Dreadlords A Rope Around the Neck

[Fennec]

It was said that battles were painted with the blood of thine enemies, and what a glorious portrait they had made. When it was over, only the smollest and tollest remained standing, the former having been colored to match the crimson of the latter. Fennec tossed away the stolen shortsword like a piece of stale bread to the birds and looked up to her companion who could only raise a quizzical brow at the tiny thing.

"Little girl? Pah," the red woman brushed herself off and waded gracelessly through the detritus of bodies, "more like little demon. Come, we will not find anymore trouble to closing the gates."

Indeed they did not. At the commotion of their foray, a shiver of bedlam ran is course through the prison. Loose prisoners were turning on guards, the various factions had split off into side brawls. Pandemonium took hold. Fennec could not say if this was quite to Edric's plan, but their cadre had the ruling figureheads wrapped around their fingers. Wouldn't take much to exact a measure of control once it was needed.

The pair found the first of the main gates: massive oak doors reinforced by iron. Tial took one side while Fennec took the other. Though the half-giant was yet convinced of the smoll-one's strength, she was colored surprised as a dozen black tendrils of Fennec's mystes snaked out all around her, tagged the door, and slowly pushed it closed in tandem.

One down, two more to go.

 

[Zael Castomir]

"Apologies, Master of Flesh!" said Henelaus after his blatant display of favoritism.

Zael got a good look over the battlements of the prison, eyes sweeping over Ostdorf—formerly Vel Trien, hard emphasis on the 'formerly,' as some of the locals were so fond of saying. Even, what, almost two years now after the Revolution there were still plenty of towns and provinces with ideas of breaking away from Vel Anir proper. At heart, Zael didn't hold any ill-will against 'em for this. More power to 'em, he would say, if that's what they wanted to do. Zael just always chafed authority on principle.

But here they were, Zael and his peers on one side, Ostdorf on the other. If they wanted their independence so bad (or at least to keep Feren in their prison) then they'd have to fight for it.

And Zael loved a good fight.

He turned his gaze over to the approaching Rampart guards. Shrugged and held his hands out to his sides and asked, "Hey. Where're your buddies at?"

"We will kill you if you do not yield," said the first of the guards.

"Oh yeah, that's right, all at the bottom of the stairs. Why don't you go say hello?"

The first of the guards came forward, shield raised, blade resting on the shield's circular rim ready to be thrust into Zael's chest. Zael's eyes flashed orange for a brief second.

And he let himself be stabbed. Or so it seemed. As soon as the guard's blade pierced through his prison rags the steel never penetrated Zael's skin, but instead triggered his Explosive Retaliation. Smoke and flame blew out with a BANG from where he was stabbed, and the guard was thrown over the battlements, trails of that selfsame smoke marking his descent down the ground outside the prison.

"Ah, shit, wrong direction. That's not the way down the stairs. My mistake," he commented with a grin.

The other guards were quite hesitant now.

Zael glanced over to Gaage and said, "Your turn."

Edric Gaage Eberwhit Fennec

 

[Edric]

Edric leaned against the wall of the inner courtyard, the distant scream of a falling guard followed by the clatter of armor ringing out.

Turns out.

It was pretty fun to be in charge.

 

[Gaage Eberwhit]

Zael seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment as he peered over the edge of the battlements, Gaage wrinkling his nose a bit at him from behind. Zael was the closest thing Gaage had to a brother, but he sure could get wishy-washy in a hurry. Someday that drama queen in him was going to cause a headache for everyone, he was sure.

Blondie was always ready when there were mooks to toss around though, and Gaage was beginning to wish he had something to snack on while he watched Zael let the guards pretend they had a chance at killing either of them, before a particularly well-laid trap sent the first flying over the edge with a scream of panic that Eberwhit honestly found more amusing than anything else.

Gaage leaned over the edge, peering down at the plummeting corpse-to-be with pursed lips. "Could have at least killed him before you sent him falling that far down. Kinda rude of you, innit it?" The smirking redhead sauntered up to the plate from behind Zael, nonchalantly stepping around and in front of him to face the guards downwind. "And you assclowns can't even stab somebody right. Come on, then. Try me instead."

There was a moment of trepidation between all of the guards, no doubt all wondering what the trick to this second freak of nature could be. Fuckin' hell, they weren't gonna go for it, were they? His face contorted into one of frustration. "What, you think I'm fuckin' kidding you?" He brought his hands to his chest, unfastening the buckles down the middle of his vest and letting it fall to the floor before pulling his undershirt up and off so that he was exposed from the waist up. "See? I aint even got no fuckin' armor on!"

That did the trick: One of the guards in front charged before he'd even finished his sentence, sword poised at his shoulder as he rushed forward with a shout. A mistake, of course. One he realized as soon as the boy he was charging started grinning like a madman and reaching his hands out towards him.

Now, there was a lot of stuff Gaage's magic could do. All of it was pretty gruesome, but nothing ever beat a classic arm break. People just don't know how to handle losing the function of limbs they rely on so heavily, and it always makes a good show. This moron wasn't even wearing plate on his arms, so Gaage had no trouble finding the points for his magic to latch onto and yanking down hard enough to crush the poor bastard's elbows under the weight of his own blade.

Now that was a good scream.

The sword hit the floor hilt first, and the incredible pain sent the guard stumbling and falling right after, creating the perfect little scenario in which he fell and impaled himself on his own damned sword.

Gaage raised his hands in victory, turning to Zael and taking a deep bow, before looking over his shoulder to the guards.

"And that, gentlemen, is how you stab somebody."

 

[Fennec]

Within short order, Fennec and Tial had all gateways and doors closed. Tial rounded up a few of her own and posted them at major entrances. Nobody in or out without direct orders from Tial or the small one, as she put it. She accompanied Fen back to the inner courtyard.

"Smoll girl has tricks," Tial remarked to Edric with an amused grin, "Tial is impressed."

[Grounds are secured,] Fennec signed to Edric, [where is the target?]

 

[Zael Castomir]

Anybody's game, as it was turning out.

Henelaus was keeping good (and totally unbiased) track of their scores. They had a decent supply of rocks, courtesy of the Spire's own supplies for defense up here on the ramparts. But the only problem was that they had a dwindling supply of targets. There were only so many prison guards, and outside The Spire in Ostdorf proper, well, the folks out there didn't have a clear idea yet of what was going on inside their prison.

So there was a bit of a lull in the excitement.

Zael sat leisurely between the battlements, one leg arched, as he tossed a rock idly in his hand.

"You know," he started, glancing over to Gaage, "life as a Dreadlord can really suck sometimes. But when I get into a good fight? Man, that little rush makes all the bullshit worth it."

Gaage Eberwhit Edric Fennec

 

[Edric]

He glanced over to Fennec as she and the Giant approached, eyes watching her fingers flicker before he allowed himself a look up towards the walls. "He's below."

Edric explained.

"He's going to try to finish his little experiment before we go." Edric explained, glancing over towards Tial before continuing. "For now we hold, and see if the city notices something is wrong."

Undoubtedly they would eventually.

"Until then..." Edric just shrugged. "It's our prison now."

Or would be when the other two were done.

 

[Gaage Eberwhit]

Indeed, it wasn't long before the well of dipshits began to run dry. Eberwhit had taken out dinky little bandit camps that had put up more resistance than whatever the hell that piddly resistance was supposed to be. Oh well, it wasn't like they had a scorekeeper worth a shit to make it a fair game anyways. What was it about Zael that attracted the crazy types?

Gaage yawned, digging through the pouches and pockets of the freshly deceased, swiftly tucking away any coin or valuable looking trinkets. Prison guards sure didn't seem to be paid as much as he figured they would be, but money was money, and some of the weird sentimental shit they had on them looked to be made of precious metals. Good for a little bonus on his end.

"Look man, I'm not saying I disagree with you, but..." He grunted as he yanked a necklace free of its owner. "What's with the 'life' talk lately? You been doing okay?" It wasn't the first time Castomir had started waxing poetic about Dreadlord life to him randomly. It didn't bother Gaage; Zael was one of the few people who had his complete trust, and he cared for the guy like he was his brother. It only seemed to be happening more and more frequently, though.

 

[Fennec]

So that was it? They were done?

Having been sent along with three senior classmen, Fennec had been expecting ... well, more. What a waste - Edric likely could have taken the prison all on his own, so why send herself, Zael, and Gaage? Perhaps they (the Proctors) had overestimated the Prison's enforcement. Or perhaps even more likely, underestimated the Initiates.

[This mission does not seem adequately challenging for your skills and experience,] she signed to Edric.

 

[Zael Castomir]

"Better than ever," Zael said, catching the rock he was throwing up and down and then spreading his arms wide. "You know me. I just say what I'm thinkin, and I was thinkin more generally about what's comin. And, well, why wouldn't I be thinkin about what's next? We're gonna be done with the Academy soon, yeah, and I figure that same ol' bullshit we're used to is gonna be waitin for us in the Guard. The more things change, the more they stay the same."

He stretched his arms luxuriously toward up toward the sky. Let out a satisfied Ahhhhh when he was done.

"So all I'm really sayin is you gotta savor the good parts of life. And this right here has been one of the good parts."

Edric Gaage Eberwhit Fennec

 

[Edric]

Edric watched as Fen's fingers quickly flickered in communication. A shrug rolling over his shoulders. "No kidding."

But then, none of them really understood what it was their query was making.

Whatever the scientist was playing with in the basement of this prison was beyond the scope of their understanding. The man had tried to explain it, but the more he spoke of it the less Edric had actually been able to understand.

Not that he was exactly the best of them for that sort of thing. "The Republic wants our little friend bad, I guess."

He said with a shrug.

"They never tell us shit." Edric complained, not even if they were put in charge.

As he spoke, Edric, and none of the others could have seen the one lone tower on the southern side of the prison. It had been empty, or so they had thought. Yet at it's top shone a light, one directed towards the city nearby. It flickered, on, then off, then on again in a quick sequence. A message sent to those outside.

 

[Gaage Eberwhit]

Even by Zael, Gaage wasn't really used to being opened up to by anybody. Most of the others either thought he was an asshole (rightfully so), or thought he was crazy. Zael had always treated him like he would anybody else, and that was why Eberwhit gravitated to him as much as he did.

Hoisting himself up onto the wall of the rampart to sit on top with his legs hanging down, Gaage paid a thought to what Zael said. Probably would have considered it bullshit a few months ago, but things had been happening lately that had him thinking about the bigger picture a lot more as of late.

Graduation was coming, and that wasn't the only change that was nagging at his mind.

"Hey..." He muttered, looking down at his lap rather than in his friend's eyes. "I... uh... I think I'm in love with Lennox, man."

Not even a minute after the out-of-nowhere confession had left his lips did an arrow narrowly miss Gaage's head, sending him rolling off of the wall and back onto the rampart beside Zael.

"Fuck! More of them, and they're angry! The hell did they come from?"

 

[Fennec]

"We have a problem."

The voice of the crone interrupted Fen and Ed as she sidled up and pointed a hooked finger skyward to a growing murder of crows, all of which bearing the gleam of glowing green eyes. They circled the skies and perched on the ramparts of the compound, heckling their news.

"There is a force on its way from the south," the crone said, "they will be here soon. The scouts have already spotted your buffoons up on the walls."

Fennec exchanged a look with Edric, [The southern gate is barred but will need reinforcements,] before craning her head to look up at the giantess.

Tial cracked her knuckles and stood from where she'd been seated on a stone bench, "Tial is ready to do her part. Give Red Hearts south gate - they will not make it through." The Genesai grinned.

"I can round up the Twisted Nails," said the crone, "station them to protect your man below."

[I can relay orders to Gaage and Zael,] Fennec offered to Ed. She didn't need stairs to get to them.

 

[Zael Castomir]

The arrow flew by Gaage's head.

"Hey, that fucker has bad aim. He missed me by a mile," Zael said, grinning and hopping off of his perch on the battlement. He pressed his shoulder to the stone and leaned down to take cover behind it. Never underestimate the humble arrow's ability to turn off your lantern for good, decades of training and catastrophic magic at your command or not. Okay. Minor amendment. If your name wasn't Edric, never underestimate the humble arrow.

Then, finally, it clicked.

"Wait, what? Oh shit, you really like Delaney, huh? Good for you, man."

Zael grabbed one of the leftover rocks from the bucket and lit it on fire in the palm of his hand and blindly chucked it over the side of the wall.

Henelaus dutifully risked life and death to peer over the battlements to see if it hit. "That one was a miss, Bringer of Destruction!"

"Pipe down with the praise, we still got a fight to win first."

Edric Gaage Eberwhit Fennec

 

[Edric]

Command really was easy, at least when you had competent people to order around. "Do it."

A part of Edric wanted to curse, let the anger always simmering in his chest rise to the surface. Yet for once he pushed it down. Tamping the flames and suppressing that innate nature to simply let loose. Knowing that was not his role here.

He had thought they would have a day, maybe even the full two before the nearby town noticed what had happened. Yet it seemed that someone was still alive and convinced that they could get help.

Edric would dissuade them of that notion.

"Tell Gaage and Zael to hold the walls." He told Fen, the prison was no real fortress, but it would do for a little while. "Keep them at bay for as long as you can, then head below."

Then his fingers flickered. Be ready to kill the prisoners if they try to turn.

Edric had no illusions about their companions. These men and women were scum, the only loyalty they had was to themselves. When the time came he knew where the chips would fall."Tial, I'm with you."

He said, turning on his head to head to the southern gate.

 

[Gaage Eberwhit]

Bringer of Destruction? That was never going to stick.

There'd be time to insult Hannah's choice of nicknames later, though. From what Gaage had seen before he'd ducked for over behind the ledge of the ramparts, there were a lot of angry motherfuckers coming their way. Sure enough, arrows were shooting up against the stony outcropping blindly. If they were willing to take potshots without much chance of hitting a target, it meant they had supply and men to burn through.

Burn through...

Eberwhit wasn't much of a ranged fighter, but he did chuck a couple stones over the wall himself. Gods knew if he actually hit anything. After a moment, he looked over at Zael and crouch-walked closer to him, careful to keep his head down.

"Hey, you think you can hang on here for just a minute? I have an idea to even things up a little bit."

 

[Fennec]

She nodded with sharp clarity and waited not at all to depart with her orders. Within moments, half a dozen myste tendrils had sprouted from Fennec's back, coiling around her like a spider's legs as she moved to the inner wall of the courtyard and began to scale it.

Though the crone could not move quickly, she didn't need to. Her pestilence preceded her journey to the Twisted Nails, a dozen rats arriving to the cell block where the majority of them could be found. They scrambled in through iron rungs and holes in stone walls, climbing the legs of the bunks and inmate alike to garner their attention.

Cresting the inner wall at the top, the smallest of Initiates sprung forward across the gap, carried by the momentum of her mystes and slinging herself upwards like a loosed arrow. Her small form hooked and clipped over ledges and corners until her mystes grappled over the top of the walls where Gaage Eberwhit and Zael Castomir presently kept one another company. She was heralded by the ringing of her bell and greeted by a gust of wind as she moved to stand erect. Fennec calmly pocketed her bell and stilled as an arrow missed her nose by a hairsbreadth.

The girl batted her dark brows at that and pressed on.

[Hold the walls against the southern forces] she signed to them, [E D R I C and the Red Hearts are moving to the south gate.]

Another arrow whistled through the air and fell prey to the snatching of a myste.