Fantasy Ballad of Renegades

[Goonfire]

GROUP 3
HAMMERFIST CITADEL

@AriAriAbabwa @escapist @Rohan​

---

The golem Hammerfist abruptly raised its head, staring at Maude with an intense and hateful gaze. "Ah, yes... Little Maude Beswick," he identified the bold convict before him. His voice was just like that of his mortal self, albeit amplified unpleasantly. "Three counts of murder... Now four, and you reject my gift." Hopping down from his pedestal, the runes on his new body glowed. As he landed, a shockwave rippled through the floor, stone bricks cracking under the stress. Tools vibrated and clattered to the ground all around the workshop.

"He's mad...!" the scribe declared, clinging to the workshop wall. "He'll bring down the entire citadel if he keeps that up!"

Meanwhile, the loud chime of an enormous gong resounded through the entire citadel. The entire place was on high alert.

The two male rebels led Jac'aal and Nadi through the caves. "They're not far behind," the deeper-voiced one assured the former. "We should be safe until they catch up. The waterway is just up ahead." Indeed, the sound of trickling water was audible at this point in the hewn dwarven passage. The heat of the citadel's sublevels also gave way to a refreshing, cool, and moist air.

"Fear not, for that is a flesh wound," the other assured Nadi. "We have a gentleman who wants to join you on the journey home. He's a marvelous medicine man, albeit... er, decrepit. Anyway, I suppose you wish to know the whats and the whys."

"The whos, as well, brother," the baritone dwarf grumbled. At that point, they removed their hoods, revealing their long, red hair and braided beards. "I'm Felzen, and this is my... poetic brother Stein. The scribe back there is our friend, Sylvren. Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, lads."

Felzen's hair and beard were slightly longer, the creases on his forehead a bit more defined than those of his brother, denoting his age. Though younger, a pronounced, angular scar bit into Stein's thick hairline on the left side of his skull.

"Hammerfist is a barbaric bastard, even to his own brethren," Stein continued dramatically. "Scant few are safe from servitude, and many Kupari Dwarves dread seeing their families dragged to this dank dungeon after dark. Most are afraid, while others are complicit, complacent, and cruel."

 

[Zazz]

GROUP 2: Corn Orc Vandal Xen6n BlueXBlood Aegis

---

At first, Bal' felt pity for the imprisoned, eyeless woman. She had been left, for whatever reason, to rot in her own filth for however many years. Bal' knew, firsthand, the weight of chains around one's soul. But the more she spoke, the more twisted a knot in the halfling's stomach became. This was a being of magic, of things she did not know. Elianor taunted at them through cracked, bloody lips. In another life, Bal'kafaz might have offered her water; in this one, she had none of her own, and was inclined to stay put.

Bal'kafaz knew not what the Cradle was, but she could tell it was very, very important to Khadija. The gladiator's grip on her dagger never faltered, even as the eyeless face settled its disapproving gaze upon her. If she'd had her strength, Bal' may have felt anger rise, and Elianor might have been silenced by a blade in her chest. But at this point in the day, after all she had suffered to keep the other three from dying... Bal' felt nothing. Felt nothing, wanted nothing, just as the wretched creature had said. Nothing but a hot bath and, if she were honest, an infinite pile of fried meat.

Perhaps she was spineless, after all; she hadn't the courage to die back in Kiledo.

Promises of assistance in exchange for freedom were made, and Bal' was about to protest when suddenly Elianor's head was impaled by the eight spikes of the floating halo. Bal' had seen death countless times before, but not like this. This was unnatural, abhorrent. No one deserved this cruelty, over and over presumably until the end of time. Bal'kafaz watched with both horror and fascination as the dead woman reanimated. She trusted not a word from Elianor, but would argue with neither Khadija nor Aris over freeing her.

She stepped forward, a hand out to block Khadija from approaching the seer. "I'll do it." At least, if she died here, she would feel no more pain.

 

[BlueXBlood]

Group 2 - Aris, R'hllor, Khadija, and Bal'Kafaz
The Southwestern Sanctuary of the Order ​

Strong enough..? Aris contemplated that thought. So much power entangled in the myth... maybe it was for the best for it to be far beyond the bard's reach for now. Far beyond anyone's, she hoped. Otherwise, if it really had the power to do so much as turn back time, the thought of a world altered by an individual was unsettling. But to be standing next to an individual with such a wish caused a bitter sigh to roll quietly from her breath as she gazed at half-orc for the moment, her expression deep but silent. She reserved her thoughts even from herself for the time being, though, as there was much more that demanded her attention.

This woman, chained to the chair... There was no doubt that she was not a force to be taken lightly, a conclusion that the old Order seemed to have come to as well from the evidence of her imprisonment. It wasn't so much fear that weighed upon Aris, so much as it was an ominous sensation. An instinct, that the things being detained by the cuffs on her wrist and her crown of thorns were too powerful for them to trifle with. And if she knows of the cradle... What is stopping her from seizing it? The woman's appraisal of Bal'Kafaz passed through Aris' ears without much meaning as these thoughts overwhelmed her. In the Seeker's mind, this was the reality where she did, indeed, arrive at the sanctuary, and even helped in slaying the spider that infested it. Therefore, Bal was passable. That was all.

The subject of Aris' suspicions and skepticism seemed to arise after all, as Elianor made her bargain. Free her, and we will receive our answers. Or, more specifically, answers of the Cradle, for Khadija. There was no way that she could agree to that... Unleashing this demonic creature AND encouraging the bard's ambitious wish? Which entails what? No... There was simply no way to reconcile that decision in the Seeker's mind. In no way was it worth what could come about from this.

In an instant, Aris was startled from her thoughts. "IMGONNADIEIMGONNADIEIMGONNADIE..." The woman's frantic cries were nearly enough to send Aris into a panic herself as she watched, eyes wide in horror and confusion. She felt herself wince on her behalf as the spikes impaled the woman's head, seemingly rendering her dead. What a gruesome sight... almost as disturbing as the scene that followed. The turning back of time on Elianor's horrid death. Such punishment, for grave things that Aris did not even have the creativity to imagine...

And yet, the gladiator stepped forward and offered to give her freedom. Why..? For what? Aris barricaded Bal's path with her arm, stepping in front of everyone. Her revolver fell pacifistically to her side, but her grip only tightened. She then glared at Khadija, cocking her head to her interrogatively so that she might explain herself. Explain her wish, and why on earth they should consider it worth freeing this woman. Otherwise... The cold look in her eyes reflected a less peaceful decision-making process.

[ Aegis , Xen6n , Corn Orc Vandal , Zazz ]​

 

[Corn Orc Vandal]

Khadija Aslan​

Group 2 ( BlueXBlood , Zazz , Aegis )​

Khadija gasped and every muscle within her tightened as Bal stepped forward, threatening to cross the circular threshold surrounding Elianor. She fully expected to see Bal's flesh ripped from her bones in a violent flurry, ancient and unknowable curses devastating her body until there was nothing left, but she didn't have the wits to actually stop her.

Luckily, Aris did, sparing Bal from what Khadija thought would be a rather disappointing end after the trials they'd just underwent.

"Wait just a moment, Bal; let's make sure you don't get flayed alive, though I know how much that would please you," Khadija suggested. Of course, she had no idea how they would go about dispelling any arcane traps. Her magical knowledge was rudimentary at best. Maybe throw something across the threshold first, see what happens? Stupid.

In that dark room, she felt Aris' gaze fall upon her in disapproval. Khadija knew she'd overplayed her hand, and whatever rapport she'd built with the half-elf was now in jeopardy. The woman was looking to her for an explanation, and while Khadija didn't think she owed her one, it would be the diplomatic thing to do.

"Why free her?" she said, a note of defiance lacing her tone. "Because I don’t believe in letting people rot in iron and torment for eternity, regardless of the sins on their souls. Whatever her alleged crimes, she's more than paid for them with this imprisonment." Khadija didn't know how long the woman had been trapped underneath the Sanctuary, but it must have at least been since the collapse of the order two hundred years ago. Maybe even longer.

"Besides, she might know things. Doubtful she knows where the Cradle is, but perhaps other things. More about the Order, about this Sanctuary; she certainly pretends to know much about us, but there may be some truth yet in her ravings," Khadija suggested, largely brushing past the Cradle. She'd abandoned the idea of it once Elinor started her ravings.

 

[BlueXBlood]

Group 2 - Aris, R'hllor, Khadija, and Bal'Kafaz
The Southwestern Sanctuary of the Order ​

"Why free her? Because I don’t believe in letting people rot in iron and torment for eternity, regardless of the sins on their souls. Whatever her alleged crimes, she's more than paid for them with this imprisonment."

Please, Khadija... Really? A dumbfounded sneer came upon her face at the naivete she sensed from those words. Her furrowed brow begged reconsideration. She drew her glance back and forth across the two parties she stood mediating between, Elianor and the half-orcs, and her expression swelled with an exhortation of caution as her eyes met Khadija's again. Don't be fooled. Aris knew that the slightest human resemblance of Elianor was not in any way an indication of humanity. Her thoughts could only echo the notion that it is not sins that make the woman worthy of imprisonment but quite possibly her very existence. Incarnations of evil are very real... and what better to hide in than the image of a woman?

Aris' thoughts cried out silently from the stern glance of her eyes. Until she could be convinced, she stood firmly between them and the oracle. If only R'hllor, who at this point, Aris was almost certain was dead from the fight, were here. Maybe the binding vows would be enough to ensure the safety of the world, and a compromise could be made. However, that was not the case. The three of them have no power over Elianor, and there was no room to entertain greed without the fullest consequences.

"Besides, she might know things. Doubtful she knows where the Cradle is, but perhaps other things. More about the Order, about this Sanctuary; she certainly pretends to know much about us, but there may be some truth yet in her ravings."

Aris didn't doubt that she knew something about the Cradle... in fact, if there was any doubt in the truth of Elianor's ravings, Aris would care far less. Instead, there was something very real about the woman, and that was what frightened her. The Seeker only felt tormented by her helplessness. The inability to know for certain that the situation could be manipulated in their favor. Without any control... It irked her most, above all things.

The gunslinger turned finally to Elianor, fixating herself on the woman. Her sudden attention on the oracle dared her to read the Seeker's thoughts. Somehow, she trusted that she could. Even if not the words of her mind, at least her current disposition. If Elianor wished to bargain, then with the fervor in her eyes, she challenged a negotiation. Persuade her. Or she won't be letting anyone free her from her chains.

[ Aegis , Xen6n , Corn Orc Vandal , Zazz ]​