private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[Flying Ace 142]

Adrass."Never mind me, you're alive?" The hunter called out towards the figure that resembled a somewhat worse for wear princess. The old man had turned out to be real enough and the other survivors seemed to be interacting with him... logically, they must have been corporal as well."How in the name of... how did you..." Shaking his head, Adrass concluded that the less he knew about his somehow-still-alive charges dark taint, the happier they would both be. For now, he wanted as little to do with magic as was possible. Wanted to just pretend that everyone there was normal. "Forget that - I'd rather not know how. You're not dead, that's what matters!"

Having risen and taken a few short steps towards the survivors, he stalled - holding up a palm as he realised that, while lacking his coat, hood and bandanna (the same outfit he had worn for roughly nine years) wasn't a particular concern for them, the scars (old and new. He was mostly concerned about the new ones) might prove unpleasant to see. Dodging clumsily to the river, he rinsed down the fresh, 'haphazardly-doctored wounds before returning in a still not-much-better state. "We need to leave - right now." Urged the Witch Hunter, suddenly regaining a good portion of he momentarily lost caution and paranoia now that he had purpose again. "They were after you, princess. Nobody else here is worth en entire army's attention. We have to put as much distance between us and them as possible - right now."

Dresden walked forward "calm down Adrass I don't think we're in any position to start running, Whisper still wants to heal the king; which is pretty brave." Dresden put a hand on his shoulder, "and we survived by jumping off a cliff into cold water...like you did."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

@@Flying Ace,

 

"She won't be healing anybody if that menace catches up to us again!" Snapped Adrass as he glared towards the Mage. "Good mercenaries don't leave things to chance - they make sure that their job is done - and right now that means finding our corpses to be sure something like this doesn't happen!"

 

How could they think themselves safe at a time like this? Adrass was one of the more open minded of his order, and even he could see clear as day that staying in this place was a death trap.

 

Well, if the others wanted to get themselves butchered...

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz,

 

"Princess..." He implored, turning back towards his charge. "I've given my word to get you safely to Illia - we simply cannot rest here. If we do we will be dead by morning. They will ambush us in the night as they seek proof of their victory, and we will butchered before we are even able to strike back.." He shrugged. "It's what I would do - this Witch isn't something that we should temp fate around."

[Sanctified Absence 126]

"As much as I don't like disagreeing with the Princess he's right," leaning against a small rock formation and clutching his side, the Mage pieced together what they had seen and what they knew. Adrass had apparently come to the better conclusion before he did. "Unless someone knows of somewhere we can rest safely we have to move on."

 

Although now he thought of it, if the Iron Maiden had knowledge to match her power she would've sent non-Mages after the group first, far less easy to track that way. Then there was this old man they had encountered along with their companions, if it weren't for Adrass's apparent approval Zaddion just may have engaged him there and then. "Ancients know how long it'll be before she sends her grunts to clean up. Even with the all of us here we're in no condition to fight off more warriors."

[Scribblegroove 565]

Flinch

 

Flinch managed to calm down a little once Adrass backed away from him. Then someone, he couldn't hear well enough yet to recognise who, moved the earth beneath his bag of equipment. Flinch was in such a state of confusion that he didn't even question it and just grabbed the bag with his left hand, since his right hand had a lot of shrapnel and burns in it. He grunted when he felt the wound that the Iron Maiden's dagger had left behind on his left arm. He tried not to move too much as he reached inside and opened it.

 

He had to lift his head and chest a little to look inside the bag. Never before had his muscles pained him so much. The burns on his chest and neck made him feel like he was on fire. Some of the blisters which the explosion had caused popped and made his agony even worse. But he knew it would be over soon. He quickly grabbed the items that he needed from his bag. His needle, a vial of cleansing liquid and a vial of his own special brew.

 

Once he had the items in his hand, he dropped his head back on the ground and sighed. He ignored his environment and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a break before he contninued. He looked to his right to see Adrass, an old man... And the others. They had survived the drop as well! He laughed, though it may have looked like a grimace, but that was what came closest to a smile for him.

 

He opened his needle with both hands. Blood dripped from his right hand as he accidently drove the shrapnel further in his flesh. He winced, but endured it. He grabbed the vial of cleansing liquid with his left hand, opened the cap with his teeth and poured it into the resevoir of his needle gently. He wiggled his gloved finger inside it to stir it around and clean it. Once the resevoir had been cleaned of the remainder of the explosive, he simply threw out the cleaning mixture and grabbed the other vial. He opened it with his teeth again, quickly poured it into the resevoir and then grabbed the needle into his left hand.

 

He then paused for a moment. He pulled up the sleeve of his right arm and placed the needle on his wrist. It was difficult to use this needle on himself, since it was unusually large and actually required two hands to use it. So he decided against injecting in his wrist and proceeded to place the needle on his tigh, holding it with two hands. He then took a few second to find the right spot, right next to his artery, and then pushed through. He screamed, but kept his hands still and didn't rip his skin open further. Blood streamed from the tiny wound, but once he released the resevoir into his body it stopped.

 

He fell down on his back, dropping the needle on the ground. A feeling of bliss and happiness clouded his brain. He smiled, gently and sincerely this time. His own heart pumped the healing liquid through his body and relieved him of the pain and misery. He would've been afraid that he might pass out, but he was too much in a state of bliss. His breathing was heavy, sucking in the oxygen that his body required to heal itself. He could feel his own fat resevoires being burned for extra energy. His entire body was glowing with chemical production, closing wound after wound and healing burn after burn. The pieces of shrapnel popped out of his hand by themselves.

 

Then it stopped. Everything hurt again. This time it felt like muscle ache, and exhaustion. There were still a few cuts, and there were still unhealed burns. His head still hurt and he still couldn't hear properly with his left ear, but he felt like he could stand again, so that was a good thing. Now he could go treat the others... If nescesary.

 

He got up on his knees and grabbed his bag again, replacing the items he had used. He then put it on his back again and got on his feet. He put on his cowl and put it on far over his head. He didn't want the others to be scared by his awful face, disformed as it was. He removed his right hand glove to look at his newly healed hand. There were still cuts and scratches, but he could operate again. He also saw a few black pigment spots. More than last time. That was bad news... But not news for now. He put on his glove again and stepped closer to the others, hoping to find out what they were talking about.

[Torrent505 370]

The old man took a moment to take it all in, the beast had brought back whole injured group. He remained silent listening to their conversations before finally replying to Helena, "young lady of course I used magick, how else would someone my age perform such a task? I'd hardly be out this far into the wilds on the border if I didn't have a proper way to function."

 

He stood and folded his arms behind his back as he stalked forward on his spindly legs, he moved directly to the princess leaning in and tilting about inspecting her this way and that. "So a princess? You failed to mention that hunter." He glanced back at Adrass and then gave everyone in the group a once over. "And on top of having a princess and an entire entourage that survived a tumble over the cliff, 'old gods blessings on each of you,' you plan to try and out run your enemies in the condition you all are in?" He looked up towards the cliff were he sensed the strong forces building, "cause I don't think you'll make it in time."

 

*******************

 

Serafinno was flying back towards the camp but almost turned back as he approached the cliff. The stupid armored lady that had killed his jester friend was on the cliff and climbing down... She wasn't alone either, scary looking humans were all around her, they looked tougher and better armed than the ones he had burned but also dispersed among those bad people were other weak looking humans wearing only rags and tattered clothes. It was all very confusing to him, he didn't understand what these humans were doing, they had hurt and killed some of his friends but he had killed a lot of them too. He felt bad about what he had done but they were still coming this way. Were they trying to hurt the rest of his friends?

 

He turned back flying for Whisper, he didn't want to go back because he knew that he was an 'Evil Dragon' now but he couldn't leave her. These were 'Evil People' so Whisper needed to be protected... Maybe it took something Evil to fight Evil? He wondered at that as he returned to her.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Torrent505

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

"I...uh..." The princess froze. They were stuck. Too close to camp, to weak to run. The biggest decision she had ever made was what color her gowns were or the material.

 

"Excuse me...old sir, do you know any villages? Somewhere where we might hide?" She pleaded, clasping her hands together "If we continue...we might make it. Some of us. But not likely."

 

Tugg bristled and shifted uncomfortably, something was coming.

 

Tulla patted him "We either run or look for shelter. But we need to make it quick, we are wasting time!"

[Torrent505 370]

He grinned at her and stretched out one of his skeletal hands to her, "people call me Grave, young lady, it is good to make your acquaintance and the luck of the gods must certainly be with you because there is a village not too far from here, but what do you think you'll do once you get there? How do you think you'll avoid them even there?" He raised his brows at each of them in turn. "Cause if you don't think carefully right now you're just choosing where you die. I can make you an offer that will save you though I doubt you'll accept it."

 

Serafinno had found Whisper and he dropped down besides her, whimpering and crying in warning gesturing with his head and neck towards the cliffs. It took him a moment to recognized that the man before Whisper was someone he did not know, his spins raise and he growled threatening before roaring in the old humans face, he couldn't trust any strangers anymore and wouldn't let anyone hurt Whisper!

 

The old man didn't flinch or even blink though he did reach a shaky hand up to clean the condensation from his glasses. "Now I suppose they even know which direction to head in, your beasts need to be better trained..." He turned her back on the princess hobbling back to sit on the coffin and the young dragon relaxed some looking confused between the old man and the other party members. Grave continued, "you'll all have to trust me if you want to survive. First give me all your weapons and metal, I'll scatter it along the river bottom." He raise a hand and a large top layer of earth floated into the air and a deep hollow hole sat by the riverside, "then I'll bury you all, together even if you wish, they'll pass right over you. Or you can take your chances and run for the town, the choice is yours of course."

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

"Shh...Finn, it's alright." The princess took her dragon some paces away from the others.

 

"Finn...my Serrafinno...something is bothering you I know it. But right now I need a favor, I need you to fly away with Tugg. Go with him and hide as far as you can okay? You can always find me, alright?" She pet his head gently placi ng a kiss on the creatures head.

 

Tulla about would never have allowed Tugg to be buried, and there was no way she could remove his metal beak without severely hurting him. She helped Helena down; leaving her beast free "You might need to run big boy."

 

Whisper already knew Adrass would have a severe problem with being trapped with mages and no weapons. The others she somewhat trusted; not knowing Indicus or the doctor all too well.

 

"Adrass...if this is too much for you...you may leave and hide elsewhere. You and the doctor are the best in health besides Indicus and myself. But im too slow and I have no use in battle." she held out the sword she had swam for. "I found it. Its strange, I thought it'd might be yours." The princess untied the cord around the hilt, holding it up for Andrass to take back.

 

"But I'm trusting Grave."

[Shadow Dancer 111]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,@@Torrent505,  "I have a job to do, I'll stay with the princess." I start taking off all my weapons and bits of my armor that was not leather, I was reluctant to let go of the bow and my blade but I trusted that I would get them once again. "Well there I'm ready for what ever you have planed."

[Sekel 692]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

"Oh." Helena frowned, thinking about what he had said. She was going to ask another relatively stupid question ("Are you death?") when he said his name was Grave. She winced when the dragon pet of Whisper's roared and thought that surely by now the Iro Maiden and her soldiers knew where they were. 'Grave is his name but why is he here, in the middle of nowhere? It just doesn't make any sense.' Helena thought curiously to herself. She had an arm around Tulla's shoulders to help herself stand up. It hurt but not by much. "Sorry Tulla, I think I need to stand up for this." Helena apologised to Tulla and looked at Whisper when she said she was trusting Grave.

 

Why would she do that? They hardly knew him! Reaching back for her crossbow bolts, she realised that none of them were there. They must have gotten washed away with the current when she fell in. Feeling saddened by the loss of her nolts she didn't let it worry her though. Within a few days she could make some new ones. But the custom tips would take much longer.

 

Still using her free hand, she went to reach a bag that had a bunch of metal in it but then realised that it was in her cloak. Of course it is. "Princess, in a pocket of the cloak, there is a pouch that is full of metal bits. This old man says he wants metal. I want you tk give it to him."

Edited July 14, 2014 by Dji

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Tulla kept a good grip around Helena, while flinging the metal pieces off herself with her free hand. She threw the pack of her knives on the geound by Graves feet.

 

They might be crazy for doing this, or going into a trap. But Tulla would not leave her friend behind.

 

The princess listened and laid Helenas pack on the ground.

[Scribblegroove 565]

Flinch

 

Flinch realized that they were talking on how to shake off their hunters and get to safety. He decided not to slow their progress by asking stupid questions and hopped right back on to the adventure they were in. He realized that a lot of the others were in no condition to travel.

 

"Well, I don't want to interrupt, but I can treat your wounds well enough that you are ready to travel again. As long as you give me some time, herbs, and your trust in my experimental capabilities."

 

His proposal to the princess and her companions was bold, and he barely even knew these people, but if this really was the princess he would have to do anything to get her to safety.

 

He looked at the old man who apparently called himself Grave. A charming, unnescisarily morbid name. Almost jus as bad as Flinch. The man seemed very certain of himself, and even more so, he seemed very certain that he was the only one who could save them right now.

 

"There's no need in burying us. I think that the chances are pretty slim that I killed the Iron Maiden, and she will sense us even if we hide beneath the ground. I am certain that we have to find a village, and thus have to move quickly. We can defend ourselves there, and perhaps get these hunters off our tail."

 

He flinched as he felt a sudden jolt of pain run along all the nerves in his body. Something very common for him, but still not pleasant. That was the price he had to pay for curing the disease.

 

"I'm getting the feeling that if we don't decide what to do now, we're all going to die, so please be quick about it will you..."

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion needed a few moments to think Grave's proposition over. It was true that they would need help if all of them were to survive, but then again there was still a chance that some would make it if they ran once again. Then there was the need to remove all the metal he possessed, of which only one of the most important pieces of equipment he owned was made of. He never liked taking the chains off the Tome of Night, superstition or not there was a reason why he kept his Shadow Magick a secret unless it was needed, thankfully the rest of the group hadn't noticed earlier or just didn't care.

 

"I don't trust you..." He took in a deep breath "but I trust Whisper... which means I'll be accepting your offer."  Taking the Tome out of its more concealed pouch, Zaddion slowly removed the black chains from its prisoner. There were no spirit, enchantments or any dark sorceries that parents told of to scare children upon the book, but the Mage eyed it as if it were possessed all the same. "This is all the metal I have left, the chains for the other Tome were left behind earlier," he passed the chains to the old man, internally sighing as he did so.

 

"I could perhaps deal to that..." He turned to Flinch at his worries, "I possess a certain... Magick that is known for confusion and illusion, it may just help prevent her from sensing us, although I'm sure some of us would disapprove more of this Magick than getting into the ground in the first place."

Edited July 14, 2014 by Sanctified Absence

[Flying Ace 142]

Dresden looked at everyone slowly agree to the plan and got rid of all weapons and metal, "Alright I agree with your offer." Dresden tossed his extra pair of daggers at Graves feet and removed all metal off his armor until he had nothing but a sleeves leather vest and pants. "Wait, I have tiny pieces of Shrapnel in my shoulders I don't know if that will affect this plan but I don't want to risk that.

[Torrent505 370]

Serafinno snorted a breath of warm air over Whisper, the old man had called him untrained and now Whisper was sending him away. The fact that he was a bad dragon already must be showing, she didn't trust him to be around anymore. He let his head hang a little and trotted sullenly back towards Tugg, he'd still try to behave as long as an 'evil dragon' could.

 

Grave nodded at each bit of metal and flung them into the river in clumps of dirt. He said a curt, "thank you." for each piece though he acted as though he had little care for their items but he kept track of where he pushed each down the river. The old man looked at the doctor, "I'm sure you can help them heal rather quickly but the question of how much time it will take to heal all of them before you begin to move? If 'she' is really the one chasing you I doubt she'll sense you between her magick and my own, I'll be waiting directly over you in protection, but if you wish to run please do, it will lead her away and make her believe the others are dead."

 

He saw the dragon making for the chimera and had over heard what the princess had said. He raised his hand and the dragons legs sunk into the ground, Serafinno yelped in surprise and struggled to pull his legs free to no avail. Grave spoke up, "I'm sorry Princess but it's too late for him to go. Your pursuers will have heard his roar and I must have a good explanation for my use of earth magics here, I need credibility if I am to be left unhindered by them. My own prey-". He tapped the coffin, "-is not enough. But if I caught the dragon, a creature that would never leave your side if you were alive, it will lend my story credence."

 

Serafinno took a deep breath, he had known the old man was bad and now he was trying to hurt him, he was going to breath fire at him but dirt suddenly crawled up over him clamping on his mouth, covering his nostrils and wrapping his wings. He began to thrash about but could do very little as he had no room to moving, it appeared more as a pathetic wiggle.

 

Grave stared into Whisper's eyes, "you choose my path and we must do things right. I'll tell them I've claimed him now as a bounty for being a dangerous and aggressive dragon-" Serafinno whimpered violently at that, "-they may leave him and me alone that way. Without him and nothing to blame my earth magick on they will be suspicious and then we could all die."

 

Serafinno had given up struggling, the dirt had cleared his nose so he could breath he looked pitifully at Whisper. In his mind it was obvious to him, the group had realized he was a bad dragon and the old man was here to take care of him, this was all just some game to keep him confused while the old man did the dirty work.

[Flying Ace 142]

Serafinno snorted a breath of warm air over Whisper, the old man had called him untrained and now Whisper was sending him away. The fact that he was a bad dragon already must be showing, she didn't trust him to be around anymore. He let his head hang a little and trotted sullenly back towards Tugg, he'd still try to behave as long as an 'evil dragon' could.

 

Grave nodded at each bit of metal and flung them into the river in clumps of dirt. He said a curt, "thank you." for each piece though he acted as though he had little care for their items but he kept track of where he pushed each down the river. The old man looked at the doctor, "I'm sure you can help them heal rather quickly but the question of how much time it will take to heal all of them before you begin to move? If 'she' is really the one chasing you I doubt she'll sense you between her magick and my own, I'll be waiting directly over you in protection, but if you wish to run please do, it will lead her away and make her believe the others are dead."

 

He saw the dragon making for the chimera and had over heard what the princess had said. He raised his hand and the dragons legs sunk into the ground, Serafinno yelped in surprise and struggled to pull his legs free to no avail. Grave spoke up, "I'm sorry Princess but it's too late for him to go. Your pursuers will have heard his roar and I must have a good explanation for my use of earth magics here, I need credibility if I am to be left unhindered by them. My own prey-". He tapped the coffin, "-is not enough. But if I caught the dragon, a creature that would never leave your side if you were alive, it will lend my story credence."

 

Serafinno took a deep breath, he had known the old man was bad and now he was trying to hurt him, he was going to breath fire at him but dirt suddenly crawled up over him clamping on his mouth, covering his nostrils and wrapping his wings. He began to thrash about but could do very little as he had no room to moving, it appeared more as a pathetic wiggle.

 

Grave stared into Whisper's eyes, "you choose my path and we must do things right. I'll tell them I've claimed him now as a bounty for being a dangerous and aggressive dragon-" Serafinno whimpered violently at that, "-they may leave him and me alone that way. Without him and nothing to blame my earth magick on they will be suspicious and then we could all die."

 

Serafinno had given up struggling, the dirt had cleared his nose so he could breath he looked pitifully at Whisper. In his mind it was obvious to him, the group had realized he was a bad dragon and the old man was here to take care of him, this was all just some game to keep him confused while the old man did the dirty work.

Dresden went over and patted Finn, "don't worry little guy if this plan works then you can be uncovered from the mud be good and I'll give you my next dinner." Dresden stood up and walked in the hole, "just to be clear Grave, if this kills us i'm coming back to haunt you okay?" Dresden smiled as he got in.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

Robert shrugged. He'd done crazier things before. Hell, this wasn't even his first time being buried alive. But that was a story for another time. Fortunately, he had very little metal on him, and he tossed his knife and the few arrows he had with him for hunting over to the old man. Really, at this point his mind was mostly just occupied with the thought that his new song was growing more and more interesting. With how much was happening, he might have to stretch it out into some kind of epic poem.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

She quivered under the old mans gaze, tears brimmed her eyes as she watched her dragon in distress.

 

But time was running out. She couldn't allow another soul to be lost. "If...you want to make a run for it, then do so. The rest will be going underground." She stated; staring into his eyes. Truthfully,she couldn't bear to look at Serrafinno in distress. He would never forgive her for it.

"You hurt my dragon, I will remember your name."

 

Tulla gave Tugg a hard smack and he burst off before the same fate befell him. She sighed "I wonder what suffocating to death feels like. Well let's go Helena."

[Sekel 692]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

Helena grimaced as she was forced to move her legs. "Suffocating to death. Yippee. That's the way I wanted to go." Helena said sarcastically as she sort of hopped along, with Tulla supporting her, to the hole in the ground where Dresden disappeared to. 'Don't talk, don't feel. Just move with the flow and you will eventually come to a stop. A stop inside a most likely claustrophobic place with other people all smushed against each other.' Helena thought nervously. She did not like extremely closed spaces.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass

 

Blinking in surprise at the sword held before him, Adrass nodded and reached out - grasping the blade and lifting it for inspection. It had seen better days - blunted and scratched, with a couple of deep indents in the blade where it had been parried with far too much force. As useless as it seemed, it was still a sword - and more to the point, it was his sword. Even if he had forsaken his place in the hall of relics by siding with mages over doing his duty, it's sentimental value still meant that he held it dear to him. That same sword had served him since the day he left his training, and had he not followed the path that he had, it would have been his legacy.

 

"Thank you..." Ge said, tone deadpan as the witch-princess handed it to him. Stowing it back in its rightful place over his shoulder. "Go, I won't be far. You're the ones they can sense. Blasted magic... "

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Tulla slid Helena into the hole before wiggling in herself. Whisper studied Adrass for just a moment before darting over to Finn and petting his head "I'll be right back."

 

She hopped over and quickly disappeared into the earth. She prayed for the safety of everyone as she tumbled into the darkness. Landing quite ungracefully ontop of someone.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

I joined them in the hole. I just hoped that we could breathe, for all the insanity that has been happening on this trip this hit the top. But still I have survived worse, so its just another day as an assassin. "Well here we are, in a hole hiding from a woman with insane magical power, yay me."

[Sekel 692]

Helena slid into the hole and heard Tulla go in after her. She went into the drkness and her eyes adjusted quite quickly. Before she could do anything, she felt someone land on top of her, knocking all the breath out of her. She didn't know who it was but she didn't really care either. 'Just breath calmly and you'll be fine. Don't worry about how enclosed it is. If you can't see the boundaries, then you are fine.' Helena thouhgt and quickky closed her eyes.

[Torrent505 370]

Serafinno growled at Dresden in disgust, he dared to act kind like this when they were turning him over. He refused to meet Whisper's eyes when she said she'd be right back, it hurt to think she would lie to him like that but why else would she abandon him with this stranger. He felt his heart breaking as one after another they entered the hole leaving him to whatever punishment was coming.

 

Grave tossed Zaddion's chains into the river closest to him, it had seemed important. He smiled as they climbed into the small cave he had created, and when only the Doctor and Hunter remained outside he shifted the top soil back into position over the hole but did not seal it. "Last chance you two, time to get in the hole or run and hide... or just run; whatever you feel will save you. I'll remain here with the Dragon and slow her down with a polite conversation. It's the best I can offer."

Edited July 16, 2014 by Torrent505

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Nodding, Adrass took a breath and inspected his needlework - it would hold even if it wasn't going to be pretty when it healed, not that he didn't have enough of the things to call himself 'pretty' anyway. Ensuring that the weapons were securely in place, he glanced back at the old man.

 

"If anything happens to her..."

 

No, he didn't have the energy for threats - he needed to preserve it - staying out of sight and keeping on the nice were going to be hard enough as it was.

 

"... just don't stab us in the back. I don't know how much more the kids can take before they snap and burn down this side of the kingdom."

 

Turning (in a less dramatic manner, lacking his greatcoat to billow behind him) to depart, the Witch Hunter took off at a sprint.

 

They needed safety, equipment and food. Not least of all he needed to clean out his guns and find new clothes - possibly even disguise himself if they were to be travelling through Illia. A hunter was rarely troubled by the population so long as they kept to themselves, but with such an entourage at hand, Adrass suspected that privilege might be short lived: he would need to blend in... or out. Weapons - weapons were important. Could they defend themselves without the damnable arts? Certainly some of them could, the thief had known well enough to make an impact. What of the monarch though...?

 

He blinked - all of that could wait. For now he needed to actually find a place to lay low.

 

Closing his eyes as he ran, the hunter focused on his breathing and on the rhythmic thunder of his footsteps beneath his - shaking through his body. Turning all of his focus onto himself, he breathed the cold night air. The chill washed through his body - flooding his limbs and senses. It made its way to him head, where his mind fogged and dulled - all traces of magical energy that were inherent in living things being smothered under his denial. At the very least, he wouldn't be found by magical means - but the denial wasn't just of magic, but emotion. It was how he hunted without remorse - how he distanced himself to maintain efficiency.

 

He could find them later - tracking mages was his life after all.