Fantasy Sorcery!!! (Completed)

[ArcticFox]

The kids were still behind her, very close. She raced forward toward the crossroads, but the way was blocked by a crumbing building. The kids were now calling to each other, signalling. They were almost onto Aquila, one reaching to grab for her.

The alley turned to the left again, emerging on the bigger street just a little way out of the arch where the youths were in the first place. One of them was waiting on the same spot, blocking the way forward. His lips curled into a twisted smile as Aquila approached.

- Attack!
- Cast a spell!

 

[Yokai]

>> Cast a spell! <<​

They were herding her like she was cattle to the slaughter, rounding her into an ambush. Aquila needed to think of a plan and quick, she didn't want to attack children but they appeared to leave her no choice. With the bigger street now in view she hunkered down and pushed herself forward, focusing on a confusion spell. Her intention was to confuse the boy in her way and then to evade, continuing past him and down the street.

 

[ArcticFox]

She cast a spell of confusion. But this spell was based on illusions, images created to startle and disrupt the opponent, and every kid and teen that pursued them had their eyes closed. A gangly teenager with a malicious grin behind Aquila. He opened his eyes and Aquila felt pain on her wrist and when she looked down to it she saw that it had a red fresh red gash on it.

One smaller kid approached her, smiling. "Don't struggle. Or you'll make all of us look at you."

The kids had surrounded her already, reaching out with their hands.

- Try to run.
- Try to fight.
- Surrender.

 

[Yokai]

>> Surrender <<​

The illusion bounces and Aquila finds herself at a loss of what to do. She doesn't want to fight children and also, doesn't think she'd win after seeing what the teenager could do with his eyes. But she also couldn't run, where was there to go, and what good would it do but enrage these malicious children more? Instead she speaks to them.

"Why are you doing this?" Aquila demands, not understanding why these children want to capture her in the first place. "What do you even want with me?" Her opposite hand covers the fresh gash on her wrist, grimacing at the hand that flares up her arm. He'd done that with his eyes -- Aquila didn't doubt that and she also didn't want to find out what happened when they all looked at her. Surrender seemed like her only option now and she allowed them to close the distance with obvious discomfort.

 

[ArcticFox]

"We just want to play." The kid grinned. Then he opened his eyes and Aquila lost consciousness.

--

She was dragged through the alleys, half conscious, unable to struggle, dragging her legs weekly. A couple of older boys were carrying her to a building surrounded by a high wall. It looked suspiciously like a prison.

She was hauled across the yard and into an underground corridor. A cell doors was opened and she was thrown inside, landing squarely on top of another person.

"Ow." An unfamiliar male voice sounded beneath her.

- Greet the person.
- Run for the doors.

 

[Yokai]

>> Greet the person <<​

Considering the options, Aquila thought that went rather well. It was either death or live capture, and she'd gotten the better out of the two. Though, to be fair, it was never a great situation when death was one of the options. Aquila grimaced at the rough handling as she hit the ground -- or she would've hit the ground had there not been somebody already in the cell.

"Sorry," Aquila apologized, forcing her limbs to cooperate as she stood and relieved the person beneath her of her weight. She dusted herself off slightly before turning around to greet the stranger, offering them a hesitant smile and a hand to help them up. "Here, let me help you... I'm Aquila by the way."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Greetings." The person took her hand and straightened up shakily. He was an Elf, by the looks of him, with long white-blonde hair and a sour expression. He was ghostly pale under the torchlight and looked like he had spent too much time in that cell. "Welcome to my little world." He replied in a voice that was the epitome of exhaustion.

- Ask who is he.
- Ask about the prison.
- Cast a spell.
- Wait.

 

[Yokai]

>> Ask who is he <<​

Surprise didn't even begin to cover it, Aquila certainly hadn't expected to find an Elf in such a dark place. Withdrawing her hand Aquila was first struck by his ethereal beauty and found herself momentarily entranced, however that awe was extremely short-lived. He looked exhausted and more than just physical exhaustion, he looked mentally and emotionally tired. She wondered how long he'd been trapped in this cell and her heart ached with sympathy for him.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Aquila replied, smile now replaced with a look of concern. "May I ask... who are you? How long have you been here?" Perhaps it was rude to immediately ask such questions but they were officially trapped here together, Aquila wanted to know exactly what she was up against.

 

[ArcticFox]

"My name on the outside hardly seems to matter." The Elf replied with a sad smile. "My name here is number Six and that'll be your name too." He pointed one elegant finger. "It is written on the doors, see." He sighed. "I have been here for a while."

From the sounds that came through the walls, the cell Aquila was in was one of the many set side by side. She could hear snores, shouts and screams coming through the stonework.

The whole cell was empty, except a small straw cot on the side and flaming torch on the wall. One part of it was divided by a wooden wall. Noticing her look, the Elf explained. "That's the toilet."

- Ask about the prison.
- Ask something else.
- Try the doors.
- Wait.

 

[Yokai]

>> Ask about the prison <<​

"I am Aquila, whether I've been trapped in this cell or not," She intoned softly with an intense gaze, "Please, do not lose hope." There was little one could do for somebody who'd lost the hope to regain themselves, and Aquila was determined to escape this place. The noises that traveled from other cells were extremely disconcerting and she repressed a shudder -- being subjected to such an environment for so long could drag anyone's spirits down.

"What is this place?" Aquila asked instead, turning her back to the Elf in favor of drifting around the small cell and looking for some sort of weakness. Or something to aid in her escape. She doubted she'd find anything, but it still couldn't hurt to look.

 

[ArcticFox]

"This is the jail of the Red-eyes." The Elf answered. "There's one outside." He pointed at the doors again, at the guard whose face - with eyes closed - filled the tiny porthole. "I think the Red-eyes are not happy until they have someone locked away." He smiled thinly. "Maybe now that you are here, they'll let me go." The prisoner's spirit seemed quite broken.

- Talk to the Elf more.
- Talk to the guard.
- Try to escape.
- Sit down and wait.

 

[Yokai]

>> Talk to the Elf more <<​

Blue eyes followed the Elf's point to the guard stationed outside their cell, the name made sense though their reasons for locking people away did not. Aquila had merely been walking the streets when children had ambushed her, she wondered how that qualified for jailing someone. Then she realized, they probably didn't care. She sighed quietly and crossed her arms over her chest, slowly thinking over a plan of attack. Escaping the cell shouldn't be too hard, they were just one spell away from getting into the hallway. It was just all the Red-Eyes that then stood between them and freedom.

"I could ask if you'd like?" Aquila offered with a frown, he looked like he'd been in here long enough. "If not... well, I'll get us both out of here." She added the last part quietly, gaze still fixed on the guard. "How did you end up here?" Aquila asked, changing the topic quickly, if she could maybe figure out why they'd been put in here then perhaps she could apologize. Or at least understand why they were in here, because that was beginning to worry her. Nobody collected prisoners just to keep them locked away, they had to be capturing people for a reason. The last situation like this, the reasoning had been to turn people into werewolves, so the options were a bit bleak.

 

[ArcticFox]

"No, that won't help." The prisoner answered with a sigh. "The Red-eyes are cruel for no specific reason. Thus they are unpredictable. Be careful around them, you never know what might agitate them." He sighed, his head bobbing slowly with the rhythm of his tired breathing. "I was betrayed. By a friend no less." But he would not say anything more on the subject. "What are you? A warrior? A sorcerer?" He asked her then, though his tone did not betray any expectations. "Or a merchant or a thief? Do you have any useful skills?"

- Answer.
- Check the doors.
- Call out to the guard.

 

[Yokai]

>> Answer <<​

Aquila's curiosity was piqued at his vague reply, though she carefully refrained from asking more questions. The Elf was clearly exhausted and she didn't want to cause him more distress than necessary. She'd just turned her gaze back to him when he asked her what she was; Aquila's brows shot up in surprise at the question. Half of her was sorely tempted to say that she had no useful skills, but instead she decided to reply honestly. Out of the given options Aquila only identified with two of them, because she was both a warrior and a sorcerer, technically.

"It depends on the situation," Aquila replied, cautious in revealing her true nature. "But I suppose these days I'm both equally a warrior and a sorcerer," She smiled softly, though it looked a little sad around the edges. "I'm... sorry if that frightens you." The reactions she'd received about her possession of magic had been a complete spectrum. Ruven with his outright hostility was at one end of that spectrum, and Shank with his strange obsession with her luck was at the other end. She knew which one she preferred.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Frightens me?" The Elf looked up at her, the irises of his pale grey eyes slightly widening. Then he chuckled softly. "I am one as well. O-Or at least I was. At some point. Now, I'm not sure I have the strength for it." He raised an arm slowly, placing his hand on top of Aquila's own. "I'm assuming you don't want to stay here for the rest of your life. Perhaps if we joined out strengths, we could get out of this... death."

- Work with him.
- Try to get out on your own.

 

[Yokai]

>> Work with him <<​

Aquila blinked owlishly at the Elf, genuine surprise spreading across her features -- she hadn't expected to find another sorcerer so soon after Gaza Moon. If that old woman could be considered a sorcerer, Aquila suspected something much more powerful. Still, at the rate she was going Aquila could start a club. Focusing back on the situation at hand she resolved herself and leveled the Elf with the brightest smile that she could muster.

"We'll get out of here together," Aquila replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "Now, I'll be able to get us out of the cell but once we're outside..." She trailed off looking suddenly unsure. "There will be more of those things out there, and I do not know the way out." That was their biggest hurdle right now and Aquila's main worry, how many of those creatures stood between them and the exit?

 

[ArcticFox]

"I think I remember the way." The prisoner nodded, lips curving into a gentle smile. There was a sound of footsteps in front of the cell doors and he squeezed on her hand, gesturing toward the sound. "Here they come."

There was a creak and the heavy wooden doors opened to reveal three Red-eye guards standing on the doorway, their eyes closed. They held a bowl of some kind of slop, which was either used for washing the floor, or it was supposed to be their food.

- Rush them.
- Cast a spell.
- Wait for them to leave and then try your escape.

 

[Yokai]

>> Wait for them to leave and then try your escape <<​

That's pretty impressive if he can remember back that far, considering how long he's supposedly been in this cell. Another squeeze of her hand catches the red head's attention and her gaze instinctively follows his gesture. It seems that they've got company then. Aquila immediately takes a few steps backwards when the door opens, as if distance will somehow protect her from those eyes. She doesn't rush them or make any movements in their direction. Aquila knows better than to take on three guards at a time and decides it'd be better to wait them out; then she'd try the lock on the cell door.

 

[ArcticFox]

The guards left quickly, without any words, leaving one of their number to stand in the hallway on the other side of the doors. There was a click and the doors closed again. The Elf joined Aquila. "Now would be our chance." Then he looked down at the bowl of greenish stew on the floor. "Don't eat that." He warned her.

Aquila did have her supplies with her still, as the Red-eyes did not bother to take away her pack. Or at least they did not get to doing that yet. The Elf did not have any possessions.

- Cast a spell on the doors.
- Pick the lock.
- Ask the Elf if he can unlock the doors.

 

[Yokai]

>> Cast a spell on the doors <<​

The brief amusement at the comment on the food was short-lived and soon Aquila was stepping away toward the cell door. She was surprised they'd allowed her to keep her supplies at all, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Aquila assessed the lock in her pale hands for a moment before she focused; Aquila was already tired from the events of the day but managed to call forth the strength to perform an unlocking spell.

 

[ArcticFox]

She murmured the lines of her spell and as she finished, there was a tiny click - the sound of a lock tumbler falling over. The Elf nodded in approval, steadying himself by holding to the wall. The guard outside had his back turned and did not look like he noticed anything.

- Run him through.
- Put the bowl of stew over his head.
- Cast a spell.
- Run.

 

[Yokai]

>> Run him through <<​

The soft click of the lock indicated their freedom and Aquila felt her chest tighten at the realization of what she had to do. There was no time for hesitation, no second chances. She'd made that mistake before and many lives had been lost because of that indecision. Aquila swallowed the lump in her throat and took Rhain's dagger, she silently apologized to both Rhain and the guard for what she was about to do. Silently pushing the cell door open Aquila slipped out and darted forward, intending to slash the guard's throat. A quick and merciful death was the very least she could offer him.

 

[ArcticFox]

She forgot to cover the guard's eyes however. They were wide open in surprise now and the blast of fire out of those two gaping red holes was terrible to behold. The doors on the opposite of the guard burst in flames.

The whole hallway was lit up by the blast and even as the guard dropped down on the ground, eyes closing in death, there were echoes of rushed footsteps on the left side of the hallway. More guards were coming after them.

"Run!" The Elf brushed past her, grabbing her hand and dragging her forward. "It would only take one look!" He hauled her off quickly, though he let go of her soon, taking ragged breaths and struggling to keep up.

- Run.
- Fight.

 

[Yokai]

>> Run <<​

Aquila grimaced at the gruesome display of death and fire -- of all the things she'd expected to come out from those terrible eyes, flames weren't one of them. And just like that, guards were already appearing on the scene and suddenly Aquila was being pulled forwards. The Elf tugged her down the hallway and she quickly caught on, matching his pace despite him letting go and beginning to lag behind. She wasn't going to leave him -- though she didn't have the strength to carry him.

 

[ArcticFox]

They raced through the corridors with guards on their heels. The Elf's breathing was ragged and he struggled to keep up, but still the promise of escape kept him going. Soon enough they were out of the dungeons and into the courtyard. They emerged onto a quiet side street, beginning to weave and duck through the alleyways.

The Elf, weak from his long stay in the tiny cell, could barely keep up with Aquila, but was filled with such joy to be free that he laughed even as he tripped and stumbled.

- Turn right.
- Turn left.