The hunter used the spyglass and watched the bolt fly through the air for what felt like an eternity. She felt as if the bolt moved through thick syrup, slowly inching its way towards the sentry keeping watch on the wall. Then the bolt hit its intended target. It whizzed by the man with impressive speed, cutting open a small slit near his elbow and disappearing out of the hunter's view somewhere further in the castle. The sentry reached for his arm violently, a small amount of blood trickled down between his fingers as he opened his mouth to yell out to his fellow sentries. Chloe began to feel a powerful sense of fear and she began to wonder if Lord Frederick had actually been telling the truth when he'd handed her those bolts. The man had betrayed her after all, stabbing her and leaving the hunter for dead in a dirty alley. But the sentry doubled over before a single word escaped his lips. She could imagine him groaning, he looked to the forest where the bolt had come from with a wide eyed expression of disbelief. She wondered if he knew what was happening to him. If he knew that his fate has been sealed the moment that bolt had touched him, sending various lethal venoms flowing through his blood stream. It didn't take long to take effect. He felt for his head and stumbled backwards, off-balance. His careening stance sent him tripping down the flight of stairs directly behind him. He fell out of sight of the hunter and Chloe finally let out the breath she found she'd been holding all this time. The whole sordid affair had taken less than six seconds from start to finish but it had felt like an eternity.
"Recall the bolt. Now." She closed her eyes and lowered her forehead on top of her crossbow. She calmed herself down, manually resetting her breathing to a lower pace. This had been an incredibly difficult shot to make, she doubted there was another man or woman who could've done what she just did in the whole continent. Chloe smiled to herself and looked down the spyglass once more. She could see a faint orange glow emanating from behind, Max was recalling the one and only evidence of the crime. Now it was time to see the fallout of her actions. The hunter saw the shocked faces of the two closest sentries. A few more men rushed from the circular towers and peeked down the stairs shouting. Their attention was on the fallen man but it wasn't enough, not yet. Another long moment and they all moved, abandoning their posts to see to their fallen comrade. The wall was devoid of people. It was time to strike. Chloe stood up and turned to her friends. Max was holding onto the bolt, a look of pride donning her face for what she'd managed to accomplish. There was no time to waste. "Drop the bolt, I'll come back for it later if there's time. They left their posts, we need to go. Now."
The group stood up and followed Chloe as she breached the forest and ran into the exposed plains. They were ninety yards from safety. Madsen overtook her to the left. The Impact had shifted to his dark green scaled persona and his enhanced legs carried him further and faster than the hunter could manage with all her speed. Pompidou was next, the large war hound with crimson tinged fur and glowing red irises sprinted by with Kate on his muscled back. He was the size of a small bear and he leaped over large spans of distance effortlessly, not hindered in the least by the small blonde woman who was grabbing on two large tufts of his fur to keep her position steady on his back. Chloe almost stumbled and tripped to the ground at the surprising sight. Large paw prints were left behind in the war hound's mad dash to the wall. Victoria and Chloe reached the wall at the same time, moments after the Madsen and Kate. They both turned simultaneously to look at Max. The small brunette was running as hard as she could towards the rest of the group. She reached the wall, short of breath.
"What the hell…" Max looked at Kate, she spoke softly to avoid bringing attention of any who could be above. "Since when is that a thing?"
"I'll second that question. I almost fell face first into the dirt when you rode by." Kate shrugged with a small smile.
"It's a lot harder than it looks. I had to practice dozens of times and I fell on my behind more times than I can count." Chloe looked at the war hound and he growled at her until Kate prompted him to silence. "One of these days, somehow… I gotta find out how the bloody hell Frank got a hold of you…"
Madsen lifted his arm and quieted them. He'd shifted back to normal and he was now looking up at the wall's edge. Chloe followed his gaze and spotted a man leaning on it, looking to the forest they'd just come from. "I guess the sentries are done dealing with the man I shot." Max quietly took out a large flat metal disk from inside a leather bag on her back. The witch discarded the bag to the side and placed the device flat against the wall. There were ridges stemming from a small circle in the middle of the disk and extending to its edges. It split the disk into four equal, separate sections. Max gestured for Victoria to step forward. Chloe could barely make the tall woman out in the dark. Her new clothing made her almost indistinguishable next to the dark gray wall. The witch gestured at the hunter's cloak and Victoria nodded. She removed it and held it over the device.
Max pressed her palm under the cloak and over the disk. Her fingers started to glow and faint blue and small lightning arcs sprouted and connected with the metal disk behind the cloak. It made a small amount of noise but nothing that would bring attention onto them. It started to glow and the disk extended itself, stretching apart from the small circle in the middle. Once it covered as large an area as it could, roughly four feet in each direction, the disk started to vibrate consistently yet still silent. The bricks underneath it trembled and small puffs of dirt escaped where they met each other. A moment passed and Max removed the object. Chloe frowned in confusion. The wall looked almost exactly the same as it had prior to attaching the device, the only difference was that the wall had sank a bit. She could see an inch or two into the castle at the top of where the object had lain, certainly not enough for anything to pass through expect a mouse. Max placed it in the bag and slung it on her back once more. She smiled broadly at the group's confused looks and bent down. Her hand touched the wall and went straight through it. The area of the brick wall that had been covered by the object fell apart into tiny pebbles. It poured over Max's hand and down on the inside and outside of the castle like rough sand from a beach. In front of them stood a hole approximately four feet in diameter leading straight into one of the castle's many corridors. Victoria shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing, Chloe agreed with the sentiment. "Bloody tinkerers… I should get a couple dozen on retainer."
Max carefully stepped forward and into the corridor, it wasn't well lit. One oil lamp was tasked with lighting the whole area but it hung far away to the left. It was failing poorly in that endeavor. Chloe followed after the witch, she strained her ears to make sure there was no patrol nearby. The only downside to the tinkerer's gadget was that if any guard walked by the hole in the castle, an alarm would surely be raised. The rest of the group followed and Max turned to Victoria with her bracelet. The hunter attached it to her wrist and used her cloak to cover the light. Victoria looked around through walls with a thoughtful expression on her face. Chloe almost laughed. The woman looked daft, like she'd taken a hard hit on the head and was left short of brains. Victoria squinted and pointed up and to the right, she gestured for the rest of the group to get closer.
"He's in the furthest tower on the right side." The words were spoken quietly but Chloe still felt as if it was too loud. "He's standing and talking with someone. Odd that he's still thinking about me… I don't like the implication of that." Victoria grew quiet.
"Let's split up now. We each take a corridor and make our way to the tower. Whoever gets there first, waits for the second group. No rushing ahead like fools. If an alarm is raised then the squad leaders decide on the most appropriate course of actions." Max spoke while looking to Victoria and Chloe intently. They'd been chosen as the leaders of the two groups since they were the most experienced in tactics and infiltrating the enemy. Max, Kate and Madsen had agreed to follow their every commands no matter what happened. That was important. The two hunters nodded. Chloe walked up to Victoria and placed her hand on the other hunter's left shoulder.
"Viend ash enfead." Victoria mimicked the gesture and repeated the saying. They broke away and Chloe opened her arms towards Max. The witch walked into her embrace. Chloe closed her eyes and whispered under her breath. "Stay safe and pick your battles well. I don't want you getting injured again." Max chuckled.
"Your track record is worse than mine." Chloe squeezed a bit tighter.
"I'm serious Max. And… If an alarm is raised and Victoria says you need to leave the castle without us. I want you to follow her." She felt Max stiffen slightly, the witch didn't reply. Max broke apart and smiled at her.
"Stay safe." She looked at Madsen and Kate who were standing behind awkwardly. "All of you." Then Victoria took off towards the left of the corridor with Max in tow. Chloe watched the brunette round the corner and she turned the other way. She inhaled hard and thought back to the old hunter's saying she'd exchanged with Victoria. "Tonight we hunt."
"Let's go." She carefully ran the many paces needed to arrive the bend in the corridor, slowing and creeping up just before she reached it. Chloe looked back to see Kate and Madsen crouched behind her, Pompidou was next to the blonde's left leg. She gestured for them to stay quiet as she unslung her smaller crossbow at her hip. She loaded it with a broad head bolt from her bag, opting not to use the ones on her belt until necessary. Chloe carefully took out a small reflective piece of glass from her pocket. She'd taken it just for this mission. The hunter placed it at the base of corner and inched it out. She could see down the corridor ahead, it was deserted. She turned the corner and got a better look. She could keep going to straight or take a right turn halfway down the corridor. She decide to turn right and she added the turn to her mental map of the castle. This time when she bent down with the piece of glass, she found her enemies. Not even four paces away from the turn, were two executioners standing at attention each on one side of a closed door. Further down at the end of the corridor there was one executioner and two soldiers talking by the stairs leading to the second floor. "Decision time… Leave this corridor alone and sneak across to go straight or fight my way to the right." A reasonable person would most likely abandon the corridor infested with executioners but she did need to turn right at some point and what's to say the other ways would be easier. "Anyways… I want to see what those executioners are guarding."
She motioned for the Impact to step closer and she used a few hand signals to let him know what she was seeing. They'd all agreed last night to take the time to make some, you never knew when they could come in handy. Madsen nodded and Chloe went back to watching the corridor with the glass. She counted four minutes in her head before the men at the end of the passage decided to leave and take the stairs up. The two executioners didn't even glance their way. They stood still, almost as lifelessly as statues. Chloe look back and counted down by three with her fingers. Madsen shifted and stood at attention, ready to sprint the few paces required to reach them.
When her third finger dropped, Chloe turned the corner with her right arm extended in front of her. The crimson men both turned simultaneously and Chloe pressed the trigger. The broad head bolt left the smaller crossbow with force and shot straight through the further man's throat. It ripped straight through the exposed skin in an explosion of blood and clattered free to the ground behind him. The man brought up a hand to the exposed wound, trying as best he could to stem the flow of blood escaping him. His shout of alarm died before it left his lips. Madsen reached the closest executioner before the other man even dropped to his knees. The green scaled man grabbed him by the helmet with his left hand, right where his mouth would be. The Impact squeezed violently, crumpling the metal, bone and flesh in his fist. The man backed away on shaky legs and Chloe grimaced despite herself. The executioner's face was missing a large chunk at the base. His chin, mouth and part of his cheeks had been ripped completely free. He gargled blood and stumbled backwards, tripping over his fellow executioner who'd begun convulsing on the ground. Madsen reached out and got a hold of him before he fell, it would make too much noise if the armor clanged to the ground. He lowered him to the ground and pressed the man's helmet gently against the brick floor. Then he kept pressing. The man shook, limbs flailing, as his head was squished to the floor. Madsen got up, leaving the dead executioner's helmet flat to the ground with a handprint in the middle. Chloe reached her target who was still convulsing on the ground and she pulled out her enchanted blade. She let it drop an inch over his face and it fell point first straight through the helmet and a bit through the stone floor. He stopped moving.
Chloe wiped her enchanted blade on his inner clothing and looked around the corridor. It was a blood bath. The walls and floor were matted with dark red blood and clumps of brains had escaped through the bottom of the flat helmet where Madsen had killed his target. Kate didn't bother looking at the corpses, she simply walked to the door with a curious expression. It was a heavy wooden door and it was locked as Kate soon found out when she tried to pry it open. Chloe gestured for Madsen to do the honors. The Impact gently ripped the handle free of the door to try and minimize the amount of noise they were making. Then he grabbed the hole and cracked the piece with the lock straight off, the door swung open. Chloe waded through the pool of blood while reloading her crossbow and walked inside. It was a small room, barely the size of a closet actually. And it contained only a small chest. Chloe used her enchanted blade and sheared the top of the chest straight off. She placed her blade back between her shoulders and removed the top. Inside was a small stack of papers with writing on it. The hunter glanced over a few but she couldn't make out what it said. It was in a different language and quite a few were stained with what looked like old blood. The only discernable part of the notes were two names that came up on every sheet, Hev and Dana. Kate walked up behind her and peered at the notes in Chloe's hands.
"What is it?"
"Nothing important. We've wasted enough time…" Chloe shoved all the papers carelessly into the side pocket of her bolt bag. It could be analyzed later if it showed any importance. Right now the priority was getting to the Raven Knight. The three of them walked towards the stairs, they managed to get within five feet when Chloe stopped dead in her tracks. She'd been too preoccupied with thinking of the papers to notice the footsteps ahead. An executioner followed by two soldiers walked down the stairs and locked eyes with them. Everyone froze for a moment and three sets of eyes flickered to the bodies lying in pools of blood behind the group.
Pompidou was the first to move and the large war hound lunged at a soldier and landed on his chest. The dog bit down on his shoulder and used his large back claws to score through the man's belly, effectively gutting him. The executioner recovered second and he ducked under Madsen's fist to body Kate, heaving her into the brick floor hard. Chloe turned to help but the second soldier kicked her in the back on the knee which made her stumble forward into Madsen, taking both of them to the ground. Kate stood quickly and pulled her two short swords free as the executioners got his long sword out of his sheath. The crimson man parried her thrust and swept the woman's legs out from under her. Kate crashed to the ground on her back and the man plunged his sword down. She rolled to the side, got to one knee and rammed her left sword against his hip. The armor reverberated in the corridor and the man moved to the side deftly, keeping sword held forward towards her. Chloe was thrown away to the side by the Impact as the second soldier's short sword landed where she had been mere seconds ago. The sword connected with Madsen's chest in a metallic clang as he tried to stand up. The soldier's eye widened and he kicked the imbalanced Impact back down to the floor. Chloe took out her daggers and moved in front of him. He swung upwards in a wide arc with his left blade and made a straight jab with his right. The hunter parried the first blow and moved out of the way of the second by launching herself to the right.
She glanced at Kate who'd gotten the inside position on the executioner. The crimson man couldn't swing his sword properly with the woman in her position so he dropped it and swung a fist at her face. Kate ducked down with quick reflexes and the man's gauntlet rammed into the brick wall behind her. He groaned and doubled over in pain as Kate rammed a short sword into his abdomen. The blonde pushed him back against the far wall and rammed her last sword downwards in his shoulder blade. The soldier in front of Chloe lunged at her once more but she used her forearm to block his hand from continuing the swing. The hunter used the opportunity to stab him in the left hip with a dagger. The man cursed and she pushed him hard towards the war hound who'd just finished digging a deep cavity right in the first soldier's chest. Pompidou leaped into the soldiers back sending him careening towards Madsen who slammed a green scaled fist into his helmeted face. His fist ripped through the top of the man's head with a wet metallic sound and sprayed Chloe and the dog with his blood. The soldier's mangled body kept its momentum and slid to the ground lifelessly behind the Impact. The hunter wiped her forehead with her sleeve and spat to the side, trying her best to get the taste of the soldier's blood out of her mouth.
"Are you alright?" Chloe directed the question to Kate. The woman wore a blank expression while looking at the body speared with her short swords. "Kate?" The woman was shaken out of her reverie and she glanced back at Chloe. Her eyes shone with a deadly sort of excitement. She pulled her swords free, ignoring the question completely. She turned and simply walked past Chloe and Madsen determinedly, whistling on the way to get Pompidou's attention. "Kate? Stop… Hey… I sa…" She reached for the woman and her hand was batted away with a hard fist.
"I'm not such an easy target anymore… I'll show them what it's like to face someone who can fight back. They'll all pay." It was said softly and to nobody in particular as the woman climbed the stairs without trying to keep quiet. Chloe ran in the corridor after her with Madsen. "What the bloody hell is she doing? She's going to alarm the whole bloody castle…" Kate raced around the corner ahead. Chloe could see the woman smiling grimly, it was a terrifying look when combined with her heavily scarred face.
A surprised yell followed by a loud growl could be heard around the next bend and Chloe and the Impact pushed themselves even harder. They turned the corner in a large hall and Chloe's eyes widened. Pompidou was ripping out a soldier's throat and Kate was stepping up to two executioners at once. The blonde wasn't trying to defend herself, she backed away one pace in an attack stance and then lunged at the two men. A door to Chloe's right burst open and four more executioners ran into the hall. They'd heard the man's yell and come to join the fight. They were followed by another door to the right banging open with a group of three soldiers. "She's going to get us all killed." Her thoughts ran a mile a minute and Chloe pointed to the new groups of men.
"Madsen! Cover the doors! Whatever you do, don't let them escape and get reinforcements. I'll help Kate." Chloe raised her crossbow and shot a bolt past the men in front of her and towards one of the executioners fighting Kate. She'd been forced into a corner of the room and her two much more experienced foes worked in tandem to strike at her. She could barely parry all the blows coming her way and one of the crimson men managed to cut a deep gash in her left side as the other cut her right cheek open. The broad head bolt struck the man who'd hit Kate's side in the back of the neck. It propelled him forward and the second man's swords stabbed into his friend's back instead of spearing Kate through the chest. Chloe lowered her shoulder and ducked under one of the soldiers in her way. She came up violently and shuddered as her shoulder connected with the man's metal armor. It sent him crashing to the ground and Chloe dropped her crossbow to the ground to slip her daggers out of their sheaths. She was about to stab the fallen soldier in the neck when a metal boot slammed into her back, sending her flying face first into the long red rug that covered the hall's floor. She fell awkwardly and her daggers skittered to the ground out of her reach. She heard another door ahead of her open faintly and more sounds of footsteps. "No…" A high pitched whistle sounded and Kate's war hound rammed into the executioner approaching her. He crumpled against the wall and wailed in terror as the beast's long fangs ripped into his side right through his metal armor. Kate reached her and parried a strike by a soldier, she was bleeding heavily from her side and another wound on her left forearm. The executioner that she'd been left alone with was beheaded in the corner next to the one Chloe had shot. The group of men Chloe had heard finally reached the hall and yet another door opened. Four more executioners yelled and pointed towards them. Pompidou leaped at the group and tried to clamp his jaws down on an executioner, the crimson man was fast though and he ducked, letting the war hound fly past him and into the wall. Two of them had spears as weapon and they turned to force the dog back into a corner.
Chloe took out her enchanted blade and rushed to help Kate. The blonde backed away, her last short sword blurred from the quick motions she made that kept the enemy blades inches from connecting with flesh. Chloe dove and slid feet first on the bloody floor, using the liquid to slide by the two soldiers. As she slid by, the hunter swung her blade and sliced off two sets of feet at the ankles. The soldiers dropped, crying out in pain, unable to support their own weight anymore. Kate kicked one of them in the side towards an executioner and the crimson man barreled into the fallen man shouting. He fell forward and Kate rammed her short sword deep into his chest. She tried to grip the blade free but it didn't budge and a crimson metal gauntlet connected with her face with a hard crunch. The crimson man pushed his advantage and swung down with his large war hammer at the exposed blonde. Chloe swung her enchanted blade upwards and cut the hammer down at the shaft. The large weight crashed to the ground next to Kate's face and Chloe ducked under a fist to slice the man clean through. The executioner's body separated into two halves and he fell to the ground in a spray of organs and blood. The left side of Kate's face was swollen at the cheek and the hunter reached down to get her up. Something hit her in the side and Chloe was sent crashing into a small table. The heavy vase that had been resting on top fell on her forehead, scoring a glancing blow before shattering on the ground. The hunter's vision went dark for a moment and she felt something grab her. She was heaved a few feet into the air and she landed back first into an opposing wall.
Chloe let out a pained wheeze and she scrambled for her bolt bag as she heard the metal footsteps grow nearer. She heard Madsen yell out in pain and it made her stomach drop. The Impact must've lost control of his shift. They were going to lose this battle, there were just too many enemies to fight. Her fingers wrapped around the sphere and she closed her eyes as she swung it towards the middle of the room. A smash of glass could be heard crisply followed by many voice crying out in pain. Her last blinder had done its job. Chloe opened her eyes to see the massive armored soldier in front of her, he was just shy of seven feet tall and built like a monster. He had a hand up to his eyes and the hunter moved in and cut him down with multiple quick slices of her enchanted blade. The first cut off his right arm at the elbow, the second dropped his right leg at the knee and the third sheared his left shoulder clean off. She kicked his body to the ground and turned to see Madsen using a spear to run through a soldier's abdomen. The Impact hadn't been affected by the blinder. The man wasn't wearing his dark green scales and he had blood running down his leg. There were less than six enemies left standing in the hall, more than she figured there should be. She guessed that more had entered during the fighting, they hadn't been quiet by any means. Chloe closed the distance between herself and the two closest men, they swung out blindly with their swords and she moved to the side and down with her blade. The two swords were cut at the hilt and she followed through with an upward cut that severed the first's leg and the second's left side. Both fell to the ground, out of commission. She spotted Kate sidestepping a man. The woman tripped him and he ran into the wall head first, he struggled to his feet but didn't manage to get up as Kate beheaded him with a longsword she'd picked up. Madsen finished off another with a well-aimed spear thrust to the neck.
The last soldier looked around the hall. There were dozens of bodies littering the hall. Blood covered the entire floor and random limbs were scattered next the bodies of their owners. The place was trashed, walls were stained red, large fist sized holes permeated the area near where Madsen had fought. Not everyone was dead, some men still groaned and shifted, holding on to stumps or deep wounds. They wouldn't survive the hour. The hunter approached the soldier and he immediately dropped his sword. The young man dropped to his knees and took off his helmet and gauntlets, throwing each carelessly to the side. He locked eyes with her and placed his hands up as a sign of resignation.
"Please…" Chloe didn't even get the chance to respond or decide anything. Kate's sword took him in the neck and he dropped to the ground lifelessly. That was the last straw for the hunter. Chloe turned to the blonde and grabbed her by the throat forcing her back and into the closest wall. Kate yelped and the hunter knocked the weapon out of her grasp.
"What is wrong with you?!" Chloe couldn't have put more venom in her voice if she'd tried. She stared down the blonde woman in her grasp with as much fury as she could muster.
"Wrong with me? He's the enemy!" Kate squirmed and tried to pry herself out of Chloe's grip. She was starting to become more frantic at the increasing pressure.
"I don't care about that bloody man you just killed! IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM!"
"Then what's your problem?!" Chloe scowled and slammed Kate against the wall a bit harder. "Is she really that bloody stupid?" A strong hand grabbed her from behind and separated the two women. Kate gasped for breath and glared at Chloe who was still enraged.
"This isn't the time! We were incredibly lucky that no alarm has been raised but we're now on borrowed time. We need to join up with the other group. You can settle this dispute later." Madsen let the hunter go and Chloe took a moment to breathe in and out slowly. Her hands were still shaking from the adrenaline rush during battle. Kate turned around and retrieved her short swords from where they had fallen. Chloe did the same for her daggers and her crossbow which thankfully wasn't harmed. She felt sore but otherwise in one piece, her head and shoulder throbbed but that was the extent of it. She glared at Kate's back. "It could've been a lot worse."
From the corner of the room, Pompidou struggled to stand on his paws, his back left leg was bleeding. The war hound had been taken out of the fight shortly after his encounter with the executioners wielding spears. The dog whimpered when he put any weight on it and Kate bent down to examine his wound. Chloe didn't bother asking if she was alright, she was still furious with the woman. Madsen followed after the hunter and the three made their way down the deserted hallways. They were devoid of any people, she supposed that the loud fight had attracted anybody close enough to care. They reached the third floor without any problems and made their way near the back right tower. Only one patrol had to be avoided and Chloe thanked whatever gods were looking out for her that they didn't glance the group's way. They were in no state to get in another fight. Madsen was still trying to gather enough energy to shift again and Kate and Pompidou would be next to useless in a battle. Both were wounded badly. Chloe could fight but she'd rather avoid it if she could. After all, that had been the plan they were supposed to have followed. They finally reached a small area near the tower and a low voice made Chloe look to her right. She gestured for her party to follow, sticking to the shadows and out of sight of the actual tower until they reached where Victoria and Max were hidden. She didn't want to be spotted by a scout or the Raven himself and the third floor was fully exposed to the sky. It would be easy to spot someone from the tower's vantage point.
"Chloe… What happened..?" Max instantly ran to Chloe and rammed into her softly. Chloe held her tightly, not wanting to let go but Max forced herself away from her grasp to look the hunter over. Chloe glanced down at herself and cringed. She could see why Max was so worked up. Between the three skirmishes, after hacking and slashing her way through countless enemies, she looked horrible. Blood covered her new clothes like she'd bathed in a tub of it, her face was spattered with dried blood and she had multiple rips over her cloak where swords had struck close. Chloe gestured to the rest of her group.
"I'm fine Max, just light scrapes and bruises. Go tend to them." Max glanced up with a worried expression but nodded and did as told. The witch went over to Kate and looked over her deep wounds one by one. The blonde breathed in sharply and shook her head as she felt the toll of healing.
"I still feel weak…"
"I can't heal blood loss. Your body is just mended, you still need time to recover from that. You were severely injured Kate." Victoria approached the hunter and raised an eyebrow, she lowered her tone so she wouldn't distract Max. The witch moved on from Kate to look over Madsen and the war hound.
"What happened Blue? I heard some patrols run away from their posts to go deal with intruders. I assume that was you. How the hell did you guys manage to get noticed? I thought you'd have been great at stealth since you're always sneaking around and pelting targets with bolts from a mile away..." Victoria smiled at the jab and playfully pushed Chloe's shoulder with her right arm. The hunter frowned when Chloe didn't react as she thought. The blue-scarred hunter scowled and she felt rage seeping back into her body. Victoria looked very concerned all of a sudden. "Blue… What the hell happened?"
"I'll tell you later. Let's deal with the Raven first." She looked at Max. "Max are you done yet?" The witch looked back with a frown.
"I can't heal him. It just…" She frowned looking at the Impact's wounds. "Doesn't work… The healing energy just dissipates the moment I touch his skin with it." Madsen shrugged and gritted his teeth as he stood up from the ground.
"Don't worry about it Max. I had a feeling this would happen. Impacts and magic not mixing well and all..."
"I don't like this Madsen… What if you get seriously hurt? I can't help you. You should sit this one out and let the rest of us take the Raven down." The Impact shook his head, his tone left no room for discussion.
"I'm going with you. I won't be the last survivor again. If something happens and I get mortally wounded, that's on me. Not you." Max frowned and she looked as if she were about to press the issue some more but Victoria interrupted her.
"He's up there right now. Max and I used the bracelet before you arrived and we could still see him in the large room at the top of the tower. He keeps looking over the castle periodically though. We need to be very careful in our approach or he'll use the belt and vanish once again." Kate grimaced, her expression darkened.
"We can't let him get away." Chloe had more than enough of this.
"Quiet. Victoria and I are in charge of this operation. Stay out of this." Max and Victoria's eyes widened in surprise at the anger in the hunter's voice.
"He'll get away. We need to strike now." Kate was growing more insistent.
"We need to plan this out. I don't want this to end with our heads on a bloody pike."
"Burn your plan! You'll wait too long and he'll get away!" Kate stood up and whistled. Pompidou stood at attention and he followed as Kate sprinted with a quick dash in the exposed section of the wall towards the tower's door. Chloe and Victoria both reached out but the blonde managed to slip out of range. Chloe looked up to the tower and her face fell. The Raven Knight had been leaning on the edge of the tower, looking over the castle in his black armor. The man was looking directly at Kate, his helmet turning to keep her in sight during her mad sprint to his tower. He pulled out his long black sword from his sheath and yelled down to someone a floor below the group. Chloe couldn't see who he was shouting at from her angle. "He's getting reinforcements…" He turned and froze. Chloe locked eyes with him. Victoria and the rest of the group noticed the exchange and they all broke for a run after Kate. "Now he's expecting us… She'll run head first into a bloody ambush. Burn you Kate!" Chloe was the first to reach the open door at the base of the tower, she leaped the steps three at a time. The tower was huge and she managed to overtake Kate with her haste. The blonde didn't have the conditioning that years of being a hunter had given Chloe. Kate had slowed down and she was winded. The door was only a pace away from the two of them. Chloe grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop, Pompidou growled and his red irises glowed more brightly but a whistle from Kate placated him.
"What the hell is your problem Chloe?! You want him to get away?! Why do you keep trying to slow us down?!" Chloe felt the rage boil up inside her, it took everything in her power not to lash out at the woman.
"I'm trying to slow us down because that's how you plan against a dangerous foe! You don't rush in headfirst like a bloody fool! It takes time you bloody inconsiderate woman! I'm trying to save your bloody life!" Madsen and Victoria reached the pair with Max a second or two behind them. Kate slammed a fist into Chloe's hand to loosen her grasp and she tore her hand away.
"I don't need your help! I'm not defenseless anymore! I can protect myself!" Kate leaped the last few steps and gripped onto the door. Max reached out to stop her with a sudden burst of speed just as Kate opened the door. The all too familiar SNAP Chloe heard made the hunter's blood freeze. A broad head bolt passed by Kate's right side and rammed into Max's left shoulder, missing the witch's neck by mere inches. Max fell backwards from the impact of the bolt and her head slammed into the metal railing next to the stairs. Chloe reached out to catch her as Victoria and Madsen rushed in the room after Kate. Chloe lowered her on the small platform next to the door. She didn't know what to do. She was no healer. The witch was bleeding heavily from her shoulder, the back of her head was also leaking blood. The hunter was panicking, she could barely register the tears in her eyes. She started to shake Max, trying to wake her up as best she could.
"Max! Max! Max!" The witch finally groaned and moved in pain, her eyes still shut. Chloe heard a loud shout from the room behind her. She kissed Max lightly on the forehead. "I'll be back Max. Just stay down. Don't come in." The witch didn't seem to hear her, Chloe didn't even know if she was actually conscious. The hunter swung around and darted into the large room just in time to see the Raven Knight stand back up. He wasn't wearing his helmet, it had been knocked away from him and he now sported a bleeding gash over his right eyebrow. A tall lanky man with a trimmed beard and fancy clothing was trying to make himself as small as possible in the corner of the room. She recognized him as Lord Senam. Kate, Pompidou and Madsen were picking themselves off the ground. Victoria was groaning, curled up in a ball to the side. Chloe lifted her one handed crossbow at the man and fired for his head. The bolt flew towards his terrified face and stopped. It hung in the air an inch from his blue eyes. Chloe gaped, mouth open. "How..?"
She heard light footsteps behind her and she turned just in time to see a man step over Max and into the room. He had his hand held up, palm outwards and the bolt next to the Raven Knight's face flew across the room and deposited itself gently into his hand. The man wore a dirty brimmed hat and a black cloak over his dark brown trousers and green buttoned shirt. He wasn't armored and he wore no weapons aside from a ceremonial dagger in its sheath at his right hip and a long quarterstaff that stood a foot taller than himself in his left hand. He had bright orange irises and the rest of his face was hidden behind a torn piece of black cloth that covered his nose down to a couple inches below his chin. The man had dozens of old healed cuts over the exposed skin of his face and Chloe noticed that he was branded with the Raven's insignia on both side of his neck. The man didn't speak, he closed the door shut behind him and just looked back at the Raven Knight silently. The light brown haired man chuckled darkly and struggled to his feet. Chloe turned back to him, she hadn't noticed in how bad a shape the Raven actually was. Green sickly veins were spread around his face and he groaned with every move. Madsen got to his feet and shifted just as Victoria scrambled to her knees and lifted her metal fist towards him. The Raven looked at the man behind Chloe with a scowl.
"Kill them all." Then he slammed his gauntlet into his belt and screamed out in agony as his body was enveloped with a piercing orange glow. Chloe closed her eyes instinctively so as not to burn her retinas. When she opened them again, the Raven Knight was gone. He'd escaped again. The quarterstaff wielding man stepped forward and she looked into his orange eyes. He raised the staff towards her and without a word, he charged.
Important A/N
I've just put out a one-shot story that ties into The Blue Hunter very heavily. It is aptly named "The Raven Knight" since it follows Nathan's perspective over the events of this chapter. I highly recommend giving it a read since some of the information acquired there won't be revealed in The Blue Hunter for quite some time. It also allows a small glimpse into the mind of one of this story's main antagonists. It's only 3.6k words so it's not too long a read. If you're interested, click on my profile and you can find the story there.