Rheesa sat on the railing of the Mistpeak monorail station. Her feet dangled about 50 or 60 feet above the cavern below but she didn't care, she liked perching. Walter sat nearby on a bench with Sora as they waited for the monorail. They had already gotten Sabine, the tiny mountain dweller, to fight for them and were going to soon be on their way to Bowerstone. Walter said that they needed to make a small detour first but wouldn't tell Rheesa where exactly.
"I can never get over this place... Twenty years ago it was just a damp, murky void in the middle of nowhere. Now people queue up to get dangled across it in a steel box." Walter said looking past Rheesa into the dark recesses of the cavern. Then a glow began to appear from the far end of the cave, "And here it comes." As they watched it get closer Rheesa felt an overwhelming feeling to shout, scream, do something. Soon enough, she knew why. The monorail got about 30 feet from the platform and something began to go wrong. The car ground to a halt and hung for a moment, then one of the back wheels exploded. It heaved to one side as the passengers inside were thrown about. It was now dangling on just one of its supporters, which didn't last long either. Another explosion sent the entire car crashing down. Rheesa leapt back onto the platform, half to dodge a flying piece of metal and half to keep herself from falling.
"Come on, we have to get down there!" Walter shouted. They ran down to the maintenance lift as fast as they could, "This must be the way down... We have to find those people, see if there's any survivors." the old soldier was hesitant to get into the lift but did it anyway. Once they were down, he couldn't get out fast enough. The wreckage was just past there, Rheesa could see the flames. They ran towards the fire and began to hear weird cackling noises.
"I'd know those sounds anywhere..." Walter said, voice filling with dread, "Maybe the monorail falling wasn't an accident after all!" The two of them rounded the corner and were met by a large group of crazy little mutated beasties called Hobbes playing in the wreckage.
"Hobbes! I knew it. Don't leave any of the little bastards alive!" he shouted, drawing his sword. Rheesa drew her own and began to cleave her way through the vermin. They were surprisingly squishy compared to their bony arms and legs. They cleared out the immediate area but Walter knew there would be more. With hobbes, there was always more. Rheesa kept her sword out as they continued through the cave. They encountered a few more groups of Hobbes as they went, Sora stayed close at her heels. Finally they found themselves inside an ancient ruin of some sort. It was like a whole city had been down there once. Rheesa walked into a large arena and as soon as she passed the threshold a barrier flickered into life between her and Walter. Sora had almost been caught in the middle but scampered over just in time. A number of hobbes lined the arena and a magic-using hobbe blocked the exit.
"Princess!" Walter shouted. Rheesa turned to find a bunch of angry hobbes approaching from behind. She readied her sword, knowing she would be in for quite the fight. Sora barked jumping back and forth. The hobbes rushed in to attack, stupidly bumping into each other when they got too close. Rheesa sliced at them mercilessly, chopping one's head off here and an arm off there. She ran one right through its stomach and kicked at another somewhere behind her. One of the things caught her off guard from the side and clawed viciously across her chest. Bright red blood soaked into the tattered remains of her blouse. She looked down, not expecting to see as much blood as there was, "RHEESA!" Walter shouted. His voice was so loud that it startled the hobbe casting the barrier. The old soldier smashed through the weakened barrier just as Rheesa fell. He roared through the rest of the hobbes that surrounded her and soon they were all dead. He knelt next to the fallen princess and cradled her head in his arms, "Rheesa?"
"Walter, I'm fine... I just lost a little too much blood. I've ... gotten wounds like this before. Heroes heal fast remember?" Rheesa coughed. They waited for a moment and nothing seemed to be happening. In battles previous, Rheesa would actually be able watch her skin knit back together but something was wrong.
"All right, I'm stopping that bleeding." Walter said producing some bandages from his pack.
"I don't know... Something is suppressing my power... I can't tap into my Will." Rheesa muttered. Not being able to access her Will power meant not being able to get to the Sanctuary. Walter bandaged her up the best he could, which considering the wounds placement, was difficult. As she attempted to fix her tattered blouse for a little decency Walter searched the bodies around them.
"What... is this?" he gasped, holding up what had the resemblance of a glove. The tips were viciously spiked and it shone faintly blue. It was also coated in Rheesa's blood.
"That. Would be what I call horrifying. An evil looking weapon coated in their own blood is not something someone wants to see. Still, it is interesting." Rheesa said, pale from blood loss. Helping her up, Walter fervently hoped they were close to the exit. And even then he hoped they were close to the Fort once they were out. They trudged slowly up and, to Walter's relief, out of the caverns. The cave mouth opened into Mourningwood, a vast mire of ghouls and moss. Rheesa's wound did not seem to be getting any better but it was bandaged well enough and she could walk on her own now. They picked their way carefully through the swamp and soon came within sight of a large fort. Walter sighed with relief and ran up to the gate.
"Cease your movement! Be you men or be you hollow men?" a soldier from atop the gate called down.
"Have you gone daft boy? Open up the doors."
"Walter? Is that you?"
"The very same. Now let us in! My friend here is badly injured."
"Right, yes, of course! Open the gates! Tell Major Swift that Walter's here!" the man shouted down at the other side. The gates swung open and Walter and Rheesa walked through. Two men stood just inside the gate, waiting. One had a very large moustache while the other was quite the handsome man.
"There he is! The one and only Major Swift!" Walter greeted the man with the moustache.
"Walter! What the blazes are you doing here?" Major Swift replied.
"We came looking for you. I have a proposition."
"You came all this way to 'proposition' us? And I thought you were here to save us from the legions of the damned." the second man joked.
"Benn Finn! It's good to see you! I take it the legends about this place are true then?"
"I'll say. We-" The major began to turn to lead them around the camp but was stopped by Rheesa, who had nearly collapsed. The bandages around her chest were soaked through with blood.
"Damn it, of all times to not be able to-" Rheesa sighed irritably.
"Hey, all right there? Holy- that's a lot of blood..." Ben Finn said, noticing her chest.
"Princess!" Walter knelt beside her, "I'm running out of clean bandages... Does this fort have any medical supplies?"
"Very few, though you are fully welcome to them."
"Just give me a new set of bandages and I'll be fine." Rheesa waved away Walter's concern.
"Have you been... bandaging yourself?" Ben asked.
"No, Walter's been doing it for me. I can't really move my arms too much, why?"
"Well... considering where the wound is... No, never mind. Would you like me to? I'm pretty sure I have gentler hands than old Walter over here." The blonde winked at her.
"Ben. Don't even. I think I can manage." Walter warned.
"Why not? I'm sure he's right..." Rheesa said, cluelessly. Flirting had never been her strong point. She had only ever been around Elliot and he didn't even flirt. He just blatantly declared his love for her. Walter just sighed and the captain's jaw dropped, glancing incredulously at Walter.
"No." the old soldier said, ending the issue. Rheesa sat between the two of them, completely lost, "Come on, I'll fix your wrappings... Away from the captain." Ben pouted slightly and turned away, muttering something about people being too damn protective. After her bandages were replaced, Rheesa was sent to find Captain Finn again so he could show her up to the mortar. She refused to sit by idly because of a little scratch. She found him chatting with a few other men towards the back of the Fort.
"Ahh, and there she is all bandaged up. What the blazes gave you that wound anyway?" he asked turning to her.
"Hobbes. Or rather, a hobbe with a nasty little piece of metalwork on its grubby little fingers." Rheesa shrugged, "I think it was... enchanted somehow. I'm cut off from my magic."
"Don't care for them I take it? Me, I think they're rather adorable." Ben joked.
"Adorable? They're vicious! Like ... little chihuahuas!" Ben just stared at her for a moment then he burst into laughter as she shook her head at herself, smiling, "Okay, anyway, you're supposed to show me to the mortar, it's where I'm going to be stationed." He shot her a quizzical look, then shrugged.
"Right then. This way, Princess."
Rheesa was taught how to use the mortar, which she absolutely sucked at. The captain and her loader, Jammy, were driven into fits of laughter at her frustration. Their fun, however, was cut short as droves of hollow men emerged from the graveyards just past the Fort. Rheesa called another soldier to take her place, she was utterly useless on that thing, and drew her rifle. She had heard her mother tell stories of hollow men, shambling, desiccated corpses that could likely fight even better than when they were alive. Which was vaguely sad as they fought at about the speed of a sloth. Rheesa hung back and fired from a distance while Ser Walter and the other soldiers tried to hold the front line. Some got through eventually and she was forced to draw her sword. One of the hollow men charged her, moving faster than she expected, and she just barely parried to blow. Raising her sword, she sliced off its head and turned to the next. The hero caught the creature's sword arm with her left hand and jerked it towards her. Bringing up her right she smashed it in the face with the hilt of her blade. Another group quickly surrounded her. They didn't have weapons, they just grabbed at her, trying to drag her down. She fought back as many as she could but there was always another to replace one she had killed. Suddenly a resounding crack split the air and three of the hollow men slumped to the ground. Rheesa glanced to her left, where the shot came from, and saw Ben Finn grinning at her.
"Did you see that? I mean... Wow! Three! That's gonna be a legend someday."
Rheesa grinned back and forced her attention back to the hollow men, a new energy inside her. She easily killed those surrounding her and ran to the aid of some other soldiers. There were new cries coming from the other side of the Fort. Rheesa heard Major Swift shout;
"Lieutenant Simmons I specifically instructed you to remain buried!" She looked over to see a hollow man crawling out of one of the graves inside the fort.
"Doesn't anyone follow orders anymore?" the captain yelled.
Rheesa ran toward the fracas. This hollow man was larger than the rest and much faster. She distracted it easily, shooting at it with her pistol. Until finally it got close enough to draw her sword on. The thing raised its axe and brought it crashing down at Rheesa's head. She deftly dove underneath it and drove her blade into its stomach. The lieutenant looked down at the hilt protruding from its body then looked at Rheesa. Letting out an unearthly roar, it continued attacking. Rheesa swore and retreated quickly. She perched on top of the crumbling statue in the center of the Fort to reassess the situation. The hollow man didn't give her much time, almost immediately advancing toward her. She looked fervently around her for something she could use to hit it with and saw a soldier standing at the base of the statue, fighting with a lute. She whistled to get his attention and tossed her pistol down.
"This might help!" she said as she leaned over to snag the lute. The princess turned back to face the creature charging her, now less than ten feet away, and leapt. Letting out a fierce war cry, Rheesa brought the lute across the things face, hard. Effectively blowing its entire head off. She hit the ground in a roll, to protect her chest as much as she could, and sat there for a moment, trying to calm the shaking in her limbs. She could hear cries around her, the battle was won.
"That was pretty damn impressive." Captain Finn said, offering her a hand, "So your mother wasn't the last Hero of Albion after all."
"Impressive, maybe for a Hero. Sodding impossible for anyone else!" Walter said. Ben smirked and helped Rheesa up.
"How many other people do you think could say they killed a lieutenant hollow man with a lute?"
"We did it!" Major Swift said, echoing his men from around the Fort, "No, really, we did!"
"Well, Ser Walter. You didn't do too bad... for an old man." Ben quipped, good-naturedly.
"Neither did you. For a buffoon."
The four of them laughed, grateful for the night to be over.
