A/N: Hello, hello and welcome back to the long, long awaited return to this story. Sorry about that. Meant to return sooner but I got caught up with other stories. As I said in a review it's not dead, just a bit delayed on the return. Was very busy. Now, let's get into it.
I hope you enjoy!
RWBY is owned by Viz Media was created by the late, great Monty Oum
RWBY the RPG
Chapter 14
Blood and Answers, part 1
Jaune tried his best not to smile as he gathered up some of his personal effects and placed them in the knapsack he had for the journey ahead. Finally, he would be going home to see his father, his family again after so long. Too long.
He couldn't wait.
He took up his helm and tossed it up in the air a couple of times to rotate it around so the stylized, T-visor, gilded front was staring back at him as he stared down at it while smirking to himself. Finally, his mission, the one entrusted to him by his father, would begin, and Oscar would be the catalyst for it. He and Miss Rose both.
He just hoped she would forgive him for that when he explained it to her.
He meant it all these years that he would keep her safe if she turned herself in, but there was always another reason for it. Ever since he learned firsthand of Sergeant Winchester's ulterior motives he had done his best to gather evidence of his faction as well a few of other sub faction within the chivalric order. All in an attempt to cut away the filth that was ruining the Order.
His smile dimmed at that. At what he had had to do over the years. At what he had discovered over the past five years. There were times it had almost broken him, almost broken his faith, but here he was.
It was time to settle it.
With that he set the Helm down on the small night stand next to his bed just as a knock came at the door to his room. "Enter," he called with a slight frown, unsure as to who would be coming to check in on him now.
As the door opened and a small child of dark hair and coloration walked in, looking no older then ten, who he actually knew was closer to eight, his frown turned into a brilliant smile as he said cheerfully, "Adrian! So good to see you. And how is m favorite nephew's training going?"
"Ah, enough, Uncle J!" The boy groused loudly as he walked over and rubbed at his bowl cut. "Quit it already! You know I get embarrassed when you do that! And, besides, what do you mean? I'm you're old nephew!"
"All the better to keep an eye on you then," Jaune returned with a slight growl even as he smiled down at him, his blue eyes glinting in the dim light of his room. his nephew immediately dropped his slightly defiant gaze. Even if they were alone right now, they were both members of the Order of the Sacred Light and as such discipline had to be maintained. And no mere Page could ever hope to be so obstinate with such a high ranking member as the paladin known as the Inquisitor, even if they were family. The tenets of the Order would not allow it. Were it not for Jaune slight rebuke and the privacy of his quarters, Adrian would be given the lash for such indulgences.
"O-of course, Sir Knight," the brown-eyed boy replied nervously as he stood there in attention. At his uncle's nod of approval he once more relaxed with a slight smile before his shoulders slumped and his eyes were shadowed by his drooping black hair as he remember why he had come in here. After a brief hesitation he looked up at his uncle and asked, "Is... is it true? That you are leaving us, Uncle?"
"Mm," Jaune grunted as he crossed his arms before saying as he stared down at the boy, "Aye. My mission here is done. It is time I went home." then he smiled as he tousled the boy's hair again and said, "Besides, it's not like I'm abandoning you, Adrian. Sir Lucian will be taking over your training. Listen to what he has to say and be diligent with your training, and you should soon be a Squire. Then, it won't be long before I see you coming home as well."
"Really!" Adrian asked enthusiastically, stars in his eyes.
"Aye. Lucian's a good man, good mentor. I trust him." Jaune returned with a smile before going on as his nephew went back to pouting, "And you could do far worse than the Lord Marshal himself."
"I... I know. It's just... I... wish it were with you, Jaune." Adrian struggled to get out over his embarrassment before muttering his reasoning quietly, face beet red with embarrassment.
Jaune felt his heart skip a beat at that, no doubt thinking that something similar like this was why his sister had married a woman already pregnant with another man's... leavings. Truly, his family was blessed to have such passionate people as his sisters and mother. They kept the likes of him and his father in check, kept them human. It was why he could look upon this child and say that he loved him as if he were his own blood. He placed his hand on his nephew's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze as he looked him in the eye and said, "Believe me, boy. I wish that as well. But we cannot always have our way."
At the boy's nod he nodded back before saying, "Just be diligent in your studies and you'll soon be standing by my side once more. After all," Jaune then tilted his head and grinned boyishly. "It's not as if I'm not coming back."
/ /
Not an hour later had the trio leaving the temple, laden down with supplies in the form of three near bursting knapsack complete with a tent in one.
Ruby watched from under her hood as the Inquisitor turned to face the group of senior knights seeing them off and saluted the group before stepping in close to shake hands of one of them. She was not ashamed at listening in on their conversation as he whispered to the man, "Lucian, I fear some kind of retaliation from Axle and the rest of the members of the Brotherhood of the Unbroken Seal. You may have them confined to their quarters for the foreseeable future but they have had years to influence the members of this Temple with their... particular brand of lunacy. Be on your guard while I am gone, and look after my Nephew, huh?"
She stiffened at that, somewhat surprised for some reason to learn that her knight - that the knight had such and continued listening as the older, larger Marshal chuckled at that before saying as he clasped the man in a brief hug while subtly handing him an additional purse of coin, "Have no fear, my Lord Inquisitor. Between myself, and the Lady Marion, we'll have that boy properly trained by the time you return."
Jaune seemed to nod at that as he took a step back before pounding his plated chest twice in salute to the man who did the same in return. Then he turned without looking and hefted the large knapsack on the ground behind him, tent included, with one hand and started off, walking by the two of them as he did so. "Come," he drawled, giving her just the slightest of glares from under his helm as he did so, "We've a long road ahead of us. Best get a move on."
Ruby stiffened at that and the rebuke he had sent her way before shaking it off. It seemed she had forgotten that as the paladin hunting her the longest, Jaune would know just how easy it was for her to listen to an apparently private conversation. Then she smiled as she helped Oscar with his own, significantly smaller, lighter backpack before donning her own rather hefty one.
Not only had Jaune taken the time to assess their needs beforehand, he had given the clearly weaker farmer-cum-sorcerer less weight to carry so they could maintain an intense march for longer as necessary, but he hadn't let the fact that she was a woman get in the way of giving her the most weight, her supernatural strength lending itself to making her oversized pack as light as a feather.
Likewise, she smiled again as she noted that though his tone and demeanor suggested that he wanted this mission done as soon as possible he still set a pace that wouldn't force her much shorter friend and charge from over exerting himself.
She was... oddly delighted to know she was now journeying with her old enemy. Perhaps the Knight was right, and she had more allies than she thought among the Order's ranks. Perhaps, they really could trust him to see this through without the pair of them ending up dead by his fellows.
She could hope, right...
/ /
It was hours later that found Jaune and Oscar as the only two still up as they sat around a fire in a overhang as rain poured down in sheets outside their shelter. Ruby herself wasn't actually asleep either, merely tracking down dinner for the night. Knowing her, Oscar was sure this was her way to try and get the two of them to bond in some way. And, if it was anyone else, like say that Emerald girl, he'd even be all for it.
But this Jaune guy... He just couldn't.
It wasn't only because he was one of the Order, though that was certainly a major factor to it. No, it was the man's... personality. He was... cold. At least that's what he appeared to be. Not that Oscar really knew all that much about the man. He had yet to say more than a sentence or two to him during the long, harsh march of the day.
Oscar didn't know how far they had gone but it had to have been several dozen miles. His legs were swollen and his feet blistered. He was exhausted. And, for some reason, Jaune had ordered the three of them to take watch, and Ruby had agreed!
Oscar just didn't get it.
He got that his execution had been halted, or at least that's what whatever all that talking had been about. All the double talk had reminded him of the one court case he had sat in on out of curiosity back home. That one case had made him certain that he never wanted to learn how to be a lawyer. It sounded like a lot of talking, and he was a quietly nervous person as it was.
But, apparently, there was a school in the near future for him. One where he would set to learn more about his abilities. He was... surprisingly looking forwards to that. He liked to learn, liked books. Maybe... Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
It was as he was finally starting to get used to the idea of his stay of execution that the mute warrior across from him finally spoke up for the first time since they set up camp.
"I wonder how much longer she will be?" The big man growled out as he sat up from where he had been looking into the fire. He turned and looked out into the darkness and rain beyond as he then asked aloud, "Mayhaps, I should go and look for her? It's getting quite late and we have an early start."
"Early? Just when are we getting up?" Oscar muttered a bit too loudly in confusion.
To loudly as Jaune jerked his head back to him and groused out, "Do you not get just how dangerous this all is, boy? Truly? I get that a.. great deal has happened to you, and I am truly sorry such a travesty has happened to you and yours, and, I swear, I will not let it happen again! But do you not realize just what I had to pull to get you two out of there? Unharmed? I'm putting a lot on the line to get you where you need to be. Do you think that just because your main pursuers have been confined to the Temple that others won't come after us? Haven't started after us?"
"B-but, aren't you one of them?" Oscar asked, dismayed and confused.
The knight scoffed and laughed once derisibly at that, a short, harsh bark of laughter, before he sighed heavily while slumping in his seat on the log he was using before he said, "For fanatics like that, Mr. Pine, everyone who isn't with them, including those of the Order, are all one and the same to them. They will kill me as readily as they would you." There was a brief pause as Oscar took that in, a silence only broken up by an occasional "Hmm" sound from the knight as he stare at the flames once again before he finally looked back at him and said, "May I be... frank with you, Oscar?"
At that that sudden, direct question Oscar gave him a confused, suspicious look. Jaune sighed at that before saying, "Look... I know you have your suspicions about me, about whether or not this is yet another strategy to trick you. I get that. You aren't the first magi that I've had to escort to safety, but," - at a brief pause he then took off the helm he had been wearing all day to say - "I want you to know that you can trust me. By my Oath or whatever Powers-that-BE that promise to keep you safe. You have my word."
Oscar paused at that, unsure of what to say to that. Both Jaune and Ruby had told him that the knights of the Order of the Sacred Light refused to show their faces except to those they trusted implicitly, and here was Jaune doing that for him. He looked at the older, now-confirmed-to-be-blond-haired man, looked into his deep blue eyes, and saw nothing but the truth. He hesitated for a moment, his mind warring with his heart, before he responded in a slight, stuttering way, "A-alright, Ja-Jaune. I believe you."
"Hah, good. Good." The big man said with a brief exhale o relief before standing with a grin as he said, "Well, best to get some sleep then, Oscar. We've a long road ahead of us tomorrow if we want to make it to our destination before the ship I chartered there leaves without us."
"I, uh, right. G-goodnight, Ja-Jaune." Oscar returned as the knight then turned and walked away into the darkness. With nothing better to do, Oscar laid down and rolled over away from the fire to sleep as Jaune took his watch.
Elsewhere, Ruby smiled into the night as she stood with her back to a tree nearby, hidden from the two.
/ /
"I believe caution would be best here," Jaune said as the three of them stood on the road, looking up at the distant ruin beyond.
It was now three days later and as he had warned, Jaune had set a punishingly fast pace. One that had even Ruby flustered and gasping for air. One that had proven to be true when they had had to avoid not only a few raiding bands of Orc-led Goblins but also a pair of Ursai and a roving band of knights from the Order. Knights that had questioned the townsfolk of the village they had stopped in for a brief break on their whereabouts.
Oscar had found that alarming. He really hadn't expected Jaune to be right. Had actually hoped he had been lying about that. But it seems he was wrong, they were still being hunted. And would be for the foreseeable future. Only when he got to Vale would he be safe, he surmised.
"Why?" ruby asked, curious, breaking the silence and his thoughts. "what danger could there be?"
"Cultists," Jaune returned after a moment of quiet. "I've heard rumors that Cultist of the Blood God were seen in the area. This, would be the perfect place for them to hold up. Out of sight, out of mind, kind of thing." He paused again, thinking, mulling things over before saying, "If we take the road it'll cost us another three hours to go around the Steppe and by then the inn in the next town over will probably be full to bursting. Taking the route through the ruin will have us on the other side before nightfall and hopefully at the inn before they get full. Frankly, I'm tired of walking and sleeping in barns, thank you very much. But," He then turned to face his traveling companions as he asked, "what do you want to do?"
"I'm all for it, if it means I can rest a bit," Oscar groaned, wincing as he rubbed at his legs while trying not to pant from exhaustion.
"I'm certainly all for getting out of this rain as soon as possible," Ruby replied, looking up at the sky just as a massive thunderbolt flashed across the sky followed by a crack thunder that had her wincing as well, her sensitive ears smarting from the loud noise. If her tail was out it would be tucked at that.
"Good." Jaune said as he stared at her for a moment before swallowing and turning to look at the ruin beyond once more, "Well, I suggest we press on then before it gets any worse."
/ /
It did, in fact, get worse.
Not only did the rain begin to come down harder but as they approached the outermost portions of the ruin the trio came across signs of recent activity in the area, the remains of a ritual. And no simple druidic blessings of the land or forest cleric ritual mediations, no, but something far darker.
Oscar swallowed heavily as he tried to keep his gore down on looking at the sight. There, transfixed to a post in the middle of a still smoldering ring of fire, was a body. And it was pretty clear whoever they had been had still been alive as they were set ablaze, one blackened arm hung limp at their side while the other, and their legs, were still nailed the wheel they had been set on. Moreover, there were signs that their blood had been drained before they had been ritually set ablaze.
Jaune frowned as he knelt down before the corpse looking at the rapidly disappearing crime scene before muttering to himself, "Blood Spinners."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked as she knelt down next to him with her carbine out while looking up at the deceased. "How can you tell?"
The paladin glanced at her before relenting, saying, "While the body isn't quite thin enough to be an Elf's, there are no overt signs of animal features, ruling out the likes of Faunus, Tabaxi or other animalistic races, leaving only the conclusion that this was a Human. A more thorough assessment might change that, but from the remains of the ritual I'd surmise otherwise. Only the Blood Spinners' Cult performs their rites like this. And they only sacrifice Humans, believing them to be the purest of life."
"Hrm," Ruby grumbled at that before remarking, "What is it with Purists these days? First, the Order, now these Cultists. What is it with you attracting these types of people, Jaune?"
"Wha- I- I-," Jaune stuttered at that, not expecting the strange question as he continued to investigate the murder site, only to stop as Ruby began to softly giggle at his appearance and frowned as he deadpanned, "I see. You're mocking me."
"Snerk! No~" Ruby responded in a giggling fit.
"You're mocking me." Jaune replied again.
"What? No!" Ruby returned still giggling to herself. "It just, I found it interesting that twice now I found you investigating fanatics devoted to blood purity is all."
"I, uh... Huh, that is interesting. ...Maybe I should investigate that, for causes and correlations." Jaune said as he stroked at his chin in thought before glancing over out of the corner of his eyes to see if the joke had landed with her. Ruby's slight smile and roll of her eyes was more than enough proof that she had gotten it, and so with a smile he stood back up while dusting himself off to say in a far more serious tone, "Well, nothing more we can here now, unfortunately. I'll order a full investigation and cleansing of the area once we get to the village but for now, I suggest we push on as quietly as possible. Who know if the Cultists are still here, or how many there are."
"Agreed," Ruby said once more in a serious tone herself as she checked her firearm over out of a sudden fit of nervousness. This would be her first time fighting with him since... the hag. She told him as much, too, and he grinned before saying, "Well, at least this time I'm better trained. Come on. We're wasting time."
At her nod he set off at a brisk, if silent pace towards the rotting edifice beyond them with Oscar in tow as Ruby waved him on after her.
It rapidly became clear that the Cultists were still about and, more importantly, hand made the ruined fort into their base of operations. On seeing one patrol after somehow passing another one unseen the trio had stopped so they might better prepare for a stealthy approach.
Jaune took out a heavy, leather cloak and donned it, wrapping it around his armor and cape in an attempt to minimize the clank of metal. Ruby, meanwhile, fastened a quick prayer to silence them while whispering a prayer to the spirits that they all might make it out of this unharmed. Finally, Oscar quickly recited a spell that he found in his Aunt's grimoire to stifle their footfall even further. With a nod of approval from both adults at the cleverness of that, Oscar himself led them off.
Being the slowest, and the smallest, they would have to go at him pace for now. At least, his size and the muddied green of his cloak would better disguise him from prying eyes while under the rain, unlike with Ruby's bright red cloak and Jaune's shining armor.
/ /
They bypassed the first two patrols relatively easily. The two, two man patrols more concerned with the weather than searching for intruders. Then there was a slight bit of tension as they were almost discovered by the third patrol right as they neared one of the entrances to the ruin. Only a bit of quick thinking, and spellcasting, on Oscar's part after he made their presence known to the hulking, haggard-looking man allowed them to remain undetected. With a bit of Thaumaturge on his part making it sound like a bit of rubble was falling off to the side, away from where they were, out of sight.
The nod of approval Jaune gave him filled him with a surprising amount of pride.
After that, though, things rapidly started to get tricky as it became clear that this was more than a mere troop of the cultists and a full on base of operations with sect leaders and lieutenants engrossed in more sinister rituals while other lay members of the cult performs everything from messenger duty to cleaning and cooking to guard duty. Everywhere they went they found more and more guards. It was rapidly becoming clear that this wasn't merely a base but an armed militant camp, and Ruby couldn't help but compare it to the near equal army of Goblins they had faced off against but a few days ago.
"Hey! Wh-Guhh!" A randomly patrolling guard started only for Ruby to stab the masked, black and red banded garbed man through the throat with her bare hand, stifling his alerting cry. His corpse shuddered and thrashed about in her grip before quietly falling still. The trio remained frozen in place, listening for any alarm or shouted question from another guard. When they heard none they quietly broke open the door to the nearby room, revealing a storage room that they then stored his body within before jamming it shut behind.
Then they moved on, deeper into the fortress.
And what they saw there filled them with horror. Everywhere they looked the remains of the once glorious edifice to Mistrali rule was being corrupted and blasphemed by the horrid rites of the Cult. There was blood seemingly spilt or splattered everywhere with dozens of bodies, either dying or dead staked up on walls or over arch ways or pinned to doors at some kind of organic lock. Those very body locks were what was forcing the trio to meander through the Halls of Anathema far more than they wanted to. That was the name that burrowed into their minds alongside thoughts of spilling their and each other's blood as they were forced down increasingly depraved hallways. They could feel the Corruption creeping in more and more as they went down the hallways until finally Jaune was forced to act.
He placed his gauntlets on each of their brows and began to recite a prayer that somehow echoed ominously loud in their minds while also sounding far, far away and with a sickly pale white light infused them with some form of Corrupting madness. Then with a blink of an eye their minds were cleared and they saw that he was not further their Damnation but healing them of it. He previously sickly light now a radiant, Holy balm and his terrifying voice that of a soothing hymn.
It was in that instance that Oscar came to understand why Ruby trusted this man, this knight. He was indeed worthy of his deeply scarred trust, and he found that he was willing to finally give it o the man. After all, like he had promised, he was indeed keeping them safe.
As they continued on they eventually found a brief opening in the walls, a small balcony replete with a banister overlooking the courtyard below and the gate beyond. As Oscar and Ruby stared down into the courtyard, finding it empty... for now. "That's... our exit. We should... move quickly. I... cannot keep... this up... for long. The... Corruption... is too strong." They turned around as Jaune gritted that warning out over the concentration he was under as he kept up the Blessing they were under. With a quick glance at each other the two now healed Adventurers nodded in agreement before they all took off again, hurrying as quickly as they could while still trying to be silent.
They dodged by more guards and... stranger things like great red-furred and blood-splattered wolflike hounds or mute, mindless-looking giant hulks of flesh as they continued on through corridors starting to be overgrown with strange and twisted flesh tendrils and great pulsating veins. Luckily, just as Jaune's benediction ran out, they finally left the last of the Corrupting influence of whatever was going on here and began making their way through cleaner corridors while dodging still more guards.
And, they were there, at the end of things.
The only thing in their way was a series of guards suddenly blocking the way as they approached the final stretch. Where they came from there was no telling, but it was almost as if they were searching for something or someone. Too late did Jaune realize that their enemies might have some kind of Detection spell set up for just the type of magic that a Paladin or Cleric would cast. Now things would only get harder for them as they navigated through this particular minefield.
Still, though, so long as they were quick and quiet while being cautious...
"Huh? Wha' was' tha-Errkk!" A guard started as he heard the scuffling sound of someone stumbling only to jerk in place as the sharp blade of a sword erupted from his chest even as a pair of furring hands wrapped around his hooded mouth. He shuddered briefly in his death throes before his body was gingerly placed on the ground as the trio moved on again after the transformed form of Ruby helped him back to his feet.
It was clear to both her and Jaune that the teen was pushing his limit but was doing his best to keep up with them. This stumble was already the second from him in so many minutes.
They glanced at each other about that before continuing on, moving on to the next guard in their way. It was proving to be impossible to avoid them now, so killing was their method now.
The next guard was killed just as swiftly and silently. A simple snapping of his neck from Ruby was all that was needed while Jaune in a crouch walk slunk up to the next guard as the woman was strolling back towards the intersection. Once he reached her he grasped her by the shoulder, pulling her around to stab her through the chest with his sword, transfixing her to the crumbling wall behind them with his magical blade. He looked around as she died, checking for any other guard that he might've alerted, before drawing the sword back out of her and sheathing it once more.
Then they moved one again, dodging around a trio of guards as they chatted in low voices as they blocked off yet another of the entrances to the courtyard below before taking down the next pair of guards at the same time as Ruby crushed the man's skull while Jaune actually cut the head off of the woman with how sharp his sword was when he cut open her neck. Only as the head of the woman began to bounce and rolled to a stop in front of the next guard while he was standing by the wall at the corner whittling. As he looked down and noticed the head and made to scream in alarm at that the bearded man was jerked around the corner by Ruby and stabbed through the neck by Jaune. As he jerked and gurgled in death Oscar then cupped both hands over his mouth as the three of them heard another guard coming up.
Ruby and Jaune stared at each other with widening eyes as they heard the sounds of their steps getting closer. At the short, harsh gasp Ruby swept around the corner with blinding speed and grasped the man by the neck and groin before repeatedly slamming his skull into the wall until with a sickening crunch his skull caved in. She then flung the body to one side as they all heard a series of shouts and other cries of alarm.
Jaune jerked his sword back out the other guards neck as he roar, "Go! Now!"
And they were off!
/ /
Oscar struggled to keep with his two, taller companions as they all ran down the corridor and weaved through another pair of corridors and intersections as they avoided the guards trying to cut them off. He gasped for breath as he ran even as he clutched at his burning chest, his heartbeat pounding in his ears and some kind of fluid dribbled from his nose.
Then they were there! Down a steep set of stairs and across a large - to him - open plaza complete with dodging arrows from unseen archers shooting from the balconies above as some ambitious officer of some type directed a bunch of the guards to shoot down at them. "There!" As his vision began to dim and grow fuzzy as well he saw the exit that Jaune pointed it out to them. It was a portcullis, a set of double steel gates with a kill box in between, and the gates were closing!
"Go!" Ruby gasped in horror at that as she shifted into that of a large wolf before sprinting in between a couple of guards trying to stop them before shifting back into her hybrid form as she attempted to hold the exit for her companions from the other guards there. Jaune once more drew his sword as well as his shield as he ditched his cloak to take on the guards before him and Oscar in the plaza, shouting out to him as he repelled a strike against him with his shield before forcing the cultist away, "Oscar! Go! I'll hold them off - Aargh!"
"R-r-right!" Oscar gasped out, stumbling by them as Jaune split open one of the trio facing off against him before using his shield to block a couple of arrows that fell on him. The knight immediately used his shield to crack open the hooded skull of another guard before finally disemboweling the third and final one. Then with a flick of his wrist he shed the excess blood before sheath his sword once more and took off after the stumbling teen sorcerer.
He ducked under the first gate just as the rusted steel contraption slammed down behind him in a rickety clamor, cutting off the dozens of cultists that were chasing after him. Then, on seeing the other gate beginning to descend he pushed himself to run faster even as Ruby finished cutting down the last two men before her with a single whirling spin of Crescent Rose, the scythe's silver blade slicing through their leather and gambeson garbed flesh with ease. She turned to them, fear in her eyes, as she shouted, "Jaune, Oscar, hurry!"
Jaune looked up, seeing the gate almost closing on them just as Oscar stumbled and fell at his feet, and didn't get back up again, too tired to move anymore. Thinking quickly, Jaune reached in a slide and grasped the small teenager by the back of his belt before he flinging Oscar into the waiting arms of Ruby just as the gate slammed shut before the werewolf. "Jaune! No!" Ruby cried as she clutched Oscar's wheezing form tightly before looking around for some way to free him from the trap he now found himself in. "Hold on, I'll get you out for there!"
"Now, now! There's no need to worry about him," A voice called out behind them. They turned to find a tall, gaunt man in flesh colored robes strolling up to stand ten feet from the knight with a dozen of guards and a looming, hulking brute behind him. "You'll soon be joining him, my dear, bestial woman."
/ /
"In the dungeon, of course. While we prepare for the rite for your sacrifice." The man continued in a false jovial tone. They could tell the sheer hatred in his tone as well as the fact that his robe wasn't just flesh-colored leather but actual human six. He smiled darkly before saying as he motioned a few of the guards around him forwards. "Thank you for volunteering, Sir Knight. Though, perhaps... you could just step aside and gift us the woman and the boy there? From what I can gather he looks to be perfect for what I have in mind."
Jaune seemed to paused before Ruby as she continued to clutch at Oscar in her arms as she muttered softly, "No." She tightened her hold on him as her fear for the knight grew and her eyes began to dart around once more to try and find some kind of mechanism or opening to one in order to open the gates once more.
Jaune said nothing for a moment more in the yawning silence before with a flaring sweep of his blue cape and drew his sword once more as he said, "A knight of the Order does not simply step aside, villain," and started forwards towards the guards with another sweep of his cape behind him.
The cultist guards stopped at that, suddenly afraid of his confidence, only to rush at him again with swords drawn as the man in the robes spat out, "Do not fear him, Brothers! He is only one man."
Their renewed confidence was misplaced as they rushed at him only to die as he cleaved the first one from shoulder to hip in one great blow before turning to block the strike from the second guard with his offhand gauntlet before whirling around to spilt open his torso with a quick upwards riposte only to then shove the dying man int the way of the third and fourth guards. Then as the fifth then closed with him and he seemingly frantically blocked the man's three wild swings only to then brace his back leg and thrust into the guard as he raised his blade overhead in a two-handed grip, piercing the man's torso with his sword even as he continued to charge over the dying man to close with the two other guards are they wheeled around their dead comrades.
Jaune thrust forward with his sword as they approached, forcing the third guard to stop so he could block his lightning fast thrust. Before the other guard could capitalizes on his overreaching motion Jaune stepped into the thrust before pulling his blade back in to his body before bringing it up in a quick two-handed block, one hand under the over before with a quick twist of his arms he then struck the man in the jaw with the pommel of his hand-and-a-half sword. The blow wasn't enough to really damage the man but was enough to stun him long enough for Jaune to then kick him away and blow the returning blow from the third guard. They locked blades briefly as the guard tried to overpower the bigger man with his scimitar only for Jaune to then burrow the quillons of his crossguard into the man's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain before they split as Jaune shove him away right as the fourth guard swung down at him in a two-handed overhand blow with his broadsword.
The heavy blade struck the ground so hard it cleaved into the molding stone and as the man tried to pull it back out of the ground Jaune swung his blade across his exposed torso. The man fell with a gurgling cry as blood sprayed out of the cut across his chest and arms. Jaune ignored his fallen foe for the living one as the man let out a war cry and began swinging wildly at him once more. Jaune backpedaled as he blocked and parried each blow until he final caught the scimitar with his crossguard and locked the man's blade down as he held it in a two-handed grip. With his arms trapped like that Jaune then preceded to slug him in the face with his other fist repeatedly before finally driving him back as he let go of his sword to clutch at his broken and bleeding nose. The cultist looked up at Jaune as he did in time to see him swing his sword at him once. His eyes widened even as his head and neck were neatly severed from his torso in one fell swoop.
Jaune then turned to face the rest of the troop of cultist just as three more closed with him as he stood there distracted. Kerr-crack! Crack! Crack! Only for them to fall as Ruby shot at them with her carbine and as the others turned to stare at her in pained surprise from the sheer volume of the thundering gunfire she shot two more, the bullets tearing through their lightly armored bodies.
On seeing that the gaunt man leading the cultist snarled wordlessly before drawing a wicked-looking, red and black, serrated dagger that he then plunged into the chest of the woman next to him, twisting the steel as it severed her heart before jerking it back out with recited a dark litany of prayer before then plunging the blade through the palm of his clenched fist, shouting hoarsely in a voice, far deeper than it should've been, "Blood Empowerment!"
Jaune's eyes widen as he saw all the remaining guardsmen become outlined by a deep reddish aura as their muscles bulged and they began to sprint at him in a blur of speed. He just drew his shield as the first reached him and struck at the gilded, glossed surface with blows that shake shook his arm with every hit, actually causing him to skid backwards from the force of the blows before he could brace himself. Just as he finally did another three slammed into him, striking at the surface of the shield with blows like hammer falls and the gaunt man chuckled aloud as he said, "A valiant attempt my dear knight, but ultimately futile. That wooden shield of yours will have shattered under the strikes of my men. The spell I use boosted their physical capabilities by by a factor of ten and gave them a healing ability. You're outmatched."
"Oh, really? How interesting," the big man finally said as he stood from up behind the large kite shield, revealing that the surface was barely scratched, only the white paint on the face of the shield having been damaged. At that the cultists all stepped back away from him, once more in growing concern.
"Wha-! H-how?! Those blows were strong enough to shattered steel! How?" The gaunt bloodmage cried out in horror.
Jaune merely smiled to himself at that before he tapped the surface of the shield twice before saying, "Oh, that strong, huh? Pity they can't break through magically reinforced metal then, huh?" Then he he took up a low stance, shield up in front of him midline with his face, blade up at shoulder level and knees bent for easy maneuvering before shouting, "Ruby! Now!"
Immediately, with another two Kerr-crack! Crack! a man fell as half of his head vanishing in a flash of blood while another toppled over as his did the same, vanishing in a gush of dark blood. Then Jaune sprang forth to lop off a man's leg and amputating another's arm as he rushed towards the mage. Only to stop as the hulking brute suddenly sprang forth, actually slapping the man out of his way, flinging his shattered bone to one side as he did. Immediately, the empowered men and women around the knight lost their power boost.
Jaune quickly backpedaled as the hulk roared before brining his two, singular fists down shattering the ground and crushing one of the remaining cultists under the awesome blow. The hulk then roared again in anger as he saw that and took off after Jaune once more. Or, maybe he was roaring for another reason as it seemed like the crushed, bloody pulp of the man's remains suddenly seemed to take a life of its own as with a bloodcurdling, goopy sound it slithered after the brute before latching onto and seeping into its calf.
Immediately, the brute swelled in size, growing another inch in height and width before with yet another roar that caused debris and dust to rain down from above as the brute then took off in a berserk rampage. Jaune darted away from blow after ground shattering blow, hearing one of the few cultists left holler out, "Run! The Bloodserker has gone mad! Without the Blood Minister control there's nothing we ca-AAIIEE!" With a final terrifying cry the man was crushed under the golem's reinforced booted feet.
Golem, as Jaune and the others finally got a good look at the stitched, glassy-eyed look on the dead things face as it roared before it picked up a fleeing woman and crushed her in its massive, growing fist before flinging away her rapidly exsanguinating corpse and once more starting after the knight with horrifying speed. Jaune just rolled to one side right as the beast closed with him. It then preceded to slam into the nearest wall, burying it under a loose pile of moldering stone and plaster.
"Ruby! The gate!" Jaune shouted as he cut down a cultist as the man tried to attack him while he was distracted. All other remaining cultists had fled by then, clambering up the hidden stairs on one side of the half oval gateway where the inner wall had broken down. Behind him the flesh golem rose up from where it had been buried, it's head twisted to one side and one arm seemingly broken and hanging uselessly by its side as it turned and howled eerily at its prey as he started toward his companions.
Ruby roared as she began to exerted her strength on the grille, the name for the actual gate of the portcullis, as she began to force it up inch by inch. Meanwhile, Oscar was frantically loading her carbine with more cartridges as he saw the golem thundering after the paladin. He raised the Rosewerk Special at that while reciting a quick spell before firing just as the gorgeous, black, red and polished silver detail were wreathed in flames.
The flame-infused projectile struck the shoulder, blowing a massive exit hole in the meat there and further ruining the already broken arm there. The golem didn't seem to care as it kept howling as it thundered after Jaune. Too fast for him, Jaune had to leap to one side, dragging his sword through the side of the amalgamation of dead men as it ran by him, his blade actually cleaving the remains of its ruined arm in half. Then, as it slammed into the opposite corner, cratering the wall as it instinctively braced its other arm against it.
By then, Ruby had somehow forced the grille up to about mid chest height, about five feet tall, and howled, "Jaune! Hurry!"
On seeing that Jaune took off at a sprint even as he sheath his blade once more. Behind him, the Bloodserker pulled itself out of the crater it had imbedded itself in and began to dash after him once more in a thundering, ground shaking charge. Ruby saw him coming and, with a groan, lifted the grille up even higher as far as she could go. And as Jaune dove under the spiked bits of rusted metal Oscar unleash the last of his magic in a stream of emerald flames as the golem rushed towards them, burning and blinding the artificial humanoid. Then, as Jaune rolled by her, Ruby dropped the gate and stepped back away from the clanging, clattering metal latticework as the golem stooped down under grille, reaching for her. The thousands of tonnage of metal then slammed into the upper back and shoulders of the golem, shoving it down into the ground, cracking the ground under its combined weight as it was impaled by the spiked ends of the gate.
The trio stood, or laid there in the form of Jaune, panting as they stared the still living, thrashing and howling golem before finally, with Ruby's help, Jaune got back to his feet and they started down the path as quickly as they could as they heard more shouting off in the distance.
/ /
Hours later...
Ruby sighed in relief as she stretched mightily, her loose breasts bobbing lightly as she rose from the tub to dry off and change into a clean, white blouse with gold buttons and black panties before donning black leggings with stitched-in red roses, a black, multilayered skirt and a brown and black with red lacing corset before retying her rich, red cloak about her neck and stepping out her shared room with Oscar after tying up her spare, knee high boots. The previous one had been destroy when she shifted to her hybrid form in the castle and she had much wanted to reclaim them when she saw all the gore splattered over them.
Then, with another sigh she skipped down the stair of the inn they were resting in to squeeze through the ranks of the crowded dining barroom, deftly avoiding the few groping hands and overburdened, big-titty barmaids, to walk outside into the quiet of the clean night air, needing some time to herself after that harrying incident. After she was a ways away from the inn but nowhere near any of the other buildings of the small, relatively empty town - they had warned the local sheriff and the grizzled veteran had dutifully set off at once to check out their findings with his men in tow as well as a detachment of Mistrali soldiers who happened to be in the area.
Jaune, meanwhile, had done as he promised and sent a coded message to the Order's Temple to aid in cleansing the remains of the horrid rite the Blood Spinners Cult had done there. In his own words, it would take undoubtedly take them years to fully remove the filth unleashed there. It would've been better to burn the whole thing down but it was also the best defense the locals had to fall back to should they need to, and they might very well have to as word had come down from various other traveling groups that a conflict was rapidly approaching between the Mistrali Shogunate and the various Freeman bands of warriors out in the Western Plains of Anima.
Ruby took a moment to breathe in the cool, night air as she glanced back at the windows of the second floor of the inn, the Merry Maid, seeing that Oscar was still sleeping soundly after the utterly exhausting day they had undertaken while Jaune, it seemed, was still up. After a moment more of watching the flickering candlelight from the paladin's room she turned and, glancing around for any random locals wandering about this late at night, pulled out her Sending Paper and quickly inscribed a quick message to the others on her progress of the past week.
Warden, She wrote by the clear moonlight. This is Pilgrim. I have successful made contact with The Knight's contact in the Order of the Sacred Light and we are on our way to you and Vale with Oscar in tow. Awaiting orders.
After a moment where the green silhouette of a Raven took and flew away from her a series or colored responses were received by her parchment.
Green: This is Warden. Excellent work, Pilgrim. Return with all due haste and I will receive your report in person.
Yellow: Fire here! Are you okay! Did those goons from the Order mess with you in any way? Tell me true and I'll rough them up for you!
Purple: Shadow. Good to hear that our illusive friend is well. Be safe on your return, Pilgrim, for I hear grave tidings in Anima at the moment.
Blue: Ice reporting. It fills my heart with joy to hear from you, friend. Be well, and keep that boy close. We will not have a better opportunity than this to cull the ranks of that overbearing fraternity of knights!
Ruby smiled, tears just pricking the corners of her eyes, as she read those heartfelt messages and made to reply when the parchment lit up once more with that silvery light of The Knight. Greetings, Pilgrim, it read in an... almost hesitant nature before continuing with. I trust my... contact did you no harm? Are you well? ... Do you trust the one you are with, Pilgrim?
For some reason, that response made Ruby smile even more than the others and after a quick reply to her other friends, and to the Warden, saying that she was okay and would be leaving from the village she was currently staying at with the others as soon as they had all recovered sufficient from their flight from the Order's rogue elements and the cult she penned a message to the Knight, thanking him for his good sense once again and that she did indeed trust the his contact with her life.
Then, smiling, she watched as her final message turned into a spectral raven once more and took flight only to frown as the bird pinwheeled int eh sky and soared back behind her. She turned instinctively to follow its path and stared as it flew into the open window of Jaune's room.
A/N: And, that'll do it for chapter 14! Sorry about for the long wait but I should have 15 and a slightly revamped One shot of Red Wolf, White Knight out soonish. I will actually be uploading them at the same time so be looking forwards to that some time next week I hope. I also have the next chapter of Clout and AAA (Arc's Adventuring Accessories) under way as well and I honestly hope to get them all out by the end of March but we'll see, It's my birthday month so let's see what I can do.
Readers of RWBY DnD will notice two repeat beats in this story. The line "A Knight of the Order does not simply step aside" and the Blood Empowerment spell. To be fair to this version of Jaune, he was first and it's a bad-ass line. At least, IMO.
Also, apologies again. This should've come out, eh, roughly a week ago, but I was busy playing through Warhammer 40k's Rogue Trader, so... Sorry?
Anyway, that's it for me friends.
Essiter out!