private The Fall of Andalasia ~Book 1~

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

His attempts at diplomacy having failed, it was all Robert could do to watch on the mirrors as the events unfolded, and hope like hell that Tulla would be able to come through for them somehow. At this point, she was the only one with a chance at freedom. Although, come to think of it, he hadn't seen the mage in a while, either. Were they saving him for something special?

[Sekel 694]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

Helena huffed and continued to glare at the man that simply stood there. She cringed as she heard screams come from the other rooms and wondered if the same thing was happening to them. "You really just like standing there, don't you?" Helena asked, trying to make some conversation. She wanted to see if he would do anything other than just stand there. It was creeping her out the he was looking at her.

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Zaddion wasn't sure of the situation. He didn't know who was where, if there were any guards or even what was happening beyond the absolute basics, he needed information from one of the maids. It wouldn't be the first time he had to pry information from unfriendly lips, but what these people had done left him with a rather wicked intent.

 

"We need to know as much as we can, but we only have the time to do this once so we can't screw up." Sneaking as close as he could towards the nearest maid, the Mage tried to make his intent clear. He had formulated a plan like this before, though admittedly this was the first time he was using these skills to get closer to someone rather than further away.

 

It would start with a very subtle movement of shadows, something to catch the maid's attention without arousing alarm. At this he would make his move and get that little bit closer to her. Then the gentle manipulations would become a little more obvious and perhaps worrying, it would be in this moment that her attention would be most taken. The Mage would not let her worry turn to caution however, he made his move as soon as her attention was diverted he covered her mouth and dragged her back to her Hunter companion.

 

"Make any sudden sound, and you die," his whisper was filled with an unsettling calm. "Your people have a few of my companions locked away, perhaps you recall the group that entered tonight? Tell me where they are and we won't end what you call a life right now."

Edited October 7, 2014 by Sanctified Absence

[Torrent505 370]

@@Alex Kennedy, @@RunsWithSquirlz, @@Shadow Dancer, @@Flying Ace,

 

When the box and bag came off of Serafinno the young dragon laid completely still, unbreathing and without even a heartbeat to betray the ruse.  Clarke stared at the mixed breed dragon and something came suddenly to his mind; he had been researching Air dragons since Whisper had mentioned possibly using their bones for his invention.  Air dragons are the most elusive dragons, no one had ever managed to capture one.  This wasn't for a lack of trying but rather a defeated or captured air dragon tends to suddenly die and soon after they die an explosion of air wipes out the site of their death and the remains are rarely found...  Clarke's eyes went wide, had they trigger that in the half air half fire wyrmling?  Was it about unleash some sort of insinctual last resort?  Suddenly Finn's body trembled, Clarke clenched his eyes shut and braced themself.

 

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

 

Finn's body was still on auto pilot but it suddenly kicked all the systems back on; he trembled and his heart started beating again, he wretched and gagged as if choking or vomiting.  His magic was at work and with strange belching sigh he spit up a bubble.  The bubble floated there between Finn and the Madame, its outer ring shimmering and rainbow colored with magic, inside was a white swirling mist.  Serafinno finally had control of his body again and felt refreshed and relieved after spitting out the bubble, if not rather sleepy.  He felt rather mesmerized by the bubble watching it bob gently before him; he didn’t know that it was all the compressed air he had been breathing in or that it was pure explosive wind.  He just felt the need to pop it, so he snapped forward and bit it.  The bubble burst.

 

A compressive burst tore through the main room, the box Serafinno had been in crashed to pieces against the wall, Serafinno himself followed directly behind it and hit the wall so hard he was knocked unconscious, anyone standing was blasted off their feet, Lance trying to flow with the wind was sent summersaulting back only to slam head first into one of the mirrors, chairs toppled, tables shifted, the windows shattered outward.  Thump burst could be heard throughout the inn and a strong gust swept through the halls.  One of Dresden’s hands was free, the shackle cut by pure luck from one of Finn’s teeth being blown clear out from biting the bubble.  A long shard of glass lay near Robert, close enough he might be able to shift and grab it.

 

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

 

Lance let out a moan, his ears were ringing as he struggled to rise.  He looked to his mistress the Madame, “What the hell was that?  I thought it was a fire dragon?!”

[Shadow Dancer 111]

(That was convenient.) The blast lossened the shackles. I was dazed but quickly regained my awareness and the first thing I noticed was that the shackles were losened , I tugged at them and fell forward.

 

The second thing was that some how the needles did not dig further in my body. So I took them out adrinline subdueing the majority of the pain, and held one in each hand the gore dripping off them. I then got up it was not comfortable but I could manage, checking my magic I had enough for multipule spells. I just limped to the door weary about my captors presence.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Shadow Dancer

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Were he in any better state, Adrass would likely have tried to slaughter the bird. It was a dark creature, radiating some foul aura and had belonged to the enemy - no doubt only choosing to follow the Mage now so that it could manipulate his dark side. Perhaps it was spying on them, or had been instructed to slay the princess?

 

Well trained animals could do as much. Was it worth the risk, just so that some filthy witch could keep it as a curiousity pet? Certainly not...

 

But he wasn't in any state fit to try and capture a creature of flight - not between the more urgent matters and the need for silence. Not physically either - he was far more exhausted than he was willing to let show, and had lost a considerable amount of blood. Beneath his coat, the improvised bindings around his leg and torso were completely soaked, and did little to relieve the pain of the piercing wounds that had been caused by the monolithic arrows that had struck him.

 

A faint trail of deep scarlet followed him, a slight spatter left behind after every other step. At one point, he stumbled slightly before quickly flashing a look of annoyance into the darkness. This wasn't the time to appear weak - he grit his teeth and trudged on as quietly as possible.

 

When the Mage finally acted, the magic almost made his weakened form retch. Still, he drew himself high - bloodied and grim - beside the boy-Mage and glared hatefully at the girl. It was a curious sensation, not knowing truly which side he should be on. He had already thrown his lot in with the Mage though, and he would see it through as best he could, damn the consequences. The girl wasn't innocent: nobody here was. Their crime might not have been his concern before, but they had made it so at the very moment that they have dared interfere with the princess. Nobody here was innocent from the lowliest maid to the rats beneath the floors, not in the Witch Hunters eye.

 

"I'd listen to him, in your position." Grumbled the hunter with a sadistic glint in his eye - one he loathed, but could not deny the efficiency of. "Nasty people, these witches. Personally, I'd be more concerned about what might happen if I made him keep you alive: I've seen some truly horrific things that his kind are capable of..."

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

The maid stared at them with teary eyes filled with fear, only a worker she had not been prepared for this "The...the girls were taken to the suites upstairs. The...men w-were...all m-men go to the basement. I don't know what happens to them I swear!"

 

The witch from before had disappeared completely; having fufilled her end of the plan.

 

Madame flew backward, slicing her shoulder against a hook. She screamed in pain "KILL THEM NOW!". Tullas mirror had been broken.

 

Tulla changed into her clothes, still sticky with fresh blood. She was shaken, never had she killed a man so personally before. Sure, in battle she had gotten in a few good blows, but the damage was done mostly by Tugg.

 

The man just kept smiling down at Helena and slowly began to tug off her gown. (Can't go into more desc. Would be too racy )

[Torrent505 370]

@@Shadow Dancer, @@Flying Ace, @@Alex Kennedy,

 

Lance had re-centered himself, and his hands were a blur from his coat and out towards Indicus.  The finger sized needles sank deep into the door and its frame in a neat line effectively jamming it.  "Did you really think you could just walk out of here?..."  He started towards the larger man trading his needles for a small parrying dagger with sword breaker hilt and a foil.  "Were you just going to walk out of here?  Leave your... I'd say friends but I don't think you have any of those... so group?  Yeah.  Leave your group behind and save yourself?  Got to say you really don't have emotions do you.  All the bluntness of a brick."  Lance moved past Robert and took a readied stance.  "Well then I've had enough short jabs and foreplay, no matter how satisfying my shot to your eye was, let's move on to the little death and believe me, my opponents always come to it first."   He smirked clearly enjoying his upper hand.

 

Two of the female staff had also gotten to their feet brandishing the short torture daggers, they advanced toward Clarke and Dresden.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Torrent505

[Shadow Dancer 111]

I smiled, a fire that spoke of blood lust and death shown in my eyes for just a second before they turned cold once more. I held the two thick needles like daggers and just let instinct and years of practice take over. My goal kill my opponent in the quickest way possible.

[Sekel 694]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

Helena shook her head vigorously. 'No! You can't do this!' Helena shouted inside her head. She tried to at least cross her legs but soon found to her despair that they were shackled a well as her hands. She got a desperate look on her face and tried to wriggle her hands and feet in a desperate attempt to get them out of the restraints. Uppn failing, she huffed and figured to do one last thing. "HEEEELLLP!!"

Edited October 8, 2014 by Dji

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@RunsWithSquirlz,@@Torrent505, @@Dji, @@Shadow Dancer,

 

Reaching over, Robert managed to grab the shard of glass with his foot, and after a bit of awkward struggling, had freed himself and now stood with shard in hand. More focused on what he'd seen in the mirrors than he was on his fellow captives, he took off towards the exit in the hopes of finding and helping the girls. As for those he left behind, he was sure Indicus could manage just fine.

 

Finding the door to have been jammed by Lance's needles, he resorted to the only thing he could think of, which was to throw himself against it shoulder-first in an attempt to break through.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Alex Kennedy

[Sanctified Absence 126]

While normally the walls of the structure would be enough to block the average sound, they most certainly weren't enough to mask that there was something relatively big going on, there wasn't enough time for them to grab their male companions first, nor was there time for the opposite. Zaddion wasn't a fool, he could see that Adrass wasn't in a perfect fighting condition even if his charade did manage to cloud his perception.

 

"We're going to have to split up. I'll go and get the girls, you find your way into the basement..." He sighed at how desperate the situation had become, but at the very least he had Adrass to help him, "... But something tells me our friends down there aren't exactly going without a fight."

 

Now was the problem of the woman in his grasp. It would be so easy to kill her, to tear apart this despicable woman's life... But there was no time. Seeing no other option, he struck at the back of her head with his bare fist as hard as he could. He wasn't a strong man in the slightest, so long as he didn't allow her to fall this shouldn't kill her. If she was still awake, he would be forced to do it again until she fell unconscious. 

 

"I'll see you on the far side," after dealing with the maid and placing her down, propped up against a wall, the Mage slipped off to the suites upstairs, the shadows practically bending to mask his rather hastened approach to their companions. This would end now, they could decide what to do with the others in this terrible place once the Princess, Tulla and all the others were free.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

Adrass faltered.

 

This was it: he was being asked to put his faith in the witch. To trust that the serpent-hearted wouldn't fail - or betray him. In all honesty he wouldn't have trusted him any more than he would their enemies if he had any choice in the matter - but he wasn't in a state to argue and time was running out.

 

Reluctantly, he managed a stiff nod.

 

The stairway down to the basement was easy to locate - given the sounds echoing from beneath the floorboards. Using the walls for support, he made his way down to the lower levels and closed in on the sealed doorway - raising his sword with unsteady hands in preparation to lash out at the first sign of danger.

[Torrent505 370]

@

 

Adrass heard a heavy blow against the other side of the basement door.

 

@@Shadow Dancer @@Alex Kennedy @@RunsWithSquirlz @@Flying Ace

 

The door to basement/dungeon was thick sturdy ashwood that opened inward and as such Robert bounced ineffectively off with a resounding thud. However next to him on the wall the doors neglected and rusted hinges rattled and shook at the strain.

 

Lance giggled at Robert's attempt, though his eyes never left Indicus. "Sorry charmer, that door's made to handle a pounding considerably greater than your limp frame can offer. Why don't you try smooth talking it to open for you?" He looked down to the weapons in his hands and decided he could take Indicus with only the foil, he whipped the parrying dagger at Robert aiming for the heart. He used the momentum of the throw to lead into his assault on Indicus.

 

Flow Dancers are not an opponent to take lightly, their ability to read movement and elite sword skills make them some of the worlds finest duelist and Lance was proving that. Using the greater reach of his foil the maneuverability the now wide open room provided he unleashed a flurry of swipes that could leave bleeding but only skin deep slashes in combination with lighting fast precision thrusts which would be mortally wounding, all the while never closing the distance enough to allow Indicus' smaller weapons to be a threat. "See every move you make before you make it, no man can stand alone before the eternal dance. Bare your heart to me and I will make this quick." He taunted.

 

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

 

Clarke was still restrained with no way to slow the women advancing on him, so he tensed while merely glaring and waiting. She paused in front of him the short curved tortures scalpel readied, "at least one of you has the sense to die like he's supposed to."

 

He used the minimal amount of movement he had to launch himself forward when she struck at him. There was a sickening wet crunch as his brass goggles smashed hard against the women's nose, and she toppled backwards to the ground. Clarke gasped at the fire burning in his chest where her knife was lodged and pulling out serrated blade was agony, but he turning it quickly on his shackles trying to pick the locks.

 

It didn't seem likely to matter, three more women had gotten to their feet and two of them were heading for him while the third joined the one advancing on Dresden. The situation was only slightly less grim than being defenseless and tortured to death.

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@Torrent505,@,

 

Even an expert like Lance could only do so much making a blind throw, and Robert was able to shift at the last minute, not dodging it entirely, but taking it in the shoulder instead of the heart where it was intended to land. Operating on adrenaline more than any sort of thought or logic, he gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, ripping the dagger out of his shoulder and preparing for another charge at the door. 

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Torrent505, 

Dresden tried to pull off the remainder of his binds before his torturer could get to him with no such luck. "Dammit," Dresden grabbed the girl's arm that held the knife and with a yank pulled her at him to give her a mighty headbutt knocking her to the ground and leaving the knife in Dresden's hand. "Hold on Clarke I'll try to help you as fast as I can!" Dresden moved the knife to his bounds and tried to remove his shackles, "Common open!" The knocked down girl had started to get up when Dresden finally freed himself, with a loud THUNK Dresden knocked the hilt over the girl's head knocking her unconscious he then turned to the two going after Clarke, "Hey, wimpy maids come at me!"

[Torrent505 370]

@@Alex Kennedy @@Flying Ace @@Shadow Dancer

 

Clarke's mind was racing and the world seemed to be slowed as he worked at picking his lock. It clicked and in his head so did what needed to happen. First Robert needed through the basement door and wasting force bashing up against it like that wouldn't be enough, second Indicus needed an assist and a weapon at least slightly better than a pair of metal spikes.

 

He used his now free hand to throw the curved dagger at Lance and toward Indicus, "Indicus ready!" The knife whipped by Lance as he slid out of its path and continued right to Indicus. Clarke yelled to Robert, "The hinges! Break the hinges!"

 

Clarke could only ball his free fist and prepare as one of the women closed on him, the second a large well muscled woman with a jagged sword turned on Dresden, obviously displeased by his 'wimpy maid' comment. Clarke prayed he'd be able to delay his own opponent long enough for someone to prevent a killing blow, he was no fighter and one of his hands was still securely shackled.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Torrent505

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

The sound inside the room was clear enough, but the echoing thud if weight against the door was enough to clear up any remaining doubt. The Mage had been correct: the men were fighting back, to whatever degree they were able.

 

Adrass considered trying the doors handle, but presumed that they would already have attempted the most obvious means of escape. He hefted the sword up against his should to rest the weight a little, and shifted his balance onto his good leg while he waited. There was no way that he was going to be kicking any doors down with his injuries: he needed to conserve his strength.

 

Then he heard the cry to break the hinges. No wonder they were struggling to knock the thing down... of course, that meant that he still couldn't really do anything, unless...

 

Positioning the tip of his great sword against the narrow crack that marked the edge of the door. He squinted through the crack and slid the heavy blade up slightly to where it seemed to line up with the dark shadow of the hinge, and paused.

 

"Break the bottom one." He said simply. He didn't shout - didn't whisper or bellow. Simply speaking normally, directly at the door, he hoped that whoever was on the other side could hear him, and that the others were too preoccupied to do so.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

@@Torrent505, I blocked most of his attacks but was still hit by the rest. I caught the dagger being thrown in the peripheral of my right eye along with Clarke's attackers, I quickly threw the large needle in my right hand at one of Clarke's attackers knowing it would not hit Clarke himself and caught the dagger luckily by the hilt. Now with a sightly better weapon I looked for one of several ways I could step in to his guard and force the foil to be useless and my dagger and spike much more effectively.  

 

(Just wanted to make Clarke's life somewhat easier)

Edited October 8, 2014 by Shadow Dancer

[Alex Kennedy 1,228]

@@Torrent505,@,

 

Robert began bashing away at the bottom hinge with the hilt of the dagger as he yelled back at Clarke. "How? You're the engineer, not me!" He kept whacking away at it, although it didn't help that he was right handed, and the dagger landed in his right shoulder, forcing him to work with his off hand. He was making progress, but it wasn't exactly very effective. 

[Flying Ace 142]

@@Alex Kennedy, @@Torrent505,

"Well, try something Robert!" Dresden yelled dodging a swing from the she-man's jagged sword, "I don't want to rush you but we can't really keep this up forever!" Dresden ducked down and swung his leg forward knocking the she-man's footing out from under her, before pushing her back with a water blast the the gut. "Ha ha! How do you like me now!" the water Dresden had summoned had started to flow across the entire floor due to all the fighting pushing it around.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Flying Ace

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Adrass.

 

As the rhythmic clink of metal-on-metal began to sound, Adrass waited. It didn't need to be completely ruined - only enough that it wouldn't offer much resistance on its own.

 

After a few seconds (and another shout of urgency from inside the room) he couldn't wait any longer.

 

"Stay low."

 

Sword-point balanced on the edge of the crack at the edge of the door, he swayed backwards a step - keeping close enough to just hold the blade steady in its positing. Steeling himself for the impact, he threw himself forward - hurling his weight directly into the back of the sword and driving it towards the uppermost hinge. Pain spiked through his lower body from the sudden, though the impact itself would be far worse.

 

Of course, the narrow crack along the doors edge wasn't exactly wide enough to accommodate the thick blade, but it was a damn sight more vulnerable than the solid wood. In paster experience, good enough steel combined with sufficient force had been enough to drive directly through and break the supporting mechanism from the outside. The shortsword tended to be used for such tasks, but he doubted Tulla was going to appear and return it anytime soon.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

The spray hit the mans face and he reeled backward, Whisper refused to let herself get taken so easily. Silently, she thanked Clarke for her gift and promised herself she would return the favor. As the man wept againat the dresser qhile scratching at his face; the princess tried hopelessly at the restraints.

 

The man approached Helena again but turned when the door cracked open. Tulla glared at him, arm tense with the weight of her upheld sword. She was still covered in drying blood and her face was taught with stress. She hadn't found Whisper yet but heard Helenas cry. "Step back..." she growled shakily.

 

Madame was lost in the things unfolding around her. The maids were quickly dispatching the rest of the men while fighting off the loose captives. Someone was breaking in...it didn't look good. She snuck to the back wall, holding the dripping wound on her shoulder and pressed a hidden panel. A small space slid open and she snuck into it, disappearing behind the flat stone wall. She had to escape before they killed her too...if only she could make it to Ashcreek.

 

(Im just gonna put this here. Sorry about everything guys :/)

[Sekel 694]

@@RunsWithSquirlz

Helena was afraid that no-one heard her scream and had all but given in to what this man was going to do. She had sucked in a breath to scream for help again but let it out whdn she heard the door open. Turning her head towards it, she was surprised to see Tulla there. "Tulla?" Helena asked increduously. What Tulla said next confused her to no end but waited to see how this would play out.

[Flying Ace 142]

@,@@Alex Kennedy,

"I don't mean to worry you guys as i'm sure you're very busy but could you please HURRY UP!?" Dresden yelled still locked in a fight with the other maids. He didn't know how the ladies are faring upstairs, nor did he noticed Madame go though a secret tunnel. He just had to hope Robert and Adrass could break that door down.