Leafblade & Freelight: The Barracks

[mistral4543]

If only you knew how much I want to be with you. All she wanted to see was a kind-hearted burglar; she knew nothing about the taking of lives that were part of the deal with being a brigand. The romance of adventure beckoned to her so sweetly in the face of her dearest friend, and what she would give to grasp at that invitation!

But alas... things could not be, not now. Her cheeks flamed with the deepest shame as she made her confession. "My father lies crippled back Alesbridge because of my folly, Altair." To him, there could be nothing but the truth. "But my people do not know, they must not know... for the city lies in peril should it disintegrate into panic and chaos." Each word parted from her lips painfully, for what must come.

"I cannot leave with you now, although my heart desires it." Don't look into his eyes, Robyn. Another glance and you're lost. Turning away slightly so that he would not see her tears, she continued. "I... I must somehow make safe the city, before I go." Who are you kidding? Unless Father recovers, which is near impossible, you are the one who assumes rulership. You, and your husband, whoever that may be. Just that thought alone could drive her insane.

"Will you wait for me, Altair?" It was like old times, she pleading him for yet another favour. "Are you willing to wait for me? I will come with you when I'm done. That is a promise."

She could say no more, so breathless and tired was she.

[mistral4543]

"Just a moment now, Rake." Soft was her command, and the lioness growled in discontent as it crouched against the ground, clawing the earth in anticipation. Why the stalling? Weren't the humans ripe for picking just below? Frustration gleamed in her eyes as she tilted her head sideways to exchange a glance with her mistress.

"You think I am senile, no doubt." The mistress chuckled, stroking the fur of her pet; a move which served only to irritate the feline who craved for violence rather than caresses. "I don't blame you, Rake. But I do have my reasons."

What reasons could she have? She was past eighty, and that was assuming she had kept track of her age; nobody had celebrated her birthdays since she was five, and even then, the last birthday had been a nightmare. A nightmare that had led to this day...

It was the fourth time she was in the forest, and each time she was there, she had nearly gotten lost because of its vastness. Always, her aunt had asked her to look for the most unusual of herbs and spices, saying that these were free for the picking, unlike the wares to be bought in the market.

Of course, she had obeyed. Uncle and Aunt were poor, with four children of their own. Her entry into their impoverished family could only be a burden. The least she could do was to help out with chores. Chores that none of their own children partook in...

"Aunt Mag!" Her calls sounded pathetic in the surroundings which were deadly quiet. She was more lost than before, because she had run further into the forest; that was the instruction she had received: "Surely you will not mind finding me the ginseng root, after today's celebration. It cost a fair bit, you know, Gatha. I can't afford to buy a ginseng now." And so she had searched everywhere, bearing a large sickle, chopping and carving at will. If only she had asked what a ginseng was... half her problems would have been solved!

But there was no reply, and the air was turning chilly, just as the light began to fade. Gatha's muddied feet scampered around the forest, her screams echoing hopelessly around the trees. "Please, Aunt Mag! Please... don't leave me here! I'm scared!" The trees were rustling and she could hear the sound of paws padding the earth. She was going to be eaten alive by the creatures of the forest, and Aunt Mag... surely Aunt Mag would come!

Aunt Mag did not want her. The more she tried to resist this terrifying thought, the more she became convinced of the case. She had been sent on the previous errands, so that she would not suspect this latest one... Aunt Mag knew that there was probably no ginseng in the forest; she only wanted her to entrench herself into it and never be able to get out... Aunt Mag's simpering smiles during the party had been quite different from her usual scowls and muttered grievances.

Gatha flung herself upon the ground, wailing her guts out and in anticipating of her impending doom. No one loved her, no one cared that her limbs would be torn apart and her bones chewed upon, and no one would even know she was here. Utter despair gripped her fragile frame as she continued to pour her grievances to the forest...

The memory of that fateful day could never be erased, and Gatha stared into space, remembering her indignation when she found out that Aunt Mag and her entire family had been executed years later for some treason. Revenge was out of the question, and she had spent decades guarding the forest that embraced a lonely, helpless child. She knew and spoke to each creature there, and they returned her affections. Now... everything was in disarray, and she... she was dying.

Every blow she had dealt Rehan earlier had taken a significant amount of physical and mental strength. Speaking to Lord Gerald had taken much of her energies as well. Perhaps she was tired... perhaps it was time to live, and let live.

Turning to Rake, she looked fondly into her eyes. "You can blame me all you want, but I am getting old. These bones are barely holding up." Grinning wryly, she gestured for the lioness to get up. "Go for them with my blessing, my lovely, but have a care. They are armed."

Yes, she would not fight anymore. She was so weary from the burden she had carried out of love and gratitude for her benefactors. They would be free to act for themselves, but for now... what she wanted was rest.

A good, long rest...

[Deiter Leafblade]

A faint smile crept up onto his face as he gently turned her head to face him. He wiped away her tears with his thumb and gave in like he always did when she asked for favors. "I'll wait for you."

Removing his hand from her face, he stood up then and helped her up as well. "I'll get you back to Alesbridge." Pulling a dagger off his belt, he handed it to her as harsh reality crashed down around them.

Altair quickly put out the fire and stood close to her as he gazed out into the darkness. "I know you're tired, but we need to cover some ground before morning. I'd rather go around the forest then through it."

Grasping Robyn's hand, he began to lead the way up the hill when the soft thud of paws could be heard. I thought the beasts were contained to the forest?! Damnit, and I just put out the fire too... Tensing, he stayed close to Robyn as his eyes darted through the night. He couldn't see where the beast was coming from and had no intention of waiting here for it to eat them.

[mistral4543]

She held her blade nervously, though the feel of his fingers reassured her against the darkness that befell them. "I'm with you."

As she felt the tension coursing from his body and through their hand clasps, however, alertness replaced fear. Altair must not worry about her; she would be no burden...

And then, the moment came. Out of nowhere, a shadow leapt towards them. "Roll!" Showing by example, she rolled to the left and sprung to her feet, watching for Altair in dismay. Where was he? Would he be safe? She could not fling her dagger, for fear of wounding him instead. And the wily creature had had the sense to remain silent, apart from its breathing, making it harder to detect its exact location.

Cursing, she could only hope that Altair had escaped this first attack and was regrouping at his end.

[ 07-30-2006, 03:09 AM: Message edited by: mistral4543 ]

[Deiter Leafblade]

Picking himself off the ground, Altair tried to remain calm as he looked for Robyn. Clouds covered the moon, leaving very little visibility. Images of the beast tearing the young apart motivated him to find her as fast as possible.

Luck decided to not be on Altair's side that night. Growling, the beast leapt onto the young man, knocking him down and wrestling down the hill with him. Disoriented, all the thief managed to do was kick the beast off of him, which angered it even more.


Altair barely managed to pull his dagger out before the lioness lunged at him again. Claws ripped at his shoulders as he was knocked over backwards. He could do very little to prevent the beasts clawing, enduring it until the pace slowed down little by little until it stopped breathing. Using all of his strength to push the beast off of him, the body rolled over revealing his dagger stuck in the animal's chest.

Staggering upward, he removed his weapon from the lioness and wondered how he managed to live through that. His torn shoulders said otherwise as the warm blood soaked trails down his shirt. Lady luck rolled snake eyes tonight, and he doubted it would ever happen again.

[mistral4543]

At the growl of the beast, she spun around to catch its shadow now leaping onto another figure - Altair! - and before she could run towards them, man and beast were embroiled in a bitter fight, rolling down the hill for good measure.

Carefully, she lowered herself down the hill so that she would not slip and become a crutch rather than a helping hand. May the gods protect Altair. As soon as she had reached ground level, she charged up and flung her dagger at the clawing creature. The dagger lodged itself onto the lioness' forearm but bloodlust was in her eyes as she concentrated on her first kill. In despair, Robyn looked around for stones and rocks with which she could pelt at and distract their attacker...

Before she could even do so, however, it appeared that the fight was over. With an astonished growl, the lioness fell over from Altair's push and Robyn rushed to his side, gasping as she saw his torn shoulders. The remaining two cure light wounds spells she had fortunately stopped the bleeding, but he was certainly in a bad shape.

Too weak and injured to be moved.

Not knowing whether to be glad or dismayed by the delay, she knelt beside him, stroking his right cheek with her left hand. It seemed as if tears would insult the occasion, so she kept them at bay and smiled faintly.

"Let that teach you never to leave me so unexpectedly and mercilessly again." And she traced his lips with her fingers, pressing them so that he would not have to speak. Looking at his injuries again, she tore the hem of her trousers off and bandaged his shoulders securely. "Let's pray for good weather for the rest of the night."

Almost as if the gods were conspiring against the pair, however, a streak of lightning flashed against the opaque canvass above them, followed by a loud thunderclap. Hurriedly, she stooped down and flung Altair's arms across her shoulders and huffed as she made her way towards some form of shelter, trying to ignore the sheer weight of her burden.

Down came the downpour, drenching them completely to the skin, and she gasped as the rain continued to pelt itself from all directions, especially into her eyes. There was no way of telling where they were going, and she could only hope that it was to safety they were headed.

As she staggered onward with her load, she could not help laughing to herself wryly. How true it was... that it never rained but poured.

[ 07-30-2006, 08:36 AM: Message edited by: mistral4543 ]

[mistral4543]

He closed his eyes, feeling the tears trickling their way down his neck and soaking his shirt gleefully. Even these tears, it appeared, were out to sting him. At this moment, he could no longer distinguish whether it was his physical wounds or the emotional blow he had just been dealt with, that hurt more. Soon... soon...

The words he had just heard, bore their mark upon his soul, razing it irreversibly and gagging him. How could anyone, least of all her, have uttered such words to him, without the blink of an eye?

"You are better off being dead, Gerald." These were what Yasmine, his beloved wife and mother of his precious daughter, had said to him. Neither tears nor compassion accompanied the stiff words she pronounced, she who was bedecked with the family jewels, her hair in an impeccable coiffure and whose glittering gown blinded him as she approached him, her eyes glowing in a light he had never perceived in all their years of courtship and marriage. "The very sight of you now pollutes my perfection, and you cannot blame me for choosing what is best for myself." No mention of himself, or their daughter. When had she turned into this stranger? This heartless, superficial monster?

The memory of that moment continued to gnaw at him now, long after she had sailed away with the completion of her short speech. She had exited without casting another glance at him; he must really be a horrific, degrading sight. His mouth parted but it seemed that no outburst could release the torment that chewed him from the inside.

Yasmine... Yasmine... What had gone wrong, he wanted to know. As he reopened his eyes, tears brimmed in them again and a single heartwrenched cry emitted from his parched lips. What did I do to deserve this?! His arms, bandaged to immobility, could not even express his indignation at the gods above. I have done everything I could to love and protect my family! Grief and fury filled his lungs so furiously that he choked in his breath. Why me? Why do you do this to me?!

Memories of happier times only stabbed his heart now. First Robyn... then Yasmine... who would be next, he wondered? Would there be a next?

Exhausted. Yes, terribly weary of this fight. A scarred cripple whose daughter had not visited him since last night; he had believed her tears, held back his own as she said her piece and fell asleep upon his breast. A grotesque invalid whose wife detested the sight - no, continued existence - of him. And out there, out in the streets where his subjects were, they were jeering at him, at his incompetence. Above, his ancestors were coughing with disapproval, disappointment in his failure to be an able ruler, a wise father and now, his choice of life partner.

Where was hope, at a moment like this? A city in disarray, his traitorous wife making her own plans to usurp rulership of Alesbridge, Robyn's whereabouts unknown, and anytime, anytime she could summon her beasts to attack the city. Everything spelt his downfall. Could he bear it? Could he?

Gerald had performed many deeds in the past, and he hoped fervently that the good ones outnumbered the bad ones. They had to, had to!! He could not bear it otherwise. Tossing and turning, he writhed in agony at the thought of an ignominious end. Never mind that somewhere, his nerves registered pain... he was immune to physical discomfort now. It was the psychological battle that he was fighting, and he was at the losing end.

Soon... soon... Sighing, he turned and noticed the vial which winked invitingly at him for the first time. Ah, you think of everything, Yasmine. For who else could have brought him this poison? Not Edward, whom he knew would have been sent packing. Not any of the help, for they respected him enough not to venture a deed so evil while he was still alive.

You hate me so much, Yasmine. I wonder why. Shakily, his fingers reached for the container, grasped it and brought it forward. How was it that so lethal a potion could be packaged so enticingly? I owe you and Robyn nothing. His other trembling hand unstoppered the vial. You, on the other hand, owe me everything...

The moment had come to end this living hell. He closed his eyes, pouring the deceptively sweet fluid down his throat.

Forgive Papa, Robyn. His innards were warm... warmer... and suddenly ablaze. Gritting his teeth, he could barely suppress his screams, wondering all the time why he was bothering to do so. Perhaps even at this last moment, pride was of importance to him - he must die heroically, not as a babe who wails for help.

Perspiration poured over his head as he doubled over in agony, until...

... just as Papa forgives you...

The darkness comforted him, and he knew no more.

[ 07-30-2006, 07:50 AM: Message edited by: mistral4543 ]

[dplax]

The day had passed uneventfully. As Rehan had said he went into the library, but Esaha did not share the same need for information. What she wanted to do above all was to meet the people, for that was one thing she hadn't been able to do for the last decade.

She just walked in the streets of Alesbridge, watching people going on their daily business, a young couple kissing next to a fountain, an old woman carrying a sack of grain to the small market, a pack of boys playing soldiers and bandits with wooden swords and shields.

The day passed rapidly, and by the end of it Esaha had quite a good mental picture of the streets of the town, having walked most of them several times during the day. The sun had already set behind the horizon when Esaha returned to the Mehlingard manor. As she passed the library, she glanced inside, but Rehan was no longer there.

Feeling tiredness slowly taking over, Esaha went back to her room. But she did not immediately lie down to rest. She was drawn, almost against her will to the window, from where she could just make out the dark outline of the forest in the distance. Stormclouds were gathering on the distant horizon, and the storm would most probably hit within the hour.

The forest seemed to be dark and brooding in this light, but fond memories still tied Esaha to it. Her father lay in piece there, and she would always remember the forest, not only as a place of horrors unleashed by the old lady, but the place where she had lived with her father.

She was just about to turn back to lie down, when she spotted a shadow fleeting across the grassland seperating the forest from the town. Esaha strained her eyes, but couldn't spot the figure again. I must have been imagining something. I'm just tired. But just then a bolt of lightning struck a lonely tree inside the forest, and in the sudden light Esaha gaped in horror.

Dozens of creatures were swarming towards the town from the forest. That could only mean one thing. Esaha ran from her room, looking for someone to warn. The corridor was deserted so she turned left and ran down it. Finding the first open door she came across, she rushed in, and then stopped dead in her tracks. A middle-aged man was lying on the floor, his body badly wounded, but from the bandages and salves on it, taken care of. A small bottle was clutched in his hand.

Once Esaha's father had been visited by a well known potionmaker, and it was from that visit that Esaha had forever remembered the smell she felt here. She pried the bottle from the man's hand and sniffed carefully at it. Poison! - her senses literally screamed at her.

She hastily knelt down next to the figure, and turned him over. As she spotted the ring on his finger, realisation hit her. The tree with the tower next to it was the same symbol she had seen all over the mansion. Could this be Robyn's father?

Esaha almost cried out in frustration not knowing how she could stop the poison and had to watch this once great man die. She cursed herself for not learning more from her father and fell to her knees.

It was just as she was about to give up hope, that something strange happened. An unearthly white glow appeared at her fingertips. Esaha did not have the time to be surprised. Before she even knew it, her hands were firmly pressed against Lord Gerald's chest and she uttered words in a language she did not know she knew. Her hands were now glowing with the white light.

As she finished speaking, Lord Gerald opened his eyes, wondering whether he was dead now, and the beautiful young lady in front of him was here to welcome him in the afterlife. Esaha continued speaking in the strange language, channeling her own energy into Lord Gerald, healing even the injuries he had sustained in his previous trek to the forest.

Once she was done, she tried standing up, but found she did not have any more energy left. Unconsciousness almost overtook her, but she had to tell him.

"The creatures...forest...attack...town...hurry" As she uttered the last word, darkness descended on Esaha, and she fell unconscious.

[mistral4543]

He could not even begin to express his astonishment at his own transformation, so great was it. Flexing his arms, he stifled a whoop as he found that they now moved with their former agility; hoping against hope, he looked down... and tears filled his eyes as he found that his lower limbs had been restored, by a miracle.

A miracle performed by the lovely goddess before him. Kneeling before her - and further rejoicing that no physical pain impeded his movements and the poison had been completely purged from his body - he was about to express his earnest gratitude when he noticed her swaying upon her feet.

Swiftly, he reached out just in time to catch her falling body and her last words:

"The creatures... forest... attack... town... hurry"

The forest? Attack? His mind cleared and he hurriedly lowered her onto the bed he had occupied these two nights. She would be safe here from all harm.

Alesbridge was in danger! Dashing out, he hollered his orders to his stupefied men, and in frustrated impatience, he struck one on the helmet.

"Stop gawking! I am back, and Alesbridge is facing an attack from the forest! To arms, men, to arms!"

Down he sprinted with the rest of them, momentarily sighing as he heard the bugles echo out into the street. This was another day to be remembered... would Alesbridge survive the onslaught? And his eyes shone with a brilliance that contrasted starkly against the gloom that had filled them just moments ago.

"To arms! To arms!" And the guards echoed his war-cry, their morale boosted and their weapons drawn in readiness as they charged into the streets, keeping the citizens behind their closed doors and preparing for the battle ahead...

[Deiter Leafblade]

Squinting against the rain, Altair could make out an overhang on the other side of the hill. "Stop." He said quietly as if the energy to talk was painful to use. Trying his best not to put too much weight on her, he slid off Robyn and gingery wrapped his left arm around her shoulder so he could stumble along with her.

The storm continued to tear at them, leaving the pair shivering as they made it under the overhang. Altair lowered himself down against the rock wall with Robyn's help. He was thankful to be out of the storm, but the wind howled savagely, causing their soaked clothes and skin to grow cold.

Shivering, he motioned for her to sit next to him, welcoming their combined body heat. There wasn't enough wood to make a fire, and Altair contemplated on if they would die here. He refused the thought as quickly as it entered his mind. They would make it through this together. It was his fault Robyn was even out here to begin with, and Altair knew he had to correct the situation.

Grasping her hands, he gently rubbed his own against hers, generating a small amount of heat for her cold fingers. The rain struck the ground over and over in a mesmerizing rhythm. Altair watched the droplets shatter on contact with the ground, soaking the earth with its own vengeance.

Rehan rushed outside of the manor, outfitted in armor and sword he gathered from the armory. The clouds were an ominous gray, adding a sense of dread to the tense battle scene. Soldiers waited inside the city gates, watching the army of beasts come closer and closer.

Large-scale battle was not something Rehan was used to, and the fact the enemies were wild beasts left the young man feeling apprehensive. Making his way to the small walkway, he climbed up to the top of the city gates and waited, for there was nothing to do but wait. He couldn't deny though, the excitement of something such as this started to raise his spirits, and he began to welcome the fight with open arms. Alesbrige would win this battle, or he would die trying.

[ 07-30-2006, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: Deiter Leafblade ]