Loiya had trouble getting dressed, in that out of everything he could steal from the others, nothing quite fit him. It wasn't a problem when he was stuck inside the house but if the rebellion was making a move today, if Kaetar was fighting the last fight, then he wanted something that at least fit. He might have to go barefoot even, considering that nobody had extra footwear around.
He ended up stealing a pair of pants from Tyan, which fit a little short but they were comfortable at least. He also ended up stealing shirt from Warren since that kid was scrawny enough to fit him, and it wouldn't normally have fit except for the fact that Loiya didn't put a lot of weight back on yet. Finding a weapon was perhaps the hardest part. None of the new Greil Mercenaries used lances and he didn't want to have to depend on trying to find on in the streets. Instead, he found a knife. It would have to do. He did carry one for most of the rebellion.
Pops didn't even try to stop him. Loiya knew he must have looked at least stupid, armed with a just a small knife and no shoes, but Pops merely gave him a sagely nod before he rushed out the door. He kept to the side streets until he left Melior and headed towards the castle in the distance.
"You couldn't stay still either?" Loiya jumped as Zeke slowly joined his side. He didn't hear Zeke coming up behind him and it bothered him. Some bodyguard he was... but was he even going to have a job at the end? Kaetar's father didn't seem horribly fond of him and while he knew Kaetar would stick up for him, he didn't know if that was enough. After all, there was already a replacement for him. "You look pretty good, all things considered! We both ended up sidelined for a while but look at us! We're only missing Meagan."
Loiya laughed nervously. For a moment, he wondered what was wrong with Meagan because he couldn't remember anything happening to her but he didn't ask. Zeke looked alright but he noticed his odd gait as they walked towards the castle, so he doubted that Zeke was really combat ready but then again Loiya wasn't combat ready either. It's been a long time since he held anything like a lance in his hands and he was far from back to top shape. He wasn't sure if he could get back into the swing of things in time to be in the rebellion. His exercises were also not at the point they were before either, so his stamina was questionable.
"I wonder if we'll make it into the castle," Loiya mumbled.
"From what I remember from Syrin's plan, the Daein army will be out here fighting any of the sand things that might come. We don't have anything enchanted so we might just get stuck there. That's alright though, at least we're participating. It just wouldn't feel right if I just sat back and didn't do anything after everything we went through. Meagan wanted me to go enjoy this for her."
He nodded. As much as he was worried about Kaetar, he knew he would be safe knowing that the Daein army was there. Joel would make sure of that, or maybe Vaughn if he came along with the Daein army. He was sure he did but he couldn't seem to remember what Saira said about it. Sometimes she was vague about what she knew sometimes, as if not to worry him or stress her out, which was probably a good idea considering how easily he got those headaches. He also felt that his memory was a little fuzzy sometimes, just because he didn't always sleep well.
When it came to being part of the final battle though, he knew to just worry about himself. Hopefully, somebody would give him a real lance too.
"What happened to you anyway?" Loiya asked. It felt odd walking to the castle at their own pace, making small talk along the way, just the two of them. It was relaxing though.
"Do you remember that confrontation with you and Joel and there was that dragon and Liam was there? You know how Liam is when Kaetar is around but I took the heat instead. He broke lots of bones but thankfully, I heal more like a laguz."
Loiya puzzled over that for a moment. All things considered, Zeke looked great.
The castle gates loomed in front of them. They were both surprised to see that Crimeans were there, even Arkit himself, battling against a small number of the sand creatures. They didn't shut the gates but interestingly enough, the Crimeans seemed to deal with them by knocking them int the river just under the bridge. Loiya watched as the sand creatures simply washed away, some of them trying to reform but the current was too fast for it to work. The Crimeans didn't need enchanted weapons, they just used water. Of course, they had a couple of mages on their side but they found a new method. He was impressed.
Up ahead, he could see the black armour that represented Daein but they were up farther ahead, blocking most of the sand creatures in a flurry of enchanted weapons. It must have been an onslaught up ahead if they were spilling past the Daeins. Zeke and Loiya glanced at each other and approached the Crimeans, who just pushed down the last of the sand creatures that they had for the time being.
"Good work, everybody!" Arkit called out. He had his sword out, using it as some sort of guide.
"Arkit, do you have a spare lance around here?" Loiya asked. Arkit turned his head quickly, turning his horse towards them.
"You two," Arkit mumbled quietly, giving both of them a look of pity rather than surprise. Zeke had that obvious change in gait and Loiya knew he didn't look very good either but he wondered if Arkit actually cared. Sure, he seemed reluctant to hurt them but it didn't change the fact he was apart of it. "We can give you a lance but I don't think you should advance."
Another sand creature broke through the Daein line. Arkit turned around but by the time he did, one of his mages managed to hit the lone sand creature.
"It might be a bit boring for people like you but I can't in good conscience put you into a battle you don't seem ready for."
"Now you care about me?" Loiya asked under his breath but Arkit either didn't hear or didn't care. "We'll be fine. I've managed to survive the ridiculous before. I respect that you finally decided to do the right thing but you have no authority over us. We need to get as close to rebellion as we can. We deserve to be there."
Arkit sighed heavily.
"Glen, Isa, take one of them on your horses and escort them to the Daein line. We're going to let Daein decide what to do with them. If you encounter one of those creatures on the way, avoid them at all costs."
Zeke and Loiya beamed at each other as they climbed up onto the horses. Loiya didn't end up getting a lance by the time the horses took off again but they were proud of their progress. Both of them were left behind but they made to the Daein line. Of course, Adrien was the first to notice them, directing his wyvern to face them. Arkit might have let them through but that was because he knew he couldn't personally stop them without using force. He was also sure that Arkit at least respected him. He knew he caused some trouble for Arkit. However, Adrien had more leverage, at least on Loiya. Zeke could probably sneak into the castle if he really tried and he was all about really trying.
However, Adrien looked only surprised to see them both there, not angry or upset like Loiya had expected of him. Adrien had a lot of choice words for Loiya back in the palace, particularly when Kaetar gave him that day off due to his headache. He also made it clear that when he was hired, Adrien didn't really want to hire him. It was only the words of Kaetar and some impressed riders to change his mind but even then, he let his distaste be known. He stepped down from his wyvern and Loiya felt his heartbeat pick up, almost dizzying with how fast it decided to beat. He almost forgot to even bow but Adrien didn't seem to care, for once.
"There's a lot we need to talk about," was the first thing Adrien said. "But for now, you two want to get into the castle, right?"
"It would be nice," Zeke said with a nod, his voice soft.
"But are you two physically able to do anything in there? Are even armed, Loiya?"
Loiya simply showed him the knife he had. Adrien frowned, looking around the battlefield. They were on the edge of it, so it wasn't so busy, just as Arkit wasn't horribly busy. Adrien suddenly walked away, approaching another soldier and much to Loiya's surprise, Arkit came back with a simple steel lance. He passed it to Loiya.
"We only just learned today that you ended up surviving, Loiya. I know you both want to get inside the castle but I want you two where I can see you. I don't even know if Kaetar had a chance to feel happy about you but I'm not going to let you die before he has a chance to celebrate. You understand don't you?"
Loiya nodded. He figured that Adrien would stop them from advancing to the castle but at the same time, he didn't seem to sop him from fighting. The Adrien that he knew from his time in the castle was not the same Adrien he was looking at. It confused him but it also gave him some hope. It meant a lot that Adrien didn't shut him down, didn't say anything bad about him. It was like he had a change of heart.
Zeke didn't look too disappointed either. Perhaps it was for the best, at least considering their condition. It was time to be proud of where he got, Loiya decided, as he prepared for battle.
The first thing Joel did as he stepped down the stairs was grab one of the torches from the wall in the stairwells. He was glad that he did because the stairwell was the only thing that was well lit at all. He saw Nicholas conjured a small flame in his hand from the corner of his eye and Mike reached up for a torch that was on at the base of the stairs. Joel was impressed with Nicholas to say in the least – he knew that even the small spells were not easy to do, especially without a tome. He also specialized in thunder magic, so fire was a little out of his realm. The extra light did help though. Being a basement, he didn't expect to see any windows to provide natural light but it was still darker than it had any right to be.
"I wonder why it's so dark down here," Nicholas mumbled. It was a stupid statement but Joel had a feeling that Nicholas just didn't like silence. He was always talking to somebody, at least in low whispers. Mike could be talkative but he talked to Makken above anybody else and if Maken wasn't there, he was always talking about the same sorts of things – what it was like to wander, about wyverns, about Makken, or the like. "Are they not using the basement?"
"They have to be using the basement. It looks too nice upstairs, aside from all of the damn sand," Joel answered. It was too dark for normal people to use it though – maybe the feline laguz and brandeds could use it but as far as Joel knew, there was only Liam and according to Kaetar, he wasn't even around. Something seemed wrong somehow but he just couldn't place a finger on it. There were a lot of torch holders but clearly, nothing in them.
"So what's the plan?" Mike asked. "Do we check every room?"
There were a lot of doors along the hallway, some that were shut all the way and others that were left ajar, but not open enough to really tell what the room contained. "We should. There might be something hiding here," Joel said with a nod. They split up from there to look into different rooms, but they were still close enough together that one of them only had to shout to get backup. Joel found mostly storage rooms, rooms that where more or less filed with crates and sliding the top off a couple of them showed that they were mostly full of supplies. There was dried food, blankets and sheets, and other stray pieces of equipment.
It was digging through the rooms that Joel wondered how Kaetar fared. He knew that he would safe, so long as Vaughn was there. Vaughn was incredibly strong and skilled, despite how laid-back and unfocused he seemed sometimes. Joel respected the man for his talents but sometimes wondered how he came to be a rider in the first place. He just seemed so odd and too spontaneous to be held down by the rigid structure of a military and palace life, he was too much of a free spirit. He seemed like he should have been somebody like Mike, somebody who went wherever he wanted or wherever guided him. Yet, there was something that tethered him to the palace.
"I found a kitchen in here," Nicholas called out. That piqued Joel's interest. He thought that maybe the east side of the basement was used for mostly storage but that wouldn't be the case if there was a kitchen, unless the kitchen was just out of place. He left his own room, keeping the door wide open so he could remember his place, and sought out Nicholas in the kitchen.
True to Nicholas' word, it was a kitchen, albeit a small and odd one. For one, there was a well in the corner, one that actually seemed to still have fresh water in it. The ovens, which were basically a fireplace with a shelf, were small and could probably only handle one pot at a time. The ovens still had wood in it too, like it was recently used. It wasn't a kitchen that would be used to feed everybody in the palace but it could suffice for some individuals using it for themselves. Considering the size, it looked like it would be found in a family's home. What was it doing in the basement then?
Looking around some more, away from the room he was looking in before Nicholas discovered the kitchen, he found what looked looked like barracks, a large room that was just full of beds with chests at the end of them and a side table between them. This room was actually relatively well lit, with a torch holder between each bed and there were surprisingly, still lit. Like the kitchens, the rooms looked used. He supposed that the castle still had to be serviced, regardless of who was running it. Where were all the servants, then?
"This is the part of the castle the must keep their servants," Nicholas mumbled, peeking it into the barracks. Again, a stupid statement but whatever helped keep his morale up.
Joel let out a long sigh. "But nothing of immediate concern." There had to be something down there, unless it was all on the west end. He wondered who ended up joining them in the basement. Maybe they should see how they were holding up if nothing of interest was found on their end.
"Maybe we should just go to the end and skip looking through all of the doors," Mike offered. "I think we would have found a sandman or a mage by now if they were in the servant quarters."
They all nodded, so they shut all of the doors and walked together towards the end. The doors disappeared quickly, with a long stretch of corridor that offered nothing but bricks and empty torch holders. However, they soon came across the door right in front of them instead of against the walls like it was before. Its sudden appearance was almost jarring. Upon opening the door though, Joel could see why it existed. The one side of the corridor was still made of bricks but the other side had small and what appeared to be empty prison cells, each with a thin bed and rusting shackles that sat on the floor.
It didn't take long to find that they weren't the only ones down there – two of the cells were occupied. Joel didn't recognize either one of them. One of them had loose, green hair that pooled around his shoulders, and ice-coloured eyes that looked up at them in utter bewilderment. He wasn't clean shaven but it was just peppered across his chin. He was thin, with clothing that might have once been nice but ended up being nothing more than rags. There was a shackle on the floor and it was quite obvious that it was once attached to his ankle, which was covered with bandages instead.
The man in the other cell was in similar condition and his clothes were in a similar state of disrepair but he was probably worse for wear. The first man could stand but the second one was leaning against the back wall, with one shackle that was far too tight around his ankle. He had light blue hair and a beard to match. He just looked skinnier and more sickly than the first and that was saying something.
"I assumed we're all agreed," Joel mumbled, gesturing at the lock of the cells. It should be easy for them to break the locks on the doors, yet he was still hesitant about it. They had no guards. It could be that there was nobody or nothing there except for the two prisoners and the people that obviously gave them some sort of attention at least. It would also be easy enough to move one of the prisoners into the other cell and then just block the one doorway if it needed to be defended, but if they unlocked the doors, then they wouldn't reach the end. They would have to stay there, just in case there was something that could endanger the could hurt the prisoners. He didn't know if there was a safe place upstairs to put them.
But that would have to do, Joel decided. He figured that Mike and Nicholas would not be alright with leaving them behind so he had to find a way to protect them instead. He hated the idea of foregoing the mission but it would be stupid to try to do it on his own. He didn't have an enchanted weapon. Mike and Joel both placed their torches into nearby holders, effectively illuminating the small space. Nicholas made the flame in his hand disappear.
"Are you the rebellion?" the first man asked.
"Yes. We're here to save you," Nicholas said just as Mike swung his axe at the lock. Joel used his sword, using a vertical slice like Mike did to attempt to cleave it. However, both of them had to hit the locks a couple of times before the lock fell and the door could finally be opened.
"Nicholas, move this man to the other cell," he said, indicating to the one with the green hair. Joel didn't dare to try to break the shackle attached the other guy.
"Of course," he said, going into the cell. He took the man's arm and wrapped it around his own shoulders while Nicholas also wrapped his free arm around the man's waist. At the man's own pace, he was slowly guided into the cell with the shackled prisoner.
"What are your names?" Mike asked, leaning against the opposite wall.
"I'm Ramon. My neighbour is Geoffrey," he answered simply, sitting down beside the other man.
"Wait, Ramon as in King Ramon?" Joel asked, raising an eyebrow. Joel got a simple nod in return before Ramon just hung his head in shame. "Dammit, I should have known." He didn't even think about the fact the only prisoners in here were of course, the King and probably a retainer of his. Of course his ankle would be at least wrapped because Eero wanted him alive, for some reason. He should have figured but he was worried about Kaetar. He was distracted. "How did all of this happen?"
"Let's wait on that," Nicholas muttered. "Does he look like he's in any shape to share his story right now? They need medical attention. We could at least get them some water from that kitchen so they can have something to drink. It had a working well, no?"
"I'll go," Mike offered.
"Yeah, go," Joel mumbled, waving his hand although he wasn't sure if Mike could really see that. However, it didn't even matter because Mike took off down the hallway.
"I'll tell everybody when it's safe," Ramon said quietly.
"You better," he mumbled, as Nicholas began fussing over the two prisoners, reminiscent of Peter's hovering.
Arum never did trust Chibuike, and he was sure that Chibuike knew that and that he tagged along for the sole purpose of bothering him. Arum wasn't in the mood for small talk, he didn't really need it with Elli, but he knew that Chibuike would just blather on. He seemed to have the ability to just keep talking without anybody responding but he also seemed to know how to make people talk anyway.
Chibuike was walking on his left and Elli on his right, her swords sheathed but knowing her speed, she could draw them on a moment's notice. They were on the main floor on the west end and it didn't take long for the sand to disappear from the surface of every object. It must have just been the middle that they somehow amassed all of it. The walls had two colours, the top half being white and the bottom half being a yellowish-gold colour. They passed by statues of people that he didn't care for and portraits of people he didn't care for. He wasn't Crimean and he didn't see either him or Elli really returning to Crimea all that much either.
They were both offered a place in Daein as it was, house sitting and babysitting two kids for one of the king's riders. Arum and Elli both agreed to it without really thinking or talking about it. They both wanted to get out of Begnion, and as soon as Nicholas met up with his family again, then they had no reason to be in Begnion anymore. It was something they discussed before and they certainly didn't need anything more than a brief nod at the offer to know that their feelings on the matter hadn't changed.
He was kind of excited for this new change – it had been years since either of them had a stable home. It would be the first time he would be in a home where there was love and care, people who were helping each other out instead of beating each other down. It was a simple life perhaps but better than what he ever knew before. He wanted the rebellion to end just so he could move onto the next phase of his life with Elli.
"It might be boring up here," Chibuike mumbled with a shrug. "After all, the sandy guys were probably made in the basement, just to keep the appearance that nothing strange is happening in the castle. Plus, all the research was done there too. It'll probably be Kaetar and Vaughn who will get swamped by the sandy guys since all the research is in their section."
"Then why did you join us?" Arum asked with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. There it was, a way of making conversation happen. Elli looked at them for a brief moment before she directed her attention back to the front. "Why are you here? Aren't you just in the rebellion for fun?"
"Oh, but I am. Fighting just isn't as fun as teasing the high strung people in the rebellion and you happen to be one of those high strung people. The only thing not fun about you is your sheer strength. You would break just more than my nose."
Arum decided to just ignore him, or at least ignore him for as long as possible and just focus on trying to search the floor. It wasn't that they were currently missing anything important with Chibuike being distracting, just art and long stretches of windows covered with red curtains that probably costed more than his swords, just to cover a couple of the windows.
"What about the mages?" Elli asked.
"Well, maybe," Chibuike said with a shrug. However, Arum got the feeling that he was just brushing her question off. He knew more, that cheeky bastard. That was the exact reason that Arum couldn't bring himself to trust him. It wasn't like he was too trusting in the first place but Chiubike was at the bottom of the damn barrel.
They came across double doors. Chibuike looked mildly interested, so Arum decided that he was the one who would take a peek. The doors were not locked but they were barricaded on the other side, which while it provided resistance, he was eventually able to push his way through but immediately backed out.. The room, which looked like a big empty room to him, was full of people dressed in the same kind of clothing, half of them being women. One of the women in particular though, freaked him out. He could perhaps stand being if there she wasn't there. She looked almost like the spitting image of Nattie, also known as the person who gave birth to him, only not as bitchy.
Elli could sense that something was wrong so she took a peek into the room while Arum attempted to calm himself against the wall outside of the room. It shouldn't bother him that much, women shouldn't bother him that much because the only woman who did something to him was his mother. Yet, they all reminded him of her. It was just the first thing that popped into his mind and it wasn't something he could exactly help, at least immediately. He didn't know how to move on because he thought he would have moved on already.
He slowly slid down to the floor, still trying to calm himself but to no avail. He never had such a strong reaction before but he was shocked by their likeness. It just made all of the memories flood back, the memories he tried so hard to bury and ignore all the time.
Elli came out a couple of minutes later, or maybe sooner than that, and simply sat down beside him, covering his hand with her own and letting him lean some of his weight onto her. She didn't say anything but she didn't have to.
"One of them looked like my mother," he mumbled at a moment of silence together, his voice cracking. He refused to cry but he felt like it wouldn't take much more to push him over.
She offered a soft, sympathetic smile. "You will be alright. Whatever you're feeling will pass. Sometimes I think about my parents too... it's sad and unavoidable sometimes but the sad feelings don't last forever."
"It feels like forever," he mumbled back. Her hand was calloused liked his but he could remember that they were once softer, back when she was little and she would always hold his hand in a crowd. Obviously, taking up the sword made her hand rough over time but she was proud of them, proud of her growing capabilities. She stroked his hand slowly.
It helped. Just having her there, petting his hand and being close, helped. His breathing evened out in time and his heart slowed to a reasonable pace. It took a while but as Elli promised, the panic subsided. It still bothered him but he felt like he could function. Chibuike poked his head outside.
"If you lovebirds are done out here, Stefan and his group are here! It just loops around!"
He didn't even bother trying to correct Chibuike. He had a feeling that he just didn't care what Arum had to say on the matter. But then he processed the second thing he said – Stefan was here?
"What?" Arum was a little confused because he didn't expect to run into another group so fast, so he did end up going back into the room, Elli holding his hand again and he made a point of focusing on Stefan and Soren. Heck, even Zara, with her nearly exposed chest, was a more welcomed sight because at least she wasn't a stranger. The room he thought was pretty much empty was actually fairly decorated, with red curtains hugging every wall and the floor had a giant, flower shaped symbol on it. There was giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which was so fancy it just ended up being gaudy. Focus on the decorations, he told himself.
"I guess this floor just has all of the terrified servants," Zara mumbled, her hands on her hips. The servants were clearly too frightened to really talk and Arum had a feeling that he didn't really help by pushing though their barricade. They probably felt safe until they pushed through and who knows what Eero said to them. Perhaps they were not hiding from the sand creatures but instead, from them.
"Unless there are more rooms on this floor, Chibuike?" Stefan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just a meeting room, I think. Not a good place to hide a sandy at any rate," he said with a simple shrug. "No wait, I think there is a part that wraps around the front. Mages might be hiding there but they would also be in sight of the Daeins so I dunno. I think it's mostly a hallway. They could just be hiding in the guest bedrooms upstairs."
"You said all the action with the sandmen would be downstairs," Arum muttered, facing Chibuike.
"I did. I don't think they are on this floor. You guys want to go there?" he asked, scratching at this beard.
"It sounds more fun than just staying up here," Zara said with a grin. "But maybe somebody should check the front part? Or does it even matter?"
"Wait! Please, don't leave!" one of the servants shouted. It was a man but other than that, Arum didn't pay much attention. He just wanted to get out and cleave some sandmen and have them come back so he could cleave them again. Fighting and sparring was therapeutic sometimes and he could certainly use some of that. He could see that the others were debating their options. It was easy to split up but who should go down and who should stay to deal with the servants?
He wanted to go downstairs.
"How about Elli, Chibuike, and Soren stay up here?"
"I guess," Soren mumbled, the rare time he did speak up. He didn't like the idea of being separated from Elli yet again but it was one more fight and then he could spend more time with her. He could handle it.
"Let's get downstairs. They might need some help." Stefan mumbled.
I don't think I broke the doors very often but I always thought it was a fun mechanic.
You guys get to decide: do you want to see the other three groups or skip straight to Syrin?