Fantasy Howl's Flying Castle (Finished! ---Whoo! (*＾▽＾)／)

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia gave a nod to Sen and smiled slightly. Her gaze shifting to Kenren as he consented to reinforcements for their mission, another nod given. She was a bit concerned when James said he would be going too. He had just gotten back and was in such a state that she didn't really want him going out there, but she knew that they would need him and the group would be more powerful with him than without, "I will be going too," at the very least she would be there to back him up and help him if he needed it.

After everyone who was going spoke up, it was time to get prepared and they had very little time to do it. While James cleaned up, she prepared small packs of essentials for both of them, deciding that it would be quicker than James doing it when he got done washing and if there was anything missing from his, all he had to do was add it. She had thought about bringing supplies with them since they would be passing through anyway but since their stockpile had been destroyed days before, that didn't seem like something they could do and it was hard for her not to at least cast something to help the fighting soldiers when they passed and learned the situation. She wanted to help but the enemy couldn't know any of them were there and raining fire on them would definitely call attention.

Even though they were busy, Lydia didn't mind James sticking to her in the slightest. She had a million things she was doing while he was gone to keep herself from worrying about him because worrying wouldn't help anyone and having him there, knowing he was safe made her feel deeply relieved and happy. Lydia didn't press him to tell her anything about what happened, but when he started talking, she listened intently and didn't interrupt him. From how he looked and the fact that a few of his small group of infiltrators hadn't made it through, she thought he would need to talk but she wouldn't force it from him.

Whenever he started seeming frantic, she would just hold him tightly and he didn't even need to ask her to touch his hair, neck, and back because she did that anyway just to comfort him, laying kisses all over his face to help calm him. She didn't know what he had faced out there and wouldn't until they were already in the midst of it, but the way James was acting gave her a bit of an idea and she was glad to just hold him when he fell asleep, singing to him softly and gently running her fingers through his hair as he did so.

As they traveled through the frontlines, she couldn't help but remember their journey through the barrens, but this was just so much worse. In the barrens, the only other beings present had been the enemy, so while they did fight amongst themselves some, it didn't have the same degree of carnage. Whether or not James bathed or even could bathe was irrelevant because bathing would have been pretty pointless with how the air was filled with the scents of war, everyone was saturated with them and while it wasn't pleasant, it was definitely helpful for their camouflage.

With all of the sky patrols it definitely wouldn't be easy to get into the sky on a giant dragon and that made her rethink their method of escape and whether or not they should take the gun with them. She disrupted the twins as they spoke to ask if Sen would be able to take apart the gun quickly so that maybe Echo could just heave it onto the cage while the cage was stolen by land. Lydia and Renee could be the last to leave after blinding and shrinking the enemy and Echo could close the way with vines so at least they would be kept busy while they escaped. They couldn't do anything too flashy because of the sky patrols. Despite not being able to stick to their original plan, they still had to do something because they were already there.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee jumped in surprise when James hugged her right after cleaning himself up before hugging him back, squeezing him as she couldn't help but worry for her brother's mental health. She didn't say anything other than 'You're welcome, James.' and with a another long squeeze in their hug, she let go so he can talk to the others.

Serena and Echo listened to James before talking as well. The violinist was talking about how her new violin sound is much richer and she would love to play for him when they get back at the fort. Where she can play for him as much as he needed, of course she didn't say that but he looked like he would need it.

The fawn talked about how they have a garden now and that Johnny missed everyone a lot. Her green eyes took in how haunted James looked and wondered what in the world happened to him while he was out here with the spies. She didn't ask him that. She didn't want to know nor did she want to remind him. Instead she invited him to come at the garden should he ever wants to relax and unwind with a book or his favorite tea from his sister. Renee, who was listening in, agreed and hugged him again, giving his forehead a kiss.

Now the fawn looked up, realizing that maybe they really needed to hide from sky patrol entirely as she didn't think they can actually get out of there without one of them hitting them with the caravan. So she told everyone before they left and covering themselves to camouflage that maybe she should use her earth spells to sink the caravan instead of them flying with it. They can escape underground and it'll be safer from the sky patrol as they wouldn't know where they are as they make their way back at the fort or the barrens.

"That's sneaky of you Echo...I like it!" Serena said, grinning as she couldn't wait to get back at those monster for stealing their stuff before. Irony is the best medicine for evil thieves. Renee's wings tried to flutter but they were stuck with gunk; just like Echo's matted fur.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- Fort Lysander -
" Behind enemy lines, Five days later "​

Sen shook his head. "Not with these tools." he wiggled his backpack that had non-reflective engineering tools strapped to it on the outside for easy access. "I have to examine it first then, then disassemble it by hand. By the way, how are ya, Lydia? We haven't talked at all since, well I can't even remember." he whispered as they crawled through a maze of trenches. "You got tattoos, and I'm thinking it was you who probably convinced James to get tattoos! That's amazing, he's always so proper. I'm amazed you got tattoos too, I thought you were a proper lady of society."

Meanwhile, Seth was looking at Serena's hair and thinking about something.

As James listened to Echo's suggestion, he nodded too. "We're going to have to go above ground every now and then to see our way. Make sure we don't get lost."

Now at the vicinity of the fort, and hiding away with one of the two shinobi who had stayed behind, the group could see that Fort Lysander had a heavily fortified perimeter defense around the main castle. The shinobi briefed them on the current situation:

There hadn't been any contact with their ally inside the fort for the past four days now. He feared that he had been captured or killed, but there had been no changes to the behavior of the soldiers outside. Still, instinct felt like they were compromised. Until now, they still weren't able to confirm Lykon's whereabouts. James' bees couldn't get in there because of a bug repellant spell and fire shields.

The soldiers that Renee had shrunk and who had been waiting inside a bag all this time during their bumpy ride through enemy territory now waited for orders in their shrunk forms behind a rock. They looked like tiny soldier toys that moved around. Seth had this insane desire to place them in a doll's house and play war with them. That'd be kind of, well ,cute.

There were all sorts of charms in the fort against secrecy and spies, so the shinobi have been sneaking around the non-magic way. They already had a route planned out, but with their insider ally not communicating for a while, he felt like it's not safe to go in.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle
OOC | Characters | Moments in Time
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[Katsuya]

Echo nodded, grinning as her ears twitched. "Right. I'll make a hole big enough for someone's head to go through then." She couldn't wait to write this to Johnny too-!

Renee was the one who carried the bag that has the tiny soldiers, noticing how her little brother was looking at them before. She didn't blame him for whatever thought he was thinking. She had an urge to pick them up and just coo at how tiny she made them.

If Johnny was here and made them into fluffy sheep...Oh goodness, she wouldn't stop coo-ing at how cute they'd look. Maybe she should draw that in her old sketchbook? Perhaps Echo would like it too since she does miss Johnny...She should send one to him too, a picture of mini sheep in a bag.

So the three girls waited on their allies' signal to go in before Serena sighed silently. Then she made letters on the dirt, writing 'I think he's trouble and they are waiting for us inside or he couldn't go in at all' to anyone who was looking at her.

The way she set up her long hair was in loose braid that reached down to her mid-back; it grew these past months, down to her waist now as she has forgotten to cut it while on the other side of the storm wall.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia watched Sen hopefully for a moment before her brow furrowed in mild disappointment. She was going to go back to thinking of another way because she didn't like the idea of the enemy keeping hold of that gun and lighting everything on fire would be too dangerous, but then the twin started asking her how she was and pointing out how they hadn't talked in a long while. She was noticeably taken aback by the sudden desire to chit chat, but she smiled warmly at him and laughed softly, "unless you want to count when you got me with the joy buzzer, I still plan on getting you back for that, by the way," she teased, she looked at him a bit surprised that he had noticed her tattoos since they were virtually always covered up, though she supposed the one on the back of her neck and her forearms could be seen when she rolled up her sleeves or had her hair pinned up in a bun like it currently was.

"Well... I have them in my soul room and James and I got to talking about them," she nudged him slightly and giggled softly, "I didn't convince him to get them, I just suggested it when he expressed concerns about needing his wand for casting," she shrugged then to his next comment and shook her head, her expression showing that she was very amused by his words, "oh Sen... if only you had seen the society of Bourgeaus, then you'd see how silly that assumption is.... and James... well he's learned to relax and... realizes that he can rely on those around him."

Lydia smiled sweetly at James as he listened to Echo before looking back at Sen, "oh... and I haven't really properly thanked you for getting my family to safety. I really appreciate it... so... thank you."

She then chimed into the conversation between Echo and James, adding her input softly, "but we should also not stay too close to the surface because I'm sure the vibrations of the earth moving below would alert those topside."

She wasn't really sure how to feel about the tiny soldiers. On one hand they were tiny little people and that was cute, but on the other, she was pretty sure that battle hardened warriors wouldn't want to be thought of as cute so she found herself blushing slightly and looking away awkwardly each time they caught her eye.

The situation of the shinobi that had stayed behind must be dire, of course she didn't know how he could have survived considering the state that James and the other shinobi were in when they returned and the thought made her shudder, swallowing dryly. She listened for the specifics of the charms that were protecting the fortress and if possible, once they were close enough, she would speak the words for her eavesdrop spell to see if she could hear news of the shinobi, Echo's father, and whomever else was inside that they might possibly be able to rescue.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- Fort Lysander -
" Behind enemy lines, Five days later "​

"I'd like to see you tryyy." grinned Sen in a can't-get-me tone, accepting the prank-back challenge. He was surprised learning that the high society wasn't like that. "What are they like then?", before making a yuck expression when James affectionately nuzzled Lydia's nose.

"You know it's weird to see you so soft like that." he said, as though his older brother had grown an extra arm.

"You'll understand when you're older." said James, winking at Lydia, and giving her hand a squeeze.

When she thanked Sen, he said proudly that it was nothing, evacuating their families. He had thought that it was just going to be a matter of time until the enemy would try to get to them through their loved ones.

Meanwhile Seth nodded at Serena's statement. "It could be the latter. I mean, that's what I'd do. Maybe we shouldn't all go in at once, just in pairs, so that in case it's a trap they won't get us all, and we have someone to help us."

When Lydia cast her spell, she immediately heard the day to day talk of the troll, orc, goblin, werewolf, and men around the fort, some talking about how one rock looked like fried shrimp because it was curvy and crumbly, others talking about the war and how they have only been eating bread for three days what with the land burned and only Dawnsfield being their main source of food after the satyrs were enslaved; she also heard a familiar voice speaking in broken common tongue. "It good, yes? Mushrooms from the Moria Mines."

"Fer goblins maybe." said a gruff man, "But not for men." It seemed that that goblin they had met a long time ago in the quarry of Holt was here. "How's the mining going?"

"Good, good, goblins make quick work of the rocks, heeheehee. So much explosions."

"And that monstrously strong satyr is making the work faster." said another voice, this one with authority.

"Sir!" said the gruff man.

"Master." said the goblin silkily.

"No more idle chit-chat. Get back to your posts, won't have another prisoner escaping because of lax guards like you two."

"Oh, he no escape again. Not from that cage. No spells from in there too. It all will be good, good day after tomorrow."

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia snorted and as uncharacteristic of her as it was, she rolled her eyes. Sen ought to know better than anyone except maybe Seth that she was perfectly capable of orchestrating a pay back prank, "well... they are probably as uptight as you might think.. so no tattoos, but I never fit in very well with them," she giggled softly and smiled, returning the nose rub when James gave it and shook her head, squeezing James' hand in return, "you know he's my age, right?"

The plans that everyone was coming up with were very helpful from Lydia's point of view, these things would definitely make it far easier to achieve their goal and she aimed to make it easier once her spell was cast and she heard what was going in in the fortress. She didn't tell everyone word for word what was being said since for the most part it was unimportant. She for sure told them all what was said about Dawnsfield and the Satyrs, looking at Echo sadly as she did so.

She paused as she heard the familiar voice, trying to determine where she had heard it before and who it belonged to before it dawned on her that it was the goblin that had helped them get their belongings back, the one that had made her feel incredibly awkward with his praising. She didn't relay this immediately however, listening until it didn't sound like they were going to give anymore relevant information before she stopped focusing her spell and relayed everything she had just heard to the others, "and I'm pretty sure... that the goblin that helped us outside of Holt... oh what was his name...? I can't remember, but it sounds like he's in there too."

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- Fort Lysander -
" Behind enemy lines, Five days later "​

James paused when Lydia said she was Sen's age. "That's right." he said, as though he had forgotten. "You're seventeen." he looked between his brother and his girlfriend, the difference in maturity was very contrasting.

After Lydia's report, James tried to remember the name too, but he had forgotten. "That one who cast earth spells? And by the sound of it, he'll be one of those guarding the caravan too." And then he realized that it was probably going to be goblins manning the caravan and the contraptions. "If we're going in, we should also check the caravan more thoroughly, there might be hidden bombs."

So it seemed that Echo's father was in the mines, probably doing forced labor. But how can they sneak in underground tunnels full of green flappy-eared creatures who are much smaller than they are?

"So, what's the plan?" said James, "Do we go look for Lykon, prepare the ambush for the day after tomorrow, or sabotage the caravans?" They had already marked out where they could hide when they steal the armored caravan and it's attached piston contraption.

"No, if we sabotage the caravans today, they'll thinks something's up and would probably move Lykon to a more secure location." said Seth, professionally. "The most we can do would be little eetie bitty modifications."

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

"That's a good idea." Serena chirped to Seth, grinning.

As Echo listened to Lydia about her hometown and her father, she didn't move from her spot. Her eyes veiled over from her red hair thanks to the new hair style she's sporting. Renee sat next to her as the fawn said "We never knew his name. He didn't say anything about it when we first met him..."

She sounded the same. Calm. Which was weird. Echo grumbles to herself whenever she's angry so why-...

So Renee leaned in a bit to see her face and froze before looking away, a hand rubbing the fawn's back. She didn't say anything, sighing before looking up to whisper. "Seth is right; We should wait and change the plans a bit before doing anything." Her orange orbs looked down to the ground and then went over to the red head who's still silent.

Serena shivered and edged away from the fawn, gripping her violin's bow tightly as she stayed close to Seth and the others. She didn't want to be in Echo's way. She has seen her at her worst before and right now...her anger is stewing.

It's like she's waiting patiently until the time is right to do anything...

Or that's how Serena sees it.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia just giggled softly, the sound coming out in squeaky little gasps, and shook her head at James' seeming forgetfulness, though she could understand why especially after he looked between herself and Sen.

Lydia nodded both to James' question and his statement and looked to Renee when she added in on the topic, "yeah, I didn't think so... I remember Ruk, but I think he's the only one that told us his name," she then agreed to checking more thoroughly for bombs before adding, "maybe... I don't know if it would work... but maybe we can get that goblin to help us?"

She honestly wasn't very comfortable with the idea mainly because while he had kissed up to her a lot after the defeat of Ruk, and after they had all defeated his comrades leaving him to fend for himself, he was not currently in the same situation because now she and her allies were the ones to be outnumbered, vastly. She had the feeling that even though they had defeated the goblin and his comrades before, he might not be so likely to help them now when the odds were in his favor.

Honestly? Lydia wanted to arm the satyrs in the mine. She wanted to cause a rebellion and get them all out of there, "what are the chances that we could arm the satyrs in the mine and cause a rebellion?" she questioned seemingly to herself though it was out loud before she took on her usual thoughtful expression and seemed to zone out as though she were visualizing and calculating the risk of failure versus success.

The play by play in her mind was that first they would need to be sure of where the mines were, considering that was probably where Lykon was, though why they would move him considering they were praising his efficiency in the mines was beyond her but she guessed that they had some more nefarious plans in mind for him. After the mines they would need to find some sort of weapons stockpile or armory, then they would need to somehow steal enough weapons to aid the satyrs in the mines. Echo was strong and could likely carry the majority as long as they were able to find something to put them in and considering her earth ability they might be able to actually make their own entrance into the mines and start distributing the weapons. Lydia could use her blinding spell to give the satyrs the advantage and Echo could block off the known entrances of the mines to keep anyone from escaping. That would give them reinforcements. She wondered if she was thinking on too grand a scale and shook her head without voicing any of her thoughts, the others would probably think she was mad and her brow furrowed as she bit her lower lip gently.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee raised an eyebrow at Lydia when she noticed a familiar quirk of hers. Then she sighed with her wings stop fluttering and folded against her head.

"What is it, Lydia? You have a plan or idea you want to share?" She asked quietly, not knowing if she would actually say anything or not.

Roleplay Skittle Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Fort Lysander "​

As James listened to the planning, he rummaged around his bag to get ready. He smiled for a moment when he saw the things in there that Lydia had placed days ago. He had thanked her then, while he was resting in her arms, listening to her sing. This must be what it means to be in love when little acts like these already made him forget about the war. Having her around was definitely better than the last time he was here, it was darker.

As the group talked, the shinobi watched the goings on in the fort, reporting that the guards were changing shifts. This always happened at this hour, so that the previous guard on duty could rest. This time something different was happening. Instead of the usual archers, three riflemen were now on the watchtowers with the others. Sen looked through his binoculars. "Those are snipers." he said.

They were pivoting in place scanning the area through their iron sights as down below there was some activity. The fort's draw bridge came down and a company of goblin mages, trolls, and men with rifles came out, waiting for the enchantments to be lifted from the entrance before they stepped out into the wasteland. They were riding various mounts along the main road and headed west past the hidden heroes. A group broke off and headed north, past the other side of the heroes as well. They carried supplies enough for a three day march, and didn't seem to notice the group hiding in between them.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

Serena got bored waiting and watching the same old guards who are not doing much other then ...well...watch. With the barriers, it's hard to go through and the archers will just shoot at them if they even try to get past them...If they even pass the barrier first.

Though the archer guards changed into...

"Are those guns?" Renee asked in a quiet whisper, squinting her eyes at them to see a sniper's barrel.

Serena raised a fine eyebrow as Sen confirmed it. "We can sneak in right now...but I wonder where they are going..." She whispered as she looked at the mounted group that separated.

"Maybe we should steal their supplies without them noticing." She suggested as Renee shook her head. "We're here for Lykon, not steal three days worth of supplies..."

If only there was a way to trap the mounted groups and take their stuff in a surprise and without alarming the snipers above...

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -
​

The mines near the fort was full of noisy clanking and crushing of pickaxes, turning of giant gears that pulled in mine carts full of coal, iron ore, crystals, and the occasional blue manna stones.

There were scorpion-like shades that crawled up the walls, being ridden by goblins. There were slaves here, mostly men of a Frankish stature, some with the Kingsbury look, others looked like they were from another continent. There were even old classmates from the academy that the twins recognized, and even . . . Serena's master and her bullying classmates??

Smug goblins carrying metal batons watched over them, whacking at their shins to keep them working, or else zapping them with the end of the baton whenever they rebelled. The heavy mining was done by goblins riding smoke-belching contraptions with drills. The green, flappy-eared creatures loved the noise and every now and then the mine shook from explosions down below. It was very hot here.

A goblin yelled something and a few of the slaves, Serena's master included, groaned in relief. It seemed that they were done for the day and they shuffled off to the lower levels, where, after sneaking around, Seth, Sen, and Serena saw that they were being shoved into cramped cells and given sparse water and spoiled food for their work.

They looked very downtrodden and crushed in spirit. There was a stench of neglect in the air. The goblins and trolls guarding them didn't seem to mind, as they went about playing cards and gambling. The lower level was hotter than the floor above. Here magma boiled and flowed at the bottom of pits. Great machines harnessed the heat, pouring water from somewhere underground to create steam which they stored in pressurized iron canisters. These canisters released enough steam to power the goblin-ridden drilling machines.

There were also mushrooms in these parts, growing it seems from dirt beds made of dung.

There were a couple of ways to sneak into the cell. Either as one of the prisoners, or through the difficult-to-climb ceilings and walls that led to very narrow passages that exited above the stale slave cage where Serena's master was. The only way up or down from the bottom of the cage to that narrow exit is through rope, for the walls had been smoothed so there wasn't a foothold, but it was something the twins and Serena could climb with some effort, and they were all able to get inside if they chose.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle​

 

[Katsuya]

Seeing the creepy scorpion-like shades being ridden on by goblins freaked Serena out as she and the twins sneaked their way in. She didn't say or do anything, but just seeing one that big made her shudder as they moved along. This would be the second mine she has been through and though the mission is a bit different, the blonde hoped to find Echo's dad and hopefully free him and whoever else is here.

So she skulked in the shadows, her dark cloak covering her bright golden hair and azure eyes as she hid behind a few of the giant gears and looked to where she can hear the pick-axes clicking and clanging. Then she froze when she spotted a very familiar face, her brows furrowed as she frowned.

Serena recognized her poor teacher, the one who normally looks like an aristocrat when he's a total loon, now very downtrodden. He's even flinching from the whips and explosions that echoed in the mines. Then she spotted some other familiar faces...ones that she didn't think she would see again for a long time; her bullying classmates, especially their leader, Pearl. The violinist never seen her struggle like that before, the girl is too proud and too ... smug about most of things she's done so...she never struggled her whole life or so Serena believes.

Now Pearl and her friends are still mining, while her mentor is stuck in a cramped cell...and it's really hot in here and the food is just wrong on so many levels. Why is there even dung with mushrooms?! How gross are these goblins?!

She really wanted to smack them.

'How did they get here?' Serena thought, narrowing her eyes as she moved to another place to hide behind, and gulping from the stretch that hit her nose like a ton of bricks. She shook her head with a quiet snort and leaned over to see more of what's going on.

She saw a couple of ways to get in the cell where her mentor is and she wondered if it's a god idea to go in but then they get to know where Lykon went or is held up. Serena whispered to the twins that they need to go in, not as prisoners. The goblins would probably notice how all three of them don't have their spirits crushed or that they smell as bad as everyone else here, so it's be best if they just climb down to the cell and hide among the crowded cell prisoners.

"We can find out about Lykon through my mentor. He would know where he is..."Serena whispered as the prisoners worked loudly. Her face was blank and a bit dark from the hood of her cloak that she pulled down and in front of her face, shadowing her eyes that are too expressive. Her twiddling fingers anxiously played around with the cloak's hemming as she continue to stare at the cell where her mentor is held.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -​

"So you're afraid of giant scorpions." noted Seth at Serena, he had a mischievous smile on. Ever since the violinist told him he was the one he loved, he had been happy at that, but then found that saying that he loved her back couldn't rise from his mouth. He had smoothed over that moment by letting the genuine happiness he felt carry him to hug her too, in his shy way where he laughed too much.

Now he didn't know how to act. Were they together? They hadn't really talked about it, and it didn't feel as together as he thought it'd be like. Not at least in the easy, relaxed way his older brother was with Lydia, like they've been part of each other's lives for a long time.

So he'd just been trying to be himself, giving Serena smiles he didn't know how to give --- friend or boyfriend smile?And trying to talk to her normally, but he ended up going red and laughing too much and talking too fast most of the time. Still, it was a happy kind of shy way and he had come to realize that it was probably because he didn't know her that he couldn't say that he loved her back. He wondered why she loved him. I mean, it felt like the time between the weeks they travelled together to Dalaran, and then meeting again was long. Like he had forgotten things about her. She definitely had pretty blue eyes, was daringly fun to be with, and that song she made about him that spoke of an observant character was unique in a person. Her flaming temper was also cool to watch. Or . . . hot to watch??

He was thinking these things as they climbed and crawled through the narrow gaps in the rocks to get to the cell. When they were finally able to catch Serena's mentor's attention and rope down without alerting the guards, they hid among the slaves who recognized them and were only glad to help them too because they hoped that they will free them. It was here that they learned that Lykon was located underground. They had heard rumors of him, that he had tried to escape, but no one has seen nor heard his voice. They reckon he must be located deep, deep, underground.

If the three decide to investigate deeper into the mines, they'd see that the deepest underground floors was a place where they mined manna stones through hardened lava and nitrate powder for bombs. Speaking of which, there were goblins making bombs here.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena shuddered again when Seth mentioned the giant scorpions and narrowed her eyes with suspicion as she noticed his grin. "...don't even think about pranking me with those." She will shave his eyebrow and cover his kunai and hair in jello.

The blonde will admit it to herself; she's an idiot when it comes to words. She isn't like Seth who can recite lyrics and knows when to say things that he means. Even Renee spotted that and would correct her at times which helps. So when she said 'she was with the one she loved', what she actually meant to say was 'No, I actually waited for you because I want to give 'us' a chance.' or talk about it. They never talked about it...at all.

So now whenever Seth laughs a lot or would turn red and talks too fast, Serena would grin and wait until he finished what he said and she would mumble quietly while twiddling her fingers. Her violin, whenever she played while he was around, would slowly go into a high pitch version of any song she was playing, her face turning red as she didn't know what she was playing anymore. Her hands would get sweaty and cold too; once she was playing and when Seth came by to compliment her song, she swung her bow around as she bowed playful and it flew out of her hand and out the window......Where it smacked Renee's head when she was tending the garden with Echo.

Goodness, it was so awkward and funny at the same time that she started to cackle in embarrassment and covered her red face.

Serena tried to be normal and casual around Seth when she's just as confused about him as he is about her...and yes, she picked that up too. She even played it as a song only for it to go high-pitch again when she thought about it.

As they hid from the guards' sights, Serena tugged on the ragged shirt of a tall man that has high cheek bones of an aristocrat and violet blue eyes. His glasses is cracked and the thin frames bent. Dark brown hair had a bit of white strands twining together, hinting his real age as he didn't look like he was at his late forties. He held himself high despite the hallow tired look he has on his face like everyone else in the cramped cell. So when he looked at who was tugging his shirt, Polorius looked down and inhaled in disbelief.

"...Serena?"

"Teacher!" Serena hugged her mentor tightly, ignoring the horrid smell and sweat as she snuggled into his chest. The man's eyes mist over as he hugged back with shaky arms, unable to believe to see his best student was here with him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were safe-"

"I was, but while we were moving to another safe area, the goblins got to us. I tried to stay close to your mother but they separated her and me as we were kept prisoners. What are you doing here? How did you get in?" Polorius muttered, nuzzling his face into the hood that covered her head before looking up to see the twins. He raised an elegant eyebrow at them.

"Who are you?" He asked. Serena looked at the twins and smiled a bit, still hugging her mentor.

"This is Sen, a friend and Seth, he's...h-his brother. We're here to look up on a rumor we heard coming from the guards here." The brunette looked at her in surprise before looking back at the twins. He squinted his eyes a bit, wary but amused as he noticed a slight change of tone when Serena said Seth's name.

"I see...friends of yours...good ones, at that if you are able to escape from this dump." Polorius nodded at them, not willing to let go of Serena just yet, his rough hands clutching onto her like a lifeline. Which made her concerned.

"My name is Polorius Marco. I am Serena's violin mentor. It's nice to see that she hasn't gave up on making friends yet...and more, hopefully-Ow!"

"Hush you!" Serena pinched his side, making the elder brunette shake her head. "Still violent, I see. Even when you were flustered about Set- Ow-!"

"Hush. You...." Polorius just chuckled at Serena's red face as her nose scrunched up with furrowed brows. "Yes, yes. Anyways, it is nice to meet you two..."

As Serena has asked him about Lykon, the brunette musician blanked his face. He and the other prisoners have heard rumors of him trying to escape and that he was located deep, deep underground for them to not hear his voice.

"You know me Serena, I would be able to hear a pin dropping in a noisy crowd and yet, not even I could hear him screaming again." The satyr would not stop being loud, that's for sure. Nor would he stop causing trouble for the goblins as he would throw giant boulders or punch any of them if they tried to hit him; he'd hit back.

That concerned the blonde violinist and she sighed, twiddling her cloak again. "I see...We still have to make sure he's here." She looked over at the twins with a small frown. "What do you guys think we should do? I say we should go underground and see if he's actually there."

"...I suppose you know of him, Serena?" Polorius asked.

"Not of him, but I know his daughter, Echo." Polorius chuckled, smiling warm.

"Is she just as loud as her father?"

"No, she's really quiet and sweet. Considerate too. Kind of goofy."

"That's a surprise. I would think with a man that loud and fierce, his child would be the same."

"...She is fierce though..."

"...Oh...Well at least I won't have my ears ringing from her talking like her father does." Serena snorted quietly, shaking her head in humor. So after he kindly ruffled the twins' hair and giving Serena another long hug, the trio went underground to see the mined Manna stones. Serena huffed quietly when she realized this is where the goblins are making bombs.

"You know this would be a good place to steal bomb stuff..." Serena whispered to the twins as a goblin let out another explosion. She wanted to look around more, just in case Lykon was actually here.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -​

"Boyfriend?" said Seth helpfully at the same time Serena said brother. "Right! Um, brother. This is my brother." he coughed, pulling Sen to him. His twin looked like he was going to laugh, but just nodded at Polorius.

"Hiya." he grinned.

The slaves didn't want them to go, at least until they promised to get them out too and listen to them talk about how bad it was down here. The twins couldn't promise that, but they said that they had to get Lykon out first. So when they reached the lower levels where goblins were making bombs in a lava environment --- the crazy little daredevils --- the two nodded at Serena's suggestion. They could cause and explosive accident.

The area down here wasn't as vast as the one on top, but there were fortified walls, like a prison, made like the caravan. Strong, with enchantments. This must be where Lykon is held. It was a fortified hallway, that led to a door that looked like a heavy prison vault door, yet for some odd reason, there were no guards.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena stayed silent when the other slaves didn't want them to go, letting the twins handle that. It wasn't as if she didn't want to save them too; she does. It's just...she didn't want to make promises she couldn't keep and it seems the twins felt the same way.

When they saw fortified walls, Serena guessed this is where they held Lykon, and she can feel the enchantments around the place. "This has to be it..." Though she was wary when there were no guards at the heavy prison vault door. So she took out her spyglass and looked into it.

Whatever it was that Serena picked up, the twins would see her freezing in place.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -​

The vault door was entirely closed. One had to open it to see what was inside, but Serena just got a bad feeling about that place, like something bad would happen if they went in. The twins seem to feel something is off too and wondered if they should go back now or actually go inside.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena pondered, knowing that they can't open the door if they get hurt for going in. So she thought maybe...just maybe they make a commotion?

"...or we can get a bomb here, get the goblins' attention, and get them to check inside?" She suggested quietly. "We can be away from the area and see what happens...but then again, if we did that the goblins would wonder how a bomb got there in the first place and get suspicious..."

So the blonde kept thinking as she stared at the vault that seems really dangerous to open. "Maybe we can let out who or whatever is in here and they can cause problems? Ah...but they might hurt us in the process..." Serena looked over at the twins, her lips pursed a bit.

Then after a few other ideas, Serena volunteered to take a look at the door, telling the twins to get ready in case anything happened. The door is locked but she can look in, which she did; peeking in with a wary blue eye as she held her breathe.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -​

The twins had no better idea than those Serena suggested. There seemed to be no choice but to go in, to which the violinist had volunteered to go first, while the twins kept watch. Seth offered to go with her. The door was locked, but he picked it open and by-passed the arcane seals that kept it locked. He then stepped back to let Serena take a peek.

There was a note in there. Apart from that, nothing else was inside.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper, feeling pretty stupid as she tries to calm her temper.

"...There's a note inside..." She mumbled before opening the door a bit more, sticking her head in a bit, wary still. "...I don't trust it. I really don't trust it..." Serena said as her blue eyes adjust to see if there's really nothing in here.

"...We should trick one of those goblins to get in here...somehow...just to see what would happen because I really do not trust that note..." Serena leaned out of the vault, glaring inside it.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Lysander Mines -​

Seth peered over Serena's shoulder to look at what was inside, the side of his hair touching hers; the moment Serena's head poked in, a shiver of magic ran through the both of them like a little electric shock. They were paralyzed.

Trapdoors that blended perfectly with the floor opened, and grinning goblins in mage armor appeared quietly and sneakily peeked out from behind the two at Sen, who was looking the other way, keeping watch at the goblins in the mine. The quietly pulled Serena and Seth in, then shut the door.

The two could not move; Seth's horrified eyes stared at Serena unblinkingly, helplessly. They heard the sneaky steps of the other twin quickly approached the door and try to open it, but it didn't work. It was followed by the sound of four sharp hits on the door as though from arrows and darts, then th noise of fighting ensued.

The goblins immediately stripped the two of their weapons, armor, and items, shackling them both with sealing cuffs. Then, with six goblins to each of the two, they were blindfolded and then injected with a dirty syringe that promptly made them fall asleep. They had been captured.

Katsuya

- Lysander Fortress -
" Hidey Place "​

Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the fortress, where the others were waiting for the twins and Serena's return, about four hours had already passed. This was normal. The fortress was heavily guarded, so sometimes progress was just a few inches every half-hour or so, but Sen said they'll send word in eight hours at the most.

The snipers were still there. The mounted company that had exited from the fort had made camp within the vicinity of the mine, even though they had provisions for three days. The goblin warlocks were making earthen defenses about four hundred meters away from where the group was hidden and casting shielding charms around them.

They seem to be extending their fort's territory.

James had noticed Echo's expression and was wondering if she'd get mad if he comforted her. He had never seen her this angry and wondered if Johnny had, and how he dealt with it. But they were friends so, he placed a hand on her shoulder and just held it firmly, giving her a reassuring nod and a promise that he'll fight with her to get her father and people back.

He passed the time talking to Lydia about her suggestion. "I don't trust that goblin, he only helped us because he didn't want to die. How were you planning on getting him to our side, Lydia? Intimidation?" The memory of her whacking that goblin a long time ago made him smile. No doubt he had heard of Lydia's reputation now and was wondering if he would cave and do as she says.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia shook her head briskly when Renee questioned her, quirking a slight smile, "no... just thinking," she decided her idea was way too dangerous and time consuming and with the need to close the portal they just didn't have time for launching any sort of rebellion, maybe after they shut the rift they could rescue the satyrs and with the added chaos behind the enemy lines, maybe that would give their allies between there and Bourgeaus more of an opening.

At the mention of the snipers and upon finding out that they hadn't been there before, Lydia became visibly concerned, why would they have suddenly changed routine unless they realized that something was up and considering their man on the inside hadn't been in contact, she wondered if they weren't preparing for known intruders. That just made their mission seem all the more deadly.

Whispering as she stared at the tower where the snipers were, Lydia's voice was slightly shakey, "u-um... guys... that shinobi in the fortress...? I think they got him," she looked around at the others with worry on her face. It wasn't time yet for Sen to send word, but that didn't stop her from worrying, winding her handkerchief around her fingers nervously. She didn't like all of the activity going on around them, it just made her feel more like they knew what was going on.

As James responded to her suggestion about the goblin, she answered by saying that she would try to appeal to him from the memory of what happened outside Holt and pointing out that she had only grown stronger since then. She also would point out that she didn't like the idea of approaching him simply because he was in a stronger position than either of them. This whole time she kept her eyes on the camped out company as well as the goblins creating the defenses, "something's wrong...."

She quietly spoke the words for her eavesdropping spell, closing her eyes as she directed her attention towards the mounted company and upon catching what they said she looked back to the others wide eyed, "guys, they know. They know we are here!" she then quickly relayed what they had said and prepared herself.

She was quiet for a few moments, but evidently couldn't concentrate because nothing happened and she only developed a look of frustration before looking to the others, "go go go go! We have to attack!"

Zer0 Katsuya