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RogueKazimeras Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:43 pm
Wilhelm had, of course, kept up during the entire trip. He was honestly flattered with Fenrys' compliments, but had said nothing while his commander talked. Doing so would be simply rude.
So, this was an information hunt, hm? And about 'demons,' no less. Well, Wilhelm knew a thing or two about demons, but that was his own business.
Finally, when they reached the gates, Wilhelm spoke. "I'll do much more than humiliate them, sir." Wilhelm said, meaning every word.
As they stepped through and Fenrys uttered his command for Wilhelm to leave in search of the archives, Wilhelm nodded and simply said "Aye," before departing in a rather swift manner towarsd the east wing, where he was certain the records were kept. If not, he'd have to sneaking around more.
Of course he wouldn't find too much information about these demons. Of that, he was certain. As a matter of fact, he might not find much at all...
He stole off to the east wing of the castle, avoiding the guards rather expertly. He eventually came to a barred door with an armed guard beside it; that had to be the vault of records.
There had to be a way past the guy; if he kill him, his time here would be numbered. He couldn't exactly ask politely and go in, however. However, the guard shifted uncomfortably and squirmed a bit, unknowingly observed by Wilhelm from the shadows. The guard looked left and then right, and then left again, and then nearly bolted down a hall, probably do deal with some bathroom problem.
Wilhelm snuck into the vault and dropped the bar behind him so as to not alert the guard when he returned. Granted, this locked Wilhelm in the vault of records (which thankfully was such), but if discovered, they would have to open the vault to get at him.
Wilhelm dug absent-mindedly through the files. He wasn't really looking for anything in particular; just the word 'demon' present within.
He found a cluster of papers about such things; a quick scan over them indicated the information was scanty, but a few articles contained a few choice items that he figured the church would love to see.
He scattered the ashes about the floor so they wouldn't be noticed, and pressed himself up against the door to the vault, holding the paper that bore no real useful information upon it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:54 pm
An attendant soon made it's way out from a servants passage hidden behind a tapestry, bowing to the warrior as she said with a humble, soft voice...
"This way sir, The Queen awaits you in the west conference room.." And then, expecting him to follow, she turned and headed towards there to show him the way. Leading him through broad corridors, she took him to the west section of the palace, up a staircase, and into a large room with a long, solid table. Multiple chairs sat tucked underneath it's oaken surface, an expensive piece, since wood was almost impossible to get these days. Seated at the very end, was the Queen of Zatalia in all her royal majesty. She sat in a very throne-like seat, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap as she sat up straight, her stoney-countanence watching him closely.
The room was lined on one side with windows and rich drapes, and also, all along the walls were soldiers. The Zatalian elite guard, it's only purpose to protect the King and Queen wherever they went. Two such guards stood at each side of her majesty, and after a couple moments as Fenrys entered the room, she whispered a few words to one of them, and he left the room through a servant passage immediately.
"Have a seat my dear General." She spoke with a hint of a smile on her features, her hand waving to the seat closest to her. "We have much to discuss." Her eyes turned icy at this, though her features did not waver.
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Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:46 pm
Fenrys did as ordered, striding tall into the room, and sitting briskly in the chair offered to him. He was, however, unnereved at the Queen's choice of words. It was not in the Queen's character to mischoose words, and he could only assume that she knew as well as anyone else in Zatalia that his accepted title was "Captain" or "Commander". "General" however, implied something entirely different; that she was perfectly aware that there was a war brewing, and that she already viewed Fenrys as the enemy General to be defeated. It was unsettling on several levels, to say the least. He was determined not to show it, however, as weakness in a meeting like this would not only set the tone for this dialogue, but for many events to come. Staring firmly back at the queen, he finally answered
"Of course milady, and which of these reasons for summoning here would you like to discuss first?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 12:31 pm
The guard took off in a sprint once he was out of sight of the Queen and Fenrys, rushing in a direction only he knew through the twisting, narrow corridors. Entering an office/bedroom on one of the lower floors, he stopped, panting, saluting with fist to heart as he came to complete attention.
"Sir! The Queen sent me, she said that there's someone in the archives. She also said to bring Misha with you." It all tumbled out, his face flushed from the quick sprint in the poorly ventilated servants routes.
A young man sat at the desk, his hair a shocking blonde, and his eyes a blue that was as vast as any of the lakes surrounding the fair city.
"Is that so, well then send for her at once, I'll meet her at the door." Sharde spoke with a calm demeanor, fitting his helmet over his short-cropped hair. His light, chain-mail armor clinked as he got up, fitting his steel-backed gauntlets onto strong, capable hands. This had to be no ordinary intruder if her Highness wanted Misha along.
His swords were attached to his hips, and as he moved out of the corridor, anyone could tell that they belonged to him, that he to them. He moved with such deadly grace and confidence that the largest brutes had been known to cower before their superior officer.
"Also, get a few of the royal guard that's off duty, if the Queen wanted this brought to my attention, it was for no unimportant matter. I do not wish to underestimate whoever this intruder is." He knew the price of not being cautious.
In a mere five minutes he was at the door, with a good twenty of the royal guard, and Misha at his side.
-----------------------------
"What now..." She said impatiently as the soldier burst into her room. He started voicing his message when abruptly, he choked on his words and spun on heel to face the other way. In front of him was Misha Del'Souln, trusted adviser to the Queen and expert of the mystic arts, In her small-clothes. She didn't seem the least bit embaressed, her smooth curves and mature face appealing to say the least. But right now she was scowling, her temper as fierce as her powers.
"Come on now, spit it out.." she demanded, crossing her arms and tapping a slippered foot on the floor.
"I.. I.... " He swallowed, his face still red, but for a different reason now. "The Queen has asked you to accompany Commander Sharde to apprehend an intruder in the archives..." He still refused to turn around.
"What?!? And intruder?! Why didn't you say so right away!" She spoke in a fury, almost running to her desk where her clean clothes were sitting, she had just had a bath and was just changing when he came into the room.
She was dressed within five minutes, and met with Sharde in another five. All business, she approched the barred door.
"...I don't know if either your brains have been addled, or the intruder's has.. The door is locked from the outside.." Misha spoke with a flick of her hair. Her dark skin glinting in the torch-light.
"Not a very smart person.."
"I realised that.." Spoke the Commander of the Zatalian army, he scruitinized the door before him, as if thinking about what was going on. What kind of an idiot would sneak into restricted areas of the palace, and then lock himself in with no way of escape... 'Either a very dumb, or an extremely smart person..'
"Right, lets do this then.." Misha said with a finality as she motioned one of the guards to open the door. She moved her hands together, preparing a spell that would snare whoever was in there with air if he tried to escape.
The Guard opened the door, and the royal guard flooded into the room, Misha and Sharde following right behind.
---------------------------
Upstairs, the Queen kept her hawk-like eyes on this dangerous man. Though her expression was that of the ice around the cities, her mind was panicking. They were going to revolt!?! This was not good. If only there was some way to eliminate him right here and now! But she knew of his powers, and that if she tried anything 'here and now' it was likely that she would be killed, along with everyone else in the room.
Why the hell didn't the guards escorting him in disarm him!?!
Frowning, she answered him:
"I believe it was you that requested audience with me. Now, tell me, what is it you wish to say." She already knew what he was going to say, but she wanted to hear it with her own hears, for the guards to hear it. She hoped there were enough guards so that one of them would hopefully take him down. She did not want him leaving this palace alive!!
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RogueKazimeras Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 12:56 pm
So, now it was time for the 'humiliation' that Fenrys had commanded him to perform upon the guard. He knew he would be caught; there was no avoiding it. He was sent, almost quite literally, upon a mission doomed for failure...
It wasn't like Wilhelm cared. He'd get to fight, now, and it was something he was looking forward to.
When the door opened, he had his hood pulled up around his face, obscuring his features. He did not speak, but wasted no time to pull out his rapier and ram the blade into the rather surprised guard's throat, the hapless man who walked in first. The next two who flanked him had already yanked out their blades, but the one on the left found himself lacking an eye and a rather vital cylindrical portion of his brain as Wilhelm's rapier found its way into one of the slots in the guard's helm faceplate, boring through until it hit metal once more. Yanking it out swiftly, Wilhelm fell back, dodging a blow meant to hack deeply into his off-hand arm.
He raised his rapier, pointing it at his foe, even as another circled around the bodies. Wilhelm knew that he was not only cornered but fighting a losing battle... He dared not throw down his sword, though. He eyed a gap between two plates upon the chest of the royal guard before him and ran his rapier betwixt the plates, into the man's heart, giving the blade a good twist, push, and a yank, to be certain the job was finished, and flourished in a manner that scattered the blood from the blade onto the floor. It was at this time the fourth guard got to him, and was about ready to take his head off with a sword blade.
Wilhelm, of course, did not take kindly to this, and ducked swiftly, the blade sailing harmlessly overhead, and Wilhelm rose, the blade of his rapier finding a gap between his plate and helm, and lodged itself upward underneath the guard's chin. Wilhelm artfully yanked the blade out again and waited for his foes to climb over the newly-formed mound of bodies that was slowly forming in the archive chamber. He cast a glance around quickly for another exit; a window, another door, a hatch, anything!
Alas, the archives vault was aptly named, and it did not seem like any emergency exit would present itself.
A few rapier stabs and dead guards later, Wilhelm found himself surrounded by at least ten royal guards; the only ones left.
"So... this is the end..." He thought grimly, eyeing up his foes.
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 1:12 pm
Stunned at the sudden carnage, Misha flew into a rage, throwing the net of air a little more forcefully than she intended to. It slipped between two of the guards and wrapped it's self right around the hooded intruder. The force of the net knocked him clear back into the wall, making him topple over on the ground as he literally bounced off the wall. His arms pinned to his sides, his legs pinned together, he was trapped.
"Filthy.. vile.. horrible.. creature.." She spat at him, her eyes blazing as those same eyes looked at the soldiers laying motionless about them.
Sharde however, walked straight up to the man, and prodded him with a foot before calling to her.
"You sure this'll hold him?" He asked skeptically, not seeing the bonds that held the man so tightly.
"Do you dare question my ability? Of course it'll hold him, he couldn't cut or break those strands if his life depended on it! Their stronger than the steel you hold in your very hands!" She was getting angry, she had hoped the intruder would cooperate, how wrong she was. Misha hated being wrong..
Nodding, no emotion on his face, he turned his attention to the captured, saying with a cold, dispassionate voice..
"Who the hell are you, and why are you here?" Then, shaking his head, he sighed and grabbed the man by his arm, lifting him up and quickly disarming him.
"It dosn't matter, the Queen will know once we bring you to her..." And with that, he threw the man's weapons on the floor and ordered two of the larger guards to carry him, the remaining eight were to surround the three; two in front, two behind, and two on each side. They were taking no chances.
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 10:47 pm
While Fenrys was no politician by birth, he was more than skilled at the trade, such things being necessary in his position. When he saw the panic in the Queen's eyes, he knew the time had come to turn things in his favor. She'd already made a critical error (which was highly unlike her), thinking that her guards had not disarmed him. They'd had no need to, as Fenrys walked everywhere "unarmed" and only summoned Azuresteel to his side as necessary. It made routing certain security measures much less difficult for him, and retaining the element of surprise, with his sword hidden in a dark dusty basement while he was often miles away, much much easier.
All the same, it seemed the Queen had underestimated Fenrys as some plebian sword-toting thug. He'd hoped that this meant that she wasn't prepared for his speech either.
"You're undoubtedly wondering why I would withdraw all Enforcers from their currently assigned positions in the city. The answer can be summed up in one word milady. Demons. The Church's position is that it must protect all it's parishoners, even in the most desperate times. However, since we recognize that the crown has some authority of our activities, the Enforcers have decided to pursue a new objective. Whispered rumors of demons are growing ever more prevalent in the city, and I can tell you that I've heard not one friendly word about them. Times being what they are, I am re-tasking the Zatalus Enforcers to researching, and if necessary combating this demon element."
Fenrys paused for a moment, never once breaking his gaze, but he swept back into speaking before he could be interrupted. "To this end, I have sent my assosciate down to the castle archives to peruse any information your intelligence has accrued on the subject. I am also aware that you thought I was coming here under much different pretenses, and that you have no doubt dispatched guards to capture him. I assure you, if you wish to hold him, his imprisonment will not last long. Furthermore, if you wish to capture me, I invite you to try, although I promise a most dismal failure, as I'm unaware of any law that prohibits my actions, save of course, defying the crown, but I have made my case. Now, is there anything else before I attend to my Enforcer in the archives?" Fenrys' gaze became ever more penetrating. He wanted reinforce the idea that if the Queen wanted to rid herself of him, it would take far more effort than she had planned.
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:25 pm
Something was going on. Several of the guards had been called from their posts and the other court members who typically went out of their way to avoid Andre were instead preoccupied whispering gossip to each other, barely stopping to notice his presence. As usual, he was being kept out of the loop, although it seemed unintentional this time.
The young councilor strode through the dark corridors filled with stagnant air wearing his full robe, a light gray piece that seemed weighed down, despite it being actually very light. His hands were buried in either sleeve as he grasped his forearms, hiding the freshly painted runes on his skin and the swollen, reddened flesh beneath. He had finally met with some success in his experiments but had been far from completely achieving the desired goal, and wished to protect his unsightly injuries from the elements and the view of his compatriots. Normally, he could just alter his body's structure and heal it in a matter of hours, but the nature of it was such that doing so would break the protective seals he'd placed over the runes and after so much research, he was loath to risk discarding the fruits of his labor. He also appeared very fatigued--something that was readily apparent due to his hood being unraised--a result of poring for days over previous research documents and manipulating magic theorems to his desire. Unlike most others, he broached the subject of magic as he would any other science, believing that there were logical explanations for all things that didn't rely on invisible, omnipresent old men that commoners would so frequently call "gods."
Still, it was a concern, and as such his trip was done with two goals: Retrieval of ink from the archive storage room and requesting assistance from the church.
Rather, he initially had only one goal, the acquisition of a new ink bottle, but upon setting eyes on the restrained Zatalus enforcer, the opportunity to seek quick magical healing in favor of slow natural healing made itself wholly apparent. Andre strongly disliked the church's inclination to brainwash the populace into thinking that their magic was fueled by the divine, there being little evidence beyond the circumstantial and increasingly harsh winters to back themselves up, but there was no denying that the best magical healers made residence in the church of Zatalus, regardless of how misguided their explanations for their abilities were.
Andre's crystal blue eyes panned over the guards, to the fallen guards, and lastly through the doors into the archives. He strongly felt the impression of fire here, although gleaning anything else from the brief vision he experienced was impossible. Still, fire in a room where the only flammable material were archives and documents could naturally only mean one thing. The floor was also covered in a light film of ash, as well as the unventilated room smelling of smoke and the unusual odor of burnt ink. Andre quickly snatched a closed bottle of ink from the storage room and made his exit at this thought, burying the bottle in an inside pocket of his robe, but taking care that the seal on it did not break, irrevocably staining his clothing.
"Where one burns books, one will soon burn people." he pontificated to Wilhelm. Despite being pinned, his presence seemed highly threatening, and not at all typical for an average person, although "average" could hardly describe someone who could kill four guards while so outnumbered.
The dull-red-haired magus dismissed his notion, though, as speculation to his feelings concerning the matter would serve no purpose. "Surely you've heard that saying before? I believe it was originally stated by your own Priest Heinrich Heine centuries ago. A pity to think that the church has fallen so far. Here, I thought that religion was a beacon of hope and unity for the people."
Andre turned to Misha, and addressed her. "Mistress Del'Souln," he spoke, acknowledging her higher position in the magus heirarchy, as despite many court members considering the magus order to be "beneath their authority," Andre held no such notions of superiority simply due to a difference in duties, and especially considering that he, too, was a magus. "I will escort these men to your desired destination in your place, if you would have it. I have need of..." Here, he paused, hesitating to complete his sentence. "the services of the church. Incidentally, I have met with progress in my research and would present it to you in some point in the future."
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RogueKazimeras Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:12 pm
Wilhelm said nothing as the duo, now joined by a third, hassled him. He would not betray his purpose, his reason for being here in the first place. He had come too far, done too much, and yet had done so little; he vowed not to die here, even if he had to resort to extreme measures to escape...
It was funny, however, that the female mage was so... uptight about his wanton 'murders.' Self-defense certainly was what he had preformed, and he smirked slightly at this thought even as he was bound and walked off.
As far as the newcomer's remarks, Wilhelm only shook his head. Records were nothing; books were something entirely different. He had really jumped to conclusions as to what he had burned, but he also noted how...fitting the statement was. Oh, he would burn people, soon enough...
There was the odd comment of his needing of the church's service. It was odd, for certain, but he knew, inwardly, that he would be little to no use, since he had only been of the Zatalus Enforcers for but a year or so.
Other than a few grunts as he struggled against his bonds every now and then, he said nothing, made no sound, as he was hauled off. He had done his job at humiliating his foes.
But now the tables had turned, and he would face possible execution. But execution was not an option...
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:12 pm
“When the bonds wear off, run like hell!”
In instant response to the disembodied command, a blind splurge of light and sparks flared through the records’ vault. The octet of guards that were encaging the reckless enforcer staggered, followed by his three royal captors. They swayed round where they stood, wobbling like string-puppets, eyes hazing as the world seemed to blot with black dots. Their eyes glazed and burned with the pulsating lights, even though the initial flash had gone. Two thumps could be heard, those of guards swiftly stabbed in the neck. Some still struggled, scrunching their eyes to make sense of the blurs, and shot scrutinous glares around the archives.
No one.
Two more guards perished, slain by unseen blades; only four remained, as well as the trio from the Royal Court. ‘Tsk,’ snarled the undetectable lurker, considering the situation in a flash. Those three were powerful; they had been incapacitated, but approaching them would be far too hazardous. The First Magus had possibly erected a radius trap around her, whereas the Commander could rely on a sense other than sight to strike true. What the other man could do was unclear, but finding out wasn’t high on the prowler’s list of priorities. The spell would only last a few seconds, and more than half had already been wasted.
“Run, you dolt!” Came the feminine voice – now apparently matched with a pleasantly feminine body. To her utter dismay, her other spell had already worn off, and she was now as clear as in broad daylight. She urged the now-unfettered enforcer to rise and bolt. She had expected his shackles to break, for tangle spells required focus and channeling. With the Magus unsighted, she wouldn’t have to worry about another of those spells for a while. Still, she took more precautions, and, as she rushed for the doors, she slipped a matchbox from her trousers, cracked a stick and lit the carpet on fire. Flames burst forth eagerly, fulminating, feeding on the dust and the stale air and the varnished wood. Smoke and embers roared, but the woman had already scurried into the corridor, heading for the exit.
“I hope like hell that kid’s following me.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:02 am
((Accompanying Music: Hitoshi Sakimot/Nobuo Uematsu - Clash on the Big Bridge Apologies to Soups who unintentionally reminded me of this music, which is fitting here. I welcome repeat music in Snow. It'd be no different than in a video game. ))
A small prayer was sent skyward as Fenrys' eye caught smoke outside of the emnating from somewhere below. The archives....I'd hoped he would be a little more subtle than that.. He prayed his eyes were swifter than that of the Queen's or the guards, but there was no way he could make his exit go unnoticed. All eyes snapped swiftly to him as he hastened from his chair without waiting for the queen's answer. His prayers went unanswered too. One of the guards caught sight of the smoke outside, and instantly knew Fenrys was guilty of something.
"Something's amiss! STOP HIM!"
"So much for the advantage...." He'd been backing away quickly, but not swiftly enough to get to the door, he threw himself against it, with all his might, the combination of his weight and the destructive force of plate armor sending it reeling off it's hinges. Luck was not with him, however, as he wasn't the only one to notice the disturbance, and many guards had been clambering down the hallway to catch the "Enforcer in the archives". When another man came bursting through the door thoroughly covered in Enforcer emblems and insignias, a guard at the head of the pack shouted
"Another Enforcer! Near the queen! KILL HIM!"
Fenrys swore under his breath as he quite literally watched his best laid plans go up in smoke. No time for that now. Gotta get to Godfrey. He screamed
"AZURESTEEL!"
and in a blaze of blue light disorienting anyone looking at him, his trusted longsword found it's way into his grip. He banished the blade to whence it came in another bright flash of light, only to resummon it right into the gut of a disoriented guard. Another swift banishing and one more quick sweeping summon motion was all it took to cleanly cut six more guards in half with an only half-real blade. His damage done and theatrical point made for the time being, he sprinted off down the corridors, paying no mind to the many other guards he'd left bewildered by four bright flashes of light, and seven dead comrades.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fenrys had made his way through the castle's many passageways battling guards at every turn. Though he was outnumbered nearly a hundred to one, he was a difficult opponent to catch, and an even more frightening opponent to cross swords with. Conventional training assumed that your opponent wielded a sword that was solid and static, not one that could be summoned and banished at will. This made predicting Fenrys' swordplay nigh impossible to predict, whether he would disarm your weapon, sunder your armor, or sever your limbs, was impossible to tell. As he came at last to the corridor that led to the archive vault, he walked slowly backwards, step by step, fending off any guards that had mustered the courage to charge him. Neatly, cleanly, and quite literally magically, he blocked, parried, dodged and executed his pursuers with an astounding grace. As he saw that he was nearing the archives he thought to himself This isn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be....If I don't run into Shard, Wilhelm and I might just make it out of here. He had, of course, dueled with the now Commander before, and he was one of the few opponents in Zatalia that could square off man to man with Fenrys. His supernatural speed made it easier for him to read Fenrys' movements and counter them, and his unending stamina meant their exchanges could go on forever, undoubtedly ending in Shard's favor. Their last encounter had left both men with scars, and recent events had made Fenrys realize that he would one day have to come face to face with Shard once more. He had no idea of course, that he was currently back to back with Shard, separated by a mere fifty or so yards.
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:08 am
When the bonds did wear off, Wilhelm did indeed what the voice had commanded him to do; he hadn't bothered to see the source, but he knew it was on his side.
By the time he snatched his rapier back from the guard who had disarmed him, Wilhelm saw the carpet go aflame. He leapt through rather hastily, his cloak and person being spared with such momentary contact. By the time the woman who had saved him had fled, and Wilhelm was close behind, the scroll regarding the demons still in his hand.
"And whoever you are," Wilhelm started, running side-by-side with his rescuer, "I'm no dolt, thank you." He stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
He cast a glance over to his rescuer's face but couldn't really place it at the moment; he cast a glance to his other side and spied Fenrys, and gave a whistle that he prayed his commander would hear.
Shouting was simply a waste of good breath, after all. He'd need it to haul himself out of this castle, since he'd probably have to help Fenrys and his rescuer with an entire batallion of Zatalian Military forces, or perhaps even more.
They needed to get back to the church and underground, and fast, or else they would be found and cornered, along with killed.
Being killed wasn't an option.
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RogueKazimeras Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:59 pm
Knocked back and dazed, Misha cursed rather loudly as she quickly threw up a shield around Sharde, Andre, and herself. Then, hearing the voice, she shouted out, standing up as she cleared her vision with a swipe of her hands over her eyes. She had hoped that the hasty tie on the net before she fell would have been enough to hold the intruder, but, apparently it wasn't tight enough. The threads of magic unraveled before her eyes, and the boy was up and gone quickly.
"Shard! Get your a** up now! He's getting away!!!" She shrieked, cupping her hands together as sparks lit into flame in her palms, engulfing the air between them as she threw it down the hall towards the two running away. The fire whistled down the hall after them, almost seeking them out the way it turned corners to get at them.
Sharde got up damn fast, and within a blink he was down the hall, in front of the fire as he fought to catch up to them and get them out of the way of the fireball before it caught them.
They couldn't get answers from corpses..
Drawing his blades as he went, he caught up to them very quickly, quick enough to get behind the woman and knock her down. Then, very gracefully as he leaped over her, he gave Wilhelm a shove in the back to topple him as well as the fireball came ever closer.
"Get down you idiots!" He shouted at them. Once the fireball passed and Misha caught up, she could catch them both and be done with it. Then he would have very stern words with the mage about her temper... He didn't even notice Fenrys just yards away from them all..
------------------------
The Queen, upon Fenrys leaving, bolted for the door. Her guards protested, but she had to be there, if just to be near the culprits to gather the information she needed. Already though, she was calling for the guards to seal the exits, and not to let anyone out.
"If I don't have Fenrys' head on a pike in twenty minutes, I'll take it out of your hides.." She yelled, her voice resonating off the walls as it seemed to amplify. She ran through the splintered remains of the door, her guards right behind her.
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:32 pm
Things had escalated very quickly in what seemed like a few mere seconds. "To think that all this bloodshed was done in the name of preventing bloodshed" Andre thought to himself, as he turned opposite the direction in which Misha and Sharde had gone in pursuit of the enforcer and his apparent accomplice, hoping to avoid further conflict. Unfortunately, he instead found the famed Fenrys Mystblade, making short work of the castle guard, but becoming increasingly surrounded and pinned in one of the castle's many antechambers.
Little more than pure speculation can be made as to the explanation of the following actions of Magus Majahual, but what happened was clear and apparent, although the lack of any hard evidence would stymie investigation for some time to come.
"Stop!" he shouted into the room, as he produced a small maple leaf from a pocket and pressed it against the cold stone wall, wincing in pain as his bruised, swollen right hand and forearm felt the ravages of the frigid winter draft. Within an instant, vines grew from the now desiccated, amber leaf, sprawling all across the once glorious room's floor, walls, and ceiling. A fine gray mist emanated from the vines, ruining the expensive furniture and decorations, as it eroded paint from priceless Zatalian portraits of former kings and queens, and inducing sleep on all those in the area.
Except Fenrys and, of course, Andre himself.
Andre rushed to Fenrys, taking advantage of the unusual and unexpected nature of the situation, and placed his left sleeve over his nose and mouth, pressing against his face with his hand. "Don't breathe it in." he whispered, which was unnecessary as there was no one in hearing range, but he was unwilling to take any chances. His eyes scanned the room, searching until they found a particular painting that he recognized. Pulling Fenrys towards it, he removed the painting, extracted a particular brick from the wall, and watched, satisfied, as a small door-sized section of wall lowered itself, revealing a hidden, metal spiral staircase leading underground.
As he removed his sleeve from the enforcer's mouth Andre hurriedly and matter-of-factly stated, "This is the only way out without killing everyone... or yourself and I need your help," his penetrating stare looking straight into, and through, Fenrys' own eyes.
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Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:52 am
The battle was getting harder and harder for Fenrys to "win". In fact, he had not been "winning" in any sense for a long time, but "staying alive" was getting more difficult. His mental focus was starting to slip; repeatedly summoning his blade had drained him, and if it kept up, he would have to just summon it and keep it, after which his opponent's numbers would certainly overwhelm him. Luckily for him, at just the moment he was thinking about all this, someone suddenly summoned a jungle of vines that secreted a noxious gray gas that put his foes to sleep. Said person even had the courtesy to throw a sleeve over his face to protect him from the gas and pull him out of the room to a secret exit out of the castle.
The result of this was that Fenrys blinked. Twice, in fact. Given the way his day had turned, being plucked from a heated swordfight with a hundred eager opponents and herded into a hidden staircase with someone who was startlingly non-violent took some adjustment in his brain. He eyed the man up and down, someone he recognized as one of the Queen's advisors, but it still took his brain several moments to switch from Block. Duck. Parry. Stab. Sweep. Dodge. to:
"First of all, I know you're on the Royal Council, which means I have every reason in the world not to trust you, save that you have not already killed me. Second, I have sent one of my Enforcers on a suicide mission, and unintentionally led a second one to mortal peril because I did not account for her legendary stubbornness. Insufferable git though she might be, I promised her sister long ago that she would be as safe as I could muster so long as I was Captain of the Zatalus Enforcers. Long sotry short, I do not leave my Enforcers behind."
Fenrys turned to leave, but stopped and reconsidered the man's intentions for a moment. Worst case scenario, he could always use him as a hostage and negotiate with the crown. He looked back over his shoulder at Andre and spoke once more
"I'll tell you what. I'll help you. If it is me in particular you require assistance from, you are welcome to wait here until I return with my comrades. If it is the Church as an entity you seek aid from, leave now, and make for the Cathedral down the road. Once there, seek out a priestess named Sati Sarasvati, and tell her I sent you. She should be helpful enough until I return. Oh, and if you do go and see Sati, tell her her sister is safe." Seizing a portion of his cloak and throwing it across his face to protect from the gas once more, Fenrys summoned his blade again and left silently.
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