Persistent Loyalty
(A/N: Second up today. Again, a lot of dialogue taken from in-game.)
She had thought she would be capturing—or executing depending on his reaction to her trying to get the books back—a traitor to the college. He'd thought he would never see or taste freedom again and cursed his stupidity for believing he had found true friends, as corny as that sounded. Fate, of course, had determined something else entirely for the both of them, and as it was want to do, it was swift to put the pieces together. If you believed in such things.
ES
She had had quite a time of navigating this dungeon as it was, and her patience was at its end. At the same time she was quite proud of herself with how well she was doing against so many skilled mages. Then she reached the room. She saw bars. She saw nothing inside of them. No surprise as the occupants, if there were any, were out of sight. What was in plain sight, though, was a mage standing by a fire. She moved to attack, but just then she heard someone speaking and paused.
The figure who she couldn't see, said, "Really, I think there's been a mistake. May I just speak with her, please, to clear all this up?"
"Quiet down," the guard ordered.
"Okay, now can you let me out? Please? I won't tell anyone it was you," the unseen figure begged.
"Stop your whining!" the guard shot.
"Just let me out of here. I only wanted to help you!" the unseen figure insisted.
"She said you stay in there and that's final," the guard answered sharply.
"Just open the cage, and I'll leave quietly. Won't make a sound, won't bother you at all," the unseen figure insisted. Persistent fool, wasn't he, she inwardly said to herself. Part of her almost admired him for it.
"I'll give you something to cry about if you don't quiet down," the guard snapped sharply. The prisoner made no retort to this.
Sensing the conversation was over, she moved. She was quick to dispose of the mage. He had run towards the levers and managed to grab one, but she'd killed him before he had a chance to pull it. Pity. He wasn't bad looking. She wondered, for a brief moment, if he'd had a family. Her thoughts travelled to her sisters back at the college and softly she smiled to herself.
ES
From the prison cell he watched, mouth agape as some unseen person took out his guard in only a few strikes. He had never mastered magic so well. He wished he had, but… he had very little focus. It was hard for him to pay attention to things for very long before getting preoccupied with other things. His attention span was short. It had proven a curse since birth. Then the one who had killed the mage came in, and his mouth dropped. She was… wow…
Immediately his imagination ran loose. Had someone like her actually come for him? He felt a little awkward, though. It was supposed to be the man doing the rescuing last he'd checked. At least that was how it was in a good number of stories he had read. Not that he was complaining! In fact he quite liked this arrangement. It was a change of pace and gave him time to admire her silently. You see, she hadn't seemed to notice him yet, focusing instead on getting coin and potions and searching the body and whatnot. He only snapped out of his reverie when she was making for a door. Then he started back to himself.
"Don't leave me here! Please! Help me! Please, please let me out of here! You have to let me out. They're going to do something awful to me!" he begged immediately, reaching out after her. She started, turning with eyes wide. She blinked at him blankly. She had almost forgotten about him. "There's a lever, right there in the center. Hurry, before more of them show up!" he continued. "The others release the wolves. Best you don't touch those," he warned as an afterthought.
She approached the levers, eyes fixed curiously on him. "Are you Orthorn?" she questioned, taking hold of the lever.
"Yes, yes! Did Arch-Mage Aren send you? He sent you to rescue me, didn't he?" Orthorn eagerly asked.
A facial muscle twitched. She almost hated to tell him that wasn't so. She supposed she could lie, but that would hardly be fair to him. She settled on not giving an answer. She sighed. "Is there a key to your cage nearby?" she questioned.
"No, it's the levers in the center there. Just make sure you don't pull the wrong one. Please, hurry. I don't like being in here," he answered. Frankly he felt like a caged animal.
Oh yes, the lever she remembered. He'd mentioned it just moments before. Heck, she was holding it. Now she felt like a fool, but in her defense she really had been more concerned with summing up and judging who this man was than with what he'd been saying. "Why were you in that cage?" she wondered of him.
"They threw me in here until they were ready to use me in one of their experiments. This wasn't supposed to happen. I thought they wanted my help, not to use me as a test subject!" he said. He still felt betrayed by it.
"With friends like those," she wryly remarked, rolling her eyes.
"No kidding," he answered dryly. "I've… never been good at choosing friends." Therefore he'd long ago given the pursuit up. "Please, let me out of here!" he pled, increasingly desperate to leave this place. It had been much too long. He wanted to be free again and to see the outside, to feel the wind on his face. He didn't want to die in this place.
She nodded. Oh wait, the lever. Oh she was absentminded at times. Busy taking everything else in, she supposed. She shook her head, clearing it of its fog, and pulled the lever. Thankfully he'd been patient with her. Orthorn rushed out of his cell and went to his rescuer. "Thank you, thank you! I promise I'll help. And then I'll go back to the College and I'll beg them to let me back in," he vowed, overcome with relief. "Oh, you've saved me! Thank you so much. Who knows what they'd have done to me if you hadn't come along. I promise I'll help you get out of here." Words alone, after all, could never express the depths of his gratitude to this stranger. Whom he found most fascinating, let it be added.
"Where are the books?" she questioned.
His expression turned confused, then disheartened and upset. "The… the books? Oh, I see. I thought perhaps… Well, I thought you'd come for me. But yes, the books. The Caller will have them. She was most interested in one of the volumes. Although not interested enough to keep me from being locked up," he replied. She inwardly cringed at the hurt she heard veiled in his tone. That was… actually kind of sweet. A romantic notion, really. He was a reader, she could tell.
"You should leave the ruin and get to safety," she said.
"Don't you need my help?" he asked.
She blinked and tilted her head curiously at him. He wanted to help? After all he had been through down here? That was… interesting. He'd sounded so desperate to leave. She wasn't inclined to keep him here any longer than need be. Perhaps he was willing to follow because he was just scared. She could lead him out and then deal with the Caller after. "You're right. I could use some help," she answered.
"I shall do my best," he stated.
ES
She set off back towards the main entrance. He followed silently, at first, but she could practically hear the gears whirling in his head as he tried to puzzle out why they were heading away from the trouble. "No, no! This is the wrong way! We need to go upstairs, that's where she is! That's where the books are!" Orthorn finally blurted out, unable to keep silent anymore as they reached a door.
She looked back at him curiously, then smiled. She pushed open the door and walked out. Curious, he followed. He hissed in pain, covering his eyes. The light shone so brightly! He blinked a few times, getting his bearings, and then realized where he was. His eyes filled with hope and relief. He heard birds. He felt wind. Wait… They were outside! An excited grin slowly began to spread across his face. Oh how he had missed it.
She turned to him. "You're safe now," she said. She didn't know, anyway, why he'd been so eager to come.
Her words snapped him back to reality. His grin fell to a surprised expression as he looked at her. "Wait, what? I thought I was going to help you!" he exclaimed in amazement.
She smiled at him. "I can handle this on my own," she said.
He blinked at her. This girl was cut from a different cloth, he determined. "Are you quite sure? I don't want to get in the way, but… But I rather thought that if I were to help, I might… Well, I might be allowed to return to the College," he answered.
Her eyes lit up in understanding. Ah, that's why he had been so willing to help. He missed the college. Again she thought it was sweet, in a way. "You just wanted to escape," she reminded.
"Well yes, I did. And thank you so much for helping me. But I'm not sure where else I could go. I have nowhere else but the college. I would much prefer to accompany you," he insisted.
She giggled softly. He felt a shiver go up his spine. What had he said? And what was with the shiver? "I'll be fine. You should look after yourself," she said.
"I'd hate to leave now and find out later you met some horrible fate at the hands of the Caller," he replied.
She grinned approvingly at him, eyes lighting up. This man was ridiculously persistent. She very much liked it. By now most would have given up. She was impressed. You know what? Why not? "Alright. Let's go," she relented.
"Yes, let's!" he replied, smiling at her. She went back into the ruin and dutifully he followed.
ES
As they went she saw that he was skilled. Not the best, she knew, but he was good. Surprisingly so. She'd expected less given the way Urag had described him, but he was holding his own incredibly well. However, he worried her. He had a tendency to get distracted easily and end up walking in front of her spells or out into the middle of a conflict without thinking. His attention span was very short. It was nerve-wracking. She was starting to regret not pushing him to leave. And he whined. Often. "Why did I ever come here," he groaned after the latest battle, limping over to her. She cast a healing spell on them both. He was impressed but didn't speak to it. "Thank you," he said, straightening up. "The undercroft is ahead… ugh, Necromancers. Be careful. The library is just through here. We're getting close now." She nodded, smiling.
Smiling turned to a look of terror as suddenly, walking through a narrow hall, she was ambushed. The mage was swift and powerful, and he had knocked her back in seconds. She could hardly even see him anymore, and he was attacking without mercy! She managed to knock him back and draw away, trying to heal herself. He raced at her! Suddenly there was a fiery explosion from behind and the mage screamed in pain, falling dead. The woman gaped at the body in disbelief. Who had…? Wait. She turned quickly. Orthorn was there, approaching determinedly with two fire spells lighting up his hands. He looked at her and smiled nervously, fearful. She nodded in approval and continued healing herself.
"Repayment for letting you out?" she asked.
"I have a lot more favors to do for you before I can repay you for that," he answered, cancelling the spells and standing up straight. She smiled. She believed she liked him. His persistence and determination to be loyal to her… She was amazed by it, frankly. She hadn't believed anyone could be that way anymore. Loyalty meant so little these days… She wasn't entirely innocent of breaking loyalties herself.
ES
They faced the sorceress now. The Caller. Alarm was in her eyes. This mage… She was more powerful than she had expected! She was doing her best not to antagonize the woman. "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement," she finally said in a last ditch effort to avoid conflict. Orthorn stood behind her tense and pale, eyes wide in fear.
"An arrangement? After you've destroyed so much? Fine. Leave me the elf. You may go with your books," the Caller answered. The woman started, straightening up. Orthorn blinked in stunned surprise. What had he just…? Oh no…
"I, uhh… wait, what?" Orthorn stammered nervously.
"This little adventure of yours has cost me a number of test subjects. I need more, and you'll do nicely," the Caller explained to him.
"But why?" Orthorn blurted as the woman looked uncertainly from him to the Caller and back, obviously trying to decide whether to agree or not.
"She gets the books, I get you. It's very simple," the Caller answered.
Orthorn's head whipped around to look at the young woman, all but a stranger to him. His eyes were wide and scared and vulnerable. "You wouldn't do that, would you? You wouldn't leave me here with her!" he more begged than asked. She cringed, shifting uneasily from foot to foot.
"I'm waiting," the Caller said.
She swallowed then looked away from Orthorn, bowing her head. She moved towards the books, picking them up one by one. He felt his heart dropping into the pit of his stomach. This-this couldn't be happening… He bowed his head. He heard the Caller approaching to escort him back. Darkly she was laughing. He would be forever at her mercy now…
Suddenly the Caller screamed in pain. Orthorn looked quickly up. The woman! She had collected the books and now attacked with a spell! The Caller screamed in outrage, immediately becoming hostile. She whirled around to attack the young woman. Orthorn grinned widely. He wasn't forsaken after all! Of course that wouldn't matter if his rescuer fell, so… Immediately Orthorn scorched the Caller in the back with a powerful fire spell. He followed quickly with a lighting one then an ice one. His rescuer looked up and met his eyes. She grinned radiantly at him and laughed, tossing her head back. He felt his heart flutter. He started, blushing, and immediately banished the feeling that had welled up inside of his chest.
ES
The Caller was gone. He approached the messy looking girl who was working at getting her hair back up and salvaging what she could of her look. "Well, everything worked out nicely, didn't it?" he said as he reached her.
"It did," she answered. "And my sisters and Urag will be please when I return. I have the books now."
"Yes, you certainly do," Orthorn replied, smiling affectionately at her. His smile fell to a rueful look. "You'll be going back to the College, then? I, uhh… I think perhaps I'll wait a bit before venturing there myself. Let this whole thing blow over, you know. Give certain parties a chance to forget what I may have done. Still, you've gotten me out of that cage, and I won't forget it. Thank you again, and good luck to you," he said.
"Thank you," she replied, looking at him.
He saw something akin to distress and uncertainty in her eyes. "Something wrong?" he asked.
"No, just… You had me worried for a moment when we were fighting her," the girl answered, looking pointedly at the Caller and frowning.
He blinked. Worried? Her? She'd seemed so sure of herself, so unafraid. He hadn't ever thought to put the word 'worried' to anything she may have felt. He certainly hadn't been alarmed for her sake. He almost believed she could handle an army if she so wished to. Alright, so that was an exaggeration, but still! "Worried? My friend, why were you worried?" he asked. "I handled myself rather well I think."
"You did," she confirmed, nodding. "I'm just… I'm not one to trust the skills of others very easily, so I worry about them whenever battle breaks out. Seen enough people fall as it is."
He nodded in understanding. He was touched. And slightly insulted. "You needn't worry about me, my lady," he said. "I'll be just fine. Again, good luck to you. I hope to one day cross paths again… Your loyalty to me… It means much."
"My loyalty is shamed by the persistence and determination you yourself showed," she answered, smiling. He smiled back and said nothing to her remark. He simply bowed and left her behind as she watched amusedly after him.