Jimmez…Jimmy woke up to a warm soft sensation to his face. His eyes grew wide as he saw a small furry creature was sitting nose to nose to him lapping his face with its tongue. The young demon hunter quickly shook off the cobwebs and reached for his blade. He immediately found his actions were restricted since he was in a tight space. When he finally reached his dagger sheath, he was dismayed to find it empty. The creature licked Jimmy's face again , and the boy recalled it was Sammy's pet. Chitter or Chit for short. He reluctantly petted the affectionate creature then took stock of his surroundings.
He was in a small barred cage, and judging by the way it was swinging, it was suspended in a room. Jimmy saw that Lally and Sammy were also in similar cages suspended from the roof. The cages were similar to over sized bird cages, except there wasn't enough room to stand let alone sit in them. He saw that Sammy was awake but Lally was still sleeping or unconscious from the ordeal. Judging by how Lally's cage was slightly swinging as well, Jimmy assumed they were in a boat cabin of some sort.
"Your awake. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. ", whispered Sammy from the other cage. It was dark but Jimmy could see his new found friend was disarmed, just like himself. "Chit chewed your bonds free but I can't seem to open these cages. I was hoping to escape from that monster, but it looks like we're stuck. It might have been better off if you weren't awake. ", sighed the taller boy. Jimmy saw that although he was uncomfortable , his much taller ally was absolutely squished inside his cage. Long legs were dangling outside the cage while his face was almost pressed against the bars. If their situation weren't so desperate he would have looked ridiculous in his position.
"It's fine. I rather meet death on my own terms than sleeping blissfully unaware. ", declared Jimmy mimicking his master Martinez. After he made the statement he realized how dumb it was, and wished he didn't say such a thing.
Sammy giggled, "Oh Jimmy. Your heroic act is adorable. I would have liked to gotten to know you better, but …..", sighed the young guard , leaving the exact natures of their fates unsaid.
Jimmy fumed at being called adorable, but somehow it sounded right coming from Sammy. Although Master Martinez always was quick with words, he was also quick with deeds as well. He knew that there must be a way out of this mess. " How did Chit get here, he was hissing at that creature pretty loudly . I would have thought the spirit would have killed him.", asked Jimmy as he attempted to get a grasp on the situation.
Sammy shrugged the best he can . "I don't know. I assumed he ran when the Rakshasa captured us. I'm guessing he followed us . I just know I woke up with him licking my face then chewed my bonds. He then hopped to your cage and did the same thing. Sadly he can't open the locks holding us. " Chit seemed to respond to his name, and made a chittering noise. Then he jumped through the air and landed on Lally's cage. He paused for a moment smelling the air, before snaking into the cage and begin chewing the small boy's bonds.
"You called it a Rakshasa. I've never heard of such a creature. ", noted Jimmy as he stared at the lock sealing his cage. It was a simple mechanism, that required a key. One that Jimmy didn't have.
"I barely recalled hearing about the things from my childhood. Sort of like bogey men or something was what I can remember about them. I use to have nightmares of these tiger creatures chasing me through a fire. I almost forgot about them till …well till today. ", explained Sammy.
"I see….hey Sammy do you have any loose metal links or wires . I'm not good at lock picking, but I did learn a little. I probably can't open this , but I have nothing to lose by trying right now. ", asked Jimmy still staring at the lock.
Sammy nodded then took off his coif. He retrieved something from his long flowing black hair , and threw them at Jimmy. Jimmy deftly caught what appeared to be hair pins, and was a bit shocked that Sammy grew his hair to such a length. "These will do. ", explained Jimmy ignoring his allies appearance, and he began to work on the lock.
Lock picking was not an easy task, it required patience as well as a still hand. While Jimmy was often praised for his agility, his patience was often lacking. The young demon hunter failed the first few times but then he stopped and calmed his mind. It wasn't just his life on the line, but Sammy and Lally's too. He felt responsible for this whole thing and wasn't about to let his two new friends suffer for it. He wondered if it would have been better if he stayed out of trouble like Jose warned. Stick to his books, and get a good nights sleep. If he just stayed at the inn, Lally would have been beaten up, but it was probably a lot better then being eaten by these Rakshasa creatures . It would have made things a lot simpler and safer, but then he wouldn't have gotten to catch a glimpse of the Menagerie, or meet Sammy. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a bond between him and the taller boy. He liked the boy and had no desire to see harm come to him. He never had much real friends, but he realized that Sammy was one. They fought side by side, and even took turns rescuing each other from that construct. It seemed so unfair that their time together would end so abruptly.
*CLICK*
Jimmy was shocked. He had opened the lock. Sammy saw this as well , and barely contained his excitement. Jimmy placed a finger to his lips and silently escaped his cage. He then proceeded to unlock the other cages, though he had to stand on his toes, but he surprised himself by swiftly opening them in succession.
"We're not out of this thing yet. We still have to escape. ", warned Jimmy as Sammy helped the still unconscious Lally out of his cage. Despite Chit's efforts the boy could not be revived. Jimmy was at first worried, but he saw Lally was at least breathing.
Jimmy then began to lead them to the door of the room and to his surprise Chit began to hiss softly at it. Jimmy was curious and examined it closely , and saw there were almost invisible wards placed on it. Not just any wards, but very complex ones that would be difficult to dispel without triggering. Even if he the proper tools , it would not be an easy task. As his hand moved close, the wards began to glow brighter. Jimmy of course swiftly withdrew his hand less he trigger an alarm.
"What is it? " , whispered Sammy . The tall boy with the long dark haired, was piggy backing Lally. For a second, with their faces so close together, Jimmy thought the two olive skin boys looked like siblings, but quickly dismissed the notion. He then repeated his action with his hand to demonstrate the ward on the door. Sammy attempted to do the same thing, but found the ward did not trigger. Jimmy tried his luck again , and found the same result.
Jimmy puzzled over the predicament, and waved Sammy around. The taller boy responded and turned, letting Jimmy move Lally's hand to the door, but once again the runes did not trigger. Jimmy was extremely puzzled by the whole affair , but then he saw that both his allies had very faint wards inscribed on their own skin. They would be impossible to see with normal eye sight, but Jimmy was trained well by his masters, and saw that they were abjuration runes of some sort. Runes of protection.
This of course puzzled Jimmy even more. They were placed in similar positions on both their arms, and faces. Jimmy assumed that there were more inscribed on their bodies but did not have time to confirm it. Sammy of course seemed to take some odd delight in Jimmy examining his skin so closely. Jimmy felt uncomfortable at his approving gaze, but ignored it for now. He had more important things to consider.
"I don't know how, but you are both warded against detection spells. Not a simple ward cast by a gold a day hedge mage, but something that rivals anything that Baroness Stille ever showed me. I guess that explains how you two got into the Menagerie without any alarms going off. ", explained Jimmy.
"Hmm…I don't see anything, but if that's true, how come Chit didn't trigger anything ?", asked the taller boy who was still smiling at all the attention he was getting.
"Most wards don't cover small animals. Else every time a rat finds its way in , it triggers an alarm. I guess Chit there just made the cut off point in size. ",shrugged Jimmy. He then pointed to the door and made a motion to urge Sammy to attempt to open it. The duo waited apprehensively but the door swung open , revealing that they were indeed on a barge , apparently moored in Grom City's harbor.
"So now what ? If what you say is true, then we can escape but you can't. ", asked Sammy in a worried voice.
Jimmy shook his head, "Look, I heard a bit of his speech before that chain choked me out. It wants you and Lally. You two run , get help . Get the guard and militia if you have to. If you have time you can also find my Masters Martinez and Raoul at the Drunken Squirrel Inn, or better yet find Lady Stille at the Shrine of Koryis. Even that oaf Sir Jose would be welcomed if you can get him sober. If I see guards come near you , I'll trigger the alarm and draw their attention. "
Sammy shook his head in protest, but Jimmy grabbed his shoulder and gazed intently at him. Jimmy stared into his eyes, and made his indomitable will known to the taller boy. Sammy relented and leaned into Jimmy. Then gave him a soft unexpected kiss on his lips.
" ..PFFTTT", spat Jimmy in surprise, shock , horror, and disgust " What was that for! Are you out of your mind! ", declared Jimmy as he rubbed his lips multiple times to get the strangely soft sensation off his mouth. The young demon hunter's commotion stirred Lally awake, but the younger boy seemed more confused than panic at the situation.
Sammy said something to reassure Lally then laughed lightly at Jimmy. "This might be the end of both of us, I just wanted to have kissed a boy if things end badly . I've never kissed a boy before. You are very brave.", he explained , while tossing his long black hair about and flashing a bright smile. Chit leaped on his shoulder and made a peaceful rumbling sound.
Jimmy spat and wiped his face again. "Kiss a boy? No thanks! I have never kissed a boy either, you don't see me complaining…", grumbled the young demon hunter as he waved the taller boy to proceed with the escape. He wasn't sure what to make of it all, he knew he should be feeling fear for his life, but instead he just felt strangely uncomfortable.
Lady Stille was uncomfortable to say the least. She had her arms wrapped tightly around Sir Jose once again, but this time it was more due to the strange prisoner they were transporting. The creature was still secured in the barbed net, with an extra rope wrapped around it , and sat miserably behind Lady Stille on Greenpaw's massive saddle.
Despite her caution, Stille did feel a bit proud of Jose. He would have expected him to agree with Aki and skewer the creature after it had given out their information. Stille admitted that's what she would have reluctantly done , and was surprised that Jose took it upon himself to honor his pledge of protection. It was a noble thing to do , but perhaps a bit reckless , given that the Rakshasas and their thralls were still about. She could well imagine a scenario that they could possibly free the creature, and it would use its shapeshifting ability to blend and fade away into the busy crowds. Then it would start a new cycle of terror somewhere else. The priestess thought it was a harsh and very real possibility that seemed to overshadow the paladin's mercy.
"Ow…your nails are digging into my armor. ", complained Jose jokingly as they made their way to the harbor. " It's hard enough to find my way around in these maze like streets without the soft distraction of a lovely passenger. ", he smiled. The knight's assessment of the terrain was accurate, the labyrinth of streets had sent them scurrying to dead ends and odd circles, delaying their progress considerably. Even after asking for directions a few times, they made slow progress to their destination.
Stille was thrown in a slight panic when she suddenly realized that she had extended her claws inadvertently from the fear she felt with the Rakshasa tied behind her. Despite all her talk about accepting her heritage , she still felt deeply ashamed when her demonic traits were exposed. Although her current companions knew about her heritage, only Martinez knew the full extent of her …mutations. Oddly, the loud mouth and showboating duelist , was not repulsed when he saw the full nature of her fiendish traits, and even more surprising was that he kept it a secret. She did not think Jose actually saw her claws, and just made a flirting comment about her nails, but it was still something she did not dare risk. She retracted the nails then released her grip on his waist suddenly and almost fell off due to her rash action.
Jose of course was a master of his mount, even though it was just a big dog, and managed to slow Greenpaw down and catch her. He sensed something was wrong and brought the dog to a stop. "Cuidado de mi senora! " Jose declared as he slipped into his seldom used North Darokin dialect. Despite the near disaster that almost befell her , Stille broke into a smile when she heard his rich voice in the foreign tongue. She knew that in normal circumstances he attempted to speak in a rough courtly manner in the common language, but in times of stress or surprise his native speak inadvertently takes over.
"I'm ok. I'm just nervous about your prisoner. That's all. ", was the excuse Stille used. It wasn't 100% accurate , but she thought it better than admitting she didn't want to see her fiendish claws.
Jose considered her statement and laughed. "Oh the scary evil spirit is scaring you? ",he jested. Then to the priestess's horror he drew his blessed iron rapier and jabbed it into the fox girl. Stile along with the captive fox girl, who had remained silent and sullen the whole time, both screamed in surprise.
"How..how could you! ", declared Stille in shock.
"Hahha..haha…Sorry about that. You should have seen the look on your face. ", he laughed. To calm Stille down he showed the priestess her rapier then pointed to where he stabbed the beast.
Stille was still mortified by his actions, but saw that the weapon wasn't bloodied or covered in demon ichor, nor was there a wound on the girl, other than a light depression where Jose had jabbed her. The girl was still breathing heavy but otherwise appeared unharmed.
"Wait….what just happened there? Is your weapon useless against our foe? ", asked the priestess struggling to comprehend what just happened.
Jose chuckled lightly. " Don't worry its not silver. This blessed rapier is not my favored weapon, but I can assure you it will pierce the hide of any Rakshasa. However, despite her obvious resemblance to the enemy we hunt, this fox girl is not a Rakshasa, she's more of a lycanthrope like the one's up north, or some version of them. Therefore we can't easily pierce its hide. ", he declared proudly.
Stille knew that the northern order dealt extensively with were creatures. The most common varieties being wolf, bear, boar and tiger. She knew other types existed but didn't actually think they would be confronted with a fox sort . The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Rakshasa's employed thralls of all sorts. Their mind bending magic could let each control a small force if they desire. Their enchanted hide deflected most weapons easily, but was fairly useless when their foes are aware of its limitations. What better way to foil their foes attacks, then having creatures which look similar to them, but possessed a different and unique set of defenses. It probably explained why this creature was able to escape the mayhem that Martinez and his allies were causing in the main Rakshasa lair.
"Very observant Sir Jose. ", the priestess complimented knowingly.
Jose grinned at the praise. "As a knight of the Northern Order, we deal with these creatures all the time. They aren't inherently evil, they are the same as humans. There are good and bad ones. We even let them join the orders if they are worthy. Also I noticed there was no tint of evil when I used my paladin's sight on her. Even the other tiefling had no hint. The Rakshasa's have a strong aura about them similar to yo….", he began but stopped. Stille knew he was about to say similar to yours, but she forgave him this time. She was more curious about this creature than any accidental slights directed at her.
"Lastly, I saw those barbs didn't actually dig into her hide. It's a standard blessed net, and it should have made a bloody mess of her fur, but it didn't. Luckily for her, it wasn't made of soft blessed silver, but the stronger blessed cold iron instead. Just like my rapier. ", concluded the knight.
"I assume it is charmed against her will then. We should release it. ", considered Stille even as the young girl glared at her nervously.
"I wouldn't go that far. She was probably under the effects of a charm enchantment for a long time, if not most of her life. You heard her talk back there, she seems to think she's a part of their tribe or something. In my experience prisoners that are kept a long time, grow attached to their masters. We call it Narwhal hold syndrome, for the ancient Narwhal barbarian raiders that would capture wives from along the coast in the dark ages. I placed a mark of justice on her head to ensure she wouldn't get into any trouble even if she escaped us, but I'm not sure if its entirely needed. She seemed a bit willful and rebellious, and twists her master's orders about like a seasoned paladin is taught when charmed. ", explained the paladin.
"Why didn't you tell this to Aki or myself ?", probed Stille with a smile. She didn't care much for his rapier theatrics earlier, but she was impressed by his astute identification of this creature.
"Oh , I was gonna tell you soon. However, believe it or not, in most societies lycanthropes are even more despised then evil spirits. They are a plague in some areas, and spread their affliction like wild fire if not controlled. Only few states, like the Northern Orders and the mage kingdoms of Glantri are they not hunted down mercilessly. Even Grom city had its share of lycanthrope disasters, the last being Prince Everic the Beast's rebellion back in the 800s. I don't know how Aki's people treat these creatures, but I wasn't about to take the chance of him stabbing her with a silver blade in the net. ", admitted the knight.
Stille was impressed . She turned to his prisoner and saw fear and confusion in its eyes. Even though she heard what they said, it didn't seem to realize the magnitude of what she was , what was done to her, and the danger she was in. Jose was right, she would be killed by the towns folk if they discovered her identity. She was in a foreign city, in a foreign land, she would not be able to hide or blend into the urban surroundings like a common wererat or live off the countryside like a werewolf. Despite her reservations about its safety and their own, she felt pity at the small creature , bound in the net before her.
"What is your name?", Stille asked softly.
The fox creature hesitated but responded, "Kitahari."
Jose gave a doubtful glance to Stille, sensing what was about to come next, but the priestess ignored him. "Ok Kita or Keeta, I am Lady Stille of the Church of Koryis, and that is Sir Jose of the Knights of the Husky. I will release you. The knight is still bound to protect you, but only if you remain our prisoner. I can not guarantee your safety if you escape us. Do you understand? I suspect you know as well as I do, this city is more than it seems. Magical traps , guardians, and terrible forces lie below its bustling urban facade. I have no desire to see you fall prey to them. Do you understand this?", stated the priestess in a calm but serious manner. The priestess thought it amusing that though she had described the city, she also described herself in an odd sort of a way. By all accounts she was a simple, attractive noblewoman , normal in every way except her odd light blue hair, but beneath was something much more terrible.
The girl nodded and Stille easily cut the rope then unraveled the net on her. She cut her self a few times on the barbs before Jose assisted her, and noted that knight was correct in that the barbs did not harm their prisoner but could definitely hurt her. When released she transformed into a thin girl , with pale skin and reddish brown hair. Stille thought she had a hint of beauty about her that would blossom with age, but for now she looked more akin to a common street waif. Though she wasn't naked, her garments were torn quite thoroughly by the barbs. Stille rectified it by offering her the cloak off her back.
"Kit, we need you to direct us to the barge on the harbor and tell us about its defenses. I know you are probably compelled to not betray your master, but I also suspect you like to twist his words in your mind, similar to how you rationalize escaping the lair instead of fighting off the intruders. Just think of a scenario where you are offering us as a test to your master's battle prowess. I suspect he likes praise and loves challenges. If we are defeated you can claim you cleverly lead us to our demise . Can you do this for me?", asked the priestess as she gave the girl a playful wink.
Kit smiled then nodded.
The trio then remounted Greenpaw, and made their way to the harbor under the directions of the girl. The maze of streets that had confounded Jose before was easily bypassed under her directions.
Rajah Mogombo scowled . Why were his minions so incompetent, why could they not follow his directions? It took the Rajah's own personal intervention to capture Prince Lalit, and surprisingly enough, the supposedly dead Princess Sampada as well. Though he failed earlier that night, it was no fault of his, and obviously the blame rested on his servants.
The Rajah was ready to sacrifice the Prince right then and there, but he did not want any mistakes to ruin his ritual. Even though he had another Royal heart available, he was not about to waste his good fortune by being hasty in his preparations. After all , was he not wise, strong, clever, and patient? These attributes and many others were what made him a ruler of his people, and not some jittery subservient lap dog, he thought to himself.
He had sent word to his main lair to retrieve his effects, especially his writ of dark rituals, the Black Scroll. An alien thing, that was supposedly taken from the pages of the dreaded tome the Froginomicon. A document written in blood on the stretched hide of a bullywug , detailing forbidden rites and various dark pacts. A mere mortal would have had his mind shattered by even glancing at such a blasphemous writ, but the Rajah had studied the scroll well and had discovered the ceremonies needed for his ascension in it. He could have performed the heart eating ceremony on his barge, but thought it prudent to have the scroll near him to ensure no mistakes were made. All he had to do was wait for the arrival of his scroll. There were a few invaders in his lair, but he would have thought that his minions would have handled them by now. It was inexcusable to force him to wait like a common humble merchant. There were limits to his endless patience after all.
As the Rajah fumed and thought of the various punishments to eke out on his servants, his sharp vision noticed what appeared to be a tall girl and a boy fleeing from the dock. They were hiding from shadow to shadow and would be imperceptible if it were not for his superior vision. The Rajah was confused. There was no way it could have been the Prince and Princess he just captured. They were placed in master locked cages, and their room was sealed with alarm wards. Not only that, but they were bound by ropes made from vines that only grew in Gehenna. Only a blessed weapon or holy creature could sever them.
Mogombo wasn't sure what he saw, but he decided to be prudent about it. He waved forward his Kyton servant. The creature was his favored assassin, a massive beast of a man, wrapped in chains , called appropriately a chain devil by most mortals. The creature was one of his most powerful servants and had never failed him. Despite its power and effectiveness, it was also quite obvious and the Rajah was loathed to use him the open, else its presence alerted his foes to his location. He wouldn't have even used him tonight, except he was frustrated at his lack of success earlier and suspected he would be leaving this accursed city anyways. Seeing as how there was a small chance that his prey was fleeing he decided to release his favorite hound on them.
The Kyton creature moved swiftly despite its bulk and bowed before the Rajah. Mogombo was amused that its face resembled his own, as that was one of the traits of the monster. Its visage often shifted inadvertently to resemble to the viewer that which they loved the most. The Rajah thought the power to turn a creature to stone like a medusa, or to make the mind numb like certain hags , were more effective powers, but he did concede it was an amusing skill that unnerved the Kyton's foes.
The Rajah was about to order his servant to hunt the mysterious pair down , when suddenly a loud chattering of magical mouths sounded from behind him. Mogombo knew it was triggered to the Prince and Princess's holding room, and turned to see a small boy run out of it and into the lower hold. At first he was about to send the Kyton and any other servants he had to the hold, but it all seemed too convenient, especially given the timing and the two figures fleeing the dock. He try to scan the thoughts of the ones that fled into the hold, but could only pick up the mind of the little sage, the other two he could not read due to the wards that the Vinnraj mystics had placed on them. The two on the docks were too far off for him to read, and he could not confirm their identity. Despite the uncertainties it seemed akin to a simple hunter's trick to distract him and he would not be fooled so easily. He instead ordered the Kyton to proceed in capturing the pair, while he handled whatever was in the hold himself.
No paltry diversion will deny him from his fate.
Sammy fled from shadow to shadow , attempting to flee the docks and alert someone, anyone about Jimmy's fate. The young girl was scared, but knew she had to keep calm to rescue her friend. She had fought brigands a few times, repulsed a few goblin attacks, and even helped bring down a feral bear once. She thought at the time those battles were terrifying but it was nothing compared to what she was facing now. Those previous skirmishes she had faced calmly, partially from her father's training, partially because of Caravan Master Kirgi's seasoned leadership, but mostly because she had a sense that they would be victorious in the end. She did not feel that now. She knew Lally and herself were free from the Rakshasa's clutches, but she was concerned about poor Jimmy.
She only knew him briefly, but she was impressed by the short youth's tenacity, bravery, and she had to admit, his rough good looks. She was never that interested in boys till she met Jimmy, and was surprised how quickly she warmed up to him. Years of hard living as a caravan guard under her father's protective wing, gave her scant opportunity to experiment with boys, but everything seem to have fallen in place tonight while she was in Jimmy's company. Unlike the other boys in the caravan, the self-professed young demon hunter was unlike anyone she had ever met before. He also didn't seem to mind her, and treated her with a degree of respect that the other boys hadn't.
She even gave him her first kiss, which curiously warmed her heart.
All that was about to change though, if she could not get help in time . The Rakshasa were literally spirits from her distant past that seem to have come to life and pursue her. When she was young, she dreamt about them constantly , but her father always convinced her they were just bad nightmares and Chit always snuggled up to her so she could sleep again. Now when faced with the evil spirits directly, she knew instinctively that the tiger creature wanted her , but poor Jimmy sacrificed himself so that she could evade them.
She wasn't sure how, but she would find the militia, or the Royal Guard, or even Jimmy's mentors if they would not aid her. If she couldn't find anyone to help, she would get her dad and the caravan guards to come. She wasn't sure how, but she would make up some bizarre story to enlist their aid. She wasn't normally a liar or a teller of tall tales, but for Jimmy's sake she would fabricate an account that would send them to the harbor.
"Will….small…boy…be ok?", asked Lally in the Vedic tongue. Sammy could understand the boy , but just barely. Her Vedic had gone rusty from a decade of non-use, and she regretted no practicing it.
"Small boy …wil be ..good. ", she replied in a whisper, still fearful they would be discovered.
Her fears suddenly came to a stark realization, when a monstrous man, wrapped in chains bounded before them in a heavy landing. The ground shook from the man's bulk as he turned to face the young guard. The creature was almost seven foot tall, with pale skin. It wore no foot coverings, and appeared to have clawed feet. It had rippling muscles that could be seen past the multiple lengths of chains that adorned his body. Some of the chains were tightly secured , others hanged loosely from his frame. What was most unnerving though, was that the creature possessed what appeared to be Jimmy's face. The creature looked ridiculous with the face of a small boy atop the massive body similar to that of a fetish prone ogre. Sammy knew immediately it was some sort of illusion , but couldn't help but break into a cold sweat when seeing it.
Sammy and Lally both ran at that point. Sammy thought it would be best to split up, but could not convey the message to the smaller boy in time. Lally followed her as they attempted to flee the demon's wrath.
The creature stared at the fleeing pair and waved a finger dismissively in the air. One of the chains on its body seemed to animate and twisted in the air magically, corresponding with its fingers movements. After a certain velocity was reached the chain spun at them with lightning speed. Sammy glanced back and saw the chain spinning towards them. She recalled how the chain and ensnared Jimmy earlier and feared that they would soon be dragged back to the ship of horrors, bound and helpless in chains.
Before the chain struck though, a green blur flashed through the night sky and intercepted the chain. A second later, a massive green furry dog had the chain in its jaws and shook and threw it aside . A massive knight, adorned in battle hardened armor, wearing the famous tabard of the Order of the Husky was mounted defiantly on the dog.
"No picking on the ninos, cadena diablo ! ", he declared before his bladed exploded into holy fire and he rushed the demon.
Sammy was stunned to say the least. She wasn't sure what to do next when suddenly a strong hand grasped her shoulders and dragged her and Lally to a side alley.
Stille grabbed the two fleeing children and dragged them to safety. Even though she only caught a glimpse of him earlier, she recognized the small olive skinned boy as the one that fled the palanquin earlier that night, the other girl was taller and perhaps a year or two older, dressed in a manner of a caravan guard , and curiously had the same skin as the boy and Sardar Milan. She gazed at her frightened visage closely and noted that she might have been a relative of the two, as she noted distinct facial similarities between the three.
The girl seemed in shock at first, but quickly recovered when she saw the open palm symbol of Koryis hanging on her neck. A sign of safety and succor.
"Help! Help….my friend Jimmy has been captured by the Rakshasa. ", blurted the girl .
Stille stopped. "Wait…what? Jimmy? ", she responded unsure of what she had just heard. Though the odds that she was referring to her Jimmy was small, their was a deep dread that somehow the young boy was involved in this. Though Jimmy was not her son, she felt intimately responsible for his well being. Perhaps it was pity that he had lost his father and subsequently his mother, when he had joined her own son's retinue to battle the gnomes. Maybe because she was impressed by Jimmy's always optimistic attitude even in the face of despair, or maybe she saw something great or special about him. Regardless of the reason she would not see the boy harmed , and hoped that the Jimmy the girl was referring to was someone else.
"My friend is still on the boat, he freed us and told us to get help. We're suppose to find the guards and some type of demon hunters or something. ", continued the girl breathlessly.
Stille's heart dropped. The worst possible scenario had happened. She was half hoping that the barge would be empty, but it was full of the Rakshasa and they apparently had Jimmy hostage.
"Kit! Take these two away , far away from here. ", the priestess said while waving towards the shadows. A young pale girl in a cloak appeared and nodded in a frightened manner to the baroness. " Do not side with your former master. Do not attempt to betray me . Do not do anything that will tempt my wrath. ", Stille warned the were fox. To accentuate her point, fire flashed in her eyes, her fangs and claws were momentarily extended and her demonic tail lashed menacingly before them. The were fox, young boy , and young girl were paralyzed in fright, and Stille knew she had over done it. She considered apologizing, but knew that she had no time for that.
Wordlessly she retracted her fiendish traits, before running to Jose's aid. She hoped that the knight's trust in the fox girl was well placed.
Raoul jabbed his staff in a well placed blow through the breaking ice wall. The force weapon impacted with a crunch against one of the numerous attackers attempting to break down the barrier. Despite his success the half giant knew it would be futile.
"Hmm…I guess there's another 50 more after that guy. That's about 40 more than we can handle, I guess, "noted Raoul as he dodged a spear from the other side of the wall.
"Ah …that's too bad. I was hoping to make it out of this one, and impress the Baroness. ", frowned Martinez with a shrug as he picked through the random treasures strewn about the room. He saw a particularly interesting scroll tube and decided to keep it for safe keeping. Perhaps a gift to the baroness, since she liked to read so much. "Make sure you save your last psychic stomp to bring down the roof on these guys ok?"
Ivy shook her head as she jabbed her spear . "I can't believe you two are so accepting of your imminent deaths. You seem more worried about your lady friend , than you are of being chopping to death by the Rakshasas and their minions. "
Raoul stepped back from the fray. "Well, demon hunters such as ourselves are pretty mentally unbalanced to begin with. If you think about it, we hunt demons for Rawk's sake. Not a profession that you need to plan on retiring from. There are no old demon hunters, just dead ones or those that quit. Since Martinez and myself are too stupid to quit, we pretty much made our peace with our mortality a while ago, "waxed the half giant.
Martinez chuckled to himself. "Speak for yourself. I was actually planning to hide in the shadows when they break through and sneak out while they are chopping you up," he joked.
Raoul snorted. "Well I was gonna bash you over the head, and parlay your body for my freedom. Since we got rid of a few of their concubines, they might need another pretty boy."
Ivy shook her head as the wall cracked even further. The enemies ability to break down her ice barriers was greater then she could erect them. "Enough chatter. You two gather close and grab tight.", she ordered.
Martinez gave her a curious stare." Oh…normally I like two girls and one dude, but I'll play along this once.", he snickered.
Sir Jose sized up his opponent. Although he was not as experienced as his comrades when dealing with evil outsiders, the knight recognized the creature for what it was. A kyton, or chain devil. A denizen of the lower hells, a creature that existed to spread misery with its supernatural command over chains. Jose recalled from his master Sir Rollo, that it also took the visage of loved ones to throw its opponents off, but the Knight thought nothing of it. The power seemed to pale over the cursed wounds of bearded devils, or even the acidic slime of bubba demons.
The knight urged Greenpaw forward even as chains flew from his foes body. One lashed the great husky while another attempted to trip it. Despite the attacks, the heroic war dog continued its charge. A couple more chains sprang from the Kyton and they too attempted to lash and wrap the dog. It was too late though, as Greenpaw managed to ram the creature with is massive barding reinforced bulk, before it was wrapped up completely in the steel binds.
The brutish Kyton was thrown to the side and tumbled helplessly from the shock of the blow. It attempted to rise, but Jose had swiftly dismounted and slashed it with his blade. The knight's sword was wrapped in a holy aura , that hurt even Jose's eyes, and it seared and snapped the chains protecting the monster. With a speed defying its bulk, the demon sprang to its feet and readied its next attack. The Kyton lashed out again with a more conventional chain attack, and struck the knight across the face. Jose simply grabbed the chain and wrapped it around his hand, thus locking himself and trapping his prey at the same time. The Kyton accepted the challenge and yanked the knight forwards, relying on its greater size and supernatural strength to over come the paladin.
For a second it appeared that Jose would be over come and pulled off balanced , but the knight did not budge. Besides being a knight of the famous Order of the Husky, Jose was a practitioner of Luca Daros. Freestyle Darokin fighting, an ancient art that relied on oddly enough the honor and bounds of family and friends. The combat style was often ridiculed and declared fake by other warriors, but there was no denying the power it gave Jose. " AIIIE AIIEE LUCA DAROS REPRESENT! ", he shouted in an inane manner.
The Kyton appeared surprised to say the least, at both the meaningless babble and the surge of strength from his opponent. Instead of pulling the knight off balance the demon was pulled forward instead. It released one of the chains binding Greenpaw and sent it spinning to the back of the knight's head. The knight seemed to sense the cowardly attack and nimbly ducked, causing the chain to smash the Kyton directly in the chest.
" Mal funcionamiento en la unión! ", the knight declared as he slashed the demon once more with his holy blade while kicking its leg from beneath him with a smooth practiced sweep.
The feint resulted in the demon landing on its back, and Jose prepared to finish the creature off . He raised his weapon for a deathblow against the monster, hoping to send it back to the whatever damned plane of existence it had crawled out of , with one mighty swing of his blade.
"No Sir Jose. Mercy! ", declared the demon in a soft voice. Jose blinked and saw the Lady Stille's face on the creature. The back of his mind told him it was a trick, but he still couldn't bring himself to strike it down. Despite the time they had adventured together, he barely knew her, but he knew enough that she was hurting inside . She was a tiefling , a person cursed with demonic blood, and every time he looked at her , she would wince from his gaze. Not that he blamed her, on the rare occasion he used his paladin sight and caught her in his vision, she radiated evil greater than the foulest spawn of hell. He knew from her actions that she was pure of heart, but also knew it brought her great shame to be considered alongside just monsters. He wanted to help her, but always considered himself unworthy to console her. Deep inside he desired her, but always questioned his own motives for doing so. Was he just curious to lie with a woman as beautiful as a succubus? Was she simply desirable because she was forbidden fruit? Or was it just a characteristic of some hidden demon talent that could warp the minds of men? He wasn't sure but always held himself in check till he could resolve his own conflict regarding her. The fact they kept their distance from one another grated on the knight. It was a workable arrangement, but it tore at something primal inside him. He was a warrior from North Darokin, a man of great passion and romance. It felt unnatural that he would have to restrain himself from such a woman, but that was what he had done. Until tonight. Everything changed tonight. He wasn't sure why, but he felt more alive than he ever felt when she simply held tightly on to his waist. Even their brief conversations while hunting the Rakshasa seemed to instil a confidence and desire in him that he never felt before. He couldn't strike Stille down, he would find another way, he …..
"Snap out of it JOSE! ", shouted a concerned Stille from behind him.
Jose daze was broken and he saw the creature was lunging towards him from the ground. It was an awkward position to strike, but Jose gave it no opportunity to do so. He slammed his holy blade into the monster's chest and it pierced chain, hide and bone as it seared the corruption that was the demon. The force of his attack was so great, that it penetrated through to the dock and the entire structure shook from the impact.
The demon struggled briefly, and Jose half expected to continue to battle. Even after it fell to the ground, Jose was suspicious of its death. It wasn't until its chains fell off Greenpaw and began to crumble and erode that the paladin was sure that he had slain his foe.
"They have Jimmy. We must hurry. ", said Stille simply as she pointed to the barge. It was one thing to battle to save an innocent, but something completely different when it was one of their own. The knight ignored any boasting and turned his attention to the barge. He saw Greenpaw was still recovering from the beating he took, and decided to race to the boat instead.
Stille and the knight made it to where it was moored , but it was too late. The barge had already departed and was slowly floating away. It was too great a distance to jump, even with his mount. Jose knew that Stille's magical powers were expended a while ago, and they would not be able to float over by arcane methods.
Jose considered finding a row boat and attempting to catch them by more mundane means. He was about to suggest that to the Baroness, when he noticed that she had hastily cut the straps off her breast plate. The black heavy armor plate fell to the wooden docks with a thud, and he wondered if she considered swimming after them. Even if they did , they would be at a sever disadvantage. They would be without armor, and more importantly the enemy would most likely harass them with bow fire as they closed, and weapon strikes to their hands and head as they attempted to climb aboard.
Instead of swimming , four dark leathery rings sprouted from the Baroness's back. Jose was taken back. He stumbled a few steps away and stared in horror and awe at Stille. He knew she had demonic blood, but by her relatively normal appearance, thought it simply manifested itself in the form of her evil aura and blue hair. Wings, especially functional ones, on the other hand were something else altogether. She was a succubus, or perhaps a form of succubus spawn known as an alu demon, or maybe something more sinister known as a half fiend. Whatever she was, he found himself inadvertently recoiling from her.
"I'm sorry. ", she whispered. Tears streaked her face as fangs, claws, and a demonic tail seemed to manifest from her. With that, she took flight towards the barge.