Didn't mean to take so long to update this (the new bf has been taking up a lot of time as of late [not to mention last week every other day seemed to be a holiday of some sort]), but I managed to get a good night of writing in so I could work on my lovely Arianna.
So, this chapter contains Stolen Hearts quest content. While yes, this does rely heavily on dialogue from the quest (though parts have been changed to make things flow better and get rid of some unneeded information), a story is more than just the conversations (and yes, I wrote down all that was said while doing the quests). There are sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that we miss out in the game, and I've tried to bring that into this story. I have found that my 'formula' for these is two in game quests, then my own ideas. So, naturally, for Arianna the two quests are Stolen Hearts and Diamond in the Rough.
Read. Enjoy. Review. Thanks.
By now the sun was beginning to sink low in the sky. A chilly wind nipped at them as they ran through the woods. Neither of them made any noise as they through fallen leaves and twigs.
Within a half hour of running through the forest silently, the tree line came into view. They slowed down, and carefully crept through the brush to get a better look at the coast.
Barely a hundred yards head of them and to the left was the boat Khnum had said would be there. By the boat was a small group of people, and after a quick count, Arianna found seven people made up the group. She spotted the tall man that Khnum must've have had contact with. He and another man- a short and rather fat man- were holding a third man between them, an ornate halberd held at the third man's neck.
"That's the prince," Ozan said quietly, pulling an arrow from the quiver on his back and notching in on his bow's string.
Arianna nodded and carefully crept down the tree line to get a better look, never taking her eyes off the group. From the new vantage point she noticed there was a woman among the group, dressed in deep purple and black. "That must be Lady Keli," she said.
Ozan crept up behind her and nodded, watching as the men tried to get the struggling prince onto the boat. "Looks like it's out time to act," he said. "You ready?"
She nodded, pulling her daggers from her belt. "Always."
He stood and stepped clear of the brush, drawing the string of his bow back fully and effortlessly. "Everyone stop! Hand over the prince and I might only kill you a little bit."
Arianna stepped out with Ozan and gave him a sidelong look. 'Does he even think about what he says before saying it?' she thought to herself. Ozan, as if reading her thoughts, simply shrugged.
The woman, Lady Keli, sneered at them. "Not the money convincing demand, little man," she said. "Make one wrong move and I'll kill the prince now; save us all some trouble."
The tall man holding the prince pressed the deadly weapon against the royal's neck.
Prince Ali struggled against the man. "Don't give them what they want!" he blurted out.
After the outburst, the tall man slapped the prince. "Hold your tongue, boy. The lady is talking," the man hissed harshly.
Lady Keli smiled, pleased with her man's response. "Besides, what are you two going to do? You're outnumbered and outmatched. You two don't stand a chance."
"We're willing to try anyways," said Ozan, his bow still drawn back. The arrow didn't waver what so ever, despite how long he held it there.
"Like it makes a difference. The prince is coming with me; try to stop us and the prince dies," Lady Keli said before addressing her men. "Apep, Heru; to the boat."
The men who held the prince nodded. "Yes, Lady Keli," said the tall one.
"Yer, lady," said the short one, clearly not as articulate as his counterpart.
The two of them pulled the prince into the boat.
Lady Keli stepped up into the boat after them then turned to the three remaining them standing on the shore. "Skulls, kill these fools and deliver that ransom note to the Emir in Al Kharid."
But the men looked uncertain. One spoke up, the one Arianna assumed was their leader. "That's not in our contract, love. See, we ain't doin' nuthin' without our money!"
Lady Keli looked furious about being defied. "You will do as I command!" She raised her hand at the men and an eerie light blue mist rose from the ground and wrapped itself around them. They all began to scream in panic.
Ozan and Arianna glanced at each other, uncertain as to what was happening, but neither of them lowered their weapons.
Suddenly the screaming stopped, and the mercenaries turned to face them. Their eyes glowed with the same blue light as the mist that Lady Keli had summoned. The lead mercenary drew his sword from its sheath and led the advance on them.
"That is some serious magic," said Ozan before beginning to release arrows on them.
The three mercenaries were on them quickly, moving fast for being under the influence of Lady Keli's apparent mind control. Ozan managed to get off only a few shots before the men were too close for his ranged attacks, making him draw out a short sword.
One of the mercenaries was on Arianna, swinging a hefty axe at her. She carefully sidestepped the axe as it was brought down on where she had just been standing. She lashed out with her dagger, cutting into his forearm. He shouted in pain and anger, then hit her, knocking her back a few steps. He pulled his axe back up and, with a shout, swung it down at her again. She recovered quickly and side stepped his attack again. She held her dagger firmly and plunged the blade into his side. He gasped and coughed, blood splattering across his lips. She knew she had hit his lung and she pulled her dagger from the man, allowing him to collapse.
She quickly glanced over to Ozan, who was still engaged with the first mercenary. That meant the leader was still ready and able to fight.
WHOOSH.
She jumped as a warhammer came down just inches away from her face. She scurried back, tripping back over the now dead mercenary. The mercenary leader kept his glowing blue eyes carefully trained on her. She scrambled back to her feet just as the mercenary pulled his hammer back up and going after her. His attacks were much swifter than that of his battle axe counterpart, able to quickly change the direction of his attacks, keeping Arianna constantly moving and at a distance at which she couldn't use her daggers.
One of his sudden changes in direction caught her off guard and slammed into her side. The force behind the low knocked her back to the ground. She gasped in pain as she hit the ground hard, certain that ribs were broken upon impact. The mercenary smiled wickedly above her, raising his warhammer to deliver one final deadly blow.
But with a sickening crack, a crossbow bolt was embedded into the man's chest, followed half a heartbeat later by an arrow. He stumbled back a step before collapsing to the ground, dead. Arianna looked back to find both Ozan and Leela lowering their weapons and running over to her.
"Are you okay?" Leela asking, kneeling beside her.
Arianna shook her head. "Broken…ribs," she said, gasping to catch her breath through the pain in her chest and side.
Leela gingerly touched her side, applying pressure here and there despite Arianna's painful protests. "Nothing feels broken. You may just have bruised your ribs or the area around where you were hit. Can you sit up?"
When Arianna shook her head, Ozan offered his hand to her. He heaved her up to her. She leaned against Ozan as spots clouded her vision.
Leela moved on, searching the bodies of the dead mercenaries. She pulled a slightly bloodied sheet of paper from the leader mercenary. She unfolded it and quickly scanned what was written.
"What is that?" asked Ozan.
"It must be the ransom note that Lady Keli wanted delivered," she said. "'Follow the path of the sun into the lion's mouth. The emir's heart for the prince's life. You have until the sun sets on the desert in ten days.'" She shook her head in frustration. "Lady Keli got away with the prince! On my watch too!"
"It's not over yet, Leela. We'll get him back, I promise you that," said Ozan, still carefully keeping Arianna standing.
"That's not enough; I should have stopped them here! I failed. I have to follow after them. Father will never…" She let her sentence drift off, clearly not wanting to voice the disappointment her father would have over finding this out.
"Leela," Arianna finally said, wincing through her words, "don't be so hard on yourself. We did all that we could- Keli was just too strong. Besides, you saved my life. I am very grateful for that."
Leela simply nodded, clearly still not convinced she hadn't failed. Suddenly a though seemed to occur to her. "I know! You must deliver the ransom note to my father! His name is Osman; he is Al Kharid's spymaster."
Ozan shook his head. "Whoa there, princess. I've met your old man, remember? And he's none too fond of me. I'm not exactly welcome in Al Kharid these days either. Osman would clap me in irons as soon as he caught sight of me."
"Not if I were to tell you my passphrase. If you gave him that he will know the message comes from me. He will have to listen; the kidnapping of Prince Ali is far too important."
"Why don't you take him the ransom note, and we'll try to track down the kidnappers? Or we could all just go together." Arianna got the feeling Ozan did not want to face Osman without Leela.
"No!" she said, seemingly horrified by that idea. "No, someone had to take the message to him and I…I cannot face him, not after I have failed here. Please."
Ozan was quiet, debating it in his head. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "As you wish, princess."
She smiled in relief. "Thank you. I am sorry I didn't trust you before, but I am trusting you now. My passphrase is 'kakolookiyam'-"
"What?" Arianna said, cutting her off.
Leela looked a touched annoyed at the interruption. "Kakolookiyam," she repeated slower. "Do not forget it!" She looked to Ozan. "And stop calling me princess!"
He smiled. "Well, I guess I've got my, er, orders," he said, then looked over to Arianna, whose had taken a few steps back to lean again a tree. "Look, I know you've been dragged into this so far, but I could really do with your help. Would you come with me to Al Kharid?"
She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You want me to travel to Al Kharid with bruised ribs?"
"We'll travel light, and there are places along the way we can stay where you will be comfortable, I promise."
She sighed. "Alright, I'll come with you Al Kharid," she said, even though she wanted nothing more than to rest and recuperate from the warhammer blow.
"Good for you," he said jovially, reaching to clap her on the shoulder, but stopped, thinking better of it. "Just think: it'll be something to tell your grandkids one day- the time you traveled with the amazing Ozan!"
"Grandkids?" she said, "it's a little early to think of grandkids. I still have to survive this adventure with you."
Ozan laughed, and she smiled only slightly. After the encounter with the mercenaries, he had no idea just how serious she was about that.
Until next time. Cheers.