Varian's mind remained blank as he continued to stare at the tall wounded man that towered over him. His eyes were wide as saucers yet his mouth remained tightly shut as if he was afraid that the wrong breath would spell his end. If his mind did snap out of his fear induced panic, he'd probably notice the very serious and numerous amount of wounds that littered the man's body.
The myriad of cuts that covered him were all looking sickly and infected while the shoulder where his stump of an arm was had a poorly dressed and filthy rag covering it. The crater in the side of his head where his ear was still bled and finally his hands were bleeding profusely due to the missing nails.
His brain might've thought that the large man wasn't at full strength and it gave him an advantage but the air that radiated off the mystery man made him a scared rabbit. He was incapable of thinking at the moment even though he knew he should. Cassandra behind him was also deathly still and quiet, likely due to what she knew what the man was capable of. He had managed to subdue her very quickly and now was staring down her friend with cold indifferent eyes.
She likely wanted to escape her bonds and come to her friend's rescue but knew that even if she did escape, she was no match for the wounded man.
Speaking of whom, Alrick was doing his best to remain imposing despite his lack of strength as well as the many wounds that plagued him. His anger of being accused of being a traitor as well as the adrenaline that coursed through his body was enough to give him the strength he needed to kill his attackers and escape from the alchemist's workshop. With both fading away, he hid himself and picked off the ones who came looking for him one by one until he stumbled upon Cassandra.
She was both dressed and fought differently than his jailers. She was remarkably skilled, that much he could tell in their brief bout but he of course had much more experience than her. He had killed anyone he had come across as he had no doubt they would do the same to him but the King couldn't bring himself to kill the woman. So he decided to restrain her and hopefully question her but the look she threw him made it obvious that he would be wasting his time.
Then, the teen in front of him appeared looking for Cassandra. Alrick could hear him creeping through the house and slipped past him without the teen noticing. He wanted to see how the boy would react upon seeing the woman. If they were part of Rakat's remnants then the boy would likely either kill her for being captured or instantly ask where their target was. A
The only thing he did though was express concern and shock that she was captured and she had more fear of the teen being there versus her fear of the King.
Alrick didn't want to kill them, he really, really didn't want to but he knew that women and children could be dangerous warriors on their own. He needed to warn Arendelle of their impending invasion. Being silenced because he couldn't bring himself to harm the enemy who happened to be a woman and teen was the last thing he wanted to happen. Which was why he wanted to ask the teen some questions, hopefully he'd get some useful information and confirmation they weren't with Rakat. If he didn't…
...then Alrick will just have to add their names to the list of people he has regret killing.
"Now that I know her name, I think it would be prudent if I knew yours as well as what you're doing here."
Varian's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water and couldn't form the words to speak to the imposing man. The murderous weight that was behind the man's stare was unlike anything the teen has ever felt before. It was like he could recognize all the battles this man has gone through and that he was completely capable of killing the teen and woman without much effort. The King narrowed his eyes and bent down so the two of them were eye level and spoke in a whisper.
"I already warned you that I have very little patience at the moment. If you do not answer me, then you will get the less likeable outcome out of the two I offered you.
The teen gulped again and tried wetting his lips so the nonexistent river of sand that had dried up his throat would dispel so he'd be able to speak. He soon found his voice and tried to keep calm.
"I-i amVarian. I'mtheassistantofthealchemistVictorZolo-"
Before the alchemist could finish his blurted out jumbled mess of a sentence, the wounded man's one hand snatched his throat and brought him to the man's face. The King had a hard time following what the teen was trying to say but when he said assistant and Victor, his mind snapped a bit. All he could think about was Talib back in the day who was a depraved man who had no qualms about desecrating the sanctity of life or common decency. When Alrick was captured and Asger had his fun, Talib or Victor was made his jailer and the first thing the alchemist did was stick in a room with recently killed people.
For days, he was stuck with the decaying smell of human flesh that made him wretch up the little food he had in his stomach. It took some time but he became accustomed to it, which then brought the next challenge, hunger. The scraps of bread and water were barely enough to keep him alive, which forced him to consider other means of nourishment.
He could not obtain any water from the bodies but his jailer gave him enough to not have him almost dying of thirst. Food on the other hand was something he needed, which was why he resorted to eating dead flesh. Such an unsightly practice he is ashamed to admit he had done before whenever a campaign had extreme conditions.
The practice was generally taboo around the world and only the most depraved of humans would consider it. Except when pushed to their absolute limits with their survival put on the line. The effects of consuming flesh of another person took a toll on both the mind and body. It warps the mind slowly but surely while also poisoning the body due to the nutrients that are found in the flesh.
Alrick had endured his days getting strength from the corpses around him waiting for a chance to escape. Now that he's free, he needed to get somewhere safe and sufficiently sustain himself. He was sure that he hadn't killed all the guards yet and while at full strength he could deal with them easily even with one arm, he had to be strategic about his situation.
Yet just hearing Victor's name made him think of all the events that led to his capture and it really upsetted him.
"You worked for that psychopath? Well that makes things easier as well as unfortunate…"
As soon as his words trailed off, his grip doubled and Varian felt his windpipe begin to collapse. He dropped the potions in his hands and clawed at the arm holding him up but the grip was absolute. In the background, he could hear Cassandra shouting through the rag while jerking at her bonds to likely try to save him but to no avail.
Alrick may have been angered by the knowledge that this teen worked for his jailer but he still found no joy in what he was doing. He would've liked to just snap the boy's neck resulting in little to no pain but he was missing a hand. Choking him also gave his mind time to try and give reasons he should let them live. However nothing came to mind, perhaps it was how tired he was or the severity of the situation but right now he could not justify leaving them alive because they could in theory turn on him.
So he continued to tighten his grip and waited for the teen to stop struggling and accept that he was going to die.
All that could be heard was the strangled sounds that Varian made as his vision started to darken. His mind had shut down and he was blindly clawing at the arm but it was useless, unless something stopped the man, the alchemist would die.
As if someone had heard his plight, the sound of a floorboard creaking right behind the King filled the room the three were in. On instinct, Alrick turned and in one fluid motion, threw the teen at the origin of the sound. Varian felt the world rush past him as air filled his lungs before being knocked out of them when he hit two bodies that were in the doorway to the room.
He fell into a tangle of limbs with his vision still blurry and tried to struggle to his feet, only to be harshly pushed away as the two bodies got up and ran into the room. He could hear the sound of grunting and punches being thrown. The darkness did not help his vision any but when he looked in the room, he could see his potions laying on the ground illuminating three men fighting.
The wounded man weaved and stumbled to avoid the sword swings the other two men threw his way while returning a quick jab here and there. There were times that he saw an attack coming and he jerked his body in a way that would've had his missing arm brought up in defense but only made him take a punch or a slash to the body.
Diverting his attention away from the fight taking place, Varien looked for Cassandra who had brought her legs up and was hanging upside down. She was likely fiddling with her bonds more and trying to keep out of the way of the chaos of the fight happening below her. Realizing he needed to help her, the teen hastily got to his feet and stayed close to the wall as he tried to inch along it to get to his friend.
Alrick ducked under a sword slash and threw a quick punch at his opponent's knee making it buckle before he tackled him to roll over him and keep the other attacker in front of him. Fighting multiple opponents at once was very difficult and generally required one to be patient as well as keeping all of them in their line of sight. Using the environment was also essential as it could incapacitate or limit the attackers' fighting capacity.
Right now, the only advantage he had was that the room was barely lit and was still fairly dark. He had memorized the layout of the room when he first arrived and was going to rest while he planned out his next move. His opponents were better than the previous ones he went up against, the two of them moved as a team and left very small openings. There was also the fact that he didn't hear them enter the house until they were right behind him. They might've been watching him talk with Varien and Cassandra and planned on waiting until he let his guard down before moving in.
Rolling into a crouched position, he leaned over to the side as another thrust sliced his cheek and wrapped his one arm around his enemy's midsection and lifted him up before jumping and slamming the two of them down on the first attacker. His whole body screamed at him when he landed in a tangle of limbs but he bit it down and quickly mounted his enemy then began raining down blows on the top one's head.
If he had two hands, he would've been slamming the guy's head into the other instead of throwing heavy punches to the man's head and hoping that it would put him down. He got off about six blows before the bottom guy slipped out enough to reach up and dig his fingers into the crudely bandaged amputation site. The King instantly recoiled and screamed in pain halting his furious rain of punches. His attacker's fingers worked their way into the bandage and their nails dug into the wound that started to bleed. Hooking his fingers to get a grip, the attacker yanked on the socket which made the wounded instinctively follow and get off them.
Alrick couldn't have screamed any louder or could think of a worse pain then what he felt in that moment. With pain induced strength, he ripped his torso out of his opponent's grip before grasping it with his remaining hand in a futile attempt to lessen the pain. This gave his attackers a chance to get back to their feet and they both charged. The King turned in time to be tackled himself and pinned against the wall. His attacker wrestled his arm and pinned it to the wall next to his head before throwing a knee to his stomach knocking the air out of his lungs.
The other one picked up one of their fallen swords and advanced with his eyes screaming bloodlust and anger.
"Asger said keep you alive but he didn't say in one piece."
The King felt another burst of anger at the mention of that man's name as he lashed out with his foot and kicked the advancing man's knee to buy him a second. A second he used to lean his head over and viciously bite into the side of the neck of the guy who was holding his arm. The man instantly released his arm and moved to make the wounded man release him but that proved to be a really bad mistake.
With his arm now free, Alrick didn't hesitate and jammed his hand into the man's face with his index and middle finger hovering over the eyes. Briefly remembering this was the same man who dug his fingers in his still healing arm socket, Alrick felt no remorse when he dug his own fingers into the man's eye sockets. The man's body spasmed out erratically in pain as he instantly diverted his hands to pull out the fingers that were digging into his eyes.
After feeling like he did enough damage, the wounded man ripped his fingers out of his enemy's head the same time as he ripped his still clenched jaw away from the man's throat, taking the jugular with it. The attacker went down clutching his throat as he tried to preserve his life for as long as possible but it was a futile gesture. Alrick then charged the last man and lunged with his fist cocked back ready to send all of it to his opponent. Unfortunately, his enemy saw the attack coming and blocked it with his arm as it came his way then retaliated with his own quick hook to the face making the wounded man stumble.
Alrick quickly shook off the hit to his head in time to hastily jump back as a sword swipe almost sliced his leg. Momentarily seeing the opening made by his attacker overextending after trying to cut off one of his legs, the King spat the blood and bits of flesh that was still in his mouth into his attacker's eyes. This caused his enemy to immediately bring up one of his hands to wipe off the blood that made it into his eyes. They immediately began waving their sword around blindly in an attempt to keep the wounded man at bay but felt their arm being grabbed by a hand then a hard shoulder checked them in the chest, making them lose their grip on the weapon in hand as well as their balance.
The wounded man was about to capitalize on his advantage when he suddenly heard the alchemist from earlier shout.
"NO!"
Varian inched along the wall avoiding the savage fight between the three men until he was right under Cassandra. Given his height, he was barely able to reach her while she was hanging upside down. Standing on the tips of his toes, he tapped her head to get her attention while staying quiet to avoid attracting the others' attention.
The black haired woman stopped whatever she was doing and looked at the person who tapped her. She was now upside down face to face with the teen who took the time to undo the rag that was in her mouth.
"Cass, now's our chance we gotta get out of here." The woman held back a snort as she eyed the ropes that bound her hands and gestured to them.
"Trust me, I would like nothing more than to get out of here but I'm a little tied up at the moment." She struggled to find some kind of slack in the ropes that held her but they were completely cinched down in knots she had never seen before. There was also the fact that her own weight was what made the knots even tighter, she had hoped that by hooking her legs on the beam and relieving some of it that the ropes would loosen but the damage had been done and now she needed to cut them.
"I don't think I can undo these knots. Varian, my weapons should be in the room across the hall, get them and bring them here so we can go."
The teen looked back at the ongoing battle and watched the wounded man rain down blows on his attackers with a savage look in his eye and gulped. He had no desire to get anywhere close to these men but his desire to help the black haired woman had him hastily inch past the fight. As he got to the door, he was met with darkness again and was reminded of his illumination solution that he had dropped earlier. Turning back to see if he could get it, he watched as the wounded man was pulled off balance by the brutal move on his opponent's part and stepped right next to the glass cylinder.
The alchemist's breath hitched when he thought the vials would be stepped on and its contents would spill but to his relief they didn't. The solutions he had in the vials were harmless on their own and provided light when the chemicals inside were shaken to increase the reaction rate. The only danger was direct exposure to one another in a reactive state could cause a violent reaction.
Combustion.
He wanted to grab the vials but the intent to kill that came from the three men dissuaded him and he decided to just fish out another set of illumination potions out of his pocket. The next room over he could see that it was a bedroom of some kind with two beds with one on each wall. On the right bed was Cassandra's iconic sword as well as three small throwing knives that she usually carried. He quickly gathered them up and turned to leave the room but noticed one weapon leaning against the doorway.
It was a large greatsword that had a rectangular blade with no sharp edge. The way the metal gleamed in the glow of his light reminded him of something and he took a closer look at it and realized that the metal that comprised the weapon was the same metal he had made earlier. He would've stood there and thought about why Victor would've made this weapon without telling him but the sound of something hitting the ground in the other room had him running back with the weapons in his hand.
Walking through the doorway, he was about to inch along the wall again to get to Cassandra but his eyes widened in horror as the last attacker got hit with a shoulder charge from the wounded man and was falling over right on the first set of illumination vials that were still glowing brightly. It happened in slow motion as the man tipped over and his back was inching ever closer to the potions that remained on the ground. The shout that tore from his throat was too late and all it did was hint at the danger that everyone in the room was in.
"NO!"
The attacker's back crushed the vials and the sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the room. For a second no one moved as they all stared at the teen whose face grew paler as the seconds ticked by. The man who crushed the vials lost interest in the teen and was about to continue trying to capture the King but he felt a burning sensation on his back. Pushing it out of his mind, he lunged for the wounded man once again and they were locked in a grappling match.
The majority of the contents of the illumination potions were on the ground while some of it clinged to the man's back. Varian watched as the blue, pink, and green chemicals on the man's back mix together until it became an angry green that started to bubble. The alchemist knew that he didn't have time so he made a beeline for the woman, completely ignoring the fear of being caught in a fight between the two men.
He got to Cassandra and looked up trying to figure out how he was going to cut the ropes that bound her hands above her. While he did that, the woman's eyes were glued to the floor where the other broken vials were and watched them come together and begin to react and bubble at a slower rate then the compound on the man's back. The attacker was trying his damndest to grab the wounded man's sword and then pin him while dodging the swings that were sent his way. The erratic movement caused the compound on his back to bubble even faster and even she could tell that they would not like what was about to happen.
"Varien quick give me one of my knives."
"B-but your hands are tied up there! How do I give it to you?"
Cassandra rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed a knife out of his lax fingers with her mouth before going back to her upside down position. She then hooked her legs on the beam that was supporting her weight and brought the knife to her hands and started working on cutting herself down. It took her only moment before the ropes gave way and she caught herself before she fell. With great grace and skill, she hopped down and quickly grabbed her weapons and was about to grab the teen and run but a roar from her captor got her attention.
The wounded man had lost his weapon and was sprinting toward his opponent who was in stance ready to deal with his charging opponent but was caught off guard when the King dropped into a power slide on his knees, tackled the waist of his opponent, wrapped his free arm around their legs and shot up with his feet. The quick move made his opponent lose his balance once again and fall…
...right on to the slowly bubbling compound.
As soon as the man's back hit the compound, green fire enveloped him instantly. With the feeling of fire consuming him, the man did the only thing that came to mind; stop, drop, and roll.
That would have been the smart thing to do if one was on fire, the problem was that in this instance, the chemicals that were actually the source of the fire were producing new flames each time one of the bubbles popped. So as he rolled, he started to create more fire that began to spread around the room. The three remaining people in the room watched this happen and all had the same thought.
Get out the room.
Alrick was the first to zip out the room and into the other room to grab his weapon. As he ran back out, Cassandra and Varian exited the room just in time to see him sprint for the front door. They watched him take his long steps to the door and right before he could escape the house, he dived to the side as a salvo of shots filled the air. Cassandra and Varian both found suitable cover as the wounded man slammed the door shut and inched toward the window.
Keeping his back to the wall, Alrick slowly crept his head out the window to try and get a look at the enemy force that was in front of the house. He could make out a dozen shadows before a shot broke glass a few inches from his face, forcing him to duck his head into cover again. The King sat there as he considered his options, there were about twelve guards outside with firearms, to kill them he would have to get in close and take them by surprise. Unfortunately, he didn't have any tools like smoke bombs or the advantage of them not knowing where he was.
The only way he could deal with them was if he ran outside, the problem was, he'd probably be mowed down for attempting to do so. He thought of waiting in the house until they came on their own to capture him where he could take them one at a time, but the green fire that was beginning to spread reminded him that he needed to go now. As he kept looking around for more options he noticed that Cassandra and Varian were on the other side of the door looking the same as him. Still remembering that the teen was the assistant to the alchemist that imprisoned him, Alrick still thought that the two of them were in league with Talib.
"If any of you think I'm just going to quietly surrender then you got another thing coming. I told that asshat Asger that if he better kill me while he has the chance because if not, I'll make him regret it. And I'll be damned if children are what gets me killed."
Cassandra who was still sore from being captured earlier hissed back at the wounded man with no small amount of venom in her voice.
"First of all, YOU attacked ME! The moment we met, you instantly attacked me then strung me up ready to torture me for information! I don't even know who you are, why would I want you to surrender to me?!"
He looked like he had an answer on the tip of his tongue but the crackling of fire got louder as smoke began to fill the house. With smog filling his lungs, Alrick's stomach constricted and he couldn't stop himself from throwing up the flesh that festered in his stomach. Cassandra and Varien watched him empty his stomach then begin to shake as he tried to keep himself upright.
The first impression they had of him was less than stellar but they were just now realizing the state he was in. His body looked ready to give out at any moment yet he was able to incapacitate the young woman as well as fight two men with only one arm. As much as she wanted to settle the score with the man, they were in a dire situation right now.
The house they were was burning and would soon collapse and the only way out was guarded by gunmen. The handmaiden remembered that there were other buildings around the house and thought that if they could escape the current one they were in then they could use the other houses for cover to escape.
Doing so though would still require a distraction.
She considered all of her options as well as the limited things that the three of them had in their favor. She only had one sword and three throwing knives which would only be useful in taking out the enemy, not a distraction. The wounded man only had some dirty pants and a large blunt sword in his possession. Then there was Varian who likely had whatever magic potions he stashed away in his pocket.
She didn't have much faith in them given that half the time his inventions exploded and the potions he generally carried were for mundane tasks such as producing light or cleaning…
Wait…
"Varien, do you have those blue cleaning balls you used to help me clean the castle that one time?"
The young alchemist patted his pockets for a moment before producing about a dozen of them in his palm. The woman smiled as a plan started to come together in her head.
"Hey, if you're finished puking over there, I got a plan. In a second, we're going to blind the guys outside for a moment. We'll have to move fast, do you think you can make it to the next house over?" Alrick wiped the vomit off the corner of his mouth and faced the two of them with a look of skepticism.
"Right, you're going to distract them and give me a chance to escape. I may be a little fucked up right now but I wasn't born yesterday. I still have no reason to trust you."
"Same could be said to you. Anyway it's your funeral, you were barely able to take those two guys back there when they were trying to capture you. Imagine how you'll fare against twelve guys who are aiming at the only way out of a burning building. Face it, you're trapped and the only chance you have of getting away is working with us. So I suggest you cut the attitude and focus on getting ready."
Alrick scowled before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before nodding. Cassandra then looked back to Varien and nodded to him then watched him creep up to the door before tossing the balls where he thought the enemy was. The three could hear a few murmurs as the blue balls exploded into blue mist that concealed the front of the house. The alchemist looked ready to bolt out and try to run to the next house but the handmaiden quickly grabbed his shoulder as a volley of gunshots rang throughout the air.
The enemy probably thought that the three of them would run out as soon as the smoke concealed them which was why they fired. Cassandra listened very carefully for the number of thunks the bullets would make when they hit the house. She wasn't completely sure but it sounded like half a dozen actually hit the house, which would make sense. Shoot with half to cover them and the other half ready in case something happened, she was about to tell Varian to throw the yellow ball that ignited the blue smoke when the wounded man smashed the window.
The handmaiden looked up and saw him dive to the side as a pair of gunshots hit the window and then noticed that his sword was gone. She was about to ask him what he was doing but she was too late as the wounded man dived into the blue mist with no hesitation. Cassandra wanted to yell out and ask him what he was thinking but doing so would give away their position as well as the man's who seemed to want to try and save himself.
Gritting her teeth, Cassandra gambled that they could use the mist as cover and just before exiting it, Varian could drop the yellow ball and cause a flash of green light that would give them a few seconds. Grabbing the alchemist's hand, she shot out the house and instead of going in the direction the man went, she went along the wall of the house. With the fire beginning to spread, hopefully when she got out of the mist, she would have some smoke cover and could dive into another house using it for cover then escaping.
She could hear the sounds of yelling as well as some gunshots but pushed it out of her head as she kept a tight grip on the teen. The mist was beginning to clear and just as she was clearing the veil, she turned to Varian.
"Alright, lite it up!"
The alchemist tossed the yellow ball behind him and heard it combine with the blue mist triggering a reaction that produced a green flash. Thankfully, he and Cass were looking the other way so they weren't blinded by the flash but he knew that it would only last a moment. As soon as the flash subsided, the alchemist chanced a glance behind him and noticed that some of the men were on the ground clutching broken rifles while others laid still.
On his knees over a still body was the wounded man who seemed to be writhing in agony. The teen's brain had begun functioning again and could deduced that due to the cleaning effect of the reaction caused by the chemical explosion, it stood to reason that the flash cleaned all the man's wound's at once causing him extreme pain. The man roared in pain before quieting down and quickly surveying his surroundings. There was a slow dripping of blood coming from his one hand as well as his mouth that suggested that the men who were still on the ground were likely killed by the wounded man.
Every vein, muscle, and nerve in Alrick's body was tightly wound up and clenched thanks to the blinding pain that washed over him. How he wanted to just lie down and pass out so he wouldn't have to deal with any of this pain, yet he used it as his lifeline. He had a mission, he needed to warn Arendelle. As he didn't trust the two that were in the house with him, as soon as he saw the smokescreen he sprinted into the mist with the objective of clearing a path for himself and running as fast as he could away.
He killed three of them quickly thanks to throwing his weapon in the opposite direction to cause a minor distraction but that flash washed over him and caused him excruciating pain. He was so overcome with it that it stunned him for a moment which would have normally been the end of him, if that same wave of green fire didn't ignite the gunpowder each gunman had. This made all of their rifles explode, evening the odds for him. If he were at full strength, he would likely engage the rest of the stunned men that were on the ground but with the opportunity he was given, he jumped to his feet and ran.
The pain gave his body one last boost of adrenaline as he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the lab he was held prisoner in. He barely noticed that he passed up the teen and the woman who opted to sneak into a house to conceal themselves. He sprinted past the village gate and into the forest seeking the densest most thick part of it to help conceal himself. After a while of running, his body finally had enough and his adrenaline ran out, forcing him to stop and use a tree to support himself.
His breath came out in shallow huffs as everything hurt. He was so weak, his vision started to blur and shake. His mind finally grew silent and all that was left was his inherent stubbornness that refused to let him give up and die. He didn't know where he was, he was injured and starving, too weak to stand up straight.
But that didn't matter.
He took a wobbly step forward before another. He had no idea where he was going but his instincts told him he was somehow, someway, heading toward his goal of warning Arendelle. This amount of devotion to help protect a kingdom that wasn't his own would astound others but to him it was plain and simple.
After all the death his kingdom has spread as well as the self-destructive nature that had ravaged his own home, another kingdom decided to help them. His first priority as King was to provide for his people but he couldn't do that alone, he simply lacked the power to. So he begged any who would listen and one had heard his pleas and helped give his people a future. That was a debt he could never repay. He would not allow Arendelle to fall, especially to an enemy that had ties to his kingdom.
Victor, Talib, whoever he was, wasn't acting alone and the way the letter he still had on his person proved that. He needed to let others know, he couldn't be the only one to know!
As if to test him, a random root caught his foot and the man fell forward with his face in the dirt. He laid there for a moment, his vision getting even blurrier. He tried to get up but his body refused to obey his commands.
I don't have time for this! Get up! Move, damnit!
He tried so hard to move forward that he clenched his fingers into the dirt and tried to crawl but his body couldn't do it. If he was in the right mind, he would be able to easily see that his spirit had outlasted his body and that he was done. All of his senses began to go quiet with his hearing being the last one remaining.
It was how he heard footsteps coming up behind him. They stopped around him and studied him for a moment. The voices were distant and like echoes, however before he fell into a deep abyss of unconsciousness, he focused and made out what one of them were saying.
"I can't believe he made it this far even with the condition he's in, almost like magic. No wonder they call him the Mystic. But in the end I suppose it doesn't matter, Asger said to make sure not to kill him. He has his role to play in the future."
Alrick wanted to scream in frustration, he thought he had gotten away but he failed. The last thoughts before he slipped into unconsciousness were of his son and his soon to be daughter.
He hoped the two of them would be a better monarch than he was.
Cassandra watched the wounded man rush past them without a second thought and considered following after him but decided it was better to hide themselves. So far, those guys hadn't really seen them and were only aware of the one armed man. If she and Varian stayed out of sight, they would have a higher chance of not being detected.
It also gave her a moment to think.
She first came out here to look for any signs of the missing King of Blackdust who already lost a good amount of his own soldiers. The King was here hunting some rogue elements that originated from his kingdom and if he was indeed missing, there was a chance they either captured him or killed him.
The handmaiden went with the capture option as there was no body found and she searched high and low to try and find him. Never thinking to ask what the King even looked like. All she had to go on was he was the King of a kingdom that made powerful warriors and had a great history of war.
Admittedly, her search was half cocked and couldn't really be expected to succeed given the amount of information she had. With her dad telling her to remain a handmaiden and not help with a situation of this magnitude, she let her emotions cloud her thinking skills and just searched.
When she was ambushed by that one armed man, she instantly thought that he was an enemy of some sort and tried to fight him. Never once considering who she was looking for and what he likely would do if he met someone he didn't know. If Alrick was indeed captured by the rogue elements that ran from his kingdom, it wouldn't be a far stretch to see them torturing the King out of spite. If he were to escape that scenario, he would likely not trust anyone.
She remembered their brief bout, he appeared right behind her as if he was a phantom and she instantly tried to draw her sword and attack him. He easily caught her wrist and disarmed her which made her draw one of the hidden knives she had on her person. All the while she looked into his eyes and could tell that he had a bored look to them, like she wasn't worth his time. At first it pissed her off to no end that he thought that she couldn't be anymore than a handmaiden as well and it fueled her to take another stab at him.
The attack clipped his shoulder and then his eyes flashed, gone was the bored expression that he had earlier and a barely concealed pent up rage flashed in his eyes and before she knew what happened, she was disarmed off all her weapons and he had her hands tied to a beam on the ceiling.
As he stepped back to look at her, she could tell that he wanted to kill her but stayed his hand as he stuffed a rag in her mouth and took her weapons to another room. When Varian arrived and saw her, she worried that the teen would be killed but then the wounded man returned with a calmer expression than the one he had on earlier.
If she was being completely honest with herself, the man could've killed both her and Varian quite quickly if he really wanted to, but instead tried hearing out the teen until Victor was mentioned and he lost his cool.
His wounds were horrific and made her wonder how he could still be able to move, let alone fight as well as he did. All those wounds plus the pitiful job in dressing them, indicated that the man had poor medical help or was only being barely kept alive.
The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that the person who she was looking for just ran right past her. She could hear more men outside running after the prisoner and knew that the wounded man would collapse sooner or later.
Cassandra turned to Varian who was just catching his breath and keeping a lookout by the door and nudged him. "Listen, I'm going to go after that guy. This time I really need you to go to Corona and request reinforcements. Tell them that we may have a lead on King Alrick. I'll try and catch up with those guys and see if that guy really was the King and if he was I'll try and bring him back here."
"Cass, are you serious?! That guy almost killed us and he's being chased by other guys who have guns and swords. He might be just some bandit or something, why take the risk?"
The handmaiden could see where the teen was coming from but still, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Because if he really is the King then he's wounded and on the verge of collapsing. We both know that Raps would help anyone in that situation in a heartbeat despite the danger. I can go and at least make sure he is who I think he is, if those men kill him then we'll never forgive ourselves."
The alchemist opened his mouth a few times before closing it as he tried to think of an argument but couldn't. Recognizing that the woman was right, Varian nodded his head and followed Cassandra out of the village until they reached the thick forest where the man had ran in the direction of. The raven haired woman had found signs that people had entered the forest recently. Trusting the teen to deliver the request for support, the handmaiden ran trekked into the forest following the trail of crushed branches and stomped on leaves.
It didn't take long until she heard some voices ahead of her. Hiding behind a tree, she could make out a trio of men standing over a body. She couldn't make out what they were saying but could tell they were amused by something. Getting closer without making a sound, she focused on the body and could now tell that it was the wounded man from earlier. His hand was still stretched out in front of him as if he'd been crawling, a desperate action if she'd ever seen one. She waited a few moments and one of the men simply grabbed one of the wounded man's ankles and started to drag him back in the direction he just came from.
The handmaiden expected the wounded man to put up a fight, especially if he really was King Alrick, the man who ruled the kingdom of Blackdust, but he was still.
The wounds must've finally caught up to him. Looks like I'm on my own.
Cassandra was somewhat hoping that the wounded man would help her and at least be able to confirm her suspicions but with him unconscious she would just have to make due. She studied the three men that were walking along the trail they made when they entered the forest. Looking for anything that would give her an advantage.
The first thing she noted was that only one of the three walked behind the dragging man, likely to keep an eye on their captive in case he woke up. The other one who wasn't dragging the man was trying to make their trail more clear to have an easier time returning to the village. Cassandra immediately decided she should take out the rear man as no one was watching him and then figure out who to go for next based on what they do when they realized they were down a guy.
Remaining very still and waiting for them to pass the tree she was behind, Cassandra silently and slowly followed the rear person and as the lead guy swept away a particular big branch, she grabbed her target before bringing it behind a nearby tree and smashing his head against the trunk, knocking him unconscious. The sudden movement did not go unnoticed as the two turned around and realized one of them was missing.
"Hey Aaron, we ain't got time for this shit. Victor is dead and we need to pack up his workshop before any scouts see that fire. If you need to take a leak then say something, otherwise get your ass out here."
When they didn't get a response, the one dragging the wounded man dropped the ankle in his grip and drew his sword. The one in front pulled a pistol and started to scan their surroundings.
"Last chance, if you don't say something right now then we'll have no problem leaving your corpse out here."
Cassandra pulled one of her throwing knives and tossed it at a branch a few feet ahead of her and watched as it fell then hit the forest floor causing the one with the pistol to fire at the sound. The gunshot echoed in the quiet forest and made the second man jump before he turned to the gunner with a pissed off expression.
"What the hell! The idea is to NOT call attention to ourselves! You can't go shooting at every little s-"
He didn't get to finish as the handmaiden sprinted out of the brush before jumping and preparing to deliver a spartan kick. The man closest to her turned at the noise and was hit with a forceful foot to the chest that knocked him off balance and into his partner with the pistol. Before the two of them could get up, one got kicked in the face while the other took a sword hilt to the forehead.
With the two of them down for the count, the handmaiden turned to the wounded man that was sprawled out on the ground. Kneeling down to get a closer look, she checked to see if she felt a pulse and could hear his breathing. After a moment she could make out a weak pulse and shallow breaths. The man needed immediate medical attention.
She was no doctor, but her dad had taught her how to patch basic injuries in case something happened. Unfortunately she didn't have her bag on her so she searched the unconscious men to see if they had anything. She was out of luck as none of them had any bandages but she did find some rope in which she used to tie them to a nearby tree. One of them had a sling sack which she took and looked inside to find some additional powder and bullets with some more rope.
Taking the pistol from the first guy she took out as well as the other who shot his, she stuffed both of them into the sack while taking all three swords and tossing them into the forest. She also removed one of the mens' shirt, jacket as well as shoes to give to the wounded man when he woke up. Finally she used her knife to cut the sleeves of the last two guys so she could use them as makeshift bandages before putting all her loot in the sack and placing it over her shoulder.
Crouching over the wounded man, Cassandra grabbed one of his arms and put it over her shoulders and with a heave, she stood up with him hanging off her side. The man wasn't as heavy as some of the guards in Corona but the dead weight was bothersome. Nevertheless, she headed deeper into the forest.
She highly doubted that she could make it all the way back to the capitol with him unconscious like this. Her first priority was finding a place to hide out and tend to his wounds. Judging by how stubborn she was, he was sure that the moment he got up he'd probably would try to either attack her again or run off. The thought made her more reluctant to help this guy especially after he beat her so easily but she pushed that aside.
Thanks to Rapunzel's adventurous nature, Cassandra actually knew where she was. If they continued ahead for a while they would come along a waterfall that had a cave behind it. The location would hide them well and give them a supply of water. She would take him there first to recover and if he was fit to move in two days time, they would go for the capitol. The handmaiden remembered that she had told Varian to bring reinforcements but with the unknown enemy force around she couldn't risk staying in the open. Hopefully the guards would find the three men she had tied up and get some information out of them.
For now, all she could do was make sure the wound man she was carrying didn't die.
She still needed confirmation this was King Alrick after all.
Hey guys another late chapter yes I am despicable and just a shitty writer. Things have been really busy for me and I'm trying to get this pumped out. Like this was a shitty chapter that needed to be written to get what I needed across. Please bare with me and continue to read my fanfiction. I am sorry that I have lost a few readers thanks to my absence. I hope they are all ok because the world is on some BS right now and I wish you guys remain safe. Anyway I'll try and knock out another chapter by the end of the week but Idk if I can cause I'm supposed to be driving somewhere ten hours away where there might not be any internet out there or even an outlet for my laptop. We'll see how it goes anyway stay tuned and please don't hesitate to pm me or review if you wish to contact me. I WILL RESPOND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!