, leading the way. Along the way he kept up a steady stream of chatter, telling Thomas far more than he needed to know about the life the bandit had been living.
[Newhaven Camp]
Hastings just didn't have any time to rest at all. No matter how much he tried, the enemy seemed to try even harder to deprive him of sleep in the kindest of ways. It wasn't like they were harming him in any way, well except Krander, but he dealt with him earlier that day. Besides him though, he was having a rather pleasant stay.
That's when Krander suddenly entered the tent. He looked rather angry at the time he entered and the way he spoke supported that idea. The one thing that really caught his attention was what he said around the middle of his monologue. He said, "if you and the King are the only one who know about it, and we dispose of you, then, lets say, the King dies tragically, how will your people survive? I mean they will be our prisoners eventually." He said it with such a cocky tone that it almost made him want to burst out in laughter like he did moments ago. He didn't however, but it made him mishear what he said after it. The only thing he understood was the part about doing harm. He was too busy thinking about the other things that were said to really think about the harm that could be done to him.
Then, Mageria pushed Krander out of the tent. She obviously believed she was whispering, but doing a really bad job at he. It made Hastings think that she only thought that she was whispering. “There’s a messenger from Newhaven that you need to . . . What’s going on?”
Obviously there was more comotion in the camp than Hastings had first anticipated. The only two people Krander seemed to take his anger out on though was Hastings and his poor friend Lionel. It was all good though, Hastings had taken a lot worse in life than a punch to the face and the threats of losing body parts. Even more relevant was the fact that he had probably experienced worse pains in life than a simple lost limb. Although it was a scary thought indeed, it wasn't the worst thing to happen. He had been stabbed clean through the chest once and there was almost no chance in him surviving. It was the most painful thing he had ever experience. He never did thank the young girl with the extraordinary power who saved her life. That pain was nowhere near the emotional pain he had gone through in his past however. He had his drinking problem to thank for that.
There was no chance in hell that he would ever be able to get over the things that he lost because of his drinking problem. He lost his child. Well, more like killed her in his drunken rage. That is when he lost his wife. He never got to say goodbye to either his mother or father when they died. He was too busy drinking the night away while they lay sick in the hospital. Then there was his grandmother who had a heart attack after Hastings had thrown a bottle of whisky, almost full, right at her head. She lived for a while after that, but never learnt how to speak again. All his friends abandoned him, not too long after he had started his drinking. There were so many things that he had lost. He didn't even have enough money for a house. He lived out on the streets while he had a decent job as a soldier of Blackpond. It wasn't until the King hired to the position he had now that he really had anything. Even that wasn't worth it though. Still, he doesn't have enough money. There is only one job that could ever feed his alcohol addiction and that is the position of King.
He continued to listen to the conversation.
Hastings just didn't have any time to rest at all. No matter how much he tried, the enemy seemed to try even harder to deprive him of sleep in the kindest of ways. It wasn't like they were harming him in any way, well except Krander, but he dealt with him earlier that day. Besides him though, he was having a rather pleasant stay.
That's when Krander suddenly entered the tent. He looked rather angry at the time he entered and the way he spoke supported that idea. The one thing that really caught his attention was what he said around the middle of his monologue. He said, "if you and the King are the only one who know about it, and we dispose of you, then, lets say, the King dies tragically, how will your people survive? I mean they will be our prisoners eventually." He said it with such a cocky tone that it almost made him want to burst out in laughter like he did moments ago. He didn't however, but it made him mishear what he said after it. The only thing he understood was the part about doing harm. He was too busy thinking about the other things that were said to really think about the harm that could be done to him.
Then, Mageria pushed Krander out of the tent. She obviously believed she was whispering, but doing a really bad job at he. It made Hastings think that she only thought that she was whispering. “There’s a messenger from Newhaven that you need to . . . What’s going on?”
Obviously there was more comotion in the camp than Hastings had first anticipated. The only two people Krander seemed to take his anger out on though was Hastings and his poor friend Lionel. It was all good though, Hastings had taken a lot worse in life than a punch to the face and the threats of losing body parts. Even more relevant was the fact that he had probably experienced worse pains in life than a simple lost limb. Although it was a scary thought indeed, it wasn't the worst thing to happen. He had been stabbed clean through the chest once and there was almost no chance in him surviving. It was the most painful thing he had ever experience. He never did thank the young girl with the extraordinary power who saved her life. That pain was nowhere near the emotional pain he had gone through in his past however. He had his drinking problem to thank for that.
There was no chance in hell that he would ever be able to get over the things that he lost because of his drinking problem. He lost his child. Well, more like killed her in his drunken rage. That is when he lost his wife. He never got to say goodbye to either his mother or father when they died. He was too busy drinking the night away while they lay sick in the hospital. Then there was his grandmother who had a heart attack after Hastings had thrown a bottle of whisky, almost full, right at her head. She lived for a while after that, but never learnt how to speak again. All his friends abandoned him, not too long after he had started his drinking. There were so many things that he had lost. He didn't even have enough money for a house. He lived out on the streets while he had a decent job as a soldier of Blackpond. It wasn't until the King hired to the position he had now that he really had anything. Even that wasn't worth it though. Still, he doesn't have enough money. There is only one job that could ever feed his alcohol addiction and that is the position of King.
He continued to listen to the conversation.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
When at last the enemy’s stronghold had come into view Grim felt his heart sink. These were his sworn opponents. The Black Knights against the Wolfpack that was how it had always been. Blood for blood and life for life they had waged their battles for years before Grim’s graduation as a Black Knight. Of course there were other outside forces to contend with. Though they were long gone the Shadow Hunters were once just as great an adversary to both sides of the conflict. Could he amend for all these years of killing? Privately he hoped so. Knowing full well that he could be killed before his foot reached their grounds, he pressed on.
There were so few Black Knights left now. Of what was once a full battalion only a handful remained. Grim was of a dieing breed, and he walked into the jaws of the wolf without fear. Each footfall a process kept running only by will alone. Quieting fear and the urge to draw his blade from his back. Should he fall here it would not be in vain. Many a wolf would die with him. Attacking was far from him, but he took some pride in knowing he was dangerous even here.
It was well that his face was masked, the helm wouldn’t betray his concern. Like a great dark reaper he approached, a thing out of legend. A giant of metal with an armor as black as night and a blade as long as any man. He showed no wariness to where he was wandering and continued his way down the path. Pressing past the first watchmen without any acknowledgement. A visage of gleaming ebony emerged just within the camp’s perimeter. It was here he waited, guessing that many knew of his approach long before he got here.
“My name is Grim… though you would surely not know it. By my enemies I am called many things. The Black Blood., The Raging Demon, The Bloody Edge, The Endless Rage, Evil Frenzy, War…
I am not here by any of those titles. I am sir Grim, and I am here to be heard and to listen in the hopes of finding a way to coexist. Where is your Alpha? Bring them before me and be swift…”
There were so few Black Knights left now. Of what was once a full battalion only a handful remained. Grim was of a dieing breed, and he walked into the jaws of the wolf without fear. Each footfall a process kept running only by will alone. Quieting fear and the urge to draw his blade from his back. Should he fall here it would not be in vain. Many a wolf would die with him. Attacking was far from him, but he took some pride in knowing he was dangerous even here.
It was well that his face was masked, the helm wouldn’t betray his concern. Like a great dark reaper he approached, a thing out of legend. A giant of metal with an armor as black as night and a blade as long as any man. He showed no wariness to where he was wandering and continued his way down the path. Pressing past the first watchmen without any acknowledgement. A visage of gleaming ebony emerged just within the camp’s perimeter. It was here he waited, guessing that many knew of his approach long before he got here.
“My name is Grim… though you would surely not know it. By my enemies I am called many things. The Black Blood., The Raging Demon, The Bloody Edge, The Endless Rage, Evil Frenzy, War…
I am not here by any of those titles. I am sir Grim, and I am here to be heard and to listen in the hopes of finding a way to coexist. Where is your Alpha? Bring them before me and be swift…”
Crystal had gone into her cabin, front door open as it was the costume. She could feel it in her blood as the whole encampment grew more and more tense at every second since the alert had been given. Even though she felt as if it was harder to breathe with the tension, she was absolutely calm. A Knight being there alone was unusual. The usual, however, was them being attacked. Anything different from that could be viewed as progress in some sense. Crys hoped for this to be a conversation, and the slight possibility of it made it impossible for her to be as tense as everyone else. After all, if this turned into a confrontation, it wouldn't be the first and surely not the last. if there was a chance for dialog, by all means... She would take it.
Moments passed when a familiar voice sounded in the cabin. "He is here, demanding to see our... Alpha." The active by name of Sean informed her, a slight tone of mocking was heard in his voice.
"Alpha is an accurate term Sean, it's simply no longer used." She stated, making the man aware that she had noticed the disrespect. "I want his exact words, and his name. I'm sure he would have presented himself."
Sean snorted, probably holding back an impolite remark, and stated. "He introduced himself as sir Grim. He says he is here to talk. I'm not sure if we should believe the word of a Black Knight."
Crys snickered. "Oh, well. His word is as good to us as ours is to him, I bet." She had remembered the name Grim. This was the Knight Evin had spoken to. If the man was here to talk, he had believed what Evin told him, or at least believed it was possible. "I will speak with him." Crys stated, standing up.
"Shouldn't you let him come to you?" Sean asked, seriously.
"He is a Black Knight, not a misbehaved recruit, Sean. I will go greet him as I would do for any visitor."
"Visitor? He invaded our territory!" Sean argued.
"That is enough." Crys ordered, in a more severe tone, causing Sean to grow silent immediately. She sighed. "I understand that you lost your father on one of the attacks, Sean. You have every right to be angry, but these decisions should never be personal."
"You are right, I apologize for the disrespect." Sean spoke quietly, before leaving the cabin.
Crys took a second or two to catch her breath before walking out of the cabin and walking a straight line to where Grim was standing, closely observed by armed assassins. She stopped before the Knight and nodded to her men, they immediately cleared out and kept a more respectful distance.
Crys then bowed her head slightly in respect. "Sir. My name is Crystal Rivers. I am the leader of this clan. May I ask what brings you to our encampment during such dangerous times?" She asked, lifting her head and locking her empty stare at the exact point where the man's eyes were, hidden underneath his dark helm, a pleasant smile spread across her lips as she waited for an answer.
Moments passed when a familiar voice sounded in the cabin. "He is here, demanding to see our... Alpha." The active by name of Sean informed her, a slight tone of mocking was heard in his voice.
"Alpha is an accurate term Sean, it's simply no longer used." She stated, making the man aware that she had noticed the disrespect. "I want his exact words, and his name. I'm sure he would have presented himself."
Sean snorted, probably holding back an impolite remark, and stated. "He introduced himself as sir Grim. He says he is here to talk. I'm not sure if we should believe the word of a Black Knight."
Crys snickered. "Oh, well. His word is as good to us as ours is to him, I bet." She had remembered the name Grim. This was the Knight Evin had spoken to. If the man was here to talk, he had believed what Evin told him, or at least believed it was possible. "I will speak with him." Crys stated, standing up.
"Shouldn't you let him come to you?" Sean asked, seriously.
"He is a Black Knight, not a misbehaved recruit, Sean. I will go greet him as I would do for any visitor."
"Visitor? He invaded our territory!" Sean argued.
"That is enough." Crys ordered, in a more severe tone, causing Sean to grow silent immediately. She sighed. "I understand that you lost your father on one of the attacks, Sean. You have every right to be angry, but these decisions should never be personal."
"You are right, I apologize for the disrespect." Sean spoke quietly, before leaving the cabin.
Crys took a second or two to catch her breath before walking out of the cabin and walking a straight line to where Grim was standing, closely observed by armed assassins. She stopped before the Knight and nodded to her men, they immediately cleared out and kept a more respectful distance.
Crys then bowed her head slightly in respect. "Sir. My name is Crystal Rivers. I am the leader of this clan. May I ask what brings you to our encampment during such dangerous times?" She asked, lifting her head and locking her empty stare at the exact point where the man's eyes were, hidden underneath his dark helm, a pleasant smile spread across her lips as she waited for an answer.
The woman that approached wasn’t what Grim anticipated. A female leader was even more surprising. This stranger had to possess extraordinary talent and social skill. The wolves were always painted as a rough but clever bunch. A group of wild dwelling ruffians with an outstanding ability to perform. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, the fledglings he had encountered were of the offbeat look. Most tried to seem harmless it was an effective lure. False sense of security or overconfidence both are deadly in the right hands. Yet the lady who approached had a sort of elegant sway. A way of holding her stance, a commanding presence he guessed. Different and yet akin to even Mageria in a way.
He towered over this individual and despite his intimidating presence she spoke with a kindly tone that was both formal and curt. Announcing herself before slamming Grim with an unexpected action. The tempered smile was expected, but her eyes struck straight into his own. They were a gentle green much different from his own. Though Grim’s eyes seemed to only give out a flat judging gaze, he felt overturned by Cry’s stare. There was something offsetting in those orbs, something he was missing and it bothered him to no end. It was power and courage and it forced his gaze to lower. Glancing off to end the tension before mustering the confidence to return her watch. Backtracking to his formality, but he noted that this person was more then she appeared.
“I am here for many things, and I have come to beg a boon from you and your clan. I was given a tale by one of your members. Though to most it would be the clever ramblings of deceit, in my heart I know the words to be true. Call it what you will, perhaps I am blinded by my dream of peace or by your wolf’s lies. What I know is that Newhaven’s archive did not possess sufficient information to make the tale true. So I’ve come in hopes to find another source. Tell me Crystal Rivers….”
He tilted his head to find prying ears. Of course they were the center of attention. Despite this he found himself trying to disguise his words from the other wolves. Uncertain if what he was told is private or public information. Opting to take the safest route and try for a more discreet approach.
“I need information on the false king….”
He towered over this individual and despite his intimidating presence she spoke with a kindly tone that was both formal and curt. Announcing herself before slamming Grim with an unexpected action. The tempered smile was expected, but her eyes struck straight into his own. They were a gentle green much different from his own. Though Grim’s eyes seemed to only give out a flat judging gaze, he felt overturned by Cry’s stare. There was something offsetting in those orbs, something he was missing and it bothered him to no end. It was power and courage and it forced his gaze to lower. Glancing off to end the tension before mustering the confidence to return her watch. Backtracking to his formality, but he noted that this person was more then she appeared.
“I am here for many things, and I have come to beg a boon from you and your clan. I was given a tale by one of your members. Though to most it would be the clever ramblings of deceit, in my heart I know the words to be true. Call it what you will, perhaps I am blinded by my dream of peace or by your wolf’s lies. What I know is that Newhaven’s archive did not possess sufficient information to make the tale true. So I’ve come in hopes to find another source. Tell me Crystal Rivers….”
He tilted his head to find prying ears. Of course they were the center of attention. Despite this he found himself trying to disguise his words from the other wolves. Uncertain if what he was told is private or public information. Opting to take the safest route and try for a more discreet approach.
“I need information on the false king….”
Crystal's eyes sparkled, only slightly, when the question finally came to her ears. Grim had said he believed Evin, he wasn't lying. If he was being honest, she would return the courtesy. Around them, she could feel the stares as well as the whispering. She knew her men were wondering why Crys was being so welcoming to a man who had been last seen around those parts slaughtering their friends and family. It felt strangely familiar to the air around camp when Theron was first accepted as a member of the clan, it was odd how two completely different moments could feel so much alike. Almost amusing.
After a moment of silence on her end Crys did something that would have been seen as shocking, although she didn't quite realize it... She turned her back to the Knight. Surely, that could be seen as disrespect too. However, Crys was always a little oblivious to such things, she acted more on instinct that on manners. She began to slowly walk towards her cabin. "Follow me, please, sir Grim. It is a rather long story and I personally prefer not mention this out in the open." She spoke, asking Grim to follow her to the wooden house. Keeping track of the man steps as she walked, she didn't stop her walking until she was inside the common area of the house leaning against the old wooden table. She smirked slightly, remembering a time when she had told her mother that one day she would lean against the table and it would brake. It was a very old table, had outlived everything. Crys should have known, if anything was to brake... It wouldn't be the table.
Inside the safety of the house, Crys crossed her arms in front of her chest, questions and explanations going through her mind. Finally, she decided to offer her visitor what she had before asking anything of him, so she spoke. "That impostor was known to most of us as only a Shadow, we knew little of his true identity. I believe that even the person in this clan who knew him best knew nothing of him." She stated. "What I can give you are the facts that lead to the night of his death. What use you will have for them, is beyond me."
Crys heaved a long sigh and started with what she assumed was the start of the problem. "We were after him, of course, from the beginning. He was attacking close to were our assassins were working and had succeeded to frame us for a few of his killings. When he murdered my father, however, and left his body for me to discover personally. It was... very... unpleasant." He voice grew quiet as a small frown crossed her features for a second before she went on talking. "My mother decided we were actually to hunt him and see him to his end. She named a group to hunt the killer. It consisted of myself, and others that will remain anonymous for the sake of this conversation. A few days into that training, a member of that group was attacked, right here in our territory." Crys made another pause as she let the memory take over her mind for a few seconds. "She fought him, and managed to hurt him severely. At end of the fight though, he ran away and she was... Practically dead. If Lena Turner and her daughter weren't here that night she wouldn't have made it."
Crys ran her fingers through her hair, not being able to hold back the many indications that these memories disturbed her. She had relived those moments in her mind many times since the battle had occurred, trying to find something they could have done to stop this from happening. "She lived and recovered, and we pursued our training. As soon as we were consider fit to do so, we departed. One small thing to do before finally going after the killer: Speaking to the King of Newhaven." She nodded and gave a small chuckled. "See, my mother wanted us to offer him our aid since we were going after the same person. If only she knew." Crys nodded again, bitterness and amusement mixed in her tone. "We made our way to the throne room. The moment we entered it was apparent something was wrong. Not much talking was required to make us realize that the man before was not the person we were there to see. Not long after that, it all escalated to a fight. The fight was made public when the impostor used an explosive to try and take us all out. All that followed was more and more confusion until his death and our escape." She said. "That is the full story on what happened. Also... When he attacked my active, she noticed he still wore a graduation ring, such as this." She pulled the chain around her neck exposing the ring that hung from it. "All actives receive one once they finish their training. It would identify him as being one of my clan, at some point in the past, at least. I don't know if he still had it when he died. He also passed himself as a healer at the same time he posed as King. He infiltrated the White Shadows and anyone who has met their leader knows how difficult that is."
Crys stopped talking for a far longer while before speaking again. "These are the facts I can offer, with no proof to sustain them. If there is something left unclear, by all means, feel free to ask." She had told Grim everything except the names of the people involved... And Ella. The girl being there was not relevant though. Not for this.
After a moment of silence on her end Crys did something that would have been seen as shocking, although she didn't quite realize it... She turned her back to the Knight. Surely, that could be seen as disrespect too. However, Crys was always a little oblivious to such things, she acted more on instinct that on manners. She began to slowly walk towards her cabin. "Follow me, please, sir Grim. It is a rather long story and I personally prefer not mention this out in the open." She spoke, asking Grim to follow her to the wooden house. Keeping track of the man steps as she walked, she didn't stop her walking until she was inside the common area of the house leaning against the old wooden table. She smirked slightly, remembering a time when she had told her mother that one day she would lean against the table and it would brake. It was a very old table, had outlived everything. Crys should have known, if anything was to brake... It wouldn't be the table.
Inside the safety of the house, Crys crossed her arms in front of her chest, questions and explanations going through her mind. Finally, she decided to offer her visitor what she had before asking anything of him, so she spoke. "That impostor was known to most of us as only a Shadow, we knew little of his true identity. I believe that even the person in this clan who knew him best knew nothing of him." She stated. "What I can give you are the facts that lead to the night of his death. What use you will have for them, is beyond me."
Crys heaved a long sigh and started with what she assumed was the start of the problem. "We were after him, of course, from the beginning. He was attacking close to were our assassins were working and had succeeded to frame us for a few of his killings. When he murdered my father, however, and left his body for me to discover personally. It was... very... unpleasant." He voice grew quiet as a small frown crossed her features for a second before she went on talking. "My mother decided we were actually to hunt him and see him to his end. She named a group to hunt the killer. It consisted of myself, and others that will remain anonymous for the sake of this conversation. A few days into that training, a member of that group was attacked, right here in our territory." Crys made another pause as she let the memory take over her mind for a few seconds. "She fought him, and managed to hurt him severely. At end of the fight though, he ran away and she was... Practically dead. If Lena Turner and her daughter weren't here that night she wouldn't have made it."
Crys ran her fingers through her hair, not being able to hold back the many indications that these memories disturbed her. She had relived those moments in her mind many times since the battle had occurred, trying to find something they could have done to stop this from happening. "She lived and recovered, and we pursued our training. As soon as we were consider fit to do so, we departed. One small thing to do before finally going after the killer: Speaking to the King of Newhaven." She nodded and gave a small chuckled. "See, my mother wanted us to offer him our aid since we were going after the same person. If only she knew." Crys nodded again, bitterness and amusement mixed in her tone. "We made our way to the throne room. The moment we entered it was apparent something was wrong. Not much talking was required to make us realize that the man before was not the person we were there to see. Not long after that, it all escalated to a fight. The fight was made public when the impostor used an explosive to try and take us all out. All that followed was more and more confusion until his death and our escape." She said. "That is the full story on what happened. Also... When he attacked my active, she noticed he still wore a graduation ring, such as this." She pulled the chain around her neck exposing the ring that hung from it. "All actives receive one once they finish their training. It would identify him as being one of my clan, at some point in the past, at least. I don't know if he still had it when he died. He also passed himself as a healer at the same time he posed as King. He infiltrated the White Shadows and anyone who has met their leader knows how difficult that is."
Crys stopped talking for a far longer while before speaking again. "These are the facts I can offer, with no proof to sustain them. If there is something left unclear, by all means, feel free to ask." She had told Grim everything except the names of the people involved... And Ella. The girl being there was not relevant though. Not for this.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Newhaven Camp)
Mageria looked between Krander and Carlisle again before pulling them both further away from the tent.
“I assume there’s trouble? Neither of you would look this upset without very good reason.”
Carlisle fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking.
“It’s come to my attention that Lionel and his fellow guard may be involved in something with Hastings.” Mageria looked over at Krander, knowing that he felt close to the man. She took a deep breath and ran one hand through her hair.
“Right then. Assign a few guards to watch over them, discreetly. I don’t want them to know, but I don’t want either of them to make a move without one of us knowing about it.” She thought a minute. “Actually, make sure that they get extra to drink tonight. I want them to be very happy and very relaxed.” Turning around, she surveyed the scene.
“Also, I want archers watching the tent. If Hastings tries to make a move, they’re to take him down. Non-lethally. Extra lamps around the tent.”
She sighed and fidgeted with the dagger under her sleeve. “One more thing. No more alcohol for the prisoner until one of us oks it. I want him to want it badly. We’ve treated him too well as it is.”
With a nod she sent Carlisle on his way to arrange things.
Mageria looked over at Krander and shook her head, pulling him along for a moment. “I know that there’s things that you need to take care of. But when you get the chance, go talk to that messenger. I don’t know how long he can stay.” She patted him on the arm and set off on the few hundred things that she had to take care of.
Mageria looked between Krander and Carlisle again before pulling them both further away from the tent.
“I assume there’s trouble? Neither of you would look this upset without very good reason.”
Carlisle fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking.
“It’s come to my attention that Lionel and his fellow guard may be involved in something with Hastings.” Mageria looked over at Krander, knowing that he felt close to the man. She took a deep breath and ran one hand through her hair.
“Right then. Assign a few guards to watch over them, discreetly. I don’t want them to know, but I don’t want either of them to make a move without one of us knowing about it.” She thought a minute. “Actually, make sure that they get extra to drink tonight. I want them to be very happy and very relaxed.” Turning around, she surveyed the scene.
“Also, I want archers watching the tent. If Hastings tries to make a move, they’re to take him down. Non-lethally. Extra lamps around the tent.”
She sighed and fidgeted with the dagger under her sleeve. “One more thing. No more alcohol for the prisoner until one of us oks it. I want him to want it badly. We’ve treated him too well as it is.”
With a nod she sent Carlisle on his way to arrange things.
Mageria looked over at Krander and shook her head, pulling him along for a moment. “I know that there’s things that you need to take care of. But when you get the chance, go talk to that messenger. I don’t know how long he can stay.” She patted him on the arm and set off on the few hundred things that she had to take care of.
Compared to sleeping on the streets of Blackpond, this wasn't too bad. He managed a decent sleep for sure. He assumed that he had gotten to bed late that night. From what he could tell through the roof of the tent, the sun appeared to be around 1 o'clock so he knew that he had gotten to bed late. The only thing that he could complain about when he woke up though was that he was a little soar. That would have to change soon however. The time to get his plan in motion was way too close if the time was correct.
Hastings felt very groggy. Usually people would feel like this because they were hung over, but it was the complete opposite for Hastings. His mouth was dry and he was rather warm, he needed something to drink. Something cold and hard. He usually had his flask beside him when he woke up, but this time he didn't have the luxury to just get up and have a drink. There was too much at stake today for little things like his desire for alcohol slow him down. If he was correct about the time, he would be executing the next phase in his plan to get out of here. It would only take about five minutes after Lionel and his other friend walked in before he was out of the tent.
Judging by how tired the guards looked, he was correct with his timing. It only became supported even more when Lionel walked into the tent. He rushed the guards out, Hastings could see that the boy was a little anxious.
"Where's your friend?" Hastings asked
The boy jumped, "Oh Kurt? He's still on his way. He's just bringing the sheets like you requested."
"Perfect. And the note?"
"It wasn't hard to get. We were being given a lot of drinks for some reason. We gave them all to the person who signs documents when important people don't have the time. We managed to convince him that we were Mageria and that we would perform lude acts if he signed the note. He was so out of it, that he believed us. It helps that he has sort of a thing for her too. I was also kinda surprised and how well he still wrote even though he was so drunk. You should have seen it, it was..."
He let the kid go on for a while after that. We wasn't too worried about the details of the plan. It wasn't all that important to him, but the more excited that Lionel was about the whole thing, the better it was when the most important part of the plan came to fruition. While the kid continued to speak, he ran over the plan that he had set up. It was important that everything was to work according to plan. If he could escape now, it would be good, but he doubted that was possible. He had taken a lot of things into account for this escape plan, but he knew that it was a long shot for sure if he was ever going to escape.
Just as Lionel was finishing his story, Kurt, the other guard walked in. He was carrying three sheets of pure and polished silver in his hand, just over the size of a man's head. Hastings could see his reflection in these sheets. They were incredibly shinny.
"Ok, start untying the ropes and-"
Lionel interrupted. "Not yet Hastings, weren't you listening?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Just wait."
Hastings anxiously waited for whatever they were waiting for. Maybe it was for a moment that they knew that the guard duty would be a little more relaxed. He wasn't exactly sure, but he didn't want to wait long. Just before Hastings spoke up, a short, yet surprisingly lanky man walked into the room. It was a messenger, followed by the two guards who stayed watch outside of the tent. The messenger said. "We have gotten a letter that has been signed by Krander. He requests that you move the prisoner to Newhaven where he will stay in the dungeon. Here's the note if anyone asks." The man handed Lionel the note. He pretended to read it over then stuffed it in his pocket. It was obvious by the cocky smile that the messenger had that he was in on the entire plan. The two guards who accompanied the messenger left in a hurry. They knew now that they had no reason to stay guard outside the tent anymore. They just assumed that they were officially off duty. The messenger followed them out.
"Now untie me and quickly too. Now that the guards have left their post, it wont take long for people to get suspicious."
The two men did so with much haste. Time was of the essence now and it was wearing quite thin as it was. Knowing how often Hastings was interrupted last night, he knew it wouldn't be long before it happened again.
They walked out of the tent and instantly Hastings began to scan the area. He looked up instead of which direction he should go. The guards would direct him out of here, he was only responsible for detecting the threats.
"Seven, eleven and... three." He said in a rushed. The directions he was talking about were where the archers were posted. Being a experienced marksman himself, he knew a lot about where they would most likely be before he even walked out of the tent. He didn't have much time to think of the glories of his past as a soldier though, the bowman had already knocked their arrow and were beginning to draw back (I'm no archery expert here, so bear with me). Kurt handed Lionel and him the silver. They all reflected the suns light strait into the eyes of all the archers. He knew how much a pain that was for him first hand. Luckily there was no one in the area to see them doing this at the time.
They began to run, dodging blind arrow shots as they passed by a few trees for cover. Now was the time to hurry things up or else he would never get as far as he planned.
Staying out of any line of fire, they rushed through some of the less used pathways that were made in this camp. It was the area where they all went to the toilet. The only reason anyone would even go near this place was to actually use it for it's function. Otherwise, no one wanted anywhere near the smell. They continued down the path and through the other less common places. It didn't take long for Hastings to realise that they were being followed. Lionel realised it as well.
"We have a few friends." Hastings noted.
"Yep, they've been followin' us since last night I suppose." Kurt said.
They continued to walk, trying to keep their distance from the followers. Soon enough they reached a common area, the exit. A lot of people seemed to congregate around this area, and they got a few stares. A few people even walked up to them to ask what they were doing. They didn't even have to show them the note that Lionel had in his pocket. They were such idiots. The real test however came when they reached the exit itself.
There were five guards who stood there. They watched the comings and goings of everything in this rotten place. Lionel walked up to them and showed them the note. Obviously this note seemed credible, most likely because it was made to look that way. The guards just asked a few questions and then they let them pass. It was a simple as that, and the exact point which Hastings was hoping to reach. That's when it all fell apart.
"Stop 'em!" Someone yelled from inside the camp. It was one of their followers. Hastings was surprised that they had let him get this far to begin with. Maybe they had seen the note too. He wasn't entirely sure yet, all he knew was he had to do one thing now. "Run!"
The three men ran. A few arrows soared past them as they did, but quickly they made it out of range. They ran for another fifty paces. They had made lots of ground now and they were on the home stretch. Just a little more and they would make it to the thick part of the forest. Hastings knew that this was intended for a quick and effective retreat in case they were attack by Blackpond. Only another hundred paces or so and he would finally be free. Then, the completely expected happened. Hastings found himself running strait towards a rock. The two guards gone rouge were right behind them. He tripped right over that rock and the other two ran right over Hastings. This very painful experience went over well. Especially now that he saw a horse riding towards them. Even if he hadn't of tripped, he would have never made it to the dense forest before that horse caught up. Hastings got up and continued to run anyways. He was determined to get out if given the chance now. Yet it was improbable that it would ever happen now.
He ran closer and closer, but the horse was too fast, it grew closer as well. He wasn't going to make it.
Hastings felt very groggy. Usually people would feel like this because they were hung over, but it was the complete opposite for Hastings. His mouth was dry and he was rather warm, he needed something to drink. Something cold and hard. He usually had his flask beside him when he woke up, but this time he didn't have the luxury to just get up and have a drink. There was too much at stake today for little things like his desire for alcohol slow him down. If he was correct about the time, he would be executing the next phase in his plan to get out of here. It would only take about five minutes after Lionel and his other friend walked in before he was out of the tent.
Judging by how tired the guards looked, he was correct with his timing. It only became supported even more when Lionel walked into the tent. He rushed the guards out, Hastings could see that the boy was a little anxious.
"Where's your friend?" Hastings asked
The boy jumped, "Oh Kurt? He's still on his way. He's just bringing the sheets like you requested."
"Perfect. And the note?"
"It wasn't hard to get. We were being given a lot of drinks for some reason. We gave them all to the person who signs documents when important people don't have the time. We managed to convince him that we were Mageria and that we would perform lude acts if he signed the note. He was so out of it, that he believed us. It helps that he has sort of a thing for her too. I was also kinda surprised and how well he still wrote even though he was so drunk. You should have seen it, it was..."
He let the kid go on for a while after that. We wasn't too worried about the details of the plan. It wasn't all that important to him, but the more excited that Lionel was about the whole thing, the better it was when the most important part of the plan came to fruition. While the kid continued to speak, he ran over the plan that he had set up. It was important that everything was to work according to plan. If he could escape now, it would be good, but he doubted that was possible. He had taken a lot of things into account for this escape plan, but he knew that it was a long shot for sure if he was ever going to escape.
Just as Lionel was finishing his story, Kurt, the other guard walked in. He was carrying three sheets of pure and polished silver in his hand, just over the size of a man's head. Hastings could see his reflection in these sheets. They were incredibly shinny.
"Ok, start untying the ropes and-"
Lionel interrupted. "Not yet Hastings, weren't you listening?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Just wait."
Hastings anxiously waited for whatever they were waiting for. Maybe it was for a moment that they knew that the guard duty would be a little more relaxed. He wasn't exactly sure, but he didn't want to wait long. Just before Hastings spoke up, a short, yet surprisingly lanky man walked into the room. It was a messenger, followed by the two guards who stayed watch outside of the tent. The messenger said. "We have gotten a letter that has been signed by Krander. He requests that you move the prisoner to Newhaven where he will stay in the dungeon. Here's the note if anyone asks." The man handed Lionel the note. He pretended to read it over then stuffed it in his pocket. It was obvious by the cocky smile that the messenger had that he was in on the entire plan. The two guards who accompanied the messenger left in a hurry. They knew now that they had no reason to stay guard outside the tent anymore. They just assumed that they were officially off duty. The messenger followed them out.
"Now untie me and quickly too. Now that the guards have left their post, it wont take long for people to get suspicious."
The two men did so with much haste. Time was of the essence now and it was wearing quite thin as it was. Knowing how often Hastings was interrupted last night, he knew it wouldn't be long before it happened again.
They walked out of the tent and instantly Hastings began to scan the area. He looked up instead of which direction he should go. The guards would direct him out of here, he was only responsible for detecting the threats.
"Seven, eleven and... three." He said in a rushed. The directions he was talking about were where the archers were posted. Being a experienced marksman himself, he knew a lot about where they would most likely be before he even walked out of the tent. He didn't have much time to think of the glories of his past as a soldier though, the bowman had already knocked their arrow and were beginning to draw back (I'm no archery expert here, so bear with me). Kurt handed Lionel and him the silver. They all reflected the suns light strait into the eyes of all the archers. He knew how much a pain that was for him first hand. Luckily there was no one in the area to see them doing this at the time.
They began to run, dodging blind arrow shots as they passed by a few trees for cover. Now was the time to hurry things up or else he would never get as far as he planned.
Staying out of any line of fire, they rushed through some of the less used pathways that were made in this camp. It was the area where they all went to the toilet. The only reason anyone would even go near this place was to actually use it for it's function. Otherwise, no one wanted anywhere near the smell. They continued down the path and through the other less common places. It didn't take long for Hastings to realise that they were being followed. Lionel realised it as well.
"We have a few friends." Hastings noted.
"Yep, they've been followin' us since last night I suppose." Kurt said.
They continued to walk, trying to keep their distance from the followers. Soon enough they reached a common area, the exit. A lot of people seemed to congregate around this area, and they got a few stares. A few people even walked up to them to ask what they were doing. They didn't even have to show them the note that Lionel had in his pocket. They were such idiots. The real test however came when they reached the exit itself.
There were five guards who stood there. They watched the comings and goings of everything in this rotten place. Lionel walked up to them and showed them the note. Obviously this note seemed credible, most likely because it was made to look that way. The guards just asked a few questions and then they let them pass. It was a simple as that, and the exact point which Hastings was hoping to reach. That's when it all fell apart.
"Stop 'em!" Someone yelled from inside the camp. It was one of their followers. Hastings was surprised that they had let him get this far to begin with. Maybe they had seen the note too. He wasn't entirely sure yet, all he knew was he had to do one thing now. "Run!"
The three men ran. A few arrows soared past them as they did, but quickly they made it out of range. They ran for another fifty paces. They had made lots of ground now and they were on the home stretch. Just a little more and they would make it to the thick part of the forest. Hastings knew that this was intended for a quick and effective retreat in case they were attack by Blackpond. Only another hundred paces or so and he would finally be free. Then, the completely expected happened. Hastings found himself running strait towards a rock. The two guards gone rouge were right behind them. He tripped right over that rock and the other two ran right over Hastings. This very painful experience went over well. Especially now that he saw a horse riding towards them. Even if he hadn't of tripped, he would have never made it to the dense forest before that horse caught up. Hastings got up and continued to run anyways. He was determined to get out if given the chance now. Yet it was improbable that it would ever happen now.
He ran closer and closer, but the horse was too fast, it grew closer as well. He wasn't going to make it.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
All around the enemy veered and watched both disdained and angered if one were to guess. The tension that filled the air was thick and each step to follow the leader in her retreat was made with great force. Jake had mentioned the Wolves were having trouble accepting this leader, privately Grim began to wonder if he would be safe even with her welcoming actions. Of course it wasn’t really about his personal well-being as it was a fear of losing control. All it took was a young pup with an ambition to really make this chance meeting turn for the worse. Was their loyalty enough to stave their frustration? He hoped so, because as much as they respected Crystal their inclination toward him may be enough to overcome their feelings.
Grim saw no relief until the cabin was finally approached. It seemed quaint and as well tended as could be in the thick of the wilds. Though its surface betrayed its age Grim found it more amazing that such a residence could be sustained all this time. Granted he himself was not much for camping, but he could admire the lengths gone to keep this home intact.
Within was simple, and there was a sense of peace within its walls. A cozy sort of escape from the world, where time and troubles had different meanings. A tiny fortress from which the Wolves’ leader could take some respite and prepare for the day. Crys took to a table a sense of relief and foreboding stirring up about the air between them. What she had to say was likely to be both unpleasant and private.
She spoke matter of factly beginning with a great sigh, summoning up the courage to invoke the words to the Black Knight. She gave accounts she was only sure of, and with great pain managed through each encounter with the Shadow. The strains and winces thought private were easily read by Grim, but he showed no response and only kept his thoughts to himself. Weighing each sentence with care and being mindful to the shifts in Crystal’s temperaments. When the Wolf had finished her tale a long silence was given. Ending her tale by offering up the chance to be questioned. Grim without fear obliged.
“With all due respect Lady Rivers I find it difficult to believe that all you can offer as evidence to the Shadow’s actions is mere word of mouth. Though I appreciate all that you have put fourth and sacrificed in confiding with me, I am not yet convinced that such professionals lack any formal information on such a keen foe. A man literally infiltrated all walks of life in Valcrest and there are no compilations of notes on him? No first-hand accounts such as a journal or diary?”
He gave a moment to gauge Crystal once more. Trying to read the alpha’s response to his actions. He didn’t necessarily believe she was hiding anything, but rather that she was reluctant or afraid to do so. Of course he understood what he asked was of no small feat nor did it lack consequence, but he had to try.
“I have come here alone and without the consent of my superiors in hopes to find a way through our aggressions. To end this foolish war altogether if possible. A great place to start would be to have our people stop their feud. To bring peace between Newhaven and the Wolfpack if possible. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Grim saw no relief until the cabin was finally approached. It seemed quaint and as well tended as could be in the thick of the wilds. Though its surface betrayed its age Grim found it more amazing that such a residence could be sustained all this time. Granted he himself was not much for camping, but he could admire the lengths gone to keep this home intact.
Within was simple, and there was a sense of peace within its walls. A cozy sort of escape from the world, where time and troubles had different meanings. A tiny fortress from which the Wolves’ leader could take some respite and prepare for the day. Crys took to a table a sense of relief and foreboding stirring up about the air between them. What she had to say was likely to be both unpleasant and private.
She spoke matter of factly beginning with a great sigh, summoning up the courage to invoke the words to the Black Knight. She gave accounts she was only sure of, and with great pain managed through each encounter with the Shadow. The strains and winces thought private were easily read by Grim, but he showed no response and only kept his thoughts to himself. Weighing each sentence with care and being mindful to the shifts in Crystal’s temperaments. When the Wolf had finished her tale a long silence was given. Ending her tale by offering up the chance to be questioned. Grim without fear obliged.
“With all due respect Lady Rivers I find it difficult to believe that all you can offer as evidence to the Shadow’s actions is mere word of mouth. Though I appreciate all that you have put fourth and sacrificed in confiding with me, I am not yet convinced that such professionals lack any formal information on such a keen foe. A man literally infiltrated all walks of life in Valcrest and there are no compilations of notes on him? No first-hand accounts such as a journal or diary?”
He gave a moment to gauge Crystal once more. Trying to read the alpha’s response to his actions. He didn’t necessarily believe she was hiding anything, but rather that she was reluctant or afraid to do so. Of course he understood what he asked was of no small feat nor did it lack consequence, but he had to try.
“I have come here alone and without the consent of my superiors in hopes to find a way through our aggressions. To end this foolish war altogether if possible. A great place to start would be to have our people stop their feud. To bring peace between Newhaven and the Wolfpack if possible. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Newhaven Camp)
Mageria had taken care to set up a few things before she settled in for the night. Phelix had left, something which saddened her, but she wasn’t really surprised. She was amazed that he had been able to slip away for as long as he had. Absolutely exhausted, she fell into bed, slipped her dagger under her pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
It was late in the morning when she woke up, and it appeared that all sorts of people had been busy while she slept. One of her lieutenants reported while she ate breakfast. She listened while she ate without thinking about it, until something that he said caught her attention and she nearly choked. Coughing, she drank some water and looked up.
“They said that I would do what? With who?” She thought for a moment. “Which one of us was supposed to wear the manacles?” Lieutenant Brant looked uncomfortable for a moment, a dull flush creeping up his neck. She waved the question away.
“Never mind, it doesn’t really matter. So you’re pretty sure that’s the plan? Well then,” she finished her breakfast and stood up. “Have people waiting in the forests outside the entrances. Let this play out, I want to find out just how many are willing to go along with this. Once it starts, detain every single one of them. Find out if their just incredibly stupid or greedy. Obviously it’s time to clean house.” She started putting on her armor and weapons, leaving her helm off for now. She gestured for Brant to get going and sighed as she stepped out of her tent.
“This is just going to get better and better. I can feel it in my bones.” She shook her head and went to get ready. “And there’s no way I’d use a whip like that.”
After that it was a bit of a waiting game. She found a spot where she could watch Hasting’s tent easy without being seen and had her horse Ghost saddled and ready near her. It was sometime after noon when Hastings made his move, or at least the idiots he had turned made the move for him.
“Here we go.” She mounted and watched through a spy glass as two went in, one of them carrying polished silver plates.
“That’s new. I’ll have to remember that.” She felt a bit of respect for the drunk, obviously there was a brain that he could use if it wasn’t pickled by now. She touched her heels to Ghost’s sides and started off at a slow trot, paralleling Hastings course through the camp. As soon as they made it to the gate she set her heels to Ghost, taking off at a gallop. They were running fast and probably would have made it to the forest if they hadn’t tripped. For about half a moment she actually felt sorry of the man. It was as if no matter how hard he tried, he never had a chance to get out in the first place. But that didn’t stop her from pulling her sword as she rode up and using the pommel to knock Lionel in the back of the head as she rode past. He fell like a stone and she circled around and pressed the point to Hasting’s throat.
“That, was a very bad move. Inventive, but a bad idea.” She gestured with one hand and called her men out of the forest behind her. They came forward and took care of Lionel and his friend, tying them up securely and starting to march them back to camp. She dismounted and manacled Hastings’ hands back behind his back, locking them securely. Then she tied a rope around the chain and secured the other end to her saddle bow. Climbing back into the saddle she rode back to camp, letting Hastings decide if he wanted to walk or be dragged. She did keep the pace down so that he could keep up though.
Once Mageria got back she called together some of her men after tying Hastings to a pole in the middle of camp so that she could keep an eye on him and anybody that might come near him.
“Things are too vulnerable here. Get the wounded that can travel and two squads to protect them on the way back. I’m taking them and Hastings back to Newhaven, where I can put stone walls and locked bars between him and freedom. Gather what we need, I want to leave as soon as possible.”
Two hours later she rode out at the dead of a long line of men, the wounded in the protected center of the line while she rode at the head with Hastings near behind her, hands still manacled and secured to his saddle. At this point she wasn’t leaving his care to anyone that she didn’t trust absolutely. She watched the trees as she rode past before turning and speaking quietly to Hastings.
“Thus far, I’ve treated you as a captured soldier. But if you use this opportunity to cause harm to my men, make no mistake. I will kill you where you sit and deal with the repercussions. While I might enjoy matching wits with you, I will not tolerate a threat to my people.”
Mageria had taken care to set up a few things before she settled in for the night. Phelix had left, something which saddened her, but she wasn’t really surprised. She was amazed that he had been able to slip away for as long as he had. Absolutely exhausted, she fell into bed, slipped her dagger under her pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
It was late in the morning when she woke up, and it appeared that all sorts of people had been busy while she slept. One of her lieutenants reported while she ate breakfast. She listened while she ate without thinking about it, until something that he said caught her attention and she nearly choked. Coughing, she drank some water and looked up.
“They said that I would do what? With who?” She thought for a moment. “Which one of us was supposed to wear the manacles?” Lieutenant Brant looked uncomfortable for a moment, a dull flush creeping up his neck. She waved the question away.
“Never mind, it doesn’t really matter. So you’re pretty sure that’s the plan? Well then,” she finished her breakfast and stood up. “Have people waiting in the forests outside the entrances. Let this play out, I want to find out just how many are willing to go along with this. Once it starts, detain every single one of them. Find out if their just incredibly stupid or greedy. Obviously it’s time to clean house.” She started putting on her armor and weapons, leaving her helm off for now. She gestured for Brant to get going and sighed as she stepped out of her tent.
“This is just going to get better and better. I can feel it in my bones.” She shook her head and went to get ready. “And there’s no way I’d use a whip like that.”
After that it was a bit of a waiting game. She found a spot where she could watch Hasting’s tent easy without being seen and had her horse Ghost saddled and ready near her. It was sometime after noon when Hastings made his move, or at least the idiots he had turned made the move for him.
“Here we go.” She mounted and watched through a spy glass as two went in, one of them carrying polished silver plates.
“That’s new. I’ll have to remember that.” She felt a bit of respect for the drunk, obviously there was a brain that he could use if it wasn’t pickled by now. She touched her heels to Ghost’s sides and started off at a slow trot, paralleling Hastings course through the camp. As soon as they made it to the gate she set her heels to Ghost, taking off at a gallop. They were running fast and probably would have made it to the forest if they hadn’t tripped. For about half a moment she actually felt sorry of the man. It was as if no matter how hard he tried, he never had a chance to get out in the first place. But that didn’t stop her from pulling her sword as she rode up and using the pommel to knock Lionel in the back of the head as she rode past. He fell like a stone and she circled around and pressed the point to Hasting’s throat.
“That, was a very bad move. Inventive, but a bad idea.” She gestured with one hand and called her men out of the forest behind her. They came forward and took care of Lionel and his friend, tying them up securely and starting to march them back to camp. She dismounted and manacled Hastings’ hands back behind his back, locking them securely. Then she tied a rope around the chain and secured the other end to her saddle bow. Climbing back into the saddle she rode back to camp, letting Hastings decide if he wanted to walk or be dragged. She did keep the pace down so that he could keep up though.
Once Mageria got back she called together some of her men after tying Hastings to a pole in the middle of camp so that she could keep an eye on him and anybody that might come near him.
“Things are too vulnerable here. Get the wounded that can travel and two squads to protect them on the way back. I’m taking them and Hastings back to Newhaven, where I can put stone walls and locked bars between him and freedom. Gather what we need, I want to leave as soon as possible.”
Two hours later she rode out at the dead of a long line of men, the wounded in the protected center of the line while she rode at the head with Hastings near behind her, hands still manacled and secured to his saddle. At this point she wasn’t leaving his care to anyone that she didn’t trust absolutely. She watched the trees as she rode past before turning and speaking quietly to Hastings.
“Thus far, I’ve treated you as a captured soldier. But if you use this opportunity to cause harm to my men, make no mistake. I will kill you where you sit and deal with the repercussions. While I might enjoy matching wits with you, I will not tolerate a threat to my people.”
After getting out of Jake's house Ali stood in the alleyway for a moment or two listening to what Evin was saying. However, the growing movement in the streets forced her to start moving slowly through the alleyways and into the market area, walking slowly and casually, back to acting as a White Shadow would. As she walked back towards the castle, keeping track of Ella's footsteps, she let her mind wander off to the conversation they just had. What did ever happen to the queen? Was she dead, lost? If so, could she be found one day? Ali sighed, thinking maybe she was getting ahead of herself. She knew very little of the city history, she knew a lot more about the cities that had been destroyed than the ones that were still standing. Lingering in the past had cost her that much. She would need more information to venture into such theories. Supposedly she could look into that at the archives as well, even if all she wanted there were means to a more... Direct, source of information.
As she entered the castle library and made her way to the archives she was quickly approached by the Archivist. "Greetings, miss. Can I be of assistance?" The man asked with a gentle smile.
Surely, Ali would need his assistance. She just hope he wouldn't ask too many questions. After all she did stay up all night making up her story. "Thank you, kind sir. I could use your assistance." She told the man, with a smile. "I have a list of names here... Castle staff members." She said, showing him a list of names she had on a note book. "I need their medical and family histories before I pay them visits."
The man took the list and read it over. "Surely miss, I will find them for you." The man said, taking the list and going to find the records. Meanwhile Ali sat down at one of the wooden tables, taking the chance to rub her eyes and express her exhaustion while the man was occupied, pulling herself back to the fake calm and relaxed stated a split second later, a minute or so before the man came back with a small pile of files. Surely, she only needed specific information, but she wasn't going to tell the man what they were. She would have to look for herself, and it would take a while.
After that... She would, as she said, make some visits. Good thing about her disguise: People confide in healers.
As she entered the castle library and made her way to the archives she was quickly approached by the Archivist. "Greetings, miss. Can I be of assistance?" The man asked with a gentle smile.
Surely, Ali would need his assistance. She just hope he wouldn't ask too many questions. After all she did stay up all night making up her story. "Thank you, kind sir. I could use your assistance." She told the man, with a smile. "I have a list of names here... Castle staff members." She said, showing him a list of names she had on a note book. "I need their medical and family histories before I pay them visits."
The man took the list and read it over. "Surely miss, I will find them for you." The man said, taking the list and going to find the records. Meanwhile Ali sat down at one of the wooden tables, taking the chance to rub her eyes and express her exhaustion while the man was occupied, pulling herself back to the fake calm and relaxed stated a split second later, a minute or so before the man came back with a small pile of files. Surely, she only needed specific information, but she wasn't going to tell the man what they were. She would have to look for herself, and it would take a while.
After that... She would, as she said, make some visits. Good thing about her disguise: People confide in healers.
Hastings plan wasn't going quite accordingly anymore. Maybe he shouldn't have dived like he did back in the woods, but deep down his sick pleasure of continuing these mind games was what made him want to fall when he was running back there. If he didn't fall, there was a chance that he wouldn't be stuck on the back of a horse, riding to Newhaven.
The rumors about the dungeons down there were that they were abysmal. He had heard that it smelt like death where ever you were in the place. The cells were just big enough to fit a bed in there, but a bed was a luxury in those cells. The worst part however was the deadly mold that is said to grow in every cell. No one dares kill themselves with that mold however. Death by it is the worst that anyone could ever imagine. It takes a week of bleeding out of every part of the body before things start to fail. During that time, the pain is so unbearable that they say that they wish their skin was ripped right off of their body. The guards wouldn't give them even that relief.
Hastings didn't comment right away after Mageria spoke. He thought about what he had written on the dirt floor of the camp while he was chained to the pole. "Krander" was one of the words. The other one was "treason." Although he was sure it wouldn't have a visible effect on the people who saw the message, it would play in their minds a little however. That was all that he needed and the best part about it was that Mageria was none the wiser to this, even though she was watching him the whole time while he fiddled with his feet as if he was anxious.
He finally decided to speak to her. "I have done nothing to threaten your men yet." He was trying to get her attention. What did she think of what he just said, probably very little, but he had a few tidbits of information that would make her a little more attentive. "The best time for a counter attack is within 48 hours. It has been just over a day and a half since the attack took place."
Still, it probably meant very little to her. He was going to make this carelessness change in due time.
"My informant within your camp has told me information that leads me to believe without a reasonable doubt that there will be a counter attack on the camp in the next 15 hours. I also have reason to believe that within this attack, our secret resource that you are so desperate to find out about will be a crucial part in the attack."
"I will continue with asking you a question. It is rhetorical so don't answer me please. I suspect that a lot of the commanders have left the camp to deal with other matters. For example, you with me. Now, I also suspect that Krander is one, if not the only commanders left at that camp. My experience in fighting war is that an entire army under one commander never works out well. There needs to be several commanders there in order to coordinate men. So this leads me to my question, which remember is only rhetorical; How do you expect to win this counter attack when there is only one commander stationed there? I understand that you believe that you are unbeatable, but come on. This is no little attack. This is huge!"
"I have some tidbits of information that could be useful to you, including what the secret resource is. The only problem is that it will be too late to warn the camp if you take me all the way to Newhaven. So how about we make a deal? You take me back to the camp and I will tell you exactly what you want to know about my little secret. There is no other way that this deal can work."
The rumors about the dungeons down there were that they were abysmal. He had heard that it smelt like death where ever you were in the place. The cells were just big enough to fit a bed in there, but a bed was a luxury in those cells. The worst part however was the deadly mold that is said to grow in every cell. No one dares kill themselves with that mold however. Death by it is the worst that anyone could ever imagine. It takes a week of bleeding out of every part of the body before things start to fail. During that time, the pain is so unbearable that they say that they wish their skin was ripped right off of their body. The guards wouldn't give them even that relief.
Hastings didn't comment right away after Mageria spoke. He thought about what he had written on the dirt floor of the camp while he was chained to the pole. "Krander" was one of the words. The other one was "treason." Although he was sure it wouldn't have a visible effect on the people who saw the message, it would play in their minds a little however. That was all that he needed and the best part about it was that Mageria was none the wiser to this, even though she was watching him the whole time while he fiddled with his feet as if he was anxious.
He finally decided to speak to her. "I have done nothing to threaten your men yet." He was trying to get her attention. What did she think of what he just said, probably very little, but he had a few tidbits of information that would make her a little more attentive. "The best time for a counter attack is within 48 hours. It has been just over a day and a half since the attack took place."
Still, it probably meant very little to her. He was going to make this carelessness change in due time.
"My informant within your camp has told me information that leads me to believe without a reasonable doubt that there will be a counter attack on the camp in the next 15 hours. I also have reason to believe that within this attack, our secret resource that you are so desperate to find out about will be a crucial part in the attack."
"I will continue with asking you a question. It is rhetorical so don't answer me please. I suspect that a lot of the commanders have left the camp to deal with other matters. For example, you with me. Now, I also suspect that Krander is one, if not the only commanders left at that camp. My experience in fighting war is that an entire army under one commander never works out well. There needs to be several commanders there in order to coordinate men. So this leads me to my question, which remember is only rhetorical; How do you expect to win this counter attack when there is only one commander stationed there? I understand that you believe that you are unbeatable, but come on. This is no little attack. This is huge!"
"I have some tidbits of information that could be useful to you, including what the secret resource is. The only problem is that it will be too late to warn the camp if you take me all the way to Newhaven. So how about we make a deal? You take me back to the camp and I will tell you exactly what you want to know about my little secret. There is no other way that this deal can work."
Mageria slanted her eyes sideways towards Hastings and had to swallow the urge to laugh.
"I have some tidbits of information that could be useful to you, including what the secret resource is. The only problem is that it will be too late to warn the camp if you take me all the way to Newhaven. So how about we make a deal? You take me back to the camp and I will tell you exactly what you want to know about my little secret. There is no other way that this deal can work."
She had stopped believing boys when they talked like that back when she was ten.
He might have a point that Krander couldn’t handle an attack all by himself, but that was hardly the case. She had taken an even mix of her own men and those that followed the White Knights, so there was a good range of abilities still protecting the camp. Besides which, there were plenty of sub-commanders to pass along and coordinate any maneuvers. And even then, as they were leaving the men were in the process of fortifying the camp. It would be a tough nut to crack unless Blackpond had some unknown abilities that they had thus far kept completely under wraps. She had even had men out on special sweeps to make sure that no one got close enough to plant any of those new explosives near the camp. To the best of her knowledge, that was what had brought down the walls of Newhaven in the first place. Since then she had been vigilant in making sure that it never threatened her people again.
Still, it was remotely possible that the man might have some intelligence that would be useful. Mageria sighed silently and looked back over her shoulder at the men following her. They should be back in Newhaven by early evening.
For once she was in the full gear of a Black Knight, ebony helm on her head and a shield strapped to the back of her saddle. She was quite aware of the image she presented, especially when one added in a dark grey mare whose tack had been specially made to not make noise. The only sound that came from the two of them was the creaking of leather and the hoof beats of Ghost as she trotted along. Not that bad during the day, but it could be quite intimidating in the dead of night.
Swallowing the urge to just strangle the man, she instead drew her horse a step to the side and spoke softly.
“I’m afraid that I can’t believe you, without something more concrete than a ‘huge secret.’ Do you have something more concrete to offer, or is this all a story to frighten the foolish?”
Mageria was quite aware that Hastings seemed to enjoy playing games with her. But no matter what, she was taking them to Newhaven. The worst thing that she could do would be to allow him to tangle her up in circles of logic until she couldn’t figure out what to do.
"I have some tidbits of information that could be useful to you, including what the secret resource is. The only problem is that it will be too late to warn the camp if you take me all the way to Newhaven. So how about we make a deal? You take me back to the camp and I will tell you exactly what you want to know about my little secret. There is no other way that this deal can work."
She had stopped believing boys when they talked like that back when she was ten.
He might have a point that Krander couldn’t handle an attack all by himself, but that was hardly the case. She had taken an even mix of her own men and those that followed the White Knights, so there was a good range of abilities still protecting the camp. Besides which, there were plenty of sub-commanders to pass along and coordinate any maneuvers. And even then, as they were leaving the men were in the process of fortifying the camp. It would be a tough nut to crack unless Blackpond had some unknown abilities that they had thus far kept completely under wraps. She had even had men out on special sweeps to make sure that no one got close enough to plant any of those new explosives near the camp. To the best of her knowledge, that was what had brought down the walls of Newhaven in the first place. Since then she had been vigilant in making sure that it never threatened her people again.
Still, it was remotely possible that the man might have some intelligence that would be useful. Mageria sighed silently and looked back over her shoulder at the men following her. They should be back in Newhaven by early evening.
For once she was in the full gear of a Black Knight, ebony helm on her head and a shield strapped to the back of her saddle. She was quite aware of the image she presented, especially when one added in a dark grey mare whose tack had been specially made to not make noise. The only sound that came from the two of them was the creaking of leather and the hoof beats of Ghost as she trotted along. Not that bad during the day, but it could be quite intimidating in the dead of night.
Swallowing the urge to just strangle the man, she instead drew her horse a step to the side and spoke softly.
“I’m afraid that I can’t believe you, without something more concrete than a ‘huge secret.’ Do you have something more concrete to offer, or is this all a story to frighten the foolish?”
Mageria was quite aware that Hastings seemed to enjoy playing games with her. But no matter what, she was taking them to Newhaven. The worst thing that she could do would be to allow him to tangle her up in circles of logic until she couldn’t figure out what to do.
Hastings was begining to get frustrated. This woman was way to confidant in herself to be a leader of anything. A true warrior will walk into a battle knowing full well that they are going to lose. They still battle with all their might and maybe even more knowing the risks they face in losing. Someone who thinks that they never lose is bound to fight pitifully and in doing so, face judgment. He didn't expect her to completely submit to him, that would be ridiculous given the situation. The thing was though that Hastings brought up perfectly good reasons to be concerned, yet she just passed it off as a silly game.
"None of this is a game ma'am! You obviously don't get the gravity of the situation you are being faced with here. I'm not stupid, you can't afford to lose many more men the way you fight. I mean, you are fighting on two different fronts here! The second you lose one to many men, Blackpond and the assassins will be able to crush you. If you lose only about half a kilometer at the camp, Blackpond will have ample opportunities to decimate the front lines. Trust me, I practically run the army there. What the hell don't you understand lady!"
He took a moment to catch his breath. She didn't say anything to him. It was probably because he wasn't answering her question. He was just deflecting it for something a little more important than that.
"You know, the only proof I can give you is spoken words from my mouth at the moment. It is funny that you expect more proof. Your proof is at the camp. My informant is there at the camp, probably in preparation of what is to come within the next fifteen hours or so."
Once again he waited a moment. Nothing.
"OK, so you want me to answer your question don't you. Here you have it then. I do have something concrete to offer you, however, I don't wish to tell it to you here. You can torture me to death right here and now and I will never give up what you want. However, back at the camp, after a good swig of vodka, maybe then I can give you a batter answer."
Still nothing. She wanted more, but he refused on that spot to give her more. He would continue to refuse everything until he got his demands as well. It was just the way things worked with him and no matter what he did, he would never give up on it. He could go on for the entire ride or until she finally had enough and somehow shut him up. That is, if she really wanted to take it to that point.
"I give you my word, my true and noble word that I will tell you want you've wanted since last night," he bit his lip until it bleed then spat it out in front of the horse so the woman could see it, "and I seal it with my blood." Hopefully now she would say something.
"None of this is a game ma'am! You obviously don't get the gravity of the situation you are being faced with here. I'm not stupid, you can't afford to lose many more men the way you fight. I mean, you are fighting on two different fronts here! The second you lose one to many men, Blackpond and the assassins will be able to crush you. If you lose only about half a kilometer at the camp, Blackpond will have ample opportunities to decimate the front lines. Trust me, I practically run the army there. What the hell don't you understand lady!"
He took a moment to catch his breath. She didn't say anything to him. It was probably because he wasn't answering her question. He was just deflecting it for something a little more important than that.
"You know, the only proof I can give you is spoken words from my mouth at the moment. It is funny that you expect more proof. Your proof is at the camp. My informant is there at the camp, probably in preparation of what is to come within the next fifteen hours or so."
Once again he waited a moment. Nothing.
"OK, so you want me to answer your question don't you. Here you have it then. I do have something concrete to offer you, however, I don't wish to tell it to you here. You can torture me to death right here and now and I will never give up what you want. However, back at the camp, after a good swig of vodka, maybe then I can give you a batter answer."
Still nothing. She wanted more, but he refused on that spot to give her more. He would continue to refuse everything until he got his demands as well. It was just the way things worked with him and no matter what he did, he would never give up on it. He could go on for the entire ride or until she finally had enough and somehow shut him up. That is, if she really wanted to take it to that point.
"I give you my word, my true and noble word that I will tell you want you've wanted since last night," he bit his lip until it bleed then spat it out in front of the horse so the woman could see it, "and I seal it with my blood." Hopefully now she would say something.
Mageria laughed harshly.
“What don’t I understand? What is it about me that you don’t understand? I’m a Black Knight. I have no past, I have no family, I have no reason to get up in the morning except knowing that one day I’m going to have the opportunity to lay down my life in defense of Newhaven. In battle, I’m the one on the front lines and it is always a surprise when I find myself alive afterwards.” She leaned closer to Hastings.
“When I go into battle, I hold nothing back. That’s how I win. That’s the purpose of who and what we are.”
She patted Ghost’s neck for a moment. “You say that you practically run the army at Blackpond. Well seeing as you are currently chained up next to me, I don’t see that being a problem. Even if it was, I’d say that taking you back to camp would an exceedingly bad idea.”
She looked at him through her helm, her eyes washing out to an ice white color.
“And as for your ‘true and noble word’.” She smiled thinly. “Coming from the man who quite possibly led the army that laid waste to an entire city of defenseless civilians . . . . Well, do I really have to tell you my opinion of that?” She looked away and concentrated on the road in front of her.
“Do you know how many people can die in three days, Commander Hastings? I do. I helped pick up the bodies.”
“What don’t I understand? What is it about me that you don’t understand? I’m a Black Knight. I have no past, I have no family, I have no reason to get up in the morning except knowing that one day I’m going to have the opportunity to lay down my life in defense of Newhaven. In battle, I’m the one on the front lines and it is always a surprise when I find myself alive afterwards.” She leaned closer to Hastings.
“When I go into battle, I hold nothing back. That’s how I win. That’s the purpose of who and what we are.”
She patted Ghost’s neck for a moment. “You say that you practically run the army at Blackpond. Well seeing as you are currently chained up next to me, I don’t see that being a problem. Even if it was, I’d say that taking you back to camp would an exceedingly bad idea.”
She looked at him through her helm, her eyes washing out to an ice white color.
“And as for your ‘true and noble word’.” She smiled thinly. “Coming from the man who quite possibly led the army that laid waste to an entire city of defenseless civilians . . . . Well, do I really have to tell you my opinion of that?” She looked away and concentrated on the road in front of her.
“Do you know how many people can die in three days, Commander Hastings? I do. I helped pick up the bodies.”
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys listened to Grim's words and a slight hint of amusement crossed her. Nevertheless, she took her time to respond as she tried to sense his state of mind and respond to his statement as politely as she could. Although she might have done a poor job out of it. "With all due respect friend, if I had any concrete proof of the man's identity I certainly wouldn't be sitting on it all this time while my clan gets attacked. Like I said: He was a shadow. We presumed him dead until he was in our faces. I think, the last time he was accounted for on this camp I was still a child. Any record we have on him would be at least 17 years old and I assume that if there was something useful there, my mother would have found it. She knew the clan records inside out." A slight frown crossed her features as she added. "Believe it, it pains me to say, but... We have all been played around for a considerable amount of time. If we hadn't decided to try and lift that damn bounty we might have never found him. Not before it was too late, at least."
Crys then went silent, taking the time to analyze Grim a little more. Something about him made her uneasy, but she couldn't know what it was exactly. She fiddled with the silver chain around her neck for a moment or two before tucking it back into hiding underneath her shirt. "Now, the Wolfpack has no reason to cause Newhaven any trouble other than the usual, which is what seems to come with the job of killing people. We have nothing to gain by involving ourselves in this war any further. If I can assist you in any way, now or in the future, I give you my word that I will do so. At this point though, I see no way to prove our innocence. Without such proof, I don't think we can put an end to this." She shook her head slightly. "Of course, I'm not simply sitting here, I have people trying to gather information. However, the fact that we are being hunted doesn't really help us get around and we haven't gotten very far along. Perhaps you will have better luck with that than us." She stated.
Making another pause, her eyes sparkling a slightly brighter tone of green, she tried to decide if she should give Grim an extra piece of information. Eventually she decided it really couldn't hurt. "There is one other thing you should be aware of, if you believe everything I said to be true..." She started. "His dagger... We were requested to bring it back with us and hand it over to the White Shadows for safekeeping, but it was nowhere to be found after we killed the Shadow and it is possible someone from Newhaven has taken it during the commotion. That dagger is a very dangerous artifact, and in the wrong hands it could cause a great deal of trouble." She stood up straight, taking one step away from the table and added. "I also suggest you speak with Lena, if you can find her. I calculate that, aside from Newhaven, he had spent most of his time amongst the healers. Lena doesn't usually discuss her clan records with anyone, but she might make an exception in this particular case. Also, her daughter is here if you think speaking with her will assist you in any way. I'm afraid that is the most I can offer you at the moment."
--------------------------
[Heading back to the assassin's camp]
Jake followed Thomas to the edge of the desert. Only long enough to witness his encounter with a bandit and catch the name of the woman the Knight was looking for. Going any further would put him through the risk of exposure and that was something he couldn't allow. Not quite yet. So he let the Knight go on by himself, hoping that the name 'Sarris' would be a helpful piece of information. If not, well... He would have to go to Newhaven and dig around for more. Which he would rather not do, but he had a slight idea of how to go about it if it ever came to that. There was always back up plan for everything, except maybe the truth. There was no escape from that.
As Jake walked further into the forest he made himself visible again. There was barely any need for him to hide there. The worst thing that could happen was for some mercenary to try and pick a fight. He would even welcome something like that actually. He was feeling the need to vent his frustrations on someone, all he needed was a good excuse. So he walked in plain sight, through the trail. The only other living creatures he encountered were the same scouts that spotted Thomas on his way to the desert. Nothing more.
Crys listened to Grim's words and a slight hint of amusement crossed her. Nevertheless, she took her time to respond as she tried to sense his state of mind and respond to his statement as politely as she could. Although she might have done a poor job out of it. "With all due respect friend, if I had any concrete proof of the man's identity I certainly wouldn't be sitting on it all this time while my clan gets attacked. Like I said: He was a shadow. We presumed him dead until he was in our faces. I think, the last time he was accounted for on this camp I was still a child. Any record we have on him would be at least 17 years old and I assume that if there was something useful there, my mother would have found it. She knew the clan records inside out." A slight frown crossed her features as she added. "Believe it, it pains me to say, but... We have all been played around for a considerable amount of time. If we hadn't decided to try and lift that damn bounty we might have never found him. Not before it was too late, at least."
Crys then went silent, taking the time to analyze Grim a little more. Something about him made her uneasy, but she couldn't know what it was exactly. She fiddled with the silver chain around her neck for a moment or two before tucking it back into hiding underneath her shirt. "Now, the Wolfpack has no reason to cause Newhaven any trouble other than the usual, which is what seems to come with the job of killing people. We have nothing to gain by involving ourselves in this war any further. If I can assist you in any way, now or in the future, I give you my word that I will do so. At this point though, I see no way to prove our innocence. Without such proof, I don't think we can put an end to this." She shook her head slightly. "Of course, I'm not simply sitting here, I have people trying to gather information. However, the fact that we are being hunted doesn't really help us get around and we haven't gotten very far along. Perhaps you will have better luck with that than us." She stated.
Making another pause, her eyes sparkling a slightly brighter tone of green, she tried to decide if she should give Grim an extra piece of information. Eventually she decided it really couldn't hurt. "There is one other thing you should be aware of, if you believe everything I said to be true..." She started. "His dagger... We were requested to bring it back with us and hand it over to the White Shadows for safekeeping, but it was nowhere to be found after we killed the Shadow and it is possible someone from Newhaven has taken it during the commotion. That dagger is a very dangerous artifact, and in the wrong hands it could cause a great deal of trouble." She stood up straight, taking one step away from the table and added. "I also suggest you speak with Lena, if you can find her. I calculate that, aside from Newhaven, he had spent most of his time amongst the healers. Lena doesn't usually discuss her clan records with anyone, but she might make an exception in this particular case. Also, her daughter is here if you think speaking with her will assist you in any way. I'm afraid that is the most I can offer you at the moment."
--------------------------
[Heading back to the assassin's camp]
Jake followed Thomas to the edge of the desert. Only long enough to witness his encounter with a bandit and catch the name of the woman the Knight was looking for. Going any further would put him through the risk of exposure and that was something he couldn't allow. Not quite yet. So he let the Knight go on by himself, hoping that the name 'Sarris' would be a helpful piece of information. If not, well... He would have to go to Newhaven and dig around for more. Which he would rather not do, but he had a slight idea of how to go about it if it ever came to that. There was always back up plan for everything, except maybe the truth. There was no escape from that.
As Jake walked further into the forest he made himself visible again. There was barely any need for him to hide there. The worst thing that could happen was for some mercenary to try and pick a fight. He would even welcome something like that actually. He was feeling the need to vent his frustrations on someone, all he needed was a good excuse. So he walked in plain sight, through the trail. The only other living creatures he encountered were the same scouts that spotted Thomas on his way to the desert. Nothing more.
{At the Assassin's camp.}
“Thank you.” The words were simple but it was all he could muster. Crystal hadn’t realized just how much enlightenment she had shed. There were riddles that were unwinding themselves, of course no major revelation could be found. Unusual things that could be easily overlooked now started to make sense. He realized his understandings could not be supported by anything the Wolves could give him. There was one last chance.
Crys had brought it up first. The graduation ring, should the faux king still bear it, he could use it to help gain leverage to his theory. That plan presented a whole set of new dilemmas. Grim spent a few minutes trying to recollect the death of Newhaven’s king. Strangely he couldn’t recall what became of the king’s body, at least not in detail. He understood that a funeral was held and that he was supposedly buried within the family tomb. What bothered him was that many of the details weren’t made public, and the Black Knights seemed just as hushed as anyone else. Ultimately he’d have to use his position to try and find someone to get him to the grave.
Mageria was his only hope. Fear and anxiety hit him at once. His captain was both compassionate and wiser then any other knight he’d personally met. He wondered what her reaction would be, and if he could even convince her to undertake such a task. Would she continue to aid him in his chase for evidence? Rather would Mageria finally set her foot down on the matter. After all with all of his research and wandering he had yielded nothing but the words of a single assassin.
Grim made no further incursions and turned to retreat no longer fearing the retribution from the packmates. Grim was going to finish his quest to whatever end. He was just through the door of the cabin when he stopped, having remembered something and paused to talk back over his shoulder.
“For what its worth, I apologize. I want to see these things come to pass. I respect the Pack, but its becoming clear that it falls onto the people of Newhaven to set things right. I only hope we pass the test.”
“Thank you.” The words were simple but it was all he could muster. Crystal hadn’t realized just how much enlightenment she had shed. There were riddles that were unwinding themselves, of course no major revelation could be found. Unusual things that could be easily overlooked now started to make sense. He realized his understandings could not be supported by anything the Wolves could give him. There was one last chance.
Crys had brought it up first. The graduation ring, should the faux king still bear it, he could use it to help gain leverage to his theory. That plan presented a whole set of new dilemmas. Grim spent a few minutes trying to recollect the death of Newhaven’s king. Strangely he couldn’t recall what became of the king’s body, at least not in detail. He understood that a funeral was held and that he was supposedly buried within the family tomb. What bothered him was that many of the details weren’t made public, and the Black Knights seemed just as hushed as anyone else. Ultimately he’d have to use his position to try and find someone to get him to the grave.
Mageria was his only hope. Fear and anxiety hit him at once. His captain was both compassionate and wiser then any other knight he’d personally met. He wondered what her reaction would be, and if he could even convince her to undertake such a task. Would she continue to aid him in his chase for evidence? Rather would Mageria finally set her foot down on the matter. After all with all of his research and wandering he had yielded nothing but the words of a single assassin.
Grim made no further incursions and turned to retreat no longer fearing the retribution from the packmates. Grim was going to finish his quest to whatever end. He was just through the door of the cabin when he stopped, having remembered something and paused to talk back over his shoulder.
“For what its worth, I apologize. I want to see these things come to pass. I respect the Pack, but its becoming clear that it falls onto the people of Newhaven to set things right. I only hope we pass the test.”
Hastings couldn't believe what he was hearing. The very fact that a woman in her position was trying to act all high and mighty when it came to morals. Knowing her, she had probably committed so many crimes but had gotten away with it because she was a Black Knight. Just because she was a Black Knight and In Newhaven had the authority to do so, it didn't mean that she was justified in any way to do it.
"You know I really must applaud you for your efforts, but you just wanted to look better in the world community by helping out. Anyways, I don't need a morals lesson from someone who breaks moral and criminal code for a living. Now if you don't bring me back to the camp, , so if you decide you will never know anything you've wanted to out of me. It isn't like Blackpond or even I have anything to lose by being locked away in Newhaven. You have more to lose than I do, hell I might even gain from it. Blackpond would just replace me with a nice man named Phelix for sure." He paused. "So what will it be?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Ella did not hesitate to follow Ali anywhere that she went. She seemed to be in a rush since she met up with that White Knight. Ella wasn't cretin how she would describe it, but it felt best to say that she was a little on edge since the encounter. They walked all around through back alleyways and avoiding any place where they might be seen by the White Knight and most likely Evin would would probably still be with him. She hoped that he was struggling with that.
It didn't take long for them to reach the castle again, even when they were taking the back roads. Ella walked through the castle once again marveling over all o the things that were once a part of her memories. However, it wasn't long until Ella found herself in a part of the castle that she had never been in. It seemed a lot more dusty in this part of the castle. Almost like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. When they reached the archives, she could tell why. To anyone who didn't know where to find things, it was an absolute mess. The archivist however, only took a couple of minutes to find the records that Ali had asked for.
This made her think about being an assassin again. The thought crossed her mind every once in a while if she was really meant to be an assassin. She never really thought that she would be anything else. Even when she was a child, she had no clue what she wanted to be when she grew up. There were a couple of different ideas now, but assassin just seemed so appealing to her. She didn't understand though, killing someone just seemed so wrong to her and it just looked like they never had time to just relax. They always had some sort of goal that they needed to accomplish.
"So Ali. Does being an assassin mean that you don't have time for a social life? I haven't seen many assassin's that have been married or have intimate relations with others. Is that what it means to be an assassin?"
"You know I really must applaud you for your efforts, but you just wanted to look better in the world community by helping out. Anyways, I don't need a morals lesson from someone who breaks moral and criminal code for a living. Now if you don't bring me back to the camp, , so if you decide you will never know anything you've wanted to out of me. It isn't like Blackpond or even I have anything to lose by being locked away in Newhaven. You have more to lose than I do, hell I might even gain from it. Blackpond would just replace me with a nice man named Phelix for sure." He paused. "So what will it be?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Ella did not hesitate to follow Ali anywhere that she went. She seemed to be in a rush since she met up with that White Knight. Ella wasn't cretin how she would describe it, but it felt best to say that she was a little on edge since the encounter. They walked all around through back alleyways and avoiding any place where they might be seen by the White Knight and most likely Evin would would probably still be with him. She hoped that he was struggling with that.
It didn't take long for them to reach the castle again, even when they were taking the back roads. Ella walked through the castle once again marveling over all o the things that were once a part of her memories. However, it wasn't long until Ella found herself in a part of the castle that she had never been in. It seemed a lot more dusty in this part of the castle. Almost like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. When they reached the archives, she could tell why. To anyone who didn't know where to find things, it was an absolute mess. The archivist however, only took a couple of minutes to find the records that Ali had asked for.
This made her think about being an assassin again. The thought crossed her mind every once in a while if she was really meant to be an assassin. She never really thought that she would be anything else. Even when she was a child, she had no clue what she wanted to be when she grew up. There were a couple of different ideas now, but assassin just seemed so appealing to her. She didn't understand though, killing someone just seemed so wrong to her and it just looked like they never had time to just relax. They always had some sort of goal that they needed to accomplish.
"So Ali. Does being an assassin mean that you don't have time for a social life? I haven't seen many assassin's that have been married or have intimate relations with others. Is that what it means to be an assassin?"
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
As Jake arrived in camp, Sean was the first to reach him. Which he thought was odd, since Sean never seemed to like him very much. "Jacob, were have you been?" The active asked him.
"On assignment, not that you have the authority to be demanding to know my whereabouts." Jake answered. "Why? Did something happen while I was gone?"
"A Black Knight happened. He is talking to Crys right now." Sean informed.
"Hum. So what?" Jake asked, walking past Sean towards his house.
"So what? Crys is alone with a Black Knight, Evin is nowhere to be found... That doesn't worry you?" Sean asked, following him.
Jake stopped walking and lowered his head for a second, rubbing his eyes, before answering. "I haven't slept in four days, Sean. Still I have enough brains left on me to know that if a Black Knight is here alone asking to see the leader, he's probably not doing so with the consent or knowledge of his captain. Also, Crys would know if he meant to harm her, she would never let him into her house. So, really, if they're talking... That's a good thing." He shrugged. "If they're not, well... I think Crys can take him." He said, with a little smirk.
"Really?" Sean asked, a little skeptical.
Jake turned to him with a raised brow. "I sense a tone of disbelief there, friend. If you don't believe me, by all means... Try her." He punched Sean playfully in the arm and added. "Just because she's the leader now, doesn't mean she won't spar with you if you ask nicely."
Sean nodded, with a grin. "Well, sparing isn't exactly what I'd like to ask for, but I suppose it'll have to do, right?" He chuckled in response.
Jake nodded his smile shutting down fast. "Careful with what you wish for, that's all I have to say to that." He stated, before walking straight into his house.
Once inside, he simply took off his boots and sat on his bed, feeling a little dizzy with exhaustion. He couldn't help but find Sean's behavior strange. It was almost as he was simply trying to get a reaction out of him. He didn't like that at all. Surely, he never liked Jake, maybe he was simply trying to provoke him. Even so, it made him uneasy. Laying back he sighed. "Sarris." He mumbled. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't really know where he heard it before. If it wasn't just an impression he was suddenly having. Exhaustion taking over, his eyes began to close and his mind began to drift away. Hopefully the weariness would stop him from dreaming this time.
----------------------------
Crys nodded at Grim as he thanked her and started to leave. She wondered how he would actually do something with the information she had given, but she sincerely hoped he could. Well, Jake hadn't told her much about the Black Knights personally, except when he mentioned they were not as different from the Pack as he thought they would be. She wasn't sure what he meant by that exactly, but now she was somehow certain that he had a good point.
“For what its worth, I apologize. I want to see these things come to pass. I respect the Pack, but its becoming clear that it falls onto the people of Newhaven to set things right. I only hope we pass the test.”
The man's words caught her by surprise, as he was already halfway out the door. She didn't say anything in response, but simply nodded in silence again. Crys felt it was the Pack's responsibility to do something to make up for the confusion they had caused. Even if Perry had the most to blame, they were there. She couldn't bring herself to forget that fact. One day, if she ever got the chance, she would apologize herself.
"On assignment, not that you have the authority to be demanding to know my whereabouts." Jake answered. "Why? Did something happen while I was gone?"
"A Black Knight happened. He is talking to Crys right now." Sean informed.
"Hum. So what?" Jake asked, walking past Sean towards his house.
"So what? Crys is alone with a Black Knight, Evin is nowhere to be found... That doesn't worry you?" Sean asked, following him.
Jake stopped walking and lowered his head for a second, rubbing his eyes, before answering. "I haven't slept in four days, Sean. Still I have enough brains left on me to know that if a Black Knight is here alone asking to see the leader, he's probably not doing so with the consent or knowledge of his captain. Also, Crys would know if he meant to harm her, she would never let him into her house. So, really, if they're talking... That's a good thing." He shrugged. "If they're not, well... I think Crys can take him." He said, with a little smirk.
"Really?" Sean asked, a little skeptical.
Jake turned to him with a raised brow. "I sense a tone of disbelief there, friend. If you don't believe me, by all means... Try her." He punched Sean playfully in the arm and added. "Just because she's the leader now, doesn't mean she won't spar with you if you ask nicely."
Sean nodded, with a grin. "Well, sparing isn't exactly what I'd like to ask for, but I suppose it'll have to do, right?" He chuckled in response.
Jake nodded his smile shutting down fast. "Careful with what you wish for, that's all I have to say to that." He stated, before walking straight into his house.
Once inside, he simply took off his boots and sat on his bed, feeling a little dizzy with exhaustion. He couldn't help but find Sean's behavior strange. It was almost as he was simply trying to get a reaction out of him. He didn't like that at all. Surely, he never liked Jake, maybe he was simply trying to provoke him. Even so, it made him uneasy. Laying back he sighed. "Sarris." He mumbled. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't really know where he heard it before. If it wasn't just an impression he was suddenly having. Exhaustion taking over, his eyes began to close and his mind began to drift away. Hopefully the weariness would stop him from dreaming this time.
----------------------------
Crys nodded at Grim as he thanked her and started to leave. She wondered how he would actually do something with the information she had given, but she sincerely hoped he could. Well, Jake hadn't told her much about the Black Knights personally, except when he mentioned they were not as different from the Pack as he thought they would be. She wasn't sure what he meant by that exactly, but now she was somehow certain that he had a good point.
“For what its worth, I apologize. I want to see these things come to pass. I respect the Pack, but its becoming clear that it falls onto the people of Newhaven to set things right. I only hope we pass the test.”
The man's words caught her by surprise, as he was already halfway out the door. She didn't say anything in response, but simply nodded in silence again. Crys felt it was the Pack's responsibility to do something to make up for the confusion they had caused. Even if Perry had the most to blame, they were there. She couldn't bring herself to forget that fact. One day, if she ever got the chance, she would apologize herself.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
The stranger had skillfully changed his destination and since Daniel didn't have any need for violence as of now, he decided to tag along and see what kind of excuse this man could produce for his current behavior. He lead the white knight down the streets once more and soon enough they found themselves outside one of Newhavens normal houses owned by a merchant or someone with a good business. The stranger told Daniel that he was going to check after this man named "Jake" inside the house and slammed the door in Daniels face. The white knight was almost at his limits, but he kept his anger in control and remained calm. The weather had changed and not for the better. The sun was now clouded by dark clouds. Rain would soon follow and thus, people in the street rushed to get inside or to their targeted destination. Daniel however, wasn't moved by the gods sudden change of mood; They must certainly have had a perfectly good reason to be angry or sad at this time of the day to let it rain. He wasn't going to judge them for it and in return, they would certainly find a way to keep him dry. After a couple of minutes the Stranger came out again with an unusual smile across his face.
"I'm sorry to be so rude sir. Turner would not like it if I left the door open for a stranger to watch. He is a little paranoid like that. Anyways, he isn't home, so welcome yourself in." He apologized before welcoming the white knight in. A small smirk grew upon Daniels face as he moved towards the door. The second he entered the house, it started to rain outside. This only made Daniels smile grew even larger, but upon meeting the stranger face to face, it faded quickly. Scanning the house, Daniel found nothing unusual about it, although he could not for the love of the gods figure out why someone would carve something into the dinning table. Nevertheless, he had found nothing strange and nothing illegal in the house and so, he returned his holy gaze on the stranger once more.
"Very well, I cannot seem to find anything out of order here and I'm sure your father will be home soon enough. If not, contact the Guard captain instead of bothering the healers again. Have I made myself clear, young man?" Daniel asked, yet it was more of a rhetorical question for he was already moving towards the door and slammed it shut after himself. He had more dire things to do before the day was done. First of all, he had to get back to the castle and see if any of the Guards had anything to report. The dripping rain had now developed into a massive one, but Daniel moved in his usual slow speed through it, for he was free to return to the castle whenever he wished to do so. Besides, seeing a white knight rushing through the streets is never a good sign. It was a price to be paid for keeping things under control as much as possible.
"When I get back to the castle I'll see if I can't find that healer as well. I'm sure one of my... agents have seen her somewhere in the city." He thought and turned at a corner to walk up the long street towards the castle grounds.
"I'm sorry to be so rude sir. Turner would not like it if I left the door open for a stranger to watch. He is a little paranoid like that. Anyways, he isn't home, so welcome yourself in." He apologized before welcoming the white knight in. A small smirk grew upon Daniels face as he moved towards the door. The second he entered the house, it started to rain outside. This only made Daniels smile grew even larger, but upon meeting the stranger face to face, it faded quickly. Scanning the house, Daniel found nothing unusual about it, although he could not for the love of the gods figure out why someone would carve something into the dinning table. Nevertheless, he had found nothing strange and nothing illegal in the house and so, he returned his holy gaze on the stranger once more.
"Very well, I cannot seem to find anything out of order here and I'm sure your father will be home soon enough. If not, contact the Guard captain instead of bothering the healers again. Have I made myself clear, young man?" Daniel asked, yet it was more of a rhetorical question for he was already moving towards the door and slammed it shut after himself. He had more dire things to do before the day was done. First of all, he had to get back to the castle and see if any of the Guards had anything to report. The dripping rain had now developed into a massive one, but Daniel moved in his usual slow speed through it, for he was free to return to the castle whenever he wished to do so. Besides, seeing a white knight rushing through the streets is never a good sign. It was a price to be paid for keeping things under control as much as possible.
"When I get back to the castle I'll see if I can't find that healer as well. I'm sure one of my... agents have seen her somewhere in the city." He thought and turned at a corner to walk up the long street towards the castle grounds.
Mageria ignored Hastings for a few minutes to ride up and down the line of her men, leaning over to talk quietly to some of them. After a few minutes she rode back to the head of the line and rode silently next to Hastings, the questions and accusations that he had hurled at her almost visibly swirling around in her head. Finally she gritted her teeth and glared at Hastings, anger clear in her emerald eyes. Leaning over, she grabbed the reins of his horse and pulled them both out of the line, wheeling him around in a dizzying circle.
“I’ll be back in a while. Take what precautions you deem fit, get everyone home or you answer to me.” She spoke over her shoulder to her second in command as she cantered down the line.
They really hadn’t been gone from camp for long, so a few minutes at a hard gallop got them both back. Once there, she swung off her roan mare and pulled Hastings off his horse. Holding him upright with one hand, she dug a flask out of her cloak with the other and shoved it in his hands.
“You’ve got your bloody drink and you're back in camp. What is so damned important?”
She pushed a stand of ink black hair back off her forehead while she waited.
“I’ll be back in a while. Take what precautions you deem fit, get everyone home or you answer to me.” She spoke over her shoulder to her second in command as she cantered down the line.
They really hadn’t been gone from camp for long, so a few minutes at a hard gallop got them both back. Once there, she swung off her roan mare and pulled Hastings off his horse. Holding him upright with one hand, she dug a flask out of her cloak with the other and shoved it in his hands.
“You’ve got your bloody drink and you're back in camp. What is so damned important?”
She pushed a stand of ink black hair back off her forehead while she waited.
[Healer's Camp]
The man by the name of Alistair was standing outside his tent, eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. Other healers that passed him by paid him no mind since he was often seen acting that way. Even amongst the White Shadows, Alistair was always the odd one.
Almost in his thirties, brown wavy hair, green eyes, a fairly good looking man. Alistair had been with the Shadows since he was thirteen ears old, rescued after killing his abusive father. Barely in time to save his little brother, he carried him for miles to reach the ruins and they never looked back. That, however, along with many other things, was now in the past. It no longer mattered.
A boy's voice interrupted his thoughts with a question. "Al, what are you doing?"
Alistair smiled at his brother before opening his eyes and responding. "I'm waiting."
"What are you waiting for?" The boy asked.
"I'm waiting for Lena to send me a signal. I'm not sure when, but I'm sure she will." He said turning to face the 18 year old boy. "It is nothing you should concern yourself with, Ethan. At least for now."
Ethan nodded. "She trusts you. Whatever is really happening, I'm sure you know what it is." He stated. "What is the signal for?"
Alistair heaved a sigh. "The signal is for me to move the clan, in case something keeps her from returning to the ruins in time." He explained.
"Move the clan how? And what does she think will happen?" Ethan asked, a little concerned.
Alistair nodded. "That I can't tell you, but... Anything can happen, and I have orders for all of it." He sighed. "They are all considerably unpleasant."
Ethan nodded in agreement. "Are we going to get involved?"
"Maybe." Alistair answered simply.
"Why don't we let them come and fight them off? Even outnumbered... We have people here that can do serious damage." Ethan asked.
"We are not an army." Alistair stated. "We die before we let those fools turn us into one. That is something you should accept as a reality." He smiled at his brother and added. "I understand that this is concerning you, brother. Not only you, but the entire clan. However... Some circumstances are simply beyond our control, and we will be forced to deal with them as they come. In anyway we can."
"I don't understand." Ethan mumbled.
"It is simple Ethan. If we turn ourselves into a threat, eventually we will be treated as one." Alistair explained. "We don't want that. They can kill us if they must, but we should not justify their actions."
"So it's alright if we die without putting up a fight. That is what you're saying." Ethan argued.
Alistair laughed. "There are many types of battles, Ethan. Some we must win, other we must lose."
The boy nodded. "You spend too much time with Lena. I swear, half the time I don't even know what you're saying."
Alistair lowered his head and nodded, with a half smile. "You will soon, brother. Very soon."
----------------
[Newhaven]
Ali was going through the files absently her eyes glowing slightly as she tried to locate the information she needed a little bit faster. The sound of Ella's voice was muffled as if Ali had been covering her ears. She did manage, which some difficulty, to catch her every word. She lifted her eyes from the the files and made sure the archivist was nowhere in hearing range. "I think it is common courtesy to make sure you are not seen having intimate relations, is it not?" She answered, laughing a little. "I don't know Ella. I don't really pay attention to these things, but I assume that if you can manage to make it work nothing says you can't get married being an assassin. I assume it's simply not that easy. Most within the clan quit when they get married, some even leave camp. Although nowadays, there's not much place to go." She shrugged. "Plus, we train for years to learn to avoid people, so, I guess it can be a factor. In my case of course I'm naturally gifted in the area of avoiding people."
She noticed the archivist was walking towards them and stopped talking. The man gave her a smile. "Miss, I am sure that if you tell me what you need to find I could assist you."
Ali nodded, smiling back at the man. "I am sure, kind sir. However I couldn't tell you what it is I'm looking for without violating my oath."
The archivist nodded. "Confidentiality. I forgot. It has been quite a while since I've seen a healer come through these parts." The man stated scratching his head, with an apologetic look. "Excuse my intrusion, then, miss."
"That is not a problem." She smiled. "Actually... There is one thing you could help me with." She made a small pause. "Actually, my friend here and I were discussing chess earlier, and it the conversation led to the Queen and its importance on the board. Anyway... It got me thinking about Newhaven, the current situation the city is in... Tell me, and excuse me if it's not my place to ask, but I was wondering, whatever happened to your queen?"
The man flinched, and his expression changed to a considerably more suspicious one when faced with the question. Ali hoped she hadn't gone a little too far by asking the question. She knew he was wondering why she wanted to know that, but she would simply pretend she hadn't noticed his discomfort. "I suppose I could answer that question in return of a favor." The man started. "You see... I spend a lot of time down here and the dust... Well, I have terrible allergies. Suppose you wouldn't have something to help me with that?"
Ali could have laughed. He wanted her to prove she was a healer. "I see... Want kind of allergies?" She asked, a slight interest showing in her voice.
"What do you mean what kind?" The man asked, scratching his head.
"Sneezes, rashes... What symptoms do you have?" She asked. "With allergies, aside from avoiding the cause, all there is to do is relieve the symptoms." She explained calmly.
"Oh..." The man seemed slightly surprised with the answer, but it made him much more relaxed. "Well, I sometimes get rashes, but mostly I sneeze and after a while I get terrible headaches."
"I see. Well, aside from a change of career, this is what I think might help." She said, grabbing a small pouch from the medicine kit she had on her bag, making a mental note to thank Annie for lending her books. Otherwise, this would have been a problem. "It's just tea, but it will help you with the allergies. I suggest you have only one cup a day, in the morning or you won't sleep." She said, handing the medicine to the man.
The man nodded at the instructions. "Thank you, miss. Well, I suppose I should answer your question now." The man said, pulling a chair for himself and checking to see if there was anyone else in the archives before speaking. "Our King, may he rest in peace, had no wife. His mother died when he was a youngster, thirteen, I think. His father remarried not long after her death, but that didn't seem to go very well."
"Did she die as well?" Ali asked, curiously.
"No, no. She was exiled, I'm afraid." The man answered. "Don't ask me for the reason though, no one really knows."
"If the queen is alive, can't she be brought to rule?" Ali asked the man. "By the city laws, I mean, wouldn't that be a possibility?"
"Someone who has been exiled can't be brought back to Newhaven unless forgiven by the King. However, since we are left without a ruler... It would be possible, I suppose. Although a woman ruling the city is something that has never been seen in history." The archivist scratched his head again, with a small frown.
Ali nodded. "Suppose it would be better than no ruler."
"Perhaps it would be." The man agreed, standing up. "Excuse me, I'm afraid I must return to my duties." He stated, going to assist a man that had just wandered in.
Ali nodded in agreement, letting him leave. She smiled behind his back and that was the only manifestation of just how glad she was. All she needed now was to find a servant that could possibly fill in the blanks of why the queen was sent away. Going back to the files, she had found just the right person. She went through the files for a few minutes more, for the simple purpose of keeping appearances. She already had all she needed here.
The man by the name of Alistair was standing outside his tent, eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. Other healers that passed him by paid him no mind since he was often seen acting that way. Even amongst the White Shadows, Alistair was always the odd one.
Almost in his thirties, brown wavy hair, green eyes, a fairly good looking man. Alistair had been with the Shadows since he was thirteen ears old, rescued after killing his abusive father. Barely in time to save his little brother, he carried him for miles to reach the ruins and they never looked back. That, however, along with many other things, was now in the past. It no longer mattered.
A boy's voice interrupted his thoughts with a question. "Al, what are you doing?"
Alistair smiled at his brother before opening his eyes and responding. "I'm waiting."
"What are you waiting for?" The boy asked.
"I'm waiting for Lena to send me a signal. I'm not sure when, but I'm sure she will." He said turning to face the 18 year old boy. "It is nothing you should concern yourself with, Ethan. At least for now."
Ethan nodded. "She trusts you. Whatever is really happening, I'm sure you know what it is." He stated. "What is the signal for?"
Alistair heaved a sigh. "The signal is for me to move the clan, in case something keeps her from returning to the ruins in time." He explained.
"Move the clan how? And what does she think will happen?" Ethan asked, a little concerned.
Alistair nodded. "That I can't tell you, but... Anything can happen, and I have orders for all of it." He sighed. "They are all considerably unpleasant."
Ethan nodded in agreement. "Are we going to get involved?"
"Maybe." Alistair answered simply.
"Why don't we let them come and fight them off? Even outnumbered... We have people here that can do serious damage." Ethan asked.
"We are not an army." Alistair stated. "We die before we let those fools turn us into one. That is something you should accept as a reality." He smiled at his brother and added. "I understand that this is concerning you, brother. Not only you, but the entire clan. However... Some circumstances are simply beyond our control, and we will be forced to deal with them as they come. In anyway we can."
"I don't understand." Ethan mumbled.
"It is simple Ethan. If we turn ourselves into a threat, eventually we will be treated as one." Alistair explained. "We don't want that. They can kill us if they must, but we should not justify their actions."
"So it's alright if we die without putting up a fight. That is what you're saying." Ethan argued.
Alistair laughed. "There are many types of battles, Ethan. Some we must win, other we must lose."
The boy nodded. "You spend too much time with Lena. I swear, half the time I don't even know what you're saying."
Alistair lowered his head and nodded, with a half smile. "You will soon, brother. Very soon."
----------------
[Newhaven]
Ali was going through the files absently her eyes glowing slightly as she tried to locate the information she needed a little bit faster. The sound of Ella's voice was muffled as if Ali had been covering her ears. She did manage, which some difficulty, to catch her every word. She lifted her eyes from the the files and made sure the archivist was nowhere in hearing range. "I think it is common courtesy to make sure you are not seen having intimate relations, is it not?" She answered, laughing a little. "I don't know Ella. I don't really pay attention to these things, but I assume that if you can manage to make it work nothing says you can't get married being an assassin. I assume it's simply not that easy. Most within the clan quit when they get married, some even leave camp. Although nowadays, there's not much place to go." She shrugged. "Plus, we train for years to learn to avoid people, so, I guess it can be a factor. In my case of course I'm naturally gifted in the area of avoiding people."
She noticed the archivist was walking towards them and stopped talking. The man gave her a smile. "Miss, I am sure that if you tell me what you need to find I could assist you."
Ali nodded, smiling back at the man. "I am sure, kind sir. However I couldn't tell you what it is I'm looking for without violating my oath."
The archivist nodded. "Confidentiality. I forgot. It has been quite a while since I've seen a healer come through these parts." The man stated scratching his head, with an apologetic look. "Excuse my intrusion, then, miss."
"That is not a problem." She smiled. "Actually... There is one thing you could help me with." She made a small pause. "Actually, my friend here and I were discussing chess earlier, and it the conversation led to the Queen and its importance on the board. Anyway... It got me thinking about Newhaven, the current situation the city is in... Tell me, and excuse me if it's not my place to ask, but I was wondering, whatever happened to your queen?"
The man flinched, and his expression changed to a considerably more suspicious one when faced with the question. Ali hoped she hadn't gone a little too far by asking the question. She knew he was wondering why she wanted to know that, but she would simply pretend she hadn't noticed his discomfort. "I suppose I could answer that question in return of a favor." The man started. "You see... I spend a lot of time down here and the dust... Well, I have terrible allergies. Suppose you wouldn't have something to help me with that?"
Ali could have laughed. He wanted her to prove she was a healer. "I see... Want kind of allergies?" She asked, a slight interest showing in her voice.
"What do you mean what kind?" The man asked, scratching his head.
"Sneezes, rashes... What symptoms do you have?" She asked. "With allergies, aside from avoiding the cause, all there is to do is relieve the symptoms." She explained calmly.
"Oh..." The man seemed slightly surprised with the answer, but it made him much more relaxed. "Well, I sometimes get rashes, but mostly I sneeze and after a while I get terrible headaches."
"I see. Well, aside from a change of career, this is what I think might help." She said, grabbing a small pouch from the medicine kit she had on her bag, making a mental note to thank Annie for lending her books. Otherwise, this would have been a problem. "It's just tea, but it will help you with the allergies. I suggest you have only one cup a day, in the morning or you won't sleep." She said, handing the medicine to the man.
The man nodded at the instructions. "Thank you, miss. Well, I suppose I should answer your question now." The man said, pulling a chair for himself and checking to see if there was anyone else in the archives before speaking. "Our King, may he rest in peace, had no wife. His mother died when he was a youngster, thirteen, I think. His father remarried not long after her death, but that didn't seem to go very well."
"Did she die as well?" Ali asked, curiously.
"No, no. She was exiled, I'm afraid." The man answered. "Don't ask me for the reason though, no one really knows."
"If the queen is alive, can't she be brought to rule?" Ali asked the man. "By the city laws, I mean, wouldn't that be a possibility?"
"Someone who has been exiled can't be brought back to Newhaven unless forgiven by the King. However, since we are left without a ruler... It would be possible, I suppose. Although a woman ruling the city is something that has never been seen in history." The archivist scratched his head again, with a small frown.
Ali nodded. "Suppose it would be better than no ruler."
"Perhaps it would be." The man agreed, standing up. "Excuse me, I'm afraid I must return to my duties." He stated, going to assist a man that had just wandered in.
Ali nodded in agreement, letting him leave. She smiled behind his back and that was the only manifestation of just how glad she was. All she needed now was to find a servant that could possibly fill in the blanks of why the queen was sent away. Going back to the files, she had found just the right person. She went through the files for a few minutes more, for the simple purpose of keeping appearances. She already had all she needed here.
{Outside the WolfPack’s camp.}
Leaving had proven to be far easier then entering. Grim supposed that all the unease surfaced more because of his trespassing and not by his going. Of course what the Wolves thought of him was far from his mind. All his worry was focused on what he deemed his new task. To uncover the false king’s body. It was even more then that. What if he was wrong? What if he was right? Too many questions and no answers the same predicament as always.
He almost walked straight past a most suspicious arrow lodged into the dirt just off the trail. When his eyes caught the shaft he was upon it. Calmly the hulking man continued treading some ways before stepping aside into the forest. Grim was not a man of stealth but he understood when a message was trying to be sent.
A figure approached from the shadows of the trees. What stepped into view was a young woman. She moved with a fluidity and confidence that belied her dangerous arts. Drawing close until she was within the shadow of the towering soldier. The dark amber of her eyes flicking upward to catch Grim. The pale pink lips unmoving in her neutral stare.
“Setareh-” The Black Knight was hushed by the raising of her hand. Already he knew something was heavy on his friend’s shoulders. Setareh was of the strong silent variety. Speaking only when she deemed it necessary, mostly keeping to herself.
“Grim,” she started, “I’m leaving.”
Grim couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At first he wanted to believe that she was just joking with her old comrade, but he knew she wasn’t one for jocularity. Her face was taut, a masque undecipherable hiding away a private collection of emotion and thoughts. Grim was considered the closest to the archer, but even then he could never guess what went on behind the scenes. He guessed at her meaning, and decided that he simply misunderstood her message.
“You’re ready to return home then? I’d be happy to travel with you. There’s a lot that’s happened and plenty to catch up on.”
“I’m not going back to Newhaven. I’m leaving this, all of it. The war, the Wolfpack, everything.”
He stared in disbelief. Aghast and shocked to the core. There was a welling of many things that filled him. A hint of anger trailed in his voice and bore down on Setareh without reserve. Frightened and dismayed at what she intended to do now.
“Leave? Set you can’t just walk away from everything. The world isn’t like that, and all the problems won’t just go away because you decide you’re done with it! Can you hear yourself? There’s a war still going on, if anyone found out who you are or what you did then what would happen? You’re one of us remember? A Black Knight, we are the first line against Newhaven’s enemies. You’re telling me you’re going to just abandoned your oaths and run off on some fantasy you dreamed up? You’re being foolish!”
Setareh listened to each harsh word with patience. Taking every outspoken line with dignity and reflecting no reaction. When he at last stopped his rant her eyes remained pinpointed on him. Stone faced and expressionless. Promptly she bent down and pulled a flower free at its stem. Looking over it casually.
“I don’t expect you to understand what the past few weeks have been like. I don’t want to discuss this with you, or with anyone. I’ve found my family, my real family Grim. Nicole has offered to go with me and be free of these responsibilities. I’m going, and I will live the rest of my days knowing the truth. Maybe I can’t escape the sorrow or the destruction, but I can go and be around family that cares for me. Isn’t that enough?”
Grim frowned feeling like a child scolded. Though she wouldn’t never admit to it, he could have sworn he spied sadness in those brown eyes. He didn’t wish to say it, but he was acting like a real jerk. Reacting without thinking and in selfishness. His head was cast down focusing on the flower in her fingers.
“I wanted to say goodbye,” a tiny smile creased her mouth. “I have no regrets. You will tell Mageria and Jake for me right?”
She pulled a black helm from a pack she carried. Its black glossy surface had been well tended, and atop the forehead the crest of Newhaven’s Black Knights. She eased it into Grim’s fingers and stepped back to examine another again. The air was saturated with loss and the small distance was only the beginning of their separate ways.
Setareh turned and began to walk away but without warning she faced him again. Rushing up to take the Black Knight about the waist hugging him tightly, a tear streaked face resting against his chest. A few awkward seconds passed but he embraced her in turn. Taking what little solace they could.
And for a time they held to each other knowing that it would eventually end.
Sometime later a solitary Black Knight could be seen returning to the encampment. His journey had been long and arduous. Underneath his arm was the helmet that belonged to a dear friend.
Leaving had proven to be far easier then entering. Grim supposed that all the unease surfaced more because of his trespassing and not by his going. Of course what the Wolves thought of him was far from his mind. All his worry was focused on what he deemed his new task. To uncover the false king’s body. It was even more then that. What if he was wrong? What if he was right? Too many questions and no answers the same predicament as always.
He almost walked straight past a most suspicious arrow lodged into the dirt just off the trail. When his eyes caught the shaft he was upon it. Calmly the hulking man continued treading some ways before stepping aside into the forest. Grim was not a man of stealth but he understood when a message was trying to be sent.
A figure approached from the shadows of the trees. What stepped into view was a young woman. She moved with a fluidity and confidence that belied her dangerous arts. Drawing close until she was within the shadow of the towering soldier. The dark amber of her eyes flicking upward to catch Grim. The pale pink lips unmoving in her neutral stare.
“Setareh-” The Black Knight was hushed by the raising of her hand. Already he knew something was heavy on his friend’s shoulders. Setareh was of the strong silent variety. Speaking only when she deemed it necessary, mostly keeping to herself.
“Grim,” she started, “I’m leaving.”
Grim couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At first he wanted to believe that she was just joking with her old comrade, but he knew she wasn’t one for jocularity. Her face was taut, a masque undecipherable hiding away a private collection of emotion and thoughts. Grim was considered the closest to the archer, but even then he could never guess what went on behind the scenes. He guessed at her meaning, and decided that he simply misunderstood her message.
“You’re ready to return home then? I’d be happy to travel with you. There’s a lot that’s happened and plenty to catch up on.”
“I’m not going back to Newhaven. I’m leaving this, all of it. The war, the Wolfpack, everything.”
He stared in disbelief. Aghast and shocked to the core. There was a welling of many things that filled him. A hint of anger trailed in his voice and bore down on Setareh without reserve. Frightened and dismayed at what she intended to do now.
“Leave? Set you can’t just walk away from everything. The world isn’t like that, and all the problems won’t just go away because you decide you’re done with it! Can you hear yourself? There’s a war still going on, if anyone found out who you are or what you did then what would happen? You’re one of us remember? A Black Knight, we are the first line against Newhaven’s enemies. You’re telling me you’re going to just abandoned your oaths and run off on some fantasy you dreamed up? You’re being foolish!”
Setareh listened to each harsh word with patience. Taking every outspoken line with dignity and reflecting no reaction. When he at last stopped his rant her eyes remained pinpointed on him. Stone faced and expressionless. Promptly she bent down and pulled a flower free at its stem. Looking over it casually.
“I don’t expect you to understand what the past few weeks have been like. I don’t want to discuss this with you, or with anyone. I’ve found my family, my real family Grim. Nicole has offered to go with me and be free of these responsibilities. I’m going, and I will live the rest of my days knowing the truth. Maybe I can’t escape the sorrow or the destruction, but I can go and be around family that cares for me. Isn’t that enough?”
Grim frowned feeling like a child scolded. Though she wouldn’t never admit to it, he could have sworn he spied sadness in those brown eyes. He didn’t wish to say it, but he was acting like a real jerk. Reacting without thinking and in selfishness. His head was cast down focusing on the flower in her fingers.
“I wanted to say goodbye,” a tiny smile creased her mouth. “I have no regrets. You will tell Mageria and Jake for me right?”
She pulled a black helm from a pack she carried. Its black glossy surface had been well tended, and atop the forehead the crest of Newhaven’s Black Knights. She eased it into Grim’s fingers and stepped back to examine another again. The air was saturated with loss and the small distance was only the beginning of their separate ways.
Setareh turned and began to walk away but without warning she faced him again. Rushing up to take the Black Knight about the waist hugging him tightly, a tear streaked face resting against his chest. A few awkward seconds passed but he embraced her in turn. Taking what little solace they could.
And for a time they held to each other knowing that it would eventually end.
Sometime later a solitary Black Knight could be seen returning to the encampment. His journey had been long and arduous. Underneath his arm was the helmet that belonged to a dear friend.
The world came crashing down around him there he walked. The rain poured as if sent by the gods wrath, down upon Newhaven and soon enough this would spread across Valcrest like a disease which there were no cure to. It would cause damage, but also salvation amongst those who needed it. The blood covered fields of war would be washed clean by the gods hands, the soldiers sight would be clouded by the gods judgements and the innocent people of despair would stare into the sky and rejoice at the rain sent by the gods. Everything would be pured, everything would be cleansed and everything would in time be rebuilt. Although this war has brought much things to an end and destroyed more families and homes that one could count, the gods would give the people of Valcrest the chance to brihng salvation to their broken lands and relations.
Daniel, the faithful White Knight, had stopped abruptly in the middle of the empty streets of Newhaven. The rain was raging all around him, but it felt as if he was protected by a field from above that kept him dry. He looked around and saw people closing their windows as a protection against the rain, slamming their doors at the homeless and praying for a better time for their newborn children. Reaches out with his hands, Daniel embraced the rain as it continued to fall upon him. A feeling of warmth and security reached his heart and he closed his eyes. Out in the middle of a broken and empty street a white knight stood with his arms out and his eyes closed. He was praying with all of his heart to the gods for salvation to his people and to Valcrest. Would they take their loyal servant with a serious mind or would they simple laugh at his resolve? Only time would tell.
A patrol of guards passed him by and they lowered their heads at the white knight who barely took notice of them. They respected him for his determination and his unshakable faith. None of them said a word for they understood that the man clad in the large and bulky silver armor would not listen to their words. They kept on walking, leaving Daniel to his prayers. Daniel soon pulled himself together and kept on walking towards the castle; He had prayed in such a way that which he had never done before and hopefully the gods would take notice of him. After many heavy footsteps through the cold rain, Daniel finally reached the castle and greeted the guards before entering. Just as he entered a man approached him and as he walked into one of the torches lights he was recognized as one of Daniels agents.
"Report." Daniel said with a much darker voice than normally. The agent was taken aback by this change of mood from the knight, but quickly recovered.
"The healer is in the archives. She seems to be looking for something special according to the archivist." The agent swallow hard before he continued and he stuttered: "Sir, with a-all respect, but I don't t-think it's a good idea to get involved with any b-business the white shadows might be..."
The air between them turned from warm to ice cold in a second when he spoke his mind. Daniel lowered himself and looked at him with an emotionless face as he took a step towards the agent. The torches around them faded in his grace. He stared with his eyes into the mans very soul without saying a word. The agent immediately got the message and bowed at the white knight respectfully before departing in fear of his fate. The air went back to it's warm state and the torches went ablaze once more. Daniel rose up and turned his heel towards the historical part of the castle area.
---
Upon reaching the archives, Daniel respectfully bowed before the archivist and without trading any words, the old man directed his eyes towards the dark corner room where the healer sat with her companion. He entered the room and suddenly the air turned ice cold and the flames on the torches faded as well. The healer had made the mistake of looking up when the white knight had entered the room and thus, a chain of events would soon unfold. Daniel recognized her face as being one of the assassins that fled from Newhaven after the king had been executed. Several thought rushed through his mind, but one in particular hit him; The assassin would soon try to run and there was no time for Daniel to use his diplomatic skills.
"You!" Was all that came from his mouth when seeing her face. He immediately pressed every inch of power in his body into his right hand as he gripped for the assassins throat to slam her into the nearby wall and hold her there for interrogation. His concerns for her companion was almost gone, but she didn't seem to be armed so she wasn't a problem as of now.
Daniel, the faithful White Knight, had stopped abruptly in the middle of the empty streets of Newhaven. The rain was raging all around him, but it felt as if he was protected by a field from above that kept him dry. He looked around and saw people closing their windows as a protection against the rain, slamming their doors at the homeless and praying for a better time for their newborn children. Reaches out with his hands, Daniel embraced the rain as it continued to fall upon him. A feeling of warmth and security reached his heart and he closed his eyes. Out in the middle of a broken and empty street a white knight stood with his arms out and his eyes closed. He was praying with all of his heart to the gods for salvation to his people and to Valcrest. Would they take their loyal servant with a serious mind or would they simple laugh at his resolve? Only time would tell.
A patrol of guards passed him by and they lowered their heads at the white knight who barely took notice of them. They respected him for his determination and his unshakable faith. None of them said a word for they understood that the man clad in the large and bulky silver armor would not listen to their words. They kept on walking, leaving Daniel to his prayers. Daniel soon pulled himself together and kept on walking towards the castle; He had prayed in such a way that which he had never done before and hopefully the gods would take notice of him. After many heavy footsteps through the cold rain, Daniel finally reached the castle and greeted the guards before entering. Just as he entered a man approached him and as he walked into one of the torches lights he was recognized as one of Daniels agents.
"Report." Daniel said with a much darker voice than normally. The agent was taken aback by this change of mood from the knight, but quickly recovered.
"The healer is in the archives. She seems to be looking for something special according to the archivist." The agent swallow hard before he continued and he stuttered: "Sir, with a-all respect, but I don't t-think it's a good idea to get involved with any b-business the white shadows might be..."
The air between them turned from warm to ice cold in a second when he spoke his mind. Daniel lowered himself and looked at him with an emotionless face as he took a step towards the agent. The torches around them faded in his grace. He stared with his eyes into the mans very soul without saying a word. The agent immediately got the message and bowed at the white knight respectfully before departing in fear of his fate. The air went back to it's warm state and the torches went ablaze once more. Daniel rose up and turned his heel towards the historical part of the castle area.
---
Upon reaching the archives, Daniel respectfully bowed before the archivist and without trading any words, the old man directed his eyes towards the dark corner room where the healer sat with her companion. He entered the room and suddenly the air turned ice cold and the flames on the torches faded as well. The healer had made the mistake of looking up when the white knight had entered the room and thus, a chain of events would soon unfold. Daniel recognized her face as being one of the assassins that fled from Newhaven after the king had been executed. Several thought rushed through his mind, but one in particular hit him; The assassin would soon try to run and there was no time for Daniel to use his diplomatic skills.
"You!" Was all that came from his mouth when seeing her face. He immediately pressed every inch of power in his body into his right hand as he gripped for the assassins throat to slam her into the nearby wall and hold her there for interrogation. His concerns for her companion was almost gone, but she didn't seem to be armed so she wasn't a problem as of now.
Ali was about to stand up to leave when she caught the distant sound of an armored man walking through the stone floors of the hallway towards the archives, getting closer and closer, she felt chills down her spine. She could swear she had seen that Knight before, if she had seen him, there was a chance he had seen her as well. Since the only time she ever recalled seeing White Knights was when the battle in Newhaven took place, and she killed one of them that night, this couldn't end well. The archives were in a higher level of the castle, windows weren't an option. There were no tunnels leading in or out of that room, for obvious reasons. The only way in and out was through the main entrance.
As the steps grew dangerously close, Ali scribbled the name "Leah Ashmore" on a torn piece of parchment and slid it into Ella's hand. As the footsteps crossed the door of the archives Ali let a little smirk escape her. "Don't panic, walk away, don't run." She said simply. Seconds after she spoke those words a male voice echoed through the room. "You!"
In the split second it took Ali to stand up she found herself slammed against the nearest wall. The Knight had her by the throat. She couldn't escape his grip even if she could reach for weapons, So she didn't bother to try and fight him. However, even if she couldn't escape the man, she could keep his attention on her. She stared into his eyes, completely unafraid, and uttered a few words. "You better kill me now old man, or I swear you'll regret it."
As the steps grew dangerously close, Ali scribbled the name "Leah Ashmore" on a torn piece of parchment and slid it into Ella's hand. As the footsteps crossed the door of the archives Ali let a little smirk escape her. "Don't panic, walk away, don't run." She said simply. Seconds after she spoke those words a male voice echoed through the room. "You!"
In the split second it took Ali to stand up she found herself slammed against the nearest wall. The Knight had her by the throat. She couldn't escape his grip even if she could reach for weapons, So she didn't bother to try and fight him. However, even if she couldn't escape the man, she could keep his attention on her. She stared into his eyes, completely unafraid, and uttered a few words. "You better kill me now old man, or I swear you'll regret it."
"You better kill me now old man, or I swear you'll regret it." The assassin hissed at Daniel as his grip of her throat grew ever so more firm. All the things he would do to this assassin; Torture her, cut off her every limb until she spoke or put her in chains out in the middle of Newhavens streets and declare her a whore which anyone could rape for a small fee. All this in the name of the king, in the name of Newhaven and in the name of the Gods themselves! Although, she had some vital information to share before any of these things could be put in motion. The more sinister part of Daniels mind put the thought of having her raped by several men out in the street as a whore in memory. Who knows? He might as well do so if she is too reluctant to talk. Daniel was too busy staring into the assassins eyes to notice that her companion had escaped the scene. Nothing to worry about though, for Daniel was sure she was not much worth to him if he could make this little bitch talk.
"I will not kill you...yet, assassin. I have far more use of you alive than dead, for now." Daniel said as he pulled her away from the walls and smashed her into it once more. He continued to do so until she passed away. blood soon covered the walls of one of the more secluded rooms in the archives. After she had fallen unconscious to the ground before the white knight, Daniel brought her to the dungeons and more particular, the torture chambers. He had enough time to unequipped her of every weapon and armor that she wore, leaving her unarmed and with only cloth to wear. He tied her arms and legs to the heavily strained chains going into the walls around them and watched as the executioner pulled the wheel that made the chains rise from the ground along with it's captive; The assassin was now hanging in the four chains that kept her legs and hands in a straining position above the ground.
That's when she woke up. Daniel was not present at the moment she woke up, but the executioner was there. He was a large beast of a man who wore nothing but a blood covered black leather suit along with a black mask made out of cloth where you could only see his glowing yellow eyes. On the far end of the room was a table where there was a large selection of equipments and tools to serve the simple purpose to torture a person. There were hammers, nails, wrenches, pincers, axes, knives and there were even a whip with spikes on it for extra effectiveness.
Even if the assassin might have spoken to the executioner, he would have not responded for he was never teached to speak, read or write like any other person in Valcrest. His only purpose in life was to kill or torture and he deemed it an honour indeed. After a short moment of preparation, Daniel joined the couple in the torture chamber where Allison hanged firmly and the executioner were sharpening one of the rusty blades lying on the table.
"Ah! I've see you've already had the pleasure of meeting Sten, our proud and professional executioner. This man is even older than myself and more skilled when it comes to bringing out the truth from beasts like yourself." Daniel began with a voice filled with arrogance to give the assassin a false picture of him. He wanted the girl to look at him as if he was a man of ignorance and arrogance; A naive man. This would in the end turn out to be his ultimate advantage. If, the assassin fell for it.
"But I don't want to keep you, beast. Let us begin." A grin grew fast across Daniel face as he took a step closer to the hanging assassin. "What were you looking for in the Archives? Tell me the truth and you won't be harmed. Tell me a lie, and I will grant Sten some pleasure in harming you. Do heed my warning for I am a White knight; a man trained to sense when someone is lying when they're in a tight spot."
"I will not kill you...yet, assassin. I have far more use of you alive than dead, for now." Daniel said as he pulled her away from the walls and smashed her into it once more. He continued to do so until she passed away. blood soon covered the walls of one of the more secluded rooms in the archives. After she had fallen unconscious to the ground before the white knight, Daniel brought her to the dungeons and more particular, the torture chambers. He had enough time to unequipped her of every weapon and armor that she wore, leaving her unarmed and with only cloth to wear. He tied her arms and legs to the heavily strained chains going into the walls around them and watched as the executioner pulled the wheel that made the chains rise from the ground along with it's captive; The assassin was now hanging in the four chains that kept her legs and hands in a straining position above the ground.
That's when she woke up. Daniel was not present at the moment she woke up, but the executioner was there. He was a large beast of a man who wore nothing but a blood covered black leather suit along with a black mask made out of cloth where you could only see his glowing yellow eyes. On the far end of the room was a table where there was a large selection of equipments and tools to serve the simple purpose to torture a person. There were hammers, nails, wrenches, pincers, axes, knives and there were even a whip with spikes on it for extra effectiveness.
Even if the assassin might have spoken to the executioner, he would have not responded for he was never teached to speak, read or write like any other person in Valcrest. His only purpose in life was to kill or torture and he deemed it an honour indeed. After a short moment of preparation, Daniel joined the couple in the torture chamber where Allison hanged firmly and the executioner were sharpening one of the rusty blades lying on the table.
"Ah! I've see you've already had the pleasure of meeting Sten, our proud and professional executioner. This man is even older than myself and more skilled when it comes to bringing out the truth from beasts like yourself." Daniel began with a voice filled with arrogance to give the assassin a false picture of him. He wanted the girl to look at him as if he was a man of ignorance and arrogance; A naive man. This would in the end turn out to be his ultimate advantage. If, the assassin fell for it.
"But I don't want to keep you, beast. Let us begin." A grin grew fast across Daniel face as he took a step closer to the hanging assassin. "What were you looking for in the Archives? Tell me the truth and you won't be harmed. Tell me a lie, and I will grant Sten some pleasure in harming you. Do heed my warning for I am a White knight; a man trained to sense when someone is lying when they're in a tight spot."
The White Knight looked around Jake's house for a few minutes. It was obvious that he was looking for something that may be suspicious and Evin had his hopes up that he would. Jake being an assassin, it could be very possible that he would find something suspicious because Evin was very thirsty for blood and if he could get information about the Black Knights from this man. The only thing that got in the way was the lack of suspicious stuff in the house.
"Very well, I cannot seem to find anything out of order here and I'm sure your father will be home soon enough. If not, contact the Guard captain instead of bothering the healers again. Have I made myself clear, young man?" The Knight said as he found his way back to the entrance.
When the White Knight left the house, he realised that it was starting to rain outside. It was just a light sprinkle on a town that needed cleansing, but from the way the wind whistled and moaned outside, it appeared to him that the rain would become a lot more intense in the next few moments. In the meantime, while he waited out the rain, he would take a look around the house himself. Unlike the White Knight, Evin wasn’t afraid to make a mess.
He ripped through the entire house from under the bed to under inside candlesticks. He knew almost any place that someone would hide something, but so did Jake and he could find nothing. Evin had to admit that Jake had done a pretty good job at disappearing. Even as an assassin, it could be hard to disappear sometimes, but Jake had done it to perfection.
Evin on the other hand avoided disappearing by not ever letting anyone his real name. The only person he ever really kept in contact outside of the camp was a female mercenary who’s name he had almost forgotten due to the length of time he had last spoke to her. They used to exchange notes and as well, but ever since the burning down of the assassin owned Inn in Newhaven was burned down. She didn’t even know Evin’s full name or anything about his life. He just passed himself off as a mercenary as well.
When Evin realised that there was nothing left in Newhaven to find, he decided that he should leave, and soon before the White Knight came back to check up on him. He grabbed a cloak that was sitting on a chair at Jake’s entrance and he left the house in a mess.
By the time he was out of the house however, the rain had practically stopped. The cobblestone streets were covered in puddles that made it impossible to keep feet dry from. It seemed like it had been a while since the city had gotten a good storm come through because the houses looked to be a lot more clean than they were before. It was a very refreshing and serene moment in the streets. Not long after Evin left, he saw kids splashing around in the puddles and playing their games as their parents watched from their front door to make sure they didn’t get into any trouble out there. It was probably unsafe to leave their kids outside unattended now of days.
He heard a pair of parents talking to each other. They were discussing something that caught his attention the moment Evin heard it.
“Did you just say that the leader of the Black Knights is out in a camp by Blackpond?” Evin asked the couple.
“Yes! I heard that he captured the leader of the Blackpond army in a battle that took place just yesterday! Imagine what we could learn about the evils of Blackpond from interrogating that man?” The husband said. “He is a great man, the leader of the Black Knights that is, even if he scares the crap out of me.”
“Huh, thanks.” Evin said in an enthusiastic tone trying to sound interested in what he had to say about Commander Hastings. In reality he only had interest about the location of the commander of the Black Knights. Have a nice day.”
“As to you.” The couple said simultaneously to the disgust of Evin.
Evin continued on walking down the street and to the sewer where he had entered the city. He was now on his way towards Blackpond. If anyone could give Evin answers it would be the leader of the Black Knights.
Then he heard steps of someone running down one of the streets he was on just a few seconds ago. Through a small crack between one of the buildings, Evin saw Ella running towards Jakes house in distress. Something was wrong. He ran after her and followed her right into Jake’s house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella was getting board just sitting around there. Unlike Ali, she had absolutely nothing to do. Ali was reading some documents about a person named Leah Ashmore. Ella wasn’t sure what the importance of this person was, but she could tell that she was interested in something that was in this document. Suddenly, she wrote something down onto a small piece of paper and slipped it into Ella’s had which was busy at the time tapping the table in boredom.
"Don't panic, walk away, don't run." Ali whispered.
Ali sat there confused for a few seconds before she heard someone yell, “you!” Ella screamed when the White Knight had grabbed Ali and slammed her against the wall. In a instant she was walking out of there. She didn’t run, that would be against the rules that Ali had just given her. It was too late for one of the rules however. “Don’t panic,” she had said. Ali was already looking for ways to possibly get Ali out of the situation and it was all because she was panicking. She looked at a candle in the room that she walked passed. It would be so easy in a room filled with books to knock it over and cause a massive fire. It would be the perfect distraction for Ali to escape. Ella didn’t do it. She was just too scared. Instead she just kept on walking. She kept walking until she reached the exit of the castle. No one asked her any questions as she walked out crying.
Rain was pouring down outside. The only thing that it was good for was masking the tears that were running down her face. In only a matter of minutes, she was soaked from head to toe. Her hair was a complete mess and was running down the front of her face. For all Ella knew, Ali was dead now. The tears grew into more of a river, and even with the rain it became rather evident to anyone who saw her run by that she was crying.
The rain began to die down and people were beginning to come from out of their houses and children began to play in the puddles in the streets. Not to long after the streets became more like crowds again, she made it back into Jake’s house. When she went into the house however, it was in complete ruin with floorboards ripped open and everything across the ground. It was as if someone had gotten into a fight in the house. What did Evin do while he was here and why was the White Knight from before now after Ali? The only thing that made sense to Ella was that it was all Evin’s fault.
“Ella, are you alright?” The voice of Evin was coming from behind.
Ella swivelled her feet around like a ballerina and pointed her dagger towards Evin. “You bastard! What did you do to give Ali up?” Tears were still running down her face.
“What the hell are you talking about.” Evin said. He put his hands up to she Ella he felt vulnerable. She knew that if he wanted to, he could disarm her however.
“We were in the archives when the White Knight came up behind us and started attacking Ali. She’s in trouble now? That the hell did you say to that man?”
“Nothing that would incriminate you guys? What exactly happened?”
Ella explained the situation to Evin. She even showed him the piece of parchment that Ali had given to her and her idea to make a distraction.
“I see,” Evin said, “but setting a fire wouldn’t have help. Ali is terrified of fire and she would just freeze at the sight of it. Good thinking however.”
“What should I do?” Ella asked.
Evin paused for a few seconds. He found the chess piece that Ali had made sitting under the table that Evin had knocked over. Ali watched him think. It was very obvious that he was having difficulty figuring out what to do. He looked at the piece for a few minutes as he thought about it.
“Write out the name on another piece of parchment. I’ll keep the original and you take the copy. I will escort you out of the city and then I want you to run right to the camp and speak to Crystal about what has happened. Don’t tell her that I’m here however, she would kill me. Stop for no one until you make it back into camp. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
Evin nodded and then took off his cloak. He handed it to Ella and instructed her to put it on. For the second time, Evin walked through the city to the sewer where he was so close to leaving the city. Instead, it would be her student who would be leaving by herself. This worried Evin, but it was the only choice that he had at the time.
“Ok, remember what I told you. This is not a lesson so don’t treat it like that. Someone’s life is on the line right now so time is of the essence. Now go!”
Ella ran through the sewers. Evin had told him the direction to get out of the city. She didn’t take time to really think about the directions. Like Evin had told her, time was of the essence. From through the tunnels of the disgusting sewer system, she could hear the echoes of Evin yelling something. She stopped for a moment to see if she could catch what he said. It was a single word that she didn’t hear Evin say that often, that is unless he was hopelessly stuck doing something that just seemed impossible to him. “Shit,” was the word that Ella heard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven encampment]
Hastings was glad to see that he was being brought back to camp. The fact that he had nothing to grip onto while the horse was going at full gallop was however not as fun. He couldn’t even use his hands to balance himself. He had learnt how to do this as part of his training to be an archer, but he never had actually done it in a practical situation, so he had some difficulty.
“You’ve got your bloody drink and you're back in camp. What is so damned important?”
Hastings enjoyed his drink for a while until. They sure did have some good alcohol around this camp and Hastings would hate to see some of it go.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but first I would like to inform you on my informant. In case, you haven’t already realised, Lionel and I are rather close. He’s the one who has informed me about the goings on at home.”
The air began to tense as he came closer to telling her what she really wanted to know. The desire that Hastings saw in the woman was intense for sure. It wasn’t long until he could tell that she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Now, what you really want to know.” He smiled. “Blackpond has been successful in creating our own form of Black Knights, but they are a lot more like the assassin’s of the Wolf Pack. We’ve been training these men from birth to become perfect killers. It’s been about twenty five years and after a couple of small time assassinations, we think that they are ready to move onto bigger targets, like you.”
"Very well, I cannot seem to find anything out of order here and I'm sure your father will be home soon enough. If not, contact the Guard captain instead of bothering the healers again. Have I made myself clear, young man?" The Knight said as he found his way back to the entrance.
When the White Knight left the house, he realised that it was starting to rain outside. It was just a light sprinkle on a town that needed cleansing, but from the way the wind whistled and moaned outside, it appeared to him that the rain would become a lot more intense in the next few moments. In the meantime, while he waited out the rain, he would take a look around the house himself. Unlike the White Knight, Evin wasn’t afraid to make a mess.
He ripped through the entire house from under the bed to under inside candlesticks. He knew almost any place that someone would hide something, but so did Jake and he could find nothing. Evin had to admit that Jake had done a pretty good job at disappearing. Even as an assassin, it could be hard to disappear sometimes, but Jake had done it to perfection.
Evin on the other hand avoided disappearing by not ever letting anyone his real name. The only person he ever really kept in contact outside of the camp was a female mercenary who’s name he had almost forgotten due to the length of time he had last spoke to her. They used to exchange notes and as well, but ever since the burning down of the assassin owned Inn in Newhaven was burned down. She didn’t even know Evin’s full name or anything about his life. He just passed himself off as a mercenary as well.
When Evin realised that there was nothing left in Newhaven to find, he decided that he should leave, and soon before the White Knight came back to check up on him. He grabbed a cloak that was sitting on a chair at Jake’s entrance and he left the house in a mess.
By the time he was out of the house however, the rain had practically stopped. The cobblestone streets were covered in puddles that made it impossible to keep feet dry from. It seemed like it had been a while since the city had gotten a good storm come through because the houses looked to be a lot more clean than they were before. It was a very refreshing and serene moment in the streets. Not long after Evin left, he saw kids splashing around in the puddles and playing their games as their parents watched from their front door to make sure they didn’t get into any trouble out there. It was probably unsafe to leave their kids outside unattended now of days.
He heard a pair of parents talking to each other. They were discussing something that caught his attention the moment Evin heard it.
“Did you just say that the leader of the Black Knights is out in a camp by Blackpond?” Evin asked the couple.
“Yes! I heard that he captured the leader of the Blackpond army in a battle that took place just yesterday! Imagine what we could learn about the evils of Blackpond from interrogating that man?” The husband said. “He is a great man, the leader of the Black Knights that is, even if he scares the crap out of me.”
“Huh, thanks.” Evin said in an enthusiastic tone trying to sound interested in what he had to say about Commander Hastings. In reality he only had interest about the location of the commander of the Black Knights. Have a nice day.”
“As to you.” The couple said simultaneously to the disgust of Evin.
Evin continued on walking down the street and to the sewer where he had entered the city. He was now on his way towards Blackpond. If anyone could give Evin answers it would be the leader of the Black Knights.
Then he heard steps of someone running down one of the streets he was on just a few seconds ago. Through a small crack between one of the buildings, Evin saw Ella running towards Jakes house in distress. Something was wrong. He ran after her and followed her right into Jake’s house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ella was getting board just sitting around there. Unlike Ali, she had absolutely nothing to do. Ali was reading some documents about a person named Leah Ashmore. Ella wasn’t sure what the importance of this person was, but she could tell that she was interested in something that was in this document. Suddenly, she wrote something down onto a small piece of paper and slipped it into Ella’s had which was busy at the time tapping the table in boredom.
"Don't panic, walk away, don't run." Ali whispered.
Ali sat there confused for a few seconds before she heard someone yell, “you!” Ella screamed when the White Knight had grabbed Ali and slammed her against the wall. In a instant she was walking out of there. She didn’t run, that would be against the rules that Ali had just given her. It was too late for one of the rules however. “Don’t panic,” she had said. Ali was already looking for ways to possibly get Ali out of the situation and it was all because she was panicking. She looked at a candle in the room that she walked passed. It would be so easy in a room filled with books to knock it over and cause a massive fire. It would be the perfect distraction for Ali to escape. Ella didn’t do it. She was just too scared. Instead she just kept on walking. She kept walking until she reached the exit of the castle. No one asked her any questions as she walked out crying.
Rain was pouring down outside. The only thing that it was good for was masking the tears that were running down her face. In only a matter of minutes, she was soaked from head to toe. Her hair was a complete mess and was running down the front of her face. For all Ella knew, Ali was dead now. The tears grew into more of a river, and even with the rain it became rather evident to anyone who saw her run by that she was crying.
The rain began to die down and people were beginning to come from out of their houses and children began to play in the puddles in the streets. Not to long after the streets became more like crowds again, she made it back into Jake’s house. When she went into the house however, it was in complete ruin with floorboards ripped open and everything across the ground. It was as if someone had gotten into a fight in the house. What did Evin do while he was here and why was the White Knight from before now after Ali? The only thing that made sense to Ella was that it was all Evin’s fault.
“Ella, are you alright?” The voice of Evin was coming from behind.
Ella swivelled her feet around like a ballerina and pointed her dagger towards Evin. “You bastard! What did you do to give Ali up?” Tears were still running down her face.
“What the hell are you talking about.” Evin said. He put his hands up to she Ella he felt vulnerable. She knew that if he wanted to, he could disarm her however.
“We were in the archives when the White Knight came up behind us and started attacking Ali. She’s in trouble now? That the hell did you say to that man?”
“Nothing that would incriminate you guys? What exactly happened?”
Ella explained the situation to Evin. She even showed him the piece of parchment that Ali had given to her and her idea to make a distraction.
“I see,” Evin said, “but setting a fire wouldn’t have help. Ali is terrified of fire and she would just freeze at the sight of it. Good thinking however.”
“What should I do?” Ella asked.
Evin paused for a few seconds. He found the chess piece that Ali had made sitting under the table that Evin had knocked over. Ali watched him think. It was very obvious that he was having difficulty figuring out what to do. He looked at the piece for a few minutes as he thought about it.
“Write out the name on another piece of parchment. I’ll keep the original and you take the copy. I will escort you out of the city and then I want you to run right to the camp and speak to Crystal about what has happened. Don’t tell her that I’m here however, she would kill me. Stop for no one until you make it back into camp. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
Evin nodded and then took off his cloak. He handed it to Ella and instructed her to put it on. For the second time, Evin walked through the city to the sewer where he was so close to leaving the city. Instead, it would be her student who would be leaving by herself. This worried Evin, but it was the only choice that he had at the time.
“Ok, remember what I told you. This is not a lesson so don’t treat it like that. Someone’s life is on the line right now so time is of the essence. Now go!”
Ella ran through the sewers. Evin had told him the direction to get out of the city. She didn’t take time to really think about the directions. Like Evin had told her, time was of the essence. From through the tunnels of the disgusting sewer system, she could hear the echoes of Evin yelling something. She stopped for a moment to see if she could catch what he said. It was a single word that she didn’t hear Evin say that often, that is unless he was hopelessly stuck doing something that just seemed impossible to him. “Shit,” was the word that Ella heard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven encampment]
Hastings was glad to see that he was being brought back to camp. The fact that he had nothing to grip onto while the horse was going at full gallop was however not as fun. He couldn’t even use his hands to balance himself. He had learnt how to do this as part of his training to be an archer, but he never had actually done it in a practical situation, so he had some difficulty.
“You’ve got your bloody drink and you're back in camp. What is so damned important?”
Hastings enjoyed his drink for a while until. They sure did have some good alcohol around this camp and Hastings would hate to see some of it go.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but first I would like to inform you on my informant. In case, you haven’t already realised, Lionel and I are rather close. He’s the one who has informed me about the goings on at home.”
The air began to tense as he came closer to telling her what she really wanted to know. The desire that Hastings saw in the woman was intense for sure. It wasn’t long until he could tell that she couldn’t take it any longer.
“Now, what you really want to know.” He smiled. “Blackpond has been successful in creating our own form of Black Knights, but they are a lot more like the assassin’s of the Wolf Pack. We’ve been training these men from birth to become perfect killers. It’s been about twenty five years and after a couple of small time assassinations, we think that they are ready to move onto bigger targets, like you.”
When Allison woke up in the dungeons, the only comforting thought that crossed her mind was that probably Ella had gotten away. If she made it back to camp with the name she had given her... Hopefully that old servant would be able to give them the right information they needed. She didn't care much for the fact that she might never get out of the dark hole she dug herself into... The assignment was successful, nothing else mattered. She didn't even mind the scary looking man that, she assumed, was a torturer, executioner, or some other thing like that.
She would shut down her pain, and let them do whatever they wanted. Eventually she would die, if not from the injuries, from the constant use of her ability. That would be the end of it. She wouldn't give them the time of day. She closed her eyes and let a long sigh escape her. She wasn't using her ability yet, her head was throbbing from being smashed against the wall. "We all do what we must..." She whispered to herself. Reminding herself of something that her mother said before the attack on their village.
When the Knight entered the room Ali let the man speak and make his threats. She also began to whistle softly, a song she was used to hearing Crys play on her flute, her mind wandering back home, wondering why Crys had stopped playing after Dani died. She continued to whistle, as if she wasn't listening, until the man finished talking. She once again looked him right in the eyes. "I have no reason to lie." She stated. "As a matter of fact... Let me present the facts to you, Sir." She said, with a slight tone of mockery to her voice. "I have no hopes of getting out of this alive and my enlightenment allows me to feel no pain. Therefore, there is nothing you, or better yet, there's nothing your lackey here, can do to make me talk." She laughed. "You can brake every bone in my body, cut me into pieces, or whatever other wicked acts that may have crossed your ridiculously narrow mind. I will not cry, scream, beg, and most importantly... I will not betray my clan." The mockery in her expression was clear, she wanted to anger the man. It didn't matter what he would do as a consequence. If making him frustrated was the only thing she could do, hell... She would do it. She would find a way to torture him right back if she could as long as she had the strength in her to do it. "So, if you must know what I wanted in the archives... Go through the files yourself and use your defective little brain to find out. I dare you to put the pieces together, you pathetic old mutt." She ended the insult by spitting in the man's face.
She would shut down her pain, and let them do whatever they wanted. Eventually she would die, if not from the injuries, from the constant use of her ability. That would be the end of it. She wouldn't give them the time of day. She closed her eyes and let a long sigh escape her. She wasn't using her ability yet, her head was throbbing from being smashed against the wall. "We all do what we must..." She whispered to herself. Reminding herself of something that her mother said before the attack on their village.
When the Knight entered the room Ali let the man speak and make his threats. She also began to whistle softly, a song she was used to hearing Crys play on her flute, her mind wandering back home, wondering why Crys had stopped playing after Dani died. She continued to whistle, as if she wasn't listening, until the man finished talking. She once again looked him right in the eyes. "I have no reason to lie." She stated. "As a matter of fact... Let me present the facts to you, Sir." She said, with a slight tone of mockery to her voice. "I have no hopes of getting out of this alive and my enlightenment allows me to feel no pain. Therefore, there is nothing you, or better yet, there's nothing your lackey here, can do to make me talk." She laughed. "You can brake every bone in my body, cut me into pieces, or whatever other wicked acts that may have crossed your ridiculously narrow mind. I will not cry, scream, beg, and most importantly... I will not betray my clan." The mockery in her expression was clear, she wanted to anger the man. It didn't matter what he would do as a consequence. If making him frustrated was the only thing she could do, hell... She would do it. She would find a way to torture him right back if she could as long as she had the strength in her to do it. "So, if you must know what I wanted in the archives... Go through the files yourself and use your defective little brain to find out. I dare you to put the pieces together, you pathetic old mutt." She ended the insult by spitting in the man's face.
Mageria had waited impatiently until Hastings told his big secret. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he thought that she would be afraid, but in reality it was just something else she had to deal with. She smiled slowly, more of a baring of teeth than an actual expression of happiness.
“Thank you for telling me that, Commander. Knowing something is coming is half the battle.” She looked over to her left and spoke to the empty air.
“That will be all Lieutenant. Thank you.” As she turned back to Hastings several things happened at once. Her hair changed from ink black to red gold, her eyes shifted from green to blue, and they were back at the clearing where they had been before Mageria had returned them to the camp. A lieutenant dressed in the dark grey uniform that denoted one of her irregulars stood between them both, his eyes glowing with a rich golden color. They shown for a few moments more before the color slowly faded, leaving just a man who looked very tired. He rubbed his head for a moment before saluting and walking back to his place in the line.
Mageria turned to Hastings and tilted her head to the side.
“Do you know, there’s someone back at Newhaven that I would like you to meet. A White Knight named Daniel. I’m sure the both of you will get along wonderfully.” She pulled her grey mare around and started toward the city again, looking up as it started to rain gently. With a whistle and a hand signal she started the line moving again. Riding back, she spoke to a few of her men, detailing three of them to make all haste back to camp to warn Krander of what she had learned. Giving the grave importance of the news, it was a verbal message, and they each were to take separate paths back to the camp.
Riding back to the front of the line, she drew her cloak about her tighter and remembered another rain soaked night and a friend with ink black eyes. With a sigh she pushed away the memories of simpler days and focused on the now.
“Thank you for telling me that, Commander. Knowing something is coming is half the battle.” She looked over to her left and spoke to the empty air.
“That will be all Lieutenant. Thank you.” As she turned back to Hastings several things happened at once. Her hair changed from ink black to red gold, her eyes shifted from green to blue, and they were back at the clearing where they had been before Mageria had returned them to the camp. A lieutenant dressed in the dark grey uniform that denoted one of her irregulars stood between them both, his eyes glowing with a rich golden color. They shown for a few moments more before the color slowly faded, leaving just a man who looked very tired. He rubbed his head for a moment before saluting and walking back to his place in the line.
Mageria turned to Hastings and tilted her head to the side.
“Do you know, there’s someone back at Newhaven that I would like you to meet. A White Knight named Daniel. I’m sure the both of you will get along wonderfully.” She pulled her grey mare around and started toward the city again, looking up as it started to rain gently. With a whistle and a hand signal she started the line moving again. Riding back, she spoke to a few of her men, detailing three of them to make all haste back to camp to warn Krander of what she had learned. Giving the grave importance of the news, it was a verbal message, and they each were to take separate paths back to the camp.
Riding back to the front of the line, she drew her cloak about her tighter and remembered another rain soaked night and a friend with ink black eyes. With a sigh she pushed away the memories of simpler days and focused on the now.
The only thing that pissed Hastings off more than being lied to, was being lied to for the personal gain of the lie. Of course he was a hypocrite for being that way, but everyone was a hypocrite. The reality was that there was no army that was coming in for a counter attack. He just wanted a reason to be back at the camp. Of course he knew that this wouldn't happen anymore. The whole thing about the assassins was all truth. There was a rather large group of the, that were very much ready to deploy. It still angered him that he had to be deceived in order to get that information.
What surprised him was how realistic that illusion was. Every detail was nearly perfect. There were a few oddities here and there looking back at it, but they were very minor and almost undetectable. He had to commend that man for the power that he had, he wasn't going to do it verbally however. He probably wouldn't do it at all. Hastings just sat in the saddle with her captor and waited out the ride for a while. However, he couldn't take it any more. The rage inside him had boiled him down to his very core.
They were moving at a fair pace when on of the other horsemen came up from behind to inform Mageria of a death from one of the injured. At that very moment, Hastings made his move. He took a deep breath in, ready to embrace the pain he was about to feel. He slid off the saddle and to the ground, his legs dragging across the ground. He used every bone in his body to fight the drag and place his feet in front of the horse. The grey horse fell and so did Mageria. Before anyone could run up to help, Hastings rolled over onto Mageria and placed the rope that restrained him to the saddle around Mageria's neck.
"I understand that you wont take me back to that camp, but please, don't ever, treat me like a dumb bitch the way you did!" His rage was overwhelming.
He spent a few more seconds with the rope tight around the Black Knight's neck before loosening it. "Now take me to Newhaven!" He got up and brushed himself off as good as possible. He wasn't sure what the consequence for this would be, but it was worth it.
What surprised him was how realistic that illusion was. Every detail was nearly perfect. There were a few oddities here and there looking back at it, but they were very minor and almost undetectable. He had to commend that man for the power that he had, he wasn't going to do it verbally however. He probably wouldn't do it at all. Hastings just sat in the saddle with her captor and waited out the ride for a while. However, he couldn't take it any more. The rage inside him had boiled him down to his very core.
They were moving at a fair pace when on of the other horsemen came up from behind to inform Mageria of a death from one of the injured. At that very moment, Hastings made his move. He took a deep breath in, ready to embrace the pain he was about to feel. He slid off the saddle and to the ground, his legs dragging across the ground. He used every bone in his body to fight the drag and place his feet in front of the horse. The grey horse fell and so did Mageria. Before anyone could run up to help, Hastings rolled over onto Mageria and placed the rope that restrained him to the saddle around Mageria's neck.
"I understand that you wont take me back to that camp, but please, don't ever, treat me like a dumb bitch the way you did!" His rage was overwhelming.
He spent a few more seconds with the rope tight around the Black Knight's neck before loosening it. "Now take me to Newhaven!" He got up and brushed himself off as good as possible. He wasn't sure what the consequence for this would be, but it was worth it.
Daniel kept his calm and focused composure as he listening to every word spewing from the assassins filthy mouth. She spoke of an ability to endure any kind of pain he could cause her and he also tried to mock him by calling him an idiot in several ways. To top it all, she spit him in the face as she ended her long rant. Daniel simple wiped the spit off his face and waved with his hand at Sten. The executioner moved out from the shadows of the room with a rusty hammer in his left hand. As he approached the hanging assassin, he leaped forward with all of his might and hit her over her chest with the hammer. A cracking sound followed which would be one or two of her ribs breaking and yet, she didn't even flinch or make a sound of agony at it. Daniel now trusted that she had told him the truth that she could put pain aside, for now at least. Sooner or later she would have to tap out of this stance of hers and take the unbearable pain that Daniel was planning for her. However, instead of waving at Sten once more to give him the clearance to hit her again, the thought of her words appeared in his thoughts.
"So, if you must know what I wanted in the archives... Go through the files yourself", was what she had told him in the middle of her speech to mock him. The white knights eyes lit up in a holy fire as he clenched his fist and pointed with two fingers towards Sten and then towards the assassin before leaving. He had ordered Sten to put the assassin in a chair by a table with her arms and legs still attached to the chains of the floor. Daniel was going to pay the archivist a little visit. Exploding out from the dungeons only entrance and exit, he quickly made his way through the illuminated corridors towards his goal.
"You foolish fuck...", a voice kept telling him as he entered the archives; He should have looked up what the assassin had been reading up on when he found her. Stupid pride of his stopped him from letting her go out of his sight. The archivist immediately noticed the white knight, but after a simple gesture with his hand the old man stepped aside and troubled him no more. Daniel returned to the spot where he had found the girl who had pretended to be a healer. The blood covered wall had been cleaned and the books restored to their former places. A wave of fury raged upon him. It would now take longer to find those documents... Unless...
"Archivist!" Daniel roared with an almost demonic voice and it bounced from wall to wall through the castle. A guard in the other end of the castle felt a chilly feeling run up his spine before returning to his duties. The old man quickly made his way to where Daniel stood with both of his fists clenched in frustration. He bowed before the white knight before asking what he wanted from a noble old man such as himself.
"What kind of documents were the assa-- the healer looking through when she sat here?" The tall holy man asked with a more gently tone and looked down upon the old fragile man who seemed like a little bug compared to the large bulky figure before him.
"These w-were the ones s-she looked through, sire." He stuttered helplessly as he pulled out the documents he had earlier put back after Daniel little act towards the assassin in this very room. The white knight ripped the documents from the Archivists hands before dismissing him with a simple hand gesture. The man bowed deeply before leaving. Pages were turned forth and back as Daniel quickly scanned through the documents. He had never read these kind of things before and after piecing all the things together a clear thought hit him like a lightning! He looked up from the documents with an open jaw. The documents fell from his paralyzed hands as he just stood there looking like a fool as he stared at nothing in particular in front of him. Of course! The truth had been in front of him this entire time, but he had been too foolish to see it!
Daniel immediately put the documents back to their place, called the guards to get the doctor to the castle and put out two guards at the entrance to the dungeons. After everything was done, the white knight followed the doctor down into the dungeons once more. They quickly reached the assassins cell and they found her chained to one of the tables with Sten standing in the corner with an axe in his hands, ever watching the assassins every move.
"Doctora, take care of her wounds for me." Daniel ordered the strong woman beside him with a soft voice before turning towards the assassin that was now taken care of. "As for you assassin, I'd like to have a word with you, please."
The word 'please' felt strange coming from Daniel tongue but he threw the thought aside as he continued.
"I've read through the documents that you found and read and...I'd like to know what conclusion you've drawn from what you learned? If you don't wish to share it then I could share what I came up with from it. What say you?" The white knight finished with an unusual gently and reasonable voice that called for peace instead of pain and war in these dark times.
"So, if you must know what I wanted in the archives... Go through the files yourself", was what she had told him in the middle of her speech to mock him. The white knights eyes lit up in a holy fire as he clenched his fist and pointed with two fingers towards Sten and then towards the assassin before leaving. He had ordered Sten to put the assassin in a chair by a table with her arms and legs still attached to the chains of the floor. Daniel was going to pay the archivist a little visit. Exploding out from the dungeons only entrance and exit, he quickly made his way through the illuminated corridors towards his goal.
"You foolish fuck...", a voice kept telling him as he entered the archives; He should have looked up what the assassin had been reading up on when he found her. Stupid pride of his stopped him from letting her go out of his sight. The archivist immediately noticed the white knight, but after a simple gesture with his hand the old man stepped aside and troubled him no more. Daniel returned to the spot where he had found the girl who had pretended to be a healer. The blood covered wall had been cleaned and the books restored to their former places. A wave of fury raged upon him. It would now take longer to find those documents... Unless...
"Archivist!" Daniel roared with an almost demonic voice and it bounced from wall to wall through the castle. A guard in the other end of the castle felt a chilly feeling run up his spine before returning to his duties. The old man quickly made his way to where Daniel stood with both of his fists clenched in frustration. He bowed before the white knight before asking what he wanted from a noble old man such as himself.
"What kind of documents were the assa-- the healer looking through when she sat here?" The tall holy man asked with a more gently tone and looked down upon the old fragile man who seemed like a little bug compared to the large bulky figure before him.
"These w-were the ones s-she looked through, sire." He stuttered helplessly as he pulled out the documents he had earlier put back after Daniel little act towards the assassin in this very room. The white knight ripped the documents from the Archivists hands before dismissing him with a simple hand gesture. The man bowed deeply before leaving. Pages were turned forth and back as Daniel quickly scanned through the documents. He had never read these kind of things before and after piecing all the things together a clear thought hit him like a lightning! He looked up from the documents with an open jaw. The documents fell from his paralyzed hands as he just stood there looking like a fool as he stared at nothing in particular in front of him. Of course! The truth had been in front of him this entire time, but he had been too foolish to see it!
Daniel immediately put the documents back to their place, called the guards to get the doctor to the castle and put out two guards at the entrance to the dungeons. After everything was done, the white knight followed the doctor down into the dungeons once more. They quickly reached the assassins cell and they found her chained to one of the tables with Sten standing in the corner with an axe in his hands, ever watching the assassins every move.
"Doctora, take care of her wounds for me." Daniel ordered the strong woman beside him with a soft voice before turning towards the assassin that was now taken care of. "As for you assassin, I'd like to have a word with you, please."
The word 'please' felt strange coming from Daniel tongue but he threw the thought aside as he continued.
"I've read through the documents that you found and read and...I'd like to know what conclusion you've drawn from what you learned? If you don't wish to share it then I could share what I came up with from it. What say you?" The white knight finished with an unusual gently and reasonable voice that called for peace instead of pain and war in these dark times.
Surviving a fall off a horse required a lot of skill and luck. Surviving a fall off a horse in scale armor required even more luck. The fall was hard enough to daze her for the few seconds that it took Hastings to seize his moment and wrap a rope around her neck. Gasping, Mageria clawed at her throat with one hand as she struggled to breathe.
“I understand that you wont take me back to that camp, but please, don't ever, treat me like a dumb bitch the way you did!”
After a few moments Hastings pulled the rope away and stood up. Coughing, Mageria also sat up, watching as the men around them tackled Hastings and pushed him to the ground. They were not gentle. She figured that by the time they were done, Hastings might well have a set of bruises that matched her own.
“Chain him up again. More securely this time.” At her direction, Hastings’ hands were manacled at the small of his back, one over the other. A rope was run from them up to a loop that was tied around his neck. Any amount of struggle on his part would cause him to strangle himself. A second set of chains went around his ankles to restrict his movements further.
With a groan Mageria stood up, walking to her mare to check her for injuries. Luckily she hadn’t hurt herself. One of her men came up to her, offering a scrap of cloth. It was only at that point that she realized that a steady stream of blood was trickling from her nose. Blotting it up, she waited for things to settle before she got back in the saddle. The man who had come up to her spoke softly, holding out a loaded crossbow.
“‘Twas bandits, my Lady. Wern’t nothing we could do about it.” Mageria eyed the bow and Hastings before patting her man on the arm.
“Thanks, but I’ll hold off on it for now.” She looked over at Hastings.
“We’ll get to Newhaven, all right. And since you don’t appreciate horses, you can walk the rest of the damn way.” Balling up her fist, she slammed him in the mouth as hard as she could before turning away. It felt way too good. She waved at her men.
“Move out.”
“I understand that you wont take me back to that camp, but please, don't ever, treat me like a dumb bitch the way you did!”
After a few moments Hastings pulled the rope away and stood up. Coughing, Mageria also sat up, watching as the men around them tackled Hastings and pushed him to the ground. They were not gentle. She figured that by the time they were done, Hastings might well have a set of bruises that matched her own.
“Chain him up again. More securely this time.” At her direction, Hastings’ hands were manacled at the small of his back, one over the other. A rope was run from them up to a loop that was tied around his neck. Any amount of struggle on his part would cause him to strangle himself. A second set of chains went around his ankles to restrict his movements further.
With a groan Mageria stood up, walking to her mare to check her for injuries. Luckily she hadn’t hurt herself. One of her men came up to her, offering a scrap of cloth. It was only at that point that she realized that a steady stream of blood was trickling from her nose. Blotting it up, she waited for things to settle before she got back in the saddle. The man who had come up to her spoke softly, holding out a loaded crossbow.
“‘Twas bandits, my Lady. Wern’t nothing we could do about it.” Mageria eyed the bow and Hastings before patting her man on the arm.
“Thanks, but I’ll hold off on it for now.” She looked over at Hastings.
“We’ll get to Newhaven, all right. And since you don’t appreciate horses, you can walk the rest of the damn way.” Balling up her fist, she slammed him in the mouth as hard as she could before turning away. It felt way too good. She waved at her men.
“Move out.”
A miraculous bird flew threw the sky at screaming speed. He squawked loudly once to announce his arrival. Krander knew immediately that something was wrong. This bird was very rarely seen, and when it was seen by people not of Newhaven, it was usually killing them.
As the bird circled and landed it became the shape of a man, nude and sweating. Underneath his right foot was a parchment. Immediately Krander shouted, "Get Marco some clothing, now."
"It will not be necessary captain," Marco replied. He handed the parchment to Krander.
Captain Krander,
Something has arisen that involves the Great Library, a White Knight, and the kingdom. We request your presence immediately upon which more information will be shared. After assuring the stableness of our outpost, please return.
-Xypher
Krander gawked. In the middle of the war he was being summoned. He sent his two fastest guards to check if the outpost was well fortified. Upon their arrival he jumped onto the back of Marco and he shifted into the bird again. Krander found places to put his feet and hands as he slowly slid down the back of the shifting bird. He felt queasy as he usually did, although this was only the second time this form of travel was necessary.
He flew into the sky as night was starting to fall. "At least we will have a bit of protection," he murmured to himself. Marco let out a quiet squawk of approval and they flew on.
Upon arriving at the castle he entered with Marco in one of the Western entrances. He ordered Marco take the night off unless duty called and then stormed to Xypher's office.
He didn't even knock, but barged in. Immediately he was slapped across the face and pushed out of the door into the hallway. He took a moment to compose himself, and then knocked solemnly.
"Yes?" a voice came from inside.
"It is I, captain Krander, of my own free will and accord wishing to speak to you Xypher." He rolled his eyes.
Xypher opened the door and asked Krander to sit. "Next time you forget your manners dear boy, it will not be an open fist."
Krander bowed his head and sat down. "Please inform me of what was so important that you took me away from an uncertain position in the midst of a war?"
"Oh, Krander, do not be so dramatic. Your entire existence has been amidst a war."
"Alright, what business was so urgent then?" Krander asked respectfully.
"It has come to my attention that there is an assassin in the castle walls." Before Krander could speak he Held up a hand. "She is detained, but has been treated in my mind extremely poorly. I will allow you to punish the White Knight Daniel yourself, but blood was shed Inside the Great Library."
Kranders eyes lit up and opened up as he listened intently.
"She apparently was under the guise of a Healer, and I have heard there was two in the Great Library at the time of the incident, but only one is being detained. Doctora was recently summoned to the dungeons. I would start there." Xypher then seemed to forget that Krander was in the room.
Krander bowed his head and backed out of the room closing the door. Rage in his eyes he headed to the dungeons.
As the bird circled and landed it became the shape of a man, nude and sweating. Underneath his right foot was a parchment. Immediately Krander shouted, "Get Marco some clothing, now."
"It will not be necessary captain," Marco replied. He handed the parchment to Krander.
Captain Krander,
Something has arisen that involves the Great Library, a White Knight, and the kingdom. We request your presence immediately upon which more information will be shared. After assuring the stableness of our outpost, please return.
-Xypher
Krander gawked. In the middle of the war he was being summoned. He sent his two fastest guards to check if the outpost was well fortified. Upon their arrival he jumped onto the back of Marco and he shifted into the bird again. Krander found places to put his feet and hands as he slowly slid down the back of the shifting bird. He felt queasy as he usually did, although this was only the second time this form of travel was necessary.
He flew into the sky as night was starting to fall. "At least we will have a bit of protection," he murmured to himself. Marco let out a quiet squawk of approval and they flew on.
Upon arriving at the castle he entered with Marco in one of the Western entrances. He ordered Marco take the night off unless duty called and then stormed to Xypher's office.
He didn't even knock, but barged in. Immediately he was slapped across the face and pushed out of the door into the hallway. He took a moment to compose himself, and then knocked solemnly.
"Yes?" a voice came from inside.
"It is I, captain Krander, of my own free will and accord wishing to speak to you Xypher." He rolled his eyes.
Xypher opened the door and asked Krander to sit. "Next time you forget your manners dear boy, it will not be an open fist."
Krander bowed his head and sat down. "Please inform me of what was so important that you took me away from an uncertain position in the midst of a war?"
"Oh, Krander, do not be so dramatic. Your entire existence has been amidst a war."
"Alright, what business was so urgent then?" Krander asked respectfully.
"It has come to my attention that there is an assassin in the castle walls." Before Krander could speak he Held up a hand. "She is detained, but has been treated in my mind extremely poorly. I will allow you to punish the White Knight Daniel yourself, but blood was shed Inside the Great Library."
Kranders eyes lit up and opened up as he listened intently.
"She apparently was under the guise of a Healer, and I have heard there was two in the Great Library at the time of the incident, but only one is being detained. Doctora was recently summoned to the dungeons. I would start there." Xypher then seemed to forget that Krander was in the room.
Krander bowed his head and backed out of the room closing the door. Rage in his eyes he headed to the dungeons.
The moment Ali finished talking her eyes sparkled and lit a bright tone of blue as she prepared herself for the hit. She didn't see the gesture coming from the man in front of her, since her sight turned immediately blurry. One of the many side effects she was yet to cope with. She didn't feel a thing, but the cracking sound coming her ribs caused her to wince, imagining what it would be like if whenever she had to feel it, if she lived that long. However... That was the only hit that came for the moment. She had taken worse without her enlightenment. She figured she could take this much pain without it, but for the moment she didn't do anything.
Next thing she knew, she felt herself dragged to a chair, still in her chains. That was a great relief even if she couldn't feel a thing, making her more comfortable meant he was changing his approach. The reason behind that, was yet to be seen. When she realized the Knight had left the room, she took a deep breath. She was afraid to do this, but she figured she would last longer if she didn't push herself too far, at least for now. She disabled her ability, her hands gripping the surface of the table before her as she tried her best not to scream. The stifled scream transformed into a soft groan as the pain in he chest increased at every breath, that was the most she would allow herself to express, even if the man who was interrogating her wasn't in the room. She wondered why he had left so abruptly, but really... She just hoped he wouldn't come back so soon.
The man he had called Sten was standing there, watching her carefully. Ali paid him no mind. He didn't seem able to talk, even if he was... She had nothing to say to him. She wanted to whistle again, music always seemed to calm her, but it was too painful just to breath, she didn't feel like making it worse. Pain, as odd as it might seem, always brought her back to her training. The worst torture she ever had to endure was brought to her by Crys. Hours of holding her bow drawn, hours of trying to breath while being kicked around. The few times she made the mistake of trying to whine about it, she had been hurt more. Crys telling her, what she now repeated to herself and her own recruits: Dead people feel no pain.
As she heard the footsteps coming back, followed closely by more steps, she wondered what would happen next. Her eyes glanced towards the person the Knight had brought along, the pain she was now feeling was probably showing in her eyes, in spite of her attempts to hide it. She was trying to figure out how the woman that had just entered could try and make her talk, when the man spoke. "Doctora, take care of her wounds for me."
The woman immediately moved towards her and began to painfully poke around to locate the fractured ribs, not giving Ali much of a chance to react, except for wincing at the pain. She was confused with being given medical care after being threatened with the possibility of going through every instrument of torture in that place. She was even more confused when the man asked to talk. The word 'please' stood out as specially odd. Moments before he was calling her a beast, now he was saying please?
Ali remained confused until the man spoke again. "I've read through the documents that you found and read and...I'd like to know what conclusion you've drawn from what you learned? If you don't wish to share it then I could share what I came up with from it. What say you?"
She frowned sightly, thinking of what to do. She wasn't allowed to give away her mission, but this... This concerned him as well. Eventually, she heaved a painful sigh and spoke, in a more serious tone. One void of any anger, mockery, or any other emotion. "I'm not allowed to discuss my assignments with anyone. That would be a betrayal. However nothing says I cannot confirm facts if you have them. There are two things I should ask of you however, Sir." She nodded towards Sten. "First, I want him gone. Second, I want to know your name." Her tone was not in the least demanding, however, she paused and added: "Please."
Next thing she knew, she felt herself dragged to a chair, still in her chains. That was a great relief even if she couldn't feel a thing, making her more comfortable meant he was changing his approach. The reason behind that, was yet to be seen. When she realized the Knight had left the room, she took a deep breath. She was afraid to do this, but she figured she would last longer if she didn't push herself too far, at least for now. She disabled her ability, her hands gripping the surface of the table before her as she tried her best not to scream. The stifled scream transformed into a soft groan as the pain in he chest increased at every breath, that was the most she would allow herself to express, even if the man who was interrogating her wasn't in the room. She wondered why he had left so abruptly, but really... She just hoped he wouldn't come back so soon.
The man he had called Sten was standing there, watching her carefully. Ali paid him no mind. He didn't seem able to talk, even if he was... She had nothing to say to him. She wanted to whistle again, music always seemed to calm her, but it was too painful just to breath, she didn't feel like making it worse. Pain, as odd as it might seem, always brought her back to her training. The worst torture she ever had to endure was brought to her by Crys. Hours of holding her bow drawn, hours of trying to breath while being kicked around. The few times she made the mistake of trying to whine about it, she had been hurt more. Crys telling her, what she now repeated to herself and her own recruits: Dead people feel no pain.
As she heard the footsteps coming back, followed closely by more steps, she wondered what would happen next. Her eyes glanced towards the person the Knight had brought along, the pain she was now feeling was probably showing in her eyes, in spite of her attempts to hide it. She was trying to figure out how the woman that had just entered could try and make her talk, when the man spoke. "Doctora, take care of her wounds for me."
The woman immediately moved towards her and began to painfully poke around to locate the fractured ribs, not giving Ali much of a chance to react, except for wincing at the pain. She was confused with being given medical care after being threatened with the possibility of going through every instrument of torture in that place. She was even more confused when the man asked to talk. The word 'please' stood out as specially odd. Moments before he was calling her a beast, now he was saying please?
Ali remained confused until the man spoke again. "I've read through the documents that you found and read and...I'd like to know what conclusion you've drawn from what you learned? If you don't wish to share it then I could share what I came up with from it. What say you?"
She frowned sightly, thinking of what to do. She wasn't allowed to give away her mission, but this... This concerned him as well. Eventually, she heaved a painful sigh and spoke, in a more serious tone. One void of any anger, mockery, or any other emotion. "I'm not allowed to discuss my assignments with anyone. That would be a betrayal. However nothing says I cannot confirm facts if you have them. There are two things I should ask of you however, Sir." She nodded towards Sten. "First, I want him gone. Second, I want to know your name." Her tone was not in the least demanding, however, she paused and added: "Please."
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Ella did not stop running until she made it to camp. It was probably around 11 o'clock at night. Even when she was in the camp, she didn't stop to take a breath and her pace was rushed. There was no time to lose. She just kept going until she reached the leader's cabin. She walked in without knocking or announcing herself. The issue at hand was far to important and manners would not be an issue. The only problem was that she wasn't there. She went into all three of the rooms, even Evin's small broom closet of a room to see if she was in there, but there was no one to be found. It was very frustrating for her. When she went to all the other typical areas around camp, the graveyard and the lake. She wasn't in either of these locations.
She then decided to go to the fire to see if anyone there knew where she might be.
"I need to find Crys! It's urgent!" She yelled.
People just gave her blank stares as if she were crazy. She didn't find any of this amusing however and Ella wanted an answer soon or else she very much contemplating hurting someone. Before it came to that, one of the assassin's around the fire spoke up. "I think I saw her with Jake. I don't know where they might be however. Maybe the lake?" He said.
"Thanks." She said.
Even though the assassin had given the impression that they might be sitting by the lake, which she already knew was untrue, she now had a more general idea of where they might be. She rushed out of there without saying a word. Her they were finally beginning to feel the burn and her energy was quickly vanishing, but this time she was sure she knew where she was going.
She went into the area where most residential cabins were in the camp. She went strait to Jake's cabin and opened the door unannounced to see the two of them sitting at a table.
"Ali has been captured by the White Knights. She gave me is piece of paper before. For all I know she's dead!"
Those were all the words that Ella could get out of her tierd little lungs before she collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. She was out cold for a well deserved rest. Ella rested with the satisfaction that someone capable now knew about what was happening.
She then decided to go to the fire to see if anyone there knew where she might be.
"I need to find Crys! It's urgent!" She yelled.
People just gave her blank stares as if she were crazy. She didn't find any of this amusing however and Ella wanted an answer soon or else she very much contemplating hurting someone. Before it came to that, one of the assassin's around the fire spoke up. "I think I saw her with Jake. I don't know where they might be however. Maybe the lake?" He said.
"Thanks." She said.
Even though the assassin had given the impression that they might be sitting by the lake, which she already knew was untrue, she now had a more general idea of where they might be. She rushed out of there without saying a word. Her they were finally beginning to feel the burn and her energy was quickly vanishing, but this time she was sure she knew where she was going.
She went into the area where most residential cabins were in the camp. She went strait to Jake's cabin and opened the door unannounced to see the two of them sitting at a table.
"Ali has been captured by the White Knights. She gave me is piece of paper before. For all I know she's dead!"
Those were all the words that Ella could get out of her tierd little lungs before she collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. She was out cold for a well deserved rest. Ella rested with the satisfaction that someone capable now knew about what was happening.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Daniel skeptically eyed the assassin for a while before he let out a heavy sigh and turned his gaze towards Sten. The executioner immediately got the message and grunted loudly as he packed down all the tools and weapons lying on the torture table before leaving the room. He was disappointed to say the least that there had been no bloodshed for him to dream about tonight. Daniel had more pressing matters to attend to than reassuring that Sten stays on his best mood. The Doctora put on the last bandage and put some pressure on it before taking a step away from the chained assassin. She brought the white knight out from the room with a hand on his large back. She didn't seem to have grim news of any sort, but a shadow of misfortune lied heavily upon her face.
"I can understand why you might have an assassin down here, but if the Captain of the White Knights find out..." She whispered with a serious expression showing on young face.
"If the Captain won't listen to reason and logic, he's just as ignorant as the rest of them. I won't let him stop me from reaching the truth, not when I'm so close." Daniel responded with his usual voice of justice and reason. It was true what he said; Daniel wouldn't let some brat stop him when he was so close to his goal. The chain of command meant nothing to him in these passing moments. It all came down to finding out what really happened and who is their true ruler, nothing more and nothing less. Turning back to the assassin, Daniel pulled out a chair from the shadows and placed himself at the table, face to face with the assassin.
"My name is not of importance right now. When the need of it arise, I shall reveal it to you as will you reveal yours to me. However, right now we have more pressing matters to deal with before we can go through with the usual introductions. I have no idea what you came up with from what you read in those files, but let me tell you what I understood and for this you need to hear my story..." Daniel explained with a sincere and yet utterly serious voice as he nodded towards the Doctora. She hesitated at first, but after thinking it through she swiftly walked up to the assassin and loosed her arms from the chains that bound her to the floor. Her feet remained chained for now. The white knight named Daniel cleared his throat as he leaned forward and gazed into the assassins bright blue eyes.
"My story begins here in Newhaven, seventeen years ago from now; I had been the Guard captain of Newhaven for a long time and a trusted friend to the father to the king you murdered--" Daniel begun and raised his hand at the assassin. She had opened her mouth to disagree and were probably going to start ranting all about how they had not really killed the real king. "I know of the Wolfpacks side of the story and I do not think of it as lies, yet I have a hard time believing it. Nevertheless, that is not what this story is about."
Daniel leaned back in his chair and watched the torch to his left that burned with a strongly and so full of life.
"Being the Guard Captain at the time came with many perks and one of them was that I was often around the king and when I was not around the king I was always informed of what he was doing and where he was. A safety precaution. One day King Maric, that was his name, summoned me to his private chambers with an urgent message. You see, nine months before that day he had slept with that mistress of his and now it would seem that she had given birth to a child, a girl to be more precise." The white knight paused as his eyes returned to the assassins blue ones.
"He asked me to safely escort his mistress and the child along with her out from the city and protect her from any kind of dangers until we found a safe haven for her. Maric wanted her to stay of course along with his only daughter and his sons sister, but he knew that the nobles of the city would call it a scandal and use it against him in their struggle for power. Once his son would take the throne, which were soon, they could return and live in royalty. And so was it that I lead the woman and her child out from the city and into the forest. After several hours of walking we found yourselves in a small village. It was barely morning and that's when we departed. I promised the woman that one day I would return to bring her and her daughter back to Newhaven to live in the castle."
Daniel paused once more and this time he remained quiet for quite some time. He was deep in his old scarred memories and he only awoke when the assassin spoke:
"What happened to her?" She asked and Daniel came back to reality and returned to his tale.
"When I returned to that very village on the day it was clear to bring them both back to Newhaven I was meet by arrows and blades. I barely got out of there alive. I never bothered to ever return to that village nor look up it's name, until today. In the documents that missing piece came back to me and I now know what to do."
Everything in the room went into a state of silence as Daniel scanned the face of the assassin. She seemed to be thinking real hard on what she had recently heard and learned from this story. Daniel was about to suggest that she should return to the Pack and look for the queen while he made preparations back here in the city, but a Guard suddenly interrupted them both as he stormed into the room.
"Th-The White Knight Captain is coming, sire!" He stuttered slightly. Daniel looked back at the assassin before rising from his chair and left the room. He immediately set out to meet the Captain himself, Krander Sharfon. The sight of the man meet Daniels eyes when he was reaching the exit to the dungeons.
"Captain." Daniel said with respect and bowed slightly as the man approached. "On what purpose are you here?"
"I can understand why you might have an assassin down here, but if the Captain of the White Knights find out..." She whispered with a serious expression showing on young face.
"If the Captain won't listen to reason and logic, he's just as ignorant as the rest of them. I won't let him stop me from reaching the truth, not when I'm so close." Daniel responded with his usual voice of justice and reason. It was true what he said; Daniel wouldn't let some brat stop him when he was so close to his goal. The chain of command meant nothing to him in these passing moments. It all came down to finding out what really happened and who is their true ruler, nothing more and nothing less. Turning back to the assassin, Daniel pulled out a chair from the shadows and placed himself at the table, face to face with the assassin.
"My name is not of importance right now. When the need of it arise, I shall reveal it to you as will you reveal yours to me. However, right now we have more pressing matters to deal with before we can go through with the usual introductions. I have no idea what you came up with from what you read in those files, but let me tell you what I understood and for this you need to hear my story..." Daniel explained with a sincere and yet utterly serious voice as he nodded towards the Doctora. She hesitated at first, but after thinking it through she swiftly walked up to the assassin and loosed her arms from the chains that bound her to the floor. Her feet remained chained for now. The white knight named Daniel cleared his throat as he leaned forward and gazed into the assassins bright blue eyes.
"My story begins here in Newhaven, seventeen years ago from now; I had been the Guard captain of Newhaven for a long time and a trusted friend to the father to the king you murdered--" Daniel begun and raised his hand at the assassin. She had opened her mouth to disagree and were probably going to start ranting all about how they had not really killed the real king. "I know of the Wolfpacks side of the story and I do not think of it as lies, yet I have a hard time believing it. Nevertheless, that is not what this story is about."
Daniel leaned back in his chair and watched the torch to his left that burned with a strongly and so full of life.
"Being the Guard Captain at the time came with many perks and one of them was that I was often around the king and when I was not around the king I was always informed of what he was doing and where he was. A safety precaution. One day King Maric, that was his name, summoned me to his private chambers with an urgent message. You see, nine months before that day he had slept with that mistress of his and now it would seem that she had given birth to a child, a girl to be more precise." The white knight paused as his eyes returned to the assassins blue ones.
"He asked me to safely escort his mistress and the child along with her out from the city and protect her from any kind of dangers until we found a safe haven for her. Maric wanted her to stay of course along with his only daughter and his sons sister, but he knew that the nobles of the city would call it a scandal and use it against him in their struggle for power. Once his son would take the throne, which were soon, they could return and live in royalty. And so was it that I lead the woman and her child out from the city and into the forest. After several hours of walking we found yourselves in a small village. It was barely morning and that's when we departed. I promised the woman that one day I would return to bring her and her daughter back to Newhaven to live in the castle."
Daniel paused once more and this time he remained quiet for quite some time. He was deep in his old scarred memories and he only awoke when the assassin spoke:
"What happened to her?" She asked and Daniel came back to reality and returned to his tale.
"When I returned to that very village on the day it was clear to bring them both back to Newhaven I was meet by arrows and blades. I barely got out of there alive. I never bothered to ever return to that village nor look up it's name, until today. In the documents that missing piece came back to me and I now know what to do."
Everything in the room went into a state of silence as Daniel scanned the face of the assassin. She seemed to be thinking real hard on what she had recently heard and learned from this story. Daniel was about to suggest that she should return to the Pack and look for the queen while he made preparations back here in the city, but a Guard suddenly interrupted them both as he stormed into the room.
"Th-The White Knight Captain is coming, sire!" He stuttered slightly. Daniel looked back at the assassin before rising from his chair and left the room. He immediately set out to meet the Captain himself, Krander Sharfon. The sight of the man meet Daniels eyes when he was reaching the exit to the dungeons.
"Captain." Daniel said with respect and bowed slightly as the man approached. "On what purpose are you here?"
Krander said nothing. He made a fist and punched him across the face.
"I will not answer to your questions until you have answered mine. I know not of what business happened in the Great Library but I know blood was left upon the walls. A few books speckled with blood as well, pages that might be lost forever because you couldn't control your behavior. Perhaps with your age you are becoming senile but you know how sacred that one room is."
He took a deep breath and looked at the man. "So you know, the reason I did not kill you on sight is because we need no inner turmoil nor do I know the whole story. Perhaps this will be an awakening to remember oaths, ritual, and sanctity."
His rage had simmered a lot by this point. He looked the man deep in the eyes and firmly said, "Fill me in on what has happened." He said it dismissing what had just happened, one of the nice things of being the Captain.
"I will not answer to your questions until you have answered mine. I know not of what business happened in the Great Library but I know blood was left upon the walls. A few books speckled with blood as well, pages that might be lost forever because you couldn't control your behavior. Perhaps with your age you are becoming senile but you know how sacred that one room is."
He took a deep breath and looked at the man. "So you know, the reason I did not kill you on sight is because we need no inner turmoil nor do I know the whole story. Perhaps this will be an awakening to remember oaths, ritual, and sanctity."
His rage had simmered a lot by this point. He looked the man deep in the eyes and firmly said, "Fill me in on what has happened." He said it dismissing what had just happened, one of the nice things of being the Captain.
Thomas followed the scruffy bandit hoping devoutly that this would lead to the woman he was looking for. He had been on the road for far too long and he was getting increasingly worried about his friends back at home. Curiously he looked around. The edge of the desert that they traveled along was bleak and blasted, but obviously it was possible to live here. Just not well.
It was a couple of miles to where Sarris hopefully lived, and Thomas had to listen to the bandit, whose name was Alex, talk the entire time. After a while Thomas stopped really replying. Obviously he had pushed a little too hard making Alex his friend. He squinted and found that they were coming up to a set of ruins of some kind.
“This here is where the woman you want lives. She’ll be about somewhere. Just to warn you though, she’s not real friendly. Just as soon shoot you as look at you.” Alex shook his head. Thomas laughed.
“I’d expect nothing less from someone who lived out here. I’ll introduce myself carefully.” He held out his hand. “Thank you for your help Alex. I’ll be sure to remember it.” With a sigh he found a shady spot to wait for Sarris to show back up.
A couple hours later, he had very nearly fallen asleep when he heard a scuff on the stone not to far away. He looked up to find a woman in reddish tan cloths staring at him from about 30 feet away with her arms crossed over her chest. She tilted her head to the side and and regarded him with frank curiosity.
“And what is it that brings a Knight to my humble abode? And don’t” she held up one hand. “Don’t deny that you’re a Knight. It’s damn obvious even to someone who’s been exiled for the past almost two decades.”
Thomas nodded. “Obviously something I need to work on. But I was pretty much the only one who could come.” He leaned forward. “We’re in trouble my Lady. We need your help.” Quickly he explained why he had come, that there was no one left to rule Newhaven, that they needed a leader to bring the city together.
“Please my Lady. I’m here asking for your help. What happened to your son? If we can bring him to the throne, we might have a chance to pull things together. After the attack, half the guard is dead and those that survive are mostly young and inexperienced. We need a strong leader. Now.” Sarris looked away, moving back to perch on a nearby chunk of stone. She didn’t say anything for a long time. Finnaly she spoke.
“I’m afraid that I cannot help you. My son was still born. I never bore another.” She looked over at Thomas.
“So you see, you made the trip for nothing.”
Thomas leaned forward, fighting the despair that threatened to engulf him. He hadn’t wanted to hope, but it seemed that he had been without realizing it. Finnaly he sighed.
“Then will you come back my Lady? We need someone. And you seem as if you be a strong leader.” She laughed.
“Would they follow me? I was exiled.”
Thomas stood up and walked toward her. “My Lady, you were married to the King. We have no one else. Please.” Sarris grimaced and walked away. Thomas wanted to follow her but didn’t. She needed space to think.
Finally she came back. There was a look in the back of her eyes. She had made a decision. She tossed a small water skin at his head.
“Drink up. We need to go to the White Shadow’s Ruins and it’s quite a walk from here.” Thomas drank gratefully before what she said hit him.
“My Lady? I thought we would be going to Newhaven?”
She nodded but kept walking. “Yes, but I have business there. I trade herbs with them sometimes for supplies. They’re waiting for my latest batch.” Thomas trailed after her, mouth hanging open as he tried to object. Sarris turned around and glared at him, stepping up to stand near toe to toe. Sparks danced in her blue eyes and her face was framed by wisps of gold from the bun on the back of her head.
“You wanted a Queen, yes? Then try and keep up.” She set out across the broken landscape, moving at a pace that he was hard pressed to keep up with on his horse. She didn’t say anything and he was afraid to try and push her. It was fading into deep twilight when Thomas thought that they were getting close to where the Healers kept their camp.
It was a couple of miles to where Sarris hopefully lived, and Thomas had to listen to the bandit, whose name was Alex, talk the entire time. After a while Thomas stopped really replying. Obviously he had pushed a little too hard making Alex his friend. He squinted and found that they were coming up to a set of ruins of some kind.
“This here is where the woman you want lives. She’ll be about somewhere. Just to warn you though, she’s not real friendly. Just as soon shoot you as look at you.” Alex shook his head. Thomas laughed.
“I’d expect nothing less from someone who lived out here. I’ll introduce myself carefully.” He held out his hand. “Thank you for your help Alex. I’ll be sure to remember it.” With a sigh he found a shady spot to wait for Sarris to show back up.
A couple hours later, he had very nearly fallen asleep when he heard a scuff on the stone not to far away. He looked up to find a woman in reddish tan cloths staring at him from about 30 feet away with her arms crossed over her chest. She tilted her head to the side and and regarded him with frank curiosity.
“And what is it that brings a Knight to my humble abode? And don’t” she held up one hand. “Don’t deny that you’re a Knight. It’s damn obvious even to someone who’s been exiled for the past almost two decades.”
Thomas nodded. “Obviously something I need to work on. But I was pretty much the only one who could come.” He leaned forward. “We’re in trouble my Lady. We need your help.” Quickly he explained why he had come, that there was no one left to rule Newhaven, that they needed a leader to bring the city together.
“Please my Lady. I’m here asking for your help. What happened to your son? If we can bring him to the throne, we might have a chance to pull things together. After the attack, half the guard is dead and those that survive are mostly young and inexperienced. We need a strong leader. Now.” Sarris looked away, moving back to perch on a nearby chunk of stone. She didn’t say anything for a long time. Finnaly she spoke.
“I’m afraid that I cannot help you. My son was still born. I never bore another.” She looked over at Thomas.
“So you see, you made the trip for nothing.”
Thomas leaned forward, fighting the despair that threatened to engulf him. He hadn’t wanted to hope, but it seemed that he had been without realizing it. Finnaly he sighed.
“Then will you come back my Lady? We need someone. And you seem as if you be a strong leader.” She laughed.
“Would they follow me? I was exiled.”
Thomas stood up and walked toward her. “My Lady, you were married to the King. We have no one else. Please.” Sarris grimaced and walked away. Thomas wanted to follow her but didn’t. She needed space to think.
Finally she came back. There was a look in the back of her eyes. She had made a decision. She tossed a small water skin at his head.
“Drink up. We need to go to the White Shadow’s Ruins and it’s quite a walk from here.” Thomas drank gratefully before what she said hit him.
“My Lady? I thought we would be going to Newhaven?”
She nodded but kept walking. “Yes, but I have business there. I trade herbs with them sometimes for supplies. They’re waiting for my latest batch.” Thomas trailed after her, mouth hanging open as he tried to object. Sarris turned around and glared at him, stepping up to stand near toe to toe. Sparks danced in her blue eyes and her face was framed by wisps of gold from the bun on the back of her head.
“You wanted a Queen, yes? Then try and keep up.” She set out across the broken landscape, moving at a pace that he was hard pressed to keep up with on his horse. She didn’t say anything and he was afraid to try and push her. It was fading into deep twilight when Thomas thought that they were getting close to where the Healers kept their camp.
Daniel took the punch as a man. The Captain had however made one grave mistake; Punched the man who knew all the details and was more influential than he would ever become. Daniel remained quiet as he listened carefully on the so called 'Captains' words before wiping off the blood from his mouth. The library may be sacred, but such things were nothing in times like these when their entire kingdom was at the brink of destruction and chaos. The Captain was foolish enough to leave the city in this state and go off to war with the few men they had left to play with war and death like a kid. "Leave the killing to the Black Knights while we White knights defend the city as both it's first and last line of defence" had always been The White Knight motto, but the Captain seemed to have forgotten where his true loyalty and role lied.
Daniel opened his mouth, yet instead of uttering a single word he drew his blade and forced the captain into the nearest wall with his cold and sharp sword pressed against the young mans throat. With a single move the captains life would fade away in a river of blood and hopefully the man realized this as well.
"The god damn reason you didn't kill me on sight, boy, was that you don't have the fucking balls to do so!" Daniel roared with all of his holy rage, still pressing his blade against the captains throat. That this man dared to take advantage of his status and title made Daniel sick. After this little outburst, Daniel took a step backwards and punched the Captain across the face. An eye for an eye, as they say.
"Now, boy, If you're done playing around with war and such things, you better come with me." Daniel literally ordered his Captain with such a demonic tone to his voice that the torches around them faded slightly at his presence. He turned his back at the Captain and started to walk back towards the room where the assassin was being kept. He didn't check if the captain followed or not.
"I captured an assassin in the library earlier as you might have heard. She was looking through some sealed documents. It would seem that she was looking for information about the missing Queen. I haven't had the time to interrogate her." The White knight reported swiftly as he entered the room where Allison were being kept against her will.
Daniel opened his mouth, yet instead of uttering a single word he drew his blade and forced the captain into the nearest wall with his cold and sharp sword pressed against the young mans throat. With a single move the captains life would fade away in a river of blood and hopefully the man realized this as well.
"The god damn reason you didn't kill me on sight, boy, was that you don't have the fucking balls to do so!" Daniel roared with all of his holy rage, still pressing his blade against the captains throat. That this man dared to take advantage of his status and title made Daniel sick. After this little outburst, Daniel took a step backwards and punched the Captain across the face. An eye for an eye, as they say.
"Now, boy, If you're done playing around with war and such things, you better come with me." Daniel literally ordered his Captain with such a demonic tone to his voice that the torches around them faded slightly at his presence. He turned his back at the Captain and started to walk back towards the room where the assassin was being kept. He didn't check if the captain followed or not.
"I captured an assassin in the library earlier as you might have heard. She was looking through some sealed documents. It would seem that she was looking for information about the missing Queen. I haven't had the time to interrogate her." The White knight reported swiftly as he entered the room where Allison were being kept against her will.
Krander was surprised that such behavior came from him. He used to be captain, and Krander had admired him. Not now. As his blade touched his neck he allowed him to finish speaking. He could have brought the entire castle down upon them with just one scream, which he could do before Daniel sliced his throat, and he knew Daniel knew that as well...
"The god damn reason you didn't kill me on sight, boy, was that you don't have the fucking balls to do so!" He was then punched across the face.
Krander listened while he plotted. Daniel had definitely become Senile. The first thing that came across Kranders mind after being punched was a line of his oath as captain: Protect the kingdom, no matter the cost, no matter the time, nor the level of danger; The kingdom comes before thy self.
The torches seemed to waver in light and they came back to full strength. He also listened as Daniel marched into the room holding the assassin.
Krander immediately turned and walked away. His curiosity over took his rage. He would deal with Daniel later, and he would make it a public ordeal.
He headed to the Grand Library, said a small prayer, and entered. He found the archivist and approached him.
"As the white knight captain you are relieved of your duties temporarily. As long as you are assisting me you will be free of said duties." The archivist shook a little and nodded.
"Y-yes s-sir." he said.
"Tell me everything that went on in here, and I mean everything. Don't think I don't know your enlightenment," he ordered.
"The god damn reason you didn't kill me on sight, boy, was that you don't have the fucking balls to do so!" He was then punched across the face.
Krander listened while he plotted. Daniel had definitely become Senile. The first thing that came across Kranders mind after being punched was a line of his oath as captain: Protect the kingdom, no matter the cost, no matter the time, nor the level of danger; The kingdom comes before thy self.
The torches seemed to waver in light and they came back to full strength. He also listened as Daniel marched into the room holding the assassin.
Krander immediately turned and walked away. His curiosity over took his rage. He would deal with Daniel later, and he would make it a public ordeal.
He headed to the Grand Library, said a small prayer, and entered. He found the archivist and approached him.
"As the white knight captain you are relieved of your duties temporarily. As long as you are assisting me you will be free of said duties." The archivist shook a little and nodded.
"Y-yes s-sir." he said.
"Tell me everything that went on in here, and I mean everything. Don't think I don't know your enlightenment," he ordered.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Jake had fallen asleep and slipped into a complete void. No dreams to torment him, exhaustion was such a blessing sometimes. Darkness was such a blessing sometimes... Welcoming, comforting, empty. That was the state Jake was in when a sound began to brake through his sleep. At first he thought it was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" He mumbled. When he only received a small chuckle as response, he realized it wasn't someone on the door, it was someone in the house. Rolling onto his back to face the wooden table, he opened his eyes to find the blurry image of Crys sitting by it. The sound he had heard was of her foot tapping gently against the wooden floor.
"Hey." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Why didn't you just wake me up?"
Crys nodded, a small smile crossing her expression. "You were so sound asleep... I didn't really have the courage." She stated.
"I wouldn't have minded that at all." He said, sitting up on the bed. "So, do you want to know what I discovered, or is this a social visit?" He smiled.
"Sleep has done you some good hasn't it?" She laughed. "Well, I wish this could be a social visit, but it's not. Did you hear a Black Knight was here?" She asked.
"Yes, Sean told me. Grim was here." He said. "What did he want?"
"He wanted proof on the Shadow's identity." Crys said, trying to contain laughter. "I told him we have none. I mean, really... Isn't that why we are in this situation?"
"And what did you tell him?" Jake asked, moving to sit across from her.
"Everything we know. I trusted him, he actually believed Evin, so... Hopefully it helped him." She stated, not sounding all too hopeful. "What about you?"
"I have a name: Sarris. I'm sure I've heard it before, but can't really know where." He said, scratching the back of his head and yawning. "Maybe in the ruins."
"Ask Annie about it then. She seems to know all the gossip." Crys said simply, standing up and starting to walk around.
"I will..." Jake said, watching her with the corner of his eyes. "Is something out of place?" He asked with a small chuckle, noticing her walking around as if counting steps.
"Not really, no. Well... A lot of things are out of place, but not in this room." She mumbled.
"Well, something is bothering you." He stated.
"I have a bad feeling and I don't know why." She mumbled, her pacing coming to a stop behind his chair. Then, out of the blue she ran her fingers through his hair. "You need a haircut. You look like a hobo." She stated.
"How did the conversation shift from assignments to my hair?" Jake asked, with a chuckle. "And I do not look like a hobo. I'm still quite attractive, thank you. You just don't like changes."
"Well, it doesn't feel like your hair anymore... And who have you been attracting, might I ask?" She asked, quietly.
"Do you really want me to answer that question? You know I can't lie." He retorted, snickering.
"Uh-hum..." She mumbled, walking past him.
Jake sighed grabbing her by the hand and sitting her down on the chair next to him. "How bad is it?"
"It's getting worse, actually." She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling as well.
"Like when your father died?" He asked her.
"No, not as bad. Like when my mother died maybe."
"Hum..." Jake mumbled, unconsciously pulling away.
Crys frowned a little, taking notice of the gesture. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just... It's not a day I like to remember." Jake stated, a cold tone in his voice.
"About that..." Crys sighed. "I've been thinking and I'm pulling you out of this assignment."
Jake immediately stood up when hearing that. "What? You can't!"
"Yes, I can, Jacob. Do you not see what this is doing to you? I don't sleep well, you had one meal, maybe, in the past two days... You really have grown attached to these people and the lying is tearing you apart."
"I can handle it." He stated, turning and walking a few steps away. That was one huge lie.
"That is my decision to make. I can see you're not well. I can't let you go on with this." Her tone had gone from casual to severe in a heartbeat. Even though she hadn't raised her voice to do so.
"What if I refuse?" He mumbled.
"What?" She asked.
"What if I refuse to terminate the assignment? Then what?" Jake had raised his voice now and he wasn't even sure of why. It was the first time he had ever done that with Crys.
"Then you can go back to Newhaven and stay there. That is your choice to make." She answered, still calmly, but now she stood up as well. "Don't pretend you didn't get into this knowing you would have to make a choice in the end."
"It is not a fair choice you are giving me Crys. The clan could benefit..."
"The clan is not being threatened by the Black Knights anymore. You are simply hoping they never get to find out how much you lied to them, but it doesn't work that way Jake."
"What is this really about?" He asked. "Do you distrust me for some reason? Do you think I'm going to abandon the clan if I go on? I mean... Why are you really doing this?"
Crys nodded and laughed out. "I'm not jealous and I don't distrust you. Even though I have reason to. I'm not stupid Jake. I do know you thought about it, surely I know. I saw the signs the day you raided our camp with them and killed our actives. However, you won't even consider taking one of their lives if I bring it up. How blind do you think I am?"
The first response to that came in the form of the loud and rather threatening sound of Jake punching the wall. "You have no right to throw that in my face. I did what I was ordered to do. What your mother ordered me to do!" He shouted. "And then what? She dropped dead! I'm the one who has to live with it! How damn convenient for her!"
A wave of silence filled the small wooden cabin following those words. Jake had gone too far and he knew it. Even with his back still turned to Crys he could tell how much that must have hurt, specially coming from him. He didn't think of any more words to say, he simply started walking towards the door. The moment he gripped the handle though, she spoke. "If you leave now, you're dead."
"Are you threatening me?" He asked, still holding on to the door.
"It's not a threat, or a bluff for that matter. If you walk away from me now, you are dead to me. I won't speak to you, hear you, think of you, acknowledge your existence in any significant way, and I won't forgive you. Not even on my deathbed. That is a promise." She made the statement and went silent again waiting on an answer.
Jake sighed, he flinched for a second, but eventually turned away from the door. Crys had sat back down at the table, her foot tapping slowly against the floor. Jake flinched one more time before sitting across from her again. He laid his head down on the table. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled, feeling his eyes filled with tears. "I really didn't mean to say that. You know how much I respected Dani, I never..."
"Shut up." Crys cut him off. "I loved my mother, but do you honestly think I didn't hate her for making you do this? I hated her for so many things, so many times..." She sighed. "I know you don't mean it, but don't lie to me and say you can take it. Not after this."
"Alright. I'll terminate the assignment." He said, finally, raising his head. "I won't go back to Newhaven."
The moment he said that however, the door opened and Ella barged in. She announced Ali had been captured by the White Knights and might be dead. Soon after that she collapsed on the floor. Crys immediately moved from her seat and knelt down next to the girl to make sure she hadn't hurt herself. Jake, however, hadn't moved. He was going over the words in his head. "JAkE!" Crys had to shout to get his attention. When he finally moved to help carry Ella onto his bed, Crys handed him the paper the girl had with a woman's name. "Leah Ashmore." He said aloud. "I know the name. Not the first, but the last. It's Alistair's last name. His family is from Newhaven."
"And Ali would know this?" Crys asked him.
"Yes. If this woman kept in touch with Alistair in some way... She would tell anything to a girl dressed as a healer."
"I don't think Ali made it that far Jake." Crys stated. She put a blanket over Ella, and took a step out of the door, calling for the first person she could see. "Call Annie for me."
Minutes later Annie came in. She looked from Jake to Crys, to Ella passed out on the bed. "What is going on here?" She asked confused.
"I don't have enough time to explain." Crys stated. "Just stay with Ella and make sure she is fine. Once she wakes up, try to get the whole story of what happened."
"You know anything she tells me is confidential!" Annie shouted, but Crys was already out the door. Jake followed her straight to her cabin, she was packing her weapons. "Crys, think this through. You can't leave the clan without a leader, Evin isn't here. Who will stay in charge?"
"Sean." She stated, already walking out the door again.
"Sean? No, Crys..." He followed her out of the cabin and stopped her. "Think, Crys. How will you get in? I can simply march into that dungeon, no one will stop me."
Crys flinched for a second. Then she responded. "Fine, but I'm going. If she is dead... May the Gods have mercy on those Knights... Because I won't." She stated, walking past him towards the gates. She found Sean rather quickly and gave him his instructions. "You're in charge of camp until my return. No one leaves on assignment, until then. Understand?"
"I understand." Sean said. Although he didn't seem to understand in one bit.
When Jake passed the man he added. "One of our own is currently imprisoned in Newhaven."
"Who?" Sean asked.
Jake didn't answer he simply ran to catch up with Crys, she hadn't bothered to stop to wait for him.
"Hey." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Why didn't you just wake me up?"
Crys nodded, a small smile crossing her expression. "You were so sound asleep... I didn't really have the courage." She stated.
"I wouldn't have minded that at all." He said, sitting up on the bed. "So, do you want to know what I discovered, or is this a social visit?" He smiled.
"Sleep has done you some good hasn't it?" She laughed. "Well, I wish this could be a social visit, but it's not. Did you hear a Black Knight was here?" She asked.
"Yes, Sean told me. Grim was here." He said. "What did he want?"
"He wanted proof on the Shadow's identity." Crys said, trying to contain laughter. "I told him we have none. I mean, really... Isn't that why we are in this situation?"
"And what did you tell him?" Jake asked, moving to sit across from her.
"Everything we know. I trusted him, he actually believed Evin, so... Hopefully it helped him." She stated, not sounding all too hopeful. "What about you?"
"I have a name: Sarris. I'm sure I've heard it before, but can't really know where." He said, scratching the back of his head and yawning. "Maybe in the ruins."
"Ask Annie about it then. She seems to know all the gossip." Crys said simply, standing up and starting to walk around.
"I will..." Jake said, watching her with the corner of his eyes. "Is something out of place?" He asked with a small chuckle, noticing her walking around as if counting steps.
"Not really, no. Well... A lot of things are out of place, but not in this room." She mumbled.
"Well, something is bothering you." He stated.
"I have a bad feeling and I don't know why." She mumbled, her pacing coming to a stop behind his chair. Then, out of the blue she ran her fingers through his hair. "You need a haircut. You look like a hobo." She stated.
"How did the conversation shift from assignments to my hair?" Jake asked, with a chuckle. "And I do not look like a hobo. I'm still quite attractive, thank you. You just don't like changes."
"Well, it doesn't feel like your hair anymore... And who have you been attracting, might I ask?" She asked, quietly.
"Do you really want me to answer that question? You know I can't lie." He retorted, snickering.
"Uh-hum..." She mumbled, walking past him.
Jake sighed grabbing her by the hand and sitting her down on the chair next to him. "How bad is it?"
"It's getting worse, actually." She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling as well.
"Like when your father died?" He asked her.
"No, not as bad. Like when my mother died maybe."
"Hum..." Jake mumbled, unconsciously pulling away.
Crys frowned a little, taking notice of the gesture. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just... It's not a day I like to remember." Jake stated, a cold tone in his voice.
"About that..." Crys sighed. "I've been thinking and I'm pulling you out of this assignment."
Jake immediately stood up when hearing that. "What? You can't!"
"Yes, I can, Jacob. Do you not see what this is doing to you? I don't sleep well, you had one meal, maybe, in the past two days... You really have grown attached to these people and the lying is tearing you apart."
"I can handle it." He stated, turning and walking a few steps away. That was one huge lie.
"That is my decision to make. I can see you're not well. I can't let you go on with this." Her tone had gone from casual to severe in a heartbeat. Even though she hadn't raised her voice to do so.
"What if I refuse?" He mumbled.
"What?" She asked.
"What if I refuse to terminate the assignment? Then what?" Jake had raised his voice now and he wasn't even sure of why. It was the first time he had ever done that with Crys.
"Then you can go back to Newhaven and stay there. That is your choice to make." She answered, still calmly, but now she stood up as well. "Don't pretend you didn't get into this knowing you would have to make a choice in the end."
"It is not a fair choice you are giving me Crys. The clan could benefit..."
"The clan is not being threatened by the Black Knights anymore. You are simply hoping they never get to find out how much you lied to them, but it doesn't work that way Jake."
"What is this really about?" He asked. "Do you distrust me for some reason? Do you think I'm going to abandon the clan if I go on? I mean... Why are you really doing this?"
Crys nodded and laughed out. "I'm not jealous and I don't distrust you. Even though I have reason to. I'm not stupid Jake. I do know you thought about it, surely I know. I saw the signs the day you raided our camp with them and killed our actives. However, you won't even consider taking one of their lives if I bring it up. How blind do you think I am?"
The first response to that came in the form of the loud and rather threatening sound of Jake punching the wall. "You have no right to throw that in my face. I did what I was ordered to do. What your mother ordered me to do!" He shouted. "And then what? She dropped dead! I'm the one who has to live with it! How damn convenient for her!"
A wave of silence filled the small wooden cabin following those words. Jake had gone too far and he knew it. Even with his back still turned to Crys he could tell how much that must have hurt, specially coming from him. He didn't think of any more words to say, he simply started walking towards the door. The moment he gripped the handle though, she spoke. "If you leave now, you're dead."
"Are you threatening me?" He asked, still holding on to the door.
"It's not a threat, or a bluff for that matter. If you walk away from me now, you are dead to me. I won't speak to you, hear you, think of you, acknowledge your existence in any significant way, and I won't forgive you. Not even on my deathbed. That is a promise." She made the statement and went silent again waiting on an answer.
Jake sighed, he flinched for a second, but eventually turned away from the door. Crys had sat back down at the table, her foot tapping slowly against the floor. Jake flinched one more time before sitting across from her again. He laid his head down on the table. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled, feeling his eyes filled with tears. "I really didn't mean to say that. You know how much I respected Dani, I never..."
"Shut up." Crys cut him off. "I loved my mother, but do you honestly think I didn't hate her for making you do this? I hated her for so many things, so many times..." She sighed. "I know you don't mean it, but don't lie to me and say you can take it. Not after this."
"Alright. I'll terminate the assignment." He said, finally, raising his head. "I won't go back to Newhaven."
The moment he said that however, the door opened and Ella barged in. She announced Ali had been captured by the White Knights and might be dead. Soon after that she collapsed on the floor. Crys immediately moved from her seat and knelt down next to the girl to make sure she hadn't hurt herself. Jake, however, hadn't moved. He was going over the words in his head. "JAkE!" Crys had to shout to get his attention. When he finally moved to help carry Ella onto his bed, Crys handed him the paper the girl had with a woman's name. "Leah Ashmore." He said aloud. "I know the name. Not the first, but the last. It's Alistair's last name. His family is from Newhaven."
"And Ali would know this?" Crys asked him.
"Yes. If this woman kept in touch with Alistair in some way... She would tell anything to a girl dressed as a healer."
"I don't think Ali made it that far Jake." Crys stated. She put a blanket over Ella, and took a step out of the door, calling for the first person she could see. "Call Annie for me."
Minutes later Annie came in. She looked from Jake to Crys, to Ella passed out on the bed. "What is going on here?" She asked confused.
"I don't have enough time to explain." Crys stated. "Just stay with Ella and make sure she is fine. Once she wakes up, try to get the whole story of what happened."
"You know anything she tells me is confidential!" Annie shouted, but Crys was already out the door. Jake followed her straight to her cabin, she was packing her weapons. "Crys, think this through. You can't leave the clan without a leader, Evin isn't here. Who will stay in charge?"
"Sean." She stated, already walking out the door again.
"Sean? No, Crys..." He followed her out of the cabin and stopped her. "Think, Crys. How will you get in? I can simply march into that dungeon, no one will stop me."
Crys flinched for a second. Then she responded. "Fine, but I'm going. If she is dead... May the Gods have mercy on those Knights... Because I won't." She stated, walking past him towards the gates. She found Sean rather quickly and gave him his instructions. "You're in charge of camp until my return. No one leaves on assignment, until then. Understand?"
"I understand." Sean said. Although he didn't seem to understand in one bit.
When Jake passed the man he added. "One of our own is currently imprisoned in Newhaven."
"Who?" Sean asked.
Jake didn't answer he simply ran to catch up with Crys, she hadn't bothered to stop to wait for him.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Walking wasn't as bad as Hastings was expecting to. Even when he was shackled practically from head to toe and bruised from both the fall and after when he had been beaten by a few guards. It wasn't the worst however and it defiantly didn't feel like he had been walking for two hours when they made it to Newhaven. The darkness of the night predicted otherwise. It was probably around one o’clock when they reached the last of five checkpoints when entering the city.
At the entrance, the group had been welcomed by a man who appeared to have some sort of position of power in the City. He didn’t have any armour on, but instead he had on very expensive and colourful clothing. He wasn’t sure like a person like this would be welcoming a group of injured soldiers and a prisoner of the war. He soon found out from conversations from some of the soldiers behind him that he was in charge of the prisons and dungeons in the city. For someone with such a dirty business, he was defiantly well dressed.
The man approached Mageria and spoke to him. He could only catch the man’s part of the conversation. “We have arranged for the prisoner to split off from the injured now and follow me to the dungeon. Right now we are housing an assassin there so we are on high security, but so for nothing has happened that gives us reason to be concerned. Would you like to join us as we take the prisoner to his new home Mageria?”
Hastings stopped listening to the conversation. He had never actually been to Newhaven since the death of their king. It looked, from what he could see in the torch lit streets that things had dramatically changed since he had left. It was starting to look like the once dying city of Blackpond with a lot of scummy things everywhere he looked. To think that the entrance, of all places was filled with this much scum, he wondered how his life in the dungeon would be. Only time would tell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Evin, things were beginning to spiral out of control just like they had when he went to Newhaven searching for the Shadow Hunter. He wasn’t exactly sure how things would be different, but at this point it wasn’t the issue he had to concern himself with. He hadn’t left Jake’s house since he was informed by Ella that Allison had been captured. Evin was sure where he could find his friend, in the dungeons, but getting into them undetected was another problem all together. He had spent the last eleven hours just trying to figure out a plan to get him into the place where prisoners are safer than any king.
There was no way to safely get into the dungeon, he was sure of that. It wouldn’t be his first visit for sure. The only time he had been sent to it was when he was convicted of a crime he hadn’t even committed. This was funny though, because the person he wanted to find was in the dungeon as well. Evin only had to spend three day’s there, but in that time, it was enough for him to start a prison riot. He didn’t even have to get involved in the riot. His target stood no chance against some of the men that were in those walls. It was almost like a lamb waiting for the slaughter.
Then, Evin got a sudden burst of inspiration. As the city’s herald called out the time to anyone who was awake (approximately twelve o’clock), Evin got some of his things together. Next thing he knew, he was out the door. He searched for the nearest set of guards who would be his ticket into the dungeon. He didn’t have to walk ten steps before he heard the yells of a man from behind him.
“Stop!” he heard the man yelling.
Evin turned around to face the two guards who were walking up at a brisk pace. He didn’t say anything to the two of them, he just let them continue to speak. The less Evin had to say, the better.
“Why are you out past the designated time. You know it’s a crime.”
“Oh yes I do sir, and I’m sorry, but I have to find my father. He’s been missing since yesterday when he didn’t come home.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” The other guard said. He was shocked to notice that she was female. “But you know the laws. We will have to keep you locked up in the dungeon for a day or two so you can learn your lesson.”
Evin once again didn’t reply to the comment that was made. He just let them do what they had to do. One of these things was a pat down to check for any weapons. Evin closed his eyes and waited for the patting to begin. If the guards could see his eyes, they would be glistening like a black diamond in the sun. This allowed him to use his power to move his concealed weapons around as they began to pat near them. They didn’t notice, they probably only caught them as small jerks or twitches at a regular pace. This could be explained by the guards by the fact that he could just be nervous.
When the guards finally decided that he wasn’t a threat, they tied his hands up behind his back and took him to the dungeons.
By the time they arrived at the entrance, the herald was calling the time to be one o’clock. Allison had been stuck in here for probably just over twelve hours now. He really hoped that she was alright.
When they entered the dungeon, they wee met by two guards new guards that were to watch the entrance at all times. The two guards explained why Evin was here before they were allowed to pass. As they went deeper and deeper, the ground air began to feel much more moist. It was also a little cold down there.
Evin allowed them bring him very far down into the tunnels, past all the cells before he made his move. From his last time being in the dungeons, he remembered that the hall that they were going down was where all of the thieves were kept. The next hall was where the murderers were. Evin trusted the thieves to be able to follow orders a little better. It also helped that there were only four guards in the room including the ones who were taking him to his cell, which was surprisingly deep in the tunnel system.
From his back, he let loose a dagger that dropped right into his hands. He used the dagger to cut himself free from his bondage. At that point the slipped out another dagger from his left sleeve. The guards taking him to his cell had no chance. Within only a second of being free, they were both dropping to the ground. The other two guards who were at either side of the hall were both dead before the first two guards had even hit the floor. It was an amazing feet that required speed and timing with his throwing knives. He didn’t have to use any power even.
He went over to one of the guards that had died and took a large ring of keys and his sword. He opened every door in the hallway and gave one of the thieves a sword.
“Take the keys and the weapons from every guard you kill. If you want to get out of here alive, you are going to have to free a lot more prisoners. Now go!” Evin yelled and the riots began. It only took about ten minutes before things were out of hand for the guards to handle and only about a quarter of the convicts had been freed from petty thieves to big time serial killers. Evin’s plan was working perfectly. It would be only a matter of time until he could go looking for Allison.
At the entrance, the group had been welcomed by a man who appeared to have some sort of position of power in the City. He didn’t have any armour on, but instead he had on very expensive and colourful clothing. He wasn’t sure like a person like this would be welcoming a group of injured soldiers and a prisoner of the war. He soon found out from conversations from some of the soldiers behind him that he was in charge of the prisons and dungeons in the city. For someone with such a dirty business, he was defiantly well dressed.
The man approached Mageria and spoke to him. He could only catch the man’s part of the conversation. “We have arranged for the prisoner to split off from the injured now and follow me to the dungeon. Right now we are housing an assassin there so we are on high security, but so for nothing has happened that gives us reason to be concerned. Would you like to join us as we take the prisoner to his new home Mageria?”
Hastings stopped listening to the conversation. He had never actually been to Newhaven since the death of their king. It looked, from what he could see in the torch lit streets that things had dramatically changed since he had left. It was starting to look like the once dying city of Blackpond with a lot of scummy things everywhere he looked. To think that the entrance, of all places was filled with this much scum, he wondered how his life in the dungeon would be. Only time would tell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Evin, things were beginning to spiral out of control just like they had when he went to Newhaven searching for the Shadow Hunter. He wasn’t exactly sure how things would be different, but at this point it wasn’t the issue he had to concern himself with. He hadn’t left Jake’s house since he was informed by Ella that Allison had been captured. Evin was sure where he could find his friend, in the dungeons, but getting into them undetected was another problem all together. He had spent the last eleven hours just trying to figure out a plan to get him into the place where prisoners are safer than any king.
There was no way to safely get into the dungeon, he was sure of that. It wouldn’t be his first visit for sure. The only time he had been sent to it was when he was convicted of a crime he hadn’t even committed. This was funny though, because the person he wanted to find was in the dungeon as well. Evin only had to spend three day’s there, but in that time, it was enough for him to start a prison riot. He didn’t even have to get involved in the riot. His target stood no chance against some of the men that were in those walls. It was almost like a lamb waiting for the slaughter.
Then, Evin got a sudden burst of inspiration. As the city’s herald called out the time to anyone who was awake (approximately twelve o’clock), Evin got some of his things together. Next thing he knew, he was out the door. He searched for the nearest set of guards who would be his ticket into the dungeon. He didn’t have to walk ten steps before he heard the yells of a man from behind him.
“Stop!” he heard the man yelling.
Evin turned around to face the two guards who were walking up at a brisk pace. He didn’t say anything to the two of them, he just let them continue to speak. The less Evin had to say, the better.
“Why are you out past the designated time. You know it’s a crime.”
“Oh yes I do sir, and I’m sorry, but I have to find my father. He’s been missing since yesterday when he didn’t come home.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” The other guard said. He was shocked to notice that she was female. “But you know the laws. We will have to keep you locked up in the dungeon for a day or two so you can learn your lesson.”
Evin once again didn’t reply to the comment that was made. He just let them do what they had to do. One of these things was a pat down to check for any weapons. Evin closed his eyes and waited for the patting to begin. If the guards could see his eyes, they would be glistening like a black diamond in the sun. This allowed him to use his power to move his concealed weapons around as they began to pat near them. They didn’t notice, they probably only caught them as small jerks or twitches at a regular pace. This could be explained by the guards by the fact that he could just be nervous.
When the guards finally decided that he wasn’t a threat, they tied his hands up behind his back and took him to the dungeons.
By the time they arrived at the entrance, the herald was calling the time to be one o’clock. Allison had been stuck in here for probably just over twelve hours now. He really hoped that she was alright.
When they entered the dungeon, they wee met by two guards new guards that were to watch the entrance at all times. The two guards explained why Evin was here before they were allowed to pass. As they went deeper and deeper, the ground air began to feel much more moist. It was also a little cold down there.
Evin allowed them bring him very far down into the tunnels, past all the cells before he made his move. From his last time being in the dungeons, he remembered that the hall that they were going down was where all of the thieves were kept. The next hall was where the murderers were. Evin trusted the thieves to be able to follow orders a little better. It also helped that there were only four guards in the room including the ones who were taking him to his cell, which was surprisingly deep in the tunnel system.
From his back, he let loose a dagger that dropped right into his hands. He used the dagger to cut himself free from his bondage. At that point the slipped out another dagger from his left sleeve. The guards taking him to his cell had no chance. Within only a second of being free, they were both dropping to the ground. The other two guards who were at either side of the hall were both dead before the first two guards had even hit the floor. It was an amazing feet that required speed and timing with his throwing knives. He didn’t have to use any power even.
He went over to one of the guards that had died and took a large ring of keys and his sword. He opened every door in the hallway and gave one of the thieves a sword.
“Take the keys and the weapons from every guard you kill. If you want to get out of here alive, you are going to have to free a lot more prisoners. Now go!” Evin yelled and the riots began. It only took about ten minutes before things were out of hand for the guards to handle and only about a quarter of the convicts had been freed from petty thieves to big time serial killers. Evin’s plan was working perfectly. It would be only a matter of time until he could go looking for Allison.
Alison listened carefully to the story the Knight decided to tell her. She frowned while thinking about it, it was a completely different version than what the archivist had told her and now she was confused. Certainly, the Knight would have been closer to the King, but could she trust he wasn't telling a random story just to get her to talk to him? Then, he said the King's child was a girl... A girl. That just didn't make any sense. Or he was lying or she was missing something. She sighed, still controlling her responses to the pain as she tried to think clearly. The pain in her head and the lack of sleep were starting to cloud her judgement. As she tried to reach a conclusion, a stuttering voice warned the man that his captain was coming.
Ali's eye's looked up as the man stood and walked out of the room again. She made use of her enlightenment to listen to the conversation. The words "dick measurement" came to mind and she stifled a sudden wave of laughter remembering Vilen's words towards Evin and Theron... The start of their training. It was little over a year ago, seemed like a whole different life now. Ali let a smile cross her expression at the memory, not giving much importance to the two Knights trying to bully each other on the outside. She took a minute to be grateful that both Vilen and Gloria abandoned the Pack shortly before the more serious attacks had started. They were good people, but then... So were many of the deceased. She hadn't heard from them since, but hoped they were perfectly fine somewhere.
As the conversation outside reached its end, she glanced towards the door once again. Seconds later, the same Knight came back into the room. She was glad the captain hadn't followed. She had heard from soldiers while she was in the ruins that the White Knight captain had a random temper. Whatever that meant, she didn't want to add it to her share of problems.
She tried to rub her temples, but the chains wouldn't let her reach, she nodded and leaned forward to lower her face close to her hands, rubbing her eyes. When she closed her eyes she heard noise coming from a certain distance, she couldn't really make it out, she simply set it aside. When she opened her eyes again it was gone. At that point she sat up straight and stared at the man. "I have no information I can give you, Sir. What I had was a hunch, and after what you told me... All I have are more questions, and no answers." She told him. "The only thing I could possibly offer is the fact that my clan means your city no harm. However, I can offer nothing to support that fact other than my word. Not much, considering the amount of lying I have done in the past day." She grimaced as she tried to move in her seat, then she spoke again. "Another fact I can offer is that, if my friend escaped and I know she did, I will not be left behind. Now, the last thing I would want is for things to get out of hand. I have no interest in seeing any lives loss, even less those of my friends. So, if I can convince my leader to speak with you... Will you let me out?"
It was a stupid thing to offer, but Ali felt the man's story could be true and she was in no condition to judge for herself. Crys, however, would know immediately if this was a lie. Hell, if it was lie, he wouldn't even consider the offer and she had just told the man she had nothing else to offer him. If he had been bluffing and believed what she said to be true... She could consider herself dead.
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[Newhaven Archives]
The archivist took a moment to control his nerves as he stood under Krander's gaze. The man didn't know who the young lady he had spoken to was in reality, but he knew now she was not a healer. He had told her things. After said moment he began to narrate everything that happened earlier in the day. "Two young girls came to archives early this afternoon, one of them dressed in White Shadow robes, the other in plain clothing. Only the one in robes spoke to me, I noticed the other girl address her in some moment during their stay, but to me she didn't speak. The girl in robes gave me a list of people, requested their personal and medical records. Didn't strike me as odd, healers often do so before visiting patients. After leaving her with the requested files for some time I offered her more assistance, at which point..." The man hesitated, but gathered courage to continue. "At which point she began to ask me questions concerning our queen, what happened to her, if bringing her back as a ruler was a possibility... She seemed very interested in that particular matter." The man paused again. "You must understand sire, that she had me fooled. I answered all of her questions and left her to her research. Not soon after that, Sir Daniel came in and attacked the girl in robes, the other girl escaped. Sir Daniel and the girl exchanged a few words and then... He smashed her against the wall until she went unconscious, and dragged her out with him." The archivist finished his account by wincing slightly and adding. "It was quite an unnecessary act of violence if you ask me, the girl seemed far more interested in seeing her friend leave than escaping herself."
Ali's eye's looked up as the man stood and walked out of the room again. She made use of her enlightenment to listen to the conversation. The words "dick measurement" came to mind and she stifled a sudden wave of laughter remembering Vilen's words towards Evin and Theron... The start of their training. It was little over a year ago, seemed like a whole different life now. Ali let a smile cross her expression at the memory, not giving much importance to the two Knights trying to bully each other on the outside. She took a minute to be grateful that both Vilen and Gloria abandoned the Pack shortly before the more serious attacks had started. They were good people, but then... So were many of the deceased. She hadn't heard from them since, but hoped they were perfectly fine somewhere.
As the conversation outside reached its end, she glanced towards the door once again. Seconds later, the same Knight came back into the room. She was glad the captain hadn't followed. She had heard from soldiers while she was in the ruins that the White Knight captain had a random temper. Whatever that meant, she didn't want to add it to her share of problems.
She tried to rub her temples, but the chains wouldn't let her reach, she nodded and leaned forward to lower her face close to her hands, rubbing her eyes. When she closed her eyes she heard noise coming from a certain distance, she couldn't really make it out, she simply set it aside. When she opened her eyes again it was gone. At that point she sat up straight and stared at the man. "I have no information I can give you, Sir. What I had was a hunch, and after what you told me... All I have are more questions, and no answers." She told him. "The only thing I could possibly offer is the fact that my clan means your city no harm. However, I can offer nothing to support that fact other than my word. Not much, considering the amount of lying I have done in the past day." She grimaced as she tried to move in her seat, then she spoke again. "Another fact I can offer is that, if my friend escaped and I know she did, I will not be left behind. Now, the last thing I would want is for things to get out of hand. I have no interest in seeing any lives loss, even less those of my friends. So, if I can convince my leader to speak with you... Will you let me out?"
It was a stupid thing to offer, but Ali felt the man's story could be true and she was in no condition to judge for herself. Crys, however, would know immediately if this was a lie. Hell, if it was lie, he wouldn't even consider the offer and she had just told the man she had nothing else to offer him. If he had been bluffing and believed what she said to be true... She could consider herself dead.
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[Newhaven Archives]
The archivist took a moment to control his nerves as he stood under Krander's gaze. The man didn't know who the young lady he had spoken to was in reality, but he knew now she was not a healer. He had told her things. After said moment he began to narrate everything that happened earlier in the day. "Two young girls came to archives early this afternoon, one of them dressed in White Shadow robes, the other in plain clothing. Only the one in robes spoke to me, I noticed the other girl address her in some moment during their stay, but to me she didn't speak. The girl in robes gave me a list of people, requested their personal and medical records. Didn't strike me as odd, healers often do so before visiting patients. After leaving her with the requested files for some time I offered her more assistance, at which point..." The man hesitated, but gathered courage to continue. "At which point she began to ask me questions concerning our queen, what happened to her, if bringing her back as a ruler was a possibility... She seemed very interested in that particular matter." The man paused again. "You must understand sire, that she had me fooled. I answered all of her questions and left her to her research. Not soon after that, Sir Daniel came in and attacked the girl in robes, the other girl escaped. Sir Daniel and the girl exchanged a few words and then... He smashed her against the wall until she went unconscious, and dragged her out with him." The archivist finished his account by wincing slightly and adding. "It was quite an unnecessary act of violence if you ask me, the girl seemed far more interested in seeing her friend leave than escaping herself."
Mageria sighed and hung her helm on her saddle. She refused to wear the thing anymore than she had to and right now she didn’t need to wear it. Wearily she ran one hand through her hair and dismounted.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to bring a few people with me. You have no idea how much trouble this one has been.” She reached out and wrapped one hand in Hastings’ collar, pulling him along with her while several men split off to follow them at her signal. It was far too late at night and at this point all she wanted to do was find her bed. She would probably stop and find out about the assassin, but she still didn’t want to. Wearily she marched her prisoner down the stairs, toward where they kept the important people. Which meant that the cells were reasonably clean, and they were meant for only one person at a time.
They had nearly gotten to that level when the sounds of a full scale prison riot reached their ears. Swearing, she looked for a safe place to stash Hastings while she dealt with this. There really were no good options. So she smashed the hilt of her dagger into the back of Hastings head and shoved him into the nearest room. There was a huge chair made of solid wood and she took the time to shackle him to it before charging out of the room.
“You!” She pointed at one man. “Go get help. Get it fast, because God help us if this gets out of hand.” The soldier saluted and ran off. “The rest of you with me.” She drew her sword in one hand and long dagger in the other before running down the stairs. The first few former prisoners she ran into were easily dealt with, but after that they evidently had the foresight to steal weapons from the guards. Still, they didn’t have much of a chance against a couple of soldiers and a Black Knight.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to bring a few people with me. You have no idea how much trouble this one has been.” She reached out and wrapped one hand in Hastings’ collar, pulling him along with her while several men split off to follow them at her signal. It was far too late at night and at this point all she wanted to do was find her bed. She would probably stop and find out about the assassin, but she still didn’t want to. Wearily she marched her prisoner down the stairs, toward where they kept the important people. Which meant that the cells were reasonably clean, and they were meant for only one person at a time.
They had nearly gotten to that level when the sounds of a full scale prison riot reached their ears. Swearing, she looked for a safe place to stash Hastings while she dealt with this. There really were no good options. So she smashed the hilt of her dagger into the back of Hastings head and shoved him into the nearest room. There was a huge chair made of solid wood and she took the time to shackle him to it before charging out of the room.
“You!” She pointed at one man. “Go get help. Get it fast, because God help us if this gets out of hand.” The soldier saluted and ran off. “The rest of you with me.” She drew her sword in one hand and long dagger in the other before running down the stairs. The first few former prisoners she ran into were easily dealt with, but after that they evidently had the foresight to steal weapons from the guards. Still, they didn’t have much of a chance against a couple of soldiers and a Black Knight.
Krander listened and observed the man as he spoke. He seemed almost nervous to tell this story.
"Thank you kindly for your retelling of the story. I respect what you did, and you did as you were supposed to when you were put in that position. This is very interesting information. I need to speak with this prisoner. Make sure you find someone to completely clean up the mess Daniel made, and I'll take care of the Daniel aspect."
He bowed to the archivist and whispered once more, "Thank you." before walking out of the Great Library back into the dungeons.
Krander approached the room in which the prisoner was being held. Something seemed... different. He didn't know what it was so it shrugged it off and entered the room.
"Daniel, as your captain I am asking you to leave the room momentarily." As he suspected he was going to argue and possibly draw his blade again. Krander put his hand on his blade and held up his other hand. "You do not understand. I am TELLING you to leave for a moment. Something has arisen in the lower parts of the dungeons that needs your assistance, as you are more able to handle the situation than I am." He made that up, hoping it would buy him enough free time to talk to the prisoner and he knew Daniel would like hearing he was going to be able to do something that Krander himself could not.
"Thank you kindly for your retelling of the story. I respect what you did, and you did as you were supposed to when you were put in that position. This is very interesting information. I need to speak with this prisoner. Make sure you find someone to completely clean up the mess Daniel made, and I'll take care of the Daniel aspect."
He bowed to the archivist and whispered once more, "Thank you." before walking out of the Great Library back into the dungeons.
Krander approached the room in which the prisoner was being held. Something seemed... different. He didn't know what it was so it shrugged it off and entered the room.
"Daniel, as your captain I am asking you to leave the room momentarily." As he suspected he was going to argue and possibly draw his blade again. Krander put his hand on his blade and held up his other hand. "You do not understand. I am TELLING you to leave for a moment. Something has arisen in the lower parts of the dungeons that needs your assistance, as you are more able to handle the situation than I am." He made that up, hoping it would buy him enough free time to talk to the prisoner and he knew Daniel would like hearing he was going to be able to do something that Krander himself could not.
The assassins words came as a short surprise to Daniel. Didn't she have any kind of answers to him at all? This was grave news indeed. Daniel put his face in his hands and tried to think of something, anything. However, nothing came to his mind; He couldn't focus for some reason. The assassin seemed to mean well, but what if she was just trying to trick him into meeting her leader to get the chance to kill him? Was he willing to take that chance? One might never know, because before Daniel could answer Krander walked in once more and told the White Knight that there were trouble in the lower parts of the dungeons. Daniel remained where he stood for a short moment before he nodded at the Captain and left.
"Leave the shit work to the veterans, eh? You're getting soft, Captain." Daniel replied with a mocking tone to his voice before leaving. Krander was obviously wanting some alone time with the assassin to speak with her, but nevertheless, he might have spoken the truth for Daniel could now hear several screams further in. He equipped his hammer and his shield and ran forth to see what this was all about. After running a short bit a soldier came up to meet him.
"Sire, there's a prison riot down there! The Black Knight captain and a few guards are fighting them!" He almost shouted as he pulled out his sword. Daniel nodded at the man and followed him down towards the fight. This would get ugly, fast.
"Leave the shit work to the veterans, eh? You're getting soft, Captain." Daniel replied with a mocking tone to his voice before leaving. Krander was obviously wanting some alone time with the assassin to speak with her, but nevertheless, he might have spoken the truth for Daniel could now hear several screams further in. He equipped his hammer and his shield and ran forth to see what this was all about. After running a short bit a soldier came up to meet him.
"Sire, there's a prison riot down there! The Black Knight captain and a few guards are fighting them!" He almost shouted as he pulled out his sword. Daniel nodded at the man and followed him down towards the fight. This would get ugly, fast.
Krander smirked as Daniel left. He only had a short amount of time to discuss things with the assassin before Daniel came back upset that nothing was wrong and he was being used as a decoy.
"Hello there. My name is Krander and I am the captain of the White Knights.' He nodded to her as she could not currently shake his hand. "Let me start off by saying that had I been here you would not have been treated nearly as badly as you were. In fact, I would like to apologize. As of right now you are considered a "prisoner of war" and you should be treated civilly. Any harm that was done to you could be seen as an act of war. So I extend my apologies to you. Now, I'd like to know what you were doing in our libraries if you do not mind. Upon which I will find a new guard for you and you will be served a meal. I know it isn't much but you look rather hungry and exhausted and I'm sure you guys would like this war to end. Figuring out a way to end our war, and perhaps right the wrongs that both sides have done to each other is in our best interest."
He paused and paced the room.
"Now, if you could tell me what you know, because just by being in the library we have given you all we know. I know you are not here with the intent to kill, otherwise you would not have been caught in the first place. I know you guys have a code of loyalty that is very deeply ingrained in all of your minds."
"Hello there. My name is Krander and I am the captain of the White Knights.' He nodded to her as she could not currently shake his hand. "Let me start off by saying that had I been here you would not have been treated nearly as badly as you were. In fact, I would like to apologize. As of right now you are considered a "prisoner of war" and you should be treated civilly. Any harm that was done to you could be seen as an act of war. So I extend my apologies to you. Now, I'd like to know what you were doing in our libraries if you do not mind. Upon which I will find a new guard for you and you will be served a meal. I know it isn't much but you look rather hungry and exhausted and I'm sure you guys would like this war to end. Figuring out a way to end our war, and perhaps right the wrongs that both sides have done to each other is in our best interest."
He paused and paced the room.
"Now, if you could tell me what you know, because just by being in the library we have given you all we know. I know you are not here with the intent to kill, otherwise you would not have been caught in the first place. I know you guys have a code of loyalty that is very deeply ingrained in all of your minds."
The riots were just getting larger and larger and more out of hand by the second. The prisoners didn't even seem to attempt an escape, at least not yet. There were just too many brawls within the group. Undecided as to what they would do, Evin decided it was time to take charge of this group before guards came. Above every one's voices and shouting, Evin's boomed with ferocity.
"Men, women and scumbags alike! We did not attempt this mass escape just to be subdued again and then put back into our cells! We came here to fight and become free from these depths! A few guards would not be able to hold you back, so show them you can fight! The Black Knights themselves came from the depths of hell in which we find ourselves today! They fought like the hellfire of the place they were trapped in and now show those guards that we can fight with just as much hellfire as the next Black Knight! Now go!"
Surprisingly this speech had an effect. Evin himself didn't think it would work to do as much as it did. That spur of the moment stuff lacked true passion or any other emotion that one would usually use in speech. They all must have been stuck in the cells for a very long time to find that inspirational. It was just in time however. The next couple of seconds proved to Evin that he would be stuck in the dungeon for longer than he wished. A Knight with black armour began to pummel through the criminals like they were merely a nuisance. Evin didn't expect a Black Knight to be in the dungeon.
Evin looked over to a small group of criminals beside him. "Free the other's and then bring them back to fight. We will need all the manpower we can get." The men didn't hesitate. They just ran further down to free more men.
He took out his rope dart and threw it into a wedge in the ceiling. He used it to climb up and announce his presence to the Black Knight.
"Black Knight!" He yelled over the crowds. "Fight a worthy opponent! An assassin who is just as hungry for blood as you!" He threw a throwing knife in the Knight's direction and was about to flee when he noticed another Knight enter the room. This Knight's armour was of white however. Evin quickly realised the dangers he was in. It was obviouse that this was the Knight from before who he had managed to avoid. Instead of fleeing into another room, he swung himself over the two knights and ran in the direction that he came from. If his assumption was right, Ali would be in that direction.
Before he made it too far, he turned around to see if he was being followed by the Knights. He stood there waiting to see if they would catch up. Soon the battle would begin.
"Men, women and scumbags alike! We did not attempt this mass escape just to be subdued again and then put back into our cells! We came here to fight and become free from these depths! A few guards would not be able to hold you back, so show them you can fight! The Black Knights themselves came from the depths of hell in which we find ourselves today! They fought like the hellfire of the place they were trapped in and now show those guards that we can fight with just as much hellfire as the next Black Knight! Now go!"
Surprisingly this speech had an effect. Evin himself didn't think it would work to do as much as it did. That spur of the moment stuff lacked true passion or any other emotion that one would usually use in speech. They all must have been stuck in the cells for a very long time to find that inspirational. It was just in time however. The next couple of seconds proved to Evin that he would be stuck in the dungeon for longer than he wished. A Knight with black armour began to pummel through the criminals like they were merely a nuisance. Evin didn't expect a Black Knight to be in the dungeon.
Evin looked over to a small group of criminals beside him. "Free the other's and then bring them back to fight. We will need all the manpower we can get." The men didn't hesitate. They just ran further down to free more men.
He took out his rope dart and threw it into a wedge in the ceiling. He used it to climb up and announce his presence to the Black Knight.
"Black Knight!" He yelled over the crowds. "Fight a worthy opponent! An assassin who is just as hungry for blood as you!" He threw a throwing knife in the Knight's direction and was about to flee when he noticed another Knight enter the room. This Knight's armour was of white however. Evin quickly realised the dangers he was in. It was obviouse that this was the Knight from before who he had managed to avoid. Instead of fleeing into another room, he swung himself over the two knights and ran in the direction that he came from. If his assumption was right, Ali would be in that direction.
Before he made it too far, he turned around to see if he was being followed by the Knights. He stood there waiting to see if they would catch up. Soon the battle would begin.
Jake walked invisible past the city gates and went into his house in the residential area. He didn't take the time to mind the fact the place was torn to shreds, he simply changed into his castle guard uniform. Crys had parted ways with him and was sneaking in through their usual passage into the city. It was unbelievable that no one had discovered it yet. As for the curfew, if Crys was to be seen, she would simply tell a sob story and most likely be let go. Jake had instructed her on exactly what to say to be let go with a warning, who was possible to bribe, or flirt with, to be let off the hook. Although, he doubted she would ever get caught, she could always know whether a path is cleared or not. She was to sneak into the castle, and he would meet her there. The long path traveled from the camp to the city was good for two things: Thinking of how to proceed, and calm Crys to a state where she could think clearly enough to accept instructions from him.
She didn't like the fact that he planned on walking into the dungeons in armor. Chances were he would eventually be seen with her. That was true, but if he wouldn't be coming back to Newhaven, then it didn't matter. He took comfort on the fact that none of the other Knights would be there at the moment. The White Knights would be the problem, and one huge problem, to deal with. He walked out of his house and through the streets, simply nodding to familiar guards as he walked towards the castle. That until someone literally ran into him. A soldier stopped him, one of Mageria's men. Jake watched as he tried desperately to catch a breath and speak. "Jacob! I didn't know you were here! You need to come down to the dungeons! Hurry!" The man said, panic all over his voice.
"Calm down, man! What is happening in the dungeons?" Jake asked, frustration showing clear in his voice. This couldn't be any good.
"A riot! Prisoners have escaped and are attacking the guards, releasing other prisoners... It is going to be ugly really fast." He stated. "Captain Mageria is down there with three of our men, plus the guards. That is not enough, so she sent me to get help. I was just on my way to warn the Guard Captain."
Jake put his hand on the man's shoulder, the mess in his house and the riot seemed like very familiar work to him, so Jake pushed the sick feeling aside as he sent the man back to probably get killed. "I'll warn him on my way into the castle. I need my weapons. Go straight back and let the others know help is on its way." With that said, Jake started running towards the castle, not really caring if others would be alarmed by that or not. He wouldn't alert anyone, help wouldn't be coming, and the only thing he could do was slay every criminal that crossed his path once he got there, but his priority now was finding Ali. It was time he started acting like a wolf again after all.
Although he pushed those thoughts aside as they came, Jake knew he would be in a huge amount of trouble. Mageria was down there, which he didn't count on. Evin was down there which was just as bad. As if that wasn't bad enough... Crys would be right in the middle of it all. As he crossed the castle to reach his personal chambers there, he didn't know if he should glad that there was someone there trying to help Ali, or angry at the fact that Evin was there probably trying to dig into his dirt. Once inside, he finally expressed his feeling in a few words. "I'm screwed. Yes, I am." He muttered to himself.
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Crys had made her way into the castle a lot slower than she would like. Jake had given her instructions as to where she would find him once she made it inside, but for that she had to find her way around the narrow service tunnels and try to keep some notion of which way she was going. Not so easy even if you can see. She never understood how Jake could find his way around places so easily after only being there a few times. Finally, after a good time of wandering around she reached the place where she should be, at least she hoped so. She stepped out of the tunnels once she made sure her path was clear. The path hall she found herself in was halfway down to the dungeons from Jake's room, or so he had told her. She started pacing slowly in the direction of the dungeons until she reached a corner and heard the sound of metal armor clashing against the stony ground as Jake came walking in a rush from the hallway to her left. She immediately increased her speed to match his pace as he gripped her shoulder to make her invisible. "Evin is here. He started a riot down there. There is no way we can get out of here without putting up a fight." He whispered.
"Hum." Crys mumbled in response. She wasn't surprised in one bit. "Then a fight it is."
"The Black Knight captain is down there with three of her men, as well as a White Knight and the guards. I ran into the soldier sent to alert the Castle Guard... They won't be coming anytime soon." Jake stated. "Once we get there you can blend in with escaped prisoners easily. I take it you couldn't find Evin in the middle of the commotion and try to convince him not to attack me, right?"
"Even if I could..." She nodded. "Try would be the key word in that statement, Jake."
As they walked into the dungeons, hidden by Jake's enlightenment, and reached the area where Jake assumed Ali would be held, she could hear the sounds of fighting. Crys felt Jake tighten his grip on her shoulder for a split second before asking. "You remember where to go?"
"Yes." She answered in a whisper. "Where will you be?"
"On the other side." He answered. "Just try not to get killed and I'll find you."
With that said, he released her shoulder and they parted ways. Crys pulled her Sai out of their sheathes as she felt that two guards had spotted her and started coming her way. "Years of learning how to be discrete and this is what he does!" She muttered out. "How the hell does he always survive these stupid plans!"
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Ali sighed as the Knight she was currently speaking to got pulled out of the room and the captain took his place. Krander seemed far more willing to treat her nice, but all she could think of was that the whole conversation was about to start all over again. She didn't know how long she had been in that cell, but she hadn't slept in over a day for sure, she had been hit in the head and she was feeling her thinking was becoming more and more hazy by the second. For a few moments she simply sat there staring at one of the walls. She could now hear the sounds of fighting coming from outside very clearly while using her enlightenment. Soon the commotion would be able to be heard by Krander as well. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she felt she should at least try to keep the man distracted.
"There is no war." She stated. Her blue eyes finally turning towards the man. "We came to you King to offer assistance. What we found was an impostor. That night we fought to defend ourselves. We have been defending ourselves ever since." She sighed. "We have not once actually attacked Newhaven. So I don't call this war. I call it pathetic. It was pathetic that a ruler could have been impersonated by another man and no one saw it. It was pathetic that we allowed things to get so out of hand that night, it is certainly pathetic that after all the time that passed we still haven't managed to find a single shred of evidence to support our story." She snickered, shaking her head. "It is just pathetic all over."
She shrugged as she continued to speak. "Nonetheless... My leader feels we are, in more ways than one, responsible for what has happened to your city and we have been trying to assist in finding someone who could rightfully rule the city. That is why I was sent here to go through your files." She paused for a second trying to fight through her exhaustion. "I was just telling your friend, he snatched me before I had a shot at a real lead, so I have nothing to give. I also told him I wouldn't be left behind and I would rather see this resolved without anymore lives lost..." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the surface of the table. "I suppose I should apologize myself, since now it's already too late for that." She mumbled out the last words, finally finding herself slipping into unconsciousness.
She didn't like the fact that he planned on walking into the dungeons in armor. Chances were he would eventually be seen with her. That was true, but if he wouldn't be coming back to Newhaven, then it didn't matter. He took comfort on the fact that none of the other Knights would be there at the moment. The White Knights would be the problem, and one huge problem, to deal with. He walked out of his house and through the streets, simply nodding to familiar guards as he walked towards the castle. That until someone literally ran into him. A soldier stopped him, one of Mageria's men. Jake watched as he tried desperately to catch a breath and speak. "Jacob! I didn't know you were here! You need to come down to the dungeons! Hurry!" The man said, panic all over his voice.
"Calm down, man! What is happening in the dungeons?" Jake asked, frustration showing clear in his voice. This couldn't be any good.
"A riot! Prisoners have escaped and are attacking the guards, releasing other prisoners... It is going to be ugly really fast." He stated. "Captain Mageria is down there with three of our men, plus the guards. That is not enough, so she sent me to get help. I was just on my way to warn the Guard Captain."
Jake put his hand on the man's shoulder, the mess in his house and the riot seemed like very familiar work to him, so Jake pushed the sick feeling aside as he sent the man back to probably get killed. "I'll warn him on my way into the castle. I need my weapons. Go straight back and let the others know help is on its way." With that said, Jake started running towards the castle, not really caring if others would be alarmed by that or not. He wouldn't alert anyone, help wouldn't be coming, and the only thing he could do was slay every criminal that crossed his path once he got there, but his priority now was finding Ali. It was time he started acting like a wolf again after all.
Although he pushed those thoughts aside as they came, Jake knew he would be in a huge amount of trouble. Mageria was down there, which he didn't count on. Evin was down there which was just as bad. As if that wasn't bad enough... Crys would be right in the middle of it all. As he crossed the castle to reach his personal chambers there, he didn't know if he should glad that there was someone there trying to help Ali, or angry at the fact that Evin was there probably trying to dig into his dirt. Once inside, he finally expressed his feeling in a few words. "I'm screwed. Yes, I am." He muttered to himself.
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Crys had made her way into the castle a lot slower than she would like. Jake had given her instructions as to where she would find him once she made it inside, but for that she had to find her way around the narrow service tunnels and try to keep some notion of which way she was going. Not so easy even if you can see. She never understood how Jake could find his way around places so easily after only being there a few times. Finally, after a good time of wandering around she reached the place where she should be, at least she hoped so. She stepped out of the tunnels once she made sure her path was clear. The path hall she found herself in was halfway down to the dungeons from Jake's room, or so he had told her. She started pacing slowly in the direction of the dungeons until she reached a corner and heard the sound of metal armor clashing against the stony ground as Jake came walking in a rush from the hallway to her left. She immediately increased her speed to match his pace as he gripped her shoulder to make her invisible. "Evin is here. He started a riot down there. There is no way we can get out of here without putting up a fight." He whispered.
"Hum." Crys mumbled in response. She wasn't surprised in one bit. "Then a fight it is."
"The Black Knight captain is down there with three of her men, as well as a White Knight and the guards. I ran into the soldier sent to alert the Castle Guard... They won't be coming anytime soon." Jake stated. "Once we get there you can blend in with escaped prisoners easily. I take it you couldn't find Evin in the middle of the commotion and try to convince him not to attack me, right?"
"Even if I could..." She nodded. "Try would be the key word in that statement, Jake."
As they walked into the dungeons, hidden by Jake's enlightenment, and reached the area where Jake assumed Ali would be held, she could hear the sounds of fighting. Crys felt Jake tighten his grip on her shoulder for a split second before asking. "You remember where to go?"
"Yes." She answered in a whisper. "Where will you be?"
"On the other side." He answered. "Just try not to get killed and I'll find you."
With that said, he released her shoulder and they parted ways. Crys pulled her Sai out of their sheathes as she felt that two guards had spotted her and started coming her way. "Years of learning how to be discrete and this is what he does!" She muttered out. "How the hell does he always survive these stupid plans!"
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Ali sighed as the Knight she was currently speaking to got pulled out of the room and the captain took his place. Krander seemed far more willing to treat her nice, but all she could think of was that the whole conversation was about to start all over again. She didn't know how long she had been in that cell, but she hadn't slept in over a day for sure, she had been hit in the head and she was feeling her thinking was becoming more and more hazy by the second. For a few moments she simply sat there staring at one of the walls. She could now hear the sounds of fighting coming from outside very clearly while using her enlightenment. Soon the commotion would be able to be heard by Krander as well. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she felt she should at least try to keep the man distracted.
"There is no war." She stated. Her blue eyes finally turning towards the man. "We came to you King to offer assistance. What we found was an impostor. That night we fought to defend ourselves. We have been defending ourselves ever since." She sighed. "We have not once actually attacked Newhaven. So I don't call this war. I call it pathetic. It was pathetic that a ruler could have been impersonated by another man and no one saw it. It was pathetic that we allowed things to get so out of hand that night, it is certainly pathetic that after all the time that passed we still haven't managed to find a single shred of evidence to support our story." She snickered, shaking her head. "It is just pathetic all over."
She shrugged as she continued to speak. "Nonetheless... My leader feels we are, in more ways than one, responsible for what has happened to your city and we have been trying to assist in finding someone who could rightfully rule the city. That is why I was sent here to go through your files." She paused for a second trying to fight through her exhaustion. "I was just telling your friend, he snatched me before I had a shot at a real lead, so I have nothing to give. I also told him I wouldn't be left behind and I would rather see this resolved without anymore lives lost..." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the surface of the table. "I suppose I should apologize myself, since now it's already too late for that." She mumbled out the last words, finally finding herself slipping into unconsciousness.
Mageria had been fighting four of the prisoners at once when Daniel came up behind her. They were too close to fight effectively and she didn’t have much problem taking them down. When Grim fought, he described it as a hot red rage. She instead fell into a very cold place in her mind. She lost track of people as people, instead seeing them as targets to be dealt with. One man stabbed at her and she twisted to the side, using the chance to stab him in the throat and kick him to the side. She parried another thrust, twisting the blade out of that man’s hands. Him she blinded with a slash across the eyes. The final two tried to flank her, one striking high while the other went low. She blocked one and ignored the other, letting him waste the strength of his strike in the air just inches from her chest. It took her only a moment more to take them all down. Dimly she was aware of someone trying to rally the prisoners. A leader would be more dangerous than anything else. She had to take him out as quickly as possible. And apparently he felt the same way, because he threw a knife in her direction and challenged her. Then for some reason he flipped past her and started to run up the corridor. But Daniel was there and so she could afford to turn away for a moment to deal with him. Smoothly she turned and ran up the corridor, following the lone man. She had made it rather close when she realized that she knew the man very well. Or at least she thought she had. Raising her blades she smoothly moved into a guard position.
“Hello Ev. Come to finish the job you started?”
Ev had been a chance met stranger that turned into a friend. They had happened to be traveling down the same stretch of road one day when there was a commotion from up ahead. Some bandits had over taken a carriage and were in the process of robing it’s passengers. Now normally Mageria would have had no trouble with letting some idiots learn from their mistakes, but this time was different. First and most importantly, she heard the shrill cries of a couple of children. For that reason alone she would have helped them; nothing would stop her from helping a frightened child. But the second reason might have the farthest reaching effect. People who were rich enough to get robbed by bandits might need a guard or two and she was looking for work. She quickly worked her way through the trees, stopping for only a moment to take out a few sentries. Then, as silently as she could, she charged forward, cutting through the bandits as quickly as she could. From the other side of the road she could hear a blood chilling shout as they were attacked from the other side as well. Mageria and Ev worked together to whittle down the bandits, dispatching them in fairly short order. It was only after they were all dead or run off that she had time to check on him, a slightly taller man with coal black hair and eyes. It had been one of those moments where you meet someone and just know, deep down that this person is someone who is going to effect your life, for good or ill. Then the father of the family riding in the carriage started to climb out, a fat pompous windbag who when confronted with the two fighters who had run off the bandits actually offered them a reward. Although the sight of the blood dripping off of their blades might have had something to do with that. . . . .
But Ev got paid and Mageria got the job that she needed. They both settled in the same town for a bit, managing to meet in a tavern every few nights. That lasted for about a year, until life managed to pull them in opposite directions. Then there were letters, at first frequently and then they slowly tapered off as increasing hostility between just about everybody made it too hard to keep in touch.
Years later, Mageria stood with her Black Knights as they attacked the Wolfpack’s camp. Five black shadows, faceless and known only to each other, they had given up everything of their past in order to be worthy to strike this blow. Mageria had been in the thick of the fight, managing to not take any joy in it, simply doing her job. But suddenly it all went wrong. The fight swirled around her in one of those odd moments of peace that one sometimes finds. She was looking around for another target when a man with coal black hair stepped out of the shadows, swinging a shining blade on a long rope around his head. Mageria recognized him, even after all the time had passed. Ev, wearing the cloths of an assassin. Struck absolutely dumb by the sight, she dropped her guard for one, critical moment. Ev brought the hooked knife up and around, using it to knock her helm off and at the same time scoring a deep cut across one cheek. She moved with the strike, turning away before swinging back and raising her sword once more. Time seemed to stop, even though from a distance she could hear Grim bellowing in blood rage as he cut his way through the camp. Ev brought his own blade up, readying for another strike . . . .
“Hello Ev. Come to finish the job you started?”
Ev had been a chance met stranger that turned into a friend. They had happened to be traveling down the same stretch of road one day when there was a commotion from up ahead. Some bandits had over taken a carriage and were in the process of robing it’s passengers. Now normally Mageria would have had no trouble with letting some idiots learn from their mistakes, but this time was different. First and most importantly, she heard the shrill cries of a couple of children. For that reason alone she would have helped them; nothing would stop her from helping a frightened child. But the second reason might have the farthest reaching effect. People who were rich enough to get robbed by bandits might need a guard or two and she was looking for work. She quickly worked her way through the trees, stopping for only a moment to take out a few sentries. Then, as silently as she could, she charged forward, cutting through the bandits as quickly as she could. From the other side of the road she could hear a blood chilling shout as they were attacked from the other side as well. Mageria and Ev worked together to whittle down the bandits, dispatching them in fairly short order. It was only after they were all dead or run off that she had time to check on him, a slightly taller man with coal black hair and eyes. It had been one of those moments where you meet someone and just know, deep down that this person is someone who is going to effect your life, for good or ill. Then the father of the family riding in the carriage started to climb out, a fat pompous windbag who when confronted with the two fighters who had run off the bandits actually offered them a reward. Although the sight of the blood dripping off of their blades might have had something to do with that. . . . .
But Ev got paid and Mageria got the job that she needed. They both settled in the same town for a bit, managing to meet in a tavern every few nights. That lasted for about a year, until life managed to pull them in opposite directions. Then there were letters, at first frequently and then they slowly tapered off as increasing hostility between just about everybody made it too hard to keep in touch.
Years later, Mageria stood with her Black Knights as they attacked the Wolfpack’s camp. Five black shadows, faceless and known only to each other, they had given up everything of their past in order to be worthy to strike this blow. Mageria had been in the thick of the fight, managing to not take any joy in it, simply doing her job. But suddenly it all went wrong. The fight swirled around her in one of those odd moments of peace that one sometimes finds. She was looking around for another target when a man with coal black hair stepped out of the shadows, swinging a shining blade on a long rope around his head. Mageria recognized him, even after all the time had passed. Ev, wearing the cloths of an assassin. Struck absolutely dumb by the sight, she dropped her guard for one, critical moment. Ev brought the hooked knife up and around, using it to knock her helm off and at the same time scoring a deep cut across one cheek. She moved with the strike, turning away before swinging back and raising her sword once more. Time seemed to stop, even though from a distance she could hear Grim bellowing in blood rage as he cut his way through the camp. Ev brought his own blade up, readying for another strike . . . .
Krander listened, almost insulted by the words of the assassin. He had a decent read on most people, and she seemed to be honest, and honorable, as most of the people in her camp were, considering their profession. He let out a sigh and then heard something disturbing. The clash of blades could be heard. Krander saw her pass out, and he checked her to see she really had fallen into a sleep of some kind.
Krander let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. He had to think, and quick. He opened the door and sent one of the guards to find the executioner and tell him to bring his best weapon for killing targets on the move. The guards enlightened was speed so he knew soon he would be back. He also sent him with a notice to go and grab Marco. A bear or something large to block the hallways could also come in handy.
He looked over to the assassin and felt a bit of guilt. Sometimes as a leader one wasn't allowed to have emotions. Today though, he made a decision based completely on faith, honor, and emotion: He unchained the prisoner. He also took his water pack and some bread he had and set them on the table in front of her. When he left the room he shut the door tightly and headed down to the third level of the dungeons. His sword was drawn and he was humming, his throat needed to be warmed up.
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(BLACKPOND)
Phelix finally arrived in blackpond. He was upset, he was so close to seeing Krander, but so far at the same time. He wanted this war to end so he could retire from his duties and finally just move outside of the city to live the life he wanted. He went into the castle via his secret route, and then proceeded to find the king. Things were chaotic. He saw the birds, the bodies, the armor, and the beggars picking off the bodies as he ran back to Blackpond. He actually shed a tear that night for his fallen comrades. He made it to the Kings chambers, pushed the guard out of the way and entered the kings chambers.
"Sire, I have come from the summons. What do you demand of me?" he kneeled and bowed his head.
Krander let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. He had to think, and quick. He opened the door and sent one of the guards to find the executioner and tell him to bring his best weapon for killing targets on the move. The guards enlightened was speed so he knew soon he would be back. He also sent him with a notice to go and grab Marco. A bear or something large to block the hallways could also come in handy.
He looked over to the assassin and felt a bit of guilt. Sometimes as a leader one wasn't allowed to have emotions. Today though, he made a decision based completely on faith, honor, and emotion: He unchained the prisoner. He also took his water pack and some bread he had and set them on the table in front of her. When he left the room he shut the door tightly and headed down to the third level of the dungeons. His sword was drawn and he was humming, his throat needed to be warmed up.
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(BLACKPOND)
Phelix finally arrived in blackpond. He was upset, he was so close to seeing Krander, but so far at the same time. He wanted this war to end so he could retire from his duties and finally just move outside of the city to live the life he wanted. He went into the castle via his secret route, and then proceeded to find the king. Things were chaotic. He saw the birds, the bodies, the armor, and the beggars picking off the bodies as he ran back to Blackpond. He actually shed a tear that night for his fallen comrades. He made it to the Kings chambers, pushed the guard out of the way and entered the kings chambers.
"Sire, I have come from the summons. What do you demand of me?" he kneeled and bowed his head.
Just as the White knight reached the core of the trouble he saw Mageria, the Black Knight captain fighting a couple of prisoners before sprinting away from the heat off battle. Daniel didn't think she was fleeing, no the other way around; He ewas certain she was just doing her duty. Leaving place for her to run pass him, Daniel slowed down and began to march towards the resisting prisoners. His hammer was held firmly in his right hand and his shield with the Newhaven insignia graced his left arm. The criminal scumbags were intimidating by his prescence and his cool mode, but nevertheless they felt confindent enough to attack him in large numbers. Daniel swung with his hammer, blood was shed and bones were broken. Screams of agony and despair was beginning to mix up with all the roars of anger and bloodlust in the dungeons. To be honest, Daniel really enjoyed this. It included everything he had been raised to do; Purge Newhaven of the impure and Protect the city from any kind of attacks from both the inside as well as the outside.
"May the Gods have mercy on your souls!" A unusual loud voice echoed throughout the dungeons as another prisoners skull was cracked by the not-so-white hammer held by Daniel. Turning around the White knight swung with his holy weapon and blood mixed with teeths came flying through the air, colouring three other persons close by. In an amazing speed, the White knight flew forward and quickly slew the other three prisoners nearby before continuing his unstoppable unslaugth of these unholy scumbags. Nothing could possible stop him when he had begun using his inner holy rage. All the rage he had been storing up all these years, everything unleashed upon these sorry bastards.
Although Daniel fought well and hard alongside the other Black Knights, the prisoners just kept on coming. They came in waves and it didn't seem to be any stop to them. How many criminals had they been storing down here for the past few years and how many of them were war prisoners from Blackpond? They most certainly showed how much they hated the holy White Knights and the wretched Black Knights. In the midst of all this madness and bloodshed, Daniel tok a moment to look up and stare into the eys of an approaching man. A missunderstood anger burned in his eyes and his facial expression revealed his lust for blood and death. Was he really going to throw his life away in such a pity way? Why would he do this? For Vengeance, for Justice or was he really just simple hating them all so much? Of course, Daniel never got the chance to ask him for the very second he reached the White Knight he was slained by a nearby Black Knight who held a large two-handed blade in his hands.
"You should keep your attention on the battlefield, sire." He said with a surprising respect that Daniel had not come to expect from any Black Knight really. Daniel only nodded in response and returned to fighting the riot. The waves of prisoners were fading away now and their numbers were growing smaller and smaller by the second. Yet, Daniel and the Black Knights stood their ground against them all. One of the Black Knights had fallen but his place had quickly been filled by the arriving White Knight Captain. Daniel didn't doubt Kranders skills when it came to fighting, not one bit actually. However, the reason he was not respecting the Captain was because he clinged to an oath and rules that had long since died out. That and he didn't seem to respect the elders and more knowledgeable men such as Daniel like any other sane person would. Experience is everything after all. Nevertheless, They had to focus on the presence and use every possible resource to get a ruler back on the throne and end this war once and for all. After all that, they could finally return to their old ways, but for now there was no way Daniel would walk away from this path he had choosen.
"Glad you could join us, Captain" Daniel cried out in with his usual serious voice before striking down yet another prisoner who tried to advance on him. There were blood and bodies just about everywhere.
"May the Gods have mercy on your souls!" A unusual loud voice echoed throughout the dungeons as another prisoners skull was cracked by the not-so-white hammer held by Daniel. Turning around the White knight swung with his holy weapon and blood mixed with teeths came flying through the air, colouring three other persons close by. In an amazing speed, the White knight flew forward and quickly slew the other three prisoners nearby before continuing his unstoppable unslaugth of these unholy scumbags. Nothing could possible stop him when he had begun using his inner holy rage. All the rage he had been storing up all these years, everything unleashed upon these sorry bastards.
Although Daniel fought well and hard alongside the other Black Knights, the prisoners just kept on coming. They came in waves and it didn't seem to be any stop to them. How many criminals had they been storing down here for the past few years and how many of them were war prisoners from Blackpond? They most certainly showed how much they hated the holy White Knights and the wretched Black Knights. In the midst of all this madness and bloodshed, Daniel tok a moment to look up and stare into the eys of an approaching man. A missunderstood anger burned in his eyes and his facial expression revealed his lust for blood and death. Was he really going to throw his life away in such a pity way? Why would he do this? For Vengeance, for Justice or was he really just simple hating them all so much? Of course, Daniel never got the chance to ask him for the very second he reached the White Knight he was slained by a nearby Black Knight who held a large two-handed blade in his hands.
"You should keep your attention on the battlefield, sire." He said with a surprising respect that Daniel had not come to expect from any Black Knight really. Daniel only nodded in response and returned to fighting the riot. The waves of prisoners were fading away now and their numbers were growing smaller and smaller by the second. Yet, Daniel and the Black Knights stood their ground against them all. One of the Black Knights had fallen but his place had quickly been filled by the arriving White Knight Captain. Daniel didn't doubt Kranders skills when it came to fighting, not one bit actually. However, the reason he was not respecting the Captain was because he clinged to an oath and rules that had long since died out. That and he didn't seem to respect the elders and more knowledgeable men such as Daniel like any other sane person would. Experience is everything after all. Nevertheless, They had to focus on the presence and use every possible resource to get a ruler back on the throne and end this war once and for all. After all that, they could finally return to their old ways, but for now there was no way Daniel would walk away from this path he had choosen.
"Glad you could join us, Captain" Daniel cried out in with his usual serious voice before striking down yet another prisoner who tried to advance on him. There were blood and bodies just about everywhere.
Evin waited for a few moments to wait for the Black Knight who pursued him to catch up. He brought the Knight away from all the riots and bloodshed that was before them. The more that they were split off, the more mess the prisoners could make. Evin only hoped that the small group of men made it to the fourth level in time to free some of the psychopaths out there. He didn't even care if those men stayed to fight because if they didn't they would definitely attempt an escape. The few masterminds that did get loose would be just another problem that Newhaven would have to face, both psychologically and economically. In terms of the war, it would add another two months at least before they could make another solid attack on the Pack. This would give them time to rebuild and get ready for the attacks. Even though this was primarily a rescue, Evin did have other intentions.
“Hello Ev. Come to finish the job you started?” The voice of a woman rang out of the helmet of the Black Knight's armour. Even more shocking was the fact that she used the name "Ev," when she was speaking. He only used that name for one person and one person only. Then he instantly remembered why he recognised that bottle in the Black Knight's room.
"Ria, Ria, Ria. To think that you would make it to the position of Black Knight. You never really hit me as someone who would make it to such a powerful position in this world, you must be very proud." Evin tried his best to hide his shock. "Were you the one who I had met in the battle at my camp?"
The great camp, the one that had stayed in the shadows for so long had been found finally. Not only that, but war was right on it's footsteps. Evin had been awakened by loud noises, the sounds of wolf howls all around him. The camp had been broken into and was under attack. While he got his clothes on and his weapons readied, he then herd the reply. The sounds of real wolves out in the distance were calling back. The haunting howl of the lost souls of the woods, the wolves and the Wolf Pack. He could already hear the sounds of metal on metal before he was even out the door.
The small waves of soldiers were not enough to bring even one of the experienced shadows down, and shadows they truly were. In and out of the cover of night, slaying everything that crossed paths with them. Nothing could stop them, except shadows themselves and they came too with more deadly consequences. Out from the darkness arose even more darkness. All five of them, each with their own abilities and capabilities. Every one of them drew blood from the Pack in some way, without taking any damage themselves. The Black Knights were ferocious, worse then any Wolf Hunter Evin had ever faced.
In the heat of battle, when things really began to pick up, Evin emerged from his shadow to meet, only meters away from the Black Knight. the one who seemed to be taking charge in the place. The Knight had let her guard down and Evin made his move. He threw his trope dart, knocking the helmet of the Knight off revealing long hair. The lighting was terrible and he couldn't see the woman's face clearly. Before Evin could take the battle any further, he heard a loud shriek from Crystal in the distance. Instead of play games with the Knight, he ran off, back into the shadows to see what was going on.
The memory was all just a shadow of the past until now. There was no real meaning to it, but the light was beginning to shine and the shadow had disappeared. Now he knew that the woman he had attacked that evening, was the woman who he had had bonds with and tried to keep in touch with for all those years. There was no love for the woman, but there was a friendship unlike any he had in the camp at the time. She was someone who he had trusted his life to when he was on the mission to kill the wife of the man in the carriage when he had first met her. She was the one to whom he had given all the gifts from his travels across Valcrest while she sent him letters. Little did he know, that the woman who would stop at the Newhaven Inn to give letters to Evin when he traveled down was really a Black Knight.
"Since we are friends, yet mortal enemies, and I'm sure this is hard for you. I will take the liberty to make the first move." Evin said as he reached for something in a pouch.
He threw a small balled object towards her which, blew up just in front of her, covering her sight line with a puff of smoke. Evin rushed towards with his dagger drawn, and drove it towards his target.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Rory just sat in the throne room, reflecting on the battle that had taken place and the possibility of a friend lost. He wanted to shed a tear for his good friend Hastings, but knew it wasn't possible to do so. Showing such strong emotions in front of his guards would cause him to lose popularity among his subjects, something that he struggled for already. Where ever his friend was right now, he hoped that he was being treated well, but it was not likely so. Newhaven was full of barbarians and crooks. Nothing good came out of that city and so Rory feared the worst for his friend.
Rory's thought was interrupted when his other good friend Phelix walked in the room. At first he said nothing, waiting to be addressed by his king, but then after Rory nodded at him, he spoke.
"Sire, I have come from the summons. What do you demand of me?" He kneeled down and bowed his head to Rory.
"Stand up my fellow! You will no longer have to bow down to me. As long as Commander Hastings is missing, you will take his position." Rory smiled large and friendly smile. "For now I wish of you to go and speak to the healers. Before we cause any bloodshed, I wish to see if they will join us. Negotiate with them and if you see any suspicious activities, please give yourself the chance to see what is going on. That is all."
“Hello Ev. Come to finish the job you started?” The voice of a woman rang out of the helmet of the Black Knight's armour. Even more shocking was the fact that she used the name "Ev," when she was speaking. He only used that name for one person and one person only. Then he instantly remembered why he recognised that bottle in the Black Knight's room.
"Ria, Ria, Ria. To think that you would make it to the position of Black Knight. You never really hit me as someone who would make it to such a powerful position in this world, you must be very proud." Evin tried his best to hide his shock. "Were you the one who I had met in the battle at my camp?"
The great camp, the one that had stayed in the shadows for so long had been found finally. Not only that, but war was right on it's footsteps. Evin had been awakened by loud noises, the sounds of wolf howls all around him. The camp had been broken into and was under attack. While he got his clothes on and his weapons readied, he then herd the reply. The sounds of real wolves out in the distance were calling back. The haunting howl of the lost souls of the woods, the wolves and the Wolf Pack. He could already hear the sounds of metal on metal before he was even out the door.
The small waves of soldiers were not enough to bring even one of the experienced shadows down, and shadows they truly were. In and out of the cover of night, slaying everything that crossed paths with them. Nothing could stop them, except shadows themselves and they came too with more deadly consequences. Out from the darkness arose even more darkness. All five of them, each with their own abilities and capabilities. Every one of them drew blood from the Pack in some way, without taking any damage themselves. The Black Knights were ferocious, worse then any Wolf Hunter Evin had ever faced.
In the heat of battle, when things really began to pick up, Evin emerged from his shadow to meet, only meters away from the Black Knight. the one who seemed to be taking charge in the place. The Knight had let her guard down and Evin made his move. He threw his trope dart, knocking the helmet of the Knight off revealing long hair. The lighting was terrible and he couldn't see the woman's face clearly. Before Evin could take the battle any further, he heard a loud shriek from Crystal in the distance. Instead of play games with the Knight, he ran off, back into the shadows to see what was going on.
The memory was all just a shadow of the past until now. There was no real meaning to it, but the light was beginning to shine and the shadow had disappeared. Now he knew that the woman he had attacked that evening, was the woman who he had had bonds with and tried to keep in touch with for all those years. There was no love for the woman, but there was a friendship unlike any he had in the camp at the time. She was someone who he had trusted his life to when he was on the mission to kill the wife of the man in the carriage when he had first met her. She was the one to whom he had given all the gifts from his travels across Valcrest while she sent him letters. Little did he know, that the woman who would stop at the Newhaven Inn to give letters to Evin when he traveled down was really a Black Knight.
"Since we are friends, yet mortal enemies, and I'm sure this is hard for you. I will take the liberty to make the first move." Evin said as he reached for something in a pouch.
He threw a small balled object towards her which, blew up just in front of her, covering her sight line with a puff of smoke. Evin rushed towards with his dagger drawn, and drove it towards his target.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Rory just sat in the throne room, reflecting on the battle that had taken place and the possibility of a friend lost. He wanted to shed a tear for his good friend Hastings, but knew it wasn't possible to do so. Showing such strong emotions in front of his guards would cause him to lose popularity among his subjects, something that he struggled for already. Where ever his friend was right now, he hoped that he was being treated well, but it was not likely so. Newhaven was full of barbarians and crooks. Nothing good came out of that city and so Rory feared the worst for his friend.
Rory's thought was interrupted when his other good friend Phelix walked in the room. At first he said nothing, waiting to be addressed by his king, but then after Rory nodded at him, he spoke.
"Sire, I have come from the summons. What do you demand of me?" He kneeled down and bowed his head to Rory.
"Stand up my fellow! You will no longer have to bow down to me. As long as Commander Hastings is missing, you will take his position." Rory smiled large and friendly smile. "For now I wish of you to go and speak to the healers. Before we cause any bloodshed, I wish to see if they will join us. Negotiate with them and if you see any suspicious activities, please give yourself the chance to see what is going on. That is all."
When Jake said Crys could blend in with the escaped prisoners, that wasn't exactly true. Anyone observant enough would notice that Crys was walking past the groups of fighting guards and prisoners without paying them any mind. The only times she stopped to fight was when one or two guards tried to stop her. Even then, she put the men out quickly and with a precision that most scumbags in that place simply did not posses. Aside from that, she walked calmly and slowly throughout the riot as if unaware of the chaos that went on around her, humming a song to herself. Actually, she was very much aware of her surroundings, up to the point where she could tell exactly where Jake and Evin were, as well as the other Knights present. Aside from that, she was counting her steps around the dungeon, in order to locate the room where Jake thought Ali would be.
Amongst the crowd though, Crys stopped when she recognized someone she thought had died over a year ago. She frowned as she took a turn away from her path and grabbed one of the escaping prisoners by the collar, pushing him against the wall, out of the way of two guards. "Justin?" She whispered to him.
The boy felt a sudden wave of joy when seeing her. "Crys! I recognized Evin, but I didn't think you would be here!" He whispered to her. "What is going on?"
She nodded. "You have been locked in this place all this time?" She asked. She hadn't heard from Justin or the girl that he was with ever since the burning of the Inn, over a year ago. They were searched for, but eventually considered dead.
"All this time? You tell me, how long have I been missing? I lost track of time completely. I was caught, however, the night the Inn burned down. The girl I was with, I can't remember her name, she wouldn't give up fighting not even after they had us surrounded. Eventually the soldiers gave up the thought of bringing her alive."
"That was over a year ago, Justin." Crys told him.
"Oh..."
"We should have kept searching." She stated, feeling guilt for simply assuming him dead.
"No, I..." He sighed. "I told them. Where the camp is. I was the one who told them." He admitted. "I am so sorry."
"May the Gods have mercy on your souls!" The loud voice echoed through the stone tunnels and as the man who had shouted started walking in her direction Crys winced in the face of his rage.
She broke out of that shock when Justin grabbed at her wrist. "I'll make sure to get in his way. You go on ahead. Just... When you see Ali again, don't tell her you saw me here, alright?" He asked.
Crys nodded and leaned closer to him. "The man in the Black Knight armor is Jake. Give him a message for me, he will know what it means once he sees it." With that, she showed Justin one of the signals she often used to give Jake instructions. There was no need to tell him what it meant.
Justin let out a deep breath. "Will do."
"Good." Crys stated with a half smile, still gripping at his collar. "We shall meet again someday." She said to him, releasing him and letting him pass her by.
She started walking back through the path she had been given. Not stopping even for the cold, empty, feeling she got the moment Justin's life was ripped out of his body. She said a mental prayer for her old friend, but other than that, she kept trying to find the place Jake had directed her to, hoping Ali would be in there.
-----------------
Jake had very little difficulty getting through the criminals as they were not very good fighters. The only advantage they had was in number, however, that would only delay their inevitable demise. Jake hoped to be on his way out by then, or at least he hoped at least Crys would be out with Allison by then. He had a feeling A shout reached his years as a White Knight stormed into the scene. He was walking straight in the direction he had sent Crys. Before he could do anything he saw a man walking towards the Knight, he recognized Justin as he gave him a signal, one of Crys' signals. "Do not intervene." The next minute Justin put himself in the White Knight's path and was quickly slaughtered by him. Between the shock of seeing Justin alive, than being killed and trying to figure out what Crys' signal was about, he was almost caught off guard by a man wielding a huge sword. Jake spotted them man in time to throw a poisoned needle that his neck. He dropped to the ground before his blade ever had the chance to reach him. The corner of his eyes caught another prisoner rushing towards the Knight. The man seemed suddenly distracted and so Jake rushed towards his attacker and slayed him quickly. "You should keep your attention on the battlefield, sire." He told the man. The respectful tone in his voice masking the smirk that crossed his face underneath the black helm. As he walked past the the man, however, his eyes caught sight of Evin as he released a smoke bomb. As Jake caught sight of the other person involved in the fight, Crys' order made sense: Do not intervene.
Jake sighed. He still didn't want anyone dead, but at this exact moment, if he has to choose, he would hope Evin took the hit. He wasn't exactly fond of the man for going after him. Jake struggled with the instruction he was given, but soon more prisoners started to rushing towards him and he was forced to pull his eyes away from what was going on. He would keep his distance from the whole thing unless someone was about to get killed. Then, Crys would just have to excuse him for disobeying once again. He really hoped she would.
As he drew his blade and ran it clean through a man's gut he still kept an eye on the fight. He made his way through the fighting criminals, muttering angrily. "I'm completely screwed." He had a simple plan, really: Get an excuse to enter the interrogation room, put the Knight there to sleep, and sneak Ali out. It was simple and fast, and now it was just impossible.
Amongst the crowd though, Crys stopped when she recognized someone she thought had died over a year ago. She frowned as she took a turn away from her path and grabbed one of the escaping prisoners by the collar, pushing him against the wall, out of the way of two guards. "Justin?" She whispered to him.
The boy felt a sudden wave of joy when seeing her. "Crys! I recognized Evin, but I didn't think you would be here!" He whispered to her. "What is going on?"
She nodded. "You have been locked in this place all this time?" She asked. She hadn't heard from Justin or the girl that he was with ever since the burning of the Inn, over a year ago. They were searched for, but eventually considered dead.
"All this time? You tell me, how long have I been missing? I lost track of time completely. I was caught, however, the night the Inn burned down. The girl I was with, I can't remember her name, she wouldn't give up fighting not even after they had us surrounded. Eventually the soldiers gave up the thought of bringing her alive."
"That was over a year ago, Justin." Crys told him.
"Oh..."
"We should have kept searching." She stated, feeling guilt for simply assuming him dead.
"No, I..." He sighed. "I told them. Where the camp is. I was the one who told them." He admitted. "I am so sorry."
"May the Gods have mercy on your souls!" The loud voice echoed through the stone tunnels and as the man who had shouted started walking in her direction Crys winced in the face of his rage.
She broke out of that shock when Justin grabbed at her wrist. "I'll make sure to get in his way. You go on ahead. Just... When you see Ali again, don't tell her you saw me here, alright?" He asked.
Crys nodded and leaned closer to him. "The man in the Black Knight armor is Jake. Give him a message for me, he will know what it means once he sees it." With that, she showed Justin one of the signals she often used to give Jake instructions. There was no need to tell him what it meant.
Justin let out a deep breath. "Will do."
"Good." Crys stated with a half smile, still gripping at his collar. "We shall meet again someday." She said to him, releasing him and letting him pass her by.
She started walking back through the path she had been given. Not stopping even for the cold, empty, feeling she got the moment Justin's life was ripped out of his body. She said a mental prayer for her old friend, but other than that, she kept trying to find the place Jake had directed her to, hoping Ali would be in there.
-----------------
Jake had very little difficulty getting through the criminals as they were not very good fighters. The only advantage they had was in number, however, that would only delay their inevitable demise. Jake hoped to be on his way out by then, or at least he hoped at least Crys would be out with Allison by then. He had a feeling A shout reached his years as a White Knight stormed into the scene. He was walking straight in the direction he had sent Crys. Before he could do anything he saw a man walking towards the Knight, he recognized Justin as he gave him a signal, one of Crys' signals. "Do not intervene." The next minute Justin put himself in the White Knight's path and was quickly slaughtered by him. Between the shock of seeing Justin alive, than being killed and trying to figure out what Crys' signal was about, he was almost caught off guard by a man wielding a huge sword. Jake spotted them man in time to throw a poisoned needle that his neck. He dropped to the ground before his blade ever had the chance to reach him. The corner of his eyes caught another prisoner rushing towards the Knight. The man seemed suddenly distracted and so Jake rushed towards his attacker and slayed him quickly. "You should keep your attention on the battlefield, sire." He told the man. The respectful tone in his voice masking the smirk that crossed his face underneath the black helm. As he walked past the the man, however, his eyes caught sight of Evin as he released a smoke bomb. As Jake caught sight of the other person involved in the fight, Crys' order made sense: Do not intervene.
Jake sighed. He still didn't want anyone dead, but at this exact moment, if he has to choose, he would hope Evin took the hit. He wasn't exactly fond of the man for going after him. Jake struggled with the instruction he was given, but soon more prisoners started to rushing towards him and he was forced to pull his eyes away from what was going on. He would keep his distance from the whole thing unless someone was about to get killed. Then, Crys would just have to excuse him for disobeying once again. He really hoped she would.
As he drew his blade and ran it clean through a man's gut he still kept an eye on the fight. He made his way through the fighting criminals, muttering angrily. "I'm completely screwed." He had a simple plan, really: Get an excuse to enter the interrogation room, put the Knight there to sleep, and sneak Ali out. It was simple and fast, and now it was just impossible.
Blood, flesh, teeth and pieces of bones filled the air along with the very floor they were walking on. The screams of agony and rage was all that one could hear. Their hands were tainted by crimes commited against the gods and Valcrest and therefor all of them deserved to die. Daniel fought on and it seemed like the prisoners numbers were dwindling. Suddenly there were a small explosion behind him and everything were clouded in smoke. Griping his hammer and shield even harder, Daniel tried to see where his enemies were. The smoke had not reached him, but all this blood blocked his sight. Wiping it away Daniel just realized something; Mageria were back there at the smoke bomb! This was not good because The White knight had also caught a more interesting figure walking calmly through the riot. Thus, he was torn apart the decision to help Mageria or run after this other figure. After a short time of thinking, Daniel came to an decision and rushed after the other figure that was moving towards the place they held the assassin at.
A prisoner saw the White Knight moving towards her and a split-second after that she found herself on the floor with her skull cracked inwards. This man was merciless against criminals that resisted and were uncontrollable. The female figure were closing up in Daniels view and he suddenly choose to take a different path so he could end up in front of her instead of attacking her from behind, like she expected. Daniel rushed to his left, leaving two or three dead prisoners in his wake before he found himself moving right again and then forced his way out from a group of prisoners that and blocked his way. Daniel were now standing in front of the female figure that looked like an assassin, however he couldn't be sure of it. Although she was more interested in getting to the other assassin then fighting her way out of this mess. They were close to the cell the other assassin was held in and thus, Daniel had jumped out just in time to block the womans path.
"Do not take a step further, assassin! I still need the girl you're after!" Daniel shouted to overcome the other fighting sounds around them.
A prisoner saw the White Knight moving towards her and a split-second after that she found herself on the floor with her skull cracked inwards. This man was merciless against criminals that resisted and were uncontrollable. The female figure were closing up in Daniels view and he suddenly choose to take a different path so he could end up in front of her instead of attacking her from behind, like she expected. Daniel rushed to his left, leaving two or three dead prisoners in his wake before he found himself moving right again and then forced his way out from a group of prisoners that and blocked his way. Daniel were now standing in front of the female figure that looked like an assassin, however he couldn't be sure of it. Although she was more interested in getting to the other assassin then fighting her way out of this mess. They were close to the cell the other assassin was held in and thus, Daniel had jumped out just in time to block the womans path.
"Do not take a step further, assassin! I still need the girl you're after!" Daniel shouted to overcome the other fighting sounds around them.
Crys had almost lost track of her steps. The amount of death and pain surrounding her were enough to make her a little disoriented now. She wasn't sure if she was going through the right tunnel, until she felt someone rushing to get to her. She smiled to herself... This was definitely the right path.
She didn't run to try and reach the door, letting the man get in her way would be smarter than making him chase her, so she stopped walking a moment or two before he reached her. "Do not take a step further, assassin! I still need the girl you're after!"
"I see..." Crys mumbled, her eyes lighting up in green as she turned her gaze towards the man. She could tell that he was desperate for answers, but to think Ali could provide them was just too much. She stood before the man, weapons in hand, knowing that if it came down to fighting she would probably not stand a chance. She knew the extent of her abilities, and it was noticeable that when it came to fighting the Knight was years ahead of her. In that dark space, filled with death and grief... She could only predict his moves up to a point. So, she expected to make him see what would be the outcome of this. "You will excuse me, sir, but that is a lie." She stated. "You need answers, surely, but my assassin is unable to provide them, so I don't see what you could possibly need her for."
She smiled, although unaware if the poor lighting in that place would allow the man to see it. "My mother always used to say that one should never insult a worthy opponent by telling a lie, so I shall be honest: You can kill me here if you wish. The people who could assist me are not at the moment able to reach me and although I am very capable of putting up a fight, it would eventually end in my death." She swirled one of her Sai around between her fingers absently as she went on, her eyes glowing an even brighter tone of green as she attempted for the first time to influence another person's emotions and make the man a little more willing to listen. "Of course, knowing this won't stop me from trying to reach that door. So, I'm afraid we have a problem, because you are bound by your oath to protect Newhaven, which includes stopping me, and I'm bound by my own oath not to stop. However, my death would not be beneficial to your city or my clan. See... Losing two leaders in such a short period would certainly force the Wolfpack to take a more aggressive stand against your city and turn this little misunderstanding into an actual war. So, if you care as much for your city as I do for my clan. I suggest we stop this here." Even with battle and death all around, Crys held a somewhat peaceful aura to her person. She was close enough to the door to know that Ali wasn't seriously hurt, and she didn't want to aggravate the situation by killing a Knight or being killed by him. If the man chose to fight, however, she was more than prepared to do so.
She didn't run to try and reach the door, letting the man get in her way would be smarter than making him chase her, so she stopped walking a moment or two before he reached her. "Do not take a step further, assassin! I still need the girl you're after!"
"I see..." Crys mumbled, her eyes lighting up in green as she turned her gaze towards the man. She could tell that he was desperate for answers, but to think Ali could provide them was just too much. She stood before the man, weapons in hand, knowing that if it came down to fighting she would probably not stand a chance. She knew the extent of her abilities, and it was noticeable that when it came to fighting the Knight was years ahead of her. In that dark space, filled with death and grief... She could only predict his moves up to a point. So, she expected to make him see what would be the outcome of this. "You will excuse me, sir, but that is a lie." She stated. "You need answers, surely, but my assassin is unable to provide them, so I don't see what you could possibly need her for."
She smiled, although unaware if the poor lighting in that place would allow the man to see it. "My mother always used to say that one should never insult a worthy opponent by telling a lie, so I shall be honest: You can kill me here if you wish. The people who could assist me are not at the moment able to reach me and although I am very capable of putting up a fight, it would eventually end in my death." She swirled one of her Sai around between her fingers absently as she went on, her eyes glowing an even brighter tone of green as she attempted for the first time to influence another person's emotions and make the man a little more willing to listen. "Of course, knowing this won't stop me from trying to reach that door. So, I'm afraid we have a problem, because you are bound by your oath to protect Newhaven, which includes stopping me, and I'm bound by my own oath not to stop. However, my death would not be beneficial to your city or my clan. See... Losing two leaders in such a short period would certainly force the Wolfpack to take a more aggressive stand against your city and turn this little misunderstanding into an actual war. So, if you care as much for your city as I do for my clan. I suggest we stop this here." Even with battle and death all around, Crys held a somewhat peaceful aura to her person. She was close enough to the door to know that Ali wasn't seriously hurt, and she didn't want to aggravate the situation by killing a Knight or being killed by him. If the man chose to fight, however, she was more than prepared to do so.
Upon hearing the womans words, Daniel slowly lowered his guard more and more as she continued to explain this little "situation" of theirs; It was true that Daniel was bound by oath to protect Newhaven from scums such as this assassin and she seemed to be very determined to rescue the other captured assassin. Her words, however, revealed the truth to him; They were both with the Wolf Pack instead of a couple of hired assassins working under the Packs will. Daniel had lowered his guard to a dangerous level considering the place and situation he was in. At any given point a prisoner could jump at him and give the female assassin the chance to slit his throat with one of her sharp weapons. A battle like no other before were fought inside his mind. It was a battle between his thoughts and his strongly religious oath. If his thoughts won he would take the chance to have a civil and maybe even enlightening conversation with the leader of the Wolf Pack. However, if his oath won he would attack the assassin with all of his might to try and vanquish this evil once and for all. Without any kind of spoken leader the pack would be left vulnerable if only for a day or two and that's when they could strike!
"Make up your mind, old man!" A voice screamed inside his head as seconds that which felt like hours passed by. He just stood there, staring at the woman for a couple of seconds before his eyes darted off towards the real battle between Mageria and the prisoners leader from the looks of it to Captain Krander fighting side by side with the Black Knight that had saved him earlier. His eyes landed at last on the assassin before him once more as he sheathed his holy hammer back in its leather sheath.
"Come with me, there's no time to spare!" Daniel shouted as he strapped his shield onto his back and lead the assassin back to the prisoners cell. He destroyed the rusty lock and made sure the blind assassin entered the room before closing it once more. Daniel wasn't sure he could trust these two but it seemed like this was leading him towards the very answer he had been seeking for an entire year now. He pulled out his sword and used it as a lock against the door before turning towards them both. After that he rushed over to the chained assassin and noticed how her arm-chains had been removed. The Captain. Nevertheless, Daniel removed the chains holding her legs to the ground and then moved over to the door to block their path. He could not let them escape now when he was expecting so many answers from them.
"Before I let you run off to god knows where, tell me everything you know. Everything."
"Make up your mind, old man!" A voice screamed inside his head as seconds that which felt like hours passed by. He just stood there, staring at the woman for a couple of seconds before his eyes darted off towards the real battle between Mageria and the prisoners leader from the looks of it to Captain Krander fighting side by side with the Black Knight that had saved him earlier. His eyes landed at last on the assassin before him once more as he sheathed his holy hammer back in its leather sheath.
"Come with me, there's no time to spare!" Daniel shouted as he strapped his shield onto his back and lead the assassin back to the prisoners cell. He destroyed the rusty lock and made sure the blind assassin entered the room before closing it once more. Daniel wasn't sure he could trust these two but it seemed like this was leading him towards the very answer he had been seeking for an entire year now. He pulled out his sword and used it as a lock against the door before turning towards them both. After that he rushed over to the chained assassin and noticed how her arm-chains had been removed. The Captain. Nevertheless, Daniel removed the chains holding her legs to the ground and then moved over to the door to block their path. He could not let them escape now when he was expecting so many answers from them.
"Before I let you run off to god knows where, tell me everything you know. Everything."
Crys waited as the man stood before her unable to make a decision. She could pretty much hear the thoughts forming in the back of his mind and she knew this could go either way. She didn't think he would attack though. He needed those answers, not knowing was always a greater torture. She had her own unanswered questions torturing her as well. At a distance she could hear Jake fighting through the prisoners, she could tell he had made sure to keep a close look on Evin and the woman he was fighting, and she hoped he wouldn't do anything too stupid since she couldn't stop him.
At last, the Knight seemed to make up his mind and put away his weapon. He then told her to follow him to the cell. Usually she would have hesitated, but in this particular situation, she didn't see any other option other than to trust the man, at least for now, so she walked into the cell after him and let him close the door. The first thing from there was to check on how Ali was doing. She seemed fine, only passed out from exhaustion. Crys let out a sigh of relief before sitting on top of the table Ali was laying her head on. She listened as the Knight asked for everything she knew. "Well, I suppose it won't hurt to tell what I know." She stated, her fingers tapping lightly against the surface of the table as she spoke. "In short words: About a year ago there was this man killing enlightened in order to obtain their abilities. After the man killed my father, and attacked this girl here." She nodded towards Ali. "Leaving her almost dead, which he did by sneaking in and out of our territory without leaving a trace, we set our minds to hunting him down. Before we could do that, we came to see the King of Newhaven to offer him the killer in return for the bounty on out heads. In that moment we discovered the killer had been here the whole time, passing himself as King. We fought, he was killed. I'm assuming you already knew that much."
She sighed, noting that her tapping the table wasn't doing much wake up Allison. "Ever since, we have been mainly trying to survive while trying to find some proof that the man killed here that night was not the real King. At the same time we have heard rumors that the King had a second son, which is why I sent my assassin here to check the archives. I can also tell you that I have been visited by a Black Knight recently, He seemed to be investigating the false king as well, although I'm certain his captain has no clue he was planning on paying us a visit. In her place I would never allow it. I can also tell you that a White Knight was seen passing through our territory heading south. I had one of my assassins follow him as far as he could without being discovered. All he brought back was the fact that the Knight was searching for a woman named Sarris." She got off the table and walked around Allison, stopping behind her chair. "That, is all I know." She said, not so gently slapping the sleeping girl on the back of the neck. "Go away, Crys. Damn you." Ali muttered in her sleep. Crys nodded, sighing. "Stupid kid." It was clear Ali no longer had a clue where she was.
At last, the Knight seemed to make up his mind and put away his weapon. He then told her to follow him to the cell. Usually she would have hesitated, but in this particular situation, she didn't see any other option other than to trust the man, at least for now, so she walked into the cell after him and let him close the door. The first thing from there was to check on how Ali was doing. She seemed fine, only passed out from exhaustion. Crys let out a sigh of relief before sitting on top of the table Ali was laying her head on. She listened as the Knight asked for everything she knew. "Well, I suppose it won't hurt to tell what I know." She stated, her fingers tapping lightly against the surface of the table as she spoke. "In short words: About a year ago there was this man killing enlightened in order to obtain their abilities. After the man killed my father, and attacked this girl here." She nodded towards Ali. "Leaving her almost dead, which he did by sneaking in and out of our territory without leaving a trace, we set our minds to hunting him down. Before we could do that, we came to see the King of Newhaven to offer him the killer in return for the bounty on out heads. In that moment we discovered the killer had been here the whole time, passing himself as King. We fought, he was killed. I'm assuming you already knew that much."
She sighed, noting that her tapping the table wasn't doing much wake up Allison. "Ever since, we have been mainly trying to survive while trying to find some proof that the man killed here that night was not the real King. At the same time we have heard rumors that the King had a second son, which is why I sent my assassin here to check the archives. I can also tell you that I have been visited by a Black Knight recently, He seemed to be investigating the false king as well, although I'm certain his captain has no clue he was planning on paying us a visit. In her place I would never allow it. I can also tell you that a White Knight was seen passing through our territory heading south. I had one of my assassins follow him as far as he could without being discovered. All he brought back was the fact that the Knight was searching for a woman named Sarris." She got off the table and walked around Allison, stopping behind her chair. "That, is all I know." She said, not so gently slapping the sleeping girl on the back of the neck. "Go away, Crys. Damn you." Ali muttered in her sleep. Crys nodded, sighing. "Stupid kid." It was clear Ali no longer had a clue where she was.
Mageria ducked her head, shielding her eyes from the smoke. She knew that Ev was rushing toward her, and unlike last time, she wouldn't drop her guard. She could see dimly his figure and she reversed her hold on her dagger, holding it flat against her arm. Bringing it up in a circling motion she knocked his strike to the side and brought her knee up in a strike to his gut.
Ev placed one hand on her knee as she brought it up, somehow using it to flip up and over her. On the way past her head he took the chance to pull her helm off, doing it so gracefully that she didn’t even feel it come off until she could see without restriction. Mageria spun in place, bringing her sword around in a slicing strike. Ev gracefully ducked under it, bringing his daggers up to deflect it just the bit that was needed. Mageria brought her left hand back, striking an underhand blow toward his face. Ev’s eyes flared brilliant black and he seemed to blur, flickering just far enough out of the way to avoid it. Smoothly Mageria sheathed her sword. The fight was too close for it to do any good so instead she drew her other dagger, facing Ev with a dagger in both hands. He grinned mockingly and raised his own, striking quickly in an high/low combination. She blocked and advanced with her own strikes which he blocked easily.
They fought together for a minute more, both of them so evenly matched that it seemed more like a dance than a fight to the death. Neither of them pulled a blow or missed an opportunity to strike, but they couldn’t manage to hit each other. The duel might as well have been occurring in complete silence, because neither of them paid any attention to what was happening to anyone around them. Finally Mageria brought her dagger up in a vicious blow that would have disemboweled Ev if it had hit. Instead he flipped backwards landing a few feet away with both daggers raised. He paused and seemed about to speak . . .
Ev placed one hand on her knee as she brought it up, somehow using it to flip up and over her. On the way past her head he took the chance to pull her helm off, doing it so gracefully that she didn’t even feel it come off until she could see without restriction. Mageria spun in place, bringing her sword around in a slicing strike. Ev gracefully ducked under it, bringing his daggers up to deflect it just the bit that was needed. Mageria brought her left hand back, striking an underhand blow toward his face. Ev’s eyes flared brilliant black and he seemed to blur, flickering just far enough out of the way to avoid it. Smoothly Mageria sheathed her sword. The fight was too close for it to do any good so instead she drew her other dagger, facing Ev with a dagger in both hands. He grinned mockingly and raised his own, striking quickly in an high/low combination. She blocked and advanced with her own strikes which he blocked easily.
They fought together for a minute more, both of them so evenly matched that it seemed more like a dance than a fight to the death. Neither of them pulled a blow or missed an opportunity to strike, but they couldn’t manage to hit each other. The duel might as well have been occurring in complete silence, because neither of them paid any attention to what was happening to anyone around them. Finally Mageria brought her dagger up in a vicious blow that would have disemboweled Ev if it had hit. Instead he flipped backwards landing a few feet away with both daggers raised. He paused and seemed about to speak . . .
Krander reached the battle and swung his sword mercilessly killing a prisoner.
"Glad you could join us, Captain," Daniel said to Krander.
Krander smirked and hollered over the battle scene, "I was taught not to run from a fight, but to value the fact that I'm able to fight. You remember who taught me that?" Krander was obviously referring to Daniel. Something about the mutual slaughter had turned Kranders mood.
After that little exchange Krander was separated from Daniel, the nearest Black Knight, and then who he assumed to be Mageria. She had made great time back to the castle, and her timing could not have been great. That was when it struck him, well, three things struck him. First was the fact that all of the White and Black Knights were being separated and making them easier targets. Not to say that they would be easy per say, but they would be that much more likely to be defeated by numbers, which would increase the difficulty of surviving for all of them. The second thing that struck him was how small the waves had become of prisoners, who still fought tooth and nail to live. He looked behind him for a second to see about ten doors down the hallway behind him unopened. That meant ten less people to fight so long as he stood his ground.
The third, and most surprising thing to hit Krander was a large ball of fire that arched over the prisoners and struck his armor. The prisoners hit the floor, ducked, or dove out of the way so he was safe while he was unprotected. He caught his breath, having had trained with Mageria in ways to recover from many types of injuries quickly over the last few years (such as a broken arm, with which she seemed reluctant to do, and then joyful afterwards). He stood up and near the torch could see his armor had been scorched.
"Thats it," he mumbled to himself. He swung his sword once more and hummed in a high pitch. He then squeaked loudly and enhanced it with his ability. All without helmets on heard it as it echoed down and through the tunnels. The ones closest by covered their ears and fell to the ground while the rest were seemingly stunned. He then let out a roar, and that is what he did, literally roared. The sound waves almost seemed visible as they flowed down the tunnels and knocked a majority of the prisoners, and a few lower guards to the floor. A couple torches went out which also was more advantageous to them.
"How dare you tarnish the armor of a White Knight?" he bellowed as the prisoners began to get up. "For this you shall die without the mercy of the Gods." He started humming and let out another roar, louder this time moving the bodies, quaking the blood, and pushing more people back. He looked around with his bought time and hollered to his comrades in arms, "They have reached the third floor. Beware of elightened prisoners, and be sure to use your own. This battle has just begun!" He wielded his blade and sliced through a prisoner, decapitating him and kicking his head at another prisoner stunning him before stabbing through his guts. He slowly moved closer to the Black Knight so they could work together.
He noticed two more people coming from his back. As he saw Marco shift into a bull and stomp his back foot, and the executioner with his largest axe he knew this fight would be interesting. He turned to roar again and was knocked down and back a few feet by another fireball. That was when Marco charged into the crowd which had grown in size. Krander, still in pain, smiled and got back up.
"Glad you could join us, Captain," Daniel said to Krander.
Krander smirked and hollered over the battle scene, "I was taught not to run from a fight, but to value the fact that I'm able to fight. You remember who taught me that?" Krander was obviously referring to Daniel. Something about the mutual slaughter had turned Kranders mood.
After that little exchange Krander was separated from Daniel, the nearest Black Knight, and then who he assumed to be Mageria. She had made great time back to the castle, and her timing could not have been great. That was when it struck him, well, three things struck him. First was the fact that all of the White and Black Knights were being separated and making them easier targets. Not to say that they would be easy per say, but they would be that much more likely to be defeated by numbers, which would increase the difficulty of surviving for all of them. The second thing that struck him was how small the waves had become of prisoners, who still fought tooth and nail to live. He looked behind him for a second to see about ten doors down the hallway behind him unopened. That meant ten less people to fight so long as he stood his ground.
The third, and most surprising thing to hit Krander was a large ball of fire that arched over the prisoners and struck his armor. The prisoners hit the floor, ducked, or dove out of the way so he was safe while he was unprotected. He caught his breath, having had trained with Mageria in ways to recover from many types of injuries quickly over the last few years (such as a broken arm, with which she seemed reluctant to do, and then joyful afterwards). He stood up and near the torch could see his armor had been scorched.
"Thats it," he mumbled to himself. He swung his sword once more and hummed in a high pitch. He then squeaked loudly and enhanced it with his ability. All without helmets on heard it as it echoed down and through the tunnels. The ones closest by covered their ears and fell to the ground while the rest were seemingly stunned. He then let out a roar, and that is what he did, literally roared. The sound waves almost seemed visible as they flowed down the tunnels and knocked a majority of the prisoners, and a few lower guards to the floor. A couple torches went out which also was more advantageous to them.
"How dare you tarnish the armor of a White Knight?" he bellowed as the prisoners began to get up. "For this you shall die without the mercy of the Gods." He started humming and let out another roar, louder this time moving the bodies, quaking the blood, and pushing more people back. He looked around with his bought time and hollered to his comrades in arms, "They have reached the third floor. Beware of elightened prisoners, and be sure to use your own. This battle has just begun!" He wielded his blade and sliced through a prisoner, decapitating him and kicking his head at another prisoner stunning him before stabbing through his guts. He slowly moved closer to the Black Knight so they could work together.
He noticed two more people coming from his back. As he saw Marco shift into a bull and stomp his back foot, and the executioner with his largest axe he knew this fight would be interesting. He turned to roar again and was knocked down and back a few feet by another fireball. That was when Marco charged into the crowd which had grown in size. Krander, still in pain, smiled and got back up.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Thoughts raced through her head. She had dreams of Crystal and Evin working together and saving Ali from the treachery of the White Knight who had captured her. It was so frustrating not knowing what was happening to Ali, if she was alive or if she was dead. She was the only person in a while that she had a deep conversation with. She had so many friends at the camp, but not close friends. Ali wasn't her best friend, that was for sure, but she seemed to be the one who she felt she could trust the most. Whether it was right or wrong to not see Ali as her best friend when she could trust her the most was a question she had yet to answered.
Ella was abruptly woken up by a pain she felt in her head. Her headache was terrible and her stomach felt like it was completely shrivelled. She needed some sort of food. When she opened her eyes, the light from the candles in the room just made the headache even worse. She wanted to close her eyes, but she realised that there was a girl sitting over her on the bed. Ella didn't really know her, but she had seen the girl before. She was sitting looking down at Ella and placing a damp cloth over top of Ella's forehead. She had jet black hair and she seemed rather short. She was probably around Ella's age, a teenager. She spent a few moments just staring at her blankly, until she realised that she was a White Shadow.
"Hi, I'm Ella." Ella was sure that she probably already knew that, but for some reason she felt the need to tell her that. She felt her voice was groggy too. Ella wondered if maybe the girl gave her something to make her feel that way or that whatever she was doing before passed out made her feel this way.
She tried to get up, but her body was soar all around. She let herself down slowly, bearing through the pain. After she closed her eyes again and just thought about everything that had opened and why she would be so sore. That's when she remembered what exactly she was doing before she passed out. She was running for almost ten hours strait. She had thrown up along the way and just felt like giving up, but she knew that a task that needed to be done urgently. To Ella, if the result was good, it was all worth it, but if they came back with nothing then Ella would have just done one more useless thing for the camp.
"Do you know anything? I mean, about Ali and all." She asked the girl with her eyes still closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Hastings had been knocked out by Mageria before she left to see what the riot was all about. When he woke up, he was certain that the riot was still going on. He also noticed that he woke up in a cell. The thing he was more interested in was the riot itself. He leapt on seeing prisoners running towards the exit of the dungeons. It was the perfect opportunity to plan a escape. As he watched the men and women run by, he looked for one that he knew would probably stop by and help. He noticed one man who was talking to himself. He wasn't running, but walking and he had a set of keys around his wrist and in his hand was a dagger. He seemed a little out there but he was the only person around that he saw with keys.
"Hey you, the one with the keys." He didn't respond, "Hey asshole, you want to get me out of this piece of shit room I’m stuck in!" That got his attention.
"That bastard is stuck, should we help him... No, I say we kill him... He could help me find my way out... The exit's right there you dumbass." The man was talking to himself about helping Hastings. It was amusing, but scary to think that it was possible the man would just kill him if he helped. "No, no I'm lost. There is no way out, he knows... Fuck me! What the hell are you thinking!" He began to cry, "I'm helping this poor soul and there is, there is nothing you can do to stop me!"
The more sane side won the battle. Hastings sighed in relief as the prisoner used the key to open the door. Hastings didn't say a thing to the man, he just grabbed his arm that held the dagger, just so he was in control of any situation that may happen and made his way to the exit with the man. By the time they made it to the exit, he grabbed the dagger from the man.
"I just need to borrow this thing for a second."
He quickly began to carve a thin sketching into the wall by the exit. It only took him a minute. It was a message to Mageria that said. "Thanks for leaving me unprotected. See you in battle Mageria. -Hastings". Hastings smirked and then ran off into the distance. By the time the moonlight left the sky, he would be on the root back to his home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin's fight with Ria was in no way an easy one. It seemed that they were skilled very evenly skilled when it came to one on one combat. Things might be different in different situations, but there was almost no point in fighting her. One swipe of the dagger after another and nothing was accomplished, either blocked or dodged followed by a counter attack. It wasn't a battle, it was a waist of energy. After Ria took a potentially fatal swipe at Evin's abdomen, he decided that there was no point with what they were doing and backed off.
He grabbed the helmet that was sitting on the floor and reholstered his dagger.
"I'm going to keep this little hat as a personal gift if you don't mind. Now seeing that fighting is getting us nowhere, I decided that it would be better if we had a little question answer period instead. So, I have a que-" Evin was interrupted by a load noise coming from one of the White Knights. He recognised this White Knight as the hot headed leader of the order. He had was known for having the enlightened ability of making himself heard. It was his assumption that he was going to get very loud in a second so Evin instantly put the helmet on his head. He was sure that it would help with the noise, and boy did. While everyone else was falling to the ground around him, he just heard a slight buzz from vibrations from the helmet. It made him a little dizzy for a few second, but it wasn't as bad as what everyone else was experiencing, he was sure of that.
This enraged Evin. Usually things like this wouldn't make him so mad, but he was trying to have a conversation with someone while this noise pollution was making it impossible. He reached for a his rope dart, but it was still stuck in the ceiling so he grabbed a torch from the wall instead. He threw it in Krander's direction, not really caring whether it hit him or not. He just wanted to get his attention.
"Could you shut that fucking mouth of your so I can talk to your good friend Ria here?" He looked back at Ria who had finally managed to get back up on her feet. "Now my question for you was about a certain person who I believe is a Black Knight. One Jake Turner. Now I'm sure you know what the question is and you are probably thinking that you don't want to answer that question, but I will find out one way or another and it would be less damage to you if you just told me here. So will you please do so?" He took off the helmet.
Ella was abruptly woken up by a pain she felt in her head. Her headache was terrible and her stomach felt like it was completely shrivelled. She needed some sort of food. When she opened her eyes, the light from the candles in the room just made the headache even worse. She wanted to close her eyes, but she realised that there was a girl sitting over her on the bed. Ella didn't really know her, but she had seen the girl before. She was sitting looking down at Ella and placing a damp cloth over top of Ella's forehead. She had jet black hair and she seemed rather short. She was probably around Ella's age, a teenager. She spent a few moments just staring at her blankly, until she realised that she was a White Shadow.
"Hi, I'm Ella." Ella was sure that she probably already knew that, but for some reason she felt the need to tell her that. She felt her voice was groggy too. Ella wondered if maybe the girl gave her something to make her feel that way or that whatever she was doing before passed out made her feel this way.
She tried to get up, but her body was soar all around. She let herself down slowly, bearing through the pain. After she closed her eyes again and just thought about everything that had opened and why she would be so sore. That's when she remembered what exactly she was doing before she passed out. She was running for almost ten hours strait. She had thrown up along the way and just felt like giving up, but she knew that a task that needed to be done urgently. To Ella, if the result was good, it was all worth it, but if they came back with nothing then Ella would have just done one more useless thing for the camp.
"Do you know anything? I mean, about Ali and all." She asked the girl with her eyes still closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Hastings had been knocked out by Mageria before she left to see what the riot was all about. When he woke up, he was certain that the riot was still going on. He also noticed that he woke up in a cell. The thing he was more interested in was the riot itself. He leapt on seeing prisoners running towards the exit of the dungeons. It was the perfect opportunity to plan a escape. As he watched the men and women run by, he looked for one that he knew would probably stop by and help. He noticed one man who was talking to himself. He wasn't running, but walking and he had a set of keys around his wrist and in his hand was a dagger. He seemed a little out there but he was the only person around that he saw with keys.
"Hey you, the one with the keys." He didn't respond, "Hey asshole, you want to get me out of this piece of shit room I’m stuck in!" That got his attention.
"That bastard is stuck, should we help him... No, I say we kill him... He could help me find my way out... The exit's right there you dumbass." The man was talking to himself about helping Hastings. It was amusing, but scary to think that it was possible the man would just kill him if he helped. "No, no I'm lost. There is no way out, he knows... Fuck me! What the hell are you thinking!" He began to cry, "I'm helping this poor soul and there is, there is nothing you can do to stop me!"
The more sane side won the battle. Hastings sighed in relief as the prisoner used the key to open the door. Hastings didn't say a thing to the man, he just grabbed his arm that held the dagger, just so he was in control of any situation that may happen and made his way to the exit with the man. By the time they made it to the exit, he grabbed the dagger from the man.
"I just need to borrow this thing for a second."
He quickly began to carve a thin sketching into the wall by the exit. It only took him a minute. It was a message to Mageria that said. "Thanks for leaving me unprotected. See you in battle Mageria. -Hastings". Hastings smirked and then ran off into the distance. By the time the moonlight left the sky, he would be on the root back to his home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evin's fight with Ria was in no way an easy one. It seemed that they were skilled very evenly skilled when it came to one on one combat. Things might be different in different situations, but there was almost no point in fighting her. One swipe of the dagger after another and nothing was accomplished, either blocked or dodged followed by a counter attack. It wasn't a battle, it was a waist of energy. After Ria took a potentially fatal swipe at Evin's abdomen, he decided that there was no point with what they were doing and backed off.
He grabbed the helmet that was sitting on the floor and reholstered his dagger.
"I'm going to keep this little hat as a personal gift if you don't mind. Now seeing that fighting is getting us nowhere, I decided that it would be better if we had a little question answer period instead. So, I have a que-" Evin was interrupted by a load noise coming from one of the White Knights. He recognised this White Knight as the hot headed leader of the order. He had was known for having the enlightened ability of making himself heard. It was his assumption that he was going to get very loud in a second so Evin instantly put the helmet on his head. He was sure that it would help with the noise, and boy did. While everyone else was falling to the ground around him, he just heard a slight buzz from vibrations from the helmet. It made him a little dizzy for a few second, but it wasn't as bad as what everyone else was experiencing, he was sure of that.
This enraged Evin. Usually things like this wouldn't make him so mad, but he was trying to have a conversation with someone while this noise pollution was making it impossible. He reached for a his rope dart, but it was still stuck in the ceiling so he grabbed a torch from the wall instead. He threw it in Krander's direction, not really caring whether it hit him or not. He just wanted to get his attention.
"Could you shut that fucking mouth of your so I can talk to your good friend Ria here?" He looked back at Ria who had finally managed to get back up on her feet. "Now my question for you was about a certain person who I believe is a Black Knight. One Jake Turner. Now I'm sure you know what the question is and you are probably thinking that you don't want to answer that question, but I will find out one way or another and it would be less damage to you if you just told me here. So will you please do so?" He took off the helmet.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Krander unleashed sonic hell just down the hall and Mageria fell to her knees with her hands clasped uselessly over her ears. She might have been screaming, but honestly she couldn’t tell. After two blasts it was over and she shakily started to climb to her feet. Through the ringing in her ears, she could hear Ev speaking.
"Now my question for you was about a certain person who I believe is a Black Knight. One Jake Turner. Now I'm sure you know what the question is and you are probably thinking that you don't want to answer that question, but I will find out one way or another and it would be less damage to you if you just told me here. So will you please do so?"
She laughed shakily and spat to the side. There was no way in heaven or hell that she would give up one of her people, no matter what happened to her. If Ev was willing to carve her up trying, good luck to him.
“Jake Turner? That mercenary scum? That you all kicked out of the Pack?” She wiped at a bit of blood coming from her ears and glared at Ev.
“Was there anything in those six years that was real? Or did you just use me for the hell of it?” She staggered closer to Ev.
“Tell me Ev. That woman when we first met. The one you were just a few seconds to late to save. Who killed her?” She got closer. “WHO KILLED HER?!?”
"Now my question for you was about a certain person who I believe is a Black Knight. One Jake Turner. Now I'm sure you know what the question is and you are probably thinking that you don't want to answer that question, but I will find out one way or another and it would be less damage to you if you just told me here. So will you please do so?"
She laughed shakily and spat to the side. There was no way in heaven or hell that she would give up one of her people, no matter what happened to her. If Ev was willing to carve her up trying, good luck to him.
“Jake Turner? That mercenary scum? That you all kicked out of the Pack?” She wiped at a bit of blood coming from her ears and glared at Ev.
“Was there anything in those six years that was real? Or did you just use me for the hell of it?” She staggered closer to Ev.
“Tell me Ev. That woman when we first met. The one you were just a few seconds to late to save. Who killed her?” She got closer. “WHO KILLED HER?!?”
“Jake Turner? That mercenary scum? That you all kicked out of the Pack?” She wiped at a bit of blood coming from her ears and glared at Ev.
“Was there anything in those six years that was real? Or did you just use me for the hell of it?” She staggered closer to Ev.
“Tell me Ev. That woman when we first met. The one you were just a few seconds to late to save. Who killed her?” She got closer. “WHO KILLED HER?!?”
Things were getting too personal for him at the moment, especially since he was being lied to. He didn't have the powers that Crystal had, but he sure could read the way that both Crystal and Jake were acting when around him. He knew that Jake didn't like him, but even so, he was acting odd when in conversation with him. The night at the dinning hall at camp when he spoke to Jake, that is when he could tell that it was all a lie. He was hiding something big and that was something that he just couldn't hide forever.
"You aren't tell me the truth." He smiled.
He looked over at the other Black Knight in the room. He could see that he was using a similar sword to the one that Jake used. He wasn't sure if it was the same one or not, he was too far away and the smoke from his smoke bomb was spreading around and creating a film in front of him. He couldn't be certain.
"So if you want to play a game of lies, I can play along. I can also play along to a game of truths. I know the answer to my question, I just want proof. So I can lie t you about the question you just asked or you could tell me the truth about my question and then I'll tell you the truth about my question. There really isn't much I can say so why don't you just entertain me with an honest answer."
He looked back over at the Black Knight fighting the prisoners. Even his fighting style was similar. There was no way that the Black Knight over there wasn't Jake. He knew for sure now.
“Was there anything in those six years that was real? Or did you just use me for the hell of it?” She staggered closer to Ev.
“Tell me Ev. That woman when we first met. The one you were just a few seconds to late to save. Who killed her?” She got closer. “WHO KILLED HER?!?”
Things were getting too personal for him at the moment, especially since he was being lied to. He didn't have the powers that Crystal had, but he sure could read the way that both Crystal and Jake were acting when around him. He knew that Jake didn't like him, but even so, he was acting odd when in conversation with him. The night at the dinning hall at camp when he spoke to Jake, that is when he could tell that it was all a lie. He was hiding something big and that was something that he just couldn't hide forever.
"You aren't tell me the truth." He smiled.
He looked over at the other Black Knight in the room. He could see that he was using a similar sword to the one that Jake used. He wasn't sure if it was the same one or not, he was too far away and the smoke from his smoke bomb was spreading around and creating a film in front of him. He couldn't be certain.
"So if you want to play a game of lies, I can play along. I can also play along to a game of truths. I know the answer to my question, I just want proof. So I can lie t you about the question you just asked or you could tell me the truth about my question and then I'll tell you the truth about my question. There really isn't much I can say so why don't you just entertain me with an honest answer."
He looked back over at the Black Knight fighting the prisoners. Even his fighting style was similar. There was no way that the Black Knight over there wasn't Jake. He knew for sure now.
Mageria smiled with a wry twist of her lips, letting her head fall backward a bit and looking at Ev mockingly from under half lidded eyes.
“Entertain you? I can manage that. How else do you think I ended up as Captain of the Black Knights. I trained under,” she shifted suggestively. “Captain Morgan the Soulless himself. He taught me everything I know.” Inside her chest she could feel a growing rage and protectiveness fighting for dominance. Her people were hers. She protected them with whatever means necessary and she was willing to die to do so. She would not let anything stand in the way of that.
Ev was asking too many questions. If he guessed . . . the choice she had to make nearly tore her apart. Her friendship with Ev had been one of the things that kept her sane over the years and now she found herself having to choose to kill him in order to protect her people. But it was really no choice at all. Her hand slipped to the small of her back and she palmed one of the blades that she kept hidden there. When Ev turned to look at Jake, she sprang forward silently in a desperate all or nothing move. Either she would protect Jake, or she would die trying.
“Entertain you? I can manage that. How else do you think I ended up as Captain of the Black Knights. I trained under,” she shifted suggestively. “Captain Morgan the Soulless himself. He taught me everything I know.” Inside her chest she could feel a growing rage and protectiveness fighting for dominance. Her people were hers. She protected them with whatever means necessary and she was willing to die to do so. She would not let anything stand in the way of that.
Ev was asking too many questions. If he guessed . . . the choice she had to make nearly tore her apart. Her friendship with Ev had been one of the things that kept her sane over the years and now she found herself having to choose to kill him in order to protect her people. But it was really no choice at all. Her hand slipped to the small of her back and she palmed one of the blades that she kept hidden there. When Ev turned to look at Jake, she sprang forward silently in a desperate all or nothing move. Either she would protect Jake, or she would die trying.
Krander had just stood up when a movement of light came from behind him. He swung in a wide arch at nothingness and heard a blast at him verbally. He shouted at normal volume "Latrine duties," his signal for Mageria to find cover and let out a "FUCK YOU!" blast down the tunnel shaking the foundation of the dungeons.
He then turned his back to see another ball of fire flying over the raging prisoners. He used the light to his advantage as he had lost his Black Knight companion. The fireball missed, being blindly thrown, luckily. Luck, now isn't that a funny thing. Here he is, in a dungeon fighting not only for his own life, but for the life of his people, and in the two times since he had seen phelix in the last 7 years he still hadn't told him how much he loved him. He felt a bit of remorse. This didn't last but a minute as a blinding flash was seen forcing Krander to cover his eyes. Marco had ran a loop in the dungeons and still had a man on his horn when he shifted back to human and the prisoner fell to the ground limp. He took a breath, grabbed the water off of a guard, chugged it, and shifted again, this time into a Dire Wolf and began lunging for throats. The executioner was silently slicing through the group as he rarely was heard making any form of sound.
The flash seemed to last an hour, just as his thoughts did, but they really only lasted a second at most. The lightning bolt flew past his head and struck a lock shattering it and releasing a behemoth of a man. Krander stared in awe, not having kept up on his captain duties of learning about all the prisoners to perhaps create some sort of preventative measures and to then make sure they were properly placed.
He looked down, grabbed an ax, smirked at Krander and bellowed, "You scheming bitch," and turned to run towards Mageria. Krander took one step in Magerias direction but a bolt of electricity slammed into his armor surging through him. He fell to the ground loosing temporary control of his knees. Before hitting the ground and falling unconscious he saw that the prisoners were now double what they had been to start with, and now about half of them had a dangerous enlightment. His last thought was, 'Please don't release from the fourth floor.'
He then turned his back to see another ball of fire flying over the raging prisoners. He used the light to his advantage as he had lost his Black Knight companion. The fireball missed, being blindly thrown, luckily. Luck, now isn't that a funny thing. Here he is, in a dungeon fighting not only for his own life, but for the life of his people, and in the two times since he had seen phelix in the last 7 years he still hadn't told him how much he loved him. He felt a bit of remorse. This didn't last but a minute as a blinding flash was seen forcing Krander to cover his eyes. Marco had ran a loop in the dungeons and still had a man on his horn when he shifted back to human and the prisoner fell to the ground limp. He took a breath, grabbed the water off of a guard, chugged it, and shifted again, this time into a Dire Wolf and began lunging for throats. The executioner was silently slicing through the group as he rarely was heard making any form of sound.
The flash seemed to last an hour, just as his thoughts did, but they really only lasted a second at most. The lightning bolt flew past his head and struck a lock shattering it and releasing a behemoth of a man. Krander stared in awe, not having kept up on his captain duties of learning about all the prisoners to perhaps create some sort of preventative measures and to then make sure they were properly placed.
He looked down, grabbed an ax, smirked at Krander and bellowed, "You scheming bitch," and turned to run towards Mageria. Krander took one step in Magerias direction but a bolt of electricity slammed into his armor surging through him. He fell to the ground loosing temporary control of his knees. Before hitting the ground and falling unconscious he saw that the prisoners were now double what they had been to start with, and now about half of them had a dangerous enlightment. His last thought was, 'Please don't release from the fourth floor.'
Jake was still going through the criminals, mostly just dosing them with poison, but at some point he was forced to draw his blade ans slash at the man and women that were trying to reach him. He slashed his way to a spot where he could keep an eye on Evin and Mageria. They were... Talking? That was odd, but really he would rather. At the first sonic wave coming from Krander, Jake winced. He hoped Ali wasn't hurt by that. Not matter if she was in another room, if she happened to be using her enlightenment this would have hurt like hell. Then... For that she would have to be awake and alive. Jake wasn't sure of either of those things.
He looked around for Crys and didn't see her anywhere. That meant she made it to Ali's cell, however, he didn't see Daniel either. "Damn Crys, hurry up." He whispered to himself. No, he didn't consider Crys to be in trouble. He knew she could handle it, and if she couldn't she would have found a way to let him know. Things were getting out of hand fast and they only got worse when he caught Evin looking right at him... He knew. Jake was with the Black Knights long enough to know that, even if she didn't trust him completely, Mageria would want to protect him. The problem is, he couldn't let that happen.
Jake made himself invisible the moment Evin looked away from him and moved towards him as fast as he could. The next moment, he found himself not only intervening, but doing the stupidest thing any mortal man could do: He put himself between an assassin and Black Knight. He collided with Evin, pushing the man back, the moment Mageria advanced at him, her blade hit something metallic. Then Jake made himself visible between the two. His posture would have suggested that he was protecting Evin, wasn't for the fact that he had his sword pointed at the man. The metal he used to block Mageria's blade, was of his helm, which he now held firmly in his hand. He knew it was suicidal to do what he was doing, but to him it was relieving in a way. "Very well Evin, you were right. Hopefully Allison is alive and you won't have to beat yourself up for stopping to play when you were supposed to help her. Surely she would be far more deserving of your sympathy than the last friend you left to die." He let out a small laugh. "See, I was with Crys when Ella stormed in to tell her Ali had been captured. Don't think you'll shock her by naming me a traitor. She knows everything." He stated. "She is a lot like her mother that way, she pretends to believe it when you lie, if that is what she wants to hear, but she always knows. Always" Jake wasn't sure if he was making clear what he had been doing all along, to him it didn't matter anymore, he had been nearing his breaking point for a very long time. Now, this was finally it.
He looked around for Crys and didn't see her anywhere. That meant she made it to Ali's cell, however, he didn't see Daniel either. "Damn Crys, hurry up." He whispered to himself. No, he didn't consider Crys to be in trouble. He knew she could handle it, and if she couldn't she would have found a way to let him know. Things were getting out of hand fast and they only got worse when he caught Evin looking right at him... He knew. Jake was with the Black Knights long enough to know that, even if she didn't trust him completely, Mageria would want to protect him. The problem is, he couldn't let that happen.
Jake made himself invisible the moment Evin looked away from him and moved towards him as fast as he could. The next moment, he found himself not only intervening, but doing the stupidest thing any mortal man could do: He put himself between an assassin and Black Knight. He collided with Evin, pushing the man back, the moment Mageria advanced at him, her blade hit something metallic. Then Jake made himself visible between the two. His posture would have suggested that he was protecting Evin, wasn't for the fact that he had his sword pointed at the man. The metal he used to block Mageria's blade, was of his helm, which he now held firmly in his hand. He knew it was suicidal to do what he was doing, but to him it was relieving in a way. "Very well Evin, you were right. Hopefully Allison is alive and you won't have to beat yourself up for stopping to play when you were supposed to help her. Surely she would be far more deserving of your sympathy than the last friend you left to die." He let out a small laugh. "See, I was with Crys when Ella stormed in to tell her Ali had been captured. Don't think you'll shock her by naming me a traitor. She knows everything." He stated. "She is a lot like her mother that way, she pretends to believe it when you lie, if that is what she wants to hear, but she always knows. Always" Jake wasn't sure if he was making clear what he had been doing all along, to him it didn't matter anymore, he had been nearing his breaking point for a very long time. Now, this was finally it.
It was empty and there was nothing. Only the obvious signs of their former occupancy remained. Footprints in the dirt and the scatterings of garbage and dropped items. Discarded food stuffs and the occasional bit of tarp or hide that got ripped free from overuse. A heavy sigh fell from Grim’s lips, it was his own fault he told Mageria he was going home. Instead he had gone against orders and now he returned to a vacant plot within the forests. Hoping he could speak to his captain on his current problem, and they had left. Only one choice remained, go home.
It had been hours since then, and Grim found himself walking the woodlands of Valcrest alone, again. It worked to his advantage, allowing the opportunity to digest the happenings of the day. To contemplate and wallow through the complexities and irregularities. Set was gone, and her support would be missed. It was true Jake was another foot into the world of the Wolfpack, but Mageria and Grim both knew he wouldn’t last. Jake was trustworthy, but anyone whom had been with him long enough could see he was under too much stress. Jake would one day end up leaving the task of a spy behind. Without Set they would be blind entirely.
There was also the business with the King’s body to be had. Asking Mageria or Jake would be the easy part. Trying to slip past the watchful gaze of the White Knights would be harder. They needn’t be involved and there was good reason for it. Grim could respect Krander, they were akin in the fact that they were the deadliest Newhaven had to offer, but they were different people entirely. What constituted their oaths and their pledges were vastly different save when regarding the safekeeping of Newhaven and its people. Besides if he was wrong, he could save Mageria the headache of explaining to the higher ups and losing any reputation.
Lastly Blackpond was supposedly trying to strong arm the White Shadows into their personal use. The second city was a conundrum to Grim. Never being entirely sure why they simply couldn’t coexist and found that their forces were at odds at every century. It was stupid and foolish and Grim had poured through the history before. Theirs was a battle unwarranted and endless. Newhaven was always the stronger, but Blackpond was clever. Even now they were attempting to harvest any advantage they could press against Newhaven. In the past this meant assassins or mercenaries.
Grim shuddered he could recall the day Blackpond besieged the city. Though it only lasted three days at the time it felt like they were under attack forever. Newhaven was returned to the people but each inch of dirt was paid for with lives. He could distinctly remember to what end Blackpond was willing to go. What sort of people they accumulated for that attack.
~The fire and the rubble had worked to their advantage. Narrowing Blackpond’s options of attack. They had been distracted but despite their good fortune the enemy was drawing near. Mageria had been overseeing the relocation of the wounded, and with her were all of her loyal warriors. Each already battered from battle but still steady in their resolve. She also had been quick to move the civilians from harm, but they had run out of time. Grim slipped from the group he knew what had to be done. There was a warehouse nearby that hadn’t yet been tarnished. It alone served as the only way gate for Blackpond to use to reach them. He had to stop them there.
By the time Mageria had discovered his plan it was too late. He had been waiting patiently for his opponents to appear. He could feel her steely gaze and met her watchful eyes with a solemn salute. Returning to his post, weapon drawn and ready for battle. He wouldn’t debate this with her, he had to do this for Newhaven. The enemy of course was eager to run him through. They soon discovered that they fought not only a seasoned combatant, but that few could withstand his enlightenment for long. The first blade that had nicked his arm set everything in motion.
Waves of men poured into the small building. Groups of soldiers were cut down and dismembered with great swipes from his weapon. The magic kept his feet planted firmly and his body never tired or weakened. Again they drove to the Raging Demon and in return he sent them to a swift and bitter end. They were many but he held and to Blackpond’s chagrin each wound given cost more lives then it was worth. Truth was the details were lost from Grim, much of that day was a blur. The Dark Knight however, he recalled that thing with uncanny clarity.
The carnage had gone on for a time when it appeared. The enemy knights backed away from the clearing unwilling to throw away anymore lives. From behind the crowd parted heralding a figure that decided to join the fight. It was a visage that shocked Grim even in his blood haze. It adorned a thick black robe, the material one might take high up top the wintry mountains. The hood was drawn over its head hiding away a face unknown. The cloak refused to flow or bend much even in the wind, further proof of its weight. Even stranger was that the armor it bore was minimal, merely a chest plate, some shin guards, and a pair of gauntlets were worn overtop its black guise. From it’s back it drew fourth a long staffed syth. A weapon made mostly of wood but even with a gnarled body and handle, the blade gleamed with a cool light unscathed and sharp.
Grim smirked, the beast was hungry still and it looked as though it would meet an opponent whom could offer a challenge. The monster always preferred his enemies to die horribly, and overconfidence always offered that look of fear and disdain when he slaughtered them. Of course the Black Knight didn’t wait he lunged forward testing the Dark One with a swipe of his blade.
The sickle blocked the cutting edge with ease. Forcing the warrior’s arms to seize mid-thrust and surprisingly the sword refused to bite into the wood even as they were held directly against another. A quick reaction and the sickle’s curve ran underneath Grim’s arm. He reared back in pain feeling the magic’s spell taking hold again stronger this time. When he pulled his right arm back to examine it he found his limb bare. Whispery bits of ice laced his flesh where the blade touched. As for his armor its buckles had been severed the ends of the belts were capped with frost. He glared at this strange soldier who was this person?
A challenge was bellowed in angst. Roaring out without regard he began stamping his feet in blind frustration. A second charge forced this queer knight against the wall of the warehouse. Grim slammed down with his forehead, the rage working without thought only feeling. The head butts were delivered with such force his helmet slipped completely free, and he dove in again and again till his face was marred with his own blood from the collisions. Yet the Dark Knight didn’t buckle, it held steadfast protecting its body with its forearms. Finally Grim forced the hood back, and the Dark Knight’s face came to view. It too wore a helm, though it was strange and more decorative then defensive. The entire front was some sort of bleached stone shaped into what was in observation a human skull. The rest was cast in black metal or ebony cloak. Only the skull was discernable even at Grim’s distance. This caused the beast to halt, examining the stranger with an ignorant admiration. A grave mistake as Grim found himself thrown onto his back and the death-like warrior straddling over him.
The butt of the staff lashed out and he could feel his nose slip out of place from the blow. More agony coupled with more power and he answered with his fist. The punch flung this stranger from him but he had foolishly used his bare hand to accomplish it. More power poured into his body and the beast was savage. He took to the opposition with all his hate throwing punches into the armor, making dents with each impact. His fists were as hammers and his foe was soon to break underneath the onslaught.
Without warning the skull’s eyes lit boring back to Grim with their azure hue. The unnamed feeling slipped from him, and Grim roared in his rage as it poured from his body. The enchantment faded away, and his humane consciousness returned only to realize his fate. The Dark Knight’s color had changed, once the strange blue now it possessed a crimson haze. It struck once or twice with a giant’s might forcing Grim to his knees before he could fully assess the situation.
The sickle danced passed his eyes the wooden haft smashing into his skull. The torture his head felt came abruptly but his blood refused to ignite. Grim fell to his back gazing up at the strange one surprise coming over his face. Death’s foot planted itself firmly over his chest. The skull watched back unchanging emotionless with its cold gaze. It then stomped with inhuman force, a scream breached Grim’s lips and blood dribbled from his mouth. Another stomp rocked Grim almost from the ground, when he fell his body convulsed twitching uncontrollably trying to deal with the pain. He was gulping for the air crushed from his lungs, and trying everything to keep the blackness at the corners of his vision.
Sunlight gleamed into his emerald orbs. With a quick a desperate glance he noted his blade was within reach. The Black Knight couldn’t win this fight, but he could go out honorably. With much effort he threw his arm from his side taking the hilt of his blade with ease. Drawing it in brought despair as he couldn’t lift its weight. The darkness spread and he knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. The last thing he could recall from that night was the cruel laughter of Death as he became unconscious. ~
Another chill ran along his spine. He couldn’t remember how or why he survived that encounter. In fact his memory doesn’t become clear until Newhaven was safe again. Yet he couldn’t forget that thing.
“Death…. The only name fitting.”
It had been hours since then, and Grim found himself walking the woodlands of Valcrest alone, again. It worked to his advantage, allowing the opportunity to digest the happenings of the day. To contemplate and wallow through the complexities and irregularities. Set was gone, and her support would be missed. It was true Jake was another foot into the world of the Wolfpack, but Mageria and Grim both knew he wouldn’t last. Jake was trustworthy, but anyone whom had been with him long enough could see he was under too much stress. Jake would one day end up leaving the task of a spy behind. Without Set they would be blind entirely.
There was also the business with the King’s body to be had. Asking Mageria or Jake would be the easy part. Trying to slip past the watchful gaze of the White Knights would be harder. They needn’t be involved and there was good reason for it. Grim could respect Krander, they were akin in the fact that they were the deadliest Newhaven had to offer, but they were different people entirely. What constituted their oaths and their pledges were vastly different save when regarding the safekeeping of Newhaven and its people. Besides if he was wrong, he could save Mageria the headache of explaining to the higher ups and losing any reputation.
Lastly Blackpond was supposedly trying to strong arm the White Shadows into their personal use. The second city was a conundrum to Grim. Never being entirely sure why they simply couldn’t coexist and found that their forces were at odds at every century. It was stupid and foolish and Grim had poured through the history before. Theirs was a battle unwarranted and endless. Newhaven was always the stronger, but Blackpond was clever. Even now they were attempting to harvest any advantage they could press against Newhaven. In the past this meant assassins or mercenaries.
Grim shuddered he could recall the day Blackpond besieged the city. Though it only lasted three days at the time it felt like they were under attack forever. Newhaven was returned to the people but each inch of dirt was paid for with lives. He could distinctly remember to what end Blackpond was willing to go. What sort of people they accumulated for that attack.
~The fire and the rubble had worked to their advantage. Narrowing Blackpond’s options of attack. They had been distracted but despite their good fortune the enemy was drawing near. Mageria had been overseeing the relocation of the wounded, and with her were all of her loyal warriors. Each already battered from battle but still steady in their resolve. She also had been quick to move the civilians from harm, but they had run out of time. Grim slipped from the group he knew what had to be done. There was a warehouse nearby that hadn’t yet been tarnished. It alone served as the only way gate for Blackpond to use to reach them. He had to stop them there.
By the time Mageria had discovered his plan it was too late. He had been waiting patiently for his opponents to appear. He could feel her steely gaze and met her watchful eyes with a solemn salute. Returning to his post, weapon drawn and ready for battle. He wouldn’t debate this with her, he had to do this for Newhaven. The enemy of course was eager to run him through. They soon discovered that they fought not only a seasoned combatant, but that few could withstand his enlightenment for long. The first blade that had nicked his arm set everything in motion.
Waves of men poured into the small building. Groups of soldiers were cut down and dismembered with great swipes from his weapon. The magic kept his feet planted firmly and his body never tired or weakened. Again they drove to the Raging Demon and in return he sent them to a swift and bitter end. They were many but he held and to Blackpond’s chagrin each wound given cost more lives then it was worth. Truth was the details were lost from Grim, much of that day was a blur. The Dark Knight however, he recalled that thing with uncanny clarity.
The carnage had gone on for a time when it appeared. The enemy knights backed away from the clearing unwilling to throw away anymore lives. From behind the crowd parted heralding a figure that decided to join the fight. It was a visage that shocked Grim even in his blood haze. It adorned a thick black robe, the material one might take high up top the wintry mountains. The hood was drawn over its head hiding away a face unknown. The cloak refused to flow or bend much even in the wind, further proof of its weight. Even stranger was that the armor it bore was minimal, merely a chest plate, some shin guards, and a pair of gauntlets were worn overtop its black guise. From it’s back it drew fourth a long staffed syth. A weapon made mostly of wood but even with a gnarled body and handle, the blade gleamed with a cool light unscathed and sharp.
Grim smirked, the beast was hungry still and it looked as though it would meet an opponent whom could offer a challenge. The monster always preferred his enemies to die horribly, and overconfidence always offered that look of fear and disdain when he slaughtered them. Of course the Black Knight didn’t wait he lunged forward testing the Dark One with a swipe of his blade.
The sickle blocked the cutting edge with ease. Forcing the warrior’s arms to seize mid-thrust and surprisingly the sword refused to bite into the wood even as they were held directly against another. A quick reaction and the sickle’s curve ran underneath Grim’s arm. He reared back in pain feeling the magic’s spell taking hold again stronger this time. When he pulled his right arm back to examine it he found his limb bare. Whispery bits of ice laced his flesh where the blade touched. As for his armor its buckles had been severed the ends of the belts were capped with frost. He glared at this strange soldier who was this person?
A challenge was bellowed in angst. Roaring out without regard he began stamping his feet in blind frustration. A second charge forced this queer knight against the wall of the warehouse. Grim slammed down with his forehead, the rage working without thought only feeling. The head butts were delivered with such force his helmet slipped completely free, and he dove in again and again till his face was marred with his own blood from the collisions. Yet the Dark Knight didn’t buckle, it held steadfast protecting its body with its forearms. Finally Grim forced the hood back, and the Dark Knight’s face came to view. It too wore a helm, though it was strange and more decorative then defensive. The entire front was some sort of bleached stone shaped into what was in observation a human skull. The rest was cast in black metal or ebony cloak. Only the skull was discernable even at Grim’s distance. This caused the beast to halt, examining the stranger with an ignorant admiration. A grave mistake as Grim found himself thrown onto his back and the death-like warrior straddling over him.
The butt of the staff lashed out and he could feel his nose slip out of place from the blow. More agony coupled with more power and he answered with his fist. The punch flung this stranger from him but he had foolishly used his bare hand to accomplish it. More power poured into his body and the beast was savage. He took to the opposition with all his hate throwing punches into the armor, making dents with each impact. His fists were as hammers and his foe was soon to break underneath the onslaught.
Without warning the skull’s eyes lit boring back to Grim with their azure hue. The unnamed feeling slipped from him, and Grim roared in his rage as it poured from his body. The enchantment faded away, and his humane consciousness returned only to realize his fate. The Dark Knight’s color had changed, once the strange blue now it possessed a crimson haze. It struck once or twice with a giant’s might forcing Grim to his knees before he could fully assess the situation.
The sickle danced passed his eyes the wooden haft smashing into his skull. The torture his head felt came abruptly but his blood refused to ignite. Grim fell to his back gazing up at the strange one surprise coming over his face. Death’s foot planted itself firmly over his chest. The skull watched back unchanging emotionless with its cold gaze. It then stomped with inhuman force, a scream breached Grim’s lips and blood dribbled from his mouth. Another stomp rocked Grim almost from the ground, when he fell his body convulsed twitching uncontrollably trying to deal with the pain. He was gulping for the air crushed from his lungs, and trying everything to keep the blackness at the corners of his vision.
Sunlight gleamed into his emerald orbs. With a quick a desperate glance he noted his blade was within reach. The Black Knight couldn’t win this fight, but he could go out honorably. With much effort he threw his arm from his side taking the hilt of his blade with ease. Drawing it in brought despair as he couldn’t lift its weight. The darkness spread and he knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. The last thing he could recall from that night was the cruel laughter of Death as he became unconscious. ~
Another chill ran along his spine. He couldn’t remember how or why he survived that encounter. In fact his memory doesn’t become clear until Newhaven was safe again. Yet he couldn’t forget that thing.
“Death…. The only name fitting.”
Mageria honestly could not have been more surprised when Jake appeared between the two of them.
“No,” she whispered. But there was no way that she could change his actions. She had been about to say something more when Krander turned around and let loose in their direction. She had managed to cover her ears, but still lost her footing along with Jake and Ev. Looking up, she was honestly afraid to see the huge hulk of a man who walked out of a cell and started charging toward them.
“Oh fuck. Jake,” she whispered, “If this really is a rescue mission, grab the girl and run like hell. This just got bad.” Pushing up she ran past them, ignoring Ev and any move he might make. Pulling her sword she leapt over Krander and met the prisoner head on. He grinned, revealing rotten teeth as he swung his ax in broad over hand strokes. She swung her sword attempting to make him back up, but it was almost useless. Like Grim, he had the ability to ignore pain. Not an Enlightenment, she privately thought that he was simply too stupid to feel. He swung a few times before moving his ax to his left and and darting forward with is right. She connected with her left hand dagger, but it didn’t do any good. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, turning to slam her against the wall a couple of times with her feet dangling a full two feet off the ground. Dropping the ax, he leaned in and ran the side of his hand down her face, whispering “Your gonna scream for me.” in a soft voice. He started to squeeze and the world started to grey out for her. Weakly grasping his arm with both hands, Mageria struggled to stay conscious. He grinned mockingly, continuing to caress the side of her face. She knew him. The things he had done to some of the women in the Lower City before she had been able to catch him didn’t bear remembering.
With the last of her strength, Mageria twisted just a bit and caught the side of his hand with her teeth. Out of sheer stubbornness, she dug in, tearing through skin till blood was running down her chin. He bellowed, releasing her to fall to the floor. Mageria gagged at the sensation of air rushing past her abused throat, but didn’t hesitate. With a scream of her own she reached back and punched him in the balls as hard as she could.
That he felt.
She drew a dagger from her boot and stood shakily, finding that with him curled up on his knees he was about at the right height. So she stabbed him in the throat and twisted, tearing the blade to the side. Bright gore spattered her from head to toe, joining the blood that was already running down her face. Finding her sword on the ground, she started looking around. Just one of her Black Guard was still up, but barely. She didn’t even know where the rest of them were.
“Take him, barricade yourselves in the ready room.” She pointed at Krander. “The forth level is getting loose. Don’t open the door until you have to.” Turning her back, she ignored him as he started to drag Krander away. She couldn’t help him. She couldn’t help Jake. She could only hope to survive the next few minutes.
“DANIEL! If you’re still alive, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!!” From the dim recesses at the end of the hall, she could see movement on the stairwell that led up. Three figures stepped forward. One of them grinned and laughed maniacally, holding up both hands. A dull purple glow formed between them.
“Ah God no.” she whispered. She charged forward in the hopes that she could stop him before he got his attack off. Nightmare images from her past started flickering into being around her. They turned and looked at her with their eyes glowing the same dull purple. In a moment they would attack and the fact that they were only in her mind wouldn't make a bit of difference. Once they were fully formed she wouldn't have a chance.
“DANIEL! NOW!!!”
“No,” she whispered. But there was no way that she could change his actions. She had been about to say something more when Krander turned around and let loose in their direction. She had managed to cover her ears, but still lost her footing along with Jake and Ev. Looking up, she was honestly afraid to see the huge hulk of a man who walked out of a cell and started charging toward them.
“Oh fuck. Jake,” she whispered, “If this really is a rescue mission, grab the girl and run like hell. This just got bad.” Pushing up she ran past them, ignoring Ev and any move he might make. Pulling her sword she leapt over Krander and met the prisoner head on. He grinned, revealing rotten teeth as he swung his ax in broad over hand strokes. She swung her sword attempting to make him back up, but it was almost useless. Like Grim, he had the ability to ignore pain. Not an Enlightenment, she privately thought that he was simply too stupid to feel. He swung a few times before moving his ax to his left and and darting forward with is right. She connected with her left hand dagger, but it didn’t do any good. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, turning to slam her against the wall a couple of times with her feet dangling a full two feet off the ground. Dropping the ax, he leaned in and ran the side of his hand down her face, whispering “Your gonna scream for me.” in a soft voice. He started to squeeze and the world started to grey out for her. Weakly grasping his arm with both hands, Mageria struggled to stay conscious. He grinned mockingly, continuing to caress the side of her face. She knew him. The things he had done to some of the women in the Lower City before she had been able to catch him didn’t bear remembering.
With the last of her strength, Mageria twisted just a bit and caught the side of his hand with her teeth. Out of sheer stubbornness, she dug in, tearing through skin till blood was running down her chin. He bellowed, releasing her to fall to the floor. Mageria gagged at the sensation of air rushing past her abused throat, but didn’t hesitate. With a scream of her own she reached back and punched him in the balls as hard as she could.
That he felt.
She drew a dagger from her boot and stood shakily, finding that with him curled up on his knees he was about at the right height. So she stabbed him in the throat and twisted, tearing the blade to the side. Bright gore spattered her from head to toe, joining the blood that was already running down her face. Finding her sword on the ground, she started looking around. Just one of her Black Guard was still up, but barely. She didn’t even know where the rest of them were.
“Take him, barricade yourselves in the ready room.” She pointed at Krander. “The forth level is getting loose. Don’t open the door until you have to.” Turning her back, she ignored him as he started to drag Krander away. She couldn’t help him. She couldn’t help Jake. She could only hope to survive the next few minutes.
“DANIEL! If you’re still alive, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!!” From the dim recesses at the end of the hall, she could see movement on the stairwell that led up. Three figures stepped forward. One of them grinned and laughed maniacally, holding up both hands. A dull purple glow formed between them.
“Ah God no.” she whispered. She charged forward in the hopes that she could stop him before he got his attack off. Nightmare images from her past started flickering into being around her. They turned and looked at her with their eyes glowing the same dull purple. In a moment they would attack and the fact that they were only in her mind wouldn't make a bit of difference. Once they were fully formed she wouldn't have a chance.
“DANIEL! NOW!!!”
Ignoring all the screams and sounds of clinging blades and Kranders scream, Daniel focused solely on the assassins every single word. He had a hard time believing that the man they had killed had been an imposter, but upon thinking it over he remembered that the last couple of weeks the so called "king" refused to see anyone else but those few people that he summoned himself. However, the idea of someone from the White Knight company leaving Newhaven without reporting it to the Captain to try and find some unknown woman in the wilds gave Daniel the chills. What a strange world they lived in. After digesting everything the assassin had told him, Daniel was left speechless. However, he pulled himself together soon enough and the any screams from outside returned to him as his mind came back as well.
"We need to--" Daniel grunted with his rusty voice but was quickly cut short by Magerias heartbreaking screams in the hallway outside the cell. It seemed like things had gotten out of hand out there.
"If I survive this, please meet me by the sewer entrance outside the city around this time tomorrow. If I die... Solve this war once and for all. You owe us that much." Daniel asked with a soft voice as he pulled out his sword from the cell door and without waiting for an answer he exploded out into the corridor. Just as he came out from the cell he heard Mageria scream for him one last time. Not too far away he saw her facing three other prisoners with one of them preparing an enlightenment ability. Behind her there was a black guard pulling Kranders body away from the battle. There was no time to confirm whether or not the Captain was dead or alive.
"Stay your blade you filthy heretic!" Daniel cried out as he directed all of his focus into his eyes and all of his strength into his right arm as he made his sword ready. With a lions roar, Daniel threw his blade against the prisoners. The sword sore through the air, seemingly cutting through everything in its path as it was reaching for its ultimate goal. The blade flew passed Mageria by a couple centimeters and landed right where it had been aimed; The prisoners eyes were wide open as a long sword penetrated his cranium. He tried to utter a word, but in vain. After his short display of skill and strength, Daniel pulled out his hammer and shield to prepare for a bloody battle.
"Face me!" He shouted with a demonic tone to his voice as his eyes turned yellow from the shining lights of the torches decorating the dungeon walls. Daniel let out another loud scream as he charged against the prisoners who knew all too well who they were about to face; The infamous and merciless Dark Knight of Newhaven. Known by many and feared by more, the dark knight had brought justice to criminals and heretics around Newhaven for several centuries now. The very second that separated Daniel from crashing into the group of enlightened prisoners felt like an eternity. He had now passed Mageria and the Black guard that were dragging Kranders body. His adrenaline pumped like never before as his hammer approached the head of one of the prisoners. He cared no longer if he died or not, for the knowledge of knowing that he would be accepted into heaven by the gods upon his arrival made him feel peace with himself. This knowledge also gave him extra strength as his weapon finally meet the man before him.
Blood and screams erupted all around him as he finally exploded into the group of prisoners. Daniel brought his holy wrath upon these scumbags and there was no mercy to be found in his wake. No one was innocent in his eyes. A man screamed for mercy but was soon slaughtered by a red hammer held by an angel of death working for the gods known as Daniel Zimmerman.
"We need to--" Daniel grunted with his rusty voice but was quickly cut short by Magerias heartbreaking screams in the hallway outside the cell. It seemed like things had gotten out of hand out there.
"If I survive this, please meet me by the sewer entrance outside the city around this time tomorrow. If I die... Solve this war once and for all. You owe us that much." Daniel asked with a soft voice as he pulled out his sword from the cell door and without waiting for an answer he exploded out into the corridor. Just as he came out from the cell he heard Mageria scream for him one last time. Not too far away he saw her facing three other prisoners with one of them preparing an enlightenment ability. Behind her there was a black guard pulling Kranders body away from the battle. There was no time to confirm whether or not the Captain was dead or alive.
"Stay your blade you filthy heretic!" Daniel cried out as he directed all of his focus into his eyes and all of his strength into his right arm as he made his sword ready. With a lions roar, Daniel threw his blade against the prisoners. The sword sore through the air, seemingly cutting through everything in its path as it was reaching for its ultimate goal. The blade flew passed Mageria by a couple centimeters and landed right where it had been aimed; The prisoners eyes were wide open as a long sword penetrated his cranium. He tried to utter a word, but in vain. After his short display of skill and strength, Daniel pulled out his hammer and shield to prepare for a bloody battle.
"Face me!" He shouted with a demonic tone to his voice as his eyes turned yellow from the shining lights of the torches decorating the dungeon walls. Daniel let out another loud scream as he charged against the prisoners who knew all too well who they were about to face; The infamous and merciless Dark Knight of Newhaven. Known by many and feared by more, the dark knight had brought justice to criminals and heretics around Newhaven for several centuries now. The very second that separated Daniel from crashing into the group of enlightened prisoners felt like an eternity. He had now passed Mageria and the Black guard that were dragging Kranders body. His adrenaline pumped like never before as his hammer approached the head of one of the prisoners. He cared no longer if he died or not, for the knowledge of knowing that he would be accepted into heaven by the gods upon his arrival made him feel peace with himself. This knowledge also gave him extra strength as his weapon finally meet the man before him.
Blood and screams erupted all around him as he finally exploded into the group of prisoners. Daniel brought his holy wrath upon these scumbags and there was no mercy to be found in his wake. No one was innocent in his eyes. A man screamed for mercy but was soon slaughtered by a red hammer held by an angel of death working for the gods known as Daniel Zimmerman.
Krander finally came to after he had been drug into a room. Marco was not with him but the executioner was. He felt a tinge of sadness, as that mans ability was rather unique and needed for this battle. Where were the rest of the white Knights? Where were the rest of the Black? Where was Xypher? It wouldn't matter. He couldn't fathom how many prisoners they had there. Newhaven was rather large, and some of Blackpond and the Pack's members were in there for years. If the dungeons had separated from Newhaven, they probably could have been an entire kingdom of their own. Add to that the power of those in the 4th floor.
He cringed at that thought. He stood up and got light headed so crouched and then stood up again. Just before one of the guards had locked the door he said "Wait, let me look first!" He inched over to the door and opened it looking both ways down the hall. The prisoners were just about to reach the door when Krander felt his rage. He bellowed his lowest note which would shake the foundation but not bring it down, and his enlightment flared up dramatically increasing the waves of the note. The people closest to him fell with weak knees, the dungeons shook, and a lot of people fell just from a frequency that shook them too much to stand. Then with a slightly higher pitched sound he threw the few closest prisoners into the air. Then he bellowed with emotion, and truth, "Look beside you prisoners. The people you want revenge upon are not the knights, but those around you. Almost all of you are here because of your neighbor. Mayhaps revenge is what they deserve!" He immediately saw 2 people break into a brawl in the middle of the crowd near one of the torches. A fireball and a lightning bolt flew over the crowd, the bolt hitting a prisoner and killing her. The fireball landed past the door Krander was in. He closed the door hoping he would be bought enough time for more help to come.
He cringed at that thought. He stood up and got light headed so crouched and then stood up again. Just before one of the guards had locked the door he said "Wait, let me look first!" He inched over to the door and opened it looking both ways down the hall. The prisoners were just about to reach the door when Krander felt his rage. He bellowed his lowest note which would shake the foundation but not bring it down, and his enlightment flared up dramatically increasing the waves of the note. The people closest to him fell with weak knees, the dungeons shook, and a lot of people fell just from a frequency that shook them too much to stand. Then with a slightly higher pitched sound he threw the few closest prisoners into the air. Then he bellowed with emotion, and truth, "Look beside you prisoners. The people you want revenge upon are not the knights, but those around you. Almost all of you are here because of your neighbor. Mayhaps revenge is what they deserve!" He immediately saw 2 people break into a brawl in the middle of the crowd near one of the torches. A fireball and a lightning bolt flew over the crowd, the bolt hitting a prisoner and killing her. The fireball landed past the door Krander was in. He closed the door hoping he would be bought enough time for more help to come.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Annie had stayed in Jake's cabin tending to the girl he and Crys had left there. She wasn't sure of why they had ran off in such a hurry, but she was sure it couldn't be good. To cause such a reaction on Crys, it must have been serious. It surely wasn't all over the girl they had left unconscious. She wasn't seriously harmed, just exhausted and dehydrated, probably. There was little to be done except to wait for her to wake up and get her to eat something.
It had been hours since Jake and Crys had left. it would be morning soon. Annie simply sat there letting her gaze ran around Jake's house. There was barely anything there, simply a wooden table, a bed... There was nothing there that indicated it was his house. It simply seemed like a place where he slept on occasion, nothing there was personally his. Not a book, or any meaningful object.
When she noticed the girl was waking up she simply watched her, giving her time to understand where she was. Only when she asked about Ali Annie finally spoke. "Oh, my, Allison? Wonder why Crys left in such a hurry." She smiled. "No, I don't know anything, but Jake and Crys have been gone for hours now, probably we'll get to find out soon." She stood up, walked towards the door, opened it, and waved to a worker that was passing by. She whispered something to him and then closed the door again, returning to her seat. "So, I suppose you haven't eaten or had a drink of water in quite some time and you probably ran from Newhaven to this camp in record time. So, what you are experiencing right now is simply because of that. Nothing too big. Someone will bring you some food soon, meanwhile, try to sit up slowly and have a drink of water." She said all that really fast, then made a small pause and added. "My name is Annie, by the way." She stated pouring water from a jar into a cup and offering it to her. "I'm sure Ali will be fine. They would want to keep her alive, hopefully they'll keep her long enough for someone to get to her." She stated, with a small smile. "Ali is not nearly as easy to kill as she looks."
Soon after that the door opened and the worker walked back in a tray of fruit and a loaf of bread, which he left on the table. "Annie, your mother is here. She wants to see you as soon as possible."
Annie looked at the man and winced. "Hum, tell her I'm with a patient and I'll meet her when I can. Alright?"
The man simply nodded before leaving. Annie sat back in her chair, she had been sitting there for hours and it was getting uncomfortable. "Crys wanted me to ask you exactly what happened. Also, I should tell you that as a healer anything you tell me is confidential." She chuckled. "People love to take advantage of that. So why shouldn't you, right?" She stated in a cheery tone. She was worried about Ali, but she was doing her best not to show it. After all, there was nothing she could really do about it.
It had been hours since Jake and Crys had left. it would be morning soon. Annie simply sat there letting her gaze ran around Jake's house. There was barely anything there, simply a wooden table, a bed... There was nothing there that indicated it was his house. It simply seemed like a place where he slept on occasion, nothing there was personally his. Not a book, or any meaningful object.
When she noticed the girl was waking up she simply watched her, giving her time to understand where she was. Only when she asked about Ali Annie finally spoke. "Oh, my, Allison? Wonder why Crys left in such a hurry." She smiled. "No, I don't know anything, but Jake and Crys have been gone for hours now, probably we'll get to find out soon." She stood up, walked towards the door, opened it, and waved to a worker that was passing by. She whispered something to him and then closed the door again, returning to her seat. "So, I suppose you haven't eaten or had a drink of water in quite some time and you probably ran from Newhaven to this camp in record time. So, what you are experiencing right now is simply because of that. Nothing too big. Someone will bring you some food soon, meanwhile, try to sit up slowly and have a drink of water." She said all that really fast, then made a small pause and added. "My name is Annie, by the way." She stated pouring water from a jar into a cup and offering it to her. "I'm sure Ali will be fine. They would want to keep her alive, hopefully they'll keep her long enough for someone to get to her." She stated, with a small smile. "Ali is not nearly as easy to kill as she looks."
Soon after that the door opened and the worker walked back in a tray of fruit and a loaf of bread, which he left on the table. "Annie, your mother is here. She wants to see you as soon as possible."
Annie looked at the man and winced. "Hum, tell her I'm with a patient and I'll meet her when I can. Alright?"
The man simply nodded before leaving. Annie sat back in her chair, she had been sitting there for hours and it was getting uncomfortable. "Crys wanted me to ask you exactly what happened. Also, I should tell you that as a healer anything you tell me is confidential." She chuckled. "People love to take advantage of that. So why shouldn't you, right?" She stated in a cheery tone. She was worried about Ali, but she was doing her best not to show it. After all, there was nothing she could really do about it.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Evin caught glimpse of Ria jumping forward at him with a dagger in hand while he was looking at Jake. Evin couldn't understood that he had no chance at blocking the attack with a knife or even dodging it. His only chance at survival was to put his arm in front of him where the dagger was targeted. That quickly stopped when he felt a sudden push from out of nowhere followed by the sound of Ria's dagger hitting something metal. When he looked up, he saw Jake standing there. He had intervened for some reason that Evin couldn't find. Was it to protect him or was it to protect Jake's secret in Ria's rage? Evin wasn't so sure, he just lay on the ground in shock how Jake had been reacting.
"Very well Evin, you were right. Hopefully Allison is alive and you won't have to beat yourself up for stopping to play when you were supposed to help her. Surely she would be far more deserving of your sympathy than the last friend you left to die." Jake let out a small laugh. "See, I was with Crys when Ella stormed in to tell her Ali had been captured. Don't think you'll shock her by naming me a traitor. She knows everything." He stated. "She is a lot like her mother that way, she pretends to believe it when you lie, if that is what she wants to hear, but she always knows. Always"
Evin didn't really say anything when Jake had mentioned Perry. It enraged him a great deal comparing the two situations. This time Evin knew that he had backup from Crystal who seemed to have disappeared somewhere. He was sure that meant that she had found Allison. When he had left Perry to die, he was all alone in a situation that left him just as dead as he believed Perry was. They were two different situations completely. Jake wouldn't understand.
He could hear Ria whisper something to Jake and then she ran off to help out Krander who seemed to be in trouble. Evin used that as his chance to get up. He got up slowly and made himself very venerable to any attack. He felt safe enough.
"I already knew that Jake. I'm no idiot when it comes to deduction you know. You had something to hide and it was plainly obvious that it was bothering both you and Crystal greatly." He heard Ria screaming in the background. "You know, it isn't that bad now. I haven't tried to kill you yet, have I. The key word is yet."
“DANIEL! NOW!!!” She herd Ria yell at the top of her lungs.
Evin didn't turn around, but he did stop talking after that. It became way to loud with the sounds of riots to speak normally with anyone. He didn't want to have to yell. He herd who he believed was most likely Daniel screaming things at his opponents. Besides the actual yelling of people, the sounds of the blades and shields was getting to a point where nothing could be herd at a normal speaking level anymore. He reluctantly raised his voice.
"I have something else that I want to know now that I know you are a Black Knight. The night that the camp was attacked by the Black Knights. The night that I unknowingly fought for a moment with Ria, which was followed by a loud scream from Crystal who just realised that her mother had died. You weren't there that day as an assassin. I know that because all five Black Knights were there and I didn't once see you fighting for us."
A low scream began to shake the entire dungeons. Evin was brought down to his knees which were as well uncontrollably shaking from this noise that was coming from somewhere. Krander was no longer uncurious, that was for sure.
"Son of a-" He stopped himself from going further as he once again got up from off the ground. "Does he ever shut up."
When Evin brushed himself off of all the dust that had fallen on him, he spoke again to Jake. "Each Knight had a weapon of choice. One in particular had used a poison dart or needle of some sort to kill Dani. There wasn't a dart in her when we looked but, we could see that there was a puncture wound from a weapon of those sorts. I couldn't help but notice that earlier, you had been using darts and needles laced with poison to kill some of these prisoners. would you care to tell me if there is any connection or is it just a coincidence?" Evin went into a very dark place when he said that. It was almost like when he finally realised that he had to kill Perry. "Now please answer me truthfully. I haven't had a direct answer from anyone today so would you please be the first to give me something a little more direct.
"Very well Evin, you were right. Hopefully Allison is alive and you won't have to beat yourself up for stopping to play when you were supposed to help her. Surely she would be far more deserving of your sympathy than the last friend you left to die." Jake let out a small laugh. "See, I was with Crys when Ella stormed in to tell her Ali had been captured. Don't think you'll shock her by naming me a traitor. She knows everything." He stated. "She is a lot like her mother that way, she pretends to believe it when you lie, if that is what she wants to hear, but she always knows. Always"
Evin didn't really say anything when Jake had mentioned Perry. It enraged him a great deal comparing the two situations. This time Evin knew that he had backup from Crystal who seemed to have disappeared somewhere. He was sure that meant that she had found Allison. When he had left Perry to die, he was all alone in a situation that left him just as dead as he believed Perry was. They were two different situations completely. Jake wouldn't understand.
He could hear Ria whisper something to Jake and then she ran off to help out Krander who seemed to be in trouble. Evin used that as his chance to get up. He got up slowly and made himself very venerable to any attack. He felt safe enough.
"I already knew that Jake. I'm no idiot when it comes to deduction you know. You had something to hide and it was plainly obvious that it was bothering both you and Crystal greatly." He heard Ria screaming in the background. "You know, it isn't that bad now. I haven't tried to kill you yet, have I. The key word is yet."
“DANIEL! NOW!!!” She herd Ria yell at the top of her lungs.
Evin didn't turn around, but he did stop talking after that. It became way to loud with the sounds of riots to speak normally with anyone. He didn't want to have to yell. He herd who he believed was most likely Daniel screaming things at his opponents. Besides the actual yelling of people, the sounds of the blades and shields was getting to a point where nothing could be herd at a normal speaking level anymore. He reluctantly raised his voice.
"I have something else that I want to know now that I know you are a Black Knight. The night that the camp was attacked by the Black Knights. The night that I unknowingly fought for a moment with Ria, which was followed by a loud scream from Crystal who just realised that her mother had died. You weren't there that day as an assassin. I know that because all five Black Knights were there and I didn't once see you fighting for us."
A low scream began to shake the entire dungeons. Evin was brought down to his knees which were as well uncontrollably shaking from this noise that was coming from somewhere. Krander was no longer uncurious, that was for sure.
"Son of a-" He stopped himself from going further as he once again got up from off the ground. "Does he ever shut up."
When Evin brushed himself off of all the dust that had fallen on him, he spoke again to Jake. "Each Knight had a weapon of choice. One in particular had used a poison dart or needle of some sort to kill Dani. There wasn't a dart in her when we looked but, we could see that there was a puncture wound from a weapon of those sorts. I couldn't help but notice that earlier, you had been using darts and needles laced with poison to kill some of these prisoners. would you care to tell me if there is any connection or is it just a coincidence?" Evin went into a very dark place when he said that. It was almost like when he finally realised that he had to kill Perry. "Now please answer me truthfully. I haven't had a direct answer from anyone today so would you please be the first to give me something a little more direct.
Jake nodded simply when Mageria had whispered to him. He knew Ali was taken care of. If he would be getting out of this or not it was a whole different story. He resisted the impulse to turn when hearing the noises and screams He kept his eyes fixed on Evin at all times. However, he lowered his sword as he was standing up. He didn't talk or react to absolutely anything until Evin mentioned Dani. He knew exactly where that was going. Although aside from closing his eyes for a second, to stop the imagery in his head, Jake still didn't respond... Inside he felt as if he was falling into a bottomless pit. All he wanted to do now was shut Evin up, or anger him enough so he would just attack and give him an excuse to think of something else. When Krander screamed again Jake simply allowed himself fall, standing back up moments later. He let Evin go on until his final words. Letting the accusation sink into him.
"Each Knight had a weapon of choice. One in particular had used a poison dart or needle of some sort to kill Dani. There wasn't a dart in her when we looked but, we could see that there was a puncture wound from a weapon of those sorts. I couldn't help but notice that earlier, you had been using darts and needles laced with poison to kill some of these prisoners. would you care to tell me if there is any connection or is it just a coincidence?"
Jake felt the urge to laugh at the hypocrisy when Evin asked for a straight answer. Seeing as he didn't ask what he actually seemed to want to know. Jake took a breath before finally speaking, deciding to go back on the conversation a little bit. "When it comes to deduction you are not an idiot, I will give you that. When it comes to everything else, I'm not sure. You certainly seem incapable to comprehend, or at least giving a shit, to the fact that some secrets are kept for a reason. Which makes you a complete idiot in my opinion. So excuse me if I don't congratulate you on your geniality." He nodded, a slight smirk crossing his face. "And don't think you scare me in one bit. The only reason I even bothered to save your miserable ass was the fact that, for some reason, Crys seems to like you. And don't kid yourself... I did save your ass." At which point he pulled a needle out and raised it to eye level, so Evin could have a good look at it. "As for the answer you want from me, I won't give. I owe you no explanations. I owe you nothing. There is only one person that deserves that answer and has the right to demand it. I won't bother to waste the truth on you." As he said that, he tossed the needle over Evin's shoulder and into a man's eye. The criminal fell to the ground immediately, dead. "Tell me, did Dani die like this? Because I recall Crys telling me how she sat by the side of her mother's bed for hours until she finally stopped breathing." He nodded. "Interesting."
"Each Knight had a weapon of choice. One in particular had used a poison dart or needle of some sort to kill Dani. There wasn't a dart in her when we looked but, we could see that there was a puncture wound from a weapon of those sorts. I couldn't help but notice that earlier, you had been using darts and needles laced with poison to kill some of these prisoners. would you care to tell me if there is any connection or is it just a coincidence?"
Jake felt the urge to laugh at the hypocrisy when Evin asked for a straight answer. Seeing as he didn't ask what he actually seemed to want to know. Jake took a breath before finally speaking, deciding to go back on the conversation a little bit. "When it comes to deduction you are not an idiot, I will give you that. When it comes to everything else, I'm not sure. You certainly seem incapable to comprehend, or at least giving a shit, to the fact that some secrets are kept for a reason. Which makes you a complete idiot in my opinion. So excuse me if I don't congratulate you on your geniality." He nodded, a slight smirk crossing his face. "And don't think you scare me in one bit. The only reason I even bothered to save your miserable ass was the fact that, for some reason, Crys seems to like you. And don't kid yourself... I did save your ass." At which point he pulled a needle out and raised it to eye level, so Evin could have a good look at it. "As for the answer you want from me, I won't give. I owe you no explanations. I owe you nothing. There is only one person that deserves that answer and has the right to demand it. I won't bother to waste the truth on you." As he said that, he tossed the needle over Evin's shoulder and into a man's eye. The criminal fell to the ground immediately, dead. "Tell me, did Dani die like this? Because I recall Crys telling me how she sat by the side of her mother's bed for hours until she finally stopped breathing." He nodded. "Interesting."
Mageria was in the middle of charging directly into the teeth of her personal nightmares when a sword spun past her shoulder to strike the prisoner, sinking deeply into his head. She had to give Daniel credit, he was a warrior in every sense of the word. Even if it was insane to throw away one’s sword. She spun in place, dancing in place to strike at the men to either side of the dead man. She killed them quickly, running back to place herself back to back with Daniel. They fought together, Daniel in his bright armor and Mageria a dark shadow. There was a scuff of foot on stone off to her right, Mageria looked up to see on emaciated woman standing in the doorway to the lower levels. The woman drew both arms up and gestured, drawing shapes in the air. The torches to either side of the woman flared, the flames stretching and billowing. The flame flared and exploded, reaching out to devour everybody nearby.
“GET DOWN!!!!”
Mageria reached around to sling her arm around Daniel’s neck, dragging them both down to the ground. The flames passed them by, charring the prisoners around them.
Mageria pushed up in a runners sprint. The woman needed about half a minute to recharge after a blast like that. Half a minute before the woman tried again. Not quick enough.
Mageria reached the woman and brought her dagger up, striking quickly and cleanly to the heart. Reaching forward she grabbed the collar of the woman’s shirt, dragging her forward to see who stood behind. To her shock it was a young man, far too young. He was pale with raven black hair. He didn’t say anything, just reached forward so quickly that she couldn’t evade him. He touched her gently on the forehead and in that moment Mageria relived every dark moment in her entire life. Every loss, every moment of pain, every time that she had tried to change things for the better and failed; she relived it all.
Mageria screamed; a sound that contained all the distilled pain and loss that the nameless prisoner had forced her to relive. Her family dying, Newhaven being invaded, every comrade she had ever lost . . . .everything. She brought both hands up to her temples, clenching them tight. For a moment she wasn’t able to react, then her eyes snapped open. Perhaps in anther person they might have been paralyzed.
But fear and pain caused her to fight back. In this case she went temporarily insane. It was similar to the way that Grim had always described how he felt when he was berserk. Some dim part of her knew that behind her there were no more enemies and so she went forward, down into the deeper levels of the prison, almost absently killing the young man as she passed.
“GET DOWN!!!!”
Mageria reached around to sling her arm around Daniel’s neck, dragging them both down to the ground. The flames passed them by, charring the prisoners around them.
Mageria pushed up in a runners sprint. The woman needed about half a minute to recharge after a blast like that. Half a minute before the woman tried again. Not quick enough.
Mageria reached the woman and brought her dagger up, striking quickly and cleanly to the heart. Reaching forward she grabbed the collar of the woman’s shirt, dragging her forward to see who stood behind. To her shock it was a young man, far too young. He was pale with raven black hair. He didn’t say anything, just reached forward so quickly that she couldn’t evade him. He touched her gently on the forehead and in that moment Mageria relived every dark moment in her entire life. Every loss, every moment of pain, every time that she had tried to change things for the better and failed; she relived it all.
Mageria screamed; a sound that contained all the distilled pain and loss that the nameless prisoner had forced her to relive. Her family dying, Newhaven being invaded, every comrade she had ever lost . . . .everything. She brought both hands up to her temples, clenching them tight. For a moment she wasn’t able to react, then her eyes snapped open. Perhaps in anther person they might have been paralyzed.
But fear and pain caused her to fight back. In this case she went temporarily insane. It was similar to the way that Grim had always described how he felt when he was berserk. Some dim part of her knew that behind her there were no more enemies and so she went forward, down into the deeper levels of the prison, almost absently killing the young man as she passed.
Evin believed that there were things that were important to keep a secret. Only minor things however. When it got to the bigger things in life, there was no reason to keep a secret for very long. Secrets were just a corrosive acid meant to eat away at the men and women who kept the secret. Things would be even worse when you splash part of the secret onto another person. The acid just has a chance to eat at everyone who stands near you. Secrets were one of the purest of evils and never lead to a happy ending in any case. It was the one thing that Evin hated about his job the most. His best friend died and he kept what happened a secret for years. His best friend ends up being the reason Newhaven goes after the Pack. Evin made a friend outside of work and then she ends up being what Evin fought against. The only good that came out of secrets was for those evil, acidic people who wanted nothing more than to corrode away at people's selves and souls. A terrible thing Jake was doing to himself.
"Don't think you scare me in one bit. The only reason I even bothered to save your miserable ass was the fact that, for some reason, Crys seems to like you. And don't kid yourself... I did save your ass." At which point he pulled a needle out and raised it to eye level, so Evin could have a good look at it. "As for the answer you want from me, I won't give. I owe you no explanations. I owe you nothing. There is only one person that deserves that answer and has the right to demand it. I won't bother to waste the truth on you." As he said that, he tossed the needle over Evin's shoulder. Evin didn't blink or even move a muscle. The dart went strait into a man's eye. The criminal fell to the ground immediately, dead. "Tell me, did Dani die like this? Because I recall Crys telling me how she sat by the side of her mother's bed for hours until she finally stopped breathing." He nodded. "Interesting."
Evin sighed as he listen to the battle ragging behind him. Screams and shouts, nothing that had any redeeming factor or happy was coming from this. Then all of a sudden he heard Ria say something. He didn't make out what it was exactly. Only seconds after she said it did he feel a burst of warm air rush over him, and mildly burning the back of his neck. He winced at the slight discomfort, but nothing else. Then the fighting seemed to die down or at least move. The yells and screams slowly moved farther away until it was just a faint echo in the distance. The only presence of anything odd happening was the odd prisoner that would pass every now and again.
As the area became silent, the tension began to fill the air. It was more tense in the room than when there was a full blown war going on in it. The two just stared each other down with expressionless looks that could not be averted in any way. Prisoners who passed by walked along the very edge of the room, as far as possible to avoid getting caught up in anything that was about to happen. Both of them knew that the other knew more than they lead on to know yet neither of them could bear to break the silence. Nature did it for them. A single drop of water from somewhere had fallen into a puddle creating a rather loud and echoing sound.
"I don't deserve to know? I don't deserve to know who killed Dani? Who are you to say that I don't deserve to know who killed Dani? Are you responsible for documenting her life or something. Is that it... Pathetic. You know, Dani is the only person who I don't call by their full name. Ria is the exception. I don't know her full name. But Dani and I have known each other since I graduated. I have been in the camp for every defining moment of her life besides her sisters death and I didn't just sit around and watch. I got involved and I developed a relationship with her, a lot like the one I have with Crystal. The only difference was that we didn't have to ask each other questions. If I did something that she didn't agree with she didn't need to tell me and vice versa. When Sebastian came along, I got along with him too. The three of us were very close to each other. I know I could never admit that they were friends, but they were."
"The day we got back to camp after that day in Newhaven, she gave me important instructions to follow because she trusted me. She told me to take care of Crystal the best that I could. She didn't give me that job because I couldn't be trusted. She trusted me with her life. I believe that I deserve to know how that life ended. So instead of telling me if there was a connection with the darts, tell me, who killed Dani Rivers?"
"Don't think you scare me in one bit. The only reason I even bothered to save your miserable ass was the fact that, for some reason, Crys seems to like you. And don't kid yourself... I did save your ass." At which point he pulled a needle out and raised it to eye level, so Evin could have a good look at it. "As for the answer you want from me, I won't give. I owe you no explanations. I owe you nothing. There is only one person that deserves that answer and has the right to demand it. I won't bother to waste the truth on you." As he said that, he tossed the needle over Evin's shoulder. Evin didn't blink or even move a muscle. The dart went strait into a man's eye. The criminal fell to the ground immediately, dead. "Tell me, did Dani die like this? Because I recall Crys telling me how she sat by the side of her mother's bed for hours until she finally stopped breathing." He nodded. "Interesting."
Evin sighed as he listen to the battle ragging behind him. Screams and shouts, nothing that had any redeeming factor or happy was coming from this. Then all of a sudden he heard Ria say something. He didn't make out what it was exactly. Only seconds after she said it did he feel a burst of warm air rush over him, and mildly burning the back of his neck. He winced at the slight discomfort, but nothing else. Then the fighting seemed to die down or at least move. The yells and screams slowly moved farther away until it was just a faint echo in the distance. The only presence of anything odd happening was the odd prisoner that would pass every now and again.
As the area became silent, the tension began to fill the air. It was more tense in the room than when there was a full blown war going on in it. The two just stared each other down with expressionless looks that could not be averted in any way. Prisoners who passed by walked along the very edge of the room, as far as possible to avoid getting caught up in anything that was about to happen. Both of them knew that the other knew more than they lead on to know yet neither of them could bear to break the silence. Nature did it for them. A single drop of water from somewhere had fallen into a puddle creating a rather loud and echoing sound.
"I don't deserve to know? I don't deserve to know who killed Dani? Who are you to say that I don't deserve to know who killed Dani? Are you responsible for documenting her life or something. Is that it... Pathetic. You know, Dani is the only person who I don't call by their full name. Ria is the exception. I don't know her full name. But Dani and I have known each other since I graduated. I have been in the camp for every defining moment of her life besides her sisters death and I didn't just sit around and watch. I got involved and I developed a relationship with her, a lot like the one I have with Crystal. The only difference was that we didn't have to ask each other questions. If I did something that she didn't agree with she didn't need to tell me and vice versa. When Sebastian came along, I got along with him too. The three of us were very close to each other. I know I could never admit that they were friends, but they were."
"The day we got back to camp after that day in Newhaven, she gave me important instructions to follow because she trusted me. She told me to take care of Crystal the best that I could. She didn't give me that job because I couldn't be trusted. She trusted me with her life. I believe that I deserve to know how that life ended. So instead of telling me if there was a connection with the darts, tell me, who killed Dani Rivers?"
Jake sighed. He did understand what Evin was saying and, surely, he had a point. Once Evin finished speaking Jake shook his head. "I do know about what Dani asked you to do, Crys told me about it. You're doing a lousy job of it I might add. Not that I can blame you, not even Dani could really deal with Crys. Only Bastian seemed to know how." He let his eyes run through the dungeons, it seemed the battle had moved onto the fourth floor. Jake knew what that meant. "Damn, Crys, what are you doing..." He mumbled to himself. Crys was taking too long to get Ali out, he didn't like that in one bit. "I suggest you do better though... Specially now." He stated, still watching the hall that led to Ali's cell.
Turning his attention back to Evin, a more serious look on his face, Jake decided to make himself more clear. "It's all very touching. It really is, but you miss my point entirely..." He sheathed his sword, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, gives you the right to know anything before Crys does. Because I owe her that much. Because no one could have suffered more than her with this. So no, you don't get to demand the truth from me."
He kept silent for a moment maybe two, his eyes once again wandering about, wondering what was taking Crys so long. Maybe Ali wasn't all that well after all. Jake sighed and closed his eyes for second. When opening them again, he added. "I will tell you this... Dani and Bastian were the closest I had to family. I worshiped them since I was a kid. And EVERYTHING I did, was on Dani's command. Including the people I killed in that battle. She gave me targets inside the Wolfpack, Evin. Do you have a clue of what would happen within the clan if anyone knew that? Do you think even Crys knew that much? I doubt even I knew everything... All I did was obey, like a puppy." Finally, he looked Evin in the eyes and added. "Do you understand what I'm saying here? All I did was her command, all of it. Oddly enough, I'm the only who has to live with it. Supposedly that could have been part of the plan as well, but I wouldn't know. You're the deduction master, what do you think?" Jake's tone was void of emotion as he spoke. Even if he was, in reality, frustrated. Truth was, he knew who did it, but he couldn't understand how it happened. He couldn't help but feel cheated in a way. Even if at the same time he couldn't live with the guilt.
Turning his attention back to Evin, a more serious look on his face, Jake decided to make himself more clear. "It's all very touching. It really is, but you miss my point entirely..." He sheathed his sword, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, gives you the right to know anything before Crys does. Because I owe her that much. Because no one could have suffered more than her with this. So no, you don't get to demand the truth from me."
He kept silent for a moment maybe two, his eyes once again wandering about, wondering what was taking Crys so long. Maybe Ali wasn't all that well after all. Jake sighed and closed his eyes for second. When opening them again, he added. "I will tell you this... Dani and Bastian were the closest I had to family. I worshiped them since I was a kid. And EVERYTHING I did, was on Dani's command. Including the people I killed in that battle. She gave me targets inside the Wolfpack, Evin. Do you have a clue of what would happen within the clan if anyone knew that? Do you think even Crys knew that much? I doubt even I knew everything... All I did was obey, like a puppy." Finally, he looked Evin in the eyes and added. "Do you understand what I'm saying here? All I did was her command, all of it. Oddly enough, I'm the only who has to live with it. Supposedly that could have been part of the plan as well, but I wouldn't know. You're the deduction master, what do you think?" Jake's tone was void of emotion as he spoke. Even if he was, in reality, frustrated. Truth was, he knew who did it, but he couldn't understand how it happened. He couldn't help but feel cheated in a way. Even if at the same time he couldn't live with the guilt.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Sarris and Thomas made it to the Healer’s encampment somewhere around the middle of the night. It was a full moon night, so the horse had plenty of light, but Thomas had still been forced to get off and lead Boots for the past few hours. He was so tired of traveling that if he never had to leave Newhaven again he would be very, very happy. In fact he had been trudging along in Sarris’s wake, numbly putting one foot in front of the other and not really paying much attention to what was happening. The first hint that he had that they had arrived was when someone in a white robe with a lantern met them on the path.
“Greetings travelers. Welcome to the . . . Sarris? Why have you come in the middle of the night?”
Sarris laughed.
“I’ve some things that need to be done that couldn’t wait any longer. Is Allistar or Lena around? I need to talk to them.” The figure in the robe nodded and turned away to lead them toward the camp.
“Very well. Lena is away right now, but Allistar can see you. If you and your companion would be so kind as to surrender your weapons, I can go get him.”
Thomas sighed, but did as he was told. When he looked up, Sarris had moved off with the robed figure that had met them, and someone had made off with his horse. He would have been more upset about this, except that someone also brought him something to eat and showed him a place to sleep. He ate without really tasting it and fell over into an instant deep sleep. There wasn’t much Sarris could do to get into harm here and she was the one that wanted to come here in the first place. And anyway, anybody who wanted to piss off the Healers by causing harm to someone in their care; well they deserved what was coming to them.
Sarris followed the anonymous figure in near silence till she was shown to a larger tent. The man walked in and spoke to someone, Allistar probably. Then he came back out, followed by Allistar wearing sleeping robes and a tired expression.
“Sarris? What is it?” Sarris laughed softly.
“You told me once that you knew I had secrets, old friend. Time for me to let some of them go.” Allister tilted his head to the side and held open the flap of his tent.
“Come inside then. I’ll make some tea.”
A few minutes later Sarris was perched on a small folding stool, with a small cup of of fragrant tea steaming in her hands. Allister sat across from her, a cup in his hands and a patient expression on his face.
“Take your time.”
Sarris took a sip and sighed heavily.
“You know some of my past. I had been married to the King of Newhaven. I had a son who was still born.” She put her tea down and nervously started to unbraid her hair. “What I never let any of you know, was that I also had a daughter. When she was born, my husband exiled me here to the South for the great crime of being unable to bear him an heir. She was taken from me and I was told that if I ever tried to return to Newhaven, she would be killed.” A bitter smile crossed her face. “That was his version of mercy. I would know that she was safe as long as I stayed away and never knew her.” She sighed. “I was also told that even if something happened to him, he left orders behind with several of his Knights that she would be killed if I tried to come back. So I couldn’t even try once I knew that bastard was dead.” She gazed broodingly into her tea as if it held the answers that she was seeking.
“But young Thomas tells me that most of the Knights have been killed in the invasion. That means that there is a chance that I can find her, find my daughter. But I need your help. The Healers are the ones that can ask questions safely. Please.” She looked up at Allistar. “Please, I need your help to find her.”
Allister nodded. “We shall do our best, old friend. What was her name?”
Sarris swallowed, struggling not to choke on the hope that suddenly rose up in her.
“Her name . . . was Ella.” She drew out a journal and opened it to the first page, which held a ink sketch of a sleeping baby.
“My Ella.”
“Greetings travelers. Welcome to the . . . Sarris? Why have you come in the middle of the night?”
Sarris laughed.
“I’ve some things that need to be done that couldn’t wait any longer. Is Allistar or Lena around? I need to talk to them.” The figure in the robe nodded and turned away to lead them toward the camp.
“Very well. Lena is away right now, but Allistar can see you. If you and your companion would be so kind as to surrender your weapons, I can go get him.”
Thomas sighed, but did as he was told. When he looked up, Sarris had moved off with the robed figure that had met them, and someone had made off with his horse. He would have been more upset about this, except that someone also brought him something to eat and showed him a place to sleep. He ate without really tasting it and fell over into an instant deep sleep. There wasn’t much Sarris could do to get into harm here and she was the one that wanted to come here in the first place. And anyway, anybody who wanted to piss off the Healers by causing harm to someone in their care; well they deserved what was coming to them.
Sarris followed the anonymous figure in near silence till she was shown to a larger tent. The man walked in and spoke to someone, Allistar probably. Then he came back out, followed by Allistar wearing sleeping robes and a tired expression.
“Sarris? What is it?” Sarris laughed softly.
“You told me once that you knew I had secrets, old friend. Time for me to let some of them go.” Allister tilted his head to the side and held open the flap of his tent.
“Come inside then. I’ll make some tea.”
A few minutes later Sarris was perched on a small folding stool, with a small cup of of fragrant tea steaming in her hands. Allister sat across from her, a cup in his hands and a patient expression on his face.
“Take your time.”
Sarris took a sip and sighed heavily.
“You know some of my past. I had been married to the King of Newhaven. I had a son who was still born.” She put her tea down and nervously started to unbraid her hair. “What I never let any of you know, was that I also had a daughter. When she was born, my husband exiled me here to the South for the great crime of being unable to bear him an heir. She was taken from me and I was told that if I ever tried to return to Newhaven, she would be killed.” A bitter smile crossed her face. “That was his version of mercy. I would know that she was safe as long as I stayed away and never knew her.” She sighed. “I was also told that even if something happened to him, he left orders behind with several of his Knights that she would be killed if I tried to come back. So I couldn’t even try once I knew that bastard was dead.” She gazed broodingly into her tea as if it held the answers that she was seeking.
“But young Thomas tells me that most of the Knights have been killed in the invasion. That means that there is a chance that I can find her, find my daughter. But I need your help. The Healers are the ones that can ask questions safely. Please.” She looked up at Allistar. “Please, I need your help to find her.”
Allister nodded. “We shall do our best, old friend. What was her name?”
Sarris swallowed, struggling not to choke on the hope that suddenly rose up in her.
“Her name . . . was Ella.” She drew out a journal and opened it to the first page, which held a ink sketch of a sleeping baby.
“My Ella.”
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Evin didn't take much time to really listen to what Jake had to say, he was more interested in the emotions that come with the words. The reality was that there were non when clearly he urged to tell Evin every little secret that burned inside of him. His words didn't say it, his tone didn't say it, but his eyes did. Urning to be herd over the voice of it's partner that tried to drown it out. The mouth just wouldn't stop moving even though his eyes told him to stop time and time again. The one key that sealed his fate, the one thing he tried to hide, could be heard by Evin. That silent whisper of his eyes had told him all he needed to know.
"You just followed her orders so blindly without question? She told you to kill these people in our own camp and you tell me that you just did it. I know I'm being a hypocrite for saying this, but that is why I hate it when people tell me what to do. It is always for someone else's gain in the end, not your own."
He walked a few steps closer to Jake.
"So what if she told you to kill Crystal, would you do it? You would have never followed those orders, yet you would kill others who may have the same feelings towards someone else as you do to Crystal. I myself have had people who I feel are more than just acquaintances. Or at least I used to. Perry betrayed me, Sebatian died, Dani died, Theron left us, Ria was never who she appeared to be and the same goes for you. Just you are worse than Ria could ever be." He paused. "You see, I have had a lot of friends, which I loved and all of them abandoned me in some way. Crystal and I share just as much pain for different reasons."
Evin walked a little closer to Jake, to the point where they were only a few steps away from each other. "You say you obey orders like a puppy." He unsheathed his dagger, placing it in Jake's hand. "If you really believe that you should follow every order given to you then just kill me now. As second in command, I order you to kill me. When Crystal comes out and sees what has happened, you can just tell her that you were following my orders like the blind puppy you are, because you know, that gives you all the right to do it. What are you waiting for!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hastings didn't slow down after making it out of the dungeon. He wanted to make it as far away as possible in the time that he had. There was only one problem with this and that problem was the chair. Hastings was forced to drag the chair that he was shackled to, and it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to carry. It was so heavy, but he had to push forward.
Walking down the roads, he passed by a place with a sign that said Blacksmith on it. He knew that it was past curfew and that odds were that no one would be working there at the time, but it looked like there were people who lived above the place and even if there wasn't Hastings was sure he could find something himself that he could use. Trying to open the door obviously didn't work, so he decided to do the next best thing. When you have a heavy metal object stuck to you, you might as well use it to it's full advantage. He lifted the chair up over his head and then threw it straight through the window. Hastings really didn't plan this through very well because the shackles weren't exactly long enough. The chair pushed him right through the window with it.
After he made it through the window he heard rustling from above him. A large man came down the stairs in shock to see Hastings, with cuts all over his body from the glass window he had just broken.
"Help me get out of these shackles and I will reward you greatly the next time you travel to Blackpond. I know this looks odd, but I really am not a bad man."
"You just followed her orders so blindly without question? She told you to kill these people in our own camp and you tell me that you just did it. I know I'm being a hypocrite for saying this, but that is why I hate it when people tell me what to do. It is always for someone else's gain in the end, not your own."
He walked a few steps closer to Jake.
"So what if she told you to kill Crystal, would you do it? You would have never followed those orders, yet you would kill others who may have the same feelings towards someone else as you do to Crystal. I myself have had people who I feel are more than just acquaintances. Or at least I used to. Perry betrayed me, Sebatian died, Dani died, Theron left us, Ria was never who she appeared to be and the same goes for you. Just you are worse than Ria could ever be." He paused. "You see, I have had a lot of friends, which I loved and all of them abandoned me in some way. Crystal and I share just as much pain for different reasons."
Evin walked a little closer to Jake, to the point where they were only a few steps away from each other. "You say you obey orders like a puppy." He unsheathed his dagger, placing it in Jake's hand. "If you really believe that you should follow every order given to you then just kill me now. As second in command, I order you to kill me. When Crystal comes out and sees what has happened, you can just tell her that you were following my orders like the blind puppy you are, because you know, that gives you all the right to do it. What are you waiting for!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hastings didn't slow down after making it out of the dungeon. He wanted to make it as far away as possible in the time that he had. There was only one problem with this and that problem was the chair. Hastings was forced to drag the chair that he was shackled to, and it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to carry. It was so heavy, but he had to push forward.
Walking down the roads, he passed by a place with a sign that said Blacksmith on it. He knew that it was past curfew and that odds were that no one would be working there at the time, but it looked like there were people who lived above the place and even if there wasn't Hastings was sure he could find something himself that he could use. Trying to open the door obviously didn't work, so he decided to do the next best thing. When you have a heavy metal object stuck to you, you might as well use it to it's full advantage. He lifted the chair up over his head and then threw it straight through the window. Hastings really didn't plan this through very well because the shackles weren't exactly long enough. The chair pushed him right through the window with it.
After he made it through the window he heard rustling from above him. A large man came down the stairs in shock to see Hastings, with cuts all over his body from the glass window he had just broken.
"Help me get out of these shackles and I will reward you greatly the next time you travel to Blackpond. I know this looks odd, but I really am not a bad man."
Jake listened to Evin, resisting the impulse to smash the black helm he was holding right into the man's face. What the hell made Evin think he had to right to mention his feelings for Crys? What the hell did he know about that? Jake felt his hands slightly shiver with the building rage. Even so, he found himself unable to make that move. He was actually so angry he couldn't move a muscle, all he did was stand there, shivering as if he was about to explode. When Evin put a dagger in his hand, however, Jake look down at it frowning.
"If you really believe that you should follow every order given to you then just kill me now. As second in command, I order you to kill me. When Crystal comes out and sees what has happened, you can just tell her that you were following my orders like the blind puppy you are, because you know, that gives you all the right to do it. What are you waiting for!"
Jake stood in a shock for a few moments, looking down at the dagger, then... He laughed. It was a cold laughter, completely void of any emotion other than simple amusement. "You stupid fuck!" He exclaimed, raising the dagger and pointing it at Evin's throat. "What do you think I am? Those people were proven traitors, Dani showed me their files! She told me it would be easier on their families to just blame it on the Black Knights instead of having to live with the fact that they had a loved one killed on account of treason. Me? I had a part to play. Or you think infiltrating the Black Knights is just as simple as wearing the armor? I needed to show I was on their side. She gave me the opportunity, I took it!" Jake then threw the dagger aside. "I may be a puppy, but I only serve one master. If she ever tells me to end your sorry life than you bet I wouldn't think of it. I certainly wouldn't have accepted the assignment if she had asked me to stay, I put my life in her hands and she decided, so I went." Jake explained, a dumb amused smile still on his face. "And when she hears the whole truth, from me not from you, I will put my life in her hands one more time. It will probably be the last." He shut the dumb smile and added. "So, you better think twice before you open that mouth of yours to talk about my feelings for Crys. There is not a chance in hell you are capable of understanding that kind of devotion." With that he put his helm back on. "Crys is the only thing left in the world for me and I've already lost her. So I suggest you save your pitiful little stunts for someone who is still able to give a crap."
With that he turned his back and began to walk towards the stairs to the fourth floor. "The main duty of the 2nd commander is to assist the leader, Evin. Go do your job. If I survive the battle I'll be in camp soon enough. We can play some more then."
"If you really believe that you should follow every order given to you then just kill me now. As second in command, I order you to kill me. When Crystal comes out and sees what has happened, you can just tell her that you were following my orders like the blind puppy you are, because you know, that gives you all the right to do it. What are you waiting for!"
Jake stood in a shock for a few moments, looking down at the dagger, then... He laughed. It was a cold laughter, completely void of any emotion other than simple amusement. "You stupid fuck!" He exclaimed, raising the dagger and pointing it at Evin's throat. "What do you think I am? Those people were proven traitors, Dani showed me their files! She told me it would be easier on their families to just blame it on the Black Knights instead of having to live with the fact that they had a loved one killed on account of treason. Me? I had a part to play. Or you think infiltrating the Black Knights is just as simple as wearing the armor? I needed to show I was on their side. She gave me the opportunity, I took it!" Jake then threw the dagger aside. "I may be a puppy, but I only serve one master. If she ever tells me to end your sorry life than you bet I wouldn't think of it. I certainly wouldn't have accepted the assignment if she had asked me to stay, I put my life in her hands and she decided, so I went." Jake explained, a dumb amused smile still on his face. "And when she hears the whole truth, from me not from you, I will put my life in her hands one more time. It will probably be the last." He shut the dumb smile and added. "So, you better think twice before you open that mouth of yours to talk about my feelings for Crys. There is not a chance in hell you are capable of understanding that kind of devotion." With that he put his helm back on. "Crys is the only thing left in the world for me and I've already lost her. So I suggest you save your pitiful little stunts for someone who is still able to give a crap."
With that he turned his back and began to walk towards the stairs to the fourth floor. "The main duty of the 2nd commander is to assist the leader, Evin. Go do your job. If I survive the battle I'll be in camp soon enough. We can play some more then."
Mageria fought blindly. She didn't know who she was fighting, why she was fighting, or where she was. She simply danced, gracefully moving from one target to another. Her blades sliced through flesh and bone with ease. At first she stood at the door way of the staris, the people in front of her nearly pushing over each other in their eagerness to come to her. Then after the first few, they fell back, some fighting amongst themselves, some of them searching out weapons or a better position. It didn’t matter to her, she simply kept killing. She had made it about thirty feet down the corridor and the blood lust was starting to wane. She took a few more steps and looked up.
There in front of her was a short, skinny, ugly man. He looked at her with pure hate in his eyes and then smiled in a blood chilling manner. Pulling both arms back as if he was offering an embrace, he then slammed his hands together as hard as he could. The clap generated a shock wave that traveled down the corridor, tossing people aside as if they were rag dolls. But the main brunt of it was aimed at her.
Mageria flew back through the air, her armor and long practices with Krander the only thing that let her survive hitting the wall. She hung there for a moment before sliding to the ground with a pained moan. She didn’t know it, but blood was running freely from her eyes, nose and ears.
Mageria tried to get back up, but simply couldn’t. Instead she passed out for some unknown length of time. When she half came to after a bit, she frowned up at the person standing over her. She couldn’t tell who they were and blinking didn’t seem to help any.
“Did we get the children out? Were we in time?” The pain and the shock had combined to send her back in her mind to the battle of the Lower City, during a point where she had been trying to evacuate some civilians from a makeshift hospital. However she couldn’t hear the unknown person’s answer, as she had passed back out, falling into her memories of the other battle, honestly only scattered fragments of most of the three days that it had taken to push Blackpond back. Some things that stood out against the fever dream like state that she had been reduced to after three days of never ending battle. She remembered . . . .
The screams of the city folk as they pushed past her forces, seeking shelter in a city that should have been safe against everything.
The harsh smell of smoke as Blackpond’s forces set fire to the homes in an effort to create panic and confusion.
A child’s doll, lying abandoned in a pool of blood.
Bodies lying like twisted playthings, abandoned when a child tires of them. Fathers of the families that lived on that street, banding together in an effort to protect their kin.
The screams of the wounded as they lay in their beds, with the fighting growing ever closer. Fires and rubble had created a choke point, but Blackpond soldiers were growing closer and the wounded needed to be moved to somewhere safer. She had been directing what she could, sending her soldiers out to help and to protect those that needed help to move. Looking up from lifting an old man onto a liter, she realized that she couldn’t find Grim anywhere. But she knew where he was none the less. With a sinking feeling she went to the door of the warehouse, eyes straining through the thick smoke. Grim stood like an ebony statue in the middle of the only place that the enemy could cross through, sword in hand. Some sense must have warned him that she was watching, because he turned and saluted gravely, sunlight glinting off his armor and weapon. Mageria could only nod in return and turn away, knowing that he was the only one that could hold the pass long enough for her to get the wounded to safety. And that there was the very real chance that she was leaving him to his death.
With bellowed orders and the flat of her sword, she drove people ahead of her, abandoning all pretense of civility in order to get them to safety. Behind her she could hear screaming and the sounds of bloody slaughter.
And she left it behind.
She left Grim to his death, knowing that he would take as many of them with him as possible before he fell.
It was only after all the wounded had been moved that she was able to take a small squad back to find out what happened. What she found was . . . bodies. Honestly, she couldn’t even tell how many there were that Grim had held off, because the body parts were so widely scattered. And lying in the middle of it all, a crumpled figure in black armor, still clutching a sword that was larger than most could even pick up. With a long shuddering sigh, Mageria picked her way through the scattered parts to kneel over her friend, one hand resting on his shoulder in benediction.
“You did it my brother. You held them back long enough for me to get our people to safety.” She laughed shortly. “And you’ve got one hell of an honor guard to walk beside you in the halls of the dead. Might have done some more good if you didn’t dismember them so badly, but that’s your choice.” She looked away, her eyes burning.
“I’m going to miss you.”
She was almost ready to move on when Grim groaned, startling her so badly that she actually fell over backward for a moment. Then she scrambled up, rolling him gently onto his side so that she could see his face. It was slack in unconsciousness and covered in blood, but he was alive.
With a brief but fervent prayer, Mageria ripped open a small pouch at her waist, pulling out a vial and emptying it down Grim’s throat. It was the strongest sleeping potion that she could get her hands on, and it should be enough to keep him out of it until she got him safe.
“Help me,” she snapped over her shoulder at her soldiers. When none of them stepped forward, she literally saw red.
“If you don’t help me, I will kill you myself.” That got them moving and she supervised loading Grim onto a stretcher and taking him into the nearest shelter. It took her three hours to clean him up and patch Grim back together. It was unreal how much damage he had taken before falling.
A huge dent in Grim’s armor revealed cracked ribs underneath. Somewhere along the way he had lost one gauntlet and fought barehanded. He had three broken fingers that she splinted and taped together. His helm had come off and she had to stitch a long cut closed back through his hair. Innumerable bruises. A broken nose. Slashes wherever his armor hadn’t protected him. The blow that had probably brought him down resulted in a huge spreading bruise across one side of his head. Through it all she stitched and bandaged, listening with one ear for any sign that the fighting was coming closer once more. Finally she had done all that she could and ordered some of the soldiers to load him on a litter and carry him back to the Castle. She would have to keep him asleep for days in order to make sure that he didn’t rage again. Wearily Mageria cleaned the blood from her hands and stepped outside of the building. She had only taken a few deep breaths before one of her men ran up, anonymous in a coating of grime.
“Captain, you’re needed . . . . .”
The last clear memory of those days that she had was of someone literally prying her hands from her sword hilt and pushing her onto a seat. Looking up she could see Krander holding out a mug of soup, gesturing at her to drink it. He was so hoarse from overusing his gift that he couldn’t speak for a week.
She had spent the next weeks helping to rebuild the city and doing her best to keep Grim in bed so that he could heal, working alongside the medics in order to save lives when Krander attempted to order her to rest. And through it all she was left with the knowledge that if she had been there, if her men had been there, it might not have happened.
Those memories; that guilt; had never left her, no matter what she did.
There in front of her was a short, skinny, ugly man. He looked at her with pure hate in his eyes and then smiled in a blood chilling manner. Pulling both arms back as if he was offering an embrace, he then slammed his hands together as hard as he could. The clap generated a shock wave that traveled down the corridor, tossing people aside as if they were rag dolls. But the main brunt of it was aimed at her.
Mageria flew back through the air, her armor and long practices with Krander the only thing that let her survive hitting the wall. She hung there for a moment before sliding to the ground with a pained moan. She didn’t know it, but blood was running freely from her eyes, nose and ears.
Mageria tried to get back up, but simply couldn’t. Instead she passed out for some unknown length of time. When she half came to after a bit, she frowned up at the person standing over her. She couldn’t tell who they were and blinking didn’t seem to help any.
“Did we get the children out? Were we in time?” The pain and the shock had combined to send her back in her mind to the battle of the Lower City, during a point where she had been trying to evacuate some civilians from a makeshift hospital. However she couldn’t hear the unknown person’s answer, as she had passed back out, falling into her memories of the other battle, honestly only scattered fragments of most of the three days that it had taken to push Blackpond back. Some things that stood out against the fever dream like state that she had been reduced to after three days of never ending battle. She remembered . . . .
The screams of the city folk as they pushed past her forces, seeking shelter in a city that should have been safe against everything.
The harsh smell of smoke as Blackpond’s forces set fire to the homes in an effort to create panic and confusion.
A child’s doll, lying abandoned in a pool of blood.
Bodies lying like twisted playthings, abandoned when a child tires of them. Fathers of the families that lived on that street, banding together in an effort to protect their kin.
The screams of the wounded as they lay in their beds, with the fighting growing ever closer. Fires and rubble had created a choke point, but Blackpond soldiers were growing closer and the wounded needed to be moved to somewhere safer. She had been directing what she could, sending her soldiers out to help and to protect those that needed help to move. Looking up from lifting an old man onto a liter, she realized that she couldn’t find Grim anywhere. But she knew where he was none the less. With a sinking feeling she went to the door of the warehouse, eyes straining through the thick smoke. Grim stood like an ebony statue in the middle of the only place that the enemy could cross through, sword in hand. Some sense must have warned him that she was watching, because he turned and saluted gravely, sunlight glinting off his armor and weapon. Mageria could only nod in return and turn away, knowing that he was the only one that could hold the pass long enough for her to get the wounded to safety. And that there was the very real chance that she was leaving him to his death.
With bellowed orders and the flat of her sword, she drove people ahead of her, abandoning all pretense of civility in order to get them to safety. Behind her she could hear screaming and the sounds of bloody slaughter.
And she left it behind.
She left Grim to his death, knowing that he would take as many of them with him as possible before he fell.
It was only after all the wounded had been moved that she was able to take a small squad back to find out what happened. What she found was . . . bodies. Honestly, she couldn’t even tell how many there were that Grim had held off, because the body parts were so widely scattered. And lying in the middle of it all, a crumpled figure in black armor, still clutching a sword that was larger than most could even pick up. With a long shuddering sigh, Mageria picked her way through the scattered parts to kneel over her friend, one hand resting on his shoulder in benediction.
“You did it my brother. You held them back long enough for me to get our people to safety.” She laughed shortly. “And you’ve got one hell of an honor guard to walk beside you in the halls of the dead. Might have done some more good if you didn’t dismember them so badly, but that’s your choice.” She looked away, her eyes burning.
“I’m going to miss you.”
She was almost ready to move on when Grim groaned, startling her so badly that she actually fell over backward for a moment. Then she scrambled up, rolling him gently onto his side so that she could see his face. It was slack in unconsciousness and covered in blood, but he was alive.
With a brief but fervent prayer, Mageria ripped open a small pouch at her waist, pulling out a vial and emptying it down Grim’s throat. It was the strongest sleeping potion that she could get her hands on, and it should be enough to keep him out of it until she got him safe.
“Help me,” she snapped over her shoulder at her soldiers. When none of them stepped forward, she literally saw red.
“If you don’t help me, I will kill you myself.” That got them moving and she supervised loading Grim onto a stretcher and taking him into the nearest shelter. It took her three hours to clean him up and patch Grim back together. It was unreal how much damage he had taken before falling.
A huge dent in Grim’s armor revealed cracked ribs underneath. Somewhere along the way he had lost one gauntlet and fought barehanded. He had three broken fingers that she splinted and taped together. His helm had come off and she had to stitch a long cut closed back through his hair. Innumerable bruises. A broken nose. Slashes wherever his armor hadn’t protected him. The blow that had probably brought him down resulted in a huge spreading bruise across one side of his head. Through it all she stitched and bandaged, listening with one ear for any sign that the fighting was coming closer once more. Finally she had done all that she could and ordered some of the soldiers to load him on a litter and carry him back to the Castle. She would have to keep him asleep for days in order to make sure that he didn’t rage again. Wearily Mageria cleaned the blood from her hands and stepped outside of the building. She had only taken a few deep breaths before one of her men ran up, anonymous in a coating of grime.
“Captain, you’re needed . . . . .”
The last clear memory of those days that she had was of someone literally prying her hands from her sword hilt and pushing her onto a seat. Looking up she could see Krander holding out a mug of soup, gesturing at her to drink it. He was so hoarse from overusing his gift that he couldn’t speak for a week.
She had spent the next weeks helping to rebuild the city and doing her best to keep Grim in bed so that he could heal, working alongside the medics in order to save lives when Krander attempted to order her to rest. And through it all she was left with the knowledge that if she had been there, if her men had been there, it might not have happened.
Those memories; that guilt; had never left her, no matter what she did.
The smell. The first thing Ali remembers is the smell. The stench of smoke and burning wood as her brother stormed into her bedroom. She opened her eyes to see the reddish glow of fire spreading across the small house. It was late at night, she had been asleep for a few hours now. Her brother had a serious look in his eyes, and his now and quiver. He didn't say a word at first he simply dragged her towards the window. She didn't resist or question until she heard the baby cry. At that moment she stopped to a halt. "Jane." She mumbled, trying desperately to escape her brother and go to her little sister.
"No, Allison. No!" Alex was seventeen, twice her size, but still he had a hard time keeping Ali from running out the bedroom door. Eventually he managed to drag the screaming ten year old out of the house. Out of the village, past the soldiers. When he finally thought it was far enough he released her. Ali fell to the ground on her knees. The smoke still filed the skies and the smell... It was all over the place. She could still hear her sister's screams although they were only in her head. She stayed there, on her knees, shaking...
"Ali... Ali... Ali... Ali..." Crys' voice began to sink in. She simply repeated her name over and over as if she had been sitting there for hours. As she started to regain consciousness she felt the memories of what had happened coming back to her along with the sharp pain in her chest. "Ow... Crap." She whimpered, as she sat up straight, eyes still closed. "I'm assuming Ella made it back to camp."
Crys sighed. "Yes."
"Good." Ali finally opened her eyes. She didn't feel like moving a muscle, but she knew she would have to make an effort to get out of that place.
"Using your enlightenment, can you walk back to camp?" Crys asked.
"Probably. I will be useless once I get there though." Ali mumbled. She really didn't want to do this, but she knew there wasn't much of an option. She finally opened up her eyes frowning. "Why are my ears ringing so bad?" She whined, covering both her ears with her hands.
"That..." Crys chuckled. "I'll explain that to you later. Have a drink of water, then move. We do need to get out of here before things get too quiet."
Ali nodded, taking a drink of water and activating her enlightenment before standing straight. Even without the pain she found it necessary to lean on Crys to take her first steps towards the door. After a moment or two though, she felt she could walk on her own. "You seem upset." She told Crys. "Did something happen?"
Cry sighed and nodded. "Everything seemed to have happened tonight." She stated. "Come on. Let's just get out of here." She said, leading the way out of the cell.
Ali wasn't sure she understood what that meant exactly, but she felt it was better not ask questions right now. "I'll race you." She said, smiling.
Crys nodded. "Shut up."
------------------------
Jake had walked into the fourth floor of the dungeon a bit late. There weren't as many prisoners out anymore, however the enlightened ones were the worse to fight out. Mageria was down, but he could see someone had already gotten to her. He couldn't quite tell who it was, all he saw was the glimpse of a silver armor. Being that the case, he made himself invisible and made sure to take out all his rage on the escaping prisoners. A moment or two too late, the castle guard finally showed. The few surviving prisoners were locked back in their cells and all the surviving soldiers and Knights were compelled to the medical ward. Jake, however, made his way straight back to his room.
-A few hours later-
After ridding himself of his armor, Jake sat in his bed staring blankly at black helm he held in his hands. He had fought his last battle. Finally standing, he walked down the halls of the castle until he saw a familiar face he could ask questions to. A member of the black guard came walking towards him. The man nodded as Jake raised his hand asking him to stop. "Michael. How is everyone?"
Michael gave him a serious look and answered. "All the survivors will recover, or so the medics say."
Jake nodded. "I see." He mumbled.
"I heard the assassins were responsible for this. Those people have no boundaries, now do they?" Michael said in a outraged tone.
"No, no they don't. Mike..." He put his helm on the man's hands. "See that this makes it to the captain, once she is feeling better." He pulled a sealed note out of his pocket and handed it to the man as well. "And this." He nodded. "I won't be able to wait and do this myself I'm afraid."
The man simply stared at him in a shock. Trying to say something and not knowing what. Jake smiled. "Don't worry. She'll know exactly what this means."
With that, Jake walked away from the man, making himself invisible the moment he turned a corner. He had spent hours thinking of what to write on that note. deciding finally that explanations were useless, he left the Black Knights with the only honest words he could find: It has been an honor.
"No, Allison. No!" Alex was seventeen, twice her size, but still he had a hard time keeping Ali from running out the bedroom door. Eventually he managed to drag the screaming ten year old out of the house. Out of the village, past the soldiers. When he finally thought it was far enough he released her. Ali fell to the ground on her knees. The smoke still filed the skies and the smell... It was all over the place. She could still hear her sister's screams although they were only in her head. She stayed there, on her knees, shaking...
"Ali... Ali... Ali... Ali..." Crys' voice began to sink in. She simply repeated her name over and over as if she had been sitting there for hours. As she started to regain consciousness she felt the memories of what had happened coming back to her along with the sharp pain in her chest. "Ow... Crap." She whimpered, as she sat up straight, eyes still closed. "I'm assuming Ella made it back to camp."
Crys sighed. "Yes."
"Good." Ali finally opened her eyes. She didn't feel like moving a muscle, but she knew she would have to make an effort to get out of that place.
"Using your enlightenment, can you walk back to camp?" Crys asked.
"Probably. I will be useless once I get there though." Ali mumbled. She really didn't want to do this, but she knew there wasn't much of an option. She finally opened up her eyes frowning. "Why are my ears ringing so bad?" She whined, covering both her ears with her hands.
"That..." Crys chuckled. "I'll explain that to you later. Have a drink of water, then move. We do need to get out of here before things get too quiet."
Ali nodded, taking a drink of water and activating her enlightenment before standing straight. Even without the pain she found it necessary to lean on Crys to take her first steps towards the door. After a moment or two though, she felt she could walk on her own. "You seem upset." She told Crys. "Did something happen?"
Cry sighed and nodded. "Everything seemed to have happened tonight." She stated. "Come on. Let's just get out of here." She said, leading the way out of the cell.
Ali wasn't sure she understood what that meant exactly, but she felt it was better not ask questions right now. "I'll race you." She said, smiling.
Crys nodded. "Shut up."
------------------------
Jake had walked into the fourth floor of the dungeon a bit late. There weren't as many prisoners out anymore, however the enlightened ones were the worse to fight out. Mageria was down, but he could see someone had already gotten to her. He couldn't quite tell who it was, all he saw was the glimpse of a silver armor. Being that the case, he made himself invisible and made sure to take out all his rage on the escaping prisoners. A moment or two too late, the castle guard finally showed. The few surviving prisoners were locked back in their cells and all the surviving soldiers and Knights were compelled to the medical ward. Jake, however, made his way straight back to his room.
-A few hours later-
After ridding himself of his armor, Jake sat in his bed staring blankly at black helm he held in his hands. He had fought his last battle. Finally standing, he walked down the halls of the castle until he saw a familiar face he could ask questions to. A member of the black guard came walking towards him. The man nodded as Jake raised his hand asking him to stop. "Michael. How is everyone?"
Michael gave him a serious look and answered. "All the survivors will recover, or so the medics say."
Jake nodded. "I see." He mumbled.
"I heard the assassins were responsible for this. Those people have no boundaries, now do they?" Michael said in a outraged tone.
"No, no they don't. Mike..." He put his helm on the man's hands. "See that this makes it to the captain, once she is feeling better." He pulled a sealed note out of his pocket and handed it to the man as well. "And this." He nodded. "I won't be able to wait and do this myself I'm afraid."
The man simply stared at him in a shock. Trying to say something and not knowing what. Jake smiled. "Don't worry. She'll know exactly what this means."
With that, Jake walked away from the man, making himself invisible the moment he turned a corner. He had spent hours thinking of what to write on that note. deciding finally that explanations were useless, he left the Black Knights with the only honest words he could find: It has been an honor.
Everything went down so fast; Mageria were knocked unconscious, The Black Knight that had saved Daniel disappeared in the battle somehow, Krander were no where to be found and The last couple of prisoners surrendered as the Guard Captain arrived with a whole garrison of guards. Daniel was on the very edge of falling into unconsciousness seeing as he had fought relentlessly and without stopping once to rest. When the Guard captain approached him, all the White Knight could do was to nod before leaving the mess to be cleaned up by the guards. He had to rest for a couple of hours and regain his superior strength and stamina. In sort terms: Daniel left the dungeons and made his way to the doctors quarters where he could rest for a while.
Several hours passed on as the sun begun to rose in the skies above. When he finally awoke from his almost eternal slumber, Daniel found himself in a rather comfortable bed in a white room. Next to his bed his armor, shield and two weapons lied, cleaned from blood and sweat. A few beds away he saw Mageria lying unconscious still and across the room Krander had just awoken as well from sleeping on a nice and clean bed for once. Unfortunately, Daniel didn't have time for small-talks with the Captain, even though he might deserve a good explanation for Daniel behavior down in the dungeons, but that had to wait. Rising up, the White Knight swiftly pulled on his armor and quickly attached his sword to the left side of his waist-belt and his hammer to the right side while placing the shield on his back once more. After just a couple of minutes, Daniel was ready to leave and see what time it was and how many hours there was left until he would, hopefully, meet one of the assassins again by the sewer entrance.
"Take care, Captain." Daniel said with a sincere voice and nodded at Krander before leaving. There was no time to explain why he was in a hurry. The Doctoria were no where to be seen and the medical area seemed almost empty aside from a few bodies and the two Captains in the back-room. After making his way out from the Medical office, out from the castle and into the streets once more Daniel realized that there was still a couple of hours left until they would meet again. He chuckled slightly at his reason to hurry out from a cozy bed and maybe even some fine company, but since he was already out he might as well do his morning patrol before anything else.
Several hours passed on as the sun begun to rose in the skies above. When he finally awoke from his almost eternal slumber, Daniel found himself in a rather comfortable bed in a white room. Next to his bed his armor, shield and two weapons lied, cleaned from blood and sweat. A few beds away he saw Mageria lying unconscious still and across the room Krander had just awoken as well from sleeping on a nice and clean bed for once. Unfortunately, Daniel didn't have time for small-talks with the Captain, even though he might deserve a good explanation for Daniel behavior down in the dungeons, but that had to wait. Rising up, the White Knight swiftly pulled on his armor and quickly attached his sword to the left side of his waist-belt and his hammer to the right side while placing the shield on his back once more. After just a couple of minutes, Daniel was ready to leave and see what time it was and how many hours there was left until he would, hopefully, meet one of the assassins again by the sewer entrance.
"Take care, Captain." Daniel said with a sincere voice and nodded at Krander before leaving. There was no time to explain why he was in a hurry. The Doctoria were no where to be seen and the medical area seemed almost empty aside from a few bodies and the two Captains in the back-room. After making his way out from the Medical office, out from the castle and into the streets once more Daniel realized that there was still a couple of hours left until they would meet again. He chuckled slightly at his reason to hurry out from a cozy bed and maybe even some fine company, but since he was already out he might as well do his morning patrol before anything else.
Things happened so quickly in the dungeon. After he realized that his distraction had worked he sighed a breath of relief. Within minutes the whole second floor had been wiped clean of prisoners and the fight on the third could barely be heard. He heard the clanking of the castle guard finally showing up. For a second he flashed back.
He was 20, Phelix was as well. Krander had been really enjoying his time with Phelix since his parents died, and before his training he really had no friends, and even then they were only brothers in arms, not quite friends. He reveled in his blissful youth and his attractiveness was something he noticed as well. Phelix and him had been being boys one day and after a quick dip in the lake, nude of course, Phelix took Krander by the hand and said seriously, "Buddy, I have to tell you something."
"Well, what is it Phelix?" Krander asked curiously.
"It is something I don't know how to explain, and I would like to keep a secret."
Krander smiled, "You want ME," he boomed as birds flew away and the surface of the lake rippled, "to keep a secret?"
Both boys fell back laughing. Once finished Phelix looked Krander dead in the eyes. "Krander," he said softly, "I think I love you."
Krander fell completely silent, something unheard of for him. He stared at Phelix and said nothing for a moment. He nodded his head and asked, "You think, or you know?"
"I know." he replied.
"Phelix, I..." He stopped. He didn't know what to say. He was confused. Phelix was a man, as was he, so could one feel love? Was this one of the 'atrocities' of living in Blackpond?
"Phelix." He paused again. Phelix had begun to tear up. "I don't know what to say," Krander admitted, defeated for the first time in his adult life having nothing to say, and at no volume.
"It is okay," Phelix barely whispered. He got up and put his clothes on. The one thing Krander regrets most was silently letting him get up and leave.
Krander shook his head and focused. He had lived with far too many regrets in his long/short life as a human/captain. He was going to change that. He had so many regrets as the captain of the White Knights, and as a human. He really felt bad about this. It was time to make it right. He looked around the room and stood up again. "Well, what do you think this is a drill? Get out there and help on the Third floor NOW!" he bellowed shaking the walls. As the people in his room bolted past him with week knees he ran back to the holding cell that the assassin had been in. His water and food were still on the table, but the room was empty. He grabbed them both and looked down the hall. Lucky for him they were walking unbeknown to them, in a circle. He turned around and met them on the other side.
"Ladies," he said gently watching them stiffen a bit, "Take this as the first peace offering between Newhaven and the Pack." He handed the water and food to the old prisoner and noticed something odd about the eyes of the other girl. "I draw no weapon to you and ask you remember this occasion, and not the previous when making rash decisions." He looked them both in the eyes and without another word turned on his heels and headed to the third story staircase. Before he made it though, he passed out from exhaustion.
When he woke he knew he wouldn't be speaking. He could open his mouth but no amount of water seemed to be able to quench his thirst nor lubricate his throat. He raised his head, noticing that this bed was the first time he had slept in a clean bed in ages. He saw Daniel and Mageria both of whom were also just waking. Daniel looked over to Krander and said very sincerely, "Take care, Captain."
Krander just about lost it. His eyes teared up as Daniel left the room with a nod. Mageria was giving the closest thing to a smile she would give in public and Krander rolled his eyes as he wiped them clear of the tears. That was all he needed. He knew what he needed to do. He signaled for a pen and paper and wrote four simple words: Newhaven Meeting Upon Recovery. Things were about to go right for Newhaven...
He was 20, Phelix was as well. Krander had been really enjoying his time with Phelix since his parents died, and before his training he really had no friends, and even then they were only brothers in arms, not quite friends. He reveled in his blissful youth and his attractiveness was something he noticed as well. Phelix and him had been being boys one day and after a quick dip in the lake, nude of course, Phelix took Krander by the hand and said seriously, "Buddy, I have to tell you something."
"Well, what is it Phelix?" Krander asked curiously.
"It is something I don't know how to explain, and I would like to keep a secret."
Krander smiled, "You want ME," he boomed as birds flew away and the surface of the lake rippled, "to keep a secret?"
Both boys fell back laughing. Once finished Phelix looked Krander dead in the eyes. "Krander," he said softly, "I think I love you."
Krander fell completely silent, something unheard of for him. He stared at Phelix and said nothing for a moment. He nodded his head and asked, "You think, or you know?"
"I know." he replied.
"Phelix, I..." He stopped. He didn't know what to say. He was confused. Phelix was a man, as was he, so could one feel love? Was this one of the 'atrocities' of living in Blackpond?
"Phelix." He paused again. Phelix had begun to tear up. "I don't know what to say," Krander admitted, defeated for the first time in his adult life having nothing to say, and at no volume.
"It is okay," Phelix barely whispered. He got up and put his clothes on. The one thing Krander regrets most was silently letting him get up and leave.
Krander shook his head and focused. He had lived with far too many regrets in his long/short life as a human/captain. He was going to change that. He had so many regrets as the captain of the White Knights, and as a human. He really felt bad about this. It was time to make it right. He looked around the room and stood up again. "Well, what do you think this is a drill? Get out there and help on the Third floor NOW!" he bellowed shaking the walls. As the people in his room bolted past him with week knees he ran back to the holding cell that the assassin had been in. His water and food were still on the table, but the room was empty. He grabbed them both and looked down the hall. Lucky for him they were walking unbeknown to them, in a circle. He turned around and met them on the other side.
"Ladies," he said gently watching them stiffen a bit, "Take this as the first peace offering between Newhaven and the Pack." He handed the water and food to the old prisoner and noticed something odd about the eyes of the other girl. "I draw no weapon to you and ask you remember this occasion, and not the previous when making rash decisions." He looked them both in the eyes and without another word turned on his heels and headed to the third story staircase. Before he made it though, he passed out from exhaustion.
When he woke he knew he wouldn't be speaking. He could open his mouth but no amount of water seemed to be able to quench his thirst nor lubricate his throat. He raised his head, noticing that this bed was the first time he had slept in a clean bed in ages. He saw Daniel and Mageria both of whom were also just waking. Daniel looked over to Krander and said very sincerely, "Take care, Captain."
Krander just about lost it. His eyes teared up as Daniel left the room with a nod. Mageria was giving the closest thing to a smile she would give in public and Krander rolled his eyes as he wiped them clear of the tears. That was all he needed. He knew what he needed to do. He signaled for a pen and paper and wrote four simple words: Newhaven Meeting Upon Recovery. Things were about to go right for Newhaven...
The homecoming was far from welcoming. Troops were scattered among Newhaven’s lot scampering from here to there all in eager search or alarmed calling. The Black Knight couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. What had happened while he was away? A little was unveiled when he managed to pin down a runner. The little man of service was happy to reveal the happenings within Newhaven’s dungeons and found some comfort in the return of another high ranking official. It wasn’t long before Grim came home, and with his might returned to Newhaven’s efforts, order would soon be reinstated.
Mageria was already downed when Grim managed to find his way to the dungeons. Slipping in with the Guards they raced to the lower levels. Between the Black Guard and the White Knights the early levels of their holding cells were already back in order. Many of the rioting prisoners were incarcerated. This was well, but the third and fourth levels would need more work to bring under control. Grim nominated himself, with his bold leader unable to continue it was only natural that he help curtail anymore damage.
Krander and Daniels aided the cleanup for a short time before both fell unconscious. They had done all they could for the time. Recapturing the third level wasn’t so difficult, many whom were familiar with the Raging Demon surrendered immediately. Knowing well that a struggle with the Black Knight meant death. Only the fully psychotic couldn’t understand their mortality and were promptly dispatched.
The final level of the dungeon took some time. The enlightened that were housed there were confident. Even without Evin to rouse them they were eager for blood. This was also the last stand for the desperate convicts and they weren’t ready to return to their holding cells.
Magic and weapons collided but at the end of the day their enemy was unarmed. Grim’s great blade alone felled many would-be competent opponents in just a few swipes. The fourth level dungeon would have many vacancies once the struggle ended. The day was won and lives were spent, but Grim still didn’t understand how or why all this had happened. Once the last escapee was returned to his four walls he ventured back to the surface. Leaving the rest for cleaning duty, to attempt to discover what went on.
It was unfortunate that he would never learn the full details. With Mageria out of service he was the only knight present that could act on her behalf. Not to mention the other officers were also knocked out. He took the reigns without question and began directing parties to capture runaways and rebuild their jails. In this regard he was a halfway decent leader. Of course Grim lacked the respect his superior did, instead he had their fear. No one was willing to say ’no’ to the man they called War.
Mageria was already downed when Grim managed to find his way to the dungeons. Slipping in with the Guards they raced to the lower levels. Between the Black Guard and the White Knights the early levels of their holding cells were already back in order. Many of the rioting prisoners were incarcerated. This was well, but the third and fourth levels would need more work to bring under control. Grim nominated himself, with his bold leader unable to continue it was only natural that he help curtail anymore damage.
Krander and Daniels aided the cleanup for a short time before both fell unconscious. They had done all they could for the time. Recapturing the third level wasn’t so difficult, many whom were familiar with the Raging Demon surrendered immediately. Knowing well that a struggle with the Black Knight meant death. Only the fully psychotic couldn’t understand their mortality and were promptly dispatched.
The final level of the dungeon took some time. The enlightened that were housed there were confident. Even without Evin to rouse them they were eager for blood. This was also the last stand for the desperate convicts and they weren’t ready to return to their holding cells.
Magic and weapons collided but at the end of the day their enemy was unarmed. Grim’s great blade alone felled many would-be competent opponents in just a few swipes. The fourth level dungeon would have many vacancies once the struggle ended. The day was won and lives were spent, but Grim still didn’t understand how or why all this had happened. Once the last escapee was returned to his four walls he ventured back to the surface. Leaving the rest for cleaning duty, to attempt to discover what went on.
It was unfortunate that he would never learn the full details. With Mageria out of service he was the only knight present that could act on her behalf. Not to mention the other officers were also knocked out. He took the reigns without question and began directing parties to capture runaways and rebuild their jails. In this regard he was a halfway decent leader. Of course Grim lacked the respect his superior did, instead he had their fear. No one was willing to say ’no’ to the man they called War.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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[ASSASSIN'S CAMP!]
When Lena arrived at the camp she found both the leaders to be absent, which really bothered her. Well, sure, she actually wanted to see Crys, but for the more pressing matters she could have settled for Evin.Lena didn't really know Evin. He was too much of a kid when she left the clan, and she made sure not to show her face in the forest for a very long time after that. She did know Dani and Bastian considered him a close friend, just for that she trusted him enough.
This boy Crys had left in charge, however, she was rather unwilling to speak to. Not that she disliked Sean, she knew him since he was a baby, as well as his two brothers and his sister. She had nothing personally against him, other than he seemed way too interested in speaking to her. That immediately struck her as odd, most assassins had the tendency to avoid her on account of her ability. Sean, on the other hand, was very willing to talk and tell her everything he knew had been going on in camp lately. Ending in Crystal's departure towards Newhaven. He didn't know who was imprisoned there, but if Crys left in such a hurry and Jake was with her, it would have to be Evin or Allison. She wouldn't run off like that for just anyone.
Lena then asked for Annie, to see if she could get Sean to go find her, but no. He simply sent a worker after her. When he came back moments later saying Annie was with a patient, Lena sighed. "Great. That will take her forever."
Sean laughed. "She is a little obsessive, no?"
"Have you met my daughter, Sean?" Lena asked absently.
"We crossed paths, here and there. She treated Lionel last year, however. He told me you had to literally drag her out of his tent." He said, looking at her for confirmation.
Lena nodded in agreement. "A lot of the younger healers act this way. Annie is only a little more stubborn than the rest. Your brother was really in a bad shape, so I had to remove her from his care. She would have starved herself working on him and I can't have any of my people do that." She looked at Sean seriously. "I heard he passed, my condolences."
Sean grimaced. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I assume you also heard of my father's death, I was told the two of you were close friends." Sean mentioned. The tone in his voice had grown slightly colder.
"Once upon a time, yes." Lena said simply. Not bothering to react much more to it. It was true though, Eldric was one of her closest friends. She was sorry to hear he was dead, but then... Unlike many others he had lived a full life. "He was a good man." She added.
"So he was." Sean stated. "Pardon my curiosity, but... I heard that the reason you left had to do with Sebastian. Is that correct?"
Lena turned to Sean, her eyes sparkling in blue as she glared at him. "Where have you heard that, might I ask?" Her tone was as calm as before, but ice cold as if she had been severely wronged by the question.
"I-I-I... " Sean stuttered trying to pull a sentence together.
"Where did you hear that?" Lena pushed him into giving her an answer.
"I heard my father and Dani talking about it." Sean answered. "It was... Some time after he died. Dani said you would have probably killed him if you stayed, but they laughed, so I thought she was exaggerating." He explained
Lena sighed. She was going to say something, but was cut off when a boy, that was only perceived as a white blur crossing the encampment, stopped before her. Ethan was bent over, trying to catch at least one breath in order to speak. Lena waited patiently until he managed to give her a message. "Alistair... Alistair asked me to run as fast as I could. He asked me to say everything is fine, but it is important that you return to camp as soon as possible. He says he really needs to speak with you."
"Alright." She told the boy. "Run ahead and tell him I'm on my way back. Don't push yourself, though."
Ethan simply nodded and vanished out of sight again. Lena stood silent for a second, wondering what could be so urgent. "I'm afraid I'm needed back at the ruins, please tell my daughter that if you see her. Also inform Crystal that I must speak with her as soon as possible, if not her then Evin."
With that said, Lena walked away from the big campfire that marked the center of the encampment and started to make her way back to her home. Her thoughts keeping her occupied every step of the way.
When Lena arrived at the camp she found both the leaders to be absent, which really bothered her. Well, sure, she actually wanted to see Crys, but for the more pressing matters she could have settled for Evin.Lena didn't really know Evin. He was too much of a kid when she left the clan, and she made sure not to show her face in the forest for a very long time after that. She did know Dani and Bastian considered him a close friend, just for that she trusted him enough.
This boy Crys had left in charge, however, she was rather unwilling to speak to. Not that she disliked Sean, she knew him since he was a baby, as well as his two brothers and his sister. She had nothing personally against him, other than he seemed way too interested in speaking to her. That immediately struck her as odd, most assassins had the tendency to avoid her on account of her ability. Sean, on the other hand, was very willing to talk and tell her everything he knew had been going on in camp lately. Ending in Crystal's departure towards Newhaven. He didn't know who was imprisoned there, but if Crys left in such a hurry and Jake was with her, it would have to be Evin or Allison. She wouldn't run off like that for just anyone.
Lena then asked for Annie, to see if she could get Sean to go find her, but no. He simply sent a worker after her. When he came back moments later saying Annie was with a patient, Lena sighed. "Great. That will take her forever."
Sean laughed. "She is a little obsessive, no?"
"Have you met my daughter, Sean?" Lena asked absently.
"We crossed paths, here and there. She treated Lionel last year, however. He told me you had to literally drag her out of his tent." He said, looking at her for confirmation.
Lena nodded in agreement. "A lot of the younger healers act this way. Annie is only a little more stubborn than the rest. Your brother was really in a bad shape, so I had to remove her from his care. She would have starved herself working on him and I can't have any of my people do that." She looked at Sean seriously. "I heard he passed, my condolences."
Sean grimaced. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I assume you also heard of my father's death, I was told the two of you were close friends." Sean mentioned. The tone in his voice had grown slightly colder.
"Once upon a time, yes." Lena said simply. Not bothering to react much more to it. It was true though, Eldric was one of her closest friends. She was sorry to hear he was dead, but then... Unlike many others he had lived a full life. "He was a good man." She added.
"So he was." Sean stated. "Pardon my curiosity, but... I heard that the reason you left had to do with Sebastian. Is that correct?"
Lena turned to Sean, her eyes sparkling in blue as she glared at him. "Where have you heard that, might I ask?" Her tone was as calm as before, but ice cold as if she had been severely wronged by the question.
"I-I-I... " Sean stuttered trying to pull a sentence together.
"Where did you hear that?" Lena pushed him into giving her an answer.
"I heard my father and Dani talking about it." Sean answered. "It was... Some time after he died. Dani said you would have probably killed him if you stayed, but they laughed, so I thought she was exaggerating." He explained
Lena sighed. She was going to say something, but was cut off when a boy, that was only perceived as a white blur crossing the encampment, stopped before her. Ethan was bent over, trying to catch at least one breath in order to speak. Lena waited patiently until he managed to give her a message. "Alistair... Alistair asked me to run as fast as I could. He asked me to say everything is fine, but it is important that you return to camp as soon as possible. He says he really needs to speak with you."
"Alright." She told the boy. "Run ahead and tell him I'm on my way back. Don't push yourself, though."
Ethan simply nodded and vanished out of sight again. Lena stood silent for a second, wondering what could be so urgent. "I'm afraid I'm needed back at the ruins, please tell my daughter that if you see her. Also inform Crystal that I must speak with her as soon as possible, if not her then Evin."
With that said, Lena walked away from the big campfire that marked the center of the encampment and started to make her way back to her home. Her thoughts keeping her occupied every step of the way.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Mageria woke up a start. Raising her head from the pillow, she looked around blearily. She was tucked into bed in the officer’s alcove of the medical wing. Laying back down, she groaned under her breath. She felt; she snorted softly. She felt as if she had fought a pitched battle, been thrown from a horse, beaten a couple of times, fought in a prison riot, been smashed against a wall while being held in the air by the throat, and then thrown through the air to smash against the wall. In short, as if she had managed to live through the past three days. Sighing, she sat up slowly. The medic, seeing her, hurried over with a steaming pot of something that she knew would taste foul. However, Mageria wasn’t given much of a choice about the matter. Obediently she drank the tea, which was some sort of restorative and submitted while they ran through a series of exams. The medic went on at great length about massive contusions and possible concussion. She nodded and agreed to stick around for a while for observation. Krander was sitting up across from her writing something intently. Looking toward the back of the room she could see that the medic was distracted for a moment. Pushing her way up, she flashed a hand sign at Krander that translated to Request Cover for Retreat as she went out to the main room. At the very least she was going to check on her men while she was trapped here.
Out in the main ward a couple of her men were sitting together playing Olith rather intently. It was a card game that had been around since before the time of the five cities. It was also a betting game, so it was popular with bored soldiers the land over. One of her men looked up and saw her, grinning lopsidedly.
“Now Captain. Why is it when we get hurt, we have to lay back and let the nice medics do what they want, and when you get hurt, you get to sneak out whenever you feel like it?” Mageria snorted softly.
“Because I’m the Captain and your not? Privilege of rank.” She limped over to where they sat. “So who’s winning?” Because soldiers were forbidden to gamble anything of real value, they usually used pebbles or something similar. Alex, who currently had the largest pile lying in front of him raised his hand proudly.
“Captain, you wanna play a hand or two with us?” Alex looked far to innocent with his request. Mageria arched one eyebrow sarcastically.
“The medic is going on about a possible concussion and you want to take advantage of your Captain?” Alex failed entirely to look repentant.
“Well, we’d go easy on you . . .”
Mageria rolled her eyes. “I’m sure.” She grabbed a handful of pebbles from the bag lying at the end of the bed and settled in. “Deal me in.”
Olith was a strategy game as well as a game of chance. Each player was dealt five cards which they could either keep or discard in favor of more cards. This went on for a few rounds, during which each player could bet on wether or not what they held was better than what the other players held. There were five types or cities of cards. Hearts, diamonds, crosses, stars and clovers. Each of these five cities had court members, King, Queen and Prince. Then there were numbered cards that represented the ranks in the army. Lastly there was a Knight card that could either support the court, or lead the army. For example, if one had all diamonds, then a player could elect to either lead with an army hand or try and build a Court hand, or try and build a hand that balanced the two. They could have a Queen high Court, but she would have to be supported by the army in order to be strong enough to beat the other hands. So that player would have to have Queen, Prince, Knight, second in command, and third in command. Just like in real life, a strong army hand, lead by a Knight, could beat a weak Court hand that had no support. Players could also build alliances between the cities, gathering multiple Kings, Queens, Princes, or Knights. Interestingly enough, if it came down to two players who had a full alliance of either Kings or Queens, the player with all the Queens actually won. There was some rumbling about that, but it had been a rule for so long that no one really thought of changing it. Mageria privately thought that meant that in the past, people realized that the women of the Courts influenced far more than anyone else realized.
Mageria had just laid down a full army with Queen’s support to the groans of the other players; when she heard someone come in the medical ward. Looking up she could see Michael standing there with something tucked under his cloak and looking incredibly uncomfortable. Turning back to the game she racked in her winnings and stood up.
“That’ll teach you to try and take advantage of the injured. Carry on.” She stood up and crossed over to where Michael stood. “Report?”
Michael seemed to find a spot over her left shoulder to be incredibly fascinating.
“Captain, I have to report that Commander Hastings seems to have escaped during the riot.” Mageria stared at him disbelievingly.
“Escaped? I chained him to a chair. A heavy chair. And locked the door. After knocking him out.”
Michael nodded. “He appears to have taken the chair with him when he . . . escaped. He also left you a message.” Michael coughed. “It read, Thanks for leaving me unprotected. See you in battle Mageria. -Hastings” Mageria resisted the urge to beat her head against something. After all that she had been through, that would really hurt.
“Of course he did. Have people out checking the city anyway. He could have gone to ground in one of the abandoned buildings like the rat he is.” She sighed. “Anything else?”
Michael nodded and looked even more miserable. “Jake asked me to give these to you.” He handed her Jake’s helm and message.
“Grim has returned to the city though. He has already started to direct the clean up and search for escaped prisoners.” Mageria looked up at that. Last she knew, Grim was on his way to the city before her. He should have been here long ago. Her gaze shifted sideways for a moment before she looked back up.
“Good. I’ll be along in a bit. Until then, he has my full support.”
Mageria slipped back into the officer’s ward and moved over to Krander’s bed. With a weary sigh she sat down.
“Commander Hastings escaped during the riot. He apparently took the chair that I chained him to with him.” Absently she rubbed her fingers across the brow of the black helm that she held in her hands.
“There’s more though. The last bit of information I got from him was that Blackpond is forming their own group of Black Knights. Only these would be more like assassins. I think that they would be sent after the higher level targets here first. We should watch out for that.” She purposely left out the bit that Hastings had implied that she would be one of the first targets. Ruefully she rubbed the bruises circling her throat.
“After I got that out of him, he threw me off my horse and tried to strangle me. I seem to bring out the worst in him.” She sighed again.
“I need to talk to Grim.” She glanced back at the medic. “Cover me for as long as you can, would you?”
She slipped out of the infirmary after purloining a Black Guard’s uniform to change into. Grimacing, she pulled up the collar in an effort to hid the two different sets of bruises that were evident. She sent Jake’s helm up to her room with a passing servant and set out to find Grim. She found him in the midst of the clean up, directing the efforts of the soldiers. She moved up next to him and spoke softly.
“Grim. I heard that you just got back. It seems you have a great deal to report.” She looked up at her friend. She trusted him completely, but he was keeping secrets about things and that needed to stop.
Out in the main ward a couple of her men were sitting together playing Olith rather intently. It was a card game that had been around since before the time of the five cities. It was also a betting game, so it was popular with bored soldiers the land over. One of her men looked up and saw her, grinning lopsidedly.
“Now Captain. Why is it when we get hurt, we have to lay back and let the nice medics do what they want, and when you get hurt, you get to sneak out whenever you feel like it?” Mageria snorted softly.
“Because I’m the Captain and your not? Privilege of rank.” She limped over to where they sat. “So who’s winning?” Because soldiers were forbidden to gamble anything of real value, they usually used pebbles or something similar. Alex, who currently had the largest pile lying in front of him raised his hand proudly.
“Captain, you wanna play a hand or two with us?” Alex looked far to innocent with his request. Mageria arched one eyebrow sarcastically.
“The medic is going on about a possible concussion and you want to take advantage of your Captain?” Alex failed entirely to look repentant.
“Well, we’d go easy on you . . .”
Mageria rolled her eyes. “I’m sure.” She grabbed a handful of pebbles from the bag lying at the end of the bed and settled in. “Deal me in.”
Olith was a strategy game as well as a game of chance. Each player was dealt five cards which they could either keep or discard in favor of more cards. This went on for a few rounds, during which each player could bet on wether or not what they held was better than what the other players held. There were five types or cities of cards. Hearts, diamonds, crosses, stars and clovers. Each of these five cities had court members, King, Queen and Prince. Then there were numbered cards that represented the ranks in the army. Lastly there was a Knight card that could either support the court, or lead the army. For example, if one had all diamonds, then a player could elect to either lead with an army hand or try and build a Court hand, or try and build a hand that balanced the two. They could have a Queen high Court, but she would have to be supported by the army in order to be strong enough to beat the other hands. So that player would have to have Queen, Prince, Knight, second in command, and third in command. Just like in real life, a strong army hand, lead by a Knight, could beat a weak Court hand that had no support. Players could also build alliances between the cities, gathering multiple Kings, Queens, Princes, or Knights. Interestingly enough, if it came down to two players who had a full alliance of either Kings or Queens, the player with all the Queens actually won. There was some rumbling about that, but it had been a rule for so long that no one really thought of changing it. Mageria privately thought that meant that in the past, people realized that the women of the Courts influenced far more than anyone else realized.
Mageria had just laid down a full army with Queen’s support to the groans of the other players; when she heard someone come in the medical ward. Looking up she could see Michael standing there with something tucked under his cloak and looking incredibly uncomfortable. Turning back to the game she racked in her winnings and stood up.
“That’ll teach you to try and take advantage of the injured. Carry on.” She stood up and crossed over to where Michael stood. “Report?”
Michael seemed to find a spot over her left shoulder to be incredibly fascinating.
“Captain, I have to report that Commander Hastings seems to have escaped during the riot.” Mageria stared at him disbelievingly.
“Escaped? I chained him to a chair. A heavy chair. And locked the door. After knocking him out.”
Michael nodded. “He appears to have taken the chair with him when he . . . escaped. He also left you a message.” Michael coughed. “It read, Thanks for leaving me unprotected. See you in battle Mageria. -Hastings” Mageria resisted the urge to beat her head against something. After all that she had been through, that would really hurt.
“Of course he did. Have people out checking the city anyway. He could have gone to ground in one of the abandoned buildings like the rat he is.” She sighed. “Anything else?”
Michael nodded and looked even more miserable. “Jake asked me to give these to you.” He handed her Jake’s helm and message.
“Grim has returned to the city though. He has already started to direct the clean up and search for escaped prisoners.” Mageria looked up at that. Last she knew, Grim was on his way to the city before her. He should have been here long ago. Her gaze shifted sideways for a moment before she looked back up.
“Good. I’ll be along in a bit. Until then, he has my full support.”
Mageria slipped back into the officer’s ward and moved over to Krander’s bed. With a weary sigh she sat down.
“Commander Hastings escaped during the riot. He apparently took the chair that I chained him to with him.” Absently she rubbed her fingers across the brow of the black helm that she held in her hands.
“There’s more though. The last bit of information I got from him was that Blackpond is forming their own group of Black Knights. Only these would be more like assassins. I think that they would be sent after the higher level targets here first. We should watch out for that.” She purposely left out the bit that Hastings had implied that she would be one of the first targets. Ruefully she rubbed the bruises circling her throat.
“After I got that out of him, he threw me off my horse and tried to strangle me. I seem to bring out the worst in him.” She sighed again.
“I need to talk to Grim.” She glanced back at the medic. “Cover me for as long as you can, would you?”
She slipped out of the infirmary after purloining a Black Guard’s uniform to change into. Grimacing, she pulled up the collar in an effort to hid the two different sets of bruises that were evident. She sent Jake’s helm up to her room with a passing servant and set out to find Grim. She found him in the midst of the clean up, directing the efforts of the soldiers. She moved up next to him and spoke softly.
“Grim. I heard that you just got back. It seems you have a great deal to report.” She looked up at her friend. She trusted him completely, but he was keeping secrets about things and that needed to stop.
Ice wedged itself into his heart when he heard Mageria’s voice. Not that he wasn’t thrilled that his benevolent captain was up and able-bodied. It was more a matter of the insurmountable trouble he was going to likely be in. Privately he had planned to keep his eye on her, and withhold certain details about his actions under wraps. Though truth was he didn’t know if she had heard anything at all of his little jaunt through the forest. He was hoping that her sudden appearance wasn’t going to turn against him. That there was something more pressing perhaps a personal favor or an inquiry on anything but where he has been.
“Ah… yes. The dungeon has been reclaimed. Unfortunately many of our guests were killed in the process. I wish I could tell you more on the matter but I haven’t had time to research the matter at all. Why the prisoners rioted, or how they were released. All of it is lost on me… I’m hoping that the details aren’t hidden from you Captain.”
He faced the disguised woman and tried his best to appear as though he were merely handing down orders. Mageria was likely out of bed against medical recommendation. Grim knew his superior well, she wasn’t about to stay down when duty called her. One part stubborn and one part pride if the Black Knight had to guess.
Privately he decided to just get the punishment over with. Lying was more instinctual and far easier then attempting to reveal his wrong doings. Knowing Mageria wasn’t going to approve made it impossible. Her feelings toward the Pack alone was evidence enough.
“You’re not going to be pleased,” He started with a sigh. “I…. I’m sorry I went to see about something. I know I was supposed to consult you but, there was no time and it was too dangerous. I can’t talk about it openly and I fear that the events here are connected. I went to see Set.”
It was an innuendo but one that she couldn’t miss. Only the Black Knights knew her whereabouts. What was troubling Grim was that the riot called Krander and Daniels into action. Meaning that there was something more dangerous then what could be first guessed.
“She….” He stopped finding the words difficult even now. Grim wouldn’t admit it, but losing his childhood friend hurt.
“She’s retired from service.”
“Ah… yes. The dungeon has been reclaimed. Unfortunately many of our guests were killed in the process. I wish I could tell you more on the matter but I haven’t had time to research the matter at all. Why the prisoners rioted, or how they were released. All of it is lost on me… I’m hoping that the details aren’t hidden from you Captain.”
He faced the disguised woman and tried his best to appear as though he were merely handing down orders. Mageria was likely out of bed against medical recommendation. Grim knew his superior well, she wasn’t about to stay down when duty called her. One part stubborn and one part pride if the Black Knight had to guess.
Privately he decided to just get the punishment over with. Lying was more instinctual and far easier then attempting to reveal his wrong doings. Knowing Mageria wasn’t going to approve made it impossible. Her feelings toward the Pack alone was evidence enough.
“You’re not going to be pleased,” He started with a sigh. “I…. I’m sorry I went to see about something. I know I was supposed to consult you but, there was no time and it was too dangerous. I can’t talk about it openly and I fear that the events here are connected. I went to see Set.”
It was an innuendo but one that she couldn’t miss. Only the Black Knights knew her whereabouts. What was troubling Grim was that the riot called Krander and Daniels into action. Meaning that there was something more dangerous then what could be first guessed.
“She….” He stopped finding the words difficult even now. Grim wouldn’t admit it, but losing his childhood friend hurt.
“She’s retired from service.”
“She . . . . . She’s retired from service.”
Mageria heard the words, but couldn’t process them for a moment. When they finally did sink in, the color slowly leached from her face. She drew a slow breath and her face became mask like, hiding her feelings. The blows were coming faster now. She was loosing the people that were closest to her and there was nothing that she could do about it.
Mageria looked around. Things were well in hand. She looked up at Grim and tilted her head to the side. “With me, please.” She turned and lead the way up to her room. When she entered, she felt a moment’s unease. Everything looked right, but it seemed as if things had been . . . moved. Just enough that she could notice. With a shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts away. It didn’t really matter. Once they were safely away from prying eyes she dropped her mask and stared steadily out the window, pain evident on her face.
“Set . . .” she had to stop and clear her throat. “Set is dead?”
Mageria heard the words, but couldn’t process them for a moment. When they finally did sink in, the color slowly leached from her face. She drew a slow breath and her face became mask like, hiding her feelings. The blows were coming faster now. She was loosing the people that were closest to her and there was nothing that she could do about it.
Mageria looked around. Things were well in hand. She looked up at Grim and tilted her head to the side. “With me, please.” She turned and lead the way up to her room. When she entered, she felt a moment’s unease. Everything looked right, but it seemed as if things had been . . . moved. Just enough that she could notice. With a shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts away. It didn’t really matter. Once they were safely away from prying eyes she dropped her mask and stared steadily out the window, pain evident on her face.
“Set . . .” she had to stop and clear her throat. “Set is dead?”
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Ella took her time to slowly get up. She squinted her eyes continually trying to get used to all of the light from the room that her eyes seemed not to handle well. She was trying to listen to what Anne had said to do. To sit up and eat, but it was just so hard. She could barely feel her legs, they just felt like jelly and her head was throbbing with the pain of what Anne told her to be lack of food and water. When she finally got up to an upright position, she thought it would be best to start with a little drink. She looked over to the bedside table with squinting eyes and saw a small wooden cup filled with water at her side. Ella grabbed the cup with a little difficulty. She seemed to be shaking a little bit. When she took a sip she really realised how dry her mouth was. It was a surprise that she could have even talked when she first woke up. With some liquid in her she was finally ready to start talking.
"If you really need to know... I followed Ali into Newhaven. She was on a mission to look for something or someone, I really don't know the details, but when we were there we met with Evin outside a building that looked like it had burnt down a long time ago. No one has done anything with the property since-" She paused for a second. "Sorry, I'm getting a little distracted here. So, Evin and Ali bickered for a few minutes until a White Knight came over and asked us if there was a problem. Evin made sure that the White Knight took interest in him and they went off somewhere. Ali and I went down to Jakes house. Nothing interesting happened there, then we went to the archives to look things up." Her tone changed suddenly. "Then Evin gave us up and the White Knight captured Ali. Ali gave me a note and then told me to run, so I ran here."
It was still very emotional for her to think of what had happened. She wondered why Evin would give them up like that and what could have happened to Ali. She also wondered about herself too. How much trouble would she get in for running off with Ali without anyone knowing. Maybe she could pull something off and say that she went with Evin, she knew that Evin would find out about that it would be terrible. If Ella ever did get caught, she would be stuck in camp for a long time.
"Do you think I'm going to get in trouble for this?"
"If you really need to know... I followed Ali into Newhaven. She was on a mission to look for something or someone, I really don't know the details, but when we were there we met with Evin outside a building that looked like it had burnt down a long time ago. No one has done anything with the property since-" She paused for a second. "Sorry, I'm getting a little distracted here. So, Evin and Ali bickered for a few minutes until a White Knight came over and asked us if there was a problem. Evin made sure that the White Knight took interest in him and they went off somewhere. Ali and I went down to Jakes house. Nothing interesting happened there, then we went to the archives to look things up." Her tone changed suddenly. "Then Evin gave us up and the White Knight captured Ali. Ali gave me a note and then told me to run, so I ran here."
It was still very emotional for her to think of what had happened. She wondered why Evin would give them up like that and what could have happened to Ali. She also wondered about herself too. How much trouble would she get in for running off with Ali without anyone knowing. Maybe she could pull something off and say that she went with Evin, she knew that Evin would find out about that it would be terrible. If Ella ever did get caught, she would be stuck in camp for a long time.
"Do you think I'm going to get in trouble for this?"
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Grim’s face went flat while watching Mageria. In the privacy of her room they could discuss things more openly. Which was good because communication was difficult in the presence of the regular folks. Grim had only himself to blame for the misunderstanding betwixt them. Calmly he scooped Mageria’s hand patting the back of it with gentleness. Showing his captain things were not quite that devastating as was first implied.
“No M’lady she isn’t dead. I meant she retired. She found someone of her real family and has happily decided to go and live with them. Abandoning her post, but I guess she felt her reasons were enough. I scolded her, but Set decided on following her heart.”
Grim released her after that. Using human contact to steady the nerves and to reassure her he was still loyal. Of course he had a tendency to go against orders and even foolishly risk himself. The ends though always justified the means with Grim. Never did he act without purpose or engage without reason. The problem was he was being secretive. The latest act of chasing about the truth to the story he heard was becoming nothing more then a dangerous nuisance. Twice he had willingly engaged the Pack and in both cases he refused battle with his sworn enemy. Now he had to attempt to find the King’s body. Another feat that could be potential devastating to the Black Knight’s reputation.
“The riots don’t make sense Captain. You, Krander, and even Daniels got involved in something that shouldn’t have been handled by more then one of your ranks at best. Even alone I was able to curtail the most dangerous of our prisoners. Yet all three of you were incapacitated in the struggle. There’s something amiss and I’m asking M’lady. What really happened down there?”
“No M’lady she isn’t dead. I meant she retired. She found someone of her real family and has happily decided to go and live with them. Abandoning her post, but I guess she felt her reasons were enough. I scolded her, but Set decided on following her heart.”
Grim released her after that. Using human contact to steady the nerves and to reassure her he was still loyal. Of course he had a tendency to go against orders and even foolishly risk himself. The ends though always justified the means with Grim. Never did he act without purpose or engage without reason. The problem was he was being secretive. The latest act of chasing about the truth to the story he heard was becoming nothing more then a dangerous nuisance. Twice he had willingly engaged the Pack and in both cases he refused battle with his sworn enemy. Now he had to attempt to find the King’s body. Another feat that could be potential devastating to the Black Knight’s reputation.
“The riots don’t make sense Captain. You, Krander, and even Daniels got involved in something that shouldn’t have been handled by more then one of your ranks at best. Even alone I was able to curtail the most dangerous of our prisoners. Yet all three of you were incapacitated in the struggle. There’s something amiss and I’m asking M’lady. What really happened down there?”
Mageria sighed tiredly. “What didn’t happen down there?”
She poured them both a drink, oddly enough from the bottle that Ev had given her long ago. It was the best she had and only for special occasions.
“I’ll tell you what I know. At some point yesterday, Daniel captured an assassin going through the archives looking for something. I don’t know what, he was in the middle of questioning her when things went south. Somehow the rest of the Pack got word that one of theirs had been captured and came back to get her. I’m sure there was more than one, but I only saw the one. I do know that there was more than one, because Jake was there as well and he was fighting against the one I saw.” She leaned back and sipped her drink slowly.
“I may as well say this straight out. I knew the assassin that was there, at least I thought I did, a long time ago. His name was Ev, and he lied to me about everything from day one. The last time we met he gave me this.” She tapped the scar on her cheek. “Anyway, I had been escorting Commander Hastings back to Newhaven when all this happened. When I got to the dungeons, Ev had apparently released about half of the prisoners and started to whip them up into a riot. I hit Hastings over the head, chained him to a chair and left him in a locked room; then went to help quell the riot. The other Knights were already down in the dungeons or nearby and simply got caught up in it. I sent one man back for help and started fighting. After a few minutes, one of the rioters started egging the others on and challenged me to a duel. I faced off against him, only to find out it was Ev. We fought and at some point Jake got involved. He did his best to separate us, for reasons unknown to me. And ended up revealing his identity.” She got up and paced slowly over to the window.
“Ev didn’t know that Jake was working with us and started threatening him. But then some of the more dangerous prisoners started getting loose from the third and forth levels. I had to leave Jake to his fight and deal with them because for some reason no one was coming to help. It wasn’t easy, because at that point just about everyone I was up against had a grudge against the Black Knights to work out. And some of them were Enlightened.” She touched the spot on her forehead that the terror caster had touched, remembering the hell he had forced on her.
“I don’t remember much of the last of the fight, because I got thrown about 30 feet through the air and smashed into the wall.”
Sourly she sipped the last of her drink.
“And somehow in all of that, Hastings got away. While carrying the chair that I had him chained too. I’d take it as a favor if you could look for him. It can’t be that hard to find a weasel chained to a chair dressed in Blackpond’s uniform walking around the castle in the middle of the night.”
She turned back to Grim and her gaze went narrow.
“Now, I’m glad to hear that we lost Set to a different life rather than death. Jake made his choice and walked away as well. But that means that you were either at the Pack camp or damn close to it. By yourself. Now you know that I will back you to the ends of the world, but I need to know what’s going on. If only because people are going to start asking questions soon and I need to know what not to tell them. So you either tell me what’s been going on, or I swear to all the gods that I will paint pink flowers on your armor the next time your out of commission. With cute little hearts.”
She poured them both a drink, oddly enough from the bottle that Ev had given her long ago. It was the best she had and only for special occasions.
“I’ll tell you what I know. At some point yesterday, Daniel captured an assassin going through the archives looking for something. I don’t know what, he was in the middle of questioning her when things went south. Somehow the rest of the Pack got word that one of theirs had been captured and came back to get her. I’m sure there was more than one, but I only saw the one. I do know that there was more than one, because Jake was there as well and he was fighting against the one I saw.” She leaned back and sipped her drink slowly.
“I may as well say this straight out. I knew the assassin that was there, at least I thought I did, a long time ago. His name was Ev, and he lied to me about everything from day one. The last time we met he gave me this.” She tapped the scar on her cheek. “Anyway, I had been escorting Commander Hastings back to Newhaven when all this happened. When I got to the dungeons, Ev had apparently released about half of the prisoners and started to whip them up into a riot. I hit Hastings over the head, chained him to a chair and left him in a locked room; then went to help quell the riot. The other Knights were already down in the dungeons or nearby and simply got caught up in it. I sent one man back for help and started fighting. After a few minutes, one of the rioters started egging the others on and challenged me to a duel. I faced off against him, only to find out it was Ev. We fought and at some point Jake got involved. He did his best to separate us, for reasons unknown to me. And ended up revealing his identity.” She got up and paced slowly over to the window.
“Ev didn’t know that Jake was working with us and started threatening him. But then some of the more dangerous prisoners started getting loose from the third and forth levels. I had to leave Jake to his fight and deal with them because for some reason no one was coming to help. It wasn’t easy, because at that point just about everyone I was up against had a grudge against the Black Knights to work out. And some of them were Enlightened.” She touched the spot on her forehead that the terror caster had touched, remembering the hell he had forced on her.
“I don’t remember much of the last of the fight, because I got thrown about 30 feet through the air and smashed into the wall.”
Sourly she sipped the last of her drink.
“And somehow in all of that, Hastings got away. While carrying the chair that I had him chained too. I’d take it as a favor if you could look for him. It can’t be that hard to find a weasel chained to a chair dressed in Blackpond’s uniform walking around the castle in the middle of the night.”
She turned back to Grim and her gaze went narrow.
“Now, I’m glad to hear that we lost Set to a different life rather than death. Jake made his choice and walked away as well. But that means that you were either at the Pack camp or damn close to it. By yourself. Now you know that I will back you to the ends of the world, but I need to know what’s going on. If only because people are going to start asking questions soon and I need to know what not to tell them. So you either tell me what’s been going on, or I swear to all the gods that I will paint pink flowers on your armor the next time your out of commission. With cute little hearts.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Annie was listening to what Ella was saying, but while she was speaking she was going through her medicine kit. She got up and lit the fire and began to heat up water to make some tea. "I see." She said, when Ella finished speaking. "I don't think you will get in trouble and if you do, I'm sure Ali will find a way to get you out of it. After all, if you weren't there no one would have known she was captured." Annie's statement could be perceived as naive, since she didn't really have a clue if Ali would be alive, but she simply rather believe that the news reached camp in time to save her.
Annie pulled the dagger Ali had given her in the ruins and used it to cut what appeared to be some sort of root. She spent the next moments in silence preparing what would turn out to be a very bitter cup of tea. She grimaced as she poured the boiling water into the cup and the scent of herbs invaded the room. "I really wouldn't want to be you right now." She snickered, resting the cup of tea on the bedside table. "I'll need you to drink this, but you should eat before you do. You probably won't be able to taste anything else for quite sometime afterwards and you'll probably be out cold within minutes too." She smiled. "You will feel much better when you wake up though. By then someone should be back from Newhaven."
Following that statement the door opened and Sean peeked into the house. "Annie, your mother left. She said she was called back to the ruins. This kid came out of nowhere and said Alistair needed her back."
"Ethan." Annie stated. "Is something wrong?"
"She said you shouldn't worry about it." He answered.
Annie sighed. "Well, she always says that. Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong." She gave Ella another smile, and a small bow. "Excuse me." She stated, turning and leaving the cabin.
Sean turned when she passed him. "Lockdown, Annie!"
"I know!" She replied.
Sean nodded, a half amused smiled crossing his face. "Stubborn kid." He then made his way to a chair and stared at the girl on the bed for a second, before opening a smile. "Hi, I'm Sean." He said. "I shouldn't talk to you before Crys does, but... See... She didn't tell me who got captured and I'm wondering if you could tell me that." He asked. "Please."
----------------------
[Forest, heading towards the camp - Almost sunrise]
Ali had to stop walking and catch a breath. The path was pitch black and even if it wasn't, at this point her sight was so blurry she wouldn't be able to see in broad daylight. Crys stopped walking as well and forced some water on her. "Come on now, we're almost there." She said simply, starting to walk again.
"Fine." Ali muttered as she began to follow. She felt absolutely no pain, but it was getting harder to breathe and she felt very weak. Plus, Crys' attitude wasn't helpful. She hadn't said a word ever since they left the dungeons. As if she wasn't acting strange enough, she grew even more strange after they ran into Krander. Something about the man affected Crys. It wasn't anger and it was something Ali simply couldn't identify. She didn't recall ever seeing Crys this way, she seemed actually saddened. Not that Crys never got sad, but she never looked sad. It was certainly odd.
Ali took the time to tell Crys everything Daniel had told her, and the brief conversation she had with Krander before passing out. Other than mumbling a word here and there, Crys didn't answer to her much either. Although Ali knew she had caught her every word. After a while more of walking, Ali felt her knees weaken and bend, she found found herself being caught and supported by Crys almost immediately though. "Thank you." She mumbled.
"Don't mention it." Crys replied, with a half smile.
"Are you alright?" Ali asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just thinking things through, that's all."
"It's amazing how terrible you are at lying." Ali said.
"It's amazing how you won't shut up even when you can barely keep your eyes open." Crys muttered.
Ali sighed. "Fine, don't tell me." She stated, not saying another word.
-------------------------------------------------
Jake stopped at his house on the residential area of Newhaven, simply for the sake of taking a breath. His thoughts were scattered all over the place. In a way, the state Evin had left his old house in was the perfect picture of how Jake was feeling inside. He felt shattered, confused and dark, just like that place was now. After a while of sitting there he realized he was feeling sorry for himself. He nodded. "Pathetic little fool." He muttered out, hiding his face in his hands. It was the first time he felt himself drowning in self pity in a long time. For some reason the last time come to his mind, which only made him feel worse remembering what Crys had told him back then,
Jake had just gotten back from the healers, yet again. He walked to the lake and sat by the water. Lena's latest speech still burning in the back of his mind, he was angry and didn't even bother to hide it. He sat there watching the still waters until he heard a voice behind him. "You don't belong here. Why do you keep coming back?" Crys asked, annoyance clear in her voice.
"That's none of your business. Leave me alone." Jake growled at her, not even bothering to turn.
"Oh, but it is my business. See, I was just promoted to instructor today." Crys said, sitting down as well, a little further away.
"Congratulations." Jake mumbled, not much caring for the information.
"Thank you. I am also now in charge of your training, which means I now own your pathetic little ass. So answer my question." She told him.
"I have nowhere else to go. There." He muttered.
"You're lying. I doubt Lena wouldn't take you, even if she rightfully thinks you're a pathetic little fool." She sighed. "Want to know what I think?" She asked.
"Not like it'll stop you." He retorted.
"Those men who killed your sister... You are exactly like them." She stated.
Jake finally turned to look at Crys, one look at her though and he stopped what he was about to say. She seemed as calm as one can be, stirring the water with her fingertips. Instead of lashing out at her he found himself stuttering like an idiot. "W-what?"
"Blackpond is, economically and socially, a dump. So I assume those people grew up having nothing, lost their families to diseases or the war. They feel so sorry for themselves that they assume anything they do is justified by how much they suffered. Much like you right now, they don't give a crap for any advice or opportunities they're given because they are unable to see outside the little bubbles of self-pity they shield themselves in." She shrugged. "So, see... You don't belong here. There's no room for pathetic and selfish people like that in this clan. Please leave to wherever someone will take you instead of forcing me to waste my time trying to help you."
Bastian had promised Jake he would be assigned to assassinate his sister's killers after he graduated. Of course he knew Jake would only graduate if Crys allowed him to. He probably didn't really think he would make it past her, but to know that Crys thought so little of him was such a shock, that he simply couldn't live with himself until he proved to her that he was nothing like those murderers. That was when he realized that her opinion mattered that much more than any idea of revenge that might have crossed his mind.
Jake sighed, standing up and leaving that house. He was trying to avoid something that would be always there no matter how hard he tried to hide from it. Best was to get it all over with. Leaving the city of Newhaven behind... He started his journey back to the Wolpack encampment.
-----------------------
[Wolfpack camp - Around 10am]
The sun was high and it was a warm day for what Crys could feel on her skin. There was still a cool breeze, but it was getting warmer by the minute. It would be a hot afternoon in the desert and in the plains where there was less shade. A beautiful morning indeed. However, the horrifying screams that could be heard coming from the healers' cabin made it impossible for anyone with ears to enjoy it properly.
Ali wasn't all that hurt, but Annie said that she would experience excruciating pain for up to 24h, no matter what she did to help her. It was the consequence for keeping her ability in use for so long. Crys was currently waiting outside the cabin for Annie to come out and talk to her. When the door of the cabin opened, Crys sighed as Annie leaned against the outside wall of the wooden house. "Isn't there something you can do for her?"
"I already gave her all the medication she can take, Crys. She was supposed to be out cold by now." Annie replied. "I can't heal her unless she stops squirming."
At that moment the screaming stopped. Annie went back inside and Crys followed. "Great. She finally fell asleep." Annie said. "Now I can see about those fractures."
Crys heaved a sigh of relief. "Great. Can you have her moved to her house though? You know she hates it here."
Annie chuckled. "Who doesn't hate it here?" She joked. "Yes, I can do that. She should probably stay in bed even after healing, so someone should stay with her to make sure she doesn't get out of bed."
"I have to go back, actually. So... Maybe leave one of the other healers with her, or wait until I get back to heal the fractures. Three cracked ribs will surely keep her quiet."
"Sure, suppose I could wait a day." Annie answered. "She already argued with me for wanting to use my enlightenment on her anyway."
Crys chuckled. "Right. Because she can handle everything." She patted Annie on the back and added. "Enjoy the time you have while she's knocked out and go get some food, or sleep. Remember sleep Annie?"
"Do you?" The girl retorted.
"I wish I had the time." Crys mumbled, walking out of the cabin, straight out of camp, heading back towards Newhaven. She was probably going to be getting there a little late.
Annie pulled the dagger Ali had given her in the ruins and used it to cut what appeared to be some sort of root. She spent the next moments in silence preparing what would turn out to be a very bitter cup of tea. She grimaced as she poured the boiling water into the cup and the scent of herbs invaded the room. "I really wouldn't want to be you right now." She snickered, resting the cup of tea on the bedside table. "I'll need you to drink this, but you should eat before you do. You probably won't be able to taste anything else for quite sometime afterwards and you'll probably be out cold within minutes too." She smiled. "You will feel much better when you wake up though. By then someone should be back from Newhaven."
Following that statement the door opened and Sean peeked into the house. "Annie, your mother left. She said she was called back to the ruins. This kid came out of nowhere and said Alistair needed her back."
"Ethan." Annie stated. "Is something wrong?"
"She said you shouldn't worry about it." He answered.
Annie sighed. "Well, she always says that. Doesn't mean there's nothing wrong." She gave Ella another smile, and a small bow. "Excuse me." She stated, turning and leaving the cabin.
Sean turned when she passed him. "Lockdown, Annie!"
"I know!" She replied.
Sean nodded, a half amused smiled crossing his face. "Stubborn kid." He then made his way to a chair and stared at the girl on the bed for a second, before opening a smile. "Hi, I'm Sean." He said. "I shouldn't talk to you before Crys does, but... See... She didn't tell me who got captured and I'm wondering if you could tell me that." He asked. "Please."
----------------------
[Forest, heading towards the camp - Almost sunrise]
Ali had to stop walking and catch a breath. The path was pitch black and even if it wasn't, at this point her sight was so blurry she wouldn't be able to see in broad daylight. Crys stopped walking as well and forced some water on her. "Come on now, we're almost there." She said simply, starting to walk again.
"Fine." Ali muttered as she began to follow. She felt absolutely no pain, but it was getting harder to breathe and she felt very weak. Plus, Crys' attitude wasn't helpful. She hadn't said a word ever since they left the dungeons. As if she wasn't acting strange enough, she grew even more strange after they ran into Krander. Something about the man affected Crys. It wasn't anger and it was something Ali simply couldn't identify. She didn't recall ever seeing Crys this way, she seemed actually saddened. Not that Crys never got sad, but she never looked sad. It was certainly odd.
Ali took the time to tell Crys everything Daniel had told her, and the brief conversation she had with Krander before passing out. Other than mumbling a word here and there, Crys didn't answer to her much either. Although Ali knew she had caught her every word. After a while more of walking, Ali felt her knees weaken and bend, she found found herself being caught and supported by Crys almost immediately though. "Thank you." She mumbled.
"Don't mention it." Crys replied, with a half smile.
"Are you alright?" Ali asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just thinking things through, that's all."
"It's amazing how terrible you are at lying." Ali said.
"It's amazing how you won't shut up even when you can barely keep your eyes open." Crys muttered.
Ali sighed. "Fine, don't tell me." She stated, not saying another word.
-------------------------------------------------
Jake stopped at his house on the residential area of Newhaven, simply for the sake of taking a breath. His thoughts were scattered all over the place. In a way, the state Evin had left his old house in was the perfect picture of how Jake was feeling inside. He felt shattered, confused and dark, just like that place was now. After a while of sitting there he realized he was feeling sorry for himself. He nodded. "Pathetic little fool." He muttered out, hiding his face in his hands. It was the first time he felt himself drowning in self pity in a long time. For some reason the last time come to his mind, which only made him feel worse remembering what Crys had told him back then,
Jake had just gotten back from the healers, yet again. He walked to the lake and sat by the water. Lena's latest speech still burning in the back of his mind, he was angry and didn't even bother to hide it. He sat there watching the still waters until he heard a voice behind him. "You don't belong here. Why do you keep coming back?" Crys asked, annoyance clear in her voice.
"That's none of your business. Leave me alone." Jake growled at her, not even bothering to turn.
"Oh, but it is my business. See, I was just promoted to instructor today." Crys said, sitting down as well, a little further away.
"Congratulations." Jake mumbled, not much caring for the information.
"Thank you. I am also now in charge of your training, which means I now own your pathetic little ass. So answer my question." She told him.
"I have nowhere else to go. There." He muttered.
"You're lying. I doubt Lena wouldn't take you, even if she rightfully thinks you're a pathetic little fool." She sighed. "Want to know what I think?" She asked.
"Not like it'll stop you." He retorted.
"Those men who killed your sister... You are exactly like them." She stated.
Jake finally turned to look at Crys, one look at her though and he stopped what he was about to say. She seemed as calm as one can be, stirring the water with her fingertips. Instead of lashing out at her he found himself stuttering like an idiot. "W-what?"
"Blackpond is, economically and socially, a dump. So I assume those people grew up having nothing, lost their families to diseases or the war. They feel so sorry for themselves that they assume anything they do is justified by how much they suffered. Much like you right now, they don't give a crap for any advice or opportunities they're given because they are unable to see outside the little bubbles of self-pity they shield themselves in." She shrugged. "So, see... You don't belong here. There's no room for pathetic and selfish people like that in this clan. Please leave to wherever someone will take you instead of forcing me to waste my time trying to help you."
Bastian had promised Jake he would be assigned to assassinate his sister's killers after he graduated. Of course he knew Jake would only graduate if Crys allowed him to. He probably didn't really think he would make it past her, but to know that Crys thought so little of him was such a shock, that he simply couldn't live with himself until he proved to her that he was nothing like those murderers. That was when he realized that her opinion mattered that much more than any idea of revenge that might have crossed his mind.
Jake sighed, standing up and leaving that house. He was trying to avoid something that would be always there no matter how hard he tried to hide from it. Best was to get it all over with. Leaving the city of Newhaven behind... He started his journey back to the Wolpack encampment.
-----------------------
[Wolfpack camp - Around 10am]
The sun was high and it was a warm day for what Crys could feel on her skin. There was still a cool breeze, but it was getting warmer by the minute. It would be a hot afternoon in the desert and in the plains where there was less shade. A beautiful morning indeed. However, the horrifying screams that could be heard coming from the healers' cabin made it impossible for anyone with ears to enjoy it properly.
Ali wasn't all that hurt, but Annie said that she would experience excruciating pain for up to 24h, no matter what she did to help her. It was the consequence for keeping her ability in use for so long. Crys was currently waiting outside the cabin for Annie to come out and talk to her. When the door of the cabin opened, Crys sighed as Annie leaned against the outside wall of the wooden house. "Isn't there something you can do for her?"
"I already gave her all the medication she can take, Crys. She was supposed to be out cold by now." Annie replied. "I can't heal her unless she stops squirming."
At that moment the screaming stopped. Annie went back inside and Crys followed. "Great. She finally fell asleep." Annie said. "Now I can see about those fractures."
Crys heaved a sigh of relief. "Great. Can you have her moved to her house though? You know she hates it here."
Annie chuckled. "Who doesn't hate it here?" She joked. "Yes, I can do that. She should probably stay in bed even after healing, so someone should stay with her to make sure she doesn't get out of bed."
"I have to go back, actually. So... Maybe leave one of the other healers with her, or wait until I get back to heal the fractures. Three cracked ribs will surely keep her quiet."
"Sure, suppose I could wait a day." Annie answered. "She already argued with me for wanting to use my enlightenment on her anyway."
Crys chuckled. "Right. Because she can handle everything." She patted Annie on the back and added. "Enjoy the time you have while she's knocked out and go get some food, or sleep. Remember sleep Annie?"
"Do you?" The girl retorted.
"I wish I had the time." Crys mumbled, walking out of the cabin, straight out of camp, heading back towards Newhaven. She was probably going to be getting there a little late.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
The sun rose high in the sky and there was just about no clouds on it. The sunlight shone down upon Daniels armor as he walked down the road. He knew where he was heading and he had left a note about it earlier in Kranders office; He knew how whiny the Captain could become if Daniel didn't report whenever he left the city, which he rarely ever did these days, but still. He couldn't blame Krander because it was his duty to be whiny and make sure he knows where every White Knight are if he would ever need to seek them out or send a messenger after them. On the note however, Daniel had simple explained that he had business outside the city and he would be back in a couple of hours, so there was no point in telling him what eh was doing. He knew he'd have to explain it sooner or later, but Daniel liked to keep this meeting a secret for now.
The Guards at the gates tried to not mind Daniel as he passed them by. It was not everyday you saw a White Knight leaving the city and it was even more rare to see Daniel leave it ever since the King was assassinated. Moving away from the gates, Daniel turned down the left path that headed down towards the old sewer systems where he used to find an old associate sneaking around from time to time back in the old days. He sort of had a secret entrance of some kind down here, but every time Daniel tried to find it there was none to be found. It remained a mystery to him to this day.
The sewers smelled awfully and with good reasons; they didn't call it a sewer for no reason. The White Knight moved down from a small hill and made his way into the circle shaped entrance of the sewers and there he waited. He would eventually get used to the smell, but hopefully he'd not have to wait more than necessary for this assassin to turn up. If she or they didn't come, Daniels lead would turn cold and his hunt for the truth would be over.
"I can't let that happen." He thought as he leaned against one of the dirt walls in wait for a person who might not even come.
The Guards at the gates tried to not mind Daniel as he passed them by. It was not everyday you saw a White Knight leaving the city and it was even more rare to see Daniel leave it ever since the King was assassinated. Moving away from the gates, Daniel turned down the left path that headed down towards the old sewer systems where he used to find an old associate sneaking around from time to time back in the old days. He sort of had a secret entrance of some kind down here, but every time Daniel tried to find it there was none to be found. It remained a mystery to him to this day.
The sewers smelled awfully and with good reasons; they didn't call it a sewer for no reason. The White Knight moved down from a small hill and made his way into the circle shaped entrance of the sewers and there he waited. He would eventually get used to the smell, but hopefully he'd not have to wait more than necessary for this assassin to turn up. If she or they didn't come, Daniels lead would turn cold and his hunt for the truth would be over.
"I can't let that happen." He thought as he leaned against one of the dirt walls in wait for a person who might not even come.
The Blade recoiled with his captains words. Such a threat was awkward but likely very serious. Mageria did have a streak of humor in her, but she wasn’t exactly known for making light threats. Grim could only assume that despite the quirkiness of it, she would indeed follow through. Silencing some snickering he returned to his business face. Keeping his eyes locked with his commander part in respect and the other in acknowledgement.
“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with Hastings. The commanding officer you took from Blackpond I presume? While it is fair to say I could hunt a man chained to furniture, I’ll have to ask for a description before I set to the hunt. If this fellow escaped the dungeon under such circumstance I’d assume getting rid of the chair would be the easy part.
As for where I’ve been I’d say you’ve figured it out. Yes I went among the wolves…”
He directed his hands to his helm pulling the armor free so that his face was in clear view. The gleam of his emerald orbs could now reflect his voice without the shadow of the helmet’s brow. He looked ghostly having little time to rest and though his face was tired and gaunt, he retained a spirited determination.
“Newhaven’s Archives could not provide the proof I’ve been looking for. In fact its rather astounding how little is actually kept in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if the King had a private library stashed somewhere. Point is, I went to the source of the claim. I met with their leader and was told all that they knew. Ultimately the story I’ve been chasing has turned up nothing. Yet, I have one last final card to play on this goose chase. Should this last clue in my hunt fail me, then I will give up the quest. I have spent far too long running after hints and I see now what has come of it. I should have been there during the riot. I could of brought those criminals to their knees in minutes. We could have kept your quarry and possibly taken in some spies as well. I have not forgotten my oaths and I intend to repay them.
M’lady, you told me to come to you in my need. I have a request…. I must see the last King’s body.”
“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with Hastings. The commanding officer you took from Blackpond I presume? While it is fair to say I could hunt a man chained to furniture, I’ll have to ask for a description before I set to the hunt. If this fellow escaped the dungeon under such circumstance I’d assume getting rid of the chair would be the easy part.
As for where I’ve been I’d say you’ve figured it out. Yes I went among the wolves…”
He directed his hands to his helm pulling the armor free so that his face was in clear view. The gleam of his emerald orbs could now reflect his voice without the shadow of the helmet’s brow. He looked ghostly having little time to rest and though his face was tired and gaunt, he retained a spirited determination.
“Newhaven’s Archives could not provide the proof I’ve been looking for. In fact its rather astounding how little is actually kept in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if the King had a private library stashed somewhere. Point is, I went to the source of the claim. I met with their leader and was told all that they knew. Ultimately the story I’ve been chasing has turned up nothing. Yet, I have one last final card to play on this goose chase. Should this last clue in my hunt fail me, then I will give up the quest. I have spent far too long running after hints and I see now what has come of it. I should have been there during the riot. I could of brought those criminals to their knees in minutes. We could have kept your quarry and possibly taken in some spies as well. I have not forgotten my oaths and I intend to repay them.
M’lady, you told me to come to you in my need. I have a request…. I must see the last King’s body.”
Mageria stared at Grim, her head tilted to the side. Of all the things that she had been expecting him to ask for, this was not one of them. Grim needed to see the King’s body? Pushing off the wall she crossed the room and sat back down at the table in front of her friend. Reaching out with one hand, she gripped his hand in return.
“You need to see the King’s body? Grim, what’s going on? What claim, what story?”
With her free hand she pushed her hair back out of her eyes.
“Old friend, what story could possibly send you to talk to the Pack by yourself?”
She leaned forward, her eyes gone stormy grey in concern.
“Grim, please tell me. I will do whatever it takes to help you, but I don’t understand.”
She had to admit to feeling a great deal of concern. Whatever it was that troubled Grim, it was driving him beyond even his great strength. That much was clear from the exhaustion on his face.
“Grim, you’ve pushed yourself to the breaking point. Please, let me help so that you can rest. Just tell me what your looking for and why.”
“You need to see the King’s body? Grim, what’s going on? What claim, what story?”
With her free hand she pushed her hair back out of her eyes.
“Old friend, what story could possibly send you to talk to the Pack by yourself?”
She leaned forward, her eyes gone stormy grey in concern.
“Grim, please tell me. I will do whatever it takes to help you, but I don’t understand.”
She had to admit to feeling a great deal of concern. Whatever it was that troubled Grim, it was driving him beyond even his great strength. That much was clear from the exhaustion on his face.
“Grim, you’ve pushed yourself to the breaking point. Please, let me help so that you can rest. Just tell me what your looking for and why.”
It was strange how tense the moment to only leave the Black Knight laughing. Indeed he was chuckling with hardiness and boasted a pleasant grin. Forgetting momentarily how troubling their world was behind the joy of companionship. Mageria was a good leader and a dear friend even a the darkest of days. She cared for her charges with a compassion rarely ever glimpsed. Often forsaking herself in the names of others. It was funny to think she had escaped the medical ward prematurely to come and aid Grim, it got him chortling pretty good.
“At ease M’lady. There is plenty of strength in this body to do what is needed. All that I have done, I have done for Newhaven. There is no regret and certainly no shame in serving my homeland.”
He paused to stay with Mageria’s gaze. She was riled but he did the best he could to reassure her. There was enough stress for the leader of the Black Knights. Though what he asked would only inevitably add to the weight, he hoped to ease the burdens in the long run.
“There was a man Mageria. For reasons I don’t know, there was a man with an agenda. A man that breached all walks of life in Valcrest. He was a White Shadow, a Pack member, and our King. They say he possessed an enchanted weapon, though I couldn’t get details on it. With this magic he was murdering Enlightened. Using his various guises to find and locate targets, likely with a broader goal in mind.
The Pack were the first on his trail, but if I had to guess they were having trouble finding him. They came here to Newhaven to ask our King about some recent decrements against their encampment. If you recall the King was offering a reward for information about the Pack a while back…
So they arrived and discovered that this Shadow was disguised as our royal lord. The attack I’m sure you’re familiar with. Yet how strange it is that there were no first hand accounts, only notes on damaged and things that burned up from the explosions. So the story goes that the Pack successfully killed the faux King.
There’s no proof to back any of this up. At first I thought the tale folly, but then I got to thinking on it. What if we’re wrong Mageria? There was a recent string of Enlightened deaths within the last three years. It would also explain why the Wolves attacked at all. I may not be a mercenary Captain, but no price was worth the trouble of killing our King. Think on it, the retribution was harsh. Newhaven was weakened for a time but our resolve has only been bolstered by the violence. If not for Blackpond’s sudden warmongering the Pack would have been eliminated or hunted down to near extinction. Far too great a gamble for a bunch living off the forests with limited income and supplies.
When I talked to the Alpha it was made clear to me that this Shadow was originally a Pack member. All graduates wear a ring to symbolize that they are a Wolf. It is a rite of passage and I wonder if the King’s body might be adorning such a ring. It would end all the questions. That’s why I need to see the body.
Because Newhaven is the most powerful, that makes it our duty to safeguard the future. It is up to us M’lady to determine Valcrest’s fate.
I know this is a lot to absorb, I know also that seems a child’s fantasy chased into reality. I know you’re misgivings and feelings towards the Pack. Mageria this war has gone on long enough, and no one is taking measures to stop it. Please… would you help me?”
“At ease M’lady. There is plenty of strength in this body to do what is needed. All that I have done, I have done for Newhaven. There is no regret and certainly no shame in serving my homeland.”
He paused to stay with Mageria’s gaze. She was riled but he did the best he could to reassure her. There was enough stress for the leader of the Black Knights. Though what he asked would only inevitably add to the weight, he hoped to ease the burdens in the long run.
“There was a man Mageria. For reasons I don’t know, there was a man with an agenda. A man that breached all walks of life in Valcrest. He was a White Shadow, a Pack member, and our King. They say he possessed an enchanted weapon, though I couldn’t get details on it. With this magic he was murdering Enlightened. Using his various guises to find and locate targets, likely with a broader goal in mind.
The Pack were the first on his trail, but if I had to guess they were having trouble finding him. They came here to Newhaven to ask our King about some recent decrements against their encampment. If you recall the King was offering a reward for information about the Pack a while back…
So they arrived and discovered that this Shadow was disguised as our royal lord. The attack I’m sure you’re familiar with. Yet how strange it is that there were no first hand accounts, only notes on damaged and things that burned up from the explosions. So the story goes that the Pack successfully killed the faux King.
There’s no proof to back any of this up. At first I thought the tale folly, but then I got to thinking on it. What if we’re wrong Mageria? There was a recent string of Enlightened deaths within the last three years. It would also explain why the Wolves attacked at all. I may not be a mercenary Captain, but no price was worth the trouble of killing our King. Think on it, the retribution was harsh. Newhaven was weakened for a time but our resolve has only been bolstered by the violence. If not for Blackpond’s sudden warmongering the Pack would have been eliminated or hunted down to near extinction. Far too great a gamble for a bunch living off the forests with limited income and supplies.
When I talked to the Alpha it was made clear to me that this Shadow was originally a Pack member. All graduates wear a ring to symbolize that they are a Wolf. It is a rite of passage and I wonder if the King’s body might be adorning such a ring. It would end all the questions. That’s why I need to see the body.
Because Newhaven is the most powerful, that makes it our duty to safeguard the future. It is up to us M’lady to determine Valcrest’s fate.
I know this is a lot to absorb, I know also that seems a child’s fantasy chased into reality. I know you’re misgivings and feelings towards the Pack. Mageria this war has gone on long enough, and no one is taking measures to stop it. Please… would you help me?”
[Forest, near the Wolfpack camp]
Crys was just about to cross the main entrance of the camp when Sean called for her. "Crystal! Where are you going?"
She stopped walking and heaved a long sigh. She was exhausted and she didn't really feel like answering questions right now. However, Sean had been very helpful and the least she could do was be nice. "Yes, Sean. May I help you."
"You are... Leaving again?" He asked, a little reluctant.
"I have an appointment for which I will be late for. Nothing too big." She forced a smile. "I'm sure Evin will be back soon though."
"You really trust Evin, huh?" Sean asked, a little absently.
"Why wouldn't I?" Crys asked, with a small frown.
Sean chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. The two of you don't seem to get along all that well. Still, you don't seem to ever demand to know where he is going or why, I suppose he could be a little more respectful."
Crys shrugged. "I don't know what you mean by that." She answered, dismissing the comment and walking past the gates. "See you later Sean."
"Sure, later." She heard him say as she walked away from the camp, once again. Now that there was no life at stake, she was finally beginning to feel exhausted. Walking to Newhaven would drain her energy and take way to long. She wasn't sure what more the White Knight had to say or ask of her, but she didn't want the man to leave the meeting place without it being said. Being that the case, she decided it would be appropriate to collect a favor. Instead of heading straight to Newhaven, she found another encampment, further in the forest. As she was approached by the camp scout she simply smiled and showed her graduation ring. "Where is your leader, gentlemen?" She asked in a calm tone. "I'm sure he is expecting my visit."
The men began to speak to each other in a language unknown to Crys, until one of then ran off to call the man she was seeking. Not a minute later a calm voice came from the center of the camp, speaking in firm tone. "Lower your weapons, you fools. Don't you know who she is?"
Crys chuckled. "I suppose that is the point, my friend." She sated.
"And what do I owe the joy of your visit, Crystal?" The man asked.
"Nothing too big, I simply wonder if you would lend me a horse." She explained.
The man laughed. "Is that all? i thought you were going to ask us for allegiance."
"All in due time, Dastan. Right now, all I need is the horse." She answered. "If I manage to get what I'm doing just right, there might not be another battle after all."
"I'm glad to hear it. The only horse left is my own, but you may take it and keep it if you like. We are returning to the desert soon. In spite of the Pack's kindness in letting us stay, my men find it safer to stay as far away from the cities as possible. I'm afraid I must agree with them." He sighed. "Horses don't last very long in the desert. So there is no point in dragging the poor bastard with me to die." Dastan chuckled. "He is a little unfriendly, suppose it's because I stole him from a Blackpond officer some time ago. The idiot was asking for it." He laughed. "I assume that won't be a problem for you?"
Crys nodded, with a smile. "Not at all. Have you named it?"
"I've name it Shadow." Dastan said. "You see, he is all black. You are welcome to change it though."
Crys smirked. "No, Shadow it is. I feel tempted to name him after Evin just for the fun of it, but I have the feeling he would kill me in my sleep if he found out I did that." She laughed.
Dastan chuckled, although he didn't doubt she was being serious. "Alright, follow me." He asked, beginning to walk further into the encampment and lead her closer to his tent.
As Crys neared she could hear the horse growing more and more agitated by the strange presence. Dastan ask her to wait and brought the horse to her. "Careful, he may try to bite you." He warned.
She nodded. "No, he wont. Don't worry." She said, calmly, resting her hand on the horse's snout. "You'll be a good boy, won't you?"
The horse responded with an irritated snort, but stood still and behaved, allowing Crys to mount it. She patted the animal's neck, cheerfully. "There you go buddy. Aren't I easier to carry around than this fatty over here?" She joked.
Dastan nodded. "Watch yourself assassin. Fatty over here can still cause some damage to that pretty face of yours."
She laughed. "Sweetie, you would be rotting in a cell in Blackpond if it wasn't for me. I'm pretty sure you would be much thinner then."
Dastan laughed in response. Of course he knew Crys had no idea what he looked like, it was all in good fun. "Very well. If there is still justice in this world, one day I shall save your life and be free of you for good." He attempted to touch the horse, but the animal seemed to still be unfriendly towards him and tried to bite. "Woah." He exclaimed. "He seems to have accepted you quite easily."
"Hum." Crys mumbled. "If only people were this easy." She stated, patting the horse's neck, in order to calm him. "That mean little mercenary scared you, didn't he?" She asked, snickering.
Dastan sighed. "You have a strange love for lost causes Crystal. It might not be good for you in the future."
"Animals are incapable of evil, Dastan. They can't lose themselves the way we do." She replied in a slightly more severe tone. Then she nodded. "I should be on my way and not chatting with you. This isn't exactly a social visit." She stated. "Have a safe trip home, my friend." She said, bowing her head as she pulled on the horses reigns in order to turn him towards the exit of the camp.
[Hours later, outside of Newhaven]
Crys was aware that even with the horse she was probably late, although she couldn't be sure. Keeping track of time was always a bit tricky for her. Reaching a good walking distance from the entrance to the sewers, she dismounted, letting the horse roam free nearby, knowing he wouldn't dare distance himself too much. She walked, at a relaxed pace towards the meeting place, at this point assuming the man that was waiting there had caught sight of her. The old entrance the Pack used into the city had been discovered shortly after Perry's death, however, the sewer passage that Theron had showed them that same night had never been found. For that reason she found it odd for Daniel to have asked to meet there. She wondered for a moment if the two men had ever met, it wasn't completely impossible. After all, there was a lot about Theron that Crys never knew.
Once she reached Daniel, she opened a half-smile. "Excuse me for being late, but I hope you understand I needed to make sure you didn't severely damage my assassin." Crys stated. Now that Ali was taken care of, and she wasn't in a dark crowded space, her tone was far less peaceful, although still calm. "Might I ask what is the purpose of this meeting then, Sir?"
-------------------------
[The Ruins]
As morning came upon the healers' camp, slowly the smell of tea filled the clearing. No one knew exactly at what moment this little tradition started, but currently it was almost a clan ritual to have tea in the morning. Is was to that aroma Alistair awoke. He could tell it was early, and he would have simply rolled over and slept more if it wasn't for the fact that the scent came from inside his tent, followed by the sudden realization the he was not clothes underneath his covers. Jumping up while pulling the blanket closer to his skin, he shouted. "Lena, what the hell?!"
"Morning." The woman stated calmly. "I made you some tea."
"That is very thoughtful, but you are invading my personal space." He complained. "I'm not... Decent." He mumbled."
"Nothing I haven't seen before. I am a doctor." She stated. "Besides, it's nothing you should be ashamed of... Really." She snickered.
"You didn't...See anything, did you?" The man's face turned white.
Lena laughed out. "I'm sorry, but you move around a lot. I'm not blind you know."
Alistair could feel his face turning red. "What in the Gods' names are you doing here?" He manage to contain the impolite thing he really meant to say, after all, Lena was his leader.
"You said you needed to speak with me and it was urgent." She gave him a light shrug. "Here I am. Speak."
Alistair sighed. "Could I maybe... Put on some clothing for this?"
"Sure." She answered, still sitting there, calmly sipping from her tea.
"For heaven's sake, woman. Close your eyes at least, will you?" He muttered.
Lena shook her head, laughing lightly. "Fine, if I must. You can talk and get dressed at the same time, can't you?" She asked, closing her eyes.
"Yes." Alistair said, finding his clothes and beginning to get dressed. "Sarris is here, that is why I sent for you."
"Sarris comes here often, why is this time special? Did something happen?" Then she frowned. "Wait, did she tell you this, whatever it is, in confidence?"
"Probably, but I assume not for you. She needs our assistance in this matter, however, openly discussing this would bring her serious troubles. You may open your eyes now." Alistair stated, sitting across from Lena on the floor and pouring himself some tea. "I think you would be more able to uncover the truth in this situation than me. Even if I make use of my connections in Newhaven, even if I see underneath the lies, in the end I will be guessing. However you are able to see the exact truth if you will it."
"The truth is a dangerous thing." Lena stated. "What exactly is this about?" She asked, giving her friend a severe look as she set her empty tea cup aside.
Alistair hesitated, then offered Lena his hand. "It might be easier if I show you the conversation we had."
"Alright." Lena said, putting her hand over his, closing her eyes, a bright glimpse of blue could still be seen. Meanwhile, Alistair's green eyes shifted from their usual green to a light golden tone. A moment, maybe two, passed and Lena opened her eyes again. "Ella?" She exclaimed.
"You know the name?" Alistair asked.
"I think I might have heard it somewhere. I'm not sure when or where though." Lena said, frowning. "Hum... I think Dani might have mentioned it to me."
"There is probably more than one Ella in Valcrest." Alistair stated.
"That... That is true." Lena agreed. "I will ask Crys about when she comes to see me, it won't hurt."
"Crys is coming here?" Alistair asked, raising a brow.
"I was waiting to see her, but you call me back. I left a message in camp, for her or Evin to come see me." Lena explained.
"Oh. Suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask her." Alistair said, sipping from his tea cup.
Lena stood. "Suppose if I will be doing some digging around Newhaven I might go speak to Sarris myself. I need to know everything she can tell me." She smiled at man. "Enjoy the tea and you know... Pardon the intrusion." She chuckled.
"That's harassment, you know?" Alistair muttered.
"You are free to leave if you find the living and/or working conditions here to be... Uncomfortable." She stated simply, walking out of the tent.
Leaving Alistair's tent Lena wandered around the camp until she spotted the woman she was looking for, in one of the gardens. She walked over to the garden and stopped beside Sarris, letting out a small sigh. She was tired from traveling and haven't yet slept.Even so, she couldn't help but feel in a good mood simply for being back to the plains. Lena knew no one ever appreciated their own home until they were returning from a long journey. To her it was like exhaling after holding her breath for a very long time. "Beautiful day today." She stated. "I wonder if anyone out there is able to appreciate it." She then crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded. "I already know everything you told Alistair. Now, I'm not an investigator and it is not our place, as healers, to ask questions." She sighed. "I say this so you understand that I will only help because you are a personal friend. With that said... I need to know if there is anything you neglected to tell Alistair. Any detail, no matter how meaningless it may seem, might help me find something." She sighed. "Once you are absolutely sure you told me everything, I will travel to Newhaven and see what I can find." She gave the woman a serious look, to make sure she would make herself clear. "I can't promise you there will be something to find, though."
Crys was just about to cross the main entrance of the camp when Sean called for her. "Crystal! Where are you going?"
She stopped walking and heaved a long sigh. She was exhausted and she didn't really feel like answering questions right now. However, Sean had been very helpful and the least she could do was be nice. "Yes, Sean. May I help you."
"You are... Leaving again?" He asked, a little reluctant.
"I have an appointment for which I will be late for. Nothing too big." She forced a smile. "I'm sure Evin will be back soon though."
"You really trust Evin, huh?" Sean asked, a little absently.
"Why wouldn't I?" Crys asked, with a small frown.
Sean chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. The two of you don't seem to get along all that well. Still, you don't seem to ever demand to know where he is going or why, I suppose he could be a little more respectful."
Crys shrugged. "I don't know what you mean by that." She answered, dismissing the comment and walking past the gates. "See you later Sean."
"Sure, later." She heard him say as she walked away from the camp, once again. Now that there was no life at stake, she was finally beginning to feel exhausted. Walking to Newhaven would drain her energy and take way to long. She wasn't sure what more the White Knight had to say or ask of her, but she didn't want the man to leave the meeting place without it being said. Being that the case, she decided it would be appropriate to collect a favor. Instead of heading straight to Newhaven, she found another encampment, further in the forest. As she was approached by the camp scout she simply smiled and showed her graduation ring. "Where is your leader, gentlemen?" She asked in a calm tone. "I'm sure he is expecting my visit."
The men began to speak to each other in a language unknown to Crys, until one of then ran off to call the man she was seeking. Not a minute later a calm voice came from the center of the camp, speaking in firm tone. "Lower your weapons, you fools. Don't you know who she is?"
Crys chuckled. "I suppose that is the point, my friend." She sated.
"And what do I owe the joy of your visit, Crystal?" The man asked.
"Nothing too big, I simply wonder if you would lend me a horse." She explained.
The man laughed. "Is that all? i thought you were going to ask us for allegiance."
"All in due time, Dastan. Right now, all I need is the horse." She answered. "If I manage to get what I'm doing just right, there might not be another battle after all."
"I'm glad to hear it. The only horse left is my own, but you may take it and keep it if you like. We are returning to the desert soon. In spite of the Pack's kindness in letting us stay, my men find it safer to stay as far away from the cities as possible. I'm afraid I must agree with them." He sighed. "Horses don't last very long in the desert. So there is no point in dragging the poor bastard with me to die." Dastan chuckled. "He is a little unfriendly, suppose it's because I stole him from a Blackpond officer some time ago. The idiot was asking for it." He laughed. "I assume that won't be a problem for you?"
Crys nodded, with a smile. "Not at all. Have you named it?"
"I've name it Shadow." Dastan said. "You see, he is all black. You are welcome to change it though."
Crys smirked. "No, Shadow it is. I feel tempted to name him after Evin just for the fun of it, but I have the feeling he would kill me in my sleep if he found out I did that." She laughed.
Dastan chuckled, although he didn't doubt she was being serious. "Alright, follow me." He asked, beginning to walk further into the encampment and lead her closer to his tent.
As Crys neared she could hear the horse growing more and more agitated by the strange presence. Dastan ask her to wait and brought the horse to her. "Careful, he may try to bite you." He warned.
She nodded. "No, he wont. Don't worry." She said, calmly, resting her hand on the horse's snout. "You'll be a good boy, won't you?"
The horse responded with an irritated snort, but stood still and behaved, allowing Crys to mount it. She patted the animal's neck, cheerfully. "There you go buddy. Aren't I easier to carry around than this fatty over here?" She joked.
Dastan nodded. "Watch yourself assassin. Fatty over here can still cause some damage to that pretty face of yours."
She laughed. "Sweetie, you would be rotting in a cell in Blackpond if it wasn't for me. I'm pretty sure you would be much thinner then."
Dastan laughed in response. Of course he knew Crys had no idea what he looked like, it was all in good fun. "Very well. If there is still justice in this world, one day I shall save your life and be free of you for good." He attempted to touch the horse, but the animal seemed to still be unfriendly towards him and tried to bite. "Woah." He exclaimed. "He seems to have accepted you quite easily."
"Hum." Crys mumbled. "If only people were this easy." She stated, patting the horse's neck, in order to calm him. "That mean little mercenary scared you, didn't he?" She asked, snickering.
Dastan sighed. "You have a strange love for lost causes Crystal. It might not be good for you in the future."
"Animals are incapable of evil, Dastan. They can't lose themselves the way we do." She replied in a slightly more severe tone. Then she nodded. "I should be on my way and not chatting with you. This isn't exactly a social visit." She stated. "Have a safe trip home, my friend." She said, bowing her head as she pulled on the horses reigns in order to turn him towards the exit of the camp.
[Hours later, outside of Newhaven]
Crys was aware that even with the horse she was probably late, although she couldn't be sure. Keeping track of time was always a bit tricky for her. Reaching a good walking distance from the entrance to the sewers, she dismounted, letting the horse roam free nearby, knowing he wouldn't dare distance himself too much. She walked, at a relaxed pace towards the meeting place, at this point assuming the man that was waiting there had caught sight of her. The old entrance the Pack used into the city had been discovered shortly after Perry's death, however, the sewer passage that Theron had showed them that same night had never been found. For that reason she found it odd for Daniel to have asked to meet there. She wondered for a moment if the two men had ever met, it wasn't completely impossible. After all, there was a lot about Theron that Crys never knew.
Once she reached Daniel, she opened a half-smile. "Excuse me for being late, but I hope you understand I needed to make sure you didn't severely damage my assassin." Crys stated. Now that Ali was taken care of, and she wasn't in a dark crowded space, her tone was far less peaceful, although still calm. "Might I ask what is the purpose of this meeting then, Sir?"
-------------------------
[The Ruins]
As morning came upon the healers' camp, slowly the smell of tea filled the clearing. No one knew exactly at what moment this little tradition started, but currently it was almost a clan ritual to have tea in the morning. Is was to that aroma Alistair awoke. He could tell it was early, and he would have simply rolled over and slept more if it wasn't for the fact that the scent came from inside his tent, followed by the sudden realization the he was not clothes underneath his covers. Jumping up while pulling the blanket closer to his skin, he shouted. "Lena, what the hell?!"
"Morning." The woman stated calmly. "I made you some tea."
"That is very thoughtful, but you are invading my personal space." He complained. "I'm not... Decent." He mumbled."
"Nothing I haven't seen before. I am a doctor." She stated. "Besides, it's nothing you should be ashamed of... Really." She snickered.
"You didn't...See anything, did you?" The man's face turned white.
Lena laughed out. "I'm sorry, but you move around a lot. I'm not blind you know."
Alistair could feel his face turning red. "What in the Gods' names are you doing here?" He manage to contain the impolite thing he really meant to say, after all, Lena was his leader.
"You said you needed to speak with me and it was urgent." She gave him a light shrug. "Here I am. Speak."
Alistair sighed. "Could I maybe... Put on some clothing for this?"
"Sure." She answered, still sitting there, calmly sipping from her tea.
"For heaven's sake, woman. Close your eyes at least, will you?" He muttered.
Lena shook her head, laughing lightly. "Fine, if I must. You can talk and get dressed at the same time, can't you?" She asked, closing her eyes.
"Yes." Alistair said, finding his clothes and beginning to get dressed. "Sarris is here, that is why I sent for you."
"Sarris comes here often, why is this time special? Did something happen?" Then she frowned. "Wait, did she tell you this, whatever it is, in confidence?"
"Probably, but I assume not for you. She needs our assistance in this matter, however, openly discussing this would bring her serious troubles. You may open your eyes now." Alistair stated, sitting across from Lena on the floor and pouring himself some tea. "I think you would be more able to uncover the truth in this situation than me. Even if I make use of my connections in Newhaven, even if I see underneath the lies, in the end I will be guessing. However you are able to see the exact truth if you will it."
"The truth is a dangerous thing." Lena stated. "What exactly is this about?" She asked, giving her friend a severe look as she set her empty tea cup aside.
Alistair hesitated, then offered Lena his hand. "It might be easier if I show you the conversation we had."
"Alright." Lena said, putting her hand over his, closing her eyes, a bright glimpse of blue could still be seen. Meanwhile, Alistair's green eyes shifted from their usual green to a light golden tone. A moment, maybe two, passed and Lena opened her eyes again. "Ella?" She exclaimed.
"You know the name?" Alistair asked.
"I think I might have heard it somewhere. I'm not sure when or where though." Lena said, frowning. "Hum... I think Dani might have mentioned it to me."
"There is probably more than one Ella in Valcrest." Alistair stated.
"That... That is true." Lena agreed. "I will ask Crys about when she comes to see me, it won't hurt."
"Crys is coming here?" Alistair asked, raising a brow.
"I was waiting to see her, but you call me back. I left a message in camp, for her or Evin to come see me." Lena explained.
"Oh. Suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask her." Alistair said, sipping from his tea cup.
Lena stood. "Suppose if I will be doing some digging around Newhaven I might go speak to Sarris myself. I need to know everything she can tell me." She smiled at man. "Enjoy the tea and you know... Pardon the intrusion." She chuckled.
"That's harassment, you know?" Alistair muttered.
"You are free to leave if you find the living and/or working conditions here to be... Uncomfortable." She stated simply, walking out of the tent.
Leaving Alistair's tent Lena wandered around the camp until she spotted the woman she was looking for, in one of the gardens. She walked over to the garden and stopped beside Sarris, letting out a small sigh. She was tired from traveling and haven't yet slept.Even so, she couldn't help but feel in a good mood simply for being back to the plains. Lena knew no one ever appreciated their own home until they were returning from a long journey. To her it was like exhaling after holding her breath for a very long time. "Beautiful day today." She stated. "I wonder if anyone out there is able to appreciate it." She then crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded. "I already know everything you told Alistair. Now, I'm not an investigator and it is not our place, as healers, to ask questions." She sighed. "I say this so you understand that I will only help because you are a personal friend. With that said... I need to know if there is anything you neglected to tell Alistair. Any detail, no matter how meaningless it may seem, might help me find something." She sighed. "Once you are absolutely sure you told me everything, I will travel to Newhaven and see what I can find." She gave the woman a serious look, to make sure she would make herself clear. "I can't promise you there will be something to find, though."
(The Ruins)
Sarris smiled at Lena. “As you told me once, that’s what friends are for.” She laughed gently. “You never did give a damn who I was once, did you?” She looked down, her fingers twisting around each other.
“I’m not going back for the crown. I just want to find my daughter. I’ll care for Newhaven as best I can, but I’d walk away from it in a heartbeat for her.” She sighed and perched on a nearby boulder.
“My Ella would be 17 by now. When she was born, my husband had her taken to the orphanage and left there. I don’t know what story was told to them. But I couldn’t live with knowing that my daughter was going to grow up thinking that I didn’t love her, so I bribed one of the maids to take my ring to leave with her.” Sarris had to swallow hard. “It’s an heirloom, you see? White gold, with an emerald set in the middle and tiny little diamonds set around it. It belonged to my grandmother and my mother and then me. And then my daughter.” She looked over at Lena.
“I know it was idiotic. That there’s no way that a child could hold onto something that valuable for that long. Or that she would have been allowed to keep it. I treated it with a chemical so that it looked less valuable at first. It would have worn off eventually.” Sarris pulled her braid forward over one shoulder and started nervously plaiting and unplaiting it. This next part of the story shamed her, but it needed to be told.
“You remember Nicholas? He went with me when I was exiled. I never knew why, but he loved me. Believed in me. I . . . came to love him in return after a while. When he left with me he was exiled as well, so there was no way that we could get news of what was happening. But a few years ago he convinced me that he could get a letter to the prince, let him know that he had a half sister living in the city. I think that he got the letter, but I never knew. What I do know is that on his way back Nicholas was attacked by bandits and killed. When he didn’t get back on time I went to look for him. I found him at the edge of the forest. They had taken everything of value and left everything else. I took him home and buried him.” Sarris sighed shakily and wiped at her eyes. When did she start crying?
“So that’s the tale of the Queen in exile. Not the stuff that ballads are made of, huh?” She smiled a little weakly at Lena. “I know that you aren’t investigators. But I trust you. I don’t know if I can trust any of the Knights living at the Court. How many of them would care for my child before my heir? How many of them would disobey a direct order from their King in order to protect someone they cared about? And you could travel back to Newhaven with us. I’m sure that Thomas will want to leave as soon as he recovers, but I can make him wait another day so that you can rest. I do believe that he fully intends to never get back on another horse for as long as he lives.”
Looking across the camp she actually could spot Thomas; he was blearily eating a bowl of something while glaring off in the direction of the horses. For being a White Knight, the poor boy looking terribly rumpled. It would probably take him weeks to recover.
Sarris smiled at Lena. “As you told me once, that’s what friends are for.” She laughed gently. “You never did give a damn who I was once, did you?” She looked down, her fingers twisting around each other.
“I’m not going back for the crown. I just want to find my daughter. I’ll care for Newhaven as best I can, but I’d walk away from it in a heartbeat for her.” She sighed and perched on a nearby boulder.
“My Ella would be 17 by now. When she was born, my husband had her taken to the orphanage and left there. I don’t know what story was told to them. But I couldn’t live with knowing that my daughter was going to grow up thinking that I didn’t love her, so I bribed one of the maids to take my ring to leave with her.” Sarris had to swallow hard. “It’s an heirloom, you see? White gold, with an emerald set in the middle and tiny little diamonds set around it. It belonged to my grandmother and my mother and then me. And then my daughter.” She looked over at Lena.
“I know it was idiotic. That there’s no way that a child could hold onto something that valuable for that long. Or that she would have been allowed to keep it. I treated it with a chemical so that it looked less valuable at first. It would have worn off eventually.” Sarris pulled her braid forward over one shoulder and started nervously plaiting and unplaiting it. This next part of the story shamed her, but it needed to be told.
“You remember Nicholas? He went with me when I was exiled. I never knew why, but he loved me. Believed in me. I . . . came to love him in return after a while. When he left with me he was exiled as well, so there was no way that we could get news of what was happening. But a few years ago he convinced me that he could get a letter to the prince, let him know that he had a half sister living in the city. I think that he got the letter, but I never knew. What I do know is that on his way back Nicholas was attacked by bandits and killed. When he didn’t get back on time I went to look for him. I found him at the edge of the forest. They had taken everything of value and left everything else. I took him home and buried him.” Sarris sighed shakily and wiped at her eyes. When did she start crying?
“So that’s the tale of the Queen in exile. Not the stuff that ballads are made of, huh?” She smiled a little weakly at Lena. “I know that you aren’t investigators. But I trust you. I don’t know if I can trust any of the Knights living at the Court. How many of them would care for my child before my heir? How many of them would disobey a direct order from their King in order to protect someone they cared about? And you could travel back to Newhaven with us. I’m sure that Thomas will want to leave as soon as he recovers, but I can make him wait another day so that you can rest. I do believe that he fully intends to never get back on another horse for as long as he lives.”
Looking across the camp she actually could spot Thomas; he was blearily eating a bowl of something while glaring off in the direction of the horses. For being a White Knight, the poor boy looking terribly rumpled. It would probably take him weeks to recover.
"Might I ask what is the purpose of this meeting then, Sir?" The assassin asked with a diplomatic, yet suspicious voice. Daniel stepped out from the shadows that the sewers cast down and out into the sunlight where he could see the woman better. Back in the dungeons his sight had been dimmed by the darkness, but now he could see her. She was surprisingly blind and it took Daniel a little time before realizing that she probably either had an enlightenment ability to see past that or she had trained for several years to use her other senses. In either case, it was still enough to impress this White Knight considering what she worked as. Daniel didn't care much for what she wore, he just assumed she wore some sort of protection as a safety precaution to this meeting. What reason could possibly make her trust him? That he believed them to be innocent? That he wasn't like the other White Knights? There were more reasons to not trust him than to do the opposite. He took a step forward and bowed deeply before the assassin, as was his customs.
"You have to excuse me for my choice of meeting place, but it holds a great many memories and I found it fitting to this current situation." Daniel began and rose up from his former position. "My name is Daniel Zimmerman, White Knight of Newhaven. Don't let my old age fool you, I'm not senile just yet and I still got a few tricks up my sleeve." He chuckled slightly and waved towards the road as he began to walk towards Newhavens gates once more. "Please, walk with me, Assassin."
The road was long and dirty, but it also held many memories dear to many people of Newhaven. This road was used during the beginning of the war between all the cities and refugees, grandparents and older than so to the people who lived in Newhaven today fled from enemy forces on this secret road up to Newhaven where they found a safehaven to rebuild their lives at. Walking down the road, Daniel inhaled some of the fresh air and closed his eyes for a bit. He had not been outside the city for almost a year now and it felt great to finally be able to feel the free wind caress his cheeks this evening.
"Now, I can only imagine what this other assassin that I held captive before told you about how I perceived the story about the Kings secret daughter and all. I may not be senile yet, but sometimes my memory tends to fail me without a notice. That's why I brought you here; The assassin had a name of a person who supposedly knows more to this than I can remember and seeing as there isn't many people in Newhaven that doesn't fear the White Knights, I found it fitting that you should ask her about this. I'll make sure you're not threatened or disturbed while doing so and you can get the information I need to convince not only myself, but also others that the king you killed was a fraud." Daniel took a deep breath after explaining his plan to the assassin. They had just reached the outskirts of the city gates and he had to have an answer now.
"What say you?"
"You have to excuse me for my choice of meeting place, but it holds a great many memories and I found it fitting to this current situation." Daniel began and rose up from his former position. "My name is Daniel Zimmerman, White Knight of Newhaven. Don't let my old age fool you, I'm not senile just yet and I still got a few tricks up my sleeve." He chuckled slightly and waved towards the road as he began to walk towards Newhavens gates once more. "Please, walk with me, Assassin."
The road was long and dirty, but it also held many memories dear to many people of Newhaven. This road was used during the beginning of the war between all the cities and refugees, grandparents and older than so to the people who lived in Newhaven today fled from enemy forces on this secret road up to Newhaven where they found a safehaven to rebuild their lives at. Walking down the road, Daniel inhaled some of the fresh air and closed his eyes for a bit. He had not been outside the city for almost a year now and it felt great to finally be able to feel the free wind caress his cheeks this evening.
"Now, I can only imagine what this other assassin that I held captive before told you about how I perceived the story about the Kings secret daughter and all. I may not be senile yet, but sometimes my memory tends to fail me without a notice. That's why I brought you here; The assassin had a name of a person who supposedly knows more to this than I can remember and seeing as there isn't many people in Newhaven that doesn't fear the White Knights, I found it fitting that you should ask her about this. I'll make sure you're not threatened or disturbed while doing so and you can get the information I need to convince not only myself, but also others that the king you killed was a fraud." Daniel took a deep breath after explaining his plan to the assassin. They had just reached the outskirts of the city gates and he had to have an answer now.
"What say you?"
"Now, I can only imagine what this other assassin that I held captive before told you about how I perceived the story about the Kings secret daughter and all. I may not be senile yet, but sometimes my memory tends to fail me without a notice. That's why I brought you here; The assassin had a name of a person who supposedly knows more to this than I can remember and seeing as there isn't many people in Newhaven that doesn't fear the White Knights, I found it fitting that you should ask her about this. I'll make sure you're not threatened or disturbed while doing so and you can get the information I need to convince not only myself, but also others that the king you killed was a fraud."
Crys listened to man's words. Ali had, even in her weakened state, been able to repeat every word she was told and even had the energy left to brag about getting more information out of the White Knights than they got out of her. She wasn't very pleased when Crys reminded that it's all very easy when you can't feel the pain of torture. It was the truth, however, and Crys knew the girl needed to hear it.
She had walked with the Knight in silence, examining the possibilities of what she was being proposed. Ali had told her a little of what she discovered on the files. Crys had sent her instead of a more experienced assassin for one simple skill Ali had: She could catch details most people usually missed and she had an impressive memory for those details. She had told Crys that a quick look through those files and she found out that most of the servants that worked closer to the former Queen were now deceased or missing. There was no records of how they died or what happened to them, and this woman, Leah, was the sister of one of the Queen's maids. There was a slight possibility that she knew something, was that possibility worth wandering around the Newhaven Castle out in the open, without any backup and not having told anyone where she was going? What kind of authority did this Knight have to guarantee she wouldn't be captured?
It was a risk, but it might be one worth taking. "Alright. I want to speak to this woman." Crys stated. "Lead the way, kind Sir." She smiled.
---------------------------------------
[Ruins]
Lena sighed softly, a gentle smile crossing her features, reaching her blue eyes. "I did say that, now didn't i? Gladly I don't have that many friends, so I can afford to say things like this and mean it." She said calmly, crouching down to examine the plants closely. No one seemed to have cared much for the flowers since Annie had left the encampment. "Hum." She mumbled, picking out a white rose and finally deciding to just sit on the ground while listening to the story. She didn't comment on any of it, her opinion was unimportant, and there was no reason to cause her friend to revisit painful memories any longer than absolutely necessary.
"I would rather arrive in Newhaven by myself, if that is alright. I will be asking a lot of questions and perhaps is best if they are not associated with you, at least for the time being. I will first visit the orphanage, but if they fail to provide any useful information I will be interrogating the castle archivist, servants, White Knights... I am sure they might not be very pleased with that." She stated casually, not showing any kind of real concern for the comfort of those mentioned individuals. Her eyes examining the white flower she held in her hand. "Tell me, what if I do find out where she is... What will you do?" Lena asked, lifting her eyes from the rose and looking straight at her. "Do you plan on telling her who you are? Most importantly, will you tell her who she is? It is not a secret that not only Newhaven is desperate to find an heir to the throne, but the Wolfpack as well, for their own reasons. It won't be easy to shield the girl from this." Lena lifted the white rose closer to her face and took some time to appreciate the scent of the flower. Then she finished her statement. "It is undeniable that ignorance is bliss sometimes. That may be something to consider in these times of war." She knew that might be discouraging to hear, but she felt that it was important to mention, sometimes hope could cause people to momentarily forget how cruel the real world could be.
Crys listened to man's words. Ali had, even in her weakened state, been able to repeat every word she was told and even had the energy left to brag about getting more information out of the White Knights than they got out of her. She wasn't very pleased when Crys reminded that it's all very easy when you can't feel the pain of torture. It was the truth, however, and Crys knew the girl needed to hear it.
She had walked with the Knight in silence, examining the possibilities of what she was being proposed. Ali had told her a little of what she discovered on the files. Crys had sent her instead of a more experienced assassin for one simple skill Ali had: She could catch details most people usually missed and she had an impressive memory for those details. She had told Crys that a quick look through those files and she found out that most of the servants that worked closer to the former Queen were now deceased or missing. There was no records of how they died or what happened to them, and this woman, Leah, was the sister of one of the Queen's maids. There was a slight possibility that she knew something, was that possibility worth wandering around the Newhaven Castle out in the open, without any backup and not having told anyone where she was going? What kind of authority did this Knight have to guarantee she wouldn't be captured?
It was a risk, but it might be one worth taking. "Alright. I want to speak to this woman." Crys stated. "Lead the way, kind Sir." She smiled.
---------------------------------------
[Ruins]
Lena sighed softly, a gentle smile crossing her features, reaching her blue eyes. "I did say that, now didn't i? Gladly I don't have that many friends, so I can afford to say things like this and mean it." She said calmly, crouching down to examine the plants closely. No one seemed to have cared much for the flowers since Annie had left the encampment. "Hum." She mumbled, picking out a white rose and finally deciding to just sit on the ground while listening to the story. She didn't comment on any of it, her opinion was unimportant, and there was no reason to cause her friend to revisit painful memories any longer than absolutely necessary.
"I would rather arrive in Newhaven by myself, if that is alright. I will be asking a lot of questions and perhaps is best if they are not associated with you, at least for the time being. I will first visit the orphanage, but if they fail to provide any useful information I will be interrogating the castle archivist, servants, White Knights... I am sure they might not be very pleased with that." She stated casually, not showing any kind of real concern for the comfort of those mentioned individuals. Her eyes examining the white flower she held in her hand. "Tell me, what if I do find out where she is... What will you do?" Lena asked, lifting her eyes from the rose and looking straight at her. "Do you plan on telling her who you are? Most importantly, will you tell her who she is? It is not a secret that not only Newhaven is desperate to find an heir to the throne, but the Wolfpack as well, for their own reasons. It won't be easy to shield the girl from this." Lena lifted the white rose closer to her face and took some time to appreciate the scent of the flower. Then she finished her statement. "It is undeniable that ignorance is bliss sometimes. That may be something to consider in these times of war." She knew that might be discouraging to hear, but she felt that it was important to mention, sometimes hope could cause people to momentarily forget how cruel the real world could be.
Mageria’s head fell forward, veiling her eyes from her friend. For his sake, she suppressed her usual reaction to all things involved with the Pack. Grim of all people didn’t deserve that. She had to think.
“ . . . they arrived and discovered that this Shadow was disguised as our royal lord.”
How was it possible that anyone could think that someone could be impersonating the King? She saw the man if not on a daily basis, then every few days. It wasn’t possible.
“If not for Blackpond’s sudden warmongering the Pack would have been eliminated or hunted down to near extinction.”
That was true. She had done what she could to protect the innocent, but if not for Blackpond’s attack they would have wiped out the Pack long ago.
“All graduates wear a ring to symbolize that they are a Wolf. . . That’s why I need to see the body.”
The body. The King’s body. Grim hoped to find proof of impersonation on the King’s body, a ring of some sort?
How could anybody believe that anybody could possibly pretend to be not only a Pack member, but a White Shadow as well as take the place of the King. You simply couldn’t fool that many people for that long. There was no mention of how the man was supposed to be able to do such a thing and she had no doubt that the Pack Alpha, Crystal, would have pointed it out if she could. The only proof that they had was a ring that the body of the King might or might not be wearing?
Mageria pushed away from the table and went back to the window, clasping her hands under her chin. It was an unbelievable tale that was being spread around, with just perhaps enough truth in it that people would believe it. Which meant that wether or not she believed it she had to take steps in order deal with it. Finally she turned around and faced Grim again.
“I’ll help you. Not because I believe this story. But because you asked me to. And because one way or another this needs to be laid to rest.”
She ran one hand through her hair.
“As for viewing the King’s body. She bit her lip. That was going to take a great deal of finesse to pull off.
Mageria sighed. She really truly didn’t believe any of this story. If they were going to search the King’s body, it might not be considered treason, but the results if anybody found out were not going to be good.
But . . . . Say one did believe that there was some truth to the story. If one accepted it, then the impostor had to have somewhere to keep all of his supplies in order to fool everyone else. And where would be safer than to keep them in the one place that no one would look? Searching that place wouldn’t be quiet as bad as breaking into the King’s tomb. She looked over at Grim. Given the risks that he had already taken, there was no point in trying to shield him any further. And at least if she took him along, she could say that he was under orders. She walked quickly over to her chest and started digging things out of it.
“We’ll go look at the King’s body later. If there’s any truth to this, that’s not the place to look first. Go change out of your armor. Bring gloves and some kind of mask.” Once she had what she needed, she stood back up, noticing that Grim had already left to change. She tucked her gloves and a scarf in the back of her belt and walked back to the table. Absently, she picked up the bottle that Ev had left her, remembering what he had said to her the other night. And the fact that he hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to attack her himself, even after he knew who she was. A sudden surge of anger struck her and she spun, throwing the bottle into the fireplace. The glass shattered, spraying alcohol everywhere. Staring at it grimly, she finally shook her head and left the room.
“Goodbye Ev.”
Out in the corridor she met Grim, just coming out of his room with the requested items. Silently she lead the way, deftly avoiding anybody else as she made her way to the royal wing. If there was one place that had to be searched in order to show the truth, it was the King’s rooms. Normally she wouldn’t have a key, but Captain Morgan had one made at some point and he had passed it on to her. This was the time to use it.
They reached the King’s rooms with no problem and it was a blessing of the riot that there was no one around to see them. Once they slipped inside, Mageria pulled on a pair of supple leather gloves and tied a dark scarf around her face. If one thought that an assassin had lived in a place for a while, then it was only smart to take precautions. She nodded toward one half of the room.
“You search over there. I’ll take this half. Watch for traps. If there's anything more than a ring to find, this is where it will be."
About an hour later, Mageria had worked her way under the bed. There was an abundance of dust, if nothing else. She was running her fingers along the baseboard when she suddenly sneezed, causing her poor head to throb. She was ready to give up when a trick of the light suddenly showed a series of cracks in front of her.
“What on earth?” Reaching out with one hand, she gently traced the lines. Listening intently, she could hear something shifting slightly. If it was some sort of trapped safe . . . then the place to push would be right . . .
Mageria used the fingers of her left hand to press down on where she thought the most likely spot for a pressure plate to be. It turned out that her guess was right, because that part of the floor shifted down and to the right. There was also a set of three small needles that shot up out of the plate, narrowly missing the palm of her hand. Jerking back, Mageria smacked her head on the bottom of the bed. Swearing vilely, she shook her head and took a closer look at what she had uncovered. Not wanting to touch it anymore than she had to, she used the hilt of her knife to press the plate down the rest of the way.
“Captain?” Grim must have heard her, if she twisted around she could see his boots standing near where her feet stuck out from under the bed.
“Just a minute. I found something that’s been trapped.” She shifted in an effort to look in the hole. It contained some sort of wrapped bundle. She carefully lifted it out and started to back out, only to find that she couldn’t move while holding the awkward bundle.
“Grim? A little help here?” She felt one large hand grasp her ankle and then she was pulled backward out from under the bed with ridiculous ease. Choking on the dust, she displayed her prize.
“Let’s see what we found, shall we?” She started to unwrap the bundle when she noticed that it looked vaguely oily. Since this was a common sign of poison, she took exquisite care to make sure that none of it touched her skin. Under the first layer, she found a second layer of wax covered cloth. Once that was gone, there was one final bundle. Looking up at Grim, Mageria took a deep breath and shook her head. She unwrapped it only to find . . . . Healer’s robes? Mageria shook her head in purest disbelief.
“What the hell?”
“ . . . they arrived and discovered that this Shadow was disguised as our royal lord.”
How was it possible that anyone could think that someone could be impersonating the King? She saw the man if not on a daily basis, then every few days. It wasn’t possible.
“If not for Blackpond’s sudden warmongering the Pack would have been eliminated or hunted down to near extinction.”
That was true. She had done what she could to protect the innocent, but if not for Blackpond’s attack they would have wiped out the Pack long ago.
“All graduates wear a ring to symbolize that they are a Wolf. . . That’s why I need to see the body.”
The body. The King’s body. Grim hoped to find proof of impersonation on the King’s body, a ring of some sort?
How could anybody believe that anybody could possibly pretend to be not only a Pack member, but a White Shadow as well as take the place of the King. You simply couldn’t fool that many people for that long. There was no mention of how the man was supposed to be able to do such a thing and she had no doubt that the Pack Alpha, Crystal, would have pointed it out if she could. The only proof that they had was a ring that the body of the King might or might not be wearing?
Mageria pushed away from the table and went back to the window, clasping her hands under her chin. It was an unbelievable tale that was being spread around, with just perhaps enough truth in it that people would believe it. Which meant that wether or not she believed it she had to take steps in order deal with it. Finally she turned around and faced Grim again.
“I’ll help you. Not because I believe this story. But because you asked me to. And because one way or another this needs to be laid to rest.”
She ran one hand through her hair.
“As for viewing the King’s body. She bit her lip. That was going to take a great deal of finesse to pull off.
Mageria sighed. She really truly didn’t believe any of this story. If they were going to search the King’s body, it might not be considered treason, but the results if anybody found out were not going to be good.
But . . . . Say one did believe that there was some truth to the story. If one accepted it, then the impostor had to have somewhere to keep all of his supplies in order to fool everyone else. And where would be safer than to keep them in the one place that no one would look? Searching that place wouldn’t be quiet as bad as breaking into the King’s tomb. She looked over at Grim. Given the risks that he had already taken, there was no point in trying to shield him any further. And at least if she took him along, she could say that he was under orders. She walked quickly over to her chest and started digging things out of it.
“We’ll go look at the King’s body later. If there’s any truth to this, that’s not the place to look first. Go change out of your armor. Bring gloves and some kind of mask.” Once she had what she needed, she stood back up, noticing that Grim had already left to change. She tucked her gloves and a scarf in the back of her belt and walked back to the table. Absently, she picked up the bottle that Ev had left her, remembering what he had said to her the other night. And the fact that he hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to attack her himself, even after he knew who she was. A sudden surge of anger struck her and she spun, throwing the bottle into the fireplace. The glass shattered, spraying alcohol everywhere. Staring at it grimly, she finally shook her head and left the room.
“Goodbye Ev.”
Out in the corridor she met Grim, just coming out of his room with the requested items. Silently she lead the way, deftly avoiding anybody else as she made her way to the royal wing. If there was one place that had to be searched in order to show the truth, it was the King’s rooms. Normally she wouldn’t have a key, but Captain Morgan had one made at some point and he had passed it on to her. This was the time to use it.
They reached the King’s rooms with no problem and it was a blessing of the riot that there was no one around to see them. Once they slipped inside, Mageria pulled on a pair of supple leather gloves and tied a dark scarf around her face. If one thought that an assassin had lived in a place for a while, then it was only smart to take precautions. She nodded toward one half of the room.
“You search over there. I’ll take this half. Watch for traps. If there's anything more than a ring to find, this is where it will be."
About an hour later, Mageria had worked her way under the bed. There was an abundance of dust, if nothing else. She was running her fingers along the baseboard when she suddenly sneezed, causing her poor head to throb. She was ready to give up when a trick of the light suddenly showed a series of cracks in front of her.
“What on earth?” Reaching out with one hand, she gently traced the lines. Listening intently, she could hear something shifting slightly. If it was some sort of trapped safe . . . then the place to push would be right . . .
Mageria used the fingers of her left hand to press down on where she thought the most likely spot for a pressure plate to be. It turned out that her guess was right, because that part of the floor shifted down and to the right. There was also a set of three small needles that shot up out of the plate, narrowly missing the palm of her hand. Jerking back, Mageria smacked her head on the bottom of the bed. Swearing vilely, she shook her head and took a closer look at what she had uncovered. Not wanting to touch it anymore than she had to, she used the hilt of her knife to press the plate down the rest of the way.
“Captain?” Grim must have heard her, if she twisted around she could see his boots standing near where her feet stuck out from under the bed.
“Just a minute. I found something that’s been trapped.” She shifted in an effort to look in the hole. It contained some sort of wrapped bundle. She carefully lifted it out and started to back out, only to find that she couldn’t move while holding the awkward bundle.
“Grim? A little help here?” She felt one large hand grasp her ankle and then she was pulled backward out from under the bed with ridiculous ease. Choking on the dust, she displayed her prize.
“Let’s see what we found, shall we?” She started to unwrap the bundle when she noticed that it looked vaguely oily. Since this was a common sign of poison, she took exquisite care to make sure that none of it touched her skin. Under the first layer, she found a second layer of wax covered cloth. Once that was gone, there was one final bundle. Looking up at Grim, Mageria took a deep breath and shook her head. She unwrapped it only to find . . . . Healer’s robes? Mageria shook her head in purest disbelief.
“What the hell?”
Daniel smiled and nodded at the assassins approval. Finally things were looking up for them all, but for how long? Maybe this woman didn't know anything? what if she was gone? What if she had left the city or died for some reason? If that were case, then Daniel would be back on square one all over again and that was something he couldn't accept. With this in mind, The White Knight quickened his pace as the pair walked closer to the gate until they reached it all together. The Guards smiled at Daniel but upon seeing the assassin behind him, they raised their weapons and blocked the path by crossing their spears together. Daniel and the assassin was forced to stop for a brief second as the mans gaze fell upon the two guards.
"Knight business." He stated shortly and stared at both of them with eyes burning with a flame known as determination amongst men and mortals. The Guards hesitated for a short moment before they went back to their posts, still looking at the assassin that kept on following Daniel as he entered the city. The sun was starting to die down in the horizon and most people were running or walking around, doing the last things before dusk started. There wasn't any quarantines against being out in Night but it was advised to not be because of the increased criminal activities in the city. People loved to take advantage of the sick and the poor for personal gain. Even some of the nobles had started to use cheap tricks to fill their pockets with the well earned money from a poor worker. It was Newhaven at it's lowest. Daniel simple shook his head in disappointment as he remembered how Newhaven had looked in the old days when he was just but a boy; The city was full of light and joy. It was a prosperous time when any man or woman could make a fortune if they had their minds set to it. These days one would be lucky if they even got a decent meal after a hard day at work.
It was under this late hour that most of the guards reported in to the barracks to have their shifts changed with the night-time guards and thus, the pairs walk through the city remained unnoticed as of now. After a long trip they finally found themselves outside the house where Daniel believed the woman they sought resided. Hopefully they would get some information out of her. Daniel gazed at the assassin one last time before nodding at the door, giving her the sign to get started. In the meantime, Daniel would keep any guards or other curious people away while the assassin performed her end of the deal. Stars were beginning to light up the sky as the night approached slowly. Dusk had arrived.
"Knight business." He stated shortly and stared at both of them with eyes burning with a flame known as determination amongst men and mortals. The Guards hesitated for a short moment before they went back to their posts, still looking at the assassin that kept on following Daniel as he entered the city. The sun was starting to die down in the horizon and most people were running or walking around, doing the last things before dusk started. There wasn't any quarantines against being out in Night but it was advised to not be because of the increased criminal activities in the city. People loved to take advantage of the sick and the poor for personal gain. Even some of the nobles had started to use cheap tricks to fill their pockets with the well earned money from a poor worker. It was Newhaven at it's lowest. Daniel simple shook his head in disappointment as he remembered how Newhaven had looked in the old days when he was just but a boy; The city was full of light and joy. It was a prosperous time when any man or woman could make a fortune if they had their minds set to it. These days one would be lucky if they even got a decent meal after a hard day at work.
It was under this late hour that most of the guards reported in to the barracks to have their shifts changed with the night-time guards and thus, the pairs walk through the city remained unnoticed as of now. After a long trip they finally found themselves outside the house where Daniel believed the woman they sought resided. Hopefully they would get some information out of her. Daniel gazed at the assassin one last time before nodding at the door, giving her the sign to get started. In the meantime, Daniel would keep any guards or other curious people away while the assassin performed her end of the deal. Stars were beginning to light up the sky as the night approached slowly. Dusk had arrived.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
Setting
Characters Present
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Earnings
0.00 INK
Sarris shook her head. “If she’s happy and safe? If she has a family that loves her? No. Much as I hate to say it, if she has a family right now, I need to leave her with it. Once I’m back, Newhaven won’t have to search for an heir anymore.” A brief hard look crossed her face. “As for the Wolf Pack. If they try anything against my daughter, I’ll take any steps necessary to keep her safe.” Sarris picked a leaf from a nearby bush, absently shredding it between her fingers.
“I wish it was as simple as telling my long lost daughter that I’m her mother. But it’s not. I have to find out more about what’s going on in Newhaven, and what’s happening with her before I figure out what I’m going to do. It may be that the best thing I can do for her is to leave her in ignorance. And if that’s true,” she sighed painfully, “If that’s true, I’ll have to face it when it comes.”
Grimacing, Sarris stood up and paced back and forth a bit. “As for the Knights. What do you know about them? Last I knew, Captain Morgan was leader of the Black Knights. I don’t trust him. I don’t think I can trust anybody he’s trained. I need to know who I trust in the Castle. Have you met any of them?”
“I wish it was as simple as telling my long lost daughter that I’m her mother. But it’s not. I have to find out more about what’s going on in Newhaven, and what’s happening with her before I figure out what I’m going to do. It may be that the best thing I can do for her is to leave her in ignorance. And if that’s true,” she sighed painfully, “If that’s true, I’ll have to face it when it comes.”
Grimacing, Sarris stood up and paced back and forth a bit. “As for the Knights. What do you know about them? Last I knew, Captain Morgan was leader of the Black Knights. I don’t trust him. I don’t think I can trust anybody he’s trained. I need to know who I trust in the Castle. Have you met any of them?”
Setting
Characters Present
No characters tagged in this post!
Earnings
0.00 INK
Lena laughed lightly. "No, I don't think the Wolfpack is something you should concern yourself with. I know their leader since she was only a baby. If it comes to that I can go have a talk with her." She leaned back in the grass, watching the blue sky above. "I don't think it will, however."
She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "I don't know much, personally, about any Knights. I have met two Black Knights a couple of days ago. A young man named Grim, and the captain, a woman. I don't really recall hearing her name. She is quite a decent medic, however, and didn't seem to me like a bad person." She opened her eyes again and continued. "As for White Knights... I haven't actually seen one in quite some time. I would know exactly who to ask about that, if I could actually know where to find him." She grimaced for a second at the memory of Jake. She hadn't seen him after Dani died and the last time she saw him, he was in an awful state. It troubled her that she was unable to help him, even with everything she knew. Forcing her mind back to the present she sighed. "What I hear amongst the wounded soldiers regarding the White Knight captain is that he has a strange mood, and is rather odd in his actions sometimes. Even so, he is generally liked and referred to as a good man." She stated.
Lena once again closed her eyes, and added in a more serious tone. "You might take command of Newhaven, my friend, but you will not live forever. Do you wish to be married again, have another child? If not, believe me, they will not stop searching." She sighed. "Even in the forest where I was raised, there was always a need for leaders to bear children, and raise them strong. There is always the need to worry about the future." She smiled and added. "Of course, you are still young. Who knows, right?" She opened her eyes and looked at Sarris. "There is also the possibility that the girl would want to take her place at the throne one day. She is old enough to decide for herself, if given the chance."
She sat up straight and then got on her feet. "Speculating, however, is useless right now." She stated. "Might as well keep ourselves ignorant until confronted with the facts." She took a deep breath and tossed the white rose aside, into the grass. "Leave whenever your Knight is fit to do so and I will not be far behind, until then... Make yourself at home." She laughed lightly and added. "Whatever that means." She stretched and turned to walk away. "I am in need of some sleep and there are some things I must take care of, before traveling again. Even so... None of that should take very long." She decided, walking away.
She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "I don't know much, personally, about any Knights. I have met two Black Knights a couple of days ago. A young man named Grim, and the captain, a woman. I don't really recall hearing her name. She is quite a decent medic, however, and didn't seem to me like a bad person." She opened her eyes again and continued. "As for White Knights... I haven't actually seen one in quite some time. I would know exactly who to ask about that, if I could actually know where to find him." She grimaced for a second at the memory of Jake. She hadn't seen him after Dani died and the last time she saw him, he was in an awful state. It troubled her that she was unable to help him, even with everything she knew. Forcing her mind back to the present she sighed. "What I hear amongst the wounded soldiers regarding the White Knight captain is that he has a strange mood, and is rather odd in his actions sometimes. Even so, he is generally liked and referred to as a good man." She stated.
Lena once again closed her eyes, and added in a more serious tone. "You might take command of Newhaven, my friend, but you will not live forever. Do you wish to be married again, have another child? If not, believe me, they will not stop searching." She sighed. "Even in the forest where I was raised, there was always a need for leaders to bear children, and raise them strong. There is always the need to worry about the future." She smiled and added. "Of course, you are still young. Who knows, right?" She opened her eyes and looked at Sarris. "There is also the possibility that the girl would want to take her place at the throne one day. She is old enough to decide for herself, if given the chance."
She sat up straight and then got on her feet. "Speculating, however, is useless right now." She stated. "Might as well keep ourselves ignorant until confronted with the facts." She took a deep breath and tossed the white rose aside, into the grass. "Leave whenever your Knight is fit to do so and I will not be far behind, until then... Make yourself at home." She laughed lightly and added. "Whatever that means." She stretched and turned to walk away. "I am in need of some sleep and there are some things I must take care of, before traveling again. Even so... None of that should take very long." She decided, walking away.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Crys followed the Knight towards the said house. She didn't really react in anyway when the soldier tried to stop her at the gates, she simply waited for Daniel to resolve the situation and continued to follow him through the streets of the city. She knew the streets of Newhaven better than she would be willing to admit, most of her time spent in the city was against her mother's command, visiting Jake. One particular time she actually broke out of camp to do it, she was suspended for quite some time after that. It was strange how much the air in the city seemed colder, thicker. She could pretty much feel the people looking over their shoulders as darkness began to fall. She nodded, remembering the time spent in the old Inn, drinking wine and listening to the music. She remembered how people used to sing and dance, without a care in the world. Now, the night time would be a cue to lock the doors and hope to make it to the next morning unharmed. Not only here, but everywhere.
Arriving at the woman's house, she knocked on the door, only slightly. She heard the door unlock, then open with a bit of hesitation. "W-who is it?" A female voice asked. Crys calculated the woman would be close to her fifties, if not older, but she couldn't really be sure. She discretely placed one hand on the door to stop the woman from slamming it in her face. "I'm a friend of Alistair's, would you mind if I came in for a second?"
The woman hesitated. "You are not a Shadow. Who are you?"
Crys smiled. "I will tell you all about me, but I would rather not stand out here for long. It is, I assume, getting dark. Don't worry, I mean you no harm."
The woman hesitated for another moment or two, but she finally decided to let Crys into her home, closing the door once she was inside. "There is a table to your right, have a seat. I was about to make some tea."
Crys paced slowly to her right until she reached a chair, pulled it, and sat, resting her hands on the wooden table. Listening as the woman paced around the house and taking a deep breath as the comforting scent of herbal tea filled the space. It really only reminded her of how exhausted she was. She broke out of those thoughts when a soft thud alerted her to the cup of tea being placed in front of her. The woman finally sat across from her and broke the silence. "Now, I haven't seen my nephew in over a year, and I don't see why any friend of his would visit when he doesn't." The woman sipped from her tea and then added a question to that statement. "What brings you here, young miss?"
Crys sipped from the tea, it was a little bitter, but good enough. It was a little strange that this woman didn't seemed frightened, or suspicious, with her presence, simply curious. It was almost as if she expected someone to show up eventually. The question only added to that impression, it was almost as if she was waiting for Crys to ask the right questions.
"I do actually know Alistair, that is not why I came, however. I came to ask you about your sister. If is not too much trouble." Crys said.
"I had been waiting for someone else to come and ask about this." The woman stated. "It was little over a year ago, but I knew that ever since that man came here someone else would turn up asking questions."
Crys frowned slightly. "What man?"
"A man in healer's robes. He said he found my sister's name in the archives. I was reluctant to tell him anything, I promised my sister I would never tell a soul about what she was asked to do, but... He was a healer and I thought the secret would be safe with him." The woman explained, in a apologetic tone as if deep down she knew she had done something wrong.
Crys sighed. "What exactly have you told him? I need to know."
The woman moved around in her seat, immediately growing nervous, however, Crys patiently waited for her to speak. The woman needed to speak, Crys knew that she would end up telling her everything. After a moment of silence, the woman began to tell her story.
"It was around 17 years ago, my sister came home holding a piece of jewelry, a ring, unless my memory fails me. It was late at night, I remember waking up when she came. She seemed very agitated as if she was waiting for someone to catch her doing something wrong. At first, I thought she had stolen from the royal family, and that was the reason why I pressured her into telling me what was happening. She didn't give me any details as to why she was meant to do this, but she said the young queen had given her a considerable pay to deliver the ring to the local orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently taken there. It was my understanding that the woman had her child taken from here, for some reason. Infidelity, maybe. My sister felt sorry for the woman I suppose, she told the people who worked in the orphanage that the child's mother was and enlightened and that the ring had been cursed to bring death to anyone who wore it, aside from its legitimate owner. It was the way she found to ensure the child wouldn't be robbed." The woman explained. "Soon after that, the queen was exiled, and my sister disappeared."
Crys grew silent as she heard the story. "You told this healer who visited you all of this?"
"Yes." The woman confirmed.
"Did he ask anything else?"
"He wanted to know what the ring looked like, on what day exactly all of this happened... I might have given him those answers, but my memory is currently beginning to fail me." She explained.
"I see. The story about the girl's mother being enlightened, that was not true, was it?" Crys asked, a serious tone taking over her voice as the facts began to sink in.
"No. It was a lie my sister invented so the ring wouldn't be stolen." The woman answered.
Crys nodded, trying to slow down the thoughts rushing through her head. "Pay attention now, this is important: Did you say anything to that man, that would lead him to believe that this story was true? Anything?"
The woman hesitated. "I... Might... Have." She admitted.
"So, let me see if I understood correctly: You told this man, dressed in healer's robes, that there was a teenage girl in the local orphanage that held connection to the royal family and was possibly a powerful enlightened?" Crys asked. "To add to that, you gave the description of the one personal possession that would accurately identify that person?"
"I suppose, if you look at it that way..." The woman mumbled. Feelings of regret filling the air in the room.
Crys sighed, it was not the woman's fault. If this man was who it seemed he was... She was lucky to still be alive, he would have gotten what he wanted either way. Actually, Crys found it hard to understand why she wasn't killed for what she knew. Perhaps, the fact she was close to Alistair. He would have felt it if his aunt was killed, and if the man who did it worked close to him, he would have sensed it eventually. Eventually, she reached for the woman's hand across the table, in an attempt to comfort her. "There is no need for you to feel this way. I'm sure he would have obtained that information one way or another. Believe me, if any harm was done that night, you have just redeemed yourself." With that statement, Crys stood up. "Excuse me for the short visit, but I should not cause you any more troubles. If I see Alistair I shall remind him to visit more often." She said, heading for the door and walking outside.
As she found Daniel, she attempted to conceal the shock she was in, but perhaps it wouldn't have been enough. "I have trusted you, Sir. Now I ask that you trust me with what I will ask of you: Before I can reveal what I have heard exactly, and what I have concluded from it, I must ask that you visit the local orphanage in the morning, find someone who would have been working there 17 years ago, and ask about a maid delivering a ring to one of the children there, I'm sure whoever it is will remember it. Ask for the child's name." Crys asked in a whisper, not giving the man the opportunity to respond, she nodded. "I do have more to share, but before I do, there is something I need to verify. I will meet you again in two days and we shall talk more then." She then started to walk towards the alleyways of the city. "It will be worth the wait, I assure you." With that statement, she began to walk away from the Knight, towards the sewer exit. Not that she mistrusted Daniel, but now... There was no way she was walking past the gates again. She had her own answers to seek.
Arriving at the woman's house, she knocked on the door, only slightly. She heard the door unlock, then open with a bit of hesitation. "W-who is it?" A female voice asked. Crys calculated the woman would be close to her fifties, if not older, but she couldn't really be sure. She discretely placed one hand on the door to stop the woman from slamming it in her face. "I'm a friend of Alistair's, would you mind if I came in for a second?"
The woman hesitated. "You are not a Shadow. Who are you?"
Crys smiled. "I will tell you all about me, but I would rather not stand out here for long. It is, I assume, getting dark. Don't worry, I mean you no harm."
The woman hesitated for another moment or two, but she finally decided to let Crys into her home, closing the door once she was inside. "There is a table to your right, have a seat. I was about to make some tea."
Crys paced slowly to her right until she reached a chair, pulled it, and sat, resting her hands on the wooden table. Listening as the woman paced around the house and taking a deep breath as the comforting scent of herbal tea filled the space. It really only reminded her of how exhausted she was. She broke out of those thoughts when a soft thud alerted her to the cup of tea being placed in front of her. The woman finally sat across from her and broke the silence. "Now, I haven't seen my nephew in over a year, and I don't see why any friend of his would visit when he doesn't." The woman sipped from her tea and then added a question to that statement. "What brings you here, young miss?"
Crys sipped from the tea, it was a little bitter, but good enough. It was a little strange that this woman didn't seemed frightened, or suspicious, with her presence, simply curious. It was almost as if she expected someone to show up eventually. The question only added to that impression, it was almost as if she was waiting for Crys to ask the right questions.
"I do actually know Alistair, that is not why I came, however. I came to ask you about your sister. If is not too much trouble." Crys said.
"I had been waiting for someone else to come and ask about this." The woman stated. "It was little over a year ago, but I knew that ever since that man came here someone else would turn up asking questions."
Crys frowned slightly. "What man?"
"A man in healer's robes. He said he found my sister's name in the archives. I was reluctant to tell him anything, I promised my sister I would never tell a soul about what she was asked to do, but... He was a healer and I thought the secret would be safe with him." The woman explained, in a apologetic tone as if deep down she knew she had done something wrong.
Crys sighed. "What exactly have you told him? I need to know."
The woman moved around in her seat, immediately growing nervous, however, Crys patiently waited for her to speak. The woman needed to speak, Crys knew that she would end up telling her everything. After a moment of silence, the woman began to tell her story.
"It was around 17 years ago, my sister came home holding a piece of jewelry, a ring, unless my memory fails me. It was late at night, I remember waking up when she came. She seemed very agitated as if she was waiting for someone to catch her doing something wrong. At first, I thought she had stolen from the royal family, and that was the reason why I pressured her into telling me what was happening. She didn't give me any details as to why she was meant to do this, but she said the young queen had given her a considerable pay to deliver the ring to the local orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently taken there. It was my understanding that the woman had her child taken from here, for some reason. Infidelity, maybe. My sister felt sorry for the woman I suppose, she told the people who worked in the orphanage that the child's mother was and enlightened and that the ring had been cursed to bring death to anyone who wore it, aside from its legitimate owner. It was the way she found to ensure the child wouldn't be robbed." The woman explained. "Soon after that, the queen was exiled, and my sister disappeared."
Crys grew silent as she heard the story. "You told this healer who visited you all of this?"
"Yes." The woman confirmed.
"Did he ask anything else?"
"He wanted to know what the ring looked like, on what day exactly all of this happened... I might have given him those answers, but my memory is currently beginning to fail me." She explained.
"I see. The story about the girl's mother being enlightened, that was not true, was it?" Crys asked, a serious tone taking over her voice as the facts began to sink in.
"No. It was a lie my sister invented so the ring wouldn't be stolen." The woman answered.
Crys nodded, trying to slow down the thoughts rushing through her head. "Pay attention now, this is important: Did you say anything to that man, that would lead him to believe that this story was true? Anything?"
The woman hesitated. "I... Might... Have." She admitted.
"So, let me see if I understood correctly: You told this man, dressed in healer's robes, that there was a teenage girl in the local orphanage that held connection to the royal family and was possibly a powerful enlightened?" Crys asked. "To add to that, you gave the description of the one personal possession that would accurately identify that person?"
"I suppose, if you look at it that way..." The woman mumbled. Feelings of regret filling the air in the room.
Crys sighed, it was not the woman's fault. If this man was who it seemed he was... She was lucky to still be alive, he would have gotten what he wanted either way. Actually, Crys found it hard to understand why she wasn't killed for what she knew. Perhaps, the fact she was close to Alistair. He would have felt it if his aunt was killed, and if the man who did it worked close to him, he would have sensed it eventually. Eventually, she reached for the woman's hand across the table, in an attempt to comfort her. "There is no need for you to feel this way. I'm sure he would have obtained that information one way or another. Believe me, if any harm was done that night, you have just redeemed yourself." With that statement, Crys stood up. "Excuse me for the short visit, but I should not cause you any more troubles. If I see Alistair I shall remind him to visit more often." She said, heading for the door and walking outside.
As she found Daniel, she attempted to conceal the shock she was in, but perhaps it wouldn't have been enough. "I have trusted you, Sir. Now I ask that you trust me with what I will ask of you: Before I can reveal what I have heard exactly, and what I have concluded from it, I must ask that you visit the local orphanage in the morning, find someone who would have been working there 17 years ago, and ask about a maid delivering a ring to one of the children there, I'm sure whoever it is will remember it. Ask for the child's name." Crys asked in a whisper, not giving the man the opportunity to respond, she nodded. "I do have more to share, but before I do, there is something I need to verify. I will meet you again in two days and we shall talk more then." She then started to walk towards the alleyways of the city. "It will be worth the wait, I assure you." With that statement, she began to walk away from the Knight, towards the sewer exit. Not that she mistrusted Daniel, but now... There was no way she was walking past the gates again. She had her own answers to seek.
No words were uttered from Daniels mouth as he gazed and listened at every single word that the assassin said. She looked as if she had seen a ghost and her words had turned into whispers and faint ones. It was a bit hard to understand what she was talking about, though Daniel understood his part in this; Go to the Orphanage and ask for a maid who had been working there seventeen years ago and ask about a ring delivered to one of the children. After finding this out he had to ask about her name before meeting with the assassin outside the sewers in two days again. Seemed like a long time from now, but Daniel figured the girl had to get some sleep and figure things out herself too. At least now Daniel had a lead to follow and he would do good not to waste it. Thus, the White Knight set off through the dark streets towards the Orphanage. He let his eyes wander back to the walking assassin who soon disappeared in the dark shrouds before he turned at a street corner.
After a long or short walk, depending on the person himself, Daniel had finally found his way to the Orphanage. It was a sad sight for sure and it was located in one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the city. The very sight of a White Knight here would at least cause some small havoc. Fortunately for him though, it was night now and the only ones who were not inside their so-called "homes" were out, roaming the streets for easy pray. Daniel would have to deal with them later, because he had far more pressing matters at hand right now. After walking straight up to th Orphanage and knocked, an old woman opened the door and without a word she closed it again.
"Open the door, miss." Daniel ordered with his cold demonic voice. No respond came from the door and Daniel tried at least three times before he lost his patience to this old Hag. With a slow and strong knock with his right hand the door flew open, scaring the hell out of the old woman and any nearby maids. The White Knight stepped in and closed the door after himself. The room he had entered was stuffy and its air thick. Most of the maids were old but there were young ones as well, but they kept themselves to cleaning what furniture and decorations they had left. Daniel bowed deeply to the elder woman to apologize.
"Miss, I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour, however, I have a very important matter that needs to be dealt with. Come with me." Daniel explained with a fake soft voice.
"I won't let you take her, monster!" The elder suddenly screamed and ran up the many stairs before disappearing. Another maid gave out a loud sigh and turned her attention towards Daniel.
"Please don't bother Marianna; her old mind isn't what it used to be." The woman explained to which two younger maids chuckled. The maid who had spoken to Daniel gave them an evil eye before returning her gaze on the man himself. "If there's anything I can help you with, it'd be a pleasure." A smile formed itself on her lips as she showed him the way into a larger room. This room was filled with old carpets, a couple of chairs along with a table and a fireplace that was burning brightly. Both of them sat each on a chair in front of the fireplace before Daniel took the initiative to begin his little interrogation.
"Now, the reason I'm here is because I'm looking for some information about a young kid that lived here seventeen years ago. Were you working here at the time?"
"Yes, I was." She answered as her smile began to fade a bit.
"Then, do you know anything about a delivery of a ring or something similar that was delivered to this Orphanage and given by one of the maids to a young kid?" Daniel continued with his most serious voice as of yet. The maid hesitated for a moment as she looked around the room. She was either making sure that no one was listening or maybe she just wanted to change the topic? "I need to know." Daniel pressed the matter.
"I know about that damned ring. It caused us nothing but trouble and despair; Most of the boys and some of the girls would from time to time steal the ring and try to wear it and every time someone did so, they died. We couldn't figure out what was happening until Thomas stole it from the little girl one morning and we all watched as he fell to the ground, stone dead." The maid said with a voice mixed of hatred and sorrow. This must have taken its toll on many of the maids that had been working here back in the old days and maybe this was why Marianna was so insane? The maid suddenly came to her senses and stared straight into the White Knights cold eyes.
"Marianna was the one who delivered it to a young girl upstairs back when she was still sane. Try your luck with her." After those words the maid rose up and left the room, still crying a little bit. Daniel rose as well and left the room. He was sure that this Marianna would be a pain in the ass for him. Moving over to the stairs, Daniel began to climb them, one by one. Who knew where Marianna could be hiding? This could take hours at least. Fortunately enough though, one of the younger maids quickly followed Daniel and told him that Marianna usually kept herself to the fourth level in an abandoned room. Daniel thanked the maid and quickened his pace as he continued to move upwards.
---
An hour later; Newhavens Orphanage, White Knight Daniel Zimmerman
---
One last step was needed to finally be done with these freaking stairs and Daniel made it. After a hour of hard work, he finally found himself up on the fourth floor. He had never realized how heavy these suits of armor really were or maybe that was because he was younger back in the days and could carry more weight then. Nonetheless, the task was done and now he had to find Marianna and convince her to tell him all about this girl with her deadly ring. Daniel took a short moment to breath out and get his energy back before he moved on. He checked room after room but this whole level seemed abandoned for some reason. He guessed it was water damages since in every room so far, water had been dripping from its ceilings. However, Daniel luck finally turned and smiled at him when he found Marianna in one of the rooms, sitting on a broken bed with her head in a dirty pillow.
"Marianna, I need answers and I need them now." Daniel demanded but was meet by a small laugh coming from the pillow. The old Hag was laughing at him!
"That's not how we're going to play this game, Ser Knight." Marianna explained with a twisted tone to her voice. It was as if she was possessed by a demon of some sort. She looked up from her pillow and stared at Daniel with eyes that never moved away from its target and never blinked.
"A question demands a question and an answer demands an answer. That is how we'll be play this game. I'll start." Marianna hissed and kept on staring at the White Knight. Daniel had no choice but to play along with this crazy old lady until he got the answers he needed.
"Ask away." Daniel said and awaited his question with a renewed patience.
"What is your name, Ser Knight?"
"Daniel Zimmerman"
"Good, now it's your time to ask. Ask away, ask away. Ask me anything!" She hissed once more and Daniel went to action.
"Did you deliver a small package containing a ring to one of the girl here seventeen years ago?" He asked to which Marianna just stared at him. She was beginning to look as if she had been stabbed in the back and was trying to stay alive. However, this little act ended as soon as it had begun and she answered the question:
"Yes, I did. But now it's my turn to ask. yes, yes, yessss."
"Ask away then."
"Yes... what is your biggest mistake in life?" Marianna asked and giggled like a little school girl as she awaited his answer. Daniel was taken by surprise to say the least. He had prepared himself to be answering these kind of questions. His mind returned to a less turmoiled time when the war was not as big as it was today; People seemed less afraid to walk the streets of Newhaven at night, the Wolf Pack stayed out of others businesses most of the time seeing as there was a now a group of hunters that were killing them off and Blackpond didn't seem much of a threat back then.
The thirty years old Daniel was running through the sewers of Newhaven chasing after his twenty-four years old nemesis in crime. Arrows came flying towards him, but the Guard Captain blocked every single one of them. The smell mattered little when they were chasing each other and it was always a game of life or death, seeing as Daniel had promised to give the man a quick death for his crimes and the guy himself had promised never to be captured. Both of the rounded a corner and Daniel soon found himself dodging flying stone pieces from the man ahead.
"You won't flee me this time! There's no were to run down here!" Daniel shouted with a joking voice.
"Then I guess I'll have to make my own way out!" The arrogant man shouted back as he disappeared behind yet another corner. However, when Daniel came rushing around it there was a dead end and no one there. Daniel swore a bit before turning around and walked back out from the sewers.
"Damn you, Ther--" Daniel began to say before the flashback ended.
Looking up it seemed like the time had not passed a minute and that flashback seemed to have gone on for at least a hour. Oh, the wonders of life! Daniel suddenly remembered the question and his gaze returned to Mariannas eyes.
"Befriending a criminal." He said shortly without explaining further. It was a time and a person he'd rather leave in the past to be forgotten. Marianna however, didn't respond to his answer and simple waited for his next question.
"What was the name of this girl?" He asked swiftly and watched as Marianna struggled to answer his question. She moved her lips, but no words came from it. Her eyes rolled back and her arms were flying here and there. Daniel grabbed her shoulders and shook her in a desperate attempt to get the answer he needed. "Speak woman! What was her name?!" He screamed, but the woman's head had already fallen backwards indicating that she was dead. Daniel dropped her lifeless body and rose from his seat to leave the room. However, suddenly Marianna, who had been presumed dead, began to chuckle and before the White Knight could respond her chuckle had turned into a laugh that soon shifted into an insane laughter that filled the entire orphanage. Daniel pulled out his hammer to end the poor woman's suffering and that's when she spoke out once again.
"Her name was Ella! HAHA! ELLA! HAHAHAHA--!" She shouted and returned to laughing before she was interrupted by Daniel hammer. He had smashed his weapon into her skull, ending her suffering once and for all. She had obviously been insane and madness ruled her mind. Daniel had not only done her a service but also the orphanage itself. He pulled his hammer out from the woman's crushed cranium and rose up to leave. He had what he had come from and now it was time to seek out the Assassin. There was no time to wait, Daniel had to have his answers now and not later!
His plan was simple; Follow the old trail from a map an old "friend" of his had given him a long time ago and hope that the Pack had not moved their camp yet. If he was lucky he'd find the woman there.
After a long or short walk, depending on the person himself, Daniel had finally found his way to the Orphanage. It was a sad sight for sure and it was located in one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the city. The very sight of a White Knight here would at least cause some small havoc. Fortunately for him though, it was night now and the only ones who were not inside their so-called "homes" were out, roaming the streets for easy pray. Daniel would have to deal with them later, because he had far more pressing matters at hand right now. After walking straight up to th Orphanage and knocked, an old woman opened the door and without a word she closed it again.
"Open the door, miss." Daniel ordered with his cold demonic voice. No respond came from the door and Daniel tried at least three times before he lost his patience to this old Hag. With a slow and strong knock with his right hand the door flew open, scaring the hell out of the old woman and any nearby maids. The White Knight stepped in and closed the door after himself. The room he had entered was stuffy and its air thick. Most of the maids were old but there were young ones as well, but they kept themselves to cleaning what furniture and decorations they had left. Daniel bowed deeply to the elder woman to apologize.
"Miss, I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour, however, I have a very important matter that needs to be dealt with. Come with me." Daniel explained with a fake soft voice.
"I won't let you take her, monster!" The elder suddenly screamed and ran up the many stairs before disappearing. Another maid gave out a loud sigh and turned her attention towards Daniel.
"Please don't bother Marianna; her old mind isn't what it used to be." The woman explained to which two younger maids chuckled. The maid who had spoken to Daniel gave them an evil eye before returning her gaze on the man himself. "If there's anything I can help you with, it'd be a pleasure." A smile formed itself on her lips as she showed him the way into a larger room. This room was filled with old carpets, a couple of chairs along with a table and a fireplace that was burning brightly. Both of them sat each on a chair in front of the fireplace before Daniel took the initiative to begin his little interrogation.
"Now, the reason I'm here is because I'm looking for some information about a young kid that lived here seventeen years ago. Were you working here at the time?"
"Yes, I was." She answered as her smile began to fade a bit.
"Then, do you know anything about a delivery of a ring or something similar that was delivered to this Orphanage and given by one of the maids to a young kid?" Daniel continued with his most serious voice as of yet. The maid hesitated for a moment as she looked around the room. She was either making sure that no one was listening or maybe she just wanted to change the topic? "I need to know." Daniel pressed the matter.
"I know about that damned ring. It caused us nothing but trouble and despair; Most of the boys and some of the girls would from time to time steal the ring and try to wear it and every time someone did so, they died. We couldn't figure out what was happening until Thomas stole it from the little girl one morning and we all watched as he fell to the ground, stone dead." The maid said with a voice mixed of hatred and sorrow. This must have taken its toll on many of the maids that had been working here back in the old days and maybe this was why Marianna was so insane? The maid suddenly came to her senses and stared straight into the White Knights cold eyes.
"Marianna was the one who delivered it to a young girl upstairs back when she was still sane. Try your luck with her." After those words the maid rose up and left the room, still crying a little bit. Daniel rose as well and left the room. He was sure that this Marianna would be a pain in the ass for him. Moving over to the stairs, Daniel began to climb them, one by one. Who knew where Marianna could be hiding? This could take hours at least. Fortunately enough though, one of the younger maids quickly followed Daniel and told him that Marianna usually kept herself to the fourth level in an abandoned room. Daniel thanked the maid and quickened his pace as he continued to move upwards.
---
An hour later; Newhavens Orphanage, White Knight Daniel Zimmerman
---
One last step was needed to finally be done with these freaking stairs and Daniel made it. After a hour of hard work, he finally found himself up on the fourth floor. He had never realized how heavy these suits of armor really were or maybe that was because he was younger back in the days and could carry more weight then. Nonetheless, the task was done and now he had to find Marianna and convince her to tell him all about this girl with her deadly ring. Daniel took a short moment to breath out and get his energy back before he moved on. He checked room after room but this whole level seemed abandoned for some reason. He guessed it was water damages since in every room so far, water had been dripping from its ceilings. However, Daniel luck finally turned and smiled at him when he found Marianna in one of the rooms, sitting on a broken bed with her head in a dirty pillow.
"Marianna, I need answers and I need them now." Daniel demanded but was meet by a small laugh coming from the pillow. The old Hag was laughing at him!
"That's not how we're going to play this game, Ser Knight." Marianna explained with a twisted tone to her voice. It was as if she was possessed by a demon of some sort. She looked up from her pillow and stared at Daniel with eyes that never moved away from its target and never blinked.
"A question demands a question and an answer demands an answer. That is how we'll be play this game. I'll start." Marianna hissed and kept on staring at the White Knight. Daniel had no choice but to play along with this crazy old lady until he got the answers he needed.
"Ask away." Daniel said and awaited his question with a renewed patience.
"What is your name, Ser Knight?"
"Daniel Zimmerman"
"Good, now it's your time to ask. Ask away, ask away. Ask me anything!" She hissed once more and Daniel went to action.
"Did you deliver a small package containing a ring to one of the girl here seventeen years ago?" He asked to which Marianna just stared at him. She was beginning to look as if she had been stabbed in the back and was trying to stay alive. However, this little act ended as soon as it had begun and she answered the question:
"Yes, I did. But now it's my turn to ask. yes, yes, yessss."
"Ask away then."
"Yes... what is your biggest mistake in life?" Marianna asked and giggled like a little school girl as she awaited his answer. Daniel was taken by surprise to say the least. He had prepared himself to be answering these kind of questions. His mind returned to a less turmoiled time when the war was not as big as it was today; People seemed less afraid to walk the streets of Newhaven at night, the Wolf Pack stayed out of others businesses most of the time seeing as there was a now a group of hunters that were killing them off and Blackpond didn't seem much of a threat back then.
The thirty years old Daniel was running through the sewers of Newhaven chasing after his twenty-four years old nemesis in crime. Arrows came flying towards him, but the Guard Captain blocked every single one of them. The smell mattered little when they were chasing each other and it was always a game of life or death, seeing as Daniel had promised to give the man a quick death for his crimes and the guy himself had promised never to be captured. Both of the rounded a corner and Daniel soon found himself dodging flying stone pieces from the man ahead.
"You won't flee me this time! There's no were to run down here!" Daniel shouted with a joking voice.
"Then I guess I'll have to make my own way out!" The arrogant man shouted back as he disappeared behind yet another corner. However, when Daniel came rushing around it there was a dead end and no one there. Daniel swore a bit before turning around and walked back out from the sewers.
"Damn you, Ther--" Daniel began to say before the flashback ended.
Looking up it seemed like the time had not passed a minute and that flashback seemed to have gone on for at least a hour. Oh, the wonders of life! Daniel suddenly remembered the question and his gaze returned to Mariannas eyes.
"Befriending a criminal." He said shortly without explaining further. It was a time and a person he'd rather leave in the past to be forgotten. Marianna however, didn't respond to his answer and simple waited for his next question.
"What was the name of this girl?" He asked swiftly and watched as Marianna struggled to answer his question. She moved her lips, but no words came from it. Her eyes rolled back and her arms were flying here and there. Daniel grabbed her shoulders and shook her in a desperate attempt to get the answer he needed. "Speak woman! What was her name?!" He screamed, but the woman's head had already fallen backwards indicating that she was dead. Daniel dropped her lifeless body and rose from his seat to leave the room. However, suddenly Marianna, who had been presumed dead, began to chuckle and before the White Knight could respond her chuckle had turned into a laugh that soon shifted into an insane laughter that filled the entire orphanage. Daniel pulled out his hammer to end the poor woman's suffering and that's when she spoke out once again.
"Her name was Ella! HAHA! ELLA! HAHAHAHA--!" She shouted and returned to laughing before she was interrupted by Daniel hammer. He had smashed his weapon into her skull, ending her suffering once and for all. She had obviously been insane and madness ruled her mind. Daniel had not only done her a service but also the orphanage itself. He pulled his hammer out from the woman's crushed cranium and rose up to leave. He had what he had come from and now it was time to seek out the Assassin. There was no time to wait, Daniel had to have his answers now and not later!
His plan was simple; Follow the old trail from a map an old "friend" of his had given him a long time ago and hope that the Pack had not moved their camp yet. If he was lucky he'd find the woman there.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
The sun had been up for a while now and Evin was just getting back to camp. No one seemed to question what took him so long to get there compared to other people. Something else that seemed to be on the mind of people was where Jake was. He was the only one that hadn't showed up and it seemed that people believed that he was dead. Evin wished that it was true. No one asked him about it though, they just seemed to be talking around camp about it. He didn't understand why every time he went to Newhaven, that the things he went to do down there never turn out and the stuff he actually spends his time doing becomes big news. Even more interesting to him was how everyone found out this information.
Evin just sat by the unlit fire pit and thought about what had happened at Newhaven himself. He wasn't even sure that he knew everything that went on that day. Crystal had disapeared, Mageria as well. There were several other Knights in the place too, and the memory just became a mesh of different criminals and not so valiant knights killing each other. He didn't know who lived and who died, it all really didn't matter. Things in that dungeon had reached such a point that it really didn't matter anymore what was right or wrong; who was a criminal, Knight or even an assassin. Everyone was walking on the same thin line between life and death, truth or lie and it all couldn't have gotten worse. If even one Knight or assassin had died in those hallways, no one would have survived. He knew that now.
This war had gone on long enough. Too many lives had been lost and nothing was being accomplished during the bloodshed. That made him think of Mageria again and their encounter down in the dungeon. She still seemed to have sentimental feelings for him that he just couldn't understand. They were enemies and they both knew it, yet she didn't seem to be able to bring herself to attack him until after he had attacked her first. Evin usually wouldn't have even made the first move unless he knew he could end the fight in only seconds, but this was different. What urged him to attack her in such a way was beyond Evin thought capacity. He wasn't sure if it was just because he didn't care or he really just hated the Black Knights that much. Or was it because she had lied to him? Evin would never figure it out beating himself up like this. It put it out of his mind for now and got up to go to his cabin.
"Hey Evin, where have you been?"
"That's none of your business Sean."
"But I think it is-"
Evin drew his dagger, "don't test me Sean, is Crystal here?"
"No she's not, she just left an hour ago. Did you need her for something?"
"No I didn't. You usually don't spend this much time with small talk so just spit it out!" Evin didn't mean to yell, but he didn't have enough patience to deal with even the simplest of things.
"Oh sorry, I just wanted to let you know that I was going to Blackpond for some important business. We were thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to set up a new inn there."
"That sounds good. When you come back, let me know what you find."
Sean smiled pleasantly at Evin and then turned around to walk out of the camp. "Thanks Evin, see you later."
Evin started walking to his cabin again, but then he heard Sean yelling at him from a distance away. "What?" Evin yelled back.
"I almost forgot! Lena wants to speak to either you are Crystal as soon as possible! I think she went back to the ruins!" Sean yelled back in response. Afterword, he motioned someone to follow him. He turned around before he could see who it was he was motioning to.
Evin sighed at the comment and began muttering, "thanks," to himself. He knew that Sean wouldn't hear it, but it just helped him vent out a little bit of the anger that he had bottled up in him. Continuing to walk to the cabin, he realised that meeting with Lena would be the perfect opportunity to ask her about Jake. He had to go now. Still walking, he met up with one of the assassins. He had just been promoted to an active and was eager to get his first job. When Evin called him over, he could see the excitement in his face. Evin felt bad for letting him down.
"I need you to go tell everyone else that I am going to my cabin for a rest and I don't want to be disturbed. Got it?"
"Yeah, whatever." The young boy sighed in disappointment at the news of his crappy assignment.
Evin chuckled a bit at the kids reaction and then continued to walk until he reached the cabin. He put his coat on the floor near the entrance and then went to the his desk, took a pen and quill and began to write. "Jake isnt telln u the trut sumthn abot ur mom". He looked at what he just wrote in disgust. It was barely legible for anyone let alone the spelling. He knew it didn't look like all the books and letters he read, but it was the best he could do. He placed it on the table before he put his coat on again to leave. He walked out the front door and then went through the dense forest until he was out of the camp. He made sure that he wasn't seen by any of the others in the camp on his way out. He didn't want them to know that they were left without a leader.
It made Evin a little nervous to be left without a leader, but he knew that he would only be gone for a short period of time and the odds of Newhaven attacking after what had happened were slim. They had way to much cleaning up to do to even worry about attacking the pack. They would just think that he was sleeping in his cabin and by the time he got back, no one would be the wiser.
After a long walk, Evin finally made it down the path he was on when he went to meet Perry at the ruins. He remembered on the way there was an attack on an enlightened woman. She was dead when Evin arrived in the village where it happened. Now he knew that Perry was probably there only about 30 minutes before Evin was.
Not long after this thought popped in his head, he arrived at the ruins. The same old man was there to great him as last time. Before he could speak, Evin spoke.
"I need to speak to Lena. It's important."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Sean was walking out of the camp, he motioned someone from behind one of the temporary tents to follow him. From behind it Ella, dressed in typical assassin's clothes wandered out. The two of them walked right out into the forest down a path towards Blackpond. Ella wasn't sure exactly what she was doing with him, but he said that he had talked to Evin about it and said that it was alright for her to go with him. His smile was so friendly and genuine when he offered this trip with him, that she couldn't pass it up. She was glad that Evin had approved.
They walked for a while without much to say to each other. Every now and then, they would have a bit of small talk, but that was really it. About half way into the walk however, started to slow down and stopped at a rock. They sat down and Sean took out some food for them to eat. Just a couple of apples and some smoked rabbit's meat was all, but Ella was begining to get hungry and she knew what happened when she just ran past that feeling before. She didn't want that to happen again.
"How are you holding up?" Sean asked in a friendly tone.
"Good, my legs are a little soar." Ella laughed, "I'm kinda glad we stopped. Unlike last time."
Sean returned the laugh and replied with, "well at least you aren't stuck in bed being pampered by a White Shadow."
"Ha, yeah, that was kinda annoying."
"That reminds me of what we were talking about while you were still stuck in that bed." He paused. "It must not have been quite as annoying as Evin is to you. I've seen what he's done to you. That must suck."
"Yeah kinda, but he is instructing me right?"
"I never had to be trained that way. It just seems odd to me, that's all."
"I guess it is a little odd. Isn't it? But still, I really like Ali and Crys. I don't see where you were going with them."
"Well not so much Ali. I was just wondering how you could care for someone so much to almost kill yourself from running alone just to save her. With Crystal, don't you think it's weird that she left the camp without a leader? Why didn't she get someone else to go save Ali?"
"You have a point, but it just goes to show how much Crys really loves Ali." Ella said.
"She loves it more than she does the camp? It could have been destroyed while she was gone!" He said. He was a little mad, but that was only because Ella knew he really didn't like rule breakers. "Does any of that make sense to you?"
"Umm, yeah I guess."
Sean threw his apple away and finished up his rabbit and then got up. "Ok, lets start moving again. Just a few more hours and we'll be there."
Ella quickly got up and caught up to Sean. He said two hours, but Ella was pretty sure that it was still a good three hours left to go. Sean knew a few shortcuts however. It wasn't the safest root to take and that was why Evin probably never took her down these paths. Every once and a while there were men walking down the paths dressed in Newhaven armour. Every time one would show up, they would have to hide.
"This is strange. Usually I only meet up with one of these guards going down the path. There must have been something big happening at Blackpond. A battle maybe?"
Ella knew that this was all just rhetorical and she didn't reply to it. She just followed Sean very closely and made sure she didn't cause any trouble for him. She liked him too much to screw things up.
Suddenly from not too far in the distance, they heard a scream from a man. Sean knew better than to continue down this path and instead, he walked Ella down the next fork to the left instead of the right like he had done at every other fork in the path. It was a good idea too because they didn't meet up with any more soldiers along the way and were in Blackpond before they knew it. It even took two hours like Sean had predicted.
The two walked right through the main gates with no trouble. Assassins were very much welcomed into the city unlike other places across Valcrest. It was nice not to feel like she was being hunted down for a change. She remembered Evin telling her stories about things that happened in Blackpond however and she knew that she had to keep her guard up. Blackpond was like the nightlife of Newhaven with one exception. It happened all day. In broad daylight there would be murders, rapes and all those disturbing crimes. The worst about it was was how no one really cared about it. It even became a public spectacle to commit crimes sometime. Of course, the royal family had been trying to fix this for generation with no real luck. It was just a part of living in Blackpond and all you could hope for was that it didn't happen to you.
Sean and Ella had no trouble however. They made sure to keep their weapons seen by the general public at all time. They knew that the two of them were assassins and people were usually smart enough not to mess with the assassins. Because of this, it didn't take long for them to reach the castle. When they made it into the courtyard, Sean stopped and looked over at Ella. She knew that he didn't want her to follow him any further. Inside the castle walls was safe enough. She hoped that nothing bad would get to her while she waited for Sean to get back from whatever business he had to take care of out there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander Hastings had a terrible past couple of days and he was glad that he was free of it all. The blacksmith had given him trouble, but he just slit the man's throat when he got to close and then broke the chain himself. Passing by all the guards wasn't too hard either. He had managed to steal some fresh clothing from a man's house while he was out and just wore the clothing strait out of the city. He was free from that point on. When a messenger dressed up in the usual messanger cloathing walked by in at a speedy pace, he came up behind him and then killed him. He took the messengers clothing and then went to finish what he started.
This allowed him to go past anyone with even less trouble than before. It was perfect.
He walked all the way down the same path he was taken down before. Past where he threw Mageria off her horse and past where she had tricked him into thinking that he was back at camp when he really wasn't. Every one of those terrible memories of that terrible woman came flashing back as he went down this path. That continued even as he approached the camp where all the Newhaven soldiers were sitting and waiting to attack again. He walked up to the entrance. The same men who were posted there on his first escape attempt were there. They didn't even recognise him.
"If Krander here? I have urgent news for him." Hastings said, not even discussing his voice.
"No he's not. He left on his shape shifting friend to go home."
"Well I will just wait here until he comes back then."
"Fine, enjoy your stay."
Hastings walked right past the men. It was ridiculously easy to do this. He knew what it must have been like to be an assassin, he had never done anything like this. He walked over to where all of the men stayed. He went up to one of the men and asked. "Where would I find Lionel?"
"He is in a tent over there," The man pointed at the tent just to his right. "He is in solitary confinement right now though. No one is aloud to talk to him."
"Well you can tell whoever told you that that there is an urgent message that needs to be given to him right now, so if you could please let me in."
"Sure." The man walked him over to the tent and opened it up for him and let Hastings in, closing it as he walked in.
Lionel was shocked to see someone in his tent. Hastings wasn't sure if he knew who he was or if he was just surprised to have someone come speak to him while he was being punished.
"Hey Lionel, don't say a word, but it's me Hastings." Hastings grabbed a dagger that was sitting on the tent floor and ripped a hole in the roof of the tent, just big enough for a person to fit through. He then gave the dagger to Lionel. "Now, I'm still stuck here and there is no way that I will ever get out. I need you to do something really important for me. This will make you remembered instead of being a tiny pawn that everyone will forget. You will be the most respected man in Blackpond."
"What is it?" Lionel whispered.
"I need you to stab yourself in the heart. If you do it, it will be dying for a great cause, to save Blackpond's great general from death. You are the only one I can trust so please do this for me."
"But-"
"Don't talk, just do."
With that Lionel looked down at the dagger and pointed it towards his chest. With a quick push, he was dead. Only one more thing had to be done and then Hastings job would be complete. He screamed at the top of his lungs. The man who was outside the ten ran in as fast as he could to see what happened. Hastings gravel over the man and made his best to look like he had just witnessed a murder.
"Krander, Krander swooped down on a bird and then, then he just killed him! He threatened to kill me too if I said anything. I need to get out of here!"
With that he ran, as fast as he could out of the camp. Soon he would be home, back in Blackpond.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rory, Sean is here to see you." One of the servants said.
"Bring him in. Hurry."
The servant ran out of the room and came back with Sean. It hadn't been too long since he had seen him, so it must have been time.
"Your highness, I'm requesting that you be on the ready. The time is to come soon." Sean said to him, bowing his head.
"Fine, I will send them to their place. They will be ready on your signal."
"Thank you sir."
"I will assure you, they are fully capable. Don't worry. Now do you have what I requested in return?"
"Yes, here it is." It was white silk that was used to make healers robes. He didn't want it to make a robe, but instead for a curtain in his room. It was the perfect white to match the rest perfectly.
"Good, I will make sure that everything is done according to plan." Said the King.
Evin just sat by the unlit fire pit and thought about what had happened at Newhaven himself. He wasn't even sure that he knew everything that went on that day. Crystal had disapeared, Mageria as well. There were several other Knights in the place too, and the memory just became a mesh of different criminals and not so valiant knights killing each other. He didn't know who lived and who died, it all really didn't matter. Things in that dungeon had reached such a point that it really didn't matter anymore what was right or wrong; who was a criminal, Knight or even an assassin. Everyone was walking on the same thin line between life and death, truth or lie and it all couldn't have gotten worse. If even one Knight or assassin had died in those hallways, no one would have survived. He knew that now.
This war had gone on long enough. Too many lives had been lost and nothing was being accomplished during the bloodshed. That made him think of Mageria again and their encounter down in the dungeon. She still seemed to have sentimental feelings for him that he just couldn't understand. They were enemies and they both knew it, yet she didn't seem to be able to bring herself to attack him until after he had attacked her first. Evin usually wouldn't have even made the first move unless he knew he could end the fight in only seconds, but this was different. What urged him to attack her in such a way was beyond Evin thought capacity. He wasn't sure if it was just because he didn't care or he really just hated the Black Knights that much. Or was it because she had lied to him? Evin would never figure it out beating himself up like this. It put it out of his mind for now and got up to go to his cabin.
"Hey Evin, where have you been?"
"That's none of your business Sean."
"But I think it is-"
Evin drew his dagger, "don't test me Sean, is Crystal here?"
"No she's not, she just left an hour ago. Did you need her for something?"
"No I didn't. You usually don't spend this much time with small talk so just spit it out!" Evin didn't mean to yell, but he didn't have enough patience to deal with even the simplest of things.
"Oh sorry, I just wanted to let you know that I was going to Blackpond for some important business. We were thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to set up a new inn there."
"That sounds good. When you come back, let me know what you find."
Sean smiled pleasantly at Evin and then turned around to walk out of the camp. "Thanks Evin, see you later."
Evin started walking to his cabin again, but then he heard Sean yelling at him from a distance away. "What?" Evin yelled back.
"I almost forgot! Lena wants to speak to either you are Crystal as soon as possible! I think she went back to the ruins!" Sean yelled back in response. Afterword, he motioned someone to follow him. He turned around before he could see who it was he was motioning to.
Evin sighed at the comment and began muttering, "thanks," to himself. He knew that Sean wouldn't hear it, but it just helped him vent out a little bit of the anger that he had bottled up in him. Continuing to walk to the cabin, he realised that meeting with Lena would be the perfect opportunity to ask her about Jake. He had to go now. Still walking, he met up with one of the assassins. He had just been promoted to an active and was eager to get his first job. When Evin called him over, he could see the excitement in his face. Evin felt bad for letting him down.
"I need you to go tell everyone else that I am going to my cabin for a rest and I don't want to be disturbed. Got it?"
"Yeah, whatever." The young boy sighed in disappointment at the news of his crappy assignment.
Evin chuckled a bit at the kids reaction and then continued to walk until he reached the cabin. He put his coat on the floor near the entrance and then went to the his desk, took a pen and quill and began to write. "Jake isnt telln u the trut sumthn abot ur mom". He looked at what he just wrote in disgust. It was barely legible for anyone let alone the spelling. He knew it didn't look like all the books and letters he read, but it was the best he could do. He placed it on the table before he put his coat on again to leave. He walked out the front door and then went through the dense forest until he was out of the camp. He made sure that he wasn't seen by any of the others in the camp on his way out. He didn't want them to know that they were left without a leader.
It made Evin a little nervous to be left without a leader, but he knew that he would only be gone for a short period of time and the odds of Newhaven attacking after what had happened were slim. They had way to much cleaning up to do to even worry about attacking the pack. They would just think that he was sleeping in his cabin and by the time he got back, no one would be the wiser.
After a long walk, Evin finally made it down the path he was on when he went to meet Perry at the ruins. He remembered on the way there was an attack on an enlightened woman. She was dead when Evin arrived in the village where it happened. Now he knew that Perry was probably there only about 30 minutes before Evin was.
Not long after this thought popped in his head, he arrived at the ruins. The same old man was there to great him as last time. Before he could speak, Evin spoke.
"I need to speak to Lena. It's important."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Sean was walking out of the camp, he motioned someone from behind one of the temporary tents to follow him. From behind it Ella, dressed in typical assassin's clothes wandered out. The two of them walked right out into the forest down a path towards Blackpond. Ella wasn't sure exactly what she was doing with him, but he said that he had talked to Evin about it and said that it was alright for her to go with him. His smile was so friendly and genuine when he offered this trip with him, that she couldn't pass it up. She was glad that Evin had approved.
They walked for a while without much to say to each other. Every now and then, they would have a bit of small talk, but that was really it. About half way into the walk however, started to slow down and stopped at a rock. They sat down and Sean took out some food for them to eat. Just a couple of apples and some smoked rabbit's meat was all, but Ella was begining to get hungry and she knew what happened when she just ran past that feeling before. She didn't want that to happen again.
"How are you holding up?" Sean asked in a friendly tone.
"Good, my legs are a little soar." Ella laughed, "I'm kinda glad we stopped. Unlike last time."
Sean returned the laugh and replied with, "well at least you aren't stuck in bed being pampered by a White Shadow."
"Ha, yeah, that was kinda annoying."
"That reminds me of what we were talking about while you were still stuck in that bed." He paused. "It must not have been quite as annoying as Evin is to you. I've seen what he's done to you. That must suck."
"Yeah kinda, but he is instructing me right?"
"I never had to be trained that way. It just seems odd to me, that's all."
"I guess it is a little odd. Isn't it? But still, I really like Ali and Crys. I don't see where you were going with them."
"Well not so much Ali. I was just wondering how you could care for someone so much to almost kill yourself from running alone just to save her. With Crystal, don't you think it's weird that she left the camp without a leader? Why didn't she get someone else to go save Ali?"
"You have a point, but it just goes to show how much Crys really loves Ali." Ella said.
"She loves it more than she does the camp? It could have been destroyed while she was gone!" He said. He was a little mad, but that was only because Ella knew he really didn't like rule breakers. "Does any of that make sense to you?"
"Umm, yeah I guess."
Sean threw his apple away and finished up his rabbit and then got up. "Ok, lets start moving again. Just a few more hours and we'll be there."
Ella quickly got up and caught up to Sean. He said two hours, but Ella was pretty sure that it was still a good three hours left to go. Sean knew a few shortcuts however. It wasn't the safest root to take and that was why Evin probably never took her down these paths. Every once and a while there were men walking down the paths dressed in Newhaven armour. Every time one would show up, they would have to hide.
"This is strange. Usually I only meet up with one of these guards going down the path. There must have been something big happening at Blackpond. A battle maybe?"
Ella knew that this was all just rhetorical and she didn't reply to it. She just followed Sean very closely and made sure she didn't cause any trouble for him. She liked him too much to screw things up.
Suddenly from not too far in the distance, they heard a scream from a man. Sean knew better than to continue down this path and instead, he walked Ella down the next fork to the left instead of the right like he had done at every other fork in the path. It was a good idea too because they didn't meet up with any more soldiers along the way and were in Blackpond before they knew it. It even took two hours like Sean had predicted.
The two walked right through the main gates with no trouble. Assassins were very much welcomed into the city unlike other places across Valcrest. It was nice not to feel like she was being hunted down for a change. She remembered Evin telling her stories about things that happened in Blackpond however and she knew that she had to keep her guard up. Blackpond was like the nightlife of Newhaven with one exception. It happened all day. In broad daylight there would be murders, rapes and all those disturbing crimes. The worst about it was was how no one really cared about it. It even became a public spectacle to commit crimes sometime. Of course, the royal family had been trying to fix this for generation with no real luck. It was just a part of living in Blackpond and all you could hope for was that it didn't happen to you.
Sean and Ella had no trouble however. They made sure to keep their weapons seen by the general public at all time. They knew that the two of them were assassins and people were usually smart enough not to mess with the assassins. Because of this, it didn't take long for them to reach the castle. When they made it into the courtyard, Sean stopped and looked over at Ella. She knew that he didn't want her to follow him any further. Inside the castle walls was safe enough. She hoped that nothing bad would get to her while she waited for Sean to get back from whatever business he had to take care of out there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander Hastings had a terrible past couple of days and he was glad that he was free of it all. The blacksmith had given him trouble, but he just slit the man's throat when he got to close and then broke the chain himself. Passing by all the guards wasn't too hard either. He had managed to steal some fresh clothing from a man's house while he was out and just wore the clothing strait out of the city. He was free from that point on. When a messenger dressed up in the usual messanger cloathing walked by in at a speedy pace, he came up behind him and then killed him. He took the messengers clothing and then went to finish what he started.
This allowed him to go past anyone with even less trouble than before. It was perfect.
He walked all the way down the same path he was taken down before. Past where he threw Mageria off her horse and past where she had tricked him into thinking that he was back at camp when he really wasn't. Every one of those terrible memories of that terrible woman came flashing back as he went down this path. That continued even as he approached the camp where all the Newhaven soldiers were sitting and waiting to attack again. He walked up to the entrance. The same men who were posted there on his first escape attempt were there. They didn't even recognise him.
"If Krander here? I have urgent news for him." Hastings said, not even discussing his voice.
"No he's not. He left on his shape shifting friend to go home."
"Well I will just wait here until he comes back then."
"Fine, enjoy your stay."
Hastings walked right past the men. It was ridiculously easy to do this. He knew what it must have been like to be an assassin, he had never done anything like this. He walked over to where all of the men stayed. He went up to one of the men and asked. "Where would I find Lionel?"
"He is in a tent over there," The man pointed at the tent just to his right. "He is in solitary confinement right now though. No one is aloud to talk to him."
"Well you can tell whoever told you that that there is an urgent message that needs to be given to him right now, so if you could please let me in."
"Sure." The man walked him over to the tent and opened it up for him and let Hastings in, closing it as he walked in.
Lionel was shocked to see someone in his tent. Hastings wasn't sure if he knew who he was or if he was just surprised to have someone come speak to him while he was being punished.
"Hey Lionel, don't say a word, but it's me Hastings." Hastings grabbed a dagger that was sitting on the tent floor and ripped a hole in the roof of the tent, just big enough for a person to fit through. He then gave the dagger to Lionel. "Now, I'm still stuck here and there is no way that I will ever get out. I need you to do something really important for me. This will make you remembered instead of being a tiny pawn that everyone will forget. You will be the most respected man in Blackpond."
"What is it?" Lionel whispered.
"I need you to stab yourself in the heart. If you do it, it will be dying for a great cause, to save Blackpond's great general from death. You are the only one I can trust so please do this for me."
"But-"
"Don't talk, just do."
With that Lionel looked down at the dagger and pointed it towards his chest. With a quick push, he was dead. Only one more thing had to be done and then Hastings job would be complete. He screamed at the top of his lungs. The man who was outside the ten ran in as fast as he could to see what happened. Hastings gravel over the man and made his best to look like he had just witnessed a murder.
"Krander, Krander swooped down on a bird and then, then he just killed him! He threatened to kill me too if I said anything. I need to get out of here!"
With that he ran, as fast as he could out of the camp. Soon he would be home, back in Blackpond.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rory, Sean is here to see you." One of the servants said.
"Bring him in. Hurry."
The servant ran out of the room and came back with Sean. It hadn't been too long since he had seen him, so it must have been time.
"Your highness, I'm requesting that you be on the ready. The time is to come soon." Sean said to him, bowing his head.
"Fine, I will send them to their place. They will be ready on your signal."
"Thank you sir."
"I will assure you, they are fully capable. Don't worry. Now do you have what I requested in return?"
"Yes, here it is." It was white silk that was used to make healers robes. He didn't want it to make a robe, but instead for a curtain in his room. It was the perfect white to match the rest perfectly.
"Good, I will make sure that everything is done according to plan." Said the King.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Newhaven Camp)
Lieutenant Commander Phillip found himself really wishing that Mageria was back from Newhaven. Somehow, she had a style that made people pay attention. Or maybe it was that everyone was afraid that she would kill them if they didn’t do what she wanted. Either way, it worked.
Now, he had arrived too late to do anything about poor Lionel dying, but there was something he could do about the rumors that were doing their best to get started. Captain Mageria believed that there was more than one way to fight a battle and she had taught as many of them to her men as she could.
“Oh, aye. So, you all are telling me that Captain Krander swooped into the middle of camp, on a giant bird, cut his way into the tent where Lionel was, killed Lionel without a struggle, threatened a witness, jumped back out, and flew away again . . . all without any of us noticing?” He sighed theatrically.
“Well, lets try and put this together. First off.” He turned in a circle, looking everybody in the face. “Did any of you happened to notice a bloody great big bird flying through here?” He waited till he saw some heads shaking. “Right, so it was an invisible bird as well. And no one heard it?” More heads shaking. “ Ah well then. Must have been easy to miss, the way it would have had to hover there so Captian Krander could cut a hole through the top of the tent. But then, I suppose that it would have been easy to kill Lionel there, what with him just willing to sit still for someone walking up to him and putting a knife in his chest. I’m sure he wouldn’t have called out at all. Or even the other person who was in there with him. I’m sure he was struck dumb by the sight of Captain Krander just jumping through the roof like that. And then the Captain just took the time to jump back through the roof and climb back on his invisible, silent, giant bird and flew away, still with nobody noticing anything until the messenger screamed. And where is he? If the Captain is gone, then the safest place for him is right here.”
Phillip laughed and shook his head. “Let’s face it people. If anybody was going to be killing anybody else in this army, Captain Mageria would have been the one holding the knife. And it would have been done quietly, with no fuss and no witnesses. I mean, let’s face it? Do any of you think Captain Krander is even capable of all that?” The men surrounding him laughed. “Right. So, you two, track that messenger. Odds are, he’s heading to Blackpond. You two, take Lionel to the pyres. And the rest of you, BACK TO WORK!” The soldiers all scrambled to obey, a smile on some of their faces as the rumors died before they were even born.
-------------------------------------------------
(Newhaven)
After the discovery of the robes, Mageria had sent Grim back out to the city to oversee the recovery of the escaped prisioners.
“I’ll figure out what to do with these later. I promise. But right now I have to think about things. We can’t do this sort of thing too quickly.” Grim had simply nodded and set out to carry out her orders. She had given him a full description of Hastings, although she didn’t think that there was much chance that the man was still in the town. But you never knew.
Mageria stared at her fireplace, deeply troubled. She had the robes that they had found bundled up in the bottom of her chest. She didn’t know what she was going to do about those; they actually weren’t what she was worried about at the moment. What worried her more was something that Hastings had told her.
“Blackpond has been successful in creating our own form of Black Knights, but they are a lot more like the assassin’s of the Wolf Pack. We’ve been training these men from birth to become perfect killers. It’s been about twenty five years and after a couple of small time assassinations, we think that they are ready to move onto bigger targets, like you.”
She really didn’t care about the fact that she was a target. She had been one every since she had put on Black armor. She was used to it by now. No, the thing that bothered her more was the memory of a conversation that she and Krander had had about a year ago, one that she was starting to fear she might have again in the near future.
“We need to attack the Pack as soon as possible. We don’t have a choice.” Mageria ran her hands through her hair as she collapsed in her chair. Both she and Krander had just come from a Council emergency meeting. They had been rabid in their demands that punitive actions be taken and they refused to listen when both Captains insisted that doing so would leave the city vulnerable. Finally they had said that they would review their options and report back as soon as possible.
“Mageria, I know how you feel about them . . .” Krander growled as he sat down across from her.
“This isn’t about that Krander and you know it.” She gestured at the city lights that they could see through the window.
“This city is a firestorm waiting to happen.” She reached forward and poured them both drinks.
“I’ve been down in the taverns listening to the people talk. Some of them want to revive the Wolf Hunters. You know what that would mean. Either we have shop boys with their father’s rusty swords out getting themselves killed, or half the army is going to desert and slaughter anyone that they can find living out in the forest on the remote chance that they found an assassin!” She took a long drink and slammed the glass down.
“If we don’t get ahead of this avalanche, it’s going to be a bloodbath. We’ve gone past the point where we can stop it.”
Krander glared at her as he sipped his drink. “You know that at least half of the people in that camp are civilians. People who had nothing to do with any of this.”
Mageria slammed her hands down on the table and pushed away, spinning around to pace furiously.
“I know that! My people are the one’s who brought us those numbers!” She leaned against the wall and scrubbed her face wearily. “At least if one of us is leading the attack, we can choose the targets. We can make sure that any non-combatants are safe.” She looked over at him. “We can’t do that if we let them run wild. If we don’t lead it, then someone else will.” She walked back and sat on the table. “You know that we have to do something. The entire city is calling for blood, the army especially.”
Krander sighed and nodded. “I know. But I wish we had different options. This isn’t going to end well. Or bring back our King. And it’s going to stretch us far too thin, trying to fight a two sided war like that.”
Mageria grimaced, feeling her own rage burn inside her chest. “But at the same time, they did kill him. Morals aside, we can’t let that stand. If they choose to give up the one’s that actually did it, we can pull back on everything else. But if they don’t . . . . .” she sighed. “There is literally nothing we can do.”
Krander rubbed his forehead. “Very well. Do what you have to. And what you can.” He leaned back and looked at her gravely. “And Mageria? Make damn sure that you come back from this.”
Mageria sighed deeply. “I can’t do it again.” she whispered. “I can’t choose between a dozen deaths and a hundred.” There might be a bonus to being a Black Knight. She no longer had to worry about her honor. It didn’t matter anymore. Which meant that if she was going to do something treasonous, the only thing that she had to worry about was getting caught. She shook her head, hating herself. And praying that the decision that she was making wasn’t one that she would regret for a very long time to come.
Later that night Mageria slipped out of Newhaven, dressed as a Black Guard and wrapped in a dark grey cloak. It wasn’t as if she was leaving Newhaven without someone to watch over them, there was still Daniel and Krander. They could well take care of things. She rode quickly, Ghost seeming to enjoy the moonlit run. It was only a few minutes before she saw signs that someone else was on the trail, broken branches and hoofprints in the dust. Magiera had pulled Ghost to a slow walk when they were going around a bend and it was a good thing she had because the other rider had turned around and now sat completely still in the middle of the path. Mageria had no problem recognizing the other rider though, even in the dark. Crystal Rivers. She sighed, her insides in a knot of tension about what she was doing. If anyone saw what she was doing, torture would be the least of what she had to face. And she was talking with somebody who had every reason in the world to want her dead. It was as if she balanced on a knife’s blade, not knowing which way things were going to fall.
“Neither of us should be here, so I’ll say my bit quickly.” Mageria spoke just loud enough to be heard. “Before the riot, I had a prisoner. Commander Hastings from Blackpond. He told me, among other things, that Blackpond has been training their own version of the Black Knights. Only these are going to be more like the Pack in their own way. Assassins, only loyal totally to Blackpond.” Mageria drew a deep breath. “You may want to look into that, if you don’t want what they’re doing to be cast as your fault.” Her voice became harsh with memories. “I don't know if I can stop the bloodbath a second time.” She laughed mirthlessly. "Especially since I'm one of the primary targets." She started to turn away. “And I do believe that they plan to subjugate the White Shadows to their own purpose. That would be bad for everyone involved.”
Lieutenant Commander Phillip found himself really wishing that Mageria was back from Newhaven. Somehow, she had a style that made people pay attention. Or maybe it was that everyone was afraid that she would kill them if they didn’t do what she wanted. Either way, it worked.
Now, he had arrived too late to do anything about poor Lionel dying, but there was something he could do about the rumors that were doing their best to get started. Captain Mageria believed that there was more than one way to fight a battle and she had taught as many of them to her men as she could.
“Oh, aye. So, you all are telling me that Captain Krander swooped into the middle of camp, on a giant bird, cut his way into the tent where Lionel was, killed Lionel without a struggle, threatened a witness, jumped back out, and flew away again . . . all without any of us noticing?” He sighed theatrically.
“Well, lets try and put this together. First off.” He turned in a circle, looking everybody in the face. “Did any of you happened to notice a bloody great big bird flying through here?” He waited till he saw some heads shaking. “Right, so it was an invisible bird as well. And no one heard it?” More heads shaking. “ Ah well then. Must have been easy to miss, the way it would have had to hover there so Captian Krander could cut a hole through the top of the tent. But then, I suppose that it would have been easy to kill Lionel there, what with him just willing to sit still for someone walking up to him and putting a knife in his chest. I’m sure he wouldn’t have called out at all. Or even the other person who was in there with him. I’m sure he was struck dumb by the sight of Captain Krander just jumping through the roof like that. And then the Captain just took the time to jump back through the roof and climb back on his invisible, silent, giant bird and flew away, still with nobody noticing anything until the messenger screamed. And where is he? If the Captain is gone, then the safest place for him is right here.”
Phillip laughed and shook his head. “Let’s face it people. If anybody was going to be killing anybody else in this army, Captain Mageria would have been the one holding the knife. And it would have been done quietly, with no fuss and no witnesses. I mean, let’s face it? Do any of you think Captain Krander is even capable of all that?” The men surrounding him laughed. “Right. So, you two, track that messenger. Odds are, he’s heading to Blackpond. You two, take Lionel to the pyres. And the rest of you, BACK TO WORK!” The soldiers all scrambled to obey, a smile on some of their faces as the rumors died before they were even born.
-------------------------------------------------
(Newhaven)
After the discovery of the robes, Mageria had sent Grim back out to the city to oversee the recovery of the escaped prisioners.
“I’ll figure out what to do with these later. I promise. But right now I have to think about things. We can’t do this sort of thing too quickly.” Grim had simply nodded and set out to carry out her orders. She had given him a full description of Hastings, although she didn’t think that there was much chance that the man was still in the town. But you never knew.
Mageria stared at her fireplace, deeply troubled. She had the robes that they had found bundled up in the bottom of her chest. She didn’t know what she was going to do about those; they actually weren’t what she was worried about at the moment. What worried her more was something that Hastings had told her.
“Blackpond has been successful in creating our own form of Black Knights, but they are a lot more like the assassin’s of the Wolf Pack. We’ve been training these men from birth to become perfect killers. It’s been about twenty five years and after a couple of small time assassinations, we think that they are ready to move onto bigger targets, like you.”
She really didn’t care about the fact that she was a target. She had been one every since she had put on Black armor. She was used to it by now. No, the thing that bothered her more was the memory of a conversation that she and Krander had had about a year ago, one that she was starting to fear she might have again in the near future.
“We need to attack the Pack as soon as possible. We don’t have a choice.” Mageria ran her hands through her hair as she collapsed in her chair. Both she and Krander had just come from a Council emergency meeting. They had been rabid in their demands that punitive actions be taken and they refused to listen when both Captains insisted that doing so would leave the city vulnerable. Finally they had said that they would review their options and report back as soon as possible.
“Mageria, I know how you feel about them . . .” Krander growled as he sat down across from her.
“This isn’t about that Krander and you know it.” She gestured at the city lights that they could see through the window.
“This city is a firestorm waiting to happen.” She reached forward and poured them both drinks.
“I’ve been down in the taverns listening to the people talk. Some of them want to revive the Wolf Hunters. You know what that would mean. Either we have shop boys with their father’s rusty swords out getting themselves killed, or half the army is going to desert and slaughter anyone that they can find living out in the forest on the remote chance that they found an assassin!” She took a long drink and slammed the glass down.
“If we don’t get ahead of this avalanche, it’s going to be a bloodbath. We’ve gone past the point where we can stop it.”
Krander glared at her as he sipped his drink. “You know that at least half of the people in that camp are civilians. People who had nothing to do with any of this.”
Mageria slammed her hands down on the table and pushed away, spinning around to pace furiously.
“I know that! My people are the one’s who brought us those numbers!” She leaned against the wall and scrubbed her face wearily. “At least if one of us is leading the attack, we can choose the targets. We can make sure that any non-combatants are safe.” She looked over at him. “We can’t do that if we let them run wild. If we don’t lead it, then someone else will.” She walked back and sat on the table. “You know that we have to do something. The entire city is calling for blood, the army especially.”
Krander sighed and nodded. “I know. But I wish we had different options. This isn’t going to end well. Or bring back our King. And it’s going to stretch us far too thin, trying to fight a two sided war like that.”
Mageria grimaced, feeling her own rage burn inside her chest. “But at the same time, they did kill him. Morals aside, we can’t let that stand. If they choose to give up the one’s that actually did it, we can pull back on everything else. But if they don’t . . . . .” she sighed. “There is literally nothing we can do.”
Krander rubbed his forehead. “Very well. Do what you have to. And what you can.” He leaned back and looked at her gravely. “And Mageria? Make damn sure that you come back from this.”
Mageria sighed deeply. “I can’t do it again.” she whispered. “I can’t choose between a dozen deaths and a hundred.” There might be a bonus to being a Black Knight. She no longer had to worry about her honor. It didn’t matter anymore. Which meant that if she was going to do something treasonous, the only thing that she had to worry about was getting caught. She shook her head, hating herself. And praying that the decision that she was making wasn’t one that she would regret for a very long time to come.
Later that night Mageria slipped out of Newhaven, dressed as a Black Guard and wrapped in a dark grey cloak. It wasn’t as if she was leaving Newhaven without someone to watch over them, there was still Daniel and Krander. They could well take care of things. She rode quickly, Ghost seeming to enjoy the moonlit run. It was only a few minutes before she saw signs that someone else was on the trail, broken branches and hoofprints in the dust. Magiera had pulled Ghost to a slow walk when they were going around a bend and it was a good thing she had because the other rider had turned around and now sat completely still in the middle of the path. Mageria had no problem recognizing the other rider though, even in the dark. Crystal Rivers. She sighed, her insides in a knot of tension about what she was doing. If anyone saw what she was doing, torture would be the least of what she had to face. And she was talking with somebody who had every reason in the world to want her dead. It was as if she balanced on a knife’s blade, not knowing which way things were going to fall.
“Neither of us should be here, so I’ll say my bit quickly.” Mageria spoke just loud enough to be heard. “Before the riot, I had a prisoner. Commander Hastings from Blackpond. He told me, among other things, that Blackpond has been training their own version of the Black Knights. Only these are going to be more like the Pack in their own way. Assassins, only loyal totally to Blackpond.” Mageria drew a deep breath. “You may want to look into that, if you don’t want what they’re doing to be cast as your fault.” Her voice became harsh with memories. “I don't know if I can stop the bloodbath a second time.” She laughed mirthlessly. "Especially since I'm one of the primary targets." She started to turn away. “And I do believe that they plan to subjugate the White Shadows to their own purpose. That would be bad for everyone involved.”
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
It was late night. Jake was almost asleep when he heard a knock on his door. "Jake, are you awake? Can I come in?" Crys' voice sounded on the other side of the door.
"Sure, come on in." Jake answered, sitting up on the bed and rubbing the blurriness away from his eyesight.
As the door opened, he watched Crys take a slightly hesitant step into the cabin. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. "You should be sleeping... You have to leave in the morning... I shouldn't..."
"No, no, no... It's fine." He assured her, getting up and pulling her further into the house, closing the door behind her before she changed her mind. "I really can't sleep anyway." He lied.
She chuckled. "You were sleeping, weren't you?"
"Eh, sleep is overrated." He stated, a smile crossing his features.
"Sure, it is now." She smiled back. "You will be seriously regretting this in the morning, though."
"No... I would give up sleep for you at any time." He stated, walking back to the bed and sitting down on it. "Do you have something you need to say to me?" He asked, a little curious.
She sat next to him and turned to face him. "I'm not sure, I guess I'm just..."
"Scared?" He asked.
"Terrified is more like it actually." She sighed. "What if you don't come back?"
"What if a flaming meteor descents from the sky and destroys the whole land?" Jake laughed.
"It's not funny, you ass!" She exclaimed, punching him in the chest.
"Ow..." He laughed out. "I know what you mean, but we both agreed it was for the best."
"The best for the clan." Crys corrected, frowning for a second. Then she removed the golden chain and locket that she had around her neck and opened it.
"That's empty, you know." Jake said, "What are you...?" He left the sentence unfinished when Crys pulled a knife and made a small cut on her index finger, letting blood drip inside the locket. "Why are you doing this?" Jake asked, confused.
"So you'll remember..." She closed the locket and put the chain around his neck. "...That when you get hurt, so do I." She poked the side of his head and added, smiling. "So, if you can't be careful for your own sake, do it for me."
He laughed. "You silly little girl. I always do everything for you." He said.
Crys laughed as well, but soon the room fell silent. Jake has lost himself completely simply staring at her, Crys rarely ever smiled like that. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. Jake let the silence linger for a while, then he reached for her hand, that for some reason she had simply let rest on the side of his face once she was finished poking him. He took her hand in his and then, he touched the center of her palm with his index finger. Crys seemed confused by the gesture and so, she tried to brake the silence. "Jake, wha-" She started."
"Hush." He silenced her with less than a whisper, beginning to move his finger, tracing letters on the palm of her hand, slowly, one after the other, until he finished with a question mark. He then waited a second for Crys to put all the letters together in her head.
When she laughed, he frowned for a second, until she spoke. "I'm not answering that unless you actually say it." She stated.
"Oh, I will" Jake answered, smiling. "When my assignment is over. Until then..." He took off his graduation ring, dropped it on her open hand, and closed her fist around it. "This is for you to remember something."
"What would that be?" She asked, with a small frown.
"No matter what happens. No matter what I say, or do... I'm always on your side."
The memories burned inside Jake's mind as he headed home. If there was a place in the world he could call home it was that camp, however... Not for much longer. When he was expelled, he never truly disconnected himself from his oath, he lived by it. He surrendered his life to the Pack. That never changed once, not even then and certainly not now. So this was it. Forcing Crys to execute him for treason would be last time he would ever hurt her. Hopefully she would hate him enough not to suffer from it for too long.
He took his time walking back to camp. He was in no hurry to face the consequences of that night's events. Inevitable as it was... He simply couldn't resist the impulse to delay it as much as possible. He was afraid that what he had to tell Crys would crush her. He even considered lying, making her believe he was actually loyal to Newhaven, maybe it would hurt less... The only problem was that it wouldn't work.
As he paced through the trail slowly, morning came and passed. It was long past noon when he crossed the main entrance, not paying attention to any whispers and stares, none of it mattered right now. All he needed to do was find Crys, and so he stopped the first active he saw and asked for her. "She left shortly after making sure Ali was fine."
"Oh... What about Evin?" He asked.
"Sleeping. Doesn't want to be bothered." The man answered, rolling his eyes.
Jake sighed. "Alright. Where is Allison then?"
"Home. She won't stay with the healer's, you know what she is like."
Jake chuckled. "She is a stubborn idiot. I'll go see how she is doing then." He said, parting ways with the man and heading towards Ali's cabin. It would be nice to check on Ali before she got the news of what he did. They hadn't actually talked in quite some time. We he got there, however... Ali was asleep in her bed, and Annie asleep in a chair beside the bed, in what seemed to be a very uncomfortable position.
He chuckled, and gently shook Annie awake. "Do you want me to take over for you? You look like you need a real bed."
Annie stretched in her seat and sighed. "No, I'm good for now. I'll be sleeping for quite a while after I heal Ali. So... Don't worry about me."
"How is she?" Jake asked, pulling another chair and sitting beside her.
"Good, for someone who had three cracked ribs and a slightly cracked skull." Annie stated. "What is it with this girl? No matter how much trouble she gets herself in, she just won't die!" Annie stated, laughing.
"I don't know. Is that a bad thing though?" Jake laughed.
"No... Just really strange, that's all." She shrugged.
"Enough about sleeping beauty there... How are you?" Jake asked, leaning back in his chair. "We haven't really talked in a while."
Annie sighed. "I'm fine, I suppose... I think I miss the ruins though. Actually, I miss Alistair."
"Alistair?" Jake asked raising a brow.
"He talks to me." She stated, simply. "The other healers, here or there, don't talk to me. I feel like I have a freaking disease!" She sighed. "Well... Nicolette talked to me, but she left, so..." Annie shrugged. "She asked me to take care of her garden though. So I have something to do."
Jake sighed, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Tell you what, cousin... If I can I'll go back to the ruins with you."
Annie looked at him and frowned. "Why would you do that? You don't like the ruins..."
Jake sighed. "Let's just say that pretty soon I might need a safe place to stay."
"What does that mean?" Annie asked, turning to face him. "What did you do Jacob?"
Jake nodded. "You'll know soon enough." He stated. "Do you have any rum in that kit of yours?"
Annie nodded, pulling the bottle out of her bag.
Jake snatched the bottle and took a sip, then passed it back to her. She simply stared at him. He laughed. "Really, you never took one sip?"
"It's against our clan rules." She passed the bottle back to him. "And yours too."
"Ah, but there are rules... And there are rules." He said, taking a large gulp. Meeting with Crys intoxicated would be a crappy idea, but really, how much worse could it really get?"
"Anything you tell me is confidential." Annie stated, out of the blue.
"It won't be a secret very long, but it's not your place to hear it cousin." Jake mumbled, putting the cork back in the bottle and setting it aside for now. He didn't say anything else until Annie waved something in his face. "Do you know who this belonged to?"
Jake took a quick look at the silver ring and sat up quickly. "Where did you find this?" He asked.
"My mother had it, why?" She asked.
Jake nodded. "I don't know anything."
"Bullshit!" Annie exclaimed. "Who's is it?"
"I can't. This is something to talk to your mother about, not me. It's not my business." He said.
"Is it Sebastian's?" She asked him.
Jake looked at her in disbelief, and once he realized she was serious he laughed. "Hell, no! Bastian didn't have a graduate ring, he was never an active. Why would you think that?"
"By the way people react to it..." She mumbled. "It's like the thing is cursed."
"People?" Jake frowned. "Who else did you show this to, Annie?"
"Just Crys." The girl answered.
"Oh... Well... I that was her father's Crys would flip. She would jump at your mother's throat." Jake laughed.
Annie looked at him confused. "Why?"
"Alright. I shouldn't even tell you this much, but it's common knowledge amongst the clan, so... Why the hell not?" He sighed. "When an assassin receives a graduation ring and puts it on his finger for the first time, he, or she, is swearing to be forever bound to the clan. That is why when a clan member retires it's normal for that person to take the ring as a reminder to always keep the clan's secrets. So, when a man surrenders his graduation ring to a woman he is, with that gesture, binding himself to her as well." He explained all that with slight bitterness to his tone. "Do you get my meaning?"
"So it's practically an engagement of sorts?" She asked, more to herself than to him. Then the information finally sunk in. "Oh... Oh!" She exclaimed. "My mom... Kept this all this time..."
"She left the clan, but he never did. And it's not something you should be parading around with. So, take my advice and go talk to her." He muttered.
Annie nodded and went silent for a while. Then out of the blue, she turned to him with a wide smile. "You!" She pointed at him.
"What?" He asked, opening the rum bottle again and taking another drink.
"Crys has your ring! She wears it around her neck, I saw it!" She exclaimed.
"I was infiltrated Annie. I couldn't wear it. That's all." He mumbled, lying through his teeth.
"But..." She started.
"That's. It." He muttered. Then he sighed. "If you don't mind leaving me alone with your patient. I'd like to be as alone as possible right now."
Annie sighed. "Fine. I'll heal Ali and go to sleep. But you have to stay and make sure she stays in bed."
"Fine." Jake mumbled, rubbing his eyes before the girl could notice the tears.
-------------------------
Ali was feeling warm and heavy by the time she woke up. She was still in pain, but not as much as before. She opened her eyes to find Jake leaning forward in his seat to see if she was actually waking up or just moving. She tried to speak, but nothing understandable came out.
"What?" Jake asked.
She sighed and then managed to pronounce words correctly. "Did Annie heal me?"
"Yes, but you can't get out of bed." Jake answered.
She nodded, slowly beginning to sit up. "I don't plan on it. Not yet at least." She mumbled, sitting up on the bed and rubbing her eyes until everything gained focus again. After doing that, she began to open and close her hands in order to regain full movement, she was feeling a little numb. Then she smiled at Jake. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What do you need?" He asked.
"There are two wooden boxes under the bed, get them for me." She told him, rubbing her temples.
Jake got the two boxes she asked for and sat them down on the bed. "What are those?" He asked, curiously.
"Tool boxes." She said simply opening them. "If I'm stuck here, might as well keep busy."
Jake watched Ali open the boxes and pick a nice piece of light wood from it. From the other box she took a carving knife and began to quietly work the piece of wood. Jake watched, intrigued, as it started to take shape. That until she stopped and spoke, not looking at him. "In the other room, there is a brown box on the table, get me a string from it."
Jake walked to the second room of the house and realized why Ali had put her bed on the front room along with dining table. She had turned the bedroom into a workshop. Jake looked around to see several unfinished projects, including an unstrung lute. "Wow, Ali... I didn't know you took crafting this serious." He noted, finding the box and getting a bow string from it. When he came back she was painting the wooden figure of a chess queen with a thin brush. He left the string on the bed and sat down again. He gave Ali an intrigued look when she painted only half of the piece, leaving half of it in it's natural light wooden color. "What is it that you're doing there, Ali?" He asked.
"It's a gift." She said, taking the bow string and passing it through a metal rim she had, at some point, attached to the top of the chess piece. After tying a knot on the string she waved the dangling chess piece in front of Jake's eyes. Then she chuckled. "It kind of helps dry the paint, I'm not just showing off."
"But you are showing off." He laughed. "It's a queen, so it's not for me, too bad, and it's definitely not for Crys, so... Who is it for?"
"It's for Ella." Ali nodded. "It's a thank you."
"For saving your life? Since when do you care?" Jake laughed.
Ali shrugged. "Well, for that too, but also for the very enlightening talk we had. I wouldn't have found out what I did without it."
Jake smiled. "Really? What did you girls talk about?"
"Chess, duh." She said, waving the pendant in his face.
Jake laughed. "Well, sure, what was I thinking?" He nodded. "Why is half of it black and the other half white?"
"The black represents the Wolfpack, and the white represents Newhaven." Ali explained, setting the piece down on the bedside table to dry properly.
"I see." Jake said. "That's really nice."
Ali sighed laying back on the bed. "Did everyone get out of it okay?" She asked.
"Yes." Jake answered. "Did Crys tell you anything?" He asked.
"No. I talked, she listened. Then she dumped me here agonizing and screaming and went off to meet someone." Ali mumbled, a little bit upset. "Fine, I guess. I just wish she wasn't acting so strange. At least I wouldn't worry. I mean... Did something bad happen down there?"
Jake sighed. "You'll know soon enough." He sat back opening a half empty bottle of rum and taking a drink. "Everyone will know soon."
"Where's Evin?" She asked.
"Resting, or so I've heard." Jake muttered, a little bit of anger in his tone that didn't really go unnoticed. "Nice of him to check that you're alright." He added.
Ali laughed. "He was the first one there Jake." She nodded. "People are a little bit too hard on Evin, he's not a bad guy at all." She chuckled. "Plus, if he actually came to check on my health I'd immediately think he was dying, or at least severely ill."
Jake sighed. "It's a possibility." He mumbled.
"What?" Ali raised a brow.
He chuckled. "Nothing, nothing at all."
--------------------------
[Healer's Camp]
Alistair was the first to notice the assassin that walked past the gates. Assuming he had surrendered his weapons, but knowing he probably kept something hidden on him, he approached the man. "Lena is now resting. I will call for her, since she has been expecting you, but wait here until you are called into the tent." Alistair told the man, walking to Lena's tent, and entering with exaggerated caution. Well, not really. Lena wasn't someone one would like to startle.
"I don't know how he did it Dani. What do you want from me?" Lena was shouting, she knew better than anyone just how badly mistaken she had been. For years. She couldn't understand how it happened.
"I want you to explain to me, how a man infiltrated your clan with the intent to murder and neither you or Alistair caught on to him!" Dani exclaimed. "I'm not accusing you of anything, that would be pointless, but I need to understand."
"I don't understand!" Lena shouted again. She had never been fooled, by anyone, in her entire life. She wasn't a bleeding heart, she didn't fall for sob stories. She only valued people that had been able to prove their worth. This man had, and still... He was nothing he had made himself out to be. "I don't...Understand." She sighed, hiding her face in her hands. Dani was the only person to ever see her in this state, she had only been in such a state two times before. Dani's hand grabbed her shoulder and Lena heard her sigh before breaking the silence. "You can't blame yourself for this." She stated.
"I saved his life, trained him, and gave him every information he needed to hunt those people and kill them. Don't patronize me, every life he took is on my hands. You husband's life included!"
A loud thud caused Lena to raise her head. Dani had slammed her fist on the wooden table. "Don't ever repeat that. Never. Do you understand? We have walked this path before, you know where it leads!" She sighed. "Don't ever repeat that." She asked in a softer tone.
Lena nodded. "Well... He better pray you find him before I do. I swear, I don't even know what I would be capable of if I ever lay my eyes on him again."
Lena sighed as she felt someone shake her out of her dream. It was release, but not quite. She was still so tired... Worst than that was the memory itself. She had never regretted anything so deeply before in her life. Even within the White Shadows, only Alistair knew the truth of what happened. Regret... What a bothersome feeling.
"What?" She finally mumbled, opening her eyes.
"Evin is here. You said it was important to talk to him." Alistair stated. "Bad dream?" He asked.
"Mind your own business, boy." She said sitting up. "Please tell him to enter."
Alistair sighed shaking his head. "As you wish, mistress." He muttered out, heading out of the tent and walking up to Evin. "Go right in. She is awake, and in a bad mood if I may say so."
Lena was wide awake in the few steps it took the assassin to enter her tent. She motioned for him to sit and then spoke. "I know you have your own reason to be here. So I will make my notice a short one: Blackpond is currently pressuring my clan and, if the situation does not resolve itself in any other manner, for the protection of my people I will evacuate the clan to the desert. That means that any healer left in any point of this land will be summoned back to travel with the clan. There won't be one White Shadow left in Valcrest. Consider your clan warned."
She then sighed, knowing what was to come. "As for your reasons for coming here... Say, how may I assist you?"
"Sure, come on in." Jake answered, sitting up on the bed and rubbing the blurriness away from his eyesight.
As the door opened, he watched Crys take a slightly hesitant step into the cabin. "I'm sorry." She mumbled. "You should be sleeping... You have to leave in the morning... I shouldn't..."
"No, no, no... It's fine." He assured her, getting up and pulling her further into the house, closing the door behind her before she changed her mind. "I really can't sleep anyway." He lied.
She chuckled. "You were sleeping, weren't you?"
"Eh, sleep is overrated." He stated, a smile crossing his features.
"Sure, it is now." She smiled back. "You will be seriously regretting this in the morning, though."
"No... I would give up sleep for you at any time." He stated, walking back to the bed and sitting down on it. "Do you have something you need to say to me?" He asked, a little curious.
She sat next to him and turned to face him. "I'm not sure, I guess I'm just..."
"Scared?" He asked.
"Terrified is more like it actually." She sighed. "What if you don't come back?"
"What if a flaming meteor descents from the sky and destroys the whole land?" Jake laughed.
"It's not funny, you ass!" She exclaimed, punching him in the chest.
"Ow..." He laughed out. "I know what you mean, but we both agreed it was for the best."
"The best for the clan." Crys corrected, frowning for a second. Then she removed the golden chain and locket that she had around her neck and opened it.
"That's empty, you know." Jake said, "What are you...?" He left the sentence unfinished when Crys pulled a knife and made a small cut on her index finger, letting blood drip inside the locket. "Why are you doing this?" Jake asked, confused.
"So you'll remember..." She closed the locket and put the chain around his neck. "...That when you get hurt, so do I." She poked the side of his head and added, smiling. "So, if you can't be careful for your own sake, do it for me."
He laughed. "You silly little girl. I always do everything for you." He said.
Crys laughed as well, but soon the room fell silent. Jake has lost himself completely simply staring at her, Crys rarely ever smiled like that. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. Jake let the silence linger for a while, then he reached for her hand, that for some reason she had simply let rest on the side of his face once she was finished poking him. He took her hand in his and then, he touched the center of her palm with his index finger. Crys seemed confused by the gesture and so, she tried to brake the silence. "Jake, wha-" She started."
"Hush." He silenced her with less than a whisper, beginning to move his finger, tracing letters on the palm of her hand, slowly, one after the other, until he finished with a question mark. He then waited a second for Crys to put all the letters together in her head.
When she laughed, he frowned for a second, until she spoke. "I'm not answering that unless you actually say it." She stated.
"Oh, I will" Jake answered, smiling. "When my assignment is over. Until then..." He took off his graduation ring, dropped it on her open hand, and closed her fist around it. "This is for you to remember something."
"What would that be?" She asked, with a small frown.
"No matter what happens. No matter what I say, or do... I'm always on your side."
The memories burned inside Jake's mind as he headed home. If there was a place in the world he could call home it was that camp, however... Not for much longer. When he was expelled, he never truly disconnected himself from his oath, he lived by it. He surrendered his life to the Pack. That never changed once, not even then and certainly not now. So this was it. Forcing Crys to execute him for treason would be last time he would ever hurt her. Hopefully she would hate him enough not to suffer from it for too long.
He took his time walking back to camp. He was in no hurry to face the consequences of that night's events. Inevitable as it was... He simply couldn't resist the impulse to delay it as much as possible. He was afraid that what he had to tell Crys would crush her. He even considered lying, making her believe he was actually loyal to Newhaven, maybe it would hurt less... The only problem was that it wouldn't work.
As he paced through the trail slowly, morning came and passed. It was long past noon when he crossed the main entrance, not paying attention to any whispers and stares, none of it mattered right now. All he needed to do was find Crys, and so he stopped the first active he saw and asked for her. "She left shortly after making sure Ali was fine."
"Oh... What about Evin?" He asked.
"Sleeping. Doesn't want to be bothered." The man answered, rolling his eyes.
Jake sighed. "Alright. Where is Allison then?"
"Home. She won't stay with the healer's, you know what she is like."
Jake chuckled. "She is a stubborn idiot. I'll go see how she is doing then." He said, parting ways with the man and heading towards Ali's cabin. It would be nice to check on Ali before she got the news of what he did. They hadn't actually talked in quite some time. We he got there, however... Ali was asleep in her bed, and Annie asleep in a chair beside the bed, in what seemed to be a very uncomfortable position.
He chuckled, and gently shook Annie awake. "Do you want me to take over for you? You look like you need a real bed."
Annie stretched in her seat and sighed. "No, I'm good for now. I'll be sleeping for quite a while after I heal Ali. So... Don't worry about me."
"How is she?" Jake asked, pulling another chair and sitting beside her.
"Good, for someone who had three cracked ribs and a slightly cracked skull." Annie stated. "What is it with this girl? No matter how much trouble she gets herself in, she just won't die!" Annie stated, laughing.
"I don't know. Is that a bad thing though?" Jake laughed.
"No... Just really strange, that's all." She shrugged.
"Enough about sleeping beauty there... How are you?" Jake asked, leaning back in his chair. "We haven't really talked in a while."
Annie sighed. "I'm fine, I suppose... I think I miss the ruins though. Actually, I miss Alistair."
"Alistair?" Jake asked raising a brow.
"He talks to me." She stated, simply. "The other healers, here or there, don't talk to me. I feel like I have a freaking disease!" She sighed. "Well... Nicolette talked to me, but she left, so..." Annie shrugged. "She asked me to take care of her garden though. So I have something to do."
Jake sighed, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Tell you what, cousin... If I can I'll go back to the ruins with you."
Annie looked at him and frowned. "Why would you do that? You don't like the ruins..."
Jake sighed. "Let's just say that pretty soon I might need a safe place to stay."
"What does that mean?" Annie asked, turning to face him. "What did you do Jacob?"
Jake nodded. "You'll know soon enough." He stated. "Do you have any rum in that kit of yours?"
Annie nodded, pulling the bottle out of her bag.
Jake snatched the bottle and took a sip, then passed it back to her. She simply stared at him. He laughed. "Really, you never took one sip?"
"It's against our clan rules." She passed the bottle back to him. "And yours too."
"Ah, but there are rules... And there are rules." He said, taking a large gulp. Meeting with Crys intoxicated would be a crappy idea, but really, how much worse could it really get?"
"Anything you tell me is confidential." Annie stated, out of the blue.
"It won't be a secret very long, but it's not your place to hear it cousin." Jake mumbled, putting the cork back in the bottle and setting it aside for now. He didn't say anything else until Annie waved something in his face. "Do you know who this belonged to?"
Jake took a quick look at the silver ring and sat up quickly. "Where did you find this?" He asked.
"My mother had it, why?" She asked.
Jake nodded. "I don't know anything."
"Bullshit!" Annie exclaimed. "Who's is it?"
"I can't. This is something to talk to your mother about, not me. It's not my business." He said.
"Is it Sebastian's?" She asked him.
Jake looked at her in disbelief, and once he realized she was serious he laughed. "Hell, no! Bastian didn't have a graduate ring, he was never an active. Why would you think that?"
"By the way people react to it..." She mumbled. "It's like the thing is cursed."
"People?" Jake frowned. "Who else did you show this to, Annie?"
"Just Crys." The girl answered.
"Oh... Well... I that was her father's Crys would flip. She would jump at your mother's throat." Jake laughed.
Annie looked at him confused. "Why?"
"Alright. I shouldn't even tell you this much, but it's common knowledge amongst the clan, so... Why the hell not?" He sighed. "When an assassin receives a graduation ring and puts it on his finger for the first time, he, or she, is swearing to be forever bound to the clan. That is why when a clan member retires it's normal for that person to take the ring as a reminder to always keep the clan's secrets. So, when a man surrenders his graduation ring to a woman he is, with that gesture, binding himself to her as well." He explained all that with slight bitterness to his tone. "Do you get my meaning?"
"So it's practically an engagement of sorts?" She asked, more to herself than to him. Then the information finally sunk in. "Oh... Oh!" She exclaimed. "My mom... Kept this all this time..."
"She left the clan, but he never did. And it's not something you should be parading around with. So, take my advice and go talk to her." He muttered.
Annie nodded and went silent for a while. Then out of the blue, she turned to him with a wide smile. "You!" She pointed at him.
"What?" He asked, opening the rum bottle again and taking another drink.
"Crys has your ring! She wears it around her neck, I saw it!" She exclaimed.
"I was infiltrated Annie. I couldn't wear it. That's all." He mumbled, lying through his teeth.
"But..." She started.
"That's. It." He muttered. Then he sighed. "If you don't mind leaving me alone with your patient. I'd like to be as alone as possible right now."
Annie sighed. "Fine. I'll heal Ali and go to sleep. But you have to stay and make sure she stays in bed."
"Fine." Jake mumbled, rubbing his eyes before the girl could notice the tears.
-------------------------
Ali was feeling warm and heavy by the time she woke up. She was still in pain, but not as much as before. She opened her eyes to find Jake leaning forward in his seat to see if she was actually waking up or just moving. She tried to speak, but nothing understandable came out.
"What?" Jake asked.
She sighed and then managed to pronounce words correctly. "Did Annie heal me?"
"Yes, but you can't get out of bed." Jake answered.
She nodded, slowly beginning to sit up. "I don't plan on it. Not yet at least." She mumbled, sitting up on the bed and rubbing her eyes until everything gained focus again. After doing that, she began to open and close her hands in order to regain full movement, she was feeling a little numb. Then she smiled at Jake. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What do you need?" He asked.
"There are two wooden boxes under the bed, get them for me." She told him, rubbing her temples.
Jake got the two boxes she asked for and sat them down on the bed. "What are those?" He asked, curiously.
"Tool boxes." She said simply opening them. "If I'm stuck here, might as well keep busy."
Jake watched Ali open the boxes and pick a nice piece of light wood from it. From the other box she took a carving knife and began to quietly work the piece of wood. Jake watched, intrigued, as it started to take shape. That until she stopped and spoke, not looking at him. "In the other room, there is a brown box on the table, get me a string from it."
Jake walked to the second room of the house and realized why Ali had put her bed on the front room along with dining table. She had turned the bedroom into a workshop. Jake looked around to see several unfinished projects, including an unstrung lute. "Wow, Ali... I didn't know you took crafting this serious." He noted, finding the box and getting a bow string from it. When he came back she was painting the wooden figure of a chess queen with a thin brush. He left the string on the bed and sat down again. He gave Ali an intrigued look when she painted only half of the piece, leaving half of it in it's natural light wooden color. "What is it that you're doing there, Ali?" He asked.
"It's a gift." She said, taking the bow string and passing it through a metal rim she had, at some point, attached to the top of the chess piece. After tying a knot on the string she waved the dangling chess piece in front of Jake's eyes. Then she chuckled. "It kind of helps dry the paint, I'm not just showing off."
"But you are showing off." He laughed. "It's a queen, so it's not for me, too bad, and it's definitely not for Crys, so... Who is it for?"
"It's for Ella." Ali nodded. "It's a thank you."
"For saving your life? Since when do you care?" Jake laughed.
Ali shrugged. "Well, for that too, but also for the very enlightening talk we had. I wouldn't have found out what I did without it."
Jake smiled. "Really? What did you girls talk about?"
"Chess, duh." She said, waving the pendant in his face.
Jake laughed. "Well, sure, what was I thinking?" He nodded. "Why is half of it black and the other half white?"
"The black represents the Wolfpack, and the white represents Newhaven." Ali explained, setting the piece down on the bedside table to dry properly.
"I see." Jake said. "That's really nice."
Ali sighed laying back on the bed. "Did everyone get out of it okay?" She asked.
"Yes." Jake answered. "Did Crys tell you anything?" He asked.
"No. I talked, she listened. Then she dumped me here agonizing and screaming and went off to meet someone." Ali mumbled, a little bit upset. "Fine, I guess. I just wish she wasn't acting so strange. At least I wouldn't worry. I mean... Did something bad happen down there?"
Jake sighed. "You'll know soon enough." He sat back opening a half empty bottle of rum and taking a drink. "Everyone will know soon."
"Where's Evin?" She asked.
"Resting, or so I've heard." Jake muttered, a little bit of anger in his tone that didn't really go unnoticed. "Nice of him to check that you're alright." He added.
Ali laughed. "He was the first one there Jake." She nodded. "People are a little bit too hard on Evin, he's not a bad guy at all." She chuckled. "Plus, if he actually came to check on my health I'd immediately think he was dying, or at least severely ill."
Jake sighed. "It's a possibility." He mumbled.
"What?" Ali raised a brow.
He chuckled. "Nothing, nothing at all."
--------------------------
[Healer's Camp]
Alistair was the first to notice the assassin that walked past the gates. Assuming he had surrendered his weapons, but knowing he probably kept something hidden on him, he approached the man. "Lena is now resting. I will call for her, since she has been expecting you, but wait here until you are called into the tent." Alistair told the man, walking to Lena's tent, and entering with exaggerated caution. Well, not really. Lena wasn't someone one would like to startle.
"I don't know how he did it Dani. What do you want from me?" Lena was shouting, she knew better than anyone just how badly mistaken she had been. For years. She couldn't understand how it happened.
"I want you to explain to me, how a man infiltrated your clan with the intent to murder and neither you or Alistair caught on to him!" Dani exclaimed. "I'm not accusing you of anything, that would be pointless, but I need to understand."
"I don't understand!" Lena shouted again. She had never been fooled, by anyone, in her entire life. She wasn't a bleeding heart, she didn't fall for sob stories. She only valued people that had been able to prove their worth. This man had, and still... He was nothing he had made himself out to be. "I don't...Understand." She sighed, hiding her face in her hands. Dani was the only person to ever see her in this state, she had only been in such a state two times before. Dani's hand grabbed her shoulder and Lena heard her sigh before breaking the silence. "You can't blame yourself for this." She stated.
"I saved his life, trained him, and gave him every information he needed to hunt those people and kill them. Don't patronize me, every life he took is on my hands. You husband's life included!"
A loud thud caused Lena to raise her head. Dani had slammed her fist on the wooden table. "Don't ever repeat that. Never. Do you understand? We have walked this path before, you know where it leads!" She sighed. "Don't ever repeat that." She asked in a softer tone.
Lena nodded. "Well... He better pray you find him before I do. I swear, I don't even know what I would be capable of if I ever lay my eyes on him again."
Lena sighed as she felt someone shake her out of her dream. It was release, but not quite. She was still so tired... Worst than that was the memory itself. She had never regretted anything so deeply before in her life. Even within the White Shadows, only Alistair knew the truth of what happened. Regret... What a bothersome feeling.
"What?" She finally mumbled, opening her eyes.
"Evin is here. You said it was important to talk to him." Alistair stated. "Bad dream?" He asked.
"Mind your own business, boy." She said sitting up. "Please tell him to enter."
Alistair sighed shaking his head. "As you wish, mistress." He muttered out, heading out of the tent and walking up to Evin. "Go right in. She is awake, and in a bad mood if I may say so."
Lena was wide awake in the few steps it took the assassin to enter her tent. She motioned for him to sit and then spoke. "I know you have your own reason to be here. So I will make my notice a short one: Blackpond is currently pressuring my clan and, if the situation does not resolve itself in any other manner, for the protection of my people I will evacuate the clan to the desert. That means that any healer left in any point of this land will be summoned back to travel with the clan. There won't be one White Shadow left in Valcrest. Consider your clan warned."
She then sighed, knowing what was to come. "As for your reasons for coming here... Say, how may I assist you?"
A lone figured with his faithful horse exploded through the thick and dark forest as the night grew late. Leaves flew off into the wind as the shadow came rushing passed the countless trees that surrounded him. The hour was late and the man had no plans to slow down until he reached his goal. The wind howled in the distance and a lone wolf cried out in the night for either company or to instill fear in its prey. The air around him was cold and the trees were manically staring at him. Suddenly the man stopped his horse in it's tracks and looked around for a second. He could have sworn he had heard something a few clicks away. Moving his horse slowly, the man made his way over to a couple of bushes and while sitting still on his horse he looked past them. Down below there was a small valley with a lake in the middle of it. In the middle of the lake itself there was two figures giggling and bathing. The mysterious man had no idea if these people were travellers who had just stumbled upon this lake or if it was members of the Pack. The god damn pitch black night didn't make it easier for him to spot them correctly either. After much deliberation, the man decided to let these ones pass since he had a urgent goal in mind to complete. Turning his horse around, he exploded forth and continued through the forest while following the map he had memorized for a couple of hours ago.
Then just as he was about to stop and see if he had remembered the map correctly, he burst out from the forest and into a large encampment. The very second he stopped his horse with a strong pull in its strings he felt how several arrows were aimed at him through the cold night. Stepping down from the horse, the White Knight Daniel Zimmerman held his arms high in the air and shouted out to anyone who were willing to listen to reason:
"I come in peace! I have information I need to relay to one of your leaders. As a token of my peace offer, I'm willing to surrender my weapons to you." Daniel explained as he reached for his belt where his sword and his hammer hanged firmly. Suddenly there was a small sound that echoed throughout the camp and an arrow penetrated Daniels right shoulder, leaving him unable to even lift his own weapons. The White Knight was familiar to pain but this was a surprise to even him. Daniel took a step backwards and grunted heavily as he broke the arrow off before tossing his belt to the ground along with it. After this, Daniel held his left arm up in the air, still seeking peace while trying to keep his right arm still at his side. Hopefully this wouldn't be the death of him, but if it would he would die knowing that it was the Pack that screwed their last chance of peace with Newhaven. He started to walk forward, not knowing where to go and where to turn seeing as no one called out from him and their arrows were still being aimed at him for safe sake. Hopefully someone would answer his call for an audience. He had after all, very important information to share.
Then just as he was about to stop and see if he had remembered the map correctly, he burst out from the forest and into a large encampment. The very second he stopped his horse with a strong pull in its strings he felt how several arrows were aimed at him through the cold night. Stepping down from the horse, the White Knight Daniel Zimmerman held his arms high in the air and shouted out to anyone who were willing to listen to reason:
"I come in peace! I have information I need to relay to one of your leaders. As a token of my peace offer, I'm willing to surrender my weapons to you." Daniel explained as he reached for his belt where his sword and his hammer hanged firmly. Suddenly there was a small sound that echoed throughout the camp and an arrow penetrated Daniels right shoulder, leaving him unable to even lift his own weapons. The White Knight was familiar to pain but this was a surprise to even him. Daniel took a step backwards and grunted heavily as he broke the arrow off before tossing his belt to the ground along with it. After this, Daniel held his left arm up in the air, still seeking peace while trying to keep his right arm still at his side. Hopefully this wouldn't be the death of him, but if it would he would die knowing that it was the Pack that screwed their last chance of peace with Newhaven. He started to walk forward, not knowing where to go and where to turn seeing as no one called out from him and their arrows were still being aimed at him for safe sake. Hopefully someone would answer his call for an audience. He had after all, very important information to share.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Evin wasn't much of a patient guy. The only thing that kept him occupied was giving up all his weapons. He decided that he would give up every last weapon he had too. Being among the healers gave opportunity to create some interesting weapons out of the equipment he carried if he really needed it. He also kept his wire that he would sometimes attach to his throwing knives. In the slightest chance that he got into a knife fight with someone, even though he was without a knife himself, he could easily use the wire to his advantage and quickly disarm his unsuspecting opponent. Even in the safety of the Ruins, he needed a method of sorts to still protect himself.
"Don't move my weapons anywhere. I only suspect that I'll be staying here for a few minutes. I would like it all ready for me when I get back here. Please." Evin smiled at the woman who was assisting him with removing all his weapons.
Only a few minutes after, and a long time rocking himself back and forth with impatience, Alistair came to show him to Lena's tent. He could have found it himself, but he still thanked Alistair before entering. When he walked in, Lena was sitting cross legged across from him. He sat down and then Lena spoke. "I know you have your own reason to be here. So I will make my notice a short one: Blackpond is currently pressuring my clan and, if the situation does not resolve itself in any other manner, for the protection of my people I will evacuate the clan to the desert. That means that any healer left in any point of this land will be summoned back to travel with the clan. There won't be one White Shadow left in Valcrest. Consider your clan warned."
She then sighed, knowing what was to come. "As for your reasons for coming here... Say, how may I assist you?"
Evin took time before he spoke. He didn't want to think about what he wanted to say yet, he wanted to know more about Blackpond's plans and what they entailed. Lena wouldn't have been withholding any information though. That was all that she knew, Evin could tell. The one thing that bothered him was how easy it would be just to lose it all in one big attack. The survivors would run off into the desert, probably never to be seen again. This was a really big problem for everyone in Valcrest for sure, most importantly the Wolf Pack. The ties with the White Shadows were so closely intertwined and because of that, they seemed to get a few special perks. Maybe it was because both the Wolf Pack and the White Shadows didn't want to be a part of the war. There was that connection... .
Evin got back onto a proper line of thought. "Let me just tell you, before you go answering my question, I want you to know that I will not deal with any crap here. I have no time to be playing stupid word games so let's not waste each other's time. Did Jake kill Dani?" Evin was very serious. He wasn't trying to intimidate, he knew that wouldn't work on Lena. He just wanted to let her know that Evin was only here for an honest answer. That was all he could really do from his position. "I know he is hiding something big and there are connections to her death and Jake, so I really am just confirming what I already know."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest: Just outside Blackpond]
Hastings was getting close to home. He was out in the field where the battle had taken pace, just outside of the castle walls. There were still several bodies that had abandoned and left to rot, leaving a very unpleasant smell in the air. He took the time to look around and see if he recognised anyone in the bodies. Being Commander, he knew a lot of people and many faces were familiar. To him they were just faces though, no personal attachments were given to any of them. He even went as far as removing some of the dead men's clothing, leaving them only in their undergarments. He put on the prestigious armour of the Blackpond army. It wasn't anywhere as fitting and comfortable as his personal armour, but it was still a lot better than having to wear the clothes of some Newhaven scum.
He grabbed one of the swords off the ground and put in in his sheath as well as a horn from one of the lieutenants that had died. He wanted to look at least half decent when he arrived back home and met with the King to tell him what happened.
When Hastings was half way across the field headed for the city, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Hastings drew his sword and prepared for the very worse. It was very likely that he had been followed after leaving the camp. The story he had wasn't that believe. It would have been way more believable if he wasn't sent away to Newhaven first. He had set it all up. Lionel was being degraded at every possible opportunity and Hastings continued to blame it on Krander. It was the perfect mixture to make Lionel feel depressed enough to kill himself. If Krander was still in camp, he would have easily been able to blame it on Krander and get away with it. Things never went according to plan.
"Drop your weapon and come with me. You are outnumbered two to one." The one man on horseback said.
Hastings laughed. "Under what grounds are you taking me away?"
"Do you really think we believed you for a second. How could it have happened and why do you run when the safest place would be at the camp?"
"I would say that Blackpond is one step safer than anywhere else where Krander could get me. I'd rather be prisoner of war then die by the bloody hands of Krander in order to cover up his murder." Hastings raised the horn to his mouth and then blew into it. "Now leave before the army gets here. They will take me away to the prison where I will be safe and your blood will not have to be shed trying to take me with you."
At the sound, archers began to position themselves across the top of the pathetic city wall that had been built and a group of ten horsemen charged towards them.
Please go! I don't want to see any Newhaven lives lost! I've seen too many!"
The men turned their horses around and then left to go back to the camp. When the horsemen reached Hastings, the could see under the helmet was their commander. They cheered in victory. The battle a few day earlier had been a minor loss when compared to the loss of Hastings. Now that they had him back, things looked better than ever for Blackpond. The time to push forward would come sooner rather than later now.
"Don't move my weapons anywhere. I only suspect that I'll be staying here for a few minutes. I would like it all ready for me when I get back here. Please." Evin smiled at the woman who was assisting him with removing all his weapons.
Only a few minutes after, and a long time rocking himself back and forth with impatience, Alistair came to show him to Lena's tent. He could have found it himself, but he still thanked Alistair before entering. When he walked in, Lena was sitting cross legged across from him. He sat down and then Lena spoke. "I know you have your own reason to be here. So I will make my notice a short one: Blackpond is currently pressuring my clan and, if the situation does not resolve itself in any other manner, for the protection of my people I will evacuate the clan to the desert. That means that any healer left in any point of this land will be summoned back to travel with the clan. There won't be one White Shadow left in Valcrest. Consider your clan warned."
She then sighed, knowing what was to come. "As for your reasons for coming here... Say, how may I assist you?"
Evin took time before he spoke. He didn't want to think about what he wanted to say yet, he wanted to know more about Blackpond's plans and what they entailed. Lena wouldn't have been withholding any information though. That was all that she knew, Evin could tell. The one thing that bothered him was how easy it would be just to lose it all in one big attack. The survivors would run off into the desert, probably never to be seen again. This was a really big problem for everyone in Valcrest for sure, most importantly the Wolf Pack. The ties with the White Shadows were so closely intertwined and because of that, they seemed to get a few special perks. Maybe it was because both the Wolf Pack and the White Shadows didn't want to be a part of the war. There was that connection... .
Evin got back onto a proper line of thought. "Let me just tell you, before you go answering my question, I want you to know that I will not deal with any crap here. I have no time to be playing stupid word games so let's not waste each other's time. Did Jake kill Dani?" Evin was very serious. He wasn't trying to intimidate, he knew that wouldn't work on Lena. He just wanted to let her know that Evin was only here for an honest answer. That was all he could really do from his position. "I know he is hiding something big and there are connections to her death and Jake, so I really am just confirming what I already know."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest: Just outside Blackpond]
Hastings was getting close to home. He was out in the field where the battle had taken pace, just outside of the castle walls. There were still several bodies that had abandoned and left to rot, leaving a very unpleasant smell in the air. He took the time to look around and see if he recognised anyone in the bodies. Being Commander, he knew a lot of people and many faces were familiar. To him they were just faces though, no personal attachments were given to any of them. He even went as far as removing some of the dead men's clothing, leaving them only in their undergarments. He put on the prestigious armour of the Blackpond army. It wasn't anywhere as fitting and comfortable as his personal armour, but it was still a lot better than having to wear the clothes of some Newhaven scum.
He grabbed one of the swords off the ground and put in in his sheath as well as a horn from one of the lieutenants that had died. He wanted to look at least half decent when he arrived back home and met with the King to tell him what happened.
When Hastings was half way across the field headed for the city, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Hastings drew his sword and prepared for the very worse. It was very likely that he had been followed after leaving the camp. The story he had wasn't that believe. It would have been way more believable if he wasn't sent away to Newhaven first. He had set it all up. Lionel was being degraded at every possible opportunity and Hastings continued to blame it on Krander. It was the perfect mixture to make Lionel feel depressed enough to kill himself. If Krander was still in camp, he would have easily been able to blame it on Krander and get away with it. Things never went according to plan.
"Drop your weapon and come with me. You are outnumbered two to one." The one man on horseback said.
Hastings laughed. "Under what grounds are you taking me away?"
"Do you really think we believed you for a second. How could it have happened and why do you run when the safest place would be at the camp?"
"I would say that Blackpond is one step safer than anywhere else where Krander could get me. I'd rather be prisoner of war then die by the bloody hands of Krander in order to cover up his murder." Hastings raised the horn to his mouth and then blew into it. "Now leave before the army gets here. They will take me away to the prison where I will be safe and your blood will not have to be shed trying to take me with you."
At the sound, archers began to position themselves across the top of the pathetic city wall that had been built and a group of ten horsemen charged towards them.
Please go! I don't want to see any Newhaven lives lost! I've seen too many!"
The men turned their horses around and then left to go back to the camp. When the horsemen reached Hastings, the could see under the helmet was their commander. They cheered in victory. The battle a few day earlier had been a minor loss when compared to the loss of Hastings. Now that they had him back, things looked better than ever for Blackpond. The time to push forward would come sooner rather than later now.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Crys left the city of Newhaven and found Shadow not far from where she had left him. The horse now didn't resist her approach. She mounted and patted the animal's neck gently. "Well, better go home, huh? We both could use some rest." She told him, starting to head back towards the camp. She allowed the horse to gallop slowly through the trail, she wasn't exactly in a hurry, she needed the time to think. If what she suspected was true, they had much bigger problems that she had anticipated. She didn't want to say anything to Daniel before being sure. Even after confirming the truth, she wasn't sure if she would tell the man anything. She didn't exactly trust that he wouldn't simply drag this girl straight back to Newhaven, either she wanted to or not.
In her mind she went through the conversation with the old lady and tried to compare it with the little she knew about Ella. The similarities were there. If the man that visited Leah was Perry, that certainly would explain why he had imprisoned the girl in the first place. There were too many coincidences there... "God, damn it. What have we gotten ourselves into now?" She muttered. If this was true, Crys didn't even know how to approach this situation.
As she thought of all those things, she suddenly took notice of another presence on the same trail. She lowered her head for a second deciding on what to do. Finally she pulled on the reigns, to bring Shadow to a stop. The animal protested, but stopped and complied when Crys decided to turn to face the other rider, she sat still in the middle of the path waiting for the woman to reach her. She hadn't really paid much attention to the Black Knight captain during the riot, she had noticed that she and Evin knew each other, but really, aside from thinking that Evin had just the worst luck in his friendships, she didn't care much about it.
“Neither of us should be here, so I’ll say my bit quickly.” Mageria spoke just loud enough to be heard. “Before the riot, I had a prisoner. Commander Hastings from Blackpond. He told me, among other things, that Blackpond has been training their own version of the Black Knights. Only these are going to be more like the Pack in their own way. Assassins, only loyal totally to Blackpond.” Mageria drew a deep breath. “You may want to look into that, if you don’t want what they’re doing to be cast as your fault.” Her voice became harsh with memories. “I don't know if I can stop the bloodbath a second time.” She laughed mirthlessly. "Especially since I'm one of the primary targets." She started to turn away. “And I do believe that they plan to subjugate the White Shadows to their own purpose. That would be bad for everyone involved.”
Crys simply nodded to the woman's warning. She had no clue of why she would be telling her this, but it was important information nonetheless. Mageria was already turning to leave when Crys broke her silence. "Once upon a time..." She started. "The Wolfpack took care of tasks that not even the Black Knights could risk being associated with. Many of our men and women sacrificed for Newhaven. Almost as many as your own. Of course you wouldn't find their names in your city records, most of them withered in the depths of your castle's dungeons." Crys sighed softly as she pulled her horse in the direction of the camp, turning her back to the woman. She raised her voice a little as she began to move away. "It has always been easy to hate us... Until we're needed again." She stated, in a slightly cold tone. Crys really didn't mind that her clan was hated, but, for some reason beyond her own understanding, she felt the need to prove to this person that the Pack wasn't as bad as she believed, or wanted to believe. They were all killers, one way or another, but the Pack was honest about it at least. She couldn't see how any Knight or soldier's atrocities could be any more justifiable by the simple fact that they served a King.
Her mother taught her that revenge led nowhere, Crys had experienced that during Theron's brief stay with the Pack. She never got the exact story of what happened between the two the night he arrived, but they both seemed to have ridden themselves of a huge burden. The Black Knights had taken many lives within the clan, her mother amongst them, but Crys had decided that, as long as she lived, the clan would never commit any acts of revenge towards them or anyone. She wouldn't allow it
[The Ruins]
Lena listened to Evin's question quietly. Her head lowered for a split second. She wanted to tell the truth, but that was something she couldn't do. Dani's last request to her was to never speak of it. She tried thinking of some way to answer him without lying or betraying her oath. "You are asking me if Jake killed Dani?" She repeated the question, then answered, nodding. "No. Jake did not kill Dani." She stated. That was the truth. Nothing Jake did would have killed Dani wasn't for the circumstances. Lena sighed. "I am bound by an oath Evin. There are things I can't and will not say. I will give you two facts: Dani knew Jake since he was a little boy, she took hours to die, many of those hours spend with Crys. Now, call me crazy, but if I knew who killed me and I knew that person to be very close to my daughter, I would warn her. Another thing: Dani liked to make plans, but she was also aware of how likely they are to just blow up in one's face. So, she would have left something behind. If you want to know if Jake is telling the whole truth, assuming you two have spoken, you should look for it. It's definitely there." She sighed. "One more thing: The truth... " She let out a small chuckle, although she didn't seem amused in one bit. "You can't begin to imagine it."
In her mind she went through the conversation with the old lady and tried to compare it with the little she knew about Ella. The similarities were there. If the man that visited Leah was Perry, that certainly would explain why he had imprisoned the girl in the first place. There were too many coincidences there... "God, damn it. What have we gotten ourselves into now?" She muttered. If this was true, Crys didn't even know how to approach this situation.
As she thought of all those things, she suddenly took notice of another presence on the same trail. She lowered her head for a second deciding on what to do. Finally she pulled on the reigns, to bring Shadow to a stop. The animal protested, but stopped and complied when Crys decided to turn to face the other rider, she sat still in the middle of the path waiting for the woman to reach her. She hadn't really paid much attention to the Black Knight captain during the riot, she had noticed that she and Evin knew each other, but really, aside from thinking that Evin had just the worst luck in his friendships, she didn't care much about it.
“Neither of us should be here, so I’ll say my bit quickly.” Mageria spoke just loud enough to be heard. “Before the riot, I had a prisoner. Commander Hastings from Blackpond. He told me, among other things, that Blackpond has been training their own version of the Black Knights. Only these are going to be more like the Pack in their own way. Assassins, only loyal totally to Blackpond.” Mageria drew a deep breath. “You may want to look into that, if you don’t want what they’re doing to be cast as your fault.” Her voice became harsh with memories. “I don't know if I can stop the bloodbath a second time.” She laughed mirthlessly. "Especially since I'm one of the primary targets." She started to turn away. “And I do believe that they plan to subjugate the White Shadows to their own purpose. That would be bad for everyone involved.”
Crys simply nodded to the woman's warning. She had no clue of why she would be telling her this, but it was important information nonetheless. Mageria was already turning to leave when Crys broke her silence. "Once upon a time..." She started. "The Wolfpack took care of tasks that not even the Black Knights could risk being associated with. Many of our men and women sacrificed for Newhaven. Almost as many as your own. Of course you wouldn't find their names in your city records, most of them withered in the depths of your castle's dungeons." Crys sighed softly as she pulled her horse in the direction of the camp, turning her back to the woman. She raised her voice a little as she began to move away. "It has always been easy to hate us... Until we're needed again." She stated, in a slightly cold tone. Crys really didn't mind that her clan was hated, but, for some reason beyond her own understanding, she felt the need to prove to this person that the Pack wasn't as bad as she believed, or wanted to believe. They were all killers, one way or another, but the Pack was honest about it at least. She couldn't see how any Knight or soldier's atrocities could be any more justifiable by the simple fact that they served a King.
Her mother taught her that revenge led nowhere, Crys had experienced that during Theron's brief stay with the Pack. She never got the exact story of what happened between the two the night he arrived, but they both seemed to have ridden themselves of a huge burden. The Black Knights had taken many lives within the clan, her mother amongst them, but Crys had decided that, as long as she lived, the clan would never commit any acts of revenge towards them or anyone. She wouldn't allow it
[The Ruins]
Lena listened to Evin's question quietly. Her head lowered for a split second. She wanted to tell the truth, but that was something she couldn't do. Dani's last request to her was to never speak of it. She tried thinking of some way to answer him without lying or betraying her oath. "You are asking me if Jake killed Dani?" She repeated the question, then answered, nodding. "No. Jake did not kill Dani." She stated. That was the truth. Nothing Jake did would have killed Dani wasn't for the circumstances. Lena sighed. "I am bound by an oath Evin. There are things I can't and will not say. I will give you two facts: Dani knew Jake since he was a little boy, she took hours to die, many of those hours spend with Crys. Now, call me crazy, but if I knew who killed me and I knew that person to be very close to my daughter, I would warn her. Another thing: Dani liked to make plans, but she was also aware of how likely they are to just blow up in one's face. So, she would have left something behind. If you want to know if Jake is telling the whole truth, assuming you two have spoken, you should look for it. It's definitely there." She sighed. "One more thing: The truth... " She let out a small chuckle, although she didn't seem amused in one bit. "You can't begin to imagine it."
Mageria looked over her shoulder at Crystal as she started to ride away.
"It has always been easy to hate us... Until we're needed again."
Mageria shook her head. She didn’t hate blindly. “The Pack killed my entire family when I was eight.” She said, speaking just a bit louder. “Right down to my five year old brother.” Ghost pranced a bit in place and she stroked his shoulder. “While I can’t say that I’m sorry that the Pack lost their leader, I am sorry that you lost your mother.” Mageria tilted her head to the side and decided to take a leap based on the parts of the story that she had been able to put together. “Although she should have told somebody how ill she was.”
It wasn’t a wild leap for her, but it had taken quite some time of gathering information before she had been sure. Set had reported that Dani had taken hours to die after the attack on the camp. Even if Jake had wholehartedly become a Black Knight, he wouldn’t have done something like that. He would have used something that would kill quickly and cleanly. She had been there when he threw the dart that eventually killed the woman, so Mageria had to suppose that it was some kind of plan between the two of them. Which meant that Jake had used some sort of sedative in an effort to trick her. But if he hadn’t known that Dani was sick, he would have used the wrong one or too much. Because no one would have known that the leader of the Pack was sick. It was what she herself would have done, kept going until she simply fell over and died; and never told anyone that she was weakened. And according to Lena, she had a great deal in common with the Pack.
"It has always been easy to hate us... Until we're needed again."
Mageria shook her head. She didn’t hate blindly. “The Pack killed my entire family when I was eight.” She said, speaking just a bit louder. “Right down to my five year old brother.” Ghost pranced a bit in place and she stroked his shoulder. “While I can’t say that I’m sorry that the Pack lost their leader, I am sorry that you lost your mother.” Mageria tilted her head to the side and decided to take a leap based on the parts of the story that she had been able to put together. “Although she should have told somebody how ill she was.”
It wasn’t a wild leap for her, but it had taken quite some time of gathering information before she had been sure. Set had reported that Dani had taken hours to die after the attack on the camp. Even if Jake had wholehartedly become a Black Knight, he wouldn’t have done something like that. He would have used something that would kill quickly and cleanly. She had been there when he threw the dart that eventually killed the woman, so Mageria had to suppose that it was some kind of plan between the two of them. Which meant that Jake had used some sort of sedative in an effort to trick her. But if he hadn’t known that Dani was sick, he would have used the wrong one or too much. Because no one would have known that the leader of the Pack was sick. It was what she herself would have done, kept going until she simply fell over and died; and never told anyone that she was weakened. And according to Lena, she had a great deal in common with the Pack.
Crys would have left the conversation end there, she had things to tend to, however, the answer Mageria gave her caused her to stop.
“The Pack killed my entire family when I was eight.” She said, speaking just a bit louder. “Right down to my five year old brother.”
“While I can’t say that I’m sorry that the Pack lost their leader, I am sorry that you lost your mother.”
“Although she should have told somebody how ill she was.”
That turned Crys around almost immediately and she quickly cut through the distance between the two of them before speaking almost in a whisper. "I think it's only fair I explain something to you about the leader you are not sorry for having killed: My mother lost her entire family to the Wolf Hunters when she was only seventeen. Not only her little sister was killed that night, but many other small recruits. So... While I am sorry this happened to your family, I am absolutely sure that whoever did this would have been immediately executed for treason. The Wolfpack does not target children and my mother was very strict about that particular rule. Even if the parents are targets, children are to be left unharmed."
Shadow began to grow nervous, probably a reflection of Crys' own state of mind. She took a deep breath and when she spoke again it was in a much calmer tone. "Tell me, Captain, how many children do you think your city has orphaned? Surely, the ten month old sister of the girl you were holding captive must have committed quite a serious offense against Newhaven. Surely, the unarmed people of her village posed as quite a threat, no?"
Crys began to turn Shadow back towards their destination. "I pride myself in being better than the assassin who murdered your family, and considering your actions towards my clan, I am safe to say you might even be a better person than I am. However, as far as atrocities go, nothing the Pack has done in the last century comes even close to Newhaven. Your honorable acts alone can't erase that." She nodded and let out a small laugh. "I am very sorry to be the one to brake this to you... Your hands are in no way cleaner than mine, or Commander Hastings', for that matter. That's the problem with war: It gets everywhere. No matter what we do, nothing will ever make this land clean again."
With that she began to ride again, this time not leaving time for replies. Although she pretended not to hear, she couldn't get the words out of her head: ... she should have told somebody how ill she was.” Even if she managed to resist the impulse to head straight to the ruins, knowing she needed to go back, Lena would have some explaining to do whenever Crys saw her again. If there was any truth to this, she had every right to know.
“The Pack killed my entire family when I was eight.” She said, speaking just a bit louder. “Right down to my five year old brother.”
“While I can’t say that I’m sorry that the Pack lost their leader, I am sorry that you lost your mother.”
“Although she should have told somebody how ill she was.”
That turned Crys around almost immediately and she quickly cut through the distance between the two of them before speaking almost in a whisper. "I think it's only fair I explain something to you about the leader you are not sorry for having killed: My mother lost her entire family to the Wolf Hunters when she was only seventeen. Not only her little sister was killed that night, but many other small recruits. So... While I am sorry this happened to your family, I am absolutely sure that whoever did this would have been immediately executed for treason. The Wolfpack does not target children and my mother was very strict about that particular rule. Even if the parents are targets, children are to be left unharmed."
Shadow began to grow nervous, probably a reflection of Crys' own state of mind. She took a deep breath and when she spoke again it was in a much calmer tone. "Tell me, Captain, how many children do you think your city has orphaned? Surely, the ten month old sister of the girl you were holding captive must have committed quite a serious offense against Newhaven. Surely, the unarmed people of her village posed as quite a threat, no?"
Crys began to turn Shadow back towards their destination. "I pride myself in being better than the assassin who murdered your family, and considering your actions towards my clan, I am safe to say you might even be a better person than I am. However, as far as atrocities go, nothing the Pack has done in the last century comes even close to Newhaven. Your honorable acts alone can't erase that." She nodded and let out a small laugh. "I am very sorry to be the one to brake this to you... Your hands are in no way cleaner than mine, or Commander Hastings', for that matter. That's the problem with war: It gets everywhere. No matter what we do, nothing will ever make this land clean again."
With that she began to ride again, this time not leaving time for replies. Although she pretended not to hear, she couldn't get the words out of her head: ... she should have told somebody how ill she was.” Even if she managed to resist the impulse to head straight to the ruins, knowing she needed to go back, Lena would have some explaining to do whenever Crys saw her again. If there was any truth to this, she had every right to know.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Evin listened in frustration being left with only more questions to ask, but no time to ask them. It was obviouse she was using a certain play on words that Evin had specifically asked not to do. Evin also asked her not to waste his or her time. That request wasn't being followed either. This just frustrated Evin even more than he already was. This secret was putting a burdon on both Jake and Helena and it really didn't make either of them look good in the eyes of Evin and was just adding more fuel to the fire.
"You know Helena, you are causing many people a lot of trouble including yourself. You have dedicated your life to preventing death. You also say that you have this the that you need to keep to protect information." He took a moment to look strait into the eyes of Helena. His voice became darker and more malicious as he continued. "Have you ever heard of a Morton's fork Helena? It seems like you are facing one of these right now. You obviously have information that you think would redeem Jake, yet your oath prevents you from telling me what it is. Without this information, I just have to go with assumptions and someone will likely die because of it. So you have a duty and then you have an oath, do you see where I'm going with this? So if you have more to tell me, I'll just be on my way. And mark my word Helena, someone will be dead within the next few days if I have anything to do with it."
He turned around to leave, but was totally prepared to turn back around if she had anything else she wanted to tell him. If not, he would be heading strait back to the camp. Maybe he would still have time to actually have an hour or two's rest when he got back.
"You know Helena, you are causing many people a lot of trouble including yourself. You have dedicated your life to preventing death. You also say that you have this the that you need to keep to protect information." He took a moment to look strait into the eyes of Helena. His voice became darker and more malicious as he continued. "Have you ever heard of a Morton's fork Helena? It seems like you are facing one of these right now. You obviously have information that you think would redeem Jake, yet your oath prevents you from telling me what it is. Without this information, I just have to go with assumptions and someone will likely die because of it. So you have a duty and then you have an oath, do you see where I'm going with this? So if you have more to tell me, I'll just be on my way. And mark my word Helena, someone will be dead within the next few days if I have anything to do with it."
He turned around to leave, but was totally prepared to turn back around if she had anything else she wanted to tell him. If not, he would be heading strait back to the camp. Maybe he would still have time to actually have an hour or two's rest when he got back.
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Lena listened to Evin and nodded, growing more and more amused as he spoke. Finally, when he turned to leave she laughed out. "You know, you might have been close to my sister, but don't pretend you know anything about me. You simply lack the capacity. Now, I have something to say, consider it a friendly warning. if you will. " She nodded, her tone turning more serious. "Stop being a spoiled child Evin. It's easy to get angry and whine like an infant when answers aren't simply handed to you. I told you: The truth is there... If you are unable, or unwilling, to get off your ass and find it, don't blame me for your own stupidity. It's on your hands not on mine." She started, standing up. "If this does end up in a death, mark my words: It will be on you, and will make it my personal mission to always remind you of that. It's about time you grow up and accept responsibility for your actions, like a big boy would."
She then stretched, letting out a small sigh, followed by a yawn. "As for me... Don't think I'll lose sleep over your words kid. I've lost more loved ones than you. I've probably even loved more people than you. However, unlike you, I understand that things happen in the world for greater reasons than to simply ruin my day and some things, such as this, are out of my hands. My duty was never to prevent death... It is to provide aid, and most times comfort. Comfort includes allowing a person to let go of their secrets without worrying about them being revealed the moment they stop breathing. If you have any real respect for my sister you would agree that this is the very least that she deserves. Now... Have a nice day."
That said, she turned to light a fire and heat up some tea. Not caring to see if Evin was still there or gone. She considered that conversation to be less than productive. So, now that she was awake, she would go out and make herself useful to her patients. As for Jake, Crys, Evin, and whoever else got dragged into this mess... She wished them well, but that was all she could do for them now.
She then stretched, letting out a small sigh, followed by a yawn. "As for me... Don't think I'll lose sleep over your words kid. I've lost more loved ones than you. I've probably even loved more people than you. However, unlike you, I understand that things happen in the world for greater reasons than to simply ruin my day and some things, such as this, are out of my hands. My duty was never to prevent death... It is to provide aid, and most times comfort. Comfort includes allowing a person to let go of their secrets without worrying about them being revealed the moment they stop breathing. If you have any real respect for my sister you would agree that this is the very least that she deserves. Now... Have a nice day."
That said, she turned to light a fire and heat up some tea. Not caring to see if Evin was still there or gone. She considered that conversation to be less than productive. So, now that she was awake, she would go out and make herself useful to her patients. As for Jake, Crys, Evin, and whoever else got dragged into this mess... She wished them well, but that was all she could do for them now.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
"I am very sorry to be the one to break this to you... Your hands are in no way cleaner than mine, or Commander Hastings', for that matter. That's the problem with war: It gets everywhere. No matter what we do, nothing will ever make this land clean again."
Mageria sat frozen for a long moment, staring blindly into the darkness under the trees. “At least I can still regret the things that I’ve done.” she whispered softly to herself. At the heartbreakingly funny thing is that she had an assassin to thank for that.
It had been six months since Ria Talsheir had died and Mageria the Black Knight had taken her place as the newest recruit. It was surprisingly easy to cut herself off from her former life; but she was starting to wonder if she had made a horrible mistake. It had taken the White Knights about six months to recruit her to their cause and she had spent the next six months after that training with Captain Morgan, the leader of the Black Knights. She was no fool, he was training her to take his place. But when she looked him in the eyes . . . she didn’t see anyone looking back at her. It was becoming her greatest fear that he would succeed in reshaping her into his image. She was starting to have nightmares that she would look at herself and not see anyone. Which lead to why she was walking around the City in the dead of night dressed in civilian’s cloths and wrapped in a dark grey cape. She was trying to remember why she had agreed to this idea in the first place.
After wandering for a while she found herself standing outside one of the inns that served mostly those who wandered in and out of the city. Pausing for a moment she looked in the window. It was mostly full with people laughing and drinking, enjoying their night in where it was safe and warm. She wished that she could join them. Drawing her cloak tighter around her she turned away and started to walk on when someone behind her yelled.
“Ria! It’s been ages! Where have you been?” She pulled the hood off as she turned and felt a genuine smile run across her face.
“Ev?” she laughed. “You know how things are when you follow the sword for a living. Never in one place for too long.” She walked back and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. It was against every rule that she was supposed to be following, but she needed to spend some time with someone who remembered her as she used to be. Maybe it would keep the dreams at bay for a while.
“Tell me you’re not on your way out of the city?”
He laughed and steered her toward the door of the Inn. “Not at all. In fact, I’m looking for someone to kill a little time with. The night is far too long and cold to be spending alone.” He pulled her across the room and sat them both at a table in the corner. He sat across from her and pulled a deck of cards from one pocket, fanning them open with a practiced move.
“Do you play Olith?” Mageria thanked the server for the cup that she set down in front of her with a smile and leaned forward.
“No, but I’d love to learn.” She fanned her cards open. “Ev, I really can’t stay long.”
He waved one hand and set the cards down.
“No, it won’t take long to learn. And where else do you have to go?” He smiled appealingly. “Just a few hands?” She sighed and laughed, leaning forward.
“All right. Teach me how to play Olith.”
“Good. This is how it goes. There’s five suits of cards. Hearts, diamonds, crosses, stars and clovers. Each of these is one to ten, with a full court of cards as the rulers of the suit. You’ve got King, Queen, Prince and Knight. Your hand is made up of six cards and you try and build the strongest court you can with them. Strongest court wins. But the best way to learn is to play.”
Three hands later Ev threw his cards down and glared at her. “You, Ria; already know how to play Olith.”
Mageria couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, the guard that raised me taught me.” She shuffled the deck and started to deal for them both. Ev raised one eyebrow and fanned his cards.
“The guard? What happened to your family?” Mageria shrugged, old rage welling up inside of her for a moment.
“They all died. Victims of the merchants wars. A rival clan took out a contract on mine. I was the only one who survived.” She pushed the anger back down where it lived. “Now, now that we both know that the other plays this game, let’s get down to business. I need some extra coin.”
They had been playing for a while longer when Ev studied his cards and remarked in an offhand tone. “Ria, you wouldn’t happen to be cheating, would you?” Mageria looked up innocently. “Ev, what gives you that idea?” He glared at her. “Because certain cards seem to be missing from the deck.” Mageria laughed and took another drink.
“Maybe they’re missing because they’re tucked up your sleeve.” She leaned back and smiled again, feeling solidly alive for the first time in a long time. “I thought that since you were cheating I might as well. It’s only fair.” He leaned forward and picked up his cards again. “Right then. Well as long as we both know what’s going on.”
The game proceeded in earnest from there.
Hours and far too much money changing hands in both directions later, Mageria was making her way back up to the Castle. Tipping her head back, she watched the stars for a moment. This was good she decided. It was against all of the rules, but if it kept her from turing into the monster that she sensed lived inside Captain Morgan, she would do it. How bad could it be to keep in contact with another mercenary who wandered around so often that the only way she could write him would be to leave a letter at the Inn? She just needed a reason to remember why she thought it would be a good idea to join the Knights. Friendships like that with Ev would help. She could handle this now.
---------------------
Six months after that, Mageria and Captain Morgan were out in the middle of the forest on a scouting trip. They were both dressed in colors that would blend with the forest instead of Black armor or even as a Black Guard. It was just the two of them so that they could move quickly. Captain Morgan was insistent that she learn as much about the surrounding terrain that she could. While it was strenuous running through the forest with full gear, it wasn’t anything that she wasn’t used to. She had learned a lot from Captain Morgan, but she was starting to wonder about him. He seemed to becoming more and more erratic, throwing himself into fights with a savagery that disturbed her.
It was about mid-day when they happened to come across a bandit camp tucked into the side of the hill. As Mageria crawled closer to it under some brush, she could see about fifteen scruffy men, and off to one side a woman and her child. They were obviously prisoners, the woman just pregnant enough to be awkward and the small boy too afraid to leave her side. Morgan had sent her off to one side to see what she could find and too make sure that there wasn’t anybody else that they couldn’t see. Mageria was trying to find some way that she could perhaps get closer to the pair and help them when she heard a blood chilling yell from across the way. Captain Morgan had charged into the center of camp, laughing as he slashed around himself with his two short swords. The bandits all turned to face him and charged. With a muffled oath, Mageria pushed herself out of the dirt and ran after them, drawing her own swords as she did so. Even for bandits, they couldn’t put up much of a fight, not against two trained Knights. It was the work of only a few minutes for them all to end up on the ground; without significant injury to either of the Knights. Mageria wiped one hand across her forehead, holding in all of the angry words she wanted to say. It had been idiotic for the Captain to do, and dangerous for just the two of them. If they wanted to take out the camp, then one of them could have gone for help while the other stayed and watched. It would have been safer for the prisoners and they could have perhaps taken the bandits alive and questioned them. But all she could say was, “I’ll go get the two prisoners.”
Morgan nodded and started going through some of the packs lying about.
“Good idea. Kill them before they can get away.”
Mageria whipped around. “What!?”
The Captain looked up, icy blue eyes flashing under his light blond hair. “Kill them. They’ve seen our faces and our fighting styles. They’re a security risk now.” He shook his head at her blank look. “If you can’t do it, I will.” He stood up and stalked across the remains of the camp.
The woman shrank back as far as she could as Morgan came up toward her, bare sword in hand. Mageria came up behind him, grabbing one shoulder in an effort to stop him. “Captain, you don’t have to do this. It’s insane!” He ignored her.
Time seemed to slow. Mageria could see the blank fear in the woman’s eyes. The way she threw herself in front of the small boy in an effort to shield him. The glint of light on Morgan’s sword as he swung it up.
The bloodied tip of her own sword as it suddenly appeared in the center of her Captain’s chest.
Mageria felt frozen as she looked at her own hands, holding her sword steady after she had thrust it through his body. Everything seemed to be very quiet, then suddenly it all rushed into focus as Captain Morgan slowly collapsed to the ground. Mageria only gave herself a moment to stare at her work before she forced herself to move. It would be for nothing if she didn’t take care of things. Going over to one of the packs, she found a heavy coin pouch. She took it back to the two still sitting on the ground, she knelt in front of them and used her dagger to cut them free.
“Who . . . who are you?” The woman was barely able to stammer out her question.
Mageria looked up and then away, feeling the weight of the body that lay behind her. “It’s better if you don’t know that. For everyone involved.” She held out the pouch. “Take this. There’s a horse over on the other side of the camp, you can use it to get to the nearest small town. Tell them that the bandits that got you started arguing and you stole the pouch and ran. Tell them whatever you want. Just don’t tell them them that we were here.” She waved her hand at herself and Morgan’s body. The woman nodded fearfully and gathered up the boy, who looked to be about ten. With one last fearful look at the two of the Knights, she ran across the camp and made her escape. With a deep sigh, Mageria turned to view her handiwork.
It was with a deep sense of shock that Mageria saw that Morgan was still alive. It wouldn’t be for long, her strike must have hit a lung instead of the heart. But he was still alive and looking at her. With one hand he gestured at her. Grimly, she knelt down, leaning over to hear what he might have to say.
“So . . . you finally . . . got tired of . . . being second best.” He coughed as blood ran down his chin. His head fell backward. “Now . . . you’ll finally . . . get to . . . be Captain. . . . Just like . . . me.”
Mageria shook her head. “I’m nothing like you.”
Morgan choked and laughed. “And . . . how do . . . you think. . . I got . . . to be . . . Captain?”
Mageria held his head as he finally bled to death, his eyes laughing at her the entire time. Then she found one of the horses and loaded her former Captain’s body onto it after wrapping it up. Then she slowly made her way back to Newhaven, wondering what she was going to tell people.
In the end she stuck as closely to the truth as she could, while not telling anybody that she was the one that struck the blow that killed the Captain of the Black Knights. And after a full week of questions and debates, she was appointed to the position of Captain herself.
With a deep breath, Mageria brought herself back to the present. She accepted her past, and knew that it was the reason that she was who she was today. All the blood that stained her hands, she accepted. It was her debt to the dead and her duty to the living to keep on doing what she could to protect everybody that she could. Slowly she pulled Ghost’s head around and started back to Newhaven. A chill breeze blew across her face, bearing with it the promise of rain. It was a quiet ride, with just her and the ghosts of her past.
Mageria sat frozen for a long moment, staring blindly into the darkness under the trees. “At least I can still regret the things that I’ve done.” she whispered softly to herself. At the heartbreakingly funny thing is that she had an assassin to thank for that.
It had been six months since Ria Talsheir had died and Mageria the Black Knight had taken her place as the newest recruit. It was surprisingly easy to cut herself off from her former life; but she was starting to wonder if she had made a horrible mistake. It had taken the White Knights about six months to recruit her to their cause and she had spent the next six months after that training with Captain Morgan, the leader of the Black Knights. She was no fool, he was training her to take his place. But when she looked him in the eyes . . . she didn’t see anyone looking back at her. It was becoming her greatest fear that he would succeed in reshaping her into his image. She was starting to have nightmares that she would look at herself and not see anyone. Which lead to why she was walking around the City in the dead of night dressed in civilian’s cloths and wrapped in a dark grey cape. She was trying to remember why she had agreed to this idea in the first place.
After wandering for a while she found herself standing outside one of the inns that served mostly those who wandered in and out of the city. Pausing for a moment she looked in the window. It was mostly full with people laughing and drinking, enjoying their night in where it was safe and warm. She wished that she could join them. Drawing her cloak tighter around her she turned away and started to walk on when someone behind her yelled.
“Ria! It’s been ages! Where have you been?” She pulled the hood off as she turned and felt a genuine smile run across her face.
“Ev?” she laughed. “You know how things are when you follow the sword for a living. Never in one place for too long.” She walked back and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. It was against every rule that she was supposed to be following, but she needed to spend some time with someone who remembered her as she used to be. Maybe it would keep the dreams at bay for a while.
“Tell me you’re not on your way out of the city?”
He laughed and steered her toward the door of the Inn. “Not at all. In fact, I’m looking for someone to kill a little time with. The night is far too long and cold to be spending alone.” He pulled her across the room and sat them both at a table in the corner. He sat across from her and pulled a deck of cards from one pocket, fanning them open with a practiced move.
“Do you play Olith?” Mageria thanked the server for the cup that she set down in front of her with a smile and leaned forward.
“No, but I’d love to learn.” She fanned her cards open. “Ev, I really can’t stay long.”
He waved one hand and set the cards down.
“No, it won’t take long to learn. And where else do you have to go?” He smiled appealingly. “Just a few hands?” She sighed and laughed, leaning forward.
“All right. Teach me how to play Olith.”
“Good. This is how it goes. There’s five suits of cards. Hearts, diamonds, crosses, stars and clovers. Each of these is one to ten, with a full court of cards as the rulers of the suit. You’ve got King, Queen, Prince and Knight. Your hand is made up of six cards and you try and build the strongest court you can with them. Strongest court wins. But the best way to learn is to play.”
Three hands later Ev threw his cards down and glared at her. “You, Ria; already know how to play Olith.”
Mageria couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, the guard that raised me taught me.” She shuffled the deck and started to deal for them both. Ev raised one eyebrow and fanned his cards.
“The guard? What happened to your family?” Mageria shrugged, old rage welling up inside of her for a moment.
“They all died. Victims of the merchants wars. A rival clan took out a contract on mine. I was the only one who survived.” She pushed the anger back down where it lived. “Now, now that we both know that the other plays this game, let’s get down to business. I need some extra coin.”
They had been playing for a while longer when Ev studied his cards and remarked in an offhand tone. “Ria, you wouldn’t happen to be cheating, would you?” Mageria looked up innocently. “Ev, what gives you that idea?” He glared at her. “Because certain cards seem to be missing from the deck.” Mageria laughed and took another drink.
“Maybe they’re missing because they’re tucked up your sleeve.” She leaned back and smiled again, feeling solidly alive for the first time in a long time. “I thought that since you were cheating I might as well. It’s only fair.” He leaned forward and picked up his cards again. “Right then. Well as long as we both know what’s going on.”
The game proceeded in earnest from there.
Hours and far too much money changing hands in both directions later, Mageria was making her way back up to the Castle. Tipping her head back, she watched the stars for a moment. This was good she decided. It was against all of the rules, but if it kept her from turing into the monster that she sensed lived inside Captain Morgan, she would do it. How bad could it be to keep in contact with another mercenary who wandered around so often that the only way she could write him would be to leave a letter at the Inn? She just needed a reason to remember why she thought it would be a good idea to join the Knights. Friendships like that with Ev would help. She could handle this now.
---------------------
Six months after that, Mageria and Captain Morgan were out in the middle of the forest on a scouting trip. They were both dressed in colors that would blend with the forest instead of Black armor or even as a Black Guard. It was just the two of them so that they could move quickly. Captain Morgan was insistent that she learn as much about the surrounding terrain that she could. While it was strenuous running through the forest with full gear, it wasn’t anything that she wasn’t used to. She had learned a lot from Captain Morgan, but she was starting to wonder about him. He seemed to becoming more and more erratic, throwing himself into fights with a savagery that disturbed her.
It was about mid-day when they happened to come across a bandit camp tucked into the side of the hill. As Mageria crawled closer to it under some brush, she could see about fifteen scruffy men, and off to one side a woman and her child. They were obviously prisoners, the woman just pregnant enough to be awkward and the small boy too afraid to leave her side. Morgan had sent her off to one side to see what she could find and too make sure that there wasn’t anybody else that they couldn’t see. Mageria was trying to find some way that she could perhaps get closer to the pair and help them when she heard a blood chilling yell from across the way. Captain Morgan had charged into the center of camp, laughing as he slashed around himself with his two short swords. The bandits all turned to face him and charged. With a muffled oath, Mageria pushed herself out of the dirt and ran after them, drawing her own swords as she did so. Even for bandits, they couldn’t put up much of a fight, not against two trained Knights. It was the work of only a few minutes for them all to end up on the ground; without significant injury to either of the Knights. Mageria wiped one hand across her forehead, holding in all of the angry words she wanted to say. It had been idiotic for the Captain to do, and dangerous for just the two of them. If they wanted to take out the camp, then one of them could have gone for help while the other stayed and watched. It would have been safer for the prisoners and they could have perhaps taken the bandits alive and questioned them. But all she could say was, “I’ll go get the two prisoners.”
Morgan nodded and started going through some of the packs lying about.
“Good idea. Kill them before they can get away.”
Mageria whipped around. “What!?”
The Captain looked up, icy blue eyes flashing under his light blond hair. “Kill them. They’ve seen our faces and our fighting styles. They’re a security risk now.” He shook his head at her blank look. “If you can’t do it, I will.” He stood up and stalked across the remains of the camp.
The woman shrank back as far as she could as Morgan came up toward her, bare sword in hand. Mageria came up behind him, grabbing one shoulder in an effort to stop him. “Captain, you don’t have to do this. It’s insane!” He ignored her.
Time seemed to slow. Mageria could see the blank fear in the woman’s eyes. The way she threw herself in front of the small boy in an effort to shield him. The glint of light on Morgan’s sword as he swung it up.
The bloodied tip of her own sword as it suddenly appeared in the center of her Captain’s chest.
Mageria felt frozen as she looked at her own hands, holding her sword steady after she had thrust it through his body. Everything seemed to be very quiet, then suddenly it all rushed into focus as Captain Morgan slowly collapsed to the ground. Mageria only gave herself a moment to stare at her work before she forced herself to move. It would be for nothing if she didn’t take care of things. Going over to one of the packs, she found a heavy coin pouch. She took it back to the two still sitting on the ground, she knelt in front of them and used her dagger to cut them free.
“Who . . . who are you?” The woman was barely able to stammer out her question.
Mageria looked up and then away, feeling the weight of the body that lay behind her. “It’s better if you don’t know that. For everyone involved.” She held out the pouch. “Take this. There’s a horse over on the other side of the camp, you can use it to get to the nearest small town. Tell them that the bandits that got you started arguing and you stole the pouch and ran. Tell them whatever you want. Just don’t tell them them that we were here.” She waved her hand at herself and Morgan’s body. The woman nodded fearfully and gathered up the boy, who looked to be about ten. With one last fearful look at the two of the Knights, she ran across the camp and made her escape. With a deep sigh, Mageria turned to view her handiwork.
It was with a deep sense of shock that Mageria saw that Morgan was still alive. It wouldn’t be for long, her strike must have hit a lung instead of the heart. But he was still alive and looking at her. With one hand he gestured at her. Grimly, she knelt down, leaning over to hear what he might have to say.
“So . . . you finally . . . got tired of . . . being second best.” He coughed as blood ran down his chin. His head fell backward. “Now . . . you’ll finally . . . get to . . . be Captain. . . . Just like . . . me.”
Mageria shook her head. “I’m nothing like you.”
Morgan choked and laughed. “And . . . how do . . . you think. . . I got . . . to be . . . Captain?”
Mageria held his head as he finally bled to death, his eyes laughing at her the entire time. Then she found one of the horses and loaded her former Captain’s body onto it after wrapping it up. Then she slowly made her way back to Newhaven, wondering what she was going to tell people.
In the end she stuck as closely to the truth as she could, while not telling anybody that she was the one that struck the blow that killed the Captain of the Black Knights. And after a full week of questions and debates, she was appointed to the position of Captain herself.
With a deep breath, Mageria brought herself back to the present. She accepted her past, and knew that it was the reason that she was who she was today. All the blood that stained her hands, she accepted. It was her debt to the dead and her duty to the living to keep on doing what she could to protect everybody that she could. Slowly she pulled Ghost’s head around and started back to Newhaven. A chill breeze blew across her face, bearing with it the promise of rain. It was a quiet ride, with just her and the ghosts of her past.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crys wasn't sure what time it was, but it was probably past midnight already when she crossed the camp gates. Most people were asleep and the scent of burning wood would let her know the campfire had been lit. The remaining of the ride to the encampment was filled with inner questioning. She didn't know what to think of the things she had been told. About Ella, her mother... Everything was just a mess inside her head. The exhaustion she was feeling didn't help either. It all just added to her state of confusion. As she crossed the guards at the entrance and dismounted, not minding the stares of some people (probably wondering where the hell she got a horse from), she addressed the guard. "Report." She told him rubbing her eyes with one hand while patting Shadow with the other, trying to calm him into letting one of the workers take him for a drink of water.
"Everyone is accounted for, scouts reported no unusual movement in the camp perimeter, and security has been increased after sunset." The man told her.
Crys nodded, giving up on trying to get Shadow to behave and waving the worker away. "I'll take him myself, thank you." She told him. Then she turned to the guard once again. "Do you know where Evin is, by any chance?" She asked him.
The guard chuckled slightly. "Sorry." He said quickly. "I haven't seen him, but if I was to guess... I would say he is sleeping, Or at least resting. He gave notice that he would be in his room and was not to be bothered, he wasn't seen since." He informed.
Crys chuckled slightly. "Oh... I forgot how late it is." She nodded, still smiling. "Thank you." She said moving past him through the center of camp to lead Shadow to a very small stable-like place. It wasn't what one could actually call a stable, but it was protected enough to keep horses healthy. The place was currently empty, the last few horses having been sold, or exchanged for supplies months ago. Even so, she accommodated Shadow as best as she could and instructed the workers to be careful when trying to approach him.
It was unusual for assassins to have horses, for obvious reasons, and Crys was never very fond of riding. It was easier for her to have some notion of where she was going when she had her feet on the ground. Nonetheless... She would care for the horse as well as she could. Truth was, she already grew fond of the animal, despite his temper.
As she left the stable she suddenly heard a familiar voice as Sean approached her. "Nice horse, did you steal it?" He said, playfully.
"No." She answered a bit coldly. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry, Sean. I'm just tired."
"It's alright. We are all entitled to have bad moments, right?" He said, walking beside her towards her cabin. "So, Ali is alright, Jake is keeping her company. Evin seems to have stayed in his room all day, although I can't be sure, and... Oh, yes! Ella seems to be a lot better, in case you are wondering." He informed. "Also, I was in Blackpond today, I thought we should consider reopening the Inn there...." His voice grew quiet when Crys stopped walking suddenly. "You don't approve of that?" He asked, a little reluctantly.
Crys nodded. "No, it's not that. I think it's actually a good idea."
"Oh, right..." Sean seemed to have also remembered the last time Crys was there. "I'm sorry. I can just update Evin on this, I don't need to mention it again."
"No. It's fine." Crys assured him, letting out a small sigh. "It's just... I've had a very strange day today. Why don't you tell me what happened on your visit first thing tomorrow?"
"Sounds good enough for me." Sean agreed, beginning to walk away.
"Oh, Sean... Thank you for your help." She said.
"It's only my duty, right?" He replied, walking away.
-----------------------------
Ali and Jake had played chess most of the afternoon. He wasn't sure if the girl had actually gotten that much better of if he was a little drunk already, it was possible that it was both, he just didn't seem to be able to win a game.
"Check mate!" Ali exclaimed, for about the 20th time that day.
"Oh, that's it. I'm done playing with you." Jake mumbled, sitting back in his chair and tilting his head back facing the ceiling.
Ali chuckled. "I'm sorry... You haven't been playing your best today, really. Your mind is elsewhere, I can just tell. What the hell happened?"
Jake sighed. "Ali, would you promise me something?" He asked.
"What?" She asked in a curious tone.
"Promise me that, no matter what she says or does to you, you won't let Crys push you away, like she did when Dani died. You are the closest person she will have left once I'm gone."
"W-where are you going?" She asked, almost in a whisper.
Jake was sure that she was thinking back to his expulsion. Yes, Dani had told him all about how Crys was in a mess after he left. That was nothing though, what she was feeling then was guilt, she got over it quickly. This wouldn't be so easy. Finally Jake responded. "I don't know yet." He sighed. "Promise."
"Alright, I promise." She said.
"It's late. Why don't you try to sleep?" He said. You might be able to get out of this bed by tomorrow if you do."
Ali sighed. "Maybe. If it was just that easy." She yawned. "You know, you remind me of him a little." She mumbled, beginning to close her eyes.
Jake got up to put away the chess game that was set on the bedside table. "Who?"
"My brother." She said. "He would have liked you." She stated, drifting off to sleep.
Jake nodded, a little shocked by the comment, he didn't remember ever hearing Ali mention her family before. When he turned to face her, though, she was already sound asleep. "Night, Ali." He mumbled, waking out of the house.
The moment he stepped foot outside, Sean came to see him. "Hey, Jake!"
"Yes, Sean." Jake said. "What is it?"
"Crys just got home. One of the guards asked me to inform you."
"Oh." Jake mumbled. "Alright, thank you." He looked towards the leader's cabin to see Crys already walking inside. He followed her and reached her just in time to stop her from closing and locking the door. "We need to talk." He said.
"Can't it wait, Jake? I'm so tired." She answered.
"I know. I'm really sorry, but this really can't wait." He was already walking past her, into the house.
Crys sighed. "Fine, what is so urgent?" She asked, sitting be the wooden table in the office.
Jake sat across from her and sighed. "Remember when I said I was hiding something I couldn't tell you just yet?" He asked.
"Yes..." Crys answered, suddenly not minding her exhaustion so much anymore and staring at him with an intrigued expression.
"I'm going to tell you everything now, however, this won't be easy to say. I beg that you don't interrupt me." He started.
"Alright..." Crys agreed. She seemed to have finally noticed how serious this was. Her expression gave away her concern.
Jake sighed, and finally started to say what he had been wanting to confess for so long. "Very well. I will go back to the day that the Black Knights raided the camp. The day Dani died. That day..." Jake nodded, trying to stop his voice from breaking. "I reported days before. I told Dani about the attack, you probably remember she took measures at least a day before. Anyway... The day I reported she asked me if I was having trouble gaining the Knights' trust. I said I wasn't sure of how much of the information I had was secure. Dani said she would fix that. She reminded me that I would probably have to commit treason against the Pack to make it convincing. That is when She gave me the least of people I was allowed to eliminate. Proven traitors."
"You already told me that." Crys stated, obviously forgetting that she shouldn't interrupt.
Jake nodded. "I didn't tell you everything." He ran a hand through his hair, knowing he just had to go through with it. "The last name on her list was her own."
"What?!"
"That's what I asked. She told me, all I had to do was dose the poison so it would seem like an honest attempt. She would recover after a few days and I would have proven my loyalty to Newhaven. I followed through with the plan, every step of it. I don't know how it went wrong. I..."
Jake's mumbling was cut short by the touch of a blade to his throat. "You..." Crys, was standing from her seat and walking around the table , gripping the hilt of the Katana with a shivering hand as the tip of the blade threatened to brake through his skin. "What the hell did you do?"
"She wasn't supposed to die." Jake stated. "I never meant for it to happen."
She put more pressure on the blade. "WHAT did you do? Tell me!"
"Crys..." He was begging now, he didn't want to do this.
"Say it!" She pushed. "Say it, or I swear to all the Gods I will kill you now! SAY IT JAKE!
"I shot that dart. It wasn't meant to be enough to kill, but I shot it. I killed your mother." He got on his feet and let the words explode in a volume, he was sure, everyone would be able to hear. "I KILLED DANI RIVERS!"
"Everyone is accounted for, scouts reported no unusual movement in the camp perimeter, and security has been increased after sunset." The man told her.
Crys nodded, giving up on trying to get Shadow to behave and waving the worker away. "I'll take him myself, thank you." She told him. Then she turned to the guard once again. "Do you know where Evin is, by any chance?" She asked him.
The guard chuckled slightly. "Sorry." He said quickly. "I haven't seen him, but if I was to guess... I would say he is sleeping, Or at least resting. He gave notice that he would be in his room and was not to be bothered, he wasn't seen since." He informed.
Crys chuckled slightly. "Oh... I forgot how late it is." She nodded, still smiling. "Thank you." She said moving past him through the center of camp to lead Shadow to a very small stable-like place. It wasn't what one could actually call a stable, but it was protected enough to keep horses healthy. The place was currently empty, the last few horses having been sold, or exchanged for supplies months ago. Even so, she accommodated Shadow as best as she could and instructed the workers to be careful when trying to approach him.
It was unusual for assassins to have horses, for obvious reasons, and Crys was never very fond of riding. It was easier for her to have some notion of where she was going when she had her feet on the ground. Nonetheless... She would care for the horse as well as she could. Truth was, she already grew fond of the animal, despite his temper.
As she left the stable she suddenly heard a familiar voice as Sean approached her. "Nice horse, did you steal it?" He said, playfully.
"No." She answered a bit coldly. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry, Sean. I'm just tired."
"It's alright. We are all entitled to have bad moments, right?" He said, walking beside her towards her cabin. "So, Ali is alright, Jake is keeping her company. Evin seems to have stayed in his room all day, although I can't be sure, and... Oh, yes! Ella seems to be a lot better, in case you are wondering." He informed. "Also, I was in Blackpond today, I thought we should consider reopening the Inn there...." His voice grew quiet when Crys stopped walking suddenly. "You don't approve of that?" He asked, a little reluctantly.
Crys nodded. "No, it's not that. I think it's actually a good idea."
"Oh, right..." Sean seemed to have also remembered the last time Crys was there. "I'm sorry. I can just update Evin on this, I don't need to mention it again."
"No. It's fine." Crys assured him, letting out a small sigh. "It's just... I've had a very strange day today. Why don't you tell me what happened on your visit first thing tomorrow?"
"Sounds good enough for me." Sean agreed, beginning to walk away.
"Oh, Sean... Thank you for your help." She said.
"It's only my duty, right?" He replied, walking away.
-----------------------------
Ali and Jake had played chess most of the afternoon. He wasn't sure if the girl had actually gotten that much better of if he was a little drunk already, it was possible that it was both, he just didn't seem to be able to win a game.
"Check mate!" Ali exclaimed, for about the 20th time that day.
"Oh, that's it. I'm done playing with you." Jake mumbled, sitting back in his chair and tilting his head back facing the ceiling.
Ali chuckled. "I'm sorry... You haven't been playing your best today, really. Your mind is elsewhere, I can just tell. What the hell happened?"
Jake sighed. "Ali, would you promise me something?" He asked.
"What?" She asked in a curious tone.
"Promise me that, no matter what she says or does to you, you won't let Crys push you away, like she did when Dani died. You are the closest person she will have left once I'm gone."
"W-where are you going?" She asked, almost in a whisper.
Jake was sure that she was thinking back to his expulsion. Yes, Dani had told him all about how Crys was in a mess after he left. That was nothing though, what she was feeling then was guilt, she got over it quickly. This wouldn't be so easy. Finally Jake responded. "I don't know yet." He sighed. "Promise."
"Alright, I promise." She said.
"It's late. Why don't you try to sleep?" He said. You might be able to get out of this bed by tomorrow if you do."
Ali sighed. "Maybe. If it was just that easy." She yawned. "You know, you remind me of him a little." She mumbled, beginning to close her eyes.
Jake got up to put away the chess game that was set on the bedside table. "Who?"
"My brother." She said. "He would have liked you." She stated, drifting off to sleep.
Jake nodded, a little shocked by the comment, he didn't remember ever hearing Ali mention her family before. When he turned to face her, though, she was already sound asleep. "Night, Ali." He mumbled, waking out of the house.
The moment he stepped foot outside, Sean came to see him. "Hey, Jake!"
"Yes, Sean." Jake said. "What is it?"
"Crys just got home. One of the guards asked me to inform you."
"Oh." Jake mumbled. "Alright, thank you." He looked towards the leader's cabin to see Crys already walking inside. He followed her and reached her just in time to stop her from closing and locking the door. "We need to talk." He said.
"Can't it wait, Jake? I'm so tired." She answered.
"I know. I'm really sorry, but this really can't wait." He was already walking past her, into the house.
Crys sighed. "Fine, what is so urgent?" She asked, sitting be the wooden table in the office.
Jake sat across from her and sighed. "Remember when I said I was hiding something I couldn't tell you just yet?" He asked.
"Yes..." Crys answered, suddenly not minding her exhaustion so much anymore and staring at him with an intrigued expression.
"I'm going to tell you everything now, however, this won't be easy to say. I beg that you don't interrupt me." He started.
"Alright..." Crys agreed. She seemed to have finally noticed how serious this was. Her expression gave away her concern.
Jake sighed, and finally started to say what he had been wanting to confess for so long. "Very well. I will go back to the day that the Black Knights raided the camp. The day Dani died. That day..." Jake nodded, trying to stop his voice from breaking. "I reported days before. I told Dani about the attack, you probably remember she took measures at least a day before. Anyway... The day I reported she asked me if I was having trouble gaining the Knights' trust. I said I wasn't sure of how much of the information I had was secure. Dani said she would fix that. She reminded me that I would probably have to commit treason against the Pack to make it convincing. That is when She gave me the least of people I was allowed to eliminate. Proven traitors."
"You already told me that." Crys stated, obviously forgetting that she shouldn't interrupt.
Jake nodded. "I didn't tell you everything." He ran a hand through his hair, knowing he just had to go through with it. "The last name on her list was her own."
"What?!"
"That's what I asked. She told me, all I had to do was dose the poison so it would seem like an honest attempt. She would recover after a few days and I would have proven my loyalty to Newhaven. I followed through with the plan, every step of it. I don't know how it went wrong. I..."
Jake's mumbling was cut short by the touch of a blade to his throat. "You..." Crys, was standing from her seat and walking around the table , gripping the hilt of the Katana with a shivering hand as the tip of the blade threatened to brake through his skin. "What the hell did you do?"
"She wasn't supposed to die." Jake stated. "I never meant for it to happen."
She put more pressure on the blade. "WHAT did you do? Tell me!"
"Crys..." He was begging now, he didn't want to do this.
"Say it!" She pushed. "Say it, or I swear to all the Gods I will kill you now! SAY IT JAKE!
"I shot that dart. It wasn't meant to be enough to kill, but I shot it. I killed your mother." He got on his feet and let the words explode in a volume, he was sure, everyone would be able to hear. "I KILLED DANI RIVERS!"
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria had been riding for a few minutes at a slow walk when she came across two people walking slowly down the path. Once she got closer she saw that it was Thomas and a strange woman. She shook her head, it was far too late for travelers to be out. She waited patiently for them to catch up, the whistled to gain their attention.
“Thomas? What on earth are you doing out this late? And where have you been?”
Thomas sighed heavily. “We left the Ruins early this morning. Boots doesn’t want to walk that fast.”
Mageria bit her lip. “Boots?”
Thomas half shrugged. “New Boots and Steaks. My horse.”
Mageria nodded. “Ah, I see. And this would be?” She turned toward the woman walking next to Thomas and raised one eyebrow inquiringly.
Thomas coughed uncomfortably. “Um, this would be Lady Sarris. She was exiled to the South about 17 years ago.” Mageria continued to look blank. “Um, this would be the former Queen of Newhaven.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and studied the other woman. “And you made her walk?”
Sarris laughed. “It really was faster than trying to get Boots to carry anything more than a couple of packs.”
Mageria shook her head. “Well, climb up behind me then, Lady Sarris. Ghost can carry double and we can all get back to the city before it gets any later.” Sarris put her foot in the stirrup and swung up behind Mageria while Thomas climbed back into his saddle. It was just a few minutes of riding to get everyone back to Newhaven and into the castle.
In a lack of anything better to do, Mageria took Thomas and Sarris to her room as a place to talk and rest. After serving them both a simple meal of bread, cheese and some dried fruit; she leveled a look at Thomas.
“You, have a lot of explaining to do. Sorry Lady, but I’d like to know about why he thought it was a good idea to wander off to the South all on his own.”
Thomas kind of ducked his head and concentrated on his food. “I found out about the Lady being exiled while going through the Archives. Actually while talking to the Archivist. Everyone else was busy or out of the city, so I had to make the decision to go on my own. It was the only thing that I could think of. I thought that if anyone knew about an heir, it would be her.”
Mageria nodded. “So you just decided to go off and risk everything all on your own?” Thomas nodded. Mageria rubbed her temple. “Thomas, go to bed.”
She leaned back and traded a level look with Sarris as Thomas wandered off.
Sarris leaned both elbows on the table and gave a look of her own.
“So. Thomas caught me up on what’s happened over the past years. So you tell me. Why on earth should I keep you around, knowing all the things that have gone wrong while you’ve been in charge here? I mean, Sebastian was killed while you were in charge. That would seem to be a bad record.”
Mageria leaned back and tilted her head to the side. “About that. There seems to be some discrepancies in that idea.” Quickly she explained about Grim’s story and the way that her search of the King’s rooms had turned up the Healer’s robes. And the way that the story that the Pack was telling said that there would be a ring on the finger of the former King.
Sarris shook her head. “If you hadn’t told me about the robes, I wouldn’t believe you. There must be some explanation for how someone impersonated the King like that. I’d say that we should go look at the royal crypt.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side. “You’ve been on the road for most of the day.”
Sarris stood up. “I’ve had far longer days in the South. I need to know the truth about all of this. I think that it’s going to be very important very soon.”
Mageria lead the way down through the various corridors, dodging the few guards that remained. “We had a riot the other night. It’s not safe to be alone right now unless you’re quite good in a fight.”
Sarris ran her fingers along the wall and frowned at the result. “That will have to be taken care of quickly. The city is in far worse shape than it should be. I’ll want you to recall the army so that we can use them to start the rebuilding.”
Mageria laughed. “I’m going to enjoy watching you take on the city council. It should be quite the show.”
Reaching the level of the crypt, Mageria pulled out a set of keys and used them to unlock the door.
Sarris looked curious. “Are you supposed to have those? Last I knew, only the White Knights were allowed the privilege of guarding the royal dead.”
Mageria half shrugged. “Yes and no. The White Knights are the only ones who are supposed to have the keys. Somewhere along the line the Captain of the Black Knights had these made. We’ve been a bit of a back up since then.” Taking a torch from the wall, she lead the way into the crypt.
The two women worked their way back through the history of Newhaven, the shades and shadows of the past; the honored dead and the ignobly forgotten. It was cold and strange down there, the only light the flickering of the torches that they both carried. Finally they reached the end of the line. Carefully they placed their torches in brackets on the wall and walked to the side of the crypt. They looked at each other, drew a deep breath and placed their hands on the lid. As one they pushed, the marble grating as it moved. . . . . .
“Thomas? What on earth are you doing out this late? And where have you been?”
Thomas sighed heavily. “We left the Ruins early this morning. Boots doesn’t want to walk that fast.”
Mageria bit her lip. “Boots?”
Thomas half shrugged. “New Boots and Steaks. My horse.”
Mageria nodded. “Ah, I see. And this would be?” She turned toward the woman walking next to Thomas and raised one eyebrow inquiringly.
Thomas coughed uncomfortably. “Um, this would be Lady Sarris. She was exiled to the South about 17 years ago.” Mageria continued to look blank. “Um, this would be the former Queen of Newhaven.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and studied the other woman. “And you made her walk?”
Sarris laughed. “It really was faster than trying to get Boots to carry anything more than a couple of packs.”
Mageria shook her head. “Well, climb up behind me then, Lady Sarris. Ghost can carry double and we can all get back to the city before it gets any later.” Sarris put her foot in the stirrup and swung up behind Mageria while Thomas climbed back into his saddle. It was just a few minutes of riding to get everyone back to Newhaven and into the castle.
In a lack of anything better to do, Mageria took Thomas and Sarris to her room as a place to talk and rest. After serving them both a simple meal of bread, cheese and some dried fruit; she leveled a look at Thomas.
“You, have a lot of explaining to do. Sorry Lady, but I’d like to know about why he thought it was a good idea to wander off to the South all on his own.”
Thomas kind of ducked his head and concentrated on his food. “I found out about the Lady being exiled while going through the Archives. Actually while talking to the Archivist. Everyone else was busy or out of the city, so I had to make the decision to go on my own. It was the only thing that I could think of. I thought that if anyone knew about an heir, it would be her.”
Mageria nodded. “So you just decided to go off and risk everything all on your own?” Thomas nodded. Mageria rubbed her temple. “Thomas, go to bed.”
She leaned back and traded a level look with Sarris as Thomas wandered off.
Sarris leaned both elbows on the table and gave a look of her own.
“So. Thomas caught me up on what’s happened over the past years. So you tell me. Why on earth should I keep you around, knowing all the things that have gone wrong while you’ve been in charge here? I mean, Sebastian was killed while you were in charge. That would seem to be a bad record.”
Mageria leaned back and tilted her head to the side. “About that. There seems to be some discrepancies in that idea.” Quickly she explained about Grim’s story and the way that her search of the King’s rooms had turned up the Healer’s robes. And the way that the story that the Pack was telling said that there would be a ring on the finger of the former King.
Sarris shook her head. “If you hadn’t told me about the robes, I wouldn’t believe you. There must be some explanation for how someone impersonated the King like that. I’d say that we should go look at the royal crypt.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side. “You’ve been on the road for most of the day.”
Sarris stood up. “I’ve had far longer days in the South. I need to know the truth about all of this. I think that it’s going to be very important very soon.”
Mageria lead the way down through the various corridors, dodging the few guards that remained. “We had a riot the other night. It’s not safe to be alone right now unless you’re quite good in a fight.”
Sarris ran her fingers along the wall and frowned at the result. “That will have to be taken care of quickly. The city is in far worse shape than it should be. I’ll want you to recall the army so that we can use them to start the rebuilding.”
Mageria laughed. “I’m going to enjoy watching you take on the city council. It should be quite the show.”
Reaching the level of the crypt, Mageria pulled out a set of keys and used them to unlock the door.
Sarris looked curious. “Are you supposed to have those? Last I knew, only the White Knights were allowed the privilege of guarding the royal dead.”
Mageria half shrugged. “Yes and no. The White Knights are the only ones who are supposed to have the keys. Somewhere along the line the Captain of the Black Knights had these made. We’ve been a bit of a back up since then.” Taking a torch from the wall, she lead the way into the crypt.
The two women worked their way back through the history of Newhaven, the shades and shadows of the past; the honored dead and the ignobly forgotten. It was cold and strange down there, the only light the flickering of the torches that they both carried. Finally they reached the end of the line. Carefully they placed their torches in brackets on the wall and walked to the side of the crypt. They looked at each other, drew a deep breath and placed their hands on the lid. As one they pushed, the marble grating as it moved. . . . . .
“Sir Pondus?”
Grim snapped back to reality looking onward to the soldier at attention before him. He was a sandy haired youth with sharp eyes and a kindly disposition. Struggle and conflict having not yet spoiled his attitude. The only thing lacking was patience, evidenced by his unwillingness to wait for Grim to respond. Chiding in to rouse him from his thoughts somewhat concerned and nervous before a legendary Black Knight.
“I’m sorry lad, just a minute.”
Grim pulled his helm free to reach his temples. Inside his mind was buzzing with the prospects of too many concerns. The hunt for Hastings had proved fruitless. In this endeavor he poured the most effort possible. It was the way Mageria spoke that he realized just how important her captive was. She was in earnest fear for the jeopardy that man could put Newhaven in. There was no one willing to talk, and the only witness claimed a man fitting Hastings description had smashed through a window. The owner of the building hadn’t been found.
Most of the other escapees had already been detained. The wisest among them fled Newhaven’s walls. Knowing well that the knights wouldn’t waste the effort to chase them through the forest. It was their best bet if one asked Grim. There was a catch however, they’d have to survive in the wild.
The rest of his energy was spent overseeing the repairs and cleanup. The riot had done plenty of damage and many disturbed citizens were coming in with reports of stolen goods or other wrong doings. Some using the running convicts as an excuse, others arriving with honesty to demand compensation.
To make all this even more complicated Grim was using other men and women to handle all the social parts of the work. The commoner feared the Black Knight and were guarded against him in conversation. So he built a network of personal aides to speak with people. Sending errand runners to and fro to their various destinations. Among them he had dispatched a soldier to find Chandos.
Mageria was gone, the night had fallen and Grim had seen nothing of his Captain since they invaded the King’s quarters. He was sick with wild ruminations as to what she could be up to. Finding the healer’s robes said a lot in favor of the Wolfpack’s story. Was his leader able to understand, and more importantly, cope with what this meant for Newhaven? Grim couldn’t be entirely sure. Unfortunately there was no time to delve into the matter. Still representing the Black Knights, Grim had to oversee the tasks he started. Always he was privately pleading for a Black Guard to arrive and take him away from the chores. Anticipating that Mageria would take him to check the King’s body.
“My apologies I just needed a minute to rest. Go ahead and give me your report one more time.”
“Sir, Chandos is missing.”
Grim snapped back to reality looking onward to the soldier at attention before him. He was a sandy haired youth with sharp eyes and a kindly disposition. Struggle and conflict having not yet spoiled his attitude. The only thing lacking was patience, evidenced by his unwillingness to wait for Grim to respond. Chiding in to rouse him from his thoughts somewhat concerned and nervous before a legendary Black Knight.
“I’m sorry lad, just a minute.”
Grim pulled his helm free to reach his temples. Inside his mind was buzzing with the prospects of too many concerns. The hunt for Hastings had proved fruitless. In this endeavor he poured the most effort possible. It was the way Mageria spoke that he realized just how important her captive was. She was in earnest fear for the jeopardy that man could put Newhaven in. There was no one willing to talk, and the only witness claimed a man fitting Hastings description had smashed through a window. The owner of the building hadn’t been found.
Most of the other escapees had already been detained. The wisest among them fled Newhaven’s walls. Knowing well that the knights wouldn’t waste the effort to chase them through the forest. It was their best bet if one asked Grim. There was a catch however, they’d have to survive in the wild.
The rest of his energy was spent overseeing the repairs and cleanup. The riot had done plenty of damage and many disturbed citizens were coming in with reports of stolen goods or other wrong doings. Some using the running convicts as an excuse, others arriving with honesty to demand compensation.
To make all this even more complicated Grim was using other men and women to handle all the social parts of the work. The commoner feared the Black Knight and were guarded against him in conversation. So he built a network of personal aides to speak with people. Sending errand runners to and fro to their various destinations. Among them he had dispatched a soldier to find Chandos.
Mageria was gone, the night had fallen and Grim had seen nothing of his Captain since they invaded the King’s quarters. He was sick with wild ruminations as to what she could be up to. Finding the healer’s robes said a lot in favor of the Wolfpack’s story. Was his leader able to understand, and more importantly, cope with what this meant for Newhaven? Grim couldn’t be entirely sure. Unfortunately there was no time to delve into the matter. Still representing the Black Knights, Grim had to oversee the tasks he started. Always he was privately pleading for a Black Guard to arrive and take him away from the chores. Anticipating that Mageria would take him to check the King’s body.
“My apologies I just needed a minute to rest. Go ahead and give me your report one more time.”
“Sir, Chandos is missing.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Evin arrived just after sunset back to camp. He had spent the whole time walking home thinking about the words that Lena used to try to make him feel like shit. It worked. Thinking about it just made him increasingly mad. When he got home to the cabin, he thought that it would be good for him and that he could get some rest. When he made it into the cabin, he went right into his broomcloset of a room and tried to go to sleep. No matter what he could do, he couldn't stop tossing and turning. He just couldn't get the thoughts out of his mind. The idea that he was not working hard to get information was completely not true. That was what bothered him more than anything. He had enough of looking for information though. He knew what was happening and no one was willing to give him any answers. Evin learnt that keeping secrets was not a good thing a long time ago. The only secret he knew he had to keep was his identity. If anyone knew that, he wouldn't be able to do his job anymore. Someone had to mature a bit and tell him something that could help him because now he was just at a dead end. It was the first time that he couldn't get to sleep and all because of the words of a person who's words he didn't think mattered to him all too much. He was sadly mistaken though. He was probably in bed for six hours and only got about two hours of sleep in total.
When he was finally started to relax, he began to hear voices coming from another room. It seemed like it was Crystal and Jake. "WHAT did you do?" It sounded like Crystal got the note. He wasn't absolutely sure, he didn't check to see if the note was still there when he got in the cabin, but it sounded like she might have.
"SAY IT JAKE!" After that, he couldn't hear what Jake had been saying. Evin tried to listen closely to him, but nothing could be heard until suddenly he said in a booming voice, "I KILLED DANI RIVERS!"
It seemed like everything in camp and forest surrounding it went silent. No discussions in the distance from around the campfire could be heard anymore and all the bugs and animals out in the forest couldn't be heard. Evin shot up out of his bed and went to his door after grabbing his weapons. Evin slammed the door shut behind him. That was the first sound that he remembered hearing Jake said those damning words. He walked across the main 'study' room and walked towards the door on the opposite side of the cabin to his own room. He took one of his wires and tied it to the doorknob and then walked out of the cabin and to the side where Crystal's room was. He pulled on the wire and let the door slowly open.
While the door slowly opened, Evin jumped through the window of Crystal's room and dived right over top of Jake, tackling him to the ground. He took out his dagger and then stabbed it into the ground beside Jake's face, digging the dagger so deep that there was no way he was getting it out any time soon. He pulled out his second dagger and just held it above Jake's head.
He looked right into Jake's eyes and whispered so that Crystal wouldn't hear. "Your chance to speak is over. You had opportunities to confess." He didn't take his eyes off of Jake, even as he spoke to Crystal. "Crystal, this man has committed treason at the highest level. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end his life right now."
When he was finally started to relax, he began to hear voices coming from another room. It seemed like it was Crystal and Jake. "WHAT did you do?" It sounded like Crystal got the note. He wasn't absolutely sure, he didn't check to see if the note was still there when he got in the cabin, but it sounded like she might have.
"SAY IT JAKE!" After that, he couldn't hear what Jake had been saying. Evin tried to listen closely to him, but nothing could be heard until suddenly he said in a booming voice, "I KILLED DANI RIVERS!"
It seemed like everything in camp and forest surrounding it went silent. No discussions in the distance from around the campfire could be heard anymore and all the bugs and animals out in the forest couldn't be heard. Evin shot up out of his bed and went to his door after grabbing his weapons. Evin slammed the door shut behind him. That was the first sound that he remembered hearing Jake said those damning words. He walked across the main 'study' room and walked towards the door on the opposite side of the cabin to his own room. He took one of his wires and tied it to the doorknob and then walked out of the cabin and to the side where Crystal's room was. He pulled on the wire and let the door slowly open.
While the door slowly opened, Evin jumped through the window of Crystal's room and dived right over top of Jake, tackling him to the ground. He took out his dagger and then stabbed it into the ground beside Jake's face, digging the dagger so deep that there was no way he was getting it out any time soon. He pulled out his second dagger and just held it above Jake's head.
He looked right into Jake's eyes and whispered so that Crystal wouldn't hear. "Your chance to speak is over. You had opportunities to confess." He didn't take his eyes off of Jake, even as he spoke to Crystal. "Crystal, this man has committed treason at the highest level. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end his life right now."
Ali was sound asleep when she was suddenly woken up by a shout. "I KILLED DANI RIVERS." She was standing, holding onto her bow, quiver around her waist, before she even got the chance to process the words and understand the fact that it was Jake's voice she had heard. She hadn't even realized that Crys had left her bow in its usual spot until she caught herself reaching for it in the dark. Once it all began to sink in, she slowly started walking towards the door, afraid of what she would find outside. There was silence for a moment, maybe two. Dead silence, that was soon followed by the sounds of voices, doors opening, people asking each other what was happening. She couldn't bring herself to believe what she had heard. People were just standing outside their houses or around the center of camp shooting glances at the leader's cabin waiting for someone to get out. As she stepped out she was feeling completely numb. "It can't be." She mumbled.
Suddenly, as if it wasn't enough, she heard commotion near the gates, as she knocked an arrow and turned, she caught sight of the White Knight, Daniel, already removing an arrow out from his shoulder. The man surrendered his weapons, even so, the guards seemed unwilling to let him pass, or live, for that matter. She put the arrow back in the quiver and approached addressing the guards. "Who fired that arrow?" She asked in a severe tone. It was almost amusing that a simple title could actually make those men obey the command of a seventeen year old girl. All of the guards nodded in confusion, they knew better than to fire without a direct order. Ali quickly looked around and, eventually, she spotted a shy-looking thirteen year old boy holding a bow, trying desperately to make himself invisible amongst the other assassins. Ali walked a straight line to the kid, took the bow out of his hands and handed it to a nearby worker. "Make it so this is returned to its rightful owner." For a second she turned away from the kid and it seemed like she would leave it to that, but, when everyone seemed to think she was going to walk away... She turned back and pinned him against a nearby tree, pushing the body of her own bow against his throat, causing him to choke. "Don't ever, ever, steal from any member of this clan again, do you understand me? Am I being clear enough for you?"
The boy simply nodded, unable to say a word.
Ali sighed and released him. "Good. Go straight to your room and I will see about your punishment in the morning. And if I see your face out in the open in the meantime, I swear... You will beg for death." The boy simply nodded again and ran straight into a nearby cabin. Ali turned back nodding, a small smile crossed her features. "Damn good shot though." She whispered.
As she walked the short distance over to where Daniel she thought of what to say to the man, obviously Crys wouldn't be able to see him now, but to tell him why would be too much information... Not that she actually understood what was going on . She walked one step past Sean and suddenly stopped. "Sean, knock on the door, tell them what's happening."
Sean simply looked at her. "Are you crazy? Didn't you just hear what Jake said?"
"We all heard it, but we have a White Knight on our doorstep. I would consider that important, wouldn't you?" She muttered. "Go tell them."
She watched with the corner of her eyes as Sean walked towards the leaders cabin, she walked a few steps closer to the White Knight and nodded to the guards. The men lowered their weapons, reluctantly, and she gave the Knight a little smirk. "Gladly I'm not a vindictive person, so... I shall apologize for my recruit. He is a talented kid, but he tends to shoot faster than he thinks." She looked over at his wound. "That looks painful." She chuckled. "I suppose it's the very least you get for your stupidity. Or maybe the Gods decided I deserved a good laugh for all my troubled." She looked over to see Sean nod at her as if to indicate he had no response. "Either way, our leaders are unavailable at the moment, so... You can turn around and wait for one of them to contact you, or you can talk to me. These are the two choices that allow you to leave with your life, so I suggest you decide, and fast, before I decide I'm being too nice."
--------------------
I killed Dani Rivers. Those words were meant for someone else, that much Crys knew. Once they were out, however, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She had to force the air in and out, she was shaking from head to toe, all she wanted was to get this over with. What kept her from moving, was the fact that taking Jake's life now wouldn't erase the past or do a damn thing for the pain she was feeling. If anything, it would just make it all worse.
As of that moment, there was nothing left that was still recognizable. There was not one sane thought inside her mind that she could hold on to. There was no ground beneath her feet. There was only the sharp and excruciating pain of betrayal and nothing else.
The silence grew thicker by the second and Crys stood there, frozen, unaware of the tears running down her face, for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't simply the shock of hearing something she already, in some level, suspected to be true. It was the realization that the one person she was willing to trust completely had made a fool out of her in every possible way. It was knowing that all the times she worried over his state of mind, this was what he was hiding. He was hiding it right in front of her and she couldn't see. Putting it all together... Crys had never felt more blind in her life as she did right now.
And the worst part of it all, what really made her feel sick... Even after knowing all of that, the thought of killing Jake almost caused her physical pain. She was so furious she couldn't stand it, and the only thing she could bring herself to feel for him was contempt. Even so... She couldn't bring herself to do it.
She had lowered her weapon, and seconds later she dropped the katana at her feet. Soon after that, she realized why Jake had yelled. Evin stormed into the room, she didn't even notice where he came from. Next thing she knew he had Jake on the ground. "Crystal, this man has committed treason at the highest level. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end his life right now."
"I... " Crys stopped herself for a second in order to make her voice more clear. "I don't want him dead." She stated. "His life is already over and he knows it. Death is a release he just doesn't deserve." Slowly, she retrieved the katana and sheathed it, walking a step closer to Jake and Evin. "What was it that you said to me Jacob? That it was very convenient for my mother to die while you had to live with this?" She nodded. "No... I won't let him off this easy. It doesn't work that way. For as long as I have to live with this, I don't want him dead, Evin. And I won't let you kill him." Her tone was cold and void of any emotion. In a rage, she might have killed him, maybe that would have been better, but... What she was feeling now, however, had crossed the line of rage a long time ago. The only bit of consolation she could find was knowing just how much this was hurting him. So, screw it. She wanted him to suffer.
Suddenly, as if it wasn't enough, she heard commotion near the gates, as she knocked an arrow and turned, she caught sight of the White Knight, Daniel, already removing an arrow out from his shoulder. The man surrendered his weapons, even so, the guards seemed unwilling to let him pass, or live, for that matter. She put the arrow back in the quiver and approached addressing the guards. "Who fired that arrow?" She asked in a severe tone. It was almost amusing that a simple title could actually make those men obey the command of a seventeen year old girl. All of the guards nodded in confusion, they knew better than to fire without a direct order. Ali quickly looked around and, eventually, she spotted a shy-looking thirteen year old boy holding a bow, trying desperately to make himself invisible amongst the other assassins. Ali walked a straight line to the kid, took the bow out of his hands and handed it to a nearby worker. "Make it so this is returned to its rightful owner." For a second she turned away from the kid and it seemed like she would leave it to that, but, when everyone seemed to think she was going to walk away... She turned back and pinned him against a nearby tree, pushing the body of her own bow against his throat, causing him to choke. "Don't ever, ever, steal from any member of this clan again, do you understand me? Am I being clear enough for you?"
The boy simply nodded, unable to say a word.
Ali sighed and released him. "Good. Go straight to your room and I will see about your punishment in the morning. And if I see your face out in the open in the meantime, I swear... You will beg for death." The boy simply nodded again and ran straight into a nearby cabin. Ali turned back nodding, a small smile crossed her features. "Damn good shot though." She whispered.
As she walked the short distance over to where Daniel she thought of what to say to the man, obviously Crys wouldn't be able to see him now, but to tell him why would be too much information... Not that she actually understood what was going on . She walked one step past Sean and suddenly stopped. "Sean, knock on the door, tell them what's happening."
Sean simply looked at her. "Are you crazy? Didn't you just hear what Jake said?"
"We all heard it, but we have a White Knight on our doorstep. I would consider that important, wouldn't you?" She muttered. "Go tell them."
She watched with the corner of her eyes as Sean walked towards the leaders cabin, she walked a few steps closer to the White Knight and nodded to the guards. The men lowered their weapons, reluctantly, and she gave the Knight a little smirk. "Gladly I'm not a vindictive person, so... I shall apologize for my recruit. He is a talented kid, but he tends to shoot faster than he thinks." She looked over at his wound. "That looks painful." She chuckled. "I suppose it's the very least you get for your stupidity. Or maybe the Gods decided I deserved a good laugh for all my troubled." She looked over to see Sean nod at her as if to indicate he had no response. "Either way, our leaders are unavailable at the moment, so... You can turn around and wait for one of them to contact you, or you can talk to me. These are the two choices that allow you to leave with your life, so I suggest you decide, and fast, before I decide I'm being too nice."
--------------------
I killed Dani Rivers. Those words were meant for someone else, that much Crys knew. Once they were out, however, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She had to force the air in and out, she was shaking from head to toe, all she wanted was to get this over with. What kept her from moving, was the fact that taking Jake's life now wouldn't erase the past or do a damn thing for the pain she was feeling. If anything, it would just make it all worse.
As of that moment, there was nothing left that was still recognizable. There was not one sane thought inside her mind that she could hold on to. There was no ground beneath her feet. There was only the sharp and excruciating pain of betrayal and nothing else.
The silence grew thicker by the second and Crys stood there, frozen, unaware of the tears running down her face, for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't simply the shock of hearing something she already, in some level, suspected to be true. It was the realization that the one person she was willing to trust completely had made a fool out of her in every possible way. It was knowing that all the times she worried over his state of mind, this was what he was hiding. He was hiding it right in front of her and she couldn't see. Putting it all together... Crys had never felt more blind in her life as she did right now.
And the worst part of it all, what really made her feel sick... Even after knowing all of that, the thought of killing Jake almost caused her physical pain. She was so furious she couldn't stand it, and the only thing she could bring herself to feel for him was contempt. Even so... She couldn't bring herself to do it.
She had lowered her weapon, and seconds later she dropped the katana at her feet. Soon after that, she realized why Jake had yelled. Evin stormed into the room, she didn't even notice where he came from. Next thing she knew he had Jake on the ground. "Crystal, this man has committed treason at the highest level. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end his life right now."
"I... " Crys stopped herself for a second in order to make her voice more clear. "I don't want him dead." She stated. "His life is already over and he knows it. Death is a release he just doesn't deserve." Slowly, she retrieved the katana and sheathed it, walking a step closer to Jake and Evin. "What was it that you said to me Jacob? That it was very convenient for my mother to die while you had to live with this?" She nodded. "No... I won't let him off this easy. It doesn't work that way. For as long as I have to live with this, I don't want him dead, Evin. And I won't let you kill him." Her tone was cold and void of any emotion. In a rage, she might have killed him, maybe that would have been better, but... What she was feeling now, however, had crossed the line of rage a long time ago. The only bit of consolation she could find was knowing just how much this was hurting him. So, screw it. She wanted him to suffer.
Daniel actually laughed when the girl spoke of the Gods as if they would punish him for his hybrid or stupidity. It was probably not right, but not too far away from the truth either. He lower his arm and put his hand over his wounded shoulder. There wasn't any blood, but he couldn't escape the immense pain that he was feeling. He had felt pain before, just as any other living being, but this time it was different for some reason. Maybe this was the start of something bigger or more important than any other damage and scar he has ever received before. However, once the news that their leaders were busy with something else along with a threat to add on that, Daniel stopped to chuckle and gazed at the assassin with his usual serious look.
"Threats won't get you far in life, child. I learned that the hard way." Daniel began with a rather odd tone to his voice. It was a tone he used when he was talking to a close friend or someone he respected. It came out and he didn't even notice it. "However, I cannot turn back now seeing as I'm not only wounded but it would seem that my horse is gone as well." Daniel let out a heavy sigh and looked back at the place he had left his horse at before returning his attention to the female assassin once more.
"I have information to the blind girl, but I suppose leaving the info with you won't hurt anyone, right?" Daniel explained as he began to feel dizzy. He wasn't losing blood or so he thought and he felt fine just a couple of seconds before. "Ella. Ella is the girl I've been looking for. The Blind girl knows more." And with those words, Daniel sat down on the cold ground and pressed his hand towards the damaged shoulder. he could feel warmth coming from it and he now knew that he was bleeding, a lot actually.
"Threats won't get you far in life, child. I learned that the hard way." Daniel began with a rather odd tone to his voice. It was a tone he used when he was talking to a close friend or someone he respected. It came out and he didn't even notice it. "However, I cannot turn back now seeing as I'm not only wounded but it would seem that my horse is gone as well." Daniel let out a heavy sigh and looked back at the place he had left his horse at before returning his attention to the female assassin once more.
"I have information to the blind girl, but I suppose leaving the info with you won't hurt anyone, right?" Daniel explained as he began to feel dizzy. He wasn't losing blood or so he thought and he felt fine just a couple of seconds before. "Ella. Ella is the girl I've been looking for. The Blind girl knows more." And with those words, Daniel sat down on the cold ground and pressed his hand towards the damaged shoulder. he could feel warmth coming from it and he now knew that he was bleeding, a lot actually.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
A rush of stale air swept out of the crypt as it opened. Sarris backed away, waving her hand in front of her face, but Mageria simply leaned in to see what she could. A body in dressed in rich robes lay in state, arms crossed on it’s chest. The torch light flickered, giving the body an eerie semblance of life. For a moment it seemed like the man almost breathed.
Mageria shook off the chills running down her back and concentrated on the matter at hand. Specifically, the hands of the corpse. Gently she shifted them so that she could see the fingers.
“Lady Sarris? It seems we have a problem.”
Sarris leaned over and looked for herself.
The ring finger on the left hand was simply gone.
Mageria checked the other fingers, there was no sign of a ring or that the man in the crypt had ever worn one.
Sarris watched her and then spoke quietly. “So what does this mean?”
Mageria could only shake her head. “I haven’t the faintest idea. Yet.” She walked over to the other side of the crypt and started to push it closed. Sarris came over and helped. With an effort the lid slid closed, sheltering the sleeper from the glare of the light once more.
Quietly they collected the torches and left, sealing the tomb behind them as they went. Mageria didn’t speak again until they reached the wing that the Black Knights normally lived in.
“Lady Sarris, I’d feel better if you slept here, at least for tonight. It’s too soon to have a room ready for you, and this wing is better guarded than anything else, at least for tonight.” She pushed open the door of the room that had stood empty the longest, the one that had once housed a Knight named Jasper. He had been the last Knight that had held a stronger allegiance to Captain Morgan rather than her; he had also perished in the fight for the Lower City of Newhaven. Mageria had cleaned the room herself, it was completely adequate for someone who might only be spending one or two nights there. Sarris laid her hand on the doorframe and looked over her shoulder at the battle scarred woman standing in the hallway.
“And what of you, Captain? Are you going to rest?”
Mageria shook her head minutely. “Not just yet. There’s a few more things that I have to take care of.”
Sarris nodded and walked into her temporary room, locking the door behind her.
Mageria scrubbed her hands through her hair and winced, fingers tracing the size of the knot still present there. Really, she should have stayed in the infirmary. It would have been simpler. And quieter. But not the duty of a Black Knight.
Surrendering to the inevitable, she wrapped her cloak around herself once more and pulled the hood up, retracing her steps to find Grim. There had been a message tucked into her door frame, letting her know that he had been looking for her. She smiled and shook her head. Grim, above all other things hated trying to deal with a great many people. She hoped that one of her Guards was able to take over, but didn’t hold out much hope.
Slowly she worked her way down through the Castle and to where she had been told that she could find Grim, feeling her weariness pressing down on her with every step. When she did find him, he was having an intense conversation with one of their soldiers. Leaning up against a wall, Mageria ran through what she had found, or rather what she hadn’t found. The ring missing might have been passed off, except that the finger had been gone as well. Someone was going to a great deal of trouble to hide the evidence of who the man buried in the crypt had been.
Either that, or someone was going to a great deal of trouble to make it appear as if the King had not been who everyone was. The robes could have been planted in the past year, and the crypt broken into as well. All she knew for sure at this point was that she didn’t have enough information to base any conclusions on.
Looking over she could see that Grim was finally alone for the moment. Quietly she walked over to him, letting her boots hit the ground just enough so that he could hear her coming.
“Grim. My apologies for leaving you alone for so long. Hard as it is to believe, things have continued to become more complicated.” Wearily she rubbed her temple. “I went out to see the forest and happened to run across Thomas returning to the city.” Mageria’s eyes darted around looking for anyone that was close enough to hear them; she didn’t think there was anyone, but she still didn’t want to speak plainly. “It seems that a major piece has returned to the board, for the time being. And there is another person sitting at the table, someone who has yet to show his face.” She held up one hand and wiggled the ring finger. “This someone also made off with something that we were looking for.”
Mageria shook off the chills running down her back and concentrated on the matter at hand. Specifically, the hands of the corpse. Gently she shifted them so that she could see the fingers.
“Lady Sarris? It seems we have a problem.”
Sarris leaned over and looked for herself.
The ring finger on the left hand was simply gone.
Mageria checked the other fingers, there was no sign of a ring or that the man in the crypt had ever worn one.
Sarris watched her and then spoke quietly. “So what does this mean?”
Mageria could only shake her head. “I haven’t the faintest idea. Yet.” She walked over to the other side of the crypt and started to push it closed. Sarris came over and helped. With an effort the lid slid closed, sheltering the sleeper from the glare of the light once more.
Quietly they collected the torches and left, sealing the tomb behind them as they went. Mageria didn’t speak again until they reached the wing that the Black Knights normally lived in.
“Lady Sarris, I’d feel better if you slept here, at least for tonight. It’s too soon to have a room ready for you, and this wing is better guarded than anything else, at least for tonight.” She pushed open the door of the room that had stood empty the longest, the one that had once housed a Knight named Jasper. He had been the last Knight that had held a stronger allegiance to Captain Morgan rather than her; he had also perished in the fight for the Lower City of Newhaven. Mageria had cleaned the room herself, it was completely adequate for someone who might only be spending one or two nights there. Sarris laid her hand on the doorframe and looked over her shoulder at the battle scarred woman standing in the hallway.
“And what of you, Captain? Are you going to rest?”
Mageria shook her head minutely. “Not just yet. There’s a few more things that I have to take care of.”
Sarris nodded and walked into her temporary room, locking the door behind her.
Mageria scrubbed her hands through her hair and winced, fingers tracing the size of the knot still present there. Really, she should have stayed in the infirmary. It would have been simpler. And quieter. But not the duty of a Black Knight.
Surrendering to the inevitable, she wrapped her cloak around herself once more and pulled the hood up, retracing her steps to find Grim. There had been a message tucked into her door frame, letting her know that he had been looking for her. She smiled and shook her head. Grim, above all other things hated trying to deal with a great many people. She hoped that one of her Guards was able to take over, but didn’t hold out much hope.
Slowly she worked her way down through the Castle and to where she had been told that she could find Grim, feeling her weariness pressing down on her with every step. When she did find him, he was having an intense conversation with one of their soldiers. Leaning up against a wall, Mageria ran through what she had found, or rather what she hadn’t found. The ring missing might have been passed off, except that the finger had been gone as well. Someone was going to a great deal of trouble to hide the evidence of who the man buried in the crypt had been.
Either that, or someone was going to a great deal of trouble to make it appear as if the King had not been who everyone was. The robes could have been planted in the past year, and the crypt broken into as well. All she knew for sure at this point was that she didn’t have enough information to base any conclusions on.
Looking over she could see that Grim was finally alone for the moment. Quietly she walked over to him, letting her boots hit the ground just enough so that he could hear her coming.
“Grim. My apologies for leaving you alone for so long. Hard as it is to believe, things have continued to become more complicated.” Wearily she rubbed her temple. “I went out to see the forest and happened to run across Thomas returning to the city.” Mageria’s eyes darted around looking for anyone that was close enough to hear them; she didn’t think there was anyone, but she still didn’t want to speak plainly. “It seems that a major piece has returned to the board, for the time being. And there is another person sitting at the table, someone who has yet to show his face.” She held up one hand and wiggled the ring finger. “This someone also made off with something that we were looking for.”
“Should Chandos unexplainably return have him report in at once. Otherwise do not worry yourselves I know my general, he wouldn’t be off doing something that wasn’t important.”
Grim shooed away the young soldier and returned his gaze over Newhaven’s homes only briefly before another figure approached. The rhythmic tapping of her boots, the careful disguise, and the calm sway of her movement. Grim knew already that it was Mageria. The night was late and while he was upset he withheld his annoyance to await the news she was surely bringing.
Mageria had been cautious daring not to unveil her findings even in the safety of their city. The matter was delicate and dangerous in the wrong hands. Grim theorized that she already slipped into the grave and while he wasn’t pleased in not going he was now empathetic to Mageria. He had been just the same not but a few days earlier.
“Complications, Thomas, missing items?”
He watched with a puzzled look at her every word. It seemed things had indeed become for more perplexed by the happenings of a single evening. It was a mess that would require sorting and plenty of careful conversations like this one. There was a lot happening in the walls of Newhaven, be it for good or evil all that was had changed.
Grim wasn’t entirely familiar with the Knight called Thomas. They were of different jobs and rarely were the two ever applied to the same assignment. He understood that the fellow was a person of high remark, that there were droves of folks that loved him. Everyone got along with the man, that alone set him worlds apart from Grim.
“Hmmm… I’m curious of a lot of things. What a missing piece means for Newhaven, or what exactly you were doing in the forest in the first place? I trust that my Captain will find the time to explain them to me. For now though, you look exhausted and it is best you rest. The days to come will be quite trying.”
He would never doubt the words of his leader. It was a different matter altogether that Grim was vying for Mageria to achieve a little deserved rest. In his heart he yearned to know more, but he had faith that the answers would be his before too long. Right now his commander needed to recharge.
“I’ve given it a little thought, and so pass on my fear to you. Logically despite our unseen friend’s attempt, the removal means there was something to hide. I’d like to request the White Rose, Lady Lena to come and observe our departed friend. She may be able to cement the Wolves’ theory once and for all. Once you are feeling better, I will personally see to her procurement.
Mageria…
There has to be a traitor to pull this off. A common man could not go where you went, so it had to be from the inside. I could be wrong, but that makes the most sense for now. Watch your back, and if this piece is important watch their back too.”
Grim shooed away the young soldier and returned his gaze over Newhaven’s homes only briefly before another figure approached. The rhythmic tapping of her boots, the careful disguise, and the calm sway of her movement. Grim knew already that it was Mageria. The night was late and while he was upset he withheld his annoyance to await the news she was surely bringing.
Mageria had been cautious daring not to unveil her findings even in the safety of their city. The matter was delicate and dangerous in the wrong hands. Grim theorized that she already slipped into the grave and while he wasn’t pleased in not going he was now empathetic to Mageria. He had been just the same not but a few days earlier.
“Complications, Thomas, missing items?”
He watched with a puzzled look at her every word. It seemed things had indeed become for more perplexed by the happenings of a single evening. It was a mess that would require sorting and plenty of careful conversations like this one. There was a lot happening in the walls of Newhaven, be it for good or evil all that was had changed.
Grim wasn’t entirely familiar with the Knight called Thomas. They were of different jobs and rarely were the two ever applied to the same assignment. He understood that the fellow was a person of high remark, that there were droves of folks that loved him. Everyone got along with the man, that alone set him worlds apart from Grim.
“Hmmm… I’m curious of a lot of things. What a missing piece means for Newhaven, or what exactly you were doing in the forest in the first place? I trust that my Captain will find the time to explain them to me. For now though, you look exhausted and it is best you rest. The days to come will be quite trying.”
He would never doubt the words of his leader. It was a different matter altogether that Grim was vying for Mageria to achieve a little deserved rest. In his heart he yearned to know more, but he had faith that the answers would be his before too long. Right now his commander needed to recharge.
“I’ve given it a little thought, and so pass on my fear to you. Logically despite our unseen friend’s attempt, the removal means there was something to hide. I’d like to request the White Rose, Lady Lena to come and observe our departed friend. She may be able to cement the Wolves’ theory once and for all. Once you are feeling better, I will personally see to her procurement.
Mageria…
There has to be a traitor to pull this off. A common man could not go where you went, so it had to be from the inside. I could be wrong, but that makes the most sense for now. Watch your back, and if this piece is important watch their back too.”
Mageria leaned back against the wall they were standing next to and smiled wryly.
“What I was doing in the forest? Something I most definitely shouldn’t have been doing.” She arched one eyebrow sardonically. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that.” She shrugged. “Truth? I’m as sick of this bloodshed as you are. I took a step tonight that might mean less of it in the future. But it’s just a chance. We still have to watch our every move.” She half turned and watched the people pass by. “The only thing we can be sure of right now is that we don’t know the truth of things. We have to find out all the facts that we can and only then can we act on what we learned. So yes, we need to talk to Lena Turner. But given what our departed weasel implied, I fear that the White Shadows may be in danger, at least as they travel alone. You may want to take a few others with you when you go to see her.” Even Hastings couldn’t be mad enough to attack the White Shadows on a large scale.
Sighing, Mageria closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of stillness. Grim had a good point. No matter if she thought that the King himself was the impostor or if someone was trying to make it appear that way, somebody had far too much access to the castle for her to be comfortable. If nothing else, the bloody mess in the dungeons had proven that.
Mageria shook her head at her mental ramblings. Opening her eyes, she found Grim staring at her with an expression that she had seen before; when she was the one more injured or weary. She would argue and he would accept it, up to a point where he felt it was time for him to ‘respectfully disobey’ his commanding officer. Once that point had been reached, he had actually once carried her away from what she was doing and forcibly relieved her of her weapons. If she hadn’t been exhausted it wouldn’t have been possible for him to do so, which was the point she supposed. Quickly she held up her hands in front of her, stopping whatever it was he was about to say.
“I will however go and rest now. I’m sure that you have things well in hand and will contact me if you need the authority to back it up.” She grinned and a spark of humor danced in her eyes. “It would be bad for morale for the Captain to be sent to bed like an overtired child.”
With one hand she half saluted Grim as she turned away, making her way back to the castle and her rooms. Once there she drew out a small string of bells, similar to ones that she had given to Sarris before the other woman went to bed. One end she attached to the door frame, the other to the door itself. If anyone tried to get into her room in the night, it would wake her up. Even if they cut the string, the bells would chime just enough to give her warning. She attached a similar string to either side of her windows as well. Finally she sat down, staring blankly at her fireplace.
"Since we are friends, yet mortal enemies, and I'm sure this is hard for you. I will take the liberty to make the first move."
Ev hadn’t even hesitated. She had when she first learned who he was and she still bore the scars from it. Blank faced, she turned to the chest next to her and drew out a small pouch of items.
A small wooden rose, carved of some exotic wood. It burned quickly when she tossed it on the fire.
A painted stone. A small glass bottle. A wooden whistle no longer than her pinkie. A tiny book of poems. All of those and more. All of them were tossed into the fire in a farewell to memories lost.
Mageria watched as the mementos burned before standing up and going to her bed. Finally allowing herself to groan at the pain of moving, she changed into an old tattered tunic and set of hose. Out of long habit she always dressed as if she would need to fight the second she woke up. With a grunt she lay down and quickly slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.
“What I was doing in the forest? Something I most definitely shouldn’t have been doing.” She arched one eyebrow sardonically. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that.” She shrugged. “Truth? I’m as sick of this bloodshed as you are. I took a step tonight that might mean less of it in the future. But it’s just a chance. We still have to watch our every move.” She half turned and watched the people pass by. “The only thing we can be sure of right now is that we don’t know the truth of things. We have to find out all the facts that we can and only then can we act on what we learned. So yes, we need to talk to Lena Turner. But given what our departed weasel implied, I fear that the White Shadows may be in danger, at least as they travel alone. You may want to take a few others with you when you go to see her.” Even Hastings couldn’t be mad enough to attack the White Shadows on a large scale.
Sighing, Mageria closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of stillness. Grim had a good point. No matter if she thought that the King himself was the impostor or if someone was trying to make it appear that way, somebody had far too much access to the castle for her to be comfortable. If nothing else, the bloody mess in the dungeons had proven that.
Mageria shook her head at her mental ramblings. Opening her eyes, she found Grim staring at her with an expression that she had seen before; when she was the one more injured or weary. She would argue and he would accept it, up to a point where he felt it was time for him to ‘respectfully disobey’ his commanding officer. Once that point had been reached, he had actually once carried her away from what she was doing and forcibly relieved her of her weapons. If she hadn’t been exhausted it wouldn’t have been possible for him to do so, which was the point she supposed. Quickly she held up her hands in front of her, stopping whatever it was he was about to say.
“I will however go and rest now. I’m sure that you have things well in hand and will contact me if you need the authority to back it up.” She grinned and a spark of humor danced in her eyes. “It would be bad for morale for the Captain to be sent to bed like an overtired child.”
With one hand she half saluted Grim as she turned away, making her way back to the castle and her rooms. Once there she drew out a small string of bells, similar to ones that she had given to Sarris before the other woman went to bed. One end she attached to the door frame, the other to the door itself. If anyone tried to get into her room in the night, it would wake her up. Even if they cut the string, the bells would chime just enough to give her warning. She attached a similar string to either side of her windows as well. Finally she sat down, staring blankly at her fireplace.
"Since we are friends, yet mortal enemies, and I'm sure this is hard for you. I will take the liberty to make the first move."
Ev hadn’t even hesitated. She had when she first learned who he was and she still bore the scars from it. Blank faced, she turned to the chest next to her and drew out a small pouch of items.
A small wooden rose, carved of some exotic wood. It burned quickly when she tossed it on the fire.
A painted stone. A small glass bottle. A wooden whistle no longer than her pinkie. A tiny book of poems. All of those and more. All of them were tossed into the fire in a farewell to memories lost.
Mageria watched as the mementos burned before standing up and going to her bed. Finally allowing herself to groan at the pain of moving, she changed into an old tattered tunic and set of hose. Out of long habit she always dressed as if she would need to fight the second she woke up. With a grunt she lay down and quickly slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.
There was a sense of understanding, a give and a take. Perhaps even a negotiation that went without words. Mageria had agreed to retire for the evening, and for the Black Knight, well he decided to take a small vanguard as she suggested. Grim was an unusual sort, generally speaking he either traveled alone or with a small army at his back. Never caring to have just a contingent of warriors or even body guards. Before he had never required them, Grim was rarely the target of anything save clever assassins. Mercenaries weren’t interested often by the prospect of trying to outfight the Raging Demon. Most that had drawn the sword against Grim either had no options left, or didn’t know what he was capable of. Thus he required either a full force or none at all.
He returned Mageria’s salute and gave a nod of acknowledgement. There was no more resolute a soul in Newhaven then Mageria. Hers was a tenacity and stamina unaided by magic, that would make the finest of warriors pale by comparison. Once in a while though, she just needed a reprieve. Grim always did what he could to give her such a chance. Mageria was mighty even when she was dead tired, one could only imagine what she could do on a full nights sleep. It was scary to think that she possessed no Enlightenment. That a typical human could lead a bastion of super-powered knights.
Once free and clear of making further delegations, Grim personally picked out four Black Guard. They were younger and eager. All agreeing just to escape the walls for a time and see Valcrest for themselves. Grim didn’t wish to deplete Newhaven of its veterans and more importantly he required speed. Mageria noted that the White Shadows may come under fire any day, so Grim’s best bet was to rush out as soon as possible. Knowing well his promise to his Captain he decided to bend his word and depart that night. Leaving the first lieutenant of the Black Guard to take his stead till he was relieved.
The Guard required some time to pack, and under the tutelage of the traveler, they managed without overburdening their packs. The horses would be decided on next, and the best bet was to take the rested mares over their male counterpart. Former fillies had a tendency to keep quiet, far more useful on the night roads then one could imagine.
So it was with his four allies in tow, the Blade of the Black Knights made his way to the gate. Passing through with no trouble. Heading out into the wilds riding along the outer edge of the forest, setting a course for the White Shadow’s base of operation. A place respectfully referred to as the Ruins.
He returned Mageria’s salute and gave a nod of acknowledgement. There was no more resolute a soul in Newhaven then Mageria. Hers was a tenacity and stamina unaided by magic, that would make the finest of warriors pale by comparison. Once in a while though, she just needed a reprieve. Grim always did what he could to give her such a chance. Mageria was mighty even when she was dead tired, one could only imagine what she could do on a full nights sleep. It was scary to think that she possessed no Enlightenment. That a typical human could lead a bastion of super-powered knights.
Once free and clear of making further delegations, Grim personally picked out four Black Guard. They were younger and eager. All agreeing just to escape the walls for a time and see Valcrest for themselves. Grim didn’t wish to deplete Newhaven of its veterans and more importantly he required speed. Mageria noted that the White Shadows may come under fire any day, so Grim’s best bet was to rush out as soon as possible. Knowing well his promise to his Captain he decided to bend his word and depart that night. Leaving the first lieutenant of the Black Guard to take his stead till he was relieved.
The Guard required some time to pack, and under the tutelage of the traveler, they managed without overburdening their packs. The horses would be decided on next, and the best bet was to take the rested mares over their male counterpart. Former fillies had a tendency to keep quiet, far more useful on the night roads then one could imagine.
So it was with his four allies in tow, the Blade of the Black Knights made his way to the gate. Passing through with no trouble. Heading out into the wilds riding along the outer edge of the forest, setting a course for the White Shadow’s base of operation. A place respectfully referred to as the Ruins.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Evin wasn't even listening to Crystal. After he found out that she was just going to let him live, his blood really began to boil. It wasn't acceptable to just let him go like this. He took his dagger and struck it down even closer to Jake's head. This time, it completely took off the top of Jake's ear. He lifted his dagger up again, this time it wasn't stuck so far in the floor that it was stuck. Then he brushed it dagger up against his cheek, just letting it penetrate the thin layer of skin that protected his mouth. As the blood slowly trickled out of his face, he took a second to look at Crystal.
"Are you joking," he looked back at Jake, "because I'm really not joking here. This isn't the first time Jake has committed a felony before. He was expelled from the camp and even after that, because of some fling you two had, you wanted to bring him back to camp. Now you let him run around and kill our leaders and just let him get away with it? Sure he may be reminded every day of it, but I really don't care! He's a repeat offender of the most heinous of crimes. He needs to be en-" A knock on the door stopped him from going any further.
"Sorry to interrupt, but there's a White Knight at the gates." Sean said from the door.
"Thank you Sean." He said and got off of Jake and out of the room. "I'll go deal with this, but I'll be right back."
He went to the door and saw that Sean had welcomed himself into the house. He motioned him to get out and then followed him through the door. They both walked the slow walk to the main entrance of the camp. There were crowds of people around the common area just around the entrance and the fire. As Evin walked by with Sean beside him, the people looked at him with horror in their eyes. That's when Evin realised that all his weapons were gone and his hands were covered in some blood. They probably thought that he killed Jake, and he almost wished he went against Crystal's word and did kill Jake right on the spot. That was past him now. He grabbed a sword from one of the assassin's belt.
When the crowd of people cleared the way completely, Evin could see Allison who had been speaking to the Knight he recognised as the man who had stopped him in Newhaven the last time he was there.
From out of the crowds, he saw a familiar figure running towards him. It was Ella, who was holding a dagger and running at Evin. When Ella lunged with the dagger at Evin, he parried the dagger away, but Ella used his outreached arm to get into Evin's vulnerable space. She grabbed Evin's hand that was on the hilt, and with the other arm, elbowed Evin right in the face. Evin let go of the sword in reaction to it all, and Ella grabbed it, sprinting to the White Knight.
"This bastard's mine Evin!" She yelled.
The yelling made Allison turn around with a state of shock on her face. Evin could tell that something was wrong the instant that look came across her face. Evin wasn't sure what it was about until Allison gave him a few hand signals. He wasn't all that good at hand signals, but he believed that she was trying to say. "He wants the girl." Evin quickly caught on and his face mirrored that of Allison's. He was going to let Ella make a fool of herself, but instead he ran as fast as he could to catch up with her. It was too late, Ella stanced herself in a ready position for battle and spoke.
"You're the bastard that almost killed Ali! Now, face judgment!" She yelled.
Evin finally caught up to Ella, but it was too late. She was fully ready to try to kill the White Knight. It didn't help that the knight was after Ella either.
"Layla!" He wanted to call her something that sounded somewhat familiar. "Drop your weapon and leave. This is an act of treason. You attacked an instructor and second in command of the Pack. If I ever see you again, consider yourself dead." Ella didn't move. "Do it now or face death."
Ella jumped when the Evin mentioned death. She did exactly what Evin had told her, doing the weapon and ran off into the forest. Evin would go looking for her later, but the best place she would be was away from the camp. Evin grabbed the sword. He held it so the tip was dragging on the ground. Walking closer to the White Knight he began to laugh.
"Hey good sir! Did you find my father yet?" He took a second to laugh it off and continued with a more serious tone. "Sorry about what just happened to you. There is something wrong with that girl. Pathetic and useless. Now, what brings you here without any support."
"Are you joking," he looked back at Jake, "because I'm really not joking here. This isn't the first time Jake has committed a felony before. He was expelled from the camp and even after that, because of some fling you two had, you wanted to bring him back to camp. Now you let him run around and kill our leaders and just let him get away with it? Sure he may be reminded every day of it, but I really don't care! He's a repeat offender of the most heinous of crimes. He needs to be en-" A knock on the door stopped him from going any further.
"Sorry to interrupt, but there's a White Knight at the gates." Sean said from the door.
"Thank you Sean." He said and got off of Jake and out of the room. "I'll go deal with this, but I'll be right back."
He went to the door and saw that Sean had welcomed himself into the house. He motioned him to get out and then followed him through the door. They both walked the slow walk to the main entrance of the camp. There were crowds of people around the common area just around the entrance and the fire. As Evin walked by with Sean beside him, the people looked at him with horror in their eyes. That's when Evin realised that all his weapons were gone and his hands were covered in some blood. They probably thought that he killed Jake, and he almost wished he went against Crystal's word and did kill Jake right on the spot. That was past him now. He grabbed a sword from one of the assassin's belt.
When the crowd of people cleared the way completely, Evin could see Allison who had been speaking to the Knight he recognised as the man who had stopped him in Newhaven the last time he was there.
From out of the crowds, he saw a familiar figure running towards him. It was Ella, who was holding a dagger and running at Evin. When Ella lunged with the dagger at Evin, he parried the dagger away, but Ella used his outreached arm to get into Evin's vulnerable space. She grabbed Evin's hand that was on the hilt, and with the other arm, elbowed Evin right in the face. Evin let go of the sword in reaction to it all, and Ella grabbed it, sprinting to the White Knight.
"This bastard's mine Evin!" She yelled.
The yelling made Allison turn around with a state of shock on her face. Evin could tell that something was wrong the instant that look came across her face. Evin wasn't sure what it was about until Allison gave him a few hand signals. He wasn't all that good at hand signals, but he believed that she was trying to say. "He wants the girl." Evin quickly caught on and his face mirrored that of Allison's. He was going to let Ella make a fool of herself, but instead he ran as fast as he could to catch up with her. It was too late, Ella stanced herself in a ready position for battle and spoke.
"You're the bastard that almost killed Ali! Now, face judgment!" She yelled.
Evin finally caught up to Ella, but it was too late. She was fully ready to try to kill the White Knight. It didn't help that the knight was after Ella either.
"Layla!" He wanted to call her something that sounded somewhat familiar. "Drop your weapon and leave. This is an act of treason. You attacked an instructor and second in command of the Pack. If I ever see you again, consider yourself dead." Ella didn't move. "Do it now or face death."
Ella jumped when the Evin mentioned death. She did exactly what Evin had told her, doing the weapon and ran off into the forest. Evin would go looking for her later, but the best place she would be was away from the camp. Evin grabbed the sword. He held it so the tip was dragging on the ground. Walking closer to the White Knight he began to laugh.
"Hey good sir! Did you find my father yet?" He took a second to laugh it off and continued with a more serious tone. "Sorry about what just happened to you. There is something wrong with that girl. Pathetic and useless. Now, what brings you here without any support."
Once again Daniel found himself laughing even though the pain was increasing and most parts of his armor was stained in his own blood. When the girl he had seen before with the assassin he had captured came rushing towards him with a sword in her hands, He had not acted like he should have; He hadn't moved a inch. It wasn't because he felt safe in this place, amongst these people, but the pain gave him this weird feeling that whatever happened to him now could not be worse than what would happen if he didn't treat this wound soon. The man who had not only stopped the girl from killing Daniel but also made him laugh once more was no one less than the same guy Daniel had been discussing with a day or two earlier. No, he had not found the guys father and he suspected that his father was probably just a lie to deceive the White Knight. However, there was no hard feeling really. Daniel might had done the same, given the chance.
"Sorry about what just happened to you. There is something wrong with that girl. Pathetic and useless. Now, what brings you here without any support." The man asked with a common serious tone that most people in Valcrest spoke with during times like these. Daniel brought himself up from the ground and sighed heavily as he directed his full attention towards the man in front of him.
"Ah, the person who brings me here..." Daniel began and let out a painfully grunt. The arrow must have hit a nerve or maybe even an artery of some sort. "... My business here is with the blind woman and a one of your apprentices. You see, I seek this young girl, Ella is her name. Me, the blind girl and this Ella must talk as soon as possible. But first, would it be too much to ask for some bandages and something to ease this immense pain?" Daniel explained and begged with a sincere tone to his reasonable voice. He had to stay focused, but in order to be that he had to get rid of this pain.
"Sorry about what just happened to you. There is something wrong with that girl. Pathetic and useless. Now, what brings you here without any support." The man asked with a common serious tone that most people in Valcrest spoke with during times like these. Daniel brought himself up from the ground and sighed heavily as he directed his full attention towards the man in front of him.
"Ah, the person who brings me here..." Daniel began and let out a painfully grunt. The arrow must have hit a nerve or maybe even an artery of some sort. "... My business here is with the blind woman and a one of your apprentices. You see, I seek this young girl, Ella is her name. Me, the blind girl and this Ella must talk as soon as possible. But first, would it be too much to ask for some bandages and something to ease this immense pain?" Daniel explained and begged with a sincere tone to his reasonable voice. He had to stay focused, but in order to be that he had to get rid of this pain.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Phelix had take his orders and hastily left Black Pond. He used one of the castle horses and arrived to the Ruins within two days time. When he arrived they asked for his weapons. He handed over his blow dart and such, but didn't mention his best weapon was his hands, which may have been bandaged and made useless. He then needed to talk with the leader of the white shadows.
"Is it possible now to discuss some things with your leader, captain, or head healer?" Phelix asked sincerely.
"I'm sorry, not at this late hour. I can tell her that you are here on official business and that it is rather important in the morning," Said the male healer who escorted Phelix to a quaint little cottage in which he would stay.
"I do appreciate all you have done to help me," Phelix said with a bow. The man left and Phelix sat down on his bed. Within minutes he was asleep, having not slept much on the trail. He instantly began to dream:
One of the first times Phelix felt great after having told Krander about his love for him was when he had received a letter from Krander asking him to come visit. He told him when to meet him and where so as to get into the castle, but it seemed quite easy as well as laid back, and was in the written language they used with such simple coding that a fourth year student could figure it out. However, it was more safe than just discussing it straightforwardly during war.
Phelix luckily was given time off and he escaped to Newhaven. With all the money he had saved he bought a small hut there for himself. It wasn't that he was making tons of money, but that he rarely had time to spend it, not even on food, as most things were provided within the castle and he rarely left. He brought a hefty penny with himself to enjoy the market in Newhaven as well as he could.
He rode on through the night and arrived at Newhaven in record time, probably Valcrest Record. When he arrived Krander met him in the set location and they began wandering the castle. It was weird, Phelix thought, how similar their castles were. The color, decoration scheme, even some of the tunnels and layouts were exactly the same. There must have been the same head architect for both. As they wandered Krander was called upon for duty. After the messenger left Krander explained exactly how to get to his quarters. He left running to catch up to the messenger and Phelix slowly and carefully went on his way. About five minutes later he was in the hall way of Kranders room, so he hoped, when someone grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled. He immediately brought his elbow down bending their arm, put pressure on the palm releasing the fingers, spun around under the arm and put the arm behind the persons back.
It then registered what had been said. A female voice had asked "And what do you think you are doing in here?" As he processed the question a dagger was a drawn, a twist was done to be out of the hold and Phelix found himself up against the wall with a dagger inches from his face.
"Do not make me ask you again." she said sternly.
Phelix looked into her eyes and for a moment got lost. They were so empty, and void, but still somehow so full of life, and spirit. He turned his head to the side with a confused look. She seemed taken aback, as if maybe he didn't speak the same language as her.
He shook his head and returned her question with a question. "And why is that of importance to you?"
She snorted, "Because in the castle I protect, I need to know all things."
Phelix rolled his eyes. "Well if you must know, sir," he said cockily, "I am here to visit a dear friend of mine."
"EHHH! Wrong answer," Mageria said mockingly. "One more try stranger?"
"I'll stick with my original answer thank you." he smiled at her.
"Then I'll stick with my gut instinct and remove another assassin from this planet!" She drug up her dagger into the air and swung it down.
Before Phelix could even deny the allegations she struck. He had dodged the blade but was still nicked on the mid ear on his left side. He then put his legs up around her neck quickly and pulled the arm around his throat into a hold that was very painful on the wrist and shoulder. She let out a grunt but punched him in the ass crack and spun up on top of him. Drawing back the dagger again she swung it down forcibly. Just as it was about to hit his chest...
Phelix woke up sweating. Luckily he didn't think he had screamed, for he didn't want to bring some white shadows upon him when none were needed. He got up and paced for a few short minutes then returned to bed to finish his dream.
He had dodged the blade but was still nicked on the mid ear on his left side. He then put his legs up around her neck quickly and pulled the arm around his throat into a hold that was very painful on the wrist and shoulder. She let out a grunt but punched him in the ass crack and spun up on top of him. Drawing back the dagger again she swung it down forcibly. Just as it was about to hit his chest Phelix closed his eyes. He heard a loud clang and a strong pain in his chest. He opened his eyes and saw the dagger had struck his necklace and the tip was garbage. The woman quickly realized this and started with the side of it as an attack. He wrapped his legs up around her shoulders and pulled her off of him, also pushing her down the hall a bit, and got to his feet so he could fight.
"Kid, I like you, too bad you won't be around for a pint at the pub." She drew her sword and came at him. He rolled to the side and backflipped back to his feet. "Too bad for you this is not how I enjoy my first dates." he said mocking the woman. She swung a wide arch with her sword and he jumped backwards. As she raised her sword again someone grabbed it and threw it. Phelix hadn't even noticed the most handsome man in the world approach, and wondered why he hadn't yelled.
"Enough!" he whispered forcibly." This is my guest Mageria."
"You know guests aren't allowed Captain." She replied.
"This is a special guest," he said looking right at Phelix. "Please, go pick up your sword and put it away."
She did as he asked and then her eyes seemed to light up. She began to laugh, but only a small amount. Phelix found this odd. She approached Phelix with her hand drawn, and he flinched. "I see I have met Mrs. Krander." she joked shaking his hand. "I am Mageria, seemingly the bodygaurd of this man," she said nodding towards Krander, "Although my job description is something different all together."
Phelix looked at Krander who was smiling, and then smiled himself. He shook her hand and introduced himself.
"It is far too bad you aren't a Black Knight," she said to him. "That was an incredible show of hand to hand combat on your part and we would love to train against someone of your caliber."
"Well, it comes in handy with controlling this guy," Phelix said about Krander, still in disbelief of the whole scenario.
"So you aren't surprised?" Krander asked shakily.
"Surprised? Yes. Upset or anything but joyous for you? No. You think I have time to worry about what two men do behind closed doors? I am trying to protect my guards and this castle. I don't have time to worry about such petty things." she replied sternly.
He looked at her, and Phelix could sense some kind of bond between them that was very strong.
"Besides," she continued, "it is the same no matter what, all the good ones are taken." She looked them both in the eye, nodded slowly, and walked off to finish her patrol.
Phelix stared bewildered at how a fight for his life had turned into a friendship of sorts. He looked at Krander and followed him inside to his room.
"Is it possible now to discuss some things with your leader, captain, or head healer?" Phelix asked sincerely.
"I'm sorry, not at this late hour. I can tell her that you are here on official business and that it is rather important in the morning," Said the male healer who escorted Phelix to a quaint little cottage in which he would stay.
"I do appreciate all you have done to help me," Phelix said with a bow. The man left and Phelix sat down on his bed. Within minutes he was asleep, having not slept much on the trail. He instantly began to dream:
One of the first times Phelix felt great after having told Krander about his love for him was when he had received a letter from Krander asking him to come visit. He told him when to meet him and where so as to get into the castle, but it seemed quite easy as well as laid back, and was in the written language they used with such simple coding that a fourth year student could figure it out. However, it was more safe than just discussing it straightforwardly during war.
Phelix luckily was given time off and he escaped to Newhaven. With all the money he had saved he bought a small hut there for himself. It wasn't that he was making tons of money, but that he rarely had time to spend it, not even on food, as most things were provided within the castle and he rarely left. He brought a hefty penny with himself to enjoy the market in Newhaven as well as he could.
He rode on through the night and arrived at Newhaven in record time, probably Valcrest Record. When he arrived Krander met him in the set location and they began wandering the castle. It was weird, Phelix thought, how similar their castles were. The color, decoration scheme, even some of the tunnels and layouts were exactly the same. There must have been the same head architect for both. As they wandered Krander was called upon for duty. After the messenger left Krander explained exactly how to get to his quarters. He left running to catch up to the messenger and Phelix slowly and carefully went on his way. About five minutes later he was in the hall way of Kranders room, so he hoped, when someone grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled. He immediately brought his elbow down bending their arm, put pressure on the palm releasing the fingers, spun around under the arm and put the arm behind the persons back.
It then registered what had been said. A female voice had asked "And what do you think you are doing in here?" As he processed the question a dagger was a drawn, a twist was done to be out of the hold and Phelix found himself up against the wall with a dagger inches from his face.
"Do not make me ask you again." she said sternly.
Phelix looked into her eyes and for a moment got lost. They were so empty, and void, but still somehow so full of life, and spirit. He turned his head to the side with a confused look. She seemed taken aback, as if maybe he didn't speak the same language as her.
He shook his head and returned her question with a question. "And why is that of importance to you?"
She snorted, "Because in the castle I protect, I need to know all things."
Phelix rolled his eyes. "Well if you must know, sir," he said cockily, "I am here to visit a dear friend of mine."
"EHHH! Wrong answer," Mageria said mockingly. "One more try stranger?"
"I'll stick with my original answer thank you." he smiled at her.
"Then I'll stick with my gut instinct and remove another assassin from this planet!" She drug up her dagger into the air and swung it down.
Before Phelix could even deny the allegations she struck. He had dodged the blade but was still nicked on the mid ear on his left side. He then put his legs up around her neck quickly and pulled the arm around his throat into a hold that was very painful on the wrist and shoulder. She let out a grunt but punched him in the ass crack and spun up on top of him. Drawing back the dagger again she swung it down forcibly. Just as it was about to hit his chest...
Phelix woke up sweating. Luckily he didn't think he had screamed, for he didn't want to bring some white shadows upon him when none were needed. He got up and paced for a few short minutes then returned to bed to finish his dream.
He had dodged the blade but was still nicked on the mid ear on his left side. He then put his legs up around her neck quickly and pulled the arm around his throat into a hold that was very painful on the wrist and shoulder. She let out a grunt but punched him in the ass crack and spun up on top of him. Drawing back the dagger again she swung it down forcibly. Just as it was about to hit his chest Phelix closed his eyes. He heard a loud clang and a strong pain in his chest. He opened his eyes and saw the dagger had struck his necklace and the tip was garbage. The woman quickly realized this and started with the side of it as an attack. He wrapped his legs up around her shoulders and pulled her off of him, also pushing her down the hall a bit, and got to his feet so he could fight.
"Kid, I like you, too bad you won't be around for a pint at the pub." She drew her sword and came at him. He rolled to the side and backflipped back to his feet. "Too bad for you this is not how I enjoy my first dates." he said mocking the woman. She swung a wide arch with her sword and he jumped backwards. As she raised her sword again someone grabbed it and threw it. Phelix hadn't even noticed the most handsome man in the world approach, and wondered why he hadn't yelled.
"Enough!" he whispered forcibly." This is my guest Mageria."
"You know guests aren't allowed Captain." She replied.
"This is a special guest," he said looking right at Phelix. "Please, go pick up your sword and put it away."
She did as he asked and then her eyes seemed to light up. She began to laugh, but only a small amount. Phelix found this odd. She approached Phelix with her hand drawn, and he flinched. "I see I have met Mrs. Krander." she joked shaking his hand. "I am Mageria, seemingly the bodygaurd of this man," she said nodding towards Krander, "Although my job description is something different all together."
Phelix looked at Krander who was smiling, and then smiled himself. He shook her hand and introduced himself.
"It is far too bad you aren't a Black Knight," she said to him. "That was an incredible show of hand to hand combat on your part and we would love to train against someone of your caliber."
"Well, it comes in handy with controlling this guy," Phelix said about Krander, still in disbelief of the whole scenario.
"So you aren't surprised?" Krander asked shakily.
"Surprised? Yes. Upset or anything but joyous for you? No. You think I have time to worry about what two men do behind closed doors? I am trying to protect my guards and this castle. I don't have time to worry about such petty things." she replied sternly.
He looked at her, and Phelix could sense some kind of bond between them that was very strong.
"Besides," she continued, "it is the same no matter what, all the good ones are taken." She looked them both in the eye, nodded slowly, and walked off to finish her patrol.
Phelix stared bewildered at how a fight for his life had turned into a friendship of sorts. He looked at Krander and followed him inside to his room.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Assassin's Camp
"Ella. Ella is the girl I've been looking for..." The words caused a sudden wave of shock t go through Ali the moment they reached her ears. What could this man want with Ella? Then she remembered the story the man had told her and, internally, she felt her shock increase. She managed not to respond to the name though, nothing showed on her face other than simple curiosity. "Well... I don't really know what this is about, but..."
"This bastard's mine Evin!" Ali turned when she heard Ella's voice, not really knowing how to handle the situation now. All she could bring herself to do was warn Evin so he could figure out how to drag her out of there. Anything more could be too dangerous. She didn't stop to watch Evin manage to get Ella to give up the idea of killing Daniel. She walked away from Daniel as Evin approached the man and walked towards Sean. The way in which she approached him, however, would be considered strange to anyone who knew Ali. She walked towards Sean and put one arm around his neck and leaned against him as if she was suddenly feeling faint. Even if they were close friends, which they were not, and she was actually feeling faint, which she wasn't, that was just not something she would usually do. However, she didn't want anyone else to hear.
"Did you see anything in there?" She whispered to him.
"No. I tried, but I didn't see Crys or Jake... What the hell is going on here?" He whispered back to her.
"I haven't got the slightest clue, but I'm going to buy us some time to figure it out." She sighed as caught a glimpse of Ella running away into the forest. "See if you can find Ella, make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble and keep her the hell away from here." She told him, pulling away from him and walking past towards the healers' cabin.
She chuckled seeing Annie passed out in one of the beds of the cabin, the girl was going to have one hell of a shock when she woke up in the morning and someone told her what she missed. It was better this way, though... Ali knew that Annie probably wouldn't agree with what she was about to do. She walked around the girl's bed until she found her bag. She immediately went through it and pulled a black wooden box. "If Lena knew what I've been doing the past couple of days..." Ali sighed, opening the box an looking at vials. They were all labeled with different colors. Every color represented a specific effect and the intensity of the color represented the strength of the poison. "Green... stomach poisoning. Yellow... Skin rashes. Red... Internal bleeding. Black... Instant death. Grey... Slow death. Blue... Damn, is blue sleep or respiratory failure?" Ali muttered to herself trying to remember. The other two colors left were orange and purple. "Orange is paralysis. So... Is it blue or purple?" She frowned for a second then picked a light blue vial. "Screw it. Worse case scenario I'll kill the man." She put Annie's kit away, giving the sleeping girl a small glance as if to make sure she wouldn't be caught going through her property.
Finally she took a small flask of rum and some bandages, she dropped the contents of the vial in the rum and soaked the bandages in it, and walked back to Daniel. She got the man's armor plates out of the way and began to clean and bandage the wound. "Eh, I've seen worse." She stated. The arrow had probably nicked a nerve or something. It would probably limit his movement in that arm for some time, but at least he wouldn't bleed to death. "Don't worry about the pain. That should cease to be a problem really soon." She stated with a little smirk. Not a minute after she said that, the man fell unconscious. Ali crouched down to make sure he was breathing... He was. She smiled. "Oh, goody! I didn't pick the wrong poison!" She nodded towards the guards. "Drag the old man to the healers to get proper treatment." She told them. Then she turned to Evin with a concerned look. "I don't know what the hell was that..." She pointed towards the direction Jake's shouting had come from. "Or what the hell is this." She nodded towards the unconscious Knight that was now being dragged by four guards. "But he will be waking up in twelve hours and I strongly suggest that you and Crys sort this out before then." She yawned. "I'd love to do more, but I touched those bandages and I'm going to use the minutes I have left to reach my bed." With that she started to walk back to her house, waving over her shoulder. "Night, Evin."
--------------------
Jake hadn't moved a muscle, or uttered a sound. His mind had gone to another place. Having a dagger break his skin didn't compare to the pain he felt inside. It was just unbearable for him to consider existence from now on. Sure, he had faced expulsion once, as Evin had kindly pointed out, but that was different. That was a technicality. This was the real thing. The one only family he had ever had was now destroyed, and he had done it with his own hands.
Even after Evin had gone, Jake simply lay on the floor, bleeding, motionless. Crys' words still spinning in his mind, he knew she had meant every one.
"His life is already over and he knows it. Death is a release he just doesn't deserve."
Jake would have stayed on the ground, indifferent to the blood and tears running down his face, until Evin came back and decided to just go ahead and kill him despite Crystal's will. He would welcomed death at this point, but then Crys spoke and broke him out of his stupor.
"Get out." She muttered.
Jake opened his eyes and noticed she had moved to sit on her bed, face hidden in her hands. He sat up, wiping some of blood on his face. "Why won't you just let him do it?" He asked, not minding just how weak his voice sounded.
"Just go. Get away from me." She said.
"I swear, Crys, I never..." He started.
"Get... The hell... Out." She exclaimed. "I don't want you in my house, I don't want you in this camp, and I no longer want you in my life Jake. The only real reason why I won't kill you myself is the fact that right now that might be more than I can handle. So, just leave."
Jake slowly stood up, giving up the thought of explaining himself, and knowing that Crys would definitely not let Evin kill him... He walked the few steps to the window and made his way out through it, slowly walking out of camp. He didn't really bother to run, and he didn't care if he was seen. "Well... I guess it's over now." He whispered. Heading towards the ruins... It was the only place he could think of. If he was lucky enough, maybe Lena would want him dead for killing Dani.
-------------------------
Crys waited for Jake to leave before moving. Evin said that he would handle what was happening out there, if Daniel asked for her she would be called, she assumed. So she found it best not to go out and be bombarded by questions that she didn't know how to answer, also... She didn't want to tell Daniel of her suspicions until she could confirm them. If she wasn't there he couldn't ask, and if he didn't play nice when surrounded by assassins, well... Then he was just plain stupid.
She laid down on the bed, one arm underneath her head and with her free hand she began drawing in the air with her index finger as she let the thought pass through her mind. One question came back to mind, funny enough, Jake had asked it: "Is something out of place?"
Now, stopping to think about it... There were a lot of things out of place when it came to her mother's death, a lot of things. First, if her mother knew what she asked Jake to do and expected to live... Why didn't she say something? She had more than enough time and opportunity to do that. If Jake had done anything more than what she had ordered, why would she cover for him? Crys nodded, let out a sigh. "Stop it, you idiot. You're hoping, not thinking."
The next words that came to her were ones her father had told her a long time ago. "There is not truth... Only perception." The problem was, the way she perceived it... Too many things just didn't make sense. Trying to hang on to those thoughts, however, proved to be pointless. Even with everything that happened, it didn't take her very long to drift off to sleep.
"This bastard's mine Evin!" Ali turned when she heard Ella's voice, not really knowing how to handle the situation now. All she could bring herself to do was warn Evin so he could figure out how to drag her out of there. Anything more could be too dangerous. She didn't stop to watch Evin manage to get Ella to give up the idea of killing Daniel. She walked away from Daniel as Evin approached the man and walked towards Sean. The way in which she approached him, however, would be considered strange to anyone who knew Ali. She walked towards Sean and put one arm around his neck and leaned against him as if she was suddenly feeling faint. Even if they were close friends, which they were not, and she was actually feeling faint, which she wasn't, that was just not something she would usually do. However, she didn't want anyone else to hear.
"Did you see anything in there?" She whispered to him.
"No. I tried, but I didn't see Crys or Jake... What the hell is going on here?" He whispered back to her.
"I haven't got the slightest clue, but I'm going to buy us some time to figure it out." She sighed as caught a glimpse of Ella running away into the forest. "See if you can find Ella, make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble and keep her the hell away from here." She told him, pulling away from him and walking past towards the healers' cabin.
She chuckled seeing Annie passed out in one of the beds of the cabin, the girl was going to have one hell of a shock when she woke up in the morning and someone told her what she missed. It was better this way, though... Ali knew that Annie probably wouldn't agree with what she was about to do. She walked around the girl's bed until she found her bag. She immediately went through it and pulled a black wooden box. "If Lena knew what I've been doing the past couple of days..." Ali sighed, opening the box an looking at vials. They were all labeled with different colors. Every color represented a specific effect and the intensity of the color represented the strength of the poison. "Green... stomach poisoning. Yellow... Skin rashes. Red... Internal bleeding. Black... Instant death. Grey... Slow death. Blue... Damn, is blue sleep or respiratory failure?" Ali muttered to herself trying to remember. The other two colors left were orange and purple. "Orange is paralysis. So... Is it blue or purple?" She frowned for a second then picked a light blue vial. "Screw it. Worse case scenario I'll kill the man." She put Annie's kit away, giving the sleeping girl a small glance as if to make sure she wouldn't be caught going through her property.
Finally she took a small flask of rum and some bandages, she dropped the contents of the vial in the rum and soaked the bandages in it, and walked back to Daniel. She got the man's armor plates out of the way and began to clean and bandage the wound. "Eh, I've seen worse." She stated. The arrow had probably nicked a nerve or something. It would probably limit his movement in that arm for some time, but at least he wouldn't bleed to death. "Don't worry about the pain. That should cease to be a problem really soon." She stated with a little smirk. Not a minute after she said that, the man fell unconscious. Ali crouched down to make sure he was breathing... He was. She smiled. "Oh, goody! I didn't pick the wrong poison!" She nodded towards the guards. "Drag the old man to the healers to get proper treatment." She told them. Then she turned to Evin with a concerned look. "I don't know what the hell was that..." She pointed towards the direction Jake's shouting had come from. "Or what the hell is this." She nodded towards the unconscious Knight that was now being dragged by four guards. "But he will be waking up in twelve hours and I strongly suggest that you and Crys sort this out before then." She yawned. "I'd love to do more, but I touched those bandages and I'm going to use the minutes I have left to reach my bed." With that she started to walk back to her house, waving over her shoulder. "Night, Evin."
--------------------
Jake hadn't moved a muscle, or uttered a sound. His mind had gone to another place. Having a dagger break his skin didn't compare to the pain he felt inside. It was just unbearable for him to consider existence from now on. Sure, he had faced expulsion once, as Evin had kindly pointed out, but that was different. That was a technicality. This was the real thing. The one only family he had ever had was now destroyed, and he had done it with his own hands.
Even after Evin had gone, Jake simply lay on the floor, bleeding, motionless. Crys' words still spinning in his mind, he knew she had meant every one.
"His life is already over and he knows it. Death is a release he just doesn't deserve."
Jake would have stayed on the ground, indifferent to the blood and tears running down his face, until Evin came back and decided to just go ahead and kill him despite Crystal's will. He would welcomed death at this point, but then Crys spoke and broke him out of his stupor.
"Get out." She muttered.
Jake opened his eyes and noticed she had moved to sit on her bed, face hidden in her hands. He sat up, wiping some of blood on his face. "Why won't you just let him do it?" He asked, not minding just how weak his voice sounded.
"Just go. Get away from me." She said.
"I swear, Crys, I never..." He started.
"Get... The hell... Out." She exclaimed. "I don't want you in my house, I don't want you in this camp, and I no longer want you in my life Jake. The only real reason why I won't kill you myself is the fact that right now that might be more than I can handle. So, just leave."
Jake slowly stood up, giving up the thought of explaining himself, and knowing that Crys would definitely not let Evin kill him... He walked the few steps to the window and made his way out through it, slowly walking out of camp. He didn't really bother to run, and he didn't care if he was seen. "Well... I guess it's over now." He whispered. Heading towards the ruins... It was the only place he could think of. If he was lucky enough, maybe Lena would want him dead for killing Dani.
-------------------------
Crys waited for Jake to leave before moving. Evin said that he would handle what was happening out there, if Daniel asked for her she would be called, she assumed. So she found it best not to go out and be bombarded by questions that she didn't know how to answer, also... She didn't want to tell Daniel of her suspicions until she could confirm them. If she wasn't there he couldn't ask, and if he didn't play nice when surrounded by assassins, well... Then he was just plain stupid.
She laid down on the bed, one arm underneath her head and with her free hand she began drawing in the air with her index finger as she let the thought pass through her mind. One question came back to mind, funny enough, Jake had asked it: "Is something out of place?"
Now, stopping to think about it... There were a lot of things out of place when it came to her mother's death, a lot of things. First, if her mother knew what she asked Jake to do and expected to live... Why didn't she say something? She had more than enough time and opportunity to do that. If Jake had done anything more than what she had ordered, why would she cover for him? Crys nodded, let out a sigh. "Stop it, you idiot. You're hoping, not thinking."
The next words that came to her were ones her father had told her a long time ago. "There is not truth... Only perception." The problem was, the way she perceived it... Too many things just didn't make sense. Trying to hang on to those thoughts, however, proved to be pointless. Even with everything that happened, it didn't take her very long to drift off to sleep.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria woke up with a start when the bells on her door rang. Before she was even awake, she was halfway out of bed with her dagger in her hand. Frowning, she looked around. The person at the door didn’t try to come in, just shaking it enough to annoy her. With an annoyed sigh she walked to the door, untying the bells and looking out, her dagger in one hand.
To her confusion she didn’t see anyone on the other side. A quick look up and down the corridor didn’t reveal anything either. It was only when she looked down that she had some sort of clue as to who had been rude enough to wake her up. A small covered tray sat at her feet with a note resting on top. She shook her head and picked it up, going back to her room and sitting at the small table.
Mageria. The medic was was definitely not happy about you walking out. You owe me. The tea is to be drunk twice a day until the headaches stop. If you don’t, I’ll tell Grim that you’re overdoing it.
K
Mageria scowled at the note. “That’s blackmail.” She lifted the lid to take a look at what Krander had left her. It was the makings of a substantial breakfast, with the threatened cup of tea sitting innocently to one side, with a packet of the herbs sitting next to it. With a slight shake of her head she set to, making short work of the meal and drinking the tea. As always, it tasted foul. But it did help the headache.
It was only after she was done that she heard another knock on the door. Opening it, she found Sarris standing on the other side, holding a sealed envelope. She held it out with a half smile. “A man named Michael asked me to give this to you. Something about not wanting to bother you before you had something to eat.”
Mageria held out her hand and laughed. “I have something of a reputation for not waking up well.” She pried it open and started reading, gesturing absently at the other chair. “Please, Lady, sit down.” A quick scan of the note revealed a number of disturbing bits of news. She looked up and grimaced, not wanting to share it but not having any choice.
“Well. We’ve managed to capture almost everyone that got lose in the riot. Aside from a handful, they’re all either confirmed dead or recaptured. The assassin that we were questioning is gone, but that’s not a surprise. The more troubling thing is that the White Knight Daniel is gone. Evidently he went out late last night and hasn’t come back. Knowing him, he’s found some sort of cause to chase down. Without backup of course. And Grim went off to question the White Shadows about the robes and the missing ring that we discovered. At least he took some people with him.”
Rising, Mageria went to her desk and penned a quick note, telling Krander that she needed to see him as soon as possible. Sticking her head out of the door, she summoned a passing servant and charged them with getting it to him as quickly as possible. Then she turned and took a good long look at Sarris.
“I think the best idea right now is to take you around and let you have a look at things. Once people know your back, things will start changing. Which is a good thing, but you need to see what they’re like right now.”
Sarris nodded crossed her legs. “Your recommendations?” She tapped one finger thoughtfully on her knee. “I’ll admit that I don’t really care about the assassins at the moment. We don’t know enough about what’s going on for me to feel comfortable about continuing to push them.” She rose and went to the window. “I want to start rebuilding. Newhaven was a great city once. We should return it to that.” Then she turned and took a good look at Mageria.
“You still haven't told me anything about why I should keep you in your current position. There have been a great number of things that have happened lately that could have been handled better.” She gestured with one hand while sitting down. “I don’t even know how long you were trained for this before you took over.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and half smiled. “Well Lady, I’d say that a number of the things that went wrong could have been helped by having one person in charge rather than half a dozen people all trying to fix things on their own. We’ve done the best we could ever since King Stephen died. As for the other, I was trained by Captain Morgan for about a year before he . . . died.” Some nameless emotion flickered across her face too quickly to be identified.
Sarris raised one eyebrow. “And what was it that killed the Captain of the Black Knights?”
Mageria went very still. “It was a raid on a bandit’s camp. We were out scouting and he decided that the two of us could clear it out with no trouble. We fought them and had taken most of them out. He was fighting one when another came up behind him and stabbed him through the back. I was too far away to help. I got there and killed the last bandit. I was the only one to walk away from the camp.” She had given the same report so many times during the week of inquires that she could say it with barely any trouble. Any guilt that anyone noticed could be attributed to the fact that she felt guilty about not being able to save her superior.
Sarris watched the other woman very closely. There was something off about her story, but she couldn’t tell what. Thus far, she didn’t get the same feeling of gut level distrust that she always felt about Captain Morgan. With certain things, she felt she could trust Mageria. Her main reason for coming back however, she wasn’t ready to tell to anyone. With a nod she brought both of their attention back to the present.
“I do believe you said something about showing me around?”
Mageria looked up and nodded. “Yes. Give me a moment to get dressed and we’ll go.” Sarris stood up and went back to her own room, finding that Mageria must have ordered an outfit for her while she was talking to the servant. It was a well made set of traveling leathers, with a dark grey linen shirt. She looked back out to find Mageria waiting patiently in the hallway, dressed once again as a Black Guard.
The other woman smiled. “I thought that would work. You’ve been living hard for too long to look good in a dress, if you don’t mind me saying, Lady Sarris.”
Sarris laughed. “Even before I left I didn’t like dresses. Shall we?” Mageria nodded and turned to lead the way down the hall.
To her confusion she didn’t see anyone on the other side. A quick look up and down the corridor didn’t reveal anything either. It was only when she looked down that she had some sort of clue as to who had been rude enough to wake her up. A small covered tray sat at her feet with a note resting on top. She shook her head and picked it up, going back to her room and sitting at the small table.
Mageria. The medic was was definitely not happy about you walking out. You owe me. The tea is to be drunk twice a day until the headaches stop. If you don’t, I’ll tell Grim that you’re overdoing it.
K
Mageria scowled at the note. “That’s blackmail.” She lifted the lid to take a look at what Krander had left her. It was the makings of a substantial breakfast, with the threatened cup of tea sitting innocently to one side, with a packet of the herbs sitting next to it. With a slight shake of her head she set to, making short work of the meal and drinking the tea. As always, it tasted foul. But it did help the headache.
It was only after she was done that she heard another knock on the door. Opening it, she found Sarris standing on the other side, holding a sealed envelope. She held it out with a half smile. “A man named Michael asked me to give this to you. Something about not wanting to bother you before you had something to eat.”
Mageria held out her hand and laughed. “I have something of a reputation for not waking up well.” She pried it open and started reading, gesturing absently at the other chair. “Please, Lady, sit down.” A quick scan of the note revealed a number of disturbing bits of news. She looked up and grimaced, not wanting to share it but not having any choice.
“Well. We’ve managed to capture almost everyone that got lose in the riot. Aside from a handful, they’re all either confirmed dead or recaptured. The assassin that we were questioning is gone, but that’s not a surprise. The more troubling thing is that the White Knight Daniel is gone. Evidently he went out late last night and hasn’t come back. Knowing him, he’s found some sort of cause to chase down. Without backup of course. And Grim went off to question the White Shadows about the robes and the missing ring that we discovered. At least he took some people with him.”
Rising, Mageria went to her desk and penned a quick note, telling Krander that she needed to see him as soon as possible. Sticking her head out of the door, she summoned a passing servant and charged them with getting it to him as quickly as possible. Then she turned and took a good long look at Sarris.
“I think the best idea right now is to take you around and let you have a look at things. Once people know your back, things will start changing. Which is a good thing, but you need to see what they’re like right now.”
Sarris nodded crossed her legs. “Your recommendations?” She tapped one finger thoughtfully on her knee. “I’ll admit that I don’t really care about the assassins at the moment. We don’t know enough about what’s going on for me to feel comfortable about continuing to push them.” She rose and went to the window. “I want to start rebuilding. Newhaven was a great city once. We should return it to that.” Then she turned and took a good look at Mageria.
“You still haven't told me anything about why I should keep you in your current position. There have been a great number of things that have happened lately that could have been handled better.” She gestured with one hand while sitting down. “I don’t even know how long you were trained for this before you took over.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and half smiled. “Well Lady, I’d say that a number of the things that went wrong could have been helped by having one person in charge rather than half a dozen people all trying to fix things on their own. We’ve done the best we could ever since King Stephen died. As for the other, I was trained by Captain Morgan for about a year before he . . . died.” Some nameless emotion flickered across her face too quickly to be identified.
Sarris raised one eyebrow. “And what was it that killed the Captain of the Black Knights?”
Mageria went very still. “It was a raid on a bandit’s camp. We were out scouting and he decided that the two of us could clear it out with no trouble. We fought them and had taken most of them out. He was fighting one when another came up behind him and stabbed him through the back. I was too far away to help. I got there and killed the last bandit. I was the only one to walk away from the camp.” She had given the same report so many times during the week of inquires that she could say it with barely any trouble. Any guilt that anyone noticed could be attributed to the fact that she felt guilty about not being able to save her superior.
Sarris watched the other woman very closely. There was something off about her story, but she couldn’t tell what. Thus far, she didn’t get the same feeling of gut level distrust that she always felt about Captain Morgan. With certain things, she felt she could trust Mageria. Her main reason for coming back however, she wasn’t ready to tell to anyone. With a nod she brought both of their attention back to the present.
“I do believe you said something about showing me around?”
Mageria looked up and nodded. “Yes. Give me a moment to get dressed and we’ll go.” Sarris stood up and went back to her own room, finding that Mageria must have ordered an outfit for her while she was talking to the servant. It was a well made set of traveling leathers, with a dark grey linen shirt. She looked back out to find Mageria waiting patiently in the hallway, dressed once again as a Black Guard.
The other woman smiled. “I thought that would work. You’ve been living hard for too long to look good in a dress, if you don’t mind me saying, Lady Sarris.”
Sarris laughed. “Even before I left I didn’t like dresses. Shall we?” Mageria nodded and turned to lead the way down the hall.
All through the night they had ridden. Their mounts were fatigued and began to slip from their pace or stumble now and again. Exhausted from constant strain, there was too few breaks and too much running. Grim normally wasn’t much for horses to begin with, the anticipation of his mission made him reckless. Excitement filled the weariness as he was now drawing to the last leg of his quest.
The Black Guard had acted admirably but they were not use to the Blade’s lifestyle. They shared the mares need to recuperate. All were tired and sleep invaded their eyes as the first ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon. As much as Grim wished he could force the last leg of their journey, he knew his followers couldn’t take much more.
They stopped at a nearby lake dismounted and tended to their horses. Doing what they could to sooth the beasts and dull the ache in their bodies. Grim allotted first watch, granting his company to all catch some needed rest. Once they were soundly asleep he departed a ways from view to get a wash. He never cared to make a bath a public ritual. Too many curious eyes wondered what was underneath all that metal. It made him uncomfortable.
The cleansing did more then wash away filth. It represented a purification, a way to rid his hands of their sin. The armor would be next to undergo such care. The blade always last and with the utmost detail put into removing any grime. When the Black Knight was satisfied he returned to the men. They were still aside from breathing lost in the deep sea of dreams.
Grim moved from them, not wishing to alert the sleepers. Posing himself against a tree a short distance away. Gazing out over the land and into the Ruins. Wondering as he often did about what the future would bring. There was still concern for the White Shadows, but Grim knew he wasn’t far now. A nap for the boys and the beasts and they’d be to their destination in no time.
The Black Guard had acted admirably but they were not use to the Blade’s lifestyle. They shared the mares need to recuperate. All were tired and sleep invaded their eyes as the first ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon. As much as Grim wished he could force the last leg of their journey, he knew his followers couldn’t take much more.
They stopped at a nearby lake dismounted and tended to their horses. Doing what they could to sooth the beasts and dull the ache in their bodies. Grim allotted first watch, granting his company to all catch some needed rest. Once they were soundly asleep he departed a ways from view to get a wash. He never cared to make a bath a public ritual. Too many curious eyes wondered what was underneath all that metal. It made him uncomfortable.
The cleansing did more then wash away filth. It represented a purification, a way to rid his hands of their sin. The armor would be next to undergo such care. The blade always last and with the utmost detail put into removing any grime. When the Black Knight was satisfied he returned to the men. They were still aside from breathing lost in the deep sea of dreams.
Grim moved from them, not wishing to alert the sleepers. Posing himself against a tree a short distance away. Gazing out over the land and into the Ruins. Wondering as he often did about what the future would bring. There was still concern for the White Shadows, but Grim knew he wasn’t far now. A nap for the boys and the beasts and they’d be to their destination in no time.
It was about midway through the night when Rory had heard of his commander's return, but it was only in the dawn, when the light made it's return to the sky's that he met with Hastings. He wasn't in the condition that he expected though. There was nothing worse, be it torture or exhaustion, then the way he looked after a night of binge drinking. Hastings didn't look, or smell good, but after Rory woke him up, he knew instantly that he felt worse than he looked. The first thing he did when he woke up was just yell. He was obviously very irritable and in a lot of pain. He could tell that he probably didn't get much sleep either. Usually, even when Hastings had spent long nights drinking, he would still be able to get up and continue with daily functions. This time he couldn't even get out of his covers to look at his King, so Rory did it for him.
"I've brought you some water." Rory said with a smile. "You have a long day ahead of you, so you better drink up."
"What they hell! I know you are the king, but that doesn't mean that you can just break into my room!" He yelled back. Hastings tried to take the cover back to put it over his head and hide from the light, but all to no avail. Rory had thrown the sheets onto the ground.
"Now drink and get up."
"You've got some nerve, you do." Hastings tried to laugh, but Rory could tell that Hastings had some trouble, probably a dry throat.
Rory handed Hastings the glass. He didn't seem all that grateful, but he didn't seem as irritated either. Rory left the room to allow Hastings to get ready for the day ahead. When Hastings finally walked out of the room he still looked terrible. The only thing that looked somewhat better was that he was no longer in the sweaty, alcohol covered clothing. He still smelt terrible and his face told Rory that he really wanted to get back into bed and just die, but there was too much to do to just lie around all day.
The two started walking, followed by Rory's two personal guards that followed him around the castle. After the assassination of King Stephen in Newhaven, precautions like this were made. They were headed to a room that was filled with the most influential people in Blackpond. This panel of advisers, that included Hastings helped Rory make his big decisions. With the arrival of Hastings back to the city, things could get back under way on the battlefront. On the way there, Rory briefed Hastings on what had gone on.
"Since you've been gone, not too much has happened, but what has happened has been important. Phelix came back from Newhaven. He didn't have anything to report, so I sent him over to discuss a way to settle things without involving our army in this. I doubt that anything will happen in that conversation with Lena. Also, we had a visitor from the Pack. Sean came to talked to us about the inn. He has confirmed to us that he wants it built. We are going to our workers to freshen things up for the Wolf Pack. You do remember the conversation we had with him before, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"Ok. Moving on; since the news of your arrival, I've been mobilising the armies. In the next few days, we will be sending them out, but we need you to have your say in the matter before we move them out. We also want you to go along with them so they have someone right on the field to shout orders. No one would be better than you and on the scale that we are planning, you are the only one who can do this with any possibility of positive results. I hope you consider the offer as the advisers discuss the events to come." Rory said as they approached the doors to the room where all big executive decisions were usually made. "Quit slouching, this isn't the first time you've arrived at one of these meetings hungover so try to look good at least. It's an embarrassment not only to you, but to me as well. Please, behave for once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest: Forest]
Ella had stopped in the forest about an hour out of the camp. She didn't take any paths along her way, but instead went through the dense forest, until she found a small clearing that she could stay in for a while. That was where she set up a camp and went to sleep. She didn't sleep too much though. She couldn't get the thoughts of everything she's gone through out of her head. All of it for nothing,. She almost hoped that the faux king that they called the Shadow and sometimes Perry, would have killed her when he had the chance. Maybe even better, Evin could have just left her in the throne room filled with explosive powder, leaving her to die when the castle went up. It was pointless to think about that now though.
Suddenly, she heard a few noises from the somewhere outside the clearing. Out of nowhere, Sean passed through the thick forest and met with Ella.
"Sean? Are you here to kill me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
Evin had a good sleep when everything started to calm down. It wasn't long, and he had some interesting dreams, but i was still good. They had a White Knight practically held captive in their camp, while a criminal was most likely wandering around the forests. He wasn't sure where he would go, but he knew that he wouldn't have stayed. And that was the biggest dilemma Evin had when he was leaving the cabin the night before. He wanted to stay there and just finish things there, but he knew that Crystal would want to stop him. If Crystal tried to do that though he would have hurt her. He didn't want that to happen. That's why he left the room, because things would have become deadly, and he didn't want to hurt Crystal.
When he got out of bed, he went strait back to the door where Crystal was probably still sleeping. He knocked on the door, not expecting an answer.
"I know you let Jake go, it isn't hard to figure that out. I don't really care about that. We need to talk however. There are things that just need to be settled between the two of us before we move forward with any more action. First, you need to get up and talk to the White Knight who's here. He's the man who took Allison hostage and he is requesting to speak to you and Ella. I sent Ella away for that exact reason. When you're done with that, I'll be waiting at the lake." He stood there as he thought about anything else he might have had to say. "Of course, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. I'll be waiting there all day."
Evin then left the cabin and went to the lake like he said he would. He simply listen to the sounds of nature as he meditated on everything that was happening. How would they solve all the problems they have?
"I've brought you some water." Rory said with a smile. "You have a long day ahead of you, so you better drink up."
"What they hell! I know you are the king, but that doesn't mean that you can just break into my room!" He yelled back. Hastings tried to take the cover back to put it over his head and hide from the light, but all to no avail. Rory had thrown the sheets onto the ground.
"Now drink and get up."
"You've got some nerve, you do." Hastings tried to laugh, but Rory could tell that Hastings had some trouble, probably a dry throat.
Rory handed Hastings the glass. He didn't seem all that grateful, but he didn't seem as irritated either. Rory left the room to allow Hastings to get ready for the day ahead. When Hastings finally walked out of the room he still looked terrible. The only thing that looked somewhat better was that he was no longer in the sweaty, alcohol covered clothing. He still smelt terrible and his face told Rory that he really wanted to get back into bed and just die, but there was too much to do to just lie around all day.
The two started walking, followed by Rory's two personal guards that followed him around the castle. After the assassination of King Stephen in Newhaven, precautions like this were made. They were headed to a room that was filled with the most influential people in Blackpond. This panel of advisers, that included Hastings helped Rory make his big decisions. With the arrival of Hastings back to the city, things could get back under way on the battlefront. On the way there, Rory briefed Hastings on what had gone on.
"Since you've been gone, not too much has happened, but what has happened has been important. Phelix came back from Newhaven. He didn't have anything to report, so I sent him over to discuss a way to settle things without involving our army in this. I doubt that anything will happen in that conversation with Lena. Also, we had a visitor from the Pack. Sean came to talked to us about the inn. He has confirmed to us that he wants it built. We are going to our workers to freshen things up for the Wolf Pack. You do remember the conversation we had with him before, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"Ok. Moving on; since the news of your arrival, I've been mobilising the armies. In the next few days, we will be sending them out, but we need you to have your say in the matter before we move them out. We also want you to go along with them so they have someone right on the field to shout orders. No one would be better than you and on the scale that we are planning, you are the only one who can do this with any possibility of positive results. I hope you consider the offer as the advisers discuss the events to come." Rory said as they approached the doors to the room where all big executive decisions were usually made. "Quit slouching, this isn't the first time you've arrived at one of these meetings hungover so try to look good at least. It's an embarrassment not only to you, but to me as well. Please, behave for once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Valcrest: Forest]
Ella had stopped in the forest about an hour out of the camp. She didn't take any paths along her way, but instead went through the dense forest, until she found a small clearing that she could stay in for a while. That was where she set up a camp and went to sleep. She didn't sleep too much though. She couldn't get the thoughts of everything she's gone through out of her head. All of it for nothing,. She almost hoped that the faux king that they called the Shadow and sometimes Perry, would have killed her when he had the chance. Maybe even better, Evin could have just left her in the throne room filled with explosive powder, leaving her to die when the castle went up. It was pointless to think about that now though.
Suddenly, she heard a few noises from the somewhere outside the clearing. Out of nowhere, Sean passed through the thick forest and met with Ella.
"Sean? Are you here to kill me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
Evin had a good sleep when everything started to calm down. It wasn't long, and he had some interesting dreams, but i was still good. They had a White Knight practically held captive in their camp, while a criminal was most likely wandering around the forests. He wasn't sure where he would go, but he knew that he wouldn't have stayed. And that was the biggest dilemma Evin had when he was leaving the cabin the night before. He wanted to stay there and just finish things there, but he knew that Crystal would want to stop him. If Crystal tried to do that though he would have hurt her. He didn't want that to happen. That's why he left the room, because things would have become deadly, and he didn't want to hurt Crystal.
When he got out of bed, he went strait back to the door where Crystal was probably still sleeping. He knocked on the door, not expecting an answer.
"I know you let Jake go, it isn't hard to figure that out. I don't really care about that. We need to talk however. There are things that just need to be settled between the two of us before we move forward with any more action. First, you need to get up and talk to the White Knight who's here. He's the man who took Allison hostage and he is requesting to speak to you and Ella. I sent Ella away for that exact reason. When you're done with that, I'll be waiting at the lake." He stood there as he thought about anything else he might have had to say. "Of course, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. I'll be waiting there all day."
Evin then left the cabin and went to the lake like he said he would. He simply listen to the sounds of nature as he meditated on everything that was happening. How would they solve all the problems they have?
The setting changes from Blackpond to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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It was a couple of hours before sunrise when Jake reached the ruins. The healers that asked for his weapons simply stared at him with concerned looks as he handed his sword and all the needles he was carrying. "Sir, you really should let us have a look at those wounds..." One of the men insisted as Jake walked straight past them, not really listening.
It wasn't simply the blood trail running down the left side of his face, or the fact that he was missing a slice of his ear... It was the completely blank stare on his face that worried the healers. Jake didn't stop walking until he reached the edge of the river, the limits of the Shadow's territory. He crouched down and dipped a piece of cloth in the waters in order to wipe his face, and neck, where the blood had stained him.
Not long after that, Alistair caught up with him. "Jake. Let me have a look at those cuts."
"Piss off." Jake muttered, sitting on the cold ground near the water, watching the current.
Alistair nodded kneeling down and reaching towards Jake's face. That wasn't the most well though out move and soon Alistar found himself face down on the floor, with his arm twisted behind his back. "It's fine." He laughed, as two other healers came rushing towards him and Jake. One of the men had a reddish glow beginning to spread across his eyes. That caused Alistair's tone to turn more severe. "Isaac, I said it's fine!"
The man stopped, glaring at Jake. "If you say so." He muttered, turning around.
Alistair sighed, slightly. "Jake, if you don't let me check those wounds I will be forced to wake up your aunt. Would you rather have to deal with her?"
Jake hesitated, but realized he would rather not face Lena quite yet. He released Alistair and sat back down, facing the man. "Fine. Make it quick."
Alistair nodded, sitting up, and gathering things that had fallen out of his bag, which Jake had made him drop. No vials had been broken, so he simply put them away and began pulling out what he would need. He moved closer to Jake and turned his head, so he could get a better look. "The cut on your face might not leave a permanent scar, if you're lucky." He mentioned. "You will be missing a piece of your ear permanently though." He stated.
"Whatever." Jake sighed.
"Want to talk about it?" Alistair asked. "This will hurt." He warned, before touching Jake's ear with a pasty, green, and smelly balm.
Jake winced as he felt his wounded ear begin to burn when treated with the medicine. "I'd rather talk about this as little as possible, so... Unless you would like to give the facts to Her Worshipness yourself... No, I don't want to talk about it." He answered.
Alistair laughed out when he heard the way in which Jake referred to Lena. "Her Worshipness? Oh, that's a good one. I have to remember it!"
Jake couldn't help but laugh a little himself. Although that made the pain increase, it made him feel a little better. "I would pay to hear you say that to her face." He chuckled. "I really would."
"Oh, really?" Alistair asked with a little smirk. "So... I assume you will be staying with us?" He asked.
"If she'll let me." Jake stated. He noticed that Isaac was still shooting him glares. He nodded towards the man, which was stupid since Alistair was trying to stitch up his face. "Ouch! Dammit! That guy is new, isn't he?"
Alistair nodded. "Hold still, please. Yes. He's new. Pyrokinetic abilities. And he is not one of the most dangerous people we have here, but him... I don't think he will survive initiation. He has problems letting go of his anger, as you might have noticed, and he loses control over his abilities way too often."
"Hum." Jake mumbled. "What do you mean, survive?" He asked, realizing he had no idea how the Shadows took their vows.
"I can't talk about it specifically." Alistair said. "Isaac will be initiated along with seven others in a few days. They will be faced with a trial and if they pass it they are welcomed officially into the clan. If they can't... Well... It doesn't really matter."
Jake frowned a little. "Hum. Is that why you haven't initiated your brother?" He asked.
"No." Alistair said, finishing up on the stitches. "Ethan doesn't feel committed to the clan and I can't force him. It's not really an easy life, it's not something one should be pushed into." He stated, going silent for a while before opening a smile. "Suppose life is just difficult all around, huh?"
Jake nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Suppose so."
Alistair laid a hand on Jake's shoulder. "I doubt it will be easy, but... You should try to sleep before, you know, Her Worshipness wakes up."
Jake chuckled. "Careful with saying that, man." He said, shaking his head, and standing up.
Alistair stood as well and pointed him to where he could go rest. "Over there."
Jake nodded and headed towards the small tent he was pointed to. A small sleeping mat and a couple of blankets were there at his disposal. He didn't even bother himself with thinking... He simply crawled underneath the blankets and fell into unconsciousness.
--------------------
[After sunrise]
Lena was awakened by a loud whistle and sat up immediately. That was when she spotted Alistair and frowned at him. "You ass." She muttered, rubbing her temples, feeling a little bit of head rush from sitting up too fast.
Alistair laughed. "Oh, well... I owed you payback for your intrusion." He shut his smile a little and added. "Of course that to actually pay you back would be disrespect so I now consider us even."
"We are so not even, young man. I made you tea. Where's my tea?" She muttered, rubbing her forehead now.
"Headache?" He asked, with a smile.
"What tipped you off?" She mumbled.
"You are usually this cranky when you have a headache." He shrugged. "I'm used to it."
She sighed, finally raising her head to face Alistair. "Anything you need to tell me about?" She asked.
"We have a representative of Blackpond in the premises. He came to speak with you, but I think we both know where this is going."
Lena smiled. "Oh, yes, but... Sometimes is the path that matters, and not the destination. I shall speak with him as if I have never met his fellow officer, and we shall see what he has to say." She stated.
"Very well. I made sure he wasn't bothered by our younger members. The majority of the clan is discontent with Blackpond at the moment." He explained. Even though Lena was well aware of that. A reminder was in order before she spoke to this person. "Also, guess who showed up here, You Worshipness."
Lena nodded, holding back a wave of laughter. "You have to put more sarcasm into it, Al. Otherwise you simply can't pull it off." She explained. "So... Jacob survived. Did he say anything to you?"
"No. He said he won't repeat himself, so he would wait to talk to you." Alistair responded a serious tone taking over his voice.
"How did he seem to you?" She asked.
He nodded. "He is very angry, mostly at himself. He is in pain, and he is drowning in self-loathing." He gave her a weak smile. "Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"Very. Can't wait to deal with that." She sighed. "Blackpond first, though." She said standing up and stretching. "I'm changing my clothes, now. So I suggest you leave." She smiled, turning to fetch a clean set of clothes. When she turned back Alistair was long gone. She nodded, laughing softly. "Same old kid." She concluded.
Once dressed in clean clothes and robes that were actually white and not speckled with blood and dust, Lena stepped out to find Alistair again and ask him about the man from Blackpond. Before she could spot him, however, one of the two men that guarded the entrance came walking towards her in fast pace. "Lena, there is a Black Knight heading his way, with a few other men. They aren't far from here."
Lena sighed. "Alright, well..." She gave herself a moment to think, running one hand through her dark hair. "Hold them at the entrance. Allow only the Knight in, and remember to ask for his weapon."
"H-hold them?" The man stuttered.
Lena snickered. "Ask them to wait for their commander, outside our territory. I don't like the thought of this many soldiers on our grounds, even if unarmed." She stated. "Don't worry, there is no reason why they shouldn't comply."
The man bowed and walked back towards the entrance with his orders.
Lena finally spotted Alistair and walked to him. "You ran away quite quickly." She pointed out. "I would have waited for you to leave."
He sighed. "I thought it was better not to risk it. I can't really tell when you're joking."
"You haven't slept. Go rest." She told him.
He nodded. "I will, soon."
"The man from Blackpond, where is he?" She asked.
Alistair pointed towards one of the few actual houses in the encampment. A small wooden cottage. "Decided to make him comfortable." He mumbled, as if the thought of making the man comfortable displeased him completely.
Lena nodded. "Spoken like a true child of Newhaven, Al." She scolded.
"I'm no one's child. Not anymore." He muttered in response. Then he took a deep breath, calming himself. "I think I will go rest now." He stated, taking a small bow and turning to walk away. "You are always someone's child, boy. Nothing changes that." Lena told him, letting him pretend he hadn't heard her and just keep walking.
"Same old kid." She repeated, nodding, as she walked towards the small wooden house, made her in without knocking, and simply leaned against the wall beside the door, her eyes glowing a blue light as she watched the sleeping man. She simply stood, waiting to see how long it would take him to notice her presence.
---------------------------
[Valcrest: Forest]
Sean walked quietly through the forest, following Ella's footsteps from a distance. Find a little bit difficult to go through the more dense bits of woods, however, he knew those parts well enough to go around them and still find himself. Ali had told him to keep the girl away from camp, so he didn't rush to get to her. This wasn't really what he wanted to be doing, he would much rather stay in camp and find out in which direction things were heading. Even so, Ali was, and this was a painful fact for him, of a higher rank. So, he had to do whatever she told him.
Finally, reaching the clearing where he knew Ella was at, he found himself having to pull out his hand axe and cut his way through the thicker part of the forest in order to reach the center of the clearing. Once spotted by the girl Sean she asked if he was there to kill her. Which made him stop for a second, before putting the axe away and laughing. "What? No!" He leaned against a tree, still laughing. "I'm not going to kill you, don't worry." He explained. "Although, for some reason everyone seems to want you away from camp. So Ali asked me to follow you and, in her words: Make sure you stay out of trouble."
Sean sighed and nodded. "Really... You were going to attack a White Knight because of what happened with Ali? She's fine! Okay, I get it, the man did capture her and that must have been unpleasant, but... if she didn't seem so bothered about it, why should you?" He shrugged. "It's not good to take these things too personal. Crys did kill my brother and I don't go around trying to kill her." He gave her a half smile. "Of course he did attack her first. Besides... I would lose."
-------------
[Assassin's camp]
Crys was awake in her bed when Evin knocked on the door, however, she didn't respond. She was still expecting the events from the night before to have been a figure of her imagination. It was just too much for one night. When she was sure Evin had left though, she sat up and began to think of what to do about Daniel. She didn't have any concrete facts to give him, only her assumptions. Even so... She didn't feel safe enough to give those up just yet. "Screw it." She muttered, getting on her feet. She didn't want to, but hell... She would lie, or at least bend the truth a little bit. She didn't really see a way around that.
After getting her weapons ready and leaving her room, she ran into Annie. "You!" The girl exclaimed. "What did you do to my cousin?"
Crys frowned. "What do you think I did to him?" She asked the girl, in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I don't know!" She exclaimed. "I woke up this morning and word was all over camp that Jake killed your mother, and that no one saw him again after he shouted it out to you!" Annie's tone of voice was raising. "Where is he?"
Crys sighed. "I let him go." She stated. "For now, at least. i told him to get the hell away from here. He probably ran to the ruins. If he's smart he won't come near the forest again."She moved past Annie and added. "Don't mention him to me ever again, or I'll have to ask you to go home."
"You might not have to ask." Annie muttered.
Crys didn't respond to the girl, leaving her in the cabin as she walked outside. She heard Annie follow her out and answer the question she had been asking herself. "Sir Daniel is in the healers' cabin. He was hit in the shoulder by an arrow, but he will be fine. Ali embedded his bandages in a sleep-inducing drug. Knocked him out. He should be waking up any minute." After saying that, Annie parted ways with Crys, probably going to check on Ali.
Crys nodded. She really did like Annie, but she couldn't possibly understand how painful this was. Still, she knew that she had been too harsh on the girl, and she would apologize whenever she got the chance. Now wasn't the time for that. First, she needed to handle this situation with Daniel.
Walking up to the healers' cabin, she entered slowly. "Good morning, Sir." She greeted, loudly enough to wake the man if he was still asleep. "I'm confused..." She started, pulling a chair closer to the bed and sitting. "I thought I had asked for two days to verify the information I had. I barely had time to reach my bed and I have you wandering into my camp." She smiled. "I'm starting to think you don't trust me." She leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Very well... Leah Ashmore told me that her sister, who worked for the queen, was paid to deliver a ring to the orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently sent there. The woman concluded that the girl was the queen's daughter. She also told me that, little over a year ago, a man wearing healers robes came to see her and ask the same questions I did."
Crys made a pause before deciding to go with a half-truth. "When we found the impostor passing himself as King, he had a girl prisoner, her name was Ella. We rescued her and she stayed with us for some time, but... She couldn't handle training, and after a few months she asked my mother permission to leave us. I haven't seen her since and I have no other information or proof that this is the girl you're looking for, except... There are too many coincidences to ignore. So, you see... If you have given me the breathing room to do so, I would have tried to find her." She snickered. "Take no offense, Sir, but... You are not someone a impressionable 17 year old girl would immediately trust."
It wasn't simply the blood trail running down the left side of his face, or the fact that he was missing a slice of his ear... It was the completely blank stare on his face that worried the healers. Jake didn't stop walking until he reached the edge of the river, the limits of the Shadow's territory. He crouched down and dipped a piece of cloth in the waters in order to wipe his face, and neck, where the blood had stained him.
Not long after that, Alistair caught up with him. "Jake. Let me have a look at those cuts."
"Piss off." Jake muttered, sitting on the cold ground near the water, watching the current.
Alistair nodded kneeling down and reaching towards Jake's face. That wasn't the most well though out move and soon Alistar found himself face down on the floor, with his arm twisted behind his back. "It's fine." He laughed, as two other healers came rushing towards him and Jake. One of the men had a reddish glow beginning to spread across his eyes. That caused Alistair's tone to turn more severe. "Isaac, I said it's fine!"
The man stopped, glaring at Jake. "If you say so." He muttered, turning around.
Alistair sighed, slightly. "Jake, if you don't let me check those wounds I will be forced to wake up your aunt. Would you rather have to deal with her?"
Jake hesitated, but realized he would rather not face Lena quite yet. He released Alistair and sat back down, facing the man. "Fine. Make it quick."
Alistair nodded, sitting up, and gathering things that had fallen out of his bag, which Jake had made him drop. No vials had been broken, so he simply put them away and began pulling out what he would need. He moved closer to Jake and turned his head, so he could get a better look. "The cut on your face might not leave a permanent scar, if you're lucky." He mentioned. "You will be missing a piece of your ear permanently though." He stated.
"Whatever." Jake sighed.
"Want to talk about it?" Alistair asked. "This will hurt." He warned, before touching Jake's ear with a pasty, green, and smelly balm.
Jake winced as he felt his wounded ear begin to burn when treated with the medicine. "I'd rather talk about this as little as possible, so... Unless you would like to give the facts to Her Worshipness yourself... No, I don't want to talk about it." He answered.
Alistair laughed out when he heard the way in which Jake referred to Lena. "Her Worshipness? Oh, that's a good one. I have to remember it!"
Jake couldn't help but laugh a little himself. Although that made the pain increase, it made him feel a little better. "I would pay to hear you say that to her face." He chuckled. "I really would."
"Oh, really?" Alistair asked with a little smirk. "So... I assume you will be staying with us?" He asked.
"If she'll let me." Jake stated. He noticed that Isaac was still shooting him glares. He nodded towards the man, which was stupid since Alistair was trying to stitch up his face. "Ouch! Dammit! That guy is new, isn't he?"
Alistair nodded. "Hold still, please. Yes. He's new. Pyrokinetic abilities. And he is not one of the most dangerous people we have here, but him... I don't think he will survive initiation. He has problems letting go of his anger, as you might have noticed, and he loses control over his abilities way too often."
"Hum." Jake mumbled. "What do you mean, survive?" He asked, realizing he had no idea how the Shadows took their vows.
"I can't talk about it specifically." Alistair said. "Isaac will be initiated along with seven others in a few days. They will be faced with a trial and if they pass it they are welcomed officially into the clan. If they can't... Well... It doesn't really matter."
Jake frowned a little. "Hum. Is that why you haven't initiated your brother?" He asked.
"No." Alistair said, finishing up on the stitches. "Ethan doesn't feel committed to the clan and I can't force him. It's not really an easy life, it's not something one should be pushed into." He stated, going silent for a while before opening a smile. "Suppose life is just difficult all around, huh?"
Jake nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Suppose so."
Alistair laid a hand on Jake's shoulder. "I doubt it will be easy, but... You should try to sleep before, you know, Her Worshipness wakes up."
Jake chuckled. "Careful with saying that, man." He said, shaking his head, and standing up.
Alistair stood as well and pointed him to where he could go rest. "Over there."
Jake nodded and headed towards the small tent he was pointed to. A small sleeping mat and a couple of blankets were there at his disposal. He didn't even bother himself with thinking... He simply crawled underneath the blankets and fell into unconsciousness.
--------------------
[After sunrise]
Lena was awakened by a loud whistle and sat up immediately. That was when she spotted Alistair and frowned at him. "You ass." She muttered, rubbing her temples, feeling a little bit of head rush from sitting up too fast.
Alistair laughed. "Oh, well... I owed you payback for your intrusion." He shut his smile a little and added. "Of course that to actually pay you back would be disrespect so I now consider us even."
"We are so not even, young man. I made you tea. Where's my tea?" She muttered, rubbing her forehead now.
"Headache?" He asked, with a smile.
"What tipped you off?" She mumbled.
"You are usually this cranky when you have a headache." He shrugged. "I'm used to it."
She sighed, finally raising her head to face Alistair. "Anything you need to tell me about?" She asked.
"We have a representative of Blackpond in the premises. He came to speak with you, but I think we both know where this is going."
Lena smiled. "Oh, yes, but... Sometimes is the path that matters, and not the destination. I shall speak with him as if I have never met his fellow officer, and we shall see what he has to say." She stated.
"Very well. I made sure he wasn't bothered by our younger members. The majority of the clan is discontent with Blackpond at the moment." He explained. Even though Lena was well aware of that. A reminder was in order before she spoke to this person. "Also, guess who showed up here, You Worshipness."
Lena nodded, holding back a wave of laughter. "You have to put more sarcasm into it, Al. Otherwise you simply can't pull it off." She explained. "So... Jacob survived. Did he say anything to you?"
"No. He said he won't repeat himself, so he would wait to talk to you." Alistair responded a serious tone taking over his voice.
"How did he seem to you?" She asked.
He nodded. "He is very angry, mostly at himself. He is in pain, and he is drowning in self-loathing." He gave her a weak smile. "Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"Very. Can't wait to deal with that." She sighed. "Blackpond first, though." She said standing up and stretching. "I'm changing my clothes, now. So I suggest you leave." She smiled, turning to fetch a clean set of clothes. When she turned back Alistair was long gone. She nodded, laughing softly. "Same old kid." She concluded.
Once dressed in clean clothes and robes that were actually white and not speckled with blood and dust, Lena stepped out to find Alistair again and ask him about the man from Blackpond. Before she could spot him, however, one of the two men that guarded the entrance came walking towards her in fast pace. "Lena, there is a Black Knight heading his way, with a few other men. They aren't far from here."
Lena sighed. "Alright, well..." She gave herself a moment to think, running one hand through her dark hair. "Hold them at the entrance. Allow only the Knight in, and remember to ask for his weapon."
"H-hold them?" The man stuttered.
Lena snickered. "Ask them to wait for their commander, outside our territory. I don't like the thought of this many soldiers on our grounds, even if unarmed." She stated. "Don't worry, there is no reason why they shouldn't comply."
The man bowed and walked back towards the entrance with his orders.
Lena finally spotted Alistair and walked to him. "You ran away quite quickly." She pointed out. "I would have waited for you to leave."
He sighed. "I thought it was better not to risk it. I can't really tell when you're joking."
"You haven't slept. Go rest." She told him.
He nodded. "I will, soon."
"The man from Blackpond, where is he?" She asked.
Alistair pointed towards one of the few actual houses in the encampment. A small wooden cottage. "Decided to make him comfortable." He mumbled, as if the thought of making the man comfortable displeased him completely.
Lena nodded. "Spoken like a true child of Newhaven, Al." She scolded.
"I'm no one's child. Not anymore." He muttered in response. Then he took a deep breath, calming himself. "I think I will go rest now." He stated, taking a small bow and turning to walk away. "You are always someone's child, boy. Nothing changes that." Lena told him, letting him pretend he hadn't heard her and just keep walking.
"Same old kid." She repeated, nodding, as she walked towards the small wooden house, made her in without knocking, and simply leaned against the wall beside the door, her eyes glowing a blue light as she watched the sleeping man. She simply stood, waiting to see how long it would take him to notice her presence.
---------------------------
[Valcrest: Forest]
Sean walked quietly through the forest, following Ella's footsteps from a distance. Find a little bit difficult to go through the more dense bits of woods, however, he knew those parts well enough to go around them and still find himself. Ali had told him to keep the girl away from camp, so he didn't rush to get to her. This wasn't really what he wanted to be doing, he would much rather stay in camp and find out in which direction things were heading. Even so, Ali was, and this was a painful fact for him, of a higher rank. So, he had to do whatever she told him.
Finally, reaching the clearing where he knew Ella was at, he found himself having to pull out his hand axe and cut his way through the thicker part of the forest in order to reach the center of the clearing. Once spotted by the girl Sean she asked if he was there to kill her. Which made him stop for a second, before putting the axe away and laughing. "What? No!" He leaned against a tree, still laughing. "I'm not going to kill you, don't worry." He explained. "Although, for some reason everyone seems to want you away from camp. So Ali asked me to follow you and, in her words: Make sure you stay out of trouble."
Sean sighed and nodded. "Really... You were going to attack a White Knight because of what happened with Ali? She's fine! Okay, I get it, the man did capture her and that must have been unpleasant, but... if she didn't seem so bothered about it, why should you?" He shrugged. "It's not good to take these things too personal. Crys did kill my brother and I don't go around trying to kill her." He gave her a half smile. "Of course he did attack her first. Besides... I would lose."
-------------
[Assassin's camp]
Crys was awake in her bed when Evin knocked on the door, however, she didn't respond. She was still expecting the events from the night before to have been a figure of her imagination. It was just too much for one night. When she was sure Evin had left though, she sat up and began to think of what to do about Daniel. She didn't have any concrete facts to give him, only her assumptions. Even so... She didn't feel safe enough to give those up just yet. "Screw it." She muttered, getting on her feet. She didn't want to, but hell... She would lie, or at least bend the truth a little bit. She didn't really see a way around that.
After getting her weapons ready and leaving her room, she ran into Annie. "You!" The girl exclaimed. "What did you do to my cousin?"
Crys frowned. "What do you think I did to him?" She asked the girl, in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I don't know!" She exclaimed. "I woke up this morning and word was all over camp that Jake killed your mother, and that no one saw him again after he shouted it out to you!" Annie's tone of voice was raising. "Where is he?"
Crys sighed. "I let him go." She stated. "For now, at least. i told him to get the hell away from here. He probably ran to the ruins. If he's smart he won't come near the forest again."She moved past Annie and added. "Don't mention him to me ever again, or I'll have to ask you to go home."
"You might not have to ask." Annie muttered.
Crys didn't respond to the girl, leaving her in the cabin as she walked outside. She heard Annie follow her out and answer the question she had been asking herself. "Sir Daniel is in the healers' cabin. He was hit in the shoulder by an arrow, but he will be fine. Ali embedded his bandages in a sleep-inducing drug. Knocked him out. He should be waking up any minute." After saying that, Annie parted ways with Crys, probably going to check on Ali.
Crys nodded. She really did like Annie, but she couldn't possibly understand how painful this was. Still, she knew that she had been too harsh on the girl, and she would apologize whenever she got the chance. Now wasn't the time for that. First, she needed to handle this situation with Daniel.
Walking up to the healers' cabin, she entered slowly. "Good morning, Sir." She greeted, loudly enough to wake the man if he was still asleep. "I'm confused..." She started, pulling a chair closer to the bed and sitting. "I thought I had asked for two days to verify the information I had. I barely had time to reach my bed and I have you wandering into my camp." She smiled. "I'm starting to think you don't trust me." She leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Very well... Leah Ashmore told me that her sister, who worked for the queen, was paid to deliver a ring to the orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently sent there. The woman concluded that the girl was the queen's daughter. She also told me that, little over a year ago, a man wearing healers robes came to see her and ask the same questions I did."
Crys made a pause before deciding to go with a half-truth. "When we found the impostor passing himself as King, he had a girl prisoner, her name was Ella. We rescued her and she stayed with us for some time, but... She couldn't handle training, and after a few months she asked my mother permission to leave us. I haven't seen her since and I have no other information or proof that this is the girl you're looking for, except... There are too many coincidences to ignore. So, you see... If you have given me the breathing room to do so, I would have tried to find her." She snickered. "Take no offense, Sir, but... You are not someone a impressionable 17 year old girl would immediately trust."
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Assassin's Camp
A path was led before him. A path leading towards a small cottage surrounded by thick forest. The clock was way past dusk and darkness surrounded that large figure as he took one steady step after the other towards the small cottage. He could see some small lights coming out from it and upon reaching closer he could finally hear voices from inside. They were whispering, but they were still there. The man approaching the cottage was wearing a large silver armor and the ceremonial White Knight helmet. In his clenched hand, a large hammer lied and in the other a shield covered his flank. Behind him two other figures walked, both with black colored armor and with each a different weapon; One were holding a sword and a shield while the other held a large two-handed sword. Sweat ran down the White Knights forehead as he reached ever closer to the small door. He could now hear the voices pretty clearly:
"Is this really worth the risk, Theron? " One of the voices whispered. It was that of a female.
"The assassins are a blight upon these lands. I know this more than anyone else. They must all die. Not a single one can survive, not even the children." The man obviously named Theron hissed with a voice void of any kind of human feelings. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "I can understand why you have doubts about this. However, why do you think I've put you through all these trials if not to complete your main objective? To kill all of them. That's why."
"But what have they done to deserve such a fate? Can't we simple push them out from Valcre--"
"No! You heard Theron the first time we were enlisted; We cannot show mercy because none will be shown to us. I'm with you, master." A young female interrupted the older boy. Several other "Me too, master" followed as more and more swore their allegiance and life to Therons cause. What the cause was, the White Knight had no idea about. Theron had been a known member of the Wolf Hunters and frankly, he had been presumed dead for three years until just recently. The White Knight named Daniel took one last step and looked back at the other two Black Knights behind him and nodded slowly at the door.
"I have a map over the area, a plan I've forged during my three years in hiding and your positions as well during the ambush. Remember: Dani and Sebastian are mine to kill and mine alone." Theron was able to say just before the door into the cottage exploded open and a battle ensued between the group of Wolf Hunters and Daniel and his two Black Knights.
---
Daniel opened his eyes and looked around. He was for a short moment struck by panic and tried to rise up but was stopped by the pain in his shoulder. It wasn't as intense as a couple of hours ago, but it surprised him nonetheless. He suddenly realized where he was and leaned back in his bed. It didn't take long before company arrived; It was the assassin he had been meeting with outside Newhaven and she immediately began to speak:
"Very well... Leah Ashmore told me that her sister, who worked for the queen, was paid to deliver a ring to the orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently sent there. The woman concluded that the girl was the queen's daughter. She also told me that, little over a year ago, a man wearing healers robes came to see her and ask the same questions I did."
Daniel didn't say anything, but his face expression said more than a thousands words; He now knew the name of the former queen's daughter. Ella was her name. Daniel finally saw his task before him; Find this Ella and bring her back to Newhaven whether she likes it or not. They would have a ruler and she would accept her destiny sooner or later.
"When we found the impostor passing himself as King, he had a girl prisoner, her name was Ella. We rescued her and she stayed with us for some time, but... She couldn't handle training, and after a few months she asked my mother permission to leave us. I haven't seen her since and I have no other information or proof that this is the girl you're looking for, except... There are too many coincidences to ignore. So, you see... If you have given me the breathing room to do so, I would have tried to find her." The assassin explained and Daniel was surprised once more. Why was she lying to him after everything he had told her? After trusting her? Was this how she showed her appreciation? By lying him straight in the face? A frown found its way up to Daniels face, if jus for a second or two before he returned to his normal calm state.
"Girl, I've been with the White Knights over twenty years, almost your entire life or more I bet. During these years I've not only developed a good amount of knowledge about warfare and defense, but also when a person is lying to me. Every single person who lies, does something out of the ordinary when they do so. You, for an example, twitched with your left eye for a split-second. It was something a normal person wouldn't notice, but I'm not so normal." Daniel explained, his voice void of any kind of feelings. He rose up from his bed and stood up once more. The pain was starting to fade, but it was still present either way.
"I will only ask you once and I sincerely hope that you can answer me truthfully this time. Where, is Ella?" He continued and gazed coldly at the assassin. The trust he had put in her before was almost gone and his respect for her was starting to fade as well.
"Is this really worth the risk, Theron? " One of the voices whispered. It was that of a female.
"The assassins are a blight upon these lands. I know this more than anyone else. They must all die. Not a single one can survive, not even the children." The man obviously named Theron hissed with a voice void of any kind of human feelings. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "I can understand why you have doubts about this. However, why do you think I've put you through all these trials if not to complete your main objective? To kill all of them. That's why."
"But what have they done to deserve such a fate? Can't we simple push them out from Valcre--"
"No! You heard Theron the first time we were enlisted; We cannot show mercy because none will be shown to us. I'm with you, master." A young female interrupted the older boy. Several other "Me too, master" followed as more and more swore their allegiance and life to Therons cause. What the cause was, the White Knight had no idea about. Theron had been a known member of the Wolf Hunters and frankly, he had been presumed dead for three years until just recently. The White Knight named Daniel took one last step and looked back at the other two Black Knights behind him and nodded slowly at the door.
"I have a map over the area, a plan I've forged during my three years in hiding and your positions as well during the ambush. Remember: Dani and Sebastian are mine to kill and mine alone." Theron was able to say just before the door into the cottage exploded open and a battle ensued between the group of Wolf Hunters and Daniel and his two Black Knights.
---
Daniel opened his eyes and looked around. He was for a short moment struck by panic and tried to rise up but was stopped by the pain in his shoulder. It wasn't as intense as a couple of hours ago, but it surprised him nonetheless. He suddenly realized where he was and leaned back in his bed. It didn't take long before company arrived; It was the assassin he had been meeting with outside Newhaven and she immediately began to speak:
"Very well... Leah Ashmore told me that her sister, who worked for the queen, was paid to deliver a ring to the orphanage, to a little girl that had been recently sent there. The woman concluded that the girl was the queen's daughter. She also told me that, little over a year ago, a man wearing healers robes came to see her and ask the same questions I did."
Daniel didn't say anything, but his face expression said more than a thousands words; He now knew the name of the former queen's daughter. Ella was her name. Daniel finally saw his task before him; Find this Ella and bring her back to Newhaven whether she likes it or not. They would have a ruler and she would accept her destiny sooner or later.
"When we found the impostor passing himself as King, he had a girl prisoner, her name was Ella. We rescued her and she stayed with us for some time, but... She couldn't handle training, and after a few months she asked my mother permission to leave us. I haven't seen her since and I have no other information or proof that this is the girl you're looking for, except... There are too many coincidences to ignore. So, you see... If you have given me the breathing room to do so, I would have tried to find her." The assassin explained and Daniel was surprised once more. Why was she lying to him after everything he had told her? After trusting her? Was this how she showed her appreciation? By lying him straight in the face? A frown found its way up to Daniels face, if jus for a second or two before he returned to his normal calm state.
"Girl, I've been with the White Knights over twenty years, almost your entire life or more I bet. During these years I've not only developed a good amount of knowledge about warfare and defense, but also when a person is lying to me. Every single person who lies, does something out of the ordinary when they do so. You, for an example, twitched with your left eye for a split-second. It was something a normal person wouldn't notice, but I'm not so normal." Daniel explained, his voice void of any kind of feelings. He rose up from his bed and stood up once more. The pain was starting to fade, but it was still present either way.
"I will only ask you once and I sincerely hope that you can answer me truthfully this time. Where, is Ella?" He continued and gazed coldly at the assassin. The trust he had put in her before was almost gone and his respect for her was starting to fade as well.
"Girl, I've been with the White Knights over twenty years, almost your entire life or more I bet. During these years I've not only developed a good amount of knowledge about warfare and defense, but also when a person is lying to me. Every single person who lies, does something out of the ordinary when they do so. You, for an example, twitched with your left eye for a split-second. It was something a normal person wouldn't notice, but I'm not so normal."
That response caused Crys to chuckle. "I'm an empath, sir. I twitch for reasons normal people would not. You may also ask around this camp and other camps if you like: I have been called many things in my short years of life, some of them quite nasty, but I was never once called a liar. See if you can understand me now..." Her smile shut. "I don't know where the girl is. I might now who she is, but not where she is." That in itself wasn't a lie; Crys had no clue of Ella's whereabouts, she would rather it stayed that way too, for now. "Now, I have my own people to care for. You wandered into my territory unannounced, put my clan at risk, and I could simply have let them kill you while you slept, believe me... Many were tempted." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I was willing to assist Newhaven, but I owe you nothing. My obligation is with my clan. I will not have you or anyone else endanger these people over some search that is not ours to make and will probably benefit us in nothing. I have been more than helpful and I wish you well, but I'm done. Stay as long as you feel necessary to regain your strength, but don't come back here unless you are prepared to start something you will seriously regret, that if you live to do so."
She stood up, her eyes fixed at the man. "Also, I know you didn't follow me, and there is only one path to get to this camp unseen..." She nodded, frowning slightly. "I left it unguarded assuming only one outside person knew it. I guess he was just not as careful as I thought he would be." She stated, a little smirk crossing her features. "I will make sure security is increased so this doesn't happen again."
That said, Crys turned towards the door. "Enjoy your stay, Sir." She said, walking out of the cabin. She knew that Daniel wouldn't give up the search, hopefully the wound would slow him down a little, but he would still pose as a problem. She sighed as she crossed the camp towards the lake. She stopped only to give an order for one of the assassins to spread around camp: "If the Knight leave the healers' station, make sure that he finds his way out of the camp. I don't want him wandering around."
The man nodded and walked off to make sure the command reached the guards. Meanwhile Crys walked past him to get to the lake. She let her mind track back to where it had been the night before. Most of the anger she had felt was now gone, even then... She wasn't very sure if she would have chosen to attend this meeting if it wasn't for the fact that she had to tell Evin that there were bigger problems to deal with now.
When she entered the area of the lake she simply leaned against a nearby tree, and heaved a long sigh. "I remember spending afternoons in this place, without a single thing to worry me... A lot changes in two years." She said absently, trying to remember one occasion since then when she wasn't worried.
Giving up that thought she moved on to telling him why Daniel was there. "I went back to Newhaven yesterday, as soon as I made sure Ali was fine. I met with this White Knight, Daniel, there. He led me to the woman who's name Ali got from the archives. She revealed to me that her sister was a maid for the queen. She told me that one night, 17 years ago, her sister was paid to deliver a ring to the local orphanage to one girl that had been recently taken there. The maid was afraid the ring would be stolen from the girl and made up some story about the girl's parents being enlightened and the ring causing death to anyone but its rightful owner." She nodded. "The story wouldn't strike me as familiar if she hadn't also mentioned being questioned about it by a man wearing healer's robes, little over a year ago. She told him about a possible heir to the throne, and made it sound like she was an enlightened as well."
Crys nodded, making a pause. "Every time I thought over the things that happened in Newhaven that night, I wondered about the fact that the Shadow had Ella with him. Finally I assumed he was trying to avoid being exposed..." She sighed again, rubbing her eyes. She was still exhausted. "Daniel came here because he went to the orphanage and got Ella's name. I told him that she isn't with us anymore. He didn't believe me but I stuck with that story anyway and politely asked him to leave. I don't trust him and I won't give him the chance to simply drag the girl to Newhaven without giving her a choice or even having proof. For that, I think he might give us trouble soon. He is wounded now though, and I consider him smart enough not to try anything without a few men to back him. Which is not at all comforting, but should give us time to think" She finished with what she had to say and went silent, trying put her thoughts in order. She wasn't sure of how to handle this situation exactly. She understood Daniel's side of things, but she couldn't trust him to see hers.
That response caused Crys to chuckle. "I'm an empath, sir. I twitch for reasons normal people would not. You may also ask around this camp and other camps if you like: I have been called many things in my short years of life, some of them quite nasty, but I was never once called a liar. See if you can understand me now..." Her smile shut. "I don't know where the girl is. I might now who she is, but not where she is." That in itself wasn't a lie; Crys had no clue of Ella's whereabouts, she would rather it stayed that way too, for now. "Now, I have my own people to care for. You wandered into my territory unannounced, put my clan at risk, and I could simply have let them kill you while you slept, believe me... Many were tempted." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I was willing to assist Newhaven, but I owe you nothing. My obligation is with my clan. I will not have you or anyone else endanger these people over some search that is not ours to make and will probably benefit us in nothing. I have been more than helpful and I wish you well, but I'm done. Stay as long as you feel necessary to regain your strength, but don't come back here unless you are prepared to start something you will seriously regret, that if you live to do so."
She stood up, her eyes fixed at the man. "Also, I know you didn't follow me, and there is only one path to get to this camp unseen..." She nodded, frowning slightly. "I left it unguarded assuming only one outside person knew it. I guess he was just not as careful as I thought he would be." She stated, a little smirk crossing her features. "I will make sure security is increased so this doesn't happen again."
That said, Crys turned towards the door. "Enjoy your stay, Sir." She said, walking out of the cabin. She knew that Daniel wouldn't give up the search, hopefully the wound would slow him down a little, but he would still pose as a problem. She sighed as she crossed the camp towards the lake. She stopped only to give an order for one of the assassins to spread around camp: "If the Knight leave the healers' station, make sure that he finds his way out of the camp. I don't want him wandering around."
The man nodded and walked off to make sure the command reached the guards. Meanwhile Crys walked past him to get to the lake. She let her mind track back to where it had been the night before. Most of the anger she had felt was now gone, even then... She wasn't very sure if she would have chosen to attend this meeting if it wasn't for the fact that she had to tell Evin that there were bigger problems to deal with now.
When she entered the area of the lake she simply leaned against a nearby tree, and heaved a long sigh. "I remember spending afternoons in this place, without a single thing to worry me... A lot changes in two years." She said absently, trying to remember one occasion since then when she wasn't worried.
Giving up that thought she moved on to telling him why Daniel was there. "I went back to Newhaven yesterday, as soon as I made sure Ali was fine. I met with this White Knight, Daniel, there. He led me to the woman who's name Ali got from the archives. She revealed to me that her sister was a maid for the queen. She told me that one night, 17 years ago, her sister was paid to deliver a ring to the local orphanage to one girl that had been recently taken there. The maid was afraid the ring would be stolen from the girl and made up some story about the girl's parents being enlightened and the ring causing death to anyone but its rightful owner." She nodded. "The story wouldn't strike me as familiar if she hadn't also mentioned being questioned about it by a man wearing healer's robes, little over a year ago. She told him about a possible heir to the throne, and made it sound like she was an enlightened as well."
Crys nodded, making a pause. "Every time I thought over the things that happened in Newhaven that night, I wondered about the fact that the Shadow had Ella with him. Finally I assumed he was trying to avoid being exposed..." She sighed again, rubbing her eyes. She was still exhausted. "Daniel came here because he went to the orphanage and got Ella's name. I told him that she isn't with us anymore. He didn't believe me but I stuck with that story anyway and politely asked him to leave. I don't trust him and I won't give him the chance to simply drag the girl to Newhaven without giving her a choice or even having proof. For that, I think he might give us trouble soon. He is wounded now though, and I consider him smart enough not to try anything without a few men to back him. Which is not at all comforting, but should give us time to think" She finished with what she had to say and went silent, trying put her thoughts in order. She wasn't sure of how to handle this situation exactly. She understood Daniel's side of things, but she couldn't trust him to see hers.
"What is it with these people and threats? Do they enjoy threatening outsiders for no good reason at all?" Daniel thought slowly as he continued to listen to what the assassin told him. Much made sense, while some things remained a mystery for now to the White Knight. It would seem she had more like bent the truth instead of telling him a lie; She knew of the girl, but she didn't know where to find her. Daniel still thought she was with them, somewhere but this particular assassin before him knew nothing of importance. After her ranting she walked to the exit but stopped one last time and explained that she knew he had not followed her into the camp and that he somehow must have reached it on an unguarded path.
"I left it unguarded assuming only one outside person knew it. I guess he was just not as careful as I thought he would be." She stated and left. One more surprise for him to deal with; He got the map from raiding Theron Lockwoods cottage out in the woods, so many years ago. However, to Daniels knowledge, Theron was dead. He was killed a year ago by the Wolf Pack, finally ending the Wolf Hunters. But what if this wasn't true? What if Theron had instead joined the Wolf Pack and redeemed himself somehow? What if he had befriended his nemesis and faced his fears? So many questions and so damn little time. Daniel sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. What should he do now? Ella could be anywhere in Valcrest or maybe she have already left it? Daniel couldn't just leave the land to find her, could he? Deep inside he knew he could, but would it really be worth the risk? To abandoned everyone just to look for a heir to the throne? Daniel sure as hell didn't know. This was all too much for him.
"What kind of shit have I walked into this time?" He thought and rose from the bed once more. His wound was starting to heal and the pain was almost gone. However, he shouldn't be jumping into action anytime soon. Moving around however, has always proven to be good for his wounds in the past. Daniel equipped his chain-mail suit and his leather trousers along with his usual gloves and a pair of black leather boots. He left his plate armor and his weapons and shield by the bed; He wouldn't need them seeing as he was here in peace and hopefully they rest of them would understand that, but he doubt it. And so, Daniel left the small house and walked straight out into the fresh air.
The camp wasn't as big as he had presumed last night, but it looked alright. There was a semi-large campfire in the middle of it, several small houses around it and there was a couple of small roads leading around and out from it. Most of the people around him either stared at him or tried to ignore him the best they could. It didn't take a long time before a man approached him. He looked focused and not threatening at all.
"By orders from Crystal, you must leave this Camp immediately." He said and blocked Daniels path. The White Knight didn't seek a fight, but at the same time he had no intentions of leaving this camp before his wound was fully healed and he had gathered some information about this young girl Ella from anything or anyone. A girl can't vanish without leaving a trace behind her.
"My wound are not yet healed, young man and I'm sure this Crystal wouldn't just toss a weak man into the forest, now would she?" Hopefully Daniel was right but who knew? The guard didn't seem to care much, however, at the same time he didn't reply either. Daniel walked past the guard and saw how the man kept on following him. Someone who watched every step he took was nothing Daniel couldn't handle. He had done it himself so many time before and he had experienced it before as well. Besides, it would be a nice change to have some fun for once in a while. This seemed to be a peaceful place and Daniel could need some well earned relaxing before he went after Ella, wherever she might be. He could feel all the angry looks burning in his back as he kept on walking around the camp. He had to find someone who might know something about Ella, but at the same time someone who were willing to talk to him. Maybe he could find that man he talked to last night or maybe the girl he had been torturing before, ironic as it might be.
He might not find them, but he was sure that soon someone of importance would approached him. That seemed to happen a lot around here.
"I left it unguarded assuming only one outside person knew it. I guess he was just not as careful as I thought he would be." She stated and left. One more surprise for him to deal with; He got the map from raiding Theron Lockwoods cottage out in the woods, so many years ago. However, to Daniels knowledge, Theron was dead. He was killed a year ago by the Wolf Pack, finally ending the Wolf Hunters. But what if this wasn't true? What if Theron had instead joined the Wolf Pack and redeemed himself somehow? What if he had befriended his nemesis and faced his fears? So many questions and so damn little time. Daniel sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. What should he do now? Ella could be anywhere in Valcrest or maybe she have already left it? Daniel couldn't just leave the land to find her, could he? Deep inside he knew he could, but would it really be worth the risk? To abandoned everyone just to look for a heir to the throne? Daniel sure as hell didn't know. This was all too much for him.
"What kind of shit have I walked into this time?" He thought and rose from the bed once more. His wound was starting to heal and the pain was almost gone. However, he shouldn't be jumping into action anytime soon. Moving around however, has always proven to be good for his wounds in the past. Daniel equipped his chain-mail suit and his leather trousers along with his usual gloves and a pair of black leather boots. He left his plate armor and his weapons and shield by the bed; He wouldn't need them seeing as he was here in peace and hopefully they rest of them would understand that, but he doubt it. And so, Daniel left the small house and walked straight out into the fresh air.
The camp wasn't as big as he had presumed last night, but it looked alright. There was a semi-large campfire in the middle of it, several small houses around it and there was a couple of small roads leading around and out from it. Most of the people around him either stared at him or tried to ignore him the best they could. It didn't take a long time before a man approached him. He looked focused and not threatening at all.
"By orders from Crystal, you must leave this Camp immediately." He said and blocked Daniels path. The White Knight didn't seek a fight, but at the same time he had no intentions of leaving this camp before his wound was fully healed and he had gathered some information about this young girl Ella from anything or anyone. A girl can't vanish without leaving a trace behind her.
"My wound are not yet healed, young man and I'm sure this Crystal wouldn't just toss a weak man into the forest, now would she?" Hopefully Daniel was right but who knew? The guard didn't seem to care much, however, at the same time he didn't reply either. Daniel walked past the guard and saw how the man kept on following him. Someone who watched every step he took was nothing Daniel couldn't handle. He had done it himself so many time before and he had experienced it before as well. Besides, it would be a nice change to have some fun for once in a while. This seemed to be a peaceful place and Daniel could need some well earned relaxing before he went after Ella, wherever she might be. He could feel all the angry looks burning in his back as he kept on walking around the camp. He had to find someone who might know something about Ella, but at the same time someone who were willing to talk to him. Maybe he could find that man he talked to last night or maybe the girl he had been torturing before, ironic as it might be.
He might not find them, but he was sure that soon someone of importance would approached him. That seemed to happen a lot around here.
Allison woke up early in the morning and with a major headache. "I hate sleeping." She muttered, rubbing her temples.
"That's very stupid of you." Annie responded.
Ali sat up and located the girl sitting by the table drinking tea. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how you were doing and express my annoyance at the fact you went through my things."
"I'm sorry. I needed to buy some time." Ali said, running her fingers through her hair. "I need food." She stated, getting up from the bed. "And clean clothes..."
"And a bath." Annie added, with a small chuckle. "Don't you people ever bathe?"
"Yes we do. Me, personally, I prefer to do that at night. I don't like the possibility of being peeked at." She said with a small frown.
"Isn't that too cold?" Annie asked.
"I'm never really cold." Ali said, standing and stretching with a yawn. "I have to go punish my recruit, oh joy!" She snickered.
"He was the one who shot the White Knight?" Annie asked.
"Yes. He stole a bow from Eldric's workshop to do it. Stupid kid!" Ali replied. "I haven't even apologized to Sean yet for that."
Annie sighed. "I see you set up a workshop here. Been making your own arrows?"
Ali nodded. "Amongst other things. Keeps my mind busy." She said, sitting across from Annie and pouring herself some tea as well.
Annie chuckled. "I noticed that doing nothing is a major difficulty for you." She said, offering Ali an apple. "Jake is gone." She stated.
"I figured as much." Ali said, with a small sigh. "He was acting strange, even more last night than usual, and I was sure something was going on."
"Do you think he really did that? Kill Dani." Annie asked with a small frown.
"I don't know. I really don't understand this whole thing, but then... Crys let him live, didn't she?" Ali asked, taking some time to bite into the apple and chew on it slowly. Silence lingering until Annie decided to switch subjects.
"Were you close to Eldric?" She asked, curiously.
"Not really. I mean... We talked archery, crafting materials, tools and such..." She shrugged. "I didn't really know him all that well though."
"I see." Annie mumbled.
Ali gave her a confused look. "You do? Why are you asking about him?"
Annie nodded, opening a little innocent smile. "No particular reason, just... Curious."
Ali finished her tea and thanked Annie for the apple before asking the girl to leave her in privacy so that she could get ready for the day. Annie left saying she would be going back to the ruins the next day, but not giving a reason or leaving room for questions.
Ali changed into a clean set of clothes, attached her quiver to her belt, and strapped her bow to her back before heading outside, in time to catch the scene of Daniel being followed around by a slightly scared guard. She nodded holding down the laughter and began walking beside the guard as he followed the man past his house. "What are you doing Eddie?" She asked him.
Eddie sighed. "Crys said she doesn't want him wandering around camp." He whispered.
"And why are you letting him do it, then?" She whispered back, a small chuckle escaping her.
"Well, what was I suppose to do? Kill him?" He answered in an annoyed tone.
Ali sighed. "Well, alright, let me handle this." She told the man. "Go back to your post."
Eddie hesitated to follow that instruction, but Ali glared at him and he walked off quickly. She nodded, laughing lightly. She had quite a history of mistreating guards and, even though she was provoked every time and nothing like had happened in two years, they were still a little scared of her.
Once Eddie was gone she fastened her pace a bit to walk beside the Daniel and finally acknowledged the man. "Morning, sir Knight!" She greeted. "Enjoying our hospitality?" She asked with a little smirk. "Not to be judgmental, but I found the Newhaven dungeons rather uncomfortable, if I may say so."
"That's very stupid of you." Annie responded.
Ali sat up and located the girl sitting by the table drinking tea. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how you were doing and express my annoyance at the fact you went through my things."
"I'm sorry. I needed to buy some time." Ali said, running her fingers through her hair. "I need food." She stated, getting up from the bed. "And clean clothes..."
"And a bath." Annie added, with a small chuckle. "Don't you people ever bathe?"
"Yes we do. Me, personally, I prefer to do that at night. I don't like the possibility of being peeked at." She said with a small frown.
"Isn't that too cold?" Annie asked.
"I'm never really cold." Ali said, standing and stretching with a yawn. "I have to go punish my recruit, oh joy!" She snickered.
"He was the one who shot the White Knight?" Annie asked.
"Yes. He stole a bow from Eldric's workshop to do it. Stupid kid!" Ali replied. "I haven't even apologized to Sean yet for that."
Annie sighed. "I see you set up a workshop here. Been making your own arrows?"
Ali nodded. "Amongst other things. Keeps my mind busy." She said, sitting across from Annie and pouring herself some tea as well.
Annie chuckled. "I noticed that doing nothing is a major difficulty for you." She said, offering Ali an apple. "Jake is gone." She stated.
"I figured as much." Ali said, with a small sigh. "He was acting strange, even more last night than usual, and I was sure something was going on."
"Do you think he really did that? Kill Dani." Annie asked with a small frown.
"I don't know. I really don't understand this whole thing, but then... Crys let him live, didn't she?" Ali asked, taking some time to bite into the apple and chew on it slowly. Silence lingering until Annie decided to switch subjects.
"Were you close to Eldric?" She asked, curiously.
"Not really. I mean... We talked archery, crafting materials, tools and such..." She shrugged. "I didn't really know him all that well though."
"I see." Annie mumbled.
Ali gave her a confused look. "You do? Why are you asking about him?"
Annie nodded, opening a little innocent smile. "No particular reason, just... Curious."
Ali finished her tea and thanked Annie for the apple before asking the girl to leave her in privacy so that she could get ready for the day. Annie left saying she would be going back to the ruins the next day, but not giving a reason or leaving room for questions.
Ali changed into a clean set of clothes, attached her quiver to her belt, and strapped her bow to her back before heading outside, in time to catch the scene of Daniel being followed around by a slightly scared guard. She nodded holding down the laughter and began walking beside the guard as he followed the man past his house. "What are you doing Eddie?" She asked him.
Eddie sighed. "Crys said she doesn't want him wandering around camp." He whispered.
"And why are you letting him do it, then?" She whispered back, a small chuckle escaping her.
"Well, what was I suppose to do? Kill him?" He answered in an annoyed tone.
Ali sighed. "Well, alright, let me handle this." She told the man. "Go back to your post."
Eddie hesitated to follow that instruction, but Ali glared at him and he walked off quickly. She nodded, laughing lightly. She had quite a history of mistreating guards and, even though she was provoked every time and nothing like had happened in two years, they were still a little scared of her.
Once Eddie was gone she fastened her pace a bit to walk beside the Daniel and finally acknowledged the man. "Morning, sir Knight!" She greeted. "Enjoying our hospitality?" She asked with a little smirk. "Not to be judgmental, but I found the Newhaven dungeons rather uncomfortable, if I may say so."
Evin didn't have to wait too long for Crystal before she appeared. Evin was aware of her before she had said anything or before she had even gotten close to Evin. He could sense her coming. When Evin was meditating, he was able to sense things a bit more than usual. Some people would call it special, but Evin knew that his senses were just sharpened because he had less to concentrate on when he was meditating. While Crystal spoke, he stayed in his meditative state until he couldn't hold his concentration anymore.
"Finally I assumed he was trying to avoid being exposed. Daniel came here because he went to the orphanage and got Ella's name. I told him that she isn't with us anymore. He didn't believe me but I stuck with that story anyway and politely asked him to leave. I don't trust him and I won't give him the chance to simply drag the girl to Newhaven without giving her a choice or even having proof. For that, I think he might give us trouble soon. He is wounded now though, and I consider him smart enough not to try anything without a few men to back him. Which is not at all comforting, but should give us time to think"
The whole thing caught Evin by complete surprise. It would probably prove dangerous that she was wandering around in the forest with no real direction while there were people looking for her. If she was found my Newhaven, she would be forced into a life that Evin was sure she wasn't ready for, but if they were found by Blackpond and they found out about her importance, things would get deadly. The reality was that the Wolf Pack owned her at the moment and if any of them took Ella, they would have to take actions to stop anything from happening to her. This could prove to be very fatal.
Evin just stared into the lake while these thoughts passed through his head, until he just decided it was pointless. "We've had over a year to think. It's time that we really take action and I say we do it sooner rather than later. We need to find Ella-" Evin couldn't finish his sentence, he heard two assassins coming towards the lake. It was Alex, the Active who really wanted to go on a real mission and one of his recruit friends came up to him. He didn't want these people to hear anything that they were saying and let the two speak.
"I told you we'd find them here. They always go here when they have an opportunity." Alex said. "Evin, Crys! The White Knight is wandering around camp, against your orders. Or so I heard."
"My instructor told me to go tell you guys and let you know what he's up to." The recruit explained.
Evin sighed looking at Crystal. "Like I said, it's time to take action." He shot his head around to the two kids. "Tell our White Knight friend that if he doesn't leave within the next hour that the people in this camp will have the right to do whatever to him. Also let him know that whatever we will do is a luxury compared to what they do when they find an assassin wandering around Newhaven." There was no way that the White Knight, Daniel would have to think about what that meant. He knew exactly what he did to Allison, or at least what he would have done to her if given the chance.
"Will do." The two said almost simultaneously. He could tell that the recruit looked up to Alex just by the way he said it a split second after Alex did. It reminded him of when he looked up to Perry. He put that out of his mind when the two left.
He waited a bit to make sure that no one else to tell them anything. It was frustrating that there were so many interruptions in all of his decision making. People all around him acting like idiots. First there was Lena who could have defused a problem, even just a little by telling him the truth, then then was Jake who just could never own up to his problem and then let himself go in probably the worst of way at the worst of times. There was also Crystal who was running around making shady deals with White Knights that were getting the Wolf Pack nothing and finally the White Knight who thinks that they own the Wolf Pack just because we healed him. Evin was so close to reaching his breaking point. The next person to cross Evin wouldn't be as lucky as Jake was, even if it was something small. There would be blood, and if their lucky, he'd leave their dead body intact.
"As I was saying, we need to find Ella and then tell her what we know so she can make up her own mind. If the White Knight comes back for her, we will just respectfully let him know what we are doing and if he doesn't like that, then maybe he could learn how to function without an arm at all instead of just an injured one. I also heard something about Blackpond possibly planning something with the White Shadows. I could honestly care less what happened to them after how ridiculous Lena acted when I was talking to her, but if you want to take action, be my guest. Just know that I won't take part in it. Also I think we need to prove to the powers in Newhaven that we aren't going to let everyone wander into our camp or interfere in our lives. It is getting out of hand here." He stood up to stretch for a second and then sat back down. "There is a lot more that we need to do, but these are the most important of the things we need to address sooner rather than later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Forest]
"It's important to stand up for what you believe in. That's what Evin taught me. He also said that when no one else is standing up with you, you have to be even bigger and noticeable then before or else no one will ever take you seriously. Although," Ella chuckled, "he isn't the type of person that people seem to take seriously."
Ella started to wreck up everything that she had made. She threw dirt over where the fire had been to hide the charred ground and completely destroyed the shelter that she made. She made it look like that everything that was there was just a part of nature and she did a pretty good job of it. She couldn't tell if Evin would be proud of her for the job she did or pick out the tiniest little detail about it that no one would be able to pick out and then criticize her for it. It didn't matter much anymore now that she couldn't go back to the camp anyways.
From the clearing she went back into the dense forest and bean walking again. "If your going to follow me Sean, then do so. I'm off to the ruins where I can stay safe for now. It's your choise whether you want to join me. If you do then you better not slow me down.
"Finally I assumed he was trying to avoid being exposed. Daniel came here because he went to the orphanage and got Ella's name. I told him that she isn't with us anymore. He didn't believe me but I stuck with that story anyway and politely asked him to leave. I don't trust him and I won't give him the chance to simply drag the girl to Newhaven without giving her a choice or even having proof. For that, I think he might give us trouble soon. He is wounded now though, and I consider him smart enough not to try anything without a few men to back him. Which is not at all comforting, but should give us time to think"
The whole thing caught Evin by complete surprise. It would probably prove dangerous that she was wandering around in the forest with no real direction while there were people looking for her. If she was found my Newhaven, she would be forced into a life that Evin was sure she wasn't ready for, but if they were found by Blackpond and they found out about her importance, things would get deadly. The reality was that the Wolf Pack owned her at the moment and if any of them took Ella, they would have to take actions to stop anything from happening to her. This could prove to be very fatal.
Evin just stared into the lake while these thoughts passed through his head, until he just decided it was pointless. "We've had over a year to think. It's time that we really take action and I say we do it sooner rather than later. We need to find Ella-" Evin couldn't finish his sentence, he heard two assassins coming towards the lake. It was Alex, the Active who really wanted to go on a real mission and one of his recruit friends came up to him. He didn't want these people to hear anything that they were saying and let the two speak.
"I told you we'd find them here. They always go here when they have an opportunity." Alex said. "Evin, Crys! The White Knight is wandering around camp, against your orders. Or so I heard."
"My instructor told me to go tell you guys and let you know what he's up to." The recruit explained.
Evin sighed looking at Crystal. "Like I said, it's time to take action." He shot his head around to the two kids. "Tell our White Knight friend that if he doesn't leave within the next hour that the people in this camp will have the right to do whatever to him. Also let him know that whatever we will do is a luxury compared to what they do when they find an assassin wandering around Newhaven." There was no way that the White Knight, Daniel would have to think about what that meant. He knew exactly what he did to Allison, or at least what he would have done to her if given the chance.
"Will do." The two said almost simultaneously. He could tell that the recruit looked up to Alex just by the way he said it a split second after Alex did. It reminded him of when he looked up to Perry. He put that out of his mind when the two left.
He waited a bit to make sure that no one else to tell them anything. It was frustrating that there were so many interruptions in all of his decision making. People all around him acting like idiots. First there was Lena who could have defused a problem, even just a little by telling him the truth, then then was Jake who just could never own up to his problem and then let himself go in probably the worst of way at the worst of times. There was also Crystal who was running around making shady deals with White Knights that were getting the Wolf Pack nothing and finally the White Knight who thinks that they own the Wolf Pack just because we healed him. Evin was so close to reaching his breaking point. The next person to cross Evin wouldn't be as lucky as Jake was, even if it was something small. There would be blood, and if their lucky, he'd leave their dead body intact.
"As I was saying, we need to find Ella and then tell her what we know so she can make up her own mind. If the White Knight comes back for her, we will just respectfully let him know what we are doing and if he doesn't like that, then maybe he could learn how to function without an arm at all instead of just an injured one. I also heard something about Blackpond possibly planning something with the White Shadows. I could honestly care less what happened to them after how ridiculous Lena acted when I was talking to her, but if you want to take action, be my guest. Just know that I won't take part in it. Also I think we need to prove to the powers in Newhaven that we aren't going to let everyone wander into our camp or interfere in our lives. It is getting out of hand here." He stood up to stretch for a second and then sat back down. "There is a lot more that we need to do, but these are the most important of the things we need to address sooner rather than later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Forest]
"It's important to stand up for what you believe in. That's what Evin taught me. He also said that when no one else is standing up with you, you have to be even bigger and noticeable then before or else no one will ever take you seriously. Although," Ella chuckled, "he isn't the type of person that people seem to take seriously."
Ella started to wreck up everything that she had made. She threw dirt over where the fire had been to hide the charred ground and completely destroyed the shelter that she made. She made it look like that everything that was there was just a part of nature and she did a pretty good job of it. She couldn't tell if Evin would be proud of her for the job she did or pick out the tiniest little detail about it that no one would be able to pick out and then criticize her for it. It didn't matter much anymore now that she couldn't go back to the camp anyways.
From the clearing she went back into the dense forest and bean walking again. "If your going to follow me Sean, then do so. I'm off to the ruins where I can stay safe for now. It's your choise whether you want to join me. If you do then you better not slow me down.
It didn't take long before the guard that had followed Daniel was replaced by a familiar and friendly face. It was the girl he had tortured a couple of days ago. He could still not push the irony away from his thoughts as the girl greeted him good morning and continued to speak of hospitality. Daniel remained confused for a moment, but then he got the joke. He chuckled slightly and turned his gaze upon the girl. She seemed so young and yet, so experienced somehow. Maybe she just acted experienced or maybe she'd felt almost all of life's daggers through her earlier years? It wasn't anything he was going to ask her directly though.
"Good morning to you too, Assassin." Daniel begun and just realised something; He had not bothered to learn any of these persons names, but maybe that was for the good?
"Yes, the hospitality here is better than the dungeons, I know that too well myself. However, I don't know how long it will take before something will change that." Daniel moved on, looking around the camp. He saw several young girls that looked as if they were seventeen, but he could not be sure if any of them were Ella. Maybe it was true? Maybe Crystal (Assuming she was the blind girl) didn't know where Ella were after all? He'd have to think logically once he leaves this camp on where she could have travelled to remain safe. Turning to Allison once more, Daniel sighed slightly before continuing.
"This might sound strange to you, but do you know anything about Ella? Keep in mind that I wish her no harm, I just want to talk to her. If you know where she is and can take me to her, please don't hesitate on doing so." Daniel asked with his most honest and soft voice possible.
"Good morning to you too, Assassin." Daniel begun and just realised something; He had not bothered to learn any of these persons names, but maybe that was for the good?
"Yes, the hospitality here is better than the dungeons, I know that too well myself. However, I don't know how long it will take before something will change that." Daniel moved on, looking around the camp. He saw several young girls that looked as if they were seventeen, but he could not be sure if any of them were Ella. Maybe it was true? Maybe Crystal (Assuming she was the blind girl) didn't know where Ella were after all? He'd have to think logically once he leaves this camp on where she could have travelled to remain safe. Turning to Allison once more, Daniel sighed slightly before continuing.
"This might sound strange to you, but do you know anything about Ella? Keep in mind that I wish her no harm, I just want to talk to her. If you know where she is and can take me to her, please don't hesitate on doing so." Daniel asked with his most honest and soft voice possible.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys didn't hear half of what Evin said. In part because those were things she already knew, but mostly because the words didn't matter as much as his tone. She simply stood where she was for a few minutes in silence. "You're frustrated." She stated, finally breaking the silence. "There is nothing to do for the White Shadows, and Lena knows not to expect aid from me. Trust me though, if she was ridiculous with you it was very well deserved. I don't even care to ask what the conversation was about, but I know that much." She finally walked closer and sat by the water, touching its surface with her fingertips. "No one entered this camp without my knowledge or consent aside from Daniel. He didn't follow me, I would know. The only trail he could have used was one Theron created back when he was still trying to murder my parents. I already had it secured, so..." She mumbled, not even bothering to pretend that it even made a difference. "As for Ella, I agree with you. She is one of us, for as long as she wants to be. We protect our own." She stated. "So she won't go anywhere unless she chooses." She sighed. "She is your recruit, though, and being an instructor is a lot more than just teaching them to kill, so I expect you to handle this. She is your responsibility after all, and yes... I know I don't have to tell you that."
Crys stood in silence for a another while then she nodded. "About Jake... We might not have a chance to sit and talk for a long while, so...Listen carefully to what I'm going to say, because I won't say it again: I respect you. I consider you a friend and I trust you enough to put you in a position where slitting my throat is all it takes to take the command of this clan, trust me, a lot of people in your place would have tried by now. I also trust you enough to know that if someone does slit my throat some time you'll be able to handle it. And, much like I did with my mother, I respect you enough to ignore the shit you spit out when you're angry. However, if you ever say, imply, or think, that anyone or anything matters to me more than the Pack... Things will get very ugly." She warned, pulling out one of her daggers and simply using it to draw on the ground next to her foot. "I brought Jake back, after the Inn burned down, because I was the one who committed treason and not him. I confessed to my mother so she would bring him back." She sighed. "I let him live now because... Honestly, having him killed in that moment would be a little more than I could take. Even so, something in this whole story is just not right and I don't feel comfortable executing my best friend without having all the facts. Don't think I showed him any more mercy than I would show you or anyone else in this camp, and don't think I still want anything to do with him. Those would be incorrect assumptions to make."
She put away the dagger leaving the drawing of a rose carved on the dirt. "When I was traveling back to camp, I crossed paths with the captain of the Black Knights, she warned me about Blackpond meaning to attack the White Shadows. We exchanged a few words, nothing of importance, but... She said she was sorry I lost my mother, but she should have told someone that she was ill." Crys frowned, remembering the words. "I don't rule out the possibility of her saying that simply to affect me, but... It sounds... Like something my mother would hide. From me at least." Crys went quiet, erasing the drawing with her fingertips, before completing her thought. "I'm seriously considering going after this woman to see what made her say that. That if I don't go see Lena first, before she runs off to the desert. Either way, I need to know what the truth really is here." She muttered, rubbing her forehead and getting dirt all over it. She didn't get much sleep, she had a headache and wasn't in the best of moods. She knew that seeking out a Black Knight over one simple comment could be a waste of time, and considerably dangerous, but she felt the need to dig into this nonetheless.
--------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Ali nodded when Daniel asked about Ella, looking around to the all the angry glares being shot at the man. She chuckled, thinking of how people reacted the exact same way to Theron when they were told Dani was going to let him live. If a glare was enough to kill, the man would be out cold by now. She took a deep breath, starting to feel her headache fade. "If you're asking me, then you are asking for an answer Crys already denied, or didn't have in the first place. Either way, I don't know where Ella is. Me, if I was leaving this camp, there is only one place I would go. Although nowadays it's not as safe as it once was." She said with a little shrug.
Before Daniel had the to ask anything else, Alex approached them. "Sir, I'm here to inform you that if you do not leave camp within the hour..." He paused and cleared his throat before continuing, looking a little intimidated. "Then the people of this camp will be given the right to do whatever they want, and what we do will be a luxury compared to what you people do when you find an assassin wandering around Newhaven." With the message delivered the guy wandered off. Ali watched him walk away and meet up with a young recruit. She arched an eyebrow as both boys began laughing and shoving each other around as the walked. She nodded and muttered under her breath: "Boys." Then she turned to Daniel and gave him a little smirk. "One I thing I learned fast in this place is that assassins never make threats they aren't prepared to fulfill. So, my suggestion is that you go back to Newhaven, or go anywhere else but here. Trust me, you won't get any more answers than you already did."
With that she wandered off to find her recruit, she still had to discipline the boy for his actions.
------------------
[Forest]
Sean raised a brow at Ella. "Excuse me... Slow you down?" He laughed, following after her. "I was born in these woods, missy. Don't challenge me, or you'll eat my dust." He joked. Then he took a more serious tone. "Sorry, but Evin is full of shit. If he actually did things because he believed in them, then he shouldn't mind if people are impressed, noticing, or taking him seriously. To me, he does it to feed his ego."
He nodded, paying attention to the path as they walked and looking at Ella with only the corner of his eyes. "If you stand up by yourself in front of a stronger foe simply for the sake of acting strong... What good does it do if you're dead? It'd be impressive for about five minutes and then people would forget about it. It's easier to actually do things when no one bothers to pay attention to you, or consider you not to be a threat." He kicked some dirt around as he walked. "You could pull that off easily, if you weren't so desperate to prove yourself all the time." He stated, a little annoyed. "What was it that Evin said about you? Pathetic and useless? Why not let everyone believe that if they want... The more people underestimate you, the better the chance to sneak up on them." He smirked a little. "It's like a magic trick. It's much more impressive to leave people wondering how you did it than to brag about it." Then he shrugged. "Of course, that's just my opinion. I guess it depends if you want praise or if you want to actually make a difference."
Sean went silent for a good deal of walking after that, only breaking that silence when they reached a certain point of the path, then he stopped. "This isn't a very dangerous path to travel since mostly healers use it, and no one wants to mess with them, so... I'm going back to camp and let someone know where you'll be. Don't leave the trail though... If you don't make it to the ruins for whatever reason, I'll be dead for leaving you alone." He said, turning towards the most direct path back to camp and beginning to walk through it.
Crys didn't hear half of what Evin said. In part because those were things she already knew, but mostly because the words didn't matter as much as his tone. She simply stood where she was for a few minutes in silence. "You're frustrated." She stated, finally breaking the silence. "There is nothing to do for the White Shadows, and Lena knows not to expect aid from me. Trust me though, if she was ridiculous with you it was very well deserved. I don't even care to ask what the conversation was about, but I know that much." She finally walked closer and sat by the water, touching its surface with her fingertips. "No one entered this camp without my knowledge or consent aside from Daniel. He didn't follow me, I would know. The only trail he could have used was one Theron created back when he was still trying to murder my parents. I already had it secured, so..." She mumbled, not even bothering to pretend that it even made a difference. "As for Ella, I agree with you. She is one of us, for as long as she wants to be. We protect our own." She stated. "So she won't go anywhere unless she chooses." She sighed. "She is your recruit, though, and being an instructor is a lot more than just teaching them to kill, so I expect you to handle this. She is your responsibility after all, and yes... I know I don't have to tell you that."
Crys stood in silence for a another while then she nodded. "About Jake... We might not have a chance to sit and talk for a long while, so...Listen carefully to what I'm going to say, because I won't say it again: I respect you. I consider you a friend and I trust you enough to put you in a position where slitting my throat is all it takes to take the command of this clan, trust me, a lot of people in your place would have tried by now. I also trust you enough to know that if someone does slit my throat some time you'll be able to handle it. And, much like I did with my mother, I respect you enough to ignore the shit you spit out when you're angry. However, if you ever say, imply, or think, that anyone or anything matters to me more than the Pack... Things will get very ugly." She warned, pulling out one of her daggers and simply using it to draw on the ground next to her foot. "I brought Jake back, after the Inn burned down, because I was the one who committed treason and not him. I confessed to my mother so she would bring him back." She sighed. "I let him live now because... Honestly, having him killed in that moment would be a little more than I could take. Even so, something in this whole story is just not right and I don't feel comfortable executing my best friend without having all the facts. Don't think I showed him any more mercy than I would show you or anyone else in this camp, and don't think I still want anything to do with him. Those would be incorrect assumptions to make."
She put away the dagger leaving the drawing of a rose carved on the dirt. "When I was traveling back to camp, I crossed paths with the captain of the Black Knights, she warned me about Blackpond meaning to attack the White Shadows. We exchanged a few words, nothing of importance, but... She said she was sorry I lost my mother, but she should have told someone that she was ill." Crys frowned, remembering the words. "I don't rule out the possibility of her saying that simply to affect me, but... It sounds... Like something my mother would hide. From me at least." Crys went quiet, erasing the drawing with her fingertips, before completing her thought. "I'm seriously considering going after this woman to see what made her say that. That if I don't go see Lena first, before she runs off to the desert. Either way, I need to know what the truth really is here." She muttered, rubbing her forehead and getting dirt all over it. She didn't get much sleep, she had a headache and wasn't in the best of moods. She knew that seeking out a Black Knight over one simple comment could be a waste of time, and considerably dangerous, but she felt the need to dig into this nonetheless.
--------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Ali nodded when Daniel asked about Ella, looking around to the all the angry glares being shot at the man. She chuckled, thinking of how people reacted the exact same way to Theron when they were told Dani was going to let him live. If a glare was enough to kill, the man would be out cold by now. She took a deep breath, starting to feel her headache fade. "If you're asking me, then you are asking for an answer Crys already denied, or didn't have in the first place. Either way, I don't know where Ella is. Me, if I was leaving this camp, there is only one place I would go. Although nowadays it's not as safe as it once was." She said with a little shrug.
Before Daniel had the to ask anything else, Alex approached them. "Sir, I'm here to inform you that if you do not leave camp within the hour..." He paused and cleared his throat before continuing, looking a little intimidated. "Then the people of this camp will be given the right to do whatever they want, and what we do will be a luxury compared to what you people do when you find an assassin wandering around Newhaven." With the message delivered the guy wandered off. Ali watched him walk away and meet up with a young recruit. She arched an eyebrow as both boys began laughing and shoving each other around as the walked. She nodded and muttered under her breath: "Boys." Then she turned to Daniel and gave him a little smirk. "One I thing I learned fast in this place is that assassins never make threats they aren't prepared to fulfill. So, my suggestion is that you go back to Newhaven, or go anywhere else but here. Trust me, you won't get any more answers than you already did."
With that she wandered off to find her recruit, she still had to discipline the boy for his actions.
------------------
[Forest]
Sean raised a brow at Ella. "Excuse me... Slow you down?" He laughed, following after her. "I was born in these woods, missy. Don't challenge me, or you'll eat my dust." He joked. Then he took a more serious tone. "Sorry, but Evin is full of shit. If he actually did things because he believed in them, then he shouldn't mind if people are impressed, noticing, or taking him seriously. To me, he does it to feed his ego."
He nodded, paying attention to the path as they walked and looking at Ella with only the corner of his eyes. "If you stand up by yourself in front of a stronger foe simply for the sake of acting strong... What good does it do if you're dead? It'd be impressive for about five minutes and then people would forget about it. It's easier to actually do things when no one bothers to pay attention to you, or consider you not to be a threat." He kicked some dirt around as he walked. "You could pull that off easily, if you weren't so desperate to prove yourself all the time." He stated, a little annoyed. "What was it that Evin said about you? Pathetic and useless? Why not let everyone believe that if they want... The more people underestimate you, the better the chance to sneak up on them." He smirked a little. "It's like a magic trick. It's much more impressive to leave people wondering how you did it than to brag about it." Then he shrugged. "Of course, that's just my opinion. I guess it depends if you want praise or if you want to actually make a difference."
Sean went silent for a good deal of walking after that, only breaking that silence when they reached a certain point of the path, then he stopped. "This isn't a very dangerous path to travel since mostly healers use it, and no one wants to mess with them, so... I'm going back to camp and let someone know where you'll be. Don't leave the trail though... If you don't make it to the ruins for whatever reason, I'll be dead for leaving you alone." He said, turning towards the most direct path back to camp and beginning to walk through it.
Mageria and Sarris had ended up in the War Room, going over maps of the city and surrounding areas. They had been talking over options for sometime when they both agreed that they needed to bring the army back closer to Newhaven in order to make sure that it was available for quicker deployment. Mageria had pulled Marco in from his other duties and sent him to deliver the orders as quickly as possible. He had nodded and simply taken the folded envelope before saluting and twisting into the shape of a giant bird. Mageria watched out of the window as he took off and shook her head. When she started out in this job, she really hadn’t thought that she was going to be dealing with this kind of thing.
Sarris was studying the maps still laid out over every inch of the table, absently toying with a thick ring on a chain around her neck. When she looked up, Mageria was going through a thick stack of reports, a frown tugging at one corner of her mouth.
“Problem?”
Mageria looked up. “Sort of. I have a lot to catch up on, given that I was out in the field for a while and then knocked out for a bit after that riot.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I’m trying to figure out what’s gone on and what should have been going on. I’d be more upset about the way the Wolves got in, but we’ve been understrength for a while now. I can’t expect my soldiers to be everywhere.” With a sigh she sat back and rubbed her eyes. “Honestly I’m more worried about what that weasel Hastings told me. The White Shadows might be able to defend themselves, but if they get too much trouble, then they’re going to leave.”
At that Sarris looked up, trouble in her eyes. If Lena left without being able to look around for Ella, then she was going to loose the one shot she had at finding her daughter. Quickly she looked back down, hiding her reaction. She wasn’t ready to trust anyone else with the knowledge of her daughter, not when silence was the only thing that was protecting her.
Mageria went back to studying the reports in her hands. She hadn’t precisely lied, most of them covered everything that had happened while she was gone. But one small stack covered everything that her people had been able to dig up covering one Lady Sarris, the exiled Queen. There was a sketch of the woman and allowing for age, it did match the person standing across from her. There was no sign that she had been wearing a ring recently, so they probably didn’t have to worry about her being an assassin. The age, the description, all of that matched. She even had the ‘manner born’ that way that nobles had of acting that had been trained into them since birth. But thus far the thing that counted most in her favor was the fact that they had gone through the White Shadows encampment on the way back. Thomas had said that they knew her and were friendly with her. Which meant that as far as Mageria was concerned, she might as well take it at face value that she was in fact dealing with the real Lady Sarris.
------------------------------------
Elsewhere Thomas was going through the Castle, talking with everybody that had been gathering information in his absence. It took him a while, and actually he had begun it before he had even gone to bed last night. He had talked to the Archivist, to the servants, to the guards, to his spys . . . everyone that he could think of. In the end he had some rather troubling information. It seemed that while he was off looking for the former Queen, word had gotten around to a disturbing number of people that there might be an heir to the throne somewhere out in the world. After he had talked to enough people to be sure of his information, he went to find Captain Mageria and more importantly the Lady Sarris. She had said that she had never . . . . . come to think of it, she had said that she had never born another son. Which left room open for a daughter. And if she was vulnerable . . . he had to report this. Along with another bit of disturbing information he had found about the White Knight Daniel.
Sarris was studying the maps still laid out over every inch of the table, absently toying with a thick ring on a chain around her neck. When she looked up, Mageria was going through a thick stack of reports, a frown tugging at one corner of her mouth.
“Problem?”
Mageria looked up. “Sort of. I have a lot to catch up on, given that I was out in the field for a while and then knocked out for a bit after that riot.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I’m trying to figure out what’s gone on and what should have been going on. I’d be more upset about the way the Wolves got in, but we’ve been understrength for a while now. I can’t expect my soldiers to be everywhere.” With a sigh she sat back and rubbed her eyes. “Honestly I’m more worried about what that weasel Hastings told me. The White Shadows might be able to defend themselves, but if they get too much trouble, then they’re going to leave.”
At that Sarris looked up, trouble in her eyes. If Lena left without being able to look around for Ella, then she was going to loose the one shot she had at finding her daughter. Quickly she looked back down, hiding her reaction. She wasn’t ready to trust anyone else with the knowledge of her daughter, not when silence was the only thing that was protecting her.
Mageria went back to studying the reports in her hands. She hadn’t precisely lied, most of them covered everything that had happened while she was gone. But one small stack covered everything that her people had been able to dig up covering one Lady Sarris, the exiled Queen. There was a sketch of the woman and allowing for age, it did match the person standing across from her. There was no sign that she had been wearing a ring recently, so they probably didn’t have to worry about her being an assassin. The age, the description, all of that matched. She even had the ‘manner born’ that way that nobles had of acting that had been trained into them since birth. But thus far the thing that counted most in her favor was the fact that they had gone through the White Shadows encampment on the way back. Thomas had said that they knew her and were friendly with her. Which meant that as far as Mageria was concerned, she might as well take it at face value that she was in fact dealing with the real Lady Sarris.
------------------------------------
Elsewhere Thomas was going through the Castle, talking with everybody that had been gathering information in his absence. It took him a while, and actually he had begun it before he had even gone to bed last night. He had talked to the Archivist, to the servants, to the guards, to his spys . . . everyone that he could think of. In the end he had some rather troubling information. It seemed that while he was off looking for the former Queen, word had gotten around to a disturbing number of people that there might be an heir to the throne somewhere out in the world. After he had talked to enough people to be sure of his information, he went to find Captain Mageria and more importantly the Lady Sarris. She had said that she had never . . . . . come to think of it, she had said that she had never born another son. Which left room open for a daughter. And if she was vulnerable . . . he had to report this. Along with another bit of disturbing information he had found about the White Knight Daniel.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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It was a while still before the Black Guards were able to rise. Each doing what they could to remove the grogginess from their heads. Grim was patient keeping his eyes toward the ruins. As far as he could tell nothing had happened within the time spent resting. The company had daylight to fully rally itself before returning to their endeavor.
“How long have you known the Captain?”
The young pup meant no harm in it, a genuine curiosity about his boss wasn’t an unnatural thing. Asking a veteran member made better sense then quizzing his peers. Grim was also a superior which meant a different view from the ranks of the Guard. Offering an insight that would perhaps shed some light on the youth’s thoughts.
“Mageria? Hmmm… Since my inauguration into the Black Knights. Wish I could give you an accurate count lad, but it feels like forever ago. What I can say is that she has a way of surprising you. Just when you might think the task is impossible Mageria swoops in and turns it around. Take a peek at her records if you ever get the chance, you’ll see what I mean. More then worthy of the title given to her in my opinion.”
There was little more to be said on the matter. The guardsman was acceptant of the wisdom passed on to him. Grim was glade to see such an aspiring soldier among their ranks. There was a time when theirs was a fleeting group of cutthroats. Now just as the Black Knights were threatened with extinction, they were seeing their ranks bloom with potential.
The ride to the Ruins proved boring. No events transpired save the rhythmic patter of their mare’s hooves against the ground. Having remained in formation for the whole of the trip. Grim was at the head with two guards at each flank. Eyes careful to watch for anything out of place. The Ruins themselves was a place of despair and hope. Being once a city worthy for some to call home, now it remained piles of rock and rubble. The result of their endless war.
On the other hand there was a gathering of tents and houses that belonged to the White Shadows. In a way they were hope rekindled to the land. Bringing life and peace to a place that once was only tragedy and sorrows. If they knew it or not, Grim believed that the healers would set the bar for the rest of the land. Showing Valcrest the way in which to behave.
Grim was the first to be intercepted and while the White Shadows were more then compliant to his approach the Black Knight knew he was in for a bit of an argument. They had a few rules within their haven, one of which Grim simply could not cope with.
“With all due respect White Shadow… I will not part with my blade. I care not if I have to stand here the entire time. You must fetch Lady Helena for I did not come all this way to be told what I am allowed to do like some child.”
Grim meant no ill will, but he never left his weapon behind. A Black Knight is trained to always be wary, to understand that their enemy could be anyone. Part of this education meant always being armed, and since Grim possessed only a single sword, he never gave it up. It was true he respected the White Shadows and what they represented, but he couldn’t bend this time. Knowing that danger could be just around the corner.
“You can tell the White Rose that Grim has come to beg a boon of her. My other titles shouldn’t be necessary.”
“How long have you known the Captain?”
The young pup meant no harm in it, a genuine curiosity about his boss wasn’t an unnatural thing. Asking a veteran member made better sense then quizzing his peers. Grim was also a superior which meant a different view from the ranks of the Guard. Offering an insight that would perhaps shed some light on the youth’s thoughts.
“Mageria? Hmmm… Since my inauguration into the Black Knights. Wish I could give you an accurate count lad, but it feels like forever ago. What I can say is that she has a way of surprising you. Just when you might think the task is impossible Mageria swoops in and turns it around. Take a peek at her records if you ever get the chance, you’ll see what I mean. More then worthy of the title given to her in my opinion.”
There was little more to be said on the matter. The guardsman was acceptant of the wisdom passed on to him. Grim was glade to see such an aspiring soldier among their ranks. There was a time when theirs was a fleeting group of cutthroats. Now just as the Black Knights were threatened with extinction, they were seeing their ranks bloom with potential.
The ride to the Ruins proved boring. No events transpired save the rhythmic patter of their mare’s hooves against the ground. Having remained in formation for the whole of the trip. Grim was at the head with two guards at each flank. Eyes careful to watch for anything out of place. The Ruins themselves was a place of despair and hope. Being once a city worthy for some to call home, now it remained piles of rock and rubble. The result of their endless war.
On the other hand there was a gathering of tents and houses that belonged to the White Shadows. In a way they were hope rekindled to the land. Bringing life and peace to a place that once was only tragedy and sorrows. If they knew it or not, Grim believed that the healers would set the bar for the rest of the land. Showing Valcrest the way in which to behave.
Grim was the first to be intercepted and while the White Shadows were more then compliant to his approach the Black Knight knew he was in for a bit of an argument. They had a few rules within their haven, one of which Grim simply could not cope with.
“With all due respect White Shadow… I will not part with my blade. I care not if I have to stand here the entire time. You must fetch Lady Helena for I did not come all this way to be told what I am allowed to do like some child.”
Grim meant no ill will, but he never left his weapon behind. A Black Knight is trained to always be wary, to understand that their enemy could be anyone. Part of this education meant always being armed, and since Grim possessed only a single sword, he never gave it up. It was true he respected the White Shadows and what they represented, but he couldn’t bend this time. Knowing that danger could be just around the corner.
“You can tell the White Rose that Grim has come to beg a boon of her. My other titles shouldn’t be necessary.”
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
"One I thing I learned fast in this place is that assassins never make threats they aren't prepared to fulfill. So, my suggestion is that you go back to Newhaven, or go anywhere else but here. Trust me, you won't get any more answers than you already did." The female assassin he had somehow grown fond of replied to what the young boy had reported to Daniel before walking away. Daniel remained where he stood, gazing at the young woman as she left. It wasn't a surprise why the Wolves had made so many enemies, not just outside their own clan, but also inside it. They loved to make threats to just about anyone, even one of their own. This wasn't how one earned the respect of others. That would require passion, determination and a kind heart. They had determination, no more, no less. Shaking his head in pure disappointment, Daniel made his way back to the little house where he had been placed in his sleep.
He walked slowly and quietly into his room and scanned it for a moment. There was a bed, a small night table next to the bed and some curtains over the window. Not much else really. Looking around Daniel noticed his few equipments and armor still remained close to his bed, untouched. While equipping all of it over again, Daniels mind began to wander over the many things he had learned these few hours; This girl Ella was the rightfully heir to the Newhaven Throne, She was no longer here in the Wolf Packs camp and that the Wolves loved to treat just about anyone like crap. The last one was not important, but Daniel liked to keep it in mind the next time he meets them. Then it hit him;
"Me, if I was leaving this camp, there is only one place I would go. Although nowadays it's not as safe as it once was." The female assassin had told him. The assassins used to hang around the Ruins when not in their camp and not on an assignment. The cities were too dangerous and the Ruins were not as safe as it used to be considering the war had accelerated quite a bit after the King was killed a year ago.
"The Healers!" Daniel thought and exploded out from his room and the small house. He didn't even notice until he had left the house that he had equipped all of his things extremely quickly for once. Daniel rushed across the camp and soon found himself in the forest once more. He kept on running, never stopping and never looking back. If he was right, he would find Ella at the Healers and they would be none the wiser when it came to his intentions with Ella. He ran on as if some sort of master were running behind him with a whip.
He walked slowly and quietly into his room and scanned it for a moment. There was a bed, a small night table next to the bed and some curtains over the window. Not much else really. Looking around Daniel noticed his few equipments and armor still remained close to his bed, untouched. While equipping all of it over again, Daniels mind began to wander over the many things he had learned these few hours; This girl Ella was the rightfully heir to the Newhaven Throne, She was no longer here in the Wolf Packs camp and that the Wolves loved to treat just about anyone like crap. The last one was not important, but Daniel liked to keep it in mind the next time he meets them. Then it hit him;
"Me, if I was leaving this camp, there is only one place I would go. Although nowadays it's not as safe as it once was." The female assassin had told him. The assassins used to hang around the Ruins when not in their camp and not on an assignment. The cities were too dangerous and the Ruins were not as safe as it used to be considering the war had accelerated quite a bit after the King was killed a year ago.
"The Healers!" Daniel thought and exploded out from his room and the small house. He didn't even notice until he had left the house that he had equipped all of his things extremely quickly for once. Daniel rushed across the camp and soon found himself in the forest once more. He kept on running, never stopping and never looking back. If he was right, he would find Ella at the Healers and they would be none the wiser when it came to his intentions with Ella. He ran on as if some sort of master were running behind him with a whip.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin didn't have much trouble understanding everything Crystal was saying. He knew that Crystal was being completely serious, but he didn't exactly believe in what she was saying, he didn't believe it at all. She said that she would treat anyone else the way she did to Jake, and he believed she was telling the truth, but then again there had to be consequences even if they wanted to investigate further. They shouldn't have let Jake go, but killing him in haste like Evin wanted to do was probably not the best option either. He did want to see Jake dead, but he understood why that wasn't a good idea either.
Crystal moved on in the conversation. She was now talking about a Black Knight that she was talking to the same night she had talked to the same night she met with the White Knight. It was almost like she didn't learn from her mistake at all. She talks to one White Knight and he ends up coming home practically with her and starts to cause trouble at the worst of times. Now she wanted to do the same thing with a Black Knight and Black Knights were notorious for being rougher than their counterparts. Knowing Mageria, who he suspected Crystal was talking about because of Crystal's use of the word "her", she would probably have a bit of bitter feelings towards the assassins after being betrayed by one just the other day. It was very possible that the assassins were an even bigger target then before.
"You know Crystal, it is a very poor decision to go out and start talking to all the Knights like you are. I understand that communication is necessary for proper healing in our shattered relationship with Newhaven, but I'd really advise against meeting with a Black Knight, especially if you go out alone. I believe I know that Black Knight that you want to meet with and I can vouch for her, she probably isn't all that happy with us. Going alone to meet with any power in Newhaven could prove to become violent. Who knows, "Evin laughed, but he knew that it could be true. With the riots and other acts in the past year, he was sure that they would be happy to kill off the chain of command even ore than they already have. It could leave the Pack i ruins. "I hope you understand my point of view. Now I'm going to go make sure the White Knight has left now."
Evin wasn't sure if it had been an hour yet, or even if it had been ten minutes since he told Alex and his friend to ask the Knight to leave. He kind of hoped that it had been an hour though, he didn’t want to see that Knight in the camp any longer unless he was dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Healer's Camp]
Ella spent the next few hours alone thinking about what Sean had told her. It really was thought provoking, what he had to say. Subtly was what she always imagined what assassins were all about. They seemed to be very good at being subtle in the past. She had never even seen an assassin until they came and save her life. What influence did they have before they had made themselves known and killed the king though. She hated Evin so much sometimes, but she truly believed that he did have some good points. Evin had stood up against many things in his lifetime and was still living. There was no way that at times, he was outnumbered or out-strengthened at some time or another. Sean seemed to know what he was talking about tough, and what he said seemed more reasonable. She just had to agree with him.
"Welcome." A young woman greeted her almost as soon as she made it. "Are you here seeking medical care, or for other reasons? If you are here to talk to Lena, I'm afraid that se is rather busy, besides that, we are free to assist you in any other way which you may be looking for."
Ella smiled politely. "No, I'm just here to rest for a couple of days and that is all."
"Ok, perfect. If you have any weapons, I have to ask you to remove them from your person and leave them here where they will be kept safe.” It was obvious that this was burned into the healers mind. There were no ifs ands or buts when it came to this rule so Ella complied.
“You don’t have to answer me, but just out of curiosity, can I have a name?” lady asked.
“Uh, Layla.” She replied, removing the one dagger she had from her hidden belt.
The woman smiled, not saying anything else, and then brought her to the places where people stayed. It was just a couple of tents, enough for probably ten to fifteen people at the most. It seemed like there were only a few random drifters staying here. She thought about maybe talking to them, but decided against it for the time being. She wasn’t quite sure why she was kicked out of the camp so suddenly, but there was probably a good reason. Ella decided that it was best to wait for contact from the camp before she talk to anyone about anything.
Before the woman left to continue her duties, Ella stopped her. “I only want to talk to assassins. If anyone but an assassin comes here to speak to me, please don’t allow them.”
Ella knew that she couldn’t hold up a solid story, so she didn’t want to talk to anyone else unless they were from the Pack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
“You know this meeting would have ended a lot sooner if you hadn’t have disputed the issue.” the king said in roaring laughter at his friend.
“Could you shut up!” Hastings paused to give his king an irritated look. “The meeting was still too long. What was it, five hours?”
“I’m surprised you know how long it was, you were asleep half the time.”
“That would have been different if you didn’t let it move so slowly.”
Rory stopped his friend, and waited until the rest of the men had cleared from the conference room. “I let it move so slowly because I wanted to make sure that everyone in the room understood what was going on. We had to discuss the inn and you know how difficult that will be, but you wouldn’t know because you were asleep when we were talking about that. Lev also had some good ideas that I wasn‘t expecting.”
“Lev is an idiot! What does he know about war? He’s in charge of crime in this city, and you as well as I know he’s barely done anything for it.”
“Get used to it, because Lev is going to be the one responsible for leading the attack on the Healers.”
Hastings froze after Rory said that. He was under the impression that he would be picking the person who was charging the attack. It seemed like he had no control over his armies anymore. His tone darkened, and face dipped into the shadows when he said, “I’ll go suit up and we will move out tonight. I feel better after that sleep. It did me good.”
He didn’t bow or pay his respects to his King like he usually would. He didn’t even look at Rory, he just walked off, leaving Rory to stand in the low light room alone. There was some light, but he felt so alone. It felt like he was standing in a sea of darkness. His friend might have been home, but he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't the same.
Crystal moved on in the conversation. She was now talking about a Black Knight that she was talking to the same night she had talked to the same night she met with the White Knight. It was almost like she didn't learn from her mistake at all. She talks to one White Knight and he ends up coming home practically with her and starts to cause trouble at the worst of times. Now she wanted to do the same thing with a Black Knight and Black Knights were notorious for being rougher than their counterparts. Knowing Mageria, who he suspected Crystal was talking about because of Crystal's use of the word "her", she would probably have a bit of bitter feelings towards the assassins after being betrayed by one just the other day. It was very possible that the assassins were an even bigger target then before.
"You know Crystal, it is a very poor decision to go out and start talking to all the Knights like you are. I understand that communication is necessary for proper healing in our shattered relationship with Newhaven, but I'd really advise against meeting with a Black Knight, especially if you go out alone. I believe I know that Black Knight that you want to meet with and I can vouch for her, she probably isn't all that happy with us. Going alone to meet with any power in Newhaven could prove to become violent. Who knows, "Evin laughed, but he knew that it could be true. With the riots and other acts in the past year, he was sure that they would be happy to kill off the chain of command even ore than they already have. It could leave the Pack i ruins. "I hope you understand my point of view. Now I'm going to go make sure the White Knight has left now."
Evin wasn't sure if it had been an hour yet, or even if it had been ten minutes since he told Alex and his friend to ask the Knight to leave. He kind of hoped that it had been an hour though, he didn’t want to see that Knight in the camp any longer unless he was dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Healer's Camp]
Ella spent the next few hours alone thinking about what Sean had told her. It really was thought provoking, what he had to say. Subtly was what she always imagined what assassins were all about. They seemed to be very good at being subtle in the past. She had never even seen an assassin until they came and save her life. What influence did they have before they had made themselves known and killed the king though. She hated Evin so much sometimes, but she truly believed that he did have some good points. Evin had stood up against many things in his lifetime and was still living. There was no way that at times, he was outnumbered or out-strengthened at some time or another. Sean seemed to know what he was talking about tough, and what he said seemed more reasonable. She just had to agree with him.
"Welcome." A young woman greeted her almost as soon as she made it. "Are you here seeking medical care, or for other reasons? If you are here to talk to Lena, I'm afraid that se is rather busy, besides that, we are free to assist you in any other way which you may be looking for."
Ella smiled politely. "No, I'm just here to rest for a couple of days and that is all."
"Ok, perfect. If you have any weapons, I have to ask you to remove them from your person and leave them here where they will be kept safe.” It was obvious that this was burned into the healers mind. There were no ifs ands or buts when it came to this rule so Ella complied.
“You don’t have to answer me, but just out of curiosity, can I have a name?” lady asked.
“Uh, Layla.” She replied, removing the one dagger she had from her hidden belt.
The woman smiled, not saying anything else, and then brought her to the places where people stayed. It was just a couple of tents, enough for probably ten to fifteen people at the most. It seemed like there were only a few random drifters staying here. She thought about maybe talking to them, but decided against it for the time being. She wasn’t quite sure why she was kicked out of the camp so suddenly, but there was probably a good reason. Ella decided that it was best to wait for contact from the camp before she talk to anyone about anything.
Before the woman left to continue her duties, Ella stopped her. “I only want to talk to assassins. If anyone but an assassin comes here to speak to me, please don’t allow them.”
Ella knew that she couldn’t hold up a solid story, so she didn’t want to talk to anyone else unless they were from the Pack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
“You know this meeting would have ended a lot sooner if you hadn’t have disputed the issue.” the king said in roaring laughter at his friend.
“Could you shut up!” Hastings paused to give his king an irritated look. “The meeting was still too long. What was it, five hours?”
“I’m surprised you know how long it was, you were asleep half the time.”
“That would have been different if you didn’t let it move so slowly.”
Rory stopped his friend, and waited until the rest of the men had cleared from the conference room. “I let it move so slowly because I wanted to make sure that everyone in the room understood what was going on. We had to discuss the inn and you know how difficult that will be, but you wouldn’t know because you were asleep when we were talking about that. Lev also had some good ideas that I wasn‘t expecting.”
“Lev is an idiot! What does he know about war? He’s in charge of crime in this city, and you as well as I know he’s barely done anything for it.”
“Get used to it, because Lev is going to be the one responsible for leading the attack on the Healers.”
Hastings froze after Rory said that. He was under the impression that he would be picking the person who was charging the attack. It seemed like he had no control over his armies anymore. His tone darkened, and face dipped into the shadows when he said, “I’ll go suit up and we will move out tonight. I feel better after that sleep. It did me good.”
He didn’t bow or pay his respects to his King like he usually would. He didn’t even look at Rory, he just walked off, leaving Rory to stand in the low light room alone. There was some light, but he felt so alone. It felt like he was standing in a sea of darkness. His friend might have been home, but he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't the same.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Jake woke up to a burning pain on the left side of his face and soon found himself being held down, with considerable ease, by a brunette girl that was wiping his face with a cold piece of cloth. "Why?" He muttered.
"Oh, goody, you're awake." The girl exclaimed. "To answer your question: I need to get the rest of this medicine off your face. Trust me, you won't like to leave it there too long."
Jake frowned. "Who the hell are you?"
She chuckled. "Sorry, how rude of me... My name is Jacklyn. You may call me Jackie, or Jax. I'm Alistair's apprentice. One of them, at least. You are Jake, right? You're Lena's nephew aren't you? Annie talks about you a lot. And I mean, A LOT."
"Did she happen to mention the fact that I dislike to be woken up by strange talkative girls? Because I really do." Jake muttered. "I mean, you really make me wish I had both my ears cut right off."
She nodded. "No... She did tell me you can be a rude jackass sometimes, though. Guess she wasn't joking. Also, I can grant you that wish easily if you don't knock it off right now." She answered with a smile. Pulling away from him, and fetching some clean bandages on her bag.
"Feisty, huh?" Jake chuckled, slowly reaching out towards his ear, stopping as the girl turned and slapped his hand.
"Don't poke your wounds!" She exclaimed.
"Yes, mom." He mumbled, rubbing his hand where she'd hit him. Holding still while she checked the stitches and bandaged his face.
"Jealous boyfriend?" She asked.
"Huh?" Jake mumbled, not understanding the question.
"Your face. Did you go after the wrong girl?" She asked.
"What? No! And it's really none of your business!" He exclaimed, with a frown.
"Hum... You do seem like the type who would do that." She stated, with a little shrug. "Your good to go... Do whatever you want." She said, getting up and leaving the tent.
"No. I don't!" He protested, shouting after her. "I've never..." He sighed. "Wait, why I'm explaining myself?" Jake muttered, standing up and looking down at his bloody clothes. "Crap. I knew this was coming, why didn't I pack a bag? Oh, yeah, right... I was supposed to be dead right now!"
"Kill yourself." A voice sounded behind him and he turned to look at Alistair.
"Don't you healers know any boundaries?" He asked the man, in an angered tone.
Alistair laughed. "No, most of us really don't. I see you met Jax. Get used to her, she'll be treating you. I usually have more important matter's to tend to. Your aunt has the attention span of a five year old and usually leaves the boring things to me." He explained, stretching. It was rather obvious that he had just woken up himself.
"I'm flattered that you don't count me as part of the boring things." Jake stated. "So, what's her enlightenment?"
"Jax? Aside from her ability to talk faster than any other person... Telekinesis." Alistair said, absently, tossing some clean clothes on the mat Jake had been using to sleep. "Ethan sneaked into your house in the Pack's camp to get you clothes. Don't expect any other favors though."
"Telekinesis? Hum.." Jake mumbled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have expected this either."
"Yes. She is tiny and weak, physically, but she can cause a person's heart to explode at miles away. I've seen her do it. So, if you feel the urge to strangle her in a near future I suggest you suppress it." Alistair warned, with a little smirk. "Change and go to the gates. I need to distract a visitor while Lena is busy. I'm almost positive he'll be interested in talking with you."
Alistair left and Jake changed his clothes quickly before someone else barged in. Once dressed, in a set of similar clothes to ones he was wearing before, Jake left the small tent and was immediately intercepted by Jax on his way to the gates. "You sure clean up nice, but you could use a haircut. You look like a hob-" She stopped talking when Jake covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shut up." He muttered.
The girl gave him a grin underneath his hand, and soon Jake found himself being pushed back at into on of the remaining stone walls of what once was Blackhurst. He wasn't push with enough force to hurt, but to make a point. He was still feeling himself being pressed against the wall while Jax walked towards him slowly. "This is a preview of what people get from me when they make unauthorized physical contact." She explained. "I would simply advise against it, but I take it assassins learn best this way." She stated.
When she finished speaking, Jake felt the pressure disappear and stumbled forward as he recovered his balance. "I apologize." He answered. "I'm just not in the mood for so much cheerfulness right now."
She nodded. "Noted." She said, smiling.
"How old are you? He asked walking towards the main entrance. The gates, as the healers referred to them, were simply two white flags that marked the main entrance of the camp. When Jake caught sight of who was standing by them however he sighed. "Fuck you, Alistair." He muttered under his breath.
"I'm 24. Although I might look like an 18 year old and act like a five year old at times." She followed his gaze and added. "Friends of yours?"
"Sort of." Jake mumbled. "We'll have to continue this conversation at another time." He mumbled walking slowly towards the gates. The healers that were stationed there seemed uneasy, probably due to Grim's presence. Since he didn't enter, Jake assumed he refused to leave his sword.
As he reached the entrance, he let his hand rest on the shoulder of the gatekeeper in order to calm him down. "Greetings travelers!" He said, imitating the usual manner in which the healers greeted their visitors. "My aunt is at the moment unavailable. She will be here in a bit, but she sent me as, I assume, a distraction." Jake wasn't sure how his act of resigning had been seen in Newhaven by the few people who knew him, only the Black Knights and a few black guards, but he hoped there were no resentments there. He lowered his voice a bit, walking past the gates so that the healers wouldn't hear him. "Should I be worried with the fact you had to bring backup to visit healers?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
------------------------
Alistair was trying to calm one of the most recently graduated healers. The eighteen year old girl was in complete distress insisting to see Lena as soon as possible. "Tell me, Angie! What did you see?" The man insisted.
The girl only shook her head violently, shivering. "I need to speak to Lena. Lena." She repeated.
Alistair nodded to Ethan. "Go get Helena. Tell her this is important and can't wait." He watched his brother leave and simply attempted to comfort the girl. Angie was a seer. She could see what was to come, without willing it, it just happened to her when least expected. Alistair wasn't sure of what the girl had seen this time, but whatever it was... It was terrifying her.
---------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys listened to Evin as he spoke, every word of it even if she seemed to be elsewhere. Obviously, he was right. She already had taken a risk with Daniel, and it didn't end well. The truth was important, to her personally, even if it didn't change anything, but she couldn't endanger the clan to get to it. She needed to think as a leader first, that much she understood. She nodded as Evin started to leave. "Are you ever going to call me Crys?" She asked. "My mother was the only other person who called me Crystal. I hate it." That was her only response to the whole speech Evin made. She knew that Daniel had left, but she didn't say anything and simply let Evin leave. She needed some time on her own to figure out what to do next.
"Oh, goody, you're awake." The girl exclaimed. "To answer your question: I need to get the rest of this medicine off your face. Trust me, you won't like to leave it there too long."
Jake frowned. "Who the hell are you?"
She chuckled. "Sorry, how rude of me... My name is Jacklyn. You may call me Jackie, or Jax. I'm Alistair's apprentice. One of them, at least. You are Jake, right? You're Lena's nephew aren't you? Annie talks about you a lot. And I mean, A LOT."
"Did she happen to mention the fact that I dislike to be woken up by strange talkative girls? Because I really do." Jake muttered. "I mean, you really make me wish I had both my ears cut right off."
She nodded. "No... She did tell me you can be a rude jackass sometimes, though. Guess she wasn't joking. Also, I can grant you that wish easily if you don't knock it off right now." She answered with a smile. Pulling away from him, and fetching some clean bandages on her bag.
"Feisty, huh?" Jake chuckled, slowly reaching out towards his ear, stopping as the girl turned and slapped his hand.
"Don't poke your wounds!" She exclaimed.
"Yes, mom." He mumbled, rubbing his hand where she'd hit him. Holding still while she checked the stitches and bandaged his face.
"Jealous boyfriend?" She asked.
"Huh?" Jake mumbled, not understanding the question.
"Your face. Did you go after the wrong girl?" She asked.
"What? No! And it's really none of your business!" He exclaimed, with a frown.
"Hum... You do seem like the type who would do that." She stated, with a little shrug. "Your good to go... Do whatever you want." She said, getting up and leaving the tent.
"No. I don't!" He protested, shouting after her. "I've never..." He sighed. "Wait, why I'm explaining myself?" Jake muttered, standing up and looking down at his bloody clothes. "Crap. I knew this was coming, why didn't I pack a bag? Oh, yeah, right... I was supposed to be dead right now!"
"Kill yourself." A voice sounded behind him and he turned to look at Alistair.
"Don't you healers know any boundaries?" He asked the man, in an angered tone.
Alistair laughed. "No, most of us really don't. I see you met Jax. Get used to her, she'll be treating you. I usually have more important matter's to tend to. Your aunt has the attention span of a five year old and usually leaves the boring things to me." He explained, stretching. It was rather obvious that he had just woken up himself.
"I'm flattered that you don't count me as part of the boring things." Jake stated. "So, what's her enlightenment?"
"Jax? Aside from her ability to talk faster than any other person... Telekinesis." Alistair said, absently, tossing some clean clothes on the mat Jake had been using to sleep. "Ethan sneaked into your house in the Pack's camp to get you clothes. Don't expect any other favors though."
"Telekinesis? Hum.." Jake mumbled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have expected this either."
"Yes. She is tiny and weak, physically, but she can cause a person's heart to explode at miles away. I've seen her do it. So, if you feel the urge to strangle her in a near future I suggest you suppress it." Alistair warned, with a little smirk. "Change and go to the gates. I need to distract a visitor while Lena is busy. I'm almost positive he'll be interested in talking with you."
Alistair left and Jake changed his clothes quickly before someone else barged in. Once dressed, in a set of similar clothes to ones he was wearing before, Jake left the small tent and was immediately intercepted by Jax on his way to the gates. "You sure clean up nice, but you could use a haircut. You look like a hob-" She stopped talking when Jake covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shut up." He muttered.
The girl gave him a grin underneath his hand, and soon Jake found himself being pushed back at into on of the remaining stone walls of what once was Blackhurst. He wasn't push with enough force to hurt, but to make a point. He was still feeling himself being pressed against the wall while Jax walked towards him slowly. "This is a preview of what people get from me when they make unauthorized physical contact." She explained. "I would simply advise against it, but I take it assassins learn best this way." She stated.
When she finished speaking, Jake felt the pressure disappear and stumbled forward as he recovered his balance. "I apologize." He answered. "I'm just not in the mood for so much cheerfulness right now."
She nodded. "Noted." She said, smiling.
"How old are you? He asked walking towards the main entrance. The gates, as the healers referred to them, were simply two white flags that marked the main entrance of the camp. When Jake caught sight of who was standing by them however he sighed. "Fuck you, Alistair." He muttered under his breath.
"I'm 24. Although I might look like an 18 year old and act like a five year old at times." She followed his gaze and added. "Friends of yours?"
"Sort of." Jake mumbled. "We'll have to continue this conversation at another time." He mumbled walking slowly towards the gates. The healers that were stationed there seemed uneasy, probably due to Grim's presence. Since he didn't enter, Jake assumed he refused to leave his sword.
As he reached the entrance, he let his hand rest on the shoulder of the gatekeeper in order to calm him down. "Greetings travelers!" He said, imitating the usual manner in which the healers greeted their visitors. "My aunt is at the moment unavailable. She will be here in a bit, but she sent me as, I assume, a distraction." Jake wasn't sure how his act of resigning had been seen in Newhaven by the few people who knew him, only the Black Knights and a few black guards, but he hoped there were no resentments there. He lowered his voice a bit, walking past the gates so that the healers wouldn't hear him. "Should I be worried with the fact you had to bring backup to visit healers?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
------------------------
Alistair was trying to calm one of the most recently graduated healers. The eighteen year old girl was in complete distress insisting to see Lena as soon as possible. "Tell me, Angie! What did you see?" The man insisted.
The girl only shook her head violently, shivering. "I need to speak to Lena. Lena." She repeated.
Alistair nodded to Ethan. "Go get Helena. Tell her this is important and can't wait." He watched his brother leave and simply attempted to comfort the girl. Angie was a seer. She could see what was to come, without willing it, it just happened to her when least expected. Alistair wasn't sure of what the girl had seen this time, but whatever it was... It was terrifying her.
---------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Crys listened to Evin as he spoke, every word of it even if she seemed to be elsewhere. Obviously, he was right. She already had taken a risk with Daniel, and it didn't end well. The truth was important, to her personally, even if it didn't change anything, but she couldn't endanger the clan to get to it. She needed to think as a leader first, that much she understood. She nodded as Evin started to leave. "Are you ever going to call me Crys?" She asked. "My mother was the only other person who called me Crystal. I hate it." That was her only response to the whole speech Evin made. She knew that Daniel had left, but she didn't say anything and simply let Evin leave. She needed some time on her own to figure out what to do next.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Crystal asked him a question that sparked his interest. "Are you ever going to call me Crys?" She asked him. Her tone seemd genuine. The only problem Evin had with it was that he didn't refer to people by different names. The only person he had ever called by a name other than their own when lives weren't on the line was Dani. She had managed to do things to earn Evin's respect like no one else had ever done to him before. It brought him back to a time when Evin remembered so vividly. Literally hours before Perry had tried to kill the him and the Shadow Hunter, Dani had requested Evin to speak to her in the same place that Crysta was then.
“So you asked me here because of the man I’m off to kill right?” Evin asked her. He was only 17 and looked almost the same, minus the few wrinkles he had developed over time. He was also free of many scars too.
“No Evin, it’s more important than that.”
Evin stood there for a moment wondering what could be more important than what he was doing already. This mission was actually one of the more important ones that he had gone on since he had been promoted to Active. There didn’t seem like anything important that he could have been doing, but obviously there was something otherwise Daniela wouldn’t have called him to the lake to speak.
“Well, are you going to tell me.” Evin was a little excited.
“I know it won’t be easy to hear this, but your friend Perry has been acting a little weird lately. I don’t think that it is anything big, but there is always a possibility. I just want to see if you can get some information out of him while you’re on this mission.” Daniela stated. “Do you understand?”
“Wait! Why do you think he’s acting weird? He seems to be normal enough to me.”
“Well the think is, he hasn’t been talking to people lately. It might be because he is starting to feel remorse for the people he is killing, that is common for most assassins his age. He might also be hiding a secret from us, big or small, I just don’t want it to cause any problems.”
“I see what you are saying, but I think you’re wrong Daniela. Perry is my friend and I haven’t seen any change in him. Besides, if he was hiding something, he would at least tell me. I hope you understand my point of view.”
Evin started walking away. It was just about time for him and Perry to leave. Before he could get too far from Daniela, she said something rather unexpected.
“Are you ever going to call me Dani?” She asked. “You know I hate it when people call me Daniela.”
Evin stopped right in his tracks in complete shock. Daniela was in charge of the camp and she deserved a certain level of respect. Evin thought about it for a second. On the one hand, Daniela had asked him to do it and the respectful thing to do was to call her by that name. Evin still didn’t think she deserved it.
“Daniela, I respect you.” Evin said. “However it takes more than respect for me to follow through with that. To me a nickname is something special.” He took a moment to think of the best way to word it. He finally decided the simpler the better. “It takes respect and…”
Evin stood in probably the same spot as he was when Dani had asked the question. Crystal probably was too. It seemed like history was repeating itself, but the similarities to Dani and Crystal were unparalleled. They weren’t a perfect match for sure, but Evin could defiantly see characteristics in Crystal that were so similar to her mother.
He decided to keep with this history repeating itself thing, just for his own amusement. “Crystal, I respect you. However it takes more than respect for me to follow through with that. To me a nickname is something special.” He chucked at how this was going. It was like he was 17 again. “To earn a nickname it take respect and love. I know, it sounds cheesy, but why should I give a nickname to someone who doesn’t love me as their friend. Dani, I truly believe was the only person who has ever really shown to me that they love me besides my parents. Show me what she showed me and maybe, just maybe you will deserve to be called something other than Crystal.”
He chuckled and then walked out of Crystal’s range. Just like Dani, he was sure that Crystal would think of what he said as total bullcrap. He didn’t care what she thought, because if she didn’t really love him, she didn’t deserve any name other than Crystal.
“So you asked me here because of the man I’m off to kill right?” Evin asked her. He was only 17 and looked almost the same, minus the few wrinkles he had developed over time. He was also free of many scars too.
“No Evin, it’s more important than that.”
Evin stood there for a moment wondering what could be more important than what he was doing already. This mission was actually one of the more important ones that he had gone on since he had been promoted to Active. There didn’t seem like anything important that he could have been doing, but obviously there was something otherwise Daniela wouldn’t have called him to the lake to speak.
“Well, are you going to tell me.” Evin was a little excited.
“I know it won’t be easy to hear this, but your friend Perry has been acting a little weird lately. I don’t think that it is anything big, but there is always a possibility. I just want to see if you can get some information out of him while you’re on this mission.” Daniela stated. “Do you understand?”
“Wait! Why do you think he’s acting weird? He seems to be normal enough to me.”
“Well the think is, he hasn’t been talking to people lately. It might be because he is starting to feel remorse for the people he is killing, that is common for most assassins his age. He might also be hiding a secret from us, big or small, I just don’t want it to cause any problems.”
“I see what you are saying, but I think you’re wrong Daniela. Perry is my friend and I haven’t seen any change in him. Besides, if he was hiding something, he would at least tell me. I hope you understand my point of view.”
Evin started walking away. It was just about time for him and Perry to leave. Before he could get too far from Daniela, she said something rather unexpected.
“Are you ever going to call me Dani?” She asked. “You know I hate it when people call me Daniela.”
Evin stopped right in his tracks in complete shock. Daniela was in charge of the camp and she deserved a certain level of respect. Evin thought about it for a second. On the one hand, Daniela had asked him to do it and the respectful thing to do was to call her by that name. Evin still didn’t think she deserved it.
“Daniela, I respect you.” Evin said. “However it takes more than respect for me to follow through with that. To me a nickname is something special.” He took a moment to think of the best way to word it. He finally decided the simpler the better. “It takes respect and…”
Evin stood in probably the same spot as he was when Dani had asked the question. Crystal probably was too. It seemed like history was repeating itself, but the similarities to Dani and Crystal were unparalleled. They weren’t a perfect match for sure, but Evin could defiantly see characteristics in Crystal that were so similar to her mother.
He decided to keep with this history repeating itself thing, just for his own amusement. “Crystal, I respect you. However it takes more than respect for me to follow through with that. To me a nickname is something special.” He chucked at how this was going. It was like he was 17 again. “To earn a nickname it take respect and love. I know, it sounds cheesy, but why should I give a nickname to someone who doesn’t love me as their friend. Dani, I truly believe was the only person who has ever really shown to me that they love me besides my parents. Show me what she showed me and maybe, just maybe you will deserve to be called something other than Crystal.”
He chuckled and then walked out of Crystal’s range. Just like Dani, he was sure that Crystal would think of what he said as total bullcrap. He didn’t care what she thought, because if she didn’t really love him, she didn’t deserve any name other than Crystal.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Crys didn't really think the question she asked was really that important. In fact, she didn't really think there would be an actual reason for it. The reply that she got was a little bit of a surprise to her. So much that moments after Evin had left she was still thinking it over.
“To earn a nickname it take respect and love. I know, it sounds cheesy, but why should I give a nickname to someone who doesn’t love me as their friend. Dani, I truly believe was the only person who has ever really shown to me that they love me besides my parents. Show me what she showed me and maybe, just maybe you will deserve to be called something other than Crystal.”
Crys didn't think it was a bad reason. She simply thought that maybe Evin took nicknaming a little bit too seriously. She finally stood after a while and moved to the memorial. She had decided on what to do, but before doing it, there was one last thing she needed to get off her chest. She might as well do it now, since things seemed actually calm at camp at the moment. She sat in front her mother's grave and heaved a long sigh. "You are really something, you know?" She whispered. "I should have guessed that something was off by the way you were acting. Demanding that I made plans, that I chose a second in command... Pressuring me..." She nodded, with a small grin. "More than usual, that is." She pressed her fingers against the name carved in the stone. She remembered the last time she was alone with her mother before her death. Two nights before her death.
It a somewhat cold night, but Crys couldn't sleep. So the only thing she could think of doing was going to the lake, as she always did, and play her flute to calm herself. That's when she heard her mother's voice behind her.
"What are you doing here, kiddo? Trying to freeze to death?" She asked, sitting next to Crys and putting one arm around her shoulders.
Crys stopped playing and frowned slightly. "Are you sick or something?"
"...Why do you say that?" Dani asked, confused.
"You never call me 'kiddo'. Dad used to call me that." Crys said casually. "Don't even get me started on the hugging."
"I'm hugging you because you're shivering, you little weirdo." Dani laughed. "And, well... Your father was always better at being comforting. I always found it easier to just ground you."
Crys chuckled. "Oh, well... Someone had to. Who knows what kind of spoiled brat I would have turned out to be if it was up to dad?"
"Would have?" Dani asked. "Your father spoiled you every chance he got."
"I miss him." Crys mumbled. "I miss Jake and I miss Ali. I even miss Theron... And I can't sleep." She sighed. "It's too damn tense here."
"It's not going to get any better, you know." Dani stated.
"I know. I'm just venting." Crys said, going back to playing.
"I miss them too. Even Ali." She snickered. "Annoying little brat. I bet she's giving Lena a headache or two."
Crys chuckled. "Oh, yes... Those two must really be enjoying each other's company. Wonder when she'll come back though."
Dani sighed. "Soon." She answered. "I bet, pretty soon."
Crys raised a brow. "Has she been writing you letters behind my back?"
"Just a feeling, kiddo. You're not the only one who has them." Dani stated.
"You're hiding something, mom. I know you are." Crys said.
"You'll know everything in due time, don't worry." Dani answered, standing up. "I'm going to bed. Suggest you do the same. You never know when you'll get the chance to sleep nowadays."
Crys sighed at the memory, thinking that she should have known then that something was wrong. Things happened so fast though, she simply didn't stop to revisit those memories. Her mother went to bed, but Crys didn't sleep that night. She sat there and played. After her mother died, the flute was set aside and she didn't play since. She sighed. "I have spent a lot of time here, but hadn't really said my goodbyes. You always protected me the best you could, and you never accepted anything other than my absolute best. I'm proud to be your daughter and I'm sorry I never had it in me to tell you." She lowered her head as if it would somehow change the fact that she had tears running down her face. "I love you mom." She mumbled before going into silence.
Things were actually quiet in the camp... Maybe way too quiet.
“To earn a nickname it take respect and love. I know, it sounds cheesy, but why should I give a nickname to someone who doesn’t love me as their friend. Dani, I truly believe was the only person who has ever really shown to me that they love me besides my parents. Show me what she showed me and maybe, just maybe you will deserve to be called something other than Crystal.”
Crys didn't think it was a bad reason. She simply thought that maybe Evin took nicknaming a little bit too seriously. She finally stood after a while and moved to the memorial. She had decided on what to do, but before doing it, there was one last thing she needed to get off her chest. She might as well do it now, since things seemed actually calm at camp at the moment. She sat in front her mother's grave and heaved a long sigh. "You are really something, you know?" She whispered. "I should have guessed that something was off by the way you were acting. Demanding that I made plans, that I chose a second in command... Pressuring me..." She nodded, with a small grin. "More than usual, that is." She pressed her fingers against the name carved in the stone. She remembered the last time she was alone with her mother before her death. Two nights before her death.
It a somewhat cold night, but Crys couldn't sleep. So the only thing she could think of doing was going to the lake, as she always did, and play her flute to calm herself. That's when she heard her mother's voice behind her.
"What are you doing here, kiddo? Trying to freeze to death?" She asked, sitting next to Crys and putting one arm around her shoulders.
Crys stopped playing and frowned slightly. "Are you sick or something?"
"...Why do you say that?" Dani asked, confused.
"You never call me 'kiddo'. Dad used to call me that." Crys said casually. "Don't even get me started on the hugging."
"I'm hugging you because you're shivering, you little weirdo." Dani laughed. "And, well... Your father was always better at being comforting. I always found it easier to just ground you."
Crys chuckled. "Oh, well... Someone had to. Who knows what kind of spoiled brat I would have turned out to be if it was up to dad?"
"Would have?" Dani asked. "Your father spoiled you every chance he got."
"I miss him." Crys mumbled. "I miss Jake and I miss Ali. I even miss Theron... And I can't sleep." She sighed. "It's too damn tense here."
"It's not going to get any better, you know." Dani stated.
"I know. I'm just venting." Crys said, going back to playing.
"I miss them too. Even Ali." She snickered. "Annoying little brat. I bet she's giving Lena a headache or two."
Crys chuckled. "Oh, yes... Those two must really be enjoying each other's company. Wonder when she'll come back though."
Dani sighed. "Soon." She answered. "I bet, pretty soon."
Crys raised a brow. "Has she been writing you letters behind my back?"
"Just a feeling, kiddo. You're not the only one who has them." Dani stated.
"You're hiding something, mom. I know you are." Crys said.
"You'll know everything in due time, don't worry." Dani answered, standing up. "I'm going to bed. Suggest you do the same. You never know when you'll get the chance to sleep nowadays."
Crys sighed at the memory, thinking that she should have known then that something was wrong. Things happened so fast though, she simply didn't stop to revisit those memories. Her mother went to bed, but Crys didn't sleep that night. She sat there and played. After her mother died, the flute was set aside and she didn't play since. She sighed. "I have spent a lot of time here, but hadn't really said my goodbyes. You always protected me the best you could, and you never accepted anything other than my absolute best. I'm proud to be your daughter and I'm sorry I never had it in me to tell you." She lowered her head as if it would somehow change the fact that she had tears running down her face. "I love you mom." She mumbled before going into silence.
Things were actually quiet in the camp... Maybe way too quiet.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria paced back and forth restlessly, one hand absently fingering the scar on her cheek. Something was wrong, something that she couldn’t put her finger on.
“You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up.” Sarris spoke without looking up from the papers she was looking through. Apparently she was trying to catch up on almost two decades worth of reports in a few hours.
Mageria grimaced and didn’t answer. There wasn’t any answer that she could make anyways. She couldn’t even put a name to her feeling, just an instinct.
Out in the hall she could hear people going back and forth, talking in loud voices. For an instant one of them sounded familiar, in a way that was out of place. Whoever that was, they shouldn’t have been there. Mageria stepped quickly to the door and looked out, catching only a glimpse of a tall man with short ice blond hair. Disturbed, she shut the door to the War Room firmly and went around the corner as quickly and quietly as she could. Rounding the corner, she was startled to find that there was no one moving down the hall, and nowhere that they could have ducked into. With a sigh she shook her head and went back to where she had left Sarris, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Sarris looked up and frowned. “Something the matter?”
Mageria sighed and went to the window, looking out and over the city. “Something’s wrong.”
“You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up.” Sarris spoke without looking up from the papers she was looking through. Apparently she was trying to catch up on almost two decades worth of reports in a few hours.
Mageria grimaced and didn’t answer. There wasn’t any answer that she could make anyways. She couldn’t even put a name to her feeling, just an instinct.
Out in the hall she could hear people going back and forth, talking in loud voices. For an instant one of them sounded familiar, in a way that was out of place. Whoever that was, they shouldn’t have been there. Mageria stepped quickly to the door and looked out, catching only a glimpse of a tall man with short ice blond hair. Disturbed, she shut the door to the War Room firmly and went around the corner as quickly and quietly as she could. Rounding the corner, she was startled to find that there was no one moving down the hall, and nowhere that they could have ducked into. With a sigh she shook her head and went back to where she had left Sarris, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Sarris looked up and frowned. “Something the matter?”
Mageria sighed and went to the window, looking out and over the city. “Something’s wrong.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Alistair stayed with Angie, trying to calm her down, until Lena finally arrived. As she entered the girl's tent, she muttered something under her breath, which Alistair couldn't hear, and then simply nodded. "Leave." She told him. "I will call you if necessary."
"Yes, ma'am." He answered, stepping out of the tent and walking around camp, slowly. There was something wrong here, Lena seemed tense, and whatever that girl had seen... It frightened her. More than that, there was something in the air.
Before he could set his thoughts straight, Jax caught up with him. "Al! You know many assassins, don't you?" She asked.
"Some, yes. Why?" Alistair asked looking at her.
"Well, this girl got here not long ago... She says that she asked that no one is to contact her, only assassins. Is it usual for them to gather here?"
Alistair nodded. "No. In fact, they avoid doing that because of the non-violence rule." He let out an impatient sigh. "You know those people... Can't feel safe without their knives and whatever else."
She chuckled. "Well, I don't know Al. It's just strange, and I think this girl could be in some kind of trouble. I was going to ask Jake if he knew her, but..." She shrugged. "She says her name is Layla."
"I don't know anyone there with that name." He answered. "I will ask Lena whenever she has time to talk."
"I just think she might be hiding from someone or something like that."
"Why do you say that?" Alistair asked.
"Well... She said something a long the lines of: If someone who is not an assassin comes here to speak to me don't allow them..." She sighed as if trying to explain something complicated to an infant. "I'm no empath, but to me that means she expects someone other than an assassin to come looking for her."
"Don't mock my enlightenment." Alistair muttered. "And if she is hiding form someone, let her hide. It's none of your concern."
"I wasn't mocking your enlightenment. I was calling you stupid" She smiled.
"And you wonder why I wont let you join the initiation." He nodded.
"Because I annoy you?" She asked.
He sighed. "No. Because you would fail. Miserably." He stated, walking away towards his tent.
"What to do you mean?" She asked him.
Alistair stopped walking to answer. "It means you are just not ready." With that he started walking again. "And don't follow me." He warned her as made it in to the tent. As he made it inside, he sat on the floor to meditate. There was definitely something in the air, he just couldn't tell what it was.
----------------
Lena didn't enjoy being pulled out of a meeting to deal with someone having a crisis. She expected the other healers to be able to handle situations like this, but when a seer calls for you specifically and is described as "having a panic attack", you are bound to drop whatever you are doing to attend. So Lena cut her conversation short and made her way to where Angie was. She entered the tent and told Alistair to leave, making sure to be left alone with the girl, sitting across from her.
Not long after sitting Lena saw a flash of what Angie had seen. It didn't look good. "Talk to me." She said simply.
"Death." Angie mumbled. "Everywhere." The girl shivered, rocking back an forth as she tried to find words. "I can't..." She nodded. "I can't..."
Lena let her hand rest on the girl's shoulder. "Breathe. Just breathe. Now, tell me."
The girl took a deep breath, still shivering. "I can't... Make it out. People were dying... Everywhere. Everywhere. Nowhere is safe."
Lena sighed. "Alright, alright Angie. Let me hold your hand, and try to remember. Let me see."
The girl nodded. "No. No, no."
"It's alright. Let me see." Lena repeated, offering the girl her hand.
-----------------
Alistair was having trouble keeping his focus. Something was troubling him. Eventually he gave up on trying to meditate. "What, Jacklyn?" He said in a louder tone so that the girl outside could hear him. The girl entered and sat across from him.
"Three years." She stated. "You have been keeping me from receiving initiation for three years! Why?" She insisted. "I treat most of your patients, so what is it that I still need to learn? What do I have to do?"
Alistair sighed. "This is what you need to change." He stated, looking her in the eyes. "You are impatient. You are unable to keep yourself separated from your work and even if you survive the initiation, you wouldn't last a week after it." He nodded. "It is important to care, but it's just as important to let go."
Jax was going to say something, but Lena wandered in, unannounced as usual and looking seriously concerned. "Jacklyn... Go to the gates and tell the black Knight there that I will meet him in Newhaven in two days, but right now I cannot speak. Tell him that I strongly advise him to return to Newhaven immediately and be emphatic about it."
Jax stood up and bowed. "Yes, Lena." She confirmed before leaving in a hurry.
"Was it that bad?" Alistair asked, tilting his head to the side and looking up at Lena. "You look like you were hit by a pile of rocks."
"Shut up. I will give you instructions now. Listen carefully and don't you dare do anything other than what I'll tell you to do. Things can end badly if we're not careful." She sat in front of him. "Are we clear on that? Whatever happens, do as I say."
"Yes, ma'am." He answered, stepping out of the tent and walking around camp, slowly. There was something wrong here, Lena seemed tense, and whatever that girl had seen... It frightened her. More than that, there was something in the air.
Before he could set his thoughts straight, Jax caught up with him. "Al! You know many assassins, don't you?" She asked.
"Some, yes. Why?" Alistair asked looking at her.
"Well, this girl got here not long ago... She says that she asked that no one is to contact her, only assassins. Is it usual for them to gather here?"
Alistair nodded. "No. In fact, they avoid doing that because of the non-violence rule." He let out an impatient sigh. "You know those people... Can't feel safe without their knives and whatever else."
She chuckled. "Well, I don't know Al. It's just strange, and I think this girl could be in some kind of trouble. I was going to ask Jake if he knew her, but..." She shrugged. "She says her name is Layla."
"I don't know anyone there with that name." He answered. "I will ask Lena whenever she has time to talk."
"I just think she might be hiding from someone or something like that."
"Why do you say that?" Alistair asked.
"Well... She said something a long the lines of: If someone who is not an assassin comes here to speak to me don't allow them..." She sighed as if trying to explain something complicated to an infant. "I'm no empath, but to me that means she expects someone other than an assassin to come looking for her."
"Don't mock my enlightenment." Alistair muttered. "And if she is hiding form someone, let her hide. It's none of your concern."
"I wasn't mocking your enlightenment. I was calling you stupid" She smiled.
"And you wonder why I wont let you join the initiation." He nodded.
"Because I annoy you?" She asked.
He sighed. "No. Because you would fail. Miserably." He stated, walking away towards his tent.
"What to do you mean?" She asked him.
Alistair stopped walking to answer. "It means you are just not ready." With that he started walking again. "And don't follow me." He warned her as made it in to the tent. As he made it inside, he sat on the floor to meditate. There was definitely something in the air, he just couldn't tell what it was.
----------------
Lena didn't enjoy being pulled out of a meeting to deal with someone having a crisis. She expected the other healers to be able to handle situations like this, but when a seer calls for you specifically and is described as "having a panic attack", you are bound to drop whatever you are doing to attend. So Lena cut her conversation short and made her way to where Angie was. She entered the tent and told Alistair to leave, making sure to be left alone with the girl, sitting across from her.
Not long after sitting Lena saw a flash of what Angie had seen. It didn't look good. "Talk to me." She said simply.
"Death." Angie mumbled. "Everywhere." The girl shivered, rocking back an forth as she tried to find words. "I can't..." She nodded. "I can't..."
Lena let her hand rest on the girl's shoulder. "Breathe. Just breathe. Now, tell me."
The girl took a deep breath, still shivering. "I can't... Make it out. People were dying... Everywhere. Everywhere. Nowhere is safe."
Lena sighed. "Alright, alright Angie. Let me hold your hand, and try to remember. Let me see."
The girl nodded. "No. No, no."
"It's alright. Let me see." Lena repeated, offering the girl her hand.
-----------------
Alistair was having trouble keeping his focus. Something was troubling him. Eventually he gave up on trying to meditate. "What, Jacklyn?" He said in a louder tone so that the girl outside could hear him. The girl entered and sat across from him.
"Three years." She stated. "You have been keeping me from receiving initiation for three years! Why?" She insisted. "I treat most of your patients, so what is it that I still need to learn? What do I have to do?"
Alistair sighed. "This is what you need to change." He stated, looking her in the eyes. "You are impatient. You are unable to keep yourself separated from your work and even if you survive the initiation, you wouldn't last a week after it." He nodded. "It is important to care, but it's just as important to let go."
Jax was going to say something, but Lena wandered in, unannounced as usual and looking seriously concerned. "Jacklyn... Go to the gates and tell the black Knight there that I will meet him in Newhaven in two days, but right now I cannot speak. Tell him that I strongly advise him to return to Newhaven immediately and be emphatic about it."
Jax stood up and bowed. "Yes, Lena." She confirmed before leaving in a hurry.
"Was it that bad?" Alistair asked, tilting his head to the side and looking up at Lena. "You look like you were hit by a pile of rocks."
"Shut up. I will give you instructions now. Listen carefully and don't you dare do anything other than what I'll tell you to do. Things can end badly if we're not careful." She sat in front of him. "Are we clear on that? Whatever happens, do as I say."
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Blackpond
Hastings stood beside Lev as the two observed their 500 troops. Hastings hated Lev. He was the man responsible for stopping crime in Blackpond, but he also had a fair amount of experience in Warfare. He had enough to get an officers position, but he had never lead troops at this scale. The most he probably ever had with him at any time would have been around 50. Lev didn’t have the experience for this, especially when the target was the Healers.
The one thing that Hastings really didn’t like about Lev was just his lack of initiative. Hastings knew that if he actually tried to stop the crime, Blackpond could be a nice place, but instead people had to walk around the city with exposed weapons because they just didn’t feel safe. Hastings only felt safe because people knew who he was and for the most part, he was respected in the city. That was another difference between Hastings and Lev. No one really liked Lev and they didn’t have much respect for him. How was he supposed to order an army of 250.
Hastings, while looking at all his troops tilted his head to Lev’s side. He spoke to him over the noise of all the crowds. “What I’m about to say applies to you to.”
Hastings Blew his horn and waited for the men to go silent. He then yelled as loud as he could, making sure every man would be able to hear. If they didn’t hear clearly, it was their responsibility to find out themselves what was said.
“All of you understand what is happening by now, so I don’t think I’ll have to explain myself. The half with the red sash on their swords are going to be taking orders from Lev. He is a capable and respectable soldier that I have had the honour to work with a few times. I would trust the man with my life and I expect no less from any of you.”
“Now your opponent might give off the presence of being peaceful, but that is only because they have never been faced with war before. Some will flee, but a fair amount of them might fight. They are all enlightened over there and because of that, you mustn’t fight for long. All we need is Lena, the leader. Take as many hostages as possible and show absolutely no mercy.”
Hastings was never good at encouraging speeches. He just couldn’t motivate people enough with them. He wasn’t sure if it was the emotion or just the words.
“Lev, I started it, you do the rest before you send your men to battle.”
With that, he ordered the men to move out.
[Forest]
After a few hours of marching through the forest, it was time for them to split. This was when Lev lead his forces towards the Healers camp while Hastings lead his 250 in another direction for their second target. This was risky, but Hastings knew that if it was pulled off well, it could create huge success for them. Lev’s battle would probably only last about an hour if they were lucky.
Lev came up behind Hastings on his horse. “It’s time for me to leave. Godspeed.”
“Go to hell Lev! Just go.” Hastings hissed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was your time of the month.” Lev laughed as he backed away. He blew his horn and he was off towards and led his army towards their objective.
Hastings grabbed his reigns and made a sharp turn to the right. His troops behind him followed. In around three hours, they would be ready to fight and at the walls of Newhaven.
The one thing that Hastings really didn’t like about Lev was just his lack of initiative. Hastings knew that if he actually tried to stop the crime, Blackpond could be a nice place, but instead people had to walk around the city with exposed weapons because they just didn’t feel safe. Hastings only felt safe because people knew who he was and for the most part, he was respected in the city. That was another difference between Hastings and Lev. No one really liked Lev and they didn’t have much respect for him. How was he supposed to order an army of 250.
Hastings, while looking at all his troops tilted his head to Lev’s side. He spoke to him over the noise of all the crowds. “What I’m about to say applies to you to.”
Hastings Blew his horn and waited for the men to go silent. He then yelled as loud as he could, making sure every man would be able to hear. If they didn’t hear clearly, it was their responsibility to find out themselves what was said.
“All of you understand what is happening by now, so I don’t think I’ll have to explain myself. The half with the red sash on their swords are going to be taking orders from Lev. He is a capable and respectable soldier that I have had the honour to work with a few times. I would trust the man with my life and I expect no less from any of you.”
“Now your opponent might give off the presence of being peaceful, but that is only because they have never been faced with war before. Some will flee, but a fair amount of them might fight. They are all enlightened over there and because of that, you mustn’t fight for long. All we need is Lena, the leader. Take as many hostages as possible and show absolutely no mercy.”
Hastings was never good at encouraging speeches. He just couldn’t motivate people enough with them. He wasn’t sure if it was the emotion or just the words.
“Lev, I started it, you do the rest before you send your men to battle.”
With that, he ordered the men to move out.
[Forest]
After a few hours of marching through the forest, it was time for them to split. This was when Lev lead his forces towards the Healers camp while Hastings lead his 250 in another direction for their second target. This was risky, but Hastings knew that if it was pulled off well, it could create huge success for them. Lev’s battle would probably only last about an hour if they were lucky.
Lev came up behind Hastings on his horse. “It’s time for me to leave. Godspeed.”
“Go to hell Lev! Just go.” Hastings hissed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was your time of the month.” Lev laughed as he backed away. He blew his horn and he was off towards and led his army towards their objective.
Hastings grabbed his reigns and made a sharp turn to the right. His troops behind him followed. In around three hours, they would be ready to fight and at the walls of Newhaven.
The setting changes from Blackpond to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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“Jake?”
The Black Knight had to take a moment to make sure who he saw was honestly standing before him. What Grim knew didn’t necessarily apply to the Guard that were with him, but he had no indication as to how much information was passed about on his absence. Having even less of an understanding of what they felt about their more shadowy knight. Jake wasn’t accustomed to leading the black guard he was a covert Black Knight. If the Guard or even the common knight had an inkling of time spent with Jake it would be a surprise.
There was bitterness though, Grim could feel the anger hunkering down into his belly. Knowing well that his comrade was troubled, but never believing he’d betray his oaths to suddenly leave with nothing more then a parchment of paper saying goodbye. Already so much had been given and taken, and for Jake to abandon post was an insult to all of those who’ve paid the ultimate price.
Then again, he was reminded of Set and her decision to chase a personal freedom. He begrudged her at first, but with the few days passing he had learned to accept the terms. Surely Jake had his reasons and who was Grim to decide what was right or wrong?
Serenity swept through the behemoth of a man. Peace and virtue all of the things he most desperately longed for, they reminded him not to be too hasty. To recollect that mercy shown and given is wholesomeness gained. The teachings of the Moon were most prominent in his memory. Forgiveness was said to be the sweetest fruit, just as the moon is the brightest light in darkness, so too is redemption the ultimate justice.
“You are sorely missed my friend. Without you we are incomplete. I know you didn’t hear the news, but Set left us. By the time I had returned you were gone, and the Black Knights are less for it.”
The Black Guard started shifting uneasily, they hadn’t known the Raging Demon long. Theirs was the impression that Grim was a man of chaos and attitude akin to a cornered beast. His legacy is bathed with the blood of his enemies, were they told wrongly all along?
Grim raised his hand in a sign of peace to his fellow, and he gently pulled his helm free from his head. Cradling it in his arms that his eyes could fully lock with Jake. His face remained stern as stone, and as always he had that disapproving look. The face that was pure instinct to a man who could show no weakness.
“… I know you are troubled. We all knew it. Things are changing Jake, there’s been lots of exciting news. Newhaven will be looking to make amends with the Wolves once… you’re aunt did you say? Once Lena can confirm what we think we’ve found. We can begin rebuilding for a brighter day.”
Grim cast his eyes downwards unwilling to keep his attention on him any longer. He appeared to be in deep thought or perhaps debating something private and internal. His voice dropped to its softened state, revealing vulnerability to show how serious his intentions were.
“Why don’t you come home Jake? Mageria… We’ve only wanted to help. You’re one of us, no matter who you were before.”
The Black Knight had to take a moment to make sure who he saw was honestly standing before him. What Grim knew didn’t necessarily apply to the Guard that were with him, but he had no indication as to how much information was passed about on his absence. Having even less of an understanding of what they felt about their more shadowy knight. Jake wasn’t accustomed to leading the black guard he was a covert Black Knight. If the Guard or even the common knight had an inkling of time spent with Jake it would be a surprise.
There was bitterness though, Grim could feel the anger hunkering down into his belly. Knowing well that his comrade was troubled, but never believing he’d betray his oaths to suddenly leave with nothing more then a parchment of paper saying goodbye. Already so much had been given and taken, and for Jake to abandon post was an insult to all of those who’ve paid the ultimate price.
Then again, he was reminded of Set and her decision to chase a personal freedom. He begrudged her at first, but with the few days passing he had learned to accept the terms. Surely Jake had his reasons and who was Grim to decide what was right or wrong?
Serenity swept through the behemoth of a man. Peace and virtue all of the things he most desperately longed for, they reminded him not to be too hasty. To recollect that mercy shown and given is wholesomeness gained. The teachings of the Moon were most prominent in his memory. Forgiveness was said to be the sweetest fruit, just as the moon is the brightest light in darkness, so too is redemption the ultimate justice.
“You are sorely missed my friend. Without you we are incomplete. I know you didn’t hear the news, but Set left us. By the time I had returned you were gone, and the Black Knights are less for it.”
The Black Guard started shifting uneasily, they hadn’t known the Raging Demon long. Theirs was the impression that Grim was a man of chaos and attitude akin to a cornered beast. His legacy is bathed with the blood of his enemies, were they told wrongly all along?
Grim raised his hand in a sign of peace to his fellow, and he gently pulled his helm free from his head. Cradling it in his arms that his eyes could fully lock with Jake. His face remained stern as stone, and as always he had that disapproving look. The face that was pure instinct to a man who could show no weakness.
“… I know you are troubled. We all knew it. Things are changing Jake, there’s been lots of exciting news. Newhaven will be looking to make amends with the Wolves once… you’re aunt did you say? Once Lena can confirm what we think we’ve found. We can begin rebuilding for a brighter day.”
Grim cast his eyes downwards unwilling to keep his attention on him any longer. He appeared to be in deep thought or perhaps debating something private and internal. His voice dropped to its softened state, revealing vulnerability to show how serious his intentions were.
“Why don’t you come home Jake? Mageria… We’ve only wanted to help. You’re one of us, no matter who you were before.”
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Daniel had been running, jogging and walking when tired for a couple of hours when he finally felt his energy run out. He collapsed onto the nearby tree and rested for a couple of minutes while scanning the area. The forest was thick and dark even in daylight, but it didn't affect Daniels sight much. There were no animals to be seen but he was sure that at least some birds were sitting in nearby trees. The forest could not, after all be empty of critters. The White Knight sighed loudly and closed his eyes, only for a second or two as he tried to listen to the nature around him. He had to recover his energy and strength before making the last trip to the ruins. However, instead of hearing the natures calm and soothing voices he heard a loud horn echoed throughout the forest that which made the birds nearby fly into the sky. Daniel immediately recognized that signal seeing as he had heard it so many times before as the White Knight captain and General over the Newhaven army in this never-ending war between the two cities. Rising up, Daniel fought against his own will to just remain where he sat and ignore everything around him and looked past the tree he had been leaning against. Looking down, the White Knight watched how half a legion of Blackpond soldiers had gathered in the valley below. He tried to see if he could find anyone who bore the Commanding insignia but then again, maybe Blackpond had moved past those things. Daniel wouldn't know since he hadn't been to war in several years now while defending Newhaven from the inside instead from out in the field.
All of the sudden something strange happened; The forces split and one side of them marched in one direction while the other marched in the same direction that Daniel was heading. It all became clear to him now; One side of their forces would lead an ambush on the ruins while the other part would most likely attack Newhaven seeing as they didn't seem to walk in the direction of the Wolf packs camp. Daniel now Had a choice to make. Either he would have to make his way back to Newhaven and warn Krander and the city of the incoming attack or make his way to the healers camp to quickly get Ella out of there. The City or the leader. His old home or his bright future. Daniel picked himself up and ran with all of his strength and might as fast as he could towards the healers ruins.
With the speed he held, Daniel soon found himself closing in on the entrance of the ruins where he saw two familiar faces; One of them being that of Grim, a Good Black Knight and the other the man who saved him down the Dungeons. Grim seemed to be calling him by the name of Jake, but it didn't matter to Daniel at this point. As he reached them the healers turned their attention towards him and asked him to give away his weapons upon which Daniel begun to explain clear and swiftly:
"There is no time for this! An army of at least 200 or more soldiers from Blackpond are marching towards this very place as we speak. They're not far behind me now! I urge you to quickly form defensive positions or these ruins while be filled with blood and corpses in a matter of minutes!" Daniel almost shouted like a madman and turned to Grim and Jake.
"I don't care if you are with me or against me, but at this given moment we cannot allow these bastards to succeed. Grim, I could need your blade in this battle. Jake, I could have used you too, but it seems you're not only hurt from the looks of it, but I need someone to swiftly make haste towards Newhaven - The rest of this army is heading towards the city! They will take us by surprise if not someone tell them of this threat! Are you with me?"
Every single word seemed to have had a stronger cling to it because when he was done most of the healers camp had gathered close to the entrance to hear this so-called "madman" speak of an incoming attack from Blackpond. Hopefully their leader or anyone else of great importance would understand and trust Daniels words as he had spoken them.
All of the sudden something strange happened; The forces split and one side of them marched in one direction while the other marched in the same direction that Daniel was heading. It all became clear to him now; One side of their forces would lead an ambush on the ruins while the other part would most likely attack Newhaven seeing as they didn't seem to walk in the direction of the Wolf packs camp. Daniel now Had a choice to make. Either he would have to make his way back to Newhaven and warn Krander and the city of the incoming attack or make his way to the healers camp to quickly get Ella out of there. The City or the leader. His old home or his bright future. Daniel picked himself up and ran with all of his strength and might as fast as he could towards the healers ruins.
With the speed he held, Daniel soon found himself closing in on the entrance of the ruins where he saw two familiar faces; One of them being that of Grim, a Good Black Knight and the other the man who saved him down the Dungeons. Grim seemed to be calling him by the name of Jake, but it didn't matter to Daniel at this point. As he reached them the healers turned their attention towards him and asked him to give away his weapons upon which Daniel begun to explain clear and swiftly:
"There is no time for this! An army of at least 200 or more soldiers from Blackpond are marching towards this very place as we speak. They're not far behind me now! I urge you to quickly form defensive positions or these ruins while be filled with blood and corpses in a matter of minutes!" Daniel almost shouted like a madman and turned to Grim and Jake.
"I don't care if you are with me or against me, but at this given moment we cannot allow these bastards to succeed. Grim, I could need your blade in this battle. Jake, I could have used you too, but it seems you're not only hurt from the looks of it, but I need someone to swiftly make haste towards Newhaven - The rest of this army is heading towards the city! They will take us by surprise if not someone tell them of this threat! Are you with me?"
Every single word seemed to have had a stronger cling to it because when he was done most of the healers camp had gathered close to the entrance to hear this so-called "madman" speak of an incoming attack from Blackpond. Hopefully their leader or anyone else of great importance would understand and trust Daniels words as he had spoken them.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Earnings
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Jake didn't really expect any less than what he got. Again, he felt a little painful stab of guilt rushing through him. The fake smile he was showing faded slowly and he stepped even further away from the two healers at the gates so they wouldn't overhear. "I wasn't told about Set, but I assumed. I mean, didn't see her anymore and my little cousin told me that Nicolette went away." He shrugged. "It's good for her. I kind of envy her for leaving, actually." He picked his sword from the small weapon storage they kept and began to examine the blade absently. "As for coming home or who I am, or was... Those are overly complicated things, my friend."
Jake let out a little sigh, thinking that maybe it was fair that Grim heard the truth from him. "See, before I first came to Newhaven, I had already swore my allegiance to the Pack. I joined the Black Knights under Dani Rivers' orders." He nodded and a little smile crossed him. "You see, I was there that night, when the man known as the Shadow was killed, along with whoever else was in the half of the castle, and one White Knight that a friend shot dead to save my life. So I thought that since I had helped drag the clan into this, it was only fair I helped them out. Infiltrate the Black Knights was something that had never been done and... It was important to have a split second worth of an advantage. The goal was just to not get slaughtered."
He sheathed the katana and placed it back where it had been kept safe. "So I broke a promise I had made to myself and I left the camp a week later." He nervously fiddled with the gold chain around his neck. "If I had simply turned that assignment down, I would have asked Crys to marry me. Instead, I went back to tell her I was responsible for her mother's death." He shrugged. "I'm glad to hear that there is a possibility for peace, but for me... There is no such thing. As far as the Pack is concerned there will be no peace for me. And as honored as I was to wear the armor, I never truly deserved it. I'm sure that in time someone more worthy will come along to fill my empty space." He smiled. "The best I do is stay where I have a little bit of family left, and with the threats from Blackpond hovering over the camp I think I might make myself useful here."
As he said that, footsteps came rushing towards the two men. Before Jake could turn around the girl spoke behind him addressing Grim as she took a small bow. "Excuse me sir. Lena has asked me to inform you that she will not be able to speak at the moment. However, she can meet you in Newhaven within two days. She also strongly advises that you return to Newhaven immediately."
Jake turned to the girl. "Is something wrong, Jax?"
"I don't know. If I was to guess though, I'd say something is very wrong. Lena seems tense, so does Alistair and now they're discussing something that apparently I was not allowed to hear. The air is thick Jacob. You can cut the tension with a knife."
And then, as if it wasn't enough, a White Knight showed and started going on about an attack from Blackpond. Jake listened to man, he seemed to be telling the truth. He turned to Jax. "Go get my aunt. Tell her to come here now."
The girl turned to go get Lena, but the woman was already on her way over. As she arrived all the healers that had stopped to listen to Daniel stepped back. She stopped before the two knights and looked from one to the other with a very serious look in her blue eyes. "I'm afraid I must ask you gentlemen to leave my territory this instant. I understand that you mean well, but we do not want Newhaven involved in this. I suggest you return to Newhaven and do the best you can to aid your army. It won't be an easy battle." She opened a half-smile. "As for my clan, I am very well capable of taking care of them." She then turned to Daniel. "I don't know who it is you seek, sir, but everyone who is not member of this clan, and in condition to do so, is now being advised to leave."
She then raised her hand and waved a boy over. "Ethan."
The eighteen year old boy paced to where she was and took a small bow. "Yes, ma'am."
"Run to Newhaven and give them notice that they are about to suffer an attack." The boy was about to move, but Lena held him back and them whispered to him so she wouldn't be overheard. "Ask to speak with Lady Sarris. Tell her I haven't forgotten what she asked of me. Stay in Newhaven until morning when it's safe." Then she simply nodded and the boy ran, going out of sight within seconds. Then she started walking away from the gates as she repeated. "Go home, boys. Don't make me ask you again."
----------------
Alistair nodded as Lena walked past him. "Lena, what you've asked me to do is crazy."
"It's the only way, Alistair. Otherwise, we will be cornered in the desert."
"Then we all stay and fight. This is just..."
"Suicide." Lena finished the sentence for him. "Death is inevitable, you should know that by now. The clan has survived the loss of all its leaders it will survive this."
He sighed. "I can't do this."
Lena nodded. "It's too late for that now." She whispered to him as she called the clan to gather in the center of the encampment. Around 100 healers and 50 apprentices gathered around the woman as she spoke, without even raising her voice since the entire camp had fallen silent. "We will be attacked by Blackpond at any moment. I would like 20 of you to stay behind with me and fight. Know that you will most likely be killed or captured if you choose to do so." She stood silently waiting while several of the healers started to step forward, when the number reached 20, Lena raised her hand to stop any more people from volunteering. "That is enough. Thank you." She took a deep breath. "The 20 of you, rid yourself of your robes and pick up any weapon you'd like. Use your enlightenment wisely. We are not aiming for a massacre." As the 20 healers walked away to follow her command, she addressed the others. "The rest of you, begin evacuating the camp and follow Alistair to the desert. Don't stop, don't turn back, no matter what you see. Remember: We shall meet again, one way or another." Then she turned her back to her clan, grabbing Alistair's shoulder as she passed him. "They're all yours now. Make me proud." She told him.
Alistair sighed as Lena passed him towards the gates. Leaving their leader behind was something that he couldn't quite accept, but Lena had given her orders and all he could do was obey.
Left alone before the remaining of the clan he took a second before breaking the silence. "You all heard Lena's command. Start evacuating the tents and get the patients that are too ill or hurt to leave, ready for travel. We will have to carry them out."
At Alistair's words the healers started moving around to follow their orders. All visitors would be asked to leave and all patients would be carried into the desert along with the clan. The ones that chose to stay would be lost to the clan forever. By the laws of the Shadows, any act of violence would result in immediate expulsion from the clan, even for the leader, and that was one huge sacrifice to make.
Jake let out a little sigh, thinking that maybe it was fair that Grim heard the truth from him. "See, before I first came to Newhaven, I had already swore my allegiance to the Pack. I joined the Black Knights under Dani Rivers' orders." He nodded and a little smile crossed him. "You see, I was there that night, when the man known as the Shadow was killed, along with whoever else was in the half of the castle, and one White Knight that a friend shot dead to save my life. So I thought that since I had helped drag the clan into this, it was only fair I helped them out. Infiltrate the Black Knights was something that had never been done and... It was important to have a split second worth of an advantage. The goal was just to not get slaughtered."
He sheathed the katana and placed it back where it had been kept safe. "So I broke a promise I had made to myself and I left the camp a week later." He nervously fiddled with the gold chain around his neck. "If I had simply turned that assignment down, I would have asked Crys to marry me. Instead, I went back to tell her I was responsible for her mother's death." He shrugged. "I'm glad to hear that there is a possibility for peace, but for me... There is no such thing. As far as the Pack is concerned there will be no peace for me. And as honored as I was to wear the armor, I never truly deserved it. I'm sure that in time someone more worthy will come along to fill my empty space." He smiled. "The best I do is stay where I have a little bit of family left, and with the threats from Blackpond hovering over the camp I think I might make myself useful here."
As he said that, footsteps came rushing towards the two men. Before Jake could turn around the girl spoke behind him addressing Grim as she took a small bow. "Excuse me sir. Lena has asked me to inform you that she will not be able to speak at the moment. However, she can meet you in Newhaven within two days. She also strongly advises that you return to Newhaven immediately."
Jake turned to the girl. "Is something wrong, Jax?"
"I don't know. If I was to guess though, I'd say something is very wrong. Lena seems tense, so does Alistair and now they're discussing something that apparently I was not allowed to hear. The air is thick Jacob. You can cut the tension with a knife."
And then, as if it wasn't enough, a White Knight showed and started going on about an attack from Blackpond. Jake listened to man, he seemed to be telling the truth. He turned to Jax. "Go get my aunt. Tell her to come here now."
The girl turned to go get Lena, but the woman was already on her way over. As she arrived all the healers that had stopped to listen to Daniel stepped back. She stopped before the two knights and looked from one to the other with a very serious look in her blue eyes. "I'm afraid I must ask you gentlemen to leave my territory this instant. I understand that you mean well, but we do not want Newhaven involved in this. I suggest you return to Newhaven and do the best you can to aid your army. It won't be an easy battle." She opened a half-smile. "As for my clan, I am very well capable of taking care of them." She then turned to Daniel. "I don't know who it is you seek, sir, but everyone who is not member of this clan, and in condition to do so, is now being advised to leave."
She then raised her hand and waved a boy over. "Ethan."
The eighteen year old boy paced to where she was and took a small bow. "Yes, ma'am."
"Run to Newhaven and give them notice that they are about to suffer an attack." The boy was about to move, but Lena held him back and them whispered to him so she wouldn't be overheard. "Ask to speak with Lady Sarris. Tell her I haven't forgotten what she asked of me. Stay in Newhaven until morning when it's safe." Then she simply nodded and the boy ran, going out of sight within seconds. Then she started walking away from the gates as she repeated. "Go home, boys. Don't make me ask you again."
----------------
Alistair nodded as Lena walked past him. "Lena, what you've asked me to do is crazy."
"It's the only way, Alistair. Otherwise, we will be cornered in the desert."
"Then we all stay and fight. This is just..."
"Suicide." Lena finished the sentence for him. "Death is inevitable, you should know that by now. The clan has survived the loss of all its leaders it will survive this."
He sighed. "I can't do this."
Lena nodded. "It's too late for that now." She whispered to him as she called the clan to gather in the center of the encampment. Around 100 healers and 50 apprentices gathered around the woman as she spoke, without even raising her voice since the entire camp had fallen silent. "We will be attacked by Blackpond at any moment. I would like 20 of you to stay behind with me and fight. Know that you will most likely be killed or captured if you choose to do so." She stood silently waiting while several of the healers started to step forward, when the number reached 20, Lena raised her hand to stop any more people from volunteering. "That is enough. Thank you." She took a deep breath. "The 20 of you, rid yourself of your robes and pick up any weapon you'd like. Use your enlightenment wisely. We are not aiming for a massacre." As the 20 healers walked away to follow her command, she addressed the others. "The rest of you, begin evacuating the camp and follow Alistair to the desert. Don't stop, don't turn back, no matter what you see. Remember: We shall meet again, one way or another." Then she turned her back to her clan, grabbing Alistair's shoulder as she passed him. "They're all yours now. Make me proud." She told him.
Alistair sighed as Lena passed him towards the gates. Leaving their leader behind was something that he couldn't quite accept, but Lena had given her orders and all he could do was obey.
Left alone before the remaining of the clan he took a second before breaking the silence. "You all heard Lena's command. Start evacuating the tents and get the patients that are too ill or hurt to leave, ready for travel. We will have to carry them out."
At Alistair's words the healers started moving around to follow their orders. All visitors would be asked to leave and all patients would be carried into the desert along with the clan. The ones that chose to stay would be lost to the clan forever. By the laws of the Shadows, any act of violence would result in immediate expulsion from the clan, even for the leader, and that was one huge sacrifice to make.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Mageria was still staring pensively out of the window when one of her guards knocked on the door. He had a young boy by the shoulder and looked grim.
“Captain? This kid showed up and is insisting that he has to talk to someone in charge.”
Mageria turned and smiled briefly at the man. “Thanks Max. I’ll take care of things.” Over the boy’s shoulder she noticed that Thomas was hurrying toward them, a troubled look on his face.
The kid gulped, obviously out of breath. “Lena . . . . Lena told me . . . .”
Mageria reached out and gently took his shoulder. “Easy. Breath, slow and deep.”
The boy nodded and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Lean told me, to tell you. Blackpond’s army is on the way to attack you.”
Mageria went icy cold, everything focused on the boy. “What?!”
He looked upset and on the verge of tears. “They’re on the way to the Ruins too . . . . Everyone I know . . . .”
Mageria grasped both of his shoulders and forced him to look at her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. If they’re smart they’ll run. I can’t believe Blackpond is insane enough to do this, but I have to go prepare.” She looked over at Sarris, who looked shocked and sick to her stomach.
“Lady Sarris, you need to stay here.” She nodded.
Mageria looked at Thomas. “Thomas, stay here and guard her with your life.” She waited till he nodded and looked at the boy. “You stay here in the castle till it’s all over.” He only looked at her, tears still in his eyes. She gently squeezed his shoulders. “Thank you for warning us. You saved more lives than you can know.”
With that she strode out of the War Room, heading for her room at a dead run.
“Sound call to arms!” She snapped over her shoulder at the guard who had brought the boy. He also set off at a run. With just a few moments Mageria was fully armed and armored, and in the courtyard. The Newhaven army had been back for about an hour and were still starting to settle in; at the sound of the trumpets they all scrambled for the gear and readied themselves as well.
Mageria swung into the saddle of Ghost, snapping out orders as she went.
“All civilians that are able to the city walls with bows. Everyone else, take shelter in the Castle. Full alert.” People went scrambling left and right before her as she wheeled in place and rode out, leading the army out at a fast trot. By the grace of the Twins they had a chance to prepare and she would make use of every moment.
Mere minutes later she stood in front of Newhaven, the wall behind her lined by archers and those Enlightened that were most useful at long range fighting. Pulling out a spy glass, she scanned the forest, looking for any sign of disturbance. Behind her stood the Newhaven army, standing between their home and the oncoming army. They, and the hastily rebuilt walls were all that stood between their families and death. She knew that they would not fail.
Out in the distance she could see movement between the trees and and birds taking flight. She didn’t have long to wait.
-------------------
Back at the castle the boy looked up at Sarris as Mageria left at a dead run.
“Lady Sarris?” He faltered. “Lena told me to tell you something too. She said to tell you that she hasn’t forgotten what you asked her.” He looked miserable and about to burst into tears. Sarris hugged him with one arm comfortingly while she looked at Thomas.
“I need a bow.”
Thomas looked dubious. “Captain Mageria told me to guard you.”
Sarris turned a look on him so cold it should have burned. “You can do that next to me on the wall. I’m not going to sit by idly.”
Thomas simply bowed his head and lead her to the armory. She gathered what she needed and went to take her place on the wall, looking down and watching as frightened people flooded into the castle beneath her, gathering anywhere there was room and waiting to find out what would happen next.
Beside her, Thomas cleared his throat. “Lady Sarris? I wanted to talk to you about something I found out. Apparently a few people found out something about the idea that you might have a child out somewhere in Valcrest. At least a handful of them are actively looking for her.”
Sarris felt a sick twisting in her gut. “Damn. Damn them all to hell. Everything I’ve done has been to keep her safe.”
Thomas laid one hand on her shoulder. “She will be.” He looked out across the city at where Captain Mageria waited with the army. “We’ll take care of her, just as soon as we survive what’s coming our way.”
Sarris drew a deep breath then planted one end of her bow on the ground and smoothly bent it, nocking the string before testing the pull. “Right then. Let’s take care of this.”
“Captain? This kid showed up and is insisting that he has to talk to someone in charge.”
Mageria turned and smiled briefly at the man. “Thanks Max. I’ll take care of things.” Over the boy’s shoulder she noticed that Thomas was hurrying toward them, a troubled look on his face.
The kid gulped, obviously out of breath. “Lena . . . . Lena told me . . . .”
Mageria reached out and gently took his shoulder. “Easy. Breath, slow and deep.”
The boy nodded and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Lean told me, to tell you. Blackpond’s army is on the way to attack you.”
Mageria went icy cold, everything focused on the boy. “What?!”
He looked upset and on the verge of tears. “They’re on the way to the Ruins too . . . . Everyone I know . . . .”
Mageria grasped both of his shoulders and forced him to look at her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. If they’re smart they’ll run. I can’t believe Blackpond is insane enough to do this, but I have to go prepare.” She looked over at Sarris, who looked shocked and sick to her stomach.
“Lady Sarris, you need to stay here.” She nodded.
Mageria looked at Thomas. “Thomas, stay here and guard her with your life.” She waited till he nodded and looked at the boy. “You stay here in the castle till it’s all over.” He only looked at her, tears still in his eyes. She gently squeezed his shoulders. “Thank you for warning us. You saved more lives than you can know.”
With that she strode out of the War Room, heading for her room at a dead run.
“Sound call to arms!” She snapped over her shoulder at the guard who had brought the boy. He also set off at a run. With just a few moments Mageria was fully armed and armored, and in the courtyard. The Newhaven army had been back for about an hour and were still starting to settle in; at the sound of the trumpets they all scrambled for the gear and readied themselves as well.
Mageria swung into the saddle of Ghost, snapping out orders as she went.
“All civilians that are able to the city walls with bows. Everyone else, take shelter in the Castle. Full alert.” People went scrambling left and right before her as she wheeled in place and rode out, leading the army out at a fast trot. By the grace of the Twins they had a chance to prepare and she would make use of every moment.
Mere minutes later she stood in front of Newhaven, the wall behind her lined by archers and those Enlightened that were most useful at long range fighting. Pulling out a spy glass, she scanned the forest, looking for any sign of disturbance. Behind her stood the Newhaven army, standing between their home and the oncoming army. They, and the hastily rebuilt walls were all that stood between their families and death. She knew that they would not fail.
Out in the distance she could see movement between the trees and and birds taking flight. She didn’t have long to wait.
-------------------
Back at the castle the boy looked up at Sarris as Mageria left at a dead run.
“Lady Sarris?” He faltered. “Lena told me to tell you something too. She said to tell you that she hasn’t forgotten what you asked her.” He looked miserable and about to burst into tears. Sarris hugged him with one arm comfortingly while she looked at Thomas.
“I need a bow.”
Thomas looked dubious. “Captain Mageria told me to guard you.”
Sarris turned a look on him so cold it should have burned. “You can do that next to me on the wall. I’m not going to sit by idly.”
Thomas simply bowed his head and lead her to the armory. She gathered what she needed and went to take her place on the wall, looking down and watching as frightened people flooded into the castle beneath her, gathering anywhere there was room and waiting to find out what would happen next.
Beside her, Thomas cleared his throat. “Lady Sarris? I wanted to talk to you about something I found out. Apparently a few people found out something about the idea that you might have a child out somewhere in Valcrest. At least a handful of them are actively looking for her.”
Sarris felt a sick twisting in her gut. “Damn. Damn them all to hell. Everything I’ve done has been to keep her safe.”
Thomas laid one hand on her shoulder. “She will be.” He looked out across the city at where Captain Mageria waited with the army. “We’ll take care of her, just as soon as we survive what’s coming our way.”
Sarris drew a deep breath then planted one end of her bow on the ground and smoothly bent it, nocking the string before testing the pull. “Right then. Let’s take care of this.”
Krander nodded as Mageria Slipped out of the room. He had covered her before, and it almost to them was a test of skill as leaders of their respective branches if they could get people to notice some things that weren't there, and not notice some things that were missing. A robed dark skinned woman walked into the room and approached Mageria's bed. Krander hit something onto the floor and flailed. The woman jumped and looked at Krander.
"Captain, allow me to get that for you!" she curtsied. She picked up the glass and hollered for an assistant. He entered and she asked him to fill the glass with water.
She continued, "And since I am over here," lowering her voice, "and seems that Mageria is not here at all," she continued at normal volume, "I can read your results first." She bustled with some papers and didn't even notice the look of surprise and curiosity that went across Krander's face when she said that. Without looking up she said, "You think this is my first day? No. Aha, here we go." She gave a frown and looked up at Krander. "I'm afraid I have some bad news Krander." she said sadly. She sat down next to his bed and grabbed his hand. He tilted his head, still not being able to talk.
"It appears that the damage done to your vocal cords this time was," she paused,"irreversible. The head doctorius doesn't think you will be able to speak again, ever." She looked down at him with such sad eyes.
Krander flashed red inside his eyes. He squeezed her hand so hard he broke it. She stifled the scream but withdrew her hand. He began to flail around before getting up and turning over the table near his bed, his own bed, and punching a hole in the wall. He tried to scream, but was silenced. He tried to yell, but was silenced. He tried to cry, but was silenced. He looked at the woman whose hand he had just broken and noticed it was almost already completely healed. She looked at her hand, then looked at him, and then she grabbed a bottle of liquid and rubbed it on a rag and ran at Krander pushing it against his mouth and nose. Krander immediately fell to the floor unconscious and she motioned for help. Another woman with slanted eyes and long black hair walked in smiling. "What have we here?"
"He was crazy with rage, I had to stop him," she said as she put him in Magerias bed and scribbled a note and left some tea with it near the bed side table. A messenger walked by and she had him take the note directly to Mageria's door and to stay unseen. He left the room
Krander slipped into a dream state almost immediately. He could not speak in his dream he sadly came to see. He began to cry, and in the wing of the hospital a tear slid down his face that the robed lady wiped away.
Krander awoke in a cave. One side too bright to see in, the other so dark nothing could be seen. Krander felt hot and began to remove his armor. He went to the middle of the cave where the light seemed to meet the darkness in a straight line. He stuck his hand through the darkness and it felt freezing, and he could not even see it. It was as if his arm had just been cut off at the wrist. He pulled it out and it instantly was warm again. The heat was overwhelming so he stepped into the darkness. However, once there, he was frozen. He was so cold it took all the effort in his body to get back to the sun side. Something caught his eye as he jumped back into the light. He Heated up quickly and jumped again. "Aha." He thought. He paused for a second realizing he hadn't said it, but only thought it. He frowned and his chin began to wrinkle. 'No, you will not cry right now.' He waited just a bit to long. He was so cold he couldn't move. He froze up. He thought hard, his feet were stuck. He buckled at the knees and fell rolling back to the sun. Both times he saw the indiscernible thing. He stood up feeling his skin become more and more tan and walked sideways into the dark. Half of his body disappeared into the darkness while the other half stood in the light. He felt the perfect heat hit him and everything was at ease. He saw a beautiful dark woman wearing a long white robe, a yellow mask, and a lot of the jewelry of the sun. She smiled and her teeth sparkled. The other twin was very white, with no wrinkles, long black thin hair, skin almost white. She had slanted almond shaped eyes and when she smiled her entire color changed.
"Hello Krander," the sun woman said. He attempted to say hello back but the moon woman raised her hand to stop him. She touched his lips with her forefinger and he felt a good kind of chill run down his spine. "I am Sun," she continued, "and I believe that everything happens for a reason. As you know, us Gods were angry with our parents and we all took children with humans. You are one of the few that is a descendant of my line and Moon's line." She paused and Moon smiled again.
"That is correct. Your father was a son of the moon, while your mother was a daughter of the sun. We have figured out a way to resume our power in the sky like we had many years ago, and our siblings have not. We will do a deed for you, in exchange for our powers back. Understand, we figured this out only moments before knocking you out and delivering the sad, but true news. We have traveled this land helping our descendants and you are a special one. It is not your time to die, nor lose your powers."
"We found that doing these deeds out of the kindness of our hearts gets us our powers back, so before this we were doing it anyway. Something War wouldn't know anything about. We have decided to do more than just that though. Moon is going to restore your powers, and I will enhance them. As you can see your skin is glowing. Your body has been healed of all parasites, bugs, and anything else detrimental to them. Your teeth will now have the smile of your Sun mother and your hair will always look as if I have been playing with it. It will be Sun Touched."
Moon looked Krander in the eyes. "You will have exceptional sight at night now, so that you can always see me. You will not have an issue with losing your powers again, as long as there is a star in the sky you can borrow some of the energy from the stars and return it while you sleep and through prayer. We only ask that you remember us and pray to us."
They both walked close to Krander and gave him a gift. Mother Sun gave him a necklace that had a sun on it, and Mother Moon gave him a piece to attach to his helm that was a crescent shape.
"This is to show you that we are always there for you, as we should have been from the start. Now go, you have people to save, and evil to slay." said Mother Sun.
"One more thing," Mother Moon said, "Remember Krander, stay true to yourself, and you shall be rewarded after you awake, by the thing you most desire...
Krander felt himself pulled up and out of the cave and into the sky. He screamed and mountains shook. Birds flew away and clouds disintegrated.
Krander awoke from his dream and neither woman was there, and the sky was dark. He hummed and his voice was even more pristine than before. He began to sing and the walls almost seemed to melt. He was back, and better than ever. His dream had been a success. He stood up and noticed he was in an entirely new set of armor. Pristine white with polished silver on it. He had a necklace around his neck and his helmet was adorned by a crescent moon.
"What day is it?" Krander demanded of a servant of the castle.
"Why, Captain I thought you were dead! They said you had slept for about a week!"
"A week?!"
"Yes, well, sometimes things you hear are not always true now is they?" He chuckled and continued cleaning.
Krander walked out of the hospital wing carrying his helmet and his sword ready. He sensed something was wrong and he was going to figure out what it was...
"Captain, allow me to get that for you!" she curtsied. She picked up the glass and hollered for an assistant. He entered and she asked him to fill the glass with water.
She continued, "And since I am over here," lowering her voice, "and seems that Mageria is not here at all," she continued at normal volume, "I can read your results first." She bustled with some papers and didn't even notice the look of surprise and curiosity that went across Krander's face when she said that. Without looking up she said, "You think this is my first day? No. Aha, here we go." She gave a frown and looked up at Krander. "I'm afraid I have some bad news Krander." she said sadly. She sat down next to his bed and grabbed his hand. He tilted his head, still not being able to talk.
"It appears that the damage done to your vocal cords this time was," she paused,"irreversible. The head doctorius doesn't think you will be able to speak again, ever." She looked down at him with such sad eyes.
Krander flashed red inside his eyes. He squeezed her hand so hard he broke it. She stifled the scream but withdrew her hand. He began to flail around before getting up and turning over the table near his bed, his own bed, and punching a hole in the wall. He tried to scream, but was silenced. He tried to yell, but was silenced. He tried to cry, but was silenced. He looked at the woman whose hand he had just broken and noticed it was almost already completely healed. She looked at her hand, then looked at him, and then she grabbed a bottle of liquid and rubbed it on a rag and ran at Krander pushing it against his mouth and nose. Krander immediately fell to the floor unconscious and she motioned for help. Another woman with slanted eyes and long black hair walked in smiling. "What have we here?"
"He was crazy with rage, I had to stop him," she said as she put him in Magerias bed and scribbled a note and left some tea with it near the bed side table. A messenger walked by and she had him take the note directly to Mageria's door and to stay unseen. He left the room
Krander slipped into a dream state almost immediately. He could not speak in his dream he sadly came to see. He began to cry, and in the wing of the hospital a tear slid down his face that the robed lady wiped away.
Krander awoke in a cave. One side too bright to see in, the other so dark nothing could be seen. Krander felt hot and began to remove his armor. He went to the middle of the cave where the light seemed to meet the darkness in a straight line. He stuck his hand through the darkness and it felt freezing, and he could not even see it. It was as if his arm had just been cut off at the wrist. He pulled it out and it instantly was warm again. The heat was overwhelming so he stepped into the darkness. However, once there, he was frozen. He was so cold it took all the effort in his body to get back to the sun side. Something caught his eye as he jumped back into the light. He Heated up quickly and jumped again. "Aha." He thought. He paused for a second realizing he hadn't said it, but only thought it. He frowned and his chin began to wrinkle. 'No, you will not cry right now.' He waited just a bit to long. He was so cold he couldn't move. He froze up. He thought hard, his feet were stuck. He buckled at the knees and fell rolling back to the sun. Both times he saw the indiscernible thing. He stood up feeling his skin become more and more tan and walked sideways into the dark. Half of his body disappeared into the darkness while the other half stood in the light. He felt the perfect heat hit him and everything was at ease. He saw a beautiful dark woman wearing a long white robe, a yellow mask, and a lot of the jewelry of the sun. She smiled and her teeth sparkled. The other twin was very white, with no wrinkles, long black thin hair, skin almost white. She had slanted almond shaped eyes and when she smiled her entire color changed.
"Hello Krander," the sun woman said. He attempted to say hello back but the moon woman raised her hand to stop him. She touched his lips with her forefinger and he felt a good kind of chill run down his spine. "I am Sun," she continued, "and I believe that everything happens for a reason. As you know, us Gods were angry with our parents and we all took children with humans. You are one of the few that is a descendant of my line and Moon's line." She paused and Moon smiled again.
"That is correct. Your father was a son of the moon, while your mother was a daughter of the sun. We have figured out a way to resume our power in the sky like we had many years ago, and our siblings have not. We will do a deed for you, in exchange for our powers back. Understand, we figured this out only moments before knocking you out and delivering the sad, but true news. We have traveled this land helping our descendants and you are a special one. It is not your time to die, nor lose your powers."
"We found that doing these deeds out of the kindness of our hearts gets us our powers back, so before this we were doing it anyway. Something War wouldn't know anything about. We have decided to do more than just that though. Moon is going to restore your powers, and I will enhance them. As you can see your skin is glowing. Your body has been healed of all parasites, bugs, and anything else detrimental to them. Your teeth will now have the smile of your Sun mother and your hair will always look as if I have been playing with it. It will be Sun Touched."
Moon looked Krander in the eyes. "You will have exceptional sight at night now, so that you can always see me. You will not have an issue with losing your powers again, as long as there is a star in the sky you can borrow some of the energy from the stars and return it while you sleep and through prayer. We only ask that you remember us and pray to us."
They both walked close to Krander and gave him a gift. Mother Sun gave him a necklace that had a sun on it, and Mother Moon gave him a piece to attach to his helm that was a crescent shape.
"This is to show you that we are always there for you, as we should have been from the start. Now go, you have people to save, and evil to slay." said Mother Sun.
"One more thing," Mother Moon said, "Remember Krander, stay true to yourself, and you shall be rewarded after you awake, by the thing you most desire...
Krander felt himself pulled up and out of the cave and into the sky. He screamed and mountains shook. Birds flew away and clouds disintegrated.
Krander awoke from his dream and neither woman was there, and the sky was dark. He hummed and his voice was even more pristine than before. He began to sing and the walls almost seemed to melt. He was back, and better than ever. His dream had been a success. He stood up and noticed he was in an entirely new set of armor. Pristine white with polished silver on it. He had a necklace around his neck and his helmet was adorned by a crescent moon.
"What day is it?" Krander demanded of a servant of the castle.
"Why, Captain I thought you were dead! They said you had slept for about a week!"
"A week?!"
"Yes, well, sometimes things you hear are not always true now is they?" He chuckled and continued cleaning.
Krander walked out of the hospital wing carrying his helmet and his sword ready. He sensed something was wrong and he was going to figure out what it was...
"You can't stay neutral forever, healer. Not even in times of peace." Daniel stated coldly and shortly before turning to Grim. The White Knight simple nodded at him and left for the forest once more. Grim could do whatever he wanted to do, but Daniel knew that the armies of Newhaven would need every commander they could get and this battle would be a large one indeed. There were no horses to be spared for him and thus, he had a long journey to make on foot. Although, Daniel was running while the armies of Blackpond was marching, so he figured he would at least reach Newhaven just before they would have to lock the gates. If not, well then he would fight with the strength of the gods behind him until his very last breath for that was the price one paid when being a White Knight.
The journey between the ruins and Newhaven was shorter than expected but maybe that was partly because many of the quicker paths had been imprinted into this mans mind years ago seeing as he had travelled through these forests many times before. Upon reaching Newhaven Daniel found to his surprise and delight that the armies of Blackpond had yet to reach them. As he reached the gates he heard the guard Captain yelling commands to the other guards to open the gates. Daniel swiftly made his way in and found to his surprise once more than the armies of Newhaven had already been mobilized under the Black Knight Captain Magerias command. The White Knight hurried up to the Captain.
"I see you've already taken the liberty to mass the armies. Good, Captain. In the White Knight Captains absence, I will take it from here on until he arrives. Gather your Knights and prepare those who are able to fight. There are currently about 250 soldiers from Blackpond coming our way and another 200 soldiers will possible arrive later after they've attacked the Ruins." Daniel explained swiftly and hard before starting to bark out orders to groups of soldiers to take up defensive positions here and there as well as reinforce the city gates. He put out several squads of archers upon the wall and formed defensive positions for the soldiers at the gates using stone covers, sand bags and tree barricades. It was hard work, but it was a good way to work up the muscles before a long and bloody battle.
Not much could be done about the gates, but it would take Blackpond a bit longer to get in and the archers upon the wall was skilled enough to take out a large amount of them before they would break through. If they had ladders with them, soldiers would swiftly report it and they would put more soldiers upon the walls. Daniel kept on barking orders and formed both defensive and offensive positions to be sure that no weaknesses were left unattended. However, Krander Captain of the White Knights soon arrived to the scene only to be meet by a shocking sight with soldiers, barricades and a reinforced gate.
"Aha, good to see you're finally up on your feet again. Some of the soldiers spoke about you as if you were dead, but I dismissed it as pure rumours. Now to update you young knight; There are about 250 soldiers from Blackpond heading this way and an another two-hundred will arrive as well soon enough. I've prepared us to the best of our abilities and resources. Now it's your job to keep this city from falling into Blackponds hands." Daniel reported and put his large hand on Kranders left shoulder. "Make me proud, boy."
And with that, they were ready for almost anything Blackpond would throw at them.
The journey between the ruins and Newhaven was shorter than expected but maybe that was partly because many of the quicker paths had been imprinted into this mans mind years ago seeing as he had travelled through these forests many times before. Upon reaching Newhaven Daniel found to his surprise and delight that the armies of Blackpond had yet to reach them. As he reached the gates he heard the guard Captain yelling commands to the other guards to open the gates. Daniel swiftly made his way in and found to his surprise once more than the armies of Newhaven had already been mobilized under the Black Knight Captain Magerias command. The White Knight hurried up to the Captain.
"I see you've already taken the liberty to mass the armies. Good, Captain. In the White Knight Captains absence, I will take it from here on until he arrives. Gather your Knights and prepare those who are able to fight. There are currently about 250 soldiers from Blackpond coming our way and another 200 soldiers will possible arrive later after they've attacked the Ruins." Daniel explained swiftly and hard before starting to bark out orders to groups of soldiers to take up defensive positions here and there as well as reinforce the city gates. He put out several squads of archers upon the wall and formed defensive positions for the soldiers at the gates using stone covers, sand bags and tree barricades. It was hard work, but it was a good way to work up the muscles before a long and bloody battle.
Not much could be done about the gates, but it would take Blackpond a bit longer to get in and the archers upon the wall was skilled enough to take out a large amount of them before they would break through. If they had ladders with them, soldiers would swiftly report it and they would put more soldiers upon the walls. Daniel kept on barking orders and formed both defensive and offensive positions to be sure that no weaknesses were left unattended. However, Krander Captain of the White Knights soon arrived to the scene only to be meet by a shocking sight with soldiers, barricades and a reinforced gate.
"Aha, good to see you're finally up on your feet again. Some of the soldiers spoke about you as if you were dead, but I dismissed it as pure rumours. Now to update you young knight; There are about 250 soldiers from Blackpond heading this way and an another two-hundred will arrive as well soon enough. I've prepared us to the best of our abilities and resources. Now it's your job to keep this city from falling into Blackponds hands." Daniel reported and put his large hand on Kranders left shoulder. "Make me proud, boy."
And with that, they were ready for almost anything Blackpond would throw at them.
Mageria gracefully yielded command to Daniel when he showed up, instead positioning her men where the streets formed natural choke points; and using whatever they could find to make others. If and when Blackpond broke through, they would cover the main army while they fell back. Her people were specifically trained for this kind of fighting, while the rest of the army was meant more for the open field of battle.
Taking a moment, she drew near to Daniel, noting that he seemed to be favoring his right arm. It only took a moment to see the clear mark of an arrow hole, showing clearly what had happened. Obviously while she had been trying to hold things together, he had been off trying to get himself killed. Again. She grit her teeth and spoke softly.
“I have a lot of questions that need answering at the moment, Sir” The sarcasm was slight but there. “But the only one that matters at the moment is, are you capable of fighting?”
Then Krander walked up. Mageria found herself shocked by the alterations in his appearance, but managed to keep her reaction down to a simple long look up and down. Finally a tiny grin quirked the side of her mouth.
“Why Krander. You’ve done something with your hair.”
Taking a moment, she drew near to Daniel, noting that he seemed to be favoring his right arm. It only took a moment to see the clear mark of an arrow hole, showing clearly what had happened. Obviously while she had been trying to hold things together, he had been off trying to get himself killed. Again. She grit her teeth and spoke softly.
“I have a lot of questions that need answering at the moment, Sir” The sarcasm was slight but there. “But the only one that matters at the moment is, are you capable of fighting?”
Then Krander walked up. Mageria found herself shocked by the alterations in his appearance, but managed to keep her reaction down to a simple long look up and down. Finally a tiny grin quirked the side of her mouth.
“Why Krander. You’ve done something with your hair.”
Daniel turned his head slowly at Mageria after addressing Krander and giving him the final command over the armies of Newhaven. She had questioned his ability to fight, but it was reasonable considering the fact that he didn't use his left arm so much. He tried to keep it still because once the battle started he had to use all the powers and energy he had left in it and maybe even more. No time to waste any of that energy when directing the soldiers before the battle at hand. Daniel nodded and bowed slightly to Krander for a moment before leading Mageria away from the Captain.
"It is true that I have damaged my left shoulder, but I can assure you that it won't cause any more trouble during this fight. I still have the ability to fight and wield my shield. However, thanks for your concern and I hope you fight well and survive this battle so that we might see each other again after it." Daniel smiled and bowed before Mageria. The woman said whatever she had to say and then Daniel left for the walls above the gate; He was going to command the troopers and archers up there while Krander took care of the soldiers down in front of the gate. It would be a hard and long battle filled with blood and pain, but if they won they would have a major advantage against Blackpond and if used correctly they might even be able to end this war once and for all. Daniel carried his shield on his back as he went up the many stone stairs up to the wall.
"It is true that I have damaged my left shoulder, but I can assure you that it won't cause any more trouble during this fight. I still have the ability to fight and wield my shield. However, thanks for your concern and I hope you fight well and survive this battle so that we might see each other again after it." Daniel smiled and bowed before Mageria. The woman said whatever she had to say and then Daniel left for the walls above the gate; He was going to command the troopers and archers up there while Krander took care of the soldiers down in front of the gate. It would be a hard and long battle filled with blood and pain, but if they won they would have a major advantage against Blackpond and if used correctly they might even be able to end this war once and for all. Daniel carried his shield on his back as he went up the many stone stairs up to the wall.
Mageria clamped her teeth on her response to Daniel. Angry and stressed as she was, she didn’t want to risk saying something that she would regret afterwards. Instead she simply saluted as he walked away, then turned and went to find her own position. Surveying her men with a critical eye, she nodded and checked her weapons.
There was a footstep behind her and she could sense someone standing near. Assuming that it was one of her men, she didn’t look up, instead making sure that the laces on her armor were as secure as she could make them. Unlike Grim who wore full plate, she wore a more flexible suit of scale plate; more suited for the quicker sword work she favored, but more vulnerable at the same time.
“You’re going to get them all killed, you know.” A cold voice spoke up from behind her.
Mageria spun in place, her dagger leaping into her hand. To her confusion, there was no one there. She looked around, but there wasn’t even a sign of anybody within fifteen feet. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to sheath her dagger, turning back to the wall.
Simply stress and nerves.
There was a footstep behind her and she could sense someone standing near. Assuming that it was one of her men, she didn’t look up, instead making sure that the laces on her armor were as secure as she could make them. Unlike Grim who wore full plate, she wore a more flexible suit of scale plate; more suited for the quicker sword work she favored, but more vulnerable at the same time.
“You’re going to get them all killed, you know.” A cold voice spoke up from behind her.
Mageria spun in place, her dagger leaping into her hand. To her confusion, there was no one there. She looked around, but there wasn’t even a sign of anybody within fifteen feet. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to sheath her dagger, turning back to the wall.
Simply stress and nerves.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Evin had gone for a walk around the general perimater of the camp. He was hoping to find Ella wandering around somewhere near. If not he would have to go looking for her somewhere else, but that would be another day. He had to catch up on work he had in the camp that he had been neglecting for the past few days as well. He look in every crevice and every clearing that he knew, and he knew most of them. The search was in vain however, and there was no way that he would find him with the limited time he had. "Maybe he's at the Healers camp. She'll be safe there." Evin said aloud.
Evin started thinking about one of he very first lessons he had with Ella. It made him think about Jake and the predicament that Evin had with him.
"When are we actually going to learn the fun stuff." Ella sighed while she sat on the bench in the training grounds of the camp.
"I thought we were doing the fun stuff." Evin chuckled.
"This sucks!"
"Well if you get what you want, then you also need to take on the stuff that you don't want."
Ella got up and started stomping her feet around in frustration. Evin couldn't help but laugh out loud at the stupidity of this girl. Why was it that Dani wanted him to train her? She seemed like she would be a little too much trouble for even him to handle. Maybe Dani was just getting back at him for all the crap he had spent doing during the years he knew her.
"I don't get it! It isn't fair!" She yelled
"Have you ever heard the story of the creation of Valcrest?" Evin asked.
Ella looked into the air for a second. "No, I don't think so."
Evinsighed. It was a long story and he wasn't to excited to have to re-tell it to her. He didn't bother trying to summarise it, he just went strait into the story.
"There were two great beings in the beginning. One was male and the other female. Today we simply call them Mother and Father. Mother and Father created the land of Valcrest and all the living creatures that lived in it; including the humans. Soon after their creation, the humans began to doubt the existence of Mother and Father. The two wondered how they could prove their existence. They decided that the best way to prove it to the humans was to send down their children to the earth. Each time, they had twins and they brought them down two at a time until all fourteen of them had come down to join the humans on Valcrest.
The first two children they had were Moon and Sun. Moon was given the power of shadow manipulation and Sun was given the power to manipulate light. The both of them also gave gifts to both Valcrest and the humans. They gave the world light and darkness. To the humans, Sun gave them day, so they could see while they worked and Moon gave humans night so they could rest after a long day.
The next two children were Fire and Water. Fire was given the power to manipulate fire and Water was given the power to manipulate water. They also gave gifts to Valcrest and the humans. They gave the world fire and water and the seasons of summer and winter. To the humans, Fire gave them heat to keep warm and Water gave them mountain water to keep the river fresh.
The third pair of children that came to the earth were Earth and Air. Earth was given the power of earth manipulation. Air had the power of air manipulation. They as well gave gifts. To Valcrest, they gave the gifts of dirt, rocks, sky and wind. They also gave them the seasons of spring and fall. To the humans, Earth gave hard stones to build walls with and Air gave them cold to refresh people from heat.
The fourth set of children were Life and Death. Life had the ability to live forever. Death had the ability to kill who he touched. When they first came to the world, they didn’t want to give anyone any gift. They were both very greedy. Even after their brothers and sisters tried to convince them to give gifts like the rest had done, they refused. One day, one of the humans went up to death and ask them why they wouldn’t give the humans a gift like the others had. Death told the human that she wouldn’t give them a gift because they wouldn’t like it. When the human continued to bother Death, she finally gave humans a gift. It was the gift of death. The human asked Death why she gave the human race such a terrible gift and Death had told the human that they got what they deserved for pestering the divine. When the humans went to Life to ask him to give humans something to save them from the terrible gift of death. Life didn’t want to give them his gift to live forever though. He wanted to be the only one who had that ability.
The fifth pair to come to Valcrest was Mind and Heart. Mind hath the ability of telekinesis and telepathy. Heart had the ability of empathy. Sadly Mind and Heart couldn’t think of anything they could give to Valcrest, so they only gave things to the humans. Heart gave them emotion so they could feel and Mind gave them reason so they didn’t act purely on emotion.
The sixth of the seven pairs was Space and Time. Space had the ability of teleportation and Time was given the ability of time travel. Again, they didn’t have anything to give the earth, so they gave humans something again. Space had given them the concept of a mile so they would know the limits of Valcrest. Time gave them the concept of a minute to keep track of time and a month to keep track of the seasons.
The final set of twins to come to Valcrest was War and Peace. War had the ability of rage. Peace had the ability of healing. They gave humans two things each. War gave them weapons to protect themselves and the will to protect their existence. Peace gave them the knowledge of when to use weapons and the wisdom to respect the existence of others.
Mother and Father gave their fourteen children one instruction while they were down there. They were not allowed to bare a child with any of the humans on the earth. If they wanted to have children, they had to bare one with on of their brothers and sisters. As long as they followed this one rule, they would come back to life after every time they died.
The fourteen brothers and sisters all parted ways quickly. They all grew attached to different parts of the land and they found places to seek refuge. Many humans came to these areas and settled around them in order to worship. From this the cities were born:
The first city to come to be was Newhaven. This was considered the most sacred of all the cities since Sun and Moon lived there and they were the first two born to Valcrest. The people to live with these two thought very highly of themselves, but were also able to prove that they were a strong force.
The second city was Blackpond. War was the one who lived in this city. The people who lived with him were given the never ending will to survive, fight and defend themselves, no matter how far behind they were.
Blackhurst was where Peace had settled. The meadows was a nice place where no one seemed to bother anyone. Peace liked this. The people who lived in this city had a lack of will to get involved in pointless conflict, and their devotion to obtain more wisdom. Sadly, it was the first to be lost to the war.
Brightvale was where Fire and Wind decided to settle. In the desert where things were tough and extreme. The people who lived here obtained their fierceness to survive the heat and dryness of the desert and their wild nature, as well as their will to constantly travel from one place to another.
Water and Earth decided to go all the way to the mountains at the limits of Valcrest to settle down. They called the city Effort. This was where most of the rocks and snow that kept the river fresh was. The people of Effort were always the more rough, and attached to their land. They were also the more calm and level headed, only moving into war when there was a real necessity.
The forest was where Mind and Heart decided to live. The forest people, despite their wild nature, were always the most reasonable in Valcrest, but at the same time, the most passionate ones. They chose to get involved in the matters of the cities as little as possible, at the same time as they craved change, which led them to always have their better judgement struggle against their passion to bring some relief into the Land. Their impulsiveness most of times winning the battle and leading their actions.
Time and Space really lived nowhere. They just traveled around and never really settled. Because of this, they weren’t really worshiped by anyone. They had no devout followers, but they didn’t care. They believed that it wasn’t important to have followers. They were only on the earth to prove the existence of a greater power.
Because of the bitter feelings that Life and Death had, no one really knew where they were. No one cared to know where they were either. They lived somewhere, leaving the world to think that they had left Valcrest completely and moved back up to the Devine Afterlife to live with Mother and Father. When war broke out in the land of Valcrest, they appeared again to see what was going on.
Because of this war in Valcrest, the fourteen siblings helped the humans out with their powers. Slowly though, their powers began to diminish, they didn’t understand why. So the fourteen got together to figure It out. When they came together Mother and Father descended from the Devine Afterlife to help fix the problem. Mother and father created a tree made of stone. Within this tree, there was a fountain. The fountain didn’t have any water in it, instead there was energy. Mother and Father called the energy Enlightenment and gave it to the siblings so that they would never lose their powers. After that, their powers only became stronger.
Life was jealous of his brothers and sisters. They were given stronger powers while he was left with the same old power. He could live forever, it couldn’t get more powerful than that. He became even more jealous when he started to see his brothers and sisters dying and then just coming right back to life. They could live forever too. He felt useless. Life plotted his revenge to get back at them for this.
Life found a beautiful woman named Terra. She was the most beautiful lady in Valcrest and every man wanted her to be his wife. Terra had finally found a soul mate in a man from Blackhurst named Duncan. He was considered one of the most handsome men in Valcrest. Life challenged Duncan to a duel to win the heart of Terra, and Duncan accepted. He was arrogant and thought that he could kill the immortal and win his love. He proved himself wrong and died by the Life’s blade. Life won the heart of Terra and they married and had children.
When Terra gave birth to Life’s child, Life wanted to see if the child was Devine. He tried to drown it with water but failed. He tried to burn it with fire, but failed. Finally he tried to stab it with a blade, but this failed too. His child was given the same ability as Life had. He could regenerate his ageless body. He could live forever.
When Mother and Father found out that Life had a child with a human they were furious. As punishment, they took away all the siblings’ ability to live forever. Now, when they died, they would die for good. To take away Life’s power wouldn’t be fair though, so instead they let him keep his power, but now he would age. Every time he died, he would come back to life one year older than the time before. He would eventually die for good and join the rest of his brothers and sisters in the Devine Afterlife with Mother and Father.
The siblings became mad at Life and Mother and Father. As a way to get back at them, they began to have children with as many humans as possible before dying. All of their children possessed the same powers as they did from birth. These children gave birth to their own children, but they didn’t have the same enlightened power until they were twelve and they were a lot weaker than their parents.
The only one that didn’t have children was the child of Life and Terra himself. He lived a regular life for as long as possible, but he quickly became detached as people around him started dying and he still lived an ageless life. He became very isolated and left the general population so he would never have to face death again."
Ella was lying on the ground by the time Evin finished the story. She looked up and Evin with a bit of a confused look, or maybe it was just because the sun was in her face. Either way, she wasn't quite sure what the point of the story was. "What are you getting at Evin?"
"Well Life wanted to be the only one who was immortal. When he got what he wanted, the reprucution was that he also lost his power to live forever. There would be a day when he died and would never come back."
"I still don't get it." Ella said.
"Hold on, I'm not done! My point is that just like Life, who wanted something, if you want something and get it, there will be negatives. Also, there was a little story about revenge. The rest of siblings got revenge on Mother and Father by doing what they were told not to as much as possible. Don't be afraid to get revenge on people. It makes the world go round."
"But if you get revenge on someone, wont they want to get revenge on you for what you do after that?"
"That's why you never let people know your true identity. They can't get revenge on a shadow."
Evin thought about finding what you want and Jake with involvement to revenge. If Evin got his way, then he was sure that there would be people who would want him dead. If he killed Jake, he wouldn't really be satisfied, but he knew that there would be a moment of satisfaction. If what Mageria said was true too, there was some things that needed to be considered.
He started walking back to camp and the air started to get really muggy. It had been dry out all day, but just from out of nowhere this blast of humid air had seemed to have blown. Suddenly birds started chirping erratically and the wind started to pick up. That is when Evin heard the first crack of lightning out in the distance. Something wasn't right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
There was a lot of commotion outside of Ella's tent, for almost no apparent reason. Something was off with the healers. When Ella popped her head out of her tent to see what was going on, she could see healers packing things up and requesting that people who seemed fit, to leave. Ella tried to think of a reason that they were doing this, but she could find a good reason. When one of the White Shadows walked into Ella's tent with tears in her eyes, Ella knew that this was more serious than first suspected.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but you are going to have to leave."
"No, wait I can't! I need to stay or else they will never find me! You can't do this!"
"I'm sorry, but there is no other choice."
Ella looked down at the bags of things that the girl had packed. There were a few personal items, but then there were also a few medical supplies; some tools, but then there were also some liquids and plants Ella was sure did something interesting. She pretended to really take interest in one of the liquids.
"What is that?" She asked pointing at the small vial.
"Oh, it's a chemical that puts people to sleep from breathing in it's fume. It's good if you have to cut a guys arm off or you want the person to be quite for a bit." The girl giggled and then turned around. "Now I expect you out of here in three minutes.
As the girl walked out, Ella tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and grabbed the substance out of the girl's bag that she now had over her shoulder as she walked out. She opened the vial and poured it all onto the cloth. "I'm sorry," she whispered, just before sneaking up behind the girl and placing the cloth over her mouth. She was out in seconds.
Ella wasn't going to leave the camp, and she was going to do all that was necessary in order to stay. She took off the girl's robes and threw them over herself and ran to the crowds where Dani seemed to be instructing them.
"The 20 of you, rid yourself of your robes and pick up any weapon you'd like. Use your enlightenment wisely. We are not aiming for a massacre." Lena yelled to the crowds.
Ella froze when she said that. She knew exactly what was coming. There had always been tensions between Blackpond and the Healers. They were now coming to attack them. With only twenty people defending it would be impossible even if they were all enlightened. Ella went to the weapons and picked up a Halberd. She loved practicing with the Halberd with Evin. She didn't take off the robe. If Jake saw her, things wouldn't be good. Ella was finally able to prove her strength to someone even if it was just the Healers. She stood there with her Halberd.
A few hours later, Ella caught a glimpse of the soldiers coming out of the darkness from the forest and charging towards them. Their vicious demeanour told her exactly how long she would last in this fight. If she died here, it would be for nothing because she would be taken down by the first blow. "What did I get myself into."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Hastings could feel that the Gods were on his side this time as he lead his men towards the edge of the forest. He was on high alert from here on. By now, if there wasn't one person who had seen them and gone to warn them than Hastings would be very surprised. The chance of an ambush were very high. Because of this, Hastings’ eyes were peeled for every step that his horse took. Walking into the clearing, he could see outside of the gates there was an army prepared.
When Hastings army got into position, Hastings took his time to examine the army in front of him. He made changes to his own army to best fit what he saw in front of him. He looked over to his left where a woman, her name was Rita. At the moment she was passed out in her horse. Hastings motioned for two other men walk in-between Hastings and Rita. The two men started holding hands and then grabbed the hands of Rita and Hastings.
The instant that the man held Hastings hands with the man beside him, he felt as if he was shot right out of his body and above the battlefield. Some people called this an out of body experience, but Rita called this another day using her power. The other two men could see other people’s point of view with touch while the other had advanced sight. This was the perfect combination of powers to see everything on the battlefield. While Rita moved her outer body across the city, Hastings noticed that there were a few interesting traps set up at the choke points on the streets.
Hastings let go of the hands and was shot back into his body. Soon after, the other three came to. The two men walked away and then he looked over at Rita, who was now back in her body again.
“How long will it be until the catapults get here?” Hastings asked.
Rita looked up at the sun to judge the time. “I’d say about forty-five minutes to an hour.”
“Let’s see how much time we can knock off of that hour before we have to attack.” He said and dismounted his horse. He took a few seconds to stretch and walked over to the center of the flat field. He saw behind him Rita, but then he shooed her away. He was in firing range from the archers now, but none of them were ambitious enough to fire. He looked into the eyes of all the men in the front line of the battlefield seeing the fear in their eyes. There was something else in their eyes. Hastings wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was some sort of warriors glare that Hastings knew every soldier who had ever fought before had. These guys were seasoned warriors.
He stood there, hands folded in front of him, and waited for the White Knight he believed was in charge to come up to him. Hastings liked to think of it as a kind gesture. Hastings didn’t see any way that a battle would be averted, but if the Knight had an idea, he would at least listen.
Evin started thinking about one of he very first lessons he had with Ella. It made him think about Jake and the predicament that Evin had with him.
"When are we actually going to learn the fun stuff." Ella sighed while she sat on the bench in the training grounds of the camp.
"I thought we were doing the fun stuff." Evin chuckled.
"This sucks!"
"Well if you get what you want, then you also need to take on the stuff that you don't want."
Ella got up and started stomping her feet around in frustration. Evin couldn't help but laugh out loud at the stupidity of this girl. Why was it that Dani wanted him to train her? She seemed like she would be a little too much trouble for even him to handle. Maybe Dani was just getting back at him for all the crap he had spent doing during the years he knew her.
"I don't get it! It isn't fair!" She yelled
"Have you ever heard the story of the creation of Valcrest?" Evin asked.
Ella looked into the air for a second. "No, I don't think so."
Evinsighed. It was a long story and he wasn't to excited to have to re-tell it to her. He didn't bother trying to summarise it, he just went strait into the story.
"There were two great beings in the beginning. One was male and the other female. Today we simply call them Mother and Father. Mother and Father created the land of Valcrest and all the living creatures that lived in it; including the humans. Soon after their creation, the humans began to doubt the existence of Mother and Father. The two wondered how they could prove their existence. They decided that the best way to prove it to the humans was to send down their children to the earth. Each time, they had twins and they brought them down two at a time until all fourteen of them had come down to join the humans on Valcrest.
The first two children they had were Moon and Sun. Moon was given the power of shadow manipulation and Sun was given the power to manipulate light. The both of them also gave gifts to both Valcrest and the humans. They gave the world light and darkness. To the humans, Sun gave them day, so they could see while they worked and Moon gave humans night so they could rest after a long day.
The next two children were Fire and Water. Fire was given the power to manipulate fire and Water was given the power to manipulate water. They also gave gifts to Valcrest and the humans. They gave the world fire and water and the seasons of summer and winter. To the humans, Fire gave them heat to keep warm and Water gave them mountain water to keep the river fresh.
The third pair of children that came to the earth were Earth and Air. Earth was given the power of earth manipulation. Air had the power of air manipulation. They as well gave gifts. To Valcrest, they gave the gifts of dirt, rocks, sky and wind. They also gave them the seasons of spring and fall. To the humans, Earth gave hard stones to build walls with and Air gave them cold to refresh people from heat.
The fourth set of children were Life and Death. Life had the ability to live forever. Death had the ability to kill who he touched. When they first came to the world, they didn’t want to give anyone any gift. They were both very greedy. Even after their brothers and sisters tried to convince them to give gifts like the rest had done, they refused. One day, one of the humans went up to death and ask them why they wouldn’t give the humans a gift like the others had. Death told the human that she wouldn’t give them a gift because they wouldn’t like it. When the human continued to bother Death, she finally gave humans a gift. It was the gift of death. The human asked Death why she gave the human race such a terrible gift and Death had told the human that they got what they deserved for pestering the divine. When the humans went to Life to ask him to give humans something to save them from the terrible gift of death. Life didn’t want to give them his gift to live forever though. He wanted to be the only one who had that ability.
The fifth pair to come to Valcrest was Mind and Heart. Mind hath the ability of telekinesis and telepathy. Heart had the ability of empathy. Sadly Mind and Heart couldn’t think of anything they could give to Valcrest, so they only gave things to the humans. Heart gave them emotion so they could feel and Mind gave them reason so they didn’t act purely on emotion.
The sixth of the seven pairs was Space and Time. Space had the ability of teleportation and Time was given the ability of time travel. Again, they didn’t have anything to give the earth, so they gave humans something again. Space had given them the concept of a mile so they would know the limits of Valcrest. Time gave them the concept of a minute to keep track of time and a month to keep track of the seasons.
The final set of twins to come to Valcrest was War and Peace. War had the ability of rage. Peace had the ability of healing. They gave humans two things each. War gave them weapons to protect themselves and the will to protect their existence. Peace gave them the knowledge of when to use weapons and the wisdom to respect the existence of others.
Mother and Father gave their fourteen children one instruction while they were down there. They were not allowed to bare a child with any of the humans on the earth. If they wanted to have children, they had to bare one with on of their brothers and sisters. As long as they followed this one rule, they would come back to life after every time they died.
The fourteen brothers and sisters all parted ways quickly. They all grew attached to different parts of the land and they found places to seek refuge. Many humans came to these areas and settled around them in order to worship. From this the cities were born:
The first city to come to be was Newhaven. This was considered the most sacred of all the cities since Sun and Moon lived there and they were the first two born to Valcrest. The people to live with these two thought very highly of themselves, but were also able to prove that they were a strong force.
The second city was Blackpond. War was the one who lived in this city. The people who lived with him were given the never ending will to survive, fight and defend themselves, no matter how far behind they were.
Blackhurst was where Peace had settled. The meadows was a nice place where no one seemed to bother anyone. Peace liked this. The people who lived in this city had a lack of will to get involved in pointless conflict, and their devotion to obtain more wisdom. Sadly, it was the first to be lost to the war.
Brightvale was where Fire and Wind decided to settle. In the desert where things were tough and extreme. The people who lived here obtained their fierceness to survive the heat and dryness of the desert and their wild nature, as well as their will to constantly travel from one place to another.
Water and Earth decided to go all the way to the mountains at the limits of Valcrest to settle down. They called the city Effort. This was where most of the rocks and snow that kept the river fresh was. The people of Effort were always the more rough, and attached to their land. They were also the more calm and level headed, only moving into war when there was a real necessity.
The forest was where Mind and Heart decided to live. The forest people, despite their wild nature, were always the most reasonable in Valcrest, but at the same time, the most passionate ones. They chose to get involved in the matters of the cities as little as possible, at the same time as they craved change, which led them to always have their better judgement struggle against their passion to bring some relief into the Land. Their impulsiveness most of times winning the battle and leading their actions.
Time and Space really lived nowhere. They just traveled around and never really settled. Because of this, they weren’t really worshiped by anyone. They had no devout followers, but they didn’t care. They believed that it wasn’t important to have followers. They were only on the earth to prove the existence of a greater power.
Because of the bitter feelings that Life and Death had, no one really knew where they were. No one cared to know where they were either. They lived somewhere, leaving the world to think that they had left Valcrest completely and moved back up to the Devine Afterlife to live with Mother and Father. When war broke out in the land of Valcrest, they appeared again to see what was going on.
Because of this war in Valcrest, the fourteen siblings helped the humans out with their powers. Slowly though, their powers began to diminish, they didn’t understand why. So the fourteen got together to figure It out. When they came together Mother and Father descended from the Devine Afterlife to help fix the problem. Mother and father created a tree made of stone. Within this tree, there was a fountain. The fountain didn’t have any water in it, instead there was energy. Mother and Father called the energy Enlightenment and gave it to the siblings so that they would never lose their powers. After that, their powers only became stronger.
Life was jealous of his brothers and sisters. They were given stronger powers while he was left with the same old power. He could live forever, it couldn’t get more powerful than that. He became even more jealous when he started to see his brothers and sisters dying and then just coming right back to life. They could live forever too. He felt useless. Life plotted his revenge to get back at them for this.
Life found a beautiful woman named Terra. She was the most beautiful lady in Valcrest and every man wanted her to be his wife. Terra had finally found a soul mate in a man from Blackhurst named Duncan. He was considered one of the most handsome men in Valcrest. Life challenged Duncan to a duel to win the heart of Terra, and Duncan accepted. He was arrogant and thought that he could kill the immortal and win his love. He proved himself wrong and died by the Life’s blade. Life won the heart of Terra and they married and had children.
When Terra gave birth to Life’s child, Life wanted to see if the child was Devine. He tried to drown it with water but failed. He tried to burn it with fire, but failed. Finally he tried to stab it with a blade, but this failed too. His child was given the same ability as Life had. He could regenerate his ageless body. He could live forever.
When Mother and Father found out that Life had a child with a human they were furious. As punishment, they took away all the siblings’ ability to live forever. Now, when they died, they would die for good. To take away Life’s power wouldn’t be fair though, so instead they let him keep his power, but now he would age. Every time he died, he would come back to life one year older than the time before. He would eventually die for good and join the rest of his brothers and sisters in the Devine Afterlife with Mother and Father.
The siblings became mad at Life and Mother and Father. As a way to get back at them, they began to have children with as many humans as possible before dying. All of their children possessed the same powers as they did from birth. These children gave birth to their own children, but they didn’t have the same enlightened power until they were twelve and they were a lot weaker than their parents.
The only one that didn’t have children was the child of Life and Terra himself. He lived a regular life for as long as possible, but he quickly became detached as people around him started dying and he still lived an ageless life. He became very isolated and left the general population so he would never have to face death again."
Ella was lying on the ground by the time Evin finished the story. She looked up and Evin with a bit of a confused look, or maybe it was just because the sun was in her face. Either way, she wasn't quite sure what the point of the story was. "What are you getting at Evin?"
"Well Life wanted to be the only one who was immortal. When he got what he wanted, the reprucution was that he also lost his power to live forever. There would be a day when he died and would never come back."
"I still don't get it." Ella said.
"Hold on, I'm not done! My point is that just like Life, who wanted something, if you want something and get it, there will be negatives. Also, there was a little story about revenge. The rest of siblings got revenge on Mother and Father by doing what they were told not to as much as possible. Don't be afraid to get revenge on people. It makes the world go round."
"But if you get revenge on someone, wont they want to get revenge on you for what you do after that?"
"That's why you never let people know your true identity. They can't get revenge on a shadow."
Evin thought about finding what you want and Jake with involvement to revenge. If Evin got his way, then he was sure that there would be people who would want him dead. If he killed Jake, he wouldn't really be satisfied, but he knew that there would be a moment of satisfaction. If what Mageria said was true too, there was some things that needed to be considered.
He started walking back to camp and the air started to get really muggy. It had been dry out all day, but just from out of nowhere this blast of humid air had seemed to have blown. Suddenly birds started chirping erratically and the wind started to pick up. That is when Evin heard the first crack of lightning out in the distance. Something wasn't right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
There was a lot of commotion outside of Ella's tent, for almost no apparent reason. Something was off with the healers. When Ella popped her head out of her tent to see what was going on, she could see healers packing things up and requesting that people who seemed fit, to leave. Ella tried to think of a reason that they were doing this, but she could find a good reason. When one of the White Shadows walked into Ella's tent with tears in her eyes, Ella knew that this was more serious than first suspected.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but you are going to have to leave."
"No, wait I can't! I need to stay or else they will never find me! You can't do this!"
"I'm sorry, but there is no other choice."
Ella looked down at the bags of things that the girl had packed. There were a few personal items, but then there were also a few medical supplies; some tools, but then there were also some liquids and plants Ella was sure did something interesting. She pretended to really take interest in one of the liquids.
"What is that?" She asked pointing at the small vial.
"Oh, it's a chemical that puts people to sleep from breathing in it's fume. It's good if you have to cut a guys arm off or you want the person to be quite for a bit." The girl giggled and then turned around. "Now I expect you out of here in three minutes.
As the girl walked out, Ella tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and grabbed the substance out of the girl's bag that she now had over her shoulder as she walked out. She opened the vial and poured it all onto the cloth. "I'm sorry," she whispered, just before sneaking up behind the girl and placing the cloth over her mouth. She was out in seconds.
Ella wasn't going to leave the camp, and she was going to do all that was necessary in order to stay. She took off the girl's robes and threw them over herself and ran to the crowds where Dani seemed to be instructing them.
"The 20 of you, rid yourself of your robes and pick up any weapon you'd like. Use your enlightenment wisely. We are not aiming for a massacre." Lena yelled to the crowds.
Ella froze when she said that. She knew exactly what was coming. There had always been tensions between Blackpond and the Healers. They were now coming to attack them. With only twenty people defending it would be impossible even if they were all enlightened. Ella went to the weapons and picked up a Halberd. She loved practicing with the Halberd with Evin. She didn't take off the robe. If Jake saw her, things wouldn't be good. Ella was finally able to prove her strength to someone even if it was just the Healers. She stood there with her Halberd.
A few hours later, Ella caught a glimpse of the soldiers coming out of the darkness from the forest and charging towards them. Their vicious demeanour told her exactly how long she would last in this fight. If she died here, it would be for nothing because she would be taken down by the first blow. "What did I get myself into."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Hastings could feel that the Gods were on his side this time as he lead his men towards the edge of the forest. He was on high alert from here on. By now, if there wasn't one person who had seen them and gone to warn them than Hastings would be very surprised. The chance of an ambush were very high. Because of this, Hastings’ eyes were peeled for every step that his horse took. Walking into the clearing, he could see outside of the gates there was an army prepared.
When Hastings army got into position, Hastings took his time to examine the army in front of him. He made changes to his own army to best fit what he saw in front of him. He looked over to his left where a woman, her name was Rita. At the moment she was passed out in her horse. Hastings motioned for two other men walk in-between Hastings and Rita. The two men started holding hands and then grabbed the hands of Rita and Hastings.
The instant that the man held Hastings hands with the man beside him, he felt as if he was shot right out of his body and above the battlefield. Some people called this an out of body experience, but Rita called this another day using her power. The other two men could see other people’s point of view with touch while the other had advanced sight. This was the perfect combination of powers to see everything on the battlefield. While Rita moved her outer body across the city, Hastings noticed that there were a few interesting traps set up at the choke points on the streets.
Hastings let go of the hands and was shot back into his body. Soon after, the other three came to. The two men walked away and then he looked over at Rita, who was now back in her body again.
“How long will it be until the catapults get here?” Hastings asked.
Rita looked up at the sun to judge the time. “I’d say about forty-five minutes to an hour.”
“Let’s see how much time we can knock off of that hour before we have to attack.” He said and dismounted his horse. He took a few seconds to stretch and walked over to the center of the flat field. He saw behind him Rita, but then he shooed her away. He was in firing range from the archers now, but none of them were ambitious enough to fire. He looked into the eyes of all the men in the front line of the battlefield seeing the fear in their eyes. There was something else in their eyes. Hastings wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was some sort of warriors glare that Hastings knew every soldier who had ever fought before had. These guys were seasoned warriors.
He stood there, hands folded in front of him, and waited for the White Knight he believed was in charge to come up to him. Hastings liked to think of it as a kind gesture. Hastings didn’t see any way that a battle would be averted, but if the Knight had an idea, he would at least listen.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Jake’s story filled the gaps of his tale. There was plenty whispered about their secretive knight, but with his confession everything fit together. The locket, the position, and even the circumstances surrounding the death of the Wolves’ former leader. All intricately placed together to form the picture that was Jake.
Grim said nothing choosing to think on the matter before acting. Not wanting to insult his friend, if indeed a friend he could consider him. For the implications of what went on were grounds to execute Jake. A double edged spy belonging to the enemy, giving away the secrets of Newhaven. All the while giving what he could back to the Black Knights.
“… Then if that is the case I must- “
From behind the roaring voice breached all that loitered about the front gate. Grim pivoted his head to catch Daniel making swift progress toward them. Ranting and raving like a man gone mad. His warnings weren’t folly however, and what he brought was a dark doom upon the patient Healers of Valcrest.
Grim watched bewildered as the veteran White Knight called everyone to arms. Blackpond was on the move and Newhaven was soon under siege. As to how or why it seemed would remain a mystery for at hand all were preparing for war. Daniels had spat his peace and rushed homeward ready to defend her. Giving no one the opportunity to question him. What he was doing this far our not even the Black Knight knew.
A breeze flowed freely through his hair and he raised his head to look toward his home. Lost to all the world at that moment. Wanting desperately to go home, to defend the people of Newhaven with every last ounce of strength he possessed. It was too late for that, by the time he reached the gates they would likely be already besieged. Had he known he would never have left. As it was to return would only get him and those with him killed. He had to place his faith in Mageria to hold on long enough.
His eyes met Jake’s once more. The air had an electricity of its own. Fears and doubts all hanging all around them. Paintings of horrid depiction and unprecedented destruction. Was Blackpond so foolish as to win at any cost?
“Your aunt will need help. Come, tell these fools to stand aside let me and my men pass. Newhaven sends its aid.”
The Black Guard all immediately up rose in protest. Their arms spread as they shouted protests. They had the same misgivings at leaving their homeland without their defense as their leader. The difference was they weren’t aware of the obvious truth. When the Black Knight faced them their words were hushed to silence.
“I said Newhaven sends its aid! Take up your arms Black Guard. We go to war.”
There was no further objection. With that Grim turned to face Jake squarely his great blade free from its sheath and at his side. Casually reequipping his helmet and adjusting the fittings. It was a dark choice he knew, but he honestly believed he could do more good here then to have no options behind Blackpond’s forces.
“I do not take orders from Healers. You have my blade… no matter if you accept it or not. So you might as well let me in. Lest your kind would leave five able bodied men to die on your doorstep.”
Grim said nothing choosing to think on the matter before acting. Not wanting to insult his friend, if indeed a friend he could consider him. For the implications of what went on were grounds to execute Jake. A double edged spy belonging to the enemy, giving away the secrets of Newhaven. All the while giving what he could back to the Black Knights.
“… Then if that is the case I must- “
From behind the roaring voice breached all that loitered about the front gate. Grim pivoted his head to catch Daniel making swift progress toward them. Ranting and raving like a man gone mad. His warnings weren’t folly however, and what he brought was a dark doom upon the patient Healers of Valcrest.
Grim watched bewildered as the veteran White Knight called everyone to arms. Blackpond was on the move and Newhaven was soon under siege. As to how or why it seemed would remain a mystery for at hand all were preparing for war. Daniels had spat his peace and rushed homeward ready to defend her. Giving no one the opportunity to question him. What he was doing this far our not even the Black Knight knew.
A breeze flowed freely through his hair and he raised his head to look toward his home. Lost to all the world at that moment. Wanting desperately to go home, to defend the people of Newhaven with every last ounce of strength he possessed. It was too late for that, by the time he reached the gates they would likely be already besieged. Had he known he would never have left. As it was to return would only get him and those with him killed. He had to place his faith in Mageria to hold on long enough.
His eyes met Jake’s once more. The air had an electricity of its own. Fears and doubts all hanging all around them. Paintings of horrid depiction and unprecedented destruction. Was Blackpond so foolish as to win at any cost?
“Your aunt will need help. Come, tell these fools to stand aside let me and my men pass. Newhaven sends its aid.”
The Black Guard all immediately up rose in protest. Their arms spread as they shouted protests. They had the same misgivings at leaving their homeland without their defense as their leader. The difference was they weren’t aware of the obvious truth. When the Black Knight faced them their words were hushed to silence.
“I said Newhaven sends its aid! Take up your arms Black Guard. We go to war.”
There was no further objection. With that Grim turned to face Jake squarely his great blade free from its sheath and at his side. Casually reequipping his helmet and adjusting the fittings. It was a dark choice he knew, but he honestly believed he could do more good here then to have no options behind Blackpond’s forces.
“I do not take orders from Healers. You have my blade… no matter if you accept it or not. So you might as well let me in. Lest your kind would leave five able bodied men to die on your doorstep.”
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Phelix had a bad dream and awoke. He instantly felt someone in the room but could not see. He rolled out of the bed and slid under it and popped up in front of the seemingly female person in his room. He put his arms on both sides of her neck with his hands flat against the wall.
"To what do I owe this pleasure of your visit?" he asked.
She pushed his arms down sighing, "Too bad we cannot take peoples hands. That would teach them."
Phelix smirked and took a step back, his eyes somewhat adjusted to the dark. He sat down on his bed. "I'm sure you know why I am here." he stated.
"I'm sure you know what I will say, the same thing I have said, and will always say," she retorted.
Phelix stood back up and began to pace. "Well I cannot..." he was interrupted by a knock at the door. The woman, whom he assumed was Helena, was summoned.
"I shall return and we can still discuss what you came here for. I know that is how you Blackpond people work." She smirked and headed out the door.
Phelix stared in disbelief as everything unwound. He kind of thought with war close by that she would ally them, but he knew deep down that that wouldn't happen. He went back to bed but awoke shortly after hearing a bit of a tiff outside his current residence. He went outside and saw some Black Knights. He instantly reached for a weapon but found none. He realized no one would recognize him so he began to limp over to see what was wrong. He had practiced limping, as it gave his enemies a false sense of confidence and had it rather convincing.
He heard them talking about drawing weapons. He then saw a few healers disrobing and grabbing weapons. He immediately ran over to Helena and asked what was going on and what he could do to assist.
"To what do I owe this pleasure of your visit?" he asked.
She pushed his arms down sighing, "Too bad we cannot take peoples hands. That would teach them."
Phelix smirked and took a step back, his eyes somewhat adjusted to the dark. He sat down on his bed. "I'm sure you know why I am here." he stated.
"I'm sure you know what I will say, the same thing I have said, and will always say," she retorted.
Phelix stood back up and began to pace. "Well I cannot..." he was interrupted by a knock at the door. The woman, whom he assumed was Helena, was summoned.
"I shall return and we can still discuss what you came here for. I know that is how you Blackpond people work." She smirked and headed out the door.
Phelix stared in disbelief as everything unwound. He kind of thought with war close by that she would ally them, but he knew deep down that that wouldn't happen. He went back to bed but awoke shortly after hearing a bit of a tiff outside his current residence. He went outside and saw some Black Knights. He instantly reached for a weapon but found none. He realized no one would recognize him so he began to limp over to see what was wrong. He had practiced limping, as it gave his enemies a false sense of confidence and had it rather convincing.
He heard them talking about drawing weapons. He then saw a few healers disrobing and grabbing weapons. He immediately ran over to Helena and asked what was going on and what he could do to assist.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Once Mageria was sure all her people were in place, she went up to the battlements to take a look at the oncoming army. Pulling out her spyglass, she carefully scanned the Blackpond soldiers, taking note of their positions. Then one person standing in front of the rest caught her eye. She snorted softly and spoke over her shoulder at Daniels.
“Hastings. Commander of the Blackpond army.” She carefully adjusted the focus and took a closer look. “We met during the last battle. I’m afraid he doesn’t like me very much.” She carefully folded her glass back up and leaned on the wall.
“Not that I think there’s any chance of preventing this, but should one of us go talk to him? On the other hand, he could just be stalling to buy time for reinforcements.”
Mageria felt a breeze blowing cold on her back. She chose not to take it as an omen.
“Why would they come all this way and then want to talk?”
“Hastings. Commander of the Blackpond army.” She carefully adjusted the focus and took a closer look. “We met during the last battle. I’m afraid he doesn’t like me very much.” She carefully folded her glass back up and leaned on the wall.
“Not that I think there’s any chance of preventing this, but should one of us go talk to him? On the other hand, he could just be stalling to buy time for reinforcements.”
Mageria felt a breeze blowing cold on her back. She chose not to take it as an omen.
“Why would they come all this way and then want to talk?”
Daniel listened to Mageria and realized what this "Hasting" was trying to do. He was obviously not here to create a peace treaty since he brought just about every soldier from Blackpond and maybe even more so. No, this commander was trying something many generals and commanders had done so many time before him; Stall the time to wait for reinforcements and Daniel would not allow it. Looking around he saw the same fear in the archers eyes that he had grown accustomed to these many years of war, but he also saw the same flame of determination that burned brightly in the eyes of the more seasoned men. The time for peace might be gone, but victory lied within their grasp and all they had to do was to reach for it. Turning to Mageria, Daniel gave her one last order before the battle would start for real:
"Go back to your station down by the gate and inform Krander that the armies of Blackpond has arrived. Hopefully they won't break through the gates, but that's something we will have to count on. Now go, and may the gods be with you." Daniel ordered coldly and turned to his fellow archers. The White Knight had put his sword and shield aside for the time being and equipped one of the many bows and a couple of arrows to make use of his good aim for once. He put an arrow in the string and pulled it back and as he did so he ordered his men to do the same. When every archer had an arrow ready and a target picked out in the army, Daniel leveled his bow and aimed for Commander Hasting who was in range from the city walls.
"May the gods guide my arrow!" He thought and screamed "Fire" on top of his lungs. A vast array of arrows rained down upon the army of Blackpond and it marked the beginning of one of the most blood filled battles in Valcrest. It didn't take long until Daniel screamed "Fire at will" as well and so, the archers kept on shooting with all of their might and precision.
"Go back to your station down by the gate and inform Krander that the armies of Blackpond has arrived. Hopefully they won't break through the gates, but that's something we will have to count on. Now go, and may the gods be with you." Daniel ordered coldly and turned to his fellow archers. The White Knight had put his sword and shield aside for the time being and equipped one of the many bows and a couple of arrows to make use of his good aim for once. He put an arrow in the string and pulled it back and as he did so he ordered his men to do the same. When every archer had an arrow ready and a target picked out in the army, Daniel leveled his bow and aimed for Commander Hasting who was in range from the city walls.
"May the gods guide my arrow!" He thought and screamed "Fire" on top of his lungs. A vast array of arrows rained down upon the army of Blackpond and it marked the beginning of one of the most blood filled battles in Valcrest. It didn't take long until Daniel screamed "Fire at will" as well and so, the archers kept on shooting with all of their might and precision.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Jake watched as the men from Newhaven made their decision to stay and aid the healers, better yet, Grim decided for them. He sighed as the two healers at the gate were torn between Lena's words and Grim's intimidating figure. Finally Jake was the one to make up their minds. He turned to the two older men, speaking in a serious tone. "Go help the others evacuate the camp. There is no point in arguing." At the men's hesitation his eyes narrowed and he ordered them in a tone much similar to the one Lena always used, calm and ice cold. "I said: Move aside."
As the healers turned around and ran to aid the others, Jake opened a little smirk and picked his Katana and his needles from were they were being kept. Unsheathing the sword he started moving into the camp. "My aunt wants no unnecessary bloodshed. All she wants is to buy time for the clan to flee." He spoke to no one in particular. "You have seen horrors in your lives, my friends... Nothing compares to my dear aunt's wrath. So I really don't advise you to piss her off right now."
He then turned to face the men. "Word of advice: Try to stay out of the healers' paths. They are quite powerful and not very skilled." He said with a little grin.
---------------------------
Lena let Alistair handle the evacuation and went into her tent. There she removed her white robes, revealing the dark clothing she wore underneath. She folded the robes and piled them over her bed. Following to that she open a wooden chest and pulled her weapons from it. She strapped the sheath of her sword to her back, and her two daggers to her belt. Finally, she lowered her head for a moment. "May the Gods have mercy on those fools. Because they surely won't get it from me." She whispered. Then she closed her eyes thinking back to her first week as an apprentice.
"I really don't see the point." Lena muttered to herself while trying to meditate.
"You will never see it unless you accept the reality of what we do." A voice sounded behind her in the room.
The 21 year old girl sighed in annoyance. "Stupid old fart." She mumbled.
"What was that?" The man laughed.
"Nothing master." She replied.
The man sat in front of the girl and sighed. "Helena... Have you been studying the legends like I asked you to do?"
"Yes, master." She said, now opening her eyes to give the leader of the White Shadows an intrigued look. "Why?" She asked.
"Tell me, what was the mistake men made when they pestered Death for a gift?" The man asked her. "What have you learned from it?"
"Never piss off a Goddess?" Lena answered with a little smirk.
"That too, but what else?" The man asked, patiently.
Lena sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "They weren't satisfied with the gifts they already had." She said. "They had all they needed."
"Exactly. So what does the certainty of death remind us off? That we should value the gifts we are given, since we no longer have all the time in the world to enjoy them."
Lena sighed. "So, we should be grateful for death. I get that."
"What don't you understand, then?" The man asked.
"You say we shouldn't interfere we people's fate. Isn't saving their lives interfering?" She asked.
"No, child." He laughed. "We help those who come to us with the tools we are given and nothing more. We aid those who come to us, no matter who they may be and place they keep in the world. If we were to refuse anyone, that would bring imbalance to the land. That would be interfering. Can you see that?"
Lena considered it for a while then responded. "Then you are saying that either we serve all, or we serve no one?"
"Exactly." He told her.
"That doesn't seem fair." She said, frowning slightly.
"There is one thing else we can learn from the myths, Helena: Life is not fair."
Lena took a deep breath. "Forgive me master. I am about to shatter my oath to pieces." She whispered, before leaving the tent. The first sight she got was of 20 men and women who knew very little of what they were doing, lined up before her, carrying weapons they had never practiced with, all determined to sacrifice for the survival of the clan. She let out a small sigh before addressing them. "We are not warriors. What we will do is a violation of our oath and if we survive we will be no longer members of this clan as what we will do can never be undone. If we die, we will die in dishonor for betraying our ideals. However, with our dishonor and possibly our deaths, the clan will live." She looked into the eyes of the healers and smiled. "The best we can do for ourselves now is give them enough trouble, so they will think twice before trying to attack the Shadows again." With that, she nodded towards the main entrance. "Go stand in their way, and use the best of your abilities to hold them back." She ordered.
As she watched them move, immediately, at her command, she felt a sick feeling go through her insides. "Blackpond scum." She muttered. "You better not let me live or I will destroy you all for this."
At that point she noticed the Black Knight and his men had not left. She sighed, but before she could argue that fact with the man, she heard someone ask what was happening. She turned to face the man from Blackpond who she was speaking with earlier. She shook her head, as she answered. "Your friends decided not to wait for you to convince me, as it seems. We are about to be attacked." She turned away and started to walk towards the gates to join her people. "As for what you can do... There is nothing. My advice is that you leave, unless you intend to fight with you comrades or betray them. That, however, is not my concern."
Finally, Lena walked to meet the Black Knight, passing Jake she grabbed his shoulder. "You are injured." She told him.
"Some wounds can't be healed." He answered her. "I'm not going anywhere."
She nodded. "Suit yourself." Then she faced Grim. "Are you sure you are going to waste your time?" She asked him. "Even with your help it won't take them long to overpower us and they will most likely head for Newhaven once they are through. You and your men could be put to better use in the city, I'm sure." She smiled, heading towards the entrance to greet the arriving troops as they neared. "Besides... We have no intention to resist them long. Just enough so the others get away."
As she reached the gates she could spot the men as they came closer and closer. 200 men, give or take, to face a bunch of healers and a handful of soldiers. That is what Lena would call an overkill. As they grew close enough Lena simply nodded to a blond man, and a wall flames raised from the ground between the army and their target, at the same time, the sky grew darker with clouds and lightning began to crash as another man's eyes turned completely white. "This is your one and only chance to turn back, commander." She shouted in a loud and clear tone. "Once you cross this line, you will not leave unscathed." With that, she drew her sword, knowing that the line had already been crossed long ago. "May the Gods have mercy on us all." She whispered.
As the healers turned around and ran to aid the others, Jake opened a little smirk and picked his Katana and his needles from were they were being kept. Unsheathing the sword he started moving into the camp. "My aunt wants no unnecessary bloodshed. All she wants is to buy time for the clan to flee." He spoke to no one in particular. "You have seen horrors in your lives, my friends... Nothing compares to my dear aunt's wrath. So I really don't advise you to piss her off right now."
He then turned to face the men. "Word of advice: Try to stay out of the healers' paths. They are quite powerful and not very skilled." He said with a little grin.
---------------------------
Lena let Alistair handle the evacuation and went into her tent. There she removed her white robes, revealing the dark clothing she wore underneath. She folded the robes and piled them over her bed. Following to that she open a wooden chest and pulled her weapons from it. She strapped the sheath of her sword to her back, and her two daggers to her belt. Finally, she lowered her head for a moment. "May the Gods have mercy on those fools. Because they surely won't get it from me." She whispered. Then she closed her eyes thinking back to her first week as an apprentice.
"I really don't see the point." Lena muttered to herself while trying to meditate.
"You will never see it unless you accept the reality of what we do." A voice sounded behind her in the room.
The 21 year old girl sighed in annoyance. "Stupid old fart." She mumbled.
"What was that?" The man laughed.
"Nothing master." She replied.
The man sat in front of the girl and sighed. "Helena... Have you been studying the legends like I asked you to do?"
"Yes, master." She said, now opening her eyes to give the leader of the White Shadows an intrigued look. "Why?" She asked.
"Tell me, what was the mistake men made when they pestered Death for a gift?" The man asked her. "What have you learned from it?"
"Never piss off a Goddess?" Lena answered with a little smirk.
"That too, but what else?" The man asked, patiently.
Lena sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "They weren't satisfied with the gifts they already had." She said. "They had all they needed."
"Exactly. So what does the certainty of death remind us off? That we should value the gifts we are given, since we no longer have all the time in the world to enjoy them."
Lena sighed. "So, we should be grateful for death. I get that."
"What don't you understand, then?" The man asked.
"You say we shouldn't interfere we people's fate. Isn't saving their lives interfering?" She asked.
"No, child." He laughed. "We help those who come to us with the tools we are given and nothing more. We aid those who come to us, no matter who they may be and place they keep in the world. If we were to refuse anyone, that would bring imbalance to the land. That would be interfering. Can you see that?"
Lena considered it for a while then responded. "Then you are saying that either we serve all, or we serve no one?"
"Exactly." He told her.
"That doesn't seem fair." She said, frowning slightly.
"There is one thing else we can learn from the myths, Helena: Life is not fair."
Lena took a deep breath. "Forgive me master. I am about to shatter my oath to pieces." She whispered, before leaving the tent. The first sight she got was of 20 men and women who knew very little of what they were doing, lined up before her, carrying weapons they had never practiced with, all determined to sacrifice for the survival of the clan. She let out a small sigh before addressing them. "We are not warriors. What we will do is a violation of our oath and if we survive we will be no longer members of this clan as what we will do can never be undone. If we die, we will die in dishonor for betraying our ideals. However, with our dishonor and possibly our deaths, the clan will live." She looked into the eyes of the healers and smiled. "The best we can do for ourselves now is give them enough trouble, so they will think twice before trying to attack the Shadows again." With that, she nodded towards the main entrance. "Go stand in their way, and use the best of your abilities to hold them back." She ordered.
As she watched them move, immediately, at her command, she felt a sick feeling go through her insides. "Blackpond scum." She muttered. "You better not let me live or I will destroy you all for this."
At that point she noticed the Black Knight and his men had not left. She sighed, but before she could argue that fact with the man, she heard someone ask what was happening. She turned to face the man from Blackpond who she was speaking with earlier. She shook her head, as she answered. "Your friends decided not to wait for you to convince me, as it seems. We are about to be attacked." She turned away and started to walk towards the gates to join her people. "As for what you can do... There is nothing. My advice is that you leave, unless you intend to fight with you comrades or betray them. That, however, is not my concern."
Finally, Lena walked to meet the Black Knight, passing Jake she grabbed his shoulder. "You are injured." She told him.
"Some wounds can't be healed." He answered her. "I'm not going anywhere."
She nodded. "Suit yourself." Then she faced Grim. "Are you sure you are going to waste your time?" She asked him. "Even with your help it won't take them long to overpower us and they will most likely head for Newhaven once they are through. You and your men could be put to better use in the city, I'm sure." She smiled, heading towards the entrance to greet the arriving troops as they neared. "Besides... We have no intention to resist them long. Just enough so the others get away."
As she reached the gates she could spot the men as they came closer and closer. 200 men, give or take, to face a bunch of healers and a handful of soldiers. That is what Lena would call an overkill. As they grew close enough Lena simply nodded to a blond man, and a wall flames raised from the ground between the army and their target, at the same time, the sky grew darker with clouds and lightning began to crash as another man's eyes turned completely white. "This is your one and only chance to turn back, commander." She shouted in a loud and clear tone. "Once you cross this line, you will not leave unscathed." With that, she drew her sword, knowing that the line had already been crossed long ago. "May the Gods have mercy on us all." She whispered.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Valcrest
Mageria nodded briskly at Daniel’s orders. She turned and ran briskly down the stairs to the ground, and made her way to where Krander was standing.
“I’m really glad your not dead.” She said softly. “And I’ll ask about that later. For right now, we’ve got an army of Blackpond soldiers standing outside the gates, so would you make sure it stays that way? I’m not sneaking over there to try and explain to Phelix why you're an excellent looking corpse. I’ll never have a moment of good luck again.” Turning she could see Daniel raise his bow and take aim. In just a moment the air was filled with a deadly hail of arrows arching down into the Blackpond army.
“By the Twins,” Mageria spoke under her breath. “It’s started.”
She closed her eyes as she could hear the screams of the Blackpond soldiers as they were hit, fighting back the memories of the last time that Blackpond stood outside the walls of Newhaven.
Unconsciously she grasped the dagger that hung on her right hip. It's pommel was engraved with the symbol of Moon, the patron Goddess of the Black Knights.
Lady of Shadows, she thought, guide and guard your children today. Protect them where ever they might walk, and show them to your hall once they leave this world.
“I’m really glad your not dead.” She said softly. “And I’ll ask about that later. For right now, we’ve got an army of Blackpond soldiers standing outside the gates, so would you make sure it stays that way? I’m not sneaking over there to try and explain to Phelix why you're an excellent looking corpse. I’ll never have a moment of good luck again.” Turning she could see Daniel raise his bow and take aim. In just a moment the air was filled with a deadly hail of arrows arching down into the Blackpond army.
“By the Twins,” Mageria spoke under her breath. “It’s started.”
She closed her eyes as she could hear the screams of the Blackpond soldiers as they were hit, fighting back the memories of the last time that Blackpond stood outside the walls of Newhaven.
Unconsciously she grasped the dagger that hung on her right hip. It's pommel was engraved with the symbol of Moon, the patron Goddess of the Black Knights.
Lady of Shadows, she thought, guide and guard your children today. Protect them where ever they might walk, and show them to your hall once they leave this world.
Hastings was surprised. Between the two cities, he believed that he would be the first one to call on an attack. It was completely wrong, and Hastings found a barrage of arrows fleeting across the skies. It was obvious what everyone there was aiming for, but the mistake made when aiming for one target was made very obvious in this. All of the arrows were hitting each other and either, tapering off and falling to the ground, or changing direction all together. There were a few arrows that he did have to worry about however. Those were few and far between though and it was almost easiest to dodge them instead of using his shield. For a few he did use his shield for.
"I just want to talk!" He yelled in vain as the order to fire at will was called, or so he thought. The barrage of arrows came sporadically and a little more effectively. By then, Hastings had made it just out of range, although a few of the stronger archers were able to reach him still. It wasn't much of a problem in Hastings eyes. He quickly turned around and ran back onto his horse.
Rita had disappeared somewhere, but after only a few seconds returned with a big smile on her face. "While you were busy making a fool of yourself, our catapults have arrived. Oh, and a special surprise from the King, he decided to go with your battering ram idea."
"I knew the old hag would come to reason. Bring it forth, and fire the catapults."
Rita nodded and swung her horse back into the forest where the catapults were set, so no one in Newhaven would be able to see them. He knew he could rely on Rita and her enlightenment to be able to fire the catapults in the exact place what was needed. Right now she had her sights on the wall. A few minutes after she left, the four catapults fired. Boulders flew over Hastings head, one of them hitting the wall at the far left. The other few went just over the wall, probably hitting some of the shops that surrounded the square at the main entrance. Following the boulders, the battering ram, surrounded completely by sheets of wood. The army moved behind it, until the structure got into range. The archers from the top of the wall fired down at it. This gave Hastings a short opening while the archers on the wall tried to place another arrow on the string (I can see Blackbird yelling at me right now).
"Charge!" Hastings Yelled, letting his armies move between him. He stayed somewhere in the middle of it all, allowing him to keep safe, but still able to order his masses in quick succession. Also in the middle of the crowds was the battering ram, quickly making it's way to the wall. In the front lines, there were people with pickaxes. They were for weakening the walls and the way these walls were constructed, it didn't take too much to weaken the walls.
Soon, Ladders began to rise from seemingly nowhere and they began to latch up on the wall. No one climbed up them until Hastings gave out the order and the soldiers seemed to be following order so well.
"Things look good." Hastings said to himself, seeing the third set of boulders fly over his head. These ones were probably aimed to widen out the chokepoints that Hastings had spotted out before.
The bloody battle had only just begun...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
Lev had made the order to charge and his men did exactly what was ordered of them. All but Lev and his armada of archers stayed back. He watched them. Only twenty defending while the rest were probably running. Then, a Black Knight caught his eye and he knew exactly who it was. Some called him grim, but he heard that most called him War. He had earned that name in battle and earned it well. Lev knew that this could last long. He surveyed everything else as his men charged forward. He could tell right away which one was Lena. She had authority figure written all over her.
"We grab as many as possible and then we move out. I don't want us to lose too many to War." He laughed at the ironies in that statement. Soldiers were made and conditioned to serve and die in war. The other irony was that Grim himself gave himself a title of a God who founded Blackpond, the city he fought against.
Suddenly, a crack of lighting and flash of fire appeared from nowhere. These Healers did know how to use their powers. They blocked the path of Lev's men completely from the healers that his soldiers hungered for.
"This is your one and only chance to turn back, commander. Once you cross this line, you will not leave unscathed." Lena yelled confirming who she was. It was a surprise, because she couldn’t even see him in the forest.
“No need to cross the line.” He muttered to himself.
He and his archers, who were all on horseback ran into a position that left them a perfect distance to safely fire. And with a simple wave of an arm, he ordered the men, around fifty, to fire on the practically defenceless healers.
"I just want to talk!" He yelled in vain as the order to fire at will was called, or so he thought. The barrage of arrows came sporadically and a little more effectively. By then, Hastings had made it just out of range, although a few of the stronger archers were able to reach him still. It wasn't much of a problem in Hastings eyes. He quickly turned around and ran back onto his horse.
Rita had disappeared somewhere, but after only a few seconds returned with a big smile on her face. "While you were busy making a fool of yourself, our catapults have arrived. Oh, and a special surprise from the King, he decided to go with your battering ram idea."
"I knew the old hag would come to reason. Bring it forth, and fire the catapults."
Rita nodded and swung her horse back into the forest where the catapults were set, so no one in Newhaven would be able to see them. He knew he could rely on Rita and her enlightenment to be able to fire the catapults in the exact place what was needed. Right now she had her sights on the wall. A few minutes after she left, the four catapults fired. Boulders flew over Hastings head, one of them hitting the wall at the far left. The other few went just over the wall, probably hitting some of the shops that surrounded the square at the main entrance. Following the boulders, the battering ram, surrounded completely by sheets of wood. The army moved behind it, until the structure got into range. The archers from the top of the wall fired down at it. This gave Hastings a short opening while the archers on the wall tried to place another arrow on the string (I can see Blackbird yelling at me right now).
"Charge!" Hastings Yelled, letting his armies move between him. He stayed somewhere in the middle of it all, allowing him to keep safe, but still able to order his masses in quick succession. Also in the middle of the crowds was the battering ram, quickly making it's way to the wall. In the front lines, there were people with pickaxes. They were for weakening the walls and the way these walls were constructed, it didn't take too much to weaken the walls.
Soon, Ladders began to rise from seemingly nowhere and they began to latch up on the wall. No one climbed up them until Hastings gave out the order and the soldiers seemed to be following order so well.
"Things look good." Hastings said to himself, seeing the third set of boulders fly over his head. These ones were probably aimed to widen out the chokepoints that Hastings had spotted out before.
The bloody battle had only just begun...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
Lev had made the order to charge and his men did exactly what was ordered of them. All but Lev and his armada of archers stayed back. He watched them. Only twenty defending while the rest were probably running. Then, a Black Knight caught his eye and he knew exactly who it was. Some called him grim, but he heard that most called him War. He had earned that name in battle and earned it well. Lev knew that this could last long. He surveyed everything else as his men charged forward. He could tell right away which one was Lena. She had authority figure written all over her.
"We grab as many as possible and then we move out. I don't want us to lose too many to War." He laughed at the ironies in that statement. Soldiers were made and conditioned to serve and die in war. The other irony was that Grim himself gave himself a title of a God who founded Blackpond, the city he fought against.
Suddenly, a crack of lighting and flash of fire appeared from nowhere. These Healers did know how to use their powers. They blocked the path of Lev's men completely from the healers that his soldiers hungered for.
"This is your one and only chance to turn back, commander. Once you cross this line, you will not leave unscathed." Lena yelled confirming who she was. It was a surprise, because she couldn’t even see him in the forest.
“No need to cross the line.” He muttered to himself.
He and his archers, who were all on horseback ran into a position that left them a perfect distance to safely fire. And with a simple wave of an arm, he ordered the men, around fifty, to fire on the practically defenceless healers.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Phelix was completely blown off by the leader of the Healers. Many unpracticed looking people came with armor and shields and swords near the gates. Phelix seemed to blink and a wall of fire shot up. Lightning struck sideways across the sky. The healers, while peaceful, were very powerful. He decided his best bet was to pray for the healers, wave his hands in his way, and then do a special wave for both Krander and Mageria.
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"Incoming" Lena heard someone say as the arrows began to rain down on them. The healers didn't move though, and the arrows seemed to hit an invisible barrier and then hit the ground.
Lena nodded. "Jax. How long can you keep this up?"
"Minutes." The girl muttered, struggling not to lose focus.
"Victor." Lena called. "Spook the horses."
The man with white eyes smirked. "As you wish, my lady." He said with a small bow. The moment he bowed lightning bolts began to crash down around the horsemen, causing their horses to panic.
The man who was controlling the wall of fire let out a small groan as the flames began to slowly wear out.
A dark haired girl, she looked no older than 15, stepped forward and beside Lena. "Let me attack them." She asked, in a soft tone.
Lena faced the girl for a couple of seconds. "Not to kill. Are we clear?" Lena responded.
The girl open a half smile. "I'll do my best." She stated. "Isaac, give me cover."
The man who's eyes had been glowing red simply nodded and the wall of flames advanced towards the army and exploded inches away from the men, causing the ones who were closer to duck not to get scorched. By the time they had recovered from the shock, they found their legs were bound to the ground by sturdy and thorny vines and it seemed that more they tried to shake them off the tighter was their grip.
"Not to kill. Can I dismember them, then?" The girl asked Lena, looking at her with a bored expression.
Lena snickered. "Maybe. I'll think about it." The she swirled her sword a couple of times as if she tried to conform to the fact that she might actually have to use it. "Their not going to back down. We won't either... Eventually we will have to hurt them." She muttered. "When they advance, to kill." She told the others.
One by one the 20 healers readied their weapons since they knew the traps would hold the men forever. One of the tiny girls that were amongst them transformed into a huge bear. One of the boys materialized his own shadow, holding the same one handed axe that he was holding as well.
As the men started to cut free from the plants and advance the healers began to attack. One pale boy with light blonde hair materialized a bow and arrows made out of pure light. He was the first one to shoot down a soldier. Fire balls, lightning bolts, sharp icicles, chaos was sent the soldiers' way. Not that it mattered, it was all a stall. Gladly, by the time this was over, the others would be far away.
Lena advanced as well, sword in hand, watching with the corner of her eyes as some of the archers began to drop dead, victims of an invisible foe. However, as she ran her blade through one of the men that reached her, she saw one of her healers drop to the floor and another one soon after. The first fainted, drained of his energy. The second one dead, refusing to give up a fight that was already won in the first place.
Lena nodded. "Jax. How long can you keep this up?"
"Minutes." The girl muttered, struggling not to lose focus.
"Victor." Lena called. "Spook the horses."
The man with white eyes smirked. "As you wish, my lady." He said with a small bow. The moment he bowed lightning bolts began to crash down around the horsemen, causing their horses to panic.
The man who was controlling the wall of fire let out a small groan as the flames began to slowly wear out.
A dark haired girl, she looked no older than 15, stepped forward and beside Lena. "Let me attack them." She asked, in a soft tone.
Lena faced the girl for a couple of seconds. "Not to kill. Are we clear?" Lena responded.
The girl open a half smile. "I'll do my best." She stated. "Isaac, give me cover."
The man who's eyes had been glowing red simply nodded and the wall of flames advanced towards the army and exploded inches away from the men, causing the ones who were closer to duck not to get scorched. By the time they had recovered from the shock, they found their legs were bound to the ground by sturdy and thorny vines and it seemed that more they tried to shake them off the tighter was their grip.
"Not to kill. Can I dismember them, then?" The girl asked Lena, looking at her with a bored expression.
Lena snickered. "Maybe. I'll think about it." The she swirled her sword a couple of times as if she tried to conform to the fact that she might actually have to use it. "Their not going to back down. We won't either... Eventually we will have to hurt them." She muttered. "When they advance, to kill." She told the others.
One by one the 20 healers readied their weapons since they knew the traps would hold the men forever. One of the tiny girls that were amongst them transformed into a huge bear. One of the boys materialized his own shadow, holding the same one handed axe that he was holding as well.
As the men started to cut free from the plants and advance the healers began to attack. One pale boy with light blonde hair materialized a bow and arrows made out of pure light. He was the first one to shoot down a soldier. Fire balls, lightning bolts, sharp icicles, chaos was sent the soldiers' way. Not that it mattered, it was all a stall. Gladly, by the time this was over, the others would be far away.
Lena advanced as well, sword in hand, watching with the corner of her eyes as some of the archers began to drop dead, victims of an invisible foe. However, as she ran her blade through one of the men that reached her, she saw one of her healers drop to the floor and another one soon after. The first fainted, drained of his energy. The second one dead, refusing to give up a fight that was already won in the first place.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Krander smirked at the comments made about his hair. He felt taller now that he was out and fairly towered over both Daniel and Mageria. Everything was happening so fast he needed to meditate for a few moments. He shut his eyes and began to hum. He could feel the tension around him easing. He hummed a little louder. It was almost as if he was sending the particles of fear away. He opened his eyes right when Commander Daniel hollered "FIRE." Krander flinched inside, but remained firm outside.
He whispered, "Twins, please bring all people in your territory to the place they deserve."
Then all hell broke loose. Arrows flew and he heard the clink of arrows against armor. He fumed. Why was Daniel having the archers waste arrows. He knew they all had many, but near the end of the battle every arrow could be rather important. Then more hell hit. He watched as one of the armory caravans was crushed by a boulder. Mageria had gone to give orders to her Black Knights. Krander was overall in charge but currently supervising the enlightened. He boomed over the camp, facing away from the wall so as little as possible was heard by others of Blackpond...
"We fight today. Do not drop your eyes, I require only your ears. We will hold them until they get close enough. Marksman, aim for the weakspots, you know every armor has one. Kill commanders on sight, and take out those Catapults. We are doing this not for ourselves, but for our homestead, and for the Sun and the Moon. May we triumph and finally rid our hair of the bug called Blackpond."
Those not busy began to applaud. He held up one hand and they stopped and resumed setting up. The boulder had to be moved for equipment. He then said loudly enough, and unenlightened, to the strongest of the enlightened, "We wait. When we can see their eyes we take from them what they will try to take from us and our families. Begin to gather energy because this is the end of the end. There is no beginning. We live or die today. Wait for my signal."
Three more boulders crushed the walls. Ladders went up, and some went down, while one went up in flames. Newhaven had less manpower, but had the wall and some secrets. He watched as one of the catapults launched straight up in the air, and came down crushing itself. He snapped his head at Mageria who was looking back. At the same time they signaled a P in sign language, and both stifled a smile. Phelix had his luck in play for them. Kranders confidence went up through the roof. He needed to let his power out, it was boiling up inside of him. He held back the urge until he climbed up near Daniel. A boulder was flying right at them. Krander entered a stance, let out a shout, flew back and fell off the wall. He wasn't used to his new powers. The rock however was shattered and flew as tiny pebbles all around. He could hear laughter and that lifted his heart. This battle wouldn't be so bad afterall...
He whispered, "Twins, please bring all people in your territory to the place they deserve."
Then all hell broke loose. Arrows flew and he heard the clink of arrows against armor. He fumed. Why was Daniel having the archers waste arrows. He knew they all had many, but near the end of the battle every arrow could be rather important. Then more hell hit. He watched as one of the armory caravans was crushed by a boulder. Mageria had gone to give orders to her Black Knights. Krander was overall in charge but currently supervising the enlightened. He boomed over the camp, facing away from the wall so as little as possible was heard by others of Blackpond...
"We fight today. Do not drop your eyes, I require only your ears. We will hold them until they get close enough. Marksman, aim for the weakspots, you know every armor has one. Kill commanders on sight, and take out those Catapults. We are doing this not for ourselves, but for our homestead, and for the Sun and the Moon. May we triumph and finally rid our hair of the bug called Blackpond."
Those not busy began to applaud. He held up one hand and they stopped and resumed setting up. The boulder had to be moved for equipment. He then said loudly enough, and unenlightened, to the strongest of the enlightened, "We wait. When we can see their eyes we take from them what they will try to take from us and our families. Begin to gather energy because this is the end of the end. There is no beginning. We live or die today. Wait for my signal."
Three more boulders crushed the walls. Ladders went up, and some went down, while one went up in flames. Newhaven had less manpower, but had the wall and some secrets. He watched as one of the catapults launched straight up in the air, and came down crushing itself. He snapped his head at Mageria who was looking back. At the same time they signaled a P in sign language, and both stifled a smile. Phelix had his luck in play for them. Kranders confidence went up through the roof. He needed to let his power out, it was boiling up inside of him. He held back the urge until he climbed up near Daniel. A boulder was flying right at them. Krander entered a stance, let out a shout, flew back and fell off the wall. He wasn't used to his new powers. The rock however was shattered and flew as tiny pebbles all around. He could hear laughter and that lifted his heart. This battle wouldn't be so bad afterall...
The sound of the stones hitting the wall was deafening. Mageria had to thank the artisan who had made her helm, the properties that went into allowing her to retain her hearing near where Krander was fighting meant that she could also still hear what was going on currently. Trying to stay out of the way of falling rocks, Mageria was walking toward a small huddle of her men when she tripped over a broken piece of brick. A split second of inattention was the only result, she didn’t even lose her balance. Of course, her tripping meant that the rock the size of a fist went right past her, instead of hitting her in the back of the neck.
“Bless you Phelix.” She muttered under her breath as she got closer to her people. It was a man and two women, taking shelter in against the wall of a house, all of them holding hands. She knelt down and reached out, gently gripping the shoulder of the woman on the right.
“Lara? How are things going?”
Private Monroe looked up blindly, her eyes gone black from lid to lid. “It’s difficult, Captain. They’ve got someone spying for them, and we can’t keep a shield up over everything.”
Mageria nodded, gently patting the young woman’s shoulder reassuringly. “That’s ok. You don’t have to cover everything, just make sure that they can’t be sure of what’s going on. Tell Dennis he doesn't have to create something massive, a lot of little things work just as well for us.”
She nodded and closed her eyes again, sinking back to concentrate better.
The man was the Lieutenant who had helped her in the forest, throwing up an illusion in order to trick Hastings into telling her his secrets. The two women were twins, and while they didn’t have a great deal of power on their own, they did have one special gift. While Lara was able to expand Dennis’s illusion to cover a great deal of people, specifically whoever was aiming the catapults, her sister Daliah was able to make sure that anybody fighting for Newhaven wasn’t effected. The stones were still hitting the buildings, but they weren’t hitting their intended targets. Even a few feet difference meant that lives and supplies were being spared.
Standing up Mageria made sure that all of the people she could see were under cover. There was no sense in standing around waiting to be hit when they had the rest of the battle to live for.
“Bless you Phelix.” She muttered under her breath as she got closer to her people. It was a man and two women, taking shelter in against the wall of a house, all of them holding hands. She knelt down and reached out, gently gripping the shoulder of the woman on the right.
“Lara? How are things going?”
Private Monroe looked up blindly, her eyes gone black from lid to lid. “It’s difficult, Captain. They’ve got someone spying for them, and we can’t keep a shield up over everything.”
Mageria nodded, gently patting the young woman’s shoulder reassuringly. “That’s ok. You don’t have to cover everything, just make sure that they can’t be sure of what’s going on. Tell Dennis he doesn't have to create something massive, a lot of little things work just as well for us.”
She nodded and closed her eyes again, sinking back to concentrate better.
The man was the Lieutenant who had helped her in the forest, throwing up an illusion in order to trick Hastings into telling her his secrets. The two women were twins, and while they didn’t have a great deal of power on their own, they did have one special gift. While Lara was able to expand Dennis’s illusion to cover a great deal of people, specifically whoever was aiming the catapults, her sister Daliah was able to make sure that anybody fighting for Newhaven wasn’t effected. The stones were still hitting the buildings, but they weren’t hitting their intended targets. Even a few feet difference meant that lives and supplies were being spared.
Standing up Mageria made sure that all of the people she could see were under cover. There was no sense in standing around waiting to be hit when they had the rest of the battle to live for.
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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“Waste my time?” Grim threw the words back at Lena. “Blackpond is my enemy be it here or before the walls of my home. To go homeward even when Daniels was here would have gotten me to the walls of Newhaven too late to be of much help.”
Grim took his blade and freed it from his back, hefting the massive edge with a single arm gripping its hilt. Gazing out over their situation with determination and the stubborn pride of a Black Knight. His back straightened standing at his full height, a mountain of ebony and flesh. A warrior born of maddening rage and insurmountable strength. Raised a soldier of Newhaven but an apt student of the Moon and her blessed teachings.
“The sons of Newhaven can do more good here. My blade will drink greedily where my enemy will not flee.”
Calmly he stood with the oath breakers. A dominating figure among the more diminutive folk. The four Black Guard carefully placed about him ready to give their lives for the cause. Allowing Grim’s spirit to keep them afloat in a sea of doubt. Often they glanced up at their general to see the stone etched features of his face. Looking for any sign of doubt and begging for reassurance from their veteran leader. None was given, but then the Blade of the Black Knights knew this. Truth was they would likely die or become captured in the conflict. Quietly he prayed for his guard for if they were captured they were the ones to be interrogated. Only a fool would attempt to rough Grim up with his Enlightenment.
They emerged from the forest in droves. Amassing before the Ruins with their banners waving so proudly, the faces of Blackpond were smug with confidence. They didn’t come to battle, they arrived to a massacre and they knew this. The men were grinning the whites of their teeth flashing like a taunt to the meager resistance brought to them. They were not of honor, nay they were demons with human faces! Their wickedness plucking at Grim’s heartstrings trying to lull him easily into his inevitable grave. Grim spat at the dirt before him. Glaring with malice and pointing his blade toward the mass of bodies. Calling them out, welcoming battle and spurring on the opponent.
He would be denied his chance to fight however, as one of White Shadows put a barrier between the advancing soldiers and themselves. Grim watched impudently as Lena forced more time before the clash. Buying precious minutes with each delay but ultimately providing nothing more then a nuisance for the horde. Patience was slipping from the knight bloodlust was aching in his belly and it hurt to withdraw the boiling beneath his veins. Even when they were entwined by the flora and could have killed plenty Lena insisted on being a pacifist. Grim only shook his head, they were not people of violence. They would have to be shown the way, and who better then a monster?
Someone screamed a warning and arrows rained down upon them. Enough shafts spilled over the entrance to have easily killed every one of them. If not for the fact they were informed with timely call, many would have perished right then. The tip of a bolt glanced from his shoulder sliding free and falling unexcitingly to the dirt. Grim paid it no heed and kept his eyes ahead.
“Black Guard! Surround the White Rose, defend her with your lives.”
Grim smirked giving a nod to Lena before stepping up preparing to meet the oncoming foes. From behind the Black Guard began their chant, “War! War! War!” Their voices rang out and was even joined by a few of the healers.
“Give em‘ hell War!”
Grim’s feet dug into the earth and he made a short charge into the first of many to fall by his blade. The horsemen swung feebly caught awkwardly by the behemoth whom took the fight to their lines rather then the reserve. The blade swung and took the horse’s head in one swift motion causing the beast to fall limp and throw its rider. A second later he would join his horse having been run through. Men rode up to the Black Knight and died in short bouts of combat. The rage rolling from his muscles but the evil still contained inside. None had so far been unfortunate enough to harm Grim.
Again and again he bested those that approached. Ending every man that dared clash long with him. When the unthinkable happened. An arrow hit home. Sliding into the underside of his left arm, its shaft dyed red from the blood leaking down its length. The Unnamed Feeling exploded with a ferocity unknown to even Grim, like his soul had wanted to surrender to the darkness. As though the creature was the only release from the tensions of this struggle.
The Raging Demon woke with a scream ripping the arrow tip and all from his arm. His heart bathed in a fire of malevolence. A menace of his own accord an unquenchable thirst for destruction. The fallen that brought death and showed no mercy, harboring only the passion for murder. This was the being they called ‘War’.
The next man was plucked from his horse with Grim’s off hand. By the time the poor sap had died of suffocation three other men were escorting him to the grave. Each nick or graze of his flesh only made it that much worse for Blackpond’s forces. They had no idea with what they were tampering with. Grim would surely fall beneath their might, but it would take a lot to get the job done.
“Face me and die foul worms! Squeal and squirm and die! Die!”
Two more torsos were torn asunder, the black metal of his armor coated with the crimson of their lives. The great blade an extension of his arm and wrath. The lumbering bulk of his body an unflinching mass of raw might. His roar sounded over the clatter of battle, it was an inhuman sound that wrenched the smirks of Blackpond’s troops right off their cocky faces.
Grim took his blade and freed it from his back, hefting the massive edge with a single arm gripping its hilt. Gazing out over their situation with determination and the stubborn pride of a Black Knight. His back straightened standing at his full height, a mountain of ebony and flesh. A warrior born of maddening rage and insurmountable strength. Raised a soldier of Newhaven but an apt student of the Moon and her blessed teachings.
“The sons of Newhaven can do more good here. My blade will drink greedily where my enemy will not flee.”
Calmly he stood with the oath breakers. A dominating figure among the more diminutive folk. The four Black Guard carefully placed about him ready to give their lives for the cause. Allowing Grim’s spirit to keep them afloat in a sea of doubt. Often they glanced up at their general to see the stone etched features of his face. Looking for any sign of doubt and begging for reassurance from their veteran leader. None was given, but then the Blade of the Black Knights knew this. Truth was they would likely die or become captured in the conflict. Quietly he prayed for his guard for if they were captured they were the ones to be interrogated. Only a fool would attempt to rough Grim up with his Enlightenment.
They emerged from the forest in droves. Amassing before the Ruins with their banners waving so proudly, the faces of Blackpond were smug with confidence. They didn’t come to battle, they arrived to a massacre and they knew this. The men were grinning the whites of their teeth flashing like a taunt to the meager resistance brought to them. They were not of honor, nay they were demons with human faces! Their wickedness plucking at Grim’s heartstrings trying to lull him easily into his inevitable grave. Grim spat at the dirt before him. Glaring with malice and pointing his blade toward the mass of bodies. Calling them out, welcoming battle and spurring on the opponent.
He would be denied his chance to fight however, as one of White Shadows put a barrier between the advancing soldiers and themselves. Grim watched impudently as Lena forced more time before the clash. Buying precious minutes with each delay but ultimately providing nothing more then a nuisance for the horde. Patience was slipping from the knight bloodlust was aching in his belly and it hurt to withdraw the boiling beneath his veins. Even when they were entwined by the flora and could have killed plenty Lena insisted on being a pacifist. Grim only shook his head, they were not people of violence. They would have to be shown the way, and who better then a monster?
Someone screamed a warning and arrows rained down upon them. Enough shafts spilled over the entrance to have easily killed every one of them. If not for the fact they were informed with timely call, many would have perished right then. The tip of a bolt glanced from his shoulder sliding free and falling unexcitingly to the dirt. Grim paid it no heed and kept his eyes ahead.
“Black Guard! Surround the White Rose, defend her with your lives.”
Grim smirked giving a nod to Lena before stepping up preparing to meet the oncoming foes. From behind the Black Guard began their chant, “War! War! War!” Their voices rang out and was even joined by a few of the healers.
“Give em‘ hell War!”
Grim’s feet dug into the earth and he made a short charge into the first of many to fall by his blade. The horsemen swung feebly caught awkwardly by the behemoth whom took the fight to their lines rather then the reserve. The blade swung and took the horse’s head in one swift motion causing the beast to fall limp and throw its rider. A second later he would join his horse having been run through. Men rode up to the Black Knight and died in short bouts of combat. The rage rolling from his muscles but the evil still contained inside. None had so far been unfortunate enough to harm Grim.
Again and again he bested those that approached. Ending every man that dared clash long with him. When the unthinkable happened. An arrow hit home. Sliding into the underside of his left arm, its shaft dyed red from the blood leaking down its length. The Unnamed Feeling exploded with a ferocity unknown to even Grim, like his soul had wanted to surrender to the darkness. As though the creature was the only release from the tensions of this struggle.
The Raging Demon woke with a scream ripping the arrow tip and all from his arm. His heart bathed in a fire of malevolence. A menace of his own accord an unquenchable thirst for destruction. The fallen that brought death and showed no mercy, harboring only the passion for murder. This was the being they called ‘War’.
The next man was plucked from his horse with Grim’s off hand. By the time the poor sap had died of suffocation three other men were escorting him to the grave. Each nick or graze of his flesh only made it that much worse for Blackpond’s forces. They had no idea with what they were tampering with. Grim would surely fall beneath their might, but it would take a lot to get the job done.
“Face me and die foul worms! Squeal and squirm and die! Die!”
Two more torsos were torn asunder, the black metal of his armor coated with the crimson of their lives. The great blade an extension of his arm and wrath. The lumbering bulk of his body an unflinching mass of raw might. His roar sounded over the clatter of battle, it was an inhuman sound that wrenched the smirks of Blackpond’s troops right off their cocky faces.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Another hail of arrows joined the sky that which were already filled with burning stones, smoke and flames and yet another wave of screams came from the army of Blackpond as most arrows hit their designated targets. The air had almost turned red and darkness were creeping closer in the horizon. Daniel got the feeling that it would rain soon, or maybe the winds were just stronger than usual this very hour? Fortunately the winds moved according to their arrows and thus, most of them hit what they'd been aimed at. After releasing the string on his bow once more, shooting an arrow into the crowd below, Daniel stepped back for a moment as pain erupted in his left shoulder. The wound had reopened and the pain was coming back, wave after wave. It didn't matter anymore though, his task up at the walls was finished as of now; he was needed down by the gates because it would soon break to Blackponds rams. Tossing his longbow and the small leather quiver aside, Daniel kneeled before his equipments and made himself ready. At this very moment, Krander found his way up to the walls and used his scream ability. In the process of letting out a scream, Krander destroyed one of the stones from the catapults that had been aimed at the walls, but the recoil also sent him flying off the wall. He had saved Daniels life, but at a great cost; The White Knight had lost his hearing on his right ear because of that scream, but it was either that or his life, so Daniel blamed no one.
Pulling himself up, Daniel looked down upon the armies of Blackpond with a dark and calm demeanor as he put his White Knight helmet upon his head, equipped his shield even though the increasing pain and brought his large sword of Justice to his right hand. He took a few steps backwards before turning towards the stairs of the wall itself. That's when everything came crashing down; The walls broke open and it didn't take long before the armies of Blackpond pured in and a fight between the forces ensued. Screams of agony and fear along with rallying shouts and war cries filled the streets of Newhaven as steel clashed with steel, city fought city, ideals exploded against other ideals and gods brought wrath upon gods. Daniel however, remained still as he scanned the battlefield. He couldn't see Mageria nor Krander, but in his heart he knew that they were still out there, fighting for what they believed was right. he also guessed that Hasting was out here somewhere, but he decided to leave that mans fate in the hands of either Mageria or Kranders, for it was not his to decide.
Daniel brought his sword up into the air and screamed the words spoken by the White Knights since the beginning of Valcrest itself:
"We stand here, Vigilant as ever. We stand here, ready to protect that which we love. We stand here, the might of the gods at our side. Never shall we abandon our posts, never shall we falter and never will we give up hope for a world of peace and order! War has come to our land and we will meet it head-on for that is our duty! We are the White Knights! Protectors of Justice, Peace and Order! Brothers and Sisters of Newhaven, Stand with me!" He screamed and then he whispered something that had only been spoken by three other White Knights Captains before him and all of their names had been forgotten through time: "Tal'vala Mun'aia!" Daniels voice had turned into its demonically state and before anyone knew it, the White knight had launched himself off the city walls and landed right in front of the city gates. It was if Daniel was obsessed by either the gods or the demons of hell, but he fought as if nothing could ever damage him, as if no one was on his side. He was surrounded by Blackpond soldiers and every man or woman that dared to get close to him found themselves either missing a head, a vital body part or cut down by his glowing sword. It was a sight to behold, a sight to fear and sight to be shocked by.
More and more kept on pouring against the man, now in groups of three and more. They were determined to kill this man, this beast or rather this demonic thing that seemed almost untouchable in the way it moved, in the way it killed and in the way it endured every single attack that was tossed at it. Daniel seemed to be dead and risen from his corpse was his soul which were filled with not only the Divine spirits of those he believed in, but also the demons of all the sins he had committed during his long life on this earth. Men and women alike were slaughtered at his blade, but his left arm which held his only true defence were not doing its job and it didn't take long before a large man holding an even large axe got the better of the the thing Newhaven had once called a White Knight. The large man swung with his axe and it cut off the things left arm. All of the sudden it seemed as if time stopped or at least moved in slow-motion as the thing directed its eyes towards the large wound, then on its arm that which lied on the ground before him and then on the man who was making himself ready to strike at the beasts head.
The "beast" however, turned to madness as it let out a high pitched scream and sliced open the mans abdomen and watched how organs poured out. The large mans face immediately turned white as his eyes rolled backwards and he too fell back to the ground. There he lied in a pool of blood while the creatures he had tried to slain was continuing screaming and slaying anyone in its path. The man named Daniel was no more and in his place a new creature had been born, a demon of a sort. It looked almost like Daniel, but with the exception of a lost arm and its skin had turned purple and its eyes had turned crimson. The beasts teeth had turned from human ones to beast-like fangs and it's hands were longer that of a humans; they were more like claws that grasped over the glowing sword in its hands that were now covered in red blood. The creature continued to let out high pitched screams that made some of the weaker soldiers from both sides cover in fear while others were merely intimidated a bit before attacking him once more. And now Blackpond were not the only ones that had attacked him; Soldiers of Newhaven had resorted to attack him as well. Yet many more were slain as the beast only became more angry and fell deeper and deeper into madness. It didn't take long before the beast dropped the sword because the claws had grown so much that it was now impossible for it to carry a sword. However, this didn't stop the beast from continuing its rampage. It cut down soldier after soldier with its enormous claws and it even resorted to using other weapons as it jumped from one man to the other, pressing its long and deadly fangs into their heads and throats.
Suddenly the beast stopped for a moment as it's now black eyes focused on someone or something a few meters away from it. The soldiers surrounding it was unsure on what to do and instead of attacking the creature, they prepared for the worst in case this demonic beast would go on a rampage again. However, that didn't happen. Instead it would seem as if it had recognized someone that its former human self had known very well. The beast was focusing on Krander, the Captain of the White Knights of Newhaven. It remained to be seen if the creature had calmed down or was just making itself ready to leap at the man, but it seemed to be the former as the beast took one step after the other toward Kranders. The captain however, was surrounded by not only Newhaven soldiers but also the remaining White Knights as well. The soldiers moved away from the seemingly calm beast but as it reached Kranders, the White Knights that which protected him stood firm and refused to move aside.
The Beast stopped and gazed at the group of White Knights before turning its attention towards Kranders again. Its eyes were glowing black and its skin was as purple as ever. The White Knight armor that had once belonged to Daniel had been ripped apart by the creatures growing body. It now stood a head taller than Krander himself and it's body was muscular and filled with long spikes growing out it. Its ears were long and spiky and its fangs were even longer and sharper. A beast in its truest form. After a short moment it would seem as if the creature would attack again, but instead Krander heard a demonic voice calling to him inside his head as if someone was whispering something into his ears.
"Krander... Krander... Son of the Sun... I, am the child of Death... Release me... Release me... and I shall grant you the deepest of your desires. Release me... and you're people will never feel the cold embraces of death again. Release me... and your love will be safe from my grip. Do it!" The voice whispered into Kranders ears, tempting him to somehow release this child of death from the beast that Daniel had become. It was a temptation that few men had ever been able to endure, it was a gift few men would ever be able to throw aside and it was a blessing and a chance that one might never ever have as a mortal being. The beast stood still, staring into kranders eyes as it awaited his answer. Would he release the child of death and be granted everything he wished for or would he deny the demons only wish and watch as the beast continues its bloody rampage against not only Blackpond but also his own people unless it would be stopped?
The choice was up to Krander, but the beast didn't have all the time in the world and the words "release me" was constantly whispered into the Captain ears. All around him no one understood why the beast had stopped for now, but Krander did.
Pulling himself up, Daniel looked down upon the armies of Blackpond with a dark and calm demeanor as he put his White Knight helmet upon his head, equipped his shield even though the increasing pain and brought his large sword of Justice to his right hand. He took a few steps backwards before turning towards the stairs of the wall itself. That's when everything came crashing down; The walls broke open and it didn't take long before the armies of Blackpond pured in and a fight between the forces ensued. Screams of agony and fear along with rallying shouts and war cries filled the streets of Newhaven as steel clashed with steel, city fought city, ideals exploded against other ideals and gods brought wrath upon gods. Daniel however, remained still as he scanned the battlefield. He couldn't see Mageria nor Krander, but in his heart he knew that they were still out there, fighting for what they believed was right. he also guessed that Hasting was out here somewhere, but he decided to leave that mans fate in the hands of either Mageria or Kranders, for it was not his to decide.
Daniel brought his sword up into the air and screamed the words spoken by the White Knights since the beginning of Valcrest itself:
"We stand here, Vigilant as ever. We stand here, ready to protect that which we love. We stand here, the might of the gods at our side. Never shall we abandon our posts, never shall we falter and never will we give up hope for a world of peace and order! War has come to our land and we will meet it head-on for that is our duty! We are the White Knights! Protectors of Justice, Peace and Order! Brothers and Sisters of Newhaven, Stand with me!" He screamed and then he whispered something that had only been spoken by three other White Knights Captains before him and all of their names had been forgotten through time: "Tal'vala Mun'aia!" Daniels voice had turned into its demonically state and before anyone knew it, the White knight had launched himself off the city walls and landed right in front of the city gates. It was if Daniel was obsessed by either the gods or the demons of hell, but he fought as if nothing could ever damage him, as if no one was on his side. He was surrounded by Blackpond soldiers and every man or woman that dared to get close to him found themselves either missing a head, a vital body part or cut down by his glowing sword. It was a sight to behold, a sight to fear and sight to be shocked by.
More and more kept on pouring against the man, now in groups of three and more. They were determined to kill this man, this beast or rather this demonic thing that seemed almost untouchable in the way it moved, in the way it killed and in the way it endured every single attack that was tossed at it. Daniel seemed to be dead and risen from his corpse was his soul which were filled with not only the Divine spirits of those he believed in, but also the demons of all the sins he had committed during his long life on this earth. Men and women alike were slaughtered at his blade, but his left arm which held his only true defence were not doing its job and it didn't take long before a large man holding an even large axe got the better of the the thing Newhaven had once called a White Knight. The large man swung with his axe and it cut off the things left arm. All of the sudden it seemed as if time stopped or at least moved in slow-motion as the thing directed its eyes towards the large wound, then on its arm that which lied on the ground before him and then on the man who was making himself ready to strike at the beasts head.
The "beast" however, turned to madness as it let out a high pitched scream and sliced open the mans abdomen and watched how organs poured out. The large mans face immediately turned white as his eyes rolled backwards and he too fell back to the ground. There he lied in a pool of blood while the creatures he had tried to slain was continuing screaming and slaying anyone in its path. The man named Daniel was no more and in his place a new creature had been born, a demon of a sort. It looked almost like Daniel, but with the exception of a lost arm and its skin had turned purple and its eyes had turned crimson. The beasts teeth had turned from human ones to beast-like fangs and it's hands were longer that of a humans; they were more like claws that grasped over the glowing sword in its hands that were now covered in red blood. The creature continued to let out high pitched screams that made some of the weaker soldiers from both sides cover in fear while others were merely intimidated a bit before attacking him once more. And now Blackpond were not the only ones that had attacked him; Soldiers of Newhaven had resorted to attack him as well. Yet many more were slain as the beast only became more angry and fell deeper and deeper into madness. It didn't take long before the beast dropped the sword because the claws had grown so much that it was now impossible for it to carry a sword. However, this didn't stop the beast from continuing its rampage. It cut down soldier after soldier with its enormous claws and it even resorted to using other weapons as it jumped from one man to the other, pressing its long and deadly fangs into their heads and throats.
Suddenly the beast stopped for a moment as it's now black eyes focused on someone or something a few meters away from it. The soldiers surrounding it was unsure on what to do and instead of attacking the creature, they prepared for the worst in case this demonic beast would go on a rampage again. However, that didn't happen. Instead it would seem as if it had recognized someone that its former human self had known very well. The beast was focusing on Krander, the Captain of the White Knights of Newhaven. It remained to be seen if the creature had calmed down or was just making itself ready to leap at the man, but it seemed to be the former as the beast took one step after the other toward Kranders. The captain however, was surrounded by not only Newhaven soldiers but also the remaining White Knights as well. The soldiers moved away from the seemingly calm beast but as it reached Kranders, the White Knights that which protected him stood firm and refused to move aside.
The Beast stopped and gazed at the group of White Knights before turning its attention towards Kranders again. Its eyes were glowing black and its skin was as purple as ever. The White Knight armor that had once belonged to Daniel had been ripped apart by the creatures growing body. It now stood a head taller than Krander himself and it's body was muscular and filled with long spikes growing out it. Its ears were long and spiky and its fangs were even longer and sharper. A beast in its truest form. After a short moment it would seem as if the creature would attack again, but instead Krander heard a demonic voice calling to him inside his head as if someone was whispering something into his ears.
"Krander... Krander... Son of the Sun... I, am the child of Death... Release me... Release me... and I shall grant you the deepest of your desires. Release me... and you're people will never feel the cold embraces of death again. Release me... and your love will be safe from my grip. Do it!" The voice whispered into Kranders ears, tempting him to somehow release this child of death from the beast that Daniel had become. It was a temptation that few men had ever been able to endure, it was a gift few men would ever be able to throw aside and it was a blessing and a chance that one might never ever have as a mortal being. The beast stood still, staring into kranders eyes as it awaited his answer. Would he release the child of death and be granted everything he wished for or would he deny the demons only wish and watch as the beast continues its bloody rampage against not only Blackpond but also his own people unless it would be stopped?
The choice was up to Krander, but the beast didn't have all the time in the world and the words "release me" was constantly whispered into the Captain ears. All around him no one understood why the beast had stopped for now, but Krander did.
Mageria had been directing the fighting on the ground once the walls fell. The screams of her men and those that they fought surrounded her, in a chorus of the damned. Bright blades flashing against each other that were soon stained bright red. But suddenly there was a new level of terror added to the screams, as something monstrous started to tear through the battlefield. She was too far away to do anything at that moment, but she pushed her way clear after a moment. When she did, her breath caught in her throat. Stalking toward Krander was a beast straight out of legend.
Clawed and fanged, it was something that she had heard mentioned once and twice when Captain Morgan had gotten drunk.
“The Whites, they made a deal with something long ago,” he had muttered after draining a bottle of whiskey dry. “Something evil. They act all pure, but they call on it when they believe that the need is great enough. The bargain that they made, it means that one of ‘em takes on the form of this demon. They can control it, but not for long. Sooner or later, they’re gonna be lost to the demon and they’ll kill anything that gets in their way. And in that moment, you gotta forget about the person that was wearing that body first. They’re gone. Best thing you can do for them is to kill ‘em quick as you can. And you’re probably gonna die doing it. That’s what they keep the Black for. Doing the things that they don’t wanna do, and blaming the rest on us anyways.” After that he had trailed off into incoherent mumbling.
Mageria grimly drew in a deep breath, watching as the demon stalked forward to stand in front of her friend. With one lunge it could kill him easily and take the heart of the fight with it. She couldn’t allow that and she hadn’t really though she’d live through this fight anyways. She just didn’t think it would have been somebody from her own side that killed her. Grabbing a warhammer from the soldier nearest her, she started to run toward the ring of staring soldiers.
“Megan! Fire!” She held out the hammer as she ran and a tough old soldier held out her hand as well. It was glowing a cherry orange and as she touched the hammer it took on the same glow. She was too far away to do any good in any amount of time, so she was going to need a bit of help.
“Alex!” she screamed. “Lift!” One of the men in front of her turned around and laced his hands together, forming them into a stirrup shape. Hefting the hammer onto her shoulder, Mageria raced forward and planted her foot in his hands as he threw her upwards, using Enlightened strength to throw her far past the point of anyone normal. Mageria flew through the air, noticing in a distant part of her mind that it had gone oddly silent around her.
Krander, when I die doing this, don’t tell people I was this stupid, she thought desperately.
She drew one last deep breath, raising the hammer as high as she could with both hands, her legs drawn up under her for balance. At the height of her arc she began to fall and straightened her legs, bringing her heels together and aiming for the demon. Moments later she fell upon the demon, slamming her heels into the base of its spine as she brought the hammer down on its head as hard as she could. The glowing hammer head impacted with the back of the demon’s head and the magic that Megan had imparted to it was released. There was a blinding flash of light and an explosion of fire hot enough to scorch the clothing of people standing a good distance away. Her hands and feet went numb from the force of her blows and she rolled wildly to the side, managing to come back up into a crouch. She tossed the ruined hammer to the side and drew her swords with a steely rasp. Mageria’s armor was smoking and the only reason that she could see was because she had turned her head at the last instant.
So she could see death coming at her.
But still, she had managed to come up on the side away from Krander, so when it turned to kill her, he would have a chance to strike a blow himself.
Clawed and fanged, it was something that she had heard mentioned once and twice when Captain Morgan had gotten drunk.
“The Whites, they made a deal with something long ago,” he had muttered after draining a bottle of whiskey dry. “Something evil. They act all pure, but they call on it when they believe that the need is great enough. The bargain that they made, it means that one of ‘em takes on the form of this demon. They can control it, but not for long. Sooner or later, they’re gonna be lost to the demon and they’ll kill anything that gets in their way. And in that moment, you gotta forget about the person that was wearing that body first. They’re gone. Best thing you can do for them is to kill ‘em quick as you can. And you’re probably gonna die doing it. That’s what they keep the Black for. Doing the things that they don’t wanna do, and blaming the rest on us anyways.” After that he had trailed off into incoherent mumbling.
Mageria grimly drew in a deep breath, watching as the demon stalked forward to stand in front of her friend. With one lunge it could kill him easily and take the heart of the fight with it. She couldn’t allow that and she hadn’t really though she’d live through this fight anyways. She just didn’t think it would have been somebody from her own side that killed her. Grabbing a warhammer from the soldier nearest her, she started to run toward the ring of staring soldiers.
“Megan! Fire!” She held out the hammer as she ran and a tough old soldier held out her hand as well. It was glowing a cherry orange and as she touched the hammer it took on the same glow. She was too far away to do any good in any amount of time, so she was going to need a bit of help.
“Alex!” she screamed. “Lift!” One of the men in front of her turned around and laced his hands together, forming them into a stirrup shape. Hefting the hammer onto her shoulder, Mageria raced forward and planted her foot in his hands as he threw her upwards, using Enlightened strength to throw her far past the point of anyone normal. Mageria flew through the air, noticing in a distant part of her mind that it had gone oddly silent around her.
Krander, when I die doing this, don’t tell people I was this stupid, she thought desperately.
She drew one last deep breath, raising the hammer as high as she could with both hands, her legs drawn up under her for balance. At the height of her arc she began to fall and straightened her legs, bringing her heels together and aiming for the demon. Moments later she fell upon the demon, slamming her heels into the base of its spine as she brought the hammer down on its head as hard as she could. The glowing hammer head impacted with the back of the demon’s head and the magic that Megan had imparted to it was released. There was a blinding flash of light and an explosion of fire hot enough to scorch the clothing of people standing a good distance away. Her hands and feet went numb from the force of her blows and she rolled wildly to the side, managing to come back up into a crouch. She tossed the ruined hammer to the side and drew her swords with a steely rasp. Mageria’s armor was smoking and the only reason that she could see was because she had turned her head at the last instant.
So she could see death coming at her.
But still, she had managed to come up on the side away from Krander, so when it turned to kill her, he would have a chance to strike a blow himself.
Things were going pleasantly for Rita. Every target she aimed for, she was hitting. Round after round of orders to fire, and targets went down. The rather poorly made wall Newhaven had managed was coming down at some points and supply depots, even a few of the targets that Hastings had pointed out for her. She continued to make orders with full success. It was great when she could do such things with such ease. She loved this part of her job, and always would love this part of her job. The best part was seeing the boulder smash right on her target.
Then, for a split second, she noticed something odd happen. There was a brief moment where the color of things seemed slightly off over the city of Newhaven. This was usually a sign that she was getting a little tired and needed to stop using her powers for a couple of minutes.
That was one of the good things about her power. The only disadvantage of this power really was that her body was defenceless while she was out of body. Occasionally she would get tired, but she would just need a few minutes rest and she’d be fine to keep going. As long as she was in the back lines, she was safe.
Finally, she decided that it would be good to get back into her body and take the few minutes rest she needed. When she did that however, something was off. She could feel herself in her body again, but she still had sight of the entire battlefield as if she were out of body. There was an initial feeling of utter bemusement, then of shock. She had never had this happen to her in her 26 years of living. For a second she thought the worst, thinking that she was just stuck like this forever now. It wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to deal with, although it would be rather cool at the same time. She would have a full 360 view of her surroundings while in battle. It might take a bit of training to get used to it, but she was sure that controlling both inner body and outer body at the same time would become an easier task as time went on.
Soon, she thought about it with a clearer mind and realised that slowly things were becoming more and more odd with her sight. The Newhaven men and Blackpond men were all wearing healers robes. That’s when she knew what she was dealing with. It wasn’t any extension of her power at all, but an extension of someone else’s power instead. Someone was either controlling her body or she was under an illusion. Either way, training had taught her that if she realised that she was no longer in control of her body in any way, the best thing to do was to inflict some sort of minor injury on herself. So that was what she did. Across the back of her forearm, she cut a small piece of skin right off.
She could feel the pain, but nothing happened. The only thing that had changed was the already distorted image of what she was supposed to be seeing.
“Hold you’re fire!” She yelled as she concentrated more and more on all the mistakes that were being made. Things were beginning to turn a simple black and white now. She still couldn’t see things from the perspective of her body. The outer body was in control, no, the people who were using their power were in control. Things didn’t look good.
“Reload, but don’t fire until I give direct order. Search for any no authorized personnel near by. Someone has me under some sort of illusion.” She scowled.
Only seconds after saying that, the distorted image disappeared slowly. Everything was black for a second. Then, she could see her men, all looking at her in concern. She was still up on her horse.
“I need to rest, but fire at will. Make it quick and make it accurate.” She said.
The men did as they were told, but none of them were hitting their target. She realised that they were probably under the same illusion as she was.
“It’s an illusion, your accuracy is terrible! Snap out of it men! Reload! I’m firing!”
The men around her took the orders swiftly. They seemed to be able to do that correctly, but they couldn’t do anything else right while they were under this illusion. Rita went back out of body for a second to make her calculations. She then went to each individual catapult and fired them herself, each one hitting their intended target.
The men reloaded the catapults and the new process continued. As long as they were under the illusion, she would have to do most of the work herself. She didn’t have much time left either. Soon the catapults would be useless. When Hastings’ army breached the wall, the fear of thing her own men was too great.
“Good work men! I will recommend promotions to Hastings for all of you. Now, bring the catapults back to the City where they will be safe.” She said, readying her horse. Then she took off to the battlefield. Sword at the ready for anything that would come her way. Soon enough though, she would be assisting Hastings and helping with decisions.
~~~~~
The wall had been partially breached with one of the boulders. His men began to pour in, but the choke was too tight for his men to get an advantage through that. Hastings would wait for his special battering ram before he let his soldiers really get in the heat of battle. He watched it approach. It was nearly there, a bit more time and it would be perfect for the purposes. He could hear the roar of something purely evil coming from the other side. Loud roars and screaming men who inevitably met their death. Hastings feared the worst for his men on the other side of the wall.
“Fall back, on the attacking side of the wall!” Hastings yelled with all his might.
He wasn’t sure what was on the other side and frankly, he didn’t have the gumption to act upon it. With such a little choke and the sounds of screams on the other side, he would much rather wait for the rest of the wall to come down, which would be soon. The battering ram was at the gate now and was beginning to ram the door.
Hastings men were still running out of the choke for quite some time. Archers from the top of the wall now had arrows of fire coming down on the battering ram. Seeing that it was made of wood, it caught almost instantly. The men inside would inevitably die, but they had to break down the gate. And break down the gate they did. It broke open with one huge smash. The soldiers on the other side were waiting, but when they saw the ball of fire that awaited them, they stood back. Hastings watched the magic happen. The ram was placed right in the middle of the entrance. It was surrounded by wall all around.
“Brace yourselves!” Hastings commanded the men when all of a sudden, a huge explosion rang through his ears. A deafening blast and a warm heat, but it wasn’t from the battering ram. Hastings stood confused for a second, it was something on top of the wall that did that. He hoped there were still a lot of men on the wall, because things were about to get even more explosive.
Right then, a second blast could be heard. The battering ram had been packed with explosives and metal scraps for projectiles. All the scraps faced the men waiting at the gate on the Newhaven front. Then the magic really started to happen. The entire wall, weakened by the pickaxes of Hastings men fell down completely. The explosion worked perfectly. It wasted all their explosive powder, but it was worth it and it would save many lives of his side while damaging many on the other side.
“Charge! NO MERCY!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. The wall of Newhaven was down once more and his entire army ran in without any disadvantage to the other side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
Lev watched things unfold and although it looked bad, it wasn’t as bad as one would think. One would think that because of all these enlightened powers against his soldiers, he would lose a lot of men. That wasn’t the case though. He guessed it was because none of the healers had the guts to really kill anyone. The biggest problem he saw was Grim. He had all his men surrounding Lena now and there wasn’t a chance that he would go near that.
“Avoid Lena at all costs! Capture the rest and then we can handle those black guards!” The command was what he hopped to be the right one. That way, there was less conflict with Grim all together. A sudden bold of lighting went down only meters away from Lev and his horsemen. Most horses kicked their rider off, but some, like Lev managed to calm their horse down before they were kicked.
Lev was growing impatient of the fight and he just wanted it over with. That’s when he caught sight of a girl who looked like she had no clue what she was doing.
~~~~~
Ella was scared and she couldn’t tell what she should do. She had trained a lot with this type of weapon, but her mind just seemed to go blank and she froze to all the stuff around her. She was surprised that she was still alive with all the fighting around her. Maybe people just though that she wasn’t worth it. Evin had always said to fight for your beliefs, but what if you didn’t have any beliefs to fight for? That’s how Ella felt. Then it struck her. She wasn’t going to fight for anyone, but herself. She was only going to prove to herself that she was a good fighter. That she could kill anyone she felt like.
She braced her weapon tightly and looked up to see a horse right in front of her. Before she could do anything, the man kicked her over and jumped off his horse like he had done it a million times. This guy was no average soldier, so he must have been a general or commander of some sort. The man punched her in the gut and she dropped her halberd. She watched it drop to the ground.
All her confidence had vanished. She couldn’t even prove to herself that she could kill someone.
The man called his horse back with a quick whistle and he jumped back on with her in one hand. He drew a dagger and placed it right up to her neck.
“Tell me your name girl.” He hissed.
Ella hesitated for too long and the man hissed at her again. “You took too long! I suggest you tell me the truth the first time healer girl.”
“Ella,” she whimpered, “my name is Ella.”
The man didn’t say another word. He just approached Lena, or as close as it seemed he could get and then he spoke.
“Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.” The horse started to back up, probably getting in a safer position away from the Newhaven soldiers and Knight.
Ella began to cry. She knew it didn’t help the situation at all, but it was the only thing she could do. The horse started to back up, probably getting in a safer position. She really didn’t want to die at this time. She still hadn’t proven herself, but Lena probably saw no worth in her anyways. It was all over.
Then, for a split second, she noticed something odd happen. There was a brief moment where the color of things seemed slightly off over the city of Newhaven. This was usually a sign that she was getting a little tired and needed to stop using her powers for a couple of minutes.
That was one of the good things about her power. The only disadvantage of this power really was that her body was defenceless while she was out of body. Occasionally she would get tired, but she would just need a few minutes rest and she’d be fine to keep going. As long as she was in the back lines, she was safe.
Finally, she decided that it would be good to get back into her body and take the few minutes rest she needed. When she did that however, something was off. She could feel herself in her body again, but she still had sight of the entire battlefield as if she were out of body. There was an initial feeling of utter bemusement, then of shock. She had never had this happen to her in her 26 years of living. For a second she thought the worst, thinking that she was just stuck like this forever now. It wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to deal with, although it would be rather cool at the same time. She would have a full 360 view of her surroundings while in battle. It might take a bit of training to get used to it, but she was sure that controlling both inner body and outer body at the same time would become an easier task as time went on.
Soon, she thought about it with a clearer mind and realised that slowly things were becoming more and more odd with her sight. The Newhaven men and Blackpond men were all wearing healers robes. That’s when she knew what she was dealing with. It wasn’t any extension of her power at all, but an extension of someone else’s power instead. Someone was either controlling her body or she was under an illusion. Either way, training had taught her that if she realised that she was no longer in control of her body in any way, the best thing to do was to inflict some sort of minor injury on herself. So that was what she did. Across the back of her forearm, she cut a small piece of skin right off.
She could feel the pain, but nothing happened. The only thing that had changed was the already distorted image of what she was supposed to be seeing.
“Hold you’re fire!” She yelled as she concentrated more and more on all the mistakes that were being made. Things were beginning to turn a simple black and white now. She still couldn’t see things from the perspective of her body. The outer body was in control, no, the people who were using their power were in control. Things didn’t look good.
“Reload, but don’t fire until I give direct order. Search for any no authorized personnel near by. Someone has me under some sort of illusion.” She scowled.
Only seconds after saying that, the distorted image disappeared slowly. Everything was black for a second. Then, she could see her men, all looking at her in concern. She was still up on her horse.
“I need to rest, but fire at will. Make it quick and make it accurate.” She said.
The men did as they were told, but none of them were hitting their target. She realised that they were probably under the same illusion as she was.
“It’s an illusion, your accuracy is terrible! Snap out of it men! Reload! I’m firing!”
The men around her took the orders swiftly. They seemed to be able to do that correctly, but they couldn’t do anything else right while they were under this illusion. Rita went back out of body for a second to make her calculations. She then went to each individual catapult and fired them herself, each one hitting their intended target.
The men reloaded the catapults and the new process continued. As long as they were under the illusion, she would have to do most of the work herself. She didn’t have much time left either. Soon the catapults would be useless. When Hastings’ army breached the wall, the fear of thing her own men was too great.
“Good work men! I will recommend promotions to Hastings for all of you. Now, bring the catapults back to the City where they will be safe.” She said, readying her horse. Then she took off to the battlefield. Sword at the ready for anything that would come her way. Soon enough though, she would be assisting Hastings and helping with decisions.
~~~~~
The wall had been partially breached with one of the boulders. His men began to pour in, but the choke was too tight for his men to get an advantage through that. Hastings would wait for his special battering ram before he let his soldiers really get in the heat of battle. He watched it approach. It was nearly there, a bit more time and it would be perfect for the purposes. He could hear the roar of something purely evil coming from the other side. Loud roars and screaming men who inevitably met their death. Hastings feared the worst for his men on the other side of the wall.
“Fall back, on the attacking side of the wall!” Hastings yelled with all his might.
He wasn’t sure what was on the other side and frankly, he didn’t have the gumption to act upon it. With such a little choke and the sounds of screams on the other side, he would much rather wait for the rest of the wall to come down, which would be soon. The battering ram was at the gate now and was beginning to ram the door.
Hastings men were still running out of the choke for quite some time. Archers from the top of the wall now had arrows of fire coming down on the battering ram. Seeing that it was made of wood, it caught almost instantly. The men inside would inevitably die, but they had to break down the gate. And break down the gate they did. It broke open with one huge smash. The soldiers on the other side were waiting, but when they saw the ball of fire that awaited them, they stood back. Hastings watched the magic happen. The ram was placed right in the middle of the entrance. It was surrounded by wall all around.
“Brace yourselves!” Hastings commanded the men when all of a sudden, a huge explosion rang through his ears. A deafening blast and a warm heat, but it wasn’t from the battering ram. Hastings stood confused for a second, it was something on top of the wall that did that. He hoped there were still a lot of men on the wall, because things were about to get even more explosive.
Right then, a second blast could be heard. The battering ram had been packed with explosives and metal scraps for projectiles. All the scraps faced the men waiting at the gate on the Newhaven front. Then the magic really started to happen. The entire wall, weakened by the pickaxes of Hastings men fell down completely. The explosion worked perfectly. It wasted all their explosive powder, but it was worth it and it would save many lives of his side while damaging many on the other side.
“Charge! NO MERCY!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. The wall of Newhaven was down once more and his entire army ran in without any disadvantage to the other side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
Lev watched things unfold and although it looked bad, it wasn’t as bad as one would think. One would think that because of all these enlightened powers against his soldiers, he would lose a lot of men. That wasn’t the case though. He guessed it was because none of the healers had the guts to really kill anyone. The biggest problem he saw was Grim. He had all his men surrounding Lena now and there wasn’t a chance that he would go near that.
“Avoid Lena at all costs! Capture the rest and then we can handle those black guards!” The command was what he hopped to be the right one. That way, there was less conflict with Grim all together. A sudden bold of lighting went down only meters away from Lev and his horsemen. Most horses kicked their rider off, but some, like Lev managed to calm their horse down before they were kicked.
Lev was growing impatient of the fight and he just wanted it over with. That’s when he caught sight of a girl who looked like she had no clue what she was doing.
~~~~~
Ella was scared and she couldn’t tell what she should do. She had trained a lot with this type of weapon, but her mind just seemed to go blank and she froze to all the stuff around her. She was surprised that she was still alive with all the fighting around her. Maybe people just though that she wasn’t worth it. Evin had always said to fight for your beliefs, but what if you didn’t have any beliefs to fight for? That’s how Ella felt. Then it struck her. She wasn’t going to fight for anyone, but herself. She was only going to prove to herself that she was a good fighter. That she could kill anyone she felt like.
She braced her weapon tightly and looked up to see a horse right in front of her. Before she could do anything, the man kicked her over and jumped off his horse like he had done it a million times. This guy was no average soldier, so he must have been a general or commander of some sort. The man punched her in the gut and she dropped her halberd. She watched it drop to the ground.
All her confidence had vanished. She couldn’t even prove to herself that she could kill someone.
The man called his horse back with a quick whistle and he jumped back on with her in one hand. He drew a dagger and placed it right up to her neck.
“Tell me your name girl.” He hissed.
Ella hesitated for too long and the man hissed at her again. “You took too long! I suggest you tell me the truth the first time healer girl.”
“Ella,” she whimpered, “my name is Ella.”
The man didn’t say another word. He just approached Lena, or as close as it seemed he could get and then he spoke.
“Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.” The horse started to back up, probably getting in a safer position away from the Newhaven soldiers and Knight.
Ella began to cry. She knew it didn’t help the situation at all, but it was the only thing she could do. The horse started to back up, probably getting in a safer position. She really didn’t want to die at this time. She still hadn’t proven herself, but Lena probably saw no worth in her anyways. It was all over.
Krander stood up after being hit to the ground by his own power and regained his wind. Some White Knights and one Black Knight came to assist him. They knew his survival was good, not only in battle, but for moral as well. Just as he got up he realized that the WK's had gotten into formation and the Black Knight had left to continue fighting. He looked around and inside his head he heard something strange.
"Krander... Krander... Son of the Sun... I, am the child of Death... Release me... Release me... and I shall grant you the deepest of your desires. Release me... and you're people will never feel the cold embraces of death again. Release me... and your love will be safe from my grip. Do it!"
Krander stared at the demon, and with part of the armor still stuck on his spikes he knew it was Daniel. He was flabbergasted though, he had no idea the legends were true. Daniel must not have trained Krander fully. His Guards did not move awaiting the beast to strike. However it stood there, the only movement when it breathed. Krander dismissed his white guard and stepped up to the creature. He momentarily saw movement from the corner of his eye and instantly tucked and rolled backwards shielding his face. He knew that glow, and he knew that power. He watched as the beast was hit, turning his eyes at the instant before, then looking to see it unphased by the blow. Krander saw Mageria hit the ground and roll up with a sword already drawn. The monster let out a scream. Instantly Krander heightened the sound. He was sure this mysterious scream would haunt the Blackpond members that had yet to see this demon.
Krander saw the beast turn towards Mageria with its claws out. He took this moment to kill the beast. He took out his sword and hurled it through the air. Right as it left his hand his necklace began to glow. The sword sliced through the neck decapitating the beast. When it fell to the ground a black swirl flew towards Krander and swirled around his left arm. The armor there became black, and yet iridescent. 'How many Gods must interfere with my life?' he thought to himself. He ran to Mageria and gave her a look that scorned her and spoke for itself. She nodded her head, screamed and charged off to battle. Right as she had started to run she was dislodged from the ground and thrown into Krander knocking them both down. An explosion had occurred that knocked down the whole wall.
He stood up, enlightened his voice and yelled, "Stand your ground Newhaven, I have proof the Gods are with us tonight!" He looked around and saw the nude and headless body of Daniel laying on the ground. He signaled a lower guard to cover him and resume fighting. "May you find the happiness you deserve, dear friend." A tear flowed down his cheek and he grabbed another sword. "FOR NEWHAVEN!" He charged into the fray, with his oath in his mind. This time he would not run. This time, he would not hide.
"Krander... Krander... Son of the Sun... I, am the child of Death... Release me... Release me... and I shall grant you the deepest of your desires. Release me... and you're people will never feel the cold embraces of death again. Release me... and your love will be safe from my grip. Do it!"
Krander stared at the demon, and with part of the armor still stuck on his spikes he knew it was Daniel. He was flabbergasted though, he had no idea the legends were true. Daniel must not have trained Krander fully. His Guards did not move awaiting the beast to strike. However it stood there, the only movement when it breathed. Krander dismissed his white guard and stepped up to the creature. He momentarily saw movement from the corner of his eye and instantly tucked and rolled backwards shielding his face. He knew that glow, and he knew that power. He watched as the beast was hit, turning his eyes at the instant before, then looking to see it unphased by the blow. Krander saw Mageria hit the ground and roll up with a sword already drawn. The monster let out a scream. Instantly Krander heightened the sound. He was sure this mysterious scream would haunt the Blackpond members that had yet to see this demon.
Krander saw the beast turn towards Mageria with its claws out. He took this moment to kill the beast. He took out his sword and hurled it through the air. Right as it left his hand his necklace began to glow. The sword sliced through the neck decapitating the beast. When it fell to the ground a black swirl flew towards Krander and swirled around his left arm. The armor there became black, and yet iridescent. 'How many Gods must interfere with my life?' he thought to himself. He ran to Mageria and gave her a look that scorned her and spoke for itself. She nodded her head, screamed and charged off to battle. Right as she had started to run she was dislodged from the ground and thrown into Krander knocking them both down. An explosion had occurred that knocked down the whole wall.
He stood up, enlightened his voice and yelled, "Stand your ground Newhaven, I have proof the Gods are with us tonight!" He looked around and saw the nude and headless body of Daniel laying on the ground. He signaled a lower guard to cover him and resume fighting. "May you find the happiness you deserve, dear friend." A tear flowed down his cheek and he grabbed another sword. "FOR NEWHAVEN!" He charged into the fray, with his oath in his mind. This time he would not run. This time, he would not hide.
The beast had been slain, but was it really the end? The legends spoke of an untouchable demon that bowed to no one, that fought for no one and that died for no one. This demon was the child of death herself. The thing mortals call 'death' was a small part of this demon and not even death could stop it now. It was too late for such an act. The beast had transformed enough to move past that part. And so, After the soldiers had covered the so-called 'dead' beast and moved on there was a cracking sound that erupted upon the battlefield. Up from the spot, the demon rose once more, stronger than ever. Its head and left arm had grown out once more and they looked as fresh and undamaged as before. It tossed off the cloth it had been covered with and looked around, furious as ever. The son of the sun had denied him his right to be free and for this he would die. Upon seeing his target, Krander Captain of the White Knights, the demon swiftly jumped into the crowd, killing one soldier after the other as it made it's way towards Kranders.
"Foolish Boy! I am beyond Death!" The demon screamed, but only inside Kranders head as it leaped towards him with its fangs and claws ready to strike at its prey.
"Foolish Boy! I am beyond Death!" The demon screamed, but only inside Kranders head as it leaped towards him with its fangs and claws ready to strike at its prey.
Mageria had been fighting desperately when she noticed inhuman movement out of the corner of her eye. Disbelieving, she whirled around and saw to her horror that the beast had somehow risen once more and was cutting it’s way toward Krander.
He’s going to die. An icy voice whispered in her head. He’s going to die and it’s going to be your fault. All your fault, just like last time. You might as well kill him yourself. You’ve done that before too . . .
“Noo!!!!” Mageria screamed as she flung herself forward. She couldn’t stand by. Desperately she ran at Krander and body slammed him to the side, just out of what she hoped was the reach of the beast. In the futile hope of at least slowing it down, she brought her sword up and braced it, in the instant before it hit her.
She would not let something like this take those she cared about while there was still breath left in her body. She didn’t have a love waiting for her. She didn’t have many friends, and all of them would recover from her loss. She couldn’t even count on them to remain her friends always, because some of them were being added to her ever growing list of enemies. Maybe this would make up for some of the blood on her hands.
He’s going to die. An icy voice whispered in her head. He’s going to die and it’s going to be your fault. All your fault, just like last time. You might as well kill him yourself. You’ve done that before too . . .
“Noo!!!!” Mageria screamed as she flung herself forward. She couldn’t stand by. Desperately she ran at Krander and body slammed him to the side, just out of what she hoped was the reach of the beast. In the futile hope of at least slowing it down, she brought her sword up and braced it, in the instant before it hit her.
She would not let something like this take those she cared about while there was still breath left in her body. She didn’t have a love waiting for her. She didn’t have many friends, and all of them would recover from her loss. She couldn’t even count on them to remain her friends always, because some of them were being added to her ever growing list of enemies. Maybe this would make up for some of the blood on her hands.
The cold steel from Magerias blade penetrated the beasts chest as it brought its entire weight down on its new prey. A scream echoed through the streets of Newhaven as the beast pulled itself out from Magerias blade and jumped backwards a few meters. Its attention was no longer on the son of sun, but instead on this girl that tried to deny it of its pleasures. While soldiers from both side continued to fight, the beast began to circle Mageria as she got up on her feet once more with her blade leveled and directed at the moving creature. She was ready for anything the beast might throw at her, whatever it might do or say, she would always stand vigilant against it. The screams of agony and determination came and passed through the streets as the beast and Mageria were locked in an epic struggle with Power meeting Determination, Madness meeting Justice and Demon meeting Knight.
Suddenly the beast leaped from its spot and aimed its claws towards Magerias throat. The woman however, was ready for it and swiftly evaded it and brought her short sword into the creatures neck. Yet another scream came from the beast as it spun around, slamming its clenched fist into Magerias chest, sending her backwards. She lost her breath for a moment, however she quickly got up on her feet again and charged against the demonic beast with a scream that would have intimidated even the gods themselves. Upon reaching the beast she aimed to bring down her longsword upon the creatures head, but the beast swiftly acted and grabbed the sword in mid-air. The sword buried itself deep in the creatures hand and blue blood dripped from it. Mageria stared at her sword before catching a glimpse of the beast. The thing was smiling!
All of the sudden, the beast grabbed her throat and tossed her over its head. She landed on the ground and as she got up again she realized that the demon still had her longsword. Although her longsword might serve as her main weapon, she still had a few tricks left up her sleeve. Pulling out three daggers, Mageria threw two of them towards the beast and kept one in her left hand as she charged towards it once more. The demon had deflected both of the daggers with its new found weapon before it tossed the longsword aside and confronted the charging woman that was heading towards it. A clinging sound echoed throughout Newhaven as steel meet with claws of bones in a clashing battle. Mageria pushed with every little fiber in her body, but she soon found herself being pushed backwards as the beasts strength only increased by the second. The beast suddenly pushed her backwards and hit her with its claws open across her face, sending her to the left.
With her strength and energy drained, Mageria rose once more and made herself ready for the beast. The demon lowered itself just like a tiger that was hunting and before anyone could react, the demon were leaping through the air towards Mageria. The woman however, ran forward, up on a small stone rubble in front of her and jumped. She sent herself flying towards the leaping beast with her short sword ready to strike. As they connected in mid-air, the beast crashed backwards towards the ground with Mageria on top of it. Jumping off of it, Mageria left her short sword buried in the beasts chest as she swiftly made her way behind the beast as it rose up to regain its composure. However, the Captain of the Black Knights had another plan in mind as she brought out her garrote which was a long and thin rope with sharp metal wires all over it. She swung with it and in one try she got it around the demons throat and began to pull back, choking the beast in the process.
"Go back to Hell!" She screamed as she pulled harder and harder on the string. However, the string was not made to endure such a treatment and snapped in two, sending Mageria down on the ground on her butt. The demon rose up and caught a breath before returning its attention towards the stubborn bitch that just didn't want to die. Letting out a ferocious cry, the beast charged towards the sitting woman who soon also found her way up on her feet once more. Mageria would have been hit by the beasts massive body right there if she had not deflected its charge. The beast on the other hand didn't waste any time as it turned around and charged towards Mageria once more. The woman turned around and sprinted towards a part of the city wall that was still intact. Upon reaching it she ran up on it and jumped backwards, over the beast who tried to slash at her through the air but missed. She landed on the demons back and began to cut it with her various knives and daggers over and over again. The beast cried out in pain and pure anger as it tried to grab her, but to no success; She avoided its claws and kept on stabbing it. However, she couldn't possible avoid it forever and soon enough the beast got a grip of her and tossed her forward, into the very wall she had been running up against before.
She fell to the ground and the moment she tried to get up again she felt a large foot stomp her on her back and pressed her into the mud below. She couldn't breath and the beast kept on pressing her down. The beast pressed, paused, pressed and paused. Every time it paused, Mageria got a small amount of air and could look around for a way out of this mess. Not too far away from her the longsword she trusted with her life lied all abandoned and useless. At each pause Mageria tried to reach for it and the beast was too busy enjoying its victory to notice her weak attempts at grabbing her sword. Then as if the gods themselves had granted her more energy and strength, Mageria pushed the beasts foot off of her for a short moment and grabbed her sword. Then she swung with it and hit the demons left eye.
Up she exploded and began her retaliation against the beast. One cut after the other, she forced the beast backwards towards the broken gates where even more soldiers where fighting for their lives. The beast attacked with its claws but they were easily deflected by Magerias who had started to adapt to the fight. However, suddenly the beast grabbed the arm she was using to slash with her longsword and stared into her eyes.
"You've fought vigilantly and strongly, Knight of Newhaven. But that stubbornness of yours ends now!" The beast screamed into her ears as it smashed its giant head into her helmet, sending it across the battlefield. Magerias face were now showing and three long scars from the beasts claw were marked on the left side of her face and a small open wound on her forehead. The beast smiled once more as it gripped her left arm as well and made itself ready to devour her head. At this given moment an arrow from seemingless nowhere came crashing down from the city walls and hit the beast over the head before it bounced to the ground. The beasts grip over Magerias arms loosened enough for her to shake them free and punch the beast over the face before plunging her longsword deep in its chest. The creature screamed and hit Mageria with all of its strength across the face, sending her flying aside. It pulled out both the longsword and the short sword from its chest and threw them to the ground before charging towards the lying Mageria who had no chance to survive this time.
However, just as the beast reached her, it stopped with its claw in the air. Something had changed inside the creature and it simple stared at the woman before it. The voice returned to Magerias mind, but this one was more sad and more human.
"What have I done? No, no, no! This was not supposed to happen!" The voice of Daniel yelled inside Magerias head as the beast swiftly turned and exploded towards the broken city gates. It didn't take long before the beast was out of reach and had entered the forest just outside Newhaven. Daniel was still alive, captured somewhere in that demon. Mageria would have to concern herself about the beast later on, but for now she had a battle to win. The Captain made her way across the battlefield and picked up her short sword and her longsword before she began to look for Krander.
Suddenly the beast leaped from its spot and aimed its claws towards Magerias throat. The woman however, was ready for it and swiftly evaded it and brought her short sword into the creatures neck. Yet another scream came from the beast as it spun around, slamming its clenched fist into Magerias chest, sending her backwards. She lost her breath for a moment, however she quickly got up on her feet again and charged against the demonic beast with a scream that would have intimidated even the gods themselves. Upon reaching the beast she aimed to bring down her longsword upon the creatures head, but the beast swiftly acted and grabbed the sword in mid-air. The sword buried itself deep in the creatures hand and blue blood dripped from it. Mageria stared at her sword before catching a glimpse of the beast. The thing was smiling!
All of the sudden, the beast grabbed her throat and tossed her over its head. She landed on the ground and as she got up again she realized that the demon still had her longsword. Although her longsword might serve as her main weapon, she still had a few tricks left up her sleeve. Pulling out three daggers, Mageria threw two of them towards the beast and kept one in her left hand as she charged towards it once more. The demon had deflected both of the daggers with its new found weapon before it tossed the longsword aside and confronted the charging woman that was heading towards it. A clinging sound echoed throughout Newhaven as steel meet with claws of bones in a clashing battle. Mageria pushed with every little fiber in her body, but she soon found herself being pushed backwards as the beasts strength only increased by the second. The beast suddenly pushed her backwards and hit her with its claws open across her face, sending her to the left.
With her strength and energy drained, Mageria rose once more and made herself ready for the beast. The demon lowered itself just like a tiger that was hunting and before anyone could react, the demon were leaping through the air towards Mageria. The woman however, ran forward, up on a small stone rubble in front of her and jumped. She sent herself flying towards the leaping beast with her short sword ready to strike. As they connected in mid-air, the beast crashed backwards towards the ground with Mageria on top of it. Jumping off of it, Mageria left her short sword buried in the beasts chest as she swiftly made her way behind the beast as it rose up to regain its composure. However, the Captain of the Black Knights had another plan in mind as she brought out her garrote which was a long and thin rope with sharp metal wires all over it. She swung with it and in one try she got it around the demons throat and began to pull back, choking the beast in the process.
"Go back to Hell!" She screamed as she pulled harder and harder on the string. However, the string was not made to endure such a treatment and snapped in two, sending Mageria down on the ground on her butt. The demon rose up and caught a breath before returning its attention towards the stubborn bitch that just didn't want to die. Letting out a ferocious cry, the beast charged towards the sitting woman who soon also found her way up on her feet once more. Mageria would have been hit by the beasts massive body right there if she had not deflected its charge. The beast on the other hand didn't waste any time as it turned around and charged towards Mageria once more. The woman turned around and sprinted towards a part of the city wall that was still intact. Upon reaching it she ran up on it and jumped backwards, over the beast who tried to slash at her through the air but missed. She landed on the demons back and began to cut it with her various knives and daggers over and over again. The beast cried out in pain and pure anger as it tried to grab her, but to no success; She avoided its claws and kept on stabbing it. However, she couldn't possible avoid it forever and soon enough the beast got a grip of her and tossed her forward, into the very wall she had been running up against before.
She fell to the ground and the moment she tried to get up again she felt a large foot stomp her on her back and pressed her into the mud below. She couldn't breath and the beast kept on pressing her down. The beast pressed, paused, pressed and paused. Every time it paused, Mageria got a small amount of air and could look around for a way out of this mess. Not too far away from her the longsword she trusted with her life lied all abandoned and useless. At each pause Mageria tried to reach for it and the beast was too busy enjoying its victory to notice her weak attempts at grabbing her sword. Then as if the gods themselves had granted her more energy and strength, Mageria pushed the beasts foot off of her for a short moment and grabbed her sword. Then she swung with it and hit the demons left eye.
Up she exploded and began her retaliation against the beast. One cut after the other, she forced the beast backwards towards the broken gates where even more soldiers where fighting for their lives. The beast attacked with its claws but they were easily deflected by Magerias who had started to adapt to the fight. However, suddenly the beast grabbed the arm she was using to slash with her longsword and stared into her eyes.
"You've fought vigilantly and strongly, Knight of Newhaven. But that stubbornness of yours ends now!" The beast screamed into her ears as it smashed its giant head into her helmet, sending it across the battlefield. Magerias face were now showing and three long scars from the beasts claw were marked on the left side of her face and a small open wound on her forehead. The beast smiled once more as it gripped her left arm as well and made itself ready to devour her head. At this given moment an arrow from seemingless nowhere came crashing down from the city walls and hit the beast over the head before it bounced to the ground. The beasts grip over Magerias arms loosened enough for her to shake them free and punch the beast over the face before plunging her longsword deep in its chest. The creature screamed and hit Mageria with all of its strength across the face, sending her flying aside. It pulled out both the longsword and the short sword from its chest and threw them to the ground before charging towards the lying Mageria who had no chance to survive this time.
However, just as the beast reached her, it stopped with its claw in the air. Something had changed inside the creature and it simple stared at the woman before it. The voice returned to Magerias mind, but this one was more sad and more human.
"What have I done? No, no, no! This was not supposed to happen!" The voice of Daniel yelled inside Magerias head as the beast swiftly turned and exploded towards the broken city gates. It didn't take long before the beast was out of reach and had entered the forest just outside Newhaven. Daniel was still alive, captured somewhere in that demon. Mageria would have to concern herself about the beast later on, but for now she had a battle to win. The Captain made her way across the battlefield and picked up her short sword and her longsword before she began to look for Krander.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Lena was annoyed with having people protect her without her asking, however, she found it easier not to argue with the Newhaven men as they followed their leader's orders. As far as she was concerned, personally, they could kill as many as they wanted or could. She glanced around, the others had managed to flee, that was all she needed. She caught glimpse of the young girl she had spoken to moments before and simply gave her a nod, the girl gave a little smirk and soon the same thorny vines that immobilized the soldiers before began to tear people apart as easily as if the were made out of the sharpest steel. Lena said a silent prayer for the young girl as she was shot down by an arrow, at least she took a fair amount of soldiers to the afterlife with her.
Then, she heard the Blackpond commander shout, and the name he spoke made her freeze where she stood. She turned to see the man with a teenage girl in his arms. The girl was crying, probably in a panic, with a dagger held to her neck. That sight wouldn't be enough to shake Lena, wasn't for the name the man spoke. “Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.”
Lena's eyes fixed on the girl, she looked scared and defenseless, worst than that... She looked familiar. "Oh, bloody hell..." She muttered under her breath. She didn't know what the kid was even doing there or why she was wearing healers robes when they were being targeted. It just seemed like the stupidest thing one could do. She shook her head and, after shaking of her 'protective detail' she began to walk towards the man, slowly, both hands in the air, dropping her sword along the way.
Lena lowered her eyes towards the weapon for a second. It was the only thing she kept from her past as an assassin. The short sword that once belonged to Dani's mother. It pained her slightly to leave it behind, considering that it was a gift, but that was the least of her concerns right now. She stopped before reaching the man.
"If you release her now, you can take me. I assume you want to take me alive, no?" She smirked. "And don't think I'm defenseless empty handed. I would hate to have to use my enlightenment to its full potential amongst so many people, but I will if you make me."
Then, she heard the Blackpond commander shout, and the name he spoke made her freeze where she stood. She turned to see the man with a teenage girl in his arms. The girl was crying, probably in a panic, with a dagger held to her neck. That sight wouldn't be enough to shake Lena, wasn't for the name the man spoke. “Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.”
Lena's eyes fixed on the girl, she looked scared and defenseless, worst than that... She looked familiar. "Oh, bloody hell..." She muttered under her breath. She didn't know what the kid was even doing there or why she was wearing healers robes when they were being targeted. It just seemed like the stupidest thing one could do. She shook her head and, after shaking of her 'protective detail' she began to walk towards the man, slowly, both hands in the air, dropping her sword along the way.
Lena lowered her eyes towards the weapon for a second. It was the only thing she kept from her past as an assassin. The short sword that once belonged to Dani's mother. It pained her slightly to leave it behind, considering that it was a gift, but that was the least of her concerns right now. She stopped before reaching the man.
"If you release her now, you can take me. I assume you want to take me alive, no?" She smirked. "And don't think I'm defenseless empty handed. I would hate to have to use my enlightenment to its full potential amongst so many people, but I will if you make me."
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Phelix finished his prayer for good luck, and then began a quick prayer for bad luck. Against all of Blackpond. His eyes turned pitch black, as if his pupils had exploded. He had never experienced this before. It was as if he were directly talking to Death herself.
"I've done it!" he quietly exclaimed. He had successfully figured out the difference between praying for good and bad luck. With more practice he was going to be able to utilize his powers to their full potential. He prayed evil against the Blackpond, the dirtiest things he could think.
He came out of his prayer and the first thing he noticed was about 15 Blackpond soldiers had tripped, one upon their own sword. The second thing he saw was a mass of men be ripped apart by the earth while another Healer was struck down. He then saw that one of them had been taken hostage, and she was only a young girl. He raged and waved his hand menacingly. The man had bribed what Phelix now knew was 'Lena.'
“Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.”
He noticed that Lena flinched momentarily and knew this girl was important. He watched as the man dropped the girl on the ground and it looked as if he acidently cut himself with the dagger in his hand, but Phelix was too far away to see for sure. 'Come on girl, get up and run. Lets go, run!' he thought to himself as we awaited the time to pounce and begin fighting the battle at hand.
"I've done it!" he quietly exclaimed. He had successfully figured out the difference between praying for good and bad luck. With more practice he was going to be able to utilize his powers to their full potential. He prayed evil against the Blackpond, the dirtiest things he could think.
He came out of his prayer and the first thing he noticed was about 15 Blackpond soldiers had tripped, one upon their own sword. The second thing he saw was a mass of men be ripped apart by the earth while another Healer was struck down. He then saw that one of them had been taken hostage, and she was only a young girl. He raged and waved his hand menacingly. The man had bribed what Phelix now knew was 'Lena.'
“Lena of the White Shadows. This poor young girl doesn’t want to die. Ella here would much rather live a long life. Can’t you see? Give yourself up, or Ella’s possible meaningful life will be ended with my blade.”
He noticed that Lena flinched momentarily and knew this girl was important. He watched as the man dropped the girl on the ground and it looked as if he acidently cut himself with the dagger in his hand, but Phelix was too far away to see for sure. 'Come on girl, get up and run. Lets go, run!' he thought to himself as we awaited the time to pounce and begin fighting the battle at hand.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Krander felt an ache in his side, and his head, as he stood up. "What the hell was that?" he demanded. He turned and saw that it was Mageria who had tackled him. Before he asked why she had done such a ridiculous thing, he realized what had happened. Daniel's body had turned back into the demon, but with a new clean head and a clean Arm. Before he could even warm up his vocal folds Mageria was taking care of the demon. They ran through the city and he watched a few guards follow. He knew she would be okay. The walls had fallen, so now Krander could do some work. He cracked his knuckles, started humming lightly, and marched to the fallen gate.
Flying shrapnel hit his armor but did no damage. He continued to walk with ferocious poise as he reached the fallen gate. "MOVE." He boomed. All the Newhaven soldiers spread, a few jumped to the ground as Krander let out one of the strongest soundwaves he ever had. "DIE" He yelled. The waves he controlled into a narrow river. They hit just the width of the gate and threw the battering ram back and into the air. Almost 20 men were thrown into the air and one man from the Newhaven army was pushed into another guard. The blast had been loud, but only ear ringing would be the side effect of all the men closest to it from Newhaven. Men from Blackpond would be really upset. He then let out a squeal that all dogs began to bark and cower at, and most of the horses outside the gates, which Krander had marched through now, began to rear up and dislodge their riders.
With most of Newhavens men behind him, and Blackponds men recovering from the last blast Krander prepared the largest roar he had ever attempted. Mentally he told himself, 'Think loud, be loud, defend your position, and defend your people.' As he unleashed it a volley of arrows came down. They were knocked out of the air. Krander expanded the range of the sound waves and had braced himself better than on the wall this time. The waves spread out over Valcrest knocking down many Blackpond men. The trees behind the catapults wavered in the wind, and many birds took off for safety. Krander did not anticipate what happened next. The waves of his extended holler hit the armor of the Blackpond man, and while not nearly as strong, it reverberated back and knocked him off his feet, as well as some others from Newhaven and demolished bits of the wall that were still up. He stood up drew is sword and yelled, "CHARGE." knocking the closest Blackpond men to their asses.
Flying shrapnel hit his armor but did no damage. He continued to walk with ferocious poise as he reached the fallen gate. "MOVE." He boomed. All the Newhaven soldiers spread, a few jumped to the ground as Krander let out one of the strongest soundwaves he ever had. "DIE" He yelled. The waves he controlled into a narrow river. They hit just the width of the gate and threw the battering ram back and into the air. Almost 20 men were thrown into the air and one man from the Newhaven army was pushed into another guard. The blast had been loud, but only ear ringing would be the side effect of all the men closest to it from Newhaven. Men from Blackpond would be really upset. He then let out a squeal that all dogs began to bark and cower at, and most of the horses outside the gates, which Krander had marched through now, began to rear up and dislodge their riders.
With most of Newhavens men behind him, and Blackponds men recovering from the last blast Krander prepared the largest roar he had ever attempted. Mentally he told himself, 'Think loud, be loud, defend your position, and defend your people.' As he unleashed it a volley of arrows came down. They were knocked out of the air. Krander expanded the range of the sound waves and had braced himself better than on the wall this time. The waves spread out over Valcrest knocking down many Blackpond men. The trees behind the catapults wavered in the wind, and many birds took off for safety. Krander did not anticipate what happened next. The waves of his extended holler hit the armor of the Blackpond man, and while not nearly as strong, it reverberated back and knocked him off his feet, as well as some others from Newhaven and demolished bits of the wall that were still up. He stood up drew is sword and yelled, "CHARGE." knocking the closest Blackpond men to their asses.
Mageria’s soldiers knew their business. They had set up choke points throughout the Lower City, and they used them well. One looked open but had thin ropes strung across it at ankle height. At another, one Black Guard created clouds of smoke. Not enough to blind, but enough that the Blackpond soldiers were confused and vulnerable to the swords of the men waiting for them. At a third, Megan and Alex worked together. Megan charging chunks of brick with firestrength while Alex threw them as hard as he could. There were archers in hidden corners. At one point they had spread oil on the ground to make it slippery. They never used the same trick twice, and Mageria was just as likely to have them use the strength of the own training as relying on Enlightenments.
Limping away from the scene of the battle with the demon, Mageria started yelling out orders, organizing things as best she could.
Limping away from the scene of the battle with the demon, Mageria started yelling out orders, organizing things as best she could.
Hastings kept hearing loud booms coming from somewhere. It almost sounded like someone was talking, but he couldn't be sure about it. These booms were loud enough to knock him off his horse and even throw some of his men onto their feet. This brought him to the point where he couldn't even hear anything. He could just hear ringing in his ears, and he imagined that most of his men, including some Newhaven men by the way they looked so confused. Hastings yelled in frustration, but couldn't even hear his own voice, this made him yell even louder. He didn't have any way of communicating to his soldiers and this meant that his soldiers were running without direction. While Hastings thought about what he was going to do, Rita had come up behind him.
"Rita, you heard that booming voice right? Well I can't hear and neither can half the soldiers here. I need to lead these front line men, while I go assess the situation at the choke points in the city. I believe some of my men have managed to break these lines and are attacking these points. Are you capable?" Hastings really couldn't help if he couldn't hear. Also the choke points were what lost him the battle last time he had attacked the city.
Rita was going to say something, but then remembered what she was just told and instead nodded. It was all Hastings wanted to see. He mounted onto his horse and calmed it down. He then rode off into the heart of Newhaven where the most important battle was taking place. There was a lot of dirty little tricks that he supposed Mageria had probably set up for his men. Apposed to the ones who had no hearing, all of these men could. There were about four major choke points. He went to every one of them and warned them. "Think critically men! Stop being fools and falling for the traps! Use them to your advantage!"
He ordered his men at the choke with the oil spilt on the ground to move back a bit. He then ordered two of his special enlightened men to get rid of the trap. The one man had the ability to move wind. With it, he splashed the oil up into the air and towards the soldiers on the other side of the street. The other was a pyro. He set fire to the oil. This created a large wall of fire heading right towards the soldiers waiting on the other side. As the fire moved forward, so did Hastings' men. Weakening one point would easily weaken the others,and gave opportunities for flanking. Now he had an advantage at one point in the city. It was the only good advantage he had at the moment, but he was hoping that he could crate another one.
"Mageria! I know you're here somewhere!" Hastings yelled, "You might think that the only safe place in the city right now is the castle! You'd be wrong! I hope you enjoy fighting assassins!"
This wasn't a lie. It was completely true. Hastings assassins had been living within the cities walls since before he had even told Mageria about the secret. They were stationed there for this exact reason and now they were probably already in the castle and ready to start taking out nobles and other important figures. Their second purpose was to divert some attention to them during this battle and weaken the lines of the Newhaven army. Either way, things would go well on that end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
The lady was beginning to threaten him to use abilities in this situation, but he saw no reason to actually keep this girl if it came down to the worst case scenario. The more important thing was Lena, that was a very specific request from King Rory himself. He didn't want to drop the girl without giving it thought though. He didn’t know if Lena was just bluffing, but it didn’t seem like it.
“Ok, I’ll-” He said before he heard some commotion, and a lot more than there should have been. A lot of the fighting has secede since Lev had taken the girl. All of a sudden, his men were tripping over themselves and doing things that really shouldn’t have been happening.
Lev dropped Ella and then his dagger moved in an odd way which made him cut himself. He dropped his dagger and said to Lena, “are you happy Lena? Now follow your end of the bargain, now follow mine.”
He motioned for two men to take Lena. They did so, but to make sure she didn’t cause problems along the way, one of them hit her with the butt of their sword.
Lev got off his horse and once again grabbed the girl, who was still in the same place that he had dropped her. He then heard someone yelling at the girl. He was telling her to run, a futile venture.
~~~~~
Ella couldn’t move, even after she had fallen. She was still completely paralyzed by fear and blinded by her sadness. She couldn’t think strait. She just laid beside the commander’s horse in a crying mess.
She was completely useless for everyone. It was almost better if Lena just let the guy kill her. She had seen the look on her face, as if she mattered. Ella knew she didn’t matter and she would never amount to anything as long as she tried to prove something. That was it!
She wanted to prove something to someone all this time, but she could never do it, because she was worried of what others would think. Evin had told her once that when he killed, he put himself in the mindset that he had to kill for the sake of killing. She didn’t have to kill to prove herself.
The commander took a sudden hold on Ella by the back of the robe she had on. Two her left, she could see the dagger that this commander had used in threatening Lena. Both Ella and the commander grabbed for it at the same time. Ella dug her nails into the man’s hand until he let go of it. The commander tried to pull her away from the dagger, but Ella just managed to grab it as he threw her on the horse. He drew his weapon, but by then, Ella had already pounced onto the man’s back. The next instant, she slit the man’s throat. He breathed in sharply for a second and then, he was dead.
Ella had finally done it, but she didn’t feel any better. The only satisfaction was that he ended a really foul man, but even then she ended someone. It wasn’t something she should have been proud of. It was bitter sweet.
Ella didn’t even try to defend herself against anyone else. They had hit her on the back of the head, just like Lena. When she woke up, she would be in Blackpond.
"Rita, you heard that booming voice right? Well I can't hear and neither can half the soldiers here. I need to lead these front line men, while I go assess the situation at the choke points in the city. I believe some of my men have managed to break these lines and are attacking these points. Are you capable?" Hastings really couldn't help if he couldn't hear. Also the choke points were what lost him the battle last time he had attacked the city.
Rita was going to say something, but then remembered what she was just told and instead nodded. It was all Hastings wanted to see. He mounted onto his horse and calmed it down. He then rode off into the heart of Newhaven where the most important battle was taking place. There was a lot of dirty little tricks that he supposed Mageria had probably set up for his men. Apposed to the ones who had no hearing, all of these men could. There were about four major choke points. He went to every one of them and warned them. "Think critically men! Stop being fools and falling for the traps! Use them to your advantage!"
He ordered his men at the choke with the oil spilt on the ground to move back a bit. He then ordered two of his special enlightened men to get rid of the trap. The one man had the ability to move wind. With it, he splashed the oil up into the air and towards the soldiers on the other side of the street. The other was a pyro. He set fire to the oil. This created a large wall of fire heading right towards the soldiers waiting on the other side. As the fire moved forward, so did Hastings' men. Weakening one point would easily weaken the others,and gave opportunities for flanking. Now he had an advantage at one point in the city. It was the only good advantage he had at the moment, but he was hoping that he could crate another one.
"Mageria! I know you're here somewhere!" Hastings yelled, "You might think that the only safe place in the city right now is the castle! You'd be wrong! I hope you enjoy fighting assassins!"
This wasn't a lie. It was completely true. Hastings assassins had been living within the cities walls since before he had even told Mageria about the secret. They were stationed there for this exact reason and now they were probably already in the castle and ready to start taking out nobles and other important figures. Their second purpose was to divert some attention to them during this battle and weaken the lines of the Newhaven army. Either way, things would go well on that end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Ruins]
The lady was beginning to threaten him to use abilities in this situation, but he saw no reason to actually keep this girl if it came down to the worst case scenario. The more important thing was Lena, that was a very specific request from King Rory himself. He didn't want to drop the girl without giving it thought though. He didn’t know if Lena was just bluffing, but it didn’t seem like it.
“Ok, I’ll-” He said before he heard some commotion, and a lot more than there should have been. A lot of the fighting has secede since Lev had taken the girl. All of a sudden, his men were tripping over themselves and doing things that really shouldn’t have been happening.
Lev dropped Ella and then his dagger moved in an odd way which made him cut himself. He dropped his dagger and said to Lena, “are you happy Lena? Now follow your end of the bargain, now follow mine.”
He motioned for two men to take Lena. They did so, but to make sure she didn’t cause problems along the way, one of them hit her with the butt of their sword.
Lev got off his horse and once again grabbed the girl, who was still in the same place that he had dropped her. He then heard someone yelling at the girl. He was telling her to run, a futile venture.
~~~~~
Ella couldn’t move, even after she had fallen. She was still completely paralyzed by fear and blinded by her sadness. She couldn’t think strait. She just laid beside the commander’s horse in a crying mess.
She was completely useless for everyone. It was almost better if Lena just let the guy kill her. She had seen the look on her face, as if she mattered. Ella knew she didn’t matter and she would never amount to anything as long as she tried to prove something. That was it!
She wanted to prove something to someone all this time, but she could never do it, because she was worried of what others would think. Evin had told her once that when he killed, he put himself in the mindset that he had to kill for the sake of killing. She didn’t have to kill to prove herself.
The commander took a sudden hold on Ella by the back of the robe she had on. Two her left, she could see the dagger that this commander had used in threatening Lena. Both Ella and the commander grabbed for it at the same time. Ella dug her nails into the man’s hand until he let go of it. The commander tried to pull her away from the dagger, but Ella just managed to grab it as he threw her on the horse. He drew his weapon, but by then, Ella had already pounced onto the man’s back. The next instant, she slit the man’s throat. He breathed in sharply for a second and then, he was dead.
Ella had finally done it, but she didn’t feel any better. The only satisfaction was that he ended a really foul man, but even then she ended someone. It wasn’t something she should have been proud of. It was bitter sweet.
Ella didn’t even try to defend herself against anyone else. They had hit her on the back of the head, just like Lena. When she woke up, she would be in Blackpond.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Sean took a pretty long time walking around camp and the surroundings trying to find Crys or Evin. He had no idea if he could tell anyone else where Ella was, he didn't really know what the whole thing was even about. Eventually he just gave up and decided to go home. Ella would be safe in the ruins anyway, he wasn't a babysitter. As he reached camp, he found himself running into a bit of a commotion in the center of camp. At first he thought it was a fight or something of the sorts, but when he got close he realized that Lena's kid was throwing a fit, while Ali and two healers were trying to hold her down.
"Let go of me! I'm going!" Annie was shouting as the two older healers, a man and a woman, held her back.
Ali nodded, trying to calm the girl down. "Annie, think it through, you can't do anything for them. You'll probably just get yourself hurt."
Sean sneaked around to one of the guards who had been watching the scene and whispered. "Eddie, what's happening here?"
The man shrugged and whispered back. "Word is that Blackpond is attacking the healers right now. The girl heard about it and went completely nuts saying she has to go see her mother. She was halfway to running there when Ali literally tackled her to stop her from going." He nodded. "Completely messed up, huh?"
Sean simply nodded watching as Annie started shouting at the two healers. "I HATE THIS! I HATE IT!" The girl turned and shut herself in the healers' station before anyone could stop her.
Ali stopped the two healers before they followed her in. "Don't. Just don't!" She hissed at them before following Annie inside. Sean didn't catch the conversation, but he assumed they had said or done something to make things worse.
-----------
Ali stepped into the healers' station to find Annie curled up in one of the beds, sobbing. She nodded, pulling a chair to the side of the bed and sitting on it. "There is absolutely nothing you can do, Annie. Nothing."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Annie muttered in response.
"No. Nothing will. Everything you know is probably falling apart as we speak. I know the feeling, but running over there and getting killed or captured won't help anyone. If anything you'll make things worse for your mother if you do that."
"I can't sit here and do nothing." Annie replied.
Ali snorted. "Excuse me? I thought you people were trained in the art of doing nothing."
"Shut up." Annie mumbled.
Ali nodded. "Listen... Do nothing for now. In the morning I'll go with you to the desert. I imagine that's the only direction they could run to, correct?"
"Yes." Annie said.
"Alright. As soon as the sun comes up tomorrow we go there. If your mother is alive somewhere I'll help you find her. Seems fair enough?"
Annie sighed. "No, but I suppose that's all I get. Right?"
"That and the joy of my company." Ali smiled.
Annie sighed. "Oh, joy."
"Let go of me! I'm going!" Annie was shouting as the two older healers, a man and a woman, held her back.
Ali nodded, trying to calm the girl down. "Annie, think it through, you can't do anything for them. You'll probably just get yourself hurt."
Sean sneaked around to one of the guards who had been watching the scene and whispered. "Eddie, what's happening here?"
The man shrugged and whispered back. "Word is that Blackpond is attacking the healers right now. The girl heard about it and went completely nuts saying she has to go see her mother. She was halfway to running there when Ali literally tackled her to stop her from going." He nodded. "Completely messed up, huh?"
Sean simply nodded watching as Annie started shouting at the two healers. "I HATE THIS! I HATE IT!" The girl turned and shut herself in the healers' station before anyone could stop her.
Ali stopped the two healers before they followed her in. "Don't. Just don't!" She hissed at them before following Annie inside. Sean didn't catch the conversation, but he assumed they had said or done something to make things worse.
-----------
Ali stepped into the healers' station to find Annie curled up in one of the beds, sobbing. She nodded, pulling a chair to the side of the bed and sitting on it. "There is absolutely nothing you can do, Annie. Nothing."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Annie muttered in response.
"No. Nothing will. Everything you know is probably falling apart as we speak. I know the feeling, but running over there and getting killed or captured won't help anyone. If anything you'll make things worse for your mother if you do that."
"I can't sit here and do nothing." Annie replied.
Ali snorted. "Excuse me? I thought you people were trained in the art of doing nothing."
"Shut up." Annie mumbled.
Ali nodded. "Listen... Do nothing for now. In the morning I'll go with you to the desert. I imagine that's the only direction they could run to, correct?"
"Yes." Annie said.
"Alright. As soon as the sun comes up tomorrow we go there. If your mother is alive somewhere I'll help you find her. Seems fair enough?"
Annie sighed. "No, but I suppose that's all I get. Right?"
"That and the joy of my company." Ali smiled.
Annie sighed. "Oh, joy."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
“You know, all respect to the Captain, but I didn’t actually think this was going to work.” One Newhaven soldier remarked quietly to the man crouched on the roof next to him.
Mageria had deliberately made one of the choke points more vulnerable to Hastings using it to his advantage.
“You don’t make everything as strong as you can,” she had said. “Then you don’t know where they’ll break through. Give them what looks like a weak point to chip away at and get behind them while they’re distracted.”
So they had laid down the oil and stationed men to either side of it with crossbows. Once the Blackpond soldiers had started focusing on using the oil slick, the Newhaven forces had gotten in position. After a moment to let them build up their confidence, the Lieutenant in command gave the signal and twelve crossbows snapped in unison as they aimed for Hastings, the Enlightened who were manipulating the fire, and for good measure anybody else who looked important.
(Note - for specific targets, there are two people aiming for them, three for Hastings)
Once that happened, the rest of the soldiers had risen from their hiding places, swords in hands.
Mageria had deliberately made one of the choke points more vulnerable to Hastings using it to his advantage.
“You don’t make everything as strong as you can,” she had said. “Then you don’t know where they’ll break through. Give them what looks like a weak point to chip away at and get behind them while they’re distracted.”
So they had laid down the oil and stationed men to either side of it with crossbows. Once the Blackpond soldiers had started focusing on using the oil slick, the Newhaven forces had gotten in position. After a moment to let them build up their confidence, the Lieutenant in command gave the signal and twelve crossbows snapped in unison as they aimed for Hastings, the Enlightened who were manipulating the fire, and for good measure anybody else who looked important.
(Note - for specific targets, there are two people aiming for them, three for Hastings)
Once that happened, the rest of the soldiers had risen from their hiding places, swords in hands.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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Carnage was his path and destruction the way. Blinded and invigorated by the rationalization of madness, kill what came before him. Spare only those that could escape. Swing after swing of his mighty blade biting and goring opponents as if it were a game. The beast laughed it chortled with joy and jubilations for bathing in the entrails. Leaving only disappointment when Blackpond backed off. This frustrated the monster causing it to stamp furiously on the ground unaware of the exchange happening. It turned to face the gathered army outside their circle, taking well measured paces toward them. Hoping they’d break rank to take him. Otherwise Grim would be forced to throw down deep within their ranks.
A few steps in he glanced back toward the men and realized something. His conscious was clear, he could see the troops without the clout of rage. Blinking in confusion Grim turned to find Lev had procured a hostage and Lena in response was taking action. Grim blinked a moment gathering his thoughts to him, trying to piece together the happenings. He understood one thing though, Lena was walking into a trap.
“White Rose wait!”
His voice was cut short for a figure had announced itself by presence alone. Stepping out from beyond the ranks of Blackpond’s men a shade even in the open. It’s dark cloak was heavily woven and its boots struck the dirt with a deafening sound. Grim’s eyes recognized what was heading toward him and his body was paralyzed.
“The soldier from the siege…”
So dumbfounded was the Black Knight he didn’t even remember taking the first blow. Gazing into the skull mask with awe and fear. The pain didn’t register till his back was forced against the remains of a building wall. The haft of the enchanted sickle squeezing the air from his lungs as it pressed against his throat. Grim’s hands struggled from the other side almost instinctively the surreal euphoria haven’t yet left. His body was sunk beneath a wave of dissipation. Feeling alien in his own skin and watched from without as he was choking against the skeleton of the old city.
One of the Black Guard sprung from his position crying desperately to pull Grim from his trance. He unsheathed his sword but it was no use, the Death Knight was the quicker. The youth’s life was spilled over the ground with a deft swipe. Dispatched without any trouble, without mercy.
Pulling back into his head, the Black Knight reacted with the warrior’s flame. The great blade came heaving down to be swept aside, but Grim was faster then he looked. He kept to Death with his gargantuan edge poking and chopping with a grace generally reserved for the hand of a fencer. Using the movement of his body to try and catch this enemy off guard. Alas the wanderer would not be slain for every attack he was ready with a counter. Knocking aside strike after strike patient in knowing Grim couldn’t keep this strategy forever.
An overcompensated thrust gave the opening the Death Knight needed. Grim reached too far and he paid with a rebuttal. The scythe blade hooked itself on his right leg, and with a pull it tossed the Blade sideways to the dirt. Once prone the scythe danced over his body trying to find an opening to dig into. Grim did what he could keeping his free arm over his face and neck through the onslaught.
When the curved blade slipped from his shoulder pads he seized the skull by the arm using his tremendous strength to lob the being over top of him. Casting the cloaked adversary to the dirt. By the time the Death Knight had steadied himself he was brought back against the wall, Grim’s weight slamming into him with a bull rush. The two toppled through the barrier as it crumpled all about. The force breaking straight through the old foundation. Dirt and debris kicked up with the animosity the fighters had for another. The ringing of their clash echoed from within the former encampment. Akin to the sound of smiths working the forge, hammers panging against steel. Theirs was a private duel now residing on top the Ruins. Locked in the eternal struggle that has cursed Valcrest for time unknown. Bringing new fuel to the fire of insanity, giving life to the foreboding shadows of the past.
A few steps in he glanced back toward the men and realized something. His conscious was clear, he could see the troops without the clout of rage. Blinking in confusion Grim turned to find Lev had procured a hostage and Lena in response was taking action. Grim blinked a moment gathering his thoughts to him, trying to piece together the happenings. He understood one thing though, Lena was walking into a trap.
“White Rose wait!”
His voice was cut short for a figure had announced itself by presence alone. Stepping out from beyond the ranks of Blackpond’s men a shade even in the open. It’s dark cloak was heavily woven and its boots struck the dirt with a deafening sound. Grim’s eyes recognized what was heading toward him and his body was paralyzed.
“The soldier from the siege…”
So dumbfounded was the Black Knight he didn’t even remember taking the first blow. Gazing into the skull mask with awe and fear. The pain didn’t register till his back was forced against the remains of a building wall. The haft of the enchanted sickle squeezing the air from his lungs as it pressed against his throat. Grim’s hands struggled from the other side almost instinctively the surreal euphoria haven’t yet left. His body was sunk beneath a wave of dissipation. Feeling alien in his own skin and watched from without as he was choking against the skeleton of the old city.
One of the Black Guard sprung from his position crying desperately to pull Grim from his trance. He unsheathed his sword but it was no use, the Death Knight was the quicker. The youth’s life was spilled over the ground with a deft swipe. Dispatched without any trouble, without mercy.
Pulling back into his head, the Black Knight reacted with the warrior’s flame. The great blade came heaving down to be swept aside, but Grim was faster then he looked. He kept to Death with his gargantuan edge poking and chopping with a grace generally reserved for the hand of a fencer. Using the movement of his body to try and catch this enemy off guard. Alas the wanderer would not be slain for every attack he was ready with a counter. Knocking aside strike after strike patient in knowing Grim couldn’t keep this strategy forever.
An overcompensated thrust gave the opening the Death Knight needed. Grim reached too far and he paid with a rebuttal. The scythe blade hooked itself on his right leg, and with a pull it tossed the Blade sideways to the dirt. Once prone the scythe danced over his body trying to find an opening to dig into. Grim did what he could keeping his free arm over his face and neck through the onslaught.
When the curved blade slipped from his shoulder pads he seized the skull by the arm using his tremendous strength to lob the being over top of him. Casting the cloaked adversary to the dirt. By the time the Death Knight had steadied himself he was brought back against the wall, Grim’s weight slamming into him with a bull rush. The two toppled through the barrier as it crumpled all about. The force breaking straight through the old foundation. Dirt and debris kicked up with the animosity the fighters had for another. The ringing of their clash echoed from within the former encampment. Akin to the sound of smiths working the forge, hammers panging against steel. Theirs was a private duel now residing on top the Ruins. Locked in the eternal struggle that has cursed Valcrest for time unknown. Bringing new fuel to the fire of insanity, giving life to the foreboding shadows of the past.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Thomas was nearly at his wits end. He had spent the past hours of the battle trying desperately to get Sarris to go inside where it was safer. She flatly refused of course, insisting that she had to watch to make sure that she knew what was going on.
“I’ve been living in exile for seventeen years. I don’t need to be protected like some delicate glass ornament.”
Inside the Castle the nobles of the court were doing their best to insist that they needed to somewhere else’ somewhere safer; or in charge of whatever was going on. Normal noble thinking; the Guards dealing with them almost took it as a sign that things were going well. The Newhaven citizens that had crowded into the larger open spaces were frightened but holding things together fairly well. Following their orders, the Castle Guards had locked down everything that they could and were fiercely guarding the rest. Captain Mageria had been very specific when she described what would happen to anyone who let down their guard because they wanted to join the fighting elsewhere. Given her reputation, nobody wanted to cross her.
There had just been a series of huge explosions down by the gate when things suddenly got strange in the Castle. Thomas still hadn’t stopped trying to get Sarris to go inside, and she still hadn't stopped ignoring him. But the first clue that they had that something was going wrong was when someone threw a chair through the window near them. They both whirled and charged inside, Thomas just barely making it in before Sarris. There were people screaming and running past them, making very little sense in what they were babbling. The Guard pushed past them with little regard to rank as they ran toward the greatest concentration of trouble. Thomas was trying to push Sarris back when some instinct warned him to turn around. Rushing up behind them was a thin painfully normal looking young man, except for the two knives he held in his hands. Thomas spun and drew his own daggers, placing himself between Sarris and what could only be an assassin. Thomas yelled for help and attacked. The unknown assassin slashed in a frenzy, fighting to draw Thomas off to the side so he could get past him. Thomas ignored his efforts, instead keeping himself firmly in the way. The assassin was fast and Thomas could just barely block him, but after a few agonizingly long moments they started to move back away from Sarris. Thomas thought that he might have been winning until the assassin whirled and started throwing ornaments from the table hall at his head. Thomas ducked and dodged, ignoring the pain to keep pushing forward. The clashed again, Thomas managing to catch one of the daggers in the tines of his sword breaker and twist it out of the other’s hands. The assassin smirked and flicked that wrist, dropping something down into his hand. It turned out to be a powder of some kind that he flung in Thomas’s face. Twisting, Thomas managed to avoid most of it, but the delay cost him when the assassin took the opportunity to ran his other knife into his side. Thomas staggered back, his eyes flashing bright gold as he tried to influence the other man’s mind. The assassin hesitated, his training evidently strong enough that he could still try and carry on with his mission. Thomas pushed harder, far past the point where it caused a migraine. The assassin swayed, hesitated, then shook his head and swept his foot around to catch Thomas’s foot and dump him on the floor. Thomas hit the floor with a jolt, feeling the twin agonies of his head and the knife in his side. Right as he looked up he was treated to the remarkable sight of an arrow sprouting in the assassin’s throat. Sarris rushed to his side, kneeling down to examine his wound.
“Not too bad.” There was a ripping sound as she tore up something in order to make a pad to press over the wound.
Thomas fought his hardest to stay awake. “You . . . couldn’t have shot him sooner?”
Sarris snorted as she kept pressure on the wound. “You were in the way. I had to wait till you moved.” She looked up and around at the chaos surrounding them. “Doesn’t look like he was alone, by the way.”
Thomas could vaguely hear that the sounds of fighting were moving away from them. “If any of his friends show up . . . go ahead and shoot them too.” He could hear Sarris laugh softly as he passed out.
“I’ve been living in exile for seventeen years. I don’t need to be protected like some delicate glass ornament.”
Inside the Castle the nobles of the court were doing their best to insist that they needed to somewhere else’ somewhere safer; or in charge of whatever was going on. Normal noble thinking; the Guards dealing with them almost took it as a sign that things were going well. The Newhaven citizens that had crowded into the larger open spaces were frightened but holding things together fairly well. Following their orders, the Castle Guards had locked down everything that they could and were fiercely guarding the rest. Captain Mageria had been very specific when she described what would happen to anyone who let down their guard because they wanted to join the fighting elsewhere. Given her reputation, nobody wanted to cross her.
There had just been a series of huge explosions down by the gate when things suddenly got strange in the Castle. Thomas still hadn’t stopped trying to get Sarris to go inside, and she still hadn't stopped ignoring him. But the first clue that they had that something was going wrong was when someone threw a chair through the window near them. They both whirled and charged inside, Thomas just barely making it in before Sarris. There were people screaming and running past them, making very little sense in what they were babbling. The Guard pushed past them with little regard to rank as they ran toward the greatest concentration of trouble. Thomas was trying to push Sarris back when some instinct warned him to turn around. Rushing up behind them was a thin painfully normal looking young man, except for the two knives he held in his hands. Thomas spun and drew his own daggers, placing himself between Sarris and what could only be an assassin. Thomas yelled for help and attacked. The unknown assassin slashed in a frenzy, fighting to draw Thomas off to the side so he could get past him. Thomas ignored his efforts, instead keeping himself firmly in the way. The assassin was fast and Thomas could just barely block him, but after a few agonizingly long moments they started to move back away from Sarris. Thomas thought that he might have been winning until the assassin whirled and started throwing ornaments from the table hall at his head. Thomas ducked and dodged, ignoring the pain to keep pushing forward. The clashed again, Thomas managing to catch one of the daggers in the tines of his sword breaker and twist it out of the other’s hands. The assassin smirked and flicked that wrist, dropping something down into his hand. It turned out to be a powder of some kind that he flung in Thomas’s face. Twisting, Thomas managed to avoid most of it, but the delay cost him when the assassin took the opportunity to ran his other knife into his side. Thomas staggered back, his eyes flashing bright gold as he tried to influence the other man’s mind. The assassin hesitated, his training evidently strong enough that he could still try and carry on with his mission. Thomas pushed harder, far past the point where it caused a migraine. The assassin swayed, hesitated, then shook his head and swept his foot around to catch Thomas’s foot and dump him on the floor. Thomas hit the floor with a jolt, feeling the twin agonies of his head and the knife in his side. Right as he looked up he was treated to the remarkable sight of an arrow sprouting in the assassin’s throat. Sarris rushed to his side, kneeling down to examine his wound.
“Not too bad.” There was a ripping sound as she tore up something in order to make a pad to press over the wound.
Thomas fought his hardest to stay awake. “You . . . couldn’t have shot him sooner?”
Sarris snorted as she kept pressure on the wound. “You were in the way. I had to wait till you moved.” She looked up and around at the chaos surrounding them. “Doesn’t look like he was alone, by the way.”
Thomas could vaguely hear that the sounds of fighting were moving away from them. “If any of his friends show up . . . go ahead and shoot them too.” He could hear Sarris laugh softly as he passed out.
The setting changes from Newhaven to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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The battle was over long before it began. The healers though steadfast in their traditions had fought bravely against an enemy they wouldn’t nor couldn’t overcome. There were corpses strewn all before the former hideout of the White Shadows. Faces lifeless yet raw with emotion pleading toward the heavens for sanctuary. Their only solace in knowing the pain was gone. Silence had settled within and without the ruins. The victor unknown, the result unchecked.
Few had dared venture into the campgrounds after the affair. None of the patrols returned and after a time it became pointless to investigate further. Blackpond had what they wanted, and no force in Valcrest was about to stop them.
The wind had picked up a bit casting a screen of dirt in the air as it whipped through the Ruins. Depositing silt over the fields of dead. Almost as though the land was hard at work to bury them. Of course Blackpond remained even when the majority of their garrison had departed.
When a figure emerged from the wreckage they were somewhat ecstatic. Knowing well that one of their scouts had finally returned, and hopefully with insight that would get them to a better local. One could imagine their surprise to find the crest of Newhaven gleaming on midnight armor. A blade as long as a man hefted casually over the shoulder.
When the gusts ended it was clearly the Black Knight that had emerged victorious in the struggle. Of course he was no longer in full plate armor, contributing to the confusion. At some point Grim had discarded much of his outer shell casting away the protection for better movement and endurance. The chest plate remained coupled by the gauntlets on each arm. The pauldrons that sat over his shoulders and rose to his the sides of his neck were missing. Now only a half-piece each sat atop each arm, allowing for much greater range of flexibility. Of course his helm was still nicely fitted to his head, glinting despite the muck caked over it. However from his waist down there couldn’t be found any metal, his leather clothes and thick boots were all that was needed.
The enemy didn’t hesitate at the prospect of capturing a Black Knight. The first group charged in weapons drawn and ready confident that five was more then enough to take a single man. Grim brought his great sword down and dig its end neatly into the dirt, keeping a firm grip while the troops closed the gap. When they arrived he swung his blade in an up ward arc tossing disheveled crust upon them. Two stopped in their tracks grit in their eyes and helpless, their brothers taking their first swings at the Raging Demon. Yet he was superior without question, blocking the oncoming attack with some deft maneuvering. The Giant’s Knife took two lives before the blinded warriors could clear their vision. The third was followed when he attempted to beat Grim in a stalemate. The huge edge simply sliding down the length and biting into the man’s collarbone till he could no longer resist.
The two stragglers turned to retreat and became one by the time their backs were to Grim. The last man panicking in his flight cared not that he ran in a predictably straight line back to his ranks. The Black Knight pulled a flail from his hip, a trophy he procured during the fight, and swung it beside him. Throwing the chained mace like a bolas to the fleeing feet, forcing the coward to fall earthward as his legs were bound. Grim was steady in his path and he was over the tripped soldier before the man could untangle himself. Casually he pulled his opponent’s sword from the ground where it had been resting. Planting a firm foot to secure Blackpond’s son to the earth he ran the blade through to the hilt. Ignorant of the pleas and screams of misery.
“I failed to kill the Death Knight, I failed to save Lena, I even failed to save those boys from doom.”
Grim stood straight once more eyeing the remaining regiment with a cold stony gaze. The emerald orbs completely void of the red haze. His body taut but in control, conscious of his actions. His voice rang clear over the short distance shouting his challenge to the soldiers stationed there.
“None of you will go home this night! Show me no mercy, you will be receiving none. Pray to your gods, and remember your loved ones. They will cry when they see what I’ve done to you!”
He waited with idle patience quietly counting beside himself. When he felt time was adequate to meet his demands he lifted the Giant’s Knife from off his shoulder and brought it level with his body. Fury ebbed from his throat and his feet thundered toward them. Grim never understood the savagery of the White Knights till that night. Ever reluctant to take life even knowing his own was in jeopardy. Shunning the berserker within and vying for peace. What he could recollect of that person was growing distant.
Few had dared venture into the campgrounds after the affair. None of the patrols returned and after a time it became pointless to investigate further. Blackpond had what they wanted, and no force in Valcrest was about to stop them.
The wind had picked up a bit casting a screen of dirt in the air as it whipped through the Ruins. Depositing silt over the fields of dead. Almost as though the land was hard at work to bury them. Of course Blackpond remained even when the majority of their garrison had departed.
When a figure emerged from the wreckage they were somewhat ecstatic. Knowing well that one of their scouts had finally returned, and hopefully with insight that would get them to a better local. One could imagine their surprise to find the crest of Newhaven gleaming on midnight armor. A blade as long as a man hefted casually over the shoulder.
When the gusts ended it was clearly the Black Knight that had emerged victorious in the struggle. Of course he was no longer in full plate armor, contributing to the confusion. At some point Grim had discarded much of his outer shell casting away the protection for better movement and endurance. The chest plate remained coupled by the gauntlets on each arm. The pauldrons that sat over his shoulders and rose to his the sides of his neck were missing. Now only a half-piece each sat atop each arm, allowing for much greater range of flexibility. Of course his helm was still nicely fitted to his head, glinting despite the muck caked over it. However from his waist down there couldn’t be found any metal, his leather clothes and thick boots were all that was needed.
The enemy didn’t hesitate at the prospect of capturing a Black Knight. The first group charged in weapons drawn and ready confident that five was more then enough to take a single man. Grim brought his great sword down and dig its end neatly into the dirt, keeping a firm grip while the troops closed the gap. When they arrived he swung his blade in an up ward arc tossing disheveled crust upon them. Two stopped in their tracks grit in their eyes and helpless, their brothers taking their first swings at the Raging Demon. Yet he was superior without question, blocking the oncoming attack with some deft maneuvering. The Giant’s Knife took two lives before the blinded warriors could clear their vision. The third was followed when he attempted to beat Grim in a stalemate. The huge edge simply sliding down the length and biting into the man’s collarbone till he could no longer resist.
The two stragglers turned to retreat and became one by the time their backs were to Grim. The last man panicking in his flight cared not that he ran in a predictably straight line back to his ranks. The Black Knight pulled a flail from his hip, a trophy he procured during the fight, and swung it beside him. Throwing the chained mace like a bolas to the fleeing feet, forcing the coward to fall earthward as his legs were bound. Grim was steady in his path and he was over the tripped soldier before the man could untangle himself. Casually he pulled his opponent’s sword from the ground where it had been resting. Planting a firm foot to secure Blackpond’s son to the earth he ran the blade through to the hilt. Ignorant of the pleas and screams of misery.
“I failed to kill the Death Knight, I failed to save Lena, I even failed to save those boys from doom.”
Grim stood straight once more eyeing the remaining regiment with a cold stony gaze. The emerald orbs completely void of the red haze. His body taut but in control, conscious of his actions. His voice rang clear over the short distance shouting his challenge to the soldiers stationed there.
“None of you will go home this night! Show me no mercy, you will be receiving none. Pray to your gods, and remember your loved ones. They will cry when they see what I’ve done to you!”
He waited with idle patience quietly counting beside himself. When he felt time was adequate to meet his demands he lifted the Giant’s Knife from off his shoulder and brought it level with his body. Fury ebbed from his throat and his feet thundered toward them. Grim never understood the savagery of the White Knights till that night. Ever reluctant to take life even knowing his own was in jeopardy. Shunning the berserker within and vying for peace. What he could recollect of that person was growing distant.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Newhaven
Hastings slowly rode his horse down the street While his men rushed passed him. He could no longer hear the ringing in his ear and even more and the his hearing was working better than it was just a few minutes ago. He was glad to know that he wouldn't be completely deaf for life. He tried to take advantage of this by listening as best as possible as well as watching all around him for anything that seemed abnormal. He wasn't why he had this feeling, but he knew that the commanders and Knights in Newhaven weren't this stupid. There had to be some reason why this was an easier road to go down. He kept looking, but saw nothing. He drew an arrow and then knocked it on his bow. He wanted to be ready for whatever came to pass. When he looked in one of the darker shadows of a house half ruined by a boulder, he could see something flash. It looked to be the tip of an arrow, but then he realised how much deadlier it was than just an arrow. It was a crossbow bolt.
Hastings moved like lightning and shot the person who was aiming that at him. "It's a trap! Watch you're flanks!" He yelled to his men the instant bolts began flying from the left side.
Hastings would have been killed if it wasn't for his horse. Obviously one of the two men who were still alive, that were shooting him was a bad shot. He'd hit the horse right the neck, killing it almost instantly. After that, the horse dropped right onto it's side. Thankfully the other bolt just missed his head as the horse fell. He didn't get out of this without injury however. The horse fell right on Hastings leg. He thanked the Gods that it wasn't broken, but he could also tell that it wasn't alright either.
Men came around him, supporting him and covering him from any fire. They made sure that they could get Hastings leg from under the horse. When they did, Hastings ran to the nearest wall for some cover. His men were running down the street to the opposing army, while others had ran into the houses and were attacking the archers. He could also hear explosions in the distance. His assassins were hard at work.
"Mageria, I know you're here! You're friends at the castle aren't safe! They will die!
Hastings moved like lightning and shot the person who was aiming that at him. "It's a trap! Watch you're flanks!" He yelled to his men the instant bolts began flying from the left side.
Hastings would have been killed if it wasn't for his horse. Obviously one of the two men who were still alive, that were shooting him was a bad shot. He'd hit the horse right the neck, killing it almost instantly. After that, the horse dropped right onto it's side. Thankfully the other bolt just missed his head as the horse fell. He didn't get out of this without injury however. The horse fell right on Hastings leg. He thanked the Gods that it wasn't broken, but he could also tell that it wasn't alright either.
Men came around him, supporting him and covering him from any fire. They made sure that they could get Hastings leg from under the horse. When they did, Hastings ran to the nearest wall for some cover. His men were running down the street to the opposing army, while others had ran into the houses and were attacking the archers. He could also hear explosions in the distance. His assassins were hard at work.
"Mageria, I know you're here! You're friends at the castle aren't safe! They will die!
[Heading South]
Ali woke up early to walk Annie to the desert, as promised. She allowed her recruit to tag along with them since she felt it would be good for him after spending the last day doing manual labor around camp. The boy seemed cheerful to be tagging along, even if he made sure to walk a few steps behind the two girls so that they could talk freely.
“This is funny.” Annie stated.
“What?” Ali asked, turning to look at her.
Annie nodded towards the boy. “He actually respects you.”
Ali chuckled. “Sure. I’m his instructor after all.” She said with a small shrug. “He’s an alright kid, just really not the brightest sometimes.”
“I’m sure Crys used to say the same about you.” Annie stated, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Used to? She still does.” Ali laughed.
Annie smiled. “I bet she does.” She sighed. “I hope my mom is alright. I just have this feeling that something is wrong.” She mumbled.
Ali sighed and put one arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Annie, there isn’t a soldier in Blackpond that could actually harm your mother. The woman is unbreakable.”
Annie nodded. “Nothing is unbreakable, Ali.” She stated seriously.
“I understand that you’re worried, but there’s no point in worrying before we get there. Are you sure that the desert is where they’ll be?”
“Absolutely sure.” Annie confirmed. “It’s the only direction they could run to.”
Ali simply nodded in agreement. She knew Annie was nervous with what she might find when she got to the desert and met up the remaining of the White Shadows. If her mother was not among them, she would have an attack. Honestly, Ali didn’t think Lena would be there. If someone had to stay behind, Lena would be the first to take the front and buy the others time. She wasn’t going to say that to Annie though, the girl was worried enough as it was.
Ali had distracted herself with her thoughts when she felt herself being pulled back by Annie. Her first instinct was to turn to the girl. The look on Annie’s face was of pure terror as she gad her eyes fixed on the path ahead. Ali followed her gazed and felt her blood chill as she caught the sight of an enormous pool of blood only a few meters away. Lying on the pool of blood was a familiar object… A very familiar object.
Ali froze. She had no idea what to do next and she could have stayed there just staring at the blood for hours, if it wasn’t for one little detail that slipped her mind.
“Why did you both stop?” She heard the younger boy ask behind her.
Ali turned to face her recruit and grabbed the boy by the shoulder, turning him towards the direction of the camp before he could see the blood. “Go get Evin.” She said.
“What?” The boy mumbled.
“You heard me, Owen! Go get Evin. Bring him here, it’s important! Go!” She pushed the boy until he started walking.
Annie was still staring at the blood. “It’s too much blood.” She mumbled.
“What are the chances of survival?” Ali asked, her back still turned to the blood.
“No one could survive losing this much blood. It’s not possible.” Annie stated. “Why have you sent for Evin?”
Ali lowered her head. Annie hadn’t realized what she had. “That…” She nodded towards the blood. “That is Bastian’s sword. Crys carried it with her at all times, and no one has seen her since yesterday.” She turned to face Annie. “That is why.”
The two girls waited in silence for the boy to do as he was told. Ali finally turned around to face the blood again. That's when she caught the letter in the dirt. B L A C K... The rest was blurred out. "Black, what?" She mumbled.
------------------------
[On the exact same place - Night before]
The pain of a blade and the warmth of pouring blood; those were the last things Crystal felt before finally falling into the cold ground. She managed to drag herself for a few miles, the smell of her own blood filling the air around her along with the wet dirt where she crawled. She didn’t know how long she had been there bleeding, but she knew she couldn’t possibly last much longer.
Lena had once told Crys that in the few moments before death, when you finally accept it as a reality, your most important memories come to mind. As Crys fell in and out of consciousness, that fact came to mind along with her mother’s voice.
“Stand up!” The voice pierced through the girl’s ears as she lay on the ground.
How to fight through the pain was the first thing Crys learned on her training. Because, for the first few months, pain was all there was.
“Come on, stand up!” Dani repeated.
The 12 year old girl didn’t move. Something she immediately regretted when feeling her mother’s boot hit her with full strength, knocking the air completely out of her. “React, Crystal!”
Crys whimpered, on the floor, trying to bring herself to breathe. She could hear her mother walking around her. She knew there was another hit coming at any moment, still… She couldn’t gather the strength to move. She simply lay there, painfully forcing air into her lungs, waiting for the lesson to end, one way or another.
The moment Dani kicked her again, she simply groaned. “Please, make it stop.” She mumbled.
“You make it stop.” Dani told her. “You can make it stop. The longer you stay down, the harder it’ll be to stand up. How long that will take is only up to you.”
Crys sighed, finally trying to pick herself up, the pain increasing at every move she made. She managed to get on her hands and knees, but the moment she did… She felt herself being kicked back to the ground. “Not fast enough!” Dani told her. “Now, come on, get on your feet!”
That was it, Crys simply couldn’t move anymore. There was just no way in hell. She sighed in relief as her father’s voice sounded, quietly, through the clearing. “That’s enough for today.”
Her mother sighed. “Very well. Take her to the healers, then. We’ll try this again when she is better.”
--------------
Hours later, Crys woke up in the healer’s cabin. Feeling every bone and muscle in her body aching. “Ow… Crap.” She mumbled.
“You really never stop whining, now, do you?” Crys heard her mother say.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“Manners…” Dani replied simply.
“Sorry.” Cry mumbled.
“It’s just training, Crystal. It’s not really personal and you shouldn’t see it that way.” Dani stated.
“You’re saying you are not being stricter with me than you would with others?” Crys asked, frowning.
“No… I didn’t say that. You are my daughter, Crystal. If you graduate, one day, you will lead this clan. When that happens, you should be ready. So, yes, I am harder on you than I am on others. I’m not training you to be a simple active; I’m training you to be a leader.”
Crys sighed. “Sure, whatever.”
“It’s not whatever. This isn’t a game.” Dani scolded. “Did you even understand what you were supposed to do?” She asked.
“I was supposed to stop you from beating the crap out of me, I assume.” Crys stated, trying to sit up a bit, but failing miserably.
“I would have settled for an honest attempt of a reaction. You just lay there and whined. I don’t understand why you convinced me to train you, so you can just conform to getting kicked around without even putting up a fight. Really, why are you wasting my time?”
Crys sighed. “I didn’t do well, then.”
“No. You didn’t even try. That’s not even failure. That’s less than a failure, and I’m extremely disappointed right now.”
Crys grew silent, turning away as if she could see the disapproving look in her mother’s eyes. The silence lingered for a few moments, and then Dani heaved a long sigh and spoke again, in a calmer tone. “This is the first lesson you need to learn, child: Fight through the pain. Because you will get hurt and if you can’t keep fighting, then you will be killed.” Dani ruffled the girl’s hair and chuckled. “Enjoy the pain kid, dead people can’t feel it.”
Crys groaned as she managed pull herself forward another inch or so, her fingers digging into the soft dirt. There was not enough strength in her to even think about where she was going, for all she knew she might even be crawling away from anyone who might be able to help. She could hear slow paced footsteps walking after her. She could feel this person and she knew him all her life. Now, he was there simply to watch her squirm. It was clear to her in the moment the first move was made; this game had been thoroughly planned and executed perfectly. With the knowledge that only someone who had known her for a lifetime could possibly have to share.
She knew who that person was before his voice reached her ears, a tone slightly above a whisper, respectful even if filled with contempt. “Don’t think I’ll put you out of your misery, Crystal. Not everyone deserves a quick demise and you know it, even though that’s what you preach to your recruits. I won’t bother to kick you while you’re down though, don’t want to get any blood on my shoes. I will just give you the satisfaction of knowing why you are going to die.” The pacing fastened a bit until the man was standing in her way. “See… Not long after your father died, I found out his little secret. I heard the Shadow Hunter and your mother talking about him. My father said that if Dani could forgive Theron, so could he, but… Lionel and me, we just couldn’t forget. Should we have just ignored the fact that the man who killed our mother was forgiven for his crimes as if her life was unimportant? Should we have ignored the fact that your father was the reason?” He muttered furiously, crouching down to speak closer to her.
He took a second to watch as she tried to speak, but since she failed, he simply went on. “It was too late to kill your old man for the harm he caused, but it’s not too late to cleanse this clan from his filthy existence. Without you to remind them of Dani and how she never failed them, when the time is just right, I will tell the world who Bastian Rivers really was… and The Pack will want to rid itself from any trace of your family and their betrayal. Before I do that, however, I will take care of my father’s killers. Your death should do the trick.” The voice told her before turning to walk away. “I would stay, but I have to go back and report before someone comes after me. As it seems, everything is in order here. I figure someone will find you in the morning. I hope it’s Allison… That would be priceless.”
Crys felt the anger burn inside of her, if she wasn’t already so weak she would have screamed, but that scream came out the only possible way and silent tears ran from her eyes. She gave up on trying to move forward, she couldn’t really feel her legs anymore. Her mind began to wander back to her attackers. They couldn’t be from the Pack, or could they? She would know them if they were, but maybe not, she was disoriented…
It was a bright sunny morning; Crys was sitting by the lake, her chin resting on her knees. Her expression made it clear that she was in a lousy mood. She looked as if she was forced to swallow something extremely bitter. She had fought with her mother the night before. Some things had been said, as usual. She was still unable to let go of that anger and being suspended really didn’t help her with it.
“You miss Jake, I get it.” Her father spoke behind her.
Crys didn’t say anything, she simply nodded.
Bastian sighed, walking over and sitting next to her. “Kiddo, I was once young and stupid like you and I was also a stranger in this camp. I know that it can be, at times, a cold and lonely place to be.” He put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “So tell me, why are you still not speaking to Allison? She is your only other friend.”
“She told.” Crys muttered.
“She told?” Bastian laughed. “What are you, five?”
“I’m not really angry at her. I’m just, letting her suffer a little.” She stated.
Bastian sighed. “You sent her on an assignment this morning thinking that you were angry with her. What if she fails?”
“What?” Crys asked, turning to face her father.
“What if she dies?” He asked. “What if she dies thinking that you are mad at her?”
“She’s not going to die, dad.” Crys frowned.
“Are you absolutely sure, kiddo? Can you really ever know when it’s the last time you’ll see someone?” Bastian asked in a serious tone.
Crys simply nodded. “Why won’t you and mom let me assume that people in my life won’t disappear overnight?” She muttered.
“Because, we would be allowing you take things for granted.” Bastian answered. “I’m not saying that everyone will leave you. I’m saying that you should value people in your life. You never how much impact you have on people or how much time you have with them.”
“Sure.” Crys sighed, leaning against him.
“Kiddo… When I was a kid myself, before I joined the Pack, I had a friend. This friend was closer to me than my own brother. When I left my past behind me I also left my friends, my brother… I was stupid to think that they would assume I was dead and move on. They didn’t, they had to avenge me. So they attacked the Pack. The Pack attacked back. Lives were lost and my friends… They are now dead.” Bastian sighed. “So, you see what I mean kiddo? One day, when you are about to face your end, you should be able to look back and have no regrets concerning the people you love.”
“Those friends… They were Wolf Hunters, right?” Crys asked, in a whisper.
“Yes. And I was one of them, a long time ago.” He answered. “When the Hunters attacked the Pack and killed your mother’s family I found myself face to face with my best friend. I saw the shock in his eyes when he saw me standing there alive.” Bastian made a pause and then sighed. “Lena didn’t forgive me for letting him go.”
“Why did you join the Pack, dad? Was it just because… “
“Was it just because of your mother? No. Not really.” Bastian answered before Crys could finish her question. “I came here because I had nothing to lose, and then… It didn’t take me long to realize that I had a completely distorted view of the people I was killing.”
“Does it matter? We have no view of the people we kill.” Crys said, frowning a bit.
“It mattered to me.” Bastian said simply. “And it also mattered that I let my friends suffer thinking I was dead. I regretted it… I still do.”
Crys snapped back into consciousness, once again. The thought she had been trying to push away finally took over her mind: “I’m not going to make it.” She thought. All she could do was leave something behind for whoever found her in the morning. At which moment she started to trace lines on the dirt, the best she could, while fighting to stay conscious.
“Ah, damn!” Crys exclaimed when the wooden sword connected with her forearm, a painful expression spreading across her features.
Lionel took a step back with a concerned look on his face. “Are you al-“
His sentence was interrupted by a full blow to the abdomen. “I’m perfectly alright. You, on the other hand, are now dead.” Crys stated with a little smirk.
“What the hell, Crys? I thought you were hurt!” Lionel complained.
“I am, and it hurts.” She rolled up her sleeve to show the mark where his training sword had hit her. “It doesn’t make me less dangerous, though.”
Lionel laughed out. “You’re an evil bitch, you know.”
“Maybe, but I killed you.” She smiled.
Lionel simply nodded and walked away.
“Care to try that trick on me?”
Crys froze to the sound of her father’s voice. “Dad…”
Bastian laughed. “No, it was good. You were losing and you used the means you had. Today you taught him a lesson. Tomorrow he will teach you one. “
“What is that?” Crys asked.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” He laughed. “He felt sorry for you. It was a mistake he won’t make again. So now, your problem is: What will you do when you’re losing tomorrow?”
“Suppose I’ll lose.” Crys stated.
“Then you’ll die. Is that it?” Bastian asked, with a chuckle. “It’s sad that you would rather die than actually improve.”
Crys sighed. “Fine...” She muttered, raising the training sword. “Show me what I did wrong.”
“Your attitude is what you did wrong.” Bastian stated, taking the sword from her. “Listen kiddo… I can excuse you if you’re not good enough. I can’t excuse you for not trying your very best.” He sighed. “It’s true that quitters never fail, but they are never anything more than just that: Quitters. You can be better than that. I know it, you know it. It’s about time you let others know as well.”
-------------------------------------------------
Crys was sitting by the lake later that night. It was a cold night, but she couldn’t sleep and being trapped inside four walls was starting to drive her crazy. She had been sitting there, playing her flute for a good while now, simply letting the music out without thinking much about it.
“That’s a nice tune. Did you write it?” Jake’s voice sounded behind her.
“I don’t know. Maybe I did… Or maybe I just heard it somewhere. I can’t really know. Don’t really care either.” She mumbled.
“Heh. Aren’t you delightful to talk to.” He stated, sitting down further away.
“No one is forcing you to do it.” She replied, going back to playing.
“Hum… You don’t wanna talk, huh?” He sighed. “Fine I’ll do all the talking. “ He stopped to think for a second, then started. “So, I got to accompany your dad on an assignment today. We went to Newhaven, it was fun. He finished early; we killed some time at the Inn, just got back an hour ago. How was your day?”
Crys didn’t answer.
“Ever been to the Newhaven Inn?” He asked.
Since she didn’t answer he just went on talking. “I really like it better than Blackpond. Those damn city guards always trying to get bribes out of people… They’re really annoying.”
Crys still didn’t answer, and she went on ignoring Jake until he pointed something out. “Your boots don’t match.” He mumbled, mostly to himself.
She stopped playing and raised a brow at him. “What?” She asked.
“The left one is brown and the right one is black.” He told her.
“Oh… Hum… They feel the same though.” She shrugged.
Jake stopped talking for a while, and then sighed. “Really? Boots can get you talking?”
She chuckled. “I’m more intrigued by the fact I’ve been walking with mismatched shoes all day and no one bothered to give me notice.”
Jake laughed out. “I am pretty sure they were afraid they’d offend you with that.”
Crys nodded. “I don’t see how I could be offended. I am blind after all.”
“Hum… Well, you know… Not all people respond well to having their… Disabilities, pointed out to them.” He explained.
Crys sighed. “I could only be offended if I considered myself disabled, I do not.” She explained. “Not once, out of the many times I felt like a complete failure, it had something to do with me being blind.” She shrugged. “If only it was that easy.”
“Something’s bothering you, I assume.” Jake said.
“You think?” She asked.
Jake went silent for a while, before speaking again. “Okay, well…” He took the flute off her hands. “Then I’ll play and you’ll speak.” He said, trying to play the flute and failing miserably.
Crys laughed, snatching it back. “Give me that!”
Jake chuckled. “Seriously… Tell me what the problem is. What have you got to lose?”
“I screwed up during a training session this morning.” She said.
“Aren’t you graduated yet?” Jake asked. ”You’re, what, seventeen?”
“I’ll turn sixteen in a month or so.” She mumbled. “And yes, I’m an active, but I still train.”
“In a month or so? You don’t know when your birthday is?” He snickered.
“Sure I do. It doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.” She said, smirking.
“Sure.” Jake said. “Who knows what I would do with that vital piece of information.” He sighed. “Well, I turn fourteen in a week. In case you feel like throwing me a party.”
Crys simply shrugged. “How old was your sister when she died?” She asked.
“Eighteen.” He said. “Why do you want to know about her?”
“Just asking.” Crys shrugged. “Do you remember your parents?”
“Not really.” He mumbled. “My mother died when I was three, my father was a soldier so we didn’t really see him much and he died only two years later. My sister pretty much raised me.”
“I see.” Crys said.
“No… You really don’t.” Jake answered, waving a hand in front of her eyes as if trying to confirm his statement.
Crys grabbed his wrist and smiled. “I don’t really need to though.”
“Yeah, well, guess which finger I’m holding up.” He laughed.
She nodded, releasing his hand. “Very funny.”
“Well, you’re smiling at least. So my work here is done.” He stated, getting up.
“Well, sure.” Crys chuckled. “My birthday is in exactly five weeks, by the way. If you throw me a party I’ll kill you.”
“No you won’t. You would be completely bored if I was gone.” Jake stated.
Crys groaned, as she tried to remember which letter she had just written. She could barely keep her focus long enough to remember what she had just finished doing. Halfway through it, she lost the ability to move.
“I can’t do this alone.” She had managed to mumble out to her mother.
“Stupid girl.” He mother scolded, laughing. “You are not alone Crystal. Wherever you go now the clan will follow.”
“Will they?” Crys asked.
Dani nodded. “Of course they will. You just have to give them the chance to know you.”
Crys nodded in agreement, not saying anything else until she heard her mother cough. “Mom?”
“It’s… Fine.” Dani managed to say before coughing for a little while longer. When she finally managed to stop she took what seemed to be a very painful breath.
“You’re in pain.” Crys stated. “Why won’t you let Lena give you medicine?”
“I don’t have that much time to waste sleeping, now do I? Besides, there is no pain where I’m going.”
Crys nodded again. Not being able to find words she wouldn’t choke on.
“Do you remember what we talked about? What is the first thing you have to do as soon as you take command?”
“Promote Evin. Why am I doing that again?” Crys mumbled.
“You’re doing it just because I asked you. Soon enough you will understand, or at least I hope.”
“Fine.” Crys sighed.
Dani chuckled. “Crystal… Have a little bit of patience.”
“I’ll do my best.” Crys stated.
“Good. Crys… Remember.” Dani mumbled.
“What?”
“Remember why you’re here.” She whispered.
“Did you just call me Crys?” Crys mumbled.
There was no answer. Crys simply sat there as she felt her mother slip away to a place where she would finally feel no pain.
The smell of blood, the pain, the cold… Everything began to leave Crys as she allowed herself to slip away. It was a release from everything she was forced to endure so far: The fighting, the crawling, the crying, the memories… It was all gone now.
And so was Crystal.
-----------------------
[Hours earlier]
Crys was walking down the same path where she had met the Knight named Thomas not so long ago. It was late at night and she had spent her day simply wandering around the forest, never in one place. The camp had remained calm all day and still, she felt the urge to escape as far away as possible from the battles the raged to the east and west of the forest.
She couldn’t really focus on anything with so much death around her at the same time, so she decided to go towards the desert and meet with whatever healers made it there. There were some questions she needed to have answered and, if Lena happened to be there, she could pressure her about her mother’s death.
It was a rather long and rather silent path to travel; A little too silent in fact. Crys suddenly realized that she couldn’t hear any sounds of birds or other animals around. She couldn’t really sense anything but the void of death coming from the battlefield. “Still, too damn close.” She mumbled to herself, kicking some dirt. Truth was… She knew nowhere would ever be far enough.
“What is wrong Crystal?” Crys heard her mother call from outside her door. It was the second day of Blackpond’s occupation of Newhaven, and Crys was curled up in her bed, shivering uncontrollably, drowning in grief. There was nothing that could be done about it.
“It’s fine mom.” She mumbled out, wincing as she heard the door open behind her back.
“No. It’s not. Don’t lie to me.” Her mother had told her, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Crys was facing the wall. She simply nodded because she really couldn’t manage much more than that. Then, her mother asked a question that pulled her attention from her agony completely: “How does it feel? Death.” Her mother asked.
Crys turned to face her with a small frown. “What do you mean?”
“How does it feel to you when someone dies? Why does it affect you this way?” Her mother elaborated the question further.
“I… Don’t know how to explain this.” Crys mumbled, sitting up. “It’s like… Imagine that every person I sense is a voice.”
“A voice?”
“Yes, a voice.” Crys confirmed. “It bothers me to have all these voices constantly nagging me and never silencing, but in a way I’m used to them. So, when one of them suddenly silences, it feels like a void. Like a part of me has been taken away.” She lowered her head and nodded. “It doesn’t help to know that we caused this.”
Her mother sighed. “I know how that feels, the guilt, but you can’t change what is already done Crystal. All we can do is move forward and try to make up for the damage in some way, a way that is within our reach. Do you understand?”
Crys nodded. “I do. It still doesn’t help.”
Almost a year passed since that first invasion. Crys had learned to cope with the everlasting sensation of death that hung over her like a shadow. Major battles like this, however, had the tendency to make her ‘senseless’ to anything else for quite some time. Which was probably why Crys never realized she was being followed until it was a few seconds too late.
Suddenly the sound of an explosion wounded her ears and, in the split second necessary for reality to hit, she was already on the ground, instinctively rolling away from someone who had jumped over her with a sword in hand.
She couldn’t sense her attacker and now her hearing was impaired. Whoever it was, knew her weaknesses pretty well. She couldn’t tell if it was someone she knew, though, and she didn’t really have the time to think about it either.
Jumping to her feet and unsheathing her sword, Crys stopped for a second trying to get a hold of her surroundings. Her attacker had stopped and she wondered why. It was only a split second, silence broken only by the ringing in her ears, a moment’s peace before battle raged upon the assassin leader as well.
The sounds of the metal blades colliding soon filled the clearing as the Katana blocked the enemy blade. Even if Crys was blocking and dodging fairly easily, she couldn’t help but think that this person was awfully skilled to be a simple soldier or mercenary. This person was above that, maybe even above Crys and, even though she was rarely seen fighting, there were few within the Pack that could truthfully say the same about themselves.
As the attacker’s blade finally managed to graze her face, Crys stopped as well as the man, flinching in face of his attitude. He was playing with her, buying time, or both, and she was simply playing along. The silence finally broken by a soft whisper: “How disappointing.”
Following the whisper, two arrows flew towards the blind girl at the same time, forcing her to throw herself into the dirt in order to avoid them. Now she knew that there were as least three people there. “Crap.” Crys muttered under her breath. She couldn’t even tell how many people were attacking her to begin with.
The swordsman was no longer where Crys had last perceived him, but he was still standing motionless. He knew that the more he walked around the easier it would be for her to locate him. The smell of gun powder was still filling the air around her, her ears were ringing, and the only thing her enlightenment could pick up on was the sense of death.
Crys lowered her head, taking a deep breath as she tried to focus. Suddenly she heard the subtle sound a boot dragging against the dirt: He was behind her. She unsheathed her Sai as she quickly pivoted, using the dagger to block the attack. She was immediately forced to raise the Katana when finding herself being attacked by a second blade coming from the opposite direction, and now she was fighting two people: A man and a woman.
The woman who had now joined in the sword fight was much more aggressive than her male companion and Crys perceived that the man had eventually decided to remain motionless while the woman attacked with a fury. Crys even perceived herself to be smirking in response to the woman’s emotions: She was thoroughly enjoying this.
Crys fought the woman evenly for what felt like hours until, in one split second when she could perceive an opening; she managed to slash at the woman’s abdomen. Hadn’t the woman been quick enough to jump back as the blade of the Katana slashed in her direction she would have been killed right there.
That seemed to have caused a sudden change of attitude in the male attacker; the man advanced with a fury that simply didn’t seem to be in him moments before. His female companion rejoined the fighting moments after and then, as Crys felt herself stuck trying to block both attackers, she felt a third blade run clean through her gut.
A simple gasp was all she could manage as the pain invaded her body and, as the blade was pulled out, Crystal Rivers fell with a final advice from the man who seemed to be coordinating her assassination: “Don’t fight it.” He whispered. “It will all be over soon.”
Ali woke up early to walk Annie to the desert, as promised. She allowed her recruit to tag along with them since she felt it would be good for him after spending the last day doing manual labor around camp. The boy seemed cheerful to be tagging along, even if he made sure to walk a few steps behind the two girls so that they could talk freely.
“This is funny.” Annie stated.
“What?” Ali asked, turning to look at her.
Annie nodded towards the boy. “He actually respects you.”
Ali chuckled. “Sure. I’m his instructor after all.” She said with a small shrug. “He’s an alright kid, just really not the brightest sometimes.”
“I’m sure Crys used to say the same about you.” Annie stated, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Used to? She still does.” Ali laughed.
Annie smiled. “I bet she does.” She sighed. “I hope my mom is alright. I just have this feeling that something is wrong.” She mumbled.
Ali sighed and put one arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Annie, there isn’t a soldier in Blackpond that could actually harm your mother. The woman is unbreakable.”
Annie nodded. “Nothing is unbreakable, Ali.” She stated seriously.
“I understand that you’re worried, but there’s no point in worrying before we get there. Are you sure that the desert is where they’ll be?”
“Absolutely sure.” Annie confirmed. “It’s the only direction they could run to.”
Ali simply nodded in agreement. She knew Annie was nervous with what she might find when she got to the desert and met up the remaining of the White Shadows. If her mother was not among them, she would have an attack. Honestly, Ali didn’t think Lena would be there. If someone had to stay behind, Lena would be the first to take the front and buy the others time. She wasn’t going to say that to Annie though, the girl was worried enough as it was.
Ali had distracted herself with her thoughts when she felt herself being pulled back by Annie. Her first instinct was to turn to the girl. The look on Annie’s face was of pure terror as she gad her eyes fixed on the path ahead. Ali followed her gazed and felt her blood chill as she caught the sight of an enormous pool of blood only a few meters away. Lying on the pool of blood was a familiar object… A very familiar object.
Ali froze. She had no idea what to do next and she could have stayed there just staring at the blood for hours, if it wasn’t for one little detail that slipped her mind.
“Why did you both stop?” She heard the younger boy ask behind her.
Ali turned to face her recruit and grabbed the boy by the shoulder, turning him towards the direction of the camp before he could see the blood. “Go get Evin.” She said.
“What?” The boy mumbled.
“You heard me, Owen! Go get Evin. Bring him here, it’s important! Go!” She pushed the boy until he started walking.
Annie was still staring at the blood. “It’s too much blood.” She mumbled.
“What are the chances of survival?” Ali asked, her back still turned to the blood.
“No one could survive losing this much blood. It’s not possible.” Annie stated. “Why have you sent for Evin?”
Ali lowered her head. Annie hadn’t realized what she had. “That…” She nodded towards the blood. “That is Bastian’s sword. Crys carried it with her at all times, and no one has seen her since yesterday.” She turned to face Annie. “That is why.”
The two girls waited in silence for the boy to do as he was told. Ali finally turned around to face the blood again. That's when she caught the letter in the dirt. B L A C K... The rest was blurred out. "Black, what?" She mumbled.
------------------------
[On the exact same place - Night before]
The pain of a blade and the warmth of pouring blood; those were the last things Crystal felt before finally falling into the cold ground. She managed to drag herself for a few miles, the smell of her own blood filling the air around her along with the wet dirt where she crawled. She didn’t know how long she had been there bleeding, but she knew she couldn’t possibly last much longer.
Lena had once told Crys that in the few moments before death, when you finally accept it as a reality, your most important memories come to mind. As Crys fell in and out of consciousness, that fact came to mind along with her mother’s voice.
“Stand up!” The voice pierced through the girl’s ears as she lay on the ground.
How to fight through the pain was the first thing Crys learned on her training. Because, for the first few months, pain was all there was.
“Come on, stand up!” Dani repeated.
The 12 year old girl didn’t move. Something she immediately regretted when feeling her mother’s boot hit her with full strength, knocking the air completely out of her. “React, Crystal!”
Crys whimpered, on the floor, trying to bring herself to breathe. She could hear her mother walking around her. She knew there was another hit coming at any moment, still… She couldn’t gather the strength to move. She simply lay there, painfully forcing air into her lungs, waiting for the lesson to end, one way or another.
The moment Dani kicked her again, she simply groaned. “Please, make it stop.” She mumbled.
“You make it stop.” Dani told her. “You can make it stop. The longer you stay down, the harder it’ll be to stand up. How long that will take is only up to you.”
Crys sighed, finally trying to pick herself up, the pain increasing at every move she made. She managed to get on her hands and knees, but the moment she did… She felt herself being kicked back to the ground. “Not fast enough!” Dani told her. “Now, come on, get on your feet!”
That was it, Crys simply couldn’t move anymore. There was just no way in hell. She sighed in relief as her father’s voice sounded, quietly, through the clearing. “That’s enough for today.”
Her mother sighed. “Very well. Take her to the healers, then. We’ll try this again when she is better.”
--------------
Hours later, Crys woke up in the healer’s cabin. Feeling every bone and muscle in her body aching. “Ow… Crap.” She mumbled.
“You really never stop whining, now, do you?” Crys heard her mother say.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“Manners…” Dani replied simply.
“Sorry.” Cry mumbled.
“It’s just training, Crystal. It’s not really personal and you shouldn’t see it that way.” Dani stated.
“You’re saying you are not being stricter with me than you would with others?” Crys asked, frowning.
“No… I didn’t say that. You are my daughter, Crystal. If you graduate, one day, you will lead this clan. When that happens, you should be ready. So, yes, I am harder on you than I am on others. I’m not training you to be a simple active; I’m training you to be a leader.”
Crys sighed. “Sure, whatever.”
“It’s not whatever. This isn’t a game.” Dani scolded. “Did you even understand what you were supposed to do?” She asked.
“I was supposed to stop you from beating the crap out of me, I assume.” Crys stated, trying to sit up a bit, but failing miserably.
“I would have settled for an honest attempt of a reaction. You just lay there and whined. I don’t understand why you convinced me to train you, so you can just conform to getting kicked around without even putting up a fight. Really, why are you wasting my time?”
Crys sighed. “I didn’t do well, then.”
“No. You didn’t even try. That’s not even failure. That’s less than a failure, and I’m extremely disappointed right now.”
Crys grew silent, turning away as if she could see the disapproving look in her mother’s eyes. The silence lingered for a few moments, and then Dani heaved a long sigh and spoke again, in a calmer tone. “This is the first lesson you need to learn, child: Fight through the pain. Because you will get hurt and if you can’t keep fighting, then you will be killed.” Dani ruffled the girl’s hair and chuckled. “Enjoy the pain kid, dead people can’t feel it.”
Crys groaned as she managed pull herself forward another inch or so, her fingers digging into the soft dirt. There was not enough strength in her to even think about where she was going, for all she knew she might even be crawling away from anyone who might be able to help. She could hear slow paced footsteps walking after her. She could feel this person and she knew him all her life. Now, he was there simply to watch her squirm. It was clear to her in the moment the first move was made; this game had been thoroughly planned and executed perfectly. With the knowledge that only someone who had known her for a lifetime could possibly have to share.
She knew who that person was before his voice reached her ears, a tone slightly above a whisper, respectful even if filled with contempt. “Don’t think I’ll put you out of your misery, Crystal. Not everyone deserves a quick demise and you know it, even though that’s what you preach to your recruits. I won’t bother to kick you while you’re down though, don’t want to get any blood on my shoes. I will just give you the satisfaction of knowing why you are going to die.” The pacing fastened a bit until the man was standing in her way. “See… Not long after your father died, I found out his little secret. I heard the Shadow Hunter and your mother talking about him. My father said that if Dani could forgive Theron, so could he, but… Lionel and me, we just couldn’t forget. Should we have just ignored the fact that the man who killed our mother was forgiven for his crimes as if her life was unimportant? Should we have ignored the fact that your father was the reason?” He muttered furiously, crouching down to speak closer to her.
He took a second to watch as she tried to speak, but since she failed, he simply went on. “It was too late to kill your old man for the harm he caused, but it’s not too late to cleanse this clan from his filthy existence. Without you to remind them of Dani and how she never failed them, when the time is just right, I will tell the world who Bastian Rivers really was… and The Pack will want to rid itself from any trace of your family and their betrayal. Before I do that, however, I will take care of my father’s killers. Your death should do the trick.” The voice told her before turning to walk away. “I would stay, but I have to go back and report before someone comes after me. As it seems, everything is in order here. I figure someone will find you in the morning. I hope it’s Allison… That would be priceless.”
Crys felt the anger burn inside of her, if she wasn’t already so weak she would have screamed, but that scream came out the only possible way and silent tears ran from her eyes. She gave up on trying to move forward, she couldn’t really feel her legs anymore. Her mind began to wander back to her attackers. They couldn’t be from the Pack, or could they? She would know them if they were, but maybe not, she was disoriented…
It was a bright sunny morning; Crys was sitting by the lake, her chin resting on her knees. Her expression made it clear that she was in a lousy mood. She looked as if she was forced to swallow something extremely bitter. She had fought with her mother the night before. Some things had been said, as usual. She was still unable to let go of that anger and being suspended really didn’t help her with it.
“You miss Jake, I get it.” Her father spoke behind her.
Crys didn’t say anything, she simply nodded.
Bastian sighed, walking over and sitting next to her. “Kiddo, I was once young and stupid like you and I was also a stranger in this camp. I know that it can be, at times, a cold and lonely place to be.” He put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “So tell me, why are you still not speaking to Allison? She is your only other friend.”
“She told.” Crys muttered.
“She told?” Bastian laughed. “What are you, five?”
“I’m not really angry at her. I’m just, letting her suffer a little.” She stated.
Bastian sighed. “You sent her on an assignment this morning thinking that you were angry with her. What if she fails?”
“What?” Crys asked, turning to face her father.
“What if she dies?” He asked. “What if she dies thinking that you are mad at her?”
“She’s not going to die, dad.” Crys frowned.
“Are you absolutely sure, kiddo? Can you really ever know when it’s the last time you’ll see someone?” Bastian asked in a serious tone.
Crys simply nodded. “Why won’t you and mom let me assume that people in my life won’t disappear overnight?” She muttered.
“Because, we would be allowing you take things for granted.” Bastian answered. “I’m not saying that everyone will leave you. I’m saying that you should value people in your life. You never how much impact you have on people or how much time you have with them.”
“Sure.” Crys sighed, leaning against him.
“Kiddo… When I was a kid myself, before I joined the Pack, I had a friend. This friend was closer to me than my own brother. When I left my past behind me I also left my friends, my brother… I was stupid to think that they would assume I was dead and move on. They didn’t, they had to avenge me. So they attacked the Pack. The Pack attacked back. Lives were lost and my friends… They are now dead.” Bastian sighed. “So, you see what I mean kiddo? One day, when you are about to face your end, you should be able to look back and have no regrets concerning the people you love.”
“Those friends… They were Wolf Hunters, right?” Crys asked, in a whisper.
“Yes. And I was one of them, a long time ago.” He answered. “When the Hunters attacked the Pack and killed your mother’s family I found myself face to face with my best friend. I saw the shock in his eyes when he saw me standing there alive.” Bastian made a pause and then sighed. “Lena didn’t forgive me for letting him go.”
“Why did you join the Pack, dad? Was it just because… “
“Was it just because of your mother? No. Not really.” Bastian answered before Crys could finish her question. “I came here because I had nothing to lose, and then… It didn’t take me long to realize that I had a completely distorted view of the people I was killing.”
“Does it matter? We have no view of the people we kill.” Crys said, frowning a bit.
“It mattered to me.” Bastian said simply. “And it also mattered that I let my friends suffer thinking I was dead. I regretted it… I still do.”
Crys snapped back into consciousness, once again. The thought she had been trying to push away finally took over her mind: “I’m not going to make it.” She thought. All she could do was leave something behind for whoever found her in the morning. At which moment she started to trace lines on the dirt, the best she could, while fighting to stay conscious.
“Ah, damn!” Crys exclaimed when the wooden sword connected with her forearm, a painful expression spreading across her features.
Lionel took a step back with a concerned look on his face. “Are you al-“
His sentence was interrupted by a full blow to the abdomen. “I’m perfectly alright. You, on the other hand, are now dead.” Crys stated with a little smirk.
“What the hell, Crys? I thought you were hurt!” Lionel complained.
“I am, and it hurts.” She rolled up her sleeve to show the mark where his training sword had hit her. “It doesn’t make me less dangerous, though.”
Lionel laughed out. “You’re an evil bitch, you know.”
“Maybe, but I killed you.” She smiled.
Lionel simply nodded and walked away.
“Care to try that trick on me?”
Crys froze to the sound of her father’s voice. “Dad…”
Bastian laughed. “No, it was good. You were losing and you used the means you had. Today you taught him a lesson. Tomorrow he will teach you one. “
“What is that?” Crys asked.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” He laughed. “He felt sorry for you. It was a mistake he won’t make again. So now, your problem is: What will you do when you’re losing tomorrow?”
“Suppose I’ll lose.” Crys stated.
“Then you’ll die. Is that it?” Bastian asked, with a chuckle. “It’s sad that you would rather die than actually improve.”
Crys sighed. “Fine...” She muttered, raising the training sword. “Show me what I did wrong.”
“Your attitude is what you did wrong.” Bastian stated, taking the sword from her. “Listen kiddo… I can excuse you if you’re not good enough. I can’t excuse you for not trying your very best.” He sighed. “It’s true that quitters never fail, but they are never anything more than just that: Quitters. You can be better than that. I know it, you know it. It’s about time you let others know as well.”
-------------------------------------------------
Crys was sitting by the lake later that night. It was a cold night, but she couldn’t sleep and being trapped inside four walls was starting to drive her crazy. She had been sitting there, playing her flute for a good while now, simply letting the music out without thinking much about it.
“That’s a nice tune. Did you write it?” Jake’s voice sounded behind her.
“I don’t know. Maybe I did… Or maybe I just heard it somewhere. I can’t really know. Don’t really care either.” She mumbled.
“Heh. Aren’t you delightful to talk to.” He stated, sitting down further away.
“No one is forcing you to do it.” She replied, going back to playing.
“Hum… You don’t wanna talk, huh?” He sighed. “Fine I’ll do all the talking. “ He stopped to think for a second, then started. “So, I got to accompany your dad on an assignment today. We went to Newhaven, it was fun. He finished early; we killed some time at the Inn, just got back an hour ago. How was your day?”
Crys didn’t answer.
“Ever been to the Newhaven Inn?” He asked.
Since she didn’t answer he just went on talking. “I really like it better than Blackpond. Those damn city guards always trying to get bribes out of people… They’re really annoying.”
Crys still didn’t answer, and she went on ignoring Jake until he pointed something out. “Your boots don’t match.” He mumbled, mostly to himself.
She stopped playing and raised a brow at him. “What?” She asked.
“The left one is brown and the right one is black.” He told her.
“Oh… Hum… They feel the same though.” She shrugged.
Jake stopped talking for a while, and then sighed. “Really? Boots can get you talking?”
She chuckled. “I’m more intrigued by the fact I’ve been walking with mismatched shoes all day and no one bothered to give me notice.”
Jake laughed out. “I am pretty sure they were afraid they’d offend you with that.”
Crys nodded. “I don’t see how I could be offended. I am blind after all.”
“Hum… Well, you know… Not all people respond well to having their… Disabilities, pointed out to them.” He explained.
Crys sighed. “I could only be offended if I considered myself disabled, I do not.” She explained. “Not once, out of the many times I felt like a complete failure, it had something to do with me being blind.” She shrugged. “If only it was that easy.”
“Something’s bothering you, I assume.” Jake said.
“You think?” She asked.
Jake went silent for a while, before speaking again. “Okay, well…” He took the flute off her hands. “Then I’ll play and you’ll speak.” He said, trying to play the flute and failing miserably.
Crys laughed, snatching it back. “Give me that!”
Jake chuckled. “Seriously… Tell me what the problem is. What have you got to lose?”
“I screwed up during a training session this morning.” She said.
“Aren’t you graduated yet?” Jake asked. ”You’re, what, seventeen?”
“I’ll turn sixteen in a month or so.” She mumbled. “And yes, I’m an active, but I still train.”
“In a month or so? You don’t know when your birthday is?” He snickered.
“Sure I do. It doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.” She said, smirking.
“Sure.” Jake said. “Who knows what I would do with that vital piece of information.” He sighed. “Well, I turn fourteen in a week. In case you feel like throwing me a party.”
Crys simply shrugged. “How old was your sister when she died?” She asked.
“Eighteen.” He said. “Why do you want to know about her?”
“Just asking.” Crys shrugged. “Do you remember your parents?”
“Not really.” He mumbled. “My mother died when I was three, my father was a soldier so we didn’t really see him much and he died only two years later. My sister pretty much raised me.”
“I see.” Crys said.
“No… You really don’t.” Jake answered, waving a hand in front of her eyes as if trying to confirm his statement.
Crys grabbed his wrist and smiled. “I don’t really need to though.”
“Yeah, well, guess which finger I’m holding up.” He laughed.
She nodded, releasing his hand. “Very funny.”
“Well, you’re smiling at least. So my work here is done.” He stated, getting up.
“Well, sure.” Crys chuckled. “My birthday is in exactly five weeks, by the way. If you throw me a party I’ll kill you.”
“No you won’t. You would be completely bored if I was gone.” Jake stated.
Crys groaned, as she tried to remember which letter she had just written. She could barely keep her focus long enough to remember what she had just finished doing. Halfway through it, she lost the ability to move.
“I can’t do this alone.” She had managed to mumble out to her mother.
“Stupid girl.” He mother scolded, laughing. “You are not alone Crystal. Wherever you go now the clan will follow.”
“Will they?” Crys asked.
Dani nodded. “Of course they will. You just have to give them the chance to know you.”
Crys nodded in agreement, not saying anything else until she heard her mother cough. “Mom?”
“It’s… Fine.” Dani managed to say before coughing for a little while longer. When she finally managed to stop she took what seemed to be a very painful breath.
“You’re in pain.” Crys stated. “Why won’t you let Lena give you medicine?”
“I don’t have that much time to waste sleeping, now do I? Besides, there is no pain where I’m going.”
Crys nodded again. Not being able to find words she wouldn’t choke on.
“Do you remember what we talked about? What is the first thing you have to do as soon as you take command?”
“Promote Evin. Why am I doing that again?” Crys mumbled.
“You’re doing it just because I asked you. Soon enough you will understand, or at least I hope.”
“Fine.” Crys sighed.
Dani chuckled. “Crystal… Have a little bit of patience.”
“I’ll do my best.” Crys stated.
“Good. Crys… Remember.” Dani mumbled.
“What?”
“Remember why you’re here.” She whispered.
“Did you just call me Crys?” Crys mumbled.
There was no answer. Crys simply sat there as she felt her mother slip away to a place where she would finally feel no pain.
The smell of blood, the pain, the cold… Everything began to leave Crys as she allowed herself to slip away. It was a release from everything she was forced to endure so far: The fighting, the crawling, the crying, the memories… It was all gone now.
And so was Crystal.
-----------------------
[Hours earlier]
Crys was walking down the same path where she had met the Knight named Thomas not so long ago. It was late at night and she had spent her day simply wandering around the forest, never in one place. The camp had remained calm all day and still, she felt the urge to escape as far away as possible from the battles the raged to the east and west of the forest.
She couldn’t really focus on anything with so much death around her at the same time, so she decided to go towards the desert and meet with whatever healers made it there. There were some questions she needed to have answered and, if Lena happened to be there, she could pressure her about her mother’s death.
It was a rather long and rather silent path to travel; A little too silent in fact. Crys suddenly realized that she couldn’t hear any sounds of birds or other animals around. She couldn’t really sense anything but the void of death coming from the battlefield. “Still, too damn close.” She mumbled to herself, kicking some dirt. Truth was… She knew nowhere would ever be far enough.
“What is wrong Crystal?” Crys heard her mother call from outside her door. It was the second day of Blackpond’s occupation of Newhaven, and Crys was curled up in her bed, shivering uncontrollably, drowning in grief. There was nothing that could be done about it.
“It’s fine mom.” She mumbled out, wincing as she heard the door open behind her back.
“No. It’s not. Don’t lie to me.” Her mother had told her, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Crys was facing the wall. She simply nodded because she really couldn’t manage much more than that. Then, her mother asked a question that pulled her attention from her agony completely: “How does it feel? Death.” Her mother asked.
Crys turned to face her with a small frown. “What do you mean?”
“How does it feel to you when someone dies? Why does it affect you this way?” Her mother elaborated the question further.
“I… Don’t know how to explain this.” Crys mumbled, sitting up. “It’s like… Imagine that every person I sense is a voice.”
“A voice?”
“Yes, a voice.” Crys confirmed. “It bothers me to have all these voices constantly nagging me and never silencing, but in a way I’m used to them. So, when one of them suddenly silences, it feels like a void. Like a part of me has been taken away.” She lowered her head and nodded. “It doesn’t help to know that we caused this.”
Her mother sighed. “I know how that feels, the guilt, but you can’t change what is already done Crystal. All we can do is move forward and try to make up for the damage in some way, a way that is within our reach. Do you understand?”
Crys nodded. “I do. It still doesn’t help.”
Almost a year passed since that first invasion. Crys had learned to cope with the everlasting sensation of death that hung over her like a shadow. Major battles like this, however, had the tendency to make her ‘senseless’ to anything else for quite some time. Which was probably why Crys never realized she was being followed until it was a few seconds too late.
Suddenly the sound of an explosion wounded her ears and, in the split second necessary for reality to hit, she was already on the ground, instinctively rolling away from someone who had jumped over her with a sword in hand.
She couldn’t sense her attacker and now her hearing was impaired. Whoever it was, knew her weaknesses pretty well. She couldn’t tell if it was someone she knew, though, and she didn’t really have the time to think about it either.
Jumping to her feet and unsheathing her sword, Crys stopped for a second trying to get a hold of her surroundings. Her attacker had stopped and she wondered why. It was only a split second, silence broken only by the ringing in her ears, a moment’s peace before battle raged upon the assassin leader as well.
The sounds of the metal blades colliding soon filled the clearing as the Katana blocked the enemy blade. Even if Crys was blocking and dodging fairly easily, she couldn’t help but think that this person was awfully skilled to be a simple soldier or mercenary. This person was above that, maybe even above Crys and, even though she was rarely seen fighting, there were few within the Pack that could truthfully say the same about themselves.
As the attacker’s blade finally managed to graze her face, Crys stopped as well as the man, flinching in face of his attitude. He was playing with her, buying time, or both, and she was simply playing along. The silence finally broken by a soft whisper: “How disappointing.”
Following the whisper, two arrows flew towards the blind girl at the same time, forcing her to throw herself into the dirt in order to avoid them. Now she knew that there were as least three people there. “Crap.” Crys muttered under her breath. She couldn’t even tell how many people were attacking her to begin with.
The swordsman was no longer where Crys had last perceived him, but he was still standing motionless. He knew that the more he walked around the easier it would be for her to locate him. The smell of gun powder was still filling the air around her, her ears were ringing, and the only thing her enlightenment could pick up on was the sense of death.
Crys lowered her head, taking a deep breath as she tried to focus. Suddenly she heard the subtle sound a boot dragging against the dirt: He was behind her. She unsheathed her Sai as she quickly pivoted, using the dagger to block the attack. She was immediately forced to raise the Katana when finding herself being attacked by a second blade coming from the opposite direction, and now she was fighting two people: A man and a woman.
The woman who had now joined in the sword fight was much more aggressive than her male companion and Crys perceived that the man had eventually decided to remain motionless while the woman attacked with a fury. Crys even perceived herself to be smirking in response to the woman’s emotions: She was thoroughly enjoying this.
Crys fought the woman evenly for what felt like hours until, in one split second when she could perceive an opening; she managed to slash at the woman’s abdomen. Hadn’t the woman been quick enough to jump back as the blade of the Katana slashed in her direction she would have been killed right there.
That seemed to have caused a sudden change of attitude in the male attacker; the man advanced with a fury that simply didn’t seem to be in him moments before. His female companion rejoined the fighting moments after and then, as Crys felt herself stuck trying to block both attackers, she felt a third blade run clean through her gut.
A simple gasp was all she could manage as the pain invaded her body and, as the blade was pulled out, Crystal Rivers fell with a final advice from the man who seemed to be coordinating her assassination: “Don’t fight it.” He whispered. “It will all be over soon.”
The aftermath of fighting was always harder to bear than the battle itself. Mageria took a precious moment where there weren’t wounded waiting for help to tend to her own wounds. The cuts across her face weren’t serious, but they were annoying. She used a mirror to scrub the blood and debris from the cuts and to make sure that they didn’t go deeper than she thought. Suddenly something strange caught her eye. Frowning, she leaned in closer, brushing her hair out of the way gently pulling her eyelids open wider. There across the whites of both eyes was a faint black spiderweb pattern, which was terribly familiar.
Sudden flash of memory. The boy, in the prison riot. He had been so young, it had struck her as strange that he had been there in that instant before he reached out and touched her. If she hadn’t been distracted by someone else, it would never have happened. But she had been and he had gotten her. Mageria bowed her head and silently ran through every swear phrase she knew. Dark Mirror. That kid who hit her with the terror casting down in the riots had been Dark Mirror.
Dark Mirror had haunted the Lower City for almost a year before the knights had managed to catch him. He was Enlightened, but it was more of a gift than a curse. The first thing that he did when he chose a victim was to cause intense terror. If the victim managed to survive that; and a few hadn’t, instead dying of fear on the spot; then they slowly went insane over the next few weeks or months. The Knights had given him the name Dark Mirror based on what one of the victims had talked about. She had been confined to one of the private cells after she attacked her family; raving about how her dark self was the one who had done it, not her.
“It’s there. It’s always there. Every mistake, every regret. It’s all there and it won’t go away.” She had started sobbing. “It’s me and it’s not me. How can it not be me?” She had later committed suicide by chewing through her wrist one night. Looking back through the records, they had found a number of cases where similar things had happened. It seems that once Dark Mirror found a victim, they either died from fear, went insane, or started attacking the people around them. Once they had consulted the White Shadows, it had been theorized that if perhaps the victim could conquer the darker parts of themselves, then they might survive. But no one had managed that before they captured the boy. And there was no chance that she was going to be able to get clear of this mess to get help any time soon.
Taking a deep breath, Mageria forced herself to stand up and act like nothing was wrong. She had time before things got much worse. Time enough for her to take care of things. Best guess, she had a couple of weeks, maybe a month and a half before she went completely nuts. She finished cleaning her wounds and walked out, noticing that a few more people had been brought in. Grabbing a basin and her supplies, she went to work.
“Hello Mageria. It’s been a while; since you killed me.” Captain Morgan smiled in his usual ice cold way, blue eyes devoid of any hint of anything human. “Perhaps I can return the favor.” He touched the spot on his chest where her sword had pierced, still bloody and seeping. Without a sound he pulled his own sword from its sheath and lunged toward her. She was paralyzed and helpless; all she could do was stand there as her former Captain’s sword plunged deep into her chest. She gagged on the pain, finally able to move as she reached up in a futile effort to pull it from her chest . . .
With a muffled oath Mageria bolted upright from the wall she had been leaning on. The fight at the gate had settled into a siege since Blackpond first attacked. For a couple hours she had moved back and forth between the Castle and the Lower City, but after that she had simply remained at the battle lines. She had arranged a rotating cycle of men who were fighting in the streets while the few others she could spare had taken up residence in a few warehouses and residences. The situation in the Castle was also not the best. The assassins that Hastings had been screaming about were real after all. They had attacked while the majority of their forces had been concentrated at the gate. They had struck at the nobles in the hopes of creating chaos, and it had been an effective strike. Five nobles had been killed, four others injured. Of the guards that responded to the attack, three of them were dead, eight seriously injured. Thomas was among that number, being stabbed in the gut while protecting the Lady Sarris. They would survive, but wouldn’t be fighting hand to hand for a while. At the last, two of the servants were dead, apparently simply because they got in the way. Of the attackers, two were dead and it was thought that three others were injured. Which was something, she supposed.
The nightmares had started not too long after the siege. It was bad enough that she was getting by on just a few hours of rest a day, to have it interrupted by never ending nightmares was almost almost enough to make her complain. At least wearing a helm all the time as part of being a Black Knight made it easy to hide the spider webs across her eyes.
With a bone deep sigh, Mageria got up and looked around. She was in a home not to far from the fighting that she had taken over as a headquarters. Maps were spread across the front room and supplies were stocked. In the back it was set up as a makeshift triage area with one overwhelmed medic on duty. In one of the more sheltered rooms her illusionist team was working on keeping Hastings’s spys from finding anything useful. It was a never ending effort of them throwing up an illusion and her breaking it down. But they refused to give up trying and as long as they were willing she was going to let them. Rubbing one hand across her face, she found something resembling food and listened to reports as she ate without tasting it, staring at a set of maps of the Lower City with small markers on it to depict where people were.
“Pull this line of foot soldiers back and let them eat. Archers, bows and crossbows at sniper positions. Cover and harassment fire whenever you can manage it. Anybody who can, I want them to chip away at the Blackpond forces. Hit and run, mess with their supplies, don’t let them sleep, whatever you can do.” She rubbed her hand through her hair and dully started to rebraid it so she could wrap it around her head.
“Think creatively people. We have the home front advantage, but only if we aren’t shy about using it. Crawl through the damn sewers if you have to. And thats another thing. I want people watching every entrance and exit, and I do mean every single one, to the Castle. Don’t let the nobles get away with the whole private room crap they keep trying to pull. If they want to be safe, they can bunk with everyone else in the great rooms. We don’t have enough people to cover the bedrooms.” She finished off her braid and secured it, settling her helm in place and tapping it to make sure it was secure. Her armor was scuffed and scratched from her earlier fights, long claw marks showing where the beast she had fought had narrowly missed taking off her head or spilling her guts onto the ground. Not the typical appearance of a Black Knight, but she didn’t have the time to get a nice new set of properly ominous armor.
Mageria checked her various weapons before she headed out. Once she knew that they were all secure, she left the shelter; given that she couldn’t afford to be anything less than absolutely paranoid, she did so out the second story window, dropping down onto the roof of the building next door. The city’s urchins had created an entire network of roads up above the ground and she had learned them as well as she could. Now that was paying off as her soldiers were able to get from place to place almost safely. Reaching an observation point, she leaned against a raised bit of wall and looked out over the battle site. “What do we have thus far?”
She looked to her right and had to suppress a shudder. A young private was curled up in the corner, with rats crawling all over her. She referred to herself as a rat charmer and was currently using that ability to send the numerous rats of the Lower City into the area that Blackpond had claimed. Soon there wouldn’t be a scrap of food, a safe place to sleep or a clean bit of water over there. It was a terribly useful gift in a situation like this but still, it was disconcerting.
Shaking her head, Mageria turned back to examining the fight. Part of her mind was consumed with worry for Grim, whom she hadn’t heard from since before this all began. He had gone to ask the White Shadows about the rumors about the King; given that the boy had told them that the White Shadows were being attacked, she could guess that he had stayed to help them. If he had been injured and there was no one with the proper knowledge to help him . . . . Mageria forced herself to concentrate. Grim could take care of himself, her duty was to keep as many people alive as she could, herself included.
Sudden flash of memory. The boy, in the prison riot. He had been so young, it had struck her as strange that he had been there in that instant before he reached out and touched her. If she hadn’t been distracted by someone else, it would never have happened. But she had been and he had gotten her. Mageria bowed her head and silently ran through every swear phrase she knew. Dark Mirror. That kid who hit her with the terror casting down in the riots had been Dark Mirror.
Dark Mirror had haunted the Lower City for almost a year before the knights had managed to catch him. He was Enlightened, but it was more of a gift than a curse. The first thing that he did when he chose a victim was to cause intense terror. If the victim managed to survive that; and a few hadn’t, instead dying of fear on the spot; then they slowly went insane over the next few weeks or months. The Knights had given him the name Dark Mirror based on what one of the victims had talked about. She had been confined to one of the private cells after she attacked her family; raving about how her dark self was the one who had done it, not her.
“It’s there. It’s always there. Every mistake, every regret. It’s all there and it won’t go away.” She had started sobbing. “It’s me and it’s not me. How can it not be me?” She had later committed suicide by chewing through her wrist one night. Looking back through the records, they had found a number of cases where similar things had happened. It seems that once Dark Mirror found a victim, they either died from fear, went insane, or started attacking the people around them. Once they had consulted the White Shadows, it had been theorized that if perhaps the victim could conquer the darker parts of themselves, then they might survive. But no one had managed that before they captured the boy. And there was no chance that she was going to be able to get clear of this mess to get help any time soon.
Taking a deep breath, Mageria forced herself to stand up and act like nothing was wrong. She had time before things got much worse. Time enough for her to take care of things. Best guess, she had a couple of weeks, maybe a month and a half before she went completely nuts. She finished cleaning her wounds and walked out, noticing that a few more people had been brought in. Grabbing a basin and her supplies, she went to work.
“Hello Mageria. It’s been a while; since you killed me.” Captain Morgan smiled in his usual ice cold way, blue eyes devoid of any hint of anything human. “Perhaps I can return the favor.” He touched the spot on his chest where her sword had pierced, still bloody and seeping. Without a sound he pulled his own sword from its sheath and lunged toward her. She was paralyzed and helpless; all she could do was stand there as her former Captain’s sword plunged deep into her chest. She gagged on the pain, finally able to move as she reached up in a futile effort to pull it from her chest . . .
With a muffled oath Mageria bolted upright from the wall she had been leaning on. The fight at the gate had settled into a siege since Blackpond first attacked. For a couple hours she had moved back and forth between the Castle and the Lower City, but after that she had simply remained at the battle lines. She had arranged a rotating cycle of men who were fighting in the streets while the few others she could spare had taken up residence in a few warehouses and residences. The situation in the Castle was also not the best. The assassins that Hastings had been screaming about were real after all. They had attacked while the majority of their forces had been concentrated at the gate. They had struck at the nobles in the hopes of creating chaos, and it had been an effective strike. Five nobles had been killed, four others injured. Of the guards that responded to the attack, three of them were dead, eight seriously injured. Thomas was among that number, being stabbed in the gut while protecting the Lady Sarris. They would survive, but wouldn’t be fighting hand to hand for a while. At the last, two of the servants were dead, apparently simply because they got in the way. Of the attackers, two were dead and it was thought that three others were injured. Which was something, she supposed.
The nightmares had started not too long after the siege. It was bad enough that she was getting by on just a few hours of rest a day, to have it interrupted by never ending nightmares was almost almost enough to make her complain. At least wearing a helm all the time as part of being a Black Knight made it easy to hide the spider webs across her eyes.
With a bone deep sigh, Mageria got up and looked around. She was in a home not to far from the fighting that she had taken over as a headquarters. Maps were spread across the front room and supplies were stocked. In the back it was set up as a makeshift triage area with one overwhelmed medic on duty. In one of the more sheltered rooms her illusionist team was working on keeping Hastings’s spys from finding anything useful. It was a never ending effort of them throwing up an illusion and her breaking it down. But they refused to give up trying and as long as they were willing she was going to let them. Rubbing one hand across her face, she found something resembling food and listened to reports as she ate without tasting it, staring at a set of maps of the Lower City with small markers on it to depict where people were.
“Pull this line of foot soldiers back and let them eat. Archers, bows and crossbows at sniper positions. Cover and harassment fire whenever you can manage it. Anybody who can, I want them to chip away at the Blackpond forces. Hit and run, mess with their supplies, don’t let them sleep, whatever you can do.” She rubbed her hand through her hair and dully started to rebraid it so she could wrap it around her head.
“Think creatively people. We have the home front advantage, but only if we aren’t shy about using it. Crawl through the damn sewers if you have to. And thats another thing. I want people watching every entrance and exit, and I do mean every single one, to the Castle. Don’t let the nobles get away with the whole private room crap they keep trying to pull. If they want to be safe, they can bunk with everyone else in the great rooms. We don’t have enough people to cover the bedrooms.” She finished off her braid and secured it, settling her helm in place and tapping it to make sure it was secure. Her armor was scuffed and scratched from her earlier fights, long claw marks showing where the beast she had fought had narrowly missed taking off her head or spilling her guts onto the ground. Not the typical appearance of a Black Knight, but she didn’t have the time to get a nice new set of properly ominous armor.
Mageria checked her various weapons before she headed out. Once she knew that they were all secure, she left the shelter; given that she couldn’t afford to be anything less than absolutely paranoid, she did so out the second story window, dropping down onto the roof of the building next door. The city’s urchins had created an entire network of roads up above the ground and she had learned them as well as she could. Now that was paying off as her soldiers were able to get from place to place almost safely. Reaching an observation point, she leaned against a raised bit of wall and looked out over the battle site. “What do we have thus far?”
She looked to her right and had to suppress a shudder. A young private was curled up in the corner, with rats crawling all over her. She referred to herself as a rat charmer and was currently using that ability to send the numerous rats of the Lower City into the area that Blackpond had claimed. Soon there wouldn’t be a scrap of food, a safe place to sleep or a clean bit of water over there. It was a terribly useful gift in a situation like this but still, it was disconcerting.
Shaking her head, Mageria turned back to examining the fight. Part of her mind was consumed with worry for Grim, whom she hadn’t heard from since before this all began. He had gone to ask the White Shadows about the rumors about the King; given that the boy had told them that the White Shadows were being attacked, she could guess that he had stayed to help them. If he had been injured and there was no one with the proper knowledge to help him . . . . Mageria forced herself to concentrate. Grim could take care of himself, her duty was to keep as many people alive as she could, herself included.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Evin was walking down the small roads that were created by the placement of the cabins. He didn't have an absolute direction, but he was looking for something. Something that he just couldn't find. It was as if he had lost a piece of himself, like nothing in the world mattered but finding this piece of himself. Was it Mageria? Did he have to make amends with her? Maybe it was Jake, or Dani? Did he have to forgive them for something? He couldn't place his finger on the exact problem. He continued wandering.
Along the way, he reached a place where he didn't often go in camp. It was the training grounds where Theron had asked him to attack Crystal. He thought about that for a while and how tough he was on her. He tried his hardest to take advantage of every weakness she had and she fought through it. She could persevere through all the death around her and even her powers and she got to become such a powerful assassin. It was no surprise to Evin that one day, she would become a great leader to follow under. If only she could get past all her personal emotions.
He could hear out in the distance someone calling his name. It also sounded like the person had been running for a rather long period of time. "Evin, Evin!" The yelling was getting louder as he moved on. Then, the sound of the kids voice just began to get annoying. He looked back, and just as he did so, he saw Allison's recruit rounding the corner. Evin stopped, it was probably important enough if Allison get this kid to run all the way from where ever she was. Based on the way the kid was sweating, it was a fair distance.
"I have things to do, so unless this is important, I'll be on my way."
"No no! Evin this is important! Ali needs to see you right away."
Evin thought about what was important enough that he had to see right away. He couldn't think of anything. "Why?"
"Ali saw blood. I don't know who's it is, but-"
Evin had taken off the moment he said blood. Evin couldn't know until he found her, but he could only believe who it could be. Crystal hadn't been seen for a day and that meant that there was just more responsibility on Evin's shoulders now. He wasn't sure if he could take much of this anymore.
Then a good thought crossed his mind; who would want to kill Crystal? Jake seemed to have some sort of infatuation with her so he doubted it could be him, besides, she spared his life. That was good enough for him. It couldn't be Blackpond either. They've had nothing against the camp ever and at the moment, they were on a full fledged warpath with Newhaven. He really couldn't think of who it could be.
When he reached the place where Allison and Annie were standing, she saw Allison holding the katana, thus proving that it was true.
"It can't be!" He stood in shock for a few seconds. Deep down he really just wanted to cry, but he held those emotions back. He was the leader now and he had to make quick decisions.
"It's not safe here. For all we know, they might want to completely break the chain of command, they might want me here... Allison, you're my second as of now."
Along the way, he reached a place where he didn't often go in camp. It was the training grounds where Theron had asked him to attack Crystal. He thought about that for a while and how tough he was on her. He tried his hardest to take advantage of every weakness she had and she fought through it. She could persevere through all the death around her and even her powers and she got to become such a powerful assassin. It was no surprise to Evin that one day, she would become a great leader to follow under. If only she could get past all her personal emotions.
He could hear out in the distance someone calling his name. It also sounded like the person had been running for a rather long period of time. "Evin, Evin!" The yelling was getting louder as he moved on. Then, the sound of the kids voice just began to get annoying. He looked back, and just as he did so, he saw Allison's recruit rounding the corner. Evin stopped, it was probably important enough if Allison get this kid to run all the way from where ever she was. Based on the way the kid was sweating, it was a fair distance.
"I have things to do, so unless this is important, I'll be on my way."
"No no! Evin this is important! Ali needs to see you right away."
Evin thought about what was important enough that he had to see right away. He couldn't think of anything. "Why?"
"Ali saw blood. I don't know who's it is, but-"
Evin had taken off the moment he said blood. Evin couldn't know until he found her, but he could only believe who it could be. Crystal hadn't been seen for a day and that meant that there was just more responsibility on Evin's shoulders now. He wasn't sure if he could take much of this anymore.
Then a good thought crossed his mind; who would want to kill Crystal? Jake seemed to have some sort of infatuation with her so he doubted it could be him, besides, she spared his life. That was good enough for him. It couldn't be Blackpond either. They've had nothing against the camp ever and at the moment, they were on a full fledged warpath with Newhaven. He really couldn't think of who it could be.
When he reached the place where Allison and Annie were standing, she saw Allison holding the katana, thus proving that it was true.
"It can't be!" He stood in shock for a few seconds. Deep down he really just wanted to cry, but he held those emotions back. He was the leader now and he had to make quick decisions.
"It's not safe here. For all we know, they might want to completely break the chain of command, they might want me here... Allison, you're my second as of now."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
"... Allison, you're my second as of now."
Ali had been standing there in a shock, but those words snapped her right back into reality. She simply nodded, lowering her head and holding back just how badly this was hurting her. "You can't make me Second Evin. First of all, I'm way too inexperienced to impose any kind of respect on anyone who has been here more than a year, and most importantly... I can't really handle people. You are about to take command of a clan that lost two leaders in a very short period of time... And they won't even have a body to bury this time. They will want blood, especially if..." She went silent and nodded towards the writing on the dirt with a small frown. She wasn't exactly sure of what it meant, but if she had to guess, Newhaven had more than enough reasons to go after the Pack after what they pulled in the dungeons.
Ali couldn't wrap her mind around this situation. If Crys was really dead, then... Where was she? Why was she even there in the first place? She shook her head and turned to Annie, the girl really looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but there. "Annie, are you sure she couldn't have lived?"
Annie nodded. "It's not possible. If this is all her blood... Even if someone found her and carried her out, she wouldn't have survived. This spot here is miles away from anywhere safe." Then the girl faced Ali for a moment and let out a sigh. "Look, if you need to be absolutely sure, Alistair can clear this. If Crys is still alive anywhere in Valcrest he would be able to sense her presence." She explained, giving Ali a serious look as if telling her not to build up hopes based on this. "Again, I don't believe it's possible." She repeated.
Ali simply nodded. "I heard you the first time, thank you." She muttered. Then she heaved a sigh as she looked down and realized she had tight grip around the blade of the katana, she hadn't realized the cut she was inflicting on herself, and her hand was now bleeding. "Shit." She whispered, loosening her grip on the blade, but not releasing it.
Annie simply grabbed her hand and healed the cut. "It was just a scratch." She mumbled, more to herself than to Ali.
Ali stood silent for another moment then she turned to Evin and put the sword in his hands. "I suppose you should take this back with you. I'm going to walk Annie to the desert. I want to see what kind of damage the healers suffered and..." She nodded, stopping herself before mentioning the fact she wanted to see Jake. "I'll be back before nightfall probably." She informed. Taking a small bow, in the same way she would do with Crys, and Dani before her, Ali turned her back to the current leader of the Pack. She almost felt sorry for the amount of responsibility put on Evin's shoulders now. Hopefully he'd find someone actually fit to take second command.
---------------
[Blackpond]
Jake had been traveling after the solders that had his aunt prisoner all the way to Blackpond. He managed to follow the men unnoticed even while they threw the healers in the castle dungeons, most of them knocked unconscious. They seemed in a hurry to leave the prisoners and head out again, probably eager to join Blackpond's ranks in Newhaven.
Jake had caught sight of Lena's actions in the ruins. He had recognized Ella, he knew who she was, but he couldn't really understand what was so important about her that would cause Lena to surrender. That was a socking sight to anyone who knew the woman... She wasn't one to hold anyone's life above a group. She knew something about Ella that made her important and Jake wondered what that could be.
At the moment the young man was simply waiting outside the cells, careful so the passing guards did hear him or bump into him by accident, if he had to kill anyone it would be harder to escape. It was unbelievable how well guarded the Blackpond castle was... If Blackpond actually put all the men they had protecting their King in the battle field they would had an ever bigger advantage, but that was something they would probably never do. The healers were all asleep or knocked out, still. So, it was pointless to try and set anyone free until they were able to move out. If they would be willing... That's a different story. Those people had very little to lose, and after breaking their oath it was possible that all they wanted was to sit there and die.
Healers were simply weird like that.
As he stood there, his eyes following the guards that roamed the many halls of the prisons, he took a moment to wonder if Grim was alright. He had lost complete notion of where people were at, or what they were doing the moment he decided to follow Lena. Now he was starting to try and recall where he last saw the few people he knew. Jax was in one of those cells, he had seen her faint of exhaustion and being captured. Alistair had led the evacuation... Annie, gladly, was still with the Pack... He couldn't recall at what moment he had last seen the Black Knight or the men he had with him. Hopefully they all lived, but that was very much unlikely.
Jake nodded quietly as a single thought corssed his mind: "This has all gone too far."
-------------
[Desert]
Alistair had been overseeing the other healers as they set up tents. They hadn't gone too far from the ruins yet. If anything, he wanted to be able to go back and bury their dead. He had vaguely answered when asked questions about Lena and what she had plan to do or when she would be back. He knew she wouldn't be back, he just hadn't gotten around to telling people that he was the leader now.
"Was it that bad?" Alistair asked, tilting his head to the side and looking up at Lena. "You look like you were hit by a pile of rocks."
"Shut up. I will give you instructions now. Listen carefully and don't you dare do anything other than what I'll tell you to do. Things can end badly if we're not careful." She sat in front of him. "Are we clear on that? Whatever happens, do as I say."
Alistair flinched, but finally he agreed. "Alright. I'll do what you tell me."
Lena ran a hand through her hair and heaved a long sigh before she looked him in the eyes and explained the situation. "We will be attacked by Blackpond soon. So, what I want you to do is evacuate the camp and lead the clan to the desert. Can you do that?"
"Sure. And what will you do?" He asked her with a frown.
"I will stay, and fight them to the best of my abilities. I think a few of us will be enough to slow them down." She said.
"That's suicide!" Alistair protested. "You can't, who will lead the clan? Annie is..."
"Annie is too young." Lena finished the statement. "She can't lead the Shadows until she is 18. Until then... I need you to be the leader. Even if I happen to live through this, I won't be coming back after breaking the oath."
"You won't... Come back? What am I supposed to tell your daughter, Lena?"
She smiled. "Tell her the truth. All of it. You have my permission to do so." She stated.
"W-what? Are you... Sure?" He mumbled.
"Was I ever unsure, boy?" Lena frowned. "Do as I say, and whatever happens, don't even flinch: Just leave."
Alistair had agreed. Complied to Lena's madness as he always did, but this... This was too much even for her. If she just disappeared without another word... He couldn't begin to think of how this would affect Annie. He could still remember the shouting the happened behind the girl's back when her ability was discovered. It was the only time he remembered actually seeing Lena raise her voice at the clan elders. All because of Annie, and the girl had no idea.
"With all due respect, you can't tell me what she has to do." Lena had told the man that came to see her. Alistair was tending to a patient not far from the tent and he could hear them perfectly.
"Helena, we haven't seen a spiritual healer in over two hundred years. Your daughter has the most rare of all enlightened abilities, and it has awakened quite early. She has obviously been chosen by the Goddess."
Lena sighed. "Chosen, you say? Well, correct me if I am wrong, my good man, but doesn't the legends tell that the Goddess of Peace is known not to interfere in the mortal realm ever since the Twins left Valcrest? How in the name of the Gods would she choose anyone?"
"Your lack of faith..." The man started.
"My faith is my own!" Lena exclaimed, raising her voice to a tone that caused the encampment to stop as if frozen. "Don't you dare question my faith in the Gods or this clan, or we will have a problem, are we clear? ARE WE CLEAR?"
At this point the man had lowered his tone to a point where it was impossible to hear.
"Good!" Lena answered to whatever he had said. "Now, I can take anything with a smile on my face. Anything, really. However, if anyone here fills my daughter's head with this crap, I can't even know what I would be capable of." She stated. "If she wants to study, she will study and if she wants to go through initiation like any other apprentice does, then that's what she will do. I won't have my kid grow up lazy and arrogant because of some popular belief."
Alistair had heard the whispering and the rumors, he knew that the healers believed that spiritual healers were sent by the Goddess of Peace herself onto the land. It was something that they had concluded for themselves and Lena didn't believe in such a thing. Alistair wasn't sure if he believed it or not, but truth be told... It was the most rare ability and, as far it was known, all of the spiritual healers known to live in Valcrest had been born within the clan.
Annie was never told the true reason why she was treated differently, she studied and was initiated as any other healers would, oblivious to the fact that she could simply skip those steps and lead the clan. Alistair couldn't blame Lena for wanting her child to be the best she could, but he wasn't glad to be the one to eventually explain to the girl just how different she was.
"Alistair." Someone called behind him.
"What?" He asked, not looking at the boy who had called his name.
"Annie is here. She brought someone with her." The boy informed.
Alistair lowered his head and rubbed his eyes before meeting the girl. He wasn't exactly eager to tell Annie her mother was locked up in a cell.
Ali had been standing there in a shock, but those words snapped her right back into reality. She simply nodded, lowering her head and holding back just how badly this was hurting her. "You can't make me Second Evin. First of all, I'm way too inexperienced to impose any kind of respect on anyone who has been here more than a year, and most importantly... I can't really handle people. You are about to take command of a clan that lost two leaders in a very short period of time... And they won't even have a body to bury this time. They will want blood, especially if..." She went silent and nodded towards the writing on the dirt with a small frown. She wasn't exactly sure of what it meant, but if she had to guess, Newhaven had more than enough reasons to go after the Pack after what they pulled in the dungeons.
Ali couldn't wrap her mind around this situation. If Crys was really dead, then... Where was she? Why was she even there in the first place? She shook her head and turned to Annie, the girl really looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but there. "Annie, are you sure she couldn't have lived?"
Annie nodded. "It's not possible. If this is all her blood... Even if someone found her and carried her out, she wouldn't have survived. This spot here is miles away from anywhere safe." Then the girl faced Ali for a moment and let out a sigh. "Look, if you need to be absolutely sure, Alistair can clear this. If Crys is still alive anywhere in Valcrest he would be able to sense her presence." She explained, giving Ali a serious look as if telling her not to build up hopes based on this. "Again, I don't believe it's possible." She repeated.
Ali simply nodded. "I heard you the first time, thank you." She muttered. Then she heaved a sigh as she looked down and realized she had tight grip around the blade of the katana, she hadn't realized the cut she was inflicting on herself, and her hand was now bleeding. "Shit." She whispered, loosening her grip on the blade, but not releasing it.
Annie simply grabbed her hand and healed the cut. "It was just a scratch." She mumbled, more to herself than to Ali.
Ali stood silent for another moment then she turned to Evin and put the sword in his hands. "I suppose you should take this back with you. I'm going to walk Annie to the desert. I want to see what kind of damage the healers suffered and..." She nodded, stopping herself before mentioning the fact she wanted to see Jake. "I'll be back before nightfall probably." She informed. Taking a small bow, in the same way she would do with Crys, and Dani before her, Ali turned her back to the current leader of the Pack. She almost felt sorry for the amount of responsibility put on Evin's shoulders now. Hopefully he'd find someone actually fit to take second command.
---------------
[Blackpond]
Jake had been traveling after the solders that had his aunt prisoner all the way to Blackpond. He managed to follow the men unnoticed even while they threw the healers in the castle dungeons, most of them knocked unconscious. They seemed in a hurry to leave the prisoners and head out again, probably eager to join Blackpond's ranks in Newhaven.
Jake had caught sight of Lena's actions in the ruins. He had recognized Ella, he knew who she was, but he couldn't really understand what was so important about her that would cause Lena to surrender. That was a socking sight to anyone who knew the woman... She wasn't one to hold anyone's life above a group. She knew something about Ella that made her important and Jake wondered what that could be.
At the moment the young man was simply waiting outside the cells, careful so the passing guards did hear him or bump into him by accident, if he had to kill anyone it would be harder to escape. It was unbelievable how well guarded the Blackpond castle was... If Blackpond actually put all the men they had protecting their King in the battle field they would had an ever bigger advantage, but that was something they would probably never do. The healers were all asleep or knocked out, still. So, it was pointless to try and set anyone free until they were able to move out. If they would be willing... That's a different story. Those people had very little to lose, and after breaking their oath it was possible that all they wanted was to sit there and die.
Healers were simply weird like that.
As he stood there, his eyes following the guards that roamed the many halls of the prisons, he took a moment to wonder if Grim was alright. He had lost complete notion of where people were at, or what they were doing the moment he decided to follow Lena. Now he was starting to try and recall where he last saw the few people he knew. Jax was in one of those cells, he had seen her faint of exhaustion and being captured. Alistair had led the evacuation... Annie, gladly, was still with the Pack... He couldn't recall at what moment he had last seen the Black Knight or the men he had with him. Hopefully they all lived, but that was very much unlikely.
Jake nodded quietly as a single thought corssed his mind: "This has all gone too far."
-------------
[Desert]
Alistair had been overseeing the other healers as they set up tents. They hadn't gone too far from the ruins yet. If anything, he wanted to be able to go back and bury their dead. He had vaguely answered when asked questions about Lena and what she had plan to do or when she would be back. He knew she wouldn't be back, he just hadn't gotten around to telling people that he was the leader now.
"Was it that bad?" Alistair asked, tilting his head to the side and looking up at Lena. "You look like you were hit by a pile of rocks."
"Shut up. I will give you instructions now. Listen carefully and don't you dare do anything other than what I'll tell you to do. Things can end badly if we're not careful." She sat in front of him. "Are we clear on that? Whatever happens, do as I say."
Alistair flinched, but finally he agreed. "Alright. I'll do what you tell me."
Lena ran a hand through her hair and heaved a long sigh before she looked him in the eyes and explained the situation. "We will be attacked by Blackpond soon. So, what I want you to do is evacuate the camp and lead the clan to the desert. Can you do that?"
"Sure. And what will you do?" He asked her with a frown.
"I will stay, and fight them to the best of my abilities. I think a few of us will be enough to slow them down." She said.
"That's suicide!" Alistair protested. "You can't, who will lead the clan? Annie is..."
"Annie is too young." Lena finished the statement. "She can't lead the Shadows until she is 18. Until then... I need you to be the leader. Even if I happen to live through this, I won't be coming back after breaking the oath."
"You won't... Come back? What am I supposed to tell your daughter, Lena?"
She smiled. "Tell her the truth. All of it. You have my permission to do so." She stated.
"W-what? Are you... Sure?" He mumbled.
"Was I ever unsure, boy?" Lena frowned. "Do as I say, and whatever happens, don't even flinch: Just leave."
Alistair had agreed. Complied to Lena's madness as he always did, but this... This was too much even for her. If she just disappeared without another word... He couldn't begin to think of how this would affect Annie. He could still remember the shouting the happened behind the girl's back when her ability was discovered. It was the only time he remembered actually seeing Lena raise her voice at the clan elders. All because of Annie, and the girl had no idea.
"With all due respect, you can't tell me what she has to do." Lena had told the man that came to see her. Alistair was tending to a patient not far from the tent and he could hear them perfectly.
"Helena, we haven't seen a spiritual healer in over two hundred years. Your daughter has the most rare of all enlightened abilities, and it has awakened quite early. She has obviously been chosen by the Goddess."
Lena sighed. "Chosen, you say? Well, correct me if I am wrong, my good man, but doesn't the legends tell that the Goddess of Peace is known not to interfere in the mortal realm ever since the Twins left Valcrest? How in the name of the Gods would she choose anyone?"
"Your lack of faith..." The man started.
"My faith is my own!" Lena exclaimed, raising her voice to a tone that caused the encampment to stop as if frozen. "Don't you dare question my faith in the Gods or this clan, or we will have a problem, are we clear? ARE WE CLEAR?"
At this point the man had lowered his tone to a point where it was impossible to hear.
"Good!" Lena answered to whatever he had said. "Now, I can take anything with a smile on my face. Anything, really. However, if anyone here fills my daughter's head with this crap, I can't even know what I would be capable of." She stated. "If she wants to study, she will study and if she wants to go through initiation like any other apprentice does, then that's what she will do. I won't have my kid grow up lazy and arrogant because of some popular belief."
Alistair had heard the whispering and the rumors, he knew that the healers believed that spiritual healers were sent by the Goddess of Peace herself onto the land. It was something that they had concluded for themselves and Lena didn't believe in such a thing. Alistair wasn't sure if he believed it or not, but truth be told... It was the most rare ability and, as far it was known, all of the spiritual healers known to live in Valcrest had been born within the clan.
Annie was never told the true reason why she was treated differently, she studied and was initiated as any other healers would, oblivious to the fact that she could simply skip those steps and lead the clan. Alistair couldn't blame Lena for wanting her child to be the best she could, but he wasn't glad to be the one to eventually explain to the girl just how different she was.
"Alistair." Someone called behind him.
"What?" He asked, not looking at the boy who had called his name.
"Annie is here. She brought someone with her." The boy informed.
Alistair lowered his head and rubbed his eyes before meeting the girl. He wasn't exactly eager to tell Annie her mother was locked up in a cell.
Ah beautiful sunlight the glorious turning that brought with it the hope of future, the inevitable change of time. One day always leading to another forever onward toward a vast expanse. Endless horizons of sun filled lands and people. Countless lives coming and going through their own plans, be it as simple as buying bread beneath the light to taking the hand of another in love. Intricate and complex an endless cycle.
Privately Grim wondered if he’d see tomorrow’s daybreak. More importantly he wondered if Newhaven would see another sunrise. Just now seeing the toll Blackpond had forced upon his home. Wreckage and ruin a world beneath fire and threat. Streets empty and houses toppled for nothing more then the spiteful needs of another man. Casualties littering the street be they man, beast, or innocent caught in the crossfire. All was a desperate struggle. Those within trapped, those without stubborn. Neither side truly winning.
The scowl on his face was beginning to be the only expression he wore of late. The warrior’s pride beating in his chest. It had taken him long enough to find a way inside. Eventually forced to sneak into a sewer entrance and crouch for what felt like forever. Stopping only when the silence preceded the raucous of the battle. Emerging out into the streets to find them eerily changed.
He moved a lumbering man on the cobblestone. Careful to listen for anyone’s approach and sticking to narrow and difficult paths to better mask his arrival. Slipping from shadow to shadow realizing the irony of his situation. Here he was sneaking about like some fugitive despite his size and lack of subtlety.
“Shades that thing is ours!”
Grim glanced up to catch a ragged woman beaming down at him. Her clothes were tarnished and she was smudged with a foulness that Grim didn’t care to identify. She moved almost like a scurrying vermin on the rooftop she clung to. Impatiently prancing back in fourth in excitement.
“Well don’ sit there climb up!”
For a moment he debated on what this street mouse was having him attempt. Grim was not an acrobatic sort, and climbing while not impossible wasn’t always feasible with his gear. Especially with the structures in their weakened state. Ultimately he decided to listen, this petty beggar was no danger to him despite what her intentions may be. His hands worked at the side of a small house till he found a ledge with which to hold. Using the ends of his boots to kick notches into the wall he managed to pull his heavy form onto the roof.
“Alright you got me up here now speak. Why am I here?”
“Yeesh, Black Arse! Jus’ stop yer whining and c’mon.”
The Black Knight was at a terrible disadvantage for following after the dexterous scout. Her movements were swift but confident and it seemed that she glided over the buildings with ease. Barely making a sound while she clamored over ledges and chimneys. Grim was always far behind. Having to completely stop and build up for even the smallest of jumps. Often times slipping or overcompensating and being forced to pull himself inch by inch back onto the path. It went on like this for what had to of been an hour or so. The battered broad flying at her fancy with ungracious Grim to bumble after.
They had run amuck in the upper city when at last they came before a bit of raised wall. The muddy climber departed without word slipping back into the city to keep watch over its happenings. As for Grim, well he now understood why he was brought here. Before him though only in part was his commanding officer. Mageria had been overseeing something and had once more gone adrift in her thoughts. In that sense they were similar always debating and mulling over what has been and what was to be. He approached without guard as best he could still wobbling a bit with his steps.
Of course there was nothing happy to say. Grim had gone to the Ruins in hopes of bringing some closure to the hostilities. He could have never of guessed Blackpond’s plan. Furthermore in their tenacity they had attacked the White Shadows, more then likely taking Lena. The Black Guard were all killed, and Blackpond’s efforts would double soon with the reinforcements.
She looked exhausted and her armor betrayed the wounds endured. The cut that bridged her face standing out. Mageria was spread thin if Grim ventured a guess. She always pushed herself beyond her means, taking up more then anyone believed possible.
Casually he stepped beside Mageria looking out over the expanse. They had been in this situation countless times. Shoulder to shoulder with the enemy before them. Comrades and oath sworn to protect the lives of the people and those of the royals.
“… They mean to kill us this time.”
Privately Grim wondered if he’d see tomorrow’s daybreak. More importantly he wondered if Newhaven would see another sunrise. Just now seeing the toll Blackpond had forced upon his home. Wreckage and ruin a world beneath fire and threat. Streets empty and houses toppled for nothing more then the spiteful needs of another man. Casualties littering the street be they man, beast, or innocent caught in the crossfire. All was a desperate struggle. Those within trapped, those without stubborn. Neither side truly winning.
The scowl on his face was beginning to be the only expression he wore of late. The warrior’s pride beating in his chest. It had taken him long enough to find a way inside. Eventually forced to sneak into a sewer entrance and crouch for what felt like forever. Stopping only when the silence preceded the raucous of the battle. Emerging out into the streets to find them eerily changed.
He moved a lumbering man on the cobblestone. Careful to listen for anyone’s approach and sticking to narrow and difficult paths to better mask his arrival. Slipping from shadow to shadow realizing the irony of his situation. Here he was sneaking about like some fugitive despite his size and lack of subtlety.
“Shades that thing is ours!”
Grim glanced up to catch a ragged woman beaming down at him. Her clothes were tarnished and she was smudged with a foulness that Grim didn’t care to identify. She moved almost like a scurrying vermin on the rooftop she clung to. Impatiently prancing back in fourth in excitement.
“Well don’ sit there climb up!”
For a moment he debated on what this street mouse was having him attempt. Grim was not an acrobatic sort, and climbing while not impossible wasn’t always feasible with his gear. Especially with the structures in their weakened state. Ultimately he decided to listen, this petty beggar was no danger to him despite what her intentions may be. His hands worked at the side of a small house till he found a ledge with which to hold. Using the ends of his boots to kick notches into the wall he managed to pull his heavy form onto the roof.
“Alright you got me up here now speak. Why am I here?”
“Yeesh, Black Arse! Jus’ stop yer whining and c’mon.”
The Black Knight was at a terrible disadvantage for following after the dexterous scout. Her movements were swift but confident and it seemed that she glided over the buildings with ease. Barely making a sound while she clamored over ledges and chimneys. Grim was always far behind. Having to completely stop and build up for even the smallest of jumps. Often times slipping or overcompensating and being forced to pull himself inch by inch back onto the path. It went on like this for what had to of been an hour or so. The battered broad flying at her fancy with ungracious Grim to bumble after.
They had run amuck in the upper city when at last they came before a bit of raised wall. The muddy climber departed without word slipping back into the city to keep watch over its happenings. As for Grim, well he now understood why he was brought here. Before him though only in part was his commanding officer. Mageria had been overseeing something and had once more gone adrift in her thoughts. In that sense they were similar always debating and mulling over what has been and what was to be. He approached without guard as best he could still wobbling a bit with his steps.
Of course there was nothing happy to say. Grim had gone to the Ruins in hopes of bringing some closure to the hostilities. He could have never of guessed Blackpond’s plan. Furthermore in their tenacity they had attacked the White Shadows, more then likely taking Lena. The Black Guard were all killed, and Blackpond’s efforts would double soon with the reinforcements.
She looked exhausted and her armor betrayed the wounds endured. The cut that bridged her face standing out. Mageria was spread thin if Grim ventured a guess. She always pushed herself beyond her means, taking up more then anyone believed possible.
Casually he stepped beside Mageria looking out over the expanse. They had been in this situation countless times. Shoulder to shoulder with the enemy before them. Comrades and oath sworn to protect the lives of the people and those of the royals.
“… They mean to kill us this time.”
Mageria and a few of her men had been walking a scouting patrol when they heard a young child screaming from down the street. They all took off, only to see a small boy and girl running down a side street while being chased by Blackpond soldiers. It wasn’t hard to figure out why; their hands were covered in something brown that without a doubt smelled foul and the soldiers that were chasing them were spattered with the same something. They were around the corner before Mageria and her men could get to them; they chased after and arrived just in time to see the children get cornered in a back alley. She wanted to scream in frustration, they were too far away to do any good. The children would be dead or worse in just a few moments. She thought that she would have to watch it happen in front of her when all of a sudden a gang of older teens armed with quarter staffs and fighting sticks all jumped out of the shadows and started in on the Blackpond soldiers. The teens were quite good, taking out about half of the soldiers in short order. Mageria and her people got there in time to finish off the rest.
“Oy, your Knightship! Up and over afor the rest o’ them bastards get here!” It did sound like a great number of men were coming up behind them, more than the rest of them could take care of. So Mageria and her men clambered up the wall with the gang and were across several roofs before the Blackpond forces could figure out where they were.
“Aye, not so bad in a fight, are ya?” One young man stepped forward from the rest, he seemed to be the one in charge and carried a set of metal covered fighting sticks over one shoulder.
Mageria grinned and pulled off her helm to take a healthy drink of water from a canteen somebody tossed her. “Not so bad yourself, for not having much training.”
The kid shrugged. “We get by, yur Knightship. Truth though, we didn’t expect that any of you to be around when we pulled this.”
Mageria tipped her head to the side. “And you didn’t think we’d care, did you?”
A variety of shrugs went around the group. She looked around and made a decision.
“I don’t think I can get you to go back to where it’s safe, so here’s what I’ll do. You do what you want to Blackpond. You don’t steal more than a bit from the folk around here,” that last was delivered to a girl in an obviously stolen tunic, “and if you need supplies or have wounded, you come to me. Pass the word. I'll give the same deal to any of you.”
The group looked to each other and nodded, before the boy in charge turned to her. “Aye, that sounds fair enough.” He held out one grimy hand toward her, she grasped it firmly and shook. The gang melted away surprisingly fast leaving the soldiers alone on the roof top. Mageria gave some brief orders before sending her own people away on their missions. Then she leaned against a convenient bit of wall and tried to think of anything that she had forgotten.
“ . . . They mean to kill us this time.”
Mageria simply turned her head and smiled at Grim. He was one of exactly three people who could come up behind her unannounced in combat conditions and not generate a fight reaction. There were a number of people to whom she would have drawn a knife when they said something, and anyone else would have found themselves on the ground with said knife against their throat.
“Don’t they always?” She shook her head. “You’re right though. This is insane. They act as if they have nothing to lose. The worst kind of people to be fighting. We can’t afford to lose this.” She looked grimly across the city and asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to. "How bad was it?"
“Oy, your Knightship! Up and over afor the rest o’ them bastards get here!” It did sound like a great number of men were coming up behind them, more than the rest of them could take care of. So Mageria and her men clambered up the wall with the gang and were across several roofs before the Blackpond forces could figure out where they were.
“Aye, not so bad in a fight, are ya?” One young man stepped forward from the rest, he seemed to be the one in charge and carried a set of metal covered fighting sticks over one shoulder.
Mageria grinned and pulled off her helm to take a healthy drink of water from a canteen somebody tossed her. “Not so bad yourself, for not having much training.”
The kid shrugged. “We get by, yur Knightship. Truth though, we didn’t expect that any of you to be around when we pulled this.”
Mageria tipped her head to the side. “And you didn’t think we’d care, did you?”
A variety of shrugs went around the group. She looked around and made a decision.
“I don’t think I can get you to go back to where it’s safe, so here’s what I’ll do. You do what you want to Blackpond. You don’t steal more than a bit from the folk around here,” that last was delivered to a girl in an obviously stolen tunic, “and if you need supplies or have wounded, you come to me. Pass the word. I'll give the same deal to any of you.”
The group looked to each other and nodded, before the boy in charge turned to her. “Aye, that sounds fair enough.” He held out one grimy hand toward her, she grasped it firmly and shook. The gang melted away surprisingly fast leaving the soldiers alone on the roof top. Mageria gave some brief orders before sending her own people away on their missions. Then she leaned against a convenient bit of wall and tried to think of anything that she had forgotten.
“ . . . They mean to kill us this time.”
Mageria simply turned her head and smiled at Grim. He was one of exactly three people who could come up behind her unannounced in combat conditions and not generate a fight reaction. There were a number of people to whom she would have drawn a knife when they said something, and anyone else would have found themselves on the ground with said knife against their throat.
“Don’t they always?” She shook her head. “You’re right though. This is insane. They act as if they have nothing to lose. The worst kind of people to be fighting. We can’t afford to lose this.” She looked grimly across the city and asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to. "How bad was it?"
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
"Sean, what is going on?" Sean heard his little sister ask behind him as he stood in the doorway watching the boy Ali was training run around calling Evin's name. Not long after that Evin left camp in a hurry. People started talking amongst themselves wondering what could be the problem. No one knew what was happening exactly, but they knew something was wrong. Sean sighed before turning to his 13 year old sister and giving her a comforting smile. "I'm sure it's nothing too serious, Katie. Don't worry."
Katelyn sighed. "I miss Lionel." She stated out of the blue. "I don't understand why he had to do that. He was never able to beat Crys in a fair fight."
Sean lowered his head for a second before replying. "Well, sometimes is better to die trying than living in frustration. Besides, if you can't win in a fair fight, you should be prepared to fight in any other way, or not fight at all."
"What about honor?" Katie asked. "What good does it do to win without it?"
Sean snickered. "Honor is a matter of perception, little sister. What one considers a dishonor, may not be to another."
"I don't know about that." The girl replied. "What I know is that someone should have stopped him."
"There was no stopping him, you know that Kate." Sean muttered. "Truth is, if Lionel had made a habit out of thinking before doing things, he would still be standing here." He said, finally turning to face his little sister. "Where is Donovan?"
The girl shrugged. "I don't know. He has been wandering around."
Sean sighed. "Well, I'll see if I can find him later."
"He's been this way since Crys spoke to him, you know... When Lionel was buried." She stated. "I think he's actually trying to decide if he still wants to kill her."
Sean laughed. "If it's taking him this long, it's because he doesn't." He went in and sat on the table across from her, taking a peach from the food tray. "It's better if he doesn't. If Lionel didn't make, he wouldn't stand a chance. I don't think Doni could handle a lousy fighter even less Crys."
"Is she really that good? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her fight." Katie asked with a curious look at her brother.
"One person alone, in a fair fight, would have to be more than exceptional to even put a scratch on her. There are few of those left, sis. Even in the Pack." He shrugged. "Not that anyone in the Pack would any reasons to want to do that." He said casually, taking a bite of the fruit.
Katelyn sighed. "I miss Lionel." She stated out of the blue. "I don't understand why he had to do that. He was never able to beat Crys in a fair fight."
Sean lowered his head for a second before replying. "Well, sometimes is better to die trying than living in frustration. Besides, if you can't win in a fair fight, you should be prepared to fight in any other way, or not fight at all."
"What about honor?" Katie asked. "What good does it do to win without it?"
Sean snickered. "Honor is a matter of perception, little sister. What one considers a dishonor, may not be to another."
"I don't know about that." The girl replied. "What I know is that someone should have stopped him."
"There was no stopping him, you know that Kate." Sean muttered. "Truth is, if Lionel had made a habit out of thinking before doing things, he would still be standing here." He said, finally turning to face his little sister. "Where is Donovan?"
The girl shrugged. "I don't know. He has been wandering around."
Sean sighed. "Well, I'll see if I can find him later."
"He's been this way since Crys spoke to him, you know... When Lionel was buried." She stated. "I think he's actually trying to decide if he still wants to kill her."
Sean laughed. "If it's taking him this long, it's because he doesn't." He went in and sat on the table across from her, taking a peach from the food tray. "It's better if he doesn't. If Lionel didn't make, he wouldn't stand a chance. I don't think Doni could handle a lousy fighter even less Crys."
"Is she really that good? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her fight." Katie asked with a curious look at her brother.
"One person alone, in a fair fight, would have to be more than exceptional to even put a scratch on her. There are few of those left, sis. Even in the Pack." He shrugged. "Not that anyone in the Pack would any reasons to want to do that." He said casually, taking a bite of the fruit.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
The forces fought well long through the night until the reinforcements from the Ruins had come to replace the tierd men. These support troops allowed Hastings to break through the choke. After the break was made, it seemed both sides had been wiped out. It was officially time for both sides to take a rest. Hastings men were camped out in the east side of Newhaven that had been taken over. He had set up decoy camps through the city in case anyone decided to attack during the resting period. He also had to deal with gangs of teens, but that wasn't a big issue, just pay them a bit and they become simple spies or even just fight for their side. Offer them women and they would do anything. Hastings was used to warfare like this.
In the sewers there was a war going on too. Newhaven thought it would be a good idea, but Hastings had an even better idea to combat this. He had ordered the dead bodies to be tossed into the sewers. This helped any diseases that the bodies may carry to grow even faster. Anyone who even stepped foot in the sewers would likely to become sick. Hastings only hoped that it would spread like wildfire in the ranks of Newhaven.
The entire city was falling apart in front of Hastings, a symphony for his eyes. Based on the strength of the forces on both sides and how even the fighting seemed to be so far pretty even. Based on this, Hastings predicted that both sides would have to get comfortable with the position that they were in for a while. Neither side would be able to break trough any lines for at least a few weeks.
In the distance Hastings could hear Rita and a few soldiers having an argument. "What do you mean they kicked your ass? Why are you even going out there anyways? We're fighting a war, not having a good time!" Rita yelled at the two soldiers that looked severely beaten. Hastings had gotten to know these soldiers well in a battle a few months ago, when only the three out of a small platoon survived an ambush during routine exercises. They had to hide out in a small trench for two days before the Newhaven soldiers had left. They were known for enjoying the pleasures in life. "You know you could have died? Sure, they might seem like they're only good for one thing, but let me tell you, some of them are worthy to be entry level assassins they are!"
"What's going on here?" Hastings looked at the two men with a cocky grin. "It looks like they had fisticuffs, don't they?"
Rita chuckled. "Well these idiots decided to go down to one of the Blackpond controlled brothels. The hookers there aren't too friendly."
"Are you telling me, that these morons got their asses kicked by a couple of hookers?" Hastings roared. "That there is priceless!"
While Hastings was distracted with his laughter, Rita shooed the two soldiers away.
Hastings continued to laugh for a while, but stopped very suddenly, looking up at Castle Newhaven. It was a very beautiful castle, he had to admit that. Stunning to say the least. It was a shame that he would have to destroy it in a way, but the less relics from Newhaven the better. He hoped that one day, these people would be forgotten from history. They would only be known for being the ruthless killers whom Blackpond eliminated in one fowl swoop and nothing more. That was his hopes, but despite Rory's excitement, it didn't seem like this battle would be the end of the war. It would weaken Newhaven greatly, but it wouldn't be the killing blow. It was a shame too. The fighting had gone on for so long; if records were correct, it had been going on for more than at least 500 years. That was how far back the records went, but it probably was even longer than that.
"Hastings, we need to start making strategic strikes to the norther end of the city. There seems to be a weak point in their line there that we could take advantage of."
"Later Rita, right now I want to start razing the city. Set fire to the buildings closest to their lines, and hopefully, if the wind keeps up the way it is, it will spread to their side. I'll be going with a small group myself up the main choke. There is something I'd like to do there."
Rita saluted and then left to give the orders to her troops while Hastings gathered his group. He ordered them to take their flags with them and minimum armour and weapons.
Hastings and his group marched up the choke where he had fallen off his horse. He was still in pain from that, but it had been taken care of and there was only slight signs of a limp in his step. As they walked through, they could feel that they were being watched. It was no surprise at all as a matter of fact, because in the shadows, the people who were watching them were being watched too. As he sensed the tension getting greater in the air around him, Hastings ordered to raise the flags his men were carrying.
Blackpond was known to have a large number of flags meaning different things to make sure that Newhaven understood Blackpond's purposses when it came to times of battle. The flag that the soldiers were holding in particular were yellow with a Black dot in the middle. The yellow communicated that Hastings wanted to speak to someone. The black dot on it represented the Black Knights. He didn't have much luck with the White Knight when the battle began, he hoped that maybe Mageria or another Black Knight would be more respectable to the simple and harmless wishes that Hastings had made.
His men stood in the middle of the choke point, all alone and waited for someone to come. He didn't care who, or how many people came with them, he just wanted to speak to a Black Knight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
Evin arrived back at camp, much to his relief. He wanted to tall Allison that until he made it back to camp safely, that she would be acting as second in command. That is, to assure that there was at least someone left to run the camp in case he died on his way back to camp. He didn't get a chance to say that to her before she took off with Annie to the healers. The first place he went to was strait to Sean's family cabin.
Before knocking on the door, he realised that he was still holding Crystal's katana. He was glad that he didn't see anyone while walking around the camp. He didn't want anyone to know just yet what had happened. He thought that it would be better if he secured a solid footing first. He couldn't wait forever, so he would probably be forced to tell them within the next few hours. For now though, he had to set up the chain of command again and then discuss course of action.
"When will I ever have time to reflect?" He thought as he knocked on the door and then opened the door. Sean and his little sister were there, Sean enjoying a nice piece of fruit. All Evin did was flash Sean the katana and walked out the door and to his cabin. He didn't want to discuss anything in front of the girl. He waited, sitting at the old table with the katana placed on it. He just couldn't believe what just happened.
In the sewers there was a war going on too. Newhaven thought it would be a good idea, but Hastings had an even better idea to combat this. He had ordered the dead bodies to be tossed into the sewers. This helped any diseases that the bodies may carry to grow even faster. Anyone who even stepped foot in the sewers would likely to become sick. Hastings only hoped that it would spread like wildfire in the ranks of Newhaven.
The entire city was falling apart in front of Hastings, a symphony for his eyes. Based on the strength of the forces on both sides and how even the fighting seemed to be so far pretty even. Based on this, Hastings predicted that both sides would have to get comfortable with the position that they were in for a while. Neither side would be able to break trough any lines for at least a few weeks.
In the distance Hastings could hear Rita and a few soldiers having an argument. "What do you mean they kicked your ass? Why are you even going out there anyways? We're fighting a war, not having a good time!" Rita yelled at the two soldiers that looked severely beaten. Hastings had gotten to know these soldiers well in a battle a few months ago, when only the three out of a small platoon survived an ambush during routine exercises. They had to hide out in a small trench for two days before the Newhaven soldiers had left. They were known for enjoying the pleasures in life. "You know you could have died? Sure, they might seem like they're only good for one thing, but let me tell you, some of them are worthy to be entry level assassins they are!"
"What's going on here?" Hastings looked at the two men with a cocky grin. "It looks like they had fisticuffs, don't they?"
Rita chuckled. "Well these idiots decided to go down to one of the Blackpond controlled brothels. The hookers there aren't too friendly."
"Are you telling me, that these morons got their asses kicked by a couple of hookers?" Hastings roared. "That there is priceless!"
While Hastings was distracted with his laughter, Rita shooed the two soldiers away.
Hastings continued to laugh for a while, but stopped very suddenly, looking up at Castle Newhaven. It was a very beautiful castle, he had to admit that. Stunning to say the least. It was a shame that he would have to destroy it in a way, but the less relics from Newhaven the better. He hoped that one day, these people would be forgotten from history. They would only be known for being the ruthless killers whom Blackpond eliminated in one fowl swoop and nothing more. That was his hopes, but despite Rory's excitement, it didn't seem like this battle would be the end of the war. It would weaken Newhaven greatly, but it wouldn't be the killing blow. It was a shame too. The fighting had gone on for so long; if records were correct, it had been going on for more than at least 500 years. That was how far back the records went, but it probably was even longer than that.
"Hastings, we need to start making strategic strikes to the norther end of the city. There seems to be a weak point in their line there that we could take advantage of."
"Later Rita, right now I want to start razing the city. Set fire to the buildings closest to their lines, and hopefully, if the wind keeps up the way it is, it will spread to their side. I'll be going with a small group myself up the main choke. There is something I'd like to do there."
Rita saluted and then left to give the orders to her troops while Hastings gathered his group. He ordered them to take their flags with them and minimum armour and weapons.
Hastings and his group marched up the choke where he had fallen off his horse. He was still in pain from that, but it had been taken care of and there was only slight signs of a limp in his step. As they walked through, they could feel that they were being watched. It was no surprise at all as a matter of fact, because in the shadows, the people who were watching them were being watched too. As he sensed the tension getting greater in the air around him, Hastings ordered to raise the flags his men were carrying.
Blackpond was known to have a large number of flags meaning different things to make sure that Newhaven understood Blackpond's purposses when it came to times of battle. The flag that the soldiers were holding in particular were yellow with a Black dot in the middle. The yellow communicated that Hastings wanted to speak to someone. The black dot on it represented the Black Knights. He didn't have much luck with the White Knight when the battle began, he hoped that maybe Mageria or another Black Knight would be more respectable to the simple and harmless wishes that Hastings had made.
His men stood in the middle of the choke point, all alone and waited for someone to come. He didn't care who, or how many people came with them, he just wanted to speak to a Black Knight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
Evin arrived back at camp, much to his relief. He wanted to tall Allison that until he made it back to camp safely, that she would be acting as second in command. That is, to assure that there was at least someone left to run the camp in case he died on his way back to camp. He didn't get a chance to say that to her before she took off with Annie to the healers. The first place he went to was strait to Sean's family cabin.
Before knocking on the door, he realised that he was still holding Crystal's katana. He was glad that he didn't see anyone while walking around the camp. He didn't want anyone to know just yet what had happened. He thought that it would be better if he secured a solid footing first. He couldn't wait forever, so he would probably be forced to tell them within the next few hours. For now though, he had to set up the chain of command again and then discuss course of action.
"When will I ever have time to reflect?" He thought as he knocked on the door and then opened the door. Sean and his little sister were there, Sean enjoying a nice piece of fruit. All Evin did was flash Sean the katana and walked out the door and to his cabin. He didn't want to discuss anything in front of the girl. He waited, sitting at the old table with the katana placed on it. He just couldn't believe what just happened.
He couldn’t bear to look at her directly. Till now his restless thoughts hadn’t time to collect the hard facts of the past day. The White Shadows were valiant in their efforts but ultimately futile. The recklessness of Blackpond burned through his kindness, leaving only hate behind. The struggle was desperate now more then ever, they were forced into a bitter position. To kill or be killed, the only option left.
“… They’ve bet everything on this if I had to wager. Your guess about them strong-arming the Healers was accurate. Yesterday they attacked with force enough to kill the pacifists. Daniels did warn us, but it was too late. By the time I gathered the Guard and readied to speak with Lena they were upon us.
Twenty White Shadows and the White Rose herself abandoned their vows to distract Blackpond long enough for the rest to escape. We all fought valiantly but it wasn’t enough. I believe Lena is captured, and my companions were executed. I got pinned back within the Ruins, by the time I fought my way out the majority of our enemy was gone.
I… I eliminated those that remained and hurried here. The battalion ventured here to Newhaven, Blackpond will be pushing soon. Mageria I don’t want to scare you, but if we don’t get help or a miracle they’re going to kill every last one of us.”
Grim remained silent after that, allowing the information to soak in. There was much to tell of Newhaven’s plight. Of course the Black Knight did notice some things. So far he hadn’t caught a glimpse of any White Knight. Which had many implications and none of them good.
His resolve tightened about him. Even with his personal hope dashed on the rocks he didn’t fear the wolves at the gate. He could hear their baying, howling for battle with the Raging Demon. Calling him out with jeers and taunts. Grim wanted to answer his daring adversary, he would give them a battle they’ll never forget.
“Mageria… I need you to put aside your misgivings. Show me to the armory, and give me ten able bodied men. I will take the fight to the enemy. I can’t win this war for us, but I can buy you time to rest and think.
… I will avenge our fallen siblings, I will slay and my blade will never dry through this black day. I will give them fear and death. A gift befitting these scum!”
He spat over the wall. The green orbs searching out beyond the rooftops. Eyes that were hungry and filled with bloodlust beaming out toward the pillars of smoke. Another urchin interrupted his watch, speaking quickly about a calling. It appeared Blackpond wanted to speak with a Black Knight. Grim smirked, he couldn’t imagine what their adversary was about.
“Looks like someone is going to try parliament. I’ll go first, it wouldn’t be above them to try something. Give me a few minutes by then we’ll know their true intentions.”
He wasn’t about to argue, Mageria was far too valuable to her people. If she fell now the blow to moral alone would assure Newhaven’s defeat. She was tactile but wizened through her experience, knowing well when to use practicality over militant strategy.
As for Grim he hopped down to the streets once more. There was no need to reveal their mode of transportation just yet. Besides if any cared to battle him along the way, they’d be wishing they hadn’t. The Black Knight was far from helpless even now.
The journey had proved surprisingly eventful. A street boy had flown from an empty lot to attempt to apprehend what he thought was a Newhaven lackey. Perhaps he could have been successful if not for the fact the street rat was using only a wooden staff. The blows to Grim didn’t even phase him and the counterattack dropped the teenager like a heavy sack. The unconscious boy was then promptly drug by his head. A trophy for the Blade to bring to the meeting.
When he arrived he was surprised to see that the call was somewhat genuine. The man before them being the only figure Grim could attempt to identify. Mageria had spoke of this individual once more, and the description fit. Casually the Raging Demon approached the group of Blackpond warriors. Tossing the young adult before them. The frame of the boy was still drawing breath but he was out cold, even rolling across the rough ground didn’t rouse him.
“If you’re going to bribe the ragamuffins you should arm them better. They may be familiar with the territory but so are we. The difference is we’re trained for combat and better armed.
You must be Hastings, coming to surrender no doubt, I accept.”
“… They’ve bet everything on this if I had to wager. Your guess about them strong-arming the Healers was accurate. Yesterday they attacked with force enough to kill the pacifists. Daniels did warn us, but it was too late. By the time I gathered the Guard and readied to speak with Lena they were upon us.
Twenty White Shadows and the White Rose herself abandoned their vows to distract Blackpond long enough for the rest to escape. We all fought valiantly but it wasn’t enough. I believe Lena is captured, and my companions were executed. I got pinned back within the Ruins, by the time I fought my way out the majority of our enemy was gone.
I… I eliminated those that remained and hurried here. The battalion ventured here to Newhaven, Blackpond will be pushing soon. Mageria I don’t want to scare you, but if we don’t get help or a miracle they’re going to kill every last one of us.”
Grim remained silent after that, allowing the information to soak in. There was much to tell of Newhaven’s plight. Of course the Black Knight did notice some things. So far he hadn’t caught a glimpse of any White Knight. Which had many implications and none of them good.
His resolve tightened about him. Even with his personal hope dashed on the rocks he didn’t fear the wolves at the gate. He could hear their baying, howling for battle with the Raging Demon. Calling him out with jeers and taunts. Grim wanted to answer his daring adversary, he would give them a battle they’ll never forget.
“Mageria… I need you to put aside your misgivings. Show me to the armory, and give me ten able bodied men. I will take the fight to the enemy. I can’t win this war for us, but I can buy you time to rest and think.
… I will avenge our fallen siblings, I will slay and my blade will never dry through this black day. I will give them fear and death. A gift befitting these scum!”
He spat over the wall. The green orbs searching out beyond the rooftops. Eyes that were hungry and filled with bloodlust beaming out toward the pillars of smoke. Another urchin interrupted his watch, speaking quickly about a calling. It appeared Blackpond wanted to speak with a Black Knight. Grim smirked, he couldn’t imagine what their adversary was about.
“Looks like someone is going to try parliament. I’ll go first, it wouldn’t be above them to try something. Give me a few minutes by then we’ll know their true intentions.”
He wasn’t about to argue, Mageria was far too valuable to her people. If she fell now the blow to moral alone would assure Newhaven’s defeat. She was tactile but wizened through her experience, knowing well when to use practicality over militant strategy.
As for Grim he hopped down to the streets once more. There was no need to reveal their mode of transportation just yet. Besides if any cared to battle him along the way, they’d be wishing they hadn’t. The Black Knight was far from helpless even now.
The journey had proved surprisingly eventful. A street boy had flown from an empty lot to attempt to apprehend what he thought was a Newhaven lackey. Perhaps he could have been successful if not for the fact the street rat was using only a wooden staff. The blows to Grim didn’t even phase him and the counterattack dropped the teenager like a heavy sack. The unconscious boy was then promptly drug by his head. A trophy for the Blade to bring to the meeting.
When he arrived he was surprised to see that the call was somewhat genuine. The man before them being the only figure Grim could attempt to identify. Mageria had spoke of this individual once more, and the description fit. Casually the Raging Demon approached the group of Blackpond warriors. Tossing the young adult before them. The frame of the boy was still drawing breath but he was out cold, even rolling across the rough ground didn’t rouse him.
“If you’re going to bribe the ragamuffins you should arm them better. They may be familiar with the territory but so are we. The difference is we’re trained for combat and better armed.
You must be Hastings, coming to surrender no doubt, I accept.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Sean had meant to leave the door open so he could see the movement in camp, but his sister had gotten up and closed it. He was more than used to, unofficially keeping an eye on things when they couldn't account for the leaders' whereabouts, something that seemed to happen quite frequently, but it seemed to be his sister's opinion that he shouldn't get involved that way. It didn't work all that well, since the door opened moments later.
Sean simply stopped himself halfway through a second bite of the fruit he was holding and sat there staring at the door for a few moments even after Evin had already left. The man hadn't spoken a word, but the sight of the weapon he was holding was more than enough. Katie was the one to brake the silence. "That was Crystal's weapon." The girl mumbled.
Sean dropped the half-eaten peach on the table and stood up. "Not a word, Katie. Not a word to anyone, do you hear me?"
"I'm not deaf, Sean, or stupid." The girl replied.
Sean wasn't listening, he was already walking out of the house. Looking around he could tell that people seemed much more calm to see Evin was back. None of them seemed to have yet realized that Crys was missing. It wasn't exactly their fault, she had a habit of hiding when battles like the one in Newhaven were in progress. That, of course, unless she had to fight herself. Sean lowered his head and for a moment he laughed. It was ridiculous how calm things were in the camp for once... The cities had their hands tied with each other, people were simply busy running their errands, sure that there was a leaser in camp to make sure they weren't killed. That sense of security would be shattered for the second time in a small time frame. It was hilarious that ignorance sometimes seemed like such a blessing.
He nodded, forcing himself to maintain a straight face as he walked to the leaders' cabin to find Evin there. It was certainly a strange thing to walk into that place and not be greeted by the sight of a redheaded woman. All the times he had been summoned there were by Dani or Crys. Even so, to find the similarities between the two one would have to give it a considerable amount of thought or be extremely observant. A moment passed before Sean realized he had been standing there in silence like a complete idiot. At which point he asked a question he already knew the answer to, however it seemed like the proper way to start the conversation. "What happened?"
-----------------------------------
[Desert]
Ali was left waiting while Annie spoke to Alistair. Watching the two at a distance, it didn't seem like the conversation was being pleasant. The girl had told Ali she would ask Alistair about Crys, to which Ali simply shrugged. She wasn't stupid... She had no illusions about this situation. It wasn't Alistair she had come to see anyway. She wanted to see Jake, for two reasons: One, she wanted to tell him about Crys herself. Second, if the Black Knights had anything to do with this Jake would be able to tell her.
She was very much distracted when Annie came to sit next to her. "Well, my mother is alive and well... In a cell in Blackpond." She informed. "He couldn't sense Crys anywhere. I'm sorry."
Ali simply nodded. "What about Jake?"
Annie sighed. "Well, Alistair said he wasn't seen since the battle. You wanted to give him the news, huh?"
Ali nodded once again.
"Ali... Clarify something for me." She asked. "Why would you decline second command? Isn't it your duty to help the clan?"
Ali snorted. "How would me accepting that help the clan? I understood Evin's concern, but if something happened to him and that left me in command, that would be a very pissed off bunch of assassins in the hands of... Well... Me."
"If both leaders die, then, what happens?" Annie asked.
"The clan has to appoint a new leader, you know, vote. Has never happened, but... In theory that's what would happen. I think it's much better than to have someone like me in charge." She stated.
Annie nodded. "What do you mean by that?"
Ali sighed. "I mean that I know my own limitations, Annie. That's all."
"I see." Annie mumbled. "So. Shouldn't you go back?"
Ali nodded in agreement, rubbing her eyes. "I should. I'm just not sure if I want to." She admitted. Things hadn't been the same for he since that damn battle in the castle. Now Crys was gone. She was gone. "Shit." Ali mumbled, hiding her face in her hands as she felt the tears escaping her. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!" She shouted, causing some healers to stop and stare at the two girls. Annie simply glared at them and they simply went back to what they were doing. All of them, but one.
Alistair made his way to them. "Allison... I know it's not a good time, but... There was this girl here, she seems to have been taken by the army, mistaken for one of our people. My apprentice seemed to think she was an assassin. She called herself Layla."
Ali raised her head to look up at the man. She knew that name. "Layla? What makes you think she is one of ours?"
"She said she only wanted to speak to assassins, plus... She knocked one of the apprentices unconscious and stole her robes. Reason why I think she might have been taken. She was dressed as a healer."
"Shit." Ali muttered. "That's just what we needed. Damn it!"
"You do know her?" Alistair asked.
"I do. Except her name is Ella." Ali sighed. "Why the hell didn't it occur to me she would go to the ruins?" Then she noticed the look on Alistair's face. "Al, are you alright? You look as if you saw a ghost."
"Y-you... You called her Ella?" The man asked. He seemed to be slightly panicked to hear the name.
"Yes. Do you know her?" Ali asked him. Not seeing what exactly was causing his reaction.
"No." He sighed. "Not her. Listen, I will tell you something that you cannot repeat to anyone. I shouldn't even be telling this to you, but... I think you need to see the extent of the problem."
While Alistair told her about Sarris and what she had asked of him and Lena her mind went through everything that had happened in the camp the past two days, everything Daniel had told her, and what she read in the files. Her eyes widened in shock as she finally realized that Blackpond had the person everyone had been looking for locked up in their dungeons. If they ever became aware of that fact, Ella would be in serious trouble. She stared at the healer in a shock for a few moments, then she simply stood up to leave. "I'm going back to camp. Now."
"What are you going to do?" Alistair asked.
Ali lowered her head as she began to walk away. "Inform the leader that one of our own is being kept prisoner." She replied. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the situation."
Sean simply stopped himself halfway through a second bite of the fruit he was holding and sat there staring at the door for a few moments even after Evin had already left. The man hadn't spoken a word, but the sight of the weapon he was holding was more than enough. Katie was the one to brake the silence. "That was Crystal's weapon." The girl mumbled.
Sean dropped the half-eaten peach on the table and stood up. "Not a word, Katie. Not a word to anyone, do you hear me?"
"I'm not deaf, Sean, or stupid." The girl replied.
Sean wasn't listening, he was already walking out of the house. Looking around he could tell that people seemed much more calm to see Evin was back. None of them seemed to have yet realized that Crys was missing. It wasn't exactly their fault, she had a habit of hiding when battles like the one in Newhaven were in progress. That, of course, unless she had to fight herself. Sean lowered his head and for a moment he laughed. It was ridiculous how calm things were in the camp for once... The cities had their hands tied with each other, people were simply busy running their errands, sure that there was a leaser in camp to make sure they weren't killed. That sense of security would be shattered for the second time in a small time frame. It was hilarious that ignorance sometimes seemed like such a blessing.
He nodded, forcing himself to maintain a straight face as he walked to the leaders' cabin to find Evin there. It was certainly a strange thing to walk into that place and not be greeted by the sight of a redheaded woman. All the times he had been summoned there were by Dani or Crys. Even so, to find the similarities between the two one would have to give it a considerable amount of thought or be extremely observant. A moment passed before Sean realized he had been standing there in silence like a complete idiot. At which point he asked a question he already knew the answer to, however it seemed like the proper way to start the conversation. "What happened?"
-----------------------------------
[Desert]
Ali was left waiting while Annie spoke to Alistair. Watching the two at a distance, it didn't seem like the conversation was being pleasant. The girl had told Ali she would ask Alistair about Crys, to which Ali simply shrugged. She wasn't stupid... She had no illusions about this situation. It wasn't Alistair she had come to see anyway. She wanted to see Jake, for two reasons: One, she wanted to tell him about Crys herself. Second, if the Black Knights had anything to do with this Jake would be able to tell her.
She was very much distracted when Annie came to sit next to her. "Well, my mother is alive and well... In a cell in Blackpond." She informed. "He couldn't sense Crys anywhere. I'm sorry."
Ali simply nodded. "What about Jake?"
Annie sighed. "Well, Alistair said he wasn't seen since the battle. You wanted to give him the news, huh?"
Ali nodded once again.
"Ali... Clarify something for me." She asked. "Why would you decline second command? Isn't it your duty to help the clan?"
Ali snorted. "How would me accepting that help the clan? I understood Evin's concern, but if something happened to him and that left me in command, that would be a very pissed off bunch of assassins in the hands of... Well... Me."
"If both leaders die, then, what happens?" Annie asked.
"The clan has to appoint a new leader, you know, vote. Has never happened, but... In theory that's what would happen. I think it's much better than to have someone like me in charge." She stated.
Annie nodded. "What do you mean by that?"
Ali sighed. "I mean that I know my own limitations, Annie. That's all."
"I see." Annie mumbled. "So. Shouldn't you go back?"
Ali nodded in agreement, rubbing her eyes. "I should. I'm just not sure if I want to." She admitted. Things hadn't been the same for he since that damn battle in the castle. Now Crys was gone. She was gone. "Shit." Ali mumbled, hiding her face in her hands as she felt the tears escaping her. "Shit. Shit. SHIT!" She shouted, causing some healers to stop and stare at the two girls. Annie simply glared at them and they simply went back to what they were doing. All of them, but one.
Alistair made his way to them. "Allison... I know it's not a good time, but... There was this girl here, she seems to have been taken by the army, mistaken for one of our people. My apprentice seemed to think she was an assassin. She called herself Layla."
Ali raised her head to look up at the man. She knew that name. "Layla? What makes you think she is one of ours?"
"She said she only wanted to speak to assassins, plus... She knocked one of the apprentices unconscious and stole her robes. Reason why I think she might have been taken. She was dressed as a healer."
"Shit." Ali muttered. "That's just what we needed. Damn it!"
"You do know her?" Alistair asked.
"I do. Except her name is Ella." Ali sighed. "Why the hell didn't it occur to me she would go to the ruins?" Then she noticed the look on Alistair's face. "Al, are you alright? You look as if you saw a ghost."
"Y-you... You called her Ella?" The man asked. He seemed to be slightly panicked to hear the name.
"Yes. Do you know her?" Ali asked him. Not seeing what exactly was causing his reaction.
"No." He sighed. "Not her. Listen, I will tell you something that you cannot repeat to anyone. I shouldn't even be telling this to you, but... I think you need to see the extent of the problem."
While Alistair told her about Sarris and what she had asked of him and Lena her mind went through everything that had happened in the camp the past two days, everything Daniel had told her, and what she read in the files. Her eyes widened in shock as she finally realized that Blackpond had the person everyone had been looking for locked up in their dungeons. If they ever became aware of that fact, Ella would be in serious trouble. She stared at the healer in a shock for a few moments, then she simply stood up to leave. "I'm going back to camp. Now."
"What are you going to do?" Alistair asked.
Ali lowered her head as she began to walk away. "Inform the leader that one of our own is being kept prisoner." She replied. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the situation."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria shadowed Grim from the roof tops as he walked through the streets. She saw the boy attack him and Grim barely paused as he knocked the boy out. She hadn’t even had a chance to argue with him before Grim had gone off to answer the summons. He might think that she was more important, but he was just as important to the fight.
Pulling out her spy glass, she reached a vantage point and focused on the group facing off against each other. She recognized Hastings easily. “Damn it, Grim. If you don’t stay alive through this I’m going to kill you myself.” Beside her were a couple of soldiers that were in the area. They were all armed with crossbows and regular bows. She hated being up were it was safe, but she didn’t have a choice.
So you’re going to let him die in your place?
Mageria ignored the icy voice. She recognized it now, it was the voice of Captain Morgan. More importantly, it was the result of whatever it was that had happened to her during the riot. It had no importance to what was happening, so she pushed it to the back of her mind where it didn’t matter.
“This is just a distraction. Make sure the points at the rest of the line are secure.” She spoke softly to the men beside her, who nodded and passed the word along.
-Elsewhere-
Rita was supervising the setting of fires in the buildings near the front lines when things went strange. A variety of liquids were dumped down on them from above, along with a volley of slung stones. “Oy, bad idea ya arseholes! Ya think you can just burn down our city!?!” The alleys and rooftops of the surrounding streets boiled with what would normally be the scum of the streets, now armed with weapons that gave them a chance when going up against soldiers. They weren’t skilled, but they were driven and that made all the difference. Maybe a few Blackpond soldiers survived, but it was by sheer luck alone.
Pulling out her spy glass, she reached a vantage point and focused on the group facing off against each other. She recognized Hastings easily. “Damn it, Grim. If you don’t stay alive through this I’m going to kill you myself.” Beside her were a couple of soldiers that were in the area. They were all armed with crossbows and regular bows. She hated being up were it was safe, but she didn’t have a choice.
So you’re going to let him die in your place?
Mageria ignored the icy voice. She recognized it now, it was the voice of Captain Morgan. More importantly, it was the result of whatever it was that had happened to her during the riot. It had no importance to what was happening, so she pushed it to the back of her mind where it didn’t matter.
“This is just a distraction. Make sure the points at the rest of the line are secure.” She spoke softly to the men beside her, who nodded and passed the word along.
-Elsewhere-
Rita was supervising the setting of fires in the buildings near the front lines when things went strange. A variety of liquids were dumped down on them from above, along with a volley of slung stones. “Oy, bad idea ya arseholes! Ya think you can just burn down our city!?!” The alleys and rooftops of the surrounding streets boiled with what would normally be the scum of the streets, now armed with weapons that gave them a chance when going up against soldiers. They weren’t skilled, but they were driven and that made all the difference. Maybe a few Blackpond soldiers survived, but it was by sheer luck alone.
Evin had walked into her cabin. Ella didn't know why he was doing this so late at night, but decided that she wasn't going to make a scene. There was no reason that Evin couldn't do this at a different time. He liked to be a bitch like that sometimes. She just couldn't decide if he had some sort of mental problem or if he had been hit over the head. There was something that was definitely wrong with him without a doubt.
Another thing about Evin that was bothering her was just how cocky he was. She had only known him for about two weeks and he just couldn't seem to get over himself. If he wasn't trying to make her life hell or coming up with some sort of insult for he, he was talking about himself as if he were some sort of hero. There was no way he could ever be as good as he said he was. He had more stories than most people could collect in their lifetime. He was no hero either. He might have saved her life, but what good had it done for them. He wouldn't even tell her how he killed the fake king that night.
"Why can't you do anything right Ella?" He spoke, like he knew she was awake. "I tell you to go and kill Crystal and you instead decide to go to sleep."
"What is wrong with you Evin? That's treason!"
"I don't expect you to actually do it, but I was hoping that you could at least be awake and thinking about it. You couldn't kill Crystal, even if she was asleep."
Ella sat up on her bed. "Then why would you send me on an impossible mission?"
"To see if you have a killer's intent." He explained. "Without it, there's no point to training you any further."
"Well yes there is! It's only been two weeks Evin!" Ella said.
"Isn't it you who wanted to get to the 'fun stuff'?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Don't start this but crap with me Ella. We are going back to the basics for now. When you are ready to kill somebody, then I'll think about continuing your training."
Ella was woken up by the sounds of metal chains. She noticed that she was sleeping on a hard stone ground and her head seemed to hurt a little. She rubbed her head over the spot on her head that hurt, and she felt a bump. It wasn't big, but she imagined that at one point it was worse. She also had a soar back. That was probably from sitting on the stone floor for who knows how long. She stood up slowly, catching herself when she almost fell over. She was a little dizzy, and now the room was starting to spin. Before she actually fell on her head, she sat back on the floor and stretched out her back, that cracked all the way up her spine. It was such a relief.
Finally she took some time to look around, and was completely shocked to see that she was locked up in a room. Then she finally remembered why she was there. She had finally killed someone like Evin had asked and she was knocked out by a Blackpond soldier. Most likely, she was in the dungeon. More importantly was the fact that she actually killed someone. She expected that she would feel something from it, but she didn't at all. She was what Evin wanted, a killer without remorse, but she didn't understand. Evin had explained to her that she would feel some sort of remorse after her first kill. It wasn't there. She didn't know if she could kill another person, but she sure didn't feel bad for the person she killed.
She took that out of her mind and looked around her. Behind her was a cot and it looked like someone was in the cell with her. She just hoped that it wasn't some sort of lunatic. She would never survive unless this person liked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Rita was one of the only few to survive the rather pitiful attack on them. It didn't seem right that her soldiers were falling to such feeble opponents when they would usually be able to take on things much stronger. She took the time to mercilessly slaughter any of them who even got close to her. Personally, she found that these young fighters were just practice for her. It wasn't much work to kill them even when the numbers were against her and the few survivors. When the stupid kids finally learned that there was no way they would kill the rest of them, they fled. Good on them, but if Rita saw another one of them kids, she would personally cut off their limbs and leave them on the road to bleed to death. There was no honour in that, but Rita didn't think that honor belonged in war.
"Don't worry, I have another idea." She smirked at the few surviving soldiers that were left.
~~~~~
Hastings watched the Black Knight referred to as War walk down the street alone. The tension was rising by the second as he drew closer. The thing was, Hastings had men with him while this War character trusted only on himself for defence. It must have been very intimidating for people who were watching over this scene. It only took one finger to slip and all hell would break loose. Hastings trusted that whoever was in charge of the soldiers watching over this would not let that happen.
“If you’re going to bribe the ragamuffins you should arm them better. They may be familiar with the territory but so are we. The difference is we’re trained for combat and better armed.
You must be Hastings, coming to surrender no doubt, I accept.”
"It sounds to me like someone is worried. Please, if you think we have come this far to just give up, then you are sadly mistaken. And it doesn't matter to me if these ragamuffins are armed well. Anyone who has dedicated their lives to the art of war like I have would know that they are just good for harassment. I do not give up precious supplies for them."
Hastings shooed his guards away. There were other things protecting him at the moment. His guards moved out of hearing range, but also out of range to protect Hastings in case anything happened.
"Now-" He was cut off when he saw a group of Newhaven soldiers in the distance looking up to the skies. Hastings usually wouldn't do this, but he turned his entire body around exposing his back to Grim. Flaming arrows were being fired in his general direction, hitting the roofs of the buildings around him. He was sure it took every inch in Grim's body not to just slay Hastings right there. If he did, it wouldn't matter, because he too would probably die from his hidden protection. They were trained to kill in one hit without being seen. Grim wouldn't even get a chance to use his powers before his assassins killed him. All that didn't matter, Hastings turned around to face Grim again without any harm to himself.
"Now, I didn't exactly have a reason to come and talk to you. I was kinda hoping for Mageria, but that doesn't matter. Let's see..." He took a moment to think of something to say to him. "I have one question for you. What makes you and Newhaven so much better than us Blackponds?"
This was not just something to try to aggravate the man. He actually had wanted to know this for years. Newhaven held themselves up to such a high degree. They felt like they were God-like or something. Blackpond never claimed to be better than Newhaven, they just fought an enemy. There was a distinct difference in philosophies and he wanted to understand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
When Sean walked into the room, he seemed to have been staring off into space. This was a little odd for him. He never seemed like the kind of kid who would daydream. Evin wasn't sure what to make of this, but before he could really get to interpreting it Sean asked him, "what's happened?"
Evin took a few minutes to make sure he was composed. "I'm just going to be strait with you Sean. As I'm sure you already understand, Crystal is dead. Allison will not accept my offer to be second in command so I've come to you with the honor." He let it sink it. He then grabbed the katana on the desk. "Now, where this was found, there was a little note left for us. Crystal had written the word black in the ground. It can't be Blackpond, they're a little busy. So are the Black Knights, but they would be more likely to have a vendetta on the Pack than Blackpond. What do you think?"
Another thing about Evin that was bothering her was just how cocky he was. She had only known him for about two weeks and he just couldn't seem to get over himself. If he wasn't trying to make her life hell or coming up with some sort of insult for he, he was talking about himself as if he were some sort of hero. There was no way he could ever be as good as he said he was. He had more stories than most people could collect in their lifetime. He was no hero either. He might have saved her life, but what good had it done for them. He wouldn't even tell her how he killed the fake king that night.
"Why can't you do anything right Ella?" He spoke, like he knew she was awake. "I tell you to go and kill Crystal and you instead decide to go to sleep."
"What is wrong with you Evin? That's treason!"
"I don't expect you to actually do it, but I was hoping that you could at least be awake and thinking about it. You couldn't kill Crystal, even if she was asleep."
Ella sat up on her bed. "Then why would you send me on an impossible mission?"
"To see if you have a killer's intent." He explained. "Without it, there's no point to training you any further."
"Well yes there is! It's only been two weeks Evin!" Ella said.
"Isn't it you who wanted to get to the 'fun stuff'?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Don't start this but crap with me Ella. We are going back to the basics for now. When you are ready to kill somebody, then I'll think about continuing your training."
Ella was woken up by the sounds of metal chains. She noticed that she was sleeping on a hard stone ground and her head seemed to hurt a little. She rubbed her head over the spot on her head that hurt, and she felt a bump. It wasn't big, but she imagined that at one point it was worse. She also had a soar back. That was probably from sitting on the stone floor for who knows how long. She stood up slowly, catching herself when she almost fell over. She was a little dizzy, and now the room was starting to spin. Before she actually fell on her head, she sat back on the floor and stretched out her back, that cracked all the way up her spine. It was such a relief.
Finally she took some time to look around, and was completely shocked to see that she was locked up in a room. Then she finally remembered why she was there. She had finally killed someone like Evin had asked and she was knocked out by a Blackpond soldier. Most likely, she was in the dungeon. More importantly was the fact that she actually killed someone. She expected that she would feel something from it, but she didn't at all. She was what Evin wanted, a killer without remorse, but she didn't understand. Evin had explained to her that she would feel some sort of remorse after her first kill. It wasn't there. She didn't know if she could kill another person, but she sure didn't feel bad for the person she killed.
She took that out of her mind and looked around her. Behind her was a cot and it looked like someone was in the cell with her. She just hoped that it wasn't some sort of lunatic. She would never survive unless this person liked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Newhaven]
Rita was one of the only few to survive the rather pitiful attack on them. It didn't seem right that her soldiers were falling to such feeble opponents when they would usually be able to take on things much stronger. She took the time to mercilessly slaughter any of them who even got close to her. Personally, she found that these young fighters were just practice for her. It wasn't much work to kill them even when the numbers were against her and the few survivors. When the stupid kids finally learned that there was no way they would kill the rest of them, they fled. Good on them, but if Rita saw another one of them kids, she would personally cut off their limbs and leave them on the road to bleed to death. There was no honour in that, but Rita didn't think that honor belonged in war.
"Don't worry, I have another idea." She smirked at the few surviving soldiers that were left.
~~~~~
Hastings watched the Black Knight referred to as War walk down the street alone. The tension was rising by the second as he drew closer. The thing was, Hastings had men with him while this War character trusted only on himself for defence. It must have been very intimidating for people who were watching over this scene. It only took one finger to slip and all hell would break loose. Hastings trusted that whoever was in charge of the soldiers watching over this would not let that happen.
“If you’re going to bribe the ragamuffins you should arm them better. They may be familiar with the territory but so are we. The difference is we’re trained for combat and better armed.
You must be Hastings, coming to surrender no doubt, I accept.”
"It sounds to me like someone is worried. Please, if you think we have come this far to just give up, then you are sadly mistaken. And it doesn't matter to me if these ragamuffins are armed well. Anyone who has dedicated their lives to the art of war like I have would know that they are just good for harassment. I do not give up precious supplies for them."
Hastings shooed his guards away. There were other things protecting him at the moment. His guards moved out of hearing range, but also out of range to protect Hastings in case anything happened.
"Now-" He was cut off when he saw a group of Newhaven soldiers in the distance looking up to the skies. Hastings usually wouldn't do this, but he turned his entire body around exposing his back to Grim. Flaming arrows were being fired in his general direction, hitting the roofs of the buildings around him. He was sure it took every inch in Grim's body not to just slay Hastings right there. If he did, it wouldn't matter, because he too would probably die from his hidden protection. They were trained to kill in one hit without being seen. Grim wouldn't even get a chance to use his powers before his assassins killed him. All that didn't matter, Hastings turned around to face Grim again without any harm to himself.
"Now, I didn't exactly have a reason to come and talk to you. I was kinda hoping for Mageria, but that doesn't matter. Let's see..." He took a moment to think of something to say to him. "I have one question for you. What makes you and Newhaven so much better than us Blackponds?"
This was not just something to try to aggravate the man. He actually had wanted to know this for years. Newhaven held themselves up to such a high degree. They felt like they were God-like or something. Blackpond never claimed to be better than Newhaven, they just fought an enemy. There was a distinct difference in philosophies and he wanted to understand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin's Camp]
When Sean walked into the room, he seemed to have been staring off into space. This was a little odd for him. He never seemed like the kind of kid who would daydream. Evin wasn't sure what to make of this, but before he could really get to interpreting it Sean asked him, "what's happened?"
Evin took a few minutes to make sure he was composed. "I'm just going to be strait with you Sean. As I'm sure you already understand, Crystal is dead. Allison will not accept my offer to be second in command so I've come to you with the honor." He let it sink it. He then grabbed the katana on the desk. "Now, where this was found, there was a little note left for us. Crystal had written the word black in the ground. It can't be Blackpond, they're a little busy. So are the Black Knights, but they would be more likely to have a vendetta on the Pack than Blackpond. What do you think?"
“What makes Newhaven better?”
Grim stopped a moment to think on this. Resting his hand diligently beneath his chin in contemplation. Absorbing the question at its face value, and formulating his response in care.
The fire spreading over the rooftops didn’t seem to interrupt the Black Knight, to be honest he wasn’t sure who had unleashed them. It hardly mattered, if Grim wanted to leave he’d simply do so. By the rules of battle they would talk and nothing more. Even if neither side trusted the other, this was the way it had been before their ancestors.
He would not break the rules of engagement. Despite any temptations and opportunities. In a way he was the perfect counter as well. With his Enlightenment it meant that he would only go berserk if they struck first. In a funny way that insured this meeting would go without death.
“You would ask us why we are your better? I would say in all honesty if you and I were to stand side by side and measure every detail it would ultimately end the same. Neither you or I are necessarily better then each other. Just as Blackpond is no more Newhaven’s superior.
No foolish man, we are equals in our creation. The difference is in context, in our actions.”
Grim stretched a moment, knowing this argument could go on. Without regard for his safety he pulled the Giant’s Knife from his back, anchoring into the pathway at his feet. Resting his forearms over the wings of his weapon. His expression veiled beneath the shadow of his helm, the only clue to his temperament being in his spoken voice.
“I was there when you attacked the White Shadows. Ready to die shoulder to shoulder with the peaceful clan. Granted in your foolishness the healers escaped, and perhaps that is part of your ultimate plan. It matters not, the urchin, the innocent you could care less. Just as you say… they are but tools.
Newhaven is superior because you act like barbarians! Because men like you wallow in the very filth of your own existence. Unable to bear the burden of your misery you strike out. Be it some feud from ages past or the inner demons that tormented your childhood, you are the cause.
Blackpond is why Newhaven is greater!”
Grim’s body trembled with rage. From his perspective all of this war was pointless and without need. In all the space in Valcrest why couldn’t the two cities just coexist? In his mind the answer was because Blackpond refused to simply let things be. They had some reason, be it jealousy, purpose, or something far more sinister. Grim wanted them all to hang for their crimes.
“Rrrr cowards and murderers. You think you’ve won this! You will fail, rest assured. So long as any Black Knight stands you will never take our home.”
Grim stopped a moment to think on this. Resting his hand diligently beneath his chin in contemplation. Absorbing the question at its face value, and formulating his response in care.
The fire spreading over the rooftops didn’t seem to interrupt the Black Knight, to be honest he wasn’t sure who had unleashed them. It hardly mattered, if Grim wanted to leave he’d simply do so. By the rules of battle they would talk and nothing more. Even if neither side trusted the other, this was the way it had been before their ancestors.
He would not break the rules of engagement. Despite any temptations and opportunities. In a way he was the perfect counter as well. With his Enlightenment it meant that he would only go berserk if they struck first. In a funny way that insured this meeting would go without death.
“You would ask us why we are your better? I would say in all honesty if you and I were to stand side by side and measure every detail it would ultimately end the same. Neither you or I are necessarily better then each other. Just as Blackpond is no more Newhaven’s superior.
No foolish man, we are equals in our creation. The difference is in context, in our actions.”
Grim stretched a moment, knowing this argument could go on. Without regard for his safety he pulled the Giant’s Knife from his back, anchoring into the pathway at his feet. Resting his forearms over the wings of his weapon. His expression veiled beneath the shadow of his helm, the only clue to his temperament being in his spoken voice.
“I was there when you attacked the White Shadows. Ready to die shoulder to shoulder with the peaceful clan. Granted in your foolishness the healers escaped, and perhaps that is part of your ultimate plan. It matters not, the urchin, the innocent you could care less. Just as you say… they are but tools.
Newhaven is superior because you act like barbarians! Because men like you wallow in the very filth of your own existence. Unable to bear the burden of your misery you strike out. Be it some feud from ages past or the inner demons that tormented your childhood, you are the cause.
Blackpond is why Newhaven is greater!”
Grim’s body trembled with rage. From his perspective all of this war was pointless and without need. In all the space in Valcrest why couldn’t the two cities just coexist? In his mind the answer was because Blackpond refused to simply let things be. They had some reason, be it jealousy, purpose, or something far more sinister. Grim wanted them all to hang for their crimes.
“Rrrr cowards and murderers. You think you’ve won this! You will fail, rest assured. So long as any Black Knight stands you will never take our home.”
Lena was shivering cold and at the same time it felt like her insides were burning. Meanwhile, she tried to meditate. She was isolated in a cabin, locked from the outside, trying to keep herself quiet and at peace. If she failed... She would die. That was the initiation.
Legends told that the Goddess of Peace preached the wisdom of knowing when to act and when to hold still, when to fight and when to walk away, when to stand one's ground and when to follow the masses. Ten apprentices entered the leader's tent that morning. Each one of them was given a glass to drink from. All ten were dosed with a, possibly fatal, shot of poison. After that, they were each locked in a cabin with a selection of herbal extracts and told that they would die, unless they remembered the most important lesson they had been taught. When morning came, she was the only one that had made it through. Later she was told that the substance they were given would kill them if their heart rate accelerated too much, or if mixed with anything they had been given as working material. The only way to live was to remain calm and do nothing. Apparently that was a lot easier said than done.
Lena's dreams were confused between her mother screaming in her ears that she had to do better and her master telling her to breathe and empty her mind. Those were two great parts of who she was, but now they were both in the past. For the first time in a long time... The Future was uncertain. She opened her eyes into the darkness of the cell she was in. The scene of the girl named Ella and Evin speaking flashed in her mind. That meant the girl was in the cell with her. That might be good or bad depending of the situation.
She sighed and sat up, rubbing her temples. Her head was aching terribly. After a while she realized that she had shackles around her wrists and ankles. She sighed. "People are so mistrustful" She whispered to herself. Then she raised her tone a little so the girl could hear. "I threw up." She stated. "When I made my first kill, I threw up. It wasn't so bad, just not very elegant for an assassin to leave a victim lying in a pool of vomit. I was suspended for that."
She groaned, trying to stand up and having to lean on to the wall. "Concussion." She muttered. "Probably a concussion." Giving up, she sat on the floor. That's when she heard a discrete sound of fingertips tapping against the door of the cell. She had to stop for a second to remember the code being used. Jake was telling her that he would get her out. "Stupid kid." She muttered. "Jake." She called in an soft, yet audible, tone. "Go to Newhaven and find your former captain. Tell her that..." She paused, thinking of how exactly to phrase the message. "Tell her that what Lady Sarris asked me to find is here with me."
More tapping in response.
Lena nodded. "I don't care how you'll do it. Just do it. Now get the hell out of here."
More tapping.
"You'll never make it out with another person. The place is too well guarded. Just do as I say."
The response this time was a loud sound of a fist slamming against the door as Jake walked away from it. Lena began shaking her head, however, the aching forced her to stop. She rested her head on her hands. "First time in a cell?" She asked the girl. "I haven't been in one since I was... nineteen, I think." She snickered. "Always a joy, you'll see." She stated as a guard came and opened the door of the cell. Lena looked at the man with a innocently curious look. "Good day, or evening, I wouldn't know." She greeted. "Tell me, kind sir, what was this banging all about? Is something wrong?" The man simply frowned and closed the door of the cell with a loud thud. Lena winced. "Jerk." She muttered, rubbing her temples.
---------------
Jake wasn't happy with Lena's instructions to him. He didn't want to leave her, or anyone else, behind. Some guards were having trouble containing some of the healers as they were acting out in their cells. Jax had been knocked unconscious again after using her ability to bust down the door of her cell. The men's patience was wearing out and soon they might start hurting the prisoners. Suppose maybe they didn't care, but he sure did. Either way, Lena was right. I was impossible for him to walk out with someone else and not be heard or bump into a guard at some place. It was surely frustrating.
Jake made his way out of the dungeons going over what his aunt had asked him to do. How the hell was he supposed to get past the whole Blackpond army and get the message through to... Mageria? Why her? He shook his head as he walked, unable to understand. Surely they would understand the message, and it seemed important. He would have to find a way to get through and deliver it.
So, he made his way out of the castle and through the streets of the city, stopping to the sight of the Inn being rebuilt by Blackpond workers. That was strange, but he didn't stop to think about it. Supposedly Crys could have made some deal with Blackpond to that effect. He didn't see a reason why she wouldn't. Blackpond didn't really seem to mind the Pack at all. Curiosity struck though, and Jake hung around the working men. Hearing them whine about how they had to work non stop to get the place done as token of good faith and how things were changing to their favor in the Wolfpack.
That one comment in particular caught his attention. How were things changing in the Pack? Who would tell them that? Jake had a bad feeling about this and, no matter what Lena had asked him to do, he was going to the forest first.
------------
[assassin camp]
Sean took his time to go over what Evin was saying. He honestly didn't expect the man to ask his opinion, he never seemed to respect him much. Ignoring the fact that he had just been offered second command, and most importantly ignoring the fact that Ali had been asked before him, Sean walked a step further into the room and pulled a chair to sit on. "It was just a stupid move, if the Black Knights did it. They never seemed to me to be this stupid, but... I don't see how Crys' death would benefit Blackpond in any way or how they would have the means to do it. She was not the most easy of people to kill, you know."
He tilted his head to the side and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a small sigh as if he suddenly felt exhausted just to think of possibilities. "If that is the case, however, I say we have to do something, I mean... They did kill Dani and even if using Jake to do it, and I know Crys herself would disagree, but they need to pay for this. They can't simply kill off our leaders and get away with it."
He sat in silence for a little while then added. "What are you planning on doing as to, hum, arrangements? Is there a body to bury, or...? I mean... People will want to pay their respects and..." He sighed. "Well, Crys doesn't have any family left. They usually make those decisions, but..." He scratched the back of his head than nodded. "You know, I can make the announcement and I can take care of that if you'd rather not. I don't mind." He offered.
Legends told that the Goddess of Peace preached the wisdom of knowing when to act and when to hold still, when to fight and when to walk away, when to stand one's ground and when to follow the masses. Ten apprentices entered the leader's tent that morning. Each one of them was given a glass to drink from. All ten were dosed with a, possibly fatal, shot of poison. After that, they were each locked in a cabin with a selection of herbal extracts and told that they would die, unless they remembered the most important lesson they had been taught. When morning came, she was the only one that had made it through. Later she was told that the substance they were given would kill them if their heart rate accelerated too much, or if mixed with anything they had been given as working material. The only way to live was to remain calm and do nothing. Apparently that was a lot easier said than done.
Lena's dreams were confused between her mother screaming in her ears that she had to do better and her master telling her to breathe and empty her mind. Those were two great parts of who she was, but now they were both in the past. For the first time in a long time... The Future was uncertain. She opened her eyes into the darkness of the cell she was in. The scene of the girl named Ella and Evin speaking flashed in her mind. That meant the girl was in the cell with her. That might be good or bad depending of the situation.
She sighed and sat up, rubbing her temples. Her head was aching terribly. After a while she realized that she had shackles around her wrists and ankles. She sighed. "People are so mistrustful" She whispered to herself. Then she raised her tone a little so the girl could hear. "I threw up." She stated. "When I made my first kill, I threw up. It wasn't so bad, just not very elegant for an assassin to leave a victim lying in a pool of vomit. I was suspended for that."
She groaned, trying to stand up and having to lean on to the wall. "Concussion." She muttered. "Probably a concussion." Giving up, she sat on the floor. That's when she heard a discrete sound of fingertips tapping against the door of the cell. She had to stop for a second to remember the code being used. Jake was telling her that he would get her out. "Stupid kid." She muttered. "Jake." She called in an soft, yet audible, tone. "Go to Newhaven and find your former captain. Tell her that..." She paused, thinking of how exactly to phrase the message. "Tell her that what Lady Sarris asked me to find is here with me."
More tapping in response.
Lena nodded. "I don't care how you'll do it. Just do it. Now get the hell out of here."
More tapping.
"You'll never make it out with another person. The place is too well guarded. Just do as I say."
The response this time was a loud sound of a fist slamming against the door as Jake walked away from it. Lena began shaking her head, however, the aching forced her to stop. She rested her head on her hands. "First time in a cell?" She asked the girl. "I haven't been in one since I was... nineteen, I think." She snickered. "Always a joy, you'll see." She stated as a guard came and opened the door of the cell. Lena looked at the man with a innocently curious look. "Good day, or evening, I wouldn't know." She greeted. "Tell me, kind sir, what was this banging all about? Is something wrong?" The man simply frowned and closed the door of the cell with a loud thud. Lena winced. "Jerk." She muttered, rubbing her temples.
---------------
Jake wasn't happy with Lena's instructions to him. He didn't want to leave her, or anyone else, behind. Some guards were having trouble containing some of the healers as they were acting out in their cells. Jax had been knocked unconscious again after using her ability to bust down the door of her cell. The men's patience was wearing out and soon they might start hurting the prisoners. Suppose maybe they didn't care, but he sure did. Either way, Lena was right. I was impossible for him to walk out with someone else and not be heard or bump into a guard at some place. It was surely frustrating.
Jake made his way out of the dungeons going over what his aunt had asked him to do. How the hell was he supposed to get past the whole Blackpond army and get the message through to... Mageria? Why her? He shook his head as he walked, unable to understand. Surely they would understand the message, and it seemed important. He would have to find a way to get through and deliver it.
So, he made his way out of the castle and through the streets of the city, stopping to the sight of the Inn being rebuilt by Blackpond workers. That was strange, but he didn't stop to think about it. Supposedly Crys could have made some deal with Blackpond to that effect. He didn't see a reason why she wouldn't. Blackpond didn't really seem to mind the Pack at all. Curiosity struck though, and Jake hung around the working men. Hearing them whine about how they had to work non stop to get the place done as token of good faith and how things were changing to their favor in the Wolfpack.
That one comment in particular caught his attention. How were things changing in the Pack? Who would tell them that? Jake had a bad feeling about this and, no matter what Lena had asked him to do, he was going to the forest first.
------------
[assassin camp]
Sean took his time to go over what Evin was saying. He honestly didn't expect the man to ask his opinion, he never seemed to respect him much. Ignoring the fact that he had just been offered second command, and most importantly ignoring the fact that Ali had been asked before him, Sean walked a step further into the room and pulled a chair to sit on. "It was just a stupid move, if the Black Knights did it. They never seemed to me to be this stupid, but... I don't see how Crys' death would benefit Blackpond in any way or how they would have the means to do it. She was not the most easy of people to kill, you know."
He tilted his head to the side and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a small sigh as if he suddenly felt exhausted just to think of possibilities. "If that is the case, however, I say we have to do something, I mean... They did kill Dani and even if using Jake to do it, and I know Crys herself would disagree, but they need to pay for this. They can't simply kill off our leaders and get away with it."
He sat in silence for a little while then added. "What are you planning on doing as to, hum, arrangements? Is there a body to bury, or...? I mean... People will want to pay their respects and..." He sighed. "Well, Crys doesn't have any family left. They usually make those decisions, but..." He scratched the back of his head than nodded. "You know, I can make the announcement and I can take care of that if you'd rather not. I don't mind." He offered.
Mageria ground her teeth as the flaming arrows hit the roofs near the men. Thanks to the illusions her teams were throwing up, only about half of the arrows had hit anything flammable, but that was still too many.
“Daniels!” She summoned one man with a singularly useless gift. “I want you to rot the roofs that are on fire.”
The man looked confused. “Captain?”
She shoved the spy glass in his hand and pointed at the roofs that were starting to catch. “Last I time I checked, something that’s rotting generally can not be on fire. Rot the wood out from under the fires. Do it now.”
The red headed solider shrugged and put the spy glass to his eye, pointing it at one fire after another. Within just a moment they each started to go out. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over the roof just a bit, struggling to see what was going on. Grim looked as if he was getting angry, and she prayed that he could keep hold of his temper. She also didn’t trust Hastings any further than she could toss his mangled decapitated body.
“Daniels!” She summoned one man with a singularly useless gift. “I want you to rot the roofs that are on fire.”
The man looked confused. “Captain?”
She shoved the spy glass in his hand and pointed at the roofs that were starting to catch. “Last I time I checked, something that’s rotting generally can not be on fire. Rot the wood out from under the fires. Do it now.”
The red headed solider shrugged and put the spy glass to his eye, pointing it at one fire after another. Within just a moment they each started to go out. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over the roof just a bit, struggling to see what was going on. Grim looked as if he was getting angry, and she prayed that he could keep hold of his temper. She also didn’t trust Hastings any further than she could toss his mangled decapitated body.
Hastings couldn’t believe what he was hearing from this man. He basically said that there isn’t anything that made them better, but in reality there was. He wasn’t sure if Grim saw him as stupid or if he really thought that what he said made any sense.
“Blackpond is why Newhaven is greater!”
Hastings couldn’t help but laugh at the comments this man was making. Even when he could see that he was beginning to boil Hastings couldn’t help himself. There was a hubris personality in almost every important figure in Newhaven it seemed. A sort of egotism that Hastings couldn’t stand.
“Rrrr cowards and murderers. You think you’ve won this! You will fail, rest assured. So long as any Black Knight stands you will never take our home.”
“Cowards and murderers.” Hastings muttered under his breath. “Cowards and murderers, says the man who does Newhaven’s dirty work. The only difference between Newhaven and Blackpond is that we don’t have a scapegoat like the Black Knights.” He sighed. “In war, you have to do things that you will one day regret in order to win. Blackpond understands what we are doing wrong, but you people are too busy looking at yourselves through some holy mirror to see what you do wrong… When I was ten, Newhaven had attacked the city, much like we are now. They had taken most of the city and had taken many citizens for execution. Citizens… not soldiers! My father included.”
The fire that had been started by Rita had suddenly stopped. Hastings was too caught up in his story to care.
“The Black Knights who executed him, thought it would be funny to do it publicly, just feet away from his son. It took them almost an entire day to drown him. That was the day that I started drinking… I was ten! Newhaven might see themselves as better, but I beg to differ.” He looked around and predicted that it was probably time to go. He could see some people in the houses surrounding him and their faces were ones that really wanted him dead. “Lamya, let’s go!”
Suddenly, a woman in assassins garb apperated beside Hastings. “It’s been done.” She said.
Hastings started to walk away. He went back to his guards with Lamya beside him. “Let’s not talk about this now Lamya. There will be time to give me the details.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella was so worried about the woman who was in the cell with him, that when she moved, she let out a little yelp. Then she noticed who it was. Lena sat up, and started speaking to her. She was talking about her first kill. First kill? Ella didn’t even realise that Lena had ever killed someone. She thought that there was some rule against that. She had some sort of vow. Knowing that and her reaction, it just made Ella scared. Why didn’t she feel anything after killing that man? Was she unstable?
"First time in a cell?" She asked, using it as a jump start for conversation. She assumed that Ella had never been in a cell or was ever treated any worse than what could happen at the assassin’s camp.
“No, this isn’t my first time. My first time was almost two years ago, captive of a man named Perry. I know you probably wouldn’t believe me, but he killed the real king and took his place. I was tortured for almost a year so this will probably be a walk in the park.” She said with a smile.
She rubbed her head where the bump was again. Not because of the pain, but because she was thinking. She was thinking about the man he killed again. The whole thing was very upsetting to her. There was such anticipation for it and there was nothing, just nothing. Everyone else had a story about their first kill. Even Lena, and that just didn’t make any sense. There was more than just Lena’s story that didn’t make sense about Lena.
“I never said anything about my first kill. How do you know about my first kill?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin’s Camp]
Evin couldn't deal with listening to Sean talking about the body. There was no body to make arrangements with and he just couldn't handle that. It has happened before, the most recent example besides Crystal would be Takei. But, with everyone else, he just didn't care as much. He didn't have as strong of a connection with anyone else in the Pack. His relationship with Crystal always reminded him of his with Dani. There were slight differences that made both relation special however. Only someone who was as close to both Dani and Crystal would understand, but there weren't many people. There were three he could think of. Sebastian, Theron and of course Jake. None of them were there anymore, so really Evin was the only one. That was why he felt like the way he did about her body.
Evin lifted himself up off his seat with his head lowered at the table. "There is no body... but sure Sean, I'd rather you do it than I." He turned around to Crystal's desk and grabbed a book from out of the shelf. It was Dani's journal. "We will start taking action against the Black Knights next week. For now, we should wait and let the Pack come accustom to the changes." He moved to his desk and placed the journal on his own desk and then headed to his room. "Oh yeah, you can have Crystal's room."
Evin didn't care what Sean did after that, he just needed some time alone and the only place he could ever get that for certain was in his own room.
“Blackpond is why Newhaven is greater!”
Hastings couldn’t help but laugh at the comments this man was making. Even when he could see that he was beginning to boil Hastings couldn’t help himself. There was a hubris personality in almost every important figure in Newhaven it seemed. A sort of egotism that Hastings couldn’t stand.
“Rrrr cowards and murderers. You think you’ve won this! You will fail, rest assured. So long as any Black Knight stands you will never take our home.”
“Cowards and murderers.” Hastings muttered under his breath. “Cowards and murderers, says the man who does Newhaven’s dirty work. The only difference between Newhaven and Blackpond is that we don’t have a scapegoat like the Black Knights.” He sighed. “In war, you have to do things that you will one day regret in order to win. Blackpond understands what we are doing wrong, but you people are too busy looking at yourselves through some holy mirror to see what you do wrong… When I was ten, Newhaven had attacked the city, much like we are now. They had taken most of the city and had taken many citizens for execution. Citizens… not soldiers! My father included.”
The fire that had been started by Rita had suddenly stopped. Hastings was too caught up in his story to care.
“The Black Knights who executed him, thought it would be funny to do it publicly, just feet away from his son. It took them almost an entire day to drown him. That was the day that I started drinking… I was ten! Newhaven might see themselves as better, but I beg to differ.” He looked around and predicted that it was probably time to go. He could see some people in the houses surrounding him and their faces were ones that really wanted him dead. “Lamya, let’s go!”
Suddenly, a woman in assassins garb apperated beside Hastings. “It’s been done.” She said.
Hastings started to walk away. He went back to his guards with Lamya beside him. “Let’s not talk about this now Lamya. There will be time to give me the details.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella was so worried about the woman who was in the cell with him, that when she moved, she let out a little yelp. Then she noticed who it was. Lena sat up, and started speaking to her. She was talking about her first kill. First kill? Ella didn’t even realise that Lena had ever killed someone. She thought that there was some rule against that. She had some sort of vow. Knowing that and her reaction, it just made Ella scared. Why didn’t she feel anything after killing that man? Was she unstable?
"First time in a cell?" She asked, using it as a jump start for conversation. She assumed that Ella had never been in a cell or was ever treated any worse than what could happen at the assassin’s camp.
“No, this isn’t my first time. My first time was almost two years ago, captive of a man named Perry. I know you probably wouldn’t believe me, but he killed the real king and took his place. I was tortured for almost a year so this will probably be a walk in the park.” She said with a smile.
She rubbed her head where the bump was again. Not because of the pain, but because she was thinking. She was thinking about the man he killed again. The whole thing was very upsetting to her. There was such anticipation for it and there was nothing, just nothing. Everyone else had a story about their first kill. Even Lena, and that just didn’t make any sense. There was more than just Lena’s story that didn’t make sense about Lena.
“I never said anything about my first kill. How do you know about my first kill?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassin’s Camp]
Evin couldn't deal with listening to Sean talking about the body. There was no body to make arrangements with and he just couldn't handle that. It has happened before, the most recent example besides Crystal would be Takei. But, with everyone else, he just didn't care as much. He didn't have as strong of a connection with anyone else in the Pack. His relationship with Crystal always reminded him of his with Dani. There were slight differences that made both relation special however. Only someone who was as close to both Dani and Crystal would understand, but there weren't many people. There were three he could think of. Sebastian, Theron and of course Jake. None of them were there anymore, so really Evin was the only one. That was why he felt like the way he did about her body.
Evin lifted himself up off his seat with his head lowered at the table. "There is no body... but sure Sean, I'd rather you do it than I." He turned around to Crystal's desk and grabbed a book from out of the shelf. It was Dani's journal. "We will start taking action against the Black Knights next week. For now, we should wait and let the Pack come accustom to the changes." He moved to his desk and placed the journal on his own desk and then headed to his room. "Oh yeah, you can have Crystal's room."
Evin didn't care what Sean did after that, he just needed some time alone and the only place he could ever get that for certain was in his own room.
The man retorted with his rhetoric. It was here where the difference in the warriors showed through. Grim listened and though he was aflame with anger, he did have an sympathetic ear. Knowing Newhaven was the greatest city in Valcrest, he also understood that they were not free of evil either. The actions of the first keep had effected the lives of all who dwelled in the land. The Pack was needlessly hunted, so it stood to reason that a strike against Blackpond wasn’t unfathomable. It also wasn’t improbable that the former knights used public executions as shocking examples of what happened to those that went against them.
Grim knew something of sin, he was a creature of it. Killing more innocents then he believed could ever be redeemable. Though some would argue that he is out of mind when the beast takes him, he knows that his hands are guilty regardless. The day will come when he paid the price, but for now his job was to safeguard the future.
No matter who told him otherwise, it was on Newhaven to right all the wrongs. To bring some semblance of order to the homeland. Yet they were besieged on all fronts by conflicts. Ancient hatreds that were rebred generation after generation. They would have to lead, men like Hastings couldn’t end the fighting. Grim took it upon himself, one way or another he’d overcome this adversity. Be it by tongue or blade.
He drew up his sword throwing it back into its sheath. Watching as the enemy commander took his leave. Accompanied by a strange woman that whispered secrets into his ear. With eagerness he called after Hastings, throwing his voice loud and harsh knowing he would be heard. Not willing to give this snake the last say in their exchange.
“You can raze Newhaven to the ground, but you will never escape the lives you’ve taken! You will pay for your crimes Hastings!”
He calmed himself afterwards, casting a glance over the ruined cityscape. Contemplating for a moment about the meeting. Wondering how it would have gone if Mageria had shown instead. He spoke once more though quietly and without spite.
“I’m sorry for what they did to you…”
Grim knew something of sin, he was a creature of it. Killing more innocents then he believed could ever be redeemable. Though some would argue that he is out of mind when the beast takes him, he knows that his hands are guilty regardless. The day will come when he paid the price, but for now his job was to safeguard the future.
No matter who told him otherwise, it was on Newhaven to right all the wrongs. To bring some semblance of order to the homeland. Yet they were besieged on all fronts by conflicts. Ancient hatreds that were rebred generation after generation. They would have to lead, men like Hastings couldn’t end the fighting. Grim took it upon himself, one way or another he’d overcome this adversity. Be it by tongue or blade.
He drew up his sword throwing it back into its sheath. Watching as the enemy commander took his leave. Accompanied by a strange woman that whispered secrets into his ear. With eagerness he called after Hastings, throwing his voice loud and harsh knowing he would be heard. Not willing to give this snake the last say in their exchange.
“You can raze Newhaven to the ground, but you will never escape the lives you’ve taken! You will pay for your crimes Hastings!”
He calmed himself afterwards, casting a glance over the ruined cityscape. Contemplating for a moment about the meeting. Wondering how it would have gone if Mageria had shown instead. He spoke once more though quietly and without spite.
“I’m sorry for what they did to you…”
Lena was rubbing the back of her head where she had been struck and mentally cursing, but she was listening carefully to what Ella was saying even so. "I believe you." She stated calmly as if Ella had just mentioned something completely normal and believable. "However, don't assume something can't be worse than that if you can't be sure. I've been imprisoned here as well as Newhaven as well as by some, not very polite, mercenaries not one of those times was very enjoyable."
When Lena finally found herself a little less dizzy she rubbed her eyes and focused on the girl. It was noticeable, even in the darkness of the dungeon, that she was confused. “I never said anything about my first kill. How do you know about my first kill?” She asked.
Lena frowned for a split second in confusion, then she laughed. "Oh, my. You must be the only person in the Wolfpack not to know this. I mean really, for assassins, those people gossip way too much." She stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "Well, I know about your first kill because you can't seem to stop thinking about it, and if you think of a memory, most likely I can see it." She stood up again, this time actually feeling that she could walk, she tried to reach the door and realized she was chained to the wall, and was unable to reach it. "Hum." She mumbled. Then she turned her attention back to Ella and continued with the conversation. "Another thing you probably don't know is that I was actually raised in the Pack. In fact, I trained Dani Rivers and, before Evin and Crystal graduated, I held the most impressive assassination record in the clan." She sighed. "Not sure which one of the two currently holds that title. Probably Crys, since I imagine Evin would have a few more blemishes on his record than her." She said with a little smirk. "I was an active for 3 years, instructors for another 3, and disassociated myself from the clan at age 20."
"These shackles are really annoying, aren't they?" She remarked, raising her hand in front of her eyes to measure the chain that bound her left wrist to her right. "Hum." She mumbled again. Then she shouted, suddenly: "Hey! I know you are out there! Get in here!"
There was no response, but she could hear footsteps coming to a quick halt outside the door.
She chuckled. "Fine, don't answer me." She said, sitting on the ground and closing her eyes to meditate. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing a bright blue. She stood up again. "Lionel, isn't it? Your brother was amongst the men who raided my encampment. He hasn't returned has he? Did they tell you he probably headed for Newhaven? That you shouldn't worry?" She asked.
This time the door opened and a guard stood in the doorway, out of Lena's reach. He didn't say anything, simply stared at her as if wondering what exactly did she know.
"They lied to you." She stated, looking at the man. "Your brother is dead, I killed him with my own hands." She nodded. "Poor bastard, didn't stand a chance against a healer..." She broke suddenly into a mocking laughter. "What a sad way to die, don't you think? A great soldier of Blackpond... Couldn't off a peaceful little woman like myself." She laughed a little louder. "Pathetic!"
The man still didn't say a word he just stormed further into the cell towards Lena, which seemed to have been anticipated, because the woman dodged the punch the guard had aimed at her and managed to wrap the chains that bound her wrists around his neck, slowly choking him to death. She cradled the man in her arms, slowly laying him onto the ground. She closed his eyes and mumbled. "Farewell brother. May your soul be welcomed safely into the Afterlife. May you finally encounter the peace you were here denied. May you be cleansed of your sins as one day I shall be freed from mine. Await my return for we shall meet on the other side." After the prayer she added. "Forgive me, I lied. Hopefully your brother won't live to bury you."
She then took the set of keys from the man's belt to open her shackles, tossing them aside to Ella before standing up slowly and walking out of the cell. "Follow me if you want." She told the girl. "I'm going to see if I can find the King."
-----------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Sean frowned slightly. "No body?" He whispered to himself. He stood up, his eyes taking notice of Evin's gesture of taking the book. "Alright I will make the arrangements for a cross to be placed in the memorial so people can... Pay their respects." He turned to leave and do as he said he would, halfway out the door he collided with Ali. "The hell?" She muttered.
"Sorry." Sean, told her. Offering his hand to help her up, which she didn't take.
"Is Evin in?" She asked.
Sean nodded in response and simply pointed towards Evin's room while walking past her. "I need all instructors to help gather the clan around the campfire. I have to announce Crys' death." He told her.
Ali sighed. "I'll be right there."
--------------
Ali stepped into the cabin, not anxious to disturb Evin, her eyes caught the Katana that had been left on the table and she felt slightly sick to her stomach. She didn't know exactly how to deal with losing Crys. It was still hard to believe that she wouldn't just be sitting at the lake whenever Ali wanted to be there alone... It was just surreal. Finally she heaved a long sigh and knocked on Evin's door. Not waiting for a response, she spoke loudly enough to be heard. "Hey, so... I was with the healers and... Apparently Ella was there when they got attacked. It is very possible that she was mistaken for one of them and captured." She made a pause then added. "Thought you should know."
With that she left the leaders' cabin and went to help Sean gather the clan to give them the news that their leader was dead... Again.
----------------
[Couple of hours later]
When Jake finally arrived in the Wolfpack camp he noticed a the tension, the whispering and finally... The crying. Didn't take him long to realize someone had died and he felt a sudden wave of panic rush through his body. Finally, he noticed that most of the people seemed to be hanging around the memorial. He simply stood at a distance, knowing he couldn't possibly walk amongst the crowded clearing without bumping into anyone. Only when people started to return to their homes, whispering amongst themselves, Jake finally got close enough to read the name in the recently added cross and immediately fell to his knees. "Can't be." He whispered.
For a quick moment that felt like an eternity, Jake simply stayed on his knees before the cross, only breaking out of his shock when he felt a blade touch the back of his neck: He was crying and the tears had broken the illusion of invisibility. "Stand up, traitor." He heard a voice say behind his back. Jake lowered his head further, unable to respond or react. He simply couldn't. All he could do was sit there, sobbing. Finally, the man who had been threatening him let out a sigh. "Look, Jake, you can't be seen here."
"How?" He asked the man.
"We are not sure how. Her sword was found in a pool of blood along with a message. The word 'black'. Our best guess is that the Black Knights did it."
"Are you sure she's dead?" Jake mumbled. "I mean... There's no body."
"Allison said there is no doubt."
Jake stood up, finally, and nodded. "Thank you, Eddie. Don't worry, I won't be coming back."
With that he left to take the path to Newhaven. He would probably have to wait for the battle to end, but, if someone there had something to do with this... He would find out the truth.
When Lena finally found herself a little less dizzy she rubbed her eyes and focused on the girl. It was noticeable, even in the darkness of the dungeon, that she was confused. “I never said anything about my first kill. How do you know about my first kill?” She asked.
Lena frowned for a split second in confusion, then she laughed. "Oh, my. You must be the only person in the Wolfpack not to know this. I mean really, for assassins, those people gossip way too much." She stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "Well, I know about your first kill because you can't seem to stop thinking about it, and if you think of a memory, most likely I can see it." She stood up again, this time actually feeling that she could walk, she tried to reach the door and realized she was chained to the wall, and was unable to reach it. "Hum." She mumbled. Then she turned her attention back to Ella and continued with the conversation. "Another thing you probably don't know is that I was actually raised in the Pack. In fact, I trained Dani Rivers and, before Evin and Crystal graduated, I held the most impressive assassination record in the clan." She sighed. "Not sure which one of the two currently holds that title. Probably Crys, since I imagine Evin would have a few more blemishes on his record than her." She said with a little smirk. "I was an active for 3 years, instructors for another 3, and disassociated myself from the clan at age 20."
"These shackles are really annoying, aren't they?" She remarked, raising her hand in front of her eyes to measure the chain that bound her left wrist to her right. "Hum." She mumbled again. Then she shouted, suddenly: "Hey! I know you are out there! Get in here!"
There was no response, but she could hear footsteps coming to a quick halt outside the door.
She chuckled. "Fine, don't answer me." She said, sitting on the ground and closing her eyes to meditate. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing a bright blue. She stood up again. "Lionel, isn't it? Your brother was amongst the men who raided my encampment. He hasn't returned has he? Did they tell you he probably headed for Newhaven? That you shouldn't worry?" She asked.
This time the door opened and a guard stood in the doorway, out of Lena's reach. He didn't say anything, simply stared at her as if wondering what exactly did she know.
"They lied to you." She stated, looking at the man. "Your brother is dead, I killed him with my own hands." She nodded. "Poor bastard, didn't stand a chance against a healer..." She broke suddenly into a mocking laughter. "What a sad way to die, don't you think? A great soldier of Blackpond... Couldn't off a peaceful little woman like myself." She laughed a little louder. "Pathetic!"
The man still didn't say a word he just stormed further into the cell towards Lena, which seemed to have been anticipated, because the woman dodged the punch the guard had aimed at her and managed to wrap the chains that bound her wrists around his neck, slowly choking him to death. She cradled the man in her arms, slowly laying him onto the ground. She closed his eyes and mumbled. "Farewell brother. May your soul be welcomed safely into the Afterlife. May you finally encounter the peace you were here denied. May you be cleansed of your sins as one day I shall be freed from mine. Await my return for we shall meet on the other side." After the prayer she added. "Forgive me, I lied. Hopefully your brother won't live to bury you."
She then took the set of keys from the man's belt to open her shackles, tossing them aside to Ella before standing up slowly and walking out of the cell. "Follow me if you want." She told the girl. "I'm going to see if I can find the King."
-----------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Sean frowned slightly. "No body?" He whispered to himself. He stood up, his eyes taking notice of Evin's gesture of taking the book. "Alright I will make the arrangements for a cross to be placed in the memorial so people can... Pay their respects." He turned to leave and do as he said he would, halfway out the door he collided with Ali. "The hell?" She muttered.
"Sorry." Sean, told her. Offering his hand to help her up, which she didn't take.
"Is Evin in?" She asked.
Sean nodded in response and simply pointed towards Evin's room while walking past her. "I need all instructors to help gather the clan around the campfire. I have to announce Crys' death." He told her.
Ali sighed. "I'll be right there."
--------------
Ali stepped into the cabin, not anxious to disturb Evin, her eyes caught the Katana that had been left on the table and she felt slightly sick to her stomach. She didn't know exactly how to deal with losing Crys. It was still hard to believe that she wouldn't just be sitting at the lake whenever Ali wanted to be there alone... It was just surreal. Finally she heaved a long sigh and knocked on Evin's door. Not waiting for a response, she spoke loudly enough to be heard. "Hey, so... I was with the healers and... Apparently Ella was there when they got attacked. It is very possible that she was mistaken for one of them and captured." She made a pause then added. "Thought you should know."
With that she left the leaders' cabin and went to help Sean gather the clan to give them the news that their leader was dead... Again.
----------------
[Couple of hours later]
When Jake finally arrived in the Wolfpack camp he noticed a the tension, the whispering and finally... The crying. Didn't take him long to realize someone had died and he felt a sudden wave of panic rush through his body. Finally, he noticed that most of the people seemed to be hanging around the memorial. He simply stood at a distance, knowing he couldn't possibly walk amongst the crowded clearing without bumping into anyone. Only when people started to return to their homes, whispering amongst themselves, Jake finally got close enough to read the name in the recently added cross and immediately fell to his knees. "Can't be." He whispered.
For a quick moment that felt like an eternity, Jake simply stayed on his knees before the cross, only breaking out of his shock when he felt a blade touch the back of his neck: He was crying and the tears had broken the illusion of invisibility. "Stand up, traitor." He heard a voice say behind his back. Jake lowered his head further, unable to respond or react. He simply couldn't. All he could do was sit there, sobbing. Finally, the man who had been threatening him let out a sigh. "Look, Jake, you can't be seen here."
"How?" He asked the man.
"We are not sure how. Her sword was found in a pool of blood along with a message. The word 'black'. Our best guess is that the Black Knights did it."
"Are you sure she's dead?" Jake mumbled. "I mean... There's no body."
"Allison said there is no doubt."
Jake stood up, finally, and nodded. "Thank you, Eddie. Don't worry, I won't be coming back."
With that he left to take the path to Newhaven. He would probably have to wait for the battle to end, but, if someone there had something to do with this... He would find out the truth.
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
[One Week later]
Ali hadn't slept all night. The few times that week when she had managed to fall asleep, mostly due to exhaustion, she had been haunted by nightmares. She had gone to the desert a couple of times, mostly to see if Jake had gone by. Strange as it may be, she didn't think anyone else would understand how bad this was for her. It didn't really matter, no one had heard from him there. She had overheard one of the guards, Eddie, telling Sean that he had seen Jake at the memorial.
Anyone labeled as a traitor, as Jake was, was to be killed on sight, but the man said he just didn't have the courage to kill Jake in that moment. In the man's own words, he was 'on his hands and knees, sobbing'. Even so, Sean had warned the guards that if Jake was seen around camp again, he should be eliminated. Even if Crys had spared his life, he should know better than to come back. That's just asking to be killed.
Lying in her bed, she could hear the sounds of people leaving their houses and of the guards switching shifts. The day was starting and she had just struggled with sleep all night. "Fuck it." She muttered, sitting up and getting ready to leave as well. If it wasn't for the fact that Instructors were the highest ranked assassins aside from the leaders, which meant they had the authority to issue order to actives and punish those who disobeyed the leaders' commands, and the fact that it was such a critical moment for the Pack, she would have considered asking Evin to let her leave. Or just... Leave without a word. Even though the urge to just drop everything and run was still there, Ali had done a pretty decent job of suppressing it and making herself useful.
As she finally left the cabin she could feel eyes turning her way and shook her head. The past few days she had been a little intolerant with people, so she assumed they were waiting for her to snap again for whatever reason. Surely, a reason would present itself sooner or later, for now... She was just going to get some breakfast and go on with her duties as usual.
Entering the dining area, more stares. She ignored them and sat at a corner with a bowl of something that looked like porridge and didn't really taste like anything she could recognize. She just ate it for the sake of not starving and washed it down with water. Suddenly a almost whispering voice came to her ears. "Hey."
Ali looked up from the, now empty, bowl to face Sean. "Hey. Need anything?"
"Yes, and no." He shrugged. "I don't know, you looked a little... Lonesome, sitting in the corner." He stated. "I do have something to ask you though."
"What?" She asked, not really wanting to talk.
"Hum... Well... Did you go through Crystal's things Ali?"
"Why do you ask?"
Sean chuckled. "Look, it's fine if you have, I just need to know if it was you."
"Yes I took some things." Ali answered. "Personal things, nothing really too important."
Sean sighed. "Okay, well, that's all I needed to know." He said, standing up.
"I noticed, you haven't been sleeping there though."
"Can't leave my 13 year old siblings alone in the house, now can I?" He chuckled. "I don't think we would all fit in Crys' old room."
"Right.." Ali mumbled.
Sean nodded as he walked past. "Look, we all miss her, but we need to move on. Life doesn't stop when someone we care about dies."
Ali lowered her head and muttered. "Well, it sure as hell should."
Ali hadn't slept all night. The few times that week when she had managed to fall asleep, mostly due to exhaustion, she had been haunted by nightmares. She had gone to the desert a couple of times, mostly to see if Jake had gone by. Strange as it may be, she didn't think anyone else would understand how bad this was for her. It didn't really matter, no one had heard from him there. She had overheard one of the guards, Eddie, telling Sean that he had seen Jake at the memorial.
Anyone labeled as a traitor, as Jake was, was to be killed on sight, but the man said he just didn't have the courage to kill Jake in that moment. In the man's own words, he was 'on his hands and knees, sobbing'. Even so, Sean had warned the guards that if Jake was seen around camp again, he should be eliminated. Even if Crys had spared his life, he should know better than to come back. That's just asking to be killed.
Lying in her bed, she could hear the sounds of people leaving their houses and of the guards switching shifts. The day was starting and she had just struggled with sleep all night. "Fuck it." She muttered, sitting up and getting ready to leave as well. If it wasn't for the fact that Instructors were the highest ranked assassins aside from the leaders, which meant they had the authority to issue order to actives and punish those who disobeyed the leaders' commands, and the fact that it was such a critical moment for the Pack, she would have considered asking Evin to let her leave. Or just... Leave without a word. Even though the urge to just drop everything and run was still there, Ali had done a pretty decent job of suppressing it and making herself useful.
As she finally left the cabin she could feel eyes turning her way and shook her head. The past few days she had been a little intolerant with people, so she assumed they were waiting for her to snap again for whatever reason. Surely, a reason would present itself sooner or later, for now... She was just going to get some breakfast and go on with her duties as usual.
Entering the dining area, more stares. She ignored them and sat at a corner with a bowl of something that looked like porridge and didn't really taste like anything she could recognize. She just ate it for the sake of not starving and washed it down with water. Suddenly a almost whispering voice came to her ears. "Hey."
Ali looked up from the, now empty, bowl to face Sean. "Hey. Need anything?"
"Yes, and no." He shrugged. "I don't know, you looked a little... Lonesome, sitting in the corner." He stated. "I do have something to ask you though."
"What?" She asked, not really wanting to talk.
"Hum... Well... Did you go through Crystal's things Ali?"
"Why do you ask?"
Sean chuckled. "Look, it's fine if you have, I just need to know if it was you."
"Yes I took some things." Ali answered. "Personal things, nothing really too important."
Sean sighed. "Okay, well, that's all I needed to know." He said, standing up.
"I noticed, you haven't been sleeping there though."
"Can't leave my 13 year old siblings alone in the house, now can I?" He chuckled. "I don't think we would all fit in Crys' old room."
"Right.." Ali mumbled.
Sean nodded as he walked past. "Look, we all miss her, but we need to move on. Life doesn't stop when someone we care about dies."
Ali lowered her head and muttered. "Well, it sure as hell should."
Evin had only come out of his cabin a few times since Crystal's death. All he had been doing for the most par is pace back and forth in the common room, and contemplating every little detail about every little event that would occur. The only times that he went out was once to get food, and another time when he just felt like he needed to wash up. These two times, he avoided people as much as possible, knowing the rumours about him being spread. They all thought that he'd been involved in the murder. It seemed only he and the murderer would know the truth to that.
On multiple occasions during his constant pacing and thinking, he had gone to sit at his desk to read the journal sitting on his desk. All he would do was look at the cover though, nothing more. It was important to Evin to know the truth. He wanted to know what happened to cause Dani to die. Deep down he wanted it to be Jake's fault, but he knew that it wasn't true. Deep down he knew that Dani had been hiding things from him, and Helena seemed to further prove that point. If it was that private, that a healer wouldn't tell him, then it must have been in her journal. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it yet.
Once again, like the many times before, he put his hand on the cover of the book. The many years of secrets and details about her life that she wouldn't want anyone to know were kept in this book. The very darkest of moments and the brightest day would come out in just a few pages of information. This was an assassin's biggest weapon against another assassin. To have these secrets would be to have the very clan's well being in the palm of their hand. Evin sighed and then opened the book and started flipping the pages. He stopped the moment he found a page that had been folded at the corner to mark the page. Based on how springy fold was, it was probably done after Evin took the book out that week. He couldn't think of a time before that he had seen the book out of the shelf so if it was done before, the fold wouldn't have popped at all. Evin took a mental not to look back at that at another time. He instead continued to flip the pages until he found what he was looking for.
When he got close to the end of the journal, he noticed that there were pages missing. Two of them to be exact. Again, it looked like these pages had been recently ripped out from the book. Evin couldn't help but think that the person who folded the one page had done this too. It was no surprise to him either why this page had been ripped out. There were only two words that had not been ripped out. Whether it was on purpose or not was concerning him as well. The two words there were "my" and "death" in that order. She knew about her coming death, or at least that is what he understood from it.
Evin stood back up from his desk and once again started pacing. Today was the day he had told Sean that he would make a decision, and no matter what there were going to be repercussions for his actions, just like always. The difference was how many people his life affected now. Each decision he made had the possibility of risking lives, dozens of lives. Once again, it wouldn't be different than usual if he wasn't risking the lives of innocent people.
"What would Dani do in my situation?"
There was Jake, who had admitted to killing Dani, but it almost seemed like Dani had known something was going to happen. He had been thinking all week about going after Jake for his crimes now that Crystal was gone, but now things were different. If Dani knew, maybe the entire thing was planned and if that was true then Jake wasn't exactly responsible. If he was responsible however, he could attempt something even bigger now. Maybe he was the person who killed Crystal! It was all too much. Then there was Newhaven, but there wasn't time for him to think about that, it was time to do his job.
He stopped pacing, noticing that he had actually started to put a groove in the floor. He left the cabin for the third time in that week and walked down to the campfire where he addressed the camp with a booming voice.
"It is time we start taking action and fighting back! Every active and instructor will meet we outside my cabin in the next five minutes!"
On multiple occasions during his constant pacing and thinking, he had gone to sit at his desk to read the journal sitting on his desk. All he would do was look at the cover though, nothing more. It was important to Evin to know the truth. He wanted to know what happened to cause Dani to die. Deep down he wanted it to be Jake's fault, but he knew that it wasn't true. Deep down he knew that Dani had been hiding things from him, and Helena seemed to further prove that point. If it was that private, that a healer wouldn't tell him, then it must have been in her journal. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it yet.
Once again, like the many times before, he put his hand on the cover of the book. The many years of secrets and details about her life that she wouldn't want anyone to know were kept in this book. The very darkest of moments and the brightest day would come out in just a few pages of information. This was an assassin's biggest weapon against another assassin. To have these secrets would be to have the very clan's well being in the palm of their hand. Evin sighed and then opened the book and started flipping the pages. He stopped the moment he found a page that had been folded at the corner to mark the page. Based on how springy fold was, it was probably done after Evin took the book out that week. He couldn't think of a time before that he had seen the book out of the shelf so if it was done before, the fold wouldn't have popped at all. Evin took a mental not to look back at that at another time. He instead continued to flip the pages until he found what he was looking for.
When he got close to the end of the journal, he noticed that there were pages missing. Two of them to be exact. Again, it looked like these pages had been recently ripped out from the book. Evin couldn't help but think that the person who folded the one page had done this too. It was no surprise to him either why this page had been ripped out. There were only two words that had not been ripped out. Whether it was on purpose or not was concerning him as well. The two words there were "my" and "death" in that order. She knew about her coming death, or at least that is what he understood from it.
Evin stood back up from his desk and once again started pacing. Today was the day he had told Sean that he would make a decision, and no matter what there were going to be repercussions for his actions, just like always. The difference was how many people his life affected now. Each decision he made had the possibility of risking lives, dozens of lives. Once again, it wouldn't be different than usual if he wasn't risking the lives of innocent people.
"What would Dani do in my situation?"
There was Jake, who had admitted to killing Dani, but it almost seemed like Dani had known something was going to happen. He had been thinking all week about going after Jake for his crimes now that Crystal was gone, but now things were different. If Dani knew, maybe the entire thing was planned and if that was true then Jake wasn't exactly responsible. If he was responsible however, he could attempt something even bigger now. Maybe he was the person who killed Crystal! It was all too much. Then there was Newhaven, but there wasn't time for him to think about that, it was time to do his job.
He stopped pacing, noticing that he had actually started to put a groove in the floor. He left the cabin for the third time in that week and walked down to the campfire where he addressed the camp with a booming voice.
"It is time we start taking action and fighting back! Every active and instructor will meet we outside my cabin in the next five minutes!"
(freakishly long flashback written by Trickster and myself through PM)
It was late at night and the fighting had been stalled for the past few hours. Mageria was too tired to rest, and anyways there were soldiers that needed tending to. So she had rolled up her sleeves and set to work, stitching wounds and wrapping bandages while still armed to the teeth. It made an odd sight she was sure, but she couldn't afford to be less than vigilant. Just because there was a moment's peace didn't mean that it would last.
For the most part she worked in silence, as the men and women around her had all been dosed into unconsciousness. That made it easy to hear when someone entered the ward, a sound where none should be, a slight scuff of foot on stone. She didn't look up, instead focusing on the steady movement of needle through flesh as she worked.
"If you are here to cause trouble, you will do so somewhere else." She looked up and the icy tone of her voice and the look in her eyes left no doubt that she would beat him to death with the basin that lay near at hand. Then she raised one eyebrow and nodded slightly toward a table that held some tools and a lamp. "And if not, then you can hold that lamp so I can see what I'm doing while you tell me what brought you back."
Finding a single person in the mess Newhaven was in would have been a problem, wasn't for who this person was. All Jake had to do was stand around and wait to see where the injured were being dragged to, and then follow. He stood for only a few minutes behind the woman as she worked, after she had heard him and spoke. It didn't surprise him one bit, even if the best trained assassins he knew couldn't have done the same.
A few more seconds passed before he finally deactivated his enlightenment and took the lamp from the table, holding it up so that she could see.
"Surely, causing trouble here would be a waste of my time." He said, in a calm tone. "And honestly, I didn't expect to ever step foot in Newhaven again, but circumstances keep forcing me into these encounters, it seems." He finally looked down at the woman as he spoke. "I was given a message to deliver, as well as some rather disturbing news that I must share. The message is actually for a lady named Sarris, but my aunt asked that I deliver it to you for some reason. She said that what Lady Sarris had asked her to find is currently with her. With her, I'm afraid, would be in a cell in Blackpond."
He then sighed heavily as he neared the most important reason behind this visit. It took him a considerable amount of time to finally manage the words. "Also, Crystal is... Dead. I don't know much, since I am currently not welcome at the camp, but... They seem to be under the impression that the Black Knights did this. Crys left the word 'black' written on the dirt." He nodded, mostly to brake his thoughts from the dark place they seemed to want to escape to. "Now, I don't think this came from Newhaven, but Evin is in command and he is the last person in Valcrest who would listen to me right now. So whatever they do, and they will probably do it, it's out of my hands to stop it."
Mageria paused for a moment when she heard Jake's news. "I'm sorry about Crystal, Jake. At least, I'm sorry that you're suffering for it." She shook her head. "I actually warned her about something like that. Me. Road out in the middle of the night to track her down and pass along a message. Blackpond started training their own team of assassin knights years ago. They've been planning this for years. I didn't want to be forced into a fight again if it didn't have to happen." She shook her head. "Worked out well, didn't it?"
She finished what she was doing and leaned back, tiredly wiping her hands on a rag. "But the question you're not asking. No, we had nothing to do with the attack. I'm guessing that it happened around the same time as all of this was going on. I was here, you can ask any of my men. Grim was either at the healer's camp or here. You certainly didn't do it, and Set left. And let's face it. None of us would have stood there and watched as someone wrote a message in the dirt before we finished them. And damn sure that we wouldn't have left it there. So," She stood up and went to the next man, gently peeling back a bandage to check it. "We are left with the question of whether or not it was Blackpond, or someone else entirely whose aim is to cause chaos and more trouble between the cities and the Pack."
Mageria sighed and rested her head on her hands, leaning forward and closing her eyes. "As for your message, I'll make sure that Lady Sarris gets it. Whatever it means. And you're telling me that Blackpond not only attacked the White Shadows, they captured some of them? That's insane, on so many levels. I'd go help them, but as you can see," she gestured around them. "I'm pinned down. I can 't try and rescue the few at the cost of the many. Would that the Twins granted me that power."
Jake heard what Mageria told him and flinched. "Hum... Assassins. Well, that would make sense." He mumbled. "When I was in Blackpond I overheard some workers talking, they were rebuilding the Inn that once was owned by the Pack. They said something about showing good faith and that things would change in the Pack to their favor. I suppose if the Pack moves against the Black Knights it would work perfectly for them. Crys wasn't going to let that happen."
He ran both his hands through his hair and shook his head. "This... Is unbelievable." He said, letting out a small chuckle. "Unbelievable." He repeated. "Do you know what it takes to attack someone with Crystal's ability and live? I mean, she could literally predict a person's moves before they were even made. The battle though, people dying... That made her disoriented, as well as an explosion would and I found traces of one near where she was attacked. It was all way too perfect. Too well executed." He paused for a second then took a deep breath just so he could finish his thoughts. "Those weaknesses of hers are little things that strangers wouldn't know of and then... Letting her bleed to death was rather personal. Crys was rarely ever seen in a fight and the people who trained with her... There are two of them left in the Pack and I don't see them doing this. As to personal... That I really don't understand."
He sighed and added. "As for the question I didn't ask... There was no need to ask it." He stated. "I spoke to Grim at the ruins. I'm glad to hear he made it back in one piece. I assumed it, but it's always nice to be sure. My aunt tried her best to get rid of him too, it was the first time she couldn't convince someone of something I think."
Jake then lowered his head slightly staring at his feet and trying not to think too much about what he was going to say next. "That was all I came here to say, but, since I'm here... I apologize for the way I left. I was getting tired of lying though and after Evin saw me I knew that the least I owed Crys was to tell her the truth myself. It was better this way, I think. I grew up in the Pack, I was trained to lie, but... Some secrets just can't stay hidden forever... They find a way to come out, and they might just drive you insane in the process."
Mageria shook her head at the irony of Jake's last statement. If only he knew. "Yes well, there's something that I wanted to tell you, but couldn't until you proved my suspicions by the way you left. I knew from the start that your loyalties were not solely to me. I knew that you were most likely here on orders from somebody in the Pack. Which meant Dani Rivers." She tilted her head to the side. "You didn't mean to kill her, did you? It was supposed to knock her out or something, but it didn't. You would never use something that would take that long to kill, so there was something else that happened." She drew a breath. "Dani Rivers was sick, Jake. It's the only explanation that makes any sense. She didn't tell anybody, because she couldn't look weak, and if there was nothing anybody could do, there was no point in telling anyways. She probably left a letter or something hidden somewhere. In a locked drawer in a table or between the pages of a book. It's what I would do."
A gently brutal smile worked its way across her face. "Besides Jake, I know you. And you don't have what it takes to kill someone you've sworn an oath of loyalty to."
Mageria leaned back and looked measuringly at Jake, knowing that the flickering oil lamp would hide her own secrets from Jake. "If you want to know who had a hand in killing Crystal Rivers, you need to find whose had a reason to hate her for years. This was well planned Jake, remember that. Whoever did this has hated her for a very long time. Might have even grown up hating her for something that happened to both their parents. Things like that . . . they fester." She crossed her arms. "Now Jake, one more thing. What is the truth behind this story I've heard, about the person that the Pack killed not being the King? It's all just words unless they offer some proof, and they've given none." She stretched wearily. "Not even a bit of explanation as to how someone I saw daily was replaced and no one noticed at all. Or even why they killed him in such a sloppy manner."
"Sick..." Jake mumbled, a frown spread across his expression. If Dani was really sick, then she knew she was going to die and if she knew she was going to die, what the hell was she thinking? He shook his head. "This gets worse every time I think about it, really. The Pack has four basic laws, you see... One of them is to never do harm to another member of the clan. The fifth law states that the leader's word is law, unless it violates the first 4 laws. So... If Dani knew she was going to die, she screwed me. Because, even under her command, what I did was treason." He laughed out. "I just don't see a way in which this wouldn't blow up in my face."
He stopped talking for a while, trying to think of who could hate Crys for that long. He couldn't really think of anyone. There were people who would hate Dani or Bastian, or both, but not Crys... Unless this had something to do with them. He was going over all the reasons why someone would want Crys dead, silent until he heard the question about the fake king. A small chuckle escaped him as he thought about that night, it couldn't have gone more wrong. "I can't offer any proof either, except for my word, since I was there." He said. "I'm not sure I would believe it myself if I wasn't. And I would love to say we figured everything out and came here to set the record straight, but that's just not the truth. We came here looking for the King, we didn't know what we would find. Whatever proof there was, we never really found it."
He sighed. "All I can say for sure is that the man we killed that night attacked us after rambling on about how he was going to take our abilities and achieve ultimate power. We never got to find out what exactly that meant, but three of the people in our group had been attacked by him before. He wasn't going to let us go." Jake scratched the back of his head and nodded. "I know that Dani had a few talks with Lena after we came back, closed doors and all. I once heard her say that if she had been notified this whole thing wouldn't have happened, but I don't know what that meant. I think only Lena would know that now." He paused for a second thinking about it, then added. "I have no idea how exactly he pulled it off, but, if there is enough resemblance to begin with, it's not impossible to make yourself look like someone else. Assassins do it all the time, however, never for this long. It would take a fair amount of studying to actually take another person's place, especially a King." He nodded, with a grin. "People would have noticed oddities in his behavior at first, servants that worked close to the man, but then... Who wants to question a King? They would have shrugged it off until they finally stopped noticing. That's just me speculating though, but I do find it hard to believe no one really noticed, most likely they were afraid to mention it and, after a while, he corrected those little oddities or people simply accepted them. Small things like the hand which he used to write or a food or drink, he suddenly came to appreciate or dislike... I don't know."
Mageria shook her head once more. "Of course, it all somehow comes back to needing to ask questions of the one person that no one can get a hold of." She sighed. "Jake, if you need help with something that could get us answers, you know that you can ask me. I'll do what I can, as soon as I have the time and resources. We need proof of what happened in order to step back from this. And if it puts the screws to Blackpond while doing so, you couldn't keep me away." She rubbed her forehead as a sudden shooting pain made it's way from one temple to the other.
"I'm sorry that you've been put in this postion Jake. And from what you've told me, not only do I have to deal with Blackpond, the Pack is going to be coming my way as well." A brief humorless grin worked it's way across her face. "Maybe I can stand between them and duck at the right time, so that they end up hitting each other." She wearily stood up and went to check the man in the next bed over. "If you wouldn't mind sketching out the layout of where the Healers are being held before you have to go, I'd appriciate it." She watched numbly as she wound a bandage over a cut. "Was there anything you needed to get from the Castle?"
Jake grinned. "Well, I'll probably be sneaking around the Pack camp to see if I can find a clue of who's behind this, and... I take it you know me well enough to know I will not be asking for favors unless it's to prevent imminent doom, so hopefully I won't be coming back." With that said he pulled something from his pocket. "I had to go back to the house where I was born to get this. It's amazing it was still there." He said, dropping the folded map onto the nearby table. "I was ten, or younger, when this map was drawn by my father, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it shows every corner of the castle, secret passages included, the cells are properly marked." He stated. "I've been there, so I can say for sure that not one passage in that place is left unguarded. Even invisible it was hard to get around unnoticed, otherwise, I would have gotten them out myself."
He then tilted his head to the side a little bit, giving Mageria a concerned look. "You know, my aunt does this." He imitated her gesture, rubbing his own forehead. "She does this when she hasn't had enough sleep, or had a vision that was particularly unpleasant." He commented casually. Then he turned towards the exit. "If you can't off your enemy while he sleeps, Captain, might as well sleep yourself. Otherwise, you'll be sleepwalking to face a well rested foe, now that's not smart, is it?" He added, as he started walking away, re-activating his enlightenment just in time to slip past a couple of soldiers.
Jake opened his eyes as someone entered the memorial. The conversation that took place days ago was still rather fresh in his mind and since then he had been looking into the Pack, trying to find a connection between anyone and Blackpond, or someone who have a reason to hate Crys, or her parents. He was not the most successful in doing this and he was a little bit frustrated as he watched Sean's little sister put flowers on Lionel's grave. Not long after that, he heard Evin's voice calling all actives and instructors to meet within the next five minutes. The words 'fighting back' stood out as particularly dangerous. Jake stood up, and followed towards the center of the camp as everyone was heading there. As he passed, he heard something that made him turn his head rather quickly.
"They did all we asked of them so far, we need to deliver as well. It is important to have Blackpond on our side from now on." Sean whispered to an active as they walked to join the others. Jake suddenly remembered the workers building the Inn, the assassins from Blackpond... and the words echoed in his head: "They did all we asked of them..."
"Son of a bitch!" Jake thought to himself. The bastard was right there in front of him... How didn't he see it?
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Ali was gathering the actives that had been running errands a little further from camp and wouldn't have listened to Evin's summoning. When she was sure everyone had made it to where they were all suppose to gather and the recruits were assigned tasks to keep them occupied, she stopped to listen to what Evin had decided they should do.
Suddenly she heard someone shout behind her: "INTRUDER!"
She turned, nocking an arrow, in time to see an active dropping unconscious with a dart stuck to his neck and Sean vanishing into thin air. "Crap!" She muttered. "JACOB! WHAT THE HELL?" She shouted, trying to hear the man's steps amongst the chaos that had broken out through the camp.
Sean's voice responded. "SHOOT HI-" the phrase was interrupted when, Ali imagined, Sean had his mouth covered. Even with her enlightenment, she couldn't tell where Sean's voice had come from, but she could tell he was being dragged away. "Son of a bitch!"
------------------------
"What did you promise them, Sean?" Jake asked the man in a whisper. He had dragged Sean to a small opening amongst the trees. The assassins that were searching for the two passed just a few feet away from the tree Sean had his back to, a sharp blade pressed against his throat. "Utter a sound louder than a whisper and you're dead." Jake warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sean whispered in panicked tone.
"Wrong answer." Jake said, making a small cut on the man's face. "I know Blackpond killed Crys. I know you made a deal with them, so answer me: What did you promise them in return? Allegiance? The heads of the Black Knights?"
"L-look, Jake..." Sean stuttered. "I know that you loved Crys, and this is obviously hard for you, but you are not making any sense." He argued. "Just let me go, I'm sure I can get them to understand..."
Jake simply nodded as he cut him again. "Drop the damn act Sean! I know you did it!" He snickered taking a step towards the man and whispering into his ear. "Theron killed your mother. Is that what this is about? You miss your mommy Sean? I always wondered why your father didn't seem so angry to let Theron go, maybe he just didn't care about her all that much."
"Shut up! Shut up, you dumb fuck!" Sean muttered under his breath, still able to control himself enough not to shout. "Crys should have ended your sorry life! If she wasn't so damn weak! Shit!" He exclaimed when Jake cut his face again.
"Careful, you prick. My patience is almost gone at this point. Tell me... What did you offer them?"
Sean snickered. "Go ahead. Kill me. Confirm that you're a traitor. It'll only speed up the end result."
"You are going to pay for this. I will make you pay."
"How? You may know a lot, but can you prove it? They won't just take your word for it, killer. Not after you raided our camp in a black armor, along with that bitch and the rest of those Newhaven mutts! After you poisoned our beloved leader. After you attempted to kill the second in command!"
Jake sighed. "I suppose you're right, but if that is the case... How much is your life worth to me?"
-----------------
Hell had broken loose within twenty minutes. Ali knew that if Jake wanted to kill Sean, he would be dead by now, but then... Why not just kill him already? All the actives had scattered throughout the encampment searching for a trace, a footprint, a blood drop, anything... However, they were so unorganized and scattered all over the place, that if there was any trace, it was long gone. Ali had joined the search party, however with her eyes closed, trying to catch a sound. That was the only way she had to locate Jake, always had been. She shook her head as she walked. "What the hell got into you Jacob?" She whispered. She couldn't understand why he would do this.
Suddenly, she hard a small groan coming from the point amongst the trees. She opened her eyes and followed the sound into a small void between a thicker part of the woods. She found Sean there, with blood on his clothes and hands, sitting on the ground. "He smashed my head against a tree trunk and ran off." He mumbled, not looking at her.
"He's going to get away." She replied. "Jake knows this place way too well. Are you alright?" She asked. "You have blood on you."
"I'll live." Sean muttered, angrily. "Why the hell didn't you just shoot?"
"If someone has to kill the second in command, I'd rather it's not me." She said, with a small smirk."
Sean chuckled. "I'm starting to think you were the smart one, saying no to this." He stated, standing up and finally making his way out of the trees, tripping over a root as he did so.
"What the hell?!" Ali exclaimed taking a look on the word Jake had carved on the left side of Sean's face. "What is this?"
Sean sighed. "You tell me, what does it say?"
"Killer." She answered.
"Yes, well... He thinks I killed Crys." He said, beginning to walk back towards the center of the camp. "You should have heard him. He's completely paranoid! I mean, I knew this would be hard on him, but this is way too much."
Ali shook her head. "Unbelievable." She sighed, grabbing an active that was about to run right past them. "Spread the word that Sean is fine, and gather a group to scout the area for Jake. Be careful, he's not in his right mind."
The boy nodded in agreement and ran off. Ali stopped Sean and forced him to turn his head so she could look at the wound. "It's not so bad. Probably won't even scar." She told him.
He nodded, turning back towards the camp and starting to walk again. "I said I'm fine." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the tree.
She sighed. "Fine Sean, I believe you." Ali replied, following him in silence.
It was late at night and the fighting had been stalled for the past few hours. Mageria was too tired to rest, and anyways there were soldiers that needed tending to. So she had rolled up her sleeves and set to work, stitching wounds and wrapping bandages while still armed to the teeth. It made an odd sight she was sure, but she couldn't afford to be less than vigilant. Just because there was a moment's peace didn't mean that it would last.
For the most part she worked in silence, as the men and women around her had all been dosed into unconsciousness. That made it easy to hear when someone entered the ward, a sound where none should be, a slight scuff of foot on stone. She didn't look up, instead focusing on the steady movement of needle through flesh as she worked.
"If you are here to cause trouble, you will do so somewhere else." She looked up and the icy tone of her voice and the look in her eyes left no doubt that she would beat him to death with the basin that lay near at hand. Then she raised one eyebrow and nodded slightly toward a table that held some tools and a lamp. "And if not, then you can hold that lamp so I can see what I'm doing while you tell me what brought you back."
Finding a single person in the mess Newhaven was in would have been a problem, wasn't for who this person was. All Jake had to do was stand around and wait to see where the injured were being dragged to, and then follow. He stood for only a few minutes behind the woman as she worked, after she had heard him and spoke. It didn't surprise him one bit, even if the best trained assassins he knew couldn't have done the same.
A few more seconds passed before he finally deactivated his enlightenment and took the lamp from the table, holding it up so that she could see.
"Surely, causing trouble here would be a waste of my time." He said, in a calm tone. "And honestly, I didn't expect to ever step foot in Newhaven again, but circumstances keep forcing me into these encounters, it seems." He finally looked down at the woman as he spoke. "I was given a message to deliver, as well as some rather disturbing news that I must share. The message is actually for a lady named Sarris, but my aunt asked that I deliver it to you for some reason. She said that what Lady Sarris had asked her to find is currently with her. With her, I'm afraid, would be in a cell in Blackpond."
He then sighed heavily as he neared the most important reason behind this visit. It took him a considerable amount of time to finally manage the words. "Also, Crystal is... Dead. I don't know much, since I am currently not welcome at the camp, but... They seem to be under the impression that the Black Knights did this. Crys left the word 'black' written on the dirt." He nodded, mostly to brake his thoughts from the dark place they seemed to want to escape to. "Now, I don't think this came from Newhaven, but Evin is in command and he is the last person in Valcrest who would listen to me right now. So whatever they do, and they will probably do it, it's out of my hands to stop it."
Mageria paused for a moment when she heard Jake's news. "I'm sorry about Crystal, Jake. At least, I'm sorry that you're suffering for it." She shook her head. "I actually warned her about something like that. Me. Road out in the middle of the night to track her down and pass along a message. Blackpond started training their own team of assassin knights years ago. They've been planning this for years. I didn't want to be forced into a fight again if it didn't have to happen." She shook her head. "Worked out well, didn't it?"
She finished what she was doing and leaned back, tiredly wiping her hands on a rag. "But the question you're not asking. No, we had nothing to do with the attack. I'm guessing that it happened around the same time as all of this was going on. I was here, you can ask any of my men. Grim was either at the healer's camp or here. You certainly didn't do it, and Set left. And let's face it. None of us would have stood there and watched as someone wrote a message in the dirt before we finished them. And damn sure that we wouldn't have left it there. So," She stood up and went to the next man, gently peeling back a bandage to check it. "We are left with the question of whether or not it was Blackpond, or someone else entirely whose aim is to cause chaos and more trouble between the cities and the Pack."
Mageria sighed and rested her head on her hands, leaning forward and closing her eyes. "As for your message, I'll make sure that Lady Sarris gets it. Whatever it means. And you're telling me that Blackpond not only attacked the White Shadows, they captured some of them? That's insane, on so many levels. I'd go help them, but as you can see," she gestured around them. "I'm pinned down. I can 't try and rescue the few at the cost of the many. Would that the Twins granted me that power."
Jake heard what Mageria told him and flinched. "Hum... Assassins. Well, that would make sense." He mumbled. "When I was in Blackpond I overheard some workers talking, they were rebuilding the Inn that once was owned by the Pack. They said something about showing good faith and that things would change in the Pack to their favor. I suppose if the Pack moves against the Black Knights it would work perfectly for them. Crys wasn't going to let that happen."
He ran both his hands through his hair and shook his head. "This... Is unbelievable." He said, letting out a small chuckle. "Unbelievable." He repeated. "Do you know what it takes to attack someone with Crystal's ability and live? I mean, she could literally predict a person's moves before they were even made. The battle though, people dying... That made her disoriented, as well as an explosion would and I found traces of one near where she was attacked. It was all way too perfect. Too well executed." He paused for a second then took a deep breath just so he could finish his thoughts. "Those weaknesses of hers are little things that strangers wouldn't know of and then... Letting her bleed to death was rather personal. Crys was rarely ever seen in a fight and the people who trained with her... There are two of them left in the Pack and I don't see them doing this. As to personal... That I really don't understand."
He sighed and added. "As for the question I didn't ask... There was no need to ask it." He stated. "I spoke to Grim at the ruins. I'm glad to hear he made it back in one piece. I assumed it, but it's always nice to be sure. My aunt tried her best to get rid of him too, it was the first time she couldn't convince someone of something I think."
Jake then lowered his head slightly staring at his feet and trying not to think too much about what he was going to say next. "That was all I came here to say, but, since I'm here... I apologize for the way I left. I was getting tired of lying though and after Evin saw me I knew that the least I owed Crys was to tell her the truth myself. It was better this way, I think. I grew up in the Pack, I was trained to lie, but... Some secrets just can't stay hidden forever... They find a way to come out, and they might just drive you insane in the process."
Mageria shook her head at the irony of Jake's last statement. If only he knew. "Yes well, there's something that I wanted to tell you, but couldn't until you proved my suspicions by the way you left. I knew from the start that your loyalties were not solely to me. I knew that you were most likely here on orders from somebody in the Pack. Which meant Dani Rivers." She tilted her head to the side. "You didn't mean to kill her, did you? It was supposed to knock her out or something, but it didn't. You would never use something that would take that long to kill, so there was something else that happened." She drew a breath. "Dani Rivers was sick, Jake. It's the only explanation that makes any sense. She didn't tell anybody, because she couldn't look weak, and if there was nothing anybody could do, there was no point in telling anyways. She probably left a letter or something hidden somewhere. In a locked drawer in a table or between the pages of a book. It's what I would do."
A gently brutal smile worked its way across her face. "Besides Jake, I know you. And you don't have what it takes to kill someone you've sworn an oath of loyalty to."
Mageria leaned back and looked measuringly at Jake, knowing that the flickering oil lamp would hide her own secrets from Jake. "If you want to know who had a hand in killing Crystal Rivers, you need to find whose had a reason to hate her for years. This was well planned Jake, remember that. Whoever did this has hated her for a very long time. Might have even grown up hating her for something that happened to both their parents. Things like that . . . they fester." She crossed her arms. "Now Jake, one more thing. What is the truth behind this story I've heard, about the person that the Pack killed not being the King? It's all just words unless they offer some proof, and they've given none." She stretched wearily. "Not even a bit of explanation as to how someone I saw daily was replaced and no one noticed at all. Or even why they killed him in such a sloppy manner."
"Sick..." Jake mumbled, a frown spread across his expression. If Dani was really sick, then she knew she was going to die and if she knew she was going to die, what the hell was she thinking? He shook his head. "This gets worse every time I think about it, really. The Pack has four basic laws, you see... One of them is to never do harm to another member of the clan. The fifth law states that the leader's word is law, unless it violates the first 4 laws. So... If Dani knew she was going to die, she screwed me. Because, even under her command, what I did was treason." He laughed out. "I just don't see a way in which this wouldn't blow up in my face."
He stopped talking for a while, trying to think of who could hate Crys for that long. He couldn't really think of anyone. There were people who would hate Dani or Bastian, or both, but not Crys... Unless this had something to do with them. He was going over all the reasons why someone would want Crys dead, silent until he heard the question about the fake king. A small chuckle escaped him as he thought about that night, it couldn't have gone more wrong. "I can't offer any proof either, except for my word, since I was there." He said. "I'm not sure I would believe it myself if I wasn't. And I would love to say we figured everything out and came here to set the record straight, but that's just not the truth. We came here looking for the King, we didn't know what we would find. Whatever proof there was, we never really found it."
He sighed. "All I can say for sure is that the man we killed that night attacked us after rambling on about how he was going to take our abilities and achieve ultimate power. We never got to find out what exactly that meant, but three of the people in our group had been attacked by him before. He wasn't going to let us go." Jake scratched the back of his head and nodded. "I know that Dani had a few talks with Lena after we came back, closed doors and all. I once heard her say that if she had been notified this whole thing wouldn't have happened, but I don't know what that meant. I think only Lena would know that now." He paused for a second thinking about it, then added. "I have no idea how exactly he pulled it off, but, if there is enough resemblance to begin with, it's not impossible to make yourself look like someone else. Assassins do it all the time, however, never for this long. It would take a fair amount of studying to actually take another person's place, especially a King." He nodded, with a grin. "People would have noticed oddities in his behavior at first, servants that worked close to the man, but then... Who wants to question a King? They would have shrugged it off until they finally stopped noticing. That's just me speculating though, but I do find it hard to believe no one really noticed, most likely they were afraid to mention it and, after a while, he corrected those little oddities or people simply accepted them. Small things like the hand which he used to write or a food or drink, he suddenly came to appreciate or dislike... I don't know."
Mageria shook her head once more. "Of course, it all somehow comes back to needing to ask questions of the one person that no one can get a hold of." She sighed. "Jake, if you need help with something that could get us answers, you know that you can ask me. I'll do what I can, as soon as I have the time and resources. We need proof of what happened in order to step back from this. And if it puts the screws to Blackpond while doing so, you couldn't keep me away." She rubbed her forehead as a sudden shooting pain made it's way from one temple to the other.
"I'm sorry that you've been put in this postion Jake. And from what you've told me, not only do I have to deal with Blackpond, the Pack is going to be coming my way as well." A brief humorless grin worked it's way across her face. "Maybe I can stand between them and duck at the right time, so that they end up hitting each other." She wearily stood up and went to check the man in the next bed over. "If you wouldn't mind sketching out the layout of where the Healers are being held before you have to go, I'd appriciate it." She watched numbly as she wound a bandage over a cut. "Was there anything you needed to get from the Castle?"
Jake grinned. "Well, I'll probably be sneaking around the Pack camp to see if I can find a clue of who's behind this, and... I take it you know me well enough to know I will not be asking for favors unless it's to prevent imminent doom, so hopefully I won't be coming back." With that said he pulled something from his pocket. "I had to go back to the house where I was born to get this. It's amazing it was still there." He said, dropping the folded map onto the nearby table. "I was ten, or younger, when this map was drawn by my father, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it shows every corner of the castle, secret passages included, the cells are properly marked." He stated. "I've been there, so I can say for sure that not one passage in that place is left unguarded. Even invisible it was hard to get around unnoticed, otherwise, I would have gotten them out myself."
He then tilted his head to the side a little bit, giving Mageria a concerned look. "You know, my aunt does this." He imitated her gesture, rubbing his own forehead. "She does this when she hasn't had enough sleep, or had a vision that was particularly unpleasant." He commented casually. Then he turned towards the exit. "If you can't off your enemy while he sleeps, Captain, might as well sleep yourself. Otherwise, you'll be sleepwalking to face a well rested foe, now that's not smart, is it?" He added, as he started walking away, re-activating his enlightenment just in time to slip past a couple of soldiers.
Jake opened his eyes as someone entered the memorial. The conversation that took place days ago was still rather fresh in his mind and since then he had been looking into the Pack, trying to find a connection between anyone and Blackpond, or someone who have a reason to hate Crys, or her parents. He was not the most successful in doing this and he was a little bit frustrated as he watched Sean's little sister put flowers on Lionel's grave. Not long after that, he heard Evin's voice calling all actives and instructors to meet within the next five minutes. The words 'fighting back' stood out as particularly dangerous. Jake stood up, and followed towards the center of the camp as everyone was heading there. As he passed, he heard something that made him turn his head rather quickly.
"They did all we asked of them so far, we need to deliver as well. It is important to have Blackpond on our side from now on." Sean whispered to an active as they walked to join the others. Jake suddenly remembered the workers building the Inn, the assassins from Blackpond... and the words echoed in his head: "They did all we asked of them..."
"Son of a bitch!" Jake thought to himself. The bastard was right there in front of him... How didn't he see it?
------------------------
Ali was gathering the actives that had been running errands a little further from camp and wouldn't have listened to Evin's summoning. When she was sure everyone had made it to where they were all suppose to gather and the recruits were assigned tasks to keep them occupied, she stopped to listen to what Evin had decided they should do.
Suddenly she heard someone shout behind her: "INTRUDER!"
She turned, nocking an arrow, in time to see an active dropping unconscious with a dart stuck to his neck and Sean vanishing into thin air. "Crap!" She muttered. "JACOB! WHAT THE HELL?" She shouted, trying to hear the man's steps amongst the chaos that had broken out through the camp.
Sean's voice responded. "SHOOT HI-" the phrase was interrupted when, Ali imagined, Sean had his mouth covered. Even with her enlightenment, she couldn't tell where Sean's voice had come from, but she could tell he was being dragged away. "Son of a bitch!"
------------------------
"What did you promise them, Sean?" Jake asked the man in a whisper. He had dragged Sean to a small opening amongst the trees. The assassins that were searching for the two passed just a few feet away from the tree Sean had his back to, a sharp blade pressed against his throat. "Utter a sound louder than a whisper and you're dead." Jake warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sean whispered in panicked tone.
"Wrong answer." Jake said, making a small cut on the man's face. "I know Blackpond killed Crys. I know you made a deal with them, so answer me: What did you promise them in return? Allegiance? The heads of the Black Knights?"
"L-look, Jake..." Sean stuttered. "I know that you loved Crys, and this is obviously hard for you, but you are not making any sense." He argued. "Just let me go, I'm sure I can get them to understand..."
Jake simply nodded as he cut him again. "Drop the damn act Sean! I know you did it!" He snickered taking a step towards the man and whispering into his ear. "Theron killed your mother. Is that what this is about? You miss your mommy Sean? I always wondered why your father didn't seem so angry to let Theron go, maybe he just didn't care about her all that much."
"Shut up! Shut up, you dumb fuck!" Sean muttered under his breath, still able to control himself enough not to shout. "Crys should have ended your sorry life! If she wasn't so damn weak! Shit!" He exclaimed when Jake cut his face again.
"Careful, you prick. My patience is almost gone at this point. Tell me... What did you offer them?"
Sean snickered. "Go ahead. Kill me. Confirm that you're a traitor. It'll only speed up the end result."
"You are going to pay for this. I will make you pay."
"How? You may know a lot, but can you prove it? They won't just take your word for it, killer. Not after you raided our camp in a black armor, along with that bitch and the rest of those Newhaven mutts! After you poisoned our beloved leader. After you attempted to kill the second in command!"
Jake sighed. "I suppose you're right, but if that is the case... How much is your life worth to me?"
-----------------
Hell had broken loose within twenty minutes. Ali knew that if Jake wanted to kill Sean, he would be dead by now, but then... Why not just kill him already? All the actives had scattered throughout the encampment searching for a trace, a footprint, a blood drop, anything... However, they were so unorganized and scattered all over the place, that if there was any trace, it was long gone. Ali had joined the search party, however with her eyes closed, trying to catch a sound. That was the only way she had to locate Jake, always had been. She shook her head as she walked. "What the hell got into you Jacob?" She whispered. She couldn't understand why he would do this.
Suddenly, she hard a small groan coming from the point amongst the trees. She opened her eyes and followed the sound into a small void between a thicker part of the woods. She found Sean there, with blood on his clothes and hands, sitting on the ground. "He smashed my head against a tree trunk and ran off." He mumbled, not looking at her.
"He's going to get away." She replied. "Jake knows this place way too well. Are you alright?" She asked. "You have blood on you."
"I'll live." Sean muttered, angrily. "Why the hell didn't you just shoot?"
"If someone has to kill the second in command, I'd rather it's not me." She said, with a small smirk."
Sean chuckled. "I'm starting to think you were the smart one, saying no to this." He stated, standing up and finally making his way out of the trees, tripping over a root as he did so.
"What the hell?!" Ali exclaimed taking a look on the word Jake had carved on the left side of Sean's face. "What is this?"
Sean sighed. "You tell me, what does it say?"
"Killer." She answered.
"Yes, well... He thinks I killed Crys." He said, beginning to walk back towards the center of the camp. "You should have heard him. He's completely paranoid! I mean, I knew this would be hard on him, but this is way too much."
Ali shook her head. "Unbelievable." She sighed, grabbing an active that was about to run right past them. "Spread the word that Sean is fine, and gather a group to scout the area for Jake. Be careful, he's not in his right mind."
The boy nodded in agreement and ran off. Ali stopped Sean and forced him to turn his head so she could look at the wound. "It's not so bad. Probably won't even scar." She told him.
He nodded, turning back towards the camp and starting to walk again. "I said I'm fine." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the tree.
She sighed. "Fine Sean, I believe you." Ali replied, following him in silence.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
She knew that there were things that she needed to be doing. But after nearly a week of fighting, with no more rest than what she could catch leaning against the wall, Mageria desperately wanted a bath. They had finally pushed Blackpond out beyond the walls and things had been quiet for almost two days. So she had left her best in charge and gone to the Castle in order to report and rest a bit. She had gone to report to Lady Sarris, who had taken one look at her and pointed at the door.
“If it doesn’t need to be dealt with in the next hour, I don’t want to hear about it. Go clean up and eat something. Now.”
Mageria had simply nodded and gone off to the bathing rooms kept for the Knights. The rooms there included locks on the inside of the doors and shelves along the tubs where a nervous bather could keep their weapons. Mageria had spent nearly thirty minutes soaking the aches of the past week away before she could bring herself to get out. Finally in clean cloths and armed once more, she went to find something to eat.
Suddenly a sharp pain lanced across her temples. Gasping, she pressed her fists to either side of her head and tried to wait it out. Dimly she could hear someone coming up the corridor behind her, there was a door nearby that she darted through and then leaned against, almost panting in an effort to ease the pain. Then a rough hand grabbed her chin and forced her head up.
“Hello Mageria.” Captain Morgan’s shade smiled cruelly at her. “Surprise.”
She looked at him dazedly. “What? What are you doing here?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Haven’t you guessed yet? You sent me to hell. I’m here to take you back with me.” With that he reached out and placed one finger on her forehead, the same way that the boy had touched her in the prison riot.
It was a never ending battle. All of her friends, all of her loved ones. Everyone she had ever cared about and more were all fighting for their lives . . . and loosing. They screamed for help, screamed for her. She watched as Krander was stabbed through the chest. Phelix ran to help him and had the back of his skull caved in. Grim was ripped limb from limb before her eyes. She could see Evin and Jake and all of her men. All of them dying. And she could do . . . nothing. All she could do was stand there and watch as they were slaughtered one by one. Helpless.
Dimly she knew it wasn’t real and managed not to scream. Finally the vision released her and she fell forward, gasping for breath. After a long moment she got up and looked at a nearby reflective surface. She looked like she had been fighting almost non stop for a week and not sleeping at the same time. Her eyes were sunken and dark circled, her face edging toward gaunt. Carefully she drew a deep breath and looked away. She could hold it together for a little while longer. She didn’t have a choice. Squaring her shoulders, she stepped back out into the hall and went to find something to eat. Luckily, being the Black Knight Captain meant that no one took a good look at her face, so she should be able to keep her secret for a little longer. Long enough anyways.
“If it doesn’t need to be dealt with in the next hour, I don’t want to hear about it. Go clean up and eat something. Now.”
Mageria had simply nodded and gone off to the bathing rooms kept for the Knights. The rooms there included locks on the inside of the doors and shelves along the tubs where a nervous bather could keep their weapons. Mageria had spent nearly thirty minutes soaking the aches of the past week away before she could bring herself to get out. Finally in clean cloths and armed once more, she went to find something to eat.
Suddenly a sharp pain lanced across her temples. Gasping, she pressed her fists to either side of her head and tried to wait it out. Dimly she could hear someone coming up the corridor behind her, there was a door nearby that she darted through and then leaned against, almost panting in an effort to ease the pain. Then a rough hand grabbed her chin and forced her head up.
“Hello Mageria.” Captain Morgan’s shade smiled cruelly at her. “Surprise.”
She looked at him dazedly. “What? What are you doing here?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Haven’t you guessed yet? You sent me to hell. I’m here to take you back with me.” With that he reached out and placed one finger on her forehead, the same way that the boy had touched her in the prison riot.
It was a never ending battle. All of her friends, all of her loved ones. Everyone she had ever cared about and more were all fighting for their lives . . . and loosing. They screamed for help, screamed for her. She watched as Krander was stabbed through the chest. Phelix ran to help him and had the back of his skull caved in. Grim was ripped limb from limb before her eyes. She could see Evin and Jake and all of her men. All of them dying. And she could do . . . nothing. All she could do was stand there and watch as they were slaughtered one by one. Helpless.
Dimly she knew it wasn’t real and managed not to scream. Finally the vision released her and she fell forward, gasping for breath. After a long moment she got up and looked at a nearby reflective surface. She looked like she had been fighting almost non stop for a week and not sleeping at the same time. Her eyes were sunken and dark circled, her face edging toward gaunt. Carefully she drew a deep breath and looked away. She could hold it together for a little while longer. She didn’t have a choice. Squaring her shoulders, she stepped back out into the hall and went to find something to eat. Luckily, being the Black Knight Captain meant that no one took a good look at her face, so she should be able to keep her secret for a little longer. Long enough anyways.
The city was tarnished, its streets cracked and busted up from the constant pressure. Former houses were now bits of frame and ash. Those homes that were still standing were in disrepair. Blood and bodies decorated the byways. There was little time to think of repairs, or even to mourn. The enemy had been forced back outside, but the siege was far from over.
The men were wary, their toils and hardships a never ending struggle. Sleep was rare, food and water had no taste. They sustained on pride and hate alone. For nothing else could keep the soldiers on their feet.
Grim was beside himself overlooking the blasted land. Surveying for any signs of Blackpond breaching their defensive lines. Careful to watch for hooligans that may try to take patrols by surprise. The last thing they needed was to have another engagement within the city. As far as he could tell things were holding up.
This made Grim uneasy within. Blackpond’s will was bent toward their destruction. Truth was they had the means and the ambition to achieve their goal. Even with the contest in its last stages, there was a good chance Blackpond could still win. They would have to remain vigilant or risk a costly mistake.
Once he was satisfied the Blade returned to the field headquarters. Not yet ready to take a rest, there was still enough to do. Committees would have to be organized to help medicate and ration food. The street urchins will need compensation, and young soldiers need direction in strategy. Upon his arrival a Black Guard eagerly approached standing at attention. Grim hardly noticed while he relayed Mageria’s previous plans to various generals and leading representatives. The poor man had remained still for some time before the Black Knight noticed he was being shadowed.
“What is it?”
“Sir Pondus, Chandos was recently found among the wounded. He was taken to the cleric’s ward you requested that upon his finding you were to be informed.”
It was well to hear that his old ally was well. Grim was curious as to where his second in command had ventured off to, but if the man was among the hurt he wasn’t about to intrude. There would be plenty of time to investigate the matter later. He thanked the messenger and waved him off. Wrapping up the rest of his business he set to follow the chain of command. Glancing about Mageria was nowhere in the vicinity.
“Where is the Captain?”
One of the troops piped up in response, “I heard she was off on a rest. Desperately needs it too.”
There was a strange note in those words. Grim was accustomed to picking out underlying tones. Years of being gossiped about honed in his ability to discern innuendoes. Dragging the informer by the shoulder he pulled them both aside far from where prying ears could ease in. The woman was completely startled by his actions and watched with anxious eyes.
“You know something,” The Raging Demon started. His eyes bore down on the gal with a fierceness. Grim didn’t tolerate shenanigans, nor did he much care to be out of the loop. One overlooked flaw or weakness of character even in Mageria could lead to a point of exploitation by the enemy.
“I-I was talking with a squire. They said they heard the Captain arguing with herself. I figured the stress was getting to us all right?”
“… Yes, yes that is likely so. Return to your post.”
It was unbelievable to think Mageria could be cracking up after all these years. Even now while he contemplated he could not recollect when his superior had ever shown weakness. At first the news seemed foreboding and dangerous, it would require some looking into. Ultimately Grim decided that there was likely a misunderstanding. She had been resolute all through the week, and he doubted that his leader could ever be broken. Still it didn’t hurt to ask.
He waved the Black Guard to take charge and sheathed the Giants Knife at his back. Casually making his way toward the castle. He still hadn’t paid their new important patron a visit, perhaps if there was time he could finally introduce himself to the vital piece Mageria spoke of.
The men were wary, their toils and hardships a never ending struggle. Sleep was rare, food and water had no taste. They sustained on pride and hate alone. For nothing else could keep the soldiers on their feet.
Grim was beside himself overlooking the blasted land. Surveying for any signs of Blackpond breaching their defensive lines. Careful to watch for hooligans that may try to take patrols by surprise. The last thing they needed was to have another engagement within the city. As far as he could tell things were holding up.
This made Grim uneasy within. Blackpond’s will was bent toward their destruction. Truth was they had the means and the ambition to achieve their goal. Even with the contest in its last stages, there was a good chance Blackpond could still win. They would have to remain vigilant or risk a costly mistake.
Once he was satisfied the Blade returned to the field headquarters. Not yet ready to take a rest, there was still enough to do. Committees would have to be organized to help medicate and ration food. The street urchins will need compensation, and young soldiers need direction in strategy. Upon his arrival a Black Guard eagerly approached standing at attention. Grim hardly noticed while he relayed Mageria’s previous plans to various generals and leading representatives. The poor man had remained still for some time before the Black Knight noticed he was being shadowed.
“What is it?”
“Sir Pondus, Chandos was recently found among the wounded. He was taken to the cleric’s ward you requested that upon his finding you were to be informed.”
It was well to hear that his old ally was well. Grim was curious as to where his second in command had ventured off to, but if the man was among the hurt he wasn’t about to intrude. There would be plenty of time to investigate the matter later. He thanked the messenger and waved him off. Wrapping up the rest of his business he set to follow the chain of command. Glancing about Mageria was nowhere in the vicinity.
“Where is the Captain?”
One of the troops piped up in response, “I heard she was off on a rest. Desperately needs it too.”
There was a strange note in those words. Grim was accustomed to picking out underlying tones. Years of being gossiped about honed in his ability to discern innuendoes. Dragging the informer by the shoulder he pulled them both aside far from where prying ears could ease in. The woman was completely startled by his actions and watched with anxious eyes.
“You know something,” The Raging Demon started. His eyes bore down on the gal with a fierceness. Grim didn’t tolerate shenanigans, nor did he much care to be out of the loop. One overlooked flaw or weakness of character even in Mageria could lead to a point of exploitation by the enemy.
“I-I was talking with a squire. They said they heard the Captain arguing with herself. I figured the stress was getting to us all right?”
“… Yes, yes that is likely so. Return to your post.”
It was unbelievable to think Mageria could be cracking up after all these years. Even now while he contemplated he could not recollect when his superior had ever shown weakness. At first the news seemed foreboding and dangerous, it would require some looking into. Ultimately Grim decided that there was likely a misunderstanding. She had been resolute all through the week, and he doubted that his leader could ever be broken. Still it didn’t hurt to ask.
He waved the Black Guard to take charge and sheathed the Giants Knife at his back. Casually making his way toward the castle. He still hadn’t paid their new important patron a visit, perhaps if there was time he could finally introduce himself to the vital piece Mageria spoke of.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Evin saw the men and women of the Pack slowly gathering around him when from a distance he could hear someone yell, "intruder!" Evin wasn't sure who it was at first, but as information poured in to him from different assassins, the whole thing was clear. Jake was there somewhere, but there was no way that anyone would find him if he wanted to make a getaway. There was no point in searching, especially if Jake didn't want to be found. The only thing that could give him any form of satisfaction was if Jake did show himself.
"Evin... uh sir. Jake has infiltrated-"
"Do you have any new news?" Evin snapped. This was the fifth person that had specifically told him this bit of information.
"He also has Sean sir."
"Don't call me sir, but I do have a job for you, so listen carefully."
After a couple of minutes explanation to the boy, Evin went into the cabin and to his room. He opened the floorboards that lead to the secret room where he kept all his weapons. Evin was going to prepare himself for everything. He took about seven weapons he could conceal, a sword, two daggers, his rope dart and his secret weapon. All this stuff weighed him down so much, but in the end, it would be worth it. There was nothing in Valcrest that could save the people from his wrath now. He was no longer taking any shit. No one was getting away with the crimes they had committed.
Evin took off after that. With all the confusion going on it wasn't all that hard. Going out from the front entrance would be too easy, so he took the way he suspected Jake would have taken. There was no way of telling if he was right. At first he looked around for any tracks that might have given Jake away, but there was no way for him to find anything. It seemed that Jake was being careful. However he caught onto something rather quickly, he wasn't careful about cleaning his dagger because there were a few drops of blood that was pooling in one area.
"Jake you son of a bitch." He said in a most calm. "I'm not going to kill you now, but you will be under my radar until the day one of us dies. There is something about Dani's death that just doesn't fit and because of that, you are free to go for now. If you are ever found in my camp again however, I will not be so kind."
Evin continued walking, right past the pool of blood and where he suspected Jake would be. He couldn't be certain, he might have even just been talking to thin air. If Jake was there, he hoped that he walked as close to possible to him as he could.
~~~~~
The active assassin vin had spoke to began to gather the members of the camp and bring order to the masses again. Of course, being an active wasn't very helpful, but since Evin wasn't there anymore, he had to follow Evin's orders and tell the groups what needed to be said. After about thirty minutes of trying to bring order, most of the assassins had managed to calm down a little and mass by the cabin again. This was probably the biggest crowd he had ever really had to speak to in his life, but it was Evin's order and Evin's order was now law.
"Evin wanted me to tell you that he has planned a full attack on the Black Knights, but now that the camp has been attacked some will have to stay. We need to reorganize the camp so that Jake will no longer be able to recognize it. Sean, he wants you to create a team to go to Newhaven and be prepared for a fight."
The boy was so confused, but he just repeated to the best of his ability what Evin had said. He didn't know where Evin had run off to, but Evin was always out to cause trouble so it couldn't be good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
The battle had been going exactly as he warned his king it would go. His men had been surprised in the middle of the night by a large battalion and a two day fight had ensued that pushed them back outside of the city. Hastings couldn't predict when this was going to happen and there were few warning signs that would allow him to predict the attack. The worst part was that if Hastings was just given one more day to prepare, this wouldn't have happened. His king knew nothing about war and had no place in the decision making of the movements of Hastings men. The honest truth was that he didn't respect many of the king's decisions, he just said things in order to keep him happy.
"Ah, Hastings! It's good to see you back." He heard his friend's voice, most proud of Hastings' endeavors.
"Don't look so happy, we got our asses handed to us the other day sir." Hastings said to the king.
He paused for a second, "Well Lamya here got the job done, right?"
Layma moved closer to Rory and wrapped her arm around him. She moved her dark lips closer to Rory's ear and whispered in a seductive tone that was just loud enough for Hastings to hear. "Yes my lord, and even better, we gathered Intel while attacking Newhaven..." That was when Hastings could no longer hear what she was saying.
Hastings was shocked to hear this. She hadn't told him anything in the entire week. He didn't put too much thought into the whole thing and just decided to walk along in silence.
"Really? That is a valuable piece of information there. Hastings, you look like shit, why not take a rest."
Hastings realised that they walked right to the hall outside of his room. Was he trying to get rid of him? "Thanks." He said sarcastically and walked to his room for a good rest.
"Evin... uh sir. Jake has infiltrated-"
"Do you have any new news?" Evin snapped. This was the fifth person that had specifically told him this bit of information.
"He also has Sean sir."
"Don't call me sir, but I do have a job for you, so listen carefully."
After a couple of minutes explanation to the boy, Evin went into the cabin and to his room. He opened the floorboards that lead to the secret room where he kept all his weapons. Evin was going to prepare himself for everything. He took about seven weapons he could conceal, a sword, two daggers, his rope dart and his secret weapon. All this stuff weighed him down so much, but in the end, it would be worth it. There was nothing in Valcrest that could save the people from his wrath now. He was no longer taking any shit. No one was getting away with the crimes they had committed.
Evin took off after that. With all the confusion going on it wasn't all that hard. Going out from the front entrance would be too easy, so he took the way he suspected Jake would have taken. There was no way of telling if he was right. At first he looked around for any tracks that might have given Jake away, but there was no way for him to find anything. It seemed that Jake was being careful. However he caught onto something rather quickly, he wasn't careful about cleaning his dagger because there were a few drops of blood that was pooling in one area.
"Jake you son of a bitch." He said in a most calm. "I'm not going to kill you now, but you will be under my radar until the day one of us dies. There is something about Dani's death that just doesn't fit and because of that, you are free to go for now. If you are ever found in my camp again however, I will not be so kind."
Evin continued walking, right past the pool of blood and where he suspected Jake would be. He couldn't be certain, he might have even just been talking to thin air. If Jake was there, he hoped that he walked as close to possible to him as he could.
~~~~~
The active assassin vin had spoke to began to gather the members of the camp and bring order to the masses again. Of course, being an active wasn't very helpful, but since Evin wasn't there anymore, he had to follow Evin's orders and tell the groups what needed to be said. After about thirty minutes of trying to bring order, most of the assassins had managed to calm down a little and mass by the cabin again. This was probably the biggest crowd he had ever really had to speak to in his life, but it was Evin's order and Evin's order was now law.
"Evin wanted me to tell you that he has planned a full attack on the Black Knights, but now that the camp has been attacked some will have to stay. We need to reorganize the camp so that Jake will no longer be able to recognize it. Sean, he wants you to create a team to go to Newhaven and be prepared for a fight."
The boy was so confused, but he just repeated to the best of his ability what Evin had said. He didn't know where Evin had run off to, but Evin was always out to cause trouble so it couldn't be good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
The battle had been going exactly as he warned his king it would go. His men had been surprised in the middle of the night by a large battalion and a two day fight had ensued that pushed them back outside of the city. Hastings couldn't predict when this was going to happen and there were few warning signs that would allow him to predict the attack. The worst part was that if Hastings was just given one more day to prepare, this wouldn't have happened. His king knew nothing about war and had no place in the decision making of the movements of Hastings men. The honest truth was that he didn't respect many of the king's decisions, he just said things in order to keep him happy.
"Ah, Hastings! It's good to see you back." He heard his friend's voice, most proud of Hastings' endeavors.
"Don't look so happy, we got our asses handed to us the other day sir." Hastings said to the king.
He paused for a second, "Well Lamya here got the job done, right?"
Layma moved closer to Rory and wrapped her arm around him. She moved her dark lips closer to Rory's ear and whispered in a seductive tone that was just loud enough for Hastings to hear. "Yes my lord, and even better, we gathered Intel while attacking Newhaven..." That was when Hastings could no longer hear what she was saying.
Hastings was shocked to hear this. She hadn't told him anything in the entire week. He didn't put too much thought into the whole thing and just decided to walk along in silence.
"Really? That is a valuable piece of information there. Hastings, you look like shit, why not take a rest."
Hastings realised that they walked right to the hall outside of his room. Was he trying to get rid of him? "Thanks." He said sarcastically and walked to his room for a good rest.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Jake regretted letting Sean live, but... The little vermin was right, he did need to prove it. He would have no problem in killing the bastard if Evin hadn't made him second in command, that made it hard to kill him and explain it later.
"Jake you son of a bitch."
Jake looked down from the tree he was perched on with a grin. He had let the blood pool in the hopes that Ali would see it, she had more chances of listening to him, her hesitation to shoot proved that. Evin was a whole different story. Crys had complained a little bit about making him second in command, she said that Dani had made her promise. Jake could see why Dani would do that, but he also knew that if she hadn't told Crys that, he probably shouldn't either. So, it was easier to just let her complain.
Jake let Evin make his threats, he was expecting that, and then he took a few seconds of wondering if he should say what he wanted to say anyway, or if he should try to get Ali alone so he could talk to her... Suppose it couldn't hurt to do both. Well, actually, it could, but that was the least of his concerns right now. "You know, when I was first expelled from the clan, I sat in front of Dani and I lied through my teeth. She simply shook her head and said: I know you're lying to me." He chuckled. "Then she smiled and said: Gladly, I can't prove it, now can I?... And, you're being kind?" He asked, dropping down from the tree a few good steps behind Evin. "Nice of you to make that explanation. I'll remember that." He stated. "I was expecting Ali to come after me, I suppose she was more concerned with helping Sean. Oh, well... " He sighed. "If you want to kill me, I'm afraid you'll have to wait, because I won't let that happen until I find out who is really behind Crys' murder. Which leads to the reason why you've been led here. Though I don't expect you to listen, I will say it anyway: The Black Knights didn't do this, and if you lead the Pack against them, it will be a huge mistake. Someone inside the clan is most likely behind this, and although I can't really prove it, Sean is a pretty good suspect if you look into his past."
With that he began to walk away. "Don't worry you won't find me in your camp again."
--------------------------------
Ali listened to what the boy had to say, not caring much for the fact that Evin was, again, nowhere to be found. Everyone began to talk amongst themselves and things got louder and louder by the second until Sean stepped up forward.
"Shut up!" He shouted. "You" He pointed towards a group of five actives. "Gather the workers and start reorganizing the camp. Start by tearing down the campfire."
He nodded towards Ali and the other two instructors. "Gather the best actives to head out to battle."
The other two instructors immediately followed the instructions. Ali, however, stood still next to Sean. "I'm not going." She told him.
"What are you talking about?" He asked turning to face her. "Ali, we've been ordered to go against the Black Knights and you want to sit around in camp? Are you joking?"
"You will excuse me Sean, but, to me, keeping this camp safe is far more important than marching on in some pointless revenge seeking battle. So, unless you order me to go, and consequently execute me for treason, I'm staying. I have no intention of taking any part in this."
"They killed Crys. Not just Crys, but many of our people and we did nothing! We sat, and we waited, and Crys might have been right to be cautious, but look where that got her!"
Ali nodded in silence for a moment, lowering her head as if she was simply going to take the scolding. However, a moment later she raised her head and struck Sean in the face with the wood of her bow. "I don't care what your ranking is now." She muttered. "Repeat that again, and I swear I'll kill you."
Sean stumbled back after being hit in the head for the second time, but managed to raise his hand to stop two actives from jumping on Ali's throat for what she did, while wiping the blood off his face, again. He turned to Ali again. "You were Crystal's recruit Ali, and she might have grown a little too fond of you to the point of letting you get way with shit like this, but that's over now. Do you understand?" Not waiting for a response he added. "You are here by suspended and relieved of your duties as an instructor. I don't really see how you earned that title in the first place."
Ali smirked, turning back to walk home. "Suit yourself, Sean. And you mean you don't see how I earned it before you did, right?" She snickered. "What if I had taken second command then?" She asked starting to walk away. "Always a bridesmaid, never the bride." She mocked.
Sean, once again stopped one of his friends before he jumped on the girl. "Leave her, she's just acting out." He said. "We have more important matters to attend."
"Jake you son of a bitch."
Jake looked down from the tree he was perched on with a grin. He had let the blood pool in the hopes that Ali would see it, she had more chances of listening to him, her hesitation to shoot proved that. Evin was a whole different story. Crys had complained a little bit about making him second in command, she said that Dani had made her promise. Jake could see why Dani would do that, but he also knew that if she hadn't told Crys that, he probably shouldn't either. So, it was easier to just let her complain.
Jake let Evin make his threats, he was expecting that, and then he took a few seconds of wondering if he should say what he wanted to say anyway, or if he should try to get Ali alone so he could talk to her... Suppose it couldn't hurt to do both. Well, actually, it could, but that was the least of his concerns right now. "You know, when I was first expelled from the clan, I sat in front of Dani and I lied through my teeth. She simply shook her head and said: I know you're lying to me." He chuckled. "Then she smiled and said: Gladly, I can't prove it, now can I?... And, you're being kind?" He asked, dropping down from the tree a few good steps behind Evin. "Nice of you to make that explanation. I'll remember that." He stated. "I was expecting Ali to come after me, I suppose she was more concerned with helping Sean. Oh, well... " He sighed. "If you want to kill me, I'm afraid you'll have to wait, because I won't let that happen until I find out who is really behind Crys' murder. Which leads to the reason why you've been led here. Though I don't expect you to listen, I will say it anyway: The Black Knights didn't do this, and if you lead the Pack against them, it will be a huge mistake. Someone inside the clan is most likely behind this, and although I can't really prove it, Sean is a pretty good suspect if you look into his past."
With that he began to walk away. "Don't worry you won't find me in your camp again."
--------------------------------
Ali listened to what the boy had to say, not caring much for the fact that Evin was, again, nowhere to be found. Everyone began to talk amongst themselves and things got louder and louder by the second until Sean stepped up forward.
"Shut up!" He shouted. "You" He pointed towards a group of five actives. "Gather the workers and start reorganizing the camp. Start by tearing down the campfire."
He nodded towards Ali and the other two instructors. "Gather the best actives to head out to battle."
The other two instructors immediately followed the instructions. Ali, however, stood still next to Sean. "I'm not going." She told him.
"What are you talking about?" He asked turning to face her. "Ali, we've been ordered to go against the Black Knights and you want to sit around in camp? Are you joking?"
"You will excuse me Sean, but, to me, keeping this camp safe is far more important than marching on in some pointless revenge seeking battle. So, unless you order me to go, and consequently execute me for treason, I'm staying. I have no intention of taking any part in this."
"They killed Crys. Not just Crys, but many of our people and we did nothing! We sat, and we waited, and Crys might have been right to be cautious, but look where that got her!"
Ali nodded in silence for a moment, lowering her head as if she was simply going to take the scolding. However, a moment later she raised her head and struck Sean in the face with the wood of her bow. "I don't care what your ranking is now." She muttered. "Repeat that again, and I swear I'll kill you."
Sean stumbled back after being hit in the head for the second time, but managed to raise his hand to stop two actives from jumping on Ali's throat for what she did, while wiping the blood off his face, again. He turned to Ali again. "You were Crystal's recruit Ali, and she might have grown a little too fond of you to the point of letting you get way with shit like this, but that's over now. Do you understand?" Not waiting for a response he added. "You are here by suspended and relieved of your duties as an instructor. I don't really see how you earned that title in the first place."
Ali smirked, turning back to walk home. "Suit yourself, Sean. And you mean you don't see how I earned it before you did, right?" She snickered. "What if I had taken second command then?" She asked starting to walk away. "Always a bridesmaid, never the bride." She mocked.
Sean, once again stopped one of his friends before he jumped on the girl. "Leave her, she's just acting out." He said. "We have more important matters to attend."
Thomas shifted uncomfortably. The wound in his stomach ached and itched, and he was getting bored out of his mind. He had already been talking to everybody who could pass him the least bit of information about what was going on and was ready to pass it along to somebody who could use it. Finally, Captain Mageria wandered in and visited with a few people before sitting down next to him. Frankly, he was shocked at how drawn she looked, although it was perhaps not surprising considering what she had been through the past few days. The claw marks across her face were new, as were several places beneath her clothing that looked as if they concealed bandages. The doctoria evidently also thought that she looked bad, one of them came by with a tray full of food and strict orders for her to eat as much as possible. She glanced at it and sighed, picking up a spoon and starting in. Thomas, in an effort to distract her, started filling her in on the various bits that he had come across. About halfway through his report, Lady Sarris came in and sat down as well. Captain Mageria nodded to her and continued eating. Mageria was wiping the last of the soup from her bowl with a bit of bread when Thomas got done; she looked up and spoke in a soft voice.
“I have a message for you, Lady Sarris. From Lena? She said to tell you, and please don’t ask how I got this, but that what you are looking for is currently with her, which would be in a cell in the Blackpond Castle.” Lady Sarris just stared at her for a long moment, face slowly going white, before she stood up abruptly and slammed out of the room. Thomas swore vilely and tried to get up, the pain lancing though his side defeating him.
Mageria dropped her dishes and pushed him back. “What, what is it?”
Thomas rolled his head on the pillow, trying to see out of the door. “Her daughter. The thing that Lena was looking for, was Lady Sarris’s daughter.” Mageria swore just as vilely and left the ward at full speed herself, slamming the door behind her. Thomas sank back, feeling the wound in his gut throb slowly. The doctoria rushed out and looked around, seeing the dishes laying on the floor. Thomas shrugged and tried to smile. “I guess she was done with dinner.”
Mageria chased Lady Sarris out of the infirmary at full speed, catching up in just a few moments. With one hand she grabbed the other woman’s shoulder, swinging her around. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Lady Sarris tried to pull away, snarling. “I’m going to get my child.”
Mageria tightened her hold, digging her fingers in. “No, you’re not. Not yet.”
Sarris spun around, one hand lashing out and slapping at her arm. “You can’t stop me.”
Mageria didn’t really see any point in arguing. Instead she used the other woman’s momentum against her, spinning her in turn to slam face first into the wall, one arm levered out and behind her, and delicately placing a nerve hold to keep her quiet.
“You can’t even outfight one warrior, who’s been fighting non stop for the past week. How exactly did you think that you were going to make your way past an entire army, along with everyone in the Castle, both ways, along with your daughter?” Mageria’s voice was calm and reasonable. Sarris twisted a bit, hissing at the pain of the nerve hold.
“Now, I have a map of the Blackpond Castle. If we need to rescue somebody, we have to plan this out to the smallest detail. Lena is going to protect your daughter as long as she can, with any means that she can. And of many people I’ve been up against, she is one that I would avoid angering among all others. If you want to do this, it has to be done right and calmly.” Carefully she let go, stepping back as Lady Sarris rotated her shoulder and turned around.
Glaring, she pushed some hair out of her eyes. “You know I could have you whipped for that.”
Mageria snorted. “You could try. Now, are you ready to plan calmly, or do I have to convince you?”
Lady Sarris sighed. “I’ll listen. That’s the best I can agree to right now.”
A few minutes later found them in the War Room, both of them leaning over the map that Jake had left her. A few quiet words to the Castle Guard had them tightening their security even more with the knowledge that the Pack was on their way. Mageria placed herself between the door and Sarris.
A couple a minutes later, she sensed Grim’s presence in the door. “Grim. Come in please. There’s quite a bit of news that I need to catch up on. First, the Pack is going to be trying to kill the both of us in the near future. Second, I’d like to introduce you to Lady Sarris. The exiled and returned Queen.” As she spoke, she didn’t look up, instead concentrating on the paper in front of her. Grim of all people had the best chance of figuring out that something was truly wrong with her.
“I have a message for you, Lady Sarris. From Lena? She said to tell you, and please don’t ask how I got this, but that what you are looking for is currently with her, which would be in a cell in the Blackpond Castle.” Lady Sarris just stared at her for a long moment, face slowly going white, before she stood up abruptly and slammed out of the room. Thomas swore vilely and tried to get up, the pain lancing though his side defeating him.
Mageria dropped her dishes and pushed him back. “What, what is it?”
Thomas rolled his head on the pillow, trying to see out of the door. “Her daughter. The thing that Lena was looking for, was Lady Sarris’s daughter.” Mageria swore just as vilely and left the ward at full speed herself, slamming the door behind her. Thomas sank back, feeling the wound in his gut throb slowly. The doctoria rushed out and looked around, seeing the dishes laying on the floor. Thomas shrugged and tried to smile. “I guess she was done with dinner.”
Mageria chased Lady Sarris out of the infirmary at full speed, catching up in just a few moments. With one hand she grabbed the other woman’s shoulder, swinging her around. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Lady Sarris tried to pull away, snarling. “I’m going to get my child.”
Mageria tightened her hold, digging her fingers in. “No, you’re not. Not yet.”
Sarris spun around, one hand lashing out and slapping at her arm. “You can’t stop me.”
Mageria didn’t really see any point in arguing. Instead she used the other woman’s momentum against her, spinning her in turn to slam face first into the wall, one arm levered out and behind her, and delicately placing a nerve hold to keep her quiet.
“You can’t even outfight one warrior, who’s been fighting non stop for the past week. How exactly did you think that you were going to make your way past an entire army, along with everyone in the Castle, both ways, along with your daughter?” Mageria’s voice was calm and reasonable. Sarris twisted a bit, hissing at the pain of the nerve hold.
“Now, I have a map of the Blackpond Castle. If we need to rescue somebody, we have to plan this out to the smallest detail. Lena is going to protect your daughter as long as she can, with any means that she can. And of many people I’ve been up against, she is one that I would avoid angering among all others. If you want to do this, it has to be done right and calmly.” Carefully she let go, stepping back as Lady Sarris rotated her shoulder and turned around.
Glaring, she pushed some hair out of her eyes. “You know I could have you whipped for that.”
Mageria snorted. “You could try. Now, are you ready to plan calmly, or do I have to convince you?”
Lady Sarris sighed. “I’ll listen. That’s the best I can agree to right now.”
A few minutes later found them in the War Room, both of them leaning over the map that Jake had left her. A few quiet words to the Castle Guard had them tightening their security even more with the knowledge that the Pack was on their way. Mageria placed herself between the door and Sarris.
A couple a minutes later, she sensed Grim’s presence in the door. “Grim. Come in please. There’s quite a bit of news that I need to catch up on. First, the Pack is going to be trying to kill the both of us in the near future. Second, I’d like to introduce you to Lady Sarris. The exiled and returned Queen.” As she spoke, she didn’t look up, instead concentrating on the paper in front of her. Grim of all people had the best chance of figuring out that something was truly wrong with her.
Grim had taken a select few on a routine patrol. The job was to cleanse out pockets of Blackpond forces from reacquired territory. Occasionally brute squads would crawl out from behind their lines and strike without warning. It was their job to route out any hidden trespassers and eliminate them.
So it was that three brave souls of Newhaven were to investigate and exterminate any possible threats. One male and female cadet were all that Grim dared steal from the front lines at the time. Besides the three of them were more then capable, and with such a small group they were less likely to be detected right away.
Previous rounds had revealed little, but there were still signs of Blackpond vermin scurrying about. Tonight they had limited the trail down to a few vacant homes far from the usual routes of Newhaven’s footmen. It made the perfect hideout, as it was easily overlooked by everyone during the strife. Even the street urchins had failed to pinpoint the exact location and it had easily been a two day search before any real progress was made. The bread crumbs ended here though, and it was apparent to the hunters even before entering they would be in for a fight.
The home in question looked to have belong to a well off merchant, being of a bigger size and built of more lustrous materials. War had reached it regardless, as it looked to be in shambles. The exterior was cracked and covered in dirt and the windows had been broken in some time ago. The front doorway was unhinged and ajar welcoming the group within.
The Blade went first followed on either side by his companions, kicking the busted door free of its frame and knocking it inward. He had cast all caution aside for shock and surprise. The tactic may have worked, if not for the cleverness of their prey. The trio dashed inside to find they were surrounded on all sides by their enemies. Both Blackpond and urchins alike had been waiting for their entrance and poured upon them without hesitance. The young man was dead before anyone realized.
Grim fought back with insurmountable determination. Yet he couldn’t do much against such odds. Ultimately he flung himself backwards and hurdled through the doorway, taking away the advantage from his foes momentarily. They of course gave chase and as they filed through the door they were cut down.
Grim suffered no injury for the duration of the fight, though his enemy was plentiful they were ill fit for combat. Many were wounded and fewer were even armored properly. The worse they did was waste the Black Knights energy and tired his arms and legs.
When the rats stopped emerging from the ramshackle home Grim came to a startling realization, he was missing the cadets. Swiftly he flew through the archway to find the first, and while he grieved within he hadn’t the time. The other child of Newhaven may yet be alive. He moved through the dust and grime, the wood groaning beneath the strain till he came upon a basement.
A single candle was the only light and its dull glow could never prepare the Raging Demon for what was down there. A man bearing Blackpond’s sigil came into the radiance and much to Grim’s chagrin he was forced to look up at the hulking form. The thing’s grin was wicked and yellowed and the stench of gore was on its breath. Both eyes gave off a dull light in the shadows that would strike utter horror into a lesser man. How it could remain so obscure and yet be so big was still a mystery and yet it possessed an unearthly aura all its own.
Of course it made the first move, and while Grim could recollect the jagged nails that bit into his collar, he couldn’t remember much else. The rest was hazy and only came in bits of violent action. Fists flying and monstrous forms against each other. Something maybe seen only in the nightmares of children.
When Grim rallied from what he assumed to be his rage, the hulk was dead. Though it now was much smaller then before. The candle was scattered in waxy smears all about the basement, but by this point the Black Knight could see somewhat into the gloom.
His footsteps landed heavy as weariness crept into his muscles. Moving steadily onward through the dark. He could just make out a doorway that likely lead to a small storehouse. A place for families to keep preservatives or tools. His fingertips gently wrapped about the doors edge and with a squeal he pushed it aside. She was too far gone and be it just or immoral, he ended her swiftly and without hesitance. Grim shuttered to think what that thing had done to her.
He prayed for her soul reverently for the next few nights.
The invitation into the war room woke roused him from the memory. He was glad to see Mageria was still upright, though she appeared to have more in common with the dead then anything else. Despite where his personal feelings lay he knew she was over exhausted. There was much riding upon those shoulders and Grim hadn’t caught site of Krander or Daniels since his arrival.
Lady Sarris wasn’t quite what the Black Knight was expecting. This woman was to be their queen, but he didn’t see yet the valor of royalty in her. There was still time for Sarris to prove herself, but for now Grim was preoccupied with news.
“The Wolves? The stench of Blackpond is all over this. Hmmm… we haven’t a chance all the defense is stretched far too thin to properly protect you Mageria. What about diplomacy? Crystal seemed reasonable, surely she will call a ceasefire if we a appeal.”
Grim faced his Captain, but she was concentrating on the map. He watched with an impartial gaze, giving off nothing of what he was thinking. Trying to survey how much damage she had actually taken. Knowing that the answer could be anything.
“What do you think M’lady?”
So it was that three brave souls of Newhaven were to investigate and exterminate any possible threats. One male and female cadet were all that Grim dared steal from the front lines at the time. Besides the three of them were more then capable, and with such a small group they were less likely to be detected right away.
Previous rounds had revealed little, but there were still signs of Blackpond vermin scurrying about. Tonight they had limited the trail down to a few vacant homes far from the usual routes of Newhaven’s footmen. It made the perfect hideout, as it was easily overlooked by everyone during the strife. Even the street urchins had failed to pinpoint the exact location and it had easily been a two day search before any real progress was made. The bread crumbs ended here though, and it was apparent to the hunters even before entering they would be in for a fight.
The home in question looked to have belong to a well off merchant, being of a bigger size and built of more lustrous materials. War had reached it regardless, as it looked to be in shambles. The exterior was cracked and covered in dirt and the windows had been broken in some time ago. The front doorway was unhinged and ajar welcoming the group within.
The Blade went first followed on either side by his companions, kicking the busted door free of its frame and knocking it inward. He had cast all caution aside for shock and surprise. The tactic may have worked, if not for the cleverness of their prey. The trio dashed inside to find they were surrounded on all sides by their enemies. Both Blackpond and urchins alike had been waiting for their entrance and poured upon them without hesitance. The young man was dead before anyone realized.
Grim fought back with insurmountable determination. Yet he couldn’t do much against such odds. Ultimately he flung himself backwards and hurdled through the doorway, taking away the advantage from his foes momentarily. They of course gave chase and as they filed through the door they were cut down.
Grim suffered no injury for the duration of the fight, though his enemy was plentiful they were ill fit for combat. Many were wounded and fewer were even armored properly. The worse they did was waste the Black Knights energy and tired his arms and legs.
When the rats stopped emerging from the ramshackle home Grim came to a startling realization, he was missing the cadets. Swiftly he flew through the archway to find the first, and while he grieved within he hadn’t the time. The other child of Newhaven may yet be alive. He moved through the dust and grime, the wood groaning beneath the strain till he came upon a basement.
A single candle was the only light and its dull glow could never prepare the Raging Demon for what was down there. A man bearing Blackpond’s sigil came into the radiance and much to Grim’s chagrin he was forced to look up at the hulking form. The thing’s grin was wicked and yellowed and the stench of gore was on its breath. Both eyes gave off a dull light in the shadows that would strike utter horror into a lesser man. How it could remain so obscure and yet be so big was still a mystery and yet it possessed an unearthly aura all its own.
Of course it made the first move, and while Grim could recollect the jagged nails that bit into his collar, he couldn’t remember much else. The rest was hazy and only came in bits of violent action. Fists flying and monstrous forms against each other. Something maybe seen only in the nightmares of children.
When Grim rallied from what he assumed to be his rage, the hulk was dead. Though it now was much smaller then before. The candle was scattered in waxy smears all about the basement, but by this point the Black Knight could see somewhat into the gloom.
His footsteps landed heavy as weariness crept into his muscles. Moving steadily onward through the dark. He could just make out a doorway that likely lead to a small storehouse. A place for families to keep preservatives or tools. His fingertips gently wrapped about the doors edge and with a squeal he pushed it aside. She was too far gone and be it just or immoral, he ended her swiftly and without hesitance. Grim shuttered to think what that thing had done to her.
He prayed for her soul reverently for the next few nights.
The invitation into the war room woke roused him from the memory. He was glad to see Mageria was still upright, though she appeared to have more in common with the dead then anything else. Despite where his personal feelings lay he knew she was over exhausted. There was much riding upon those shoulders and Grim hadn’t caught site of Krander or Daniels since his arrival.
Lady Sarris wasn’t quite what the Black Knight was expecting. This woman was to be their queen, but he didn’t see yet the valor of royalty in her. There was still time for Sarris to prove herself, but for now Grim was preoccupied with news.
“The Wolves? The stench of Blackpond is all over this. Hmmm… we haven’t a chance all the defense is stretched far too thin to properly protect you Mageria. What about diplomacy? Crystal seemed reasonable, surely she will call a ceasefire if we a appeal.”
Grim faced his Captain, but she was concentrating on the map. He watched with an impartial gaze, giving off nothing of what he was thinking. Trying to survey how much damage she had actually taken. Knowing that the answer could be anything.
“What do you think M’lady?”
Mageria sighed. “The problem with that is that somewhere along the line, Crystal Rivers was murdered. It was done in such a way that we look responsible. Apparently the only remains they could find were her sword lying in a pool of blood that no one could have survived loosing. Nearby was the word “Black” scratched in the dirt.”
She twisted her neck from side to side and rubbed her temple.
“And I can’t properly work with our soldiers if I’m standing behind them being protected. I refuse to put someone else’s life on the line solely to protect mine.”
She held up one hand to stop whatever it was Grim was about to say. “I know that I have to be careful, and I will. But I refuse to bow to outside pressure like that.” Carefully she drew a deep breath. “Lady Sarris, would you excuse us please?” Sarris looked between the two of them and nodded.
Once they were alone, Mageria clenched her jaw and went to stare out the window. She wanted more than anything not to say what she had to, but her earlier vision had proven to her that she was loosing ground faster than she thought she would. Grim had to know, had to be able to step in if she failed. Shoulders rigid, she drew one final breath, forcing herself to turn around and face Grim, walking across the room to face him squarely. “There’s another problem as well. It seems that one of the attacks I suffered during the riot has had some . . . unexpected consequences.” She raised her eyes to his, knowing that the spider webs across her eyes were plainly visible.
She twisted her neck from side to side and rubbed her temple.
“And I can’t properly work with our soldiers if I’m standing behind them being protected. I refuse to put someone else’s life on the line solely to protect mine.”
She held up one hand to stop whatever it was Grim was about to say. “I know that I have to be careful, and I will. But I refuse to bow to outside pressure like that.” Carefully she drew a deep breath. “Lady Sarris, would you excuse us please?” Sarris looked between the two of them and nodded.
Once they were alone, Mageria clenched her jaw and went to stare out the window. She wanted more than anything not to say what she had to, but her earlier vision had proven to her that she was loosing ground faster than she thought she would. Grim had to know, had to be able to step in if she failed. Shoulders rigid, she drew one final breath, forcing herself to turn around and face Grim, walking across the room to face him squarely. “There’s another problem as well. It seems that one of the attacks I suffered during the riot has had some . . . unexpected consequences.” She raised her eyes to his, knowing that the spider webs across her eyes were plainly visible.
He recoiled once he was able to examine her face in full. Her eyes were smattered with the webs of some kind of magic. They were beautiful in and of themselves, they certainly gave the Captain a sort of surreal and inhuman gaze. Yet in their pattern was the venom Grim began to fear, it was in her voice, the way she held her body. Spitting out the words with disdain and struggle, there was something very wrong indeed. Mageria was too proud to ask, but it was the way she presented the problem. She needed aid, Grim just wasn’t sure how or who would best benefit his leader.
“Shades! What has been done to you? Captain… your eyes.”
He stopped himself short, not wanting to insult her further. The plight had to be hard enough without Grim acting like he was. He took a few minutes to compose himself all the information was just starting to sink in.
“These days have been blacker then I feared… This has to be stopped Captain.”
It was maddening, all their efforts were being undermined left and right. Grim personally had abandoned his post in pursuit of the ultimate dream. He had walked among the Wolves, and with Mageria he had discovered much of the truth behind the faux King. Lady Sarris had been found, and when all the pieces were starting to come together, it all fell apart. It infuriated him to think of what they had accomplished only watch as their home burned beneath Blackpond’s malice.
“… You’re unwell, and I will not let you keep this up any longer. If the Wolves want you, they will have to get through me first. In the meantime you’re unfit for duty, and it’s important we find a cure for whatever it is that has you. Enough lives have been spent, it’s for your own good that you be confined to rest.”
“Shades! What has been done to you? Captain… your eyes.”
He stopped himself short, not wanting to insult her further. The plight had to be hard enough without Grim acting like he was. He took a few minutes to compose himself all the information was just starting to sink in.
“These days have been blacker then I feared… This has to be stopped Captain.”
It was maddening, all their efforts were being undermined left and right. Grim personally had abandoned his post in pursuit of the ultimate dream. He had walked among the Wolves, and with Mageria he had discovered much of the truth behind the faux King. Lady Sarris had been found, and when all the pieces were starting to come together, it all fell apart. It infuriated him to think of what they had accomplished only watch as their home burned beneath Blackpond’s malice.
“… You’re unwell, and I will not let you keep this up any longer. If the Wolves want you, they will have to get through me first. In the meantime you’re unfit for duty, and it’s important we find a cure for whatever it is that has you. Enough lives have been spent, it’s for your own good that you be confined to rest.”
Mageria actually laughed, feeling a bit of weight lift off her shoulders. “Making me rest isn’t going to do a bit of good, old friend. The enemy is here,” she tapped her forehead, “and in truth, it’s me.” She turned and leaned on a nearby table, leafing through some of the papers without actually seeing them.
“Do you remember that Elightened we ended up tracking through the Lower City? The one who caused people to go insane, the one we named Dark Mirror? I didn’t realize it, but he was one of the people I fought that night. He never would have gotten close, except I was dealing with a fire manipulator at the time. One touch, that’s all it took.”
She stared off into the middle distance for a moment, lost in the memories. “The White Shadows believed that he found a person’s darkest side, their fears, their hates, the secrets that they can never tell another soul; and brought it all to life inside his victims minds. I can vouch for that.” Her lips actually twitched in an ironic grin. “They thought that if a person could somehow conquer all of that, then they might come through ok. But by the time we figured that out, it was too late for all of his victims.”
“The only cure that might exist, lies with the White Shadows, Grim. And they’ve been scattered to the winds. I’m not saying that I’m giving up, but you have to face the fact that this might be one fight that I’m not going to get through.” She turned and faced Grim once more, her gaze clear and direct even through the webs of magic across her eyes. “All of Dark Mirror's victims survived at least three or four weeks. Some of them longer than that. I've got time to be useful still, and I'm not going to waste it."
“Do you remember that Elightened we ended up tracking through the Lower City? The one who caused people to go insane, the one we named Dark Mirror? I didn’t realize it, but he was one of the people I fought that night. He never would have gotten close, except I was dealing with a fire manipulator at the time. One touch, that’s all it took.”
She stared off into the middle distance for a moment, lost in the memories. “The White Shadows believed that he found a person’s darkest side, their fears, their hates, the secrets that they can never tell another soul; and brought it all to life inside his victims minds. I can vouch for that.” Her lips actually twitched in an ironic grin. “They thought that if a person could somehow conquer all of that, then they might come through ok. But by the time we figured that out, it was too late for all of his victims.”
“The only cure that might exist, lies with the White Shadows, Grim. And they’ve been scattered to the winds. I’m not saying that I’m giving up, but you have to face the fact that this might be one fight that I’m not going to get through.” She turned and faced Grim once more, her gaze clear and direct even through the webs of magic across her eyes. “All of Dark Mirror's victims survived at least three or four weeks. Some of them longer than that. I've got time to be useful still, and I'm not going to waste it."
The shock wasn’t gentle on the man. He threw his gaze shamefully from Mageria looking to the floor. Tiny shudders just barely eking past the layers of armor. Both hands balled up clenching till all the blood had rushed from them.
Grim just couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of everyone he had known, no one had shown more kindness to him then Mageria. People feared and shunned the Blade, they acknowledged his feats but they all knew of his curse. Understandably, in their need for survival, they kept distant from the Raging Demon. Those that served beneath him did so out of duty, and even the likes of Chandos were combative in action. ‘War’ was a title given to Grim, not one he conjured up.
Now this merciful woman was in jeopardy, and he was helpless against it. The same person that he had fought beside through all these years of turmoil. Twice they had cast Blackpond from their home. Raiding the Wolves together, seeking the truth with the other never far. Far too many friends were lost on the way.
Slowly he managed to lift his head. The hurt was registered across his face. Those emeralds that danced in fear and pain. It was a strange and rare moment when Grim couldn’t hold back the thoughts. Yet there he was resolute as always, facing her despite the obvious signs.
“I will do what ever it takes to save you Mageria….
You have only to ask it of me.”
Grim just couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of everyone he had known, no one had shown more kindness to him then Mageria. People feared and shunned the Blade, they acknowledged his feats but they all knew of his curse. Understandably, in their need for survival, they kept distant from the Raging Demon. Those that served beneath him did so out of duty, and even the likes of Chandos were combative in action. ‘War’ was a title given to Grim, not one he conjured up.
Now this merciful woman was in jeopardy, and he was helpless against it. The same person that he had fought beside through all these years of turmoil. Twice they had cast Blackpond from their home. Raiding the Wolves together, seeking the truth with the other never far. Far too many friends were lost on the way.
Slowly he managed to lift his head. The hurt was registered across his face. Those emeralds that danced in fear and pain. It was a strange and rare moment when Grim couldn’t hold back the thoughts. Yet there he was resolute as always, facing her despite the obvious signs.
“I will do what ever it takes to save you Mageria….
You have only to ask it of me.”
Lena hadn't spent the best of weeks, confined spaces always made her nervous since she was a child, however... She was no longer a child and, after the first escape attempt, she was smart enough not to try and leave the cell again. She didn't really make it very far, and too many people ended up unnecessarily injured for her liking.
It wasn't the worse of all weeks she's had in a cell though, so she wasn't going to complain. After 3 days the guards gave up the shackles since she always found a way to get out of them, and the guards had also been instructed not to speak with her or enter the cell under any circumstance. Which didn't stop her from trying to mess with their heads every chance she got, driving two, more weak minded, guards into suicide. She imagined they had probably done some nasty things if it took so little time for them to lose it.
Funny enough, she also managed to find out that the head guard had trained under her brother's command when he was still living. Lena was never close to her brother, she had only even met him once, and had only known of his kids when she first met Jake, but apparently he had been respected within the Blackpond ranks. The guards in general seemed to treat the prisoners a little better after being informed that she was related to the man. It was rather amusing, Lena was sure her brother wouldn't really give a crap how well she was treated.
As for the girl that was locked in there with her... Lena kept a discrete distance from her. Not for any particular reason, she simply wasn't sure of what to say to the kid. This wasn't exactly how she expected to find her friend's child. The time spent with the girl however, even if in silence, had showed that she seemed very confused as to what would be her place in the world. She wanted to improve, but didn't really see herself as capable enough to do so. It wasn't exactly an unusual feeling for a girl that age, but it seemed to trouble her much more than it was usual. Lena wondered how exactly would this girl react if she knew who she really was and what would, inevitably, be expected of her. She wasn't sure the kid could handle it, but then... You can never know what anyone is really capable of until they are faced with the challenge.
At the moment Lena was lying on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, and trying to put her thoughts together. At this point she could tell the time of day by the movement of the guards outside, and it was now the start of the afternoon. She didn't move when she heard the door of the cell open, just enough for a plate of food to be pushed inside, and then close again. She closed her eyes, wondering what ever happened to the rest of her clan.
-----------------------
[desert]
"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Annie had asked.
"The truth is complicated, child." Lena told her. "Telling the truth, sometimes, can change things to a point where the world ceases to be recognizable."
Annie sighed, irritated. "So, I don't deserve to know where I came from? It's not fair to keep this from me! I feel like I'm wandering about blind folded!"
"Sometimes it's just better." Lena said. "Listen, one day you will probably find out, most likely I won't be here when you do. When that day comes, you need to remember... We all have ghosts in our past that we wish to forget. This part of my past was not my proudest moment and, in some ways, I've come to regret it. However I would never actually change a single choice I made."
"You speak of this as if it was shameful." Annie mumbled, now staring at the ground.
Lena chuckled. "Well... Depends on what you consider to be shameful. That isn't what I meant. I'm just saying... Don't lose your sleep over things that might have been, when there is no chance they can ever be."
"I really, really, have no clue of what you mean." The girl stated, with a frown.
"Don't worry, you will." Lena said. "I'm sure one day you will.
Annie was sitting by the shade of what once was a house, now only a crooked piece of wall remained. She had been sitting there alone with her thoughts for quite a while, the ring she had taken from her mother in one hand, the sword that had been recovered from the ruins in the other. Her mother's sword. There were many shadows in her mothers past, things she wished to forget, things she was unable to forgive until this day... Annie knew them all. The only secret he mother had kept from her was the one thing she had always wanted to know: her father's identity.
Not only her mother, but everyone seemed to run from that particular subject to a point where it was just getting ridiculous. All of a sudden, someone sat beside her. She didn't really have to look, only one person would ever do that. "Hey." She said to Alistair.
"Hey. So, why is this so important?" He asked.
"What do you mean why?" She asked. "It's, a part of my past too, you know."
"What if he didn't want to know you?" He asked.
Annie snickered. "If it was that she would just tell me." She sighed. "I really don't understand."
"Maybe she never told him about you. Maybe she didn't want to see him again. Maybe he broke her heart or something." He guessed. "Does it really matter? Didn't Crys tell you he died?"
"Yes. Months ago. Only months ago. I could have known him." She muttered.
"Maybe you did know him." Alistair stated absently, laughing when he noticed Annie had turned to glare at him. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking aloud."
"Well thank you for that! I hadn't thought of it!" She exclaimed.
Alistair laughed. "Sorry, kid. You know I really don't care about this kind of thing. I think you should stop obsessing over this. What good does it do?"
Annie sighed, standing up. "I don't know what good anything does." She stated. "Have we finished burying our people?"
"Yes, we have." He informed.
"Alright. i want you to send someone, or go yourself, to Newhaven. Offer them our assistance."
"I thought we were going to withdraw." Alistair said.
Annie smiled. "We will, just not yet. I want to show Blackpond they haven't really hurt as badly as they might think. Newhaven gave lives to protect us, we owe them.
"How am I supposed to get through Blackpond's men?" He muttered.
"Find a way." She told him. "I know you can."
Alistair sighed. "Fine. I will do as you wish, milady." He said, with a little hint of amusement to his tone. "You're turning into a tyrant, you know? Just like your mother."
Annie laughed. "You really think so?" She stretched, before walking out of the shade and turning to watch the tents that were now up. "Oh, well... I guess all I can say is that I appreciate the compliment."
Alistair laughed, shaking his head and walking away, hopefully he would be able to reach the city safely.
It wasn't the worse of all weeks she's had in a cell though, so she wasn't going to complain. After 3 days the guards gave up the shackles since she always found a way to get out of them, and the guards had also been instructed not to speak with her or enter the cell under any circumstance. Which didn't stop her from trying to mess with their heads every chance she got, driving two, more weak minded, guards into suicide. She imagined they had probably done some nasty things if it took so little time for them to lose it.
Funny enough, she also managed to find out that the head guard had trained under her brother's command when he was still living. Lena was never close to her brother, she had only even met him once, and had only known of his kids when she first met Jake, but apparently he had been respected within the Blackpond ranks. The guards in general seemed to treat the prisoners a little better after being informed that she was related to the man. It was rather amusing, Lena was sure her brother wouldn't really give a crap how well she was treated.
As for the girl that was locked in there with her... Lena kept a discrete distance from her. Not for any particular reason, she simply wasn't sure of what to say to the kid. This wasn't exactly how she expected to find her friend's child. The time spent with the girl however, even if in silence, had showed that she seemed very confused as to what would be her place in the world. She wanted to improve, but didn't really see herself as capable enough to do so. It wasn't exactly an unusual feeling for a girl that age, but it seemed to trouble her much more than it was usual. Lena wondered how exactly would this girl react if she knew who she really was and what would, inevitably, be expected of her. She wasn't sure the kid could handle it, but then... You can never know what anyone is really capable of until they are faced with the challenge.
At the moment Lena was lying on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, and trying to put her thoughts together. At this point she could tell the time of day by the movement of the guards outside, and it was now the start of the afternoon. She didn't move when she heard the door of the cell open, just enough for a plate of food to be pushed inside, and then close again. She closed her eyes, wondering what ever happened to the rest of her clan.
-----------------------
[desert]
"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Annie had asked.
"The truth is complicated, child." Lena told her. "Telling the truth, sometimes, can change things to a point where the world ceases to be recognizable."
Annie sighed, irritated. "So, I don't deserve to know where I came from? It's not fair to keep this from me! I feel like I'm wandering about blind folded!"
"Sometimes it's just better." Lena said. "Listen, one day you will probably find out, most likely I won't be here when you do. When that day comes, you need to remember... We all have ghosts in our past that we wish to forget. This part of my past was not my proudest moment and, in some ways, I've come to regret it. However I would never actually change a single choice I made."
"You speak of this as if it was shameful." Annie mumbled, now staring at the ground.
Lena chuckled. "Well... Depends on what you consider to be shameful. That isn't what I meant. I'm just saying... Don't lose your sleep over things that might have been, when there is no chance they can ever be."
"I really, really, have no clue of what you mean." The girl stated, with a frown.
"Don't worry, you will." Lena said. "I'm sure one day you will.
Annie was sitting by the shade of what once was a house, now only a crooked piece of wall remained. She had been sitting there alone with her thoughts for quite a while, the ring she had taken from her mother in one hand, the sword that had been recovered from the ruins in the other. Her mother's sword. There were many shadows in her mothers past, things she wished to forget, things she was unable to forgive until this day... Annie knew them all. The only secret he mother had kept from her was the one thing she had always wanted to know: her father's identity.
Not only her mother, but everyone seemed to run from that particular subject to a point where it was just getting ridiculous. All of a sudden, someone sat beside her. She didn't really have to look, only one person would ever do that. "Hey." She said to Alistair.
"Hey. So, why is this so important?" He asked.
"What do you mean why?" She asked. "It's, a part of my past too, you know."
"What if he didn't want to know you?" He asked.
Annie snickered. "If it was that she would just tell me." She sighed. "I really don't understand."
"Maybe she never told him about you. Maybe she didn't want to see him again. Maybe he broke her heart or something." He guessed. "Does it really matter? Didn't Crys tell you he died?"
"Yes. Months ago. Only months ago. I could have known him." She muttered.
"Maybe you did know him." Alistair stated absently, laughing when he noticed Annie had turned to glare at him. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking aloud."
"Well thank you for that! I hadn't thought of it!" She exclaimed.
Alistair laughed. "Sorry, kid. You know I really don't care about this kind of thing. I think you should stop obsessing over this. What good does it do?"
Annie sighed, standing up. "I don't know what good anything does." She stated. "Have we finished burying our people?"
"Yes, we have." He informed.
"Alright. i want you to send someone, or go yourself, to Newhaven. Offer them our assistance."
"I thought we were going to withdraw." Alistair said.
Annie smiled. "We will, just not yet. I want to show Blackpond they haven't really hurt as badly as they might think. Newhaven gave lives to protect us, we owe them.
"How am I supposed to get through Blackpond's men?" He muttered.
"Find a way." She told him. "I know you can."
Alistair sighed. "Fine. I will do as you wish, milady." He said, with a little hint of amusement to his tone. "You're turning into a tyrant, you know? Just like your mother."
Annie laughed. "You really think so?" She stretched, before walking out of the shade and turning to watch the tents that were now up. "Oh, well... I guess all I can say is that I appreciate the compliment."
Alistair laughed, shaking his head and walking away, hopefully he would be able to reach the city safely.
Mageria winced at the look on Grim’s face. He didn’t show how he felt often, and so when he did this time, it was even more dramatic. They had spent the past three years working together, and fighting side by side, that formed a bond that few things could break. And she knew what her loss might mean to him, so few people even wanted to risk being near him for fear of something that might unleash his rage. There were a lot of shared demons between the two of them, nightmare memories that they faced together. Grim had been her first recruit that she had trained from the start, and she had pulled him from the ranks even knowing that he might not be able to use his rage in a way that was helpful.
Now she might be leaving him alone.
Taking a deep breath, she reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face, looking him in the eye with all of the confidence that she could muster.
“Grim. Listen to me. I will not give up. I am going to fight this with all I’ve got. I will. Not. Leave. You. Not willingly.” She sighed and leaned her head forward. “I know that you will help me.” She snorted softly. “This would be a lot easier if we could just hit this with a sword.”
She sighed and when she next spoke it was almost too quietly to hear. “I’ve done things in the past Grim. Things that can’t be forgiven. I almost wonder if this is the Gods way of balancing the scales.”
Now she might be leaving him alone.
Taking a deep breath, she reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face, looking him in the eye with all of the confidence that she could muster.
“Grim. Listen to me. I will not give up. I am going to fight this with all I’ve got. I will. Not. Leave. You. Not willingly.” She sighed and leaned her head forward. “I know that you will help me.” She snorted softly. “This would be a lot easier if we could just hit this with a sword.”
She sighed and when she next spoke it was almost too quietly to hear. “I’ve done things in the past Grim. Things that can’t be forgiven. I almost wonder if this is the Gods way of balancing the scales.”
The guards in Blackpond had all the prisoners on a very strict schedule for the prisoners. They had everyone do everything at the same time, from waking up to when the guards would come around to harass the prisoners. Of course, because of Lena, they didn't follow regular scheduled at all. Actually, they saw guards very few times even walk past the cells. The last time that one did, they ended up killing themselves. This made Ella wonder if Lena was even sane. There were a few times where she had begged for the guards to have her switch cells, but it was pointless. Maybe the guards found it funny to see her suffer. Ella was no longer going to give them the satisfaction.
The draft made Ella shiver more than usual. The whistling and hisses just becoming mute to Ella's ears, only allowing howls and wails from the prisoners. Occasionally there was the sounds of fights breaking out deep within the caverns and halls of the dungeon, but it was always too far away to take advantage of for entertainment. Instead Ella panned herself across the dank floor and blew bubbles through her mouth to pass the time.
"You know," she said, rolling onto her stomach, eyes shot towards Lena, "I wish I'd gone with you that time. You didn't make it far, but it sure as hell would have been better than lying in here."
She panned her head around the cell to where she herd the clanging sound. It was obviously time for supper. It only took seconds for her to scurry over to the plate of food, which was surprisingly good. It had the aroma of a rotting pig, but that didn't detract her in the least. "So..." She mumbled finishing the food in her mouth. "There was obviously a reason why you didn't let me die. I could see it in your eyes that day instead you gave yourself up. Why?"
The draft made Ella shiver more than usual. The whistling and hisses just becoming mute to Ella's ears, only allowing howls and wails from the prisoners. Occasionally there was the sounds of fights breaking out deep within the caverns and halls of the dungeon, but it was always too far away to take advantage of for entertainment. Instead Ella panned herself across the dank floor and blew bubbles through her mouth to pass the time.
"You know," she said, rolling onto her stomach, eyes shot towards Lena, "I wish I'd gone with you that time. You didn't make it far, but it sure as hell would have been better than lying in here."
She panned her head around the cell to where she herd the clanging sound. It was obviously time for supper. It only took seconds for her to scurry over to the plate of food, which was surprisingly good. It had the aroma of a rotting pig, but that didn't detract her in the least. "So..." She mumbled finishing the food in her mouth. "There was obviously a reason why you didn't let me die. I could see it in your eyes that day instead you gave yourself up. Why?"
Lena kept her eyes closed even while Ella spoke to her. "I wish I'd gone with you that time. You didn't make it far, but it sure as hell would have been better than lying in here."
"I'm lying here too, am I not?" Lena replied, in an slightly amused tone. "Then, if you are tired of lying here, simply don't. Life is made of choices, kid."
She remained motionless still, even while conversing, and not paying the food much importance. After being questioned by Ella as to why she hadn't let the Blackpond man kill her, Lena slowly sat up and faked an interest in the meal, examining it for a moment before finally deciding to eat some. She used that time to think of what to answer. She could lie easily, or refuse to answer, but the reality was that the secret she was asked to guard wouldn't remain a secret very long. Not after her message reached Newhaven.
She finished chewing, thinking of how amusing it was that she had eaten worst things carefully prepared by the hands of healers, and leaned her back against the stone wall. "I will tell you why, part of the reason at least. It starts with a little story..." She said, finally turning her attention to the girl, watching her attentively as if she saw something no one would see without knowing what she knew. "A friend of mine, a very good friend of mine, and bear in mind there are rare people I can still refer to in such manner nowadays, came to me recently with a secret, and a request." She stopped to take another bite of food before continuing. "The secret she kept from me, and from the world, all this time was that 17 years ago she had a child, a girl, that was taken from her and sent to an orphanage. The child's father was a rather powerful man and he made sure that even if he died, she wouldn't be able to look for the girl. He had died a while ago, and she recently began to think it safe to try and find her now. So I was asked to look for this girl, with no actual idea of what she would look like today, and a name: Ella." Lena sighed and leaned her head back to face the ceiling. "Ella is not an unusual name. Certainly it is common enough for me to take the risk, however, you resemble this friend of mine an awful lot, and... Two coincidences were more than enough to make me hesitate. Now..." Lena smiled. "That isn't the whole story, but to know the rest, that if you want to know, you will have to answer a question, and answer it truthfully: If you could leave this cell right now and go to the place where you felt the most happy in your life, where would you go?"
"I'm lying here too, am I not?" Lena replied, in an slightly amused tone. "Then, if you are tired of lying here, simply don't. Life is made of choices, kid."
She remained motionless still, even while conversing, and not paying the food much importance. After being questioned by Ella as to why she hadn't let the Blackpond man kill her, Lena slowly sat up and faked an interest in the meal, examining it for a moment before finally deciding to eat some. She used that time to think of what to answer. She could lie easily, or refuse to answer, but the reality was that the secret she was asked to guard wouldn't remain a secret very long. Not after her message reached Newhaven.
She finished chewing, thinking of how amusing it was that she had eaten worst things carefully prepared by the hands of healers, and leaned her back against the stone wall. "I will tell you why, part of the reason at least. It starts with a little story..." She said, finally turning her attention to the girl, watching her attentively as if she saw something no one would see without knowing what she knew. "A friend of mine, a very good friend of mine, and bear in mind there are rare people I can still refer to in such manner nowadays, came to me recently with a secret, and a request." She stopped to take another bite of food before continuing. "The secret she kept from me, and from the world, all this time was that 17 years ago she had a child, a girl, that was taken from her and sent to an orphanage. The child's father was a rather powerful man and he made sure that even if he died, she wouldn't be able to look for the girl. He had died a while ago, and she recently began to think it safe to try and find her now. So I was asked to look for this girl, with no actual idea of what she would look like today, and a name: Ella." Lena sighed and leaned her head back to face the ceiling. "Ella is not an unusual name. Certainly it is common enough for me to take the risk, however, you resemble this friend of mine an awful lot, and... Two coincidences were more than enough to make me hesitate. Now..." Lena smiled. "That isn't the whole story, but to know the rest, that if you want to know, you will have to answer a question, and answer it truthfully: If you could leave this cell right now and go to the place where you felt the most happy in your life, where would you go?"
He listened intently at her every word holding to them as one would a lifeline. Realizing how transparent he had become he attempted to collect himself. Trying to draw back but finding that the moment was too tense to ignore. So he swallowed hard and paid heed to Mageria’s words, knowing that she wasn’t about to give up brought little comfort. He was still worried for his Captain.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to… “
Calmly he removed her hands, he appreciated the comfort but it was not the Blade whom was in danger. With a stern grip he clasped his hands over one of her own. Oathsworn to Newhaven, but more loyal still to another.
He had caught pieces of a confession it was subtle but there. The truth was far darker then Grim had anticipated. Mageria was in doubt? No, she was uncertain, afraid maybe that past sins outweighed her zeal. It was a hard fine line that she was walking, a Black Knight of the past and present.
“… Redemption is the greatest gift. We all want it, but it is something that has to be given not earned. Something done can not be undone, but there is time yet for correction. I have served you all these long years, there is no better judge. I know that there is so much more then the armor and swords you carry. I trust the moon to do the right thing, just as I trust in you.”
After he released her standing at attention once more. The agony before seemed circumvented for now, and in its wake there was hope.
"There is much we must anticipate for. The Wolves are coming, and Blackpond has not yet gone home. What will you have me do M'lady?"
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to… “
Calmly he removed her hands, he appreciated the comfort but it was not the Blade whom was in danger. With a stern grip he clasped his hands over one of her own. Oathsworn to Newhaven, but more loyal still to another.
He had caught pieces of a confession it was subtle but there. The truth was far darker then Grim had anticipated. Mageria was in doubt? No, she was uncertain, afraid maybe that past sins outweighed her zeal. It was a hard fine line that she was walking, a Black Knight of the past and present.
“… Redemption is the greatest gift. We all want it, but it is something that has to be given not earned. Something done can not be undone, but there is time yet for correction. I have served you all these long years, there is no better judge. I know that there is so much more then the armor and swords you carry. I trust the moon to do the right thing, just as I trust in you.”
After he released her standing at attention once more. The agony before seemed circumvented for now, and in its wake there was hope.
"There is much we must anticipate for. The Wolves are coming, and Blackpond has not yet gone home. What will you have me do M'lady?"
For a long moment, it seemed that Mageria hadn’t heard Grim’s words, her gaze still off in another time and place.
“What do you do,” she murmured, “when you’re caught between something that you believe with all your heart, and the right thing?”
It meant far more to her than Grim realized, that he believed in her like that. Maybe she was still doing some good after all. Then she seemed to snap awake and remember what was going on.
“For now, I’d say that we should both be in one place, so that we can work together. We know that the Wolves are coming, so we can be alert for it. I’d rather not stay in the Castle, too many here don’t know how to fight, or how to stay out of a fight. But I need to continue making plans, so we’ll stay for a few minutes more. I suggest you take the time to get something to eat and cleaned up. We may be planning a rescue mission for Lady Sarris’s daughter as soon as we’re done pushing Blackpond back a little further.” She ran a hand through her hair and tugged at the end of her braid.
“It might be best to just try and set up a trap with us as the bait. Lure the Wolves in and pick them off as they try and kill us. I don’t blame them for their feelings, but I’m not going to just give up, and I don’t think that they’re going to listen to us.” She looked up and nodded toward the door.
“If you wouldn’t mind figuring out the best spot for us to wait and setting up things, I need to talk to a few more people before I can take part.”
With one more reassuring pat, she left the room, looking up and down the corridor. There were a few people, and she smiled distractedly at them as she passed. As soon as she could, she ducked into one of the lesser used corridors, rubbing her temple where a headache threatened. This wasn’t one of the pains she got from a vision, instead it was simply stress and overwork. Luckily Grim wasn’t there to see it, or she would have more trouble. She had gotten about halfway down the corridor when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong, very, very wrong, and listening to her instincts had saved her life countless times. Unconsciously she shifted her weight so that she was balanced on the balls of her feet, eyes hooded as she concentrated in an effort to put a name to the nebulous feeling of danger. Suddenly she spun, lightning fast, her blades seeming to appear in her hands like a magic trick. She spun, turning to find . . . .
“What do you do,” she murmured, “when you’re caught between something that you believe with all your heart, and the right thing?”
It meant far more to her than Grim realized, that he believed in her like that. Maybe she was still doing some good after all. Then she seemed to snap awake and remember what was going on.
“For now, I’d say that we should both be in one place, so that we can work together. We know that the Wolves are coming, so we can be alert for it. I’d rather not stay in the Castle, too many here don’t know how to fight, or how to stay out of a fight. But I need to continue making plans, so we’ll stay for a few minutes more. I suggest you take the time to get something to eat and cleaned up. We may be planning a rescue mission for Lady Sarris’s daughter as soon as we’re done pushing Blackpond back a little further.” She ran a hand through her hair and tugged at the end of her braid.
“It might be best to just try and set up a trap with us as the bait. Lure the Wolves in and pick them off as they try and kill us. I don’t blame them for their feelings, but I’m not going to just give up, and I don’t think that they’re going to listen to us.” She looked up and nodded toward the door.
“If you wouldn’t mind figuring out the best spot for us to wait and setting up things, I need to talk to a few more people before I can take part.”
With one more reassuring pat, she left the room, looking up and down the corridor. There were a few people, and she smiled distractedly at them as she passed. As soon as she could, she ducked into one of the lesser used corridors, rubbing her temple where a headache threatened. This wasn’t one of the pains she got from a vision, instead it was simply stress and overwork. Luckily Grim wasn’t there to see it, or she would have more trouble. She had gotten about halfway down the corridor when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong, very, very wrong, and listening to her instincts had saved her life countless times. Unconsciously she shifted her weight so that she was balanced on the balls of her feet, eyes hooded as she concentrated in an effort to put a name to the nebulous feeling of danger. Suddenly she spun, lightning fast, her blades seeming to appear in her hands like a magic trick. She spun, turning to find . . . .
Evin listen to Jake with no real care about what he was doing. He now knew exactly where he was, but again, didn’t want to attack the man. Jake was talking about how Dani had treated him so much better. When Jake stopped talking, he couldn’t help but yell back at him.
“She trusted you and then you went and killed her! It sure worked out well for her!”
His words being muffled through clenched teeth.
[A few minutes earlier]
Ali took a good while to calm herself, fiddling with the small box of things she stole from Crys' room, and going over what was about to happen. Finally, her thoughts became bothersome to the point where she simply couldn't hold still anymore. Finally she left her home and walked a straight line to the lake, ignoring the angry stares from most of the actives.
Reaching the lake she stopped when noticing someone was already there. She didn't even look at Evin, but simply walked past and crouched near the edge to touch the water. After a moment she spoke. "I think attacking the Black Knights is a mistake." She stated. "It might even be successful, but it won't do us any good." Then she stood up and faced him. "The first thing Dani told me, the first time she spoke to me was: Forget about revenge. It's not worth it. I don't think she would agree to this. I KNOW, Crys wouldn't agree to this."
Evin was walking past the lake when he heard someone Allison spoke from somewhere behind him. She was saying speaking of Dani and Crystal like it meant anything now. The truth was that he could care less about what they would have done now. Things like that just didn't have any relevance anymore.
He turned around to face Allison and chucked a bit. "Dani had told you a lie. She was harbouring vengeful thoughts herself when she told you that." He drew the sword he had taken. It was the only thing he hadn't gotten out of his armoury. The sword was actually the katana that had been sitting on the table in the common room. It hadn't been moved since the conversation with Sean a week ago. "And Crystal is dead now. I'm the one who is in charge of running things and as so, I don't have to worry about what Crystal would have done." He continued. "I know Crystal sought revenge for the death of her father and I got my revenge on the man who ruined my life. I'm sure you got your revenge too, despite what Dani told you. Isn't that right?"
Ali nodded, her eyes on the Katana. She sighed. "No, Dani didn't lie. I could see it in her eyes how much she regretted what she did to the Wolf Hunters. It haunted her. It haunted Theron, or do you forget the state in which we found him. As for Crys, how well do you think you knew her, really? In case you don't recall, she might have wanted to avenge her father, but she only went near Perry once, and she wasn't really trying to kill him then. She gave up the man who killed her father, to you. What good did that do you, by the way?" She asked, smirking slightly and sitting at her usual spot, leaning against a tree.
"Either way, do what you will. You can. I'm simply stating the reasons why I won't take any part in this. As for my revenge, no, I didn't get it. Not really. I don't plan on doing it now either. I'm hanging on to the little peace of mind I have left." She ran her fingers through the surface of the water and added. "Don't use that sword unless you're sure of what your doing. I think the least you can do for Crys', since she's unimportant now, is not taint her father's sword with innocent blood."
"We kill the innocent every day. We are hired by people, not as much any more... Anyways, we are hired by people who want someone else dead. We don't ask questions, we just kill even if they are innocent. The Black Knights are not innocent.
They've killed many of our own, including two of our leaders."
Evin walked closer to Allison who was obviously troubled by this whole thing. There was nothing he really could say that would comfort her so He decided that the brutal truth was what she needed. "I've spent the entire week in that cabin thinking about this. I've looked at it critically and discussed it with Sean a few times and we both decided that we need to show our force. We need to prove to them that we won't let them kill us without repercussions." His tone got a lot more serious after. "I know I will do what I will. The bottom line is that you are just an instructor. If you were my second, maybe I would take more time to listen to your concerns, but you gave up the opportunity. So if you have nothing else to say, I'll be on my way."
Ali simply nodded. She wasn't really affected by Evin's words, or anything else at this point. "No... I'm just an active. I'm one of the few instructors in history to get demoted, not that I actually care for that. Sean got what he deserved for what he said, but that's beside the point..." She sighed. "I feel we're just digging ourselves into a deeper hole. Everything that made this clan recognizable is getting lost in this and everyone is so damn blinded by rage they won't even see it, including you and specially Sean." She replied. She shook her head, disappointment showing clear. "We used to kill because it was needed. It was a job. That I could live with. Killing simply to prove a point makes us no different from them, and then five or ten years from now we'll be fighting battles that weren't even ours to begin with." She jumped to her feet and added. "Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid and you will come to be praised for this, like Dani was for her little vengeful act. I wish for that. I really do." She said.
“This already isn’t our battle to be fighting Allison, but there is no other option.” He paused. “As for Sean, don’t worry about him. You will remain instructor under my command and you will only need to take direct orders from me. I understand this is hard for you, but please try you’re best to adjust to the new way things are being run, but if you need time to reflect or talk to someone, please don’t be afraid.”
Evin honestly had no clue how to comfort her. He didn’t know her half as well as Crystal did, but he would try his best for her sake and for the sake of the camp.
Ali nodded and walked away to join the others who would be staying behind.
With that, Evin was on his way to the city. The lone journey, but he knew that he had people following close behind. He couldn’t hear or see them, but he just knew that he was there. It was his orders. They were probably only ten minutes behind him.
A good days walking had passed and he noticed Blackpond’s presence everywhere. It was very evident that this battle was far from over and their forces were stretched along a very large area. Along the way he had heard noises, yelling. Evin had snuck around behind some foliage to see what was happening. It was a traveling merchant from Newhaven being executed by two Blackpond soldiers. There was nothing he could do, so he just popped out of the bush and walked right past the men. The Newhaven man begged and pleaded, but Evin was not interested.
The sounds of drums and the smell of fires began to attack Evin’s senses. The camp was not too far away, but Evin didn’t care. He walked past all the men in these camps outside of Newhaven‘s walls. “Oi, shit head, get out!” One of the men yelled at him. The next thing Evin heard was a scream from the same man who now had a throwing knife lodged in his foot. With a quick tug of the string he had attached to the knife and another scream came bellowing from the man. Evin just wiped the blood off on a passing soldier’s shirt and he continued walking. From that point on, he was left with silence, blank stares all around him, their jaws all wide open.
“I have others coming through. If you engage prepare for a most painful death.” He said, not looking back at any of the men who he said it to.
When he made it to the broken wall of Newhaven, he was shocked to see the destruction. Before he could really take he was taken back by an onion smell and a wall of armour. It was a single man, who seemed to be in charge of protecting the castle wall. He wasn’t a Knight, but a simple commander of some rank. Evin just pushed the man aside and continued walking down the streets. He could feel the presence of the man behind him and even worse, the feeling that if he took just a few more steps that he would be riddled with arrows.
Evin pivoted back to the man who stopped him before. He just gave him a blank stare, one that told the man a lot more than a regular stare. In the blink of an eye, he drew several weapons and dropped them all onto the ground. He kept the katana in it’s sheath. “I could pick up all of these weapons and kill you before a single archer’s arrow could it the ground.”
Before the guard could even reply to it, Evin’s eyes flashed a shinny black. He made his promise. The man was completely at Evin’s mercy, his arm locked behind his back and a dagger placed right on his temple.
“Let me and my men pass and I will spare your men the trouble of cleaning your body up.”
“Sure sure, just let me go!” the man begged.
Evin let go and his body dropped to the ground. He gave his archers the order to stand down with a hand signal. Evin continued to walk. Until he reached the castle gates. The bridge was up so he couldn’t get into the castle. The two guards stood on either side of him, and stared him down.
“Do you think I came all this way without being killed unless I have something important to say? I sure as hell didn‘t get here out of luck.” The man seemed to understand but didn’t do anything about the gate. “Look, there is war at the walls and I have vital information that needs to be passed on. It is of utmost important. Either you let me pass or you will be left the only remaining member of your families.” His voice riddled with frustration. “It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”
“Ok sir, but I’ll have to ask you to remove all your weapons.” The one man said.
Evin turned around and started walking down towards the district where most city guards lived. “Judging by the importance of your job, you will live in the high class sector that hasn’t been hit be the war yet I’d presume. Now it’s just a matter breaking into every house until I find the one with your portrait over the fireplace.”
“No!” The man pleaded. “You can pass.”
The gate started to lower and it allowed Evin to pass with ease. No one asked him any questions walking through the halls. He just wandered aimlessly around the castle looking for one of her targets. By this time, he suspected that his assassins were somewhere near by within the castle by now.
“I don’t blame them for their feelings, but I’m not going to just give up, and I don’t think that they’re going to listen to us.” He heard the voice of the Black Knight captain echoing in the halls near by. He ran towards these noises in a rush, but then when he heard the voice coming from just behind the door in front of him, he had nowhere to hide. “If you wouldn’t mind figuring out the best spot for us to wait and setting up things, I need to talk to a few more people before I can take part.”
Evin rushed to hide behind the door when it opened. He saw Mageria walk out of the door. She seemed really tired from the war going on. Evin felt pretty confident that he could take her out with no problem. He followed behind her with care. Every step he took was a mission. Each of them had to be quite and petit. If he wasn’t paying attention to any step he took, then it would be disastrous to his position he had on her.
Soon enough, she ducked into a low lit room with few windows. It was a small hallway with a few mirrors and tapestries along the walls. This hall obviously wasn’t used enough to be lit well and cobwebs helped to give him reason to believe that. He actually thought about it for a bit and realised that the king’s corridor was. People didn’t go down there often.
He looked in one of the mirrors and noticed that Mageria would be able to see him the instant she looked into one of them. He looked around to see where he could hide. Then he looked at one of the tapestries and had an idea. He tugged on it and realised that it would be perfect to climb and that’s exactly what he did. He did this just in time too. As he prepared his rope dark in the ceiling making sure that it would hold his weight, he saw someone walk into the room. When he noticed Mageria, it looked like he was going to turn around, but then Mageria turned around with a dagger drawn.
“Who are you!” She yelled down at the man.
“My names Wyatt, one of Xypher’s assistants. Xypher asked of me to look for you.” He said. “I don’t know what it’s about, but he did say it was sort of important.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”
The man nodded and walked out of the corridor.
Evin took out a fine metal wire and slowly began to descend down behind Mageria. His feet didn’t quite reach the ground. They were just about a foot or so from the ground. This would make choking Mageria out a little more difficult. Evin took a deep breath and then breathed it out, right on Mageria’s neck. Crap, he thought when Mageria spun around in an instant, lunging with her dagger.
The only thing Evin could do to defend himself was his wire. Wrapping it around her dagger and diverting it away from his head where it was aimed. He spun around on the rope so he faced upwards, trying to use the momentum of the dagger stuck on his wire to cut through his rope. Mageria saw it coming and drew her dagger back and right out of the wire’s hold. Mageria took no time to attempt another stab. This time, the wire was no use in the position he was in. He had to pull himself up on the rope, but barely missing his head and taking a small piece of hair off with it. With the next attack in the slew, Evin continued contorting himself around the rope in all weird ways to avoid these unrelenting attacks. He finally found himself holding his entire body vertically with his head facing the floor. It was the position that he was looking to get himself into the entire time. With the next slash that Mageria made, Evin swung his body down in the opposite direction allowing the rope he was attached to fall in the direct line of the swipe. Just before cutting the rope, he drew Crystal’s katana in one hand and a smoke bomb in the other. The rope snapped and Evin was falling to the ground, but he allowed himself to recover with the smoke bomb that had now filled the air. The two of them coughed a bit and backed out of the cloud, waiting for it to all settle.
Evin looked directly in the eyes of her for the first time during the entire fight. He was shocked to see the web patterning he was so familiar with. It had to have happened during the riot.
“You know Mageria, I was sent on a mission to kill the second last person who was affected by that kid. It was a direct order from the higher ups in Newhaven. See, you Black Knights weren’t doing your job, so I tracked the person down who did have it. It isn’t hard to find someone who’s going insane you know. They believed that if they killed the person before they killed themselves that the problem would be solved. It didn’t work though.” He chuckled. “I don’t even have to kill you now. I could just leave you to kill yourself and let that criminal run free.”
Evin was going to saw more but the sight of a blade right by his face was enough to stop him from continuing and instead concentrate of the fight at hand. Instead of getting a direct hit from the blade, he only got a minor wound to his cheek, in the same place he had left one on Mageria. From there, blows were traded continually until Evin found himself in a bit of trouble and he had to jump out of the way of the incoming blade.
While in the air, diving from trouble, Evin threw two throwing knives at her, both missing their mark. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He looked up at the chandelier above him, seeing if things were set. Just as he was doing that, he herd a grunt from Mageria, she had the katana in her hands now, obviously Evin had dropped it without knowing and now was being used against him. She slashed at the ground, each time barely missing as Evin rolled off until he hit the wall. He kicked his feet off the wall, crashing into Mageria’s legs. He heard a big crash and saw Mageria vulnerable on the ground. He moved up behind her and locked her fighting arm behind her back. Somehow, unknown to Evin, she was able to get out of the lock and reverse it on Evin. Pain shot up his joints as he felt the pressure getting tighter and tighter. It seemed like she was going to pop her arm right out of it’s socket. However, manoeuvring his hands in unique ways like a puppeteer, two dagger flew from out of nowhere. The same trick he had used on Theron was now being used on another friend. This time to better effect. She let go right away, Evin noticing she was pulling one of his throwing knives out of her leg. She used that knife and returned the favour. A blow for a blow in the exact same spot. Evin felt the warm, numb feeling in his leg that quickly turned into an agonizing pain. He managed to suck up the pain and tried to step, but instantly he fell right back onto the ground. From out of his pocket came the box that he had stolen from Mageria’s room when he had entered the castle before. From out of the box came a deck of cards, the same ones they always used to bet with.
Then Evin remembered what Allison had told him earlier that day. “As for my revenge, no, I didn't get it. Not really. I don't plan on doing it now either. I'm hanging on to the little peace of mind I have left." And it was so true. This revenge was making him go insane, was making everyone around him go insane. Sean seemed to be hungry for this attack as did most of the camp.
Then he realised he was still in a fight. Mageria was running at her with the knife that she had just used to stab his leg. Somehow, maybe adrenaline, she was still going strong. “Want to play some cards?” He asked to no avail as she ran even closer to her. Evin looked for a weapon, but it seemed that he had either gone through or dropped them all in different places and none were at reach. He put up his good leg and pushed Mageria over top of her, making her fly right across the hall and skid down the marble a bit.
“No, I’m being serious.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blackpond
Ella listened with much interest in the story, as it was the story that sounded very likely to be her own. Every detail about her life seemed to have fit. The entire thing from the orphanage to why Evin had asked her to run away that day. Then she asked a question that she didn’t think she knew the answer to.
“If you could leave this cell right now and go to the place where you felt the most happy in your life, where would you go?" She asked.
Ella hesitated and thought carefully. What did this mean. There had to be a deeper meaning that Lena wasn’t expecting her to understand. Something in her just wanted to show Lena that she could figure it all out, but she really didn’t know.
Ella had to get up and really think about this, completely ignoring her food now. She started walking around, looking out the door then walking around again. Every time she looked out the door, she noticed a new guard walking by trying their hardest not to look into the cell. They believed that Lena could just kill someone with a look alone. It was really funny to watch. After thoughts light that passed through her head, it was back on the subject given to her.
She really had no other choice than the camp. There was no other place that would keep her as safe as there with Evin and Crystal. With all her friends she had made over the years. It was just so peaceful there. There was nowhere like that in Newhaven where she could feel at peace. The fear of the Black and White Knights there was enough to detract anyone from staying. The healers were now on the run and there was no real settlement for them, and Blackpond… hell no!
“I guess I would stay with the Wolves. it’s the only place in the world where I have felt any form of safety.” She said, but then hesitating for one more moment. Her eyes widened as she realised.
“Of course, the castle of Newhaven was nice too, but without the old king, it’s dead to me.”
She frowned at the thought that all she had to leave behind in Newhaven, but the honest truth was that she felt more at home in the camp then anywhere else. It was the only family, as dysfunctional as it was, that could really look at her for who she was and use her strengths and even her weaknesses at some points to an advantage. Maybe she wasn’t set out for being an active assassin. Something seemed wrong about that, but just to live with them would be the nicest thing to him. Nothing would compare, at least that’s what she thought. There were always possibilities, more impossibilities that she could always dream of and know it is impossible to gain. That wasn’t for discussion with Lena though.
~~~~~
Hastings woke up a few hours later. It sure wasn’t a good rest, but it was the best he was going to get until he had a drink. He knew deep down that he really shouldn’t drink anymore, but he also didn’t want to quit because the taste was just too much to resist. After the week spent fighting a pointless war with Newhaven too, it was just really draining on him. And in the end, it was always better for him to have a little bit of it in his system. He always seemed to look better after a couple of drinks. He also thought that he acted a lot better.
To get his proper fix, he needed something really good. The king had some in his chamber that really got his taste buds going, but the best of the best was in the kings personal section of the cellar. Only he and a few of the cooks had access to this very special selection of fine drinks, but Hastings had his way around these things too of course.
Hastings had spent just about ten years training now. He was only fourteen, but they had already trained him to become a man, and a soldier. Not only that, but an elite soldier; an assassin. He was the first of his kind to be trained in this field and he was excited to see what was held in store for him.
“Today we will teach you how to pickpocket. Here we have some of the best pickpockets that will be found in Blackpond. I wouldn‘t be lying if I told you that they‘ve already stolen your keys, weapons and money already.” Hastings checked and was competently flabbergasted to see that it was all true. This was absolutely amazing. “Now pick pocketing is just as much an art as it is a discipline. I‘m sure a soldier like you will have no problem with discipline!”
“No sir! I do not sir!”
“But obviously you fail at enlightenment! Am I correct?”
“That is true sir!”
“You can not ever expect to be an assassin without it! Like I said, you better have it developed by next week! Now onto your lesson.
Hastings resented that man so much for everything he had put him through during his years training as Blackpond’s first assassin. It was a completely failed attempt, but he found it funny that he still made it to where he was and managed to train the first set of successful assassins in Blackpond’s history.
Even though he was no assassin, he was still good enough at pick pocketing to be able to do it to the head chef in the castle. It was always a simple matter of asking him what he was making and then annoy him to the point where he doesn’t even realise that he is missing his keys. What he knew about chefs, was that they were very easy to annoy.
“Eh! How’s it going Hastings? Are you here for some food?” The chef asked him as he entered the kitchen.
“No, no, I was just wondering what you were making.” Hastings said.
“It’s always about what I’m making. You never ask me to make something for you yourself.” He said.
“You know, the Newhaven chef was a lot nicer. Maybe if you were a little nicer sometimes, I could have the guts to ask you something.”
His face turned very sour in an instant. “You come in here then insult my character? Get out! Out I say!” He yelled in furry waving his puny little paring knife at him.
Hastings didn’t say another word and just left in piece he had what he was looking for. The big brass key in hand, he walked down the hall where all the chef related rooms were. At the end of the hall was the door to the dinning hall, but just to the left of it was the cellar where all the fine drinks were kept specifically for the king.
He unlocked the door and then entered the room welcomed by a cold air. Poorly made wooden stares followed their way down the room where all the best of wines and other beverages were kept. Before Hastings walked down these stares, he heard the voices of two people, a man and a woman; Rory and Lamya. What were they doing down there? He sat at the top of the stares and listened.
~~~~~
Rory moved in close for a kiss, but instead of the feel of a smooth mouth, he was greeted by a rather unpleasant finger instead. She held it there for a while, Rory hoping that she would move it, but it was to no avail. He opened his eyes and scrunched his nose stepping back a few paces.
“What the hell. I’m your king!” He tried to insist.
“We didn’t come here to kiss. That will come later. We just need the right liquor for the occasion remember.” She said.
Rory reluctantly agreed and turned away from the assassin to find something that would best suit the mood. Things like this were very time consuming and would take a lot of words to explain if written (hehehe!). The thought process behind it all was very precise. The wrong drink could ruin what could be a perfect night and he just didn’t want that to happen.
He would grab every bottle that he looked at. Each one of them had a label on them and a short description of the liquor itself. Each one of them had a different description. It was really amazing to Rory how many different kind of flavours and aromas could be created. Some wines red and some white, but no two wine would taste alike in any way. It made the thought of getting to chose through all of these even more exciting, just like how exciting it would be to finally get his chance with Lamya.
“What do you think of cherries?” he asked.
She waited a moment to say anything. He could feel her warm breath behind his ear. She was going to do her thing again, that just made her so damn attractive. “Cherry sounds, sexy.” She whispered into his ear which made time seem to stand still around him. It almost felt like every time she did this, it was like a hit to the back of the head. That moment when you just have no clue what’s going on and that ringing in your ear. All you can think of is pure ecstasy. The romance was thick in the air and nothing could stop this moment from being anything less than it already was.
“Why do we have to wait to get up in the chambers?” He asked. He was not in the mood to have to wait. “I mean no one will find us here.”
“Your Highness, oh hi Hastings. Are you down there?” Said a young squire boy.
Rory sighed at the sound of this man. “Maybe another time.” Lamya whispered as the boy ran down the stares and met with the two.
“Sire, I’ve been informed by one of the guards who is guarding the leader of the White Shadows, Lena, and the other captive have been talking about something that seems suspicious. He would request that you come speak to him right away. Hastings, you might as well come with us too.”
Hastings stood still in utter shock by what he had just heard down in the cellar. It was defiantly not for his ears, but something seemed rather odd about it too. Something was out of place, especially since he had been the one to train this woman. Why wasn’t she all over him like he was with the king. It seemed more fitting that he would be the one given this privilege as he was the one to teach her everything. Yet she goes and gives him an invisible slap in the face like that. The worst part was that Rory knew. He had to know he was best friends with the man after all. Although, after these things had unfolded like they did, Hastings couldn’t be sure anymore.
“Here we are Sire. I shall leave you to your privacy.” The squire boy said and jogged off down the hall. The guard appeared to have heard something really important. The look on his face probably could have told the story for itself.
“Well I heard…”
It all started with Lev and the kings decision to make a bold move on Newhaven. He wasn’t thinking strait anymore, the king wasn’t. He had gone into this dream world of his where everything could be solved with enough force. As a leader of armies, he knew that a show of force wasn’t always to best card to play. As a matter of fact, he had hopped for peace as much as the next man. The king didn’t seem to think of it the same way at all. This was wrong.
“Did you get that Hastings? This is really big!” Rory gleefully said. It seemed he no longer had other things on his mind. This news must have been really important.
“Uhmm, yeah! I heard.” He said with a little more hesitation.
“Ok then, we’ll discuss it more at a later date. I suggest you get a little more sleep friend.” His king said.
Hastings once again listened to what he had to say. He didn’t know how to fight a war, but he sure did know when someone needed to get some sleep. What a great king.
“She trusted you and then you went and killed her! It sure worked out well for her!”
His words being muffled through clenched teeth.
[A few minutes earlier]
Ali took a good while to calm herself, fiddling with the small box of things she stole from Crys' room, and going over what was about to happen. Finally, her thoughts became bothersome to the point where she simply couldn't hold still anymore. Finally she left her home and walked a straight line to the lake, ignoring the angry stares from most of the actives.
Reaching the lake she stopped when noticing someone was already there. She didn't even look at Evin, but simply walked past and crouched near the edge to touch the water. After a moment she spoke. "I think attacking the Black Knights is a mistake." She stated. "It might even be successful, but it won't do us any good." Then she stood up and faced him. "The first thing Dani told me, the first time she spoke to me was: Forget about revenge. It's not worth it. I don't think she would agree to this. I KNOW, Crys wouldn't agree to this."
Evin was walking past the lake when he heard someone Allison spoke from somewhere behind him. She was saying speaking of Dani and Crystal like it meant anything now. The truth was that he could care less about what they would have done now. Things like that just didn't have any relevance anymore.
He turned around to face Allison and chucked a bit. "Dani had told you a lie. She was harbouring vengeful thoughts herself when she told you that." He drew the sword he had taken. It was the only thing he hadn't gotten out of his armoury. The sword was actually the katana that had been sitting on the table in the common room. It hadn't been moved since the conversation with Sean a week ago. "And Crystal is dead now. I'm the one who is in charge of running things and as so, I don't have to worry about what Crystal would have done." He continued. "I know Crystal sought revenge for the death of her father and I got my revenge on the man who ruined my life. I'm sure you got your revenge too, despite what Dani told you. Isn't that right?"
Ali nodded, her eyes on the Katana. She sighed. "No, Dani didn't lie. I could see it in her eyes how much she regretted what she did to the Wolf Hunters. It haunted her. It haunted Theron, or do you forget the state in which we found him. As for Crys, how well do you think you knew her, really? In case you don't recall, she might have wanted to avenge her father, but she only went near Perry once, and she wasn't really trying to kill him then. She gave up the man who killed her father, to you. What good did that do you, by the way?" She asked, smirking slightly and sitting at her usual spot, leaning against a tree.
"Either way, do what you will. You can. I'm simply stating the reasons why I won't take any part in this. As for my revenge, no, I didn't get it. Not really. I don't plan on doing it now either. I'm hanging on to the little peace of mind I have left." She ran her fingers through the surface of the water and added. "Don't use that sword unless you're sure of what your doing. I think the least you can do for Crys', since she's unimportant now, is not taint her father's sword with innocent blood."
"We kill the innocent every day. We are hired by people, not as much any more... Anyways, we are hired by people who want someone else dead. We don't ask questions, we just kill even if they are innocent. The Black Knights are not innocent.
They've killed many of our own, including two of our leaders."
Evin walked closer to Allison who was obviously troubled by this whole thing. There was nothing he really could say that would comfort her so He decided that the brutal truth was what she needed. "I've spent the entire week in that cabin thinking about this. I've looked at it critically and discussed it with Sean a few times and we both decided that we need to show our force. We need to prove to them that we won't let them kill us without repercussions." His tone got a lot more serious after. "I know I will do what I will. The bottom line is that you are just an instructor. If you were my second, maybe I would take more time to listen to your concerns, but you gave up the opportunity. So if you have nothing else to say, I'll be on my way."
Ali simply nodded. She wasn't really affected by Evin's words, or anything else at this point. "No... I'm just an active. I'm one of the few instructors in history to get demoted, not that I actually care for that. Sean got what he deserved for what he said, but that's beside the point..." She sighed. "I feel we're just digging ourselves into a deeper hole. Everything that made this clan recognizable is getting lost in this and everyone is so damn blinded by rage they won't even see it, including you and specially Sean." She replied. She shook her head, disappointment showing clear. "We used to kill because it was needed. It was a job. That I could live with. Killing simply to prove a point makes us no different from them, and then five or ten years from now we'll be fighting battles that weren't even ours to begin with." She jumped to her feet and added. "Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid and you will come to be praised for this, like Dani was for her little vengeful act. I wish for that. I really do." She said.
“This already isn’t our battle to be fighting Allison, but there is no other option.” He paused. “As for Sean, don’t worry about him. You will remain instructor under my command and you will only need to take direct orders from me. I understand this is hard for you, but please try you’re best to adjust to the new way things are being run, but if you need time to reflect or talk to someone, please don’t be afraid.”
Evin honestly had no clue how to comfort her. He didn’t know her half as well as Crystal did, but he would try his best for her sake and for the sake of the camp.
Ali nodded and walked away to join the others who would be staying behind.
With that, Evin was on his way to the city. The lone journey, but he knew that he had people following close behind. He couldn’t hear or see them, but he just knew that he was there. It was his orders. They were probably only ten minutes behind him.
A good days walking had passed and he noticed Blackpond’s presence everywhere. It was very evident that this battle was far from over and their forces were stretched along a very large area. Along the way he had heard noises, yelling. Evin had snuck around behind some foliage to see what was happening. It was a traveling merchant from Newhaven being executed by two Blackpond soldiers. There was nothing he could do, so he just popped out of the bush and walked right past the men. The Newhaven man begged and pleaded, but Evin was not interested.
The sounds of drums and the smell of fires began to attack Evin’s senses. The camp was not too far away, but Evin didn’t care. He walked past all the men in these camps outside of Newhaven‘s walls. “Oi, shit head, get out!” One of the men yelled at him. The next thing Evin heard was a scream from the same man who now had a throwing knife lodged in his foot. With a quick tug of the string he had attached to the knife and another scream came bellowing from the man. Evin just wiped the blood off on a passing soldier’s shirt and he continued walking. From that point on, he was left with silence, blank stares all around him, their jaws all wide open.
“I have others coming through. If you engage prepare for a most painful death.” He said, not looking back at any of the men who he said it to.
When he made it to the broken wall of Newhaven, he was shocked to see the destruction. Before he could really take he was taken back by an onion smell and a wall of armour. It was a single man, who seemed to be in charge of protecting the castle wall. He wasn’t a Knight, but a simple commander of some rank. Evin just pushed the man aside and continued walking down the streets. He could feel the presence of the man behind him and even worse, the feeling that if he took just a few more steps that he would be riddled with arrows.
Evin pivoted back to the man who stopped him before. He just gave him a blank stare, one that told the man a lot more than a regular stare. In the blink of an eye, he drew several weapons and dropped them all onto the ground. He kept the katana in it’s sheath. “I could pick up all of these weapons and kill you before a single archer’s arrow could it the ground.”
Before the guard could even reply to it, Evin’s eyes flashed a shinny black. He made his promise. The man was completely at Evin’s mercy, his arm locked behind his back and a dagger placed right on his temple.
“Let me and my men pass and I will spare your men the trouble of cleaning your body up.”
“Sure sure, just let me go!” the man begged.
Evin let go and his body dropped to the ground. He gave his archers the order to stand down with a hand signal. Evin continued to walk. Until he reached the castle gates. The bridge was up so he couldn’t get into the castle. The two guards stood on either side of him, and stared him down.
“Do you think I came all this way without being killed unless I have something important to say? I sure as hell didn‘t get here out of luck.” The man seemed to understand but didn’t do anything about the gate. “Look, there is war at the walls and I have vital information that needs to be passed on. It is of utmost important. Either you let me pass or you will be left the only remaining member of your families.” His voice riddled with frustration. “It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”
“Ok sir, but I’ll have to ask you to remove all your weapons.” The one man said.
Evin turned around and started walking down towards the district where most city guards lived. “Judging by the importance of your job, you will live in the high class sector that hasn’t been hit be the war yet I’d presume. Now it’s just a matter breaking into every house until I find the one with your portrait over the fireplace.”
“No!” The man pleaded. “You can pass.”
The gate started to lower and it allowed Evin to pass with ease. No one asked him any questions walking through the halls. He just wandered aimlessly around the castle looking for one of her targets. By this time, he suspected that his assassins were somewhere near by within the castle by now.
“I don’t blame them for their feelings, but I’m not going to just give up, and I don’t think that they’re going to listen to us.” He heard the voice of the Black Knight captain echoing in the halls near by. He ran towards these noises in a rush, but then when he heard the voice coming from just behind the door in front of him, he had nowhere to hide. “If you wouldn’t mind figuring out the best spot for us to wait and setting up things, I need to talk to a few more people before I can take part.”
Evin rushed to hide behind the door when it opened. He saw Mageria walk out of the door. She seemed really tired from the war going on. Evin felt pretty confident that he could take her out with no problem. He followed behind her with care. Every step he took was a mission. Each of them had to be quite and petit. If he wasn’t paying attention to any step he took, then it would be disastrous to his position he had on her.
Soon enough, she ducked into a low lit room with few windows. It was a small hallway with a few mirrors and tapestries along the walls. This hall obviously wasn’t used enough to be lit well and cobwebs helped to give him reason to believe that. He actually thought about it for a bit and realised that the king’s corridor was. People didn’t go down there often.
He looked in one of the mirrors and noticed that Mageria would be able to see him the instant she looked into one of them. He looked around to see where he could hide. Then he looked at one of the tapestries and had an idea. He tugged on it and realised that it would be perfect to climb and that’s exactly what he did. He did this just in time too. As he prepared his rope dark in the ceiling making sure that it would hold his weight, he saw someone walk into the room. When he noticed Mageria, it looked like he was going to turn around, but then Mageria turned around with a dagger drawn.
“Who are you!” She yelled down at the man.
“My names Wyatt, one of Xypher’s assistants. Xypher asked of me to look for you.” He said. “I don’t know what it’s about, but he did say it was sort of important.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”
The man nodded and walked out of the corridor.
Evin took out a fine metal wire and slowly began to descend down behind Mageria. His feet didn’t quite reach the ground. They were just about a foot or so from the ground. This would make choking Mageria out a little more difficult. Evin took a deep breath and then breathed it out, right on Mageria’s neck. Crap, he thought when Mageria spun around in an instant, lunging with her dagger.
The only thing Evin could do to defend himself was his wire. Wrapping it around her dagger and diverting it away from his head where it was aimed. He spun around on the rope so he faced upwards, trying to use the momentum of the dagger stuck on his wire to cut through his rope. Mageria saw it coming and drew her dagger back and right out of the wire’s hold. Mageria took no time to attempt another stab. This time, the wire was no use in the position he was in. He had to pull himself up on the rope, but barely missing his head and taking a small piece of hair off with it. With the next attack in the slew, Evin continued contorting himself around the rope in all weird ways to avoid these unrelenting attacks. He finally found himself holding his entire body vertically with his head facing the floor. It was the position that he was looking to get himself into the entire time. With the next slash that Mageria made, Evin swung his body down in the opposite direction allowing the rope he was attached to fall in the direct line of the swipe. Just before cutting the rope, he drew Crystal’s katana in one hand and a smoke bomb in the other. The rope snapped and Evin was falling to the ground, but he allowed himself to recover with the smoke bomb that had now filled the air. The two of them coughed a bit and backed out of the cloud, waiting for it to all settle.
Evin looked directly in the eyes of her for the first time during the entire fight. He was shocked to see the web patterning he was so familiar with. It had to have happened during the riot.
“You know Mageria, I was sent on a mission to kill the second last person who was affected by that kid. It was a direct order from the higher ups in Newhaven. See, you Black Knights weren’t doing your job, so I tracked the person down who did have it. It isn’t hard to find someone who’s going insane you know. They believed that if they killed the person before they killed themselves that the problem would be solved. It didn’t work though.” He chuckled. “I don’t even have to kill you now. I could just leave you to kill yourself and let that criminal run free.”
Evin was going to saw more but the sight of a blade right by his face was enough to stop him from continuing and instead concentrate of the fight at hand. Instead of getting a direct hit from the blade, he only got a minor wound to his cheek, in the same place he had left one on Mageria. From there, blows were traded continually until Evin found himself in a bit of trouble and he had to jump out of the way of the incoming blade.
While in the air, diving from trouble, Evin threw two throwing knives at her, both missing their mark. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He looked up at the chandelier above him, seeing if things were set. Just as he was doing that, he herd a grunt from Mageria, she had the katana in her hands now, obviously Evin had dropped it without knowing and now was being used against him. She slashed at the ground, each time barely missing as Evin rolled off until he hit the wall. He kicked his feet off the wall, crashing into Mageria’s legs. He heard a big crash and saw Mageria vulnerable on the ground. He moved up behind her and locked her fighting arm behind her back. Somehow, unknown to Evin, she was able to get out of the lock and reverse it on Evin. Pain shot up his joints as he felt the pressure getting tighter and tighter. It seemed like she was going to pop her arm right out of it’s socket. However, manoeuvring his hands in unique ways like a puppeteer, two dagger flew from out of nowhere. The same trick he had used on Theron was now being used on another friend. This time to better effect. She let go right away, Evin noticing she was pulling one of his throwing knives out of her leg. She used that knife and returned the favour. A blow for a blow in the exact same spot. Evin felt the warm, numb feeling in his leg that quickly turned into an agonizing pain. He managed to suck up the pain and tried to step, but instantly he fell right back onto the ground. From out of his pocket came the box that he had stolen from Mageria’s room when he had entered the castle before. From out of the box came a deck of cards, the same ones they always used to bet with.
Then Evin remembered what Allison had told him earlier that day. “As for my revenge, no, I didn't get it. Not really. I don't plan on doing it now either. I'm hanging on to the little peace of mind I have left." And it was so true. This revenge was making him go insane, was making everyone around him go insane. Sean seemed to be hungry for this attack as did most of the camp.
Then he realised he was still in a fight. Mageria was running at her with the knife that she had just used to stab his leg. Somehow, maybe adrenaline, she was still going strong. “Want to play some cards?” He asked to no avail as she ran even closer to her. Evin looked for a weapon, but it seemed that he had either gone through or dropped them all in different places and none were at reach. He put up his good leg and pushed Mageria over top of her, making her fly right across the hall and skid down the marble a bit.
“No, I’m being serious.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blackpond
Ella listened with much interest in the story, as it was the story that sounded very likely to be her own. Every detail about her life seemed to have fit. The entire thing from the orphanage to why Evin had asked her to run away that day. Then she asked a question that she didn’t think she knew the answer to.
“If you could leave this cell right now and go to the place where you felt the most happy in your life, where would you go?" She asked.
Ella hesitated and thought carefully. What did this mean. There had to be a deeper meaning that Lena wasn’t expecting her to understand. Something in her just wanted to show Lena that she could figure it all out, but she really didn’t know.
Ella had to get up and really think about this, completely ignoring her food now. She started walking around, looking out the door then walking around again. Every time she looked out the door, she noticed a new guard walking by trying their hardest not to look into the cell. They believed that Lena could just kill someone with a look alone. It was really funny to watch. After thoughts light that passed through her head, it was back on the subject given to her.
She really had no other choice than the camp. There was no other place that would keep her as safe as there with Evin and Crystal. With all her friends she had made over the years. It was just so peaceful there. There was nowhere like that in Newhaven where she could feel at peace. The fear of the Black and White Knights there was enough to detract anyone from staying. The healers were now on the run and there was no real settlement for them, and Blackpond… hell no!
“I guess I would stay with the Wolves. it’s the only place in the world where I have felt any form of safety.” She said, but then hesitating for one more moment. Her eyes widened as she realised.
“Of course, the castle of Newhaven was nice too, but without the old king, it’s dead to me.”
She frowned at the thought that all she had to leave behind in Newhaven, but the honest truth was that she felt more at home in the camp then anywhere else. It was the only family, as dysfunctional as it was, that could really look at her for who she was and use her strengths and even her weaknesses at some points to an advantage. Maybe she wasn’t set out for being an active assassin. Something seemed wrong about that, but just to live with them would be the nicest thing to him. Nothing would compare, at least that’s what she thought. There were always possibilities, more impossibilities that she could always dream of and know it is impossible to gain. That wasn’t for discussion with Lena though.
~~~~~
Hastings woke up a few hours later. It sure wasn’t a good rest, but it was the best he was going to get until he had a drink. He knew deep down that he really shouldn’t drink anymore, but he also didn’t want to quit because the taste was just too much to resist. After the week spent fighting a pointless war with Newhaven too, it was just really draining on him. And in the end, it was always better for him to have a little bit of it in his system. He always seemed to look better after a couple of drinks. He also thought that he acted a lot better.
To get his proper fix, he needed something really good. The king had some in his chamber that really got his taste buds going, but the best of the best was in the kings personal section of the cellar. Only he and a few of the cooks had access to this very special selection of fine drinks, but Hastings had his way around these things too of course.
Hastings had spent just about ten years training now. He was only fourteen, but they had already trained him to become a man, and a soldier. Not only that, but an elite soldier; an assassin. He was the first of his kind to be trained in this field and he was excited to see what was held in store for him.
“Today we will teach you how to pickpocket. Here we have some of the best pickpockets that will be found in Blackpond. I wouldn‘t be lying if I told you that they‘ve already stolen your keys, weapons and money already.” Hastings checked and was competently flabbergasted to see that it was all true. This was absolutely amazing. “Now pick pocketing is just as much an art as it is a discipline. I‘m sure a soldier like you will have no problem with discipline!”
“No sir! I do not sir!”
“But obviously you fail at enlightenment! Am I correct?”
“That is true sir!”
“You can not ever expect to be an assassin without it! Like I said, you better have it developed by next week! Now onto your lesson.
Hastings resented that man so much for everything he had put him through during his years training as Blackpond’s first assassin. It was a completely failed attempt, but he found it funny that he still made it to where he was and managed to train the first set of successful assassins in Blackpond’s history.
Even though he was no assassin, he was still good enough at pick pocketing to be able to do it to the head chef in the castle. It was always a simple matter of asking him what he was making and then annoy him to the point where he doesn’t even realise that he is missing his keys. What he knew about chefs, was that they were very easy to annoy.
“Eh! How’s it going Hastings? Are you here for some food?” The chef asked him as he entered the kitchen.
“No, no, I was just wondering what you were making.” Hastings said.
“It’s always about what I’m making. You never ask me to make something for you yourself.” He said.
“You know, the Newhaven chef was a lot nicer. Maybe if you were a little nicer sometimes, I could have the guts to ask you something.”
His face turned very sour in an instant. “You come in here then insult my character? Get out! Out I say!” He yelled in furry waving his puny little paring knife at him.
Hastings didn’t say another word and just left in piece he had what he was looking for. The big brass key in hand, he walked down the hall where all the chef related rooms were. At the end of the hall was the door to the dinning hall, but just to the left of it was the cellar where all the fine drinks were kept specifically for the king.
He unlocked the door and then entered the room welcomed by a cold air. Poorly made wooden stares followed their way down the room where all the best of wines and other beverages were kept. Before Hastings walked down these stares, he heard the voices of two people, a man and a woman; Rory and Lamya. What were they doing down there? He sat at the top of the stares and listened.
~~~~~
Rory moved in close for a kiss, but instead of the feel of a smooth mouth, he was greeted by a rather unpleasant finger instead. She held it there for a while, Rory hoping that she would move it, but it was to no avail. He opened his eyes and scrunched his nose stepping back a few paces.
“What the hell. I’m your king!” He tried to insist.
“We didn’t come here to kiss. That will come later. We just need the right liquor for the occasion remember.” She said.
Rory reluctantly agreed and turned away from the assassin to find something that would best suit the mood. Things like this were very time consuming and would take a lot of words to explain if written (hehehe!). The thought process behind it all was very precise. The wrong drink could ruin what could be a perfect night and he just didn’t want that to happen.
He would grab every bottle that he looked at. Each one of them had a label on them and a short description of the liquor itself. Each one of them had a different description. It was really amazing to Rory how many different kind of flavours and aromas could be created. Some wines red and some white, but no two wine would taste alike in any way. It made the thought of getting to chose through all of these even more exciting, just like how exciting it would be to finally get his chance with Lamya.
“What do you think of cherries?” he asked.
She waited a moment to say anything. He could feel her warm breath behind his ear. She was going to do her thing again, that just made her so damn attractive. “Cherry sounds, sexy.” She whispered into his ear which made time seem to stand still around him. It almost felt like every time she did this, it was like a hit to the back of the head. That moment when you just have no clue what’s going on and that ringing in your ear. All you can think of is pure ecstasy. The romance was thick in the air and nothing could stop this moment from being anything less than it already was.
“Why do we have to wait to get up in the chambers?” He asked. He was not in the mood to have to wait. “I mean no one will find us here.”
“Your Highness, oh hi Hastings. Are you down there?” Said a young squire boy.
Rory sighed at the sound of this man. “Maybe another time.” Lamya whispered as the boy ran down the stares and met with the two.
“Sire, I’ve been informed by one of the guards who is guarding the leader of the White Shadows, Lena, and the other captive have been talking about something that seems suspicious. He would request that you come speak to him right away. Hastings, you might as well come with us too.”
Hastings stood still in utter shock by what he had just heard down in the cellar. It was defiantly not for his ears, but something seemed rather odd about it too. Something was out of place, especially since he had been the one to train this woman. Why wasn’t she all over him like he was with the king. It seemed more fitting that he would be the one given this privilege as he was the one to teach her everything. Yet she goes and gives him an invisible slap in the face like that. The worst part was that Rory knew. He had to know he was best friends with the man after all. Although, after these things had unfolded like they did, Hastings couldn’t be sure anymore.
“Here we are Sire. I shall leave you to your privacy.” The squire boy said and jogged off down the hall. The guard appeared to have heard something really important. The look on his face probably could have told the story for itself.
“Well I heard…”
It all started with Lev and the kings decision to make a bold move on Newhaven. He wasn’t thinking strait anymore, the king wasn’t. He had gone into this dream world of his where everything could be solved with enough force. As a leader of armies, he knew that a show of force wasn’t always to best card to play. As a matter of fact, he had hopped for peace as much as the next man. The king didn’t seem to think of it the same way at all. This was wrong.
“Did you get that Hastings? This is really big!” Rory gleefully said. It seemed he no longer had other things on his mind. This news must have been really important.
“Uhmm, yeah! I heard.” He said with a little more hesitation.
“Ok then, we’ll discuss it more at a later date. I suggest you get a little more sleep friend.” His king said.
Hastings once again listened to what he had to say. He didn’t know how to fight a war, but he sure did know when someone needed to get some sleep. What a great king.
Mageria pushed up off the marble and started staggering toward Evin, the katana still clutched in one hand. “Are you joking?” she snarled. “I don’t have time for this.” She staggered forward, nearly falling every time she put weight on her wounded leg. “I had nothing to do with the death of Crystal Rivers. I was here the entire time, fighting for Newhaven. You can ask anyone who was at the gate. I even rode out in the middle of the night, at great personal risk, to warn the girl that Blackpond has been training their own assassins. I didn’t want to be pushed into attacking the Wolves camp again.” She pressed one hand to her leg, crimson welling up from between her fingers. She bared her teeth in something far too angry to be a smile. “I somehow don’t think that the person who takes my place once you kill me is going to be near as careful with your women and children.” Panting, she leaned one shoulder on the wall and slowly slid down, leaving behind a long streak of red. “Yesterday, I had to kill one of my own men because he was too torn up to do more than scream himself to death over the next few days.” She glared at Ev. “So, if you’re going to kill me, do it already. Otherwise, get the hell out before I have to do something I’ll eventually regret. But not for too long, because I already killed the kid who did this to me.” She gestured at her eyes. “During the riot. Doesn’t seem to have done any good. Any other bright ideas?”
Looking around, she spotted a table cloth lying on the floor. It had obviously been knocked over during their fight and now lay conveniently close to hand. She pulled it closer and wadded it into a pad, securing it in place with her belt, tightening it until she saw stars. Leaning back, she carefully inhaled through the pain, waiting for it to settle. When she looked again, she could see Ev tending to his own wounds.
“Speak up Ev. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to waste.”
Looking around, she spotted a table cloth lying on the floor. It had obviously been knocked over during their fight and now lay conveniently close to hand. She pulled it closer and wadded it into a pad, securing it in place with her belt, tightening it until she saw stars. Leaning back, she carefully inhaled through the pain, waiting for it to settle. When she looked again, she could see Ev tending to his own wounds.
“Speak up Ev. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to waste.”
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
"I don't get it Jake, we are supposed to kill the man, not work for him." Ali protested.
Jake chuckled. "Ali, servant's uniform is the best hiding place inside a castle. Nobles never look at servants and let them in anywhere."
"Suppose so... I just... Hate this so much." She muttered.
"Why? You should consider a career change, I mean, you look cute in a maid's outfit." He joked.
"Screw you." She responded, punching him on the chest.
"Ow, well... I suppose not. With that attitude you'd probably be executed within a week for breaking the fingers of some blue blooded moron who can't keep his hands to himself." He laughed.
She sighed. "Why, thanks Jake. You really know what to say to a girl."
He chuckled. "Well, don't flatter yourself too much, you're a little too innocent looking for me."
"Uh-huh. We both know what your type is." She said in a mocking tone.
"W-what?" Jake stuttered, stopping and turning to face her.
Ali simply nodded and kept walking. "Oh, so I guess you don't know, it's just me." She joked. "Boys are so slow."
Jake nodded in disbelief, fastening his pace to catch up with her. They both went into a room where this noble man was sitting by the fireplace, which Ali made sure to stay as further away from a possible, reading to his two children. They simply left a tray with the man's tea on a table and left quietly walking out of the room without disrupting the story. Jake had earlier mentioned that it was a pity to kill a rich man that actually cared for his family. Ali was not as moved, they had been lingering around the man's chambers for days, all she wanted was to get it done and over with. They weren't even halfway down the hall one the little girl came out of the room, Ali stopped and turned when hearing her footsteps.
"Allison, what are you doing? We have to leave."
"I know." she replied, waiting for the three year old girl to catch up with them.
"Daddy fell asleep." The girl told them.
Ali crouched down and whispered to the girl. "He was just very tired. Why don't you go get your mommy?"
The girl simply nodded a no.
"Mommy is busy now, we can't bother her." The older boy had ventured out of the room as well. "We never bother when she is with her friend. She yells if we do."
"Hum, I see." Ali stood and gave Jake an amused look. "Alright, well..." She picked up the little girl. "Come on, I'll take you both to bed then." She told the boy.
Jake nodded with an annoyed expression, when the 5 year old boy grabbed onto his hand. "Really?" He muttered. "Never took you for the sentimental type, Ali."
She nodded. "I'm the type that wishes all she could remember of her past is 'daddy fell asleep'." She looked at him with the corner of her eyes. "Thought you of all people would understand that."
Jake simply sighed. "Whatever. Just don't go around telling people I have a heart."
Ali nodded, staring at the line of graves in the memorial. She had already made sure camp was secure, but she knew that it didn't really matter what they did, Jake could get in anywhere if he wanted to. It took her almost a year to feel safe to eat or drink around him once he explained to her how easy it was to simply slip poison into a person's meal. killing was simply that easy for him so she didn't see why Jake had needed to make that much of a mess if her actually wanted to kill someone. Even with Dani, he didn't have to shoot her with a dart in front of everyone the way he did, if he really wanted to... Dani trusted him, there were a number of better ways to kill her if that is what he wanted.
She sighed, turning and shooting an arrow less then an inch from where she knew Jake was standing. "I know you're here, so tell me, why shouldn't I kill you now?"
"I don't have an answer for that." Jake whispered to her. "You know, there were only two people in my life I would do anything for and then... When they needed me, I wasn't there. I failed them." He said. "I'm just too tired to try and prove myself to you Ali, believe what you will. I'm here though, aren't I?"
"Why Sean?" She asked.
"The night before Crys called me back to the clan, Lionel came to see me. He was going on about how Dani had let Theron live after all he did and that he had been allowed to join the Pack as an instructor. He told me that there was nothing he could do, since he was bound by the rules and Eldric had explicitly told him to shut up about it. He begged me to kill him, said he would do anything."
"Lionel asked you to kill Theron?" Ali asked with a frown. "What did you tell him?"
"i said I would think about it. I was probably going to do it, Theron had killed many of our people and his life meant shit to me, but... Then I got a letter from Crys saying that her father was dead and I should come back. I didn't even think twice, I came back and once I did, there was nothing I could against Theron anymore. I even told Eldric what Lionel had asked me to do, he said he would take care of it."
"I don't see how it has anything to do with Crys, or Sean for that matter. Lionel did that." Ali said.
"Lionel would never do anything like this against his father's will on his own. Sean, however, would. He was with his mother the night she died, did you know? Dani found him hiding in the bushes near the pool of blood where she was killed. only the Gods know what he saw. That was the only thing left of her, sounds familiar to you?"
Ali winced, but didn't say anything.
"Sean couldn't kill Theron, and he could never touch Dani with her being leader. The Black Knights killed his father and now the whole Pack wants their heads. Crys was the only one standing in the way of that happening after..."
"After you killed Dani?" She asked him. "You're sounding paranoid Jake. You are seriously saying that Sean did all this because of Theron? For something that happened, what, ten years ago?"
"How many times have you said you would love to watch Newhaven burn? Not long ago, wouldn't you do anything to see that happen?" He asked her.
"Not anything. I would never..." Ali mumbled.
"It sounds crazy, but sometimes things are a little more complicated than simply killing the most obvious suspects. Newhaven gains nothing from this. Blackpond on the other hand, has everything to gain from having the Pack attack Newhaven and... Crys wasn't going to let that happen either, not while Newhaven was backing down. Word is they have been training assassins for themselves."
"Hum... I wonder who gave you that valuable information." She smirked.
"I checked that information. They killed several in Newhaven during the battle."
Ali stopped to think for a second. It made sense... Too much sense. That or she was going crazy too.
"It will be stupid of me to just take your word for it."
Jake sighed. "Probably. I'm not asking you to believe me just yet, but... Keep yours eyes wide open and stay close to Evin if you can."
"Evin?"
"Don't you see? If Sean is doing this, he is one step away from leading the Pack himself. You don't think he will take that chance?" Jake asked.
Ali sat down on the ground and ran both her hands through her hair. "Shit, I gave up second command... What was I thinking?"
"You probably weren't. It's not your fault."
Ali felt a hand on her shoulder and heaved a long sigh. "I miss her, Jake. Half the time I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."
"You're doing a great job. I almost didn't make it into camp this time." He joked.
She snorted. "Shut up."
"There's nothing more you can do right now. Why don't you try to get some sleep or something like that?"
She shook her head, standing up. "If only it was that easy. Go pay Annie a visit by the way, she's worried about you."
---------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena watched Ella carefully as she thought about the question, her eyes fixed on the girl as she thought. When she finally answered, Lena shook her head and chuckled. "Safe doesn't necessarily mean happy. I'll take that answer though. You might just be too young to know the difference." She motioned towards the rest of the food. "Finish your food, kid. You don't really know when you'll get to eat again." She said, absently. "Well... The part of the story I haven't told you is who your mother is and who your father was. Your brother, you have met." She took a final bite of food before continuing. "Long ago the King Maric of Newhaven lost his wife to an illness. The young prince was then at an age around 11, 12 years old, can't remember exactly. The boy was ill as well and the King was afraid that he would die and leave him without an heir. In his fear he decided to take a young bride, I believe she wasn't much older than you back then. This new queen had two children in the short period of time in which she remained married to the king. The first, a boy, didn't live. The second, a girl... Was sent away for not being a viable heir. The queen was exiled to the desert and told that, as long as she never returned to Newhaven, her daughter would be safe." Lena stood and stretched leaning against the metal door of the cell. "So, recently your mother was sought out by a White Knight, and brought back to the city to rule. On her way to Newhaven she stopped by my encampment and she told me her story. I agreed to find you." She smiled to herself. "A few people already know of this, of who you are, even though the plan was to never let you or anyone else know if you had found a good life, a family and all that. Now, however, since it would only be a matter of time until someone told this to you, I hope that she will forgive me for being the one to do it." She glared through the opening in the cell door and her eyed sparkled as she saw a guard walking away. She turned her back to the door and leaned against it, watching the girl again. "As long as you mother lives, I'm sure she'll find a way to shield you from it, but one day, things will be expected of you. That day can come sooner or later, but it will eventually come for you."
Jake chuckled. "Ali, servant's uniform is the best hiding place inside a castle. Nobles never look at servants and let them in anywhere."
"Suppose so... I just... Hate this so much." She muttered.
"Why? You should consider a career change, I mean, you look cute in a maid's outfit." He joked.
"Screw you." She responded, punching him on the chest.
"Ow, well... I suppose not. With that attitude you'd probably be executed within a week for breaking the fingers of some blue blooded moron who can't keep his hands to himself." He laughed.
She sighed. "Why, thanks Jake. You really know what to say to a girl."
He chuckled. "Well, don't flatter yourself too much, you're a little too innocent looking for me."
"Uh-huh. We both know what your type is." She said in a mocking tone.
"W-what?" Jake stuttered, stopping and turning to face her.
Ali simply nodded and kept walking. "Oh, so I guess you don't know, it's just me." She joked. "Boys are so slow."
Jake nodded in disbelief, fastening his pace to catch up with her. They both went into a room where this noble man was sitting by the fireplace, which Ali made sure to stay as further away from a possible, reading to his two children. They simply left a tray with the man's tea on a table and left quietly walking out of the room without disrupting the story. Jake had earlier mentioned that it was a pity to kill a rich man that actually cared for his family. Ali was not as moved, they had been lingering around the man's chambers for days, all she wanted was to get it done and over with. They weren't even halfway down the hall one the little girl came out of the room, Ali stopped and turned when hearing her footsteps.
"Allison, what are you doing? We have to leave."
"I know." she replied, waiting for the three year old girl to catch up with them.
"Daddy fell asleep." The girl told them.
Ali crouched down and whispered to the girl. "He was just very tired. Why don't you go get your mommy?"
The girl simply nodded a no.
"Mommy is busy now, we can't bother her." The older boy had ventured out of the room as well. "We never bother when she is with her friend. She yells if we do."
"Hum, I see." Ali stood and gave Jake an amused look. "Alright, well..." She picked up the little girl. "Come on, I'll take you both to bed then." She told the boy.
Jake nodded with an annoyed expression, when the 5 year old boy grabbed onto his hand. "Really?" He muttered. "Never took you for the sentimental type, Ali."
She nodded. "I'm the type that wishes all she could remember of her past is 'daddy fell asleep'." She looked at him with the corner of her eyes. "Thought you of all people would understand that."
Jake simply sighed. "Whatever. Just don't go around telling people I have a heart."
Ali nodded, staring at the line of graves in the memorial. She had already made sure camp was secure, but she knew that it didn't really matter what they did, Jake could get in anywhere if he wanted to. It took her almost a year to feel safe to eat or drink around him once he explained to her how easy it was to simply slip poison into a person's meal. killing was simply that easy for him so she didn't see why Jake had needed to make that much of a mess if her actually wanted to kill someone. Even with Dani, he didn't have to shoot her with a dart in front of everyone the way he did, if he really wanted to... Dani trusted him, there were a number of better ways to kill her if that is what he wanted.
She sighed, turning and shooting an arrow less then an inch from where she knew Jake was standing. "I know you're here, so tell me, why shouldn't I kill you now?"
"I don't have an answer for that." Jake whispered to her. "You know, there were only two people in my life I would do anything for and then... When they needed me, I wasn't there. I failed them." He said. "I'm just too tired to try and prove myself to you Ali, believe what you will. I'm here though, aren't I?"
"Why Sean?" She asked.
"The night before Crys called me back to the clan, Lionel came to see me. He was going on about how Dani had let Theron live after all he did and that he had been allowed to join the Pack as an instructor. He told me that there was nothing he could do, since he was bound by the rules and Eldric had explicitly told him to shut up about it. He begged me to kill him, said he would do anything."
"Lionel asked you to kill Theron?" Ali asked with a frown. "What did you tell him?"
"i said I would think about it. I was probably going to do it, Theron had killed many of our people and his life meant shit to me, but... Then I got a letter from Crys saying that her father was dead and I should come back. I didn't even think twice, I came back and once I did, there was nothing I could against Theron anymore. I even told Eldric what Lionel had asked me to do, he said he would take care of it."
"I don't see how it has anything to do with Crys, or Sean for that matter. Lionel did that." Ali said.
"Lionel would never do anything like this against his father's will on his own. Sean, however, would. He was with his mother the night she died, did you know? Dani found him hiding in the bushes near the pool of blood where she was killed. only the Gods know what he saw. That was the only thing left of her, sounds familiar to you?"
Ali winced, but didn't say anything.
"Sean couldn't kill Theron, and he could never touch Dani with her being leader. The Black Knights killed his father and now the whole Pack wants their heads. Crys was the only one standing in the way of that happening after..."
"After you killed Dani?" She asked him. "You're sounding paranoid Jake. You are seriously saying that Sean did all this because of Theron? For something that happened, what, ten years ago?"
"How many times have you said you would love to watch Newhaven burn? Not long ago, wouldn't you do anything to see that happen?" He asked her.
"Not anything. I would never..." Ali mumbled.
"It sounds crazy, but sometimes things are a little more complicated than simply killing the most obvious suspects. Newhaven gains nothing from this. Blackpond on the other hand, has everything to gain from having the Pack attack Newhaven and... Crys wasn't going to let that happen either, not while Newhaven was backing down. Word is they have been training assassins for themselves."
"Hum... I wonder who gave you that valuable information." She smirked.
"I checked that information. They killed several in Newhaven during the battle."
Ali stopped to think for a second. It made sense... Too much sense. That or she was going crazy too.
"It will be stupid of me to just take your word for it."
Jake sighed. "Probably. I'm not asking you to believe me just yet, but... Keep yours eyes wide open and stay close to Evin if you can."
"Evin?"
"Don't you see? If Sean is doing this, he is one step away from leading the Pack himself. You don't think he will take that chance?" Jake asked.
Ali sat down on the ground and ran both her hands through her hair. "Shit, I gave up second command... What was I thinking?"
"You probably weren't. It's not your fault."
Ali felt a hand on her shoulder and heaved a long sigh. "I miss her, Jake. Half the time I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."
"You're doing a great job. I almost didn't make it into camp this time." He joked.
She snorted. "Shut up."
"There's nothing more you can do right now. Why don't you try to get some sleep or something like that?"
She shook her head, standing up. "If only it was that easy. Go pay Annie a visit by the way, she's worried about you."
---------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena watched Ella carefully as she thought about the question, her eyes fixed on the girl as she thought. When she finally answered, Lena shook her head and chuckled. "Safe doesn't necessarily mean happy. I'll take that answer though. You might just be too young to know the difference." She motioned towards the rest of the food. "Finish your food, kid. You don't really know when you'll get to eat again." She said, absently. "Well... The part of the story I haven't told you is who your mother is and who your father was. Your brother, you have met." She took a final bite of food before continuing. "Long ago the King Maric of Newhaven lost his wife to an illness. The young prince was then at an age around 11, 12 years old, can't remember exactly. The boy was ill as well and the King was afraid that he would die and leave him without an heir. In his fear he decided to take a young bride, I believe she wasn't much older than you back then. This new queen had two children in the short period of time in which she remained married to the king. The first, a boy, didn't live. The second, a girl... Was sent away for not being a viable heir. The queen was exiled to the desert and told that, as long as she never returned to Newhaven, her daughter would be safe." Lena stood and stretched leaning against the metal door of the cell. "So, recently your mother was sought out by a White Knight, and brought back to the city to rule. On her way to Newhaven she stopped by my encampment and she told me her story. I agreed to find you." She smiled to herself. "A few people already know of this, of who you are, even though the plan was to never let you or anyone else know if you had found a good life, a family and all that. Now, however, since it would only be a matter of time until someone told this to you, I hope that she will forgive me for being the one to do it." She glared through the opening in the cell door and her eyed sparkled as she saw a guard walking away. She turned her back to the door and leaned against it, watching the girl again. "As long as you mother lives, I'm sure she'll find a way to shield you from it, but one day, things will be expected of you. That day can come sooner or later, but it will eventually come for you."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
With Mageria departed from the room Grim had been granted the reigns of their next move. A decision not to be made lightly but he was more then willing to help. He took a glance to his gloves and found them to be doused in filth. Recalling he had cast off his cape from all the grime collected while fielded. Since hunger wasn’t bothering him he opted to get clean up and have some time to mull over options.
He stepped out into the hallway and listened intently for a moment. All was calm, and thankfully there was a lot of footfall pattering within the castle walls. This was well, for if he had to guess the Wovles wouldn’t attack anyone while within the presence of too many others. He was confident Mageria was safe for now. So he ventured off and started his way to the bathhouse.
The room was draped in thick woven white curtains. All the better to block curious eyes from gorging on sights forbidden to them. Little sunlight managed past the thick fabrics but there was just enough for one to see well into the room.
The floor was marble and finely cut, a further sign of the wealth poured into its make. At its center was a great iron basin, a gift for the knights as only the highest of royals could afford such a fine crafted bath. It was indeed large enough for Grim to fit comfortably and it kept its warmth well enough.
The Blade set to heating up kennels with water pumped from an in house well. Casually loosening and removing bits of armor while he tended to the flames. Being careful to keep the Giant’s Knife close to him at all times, part of his training was in keeping himself armed. If he had believed it feasible he would have slept with his weapon.
Steam began to build up in the washroom as he poured the heated liquid carefully into the basin. Once it was about half full he quieted the fire pits and finished removing his garments. Strolling up to the tub, he peered over to examine his work.
Someone else was looking back!
Grim spun on the balls of his feet to face the perpetrator and just caught the attacker’s arm attempting to plunge a knife into his chest. Successfully deterring a killing blow, but not able to halt the momentum. The two of them toppled into the bath, water poured out the sides and splashed wildly over the floor. Their struggle was so great that they managed to tip the iron basin and they spilled out over the floor rolling away from the other.
Grim pulled his body to its feet first getting a full glimpse of his attackers. There were three individuals, one female and two male, they were fitted into tight secure clothes with loose cloaks and hoods over the top. One among them had a ring dangling from a chain that gleamed with a wolf insignia. The Pack was already here and Grim was far from his commander.
He stared them down and watched the assassin that dunked them lift himself from the floor. He still held the knife with a controlling grip, and it seemed all was doomed for the Black Knight. Yet while he watched them he found none of them were making a move. When it occurred to him why they were so hesitant.
“So have to go for the killing blow do we? Can’t just cut up an unarmed Black Knight? You’ve done your homework. Here’s your chance, throw down your arms and we can discuss this peacefully. If not then you will face the one they call the Raging Demon! And yes… all the horrible things you’ve heard, they’re true.”
They were silent and still as statues. No sign of fear or even a flinch emerged among them. They knew exactly who they were dealing with long before he announced himself. Grim back up to the wall behind him, pulling one of the curtains free and wrapping it about his midriff. Unlike Krander, he simply wasn’t comfortable fighting in the buff.
They began to separate filing out to surround the Blade. Each pulling out short swords and daggers in their off hand. The drenched wolf just ahead with his compatriots going to either side. Grim answered by pulling another drape off the wall and throwing it the floor. Once it was well and soaked from the spill he picked it up and twisted the cloth lightly till it was thick and ropey in his hand a makeshift club.
The Black Knight didn’t wait he took the initiative and made a mock swipe to the lady at his right, when she dodged he rolled forward hoping to close the gap between him and his mighty sword. Though the maneuver was successful a foot connected to the back of his knee. The kick itself was weak but it possessed enough raw strength to force Grim to lurch uncontrollably forward, crashing in the direction opposite the Giant’s Knife.
The soaked rogue caught on and he drew up the knight’s goal with both hands throwing it with a hammer swing motion toward the exit, his allies closed in quickly. Their blades danced but caught nothing from the scrambling Blade.
Grim’s feet were slipping over the floor but somehow he managed to his armor. Of course he was being chased but all he required was precious seconds. In a gamble he threw his hand into the pile of black and latched onto a prize. With a mighty leap he just managed past their perimeter and missed a dagger’s edge at his throat.
To his chagrin he held a small wooden shield. A tool he rarely used but as a way to mock enemies whom knew nothing of what he was capable. Worry renewed itself he was beginning to wonder if Mageria was in danger and if he could dispatch these ruffians in time to help. It seemed impossible at this point but quitting wasn’t an option. The alternative was death, so the only choice was to fight.
“Well then, had enough?”
If one were to observe the fight Grim would have been quite the sight. The behemoth drenched and wearing next to nothing with only a small round shield to protect him. Very unlike the walking mountain of black armor he typically was.
So there the standoff was at hand, three Wolfpack members and one Black Knight having it out in a lofty bathroom. All the rest of the castle was unaware of its happenings and Grim didn’t hope for help any time soon. All he could think about was the safety of Mageria even with his own life in peril.
With Mageria departed from the room Grim had been granted the reigns of their next move. A decision not to be made lightly but he was more then willing to help. He took a glance to his gloves and found them to be doused in filth. Recalling he had cast off his cape from all the grime collected while fielded. Since hunger wasn’t bothering him he opted to get clean up and have some time to mull over options.
He stepped out into the hallway and listened intently for a moment. All was calm, and thankfully there was a lot of footfall pattering within the castle walls. This was well, for if he had to guess the Wovles wouldn’t attack anyone while within the presence of too many others. He was confident Mageria was safe for now. So he ventured off and started his way to the bathhouse.
The room was draped in thick woven white curtains. All the better to block curious eyes from gorging on sights forbidden to them. Little sunlight managed past the thick fabrics but there was just enough for one to see well into the room.
The floor was marble and finely cut, a further sign of the wealth poured into its make. At its center was a great iron basin, a gift for the knights as only the highest of royals could afford such a fine crafted bath. It was indeed large enough for Grim to fit comfortably and it kept its warmth well enough.
The Blade set to heating up kennels with water pumped from an in house well. Casually loosening and removing bits of armor while he tended to the flames. Being careful to keep the Giant’s Knife close to him at all times, part of his training was in keeping himself armed. If he had believed it feasible he would have slept with his weapon.
Steam began to build up in the washroom as he poured the heated liquid carefully into the basin. Once it was about half full he quieted the fire pits and finished removing his garments. Strolling up to the tub, he peered over to examine his work.
Someone else was looking back!
Grim spun on the balls of his feet to face the perpetrator and just caught the attacker’s arm attempting to plunge a knife into his chest. Successfully deterring a killing blow, but not able to halt the momentum. The two of them toppled into the bath, water poured out the sides and splashed wildly over the floor. Their struggle was so great that they managed to tip the iron basin and they spilled out over the floor rolling away from the other.
Grim pulled his body to its feet first getting a full glimpse of his attackers. There were three individuals, one female and two male, they were fitted into tight secure clothes with loose cloaks and hoods over the top. One among them had a ring dangling from a chain that gleamed with a wolf insignia. The Pack was already here and Grim was far from his commander.
He stared them down and watched the assassin that dunked them lift himself from the floor. He still held the knife with a controlling grip, and it seemed all was doomed for the Black Knight. Yet while he watched them he found none of them were making a move. When it occurred to him why they were so hesitant.
“So have to go for the killing blow do we? Can’t just cut up an unarmed Black Knight? You’ve done your homework. Here’s your chance, throw down your arms and we can discuss this peacefully. If not then you will face the one they call the Raging Demon! And yes… all the horrible things you’ve heard, they’re true.”
They were silent and still as statues. No sign of fear or even a flinch emerged among them. They knew exactly who they were dealing with long before he announced himself. Grim back up to the wall behind him, pulling one of the curtains free and wrapping it about his midriff. Unlike Krander, he simply wasn’t comfortable fighting in the buff.
They began to separate filing out to surround the Blade. Each pulling out short swords and daggers in their off hand. The drenched wolf just ahead with his compatriots going to either side. Grim answered by pulling another drape off the wall and throwing it the floor. Once it was well and soaked from the spill he picked it up and twisted the cloth lightly till it was thick and ropey in his hand a makeshift club.
The Black Knight didn’t wait he took the initiative and made a mock swipe to the lady at his right, when she dodged he rolled forward hoping to close the gap between him and his mighty sword. Though the maneuver was successful a foot connected to the back of his knee. The kick itself was weak but it possessed enough raw strength to force Grim to lurch uncontrollably forward, crashing in the direction opposite the Giant’s Knife.
The soaked rogue caught on and he drew up the knight’s goal with both hands throwing it with a hammer swing motion toward the exit, his allies closed in quickly. Their blades danced but caught nothing from the scrambling Blade.
Grim’s feet were slipping over the floor but somehow he managed to his armor. Of course he was being chased but all he required was precious seconds. In a gamble he threw his hand into the pile of black and latched onto a prize. With a mighty leap he just managed past their perimeter and missed a dagger’s edge at his throat.
To his chagrin he held a small wooden shield. A tool he rarely used but as a way to mock enemies whom knew nothing of what he was capable. Worry renewed itself he was beginning to wonder if Mageria was in danger and if he could dispatch these ruffians in time to help. It seemed impossible at this point but quitting wasn’t an option. The alternative was death, so the only choice was to fight.
“Well then, had enough?”
If one were to observe the fight Grim would have been quite the sight. The behemoth drenched and wearing next to nothing with only a small round shield to protect him. Very unlike the walking mountain of black armor he typically was.
So there the standoff was at hand, three Wolfpack members and one Black Knight having it out in a lofty bathroom. All the rest of the castle was unaware of its happenings and Grim didn’t hope for help any time soon. All he could think about was the safety of Mageria even with his own life in peril.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
It was the middle of the night and Ali had not been asleep very long. She was tossing and turning in her bed, but unaware. She was screaming as well, but unaware. When she came to her senses she could feel herself being held down by someone, but couldn't tell who it was, she simply squirmed and fought as hard as she could until she finally managed to free one of her hands and claw at whoever it was. When she heard the voice that cursed loudly in response she realized who was in her room and finally calmed down a little. Her eyes focusing on Sean's face as he gave an angry look.
"Are you insane?!" He shouted. "Don't scream here! You cannot scream in this camp! Do you have any idea what you just put everyone through?"
Ali was barely listening to Sean's words, she was simply shaking her head, furious at what had just happened. "Get out."
"Come on Ali, you should see a healer to make sure..."
"I'm fine, Sean! Get out!" She muttered, not looking at him.
"Are you sure?" He answered, apparently not intimidated by her reaction.
"Please." She whispered, looking over his shoulder to the two guards that were standing at the door.
Sean looked back to the men. "It's alright, go back to your posts." He told them. He crouched to next to her, reaching out to touch her arm, but changing his mind in the last minute. "Look, I'm sorry. I know this is harder on you than on everyone else and I should have considered that earlier. It was not my proudest moment."
Ali sighed. "It's fine and I appreciate the concern, but, I just... I would like to be alone if that's alright."
Sean nodded, standing straight. "Sure. You should try to sleep some more anyway." He said giving her a half smile. "Just try to keep it down, okay?"
"Sure." She mumbled.
Sean left the room and Ali quickly stood and locked the door behind him before crawling into her bed and curling up into a ball, finally releasing the tears and shivers she had been holding back. She could still hear the screaming in the back of her mind and she could swear she could even smell smoke in the air even now. Almost as torturing as the nightmares was the memory of the last time they affected her this way. It was a long time since it happened, and it was also the first time Crys ever seemed to treat her decently.
Ali woke up in a panic. She was screaming, but no sound would come out. Finally coming to her senses she realized what had happened...
Crys was holding her down. She had shoved a piece of cloth in her mouth to muffle the sound of screaming that had come from her room. Her voice was calm as she constantly repeated the same words over and over, waiting for Ali to come to her senses and respond. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up..."
Finally, she managed to stop screaming. Her breathing was erratic, she had drops of sweat and tears rolling down her face. There was a knock ond the door to which Crys responded. "Everything is fine. Go back to your posts."
She waited long enough for the guards outside to walk away before finally releasing Ali. "It's alright. You're alright. Just remember to breath."
Crys was kneeled on the floor next to Ali's bed. The worried expression she carried didn't exactly seem to belong, Ali had never seen it before. She backed away as Ali sat up, and moved to sit next to her on the bed. Ali felt herself shiver uncontrolably and struggled to contain the tears that insisted on slipping out despite her desire to conceal them. Finally finding it useless to try and hold it together she gave up. Hiding her head between her knees she started sobbing. She expected Crys to tell her it was just a dream, she expected her to demand some sort of control from Ali, but no. All Crys had done was pat her on the back and repeat that she would be alright.
Finally after a few minutes Ali managed to stop crying and take a long deep breath. The shivering seemed to tone down, although it hadn't completely ceased. She rubbed her eyes as her sight was still a little blurry, know becoming more and more aware of the fact she had completely lost all control of herself in front of her instructor. Shame started to set in.
Crys' voice broke through the silence, in the same calm tone as before. "Feeling better now?"
Ali nodded, but after a while forced herself to speak remembering that Crys couldn't see her. "A little."
"Do you need to talk?"
"Probably..." Ali shrugged "I'd rather not though."
Crys sighed as she grabbed Ali's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Then you should try and go back to sleep. Because once the sun is out I will unleash hell on you as if this never happened. You'd better be well rested by then."
Ali chuckled at the warning, although she knew it was not a joke. She was simply glad Crys wasn't making a huge deal out of this. "I'm sure whatever it is you throw at me I will take it."
Crys snickered as she got on her feet. "I wouldn't be so certain if I were you."
She left and Ali laid herself down again, letting out a sigh as she watched the moonlight sneak in through the cracks on the walls. "As if this never happened..." She repeated to herself as she closed her eyes.
This time it wasn't that easy to go back to sleep. It was the shock caused by the nightmares that was causing the shivering either, it was anger. She was angry at herself for how affected she was. She was angry and how this was going, she was furious at how she was failing to do doing something about it. She was angry at how scared she was right now. The Pack was going down a dangerous path, and one they could turn back from. Maybe she was close to Crys and her death had affected her, but most of all: She was afraid of losing the place she called a home again. She was afraid of losing the only piece of family she had left.
Ali was angry because she knew that fear was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. It was unpleasant feeling, and a very dangerous one for an assassin.
"Are you insane?!" He shouted. "Don't scream here! You cannot scream in this camp! Do you have any idea what you just put everyone through?"
Ali was barely listening to Sean's words, she was simply shaking her head, furious at what had just happened. "Get out."
"Come on Ali, you should see a healer to make sure..."
"I'm fine, Sean! Get out!" She muttered, not looking at him.
"Are you sure?" He answered, apparently not intimidated by her reaction.
"Please." She whispered, looking over his shoulder to the two guards that were standing at the door.
Sean looked back to the men. "It's alright, go back to your posts." He told them. He crouched to next to her, reaching out to touch her arm, but changing his mind in the last minute. "Look, I'm sorry. I know this is harder on you than on everyone else and I should have considered that earlier. It was not my proudest moment."
Ali sighed. "It's fine and I appreciate the concern, but, I just... I would like to be alone if that's alright."
Sean nodded, standing straight. "Sure. You should try to sleep some more anyway." He said giving her a half smile. "Just try to keep it down, okay?"
"Sure." She mumbled.
Sean left the room and Ali quickly stood and locked the door behind him before crawling into her bed and curling up into a ball, finally releasing the tears and shivers she had been holding back. She could still hear the screaming in the back of her mind and she could swear she could even smell smoke in the air even now. Almost as torturing as the nightmares was the memory of the last time they affected her this way. It was a long time since it happened, and it was also the first time Crys ever seemed to treat her decently.
Ali woke up in a panic. She was screaming, but no sound would come out. Finally coming to her senses she realized what had happened...
Crys was holding her down. She had shoved a piece of cloth in her mouth to muffle the sound of screaming that had come from her room. Her voice was calm as she constantly repeated the same words over and over, waiting for Ali to come to her senses and respond. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up..."
Finally, she managed to stop screaming. Her breathing was erratic, she had drops of sweat and tears rolling down her face. There was a knock ond the door to which Crys responded. "Everything is fine. Go back to your posts."
She waited long enough for the guards outside to walk away before finally releasing Ali. "It's alright. You're alright. Just remember to breath."
Crys was kneeled on the floor next to Ali's bed. The worried expression she carried didn't exactly seem to belong, Ali had never seen it before. She backed away as Ali sat up, and moved to sit next to her on the bed. Ali felt herself shiver uncontrolably and struggled to contain the tears that insisted on slipping out despite her desire to conceal them. Finally finding it useless to try and hold it together she gave up. Hiding her head between her knees she started sobbing. She expected Crys to tell her it was just a dream, she expected her to demand some sort of control from Ali, but no. All Crys had done was pat her on the back and repeat that she would be alright.
Finally after a few minutes Ali managed to stop crying and take a long deep breath. The shivering seemed to tone down, although it hadn't completely ceased. She rubbed her eyes as her sight was still a little blurry, know becoming more and more aware of the fact she had completely lost all control of herself in front of her instructor. Shame started to set in.
Crys' voice broke through the silence, in the same calm tone as before. "Feeling better now?"
Ali nodded, but after a while forced herself to speak remembering that Crys couldn't see her. "A little."
"Do you need to talk?"
"Probably..." Ali shrugged "I'd rather not though."
Crys sighed as she grabbed Ali's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Then you should try and go back to sleep. Because once the sun is out I will unleash hell on you as if this never happened. You'd better be well rested by then."
Ali chuckled at the warning, although she knew it was not a joke. She was simply glad Crys wasn't making a huge deal out of this. "I'm sure whatever it is you throw at me I will take it."
Crys snickered as she got on her feet. "I wouldn't be so certain if I were you."
She left and Ali laid herself down again, letting out a sigh as she watched the moonlight sneak in through the cracks on the walls. "As if this never happened..." She repeated to herself as she closed her eyes.
This time it wasn't that easy to go back to sleep. It was the shock caused by the nightmares that was causing the shivering either, it was anger. She was angry at herself for how affected she was. She was angry and how this was going, she was furious at how she was failing to do doing something about it. She was angry at how scared she was right now. The Pack was going down a dangerous path, and one they could turn back from. Maybe she was close to Crys and her death had affected her, but most of all: She was afraid of losing the place she called a home again. She was afraid of losing the only piece of family she had left.
Ali was angry because she knew that fear was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. It was unpleasant feeling, and a very dangerous one for an assassin.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
The pain in Evin's thy was unbearable. Knowing the little he had paid attention to in training when it came to medical care, he placed his hand down on the bleeding wound to relieve some pressure. There was something about cleaning a wound that he had to do, but there wasn't much time to do that judging by the anger in Mageria's eyes. He continued to tend to his wound. With his free arm, he took off his shoe and sock. He used the sock to wrap around the wound relieving some of the pressure. It made him feel a little better. Enough that he would be able to stagger at best.
Evin was being serious about playing cards, he really needed some way to relieve stress. Killing Mageria could have been the answer, but that would mean too much effort of his behalf. It was supposed to be a simple strangulation, but he became the culprit of caring about his target. That was the only reason he would have breathed so absent mindedly onto his neck like he did. Since his first plan didn't work out, he decided that maybe a less deadly rout could solve things too. Of course he had to first calm Mageria down. Maybe he could get answers along the way.
“Speak up Ev. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to waste.”
“You know Mageria, you can be quite the bitch when you’re stressed. I really think that we could have a good time playing cards. Why don’t you join me?”
Evin stumbled along the hall picking up some of the cards. When Mageria took a moment to look away, he slipped one in the back of his leg under the sock. He shuffled the cards and stumbled closer to Mageria who stilled seemed to be a little mad. He threw the cards down on the ground, back and forth between the two of them. When all the cards were dealt out, he smiled and sat down.
“I always felt that this game helped me calm my nerves. You might have to remind me how to play, I think I forgot some of the rules.”
Evin was being serious about playing cards, he really needed some way to relieve stress. Killing Mageria could have been the answer, but that would mean too much effort of his behalf. It was supposed to be a simple strangulation, but he became the culprit of caring about his target. That was the only reason he would have breathed so absent mindedly onto his neck like he did. Since his first plan didn't work out, he decided that maybe a less deadly rout could solve things too. Of course he had to first calm Mageria down. Maybe he could get answers along the way.
“Speak up Ev. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to waste.”
“You know Mageria, you can be quite the bitch when you’re stressed. I really think that we could have a good time playing cards. Why don’t you join me?”
Evin stumbled along the hall picking up some of the cards. When Mageria took a moment to look away, he slipped one in the back of his leg under the sock. He shuffled the cards and stumbled closer to Mageria who stilled seemed to be a little mad. He threw the cards down on the ground, back and forth between the two of them. When all the cards were dealt out, he smiled and sat down.
“I always felt that this game helped me calm my nerves. You might have to remind me how to play, I think I forgot some of the rules.”
“You know Mageria, you can be quite the bitch when you’re stressed. I really think that we could have a good time playing cards. Why don’t you join me?”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and stared at Evin for a good long moment before shaking her head. “You’ve got some balls Evin Bana, I’ll give you that. You lied to me from the moment we met each other, because I know you’ve always worn that graduation ring on your finger. The Pack killed my king, and then has the gall to say that no, it was really someone else we killed, but sorry, we’re not going to give you any proof. And best of all, the Pack is supposed to let children live no matter what happens to the parents, but 22 years ago, my family, including my 7 year old sisters and 5 year old brother were slaughtered in their sleep.” Her voice had been slowly raising throughout this; towards the end her hand flickered out and to the side, then the next moment a dagger embedded itself an inch deep in the wall so close to Evin’s neck that the ice cold metal brushed his flesh as it quivered from impact. “So given that, and the fact that you’re here for the SECOND time to kill me, give me one DAMNED reason I should be listening TO ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!!!!”
She sat there for another moment, struggling to breath properly. Along with the nightmares, her rage had started growing out of control. Clenching her teeth, she drew in a deep breath in the same way she was always telling Grim to, to help him with his anger . . . . Grim. Grim being attacked and possibly injured, going into rage in the middle of a crowded castle full of people who were already injured and frightened. She honestly couldn't think of a worse scenario for everyone concerned.
Mageria looked at Ev, and any hint of anything but an ice cold fury mixed with a healthy dose of fear bled away and when she spoke, her voice was icy cold and carried unmistakable violence. “Call off your attack, Evin. You have no idea what’s at risk.”
Mageria tilted her head to the side and stared at Evin for a good long moment before shaking her head. “You’ve got some balls Evin Bana, I’ll give you that. You lied to me from the moment we met each other, because I know you’ve always worn that graduation ring on your finger. The Pack killed my king, and then has the gall to say that no, it was really someone else we killed, but sorry, we’re not going to give you any proof. And best of all, the Pack is supposed to let children live no matter what happens to the parents, but 22 years ago, my family, including my 7 year old sisters and 5 year old brother were slaughtered in their sleep.” Her voice had been slowly raising throughout this; towards the end her hand flickered out and to the side, then the next moment a dagger embedded itself an inch deep in the wall so close to Evin’s neck that the ice cold metal brushed his flesh as it quivered from impact. “So given that, and the fact that you’re here for the SECOND time to kill me, give me one DAMNED reason I should be listening TO ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!!!!”
She sat there for another moment, struggling to breath properly. Along with the nightmares, her rage had started growing out of control. Clenching her teeth, she drew in a deep breath in the same way she was always telling Grim to, to help him with his anger . . . . Grim. Grim being attacked and possibly injured, going into rage in the middle of a crowded castle full of people who were already injured and frightened. She honestly couldn't think of a worse scenario for everyone concerned.
Mageria looked at Ev, and any hint of anything but an ice cold fury mixed with a healthy dose of fear bled away and when she spoke, her voice was icy cold and carried unmistakable violence. “Call off your attack, Evin. You have no idea what’s at risk.”
Evin continued to smile as Mageria became more and more angry. She couldn't bring it to herself to kill Evin as he could tell from her eye movements. She kept looking him directly in the eyes and then looking away, not in disgust, but in another way that he was yet to interpret. Maybe it was remorse, but it also seemed like it could have been simply something else. Confusion maybe? It also could have been both or even more than that. When she darted her eyes right into the very soul of Evin, he saw what evil really lurked inside of her and in that moment, he knew that she might kill him right there. He wouldn't have let that happen of course, but the fear quickly vanished as the eyes repositioned themselves beside his face where a swift breeze passed by him, followed by a loud ring. Shifting his eyes, he saw the dagger stuck into the stone. His neck grew warm. He soon realised that he was bleeding from a superficial cut to his neck. If anyone asked, he could just pass it off as a paper cut he was sure, although the neck would be a peculiar place for a paper cut.
He grabbed all of the cards from the ground, ignoring the rest of Mageria's speech completely. He didn't bother to shuffle them this time, he just shoved them into Mageria's hands which were now free of any weapons. "Here, if you think I'm cheating or something you can shuffle. I really don't get why you're being such a bitch about this!"
She really didn't understand the predicament that Evin was in. There was proof that the Black Knights were behind a second killing of one of their leaders. The Black Knights never seemed to give the Pack the benefit of the doubt when the whole faux king idea had been revealed. Why did Evin have to treat them any different. Besides, he had only killed one false leader and they had for sure killed at least Dani.
Another important thing Evin always tried to remember was that he had an obligation to protect the Pack now. He hated it, he didn't even believe in everything that the Pack always seemed to represent, but it was still his duty now. The Black Knights were the first and only city organization to ever threaten the safety of his fellow wolves.
"I'll only call off why assassins when I have answers of my own. We can discuss things over a game of cards can't we? I don't think you are the one in a position of power here anyways, even though you are the one swinging swords around. The longer you waste time here, the longer it will take to get to Grim. Hell, I'm not even sure if they are even in the castle yet. Let's just play."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella looked away when she heard all of this. The part that hit her the hardest was knowing that the man who basically raised him, treated her like family was her family. It was her brother. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about it, but she held back the terrible pressure to cry out.
She nodded when Lena had told her about responsibilities coming some time in the future. These responsibilities she didn’t know all too well, but knew that one day the option to follow through would be out of her hand. Although, there was another way that this could be solved, but then, she didn’t even know if it would even be a possibility anymore.
If she could only train herself just a little more and hone her abilities that she had been taught by Evin over the years, she could protect her mother. She could protect her long enough so that she could have another child. The sister, or brother could take the throne instead of her. It was only a plan, and from the stories she had been told, plans never went the way that they were expected.
She looked around the room for a few seconds, again focusing on the food again before deciding against it. “So you think that one day I’ll have to rule over Newhaven?”
There was another moment of hesitation as she looked down at the food again. This time her hunger took over and she dived back into the food. When she was done, she said, “we are breaking out. I need to see my mother.”
~~~~~
The Gods seemed to hate Hastings. He had only gotten another ten minutes of sleep before his mind took over. His heart and head were now one and emotions overflowed through the his body and pouring out in a roar that was worthy of the most terrible beast in Valcrest and beyond.
Hastings had designed his bed to conceal weapons in case he ever needed one. He drew one from seemingly out of nowhere, taking his time to get out of the bed. Things had to be done, they had to change.
“Where are you going with that?” A voice came from the door left slightly ajar to the left.
“Lamya, what the hell?” He said, quickly concealing the dagger under his shirt.
Lamya opened the door further, but then shut it quickly when the other door opened. Two guards walked into the room with their swords pointed in Hastings direction.
“Go to bed, there’s nothing to worry about here.” He ordered.
When the door shut again, the closet door opened. Lamya and another assassin walked out. “You know I’m going to have to kill you if you go through with it. I might even have to kill you now for thinking about it.”
“I don’t know what you’re-”
“Don’t play me for a fool Hastings.” She snapped. “I wouldn’t kill you though. We understand. I think we could offer you the power that you seek. No one would ever know the truth.”
“You could?” Hastings excitedly raised his voice. He was glad to know that others were on his side.
Lamya walked closer to the to Hastings and stretched out her arms, placing wrists them gingerly on his shoulders and let them relax. She leaned in a little closer to him creating more distance at the waist, but faces only a foot away. Her smile was subtle; really only a tightening of the left of her lip, and only slightly raised. For a second, she showed her top teeth and said. “We can’t do it now, but give us time. We’ll give you a date and it will all end for you. You won’t have to worry anymore.” She turned to the door and started walking out. “By the way Hastings, you’re sweating.”
Hastings eyes widened and he wiped off the sweat beating down his faced.
“Have a good night’s sleep Hastings.” Layma said.
Hastings watched her walk out the door until it shut. Then he remembered the other assassin who was in the room. He was gone.
“Maybe now I’ll be able to sleep tight.” He said, walking back into his bed, putting the dagger back in it’s place. Finally he would relax.
He grabbed all of the cards from the ground, ignoring the rest of Mageria's speech completely. He didn't bother to shuffle them this time, he just shoved them into Mageria's hands which were now free of any weapons. "Here, if you think I'm cheating or something you can shuffle. I really don't get why you're being such a bitch about this!"
She really didn't understand the predicament that Evin was in. There was proof that the Black Knights were behind a second killing of one of their leaders. The Black Knights never seemed to give the Pack the benefit of the doubt when the whole faux king idea had been revealed. Why did Evin have to treat them any different. Besides, he had only killed one false leader and they had for sure killed at least Dani.
Another important thing Evin always tried to remember was that he had an obligation to protect the Pack now. He hated it, he didn't even believe in everything that the Pack always seemed to represent, but it was still his duty now. The Black Knights were the first and only city organization to ever threaten the safety of his fellow wolves.
"I'll only call off why assassins when I have answers of my own. We can discuss things over a game of cards can't we? I don't think you are the one in a position of power here anyways, even though you are the one swinging swords around. The longer you waste time here, the longer it will take to get to Grim. Hell, I'm not even sure if they are even in the castle yet. Let's just play."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella looked away when she heard all of this. The part that hit her the hardest was knowing that the man who basically raised him, treated her like family was her family. It was her brother. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about it, but she held back the terrible pressure to cry out.
She nodded when Lena had told her about responsibilities coming some time in the future. These responsibilities she didn’t know all too well, but knew that one day the option to follow through would be out of her hand. Although, there was another way that this could be solved, but then, she didn’t even know if it would even be a possibility anymore.
If she could only train herself just a little more and hone her abilities that she had been taught by Evin over the years, she could protect her mother. She could protect her long enough so that she could have another child. The sister, or brother could take the throne instead of her. It was only a plan, and from the stories she had been told, plans never went the way that they were expected.
She looked around the room for a few seconds, again focusing on the food again before deciding against it. “So you think that one day I’ll have to rule over Newhaven?”
There was another moment of hesitation as she looked down at the food again. This time her hunger took over and she dived back into the food. When she was done, she said, “we are breaking out. I need to see my mother.”
~~~~~
The Gods seemed to hate Hastings. He had only gotten another ten minutes of sleep before his mind took over. His heart and head were now one and emotions overflowed through the his body and pouring out in a roar that was worthy of the most terrible beast in Valcrest and beyond.
Hastings had designed his bed to conceal weapons in case he ever needed one. He drew one from seemingly out of nowhere, taking his time to get out of the bed. Things had to be done, they had to change.
“Where are you going with that?” A voice came from the door left slightly ajar to the left.
“Lamya, what the hell?” He said, quickly concealing the dagger under his shirt.
Lamya opened the door further, but then shut it quickly when the other door opened. Two guards walked into the room with their swords pointed in Hastings direction.
“Go to bed, there’s nothing to worry about here.” He ordered.
When the door shut again, the closet door opened. Lamya and another assassin walked out. “You know I’m going to have to kill you if you go through with it. I might even have to kill you now for thinking about it.”
“I don’t know what you’re-”
“Don’t play me for a fool Hastings.” She snapped. “I wouldn’t kill you though. We understand. I think we could offer you the power that you seek. No one would ever know the truth.”
“You could?” Hastings excitedly raised his voice. He was glad to know that others were on his side.
Lamya walked closer to the to Hastings and stretched out her arms, placing wrists them gingerly on his shoulders and let them relax. She leaned in a little closer to him creating more distance at the waist, but faces only a foot away. Her smile was subtle; really only a tightening of the left of her lip, and only slightly raised. For a second, she showed her top teeth and said. “We can’t do it now, but give us time. We’ll give you a date and it will all end for you. You won’t have to worry anymore.” She turned to the door and started walking out. “By the way Hastings, you’re sweating.”
Hastings eyes widened and he wiped off the sweat beating down his faced.
“Have a good night’s sleep Hastings.” Layma said.
Hastings watched her walk out the door until it shut. Then he remembered the other assassin who was in the room. He was gone.
“Maybe now I’ll be able to sleep tight.” He said, walking back into his bed, putting the dagger back in it’s place. Finally he would relax.
Mageria glanced down at the cards, then took a second look. She remembered this deck very well, it was the same one that she had kept for years, the one that they had used when they met up to play at the tavern. She also knew that she had kept it in a chest in her room ever since that tavern burned down. The only way that Ev could have it . . . . was if he went through her things. A while ago, because she thought that she had burned everything that linked them together.
“Let's just play.”
She shook her head. “I can’t play games with my friends lives, Ev. I just can’t. And you can’t have it both ways. Either we hate each other and you’re here to kill me, or we’re friends and we can play cards. Given that we’re both bleeding, I know what this started out as.” Absently she shuffled the cards, fanning them and reshuffling. The tiniest smile quirked her lips. “And anyways, you cheat. I don’t believe for a second that you forgot the rules to Olith.”
She was so damn tired. She had been fighting none stop for weeks now and it was to the point that she was ready to drop and curl up in the corner. All she wanted was for things to stop falling apart long enough for her to get rested, but it seems that the Twins had decided that such a fate was not in store for her. Officers always told soldiers, “You can rest when you’re dead.” Such a time might be closer for her than most would think.
Wearily she closed her eyes for a moment, running her thumb over the side of the deck. It was one card short, probably up Ev’s sleeve.
“No games Ev. Maybe later, if we can ever meet without trying to carve each other up. But not now. What are your questions?”
She wasn’t wasting time, she told herself. The bleeding from her leg had barely stopped and if she tried to get up now, she’d start bleeding again. She could do it and had in the past, but if Ev really was the leader of the Pack right now, then she needed to see if she could calm things down between the Pack and the Knights. Because for once, the Pack was the one who had been wronged and she had the chance to prove that the Knights hadn’t done anything. She just hoped that Grim had the mind to yell for help if he was attacked. Not that she herself had, but maybe he would.
“Let's just play.”
She shook her head. “I can’t play games with my friends lives, Ev. I just can’t. And you can’t have it both ways. Either we hate each other and you’re here to kill me, or we’re friends and we can play cards. Given that we’re both bleeding, I know what this started out as.” Absently she shuffled the cards, fanning them and reshuffling. The tiniest smile quirked her lips. “And anyways, you cheat. I don’t believe for a second that you forgot the rules to Olith.”
She was so damn tired. She had been fighting none stop for weeks now and it was to the point that she was ready to drop and curl up in the corner. All she wanted was for things to stop falling apart long enough for her to get rested, but it seems that the Twins had decided that such a fate was not in store for her. Officers always told soldiers, “You can rest when you’re dead.” Such a time might be closer for her than most would think.
Wearily she closed her eyes for a moment, running her thumb over the side of the deck. It was one card short, probably up Ev’s sleeve.
“No games Ev. Maybe later, if we can ever meet without trying to carve each other up. But not now. What are your questions?”
She wasn’t wasting time, she told herself. The bleeding from her leg had barely stopped and if she tried to get up now, she’d start bleeding again. She could do it and had in the past, but if Ev really was the leader of the Pack right now, then she needed to see if she could calm things down between the Pack and the Knights. Because for once, the Pack was the one who had been wronged and she had the chance to prove that the Knights hadn’t done anything. She just hoped that Grim had the mind to yell for help if he was attacked. Not that she herself had, but maybe he would.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
Ali couldn't sleep again. Not after everything that happened. Her mind was racing with everything that was happening and, she realized, she would be able to rest until Evin was back and she knew what exactly happened. "Bloody hell." She muttered. "I might as well have gone with them!" She exclaimed, standing up from her bed and moving to the wooden table where the chess board was set, she started to move the pieces around, trying to remember the last time she and Bastian played. It was about a month before he died, a rather cold night, a game that lasted almost the whole night. It was the longest she had managed to postpone her inevitable defeat. It was also a very long conversation.
Bastian had been the closest to a father figure she had, and that was one thing she and Jake always had in common although it was always left unsaid... They also had things in their past they'd rather erase forever. For those reasons and more, she wanted to believe him. The truth was, what he had told her made sense, but so did a hundred other theories and Sean... She didn't know him all that well, but he seemed just as outraged by Crys' death as anyone else, and even more than a few. So what if Jake was wrong? She couldn't do anything unless she was sure, and the way things were, she just wasn't sure of anything anymore. She finally stood up, shaking her head, and left her house, deciding she needed a walk. Halfway towards the memorial, she tripped over a log, which she didn't see since the campfire was now put out. Muttering curses under her breath and now with a shooting pain in her foot, she went on walking until she saw someone sitting at the memorial.
"You knew I was here, didn't you?" Sean asked, standing up.
"Yes, I did." She replied, walking past him and sitting down. "Sit. I need to talk to you." She said.
Sean sat on the spot he had been and followed Ali's gaze to the cross where he had carved Crystal's name, not long ago. It only had her name and nothing else, unlike the other leader's that had been honored there, there was no saying on Crystal's grave. There was really nothing to say. Sean simply sat there in silence until Ali decided to speak.
"Why does Jake think you did this?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do. He could have killed you on the spot, but he didn't. He told you exactly why he thinks you did it. So don't lie to me." She said frowning. "I'm not an idiot despite what you may think."
Sean sighed. "Fine. First, you need to understand... Jake and I never got along for reasons that, right now don't really matter, but he and Lionel were always good friends. After Theron was brought in, when Dani announced he was accepted into the clan as an instructor, Lionel had a rather ugly fight with our father about it. Later that night I caught him sneaking out of camp and I followed him, all the way to Newhaven. I waited for him outside the city gates, when I caught up to him he said Jake was going to take care of it." Sean nodded. "Lionel was angry, so was I. We hated the Wolf Hunters just as much as I'm sure you hate the White Knights. Crys has nothing to do with that, though."
"And then there's your father." She said.
"What about my father?" Sean asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Black Knights killed him." She said.
"I still don't see how that involves Crys." Sean said, shrugging. "And Jake killed Dani, no one seems to be punishing him for that."
"That's not true, Sean." She muttered.
"No?" He laughed. "Come on... He could have been killed for that about twenty times. Not even Evin wants to kill him, it seems. It's like everyone is afraid to touch him just because Crys trusted him."
"I don't think that's what's stopping Evin, Sean. I don't think it would. Besides... This whole thing with Dani is just way too off."
"Off how?" Sean asked.
"She knew Jake did it. Why wouldn't she tell someone?" Ali asked.
"What makes you think she knew he did it? She trusted him. Maybe she just didn't believe it." He argued. "Jake is smart, and he's good enough of a liar to have fooled Crys at least once, probably more than that. What makes you think he couldn't be faking all this pain everyone thinks he's going through? What makes you think he couldn't have something to do with Crys' death? Can anyone know for sure he wasn't already with the Black Knights when Dani called him back?" He sighed. "Look, Dani was smart, but you and I know that Crys had a way of talking her in and out of things. Who knows how many times she covered for him?"
"You're twisting things." Ali stated, turning to look at him.
"Am I? Things are twisted on their own, Allison. I'm simply stating facts, the same way Jake did. So what exactly makes him any more believable than me?"
Ali nodded, resting her chin on her hands. "Nothing. The problem is, it doesn't make him any less believable either."
Sean nodded. "That's because he's not lying, he's just wrong. And he is going to end up killing someone for it, or getting himself killed. And if you're really his friend, you should try to stop him before that happens. Next time you see him, do that." He stated.
"Is that an order, sir?" She muttered.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Sean replied. "It's good that you question things, but we never get all the answers. Sometimes we just have to get things done and hope we didn'
--------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena kept watching Ella, leaned against the door. Silent until the girl said they were breaking out. "How are we doing that?" Lena asked calmly. "I've been out there, if you plan on living to see your mother, you better have a plan." She opened a smile. "They have no clue your life is worth something, and it'd be worse if they did. So it better be a good one too."
Then she sat back down, a slightly more gentle look in her eyes. "He knew who you were, your brother. Your mother managed to get a message to him, but I assume he didn't have the chance to tell you the truth." She made a pause in which she closed her eyes as she tried to suppress and unpleasant memory. When she opened her eyes again she nodded, looking away from Ella and staring at dim light that was slipping in underneath the door. "I'm sorry." She said, although she didn't really explain what she was sorry for or why she would be sorry in the first place. That was a little bit too much to disclose, at least at this point.
Bastian had been the closest to a father figure she had, and that was one thing she and Jake always had in common although it was always left unsaid... They also had things in their past they'd rather erase forever. For those reasons and more, she wanted to believe him. The truth was, what he had told her made sense, but so did a hundred other theories and Sean... She didn't know him all that well, but he seemed just as outraged by Crys' death as anyone else, and even more than a few. So what if Jake was wrong? She couldn't do anything unless she was sure, and the way things were, she just wasn't sure of anything anymore. She finally stood up, shaking her head, and left her house, deciding she needed a walk. Halfway towards the memorial, she tripped over a log, which she didn't see since the campfire was now put out. Muttering curses under her breath and now with a shooting pain in her foot, she went on walking until she saw someone sitting at the memorial.
"You knew I was here, didn't you?" Sean asked, standing up.
"Yes, I did." She replied, walking past him and sitting down. "Sit. I need to talk to you." She said.
Sean sat on the spot he had been and followed Ali's gaze to the cross where he had carved Crystal's name, not long ago. It only had her name and nothing else, unlike the other leader's that had been honored there, there was no saying on Crystal's grave. There was really nothing to say. Sean simply sat there in silence until Ali decided to speak.
"Why does Jake think you did this?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do. He could have killed you on the spot, but he didn't. He told you exactly why he thinks you did it. So don't lie to me." She said frowning. "I'm not an idiot despite what you may think."
Sean sighed. "Fine. First, you need to understand... Jake and I never got along for reasons that, right now don't really matter, but he and Lionel were always good friends. After Theron was brought in, when Dani announced he was accepted into the clan as an instructor, Lionel had a rather ugly fight with our father about it. Later that night I caught him sneaking out of camp and I followed him, all the way to Newhaven. I waited for him outside the city gates, when I caught up to him he said Jake was going to take care of it." Sean nodded. "Lionel was angry, so was I. We hated the Wolf Hunters just as much as I'm sure you hate the White Knights. Crys has nothing to do with that, though."
"And then there's your father." She said.
"What about my father?" Sean asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Black Knights killed him." She said.
"I still don't see how that involves Crys." Sean said, shrugging. "And Jake killed Dani, no one seems to be punishing him for that."
"That's not true, Sean." She muttered.
"No?" He laughed. "Come on... He could have been killed for that about twenty times. Not even Evin wants to kill him, it seems. It's like everyone is afraid to touch him just because Crys trusted him."
"I don't think that's what's stopping Evin, Sean. I don't think it would. Besides... This whole thing with Dani is just way too off."
"Off how?" Sean asked.
"She knew Jake did it. Why wouldn't she tell someone?" Ali asked.
"What makes you think she knew he did it? She trusted him. Maybe she just didn't believe it." He argued. "Jake is smart, and he's good enough of a liar to have fooled Crys at least once, probably more than that. What makes you think he couldn't be faking all this pain everyone thinks he's going through? What makes you think he couldn't have something to do with Crys' death? Can anyone know for sure he wasn't already with the Black Knights when Dani called him back?" He sighed. "Look, Dani was smart, but you and I know that Crys had a way of talking her in and out of things. Who knows how many times she covered for him?"
"You're twisting things." Ali stated, turning to look at him.
"Am I? Things are twisted on their own, Allison. I'm simply stating facts, the same way Jake did. So what exactly makes him any more believable than me?"
Ali nodded, resting her chin on her hands. "Nothing. The problem is, it doesn't make him any less believable either."
Sean nodded. "That's because he's not lying, he's just wrong. And he is going to end up killing someone for it, or getting himself killed. And if you're really his friend, you should try to stop him before that happens. Next time you see him, do that." He stated.
"Is that an order, sir?" She muttered.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Sean replied. "It's good that you question things, but we never get all the answers. Sometimes we just have to get things done and hope we didn'
--------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena kept watching Ella, leaned against the door. Silent until the girl said they were breaking out. "How are we doing that?" Lena asked calmly. "I've been out there, if you plan on living to see your mother, you better have a plan." She opened a smile. "They have no clue your life is worth something, and it'd be worse if they did. So it better be a good one too."
Then she sat back down, a slightly more gentle look in her eyes. "He knew who you were, your brother. Your mother managed to get a message to him, but I assume he didn't have the chance to tell you the truth." She made a pause in which she closed her eyes as she tried to suppress and unpleasant memory. When she opened her eyes again she nodded, looking away from Ella and staring at dim light that was slipping in underneath the door. "I'm sorry." She said, although she didn't really explain what she was sorry for or why she would be sorry in the first place. That was a little bit too much to disclose, at least at this point.
Ali couldn't sleep again. Not after everything that happened. Her mind was racing with everything that was happening and everything she was told. She realized that she wouldn't be able to rest until Evin was back and she knew what exactly happened. "Bloody hell." She muttered. "I might as well have gone with them!" She exclaimed, standing up from her bed and moving to the wooden table where the chess board was set, she started to move the pieces around, trying to remember the last time she and Bastian played. It was about a month before he died, a rather cold night, a game that lasted almost the whole night. It was the longest she had managed to postpone her inevitable defeat. It was also a very long conversation.
Bastian had been the closest to a father figure she had, and that was one thing she and Jake always had in common although it was always left unsaid... They also had things in their past they'd rather erase forever. For those reasons and more, she wanted to believe him. The truth was, what he had told her made sense, but so did a hundred other theories and Sean... She didn't know him all that well, but he seemed just as outraged by Crys' death as anyone else, and even more than a few. So what if Jake was wrong? She couldn't do anything unless she was sure, and the way things were, she just wasn't sure of anything anymore. She finally stood up, shaking her head, and left her house, deciding she needed a walk. Halfway towards the memorial, she tripped over a log, which she didn't see since the campfire was now put out. Muttering curses under her breath and now with a shooting pain in her foot, she went on walking until she saw someone sitting at the memorial.
"You knew I was here, didn't you?" Sean asked, standing up.
"Yes, I did." She replied, walking past him and sitting down. "Sit. I need to talk to you." She said.
Sean sat on the spot he had been and followed Ali's gaze to the cross where he had carved Crystal's name, not long ago. It only had her name and nothing else, unlike the other leader's that had been honored there, there was no saying on Crystal's grave. There was really nothing to say. Sean simply sat there in silence until Ali decided to speak.
"Why does Jake think you did this?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do. He could have killed you on the spot, but he didn't. He told you exactly why he thinks you did it. So don't lie to me." She said frowning. "I'm not an idiot despite what you may think."
Sean sighed. "Fine. First, you need to understand... Jake and I never got along for reasons that, right now don't really matter, but he and Lionel were always good friends. After Theron was brought in, when Dani announced he was accepted into the clan as an instructor, Lionel had a rather ugly fight with our father about it. Later that night I caught him sneaking out of camp and I followed him, all the way to Newhaven. I waited for him outside the city gates, when I caught up to him he said Jake was going to take care of it." Sean nodded. "Lionel was angry, so was I. We hated the Wolf Hunters just as much as I'm sure you hate the White Knights, Jake knew that, but Crys has nothing to do with that."
"And then there's your father." She said.
"What about my father?" Sean asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Black Knights killed him." She said.
"I still don't see how that involves Crys." Sean said, shrugging. "And Jake killed Dani, no one seems to be punishing him for that."
"That's not true, Sean." She muttered.
"No?" He laughed. "Come on... He could have been killed for that about twenty times. Not even Evin wants to kill him, it seems. It's like everyone is afraid to touch him just because Crys trusted him."
"I don't think that's what's stopping Evin, Sean. I don't think it would. Besides... This whole thing with Dani is just way too off."
"Off how?" Sean asked.
"She knew Jake did it. Why wouldn't she tell someone?" Ali asked.
"What makes you think she knew he did it? She trusted him. Maybe she just didn't believe it." He argued. "Jake is smart, and he's good enough of a liar to have fooled Crys at least once, probably more than that. What makes you think he couldn't be faking all this pain everyone thinks he's going through? What makes you think he couldn't have something to do with Crys' death? Can anyone know for sure he wasn't already with the Black Knights when Dani called him back?" He sighed. "Look, Dani was smart, but you and I know that Crys had a way of talking her in and out of things. Who knows how many times she covered for him?"
"You're twisting things." Ali stated, turning to look at him.
"Am I? Things are twisted on their own, Allison. I'm simply stating facts, the same way Jake did. So what exactly makes him any more believable than me?"
Ali nodded, resting her chin on her hands. "Nothing. The problem is, it doesn't make him any less believable either."
Sean nodded. "That's because he's not lying, he's just wrong. And he is going to end up killing someone for it, or getting himself killed. And if you're really his friend, you should try to stop him before that happens. Next time you see him, do that." He stated.
"Is that an order, sir?" She muttered.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Sean replied. "Don't let him talk into any trouble Ali. It won't make anything better."
--------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena kept watching Ella, leaned against the door. Silent until the girl said they were breaking out. "How are we doing that?" Lena asked calmly. "I've been out there, if you plan on living to see your mother, you better have a plan." She opened a smile. "They have no clue your life is worth something, and it'd be worse if they did. So it better be a good one too."
Then she sat back down, a slightly more gentle look in her eyes. "He knew who you were, your brother. Your mother managed to get a message to him, but I assume he didn't have the chance to tell you the truth." She made a pause in which she closed her eyes as she tried to suppress and unpleasant memory. When she opened her eyes again she nodded, looking away from Ella and staring at dim light that was slipping in underneath the door. "I'm sorry." She said, although she didn't really explain what she was sorry for or why she would be sorry in the first place. That was a little bit too much to disclose, at least at this point.
After another moment of silence she gave a light shrug. "Unless your mother gets married, which would make her husband the King and has another child to be an heir... After she dies, you will have to rule Newhaven. Don't think they can't make you, because they can. Newhaven is desperate for anything that will bring them at least some sense of security. Right now, you're it." She ran a hand through her hair watching a shadow pass through the light as someone rushed past their door. "Your mother probably knows you're here by now." She added, absently.
Bastian had been the closest to a father figure she had, and that was one thing she and Jake always had in common although it was always left unsaid... They also had things in their past they'd rather erase forever. For those reasons and more, she wanted to believe him. The truth was, what he had told her made sense, but so did a hundred other theories and Sean... She didn't know him all that well, but he seemed just as outraged by Crys' death as anyone else, and even more than a few. So what if Jake was wrong? She couldn't do anything unless she was sure, and the way things were, she just wasn't sure of anything anymore. She finally stood up, shaking her head, and left her house, deciding she needed a walk. Halfway towards the memorial, she tripped over a log, which she didn't see since the campfire was now put out. Muttering curses under her breath and now with a shooting pain in her foot, she went on walking until she saw someone sitting at the memorial.
"You knew I was here, didn't you?" Sean asked, standing up.
"Yes, I did." She replied, walking past him and sitting down. "Sit. I need to talk to you." She said.
Sean sat on the spot he had been and followed Ali's gaze to the cross where he had carved Crystal's name, not long ago. It only had her name and nothing else, unlike the other leader's that had been honored there, there was no saying on Crystal's grave. There was really nothing to say. Sean simply sat there in silence until Ali decided to speak.
"Why does Jake think you did this?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do. He could have killed you on the spot, but he didn't. He told you exactly why he thinks you did it. So don't lie to me." She said frowning. "I'm not an idiot despite what you may think."
Sean sighed. "Fine. First, you need to understand... Jake and I never got along for reasons that, right now don't really matter, but he and Lionel were always good friends. After Theron was brought in, when Dani announced he was accepted into the clan as an instructor, Lionel had a rather ugly fight with our father about it. Later that night I caught him sneaking out of camp and I followed him, all the way to Newhaven. I waited for him outside the city gates, when I caught up to him he said Jake was going to take care of it." Sean nodded. "Lionel was angry, so was I. We hated the Wolf Hunters just as much as I'm sure you hate the White Knights, Jake knew that, but Crys has nothing to do with that."
"And then there's your father." She said.
"What about my father?" Sean asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Black Knights killed him." She said.
"I still don't see how that involves Crys." Sean said, shrugging. "And Jake killed Dani, no one seems to be punishing him for that."
"That's not true, Sean." She muttered.
"No?" He laughed. "Come on... He could have been killed for that about twenty times. Not even Evin wants to kill him, it seems. It's like everyone is afraid to touch him just because Crys trusted him."
"I don't think that's what's stopping Evin, Sean. I don't think it would. Besides... This whole thing with Dani is just way too off."
"Off how?" Sean asked.
"She knew Jake did it. Why wouldn't she tell someone?" Ali asked.
"What makes you think she knew he did it? She trusted him. Maybe she just didn't believe it." He argued. "Jake is smart, and he's good enough of a liar to have fooled Crys at least once, probably more than that. What makes you think he couldn't be faking all this pain everyone thinks he's going through? What makes you think he couldn't have something to do with Crys' death? Can anyone know for sure he wasn't already with the Black Knights when Dani called him back?" He sighed. "Look, Dani was smart, but you and I know that Crys had a way of talking her in and out of things. Who knows how many times she covered for him?"
"You're twisting things." Ali stated, turning to look at him.
"Am I? Things are twisted on their own, Allison. I'm simply stating facts, the same way Jake did. So what exactly makes him any more believable than me?"
Ali nodded, resting her chin on her hands. "Nothing. The problem is, it doesn't make him any less believable either."
Sean nodded. "That's because he's not lying, he's just wrong. And he is going to end up killing someone for it, or getting himself killed. And if you're really his friend, you should try to stop him before that happens. Next time you see him, do that." He stated.
"Is that an order, sir?" She muttered.
"Yes. Yes, it is." Sean replied. "Don't let him talk into any trouble Ali. It won't make anything better."
--------------------------
[Blackpond]
Lena kept watching Ella, leaned against the door. Silent until the girl said they were breaking out. "How are we doing that?" Lena asked calmly. "I've been out there, if you plan on living to see your mother, you better have a plan." She opened a smile. "They have no clue your life is worth something, and it'd be worse if they did. So it better be a good one too."
Then she sat back down, a slightly more gentle look in her eyes. "He knew who you were, your brother. Your mother managed to get a message to him, but I assume he didn't have the chance to tell you the truth." She made a pause in which she closed her eyes as she tried to suppress and unpleasant memory. When she opened her eyes again she nodded, looking away from Ella and staring at dim light that was slipping in underneath the door. "I'm sorry." She said, although she didn't really explain what she was sorry for or why she would be sorry in the first place. That was a little bit too much to disclose, at least at this point.
After another moment of silence she gave a light shrug. "Unless your mother gets married, which would make her husband the King and has another child to be an heir... After she dies, you will have to rule Newhaven. Don't think they can't make you, because they can. Newhaven is desperate for anything that will bring them at least some sense of security. Right now, you're it." She ran a hand through her hair watching a shadow pass through the light as someone rushed past their door. "Your mother probably knows you're here by now." She added, absently.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Patience, endurance, calculation, deceit, feint, move and strike, dodge and counter. A standoff two dangerous foes still here at their face off. Each more then wary of the other neither taking action before fully judging and assessing each decision. The Black Knight sighed stressed and frustrated with his predicament there was no way through the Wolves. They were faster, they were smarter, and most importantly they were bettered prepared. Grim was holding his own but even he understood that he was being set up to an entirely defensive position. The predators had pinned him here where he couldn’t go to the aid of his Captain. The only option left was to gamble.
“Well I tried to do this nicely, but as you know I am a warrior.”
He pulled his wet drape club up beside him and set his feet apart. Positioning the insignificant shield as though he were to intercept a charge. The Black Knight was no longer willing to hold back.
“… Let the battle be joined.”
Forward he pressed on running right into the middle of their triangular formation, overtaking the center man before he could properly react. The homemade weapon did no real significant damage it just bruised and dizzied the man as it knocked him to the floor. His upper body twisted to receive the assassin to his left but they were the quicker.
Grim felt his body being hurdled backward and he threw up his arms to protect himself from a dagger’s bite. Gently his fall was padded and dumbfounded he looked up to find two enemies veering down at him. Of course they wouldn’t risk his enlightenment activating going as far as to ease the momentum when he toppled. These were skilled adversaries Grim had to admit.
However that didn’t save him from the hurried hands and feet trying to lock him against the floor. Swords were levied against his arms and chest while daggers poised to plummet toward his head. Of course the Black Knight was no mere weakling to be dispatched. He heaved and twisted forcing the enemy from him with little trouble. Yet still they clung to him, breaking away only to rush back against him.
The third member of their party finally picked himself up from the marble flooring. His face was bruised and his nose had been broken, warm blood streamed down his chin and dripped over his boots. With his aid they finally stuck the Raging Demon earthbound. The bloodied compatriot knelt right on top of Grim’s chest. A dank hand grabbed the Blade by the forehead pushing the skull back with an iron grip. Exposing the neck and readying for the killing blow.
Try as he might these wolves had his joints locked and were holding. They were not the militant minds of Blackpond, but the trained artists of the shadows. They fought differently they researched and trained for many different opponents. Their flexibility was winning this fight.
Grim roared out in angst, his hate boiling over that he could no longer contain it. They had to be stopped, he had to save Mageria. It was all so wrong, if only he could make them see. Of course how ironic that it was the Wolves who were now blind from the truth, but Grim was ready to open their eyes, even if he had to tear the eyelids out.
“Blind Fools!”
“Well I tried to do this nicely, but as you know I am a warrior.”
He pulled his wet drape club up beside him and set his feet apart. Positioning the insignificant shield as though he were to intercept a charge. The Black Knight was no longer willing to hold back.
“… Let the battle be joined.”
Forward he pressed on running right into the middle of their triangular formation, overtaking the center man before he could properly react. The homemade weapon did no real significant damage it just bruised and dizzied the man as it knocked him to the floor. His upper body twisted to receive the assassin to his left but they were the quicker.
Grim felt his body being hurdled backward and he threw up his arms to protect himself from a dagger’s bite. Gently his fall was padded and dumbfounded he looked up to find two enemies veering down at him. Of course they wouldn’t risk his enlightenment activating going as far as to ease the momentum when he toppled. These were skilled adversaries Grim had to admit.
However that didn’t save him from the hurried hands and feet trying to lock him against the floor. Swords were levied against his arms and chest while daggers poised to plummet toward his head. Of course the Black Knight was no mere weakling to be dispatched. He heaved and twisted forcing the enemy from him with little trouble. Yet still they clung to him, breaking away only to rush back against him.
The third member of their party finally picked himself up from the marble flooring. His face was bruised and his nose had been broken, warm blood streamed down his chin and dripped over his boots. With his aid they finally stuck the Raging Demon earthbound. The bloodied compatriot knelt right on top of Grim’s chest. A dank hand grabbed the Blade by the forehead pushing the skull back with an iron grip. Exposing the neck and readying for the killing blow.
Try as he might these wolves had his joints locked and were holding. They were not the militant minds of Blackpond, but the trained artists of the shadows. They fought differently they researched and trained for many different opponents. Their flexibility was winning this fight.
Grim roared out in angst, his hate boiling over that he could no longer contain it. They had to be stopped, he had to save Mageria. It was all so wrong, if only he could make them see. Of course how ironic that it was the Wolves who were now blind from the truth, but Grim was ready to open their eyes, even if he had to tear the eyelids out.
“Blind Fools!”
"If it's because I'm cheating then here." Evin took the card out of his makeshift bandages. "Don't tell me that you wouldn't do the same thing though. I know you way too well. Remember the last game we had?"
Evin chuckled a bit then quickly dismissed the comment with an awkward silence that allowed Evin to think a little more of the last game they had. If he remembered correctly, there was a lot of cheating between the two of them. In the end he lost a bit of money, but he had more than enough money to gamble away like he always did. They had played for a couple of hours, but then they had to both be on their way. Just about a month later, the inn had been burned down.
The awkward silence continued, as Mageria said nothing. This was starting to get really painful for Evin. He thought that she might want to get this conversation over as quick as possible so that her most terrifying weapon was safe. Evin personally would have probably been able to have gotten a fatal blow by now so he expected the same from the assassins who had gone to attack Grim. Evin would have had a different approach to the killing method than what the group had probably come up with. They were still young and struggled to grasp the concept of exploiting weaknesses like a more experienced assassin would. A more experienced assassin would use their opponents strength against them. One's greatest strength was usually something that the opponent would eventually fall back on, and that made them confident.
Grim himself was confident in his ability to become War himself basically and Evin saw the advantage that he had when going into this state, but he also knew that his blood would pump faster if he got angry. A simple poison would be the best way to eliminate the target. Dip the blade in a potent venom and create a superficial cut that will invoke his anger. His blood would begin to pump the venom through his veins at devastating levels. He would be on the ground before he could even lift his sword to strike. The best part of that idea was that it would be practical for Grim to get himself hurt to aggravate his powers. Little would he know that this devilish dagger would be laced with venom.
Evin quit going over his fantasy, breaking the silence. "Now, the question. Where's the proof? There is more evidence against you than for you. Actually there is no evidence for me to believe you. You see, you could afford to assassinate Crystal if the Black Knight went out before the battle here started. It would take at least two days walk in order to get to the spot where Crystal's body was found. It's a distance away you know. So the Knight would have had to set out before the battle started. As I recall after speaking to a White Shadow, Grim was out when the battle started. Why was he out in the first place? Now that could all be little coincidences I guess, but just earlier today, Jake broke into our camp and kidnapped my Second in Command. Knowing Jake and his history with the man, he probably didn't kill him, but he very possibly put the blame on him for Crystal's murder. If he is, and I assume he probably is, still working for the Black Knights putting the blame on him would work out good for the Black Knights. It would create internal conflict in the Pack making it just that easier to eliminate us at a later time. The real good evidence is what she wrote just before she died: Black. Now you could tell me that this mean Blackpond, but I know for a fact that they had their entire army out on full attack as is clearly evident from the condition of the city right now. Now show me the evidence that you didn't kill her. I don't want stories either, I want something I can see with my own eyes. You know what evidence I'm talking about Mageria! You know, the kind that you want from us, of why the group and I killed the man who you thought was the King! Give me proof!"
Evin wasn't even sure if he took a breath that entire time. Of course he had to, but he imagined that if he could, he wouldn't have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella looked at the plate. She knew that during the day, she would get one more meal. She had to say, for the most part Blackpond cells were a lot better than Newhaven's. They seemed to at least treat criminals with some bit of respect that they deserved. They were people too after all.
"The door is only opened twice a day; both times for meals. Since the rules seem so strict for us, they only just slide the plate in. They don't even check on us besides the routine look through that small window. If we can stop the plate from going through all the way, then they can't close the cell. We would have to be quick though. If now, they will pull the plate back out and close the cell door. That's all I've got for now. I have no idea what we'd do once we get out."
Evin chuckled a bit then quickly dismissed the comment with an awkward silence that allowed Evin to think a little more of the last game they had. If he remembered correctly, there was a lot of cheating between the two of them. In the end he lost a bit of money, but he had more than enough money to gamble away like he always did. They had played for a couple of hours, but then they had to both be on their way. Just about a month later, the inn had been burned down.
The awkward silence continued, as Mageria said nothing. This was starting to get really painful for Evin. He thought that she might want to get this conversation over as quick as possible so that her most terrifying weapon was safe. Evin personally would have probably been able to have gotten a fatal blow by now so he expected the same from the assassins who had gone to attack Grim. Evin would have had a different approach to the killing method than what the group had probably come up with. They were still young and struggled to grasp the concept of exploiting weaknesses like a more experienced assassin would. A more experienced assassin would use their opponents strength against them. One's greatest strength was usually something that the opponent would eventually fall back on, and that made them confident.
Grim himself was confident in his ability to become War himself basically and Evin saw the advantage that he had when going into this state, but he also knew that his blood would pump faster if he got angry. A simple poison would be the best way to eliminate the target. Dip the blade in a potent venom and create a superficial cut that will invoke his anger. His blood would begin to pump the venom through his veins at devastating levels. He would be on the ground before he could even lift his sword to strike. The best part of that idea was that it would be practical for Grim to get himself hurt to aggravate his powers. Little would he know that this devilish dagger would be laced with venom.
Evin quit going over his fantasy, breaking the silence. "Now, the question. Where's the proof? There is more evidence against you than for you. Actually there is no evidence for me to believe you. You see, you could afford to assassinate Crystal if the Black Knight went out before the battle here started. It would take at least two days walk in order to get to the spot where Crystal's body was found. It's a distance away you know. So the Knight would have had to set out before the battle started. As I recall after speaking to a White Shadow, Grim was out when the battle started. Why was he out in the first place? Now that could all be little coincidences I guess, but just earlier today, Jake broke into our camp and kidnapped my Second in Command. Knowing Jake and his history with the man, he probably didn't kill him, but he very possibly put the blame on him for Crystal's murder. If he is, and I assume he probably is, still working for the Black Knights putting the blame on him would work out good for the Black Knights. It would create internal conflict in the Pack making it just that easier to eliminate us at a later time. The real good evidence is what she wrote just before she died: Black. Now you could tell me that this mean Blackpond, but I know for a fact that they had their entire army out on full attack as is clearly evident from the condition of the city right now. Now show me the evidence that you didn't kill her. I don't want stories either, I want something I can see with my own eyes. You know what evidence I'm talking about Mageria! You know, the kind that you want from us, of why the group and I killed the man who you thought was the King! Give me proof!"
Evin wasn't even sure if he took a breath that entire time. Of course he had to, but he imagined that if he could, he wouldn't have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella looked at the plate. She knew that during the day, she would get one more meal. She had to say, for the most part Blackpond cells were a lot better than Newhaven's. They seemed to at least treat criminals with some bit of respect that they deserved. They were people too after all.
"The door is only opened twice a day; both times for meals. Since the rules seem so strict for us, they only just slide the plate in. They don't even check on us besides the routine look through that small window. If we can stop the plate from going through all the way, then they can't close the cell. We would have to be quick though. If now, they will pull the plate back out and close the cell door. That's all I've got for now. I have no idea what we'd do once we get out."
Mageria snorted. “Grim was out there to talk to the White Shadows in the hopes that they give us some proof of whether or not the Pack was telling the truth about whether or not it was the real King that was killed by the Pack. You can probably ask whoever is still in charge of the White Shadows, not Lena since I know she’s in Blackpond. Jake left the Black Knights after that riot, I didn’t see him until a couple of days into the siege. If it had been him that killed Crystal, she would have written his name, not ‘Black’.” She glanced down at her leg, the pad she had secured there was almost soaked through with blood, but she didn’t think it was still bleeding. She closed her eyes for a moment and thought about what she was willing to tell. “My third Knight . . . . also left my service not to long ago. You know her. Setareh Lordes. Turns out that when I sent her into the camp to keep an eye on you all, she found some family along the way.” She shrugged and stared off into the distance. “I don’t blame her for walking away. She found what she always needed. Anyways, she’s an archer, not a swords woman. Crystal didn’t die from an arrow shot, according to what I know. My fourth, Jasper; died in the last battle with Blackpond a year back. He hasn’t been replaced yet. As for me,” she ran her finger along the claw marks across her face. “I was at the front gates fighting from the start of the siege. You can ask anyone who was there. They’ll probably tell you all about the fight I had with a demon.”
She shuffled the cards absently again, not even realizing that she was doing it.
“Now while I’m a bit insulted that you think I or anyone that I’ve trained would be sloppy enough to let a target write a vital clue in the dirt before finishing them off, I’ll let that pass. All I’ve got to offer is the fact that Hastings, the Blackpond commander that I captured and interrogated told me that they’ve been training their own assassins. I do know that some of them attacked the castle during the siege. We managed to kill a few. Their bodies and gear are still in the morgue. We haven’t had time to deal with them yet and I wanted to study them better. I’m sure that you know the signs and gear of an assassin as well or better than I do. You’re free to go have a look.”
She turned her eyes back to Evin and her expression was ice cold. “Now that’s all I’ve got to give at the moment, and all you’re going to get while my friend is in danger. If you want to stop me walking away,” she leaned forward and pulled one of her daggers from her boot, dropping it between them, then setting the pack of cards next to it. “You’ll have to kill me. Otherwise, we can meet up for a friendlier game later.” She levered herself up, still clutching the katana and started limping away. She didn’t turn back, didn’t hesitate, just kept walking away. The wound in her leg sent fiery lances of pain up and down her body, but she ignored it with the ease of long practice.
Behind her she heard soft cursing and the sound of metal on stone; after another moment she heard movement behind her. Evin limped his way up next to her,his own expression grim. “You’ll show me the bodies.”
Mageria inclined her head in a brief nod. “As soon as I know my man is uninjured.”
She reached the main corridor and snagged a passing servant. When one wanted information about a fight, ask a soldier. When you wanted to find someone, ask a servant. “Where is Sir Pondus?”
The man thought for a moment and pointed off in one direction, saying that he believed the Knight had gone to the bathing room. Mageria thanked him and stalked off in that direction, Evin following like a shadow. They were about twenty feet from the door when she heard Grim yell in rage. Swearing, Mageria sprinted forward, not even noticing that her wound had opened and was bleeding freely once again. Hitting the door with one shoulder, she barreled in full speed, finding Grim pinned to the floor with a knife headed toward his unprotected neck. She would have thrown herself forward; but Evin grabbed her shoulder in a grip of steel, stepping forward and in front of her.
“Enough!” He glared at the three and by a miracle they stopped mid strike. “This isn’t the right time. Fall back and wait for my orders.” The three withdrew, slinking off to disappear in the same manner that they had worked their way in. Evin looked at Grim and quirked a smile at his state of undress before turning around and pushing Mageria out the door.
“Now, Mageria. You show me those bodies of the ‘Blackpond assassins’.”
Mageria nodded and started to gestured to show the way when the reserves that had held her up this long abruptly ran out. When you counted the siege, the fights before and after it, and the toll the curse was putting on her; along with blood loss, it was amazing that she was still awake at all, really. Either way, the hall started spinning around her and there was a strange roaring in her ears. Weakly she planted one blood stained hand on the wall, leaving a bright smear behind as she started to slide to the ground again, she didn’t even realize that her pant leg was soaked through with red gore.
“Shit,” she whispered. There was one important thing still. What was it? It was very important . . . “Grim.” She tried to raise her head. Where was Grim? Leaning one shoulder on the wall she tried looking around again. “Grim?”
Suddenly he was there, a solid presence at her side. Reaching out, she grasped his arm with one hand, fighting to stay upright. With a great deal of effort, she focused on his face. "Made a deal. Take Ev to see the 'ssassan bodies. 'n the morgue. Res'ricted section." She fumbled at the keys on her belt, handing them over. " 'm just gonna sit here f'r a minute."
With a sigh she leaned back, resting her aching head on the wall behind her.
She shuffled the cards absently again, not even realizing that she was doing it.
“Now while I’m a bit insulted that you think I or anyone that I’ve trained would be sloppy enough to let a target write a vital clue in the dirt before finishing them off, I’ll let that pass. All I’ve got to offer is the fact that Hastings, the Blackpond commander that I captured and interrogated told me that they’ve been training their own assassins. I do know that some of them attacked the castle during the siege. We managed to kill a few. Their bodies and gear are still in the morgue. We haven’t had time to deal with them yet and I wanted to study them better. I’m sure that you know the signs and gear of an assassin as well or better than I do. You’re free to go have a look.”
She turned her eyes back to Evin and her expression was ice cold. “Now that’s all I’ve got to give at the moment, and all you’re going to get while my friend is in danger. If you want to stop me walking away,” she leaned forward and pulled one of her daggers from her boot, dropping it between them, then setting the pack of cards next to it. “You’ll have to kill me. Otherwise, we can meet up for a friendlier game later.” She levered herself up, still clutching the katana and started limping away. She didn’t turn back, didn’t hesitate, just kept walking away. The wound in her leg sent fiery lances of pain up and down her body, but she ignored it with the ease of long practice.
Behind her she heard soft cursing and the sound of metal on stone; after another moment she heard movement behind her. Evin limped his way up next to her,his own expression grim. “You’ll show me the bodies.”
Mageria inclined her head in a brief nod. “As soon as I know my man is uninjured.”
She reached the main corridor and snagged a passing servant. When one wanted information about a fight, ask a soldier. When you wanted to find someone, ask a servant. “Where is Sir Pondus?”
The man thought for a moment and pointed off in one direction, saying that he believed the Knight had gone to the bathing room. Mageria thanked him and stalked off in that direction, Evin following like a shadow. They were about twenty feet from the door when she heard Grim yell in rage. Swearing, Mageria sprinted forward, not even noticing that her wound had opened and was bleeding freely once again. Hitting the door with one shoulder, she barreled in full speed, finding Grim pinned to the floor with a knife headed toward his unprotected neck. She would have thrown herself forward; but Evin grabbed her shoulder in a grip of steel, stepping forward and in front of her.
“Enough!” He glared at the three and by a miracle they stopped mid strike. “This isn’t the right time. Fall back and wait for my orders.” The three withdrew, slinking off to disappear in the same manner that they had worked their way in. Evin looked at Grim and quirked a smile at his state of undress before turning around and pushing Mageria out the door.
“Now, Mageria. You show me those bodies of the ‘Blackpond assassins’.”
Mageria nodded and started to gestured to show the way when the reserves that had held her up this long abruptly ran out. When you counted the siege, the fights before and after it, and the toll the curse was putting on her; along with blood loss, it was amazing that she was still awake at all, really. Either way, the hall started spinning around her and there was a strange roaring in her ears. Weakly she planted one blood stained hand on the wall, leaving a bright smear behind as she started to slide to the ground again, she didn’t even realize that her pant leg was soaked through with red gore.
“Shit,” she whispered. There was one important thing still. What was it? It was very important . . . “Grim.” She tried to raise her head. Where was Grim? Leaning one shoulder on the wall she tried looking around again. “Grim?”
Suddenly he was there, a solid presence at her side. Reaching out, she grasped his arm with one hand, fighting to stay upright. With a great deal of effort, she focused on his face. "Made a deal. Take Ev to see the 'ssassan bodies. 'n the morgue. Res'ricted section." She fumbled at the keys on her belt, handing them over. " 'm just gonna sit here f'r a minute."
With a sigh she leaned back, resting her aching head on the wall behind her.
Lena chuckled. "Well... After we get out of the cell is the most important part you know? That's when you might get killed." She immediately started to look around on the floor for something, until she found a good piece of rock that had broken off a wall. "Thing about prison guards here: If you give them time to utter a word, you'll be surrounded before you know it. Blackpond guards are trained to fill any room in the castle if they even hear a whisper out of place and there are more than enough of them for that. So, do you think we could do this quickly to the point of preventing the person with the plate from asking for assistance?" She asked, starting to examine the edges of the piece of rock carefully. "Causing a commotion, like your instructor did in Newhaven, would be a a bad idea in this case. Best we can do is silence whoever we meet along the way and try to go unnoticed. Which is nearly impossible, but would be the best of options." As she said that she started to further sharpen the piece of rock. hitting it against the floor. It wouldn't be good enough to make a weapon of, but good enough. "I'd say it's the middle of the night right now." She nodded towards the light slipping through the door crack. "Torch light." She continued with what she was doing. "We have a few hours until they open that door again."
------------------------------
[Desert - White Shadows encampment]
Jake was sitting, rather uncomfortably, on a piece of rock, staring blankly at the golden locket that once belonged to his sister. Hung from a golden chain, which Jake was holding up before his eyes, the piece of jewelry reflected the dim light of a campfire. Which gave it a, almost supernatural, glow. Jake stared at that locket as if there was some sort of answer or comfort he could get from it. There was nothing. "What happened to you?" He whispered, unable to understand or accept the fact that, once again, he had no facts or proof to back up what he knew was happening. He was an outcast and Sean was king, figuratively speaking. Even so, it felt like the most unpleasant deja vu. Once again, the killer was taken for a hero. Or at least the man behind the killer, or killers.
He wasn't even thinking of what he had lost, or the pain that it caused, the least he could do to stay sane was to push those thoughts aside. Suddenly he felt the unexpected weight of a blanket being tossed over his shoulders followed by a "You're welcome handsome." He didn't even bother to look at who that was. By the casual treatment, probably a mercenary.
"Eat your food. You won't like it if I have to make you."
Jake looked up quickly only to be greeted by Annie's amused expression. He chuckled. "You almost got me there." He told her, putting the golden chain around his neck, tucking the locket carefully into his shirt, before taking the plate of food she was holding out for him. "Less serious next time. It's the faked sweetness that makes it scary." He said, picking at what appeared to be stew with his spoon. Finally taking a bite, he made a face before swallowing. "What is this?" He asked.
"Rabbit. Or some other rodent. I prefer not to think about it." She said, sitting on the ground across from the small fire, leaning her back against what once used to be a pillar, but now was less than half of it. "Oh, well... I'll grow into the title of 'Your Worshipness'." She stated with a small chuckle.
"I miss her. Didn't think I would." Jake mumbled, staring at the fire.
"Nothing lasts forever. A truly great leader aims for a day when he is no longer needed, because he knows one day he will no longer be present." Annie stated calmly. "The only way to live forever is to protect those who will remember us."
"Did your mother tell you that?" He asked, absently, still picking at the food.
"No. Dani Rivers told me that. About... Two years ago." She stated. Then she pulled a dagger from his belt and made cut on his hand before he could even wonder what the hell.
"What the...? Annie!" He exclaimed.
"Relax. To be fair you should have been able to stop me, I'm just a little girl, after all." She said, before placing her hand on the wound and healing it. "There. Now I'm your doctor. Which means, you can tell me what's on your mind. Maybe it will help put your ideas in order." She offered.
Jake nodded and simply began to dig into his food, an excuse not to talk. He knew Annie wouldn't leave it alone, but he wanted to buy himself some time.
"Jake... What is it with Sean? You two were friends once, right?" She asked.
"Yes. Look... I never told this to anyone, not even Crys and told her everything." Jake mumbled. "And what is it with Sean is that he is a little manipulative rat and I should have seen it from the start."
"How so?" She asked in a curious tone.
"Alright, well... Sean lost his mother when he was nine years old. Ten years ago. She was still an active assassin back then, and I was told she and Eldric had an argument of sorts that night. When she left to fulfill her assignment, Sean sneaked out after her, I assume, thinking she wasn't planning on coming back. Halfway to Blackpond she caught him following her. When she stopped on the trail, she only had time to push Sean into the bushes before being attacked. Healers found her in the morning and took the body to the ruins. Your mother recognized her and notified Dani. She was the one who finally found Sean, 36 hours later, still hiding in the bushes." Jake ran a hand over his eyes and heaved a sigh. "He saw his mother killed, her body taken, and people pass by looking for him, but he couldn't move. That happened a month before I was brought in to the Pack. Sean and I both started training on the same day, a year later."
"They waited a year to train you?" She asked.
"Months of recovery from injuries and months of being evaluated, before Dani decided to let Bastian give it a shot at getting through to me. Sean started training at age 10, like everyone else. Dani pushed the two of us together for the first few months. Didn't turn out to be the best of ideas."
"Why is that?" Annie asked.
"Too much in common I think. And all the wrong things. We spent a lot of time talking about what we do if we had a chance to get revenge. The more we learned from training, the more we planned it." He said, laying down on the cold ground, crossing his arms underneath his head.
"You two had a pact, of sorts, then." She stated.
"Uh-huh." Jake confirmed. "We never did anything about it though. Not until I discovered my enlightenment. That's when I first tried." He chuckled. "My first time under your mother's care. Damn... That was a traumatic moment. Anyway, by the time I was taken back to camp, Eldric had taken up Sean's training personally. I'm sure your mother said something to someone."
"That would be a violation of her oath." Annie stated, in a slightly offended tone.
"Not really. I didn't tell her anything." Jake retorted. "Anyway, it seemed that whatever Eldric did calmed Sean down. He told me he needed to get over it, that it was better if he let the clan handle the Shadow Hunter, that kind of talk. Still he kept supporting me when I told him I refused to give up. He said that whatever I needed he would help me with it."
"Sounds like a good friend." Annie stated, holding back a grin. "What was the problem?"
"I called in that favor. When I graduated Bastian said I could take someone with me. I think he expected me to take Crys with me, but I picked Sean instead."
"Why not take Crys?" Annie asked, leaning forward as if she had spotted a huge red flag.
"Crys always knew me inside out. Down to the lowest level I could possibly descent to. Knowing something, and witnessing it, are two different things Annie. I... I wanted this to be behind me by the time I saw her again." He shrugged. "I was afraid of Crys in a way. Afraid that one day she would turn to me and say that I was just too damaged to save." He sighed. "Even after understanding that she would never say that to anyone, I was still expecting her to say it to me one day."
Annie chuckled. "I doubt she ever thought that Jake."
"I know that at some point she probably did." He mumbled. "That's beside the point though."
"Sorry." Annie said, with a sympathetic smile. "You took Sean with you, then what?"
"We tracked the guys down, one by one. All went well until the last one. The guy had pulled a life together. His wife and kids were in the house when we busted in. Three small children..." Jake closed his eyes, allowing the memory to resurface. It had been a long time since he last thought about that day. "After scaring the guy into telling his family everything he did to my sister, having humiliate and piss himself in front of his kids, I decided to let him live. Sean didn't really agree with that, he said that if he was going to live, we should give him something to be sorry for. At which point he told the guy how lucky he was that weren't allowed to harm children." Jake opened his eyes and looked up at the stars for a moment. "He grabbed the man's wife, held a knife to her face, near her left eye."
"Please, tell me you stopped him." Annie said, frowning at him.
"No. I didn't." Jake mumbled. "He carved the word 'killer' on her face and said that, that way she would always remember why her children had to see that. For what I heard, she killed herself months later."
"Goddess, have mercy." Annie mumbled.
"After we got back I snapped at Sean for what he did. Told him he had no right to do that. You know what he said? He said that he understood why I felt that way, but that I should remember that I was the one who asked for his help. So if he got in trouble it would be my fault." Jake told her frowning.
"Is that why you didn't tell anyone?" Annie asked, leaning further back and looking up at the stars as well. There seemed to be so much more of them in the desert than anywhere else.
"No. Lionel heard the shouting, and I ended up telling him. He begged me not to tell anyone, said that he would make sure he never did anything like it." He nodded. "Lionel was the only one who actually managed to keep Sean in check and, after he died I did my best to try and keep an eye on Sean... I obviously didn't do a good job out of it."
"Wasn't Lionel the one who wanted you to kill the Shadow Hunter? I don't get it." Annie said.
"Yes, but it's different. Lionel really believed that Dani would punish Theron the moment he was caught. He felt betrayed when that didn't happen, he was furious, and I don't hold it against him." Jake sighed. "The thing is, Lionel always covered for Sean and... Sean always knew how to play him into doing what he wanted. I don't doubt he would have used that to turn Lionel on Crys. Especially after Eldric died."
Annie sighed. "What a mess. No wonder you can't think straight." She mumbled. "I don't get it why would he turn on Crys?"
"The Black Knights who killed his father were going unpunished, just like Theron. Crys was the one standing in the way of that." Jake muttered, a bitter tone in his voice.
"But still... You're not really sure of that." She told him.
Jake nodded, seriously. "I can't prove it, but believe me... I'm sure."
------------------------------
[Desert - White Shadows encampment]
Jake was sitting, rather uncomfortably, on a piece of rock, staring blankly at the golden locket that once belonged to his sister. Hung from a golden chain, which Jake was holding up before his eyes, the piece of jewelry reflected the dim light of a campfire. Which gave it a, almost supernatural, glow. Jake stared at that locket as if there was some sort of answer or comfort he could get from it. There was nothing. "What happened to you?" He whispered, unable to understand or accept the fact that, once again, he had no facts or proof to back up what he knew was happening. He was an outcast and Sean was king, figuratively speaking. Even so, it felt like the most unpleasant deja vu. Once again, the killer was taken for a hero. Or at least the man behind the killer, or killers.
He wasn't even thinking of what he had lost, or the pain that it caused, the least he could do to stay sane was to push those thoughts aside. Suddenly he felt the unexpected weight of a blanket being tossed over his shoulders followed by a "You're welcome handsome." He didn't even bother to look at who that was. By the casual treatment, probably a mercenary.
"Eat your food. You won't like it if I have to make you."
Jake looked up quickly only to be greeted by Annie's amused expression. He chuckled. "You almost got me there." He told her, putting the golden chain around his neck, tucking the locket carefully into his shirt, before taking the plate of food she was holding out for him. "Less serious next time. It's the faked sweetness that makes it scary." He said, picking at what appeared to be stew with his spoon. Finally taking a bite, he made a face before swallowing. "What is this?" He asked.
"Rabbit. Or some other rodent. I prefer not to think about it." She said, sitting on the ground across from the small fire, leaning her back against what once used to be a pillar, but now was less than half of it. "Oh, well... I'll grow into the title of 'Your Worshipness'." She stated with a small chuckle.
"I miss her. Didn't think I would." Jake mumbled, staring at the fire.
"Nothing lasts forever. A truly great leader aims for a day when he is no longer needed, because he knows one day he will no longer be present." Annie stated calmly. "The only way to live forever is to protect those who will remember us."
"Did your mother tell you that?" He asked, absently, still picking at the food.
"No. Dani Rivers told me that. About... Two years ago." She stated. Then she pulled a dagger from his belt and made cut on his hand before he could even wonder what the hell.
"What the...? Annie!" He exclaimed.
"Relax. To be fair you should have been able to stop me, I'm just a little girl, after all." She said, before placing her hand on the wound and healing it. "There. Now I'm your doctor. Which means, you can tell me what's on your mind. Maybe it will help put your ideas in order." She offered.
Jake nodded and simply began to dig into his food, an excuse not to talk. He knew Annie wouldn't leave it alone, but he wanted to buy himself some time.
"Jake... What is it with Sean? You two were friends once, right?" She asked.
"Yes. Look... I never told this to anyone, not even Crys and told her everything." Jake mumbled. "And what is it with Sean is that he is a little manipulative rat and I should have seen it from the start."
"How so?" She asked in a curious tone.
"Alright, well... Sean lost his mother when he was nine years old. Ten years ago. She was still an active assassin back then, and I was told she and Eldric had an argument of sorts that night. When she left to fulfill her assignment, Sean sneaked out after her, I assume, thinking she wasn't planning on coming back. Halfway to Blackpond she caught him following her. When she stopped on the trail, she only had time to push Sean into the bushes before being attacked. Healers found her in the morning and took the body to the ruins. Your mother recognized her and notified Dani. She was the one who finally found Sean, 36 hours later, still hiding in the bushes." Jake ran a hand over his eyes and heaved a sigh. "He saw his mother killed, her body taken, and people pass by looking for him, but he couldn't move. That happened a month before I was brought in to the Pack. Sean and I both started training on the same day, a year later."
"They waited a year to train you?" She asked.
"Months of recovery from injuries and months of being evaluated, before Dani decided to let Bastian give it a shot at getting through to me. Sean started training at age 10, like everyone else. Dani pushed the two of us together for the first few months. Didn't turn out to be the best of ideas."
"Why is that?" Annie asked.
"Too much in common I think. And all the wrong things. We spent a lot of time talking about what we do if we had a chance to get revenge. The more we learned from training, the more we planned it." He said, laying down on the cold ground, crossing his arms underneath his head.
"You two had a pact, of sorts, then." She stated.
"Uh-huh." Jake confirmed. "We never did anything about it though. Not until I discovered my enlightenment. That's when I first tried." He chuckled. "My first time under your mother's care. Damn... That was a traumatic moment. Anyway, by the time I was taken back to camp, Eldric had taken up Sean's training personally. I'm sure your mother said something to someone."
"That would be a violation of her oath." Annie stated, in a slightly offended tone.
"Not really. I didn't tell her anything." Jake retorted. "Anyway, it seemed that whatever Eldric did calmed Sean down. He told me he needed to get over it, that it was better if he let the clan handle the Shadow Hunter, that kind of talk. Still he kept supporting me when I told him I refused to give up. He said that whatever I needed he would help me with it."
"Sounds like a good friend." Annie stated, holding back a grin. "What was the problem?"
"I called in that favor. When I graduated Bastian said I could take someone with me. I think he expected me to take Crys with me, but I picked Sean instead."
"Why not take Crys?" Annie asked, leaning forward as if she had spotted a huge red flag.
"Crys always knew me inside out. Down to the lowest level I could possibly descent to. Knowing something, and witnessing it, are two different things Annie. I... I wanted this to be behind me by the time I saw her again." He shrugged. "I was afraid of Crys in a way. Afraid that one day she would turn to me and say that I was just too damaged to save." He sighed. "Even after understanding that she would never say that to anyone, I was still expecting her to say it to me one day."
Annie chuckled. "I doubt she ever thought that Jake."
"I know that at some point she probably did." He mumbled. "That's beside the point though."
"Sorry." Annie said, with a sympathetic smile. "You took Sean with you, then what?"
"We tracked the guys down, one by one. All went well until the last one. The guy had pulled a life together. His wife and kids were in the house when we busted in. Three small children..." Jake closed his eyes, allowing the memory to resurface. It had been a long time since he last thought about that day. "After scaring the guy into telling his family everything he did to my sister, having humiliate and piss himself in front of his kids, I decided to let him live. Sean didn't really agree with that, he said that if he was going to live, we should give him something to be sorry for. At which point he told the guy how lucky he was that weren't allowed to harm children." Jake opened his eyes and looked up at the stars for a moment. "He grabbed the man's wife, held a knife to her face, near her left eye."
"Please, tell me you stopped him." Annie said, frowning at him.
"No. I didn't." Jake mumbled. "He carved the word 'killer' on her face and said that, that way she would always remember why her children had to see that. For what I heard, she killed herself months later."
"Goddess, have mercy." Annie mumbled.
"After we got back I snapped at Sean for what he did. Told him he had no right to do that. You know what he said? He said that he understood why I felt that way, but that I should remember that I was the one who asked for his help. So if he got in trouble it would be my fault." Jake told her frowning.
"Is that why you didn't tell anyone?" Annie asked, leaning further back and looking up at the stars as well. There seemed to be so much more of them in the desert than anywhere else.
"No. Lionel heard the shouting, and I ended up telling him. He begged me not to tell anyone, said that he would make sure he never did anything like it." He nodded. "Lionel was the only one who actually managed to keep Sean in check and, after he died I did my best to try and keep an eye on Sean... I obviously didn't do a good job out of it."
"Wasn't Lionel the one who wanted you to kill the Shadow Hunter? I don't get it." Annie said.
"Yes, but it's different. Lionel really believed that Dani would punish Theron the moment he was caught. He felt betrayed when that didn't happen, he was furious, and I don't hold it against him." Jake sighed. "The thing is, Lionel always covered for Sean and... Sean always knew how to play him into doing what he wanted. I don't doubt he would have used that to turn Lionel on Crys. Especially after Eldric died."
Annie sighed. "What a mess. No wonder you can't think straight." She mumbled. "I don't get it why would he turn on Crys?"
"The Black Knights who killed his father were going unpunished, just like Theron. Crys was the one standing in the way of that." Jake muttered, a bitter tone in his voice.
"But still... You're not really sure of that." She told him.
Jake nodded, seriously. "I can't prove it, but believe me... I'm sure."
“Mageria..”
Grim glanced to his palm. The keys dangling so helplessly from his fingertips. Nothing was explained and while he could have spent his anger on the intruders their presence was of little consequence. Especially now that his commander was finally wiped from consciousness. Shut out into a dark dream. Where no one could help her.
The Black Knight was grateful for being saved, it was truly well timed. A second later and well he didn’t like to think about it. The assassins were called off and as the Wolves do, they managed to hide away from wherever they had emerged. Slinking off into the shadows to await when they would be needed once more.
There was no time to return to duty fully armed. Grim threw on pants on his chest plate before returning to his Captain’s side. The Giant’s Knife sheathed about his back. She was still hurt, and blood gushed from a wound Grim didn’t identify. He didn’t face Evin yet to confront him, but he spoke to the Wolf none the less.
“I know there’s much to be discussed, but let us at least get Mageria somewhere safe first. After I’ll take you where ever you wish.”
Grim stood up straight once more. Turning to face the mastermind of his recent attack. Surprisingly the anger he held a moment before was softened. The focus of his will being elsewhere. The glint of his eyes were hardened and it mattered not what retort Evin could compile, Grim wouldn’t do anything till Mageria was taken care of.
“… To what end must we traverse to bring balance to the land.”
Such musings were muttered out loud to no one. The behemoth kneeled and took the fallen Captain into his arms. Cradling her with little effort careful to support her head during the lift. A frown creased over the knight’s lips. She felt as nothing in his care.
“Many would have given up by now M’lady. Come along then Wolf.”
It was a short journey to the nursing ward but Evin’s patience would have to find a way. The rooms were still a thing of nightmares. Men, women, and children laying sprawled across bedrolls or cots. Bloodied bandages were in fashion, and there were still plenty of cries to fill ones ears for a lifetime. Never dreaming to leave her at such a place he merely ventured in to bark orders. It wasn’t long before the Raging Demon had a private room made up and medical staff sanctioned to it. No one was willing to argue or question the Blade of the Black Knights.
Much more time was spent making things satisfactory. He wasn’t willing to leave until he had made sure that everything was going to be alright while he was gone. Only parting once he had the staff sworn to send for him should anything happen.
The Morgue was deep within the confines of their castle. The cadavers of enemies were not often taken by Newhaven. Likely when it happened, it was purely for research or investigation of criminal activity and thus wasn’t open publicly or within easy view of outsiders. Furthermore it held a restricted section, and clearance was rarely allotted. The keeper of this private dungeon was overzealous in his protection and kept guards patrolling close.
Down they traversed, spiraling staircases and breathing in the dank of dirt floors. Flowing through darkened doorways and passing into rooms where no torch could guide them. Lastly there was a heavy iron door between them and the bodies Evin sought. Well that and an embittered man approaching rapidly with his arms outstretched trying to shoo them away.
Grim sighed jamming the key into the lock and pulling the door open. Extending his arm to welcome Evin within.
“Go ahead I’ll catch up once I deal with the keeper. He’s a joy as usual…”
Grim glanced to his palm. The keys dangling so helplessly from his fingertips. Nothing was explained and while he could have spent his anger on the intruders their presence was of little consequence. Especially now that his commander was finally wiped from consciousness. Shut out into a dark dream. Where no one could help her.
The Black Knight was grateful for being saved, it was truly well timed. A second later and well he didn’t like to think about it. The assassins were called off and as the Wolves do, they managed to hide away from wherever they had emerged. Slinking off into the shadows to await when they would be needed once more.
There was no time to return to duty fully armed. Grim threw on pants on his chest plate before returning to his Captain’s side. The Giant’s Knife sheathed about his back. She was still hurt, and blood gushed from a wound Grim didn’t identify. He didn’t face Evin yet to confront him, but he spoke to the Wolf none the less.
“I know there’s much to be discussed, but let us at least get Mageria somewhere safe first. After I’ll take you where ever you wish.”
Grim stood up straight once more. Turning to face the mastermind of his recent attack. Surprisingly the anger he held a moment before was softened. The focus of his will being elsewhere. The glint of his eyes were hardened and it mattered not what retort Evin could compile, Grim wouldn’t do anything till Mageria was taken care of.
“… To what end must we traverse to bring balance to the land.”
Such musings were muttered out loud to no one. The behemoth kneeled and took the fallen Captain into his arms. Cradling her with little effort careful to support her head during the lift. A frown creased over the knight’s lips. She felt as nothing in his care.
“Many would have given up by now M’lady. Come along then Wolf.”
It was a short journey to the nursing ward but Evin’s patience would have to find a way. The rooms were still a thing of nightmares. Men, women, and children laying sprawled across bedrolls or cots. Bloodied bandages were in fashion, and there were still plenty of cries to fill ones ears for a lifetime. Never dreaming to leave her at such a place he merely ventured in to bark orders. It wasn’t long before the Raging Demon had a private room made up and medical staff sanctioned to it. No one was willing to argue or question the Blade of the Black Knights.
Much more time was spent making things satisfactory. He wasn’t willing to leave until he had made sure that everything was going to be alright while he was gone. Only parting once he had the staff sworn to send for him should anything happen.
The Morgue was deep within the confines of their castle. The cadavers of enemies were not often taken by Newhaven. Likely when it happened, it was purely for research or investigation of criminal activity and thus wasn’t open publicly or within easy view of outsiders. Furthermore it held a restricted section, and clearance was rarely allotted. The keeper of this private dungeon was overzealous in his protection and kept guards patrolling close.
Down they traversed, spiraling staircases and breathing in the dank of dirt floors. Flowing through darkened doorways and passing into rooms where no torch could guide them. Lastly there was a heavy iron door between them and the bodies Evin sought. Well that and an embittered man approaching rapidly with his arms outstretched trying to shoo them away.
Grim sighed jamming the key into the lock and pulling the door open. Extending his arm to welcome Evin within.
“Go ahead I’ll catch up once I deal with the keeper. He’s a joy as usual…”
Evin followed in complete silence around the castle. It was a place he had been around too many times before for questionable circumstances in the past. This time, again one could say it was questionable. These Black Knights didn't even know if he had his own personal agenda that by walking through the castle, he was fulfilling. They seemed to just trust him and way too much; almost to the point where he just wanted to slip into thee shadows and leave. This was not what Evin needed though. He had sent out assassins to go and kill the Black Knights for something Evin had no clue if they really did. He couldn't go back without an answer as to why he didn't kill these fiends. He couldn't just go back and tell them all that he was feeling sentimental so he didn't kill the damn woman. He needed more than that.
When they made it into the crypt, Evin automatically found this suspicious, especially when they needed special access that not even a Black Knight was given just to get into this room. It was very plausible that this was some sort of trap set for Evin. If it was, he was going to spring it and unleash hell on them for it. He reached for some sort of weapon, one he just couldn't find. All his stuff was across the hallway where he almost killed Mageria. The only thing he knew wasn't there was the katana... "Shit." He said under his breath as he walked into the room, Grim staying behind to speak to a rather irritating man who seemed to guard the door.
Walking into the room Evin was hit with an unbearable smell of rotting flesh. There was only one torchlight in the entire room and he could barely see a thing. There were so many spots where someone could hide that it was almost like it was intended to be this way. There were too many shadows and not enough time to check them all. He just decided to walk closer to the end of the room where he was hoping to find this body that Mageria had spoken of. When he got closer, he started to hear noises and actually began seeing someone walk towards him. Evin knew there was no chance in hiding now that they were both in plain view so he just stopped. The man almost instantaneously mirrored his actions. For a few seconds they both seemed to survey each other, judging how much of a threat they may be. Evin couldn't see anything that would particularly see him as a threat, but when he could only see a dark outline --no face, just an outline-- it was hard to judge. Then the man made his move. Evin instinctual stepped one foot back and went into a fighting pose, even though the man was just walking. When he got close enough to get into plain sight, Evin realised something. It was the same man as before. The one who had talked to Mageria in the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." He cocked a smile. "I'm just kidding though. Xypher (If this is wrong please let me know because I really don't want to go looking for it) had asked me to take a look at the bodies of the assassins from Blackpond. He wants to know more about them. That's why you're here too, isn't it?"
"Yes it is... Why were you actually in the King's hallway. I saw the way you were about to turn around when you saw Mageria standing there."
The man chuckled a bit. "You got me. Truth be told, I wanted to take some of the stuff out of the King's room. I can only imagine the priceless items that were kept there, how much they could be sold on the Market. I could be set for life and never have to work again."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Just don't tell anyone. I'd be in so much shit if I was caught!"
Evin couldn't help but smile at this man's mediocre challenges he had to face. None the less, he seemed to be just another man who wanted to move up in the world. Evin had once saw the appeal of such a life, but now that he was actually in the positive things were different
"Well you have a nice day. Hope that one day you achieve your goals." He said to the man, knowing in a way that he might not feel as good about it when it actually came to pass.
The man smiled, "If only I had the time to do it all." He then walked out of sight.
When Evin finally made it to the end of the room, he saw the body. It was Blackpond for sure and the person was dressed in assassin-like attire, but it didn't seem like enough evidence. The fact that Blackpond had assassins really didn't mean much in the case of Crystal's death. It was disturbing to say the least, but not evidence enough to prove anything at all really. Even if they had assassins, to keep it a secret from everyone, there would have to be very few of them. The people who didn't cut it from the training would most probably be killed. This meant that they probably only had about five to ten assassins in total. At the most there would be fifteen. The way Mageria described it, there was a fair amount of assassins that attacked or at least that's what he got from it. They probably didn't have the resources to send out enough assassins to kill Crystal while still being able to attack a castle while at war. It was tough to say. He couldn't be sure.
When they made it into the crypt, Evin automatically found this suspicious, especially when they needed special access that not even a Black Knight was given just to get into this room. It was very plausible that this was some sort of trap set for Evin. If it was, he was going to spring it and unleash hell on them for it. He reached for some sort of weapon, one he just couldn't find. All his stuff was across the hallway where he almost killed Mageria. The only thing he knew wasn't there was the katana... "Shit." He said under his breath as he walked into the room, Grim staying behind to speak to a rather irritating man who seemed to guard the door.
Walking into the room Evin was hit with an unbearable smell of rotting flesh. There was only one torchlight in the entire room and he could barely see a thing. There were so many spots where someone could hide that it was almost like it was intended to be this way. There were too many shadows and not enough time to check them all. He just decided to walk closer to the end of the room where he was hoping to find this body that Mageria had spoken of. When he got closer, he started to hear noises and actually began seeing someone walk towards him. Evin knew there was no chance in hiding now that they were both in plain view so he just stopped. The man almost instantaneously mirrored his actions. For a few seconds they both seemed to survey each other, judging how much of a threat they may be. Evin couldn't see anything that would particularly see him as a threat, but when he could only see a dark outline --no face, just an outline-- it was hard to judge. Then the man made his move. Evin instinctual stepped one foot back and went into a fighting pose, even though the man was just walking. When he got close enough to get into plain sight, Evin realised something. It was the same man as before. The one who had talked to Mageria in the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." He cocked a smile. "I'm just kidding though. Xypher (If this is wrong please let me know because I really don't want to go looking for it) had asked me to take a look at the bodies of the assassins from Blackpond. He wants to know more about them. That's why you're here too, isn't it?"
"Yes it is... Why were you actually in the King's hallway. I saw the way you were about to turn around when you saw Mageria standing there."
The man chuckled a bit. "You got me. Truth be told, I wanted to take some of the stuff out of the King's room. I can only imagine the priceless items that were kept there, how much they could be sold on the Market. I could be set for life and never have to work again."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Just don't tell anyone. I'd be in so much shit if I was caught!"
Evin couldn't help but smile at this man's mediocre challenges he had to face. None the less, he seemed to be just another man who wanted to move up in the world. Evin had once saw the appeal of such a life, but now that he was actually in the positive things were different
"Well you have a nice day. Hope that one day you achieve your goals." He said to the man, knowing in a way that he might not feel as good about it when it actually came to pass.
The man smiled, "If only I had the time to do it all." He then walked out of sight.
When Evin finally made it to the end of the room, he saw the body. It was Blackpond for sure and the person was dressed in assassin-like attire, but it didn't seem like enough evidence. The fact that Blackpond had assassins really didn't mean much in the case of Crystal's death. It was disturbing to say the least, but not evidence enough to prove anything at all really. Even if they had assassins, to keep it a secret from everyone, there would have to be very few of them. The people who didn't cut it from the training would most probably be killed. This meant that they probably only had about five to ten assassins in total. At the most there would be fifteen. The way Mageria described it, there was a fair amount of assassins that attacked or at least that's what he got from it. They probably didn't have the resources to send out enough assassins to kill Crystal while still being able to attack a castle while at war. It was tough to say. He couldn't be sure.
Mageria came to as someone was cleaning out the stab wound on her leg. To be precise, she woke up as someone grabbed her hand, which was headed toward the throat of the person who was trying to rip apart her leg. She blinked in confusion and obeyed the instructions someone was repeating in her ear to calm down and lay back down. When she did, she saw that the person holding her arm was Lady Sarris. The other woman smiled wryly and shook her head. “You look like a couple of miles of bad road, Captain.”
Mageria sighed and gritted her teeth as the medic finished cleaning and went on to stitching her leg. She had used something to numb it, but she still felt each stab of the needle. It was deep. Which meant that the muscle and skin needed to be stitched separately. “All in the glorious life of a Knight, Lady.”
Sarris snorted and patted her shoulder, sitting quietly by her until the medic was done. Then she handed Mageria a tall glass of something and told her to drink it. Mageria eyed it dubiously but drank the entire thing, shuddering at the taste. Then she lay back and sighed. Sarris sat back and fiddled with something threaded on a chain, staring off into the distance. Finally she shrugged and looked back down at the Captain.
“I need to know if you really think you have a chance of getting my daughter back for me, Captain.”
Mageria started to shift and stopped when her leg sent up a warning flare of pain. “I think that with the right amount of preparation we do, Lady. It’s not something that we can do quickly, and hopefully the fact that Lena is there will keep her safe. But if we don’t take care now, we will have no chance.” She punched her pillow and looked up at the former Queen. “If you don’t mind, would you tell me what you know?” Sarris quirked half a smile and nodded. In a low voice that didn’t pass beyond the two of them, she related the entire story, leaving nothing out. “My Ella would have a ring, the one that matches this one.” She pulled out the chain that she had been worrying, showing that it held a man’s ring, set with an emerald and tiny diamonds. “It was a matched set, my grandparents wedding rings.” She tucked it back under her shirt. “Someday I’m going to show it to her.” She patted Mageria on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a while Captain. You rest.”
After a while a man dressed in the robes of one of the White Shadows stepped into the room, walking over quietly to check the bandages and stitches. Mageria watched him quietly, unable to hold back a hiss of pain as he probed at it.
“Sorry, Captain.” The man looked up and crooked a smile. “You did a number on yourself.”
Mageria laughed softly. “Yeah, I was practicing my knife throwing. I think I need some more work.” She closed her eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. She wasn’t quite ready to talk about this, but she was given the gift of one of the White Shadows here where she could talk to him and she wasn’t going to pass it up. “Healer . . . were you aware of an Enlightened serial killer that went by the name Dark Mirror?”
The man leaned back. “You can call me Alistair, Captain. And yes, I was aware of him. As far as we knew, he was contained. Is there a problem with him?”
Mageria sighed. “You can call me Mageria. And yes. We’ve run into a problem.” She turned her head and looked at him directly, allowing him to see the web pattern across her eyes.
He leaned over to take a closer look and nodded. “Yes, you do have a problem.”
Mageria shook her head. “At the time we captured him, the Healers thought that they might have a cure. I don’t suppose you have it at hand?”
Alistair leaned back and crossed his arms. “It wasn’t so much a cure as a chance. It was thought that if we could put a patient into a deep enough trance that they could face and perhaps root out the mental parasite. But I won’t lie to you Mageria.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “In your current state, there is a very good chance that it will kill you. I don’t think that you’re strong enough to go through the process.”
Mageria thought for a moment, going through everything. She had to continue to lead the forces of Newhaven, and she couldn’t do that if she was going slowly insane. It would cause more damage for her to slowly undermine confidence in the ranks than if she were to suddenly die. “I understand, but I think that it’s something that I have to do, and now. If I wait longer, then mentally I’ll be more fragile. This thing is strong and getting stronger. If I die from it,” she shrugged. “At least I won’t have killed one of my friends in the process.”
Alistair nodded and left the room, coming back with a vial of something purple. He sat down next to her on the bed and handed it to her. “I’ll stay with you the entire time.”
Solemnly she regarded the vial lying in her hand. She hadn’t lied to the Healer. ‘Might’ was a better chance than the certainty that she would go mad and die, and whatever else happened, she couldn’t risk her friends in the process. Mageria took a deep breath and downed it, grimacing at the bitter taste. Almost immediately she started feeling dizzy and had to lay down, the vial falling from her hand to the bed. Alistair picked it up and put it in a pocket, reaching forward to take her wrist to check her pulse. Her eyes fell closed and her breathing slowed, becoming more shallow. She lay like that for a long while, then started shifting restlessly, murmuring under her breath too softly to be heard. To anyone listening, the tone of her speech was similar to that of someone arguing. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes darted about rapidly, sure sign that she was dreaming.
Suddenly Mageria gasped, arching up so that only her head and feet still touched the bed. Alistair sprang up, pulling a vial with a long needle that had been treated with a muscle relaxant from his bag. Swearing, he plunged it into her shoulder, only to find that it had no effect. He turned away to get something else when she suddenly collapsed to the bed. Choking, she started to convulse, shaking so hard that she nearly fell off the cot. “I need some help in here!!” Alistair pinned her shoulders to the bed, leaning all of his weight on the smaller woman. “Hold her down,” he snapped at the people who had pushed into the room, a medic and several others who happened to be nearby. Strong hands pinned her down, using all of their strength to hold down a small woman with no Enlightenment. It lasted long enough that he was seriously concerned before she abruptly stilled, staring sightlessly off to one side.
Alistair leaned over, listening intently, planting one hand on her chest. “She stopped breathing. Her heart stopped beating.” Balling up one fist, he pounded her chest directly over the breastbone, once; twice; three times. Then he leaned over, forcing air into her lungs. Leaning back up, he fisted his hands and started pumping at Mageria’s chest repeatedly, nodding at the medic when it was the proper time for her to breathe for the Captain. Behind him he could feel the mounting worry and fear from the soldiers standing in the doorway, however it was the emotions swirling in his patient that concerned him. It was almost as if she was fighting herself, tearing bits of herself away and discarding them, leaving her mind shredded. He could feel her starting to fail, getting weaker, but she was fighting, and as long as she was, he wouldn’t give up.
“Come on Captain. Don’t give up on us now. Come on. Breathe for me.” Long moments passed, and he could sense her getting weaker, her emotions falling away deeper and deeper down a well that opened up inside of her. Terribly familiar with what it felt like as somebody died, he finally stopped and sat back, shaking his head. Sorrowfully, he looked up, “I’m sorry.”
Mageria opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of the Knights training yard. Across from her a woman dressed in jet black archaic military garb stood, a hood pulled forward to hide her face. Puzzled, she looked around, finding the colors to be muted, as if there was a cloud over the sun. But when she looked up she saw only a sky of unrelieved grey. Slowly, Mageria turned in a circle, finding that where ever she stood was deserted, with only the two of them. Completing her turn, Mageria walked slowly forward until she was standing within comfortable conversation distance.
“Somehow, you’re not who I was expecting to meet.”
The other woman tilted her head to the side and somehow gave the impression of smiling. “That’s because I’m not the reason you’re here. I’m just a messenger and a witness. You’ve taken some great risks to achieve what you have, and it was thought that you deserved some support.”
Mageria shook her head. “Support? I’m an oath breaker. I killed my brother in arms. Why does that earn me a guide through,” she waved one arm, “where ever this is?”
Messenger clasped her hands behind her back and started to circle around Mageria, her steps measured and slow. “Oathbreaker? That’s interesting. It seems to me that you upheld your oaths to the best of your ability and when you had to choose one, you chose correctly. Why was it that you killed Captain Morgan?”
Mageria shook her head. “He was going to kill the civilians. But I could have chosen another way to stop him. I could have knocked him out or something.”
Messenger nodded. “True. And then what would have happened?”
Mageria shrugged. “He probably would have thrown me out of the Black Knights, after punishing me for a while.”
Messenger shook her head. “No, Captain. He would have spent about a week systematically torturing you before he finally let you die. And you know it.” She crossed her arms. “And then what would have happened to the people that you’ve protected over the years since? What would have happened to Grim, to the innocents in the Wolves' camp, to your soldiers that you’ve protected? The ones who’ve lived because you refuse to waste their lives needlessly?” She held out her hands. “They would all be dead or worse by now. So long as Captain Morgan held any power in Newhaven, the Black Knights were going to continue to draw further and further away from their true purpose.”
Mageria had been looking away during all of this, listening almost against her will. But at the last she snapped her head around and stared at the other woman. “What true purpose? We’re meant to be the one’s who walk in the shadows, who do the work that the other’s can’t do.”
Messenger shook her head again and seemed to convey a sense of sorrow. “No. That’s what they’ve become over the centuries. But they originally started out to be the balance of the White Knights. The White Knights were to be the champions of the nobles, while the Black Knights stood for and came from the common people. They were always meant to be equal. You’ve started to restore what was meant to be.”
Mageria simply stared, leaning one shoulder against a nearby wall. “How do you know all of this?”
Messenger simply shrugged. “I’ve been around for a while. You pick up a few things along the way. Either that, or you’re making it up yourself. This is your dream you know.” She took a step closer. “The point of all of this, dear Captain, is that you did the right thing on that day three years ago. Captain Morgan was a monster who needed to be stopped.”
Mageria snorted. “Then why do I feel I’m being punished for it? The consequences of something like that aren’t something that you can sidestep because ‘it was the right thing to do’.”
Messenger laughed softly. “My friend, let me explain something to you. Every action has consequences. Sometimes you receive those consequences. Sometimes . . . . you are the consequence. Did you ever consider that? You know the number of the people that you’ve killed over the years, Captain. But you’ll never know how many people that you’ve saved with your actions.” She waited a minute and shook her head. “Unfortunately, we’ve run out of time. You’ll have to work on all of this later . . . If you survive.” She nodded to a spot behind Mageria. “I do believe that this is who you came to meet.” With that she turned and walked into the shadows, seeming to become one with them and disappear.
Mageria waited for a moment before she turned around. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t what she found. Behind her stood . . . herself. In a way.
This other self was darker somehow and gave off the feeling that she enjoyed the feel of violence. It would have been like looking into a mirror, except that this other self had eyes gone completely black and black veins in a mask pattern around her eyes. She grinned and drew in a deep breath. “So, you’ve finally come to meet me, have you? How delightful.” Slowly, she stretched, cracking her knuckles and twisting her neck to the side. “Pointless, but delightful.” She cocked one eyebrow, a strand of hair falling into her gaze. “You’re going to die.” She leaned forward. “You’re mine now. And there’s no one who can help you.” With that she ran forward, leaping and bringing one foot around in a sweeping kick. Mageria ducked, rolling to the side. Other landed lightly, leaping up to land on Mageria’s back. With a vicious twist, she grabbed Mageria under the chin, levering back to pull the other woman in a vicious arch.
Mageria clawed at Other’s arm, finally digging her nails in deep enough that the other woman let go with a angry scream. Then she flipped around, balling up her fist and driving it into the other woman’s face as hard as she could. She came back with her own strike, and for several minutes the two women traded vicious blows that left them both bruised and bleeding. But the Other managed to get the upper hand and with a final blow knocked Mageria to the ground. With a triumphant shout she kicked her in the side, dancing around to try and get a good angle. Mageria gagged, feeling the pain of broken ribs and coughing up blood.
Other knelt down and ran one finger along her face, smiling at the blood; the inky blackness of her eyes drinking in all the light around them. “Did you really think that you stood a chance? You can’t get rid of me, Mageria. I’m always going to be in charge, be the one in control. That’s something you would have realized, if you lived.” She stood up and started to walk away, laughing softly. The light around them started to get dimmer, the shadows growing and creeping toward her. Mageria shivered as the shadows crept over her, stealing the warmth from her flesh.
It was getting very dark . . . very cold.
So very cold.
I know that there is so much more then the armor and swords you carry. I trust the moon to do the right thing . . . just as I trust in you.
Grim.
Her friend. Brother in arms. They had walked together through hell and come out the other side.
We didn’t think that anybody would care.
A flash of memory, the street gang that had helped kill the Blackpond soldiers. They had never believed that anybody would help them or even look at them twice.
Let's just play.
Ev. He was . . . friend/enemy? She didn’t even know anymore. But his friendship had helped her hold on to her sanity for years while she served Newhaven as a Black Knight.
Who are you?
A whispered question, by a woman who was afraid to ask. A life saved because she had made the hard choice, done the hard thing.
Slowly, Mageria levered herself up, fighting against the pain to stand upright. She spat blood to the side as she staggered forward, fighting against the cold and the pain to follow the Other.
A hundred memories whispered through her, reminding her of the good she had done, the people she had helped. All because she was strong enough to do so, embraced the fact that she was capable of violence and bloodletting in order to protect those weaker than her. Other turned around and her lips slowly drew back from her teeth, the dim light gleaming off the midnight black of her eyes. “Going to try again? You can’t get rid of me, Mageria. You’ll never be rid of me.”
Mageria shook her head. “That’s the point, isn’t it? I’ll never be rid of you, because you’re a part of me. I need you, in order to protect those around me. The whole point of all of this,” she gestured at the world that surrounded them. “All of this wasn’t about fighting you. It never was.” She reached out with one shaking bloodied hand and grasped the Other’s collar and drew her in close. She drew in a deep breath and sighed, growing more weary by the moment; looking the Other in the eye.
“I accept you.”
It was all she had to say, all she needed to say. The Other jerked, black fountaining away from her eyes and forming into a cloud in front of them. It writhed in mid-air before shooting upwards into the sky. Mageria looked at the Other, now simply a darker mirror image. She drew the Other close, embracing her and closing her eyes. Something screamed; a demonic, rage filled scream. The Other held Mageria as tight as she was being held; and around them the world vanished. It was as if they had both been plunged into a whirlpool with no idea which way was up. Somewhere along the way, the Other disappeared, it was almost as if she dissolved and joined into Mageria. But Mageria didn’t have time to think about that, she was too busy trying to find the way up. Twisting around, she saw a patch of light above her. Fighting closer, she could almost believe that she could make it, except she was still so very cold and weak. She was so close, she reached out and was just a little bit too far away. But out of nowhere an arm clad in Black armor plunged down and grabbed her hand, pulling her out.
A voice seemed to whisper in her ear, “You have things to do yet Captain. Get back to work.” Breaching the surface . . . .
Mageria gasped for air, jackknifing forward before falling back. Weakly, she turned on her side, gagging convulsively. Around her she could hear a babble of voices, but there were too many for her to make any of them out.
Alistair quickly checked the Captain’s health, ignoring her efforts to wave him away. Her heart seemed to be ok, her lungs sounded good. Except for the fact that a moment ago she was gone beyond what he thought anybody could come back from, she seemed to be fine. Perplexed, he looked over at the medic who had helped him; she looked as amazed as he did. Slowly he shook his head and muttered softly, “That . . . shouldn’t have been possible.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded in stunned agreement. He glanced around at the men surrounding them, before leaning forward and whispering into her ear. “Congratulations Mageria. You did it.” He knew she had. In the instant before she woke up, he had felt something detach from her mind, leaving her more balanced and whole than he suspected she had been for a long time.
After allowing himself a moment of relief, he leaned over her again, checking her eyes, the color under her fingernails, all the other indicators of someone’s health. “Captain . . . . Mageria. Look at me. How do you feel?”
Mageria glared at him. “Why does my chest hurt so bad?”
Alistair ignored the glare with the ease of long practice. “Never mind that, do you feel any pain, numbness, shortness of breath?”
Mageria sighed and submitted to his poking. “I feel fine. Except for the bruises that are forming on my chest. Why does my chest hurt again?”
Alistair cleared his throat. “Well, your heart stopped beating and you stopped breathing.” She cocked one eyebrow at him.
“Technically . . . . you died.”
Mageria coughed and looked at him in confusion. “How does someone technically die?”
Alistair shrugged. “You tell me Captain. You’re the one that did it.”
Mageria sighed and gritted her teeth as the medic finished cleaning and went on to stitching her leg. She had used something to numb it, but she still felt each stab of the needle. It was deep. Which meant that the muscle and skin needed to be stitched separately. “All in the glorious life of a Knight, Lady.”
Sarris snorted and patted her shoulder, sitting quietly by her until the medic was done. Then she handed Mageria a tall glass of something and told her to drink it. Mageria eyed it dubiously but drank the entire thing, shuddering at the taste. Then she lay back and sighed. Sarris sat back and fiddled with something threaded on a chain, staring off into the distance. Finally she shrugged and looked back down at the Captain.
“I need to know if you really think you have a chance of getting my daughter back for me, Captain.”
Mageria started to shift and stopped when her leg sent up a warning flare of pain. “I think that with the right amount of preparation we do, Lady. It’s not something that we can do quickly, and hopefully the fact that Lena is there will keep her safe. But if we don’t take care now, we will have no chance.” She punched her pillow and looked up at the former Queen. “If you don’t mind, would you tell me what you know?” Sarris quirked half a smile and nodded. In a low voice that didn’t pass beyond the two of them, she related the entire story, leaving nothing out. “My Ella would have a ring, the one that matches this one.” She pulled out the chain that she had been worrying, showing that it held a man’s ring, set with an emerald and tiny diamonds. “It was a matched set, my grandparents wedding rings.” She tucked it back under her shirt. “Someday I’m going to show it to her.” She patted Mageria on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a while Captain. You rest.”
After a while a man dressed in the robes of one of the White Shadows stepped into the room, walking over quietly to check the bandages and stitches. Mageria watched him quietly, unable to hold back a hiss of pain as he probed at it.
“Sorry, Captain.” The man looked up and crooked a smile. “You did a number on yourself.”
Mageria laughed softly. “Yeah, I was practicing my knife throwing. I think I need some more work.” She closed her eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. She wasn’t quite ready to talk about this, but she was given the gift of one of the White Shadows here where she could talk to him and she wasn’t going to pass it up. “Healer . . . were you aware of an Enlightened serial killer that went by the name Dark Mirror?”
The man leaned back. “You can call me Alistair, Captain. And yes, I was aware of him. As far as we knew, he was contained. Is there a problem with him?”
Mageria sighed. “You can call me Mageria. And yes. We’ve run into a problem.” She turned her head and looked at him directly, allowing him to see the web pattern across her eyes.
He leaned over to take a closer look and nodded. “Yes, you do have a problem.”
Mageria shook her head. “At the time we captured him, the Healers thought that they might have a cure. I don’t suppose you have it at hand?”
Alistair leaned back and crossed his arms. “It wasn’t so much a cure as a chance. It was thought that if we could put a patient into a deep enough trance that they could face and perhaps root out the mental parasite. But I won’t lie to you Mageria.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “In your current state, there is a very good chance that it will kill you. I don’t think that you’re strong enough to go through the process.”
Mageria thought for a moment, going through everything. She had to continue to lead the forces of Newhaven, and she couldn’t do that if she was going slowly insane. It would cause more damage for her to slowly undermine confidence in the ranks than if she were to suddenly die. “I understand, but I think that it’s something that I have to do, and now. If I wait longer, then mentally I’ll be more fragile. This thing is strong and getting stronger. If I die from it,” she shrugged. “At least I won’t have killed one of my friends in the process.”
Alistair nodded and left the room, coming back with a vial of something purple. He sat down next to her on the bed and handed it to her. “I’ll stay with you the entire time.”
Solemnly she regarded the vial lying in her hand. She hadn’t lied to the Healer. ‘Might’ was a better chance than the certainty that she would go mad and die, and whatever else happened, she couldn’t risk her friends in the process. Mageria took a deep breath and downed it, grimacing at the bitter taste. Almost immediately she started feeling dizzy and had to lay down, the vial falling from her hand to the bed. Alistair picked it up and put it in a pocket, reaching forward to take her wrist to check her pulse. Her eyes fell closed and her breathing slowed, becoming more shallow. She lay like that for a long while, then started shifting restlessly, murmuring under her breath too softly to be heard. To anyone listening, the tone of her speech was similar to that of someone arguing. Beneath her eyelids, her eyes darted about rapidly, sure sign that she was dreaming.
Suddenly Mageria gasped, arching up so that only her head and feet still touched the bed. Alistair sprang up, pulling a vial with a long needle that had been treated with a muscle relaxant from his bag. Swearing, he plunged it into her shoulder, only to find that it had no effect. He turned away to get something else when she suddenly collapsed to the bed. Choking, she started to convulse, shaking so hard that she nearly fell off the cot. “I need some help in here!!” Alistair pinned her shoulders to the bed, leaning all of his weight on the smaller woman. “Hold her down,” he snapped at the people who had pushed into the room, a medic and several others who happened to be nearby. Strong hands pinned her down, using all of their strength to hold down a small woman with no Enlightenment. It lasted long enough that he was seriously concerned before she abruptly stilled, staring sightlessly off to one side.
Alistair leaned over, listening intently, planting one hand on her chest. “She stopped breathing. Her heart stopped beating.” Balling up one fist, he pounded her chest directly over the breastbone, once; twice; three times. Then he leaned over, forcing air into her lungs. Leaning back up, he fisted his hands and started pumping at Mageria’s chest repeatedly, nodding at the medic when it was the proper time for her to breathe for the Captain. Behind him he could feel the mounting worry and fear from the soldiers standing in the doorway, however it was the emotions swirling in his patient that concerned him. It was almost as if she was fighting herself, tearing bits of herself away and discarding them, leaving her mind shredded. He could feel her starting to fail, getting weaker, but she was fighting, and as long as she was, he wouldn’t give up.
“Come on Captain. Don’t give up on us now. Come on. Breathe for me.” Long moments passed, and he could sense her getting weaker, her emotions falling away deeper and deeper down a well that opened up inside of her. Terribly familiar with what it felt like as somebody died, he finally stopped and sat back, shaking his head. Sorrowfully, he looked up, “I’m sorry.”
Mageria opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of the Knights training yard. Across from her a woman dressed in jet black archaic military garb stood, a hood pulled forward to hide her face. Puzzled, she looked around, finding the colors to be muted, as if there was a cloud over the sun. But when she looked up she saw only a sky of unrelieved grey. Slowly, Mageria turned in a circle, finding that where ever she stood was deserted, with only the two of them. Completing her turn, Mageria walked slowly forward until she was standing within comfortable conversation distance.
“Somehow, you’re not who I was expecting to meet.”
The other woman tilted her head to the side and somehow gave the impression of smiling. “That’s because I’m not the reason you’re here. I’m just a messenger and a witness. You’ve taken some great risks to achieve what you have, and it was thought that you deserved some support.”
Mageria shook her head. “Support? I’m an oath breaker. I killed my brother in arms. Why does that earn me a guide through,” she waved one arm, “where ever this is?”
Messenger clasped her hands behind her back and started to circle around Mageria, her steps measured and slow. “Oathbreaker? That’s interesting. It seems to me that you upheld your oaths to the best of your ability and when you had to choose one, you chose correctly. Why was it that you killed Captain Morgan?”
Mageria shook her head. “He was going to kill the civilians. But I could have chosen another way to stop him. I could have knocked him out or something.”
Messenger nodded. “True. And then what would have happened?”
Mageria shrugged. “He probably would have thrown me out of the Black Knights, after punishing me for a while.”
Messenger shook her head. “No, Captain. He would have spent about a week systematically torturing you before he finally let you die. And you know it.” She crossed her arms. “And then what would have happened to the people that you’ve protected over the years since? What would have happened to Grim, to the innocents in the Wolves' camp, to your soldiers that you’ve protected? The ones who’ve lived because you refuse to waste their lives needlessly?” She held out her hands. “They would all be dead or worse by now. So long as Captain Morgan held any power in Newhaven, the Black Knights were going to continue to draw further and further away from their true purpose.”
Mageria had been looking away during all of this, listening almost against her will. But at the last she snapped her head around and stared at the other woman. “What true purpose? We’re meant to be the one’s who walk in the shadows, who do the work that the other’s can’t do.”
Messenger shook her head again and seemed to convey a sense of sorrow. “No. That’s what they’ve become over the centuries. But they originally started out to be the balance of the White Knights. The White Knights were to be the champions of the nobles, while the Black Knights stood for and came from the common people. They were always meant to be equal. You’ve started to restore what was meant to be.”
Mageria simply stared, leaning one shoulder against a nearby wall. “How do you know all of this?”
Messenger simply shrugged. “I’ve been around for a while. You pick up a few things along the way. Either that, or you’re making it up yourself. This is your dream you know.” She took a step closer. “The point of all of this, dear Captain, is that you did the right thing on that day three years ago. Captain Morgan was a monster who needed to be stopped.”
Mageria snorted. “Then why do I feel I’m being punished for it? The consequences of something like that aren’t something that you can sidestep because ‘it was the right thing to do’.”
Messenger laughed softly. “My friend, let me explain something to you. Every action has consequences. Sometimes you receive those consequences. Sometimes . . . . you are the consequence. Did you ever consider that? You know the number of the people that you’ve killed over the years, Captain. But you’ll never know how many people that you’ve saved with your actions.” She waited a minute and shook her head. “Unfortunately, we’ve run out of time. You’ll have to work on all of this later . . . If you survive.” She nodded to a spot behind Mageria. “I do believe that this is who you came to meet.” With that she turned and walked into the shadows, seeming to become one with them and disappear.
Mageria waited for a moment before she turned around. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t what she found. Behind her stood . . . herself. In a way.
This other self was darker somehow and gave off the feeling that she enjoyed the feel of violence. It would have been like looking into a mirror, except that this other self had eyes gone completely black and black veins in a mask pattern around her eyes. She grinned and drew in a deep breath. “So, you’ve finally come to meet me, have you? How delightful.” Slowly, she stretched, cracking her knuckles and twisting her neck to the side. “Pointless, but delightful.” She cocked one eyebrow, a strand of hair falling into her gaze. “You’re going to die.” She leaned forward. “You’re mine now. And there’s no one who can help you.” With that she ran forward, leaping and bringing one foot around in a sweeping kick. Mageria ducked, rolling to the side. Other landed lightly, leaping up to land on Mageria’s back. With a vicious twist, she grabbed Mageria under the chin, levering back to pull the other woman in a vicious arch.
Mageria clawed at Other’s arm, finally digging her nails in deep enough that the other woman let go with a angry scream. Then she flipped around, balling up her fist and driving it into the other woman’s face as hard as she could. She came back with her own strike, and for several minutes the two women traded vicious blows that left them both bruised and bleeding. But the Other managed to get the upper hand and with a final blow knocked Mageria to the ground. With a triumphant shout she kicked her in the side, dancing around to try and get a good angle. Mageria gagged, feeling the pain of broken ribs and coughing up blood.
Other knelt down and ran one finger along her face, smiling at the blood; the inky blackness of her eyes drinking in all the light around them. “Did you really think that you stood a chance? You can’t get rid of me, Mageria. I’m always going to be in charge, be the one in control. That’s something you would have realized, if you lived.” She stood up and started to walk away, laughing softly. The light around them started to get dimmer, the shadows growing and creeping toward her. Mageria shivered as the shadows crept over her, stealing the warmth from her flesh.
It was getting very dark . . . very cold.
So very cold.
I know that there is so much more then the armor and swords you carry. I trust the moon to do the right thing . . . just as I trust in you.
Grim.
Her friend. Brother in arms. They had walked together through hell and come out the other side.
We didn’t think that anybody would care.
A flash of memory, the street gang that had helped kill the Blackpond soldiers. They had never believed that anybody would help them or even look at them twice.
Let's just play.
Ev. He was . . . friend/enemy? She didn’t even know anymore. But his friendship had helped her hold on to her sanity for years while she served Newhaven as a Black Knight.
Who are you?
A whispered question, by a woman who was afraid to ask. A life saved because she had made the hard choice, done the hard thing.
Slowly, Mageria levered herself up, fighting against the pain to stand upright. She spat blood to the side as she staggered forward, fighting against the cold and the pain to follow the Other.
A hundred memories whispered through her, reminding her of the good she had done, the people she had helped. All because she was strong enough to do so, embraced the fact that she was capable of violence and bloodletting in order to protect those weaker than her. Other turned around and her lips slowly drew back from her teeth, the dim light gleaming off the midnight black of her eyes. “Going to try again? You can’t get rid of me, Mageria. You’ll never be rid of me.”
Mageria shook her head. “That’s the point, isn’t it? I’ll never be rid of you, because you’re a part of me. I need you, in order to protect those around me. The whole point of all of this,” she gestured at the world that surrounded them. “All of this wasn’t about fighting you. It never was.” She reached out with one shaking bloodied hand and grasped the Other’s collar and drew her in close. She drew in a deep breath and sighed, growing more weary by the moment; looking the Other in the eye.
“I accept you.”
It was all she had to say, all she needed to say. The Other jerked, black fountaining away from her eyes and forming into a cloud in front of them. It writhed in mid-air before shooting upwards into the sky. Mageria looked at the Other, now simply a darker mirror image. She drew the Other close, embracing her and closing her eyes. Something screamed; a demonic, rage filled scream. The Other held Mageria as tight as she was being held; and around them the world vanished. It was as if they had both been plunged into a whirlpool with no idea which way was up. Somewhere along the way, the Other disappeared, it was almost as if she dissolved and joined into Mageria. But Mageria didn’t have time to think about that, she was too busy trying to find the way up. Twisting around, she saw a patch of light above her. Fighting closer, she could almost believe that she could make it, except she was still so very cold and weak. She was so close, she reached out and was just a little bit too far away. But out of nowhere an arm clad in Black armor plunged down and grabbed her hand, pulling her out.
A voice seemed to whisper in her ear, “You have things to do yet Captain. Get back to work.” Breaching the surface . . . .
Mageria gasped for air, jackknifing forward before falling back. Weakly, she turned on her side, gagging convulsively. Around her she could hear a babble of voices, but there were too many for her to make any of them out.
Alistair quickly checked the Captain’s health, ignoring her efforts to wave him away. Her heart seemed to be ok, her lungs sounded good. Except for the fact that a moment ago she was gone beyond what he thought anybody could come back from, she seemed to be fine. Perplexed, he looked over at the medic who had helped him; she looked as amazed as he did. Slowly he shook his head and muttered softly, “That . . . shouldn’t have been possible.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded in stunned agreement. He glanced around at the men surrounding them, before leaning forward and whispering into her ear. “Congratulations Mageria. You did it.” He knew she had. In the instant before she woke up, he had felt something detach from her mind, leaving her more balanced and whole than he suspected she had been for a long time.
After allowing himself a moment of relief, he leaned over her again, checking her eyes, the color under her fingernails, all the other indicators of someone’s health. “Captain . . . . Mageria. Look at me. How do you feel?”
Mageria glared at him. “Why does my chest hurt so bad?”
Alistair ignored the glare with the ease of long practice. “Never mind that, do you feel any pain, numbness, shortness of breath?”
Mageria sighed and submitted to his poking. “I feel fine. Except for the bruises that are forming on my chest. Why does my chest hurt again?”
Alistair cleared his throat. “Well, your heart stopped beating and you stopped breathing.” She cocked one eyebrow at him.
“Technically . . . . you died.”
Mageria coughed and looked at him in confusion. “How does someone technically die?”
Alistair shrugged. “You tell me Captain. You’re the one that did it.”
“Get your compatriot and remove yourselves from the premise immediately!”
Grim sighed, the keeper had always been such a warm and welcoming sort. Ever ready to brandish enough curses and hexes to banish even the most vile of things from the morgue. Giving not an inch of leniency and sticking others with protocol till they bled. However this shrew of a man wasn’t about to chase off a Black Knight so easily. With a lofty sigh the Blade folded his arms challenging the guardsman’s authority.
“Are you deaf? I said get out!”
“There was no time for an official request, I am here on behalf of Newhaven and her interests. Now fall in line little man or I’ll have you in shackles for interfering.”
The keeper scoffed but refused to back down. If this person understood the threat he was given, it seemed he just didn’t care. A bony finger protruded fourth and pecked against Grim’s chest plate. Striking him repeatedly to emphasize the words spat out with such distaste.
“You, I know who you are. The self-proclaimed ‘War’. Murderer and brute extraordinaire. Well you listen here you numb skull-”
The man rambled on for some time. Grim only glanced off ignoring the stream of insults and cleverly constructed lines to put him guilty in breaking Newhaven’s laws. Of course when he ran out of things to say on those two subjects he began a lengthy spat on his disapproval of everyone in charge.
“I don’t care for those White Knight gutter guts and I don’t care for you Black busybodies. You can take that useless woman and toss her to the Wolves for all I care! No good-”
The Keeper yelped in pain when his poking hand was twisted fiercely about. Wide eyes gazed up and found Grim’s face glaring back. A step taken too far.
“I’m not afraid of you.” The man hissed.
“… You can learn.”
The Blade pushed the keeper aside venturing toward the doorway to meet up with Evin. Leaving the bitter man to escape from doing something he’d regret later. He kept to floating about the doorway in case the guardsman decided to take action. This also gave Evin enough space to keep looking without feeling like his every move was being monitored.
For a time silence was all that was between them. It occurred to him that he knew this man. Mageria had referred to him as ‘Ev’. Yet they had crossed paths before. Yes, the way he carried himself the voice, it was all familiar. They had spoken what seemed like ages.
“I’m sorry about Crystal… She was very kind to me and offered to hold council despite our differences. She was a caring leader, and perhaps in the end it spelled her doom. I know you doubt, we doubted too at one time. What I can offer you Wolf is only my word I swear to you that no Black Knight was ordered to attack Lady Rivers.
I was willing to take your words long ago, will you now take mine?”
Grim sighed, the keeper had always been such a warm and welcoming sort. Ever ready to brandish enough curses and hexes to banish even the most vile of things from the morgue. Giving not an inch of leniency and sticking others with protocol till they bled. However this shrew of a man wasn’t about to chase off a Black Knight so easily. With a lofty sigh the Blade folded his arms challenging the guardsman’s authority.
“Are you deaf? I said get out!”
“There was no time for an official request, I am here on behalf of Newhaven and her interests. Now fall in line little man or I’ll have you in shackles for interfering.”
The keeper scoffed but refused to back down. If this person understood the threat he was given, it seemed he just didn’t care. A bony finger protruded fourth and pecked against Grim’s chest plate. Striking him repeatedly to emphasize the words spat out with such distaste.
“You, I know who you are. The self-proclaimed ‘War’. Murderer and brute extraordinaire. Well you listen here you numb skull-”
The man rambled on for some time. Grim only glanced off ignoring the stream of insults and cleverly constructed lines to put him guilty in breaking Newhaven’s laws. Of course when he ran out of things to say on those two subjects he began a lengthy spat on his disapproval of everyone in charge.
“I don’t care for those White Knight gutter guts and I don’t care for you Black busybodies. You can take that useless woman and toss her to the Wolves for all I care! No good-”
The Keeper yelped in pain when his poking hand was twisted fiercely about. Wide eyes gazed up and found Grim’s face glaring back. A step taken too far.
“I’m not afraid of you.” The man hissed.
“… You can learn.”
The Blade pushed the keeper aside venturing toward the doorway to meet up with Evin. Leaving the bitter man to escape from doing something he’d regret later. He kept to floating about the doorway in case the guardsman decided to take action. This also gave Evin enough space to keep looking without feeling like his every move was being monitored.
For a time silence was all that was between them. It occurred to him that he knew this man. Mageria had referred to him as ‘Ev’. Yet they had crossed paths before. Yes, the way he carried himself the voice, it was all familiar. They had spoken what seemed like ages.
“I’m sorry about Crystal… She was very kind to me and offered to hold council despite our differences. She was a caring leader, and perhaps in the end it spelled her doom. I know you doubt, we doubted too at one time. What I can offer you Wolf is only my word I swear to you that no Black Knight was ordered to attack Lady Rivers.
I was willing to take your words long ago, will you now take mine?”
"I was one of the assassins to kill your King, although, I still say without conviction that he was not the real King. It was me, along with five other people who had come to speak to the King." Evin guessed that the names no longer really mattered, but he still kept the names that mattered to him safe. "There was one who was once a member of the Black Knights, Theron who no longer lives in Valcrest, Crystal but she's dead now and her protegee. There was also another girl that came along with Theron, but she seemed to be more concerned with love," saying the word with such disdain that he had to take a brief moment afterwards to calm. "To care about anything else."
He continued to walk around the body, feeling around the body to see if there was any hidden things on the body that the people from Newhaven might have missed. The fact was, that assassins had ways of hiding things so that even after they died. Evin himself had his own little way to be rid of his ring if he ever died. He didn't know a single assassin who didn't have something that they wanted to keep a secret even after their death and because of that, he looked through the pockets very carefully. When he found nothing there, he looked for a weakness in the seams and found one in particular that seemed to be a perfect place to hide something.
He moved in closer to undo the seem, but first he grabbed a handkerchief from one of his many pockets. With one hand, he held the seam and the other his handkerchief. Evin's eyes began to sheen, things began to slow, and he ripped the seam. He quickly placed the handkerchief around another leather pouch that was slowly dropping onto a small piece of parchment. When he took the pouch out of the secret pocket, his eyes went back to their normal state. His head ached a bit, it had been a while since he slowed down time. He threw the Handkerchief onto the ground. A black liquid poured slowly from the pouch. Evin had a feeling that the liquid was just some sort of ink that would destroy any important detail that would be on the parchment which Evin placed in his pant pocket to read at another time.
"I think we should go check up on Mageria. I need someone to look at my leg anyways."
He continued to walk around the body, feeling around the body to see if there was any hidden things on the body that the people from Newhaven might have missed. The fact was, that assassins had ways of hiding things so that even after they died. Evin himself had his own little way to be rid of his ring if he ever died. He didn't know a single assassin who didn't have something that they wanted to keep a secret even after their death and because of that, he looked through the pockets very carefully. When he found nothing there, he looked for a weakness in the seams and found one in particular that seemed to be a perfect place to hide something.
He moved in closer to undo the seem, but first he grabbed a handkerchief from one of his many pockets. With one hand, he held the seam and the other his handkerchief. Evin's eyes began to sheen, things began to slow, and he ripped the seam. He quickly placed the handkerchief around another leather pouch that was slowly dropping onto a small piece of parchment. When he took the pouch out of the secret pocket, his eyes went back to their normal state. His head ached a bit, it had been a while since he slowed down time. He threw the Handkerchief onto the ground. A black liquid poured slowly from the pouch. Evin had a feeling that the liquid was just some sort of ink that would destroy any important detail that would be on the parchment which Evin placed in his pant pocket to read at another time.
"I think we should go check up on Mageria. I need someone to look at my leg anyways."
“You did not answer, you’re still unsure.”
The knight was in agreement though he said nothing. Being just as eager to see how Mageria was doing. The reply wasn’t meant to be troubling, just a mere statement. A musing about the revelation Evin was more then happy to supply. For being bitter enemies the Wolves were sure happy to spill the beans to any ear that would listen. Not that Grim minded, having already made up his mind on the whole matter.
So off he started on the return trip. Reversing the descent and climbing from the depths back into the light. Strange as it was to be parading a Wolf through the castle, Mageria had seemed confident that no problem would come of it. Then again, they had thought this before.
“If I may be honest, the trouble is everyone seems obsessed with the past. The city-states, the land, all the various groups. Always dwelling on events transpired and transgressions long since performed. All eyes directed backward. Feels like no one is thinking about what is to be.
As much as I love Newhaven, she is blinded. So concerned with Blackpond and the Wolves, so wrapped up in its traditions. Now look at her, besieged and nearly wiped from the face of this existence. Lives spent and remembered solely to be used as a reason for transgressions.
Tell me Wolf, tell me truthfully if you can. What is so wrong with peace?
You killed a man who may or may not of been my King. I can’t save him either way anymore… I can however invite the Wolves to a ceasefire. I can seek out the truth, and I can even possible help usher in an age where Black Knights and Wolves can coexist.
I’ve killed many, and few by my own volition. The innocent along with the guilty, the good and the bad. The young and the old, the brave and the cowardly. I’ve slain them all Wolf, I’ve tasted more blood in my short little meaningless life then whole armies combined. I can’t change any of it. No doubt I’ll pay the price for every murder. I’ll never win and neither will anyone else at this rate. So why bother with it all you might ask? I can still correct the future.”
The Black Knight fell silent after, it wasn’t often he felt the winds of his lungs would never ebb. When these lengthy speeches emerged he spat them out without fear and spoke without guard. He didn’t expect much of a response, Evin had seemed guarded since their departure from the morgue. Well, more so then before.
The rooms designated to the medics were bustling with activity. Healers were all about the fallen tending to each as best they could. Driving themselves into a sort of chaotic dance, shifting from bedside to bedside. Answering the call and pushing themselves with as much determination as any warrior. Fighting back exhaustion and surrendering all of their being to the infirm.
Grim approached the sanctum he made for his Captain to find it fuller then usual. There was more staff members then he could recall designating. This sent a few alarms off and riled up the Blade immediately. Going as far as to intercept a nurse hurrying off to fetch something.
“Why wasn’t I sent for?”
The poor lass blinked in confusion. Dumbfounded for an answer and nervous at not having a response, she froze and fidgeted. She was promptly released, caring not to waste anymore time Grim rushed through the door. Throwing it open.
“Mageria!”
The silence and surprise that followed was in a word awkward. Grim blinked a few times taking in the scene in full for the first time. All eyes appeared upturned to face the intrusion, and all he could muster is a sheepish smile in response.
“Uh… Mageria… yes.. Well. How are you feeling.. Mageria? Captain?”
The knight was in agreement though he said nothing. Being just as eager to see how Mageria was doing. The reply wasn’t meant to be troubling, just a mere statement. A musing about the revelation Evin was more then happy to supply. For being bitter enemies the Wolves were sure happy to spill the beans to any ear that would listen. Not that Grim minded, having already made up his mind on the whole matter.
So off he started on the return trip. Reversing the descent and climbing from the depths back into the light. Strange as it was to be parading a Wolf through the castle, Mageria had seemed confident that no problem would come of it. Then again, they had thought this before.
“If I may be honest, the trouble is everyone seems obsessed with the past. The city-states, the land, all the various groups. Always dwelling on events transpired and transgressions long since performed. All eyes directed backward. Feels like no one is thinking about what is to be.
As much as I love Newhaven, she is blinded. So concerned with Blackpond and the Wolves, so wrapped up in its traditions. Now look at her, besieged and nearly wiped from the face of this existence. Lives spent and remembered solely to be used as a reason for transgressions.
Tell me Wolf, tell me truthfully if you can. What is so wrong with peace?
You killed a man who may or may not of been my King. I can’t save him either way anymore… I can however invite the Wolves to a ceasefire. I can seek out the truth, and I can even possible help usher in an age where Black Knights and Wolves can coexist.
I’ve killed many, and few by my own volition. The innocent along with the guilty, the good and the bad. The young and the old, the brave and the cowardly. I’ve slain them all Wolf, I’ve tasted more blood in my short little meaningless life then whole armies combined. I can’t change any of it. No doubt I’ll pay the price for every murder. I’ll never win and neither will anyone else at this rate. So why bother with it all you might ask? I can still correct the future.”
The Black Knight fell silent after, it wasn’t often he felt the winds of his lungs would never ebb. When these lengthy speeches emerged he spat them out without fear and spoke without guard. He didn’t expect much of a response, Evin had seemed guarded since their departure from the morgue. Well, more so then before.
The rooms designated to the medics were bustling with activity. Healers were all about the fallen tending to each as best they could. Driving themselves into a sort of chaotic dance, shifting from bedside to bedside. Answering the call and pushing themselves with as much determination as any warrior. Fighting back exhaustion and surrendering all of their being to the infirm.
Grim approached the sanctum he made for his Captain to find it fuller then usual. There was more staff members then he could recall designating. This sent a few alarms off and riled up the Blade immediately. Going as far as to intercept a nurse hurrying off to fetch something.
“Why wasn’t I sent for?”
The poor lass blinked in confusion. Dumbfounded for an answer and nervous at not having a response, she froze and fidgeted. She was promptly released, caring not to waste anymore time Grim rushed through the door. Throwing it open.
“Mageria!”
The silence and surprise that followed was in a word awkward. Grim blinked a few times taking in the scene in full for the first time. All eyes appeared upturned to face the intrusion, and all he could muster is a sheepish smile in response.
“Uh… Mageria… yes.. Well. How are you feeling.. Mageria? Captain?”
Magera coughed and tried to sit up, only to be pushed firmly back down by Alistair. She raised her hands in surrender and stopped trying to do anything but lie there.
“I’m fine Grim. Now anyways.” She looked straight at him and smiled in weary triumph, allowing him to see that her eyes were clear. “I scared everyone here for a moment, but I’m feeling much better now.” She glared at everyone that was hovering in the doorway. “The rest of you can leave now.” She watched them file out, not even bothering to hope that they would keep quiet about what had just happened. The rumors that were going to be going around after this incident were going to be . . . interesting.
Mageria waved Evin and Grim in and waited until the door was closed, then cleared her throat awkwardly. It was just the two of them and Alistair now. “Just to let you all know, I‘m apparently not going insane anymore. I also apparently, um; died there for a couple of moments.” She shrugged. “Whatever happened, I’m fine now.”
She rolled her head over and looked at Evin. “If you’ve looked at the assassin bodies, then you’ve probably got a few questions that you want to ask now.” She shifted uncomfortably. “But there’s one thing that should be becoming more clear. We both have reasons that we want to take down Blackpond, to help the White Shadows if nothing else. Much as I hate to say it, we need to pool our resources.” She looked over at Grim and hoped that he would back her up. “I’m not going to ask you to do this out of the goodness of your heart; but are you willing to work with us?”
“I’m fine Grim. Now anyways.” She looked straight at him and smiled in weary triumph, allowing him to see that her eyes were clear. “I scared everyone here for a moment, but I’m feeling much better now.” She glared at everyone that was hovering in the doorway. “The rest of you can leave now.” She watched them file out, not even bothering to hope that they would keep quiet about what had just happened. The rumors that were going to be going around after this incident were going to be . . . interesting.
Mageria waved Evin and Grim in and waited until the door was closed, then cleared her throat awkwardly. It was just the two of them and Alistair now. “Just to let you all know, I‘m apparently not going insane anymore. I also apparently, um; died there for a couple of moments.” She shrugged. “Whatever happened, I’m fine now.”
She rolled her head over and looked at Evin. “If you’ve looked at the assassin bodies, then you’ve probably got a few questions that you want to ask now.” She shifted uncomfortably. “But there’s one thing that should be becoming more clear. We both have reasons that we want to take down Blackpond, to help the White Shadows if nothing else. Much as I hate to say it, we need to pool our resources.” She looked over at Grim and hoped that he would back her up. “I’m not going to ask you to do this out of the goodness of your heart; but are you willing to work with us?”
Evin limped into the room in silence. He hoped that maybe Alistair could help him out with his wound, but he seemed stuck to Mageria's side at the moment. There seemed to be a little hint of awkwardness in the room, Evin couldn't help but be amused, especially after Mageria said that she had actually died. Evin wanted to make a sassy comment, but decided that the time to do so would be at a different time. He did however, make a pretty goofy face, trying to lighten up the mood a little, but still in a way, belittle Mageria. The fact that she died, didn't really hold significanse since she was talking to them at that moment anyways.
Mageria then went on about Blackpond and the prisoners being kept there. He had completely forgotten about Ella up to that point, but frankly, Ella could manage until assassins were available to help her. But he knew that Ella had been taught everything that she needed to know and it was now just a matter of putting it all into practice. It wasn't as hard as Ella had always put it out to be either. As a matter of fact, it was very easy to become an assassin if you just dedicated the time to it. Ella had dedicated her time to it, but she just needed the one last thing that was a lot harder to find in Valcrest. That thing was a heart and mind to always be ready for the worst, which really wasn't ever as bad as it sounded, just most people in Valcrest would be too afraid to let it all out. That was all Ella needed to become brilliant and for some reason she just couldn't grasp it.
We both have reasons that we want to take down Blackpond, to help the White Shadows if nothing else. Much as I hate to say it, we need to pool our resources. I’m not going to ask you to do this out of the goodness of your heart; but are you willing to work with us?”
Evin just cocked his head up to one side and crossed his arms. He didn't say anything right away, just looked away from them all, looking at him for some sort of positive response. That was something that they weren't going to get. "Let's get one thing strait! Neither I, or anyone in the Wolfpack as a matter of fact have any reason to 'take down' Blackpond. Actually, you could say that the diplomacy between us and Blackpond is being taken care of in almost the complete opposite way the diplomacies of Newhaven have been worked out. As for those White Shadows, I could care less for them." Completely ignoring that Alistair was still in the room when this was said. "The only reason I have to break precious bonds with Blackpond is because my recruit, Ella is stuck in the shit hole. Although, because I need to go back with a reason why I didn't kill you guys, I will come up with some flimsy excuse and give you some assistance even if it is just to create bonds between us two factions."
Mageria then went on about Blackpond and the prisoners being kept there. He had completely forgotten about Ella up to that point, but frankly, Ella could manage until assassins were available to help her. But he knew that Ella had been taught everything that she needed to know and it was now just a matter of putting it all into practice. It wasn't as hard as Ella had always put it out to be either. As a matter of fact, it was very easy to become an assassin if you just dedicated the time to it. Ella had dedicated her time to it, but she just needed the one last thing that was a lot harder to find in Valcrest. That thing was a heart and mind to always be ready for the worst, which really wasn't ever as bad as it sounded, just most people in Valcrest would be too afraid to let it all out. That was all Ella needed to become brilliant and for some reason she just couldn't grasp it.
We both have reasons that we want to take down Blackpond, to help the White Shadows if nothing else. Much as I hate to say it, we need to pool our resources. I’m not going to ask you to do this out of the goodness of your heart; but are you willing to work with us?”
Evin just cocked his head up to one side and crossed his arms. He didn't say anything right away, just looked away from them all, looking at him for some sort of positive response. That was something that they weren't going to get. "Let's get one thing strait! Neither I, or anyone in the Wolfpack as a matter of fact have any reason to 'take down' Blackpond. Actually, you could say that the diplomacy between us and Blackpond is being taken care of in almost the complete opposite way the diplomacies of Newhaven have been worked out. As for those White Shadows, I could care less for them." Completely ignoring that Alistair was still in the room when this was said. "The only reason I have to break precious bonds with Blackpond is because my recruit, Ella is stuck in the shit hole. Although, because I need to go back with a reason why I didn't kill you guys, I will come up with some flimsy excuse and give you some assistance even if it is just to create bonds between us two factions."
Mageria had to work really hard not to beat her head on the wall. Ella might be a common name, but the odds that his Ella and the Ella that was the daughter of Sarris were too damn good at the moment. With a grunt, she sat up in bed and pushed aside the covers. They had cut off her pant leg to get at the stab wound, but hadn’t had the chance to clean off the blood. With a clear effort of will she pushed off the bed and stood up, glaring at Alistair when he tried to stop her.
“Your Ella. She wouldn’t have a ring, set with a large emerald surrounded by tiny little diamonds, would she?” She didn’t give Evin a chance to respond, instead bracing herself against the wall to stand in front of him. “If you want some ‘flimsy excuse’, I’ll give you one.” She coughed a little. “You’re help would mean greater bonds between the Pack and Newhaven. And there’s this. You have an enemy that you don’t even know about. I’m willing to trade information for your help, Ev.” She smiled thinly. “You know my word is good Ev. Help me get my people and the White Shadows out of Blackpond, and there’s a damn good chance that we’ll be able to call off this whole senseless slaughter between our two factions.”
“Your Ella. She wouldn’t have a ring, set with a large emerald surrounded by tiny little diamonds, would she?” She didn’t give Evin a chance to respond, instead bracing herself against the wall to stand in front of him. “If you want some ‘flimsy excuse’, I’ll give you one.” She coughed a little. “You’re help would mean greater bonds between the Pack and Newhaven. And there’s this. You have an enemy that you don’t even know about. I’m willing to trade information for your help, Ev.” She smiled thinly. “You know my word is good Ev. Help me get my people and the White Shadows out of Blackpond, and there’s a damn good chance that we’ll be able to call off this whole senseless slaughter between our two factions.”
“If your diplomacies were so well with Blackpond Ev was it? There is no reason why you can’t barter or sneak your recruit out. Don’t play games with us, we’ve been more then happy to offer our hands out. An opportunity Lady Rivers wouldn’t have passed up.
You didn’t get an army from Blackpond, and we’ve already beat them anyways.”
Grim turned to face Evin squarely. Acting neither menacingly or bitterly, just giving off the same old unfulfilled stare. A frown tucked over his lips as he spoke in short curt words. It was nice though now that he had a name to put to that face.
Perhaps he was acting overzealous but then wasn’t the Wolf? It seemed like regardless his friendly attempts or passionate words the assassin had either ignored or pushed it all aside. Mageria was well and thank the heavens for it! It didn’t mean their struggle had ended. This girl Ella, whoever she was had to be important. The way they spoke of her, the hints this child meant something to both sides.
“The past Wolf… have you not been listening? Are you so distracted by what has been that now you can not perceive what has to be done?”
You didn’t get an army from Blackpond, and we’ve already beat them anyways.”
Grim turned to face Evin squarely. Acting neither menacingly or bitterly, just giving off the same old unfulfilled stare. A frown tucked over his lips as he spoke in short curt words. It was nice though now that he had a name to put to that face.
Perhaps he was acting overzealous but then wasn’t the Wolf? It seemed like regardless his friendly attempts or passionate words the assassin had either ignored or pushed it all aside. Mageria was well and thank the heavens for it! It didn’t mean their struggle had ended. This girl Ella, whoever she was had to be important. The way they spoke of her, the hints this child meant something to both sides.
“The past Wolf… have you not been listening? Are you so distracted by what has been that now you can not perceive what has to be done?”
"I am not Lady Rivers!" He shouted. "You tell me not to live in the past, and then you tell me I'm not like the old? The more you speak, the less I would like to negotiate with you. As a matter of fact, I could just negotiate with Blackpond to free Ella myself like you had suggested. I'm sure they would love to hear about Newhaven's little sceme to attempt a rescue. That would get me my recruit for sure."
Evin was about to leave the room, but when he felt the pain in his leg when he put his weight on it, he turned back around. He couldn't leave until he got his leg fixed up. He had a long walk ahead of him and he didn't want to pass out half way down a trail. All he did was look at Alistair and then looked at his leg. He was on it in an instant, not saying a word and just fixing his wound. When he had motioned Evin to sit, he refused. Doing this while Evin was standing probably wasn't the best of circumstances, but he was in no mood to follow some one's orders like a little pawn. He would stand his ground and show his authority.
"Blackhurst wanted peace, but what came of that? The truth is, we are afraid of peace. Even if peace occurred, we would still dwell on the past, because it is always the past that predicts the future. How do you know if anything has ever changed? So if peace ever did to Valcrest, it would just be flung violently back into war again because the truth is Grim: Nothing lasts forever."
Alistair was done with his leg, and everything that needed to be said was said. Evin had came here to kill the Black Knights and he didn't do that. After, he was going to make a deal with them, but they did not seem to understand that Evin had no reason to do anything for them. He had no reason to help them. "You Black Knights really need to know when to shut up. Now if you'll excuse me..." Evin went over to grab the katana that was sitting beside Mageria's bed and once again turned around to leave.
Evin was about to leave the room, but when he felt the pain in his leg when he put his weight on it, he turned back around. He couldn't leave until he got his leg fixed up. He had a long walk ahead of him and he didn't want to pass out half way down a trail. All he did was look at Alistair and then looked at his leg. He was on it in an instant, not saying a word and just fixing his wound. When he had motioned Evin to sit, he refused. Doing this while Evin was standing probably wasn't the best of circumstances, but he was in no mood to follow some one's orders like a little pawn. He would stand his ground and show his authority.
"Blackhurst wanted peace, but what came of that? The truth is, we are afraid of peace. Even if peace occurred, we would still dwell on the past, because it is always the past that predicts the future. How do you know if anything has ever changed? So if peace ever did to Valcrest, it would just be flung violently back into war again because the truth is Grim: Nothing lasts forever."
Alistair was done with his leg, and everything that needed to be said was said. Evin had came here to kill the Black Knights and he didn't do that. After, he was going to make a deal with them, but they did not seem to understand that Evin had no reason to do anything for them. He had no reason to help them. "You Black Knights really need to know when to shut up. Now if you'll excuse me..." Evin went over to grab the katana that was sitting beside Mageria's bed and once again turned around to leave.
Mageria stood directly in Evin’s path. “You might not have anything to say to the Captain of the Black Knights, Ev; but we have a lot of history beyond that. We were friends for years and I don’t know about you, but that meant a hell of a lot to me. And I”m telling you now, we need to work together.” She was starting to sway a little bit and loosing what color she had. “Maybe peace isn’t possible. But we can at least try and stop killing each other every time we see each other. If nothing else, it’s getting really hard on my wardrobe.” She leaned a shoulder on the wall. “Don’t help the Black Knights. Help your old friend, Ria.”
“I’m going to be going to Blackpond soon anyways, because a friend of mine has a daughter that was captured whom she’s never met and she deserves to know the child that she’s sacrificed for years for. So prove to me that assassins aren't the self serving utter bastards that I’ve believed they are for years. Don’t help Newhaven, don’t help the Black Knights, don’t even help the White Shadows."
"Help. Me.”
“I’m going to be going to Blackpond soon anyways, because a friend of mine has a daughter that was captured whom she’s never met and she deserves to know the child that she’s sacrificed for years for. So prove to me that assassins aren't the self serving utter bastards that I’ve believed they are for years. Don’t help Newhaven, don’t help the Black Knights, don’t even help the White Shadows."
"Help. Me.”
Evin sighed, looking down at Mageria's feet when she spoke of their past history. He knew what she was saying was true and he honestly missed those days. Those days were over the minute that the Black Knights decided to infiltrate the Pack and possibly kill two of the leader, both who were very close to Evin. Mageria was simply a traveling buddy that he had thought he would only see once, enjoy a good time with the person and then go back to life as usual. Things weren't that way and he accepted it. They were friends now, very unconventional friends, but still friends.
"You know, I can't put my interests above the Pack's interests anymore Mageria. I'm sure you understand that as the leader of the Black Knights. As a friend, I'd love to help another friend, but as a leader I need to take things into consideration. I can't just help a friend. If you wish to speak to me as a friend, then visit me outside Pack territory on the main path. I'll be out there every day at five in the afternoon. We can be friends then, but not now."
Evin pushed Mageria aside using the sharp side of the katana as a bit of persuasion. He didn't walk out of the doorway, but he was sure to let them know that if he wanted to leave at any time, he would.
"I said already that I would help, but our assassins would only be in there for Ella. I care about our past. The Past we have as friends, but also the one we have as Black Knights. I'll let you know that Ella can meat with her mother, that is fair, but you have no right to take her away from her life in the Wolf Pack. Ella's life in not in Newhaven and it will stay that way unless Ella says so. Now I need to get back to the camp before Jake decides to terrorise us again. Do you have anything else you need to do or say?" Evin looked once at Mageria and once at Grim.
"You know, I can't put my interests above the Pack's interests anymore Mageria. I'm sure you understand that as the leader of the Black Knights. As a friend, I'd love to help another friend, but as a leader I need to take things into consideration. I can't just help a friend. If you wish to speak to me as a friend, then visit me outside Pack territory on the main path. I'll be out there every day at five in the afternoon. We can be friends then, but not now."
Evin pushed Mageria aside using the sharp side of the katana as a bit of persuasion. He didn't walk out of the doorway, but he was sure to let them know that if he wanted to leave at any time, he would.
"I said already that I would help, but our assassins would only be in there for Ella. I care about our past. The Past we have as friends, but also the one we have as Black Knights. I'll let you know that Ella can meat with her mother, that is fair, but you have no right to take her away from her life in the Wolf Pack. Ella's life in not in Newhaven and it will stay that way unless Ella says so. Now I need to get back to the camp before Jake decides to terrorise us again. Do you have anything else you need to do or say?" Evin looked once at Mageria and once at Grim.
Mageria let Evin push her out of the way, the blade of the katana drawing a single drop of blood from her arm. At the moment, he had bent as far as she thought he could. Pushing him any further wouldn’t do any good.
“I’ll meet you in a week, we can work things out then; Ev. I figure it will take that long at least to get things to the point where we can start thinking about the assault.” She shrugged. “And if you want to use us as a diversion, well good for you. You only have one person that you want to get out.”
She finally let Alistair help her back to bed, from the look on his face he wasn’t happy that she was up and walking at all. A glance at Grim showed he was giving her a version of his glare as well. “I do understand your position, Ev. I have an entire city to watch over now and to a lesser extent a good part Valcrest.” She looked dryly at Evin and smiled. “Believe it or not, I even tried to protect some of the people in your camp. Really rams home the whole blood thirsty killer image, huh?” Leaning back, she bunched a pillow behind her back and rubbed her forehead.
“One week, Ev. I’ll bring my half of the information and we can talk then. Till then, good luck with Jake. You’re going to need it.” She looked at Grim and jerked her head to the side, letting him know that it was ok to let Evin walk out.
Mageria waited until she was alone with Alistair, laying back and pulling the blanket over her. She rolled on her side and regarded him solemnly. “Healer . . . . Alistair. I have to ask something strange. The robes that you wear. Is there anyway to identify the person who they belong to?”
Alistair had been a little lost in his thoughts. It had been a busy day and a rather unusual evening. When Mageria addressed him he sat up straight in his chair to consider her question. "Robes? Depends. Some healers engrave symbols on their robes, but it's not much for identification purposes, and they usually do it themselves. Lena's robes have a rose on the left side of the chest area, for instance. If the person has gone through the trouble of doing something like that, it is possible. Otherwise, I don't think it is." He raised a brow, wondering where that question came from. "Say, captain, why do you ask?"
Mageria punched the pillow into a more comfortable position. "A little while ago, Grim went to talk to the leader of the Pack. Not exactly against orders, but he certainly didn't have permission." A brief smile crossed her face. "Anyways, when he got back he told me that the Pack claimed that the man that they killed wasn't actually the King, but an impostor that had crossed all sorts of boundaries, including setting himself up as a healer." She watched his face closely, alert for the slightest change in expression. "I don't believe it . . . . more accurately at this point, I don't want to believe that I didn't notice that my King had been replaced. But it was enough to bring up questions and I wanted to disprove the story. So I searched the King's quarters. And . . . ." she sighed. "I found a trapped compartment. And in it I found Healer's robes." She shrugged as best she could while lying down. "So I was trying to figure out how much truth there was to that story."
"I... See." Alistair mumbled. "Well, hypothetically speaking... The only way to obtain White Shadow robes is to pass initiation, or kill a healer for them. They are manufactured within the clan and the fabrics are brought in from outside of Valcrest, although, I'm not exactly sure where from. We have some sort of understanding with a merchant group. So, hypothetically speaking, looks like your man was once a White Shadow or killed one and... We lost quite a few of our healers when the enlightened murders were occurring, over a year ago. Some were never even found." He leaned back in the chair again. "Suppose Lena could tell you more. She probably would have if we hadn't been attacked." He rubbed his eyes and heaved a sigh. "She was coming here."
Mageria reached out one hand and touched the Healer's robes gently. "I'm sorry. I don't know if it will help to know this, but . . . a friend of mine who had gone to Blackpond came back with a message. Lena is still alive and being held in their dungeons. She told us that someone who is rather important to us has been captured as well, so we have even more reason to go get them. We're going to break into the dungeons somehow and I promise you that I will bring everyone with us that I can." She rubbed one temple. "As for the rest. Damn. I wish I could find some sort of proof. All I've got is bits and pieces that could easily have been planted by someone." She scrubbed her hands through her hair. "Although if this guy was doing this for a long while, years at a time, it probably wasn't someone who killed a Healer for their robes. Even if he managed to fool all of us for a time, odds are that someone in your camp would have noticed that he was an impostor, what with all of the Enlightened."
Alistair nodded, a slight grin crossing his features. "Oh, I'm aware of that, how was Jacob by the way? I haven't seen him since the day of the attack." He said absently. "He didn't look good." He added, frowning slightly. "As for Lena, I'm pretty sure if the girl wasn't with her, she would have found a way out of the dungeons. However she promised Sarris that she would find her child, and Lena doesn't take promises lightly."
The man ran a hand through his hair and shook his head as he went into thinking. After a moment of silence he said. "Well, captain, I can tell you this much: If a man can infiltrate the White Shadows, than he can be a King and whatever else he pleases. Not only would he have to fool Lena, he would have to survive initiation. Not everyone can manage do do something like that." He sighed. "I will admit though, every enlightenment has its weakness and if one studies long enough, it is possible to work past them."
A slight smile crossed Mageria's face. So much for trying not to mention names. "Jake . . . I'm not sure how he is. Ever since Rivers was killed, he's been lost. I think she was the only solid thing he felt he had left. I wish I could have done more for him, but I couldn't hold him here, not against his will." She picked at the blanket that covered her, more worried about Jake than she really wanted to admit. He might have left the Knights, but she still considered him someone under her care.
She thought through all the bits of evidence that she had and her jaw firmed just a bit. "But I guess if we really want to know the truth, we're just going to have to go get Lena. Seems she's the one with the answers." She sighed. "Ought to be fun."
Alistair nodded quietly. "Death always takes its toll and, Jake was very close to Crystal. Things were probably not good between the two of them either, judging by the state he was in when he got to our encampment..." He shrugged. "I'm speculating though, we never actually got to talking." He stated, leaning further back and crossing his arms underneath his head. The chair he was sitting on was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever experienced, even for a man who was used to sleeping on the cold ground protected by the thin walls of a tent, but it didn't take all his years of experience to know that if a patient stops breathing, you should keep a close watch. So he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. After another moment of silence he spoke up. "The Shadows haven't realized it yet, but... Lena has broken her oath when she committed violence. That means, she is no longer a White Shadow, and she cannot return to the clan. Never again." He turned to face Mageria and gave her a look that clearly showed how this little detail was important. "This means that any information she has is no longer privileged."
Mageria yawned and settled her head deeper into her pillow. “I’m sorry about that. It’s hard to lose your home. I know. I hope that she can find somewhere to call home after all of this. I wish,” she yawned so hard that her jaw cracked. “I wish I had been able to prevent the attack. Should have been able to.” Her voice was starting to slur. “But ‘he chance t’ find out th’ truth. Go a lot furth’r than Blackpond to fin’ that out.” With a sigh she closed her eyes. “Gone this far t’ find it out. Might as well go the res’ of the way. Don’t wanna hafta try and hold back th’ blood bath again.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “Alistair? . . . . . . . Thanks for your help.” Finally and for the first time in a very long time, she slipped into a deep and peaceful sleep.
“I’ll meet you in a week, we can work things out then; Ev. I figure it will take that long at least to get things to the point where we can start thinking about the assault.” She shrugged. “And if you want to use us as a diversion, well good for you. You only have one person that you want to get out.”
She finally let Alistair help her back to bed, from the look on his face he wasn’t happy that she was up and walking at all. A glance at Grim showed he was giving her a version of his glare as well. “I do understand your position, Ev. I have an entire city to watch over now and to a lesser extent a good part Valcrest.” She looked dryly at Evin and smiled. “Believe it or not, I even tried to protect some of the people in your camp. Really rams home the whole blood thirsty killer image, huh?” Leaning back, she bunched a pillow behind her back and rubbed her forehead.
“One week, Ev. I’ll bring my half of the information and we can talk then. Till then, good luck with Jake. You’re going to need it.” She looked at Grim and jerked her head to the side, letting him know that it was ok to let Evin walk out.
Mageria waited until she was alone with Alistair, laying back and pulling the blanket over her. She rolled on her side and regarded him solemnly. “Healer . . . . Alistair. I have to ask something strange. The robes that you wear. Is there anyway to identify the person who they belong to?”
Alistair had been a little lost in his thoughts. It had been a busy day and a rather unusual evening. When Mageria addressed him he sat up straight in his chair to consider her question. "Robes? Depends. Some healers engrave symbols on their robes, but it's not much for identification purposes, and they usually do it themselves. Lena's robes have a rose on the left side of the chest area, for instance. If the person has gone through the trouble of doing something like that, it is possible. Otherwise, I don't think it is." He raised a brow, wondering where that question came from. "Say, captain, why do you ask?"
Mageria punched the pillow into a more comfortable position. "A little while ago, Grim went to talk to the leader of the Pack. Not exactly against orders, but he certainly didn't have permission." A brief smile crossed her face. "Anyways, when he got back he told me that the Pack claimed that the man that they killed wasn't actually the King, but an impostor that had crossed all sorts of boundaries, including setting himself up as a healer." She watched his face closely, alert for the slightest change in expression. "I don't believe it . . . . more accurately at this point, I don't want to believe that I didn't notice that my King had been replaced. But it was enough to bring up questions and I wanted to disprove the story. So I searched the King's quarters. And . . . ." she sighed. "I found a trapped compartment. And in it I found Healer's robes." She shrugged as best she could while lying down. "So I was trying to figure out how much truth there was to that story."
"I... See." Alistair mumbled. "Well, hypothetically speaking... The only way to obtain White Shadow robes is to pass initiation, or kill a healer for them. They are manufactured within the clan and the fabrics are brought in from outside of Valcrest, although, I'm not exactly sure where from. We have some sort of understanding with a merchant group. So, hypothetically speaking, looks like your man was once a White Shadow or killed one and... We lost quite a few of our healers when the enlightened murders were occurring, over a year ago. Some were never even found." He leaned back in the chair again. "Suppose Lena could tell you more. She probably would have if we hadn't been attacked." He rubbed his eyes and heaved a sigh. "She was coming here."
Mageria reached out one hand and touched the Healer's robes gently. "I'm sorry. I don't know if it will help to know this, but . . . a friend of mine who had gone to Blackpond came back with a message. Lena is still alive and being held in their dungeons. She told us that someone who is rather important to us has been captured as well, so we have even more reason to go get them. We're going to break into the dungeons somehow and I promise you that I will bring everyone with us that I can." She rubbed one temple. "As for the rest. Damn. I wish I could find some sort of proof. All I've got is bits and pieces that could easily have been planted by someone." She scrubbed her hands through her hair. "Although if this guy was doing this for a long while, years at a time, it probably wasn't someone who killed a Healer for their robes. Even if he managed to fool all of us for a time, odds are that someone in your camp would have noticed that he was an impostor, what with all of the Enlightened."
Alistair nodded, a slight grin crossing his features. "Oh, I'm aware of that, how was Jacob by the way? I haven't seen him since the day of the attack." He said absently. "He didn't look good." He added, frowning slightly. "As for Lena, I'm pretty sure if the girl wasn't with her, she would have found a way out of the dungeons. However she promised Sarris that she would find her child, and Lena doesn't take promises lightly."
The man ran a hand through his hair and shook his head as he went into thinking. After a moment of silence he said. "Well, captain, I can tell you this much: If a man can infiltrate the White Shadows, than he can be a King and whatever else he pleases. Not only would he have to fool Lena, he would have to survive initiation. Not everyone can manage do do something like that." He sighed. "I will admit though, every enlightenment has its weakness and if one studies long enough, it is possible to work past them."
A slight smile crossed Mageria's face. So much for trying not to mention names. "Jake . . . I'm not sure how he is. Ever since Rivers was killed, he's been lost. I think she was the only solid thing he felt he had left. I wish I could have done more for him, but I couldn't hold him here, not against his will." She picked at the blanket that covered her, more worried about Jake than she really wanted to admit. He might have left the Knights, but she still considered him someone under her care.
She thought through all the bits of evidence that she had and her jaw firmed just a bit. "But I guess if we really want to know the truth, we're just going to have to go get Lena. Seems she's the one with the answers." She sighed. "Ought to be fun."
Alistair nodded quietly. "Death always takes its toll and, Jake was very close to Crystal. Things were probably not good between the two of them either, judging by the state he was in when he got to our encampment..." He shrugged. "I'm speculating though, we never actually got to talking." He stated, leaning further back and crossing his arms underneath his head. The chair he was sitting on was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever experienced, even for a man who was used to sleeping on the cold ground protected by the thin walls of a tent, but it didn't take all his years of experience to know that if a patient stops breathing, you should keep a close watch. So he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. After another moment of silence he spoke up. "The Shadows haven't realized it yet, but... Lena has broken her oath when she committed violence. That means, she is no longer a White Shadow, and she cannot return to the clan. Never again." He turned to face Mageria and gave her a look that clearly showed how this little detail was important. "This means that any information she has is no longer privileged."
Mageria yawned and settled her head deeper into her pillow. “I’m sorry about that. It’s hard to lose your home. I know. I hope that she can find somewhere to call home after all of this. I wish,” she yawned so hard that her jaw cracked. “I wish I had been able to prevent the attack. Should have been able to.” Her voice was starting to slur. “But ‘he chance t’ find out th’ truth. Go a lot furth’r than Blackpond to fin’ that out.” With a sigh she closed her eyes. “Gone this far t’ find it out. Might as well go the res’ of the way. Don’t wanna hafta try and hold back th’ blood bath again.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “Alistair? . . . . . . . Thanks for your help.” Finally and for the first time in a very long time, she slipped into a deep and peaceful sleep.
The raucous conversation was ended with but a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Grim overstepped himself, but then he didn’t fear much of anything these days. Newhaven still stood, almost destroyed, but standing all the same. Assassination, war, and even that Death Knight had failed to kill him this week. There was little the Black Knight had left to fear at this point. His mind was elsewhere though looking forward trying to perceive what the next step was going to be.
Fresh air would do him good or so he decided. Moving out of the castle he equipped his blade and a half a loaf of bread to stave off the hunger building up. Sad wreckage looked back in the night breeze. Men were seen on occasion moving bodies or delivering news to another. Repairs were started but the evening was settling in and the workers would become lenient in their labor.
The landscape was still broken but at least the bloodshed had been halted, or so he believed. It was the sounds of struggling that caught his ears first. That the siege would be reborn this night became a surfacing fear, but the Black Knight moved to intercept without hesitation. Bounding toward the sounds as quickly as possible, keeping an eye out for the trouble.
What he stumbled upon was no war, but the harsh realization that Evin knew what he was talking about. The urchins had been set to aid, if they would, the men at arms. This also gave them the opportunity to pick among the fallen to find treasures or whatever needs be there. Of course the knights didn’t advocate taking from the dead, but that didn’t make such happenings any less true. The street children did what they pleased, and who was to police them right now?
There was a small group of them. Quarreling over a sack of fruits. A rather tall homeless downed in heavy clothes was single handedly holding off many others from its prize. The fighting had escalated and punches were being thrown. There were cries to kill another, and shouts to take what both felt was theirs. Grim watched idly disappointed but in a sense helpless. Enamored by the violence that had taken even the youths here. Was this the destiny of all who lived in Valcrest?
A glint from metal dashed across his eyes, calling him from his euphoria. A knife danced from the biggest, poised threateningly to the others. Darting back and fourth ready to take down any who dared ventured close. The remaining urchins didn’t care, they were between life and death already. What was a knife to the ache in their bellies?
Grim moved rushing into the heated center of the conflict. Most scattered but the big one remained knife at the ready. Such a weapon though was not enough and he plucked the orphan from where it stood. Tossing them aside as if they were nothing. Like vultures the rest moved in taking the fruits and scattering off into the ruins to feast in secret.
A lofty sigh escaped the Black Knight, he wouldn’t have been able to stop all of them. In helping one side he made the other suffer. In an ideal world Grim wouldn’t have to pick, he couldn’t try again, but he could still maybe amend such a mistake. Slowly, cautiously he moved toward the fallen young one.
“Can you stand up?”
He was answered when the urchin managed to not only rise to their feet, but pulled the same knife into view. It seemed that this one wasn’t ready to give up yet. Luckily they wouldn’t have to fight if it wasn’t necessary.
“I don’t want to hurt you. Listen, my name’s Grim. Do you have a name? Are you from around here?”
An idea struck and Grim moved to pull his pack out. From within its contents he managed to find the half loaf he had taken. Carefully he offered the morsel out, making each movement deliberately and sure. When the offering was accepted he smiled beside himself. Watching peacefully as bites started making their way into the grain.
“There now… easy. Are you hurt?”
His arm extended to move the hood that shielded a face unknown. However a little arm reached up and took him by the wrist, stopping his action. He released and there was an air of silence all about them. Slowly and with much will the urchin pulled the hood free.
Two complacent golden eyes bore back part in fear part in fascination. Dirty autumn hair fell over a soft rounded face. Beset by dozens of scars that were deep and stuck out sorely over the adolescent. She was beautiful in a way, and terrifying in another. For such a child to have known so much misery, it robbed the Raging Demon of his resolve instantly. The girl had to see this reflected for she drew back pulling her cloak tightly over her form. Masking herself once more.
“Wait, I’m sorry. You just had a little silt on you that’s all. Here…”
From his pack he fished for a kerchief and his flask. Dousing the rag with a bit of water he moved closer. Gently setting her arms aside, peeling back the protective layers. As tender as he could manage he blotted over the marred face. Working in a tedious diligent matter.
“Well I’ll be, you do clean up nicely.”
“Shame about my face huh?” The girl spoke, though without bemusement.
Grim gave a hard smile, but there was no proper response. He knew nothing of this child or how she got to where she was. All he could offer is the patience to listen. She moved on though, slinking off into the edge of the night. Covering her face once more before trailing off out of sight. There alone in the shadows the Black Knight watched and for a time he merely pondered on his encounter. When at last he was satisfied with all the thinking he rose and returned home. A bath without interruption and some sleep would do him a lot of good.
Fresh air would do him good or so he decided. Moving out of the castle he equipped his blade and a half a loaf of bread to stave off the hunger building up. Sad wreckage looked back in the night breeze. Men were seen on occasion moving bodies or delivering news to another. Repairs were started but the evening was settling in and the workers would become lenient in their labor.
The landscape was still broken but at least the bloodshed had been halted, or so he believed. It was the sounds of struggling that caught his ears first. That the siege would be reborn this night became a surfacing fear, but the Black Knight moved to intercept without hesitation. Bounding toward the sounds as quickly as possible, keeping an eye out for the trouble.
What he stumbled upon was no war, but the harsh realization that Evin knew what he was talking about. The urchins had been set to aid, if they would, the men at arms. This also gave them the opportunity to pick among the fallen to find treasures or whatever needs be there. Of course the knights didn’t advocate taking from the dead, but that didn’t make such happenings any less true. The street children did what they pleased, and who was to police them right now?
There was a small group of them. Quarreling over a sack of fruits. A rather tall homeless downed in heavy clothes was single handedly holding off many others from its prize. The fighting had escalated and punches were being thrown. There were cries to kill another, and shouts to take what both felt was theirs. Grim watched idly disappointed but in a sense helpless. Enamored by the violence that had taken even the youths here. Was this the destiny of all who lived in Valcrest?
A glint from metal dashed across his eyes, calling him from his euphoria. A knife danced from the biggest, poised threateningly to the others. Darting back and fourth ready to take down any who dared ventured close. The remaining urchins didn’t care, they were between life and death already. What was a knife to the ache in their bellies?
Grim moved rushing into the heated center of the conflict. Most scattered but the big one remained knife at the ready. Such a weapon though was not enough and he plucked the orphan from where it stood. Tossing them aside as if they were nothing. Like vultures the rest moved in taking the fruits and scattering off into the ruins to feast in secret.
A lofty sigh escaped the Black Knight, he wouldn’t have been able to stop all of them. In helping one side he made the other suffer. In an ideal world Grim wouldn’t have to pick, he couldn’t try again, but he could still maybe amend such a mistake. Slowly, cautiously he moved toward the fallen young one.
“Can you stand up?”
He was answered when the urchin managed to not only rise to their feet, but pulled the same knife into view. It seemed that this one wasn’t ready to give up yet. Luckily they wouldn’t have to fight if it wasn’t necessary.
“I don’t want to hurt you. Listen, my name’s Grim. Do you have a name? Are you from around here?”
An idea struck and Grim moved to pull his pack out. From within its contents he managed to find the half loaf he had taken. Carefully he offered the morsel out, making each movement deliberately and sure. When the offering was accepted he smiled beside himself. Watching peacefully as bites started making their way into the grain.
“There now… easy. Are you hurt?”
His arm extended to move the hood that shielded a face unknown. However a little arm reached up and took him by the wrist, stopping his action. He released and there was an air of silence all about them. Slowly and with much will the urchin pulled the hood free.
Two complacent golden eyes bore back part in fear part in fascination. Dirty autumn hair fell over a soft rounded face. Beset by dozens of scars that were deep and stuck out sorely over the adolescent. She was beautiful in a way, and terrifying in another. For such a child to have known so much misery, it robbed the Raging Demon of his resolve instantly. The girl had to see this reflected for she drew back pulling her cloak tightly over her form. Masking herself once more.
“Wait, I’m sorry. You just had a little silt on you that’s all. Here…”
From his pack he fished for a kerchief and his flask. Dousing the rag with a bit of water he moved closer. Gently setting her arms aside, peeling back the protective layers. As tender as he could manage he blotted over the marred face. Working in a tedious diligent matter.
“Well I’ll be, you do clean up nicely.”
“Shame about my face huh?” The girl spoke, though without bemusement.
Grim gave a hard smile, but there was no proper response. He knew nothing of this child or how she got to where she was. All he could offer is the patience to listen. She moved on though, slinking off into the edge of the night. Covering her face once more before trailing off out of sight. There alone in the shadows the Black Knight watched and for a time he merely pondered on his encounter. When at last he was satisfied with all the thinking he rose and returned home. A bath without interruption and some sleep would do him a lot of good.
The setting changes from Newhaven to Assassin's Camp
The Sun had arisen in Valcrest once again, its light hidden behind a wall of thick clouds. The usually cool morning breeze replaced with howling winds, the chirping birds were silenced by the sound of the trees struggling against its force. Workers were running around camp trying to protect the cabins from the increasing wind.
"Pretty damn scary, huh?" Sean heard someone shout close to him.
"What?" He said turning to Ali with a confused expression.
She chuckled. "I said that it's pretty scary... The storm." She repeated, raising her voice. "I've never actually seen one like this since I came to live here. Dani once told me they could be really brutal though. She told me that, one time they had to rebuild half the camp. Some workers were crushed under a tree."
"Oh, yeah... We all heard those stories. They usually tell them to kids so they don't wander off during storms. I actually..." He paused when the roaring thunder made it impossible for him to be heard. "I actually have memory of one, but I was five then. All I remember is hiding under Lionel's bed and hoping the house didn't fly away with the wind." He told her.
The loud sound of a tree going down in the distance cause some people to scream, Sean chuckled. "That wasn't even close to here." He said to himself, nodding. Then he turned to Ali and asked. "All the recruits are gathered in the cafeteria?"
"Yes." She said. "An instructor is with them. I'll join them once it actually gets ugly." She answered, looking around. "Technically that group of cabins over there and the leaders' cabin are the safest places to be during the storm, but I don't think we can fit everyone in those." She stated.
"Probably not." He agreed. "Did you know that the leaders' cabin is the only house in this camp that was never destroyed? Can you imagine how many storms like this it has survived?" He commented in a rather excited tone. "How incredible is that?"
"Awesome." Ali said with a chuckle. "Are we pretending that's the reason why you moved there?"
"Yeah, well... 'Invisible man' has his mind set on killing me, so I had to. I know Jake might be going nuts, but he won't kill me in the leaders' cabin." Sean muttered. "Don't think I enjoy leaving my brother and sister living alone."
"Calm down, it's not like they live far from you. Besides, we haven't had any sign of Jake since last time. I think the arrow I put in him might have scared him off." She smiled.
"Yeah, that was a good shot Ali, but you and I know you could have shot to kill if you wanted to." Sean said with a frown. "I wouldn't have to fear for my life if you had."
Ali sighed. "Don't be dramatic Sean."
"I'm not. You know, for assassins, we've done very little killing lately. Evin won't kill any Black Knights, you won't shoot poor little Jake... I mean really, at some point people are going to start thinking we're getting soft."
"I think it's great we're not in any more trouble with Newhaven. I know it makes me sound like a coward, but I really don't care." She frowned. "As for Jake... I won't go into that subject with you. You wouldn't understand." She said, frowning. "Either way, we should focus on the storm. Today is the one day we don't have to worry about Jake."
"How do you know?" Sean said.
"Because... It's going to rain. It'll take a few hours for the looks of it, but it's definitely going to rain. And Jake can't be invisible in the rain."
Sean nodded. "That's right I forgot about th-" He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, staring at the door of his house.
"What?" Ali asked.
Sean simply shook his head in response; he could have sworn that door was closing on its own. Could have been the wind, but it was way too subtle to have been just that. He frowned, and then pulled his sword.
"What is it?" Ali repeated watching him with an expression that clearly stated she thought he was losing it.
"He's here." Sean whispered.
"It's the thirteenth time you say this in the past four days Sean, I've actually counted. You know what, I think Jake doesn't want to kill you. I think he's trying to drive you nuts. And it's working like a charm." She told him.
Sean heaved a sigh, Ali had a point. He was about to put the sword away when he felt something behind him and turned, slashing blindly at the invisible person behind him. He did hit someone, however, it wasn't Jake who dropped dead at his feet; it was one of the guards. The second person to fall at his feet was Ali, although, she was merely knocked unconscious. Before Sean could recover from the shock he felt a fist to his face, and stumbled back, laughing. "That was low even for you Jake! A human shield? Wow!" He said, wiping a little bit of blood with his sleeve. "You know, you're really starting to get annoying. Why don't you stop sneaking around and fight like a man? If you want to kill me, fine, fight me for it." He said raising a hand to stop the actives that were already rushing towards him.
Jake made himself visible, nodding. A grin spread across his features, he poked the dead guard with his foot and sighed. "He heard me, what can I say? Plans fail." He stated absently. "He was very much alive though, would have stayed that way too, if it wasn't for you."
"So you think this is my fault... Shocking!" Sean exclaimed.
Jake nodded, unsheathing his sword. "No... I just didn't think you would actually be this easily startled."
Sean shrugged. "What can I say? People trying to kill me tend to put me on edge." He smiled. "You are aware that if you win, they'll kill you?" He said, nodding towards the, at least ten, actives that had stopped around them, unable to do a thing since Sean ordered them to stay away.
"Not if I can take you down before the rain starts, either way… I’d be a small price to pay." Jake said stepping forward.
"Sean..." One of the actives called in a concerned tone.
“It's alright.” Sean told him. “Just stand back.”
Jake didn’t waste any more time with talking. He attacked Sean so fast that by the time one of the actives managed to say “watch out”, Sean already had dodged the incoming blow and returned it by swinging his sword in the direction of Jake’s face, missing him by less than an inch. Jake was forced to take a step back so the blade wouldn’t make contact with his right eye. “Please, not in the face.” He said, in an amused tone, as he caught his balance and advanced again.
For quite some time the sound of clashing metal was only interrupted by the howling of ever increasing winds and the roar of thunder as the two men fought, almost evenly, except that Jake was forcing Sean back every time he attempted to strike him, to a point where Sean was barely able to strike back anymore. Apparently, he was simply struggling to block the hits.
However, the sound of another falling tree, this time dangerously close to camp, served the purpose of taking Jake’s attention from the fight for a split second. Sean used that time to pull a dagger from his belt as he attacked Jake with his sword one more time.
The moment Jake blocked the sword with his own blade he knew he made a huge mistake, although it was too late to do anything about it. At the same time as he managed to knock the sword out of Sean’s left hand, he felt the dagger pierce through his abdomen. Trying to breathe through the pain, he dropped his sword and grabbed Sean’s arm with both hands trying to stop him from pulling the blade out, since that would probably cause him to bleed out faster.
Sean chuckled. “You’re a stubborn son of a bitch, I have to give you that...”
Jake firmed his grip, pulling Sean closer. “I found… Your… father’s… ring.”
Sean flinched at the words. “What?”
Jake responded with only a smirk, and Sean only had the time to push him away as he pulled his own dagger and slashed at his chest. The blow would have been fatal had he been a split second slower in his movement, however Sean ended up on the ground with a scratch, as Jake managed to conceal himself and disappear. Although wounded, and with the incoming rain, he wouldn’t go far.
“NO.” Sean managed to shout as the actives started to organize to hunt Jake down. Once he grasped their attention he lowered his tone, getting back on his feet, slowly. “There’s a storm coming, it’s better to just let him go. He won’t go very far, we can always hunt him down later.” He sighed. “If we’re lucky we’ll find him dead somewhere.” He knew that wasn’t the case, but he didn’t want his people running around on the forest during a storm on account of Jake. He’d find a way to get him later, one way or another.
An angry groan caught his attention and he looked to the spot where Ali was now sitting, with her head between her knees. “Allison, are you alright?”
“My head aches like… I don’t even know. What happened?” She mumbled.
“How could you not have heard him?” Sean asked, a bit of resentment clear in his tone.
“Heard who?” She asked, looking up at him confused.
“Ali… What is the last thing you remember?” He asked.
“Wake up, there’s a storm coming.” She recited. “What happened to your shirt?”
Sean shook his head, walking towards the katana Jake had dropped on the ground. It was valuable to him, odds were he’d try to get it back eventually. He handed the sword to a nearby active. “Here, take this to the office. If you see Evin around somewhere tell him what happened, but don’t need to give him details.” He sighed. “The rest of you, go back to work, we don’t have much time left. Allison…” He sighed. “Go join the recruits on the cafeteria. You probably won’t be much use in the next few hours anyway.
Ali managed to stand, barely, and stumble away to where she had been ordered, still seeming confused as to what exactly happened. Sean sighed, reaching for the wound on his chest and wincing. It was only superficial; his shirt took most of the hit, it had been sliced right open. However, one wrong move and it wouldn’t have been just the shirt.
------------------------
Ali had reached the cafeteria, still hanging on to her head as if she expected it to suddenly fall off. It surely did feel like it. She sat at a corner of the crowded room where the recruits, younger children, and cooks were gathered. She heard the other instructor, an older man, tell her that he was going to out and help since she was there. She nodded painfully in acknowledgement without giving him a word. She also managed to resist the impulse of screaming at one of the cooks who insisted in trying to push a bowl of stew on her, claiming that she looked weak. "No, thank you." She muttered out, making it clear by her tone that she wasn't going to eat anything, and it was best to just back off.
After a few moments, the pain in her head began to subside and she managed to look around the room, noticing the small children hanging onto their parents, or older siblings. She smiled slightly at one little girl that seemed to be looking for someone there who didn't look alarmed. The girl smiled back, tightening her hold on her mother's leg as the woman spoke to a friend. Ali ran a hand through hair, still feeling a little bit of pain, trying to remember what she was doing before she blacked out, but failing to do so. Giving up, she pulled a small carving knife from her belt and, as she reached into a pocket for a piece of wood she have saved there, she found a folded envelope instead.
Frowning, she opened it. There were folded papers. On the outside of one, a note from a familiar handwriting:
Show this only to Evin. Found it hidden underneath a floorboard in Lionel's room.
Sorry about the headache.
"Son of a bitch!" Ali exclaimed, a little louder than intended. Faking a smile until everyone stopped staring she unfolded the papers, recognizing Dani's handwriting immediately. Her blue eyes widening as she read the words. "Shit." She whispered.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Valcrest - Heading South]
Jake had managed to leave and it seemed like he wasn’t being followed, he knew it would have been easier to get in and out of camp with a storm coming, but… Things hadn't ended up exactly as planned. It had been good enough though. He had managed to find what he was looking for; hopefully Ali would notice what he left in her pocket whenever she woke up. If she did, then he had finally managed to prove one thing. It didn’t ease his conscience, but it was the truth.
Being found wasn’t part of the plan, getting a guard killed was not part of the plan… Getting stabbed? Definitely not a part of the plan. He chuckled to himself thinking that, wherever Dani was, she was probably laughing at him now. Not like he hadn’t been warned before: Plans fail. All the time. He heaved a heavy sigh, still trying to keep his wound from bleeding too much. “I suppose it could have gone worse, huh?” He whispered to himself, pulling away from the tree he had been leaning against and forcing himself to keep walking, completely unaware of the movement, not too far from him, amongst the trees.
"Pretty damn scary, huh?" Sean heard someone shout close to him.
"What?" He said turning to Ali with a confused expression.
She chuckled. "I said that it's pretty scary... The storm." She repeated, raising her voice. "I've never actually seen one like this since I came to live here. Dani once told me they could be really brutal though. She told me that, one time they had to rebuild half the camp. Some workers were crushed under a tree."
"Oh, yeah... We all heard those stories. They usually tell them to kids so they don't wander off during storms. I actually..." He paused when the roaring thunder made it impossible for him to be heard. "I actually have memory of one, but I was five then. All I remember is hiding under Lionel's bed and hoping the house didn't fly away with the wind." He told her.
The loud sound of a tree going down in the distance cause some people to scream, Sean chuckled. "That wasn't even close to here." He said to himself, nodding. Then he turned to Ali and asked. "All the recruits are gathered in the cafeteria?"
"Yes." She said. "An instructor is with them. I'll join them once it actually gets ugly." She answered, looking around. "Technically that group of cabins over there and the leaders' cabin are the safest places to be during the storm, but I don't think we can fit everyone in those." She stated.
"Probably not." He agreed. "Did you know that the leaders' cabin is the only house in this camp that was never destroyed? Can you imagine how many storms like this it has survived?" He commented in a rather excited tone. "How incredible is that?"
"Awesome." Ali said with a chuckle. "Are we pretending that's the reason why you moved there?"
"Yeah, well... 'Invisible man' has his mind set on killing me, so I had to. I know Jake might be going nuts, but he won't kill me in the leaders' cabin." Sean muttered. "Don't think I enjoy leaving my brother and sister living alone."
"Calm down, it's not like they live far from you. Besides, we haven't had any sign of Jake since last time. I think the arrow I put in him might have scared him off." She smiled.
"Yeah, that was a good shot Ali, but you and I know you could have shot to kill if you wanted to." Sean said with a frown. "I wouldn't have to fear for my life if you had."
Ali sighed. "Don't be dramatic Sean."
"I'm not. You know, for assassins, we've done very little killing lately. Evin won't kill any Black Knights, you won't shoot poor little Jake... I mean really, at some point people are going to start thinking we're getting soft."
"I think it's great we're not in any more trouble with Newhaven. I know it makes me sound like a coward, but I really don't care." She frowned. "As for Jake... I won't go into that subject with you. You wouldn't understand." She said, frowning. "Either way, we should focus on the storm. Today is the one day we don't have to worry about Jake."
"How do you know?" Sean said.
"Because... It's going to rain. It'll take a few hours for the looks of it, but it's definitely going to rain. And Jake can't be invisible in the rain."
Sean nodded. "That's right I forgot about th-" He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, staring at the door of his house.
"What?" Ali asked.
Sean simply shook his head in response; he could have sworn that door was closing on its own. Could have been the wind, but it was way too subtle to have been just that. He frowned, and then pulled his sword.
"What is it?" Ali repeated watching him with an expression that clearly stated she thought he was losing it.
"He's here." Sean whispered.
"It's the thirteenth time you say this in the past four days Sean, I've actually counted. You know what, I think Jake doesn't want to kill you. I think he's trying to drive you nuts. And it's working like a charm." She told him.
Sean heaved a sigh, Ali had a point. He was about to put the sword away when he felt something behind him and turned, slashing blindly at the invisible person behind him. He did hit someone, however, it wasn't Jake who dropped dead at his feet; it was one of the guards. The second person to fall at his feet was Ali, although, she was merely knocked unconscious. Before Sean could recover from the shock he felt a fist to his face, and stumbled back, laughing. "That was low even for you Jake! A human shield? Wow!" He said, wiping a little bit of blood with his sleeve. "You know, you're really starting to get annoying. Why don't you stop sneaking around and fight like a man? If you want to kill me, fine, fight me for it." He said raising a hand to stop the actives that were already rushing towards him.
Jake made himself visible, nodding. A grin spread across his features, he poked the dead guard with his foot and sighed. "He heard me, what can I say? Plans fail." He stated absently. "He was very much alive though, would have stayed that way too, if it wasn't for you."
"So you think this is my fault... Shocking!" Sean exclaimed.
Jake nodded, unsheathing his sword. "No... I just didn't think you would actually be this easily startled."
Sean shrugged. "What can I say? People trying to kill me tend to put me on edge." He smiled. "You are aware that if you win, they'll kill you?" He said, nodding towards the, at least ten, actives that had stopped around them, unable to do a thing since Sean ordered them to stay away.
"Not if I can take you down before the rain starts, either way… I’d be a small price to pay." Jake said stepping forward.
"Sean..." One of the actives called in a concerned tone.
“It's alright.” Sean told him. “Just stand back.”
Jake didn’t waste any more time with talking. He attacked Sean so fast that by the time one of the actives managed to say “watch out”, Sean already had dodged the incoming blow and returned it by swinging his sword in the direction of Jake’s face, missing him by less than an inch. Jake was forced to take a step back so the blade wouldn’t make contact with his right eye. “Please, not in the face.” He said, in an amused tone, as he caught his balance and advanced again.
For quite some time the sound of clashing metal was only interrupted by the howling of ever increasing winds and the roar of thunder as the two men fought, almost evenly, except that Jake was forcing Sean back every time he attempted to strike him, to a point where Sean was barely able to strike back anymore. Apparently, he was simply struggling to block the hits.
However, the sound of another falling tree, this time dangerously close to camp, served the purpose of taking Jake’s attention from the fight for a split second. Sean used that time to pull a dagger from his belt as he attacked Jake with his sword one more time.
The moment Jake blocked the sword with his own blade he knew he made a huge mistake, although it was too late to do anything about it. At the same time as he managed to knock the sword out of Sean’s left hand, he felt the dagger pierce through his abdomen. Trying to breathe through the pain, he dropped his sword and grabbed Sean’s arm with both hands trying to stop him from pulling the blade out, since that would probably cause him to bleed out faster.
Sean chuckled. “You’re a stubborn son of a bitch, I have to give you that...”
Jake firmed his grip, pulling Sean closer. “I found… Your… father’s… ring.”
Sean flinched at the words. “What?”
Jake responded with only a smirk, and Sean only had the time to push him away as he pulled his own dagger and slashed at his chest. The blow would have been fatal had he been a split second slower in his movement, however Sean ended up on the ground with a scratch, as Jake managed to conceal himself and disappear. Although wounded, and with the incoming rain, he wouldn’t go far.
“NO.” Sean managed to shout as the actives started to organize to hunt Jake down. Once he grasped their attention he lowered his tone, getting back on his feet, slowly. “There’s a storm coming, it’s better to just let him go. He won’t go very far, we can always hunt him down later.” He sighed. “If we’re lucky we’ll find him dead somewhere.” He knew that wasn’t the case, but he didn’t want his people running around on the forest during a storm on account of Jake. He’d find a way to get him later, one way or another.
An angry groan caught his attention and he looked to the spot where Ali was now sitting, with her head between her knees. “Allison, are you alright?”
“My head aches like… I don’t even know. What happened?” She mumbled.
“How could you not have heard him?” Sean asked, a bit of resentment clear in his tone.
“Heard who?” She asked, looking up at him confused.
“Ali… What is the last thing you remember?” He asked.
“Wake up, there’s a storm coming.” She recited. “What happened to your shirt?”
Sean shook his head, walking towards the katana Jake had dropped on the ground. It was valuable to him, odds were he’d try to get it back eventually. He handed the sword to a nearby active. “Here, take this to the office. If you see Evin around somewhere tell him what happened, but don’t need to give him details.” He sighed. “The rest of you, go back to work, we don’t have much time left. Allison…” He sighed. “Go join the recruits on the cafeteria. You probably won’t be much use in the next few hours anyway.
Ali managed to stand, barely, and stumble away to where she had been ordered, still seeming confused as to what exactly happened. Sean sighed, reaching for the wound on his chest and wincing. It was only superficial; his shirt took most of the hit, it had been sliced right open. However, one wrong move and it wouldn’t have been just the shirt.
------------------------
Ali had reached the cafeteria, still hanging on to her head as if she expected it to suddenly fall off. It surely did feel like it. She sat at a corner of the crowded room where the recruits, younger children, and cooks were gathered. She heard the other instructor, an older man, tell her that he was going to out and help since she was there. She nodded painfully in acknowledgement without giving him a word. She also managed to resist the impulse of screaming at one of the cooks who insisted in trying to push a bowl of stew on her, claiming that she looked weak. "No, thank you." She muttered out, making it clear by her tone that she wasn't going to eat anything, and it was best to just back off.
After a few moments, the pain in her head began to subside and she managed to look around the room, noticing the small children hanging onto their parents, or older siblings. She smiled slightly at one little girl that seemed to be looking for someone there who didn't look alarmed. The girl smiled back, tightening her hold on her mother's leg as the woman spoke to a friend. Ali ran a hand through hair, still feeling a little bit of pain, trying to remember what she was doing before she blacked out, but failing to do so. Giving up, she pulled a small carving knife from her belt and, as she reached into a pocket for a piece of wood she have saved there, she found a folded envelope instead.
Frowning, she opened it. There were folded papers. On the outside of one, a note from a familiar handwriting:
Show this only to Evin. Found it hidden underneath a floorboard in Lionel's room.
Sorry about the headache.
"Son of a bitch!" Ali exclaimed, a little louder than intended. Faking a smile until everyone stopped staring she unfolded the papers, recognizing Dani's handwriting immediately. Her blue eyes widening as she read the words. "Shit." She whispered.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Valcrest - Heading South]
Jake had managed to leave and it seemed like he wasn’t being followed, he knew it would have been easier to get in and out of camp with a storm coming, but… Things hadn't ended up exactly as planned. It had been good enough though. He had managed to find what he was looking for; hopefully Ali would notice what he left in her pocket whenever she woke up. If she did, then he had finally managed to prove one thing. It didn’t ease his conscience, but it was the truth.
Being found wasn’t part of the plan, getting a guard killed was not part of the plan… Getting stabbed? Definitely not a part of the plan. He chuckled to himself thinking that, wherever Dani was, she was probably laughing at him now. Not like he hadn’t been warned before: Plans fail. All the time. He heaved a heavy sigh, still trying to keep his wound from bleeding too much. “I suppose it could have gone worse, huh?” He whispered to himself, pulling away from the tree he had been leaning against and forcing himself to keep walking, completely unaware of the movement, not too far from him, amongst the trees.
Evin was standing outside, baring the howling winds and listening to the thunder cracking in the distance. Some people thought that when the Gods get really angry that they would do this to Valcrest to punish it. Evin could see why after such a bloody time in it's history that the Gods might do that, but he didn't imagine that the Gods were capable of it. He understood that they were somewhere out there in the Divine Heaven, but he didn't believe that the Divine Heaven was anywhere in the sky or above them for that matter like most did. He believed that it was beyond the limits of any human or animal and since birds could fly, then there was no way that they could be there.
The wind began to pick up. The howls and screams sounded just like the dead, wanting to break free from their graves, screaming to be released. It was very haunting and even more surreal. From the direction the wind was blowing, he saw, through some haze a shadow of a friend. Allison was also out for some reason, maybe to look for him, he had no idea. When she got close enough that they could have a conversation, he spoke up.
"It was said that Time could dodge lighting, the fastest thing known to man, but if you asked him to dodge the raindrops as well he just couldn't do it. They say he came close at times, but it was just impossible for him to be perfect. Sounds like a great way to train don't you think?" He smiled, looking directly in her eyes.
"Time was an interesting guy. He could literally stop or go back in time, yet he could never find the time to get everything done. No matter hard he tried. Given time, he would have been able to do it. Don't count me out just yet."
When Allison shoved the papers into his hand, he almost instantly realised what it was. They were the missing pages of Dani's diary. "I really need to know how you got these Allison. It's very important that I know." He said looking at the papers. They explained that Dani was sick and that she knew about her oncoming death. It was almost funny how much hell that she put everyone through just so she could be assured that everyone would feel safe under her command. At least, that's what he believed she wanted everyone to think.
Ali had left the cafeteria looking for Evin. She didn't expect anyone to know this, but she asked everyone she found along the way if they had seen him. The answer was always a "No." She wasn't surprised. It seemed to be a common characteristic of leaders in the Pack to be able to disappear at will. Most of all when they needed time to think. Following that train of thought she went to the places she knew were the most isolated, once she walked past the memorial, into a more secluded clearing, she finally spotted the man. She had one hand on the inside of her pocket, griping the journal pages Jake had left her with, a part of her feared that the rain would suddenly drop on her and destroy them somehow.
When she got close enough to hear Evin she stopped a moment to think of his words, tilting her head to one side. "Is that why you are out here in this weather? Because if Time himself couldn't do it, I'd say the odds are against you." She said, cracking open a little smile. "You know, Crys once told me that, if she concentrated enough, she could almost hear every single rain drop." She sighed. "That was on the beginning of my training though, so chances are she was just messing with my head... I still try to do it once in a while though." She took a few steps closer and pulled the folded papers out of her pocket. "Don't ask me how I got them, because I really have no clue. If knew what they were I wouldn't even have read them." She said, pushing the papers on to his hands as if she was glad to finally get rid of the weight of those words.
Ali gave Evin an amused look. "Given time?" She chuckled. "You realize the irony of what you just said? I think no one is suppose to get everything done. I mean, that's why there's so many of us, no?"
She then sighed, looking down at her feet for a moment, but making sure she looked back up before she answered. "I honestly don't know what happened. I know Jake was here. I'm pretty sure he attacked Sean again, although he's fine, but..." She ran one hand over her eyes, nodding. "He dosed me with something, I think, because all of a sudden I was waking up in the middle of camp with one killer headache. I don't remember anything that happened this morning either. Hopefully that's temporary. When I made it to the cafeteria to watch the recruits I found those in my pocket, and here..." She pointed what Jake wrote. "That's all I know, but then... I don't really know if I can take Jake's word anymore at this point." She stated, a slightly annoyed expression crossing her for a second. "If they were really in Lionel's room though, well... I'm pretty sure he couldn't have taken them. Crys would have known if someone had touched her mother's things."
Evin looked at the words Jake had written on the page. He really didn't want to trust the man, but there wasn't any reason not to trust him on this one. He didn't know why Lionel would want the pages...
"Wait. I had taken the book out the day that we discovered Crystal's body. If I'm remembering correctly, I had checked the pages myself and there were none missing at that time. I didn't leave the cabin at all for that entire week, except maybe once or twice for twenty minutes at the most." He paused trying to remember who had gone into the cabin during that time. "Now, the only people who came into the cabin was a healer, to update me on their situation. Let's see umm, you? No. A recruit on a stupid dare, but they didn't reach my desk. I think the only other person was Sean."
Evin's eyes widened as he thought about the circumstances. He doubted that the healer had the ability, nor the will do something like that. The only other option was Sean and that would explain why the pages were found in Lionel's house. Evin wasn't sure what to do about this. He couldn't confront Sean with it if the allegations were true, that could be dangerous if that was the case. He could demote him, he had reason to, but would Allison be willing to take his place? She didn't show interest in it before. Things were far too complicated.
"There is something I'd like to show you as well." He said, pulling out the parchment from the Blackpond assassin out of his pocket. "I found this note inside the seams of a dead assassin's outfit. The man works for Blackpond. It says: 'The king isn't the only body we are going to have to worry about. Get ready for the change.' It sounds like it was a letter. What do you think it means?"
"Sean?" Ali shook her head, which ended up being a bad idea since it brought back some of the aching. "Say, if he did take it, why would he?" It didn't make any sense. If he didn't want anyone to read this, why not destroy it? And why wouldn't he want anyone to read this? It didn't affect him in any way. Ali sighed, running a hand through her hair, trying hard not to think of the fact that the last time she saw Dani she was probably already dying.
The message Evin had to show her was enough to pull her thoughts away from the past. She mumbled the words on the note to herself, frowning. "Hum... This person worked for Blackpond? For the looks of it, his mission was altered in some way. Oddly enough, unless they're using some sort of code, the only actual living king is the one of Blackpond. Although, nothing says or implies that this refers to a live body. It could be a dead body, so it means a dead king. Don't know what they would want with a dead king though. And worry about could mean, kill, hide, move or protect..." She made a pause and then added. "Or I'm talking nonsense... Which doesn't really help. Truth is, out of context, it can mean pretty much anything." She gave a light shrug, looking up as she noticed it was getting even darker. "The rain is going to start pretty soon and, I suppose I have a room filled with scared kids I need to babysit... Oh, joy!" She exclaimed in a highly sarcastic tone. "So, unless you need me for something, I should go back to that. I'm sure whatever this means, it can wait at least until the sky is done falling."
“No Allison, that will be enough. Be sure not to overwork yourself with that headache. Oh and take the journal entries with you.” Evin said, letting Allison leave.
Once again it was only the weather and him in the ongoing struggle to outdo the other. The whales and cracks, the behemoth tree not to far in the distance collapsing. Evin didn’t dare move out of fear that he would be next to be on the ground. The thick smell of fresh water was the first sign of the waterfall that was to come. With one more crack of lightning, it began.
Evin’s eyes turned a shinny black and a slight tingle could be felt in his fingertips. Since attacking the Black Knights, he had managed to practice a lot more with his powers, but still not enough. If he was doing it to the level he knew he could, he wouldn’t be feeling this minor discomfort just yet.
When Evin looked above him, he could every single drop of rain. It was still coming down at a fair speed and coming at an unimaginable angle. The wind must have picked up, but at the speed Evin was going, it didn’t seem like much. The first few drops were easy to dodge, moving around them like a dancer moves around a stage. After that, it started to become a little more difficult. His goal was to dodge them for at least five, real time seconds. He was on about the third second when he just couldn’t dodge them any more. It was like a slew of arrows all pointed in his direction, firing only split seconds after one another. He had more of an appreciation for just how good Time was at manipulating time if he could go through an entire storm and only get hit by one rain drop.
When Evin stopped using his powers, he was struck down by the water, knocking him off his feet and instantly soaking him top to bottom. The parchment was instantly destroyed. “Well I guess it’s best if I just get back inside now.” He said, just barely able to hear himself over the raging wind.
He ran through the forest to get to the main camp ground. A couple of trees were sprawled across the area, one overtop of where the camp fire was usually set. Continuing to run, he made it finally to the path that lead to the leaders cabin. He could see one tree precariously hanging, ready to fall right in front of the door to the cabin. If that thing fell, it would be a while before people could get in or out. He quickly walked through the door, and instantly went into his room to change.
The wind began to pick up. The howls and screams sounded just like the dead, wanting to break free from their graves, screaming to be released. It was very haunting and even more surreal. From the direction the wind was blowing, he saw, through some haze a shadow of a friend. Allison was also out for some reason, maybe to look for him, he had no idea. When she got close enough that they could have a conversation, he spoke up.
"It was said that Time could dodge lighting, the fastest thing known to man, but if you asked him to dodge the raindrops as well he just couldn't do it. They say he came close at times, but it was just impossible for him to be perfect. Sounds like a great way to train don't you think?" He smiled, looking directly in her eyes.
"Time was an interesting guy. He could literally stop or go back in time, yet he could never find the time to get everything done. No matter hard he tried. Given time, he would have been able to do it. Don't count me out just yet."
When Allison shoved the papers into his hand, he almost instantly realised what it was. They were the missing pages of Dani's diary. "I really need to know how you got these Allison. It's very important that I know." He said looking at the papers. They explained that Dani was sick and that she knew about her oncoming death. It was almost funny how much hell that she put everyone through just so she could be assured that everyone would feel safe under her command. At least, that's what he believed she wanted everyone to think.
Ali had left the cafeteria looking for Evin. She didn't expect anyone to know this, but she asked everyone she found along the way if they had seen him. The answer was always a "No." She wasn't surprised. It seemed to be a common characteristic of leaders in the Pack to be able to disappear at will. Most of all when they needed time to think. Following that train of thought she went to the places she knew were the most isolated, once she walked past the memorial, into a more secluded clearing, she finally spotted the man. She had one hand on the inside of her pocket, griping the journal pages Jake had left her with, a part of her feared that the rain would suddenly drop on her and destroy them somehow.
When she got close enough to hear Evin she stopped a moment to think of his words, tilting her head to one side. "Is that why you are out here in this weather? Because if Time himself couldn't do it, I'd say the odds are against you." She said, cracking open a little smile. "You know, Crys once told me that, if she concentrated enough, she could almost hear every single rain drop." She sighed. "That was on the beginning of my training though, so chances are she was just messing with my head... I still try to do it once in a while though." She took a few steps closer and pulled the folded papers out of her pocket. "Don't ask me how I got them, because I really have no clue. If knew what they were I wouldn't even have read them." She said, pushing the papers on to his hands as if she was glad to finally get rid of the weight of those words.
Ali gave Evin an amused look. "Given time?" She chuckled. "You realize the irony of what you just said? I think no one is suppose to get everything done. I mean, that's why there's so many of us, no?"
She then sighed, looking down at her feet for a moment, but making sure she looked back up before she answered. "I honestly don't know what happened. I know Jake was here. I'm pretty sure he attacked Sean again, although he's fine, but..." She ran one hand over her eyes, nodding. "He dosed me with something, I think, because all of a sudden I was waking up in the middle of camp with one killer headache. I don't remember anything that happened this morning either. Hopefully that's temporary. When I made it to the cafeteria to watch the recruits I found those in my pocket, and here..." She pointed what Jake wrote. "That's all I know, but then... I don't really know if I can take Jake's word anymore at this point." She stated, a slightly annoyed expression crossing her for a second. "If they were really in Lionel's room though, well... I'm pretty sure he couldn't have taken them. Crys would have known if someone had touched her mother's things."
Evin looked at the words Jake had written on the page. He really didn't want to trust the man, but there wasn't any reason not to trust him on this one. He didn't know why Lionel would want the pages...
"Wait. I had taken the book out the day that we discovered Crystal's body. If I'm remembering correctly, I had checked the pages myself and there were none missing at that time. I didn't leave the cabin at all for that entire week, except maybe once or twice for twenty minutes at the most." He paused trying to remember who had gone into the cabin during that time. "Now, the only people who came into the cabin was a healer, to update me on their situation. Let's see umm, you? No. A recruit on a stupid dare, but they didn't reach my desk. I think the only other person was Sean."
Evin's eyes widened as he thought about the circumstances. He doubted that the healer had the ability, nor the will do something like that. The only other option was Sean and that would explain why the pages were found in Lionel's house. Evin wasn't sure what to do about this. He couldn't confront Sean with it if the allegations were true, that could be dangerous if that was the case. He could demote him, he had reason to, but would Allison be willing to take his place? She didn't show interest in it before. Things were far too complicated.
"There is something I'd like to show you as well." He said, pulling out the parchment from the Blackpond assassin out of his pocket. "I found this note inside the seams of a dead assassin's outfit. The man works for Blackpond. It says: 'The king isn't the only body we are going to have to worry about. Get ready for the change.' It sounds like it was a letter. What do you think it means?"
"Sean?" Ali shook her head, which ended up being a bad idea since it brought back some of the aching. "Say, if he did take it, why would he?" It didn't make any sense. If he didn't want anyone to read this, why not destroy it? And why wouldn't he want anyone to read this? It didn't affect him in any way. Ali sighed, running a hand through her hair, trying hard not to think of the fact that the last time she saw Dani she was probably already dying.
The message Evin had to show her was enough to pull her thoughts away from the past. She mumbled the words on the note to herself, frowning. "Hum... This person worked for Blackpond? For the looks of it, his mission was altered in some way. Oddly enough, unless they're using some sort of code, the only actual living king is the one of Blackpond. Although, nothing says or implies that this refers to a live body. It could be a dead body, so it means a dead king. Don't know what they would want with a dead king though. And worry about could mean, kill, hide, move or protect..." She made a pause and then added. "Or I'm talking nonsense... Which doesn't really help. Truth is, out of context, it can mean pretty much anything." She gave a light shrug, looking up as she noticed it was getting even darker. "The rain is going to start pretty soon and, I suppose I have a room filled with scared kids I need to babysit... Oh, joy!" She exclaimed in a highly sarcastic tone. "So, unless you need me for something, I should go back to that. I'm sure whatever this means, it can wait at least until the sky is done falling."
“No Allison, that will be enough. Be sure not to overwork yourself with that headache. Oh and take the journal entries with you.” Evin said, letting Allison leave.
Once again it was only the weather and him in the ongoing struggle to outdo the other. The whales and cracks, the behemoth tree not to far in the distance collapsing. Evin didn’t dare move out of fear that he would be next to be on the ground. The thick smell of fresh water was the first sign of the waterfall that was to come. With one more crack of lightning, it began.
Evin’s eyes turned a shinny black and a slight tingle could be felt in his fingertips. Since attacking the Black Knights, he had managed to practice a lot more with his powers, but still not enough. If he was doing it to the level he knew he could, he wouldn’t be feeling this minor discomfort just yet.
When Evin looked above him, he could every single drop of rain. It was still coming down at a fair speed and coming at an unimaginable angle. The wind must have picked up, but at the speed Evin was going, it didn’t seem like much. The first few drops were easy to dodge, moving around them like a dancer moves around a stage. After that, it started to become a little more difficult. His goal was to dodge them for at least five, real time seconds. He was on about the third second when he just couldn’t dodge them any more. It was like a slew of arrows all pointed in his direction, firing only split seconds after one another. He had more of an appreciation for just how good Time was at manipulating time if he could go through an entire storm and only get hit by one rain drop.
When Evin stopped using his powers, he was struck down by the water, knocking him off his feet and instantly soaking him top to bottom. The parchment was instantly destroyed. “Well I guess it’s best if I just get back inside now.” He said, just barely able to hear himself over the raging wind.
He ran through the forest to get to the main camp ground. A couple of trees were sprawled across the area, one overtop of where the camp fire was usually set. Continuing to run, he made it finally to the path that lead to the leaders cabin. He could see one tree precariously hanging, ready to fall right in front of the door to the cabin. If that thing fell, it would be a while before people could get in or out. He quickly walked through the door, and instantly went into his room to change.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
-First Week-
Mageria held her first strategy meeting after about a week had passed. People had started rebuilding and pulling their shattered lives together by that point, those who were wounded were healing and the dead had been taken care of. She still wasn’t capable of standing the entire time, so she had a stool set at the head of the table. In front of her was a map of Blackpond and around the table was the best of her irregulars from her Black Guard. She wasn’t going to be sending them on a normal mission, so she needed people who could think outside of normal parameters. That meant these people. It took a couple of hours to get everything worked out and the plan outlined as much as she wanted, but after going over everything that she could think of, she had to be happy. The entire point of what she was planning was that it was tenuous enough that her people had to think for them selves. And she just had to trust that she had trained them well enough to do that.
-Later that Day-
Several scruffy mercenaries walked into Blackpond near the end of the day. Their gear showed clear signs of wear and they looked like they had been through several fights recently. After talking to the guards at the gates, they made their way to an inn that was one step away from falling down. After choking down a meal that was best unexamined, they went to their rooms and settled in. That night, a fog so thick that it was impossible to see the other side of the street rolled silently through the town, blanketing everything in a thick mist. The second night was similar, keeping people inside next to their hearth fires. By the third night, whispers had started to work their way through Blackpond about the way that the Healers had been captured.
“They’re supposed to be safe; not to be touched by anyone.”
“If they leave, who’s going to help us?”
“Why would King Rory do such a thing?”
There was no way to track where these whispers started and no way to stop them. Once they started they spread like wildfire. But they were only the whispers of people who had too much time to spend indoors. The fog was so thick that it was almost dangerous to leave one’s house after dusk.
Up in the castle they had their own problems. Some sort of sickness was spreading, not enough to cause any real damage, but enough that the men were being forced to spend the night in the privy, suddenly and unexpectedly. Which meant that if one was very careful, and happened to have the ability to look like somebody else, one could get into any number of interesting places.
---------------
A thin young man tapped on the cell door late that night, somewhere near midnight. The guard who normally guarded this point was ‘mysteriously’ sick; which meant that somebody who volunteered could guard just about any point that he cared to.
“Healer Lena? Cap’n sends her regards. She also regrets to say that its going to take a while to set things up so that she can get you all out. To that point, she asks how many of you all are present and if you are going to be capable of running when the time comes?”
Lena was half asleep, sitting on the ground near the door. The one escape attempt had gone bad, as Lena thought it probably would, and since then the guards had been smart enough to stop lighting torches in their hall at night, making it harder to know when there was someone outside the door by looking at shadows. They had also put on a different guard in their section of the dungeon daily, so that Lena didn't have enough time to get into their heads. Those guys were organized, and they learned pretty quickly what not to do. There were no attempts after that.
A voice calling from the outside of the cell woke Lena fully and she raised her head, glancing briefly at the sleeping girl before rubbing her eyes and responding. "In this cell, there is only me and the girl. All cells in the section of the prison are filled with healers, however. Two or three in every cell, last I heard. We can both run." She answered quickly.
The man looked up and down the hall, counting on his fingers and nodding.
"Aye, I think we can manage that then. I am sorry to say that it's going to be a while though. We have a lot to clean up back at home and the Cap'n's barely on her feet as it is. Something about coming back from the dead and such. But she told me to tell you that she promised that she was going to pull you all out if she had to tear down the Castle with her bare hands, and given what she's done recently; I wouldn't put it past her. She also said to tell you that as far as she can find out, your daughter and everyone else got away into the desert without trouble."
He took a quick glance up and down the hall, it was still clear and he had a few more moments based on what he knew about the rounds that the guards walked.
"Oh, also, you might want to be careful about eating what they bring you for the next few days, could lead to a few problems."
Lena shook her head smiling slightly. She couldn't pretend she hadn't been worried about her kid, or the clan. She certainly appreciated the news "Back from the dead huh? Well that's something you don't see everyday.Tell your captain I appreciate everything she is doing, but she shouldn't push herself too much. I doubt that she'll listen, but tell her anyway." She said with a little snicker. "As for the food, well... I'll make sure to take my precautions, thank you." She rubbed her eyes again, and heaved a long sigh. "Tell your captain that the girl is doing fine, and that I told her everything I know." She said, taking another glance at Ella, to make sure the girl was still asleep. " Say, is there any more I can help you with, boy?"
The young man grinned. "I'll be sure to pass that along when I see the Cap'n, though you're right that she won't listen." He coughed and looked up and down the hall again. He was almost out of time.
"Actually, if you wouldn't mind telling the guards that there's going to be a curse laid on the city because of what happened, we'd appreciate that. The Gods turning their faces away, the dead wandering the streets, nature running wild; that sort of thing. Feel free to come up with something more if you want to. Cap'n's idea is to make sure that this sort of thing never happens again."
Footsteps sounded down the hall, the young man knew he had only seconds.
"I'm sorry. I have to go." He hurried silently though the shadows, his face melting into that of another person, one who belonged where he was. The older man nodded to his replacement as they passed, the older man headed to his rest while his replacement took up his post.
Lena had to hold up laughter at the young man's request. Putting a scare on the guards was something that, in her opinion, never got old. "That is not difficult at all." She told him. One of the prisoners a couple of cells away was an illusionist. If she made a good enough scene for her to hear, the guards would be having nightmares pretty soon. She smiled gently as he said he had to go and simply whispered, closing her eyes again. "May the goddess protect you."
----------------------
It was after almost five days of the fog that people started seeing glowing lights moving about in the night. They wouldn’t have noticed anything at all, but some people swore that they could hear voices arguing, a woman crying, a child wailing. The whispers about the Healers being captured grew a bit louder after that.
A glowing figure walked down a street lined on either side with the houses of the moderately wealthy, lighting the thick fog just enough that she could be seen clearly. She held a bundle in her arms and rocked it softly as she walked, but the child would not be soothed, its cries piercing the night air. The woman was dressed in a tattered white dress, stained with soot. She looked around forlornly, as if she was seeking help that she knew that she wasn’t going to get. The people that lived in the houses that she walked past could see her clearly, right up to the point that she slowly faded away into the mist. But the cries of her child could still be heard for the rest of the night. After the first night she could be seen several times through the night, walking the street with her crying child, searching for something that she wasn’t going to find.
-Second Week-
The fog continued to come every night, forcing anybody who wanted to venture out to carry a heavy lantern and walk slowly. Those brave or foolish enough to venture out at night sometimes found themselves facing glowing figures that would walk past as if they didn’t see the other person, sometimes fading away, sometimes continuing on down the street. But always they would vanish whenever somebody tried to draw near. The whispers in the markets and the taverns was that they were the ghosts of the people that the Healers could have saved if they hadn’t been pushed away.
The glowing woman with her crying child walked down another residential road, pulling people from their rest once again. This time she went from gate to gate, rattling the bars in a vain attempt to find somebody who would let her in.
In the morning the people who had watching the woman walk down their street the night before woke to find that they could no longer leave their homes. Thick vines and grass had grown up overnight, blocking the doors and windows, trapping people in the homes that had been their sanctuaries.
The whispers started to talk about how the Gods themselves were angry with Blackpond for what they had done.
After that people started to wake to a town that seemed to be changing in horrible ways with nothing that they could do about it. One morning they woke to find the memorial garden in the center of town changed beyond all recognition. All of the plants in the gardens were dead and withered, while in the center the statue of the first King of Blackpond was completely shrouded in thick vines, veiling him from onlookers. It took workers hours to cut the vines away, as they clung to the statue with unusual strength.
This became the normal thing to expect in the morning. When people awoke, they looked around to find what was now overgrown or rotted away. When people met in the morning, they talked about the woman with the crying child, the young man who seemed fresh off the battle field, the lost child; all of whom had been seen wandering the streets late at night.
The whispers got louder.
-Third Week-
People were getting more and more edgy as time went on. The stress of finding your city changing for the worse about you was getting to people who hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time. That night the woman approached a crowed tavern, stopping a few feet away from the door. When the people inside heard her child’s cries the pushed up near the door and windows, trying to see and afraid at the same time.
“Why did my child burn?”
Her voice was unearthly and thin, reaching easily through the walls to the ears of those how had fallen silent at her first approach.
“Why did my child burn?”
There was no answer from the crowd.
“WHY DID MY CHILD BURN??”
As the final wail was torn from her throat, the warehouse down the street exploded. Flames shot into the sky while bits of wood were turned into shrapnel by the force of the blast. People everywhere either ducked or piled out of their homes to gape at the scene, while the flames reached upwards and something screamed like the very souls of the damned.
Down the street two people waited in the shadows of a house, hidden from everybody who might be looking at them.
“So, I thought we didn’t have any of that black powder stuff?” It was one of the twins who had helped form the illusions that had saved parts of Newhaven from the catapults earlier that month. The man that she spoke to was the one to cast the illusions in the first place. Between the two of them they had been creating the ‘ghosts’ that roamed the night lately, while another of their group created the fog at night.
“Nah, it wasn’t black powder at all. Flour.”
“Flour? For real?”
“Yeah, it’s crazy. You put a spark to flour in a contained space and it’s just as good as a bomb.”
“That Simon’s idea?”
“Nah, the Captain’s. She knows a frightening amount about how to make things go boom.”
“Remind me not to piss her off.”
After a long enough wait that it could be believed that they had just come out of the house where they leaned they went down the street to join the crowds in gawking, staying until it began to disperse, after which they went back to their crowded rooms.
-Forth Week-
Two serving wenches hurried into the crowded kitchen, almost bumping into the table in their haste. The taller one twisted her hands in her apron, approaching the head chef fearfully.
“Sir? The king wanted me to get something from the wine cellar for him.”
The chef sighed and glared at the two of them, not wanting to stop work on the supper he was preparing.
“Aye then, what was it? I’ll fetch it for him.”
The smaller wench shot a panicked glance at the other one and then blushed a beet red. “Actually sir, the King wanted us to deliver it, um, personally.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, instead staring down at the floor.
The chef snorted. “Like that uh? Well you can deliver it after I . . . . bloody hell!” Behind them something crashed to the ground with a mighty clatter. With an oath, the chef threw the keys at the two of them and went to deal with the problem, swearing that if they took more than they should he would cut them up and serve them in the next nights stew. The two girls grabbed the keys and scurried off, not pausing until they reached the cellar. Once the door was locked tightly behind them, they paused to catch their breaths.
“Tell me again why we’re pretending to be wenches?” The shorter girl glared at the other as the illusion of femininity slid away, revealing ‘her’ to be a thin man in his late twenties.
The other ‘girl’ revealed herself to be Mageria’s illusionist, who rolled his eyes and laid his head against the door to listen.
“Because no one ever looks twice at a serving girl.”
“Never looks twice?! I got my ass pinched three separate times!”
“Yes, and none of them noticed that you weren't a fine woman. Given that my illusions don’t extend to touch, if you don’t want me to tell this to everyone that we know, you’ll shut up and do your job.”
The first man sighed and turned around, extending his hands and concentrating. Slowly, every single wine cask in the cellar started to disintegrate, rotting away and spilling out the wine. The rich liquid puddled on the floor, rising to almost three inches deep in some places. Next were the shelves that held the more rare bottles of wine. These broke quickly, the bottles falling down to crack on the hard flagstones. Wine, ale, beer, if it was in the cellar, it was ruined. If there were more than a handful of drinkable bottles left, it would have surprised the two of them.
Quickly the two men hurried back up the steps, one bottle tucked under each of their arms. After a quick pause, the two serving wenches hurried out, returning the keys and fleeing from the knowing leer that the chef sent their way.
Similar things had been happening all over the city over the past week. One night things would be fine, the next day all of the food or wine in a kitchen would be ruined past all eating.
People had started talking openly about what had happened to the Healers.
Mageria held her first strategy meeting after about a week had passed. People had started rebuilding and pulling their shattered lives together by that point, those who were wounded were healing and the dead had been taken care of. She still wasn’t capable of standing the entire time, so she had a stool set at the head of the table. In front of her was a map of Blackpond and around the table was the best of her irregulars from her Black Guard. She wasn’t going to be sending them on a normal mission, so she needed people who could think outside of normal parameters. That meant these people. It took a couple of hours to get everything worked out and the plan outlined as much as she wanted, but after going over everything that she could think of, she had to be happy. The entire point of what she was planning was that it was tenuous enough that her people had to think for them selves. And she just had to trust that she had trained them well enough to do that.
-Later that Day-
Several scruffy mercenaries walked into Blackpond near the end of the day. Their gear showed clear signs of wear and they looked like they had been through several fights recently. After talking to the guards at the gates, they made their way to an inn that was one step away from falling down. After choking down a meal that was best unexamined, they went to their rooms and settled in. That night, a fog so thick that it was impossible to see the other side of the street rolled silently through the town, blanketing everything in a thick mist. The second night was similar, keeping people inside next to their hearth fires. By the third night, whispers had started to work their way through Blackpond about the way that the Healers had been captured.
“They’re supposed to be safe; not to be touched by anyone.”
“If they leave, who’s going to help us?”
“Why would King Rory do such a thing?”
There was no way to track where these whispers started and no way to stop them. Once they started they spread like wildfire. But they were only the whispers of people who had too much time to spend indoors. The fog was so thick that it was almost dangerous to leave one’s house after dusk.
Up in the castle they had their own problems. Some sort of sickness was spreading, not enough to cause any real damage, but enough that the men were being forced to spend the night in the privy, suddenly and unexpectedly. Which meant that if one was very careful, and happened to have the ability to look like somebody else, one could get into any number of interesting places.
---------------
A thin young man tapped on the cell door late that night, somewhere near midnight. The guard who normally guarded this point was ‘mysteriously’ sick; which meant that somebody who volunteered could guard just about any point that he cared to.
“Healer Lena? Cap’n sends her regards. She also regrets to say that its going to take a while to set things up so that she can get you all out. To that point, she asks how many of you all are present and if you are going to be capable of running when the time comes?”
Lena was half asleep, sitting on the ground near the door. The one escape attempt had gone bad, as Lena thought it probably would, and since then the guards had been smart enough to stop lighting torches in their hall at night, making it harder to know when there was someone outside the door by looking at shadows. They had also put on a different guard in their section of the dungeon daily, so that Lena didn't have enough time to get into their heads. Those guys were organized, and they learned pretty quickly what not to do. There were no attempts after that.
A voice calling from the outside of the cell woke Lena fully and she raised her head, glancing briefly at the sleeping girl before rubbing her eyes and responding. "In this cell, there is only me and the girl. All cells in the section of the prison are filled with healers, however. Two or three in every cell, last I heard. We can both run." She answered quickly.
The man looked up and down the hall, counting on his fingers and nodding.
"Aye, I think we can manage that then. I am sorry to say that it's going to be a while though. We have a lot to clean up back at home and the Cap'n's barely on her feet as it is. Something about coming back from the dead and such. But she told me to tell you that she promised that she was going to pull you all out if she had to tear down the Castle with her bare hands, and given what she's done recently; I wouldn't put it past her. She also said to tell you that as far as she can find out, your daughter and everyone else got away into the desert without trouble."
He took a quick glance up and down the hall, it was still clear and he had a few more moments based on what he knew about the rounds that the guards walked.
"Oh, also, you might want to be careful about eating what they bring you for the next few days, could lead to a few problems."
Lena shook her head smiling slightly. She couldn't pretend she hadn't been worried about her kid, or the clan. She certainly appreciated the news "Back from the dead huh? Well that's something you don't see everyday.Tell your captain I appreciate everything she is doing, but she shouldn't push herself too much. I doubt that she'll listen, but tell her anyway." She said with a little snicker. "As for the food, well... I'll make sure to take my precautions, thank you." She rubbed her eyes again, and heaved a long sigh. "Tell your captain that the girl is doing fine, and that I told her everything I know." She said, taking another glance at Ella, to make sure the girl was still asleep. " Say, is there any more I can help you with, boy?"
The young man grinned. "I'll be sure to pass that along when I see the Cap'n, though you're right that she won't listen." He coughed and looked up and down the hall again. He was almost out of time.
"Actually, if you wouldn't mind telling the guards that there's going to be a curse laid on the city because of what happened, we'd appreciate that. The Gods turning their faces away, the dead wandering the streets, nature running wild; that sort of thing. Feel free to come up with something more if you want to. Cap'n's idea is to make sure that this sort of thing never happens again."
Footsteps sounded down the hall, the young man knew he had only seconds.
"I'm sorry. I have to go." He hurried silently though the shadows, his face melting into that of another person, one who belonged where he was. The older man nodded to his replacement as they passed, the older man headed to his rest while his replacement took up his post.
Lena had to hold up laughter at the young man's request. Putting a scare on the guards was something that, in her opinion, never got old. "That is not difficult at all." She told him. One of the prisoners a couple of cells away was an illusionist. If she made a good enough scene for her to hear, the guards would be having nightmares pretty soon. She smiled gently as he said he had to go and simply whispered, closing her eyes again. "May the goddess protect you."
----------------------
It was after almost five days of the fog that people started seeing glowing lights moving about in the night. They wouldn’t have noticed anything at all, but some people swore that they could hear voices arguing, a woman crying, a child wailing. The whispers about the Healers being captured grew a bit louder after that.
A glowing figure walked down a street lined on either side with the houses of the moderately wealthy, lighting the thick fog just enough that she could be seen clearly. She held a bundle in her arms and rocked it softly as she walked, but the child would not be soothed, its cries piercing the night air. The woman was dressed in a tattered white dress, stained with soot. She looked around forlornly, as if she was seeking help that she knew that she wasn’t going to get. The people that lived in the houses that she walked past could see her clearly, right up to the point that she slowly faded away into the mist. But the cries of her child could still be heard for the rest of the night. After the first night she could be seen several times through the night, walking the street with her crying child, searching for something that she wasn’t going to find.
-Second Week-
The fog continued to come every night, forcing anybody who wanted to venture out to carry a heavy lantern and walk slowly. Those brave or foolish enough to venture out at night sometimes found themselves facing glowing figures that would walk past as if they didn’t see the other person, sometimes fading away, sometimes continuing on down the street. But always they would vanish whenever somebody tried to draw near. The whispers in the markets and the taverns was that they were the ghosts of the people that the Healers could have saved if they hadn’t been pushed away.
The glowing woman with her crying child walked down another residential road, pulling people from their rest once again. This time she went from gate to gate, rattling the bars in a vain attempt to find somebody who would let her in.
In the morning the people who had watching the woman walk down their street the night before woke to find that they could no longer leave their homes. Thick vines and grass had grown up overnight, blocking the doors and windows, trapping people in the homes that had been their sanctuaries.
The whispers started to talk about how the Gods themselves were angry with Blackpond for what they had done.
After that people started to wake to a town that seemed to be changing in horrible ways with nothing that they could do about it. One morning they woke to find the memorial garden in the center of town changed beyond all recognition. All of the plants in the gardens were dead and withered, while in the center the statue of the first King of Blackpond was completely shrouded in thick vines, veiling him from onlookers. It took workers hours to cut the vines away, as they clung to the statue with unusual strength.
This became the normal thing to expect in the morning. When people awoke, they looked around to find what was now overgrown or rotted away. When people met in the morning, they talked about the woman with the crying child, the young man who seemed fresh off the battle field, the lost child; all of whom had been seen wandering the streets late at night.
The whispers got louder.
-Third Week-
People were getting more and more edgy as time went on. The stress of finding your city changing for the worse about you was getting to people who hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time. That night the woman approached a crowed tavern, stopping a few feet away from the door. When the people inside heard her child’s cries the pushed up near the door and windows, trying to see and afraid at the same time.
“Why did my child burn?”
Her voice was unearthly and thin, reaching easily through the walls to the ears of those how had fallen silent at her first approach.
“Why did my child burn?”
There was no answer from the crowd.
“WHY DID MY CHILD BURN??”
As the final wail was torn from her throat, the warehouse down the street exploded. Flames shot into the sky while bits of wood were turned into shrapnel by the force of the blast. People everywhere either ducked or piled out of their homes to gape at the scene, while the flames reached upwards and something screamed like the very souls of the damned.
Down the street two people waited in the shadows of a house, hidden from everybody who might be looking at them.
“So, I thought we didn’t have any of that black powder stuff?” It was one of the twins who had helped form the illusions that had saved parts of Newhaven from the catapults earlier that month. The man that she spoke to was the one to cast the illusions in the first place. Between the two of them they had been creating the ‘ghosts’ that roamed the night lately, while another of their group created the fog at night.
“Nah, it wasn’t black powder at all. Flour.”
“Flour? For real?”
“Yeah, it’s crazy. You put a spark to flour in a contained space and it’s just as good as a bomb.”
“That Simon’s idea?”
“Nah, the Captain’s. She knows a frightening amount about how to make things go boom.”
“Remind me not to piss her off.”
After a long enough wait that it could be believed that they had just come out of the house where they leaned they went down the street to join the crowds in gawking, staying until it began to disperse, after which they went back to their crowded rooms.
-Forth Week-
Two serving wenches hurried into the crowded kitchen, almost bumping into the table in their haste. The taller one twisted her hands in her apron, approaching the head chef fearfully.
“Sir? The king wanted me to get something from the wine cellar for him.”
The chef sighed and glared at the two of them, not wanting to stop work on the supper he was preparing.
“Aye then, what was it? I’ll fetch it for him.”
The smaller wench shot a panicked glance at the other one and then blushed a beet red. “Actually sir, the King wanted us to deliver it, um, personally.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, instead staring down at the floor.
The chef snorted. “Like that uh? Well you can deliver it after I . . . . bloody hell!” Behind them something crashed to the ground with a mighty clatter. With an oath, the chef threw the keys at the two of them and went to deal with the problem, swearing that if they took more than they should he would cut them up and serve them in the next nights stew. The two girls grabbed the keys and scurried off, not pausing until they reached the cellar. Once the door was locked tightly behind them, they paused to catch their breaths.
“Tell me again why we’re pretending to be wenches?” The shorter girl glared at the other as the illusion of femininity slid away, revealing ‘her’ to be a thin man in his late twenties.
The other ‘girl’ revealed herself to be Mageria’s illusionist, who rolled his eyes and laid his head against the door to listen.
“Because no one ever looks twice at a serving girl.”
“Never looks twice?! I got my ass pinched three separate times!”
“Yes, and none of them noticed that you weren't a fine woman. Given that my illusions don’t extend to touch, if you don’t want me to tell this to everyone that we know, you’ll shut up and do your job.”
The first man sighed and turned around, extending his hands and concentrating. Slowly, every single wine cask in the cellar started to disintegrate, rotting away and spilling out the wine. The rich liquid puddled on the floor, rising to almost three inches deep in some places. Next were the shelves that held the more rare bottles of wine. These broke quickly, the bottles falling down to crack on the hard flagstones. Wine, ale, beer, if it was in the cellar, it was ruined. If there were more than a handful of drinkable bottles left, it would have surprised the two of them.
Quickly the two men hurried back up the steps, one bottle tucked under each of their arms. After a quick pause, the two serving wenches hurried out, returning the keys and fleeing from the knowing leer that the chef sent their way.
Similar things had been happening all over the city over the past week. One night things would be fine, the next day all of the food or wine in a kitchen would be ruined past all eating.
People had started talking openly about what had happened to the Healers.
"So how goes the work on finding them?" Rory asked Rita with a stern look on his face. He liked to say that this all wasn't getting to him, no matter how much he knew it was all a counter attack from Newhaven, but it was. The bags under his eyes told the whole story of countless hours of sleep lost due to the time spent working through different strategies and digging through countless ideas to counter these attacks to the mind.
"We've done more than expected. My surveillance has detected suspicious activities throughout five different houses in Blackpond. Based on what I see from the sky, I can tell you that this seems exactly like the work of an enlightenment I had encountered when I was working the catapults. These can be detected because of the inconsisencies of the illusions when looking at it from above." Rita herself looked a little worn out. Only because she had been using her powers so much over the past month that she had little time to rest, much like Rory.
"Good, have those buildings you found burned down. Even if they aren't working for Newhaven I'm sure that they have some negative effects on this city anyways." When Rita left the room, Lamya popped out from one of the shadows from a statue. "Ah Lamya, sweet and lovely Lamya. What do you have for me?"
"My lord, the White Shadow's didn't even see what was coming. He was in and out with the bodies before anyone suspected him. As for the threat to Newhaven, well lets just say it's clear." She smiled, letting out a sadistic laugh. "As for the reanimation of the King, everything is set. It will give our citizens some hope I'm sure."
Rory, got up from his throne and moved closer to embrace Lamya by the hips. "That's good. Now, I need something to take this all off my mind."
"Not yet, I'm busy at the moment." Lamya replied sharply.
"Well, if you aren't going to do that, then may I ask you to go get the girl and send her to hell. I think it's about time we start taking precautions. If the guard gives you trouble then kill him. We don't need people getting in our way."
[Healer's camp (Desert)- A Few hours earlier]
The healers were just getting ready for their dinner. People were busy wandering all around the camp to make a joint effort to get something significant for the group to join together for their meal. In the haste, people didn't seem to realise that Hannah had gone missing along with her robes, including the extra one she kept in her tent. What seemed to be even more negligent was that no one noticed the man running around the camp in healer's robes who clearly wasn't a healer. The robes barely even fit this man, who seemed to be following specific women in the camp, until they seemed to be alone. Soon enough, six women had seemed to vanish off the face of Valcrest. One by one, these women were brought to where the first one lay. Blood was all over the five healer's robes. As the man wondered off the retrieve the final dead healer, he heard a scream. That was when the man took off. He dove into the five dead bodies and vanished.
When the man came to, he and the five bodies were all in the throne room of castle Newhaven. This was where he placed the first body before vanishing again to pop up in the hall outside of the Black Knight's rooms. He picked up one of the bodies and dragged it into Mageria's room. Thankfully she wants there at the time. He placed the bloody body onto her bed, then went back out into the hall to grab another body. He dragged this one into Grim's room, doing the same thing. Going back out into the hall, he placed his hands on both bodies and then vanished again, this time into the war room.
"These bastards think they can mess with Blackpond." He said out loud, taking the healer robe off and putting it back on the first dead healer. Then he took out a robe from his backpack he had been carrying. He tied the rope around the two teenage healers and then threw the slack over a chandelier. He lifted the two off the ground and then tied the end of the rope to a torch holder.
Then he took a quill and paper from his bag and jumped up onto the table and dipped the quill into the wound of one of the girl's. He got onto his knees, to write his message on the paper.
These attacks to Blackpond will stop within the next twelve hours or the Queen's daughter will be the next to be hanging here.
He put left the paper on the table, hearing steps coming towards the room. He knew he didn't have much time left before the security in the castle began to increase exponentially. He e had one more thing to do before he left though. It was a special request from Hastings, mandatory and urgent. He vanished once more into the wine cellar of Newhaven. He quickly grabbed a couple of the very good beverages. Soon after he heard the ringing of the bell meaning that at least one of the bodies had been found. The man didn't waste any time and quickly threw himself through space back to Blackpond, into his room. He ran towards the bucket he kept by the corner of his room and threw up blood into the bucket. He needed to rest.
[Blackpond Dungeons- Present time]
Ella had been a little more stressed than usual. There were things going on that she just couldn't explain and Lena seemed to have been spreading these rumours that were coming true. It was really starting to freak her out. The worst part of it was that the guards seemed to have been acting a lot more irrational as well. They would have sudden outburst of anger that would scare the living daylights out of her. She really couldn't take much more of it. That was why she was going to escape the next time the door opened. This time, she would make it further than before and hopefully out of the city entirely. At the very moment Lena was asleep, but she was sure that no one would come any time soon with food that day. It would still be a couple of hours if she had the time right.
When she heard the sound of heals in the halls she was a bit confused. Looking out through the tiny barred window, she could see a rather stunning woman approach her cell. She had the keys to the cell and everything. Now was her chance. She didn't exactly have time to wake Lena up anymore however, so she would have to go it alone. When the door opened, Ella lunged at this woman, but she seemed well equipped to take down Ella. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor and bleeding slightly from the head. On her temple, she could feel a bit of pressure. It was from the heal she was wearing.
"You try something stupid like that again, and this heel will go right through your head. Do you understand me." The woman said in a cold, menacing tone. All Ella seemed to be able to do was whimper. "That's what I thought. Now come with me. We are relocating you to a better facility. Somewhere where there is no chance you'll escape."
When the pressure got off of Ella's temple, she got up and followed closely behind the women. Around her, Ella could see a guard taking one of the healers away with him and bringing him to the surface. She wondered what that might be for, but didn't have much time to think as they left the corridor into a deeper part of the dungeon where the more criminal people stayed.
"So what I'm a criminal now?"
"No, you are far from that little girl. We know about your ties to Newhaven."
Ella gasped realising that she was now in more trouble than ever. Odds are they would probably just kill her now. It would be so demoralising to Newhaven if they found out. There was nothing she could really do now. They wandered further and further into the deepest parts of the dungeon. There was no light at all in this part. She could barely even see the woman in front of her. She had no clue how the woman was even navigating through this. No one who didn't know these paths would ever be able to find their way through here.
"You might be wondering how I know where to go. Well, I'm one of the only people who are allowed this far down. You see, it isn't really as dark as it seems, I can see just fine. He sucks out all of the light so you can't see my dear. Even if you had a torch in hand, you wouldn't be able to see. Only he chooses who can see down here."
Ella didn't quite understand what she just said, but she didn't really care to understand. There were other things that were stuck in her mind, like where the hell she was being taken and what the hell would happen to her.
Suddenly, she heard the opening of a door. When she stepped through, she could finally see where she was. She looked behind her, and all she could see through the doorway was pitch blackness. It was so scary to think that they had just walked through that. She had no clue what was there and what sort of traps and monsters might have been lurking in that darkness. When the woman shut the door, she looked strait ahead of herself again and noticed a man sitting at a chair with a crossbow in hand. Behind him was a perfectly rounded hole just big enough to fit three people at the most in. She feared whatever might be in there.
"So who do we 'ave 'ere?" The man asked.
"The next in line to the throne of Newhaven. The king thought that it would be best if she was kept here."
"Well she's a beaut. Maybe I can 'ave a little fun wit' 'er before we shove 'er down te 'ell."
"Hell?" Ella asked, vivid ideas poping through her head of what that might mean.
"That's what they call the hole there. It'll be your home for now on." The woman said with a wide smile on her face. "And you, can have no fun with her. You don't touch her unless given the order or you have reason to believe the dungeons are under attack."
"Bitch." The man said as he pulled out a rope ladder. "This'll only get you as far as ten feet from the ground. From there you'll 'ave te jump." The man said, with a toothless grin.
Ella didn't hesitate, she just decided that there was no way she was going to get out of this.
"Now play nice down there. We don't want anyone te get 'urt" The man yelled down the hole. Ella didn't even want to know what that meant.
Blackpond: Public gallows]
Through the thick fog, the smell of smoke was present. This smell felt almost as sweet as the wine that was stolen for him from Newhaven. Hastings had heard something about an order to raise a few houses just a couple of minutes ago. That wasn't why Hastings was out however. He was there for a very public event that a lot of people decided to go to so they could get their minds off of the strange happenings in the city that past month. The eighty seven Newhaven soldiers who were prisoners were being executed and Hastings was in charge of the proceedings. His eyes fixated on the ten men who stood ready to face their judgement on the gallows.
The fog was begining to clear and the ghosts that had seemed to be haunting the city as well vanished, most likely because the people who were doing it had gotten their concentration broken due to the fires. Now that the gallows were visible to the crowds, Hastings walked in front of the platform.
"These men that you see here today are all here for a reason. They attempted to destroy the fabric that keeps Valcrest running. They fought against the right and chose the path that so many hopeless souls in Newhaven take. For that, they will be punished here today by the fullest degree of the law. Their death will be for the greater good. To make sure Blackpond has a strong footing to vanquish Newhavenm once and for all!"
The crowds cheered, which was a great surprise after all the rumours that had been spread about over the past month. With that, the first set of men were dropped through the trap door to their death.
This continued eight more times. Each time, the crowd would go wild in excitement over the triumph of Blackpond over the enemy Newhaven. The final set of seven were placed on and they too fell to their fate. All of them were now dead, but there was one more person who was to be executed. Stepping onto the platform was a man dressed in healer robes. This healer was brought by two guards to the center of the gallows where he had the rope placed around his neck.
Instantly, Hastings got the reaction he was expecting from the crowd. There was booing, things being thrown and profanities being yelled by some of the people. Some people left and some tried to get past the wall of soldiers that was blocking the crowds from getting past. It wasn't a pretty sight at all, but one that he knew he was going to get.
Hastings looked into the crowds for a man with his eyes glowing a deep red. It was this man who would change things around for the better, or so he hoped. From one small pocket in the crowd, he saw the eyes he was looking for. That's when a man dressed in pure gold armour climbed the stares of the gallows and crossed in front of the healer who was about to be executed. Most people recognised the man standing there instantly and all dropped to their knees in utter shock. It was the first king of Blackpond. The profanities that were once being shouted from the crowds had now become words of praise to the Gods and to the king. The man in gold, took out his golden sword and then raised it into the air.
"You all don't understand, these White Shadows are nothing but cold blooded murderers!" The man shouted with such a charismatic voice that everyone just looked in jubilation. No one said a word. "History is wrong! These black hearted fiends from Blackhurst were the ones who started the war for no better reason than just to kill! They might seem nice now, but it is all just a facade! Don't believe the rumors, believe in the king!"
"Long live the king!" The crowds shouted back.
The King then moved out of the way and the Healer was sent to his death. The crowds didn't quite cheer. They still had some uncertainty about the whole thing and they were still in shock to see their best king and first king ever to be standing right in front of them all. When Hastings thought it was all over, it wasn't. The guards removed the body of the healer from the gallows. It seemed to reanimate itself, coming back from the dead and killing the two guards. The undead healer then raced back up to the gallows and disarmed the King, cutting his head off. People once again couldn't believe their eyes, screams and profanities to the White Shadows were now being uttered from the crowds.
Hastings knew exactly what just happened. He drew his bow and shot the White Shadow in between the eyes. "Nice touch." He said laughing a little. He really did find it extraordinary how powerful the assassins had come to be.
"We've done more than expected. My surveillance has detected suspicious activities throughout five different houses in Blackpond. Based on what I see from the sky, I can tell you that this seems exactly like the work of an enlightenment I had encountered when I was working the catapults. These can be detected because of the inconsisencies of the illusions when looking at it from above." Rita herself looked a little worn out. Only because she had been using her powers so much over the past month that she had little time to rest, much like Rory.
"Good, have those buildings you found burned down. Even if they aren't working for Newhaven I'm sure that they have some negative effects on this city anyways." When Rita left the room, Lamya popped out from one of the shadows from a statue. "Ah Lamya, sweet and lovely Lamya. What do you have for me?"
"My lord, the White Shadow's didn't even see what was coming. He was in and out with the bodies before anyone suspected him. As for the threat to Newhaven, well lets just say it's clear." She smiled, letting out a sadistic laugh. "As for the reanimation of the King, everything is set. It will give our citizens some hope I'm sure."
Rory, got up from his throne and moved closer to embrace Lamya by the hips. "That's good. Now, I need something to take this all off my mind."
"Not yet, I'm busy at the moment." Lamya replied sharply.
"Well, if you aren't going to do that, then may I ask you to go get the girl and send her to hell. I think it's about time we start taking precautions. If the guard gives you trouble then kill him. We don't need people getting in our way."
[Healer's camp (Desert)- A Few hours earlier]
The healers were just getting ready for their dinner. People were busy wandering all around the camp to make a joint effort to get something significant for the group to join together for their meal. In the haste, people didn't seem to realise that Hannah had gone missing along with her robes, including the extra one she kept in her tent. What seemed to be even more negligent was that no one noticed the man running around the camp in healer's robes who clearly wasn't a healer. The robes barely even fit this man, who seemed to be following specific women in the camp, until they seemed to be alone. Soon enough, six women had seemed to vanish off the face of Valcrest. One by one, these women were brought to where the first one lay. Blood was all over the five healer's robes. As the man wondered off the retrieve the final dead healer, he heard a scream. That was when the man took off. He dove into the five dead bodies and vanished.
When the man came to, he and the five bodies were all in the throne room of castle Newhaven. This was where he placed the first body before vanishing again to pop up in the hall outside of the Black Knight's rooms. He picked up one of the bodies and dragged it into Mageria's room. Thankfully she wants there at the time. He placed the bloody body onto her bed, then went back out into the hall to grab another body. He dragged this one into Grim's room, doing the same thing. Going back out into the hall, he placed his hands on both bodies and then vanished again, this time into the war room.
"These bastards think they can mess with Blackpond." He said out loud, taking the healer robe off and putting it back on the first dead healer. Then he took out a robe from his backpack he had been carrying. He tied the rope around the two teenage healers and then threw the slack over a chandelier. He lifted the two off the ground and then tied the end of the rope to a torch holder.
Then he took a quill and paper from his bag and jumped up onto the table and dipped the quill into the wound of one of the girl's. He got onto his knees, to write his message on the paper.
These attacks to Blackpond will stop within the next twelve hours or the Queen's daughter will be the next to be hanging here.
He put left the paper on the table, hearing steps coming towards the room. He knew he didn't have much time left before the security in the castle began to increase exponentially. He e had one more thing to do before he left though. It was a special request from Hastings, mandatory and urgent. He vanished once more into the wine cellar of Newhaven. He quickly grabbed a couple of the very good beverages. Soon after he heard the ringing of the bell meaning that at least one of the bodies had been found. The man didn't waste any time and quickly threw himself through space back to Blackpond, into his room. He ran towards the bucket he kept by the corner of his room and threw up blood into the bucket. He needed to rest.
[Blackpond Dungeons- Present time]
Ella had been a little more stressed than usual. There were things going on that she just couldn't explain and Lena seemed to have been spreading these rumours that were coming true. It was really starting to freak her out. The worst part of it was that the guards seemed to have been acting a lot more irrational as well. They would have sudden outburst of anger that would scare the living daylights out of her. She really couldn't take much more of it. That was why she was going to escape the next time the door opened. This time, she would make it further than before and hopefully out of the city entirely. At the very moment Lena was asleep, but she was sure that no one would come any time soon with food that day. It would still be a couple of hours if she had the time right.
When she heard the sound of heals in the halls she was a bit confused. Looking out through the tiny barred window, she could see a rather stunning woman approach her cell. She had the keys to the cell and everything. Now was her chance. She didn't exactly have time to wake Lena up anymore however, so she would have to go it alone. When the door opened, Ella lunged at this woman, but she seemed well equipped to take down Ella. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor and bleeding slightly from the head. On her temple, she could feel a bit of pressure. It was from the heal she was wearing.
"You try something stupid like that again, and this heel will go right through your head. Do you understand me." The woman said in a cold, menacing tone. All Ella seemed to be able to do was whimper. "That's what I thought. Now come with me. We are relocating you to a better facility. Somewhere where there is no chance you'll escape."
When the pressure got off of Ella's temple, she got up and followed closely behind the women. Around her, Ella could see a guard taking one of the healers away with him and bringing him to the surface. She wondered what that might be for, but didn't have much time to think as they left the corridor into a deeper part of the dungeon where the more criminal people stayed.
"So what I'm a criminal now?"
"No, you are far from that little girl. We know about your ties to Newhaven."
Ella gasped realising that she was now in more trouble than ever. Odds are they would probably just kill her now. It would be so demoralising to Newhaven if they found out. There was nothing she could really do now. They wandered further and further into the deepest parts of the dungeon. There was no light at all in this part. She could barely even see the woman in front of her. She had no clue how the woman was even navigating through this. No one who didn't know these paths would ever be able to find their way through here.
"You might be wondering how I know where to go. Well, I'm one of the only people who are allowed this far down. You see, it isn't really as dark as it seems, I can see just fine. He sucks out all of the light so you can't see my dear. Even if you had a torch in hand, you wouldn't be able to see. Only he chooses who can see down here."
Ella didn't quite understand what she just said, but she didn't really care to understand. There were other things that were stuck in her mind, like where the hell she was being taken and what the hell would happen to her.
Suddenly, she heard the opening of a door. When she stepped through, she could finally see where she was. She looked behind her, and all she could see through the doorway was pitch blackness. It was so scary to think that they had just walked through that. She had no clue what was there and what sort of traps and monsters might have been lurking in that darkness. When the woman shut the door, she looked strait ahead of herself again and noticed a man sitting at a chair with a crossbow in hand. Behind him was a perfectly rounded hole just big enough to fit three people at the most in. She feared whatever might be in there.
"So who do we 'ave 'ere?" The man asked.
"The next in line to the throne of Newhaven. The king thought that it would be best if she was kept here."
"Well she's a beaut. Maybe I can 'ave a little fun wit' 'er before we shove 'er down te 'ell."
"Hell?" Ella asked, vivid ideas poping through her head of what that might mean.
"That's what they call the hole there. It'll be your home for now on." The woman said with a wide smile on her face. "And you, can have no fun with her. You don't touch her unless given the order or you have reason to believe the dungeons are under attack."
"Bitch." The man said as he pulled out a rope ladder. "This'll only get you as far as ten feet from the ground. From there you'll 'ave te jump." The man said, with a toothless grin.
Ella didn't hesitate, she just decided that there was no way she was going to get out of this.
"Now play nice down there. We don't want anyone te get 'urt" The man yelled down the hole. Ella didn't even want to know what that meant.
Blackpond: Public gallows]
Through the thick fog, the smell of smoke was present. This smell felt almost as sweet as the wine that was stolen for him from Newhaven. Hastings had heard something about an order to raise a few houses just a couple of minutes ago. That wasn't why Hastings was out however. He was there for a very public event that a lot of people decided to go to so they could get their minds off of the strange happenings in the city that past month. The eighty seven Newhaven soldiers who were prisoners were being executed and Hastings was in charge of the proceedings. His eyes fixated on the ten men who stood ready to face their judgement on the gallows.
The fog was begining to clear and the ghosts that had seemed to be haunting the city as well vanished, most likely because the people who were doing it had gotten their concentration broken due to the fires. Now that the gallows were visible to the crowds, Hastings walked in front of the platform.
"These men that you see here today are all here for a reason. They attempted to destroy the fabric that keeps Valcrest running. They fought against the right and chose the path that so many hopeless souls in Newhaven take. For that, they will be punished here today by the fullest degree of the law. Their death will be for the greater good. To make sure Blackpond has a strong footing to vanquish Newhavenm once and for all!"
The crowds cheered, which was a great surprise after all the rumours that had been spread about over the past month. With that, the first set of men were dropped through the trap door to their death.
This continued eight more times. Each time, the crowd would go wild in excitement over the triumph of Blackpond over the enemy Newhaven. The final set of seven were placed on and they too fell to their fate. All of them were now dead, but there was one more person who was to be executed. Stepping onto the platform was a man dressed in healer robes. This healer was brought by two guards to the center of the gallows where he had the rope placed around his neck.
Instantly, Hastings got the reaction he was expecting from the crowd. There was booing, things being thrown and profanities being yelled by some of the people. Some people left and some tried to get past the wall of soldiers that was blocking the crowds from getting past. It wasn't a pretty sight at all, but one that he knew he was going to get.
Hastings looked into the crowds for a man with his eyes glowing a deep red. It was this man who would change things around for the better, or so he hoped. From one small pocket in the crowd, he saw the eyes he was looking for. That's when a man dressed in pure gold armour climbed the stares of the gallows and crossed in front of the healer who was about to be executed. Most people recognised the man standing there instantly and all dropped to their knees in utter shock. It was the first king of Blackpond. The profanities that were once being shouted from the crowds had now become words of praise to the Gods and to the king. The man in gold, took out his golden sword and then raised it into the air.
"You all don't understand, these White Shadows are nothing but cold blooded murderers!" The man shouted with such a charismatic voice that everyone just looked in jubilation. No one said a word. "History is wrong! These black hearted fiends from Blackhurst were the ones who started the war for no better reason than just to kill! They might seem nice now, but it is all just a facade! Don't believe the rumors, believe in the king!"
"Long live the king!" The crowds shouted back.
The King then moved out of the way and the Healer was sent to his death. The crowds didn't quite cheer. They still had some uncertainty about the whole thing and they were still in shock to see their best king and first king ever to be standing right in front of them all. When Hastings thought it was all over, it wasn't. The guards removed the body of the healer from the gallows. It seemed to reanimate itself, coming back from the dead and killing the two guards. The undead healer then raced back up to the gallows and disarmed the King, cutting his head off. People once again couldn't believe their eyes, screams and profanities to the White Shadows were now being uttered from the crowds.
Hastings knew exactly what just happened. He drew his bow and shot the White Shadow in between the eyes. "Nice touch." He said laughing a little. He really did find it extraordinary how powerful the assassins had come to be.
Mageria grimaced slightly as she put the finishing touches on her braid. Not that she was a vain woman, but she wasn’t entirely happy with her reflection these days. For the most part she was unchanged by her recent ‘technical’ death; except for one thing. A lock of hair stretching from her left temple to the crown of her head had turned snow white. After a month it was long enough to be easily noticed. She looked in the mirror again. It wasn’t just her hair that looked different. There were fewer secrets behind her eyes these days. She had Grim to thank for that.
Mageria settled into her chair, watching the flames dance along the logs and allowed herself a moment to bask in the warmth and let it soak into her tired bones. The time had come to let loose of some of her secrets. Not the easiest thing that she had ever done, not by a long shot. In fact, it was fairly painful and frightening. But Grim deserved the truth and she needed to let him know exactly who it was he was following. She gestured for Grim to sit down in the other chair and offered him a drink. They were both going to need it by the end of this.
"Grim, I need to tell you something, and I need you to listen all the way through before you do anything. I . . . haven't always been able to hold the line between right and wrong the way I've tried to the past few years." She sighed. "The truth is, I've had to choose between my oaths, between things that I've believed in with all my heart." She swallowed hard. "Three years ago, Captain Morgan was killed in a raid on a bandit camp. I was the only survivor. The truth of the matter was. . . . . I was the one who killed him."
The silence seemed to stand between them forever. The flicker of the firelight casting its dim glow over the behemoth. His face was pulled away from the light, hiding away while he was digesting this information. A world of regrets, that was what they inherited. Mageria had survived the Dark Mirror’s curse, but what demons did she come to terms with? Was there anyone in these walls that wasn’t hiding secrets?
What words could comfort the truth anyways? What was Mageria looking for by this confession? Grim cast his gaze to the floor. Not really sure what to say. He cared for his daring commander that much was certain. Ultimately would it alter how he viewed her? The only thing for certain was the uncertainty.
“You killed Morgan… You murdered your commanding officer?”
She flinched slightly at the word 'murder', but then nodded.
"I could dress it up in fancy language, but it boils down to that." She sighed and rolled the glass between her hands. "Back then, the Black Knights were a lot closer to what rumor has always painted them than we are today. I don't know how much you've ever heard about Captain Morgan, but he was . . . insane is the best word for it. In a vicious way. Blood never bothered him and he felt that the best way to keep a secret was to make sure that the other people involved were dead. He was Captain for well over a decade and I know that the things he did, he enjoyed."
Mageria took a drink and leaned back in her chair, the firelight gilding the planes of her face. "When he choose me to be his successor, I was flattered. I thought, 'This is my chance to make my mark'; the White Knights told me that I could use my position to protect the people of Newhaven even better than I already was." A bitter smile crossed her lips. "Turns out they chose me because Morgan felt that he could mold me into the proper Captain, one in his image. He trained me for a year before I killed him, and I could feel him chipping away at my soul the entire time."
"Morgan was getting more and more erratic as time went by. More blood thirsty. I tried to protect the people around us by softening the orders that he gave, changing the wording so that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He found out." She ran her fingers over her leg, where a line of long healed burns was hidden. "I tried to tell the White Knights, but they didn't listen. And then in the end, it was just me, alone with him when he finally crossed the line in front of me. There were two civilians in that camp when we found it. Morgan jumped in and I followed. But then at the end, he was going to kill them, simply because they had seen our faces." She shrugged and finished her drink. "I couldn't let that happen. And there was no other way to stop him."
She turned her head and looked at Grim before turning back to the fire. "I'm not telling you all of this because I want forgiveness or anything like that. Some things simply can't be forgiven. But you of all people deserved to know exactly who it is that you're following into battle."
"Every since then, I've tried to make up for the choices I had to make."
Quietly she waited for what Grim would say or do next. With what she had told him, she could easily be executed for treason. In fact, she had been waiting for it for years. She no longer regretted what she had done, but the fact was that not everybody would understand why she had done it.
“Who am I following into battle?”
Grim rose quickly downing the glass in one easy shot before tossing it to the fire. The smashed glass scattered into its bit and the flames flared up from the contents still contained. Without hesitation he pulled the Giant’s Knife from beside the chair where he had been comfortably sitting. Bringing his weapon level.
“Tonight you come to me to confess that you killed Morgan your at the time Captain. You then explain that you not only routinely disobeyed his orders but then had the nerve to make excuses for your action. This is punishable by execution Mageria! I a loyal knight to Newhaven have taken oaths and vows to ensure that justice be done. You know what I must do…”
He slammed the blade tip first into the ground. The strike rang loudly between them even sparking a bit as the metal drug over the worked floor. The Blade leaned into view now his face pulling into the fire’s dancing light. There was a smirk tucked firmly in place.
“The woman I call Captain, has saved the lives of those who live here. She’s saved the lives of those who have yet to come. I know exactly with whom I go to war beside. Sometimes though I wonder if she forgets…”
Mageria hadn’t moved once as Grim pulled his sword and made his statement. His support warmed something in her chest and she permitted herself a small smile as she looked up at him. Slowly she rolled her glass between her hands and leaned back. “It’s hard to remember sometimes. Too many ghosts leaning on my shoulders.” She drained her glass. “The last thing he said to me? That I had finally become just like him. For a long time I was truly frightened that he was right.” She looked gravely at her glass then threw it into the fireplace to join Grim’s. “Bastard’s burning in hell now though.”
She laughed and looked up at Grim, firelight dancing in her eyes. “So, did the Pack really wait till you were in the tub to attack? That must have been a sight.”
She sighed and checked the rest of her gear. Once a week she had been traveling to just outside of Blackpond to meet with her team that she had sent over, which meant traveling as a mercenary. She could wear her scale plate armor, but everything else was different. For the most part she wore forest colors, greens and browns; with a deep forest green fitted coat worn over everything, split down the back so that she could wear it while riding.
There was a knock on the door, answering it she found a page with a note requesting her in the war room. With only a slight feeling of annoyance she left her room to answer it, glancing out the window at the storm that raged outside. She would leave as soon as it was over. She was almost at the war room when a maid walked in ahead of her. The maid walked in, dropped what she was carrying and started screaming, backing up to fall sobbing against the other wall. Mageria entered the room at a dead run, only a slight twinge from her leg reminding her of past injuries. The sight that greeted her was enough to make her feel ill, while the note pinned to the chest of one of the young healers was enough to drive her to a white hot rage.
Behind her people crowed in the doorway, including Lady Sarris. Over the past month she had been taking up the reins of power here in Newhaven, with the expert help of Thomas. Mageria was extremely grateful for him stepping in like that; give her a problem she could solve with a fight and she was ok. Politics baffled her. Now people made way for her almost unconsciously, responding to her presence. Silently the other woman held out her hand, her own expression icing over as she read the note.
“So, Captian. Blackpond has made its demands. What next?”
Mageria looked stonily back, her eyes bleached white and her expression gone mask-like. Her rage was barely under control, inside her chest she could feel it burning.
“We answer, My Lady.”
Looking past her, Mageria started snapping out orders. Everyone was to be ready to move out by dusk, for a night march. More than half of her people were already in place, the rest were the people that were needed at Newhaven. Stepping past them she strode back to her room. She had a quick message that she needed to deliver; she would be back in plenty of time. Tucking the note inside her vest, she opened the door to her room only to find the body of another butchered girl. Swallowing hard, she walked over to the child and gently closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry” she whispered. Slinging her sword over her shoulder, she gently picked up the girl and walked out. A couple of soldiers were running towards her, she handed the body over to him and checked Grim’s room on a hunch. There was a second body there, she directed the other solider to take her.
“How many is that?”
The soldiers looked as sick as she felt. “Five all together, Captain.”
She reached out and gently brushed the hair from the younger girl’s forehead.
“Not again. It’s not going to happen again.”
Turning around she made her way to the stables, saddled her horse and rode out into the tail end of the storm. Following paths that she knew well, she quickly reached the area just outside the Pack’s camp. She carefully stopped short of where she estimated the sentries were placed; placing two fingers to her lips she let out a piercing whistle, sounding almost obscenely loud in the otherwise quiet.
“I need to talk to Evin Bana, or someone else in charge. Please.”
Grimly she ran the reins through her fingers as she waited. Much as she didn’t want to be there, they had the right to know and the right to be in on the coming fight. But she wouldn’t wait long. And if they took exception to her being there, she would be gone in an instant.
Mageria settled into her chair, watching the flames dance along the logs and allowed herself a moment to bask in the warmth and let it soak into her tired bones. The time had come to let loose of some of her secrets. Not the easiest thing that she had ever done, not by a long shot. In fact, it was fairly painful and frightening. But Grim deserved the truth and she needed to let him know exactly who it was he was following. She gestured for Grim to sit down in the other chair and offered him a drink. They were both going to need it by the end of this.
"Grim, I need to tell you something, and I need you to listen all the way through before you do anything. I . . . haven't always been able to hold the line between right and wrong the way I've tried to the past few years." She sighed. "The truth is, I've had to choose between my oaths, between things that I've believed in with all my heart." She swallowed hard. "Three years ago, Captain Morgan was killed in a raid on a bandit camp. I was the only survivor. The truth of the matter was. . . . . I was the one who killed him."
The silence seemed to stand between them forever. The flicker of the firelight casting its dim glow over the behemoth. His face was pulled away from the light, hiding away while he was digesting this information. A world of regrets, that was what they inherited. Mageria had survived the Dark Mirror’s curse, but what demons did she come to terms with? Was there anyone in these walls that wasn’t hiding secrets?
What words could comfort the truth anyways? What was Mageria looking for by this confession? Grim cast his gaze to the floor. Not really sure what to say. He cared for his daring commander that much was certain. Ultimately would it alter how he viewed her? The only thing for certain was the uncertainty.
“You killed Morgan… You murdered your commanding officer?”
She flinched slightly at the word 'murder', but then nodded.
"I could dress it up in fancy language, but it boils down to that." She sighed and rolled the glass between her hands. "Back then, the Black Knights were a lot closer to what rumor has always painted them than we are today. I don't know how much you've ever heard about Captain Morgan, but he was . . . insane is the best word for it. In a vicious way. Blood never bothered him and he felt that the best way to keep a secret was to make sure that the other people involved were dead. He was Captain for well over a decade and I know that the things he did, he enjoyed."
Mageria took a drink and leaned back in her chair, the firelight gilding the planes of her face. "When he choose me to be his successor, I was flattered. I thought, 'This is my chance to make my mark'; the White Knights told me that I could use my position to protect the people of Newhaven even better than I already was." A bitter smile crossed her lips. "Turns out they chose me because Morgan felt that he could mold me into the proper Captain, one in his image. He trained me for a year before I killed him, and I could feel him chipping away at my soul the entire time."
"Morgan was getting more and more erratic as time went by. More blood thirsty. I tried to protect the people around us by softening the orders that he gave, changing the wording so that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He found out." She ran her fingers over her leg, where a line of long healed burns was hidden. "I tried to tell the White Knights, but they didn't listen. And then in the end, it was just me, alone with him when he finally crossed the line in front of me. There were two civilians in that camp when we found it. Morgan jumped in and I followed. But then at the end, he was going to kill them, simply because they had seen our faces." She shrugged and finished her drink. "I couldn't let that happen. And there was no other way to stop him."
She turned her head and looked at Grim before turning back to the fire. "I'm not telling you all of this because I want forgiveness or anything like that. Some things simply can't be forgiven. But you of all people deserved to know exactly who it is that you're following into battle."
"Every since then, I've tried to make up for the choices I had to make."
Quietly she waited for what Grim would say or do next. With what she had told him, she could easily be executed for treason. In fact, she had been waiting for it for years. She no longer regretted what she had done, but the fact was that not everybody would understand why she had done it.
“Who am I following into battle?”
Grim rose quickly downing the glass in one easy shot before tossing it to the fire. The smashed glass scattered into its bit and the flames flared up from the contents still contained. Without hesitation he pulled the Giant’s Knife from beside the chair where he had been comfortably sitting. Bringing his weapon level.
“Tonight you come to me to confess that you killed Morgan your at the time Captain. You then explain that you not only routinely disobeyed his orders but then had the nerve to make excuses for your action. This is punishable by execution Mageria! I a loyal knight to Newhaven have taken oaths and vows to ensure that justice be done. You know what I must do…”
He slammed the blade tip first into the ground. The strike rang loudly between them even sparking a bit as the metal drug over the worked floor. The Blade leaned into view now his face pulling into the fire’s dancing light. There was a smirk tucked firmly in place.
“The woman I call Captain, has saved the lives of those who live here. She’s saved the lives of those who have yet to come. I know exactly with whom I go to war beside. Sometimes though I wonder if she forgets…”
Mageria hadn’t moved once as Grim pulled his sword and made his statement. His support warmed something in her chest and she permitted herself a small smile as she looked up at him. Slowly she rolled her glass between her hands and leaned back. “It’s hard to remember sometimes. Too many ghosts leaning on my shoulders.” She drained her glass. “The last thing he said to me? That I had finally become just like him. For a long time I was truly frightened that he was right.” She looked gravely at her glass then threw it into the fireplace to join Grim’s. “Bastard’s burning in hell now though.”
She laughed and looked up at Grim, firelight dancing in her eyes. “So, did the Pack really wait till you were in the tub to attack? That must have been a sight.”
She sighed and checked the rest of her gear. Once a week she had been traveling to just outside of Blackpond to meet with her team that she had sent over, which meant traveling as a mercenary. She could wear her scale plate armor, but everything else was different. For the most part she wore forest colors, greens and browns; with a deep forest green fitted coat worn over everything, split down the back so that she could wear it while riding.
There was a knock on the door, answering it she found a page with a note requesting her in the war room. With only a slight feeling of annoyance she left her room to answer it, glancing out the window at the storm that raged outside. She would leave as soon as it was over. She was almost at the war room when a maid walked in ahead of her. The maid walked in, dropped what she was carrying and started screaming, backing up to fall sobbing against the other wall. Mageria entered the room at a dead run, only a slight twinge from her leg reminding her of past injuries. The sight that greeted her was enough to make her feel ill, while the note pinned to the chest of one of the young healers was enough to drive her to a white hot rage.
Behind her people crowed in the doorway, including Lady Sarris. Over the past month she had been taking up the reins of power here in Newhaven, with the expert help of Thomas. Mageria was extremely grateful for him stepping in like that; give her a problem she could solve with a fight and she was ok. Politics baffled her. Now people made way for her almost unconsciously, responding to her presence. Silently the other woman held out her hand, her own expression icing over as she read the note.
“So, Captian. Blackpond has made its demands. What next?”
Mageria looked stonily back, her eyes bleached white and her expression gone mask-like. Her rage was barely under control, inside her chest she could feel it burning.
“We answer, My Lady.”
Looking past her, Mageria started snapping out orders. Everyone was to be ready to move out by dusk, for a night march. More than half of her people were already in place, the rest were the people that were needed at Newhaven. Stepping past them she strode back to her room. She had a quick message that she needed to deliver; she would be back in plenty of time. Tucking the note inside her vest, she opened the door to her room only to find the body of another butchered girl. Swallowing hard, she walked over to the child and gently closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry” she whispered. Slinging her sword over her shoulder, she gently picked up the girl and walked out. A couple of soldiers were running towards her, she handed the body over to him and checked Grim’s room on a hunch. There was a second body there, she directed the other solider to take her.
“How many is that?”
The soldiers looked as sick as she felt. “Five all together, Captain.”
She reached out and gently brushed the hair from the younger girl’s forehead.
“Not again. It’s not going to happen again.”
Turning around she made her way to the stables, saddled her horse and rode out into the tail end of the storm. Following paths that she knew well, she quickly reached the area just outside the Pack’s camp. She carefully stopped short of where she estimated the sentries were placed; placing two fingers to her lips she let out a piercing whistle, sounding almost obscenely loud in the otherwise quiet.
“I need to talk to Evin Bana, or someone else in charge. Please.”
Grimly she ran the reins through her fingers as she waited. Much as she didn’t want to be there, they had the right to know and the right to be in on the coming fight. But she wouldn’t wait long. And if they took exception to her being there, she would be gone in an instant.
[Desert - White Shadows Camp]
Annie had been in the plains, seeing if they left anything behind. She had taken two mercenaries with her, Alistair insisted, but hadn’t said two words to the men; she was lost in her head, as she had been constantly since she became leader. Wandering about in the ruins of Blackhurst, she found the short sword that belonged to her mother. She took that with her, amazed that it hadn’t been taken and lost forever. However, the approaching storm had forced her back to desert in a hurry; it was too dangerous to be in the plains during a lightning storm.
As Annie reached the desert, she heard a male voice piercing through the silence, shouting in anger, to no one in particular.
“THEY’RE DEAD. ALL DEAD! THOSE FILTHY CREATURES! ANIMALS! BLACKPOND SCUM! THEY DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE! MAY THE TWINS HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULESS EXISTENCES, I’LL MURDER THEM ALL!”
The shouting only gained strength, becoming louder and louder as Annie approached the tent where it came from. Two mercenaries tried to stop her, but were too afraid to actually contain her, so she walked right past them into the tent. There, Alistair was curled into a ball on the floor, screaming his lungs out, cursing Blackpond’s existence and hundred things more.
The fifteen year old girl sat on the floor next to the man and heaved a sigh. “Al.” She called. “Have you ever been told about what the Pack once referred to as the Red Night? Mother enjoyed telling me that story, has she ever told you?”
Alistair had stopped his screaming, but didn’t answer the question. He simply sat there shivering uncontrollably.
Annie gave him a few seconds and then went on talking, knowing that he was listening to her. “Mother was in her twenties back then, a stupid child, as she liked to describe herself, she was sound asleep when the Wolfpack was attacked by the Wolf Hunters. Children murdered in their beds, fire, the works. She was the one who buried the recruits, the one who attempted to comfort their families; she carried dead bodies around all night. She said, that was the most blood she had ever seen in one place.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” Alistair asked. His tone was still furious, but he wouldn’t go as far as to yell at her.
“I’m telling you this so you’ll see…“ She sighed. “The Pack ended the Wolf Hunters, and this story became legend. Valcrest is made of legends. The names and faces, they are nothing but shadows in the past of this land. They are forgotten within minutes except by those who were close to them.” She put one arm around his shoulders in a comforting gesture. “In the end, Blackpond will see this as a small victory, because victory over Newhaven is all that matters to them. Newhaven will see it as just another one of Blackpond’s atrocities, because they hold themselves in such a high pedestal they barely see us down here anymore, and we’ll see it as… Well, we’ll see it as it is: Murder. We will all move on eventually, because that is how things are.”
“This isn’t right. They can’t just kill us off to intimidate each other! We’re not tools for them to use this way!” The man exclaimed, still shivering.
“Yes they can, and that is exactly what we are and what we have always been, Al. The first thing we learn in this clan is acceptance, acceptance of how the world functions and our place in it, no?” She asked him. “Have you ever wondered why War and Peace were born together? I think… People wouldn’t be able to accept peace without conflict. We are not built for that, we can’t exist without problems; we can’t help but want to fix everything. That is why there is no such thing as absolute peace. Peace involves acceptance and, as human beings, we are unable to accept things. We have to always try and bend the world to our will.”
“So, are you suggesting we simply accept this, because that is what we have been taught?” He asked.
Annie chuckled. “No. I’m saying that we should simply accept this, because it is what we have been taught. However, we won’t, because we are human. So, if you are done throwing a fit, we need to discuss some things.”
---------------------------------------
[Blackpond – Dungeons (later that day)]
Lena woke up and felt a sudden wave of panic. They had taken the kid right under her nose. In all fairness, she hadn’t actually gone to sleep. She was driven unconscious by exhaustion. If the world suddenly collapsed around her she wouldn’t have been bothered by it at that point, she just didn’t have the energy.
“Shit.” She muttered, running a hand through her hair. She was supposed to look out for that kid and she failed.
“Helena.” Someone called behind her, causing her to turn immediately to see a blonde man standing on the back of the cell.
“Patrick?” Lena mumbled. “What are you doing here? This is…”
“A violation of the clan rules, yes. but, you know… You are not the clan leader anymore. Your kid has different thoughts, at the moment at least.”
“Annie sent you here?” Lena asked, walking closer to the man, frowning. “What is she doing?”
“She wants me to get you out, but… I know you won’t let me do that, so…” The man smiled. “Is there anything I can do for you, milady?”
Lena laughed, shaking her head. “It’s nice to see a familiar face, I tell you that, Pat.” She sighed. “I would like to ask you to move me to another cell.” She said.
“Why?” The man asked, confused.
Lena smiled. “They don’t open this one, since the first guard I killed, but… They open the other doors at least twice a day. I’d like to get a glimpse of the hallway.” She said innocently.
“Uh-huh… Why don’t I just get you out into the hallway?” He replied.
“I’m actually trying not to get caught this time, so I’m doing this as quietly as possible. My next door neighbors will be much help for that.” She informed him.
“What are you planning?” He asked.
Lena sighed. “Well, I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.” She laid a hand on the healer’s shoulder and added. “When you see Annie again, will you tell her that? I understand that she is worried, but I just can’t leave yet.”
“Alright. I will tell her.” He said, holding out his hand. “You might want to close your eyes for this. It’s rather unpleasant” He warned.
Lena nodded, taking his hand and closing her eyes, letting him lead her blindly through the walls of the cell. She only opened her eyes when she heard a female voice exclaim. “Lena!”
Lena smiled at the girl who spoke. “Hush. I want them to think I escaped, you can conceal me correct?”
The girl nodded, looking around for the man that had brought Lena to the cell, he was already gone. “I Can, but… My illusions don’t extend to touch, sound or scent. They simply won’t see you. So you have to be careful.”
“I know that. It’s quite alright. I don’t intend to stay here long, it won’t even make you tired, I promise.” She smiled at the girl. “It’s so they think I’m gone for good.”
“No problem.” The girl stated.
Lena nodded in agreement and then looked to the young man that was locked in the cell with them; black hair, pale skin, jet black eyes, and an unusually calm aura. The boy’s mere presence was somewhat nerve wrecking, but Lena seemed delighted to see him, judging by her expression. “For you, I have an assignment, Luckas.” She said, with a grin. “If you think you are up to the challenge.”
“Humph.” The boy mumbled, looking at her with an insolent look in his eyes. “Depends, old woman: What’s in it for me?”
Lena smiled. “Anything at all, take your pick.” She told him.
“Anything? Is this little girl worth so much to you?” He let out a rather evil snicker. “Alright, well… Something to occupy my time will do, for now. What do you want from me?” He asked, taking a rather sarcastic bow. “I am at your service.”
“I want you to find the kid, and guard her. Do not touch her, do not speak with her, don’t even let her know you are there. If anything or anyone tries to harm her: Destroy it. Are we clear?”
“That sounds like much more trouble than the kid’s worth, if you ask me, and an incredibly boring task.” He said, with a light shrug. “But fine, whatever you say.”
“Luckas, be warned, if you mess with this kid I will hunt you down… Again.” She said, in a severe tone.
The boy took a few steps towards her, his black eyes glowed for a second in the same tone of blue as hers, before returning to their original color. “If you live, that is.” He said with a little smirk. “I still think you got lucky the last time.” He said in a tone that resembled a growl. “Luck runs out.”
Lena smiled. “Doesn’t change the fact that you would be dead and buried if it wasn’t for me, Newhaven authorities are not very forgiving with psychotic killers like you. By the way, I heard your brother was killed during a riot in the dungeons.”
Luckas shrugged. “I’m sure whoever did it paid the price for the stupidity. I wouldn’t want to be that poor creature.” He said, with a delighted grin. “No one ever survived his… Gift.”
Lena chuckled. “Just do what I said, exactly as I said it. Don’t test me.”
He laughed out. “Yes ma’am. So you have no clue where they took her?”
“No.” She told him.
He shook his head amused. “Tsk, sleeping on the job, eh? Must be old age setting in.” He provoked. “Fine, makes it more fun. Mind if I terrorize and murder on my way there?”
“I’d rather you do this quietly, Luke.”
The boy let out an annoyed sigh. “You’re so boring, gee.” He walked past her towards the door, then turned towards Lena and the girl. “You two might want to cover your ears now. And you…” He pointed at the girl. “Make them think she’s me, or they’ll know I escaped and make a fuss. Be smart, will ya?” He said. Once they covered their ears, the boy slammed his fist against the metal door and shouted. “RELEASE ME!”
Not even a minute passed and the door opened. Luckas walked out grabbing the guard by the collar, his eyes changing from pure back to a light brown, same color as the guard’s. Slowly, and painfully he went through the man’s memories. Finally with an annoyed sigh, he whispered to the man, before releasing him. “Return to your post, stay there.”
Walking calmly down the hall, it didn’t take long for another guard to see him. Before the man could utter a word, Luckas commanded: “Silence!”
The guard stopped himself from yelling out ‘intruder’, although he couldn’t understand why, he couldn’t speak as the teenage boy walked slowly towards him.
“Relax, man. I won’t hurt you.” Luckas said, with a sadistic grin on his face.
The guard pulled out his sword and began to back away.
“I said… Relax.” Luckas repeated. “Come here, don’t run.” He ordered the man in a soft voice.
The guard started to walk towards the mysterious boy and when he got close enough, he was grabbed by the collar, just as the other guard had been a moment earlier, his sword taken from him.
“Like taking a toy from a child.” The boy snickered, giving this guard the same treatment as the previous one and ordering him back to his post with no memory of their encounter. Like the previous guard, he didn’t know were the girl had been taken.
And on the boy went, repeating that same procedure with all the guards on his path. None of them knew what he wanted to know. “So much trouble, all because of some stupid girl. That damn healer, I’ll slit her throat open one of those days!” He muttered under his breath as he walked. He knew this would take more work than he was willing to do. Damn Lena and her stupid promises.
Lena watched as the door closed an locked behind the sixteen year old boy. She didn’t really understand why Luckas hadn’t escaped yet, there must have been something he was waiting to see, or do, something that kept him there. The walls certainly wouldn’t hold him.
“Lena?” The illusionist girl called. “Do you trust this boy? I mean… He is a murderer.”
“Did he murder you?” Lena asked smiling.
The girl simply stood, shocked as if she hadn’t considered that until that very moment. “No.”
Lena chuckled. “He is sadistic bastard, and he kills for kicks, but… He’s not the worst thing out there. He is like a misbehaved pet, of sorts.”
“What happens if he bites?” The girl asked frowning.
Lena sighed. “I put him to sleep. Unfortunately, he is smarter than that.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
[Assassin’s Camp]
The rain came crashing down violently, washing over the land. Although, some would argue that there would never be enough water to make Valcrest pure again. The winds howled and thunder roared as the assassins ran to reach the inside of the wooden cabins, hoping the wind wouldn’t tear them to shreds.
Sean had taken one step past the doorway of the leaders’ cabin when he suddenly stopped, reaching for his chest pocket, that was now slashed open, realizing that the object once kept there was missing. “Shit!” He exclaimed, running back outside under the heavy rain to hopelessly try to find it somewhere on the muddy ground. Before he could reach the center of camp again, one of the guards caught up to him. “Sean!” He shouted, trying to make himself heard over the howling winds. “We have company! A woman on a horse! She’s waiting just outside camp limits, wants to speak with someone in charge.”
“Great! Who visits during a storm like this?” He muttered, losing what was left of his patience. “Go on and inform the leader, please!” He told the guard as he moved towards the entrance to the camp and past the gated, running a little, although he was already soaked from head to toe. When the woman who was waiting there became visible, barely, he stopped, his eyes narrowed. “Great. Just great.” He muttered, beginning to walk again towards her. As he reached a good enough distance to speak, he shouted out. “If I was leader and not second command, you would be dead now, Captain. Since this is the case I am required to listen. So, what brings you here?” He asked, hoping that whatever the woman had to say was important, and quick. He had better things to do than chat with Black Knights in a moment like this.
[Desert – White Shadows camp]
Jake had managed to reach the desert, under heavy rain, and barely walking. The mercenaries were all outside; some of them were dancing in the rain. It was rare for them to see a storm that actually reached the deserted ruins, and everything that was new, to them, was a celebration. Most of the healers here hiding in tents, but some were outside as well, mostly enjoying the sight of the drunken mercenaries playing around in the mud. It was one of them who first noticed Jake as he dropped to his knees, ready to slip out of consciousness. The man helped him into a tent and soon enough his wound was being tended to. He could hear angry voices on the outside of the tent though, and that’s when he finally forced himself to speak. “Who is shouting?” He mumbled out.
“That’s the leader of the Crimson Shadows.” The healer told him. “One of his men seemed to have let someone escape, but I don’t know who it is, where it escaped from, or why. It’s none of my business anyway.” The man said, with a shrug. “Well… You’ll live, but it was a close one. Had it been a sword and not a dagger you would be a dead man, Jake.”
Jake snorted. “Between you and me, pal… I might as well be.” He said, trying to sit up, but being pushed back down by the healer. Soon he realized the man must have sedated him, because he simply couldn’t bring himself to stay awake anymore.
Annie had been in the plains, seeing if they left anything behind. She had taken two mercenaries with her, Alistair insisted, but hadn’t said two words to the men; she was lost in her head, as she had been constantly since she became leader. Wandering about in the ruins of Blackhurst, she found the short sword that belonged to her mother. She took that with her, amazed that it hadn’t been taken and lost forever. However, the approaching storm had forced her back to desert in a hurry; it was too dangerous to be in the plains during a lightning storm.
As Annie reached the desert, she heard a male voice piercing through the silence, shouting in anger, to no one in particular.
“THEY’RE DEAD. ALL DEAD! THOSE FILTHY CREATURES! ANIMALS! BLACKPOND SCUM! THEY DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE! MAY THE TWINS HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULESS EXISTENCES, I’LL MURDER THEM ALL!”
The shouting only gained strength, becoming louder and louder as Annie approached the tent where it came from. Two mercenaries tried to stop her, but were too afraid to actually contain her, so she walked right past them into the tent. There, Alistair was curled into a ball on the floor, screaming his lungs out, cursing Blackpond’s existence and hundred things more.
The fifteen year old girl sat on the floor next to the man and heaved a sigh. “Al.” She called. “Have you ever been told about what the Pack once referred to as the Red Night? Mother enjoyed telling me that story, has she ever told you?”
Alistair had stopped his screaming, but didn’t answer the question. He simply sat there shivering uncontrollably.
Annie gave him a few seconds and then went on talking, knowing that he was listening to her. “Mother was in her twenties back then, a stupid child, as she liked to describe herself, she was sound asleep when the Wolfpack was attacked by the Wolf Hunters. Children murdered in their beds, fire, the works. She was the one who buried the recruits, the one who attempted to comfort their families; she carried dead bodies around all night. She said, that was the most blood she had ever seen in one place.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” Alistair asked. His tone was still furious, but he wouldn’t go as far as to yell at her.
“I’m telling you this so you’ll see…“ She sighed. “The Pack ended the Wolf Hunters, and this story became legend. Valcrest is made of legends. The names and faces, they are nothing but shadows in the past of this land. They are forgotten within minutes except by those who were close to them.” She put one arm around his shoulders in a comforting gesture. “In the end, Blackpond will see this as a small victory, because victory over Newhaven is all that matters to them. Newhaven will see it as just another one of Blackpond’s atrocities, because they hold themselves in such a high pedestal they barely see us down here anymore, and we’ll see it as… Well, we’ll see it as it is: Murder. We will all move on eventually, because that is how things are.”
“This isn’t right. They can’t just kill us off to intimidate each other! We’re not tools for them to use this way!” The man exclaimed, still shivering.
“Yes they can, and that is exactly what we are and what we have always been, Al. The first thing we learn in this clan is acceptance, acceptance of how the world functions and our place in it, no?” She asked him. “Have you ever wondered why War and Peace were born together? I think… People wouldn’t be able to accept peace without conflict. We are not built for that, we can’t exist without problems; we can’t help but want to fix everything. That is why there is no such thing as absolute peace. Peace involves acceptance and, as human beings, we are unable to accept things. We have to always try and bend the world to our will.”
“So, are you suggesting we simply accept this, because that is what we have been taught?” He asked.
Annie chuckled. “No. I’m saying that we should simply accept this, because it is what we have been taught. However, we won’t, because we are human. So, if you are done throwing a fit, we need to discuss some things.”
---------------------------------------
[Blackpond – Dungeons (later that day)]
Lena woke up and felt a sudden wave of panic. They had taken the kid right under her nose. In all fairness, she hadn’t actually gone to sleep. She was driven unconscious by exhaustion. If the world suddenly collapsed around her she wouldn’t have been bothered by it at that point, she just didn’t have the energy.
“Shit.” She muttered, running a hand through her hair. She was supposed to look out for that kid and she failed.
“Helena.” Someone called behind her, causing her to turn immediately to see a blonde man standing on the back of the cell.
“Patrick?” Lena mumbled. “What are you doing here? This is…”
“A violation of the clan rules, yes. but, you know… You are not the clan leader anymore. Your kid has different thoughts, at the moment at least.”
“Annie sent you here?” Lena asked, walking closer to the man, frowning. “What is she doing?”
“She wants me to get you out, but… I know you won’t let me do that, so…” The man smiled. “Is there anything I can do for you, milady?”
Lena laughed, shaking her head. “It’s nice to see a familiar face, I tell you that, Pat.” She sighed. “I would like to ask you to move me to another cell.” She said.
“Why?” The man asked, confused.
Lena smiled. “They don’t open this one, since the first guard I killed, but… They open the other doors at least twice a day. I’d like to get a glimpse of the hallway.” She said innocently.
“Uh-huh… Why don’t I just get you out into the hallway?” He replied.
“I’m actually trying not to get caught this time, so I’m doing this as quietly as possible. My next door neighbors will be much help for that.” She informed him.
“What are you planning?” He asked.
Lena sighed. “Well, I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.” She laid a hand on the healer’s shoulder and added. “When you see Annie again, will you tell her that? I understand that she is worried, but I just can’t leave yet.”
“Alright. I will tell her.” He said, holding out his hand. “You might want to close your eyes for this. It’s rather unpleasant” He warned.
Lena nodded, taking his hand and closing her eyes, letting him lead her blindly through the walls of the cell. She only opened her eyes when she heard a female voice exclaim. “Lena!”
Lena smiled at the girl who spoke. “Hush. I want them to think I escaped, you can conceal me correct?”
The girl nodded, looking around for the man that had brought Lena to the cell, he was already gone. “I Can, but… My illusions don’t extend to touch, sound or scent. They simply won’t see you. So you have to be careful.”
“I know that. It’s quite alright. I don’t intend to stay here long, it won’t even make you tired, I promise.” She smiled at the girl. “It’s so they think I’m gone for good.”
“No problem.” The girl stated.
Lena nodded in agreement and then looked to the young man that was locked in the cell with them; black hair, pale skin, jet black eyes, and an unusually calm aura. The boy’s mere presence was somewhat nerve wrecking, but Lena seemed delighted to see him, judging by her expression. “For you, I have an assignment, Luckas.” She said, with a grin. “If you think you are up to the challenge.”
“Humph.” The boy mumbled, looking at her with an insolent look in his eyes. “Depends, old woman: What’s in it for me?”
Lena smiled. “Anything at all, take your pick.” She told him.
“Anything? Is this little girl worth so much to you?” He let out a rather evil snicker. “Alright, well… Something to occupy my time will do, for now. What do you want from me?” He asked, taking a rather sarcastic bow. “I am at your service.”
“I want you to find the kid, and guard her. Do not touch her, do not speak with her, don’t even let her know you are there. If anything or anyone tries to harm her: Destroy it. Are we clear?”
“That sounds like much more trouble than the kid’s worth, if you ask me, and an incredibly boring task.” He said, with a light shrug. “But fine, whatever you say.”
“Luckas, be warned, if you mess with this kid I will hunt you down… Again.” She said, in a severe tone.
The boy took a few steps towards her, his black eyes glowed for a second in the same tone of blue as hers, before returning to their original color. “If you live, that is.” He said with a little smirk. “I still think you got lucky the last time.” He said in a tone that resembled a growl. “Luck runs out.”
Lena smiled. “Doesn’t change the fact that you would be dead and buried if it wasn’t for me, Newhaven authorities are not very forgiving with psychotic killers like you. By the way, I heard your brother was killed during a riot in the dungeons.”
Luckas shrugged. “I’m sure whoever did it paid the price for the stupidity. I wouldn’t want to be that poor creature.” He said, with a delighted grin. “No one ever survived his… Gift.”
Lena chuckled. “Just do what I said, exactly as I said it. Don’t test me.”
He laughed out. “Yes ma’am. So you have no clue where they took her?”
“No.” She told him.
He shook his head amused. “Tsk, sleeping on the job, eh? Must be old age setting in.” He provoked. “Fine, makes it more fun. Mind if I terrorize and murder on my way there?”
“I’d rather you do this quietly, Luke.”
The boy let out an annoyed sigh. “You’re so boring, gee.” He walked past her towards the door, then turned towards Lena and the girl. “You two might want to cover your ears now. And you…” He pointed at the girl. “Make them think she’s me, or they’ll know I escaped and make a fuss. Be smart, will ya?” He said. Once they covered their ears, the boy slammed his fist against the metal door and shouted. “RELEASE ME!”
Not even a minute passed and the door opened. Luckas walked out grabbing the guard by the collar, his eyes changing from pure back to a light brown, same color as the guard’s. Slowly, and painfully he went through the man’s memories. Finally with an annoyed sigh, he whispered to the man, before releasing him. “Return to your post, stay there.”
Walking calmly down the hall, it didn’t take long for another guard to see him. Before the man could utter a word, Luckas commanded: “Silence!”
The guard stopped himself from yelling out ‘intruder’, although he couldn’t understand why, he couldn’t speak as the teenage boy walked slowly towards him.
“Relax, man. I won’t hurt you.” Luckas said, with a sadistic grin on his face.
The guard pulled out his sword and began to back away.
“I said… Relax.” Luckas repeated. “Come here, don’t run.” He ordered the man in a soft voice.
The guard started to walk towards the mysterious boy and when he got close enough, he was grabbed by the collar, just as the other guard had been a moment earlier, his sword taken from him.
“Like taking a toy from a child.” The boy snickered, giving this guard the same treatment as the previous one and ordering him back to his post with no memory of their encounter. Like the previous guard, he didn’t know were the girl had been taken.
And on the boy went, repeating that same procedure with all the guards on his path. None of them knew what he wanted to know. “So much trouble, all because of some stupid girl. That damn healer, I’ll slit her throat open one of those days!” He muttered under his breath as he walked. He knew this would take more work than he was willing to do. Damn Lena and her stupid promises.
Lena watched as the door closed an locked behind the sixteen year old boy. She didn’t really understand why Luckas hadn’t escaped yet, there must have been something he was waiting to see, or do, something that kept him there. The walls certainly wouldn’t hold him.
“Lena?” The illusionist girl called. “Do you trust this boy? I mean… He is a murderer.”
“Did he murder you?” Lena asked smiling.
The girl simply stood, shocked as if she hadn’t considered that until that very moment. “No.”
Lena chuckled. “He is sadistic bastard, and he kills for kicks, but… He’s not the worst thing out there. He is like a misbehaved pet, of sorts.”
“What happens if he bites?” The girl asked frowning.
Lena sighed. “I put him to sleep. Unfortunately, he is smarter than that.”
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[Assassin’s Camp]
The rain came crashing down violently, washing over the land. Although, some would argue that there would never be enough water to make Valcrest pure again. The winds howled and thunder roared as the assassins ran to reach the inside of the wooden cabins, hoping the wind wouldn’t tear them to shreds.
Sean had taken one step past the doorway of the leaders’ cabin when he suddenly stopped, reaching for his chest pocket, that was now slashed open, realizing that the object once kept there was missing. “Shit!” He exclaimed, running back outside under the heavy rain to hopelessly try to find it somewhere on the muddy ground. Before he could reach the center of camp again, one of the guards caught up to him. “Sean!” He shouted, trying to make himself heard over the howling winds. “We have company! A woman on a horse! She’s waiting just outside camp limits, wants to speak with someone in charge.”
“Great! Who visits during a storm like this?” He muttered, losing what was left of his patience. “Go on and inform the leader, please!” He told the guard as he moved towards the entrance to the camp and past the gated, running a little, although he was already soaked from head to toe. When the woman who was waiting there became visible, barely, he stopped, his eyes narrowed. “Great. Just great.” He muttered, beginning to walk again towards her. As he reached a good enough distance to speak, he shouted out. “If I was leader and not second command, you would be dead now, Captain. Since this is the case I am required to listen. So, what brings you here?” He asked, hoping that whatever the woman had to say was important, and quick. He had better things to do than chat with Black Knights in a moment like this.
[Desert – White Shadows camp]
Jake had managed to reach the desert, under heavy rain, and barely walking. The mercenaries were all outside; some of them were dancing in the rain. It was rare for them to see a storm that actually reached the deserted ruins, and everything that was new, to them, was a celebration. Most of the healers here hiding in tents, but some were outside as well, mostly enjoying the sight of the drunken mercenaries playing around in the mud. It was one of them who first noticed Jake as he dropped to his knees, ready to slip out of consciousness. The man helped him into a tent and soon enough his wound was being tended to. He could hear angry voices on the outside of the tent though, and that’s when he finally forced himself to speak. “Who is shouting?” He mumbled out.
“That’s the leader of the Crimson Shadows.” The healer told him. “One of his men seemed to have let someone escape, but I don’t know who it is, where it escaped from, or why. It’s none of my business anyway.” The man said, with a shrug. “Well… You’ll live, but it was a close one. Had it been a sword and not a dagger you would be a dead man, Jake.”
Jake snorted. “Between you and me, pal… I might as well be.” He said, trying to sit up, but being pushed back down by the healer. Soon he realized the man must have sedated him, because he simply couldn’t bring himself to stay awake anymore.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Mageria was soaked to the skin, but in truth she barely noticed. She was still trying to control her rage at what had been done, and what she would have to do next. She had been hoping that if the city rose up in protest, King Rory would release the Healers without harming them. Faint hope. Now she had to take the next bloody step. They couldn’t be allowed to think that could control everyone the way they tried to, or no one would be safe.
“If I was leader and not second command, you would be dead now, Captain. Since this is the case I am required to listen. So, what brings you here?”
Mageria looked at the young man approaching her, wondering vaguely just how it was that he knew who she was. Didn’t really matter though, not at the moment.
“I need to talk to Evin about Blackpond. It’s rather important, so is he here?”
Under her Ghost shifted restlessly, she soothed her with an idle hand, marveling at the idea that she was here at all. It was an odd fact, but she would trust Evin the person over Evin the assassin any day. And she most certainly did not want to give important information to someone who had the faintest scars of the word ‘Killer’ carved across their face; it looked like Jake’s work to her. And if Jake had reason to hate this person so much . . . well.
“If I was leader and not second command, you would be dead now, Captain. Since this is the case I am required to listen. So, what brings you here?”
Mageria looked at the young man approaching her, wondering vaguely just how it was that he knew who she was. Didn’t really matter though, not at the moment.
“I need to talk to Evin about Blackpond. It’s rather important, so is he here?”
Under her Ghost shifted restlessly, she soothed her with an idle hand, marveling at the idea that she was here at all. It was an odd fact, but she would trust Evin the person over Evin the assassin any day. And she most certainly did not want to give important information to someone who had the faintest scars of the word ‘Killer’ carved across their face; it looked like Jake’s work to her. And if Jake had reason to hate this person so much . . . well.
"Humph." Sean mumbled. "Evin is being informed of your presence. At least I had someone try to inform him. He tends to disappear at times, go figure. I'd imagine that being leader he'd lose that habit." He muttered out, annoyed that this was taking so long. Even so, he crossed his arms and stood exactly where he was, making clear he wasn't going anywhere until Evin got there at least. If he wasn't actually ordered to leave, probably not even then.
"You Black Knights and your demands." he nodded. "It's a disrespect to summon the clan leader, did you know? Yet, Crys overlooked that act when one of your mutts came here demanding to see her." He said, giving Mageria a look that clearly stated he'd love an excuse, any excuse, to knock her off that horse. "As for Jake, he is your friend, no? The traitor got his today. It's just too bad I'll probably not get my knife back." He said, with a half smile. "He probably bled all the way to the desert and is being buried as we speak. Thought you should know, in case you ever want to pay your respects." He added, the half-smile turning into a satisfied grin.
"You Black Knights and your demands." he nodded. "It's a disrespect to summon the clan leader, did you know? Yet, Crys overlooked that act when one of your mutts came here demanding to see her." He said, giving Mageria a look that clearly stated he'd love an excuse, any excuse, to knock her off that horse. "As for Jake, he is your friend, no? The traitor got his today. It's just too bad I'll probably not get my knife back." He said, with a half smile. "He probably bled all the way to the desert and is being buried as we speak. Thought you should know, in case you ever want to pay your respects." He added, the half-smile turning into a satisfied grin.
Mageria's answering smile was knife sharp. "If Jake still has your knife, he's going to be returning it in the near future. You forget that I got to train him for about a year. Us Black Knight 'mutts' are rather hard to kill. I'll pay my respects when I stand before his body, not before. And if for some reason he has trouble returning your property, I'd be glad to help him."
She settled into her saddle, giving Sean a look that clearly said she was prepared to sit here all damn day if she had to.
"As for my demands, I was quite polite I thought. Said please and everything."
She settled into her saddle, giving Sean a look that clearly said she was prepared to sit here all damn day if she had to.
"As for my demands, I was quite polite I thought. Said please and everything."
Sean chuckled. "A whole year, huh? Then you must really know him well, right?" He said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. "Trust me, ma'am, the only thing that makes you people hard to kill is lack of proper initiative. If one day the opportunity presents itself I'll gladly prove it. And if we didn't have this storm to worry about, my knife would be in my belt where it belongs and I would gladly show you Jake's body... If there was anything left of it to show."
He leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed in front of his chest. He heaved a sigh as the sound of another tree breaking and coming to the ground came to his ears. The ground slightly shaking from the impact. It hadn't been very far from there. "In the past two months you're the second Black Knight to demand our leader, at least the first one had the decency to not insult our intelligence by disguising himself. That not to mention that stupid White Knight that nearly got himself killed on our grounds. Like we needed the trouble. Tell me Captain, have people ever approached your gates and whistled demanding to please see the King, or the White Knights?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't look down at me from your giant pedestal and pretend Newhaven offers the same level of respect that it demands."
He leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed in front of his chest. He heaved a sigh as the sound of another tree breaking and coming to the ground came to his ears. The ground slightly shaking from the impact. It hadn't been very far from there. "In the past two months you're the second Black Knight to demand our leader, at least the first one had the decency to not insult our intelligence by disguising himself. That not to mention that stupid White Knight that nearly got himself killed on our grounds. Like we needed the trouble. Tell me Captain, have people ever approached your gates and whistled demanding to please see the King, or the White Knights?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't look down at me from your giant pedestal and pretend Newhaven offers the same level of respect that it demands."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Mageria snorted. “Why no, we haven’t had people approach our gates and whistle to see the King. That’s because they can knock on the gates, and there are ways for people to see the King without getting shot full of holes. As for my disguise, I’d say what I’ve got on is a lack of disguise. Obviously you know who I am.”
And wasn’t it curious that he did? She’d have to check into that somehow when all of this was done.
She pushed the hood of her coat back a little farther and wiped at a trickle of rain water running down her forehead. “And as for my pedestal, I grew up alone and in the dirt and worked my way out, which I suspect is a similar story to what most of your actives can say. And I’m sorry, sir, that the storm interfered with your chance to kill Jake. Maybe with a few more years of training you’ll be able to work your way around somebody else’s Enlightenment. If you want, I can give you the name of a few competent trainers.” She bared her teeth in something resembling a smile. “I’d offer to help you out myself, but it would be a conflict of interest; you understand.”
Mageria shaded her face as a particularly hard gust of wind slashed at her face. It might have been crazy to run out in the middle of the storm like this, but at the time she was so angry that she truly hadn’t noticed and anyways if she wanted to get everything done on time then she needed to inform Evin as to what was happening as soon as possible. Instead she was stuck here in the rain trading barbs with this child.
And wasn’t it curious that he did? She’d have to check into that somehow when all of this was done.
She pushed the hood of her coat back a little farther and wiped at a trickle of rain water running down her forehead. “And as for my pedestal, I grew up alone and in the dirt and worked my way out, which I suspect is a similar story to what most of your actives can say. And I’m sorry, sir, that the storm interfered with your chance to kill Jake. Maybe with a few more years of training you’ll be able to work your way around somebody else’s Enlightenment. If you want, I can give you the name of a few competent trainers.” She bared her teeth in something resembling a smile. “I’d offer to help you out myself, but it would be a conflict of interest; you understand.”
Mageria shaded her face as a particularly hard gust of wind slashed at her face. It might have been crazy to run out in the middle of the storm like this, but at the time she was so angry that she truly hadn’t noticed and anyways if she wanted to get everything done on time then she needed to inform Evin as to what was happening as soon as possible. Instead she was stuck here in the rain trading barbs with this child.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
"Surely if I paid you people a visit I wouldn't be tossed into a dungeon and have my ribs smashed, right? I'm sure that when that happened to my friend she was committing some sort of crime and not sitting in a library." He muttered. "And yes, I know who you are." He said in a bored tone as if he really didn't care to know in one bit. "I even know about your family, it's in the clan records how they died. Quite a tragedy."
He smiled at her comment on his failure to kill Jake. "So sure of yourself... You really shouldn't be, it's not smart." He nodded. "I require no training from a Newhaven mutt, thank you. And if I did, I could find it for myself, easily." He stated, his expression relaxing a little bit, even though he was just as annoyed to be there. He looked the woman in the eyes as if he had only just noticed her. "Don't compare yourself to us, lady. Wolves and mutts are distant relatives, a sob story and an annoying level of stubbornness don't bring us any closer."
Sean glanced towards the entrance to camp, seriously hoping Evin would show up now. He had other things he'd rather do other than stand there in the rain and trade subtle insults with someone he would much rather see dead.
He smiled at her comment on his failure to kill Jake. "So sure of yourself... You really shouldn't be, it's not smart." He nodded. "I require no training from a Newhaven mutt, thank you. And if I did, I could find it for myself, easily." He stated, his expression relaxing a little bit, even though he was just as annoyed to be there. He looked the woman in the eyes as if he had only just noticed her. "Don't compare yourself to us, lady. Wolves and mutts are distant relatives, a sob story and an annoying level of stubbornness don't bring us any closer."
Sean glanced towards the entrance to camp, seriously hoping Evin would show up now. He had other things he'd rather do other than stand there in the rain and trade subtle insults with someone he would much rather see dead.
Mageria looked levelly at Sean, feeling an old flash of rage at what had happened to her family. This was the first time she had heard about any kind of records, though. She wondered what they said, and if they told who it was that had paid for her family to die. Not that she could act on that information anymore, but it might be interesting to find out.
“The tragedy, I believe, would be that a clan of professional assassins found themselves so threatened by a couple of children that they had to kill an seven year old and two four year olds in their nightclothes.” She tilted her head to the side. “What could possibly frighten a professional such as yourself into killing somebody who couldn’t even dress himself in the morning?”
She smiled brilliantly, the way she only did when she was well and truly pissed off and being sarcastic about it. “Although I’m flattered that you think highly enough of a ‘Newhaven mutt’ like myself to consider me annoyingly stubborn. Means I’m doing something right.”
“The tragedy, I believe, would be that a clan of professional assassins found themselves so threatened by a couple of children that they had to kill an seven year old and two four year olds in their nightclothes.” She tilted her head to the side. “What could possibly frighten a professional such as yourself into killing somebody who couldn’t even dress himself in the morning?”
She smiled brilliantly, the way she only did when she was well and truly pissed off and being sarcastic about it. “Although I’m flattered that you think highly enough of a ‘Newhaven mutt’ like myself to consider me annoyingly stubborn. Means I’m doing something right.”
Sean let out a soft laughter. It was amusing to him how this woman kept trying to insult him by attacking his skills and the ones of the clan. "Well, not all people kill out of fear, captain. Some do it because they enjoy it, sad as it may be. Of course I'm only speculating, this was way before my time." He said, with calm smile. "It is despicable, but hardly a tragedy in our line of work." He moved a strand of wet hair away from his eyes and added. "The biggest tragedy, perhaps, is that you lived, captain. Or maybe not, after all... Someone may still have the joy of killing you."
He glanced around again wondering if someone had even managed to find Evin. The storm would probably get worse in the next couple of hours, things would break, get hit by trees, or lightning... There were a hundred other things he would rather be doing. "Believe me lady, the highest opinion I have of you could be easily compared to my opinion of cockroaches. Although, I think cockroaches manage to be less of a pest than black Knights."
He glanced around again wondering if someone had even managed to find Evin. The storm would probably get worse in the next couple of hours, things would break, get hit by trees, or lightning... There were a hundred other things he would rather be doing. "Believe me lady, the highest opinion I have of you could be easily compared to my opinion of cockroaches. Although, I think cockroaches manage to be less of a pest than black Knights."
Evin spent his time leaning against a tree and listening to the conversation. He was well aware that people were searching for him, but he could really care less. He was having so much fun just listening to the two. If either of them even took the time to look around instead of insult each other, it would be very possible that they would notice Evin, but that wasn't the case. Instead, they decided to make comments that would try to push each other's buttons in any way and it seemed like it had been working. He could also tell that Sean was just waiting for an excuse to pull his blade out on Mageria. The only way that would happen is if she attacked first, and knowing her, she might very well do it. If that happened, then he would have no choise but to help Sean so he decided it would be best to end it now.
He walked over, with a large grin on his face. It looked as if he was about to laugh but didn't. Instead he spoke out to the two of them. "Yes, the Black Knights are a lot like cockroaches, thinking that they can just travel where ever they want without getting harmed. You know we had an inn in Newhaven for a reason. We had assassins there to relay messages you know." He said, taking a step in between the two as a shield, both mentally and physically. "Now Sean, why don't you go to Lionel's house and fix up the floorboards. It seems like the storm has somehow broken them off the floor."
He waited for Sean to leave, knowing exactly how he must have felt as he did so. It was no big deal. There was probably some small detail on these pages that kept a deeper secret than just how Dani actually died, something that Sean wanted to keep a secret. Evin fully understood why he might want to keep a secret too. In the assassination business, it could be a dangerous thing if people found your secrets.
"So Mageria, tell me why you've broken laws created by the Pack in order to speak to me? From what I've heard, this isn't the first time we've had a visitor invading our territory."
He walked over, with a large grin on his face. It looked as if he was about to laugh but didn't. Instead he spoke out to the two of them. "Yes, the Black Knights are a lot like cockroaches, thinking that they can just travel where ever they want without getting harmed. You know we had an inn in Newhaven for a reason. We had assassins there to relay messages you know." He said, taking a step in between the two as a shield, both mentally and physically. "Now Sean, why don't you go to Lionel's house and fix up the floorboards. It seems like the storm has somehow broken them off the floor."
He waited for Sean to leave, knowing exactly how he must have felt as he did so. It was no big deal. There was probably some small detail on these pages that kept a deeper secret than just how Dani actually died, something that Sean wanted to keep a secret. Evin fully understood why he might want to keep a secret too. In the assassination business, it could be a dangerous thing if people found your secrets.
"So Mageria, tell me why you've broken laws created by the Pack in order to speak to me? From what I've heard, this isn't the first time we've had a visitor invading our territory."
Mageria waited silently until Sean walked away, then looked gravely at Evin, her eyes still bleached as white as the new color in her hair. She pushed back the hood of her coat so that she could see him clearly and twisted her neck, hearing it crackle and crunch.
“I’m here to keep a promise. Blackpond sent us a message written in blood, along with the bodies of five teenage Healers to make sure that we were paying attention. I was trying to finish this without bloodshed, but that obviously isn’t going to be possible.” She glanced up as lightning hit a tree nearby, waiting until her ears stopped ringing. “And my timetable for an armed extraction got moved up. If you want to get your recruit, we move at first light tomorrow morning. And between the fact that Blackpond is willing to do anything to hold onto the healers and the fact that they know who and what the girl is, it’s not going to be easy to take care of. I figure on several traps, including several in the traditional ways in.”
She looked away and clenched her jaw. “There’s something else you need to know about. I didn’t want to believe your story about the late King, so I went hunting for something to prove you wrong. I searched the King’s rooms and found a trapped compartment; it held a set of Healer’s robes. So I went to check the King’s body to look for a ring; according to what Grim told me about his trip here, there should have been a ring if he was part of the clan. Instead I found that somebody cut off his ring finger.” She looked back at Evin gravely. “Somebody knows the truth and is trying to cover it up, either to protect somebody or to frame somebody else.” She shrugged. “Thought you should know.”
“I’m here to keep a promise. Blackpond sent us a message written in blood, along with the bodies of five teenage Healers to make sure that we were paying attention. I was trying to finish this without bloodshed, but that obviously isn’t going to be possible.” She glanced up as lightning hit a tree nearby, waiting until her ears stopped ringing. “And my timetable for an armed extraction got moved up. If you want to get your recruit, we move at first light tomorrow morning. And between the fact that Blackpond is willing to do anything to hold onto the healers and the fact that they know who and what the girl is, it’s not going to be easy to take care of. I figure on several traps, including several in the traditional ways in.”
She looked away and clenched her jaw. “There’s something else you need to know about. I didn’t want to believe your story about the late King, so I went hunting for something to prove you wrong. I searched the King’s rooms and found a trapped compartment; it held a set of Healer’s robes. So I went to check the King’s body to look for a ring; according to what Grim told me about his trip here, there should have been a ring if he was part of the clan. Instead I found that somebody cut off his ring finger.” She looked back at Evin gravely. “Somebody knows the truth and is trying to cover it up, either to protect somebody or to frame somebody else.” She shrugged. “Thought you should know.”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
"Why hello there pretty." said a voice down bellow, just before Ella had to drop down from the rope ladder. Ella couldn't see whatever it was down there yet, but she just couldn't drop down. It just wasn't in her nature to dive into danger without a reason. Ella rushed to try to climb back up the ladder, but the man holding the ladder for her noticed, and let go of the rope. Ella instantly felt sick when she finally felt like she was falling. She knew that she was still about twenty five feet up, and she would probably break a limb or even worse on her way down. Then there was the man who was down there as well. He must have committed a terrible crime in order to get stuck in a place like that.
Suddenly, Ella felt something slow here down. It was what she imagined it would feel like if she fell onto a cloud. It was this light and fluffy feeling that made her feel like there was an air of safety almost. Instead of free falling at unspeakable speeds, he hit the floor, only creating a little scrape on her arm. When she caught her breath and looked up, she saw a man with hundreds of scars covering his body. There wasn't a spot on his body that looked like it hadn't been scarred. He was wearing few clothes and what he did have on, was tattered and dirty.
"Welcome to hell." The man said with a sadistic grin on his battered face.
~~~~~
"That was rather impressive there. I never knew that you could take control of two at once." Hastings said to the man who was responsible for the show that had been put on during the hangings a couple of hours earlier.
"There's a lot of things that you don't know about us assassins." The man replied with a satisfied grin.
"I never said anything about the assassins, I was just talking about you." He said. "Is there something that I should know Adrian?"
Adrian paused to look at Hastings with wide eyes. "Of course there are things that you don't know. Does it mean that you should know it?"
"I think as the one in charge of all tactical decisions, which includes those of the assassins, I should know as much about them as humanly possible." Hastings said in a demanding tone.
Adrian said nothing more. He turned around and walked down the other end of the hallway. When Hastings turned around, he saw all the assassins standing at the end of the hall. To say that it was intimidating would be an understatement. When Adrian joined them, and the thirteen assassins were standing together, Hastings began to panic. He looked around for other people who might have been in the hall, but there was no one. Instead of jumping to conclusions, he diced that instead it would be smart to see why the thirteen were all in one room. From the center of the group Lamya walked out and approached the center of the hall.
"I can't do it." She said, tears running down here face.
Hastings rushed over to Lamya's taking out a handkerchief, gently wiping the tears on her cheek. "Why can't you do it? He needs to be killed. I need to take his place and rule the city the way it should be run. Things need to change."
"But I love him!" She shouted, her voice cracking a few times.
Hastings shoved the handkerchief into Lamya's hands and paced back and forth in front of her a couple of times. He couldn't believe that this was happening now. It was less than a day before the assassination was going to happen and the person he had personally trained to be callas and without emotion was going soft on him. It was the thing that he thought would never happen and it was happening.
"I'm going to do it myself then." Hastings turned around ready to walk away before feeling a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned around to see a face filled with so much sorrow. He'd never seen her like that, not even as a child. He knew that she was serious.
"Please, don't."
Hastings looked into the crying eyes for a few more seconds. It felt like so much longer to him, but he just couldn't look away. "It's for the sake of my city Lamya. I have to do it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassins Camp]
Evin sighed. "Someone wants us to continue fighting. They are distracting us from the bigger picture. That's how I see it at least."
The wind began to pick up, almost knocking Evin off his feet. He took this time to consider the people who would want the Pack and Newhaven to keep fighting, but he could see no one who would really want to do it and even more importantly, who would want to sneak into the burial ground of the king in order to cut their finger off. Why did they know about Perry and why not just remove the ring instead of the entire finger. So many questions that all lead to dead ends. There was no one who fit the profile that Evin could think of.
As the rain began to come down harder, he realised that the worst of the storm was on it's way. It almost felt like the darkest moments in his life were all within the raindrops, but it didn't end there. It also seemed as if there was more to come. Like this rain brought some new sorrow with it in a violent torrent. This made Evin feel very uncomfortable. Something was just... off.
"I will send my best to help you, but I'm afraid that I will not be able to come myself. There are more important things that need to get done in the camp and I'm afraid that the rain might slow me down a bit. They will leave with you within the next ten minutes. If you could please wait just a few minutes so I can have them prep."
Evin walked off leaving Mageria alone.It only took him about five minutes to gather his best assassins for the job. When he came back, Mageria was still standing there in the rain and drenched head to toe.
"These men and women will follow you to the rendezvous. Each one has specific abilities and skills that you might find useful. Might I suggest getting to know them on the way so you can best plan out a strategy on how they can be best used. Farewell and Godspeed. May the Gods be looking down upon you."
Suddenly, Ella felt something slow here down. It was what she imagined it would feel like if she fell onto a cloud. It was this light and fluffy feeling that made her feel like there was an air of safety almost. Instead of free falling at unspeakable speeds, he hit the floor, only creating a little scrape on her arm. When she caught her breath and looked up, she saw a man with hundreds of scars covering his body. There wasn't a spot on his body that looked like it hadn't been scarred. He was wearing few clothes and what he did have on, was tattered and dirty.
"Welcome to hell." The man said with a sadistic grin on his battered face.
~~~~~
"That was rather impressive there. I never knew that you could take control of two at once." Hastings said to the man who was responsible for the show that had been put on during the hangings a couple of hours earlier.
"There's a lot of things that you don't know about us assassins." The man replied with a satisfied grin.
"I never said anything about the assassins, I was just talking about you." He said. "Is there something that I should know Adrian?"
Adrian paused to look at Hastings with wide eyes. "Of course there are things that you don't know. Does it mean that you should know it?"
"I think as the one in charge of all tactical decisions, which includes those of the assassins, I should know as much about them as humanly possible." Hastings said in a demanding tone.
Adrian said nothing more. He turned around and walked down the other end of the hallway. When Hastings turned around, he saw all the assassins standing at the end of the hall. To say that it was intimidating would be an understatement. When Adrian joined them, and the thirteen assassins were standing together, Hastings began to panic. He looked around for other people who might have been in the hall, but there was no one. Instead of jumping to conclusions, he diced that instead it would be smart to see why the thirteen were all in one room. From the center of the group Lamya walked out and approached the center of the hall.
"I can't do it." She said, tears running down here face.
Hastings rushed over to Lamya's taking out a handkerchief, gently wiping the tears on her cheek. "Why can't you do it? He needs to be killed. I need to take his place and rule the city the way it should be run. Things need to change."
"But I love him!" She shouted, her voice cracking a few times.
Hastings shoved the handkerchief into Lamya's hands and paced back and forth in front of her a couple of times. He couldn't believe that this was happening now. It was less than a day before the assassination was going to happen and the person he had personally trained to be callas and without emotion was going soft on him. It was the thing that he thought would never happen and it was happening.
"I'm going to do it myself then." Hastings turned around ready to walk away before feeling a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned around to see a face filled with so much sorrow. He'd never seen her like that, not even as a child. He knew that she was serious.
"Please, don't."
Hastings looked into the crying eyes for a few more seconds. It felt like so much longer to him, but he just couldn't look away. "It's for the sake of my city Lamya. I have to do it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Assassins Camp]
Evin sighed. "Someone wants us to continue fighting. They are distracting us from the bigger picture. That's how I see it at least."
The wind began to pick up, almost knocking Evin off his feet. He took this time to consider the people who would want the Pack and Newhaven to keep fighting, but he could see no one who would really want to do it and even more importantly, who would want to sneak into the burial ground of the king in order to cut their finger off. Why did they know about Perry and why not just remove the ring instead of the entire finger. So many questions that all lead to dead ends. There was no one who fit the profile that Evin could think of.
As the rain began to come down harder, he realised that the worst of the storm was on it's way. It almost felt like the darkest moments in his life were all within the raindrops, but it didn't end there. It also seemed as if there was more to come. Like this rain brought some new sorrow with it in a violent torrent. This made Evin feel very uncomfortable. Something was just... off.
"I will send my best to help you, but I'm afraid that I will not be able to come myself. There are more important things that need to get done in the camp and I'm afraid that the rain might slow me down a bit. They will leave with you within the next ten minutes. If you could please wait just a few minutes so I can have them prep."
Evin walked off leaving Mageria alone.It only took him about five minutes to gather his best assassins for the job. When he came back, Mageria was still standing there in the rain and drenched head to toe.
"These men and women will follow you to the rendezvous. Each one has specific abilities and skills that you might find useful. Might I suggest getting to know them on the way so you can best plan out a strategy on how they can be best used. Farewell and Godspeed. May the Gods be looking down upon you."
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
The sound of the winds were terrifying and from the inside of the wooden cabins it seemed like the walls were about to come down at any second. The younger children were clinging to their parents or older siblings at every crash of lightning. Ali just had been sitting at a corner of the cafeteria, squinting at the journal pages Evin had left with her. She couldn't stop reading them, and every time she did everything seemed more complicated. Suddenly she heard a voice next to her. "You need a light, dear?" A woman's voice sounded in her ears and Ali turned to find one of the cooks holding out a lit candle for her.
Ali moved as far away as she could from the flame without being obvious. "No, thank you. I'm good." She muttered out, folding the papers and putting them back into her pocket, resting her chin on her hand and looking around. Everyone seemed cold and frightened. The younger children, much like Ali herself, had never seen a storm like this. It was as if the sun had never come up, even though he was simply hidden by the dark clouds.
Suddenly she heard movement outside and stood up, walking towards the door, she cracked it open to see a couple of actives moving out, fully equipped. She stepped out into the rain and waved one of them over, a man she had once worked with. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"To Blackpond. We have orders to rescue Evin's recruit." He nodded. "I can't talk, there's no time." He told her, giving her a friendly wave over his shoulder as he ran to catch up with the others. Ali shook her head as she turn to walk back inside... Things were getting more and more complicated.
---------------------
Sean left Evin and Mageria to their business, swallowing the angry response he had to give on Evin's comment. He knew what had been hidden under those floorboards and he knew who had been in the house that morning. However, he didn't know how that information made its way to Evin. Jake wouldn't just walk up to him and ask to chat. It wasn't that simple. He shook his head as he entered the house he had shared with his siblings, making his way to Lionel's room. The floorboards were in their correct place. "Clever son of a bitch... It was all a distraction." He muttered under his breath, walking to where his bedroom used to be.
He picked a clean shirt from a trunk and replaced the shredded one he was currently wearing, with it. It didn't matter much since he was about to get soaked again, but supposedly it was better than nothing. Walking out of the house to the center of camp, under heavy rain... Sean went back to looking for what he had lost. Praying to all the Gods he could think of, because if he didn't find it... He would be in a lot of trouble.
Ali moved as far away as she could from the flame without being obvious. "No, thank you. I'm good." She muttered out, folding the papers and putting them back into her pocket, resting her chin on her hand and looking around. Everyone seemed cold and frightened. The younger children, much like Ali herself, had never seen a storm like this. It was as if the sun had never come up, even though he was simply hidden by the dark clouds.
Suddenly she heard movement outside and stood up, walking towards the door, she cracked it open to see a couple of actives moving out, fully equipped. She stepped out into the rain and waved one of them over, a man she had once worked with. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"To Blackpond. We have orders to rescue Evin's recruit." He nodded. "I can't talk, there's no time." He told her, giving her a friendly wave over his shoulder as he ran to catch up with the others. Ali shook her head as she turn to walk back inside... Things were getting more and more complicated.
---------------------
Sean left Evin and Mageria to their business, swallowing the angry response he had to give on Evin's comment. He knew what had been hidden under those floorboards and he knew who had been in the house that morning. However, he didn't know how that information made its way to Evin. Jake wouldn't just walk up to him and ask to chat. It wasn't that simple. He shook his head as he entered the house he had shared with his siblings, making his way to Lionel's room. The floorboards were in their correct place. "Clever son of a bitch... It was all a distraction." He muttered under his breath, walking to where his bedroom used to be.
He picked a clean shirt from a trunk and replaced the shredded one he was currently wearing, with it. It didn't matter much since he was about to get soaked again, but supposedly it was better than nothing. Walking out of the house to the center of camp, under heavy rain... Sean went back to looking for what he had lost. Praying to all the Gods he could think of, because if he didn't find it... He would be in a lot of trouble.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
(Traveling)
Mageria nodded at the men and women standing in front of her. “We can figure things out later. Right now, the best idea is to get to our destination, which has a shelter to get out of the rain.” With that she pulled her horse around and took off into the pouring rain, the Pack following closely at her heels.
After about a half hour of travel, she pulled to the side, following a narrow path that could barely be seen. There, hidden deep in the forest was a well hidden cave mouth, it was only when Mageria swung off her horse and led Ghost inside that it could be seen that it was much deeper than it appeared. There was one man standing near the entrance, he raised one eyebrow at the line of Pack members that followed her in. She shook her head. “Just get the lot of us dry, I’ll explain things further inside.” He nodded and held out one hand in each persons direction as they passed. His eyes glowed gently blue and as each person walked by the excess water was pulled from their cloths, leaving them as dry as if they had spent the day indoors. When he was done, he held a shimmering globe of water nearly a foot across in front of him suspended in mid air; which he then directed outdoors to join the rest of the rain. Inside, there were cups of mulled cider waiting to warm up the travelers, Mageria took one and sipped gently, fragrant steam wafting around her face.
“Captain . . .” One of the Black Guard started to speak, no doubt to object to the presence of the Pack. Mageria didn’t even let him get any further, instead holding up one hand and shooting him a glare that stopped him dead.
“They have their reasons for being here. And you have to admit, they’re much better at getting in and out of places without being seen.” There were a number of sour looks and glares at that. Mageria ignored it all and simply turned to the assassins, gesturing to a large map that had been pinned to the wall.
“We have a multi step plan in place, depending on how this escalates. I don’t expect it to be easy, but the best case is that we get in and out without blood shed.” She started to point out various spots and passages, explaining her plan softly and in great detail. Then she looked over at where the Pack members all stood together, a clear division between them and everyone else.
“You know your abilities better than I do. What would be your suggestions?”
One man stepped forward and studied the map carefully, reaching out to touch a few point on the map. “I’d suggest we go in here and here, maybe here as well. That would make the best use of our talents.”
Sipping her drink, Mageria stepped up next to him and thought for a long moment, asking the man about the talents of the people he was going to place; then making her own suggestions. By the time the rain was over, a workable plan had been hammered out and everybody had agreed to work together with almost no bloodshed. She counted that as a victory. They would move just before first light.
Mageria nodded at the men and women standing in front of her. “We can figure things out later. Right now, the best idea is to get to our destination, which has a shelter to get out of the rain.” With that she pulled her horse around and took off into the pouring rain, the Pack following closely at her heels.
After about a half hour of travel, she pulled to the side, following a narrow path that could barely be seen. There, hidden deep in the forest was a well hidden cave mouth, it was only when Mageria swung off her horse and led Ghost inside that it could be seen that it was much deeper than it appeared. There was one man standing near the entrance, he raised one eyebrow at the line of Pack members that followed her in. She shook her head. “Just get the lot of us dry, I’ll explain things further inside.” He nodded and held out one hand in each persons direction as they passed. His eyes glowed gently blue and as each person walked by the excess water was pulled from their cloths, leaving them as dry as if they had spent the day indoors. When he was done, he held a shimmering globe of water nearly a foot across in front of him suspended in mid air; which he then directed outdoors to join the rest of the rain. Inside, there were cups of mulled cider waiting to warm up the travelers, Mageria took one and sipped gently, fragrant steam wafting around her face.
“Captain . . .” One of the Black Guard started to speak, no doubt to object to the presence of the Pack. Mageria didn’t even let him get any further, instead holding up one hand and shooting him a glare that stopped him dead.
“They have their reasons for being here. And you have to admit, they’re much better at getting in and out of places without being seen.” There were a number of sour looks and glares at that. Mageria ignored it all and simply turned to the assassins, gesturing to a large map that had been pinned to the wall.
“We have a multi step plan in place, depending on how this escalates. I don’t expect it to be easy, but the best case is that we get in and out without blood shed.” She started to point out various spots and passages, explaining her plan softly and in great detail. Then she looked over at where the Pack members all stood together, a clear division between them and everyone else.
“You know your abilities better than I do. What would be your suggestions?”
One man stepped forward and studied the map carefully, reaching out to touch a few point on the map. “I’d suggest we go in here and here, maybe here as well. That would make the best use of our talents.”
Sipping her drink, Mageria stepped up next to him and thought for a long moment, asking the man about the talents of the people he was going to place; then making her own suggestions. By the time the rain was over, a workable plan had been hammered out and everybody had agreed to work together with almost no bloodshed. She counted that as a victory. They would move just before first light.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
When Mageria had left with the group of hand picked assassins, he moved along the path towards the center of the camp. Ultimately, he wanted to get back to his room and put on yet another pair of dry clothes. Or maybe he would bring some dry clothes to a cabin with a fireplace so he could keep warm while he waited out the storm. Strangely enough, the leader's cabin didn't have a fireplace. It was probably for the better though or else the cabin would have probably burned down at some point in it's history.
As Evin walked down the trail, he noticed a man in the center of the camp where the tree had fallen on the fire pit. The man was on his hands and knee looking through mud to find something, or at least that's what it looked like from a distance. As Evin came closer to the center, he could tell it was Sean. Out of curiosity, he decided that he would check out what was going on.
Walking through the center, he caught a glimpse of something on the ground. It was something very familiar to Evin. Probably what Sean was looking for, but he decided to walk further to Sean, keeping a bit of a distance.
"Did you lose something Sean?"
Sean had been looking somewhat hopelessly for the item he had lost. It wasn't really that important to him personally, but having it turn up in camp could be a problem he'd much rather not deal with anytime soon. Supposedly, if he was lucky, no one would ever find it, but... He had been an assassin long enough to know that hoping for the best was foolish. If you wanted things to go well, you had to make it happen. "Stupid. I'm so stupid." He muttered under his breath as he searched. Rethinking everything Jake had done the past month... He seemed erratic and careless, but now it made sense. He forced Sean into moving out of his house so he could search there. He had been searching all along and now Sean wondered if knew about this little secret too, or if it was just an unfortunate coincidence that he had managed to rip it out of his pocket.
"Did you lose something Sean?"
Sean's entire body tensed for a split second when hearing Evin's voice, but it was hardly noticeable. When he looked up to face the man he had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Hum... Yeah, I... I ripped one of my pockets earlier when Jake visited. He sighed. "I'm probably not going to find in this mess though." He stated, standing up and wiping both his hands on his pants. Which didn't make much of a difference, since they were already covered in mud.
Evin watched him as he stop moving just for a split second when Evin spoke to him. Sean had lost something of obvious significance to him during the fight with Jake. It was strange that he found what Evin had seen on the ground significant. He probably didn't even know the man it belonged to.
"So Sean, tell me about the fight you had with Jake? Explain to me how you got a rip in you're shirt and lost this precious object of yours." He said with a friendly smile.
Sean sighed, running a hand through his hair mostly to get it away from his eyes, meanwhile he thought about the question. He noticed that Evin was genuinely interested in what he had lost, and the fight that occurred earlier. Interested enough to stop and chat in the center of camp in the heavy rain. That was odd, to say the very least, but Sean knew better than to dodge questions for any reason, it was just a stupid thing to do. "I noticed some strange movement around my house, which is something I find particularly disturbing since my brother and sister currently live there, next thing I knew I heard something move behind me and I attacked it. It was a guard, Jake had been using the man as a shield..." Sean shivered slightly, as a gust of wind hit him straight on. "At which point he knocked Ali out and I figured he was going to run so... I pushed him into fighting me. That might have been foolish since even after I stabbed him he almost managed to cut my chest open." He gave a light shrug. "Fortunately he only got my shirt and ripped my pocket open... It's not that important though, just a gift from a friend."
Evin listened to Sean carefully, taking in every mannerism and interpreting it to find some fault. He just wanted to hear or see something that didn't sound right. Evin knew that there was something wrong, but he didn't know why there was something wrong. There was no reason for it. He'd already analyzed it when he was talking to Mageria. Sean just didn't fit the profile.
"Isn't that interesting." The sentence seemed out of place. "And this pocket of yours was on the inside of your shirt, right by your heart. This thing that you are looking for must be of real importance to you."
Evin looked around on the ground, acting like he was searching for it. He already knew where it was, but he wasn't going to say anything until he got what he needed from Sean's mouth. He circled around Sean a couple of times. There was always a chance that he might have missed something, or that is what Evin wanted to Sean to think he was doing. After words, he went back to where he was standing before, facing Sean and looking through the filter that the pouring rain provided. It seemed the filtered version of this man had a lot to hide.
Sean's eyes narrowed for a moment when Evin was pacing around him. This felt like something he once heard his father talk about, something he was told wolves did when a new member arrived in the Pack, an outsider. The leader would circle him and watch him to see if he was weak, or posed as a threat. If the new member was neither one of those things, he was welcomed to the Pack, if not: He'd better run fast.
Admittedly, he was not afraid of Evin. The man couldn't possibly had watched Sean for as long as Sean had watched him, even if he had, there is very little he could have actually seen. Secrets? Surely he had them, but in that place... Who the hell didn't?
When Evin stopped in front of him again, Sean addressed the man's words with a somewhat amused smile. "It's not important to me, no. It's something I really shouldn't have, but it was offered to me as a gift. I kept it close to my heart since it's an area that is difficult to reach in any other way except the one Jake, so kindly, demonstrated." He heaved a soft and impatient sigh. "It's not important to me, but you keep saying it must be. So, are you seeking some sort of answer from me I haven't yet given? Because if that's the case, I suggest you ask the actual question before we both freeze to death." His tone was pleasant, and if anything more, curious.
"There's no real question that I want to ask. I just want to help you find the thing." Evin said, once again looking on the ground around him for a few seconds. It seemed like he was telling the truth about what he was saying. What was odd was why he would tell Evin all of this unless he didn't have reason to fear.
Evin folded his hands in front of him, and removed his ring while Sean wasn't exactly paying attention. "On the subject of lost personal affects, I have lost my ring." He lifted his hand exposing the ringless finger. "I don't think a lot of assassins do this, but I've personalized my ring. I carved a line around the inside of my ring just so it could be identified if the need arises. Another good example of this is Perry's ring." He smiled. "In a spar I had with him, I had cut his ring with my rope dart. You see, there is a tiny scratch on it, but it is still unique."
Evin stared Sean right in the eyes, not looking away for a single second to make it look even more like he knew all along. Sean must have known that this conversation couldn't have been a coincidence and of course so did Evin. Evin's closed mouth smile grew to a larger open mouthed grin. While still looking directly into Sean's eyes, he said, "oh, hey! Look what I have found."
Evin looked away to find the ring on the ground. He picked it up and showed it to Sean, exposing the scratch on it. "Is this what you've been looking for?"
Sean didn't say a word in response to what Evin was saying. Not until he had picked up the ring and showed it to him. In that moment he let out a small chuckle. "Why, yes. That is exactly what I was looking for, although I have the feeling you knew that already." He stated calmly. "But hey, if that's your friend's ring you may keep it if you want. Like I already said: It's not in one bit important to me. Although I would much rather not be caught with it. I made a habit to keep it hidden in my pocket, didn't even remember it was there until I lost it." He shrugged. "If I had shown Crys, she would want me to tell her how I got it, and she would want to look into it, you know what she was like with rules." He sighed. "I didn't want to implicate my friend, because he stole it, and you may be able to guess where he stole it from. He'd be executed if caught." He explained, his expression turning serious for the first time as if to discourage further questioning on this particular detail. "Do you need help finding your ring, or will it magically reappear now?" He asked raising a brow, an amused tone in his voice.
Evin just stared at him blankly. He didn't exactly know how to respond to it instantly, but he knew that there was more to the story than he was being told. Started tapping the ring on the palm of his other hand while he stared at Sean and thinking of what he might have been hiding.
Evin thought as he spoke aloud. "You've wanted to break bonds between us and the Black Knights since you became my second. Isn't it just convenient that you have the only evidence that there was to prove that we are innocent of killing a king? My question would be why you would be so bent on creating an enemy, but then again..." He paused. "... having a common enemy is the best way to gain support, but for what? Wait, you expressed some form of anger when I had mentioned asking Allison to be second in command before you. You want control of the Pack all together! You killed Crystal and now you want to find a way to off me so you can restore the Pack to the way your father wanted it."
Evin drew Crystal's katana and got into a proper fighting stance.
"So just do it! Call everyone out and challenge me for my position just as your brother did to Crystal a month ago! You can do it that way, or we could fight out here alone and people will just forget about you! How do you want it?"
Sean stood in front of Evin with the most sincere shocked expression on his face. "W-whoa, Evin... You're not making sense. I hate the Black Knights, that's not a secret, but I would never harm the clan this way. And my father?" He made a pause when he realized he was close to raising his voice. Taking a deep breath he continued. "My father was Dani's friend, he was like an older brother to her, he was Crystal's godfather and he died protecting this camp. He died in the hands of that woman, who is now leading our actives into Blackpond and possibly making it look like we are openly supporting Newhaven. My brother couldn't deal with his death and he snapped." He shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you, so unless you want to execute me for something you have no proof of, or insult my family some more... I think we're done here." He stated, crossing his arms in front his chest, frowning slightly. "And like I said... The ring was given to me by a friend. He works at the castle, recognized it as being a ring from the Pack and returned it to me. Nothing more, nothing less."
Sean pretended like there was nothing in Evin's words, but Evin knew that he must have been pulling at strings to keep a believable story alive. Evin wasn't going to deal with any of this bullshit. He reached in his left pocket for something, but to anyone, it wouldn't be able to be seen. Without any notice, he made a pulling motion with that hand and the wire wrapped around Sean's legs, forcing him onto the ground.
"You know Sean, Mageria might have been right about your abilities. If you wont so focused on other things, you would have noticed me laying down the wire when I circled you."
He walked closer to him, standing over him with authority. "You're father was supposed to be married to Dani wasn't he? That's what I had always heard. And that would make him second in command wouldn't it? I could see why you would want to become a leader and why you would want things to be done your way too, with the killing of your father and all. Maybe if he was skilled enough he would still be alive and you wouldn't be bitching around the way you are right now."
"I might not kill you now, but I'll be sure to make your life a living hell. As of this moment you are no longer an assassin, but simply just another worker. You will return your ring and weapons and you will no longer be allowed anywhere near a weapon. I will have you doing the lowest of the low jobs, the ones that no one else in this camp ever want to do. And to top it all off, I'll be watching you for any mistake you make. I will take any reason to have you punished or even better, executed even if I have to frame you for the things you do. It's over for you Sean so just give it up!"
Sean laughed out, laying back on the floor where he had landed. "My father never wanted to marry Dani, everyone knew that. And even if he had... Nothing guarantees he would be second in command. Second command is the leader's choice despite who she's married to. So, you are way off there." He looked up at Evin still smiling. "And what is it with you and this woman, huh? Something tells me she wouldn't wander into our territory so sure of herself if it wasn't for you... Are you two friendly with each other Evin?" He laughed again. "That just makes me sick, but I suppose you two make a cute couple in a way." He stopped laughing with a sigh. "That's just hilarious. And you know what... My father might have been defeated, that's true, but at least he made it to instructor unlike yours. If that's how you want to play it." He sat up resting his arms on his knees, the same amused expression across his face. "And did you know that the simple workers in this camp outnumber active assassins? Three to one. And some of them are just as skilled as actives, if not more." He stated, removing his initiation ring. "Such a waste isn't it?" He tossed the ring on the mud and looked Evin in the eyes, the smile turning into a defiant smirk. "You want to make my life hell? Go ahead, give it your best shot. However, I think you and I have very different definitions of hell."
Evin ignored the comments about Mageria. He didn‘t want to say anything that may have been compromising to his position, even to a low life like Sean. "You know Sean, you don't know the half of it. Those workers all lack a specific skill important to being an assassin. They might be better in one area compared to some of our assassins, but they are not up to requirements in other fields. My dad decided that killing wasn't the right thing for him and he took a different path. I'm not afraid to admit that, unlike you who can't handle you're father's shortcomings so you have to prove to the world that you could do better. Truth is, you will never reach what little your father did. Just like him, you were my second choice."
Evin once again circled Sean. It seemed like he was intimidated the first time it happened, so he hoped that it would work the same as last time. His katana hovering over Sean ready to strike.
"I think the most pathetic thing is your brother Lionel. He couldn't kill Crystal, a blind woman. After that, you wanted to prove you're worth even more didn't you, but then you figured out that you couldn't do it either so you hired Blackpond to do it for you. That's pathetic Sean, really pathetic. So Sean, when are you just going to admit to me the truth instead of hide behind your laughter... Pathetic."
Evin started walking away. Sean meant nothing to him anymore. He was just another low life in this world that Evin didn't have to look at or even think about.
As Evin walked down the trail, he noticed a man in the center of the camp where the tree had fallen on the fire pit. The man was on his hands and knee looking through mud to find something, or at least that's what it looked like from a distance. As Evin came closer to the center, he could tell it was Sean. Out of curiosity, he decided that he would check out what was going on.
Walking through the center, he caught a glimpse of something on the ground. It was something very familiar to Evin. Probably what Sean was looking for, but he decided to walk further to Sean, keeping a bit of a distance.
"Did you lose something Sean?"
Sean had been looking somewhat hopelessly for the item he had lost. It wasn't really that important to him personally, but having it turn up in camp could be a problem he'd much rather not deal with anytime soon. Supposedly, if he was lucky, no one would ever find it, but... He had been an assassin long enough to know that hoping for the best was foolish. If you wanted things to go well, you had to make it happen. "Stupid. I'm so stupid." He muttered under his breath as he searched. Rethinking everything Jake had done the past month... He seemed erratic and careless, but now it made sense. He forced Sean into moving out of his house so he could search there. He had been searching all along and now Sean wondered if knew about this little secret too, or if it was just an unfortunate coincidence that he had managed to rip it out of his pocket.
"Did you lose something Sean?"
Sean's entire body tensed for a split second when hearing Evin's voice, but it was hardly noticeable. When he looked up to face the man he had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Hum... Yeah, I... I ripped one of my pockets earlier when Jake visited. He sighed. "I'm probably not going to find in this mess though." He stated, standing up and wiping both his hands on his pants. Which didn't make much of a difference, since they were already covered in mud.
Evin watched him as he stop moving just for a split second when Evin spoke to him. Sean had lost something of obvious significance to him during the fight with Jake. It was strange that he found what Evin had seen on the ground significant. He probably didn't even know the man it belonged to.
"So Sean, tell me about the fight you had with Jake? Explain to me how you got a rip in you're shirt and lost this precious object of yours." He said with a friendly smile.
Sean sighed, running a hand through his hair mostly to get it away from his eyes, meanwhile he thought about the question. He noticed that Evin was genuinely interested in what he had lost, and the fight that occurred earlier. Interested enough to stop and chat in the center of camp in the heavy rain. That was odd, to say the very least, but Sean knew better than to dodge questions for any reason, it was just a stupid thing to do. "I noticed some strange movement around my house, which is something I find particularly disturbing since my brother and sister currently live there, next thing I knew I heard something move behind me and I attacked it. It was a guard, Jake had been using the man as a shield..." Sean shivered slightly, as a gust of wind hit him straight on. "At which point he knocked Ali out and I figured he was going to run so... I pushed him into fighting me. That might have been foolish since even after I stabbed him he almost managed to cut my chest open." He gave a light shrug. "Fortunately he only got my shirt and ripped my pocket open... It's not that important though, just a gift from a friend."
Evin listened to Sean carefully, taking in every mannerism and interpreting it to find some fault. He just wanted to hear or see something that didn't sound right. Evin knew that there was something wrong, but he didn't know why there was something wrong. There was no reason for it. He'd already analyzed it when he was talking to Mageria. Sean just didn't fit the profile.
"Isn't that interesting." The sentence seemed out of place. "And this pocket of yours was on the inside of your shirt, right by your heart. This thing that you are looking for must be of real importance to you."
Evin looked around on the ground, acting like he was searching for it. He already knew where it was, but he wasn't going to say anything until he got what he needed from Sean's mouth. He circled around Sean a couple of times. There was always a chance that he might have missed something, or that is what Evin wanted to Sean to think he was doing. After words, he went back to where he was standing before, facing Sean and looking through the filter that the pouring rain provided. It seemed the filtered version of this man had a lot to hide.
Sean's eyes narrowed for a moment when Evin was pacing around him. This felt like something he once heard his father talk about, something he was told wolves did when a new member arrived in the Pack, an outsider. The leader would circle him and watch him to see if he was weak, or posed as a threat. If the new member was neither one of those things, he was welcomed to the Pack, if not: He'd better run fast.
Admittedly, he was not afraid of Evin. The man couldn't possibly had watched Sean for as long as Sean had watched him, even if he had, there is very little he could have actually seen. Secrets? Surely he had them, but in that place... Who the hell didn't?
When Evin stopped in front of him again, Sean addressed the man's words with a somewhat amused smile. "It's not important to me, no. It's something I really shouldn't have, but it was offered to me as a gift. I kept it close to my heart since it's an area that is difficult to reach in any other way except the one Jake, so kindly, demonstrated." He heaved a soft and impatient sigh. "It's not important to me, but you keep saying it must be. So, are you seeking some sort of answer from me I haven't yet given? Because if that's the case, I suggest you ask the actual question before we both freeze to death." His tone was pleasant, and if anything more, curious.
"There's no real question that I want to ask. I just want to help you find the thing." Evin said, once again looking on the ground around him for a few seconds. It seemed like he was telling the truth about what he was saying. What was odd was why he would tell Evin all of this unless he didn't have reason to fear.
Evin folded his hands in front of him, and removed his ring while Sean wasn't exactly paying attention. "On the subject of lost personal affects, I have lost my ring." He lifted his hand exposing the ringless finger. "I don't think a lot of assassins do this, but I've personalized my ring. I carved a line around the inside of my ring just so it could be identified if the need arises. Another good example of this is Perry's ring." He smiled. "In a spar I had with him, I had cut his ring with my rope dart. You see, there is a tiny scratch on it, but it is still unique."
Evin stared Sean right in the eyes, not looking away for a single second to make it look even more like he knew all along. Sean must have known that this conversation couldn't have been a coincidence and of course so did Evin. Evin's closed mouth smile grew to a larger open mouthed grin. While still looking directly into Sean's eyes, he said, "oh, hey! Look what I have found."
Evin looked away to find the ring on the ground. He picked it up and showed it to Sean, exposing the scratch on it. "Is this what you've been looking for?"
Sean didn't say a word in response to what Evin was saying. Not until he had picked up the ring and showed it to him. In that moment he let out a small chuckle. "Why, yes. That is exactly what I was looking for, although I have the feeling you knew that already." He stated calmly. "But hey, if that's your friend's ring you may keep it if you want. Like I already said: It's not in one bit important to me. Although I would much rather not be caught with it. I made a habit to keep it hidden in my pocket, didn't even remember it was there until I lost it." He shrugged. "If I had shown Crys, she would want me to tell her how I got it, and she would want to look into it, you know what she was like with rules." He sighed. "I didn't want to implicate my friend, because he stole it, and you may be able to guess where he stole it from. He'd be executed if caught." He explained, his expression turning serious for the first time as if to discourage further questioning on this particular detail. "Do you need help finding your ring, or will it magically reappear now?" He asked raising a brow, an amused tone in his voice.
Evin just stared at him blankly. He didn't exactly know how to respond to it instantly, but he knew that there was more to the story than he was being told. Started tapping the ring on the palm of his other hand while he stared at Sean and thinking of what he might have been hiding.
Evin thought as he spoke aloud. "You've wanted to break bonds between us and the Black Knights since you became my second. Isn't it just convenient that you have the only evidence that there was to prove that we are innocent of killing a king? My question would be why you would be so bent on creating an enemy, but then again..." He paused. "... having a common enemy is the best way to gain support, but for what? Wait, you expressed some form of anger when I had mentioned asking Allison to be second in command before you. You want control of the Pack all together! You killed Crystal and now you want to find a way to off me so you can restore the Pack to the way your father wanted it."
Evin drew Crystal's katana and got into a proper fighting stance.
"So just do it! Call everyone out and challenge me for my position just as your brother did to Crystal a month ago! You can do it that way, or we could fight out here alone and people will just forget about you! How do you want it?"
Sean stood in front of Evin with the most sincere shocked expression on his face. "W-whoa, Evin... You're not making sense. I hate the Black Knights, that's not a secret, but I would never harm the clan this way. And my father?" He made a pause when he realized he was close to raising his voice. Taking a deep breath he continued. "My father was Dani's friend, he was like an older brother to her, he was Crystal's godfather and he died protecting this camp. He died in the hands of that woman, who is now leading our actives into Blackpond and possibly making it look like we are openly supporting Newhaven. My brother couldn't deal with his death and he snapped." He shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you, so unless you want to execute me for something you have no proof of, or insult my family some more... I think we're done here." He stated, crossing his arms in front his chest, frowning slightly. "And like I said... The ring was given to me by a friend. He works at the castle, recognized it as being a ring from the Pack and returned it to me. Nothing more, nothing less."
Sean pretended like there was nothing in Evin's words, but Evin knew that he must have been pulling at strings to keep a believable story alive. Evin wasn't going to deal with any of this bullshit. He reached in his left pocket for something, but to anyone, it wouldn't be able to be seen. Without any notice, he made a pulling motion with that hand and the wire wrapped around Sean's legs, forcing him onto the ground.
"You know Sean, Mageria might have been right about your abilities. If you wont so focused on other things, you would have noticed me laying down the wire when I circled you."
He walked closer to him, standing over him with authority. "You're father was supposed to be married to Dani wasn't he? That's what I had always heard. And that would make him second in command wouldn't it? I could see why you would want to become a leader and why you would want things to be done your way too, with the killing of your father and all. Maybe if he was skilled enough he would still be alive and you wouldn't be bitching around the way you are right now."
"I might not kill you now, but I'll be sure to make your life a living hell. As of this moment you are no longer an assassin, but simply just another worker. You will return your ring and weapons and you will no longer be allowed anywhere near a weapon. I will have you doing the lowest of the low jobs, the ones that no one else in this camp ever want to do. And to top it all off, I'll be watching you for any mistake you make. I will take any reason to have you punished or even better, executed even if I have to frame you for the things you do. It's over for you Sean so just give it up!"
Sean laughed out, laying back on the floor where he had landed. "My father never wanted to marry Dani, everyone knew that. And even if he had... Nothing guarantees he would be second in command. Second command is the leader's choice despite who she's married to. So, you are way off there." He looked up at Evin still smiling. "And what is it with you and this woman, huh? Something tells me she wouldn't wander into our territory so sure of herself if it wasn't for you... Are you two friendly with each other Evin?" He laughed again. "That just makes me sick, but I suppose you two make a cute couple in a way." He stopped laughing with a sigh. "That's just hilarious. And you know what... My father might have been defeated, that's true, but at least he made it to instructor unlike yours. If that's how you want to play it." He sat up resting his arms on his knees, the same amused expression across his face. "And did you know that the simple workers in this camp outnumber active assassins? Three to one. And some of them are just as skilled as actives, if not more." He stated, removing his initiation ring. "Such a waste isn't it?" He tossed the ring on the mud and looked Evin in the eyes, the smile turning into a defiant smirk. "You want to make my life hell? Go ahead, give it your best shot. However, I think you and I have very different definitions of hell."
Evin ignored the comments about Mageria. He didn‘t want to say anything that may have been compromising to his position, even to a low life like Sean. "You know Sean, you don't know the half of it. Those workers all lack a specific skill important to being an assassin. They might be better in one area compared to some of our assassins, but they are not up to requirements in other fields. My dad decided that killing wasn't the right thing for him and he took a different path. I'm not afraid to admit that, unlike you who can't handle you're father's shortcomings so you have to prove to the world that you could do better. Truth is, you will never reach what little your father did. Just like him, you were my second choice."
Evin once again circled Sean. It seemed like he was intimidated the first time it happened, so he hoped that it would work the same as last time. His katana hovering over Sean ready to strike.
"I think the most pathetic thing is your brother Lionel. He couldn't kill Crystal, a blind woman. After that, you wanted to prove you're worth even more didn't you, but then you figured out that you couldn't do it either so you hired Blackpond to do it for you. That's pathetic Sean, really pathetic. So Sean, when are you just going to admit to me the truth instead of hide behind your laughter... Pathetic."
Evin started walking away. Sean meant nothing to him anymore. He was just another low life in this world that Evin didn't have to look at or even think about.
It was a little past noon in Valcrest. Still, the sky was so dark that it was really difficult to tell the time of day. From the shadows of that dark day, a figure had been observing the assassins carefully, waiting for something. This person wasn’t sure of what exactly was to come of this, but whatever it was… It wouldn’t be all that good. Knowing that, she hesitated in the face of those unknown possibilities. It was a strange feeling for her, uncertainty. She was trained to never hesitate. Not ever. This, however, was far more complicated than anything she could have ever imagined.
Walking slowly amongst the trees, the young woman smiled as the rain increased around her, the sound of the raindrops hitting the leaves, the muddy ground, the stones in the memorial, the surface of the lake… It almost sounded like music. “Is there really a right time for this?” She asked herself, heaving a sigh.
Death was such a devastating thing sometimes. Blood had been spilt, tears had been shed, monuments built… And the pain slowly moved into a distant moment of the past, sleeping with one eye open; waiting for a moment to strike. Was it fair to awaken it now, as it finally began to rest? And surely, being forgotten had its advantages, but those came with a price she was unwilling to pay. It wasn’t fair, but probably one of the many necessary evils yet to come. She would bring them all one by one, and at some point she would even enjoy herself in the process. After all… Rage was also one of the many emotions she had experienced in the past month or so.
Even with the wind howling in her ears, she could hear the voices of the two men arguing in the center of camp, seemingly unaware of the amount of rain and the lightning crashing all around them as well as the workers trying, hopelessly, to clean the camp even before the storm was even through. She couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t funny, amusing maybe, but not funny. Still, she only wished she could see the look on their faces when they saw her again. They surely wouldn’t expect it.
She let the conversation advance, just to see how far it would go. She expected it to end in some sort of fight, but no. Eventually, having said all they needed and maybe a little more than necessary, the two men parted ways. In that moment she stepped out of the shadows and entered the clearing. She heard lightning crash once more followed by some people screaming and running, a foolish reaction maybe, but understandable. It’s not everyday someone comes back from death, or at least as close to death as humanly possible.
-------------------------------------------
Sean simply laughed more as Evin began to leave. “Shut up about my father, Evin. It’s embarrassing, really.” He shook his head, controlling the laughing fit. “Hypothetically, if I had done all this you accuse me of, my father would definitely not be the reason. Proving myself?” He chuckled. “That may be enough reason to you, but not to me. No. Who would I prove myself to? I know what I’m capable of, I play my strengths, and very well if I may say so. I don’t need my ego stroked by anyone.” He sighed, softly. “No… There would have to be a greater reason than that.” At this point he began to stand up, letting the rain wash the mud off his hands. “Of course, that’s hypothetical.” He said with a snicker. “I would never do those things. I’m not skilled or smart of enough to make these sorts of plans. I’m just a simple worker, boss.” He smirked. “Let me know when you have a torture scheduled for me. Hopefully no one will stab you in the back while you’re busy watching my every move.”
He said all that and began to walk away himself, leaving his ring in the mud. Some workers were now trying to move the tree that had fallen in the center of camp, Sean was passing them by when he noticed the woman had stopped to look at some point over his shoulders, squinting her eyes as she tried to make something out in the distance. Before Sean could turn to look, a flash of lightning lit the clearing and the woman’s eye widened as she screamed “Twins have mercy!” and ran away as if she had seen a ghost. The other workers looked towards the spot the woman had looked at and mimicked her panicked expression before running away as well. This time Sean turned and all he saw was a cloaked figure, walking towards them from the direction of the memorial. He couldn’t make out who it was until the figure spoke.
“Oh, come on Sean, tell him. It’s such an interesting story. I wouldn’t mind hearing it again myself.” The familiar voice spoke. “After all, I didn’t really catch all the details last time we spoke.”
Sean felt shivers down his spine and they had nothing to do with the cold, genuine shock finally crossing his expression as the owner of the voice walked towards him. “It can’t be.” He mumbled
---------------------------------------------
Ali had been thinking things were strange around camp already. She had seen nothing yet. All of a sudden three workers were storming into the cafeteria claiming that the dead were rising from their graves and all other kinds of nonsense. It might have been hilarious, wasn’t for the fact that they seemed genuinely terrified. Only when someone managed to calm one of the men down enough for him to name the ghost he had seen the panic actually began to spread across the cafeteria. Ali sighed, shaking her head in disbelief and standing from the darkest, coldest, corner of the room (which was the furthest away from the fireplace). “Are you sure you saw what you saw Elliot? Aren’t your eyes playing tricks on you?” She asked the man who had spoken, frowning. If this was a joke of some sort, she would have to hurt someone for it.
“I swear to all the Gods known to men, Allison. It was her! I saw it with my own eyes!” The man exclaimed causing Ali’s eyes to narrow. The man was visibly shaken and that was the only thing stopping her from punishing him for such a stupid lie. There stood a man almost twice her age, shaking and in the verge of tears… She wasn’t sure if what he saw was real, but he surely had seen it.
Without another word, the girl left the cabin and walked to the center of camp. The word seemed to have spread quickly because half the actives had come out into the rain, probably with the same intentions of seeing it for themselves. As Ali walked closer, and past some taller actives that had been standing there seemingly petrified, she caught sight of a cloaked figure. One step closer and a flash of lightning were more than enough for Ali to recognize the person. Her eyes widened in shock as she unknowingly repeated Sean’s words. “It can’t be.” She had to rub her eyes a few times and still, it was hard to believe them. Only when the figure let out a soft laughter and removed the hood of her cloak, Ali finally allowed herself to believe it was true. “Crys.” She mumbled. She didn’t know how it was even possible, but it was really her.
Ali looked around to find herself surrounded with shocked faces, some people were visibly in tears which was actually amusing to her in a way. Personally, she was glad to see her friend alive, but that didn’t mask the overwhelming tension in that clearing. Something was about to happen, and it didn’t look good.
---------------------------------------
Sean really couldn’t believe it, it was just not possible. Still, when Crys took another step in his direction he took a step back. “H-how…?”
She laughed softly, removing the hood of her cloak. “Indeed… How?” She said in a soft, yet slightly menacing tone. “How in the Gods’ names could you have been so stupid? How is it that I managed to survive after you left me bleeding in the middle of nowhere?” She said, cracking open a smile. “I’ll explain it. I’ll explain it all, if you want. We have time to spare. First though… I want you to tell everyone what you did.” Her tone of voice was calm, and unusually void of any emotion. “Explain to them.”
Sean shook his head. “Unbelievable… I should have slit your throat when I had the chance. It was my fault for wanting you to suffer. I wanted you to suffer, Crys. I wanted you to experience that which your tiny little empath brain is unable to process: I wanted you to know what it feels like to know someone you care about is going to hurt, is going to die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I wanted you to know that everything that was and is about to happen was because of what your mother has done.” He laughed. “We all grew up hearing how Dani was a force to be feared, how she had brought the clan back from the dead and destroyed the Wolf Hunters.” He nodded, still laughing. “Those filthy lies!” He yelled out. “She brought it all on the clan! She caused all those deaths! She did that and you know it!”
“My mother led this clan for over 20 years after the Hunters were gone. She rebuilt this camp over and over after every battle, forest fire, and storm. She was there for every death, birth, wedding, and graduation to take place here ever since she became leader. She had many flaws, I won’t deny that, but no one can ever say she wasn’t the best leader this clan has ever seen. No one.” Crys stated. “So, yes… My father was who he was…”
“What was he?” Sean asked her. “Please, do tell.”
Crys didn’t flinch to answer the question. “My father was a Wolf Hunter for about a year, maybe two, when he was a kid. He met my mother when he tried to kill her.”
“Say, what did Dani do after Bastian defeated her and almost killed her?”
“He chose not to kill her.” Crys corrected him. “So she brought him back with her.”
Sean grinned. “That’s right. Dani brought a Wolf Hunter into our camp moments after he tried to kill her, lied to the leaders about who he was, made him second in command after she took over, married him…” He sighed, simply for the sake of making a pause. “And the Wolf Hunters attacked, thinking that the traitor WE were hiding was dead! They killed most of our instructors, all of our recruits, and the clan leaders; all because of your father!” He began to walk towards Crys now, a firm, menacing, look in his eyes. “That is not even the worst part. Not to me. The worst part of it all is that they lied about it. They hid it. Dani was praised like some sort of savior when she had all those deaths on her hands. It just makes me sick to think about it. And then: The Shadow Hunter. I could have let the past go, if it wasn’t for the fact that Dani let that man live after killing so many of our actives, my mother included. And my father, my father said that if Dani could forgive him, then so could he: Simple as that.” Sean said, nodding in disbelief as if he still couldn’t believe it all happened. “Lionel wanted Theron dead, but me… I knew better. I even tried to stop him because, let’s face it; Dani forgave him because she knew it was all her damn fault. If she hadn’t brought that animal home with her, none of it would have happened. Theron was a monster she created, she was responsible for him. She knew that, and yet, not a word on the matter. Not one explanation, nothing. She simply imposed his presence on the rest of us and demanded our acceptance.”
Sean took a deep breath, a part of him was glad to finally let those words out in the open a part of him was glad Crys was a live so he could said it all to her face. “I found out about all of this, Bastian was already dead. I never knew the Shadow personally, like Evin, but if I could I would shake his hand for that. Bastian Rivers killed in the Blackpond Inn. It’s almost poetic, considering how much he loved that place. He always said Blackpond had so much potential, didn’t he?” He asked Crys with a satisfied grin.
Crys had simply stood letting Sean speak. She felt no shame for what her parents had done; she knew it wasn’t all as black and white as Sean insisted on painting it. “Lionel.” She stated simply. “You pushed him into attacking me, why?”
Sean nodded. “I had to. He was having trouble keeping things quiet. He became a risk to me, Crys. Don’t make it sound as if I manipulated him though. He wanted to attack you, he wanted you dead. All I had to do was make him believe I thought he could make it. I knew he couldn’t make it.” Sean sighed. “I loved my brother, don’t get me wrong, but he was an idiot. He was going to do something stupid sooner or later, I just pushed him into doing it sooner.”
“I see… What deal did you make with Blackpond, Sean? Those assassins you sent after me, where from Blackpond, correct?”
“I told the King that the only thing stopping the Pack from persecuting the Black Knights was you. I gave him all the information they needed to get the job done, so that you would be out of the way.” He explained.
“What do you know about these assassins Sean?” She asked. “Or were you so eager to get rid of me that you made a deal with people you know nothing about?”
“I made a deal with the King of Blackpond.” He told her simply.
“You are an idiot, Sean. You don’t know how to think of the bigger picture.” She told him, shaking her head, seeming amused. “The King of Blackpond is an old man. He has no heir. And that is the main reason why I pushed so hard against making any kind of deal with Blackpond. If there isn’t already someone whispering in the old man’s ears, soon he’ll be dead without leaving an heir, and then who knows who will be running that place?”
Sean simply nodded in response. “Your turn: How the hell did you survive?
“The Crimson Shadows.” She said. “They were moving their camp back to the desert that night and, I imagine, shortly after you left me there they found me. They carried me to the desert with them. From then on, Alistair treated me.” She sighed. “He told Annie he couldn’t sense my presence anywhere, made her think I was dead so I wouldn’t be targeted again. He saved my life.”
“Why the word ’Black’?” He asked her.
“You’re wondering why I didn’t give your name?” She asked, raising a brow. “I was very close to losing consciousness and I wasn’t thinking very straight, I didn’t realize it could also stand for Black Knights... My mistake.” She smiled. “I thought you would target Evin moments after killing me, and I tried to warn him of what he would be dealing with. You didn’t try to kill him though…” She paused for a second to think it over. “Oh, I see. He made you Second. You couldn’t off him then, it’d be too obvious. Instead you tried to push him into attacking the Black Knights hoping they would eventually do it. Am I right?”
Sean chuckled, clapping his hands in a mocking gesture. “Impressive… Very impressive!” He exclaimed.
“I’m disappointed though Sean. You came up with this whole plan to have me killed, it was executed perfectly, and then you left me alive! For the sake of watching me squirm!” She laughed out. “You really think I would just lay there and die, didn’t you?”
“I must admit… It was an emotional response, and Dastan passing you by was just unfortunate, if it wasn’t for him you would be dead.”
“You didn’t seem to be doing much better for what I heard.” She replied calmly. “So, all of this because of my mother?” She asked him. “Really?”
“You were walking in her footsteps. Letting Knights into our camp, forgiving Jake’s treasons…” He nodded. “Next thing you know we would be reliving the whole thing. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“I learned from my parents’ mistakes Sean. They taught me better than that, but if anything I’m flattered that you would compare me to my mother in any way.” She stated with a light shrug.
“Oh, they taught you better? What about your little act of treason? Two actives were killed not to mention a Newhaven soldier. Yeah, Jake told me that. You could have been executed for it. You weren’t even suspended.”
“I was suspended.” Crys told him. “And, yes, I lost control and killed someone in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street. I did that. We all have shadows in our pasts that we wish to forget Sean. I’m not ashamed to admit to mine.”
“What about the lives lost on account those mistakes? Are they just shadows of the past now too? You forget them and move on as if they meant nothing? It doesn’t work that way!”
“It shouldn’t work that way, that’s true, but it does. I came back after, what, five weeks and I didn’t expect to find anyone mourning my death. People die, and are forgotten. Life doesn’t stop when you’re in pain and most times there is no such thing as justice. It’s just how it is.”
“Not anymore.” Sean stated, drawing his sword and pointing it at her. “I’m challenging you for the command of the clan.”
Walking slowly amongst the trees, the young woman smiled as the rain increased around her, the sound of the raindrops hitting the leaves, the muddy ground, the stones in the memorial, the surface of the lake… It almost sounded like music. “Is there really a right time for this?” She asked herself, heaving a sigh.
Death was such a devastating thing sometimes. Blood had been spilt, tears had been shed, monuments built… And the pain slowly moved into a distant moment of the past, sleeping with one eye open; waiting for a moment to strike. Was it fair to awaken it now, as it finally began to rest? And surely, being forgotten had its advantages, but those came with a price she was unwilling to pay. It wasn’t fair, but probably one of the many necessary evils yet to come. She would bring them all one by one, and at some point she would even enjoy herself in the process. After all… Rage was also one of the many emotions she had experienced in the past month or so.
Even with the wind howling in her ears, she could hear the voices of the two men arguing in the center of camp, seemingly unaware of the amount of rain and the lightning crashing all around them as well as the workers trying, hopelessly, to clean the camp even before the storm was even through. She couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t funny, amusing maybe, but not funny. Still, she only wished she could see the look on their faces when they saw her again. They surely wouldn’t expect it.
She let the conversation advance, just to see how far it would go. She expected it to end in some sort of fight, but no. Eventually, having said all they needed and maybe a little more than necessary, the two men parted ways. In that moment she stepped out of the shadows and entered the clearing. She heard lightning crash once more followed by some people screaming and running, a foolish reaction maybe, but understandable. It’s not everyday someone comes back from death, or at least as close to death as humanly possible.
-------------------------------------------
Sean simply laughed more as Evin began to leave. “Shut up about my father, Evin. It’s embarrassing, really.” He shook his head, controlling the laughing fit. “Hypothetically, if I had done all this you accuse me of, my father would definitely not be the reason. Proving myself?” He chuckled. “That may be enough reason to you, but not to me. No. Who would I prove myself to? I know what I’m capable of, I play my strengths, and very well if I may say so. I don’t need my ego stroked by anyone.” He sighed, softly. “No… There would have to be a greater reason than that.” At this point he began to stand up, letting the rain wash the mud off his hands. “Of course, that’s hypothetical.” He said with a snicker. “I would never do those things. I’m not skilled or smart of enough to make these sorts of plans. I’m just a simple worker, boss.” He smirked. “Let me know when you have a torture scheduled for me. Hopefully no one will stab you in the back while you’re busy watching my every move.”
He said all that and began to walk away himself, leaving his ring in the mud. Some workers were now trying to move the tree that had fallen in the center of camp, Sean was passing them by when he noticed the woman had stopped to look at some point over his shoulders, squinting her eyes as she tried to make something out in the distance. Before Sean could turn to look, a flash of lightning lit the clearing and the woman’s eye widened as she screamed “Twins have mercy!” and ran away as if she had seen a ghost. The other workers looked towards the spot the woman had looked at and mimicked her panicked expression before running away as well. This time Sean turned and all he saw was a cloaked figure, walking towards them from the direction of the memorial. He couldn’t make out who it was until the figure spoke.
“Oh, come on Sean, tell him. It’s such an interesting story. I wouldn’t mind hearing it again myself.” The familiar voice spoke. “After all, I didn’t really catch all the details last time we spoke.”
Sean felt shivers down his spine and they had nothing to do with the cold, genuine shock finally crossing his expression as the owner of the voice walked towards him. “It can’t be.” He mumbled
---------------------------------------------
Ali had been thinking things were strange around camp already. She had seen nothing yet. All of a sudden three workers were storming into the cafeteria claiming that the dead were rising from their graves and all other kinds of nonsense. It might have been hilarious, wasn’t for the fact that they seemed genuinely terrified. Only when someone managed to calm one of the men down enough for him to name the ghost he had seen the panic actually began to spread across the cafeteria. Ali sighed, shaking her head in disbelief and standing from the darkest, coldest, corner of the room (which was the furthest away from the fireplace). “Are you sure you saw what you saw Elliot? Aren’t your eyes playing tricks on you?” She asked the man who had spoken, frowning. If this was a joke of some sort, she would have to hurt someone for it.
“I swear to all the Gods known to men, Allison. It was her! I saw it with my own eyes!” The man exclaimed causing Ali’s eyes to narrow. The man was visibly shaken and that was the only thing stopping her from punishing him for such a stupid lie. There stood a man almost twice her age, shaking and in the verge of tears… She wasn’t sure if what he saw was real, but he surely had seen it.
Without another word, the girl left the cabin and walked to the center of camp. The word seemed to have spread quickly because half the actives had come out into the rain, probably with the same intentions of seeing it for themselves. As Ali walked closer, and past some taller actives that had been standing there seemingly petrified, she caught sight of a cloaked figure. One step closer and a flash of lightning were more than enough for Ali to recognize the person. Her eyes widened in shock as she unknowingly repeated Sean’s words. “It can’t be.” She had to rub her eyes a few times and still, it was hard to believe them. Only when the figure let out a soft laughter and removed the hood of her cloak, Ali finally allowed herself to believe it was true. “Crys.” She mumbled. She didn’t know how it was even possible, but it was really her.
Ali looked around to find herself surrounded with shocked faces, some people were visibly in tears which was actually amusing to her in a way. Personally, she was glad to see her friend alive, but that didn’t mask the overwhelming tension in that clearing. Something was about to happen, and it didn’t look good.
---------------------------------------
Sean really couldn’t believe it, it was just not possible. Still, when Crys took another step in his direction he took a step back. “H-how…?”
She laughed softly, removing the hood of her cloak. “Indeed… How?” She said in a soft, yet slightly menacing tone. “How in the Gods’ names could you have been so stupid? How is it that I managed to survive after you left me bleeding in the middle of nowhere?” She said, cracking open a smile. “I’ll explain it. I’ll explain it all, if you want. We have time to spare. First though… I want you to tell everyone what you did.” Her tone of voice was calm, and unusually void of any emotion. “Explain to them.”
Sean shook his head. “Unbelievable… I should have slit your throat when I had the chance. It was my fault for wanting you to suffer. I wanted you to suffer, Crys. I wanted you to experience that which your tiny little empath brain is unable to process: I wanted you to know what it feels like to know someone you care about is going to hurt, is going to die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I wanted you to know that everything that was and is about to happen was because of what your mother has done.” He laughed. “We all grew up hearing how Dani was a force to be feared, how she had brought the clan back from the dead and destroyed the Wolf Hunters.” He nodded, still laughing. “Those filthy lies!” He yelled out. “She brought it all on the clan! She caused all those deaths! She did that and you know it!”
“My mother led this clan for over 20 years after the Hunters were gone. She rebuilt this camp over and over after every battle, forest fire, and storm. She was there for every death, birth, wedding, and graduation to take place here ever since she became leader. She had many flaws, I won’t deny that, but no one can ever say she wasn’t the best leader this clan has ever seen. No one.” Crys stated. “So, yes… My father was who he was…”
“What was he?” Sean asked her. “Please, do tell.”
Crys didn’t flinch to answer the question. “My father was a Wolf Hunter for about a year, maybe two, when he was a kid. He met my mother when he tried to kill her.”
“Say, what did Dani do after Bastian defeated her and almost killed her?”
“He chose not to kill her.” Crys corrected him. “So she brought him back with her.”
Sean grinned. “That’s right. Dani brought a Wolf Hunter into our camp moments after he tried to kill her, lied to the leaders about who he was, made him second in command after she took over, married him…” He sighed, simply for the sake of making a pause. “And the Wolf Hunters attacked, thinking that the traitor WE were hiding was dead! They killed most of our instructors, all of our recruits, and the clan leaders; all because of your father!” He began to walk towards Crys now, a firm, menacing, look in his eyes. “That is not even the worst part. Not to me. The worst part of it all is that they lied about it. They hid it. Dani was praised like some sort of savior when she had all those deaths on her hands. It just makes me sick to think about it. And then: The Shadow Hunter. I could have let the past go, if it wasn’t for the fact that Dani let that man live after killing so many of our actives, my mother included. And my father, my father said that if Dani could forgive him, then so could he: Simple as that.” Sean said, nodding in disbelief as if he still couldn’t believe it all happened. “Lionel wanted Theron dead, but me… I knew better. I even tried to stop him because, let’s face it; Dani forgave him because she knew it was all her damn fault. If she hadn’t brought that animal home with her, none of it would have happened. Theron was a monster she created, she was responsible for him. She knew that, and yet, not a word on the matter. Not one explanation, nothing. She simply imposed his presence on the rest of us and demanded our acceptance.”
Sean took a deep breath, a part of him was glad to finally let those words out in the open a part of him was glad Crys was a live so he could said it all to her face. “I found out about all of this, Bastian was already dead. I never knew the Shadow personally, like Evin, but if I could I would shake his hand for that. Bastian Rivers killed in the Blackpond Inn. It’s almost poetic, considering how much he loved that place. He always said Blackpond had so much potential, didn’t he?” He asked Crys with a satisfied grin.
Crys had simply stood letting Sean speak. She felt no shame for what her parents had done; she knew it wasn’t all as black and white as Sean insisted on painting it. “Lionel.” She stated simply. “You pushed him into attacking me, why?”
Sean nodded. “I had to. He was having trouble keeping things quiet. He became a risk to me, Crys. Don’t make it sound as if I manipulated him though. He wanted to attack you, he wanted you dead. All I had to do was make him believe I thought he could make it. I knew he couldn’t make it.” Sean sighed. “I loved my brother, don’t get me wrong, but he was an idiot. He was going to do something stupid sooner or later, I just pushed him into doing it sooner.”
“I see… What deal did you make with Blackpond, Sean? Those assassins you sent after me, where from Blackpond, correct?”
“I told the King that the only thing stopping the Pack from persecuting the Black Knights was you. I gave him all the information they needed to get the job done, so that you would be out of the way.” He explained.
“What do you know about these assassins Sean?” She asked. “Or were you so eager to get rid of me that you made a deal with people you know nothing about?”
“I made a deal with the King of Blackpond.” He told her simply.
“You are an idiot, Sean. You don’t know how to think of the bigger picture.” She told him, shaking her head, seeming amused. “The King of Blackpond is an old man. He has no heir. And that is the main reason why I pushed so hard against making any kind of deal with Blackpond. If there isn’t already someone whispering in the old man’s ears, soon he’ll be dead without leaving an heir, and then who knows who will be running that place?”
Sean simply nodded in response. “Your turn: How the hell did you survive?
“The Crimson Shadows.” She said. “They were moving their camp back to the desert that night and, I imagine, shortly after you left me there they found me. They carried me to the desert with them. From then on, Alistair treated me.” She sighed. “He told Annie he couldn’t sense my presence anywhere, made her think I was dead so I wouldn’t be targeted again. He saved my life.”
“Why the word ’Black’?” He asked her.
“You’re wondering why I didn’t give your name?” She asked, raising a brow. “I was very close to losing consciousness and I wasn’t thinking very straight, I didn’t realize it could also stand for Black Knights... My mistake.” She smiled. “I thought you would target Evin moments after killing me, and I tried to warn him of what he would be dealing with. You didn’t try to kill him though…” She paused for a second to think it over. “Oh, I see. He made you Second. You couldn’t off him then, it’d be too obvious. Instead you tried to push him into attacking the Black Knights hoping they would eventually do it. Am I right?”
Sean chuckled, clapping his hands in a mocking gesture. “Impressive… Very impressive!” He exclaimed.
“I’m disappointed though Sean. You came up with this whole plan to have me killed, it was executed perfectly, and then you left me alive! For the sake of watching me squirm!” She laughed out. “You really think I would just lay there and die, didn’t you?”
“I must admit… It was an emotional response, and Dastan passing you by was just unfortunate, if it wasn’t for him you would be dead.”
“You didn’t seem to be doing much better for what I heard.” She replied calmly. “So, all of this because of my mother?” She asked him. “Really?”
“You were walking in her footsteps. Letting Knights into our camp, forgiving Jake’s treasons…” He nodded. “Next thing you know we would be reliving the whole thing. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“I learned from my parents’ mistakes Sean. They taught me better than that, but if anything I’m flattered that you would compare me to my mother in any way.” She stated with a light shrug.
“Oh, they taught you better? What about your little act of treason? Two actives were killed not to mention a Newhaven soldier. Yeah, Jake told me that. You could have been executed for it. You weren’t even suspended.”
“I was suspended.” Crys told him. “And, yes, I lost control and killed someone in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street. I did that. We all have shadows in our pasts that we wish to forget Sean. I’m not ashamed to admit to mine.”
“What about the lives lost on account those mistakes? Are they just shadows of the past now too? You forget them and move on as if they meant nothing? It doesn’t work that way!”
“It shouldn’t work that way, that’s true, but it does. I came back after, what, five weeks and I didn’t expect to find anyone mourning my death. People die, and are forgotten. Life doesn’t stop when you’re in pain and most times there is no such thing as justice. It’s just how it is.”
“Not anymore.” Sean stated, drawing his sword and pointing it at her. “I’m challenging you for the command of the clan.”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Lying down on the cold and somewhat wet stone floor the assassin could not sleep and let his most trusted weapon rest on his chest, ready for anyone who would try to ambush him thinking that he was sleeping. The weapon was a quarterstaff, a staff made out of hard Ethalian Wood with steel handles on both ends to cause more damage in fights. The Assassin had used the staff for god knows how long and he always relied on it in most dire situations. It was a weapon made for his hands and his hands alone. It wasn't magical in anyway, but it just felt better in the assassins hands than anyone else hands. The weapon was agile, swift and in the right hands, utterly dangerous. The assassin used it in combat and when using his enlightenment abilities to bring more devastation to a battlefield or during his escape from an assassination.
However, the quarterstaff wasn't the only weapon the assassin used. A leather belt stretched across his chest and here hanged six throwing knives firmly, in his waist belt there were several vials filled with water and bottles with chemical liquids for his enlightenment and there were also two shortswords attached to his belt. The assassin himself was dressed in a chain mail suit that covered his entire body from neck to toe and over that there was a black leather armor that covered just as much as the chain mail suit. A white hood and bandanna covered his dark orange coloured hair and his face just enough so no one could see more than his green eyes that shone slightly crimson at night. The assassin rolled from one spot to the other as he tried to sleep and when that failed he made the choice to get up and see if he couldn't get something to eat before all of them woke up.
Standing up, the man stretched out his lean muscles and gave out a quiet yawn before making his way towards the cave exit. As he moved through the crowd of sleeping people his eyes caught the sight of one of the Newhaven guards. She was already up and had immediately begun to watch for dangers will the other slept. Her eyes followed the assassin all the way until he reached the mouth of the cave. That's when she looked away once more, however she kept on looking back from time to time. Water continued to pour down in the dying night upon Valcrest and it seemed as if this storm would never end. It had gone on for a long time now and it seemed as if it had only brought more and more problems with it as well; The traitor (Jake) was running loose, tension between Sean and Evin continued to evolve and it was just a matter of time before one or the other pulls his blade on the other and on top of it all: He had not had any time to speak with Allison for a while. He knew it was stupid of him to keep trying to get her attention even though fate has always proved him weak and wrong in front of her. And now Crystals death didn't make things easier either for him to get her attention. Oh, how love could be so treacherous sometimes.
Reaching out with his hand, the skilled assassin caught a single drop on his finger tip from the flowing water and brought it up to his eyes. It was too dark to see it, but he felt it where it was lying on his finger tip. Water was such a fragile thing; he could easily just turn his hand and let the little drop of water fall to the ground and to its own demise. However, at the same time water was a cruel and barbaric element; A wave of water could take out an entire village and its population if its strong enough. The assassin begun to focus and watched as the little water drop began to rise up from his finger and stopped mid-air in front of his eyes. Small cracks of pain began to make it's way up his hand, but it wasn't anything to notice and it didn't kill his focus in any way. However, what killed his focus was a familiar voice from behind:
"Dante? What are you doing up so early?" The assassin behind him asked and the man watched as he lost his water drop to the cold stone floor below before looking up at the red coloured sky and its clouds as they shattered and broke off in a very early dawn. The stars were still visible and the moon were ever so present as Avius Dante, the assassin with the quarterstaff and the man who could control water and fire, turned his scarred face towards his fellow wolf. The burn mark on his left eye was still there and his calm demeanor as well. Avius recognized the man as being the same person who had chosen to speak with the Black Knight Captain that Evin so foolishly had decided to help.
"I never slept." Avius answered shortly and turned his attention back to the sky as he heard more yawns and how Mageria, the Black Knight Captain, began to order her men and women around. All the other assassins were already up.
"I have a bad feeling about this.", A thought slipped through Avius fortified mind and he only smiled at his own worried state. He knew that this was his chance to prove that he could control his own powers even though people around him had always told him that he was too reckless and not mentally strong enough to control them in a fight. He would show them all. He would show Allison.
However, the quarterstaff wasn't the only weapon the assassin used. A leather belt stretched across his chest and here hanged six throwing knives firmly, in his waist belt there were several vials filled with water and bottles with chemical liquids for his enlightenment and there were also two shortswords attached to his belt. The assassin himself was dressed in a chain mail suit that covered his entire body from neck to toe and over that there was a black leather armor that covered just as much as the chain mail suit. A white hood and bandanna covered his dark orange coloured hair and his face just enough so no one could see more than his green eyes that shone slightly crimson at night. The assassin rolled from one spot to the other as he tried to sleep and when that failed he made the choice to get up and see if he couldn't get something to eat before all of them woke up.
Standing up, the man stretched out his lean muscles and gave out a quiet yawn before making his way towards the cave exit. As he moved through the crowd of sleeping people his eyes caught the sight of one of the Newhaven guards. She was already up and had immediately begun to watch for dangers will the other slept. Her eyes followed the assassin all the way until he reached the mouth of the cave. That's when she looked away once more, however she kept on looking back from time to time. Water continued to pour down in the dying night upon Valcrest and it seemed as if this storm would never end. It had gone on for a long time now and it seemed as if it had only brought more and more problems with it as well; The traitor (Jake) was running loose, tension between Sean and Evin continued to evolve and it was just a matter of time before one or the other pulls his blade on the other and on top of it all: He had not had any time to speak with Allison for a while. He knew it was stupid of him to keep trying to get her attention even though fate has always proved him weak and wrong in front of her. And now Crystals death didn't make things easier either for him to get her attention. Oh, how love could be so treacherous sometimes.
Reaching out with his hand, the skilled assassin caught a single drop on his finger tip from the flowing water and brought it up to his eyes. It was too dark to see it, but he felt it where it was lying on his finger tip. Water was such a fragile thing; he could easily just turn his hand and let the little drop of water fall to the ground and to its own demise. However, at the same time water was a cruel and barbaric element; A wave of water could take out an entire village and its population if its strong enough. The assassin begun to focus and watched as the little water drop began to rise up from his finger and stopped mid-air in front of his eyes. Small cracks of pain began to make it's way up his hand, but it wasn't anything to notice and it didn't kill his focus in any way. However, what killed his focus was a familiar voice from behind:
"Dante? What are you doing up so early?" The assassin behind him asked and the man watched as he lost his water drop to the cold stone floor below before looking up at the red coloured sky and its clouds as they shattered and broke off in a very early dawn. The stars were still visible and the moon were ever so present as Avius Dante, the assassin with the quarterstaff and the man who could control water and fire, turned his scarred face towards his fellow wolf. The burn mark on his left eye was still there and his calm demeanor as well. Avius recognized the man as being the same person who had chosen to speak with the Black Knight Captain that Evin so foolishly had decided to help.
"I never slept." Avius answered shortly and turned his attention back to the sky as he heard more yawns and how Mageria, the Black Knight Captain, began to order her men and women around. All the other assassins were already up.
"I have a bad feeling about this.", A thought slipped through Avius fortified mind and he only smiled at his own worried state. He knew that this was his chance to prove that he could control his own powers even though people around him had always told him that he was too reckless and not mentally strong enough to control them in a fight. He would show them all. He would show Allison.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin didn't really pay attention to the crowds of screaming people as he walked away. Lighting was landing all around the camp and a fire had started in the left side of the camp from one of the strikes. For him, it would be time to bring some much needed order into the camp. He didn't want to seem tyrannical, but issues were being forced onto him and things in the camp weren't really getting any better while taking tiny steps like he wanted to. First, he had a few things he wanted to do to make Sean a little miserable. When he heard Allison, who was standing right beside Evin as he walked past say, "it can’t be," Evin had to turn around.
"It can't be." Evin's reaction was a complete echo of Allison. He was sure that most people were saying the exact same thing, if not something close. People coming back from the dead didn't happen... well there was Mageria too, but it was Crystal! He couldn't believe his eyes. He had thought that he'd never see her again. She was a great friend to him, just like how Dani and her husband Sebastian was. To hear Sean making those insults to his great friends was tough for him to listen to. Evin had reason enough to execute him on the spot right there now, which was most satisfying, seeing that he was right all along. He might not have been right for the right reasons, but he was still right.
Evin took out one of his daggers, ready to make the move when the time seemed right. That opportunity didn't come his way and in reality, he had no clue how anyone who seemed to have gathered around in the rain would react to it if he was to just kill Sean on the spot.
All this didn't matter the second Sean challenged Crystal for her position. The chattering crowds when silent for a few seconds, all staring at the two with skin as white as ghosts. They were afraid of what was going to happen just as much as Evin was. The reality was that Crystal didn't look like she was quite yet in the best of shape to fight, but now all Evin could do was watch. There was no intervening in one of these fights. Before the fight started however, he went up to Crystal and grabbed her shoulders with a tight grip. Then, from out of no where he let go and wrapped his arms around her. Holding back tears, he just held his arms around her for a few seconds.
"Don't die." He whispered and then back away a few steps and removed the katana and sheath from his belt and gave it to Crystal. "Can't even hire a group of assassins to properly kill for you Sean? Can't wait to see how terribly this turns out for you." He glanced over at him and made a rude gesture before moving back into the crowds. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see how this would all tun out, but he had no other choise but to sit back and watch.
"It can't be." Evin's reaction was a complete echo of Allison. He was sure that most people were saying the exact same thing, if not something close. People coming back from the dead didn't happen... well there was Mageria too, but it was Crystal! He couldn't believe his eyes. He had thought that he'd never see her again. She was a great friend to him, just like how Dani and her husband Sebastian was. To hear Sean making those insults to his great friends was tough for him to listen to. Evin had reason enough to execute him on the spot right there now, which was most satisfying, seeing that he was right all along. He might not have been right for the right reasons, but he was still right.
Evin took out one of his daggers, ready to make the move when the time seemed right. That opportunity didn't come his way and in reality, he had no clue how anyone who seemed to have gathered around in the rain would react to it if he was to just kill Sean on the spot.
All this didn't matter the second Sean challenged Crystal for her position. The chattering crowds when silent for a few seconds, all staring at the two with skin as white as ghosts. They were afraid of what was going to happen just as much as Evin was. The reality was that Crystal didn't look like she was quite yet in the best of shape to fight, but now all Evin could do was watch. There was no intervening in one of these fights. Before the fight started however, he went up to Crystal and grabbed her shoulders with a tight grip. Then, from out of no where he let go and wrapped his arms around her. Holding back tears, he just held his arms around her for a few seconds.
"Don't die." He whispered and then back away a few steps and removed the katana and sheath from his belt and gave it to Crystal. "Can't even hire a group of assassins to properly kill for you Sean? Can't wait to see how terribly this turns out for you." He glanced over at him and made a rude gesture before moving back into the crowds. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see how this would all tun out, but he had no other choise but to sit back and watch.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
Mageria leaned back against the wall of the cave, quietly aware of everything that was going on around her. She had long ago developed the ability to rest without shutting down her senses; a particular meditative state that was quite useful on occasions. And resting in a cave where her men and Pack members were being asked to stay together in peace was most definitely a time when she didn’t want to be less than aware. When Sergant Tibor woke her up, handing her a strip of jerky and a cup of water, she thanked him with a smile. With a groan she stretched, feeling something pap and crack all along her spine.
“All right people. Let’s go over this one last time.” Outside the rain had finally stopped, leaving the rest of the night cold and clear. She walked over to the map hung on the wall and leaned against it, inwardly marveling at the people that were before her. She surely never thought she’d see the day. Quietly she cleared her throat for attention, waiting until at least a majority of people were looking at her.
“So, the first group of people are going to be the soft entry. I’ll be leading this group. We walk in dressed as servants or guards, depending on what will let you keep whatever it is that you need to hold on to. We’ve got guard outfits for all of my people, I assume,” she looked over at the Pack members standing by themselves. “I assume that you all won’t have any trouble getting in.” She arched an ironic eyebrow. “Now, you,” she pointed at two of the Pack women, who were dressed in bright colors, one of them in something that was one step away from a whore’s outfit with bright silver claws hanging from her belt, the other woman had bright scarves wrapped around her arms and waist. “I’d like both of you to go in first. No one would think you’re any danger, which means that no one would be watching you. I’d also like you three,” she pointed at a thin man with scars on his hands, a woman in traveling leathers, and another man who was painfully ordinary. “To go in first as well. I’ll trust that you can manage it, just stay close as we go. As we make our way to the dungeons, I have one of Green over there influence people to believe that we belong wherever it is that we are. With any luck we can get all the way there and up to the guards before they notice us. One on the correct level, we take the guards out with darts and break the Healers out. Once they’re free, we have civilians cloths for them to change into. Once they’re ready, we escort them to these points,” she pointed at the entrances to two different hidden doors that lead to tunnels that would exit down by the stables. “That’s where the second wave will be. If everything goes well, they’ll escort everybody out to the stables and out of Blackpond. If things don’t go well, then they attack and use all necessary force to get our people out. This will be where the rest of you,” she pointed out the last of the Pack members, “will be stationed. The people there can keep their own cloths and armor as we’re already dressed like half the people running around Blackpond as it is.” She walked over to a pile of packs and started passing them out to the people in the first group. “Remember to be careful with these, you do not want them to break anywhere near you. And try not to breathe if you have to use them.” She went to the mouth of the cave, where false dawn would soon start to light the sky. “Any questions? If not, we need to get going.”
“All right people. Let’s go over this one last time.” Outside the rain had finally stopped, leaving the rest of the night cold and clear. She walked over to the map hung on the wall and leaned against it, inwardly marveling at the people that were before her. She surely never thought she’d see the day. Quietly she cleared her throat for attention, waiting until at least a majority of people were looking at her.
“So, the first group of people are going to be the soft entry. I’ll be leading this group. We walk in dressed as servants or guards, depending on what will let you keep whatever it is that you need to hold on to. We’ve got guard outfits for all of my people, I assume,” she looked over at the Pack members standing by themselves. “I assume that you all won’t have any trouble getting in.” She arched an ironic eyebrow. “Now, you,” she pointed at two of the Pack women, who were dressed in bright colors, one of them in something that was one step away from a whore’s outfit with bright silver claws hanging from her belt, the other woman had bright scarves wrapped around her arms and waist. “I’d like both of you to go in first. No one would think you’re any danger, which means that no one would be watching you. I’d also like you three,” she pointed at a thin man with scars on his hands, a woman in traveling leathers, and another man who was painfully ordinary. “To go in first as well. I’ll trust that you can manage it, just stay close as we go. As we make our way to the dungeons, I have one of Green over there influence people to believe that we belong wherever it is that we are. With any luck we can get all the way there and up to the guards before they notice us. One on the correct level, we take the guards out with darts and break the Healers out. Once they’re free, we have civilians cloths for them to change into. Once they’re ready, we escort them to these points,” she pointed at the entrances to two different hidden doors that lead to tunnels that would exit down by the stables. “That’s where the second wave will be. If everything goes well, they’ll escort everybody out to the stables and out of Blackpond. If things don’t go well, then they attack and use all necessary force to get our people out. This will be where the rest of you,” she pointed out the last of the Pack members, “will be stationed. The people there can keep their own cloths and armor as we’re already dressed like half the people running around Blackpond as it is.” She walked over to a pile of packs and started passing them out to the people in the first group. “Remember to be careful with these, you do not want them to break anywhere near you. And try not to breathe if you have to use them.” She went to the mouth of the cave, where false dawn would soon start to light the sky. “Any questions? If not, we need to get going.”
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
“I’m challenging you for the command of the clan.”
Hearing those words again caused Crys to cringe, even if internally. Of course, she was expecting them, but still… The last person to challenge her had been Lionel. It had been extremely easy to kill him on an instinct, but having to deal with the fact that a childhood friend wanted her dead had been difficult. This, however, was different. Sean meant absolutely nothing to her. If she killed him where he stood it wouldn’t take a minute of her sleep. The problem was, she didn’t know if she could win.
She was sure that both Alistair and Dastan were furious at her for escaping. She had quite a few discussions with both of them about going back. They both agreed she was too weak to even walk the distance back to the forest. They were both right, but she couldn’t wait any more without knowing what was going on with the clan. It did seem like Evin would have pulled things together in due time, but she couldn't have known that, and not knowing was making a little bit anxious.
After Sean’s words there was a moment of silence. She had no choice but to fight, a leader couldn’t turn down a challenge without giving up the command. Surely, she wouldn’t let Sean have it without a fight, no matter what the cost would possibly be. People were afraid of the possibilities. Some feared for both their lives, some had a side they’d rather see win, but most of all… They feared the way in which the outcome of this would affect the clan, and consequently their lives.
Those thoughts were still going through Crys’ mind when Evin came up to her, her cold expression turning into a half-smile when he hugged her out of nowhere. “So emotional, gee.” She snickered, quickly adding an “I’ll be fine” even though she wasn’t sure of it. When she was handed the Katana, however, the smile faded slowly. Evin had told her not to die and she was certainly not planning on it. Still, she knew that she was putting herself in a huge risk. She attached the sheathed sword to her belt, knowing that Sean couldn't attack her until she had it unsheathed.
After a long deep breath, she drew the sword and awaited his first move.
Sean had simply stood, waiting patiently for Crys to draw her weapon. There were a few unspoken rules to fights like these. The first most important one was to not make any advances while the opponent was unarmed. The second was that the person who challenged had to make the first attack. That rule gave him the opportunity to back down if he wanted to, which meant expulsion from the clan instead of the execution which would come with defeat.
Knowing that Crys wouldn’t make a move until he attacked, Sean decided to take his time and circle her, and she noticed he wanted to try and see just how fit she was for fighting. He knew she couldn’t be all that well in only five weeks after almost dying, but still he felt like he needed to be cautious. “You know…” He started. “I don’t think you are at all as well you seem, Crys. I mean… I noticed your walk was a little bit slow. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Crys chuckled. “Unless you’re trying to use the stench of fear to stun me, I see no point in waiting any longer.” She told him. “Come on. You and I both know that if you thought you had a chance to beat me in a fair fight you would have done this months ago instead of sending, what, three, assassins after me.”
“There were four, actually.” He replied. “How were they, by the way?”
“Impressive. I only noticed three.” She responded, suddenly pulling one of her Sai with her left hand and using it to block the incoming hit from Sean’s sword. It came without warning, and some of the younger assassins gasped as though they had missed it. Within a split second from blocking the hit, Crys attacked, forcing Sean to pull back in order to dodge the blade of her sword. He backed away quite a few steps. “Well, you’re definitely not as fast as you should be. That’s such a pity.” He stated.
She smiled. “Did you know that your father asked me not to promote you? I think at some point he realized the little weasel you had turned out to be.”
That one sentence seemed to have angered Sean to a dangerous level and he attacked without another word and with such force that in the first of many blocked hit Crys felt her feet slide back through the mud a couple of inches. However, even if he seemed to have a little bit of advantage in that moment, he really didn’t. Crys suddenly pulled back as he advanced and, as he caught his balance, she lunged towards his face with her dagger, hitting him dangerously close to his right eye, and knocking him back, blinded by the blood. Crys attacked him again from the right, taking advantage of his lack of sight in that eye, her blade barely missing his jugular and causing him to lose his balance
When Sean fell to the mud, it became very clear that he was getting beaten, and he knew it. The only thing left for him to do was the stupidest thing he could possibly think of: As Crys was advancing he dropped his sword and ran towards her with his body bent forward, tackling her to the ground.
It took a little while for people to understand why Sean wasn't dead with a Sai dagger shoved to the back of his neck… Crys had dropped her dagger and had stayed down on the ground grasping for air as Sean stood, still unable to open his right eye, and retrieved his sword before going back to where she had fallen.
“My father once told me that a stab wound to the stomach is one of the most painful injuries there are; even more than breaking a bone in half. One of the most difficult to heal as well… “He said, placing his foot in her abdomen where he knew she had been wounded, without putting any pressure on it. “If the blade goes straight through, like it happened with you, probably nicked the stomach, judging by your shortness of breath… I take it you shouldn’t have gotten out of bed for at least another month.” He grinned, putting a little bit of pressure on the wounded area. He pointed his sword at her throat. “One little cut… And back to hell.” He muttered, putting his weight down on her.
Crys was wheezing on the floor, struggling for every painful breath. It was such a shocking thing to see her this way, even for Sean. Still, he couldn’t help but enjoy that moment. He pressed the tip of his sword against her throat; the slightest bit of pressure would do the trick…
“Drop the sword.”
Sean raised his head when he felt the tip of dagger touch the back of his neck. “Allison, this is treason.” He said calmly.
“I don’t care.” She replied. “You shouldn’t even have the right to challenge for command after the amount of crimes you committed against this clan!”
“Any member of the clan can challenge for command, unless if formally accused of treason.” Sean stated. “I was never formally accused of anything. I was demoted, but as a worker I can still challenge.” He replied. “I’m the clan leader now and you’re pointing a knife at me.”
“If I kill you now, I doubt the new leader will execute me for it.” She said. Her tone was ice cold and not one bit like her usual. She would kill him right there if she had to, it wasn’t a bluff. “Remove your foot from my friend, now.” She told him, putting a little bit of pressure on the blade, the metal breaking through his skin.
“Fine.” Sean said putting his foot down. “I don’t need to say you’re not longer a member of the Pack.” He told her. “Lower that knife.”
“Drop the sword first.” She replied.
Sean laughed. “They grow up so fast, huh Crystal?” He dropped the sword at his feet. “That’s it Allison. I could have you executed just for interfering. I’m being generous, don’t push it.”
Ali walked around Sean, with her dagger still touching his skin, grazing the side of his neck until it stopped at his throat. Now she was standing between him and Crys. “Back off now.”
Sean nodded and walked a few steps back away from her, being immediately surrounded by a group of actives in case anyone else tried to attack him. “Now what, Allison? Are you going to run? Leave the Pack behind? You told me yourself that you couldn’t.”
Ali didn’t answer to Sean’s words. “Crys, can you stand?”
“Not… Really… No.” Crys’ voice sounded weak.
Ali nodded glaring at the mass of actives surrounding the clearing. “Help your leader.” She said, to no one in particular. A group of actives immediately moved to help Crys stand. Ali looked at Sean with a look of pure hatred as she answered, indicating the people holding Crys up behind her. “This is the Wolfpack. I don’t know what you people are. I don’t care to know either.” She grabbed one of the actives by the shoulder and whispered something to him. The man ran to the leaders’ cabin and came back within minutes holding Jake’s sword. She simply nodded towards the direction of the desert not taking her eyes of Sean and not moving until the footsteps gained a certain distance. She knew she couldn’t fight off all of those assassins if Sean gave them the order, but he didn’t. She knew he wanted to, but he didn’t. There were some people there whose trust he still needed to gain. A massacre wouldn’t help him with that.
Sean let Ali leave. In that moment attacking her would be a bad idea. The girl probably didn’t know, but she was very much liked by most of the actives. Others even left behind her, but most of them stayed, some of them apprehensive, but still more loyal to the rules of the clan than to the good old leaders’ of the past. Sean nodded. “Is anyone else leaving? Whoever wants to do it and live, do it now.” Since no one else moved, he turned to Evin. “As of this moment you are no longer an assassin, but simply just another worker. You will return your ring and weapons and you will no longer be allowed anywhere near a weapon. I will have you doing the lowest of the low jobs… Blah, blah, blah.“ He grinned. “You remember the rest.”
With that said he turned his back to him and called up one of the actives. “Mitchell, you’re my second as of now. Take your place in the leaders’ cabin whenever you want.” He sighed, as the rain finally began to stop. “Some changes need to be made around here. And if we’re lucky, the Black Knight captain will return the actives she took personally… Then we’ll see just how hard to kill she really is.”
Hearing those words again caused Crys to cringe, even if internally. Of course, she was expecting them, but still… The last person to challenge her had been Lionel. It had been extremely easy to kill him on an instinct, but having to deal with the fact that a childhood friend wanted her dead had been difficult. This, however, was different. Sean meant absolutely nothing to her. If she killed him where he stood it wouldn’t take a minute of her sleep. The problem was, she didn’t know if she could win.
She was sure that both Alistair and Dastan were furious at her for escaping. She had quite a few discussions with both of them about going back. They both agreed she was too weak to even walk the distance back to the forest. They were both right, but she couldn’t wait any more without knowing what was going on with the clan. It did seem like Evin would have pulled things together in due time, but she couldn't have known that, and not knowing was making a little bit anxious.
After Sean’s words there was a moment of silence. She had no choice but to fight, a leader couldn’t turn down a challenge without giving up the command. Surely, she wouldn’t let Sean have it without a fight, no matter what the cost would possibly be. People were afraid of the possibilities. Some feared for both their lives, some had a side they’d rather see win, but most of all… They feared the way in which the outcome of this would affect the clan, and consequently their lives.
Those thoughts were still going through Crys’ mind when Evin came up to her, her cold expression turning into a half-smile when he hugged her out of nowhere. “So emotional, gee.” She snickered, quickly adding an “I’ll be fine” even though she wasn’t sure of it. When she was handed the Katana, however, the smile faded slowly. Evin had told her not to die and she was certainly not planning on it. Still, she knew that she was putting herself in a huge risk. She attached the sheathed sword to her belt, knowing that Sean couldn't attack her until she had it unsheathed.
After a long deep breath, she drew the sword and awaited his first move.
Sean had simply stood, waiting patiently for Crys to draw her weapon. There were a few unspoken rules to fights like these. The first most important one was to not make any advances while the opponent was unarmed. The second was that the person who challenged had to make the first attack. That rule gave him the opportunity to back down if he wanted to, which meant expulsion from the clan instead of the execution which would come with defeat.
Knowing that Crys wouldn’t make a move until he attacked, Sean decided to take his time and circle her, and she noticed he wanted to try and see just how fit she was for fighting. He knew she couldn’t be all that well in only five weeks after almost dying, but still he felt like he needed to be cautious. “You know…” He started. “I don’t think you are at all as well you seem, Crys. I mean… I noticed your walk was a little bit slow. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Crys chuckled. “Unless you’re trying to use the stench of fear to stun me, I see no point in waiting any longer.” She told him. “Come on. You and I both know that if you thought you had a chance to beat me in a fair fight you would have done this months ago instead of sending, what, three, assassins after me.”
“There were four, actually.” He replied. “How were they, by the way?”
“Impressive. I only noticed three.” She responded, suddenly pulling one of her Sai with her left hand and using it to block the incoming hit from Sean’s sword. It came without warning, and some of the younger assassins gasped as though they had missed it. Within a split second from blocking the hit, Crys attacked, forcing Sean to pull back in order to dodge the blade of her sword. He backed away quite a few steps. “Well, you’re definitely not as fast as you should be. That’s such a pity.” He stated.
She smiled. “Did you know that your father asked me not to promote you? I think at some point he realized the little weasel you had turned out to be.”
That one sentence seemed to have angered Sean to a dangerous level and he attacked without another word and with such force that in the first of many blocked hit Crys felt her feet slide back through the mud a couple of inches. However, even if he seemed to have a little bit of advantage in that moment, he really didn’t. Crys suddenly pulled back as he advanced and, as he caught his balance, she lunged towards his face with her dagger, hitting him dangerously close to his right eye, and knocking him back, blinded by the blood. Crys attacked him again from the right, taking advantage of his lack of sight in that eye, her blade barely missing his jugular and causing him to lose his balance
When Sean fell to the mud, it became very clear that he was getting beaten, and he knew it. The only thing left for him to do was the stupidest thing he could possibly think of: As Crys was advancing he dropped his sword and ran towards her with his body bent forward, tackling her to the ground.
It took a little while for people to understand why Sean wasn't dead with a Sai dagger shoved to the back of his neck… Crys had dropped her dagger and had stayed down on the ground grasping for air as Sean stood, still unable to open his right eye, and retrieved his sword before going back to where she had fallen.
“My father once told me that a stab wound to the stomach is one of the most painful injuries there are; even more than breaking a bone in half. One of the most difficult to heal as well… “He said, placing his foot in her abdomen where he knew she had been wounded, without putting any pressure on it. “If the blade goes straight through, like it happened with you, probably nicked the stomach, judging by your shortness of breath… I take it you shouldn’t have gotten out of bed for at least another month.” He grinned, putting a little bit of pressure on the wounded area. He pointed his sword at her throat. “One little cut… And back to hell.” He muttered, putting his weight down on her.
Crys was wheezing on the floor, struggling for every painful breath. It was such a shocking thing to see her this way, even for Sean. Still, he couldn’t help but enjoy that moment. He pressed the tip of his sword against her throat; the slightest bit of pressure would do the trick…
“Drop the sword.”
Sean raised his head when he felt the tip of dagger touch the back of his neck. “Allison, this is treason.” He said calmly.
“I don’t care.” She replied. “You shouldn’t even have the right to challenge for command after the amount of crimes you committed against this clan!”
“Any member of the clan can challenge for command, unless if formally accused of treason.” Sean stated. “I was never formally accused of anything. I was demoted, but as a worker I can still challenge.” He replied. “I’m the clan leader now and you’re pointing a knife at me.”
“If I kill you now, I doubt the new leader will execute me for it.” She said. Her tone was ice cold and not one bit like her usual. She would kill him right there if she had to, it wasn’t a bluff. “Remove your foot from my friend, now.” She told him, putting a little bit of pressure on the blade, the metal breaking through his skin.
“Fine.” Sean said putting his foot down. “I don’t need to say you’re not longer a member of the Pack.” He told her. “Lower that knife.”
“Drop the sword first.” She replied.
Sean laughed. “They grow up so fast, huh Crystal?” He dropped the sword at his feet. “That’s it Allison. I could have you executed just for interfering. I’m being generous, don’t push it.”
Ali walked around Sean, with her dagger still touching his skin, grazing the side of his neck until it stopped at his throat. Now she was standing between him and Crys. “Back off now.”
Sean nodded and walked a few steps back away from her, being immediately surrounded by a group of actives in case anyone else tried to attack him. “Now what, Allison? Are you going to run? Leave the Pack behind? You told me yourself that you couldn’t.”
Ali didn’t answer to Sean’s words. “Crys, can you stand?”
“Not… Really… No.” Crys’ voice sounded weak.
Ali nodded glaring at the mass of actives surrounding the clearing. “Help your leader.” She said, to no one in particular. A group of actives immediately moved to help Crys stand. Ali looked at Sean with a look of pure hatred as she answered, indicating the people holding Crys up behind her. “This is the Wolfpack. I don’t know what you people are. I don’t care to know either.” She grabbed one of the actives by the shoulder and whispered something to him. The man ran to the leaders’ cabin and came back within minutes holding Jake’s sword. She simply nodded towards the direction of the desert not taking her eyes of Sean and not moving until the footsteps gained a certain distance. She knew she couldn’t fight off all of those assassins if Sean gave them the order, but he didn’t. She knew he wanted to, but he didn’t. There were some people there whose trust he still needed to gain. A massacre wouldn’t help him with that.
Sean let Ali leave. In that moment attacking her would be a bad idea. The girl probably didn’t know, but she was very much liked by most of the actives. Others even left behind her, but most of them stayed, some of them apprehensive, but still more loyal to the rules of the clan than to the good old leaders’ of the past. Sean nodded. “Is anyone else leaving? Whoever wants to do it and live, do it now.” Since no one else moved, he turned to Evin. “As of this moment you are no longer an assassin, but simply just another worker. You will return your ring and weapons and you will no longer be allowed anywhere near a weapon. I will have you doing the lowest of the low jobs… Blah, blah, blah.“ He grinned. “You remember the rest.”
With that said he turned his back to him and called up one of the actives. “Mitchell, you’re my second as of now. Take your place in the leaders’ cabin whenever you want.” He sighed, as the rain finally began to stop. “Some changes need to be made around here. And if we’re lucky, the Black Knight captain will return the actives she took personally… Then we’ll see just how hard to kill she really is.”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Avius listened carefully to the Captains every word as she explained her plan even further for everyone who wanted to listen. He found her words to shallow and her plan to be simple, maybe a bit too simple but then again, Avius wasn't known for being simple when assassinating someone. He wanted to be gracefully, quiet and at the same time put up a show to have the people around him know that the man or woman he killed are dead for sure. There were of course times when he knew he had to go in, kill his target and get out before anyone even knew he had ever been there. He loved what he did either way and he found it necessarily to do in dark times like these. When Mageria pointed out two of the wolves as not being 'dangerous looking', he couldn't help himself but mutter "Ignorant fool" under his breath. No one noticed him as the Captain continued to explain her plan to the rest of them. In the end Avius knew where he and his powers would come in.
He would be in phase two when the other assassins and guards with Mageria have rescued the healer and the wolf recruit and were heading out of the castle. That's when he and a couple of other assassins would help them out by escorting them to the stables and if shit hits the fans, then this group would attack and use any forces necessary to keep the guards away from group one who has the recruit and the healer. The plan was simple, too simple, but it had to work since Evin had told them to follow Magerias lead. Avius didn't like it, but "execution for treason" didn't sound good in his books either.
"We're ready if you are." Avius stated coldly as he rose from his position and looked over at Mageria. He didn't try to hide the contempt in his voice for he wanted her to know that he only followed her lead since the current leader, foolish as he was, had ordered them all to do so. Placing his quarterstaff onto his back once more, Avius followed the crowd as they departed from the cave.
He would be in phase two when the other assassins and guards with Mageria have rescued the healer and the wolf recruit and were heading out of the castle. That's when he and a couple of other assassins would help them out by escorting them to the stables and if shit hits the fans, then this group would attack and use any forces necessary to keep the guards away from group one who has the recruit and the healer. The plan was simple, too simple, but it had to work since Evin had told them to follow Magerias lead. Avius didn't like it, but "execution for treason" didn't sound good in his books either.
"We're ready if you are." Avius stated coldly as he rose from his position and looked over at Mageria. He didn't try to hide the contempt in his voice for he wanted her to know that he only followed her lead since the current leader, foolish as he was, had ordered them all to do so. Placing his quarterstaff onto his back once more, Avius followed the crowd as they departed from the cave.
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
Evin just stood in complete silence during the entire battle. Even when Sean had Crystal seconds away from death, he didn't gasp, because the second he killed Crystal, he would return the favor without any mercy. Thank the Gods for him though because Allison stepped in to stop it from getting that far because Evin did have his dagger ready for it. By this point the rain had begun to slow down a tiny bit too. It was finally clear enough for Evin to see the reaction of the rest of the camp. There were a lot supporting Sean and few who were supporting Crystal. “As of this moment you are no longer an assassin, but simply just another worker. You will return your ring and weapons and you will no longer be allowed anywhere near a weapon. I will have you doing the lowest of the low jobs… Blah, blah, blah.“ Sean grinned. “You remember the rest.”
"I can also come up with my own material." Evin said, knowing Sean wasn't really listening while he spoke to his new Second, Mitchell."
Evin gave Mitchell a friendly wave. A mediocre assassin at best, but then Sean didn't have the best of options at his disposal quite yet. Evin took his coat off, removing the weapons that were under it. The two daggers, rope dart and nine throwing knives. Then he took off his belt, but kept the ring on. "You know Sean, weapons aren't the only things that kill," he said dropping the coat he had been using to cover Sean's sight to him, the shimmer of a throwing knife flew through the air hitting Sean in the foot. An couple of assassins then surrounded him with weapons drawn awaiting an order, but Evin kicked a dagger from the ground, up into his hand. The kick flew dirt into the one assassin's face while the other tried to strike. Evin parried the strike, disarming the man and placing the dagger to the back of his neck, "but when people expect it, weapons can be useful. I don't believe that you'll find my personal armoury though. My favourite weapon there would probably have to be the mace; so deadly. Now," Evin cut the assassin's Achilles tendon, "I'll be off cleaning up the crap buckets."
Evin walked away, knowing full well that Sean was going to let this all slide, but he couldn't do it forever. Eventually Sean would make his move. It was just a matter of predicting when that would be and striking minutes before he did. It wouldn't be too hard now that he knew what he was looking for. For now, it would be cleaning the buckets like he said he was going to. His moment would come when Sean least expected it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella found herself in a very comfortable position that she really didn't expect she'd be in at all. The man who was left down in the hole Ella was stuck in now, his name was Ulrick. He was obviously in here for a pretty good reason she believed, but he also seemed rather nice. If it wasn't for that man, she might have been dead, or at least seriously injured. The man had the power of manipulating and controlling air. That was why she had landed so softly on the ground. The day they had spent together was one similar to a good day with Evin. They could just talk about anything.
"So why are you here?" The man said.
"Umm I killed a man." She replied without even thinking.
"Now come on, you have to do better than that to get stuck in here."
Ella looked at the man with a smile. "Ok then, why are you here Mr. tough guy!"
"I nearly killed every last man woman and child in Blackpond." Ella gasped at the man's response. "You see, outside of this hole, my powers are a lot stronger. I had turned Blackpond into an airless wasteland. No one could breath in enough air to survive. The bastards wouldn't have known what hit them either if it wasn't for one of my mercenary friends ratting me out to the king a couple of hours earlier. A man named Hastings stopped me. He thinks he's tough, but he's just a little bitch. Anyways, turns out I killed over one hundred people. Then, a couple of years back they made this whole new section of the dungeon just to keep me trapped. This part probably isn't even on a map. It's too new to be. Now what are you really here for."
"I'll tell you if you give me a hand." Ella smirked
"What do you need?"
"A way out."
"Good luck lass, I've tried several times."
"Well I have an idea."
"I can also come up with my own material." Evin said, knowing Sean wasn't really listening while he spoke to his new Second, Mitchell."
Evin gave Mitchell a friendly wave. A mediocre assassin at best, but then Sean didn't have the best of options at his disposal quite yet. Evin took his coat off, removing the weapons that were under it. The two daggers, rope dart and nine throwing knives. Then he took off his belt, but kept the ring on. "You know Sean, weapons aren't the only things that kill," he said dropping the coat he had been using to cover Sean's sight to him, the shimmer of a throwing knife flew through the air hitting Sean in the foot. An couple of assassins then surrounded him with weapons drawn awaiting an order, but Evin kicked a dagger from the ground, up into his hand. The kick flew dirt into the one assassin's face while the other tried to strike. Evin parried the strike, disarming the man and placing the dagger to the back of his neck, "but when people expect it, weapons can be useful. I don't believe that you'll find my personal armoury though. My favourite weapon there would probably have to be the mace; so deadly. Now," Evin cut the assassin's Achilles tendon, "I'll be off cleaning up the crap buckets."
Evin walked away, knowing full well that Sean was going to let this all slide, but he couldn't do it forever. Eventually Sean would make his move. It was just a matter of predicting when that would be and striking minutes before he did. It wouldn't be too hard now that he knew what he was looking for. For now, it would be cleaning the buckets like he said he was going to. His moment would come when Sean least expected it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Blackpond]
Ella found herself in a very comfortable position that she really didn't expect she'd be in at all. The man who was left down in the hole Ella was stuck in now, his name was Ulrick. He was obviously in here for a pretty good reason she believed, but he also seemed rather nice. If it wasn't for that man, she might have been dead, or at least seriously injured. The man had the power of manipulating and controlling air. That was why she had landed so softly on the ground. The day they had spent together was one similar to a good day with Evin. They could just talk about anything.
"So why are you here?" The man said.
"Umm I killed a man." She replied without even thinking.
"Now come on, you have to do better than that to get stuck in here."
Ella looked at the man with a smile. "Ok then, why are you here Mr. tough guy!"
"I nearly killed every last man woman and child in Blackpond." Ella gasped at the man's response. "You see, outside of this hole, my powers are a lot stronger. I had turned Blackpond into an airless wasteland. No one could breath in enough air to survive. The bastards wouldn't have known what hit them either if it wasn't for one of my mercenary friends ratting me out to the king a couple of hours earlier. A man named Hastings stopped me. He thinks he's tough, but he's just a little bitch. Anyways, turns out I killed over one hundred people. Then, a couple of years back they made this whole new section of the dungeon just to keep me trapped. This part probably isn't even on a map. It's too new to be. Now what are you really here for."
"I'll tell you if you give me a hand." Ella smirked
"What do you need?"
"A way out."
"Good luck lass, I've tried several times."
"Well I have an idea."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
Mageria lead her people through the steel grey light of early morning, hoping against hope that she could get everyone out without blood shed. Faint hope, but she still felt it. Glancing from side to side she could see the Pack members that Evin had sent with her. It really was as if some wild wolves had decided to walk next to her. They listened to her, but only because Evin had told them to. At any moment, they might decide to turn on her. What an exciting time.
The first step was easy, simply walking through the front gates of Blackpond. They hardly got a second look, dressed as ruffians no better than anybody already in the city. They entered the city in groups of two and three and slowly drifted up to the entrance of the secret tunnels into the castle. With a subtle hand sign she sent the second group off to their posts and lead her group into the depths of the Blackpond Castle. Leading the way and attracting a good deal of attention, was one of the assassins that she knew only as Velvet. Her hips swayed enticingly as she walked and there was not a single man who didn’t give her a second and perhaps third look. Which was the point of course. Behind her walked the group of Newhaven soldiers, in their center was Sergeant Green, sending out the sense that whoever they were and whoever they were; they belonged.
It took a couple of nerve wracking minutes for everybody to work their way down to the lower levels. Mageria actually had a bad minute when one of the passing Captains ordered her to take care of something for him. Evidently her disguise was too good. Luckily whatever it was was in the same direction as she was already going; she was able to tell him that she would take care of it and go on her way. Finally she was down on the correct level, looking around she saw she was the last to arrive. A glance to the left got her a hand sign that everyone was in place. A look to the right and a hand signal sent Velvet on her way toward the guards. They smiled widely as she swayed toward them, not noticing that several people followed her. She smiled broadly, reaching toward one of the guards with fingers that glinted metallicly. Mageria whistled softly; all along teh line people stepped closer to their targets and metal flashed; darts tipped with powerful sedatives sank into flesh and the guards all collapsed limply. Looking up and down the hallway showed that for the moment they were unobserved. There was approximately ten minutes before the shift change, they had that long to get everybody out. A quick search of the guards failed to conveniently turn up the keys. That would have been too easy. Luckily several of her men were skilled with lock picks. They set to work and within moments the doors were opening.
Mageria smiled crookedly at the Healers as they exited their cells. “Time to go. Change into these and get ready to follow us.” She and the rest of the people around her started handing out the cloths that they carried, the Healers stripping in the hall and seeming to be grateful to have something clean to change into as much as anything else. Mageria searched out Lena and sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” the memory of the five dead teens fresh in her mind. Lena started to shake her head and then stopped, her eyes seeming to focus on something else. A hard look of rage passed over her features and she seemed to grow very cold.
“They weren’t from here. Which means that they went into the camp again.”
Mageria wouldn’t have wanted to be from Blackpond and standing in front of her at that moment. Then she seemed to push the anger away and focused on Mageria again. “They took the girl a few days ago. I don’t know where.”
Mageria grimaced and looked up and down the corridor. “Right. We get the rest of them out of here and then we go look for her.” Gathering up the people in front of her she pulled them behind her, looking over at the assassin; Whisper, where she stood posted at the end of the corridor. The girl flashed her a safe sign, letting Mageria lead the people behind her down two corridors and over one, creeping from hiding spot to spot, waiting for somebody to come across them. Coming to the right spot, she rapped quickly and softly on the door, having it pop open to reveal the grim faces of her men. She started passing the Healers through one at a time, almost pushing them in her need to get them somewhere safe. She looked over their heads, seeing Grim’s raised eyebrow clearly. She shook her head.
“We don’t have everybody yet. I’m going to look for the rest, you need to make sure that these people get out ok.” She didn’t bother giving any further orders, the men already had their orders. In the event that they had to split up, a certain group would stay behind to back her up while the rest would get the Healers out. Grim she trusted to make his own choice; he would have taken the mood of the town as he walked in and would know if he was needed here or in the town. She looked at the Pack waiting in the passage. “I know that the only reason that you’re still here is to get your recruit. She’s the one we can’t find right now, but we know she’s somewhere down here. Spread out and look, while the rest of you wait. You know the signal.” She waited until the Pack filed past her and went their own ways, then closed the door and turned to find Lena still standing behind her.
“I’m not leaving.”
Mageria quirked a smile and started down one corridor, offering the former Healer a long dagger with one hand. “Never thought you would.”
The first step was easy, simply walking through the front gates of Blackpond. They hardly got a second look, dressed as ruffians no better than anybody already in the city. They entered the city in groups of two and three and slowly drifted up to the entrance of the secret tunnels into the castle. With a subtle hand sign she sent the second group off to their posts and lead her group into the depths of the Blackpond Castle. Leading the way and attracting a good deal of attention, was one of the assassins that she knew only as Velvet. Her hips swayed enticingly as she walked and there was not a single man who didn’t give her a second and perhaps third look. Which was the point of course. Behind her walked the group of Newhaven soldiers, in their center was Sergeant Green, sending out the sense that whoever they were and whoever they were; they belonged.
It took a couple of nerve wracking minutes for everybody to work their way down to the lower levels. Mageria actually had a bad minute when one of the passing Captains ordered her to take care of something for him. Evidently her disguise was too good. Luckily whatever it was was in the same direction as she was already going; she was able to tell him that she would take care of it and go on her way. Finally she was down on the correct level, looking around she saw she was the last to arrive. A glance to the left got her a hand sign that everyone was in place. A look to the right and a hand signal sent Velvet on her way toward the guards. They smiled widely as she swayed toward them, not noticing that several people followed her. She smiled broadly, reaching toward one of the guards with fingers that glinted metallicly. Mageria whistled softly; all along teh line people stepped closer to their targets and metal flashed; darts tipped with powerful sedatives sank into flesh and the guards all collapsed limply. Looking up and down the hallway showed that for the moment they were unobserved. There was approximately ten minutes before the shift change, they had that long to get everybody out. A quick search of the guards failed to conveniently turn up the keys. That would have been too easy. Luckily several of her men were skilled with lock picks. They set to work and within moments the doors were opening.
Mageria smiled crookedly at the Healers as they exited their cells. “Time to go. Change into these and get ready to follow us.” She and the rest of the people around her started handing out the cloths that they carried, the Healers stripping in the hall and seeming to be grateful to have something clean to change into as much as anything else. Mageria searched out Lena and sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” the memory of the five dead teens fresh in her mind. Lena started to shake her head and then stopped, her eyes seeming to focus on something else. A hard look of rage passed over her features and she seemed to grow very cold.
“They weren’t from here. Which means that they went into the camp again.”
Mageria wouldn’t have wanted to be from Blackpond and standing in front of her at that moment. Then she seemed to push the anger away and focused on Mageria again. “They took the girl a few days ago. I don’t know where.”
Mageria grimaced and looked up and down the corridor. “Right. We get the rest of them out of here and then we go look for her.” Gathering up the people in front of her she pulled them behind her, looking over at the assassin; Whisper, where she stood posted at the end of the corridor. The girl flashed her a safe sign, letting Mageria lead the people behind her down two corridors and over one, creeping from hiding spot to spot, waiting for somebody to come across them. Coming to the right spot, she rapped quickly and softly on the door, having it pop open to reveal the grim faces of her men. She started passing the Healers through one at a time, almost pushing them in her need to get them somewhere safe. She looked over their heads, seeing Grim’s raised eyebrow clearly. She shook her head.
“We don’t have everybody yet. I’m going to look for the rest, you need to make sure that these people get out ok.” She didn’t bother giving any further orders, the men already had their orders. In the event that they had to split up, a certain group would stay behind to back her up while the rest would get the Healers out. Grim she trusted to make his own choice; he would have taken the mood of the town as he walked in and would know if he was needed here or in the town. She looked at the Pack waiting in the passage. “I know that the only reason that you’re still here is to get your recruit. She’s the one we can’t find right now, but we know she’s somewhere down here. Spread out and look, while the rest of you wait. You know the signal.” She waited until the Pack filed past her and went their own ways, then closed the door and turned to find Lena still standing behind her.
“I’m not leaving.”
Mageria quirked a smile and started down one corridor, offering the former Healer a long dagger with one hand. “Never thought you would.”
“Mageria,”
The Black Knight took her about the wrist to keep his Captain from retreating back into the dank of Blackpond. The green orbs leveling with her own reading patiently to see if he could discover what she found down in the dungeons. Grim was calm and quieter then usual, he had been sparse through much of the journey. He had his own private mission to attend to.
“They moved the girl, they know what we’re searching for. Hastings is hoping for you to show up, I can just feel it. Just don’t forget why we’re here. I won’t be far behind…”
The Blade had remained fully armored. Caring little for the risk of being found out. He wasn’t built for covert and he wasn’t going to be spending his time lurking about. When trouble found them, which he was absolutely sure it would, Grim would be the first into action.
For now all he could really do was wait and be at the ready. Knowing well the stakes they were taking in leaving Newhaven and what it meant if they failed here. Quietly he chided himself, they wouldn’t fail he’d see to it personally. The only man he truly felt any fear toward was their clever Hastings. The one soldier in all of the Blackpond that could completely unravel their mission.
In private he wished Hastings would show himself, so that he could get a chance to kill the bastard himself. On the other he just wished for the entire affair to go without hitch. They had the now renegade White Shadows in tow, and all they needed was to retrieve Ella and be gone before anyone was the wiser.
“Lets get everyone home…”
He released her after, having nothing more to go on about.
The Black Knight took her about the wrist to keep his Captain from retreating back into the dank of Blackpond. The green orbs leveling with her own reading patiently to see if he could discover what she found down in the dungeons. Grim was calm and quieter then usual, he had been sparse through much of the journey. He had his own private mission to attend to.
“They moved the girl, they know what we’re searching for. Hastings is hoping for you to show up, I can just feel it. Just don’t forget why we’re here. I won’t be far behind…”
The Blade had remained fully armored. Caring little for the risk of being found out. He wasn’t built for covert and he wasn’t going to be spending his time lurking about. When trouble found them, which he was absolutely sure it would, Grim would be the first into action.
For now all he could really do was wait and be at the ready. Knowing well the stakes they were taking in leaving Newhaven and what it meant if they failed here. Quietly he chided himself, they wouldn’t fail he’d see to it personally. The only man he truly felt any fear toward was their clever Hastings. The one soldier in all of the Blackpond that could completely unravel their mission.
In private he wished Hastings would show himself, so that he could get a chance to kill the bastard himself. On the other he just wished for the entire affair to go without hitch. They had the now renegade White Shadows in tow, and all they needed was to retrieve Ella and be gone before anyone was the wiser.
“Lets get everyone home…”
He released her after, having nothing more to go on about.
Luckas continued to work his way through the corridors, searching for the damn girl that Lena had been going on about. So far all that he had found was a never ending supply of Blackpond guards that simply got in his way and didn’t know anything. The corridors at least smelled better here, must be fairly new or something. He had come to the point of just choosing directions at random when a female guard with red hair and a scar or two walked around the corridor and started to go past him. She was obviously looking for something, so there seemed to be a good chance that she would know where that damn girl was. He stepped out of the shadow he had been leaning in and started to walk toward her.
He cleared his throat and ordered her. “Come here.”
She had gotten a little past him before he ordered her; she stopped where she was and turned slowly around, obviously fighting the suggestion. Already bored with the whole thing, Luckas stepped up close and smiled. Once she turned, her eyes widened and a look of shock passed over her face.
A stream of foul language that actually even impressed him burst from her lips, ending with “Not again!” She started to back away, one hand coming up to press against her temple. She shook her head, starting to go pale. “Not again. It isn’t happening again.” She turned on the ball of one foot and started hurrying down the corridor, shaking her head.
Luckas was actually surprised, he’d never had that reaction before. Quickly he took several steps towards her and spoke firmly. “STOP. Come back here.”
The red haired woman swayed to a stop and turned again, glaring at him with a wild look in her eyes. “You’re dead. You’re not real, you’re dead and I don’t have to do what you say because you’re not real.” She turned around again and started walking away, leaving Luckas staring after her with his mouth open.
Mageria had been working her ways through the corridors with Lena when they found a section that she wasn’t familiar with at all. It seems that they had remodeled in the time since Jake’s map had been made. With a grimace she had looked over at the other woman and shrugged. “One way is as good as another I suppose. We only have a few minutes more before things start getting difficult. Much as I hate to say it, we should split up.” Lena had nodded and indicated one hall with a tilt of her head. “I’ll go this way. Shouldn’t run into any trouble, but if there is any, I’ll take care of it.” She smiled in a grim manner. “I’ve wanted to have a good talk with some of these people for quite a while.”
They had parted ways, walking quickly and looking for some place that looked as if they were holding an important prisoner. She had been walking past a dimly lit section when somebody behind her spoke up. The words seemed to grab hold of her mind and she turned around, feeling as if someone else had grabbed control of her body. But that was nothing compared to the shock she felt when the person that the voice belonged to was the ghost of the teen that they had known only as Dark Mirror. She couldn’t stop the curses that spouted forward, only concentrating on the fact that Allistar had told her that she was cured. “Not again,” Mageira muttered under her breath, rubbing her forehead. Alistar had told her she was fine. “Not again. It isn’t happening again.” She turned and started to walk away.
From behind her the voice came again. “STOP. Come back here.”
The feeling that somebody else was in control of her body was there again, but for some reason she was better able to resist it. She knew that he wasn’t real, which meant that he couldn’t control her. She would just get Ella and the rest of her men out and then she would go see the Healers again and they would explain why she was hallucinating again. She turned and glared at the ghost, hating the fact that he was even there. “You’re dead. You’re not real, you’re dead and I don’t have to do what you say because you’re not real.” With that she turned away and resumed her search.
There was a stunned silence behind her for a moment and then the sound of hurried footsteps. Her own personal ghost caught up and started to pace beside her, looking baffled.
“Why aren’t you doing what I tell you?”
Mageria didn’t even look at him, refusing to even acknowledge that he was there. He started to reach out and touch her, and she leaned away, not wanting to let him get his hands on her even as a hallucination. When he made it clear that he would continue to try and touch her if she didn’t answer, she stopped and glared at him. “What?”
“Why aren’t you doing what I tell you to do?”
She sighed. “Because you’re dead. I saw your body back at Newhaven and I know you’re not real. So therefore, you don’t have any control over me.”
The teen rocked back on his heels. “Do you see things that aren’t there often?”
Mageria sighed. “Only recently. Why?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Are you Enlightened at all?”
She shook her head. “No, not the slightest. Go away and leave me alone. You can come back later.” She started to move away and he jumped in front of her.
“From Newhaven huh? Why are you here?”
She glared at him. “If you must know,” she hissed, “I’m here with my people to rescue the Healers and one of the Wolf recruits. Right now I’m looking for the girl so that I can get the rest of us out of here. Which means I’m busy and don’t have time to deal with you anymore.” She hurried away, shoulders slightly hunched. Footsteps from around the corner told her that somebody was coming, she straightened her back and adopted the ‘I belong here’ pose that had got her through years of trouble. The guard that walked past her nodded and started to walk away before pausing and turning toward her, one hand on his sword hilt. He didn’t even get the chance to open his mouth however, before the teen looked at him and drew in a deep breath.
“Walk away. You didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.” The Blackpond guard slowly turned back, walking down the hall as if he was a sleepwalker.
Mageria could only stare for a long moment, feeling a sort of shock start in her chest. But before she could even do anything another set of footsteps sounded behind her, this time revealing Lena. She looked between the two of them before she addressed the boy. “Luckas? Did you find her?”
Mageria couldn’t help the step back that she took. “He’s real?”
Lena looked puzzled and nodded. “Of course.” Then her eyes widened and she leapt forward, grabbing Mageria’s sword arm. Mageria had automatically drawn her sword and started to lunge toward the boy. Lena locked her hands around her arm and spoke quickly and quietly.
“Captain, there’s no need for that.” She looked over at the boy. “What did you do to her?”
The kid looked confused and shrugged. “Nothing. She won’t listen to me and she keeps insisting that I’m not real or a ghost or something.” He looked at Mageria, a disturbing sort of curiosity in his eyes. “Are you sure she’s sane?”
Lena patted Mageria’s arm. “Yes, I’m quite sure.” She spoke directly to the other woman. “There’s really nothing to be worried about. He’s not going to do anything to any of us.” She back that statement up with a forceful glare at the boy. He failed to look innocent.
Mageria had gone a bit white about the lips but her voice was steady and quiet. “Do you know what he did in Newhaven?”
Lena nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t recent. This isn’t the boy that was in your prisons until recently. He really is dead. This is his twin brother, who’s been a the camp until recently.”
Mageria slanted a look at the Healer, still on guard. “Oh? And is he anything like his brother?”
Lena started to say something, but the boy spoke up. “You say you met my brother? Is it too much to hope that you know what happened when he was killed? And what happened to the poor unfortunate that got close enough to kill him? I imagine that they suffered for quite a while.” A sadistic smile spread across his face and he leaned forward in his eagerness.
Mageria drew a deep breath and answered evenly. “Yes, they did suffer. For about three and a half weeks. It got pretty bad at the end.”
A look of glee spread across his face, as if he was a child who had been given a gift. “And then? What happened at the end?”
Mageria stared at him steadily, knowing that she faced the same insane evil that she had already faced once. Strangely, knowing that she had already suffered the worst that her own soul could bring forth strengthened her and she faced Luckas secure in that knowledge.
“And then? Then I got better.” She turned and nodded at Lena, who wore a small look of surprise, but nothing compared to the expression that the boy had. “We need to keep looking.”
He cleared his throat and ordered her. “Come here.”
She had gotten a little past him before he ordered her; she stopped where she was and turned slowly around, obviously fighting the suggestion. Already bored with the whole thing, Luckas stepped up close and smiled. Once she turned, her eyes widened and a look of shock passed over her face.
A stream of foul language that actually even impressed him burst from her lips, ending with “Not again!” She started to back away, one hand coming up to press against her temple. She shook her head, starting to go pale. “Not again. It isn’t happening again.” She turned on the ball of one foot and started hurrying down the corridor, shaking her head.
Luckas was actually surprised, he’d never had that reaction before. Quickly he took several steps towards her and spoke firmly. “STOP. Come back here.”
The red haired woman swayed to a stop and turned again, glaring at him with a wild look in her eyes. “You’re dead. You’re not real, you’re dead and I don’t have to do what you say because you’re not real.” She turned around again and started walking away, leaving Luckas staring after her with his mouth open.
Mageria had been working her ways through the corridors with Lena when they found a section that she wasn’t familiar with at all. It seems that they had remodeled in the time since Jake’s map had been made. With a grimace she had looked over at the other woman and shrugged. “One way is as good as another I suppose. We only have a few minutes more before things start getting difficult. Much as I hate to say it, we should split up.” Lena had nodded and indicated one hall with a tilt of her head. “I’ll go this way. Shouldn’t run into any trouble, but if there is any, I’ll take care of it.” She smiled in a grim manner. “I’ve wanted to have a good talk with some of these people for quite a while.”
They had parted ways, walking quickly and looking for some place that looked as if they were holding an important prisoner. She had been walking past a dimly lit section when somebody behind her spoke up. The words seemed to grab hold of her mind and she turned around, feeling as if someone else had grabbed control of her body. But that was nothing compared to the shock she felt when the person that the voice belonged to was the ghost of the teen that they had known only as Dark Mirror. She couldn’t stop the curses that spouted forward, only concentrating on the fact that Allistar had told her that she was cured. “Not again,” Mageira muttered under her breath, rubbing her forehead. Alistar had told her she was fine. “Not again. It isn’t happening again.” She turned and started to walk away.
From behind her the voice came again. “STOP. Come back here.”
The feeling that somebody else was in control of her body was there again, but for some reason she was better able to resist it. She knew that he wasn’t real, which meant that he couldn’t control her. She would just get Ella and the rest of her men out and then she would go see the Healers again and they would explain why she was hallucinating again. She turned and glared at the ghost, hating the fact that he was even there. “You’re dead. You’re not real, you’re dead and I don’t have to do what you say because you’re not real.” With that she turned away and resumed her search.
There was a stunned silence behind her for a moment and then the sound of hurried footsteps. Her own personal ghost caught up and started to pace beside her, looking baffled.
“Why aren’t you doing what I tell you?”
Mageria didn’t even look at him, refusing to even acknowledge that he was there. He started to reach out and touch her, and she leaned away, not wanting to let him get his hands on her even as a hallucination. When he made it clear that he would continue to try and touch her if she didn’t answer, she stopped and glared at him. “What?”
“Why aren’t you doing what I tell you to do?”
She sighed. “Because you’re dead. I saw your body back at Newhaven and I know you’re not real. So therefore, you don’t have any control over me.”
The teen rocked back on his heels. “Do you see things that aren’t there often?”
Mageria sighed. “Only recently. Why?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Are you Enlightened at all?”
She shook her head. “No, not the slightest. Go away and leave me alone. You can come back later.” She started to move away and he jumped in front of her.
“From Newhaven huh? Why are you here?”
She glared at him. “If you must know,” she hissed, “I’m here with my people to rescue the Healers and one of the Wolf recruits. Right now I’m looking for the girl so that I can get the rest of us out of here. Which means I’m busy and don’t have time to deal with you anymore.” She hurried away, shoulders slightly hunched. Footsteps from around the corner told her that somebody was coming, she straightened her back and adopted the ‘I belong here’ pose that had got her through years of trouble. The guard that walked past her nodded and started to walk away before pausing and turning toward her, one hand on his sword hilt. He didn’t even get the chance to open his mouth however, before the teen looked at him and drew in a deep breath.
“Walk away. You didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.” The Blackpond guard slowly turned back, walking down the hall as if he was a sleepwalker.
Mageria could only stare for a long moment, feeling a sort of shock start in her chest. But before she could even do anything another set of footsteps sounded behind her, this time revealing Lena. She looked between the two of them before she addressed the boy. “Luckas? Did you find her?”
Mageria couldn’t help the step back that she took. “He’s real?”
Lena looked puzzled and nodded. “Of course.” Then her eyes widened and she leapt forward, grabbing Mageria’s sword arm. Mageria had automatically drawn her sword and started to lunge toward the boy. Lena locked her hands around her arm and spoke quickly and quietly.
“Captain, there’s no need for that.” She looked over at the boy. “What did you do to her?”
The kid looked confused and shrugged. “Nothing. She won’t listen to me and she keeps insisting that I’m not real or a ghost or something.” He looked at Mageria, a disturbing sort of curiosity in his eyes. “Are you sure she’s sane?”
Lena patted Mageria’s arm. “Yes, I’m quite sure.” She spoke directly to the other woman. “There’s really nothing to be worried about. He’s not going to do anything to any of us.” She back that statement up with a forceful glare at the boy. He failed to look innocent.
Mageria had gone a bit white about the lips but her voice was steady and quiet. “Do you know what he did in Newhaven?”
Lena nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t recent. This isn’t the boy that was in your prisons until recently. He really is dead. This is his twin brother, who’s been a the camp until recently.”
Mageria slanted a look at the Healer, still on guard. “Oh? And is he anything like his brother?”
Lena started to say something, but the boy spoke up. “You say you met my brother? Is it too much to hope that you know what happened when he was killed? And what happened to the poor unfortunate that got close enough to kill him? I imagine that they suffered for quite a while.” A sadistic smile spread across his face and he leaned forward in his eagerness.
Mageria drew a deep breath and answered evenly. “Yes, they did suffer. For about three and a half weeks. It got pretty bad at the end.”
A look of glee spread across his face, as if he was a child who had been given a gift. “And then? What happened at the end?”
Mageria stared at him steadily, knowing that she faced the same insane evil that she had already faced once. Strangely, knowing that she had already suffered the worst that her own soul could bring forth strengthened her and she faced Luckas secure in that knowledge.
“And then? Then I got better.” She turned and nodded at Lena, who wore a small look of surprise, but nothing compared to the expression that the boy had. “We need to keep looking.”
"I'm still not sure if this is going to work. My powers don't seem to work as well in this hole for some reason." Ulrick said.
"Just do it." Ella said. "If it doesn't work, then we'll come up with a better idea."
"But why you? You don't seem like the type who will be able to do what can be done when you get up there."
"First, I'm a Wolf and second, I'm lighter than you are."
"Where's your ring?" He asked.
"Shut up, just do it!" She said just before she was flung into the air with the aid of Ulrick's enlightenment.
When she was at the top, the man sitting on his chair at the top got up and drew his sword. He took a few stabs and swings that Ella dodged with a bit of difficulty. The practice of dodging Evin's throwing daggers helped her out a bit. After the fifth swing, Ella jumped out of the way towards the rope bridge that she picked up. The man took one more swing that Ella once dodged again and then lunged into the man, tackling him to the ground. She wrapped the rope around his neck until the man stopped flailing.
This time Ella felt a lot different about the kill. She couldn't believe it now. It was different when it was with a dagger, but this was with a rope and her bare hands. She was so close to throwing up over the body, but she remembered Lena's story and snapped back into reality. She unwrapped the rope and threw it down. In about ten minutes, Ulrick had made it back to the surface.
Now that everything was well lit, Ella got a good look at Ulrick and and the same went for Ella. Ulrick eyeballed him all around, but then stopped when he reached her hand. On her finger was her ring that she got from her mother and the man had seemed to be very interested in it.
He went over to the sword that the dead man was holding and then walked over to Ella.
"Thankful for that, your my ticket out of here!" He grabbed Ella's wrist and pulled her closer to him. He then locked her arm behind her back and placed the sword over her abdomen. "You are the perfect bargaining tool!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn’t that late in the day, but the curtains in his room were closed and little light was getting into the room. Hastings was lying in his bed; eyes wide open. He couldn’t get his mind off of what he had to do. He knew that it was wrong what he was doing in so many ways, but there were things that were so right about it too. The fact that he was about to go and kill a king was defiantly wrong and was considered treason, but then if Hastings was in charge of the city things would run so much smoother. He would assign people to proper jobs unlike the king who assigned people like Lev to policing the city.
Lev was a terrible man in all ways. He was a shady figure if any, a criminal himself in all ways. The criminals had loved him. He made deals with the big time gangs, thieves and even some killers to give them immunity from the law as long as they did something for him. Hastings didn’t look up to himself to much higher standards. He did have an alcohol problem, but at least Hastings wouldn’t allow these types of backdoor deals that seemed all too common.
Hasting continued to lie down, looking around his dark room surrounded by this impervious air of silence. It was intolerable isolation void of any happiness at all. No matter how much he convinced himself that this was a good idea, he understood the possibilities of what could happen if things did go wrong. What he worried about even more was Lamya who really did have feelings for the man. Hastings would be lying if he said that he didn’t have some sort of feelings of at least friendship for the woman. She was a little crazy, but after knowing her for so long, he had gotten used to it. To kill the man that she loved would hurt him in a way too. It would hurt their relationship, but he was sure that it could be repaired. Assassins seemed to have an uncanny ability to get over death of all kinds.
“Where am I going with all this” Hastings said, overwhelmed with his thoughts.
He pushed his hand into the bed, creating wrinkles all over his cover as he stood up out of it. He walked towards his closet to get changed as well as grab a few things that he would need to kill the king. Hastings opened the door. “You bastard,” Lamya’s voice cracked from the darkest point in his walk in closet. The woman walked slowly into the low light. “You really don’t have a soul do you?”
“You’ll get over it.” Hastings brushed her aside to grab the cloths he was going to wear for that day. Ignoring Lamya, who was staring him down and yelling, he changed into the cloths and continued about his preparations. Hastings didn’t give Lamya a second look as he grabbed his poisons and daggers. He wanted to be prepared for anything. He grabbed a flask with some cheap rum and then took a small swig. “You do know that I haven’t listened to a word you’ve said.”
“Well I’m going to tell you right now that if I find out that you kill Rory, I will take the assassins and leave. Maybe we’ll go see if Newhaven wants our help.” She said, anger teeming through her veins.
“Get the hell out of my room!” Hastings yelled.
Lamya sighed in defeat and then dragged her way out of the room. With that Hastings continued to prepare for the assassination that he was about to embark on. Maybe he could pin it on Lamya and her assassins if they left. It could look like they killed him and then ran off so they wouldn’t be able to face the punishment. It was a good plan.
With that thought, he took another swig, this time bigger, and walked out into the hall. The walk from his room to the King’s was a short one, but he wanted to waste a bit of time to make it look like he had other things he was doing. He thought that maybe he would be able to find a reason to go speak to the king so it didn’t seem so suspicious.
The halls were filled with life and joy. In a matter of minutes, he would kill the life of the building itself and things would never be the same. This would be one of those days when someone would remember where they were when they heard about the king’s death. Hastings would be part of a secret history. No one would know what really went down that day, but to all of them, it would still be an important day to say the least.
He headed straight for the kitchen and to the chef. This easily aggravated man was more or less frustrated to see him. “We don’t have any wine for you to steal.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I was asked by the king to grab some for him. Well that’s a shame.” He said.
Before the chef could say anything more to Hastings, a man came yelling his name from down the hall. When he saw that Hastings was in the kitchen, he came in, still yelling Hastings’ name. “Hastings! There’s been a break out! All the healers are gone! Only a few people know! I was told to tell you-”
“Relax, send in some forces down there and then lock down. No one gets in or out without identifying themselves to a superior and any suspicious activities or civilians who happen to be down there should be killed on the spot. That includes any criminals found out of their cells. I’ll inform the king.” Hastings used it as a perfect exit strategy. He took another swig of rum and opened the door and into the halls.
The halls were completely silent now. There were no people in the halls at all. It seemed that the life of the building had already died; as if someone just strangled every person in the halls while he was in the kitchen. In reality, it was getting close to lunch time and people were ready preparing their meals. He really couldn’t stand the silence in the hall, just like the silence when he was in his bed. There was nothing he hated more than the silence because it meant that his thoughts could linger. The more he thought about things the worse the crime seemed to be.
“You have no enlightenment. Do you really expect me to let you stay in the program? You need to be enlightened if you even want to think about being an assassin!”
“It’s not my fault.” Hastings replied to his captain.
“I have orders and rules. You are to be executed on the fourth.” He said.
“I bet I could do your job better than you can!” Hastings yelled.
The captain laughed at Hastings’ arrogance. “I’m the commander of all the troops in Blackpond, handpicked by the new King Rory himself. You think you can do that better than I can? Please!”
“Give him a chance,” the voice of Rory echoed through the empty room in the background. “He has the spirit, I’m sure he could do it.”
The commander looked at Hastings with an evil eye. It was very menacing. It was something he rarely had seen from anyone, but Hastings knew that it meant that even if he did still live, he would be given hell for it. Hastings trusted Rory enough to know that he wouldn’t let the commander execute him for any reason.
-Two years later-
Hastings’ stance was one of confidence. He knew that he was winning his personal war, although the commander had no clue what was happening. Hastings had spent the past two years undermining his relationships with his troops. Hastings didn’t want him to be respected and instead he was calling upon them to follow him and to defy the commander’s orders. Even though he was the youngest person in the army, he had gained more respect than any other person.
“So what are we doing Hastings?” A middle aged soldier asked.
Hastings smiled. “Proving a point. Alright men, follow me!”
Hastings marched more than half of the entire army down through the center of town and strait to the commander’s family home. He was making a statement he wanted to prove for almost two years and now was the time.
“Commander, you’ve lost respect and would much rather follow me into a war than you on any day!” Hastings yelled from outside the commander’s house. “Face it, I can do a better job than you! You are worthless to the efforts against Newhaven! Give it up! You will never win!”
-Five years later-
Hastings had been the new commander for a year and things were running so much better. While under the previous man’s command, Newhaven was ripping holes through any lines that he attempted to make, but with Hastings on top, he was able to work everything into perfectly planned and timed attacks that turned the tables.
It was the one year anniversary of the day that he had become the commander and Hastings was in Rory’s room to celebrate with him.
“Want some Champaign?” Rory offered a bottle and glass to Hastings.
“No, I’m fine. I’m trying to cut the habit.” He said.
Rory just shook his head and then just poured himself a glass. He took a sip and then tried to offer it to him again. “Are you sure?” Hastings just shook his head and pushed the bottle away.
“You know, I’d love to get the fabric that those healer’s use. They’d probably make good curtains.” Rory said, looking at his windows.
“Really? I don’t know about-“ He was cut off when suddenly someone bust into the room with a dagger in hand. Hastings couldn’t tell who the person was with the mask he had on, but he knew instantly what the man’s intent was. Hastings grabbed his sword from the table as the man quickly approached the king with the dagger drawn back to kill. Hastings ran over to the man and dived, without fear of not looking graceful, into the man’s back where his heart would be. The man didn’t even know what hit him.
When the man fell limp on the ground, Hastings knelt above him and removed the mask. It was the former commander.
Hastings would never know exactly why he did it, but Rory was surely thankful for saving him and always expressed it.
Hastings was standing outside the center of the king’s room. The thoughts of how he saved Rory’s life still running through his mind. Over and over he thought about it. He couldn’t kill Rory anymore, but he couldn’t just brush it off either. He was outside his room fully armed to have him killed. It just wouldn’t be right if he didn’t let his friend know what he had been planning for over a month.
Hastings opened the door with his head down. He walked into the room ashamed of the thoughts that he had. He kept walking with his head down as he walked into the center of the room. He heard the door shutting softly behind him as he looked up. When he looked into Rory’s bed, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“What the hell is going on?” He yelled out. Lamya was on top of Rory. Her lips were all over his, but it didn’t seem like Rory was really responding. Hastings was so confused, and Lamya didn’t even seem to care that Hastings was there. What was even more confusing was that Lamya’s eyes were violet like when she was using her enlightenment, but she wasn’t teleporting like she was supposed to when it happened.
Lamya looked up at Hastings when she was done. She got off of Rory who was still lying motionless on the bed and walked, hips swaying towards Hastings. “The King is dead, take him out.” Lamya walked brushed shoulders with Hastings, jerking him around to see that all the assassins were standing at the doorway behind him. As Lamya walked away, the rest of the assassins approached Hastings.
“What’s going on? I order you to tell me.” Hastings yelled.
“We don’t take orders anymore Hastings… But, I guess we can explain to you a little about what’s happening here. You see, you just walked in on me murdering the King. That was the plan all along, provided to me by a rather nice individual. We knew that you were going to come in here all along to kill the King, but we didn’t want to be a part of it. So now we are going to kill you. It will be a classic case of murder suicide.” Lamya snickered.
Hastings drew his sword as the assassins surrounded him. “There aren’t any blade marks on him, how did you kill him? Poison?”
“No, no, no, silly. Despite what you believed all these years, I was never able to teleport. That was only a lie so I wasn’t executed like all the others who didn’t develop their powers. Thankfully, Rick has a power that doesn’t need the use of touch to be used on a living thing. He can teleport people without the aid of touch! Isn’t that marvellous? Anyways, I never realised I had a power until I had killed about ten boys. They all died after I had kissed them. Go figure!” Lamya let out another snicker. “It wasn’t hard to seduce that senile old man into kissing a pretty little twenty year old like me. That’s how it was done.”
“You deceitful bitch!” Hastings yelled in complete disgust. His face showing all forms of contempt! He was going to kill her.
“Ah, but weren’t you just coming in to kill the King yourself?” She asked
“No,” Hastings scoffed. “I was going to come in here and admit to him my intentions. I wasn’t going to kill him!”
“Oh, fun! It just makes things a little juicier!”
“You’re sick!” Hastings yelled running over to her, sword in hand. All the assassins except Lamya jumped into action the moment Hastings did. All of them with daggers, all ready to end Hastings in a moment.
Hastings had to stop at the running when the two assassins who were blocking Lamya’s path swiped their daggers towards him. He was easily able to block the two daggers with one fluent upward motion of his sword. Afterwards kicking one out of the way and then diving through the next attack from the second. Now there was nothing in between Hastings and the insane lady with the deadly lips in front of him. Hastings expected her to draw a weapon, but she didn’t. When they were a sword lengths apart, Hastings began to lower his sword from above his head, but stopped abruptly when Lamya’s face was replaced by Rick’s. He felt a tingling sensation in his stomach. Looking down to see what it was, he saw that Rick had teleported and then stabbed him.
Hastings backed away forcing the dagger that was still in Rick’s hand to come out. That was when he felt the pain and began to stumble back right into the curtains that had been made from the White Shadow’s fabric and knocking them from their place on the wall, draping Hastings with them. The white quickly became stained with the red of blood, never to be removed. The red slowly faded to a black like all the colour of the world had faded and everything was black and white.
“Make it look like a suicide.” He faintly heard Lamya’s voice as the covers of the curtains lifted off of him. Lamya had grabbed it and wrapped it around herself like a robe. The black and white image of her as she walked away reminded her of a shadow. It was like these assassins who were now around him were all conflicted with any other group in Valcrest that would call themselves a “shadow”. They were the shadows of conflicting shadows, the darkest one in the bloodstained robes being Lamya.
She walked away, her black image humming a joyful tune and laughing until she was gone from sight as the door closed. Not long after they were all out of sight and everything had just become black. All he could hear was the voices around him.
“I hear someone coming.” He heard one of them say.
“Does everything look in order?” Another said.
“Yes, everything is set; now get us out of here Rick.” The final voice said.
Silence…
Nothing could be heard for what felt like ages. For all he knew, he was dead. Then he heard a faint murmur. “Hastings.” It was the last thing he heard before he drifted completely out of existence.
"Just do it." Ella said. "If it doesn't work, then we'll come up with a better idea."
"But why you? You don't seem like the type who will be able to do what can be done when you get up there."
"First, I'm a Wolf and second, I'm lighter than you are."
"Where's your ring?" He asked.
"Shut up, just do it!" She said just before she was flung into the air with the aid of Ulrick's enlightenment.
When she was at the top, the man sitting on his chair at the top got up and drew his sword. He took a few stabs and swings that Ella dodged with a bit of difficulty. The practice of dodging Evin's throwing daggers helped her out a bit. After the fifth swing, Ella jumped out of the way towards the rope bridge that she picked up. The man took one more swing that Ella once dodged again and then lunged into the man, tackling him to the ground. She wrapped the rope around his neck until the man stopped flailing.
This time Ella felt a lot different about the kill. She couldn't believe it now. It was different when it was with a dagger, but this was with a rope and her bare hands. She was so close to throwing up over the body, but she remembered Lena's story and snapped back into reality. She unwrapped the rope and threw it down. In about ten minutes, Ulrick had made it back to the surface.
Now that everything was well lit, Ella got a good look at Ulrick and and the same went for Ella. Ulrick eyeballed him all around, but then stopped when he reached her hand. On her finger was her ring that she got from her mother and the man had seemed to be very interested in it.
He went over to the sword that the dead man was holding and then walked over to Ella.
"Thankful for that, your my ticket out of here!" He grabbed Ella's wrist and pulled her closer to him. He then locked her arm behind her back and placed the sword over her abdomen. "You are the perfect bargaining tool!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn’t that late in the day, but the curtains in his room were closed and little light was getting into the room. Hastings was lying in his bed; eyes wide open. He couldn’t get his mind off of what he had to do. He knew that it was wrong what he was doing in so many ways, but there were things that were so right about it too. The fact that he was about to go and kill a king was defiantly wrong and was considered treason, but then if Hastings was in charge of the city things would run so much smoother. He would assign people to proper jobs unlike the king who assigned people like Lev to policing the city.
Lev was a terrible man in all ways. He was a shady figure if any, a criminal himself in all ways. The criminals had loved him. He made deals with the big time gangs, thieves and even some killers to give them immunity from the law as long as they did something for him. Hastings didn’t look up to himself to much higher standards. He did have an alcohol problem, but at least Hastings wouldn’t allow these types of backdoor deals that seemed all too common.
Hasting continued to lie down, looking around his dark room surrounded by this impervious air of silence. It was intolerable isolation void of any happiness at all. No matter how much he convinced himself that this was a good idea, he understood the possibilities of what could happen if things did go wrong. What he worried about even more was Lamya who really did have feelings for the man. Hastings would be lying if he said that he didn’t have some sort of feelings of at least friendship for the woman. She was a little crazy, but after knowing her for so long, he had gotten used to it. To kill the man that she loved would hurt him in a way too. It would hurt their relationship, but he was sure that it could be repaired. Assassins seemed to have an uncanny ability to get over death of all kinds.
“Where am I going with all this” Hastings said, overwhelmed with his thoughts.
He pushed his hand into the bed, creating wrinkles all over his cover as he stood up out of it. He walked towards his closet to get changed as well as grab a few things that he would need to kill the king. Hastings opened the door. “You bastard,” Lamya’s voice cracked from the darkest point in his walk in closet. The woman walked slowly into the low light. “You really don’t have a soul do you?”
“You’ll get over it.” Hastings brushed her aside to grab the cloths he was going to wear for that day. Ignoring Lamya, who was staring him down and yelling, he changed into the cloths and continued about his preparations. Hastings didn’t give Lamya a second look as he grabbed his poisons and daggers. He wanted to be prepared for anything. He grabbed a flask with some cheap rum and then took a small swig. “You do know that I haven’t listened to a word you’ve said.”
“Well I’m going to tell you right now that if I find out that you kill Rory, I will take the assassins and leave. Maybe we’ll go see if Newhaven wants our help.” She said, anger teeming through her veins.
“Get the hell out of my room!” Hastings yelled.
Lamya sighed in defeat and then dragged her way out of the room. With that Hastings continued to prepare for the assassination that he was about to embark on. Maybe he could pin it on Lamya and her assassins if they left. It could look like they killed him and then ran off so they wouldn’t be able to face the punishment. It was a good plan.
With that thought, he took another swig, this time bigger, and walked out into the hall. The walk from his room to the King’s was a short one, but he wanted to waste a bit of time to make it look like he had other things he was doing. He thought that maybe he would be able to find a reason to go speak to the king so it didn’t seem so suspicious.
The halls were filled with life and joy. In a matter of minutes, he would kill the life of the building itself and things would never be the same. This would be one of those days when someone would remember where they were when they heard about the king’s death. Hastings would be part of a secret history. No one would know what really went down that day, but to all of them, it would still be an important day to say the least.
He headed straight for the kitchen and to the chef. This easily aggravated man was more or less frustrated to see him. “We don’t have any wine for you to steal.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I was asked by the king to grab some for him. Well that’s a shame.” He said.
Before the chef could say anything more to Hastings, a man came yelling his name from down the hall. When he saw that Hastings was in the kitchen, he came in, still yelling Hastings’ name. “Hastings! There’s been a break out! All the healers are gone! Only a few people know! I was told to tell you-”
“Relax, send in some forces down there and then lock down. No one gets in or out without identifying themselves to a superior and any suspicious activities or civilians who happen to be down there should be killed on the spot. That includes any criminals found out of their cells. I’ll inform the king.” Hastings used it as a perfect exit strategy. He took another swig of rum and opened the door and into the halls.
The halls were completely silent now. There were no people in the halls at all. It seemed that the life of the building had already died; as if someone just strangled every person in the halls while he was in the kitchen. In reality, it was getting close to lunch time and people were ready preparing their meals. He really couldn’t stand the silence in the hall, just like the silence when he was in his bed. There was nothing he hated more than the silence because it meant that his thoughts could linger. The more he thought about things the worse the crime seemed to be.
“You have no enlightenment. Do you really expect me to let you stay in the program? You need to be enlightened if you even want to think about being an assassin!”
“It’s not my fault.” Hastings replied to his captain.
“I have orders and rules. You are to be executed on the fourth.” He said.
“I bet I could do your job better than you can!” Hastings yelled.
The captain laughed at Hastings’ arrogance. “I’m the commander of all the troops in Blackpond, handpicked by the new King Rory himself. You think you can do that better than I can? Please!”
“Give him a chance,” the voice of Rory echoed through the empty room in the background. “He has the spirit, I’m sure he could do it.”
The commander looked at Hastings with an evil eye. It was very menacing. It was something he rarely had seen from anyone, but Hastings knew that it meant that even if he did still live, he would be given hell for it. Hastings trusted Rory enough to know that he wouldn’t let the commander execute him for any reason.
-Two years later-
Hastings’ stance was one of confidence. He knew that he was winning his personal war, although the commander had no clue what was happening. Hastings had spent the past two years undermining his relationships with his troops. Hastings didn’t want him to be respected and instead he was calling upon them to follow him and to defy the commander’s orders. Even though he was the youngest person in the army, he had gained more respect than any other person.
“So what are we doing Hastings?” A middle aged soldier asked.
Hastings smiled. “Proving a point. Alright men, follow me!”
Hastings marched more than half of the entire army down through the center of town and strait to the commander’s family home. He was making a statement he wanted to prove for almost two years and now was the time.
“Commander, you’ve lost respect and would much rather follow me into a war than you on any day!” Hastings yelled from outside the commander’s house. “Face it, I can do a better job than you! You are worthless to the efforts against Newhaven! Give it up! You will never win!”
-Five years later-
Hastings had been the new commander for a year and things were running so much better. While under the previous man’s command, Newhaven was ripping holes through any lines that he attempted to make, but with Hastings on top, he was able to work everything into perfectly planned and timed attacks that turned the tables.
It was the one year anniversary of the day that he had become the commander and Hastings was in Rory’s room to celebrate with him.
“Want some Champaign?” Rory offered a bottle and glass to Hastings.
“No, I’m fine. I’m trying to cut the habit.” He said.
Rory just shook his head and then just poured himself a glass. He took a sip and then tried to offer it to him again. “Are you sure?” Hastings just shook his head and pushed the bottle away.
“You know, I’d love to get the fabric that those healer’s use. They’d probably make good curtains.” Rory said, looking at his windows.
“Really? I don’t know about-“ He was cut off when suddenly someone bust into the room with a dagger in hand. Hastings couldn’t tell who the person was with the mask he had on, but he knew instantly what the man’s intent was. Hastings grabbed his sword from the table as the man quickly approached the king with the dagger drawn back to kill. Hastings ran over to the man and dived, without fear of not looking graceful, into the man’s back where his heart would be. The man didn’t even know what hit him.
When the man fell limp on the ground, Hastings knelt above him and removed the mask. It was the former commander.
Hastings would never know exactly why he did it, but Rory was surely thankful for saving him and always expressed it.
Hastings was standing outside the center of the king’s room. The thoughts of how he saved Rory’s life still running through his mind. Over and over he thought about it. He couldn’t kill Rory anymore, but he couldn’t just brush it off either. He was outside his room fully armed to have him killed. It just wouldn’t be right if he didn’t let his friend know what he had been planning for over a month.
Hastings opened the door with his head down. He walked into the room ashamed of the thoughts that he had. He kept walking with his head down as he walked into the center of the room. He heard the door shutting softly behind him as he looked up. When he looked into Rory’s bed, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“What the hell is going on?” He yelled out. Lamya was on top of Rory. Her lips were all over his, but it didn’t seem like Rory was really responding. Hastings was so confused, and Lamya didn’t even seem to care that Hastings was there. What was even more confusing was that Lamya’s eyes were violet like when she was using her enlightenment, but she wasn’t teleporting like she was supposed to when it happened.
Lamya looked up at Hastings when she was done. She got off of Rory who was still lying motionless on the bed and walked, hips swaying towards Hastings. “The King is dead, take him out.” Lamya walked brushed shoulders with Hastings, jerking him around to see that all the assassins were standing at the doorway behind him. As Lamya walked away, the rest of the assassins approached Hastings.
“What’s going on? I order you to tell me.” Hastings yelled.
“We don’t take orders anymore Hastings… But, I guess we can explain to you a little about what’s happening here. You see, you just walked in on me murdering the King. That was the plan all along, provided to me by a rather nice individual. We knew that you were going to come in here all along to kill the King, but we didn’t want to be a part of it. So now we are going to kill you. It will be a classic case of murder suicide.” Lamya snickered.
Hastings drew his sword as the assassins surrounded him. “There aren’t any blade marks on him, how did you kill him? Poison?”
“No, no, no, silly. Despite what you believed all these years, I was never able to teleport. That was only a lie so I wasn’t executed like all the others who didn’t develop their powers. Thankfully, Rick has a power that doesn’t need the use of touch to be used on a living thing. He can teleport people without the aid of touch! Isn’t that marvellous? Anyways, I never realised I had a power until I had killed about ten boys. They all died after I had kissed them. Go figure!” Lamya let out another snicker. “It wasn’t hard to seduce that senile old man into kissing a pretty little twenty year old like me. That’s how it was done.”
“You deceitful bitch!” Hastings yelled in complete disgust. His face showing all forms of contempt! He was going to kill her.
“Ah, but weren’t you just coming in to kill the King yourself?” She asked
“No,” Hastings scoffed. “I was going to come in here and admit to him my intentions. I wasn’t going to kill him!”
“Oh, fun! It just makes things a little juicier!”
“You’re sick!” Hastings yelled running over to her, sword in hand. All the assassins except Lamya jumped into action the moment Hastings did. All of them with daggers, all ready to end Hastings in a moment.
Hastings had to stop at the running when the two assassins who were blocking Lamya’s path swiped their daggers towards him. He was easily able to block the two daggers with one fluent upward motion of his sword. Afterwards kicking one out of the way and then diving through the next attack from the second. Now there was nothing in between Hastings and the insane lady with the deadly lips in front of him. Hastings expected her to draw a weapon, but she didn’t. When they were a sword lengths apart, Hastings began to lower his sword from above his head, but stopped abruptly when Lamya’s face was replaced by Rick’s. He felt a tingling sensation in his stomach. Looking down to see what it was, he saw that Rick had teleported and then stabbed him.
Hastings backed away forcing the dagger that was still in Rick’s hand to come out. That was when he felt the pain and began to stumble back right into the curtains that had been made from the White Shadow’s fabric and knocking them from their place on the wall, draping Hastings with them. The white quickly became stained with the red of blood, never to be removed. The red slowly faded to a black like all the colour of the world had faded and everything was black and white.
“Make it look like a suicide.” He faintly heard Lamya’s voice as the covers of the curtains lifted off of him. Lamya had grabbed it and wrapped it around herself like a robe. The black and white image of her as she walked away reminded her of a shadow. It was like these assassins who were now around him were all conflicted with any other group in Valcrest that would call themselves a “shadow”. They were the shadows of conflicting shadows, the darkest one in the bloodstained robes being Lamya.
She walked away, her black image humming a joyful tune and laughing until she was gone from sight as the door closed. Not long after they were all out of sight and everything had just become black. All he could hear was the voices around him.
“I hear someone coming.” He heard one of them say.
“Does everything look in order?” Another said.
“Yes, everything is set; now get us out of here Rick.” The final voice said.
Silence…
Nothing could be heard for what felt like ages. For all he knew, he was dead. Then he heard a faint murmur. “Hastings.” It was the last thing he heard before he drifted completely out of existence.
The men that Mageria had brought to the Blackpond dungeon continued to search, knowing that they only had minutes before the shift change brought more soldiers that they would have to deal with.
Their luck ran out.
The first Blackpond soldier that came across one of Mageria’s men didn’t even have time to cry out before he was sent into a deep sleep. The second was cast into a state of confusion so profound that he couldn’t even stand up or cry out. The third was blinded by brilliant flashes of light before he was taken out with a cosh to the head. They were dragged into shadowy corners to keep them hidden until after the rescue was over.
After that there were too many for her people to take care of quietly. Lieutenant Kriston found a safe corner and leaned against the wall in order to concentrate. His skill would keep the entirety of the Castle from descending on their heads; he could create a zone of silence around the entire lower levels of the Castle, keeping the Newhaven forces safe.
The packs that Mageria had insisted everyone carry contained a variety of useful things. One of them was a collection of fragile glass jars, sealed up with fuses trailing from one end. They could be lit from the torches that lined the hall and flung at the oncoming enemy. Once lit, they revealed themselves to be packed with flour and sawdust, both of which when packed and mixed like that produced intense sound and flashes of light. This was the signal for the second wave to come out of hiding and back up the first wave; just seconds after the first bang the hidden doors opened and a flood of men entered the hall. Mageria had told them not to kill if they could help it, but had acknowledged that it might be necessary.
Mageria and Lena continued to hunt through the bowels of the dungeons, although she had to fight the urge to do something permanent about Luckas as he followed them. No matter what Lena said about him, she didn’t trust him where she couldn’t see him for an instant. She kept trying to watch him out of the corner of her eye, forcing herself to stop when she realized that she was trying to pay more attention to him than the problem that she faced; namely, trying to find one girl in the labyrinth that they wandered in. They had just turned another corner when suddenly a door in front of them burst open, and a man holding a girl tightly against him and holding a sword to her gut stumbled out backwards.
He turned and saw them and grinned, revealing blackened teeth. The sword swung up, pressing lightly against the girls neck. “Now, you don’t have the look of Blackpond, no matter what you’re dressed like, woman. So you just back away or I’ll kill this kid right here, right now.”
Besides her, Luckas started to laugh softly, with a distinctly insane sound.
“Release her.”
Was all he said, but the words seemed to hit the other man like a flail to the head. The sword he was holding dropped to the ground with a metallic clatter and his arms fell away to hang limply by his side. Lena leapt forward to pull Ella to her side while Luckas paced forward and laid one hand on the other man’s face. Mageria couldn’t see what Luckas did other than that, but the other man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he dropped limply to the ground. Turning back to the women, he shrugged and smiled.
“You did say destroy them.”
Mageria swallowed and stepped between the girl and Luckas. It was instinctive, a desire to prevent someone else from going through what she had suffered. Forcing herself to turn around, she smiled at the girl who could only be Ella, given that she was practically a copy of Lady Sarris and wearing her mother’s ring.
“Ella?” She pulled a leather thong from under her shirt, revealing a thick band of white gold, set with an emerald and surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was the other half of the wedding set that Ella wore; this one Sarris had kept around her neck for years and reluctantly sent with Mageria. “Your mother sends her love.”
“No, my Lady. There’s no way in hell that I”m letting you go after your daughter.”
Sarris had turned the full force of a royal glare on Mageria, but the other woman was unmoved.
“Let me put this bluntly, as logic doesn’t seem to be working.” She stepped up close and stared directly into her ruler’s eyes. “You are worthless in a fight. If you try and go, even to stay with the group that’s going to wait outside Blackpond, I will break both your legs and chain you to the bed.” She raised one eyebrow. “Do you understand me? I understand that you want to save your daughter, but if you go, then you will only endanger her and yourself.”
Sarris had turned away and paced, running one hand through her hair before sighing heavily. Finally she turned back and pulled something from under her shirt. “Just . . . . give this to her for me. Tell her that I’m waiting for her.”
She looked up as something exploded nearby. “Looks like it’s time to go.” Grabbing the girl by the arm, she ran to the exit point, passing a few bloody and burned bodies. “Problems?” she asked as she passed Grim and his men, diving into the tunnel followed by everyone else. It was a few very long minutes before she emerged into what would have been sunlight, except that the entire area was shrouded in thick fog. This was the more peaceful of the exit options that she had come up with. Behind her, the strike force split up into ones and twos, each group making their own way out along a predetermined path.
They all met up in a grove outside of Blackpond where a final group of men waited with enough horses to get everybody home. Most of the Healers had already gone on their way with an escort of men. Mageria took a long moment to lean against a tree and catch her breath, thanking the Twins that none of her people were badly hurt and had all made it out safely. She looked over at Lean and Ella and smiled wearily, stretching and pulling her braid over one shoulder.
“Well, Evin’s going to be happy to see you. Your mother too. I’ll escort you where ever it is that you want to go.”
Their luck ran out.
The first Blackpond soldier that came across one of Mageria’s men didn’t even have time to cry out before he was sent into a deep sleep. The second was cast into a state of confusion so profound that he couldn’t even stand up or cry out. The third was blinded by brilliant flashes of light before he was taken out with a cosh to the head. They were dragged into shadowy corners to keep them hidden until after the rescue was over.
After that there were too many for her people to take care of quietly. Lieutenant Kriston found a safe corner and leaned against the wall in order to concentrate. His skill would keep the entirety of the Castle from descending on their heads; he could create a zone of silence around the entire lower levels of the Castle, keeping the Newhaven forces safe.
The packs that Mageria had insisted everyone carry contained a variety of useful things. One of them was a collection of fragile glass jars, sealed up with fuses trailing from one end. They could be lit from the torches that lined the hall and flung at the oncoming enemy. Once lit, they revealed themselves to be packed with flour and sawdust, both of which when packed and mixed like that produced intense sound and flashes of light. This was the signal for the second wave to come out of hiding and back up the first wave; just seconds after the first bang the hidden doors opened and a flood of men entered the hall. Mageria had told them not to kill if they could help it, but had acknowledged that it might be necessary.
Mageria and Lena continued to hunt through the bowels of the dungeons, although she had to fight the urge to do something permanent about Luckas as he followed them. No matter what Lena said about him, she didn’t trust him where she couldn’t see him for an instant. She kept trying to watch him out of the corner of her eye, forcing herself to stop when she realized that she was trying to pay more attention to him than the problem that she faced; namely, trying to find one girl in the labyrinth that they wandered in. They had just turned another corner when suddenly a door in front of them burst open, and a man holding a girl tightly against him and holding a sword to her gut stumbled out backwards.
He turned and saw them and grinned, revealing blackened teeth. The sword swung up, pressing lightly against the girls neck. “Now, you don’t have the look of Blackpond, no matter what you’re dressed like, woman. So you just back away or I’ll kill this kid right here, right now.”
Besides her, Luckas started to laugh softly, with a distinctly insane sound.
“Release her.”
Was all he said, but the words seemed to hit the other man like a flail to the head. The sword he was holding dropped to the ground with a metallic clatter and his arms fell away to hang limply by his side. Lena leapt forward to pull Ella to her side while Luckas paced forward and laid one hand on the other man’s face. Mageria couldn’t see what Luckas did other than that, but the other man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he dropped limply to the ground. Turning back to the women, he shrugged and smiled.
“You did say destroy them.”
Mageria swallowed and stepped between the girl and Luckas. It was instinctive, a desire to prevent someone else from going through what she had suffered. Forcing herself to turn around, she smiled at the girl who could only be Ella, given that she was practically a copy of Lady Sarris and wearing her mother’s ring.
“Ella?” She pulled a leather thong from under her shirt, revealing a thick band of white gold, set with an emerald and surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was the other half of the wedding set that Ella wore; this one Sarris had kept around her neck for years and reluctantly sent with Mageria. “Your mother sends her love.”
“No, my Lady. There’s no way in hell that I”m letting you go after your daughter.”
Sarris had turned the full force of a royal glare on Mageria, but the other woman was unmoved.
“Let me put this bluntly, as logic doesn’t seem to be working.” She stepped up close and stared directly into her ruler’s eyes. “You are worthless in a fight. If you try and go, even to stay with the group that’s going to wait outside Blackpond, I will break both your legs and chain you to the bed.” She raised one eyebrow. “Do you understand me? I understand that you want to save your daughter, but if you go, then you will only endanger her and yourself.”
Sarris had turned away and paced, running one hand through her hair before sighing heavily. Finally she turned back and pulled something from under her shirt. “Just . . . . give this to her for me. Tell her that I’m waiting for her.”
She looked up as something exploded nearby. “Looks like it’s time to go.” Grabbing the girl by the arm, she ran to the exit point, passing a few bloody and burned bodies. “Problems?” she asked as she passed Grim and his men, diving into the tunnel followed by everyone else. It was a few very long minutes before she emerged into what would have been sunlight, except that the entire area was shrouded in thick fog. This was the more peaceful of the exit options that she had come up with. Behind her, the strike force split up into ones and twos, each group making their own way out along a predetermined path.
They all met up in a grove outside of Blackpond where a final group of men waited with enough horses to get everybody home. Most of the Healers had already gone on their way with an escort of men. Mageria took a long moment to lean against a tree and catch her breath, thanking the Twins that none of her people were badly hurt and had all made it out safely. She looked over at Lean and Ella and smiled wearily, stretching and pulling her braid over one shoulder.
“Well, Evin’s going to be happy to see you. Your mother too. I’ll escort you where ever it is that you want to go.”
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
Sean had been busy trying to pull the camp back together. He had personally made sure all the actives and workers wounded by the storm, and Evin, were properly taken care of, he had also tended to his own wounds as best as he could, and had Mitchell oversee the cleaning of the tree branches and one huge tree trunk that had fallen over the encampment. Some cabins had lost doors and windows, and other things needed fixing.
Aside from that, other things were occupying Sean’s mind. Crys leaving the camp alive was one, but he couldn’t have killed her without also killing Allison, and doing that would have cost him the support of some actives, and most of the recruits. Things were hard enough without that happening. Besides, the way she acted, in spite of everything Sean did to anger her, was very honorable. That was bad for him. She didn’t deny anything and she didn’t act as if it was shameful in one bit. She acted like a leader should, maybe for the first time since Dani’s death and, him knocking her down the way he did after that was shocking for most people.
“Sean, are you listening to me?” The instructor named Spencer was standing in front of him.
“Huh? No, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” Sean said scratching the back of his head. “I think it’ll take a while to get things back on track after what happened.”
“Sure man, I understand. I was telling you that I had Evin followed like you asked.
“Oh… And?” Sean asked.
“He was cleaning the crap buckets.” Spencer said with a shrug. “Not much to it.”
“I don’t buy it.” Sean told him. “Have two guards follow him around camp at all times. Tell them to keep their distance and not listen to a word that comes out of his mouth. Got it?”
“Got it. So… What are you going to do about the Black Knights after all?” Spencer asked.
“For now? Nothing. We have to get organized again before we can actually do something. However, I will give their captain a little warning, so that she will think twice before letting her mutts run loose on our land.”
“What would that be exactly?” Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sean smiled. “It’s best that you don’t know, my friend. Would you be so kind as to pass along two orders for me?”
“What?” Spencer asked him, running a hand over his eyes in exhaustion.
“First: Empty Allison’s cabin. Use every piece of wood in the place to feed the campfire. Second: Tell Amalia I’d like to speak with her, and her son.”
Spencer nodded in agreement. “I’ll do that, sir.”
“Good. Once you do that, go get some rest. You look like you need it.” He said, patting the man on the back as he turned to walk out. Sean sighed, sitting in the office by himself. “This is where the hard part begins.” He mumbled, laying his head on the wooden table. It had been a very long storm.
-----------------------------------------------
[Desert]
Jake had woken up with a shooting pain to his abdomen, groaning and mentally cursing that damn healer for sedating him without as much as a warning. Now his head was aching too. In the moment he looked around, though, he forgot about absolutely everything. There on the stone ground of the ruins, in a dark corner of the tent, Allison was sitting. She was holding Dani’s journal pages in her left hand, they were soaked, and blurry, but Jake recognized it immediately.
“Hey” He greeted, trying to sit up, slowly, but failing to do so. He had now noticed the sword that lay on the floor next to him. It was his sword; he had dropped on the fight with Sean. “Why are you here?” He asked. “What happened?”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Ali mumbled, running a hand over her eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted.
“You’re shivering, you should ask Annie for a change a clothes, or maybe one of the Crimson…”
“I’m good, thanks.” She said, absently.
“Ali, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” He insisted.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud scream. The familiar voice caused Jake to sit up so quickly that he ended up screaming himself, before dropping back down, cursing. “Shit! That was… That was Crys!” He exclaimed, trying to sit up again, but being pushed back down by Ali as she nodded in agreement.
“It is Crys. In fact, she had been here the whole time. The Crimson Shadows have been hiding her, and Alistair treated her. He didn’t say, but I think she was pretty close to death several times in the past 5 weeks. When I told him she received a blow to the stomach his face turned completely white and they rushed her into a tent.”
“I don’t get it. How did she receive a blow to the stomach?” Jake asked, finally relaxing and laying back down.
“She escaped the two mercenaries that were supposed to keep her from leaving, walked back to camp and exposed Sean for trying to kill her. He challenged her for command and, well… She lost.”
“Sean did this to her?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. “How did he manage that?”
“He knew where she was stabbed. So, all he had to do was find an opening and hit her there. He tackled her to the ground; she didn’t get up after that.”
“I’m going to kill that bastard.” Jake, muttered out.
“Good luck with that Jake. He’s the leader of the Pack now. It was damn luck that I managed to get out with Crys without getting killed.” Ali muttered. “The clan supports him, mostly. Some actives followed after us.”
“What about Evin?” Jake asked, absently.
Ali simply shrugged in response. “As far as I know he stayed, but I don’t think he’s actually supportive of Sean.”
Jake nodded. “I wouldn’t want to be Sean right now if that’s true.” He said, reaching for his left ear, or what was left of it, as he spoke.
“Did Evin do that to you?” Ali asked, now noticing the injury.
“Yeah, although that wasn’t really as bad as it could have been, since Crys was standing right there.” He shrugged. “Not that it matters now anyway.”
“Hum…” Ali said, frowning momentarily. “I’m sorry I shot you, by the way.”
Jake chuckled. “It’s fine. I wasn’t acting very innocent and you just did what you had to.”
“No, I should have listened to you.” She said shaking her head.
“Should have, could have… It doesn’t matter. Forget about it.” He said heaving a sigh.
“This is just crazy. It’s all crazy.” Ali mumbled rubbing her eyes.
“Look on the bright side: it can’t possibly get crazier than someone coming back from the dead.” Jake told her in an amused tone.
Ali laughed. “Right… Remember when we thought it couldn’t get crazier than killing a King that wasn’t really a King? I’m really not ruling anything out anymore.”
Jake laughed out. “Oh, the good old days…”
A few minutes later when Annie walked into the tent she found the both of them in the middle of a huge laughing fit. She stopped, looking from Ali to Jake with a confused expression. “What… What’s so funny?” She asked them.
“Crys isn’t dead!” Jake exclaimed choking from the laughter. “She lost a gallon of blood and didn’t die! That’s just hysterical!”
Annie gave him a concerned look. “What kind of sedative were you given?”
Jake laughed a little while longer then stopped, heaving a long sigh. “I’m not intoxicated, I’m just glad, that’s all. I mean… Crys is alive!” He looked at Annie with a slightly concerned look. “She is still alive, right?”
Annie chuckled, kneeling down next to him on the floor. “Yes. Alistair says she will fully recover if she takes it slow from now on.” She said, putting her hands over his wound.
“Hey, you don’t even ask permission anymore?” Jake said, pushing her away. “You don’t have to do that.”
She nodded in response, placing her hands back on the wound and starting to heal it. “Oh, yes I do. I’m not getting stuck with babysitting both you and Crys. I have bigger problems right now.” She smiled. “Besides, I need a good excuse to sleep for about twelve hours without being interrupted and annoyed.”
“Stressed?” Jake asked with an amused grin.
“A little… Bit.” She said, yawning.
When Annie removed her hands the wound was gone and, within a minute, she dropped unconscious. Jake now managed to get up without pain and laid her down on the sleeping mat he had been using, putting a blanket over her.
“I don’t get it.” Ali said. “For what I read spiritual healers weren’t supposed to be this exhausted after healing a wound.”
“The last spiritual healer anyone remembers seeing was in his sixties. Annie is a kid, she’s only had the ability for about three years, it’s a rare enlightenment and it takes time to master.”
“Hum…”
Jake stood up. “Come on, let’s let her sleep, and get you some dry clothes.”
Ali nodded and followed Jake out of the tent. She was still holding onto Dani’s journal pages, although unaware of it. “Are you going to go see her?”
“Huh?” Jake asked, while waving a mercenary over and whispering something to him.
Ali raised an eyebrow at the look the mercenary gave her, but pushed it aside the moment he left and repeated the question. “Are you going to talk to her? Crys.”
“I don’t know. Last time we spoke, well… It was unpleasant.” Jake mumbled, hiding his hands in his pockets.
“Sometimes almost dying changes things.” Ali told him.
“Sometimes it doesn’t.” He said kicking up some dirt. “Nothing can change the past.”
Ali sighed. “Yes, well, the past can always be forgotten.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[A few hours later]
Crys had been medicated with something she liked to describe as a “vial of flaming piss”, referring to the taste and effects of the medicine that was just disgusting and just as painful as it was disgusting, It made her feel like her insides were on fire and when that feeling finally stopped, she was just too exhausted to even think. She fell asleep immediately.
“Get up.” Crys chuckled at Jake as he lay on the floor, pretending to be defeated. “I know you can do better than that."
He laughed. “Come on, why should I stand up just so you can knock me back down? We both know that’s going to happen.” He said.
Crys nodded. “Are you sure? My father once told me that, even though quitters never lose, they are never anything more than just that: quitters. Wouldn’t you rather lose?”
Jake sighed. “Damn you. Leave my conscience alone.” He said, standing up and raising his sword as he advanced.
Crys smiled as he attacked her. “It’s not my fault that you have one, now is it?” She said dodging a hit and slashing at him, barely missing his chest.
Jake dodged the incoming blow to his chest with a smile. “You’re taking it easy on me, you shouldn’t.” He said. Grabbing one of her wrists as he dodged her again and pushing her back.
Crys nodded, reversing the grip on one of her daggers. “I thought we were just playing, but if you want to do it this way… Bring it on.” She told him with a grin.
Jake chuckled. “You’re taunting me, little girl?” He asked, pretending to be offended.
“We’ll see who the little girl is when this is over.” She responded, taking initiative and attacking again.
Jake dodged three blows one after the other before her could attempt a hit. After a while of fighting somewhat evenly, Crys managed to kick him in the knee, taking his balance she slashed in the direction of his face.
“Ow, damn it.” Jake cursed, dropping the sword covering his face with his hands?
Crys pulled back frowning when she heard his sword hit the ground. She sheathed her Sai worried that she might have actually hurt him. “Did I catch your eye?” She asked tilting her head to one side and stepping closer to him.
That was a big mistake though. The moment she was close enough, he lunged at her with a hidden dagger, forcing her to back away so quickly that she fell back, being immediately pinned down.
“Son of a bitch!” She exclaimed. “You tricked me!”
Jake chuckled. “Well, honestly, I didn’t think you’d go for that.” He said, releasing her and offering a hand to help her up. “I do need to get this cut taken care of though. You almost blinded me.”
“Don’t be a baby, you’ll be fine.” She laughed.
. . .
A cold night, a group of soldiers was escorting a family through the forest. “Never wander too far from the trail.” The father had told the two children. However, he wasn’t one to follow his own advice apparently, because soon enough Crys heard the sound of footsteps near her hiding place. She had chosen that spot because it was the most secluded area, should one need to… Answer nature’s call.
She smirked slightly when she heard something liquid hit the ground. Was it incredibly low to assassinate a man while his pants were down? Maybe, but she wouldn’t get a better chance than that, so she lowered herself from the tree branch she had been perched on, onto the spot right behind him. She stood there for a good few seconds without being noticed. It was a funny thing to be this careless one moment and in absolute terror the next. It was always that way, no matter how strong the person was, there was always terror near the end. It never lasted more than a few seconds, but it always seemed like it was more. With that in mind, she pulled one of her daggers with her right hand as she reached and covered the man’s mouth with her left, pulling his head back; terror. Less than a second later she was taking the blade to his throat. One clean cut and then, before even hitting the ground, he was gone.
Crys simply walked away and disappeared amongst the trees. Halfway back to camp she heard a woman scream, after discovering her husband’s body, and once more that same familiar feeling… Terror.
. . .
“Breathe Crystal.” Alistair’s voice was sounding in her ears. She could feel his panic even though his actions were calm and calculated as always. “Come on, breathe for me.”
Breathe. That had been the first word she heard as she woke up. She could breathe, but it was extremely painful to do so. She simply lay there motionless until she heard his voice again. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” It took all her strength to do that, but she managed. “Good.” Alistair seemed a little more relieved. “Now listen to me: You can survive this, all you have to do is fight.”
Crys tried to speak, but she could barely make a sound. She tightened her grip on Alistair’s hand as she struggled to stay conscious. The man gently pushed her down. “Whatever it is, you can tell them yourself.” He said.
. . .
“Don’t fight it. It’ll all be over soon.”
Crys woke up immediately when feeling the weight of another person sitting on the edge of the bed. A chuckle followed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Dastan, go away.” She mumbled, pulling the covers over her face.
“Uh-huh.” He laughed. “Are you doing that so you can’t see me?” He asked, pulling down the covers.
“Seriously, piss off.” She told him.
“Could’ve gone better, eh?” He asked.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“No, I get it. You didn’t know what was happening with your people, with your friends… I know the feeling, remember?” He said, laying back on the bed next to her.
“I only made things worse. Sean has control of the clan now, and… There’s nothing I can do about that.” She mumbled.
“There always something you can do. There isn’t always a right thing to do, but there’s always something. Don’t think about it now, though. Give yourself some time to recover, sleep, eat something… Breathe.”
She chuckled. “I’m so tired of people telling me that. Breathing is so overrated.”
“I’d say breathing is underestimated. Most times we barely acknowledge our ability to do it.” Dastan said with a yawn.
“You’re not sleeping next to me.” Crys told him.
“Relax, will you? I’m not going to attack you or anything. Besides, it’s my bed and I miss it.” He replied.
“I don’t care. It’s not my fault yours is the only bed in this place. I don’t like people this close when I’m sleeping.” She smirked. “Besides, you smell.”
“I don’t smell.” He argued.
“Yes, you do. You stink of alcohol and shame.” She chuckled.
“Bullshit. We both know I have no shame.” He replied.
She laughed out, wincing from the pain that caused. “Damn you. Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.”
“It’s worth it though.” He said, sitting up. “And fine, I’ll go sleep in a tent.” Then he paused for a second and added. “Oh, I forgot. Jake said you’d want this back.” He said, placing something on the bed.
“Jake is here?” She asked, reaching out to find her flute. She smiled, picking it up. “I do want this back.” She said.
“Yes, Jake is here. He got stabbed in the gut, but he’s alright. Annie said she was going to heal him.”
“And he knows I’m not dead.” Crys said.
“Yes, I think everyone knows now.” He said. “You’re wondering why he hasn’t come here yet?”
“No. I know exactly why he hasn’t.” She said.
“Do you want me to go get him for you?” Dastan asked, standing up and stretching.
“No.” Crys stated. “Not now.”
“Are you sure?” He insisted.
“I’m sure.” She said, pulling the covers back up with a groan.
“Alright, well… You should go back to sleep.” He said walking out of the room.
-----------------------------------------
Ali had been given some dry clothes and was walking around the ruins getting to know the space. The actives that came around after her and Crys stood out as a small group of suspicious people in dark cloaks. They got many curious looks from the mercenaries and raised all sorts of whispers amongst them. Even the White Shadows seemed interested in knowing why there were so many assassins in the desert all at once. I was unusual, to say the least.
Suddenly, Ali was approached by a girl that simply seemed to come out of nowhere. “Halt. This area is off limits to visitors.”
Ali stopped for a long while simply staring at the girl without giving an answer, her eyes examining the weapon the girl was carrying; a huge double-bladed scythe that was almost as long as she was tall.
Ali stood silent for so long that the frown the other girl held shifted into a confused expression. She leaned a little closer and whispered. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Huh? Oh, sure. Off-limits, I understand. I just thought I heard something… familiar.”
The other girl tilted her head to one side, still confused. “I don’t hear anything.”
Ali pointed at a construction a little further away; the only building that seemed to be in one piece. “It’s coming from there. What is that building?”
“There is the leaders’ home. No one is allowed there unless invited.” She looked Ali up and down then added. “You might actually get to see it soon enough.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ali asked.
“When you meet him you’ll understand.” She grinned. “Anyway, the building was a temple dedicated to Fire, but after Brightvale was destroyed, Dastan’s family sealed it. He lives there now. The only one entitled to a roof and bed. He’ll only share it with whoever he’s interested in at the time.” She shrugged. “The Pack leader seems to be an exception to the rule though, he’s been letting her stay there for a long while, and without him. That’s pretty rare.”
Before Ali could open her mouth to confirm the information that Crys was staying in that building, a man came walking in their direction. He fastened his pace as he approach the girl and made a signal so that Ali wouldn’t say anything. As soon as he got close enough he slapped the girl in head.
Ali simply stood there watching with a half amused expression while a little girl chased a man twice her size with a huge weapon in hand. The strangest part of it all, however, was when the man simply stopped running and conjured a black shield to block the incoming hits of the scythe. Eventually though, he was knocked to the ground on his back, laughing. “Damn it Indrani, you can never take a simple joke.”
“You and I have different definitions of fun.” She replied offering a hand to help him up.
The man jumped to his feet, without taking her help and chuckled. “Well, my fun is much more harmless.”
“And surprisingly less innocent.” She retorted, holding back a grin. “Speaking of which, how much longer are you keeping that blind woman in your bedroom, people are starting to wonder about her.”
“She a friend.” He stated. “She’s an injured friend, so she stays as long as she needs to. If someone has anything to say, let them say it to my face.” He smiled. “Besides… “ He stopped mid-sentence and turned his attention to Ali. “Why, hello there. I don’t believe we met.” He said walking past Indrani to offer her a hand shake. “I’m Dastan, leader of the Crimson Shadows.” He took an exaggerated bow and added. “At you service.”
Ali simply stood there without knowing exactly what to say after all that. Indrani rolled her eyes and walked past Dastan purposely bumping into him. Ali didn’t know if she was amused or frightened by those two. Eventually, she nodded and shook the man’s hand. “Allison Blake.”
“Oh… You’re with the Wolves. I thought you looked rather odd in this scenario. Have you been given a tour of our little wasteland?” He asked with a friendly smile.
“Uh… No, not really. I was told that this area is off limits though.” She said.
Dastan scratched the back of his head, seeming uncomfortable. “Past this point is the training grounds and Indrani’s personal chambers as well as my own. We discourage outsiders to wander off that way. Indrani has a rather aggressive way to go about it also.” He leaned closer and whispered. “Don’t worry though; she’s not as mean as she looks.” He tilted his head to the side looking at Ali with curious eyes. “You want to go there, because…?”
“I thought I heard music, but since you mentioned Crys is there, that explains it. It means she is awake then?” She asked.
“Wide awake when I left her, yes, although she doesn’t look very healthy.” He said, sounding slightly concerned. “The healer said it would take a while for her to get back on her feet. The medicine in itself makes her weak, he said. It’s a little bit toxic apparently, but it accelerates healing or something like that. I don’t meddle with what these healers do. Not up my alley.” He stated giving a shrug. “You don’t look at all like a killer, little girl.” He said with a grin.
“Well… Believe that if you will.” Ali said, shrugging.
Dastan laughed. “Suppose if you’re a Wolf I won’t take my chances. I’ve done that once and it didn’t go well.”
“That’s a very wise decision to made.” She smiled. “Say, do you know where I can get a bow string around here? Mine got soaked in the storm and broke. I don’t have a replacement.”
“An archer. Why am I not surprised? Well, indrani would have one. If you ask her nicely she might let you have it.” He said, giving her a wink and nodding in the direction the girl had wandered off to. “Tell her I gave you permission. Trust me: she’d be far more interested in yelling at me than at you.”
Ali wasn’t in one bit comforted, but she walked off in the direction she had been pointed to nonetheless. It wasn’t hard to find the young woman’s tent. It was larger than any other she had seen so far. A horse was roaming free not far from the entrance, and a large weapon rack was placed right beside it. As she approached the entrance she suddenly heard steps behind her. She turned to find a blade halfway towards her face, forcing her to jump back. Pulling a dagger of her own she blocked the next hit with it, barely since the weapon, not to mention Ali herself, was no match for the girl’s strength and her surprising agility with the unusual weapon she held.
If Ali wasn’t trying so hard no to get her head cut off, she would be amazed by her technique. It was gracefu,l almost as if she was dancing, but every blow was so powerful that Ali felt she was being hit by a person twice her size. Eventually, she found herself pushed back until she tripped over a rock, falling to her back, much like Dastan had. Except, unlike with Dastan, the girl didn’t pull back; she stood over Ali pressing one of the blades against her throat.
“You’re trespassing.” She said with a frown. “And I told Dastan that if he let anyone else through without my approval, said person would lose a body part, so… Which one would you rather lose?”
“An ear.” Ali told her, giving her a smile. “The left one is okay. Go ahead.” She said.
Indrani flinched a little at how calm Ali was. She didn’t expect that reaction. “What was your name again?”
“Allison Blake. You may call me Ali, if you like.” She answered. “So, do we agree on the left ear, or would rather cut another body part? I’d rather not lose a hand or foot; I could go without a finger though, if it’s from the left hand.”
Indrani blinked a couple of times. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
“What? You gave your word, didn’t you? I surely wouldn’t ask you to break a promise on my behalf.” She said calmly. “It looks bad for a leader to do something like that.”
“I’m not the leader, I’m the commander.” Indrani corrected, pulling back and letting the lower blade of the scythe rest on the sand, the blade on the top end resting against her right shoulder.
“What is the difference?” Ali asked.
“Dastan has the final say on everything. Who’s allowed where and when, who we side with, which jobs we take… I handle training, combat and defense tactics, and which mercenary execute which specific task. I’m a manager of sorts. That’s how our hierarchy works since we were founded.” She stated. “You can stand up now. I’m not cutting off your ear.”
Ali sat up, resting her arms on her knees and smiled. “So, would you be so kind as to lend me a bow string?”
“A bow string?” Indrani asked, raising a brow. “I suppose so.”
Ali stood up seeming excited. “Awesome.”
“So you’re an archer? That’s interesting.” Indrani asked, stepping into the tent. “Follow me.”
Ali hesitated for a moment then followed the girl into the tent. Indrani knelt down opening a wooden trunk and starting to do through it. “So, what is your rank?”
“None as of now, but I was an Instructor.” Ali replied, watching her. “You are pretty skilled with that thing. It seems to be a difficult weapon to master.”
“Unusual, maybe, but not difficult. I can show you sometime if you want. Oh, here...” She stood up holding a small box. “I’ve got two or three strings here. You can keep them; I broke my bow about a year ago and never got another one.” She said.
“How did you break a bow?” Ali asked with a chuckle, taking the box from her. “Thank you.”
“I ran out of arrows and beat a guy with it.” She smiled. “It was old though.”
“So, are you from Brightvale? I mean, your family.” Ali asked.
“No. I’m from Effort actually. Dastan is from Brightvale.” She explained. “What about you? Born in the forest?”
“Blackhurst...” She told her. “In that area at least. I’ve been with the Pack since I was ten, though.”
“Hum… So, how long do you and your friends plan on staying?” She asked.
“I’m not sure. Until Crys recovers, I think.” She shrugged. “It’s a complicated situation.”
“So, it’s true what I’ve heard? The Wolfpack has split in half?” The girl asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I wouldn’t say in half. We’re on the losing side of the scale, I’m afraid.” Ali said, a frown taking over her expression.
“I see. Well, that’s problematic indeed.” Indrani said, her mind wandering off. “But, you know, I’m sure Dastan would let you stay as long as you like and… I doubt any Wolves would come here for you. If their new leader has any brains on him.”
Ali frowned. “Yeah, well… I wouldn’t doubt anything coming from that guy. I'm not even sure what he's capable of anymore."
Aside from that, other things were occupying Sean’s mind. Crys leaving the camp alive was one, but he couldn’t have killed her without also killing Allison, and doing that would have cost him the support of some actives, and most of the recruits. Things were hard enough without that happening. Besides, the way she acted, in spite of everything Sean did to anger her, was very honorable. That was bad for him. She didn’t deny anything and she didn’t act as if it was shameful in one bit. She acted like a leader should, maybe for the first time since Dani’s death and, him knocking her down the way he did after that was shocking for most people.
“Sean, are you listening to me?” The instructor named Spencer was standing in front of him.
“Huh? No, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” Sean said scratching the back of his head. “I think it’ll take a while to get things back on track after what happened.”
“Sure man, I understand. I was telling you that I had Evin followed like you asked.
“Oh… And?” Sean asked.
“He was cleaning the crap buckets.” Spencer said with a shrug. “Not much to it.”
“I don’t buy it.” Sean told him. “Have two guards follow him around camp at all times. Tell them to keep their distance and not listen to a word that comes out of his mouth. Got it?”
“Got it. So… What are you going to do about the Black Knights after all?” Spencer asked.
“For now? Nothing. We have to get organized again before we can actually do something. However, I will give their captain a little warning, so that she will think twice before letting her mutts run loose on our land.”
“What would that be exactly?” Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sean smiled. “It’s best that you don’t know, my friend. Would you be so kind as to pass along two orders for me?”
“What?” Spencer asked him, running a hand over his eyes in exhaustion.
“First: Empty Allison’s cabin. Use every piece of wood in the place to feed the campfire. Second: Tell Amalia I’d like to speak with her, and her son.”
Spencer nodded in agreement. “I’ll do that, sir.”
“Good. Once you do that, go get some rest. You look like you need it.” He said, patting the man on the back as he turned to walk out. Sean sighed, sitting in the office by himself. “This is where the hard part begins.” He mumbled, laying his head on the wooden table. It had been a very long storm.
-----------------------------------------------
[Desert]
Jake had woken up with a shooting pain to his abdomen, groaning and mentally cursing that damn healer for sedating him without as much as a warning. Now his head was aching too. In the moment he looked around, though, he forgot about absolutely everything. There on the stone ground of the ruins, in a dark corner of the tent, Allison was sitting. She was holding Dani’s journal pages in her left hand, they were soaked, and blurry, but Jake recognized it immediately.
“Hey” He greeted, trying to sit up, slowly, but failing to do so. He had now noticed the sword that lay on the floor next to him. It was his sword; he had dropped on the fight with Sean. “Why are you here?” He asked. “What happened?”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Ali mumbled, running a hand over her eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted.
“You’re shivering, you should ask Annie for a change a clothes, or maybe one of the Crimson…”
“I’m good, thanks.” She said, absently.
“Ali, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” He insisted.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud scream. The familiar voice caused Jake to sit up so quickly that he ended up screaming himself, before dropping back down, cursing. “Shit! That was… That was Crys!” He exclaimed, trying to sit up again, but being pushed back down by Ali as she nodded in agreement.
“It is Crys. In fact, she had been here the whole time. The Crimson Shadows have been hiding her, and Alistair treated her. He didn’t say, but I think she was pretty close to death several times in the past 5 weeks. When I told him she received a blow to the stomach his face turned completely white and they rushed her into a tent.”
“I don’t get it. How did she receive a blow to the stomach?” Jake asked, finally relaxing and laying back down.
“She escaped the two mercenaries that were supposed to keep her from leaving, walked back to camp and exposed Sean for trying to kill her. He challenged her for command and, well… She lost.”
“Sean did this to her?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. “How did he manage that?”
“He knew where she was stabbed. So, all he had to do was find an opening and hit her there. He tackled her to the ground; she didn’t get up after that.”
“I’m going to kill that bastard.” Jake, muttered out.
“Good luck with that Jake. He’s the leader of the Pack now. It was damn luck that I managed to get out with Crys without getting killed.” Ali muttered. “The clan supports him, mostly. Some actives followed after us.”
“What about Evin?” Jake asked, absently.
Ali simply shrugged in response. “As far as I know he stayed, but I don’t think he’s actually supportive of Sean.”
Jake nodded. “I wouldn’t want to be Sean right now if that’s true.” He said, reaching for his left ear, or what was left of it, as he spoke.
“Did Evin do that to you?” Ali asked, now noticing the injury.
“Yeah, although that wasn’t really as bad as it could have been, since Crys was standing right there.” He shrugged. “Not that it matters now anyway.”
“Hum…” Ali said, frowning momentarily. “I’m sorry I shot you, by the way.”
Jake chuckled. “It’s fine. I wasn’t acting very innocent and you just did what you had to.”
“No, I should have listened to you.” She said shaking her head.
“Should have, could have… It doesn’t matter. Forget about it.” He said heaving a sigh.
“This is just crazy. It’s all crazy.” Ali mumbled rubbing her eyes.
“Look on the bright side: it can’t possibly get crazier than someone coming back from the dead.” Jake told her in an amused tone.
Ali laughed. “Right… Remember when we thought it couldn’t get crazier than killing a King that wasn’t really a King? I’m really not ruling anything out anymore.”
Jake laughed out. “Oh, the good old days…”
A few minutes later when Annie walked into the tent she found the both of them in the middle of a huge laughing fit. She stopped, looking from Ali to Jake with a confused expression. “What… What’s so funny?” She asked them.
“Crys isn’t dead!” Jake exclaimed choking from the laughter. “She lost a gallon of blood and didn’t die! That’s just hysterical!”
Annie gave him a concerned look. “What kind of sedative were you given?”
Jake laughed a little while longer then stopped, heaving a long sigh. “I’m not intoxicated, I’m just glad, that’s all. I mean… Crys is alive!” He looked at Annie with a slightly concerned look. “She is still alive, right?”
Annie chuckled, kneeling down next to him on the floor. “Yes. Alistair says she will fully recover if she takes it slow from now on.” She said, putting her hands over his wound.
“Hey, you don’t even ask permission anymore?” Jake said, pushing her away. “You don’t have to do that.”
She nodded in response, placing her hands back on the wound and starting to heal it. “Oh, yes I do. I’m not getting stuck with babysitting both you and Crys. I have bigger problems right now.” She smiled. “Besides, I need a good excuse to sleep for about twelve hours without being interrupted and annoyed.”
“Stressed?” Jake asked with an amused grin.
“A little… Bit.” She said, yawning.
When Annie removed her hands the wound was gone and, within a minute, she dropped unconscious. Jake now managed to get up without pain and laid her down on the sleeping mat he had been using, putting a blanket over her.
“I don’t get it.” Ali said. “For what I read spiritual healers weren’t supposed to be this exhausted after healing a wound.”
“The last spiritual healer anyone remembers seeing was in his sixties. Annie is a kid, she’s only had the ability for about three years, it’s a rare enlightenment and it takes time to master.”
“Hum…”
Jake stood up. “Come on, let’s let her sleep, and get you some dry clothes.”
Ali nodded and followed Jake out of the tent. She was still holding onto Dani’s journal pages, although unaware of it. “Are you going to go see her?”
“Huh?” Jake asked, while waving a mercenary over and whispering something to him.
Ali raised an eyebrow at the look the mercenary gave her, but pushed it aside the moment he left and repeated the question. “Are you going to talk to her? Crys.”
“I don’t know. Last time we spoke, well… It was unpleasant.” Jake mumbled, hiding his hands in his pockets.
“Sometimes almost dying changes things.” Ali told him.
“Sometimes it doesn’t.” He said kicking up some dirt. “Nothing can change the past.”
Ali sighed. “Yes, well, the past can always be forgotten.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[A few hours later]
Crys had been medicated with something she liked to describe as a “vial of flaming piss”, referring to the taste and effects of the medicine that was just disgusting and just as painful as it was disgusting, It made her feel like her insides were on fire and when that feeling finally stopped, she was just too exhausted to even think. She fell asleep immediately.
“Get up.” Crys chuckled at Jake as he lay on the floor, pretending to be defeated. “I know you can do better than that."
He laughed. “Come on, why should I stand up just so you can knock me back down? We both know that’s going to happen.” He said.
Crys nodded. “Are you sure? My father once told me that, even though quitters never lose, they are never anything more than just that: quitters. Wouldn’t you rather lose?”
Jake sighed. “Damn you. Leave my conscience alone.” He said, standing up and raising his sword as he advanced.
Crys smiled as he attacked her. “It’s not my fault that you have one, now is it?” She said dodging a hit and slashing at him, barely missing his chest.
Jake dodged the incoming blow to his chest with a smile. “You’re taking it easy on me, you shouldn’t.” He said. Grabbing one of her wrists as he dodged her again and pushing her back.
Crys nodded, reversing the grip on one of her daggers. “I thought we were just playing, but if you want to do it this way… Bring it on.” She told him with a grin.
Jake chuckled. “You’re taunting me, little girl?” He asked, pretending to be offended.
“We’ll see who the little girl is when this is over.” She responded, taking initiative and attacking again.
Jake dodged three blows one after the other before her could attempt a hit. After a while of fighting somewhat evenly, Crys managed to kick him in the knee, taking his balance she slashed in the direction of his face.
“Ow, damn it.” Jake cursed, dropping the sword covering his face with his hands?
Crys pulled back frowning when she heard his sword hit the ground. She sheathed her Sai worried that she might have actually hurt him. “Did I catch your eye?” She asked tilting her head to one side and stepping closer to him.
That was a big mistake though. The moment she was close enough, he lunged at her with a hidden dagger, forcing her to back away so quickly that she fell back, being immediately pinned down.
“Son of a bitch!” She exclaimed. “You tricked me!”
Jake chuckled. “Well, honestly, I didn’t think you’d go for that.” He said, releasing her and offering a hand to help her up. “I do need to get this cut taken care of though. You almost blinded me.”
“Don’t be a baby, you’ll be fine.” She laughed.
. . .
A cold night, a group of soldiers was escorting a family through the forest. “Never wander too far from the trail.” The father had told the two children. However, he wasn’t one to follow his own advice apparently, because soon enough Crys heard the sound of footsteps near her hiding place. She had chosen that spot because it was the most secluded area, should one need to… Answer nature’s call.
She smirked slightly when she heard something liquid hit the ground. Was it incredibly low to assassinate a man while his pants were down? Maybe, but she wouldn’t get a better chance than that, so she lowered herself from the tree branch she had been perched on, onto the spot right behind him. She stood there for a good few seconds without being noticed. It was a funny thing to be this careless one moment and in absolute terror the next. It was always that way, no matter how strong the person was, there was always terror near the end. It never lasted more than a few seconds, but it always seemed like it was more. With that in mind, she pulled one of her daggers with her right hand as she reached and covered the man’s mouth with her left, pulling his head back; terror. Less than a second later she was taking the blade to his throat. One clean cut and then, before even hitting the ground, he was gone.
Crys simply walked away and disappeared amongst the trees. Halfway back to camp she heard a woman scream, after discovering her husband’s body, and once more that same familiar feeling… Terror.
. . .
“Breathe Crystal.” Alistair’s voice was sounding in her ears. She could feel his panic even though his actions were calm and calculated as always. “Come on, breathe for me.”
Breathe. That had been the first word she heard as she woke up. She could breathe, but it was extremely painful to do so. She simply lay there motionless until she heard his voice again. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” It took all her strength to do that, but she managed. “Good.” Alistair seemed a little more relieved. “Now listen to me: You can survive this, all you have to do is fight.”
Crys tried to speak, but she could barely make a sound. She tightened her grip on Alistair’s hand as she struggled to stay conscious. The man gently pushed her down. “Whatever it is, you can tell them yourself.” He said.
. . .
“Don’t fight it. It’ll all be over soon.”
Crys woke up immediately when feeling the weight of another person sitting on the edge of the bed. A chuckle followed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Dastan, go away.” She mumbled, pulling the covers over her face.
“Uh-huh.” He laughed. “Are you doing that so you can’t see me?” He asked, pulling down the covers.
“Seriously, piss off.” She told him.
“Could’ve gone better, eh?” He asked.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“No, I get it. You didn’t know what was happening with your people, with your friends… I know the feeling, remember?” He said, laying back on the bed next to her.
“I only made things worse. Sean has control of the clan now, and… There’s nothing I can do about that.” She mumbled.
“There always something you can do. There isn’t always a right thing to do, but there’s always something. Don’t think about it now, though. Give yourself some time to recover, sleep, eat something… Breathe.”
She chuckled. “I’m so tired of people telling me that. Breathing is so overrated.”
“I’d say breathing is underestimated. Most times we barely acknowledge our ability to do it.” Dastan said with a yawn.
“You’re not sleeping next to me.” Crys told him.
“Relax, will you? I’m not going to attack you or anything. Besides, it’s my bed and I miss it.” He replied.
“I don’t care. It’s not my fault yours is the only bed in this place. I don’t like people this close when I’m sleeping.” She smirked. “Besides, you smell.”
“I don’t smell.” He argued.
“Yes, you do. You stink of alcohol and shame.” She chuckled.
“Bullshit. We both know I have no shame.” He replied.
She laughed out, wincing from the pain that caused. “Damn you. Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.”
“It’s worth it though.” He said, sitting up. “And fine, I’ll go sleep in a tent.” Then he paused for a second and added. “Oh, I forgot. Jake said you’d want this back.” He said, placing something on the bed.
“Jake is here?” She asked, reaching out to find her flute. She smiled, picking it up. “I do want this back.” She said.
“Yes, Jake is here. He got stabbed in the gut, but he’s alright. Annie said she was going to heal him.”
“And he knows I’m not dead.” Crys said.
“Yes, I think everyone knows now.” He said. “You’re wondering why he hasn’t come here yet?”
“No. I know exactly why he hasn’t.” She said.
“Do you want me to go get him for you?” Dastan asked, standing up and stretching.
“No.” Crys stated. “Not now.”
“Are you sure?” He insisted.
“I’m sure.” She said, pulling the covers back up with a groan.
“Alright, well… You should go back to sleep.” He said walking out of the room.
-----------------------------------------
Ali had been given some dry clothes and was walking around the ruins getting to know the space. The actives that came around after her and Crys stood out as a small group of suspicious people in dark cloaks. They got many curious looks from the mercenaries and raised all sorts of whispers amongst them. Even the White Shadows seemed interested in knowing why there were so many assassins in the desert all at once. I was unusual, to say the least.
Suddenly, Ali was approached by a girl that simply seemed to come out of nowhere. “Halt. This area is off limits to visitors.”
Ali stopped for a long while simply staring at the girl without giving an answer, her eyes examining the weapon the girl was carrying; a huge double-bladed scythe that was almost as long as she was tall.
Ali stood silent for so long that the frown the other girl held shifted into a confused expression. She leaned a little closer and whispered. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Huh? Oh, sure. Off-limits, I understand. I just thought I heard something… familiar.”
The other girl tilted her head to one side, still confused. “I don’t hear anything.”
Ali pointed at a construction a little further away; the only building that seemed to be in one piece. “It’s coming from there. What is that building?”
“There is the leaders’ home. No one is allowed there unless invited.” She looked Ali up and down then added. “You might actually get to see it soon enough.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ali asked.
“When you meet him you’ll understand.” She grinned. “Anyway, the building was a temple dedicated to Fire, but after Brightvale was destroyed, Dastan’s family sealed it. He lives there now. The only one entitled to a roof and bed. He’ll only share it with whoever he’s interested in at the time.” She shrugged. “The Pack leader seems to be an exception to the rule though, he’s been letting her stay there for a long while, and without him. That’s pretty rare.”
Before Ali could open her mouth to confirm the information that Crys was staying in that building, a man came walking in their direction. He fastened his pace as he approach the girl and made a signal so that Ali wouldn’t say anything. As soon as he got close enough he slapped the girl in head.
Ali simply stood there watching with a half amused expression while a little girl chased a man twice her size with a huge weapon in hand. The strangest part of it all, however, was when the man simply stopped running and conjured a black shield to block the incoming hits of the scythe. Eventually though, he was knocked to the ground on his back, laughing. “Damn it Indrani, you can never take a simple joke.”
“You and I have different definitions of fun.” She replied offering a hand to help him up.
The man jumped to his feet, without taking her help and chuckled. “Well, my fun is much more harmless.”
“And surprisingly less innocent.” She retorted, holding back a grin. “Speaking of which, how much longer are you keeping that blind woman in your bedroom, people are starting to wonder about her.”
“She a friend.” He stated. “She’s an injured friend, so she stays as long as she needs to. If someone has anything to say, let them say it to my face.” He smiled. “Besides… “ He stopped mid-sentence and turned his attention to Ali. “Why, hello there. I don’t believe we met.” He said walking past Indrani to offer her a hand shake. “I’m Dastan, leader of the Crimson Shadows.” He took an exaggerated bow and added. “At you service.”
Ali simply stood there without knowing exactly what to say after all that. Indrani rolled her eyes and walked past Dastan purposely bumping into him. Ali didn’t know if she was amused or frightened by those two. Eventually, she nodded and shook the man’s hand. “Allison Blake.”
“Oh… You’re with the Wolves. I thought you looked rather odd in this scenario. Have you been given a tour of our little wasteland?” He asked with a friendly smile.
“Uh… No, not really. I was told that this area is off limits though.” She said.
Dastan scratched the back of his head, seeming uncomfortable. “Past this point is the training grounds and Indrani’s personal chambers as well as my own. We discourage outsiders to wander off that way. Indrani has a rather aggressive way to go about it also.” He leaned closer and whispered. “Don’t worry though; she’s not as mean as she looks.” He tilted his head to the side looking at Ali with curious eyes. “You want to go there, because…?”
“I thought I heard music, but since you mentioned Crys is there, that explains it. It means she is awake then?” She asked.
“Wide awake when I left her, yes, although she doesn’t look very healthy.” He said, sounding slightly concerned. “The healer said it would take a while for her to get back on her feet. The medicine in itself makes her weak, he said. It’s a little bit toxic apparently, but it accelerates healing or something like that. I don’t meddle with what these healers do. Not up my alley.” He stated giving a shrug. “You don’t look at all like a killer, little girl.” He said with a grin.
“Well… Believe that if you will.” Ali said, shrugging.
Dastan laughed. “Suppose if you’re a Wolf I won’t take my chances. I’ve done that once and it didn’t go well.”
“That’s a very wise decision to made.” She smiled. “Say, do you know where I can get a bow string around here? Mine got soaked in the storm and broke. I don’t have a replacement.”
“An archer. Why am I not surprised? Well, indrani would have one. If you ask her nicely she might let you have it.” He said, giving her a wink and nodding in the direction the girl had wandered off to. “Tell her I gave you permission. Trust me: she’d be far more interested in yelling at me than at you.”
Ali wasn’t in one bit comforted, but she walked off in the direction she had been pointed to nonetheless. It wasn’t hard to find the young woman’s tent. It was larger than any other she had seen so far. A horse was roaming free not far from the entrance, and a large weapon rack was placed right beside it. As she approached the entrance she suddenly heard steps behind her. She turned to find a blade halfway towards her face, forcing her to jump back. Pulling a dagger of her own she blocked the next hit with it, barely since the weapon, not to mention Ali herself, was no match for the girl’s strength and her surprising agility with the unusual weapon she held.
If Ali wasn’t trying so hard no to get her head cut off, she would be amazed by her technique. It was gracefu,l almost as if she was dancing, but every blow was so powerful that Ali felt she was being hit by a person twice her size. Eventually, she found herself pushed back until she tripped over a rock, falling to her back, much like Dastan had. Except, unlike with Dastan, the girl didn’t pull back; she stood over Ali pressing one of the blades against her throat.
“You’re trespassing.” She said with a frown. “And I told Dastan that if he let anyone else through without my approval, said person would lose a body part, so… Which one would you rather lose?”
“An ear.” Ali told her, giving her a smile. “The left one is okay. Go ahead.” She said.
Indrani flinched a little at how calm Ali was. She didn’t expect that reaction. “What was your name again?”
“Allison Blake. You may call me Ali, if you like.” She answered. “So, do we agree on the left ear, or would rather cut another body part? I’d rather not lose a hand or foot; I could go without a finger though, if it’s from the left hand.”
Indrani blinked a couple of times. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
“What? You gave your word, didn’t you? I surely wouldn’t ask you to break a promise on my behalf.” She said calmly. “It looks bad for a leader to do something like that.”
“I’m not the leader, I’m the commander.” Indrani corrected, pulling back and letting the lower blade of the scythe rest on the sand, the blade on the top end resting against her right shoulder.
“What is the difference?” Ali asked.
“Dastan has the final say on everything. Who’s allowed where and when, who we side with, which jobs we take… I handle training, combat and defense tactics, and which mercenary execute which specific task. I’m a manager of sorts. That’s how our hierarchy works since we were founded.” She stated. “You can stand up now. I’m not cutting off your ear.”
Ali sat up, resting her arms on her knees and smiled. “So, would you be so kind as to lend me a bow string?”
“A bow string?” Indrani asked, raising a brow. “I suppose so.”
Ali stood up seeming excited. “Awesome.”
“So you’re an archer? That’s interesting.” Indrani asked, stepping into the tent. “Follow me.”
Ali hesitated for a moment then followed the girl into the tent. Indrani knelt down opening a wooden trunk and starting to do through it. “So, what is your rank?”
“None as of now, but I was an Instructor.” Ali replied, watching her. “You are pretty skilled with that thing. It seems to be a difficult weapon to master.”
“Unusual, maybe, but not difficult. I can show you sometime if you want. Oh, here...” She stood up holding a small box. “I’ve got two or three strings here. You can keep them; I broke my bow about a year ago and never got another one.” She said.
“How did you break a bow?” Ali asked with a chuckle, taking the box from her. “Thank you.”
“I ran out of arrows and beat a guy with it.” She smiled. “It was old though.”
“So, are you from Brightvale? I mean, your family.” Ali asked.
“No. I’m from Effort actually. Dastan is from Brightvale.” She explained. “What about you? Born in the forest?”
“Blackhurst...” She told her. “In that area at least. I’ve been with the Pack since I was ten, though.”
“Hum… So, how long do you and your friends plan on staying?” She asked.
“I’m not sure. Until Crys recovers, I think.” She shrugged. “It’s a complicated situation.”
“So, it’s true what I’ve heard? The Wolfpack has split in half?” The girl asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I wouldn’t say in half. We’re on the losing side of the scale, I’m afraid.” Ali said, a frown taking over her expression.
“I see. Well, that’s problematic indeed.” Indrani said, her mind wandering off. “But, you know, I’m sure Dastan would let you stay as long as you like and… I doubt any Wolves would come here for you. If their new leader has any brains on him.”
Ali frowned. “Yeah, well… I wouldn’t doubt anything coming from that guy. I'm not even sure what he's capable of anymore."
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Blackpond
Never having met the fellow, he was not sure who to thank for the dampening of sound. It was effective and kept the whole of Blackpond at bay long enough for Mageria to escape. It also helped to allow Grim to unleash his tension without fear of discovery. Whoever the Enlightened was, he vowed to buy them a drink when this was through.
The first cluster of grunts were easy enough to dispatch. Many of them found themselves on the inside of empty cells unarmed and helpless. Others were unfortunate enough to be a threat and had to be destroyed. The soldiers were working as diligently as possible, but accidents were prone.
Enemy forces were being slowly awakened and their size was snowballing with each new wave. It wasn’t going to be long before they were overran. The captain hadn’t appeared on the scene yet, so the Blade did what he was best at, holding them at bay.
He moved to the bottom of the stairwell, where the opposing forces seemed to emerge from the most, and readied his blade. Normally the guards on the higher ground would have an advantage. Swinging downward usually meant less effort and longer reach, but they weren’t fighting some brigand. Grim was a Black Knight well versed in overpowering foes, and his Giant’s Knife had enough reach to poke at the enemy before they could hope to come in close. So Blackpond’s forces were at a stalemate trapped on the stairs. Grim never rising up to meet them, and they never coming down to confront him. Each eyeing the other with discontent and spite.
Of course this wasn’t about to work forever, byways that were being used eventually began to flood with Rory’s men. Shouts were scattered across the air and the ringing of metal clashing sounded out in full. Grim did what he could to stay aloft the stairs and only retreated when he was absolutely sure of defeat. Together the Newhaven forces back away, reluctantly giving ground.
Capsules took to the air, and the result confused and disoriented an otherwise organized Blackpond. Charges were brought in from somewhere else and gleeful grins were cast all around. Explosions followed, and oddly so did laughter.
With the debris and dust settling down Grim caught just a glimpse of Mageria a she spoke. A sign that it was time to start the trip home. Carefully directions were given, evacuating those furthest in first, so that the secondary force could keep them from being ran aground.
The first cluster of grunts were easy enough to dispatch. Many of them found themselves on the inside of empty cells unarmed and helpless. Others were unfortunate enough to be a threat and had to be destroyed. The soldiers were working as diligently as possible, but accidents were prone.
Enemy forces were being slowly awakened and their size was snowballing with each new wave. It wasn’t going to be long before they were overran. The captain hadn’t appeared on the scene yet, so the Blade did what he was best at, holding them at bay.
He moved to the bottom of the stairwell, where the opposing forces seemed to emerge from the most, and readied his blade. Normally the guards on the higher ground would have an advantage. Swinging downward usually meant less effort and longer reach, but they weren’t fighting some brigand. Grim was a Black Knight well versed in overpowering foes, and his Giant’s Knife had enough reach to poke at the enemy before they could hope to come in close. So Blackpond’s forces were at a stalemate trapped on the stairs. Grim never rising up to meet them, and they never coming down to confront him. Each eyeing the other with discontent and spite.
Of course this wasn’t about to work forever, byways that were being used eventually began to flood with Rory’s men. Shouts were scattered across the air and the ringing of metal clashing sounded out in full. Grim did what he could to stay aloft the stairs and only retreated when he was absolutely sure of defeat. Together the Newhaven forces back away, reluctantly giving ground.
Capsules took to the air, and the result confused and disoriented an otherwise organized Blackpond. Charges were brought in from somewhere else and gleeful grins were cast all around. Explosions followed, and oddly so did laughter.
With the debris and dust settling down Grim caught just a glimpse of Mageria a she spoke. A sign that it was time to start the trip home. Carefully directions were given, evacuating those furthest in first, so that the secondary force could keep them from being ran aground.
Avius wanted to split up and move further down the dark dungeon path, however the echoes of Evins orders and Magerias plan in his head stopped him from moving.
The assassin remained still as he stood next to the giant man dressed in a black armor who was obviously another Black knight under Magerias command. Will the rest of the assassins and Mageria traveled onwards to find the recruit and the healers, Avius remained silent beside his other brothers who seemed a bit out of place next to the other guards and the giant black knight. While they waited for the other party of people to come back, if they did come back at all, the group of people around Avius seemed to have much tension between them, and not of the good sort. The guards glared at the assassins and the wolves threw disgusting looks back at them.
This didn't go on for too long as the group of people eventually returned with the healers and what seemed to be the recruit. At the very moment Avius got a look at her and that's when he knew why Evin had ordered so many assassins to tag along; It was his own recruit and now he was sending ten of the best assassins in the clan to not only save her but also clean up his mess after him. If anything, he should be the one freeing her and he should be doing it himself. Avius would most certainly have a talk with Evin once they returned to tell him how stupid this whole operation had been thus far.
Mageria and her group passed by them and they followed them out from Blackpond with little resistance. There were a few guards who noticed them, but they were quickly silenced by the wolves who stalked the shadows and Avius who were swift and precise with his quarterstaff. Once they were all out a couple of horses awaited them for the journey ahead. Avius realized that the healers should be brought to the desert, but first he wanted to get Evins recruit back to the camp and get a new assignment from their wretched leader.
“Well, Evin’s going to be happy to see you. Your mother too. I’ll escort you where ever it is that you want to go.” Mageria suddenly told the recruit and that's when Avius jumped to action to avoid further unnecessary travel.
"A recruit of the clan has no authority here or anywhere else in Valcrest until they've proven themselves, so we will taker her back to the camp and her punishment for leaving the camp will hopefully await her there." Avius explained coldly as he nodded at the other assassins around him. Two assassins walked up and grabbed Ella by her arms and moved her over to a horse. During this little event, Avius stood ready to use his abilities to stop Mageria or any of her soldiers from interfering. These were after all traditions within the clan and so they had to respect it either way as long as Ella was still a part of the clan.
"You can do what you want, Black Knight. You can either follow us back to the camp or go on with your own business. Either case, we have to move." Avius ended and ignored anything Mageria might say to counter it or her own answer to where she was heading next. Avius moved over to a horse of his own and looked around as the other assassins found their own horses as well. The recruit was secured for now and that was all that Evin had ordered. He never told them to let her decide where she wanted to go or that Mageria would be the judge of that. And with that, they moved out and began their little trip back to the camp.
The assassin remained still as he stood next to the giant man dressed in a black armor who was obviously another Black knight under Magerias command. Will the rest of the assassins and Mageria traveled onwards to find the recruit and the healers, Avius remained silent beside his other brothers who seemed a bit out of place next to the other guards and the giant black knight. While they waited for the other party of people to come back, if they did come back at all, the group of people around Avius seemed to have much tension between them, and not of the good sort. The guards glared at the assassins and the wolves threw disgusting looks back at them.
This didn't go on for too long as the group of people eventually returned with the healers and what seemed to be the recruit. At the very moment Avius got a look at her and that's when he knew why Evin had ordered so many assassins to tag along; It was his own recruit and now he was sending ten of the best assassins in the clan to not only save her but also clean up his mess after him. If anything, he should be the one freeing her and he should be doing it himself. Avius would most certainly have a talk with Evin once they returned to tell him how stupid this whole operation had been thus far.
Mageria and her group passed by them and they followed them out from Blackpond with little resistance. There were a few guards who noticed them, but they were quickly silenced by the wolves who stalked the shadows and Avius who were swift and precise with his quarterstaff. Once they were all out a couple of horses awaited them for the journey ahead. Avius realized that the healers should be brought to the desert, but first he wanted to get Evins recruit back to the camp and get a new assignment from their wretched leader.
“Well, Evin’s going to be happy to see you. Your mother too. I’ll escort you where ever it is that you want to go.” Mageria suddenly told the recruit and that's when Avius jumped to action to avoid further unnecessary travel.
"A recruit of the clan has no authority here or anywhere else in Valcrest until they've proven themselves, so we will taker her back to the camp and her punishment for leaving the camp will hopefully await her there." Avius explained coldly as he nodded at the other assassins around him. Two assassins walked up and grabbed Ella by her arms and moved her over to a horse. During this little event, Avius stood ready to use his abilities to stop Mageria or any of her soldiers from interfering. These were after all traditions within the clan and so they had to respect it either way as long as Ella was still a part of the clan.
"You can do what you want, Black Knight. You can either follow us back to the camp or go on with your own business. Either case, we have to move." Avius ended and ignored anything Mageria might say to counter it or her own answer to where she was heading next. Avius moved over to a horse of his own and looked around as the other assassins found their own horses as well. The recruit was secured for now and that was all that Evin had ordered. He never told them to let her decide where she wanted to go or that Mageria would be the judge of that. And with that, they moved out and began their little trip back to the camp.
Mageria flashed a hand sign at the rest of her people to have them stand down after the assassin pulled the girl away. She and Grim were the only one’s that knew her identity, so their reaction was simply to his words to her. Their emotions always ran high after something like what they just did, and she desperately didn’t want a fight to start. There were too many people with Enlightenments in too small of an area, there was no possible way to predict what the outcome would be. And until Evin gave orders to his people to stand down, they would protect their recruit to the death. She would have to trust Evin to hold us his promise that he would let the girl decide.
She stepped over to Grim and spoke softly. “I need to have a talk with Evin; and I think it would go best if I’m not trailing the rest of the strike force. I’d appreciate it if you made sure that everybody else made it back home safely, but it’s really up to you.” She quirked a smile. “I’d also appreciate some company that doesn’t spend the entire trip back thinking up ways to kill me and hide the body.” She looked over her shoulder and saw that there was no one else near. “Until the circumstances change, it’s best not to make a fuss about certain things.”
She turned and mounted her own horse, following the Pack in a rear guard.
She stepped over to Grim and spoke softly. “I need to have a talk with Evin; and I think it would go best if I’m not trailing the rest of the strike force. I’d appreciate it if you made sure that everybody else made it back home safely, but it’s really up to you.” She quirked a smile. “I’d also appreciate some company that doesn’t spend the entire trip back thinking up ways to kill me and hide the body.” She looked over her shoulder and saw that there was no one else near. “Until the circumstances change, it’s best not to make a fuss about certain things.”
She turned and mounted her own horse, following the Pack in a rear guard.
“Out of one enemy stronghold and into the heart of another? Is it Sunday already?”
Grim smiled, but his mind was certainly troubled. The fools had no idea what they were carrying with such disinterest. The Wolves held a piece of their future, regardless the recruit’s choice. She was still royalty, and he believed truly that she would be treated as such. Who knows, perhaps this could help ease the strife between Newhaven and the Wolfpack once and for all. Personally he liked the prospect of such a thought.
“Let me see if I can understand this, you’re going to waltz along with ten mighty fine enlightened Wolf assassins. So you can talk with the man whom attempted to kill you, about releasing the girl they abducted after we just poured all our remaining resources into retrieving her. Oh and we got her from an enemy that just recently blitzed our home and ransacked our city.”
There was a bit of silence, as Grim leveled with Mageria. He didn’t seem upset but was rather contemplating in private as to his next course of action. She had requested some to make sure everyone got home, but perhaps if Lena didn’t wish to come with them she’d take the forces back to where they belonged. Then again, did they really need a babysitter? After a moment he turned back to his Captain smirking all the while.
“By the moon I don’t know why anyone would want to quit this job. Well lets go see if we can get ourselves killed shall we?”
Grim departed momentarily and oversaw, albeit briefly, the return trip to Newhaven. Packing up the enlightened and getting the newly freed White Shadow renegades to decide their next destination. When he returned he was hoisting a bundle over one shoulder, and promptly sauntered up beside Mageria.
“Brought you something black to wear, and some spare weapons. Figure they know who we are anyway. Might as well dress the part…”
Grim smiled, but his mind was certainly troubled. The fools had no idea what they were carrying with such disinterest. The Wolves held a piece of their future, regardless the recruit’s choice. She was still royalty, and he believed truly that she would be treated as such. Who knows, perhaps this could help ease the strife between Newhaven and the Wolfpack once and for all. Personally he liked the prospect of such a thought.
“Let me see if I can understand this, you’re going to waltz along with ten mighty fine enlightened Wolf assassins. So you can talk with the man whom attempted to kill you, about releasing the girl they abducted after we just poured all our remaining resources into retrieving her. Oh and we got her from an enemy that just recently blitzed our home and ransacked our city.”
There was a bit of silence, as Grim leveled with Mageria. He didn’t seem upset but was rather contemplating in private as to his next course of action. She had requested some to make sure everyone got home, but perhaps if Lena didn’t wish to come with them she’d take the forces back to where they belonged. Then again, did they really need a babysitter? After a moment he turned back to his Captain smirking all the while.
“By the moon I don’t know why anyone would want to quit this job. Well lets go see if we can get ourselves killed shall we?”
Grim departed momentarily and oversaw, albeit briefly, the return trip to Newhaven. Packing up the enlightened and getting the newly freed White Shadow renegades to decide their next destination. When he returned he was hoisting a bundle over one shoulder, and promptly sauntered up beside Mageria.
“Brought you something black to wear, and some spare weapons. Figure they know who we are anyway. Might as well dress the part…”
The setting changes from Blackpond to Assassin's Camp
Mageira grinned broadly and changed, feeling more comfortable in her customary black. “Yes, that about sums it up. And yes, Evin tried to kill me once or twice. But he didn’t try too hard, he only managed to stab me once or twice. It hardly even counts. Besides, two Black Knights ridding into the middle of the Pack camp, knowing that everyone wants to kill us and smiling the whole while? Where else are we going to get stories to terrify the recruits with?”
She strapped on her sheaths, finding that Grim had managed to bring all of her spare weapons. She raised an eyebrow. “Did you go in my room to get all of this? Never mind, I don't really want to know." She looked around for Lena, but didn't see her anywhere. She had probably already set out in her own direction and hopefully would have left with the others who were being escorted.
Shaking her head at the madness of the situation, Mageria mounted and set out, black cloak snapping behind her and her helm once more covering her face. An hour’s hard ride through the thick forest saw them to the edge of the camp, where she pulled up finally and looked over at Grim, still riding at her side. “Well brother. Let’s show them how the Black Knights face death, eh?”
She strapped on her sheaths, finding that Grim had managed to bring all of her spare weapons. She raised an eyebrow. “Did you go in my room to get all of this? Never mind, I don't really want to know." She looked around for Lena, but didn't see her anywhere. She had probably already set out in her own direction and hopefully would have left with the others who were being escorted.
Shaking her head at the madness of the situation, Mageria mounted and set out, black cloak snapping behind her and her helm once more covering her face. An hour’s hard ride through the thick forest saw them to the edge of the camp, where she pulled up finally and looked over at Grim, still riding at her side. “Well brother. Let’s show them how the Black Knights face death, eh?”
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
[Assassin's Camp]
“Sean, can you hear me?” A woman’s voice sounded in his ears as he shivered uncontrollably on the ground. The ten year old boy forced himself to open up his eyes and look up at the woman who was gently shaking him out of his shock. “I’m taking you home.” Sean simply stared at the red haired woman’s blue eyes as she offered him her hand. He couldn’t move.
Finally, she knelt down and pulled him closer to her, out of the bushes where he had been hiding. “It’s alright, boy. You’re safe now” She told him in a whisper. “Come with me.”
. . .
“He is physically unharmed.” Lena’s voice sounded from outside the door. “Some food and sleep should get him back to perfect health.”
“Are you sure?” Dani asked, clearly concerned.
“I’m always sure. Where is Eldric?” Lena asked.
“He was out searching, so is Lionel. I had someone go after them.” Dani answered.
“Bastian as well?”
Dani chuckled. “Yes. Do you need to leave before he gets here?”
Lena laughed loudly. “No. Actually I wanted to speak with him, but I have to go back. Can you tell him to stop by whenever he has the time?”
“Sure. Mind if I ask what this is a about?” Dani asked curiously.
“No, I don’t mind. I just need to show him something on a book I have.”
“Hey. You really shouldn't listen in on people’s conversations, you know?” An amused voice spoke behind Sean causing him to turn around immediately and face the thirteen year old blind girl, with a frown. However, since he didn’t say anything, Crys chuckled and went on talking. “Suppose you heard Lena say you’re not going to die and so she needs to go. Unless someone’s dying she won’t stay long. Come on, sit.” She said nodding towards a chair.
Sean walked towards the chair and sat on it, watching Crys sit across from him. She let her hands rest on the table and rested her chin on top of them. “Mom says you aren’t talking. She wanted to see if you’ll talk to me. I understand though; you don’t want to talk about it, you want to forget. Right?” She smiled. “It’s alright, we all have some things we wish we could erase, or think we could have done differently.” She smiled kindly and added. “There is nothing you could have done, Sean. You couldn’t have saved her, you know that.”
Sean shook his head in response. “She wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for me. She would have fought him if it wasn’t for me.”
“This is isn’t you fault. Your mother was assassinated, and the only person to blame is the man who killed her. And I promise: we’ll make him pay no matter what it takes.”
“Sean.” Mitchell’s voice called, distant at first, but gradually more clear in his mind. Sean opened his eyes and took a moment before raising his head to face his Second; he had tears coming out of his eyes, but Mitchell was smart enough to pretend he didn’t see them. “Are you alright? You seem really tired.” The man said.
“I’m tired, Mitch.” He said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s alright though, what is it you wanted?”
“The scouts informed me that the assassins are returning with Evin’s recruit. Two Black Knights are following after them.”
Sean sat up straight when he heard that, momentarily glancing at the seat across from him, had it really been nine years? “Damn liar.” He muttered under his breath, before standing up. “I’ll handle the Black Knights. I know just the thing to get my point across.”
Mitchell nodded in agreement as Sean walked past him and gave him a pat on the back. “Get some rest, man. You might not get another chance.”
Not long after that conversation took place, the group of actives arrived home bringing back the recruit. As they reach the gates of the encampment, the men and women stopped at the sight of Sean.
The young man was holding a three year old girl with one arm, and had the other wrapped around a woman’s shoulders; a worker. The knife he held in his hand was dangerously close to her neck. As the actives stopped to look Sean smiled casually as if that was the most natural situation there was. “Please move along.” He told them, giving them a playful wink. “Go get some rest.” As the assassins passed him, Ella amongst them, Sean only spoke as one particular man passed him by, in a casual tone that could easily go unnoticed. “Dante, I want to talk to you later, when you have a minute.”
The assassins passed Sean without knowing he was now their leader and without understanding what exactly he was doing there. When the two Black Knights came close enough to hear him without him having to shout, he smiled pleasantly at Mageria, ignoring Grim completely. “Greetings, captain. I see that the Blackpond army hasn’t been able to stop you yet… How fortunate.” He said, pulling the woman with him to block the path. From behind the woman, a boy, who appeared to be six or seven years old, peeked at the two Knights with interest. Both the children and the woman seemed perfectly comfortable in having Sean handling them that way; they seemed to trust him completely.
Sean however ignored the people at his mercy and continued to address the Black Knight captain. “Are you planning to wander into our camp again? Have you forgotten our friendly chat already?” He asked smiling. “Or are you people arrogant to the point of thinking you can get away with this forever?”
“This woman here, captain, wanted to thank you.” He said gesturing towards the woman with the knife, pointing it at her dangerously close to her eye. “See, back when this sweet little girl I now hold in my arm was still in the womb, her mother found herself in quite a difficult situation, from which she was rescued by a very kind stranger. After said rescue she found herself alone with a young child and a baby on the way, and nowhere to go. She ended up here.” Sean swirled the knife around carelessly and sighed. “She became a part of this clan as well as many others who had no place to go and can’t protect themselves or their families alone.” At which point he nodded. “She also told our leader exactly what happened that day. I find it particularly interesting how exactly she was rescued. It’s an interesting story, wonder how many people in Newhaven know it…” He said absently, making a pause as if he was actually giving it thought. After a while of silence he continued. “Anyway, good old memories from the past aside… Might I ask what business do you people assume you have in this camp? If it was simply for the sake of seeing that our people got home safely, they are now home, and I appreciate it, but there is no reason for the two of you to be walking past our gates.”
“Sean, can you hear me?” A woman’s voice sounded in his ears as he shivered uncontrollably on the ground. The ten year old boy forced himself to open up his eyes and look up at the woman who was gently shaking him out of his shock. “I’m taking you home.” Sean simply stared at the red haired woman’s blue eyes as she offered him her hand. He couldn’t move.
Finally, she knelt down and pulled him closer to her, out of the bushes where he had been hiding. “It’s alright, boy. You’re safe now” She told him in a whisper. “Come with me.”
. . .
“He is physically unharmed.” Lena’s voice sounded from outside the door. “Some food and sleep should get him back to perfect health.”
“Are you sure?” Dani asked, clearly concerned.
“I’m always sure. Where is Eldric?” Lena asked.
“He was out searching, so is Lionel. I had someone go after them.” Dani answered.
“Bastian as well?”
Dani chuckled. “Yes. Do you need to leave before he gets here?”
Lena laughed loudly. “No. Actually I wanted to speak with him, but I have to go back. Can you tell him to stop by whenever he has the time?”
“Sure. Mind if I ask what this is a about?” Dani asked curiously.
“No, I don’t mind. I just need to show him something on a book I have.”
“Hey. You really shouldn't listen in on people’s conversations, you know?” An amused voice spoke behind Sean causing him to turn around immediately and face the thirteen year old blind girl, with a frown. However, since he didn’t say anything, Crys chuckled and went on talking. “Suppose you heard Lena say you’re not going to die and so she needs to go. Unless someone’s dying she won’t stay long. Come on, sit.” She said nodding towards a chair.
Sean walked towards the chair and sat on it, watching Crys sit across from him. She let her hands rest on the table and rested her chin on top of them. “Mom says you aren’t talking. She wanted to see if you’ll talk to me. I understand though; you don’t want to talk about it, you want to forget. Right?” She smiled. “It’s alright, we all have some things we wish we could erase, or think we could have done differently.” She smiled kindly and added. “There is nothing you could have done, Sean. You couldn’t have saved her, you know that.”
Sean shook his head in response. “She wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for me. She would have fought him if it wasn’t for me.”
“This is isn’t you fault. Your mother was assassinated, and the only person to blame is the man who killed her. And I promise: we’ll make him pay no matter what it takes.”
“Sean.” Mitchell’s voice called, distant at first, but gradually more clear in his mind. Sean opened his eyes and took a moment before raising his head to face his Second; he had tears coming out of his eyes, but Mitchell was smart enough to pretend he didn’t see them. “Are you alright? You seem really tired.” The man said.
“I’m tired, Mitch.” He said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s alright though, what is it you wanted?”
“The scouts informed me that the assassins are returning with Evin’s recruit. Two Black Knights are following after them.”
Sean sat up straight when he heard that, momentarily glancing at the seat across from him, had it really been nine years? “Damn liar.” He muttered under his breath, before standing up. “I’ll handle the Black Knights. I know just the thing to get my point across.”
Mitchell nodded in agreement as Sean walked past him and gave him a pat on the back. “Get some rest, man. You might not get another chance.”
Not long after that conversation took place, the group of actives arrived home bringing back the recruit. As they reach the gates of the encampment, the men and women stopped at the sight of Sean.
The young man was holding a three year old girl with one arm, and had the other wrapped around a woman’s shoulders; a worker. The knife he held in his hand was dangerously close to her neck. As the actives stopped to look Sean smiled casually as if that was the most natural situation there was. “Please move along.” He told them, giving them a playful wink. “Go get some rest.” As the assassins passed him, Ella amongst them, Sean only spoke as one particular man passed him by, in a casual tone that could easily go unnoticed. “Dante, I want to talk to you later, when you have a minute.”
The assassins passed Sean without knowing he was now their leader and without understanding what exactly he was doing there. When the two Black Knights came close enough to hear him without him having to shout, he smiled pleasantly at Mageria, ignoring Grim completely. “Greetings, captain. I see that the Blackpond army hasn’t been able to stop you yet… How fortunate.” He said, pulling the woman with him to block the path. From behind the woman, a boy, who appeared to be six or seven years old, peeked at the two Knights with interest. Both the children and the woman seemed perfectly comfortable in having Sean handling them that way; they seemed to trust him completely.
Sean however ignored the people at his mercy and continued to address the Black Knight captain. “Are you planning to wander into our camp again? Have you forgotten our friendly chat already?” He asked smiling. “Or are you people arrogant to the point of thinking you can get away with this forever?”
“This woman here, captain, wanted to thank you.” He said gesturing towards the woman with the knife, pointing it at her dangerously close to her eye. “See, back when this sweet little girl I now hold in my arm was still in the womb, her mother found herself in quite a difficult situation, from which she was rescued by a very kind stranger. After said rescue she found herself alone with a young child and a baby on the way, and nowhere to go. She ended up here.” Sean swirled the knife around carelessly and sighed. “She became a part of this clan as well as many others who had no place to go and can’t protect themselves or their families alone.” At which point he nodded. “She also told our leader exactly what happened that day. I find it particularly interesting how exactly she was rescued. It’s an interesting story, wonder how many people in Newhaven know it…” He said absently, making a pause as if he was actually giving it thought. After a while of silence he continued. “Anyway, good old memories from the past aside… Might I ask what business do you people assume you have in this camp? If it was simply for the sake of seeing that our people got home safely, they are now home, and I appreciate it, but there is no reason for the two of you to be walking past our gates.”
The setting changes from Valcrest to Assassin's Camp
“Son of a bitch.” Mageria muttered under her breath. It truly seemed as if no good deed would go unpunished. She recognized the woman of course, how could she not?
A woman’s frightened eyes, begging for help. Her Captain’s blood drying sticky on her hands . . . “Don’t ask questions. Just go.”
Mageria drew her eyes away from the sight of that blade so close to a helpless woman’s neck and drew off her helm, running the back of one hand across her forehead. She looked briefly in the woman’s eyes and then down to the boy, tilting her head at them both. “Hello again.” She looked up at Sean. “How many people in Newhaven know the story? As many as need to, really. We’re Black Knights, how many of us do you think simply retire? Our reputation is not entirely undeserved.”
She looked past him, scanning what she could see of the camp. “As for why we’re here, I needed to thank Evin for his kind loan of his Pack members. Do you know where he is?” Surely; surely, Evin wasn’t part of this. No matter how mad he was at her, he would never allow someone else to be put into danger to punish her. He would stab her himself, but never put a child in danger. She hoped with all her soul that he didn’t know about this, because if he did . . . then she didn’t know him at all. And the man now in charge of the Pack was someone she could never trust again.
A woman’s frightened eyes, begging for help. Her Captain’s blood drying sticky on her hands . . . “Don’t ask questions. Just go.”
Mageria drew her eyes away from the sight of that blade so close to a helpless woman’s neck and drew off her helm, running the back of one hand across her forehead. She looked briefly in the woman’s eyes and then down to the boy, tilting her head at them both. “Hello again.” She looked up at Sean. “How many people in Newhaven know the story? As many as need to, really. We’re Black Knights, how many of us do you think simply retire? Our reputation is not entirely undeserved.”
She looked past him, scanning what she could see of the camp. “As for why we’re here, I needed to thank Evin for his kind loan of his Pack members. Do you know where he is?” Surely; surely, Evin wasn’t part of this. No matter how mad he was at her, he would never allow someone else to be put into danger to punish her. He would stab her himself, but never put a child in danger. She hoped with all her soul that he didn’t know about this, because if he did . . . then she didn’t know him at all. And the man now in charge of the Pack was someone she could never trust again.
"If you must speak with Evin I'm sure there are other ways to do it, so I don't believe that's the real reason. Don't insult my intelligence." Sean said raising an eyebrow, he didn't believe for a second that they were there just for a thank you. "And I must correct you: They are my Pack members now and surely you remember how I said this would go if I was leader." He said with a smile. "I'm also sure you recall what I said about being too sure of yourself: You shouldn't be, it's not smart." Sean said, his smile turning into a slightly wicked grin. "Tell me captain, I'm curious... What is the extent of your relationship with Evin? I mean, I'm sure you know assassins don't go around giving their names to strangers, even less Black Knights, and you haven't asked for the clan leader when you came here earlier... You asked for him directly. It's noticeable you trust him even if he tried to kill you... That's rather curious, in my opinion."
Sean heaved a sigh, leaning his head against the female worker's shoulder, still holding the knife close to her. "Listen, I would really like to end your sorry existence, but... I have a responsibility with these people now, so I won't attempt that unless you give me a legitimate reason. Trespassing is legitimate enough for me. So: You can tell me why you are really here, or try to get past me without any civilian casualties... I honestly doubt you can." He nodded towards Grim with an annoyed expression. "I'm pretty sure that he can't"
Then he opened a smile. "I'm sorry, I'm so rude. I should introduce you all." He nodded towards the little girl that was eyeing them curiously with only one eye, her face half hidden in Sean's cloak. "This little lady here is Emily. She's a little bit shy, as you can probably tell." He looked at the boy. "Kid, tell these nice people your name."
"Adam." The boy mumbled, still peeking from behind his mother.
"And Amalia here, I'm sure she remembers you." He lifted his head from the woman's shoulder and smiled at her. "You remember the captain, right?"
The woman smiled at Mageria shyly and replied with "Of course. Hello again."
"Nice." Sean chuckled. "Isn't this a nice little reunion?" He asked, playing with the knife again keeping it close to the woman at all times. "So captain, what will it be, are we playing nice or not?"
Sean heaved a sigh, leaning his head against the female worker's shoulder, still holding the knife close to her. "Listen, I would really like to end your sorry existence, but... I have a responsibility with these people now, so I won't attempt that unless you give me a legitimate reason. Trespassing is legitimate enough for me. So: You can tell me why you are really here, or try to get past me without any civilian casualties... I honestly doubt you can." He nodded towards Grim with an annoyed expression. "I'm pretty sure that he can't"
Then he opened a smile. "I'm sorry, I'm so rude. I should introduce you all." He nodded towards the little girl that was eyeing them curiously with only one eye, her face half hidden in Sean's cloak. "This little lady here is Emily. She's a little bit shy, as you can probably tell." He looked at the boy. "Kid, tell these nice people your name."
"Adam." The boy mumbled, still peeking from behind his mother.
"And Amalia here, I'm sure she remembers you." He lifted his head from the woman's shoulder and smiled at her. "You remember the captain, right?"
The woman smiled at Mageria shyly and replied with "Of course. Hello again."
"Nice." Sean chuckled. "Isn't this a nice little reunion?" He asked, playing with the knife again keeping it close to the woman at all times. "So captain, what will it be, are we playing nice or not?"
Grim had been eager if not talkative during their whole trip to the campsite. Laughing and joking with Mageria and discussing idly of memories past. Careless even among the assassins believing that Evin was good on his word. That while they were death dealers, they still retained a sense of dignity.
Now, this new man was making things impossible. Playing mind games in hopes to burn the Captain and twist the visions of those who would serve him. It angered Grim, but he stayed in check. Though he had a few words to mince with this Sean.
Casually he took a step forward, acknowledging his wish to speak. Pulling his helm free, letting the black locks drift lazily about the pauldrons. A hand casually lifting to aid his expression directing it all about them. A dramatic bit of show.
“You’ve grown rather cold toward us friend Wolves. True perhaps you view our arrival to your encampments an encroachment of tradition. Yet, we’ve deigned no fancy thoughts that we are your superiors. You have been our greatest ally, our most bitter enemy. You know it not, but we respect you far more then you realize.
Our pride was swallowed to come and beg for your aid, and in your mercy you’ve since twice heard us. We graciously thank you for all you have done. Newhaven, nay Valcrest is in your debt. But I am troubled…”
The Blade pulled back to where Mageria was, and stood before her. A shield that stood between his Captain and this jackal. The green orbs locked onto Sean with their idle discontent, and they burned with a fury held complacent by will alone.
“If it is battle you want, I’ll be happy to give you a lesson on neutral grounds. Far from where civilians can be endangered. Where the meek can be separated from the strong, and we shall see whom is truly arrogant. Don’t bother with your response, I know you would never dare take it. Even if you did I rather doubt you’d fight honorably, much less alone. That’s what bothers me Alpha.
Here you stand cajoling two Black Knights hiding behind some weird game you play. For being the leader of one of the greatest forces in all the land, you absolutely reek of fear!”
Now, this new man was making things impossible. Playing mind games in hopes to burn the Captain and twist the visions of those who would serve him. It angered Grim, but he stayed in check. Though he had a few words to mince with this Sean.
Casually he took a step forward, acknowledging his wish to speak. Pulling his helm free, letting the black locks drift lazily about the pauldrons. A hand casually lifting to aid his expression directing it all about them. A dramatic bit of show.
“You’ve grown rather cold toward us friend Wolves. True perhaps you view our arrival to your encampments an encroachment of tradition. Yet, we’ve deigned no fancy thoughts that we are your superiors. You have been our greatest ally, our most bitter enemy. You know it not, but we respect you far more then you realize.
Our pride was swallowed to come and beg for your aid, and in your mercy you’ve since twice heard us. We graciously thank you for all you have done. Newhaven, nay Valcrest is in your debt. But I am troubled…”
The Blade pulled back to where Mageria was, and stood before her. A shield that stood between his Captain and this jackal. The green orbs locked onto Sean with their idle discontent, and they burned with a fury held complacent by will alone.
“If it is battle you want, I’ll be happy to give you a lesson on neutral grounds. Far from where civilians can be endangered. Where the meek can be separated from the strong, and we shall see whom is truly arrogant. Don’t bother with your response, I know you would never dare take it. Even if you did I rather doubt you’d fight honorably, much less alone. That’s what bothers me Alpha.
Here you stand cajoling two Black Knights hiding behind some weird game you play. For being the leader of one of the greatest forces in all the land, you absolutely reek of fear!”
Mageria reached forward and placed one hand on Grim’s shoulder, silently asking him to calm down. Things had changed drastically, now that apparently this child was in control, and to put it bluntly, at the moment he held the advantage. If they wanted to complete their mission, they would have to fall back and regroup. It’s not as if the Black Knights hadn’t attacked the camp before, if need be they would do it again. But at a time and way of their choosing. And if she could, it wouldn’t be an attack at all, but a surgical strike. Needless bloodshed would serve no one.
“I wouldn’t say that I trust Evin, not the way that you mean. About a year, year and a half ago, he stole something from me; something I’m rather reluctant to let anybody else have. He said that I could have it back if I helped him take care of a problem for him. But if he’s no longer in charge here, that means that I can track him down and . . . renegotiate the terms of our deal; assuming that won’t bother you.” Mageria spoke carefully, telling nothing but the absolute truth but letting Sean draw his own conclusions. Something told her that blackmail was a concept that he would believe quite easily. And that he would love the idea of someone, even Evin, having any power over her. “As for my ‘relationship’ with Evin.” She let her eyes dart between the children. “That’s not something I’d like to go into, especially not in front of the kids.” Let him think that she traded favors for sex. He couldn’t possibly think any less of her and Grim would just tease her about it for the next year or so.
Mageria gathered the reins between her fingers, preparing to ride out. “So yes, in answer to your question. We’ll be glad to play nice, now that you’ve gone to the trouble to explain the rules to us.”
“I wouldn’t say that I trust Evin, not the way that you mean. About a year, year and a half ago, he stole something from me; something I’m rather reluctant to let anybody else have. He said that I could have it back if I helped him take care of a problem for him. But if he’s no longer in charge here, that means that I can track him down and . . . renegotiate the terms of our deal; assuming that won’t bother you.” Mageria spoke carefully, telling nothing but the absolute truth but letting Sean draw his own conclusions. Something told her that blackmail was a concept that he would believe quite easily. And that he would love the idea of someone, even Evin, having any power over her. “As for my ‘relationship’ with Evin.” She let her eyes dart between the children. “That’s not something I’d like to go into, especially not in front of the kids.” Let him think that she traded favors for sex. He couldn’t possibly think any less of her and Grim would just tease her about it for the next year or so.
Mageria gathered the reins between her fingers, preparing to ride out. “So yes, in answer to your question. We’ll be glad to play nice, now that you’ve gone to the trouble to explain the rules to us.”
Avius rode past the scene that was about to unfold, but before doing so he nodded slightly at Seans request to see him after this was done. For some reason he wondered why it was Sean that meet the Black Knights and not Evin and soon he would know just why. While leading his new horse through the camp he found out when people started to explain what had went down earlier, that Crystal had returned to the camp alive and assumed leadership over the clan once more. Sean had challenged her and won quite quickly. They never mentioned to Crystal was very weak when Sean had challenged her, however they did mention that Allison stopped Sean from finishing her off. For that she, Crystal and a couple of others who wasn't on Seans side were banished from the pack. Avius didn't like this so much, but he had to suck it up since they had only themselves to blame for breaking rules and traditions that has ruled this clan for generations.
The last thing Avius got to know was that Evin had been demoted to the rank of worker. A smile grew across Avius face when he heard the news and he promised himself that he would make life hard for Evin as much as possible. Avius didn't like that man, not one bit. After making sure his new horse was well taken care of by the workers, Avius realized that Sean was now the leader and that he was currently meeting the two Black Knights. The loyal assassin quickly made his way back to the entrance in time to hear the Black Knight Captain say, “So yes, in answer to your question. We’ll be glad to play nice, now that you’ve gone to the trouble to explain the rules to us.”
Avius ignored that Sean was holding a child for that might be necessary in a situation like this and he too held a weapon in his hands; His quarterstaff, all ready to be used in case things got ugly. However, it didn't seem as if things would go ugly, but you never knew for sure.
"I think you've outstayed your welcome here, Black Knights." Avius hissed with his ice cold voice and stared at the Black Knights before him.
The last thing Avius got to know was that Evin had been demoted to the rank of worker. A smile grew across Avius face when he heard the news and he promised himself that he would make life hard for Evin as much as possible. Avius didn't like that man, not one bit. After making sure his new horse was well taken care of by the workers, Avius realized that Sean was now the leader and that he was currently meeting the two Black Knights. The loyal assassin quickly made his way back to the entrance in time to hear the Black Knight Captain say, “So yes, in answer to your question. We’ll be glad to play nice, now that you’ve gone to the trouble to explain the rules to us.”
Avius ignored that Sean was holding a child for that might be necessary in a situation like this and he too held a weapon in his hands; His quarterstaff, all ready to be used in case things got ugly. However, it didn't seem as if things would go ugly, but you never knew for sure.
"I think you've outstayed your welcome here, Black Knights." Avius hissed with his ice cold voice and stared at the Black Knights before him.
Sean simply let Grim speak, not a hint of a frown crossing his expression. However, his tone was much more serious when he spoke. "I'm not a coward, sir. I'm not hiding either. However, I think that for someone who calls himself respectful of us and our traditions, you know very little of our ways and my guesses as to why that is are that you were not properly informed by the two leaders that passed before me, or that you didn't properly listen. You didn't even properly listen when I said you shouldn't be too sure of yourself, because if the point of this was a fight, sir, be sure I would take you on your offer and as you may be able to rip me to shreds, I'm sure that with no enlightenment of my own I would gladly take you with me." He stated, holding the man's gaze. "And I would love to know what a man with an enlightenment such as yours, who marches into battle holding a wooden shield knowing of the consequences of such act, considers honorable, or strong for that matter." Sean chuckled. "Or do you think that because you call yourself a Knight you get to speak of honor as if it actually meant something?" Sean nodded, amused. "No, sir. You can't shame me into acting nice. The only person capable of such a thing was my father, but you are out of luck, see... Since you people murdered him, he won't be speaking in your behalf."
Sean turned his attention back to Mageria as she spoke. He shook his head when she spoke of Evin, he didn't buy it. "I don't believe that, captain. I don't believe that in the slightest. See, I don't like Evin, but I know very well that he isn't stupid and I know for a fact that he wouldn't allow for you to march into our camp the way you did if he didn't trust your word. Not without consequences. So, even if that was true, it's not the whole story." He told her, tilting his head to the side. "You forget that I might not know you all that well, but I've watched the people in this camp my entire life, so again: Don't insult my intelligence."
Sean let out a small chuckle as he heard footsteps behind him, he didn't look to see who it was, and really he didn't have to. He wasn't as good at it as Ali was, but he knew some people simply for their footsteps. When the man spoke to the Knights, it only confirmed what Sean already knew. "I think you've outstayed your welcome here, Black Knights." Avius told them. That was true, but Sean highly doubted those mutts cared much for welcomes, they always seemed to think their lack of manners was justified.
He smiled widely as he addressed the man. "Well, I wanted to be the one to tell you the news, but of course you've heard them by now with all the talking. Say, have you heard about Evin's latest assignment? It's dirty work, true, but someone has to do it." He said cheerfully, knowing that Avius disliked Evin just as much as he did, if not more. "It's quite alright though, my friend. We're just having an enlightening little conversation, hopefully there will no more Knights abusing our good will in the future."
He sighed softly, turning his attention back to Mageria. "It's comforting to hear you'd be willing to play nice, although I don't quite take your word for it and I doubt we truly understand each other at this point. I mean, let us be realistic, shall we? You haven't earned my trust and I doubt you have actually done anything worthy of earning Evin's. I'm sure that wasn't for his personal relationship with you captain, no matter what it is, you would not be standing here right now. In spite of your so called efforts to offer us a truce the only times you people have bothered to start a conversation is when you needed us for something, or something from us, and your idea of showing us good will is simply not attacking our people any further. So, please, are you going to continue to take me for a fool, or are you going to explain to me why you are both here instead of accompanying the White Shadows you were so eager to release? I assume, since there's no other reasonable explanation, that this has to do with Ella, no? She was the reason that White Knight so foolishly stormed in here. And he was the reason she was with the White Shadows in the first place, because the man was obsessed with finding her and Crys and Evin didn't want that to happen."
He took a long deep breath and then handed the three year old child to her mother. "The point of this is simply to make you people understand us a little bit better, since you simply refuse to listen: These people trust their leader with their lives, with the lives of their children and if I tell them they will not be harmed I can hold a knife to them and they won't flinch because I gave my word. So, if I say we are no longer going to have our camp invaded by Newhaven Knights every five minutes over something that, if anything, will only cause us more trouble... I will keep my word." He smiled. "Of course, if it's easier for you to believe I would harm an unarmed woman or her children, be my guest. Your opinion of me means less than nothing. However, if you say you are willing to play nice, then telling me why you've come shouldn't be too much of a hassle and it would save us both time and meaningless insults. Yet, you avoid the question like the plague. Why is that? What do you assume I would do with the truth if I had it, captain?"
Sean turned his attention back to Mageria as she spoke. He shook his head when she spoke of Evin, he didn't buy it. "I don't believe that, captain. I don't believe that in the slightest. See, I don't like Evin, but I know very well that he isn't stupid and I know for a fact that he wouldn't allow for you to march into our camp the way you did if he didn't trust your word. Not without consequences. So, even if that was true, it's not the whole story." He told her, tilting his head to the side. "You forget that I might not know you all that well, but I've watched the people in this camp my entire life, so again: Don't insult my intelligence."
Sean let out a small chuckle as he heard footsteps behind him, he didn't look to see who it was, and really he didn't have to. He wasn't as good at it as Ali was, but he knew some people simply for their footsteps. When the man spoke to the Knights, it only confirmed what Sean already knew. "I think you've outstayed your welcome here, Black Knights." Avius told them. That was true, but Sean highly doubted those mutts cared much for welcomes, they always seemed to think their lack of manners was justified.
He smiled widely as he addressed the man. "Well, I wanted to be the one to tell you the news, but of course you've heard them by now with all the talking. Say, have you heard about Evin's latest assignment? It's dirty work, true, but someone has to do it." He said cheerfully, knowing that Avius disliked Evin just as much as he did, if not more. "It's quite alright though, my friend. We're just having an enlightening little conversation, hopefully there will no more Knights abusing our good will in the future."
He sighed softly, turning his attention back to Mageria. "It's comforting to hear you'd be willing to play nice, although I don't quite take your word for it and I doubt we truly understand each other at this point. I mean, let us be realistic, shall we? You haven't earned my trust and I doubt you have actually done anything worthy of earning Evin's. I'm sure that wasn't for his personal relationship with you captain, no matter what it is, you would not be standing here right now. In spite of your so called efforts to offer us a truce the only times you people have bothered to start a conversation is when you needed us for something, or something from us, and your idea of showing us good will is simply not attacking our people any further. So, please, are you going to continue to take me for a fool, or are you going to explain to me why you are both here instead of accompanying the White Shadows you were so eager to release? I assume, since there's no other reasonable explanation, that this has to do with Ella, no? She was the reason that White Knight so foolishly stormed in here. And he was the reason she was with the White Shadows in the first place, because the man was obsessed with finding her and Crys and Evin didn't want that to happen."
He took a long deep breath and then handed the three year old child to her mother. "The point of this is simply to make you people understand us a little bit better, since you simply refuse to listen: These people trust their leader with their lives, with the lives of their children and if I tell them they will not be harmed I can hold a knife to them and they won't flinch because I gave my word. So, if I say we are no longer going to have our camp invaded by Newhaven Knights every five minutes over something that, if anything, will only cause us more trouble... I will keep my word." He smiled. "Of course, if it's easier for you to believe I would harm an unarmed woman or her children, be my guest. Your opinion of me means less than nothing. However, if you say you are willing to play nice, then telling me why you've come shouldn't be too much of a hassle and it would save us both time and meaningless insults. Yet, you avoid the question like the plague. Why is that? What do you assume I would do with the truth if I had it, captain?"
Evin heard the rumours speeding quickly. The Black Knights were standing at the entrance of the camp. That could only mean that Ella was back too. It wasn’t safe at all for Ella to be stuck in the camp for any longer than she had to be. It wouldn’t be long before Sean started to connect all the dots and figure out why they were really here, that is if Sean didn’t already kill them first. If Evin was still running the camp, Mageria would be leaving with one less limb herself, but it wasn’t his choice anymore.
Evin couldn’t really do anything even if he wanted to as long as the two men were watching him do his every move. They were keeping their distance and trying not to be conspicuous, but Evin had been an assassin too long to be tricked by one assassin watching from in a tree above and another who thought that it wasn’t obvious to dress up as a worker and do something else a distance away. He wasn’t impressed at all by this, especially seeing that they hadn’t taken the time to notice the subtle little things Evin had done himself while he was cleaning the same bucket for two hours. By this point, even if they did find out, it would probably be too late.
Evin stood up and instantly so did the other assassin. They spent a few seconds looking each other in the eyes. He had to know that Evin knew, but he probably didn’t worry too much because of course he didn’t notice the other assassin yet, but of course that was wrong. Evin picked the bucket up, finally revealing the modifications that he had made to the bucket. In two hours, a lot could be done. The bucket no longer had a back to it, and its edges had somehow been sharpened enough to classify it as a weapon. Being a bucket though, there didn’t seem like much of a threat there, but of course they were mistaken again.
It only took about a minute of fighting to stop the two assassins. Thankfully no one else was in the area to warn anyone of any bad doings by Evin. This gave him probably about ten minutes and he had a lot to do. First thing, and probably the most important was to find Ella. He ran through the most obscure and least used trails through the camp to get to Ella’s cabin. Out front there were two more assassins waiting outside. They were blocking the door.
Evin had forgotten to grab any weapons that that the assassins he had fought earlier might have had, but in a way, he was proving a point, if he could do all of this without using any practical weapons. He also wanted to show Sean he made a big mistake by angering him. Evin wasn’t under any obligations to follow rules created by the assassins anymore. As a rouge assassin, he would do anything he wanted and whenever he wanted without the fear of any rule breaking. This was what he always wanted, but never really had the chance to do.
He spared the assassins’ lives at the front door, instead opting to completely pop the window out of its frame, keeping caution not to break it.
“Evin, what are you doing here? What’s going on?” Ella asked kink of confused about the whole ordeal.
“Things have changed; the Wolf Pack no longer stands for anything that matters. We need to get you out of here.” He whispered back.
Evin picked Ella up and practically threw her out the window. Evin came out after, and motioned Ella to follow him. They weren’t headed anywhere out of the camp, but instead were going straight to the heart of it.
Evin knocked on the trees around it until he found the one he knew would be hollow. He kicked it about ten times until it broke down and reviled his little personal armoury that he had found. He picked up a few chemicals, and then the mace that he had promised Sean about. He handed it to Ella. “Now here’s what I want you to do…”
… Only a couple minutes passed and he was out of the Leader’s cabin, the red-orange glow bellowing from behind him as he felt the heat slowly fade. In the secluded path, he stopped looking at Ella.
“What the hell just happened there Evin? Tell me what happened now!” Ella demanded.
“Ella, it’s hard to explain and frankly, do you think I have the time to explain now?” Evin said. Ella just looked back at the cabin and shook her head. “Now the way you distracted Mitchell in there was spectacular! It just goes to show how well you are very much deserving of going on missions yourself. Now I’m not in charge, I’m not even an instructor anymore, but I think that you are more than deserving of this.” He handed her Perry’s graduation ring. “You don’t have to wear it, and I suggest you don’t really, but remember that you will always be an assassin no matter what anyone else tells you to be. Please, no matter what you end up doing, never stop training because Dani saw it, and believe it or not, I saw it too. You really have potential.”
Ella didn’t say anything; she just looked at the ring and shook her head. She couldn’t believe it, Evin could tell. It was probably the biggest accomplishment in her life. In reality, he knew how little she thought of herself.
“Hey, is that a fire?” He heard someone yell off in the distance.
“We have to go!” He said.
The two of them ran through the path that Evin had been able to walk casually through all the time. He no longer had that luxury. He continued to run, through the center of the camp and off right to the entrance where all the commotion he had heard earlier about was going on. Sean, Avius, Mageria and Grim were all standing around, personalities clashing, and strong ones at that.
Evin didn’t even take a second to look at Sean or Avius, instead tossing Ella onto Mageria’s horse. “Ride! Don’t stop until it’s safe!” Evin yelled. He then hopped on the back of Grim’s horse. “I’ve killed the Second and burnt down the leader’s camp. If I stay I die! Take me to the desert!” He knew that he had just ordered a Black Knight, but at this point he really didn’t have much of a choice. This was the last moment he would spend as a free man inside the Wolfpack. For now on he was going to be on Sean’s hitlist.
Evin couldn’t really do anything even if he wanted to as long as the two men were watching him do his every move. They were keeping their distance and trying not to be conspicuous, but Evin had been an assassin too long to be tricked by one assassin watching from in a tree above and another who thought that it wasn’t obvious to dress up as a worker and do something else a distance away. He wasn’t impressed at all by this, especially seeing that they hadn’t taken the time to notice the subtle little things Evin had done himself while he was cleaning the same bucket for two hours. By this point, even if they did find out, it would probably be too late.
Evin stood up and instantly so did the other assassin. They spent a few seconds looking each other in the eyes. He had to know that Evin knew, but he probably didn’t worry too much because of course he didn’t notice the other assassin yet, but of course that was wrong. Evin picked the bucket up, finally revealing the modifications that he had made to the bucket. In two hours, a lot could be done. The bucket no longer had a back to it, and its edges had somehow been sharpened enough to classify it as a weapon. Being a bucket though, there didn’t seem like much of a threat there, but of course they were mistaken again.
It only took about a minute of fighting to stop the two assassins. Thankfully no one else was in the area to warn anyone of any bad doings by Evin. This gave him probably about ten minutes and he had a lot to do. First thing, and probably the most important was to find Ella. He ran through the most obscure and least used trails through the camp to get to Ella’s cabin. Out front there were two more assassins waiting outside. They were blocking the door.
Evin had forgotten to grab any weapons that that the assassins he had fought earlier might have had, but in a way, he was proving a point, if he could do all of this without using any practical weapons. He also wanted to show Sean he made a big mistake by angering him. Evin wasn’t under any obligations to follow rules created by the assassins anymore. As a rouge assassin, he would do anything he wanted and whenever he wanted without the fear of any rule breaking. This was what he always wanted, but never really had the chance to do.
He spared the assassins’ lives at the front door, instead opting to completely pop the window out of its frame, keeping caution not to break it.
“Evin, what are you doing here? What’s going on?” Ella asked kink of confused about the whole ordeal.
“Things have changed; the Wolf Pack no longer stands for anything that matters. We need to get you out of here.” He whispered back.
Evin picked Ella up and practically threw her out the window. Evin came out after, and motioned Ella to follow him. They weren’t headed anywhere out of the camp, but instead were going straight to the heart of it.
Evin knocked on the trees around it until he found the one he knew would be hollow. He kicked it about ten times until it broke down and reviled his little personal armoury that he had found. He picked up a few chemicals, and then the mace that he had promised Sean about. He handed it to Ella. “Now here’s what I want you to do…”
… Only a couple minutes passed and he was out of the Leader’s cabin, the red-orange glow bellowing from behind him as he felt the heat slowly fade. In the secluded path, he stopped looking at Ella.
“What the hell just happened there Evin? Tell me what happened now!” Ella demanded.
“Ella, it’s hard to explain and frankly, do you think I have the time to explain now?” Evin said. Ella just looked back at the cabin and shook her head. “Now the way you distracted Mitchell in there was spectacular! It just goes to show how well you are very much deserving of going on missions yourself. Now I’m not in charge, I’m not even an instructor anymore, but I think that you are more than deserving of this.” He handed her Perry’s graduation ring. “You don’t have to wear it, and I suggest you don’t really, but remember that you will always be an assassin no matter what anyone else tells you to be. Please, no matter what you end up doing, never stop training because Dani saw it, and believe it or not, I saw it too. You really have potential.”
Ella didn’t say anything; she just looked at the ring and shook her head. She couldn’t believe it, Evin could tell. It was probably the biggest accomplishment in her life. In reality, he knew how little she thought of herself.
“Hey, is that a fire?” He heard someone yell off in the distance.
“We have to go!” He said.
The two of them ran through the path that Evin had been able to walk casually through all the time. He no longer had that luxury. He continued to run, through the center of the camp and off right to the entrance where all the commotion he had heard earlier about was going on. Sean, Avius, Mageria and Grim were all standing around, personalities clashing, and strong ones at that.
Evin didn’t even take a second to look at Sean or Avius, instead tossing Ella onto Mageria’s horse. “Ride! Don’t stop until it’s safe!” Evin yelled. He then hopped on the back of Grim’s horse. “I’ve killed the Second and burnt down the leader’s camp. If I stay I die! Take me to the desert!” He knew that he had just ordered a Black Knight, but at this point he really didn’t have much of a choice. This was the last moment he would spend as a free man inside the Wolfpack. For now on he was going to be on Sean’s hitlist.
Everything happened so fast; First someone screamed that there was a fire and the very next second Evin came sprinting with the recruit Avius had helped rescue for a while ago and tossed her onto the Black Knights captains horse while jumping up on the other knights horse. Even though Avius was really caught by surprise, he was trained enough to respond quickly and effectively in a situation like this. The assassin pulled three vials from his belt and crushed them in his hand, not minding the glass that penetrated his hand. With the help of his enlightenment he made a large whip made out of water and some of his own blood. He swung the whip backwards and as Evin ordered the black knight to take him to the desert, Avius snapped the whip towards Evins chest with all of his might. However, Avius didn't stay to see if he had ripped Evins chest apart or simple caused a deep wound because he had to use his water to stop the fire from spreading any further. Turning around, the man ran towards the Centre of the camp to find the fire itself.
Smoke rose from the point where the fire was at its worst state and as soon as Avius arrived on the spot he used his whip to strike at the fire over and over again. The fire died a little bit from each snap from Avius whip and before the entire cottage had burned to the ground the fire was gone and it had not had the chance to spread very far. The assassin let his water whip fall to the ground and caused a large pool of water as he turned around to sprint back to Sean to see what had happened.
"Damnit Evin! You're getting desperate, that's for sure!" He thought and sighed heavily as he moved towards Seans location once more.
Smoke rose from the point where the fire was at its worst state and as soon as Avius arrived on the spot he used his whip to strike at the fire over and over again. The fire died a little bit from each snap from Avius whip and before the entire cottage had burned to the ground the fire was gone and it had not had the chance to spread very far. The assassin let his water whip fall to the ground and caused a large pool of water as he turned around to sprint back to Sean to see what had happened.
"Damnit Evin! You're getting desperate, that's for sure!" He thought and sighed heavily as he moved towards Seans location once more.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Valcrest
Mageria had seen Evin running toward them over the shoulders of Sean and the other assassin and had taken the chance to wrap her reigns around her hand and get ready. As Evin was throwing the girl at her, Mageria grabbed her with one hand, hauling the girl toward her and signaling her horse with her knees. They spun in place, before bounding off at full speed down the path.
She and Ella raced at full speed down the path, Mageria crouching low in order to balance better and miss any low hanging branches; reaching back with one hand to make sure that the girl was on properly. There were yells coming from the trees around them and arrows started whizzing past them. Mageria just crouched lower, urging Ghost on, her faithful horse stretching out in a gallop that strained every muscle she had. She looked over at Grim’s horse, with Evin clinging to the back of the saddle. “Can you do anything without blowing something up?!?!?!”
The paths before them started branching; she knew that they all lead down to the desert eventually and so she started taking them at random, reasoning that if she didn’t know which she would choose, there was no way that somebody could get ahead of them and trap them. She wasn’t sure when she got separated from Grim, but she couldn’t turn back, just keep going forward. She was the faster of the two of them anyways, two women weighted much less than two men on a horse, and Ghost was fast to begin with.
Mageria and Ella rode through the forest with the trees blurring past them on either side, until their fingers ached from clutching the saddle and they were both ready to fall off. Finally they burst forth from the trees to the edge of the desert. A small stream ran nearby, Mageria took the chance to stop and water Ghost, watching nervously over their back path for and sign of somebody following them and hoping that she would see Grim and Evin. She glanced over at Ella and coughed, trying to ease her parched throat. “You’d better take the chance to get something to drink yourself.” She sighed heavily and bent to check Ghost’s hooves, every sense still alert for signs of pursuit. “What the hell has Evin gotten me into now?” She had been hoping for a period of lesser tension with the Wolf Pack; whatever Evin had done and the fact that he had escaped with them had blown that chance straight to hell. There would be no chance to relax anytime soon for anybody.
She and Ella raced at full speed down the path, Mageria crouching low in order to balance better and miss any low hanging branches; reaching back with one hand to make sure that the girl was on properly. There were yells coming from the trees around them and arrows started whizzing past them. Mageria just crouched lower, urging Ghost on, her faithful horse stretching out in a gallop that strained every muscle she had. She looked over at Grim’s horse, with Evin clinging to the back of the saddle. “Can you do anything without blowing something up?!?!?!”
The paths before them started branching; she knew that they all lead down to the desert eventually and so she started taking them at random, reasoning that if she didn’t know which she would choose, there was no way that somebody could get ahead of them and trap them. She wasn’t sure when she got separated from Grim, but she couldn’t turn back, just keep going forward. She was the faster of the two of them anyways, two women weighted much less than two men on a horse, and Ghost was fast to begin with.
Mageria and Ella rode through the forest with the trees blurring past them on either side, until their fingers ached from clutching the saddle and they were both ready to fall off. Finally they burst forth from the trees to the edge of the desert. A small stream ran nearby, Mageria took the chance to stop and water Ghost, watching nervously over their back path for and sign of somebody following them and hoping that she would see Grim and Evin. She glanced over at Ella and coughed, trying to ease her parched throat. “You’d better take the chance to get something to drink yourself.” She sighed heavily and bent to check Ghost’s hooves, every sense still alert for signs of pursuit. “What the hell has Evin gotten me into now?” She had been hoping for a period of lesser tension with the Wolf Pack; whatever Evin had done and the fact that he had escaped with them had blown that chance straight to hell. There would be no chance to relax anytime soon for anybody.
The entire ordeal was startling for sure. Of course Mageria acted far cooler and seemed prepared for the moment even when everyone else was awestruck in their stupor. Grim hadn’t moved nearly as fast, and he could see the rising ends of a lash reach for them. Ultimately he felt nothing, and assumed nothing more about it. Hurriedly digging his heels into the steed to get going. Evin’s words would not go unheeded.
For a time they weren’t far from the other. The foliage blurs of green and browns that raced toward them at alarming rates. It was fortunate Grim had lowered his helm just before, as following Mageria through the twists and turns was difficult enough.
Eventually Grim slowed the pace, glancing about in some confusion. They had been separated and while the Black Knight was more then capable of riding on to the desert, Evin wasn’t his concern. For all he cared the Wolf could walk there, now that they had Ella in possession it was important to keep it that way. Calmly he tilted his head to and fro listening for anything approaching.
They didn’t stop exactly, and for a bit Grim plodded along. Eager to reunite if he could, but knowing that easy travel wouldn’t be an option for long. If Evin wished to go to the sands, Grim would deliver him but it wasn’t his highest priority.
“Ev was it? You alright back there?”
For a time they weren’t far from the other. The foliage blurs of green and browns that raced toward them at alarming rates. It was fortunate Grim had lowered his helm just before, as following Mageria through the twists and turns was difficult enough.
Eventually Grim slowed the pace, glancing about in some confusion. They had been separated and while the Black Knight was more then capable of riding on to the desert, Evin wasn’t his concern. For all he cared the Wolf could walk there, now that they had Ella in possession it was important to keep it that way. Calmly he tilted his head to and fro listening for anything approaching.
They didn’t stop exactly, and for a bit Grim plodded along. Eager to reunite if he could, but knowing that easy travel wouldn’t be an option for long. If Evin wished to go to the sands, Grim would deliver him but it wasn’t his highest priority.
“Ev was it? You alright back there?”
The setting changes from Valcrest to The Ruins (Healer's camp)
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A boy walked calmly amongst the trees, reaching the destination he had chosen for himself once he parted ways with the Newhaven people. That woman, Lena had called her Captain, had caught his interest, but Luckas could go looking for her at a later time. Now, he felt the urge to be alone and there was only one place good enough for that.
As he reached the plains a smile spread across his features, one slightly different from his usual evil grin, one he only used at chosen times. It made him look more like the child that he was and less like the monster he could be. Some graves have been added to the scenery of the ruins, a reminder of those who had fallen during the attack of Blackpond, other than that and the absence of the whit tents that once filled the space… The place was exactly the same, as if nothing had happened.
“Luke.” The boy heard a voice call behind him, causing him to lift his head.
The smile turned into his characteristic grin as he turned to face Lena. “You can’t follow me forever Helena, you’re not getting any younger you know.”
“What do you know about life, boy? I might just outlive you, what with the way you behave and all.” She said, tilting her head to one side.
“I thought you had all that faith in humanity… Was it really necessary for you to check up on me?” He asked, turning around again to face the ruins. “What was this large building? I thought Blackhurst had no castle.”
“It was a temple, and a school.” Lena explained. “And I have plenty of faith in humanity, however yours is rather lacking, wouldn’t you agree?”
The boy snickered. “Maybe.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and cocked his head back to face the sky. “So, what are you now? Not a healer anymore, that’s for sure. Who are you, then?”
Lena chuckled. “I’m a person with promises to keep. Including the one I made to you, remember?”
Luckas laughed, almost losing his balance and stumbling back a couple of steps. “Oh my, I thought you’d given up that idea by now.”
“Humph.” Lena mumbled. “I thought you would know me better than that by now, boy. I don’t give up.”
He shrugged. “Well, like I said… You won’t live forever.”
“Does that thought frighten you?” She asked. “One day I won’t be here to hold your leash, and when that day comes, you will be alone.”
“We are always alone when it really matters.” Luckas said, absently. “I’m not frightened by that.”
“Are you sure?” Lena asked with a smile. “Why are you here then?”
“Humph. I wanted to be alone, that’s why. But you just can’t stay away can you?” He asked.
“I’m heading for the desert, and I will be leaving within a year. I only came here to say that our arrangement doesn’t change just because I’m absent. I will know if you violate our terms.” She smiled. “And don’t get too comfortable… I plan on coming back one day.”
“Wait, what?” the boy turned towards the woman, unable to hide the shock in his eyes. “Where are you going?” He asked.
“That doesn’t concern you.” She replied.
“I could find out.” He said.
“No. You could try, but we both know how that would end.” She chuckled. “Besides, these are sentimental things you would have no interest in.”
He nodded, going silent for a long while. Then he cracked open a smile. “Sentimental things are always interesting; they are weaknesses in more ways than one.”
Lena nodded, laughing lightly. “Only if you allow them to be; if you fear your own feelings, they will make you weak. If you embrace them, they can give you strength when you need it.”
“Do you need it now?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We’ll all need it soon enough.” She said, her expression turning a little more serious.
Luckas tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. “You seem concerned. Was it something I said?” He asked, with a playful smirk.
Lena chuckled. “I’m just tired. You know, old age setting in.”
The boy nodded, turning to face the ruins again. “Of course...” He pointed at another fallen building. “What about that one?”
“An orphanage.” She said.
“I once heard that Blackhurst was the most beautiful place on the land. I heard that people could let their children play on the streets by themselves and sleep with their windows opened.”
“Do you think that’s true?” Lena asked him.
“I don’t know, but if it is… It explains why it was destroyed before all others. It’s a part of human nature to see beauty and seek to possess it. And if that isn’t possible, then destroy it. So, tell me: Is it true that I lack humanity? I think maybe I have too much of it.” He stated
“Do you see beauty in what you destroy, Luckas? She asked in an intrigued tone.
“Satisfaction is a poor substitute for emotion.” He replied. “Remember when you told me that?”
“Yes, I remember.” She replied. “You told me that maybe it is, but it’s the best you could manage… That doesn’t answer my question, though.”
Luckas gave her an irritated sigh. “I was getting there, and what is this, an interview? No. I don’t seek to destroy things that I believe are beautiful... I see beauty in broken things. It’s different.” He replied. “There is so much…” He sighed. “…Sincerity, in a broken mind.” He smiled, turning his head to face her. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Sometimes people know things, and they aren’t even aware of it. Sometimes they have thoughts they push to the back of their minds, because they are too horrifying to face…” He opened a slightly evil grin. “They lock them up in a dark place to never be found again. So, you see… I don’t actually destroy anyone; they destroy themselves. I simply give them a push.” He lowered his head for a moment before turning back to Lena with a delighted expression. “The Black Knight Captain; She survived with no enlightenment of her own. She didn’t cheat, like you did. If that’s true, then she truly confronted the darkest part of her mind and lived to tell.” He let out a slightly maniacal giggle. “And she resists my enlightenment! Do you know what that means?”
“Tell me.” Lena said; her voice a little bit colder in face of his excitement. That was almost never a good thing.
“It means that this woman has complete control over her own mind without possessing any form of psychic ability. That’s fascinating! Doesn’t it intrigue you?” He asked.
“Once upon a time it might have.” Lena said, with a small smile. He was too intrigued to actually harm the Captain. He would probably become an annoyance in her life in a near future, but it was nothing that required her interference. “I have to go now, Luke. Will you remember our agreement?”
The boy nodded. “Yes ma’am. I will.” Luckas said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "If you're not gone for too long, that is."
----------------------------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Sean wasted the moment of reaction he had to pull the worker and her children away from the path. Avius reacted well in trying to stop Evin, but eventually the man fled with Ella and the two Black Knights. “Well, that’s it for dialogue.” He muttered. “The next mutt who steps foot in this camp is going to get it.”
Actives were sent after the Knights, but Sean doubted they would catch them. There were too many paths to choose from the camp to the desert and they could easily lose them on the trails. Once they reached the desert… The Crimson Shadows definitely wouldn’t let them pass. Their leader was a close friend to Crys and he definitely knew what had happened to her.
Sean walked the woman and her children to the cafeteria where most of the workers were still gathered, the woman let the children in and stopped at the door seeming concerned. “Did we miss the chance?” She asked him.
“I'm afraid so.” He said, leaning against the wall of the cabin, next to the door. “There won’t be another.” He turned to face her and smiled. “Remember what I told you; if things get too ugly, you can always leave. Got to the desert, the mercenaries would take you in.”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m not going anywhere, Sean. I left one home already.”
Sean nodded. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to make sure you don't lose another.” He stated, pushing himself away from the wall and walking to see the extent of the damage done by the fire.
Sean walked past the center of camp to see that the fire had been set to the leader’s cabin, and was already out. He stopped for moment watching the place, it had survived so many battles, storms, forest fires; centuries worth of them. Sean walked past Avius when the man approached him. “Hold on, I’m going to take a look inside.” He mumbled.
The outside of the cabin remained almost intact, however, when Sean walked inside he saw that the damage had been greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Aside from poor Mitchell, that had his head smashed to a point where it was pretty much impossible to recognize his face, a bloody mace lying beside him on the wooden floor… All of the clan records had been burnt down to mere ashes, scattered throughout the office floor. Sean took a moment to let the shock of it all sink in to him; the entire history of the Wolfpack scattered to the wind, pulverized within minutes. “I’m going to kill you, son of a bitch!” He muttered out, slamming his fist against the wall. “Son of a bitch!”
It took a deep breath, maybe two, before walking outside again. He waved two workers so that they could prepare Mitchell’s body for burial. He needed to take charge of things, and he needed to do it now.
He found Avius and stopped next to him, the anger was clear in his voice as he addressed the man. “Mitchell is dead.” He stated. “The clan records are burnt, up to the last one.” He sighed. “Now, I was hoping to make things a little better between us and Newhaven in a near future, for the sake of the clan, but I’ve had it.” He turned to face the man. “Listen, I know you would prefer to stay an active, but I need some reliable people in charge. I would consider it a great favor if you would accept the position of instructor. I would also consider it to be of great help if you could choose two other actives to be promoted as well. Without Allison we’ve found ourselves lacking on instructors now.” He heaved a long sigh. “I have to choose another Second, but I would rather bury this one before replacing him.” Truth was: Sean was sure he hadn’t seen the last of Evin, and he was torn between choosing who he thought would be the best person for the job, and choosing someone he could afford to lose. This was something he needed to think about with care.
He turned to call for the one remaining instructor, Spencer; deciding to pass along instructions as he gave Avius time to consider his request. “Spence, alert the guards that as soon as the actives that are out return to camp, No one is allowed in or out: we are in lockdown until morning. The second in command was killed and the man who killed him needs to pay, but… For now, we mourn his death.”
Spencer nodded in agreement, taking a bow before walking away to carry out his orders. Sean noticed the gesture and nodded, a slightly amused grin breaking through his anger. People were starting to accept the fact he was leader. The sooner the better: because things were about to change.
As he reached the plains a smile spread across his features, one slightly different from his usual evil grin, one he only used at chosen times. It made him look more like the child that he was and less like the monster he could be. Some graves have been added to the scenery of the ruins, a reminder of those who had fallen during the attack of Blackpond, other than that and the absence of the whit tents that once filled the space… The place was exactly the same, as if nothing had happened.
“Luke.” The boy heard a voice call behind him, causing him to lift his head.
The smile turned into his characteristic grin as he turned to face Lena. “You can’t follow me forever Helena, you’re not getting any younger you know.”
“What do you know about life, boy? I might just outlive you, what with the way you behave and all.” She said, tilting her head to one side.
“I thought you had all that faith in humanity… Was it really necessary for you to check up on me?” He asked, turning around again to face the ruins. “What was this large building? I thought Blackhurst had no castle.”
“It was a temple, and a school.” Lena explained. “And I have plenty of faith in humanity, however yours is rather lacking, wouldn’t you agree?”
The boy snickered. “Maybe.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and cocked his head back to face the sky. “So, what are you now? Not a healer anymore, that’s for sure. Who are you, then?”
Lena chuckled. “I’m a person with promises to keep. Including the one I made to you, remember?”
Luckas laughed, almost losing his balance and stumbling back a couple of steps. “Oh my, I thought you’d given up that idea by now.”
“Humph.” Lena mumbled. “I thought you would know me better than that by now, boy. I don’t give up.”
He shrugged. “Well, like I said… You won’t live forever.”
“Does that thought frighten you?” She asked. “One day I won’t be here to hold your leash, and when that day comes, you will be alone.”
“We are always alone when it really matters.” Luckas said, absently. “I’m not frightened by that.”
“Are you sure?” Lena asked with a smile. “Why are you here then?”
“Humph. I wanted to be alone, that’s why. But you just can’t stay away can you?” He asked.
“I’m heading for the desert, and I will be leaving within a year. I only came here to say that our arrangement doesn’t change just because I’m absent. I will know if you violate our terms.” She smiled. “And don’t get too comfortable… I plan on coming back one day.”
“Wait, what?” the boy turned towards the woman, unable to hide the shock in his eyes. “Where are you going?” He asked.
“That doesn’t concern you.” She replied.
“I could find out.” He said.
“No. You could try, but we both know how that would end.” She chuckled. “Besides, these are sentimental things you would have no interest in.”
He nodded, going silent for a long while. Then he cracked open a smile. “Sentimental things are always interesting; they are weaknesses in more ways than one.”
Lena nodded, laughing lightly. “Only if you allow them to be; if you fear your own feelings, they will make you weak. If you embrace them, they can give you strength when you need it.”
“Do you need it now?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We’ll all need it soon enough.” She said, her expression turning a little more serious.
Luckas tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. “You seem concerned. Was it something I said?” He asked, with a playful smirk.
Lena chuckled. “I’m just tired. You know, old age setting in.”
The boy nodded, turning to face the ruins again. “Of course...” He pointed at another fallen building. “What about that one?”
“An orphanage.” She said.
“I once heard that Blackhurst was the most beautiful place on the land. I heard that people could let their children play on the streets by themselves and sleep with their windows opened.”
“Do you think that’s true?” Lena asked him.
“I don’t know, but if it is… It explains why it was destroyed before all others. It’s a part of human nature to see beauty and seek to possess it. And if that isn’t possible, then destroy it. So, tell me: Is it true that I lack humanity? I think maybe I have too much of it.” He stated
“Do you see beauty in what you destroy, Luckas? She asked in an intrigued tone.
“Satisfaction is a poor substitute for emotion.” He replied. “Remember when you told me that?”
“Yes, I remember.” She replied. “You told me that maybe it is, but it’s the best you could manage… That doesn’t answer my question, though.”
Luckas gave her an irritated sigh. “I was getting there, and what is this, an interview? No. I don’t seek to destroy things that I believe are beautiful... I see beauty in broken things. It’s different.” He replied. “There is so much…” He sighed. “…Sincerity, in a broken mind.” He smiled, turning his head to face her. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Sometimes people know things, and they aren’t even aware of it. Sometimes they have thoughts they push to the back of their minds, because they are too horrifying to face…” He opened a slightly evil grin. “They lock them up in a dark place to never be found again. So, you see… I don’t actually destroy anyone; they destroy themselves. I simply give them a push.” He lowered his head for a moment before turning back to Lena with a delighted expression. “The Black Knight Captain; She survived with no enlightenment of her own. She didn’t cheat, like you did. If that’s true, then she truly confronted the darkest part of her mind and lived to tell.” He let out a slightly maniacal giggle. “And she resists my enlightenment! Do you know what that means?”
“Tell me.” Lena said; her voice a little bit colder in face of his excitement. That was almost never a good thing.
“It means that this woman has complete control over her own mind without possessing any form of psychic ability. That’s fascinating! Doesn’t it intrigue you?” He asked.
“Once upon a time it might have.” Lena said, with a small smile. He was too intrigued to actually harm the Captain. He would probably become an annoyance in her life in a near future, but it was nothing that required her interference. “I have to go now, Luke. Will you remember our agreement?”
The boy nodded. “Yes ma’am. I will.” Luckas said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "If you're not gone for too long, that is."
----------------------------------------------------------
[Assassin's Camp]
Sean wasted the moment of reaction he had to pull the worker and her children away from the path. Avius reacted well in trying to stop Evin, but eventually the man fled with Ella and the two Black Knights. “Well, that’s it for dialogue.” He muttered. “The next mutt who steps foot in this camp is going to get it.”
Actives were sent after the Knights, but Sean doubted they would catch them. There were too many paths to choose from the camp to the desert and they could easily lose them on the trails. Once they reached the desert… The Crimson Shadows definitely wouldn’t let them pass. Their leader was a close friend to Crys and he definitely knew what had happened to her.
Sean walked the woman and her children to the cafeteria where most of the workers were still gathered, the woman let the children in and stopped at the door seeming concerned. “Did we miss the chance?” She asked him.
“I'm afraid so.” He said, leaning against the wall of the cabin, next to the door. “There won’t be another.” He turned to face her and smiled. “Remember what I told you; if things get too ugly, you can always leave. Got to the desert, the mercenaries would take you in.”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m not going anywhere, Sean. I left one home already.”
Sean nodded. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to make sure you don't lose another.” He stated, pushing himself away from the wall and walking to see the extent of the damage done by the fire.
Sean walked past the center of camp to see that the fire had been set to the leader’s cabin, and was already out. He stopped for moment watching the place, it had survived so many battles, storms, forest fires; centuries worth of them. Sean walked past Avius when the man approached him. “Hold on, I’m going to take a look inside.” He mumbled.
The outside of the cabin remained almost intact, however, when Sean walked inside he saw that the damage had been greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Aside from poor Mitchell, that had his head smashed to a point where it was pretty much impossible to recognize his face, a bloody mace lying beside him on the wooden floor… All of the clan records had been burnt down to mere ashes, scattered throughout the office floor. Sean took a moment to let the shock of it all sink in to him; the entire history of the Wolfpack scattered to the wind, pulverized within minutes. “I’m going to kill you, son of a bitch!” He muttered out, slamming his fist against the wall. “Son of a bitch!”
It took a deep breath, maybe two, before walking outside again. He waved two workers so that they could prepare Mitchell’s body for burial. He needed to take charge of things, and he needed to do it now.
He found Avius and stopped next to him, the anger was clear in his voice as he addressed the man. “Mitchell is dead.” He stated. “The clan records are burnt, up to the last one.” He sighed. “Now, I was hoping to make things a little better between us and Newhaven in a near future, for the sake of the clan, but I’ve had it.” He turned to face the man. “Listen, I know you would prefer to stay an active, but I need some reliable people in charge. I would consider it a great favor if you would accept the position of instructor. I would also consider it to be of great help if you could choose two other actives to be promoted as well. Without Allison we’ve found ourselves lacking on instructors now.” He heaved a long sigh. “I have to choose another Second, but I would rather bury this one before replacing him.” Truth was: Sean was sure he hadn’t seen the last of Evin, and he was torn between choosing who he thought would be the best person for the job, and choosing someone he could afford to lose. This was something he needed to think about with care.
He turned to call for the one remaining instructor, Spencer; deciding to pass along instructions as he gave Avius time to consider his request. “Spence, alert the guards that as soon as the actives that are out return to camp, No one is allowed in or out: we are in lockdown until morning. The second in command was killed and the man who killed him needs to pay, but… For now, we mourn his death.”
Spencer nodded in agreement, taking a bow before walking away to carry out his orders. Sean noticed the gesture and nodded, a slightly amused grin breaking through his anger. People were starting to accept the fact he was leader. The sooner the better: because things were about to change.
The setting changes from The Ruins (Healer's camp) to Assassin's Camp
Avius watched as Sean walked right past him to see what was left of the leaders cabin. On the outside things didn't look as bad is it were but the moment you stepped inside things would get worse for sure. Avius remained where he stood as he waited for Sean to come out again. Actives and recruits were starting to gather by the cafeteria and there were even some who had place themselves close to where Avius stood as they looked at the leaders cabin and the burned area around it. During all of this commotion Avius couldn't help but wonder where Mitchell were. He was after all the 2nd in command and it was his duty to always be present at problems like these. However, he was nowhere to be seen, but Avius continued to push away any thoughts that indicated that Mitchell might be hurt or something else. He didn't care much for the man in general, but he was after all the 2nd in command and that demanded some sort of respect after all.
Sean came out from the cabin and walked over to Avius. The assassin spotted his friends raging anger from the very moment he stepped out in public. This could or could not end well. As his leader reached him, Sean explained that Mitchell was dead and that all the history records had been burned to the ground. Avius closed his eyes when hearing about Mitchell and took and long and deep breath when he heard about the records. He would literally kill Evin the very next moment he saw the man. He would not wait and talk to him and ask him why, no, he would just slay him on the spot without any kind of delay. Then as Sean offered to make Avius an instructor and choose two other actives to join him amongst the ranks of instructors, his mind began to drift off for a short moment.
The assassin saw himself, a little bit older, as he was training a young female recruit who had her back towards the real Avius gaze in the vision. She was blond and the very moment Avius walked up to her and turned her around he was shocked. He saw the face of Allison upon the little girls face and that's when he returned to reality again. He looked down into the ground and sighed as Sean sent Spencer away to prepare for the incoming lockdown.
"I accept your offer, Sean." Avius suddenly spoke as he lay his hand on his leaders shoulder. "Permission to kill Evin Bana the very next time I see him." He continued and looked past Sean at the cafeteria where all the children and women had gathered. Evin had to pay, even if it meant losing Allisons approval, Avius had no other choice. It was either the clan or Evin, and he would rather kill one man than watch an entire clan go under.
Above their heads an eagle sore through the sky and as Sean answered Avius request it screamed out loud in its own way as it flew away, moving towards the desert.
Sean came out from the cabin and walked over to Avius. The assassin spotted his friends raging anger from the very moment he stepped out in public. This could or could not end well. As his leader reached him, Sean explained that Mitchell was dead and that all the history records had been burned to the ground. Avius closed his eyes when hearing about Mitchell and took and long and deep breath when he heard about the records. He would literally kill Evin the very next moment he saw the man. He would not wait and talk to him and ask him why, no, he would just slay him on the spot without any kind of delay. Then as Sean offered to make Avius an instructor and choose two other actives to join him amongst the ranks of instructors, his mind began to drift off for a short moment.
The assassin saw himself, a little bit older, as he was training a young female recruit who had her back towards the real Avius gaze in the vision. She was blond and the very moment Avius walked up to her and turned her around he was shocked. He saw the face of Allison upon the little girls face and that's when he returned to reality again. He looked down into the ground and sighed as Sean sent Spencer away to prepare for the incoming lockdown.
"I accept your offer, Sean." Avius suddenly spoke as he lay his hand on his leaders shoulder. "Permission to kill Evin Bana the very next time I see him." He continued and looked past Sean at the cafeteria where all the children and women had gathered. Evin had to pay, even if it meant losing Allisons approval, Avius had no other choice. It was either the clan or Evin, and he would rather kill one man than watch an entire clan go under.
Above their heads an eagle sore through the sky and as Sean answered Avius request it screamed out loud in its own way as it flew away, moving towards the desert.
As the horse began to slow down, so did Evin. Things had gone by so fast, even if that he didn't even have time to see if he was on properly on the horse. It turns out he was, but there was something else that was troubling him a bit more than his placement on the horse. When he looked down he noticed that there was some liquid all over his outfit, and running down onto the horse. When he further examined it, he started to feel a tingling in his arm. It had happened so fast and he wasn't sure what exactly happened, he just remembered using his arm to block the incoming attack Avius had done. Looking at he, he saw the damage that the water had done. When it came time to fight the man, it would be on his grounds.
He knew that at the pace that they were going, he was going to pass out from the blood loss. He didn't want to worry Grim however. He tried to keep it down as he kept pressure on the wound. It wouldn't have sounded obviouse to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for signs that he was injured though. He was sure that the Black Knight had no clue that he was hurt.
“Ev was it? You alright back there?” He said, hopefully confirming what Evin had thought.
"Oh yeah," he said, "just fine. Let's keep riding. I want to get to the desert as soon as possible."
Evin kept a calm composure about himself. He knew it was working, but also knew that eventually the unpleasant feeling would come. Taking one moment to think, he said, "I can never go back." It was under his breath, but still a little audible. Maybe the calm wouldn't last for as long as he hoped.
~~~~~
The thing that raced through Ella's mind as she quickly watched the foliage go by was how she was going to make up her mind about all of this. To Ella, Evin was family, but then again, Newhaven was home. It was the tough decision between home and family that she couldn't get out of her mind. Sure, her mother was true family, but she didn't really know her and she wasn't exactly looking forward to getting to know her that much. It would be a long process to say the least. Then, she also had to think about the conditions she'd live in with Evin. To tell the truth, she wasn't the biggest fan of living life assuming someone is going to kill you, and when that someone is the leader of one of the most effective organizations in Valcrest, it gets worse.
"I want to go to Newhaven. Not necessarily now, but whenever you feel it's right. I need a place I can finally call my home." She said, while they were stopped not to far from the edge of the desert and the fields that would lead to Newhaven started. They were about the same distance away from Newhaven as they were the ruins in the desert where she knew the healers were going. That's where she'd expect to find assassins too, especially Crys. It was up to Mageria where they were going to go. She knew where home was for her.
He knew that at the pace that they were going, he was going to pass out from the blood loss. He didn't want to worry Grim however. He tried to keep it down as he kept pressure on the wound. It wouldn't have sounded obviouse to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for signs that he was injured though. He was sure that the Black Knight had no clue that he was hurt.
“Ev was it? You alright back there?” He said, hopefully confirming what Evin had thought.
"Oh yeah," he said, "just fine. Let's keep riding. I want to get to the desert as soon as possible."
Evin kept a calm composure about himself. He knew it was working, but also knew that eventually the unpleasant feeling would come. Taking one moment to think, he said, "I can never go back." It was under his breath, but still a little audible. Maybe the calm wouldn't last for as long as he hoped.
~~~~~
The thing that raced through Ella's mind as she quickly watched the foliage go by was how she was going to make up her mind about all of this. To Ella, Evin was family, but then again, Newhaven was home. It was the tough decision between home and family that she couldn't get out of her mind. Sure, her mother was true family, but she didn't really know her and she wasn't exactly looking forward to getting to know her that much. It would be a long process to say the least. Then, she also had to think about the conditions she'd live in with Evin. To tell the truth, she wasn't the biggest fan of living life assuming someone is going to kill you, and when that someone is the leader of one of the most effective organizations in Valcrest, it gets worse.
"I want to go to Newhaven. Not necessarily now, but whenever you feel it's right. I need a place I can finally call my home." She said, while they were stopped not to far from the edge of the desert and the fields that would lead to Newhaven started. They were about the same distance away from Newhaven as they were the ruins in the desert where she knew the healers were going. That's where she'd expect to find assassins too, especially Crys. It was up to Mageria where they were going to go. She knew where home was for her.
The setting changes from Assassin's Camp to Newhaven
Mageria grimaced and stretched the kinks out of her neck. At this point she had been up for almost a day straight and she was desperately tired. She knew that most of the former White Shadows were headed to the desert, including Lena; which meant that the answers that she had been seeking for the past year were waiting for her there. The need to head that direction was almost overwhelming, but her duty to the past was less important than her duty to the present and the future.
“I think for now, it’s best for us to head to Newhaven. If you want to visit Evin in the desert, then we can arrange a trip later, but right now, I need to get back before you mother takes it into her head to come after us. I told her that if e tried to come after us I’d break her legs and chain her to the bed, but I don’t know how seriously she took me.” A tired grin worked its way across her face. “She’s rather stubborn that way.”
She checked Ghost and found her ready to go again. Mageria mounted and held out a hand, pulling Ella up behind her. Brushing her heels against Ghost’s sides, the two set out again.
It was early evening by the time that Mageria dismounted in front of the gates of the Castle. She nodded at the men there and quietly lead Ella in. Mageria was so tired that she ached, but she didn’t allow any of that to show as she walked through the corridors. It took her only a few minutes for her to find Sarris in the War Room, going over various reports with the men that had made it back. Mageria stuck her head in the door and quietly called Sarris out, the other woman followed her out and to the room that Mageria had asked Ella to wait in. Sarris entered behind her and gasped softly, pushing one hand to her mouth. Tears glimmered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She smiled brightly. “Ella?”
“I think for now, it’s best for us to head to Newhaven. If you want to visit Evin in the desert, then we can arrange a trip later, but right now, I need to get back before you mother takes it into her head to come after us. I told her that if e tried to come after us I’d break her legs and chain her to the bed, but I don’t know how seriously she took me.” A tired grin worked its way across her face. “She’s rather stubborn that way.”
She checked Ghost and found her ready to go again. Mageria mounted and held out a hand, pulling Ella up behind her. Brushing her heels against Ghost’s sides, the two set out again.
It was early evening by the time that Mageria dismounted in front of the gates of the Castle. She nodded at the men there and quietly lead Ella in. Mageria was so tired that she ached, but she didn’t allow any of that to show as she walked through the corridors. It took her only a few minutes for her to find Sarris in the War Room, going over various reports with the men that had made it back. Mageria stuck her head in the door and quietly called Sarris out, the other woman followed her out and to the room that Mageria had asked Ella to wait in. Sarris entered behind her and gasped softly, pushing one hand to her mouth. Tears glimmered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She smiled brightly. “Ella?”
“Right I understand… for what its worth, thank you Ev. I know it can’t be easy, hell if I lost Mageria I don’t know what I’d do. Then to have all these events unfold as they did. No picnic that’s for sure. So thank you, for everything.
If ever I can repay you brave soul, let me know.”
After the Knight dug his heels and riled the steed into a full run. He was worried for his Captain, but he knew that she wouldn’t wait long with princess in tow. It was better that they each moved on and caught up later. Mistakes couldn’t be tolerated at this point.
It was perhaps fortunate that Evin had chosen the most well traveled of the Black Knights. A title reserved for Jake before his retirement. Grim had spent the entirety of his career staking out and moving from place to place. Though his trips had been few to the desert he knew how to get to the dry sands with little thought.
So off he rode toward the nearest border. With only a gentle breeze at his back, and an odd traveling companion. Only silence standing between the two for the remaining trip.
If ever I can repay you brave soul, let me know.”
After the Knight dug his heels and riled the steed into a full run. He was worried for his Captain, but he knew that she wouldn’t wait long with princess in tow. It was better that they each moved on and caught up later. Mistakes couldn’t be tolerated at this point.
It was perhaps fortunate that Evin had chosen the most well traveled of the Black Knights. A title reserved for Jake before his retirement. Grim had spent the entirety of his career staking out and moving from place to place. Though his trips had been few to the desert he knew how to get to the dry sands with little thought.
So off he rode toward the nearest border. With only a gentle breeze at his back, and an odd traveling companion. Only silence standing between the two for the remaining trip.
Mageria rode to the edge of the desert, dressed once again in her forest colored mercenary gear. She wasn’t dressed that way because she was trying to hide who she was, but because wearing all black into the desert was the hight of stupidity. Some of her men had escorted the former White Shadows here, they had reported that Lena Turner had ended up in the same area. Once Mageria found this out for sure, she had asked for, and received permission to travel to the camp. The time had finally come for her to learn the truth about a great many things.
She reached the edge of the Crimson Shadow’s camp and waited politely for the sentries to come and ask her business. She was, she reflected wryly, spending a great deal of time waiting at the edge of camps for people to be willing to talk to her. One of them drew close enough to talk, eying her up and down dubiously. She nodded and spoke softly but clearly. “Is Lena Turner still here? I need to speak with her, please.”
--------------------
Lena had taken the time to check on Crys even though she wasn't officially a healer anymore, and at the moment she was returning from the old construction in the most secluded area of the encampment, close enough to still hear the sound of a very bored young woman playing the flute.
As she came closer to the camp one of the mercenaries came running towards her, stopping at a respectful distance and taking a much unnecessary bow. "Lady Turner, there is a woman here to see you."
"You don't say, young man?" She said in a slightly amused tone. "Did she happen to give you her name?"
"Uh..." The mercenary scratched his head. "No, not really. She's dressed as a mercenary, but I don't know."
Lena smiled. "Well, then she must be one. Why else would she be dressed that way?" Of course, she was simply messing with the man, there was no reason for her to worry even if an angry mob came looking for her. She didn't have many enemies left, thankfully. "Alright, please take me to this visitor, then." She said.
Lena then followed the mercenary to the northern borders of the territory. She spotted and recognized the woman on the horse at a good enough distance. She had a guess as to the motives behind this visit and, even though she wasn't looking forward to answer some questions that would surely be asked, she knew it was about time. She stopped before the woman and offered her a gentle smile. "Well, hello captain. How may I assist you in this fine day?" She asked, nodding briefly at the surrounding mercenaries as to assure them that it was alright for them to leave. As she turned to face Mageria again she chuckled. "Don't mind them, they don't usually mind travelers at all, but..." She chuckled and leaned forward lowering her voice just a bit. "Well, don't know if you have been told this before or not; your posture screams 'authority figure', and they aren't exactly fond of those."
---------------
Mageria snorted softly. “I’ll be sure to work on that. I thought not wearing black would be enough, but evidently not. On the other hand, it’s too hot to wear all black in the sun.” She tilted her head back for a moment and simply enjoyed the heat of the sun. Sometimes it was the simple joys of life that made it worth it. She looked down and smiled wryly. “I realized about half a moment after that young man went running off that I hadn’t given my name, sorry about that. I’ve gotten used to everyone knowing me on sight.” She dismounted and gave the reigns of her horse to one of the men standing nearby, then turned back to Lena. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?” Mageria followed behind as Lena lead her to a secluded spot, away from anybody else that might be able to listen in. Once there, she leaned against a nearby boulder and looked out over the desert, devoid of civilization.
“I hope that Allistair is doing all right. I wasn’t able to thank him properly after everything he did for me back at Newhaven; I don’t know if he told you or was allowed to tell you, but he was the one who helped me through what Luckas’s brother did to me. He was rather upset about the almost dying thing, kept giving me odd looks out of the corner of his eyes.” She smiled softly and rubbed at the bones of her right hand.
“I need to know what you can tell me, Lena. About the rumors I’ve been chasing for the past two months. The ones that say that the man buried in the tombs isn’t the true king, that he was somehow replaced without anybody knowing. What I know is that when I searched the King’s rooms, I found a trapped compartment that held Healer’s robes. And when I checked the King’s tomb, I found that his ring finger had been cut off. All of that could have been planted in order to throw confusion into the equation. But when I asked Alistair about it, he danced around the question until he had told me what bits that he could. Which means that there was a great deal that he couldn’t tell me.” She knelt down and took a handful of sun warmed sand in one hand, slowly pouring it to the other. “What is it that you can tell me?”
------------------------------------------------
Lena smiled, letting her gaze wander off to the small group of white tents at a distance. "Alistair... I can't say he is not alright, but he is having his doubts as to what to do with his life. He is a young man, still, so I told him he can do anything, or nothing at all if that brings him some peace of mind. Sacrificing your own happiness was a never part of the oath. He hasn't spoke his mind quite yet, but I think he might be leaving soon." With a loud screech, an eagle flew over their heads, probably heading towards the mountains to the south, Lena let her eyes follow the animal until it disappeared in the distance. "As for what I know... I know surprisingly little, considering the circumstances." She heaved a sigh and let her mind wander off for a little while before speaking again.
"17 years ago, give or take, this young man was brought from the forest into our encampment, he wore a Wolfpack ring and was severely wounded. He had been stabbed twice: once by sword, once by a throwing knife. He was practically dead from blood loss, and still bleeding. Well... It took almost a week to drag him closer to the the status of living. I dare say that he was as good as dead for almost six days. Now, I'm known for many things, one of them is my refusal to simply sit and let someone die. I think if the Gods want someone dead, they have the means to defeat me and my stubbornness." She shook her head. "This, however, was the one and only life I ever regretted saving." She let her eyes meet Mageria's and she added. "The person I knew was a brilliant healer and rather charming individual and nothing about him seemed to indicate he was anything less than what he made himself seem. I suppose that was the one strange thing about him: No one is exactly what they make themselves seem. Of course, it didn't raise any suspicions on me then, maybe I didn't want to see." She stated, a glimpse of anger crossing her eyes. "He disappeared often, but healers are free to travel whenever they want, he spent a lot of time going through our archives, but we all did. Once he was even caught trying to sneak a book out of the camp, but that wasn't the first time someone has done that... There were a lot of small things like that, all of which could mean absolutely nothing."
Lena dug the tip of her boot onto the sand absently. "When his absences started to actually look strange, I confronted him about his comings and goings. He said he needed to stay away from camp at times due to his enlightenment. The man could feel the physical pain of others. It's a sort of empathy, but not quite. I accepted as I imagined it would be uncomfortable for him to be around so many injured and ill people at all times." She ran a hand through her hair, as if the conversation alone somehow made her tired. "The only moment I knew for sure he was the killer everyone was looking for, was when the Second in command of the Pack was killed. I was told of a message the man left for whoever found him; the page of a medical book. That page spoke of a mythical dagger that, was said, could store the powers of enlightened victims as long as the victim was stabbed alive and didn't survive the attack. A myth, or so I thought. When I looked through Bastian's copy of the book though, it had a sketch of the weapon on it. I had seen the weapon before, it had been found in my camp. It was stored in the armory and stolen shortly after. After the man was killed in Newhaven, when I went home, I looked through our library... The page with the sketch of the weapon had been cut off our book." Lena made another pause, after which she seemed a little more firm in her words. "I don't know what proof I could give you, captain. I can however swear on anything you would ask me to: The man buried in that tomb is not the king of Newhaven. I don't know how, or when, but your King was already dead when his people finally mourned his death. No one knew, and I don't hold it against them, because when it came to that man... No one ever knew anything. He was simply that: A shadow. That is all we'll ever know, I'm afraid."
-----------------------------
Mageria stared out at the desert in silence for a long time. It was all such a fragile house of cards and nobody had any firm proof that they could offer. But at the same time there were too many people who were all giving versions of the same story; versions that differed only enough that they reinforced each other. If she accepted Lena’s story, and she had no reason not to, then she had to accept everyone else’s story as well. She closed her eyes, remembering something that Jake had told her.
“All I can say for sure is that the man we killed that night attacked us after rambling on about how he was going to take our abilities and achieve ultimate power. We never got to find out what exactly that meant, but three of the people in our group had been attacked by him before. He wasn't going to let us go."
It fit. Tears of the Twins, it all fit. She didn’t want to accept it, but she finally had to. And that meant . . . . . Everything she had done, all the blood that had been spilled in the past year, it had all been for nothing. All for the tragically simple truth that a madman had gotten the need for power and found a way to have people follow him. Even after he was dead he continued to twist the world around him. She could almost hear Morgan laughing at her. Mageria stood up abruptly, roughly brushing sand from her cloths, using it as an excuse for not looking up.
“Thank you for your truths, Lena.” Her voice was horse, as if she had been holding in screams. Maybe she had. “Excuse me a moment.”
She turned away, heading blindly southwards, intent only on finding some corner where she could find a moment of solitude. She didn’t even pay attention to where she was going, simply away was direction enough. After several minutes of walking, she found herself near a wind carved boulder with a deep pocket of shade. Mageria sat down, cradled by the wall of rock and allowed herself the rare luxury of simply being in the moment. Her beliefs and patterns of the past year replayed themselves in front of her eyes, showing her every moment that could have gone differently if only she had known. It was as if her point of view about everything shattered, jagged edges grinding and sliding past each other to cut and leave her bleeding. She would have wept at the waste of it all, but the dry winds of the desert stole the tears from her eyes.
There was a rare purity to the desert that existed nowhere else. She had spent a month living there in her wandering days, it allowed her time to truly figure out who she felt herself to be. In the desert there were no expectations, no names, no needs, no one to tie you to behaving in a certain way. It simply existed in an endless moment of now, past and present and future somehow tied together in a way that she had never experienced before or since. She allowed the peace of that endless now to soak into her soul, to regain some balance. Somewhere a lone flute wound a mournful tune through the oncoming twilight; almost it seemed to be an echo of her own thoughts, if she had ever held the skill to coax forth music like that. Mageria leaned her head against the rock at her back, feeling the warmth that it still held as a welcome contrast to the coolness of the air that always came so suddenly as night fell across the sands. With a deep sigh she finally had to accept that while she was going to have to carry the burden of her own actions over the past year, she had done the best that she could with the knowledge that she had at the time. As the dark Messenger had pointed out, during her brush with death, if she hadn’t been present, then far more people could have died. She would have to deal with the consequences and continue to live in such a way that she might someday have a chance to balance the scales. But still she continued to sit there, sheltered by the brutal simplicity of the desert. She would move on in a moment.
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Lena stood where she was as Mageria walked away. She understood that the woman had believed her, and she also understood what that meant for her. She decided to give her a moment of peace, but she had one more thing to say, and that was a little more important than the identity of a dead man.
Dastan was sitting at the top of one large boulder. It was a place he usually enjoyed, he could see people coming at a certain distance, and couldn't be seen from the ground unless someone looked up at him: A good place to simply lay back and relax. He stretched lazily trying to make out the person walking towards his location. The woman was dressed as a mercenary, but not a Crimson, for sure.
Dastan squinted, leaning forward, with blurry eyes, trying to see if he knew that person. Before he managed to get a good look, however, the woman disappeared underneath the boulder. He waited for a long while for her to turn up on the other end, however she didn't.
In his drunken curiosity, the man started getting closer and closer to the edge to try and get a good look, until eventually he slipped and fell face down on the fluffy ground. Lifting his head and spitting out a little bit of sand, he tried to focus on the person sitting down underneath the shade of the rock.
"Oy, Lady!" He called. "You're trespassing." He sat up, brushing sand off his hair, and pointed two red flags in the direction she had come from. "No visitors past that point." He tilted his head, curiously. "Have we met before? Are you with the assassins?" He nodded. "No, you don't look like a Wolf; uptight like one, maybe, but definitely not a Wolf." He mumbled on, practically to himself, until he spotted Lena walking towards the two and stood up, stumbling back a bit. Lena stopped and smiled at him. "She's with me, and you know... Indrani is looking for you."
Dastan lowered his head and nodded. "What else is new?" He muttered under his breath. "She's with you?" He asked, glaring at Lena and nodding towards Mageria.
"Yes. It's fine." Lena answered, waiting for him to walk away before laughing lightly. "Weird kid.” Lena leaned against the boulder and sighed glancing at Mageria with the corner of her eyes. “Everything alright captain?” She asked, letting her gaze wander in the direction the music came from. “Crys hadn’t played since her mother died.” She stated absently, before turning her head to face the other woman. “There is one more thing I feel I should mention: The dagger, the one the imposter was using, disappeared on the night he died. The book that held information on the weapon was lost, oddly enough, in the castle of Newhaven. I believe the assassin caught there posing as a healer a while back was carrying it in her bag. I would suggest that you look for it and read it. If the weapon turns up anywhere within your reach… Take it, and tell no one you wouldn’t trust with your life. If that dagger falls into the wrong hands, well… That would just be very unpleasant.” She nodded. "Anyone amongst the White Shadows will be able to give any other information you need, should you need it in the future. I'm not sure exactly how long I will be staying here."
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Mageria rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily. “The dagger that can rip people’s Enlightenments away and give them to someone else is missing, along with the book containing information about it. If that isn’t asking for trouble, I don’t know what is. Which means that it will probably show up in the worst possible way at the worst possible time. Did you ever ask the Pack members that killed the false King what happened to it?” She picked up a stone that lay nearby and rubbed her fingers over the sand worn edges. “Assassins tend to pick up knives and carry them around with them, especially if they’re in the middle of a fight and might have just lost their usual weapons. They might have some ideas. Not that they’ll let any of my people anywhere near their camp anymore.”
She thought some more, half smiling a bit. Uptight like a Wolf. Evin would laugh his ass off. She’d have to ask him about the dagger, she thought that Grim had brought him out this way. Then something that Lena said clamored for her attention.
Crys hadn’t played since her mother died.
Crystal Rivers was the one playing the flute? Crystal Rivers was here in camp? She turned and looked incredulously up at Lena.
“Crys? As in Crystal Rivers?” She stood up and turned and looked off in the distance where the music was coming from. “Crystal Rivers is alive? What the hell happened?”
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Lena chuckled. "No, it gets worse. You see, to withdraw the powers from the dagger he had to first collect a certain number of specific powers, which powers exactly I'm not sure, and then when, and only when, he had them all... Stab himself with it. He never got to do that, which means that the dagger is loaded with the powers of all of his victims still." She sighed herself. "Those assassins had specific instructions to bring that dagger to me, however, the battle was so chaotic that none of them noticed where it ended up. All they where able to tell is that it was nowhere to be seen and they had to get out fast. Jake obsessed with finding it for quite some time. He managed to track down the servant that picked it up and sold it to a traveling merchant. The man left Newhaven the day after buying it and vanished into thin air. That was it for the trail."
Lena nodded looking up at the building where the flute was still playing. "Yes, Crys is alive. Miraculously, was the word Alistair used, and he doesn't take miracles lightly." She nodded, and amused expression spreading across her face. "Oddly enough, he's used this word twice in a very short period of time. The Crimson Shadows found her bleeding in the forest, they carried her here and Alistair treated her wounds. He didn't tell anyone that she was alive, afraid that whoever tried to kill her would try to finish her off. Well... A month after, as soon as she managed to get on her feet, the idiot escaped and went back to the camp." Lena shook her head. "She exposed the traitor who had ordered the attempt on her life, however, the boy challenged her for the command of the clan, and once challenged the leader has no choice but to fight to stay in command. Crystal was still too weak. She lost the fight. The only reason why she wasn't killed was because someone intervened. Some of the actives followed after, but not many. The clan turned on her." She nodded in the direction of the building. "She's staying up there on the ruins. Home of the leader of the Crimson, the only bed available." Lena crossed her arms over her chest listening to the music. "I'm not sure what's going through the kid's mind right now, but I don't think it's very good." She concluded.
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Mageria crossed her arms and regarded Lena gravely. “Is there anyway to discharge the powers without giving them to someone first? When it shows up, I’d like the chance to neutralize it safely. Otherwise I’d just have to find somewhere to hide it, and it doesn’t sound like that turned out so well. And hunting actively for it would just focus attention on it.”
Mageria leaned against the boulder and ran one hand through her hair, pulling it out of its braid and gathering it into one tail. “And now I know why things changed so rapidly at the Pack camp. One time Evin is glaring at me and the next Sean is holding a knife to . . .” She stopped and swallowed carefully. “To some people who know a bit of my history. Which means that Sean knows some rather unsavory things about my past. I’ll have to be careful about that.” She thought for a moment longer. “Sean did seem the type to beat a wounded woman into the ground. Another reason not to trust him I suppose. And I’m not surprised he’s a traitor. I suppose he brought in outside help to take her out? I really doubt that he could take either her or Evin in a fair fight.” She sighed softly. “I tried to warn her. Stupid me, I suppose.” She dug her boot through the sand and rubbed one finger along her nose.
“Why, Lena? Why didn’t you come and tell us all of this before we, before I attacked the Pack camp? We could have avoided so much. Why wait till now, when I had to track you down?”
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Lena lowered her head for a moment. "There is no way to discharge it that I know of. I had asked Jake to bring it to me to keep. I was going to try and find a way to destroy it, although it is said to be indestructible." Lena stared in the direction of the mountains and smiled. "I was told once that enlightened people lose their abilities once the cross the borders of the land. It is possible that if taken outside the land the dagger will lose its magic. It could be destroyed then." She looked down at her feet and added with a half smile. "It's only a theory, but the best one I could possibly offer."
She closed her eyes as a breeze passed them, causing some shivers down her spine. The night was falling, and the warmth of the sun was fading slowly as it lowered. "If there's one thing my lifetime has taught me captain, is that it's much better to regret a life you took than a life you failed to save. Any remorse that day might have brought you is nothing compared to what you could have felt." She pulled herself away from the rock for a moment, looking up to await the first stars. "I don't blame Sean. I've once shared the same opinions, back when I was as young and angry as he was. Gladly, I chose a different path. Still, I agree you shouldn't trust him." She smiled. "As for the warning you gave Crys, well... She remembered it. She tried to warn them, but... You can expect someone who is bleeding out to think of how many conclusions can be drawn from the word 'black'." She snorted, softly, a half amused, half annoyed tone in her voice. "And Evin acted like a vindictive idiot, the way I see it. He could have simply challenged Sean for command. I highly doubt he would have had any trouble taking him out, could have saved a lot of future headaches." She nodded. "That would be too simple for him though, I think."
She stood silent for a long while, until the first group of stars appeared, then she answered the question. "Dani, Crystal's mother, and I discussed this. We talked for hours, until we agreed that we didn't know who we could actually go to. We didn't know if anyone was helping him and if there was, who would be helping him." She sighed. "So Dani decided to send you Jake first. His orders were to: One, keep the Pack informed of attacks beforehand; Two, try to find someone who was reliable inside the castle; Three, if all else failed... Eliminate both you and Krander." She gave Mageria a slightly apologetic look. "That was the last of all resorts, and I know Dani never really wanted it to get that far. However if the Pack found itself in too much of a jam, the easiest way out would be eliminate both Captains and let Blackpond take it from there." She shrugged. "The idea was always to find someone we could talk to. If Dani hadn't..." She shook her head. "If she hadn't pushed Jake as far as she did... I know he would have been able to figure out a way to make that happen, but after she died he was unable to think clearly enough." She rubbed her eyes. "I thought that eventually someone would come and ask me questions, but I assume things got in the way, or we would have had this conversation months ago."
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Mageria nodded as she listened. “It was a good plan, based on the information that you had. I probably would have done the same, if I had been in the same position. And you were right, you all had no way to know if anybody was helping the false King. Hell, the Black Knights would have been my number one suspect of supporting him. Our reputation is occasionally useful, but not in a situation like this. As for things getting in the way. Gods. After the false King died, it was all I could to keep the city from dissolving in a blood bath. Half the soldiers wanted to desert so that they could hunt down the Pack, merchants were pulling their father’s rusty swords off the walls, they were going to reform the Wolf Hunters; and none of them had any clue what they were doing. They just would have gone out and slaughtered anyone they could find or get ripped apart themselves. And I knew.” She pushed away from the boulder and walked a step or two away before turning back. “I knew that people lived in the camp that had nothing to do with what happened. I thought,” she sighed. “I thought that as long as I lead the attack, I could make sure it stayed within limits, the only people that were legitimate targets were those that were able to fight back.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “After that . . . Well, Blackpond attacked, and it was a struggle just to put the city back together. We haven’t had a lot of time to do much beyond what’s right in front of us. We might have come and found you earlier, but it took this long to start hearing about the various rumors.”
“And I’m not upset that Crys accidentally framed us for her murder. I mean, yes, Evin did come to Newhaven and try and kill me for it, but I probably would have done the same thing in the situation and he didn’t try all that hard. Stabbed me pretty good, but the only reason it slowed me down was because I was already weak from what that kid was doing to my head.” She turned and looked Lena dead in the eyes. “So. Does she know how sick her mother was, before her death?”
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Lena shivered slightly at the mere mention of the Wolf Hunters, although she knew for a fact that nothing those people did would ever compare to that group; they lived to kill assassins and they weren't successful on will power alone. She nodded, dismissing the distant memories. "I think that in those circumstances, with the little information you had, things went considerably well if you think of what could have happened. Not everyone is careful enough to prevent civilian casualties on the other side of a battle. Blackpond surely isn't."
Lena heaved a sigh at the subject of Dani's illness. "Yes... Crys knows now. And she wasn't very happy to know Dani was already sick back when they killed the Shadow. She hid it well, but she was getting worse in the couple of weeks before she died. I didn't exactly appreciate the way in which she chose to end things, but you see... The Pack leader doesn't get to retire. If word got out she was ill, anyone, even Sean, could have challenged her and taken command. So she had to make it so she could put Crys and Evin in command as soon as possible." She chuckled. "I'm sure she imagined it to turn out a lot better than this. And I'm sure Crys knows that too." She said, glancing towards the building again as the music stopped playing. "Hum... She knows I'm talking about her. And she's not exactly happy with me right now. I don't blame her, I mean... She thinks I could have simply told her the truth after Dani died and saved everyone some trouble, especially Jake." She shrugged. "I don't mind if they choose to think that. However, I promised not to say anything, and Dani would have left something behind. I still don't understand why it was never found."
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Mageria laughed softly. “Don’t we always plan things to turn out better than they do? I’m sure that she did leave something behind, she just might have hid it a bit to well. And I doubt that things have really been quiet back at the camp. And of course, last I heard, Evin had lit a building or two on fire on his way out. I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, but perhaps not so much in the long run. And given the way things have turned out in the past few days, I can understand why Dani did things the way she did.”
She looked up at the growing dark. “Do you think the Crimson’s will mind if I find a corner to curl up in? I forgot how quickly it gets dark out here.”
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Lena chuckled. "My master used to say that smart people make plans, but only fools expect them to succeed." She stated, amused. "Dani had a way of making back-up plans within back-up plans, it was hard to know when one ended and the next one began... Quite entertaining. It was a shame you never got to meet her in person, she would like you." She smiled. "And I don't think the Crimson would mind you if you don't mind them. If Dastan gets anymore to drink there will some sort of party, fight, or similar altercation soon. It's usually pretty harmless, but rather loud."
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Mageria smiled over at Lena. “You should see some of the parties that we’ve had over in the Black Guard. Talk about loud.” She sighed and looked up at the stars, wondering if there was any point to anything that had happened; and reason beyond simple chance for the way and why that people died. “I think. . . . I think that I might like to have met your Dani. It would have been an interesting time. Probably fairly loud as well.” She turned away, slowly. “Thank you, Lena. For the truth. However hard it was hearing it.” Headed back toward the public areas of the camp, she could hear a soft flute melody start up again, soft notes rising into the night air. Looking over her shoulder, Mageria shook her head.
So much wasted. So much lost.
Back in the public areas, Mageira found her gear in a heap near the horses. Digging out her bed roll and saddlebags, she drug it all off to a corner that looked as if she would be away from most of the fight, or party, whichever started first. There was a small fire pit and a supply of wood; she got a blaze going and started a small pot of tea. Once it was done, she poured a cup and dropped a lump of crystal sugar in. Leaning back, she watched the Crimsons laughing and arguing with each other. It made her miss her mercenary days, when she wasn’t the one who had to carry the safety of the entire group. But those were days long gone past. With a grimace she pulled out some bread and dried fruit and started eating. She hated travel food.
She reached the edge of the Crimson Shadow’s camp and waited politely for the sentries to come and ask her business. She was, she reflected wryly, spending a great deal of time waiting at the edge of camps for people to be willing to talk to her. One of them drew close enough to talk, eying her up and down dubiously. She nodded and spoke softly but clearly. “Is Lena Turner still here? I need to speak with her, please.”
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Lena had taken the time to check on Crys even though she wasn't officially a healer anymore, and at the moment she was returning from the old construction in the most secluded area of the encampment, close enough to still hear the sound of a very bored young woman playing the flute.
As she came closer to the camp one of the mercenaries came running towards her, stopping at a respectful distance and taking a much unnecessary bow. "Lady Turner, there is a woman here to see you."
"You don't say, young man?" She said in a slightly amused tone. "Did she happen to give you her name?"
"Uh..." The mercenary scratched his head. "No, not really. She's dressed as a mercenary, but I don't know."
Lena smiled. "Well, then she must be one. Why else would she be dressed that way?" Of course, she was simply messing with the man, there was no reason for her to worry even if an angry mob came looking for her. She didn't have many enemies left, thankfully. "Alright, please take me to this visitor, then." She said.
Lena then followed the mercenary to the northern borders of the territory. She spotted and recognized the woman on the horse at a good enough distance. She had a guess as to the motives behind this visit and, even though she wasn't looking forward to answer some questions that would surely be asked, she knew it was about time. She stopped before the woman and offered her a gentle smile. "Well, hello captain. How may I assist you in this fine day?" She asked, nodding briefly at the surrounding mercenaries as to assure them that it was alright for them to leave. As she turned to face Mageria again she chuckled. "Don't mind them, they don't usually mind travelers at all, but..." She chuckled and leaned forward lowering her voice just a bit. "Well, don't know if you have been told this before or not; your posture screams 'authority figure', and they aren't exactly fond of those."
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Mageria snorted softly. “I’ll be sure to work on that. I thought not wearing black would be enough, but evidently not. On the other hand, it’s too hot to wear all black in the sun.” She tilted her head back for a moment and simply enjoyed the heat of the sun. Sometimes it was the simple joys of life that made it worth it. She looked down and smiled wryly. “I realized about half a moment after that young man went running off that I hadn’t given my name, sorry about that. I’ve gotten used to everyone knowing me on sight.” She dismounted and gave the reigns of her horse to one of the men standing nearby, then turned back to Lena. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?” Mageria followed behind as Lena lead her to a secluded spot, away from anybody else that might be able to listen in. Once there, she leaned against a nearby boulder and looked out over the desert, devoid of civilization.
“I hope that Allistair is doing all right. I wasn’t able to thank him properly after everything he did for me back at Newhaven; I don’t know if he told you or was allowed to tell you, but he was the one who helped me through what Luckas’s brother did to me. He was rather upset about the almost dying thing, kept giving me odd looks out of the corner of his eyes.” She smiled softly and rubbed at the bones of her right hand.
“I need to know what you can tell me, Lena. About the rumors I’ve been chasing for the past two months. The ones that say that the man buried in the tombs isn’t the true king, that he was somehow replaced without anybody knowing. What I know is that when I searched the King’s rooms, I found a trapped compartment that held Healer’s robes. And when I checked the King’s tomb, I found that his ring finger had been cut off. All of that could have been planted in order to throw confusion into the equation. But when I asked Alistair about it, he danced around the question until he had told me what bits that he could. Which means that there was a great deal that he couldn’t tell me.” She knelt down and took a handful of sun warmed sand in one hand, slowly pouring it to the other. “What is it that you can tell me?”
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Lena smiled, letting her gaze wander off to the small group of white tents at a distance. "Alistair... I can't say he is not alright, but he is having his doubts as to what to do with his life. He is a young man, still, so I told him he can do anything, or nothing at all if that brings him some peace of mind. Sacrificing your own happiness was a never part of the oath. He hasn't spoke his mind quite yet, but I think he might be leaving soon." With a loud screech, an eagle flew over their heads, probably heading towards the mountains to the south, Lena let her eyes follow the animal until it disappeared in the distance. "As for what I know... I know surprisingly little, considering the circumstances." She heaved a sigh and let her mind wander off for a little while before speaking again.
"17 years ago, give or take, this young man was brought from the forest into our encampment, he wore a Wolfpack ring and was severely wounded. He had been stabbed twice: once by sword, once by a throwing knife. He was practically dead from blood loss, and still bleeding. Well... It took almost a week to drag him closer to the the status of living. I dare say that he was as good as dead for almost six days. Now, I'm known for many things, one of them is my refusal to simply sit and let someone die. I think if the Gods want someone dead, they have the means to defeat me and my stubbornness." She shook her head. "This, however, was the one and only life I ever regretted saving." She let her eyes meet Mageria's and she added. "The person I knew was a brilliant healer and rather charming individual and nothing about him seemed to indicate he was anything less than what he made himself seem. I suppose that was the one strange thing about him: No one is exactly what they make themselves seem. Of course, it didn't raise any suspicions on me then, maybe I didn't want to see." She stated, a glimpse of anger crossing her eyes. "He disappeared often, but healers are free to travel whenever they want, he spent a lot of time going through our archives, but we all did. Once he was even caught trying to sneak a book out of the camp, but that wasn't the first time someone has done that... There were a lot of small things like that, all of which could mean absolutely nothing."
Lena dug the tip of her boot onto the sand absently. "When his absences started to actually look strange, I confronted him about his comings and goings. He said he needed to stay away from camp at times due to his enlightenment. The man could feel the physical pain of others. It's a sort of empathy, but not quite. I accepted as I imagined it would be uncomfortable for him to be around so many injured and ill people at all times." She ran a hand through her hair, as if the conversation alone somehow made her tired. "The only moment I knew for sure he was the killer everyone was looking for, was when the Second in command of the Pack was killed. I was told of a message the man left for whoever found him; the page of a medical book. That page spoke of a mythical dagger that, was said, could store the powers of enlightened victims as long as the victim was stabbed alive and didn't survive the attack. A myth, or so I thought. When I looked through Bastian's copy of the book though, it had a sketch of the weapon on it. I had seen the weapon before, it had been found in my camp. It was stored in the armory and stolen shortly after. After the man was killed in Newhaven, when I went home, I looked through our library... The page with the sketch of the weapon had been cut off our book." Lena made another pause, after which she seemed a little more firm in her words. "I don't know what proof I could give you, captain. I can however swear on anything you would ask me to: The man buried in that tomb is not the king of Newhaven. I don't know how, or when, but your King was already dead when his people finally mourned his death. No one knew, and I don't hold it against them, because when it came to that man... No one ever knew anything. He was simply that: A shadow. That is all we'll ever know, I'm afraid."
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Mageria stared out at the desert in silence for a long time. It was all such a fragile house of cards and nobody had any firm proof that they could offer. But at the same time there were too many people who were all giving versions of the same story; versions that differed only enough that they reinforced each other. If she accepted Lena’s story, and she had no reason not to, then she had to accept everyone else’s story as well. She closed her eyes, remembering something that Jake had told her.
“All I can say for sure is that the man we killed that night attacked us after rambling on about how he was going to take our abilities and achieve ultimate power. We never got to find out what exactly that meant, but three of the people in our group had been attacked by him before. He wasn't going to let us go."
It fit. Tears of the Twins, it all fit. She didn’t want to accept it, but she finally had to. And that meant . . . . . Everything she had done, all the blood that had been spilled in the past year, it had all been for nothing. All for the tragically simple truth that a madman had gotten the need for power and found a way to have people follow him. Even after he was dead he continued to twist the world around him. She could almost hear Morgan laughing at her. Mageria stood up abruptly, roughly brushing sand from her cloths, using it as an excuse for not looking up.
“Thank you for your truths, Lena.” Her voice was horse, as if she had been holding in screams. Maybe she had. “Excuse me a moment.”
She turned away, heading blindly southwards, intent only on finding some corner where she could find a moment of solitude. She didn’t even pay attention to where she was going, simply away was direction enough. After several minutes of walking, she found herself near a wind carved boulder with a deep pocket of shade. Mageria sat down, cradled by the wall of rock and allowed herself the rare luxury of simply being in the moment. Her beliefs and patterns of the past year replayed themselves in front of her eyes, showing her every moment that could have gone differently if only she had known. It was as if her point of view about everything shattered, jagged edges grinding and sliding past each other to cut and leave her bleeding. She would have wept at the waste of it all, but the dry winds of the desert stole the tears from her eyes.
There was a rare purity to the desert that existed nowhere else. She had spent a month living there in her wandering days, it allowed her time to truly figure out who she felt herself to be. In the desert there were no expectations, no names, no needs, no one to tie you to behaving in a certain way. It simply existed in an endless moment of now, past and present and future somehow tied together in a way that she had never experienced before or since. She allowed the peace of that endless now to soak into her soul, to regain some balance. Somewhere a lone flute wound a mournful tune through the oncoming twilight; almost it seemed to be an echo of her own thoughts, if she had ever held the skill to coax forth music like that. Mageria leaned her head against the rock at her back, feeling the warmth that it still held as a welcome contrast to the coolness of the air that always came so suddenly as night fell across the sands. With a deep sigh she finally had to accept that while she was going to have to carry the burden of her own actions over the past year, she had done the best that she could with the knowledge that she had at the time. As the dark Messenger had pointed out, during her brush with death, if she hadn’t been present, then far more people could have died. She would have to deal with the consequences and continue to live in such a way that she might someday have a chance to balance the scales. But still she continued to sit there, sheltered by the brutal simplicity of the desert. She would move on in a moment.
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Lena stood where she was as Mageria walked away. She understood that the woman had believed her, and she also understood what that meant for her. She decided to give her a moment of peace, but she had one more thing to say, and that was a little more important than the identity of a dead man.
Dastan was sitting at the top of one large boulder. It was a place he usually enjoyed, he could see people coming at a certain distance, and couldn't be seen from the ground unless someone looked up at him: A good place to simply lay back and relax. He stretched lazily trying to make out the person walking towards his location. The woman was dressed as a mercenary, but not a Crimson, for sure.
Dastan squinted, leaning forward, with blurry eyes, trying to see if he knew that person. Before he managed to get a good look, however, the woman disappeared underneath the boulder. He waited for a long while for her to turn up on the other end, however she didn't.
In his drunken curiosity, the man started getting closer and closer to the edge to try and get a good look, until eventually he slipped and fell face down on the fluffy ground. Lifting his head and spitting out a little bit of sand, he tried to focus on the person sitting down underneath the shade of the rock.
"Oy, Lady!" He called. "You're trespassing." He sat up, brushing sand off his hair, and pointed two red flags in the direction she had come from. "No visitors past that point." He tilted his head, curiously. "Have we met before? Are you with the assassins?" He nodded. "No, you don't look like a Wolf; uptight like one, maybe, but definitely not a Wolf." He mumbled on, practically to himself, until he spotted Lena walking towards the two and stood up, stumbling back a bit. Lena stopped and smiled at him. "She's with me, and you know... Indrani is looking for you."
Dastan lowered his head and nodded. "What else is new?" He muttered under his breath. "She's with you?" He asked, glaring at Lena and nodding towards Mageria.
"Yes. It's fine." Lena answered, waiting for him to walk away before laughing lightly. "Weird kid.” Lena leaned against the boulder and sighed glancing at Mageria with the corner of her eyes. “Everything alright captain?” She asked, letting her gaze wander in the direction the music came from. “Crys hadn’t played since her mother died.” She stated absently, before turning her head to face the other woman. “There is one more thing I feel I should mention: The dagger, the one the imposter was using, disappeared on the night he died. The book that held information on the weapon was lost, oddly enough, in the castle of Newhaven. I believe the assassin caught there posing as a healer a while back was carrying it in her bag. I would suggest that you look for it and read it. If the weapon turns up anywhere within your reach… Take it, and tell no one you wouldn’t trust with your life. If that dagger falls into the wrong hands, well… That would just be very unpleasant.” She nodded. "Anyone amongst the White Shadows will be able to give any other information you need, should you need it in the future. I'm not sure exactly how long I will be staying here."
---------------------------
Mageria rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily. “The dagger that can rip people’s Enlightenments away and give them to someone else is missing, along with the book containing information about it. If that isn’t asking for trouble, I don’t know what is. Which means that it will probably show up in the worst possible way at the worst possible time. Did you ever ask the Pack members that killed the false King what happened to it?” She picked up a stone that lay nearby and rubbed her fingers over the sand worn edges. “Assassins tend to pick up knives and carry them around with them, especially if they’re in the middle of a fight and might have just lost their usual weapons. They might have some ideas. Not that they’ll let any of my people anywhere near their camp anymore.”
She thought some more, half smiling a bit. Uptight like a Wolf. Evin would laugh his ass off. She’d have to ask him about the dagger, she thought that Grim had brought him out this way. Then something that Lena said clamored for her attention.
Crys hadn’t played since her mother died.
Crystal Rivers was the one playing the flute? Crystal Rivers was here in camp? She turned and looked incredulously up at Lena.
“Crys? As in Crystal Rivers?” She stood up and turned and looked off in the distance where the music was coming from. “Crystal Rivers is alive? What the hell happened?”
--------------------------------
Lena chuckled. "No, it gets worse. You see, to withdraw the powers from the dagger he had to first collect a certain number of specific powers, which powers exactly I'm not sure, and then when, and only when, he had them all... Stab himself with it. He never got to do that, which means that the dagger is loaded with the powers of all of his victims still." She sighed herself. "Those assassins had specific instructions to bring that dagger to me, however, the battle was so chaotic that none of them noticed where it ended up. All they where able to tell is that it was nowhere to be seen and they had to get out fast. Jake obsessed with finding it for quite some time. He managed to track down the servant that picked it up and sold it to a traveling merchant. The man left Newhaven the day after buying it and vanished into thin air. That was it for the trail."
Lena nodded looking up at the building where the flute was still playing. "Yes, Crys is alive. Miraculously, was the word Alistair used, and he doesn't take miracles lightly." She nodded, and amused expression spreading across her face. "Oddly enough, he's used this word twice in a very short period of time. The Crimson Shadows found her bleeding in the forest, they carried her here and Alistair treated her wounds. He didn't tell anyone that she was alive, afraid that whoever tried to kill her would try to finish her off. Well... A month after, as soon as she managed to get on her feet, the idiot escaped and went back to the camp." Lena shook her head. "She exposed the traitor who had ordered the attempt on her life, however, the boy challenged her for the command of the clan, and once challenged the leader has no choice but to fight to stay in command. Crystal was still too weak. She lost the fight. The only reason why she wasn't killed was because someone intervened. Some of the actives followed after, but not many. The clan turned on her." She nodded in the direction of the building. "She's staying up there on the ruins. Home of the leader of the Crimson, the only bed available." Lena crossed her arms over her chest listening to the music. "I'm not sure what's going through the kid's mind right now, but I don't think it's very good." She concluded.
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Mageria crossed her arms and regarded Lena gravely. “Is there anyway to discharge the powers without giving them to someone first? When it shows up, I’d like the chance to neutralize it safely. Otherwise I’d just have to find somewhere to hide it, and it doesn’t sound like that turned out so well. And hunting actively for it would just focus attention on it.”
Mageria leaned against the boulder and ran one hand through her hair, pulling it out of its braid and gathering it into one tail. “And now I know why things changed so rapidly at the Pack camp. One time Evin is glaring at me and the next Sean is holding a knife to . . .” She stopped and swallowed carefully. “To some people who know a bit of my history. Which means that Sean knows some rather unsavory things about my past. I’ll have to be careful about that.” She thought for a moment longer. “Sean did seem the type to beat a wounded woman into the ground. Another reason not to trust him I suppose. And I’m not surprised he’s a traitor. I suppose he brought in outside help to take her out? I really doubt that he could take either her or Evin in a fair fight.” She sighed softly. “I tried to warn her. Stupid me, I suppose.” She dug her boot through the sand and rubbed one finger along her nose.
“Why, Lena? Why didn’t you come and tell us all of this before we, before I attacked the Pack camp? We could have avoided so much. Why wait till now, when I had to track you down?”
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Lena lowered her head for a moment. "There is no way to discharge it that I know of. I had asked Jake to bring it to me to keep. I was going to try and find a way to destroy it, although it is said to be indestructible." Lena stared in the direction of the mountains and smiled. "I was told once that enlightened people lose their abilities once the cross the borders of the land. It is possible that if taken outside the land the dagger will lose its magic. It could be destroyed then." She looked down at her feet and added with a half smile. "It's only a theory, but the best one I could possibly offer."
She closed her eyes as a breeze passed them, causing some shivers down her spine. The night was falling, and the warmth of the sun was fading slowly as it lowered. "If there's one thing my lifetime has taught me captain, is that it's much better to regret a life you took than a life you failed to save. Any remorse that day might have brought you is nothing compared to what you could have felt." She pulled herself away from the rock for a moment, looking up to await the first stars. "I don't blame Sean. I've once shared the same opinions, back when I was as young and angry as he was. Gladly, I chose a different path. Still, I agree you shouldn't trust him." She smiled. "As for the warning you gave Crys, well... She remembered it. She tried to warn them, but... You can expect someone who is bleeding out to think of how many conclusions can be drawn from the word 'black'." She snorted, softly, a half amused, half annoyed tone in her voice. "And Evin acted like a vindictive idiot, the way I see it. He could have simply challenged Sean for command. I highly doubt he would have had any trouble taking him out, could have saved a lot of future headaches." She nodded. "That would be too simple for him though, I think."
She stood silent for a long while, until the first group of stars appeared, then she answered the question. "Dani, Crystal's mother, and I discussed this. We talked for hours, until we agreed that we didn't know who we could actually go to. We didn't know if anyone was helping him and if there was, who would be helping him." She sighed. "So Dani decided to send you Jake first. His orders were to: One, keep the Pack informed of attacks beforehand; Two, try to find someone who was reliable inside the castle; Three, if all else failed... Eliminate both you and Krander." She gave Mageria a slightly apologetic look. "That was the last of all resorts, and I know Dani never really wanted it to get that far. However if the Pack found itself in too much of a jam, the easiest way out would be eliminate both Captains and let Blackpond take it from there." She shrugged. "The idea was always to find someone we could talk to. If Dani hadn't..." She shook her head. "If she hadn't pushed Jake as far as she did... I know he would have been able to figure out a way to make that happen, but after she died he was unable to think clearly enough." She rubbed her eyes. "I thought that eventually someone would come and ask me questions, but I assume things got in the way, or we would have had this conversation months ago."
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Mageria nodded as she listened. “It was a good plan, based on the information that you had. I probably would have done the same, if I had been in the same position. And you were right, you all had no way to know if anybody was helping the false King. Hell, the Black Knights would have been my number one suspect of supporting him. Our reputation is occasionally useful, but not in a situation like this. As for things getting in the way. Gods. After the false King died, it was all I could to keep the city from dissolving in a blood bath. Half the soldiers wanted to desert so that they could hunt down the Pack, merchants were pulling their father’s rusty swords off the walls, they were going to reform the Wolf Hunters; and none of them had any clue what they were doing. They just would have gone out and slaughtered anyone they could find or get ripped apart themselves. And I knew.” She pushed away from the boulder and walked a step or two away before turning back. “I knew that people lived in the camp that had nothing to do with what happened. I thought,” she sighed. “I thought that as long as I lead the attack, I could make sure it stayed within limits, the only people that were legitimate targets were those that were able to fight back.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “After that . . . Well, Blackpond attacked, and it was a struggle just to put the city back together. We haven’t had a lot of time to do much beyond what’s right in front of us. We might have come and found you earlier, but it took this long to start hearing about the various rumors.”
“And I’m not upset that Crys accidentally framed us for her murder. I mean, yes, Evin did come to Newhaven and try and kill me for it, but I probably would have done the same thing in the situation and he didn’t try all that hard. Stabbed me pretty good, but the only reason it slowed me down was because I was already weak from what that kid was doing to my head.” She turned and looked Lena dead in the eyes. “So. Does she know how sick her mother was, before her death?”
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Lena shivered slightly at the mere mention of the Wolf Hunters, although she knew for a fact that nothing those people did would ever compare to that group; they lived to kill assassins and they weren't successful on will power alone. She nodded, dismissing the distant memories. "I think that in those circumstances, with the little information you had, things went considerably well if you think of what could have happened. Not everyone is careful enough to prevent civilian casualties on the other side of a battle. Blackpond surely isn't."
Lena heaved a sigh at the subject of Dani's illness. "Yes... Crys knows now. And she wasn't very happy to know Dani was already sick back when they killed the Shadow. She hid it well, but she was getting worse in the couple of weeks before she died. I didn't exactly appreciate the way in which she chose to end things, but you see... The Pack leader doesn't get to retire. If word got out she was ill, anyone, even Sean, could have challenged her and taken command. So she had to make it so she could put Crys and Evin in command as soon as possible." She chuckled. "I'm sure she imagined it to turn out a lot better than this. And I'm sure Crys knows that too." She said, glancing towards the building again as the music stopped playing. "Hum... She knows I'm talking about her. And she's not exactly happy with me right now. I don't blame her, I mean... She thinks I could have simply told her the truth after Dani died and saved everyone some trouble, especially Jake." She shrugged. "I don't mind if they choose to think that. However, I promised not to say anything, and Dani would have left something behind. I still don't understand why it was never found."
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Mageria laughed softly. “Don’t we always plan things to turn out better than they do? I’m sure that she did leave something behind, she just might have hid it a bit to well. And I doubt that things have really been quiet back at the camp. And of course, last I heard, Evin had lit a building or two on fire on his way out. I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, but perhaps not so much in the long run. And given the way things have turned out in the past few days, I can understand why Dani did things the way she did.”
She looked up at the growing dark. “Do you think the Crimson’s will mind if I find a corner to curl up in? I forgot how quickly it gets dark out here.”
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Lena chuckled. "My master used to say that smart people make plans, but only fools expect them to succeed." She stated, amused. "Dani had a way of making back-up plans within back-up plans, it was hard to know when one ended and the next one began... Quite entertaining. It was a shame you never got to meet her in person, she would like you." She smiled. "And I don't think the Crimson would mind you if you don't mind them. If Dastan gets anymore to drink there will some sort of party, fight, or similar altercation soon. It's usually pretty harmless, but rather loud."
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Mageria smiled over at Lena. “You should see some of the parties that we’ve had over in the Black Guard. Talk about loud.” She sighed and looked up at the stars, wondering if there was any point to anything that had happened; and reason beyond simple chance for the way and why that people died. “I think. . . . I think that I might like to have met your Dani. It would have been an interesting time. Probably fairly loud as well.” She turned away, slowly. “Thank you, Lena. For the truth. However hard it was hearing it.” Headed back toward the public areas of the camp, she could hear a soft flute melody start up again, soft notes rising into the night air. Looking over her shoulder, Mageria shook her head.
So much wasted. So much lost.
Back in the public areas, Mageira found her gear in a heap near the horses. Digging out her bed roll and saddlebags, she drug it all off to a corner that looked as if she would be away from most of the fight, or party, whichever started first. There was a small fire pit and a supply of wood; she got a blaze going and started a small pot of tea. Once it was done, she poured a cup and dropped a lump of crystal sugar in. Leaning back, she watched the Crimsons laughing and arguing with each other. It made her miss her mercenary days, when she wasn’t the one who had to carry the safety of the entire group. But those were days long gone past. With a grimace she pulled out some bread and dried fruit and started eating. She hated travel food.
Ella looked at the woman who was tearing up for a few moments. For some reason she could find no reason to feel any form positive emotion. The only thing that seemed to be boiling in her mind was anger. Maybe it was because of the training that she had obtained from Evin in the Wolfpack. Evin seemed to have a strong opinion about who one should feel emotional for and part of it had a lot to do with trust. Another part of it had to do with passion, but she didn't really understand it all too much herself. It could have also been the fact that this woman, her mother, had left her and never spoken to her once in years. The only problem with that was that she could understand why it happened based on what Lena had told her. The only other reason she could think of was just because of the position she was left in now.
Despite what she said to Allison, she never really wanted to be royal. What Ella had said to her was all just a perfect scenario where everything would just fall into place. It seemed that the world wasn't so black and white like Newhaven wanted to depict it. Now that she really had a chance to one day rule this dying city, she couldn't imagine how she would do it on her own. She didn't want people to blindly follow her just because of some patriotic sense that the citizens seemed to blindly have. It was a ridiculous notion and it was because of the woman standing in front of her that she was now in this position.
"I can't do it!" She said yelling out in frustration. She ran through the halls of the castle blindly in whatever direction that she desired. By complete random chance she ended up in the archives. This library where she had witnessed the truly terrible acts that one could do to another human just because of apposing views. Countless minutes she continued to look at it, at the wall that was once covered in the blood of one of her friends. This place wasn't anything like the home that she had remembered in the past. What she remembered was just a shadow of something that was completely untrue. It was something that she wasn't going to take any longer.
"By all the God's in Valcrest, I will change this city." She muttered under her breath. She wasn't sure when that day would come, but now that it was no longer her choise if she wanted to be queen or not, she was going to make the best of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Desert]
The sun was going down across the grand dunes that surrounded the old city ruins on either side. The golds of the sky, sun and sand all seemed to blend into one the horizon with only some white mountains to break it all up. It was a beautiful sight. The highest tower in the city jettisoned up into the sky so the entire desert could be seen from that single point. This tower was a part of a temple, created by the citizens to worship the God Fire. There was nothing that couldn't be seen from the top of this tower.
Evin looked out at the horizon completely starstruck. He had never seen anything like this in all the time he was living and he just couldn't believe it. As the sun fell out of sight and the moon made it's way into view, so did the stars. Evin was even more blown away by this. It was this spectacle of millions of small dots in the sky at a multitude that he had never seen. He had never really had any time to look at the stars for the most part, and the trees or light from the cities and camps he had spent his life in never gave him the opportunity to see the stars at such a scale.
Spending his time up there, he had thought about much, most having to do with the events that lead him to the desert. Was it really a good thing to do what he did? Was burning down a symbol and killing a man really something he should have done when he could have just challenged Sean for Alpha? But then, what would happen if he did challenge Sean for command? The fact was that he wouldn't have had any support from the assassins. People knew that Evin had a relation with Dani as well with Sebastian. After what Sean had said in front of the entire camp, there was no chance that he could have convinced them that what Sean was saying was all wrong. Evin challenging Sean would have been a social suicide, so instead, he raised a little hell and he was happy about that.
"Sean, you bastard." He said, getting up from the warm stone ground, finally realizing how cold it was outside. He had taken his coat off when he first got to the desert. During the day it was too warm for his coat, but at night, it was too cold without one. He put his coat back on and slipped down the tower the same way he got up.
As he got closer to the ground, he could hear the voices of the Crimson Shadows who seemed to be getting a little rowdy. It was the same type of noises that he could recognise from a day at the inn before it had been burnt down. His worries of a party were starting to expand. Parties were not his favorite thing in the world, but without someone to get away from it with, it wasn't worth it not to join the festivities. Walking from the temple, he saw the familiar face of a woman who he would love to just spend some hours with to catch up.
"Hey, Mageria!" He yelled with a smile on his face. He was still in the restricted zone when he said it, but he wasn't afraid of people hearing him because they were too busy with being rowdy to pay attention. He ran up, nodding at Lena as he passed her by. He went strait up to Mageria and whispered some words of advice in her ear. "I've heard rumours of how these people like to party. I don't know if you want to find yourself stuck in that. I know I don't. How about we find some quite place in these ruins where we can catch up and maybe play some cards."
Despite what she said to Allison, she never really wanted to be royal. What Ella had said to her was all just a perfect scenario where everything would just fall into place. It seemed that the world wasn't so black and white like Newhaven wanted to depict it. Now that she really had a chance to one day rule this dying city, she couldn't imagine how she would do it on her own. She didn't want people to blindly follow her just because of some patriotic sense that the citizens seemed to blindly have. It was a ridiculous notion and it was because of the woman standing in front of her that she was now in this position.
"I can't do it!" She said yelling out in frustration. She ran through the halls of the castle blindly in whatever direction that she desired. By complete random chance she ended up in the archives. This library where she had witnessed the truly terrible acts that one could do to another human just because of apposing views. Countless minutes she continued to look at it, at the wall that was once covered in the blood of one of her friends. This place wasn't anything like the home that she had remembered in the past. What she remembered was just a shadow of something that was completely untrue. It was something that she wasn't going to take any longer.
"By all the God's in Valcrest, I will change this city." She muttered under her breath. She wasn't sure when that day would come, but now that it was no longer her choise if she wanted to be queen or not, she was going to make the best of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Desert]
The sun was going down across the grand dunes that surrounded the old city ruins on either side. The golds of the sky, sun and sand all seemed to blend into one the horizon with only some white mountains to break it all up. It was a beautiful sight. The highest tower in the city jettisoned up into the sky so the entire desert could be seen from that single point. This tower was a part of a temple, created by the citizens to worship the God Fire. There was nothing that couldn't be seen from the top of this tower.
Evin looked out at the horizon completely starstruck. He had never seen anything like this in all the time he was living and he just couldn't believe it. As the sun fell out of sight and the moon made it's way into view, so did the stars. Evin was even more blown away by this. It was this spectacle of millions of small dots in the sky at a multitude that he had never seen. He had never really had any time to look at the stars for the most part, and the trees or light from the cities and camps he had spent his life in never gave him the opportunity to see the stars at such a scale.
Spending his time up there, he had thought about much, most having to do with the events that lead him to the desert. Was it really a good thing to do what he did? Was burning down a symbol and killing a man really something he should have done when he could have just challenged Sean for Alpha? But then, what would happen if he did challenge Sean for command? The fact was that he wouldn't have had any support from the assassins. People knew that Evin had a relation with Dani as well with Sebastian. After what Sean had said in front of the entire camp, there was no chance that he could have convinced them that what Sean was saying was all wrong. Evin challenging Sean would have been a social suicide, so instead, he raised a little hell and he was happy about that.
"Sean, you bastard." He said, getting up from the warm stone ground, finally realizing how cold it was outside. He had taken his coat off when he first got to the desert. During the day it was too warm for his coat, but at night, it was too cold without one. He put his coat back on and slipped down the tower the same way he got up.
As he got closer to the ground, he could hear the voices of the Crimson Shadows who seemed to be getting a little rowdy. It was the same type of noises that he could recognise from a day at the inn before it had been burnt down. His worries of a party were starting to expand. Parties were not his favorite thing in the world, but without someone to get away from it with, it wasn't worth it not to join the festivities. Walking from the temple, he saw the familiar face of a woman who he would love to just spend some hours with to catch up.
"Hey, Mageria!" He yelled with a smile on his face. He was still in the restricted zone when he said it, but he wasn't afraid of people hearing him because they were too busy with being rowdy to pay attention. He ran up, nodding at Lena as he passed her by. He went strait up to Mageria and whispered some words of advice in her ear. "I've heard rumours of how these people like to party. I don't know if you want to find yourself stuck in that. I know I don't. How about we find some quite place in these ruins where we can catch up and maybe play some cards."
-Crimson's Camp-
Lena took a small bow as Mageria thanked her for the help, but didn't say anything more. The conversation left her with a lot of things to consider and reconsider. She sat by the boulder listening to the music for quite some time until eventually it stopped again. She snickered. "Foolish girl."
Crys was considering leaving the comfort of the bed, even if for only a moment. She never really thought she'd miss being around people, but she did. It was getting rather boring to just lay there with no one to talk to, except for a healer or two and an annoyingly drunken Dastan. Beside, she wanted to know how her friends were doing... And she wanted to talk to Jake. She needed to talk to Jake and he had been avoiding her like a damn plague.
Letting the last note of a song fade into silence, she sat up straight in the bed, thinking over her options; it wasn't that she wasn't allowed to leave... She didn't know if she would be able to.
The building which the Crimson Shadow leader used as his home was still standing tall and firm, however great part of it had fallen due to the war, or simply the passing of time, including the stairway that led to the second floor. In order to reach the room one would have to literally climb the wall or a rope ladder, which had been removed so that Crys couldn't climb down until she was in a more decent shape. It wasn't really necessary really, this time she had nowhere to run off to. She could never go back.
Crys put her flute away in its casing, and stood up, walking to the window. She leaned against the window frame, taking a moment to feel the cold night air reach her face. Next, she found a rock, about the size of her fist, and grinned remembering Theron. The man was one of the few people who bothered to tell her at what distance things were. Without someone to tell her, she had her own system. She dropped the rock and waited for the subtle sound of it hitting the sand. She tilted her head. "Hum... Eh, not too much of a drop." She concluded, finally, letting herself drop from the window, landing somewhat awkwardly on the sand. She made her way around the building and started walking towards the encampment, a smile widening as she approached the mercenaries... She didn't know how they managed, but those people were always cheerful for one reason or another. As she reached the center of everything, there was already some laughing and music... A party was starting to take form.
As soon as the first former-assassin spotted her the whispering started. It's like every assassin in the camp froze and stopped to stare. She nodded with a half-amused expression. "Crystal!" A man shouted all of a sudden, and before she knew it, Dastan had lifted her off the ground and started to run around in circles carrying her over his shoulder. "It was about time you showed up!" He exclaimed.
"Put me down you idiot! Damn it!" She exclaimed, punching him repeatedly until he released her, laughing loudly.
"You're so uptight!" He told her, chuckling. "You really need to relax a little bit."
She shoved him as forcefully as she could. "Asshole!" She exclaimed.
He chuckled, stumbling back. "Relax! It's a party! And you do look a little less... Dying." He told her.
"Shut up." She muttered. "Have you seen Jake around?"
"Not since this morning." He shrugged. "I'll let him know you're looking if I see... Him... Are you alright?" Dastan asked, as Crys turned away from him and started to wander off.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Someone I know, I think." She said waving over her shoulder so he wouldn't follow her.
Wandering off to a slightly more secluded spot, she approached the familiar person. She wondered what the woman was doing there, but... That wasn't the dominant thought in her mind. "Captain." She greeted. "It's been a while." She said, smiling slightly. "I suppose I owe you a thank you, and an apology. I hope my attempt to warn Evin didn't cause you too much trouble for you."
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Mageria was staring thoughtfully at a somewhat mutilated branch in her hand. When ever she got bored and had a moment, she somehow ended up trying to carve something. Emphasis on trying. Her latest attempt resembled . . . well she wasn’t sure what it looked like really. She could dance with a blade so that no one was able to touch her and anyone that drew near was sliced to bits. But have her attempt to carve something resembling anything else out of a bit of wood and she failed utterly. With a sigh she tossed the mutilated branch into the fire. She was staring at another block, wondering if it was worth it to try again when Crystal approached her. Startled she looked up, frowning slightly. She tossed the block on the fire and leaned back.
“Should you even be out of bed?”
She snorted softly at Crystal’s question. “I really hope that Evin didn’t know about you being alive when he came to visit me. Otherwise I’m going to have to have a talk to him about him stabbing me. But I understood the sentiment.” She leaned forward and poured another cup of tea, dropping an extra chunk of sugar in. For the most part she wasn’t allowed to cook the food if there was another person present, but she usually managed tea just fine.
She slanted a look at the other woman and rummaged to find an extra cup in her things. Pouring it full, she held it out. “Here. I usually can’t ruin tea. The sugar’s to your left, between you and the fire.” She took a deep drink and eyed Crystal. “So I hear that you were giving Alistair trouble as well with the whole dying thing. We should start a guild or something. And its just Mageria for now. I’m not the Captain at the moment.”
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"In bed? Hum... Maybe, but you know what? I'm tired of resting." Crys said, smiling and accepting the tea. "I can assure you that Evin didn't know I was alive. Still, I'm sorry if he stabbed you on my behalf." She stated, reaching carefully for the sugar and adding some to her cup, before taking a drink. She nodded. "Mageria... I don't think I had been given your name before." She stated absently. "Poor Alistair, I think he went a little crazy when I escaped. You gave him some trouble as well? What happened?" She asked curiously, taking another sip of tea and trying to ignore the stares from the former Pack members and concentrating on the woman she was speaking to. Mageria seemed different than Crys remembered since their last, brief, encounter. It wasn't all that surprising... A lot must have happened to her in the past few months. A lot had happened to everyone.
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Mageria rolled her eyes just a little bit. “Of course you didn’t know my name. Nobody is supposed to know the names of the Black Knights. We’re the boogyman, the monster in the night, the reason strong men stay close to their fires in the dark.” She snorted, a wry note of humor creeping into her voice. “According to some stories I’ve heard, there isn’t even anybody in the armor. Or rather, not anybody alive. Apparently,” she tossed a bit of wood onto the fire. “Apparently we’re the animated corpses of the great hero’s of Newhavens past. We so loved our city that we refused even Lady Death’s touch in order to protect it for all eternity.” She shrugged. “At least that’s what I’ve heard in some of the taverns after people have had a few too many.”
“As for Alistair? I died. Apparently it was quite dramatic. I don’t remember of course, I was . . . somewhere else.” Her voice trailed off as she remembered being in a dark place, the shadows stealing her strength as she fought . . . A figure made of shadows that had something important to tell her . . . Details were fading the longer time went on, but some things seemed burned into her mind. Which was as it should be. The realm after death wasn’t something that the living mind should be able to comprehend. With a swift shake of her head she pushed away the feeling of cold that always came over her when she thought about it. “Actually, I think Alistair was more upset about the fact that I started breathing on my own after he thought I was gone. He kept giving me disturbed looks out of the corner of his eyes when he thought I wasn’t looking.” Mageria set her cup down and started rebraiding her hair absently, her fingers brushing over the new white patch. “So what was your story?”
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Crys laughed out. "Animated corpses? People really think that, huh? Morbid as it may, it is a bit flattering to be compared to the greatest heroes of Newhaven, no?" She asked, curiously. "You know we had a term for the Black Knights ourselves. You see, a long time ago, before my mother was leader, when the Pack was in a better place in the world, whenever we were hired by a higher up in Newhaven the leader would call the active assigned to the task, give him the information on the target and tell the assassin how much time he had before they 'released the dogs'. That was the term for when the Black Knights would be send in after us." She chuckled. "It was simply a code, nothing personal, but more recently some actives got creative with their insults and it completely lost its meaning." She sighed. "I'd love it if things could be the way they were back then though. There was this... Silent understanding between us and the cities. No one would try and end us, because we were needed." She grinned taking a sip of tea. "Opposing allies, my mother would say."
She ran a hand through her hair, scratching the back of her head. "Hum, my story? I lost about a gallon of blood, my body went into shock, my heart stopped a couple of times, or so I was told. Details of how it happened exactly are still a little blurry in my mind. Usually if I spend more than five seconds with a person I can pick said person out of a crowd easily. However I don't think I could identify my attackers, which is troublesome, to say the least." She gave Mageria quite an intrigued look. "You know, Alistair told me that the White Shadows believe that every minute your heart stops beating is an hour spent in the afterlife, some people claim to have seen one of the Twins while in that state. He told me that when people come back from it it's usually for a reason." She chuckled. "I said that in order to believe that I'd have to think that there is a reason for everything... I'm not sure I have that much faith left in me. That if I ever had any to begin with." She stated, going into silence for a moment. "For some reason I find more comforting to believe that some things are just pointless. If they weren't, I would have to be angry. I don't think I would ever find any reason good enough to justify this past year." She stated, giving a small shrug and sipping slowly from the cup of tea, simply for the sake of having something to do. "Excuse my ramblings... I had a bit too much time alone with my thoughts. That can't exactly be healthy."
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Mageria shrugged. “I’ve been called a bitch many times before. Being called a mutt doesn’t really bother me. Although that explains why Sean kept saying that like he felt it was an insult.” She shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t really care about that. Although, given recent events, we might be getting closer to the idea of opposing allies than you realize.” Speaking softly, she filled Crystal in on what had lead to her leading a strike force of Black Guard and Pack members into the dungeons of Blackpond.
“And I have to admit, I don’t remember much from when I died. But there was one moment that I just can’t forget. Much as I’d like to. I’m drowning, and trying to swim to the surface. I know that if I can just get up there I can live, but I just can’t reach. And I’m running out of strength and I know that I can’t make it. And then . . . . someone grabbed my arm; and pulled me through. And there’s this voice in my head, telling me that I’ve got work to do and I have to get back to it.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “If that isn’t enough to make you reconsider your view on the Twins, I don’t know what is. I know that there was someone there, but who they were, someone besides me or just something I made up, I don’t know. Honestly, the point of the whole thing was that I was trying to stop myself from going slowly insane because of a mental leach that an Enlightened serial killer placed in my head. So perhaps my memories are not the most accurate.”
Mageria sighed, for a moment overcome again with sorrow and pain and regret when she thought about what had happened over the past year. “I know it’s completely inadequate. But I finally was able to get the whole story put together. And all I can say is . . . I’m sorry. I wish that my part in all of this had played out differently. I thought I was doing the right thing.” She clenched her hand into a fist on her knee, fingers whitening from the strain. “If that isn’t the most bitter and useless phrase that ever was.” She reached up and pulled a chain from around her neck, taking off a charm and flipping it around in her fingers. “All I really have to offer is this.” She held out the charm. It was a small enameled disk; black, with a silvered edge for the crescent moon, a sword upheld between the tips. It was what was known as an agent’s token. Sometimes Knights had people that needed to be able to get in and out of the Castle quietly. Someone carrying this would be able to walk into the Castle and find the Captain of the Black Knights, no questions asked and no faces remembered. For the same reason these tokens were fiercely guarded, because of the great risk inherent in allowing someone that much freedom. In all of her career as Captain, Mageria had handed out exactly three of these. Now she reached out and placed the fourth in the hand of a woman who had been her enemy not all that long ago, folding Crystal’s fingers around it.
“If there is ever a time where you need to reach me, a time when knowing what really happened can prevent something like the last year; use this. Show it to any soldier and they’ll bring you directly to me, where ever I am. You’ll be able to talk to me, no matter what. I’ll listen.”
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Crys nodded as Mageria told her of the events in Blackpond, letting her expression get a little more serious. She didn't know anything about those events, since she hadn't yet spoken to any assassins about anything. She really needed to find Allison or Jake and try to make some sense of things herself. She kept her silence going as the woman told her of what she remembered about being dead. Crys didn't remember anything like that, only memories of things from the past... Things she had long forgotten. "There is something I was told all my life, my mother always told me at every chance she got, and I admit, I never really listened. She used to say that I should always pay attention to my choices. Not the effect they had on others, but how they affected me." She sighed. "I don't really remember anything except revisiting those choices... Alistair's voice fading into the background and resurfacing again, telling me to breathe... It felt like hours, maybe days, but I couldn't have been, or I wouldn't be here." She shrugged. "I don't how that affects my view of things, but I suppose it'll serve some sort of purpose in the future."
Crys took the small disk she had been offered, taking the time to examine it between her fingertips. She shook her head, a gentle smile crossing her features. "You know, Mageria, I'll let you in on a secret of mine... I actually spent months going over every little thing we did that night, when we killed the Shadow, trying to figure out a way in which we could have stopped him from blowing up the castle, killing those people, and alerting the soldiers. Because, of course, once the guards came in, we had to kill some innocents. I beat myself up over and over thinking of all the little details that could have led me to his identity beforehand, so we could have planned it better. Finally... I was angry at Lena for not saying anything sooner." She heaved a long sigh. "I know how it feels to know that maybe if you knew better, things could have worked themselves out differently. So don't apologize to me, because you know... If I had known any better myself, none of it would have happened either. That makes us both guilty, now doesn't it?" She concluded, closing her fist around the token. "I will remember the offer. In the same way I expect you to remember us, should you need anything. After all, being kicked from the Pack gives this little group of assassins here a whole new level of freedom. Which will eventually be directed at Sean, but you really don't want to know about that." She said, with a slight smirk.
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Mageria laughed. “Yes, somethings should remain secrets, if only for the sake of not having to deal with it. The thing is . . .” she sighed pensively and leaned back, staring at the flames. “I’m going to have to make some sort of offer of a ceasefire to Sean and his group. If I don’t, he’ll eventually do something that forces me to retaliate, and there are still a great number of innocent civilians living in there. For their sakes, if nothing else, I have to at least try.” She thought back over all each encounter she’d had with the young Wolf and snorted, staring sourly up at the night sky. “I know, I just know it, someone out there is laughing at me.” She glanced over at Crystal and then back up. “The Twins might not meddle in the lives of mortals anymore, but I get the feeling they’re not above enjoying the messes we work our ways into.”
“And as for being kicked out of the Pack . . . I get the feeling that your little group is going to remain closer to the true spirit of what you were originally than whatever it is that Sean is going to come up with.” She stayed silent for a long moment, wondering if what she was thinking would be received well. Finally she decided to just speak. “I never knew your mother, but Lena has mentioned a few times that I seem to share some personality traits. So I can say this with some certainty. I think that she would be very proud of you right now. Pissed as hell that you nearly got yourself killed, and she would put you through hell getting you back on your feet and making sure that you never did anything like confronting a back stabbing traitor while still recovering from a near death experience; but in the end, she’d be proud. I mean, look at us, the Black Knight Captain and the Alpha of the true Wolves, sitting here drinking bad tea together. And the world hasn’t ended.” She looked out at the other fires, where she could clearly make out each of the other assassins. They were doing their best to act casual, while at the same time each and every one of them was watching the two women; ready to jump up at a moment’s notice. Part of her just wanted to jump up and yell to startle them, but they had been through enough recently that they might actually try to kill her if she startled them badly enough. Instead she just finished off the last of her drink and put the cup to the side. “So how long do you think before one of your people comes to rescue you?”
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Crys was silent for almost a full minute when Mageria said her mother would be proud. She would like to think so, but she really wasn't so sure of it. Her mother was never really proud of her, or at least never claimed to be, unless she actually did something to deserved it. This didn't feel like one of those times, not at all. Finally she shook her head and spoke. "My mother took the command of a dying clan at age 17, after losing her entire family, down to her 12 year old sister... She immediately broke half a dozen clan rules and changed them, within two years the Pack was free of their greatest threats and growing stronger than it ever had before." She nodded, with an amused smile. "I took command of the clan, lost it, came back and lost it again, in a period of months. Not to mention I almost got killed twice in the process... Pissed as hell doesn't begin to describe it, really." She sighed. "My mother was a person who saw people more for their potential than their limitations. She'd be disappointed for a while, I think."
She lowered her head for a moment and smiled. "No, they won't move unless something happens. Gladly they move pretty fast." She said with a small smile. "I know that you need to try and seek peace with the Pack, but... Be careful with Sean. Even if he accepts a truce, you should keep an eye on him at all times, because he won't hesitate to go back on his word if he thinks it's necessary." She smiled set her empty tea cup aside. "I should go talk to those jumpy people in the background, because honestly, I think they still expect me to suddenly drop dead, or something." She offered Mageria a friendly handshake. "It was very nice finally speaking with you, you know, without any pointy objects at hand." She stated with a grin.
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Mageria grinned. “Well, you’ve broken how many rules? Give yourself sometime before declaring yourself a failure. Just because the face of something has changed, doesn't mean that you’ve lost it. And remember, you’ve made some strides yourself. Potential takes time.” She reached out and shook Crystal’s hand, her own smile still a bit bemused. That she would be on these terms with an assassin was something that she would never have expected, not in a hundred years. Someone was definitely laughing right now.
“And I won’t trust Sean. But any kind of peace can last for a while. We need to heal, all of us, before the next storm hits. And neither of us needs pointy objects in order to do damage, do we?”
Leaning back against the rock wall, she watched as the young leader rejoined her people, reassuring them with a word or two. Some of them still looked over at the Black Knight with wary expressions, but for the most part they were getting caught up in what looked to be quite a party that was forming. For the most part she didn’t enjoy loud parties; even when it was with the Black Guard she stayed sober enough to make sure that her people didn’t accidentally destroy the landscape. She was so caught up in thought that Evin’s friendly yell actually caught her by surprise.
"I've heard rumours of how these people like to party. I don't know if you want to find yourself stuck in that. I know I don't. How about we find some quite place in these ruins where we can catch up and maybe play some cards."
Mageria hesitated for a moment, the memory of their last meeting still fresh in her mind. It hadn’t been what you would call friendly. But now, neither of them were in a position where they had to be anybody but themselves, at least for tonight. She wanted so badly to have her old friend back . . . was she fooling herself and taking an unnecessary risk? But the look on Evin’s face was completely open and relaxed. Making her mind up on the instant, she smiled back and slipped her arm through his. “I’d love to, Ev. Now, I know that you had to leave the camp rather quickly, if you need a loan I’d be glad to help you out . . . provided you pay interest of course . . .”
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-The Next Night-
It was the dead of night, moon dark and silent. One figure moved through the forest paths with an ease that spoke to long familiarity with the deep shadows of the night. Mageria was still deep in thought, disturbed by everything that she had learned in the past few days. All of the actions of the past year had been based on one fact, a fact that she had learned to be grievously wrong. If she could somehow stand beside the Pack on that night when the false King had been killed, she would have struck the killing blow herself and taken on the consequences. It sometimes felt that she waded through a river of blood, and it had all been for nothing. No reason greater than one madman had wanted more and more power and been willing to do anything he had to in order to gain it. She thought that she had been reasonable, given what she knew at that time, but in truth things just kept getting worse and worse and at this point she didn't see any end to it. But as long as she had breath in her body, she was willing to keep trying, and events in the recent past had proven her right. She had talked with Crystal, and perhaps secured some kind of odd alliance that might serve them all well in the future. Now all she needed was a respite from the rest of the Pack.
The new Alpha of the Pack, Sean; he troubled her. She wouldn’t trust him at her back long enough for her to spin in place, but even so he had the right to try and protect his people. So long as the Pack and the Black Knights were at each other’s throats, Newhaven was vulnerable. She didn’t even know if what she was trying to do was possible, given what had happened the last time the Knights had stood at the edge of Pack territory. Then again, no one had ever accused her of being reasonable or completely sane. She had to try.
She had reached her destination, a point just outside the territory claimed by the Pack. No need to go further, the sentries would find her message in the morning. Working silently, she gathered a few rocks and piled them into a pyramid, leaving them in the center of the path, with an envelope pinned under the uppermost rock; on the outside was one single word, "Alpha" written in a graceful hand. They would be easy enough to spot, she just had to hope that her message would get to the right person. Once she was done she turned and walked away, hoping that perhaps she might be able to sleep tonight. There were a great many things that she needed to do in the near future.
The message was a simple one.
One word, and a curl of copper hair so that it was clear who it was from.
Truce.
Lena took a small bow as Mageria thanked her for the help, but didn't say anything more. The conversation left her with a lot of things to consider and reconsider. She sat by the boulder listening to the music for quite some time until eventually it stopped again. She snickered. "Foolish girl."
Crys was considering leaving the comfort of the bed, even if for only a moment. She never really thought she'd miss being around people, but she did. It was getting rather boring to just lay there with no one to talk to, except for a healer or two and an annoyingly drunken Dastan. Beside, she wanted to know how her friends were doing... And she wanted to talk to Jake. She needed to talk to Jake and he had been avoiding her like a damn plague.
Letting the last note of a song fade into silence, she sat up straight in the bed, thinking over her options; it wasn't that she wasn't allowed to leave... She didn't know if she would be able to.
The building which the Crimson Shadow leader used as his home was still standing tall and firm, however great part of it had fallen due to the war, or simply the passing of time, including the stairway that led to the second floor. In order to reach the room one would have to literally climb the wall or a rope ladder, which had been removed so that Crys couldn't climb down until she was in a more decent shape. It wasn't really necessary really, this time she had nowhere to run off to. She could never go back.
Crys put her flute away in its casing, and stood up, walking to the window. She leaned against the window frame, taking a moment to feel the cold night air reach her face. Next, she found a rock, about the size of her fist, and grinned remembering Theron. The man was one of the few people who bothered to tell her at what distance things were. Without someone to tell her, she had her own system. She dropped the rock and waited for the subtle sound of it hitting the sand. She tilted her head. "Hum... Eh, not too much of a drop." She concluded, finally, letting herself drop from the window, landing somewhat awkwardly on the sand. She made her way around the building and started walking towards the encampment, a smile widening as she approached the mercenaries... She didn't know how they managed, but those people were always cheerful for one reason or another. As she reached the center of everything, there was already some laughing and music... A party was starting to take form.
As soon as the first former-assassin spotted her the whispering started. It's like every assassin in the camp froze and stopped to stare. She nodded with a half-amused expression. "Crystal!" A man shouted all of a sudden, and before she knew it, Dastan had lifted her off the ground and started to run around in circles carrying her over his shoulder. "It was about time you showed up!" He exclaimed.
"Put me down you idiot! Damn it!" She exclaimed, punching him repeatedly until he released her, laughing loudly.
"You're so uptight!" He told her, chuckling. "You really need to relax a little bit."
She shoved him as forcefully as she could. "Asshole!" She exclaimed.
He chuckled, stumbling back. "Relax! It's a party! And you do look a little less... Dying." He told her.
"Shut up." She muttered. "Have you seen Jake around?"
"Not since this morning." He shrugged. "I'll let him know you're looking if I see... Him... Are you alright?" Dastan asked, as Crys turned away from him and started to wander off.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Someone I know, I think." She said waving over her shoulder so he wouldn't follow her.
Wandering off to a slightly more secluded spot, she approached the familiar person. She wondered what the woman was doing there, but... That wasn't the dominant thought in her mind. "Captain." She greeted. "It's been a while." She said, smiling slightly. "I suppose I owe you a thank you, and an apology. I hope my attempt to warn Evin didn't cause you too much trouble for you."
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Mageria was staring thoughtfully at a somewhat mutilated branch in her hand. When ever she got bored and had a moment, she somehow ended up trying to carve something. Emphasis on trying. Her latest attempt resembled . . . well she wasn’t sure what it looked like really. She could dance with a blade so that no one was able to touch her and anyone that drew near was sliced to bits. But have her attempt to carve something resembling anything else out of a bit of wood and she failed utterly. With a sigh she tossed the mutilated branch into the fire. She was staring at another block, wondering if it was worth it to try again when Crystal approached her. Startled she looked up, frowning slightly. She tossed the block on the fire and leaned back.
“Should you even be out of bed?”
She snorted softly at Crystal’s question. “I really hope that Evin didn’t know about you being alive when he came to visit me. Otherwise I’m going to have to have a talk to him about him stabbing me. But I understood the sentiment.” She leaned forward and poured another cup of tea, dropping an extra chunk of sugar in. For the most part she wasn’t allowed to cook the food if there was another person present, but she usually managed tea just fine.
She slanted a look at the other woman and rummaged to find an extra cup in her things. Pouring it full, she held it out. “Here. I usually can’t ruin tea. The sugar’s to your left, between you and the fire.” She took a deep drink and eyed Crystal. “So I hear that you were giving Alistair trouble as well with the whole dying thing. We should start a guild or something. And its just Mageria for now. I’m not the Captain at the moment.”
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"In bed? Hum... Maybe, but you know what? I'm tired of resting." Crys said, smiling and accepting the tea. "I can assure you that Evin didn't know I was alive. Still, I'm sorry if he stabbed you on my behalf." She stated, reaching carefully for the sugar and adding some to her cup, before taking a drink. She nodded. "Mageria... I don't think I had been given your name before." She stated absently. "Poor Alistair, I think he went a little crazy when I escaped. You gave him some trouble as well? What happened?" She asked curiously, taking another sip of tea and trying to ignore the stares from the former Pack members and concentrating on the woman she was speaking to. Mageria seemed different than Crys remembered since their last, brief, encounter. It wasn't all that surprising... A lot must have happened to her in the past few months. A lot had happened to everyone.
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Mageria rolled her eyes just a little bit. “Of course you didn’t know my name. Nobody is supposed to know the names of the Black Knights. We’re the boogyman, the monster in the night, the reason strong men stay close to their fires in the dark.” She snorted, a wry note of humor creeping into her voice. “According to some stories I’ve heard, there isn’t even anybody in the armor. Or rather, not anybody alive. Apparently,” she tossed a bit of wood onto the fire. “Apparently we’re the animated corpses of the great hero’s of Newhavens past. We so loved our city that we refused even Lady Death’s touch in order to protect it for all eternity.” She shrugged. “At least that’s what I’ve heard in some of the taverns after people have had a few too many.”
“As for Alistair? I died. Apparently it was quite dramatic. I don’t remember of course, I was . . . somewhere else.” Her voice trailed off as she remembered being in a dark place, the shadows stealing her strength as she fought . . . A figure made of shadows that had something important to tell her . . . Details were fading the longer time went on, but some things seemed burned into her mind. Which was as it should be. The realm after death wasn’t something that the living mind should be able to comprehend. With a swift shake of her head she pushed away the feeling of cold that always came over her when she thought about it. “Actually, I think Alistair was more upset about the fact that I started breathing on my own after he thought I was gone. He kept giving me disturbed looks out of the corner of his eyes when he thought I wasn’t looking.” Mageria set her cup down and started rebraiding her hair absently, her fingers brushing over the new white patch. “So what was your story?”
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Crys laughed out. "Animated corpses? People really think that, huh? Morbid as it may, it is a bit flattering to be compared to the greatest heroes of Newhaven, no?" She asked, curiously. "You know we had a term for the Black Knights ourselves. You see, a long time ago, before my mother was leader, when the Pack was in a better place in the world, whenever we were hired by a higher up in Newhaven the leader would call the active assigned to the task, give him the information on the target and tell the assassin how much time he had before they 'released the dogs'. That was the term for when the Black Knights would be send in after us." She chuckled. "It was simply a code, nothing personal, but more recently some actives got creative with their insults and it completely lost its meaning." She sighed. "I'd love it if things could be the way they were back then though. There was this... Silent understanding between us and the cities. No one would try and end us, because we were needed." She grinned taking a sip of tea. "Opposing allies, my mother would say."
She ran a hand through her hair, scratching the back of her head. "Hum, my story? I lost about a gallon of blood, my body went into shock, my heart stopped a couple of times, or so I was told. Details of how it happened exactly are still a little blurry in my mind. Usually if I spend more than five seconds with a person I can pick said person out of a crowd easily. However I don't think I could identify my attackers, which is troublesome, to say the least." She gave Mageria quite an intrigued look. "You know, Alistair told me that the White Shadows believe that every minute your heart stops beating is an hour spent in the afterlife, some people claim to have seen one of the Twins while in that state. He told me that when people come back from it it's usually for a reason." She chuckled. "I said that in order to believe that I'd have to think that there is a reason for everything... I'm not sure I have that much faith left in me. That if I ever had any to begin with." She stated, going into silence for a moment. "For some reason I find more comforting to believe that some things are just pointless. If they weren't, I would have to be angry. I don't think I would ever find any reason good enough to justify this past year." She stated, giving a small shrug and sipping slowly from the cup of tea, simply for the sake of having something to do. "Excuse my ramblings... I had a bit too much time alone with my thoughts. That can't exactly be healthy."
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Mageria shrugged. “I’ve been called a bitch many times before. Being called a mutt doesn’t really bother me. Although that explains why Sean kept saying that like he felt it was an insult.” She shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t really care about that. Although, given recent events, we might be getting closer to the idea of opposing allies than you realize.” Speaking softly, she filled Crystal in on what had lead to her leading a strike force of Black Guard and Pack members into the dungeons of Blackpond.
“And I have to admit, I don’t remember much from when I died. But there was one moment that I just can’t forget. Much as I’d like to. I’m drowning, and trying to swim to the surface. I know that if I can just get up there I can live, but I just can’t reach. And I’m running out of strength and I know that I can’t make it. And then . . . . someone grabbed my arm; and pulled me through. And there’s this voice in my head, telling me that I’ve got work to do and I have to get back to it.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “If that isn’t enough to make you reconsider your view on the Twins, I don’t know what is. I know that there was someone there, but who they were, someone besides me or just something I made up, I don’t know. Honestly, the point of the whole thing was that I was trying to stop myself from going slowly insane because of a mental leach that an Enlightened serial killer placed in my head. So perhaps my memories are not the most accurate.”
Mageria sighed, for a moment overcome again with sorrow and pain and regret when she thought about what had happened over the past year. “I know it’s completely inadequate. But I finally was able to get the whole story put together. And all I can say is . . . I’m sorry. I wish that my part in all of this had played out differently. I thought I was doing the right thing.” She clenched her hand into a fist on her knee, fingers whitening from the strain. “If that isn’t the most bitter and useless phrase that ever was.” She reached up and pulled a chain from around her neck, taking off a charm and flipping it around in her fingers. “All I really have to offer is this.” She held out the charm. It was a small enameled disk; black, with a silvered edge for the crescent moon, a sword upheld between the tips. It was what was known as an agent’s token. Sometimes Knights had people that needed to be able to get in and out of the Castle quietly. Someone carrying this would be able to walk into the Castle and find the Captain of the Black Knights, no questions asked and no faces remembered. For the same reason these tokens were fiercely guarded, because of the great risk inherent in allowing someone that much freedom. In all of her career as Captain, Mageria had handed out exactly three of these. Now she reached out and placed the fourth in the hand of a woman who had been her enemy not all that long ago, folding Crystal’s fingers around it.
“If there is ever a time where you need to reach me, a time when knowing what really happened can prevent something like the last year; use this. Show it to any soldier and they’ll bring you directly to me, where ever I am. You’ll be able to talk to me, no matter what. I’ll listen.”
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Crys nodded as Mageria told her of the events in Blackpond, letting her expression get a little more serious. She didn't know anything about those events, since she hadn't yet spoken to any assassins about anything. She really needed to find Allison or Jake and try to make some sense of things herself. She kept her silence going as the woman told her of what she remembered about being dead. Crys didn't remember anything like that, only memories of things from the past... Things she had long forgotten. "There is something I was told all my life, my mother always told me at every chance she got, and I admit, I never really listened. She used to say that I should always pay attention to my choices. Not the effect they had on others, but how they affected me." She sighed. "I don't really remember anything except revisiting those choices... Alistair's voice fading into the background and resurfacing again, telling me to breathe... It felt like hours, maybe days, but I couldn't have been, or I wouldn't be here." She shrugged. "I don't how that affects my view of things, but I suppose it'll serve some sort of purpose in the future."
Crys took the small disk she had been offered, taking the time to examine it between her fingertips. She shook her head, a gentle smile crossing her features. "You know, Mageria, I'll let you in on a secret of mine... I actually spent months going over every little thing we did that night, when we killed the Shadow, trying to figure out a way in which we could have stopped him from blowing up the castle, killing those people, and alerting the soldiers. Because, of course, once the guards came in, we had to kill some innocents. I beat myself up over and over thinking of all the little details that could have led me to his identity beforehand, so we could have planned it better. Finally... I was angry at Lena for not saying anything sooner." She heaved a long sigh. "I know how it feels to know that maybe if you knew better, things could have worked themselves out differently. So don't apologize to me, because you know... If I had known any better myself, none of it would have happened either. That makes us both guilty, now doesn't it?" She concluded, closing her fist around the token. "I will remember the offer. In the same way I expect you to remember us, should you need anything. After all, being kicked from the Pack gives this little group of assassins here a whole new level of freedom. Which will eventually be directed at Sean, but you really don't want to know about that." She said, with a slight smirk.
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Mageria laughed. “Yes, somethings should remain secrets, if only for the sake of not having to deal with it. The thing is . . .” she sighed pensively and leaned back, staring at the flames. “I’m going to have to make some sort of offer of a ceasefire to Sean and his group. If I don’t, he’ll eventually do something that forces me to retaliate, and there are still a great number of innocent civilians living in there. For their sakes, if nothing else, I have to at least try.” She thought back over all each encounter she’d had with the young Wolf and snorted, staring sourly up at the night sky. “I know, I just know it, someone out there is laughing at me.” She glanced over at Crystal and then back up. “The Twins might not meddle in the lives of mortals anymore, but I get the feeling they’re not above enjoying the messes we work our ways into.”
“And as for being kicked out of the Pack . . . I get the feeling that your little group is going to remain closer to the true spirit of what you were originally than whatever it is that Sean is going to come up with.” She stayed silent for a long moment, wondering if what she was thinking would be received well. Finally she decided to just speak. “I never knew your mother, but Lena has mentioned a few times that I seem to share some personality traits. So I can say this with some certainty. I think that she would be very proud of you right now. Pissed as hell that you nearly got yourself killed, and she would put you through hell getting you back on your feet and making sure that you never did anything like confronting a back stabbing traitor while still recovering from a near death experience; but in the end, she’d be proud. I mean, look at us, the Black Knight Captain and the Alpha of the true Wolves, sitting here drinking bad tea together. And the world hasn’t ended.” She looked out at the other fires, where she could clearly make out each of the other assassins. They were doing their best to act casual, while at the same time each and every one of them was watching the two women; ready to jump up at a moment’s notice. Part of her just wanted to jump up and yell to startle them, but they had been through enough recently that they might actually try to kill her if she startled them badly enough. Instead she just finished off the last of her drink and put the cup to the side. “So how long do you think before one of your people comes to rescue you?”
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Crys was silent for almost a full minute when Mageria said her mother would be proud. She would like to think so, but she really wasn't so sure of it. Her mother was never really proud of her, or at least never claimed to be, unless she actually did something to deserved it. This didn't feel like one of those times, not at all. Finally she shook her head and spoke. "My mother took the command of a dying clan at age 17, after losing her entire family, down to her 12 year old sister... She immediately broke half a dozen clan rules and changed them, within two years the Pack was free of their greatest threats and growing stronger than it ever had before." She nodded, with an amused smile. "I took command of the clan, lost it, came back and lost it again, in a period of months. Not to mention I almost got killed twice in the process... Pissed as hell doesn't begin to describe it, really." She sighed. "My mother was a person who saw people more for their potential than their limitations. She'd be disappointed for a while, I think."
She lowered her head for a moment and smiled. "No, they won't move unless something happens. Gladly they move pretty fast." She said with a small smile. "I know that you need to try and seek peace with the Pack, but... Be careful with Sean. Even if he accepts a truce, you should keep an eye on him at all times, because he won't hesitate to go back on his word if he thinks it's necessary." She smiled set her empty tea cup aside. "I should go talk to those jumpy people in the background, because honestly, I think they still expect me to suddenly drop dead, or something." She offered Mageria a friendly handshake. "It was very nice finally speaking with you, you know, without any pointy objects at hand." She stated with a grin.
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Mageria grinned. “Well, you’ve broken how many rules? Give yourself sometime before declaring yourself a failure. Just because the face of something has changed, doesn't mean that you’ve lost it. And remember, you’ve made some strides yourself. Potential takes time.” She reached out and shook Crystal’s hand, her own smile still a bit bemused. That she would be on these terms with an assassin was something that she would never have expected, not in a hundred years. Someone was definitely laughing right now.
“And I won’t trust Sean. But any kind of peace can last for a while. We need to heal, all of us, before the next storm hits. And neither of us needs pointy objects in order to do damage, do we?”
Leaning back against the rock wall, she watched as the young leader rejoined her people, reassuring them with a word or two. Some of them still looked over at the Black Knight with wary expressions, but for the most part they were getting caught up in what looked to be quite a party that was forming. For the most part she didn’t enjoy loud parties; even when it was with the Black Guard she stayed sober enough to make sure that her people didn’t accidentally destroy the landscape. She was so caught up in thought that Evin’s friendly yell actually caught her by surprise.
"I've heard rumours of how these people like to party. I don't know if you want to find yourself stuck in that. I know I don't. How about we find some quite place in these ruins where we can catch up and maybe play some cards."
Mageria hesitated for a moment, the memory of their last meeting still fresh in her mind. It hadn’t been what you would call friendly. But now, neither of them were in a position where they had to be anybody but themselves, at least for tonight. She wanted so badly to have her old friend back . . . was she fooling herself and taking an unnecessary risk? But the look on Evin’s face was completely open and relaxed. Making her mind up on the instant, she smiled back and slipped her arm through his. “I’d love to, Ev. Now, I know that you had to leave the camp rather quickly, if you need a loan I’d be glad to help you out . . . provided you pay interest of course . . .”
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-The Next Night-
It was the dead of night, moon dark and silent. One figure moved through the forest paths with an ease that spoke to long familiarity with the deep shadows of the night. Mageria was still deep in thought, disturbed by everything that she had learned in the past few days. All of the actions of the past year had been based on one fact, a fact that she had learned to be grievously wrong. If she could somehow stand beside the Pack on that night when the false King had been killed, she would have struck the killing blow herself and taken on the consequences. It sometimes felt that she waded through a river of blood, and it had all been for nothing. No reason greater than one madman had wanted more and more power and been willing to do anything he had to in order to gain it. She thought that she had been reasonable, given what she knew at that time, but in truth things just kept getting worse and worse and at this point she didn't see any end to it. But as long as she had breath in her body, she was willing to keep trying, and events in the recent past had proven her right. She had talked with Crystal, and perhaps secured some kind of odd alliance that might serve them all well in the future. Now all she needed was a respite from the rest of the Pack.
The new Alpha of the Pack, Sean; he troubled her. She wouldn’t trust him at her back long enough for her to spin in place, but even so he had the right to try and protect his people. So long as the Pack and the Black Knights were at each other’s throats, Newhaven was vulnerable. She didn’t even know if what she was trying to do was possible, given what had happened the last time the Knights had stood at the edge of Pack territory. Then again, no one had ever accused her of being reasonable or completely sane. She had to try.
She had reached her destination, a point just outside the territory claimed by the Pack. No need to go further, the sentries would find her message in the morning. Working silently, she gathered a few rocks and piled them into a pyramid, leaving them in the center of the path, with an envelope pinned under the uppermost rock; on the outside was one single word, "Alpha" written in a graceful hand. They would be easy enough to spot, she just had to hope that her message would get to the right person. Once she was done she turned and walked away, hoping that perhaps she might be able to sleep tonight. There were a great many things that she needed to do in the near future.
The message was a simple one.
One word, and a curl of copper hair so that it was clear who it was from.
Truce.
“By the twins Grim put him down!”
On the most sacred of grounds an act of violence had sundered the peace. There in the earth where the fallen of Newhaven gave back to their land, a battle had sprung fourth. In the cold listless night, where even the light of the stars seemed dim and distant. A man fought his fellows for ultimate control.
They had been lain about the tombs as rag dolls and ornaments. The Blackguard cast about with their weapons splintered and bent, their bodies laying still in the quiet embrace. All were still breathing thankfully, but they were broken over the hallowed soil. Some strewn overtop stone slabs or laying in the arms of crafted angelic guardians.
Somewhere off the Blade was entrenched in his own madness. Gripping a poor guardsman by the throat and pressing him into the side of a crypt. The emeralds of his eyes overshadowed by the haze of crimson doused away by hate. Bearing down on his victim with enough power that the slab was buckling beneath such force.
Chandos was summoned once the Blackguard had proven ineffective. Yet the circumstances surrounding the situation were vague at best. It appeared the Black Knight had gone to visit the graves of his parents. The watch had merely asked the Blade to depart as nights were considered an ill time to visit the departed. The rest remains uncertain but a unit was dispatched and now his second in command was beckoned to the scene, thankfully Mageria was away.
Calmly the blinded man gripped the Black Knight’s extended arm speaking soothingly and with a calm even tone. Trying to reach the man he knew to be underneath. Worried and at the same time aghast by the sudden onset.
“It’s me Grim, Chandos. Now put that poor bastard down. Listen to me, you can’t do this, and we both know you don’t want to. Why don’t you put the lad down now?”
Guttural mumblings emerged from the quiet of the helmet. The glow of red diminished shortly after, and carefully his fingers uncurled letting the guardsman slide to his feet. The Raging Demon threw his weight from the scene horrified at the reality sinking back in. Nearly tripping as he stumbled awkwardly over a headstone. Pushing his second in command from him to flee.
Chandos gave chase still bound up from his misadventures. Wrappings and an arm in a sling didn’t seem to weigh him down much. In fact he was quite spry all things considered. Following the great armored hulk didn’t require much effort and once they were on the edge of Newhaven’s borders he managed to overrun the behemoth stopping him short.
The Black Knight halted, his head hung so low strands of hair was escaping the encasing of metal. Shoulders slinked and drooped hopelessly. Shame and disappointment stood between them, and Grim would have wept but for fear of everything. Torn between truth and lies and a life where he could not face himself.
“I-I… I didn’t ask for this Chandos! This curse, this thing inside of me.”
The general blinked in confusion. Grim was always a pillar of stoutness, it was strange seeing such a vulnerability. It was intriguing and disturbing and it caught him unprepared.
“He didn’t harm me… the Enlightenment, this magic. It’s evolving, changing in me. Surfacing, bleeding through. I-I..I don’t know how long I can control it. I’m so sick… so ashamed… too dangerous too deadly and all for what? So I can help join everyone in their bloodshed!”
The great man fell to his knees defeated. Looking over his shaking hands, overwhelmed and out of reason to believe in himself any longer. Knowing exactly the stakes raised now that the truth was out.
“I can’t get by on good will, I have no more reason to believe in me anymore. I will protect Newhaven, even if I have to damn myself to do it.”
On the most sacred of grounds an act of violence had sundered the peace. There in the earth where the fallen of Newhaven gave back to their land, a battle had sprung fourth. In the cold listless night, where even the light of the stars seemed dim and distant. A man fought his fellows for ultimate control.
They had been lain about the tombs as rag dolls and ornaments. The Blackguard cast about with their weapons splintered and bent, their bodies laying still in the quiet embrace. All were still breathing thankfully, but they were broken over the hallowed soil. Some strewn overtop stone slabs or laying in the arms of crafted angelic guardians.
Somewhere off the Blade was entrenched in his own madness. Gripping a poor guardsman by the throat and pressing him into the side of a crypt. The emeralds of his eyes overshadowed by the haze of crimson doused away by hate. Bearing down on his victim with enough power that the slab was buckling beneath such force.
Chandos was summoned once the Blackguard had proven ineffective. Yet the circumstances surrounding the situation were vague at best. It appeared the Black Knight had gone to visit the graves of his parents. The watch had merely asked the Blade to depart as nights were considered an ill time to visit the departed. The rest remains uncertain but a unit was dispatched and now his second in command was beckoned to the scene, thankfully Mageria was away.
Calmly the blinded man gripped the Black Knight’s extended arm speaking soothingly and with a calm even tone. Trying to reach the man he knew to be underneath. Worried and at the same time aghast by the sudden onset.
“It’s me Grim, Chandos. Now put that poor bastard down. Listen to me, you can’t do this, and we both know you don’t want to. Why don’t you put the lad down now?”
Guttural mumblings emerged from the quiet of the helmet. The glow of red diminished shortly after, and carefully his fingers uncurled letting the guardsman slide to his feet. The Raging Demon threw his weight from the scene horrified at the reality sinking back in. Nearly tripping as he stumbled awkwardly over a headstone. Pushing his second in command from him to flee.
Chandos gave chase still bound up from his misadventures. Wrappings and an arm in a sling didn’t seem to weigh him down much. In fact he was quite spry all things considered. Following the great armored hulk didn’t require much effort and once they were on the edge of Newhaven’s borders he managed to overrun the behemoth stopping him short.
The Black Knight halted, his head hung so low strands of hair was escaping the encasing of metal. Shoulders slinked and drooped hopelessly. Shame and disappointment stood between them, and Grim would have wept but for fear of everything. Torn between truth and lies and a life where he could not face himself.
“I-I… I didn’t ask for this Chandos! This curse, this thing inside of me.”
The general blinked in confusion. Grim was always a pillar of stoutness, it was strange seeing such a vulnerability. It was intriguing and disturbing and it caught him unprepared.
“He didn’t harm me… the Enlightenment, this magic. It’s evolving, changing in me. Surfacing, bleeding through. I-I..I don’t know how long I can control it. I’m so sick… so ashamed… too dangerous too deadly and all for what? So I can help join everyone in their bloodshed!”
The great man fell to his knees defeated. Looking over his shaking hands, overwhelmed and out of reason to believe in himself any longer. Knowing exactly the stakes raised now that the truth was out.
“I can’t get by on good will, I have no more reason to believe in me anymore. I will protect Newhaven, even if I have to damn myself to do it.”
Evin had lost a lot of money in the time he spent playing cards with Mageria. There was no way he could afford to pay her off for a very long time. He had no money in the first place and with the interest he had to pay on the damn thing, he would be paying for years. Of course, he could steal the money from the Wolfpack, but he knew that he would only take what he needed from them. It wouldn’t be right to pay off his 200 gold debt he had with the Pack’s money no matter how much he wanted to.
"So where do I go from here?" He asked himself several times walking down the desolate desert streets across the great ruins of this fallen city. All for a cause that had seemed lost. The wind was bitter and the moonlight was dim, being covered every once in a while by a lonesome cloud. When these clouds covered the moon, he couldn't see anything in his path, once tripping over a piece of rubble that had never been cleaned off the street. Soon in his walking, Evin's feet were irritated by the sand rubbing like a rough paper in his shoes. He knew then that he would need to find a pair of sandals to wear if he was going to live in a desert.
In his rambling of the same words, he heard something. A small echo coming of a rock, or something falling onto a solid stone turf. Evin drew his rope dart, the only weapon he had on him and turned the corner of the wall where the sound was coming from. Instinct made him assess the situation in a moment. This proved to be right because Crystal looked him right in the eyes.
"You know I like to say that you are a lot like your mother, but she would be out there partying with the rest of them. Remember, she was the one who organized the last party in the camp." He said laughing aloud. "I gave her a lashing for that one."
Crystal had found a quiet corner to curl up on. The corner of what was left of a small house. She was glad to talk some of the assassins and it was somewhat comforting to see that they supported her even after everything Sean said. Even so, the fact that they still saw her as their leader was a little bit bothersome. They never said it, mostly they were concerned for her health, but she knew they wondered what they would do now, and expected Crys to give some kind of answer that she really didn't have. Those were just the joys of being an Alpha, and they never seemed to go away. Taking another drink of whatever alcoholic thing she managed to snatch from one of the Crimson, she noticed a familiar presence. "Hum..." She grinned, getting on her feet and walking around the remains of the building to try and sneak up on the man. However, after the first couple of steps, she tripped over a loose rock. The subtle sound was more than enough to alert him of her presence, and so Crys simply waited for Evin to turn the corner and catch sight of her.
As he mentioned the fact that her mother would have been partying with everyone else Crys chuckled, thinking back to the last party they had. "Now, that was fun night. If I recall you were spotted sleeping in the graveyard." She said, with an amused tone in her voice. "As for me, I've had my share of excitement for the night. Now I just wanted to sit somewhere and think." She smiled. "Besides, I wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet, if I'm caught in a party Alistair will make my life hell for at least another month." She shook her head. "I mean really, it was just a scratch... a very big scratch, but still." She joked.
Evin wasn't all that amused to by the reference to him sleeping in the graveyard. If he could go back and tell himself to go sleep in his cabin he would. He knew that he would need the best of sleeps, but the dank, dark ground was no place for him to sleep. He was sure that he wouldn't make that mistake again. "I was there to pay respects to your father. I definitely didn't pass out from partying to hard." He smiled, thinking about how happy everyone was to see them back on the night they assassinated Perry.
The way that Crystal explained the stab wound was certainly being underplayed. If she was still supposed to be in bed over a month after it happened, the cut must have been bad. Evin just blankly stared off into the sky for a second, completely ignoring the last comment.
"So what do you think we should do now?" He asked still looking at the thousands of white eyes up in the sky.
Crys nodded, leaning her back against the stone wall. "I know why you were there, I'm just saying that's not what people gossiped." She chuckled. "And it's uncomfortable, I know. I've done it a couple of times this year." She took a sip from the bottle she was holding on her left hand, grimacing a little due to the taste of the beverage. "It was the only place people would let me be alone." She stated.
When Evin asked what she thought they should do she sighed. "I don't know. I'm under no obligation of knowing either, not anymore. Although I know very well that in a day, maybe two, that won't matter because I'll feel responsible for this whole mess either way. I just can't help myself" She shook her head, blurting out the thought that was most clear in her mind, before she could really stop herself. "I couldn't even hold the clan together for a full year. I just managed to get myself beaten by someone who called my parents traitors. I shouldn't have gone back so soon, what the hell was I thinking?" She managed not to raise her voice; however the frustration was clear in her tone. The betrayal had been painful; losing the fight had been painful, not being able to defend her mother and father from Sean's accusations, which was unforgivable. She knew that if she had waited a little while longer, things would have turned out different.
She went silent for a minute, maybe two, then spoke again. "I think... I think we need to give it some time. We all need a rest, these kids that followed after me need more training, they're not exactly the more skilled assassins of the bunch. Then, who knows? Maybe there's something left of the Pack to save. Even if only what we used to be." She mumbled, lowering her head and taking another sip.
Crys really didn't know what path to take. A part of her wanted to look those people in the eye and tell them she was no longer responsible for them, that they needed to move on their own. A second part of her wanted to hang on to whatever was left of the past, fix something that was probably beyond repair. A third part of her... Wanted something else entirely. And if she couldn't even figure out who she was anymore, how could she give anyone any answers? It just wasn't so simple, not anymore, not to her.
Every detail that Crystal had given him, he listened. It was a skill he had come across in the small time he spent as Second in Command of the Pack. After he started to learn that he wasn't always being told all the details upfront and that some of the things that people were saying had underlying meanings, he looked for them. From what Evin could interpret from Crystal's emotions was that she really wanted to go back to the Wolfpack one day, but logic told her that it didn't seem very possible for her to ever redeem herself.
"I'm never going back to the Wolfpack and don't expect me to join those savage Crimson Shadows either!" The drunken men could be heard in the distance. "The views of the Wolfpack are too askew for it to ever go back to the way it used to."
He was surprised that a place so dry and warm could become so cold as the sun fell. The desolate area surrounding him would screech as the winds flew by. A bitter wind bit the side of his cheek. Evin took his hands out of the protective barrier his pockets provided and rubbed them. The warmth felt nice as he placed it over his cheeks. It didn't help at all. As soon as he took his hand away from his cheeks and another savage breeze blew by and they would freeze again. Instead of having both a cold cheek and hands, he decided it would be better to just deal with the one that he couldn't stop.
"You know that it isn't really your fault that this all happened. You can blame your mother for not leaving you in something more stable and not letting you know of her sickness before her death. You can blame me for not following up with your mother's promise to help you through the tough times. Most importantly, you can blame Sean for twisting the truth for it to work in his benefit. He claims to stick to tradition, but we know that it isn't true."
Crys shook her head smiling. "The Crimson aren't that bad, you know. I wouldn't join them either, but they're not the worse allies one could have." She stated, stopping for a moment to hear the noises from the party. "Unless you directly cause them trouble, they'll help you out for no reason other than they can." She heaved a sigh, thinking about the whole situation with the clan again. Sean was right in one thing; hiding things always seemed to make everything worse. "I can't blame the clan for taking Sean's side, Evin. I mean... A lot of people died because of what my mother did, because of what my father did, both from the Pack and the Hunters. I understand that they did what they thought was right at the time, and they both regretted what happened, but I take it it's a lot easier for me to accept it than the rest of them. Lena was one person who left the clan because of it and she and my mom were close."
She took another sip from the bottle and then pushed it on to him, with a grin. "Here, it tastes awful, but it'll warm you up a bit." She told him, crossing her arms behind her head as she leaned further into the wall. "Sure, in a way I know it's not my fault, but it doesn't really make a difference. I don't know, I guess I'm just mourning in a way. The clan is really all I know, it's not easy to just let it go." She stated, absently. "And I don't know what you mean there, you helped me more than enough. In the first weeks after mom died I was useless, that place would have been in complete chaos if you weren't there." She said turning her eyes at him. "Besides, she didn't have to make you promise that. I'm not ten." She stated, frowning slightly.
Evin held the bottle in his hand while he listened to Crystal explain her position to him. "That place would have been in complete chaos if you weren't there." That seemed like an oxymoron. Then she went on to say that she was no longer a kid. Evin just laughed for just over a minute. When he was done he smashed the bottle of whatever foul drink that it contained.
"I don't like stuff that clouds my judgment." He continued to laugh. "I also found that I have had people attempt to poison me less than other assassins do because I followed to rule of not drinking. I don't doubt that I can trust you, but I don't want to get into the habit."
He looked down at the bottle he had smashed. The liquid was all over. Some of it had found its way onto Evin's face. He took his hand out of the safe pocket into the deep freeze. He wiped the dirty liquid off and quickly retreated his hand to safety. "I find that incredibly insulting to my intelligence. Of course you're not ten and your actions are definitely not those of someone of that either. We all need someone to watch over our actions or else this will happen." Evin stood up waving his arms around in a circular motion. "This war is because too many people have been left unchecked for too long. Just saying. Same thing happened with your mother. She just didn't want to see the same thing happen to you is all."
Evin sat around for a few seconds to fully look at the possibilities of starting a new group. The risk of posing a threat to Sean would be substantial, but then maybe they could find support from people in the Wolfpack if they saw that Evin and Crystal, their old leaders, still had a strong resolve and stuck to their beliefs. The threat of Sean taking advantage of that was dangerous too.
"I think we should start a new assassin group. It is something we need to make sure Sean doesn't know about. We will gain strength in the few that we have, but make it look like we've all gone off to do our own things. Some could pose as Crimson Shadows, some could do mercenary work, and some could just be assassins for hire. Of course, we would have our own personal vendettas with Sean. That could be our own cover. We could gain some profit from those small jobs that they get and then when we feel that we are strong enough to handle the threat of the Wolfpack, we can come out of the shadows. That's what I think we should do. What do you think Crys?"
Crys listened to what Evin was saying carefully and intently. It sounded like a solid plan and a good one too. The Pack was bigger and stronger than them right now; however, they were exposed by the conflicts with Newhaven. It would be easy for them to start snatching even assassination jobs behind their backs. Maybe not now, but in a near future. If Sean was the kind of leader she thought he would be, he would snap under the pressure eventually, and when he did, more assassins would follow them. It was something solid to think about. A plan.
Amongst those thoughts of plans for the future, it took Crys a little bit of time to catch the manner in which Evin addressed her. "I think that's actually a very good pl-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the man, with a sudden frown. "You called me Crys." She mumbled. "You're not sick too, are you?" She asked, a little suspicious. Admittedly, Evin seemed just fine, but so did her mother as far as she knew. She wasn't taking any chances this time.
Evin gave a crooked smile to Crystal when she finally figured it all out. "With a new life comes a new lifestyle Crys. But who knows, maybe I am dying?" He chuckled turning around to leave. "Sorry about that, err, crap," he pointed to the broken bottle on the floor, "but even you admitted it was crap." He walked further away, but turning once more to say just one last thing. "We should talk about this more at a later time. We should try to form this into a solid plan before we go to the rest about it though. Maybe in a few days I'll sneak that man's room --I believe his name is Dastian -- and I'll talk to you in bed. Anyways, enjoy the rest of your night!"
Evin finally took off further away from the party. He was getting as far from that thing as possible. He knew that the party was going to go on till the sun came up and there were going to be a lot of idiots running around doing idiotic things. He remembered once when Crystal was allowed to drink on one occasion from her mother. She ended up suspended for that one. She didn’t remember it, but the Pack sure did, or at least they used to.
Evin exhaled heavily. Things would never really be the same anymore. Of course, that’s what he said just over a year ago after they had killed Perry and things had changed from then. This time, he wouldn’t ignorantly assume that things couldn’t get worse. Things could always get worse and sadly, it seemed to have been happening on more of a frequent basis at this point. The only thing was it would be a lot harder for things to get worse now that he had so little. This would be good when he finally decided to go after Sean because Sean wouldn’t have any way to play with his mind. Evin knew that Sean would have a lot of little secrets and weaknesses he could exploit. Some of them would be absolutely cruel and morally wrong in every way he looked at it, but Sean chose to play that game and Evin was going to oblige. He was going to play this game to the end.
After the walk through these streets with no names, he came to the exit and across the sandy horizon there were thousands of stars that lit up the sky just enough for Evin to see the vastness of the desert. Evin had only traveled to the desert once before in his life and he never expected ever to go back. Somewhere out there lay a part of his past that he never expected to get so close to again. In the daytime the sun would rise from the south and the mountains would cast a shadow over his past out there somewhere. He didn’t know if that past even existed anymore or if it had moved to some other part that he would never find. To be truthful, Evin was curious to see if it was still there and how it faired over the years, but another part of him also wanted to just forget about it. Only time would tell what was side of him would win over the other. For the time being however, he would train, every day if he had to. He wanted to gain strength to face the Wolfpack. One, two, three and maybe even four years, however long it took, he would be ready the next time to face off against anything in his way.
"So where do I go from here?" He asked himself several times walking down the desolate desert streets across the great ruins of this fallen city. All for a cause that had seemed lost. The wind was bitter and the moonlight was dim, being covered every once in a while by a lonesome cloud. When these clouds covered the moon, he couldn't see anything in his path, once tripping over a piece of rubble that had never been cleaned off the street. Soon in his walking, Evin's feet were irritated by the sand rubbing like a rough paper in his shoes. He knew then that he would need to find a pair of sandals to wear if he was going to live in a desert.
In his rambling of the same words, he heard something. A small echo coming of a rock, or something falling onto a solid stone turf. Evin drew his rope dart, the only weapon he had on him and turned the corner of the wall where the sound was coming from. Instinct made him assess the situation in a moment. This proved to be right because Crystal looked him right in the eyes.
"You know I like to say that you are a lot like your mother, but she would be out there partying with the rest of them. Remember, she was the one who organized the last party in the camp." He said laughing aloud. "I gave her a lashing for that one."
Crystal had found a quiet corner to curl up on. The corner of what was left of a small house. She was glad to talk some of the assassins and it was somewhat comforting to see that they supported her even after everything Sean said. Even so, the fact that they still saw her as their leader was a little bit bothersome. They never said it, mostly they were concerned for her health, but she knew they wondered what they would do now, and expected Crys to give some kind of answer that she really didn't have. Those were just the joys of being an Alpha, and they never seemed to go away. Taking another drink of whatever alcoholic thing she managed to snatch from one of the Crimson, she noticed a familiar presence. "Hum..." She grinned, getting on her feet and walking around the remains of the building to try and sneak up on the man. However, after the first couple of steps, she tripped over a loose rock. The subtle sound was more than enough to alert him of her presence, and so Crys simply waited for Evin to turn the corner and catch sight of her.
As he mentioned the fact that her mother would have been partying with everyone else Crys chuckled, thinking back to the last party they had. "Now, that was fun night. If I recall you were spotted sleeping in the graveyard." She said, with an amused tone in her voice. "As for me, I've had my share of excitement for the night. Now I just wanted to sit somewhere and think." She smiled. "Besides, I wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet, if I'm caught in a party Alistair will make my life hell for at least another month." She shook her head. "I mean really, it was just a scratch... a very big scratch, but still." She joked.
Evin wasn't all that amused to by the reference to him sleeping in the graveyard. If he could go back and tell himself to go sleep in his cabin he would. He knew that he would need the best of sleeps, but the dank, dark ground was no place for him to sleep. He was sure that he wouldn't make that mistake again. "I was there to pay respects to your father. I definitely didn't pass out from partying to hard." He smiled, thinking about how happy everyone was to see them back on the night they assassinated Perry.
The way that Crystal explained the stab wound was certainly being underplayed. If she was still supposed to be in bed over a month after it happened, the cut must have been bad. Evin just blankly stared off into the sky for a second, completely ignoring the last comment.
"So what do you think we should do now?" He asked still looking at the thousands of white eyes up in the sky.
Crys nodded, leaning her back against the stone wall. "I know why you were there, I'm just saying that's not what people gossiped." She chuckled. "And it's uncomfortable, I know. I've done it a couple of times this year." She took a sip from the bottle she was holding on her left hand, grimacing a little due to the taste of the beverage. "It was the only place people would let me be alone." She stated.
When Evin asked what she thought they should do she sighed. "I don't know. I'm under no obligation of knowing either, not anymore. Although I know very well that in a day, maybe two, that won't matter because I'll feel responsible for this whole mess either way. I just can't help myself" She shook her head, blurting out the thought that was most clear in her mind, before she could really stop herself. "I couldn't even hold the clan together for a full year. I just managed to get myself beaten by someone who called my parents traitors. I shouldn't have gone back so soon, what the hell was I thinking?" She managed not to raise her voice; however the frustration was clear in her tone. The betrayal had been painful; losing the fight had been painful, not being able to defend her mother and father from Sean's accusations, which was unforgivable. She knew that if she had waited a little while longer, things would have turned out different.
She went silent for a minute, maybe two, then spoke again. "I think... I think we need to give it some time. We all need a rest, these kids that followed after me need more training, they're not exactly the more skilled assassins of the bunch. Then, who knows? Maybe there's something left of the Pack to save. Even if only what we used to be." She mumbled, lowering her head and taking another sip.
Crys really didn't know what path to take. A part of her wanted to look those people in the eye and tell them she was no longer responsible for them, that they needed to move on their own. A second part of her wanted to hang on to whatever was left of the past, fix something that was probably beyond repair. A third part of her... Wanted something else entirely. And if she couldn't even figure out who she was anymore, how could she give anyone any answers? It just wasn't so simple, not anymore, not to her.
Every detail that Crystal had given him, he listened. It was a skill he had come across in the small time he spent as Second in Command of the Pack. After he started to learn that he wasn't always being told all the details upfront and that some of the things that people were saying had underlying meanings, he looked for them. From what Evin could interpret from Crystal's emotions was that she really wanted to go back to the Wolfpack one day, but logic told her that it didn't seem very possible for her to ever redeem herself.
"I'm never going back to the Wolfpack and don't expect me to join those savage Crimson Shadows either!" The drunken men could be heard in the distance. "The views of the Wolfpack are too askew for it to ever go back to the way it used to."
He was surprised that a place so dry and warm could become so cold as the sun fell. The desolate area surrounding him would screech as the winds flew by. A bitter wind bit the side of his cheek. Evin took his hands out of the protective barrier his pockets provided and rubbed them. The warmth felt nice as he placed it over his cheeks. It didn't help at all. As soon as he took his hand away from his cheeks and another savage breeze blew by and they would freeze again. Instead of having both a cold cheek and hands, he decided it would be better to just deal with the one that he couldn't stop.
"You know that it isn't really your fault that this all happened. You can blame your mother for not leaving you in something more stable and not letting you know of her sickness before her death. You can blame me for not following up with your mother's promise to help you through the tough times. Most importantly, you can blame Sean for twisting the truth for it to work in his benefit. He claims to stick to tradition, but we know that it isn't true."
Crys shook her head smiling. "The Crimson aren't that bad, you know. I wouldn't join them either, but they're not the worse allies one could have." She stated, stopping for a moment to hear the noises from the party. "Unless you directly cause them trouble, they'll help you out for no reason other than they can." She heaved a sigh, thinking about the whole situation with the clan again. Sean was right in one thing; hiding things always seemed to make everything worse. "I can't blame the clan for taking Sean's side, Evin. I mean... A lot of people died because of what my mother did, because of what my father did, both from the Pack and the Hunters. I understand that they did what they thought was right at the time, and they both regretted what happened, but I take it it's a lot easier for me to accept it than the rest of them. Lena was one person who left the clan because of it and she and my mom were close."
She took another sip from the bottle and then pushed it on to him, with a grin. "Here, it tastes awful, but it'll warm you up a bit." She told him, crossing her arms behind her head as she leaned further into the wall. "Sure, in a way I know it's not my fault, but it doesn't really make a difference. I don't know, I guess I'm just mourning in a way. The clan is really all I know, it's not easy to just let it go." She stated, absently. "And I don't know what you mean there, you helped me more than enough. In the first weeks after mom died I was useless, that place would have been in complete chaos if you weren't there." She said turning her eyes at him. "Besides, she didn't have to make you promise that. I'm not ten." She stated, frowning slightly.
Evin held the bottle in his hand while he listened to Crystal explain her position to him. "That place would have been in complete chaos if you weren't there." That seemed like an oxymoron. Then she went on to say that she was no longer a kid. Evin just laughed for just over a minute. When he was done he smashed the bottle of whatever foul drink that it contained.
"I don't like stuff that clouds my judgment." He continued to laugh. "I also found that I have had people attempt to poison me less than other assassins do because I followed to rule of not drinking. I don't doubt that I can trust you, but I don't want to get into the habit."
He looked down at the bottle he had smashed. The liquid was all over. Some of it had found its way onto Evin's face. He took his hand out of the safe pocket into the deep freeze. He wiped the dirty liquid off and quickly retreated his hand to safety. "I find that incredibly insulting to my intelligence. Of course you're not ten and your actions are definitely not those of someone of that either. We all need someone to watch over our actions or else this will happen." Evin stood up waving his arms around in a circular motion. "This war is because too many people have been left unchecked for too long. Just saying. Same thing happened with your mother. She just didn't want to see the same thing happen to you is all."
Evin sat around for a few seconds to fully look at the possibilities of starting a new group. The risk of posing a threat to Sean would be substantial, but then maybe they could find support from people in the Wolfpack if they saw that Evin and Crystal, their old leaders, still had a strong resolve and stuck to their beliefs. The threat of Sean taking advantage of that was dangerous too.
"I think we should start a new assassin group. It is something we need to make sure Sean doesn't know about. We will gain strength in the few that we have, but make it look like we've all gone off to do our own things. Some could pose as Crimson Shadows, some could do mercenary work, and some could just be assassins for hire. Of course, we would have our own personal vendettas with Sean. That could be our own cover. We could gain some profit from those small jobs that they get and then when we feel that we are strong enough to handle the threat of the Wolfpack, we can come out of the shadows. That's what I think we should do. What do you think Crys?"
Crys listened to what Evin was saying carefully and intently. It sounded like a solid plan and a good one too. The Pack was bigger and stronger than them right now; however, they were exposed by the conflicts with Newhaven. It would be easy for them to start snatching even assassination jobs behind their backs. Maybe not now, but in a near future. If Sean was the kind of leader she thought he would be, he would snap under the pressure eventually, and when he did, more assassins would follow them. It was something solid to think about. A plan.
Amongst those thoughts of plans for the future, it took Crys a little bit of time to catch the manner in which Evin addressed her. "I think that's actually a very good pl-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the man, with a sudden frown. "You called me Crys." She mumbled. "You're not sick too, are you?" She asked, a little suspicious. Admittedly, Evin seemed just fine, but so did her mother as far as she knew. She wasn't taking any chances this time.
Evin gave a crooked smile to Crystal when she finally figured it all out. "With a new life comes a new lifestyle Crys. But who knows, maybe I am dying?" He chuckled turning around to leave. "Sorry about that, err, crap," he pointed to the broken bottle on the floor, "but even you admitted it was crap." He walked further away, but turning once more to say just one last thing. "We should talk about this more at a later time. We should try to form this into a solid plan before we go to the rest about it though. Maybe in a few days I'll sneak that man's room --I believe his name is Dastian -- and I'll talk to you in bed. Anyways, enjoy the rest of your night!"
Evin finally took off further away from the party. He was getting as far from that thing as possible. He knew that the party was going to go on till the sun came up and there were going to be a lot of idiots running around doing idiotic things. He remembered once when Crystal was allowed to drink on one occasion from her mother. She ended up suspended for that one. She didn’t remember it, but the Pack sure did, or at least they used to.
Evin exhaled heavily. Things would never really be the same anymore. Of course, that’s what he said just over a year ago after they had killed Perry and things had changed from then. This time, he wouldn’t ignorantly assume that things couldn’t get worse. Things could always get worse and sadly, it seemed to have been happening on more of a frequent basis at this point. The only thing was it would be a lot harder for things to get worse now that he had so little. This would be good when he finally decided to go after Sean because Sean wouldn’t have any way to play with his mind. Evin knew that Sean would have a lot of little secrets and weaknesses he could exploit. Some of them would be absolutely cruel and morally wrong in every way he looked at it, but Sean chose to play that game and Evin was going to oblige. He was going to play this game to the end.
After the walk through these streets with no names, he came to the exit and across the sandy horizon there were thousands of stars that lit up the sky just enough for Evin to see the vastness of the desert. Evin had only traveled to the desert once before in his life and he never expected ever to go back. Somewhere out there lay a part of his past that he never expected to get so close to again. In the daytime the sun would rise from the south and the mountains would cast a shadow over his past out there somewhere. He didn’t know if that past even existed anymore or if it had moved to some other part that he would never find. To be truthful, Evin was curious to see if it was still there and how it faired over the years, but another part of him also wanted to just forget about it. Only time would tell what was side of him would win over the other. For the time being however, he would train, every day if he had to. He wanted to gain strength to face the Wolfpack. One, two, three and maybe even four years, however long it took, he would be ready the next time to face off against anything in his way.
[Desert - Crimson Shadows camp]
Ali watched as Crys walked away from a woman Ali hadn’t met, a small smile crossing her features, making her way towards the assassins. Her friend’s expression made her wonder what the conversation was about, she seemed pleased by it. The actives that had followed them to the desert were almost as young as Ali was, and somewhat inexperienced. Mostly they were the ones too young to remember the horror of the Wolf Hunters, and weren’t born in the clan to have that hatred wired into their minds. All they remembered was Dani as a leader, Crys as an Instructor, Bastian as a friend…
Most of them required further training, as did Ali, admittedly, but they were motivated, and they were loyal. In the end of it, they had far more potential than any number of assassins Sean could lead. The moment Crys arrived and banded around her as if they had never left camp in the first place. Amongst the somewhat awkward greetings and questions about her health, some people asked Crys, vaguely, if there was a plan and what they could do to help. She simply told them to enjoy the party for the moment and rest as much as possible. Whenever she had a plan, she would let them know. As she made her way past the group of assassins Ali followed after her and spoke. “Are you sure you should be wandering about like this? I mean, you didn’t look so good a few hours ago.”
Crys shook her head, and stopped walking, a smile growing on her face as she spoke. “I’m fine, it was just a scratch. You know healers, they exaggerate.”
“I do know what I saw, Crys.” Ali replied. The tone in her voice clearly showed that she wasn’t amused, not in the slightest.
“Seriously, Allison, I feel fine.” Crys assured her. “Don’t worry.”
“That’s a lot easier said than done.” Ali replied, with slight amusement in her voice, walking to catch up with her.
There were a couple of minutes of silence between the two, masked by the ever-increasing sounds of the party. Ali didn’t really know what to say now. She thought Crys was dead, and now she was standing there. The silence lingered for a few more minutes, until Crys finally heaved a long sigh, spreading her arms with an annoyed look on her face. “Fine, get it over with.” She mumbled.
Ali shook her head, walking over to the blind woman and giving her one unnecessarily tight hug. Crys stumbled a little bit, patting Ali in the back and letting out a small chuckle. “There, there… Can we get on with our lives now?”
Ali was going to respond when suddenly someone collided with them, and Dastan’s voice could be heard shouting: “GROUP HUG!”
“Knock it off!” Crys shouted, elbowing Dastan in the ribs and causing laughter all over the encampment.
Ali watched as the man simply walked away laughing and rejoined the rest of the mercenaries, shoving one of the men playfully as he passed. Ali nodded, chuckling. “He enjoys annoying you, huh?”
Crys sighed. “No, not particularly; he does this sort of thing with everyone. Especially when he’s drunk, and he often is.” She stated with a shrug. “He’s a competent leader, though, believe it or not. He sat at a meeting with my mother, a couple of weeks before she died; he was so serious I could barely recognize him.” She stated, putting one arm around Ali’s shoulders and pulling her away from the party. “You did good back there, I’m actually a little bit proud.” She told her.
Ali chuckled. “I save your life and you’re a little bit proud?”
“I’ll be completely proud when you stop caring about what I think. I’m not your instructor anymore, neither are you ten.” Crys replied, snatching a bottle from a passing Crimson as they walked. The man didn’t seem to be bothered or insulted by the gesture at all, he simply laughed it off. “Love it how you can do almost anything to these guys and they just laugh.” Crys stated. “Try to snatch anything off an assassin and you’ll just lose your fingers.”
“Not entirely true. I did steal from you once.” Ali stated. “Remember?”
“Are we reminiscing, now?” Crys asked, laughing. “I caught up with you and if you weren’t just a little kid you would have lost more than just your fingers, believe me.” She stopped walking and turned to face Ali. “What’s on your mind?”
“Too many things at once, I’d say.” Ali replied. “Mostly, I’ve been thinking about how things changed so much in such a small time frame. When I’m not thinking that, I’m wondering what the hell we’re going to do now.” She smiled. “But I know you don’t want to hear someone else ask you that.”
“Why should I have to tell you that? The Pack is dismembered Ali, I’m not your leader anymore, there are no rules… You can do whatever you want now.”
“I don’t know what I want to do. I do know what I don’t want.” Ali said, seriously. “I don’t want to be alone again.”
Crys sighed. “We’re all alone when it matters. You know that. We’ll all die alone.”
“I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, Crys.” She nodded. “When I was ten, I woke up one morning alone in the forest with blood on my hands. All I knew was burnt, broken, dead… I had nothing. I don’t want to feel that way again ever. And this… This was pretty damn close.”
Crys nodded. “I understand.” She said, gripping Ali’s shoulder. “It was close, but that was all, and now we get to choose a different path.” She released Ali’s shoulder and smiled. “Take my advice: go back to the party. If the Crimson can’t cheer you up, then you’re beyond all hope.”
That said, Crys walked away and Ali simply stood there watching her until she disappeared into the darkness of the desert. Ali took a moment to decide, but eventually she shrugged and walked back to join the party. As Dani used to say: What’s the point of a party if no one enjoys it?
---------------------------
Jake had wandered off as far away from the camp as he possibly could, onto the area where the Crimson had set up their training field. It was a circular area, marked by tall red flags that could be spotted at a distance. There targets and dummies were set for practice, as well as several different weapon racks filled with spears swords and staffs. He had sat there all day, lost in thought, watching the hours pass; waiting for the sunlight to fade behind the mountains.
Not a trace of him had been spotted or sense by anyone since that morning, and that’s exactly what he wanted. Finally as the sun went down Jake allowed himself to be engulfed by the darkness and the cold of the night; shivers beginning to form on the base of his spine. It was such peaceful and desolate silence. There was nowhere to go, no truths or lies to be told, no oaths left intact… All those little things that once bound him to the rest of the world, were left somewhere along the way. In this moment, there was only him, the silence, and the shadows of his past.
Getting on his feet, Jake walked to the weapon rack, pulled a training sword and walked to one of the dummies, staring at it for a few seconds before attacking it without mercy as if he suddenly saw all the wrongs of the world in that faceless, motionless figure. If only things were that simple.
“It’s not that simple Jacob.” Dani said with a serious look in her eyes. “You can't divide things between right and wrong anymore. Whatever you do, no matter what the intentions are, it will be wrong. It will hurt someone, and it will be a betrayal in a way or two. “
Jake shook his head. “No. This crosses every line. I can’t do it.”
Dani sighed wearily leaning back against a tree trunk. Jake could tell she was tired, probably just stress from fending off attacks from Newhaven. The Pack was never equipped for such things. “Listen boy, you and I both know that you can. So, if you are not willing to do something, say that. Don’t say ‘I can’t’.” She told him. “Even so, it has to be done. If you won’t do it, I will. However, the last thing the clan needs right now are executions.”
“Can’t this wait? I mean, until things settle down a little.” Jake mumbled.
“You know how I feel about traitors Jake. I don’t like to keep them around any longer than it’s absolutely necessary. It’s like I said: If you don’t do it, I will.”
Jake rubbed his eyes as a sign of exhaustion and took a deep breath. Of course, he was going to do what Dani asked. He always did, and she knew it. “Fine. Give me the list.” He said, holding out his hand without turning to look at her.
When Dani handed him the list Jake browsed through it, connecting the names on the paper to familiar faces he saw everyday while growing up, trying to see them as any other target when he knew that wasn’t true. When he saw the last name on the list, his eye widened in shock and he looked up to see that Dani had been patiently waiting for that reaction.
“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed, tossing the paper back to her. “I’m not doing this!”
Dani caught the list in the air, and nodded. “You don’t have to actually kill me, just give it your best shot.” She said calmly.
“If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.” Jake told her with a frown.
“Don’t be stupid, of course it’s not a joke.” Dani replied. “You need to show loyalty to Newhaven, and the people there need to hear that the Black Knights are being serious about hurting us. They’ll calm down if the Pack leader is attacked.” She shrugged. “I’ve known Lena long enough to know it can be done easily, without risks. I’ll recover and it’ll be fine.”
Jake nodded. “It’s not that simple. There are factors that determine how a person’s body will react to poison, you can’t just…” He shook his head. “No. It’s just way too risky.”
“What isn’t risky these days?” Dani asked him. “Listen, I know you can make this work or I wouldn’t be risking my life like this. Trust me, just this once.”
Jake stood there looking at Dani with an angry expression. He didn’t know what to make of this. The logic behind it was sane, but, it was risky as hell, and if something went wrong it could easily cause her death. He shook his head and tried to settle for something in between. “I’ll ask Lena to dose the poison. It’ll be safer that way.”
“I don’t want Lena to know about this, or anyone else for that matter.” Dani told him with a serious look in her eyes that just wasn’t there a moment ago. “That is not negotiable.”
“You’re really not helping me out here, you know?” Jake muttered.
“Think for a moment: If you were going to risk your life like this, would you tell Crys? Or Annie?” She grinned. “Or me?”
“No, I suppose I wouldn’t.” Jake replied.
“No, you wouldn’t. This is not negotiable.” She stated, in a severe tone.
He sighed. “This isn’t going to end well. It can’t possibly end well.”
“It won’t end well no matter what you choose Jake. I can tell you that much.” Dani said, walking closer to him and holding him by the shoulders. “This is very important and I need you to do it. You can consider it a favor or an order, whatever helps you through, but I need you to do this for me.”
Jake faltered under her gaze. There was a sense of urgency in the way she spoke, as if this was far more important than she would ever be able to tell him. He didn’t know why, but he knew that if it mattered this much to Dani, he would have to do it for her. “Alright, alright...” He stated, taking the list back from her and going over it one more time. “Are you, and this is important: Are you in perfect health?” He asked her.
Dani smiled at him. “Yes, I am perfectly healthy.”
Tears and screams escaped him as Jake unleashed his rage on the wooden figure. Had it been a human being in his path, whoever it was wouldn’t have stood a chance. Jake had reached his breaking point, and now there was no turning back. All he could do now was get through it and hope to survive.
“What do you think matters most: Your intentions or your actions?” Bastian asked absently.
“What do you mean exactly?” Jake asked, staring at the man across from him as he leaned back on his seat, staring blankly at the ceiling of the Inn. It was the middle of the night and the place was almost empty.
“I mean… If you kill someone, however, you don’t wish that person dead, is it worse than wishing someone was dead, but not being capable or not having the courage to kill said person?” Bastian elaborated, still staring at the ceiling. “I mean, in truth… When the Pack kills a target, whose fault is it? The assassin or the person who ordered the hit; who should be really held responsible?”
“Uh… The person who ordered the hit, I think.” Jake replied. “I mean, the target wouldn’t have been killed if it wasn’t for that person. However, if the Pack refused the contract, someone else would take it and the target would still be dead.”
Bastian chuckled. “Nice answer. Now tell me… If the Pack had killed your sister instead of those thieves, would you still be able to see it this way?”
“No.” Jake answered immediately. “I wouldn’t.”
“You wouldn’t.” Bastian agreed, sitting up straight and looking at him with a half-smile. “So, whenever you kill someone, kid, remember that. You can bend the truth whichever way you like if it gets you through, but death is never justified. And if someone ever confronts you with a death you caused, don’t ever dare say it is.”
“Yes, sir. I will remember that.” Jake responded.
Bastian nodded. “When will you stop calling me sir, huh?”
“When will you stop calling me kid?” Jake retorted, with a grin.
“The day you prove to me that you can be a man.” Bastian told him, standing up and heading towards the bar to pay for their drinks. “That if I ever live to see the day.”
Jake finally wore himself out, tossing the broken training sword aside and falling to the ground on his knees. The dummy was broken beyond recognition; Indrani would probably throw a fit when she saw the damage. However, Jake couldn’t bring himself to care. He remained still on the cold ground, shaking of cold and exhausted. It was the first time he had managed to stop and let things sink in properly. It was noticeable by the state of the training dummy that pushing those thoughts and feelings away was the best thing to do at a time when he couldn’t afford to lose it. Dani’s death hadn’t even sunk in properly. And now he realized that he had at one point even tried to make her death into something justified. All those things he had been taught to believe in; he had pushed them aside and forgotten them.
He had pushed himself aside for so long that he couldn’t even remember who he was anymore. All he knew where the things he had done. As Jake finally took a deep breath and started to consider what he would do next, a voice caught him by surprise. “Hey. I’ve been looking all over for you.” It was Crys.
Jake sighed and looked up to the sky for a moment. “Nice way to kick me while I’m down.” He muttered under his breath before standing up, trying his best to brush the sand off his clothes. “Hey.” He greeted. “I was just…”
“Beating a dummy into a pile of firewood?” She grinned. “I’m blind, but I’m not stupid.” She said, kicking a piece of the broken dummy. “Are you feeling any better?” She asked.
“I’m not really sure.” He said, heaving a sigh. “I’m still angry. I’m not sure I’ll ever be done with the anger. And I wouldn’t mind being angry if I could just…” He shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished.
“…Forgive her.” Crys completed. “I understand that.” She said, with a small shrug. “She lied to you, to all of us, and then she left, she died. I get it. I sometimes wish I could have her back in my life just so I could yell at her, but I can’t.” She sighed. “And then, even if I could, I wouldn’t.” She smiled. “It’s perfectly fine to be angry. One day it’ll pass, until then… Don’t bother trying to control your feelings. Just try to keep them from controlling you.”
“I killed your mother and you’re comforting me.” He said, shaking his head.
“I mourned her death and you haven’t. Besides, she did love you like a son.” She said, reaching out and placing her hands on the sides of his face, walking closer to him.
Jake heaved a small sigh, the warm hands felt nice on his skin; it was almost as if someone had wrapped him in a blanket all of a sudden. “I don’t believe she did.” He mumbled.
“Sure she did.” Crys stated. “Or you think she would just let anyone kill her? If it was like that she could have let any other Black Knight have shot. I doubt they would have hesitated.”
“I don’t know.” Jake replied, shrugging a little.
“Sure you do.” Crys said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
Jake shook his head and put his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. “What were we talking about again?” He whispered
“Do you remember that, before this whole mess even began, I said that I would run away with you?” She asked.
Jake sighed. “Yes, I remember, but we are away.” He stated, slightly pulling away from her and looking around. “I think that… What you really want is an escape.” He said in an amused tone.
She chuckled. “Yes, please.”
“We could hide for a bit. I’m good at that.” He offered opening up a smile, that she wouldn’t be able to see, but she would surely feel.
“Close enough. Let’s do th-” She stopped mid-sentence, patting the side of his head. “What in the name of the Twins happened to your ear?”
Jake laughed out. “That… That was just a scratch.” He said, taking her hand away from his face and beginning to lead her away from the training field. “Come, let’s get out of here and then we’ll talk about everything. I’m sure you have some things to tell me as well.”
Crys nodded walking with him. “You don’t know the half of it.”
------------------------------------------------
[Next morning]
Dastan let out a lazy yawn as he walked through the encampment, stretching and groaning as he did so. He didn’t remember much of the party, but those were probably the best ones. He had woken up in a tent, shirtless and alone. Whose tent it was and what happened to his shirt were two little mysteries to solve, but for now… He would simply go home and get a clean one.
Out of the blue he felt something collide with him and turned to see a very annoyed Indrani standing in front of him. “What the hell happened last night?” She asked.
“When have I even had the answer to that question?” He asked her with a grin. “How can you be so angry this early in the day? You’re going to die single.”
“Someone has to keep you company when you end up a pathetic old drunk.” She retorted.
“Come on now, Indrani. That hurts my feelings.” He said putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to walk with him. “What’s the problem?”
“Someone made a huge mess on the training area.” She muttered. “I’m not even going to go into the subject of it being off limits. I’m simply here to tell you that I’m not cleaning that up!” She said, pushing him away and walking off. “And put on a damn shirt!”
“I was about to!” He replied laughing and going on towards the temple. He stopped at the entrance, saying a silent prayer before entering.
Once inside he promptly made his way up to his room, climbing up the wall to the second floor and making sure to make plenty of noise in the hallway so Crys would hear him coming. As he reached the room however he stopped at the doorway with a slight frown when seeing Jake there, sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his shoes. “Man, do I have do burn my bed now?” He asked, whispering. Crys was lying face down on the bad, sound asleep.
“I don’t kiss and tell.” Jake whispered back, jokingly, as he stood up. Since Dastan didn’t seem amused, he shook his head, patting the man on the shoulder as he passed him in the doorway. “Relax man. We were up talking, I think, until about an hour ago. So please, let her sleep, okay?”
“If she asks for you what do I say?” Dastan asked, stepping into the room and opening a wooden trunk to search for a shirt.
“Tell her I’ve gone to get some breakfast... And possibly a haircut. I’ll probably be back before she wakes up though.” He said, walking out.
“Haircut?” Dastan asked, slipping on a clean shirt and turning towards the door confused, seeing the Jake had already gone. “Assassins are so weird.” He mumbled. “Always talking in codes…”
Indrani had finished yelling at Dastan and gone to clean up the mess in the training area. She knew very well that no one else would. “Well, have extra firewood now.” She sighed, picking the broken pieces of the training dummy.
“Whoa, that was brutal.” Dastan’s voice sounded behind her. “I thought you said you weren’t cleaning it up.” He said, amused.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“Do you remember when we started training here? You were only ten, I think.” Dastan said with a chuckle. “Your old man never really saw the little warrior he already had at home. In less than a year you were already kicking my ass.” He said, leaning against an intact dummy.
“I remember.” Indrani said, simply.
“I’ll ask again: What’s the problem?”
She sighed. “Are these assassins staying, Dastan?” She asked, turning to face him. “Because you do realize the problem this can cause.”
“I haven’t spoken to Crys about it yet, but if they want to stay, let them stay.” He shrugged. “They let us in their territory for over a year, we owe them.”
“The Pack, let us in their territory.” Indrani corrected. “The Pack, wants their heads.”
“Oh, I see.” Dastan stated. “You’re scared of the big bad assassin clan, aren’t you?” He laughed. “Crys and her mother were the ones who helped us when we needed it. We owe them, and not that backstabbing idiot who runs the clan now.”
Indrani sighed. “I’m not saying we should kick them out. No. I’m just saying we need to be careful.”
Dastan nodded. “We will be, don’t worry I’ve got it covered.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Wolfpack camp – Late that night]
Sean had had a rough day. He was pleased with how the repairs in the camp had gone, and some of the workers that were sleeping in the cafeteria had already gone back to homes of their own. The clan files had been burnt beyond recognition and Sean wondered if the one thing he needed to find in there had burned with it. It was possible that Evin took it, but either way… He was going to pay for it. Everyone in the Pack had orders to kill any one of the traitors if they were seen anywhere on the territory; which didn’t stop Jake from sneaking in and poisoning the camp’s food supply, leading more than half of the actives into uncontrollable bowel movements. As if that wasn’t enough, his sister wasn’t speaking to him because of Lionel. He knew that eventually she would forgive him, but for now it was bothersome to see her frowning at him every time he walked in.
Sean laid his head down on the big wooden table in the office. The stench of smoke still filled the room, but he didn’t care about it. Sometimes, to make a change, some things had to burn.
“Everything must go.” Sean said to himself, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. As he stood up to go to his room the door opened and an active came running in with a note. “Sean. The was left for you.”
Sean took the note, and looked it over. “Interesting...” He mumbled. “That’s very interesting.” He pulled pen and paper and scribbled a response.
Meet me outside the city gates at noon.
Don’t be late.
He folded the note and sealed it in an envelope, handing it back to the active. “Have one of the braver actives deliver this to the Captain of the Black Knights. Directly to her, and make it impressive.”
“To the Black Knight Captain… Are you sure?” The active asked, in a shock.
Sean grinned at the look on the active’s face. “Yes. We can use this to our advantage.” He told the man, gripping him by the shoulder and directing him to the door. “We have to always look at the possibilities, my friend. I see some good ones here.”
Ali watched as Crys walked away from a woman Ali hadn’t met, a small smile crossing her features, making her way towards the assassins. Her friend’s expression made her wonder what the conversation was about, she seemed pleased by it. The actives that had followed them to the desert were almost as young as Ali was, and somewhat inexperienced. Mostly they were the ones too young to remember the horror of the Wolf Hunters, and weren’t born in the clan to have that hatred wired into their minds. All they remembered was Dani as a leader, Crys as an Instructor, Bastian as a friend…
Most of them required further training, as did Ali, admittedly, but they were motivated, and they were loyal. In the end of it, they had far more potential than any number of assassins Sean could lead. The moment Crys arrived and banded around her as if they had never left camp in the first place. Amongst the somewhat awkward greetings and questions about her health, some people asked Crys, vaguely, if there was a plan and what they could do to help. She simply told them to enjoy the party for the moment and rest as much as possible. Whenever she had a plan, she would let them know. As she made her way past the group of assassins Ali followed after her and spoke. “Are you sure you should be wandering about like this? I mean, you didn’t look so good a few hours ago.”
Crys shook her head, and stopped walking, a smile growing on her face as she spoke. “I’m fine, it was just a scratch. You know healers, they exaggerate.”
“I do know what I saw, Crys.” Ali replied. The tone in her voice clearly showed that she wasn’t amused, not in the slightest.
“Seriously, Allison, I feel fine.” Crys assured her. “Don’t worry.”
“That’s a lot easier said than done.” Ali replied, with slight amusement in her voice, walking to catch up with her.
There were a couple of minutes of silence between the two, masked by the ever-increasing sounds of the party. Ali didn’t really know what to say now. She thought Crys was dead, and now she was standing there. The silence lingered for a few more minutes, until Crys finally heaved a long sigh, spreading her arms with an annoyed look on her face. “Fine, get it over with.” She mumbled.
Ali shook her head, walking over to the blind woman and giving her one unnecessarily tight hug. Crys stumbled a little bit, patting Ali in the back and letting out a small chuckle. “There, there… Can we get on with our lives now?”
Ali was going to respond when suddenly someone collided with them, and Dastan’s voice could be heard shouting: “GROUP HUG!”
“Knock it off!” Crys shouted, elbowing Dastan in the ribs and causing laughter all over the encampment.
Ali watched as the man simply walked away laughing and rejoined the rest of the mercenaries, shoving one of the men playfully as he passed. Ali nodded, chuckling. “He enjoys annoying you, huh?”
Crys sighed. “No, not particularly; he does this sort of thing with everyone. Especially when he’s drunk, and he often is.” She stated with a shrug. “He’s a competent leader, though, believe it or not. He sat at a meeting with my mother, a couple of weeks before she died; he was so serious I could barely recognize him.” She stated, putting one arm around Ali’s shoulders and pulling her away from the party. “You did good back there, I’m actually a little bit proud.” She told her.
Ali chuckled. “I save your life and you’re a little bit proud?”
“I’ll be completely proud when you stop caring about what I think. I’m not your instructor anymore, neither are you ten.” Crys replied, snatching a bottle from a passing Crimson as they walked. The man didn’t seem to be bothered or insulted by the gesture at all, he simply laughed it off. “Love it how you can do almost anything to these guys and they just laugh.” Crys stated. “Try to snatch anything off an assassin and you’ll just lose your fingers.”
“Not entirely true. I did steal from you once.” Ali stated. “Remember?”
“Are we reminiscing, now?” Crys asked, laughing. “I caught up with you and if you weren’t just a little kid you would have lost more than just your fingers, believe me.” She stopped walking and turned to face Ali. “What’s on your mind?”
“Too many things at once, I’d say.” Ali replied. “Mostly, I’ve been thinking about how things changed so much in such a small time frame. When I’m not thinking that, I’m wondering what the hell we’re going to do now.” She smiled. “But I know you don’t want to hear someone else ask you that.”
“Why should I have to tell you that? The Pack is dismembered Ali, I’m not your leader anymore, there are no rules… You can do whatever you want now.”
“I don’t know what I want to do. I do know what I don’t want.” Ali said, seriously. “I don’t want to be alone again.”
Crys sighed. “We’re all alone when it matters. You know that. We’ll all die alone.”
“I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, Crys.” She nodded. “When I was ten, I woke up one morning alone in the forest with blood on my hands. All I knew was burnt, broken, dead… I had nothing. I don’t want to feel that way again ever. And this… This was pretty damn close.”
Crys nodded. “I understand.” She said, gripping Ali’s shoulder. “It was close, but that was all, and now we get to choose a different path.” She released Ali’s shoulder and smiled. “Take my advice: go back to the party. If the Crimson can’t cheer you up, then you’re beyond all hope.”
That said, Crys walked away and Ali simply stood there watching her until she disappeared into the darkness of the desert. Ali took a moment to decide, but eventually she shrugged and walked back to join the party. As Dani used to say: What’s the point of a party if no one enjoys it?
---------------------------
Jake had wandered off as far away from the camp as he possibly could, onto the area where the Crimson had set up their training field. It was a circular area, marked by tall red flags that could be spotted at a distance. There targets and dummies were set for practice, as well as several different weapon racks filled with spears swords and staffs. He had sat there all day, lost in thought, watching the hours pass; waiting for the sunlight to fade behind the mountains.
Not a trace of him had been spotted or sense by anyone since that morning, and that’s exactly what he wanted. Finally as the sun went down Jake allowed himself to be engulfed by the darkness and the cold of the night; shivers beginning to form on the base of his spine. It was such peaceful and desolate silence. There was nowhere to go, no truths or lies to be told, no oaths left intact… All those little things that once bound him to the rest of the world, were left somewhere along the way. In this moment, there was only him, the silence, and the shadows of his past.
Getting on his feet, Jake walked to the weapon rack, pulled a training sword and walked to one of the dummies, staring at it for a few seconds before attacking it without mercy as if he suddenly saw all the wrongs of the world in that faceless, motionless figure. If only things were that simple.
“It’s not that simple Jacob.” Dani said with a serious look in her eyes. “You can't divide things between right and wrong anymore. Whatever you do, no matter what the intentions are, it will be wrong. It will hurt someone, and it will be a betrayal in a way or two. “
Jake shook his head. “No. This crosses every line. I can’t do it.”
Dani sighed wearily leaning back against a tree trunk. Jake could tell she was tired, probably just stress from fending off attacks from Newhaven. The Pack was never equipped for such things. “Listen boy, you and I both know that you can. So, if you are not willing to do something, say that. Don’t say ‘I can’t’.” She told him. “Even so, it has to be done. If you won’t do it, I will. However, the last thing the clan needs right now are executions.”
“Can’t this wait? I mean, until things settle down a little.” Jake mumbled.
“You know how I feel about traitors Jake. I don’t like to keep them around any longer than it’s absolutely necessary. It’s like I said: If you don’t do it, I will.”
Jake rubbed his eyes as a sign of exhaustion and took a deep breath. Of course, he was going to do what Dani asked. He always did, and she knew it. “Fine. Give me the list.” He said, holding out his hand without turning to look at her.
When Dani handed him the list Jake browsed through it, connecting the names on the paper to familiar faces he saw everyday while growing up, trying to see them as any other target when he knew that wasn’t true. When he saw the last name on the list, his eye widened in shock and he looked up to see that Dani had been patiently waiting for that reaction.
“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed, tossing the paper back to her. “I’m not doing this!”
Dani caught the list in the air, and nodded. “You don’t have to actually kill me, just give it your best shot.” She said calmly.
“If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.” Jake told her with a frown.
“Don’t be stupid, of course it’s not a joke.” Dani replied. “You need to show loyalty to Newhaven, and the people there need to hear that the Black Knights are being serious about hurting us. They’ll calm down if the Pack leader is attacked.” She shrugged. “I’ve known Lena long enough to know it can be done easily, without risks. I’ll recover and it’ll be fine.”
Jake nodded. “It’s not that simple. There are factors that determine how a person’s body will react to poison, you can’t just…” He shook his head. “No. It’s just way too risky.”
“What isn’t risky these days?” Dani asked him. “Listen, I know you can make this work or I wouldn’t be risking my life like this. Trust me, just this once.”
Jake stood there looking at Dani with an angry expression. He didn’t know what to make of this. The logic behind it was sane, but, it was risky as hell, and if something went wrong it could easily cause her death. He shook his head and tried to settle for something in between. “I’ll ask Lena to dose the poison. It’ll be safer that way.”
“I don’t want Lena to know about this, or anyone else for that matter.” Dani told him with a serious look in her eyes that just wasn’t there a moment ago. “That is not negotiable.”
“You’re really not helping me out here, you know?” Jake muttered.
“Think for a moment: If you were going to risk your life like this, would you tell Crys? Or Annie?” She grinned. “Or me?”
“No, I suppose I wouldn’t.” Jake replied.
“No, you wouldn’t. This is not negotiable.” She stated, in a severe tone.
He sighed. “This isn’t going to end well. It can’t possibly end well.”
“It won’t end well no matter what you choose Jake. I can tell you that much.” Dani said, walking closer to him and holding him by the shoulders. “This is very important and I need you to do it. You can consider it a favor or an order, whatever helps you through, but I need you to do this for me.”
Jake faltered under her gaze. There was a sense of urgency in the way she spoke, as if this was far more important than she would ever be able to tell him. He didn’t know why, but he knew that if it mattered this much to Dani, he would have to do it for her. “Alright, alright...” He stated, taking the list back from her and going over it one more time. “Are you, and this is important: Are you in perfect health?” He asked her.
Dani smiled at him. “Yes, I am perfectly healthy.”
Tears and screams escaped him as Jake unleashed his rage on the wooden figure. Had it been a human being in his path, whoever it was wouldn’t have stood a chance. Jake had reached his breaking point, and now there was no turning back. All he could do now was get through it and hope to survive.
“What do you think matters most: Your intentions or your actions?” Bastian asked absently.
“What do you mean exactly?” Jake asked, staring at the man across from him as he leaned back on his seat, staring blankly at the ceiling of the Inn. It was the middle of the night and the place was almost empty.
“I mean… If you kill someone, however, you don’t wish that person dead, is it worse than wishing someone was dead, but not being capable or not having the courage to kill said person?” Bastian elaborated, still staring at the ceiling. “I mean, in truth… When the Pack kills a target, whose fault is it? The assassin or the person who ordered the hit; who should be really held responsible?”
“Uh… The person who ordered the hit, I think.” Jake replied. “I mean, the target wouldn’t have been killed if it wasn’t for that person. However, if the Pack refused the contract, someone else would take it and the target would still be dead.”
Bastian chuckled. “Nice answer. Now tell me… If the Pack had killed your sister instead of those thieves, would you still be able to see it this way?”
“No.” Jake answered immediately. “I wouldn’t.”
“You wouldn’t.” Bastian agreed, sitting up straight and looking at him with a half-smile. “So, whenever you kill someone, kid, remember that. You can bend the truth whichever way you like if it gets you through, but death is never justified. And if someone ever confronts you with a death you caused, don’t ever dare say it is.”
“Yes, sir. I will remember that.” Jake responded.
Bastian nodded. “When will you stop calling me sir, huh?”
“When will you stop calling me kid?” Jake retorted, with a grin.
“The day you prove to me that you can be a man.” Bastian told him, standing up and heading towards the bar to pay for their drinks. “That if I ever live to see the day.”
Jake finally wore himself out, tossing the broken training sword aside and falling to the ground on his knees. The dummy was broken beyond recognition; Indrani would probably throw a fit when she saw the damage. However, Jake couldn’t bring himself to care. He remained still on the cold ground, shaking of cold and exhausted. It was the first time he had managed to stop and let things sink in properly. It was noticeable by the state of the training dummy that pushing those thoughts and feelings away was the best thing to do at a time when he couldn’t afford to lose it. Dani’s death hadn’t even sunk in properly. And now he realized that he had at one point even tried to make her death into something justified. All those things he had been taught to believe in; he had pushed them aside and forgotten them.
He had pushed himself aside for so long that he couldn’t even remember who he was anymore. All he knew where the things he had done. As Jake finally took a deep breath and started to consider what he would do next, a voice caught him by surprise. “Hey. I’ve been looking all over for you.” It was Crys.
Jake sighed and looked up to the sky for a moment. “Nice way to kick me while I’m down.” He muttered under his breath before standing up, trying his best to brush the sand off his clothes. “Hey.” He greeted. “I was just…”
“Beating a dummy into a pile of firewood?” She grinned. “I’m blind, but I’m not stupid.” She said, kicking a piece of the broken dummy. “Are you feeling any better?” She asked.
“I’m not really sure.” He said, heaving a sigh. “I’m still angry. I’m not sure I’ll ever be done with the anger. And I wouldn’t mind being angry if I could just…” He shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished.
“…Forgive her.” Crys completed. “I understand that.” She said, with a small shrug. “She lied to you, to all of us, and then she left, she died. I get it. I sometimes wish I could have her back in my life just so I could yell at her, but I can’t.” She sighed. “And then, even if I could, I wouldn’t.” She smiled. “It’s perfectly fine to be angry. One day it’ll pass, until then… Don’t bother trying to control your feelings. Just try to keep them from controlling you.”
“I killed your mother and you’re comforting me.” He said, shaking his head.
“I mourned her death and you haven’t. Besides, she did love you like a son.” She said, reaching out and placing her hands on the sides of his face, walking closer to him.
Jake heaved a small sigh, the warm hands felt nice on his skin; it was almost as if someone had wrapped him in a blanket all of a sudden. “I don’t believe she did.” He mumbled.
“Sure she did.” Crys stated. “Or you think she would just let anyone kill her? If it was like that she could have let any other Black Knight have shot. I doubt they would have hesitated.”
“I don’t know.” Jake replied, shrugging a little.
“Sure you do.” Crys said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
Jake shook his head and put his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. “What were we talking about again?” He whispered
“Do you remember that, before this whole mess even began, I said that I would run away with you?” She asked.
Jake sighed. “Yes, I remember, but we are away.” He stated, slightly pulling away from her and looking around. “I think that… What you really want is an escape.” He said in an amused tone.
She chuckled. “Yes, please.”
“We could hide for a bit. I’m good at that.” He offered opening up a smile, that she wouldn’t be able to see, but she would surely feel.
“Close enough. Let’s do th-” She stopped mid-sentence, patting the side of his head. “What in the name of the Twins happened to your ear?”
Jake laughed out. “That… That was just a scratch.” He said, taking her hand away from his face and beginning to lead her away from the training field. “Come, let’s get out of here and then we’ll talk about everything. I’m sure you have some things to tell me as well.”
Crys nodded walking with him. “You don’t know the half of it.”
------------------------------------------------
[Next morning]
Dastan let out a lazy yawn as he walked through the encampment, stretching and groaning as he did so. He didn’t remember much of the party, but those were probably the best ones. He had woken up in a tent, shirtless and alone. Whose tent it was and what happened to his shirt were two little mysteries to solve, but for now… He would simply go home and get a clean one.
Out of the blue he felt something collide with him and turned to see a very annoyed Indrani standing in front of him. “What the hell happened last night?” She asked.
“When have I even had the answer to that question?” He asked her with a grin. “How can you be so angry this early in the day? You’re going to die single.”
“Someone has to keep you company when you end up a pathetic old drunk.” She retorted.
“Come on now, Indrani. That hurts my feelings.” He said putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to walk with him. “What’s the problem?”
“Someone made a huge mess on the training area.” She muttered. “I’m not even going to go into the subject of it being off limits. I’m simply here to tell you that I’m not cleaning that up!” She said, pushing him away and walking off. “And put on a damn shirt!”
“I was about to!” He replied laughing and going on towards the temple. He stopped at the entrance, saying a silent prayer before entering.
Once inside he promptly made his way up to his room, climbing up the wall to the second floor and making sure to make plenty of noise in the hallway so Crys would hear him coming. As he reached the room however he stopped at the doorway with a slight frown when seeing Jake there, sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his shoes. “Man, do I have do burn my bed now?” He asked, whispering. Crys was lying face down on the bad, sound asleep.
“I don’t kiss and tell.” Jake whispered back, jokingly, as he stood up. Since Dastan didn’t seem amused, he shook his head, patting the man on the shoulder as he passed him in the doorway. “Relax man. We were up talking, I think, until about an hour ago. So please, let her sleep, okay?”
“If she asks for you what do I say?” Dastan asked, stepping into the room and opening a wooden trunk to search for a shirt.
“Tell her I’ve gone to get some breakfast... And possibly a haircut. I’ll probably be back before she wakes up though.” He said, walking out.
“Haircut?” Dastan asked, slipping on a clean shirt and turning towards the door confused, seeing the Jake had already gone. “Assassins are so weird.” He mumbled. “Always talking in codes…”
Indrani had finished yelling at Dastan and gone to clean up the mess in the training area. She knew very well that no one else would. “Well, have extra firewood now.” She sighed, picking the broken pieces of the training dummy.
“Whoa, that was brutal.” Dastan’s voice sounded behind her. “I thought you said you weren’t cleaning it up.” He said, amused.
“Shut up.” She muttered.
“Do you remember when we started training here? You were only ten, I think.” Dastan said with a chuckle. “Your old man never really saw the little warrior he already had at home. In less than a year you were already kicking my ass.” He said, leaning against an intact dummy.
“I remember.” Indrani said, simply.
“I’ll ask again: What’s the problem?”
She sighed. “Are these assassins staying, Dastan?” She asked, turning to face him. “Because you do realize the problem this can cause.”
“I haven’t spoken to Crys about it yet, but if they want to stay, let them stay.” He shrugged. “They let us in their territory for over a year, we owe them.”
“The Pack, let us in their territory.” Indrani corrected. “The Pack, wants their heads.”
“Oh, I see.” Dastan stated. “You’re scared of the big bad assassin clan, aren’t you?” He laughed. “Crys and her mother were the ones who helped us when we needed it. We owe them, and not that backstabbing idiot who runs the clan now.”
Indrani sighed. “I’m not saying we should kick them out. No. I’m just saying we need to be careful.”
Dastan nodded. “We will be, don’t worry I’ve got it covered.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Wolfpack camp – Late that night]
Sean had had a rough day. He was pleased with how the repairs in the camp had gone, and some of the workers that were sleeping in the cafeteria had already gone back to homes of their own. The clan files had been burnt beyond recognition and Sean wondered if the one thing he needed to find in there had burned with it. It was possible that Evin took it, but either way… He was going to pay for it. Everyone in the Pack had orders to kill any one of the traitors if they were seen anywhere on the territory; which didn’t stop Jake from sneaking in and poisoning the camp’s food supply, leading more than half of the actives into uncontrollable bowel movements. As if that wasn’t enough, his sister wasn’t speaking to him because of Lionel. He knew that eventually she would forgive him, but for now it was bothersome to see her frowning at him every time he walked in.
Sean laid his head down on the big wooden table in the office. The stench of smoke still filled the room, but he didn’t care about it. Sometimes, to make a change, some things had to burn.
“Everything must go.” Sean said to himself, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. As he stood up to go to his room the door opened and an active came running in with a note. “Sean. The was left for you.”
Sean took the note, and looked it over. “Interesting...” He mumbled. “That’s very interesting.” He pulled pen and paper and scribbled a response.
Meet me outside the city gates at noon.
Don’t be late.
He folded the note and sealed it in an envelope, handing it back to the active. “Have one of the braver actives deliver this to the Captain of the Black Knights. Directly to her, and make it impressive.”
“To the Black Knight Captain… Are you sure?” The active asked, in a shock.
Sean grinned at the look on the active’s face. “Yes. We can use this to our advantage.” He told the man, gripping him by the shoulder and directing him to the door. “We have to always look at the possibilities, my friend. I see some good ones here.”
Reviews
26/30
Characterization: Advanced
Plot: Proficient
Depth: Advanced
Style: Advanced
Mechanics: Proficient
Overall: Advanced
Renssaerene wrote:This roleplay is very well-written. Right off the bat, the characters had depth and a lot of background in their actions and mannerisms. The dialect is shown nicely through different characters in different locations, and the plot is explained clearly throughout the story. I will be reading along this simply for the entertainment. Great job.