Black Dragons
Chapter 3: All Under Control

Disclaimer: I do not own Dungeons & Dragons

Corrin leapt up the last step of the stairway leading up to the top of the tower. As he landed he gave himself a short nod before turning to tell Harbek something, but as he opened his mouth he realized that the Dwarf was missing.

"Father?" He asked innocently.

Harbek's arm shot up from below the stairs and slammed into the pavement leaving a few spider-web cracks in the wooden floorboards as his fingers dug into them. He pulled himself up onto the landing with a heave and a sigh.

"Are you alright?" Corrin asked as he leaned over his companion.

"Dwarves. Don't. Do. Stairs," Harbek grunted out between breaths.

"Dwarves don't seem to do a lot of things," Corrin told him with a simple pat on his head before he wandered over to the nearest door. He put his ear to the lock and began to try to focus his hearing.

"I've told you already, I don't know anything about the war. I'm a simple traveler," Arjhan's voice echoed through the lock.

"Sure, sure, and I'm the Baron himself," another voice replied before the lash of a whip echoed through the door.

"Your friend doesn't too comfortable in there," Corrin whispered back to Harbek as he wandered over having recovered from the stairs.

"Well then let's get him out," Harbek said as he swung his hammer experimentally.

"We can't just break in and bust him out," Corrin replied, "We'd draw far too much attention, perhaps a more subtle attempt?"

"Subtle Shmubtle," Harbek said as he pushed Corrin aside and gripped his hammer with both hands.

"Wait!" Corrin shouted as he held out a hand to stop him.

It was too late, Harbek swung his hammer in a devastating arc that shattered the door into splinters.

"Who in the?" Harbek immediately spotted a figure wearing black leather and a mask with a whip in his hand.

"Harbek?" Arjhan asked as he spotted the priest standing the door.

"The one and only," Harbek said as he planted his hammer head on the floor and leaned against it.

"Friends of yours?" The torturer asked Arjhan.

"Could say that," Corrin chimed in as he poked his head in the doorway.

Arjhan gave Harbek an odd look but the Dwarf shook his head.

"I'm going to be taking my friend back now if ya don't mind," Harbek said looking at the torturer.

"I'm afraid I do, the Baron has given me direct orders to extract any information from this monster that could help the war effort,"

Harbek sighed as he readied his hammer, "Obviously ya haven't been listening to him. He's not a soldier or a spy,"

"And you obviously haven't been listening to the screams I've been getting out of him," The Torturer said as he cracked his whip.

Harbek raised a brow at the man, was he trying to be intimidating? The torturer growled as he sent his whip at Harbek. Corrin sped past him through the doorway, his twin knives appearing in his hands again as he leapt into the air, slicing the whip cleanly with his blades, the head of the piece fell to the floorboards harmlessly while the now shortened weapon whistled through the air a few feet in front of Corrin.

"What the-?"

Harbek took his chance as the Torturer examined the whip, rushing forward in a charge he stopped a few feet short of the man before bringing his hammer around with increased momentum. Slamming the large piece into the man's ribs the trio heard cracking sounds that made Corrin and Arjhan wince. A second later the man was gasping on the floor clutching at his side.

"Well then, that should take care of him," Harbek said as he shouldered his hammer.

"Take care of? You're lucky it doesn't kill him!" Corrin shouted as he walked over to Arjhan on the torturer's table. He produced a smaller knife and a short, metal rod from his sleeve before he set to work on the locks that held Arjhan's limbs in place.

"Where's your gear?" Harbek asked as he approached the dragonborn.

"I think it's in a chest over there," Arjhan nodded his snout toward a large box on the far side of the room. "I saw them put my belongings in there when they first brought me here, but I've been in and out of consciousness since then so they might've moved it,"

Harbek nodded and approached the chest, cracking the lock with his hammer he lifted the lid and sure enough found Arjhan's armor, sword, shield, and cloak thrown in the box in a large heap.

"Soldiers, bah, don't have any respect at all," Harbek said as he began to pull each item out and store it carefully on his person.

Arjhan dropped to the floor behind him with a loud thud as the last binding was released by Corrin.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced," Arjhan said as Corrin deposited his tools and walked over to offer him a hand.

"Corrin, Corrin the Fleet, at your service," He said extending his hand, both as a shake and to help Arjhan up.

The dragonborn took it and was lifted to his feet, "Kimbatuul Arjhan, but my friends call me Arjhan,"

"Here," Harbek said as he approached and offered Arjhan his belongings in a neat pile. Arjhan thanked him as he took the gear and five minutes later he finished strapping his shield onto his arm.

"We're going to need to fight our way out of here at this rate, they'll have heard the commotion by now and if not they'll certainly suspect something when they see me up and about," Arjhan told his companions who nodded.

"Here, let me take care of something first," Harbek said as he approached Arjahn.

The fighter looked curious as Harbek pulled out his symbol and laid it upon Arjhan's chest.

"Father Moradin, I ask ye to please bless this man so tha this wounds may heal and enable him to fight alongside me," Harbek closed his eyes as he muttered the short prayer, and sure enough Arjhan felt a surge of relief hit him as his wounds closed.

"Extraordinary," he said as he clenching his hand and opening it, the scars from the whip were gone and he didn't feel any pressure from the action.

"The perks of having a Cleric by yer side, now come on, we need to get going,"

"Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to please… take a seat,"

Harbek and Arjhan turned to see a woman standing in the doorway, she had long, platinum blonde hair that almost concealed two, elongated and pointed ears. She stood almost as tall as Arjhan, and wore a fine dress of dark blue with cyan sleeves and details, and in her right hand was a long staff that she had planted on the floorboards. She was leaning on her right leg with her free hand resting against her hip. Her piercing green eyes gave away her appearance of a young woman, her eyes seemed to radiate knowledge and things that had been long forgotten.

Corrin sighed as he lowered his arms. He'd been trying to get the other two to see the woman standing in the doorway and help him find another way out, but once the woman had spoken he knew it was too late. "You two really need to pay better attention to signals,"