Eryn is still in Whitburn's grasp. She steadies her breathing as she stares him down. She can feel her heart beating as adrenaline rushes through her, itching to fight. But she's seen already how futile it is. So instead she watches his movements with burning hatred. Whitburn seems unbothered by her as he orders his men to shackle Darius in steel manacles. He watches with a muted look of triumph. Eryn watches as well, craning her neck to see him. She can see how hard it is for him to stand still as they tighten the manacles around his wrists. Once shackled, one of the soldiers tugs on the chains to urge him to take a step forward. Another soldier stands beside him, sword at the ready if he tries anything. She catches his gaze. His face is stoic, jaw clenched slightly, but his eyes soften the smallest bit when meeting hers. Her thoughts start to race as she sees him, standing tense yet still tall. Somehow still looking as strong and prideful as the first day she saw him on that battlefield. The thought that this is the last time she will see him looking like this enters her mind, and she's suddenly seeing red.
Desperation takes over and she kicks at Whitburn with all her strength. His grip loosens slightly, his guard down, and she slips out briefly. She breathes deeply, gathering her magic as she feels it rush through her veins and throwing a punch at his face. She hears something crunch and he cries out. He's not staggered enough though and he counters with a crushing blow to her own face with the gauntlet. Her vision blurs as she's stunned, her head aching and blood rushes from her nose. Whitburn takes the opportunity to get his grip around her with the gauntlet again, this time holding her with much more pressure and she's struggling to breathe. "Bring me a pair of petricite shackles for the witch, she doesn't know when it's over."
"You said you'd release her!" She can make out Darius protesting, as her consciousness begins to slip away. Her limbs go limp at her side.
"I will, when I have some insurance she won't be a problem going forward." Whitburn replies. She vaguely can feel something grabbing her wrists as her vision goes dark. The last thing she sees is Whitburn sneering at her as she passes out.
Eryn sputters awake, alone in the dirt outside in the woods. She sits up, feeling the heavy weight of the petricite shackles holding her wrists together. Whitburn is gone. Darius is gone. She looks around, seeing they had the decency to leave her backpack of supplies with her.
She struggles for a bit to get her bearings. She can only separate her wrists by about half a foot before the petricite chains prevent further movement. Picking things up and moving them around proves to be awkward. She fumbles with the backpack before having to completely untie the straps and retie them just to get it slung over her shoulder before she can start walking.
She has a general idea of where to go. Whitburn's keep was a few days trek north of Fort Ironwood. And the cave was somewhere between the two. So if she heads north she will eventually be able to see it looming in the distance. Which must be where they're taking him.
She has no actual plan. It's suicidal. But she's made her choice. That she wasn't going to let Darius die for her freedom, it's why she didn't decide to turn him in no matter which nation she decided to side with.
She knows that Darius would want her to leave, go to Noxus, continue his fight for him. But knowing that Darius is going to be executed, or worse, because of her, is why she has to go and at least try to save him. Because she had taken him captive, and then she held him back in the fight against Whitburn. This is her fault and she is going to make amends, or die trying.
She's hungry, but wouldn't be able to hunt for creatures with these manacles preventing her movement. She picks handfuls of berries from bushes she passes, which is enough to sate her starvation from the caves. She walks under the moonlight for what feels like eternity, fueled by her newfound goal. Find him, find him is what echoes in her mind, her mantra.
Eryn's so self absorbed in her hunt she doesn't even think about her being hunted until she sees shadows moving in the corner of her eyes. At first she dismisses it as the exhaustion making her mind play tricks on her. But then she remembers where she is exactly. An active war zone between Noxus and Demacia. Both sides would have scouts in this area, trying to find enemy information.
She feels herself tense up. She has no weapons. No magic. She's defenseless. So when the shadows move again, she swings wildly with both of her hands, only to collide with a tree.
Sweat drips down the back of her neck and her breath quickens. She had been sure this is where she saw the movement.. She takes a step forward, but is suddenly yanked backwards by her hair. She cries out and tries to struggle but a blade is put to her throat. She stills immediately, heart beating fast in her chest. She can see in the moonlight the steel blade is intricately made. "Are you a Demacian?" A feminine voice hisses into her ear. Eryn hesitates, unsure what answer would be the least to get her killed. Her captor seems to sense her hesitation. "I'll only kill you if you don't answer me."
Eryn swallows the lump in her throat. "Yes." She answers quietly.
"You a soldier?"
"I was."
"Then you're coming with me. Do everything I say and I won't slice your throat." Eryn's hair is released, and the knife on her neck is slowly removed. A hand is placed on her shoulder and she's roughly turned around. "Walk. If you make any sudden moves, you die."
Eryn complies and walks where her captor leads her. She can't get a good look at her, she's always standing behind her, directing her movements. But when Eryn notices that they're now heading south she has a pretty good idea of this person's allegiance. A Noxian.
She debates telling her what she knows. But would this person actually help her save Darius? She knows that many Noxians would take the opportunity to kill him. Tie up a loose end and create a power vacuum for themselves. Also she has no reason to believe her. It'd sound insane.
The sun is just starting to break over the horizon when they enter a campsite. Two tents, no fire pit. "Wake up!" Her captor orders, but it doesn't seem to be directed to Eryn. "I found another one for you. Maybe this one will know something useful."
There's some grumbling and the sound of a blanket rustling before a man exits one of the tents. He's tall, broad shouldered and muscular. Her eyes immediately are drawn to his face, which sports a striking moustache and angular tattoos streaking across his cheekbones and chin, trailing down his neck and biceps. His spiky brown hair is held back by a golden circlet with a green gem in the center, matching his bright green eyes. His expression is bored as he exits the tent, he plays with a dagger in one hand as he looks her up and down. "This is the best you can find?" He asks, looking past Eryn towards her original captor.
"The unassuming ones are often the ones with the most to tell." She shoves her roughly causing Eryn to stumble forward. She's just a few paces in front of the moustachioed man.
"The shackles are a bit much for her, she looks like a gentle breeze would blow her over."
"Found her like that already."
"Ah, an escaped prisoner?" The man's gaze returns to Eryn, more intrigued now.
"Don't kill this one too quickly."
Eryn bristles, whipping around to face her. "You said if I did what you asked you wouldn't kill me." Eryn glares at her, finally getting a good look at her. She has flaming red hair flowing down her back and is cloaked in tight leather. A scar runs down her face, and she has a smug expression as her green eyes stare down Eryn.
"I said I wouldn't. No promises with him."
Eryn grits her teeth before slowly turning her attention back to the man. He's still absentmindedly twirling a dagger around his finger. "What do you want to know?"
"Alright lady, here's your one warning. You lie to me, you get an axe to the face." He sits down on a log not too far from his tent. She notices the large blades leaning against it, now within arms reach of him. "How long have you been in the Demacian army?"
"Not long. I enlisted when we heard that Noxus was preparing to strike."
"You a footsoldier?"
"Yes."
"Fight on the frontlines, at that big fort?"
"Yes."
"How did you get from there to here, did you retreat before they breached the fort?"
"No. There are… ways around the fort. Not everyone knows about them."
"And that's how you got here then?"
"Yes." Eryn barely has time to process if her answers are satisfactory to him, his line of questioning is rapid. An onslaught.
He lets up for a moment, his eyes looking past her at the woman. "I told you."
"I never said it wasn't possible there were ways around the fort. But it's walls run from mountainside to mountainside. Getting around it without one of our scouts knowing was unlikely." The red head argues back defensively. Her smug expression falters.
"Our men spent nearly two weeks looking in the wrong spot. I come in and take over, and we find a lead in just days." He gestures to Eryn as his voice begins to raise.
"I found her." Eryn feels a little bit awkward, standing in the middle of their argument.
"Because I said we should look over here!" He points at the ground. "You've been wasting time looking for a corpse-"
"His armor was found on the other side, what were we supposed to think?"
"You think he'd die that easily? To Demacians?"
"Draven, I didn't say that-" Eryn's eyes light up as she recognizes the name. It can't be.
The two bicker back and forth while Eryn's thoughts race. This could be any Draven. Maybe it's just a popular name in Noxus. But he's looking for someone. Someone important, and he seems desperate to find him. Can she trust him, truly? But what choice does she have?
"Can you just ask her where to find the shortcuts around the fort? Stop wasting time if you care so much about it." The woman snaps at Draven.
Draven's stutters, realizing he was in fact wasting time. He turns his attention back to Eryn and looks like he's about to ask her a question, but Eryn cuts him off. "She said your name was Draven right? You're the Draven?" She remembers Darius telling her he was famous in Noxus.
Dravens eyes light up and he grins wildly. "I see my fame is spreading! Even Demacians know me now!" She has to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
The red head seems less impressed, and more weary. "How do you know his name?"
Eryn hesitates, anxiety building under their gazes. She prays that for once she's making the right decision. "Darius told me about you. You're his brother right?"
Draven falters, the dagger nearly fumbling out of his hand. "Is this a joke? How do you know who… Kat she's a spy right that's the only reason she knows-" He's reaching for his blades.
Fear grips Eryn as she sees him reach for the weapon. "I swear to you I am not! I am not here to infiltrate or lead you on the wrong path or whatever it is you think!"
"Prove it, or I'm going to coat this forest with your blood!" Draven is standing now, holding the blade by the handle, he rolls his arm and it begins to spin in a circular motion.
Eryn is holding up her hands, trying to appear non-threatening, as she racks her brain to figure out what she can say to appease him. "You both grew up in Basilich, orphans-"
"I know my life story, how do you know it?"
"He told me! About you, him, and Quil, growing up on the streets together!" She sees the anger in his face falter at the mention of Quil, and she pushes forward. "Your first dagger was a gift, he won it in a fight and that's how he got that scar on his face!"
Draven lowers the spinning axe, his eyes scanning her face, a confused expression on his. "Why would he tell you that?" The question is more rhetorical than anything.
"He trusts me! If you let me out of these shackles I swear I can help you find him." Eryn pleads.
"Draven this is some sort of trick." The red head, Kat, warns. Her own daggers are out.
Draven's eyes flick between Eryn and Kat, before resting on Eryn. He drops the axe and holds her gaze. "Darius trusts her." He repeats. "Get her out of those shackles," He turns to Kat for a moment as he says that before back to Eryn, "And you're gonna tell me everything."