Tales of Ovelia: Seeds of Freedom

[Penelope Burns]

The first guard fell with a light crash, his armor making plenty of noise as his body hit the floor. Sari was less than subtle with her attack, she ran up to the other guard and kicked him in the shin, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up she used her arm to choke him until she was certain he was unconscious. Neither of them were getting up anytime soon.


The door was locked, but upon looking on the bodies for a key Sari found one. She tossed it to Donovan, signaling to him that she wanted him to open the door. she had doubts about what was behind it, probably just another hall, though anything could have been behind it, really.


(Another hall, this one however has rooms connected to it (a library, a light armory, and another hallway))

 

[Willow Pillow]

"You definitely know how to keep things quiet," he whispered. He bent down finding rope on the men, tying their wrists together. When she handed him the key he wanted to groan. She was severely pushing this bravery leadership point. He hid his grunt taking it and unlocking the door.


He kept his steps light as it was an empty hall with doors. three. one to the left. One to the right. One straight ahead. Curiosity got the better of him as he opened up the left, a large library. He was tempted to walk in. He loved books. Learning. Reading. Yes, secretly he was a very wimpy nerdy man but he contained himself. The one to the right was an armory. Not much but he saw quivers, full. He pointed to them to let Sari fill what she needed to fill.


He would....he gulped...stand guard....if she needed to grab anything.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Sari didn't know what room to enter first. The armory had precious ammo that she lost during their initial entrance of the city, but the library, the greatest source of history she could probably ever find, was right there. Impatient, Sari threw open the armory door and hurriedly walked inside to fill her quiver. Other than a strangely massive store of gunpowder, bullets, and arrows, the armory was basically empty. Sari turned to leave, only to see three pairs of eyes staring at her from the shadows.


Her eyes widened as she tried sprinting to the doorway, but the three guards, three men, moved between her and the door long before she got there. They didn't move, didn't say a word, the just stared at her like statues. Seeing no way out, Sari unsheathed her daggers and charged the silent trio.


Only one stepped forward, a short man with a spear about as tall as him. He jabbed his spear, forcing Sari to jump back. "Donovan!" Sari called, needing backup. Of course, from her position, she wouldn't have noticed the two men in the hallway just behind the middle door.

 

[Willow Pillow]

The middle door, two men stood by the hallway. O'Donovan looked carefully but kept still. He was in uniform. There was no reason to raise-


"Donovan!"


Jesus Fucking Christ.


The two guards withdrew their blades. O'Donovan took a step back. He grabbed a torch against the wall in the hall and grabbed one of his little bags. Lighting the tip of the bag, he tossed it at them.


KABOOM.


They began screaming as he saw their legs blown off and the two burning alive. He jumped into the armory room with the torch in hand seeing three men. A short one was infront of Sari, he whacked him in the nape of the neck with the torch handle.


But he felt something stab him, if he wasn't wearing the armory, it would go right through his side and kill him, instead he felt the chains break and having it slightly jab through by one of the other two.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Sari panicked when she heard the explosion, and prayed Donovan was alright. She was about to rush the door to try and check when he appeared and knocked the spearman out. His heroics didn't last long, however, as a moment later another of the trio stabbed Donovan in the back. Sari's eyes widened as she watched Donovan realize what happened. She didn't hesitate, she pulled out her pistol and Donovan's attacker in the head. Had she not been at such close range, it could have missed and hit Donovan, but luckily for him all it did was spray him with a small amount of gunpowder.


With his allies dead, the third guardsman was easy to dispatch, removed from play with a roll and a slice to the neck. Without hesitation, Sari turned around and searched Donovan for where he was bleeding. "Donovan are you okay?" Her breathing intensified, he looked alive, but he could easily have been in shock. That was how her father died, and she wasn't letting it happen to anyone else. "Are you bleeding? Where are you bleeding?"

 

[Willow Pillow]

The blade had been stopped by the chains of armor, breaking, only poking into the right side of his back. The pain twitched and seared through as he was inwardly panicking. He wasn't a fighter. And he was going to die here in this frikken magistrate's place. The sound of the gun had his ears ringing and everything slowed down. Lifting up the fabric he looked at the mangled chained vest which was stained with his own blood. lifting that up, the would was deep but not...


How did they think the two of them would get out. "I need you to do something....you're going to shove whatever you can in my mouth because I'm going to scream." Taking in a breath he handed her the torch as his other hand pressed into the wound to hold into the breathing. "We need to close the wound....heat the sword....press it on my flesh." The heat if she did it long enough would close the wound and he wouldn't bleed out. "Do it fast."

 

[Penelope Burns]

Sari did what she was told, trying her best not to remember how her father died. She ran to the nearest torch and held her sword in the flames, watching it slowly heat. After an agonizing amount of time she ran back and shoved (horizontally, of course) her dagger's sheathe in between Donovan's teeth. He wasn't dying, not on her watch.


She hurriedly took off his shirt, noticing sweat and blood rush down his back. Without waiting another moment, she pressed the sword against his back for as long as she could, twitching when she heard the hiss as his flesh burnt.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Shoving cloth in his mouth he closed his eyes and prepared for it. Nothing could ever make hi. Prepare for this. He screamed in agony as she pressed the blade I , the clothing stifling the sounds of pain and torture for other soldiers to hear.


His knees buckled in the brain numbing pain that when she released he fell on them his forehead dripping in his own sweat as he was paler. But the wound was catarized....they were OK. Pulling his shirt down he gave a weak smile. "Ladies admire battle scars....I'm OK sari...you don't have to look so...let's keep moving on, get your vengeance done so we both can talk about it later..."


Forcing himself back on his feet he still felt the numbing effects of being burned....but keep plugging forward.

 

[Penelope Burns]

"Vengeance can wait," Sari said, concerned. "You just survived having a would cauterized, take it easy for at least a few minutes." She didn't know how it had come to that so easily. Was she really so concerned for the cowardly pervert who, let's face it, was only helping her for the reward?


The answer was yes, she was. Not only had he recently proved his abilities, she really did feel concern for him. He was the only person she had left.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"That's sweet sari....but I blew up two people. You and I both know time isn't a luxury we have."


He felt woozy. He would need more than a few minutes. But he cracked his knuckles. "I'm not going to be the one that got you killed after you lost everything to get here....but you could take point"


Why did he even care so much? This wasn't worth the reward...this was way past worth the reward....but he knew loss....he flashed her his charismatic smile....pale complexion betraying him, to let her know he was good to go.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Sari sighed. He was right, between the gunshot and the explosion, people on the surface easily could have heard something. Guards could be rushing into the tunnels as they spoke. "I'll take point, and during any fights you stay behind, don't do anything stupid, and don't do anything brave." Those were her terms. He was going to make it out of this, even if she didn't.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"Fine. I have no problem with that." Conmen lie. "Lead the way, my lady." He did a mock bow only to wince. He held in the surprise gasp so she wouldn't spazz on him.


The two soldiers were dead.....their corpses still burning ad the two left into the hall opening the middle door.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Sari took the lead in the final pathway, barely registering the still burning bodies, but wincing as they left the library without even glancing at the books. The history that could have been learned there... She continued onward, walking at a slower than usual pace to ensure that Donovan didn't overwork his body.


Eventually they reached another room with a three door path. And in the middle of the room, almost completely invisible among the torchlight, was a tripwire. This was probably the part where there would be no more patrolling guards, replaced by deadly traps of all kinds. "Be on your guard, Donovan. There is a tripwire in the middle of the room, what it does I don't know yet. Got any ideas on how we're going to set it off?" And she was hellbent on ensuring that they set it off. The last thing they needed was to accidentally hit a trap while trying to make a quick getaway.

 

[Willow Pillow]

O'Donovan grabbed an arrow from her quiver and dug through his bag. He had little sacks of gun powder but that was a terrible not so good idea. He grinned when he found an apple. Sticking it on point he handed it to her.


A tip of an arrow might narrowly miss a string barely seen but widen the object destined to hit it increases chance of impact. He have it back to her. "Here you go sweetheart. You got good aim?"


He knew she did.

 

[Penelope Burns]

She stood back, almost hugging the wall as she aimed her bow. The apple made the arrow far heavier than usual, but her aim hardly suffered. Sari fired her arrow at the tripwire, causing bow the arrow and the bow to be sliced in half by a giant blade hidden in the wall. Sari's eyes widened at the sight. "Overkill much." She said, almost joking.


After waiting several seconds to see if the blade would make a return trip, Sari walked forward, examining the three rooms from a small opening in the doors. One room had to be a storeroom, it smelled like produce. The one opposite it, on the right, had a desk and a few dozen books visible by the light of one torch. The rest of the room was darkness. Obviously the middle door had to be another hallway.


"Okay, we've got enough ground that we should be fine to spend a few minutes here resting." Sari said, refusing to let Donovan argue.

 

[Willow Pillow]

(I'm on my phone so these are short)


"I did need a shave..." He teased a long with her but he didn't feel good about it at all. What if they went through a room and didn't see the trap.


This was definitely not easy. As she declared that they were saying he groaned. "Fine...whatever. How much further before we get to where you need to go. I still think this is a bad idea."


His side burned with pain....and he really wanted to lie down....by he forced himself to stay on his feet.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Bodily need almost won out over will power as he found himself leaning against a wall ready to slide to the floor.


"I think we are here so you can kill the magistrate.... Stop me if I'm wrong.....but you have any suggestions on how to kill a man with magic?"


Because a sword nearly did me in....not sure we have a good plan here

 

[Penelope Burns]

"We aren't killing anybody." Sari said, her concern fading. "I'm killing Keval, and you aren't going to help. Hopefully we'll find something of worth down here you can take and sell. If not, take as many books as you can and run to the surface." Her tone was cold as ice, she wasn't letting him argue, especially in his condition.


Sari was curious about both rooms, but she waited until she was finished talking to Donovan to try anything.

 

[Willow Pillow]

He laughed. "That's not happening. You're not doing this by yourself. Your husband would have killed me or anyone if they left you alone to do this."

 

[Penelope Burns]

"Don't talk about him like you knew him!" Sari snapped, her neutral feelings replaced by pure anger. How dare he talk about Damien, they knew each other for a few weeks, he didn't know a thing about her husband that she didn't. He understood her passion, he knew how she worked.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"I didn't know him, but I saw the two of you together enough to know I'm right. You're not doing this alone, Sari. I'm not budging on this." He snapped right back.


Poking a vipers nest. He saw it as soon as he saw her anger flare. He felt dizzy and light headed but he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the hallway. "We're pressing luck stating here as long as we are."


Shed have to knock him out OE kill him herself if she really wanted to do it alone that badly.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Killing Donovan would have been simple. One arrow to the neck would have been more than enough to shut his mouth for good. The atrocious thought left as soon as it came, and Sari was disgusted with herself for even thinking it. She wasn't going to hurt him unless his life was at risk.


"Fine, let's go then." Sari said, opening the middle door without bothering to investigate the other rooms. She walked slowly only to avoid being dismembered by a trap, otherwise she didn't care about keeping A slow pace .

 

[Willow Pillow]

Vipers. Tiger....this woman would end up killing him one day.


Heh, if the mage didn't do it himself.


She brushed past him and he could practically feel the ice. "Sari....look I know what its like to lose someone. I'm not a complete shithead." He said trying ng to keep up with her....wincing as he went.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Half listening to what he was saying, Sari continued onward, only stopping when she felt the tile under her right foot sink. Her eyes widened.


A pressure plate.


She immediately held up a hand, giving Donovan the signal to stop, while she looked for a way out. There were too kinds of pressure plates. the subtle kind that activated upon the pressure being added and removed, and the obvious kind that activated upon pressure hitting it. Was this the end? Was a trap in the process of activating as her mind raced, looking for a way out?


"Donovan, I'm standing on a pressure plate." Sari said, convinced that her life was over. "I don't know what kind of range this trap has, so you need to run. Loot a corpse's uniform and tell them I broke in and almost killed you all. It's your only hope." She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She shed too many tears on the deaths of those she loved, she had none left for herself.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Donovan stopped and looked around the tiles. He just stared at her and left her. Not a word.


What he didn't say was he walked back to the other hallway and entered one of the rooms. It was another armory. Grabbing armor plates and a helmet until he carries a good 20 pounds he walked back.


His body ached and his wound felt like it was sweating all over. Coming back he wasn't sure sari's reaction as he watched his reps and placed a helmet down on the tile pressing hard.


"You're not dying. We are just substituting the pressure so you can get off and the trap isn't ignited."