Open Chronicles Dragons In Chains

[Asemir]

Hera wouldn't be the first to interject her will or words into the komodo's mind and, likely, would not be the last. Curious sensation, that. Like someone had cracked an egg over her head and let the yolk run down. A warm, creeping, viscous sort of feeling in the brain. Two hellfire eyes blinked at the woman, tracking the path of the keys to the lock, patient like a brooding stormcloud. The door swung open with a screech and the komodo stepped forward.

Chains clanked and clinked as she moved, coming to stand before and above the woman - not even capable of straightening to her full height in the low ceilings of the cell. Melfa stood hunched, yellow eyes burning with intent as she held out her shackled wrists to Hera, clawed digits curling inwards so the little nun wouldn't cut herself while assisting with her iron adornments.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"Nykios's left arm she's bloody enormous," went Jeriah. Invoking the name of a god seemed appropriate as he was still half dressed as a man of the clergy. Wrong religion, Jeriah knew all too well.

A loud thud came from behind them. It was followed by a cry and another one. Jeriah turned slowly to see a giant lump of muscle, fat and gristle standing over two prisoners. The gaoler held a heavy club in his meaty fist as he peered down the corridor with piggy little eyes.

"Oi!" he cried, flecks of spittle flying down his chin.

"William, go dodge around that brute and keep him busy a moment."

Jeriah turned towards the komodi. He opened his hands wide in a welcoming gesture.

"Lovely lady, it seems we have a common problem. Once you're unshackled would you awfully mind tearing its arms off?"

The gaoler hand knocked another orc to the filthy prison floor. He brought his club down three more times. The last strike came with the sickening sound of a skull cracking. Jeriah pointed in his direction and the brute of a man suddenly realised what Hera was doing.

 

[William de Courcey]

Heads jerked to the side from the komodi at the sound of loud cries. Enormous could also be applied to the brute that was now coming down the hallway at them, more fat than muscle, but large enough to give some bears pause.

"I-" but Jeriah was already turning back to negotiate with the beast in the cell. Muttering a curse in his native tongue, William broke into a slow jog towards the gaoler. He dropped the sword to the ground, the action buying him another second while the monster's brain tried to work out why.

He'd never been a swordsman, knives were his thing, If you were to get into a fight, you wanted it over fast. He ducked under the cudgel swing, drawing a blade from his forearm sheathe. With a yell, he stabbed up towards the gaoler's armpit...

And had it glance off the boiled leather jerkin he had on underneath. The impact jarred his hand enough that he yelped. The gaoler's backhand sent him staggering back enough that he landed right on his backside. Darting forward like a snake, William slashed at his leg, drawing blood but just succeeding in angering him. He rolled to the side before he got brained.

"Help?!" he shrieked down the corridor, pushing himself upwards and dancing back two steps. The gaoler's blood was up now, wanting the thief's guts for garters.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"Yes, yes, we're working on that!" Jeriah called out the side of his mouth. "Do try not to let him catch you."

 

[Hera]

Hera relaxed, letting out a puff of held in breath as she hurriedly worked at the shackles.

They hit the ground in a heavy clank, Hera’s toes pulled back just in time to spare them from being squashed.

“Please don’t let him die,” she pleaded to Melfa next, standing to the side and shooting William a forlorn glance.

 

[Asemir]

Wrists, tail, and ankles now free of the added weight of iron, the Komodo reached up to grasp at the leather holding the muzzle over her face. Hooking her claws over the straps, they sliced through like a Knight's blade cleaved flesh and it fell from her face like shed skin. The freedom to express prideful intrigue in Jeriah's direction gave the man a healthy show of pointed teeth.

Wasn't often she got called lovely.

A great clawed hand lifted to Hera's shoulder, gripping it with surprising gentleness and pressing the tiny nun aside. Still incapable of standing straight, the komodo moved in a hunch past the pair and down the hall, eyes honed in on the brute and his club.

Brute swung and the beast took the hit like a champ, sending a jolt of shivers down the gaoler's arm. That same clawed hand which had been so nice before reached up for the brute's neck and clamped around it, the momentum and strength of her gait pushing him off his heels.

"You go now," she hissed at William, tail smacking him smartly as she locomoted the gaoler down the hall.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"Well you are magnificent," Jeriah said after the komodi. He watched as the heavy mound of gristle that was the goaler was pushed down the corridor like a child.

Stalking smoothly after her, he leaned down to give William a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Good lad," he said in a tone that could have sounded condescending if you squinted with your ears.

"New plan," he announced. "We help our new friend escape before the guards stop worrying about a few licks of flame around the rich arseholes in the expensive wing."

 

[William de Courcey]

Something the size of a small troll hit into the gaoler, the tail smacking off William as it went by. He sat up slowly, not quite sure what had just happened. Jeriah's hand patted him on the shoulder before he stalked past, leaving a rather sore thief sitting on the ground. "That's it?" he muttered, staggering to his feet under his own power. He inspected himself with a few twinges, nothing seemed broken thanks be to the gods.

"We're taking that with us?" his voice showed what he thought of that prospect. "What if it tries to eat us?"

 

[Hera]

“What if he pees on the carpet?” Hera breathed to the skies, moving with no haste towards them.

Her gaze snapped down to William as she passed him, pupils dilating in an instant.

“But you didn’t.”

She kept going, following after the Komodo as it barreled a clear path for them down the hall.


“”A chase into west side,” Hera warned Jeriah as she caught stride with him. “Break and shake.” Her short term for scatter and regroup at the rendezvous point. “...Don’t turn left at the bakery.”

She tossed the keys into an unlocked cell, leaving the occupants to scatter and let themselves out behind them as she started alighting the stairs out.

 

[Asemir]

Gaoler continued to gurgle and struggle in the grasp of the hulking komodo. Melfa made it to the end of the hall and promptly swung him left at the T into an approaching cadre of frantic looking guards. They toppled like a grouping of bowling pins, scattering into a heap of dull steel and flailing limbs. She pressed on, in the direction opposite the nearest exit, on a mission to find her taken things.

Her armor, for one, her sword for another, and a few other trinkets the she-beast held in utmost value. The smoke was getting thicker down here, the heat more intense. Melfa growled as the large man in her clutches finally succumbed to suffocation and stopped writhing. She dropped him like a massive sack of potatoes, holding one arm up to guard her face from the smoke.

Yellow eyes sifted through the smog, pressing further down the hall to find another sentry wheezing on the ground. She recognized him as the one that had fitted her with the leather muzzle.

"Where Melfa thingss?" clawed hand gripped him by the scruff, bringing his terrified face directly up to her own.
He sputtered, blibbered, pleaded.
"WHERE?!"
"D-down the hall, last door on the left!"
"Sssshhhhhow Melfa."

And before he knew it he was being dragged along for the ride.

 

[William de Courcey]

The humanoid personification of destruction lumbered onward. Screams sounded as the gaoler was flung at the oncoming guards, sending them sprawling. The komodo dumped the corpse with little ceremony, its use as a weapon over with.

"Macha save us" William muttered, there was only way out and it was down that corridor. His climbing line might do fine for himself or for Hera but not a chance it would get Jeriah's bulk out, let alone that monster.

It wasn't hard to keep after the komodo, even with the smoke. The trail of dead and unconscious bodies were their breadcrumbs. Up ahead another roar sounded, the noise making the hairs stand up on his neck. William stooped and tugged the cloth up over his mouth and nose, coughing against the acrid smoke.

"Yiz were meant to set fire to just one wing!" he accused the other two before doubling over in another fit of spluttering coughs.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"Don't blame me if the guards were too slow. I will admit to underestimating just how much exceedingly flammable finery the affluent had paid to be brought into their residences."

There was a decision to be made now. They could try and slink away whilst the komodi caused a ruckus. Despite her size he didn't imagine she would be able to get far from the town if they made a serious effort to run her down. Depends if the local militia had the stomach for it.

Alternatively they already had a hiding location arranged down by the docks and he was sorely in need of more muscle for his schemes.

One of the guards was slowly moving to his feet ahead of them. His helmet had been knocked free. Jeriah delivered a quick elbow to the temple. Every now and again it seemed he could handle himself. Those times were few and far between.

"Hera, should we offer Melfa a job?" he asked. He wondered if he would be able to decipher the answer in time. The way out was cleared to their left, the shape of the komodi seen against the smoke ahead.

 

[Hera]

Hera looked at him like it was the dumbest question in the world.

“I gave it the keys, didn’t I?” There was nothing more clear than that. She pushed him forward, into the smoke. “Break west side, and don’t turn left at the bakery! — or you’ll loose more than an ear,” she grumbled to herself, wrapping an around around William’s shoulder and covering his mouth with her skirts as she guided him through the thick smoke.

The smoke cleared, a fresh breeze from an open window giving them a reprieve.

“Big wardrobe,” she told Melfa, gesturing to the place where the belongings would be found.

She stared at the guard, expression twisting in fascination.

“Huh. If you throw him out the window, he’ll live.” Fascinating.

 

[Asemir]

Last door on the left.

Locked.

Big wardrobe, said the little nun through the smoke. Melfa blinked glinting yellow eyes at her in curiosity.

Huh, if you throw him out the window, he'll live.

"Key," growled Melfa, giving him a shake.

"Geh-" said the guard in Melfa's grasp, "d-don't."

"KEY."

"D-don't have it-" he squeaked in reply, lip trembling as Melfa lifted him back into her gaze, giving a glance at the aforementioned window, "please d-don't."

She didn't. Instead she slammed him bodily through the wooden door and made her own key. No smoke in there, yet, so the Komodo quickly set to work finding her things. They'd left her in her under layers, which hadn't been much but Komodi were not known for being modest creatures. Armor, leather trappings, and layers of what appeared to once have been high-quality material were pulled on and pieced together. Despite her claws she handled them with fine-tuned clarity and skill.

The last things she laid claim to were ornamental metal pieces - not quite armor, not quite jewelry - that affixed around her neck, arms, and tail, and a very large and well-used broadsword in its sheath.

Melfa touched nothing else despite there being plenty of valuable loot sitting about the room. She turned to the nun and her companions with a nod, "We go."

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"Well, you do look like you could take on a small army," Jeriah said with a respectful nod. She also looked like she might cost as much as one too. Typically there was an upfront fee but the team on any particular scheme took a share of the profits.

Not all gambles paid off. A lesson he had learned the hard way. Repeatedly, because he could be quite stubborn. If they parted company then then it was on to the next way of making cash, with or without some heavy muscle.

Jeriah was stepping backwards from the komodi now. Carefully stepping over the unconscious and possibly never-conscious without even looking.

"Now we have a hiding place in the city on account of the fact that we were hear to break free a very dear friend. A friend we find has unfortunately expired. Perhaps such a thing would be of interest and maybe an offer of work?" Jeriah explained.

Spotting a slender knife on the ground just before a turning, he dropped to one knee to collect it. Better to look unarmed but have some kind of weapon to threaten with.

There was a loud schnick above his head. Jeriah looked up at the length of a basic short word that had embedded in the corner of the wall above his head. It would have taken his head clean off if he hadn't dropped to a knee.

Jeriah followed the dull blade back to the face of a guardsman so young he was covered in pimples.

Jeriah stood up, placing a hand on the blade, which refused to come free of the stone. The young guard looked back at Jeriah, then towards Melfa.

"I'd fuck off if I were you," said Thackett. The moment the guard's hands came off the stuck sword Jeriah grabbed his head and slammed it into the corner of the wall. Not as robust as a sword, the guard dropped quite immediately afterwards.

 

[William de Courcey]

William felt like pulling some of his hair out and screaming at the sky. Once, just once, he'd like for a plan they made to actually work rather than it ending with some dazzling improvisational skills and panicked genius by the skin of their teeth.

They reached a spot where fresh air still blew in. Coughing to clear his throat, he detached himself from Hera, catching his breath. She was directing the komodi about with no sign of fear, what did she know that they didn't?

He flinched at the first crash. The titaness had decided to use the guard as her key, smashing her way into the wardrobe. Eager to retrieve her belongings, she let the guard drop. A cry came from behind them but Jeriah missed being skewered. The guard went out like a light when he slammed his skull off the wall. William gave him a kick to the ribs just for good measure.

"I think that's our cue to fuck off as well". He went to the window to give it a look. "Out here or through the doors?"

 

[Hera]

To answer, Hera pushed him as he looked out again.

A full two seconds later, a splash could be heard. She grinned.

“Mindful of boats!” She chirped, hitching up her nunnery and jumping out right after him. She landed unharmed into a river that hugged the back end of the prison. The water was deep here. The only way into the prison was a barge closed off and not in use.

 

[Asemir]

A blink and silence followed the two figures out the window, flickering towards the door at the sound of yelling and the rise of an angry roar. It was getting hotter yet and the smoke had begun to fill the room. Not much time left to make an exit.

Melfa snorted, armored tail lashing as she took two great strides towards Jeriah, reached for him and grabbed the man by the scruff of his clothing.

"Now you" the vice grip gave him no room to protest as she yanked him over to the window and promptly shoved him out through it.

She waited for the splash then clambored through the opening and dropped like a boulder into the waters between the others. Komodi weren't bad swimmers but they weren't exactly amphibious. With her bulk and the weight of her armor combined, Melfa sank better than she floated. She resurfaced somewhere close to the embankment with a bubbling snarl.

 

[William de Courcey]

Half leaning out as he was, Hera just needed to give it a bit of force to send William plummeting out the window. The scream didn't last long before the sound of a splash came. A spluttering William surfaced, clawing at the surface to get his head above water.

Another splash came as Hera dropped. Then he saw a larger shape coming and he frantically swam to clear the landing zone. He coughed up some of the moat water, he wouldn't be shitting right for a few days.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

"No, no! There's no need to..." Thackett protested anyway. There was nothing he could do about the Komodo's powerful grip. Not anymore. The window swallowed him. His stomach lurched upwards, his eyes clenched shut both because of the sudden bright light and because he didn't want to watch the water rising to meet him.

It felt very much like being struck across the back with a club. The air rushed out of his lungs and it took all his will not to replace it with water. The clergy robes spread out, tangled his limbs and tugged downwards as he kicked for the surface.

"Keep near the banks!" he called out. "The safehouse is... Not far down... The river."

Easier said than done. His heavy robes were soaked through now and they needed to draw as little attention as possible. A glance at Melfa drawing herself up out of the water painted that notion in a poor light.

 

[Hera]

Hera laughed and splashed at them all. “There, now no one loses an ear!” She grinned, kicking off and swimming down the bank without any assistance.

At the dock by the safe house, Hera emerged from the water in nothing but her knickers. Which really, once soaking wet, was as good as nothing at all. She walked in a good twenty feet, being sure to hold the shocked gaze of the shoppers, before letting her legs give way to the ground. From the distance the others would witness crying. Pleading. Oh, and a riveting account of being kidnapped and held far away at sea.

There was little reason for people to look away from the spectacle. Little reason to notice several more wet forms trudging behind it all.

It was when it was time for the giant lizard to walk through that the spectacle got really fun.

“They’ll hurt me if they find me! They’ve done it before!” The knickers went up, the under shift held up to her chin to reveal a ropey scar across her bared chest. “You have to protect me from the pirates!”

Pirates were not how she got that one.

 

[Asemir]

Melfa would have liked to see someone try to cut one of her ears off. Her horns had begun to grow into them years ago - nothing short of a sawblade would slice through that. The komodo swam as best she could, following the smaller figure of Hera along the deeper banks of the river. She'd likely be the last to reach the docks and heaved herself out with as much grace and delicacy as an ornery alligator.

Water-logged clawed feet carried her after the figures of the two men, a spare glance given towards the wailing woman as her show reached climactic proportions. Melfa cringed, flicking her tail to rid it of excess water before trudging past. In the wilds anything wailing like that would be eaten in a heartbeat.

Claws scraped along cobble and woodboards, keeping a distance from the heels of Jeriah and William as they entered an old inn through the southern door. There was no lingering about or stopping to order a pint, but instead soggy steps carried them upwards to the second floor and down the hall to the room at the back. Stooping as she followed, Melfa braced against the top of the doorframe with one hand as she ducked into the room after them.

The room was smallish, furnished with two medium sized beds, a table, and two very rickety looking chairs. She opted not to take her chances with any of it and instead moved towards the back where a large wooden chest sat in a corner where she promptly set herself down and began unstrapping her armor again with a narrowed eye at the men.

"Why does holy man and smol girl need Melfa?" oh yes, she remembered the job offer back during all the hulabaloo. Komodi often spoke plainly and brokenly, but they were keen creatures and not easily fooled.

 

[William de Courcey]

Feeling like a drowned rat, William trudged into the room with squelching steps. He shivered, soaked to the skin and sodden. The room they'd managed to get had seemed small at the time. The presence of the giant Komodi made it feel all the smaller. The stout wooden chest seemed to groan in pain as the monster settled down her bulk.

Hera's distraction had made it easy for the three of them to slip out of the water unnoticed. William had lingered to gawk until Jeriah had grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

The creature spoke. William opened his mouth and promptly shut it again. "This is your problem" he muttered to Jeriah. He slipped past and knelt by the fireplace, grabbing some kindling and tinder. He bustled himself with starting a fire before he froze to death. Jeriah and Hera could deal with the monster lizard before it ate them.

A miserable sneeze. A groan followed at the pain in his ribs. The gaoler had done a right number on him and he'd not even had a thank you yet from the others.

 

[Jeriah Thackett]

Jeriah only allowed himself a brief gawk of his own before pulling William along. The distraction afforded the three of them enough time to make it indoors. What he wasn't sure about was how Hera was going to get away from the crowd and get after them. She always seemed to have a way of getting by.

"I'm not a holy man," Thackett replied to Melfa. There was a touch of venom in his declaration. A story that was not going to be told. He regained his composure, smiling as he stood before Melfa.

"I did not want to make too many assumptions, but you did rather easily deal with the guards and appear to own a set of armour. Myself and my noble vagrants like to make money. Making money requires a range of talents. We were in that goal because one of our talented number ended up behind bars. As much as it saddens me to find that he died from mistreatment, we do need another member who has...more of a talent for destruction."

 

[Asemir]

If Melfa had any inkling at all that the half-orc who died of infection from her bite had been their comrade in arms it did not show. She didn't, but it likely wouldn't have mattered to her anyways. What was one dead half-orc compared to a noose? Or worse, a sword to the back of the neck.

The komodo didn't fear death, but she would much rather find her end going down in a brilliant blaze of fire and bloodshed. She was descendant of great Komodi warriors, after all. Being such a long, long, long way away from her more recent post ... well, being a hired thug didn't sound too bad.

Melfa nodded, "Melfa can do this," and offered Jeriah a giant four-digited, clawed hand to shake.