private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

@,

 

"Sentimental value." came the irritable response. "Probably the same reason you keep that think up your sleeve, then wave the bolts around for everyone to see."

 

Setting down the bowl, he closed his eyes for a moment before drawing the shorter of the two blades. Selecting a glass vial attached to his belt and a rag from somewhere under the coat, he began to rub down the blade with the silver-flecked liquid.

 

"Sometimes folks don't want to show their entire hand in one go." He said simply, shrugging with a half-smile despite his best attempts. "Sometimes we just have things that we don't want to wave around our in the open."

 

Motioning towards the sleeve that the thief (as she seemed to have described herself rather openly) had been fiddling with, he decided to press further. "What's with that thing anyway? Not seen anything like it before."

[Sekel 692]

@

"I don't wave the bolts around. This is what I always do when I'm bored. Either that or climb along buildings and roofs." Helena answered rather irritably. She liked cleaning and maintaining her bolts and crossbow but that's usually when she's hiding. When Adrass asked about her crossbow, she held it up for him to see.

 

"This? Designed it myself. Took me a couple of years to build but it serves it purpose. Besides, I don't think I'll be able to use a different crossbow since this one was custom made anyway." Helena answered his other question with a slightly smug look on her face. She looked at the bolt she had been working on and found that all that needed to be done was fit the invented arrowhead to it whenever she got a chance.

Edited July 3, 2014 by XANA

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Torrent505,

 

When the dragon nosed him for the first time, Robert was taken completely off guard and nearly fell over. "Alright, you damn beast, you can have some too. But if anybody complains about not getting enough, I'm blaming you." He filled another bowl and set it on the ground before the dragon. "Eat up. That's all you're getting."

Dresden laughed at the sight, "be happy it's not deciding we're more tasty then the stew I would hate to spend the rest of this journey in a belly." Dresden got up and handed his half eating stew to the dragon, "here you. An also have mine a big boy like you needs to eat more."

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

The princess cooed and congratulated Finn whenever he brought her a rock. She nearly fell in a fit of giggles when he attacked Robert for stew. And Dresden had fed him as well. Just the sight of her personal guard sitting by the fire, getting along and sharing a meal. Her two best childhood friends sitting just across; an orange glow cast upon them by the fire.

 

When she was done; Whisper put the bowl aside and stretched; twirling in the heat of the flames. She was happy; and obviously so, for every step she took a wildflower popped up in its place. 

 

"I really must thank all of you. From the bottom of my heart I..." she froze when she sensed the energy. Not only did she feel the power behind it but she felt the evil. Whisper was caught completely unaware by the feeling and clasped her throat choking and falling to the ground.

[Torrent505 370]

The dragon devoured the stew, licked the bowl thoroughly clean of any lingering tastes and promptly began gnawing on the spit covered tin bowl itself. He was still hungry and considered nosing the human again to ask for more, but he like most dragons understood human language and didn't want to be a burden. So when Dresden offered him half his stew Serafinno let out a deep rumble and rubbed alongside him in gratitude before devouring this stew as well and giving this tin bowl the same treatment as the other. He then picked up both bowls in his mouth trotted back to Robert and rubbed his head against Roberts hand before leaving to go drop the bowls in the hole he had dug.

 

Still hungry and away from the others Serafinno decided to go hunting and he flew off to scout the forest and fields for rabbits returning to their burrows. He was already far away when the Princess began to choke.

[Flying Ace 142]

The princess cooed and congratulated Finn whenever he brought her a rock. She nearly fell in a fit of giggles when he attacked Robert for stew. And Dresden had fed him as well. Just the sight of her personal guard sitting by the fire, getting along and sharing a meal. Her two best childhood friends sitting just across; an orange glow cast upon them by the fire.

 

When she was done; Whisper put the bowl aside and stretched; twirling in the heat of the flames. She was happy; and obviously so, for every step she took a wildflower popped up in its place.

 

"I really must thank all of you. From the bottom of my heart I..." she froze when she sensed the energy. Not only did she feel the power behind it but she felt the evil. Whisper was caught completely unaware by the feeling and clasped her throat choking and falling to the ground.

Dresden didn't know what happened he was watching Finn eat when he sensed...he didn't know what he felt he jut got this feeling that something was wrong. His attention was grabbed by the sound of choking and turned around to see Whisper fall to the ground, "Princess! everyone quick something a wrong!"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Genuinely interested in the device, Adrass leaned forward slightly to get a closer look.

 

"It's quite impressive: I'd be interested in seeing how it operates in action. If we have chance..."

 

A sudden gagging sound from across camp caught his attention, eyes flicking up. The traitorous harlot had distracted him while some other worked their vile deeds! Drawn his attention with a piece of technicality that he had no need to pay more than a passing glance to...

 

In a fluid motion, the Witch Hunter was stood upright and marching towards the princess - paying no heed to the world around him as he did. Truthfully, he had no idea what was happening: there were several magics that might cause such an effect, either as a hostile attack or a side effect.

 

It mightn't have been magic at all... but he wasn't going to take that risk. The very fact that it might be magic meant that he had to act.

 

First rule of the order - always suspect.

 

"Move!" He snapped as he neared the choking teenager - hand reaching inside the coat and pulling out one of the runic knives, whirling it menacingly as he did.

 

The sigils emblazoned on the silver blades glowed with a faint blue, otherworldly light. The order would firmly deny that it was anything magical - but doubters had raised suspicions over the years. The negation runes were a hunters signature tool: designed to instil a measure of their ability to deny magic on whatever target they came into contact with. Of course, this was usually meant in an offensive way... but they did have secondary uses, as Adrass was willing to attempt.

 

Second rule of the order - always deny.

 

There was no way to be sure that this threat was actually magical in nature even... or even if it was, that the runes would actually be strong enough to have any type of effect. That was the reason he never disarmed: why each night he ritualistically tended to his weapons... at the very least he would be able to attempt a more visceral approach to ending whatever strange curse this was - by beheading whatever demon had conjured it!

 

Third rule of the order: always prepare.

 

Closing on the princess with the knife grasped firmly in his hand, he didn't even pause to consider how this might look from the outside.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Sekel 692]

One minute, she was in tge middle of getting up to see what the commotiom was and in the blink of an eye, Helena was at the other side of camp. She had already gathered up her weapon and ammo and was now watching with everyone else. 'Why is she choking? Actually why is everyone standing around and watching? Shouldn't theybe helping instead of ...' The train of thought hot derailed when she noticed what the concealed knife looked like.

 

Helena wasn't that familiar with Magick runes and all that but she did come across this particular symbol before. When she had to steal something from the Order of Witch Hunters. She was surprised that she had actually managed to steal the thing and got out without being detected.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@, 

 

At times like these, Robert was, more than anything, a man of action. He didn't know what was going on or why the princess was choking. All he knew was that somebody was quickly approaching a helpless girl with a knife. And that someone had already seemed pretty suspicious to begin with. Without thinking, he charged forward and tackled Adrass from behind. "What do you think you're doing with that knife, friend?"

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Almost instinctively Zaddion cast his tome aside and brought his staff into his hands once again. Dashing towards the Princess and kneeling down just far enough to allow Adrass space, the Mage began to focus his inner sight specifically upon the choking princess before him.

 

It was useless, her aura completely masked whatever was deep within her enough for him not to get a sense of what was actually happening, they would have to refer to standard vision however useful that may be.

 

Clicking his fingers Zaddion was surprised that even the most basic of Light spells had suddenly failed. Clicking a few times he began to grow a slight panic before seeing the runes carved upon the knife before him. What in the world was this one doing with nullifying runes upon his weapons.

 

Taking a deep breath and drawing on a little Magick from the Mark of the Pinnacle, Zaddion put far more effort into the next spell. The soft glow of the fire was instantly outdone by the radiant light of a spectral sphere, one that he directed above the group, allowing everyone to see the princess in her entirety without any sort of light problems. There was also the problem of this one with the knife, but he could've used any weapon to kill her, so he must've had a reason beyond murder for drawing such a precious knife.

 

"You sure them nullification runes are going to work? She seems more attuned to Magick than one might initially thin-" He was interrupted as the man before him was driven away from the princess. Were it not for the gravity of the situation he may have sighed.

 

Reaching down closer to the princess's forehead but not too close to touch, Zaddion materialized a soft haze of light that slowly creeped it's way around the choking form below him. He was no healer, but if the spell was of Shadow it may help... At the very least having his personal Magick flow through the area might give him a  better understanding of the situation.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Whisper scrambled weakly away from Adrass; convinced he was to stab her but the bard and Zaddion came to her rescue. She weakly outstretched a hand while trying to get out some words. Whisper couldn't control her magic and it became even worse so when she was nervous or in pain. Sometimes, when she let her guard down; she could feel much more than she could handle.

 

 

At first it was like a roar of thunder; hooves pounding against the ground in a strong procession and an overwhelming power of Metal magic. The sound drowning out the cries of the princess.

 

Then chaos ensued. A calvary of heavily armed mercenaries tore through the camp; cutting down and running over whomever stood in their way.With torches lit they set everything ablaze in their fiery paths of destruction. The cheery mood of the caravan was quickly replaced with one of terror and panic as people scrambled for their lives. They had no chance, the guard had been lax due to the journeys uneventfulness thus far. They hadn't even assigned posts yet.

 

"No one lives!" a mercenary cried out while impaling a servant with a javelin.

 

Trusting Zaddion as much as she could; Tulla swung onto Tuggs back as soon as she got her wits about her. He screeched and bound forward leaping and lashing at an enemy steed.

 

[Flying Ace 142]

 

Whisper scrambled weakly away from Adrass; convinced he was to stab her but the bard and Zaddion came to her rescue. She weakly outstretched a hand while trying to get out some words. Whisper couldn't control her magic and it became even worse so when she was nervous or in pain. Sometimes, when she let her guard down; she could feel much more than she could handle.

 

 

At first it was like a roar of thunder; hooves pounding against the ground in a strong procession and an overwhelming power of Metal magic. The sound drowning out the cries of the princess.

 

Then chaos ensued. A calvary of heavily armed mercenaries tore through the camp; cutting down and running over whomever stood in their way.With torches lit they set everything ablaze in their fiery paths of destruction. The cheery mood of the caravan was quickly replaced with one of terror and panic as people scrambled for their lives. They had no chance, the guard had been lax due to the journeys uneventfulness thus far. They hadn't even assigned posts yet.

 

"No one lives!" a mercenary cried out while impaling a servant with a javelin.

 

Trusting   as much as she could; Tulla swung onto Tuggs back as soon as she got her wits about her. He screeched and bound forward leaping and lashing at an enemy steed.

 

 

Dresden was quickly scanning the area getting his bearings as these mercenaries attacked the camp he saw a Tulla and Tuggs charge the group. He eyed a mercenary trying to get to Whisper, "hey slug-breath!" The mercenary made the mistake of looking towards the voice as he got Dresden's foot in his face, "You guys want a fight?! I'll give you a fight!" Dresden yelled drawing his daggers. "Bring it on!" 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass
 
@@Alex Kennedy, 
 
Naturally, it was the bard who played hero without thinking. Exactly like the last one he had known – eight years had done little to change how Adrass perceived them…
 
And a thought clicked: a bard, or a deceiver? After all, how different was bardic song from sorcery after all?
 
"So this is your plan, Witch?" Snarled the hunter as he realised the truth: all of these damnable spellcasters… they were all assassins! Every single one of them, conspiring to slay the princess – it was further proof of their decadence, that they would turn on their own simply because she seemed more pure than them!
 
Twisting, his left hand snatched for the blade across his back – if he slew them all quickly, perhaps there might be time to rescue the girl…
 
And then all hell broke loose.

 
As the riders came crashing through the trees, he blinked. More mages? No, too heavily armed – and too many of them at that. Bandits? No, too organised… this was something else. Something that clearly nobody had forseen: even the traitorous spellcasters seemed taken aback by the sudden appearance of the riders.
 
Twisting to attempt to dislodge the bard, his three fingers (four one was missing) closed around the familiar leather-clad hilt of the bastard sword as one of the teenagers challenged… a heavily armed, trained soldier. If he had a hand free, he would have raised it to his face. Instead, the hunter set his sights on his initial goal: reaching the princess.

 

Let these would-be assassins deal with the intruders: he was here to deal with magical threats, and the only possible one he could see was whatever was harming the monarch.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

As fighting broke out, Robert quickly got up and grabbed his lute. There were more urgent matters than the suspicious knife-wielder. He wasn't much good at this kind of fight, but there was one thing he could do. Focusing what little he knew of magic, he began to play, singing a song of ancient heroes, a tale of valor to embolden his allies. He just hoped his magic would be enough to give them the strength to fend off their attackers.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Bathed in the light of Zaddions magick; the princess was easy to spot. The soldier that Dresden challenged and gratefully accepted; withdrawing his curved blade from his hilt; he charged forward without fear. Whisper cried out pitifully when a volley of arrows landed near her; tearing through Adrass' sleeve and nearly sticking Zaddion in the leg.

 

With his metal beak; Tugg bit into the neck of a horse, flinging it and the rider into a carriage. Tulla shielded herself from the blood and debris "Tugg we have to fall back! There's too many!"

 

He screeched in protest; the song of the bard filling him with new energy as he leapt again, pawing the spear from a mercenaries hands. They were prepared for such a beast as a small team of three attacked from behind; slashing his sides with their spears. Tulla kicked the spears away; grabbing one and using her position to jam it back into the wielders face.

[Sekel 692]

@@RunsWithSquirlz, @, @

Fear. Aura. Hands. Cloak. Helena nudged Zaddion and Adrass out of the way and going against her better judgement, Helena took her cloak off, and wrapped it around the Princess's hands. "Hopefully this will help Princess. I'm not much good in a fight but hopefully I can get you to safety. You up for it?" Helena asked her hesitantly, unsure if she would take the offer.

 

Hearing someone behind her, she quickly turned her head around and saw one of the mercenaries charging towards them. Frowning, she got out a sharpened bolt from her quiver and stabbed it through his heart. She quickly pulled it back out and turned back to the Princess. "As you can see we haven't got much time."

[Sanctified Absence 126]

"Not good enough, not good enough!" Zaddion was beginning to lose himself to panic, without finding the right elements within her there was nothing he could do to save the princess. What was there to do now? He had already strained his Magickal limit without a channelling focus and he would have to learn over to grab his staff, but even breaking concentration for a moment may result in his failure.

 

Weighing his options and coming to a conclusion, Zaddion was ready to do what he had to. He was ready until he was pushed aside by another figure. "We can't move her! Not until I've stabilised her condition at least a little!" Focusing his Magick Zaddion activated the crystals embedded into his skin. In an instant his Magick was increased two fold now that it has a proper locus to channel through... Of course this power came at the price of the steadily increasing physical trauma.

 

"This may hurt a little princess..." Readying himself and his powers Zaddion forced a surge of Light energy not only around but also into his charge, an experience that some may see as unpleasant to say the least.

 

"Got it!" The dark spell upon her was mostly of Dark, if it were not for the situation he may have sighed in relief. Placing his hands on the princess he sent surge after surge of Shadow and Dark banishing Light, whether or not this spell was too powerful to banish it should at least help. "Give me another 30 seconds, then she'll be stable enough to move!"

Edited July 3, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[Flying Ace 142]

Bathed in the light of Zaddions magick; the princess was easy to spot. The soldier that Dresden challenged and gratefully accepted; withdrawing his curved blade from his hilt; he charged forward without fear. Whisper cried out pitifully when a volley of arrows landed near her; tearing through Adrass' sleeve and nearly sticking Zaddion in the leg.

 

With his metal beak; Tugg bit into the neck of a horse, flinging it and the rider into a carriage. Tulla shielded herself from the blood and debris "Tugg we have to fall back! There's too many!"

 

He screeched in protest; the song of the bard filling him with new energy as he leapt again, pawing the spear from a mercenaries hands. They were prepared for such a beast as a small team of three attacked from behind; slashing his sides with their spears. Tulla kicked the spears away; grabbing one and using her position to jam it back into the wielders face.

 

"Not good enough, not good enough!" Zaddion was beginning to lose himself to panic, without finding the right elements within her there was nothing he could do to save the princess. What was there to do now? He had already strained his Magickal limit without a channelling focus and he would have to learn over to grab his staff, but even breaking concentration for a moment may result in his failure.

 

Weighing his options and coming to a conclusion, Zaddion was ready to do what he had to. He was ready until he was pushed aside by another figure. "We can't move her! Not until I've stabilised her condition at least a little!" Focusing his Magick Zaddion activated the crystals embedded into his skin. In an instant his Magick was increased two fold now that it has a proper locus to channel through... Of course this power came at the price of the steadily increasing physical trauma.

 

"This may hurt a little princess..." Readying himself and his powers Zaddion forced a surge of Light energy not only around but also into his charge, an experience that some may see as unpleasant to say the least.

 

"Got it!" The dark spell upon her was mostly of Dark, if it were not for the situation he may have sighed in relief. Placing his hands on the princess he sent surge after surge of Shadow and Dark banishing Light, whether or not this spell was too powerful to banish it should at least help. "Give me another 30 seconds, then she'll be stable enough to move!"

Dresden readied himself as the soldier charged him, Dresden blocked the blade as it came upon his head; Dresden gave the soldier no time to react as he kicked the solder's leg out from under him the finessed him off with a quick stab. "Might want to hurry then! I don't think we can hold them off for long!" Dresden could feel the bard's song and that gave him and extra boost, maybe they can hold out.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Her eyes fluttered shut and her body went limp; relaxing into a peaceful sleep. The light magic had been strong indeed but with the torrent she held inside her; it was too much for her to handle. The last thing she saw was the face of Helena mouthing silent words to her; then her world went black.

 

The arrow had pierced the armor, sure; but he would not be a member of this vicious crew if he was taken down so easily. The soldier ripped the shaft from his chest plate; throwing it to the ground. With a yell he raised his sword and sent it crashing down on it's course to the two crouched in front of him. 

 

The mercenary fell for only a moment before grabbing young Dresden by the arm and throwing him into a stack of supply crates. The soldier stood; bleeding from where he had been pierced and glared ominously at Dresden. He twirled the blade in his palm and snatched a torch from a comrade. Without hesitation he lit the crates, and Dresden within it, on fire.

 

Out of the hundreds; only a few dozen now fought against the mercenaries.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Blinking as the arrow sliced through the thick leather of his sleeve, Adrass broke into a jog. Grasping the back of a soldier that he presumed (though wasn't completely certain) wasn't a royal guard, he pushed forwards with the tip of his blade as he pulled back on the unsuspecting characters neck – feeling the swords slide cleanly through the cuirass and emerge from the other side. Wrenching it free, he continued on at his slightly hurried pace.
 
A second mercenary appeared – this time actually aware of his presence. Time wasn't a luxury that he had to spare however – with a single motion the sword and knife were both securely away. His right hand seized a pistol, freeing it, pointing and firing in a split second. As the intruder fell, he continued – the now spent pistol returning to its holster. He drew its left-hand counterpart with the other hand, picking off a second mercenary that looked like it was about to come too close for comfort. The third pistol found its mark on a marksman attempting to reload a crossbow.
 
The problem with guns however, was that they couldn't really be reloaded in a fight.
 
Returning the third pistol, he drew the Bastard Sword again – using both hands this time - unwilling to waste his last three shots when they might be needed later.
 
“Move!” This time it wasn't a statement or a command, but a bellowing roar that issued from the hunters mouth as he closed in on the small gathering around the princess. “Get her away from here!”

[Sekel 692]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

Hearing the yell, Helena whipped her head around and saw a sword coming towards the both of them. Merely grunting, she disappeared from plain sight and using her own type of Magick, immediately stepped to the side and brought her arm up with the crossbow still attached to it; stopping the sword from cutting through. To the soldier it would look like head hit an invisible wall.

@

When she stepped to the side, she found that she ws mear Adrass's ear. "I would if I could but this mage is doing some sort of Magick stuff on her and won't let me." She hissed between her teeth at him, hoping he had heard her. She was struggling with holding the sword in place withher c

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion went on and on for as long as he possibly could before clutching his own arms in pain and falling over sideways. As with all true Mages he had a very strong mind, but his body was not used to such trauma in any way, shape or form.

 

"Someone else take her, I'll be too slow in my current state." Snapping himself out of the pain, the Mage struggled to his feet. Quickly grabbing both Grimoire and Staff Zaddion made his way back to the group huddled around the princess, attempting to ignore the slight trickle of blood leaking from his sleeves.

 

Raising his staff and standing beside the hunter, Zaddion struggled to maintain complete control of his body without faltering. Staring onto the oncoming masses was like staring at his own approaching death. He never thought he'd risk his own life to save someone else, even royalty.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[Scribblegroove 565]

A proud tall oak prominently stood on a large hill. Against it leaned a very strange figure. His contours were hidden by a long black cloak, and his face remained invisible behind his beaked mask. His eyes were gazing down at the scene that progressively worsened in the distance. Apparently a caravan of traders... Or diplomats. Whatever they were, were being harassed by a bunch of bandits.

 

His expressionless face remained perfectly still. Even though he was pretty far away, he could be seen. However, the secret to being invisible is not moving. He knew that all too well.

 

"What a pleasant surprise! One moment you're having a boring trip to the next town, and another you are at the edge of a massacre! Marvelous. I can smell the death coming already now."

 

Those were his thoughts as he lurked in the darkness. He knew that there would be things to loot, and people to save at the end of this fight, so it would be worth it to wait out for a victor to arise. The 'medic' insigna on his back and chest would most likely protect him from any harm.

 

"After all, who would harm the man who 'does no harm' right? Right."

 

The fight seemed to rotate around one specific person. He couldn't make out who or what it was from this distance, but it was definitely lying on the ground.

 

"Goodness me it's an assassination! What a seemingly futile undertaking. It's a bit dissapointing to see all subtlety has been thrown out of the window by the local thugs. They are lucky I'm here, because the amount of wounded would be stupidly high."

 

He leaned back against the tree and decided to relax. The epicenter was at least a mile away. He'd wait for the fight to die down, and then he'd go down to take care of business. Nothing is more appreciated than a man with a medical license when you have a piece of metal sticking out of you.

 

"Now technically I don't have a liscense... But you know, whatever."

[Flying Ace 142]

Her eyes fluttered shut and her body went limp; relaxing into a peaceful sleep. The light magic had been strong indeed but with the torrent she held inside her; it was too much for her to handle. The last thing she saw was the face of Helena mouthing silent words to her; then her world went black.

 

The arrow had pierced the armor, sure; but he would not be a member of this vicious crew if he was taken down so easily. The soldier ripped the shaft from his chest plate; throwing it to the ground. With a yell he raised his sword and sent it crashing down on it's course to the two crouched in front of him. 

 

The mercenary fell for only a moment before grabbing young Dresden by the arm and throwing him into a stack of supply crates. The soldier stood; bleeding from where he had been pierced and glared ominously at Dresden. He twirled the blade in his palm and snatched a torch from a comrade. Without hesitation he lit the crates, and Dresden within it, on fire.

 

Out of the hundreds; only a few dozen now fought against the mercenaries.

Dresden screamed in agony as the fire licked at his skin, these soldiers were tougher then he released at now it may cost him his life, 'I got to do something I won't- I refuse to die now!' "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With a bust of magic water shot out around Dresden putting out most of the fire; Dresden fell to his hands and knees burns completely covered his body but he still stood though on shaky legs. "I will not go down this day!" He tapped into his magic and water shot out of his hands launching him into the air, "hiya!" Dresden brought both his daggers into the fire starters neck. Dresden looked at the soldier's comrade who sung his blade at him but Dresden was quicker he put the soldier in-between him and the blade then summon forth his magic he pushed his meat shield into the other and jumped backwards until he was next to Whisper and the others.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Tugg slowly and painfully retreated backwards; blood staining his coat and scales. Tulla clicked her tongue and listening to his masters words, fire burst forth from his jaws, sending up a blazing wall of fire between them and the attackers.

 

Tulla kept close to the others; Tuggs head whipping back and forth as they were encircled.