10
A sharp prick on his foot woke him. Weak, bound, and still groggy, the only thing that kept William from returning to induced slumber was the agonized scream of another. The vocal shrill jolted him from his dazed state, now only wondering what caused that tortured scream, he was oblivious of his current condition.
"Hmf, whts gng om," William spoke with a muffled voice, unaware that he was wrapped in webbing still. After a few seconds, he remembered what happened and began to wiggle and thrash in the web to no avail. He strained his eyes in the dim area. The far off lights not throwing enough brightness to give details to his surroundings. The screaming echoed off the walls like he was in a cave or at least what he thought after hearing it. Having been leaned against the wall in his cocoon-like state, his face directly angled against a stone wall. The only other thing near him was a small red and green root with purple strands of color running through it. William's mind wondered what it could be until he realized who he was last dealing with.
"Nitma," he mustered from his web covered mouth meaning 'Nightmare'.
William scanned the area with what little his peripherals allowed in the dimly lit area. He could see other enveloped Forefront members, but who they were he had no clue, save the smaller one, that had to be Grebb. Looking under some of the webbing to his right, he could make out a figure in a knelt down position with their arms stretched completely outward by some means. Vines or chains held their arms and their head was hanging downward. From what William could tell, the person had really pointed armguards on, for the spikes were about a foot in length and about three to four per arm. William then saw the bottom half of an individual come into his view.
"You expect us to believe your shrubbish?" spoke the sultry male voice, mixing the words rubbish and shrub, deeming it to be Sylvari. He did not recognize the voice or the crude, non-humorous word play, so he started maneuvering himself to a better position to view the scene.
"I-I," struggled a female voice coming from the one bound to the ground, "I just told you," she exerted before sighing, "…what I know." William could not pin point just who it was or if the female was even part of their Forefront crew.
"Yes, you did," spoke Venassi. He knew her voice from before. Only a leg of hers could be seen from his position.
"Ah, yes. That you did," The male spoke. The male Sylvari now walked into William's view. Although he could only see the rear end of this male and the legs below it, he knew it was in fact, Sylvari. "You told us everything. Literally."
"I-I do not know what you mean…" The bound female barely whispered, hardly moving her body. Just by her voice, William could tell she was exhausted, in extreme pain, and barely conscious. It almost sounded like Amerial, or even the newer Sylvari, Nikcoli, but William could not tell.
"Let me clear things up for you, shrew," the male spoke again and then walked a little more into William's line of sight, but he blocked his view of the bound female, only seeing her right arm that faced toward him and the spiked armor she had on it. "You claim to have no ties with us, yet you know of things exactly as it is." The male unsheathed a sword from his side, tilted it, and then hit her across the cheek. The action was not at all fatal, yet it was enough to make the bound Sylvari yelp and see stars. "You somehow know to travel along the backside of Brisban in just a way to directly encroach the old glade the Court reformed for our new copse," the male stated firmly.
"Don't forget her ramblings Elyzur," Venassi added with a hint of anger in her tone while revealing the males name.
Venassi paced in her sharp leaf made attire of varied greens and blacks. The thorns coursing throughout the leather wardrobe stood out from her garment in an exotic, yet threatening way. Each leaf end that was sewn into her wardrobe had a point to it as well, all of which was more than likely poison tipped. The Duchess of Venom's nails extended at least seven inches from her leafy fingertips while the vial of light green liquid she carried matched almost exactly to the color of her eyes. Now near the bound female, reveling in the pain being caused, Venassi lifted the vial over the female in a mischievous manner while waiting for Elyzur to respond.
Elyzur's head twitched as if a thought pierced his mind, "That's right. You speak a name in which we've tried to keep under the brush, yet you blurt it out like it's a common information."
"A n-name?" the female asked, barely able to speak now.
Elyzur chuckled, but as soon as the chuckle left him, rage began to drip from his words. He latched onto one of the spikes that jutted from the bound female's arm and yanked it off. The female screamed in agony and began an exhausted and pain driven weep.
"Now you play games. This is what happens when you play games," Elyzur said, as he readied other tortures for his prisoner.
Elyzur stood up fully, expressing his intimidation to the bound female not paying him attention. His garments were very leaf-like in making and had roots overhanging from it randomly. The texture of the leaf armor both shined like that of metal and appeared just as strong, although a corrupted yellow, brown and reddened color argued otherwise by mere appearance; tainted purple emphasis streaming about the getup.
"Do not kill her, Elyzur. We must wait on Cadeyrn to arrive for more interrogations," Venassi said, somewhat worried the female might perish. She was not concerned for the female bound to the floor, but for her superiors and what they might do if she were to die in their hands.
"I won't kill her, but merely sap her of her fluids," Elyzur moved slightly around her, but William could not see what Elyzur was doing.
"Don't let loose so much, she can still wilt away," Venassi said, confirming the female was a Sylvari.
William moved and contorted, but found himself unable to do anything. His mind shifted to the device he was supposed to use if he was in an emergency. He wished he could move his hand to it and tried to do so, but before he could, William felt a prick again on his foot, wondering what it was.
"Whf thr," William emoted while veering his eyes downward as much as possible. All he could see was something shifting on the ground, but he could not exactly see what it was. Within a few seconds, he watched a small lump travel beneath the wall up to him. Before he could get a better look, it moved forward and then a little under William's webbings, trying to hide it seemed. It then made its way to his face where it pricked his cheek.
"Whas thf shifl!" William shouted, but luckily it was muffled. He began to hear a voice in his head, but they were whispers at best.
"It seems some of them are waking up, Elyzur," Venassi said hearing William's mumbled shout.
"I heard," Elyzur said as he turned toward the noise.
William moved and tried to see what Elyzur was doing while also trying to ignore the voices and the jab to his face. He did not expect the blow to his head by Elyzur.
He woke again to the same jab to his face, but this time did not move. He wondered just what was going on and somehow knew whatever was poking his face was not because of the two Nightmare Court followers that were in the room. He searched the room again for the two Courtiers, but found no one. The one that was bound now lay on the ground, unmoving and slumped over from gravity. He started to move, but he heard a voice before he could do anything.
"This time don't move or make noise, Bookah! We're lucky, they all left the room after the rumble outside the walls," spoke a voice in his head. The voice would have made William jump, but for the web that held him in check. He could not fathom how something besides himself was speaking to him in his head.
"Uh, what?" William spoke in his mind, unsure he heard anything at all.
"Will, it's Grebb. Do not be alarmed. I am telepathically communicating with you through a type of telepathy but through geo-pathical means. The rock shard piercing you is acting as the transceiver to what I say and also transmitting what you say to me via the same type of geo-thermal waves resonating off of the rocks in which I control. This is why you feel a slight pain in your face too because there has to be an entrance into the head. I apologize for slightly piercing your skin."
"Oh." William said simply, his mind still not grasping how it worked. Even hearing what the head-Grebb said, he still did not comprehend what was going on exactly.
"Are you injured at all? Do you need a stone-driven stint or aid in moving a limb?" Grebb mentally asked from his position out of William's view.
"No, I think I'm good. Just can't move because of these damned webs," William spoke in his own mind in response, still unsure he was even talking to Grebb at all. He mocked it up to perhaps spider venom messing with his mind.
"Good. I am fine too. Sonja, Gunnar, and Kadra appear fine as well, it's Amerial and Nik I am worried about," Grebb's worry was evident in his mind voice
"Why are you worried about them?" William asked instantly after Grebb's mental voice stopped. A sliver of fear they might be dead coursed through his being.
"Can you not see them on the ground? You are actually closer to them than any of us," Grebb thought William was dim, but was ever more convinced in that moment. He did not see that William's placement prevented him from seeing the predicament that Nikcoli and Amerial were in.
William tried his best to look out of his peripherals. Nothing could be seen except the silhouette of a figure slumped over. He tried to see who it was, but as hard as he tried, could only make out an outline, which could fit any Sylvari. As he shifted, William managed to wiggle himself enough to cause a tilt in his stature.
William slowly rolled and as he did, he made it a point to lock eyes with both Amerial and Nikcoli. They were strapped down by vines, stripped of all their armor, and appeared unconscious. Their bodies seemingly lifeless(put who's arm or pieces of it were broken off here). The image of his comrades in this tortured way was burned into his memory as his rolling continued. William's next view showed the ceiling of the cave, complete with darkness and stalagmites directly above him and everyone else.
"That wasn't very wise, bookah. Next time try to control the roll," Grebb sarcastically noted to William.
"Can you see me?" William mind-asked, ignoring Grebb's rude comment.
"I can, but from above. I can see best from above and see when the Court comes back in."
"How?" William asked still perplexed at everything transpiring.
"I am utilizing the stalagmites above us as my eyes, since my Asura ones are blindfolded by webs."
William blinked and then looked around all he could. "I don't see you up there," William said before blinking again.
There was silence for a few moments before Grebb responded, "No… you dim human, I can see thanks to my genius use of my elemental powers. I utilize the rocks and walls in this cave to my advantage, using them for my eyes, ears and anything else I can use them for."
William now was the one who paused after Grebb's mental words. "And why aren't we out of this webbing yet then?"
"Because I was waiting on you to wake up!" Grebb shouted emotionally in William's head.
Just after the shout, William felt the shard recede from his face and then go down his side. The shard sliced the webbing, but in places the webbing was right up against his armor and skin, the shard too cut, slicing his skin in the areas skin showed from his armor on its decent downward. After he didn't feel the shard anymore, the webs were not nearly as tight as they had been. The shard again pricked William's leg where some of the armor did not cover.
"Ok, come on out. I need you to defend the rest of us if some Nightmare come back." Grebb stated in wait.
"While you do what?" William asked, unsure he should break free or not.
"While I see if everyone's ok and figure out a way out of this damned cave. Now just come out and maybe we'll go over more of what needs to happen." Grebb sighed in William's mind, would have smacked him mentally too if he could.
William grinned at the cave ceiling as if it was the ceilings doing that he was about to be released. He squirmed and wiggled free of the webs little by little until he fell back on his back.
"Ouf," William unintentionally said as he hit the ground. He propped himself up and shook his head, still feeling webs about him, he grasped what he could and tore them away from his armor and skin. He especially took special time taking it out of his hair.
"Ah, much better. Thanks Grebb, I fee-" William stated before seeing the two familiar Sylvari chained down. He instinctively withdrew his sword and went to break their vined chains.
"Wait!" Grebb shouted from behind his small web.
William stopped and watched as Grebb walked out from behind his web although his web was still slightly moving. "Why? And what's inside your cocoon?"
"Because the vines will set off poisonous and paralyzing clouds if cut down. Nightmare may be null to the other races advantages and their daily living, but they are not dumb."
"But look…" William said now realizing the spiked arm guards he thought he saw on what he now knows is Nikcoli were actually pieces of her arms stripped back in a type of torture. "We -must- do something Grebb."
"We need Sonja. All three have been waiting for you to wake up and guard me as I release them from their webbing."
"All three?" William foolishly asked, not realizing Grebb meant the fellow web-wrapped companions
"Yes Bookah. You know, your -other- Forefront and Guild members? Sonja, Kadra and Gunnar."
"Oh…" William said readjusting himself in his armor.
"Just guard the doorway, please," Grebb ordered with a shake of the head.
William put his sword at his back and this time drew his mace and shield. He stood at the only doorway there was.
Grebb raised an arm and accompanying it were rocks and dirt from the ground beneath. They formed into shard like knives, where Grebb flung his arm outward, sending three to the webbed ones. The knives cut through the webbing easily and once free from it, the rocky knives fell back to the ground as if they were never enchanted by Grebb.
"Ugh, finally," Kadra said slashing her way out with her claws, making use of the cut Grebb's rock made."What took so long, Grebb?" Kadra asked shaking the stray threads of webbing off her rifle.
"Meathead over there had to wake up," Grebb said motioning to William with a head gesture.
"Like I could help being bashed over the head?" William retorted.
"You didn't have to make all that racket for him to notice you. If you hadn't, he'd have left you alone."
William sighed, "How was I supposed to know the small stabs were you trying to talk to me in my head?"
Grebb just shook his head while pulling the cocoon apart from Sonja as best as he could. "They must have used extra for the two Norn," Grebb added seeing Gunnar too having trouble getting out.
"They are naturally brute-like," William offered, "mere webs should be reinforced to hold back their-"The cave they were in began to rumble and shake slightly, interrupting William. The small tremble was enough to cause alarm to the ones freeing their companions.
"Scrap my tail, we should really hurry before we find out what caused that," Kadra said ignoring the webs on her to help free Sonja.
"I agree," William said as his head whipped to the left after hearing many footsteps. They weren't organized, as in a march, neither were there a few, but many frantic footsteps, as if people were scared and running.
Sonja broke free a little after William's comment, her ice-blue hair among the first of her to be seen. She reached outward and slowly made her way out of her entrapment.
"W-what happened?" Sonja asked breaking free of the last her webbed bonds.
"Spiders happened," William noted from the cave entrance.
"Are you alright Sonja?" Kadra asked the hydromancer.
"I-I am fine. I-"
"Oh bear!" Gunnar shouted, free of his webbed shackles at last, "That was too much for a Norn like me, being contained in such a manner!" He whipped about, ridding himself of the rest of the fine threads and made little adjustments to his armor before continuing again, regardless if anyone else wanted to talk. "Where are those spiders? I want to rip them apart and show them my arrows… Nothing can hold me back!" Gunnar shouted taking out his bow. He whistled high and loud, the noise he made echoing off the cave walls.
"Give us away why don't you?" William sarcastically asked, wishing he could smack the Norn on the head to silence him.
"Didn't the spiders do just that? Held you in place?" Kadra asked Gunnar with her rifle out in case unwanted visitors came in.
"You ready Sonja?" Grebb asked looking over at Nikcoli and Amerial in the distance.
"For what?" she responded not knowing what Grebb meant.
Grebb merely nodded to the area where Nikcoli and Amerial were held down. Kadra, Gunnar, and Sonja looked and saw them off in the darker part of the cave.
"Scrap metal!" Kadra shouted running to them. Gunnar and Sonja ran over to the two as well with Grebb behind them. William stood at the entrance watching both his comrades and the outer edge of the entrance to the cave.
Sonja said nothing as she approached the two Sylvari. Seeing Nikcoli with her arms out and hunched over with her arms flayed caused her to act immediately. A swell of blue began to surround her as water began to gush from her hand. She aimed her watery hand to Nikcoli and a surge of water erupted from beneath Nikcoli, submersing her in healing waters. Sonja placed her hand on Nikcoli's head. Upon the touch, Nikcoli's head became submerged in an orb of water.
"Sonja!" Gunnar shouted, using his booming voice again causing William and Grebb matching disappointing gestures. "Drowning her is -not- going to help her!"
"…" Sonja looked to the ground at Gunnar's feet and decided there was no need for a response to such an idiotic proclamation. Her head turned back over to her magics. Within a few seconds of Sonja's waters, Nikcoli started to show more her leaf-like colors from the dried and weltered state she was just in. The flayed arms of the Sylvari receded back to her arms and latched on.
"She is alive, good," Sonja said now seeing bubbles come from Nikcoli's mouth within the bubble of water around her head.
"Oh, that's what that was for?" Gunnar asked. No one responded.
Sonja got up and began to do the same damp ritual on Amerial.
William smiled seeing Nikcoli begin to move. Although her movements were slight and in need of assistance from Grebb and Kadra, Nikcoli's condition was turning around. His smile turned around as well after a few more seconds.
The ground began to tremble and shake like before, but only much worse. Wiliam lost balance and fell against the cave entrance. Kadra fell into a kneeling position while Sonja was forced to sit down from her conjuring.
"We need to go," Grebb said looking around with worry.
"Why do you say that?" Gunnar asked in a defensive, yet stable stance.
"I think it's obvious, Bjornkin," Sonja said looking up at the dull Norn from her sitting position.
"It's Bjorn-jan-kin, Svanir offspring."
"Hush it Bookahs!" Grebb shouted. His head darted to the ground as if he saw something move.
William sighed at the noise while glancing back at the entrance. He then realized they weren't being looked after. At all.
"You know," William started, "With all the racket we're causing and all the time that passed, any normal captors would return."
"Or at least guards." Kadra added.
"You bring up a good point human," Gunnar said now caressing his beard in thought.
"They just not remember we're here?" Sonja asked while wielding her waters on Amerial. It was taking a little longer than she expected with Amerial, which she secretly feared and hid from the rest of her Forefront ensemble.
"That or forgotten…" William now hoped they were not purposely forgotten after he made the comment.
"Go out and take a peak, Will," Grebb asked motioning to the door with a waving hand, as if William was a servant. His eyes still watched all around the cave floor in a disturbing manner.
"Uh, what? Alone?" William asked. He was slightly afraid, but only because of the many footsteps he could still hear.
"Why not, guardian? Can you not handle yourself?" Grebb raised an eyebrow. It lasted only a few seconds before his head tilted upwards with a concerned look.
"I can," William instantly retorted, "but there are so many outside these cave tunnels. I can hear them."
Grebb sighed and looked around. He was about to send Kadra, but saw her in a trance with Sonja's water magic. Grebb definitely didn't want to send the loud-mouth and over-confident Gunnar.
"Actually… I'll go with you Will." Grebb tugged a few areas of his shirt and tilted his neck, anxious. He walked over to William and turned around to the rest of the Froefront opening his mouth about to speak.
"We'll keep it on lockdown Grebb, don't worry," Kadra reassured. She then threw down contraptions she had in her engineering sack. They turned into turrets and were spread out around her, ready for enemies.
Grebb closed his mouth and nodded. Gunnar too had his bow equipped.
The two crossed the entrance and ventured out into the tunnel.
"So what was that back there?" William asked Grebb.
"What do you mean?' Grebb asked stretching his hands towards the cave floor. With each step Grebb took and his arms reaching, the earth beneath him followed at his command.
"I mean that look of yours and the way you were scared of something, looking around like the elder dragons were upon us."
Grebb sulked. "I was -not- afraid, Will," Grebb said just before something leapt out of the shadows. Grebb gasped loud and his eyes widened. Seeing the shadow of something overhead, he began to shout as he laid on the cave floor.
Gunnar's pet had jumped right over them from the side of the cave it climbed up on. It ran past them and in a few seconds, Gunnar's voice could be heard in a joyful tune, obviously happy to see his animal friend.
"Not scared, eh?" William played with a smirk.
Grebb got up and snuffed at William. "That was obviously a scary situation. A massive creature leaping, what appeared to be, right at us. Even you were scared human."
"Startled maybe, but my sword and shield were readied. Your magics were beneath you and you screamed in terror." William began to chuckle.
"Shut that mouth William, I am hearing weird voices, ok?" Grebb said with a big sigh.
William ended his chuckling while somewhat interested in what Grebb had said. "Voices?"
"Yes. I hear the ground speak to me. Something beneath the dirt is talking and I cannot pin point just where the epicenter of this voice might be located." Grebb scanned the ground as he got back up to his feet.
"Like, uh, the undead chanting in their graves or something?" William offered following the cave tunnel. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looked splendid to him.
"No. This is much more, well, prominent. Much worse it feels." Grebb shook his head again and calmed his forehead with his reassuring, rubbing fingers.
"Feels?" William asked, not exactly comprehending how Grebb could hear rock and dirt talk. He shrugged at the thought, for Grebb was a specialized elementalist.
"Yes. I feel something quite big. Something quite powerful. Quite powerful indeed…" Grebb said walking to the cave edge.
The end of the tunnel lead to the outside, but a massive mound of rock blocked the cave off and they could see nothing but treetops. From being in the outside air and hearing much more, they could both hear the many footsteps William spoke of prior. Not only footsteps were heard, however.
The many clangs and clashing of metal, thumps of blunt objects colliding with something, and some chants and screams could be heard. Grebb and William looked to each other.
"Sounds like a battle..." William offered as Grebb nodded a little.
"It sounds of epic proportions too." Grebb responded. The two slowly made their way up the rock to peer over. Once in position the two saw something that caused both of them to gasp.
Many nightmare courtiers and their nightmare hounds, spiders, and other extravagant creatures were battling with the very same plant-like monstrosities they had encountered at Nagaara village, but on a much larger scale. Not all of them resembled jungle trolls, but some were centaur like, humanoid, and even elemental beings. The two forces had long since collided and the forces of which these earthly, plant-elemental beings belonged to were just ripping the Nightmare court forces apart. Even Nightmare courtiers were fighting other Nightmare members, adding to the twisted chaos before the two Tyria Vanguardians witnessed.
"What is-" Grebb started before a small force of Nightmare began to run toward their outlook, but out of fear. They had not seen William or Grebb.. The group was being chased by a number of the earthly corrupted beings and were being picked off one by one until the group was able to hide behind some shrubs near the rock in which Grebb and William peered from.
"Why are they attacking us?!" shouted one of the Nightmare Sylvari to another.
"I don't know! They were our allies!" shouted the other in response.
"Quiet. Both of you," spoke another. This person seemed rather calm and familiar to Grebb and William. It was Elyzur.
"But the minions! They are upon our encampment! All we worked for!" the first Nightmare courtier said to Elyzur.
"Yeah!" added the other Sylvari, "Our new home! Our secret tree will be overrun and we tried so hard to keep it hidden from the rest of Tyria!"
"I said to be quiet," Elyzur calmly said, "They are Dragonspawn. They do the will of the elder dragon and it appears our alliance with it is up."
"It used us!" one of the Sylvari exclaimed in anger.
"You expect less of an Elder dragon?" Elyzur said watching the rest of his allies fall in the distance. "The elder dragons have their own plans and wishes. We were not part of them it seems."
"What about Venassi! And the other Nightmare who betrayed us!"
Elyzur looked to the Nightmare recruit shouting and strung with fear. "She and the others will pay for their treachery, siding with Mordremoth over us Nightmare," Elyzur looked down to the ground and shook his head. With a palm covering his eyes, he sighed and stood up, leaned against a tree and looked to the other two Nightmare. "I plan to bleed her myself… For… I loved her."
Grebb and William had not moved and were still peeking out over the edge of the rock, listening in about how the Nightmare Court were betrayed by the Elder dragon and their own. Grebb looked to William, who looked back.
"Mordremoth?" William whispered.
"I believe so, however I do not understand why it was working with the Nightmare court." Grebb whispered as be looked to the side in thought. After a few seconds, he could hear whispers in his head again, still unable to understand it.
"Hear them again?" William asked seeing the Asura frantically look around.
"Yeah, they-" Grebb started before a loud booming bellow was heard throughout the area briefly. After the bellow, the ground shook and a dragon was seen circling in the sky. William held on to the rock side he stood, but Grebb nearly fell.
"Grebb, you ok?"
"Ugh, yeah. Just fine… That thing cried out and I heard it through my ear canals and in my brain," Grebb said shaking his head.
"What?" William asked not understanding. Again.
"The dragon cried out, right?" Grebb asked.
"Yeah." William waited for Grebb to reply in a confused manner.
"Ok, well I heard it in my ears, like you did, but I also heard it inside of my head somehow." Grebb explained clearly.
"That thing looks like a dragon champion," William commented ignoring Grebb's explanation, "We need to either hide or get out of the area. Fast."
"What? You don't think we can take it? Us? Forefront?" Grebb played with a smile. He knew there's no way eight of them, including the recently revived Sylvari members, could take on a dragon champion in all its glory.
"I believe we could if we were at our peak, however being cooped up in the webs and two of ours down, I doubt it," William said watching the dragon in the sky.
"Destiny's Edge did it," Grebb mentioned honorably recalling their tale against Glint, the once dragon champion of Kralkatorrik."True, but we are not important figures. We are not held to their standard; Unknown heroes at best Grebb"
"You doubt our ability William? As a guild? As the Forefront?" Grebb asked, almost offended.
"I doubt we'd have a chance in our current condition, Grebb. Now will you stop arguing and-" William began as the dragon let loose another deep roar. As the dragon bellowed again, it landed, causing a massive quake throughout the area. Grebb and William fell to the ground, right on their backs.
"Ugh, that felt great," William softly joked feeling a little winded.
"My head… It hurts so tremendously right now!" Grebb said in a normal voice, not whispering to keep a low profile.
"Shhh," William said before realizing Grebbs words. "Tremendous? I don't think that fits in that sentence."
The dragon bellowed again, only this time, it lasted more than just a couple seconds. The dragon was making its presence known and intimidating those in its way.
Grebb began to scream in agony as the dragon cry echoed throughout the area. The whispers in his head became loud and overbearing in Grebb's mind. Loud, angry cries from deep in the earth seemingly ripped into Grebb's thoughts. He frantically twisted about on the ground holding his head as William tried to calm him.
"Escape unscathed? Not before you bleed!" Elyzur shouted before leaping down at them both. Elyzur had left behind his two Nightmare companions hearing Grebb's shout, as they were fighting against three plant and nature riddled dragonspawn.
William barely had enough time to avoid one of Elyzur's blades darting at him, but could not completely deflect the blade away from Grebb. It veered off its path to Grebb's heart and sliced his arm. The blade went halfway through Grebb's arm, slicing through bone and nerves. Grebb turned to the side and held his arm, but after a few more seconds of shouting and crying Asuran jargon, he became unconscious.
William kicked upward, causing Elyzur to fumble toward one side and giving William enough time to get up. One of Elyzur's blades came crashing down on William, only to bounce off his shield. Elyzur recovered and brought his swords around, bringing both blades down, intending to cleave William in two. William stood perfectly still with a small sliver of blue outlining his body.
Both of Elyzur's blades bounced off simultaneously, William's aegis blocking the attack. The block knocked Elyzur a few feet backward into the rock side.
"Time to run faster than a centaur!" William yelled as he grabbed Grebb's unconscious and bleeding body. He hefted the Asura up and over his shoulder easily, due to Grebb's small stature and weight, and turned back to Elyzur in a defensive stance. With a small hand gesture from the guardian, a line of light blue fire appeared between the Nightmare Court Sylvari and the Human holding the Asura.
"Fire?" Elyzur said standing at the edge of the fiery wall, "There are worse things than burning…" Elyzur commented before grazing a finger across the blue flames.
William backed away defensively with a hand still holding Grebb in place on his shoulder as he slowly started casting something, in case Elyzur tried anything. He made sure Elyzur could not see the hand behind Grebb.
"Worse things, eh?" William played, trying to give himself more time to think of a way out of this situation.
"Of course. There are so many, but at this point in time," Elyzur's grin stood out from the Nightmarish colors of his attire. He leaned forward a little into the flames, letting the bright sapphire fire course along his chest, body, shoulders and even his face, "You should worry about me."
A blue light flashed behind William, just as Elyzur leapt through the flame and smashed directly into a barrier that William had just cast. He plummeted down and his two swords fell along with him. On the ground, Elyzur shook his head, unaware of what just happened.
William grinned as he turned and ran back down the tunnel with his injured companion.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever and was much longer than he remembered, but that was forgotten all in a single moment.
"Yes!" William said under his breath remembering he had the flare he was told to use in case of an emergency. This was definitely an emergency in his mind. He was excited to be able to get everyone out of the cave safely and somewhere out of harm's way. "Sonja!" William yelled walking fast through the door.
Sonja looked up and ran to him as he came through the door. Kadra and Gunnar watched from afar beside the recuperating Nikcoli and Amerial, who was still in shambles.
William placed Grebb down gently on the cave floor as Sonja came up. She then hastily knelt beside the unconscious Grebb.
"What happened?" Sonja asked looking over the Asura for any major injuries.
"That Elz-guy. He sliced him on the arm there," William said as he went to stand up. He shifted his shoulder to re-adjust from carrying the lightweight Asura. His eyes lit up as he looked beneath his leg armor, looking for where he put the flare.
Sonja began to work her magic on Grebb's arm, using her healing water magic to soak it and causethe wound to heal quickly.
"What is going on out there?" Gunnar asked, wondering what happened, but knowing Grebb would be ok in Sonja's hands.
"Dragon champion of Mordremoth is out there fighting with the Nightmare court against other Nightmare Court." William said with a sigh, still trying to find the flare.
"Nightmare against Nightmare? What on Tyria could cause that? Kadra asked aloud in thought on the topic.
"Dragon champion?" Gunnar said as his spirits brightened at the words, "We could broaden my legacy!"
"I don't know about you, Norn," William said to Gunnar, "But I'm ready to get out of here. For good." William pulled out the Priory made flare from behind his leg armor close to his knee.
"How?" Kadra asked.
"Anyone else ready to leave?" William asked with a grin waving the device in the air to answer Kadra's question with it.
"What?" Kadra asked wondering just what his plans were. She held a bomb, but had yet lit it due to William and Grebb entering. She was ready for enemies to come barreling down the tunnel chasing after William.
William nodded and showed the flare, holding it outward. He opened the tip of it revealing a type of button.
"We will all be celebrating we got out of this dire situation soon!" William widened the grin on his scruffy face and pressed it.
A swirl of blue and purple energies laced in green encompassed William, Grebb and Sonja and within a few seconds, the three were gone, leaving the rest in an array of surprise, alarm, worry, and most of all, sorrow.