Fable - Ask No Way Out

[Gale]

In an instant everything became chaotic.

A blur of motion saw a spear fly and miss. Weapons drawn and a gash on the man's face. Aeyliea hadn't been injured, at least not yet, as far as the Obanese woman could tell. She surged forward to defend her co-escapee knowing that everything they had done came down to this moment. It was kill or be killed now.

She drew her shovel and the metal part of it blocked a lunge by the formerly sleeping guard. Everything had just gone belly up and Gale swung her shovel wildly in an attempt to disarm the guard. This gambit proved unsuccessful and the opposing guard held firm to her blade before striking out at Gale this time. A quick motion backwards saw the blade strike through nothing more than open air.

Gale summoned the pebbles from her pocket and they flew forwards though with not enough velocity to do more than distract the guard before her.

With that distraction she charged the other woman, moving her shovel towards the guard's weapon hand and succeeding this time in disarming her. However, Gale's own shovel was loosened from her fingertips and went flying against the wall. Undeterred she kept her pace and tackled the guard to the ground.

A few swift punches to the pinned woman's face followed until the guard she had subdued kicked at Gale's side and flipped the geomancer over. Now it was Gale's turn to feel a full forced punch to the cheek. She only allowed one to bruise her though before Gale was reaching up and grabbing the other guard by her dangling black hair. She pulled, hard, until the guard let out a scream. As the two women grappled all over the floor Gale just hoped that Aeyliea was having better luck with her opponent.

 

[Aeyliea]

And so press she did. From the first terrible moments after the realization that she'd missed it had already been decided what her method would be to survive this: get the spear back. She could fight with a knife if she had to, and with a sword if it came to it, but she was lethal with that short spear in hand.

The only problem was that there was a man between her and it. It lay on the ground where it had fallen after grazing the woman who was even now engaged with her unwilling companion. There was no time to pay attention to that fight, though. She had her own to worry about.

Aeyliea darted forward, twisting away from the blade being leveled at her. The warden seemed competent enough with his weapon, but he was definitively disadvantaged by the fact that he had a companion in this tight space. It gave her the advantage, temporarily at least. She slipped past him, but could not avoid the leg sweep that followed the stroke. She tripped and went down, rolling away instinctively as steel struck sparks from the stone floor.

She came up a moment later like a cat, spear held in hand halfway down the short haft, spinning to face him properly. Aeyliea moved in like a striking viper, using speed and agility instead of strength.

She drew herself short at the last moment, just before she came into range, and the expected half-stroke came. She leaned away from it sinuously, then whipped back into a forward rush. Her opponent was not a complete idiot, though, and she should have seen the feint. Should have remembered she didn't have a shield either, and she went to block the sudden thrust with a shield that was not there. She hissed in pain as the sword cut across the top of her left arm, the tip piercing her right breast. Blood flew, but as bad as the hit looked, the blade failed to get any further than the fatty tissue of said breast. It hurt abominably, though. With a cry of pain, she delivered a dozen quick, short stabs to the man's torso. The chain mail took a hit, and another, and then the sound and feel of popping links and more blood was flying through the air, but this time it was not hers.

The man died on her spear a moment later, a foot of steel sliding between his ribs, blood bursting from his mouth.

She did not stop there. Gliding forward, the throb in her chest and arm starting to grow, she came upon the other woman. She left the spear behind, bound in the flesh and armor of the man she had just killed, and switched the knife from the numb fingers in her left hand to her right. It was difficult, but she took hold of the woman rolling around on the floor when the opportunity presented itself, awkwardly pulled back the dark hair, and cut her throat without a word. hot blood spilled forth, covering the savage's hands, spilling across Gale in a hot tide.

Aeyliea let the woman drop from nerveless finger, and fell back, pressing her shoulders into the stone and clutching her arm, blood seeping through her fingers and spilling down her front in a tide that turned the filthy shift she wore a muddy red.

 

[Gale]

Gale coughed up the blood of the woman she had be wrestling with seconds prior. Wiping the excess from her eyes and cheeks. She spun her head around to whip some of the viscera from her sandy hair.

"Damn lass," she coughed out, "that was fuckin' brutal. I appreciate the assist though." Gale rose to her feet and brushed some of the dirt off her rough trousers. She had a bit of blood seeping off her elbow, simple scrape during the fight, and her jaw hurt from the punch she had taken.

But then her doeskinned eyes locked onto Aeyliea's gash and she questioned, "you ok there? Just a grazing wound or is it serious?" The last thing they needed was to stop now for rest. She'd likely do it, if not for a brief moment, as it was the least she could do for the fellow prisoner who just helped fell that she-witch she was in combat with.

But it wasn't ideal. They needed to keeping going.

"I'll check the big guy for keys," she announced right as she began rifling through the man's belongings. On his wrinkled leather belt she found a keyring attached via a small piece of metal that snapped off simple enough. There were a dozen or so keys and she figured, or hoped, that at least one of 'em would unlock the door ahead.

First thing's first though she headed over towards the far wall to retrieve her shovel, picking up and tucking it back behind her torso. Then she fumbled around with the keys until she found two that appeared the appropriate size for the keyhole in the large bronze door that kept them in this wing.

The initial key was a no-go. Fit into the hole but wouldn't turn. Second key was like a glove, it twisted and knocked the tumblers out of place, signaling a hopeful click. "You ready to press on or you need a sec?" She asked before pushing the door open.

 

[Aeyliea]

She steadied her hammering heart. It only took a few precious moments, but they were moments they did not have to spend. That had been close, a hands breadth away from piercing her like a carp. She shook her head in negation to her companion, and left the woman to deal with the gate.

She herself flexed the fingers in her left hand and went white from the pain. They did not work as well as they should have, but the slice through the meat of her art had not severed any tendons, blessedly. Still, a great deal of blood flowed, and she could feel the dizziness of that threatening to come on. Working as quickly and as best she could, in the circumstances, she tore a wide strip of the filthy linen she wore and then wound it around the cut. She tried not to think of the gleaming pink-white she could see through it until it was wound as tightly as she dared. Blood already seeped through, but there was nothing to be done about that.

Wobbling a little, she looked at the woman she had killed. She was of a similar build, similar enough anyway. She pulled the chain vest and blood-soiled shirt off her, and her trousers as well, and then stripped naked in the hallway, donning her appropriated clothes. She took a moment to examine where she had been pierced in the chest; it was a minor wound at worst.

She turned as the other woman was opening the door, retrieved her knife, the belt, and her makeshift spear. "No time," she said thickly. She started forward a bit unsteadily. Blood dripped from her dangling left arm, but she had the spear in right hand, ready to go again. "Lead, this time you should," she added gruffly.

 

[Gale]

Well, her co-captive appeared well enough to don chainmail and was willing to press on. That was good enough for Gale, they didn’t have the luxury of waiting around.

Her fingers clenched around the knob, twisting slowly until the door gave way and she cautiously fell into it. Peeking at first with her sullen brown eyes. This next area was dimmer, faint light scribbled the ceiling and corners of the wall from a few sconces.

The next thing she noticed was the smell. Feces. It was nearly overpowering and caused one hand to close at her nostrils. The gesture proved to no avail as the foul odor continued to penetrate her senses.

”Dear god.”

This room was massive, a long rectangular shape with a large door at the end, and the walls were lined with cages. Cages filled with exotic animals, fight dogs, and any other non-humans the scoundrels running this operation thought they could profiteer from. One of the cages rang out as the odd looking bird inside squawked.

Gale wasn’t really sure if they just keep moving or start banging these prisons open.

 

[Aeyliea]

The savage offered Gale a sickly sneer, eyes ranging the room and taking in all the penned and caged animals. "The Wild, it does not hear the words of you," she said in her thickly accented traders' tongue. She did not mention that her own words were being ignored by the unfathomable being that represented the deified persona of nature itself. That was a bitter truth that she kept to herself.

She pushed past into the room. The fecal odor was not as bad, in her mind, as the sharp reek of ammonia. It was difficukt to be bothered with something as innocuous as smells with the abominable throb in her arm. It had grown greatly the more she favored it and held it immobile,until every heartbeat sent a stab of pain up her arm. She ignored it with increasing difficulty.

What were all these wild things gathered here for? The thought flitted through her head as she made her way through the room. Most of these animals were predators, quite a few familiar to her. A pair of great Savannah cats - drothkara in her native tongue, which translated to silent lightning - paced in a cage, their hides scarred. Great yellow eyes regarded them hungrily, low sounds in their throat offering menace. There were also wolves,larger than the fighting dogs. Other things, great claw-footed lizards and the flightless birds of the drier grasslands.

None of them interested the No'rei. She tried to commune with the Wild again, and for a change she could sense its presence here...but the wild things did not respond kindly to her intrusion. The cats yowled and the dogs growled low in their throats, the other animals stirred in agitation or anger. Shocked, the tribal shaman stopped calling to the Wild. She had paused in her forward progress, but stood there with evident shock on her features, easy to read. She quickly wiped that look away and continued as if nothing had happened.

The door at the far end was not locked,and so she pressed her head against it, listening carefully. Her blood dripped a slow cadence from her left elbow, as she had fold that arm up and thrust her hand into her right armpit.

Nothing from beyond. She slowly opened the door a crack, and immediately closed it again silently. She had caught sight of not only one,but at least half a dozen men and women in chain, armed and moving. She realized, again, that she had no idea where the Vel Aniri had taken her after the mockery of a trial, and this whole place made little sense to her.

"Many people," she whispered, backing from the door. "Have idea?"

 

[Gale]

Briefly, very briefly, there was a ruckus among the creatures in cages. Yalps and yowls rang out before abruptly being put to rest. She was unsure what had caused it but as suddenly as it had arrived it seemed to leave.

It was sad. Even for someone like her.

Gale didn't care much for other people, particularly non-humans, and there wasn't very many sympathetic bones in her body. But something about seeing all these little critters encaged against their will. Knowin' they had no concept of what was goin' on or why. It hurt in a way that she couldn't really described.

And after Aeyliea had cracked the door and mentioned the next room was filled with adversaries her brain started to swirl. The semblance of what might've been an awful idea marinated inside of her head.

"Maybe we start a ruckus."

Examining the locks on the cages she reckoned that she could knock a bunch of 'em off. They were frail enough for a swift strike with her shovel or maybe a couple of sturdy rocks propelled by her geomancy. They just had to hope for two things. First, that the caged beasts were hungry enough to attack. Second, that the animals would go after their captors before they went after Aeyliea or Gale.

She looked her fellow escapee up and down before verbalizing her idea, "what if one of us runs in there, we lure as many of them guards back into this here room and then," she smile and slammed a fist into an open palm, "we free a few of these critters and let 'em feast."

It was crazy. It wasn't well thought out. There were about a dozen things that could go wrong.

It was exactly the kind of plan that Gale loved.

 

[Aeyliea]

She was silent for a moment, working through the woman's words, visibly repeating them under her breath. She looked at her unwilling companion, and shook her head slowly. "Is plan, but maybe have better," she said. She recalled the reaction of all the animals in here when she had reached out to the Wild, and wondered if it would work better if instead of drawing the enemy in here, she drew the wild things outside. They had reacted to her shamanistic abilities, even though she had not been doing anything at the time.

It was all a gamble. Life was a gamble, though, and any fight worth fighting was as much of one. "Unlock cages, unlatch, but leave closed. A plan have," she said.

And then she waited while the other went about and did the legwork, preparing herself. Blood dripped, but it was finally slowing. A blessing, then, that she would not continue to weaken for the moment. She held up the spear and looked at it disconsolately. It was an inadequate weapon to fight anything with...but it was all she had.

That, and her wits.

She went to the door, and stood against it, not opening it yet. And then, hesitantly, she called out to the Wild with her spirit, the spirit of the No'rei. Nothing answered, at first, but as soon as she had reached out into the Prim, the animals became restless again. They raised a ruckus, pacing in their cages or throwing themselves at the bars - at Aeyliea, though they could not reach her.

No answering call from the Wild. But something answered, a discordant note that rippled through the Prim like an abscess, foul. Only when the abomination had appeared did the Wild answer, and clenching her teeth to stop from vomiting from the spectral stench of rot, the No'rei threw the door open and burst into the room.

Which was not a room. The stars gleamed in a cloudless sky, the smaller moon rising in the sky to bathe the world in its sickly, pale light. "Now!" she shouted. The spectral rot grew stronger, the abomination stalking closer, seeking the pillar of spiritual light, the bonfire of material power. And something that clung to her soul stirred in anticipation, calling forth in its own aberrant voice, crooning and calling the thing closer.

In the yard beyond the door, a shocked moment where all of the armed men and women stood still, the world's collective breath held.

And then pandemonium descended.

 

[Gale]

So, Gale had realized awhile ago that her fellow inmate was a bit of a loose cannon. A wild child. A crazy gal who started mayhem and asked questions later. And she liked it, it reminded her of herself.

But this? This was something else. She just ran out into the open with who knows how many of them and hoped that Gale would pull through. Maybe she had some other plan, Gale could barely parse what was happening out there. She doubted it, but, you never knew.

Regardless, this sort of ‘plan’ was exactly what she liked. Pure, unadulterated, chaos.

”Just a sec Aey.”

Closing her eyelids she focused in spite of the cries of the rabid creatures around her. Stones lifted from the ground, loosened from the walls, and strewn in from outside. Then, in a flurry, they all rushed towards the crude locks that kept the cages tightly shut.

The first few that opened saw the beasts within stare in shock for a moment before taking a cautious step forward. The other caged animals watched in amusement and resulted in the next several that swung wide being abandoned without any sense of carefulness.

With a rabid intensity they bolted outwards, surrounding the men and women who had encased them. It would’ve been glorious to behold. Gale would’ve had the widest grin she’d managed in weeks.

Unfortunately, the hyena that had cornered her and was baring its teeth had her full undivided attention.

 

[Aeyliea]

A moment, a drawn and held breath - difficult with the spectral stench that only she could smell, as her call to the Wild remained unheeded, but the effect of...well, whatever it was took hold of the animals. Aeyliea did not pretend to understand what or why, only using it as a weapon in the only way she could figure.

Some of the men and women in the courtyard were not dense, and one or two peeled off to go and give warning. And then some approached Aeyliea, drawing weapons. There were too many of them for her, in her current state, to have any hope of walking away whole and intact, and so she readied herself for the fight of a lifetime-

-as animals poured into the courtyard. Coming straight for her. With a gasp and a sickening lurch of her stomach, she abandoned her attempt to reach the Wild. The effect was immediate; the rabid, enraged yowling and snapping of teeth, the headlong rush to attack and destroy the wielder of the magic that drove them to madness - all of it ceased, suddenly. Dozens of animals suddenly came back to themselves, aware now that they were in the open, under the sky. In among people, many of whom they were aware of in only one way: the whip hand.

Gale did not appear from the doorway, and Aeyliea, cursing, dove back into the building, each footfall a sickening stab of pain in her arm and chest. The animals outside went wild. Some fled immediately, but some of them attacked the humans nearest to them. There were enough predators out there that any thought of the escapee was easily forgotten in the mad melee, and the screams of men and woman being mauled by wild beasts echoed into the sky.

For her part, Aeyliea followed the sound of the growling hyena, coming up short on the other side of the beast as it snapped at Gale. It was a pitifully easy situation for the woman with the spear to deal with; the animal died on a foot of sharpened steel, snapping at the haft of the weapon as it died.

"Must go, go," she said hurriedly. "Are busy, but not for long." She suited her own words, and headed back to the door and the bedlam in the courtyard.

 

[Gale]

Gale blinked rapidly as she processed that the threat before her had just been killed. By Aeyliea. Now she was urging her to get moving.

”Don’t gotta tell me twice.”

The sandy haired woman moved towards the door, squinting in the light as they crossed the threshold into the outside. She allowed only half a second to take in the smell of dirt and grass. Fresh, cool, air sweeping across her arms. It felt like freedom.

She turned and ran from the carnage as quickly as her legs could carry her. Glancing behind occasionally to ensure that her fellow escapee was keeping up.

The geomancer allowed a few words to croak out of her mouth, ”so far so good,” she said as her voice strained over the sound of screams and animalistic grunts.

It was finally looking up for the pair.

 

[Aeyliea]

She burst through the door behind the other woman, blocking a crazed swing of someones sword - she never saw who it was, and didn't care - before spinning away. Images of the courtyard assailed her as she did; some kind of mountain cat with several gaping wounds, fat and bone visible through rents in its hide, circling a man, no, a boy with nothing but a shield in on hand and his own wound, a leg opened to the bone. Neither would survive. Around them, dead animals littered the ground, interspersed among dead bodies of men and women. The latter were far fewer in number than the former, and if Aeyliea had a heart for those caged wild creatures, she could shed no tears now for their sacrifice.

The way that Gale ran led to a door set in a wall. There was no way to know where anything went with no frame of reference to guide them, but any way that there were not recovering guards was better than nothing. Despite her injuries, which still troubled her, she quickly gained on and passed the other woman, and when she came to the door, she simply leapt in the air. Kicking with both feet, she shattered any mechanism meant to hold it shut and then they were through into another building and another corridor that ran off in either direction. There were no guards here, yet anyway, and Aeyliea shifted directions and ran right hard and fast, sweat flying from her brow, breath coming in short gasps as she went.

 

[Gale]

Aeyliea stormed past Gale and the Obanese woman found herself struggling to keep up. The primitive little savage was damn fast.

The seemingly empty building felt almost eerie after the chaos in the courtyard outside. Just ahead the white haired runner seemed to be making erratic turns towards the right as the sweat dripped off the tip of Gale's nose. She had the right idea, they needed to create space between them and the carnage they had just fled from, but at some point they'd need to slow down.

Plan ahead. Avoid running head first into a trap.

"Yo!" she said while reaching to tap at the other woman's shoulder, "I think we got ourselves enuff space 'tween them and us. Let's slow it down, think 'bout what we're doing."

She started to relent her pace a bit, feet tapping a bit slower on the cobbled floor below. "It's dark in here, real dark."

The bend just ahead curved to the left and cracks in the ceiling gave her the impression this place must've been built in a hurry. Those splits above allowed some of the sunlight to flow into the corridors which provided the only light source. Why was this wing in such a shoddy state compared to the rest of the compound?

 

[Aeyliea]

She slowed, but she did not really want to. She wanted to get out of this place, back into the open where she belonged. To her people, where she belonged...but most importantly, to the shamans. She had questions to ask of them that she had never thought to ask before, because she hadn't cared before. But then, she had not really encountered any of the things they warned of before, either.

She fell in beside the sandy-haired woman, her arm throbbing in time with her pounding heart. She flexed the fingers in that hand, and nearly vomited at the pain. She should have kept it limber, in case she needed it. Was too late to do anything about it now, though. Aeyliea was pragmatic about things, if nothing else.

Stone crunched underfoot as they continued deeper into the darkness. It was just light enough for the savage to see ahead, a little way at least. She wasn't so concerned about the darkness, though, or the state of the building. She was much more concerned with the feeling she was getting, now. "There....there is...," she began, but could not find the words in common to express herself properly. ["The air, it is thick with ancient power here,"] she continued in No'rei, the words flowing from her tongue much more smoothly than they could have had she been speaking in common. She did not know, or care, if the other woman could understand her.

She was speaking for herself, trying to feel the edges of the thing that she observed here. ["It is like the Wild, but unalike. Untamed, otherworldly..."] She shook her hair, loose braid swishing at the motion. "Demon," she said gruffly in common. She slowed down further as they went forward, gripping her weapon tight in hand.

What had started off looking like shoddy construction quickly became apparent for what it was: damage, caused by some outside force. With the stink of magic strong in the air, smelling like burning tin or copper, it was easy to understand what had caused the cracked walls and buckled floors. Dust still lingered in the air, so whatever had done it, while not immediate, had been recent. The No'rei stopped, suddenly. ["The Ancestral Spirits do not favor me,"] she muttered under her breath. She looked back the way they came, braid swinging, and shook her head. Perhaps it would be wise to turn back...but, then they might face something more certain than what lay ahead. Perhaps the demon had gone.

Aeyliea did not think it was so. The air was tight with the tension of a fight underway, somewhere further back in the building. It was only odd that there were not more people dealing with...well, whatever it was back here.

 

[Gale]

To her relief the other escapee complied with her request and started to slow. She heaved air deep into her lungs as the burn in her thighs and calves tugged at her muscles. This place was an absolute dump. Ruptured walls, charring, collapsing struts, and even the occasional smattering of blood.

Just complete disrepair. Disorderly and unprofessional if you asked Gale. In fact, had she been part of this little operation she’d have never let part of their hideout fall into this sad state.

”Uhh, I ain’t even gonna pretend to understand what ya just said.”

The savage was speaking her gibberish words again. Was super annoying that she’d just go on these tirades like that while Gale stood back stupefied as to what was goin’ on in her noggin. Eventually the guttural words stopped a single word in common was uttered.

“Demon.”

She stared at Aeyliea in bewilderment before asking, ”demon? What’re you on about?”

An answer would come almost immediately as the pathway opened up and the duo found themselves staring at a grizzly sight. A hold in the roof and crumbled concrete in one of the corners. Three bodies strewn along the ground with their innards seeping out like a ragged old doll’s stuffing. Magic did this. Some kinda forceful telekinesis or construction magic for sure.

Gale chewed on her lower lip, ”hot damn… we needa get outta here.”

 

[Aeyliea]

Aeyliea nodded in agreement at the statement. She wished to be anywhere other than here, right now; the taste of magic in the air made each breath difficult, the flavor of said magic being rancid in its own way. She stared at the dead with the disinterest of someone who has seen their share of dead bodies, and looked ahead. The passage had indeed widened, and quickly opened into a vaulted space that was considerably better lit than the passage they had come down. Windows, high overhead, let in shafts of sunlight, and motes of dust freshly disturbed danced like fae-folk in those brilliant beams.

A banister of stone encircled that broad space, and the floor fell away to a lower level. Aeyliea approached it cautiously, and had to throw herself flat as a sound like fabric being ripped in half echoed through the space, and the floor beneath their feet jumped. A jagged tear in the stonework where Aeyliea had just been was only just visible through the plume of dust, chips of stone and grit spraying away from the edge.

"Do not think that I did not see you, you wretch," came a voice from down below. It held an almost bored cadence to it, as though this were a job that it were doing and nothing more. It was impossible to tell if it was male or female; it sounded young. "Do me a favor and stop running, and then we can be done with this tiresome affair."

["Fornicate with a goat, you harpy-headed bastard,"] she swore at the speaker in her native tongue, the vehemence getting across the sentiment better than the words ever could have. She sat up, rubbing at her shins where several chips of stone had cut her as they flew past.

"...and that is not who I expected to hear," said the voice. "Show yourself, and accept my apology if it is due," the young voice continued.

Aeyliea spit grit from her mouth, muttered some more profanity, grabbed Gale by the arm, and began to run round the gallery. They did not have time fo-

Another ripping sound, and Aeyliea caught the brief vision of the androgynous youth - for it was a youth - slashing down with their hand, and some kind of force blasting out in a wave. It cut into the ceiling, sending chunks of stone falling and dust and gravel flying through the air.

"Suit yourself," the youth said grimly.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck....

 

[Gale]

Gale watched in horror as Aeyliea was nearly thrown aside by whatever magic that was before the primal woman grabbed the geomancer by the arm and began to attempt to run.

It was far too late though as the man... or was it a woman... whoever it was used some kind of magic to send a blast of kinetic energy towards the ceiling. It crashed just above their heads and Gale had just a few seconds to instinctively react. Her own magic surged to action, suspending the majority of the stone and gravel just overhead long enough for her and Aeyliea to sidestep the falling rubble.

The youth stepped outwards, dressed in combat gear of Anirian make. They had a clean face which wore a dirty smirk. The Obanese woman glared at their attacker before recognizing an insignia across their belt. They were a Dreadlord, supposedly some of the most fearsome warriors from Vel Anir. She'd never met one, and had hoped never to meet one, but here they were.

A neutral giggle escaped the person's lips before they remarked, "my, my, impressive little parlor trick there."

"We was just uh, leaving so," she said before the Dreadlord cut her off.

"What's the rush?"

Before any further words could be spoken a second wave of mystic force sprinted towards the duo. It hit Gale square in the gut, sending her flying backwards. Her back collided with the wooden wall behind her in a loud thud as she fell downwards. The sandy-haired treasure hunter gasped at air from the onslaught.

Meanwhile the fighter from Vel Anir brandished a double bladed axe as he eyed the other escapee.

 

[Aeyliea]

["This is about as much of this as I can take,"] the savage said as she watched the nasty counter from the boy, or girl, or whatever it was. She was already moving again, spear gripped tightly in hand. She felt completely out of her depth here, and the worst thing was she did not even know what it was she face. She had, of course, heard of the Dreadlords, but had never actually met one.

Her charms. She still carried several of them, but she did not know the efficacy of them against...well, whatever it was she was facing. The shriek of the air, tortured by whatever it was that the kid did when they slashed their hand through the air, made her duck; banister shattered, the floor jump, and a fresh spray of stone fragments struck her back. "All you are going to do is wear yourself out, ladies." A giggle, almost girlish and not entirely sane, escaped their tormentor. "Not that I am one to turn down free sport."

The floor disappeared beneath Aeyliea, and her stomach lurched as gravity, realizing she had escaped its clutches for a moment, came back to its senses and pulled her down. The telltale shriek had only preceded that by a moment.

She hit the ground hard, a sickening wave of pain washing over her as she landed on the bad side. Fresh blood welled beneath the dirty rag as she rolled back up, a little slower than she had got there. She still clutched her spear like it was some kind of talisman, white-knuckled grip at strong odds with the bronze of her skin. She spun to face the Dreadlord, in a stance to fight...or...

...in communion with the Wild. The madness that stalked her was still there, but for now she was calling on the protective spirit within the charms she carried. So many of them had been shattered but a handful remained. The Dreadlord paused a moment, considering the No'rei with dark eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "What is this, pet? A new trick?"

The ripping sound again, but instead of a single crunching, tearing sound, there were two. Aeyliea staggered backward several steps, fresh blood dripping from her nose. The floor before her was scarred, and to either side of her the dust was clearing. She could feel the breaking of one of her charms, overwhelmed by the power of the Wild and the countering of...whatever that was.

She darted forward, attacking. The Dreadlord, for their part, did not seem to be surprised by this despite having their attack deflected, and that wicked axe licked out at a target that turned out to be much faster than she appeared. Her spear tasted their blood, but the reward for lancing an arm was a point-blank blast of whatever it was, and it sent the white-haired woman rolling across the floor to land in a heap against the wall of the lower floor. Despite the hit, the Dreadlord did not look angry, surprised, or even really appear to care. They looked at the blood drooling down their forearm as if it were a strange animal, and then looked to Aeyliea.

"That hurt. Why did you do that to me?' They cracked a huge smile, and it was not friendly at all. "I have to return the favor. Yes, must return it, it is only polite." And they began to advance on Aeyliea, spinning their axe idly.

 

[Gale]

Gale hacked out a few wicked coughs as she tried to catch her breath. That blast had knocked so much air from her lungs that she was surprised she hadn't passed out. Struggling back to her feet she saw bright spots of light enveloping the corners of her vision.

A hand pressed against the wall to steady herself while another hand grabbed at her aching head. More coughs erupted from her mouth and she rasped in air. That fucking Dreadlord was going to know a whole new world of pain if Gale had her way.

Rapid blinks gave way to a clearer picture to all the commotion her ears had overheard. She saw the young assailant pacing towards Aeyliea who looked to be pinned down, fresh blood pouring from her wound.

Not good. Gale had started to grow a bit fond of the wild woman and she figured her chances of not dying got a lot worse if this became a solo escape.

Concentration lead to a furrowed brow as the stone above the youth dislodged itself and collapsed atop his head. Wasn't a lethal strike but it was the most she could muster from across the room in her current state.

"Sorry 'bout that little one," she said with a marked satisfaction.

The genderless figure turned and glared back at the tanned skin woman before remarking, "that's all? You're just going to drop a few stones gently on my head?"

Just as they had finished speaking a jagged rock impacted his cheek, leaving a bright red indentation where it had struck. The geomancer liked that particularly strategy, let gravity do a bit of distracting before landing a harsh blow with one of her stones. Made her proud she had thought that quickly to buy Aeyliea a bit of time and...

"Oof!"

The reaction forced its way out of her still heaving lungs as another of those blasts pounded into her, this time right at the center of her gut. Not strong enough to fling her backwards but enough to drop her down to her knees.

Enraged the Anirian warrior walked forward and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her brown eyes to gaze upon his sinister scowl. "You're going to die very, very, slowly for that one," the androgynous kid said through gritted teeth while blood rushed down his cheek.

Then the pain started. At first it was just a drag of his axe across her upper arm. Then another, and another. This kid was strong and despite her struggle she could get away as he hacked at her flesh.

All Gale could do was scream.

 

[Aeyliea]

A lurid sky.

The No'rei picked herself up from the ground, blood drooling from her nose and lips, dripping from her arm. But there was no pain, not here. The world seemed washed out, faded as though viewed through a charcoal lens. All around, the swirling essence of the Prim floated through the air, blobs of inky black of varying sizes that drifted through her and the environment as though completely insubstantial.

She looked at her hands, and then looked ahead. A storm of darkness swirled around the Dreadlord, and a lesser storm circled the figure of Gale as the former exchanged blows with that axe, a flurry of steel. The storm around the Dreadlord increased in intensity, almost as if the androgynous shape were calling it to them.

A lurid sky. But how could there be a sky inside a building? Lightning flickered overhead all the same.

You must be careful.

The No'rei snapped her head to the left, and then the right, seeking the voice. There was no one there but herself, the Dreadlord, and the other escapee. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"?" She asked, without word or deed. A chuckle flitted through this ethereal world.

Strike at the power. You are not strong enough to wield this, yet, that disembodied voice said, haunting and echoing. And then it was gone.

Aeyliea blinked. The world was normal again, the piercing shriek of Gale cutting through any hesitation or confusion at shifting from the Immaterium to the physical world. She sagged for a moment, head swimming, and then straightened. Blood was thick in the air, her breathing labored as her nose swelled up, blood dripping so that she tasted blood.

She gripped the spear in hand, and called out to the Wild again. Whatever it was that had been stalking close before was still there, but had retreated. She could sense frustration coming from that ethereal presence, and she wondered if it was that which had spoken to her. Didn't matter, the advice had been sound. Now, to figure out how to achieve it.

Aeyliea rushed forward silently, each step eliciting a stab of pain in her arm. She pulled on the wild power of nature, and formed of it a lance in her mind that mirrored the real one in her hands. And then she set out to deal with the Dreadlord.

Who whirled around, dancing sideways to avoid the first thrust and put themselves out of reach from Gale, countering with a half-swing of his axe. Aeyliea danced back, sinuously avoiding it by mere inches. And then she struck at the Dreadlord again...except, this time she did not attack the Anirian directly. She struck at where she had recalled the swirling storm of the Prim having been, and gasped as she felt the immaterial lance sliced through something, drawing forth some of her own strength in the process. She ducked back a moment too late, maladroitly deflecting the swing of an axe with her spear. The haft sheared off a couple inches forward of her hand even as the Dreadlord screamed incoherently.

"What did you do? What did you do? How did you cut my magic away? WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The boy or girl - it was really quite impossible to tell - shrieked in rage and darted forward, getting serious for the first time.

This is where I die, she thought grimly, as she saw true fury in the eyes of her opponent as they dove forward, prepared to cut her to pieces. And then, glimmering mote of darkness, much like she'd seen before...

..she gasped, and threw herself away, just as the Dreadlord's eyes widened in surprise and they broke off the attack. Too late, though, as something pulled on her ever so slightly, drawing her close to a point that flared with light for a brief moment.

And then exploded.

The Dreadlord cried out as that powerful magic sent them sailing, and sent Aeyliea flying through the air again, shattered masonry flying through the air, burying itself in the flesh of her legs and her back and cracking stones all around her. She hit the ground, and rose up to hands and knees immediately, shaking from the overwhelming power of whatever it was that had just happened. She turned her head, more blood dripping, to look at the hole in the floor where the pair of them had been a moment before. Wild laughter echoed through the little chamber, coming from up above; a boy in ragged clothing clung to a stone pillar up high, laughing as if possessed.

And the Dreadlord was getting back up on the other side of the crater, half of her clothes ripped away, exposed chest awash in blood from multiple wounds. There was no mirth or casual derision on her features now; they were twisted in a rictus of rage.

["What the ever-loving fuck does it take to drop this bitch?"] She hissed thickly as she struggled to get to her feet again. They needed to get out of here, leave these two sorcerors to their duel, and just go.

 

[Gale]

Gale shut her lips tight as the sadistic little creature lacerated her flesh for the final time. Aeyliea had drawn him away and though she knew the danger was still there the Obanese woman allowed herself five seconds.

Five. Blood flowed off her arms and shoulders where the cretin had made his cruel little slashes.

Four. Gale unfastened her shovel, clenching it tightly in her right hand. She wasn’t going to be a victim again.

Three. Gritted teeth, a sob, and the back of her hand to wipe away the snot and tears.

Two. A boy with his own magic? Younger than their assailant and not necessarily a friend but, hey, enemy of my enemy.

One. Brown eyes found Aeyliea rising to her feet, the Dreadlord rising also. Both looked pissed.

Aeyliea said something in her mother tongue and Gale was pretty sure it meant, ‘let’s kill both of these kids.”

”This ain’t o’er,” she shouted in a voice full of wrath.

Leaping to both feet she flung an array of craggy rock at the Anirian who had mangled her exposed flesh. To her surprise, and amusement, it wasn’t deflected by his ferocious magic. Instead it collided with the wooden wall behind the Dreadlord as he deftly sidestepped. Teeth still gritted the sandy-haired woman threw all of her weight forward, swinging the shovel at the attacker.

It landed against the youth’s kneecap, creating a satisfying crunch until… until the ground slipped away. The boy overhead was using his magic, whatever it was, and both Gale and the Dreadlord tumbled downwards towards the lower level.

She crashed into a pile of paperwork and drawers. Into a room that looked like a library or study. The giggle of the boy echoed as the Dreadlord cursed loudly at his injured leg.

 

[Aeyliea]

This was getting out of hand, and doing so quickly. What had started out as an unexpected battle with someone they did not expect and certainly had no desire to fight had quickly exploded - literally - into a fracas with another entity. The boy on the ceiling stared murder down at those below him, glimmering motes of the Prim swirling around him as he drew on his power. Fire, to her eyes black as pitch and only after forming did it flare into brilliant, yellow-white light, stabbed down into the space below, and she watched as the fire licked out, the report of the blast sent Gale and the Dreadlord flying. Bits of stone and fragments of wood flew.

She couldn't help but notice, though, that the Dreadlord seemed to be the target of everything the lad on the ceiling was hurling at them, and that led her to the next plan: leave them to it.

The Dreadlord, still cursing at the injury done to her leg, picked herself up from the narrow miss from the boy up top, and slashed a hand in his direction. The now familiar sound of the world tearing apart was quickly followed with the shattering of stone.

Aeyliea too the moment to dart across to where Gale was getting up, wordlessly indicating they should leave the pair of wizards to it. Whatever she had done to the Dreadlord seemed to have faded, and they were now using their ability freely against the youth overhead.

 

[Gale]

There weren’t too many situations where Gale would run from a fight, especially after what that Dreadlord bastard had done to her. Carving at her skin like she was a whetstone. Unforgivable.

But, even she had to concede that this situation had become way too much. There wasn’t one magical little freak throwing spells at ‘em but two magical freaks. And the other kid was just causing explosions.

As the Anirian across from her moaned and seemed to struggle up the sandy-haired woman raised her gaze and caught Aeyliea’s gesture. Her face said it all, ‘we need to leave.’ Gale reached up a hand and grabbed her co-escapees as she hoisted herself up out of the crater.

The two mages began to hurl spells as the Obanese woman walked towards the hallway past this room, ”let’s get outta here,” she whispered to Aeyliea.

A few steps forward felt promising as it seemed the two hadn’t noticed their escape. At least, not yet.

 

[Aeyliea]

There was no need to speak, now. They were united of purpose now, and under the guise of the most simplistic and basic of needs: Survival. The tearing sound was followed by a staccato of short blasts as the two exchanged their sorcery against one another, and it was the focus on destroying the other that allowed them to make it out of that room.

There was no way the white-haired No'rei was going to be running anywhere, now, not with blood oozing out of the numerous wounds, all of which hurt abominably. She had developed a distinct limp as she moved down the corridor, left arm drawn in to her torso protectively.

Behind them, piercing, wild laughter echoed as something crashed to the floor, making the ground jump beneath their feet. That laughter had a hysterical bent to it, and could only come from the young female Dreadlord. There was no answering retort from the other mage, and then the haunting echo of her words as she - apparently - set about the other task. "Where did you go, my sweets?" she whispered in a reedy voice. Behind them, not terribly far but far enough that they could not see her. "There is nowhere to run that I cannot find you," she added.

["Goat-spawned demon,"] the No'rei muttered. "A way out, there must be," she drawled thickly, limping along gamely. "Can you feel it?"

 

[Gale]

Neither Aeyliea nor Gale were in much of a position to sprint. And it weren't exactly like they could just turn and fight neither. It was looking like they may be in a bind that just might prove fatal if the two weren't careful. From the calls of the female Dreadlord and the ruptures in the past room it seemed like the Dreadlord had come out on top and was now looking for the two prison getaways.

Seismic vibrations were something Gale could feel. But she wasn't sure if that was what the white-haired escapee was referring to or something else.

And as they hobbled down the hallway there was something to feel within the earth itself. This part of the fortress had made use of the natural rock and soil that it was built into. Based on how the soil and rock bent she assumed it was constructed into the side of a hill. Up ahead she danced her fingertips against the rugged cavern wall and closed her eyes.

"That way leads outside," she said pointing towards the left with eyes still closed. "It's a ways though, dunno if we'll get away from our pursuer."

She opened her eyes and looked towards Aeyliea. Blood trickled down her ally's torso just as it did against Gale's carved up arms. "Or we could hide."

The rockface opened up from Gale's magic, forming a small area the two could fit into. At least temporarily. She'd be able to seal it back up behind them and provide a place of refuge for the duo. But how long could they hide there? Was the Dreadlord able to sense them? Could he just blast a hole in it?

"What do you wanna do?" Realizing that common wasn't so easy for her new pal she made it a bit simpler. "Run? Hide?"