"He's gone..." Scanlan gasped as he shadowed both Ragnvaldr and the twins, stepping inside the established disgustingly macabre room followed closely by Percy who squeezed through the tight passage, pistol drawn blocking the only viable escape Krieg had. Behind the battle ready gunslinger Grog peeked his head in as did Keyleth. Moonless meanwhile, stayed closely beside Trinket, both animals seemingly reluctant to enter the room.
Glancing around the enclosed space, each member of Vox Machina investigated the strangely tranquil study noticing instantly the mysterious artefacts and dusty tomes, alongside a myriad of jarred specimens stacked end to end on the well maintained shelves along the walls, a far cry from what lay mere meters away next door. "Quite the keen observation, Scanlan." the white haired noble grumbled, flicking open his blackened coat and holstering his Pepperbox once more.
The party's Druid quickly swooped in behind Percy, hugging the wall as she ran her covered hand across the dozens of wooden drawers and shelves, looking for any evidence as to where the would be murderer disappeared to. "There must be a hidden exit or trap door. Fan out. Look for some kind of fulcrum." Percy ordered, straightening his crooked stance and pressing a single finger to his spectacles, pushing them snuggly to the bridge of his nose.
"Wait, a fuck room?" Grog misinterpreted as Pike's eyes widened in astonishment at the Goliath's woefully wrong question all while an infuriated Ragnvaldr marched passed him, hand axe balanced on his shoulder as he scoffed at the shrill statement, moving to one of the shelves beside the cluttered wooden desk placed squarely in the centre of the room and began searching violently through the neatly arranged tomes. Sliding one after another from their tightly packed slot, attempting to find some form of hidden lever.
Vax whom stood silently, leaning casually against the edge of the desk flicked through one of the hundreds of tomes. "I mean, that's what I heard." he stated as calmly as ever while his sister unrolled a worn old scroll flat on the piece of furniture's flat surface.
Instantly Percy's face grew an expression of impatience, quickly correcting his aloof compatriots. "A lever, a button. Just... Stand over there, Grog. And don't touch anything." he demanded pointing toward one of the four corners of the study although, it just so happened to be the one closest the gaudy painting facing right toward the desk.
Without an ounce of disagreement the Goliath trounced over toward his assigned place as Pike gripped onto the symbol of Sarenrae hanging around her neck. Instantaneously her eyes glowed a brilliant bright gold, using her blessed magic to locate any magical artefacts nearby, however, it didn't take long as every single piece of Krieg's collection grew a rippling yellow outline only the Cleric could see. "You guys, everything in this room is magical. Where do we even start?" she gaped as the others continued with their own brand of investigation.
Rubbing the back of his ashen skinned, bald head Grog's pouting face twisted into one of absolute glee as his eyes landed upon the towering painting. "Oh. Oh my..." he gasped, white eyes wide as he grinned ear to ear rushing forward toward the artwork depicting that of a strange, perverted amalgamation of what looked to be a dark haired, red skinned Tiefling woman with that of a smoothened, scaleless dragonborn's face. The woman stood wearing nothing but a pair of golden bracers with her toned back turned toward the googly eyed Half-Giant, hiding everything from sight with a thin white sheet apart from her backside which was barely hidden by her flowing, raised tail.
"Oh, how booty-ful." he giggled ecstatically, slowly reaching toward the taunt red globes level with his head. Oddly enough, Ragnvaldr having finished his investigation of the bookshelf and finding nothing at all turned his attention toward the near drooling Goliath, his natural expression instantly scrunched into one of disgust. Partly at Grog's thinly veiled perversion as well as the sheer butchering of an otherwise beautiful race of horned humanoids.
Not needing to say a word, he shook his head tearing his attention away from the crime against nature that was the painting and toward the sigil carved into the ground, of which Keyleth too stood over and examined, gripping her staff tightly, if not fearfully. "This guy really has a thing for dragons." she uttered to the Oldegårdian who nodded with an agreeing grunt as the looked upon the strange symbol. A rather simple one at that, depicting within a darkened square a circling of five intricately drawn, yet vaguely detailed dragon heads moulded to a small yellow circlet right in the middle of the designed chaos.
Crouching onto one knee, Ragnvaldr placed his axe wielding hands fist against the wooden floor. It wasn't the symbol itself that drew his attention, nor the dragons themselves, but the colours instead, white, red, green, black and finally blue. "Looks to me like he's a little too obsessed, if that painting your Goliath's salivating over is anything to go by." he uttered toward the younger and much shorter woman, who instantly turned on her heels and reeled in repugnance at the Goliath's ogling.
"Grog, it's rude to stare." she said, gripping her staff tightly as Ragnvaldr stood to his full height glancing down at the now fuming Druid. "Grog, you're being gross." she insulted as the giant in question dropped his hands limply to his sides, locked in some sort of pervy trance. Having enough the woman much to the tribals astonishment ripped one of the tomes Vex indented on examining from the table and launched it with surprising accuracy at the chuckling mans head.
With a loud thud the dusty tome clashed with a fleshy slap against the back of his bare skull, snapping him out of his stupor, yet as it cascaded through the air the improvised projectile collided with the painting gliding straight through it as if the artwork itself were merely an illusion. "Oh! Keyleth, you found it! It's a portal." Pike called out as Grog grouchily rubbed his head.
"Nice work. Brilliant, really." Vax complimented pressing one hand to his hip and leaning against the four legged desk, an admirable glint in his otherwise composed eyes. An appreciative blush burned on Keyleth's freckled cheeks as she did her best to hide her flushed appearance from the charming Rogue behind her.
Darting her eyes happily to the floor, the Druid gripped her staff ever so slightly closer to her small frame. "Oh. It was nothing." she chuckled nervously.
However, darting her glaring eyes between the pair Vex stood with one hand placed upon her hip. "She threw a book at a head. It was nothing." the ranger snipped sassily drawing her brothers judging gaze, yet ignoring it all the same.
"Accident or not, she still made more progress than any of us did." Ragnvaldr added, coming to the defence of the Druid his animal companion seemed to adore. Though the pragmatic She-Elf would hear none of the men's honeyed compliments as she simply scoffed in annoyance, tearing her narrowed eyes from her brother and rugged barbarian alike.
Meanwhile, mere feet away the groaning Goliath did little to heed the Keyleth's beratements as he reached forward curiously watching as his meaty hands pushed themselves past the incredible illusion into the unbearably cold space on the other side. It just so happened his throttling appendages slipped right the the painted lady's behind, "My arms. Scanlan, lookit! They're in the booty!" he called out with wide grin reaching forward and backward through the portal over and over again. "That is so cool." he uttered, still trying to wrap his blockhead around what sorcery lay before him.
Vox Machina's one and only Bard silently trotted up beside his overgrown comrade, watching happily as he kept up with his rather coarse action. "Listen, if we're gonna fight Krieg, we have to do this as a team, all right? Organised. As one." Vex cautioned addressing the party, stepping from her place beside the table. Both Ragnvaldr and Vax nodded in unquestionable agreement, the two fully understanding the danger in which they found themselves.
Of course, the remaining members of the party with Scanlan at the forefront stood facing the comfortably cautious three. "Please, we... We don't do organised." the Gnome chuckled tauntingly widening his small arms toward Pike, Percy, Keyleth and Grog who was still distracted by the illusionary painting. "Look at us. We're Vox Machina. We fuck shit up." he countered weakly, folding both arms over his slightly exposed chest.
Ragnvaldr stood stiff with a blanked, unreadable expression locked upon his face as his eye lid twitched ever so slightly baffled by Scanlan's silly answer. "Can we at least try?" Vex groaned impatiently as she gripped her forehead in frustration.
"Gods only know what lays on the other side. Vex is right, better to be prepared than go in eyes closed arses out." the Oldegårdian agreed, struggling with every fibre of his being not to backhand the irresponsibly arrogant Bard.
Pushing himself from the table, the quietly confident sneak thief brushed between the Half-Elf and Human. "Can we at least go, already?" he sighed bordley joining the rest of Vox Machina's side pushing the burly Half Giant straight through the portal. "Lead the way, big man." he ordered as his sister groaned in annoyance close behind the pair, disappearing into whatever abyss lay on the other side. Percy, Keyleth and Pike quickly followed their friends pushing the through the now shimmering painting leaving just Scanlan and Ragnvaldr alone with Moonless and Trinket.
Gripping his small, calloused hands onto his either side his popped collar Scanlan hesitated for the briefest of moments. "You know what, guys, uh, good luck. I'm just gonna keep a look out from here." he shouted out, whirling on his heel only to collide face first into Ragnvaldr's leather covered crotch. "Oof!" he yelped, muffled by the worn material.
Pushing himself free the Gnome glanced up at the scowling Barbarian standing tall above him, a small nervous chuckle puffed from his lungs as the human twisted his head toward the two hesitating animals, "Moonless, stay. Keep Trinket company while we're gone." he ordered as the battle hardened Dire Wolf remained busy affectionately caressing her white fur against the younger bears lightly trembling armour form in some unspoken attempt to comfort him.
Moonless, did little to acknowledge the command yet understood her master none the less, planting herself firmly in place. "Good... Move, Bard. Now." he commanded pointing his axe wielding hand at the portal and reeling over Scanlan, whom without a word of protest, realising himself to be stuck between a rock and very angry Oldegårdian scurried through the portal to join the others, as too did his makeshift escort.
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One by one, Vox Machina traversed through to the other side swirling portal, being met with a frozen shock as their bodies acclimated to the now ice cold air which hung over them. Ragnvaldr whoever felt no such shock, having experienced the brutal climate of Oldegård's near endless winters he let not a shiver shine through. While Keyleth instantly pulled her arms close to her small shivering frame, trying her best to protect herself from the newly attacking element. "So cold. What is this place?" she breathed watching as everyone's steady puffs of air pushed from their mouths in small puffs of smoke like condensation.
Steadily the party traversed forward across the uneven rocky floor of the wide cavernous passageway. Instantly, while walking through the unlit glacial cave, they knew this was no longer Emon, from the towering stalagmites piercing from the ice speckled ground to the low hanging, almost molten stalactites dripping from the rock above them. "High in the mountains, I'd say." Vex answered, with an ever so slightly shivering tone.
Mere moments later emerging from the mouth of the curved, low hanging passage Vox Machina stopped in their tracks at the edge of steep incline overlooking a large uncomfortably wide open cavern with a strangely eye-catching centre piece of jutting rock, almost like a natural stage rising at it's centre surrounded by a near endless maze off pointed tipped, mangled rocks pointed at and angle toward the uneven roof of the cave. "Wherever we are, it's far from Emon." Vax uttered as he stood on the very edge of the near sheer incline.
However, aside from the spectacle of the natural fortress they now found themselves in, a golden glint sparkled under the small speckles of light able to punch through the crumbling roof which revealed to them a winding stream of gold and jewels pilled high as far as the eye could see, weaved haphazardly, not only between the surrounding rocks but all around the base of the platformed rock as well. "No way." Scanlan gasped as his, Vex, Pike's, and Grog's eyes widened greedily basking in the untapped treasure trove that lay before them.
"Gold. Gold!" Vex babbled shivering with excitement as she and her gold hungry compatriots all laughed and cheered manically charging down the incline without a single care in the world toward the unguarded mass of unused wealth.
Shaking his head at his companions recklessness Percy, shadowed by both Vax, Ragnvaldr and Keyleth still stood atop the incline. The noble scanned the much too agreeable sight before him. "Seems excessive for a council member." the analytical noble publicised, doing little to stop an opened mouthed Keyleth as she too joined the celebrating few below.
"Seems excessive for anyone." Vax smirked as he too descended uncaringly into the ice and gold laden abyss, leaving Percy and Ragnvaldr with no choice but to do the same as they too ventured forth to the jeering tunes of Vox Machina's celebrations.
Gripping his axe tightly in his marred fist, the pair of remaining humans shot each other cautious, tell tale glances. "Fuck the gold. Krieg must be here, somewhere. It's the only place he could have fled so quickly." he uttered toward the equally wary gunslinger. "Be on your guard, this place is perfect for an ambush. Especially with all these rocks." he finished, heading the older humans words Percy drew his Pepperbox from his coat, ready to put a six inch hole in anyone or anything that wasn't them.
Sliding to a stop on the near smoothened stone, Scanlan fell to his knees as he began digging with both arms through one of the many waves of gold flinging coins and jewels behind him as he went. "Magic scrolls, jewels, potions!" he celebrated wildly, only to stop dead when he reached for a slimy brown, almost rotted looking phallic shaped member amongst the mass of valuables, "Is this a troll dick?" he uttered grasping the squidgy item and examining it closer. Paying it no mind he simply shrugged, tossing it carelessly away and hopped head first into the breached pile of gold.
Close by, surrounded by even more gold than Scanlan Grog shoved large handfuls off coin into a worn old sack himself and Vax had found moments before. "Think of all the ale I could by." Grog drawled hypnotically as the Rogue in question hauled an invaluable, jewel encrusted vase toward him and slid it into the already stuffed sack.
Beside the two meddling men, Pike popped her small head out amongst the mass of glistening coin, "Buddy, we could be drunk for weeks!" she celebrated happily as her long time friend grinned widely.
"Days, even!" he bellowed as Percy and Ragnvaldr finally joined the rest of the party's side, still cautiously brandishing their weapons amongst the more than distracted Mercenaries.
Scanlan, still basking in the wealth all around him pounced from his golden bath and lay, hands locked behind his head upon one of the many mounds. "You know what, Uriel can keep his paltry payment. We're rich!" she screeched happily tossing away a piece of gold he held between his fingers and stretching his legs across the thousands of coins below.
Luckily, as the party filed their pockets with the already claimed loot, Vex managed to tear herself from her greed driven trance. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait! This gold didn't fall out of the fucking sky." she uttered standing above Scanlan who reluctantly sat himself up as she turned to face the rest of her friends. "This is a horde! We're in the dragons lair!" she called out as Pike dropped the ornately decorated pot she held above her head, while Vax froze in place dropping the stuffed sack of gold to the floor.
Thankful that his and Vex's animal companions had not joined them, Ragnvaldr gripped the pommel of his axe tightly as his whole body tensed, preparing himself for the fight to come. Yet perhaps it would come far sooner than he thought as Keyleth broke from the group and quietly approached a rock with four ebony, oval shaped stones moulded into it's face. "Those are pretty. But also... Ominous." she uttered innocently examining all four stones.
"Keyleth, don't!" Ragnvaldr shouted, his voice bonding voice echoing in the cave as the Druid gasped in shock turning to face the worried human. However, it was too late as Keyleth twisted back once again watched in abject terror as one of the ebony growths shot open revealing a silted, sickly acidic green reptilian eye.
Instantly the singular eye locked it's gaze onto Keyleth as she unleashed a horrified gasp. "Intruders..." a hissing, otherworldly voice echoed through the cavern attracting the attention of the rest of the already shocked party. Not another moment passed as a monotone rumbling thundered through across the ground as a mighty crack split the large rock in two, forcing it to tumble into a heap of rumble at the Druid's feet. "I didn't do that. Did I do that? I don't think I did that." she panicked, gripping her staff and backing away fearfully.
Again, just like it had done so many times before a pounding ache shuddered through Vex's skull as her eyes were drawn toward the sheer craggy incline towering above them. "I must say, I'm impressed." a bounding, accented voice cut through the now dissipated rumbling as Vox Machina lay their eyes upon the supposedly wounded Krieg. "To tell you the truth, I was certain you would die the moment you met the mighty Brimscythe." he taunted stepping forward into the dim light, revealing not only had he removed his decimated armour, but the gapping wound carved into his shoulder had all but healed completely.
The only hint that remained was, the sopped blood that had seeped into his torn crimson jerkin. "But it seems some vermin are harder to kill than others." he glared, baring his arrogant gaze specifically upon the stubborn Oldegårdian bold enough to inflict such a wound he had not sustained in a millennia.
Without a second thought, the party drew their weapons and prepared for the battle that lay ahead, "You-you wanted Uriel to send the entire army out of Emon. So your dragon friend could wipe them out!" Vex concluded as she glanced back toward the tallest human of their motley crew, realising they were the closest to discovering the traitorous General's plan.
Krieg stood upon his natural perch, looking down upon those he deemed inferior to his supposed masters. "The Age of Man is coming to an end. There was a time when dragons ruled all of Tal'Dorei, when we ruled the entire world." he finally revealed, bearing down upon them with a glare of utter contempt for the 'lesser races' his kind attempted to enslave.
"Did he just say "We"?" Percy uttered in disbelief, all while the lone Oldegårdian teetered on the edge as an image of the devastation the beast left behind, as well as the family he and Vox Machina laid to rest were seemingly forced to the front of his mind by a force unknown.
A singular, familiar yet distorted voice pounded in his skull, as he gripped the now scorching rune carved upon his neck. "Should you die here, you shall never fulfil your oath to us. Slay him, and continue on the path wence you came." in an instant the burning mark cooled as if nothing had been said. Snapping his attention back to the battle at hand, Ragnvaldr and his fellow Mercenaries watched from below as a resounding clap of thunder shuddered the whole cavern, nearly knocking them all of balance as the dragons human form reeled over painfully.
Shards of ungodly lightning shot from Krieg's milky glowing eyes as his pale skin twisted and shifted, covering itself in familiar blue scales as a mighty roar unleashed itself from his chest. His face contorted and changed, his teeth growing sharp like razors and his entire face elongated in an unnaturally macabre display of his true power. Armour ripped from his mangled body as it grew taller and larger, towering over the puny humanoids. Brimscythe's bones cracked and snapped as two bones covered with thick scales shot from his back moulding themselves into a pair of outstretched wings.
Soon, in the blink of an eye a man no longer stood before them replaced by the familiar, hulking Blue Dragon that had caused so much pain and devastation to the people of Emon. Unleashing a belting roar Brimscythe fell silent as he locked his reptilian eyes on the so called intruders. Scanlan, at the sight of such a thing, rather intelligently took a single step back. "Didn't see this one coming, did you Vex?" he hissed between gritted teeth as the horrific beast unleashed a violent shockwave as it flapped it's leathered wings and took to the air, growling as he latched his thickened claws onto a pair of sturdy stalactites, merely half his size hanging from the roof of the cavern.
Brimscythe's armoured tail slithered around another to steady himself as he unlatched his serrated jaws and expelled a single thundering bolt of lightning from within, hurling it right toward the underprepared adventurers. With barely a moment to spare the party, by the graces of the Gods themselves managed to avoid the blast as rising dirt and smoke clouded not only theirs but the dragons vision as well.
Somewhere below in the carnage of rubble and dust Grog kneeled to the ground stopping himself from being knocked from his feet as his towering form was hit with a thudding shockwave. However, as the Goliath slid back on one knee a stray spat of lightning shot through the gold he kneeled upon and sent a debilitating shock through his system forcing his normally sturdy form to the ground. His shuddering scream caught Pike's attention, "Grog!" she exclaimed as Brimscythe lined up another less than precise kill shot.
"Are you alright?" Percy exclaimed taking aim at the flying monster hanging above them, himself and Vex being the only ones who could at least hit it, unlike the rest of their more close range inclined comrades.
Unable to move his smouldering body Grog gritted his teeth painfully as he lay collapsed on the ground. "Um, no." he whimpered as Keyleth stood stock still, unable to overcome the fear shooting through her body, however, the Druid had no time to dwell on such feelings as Brimscythe once again let out a gutral roar and breathed an unstable blast of lightning once more toward them. Realising she was directly in the oncoming projectiles path, Ragnvaldr charged forth while Percy provided what little cover he could with his Pepperbox, firing shot after inaccurate shot at the dragon above.
Just in time the red haired human grasped an inhumanly strong grip around Keyleths withy forearm and yanked her toward the mess of rocks for some kind of concealment, both were followed closely by Percy as the gunslinger dove into their small out clove just in time as Keyleth fought through her fear and managed to summon an entrapping cocoon of thickened vines to protect herself and the two human saviours from the blast.
Meanwhile, the twins having been separated from everyone but each other skittered across the open, smoke covered plain of the cavern. However, another stray bolt struck another sliver of gold making it ignite in a deadly dance of lethal sparks cutting the two Half-Elves off from their escape. Just as the conducting metal burnt itself out, a bright stray hit of lightning discharged itself and battered against the rock next to them, shattering it's peak forcing the rubble to collapse down upon Vax.
Vex ducked low, barely avoid the falling rubble as her beloved brother quickly recovered bounding to his feet and drawing his near useless daggers, all while Vex knocked one of her few remaining explosive arrows and took aim at Brimscythe's exposed neck, but, just as it had before as soon as the devastating arrow struck his hide, the ammunition simple imploded impotently in a plume of grey smoke and shrapnel. "A tickle. Let me return the favour." the blue dragon chortled turning his massive head toward the secluded pair.
"Shit!" Vex exclaimed as she lowered her bow slightly, watching as Brimscythe simply unleashed a distorted laugh and pushed himself from the risen rock on whence he had landed, taking to the air once more, landing right were Pike and Scanlan stood launching the two Gnomes into the air and clawing his way between the mass of rocks and boulders alike. Although, in the chaos of battle even he failed to notice his own barbed tail strike the white haired Cleric mid air and shove her against one of the many jutting rocks. Striking it's flat face Pike's eyes shot open as her entire body lurched and she slid down the natural wall, doing her best to contain her unsteady breaths as her small form spasmed painfully.
Slithering his way across the chamber in search of the insect sized humanoids, the dragon scanned his massive head left to right, gripping his claws firmly into the rock. "Fools! I'll devour you all." he threatened as Scanlan, having survived nearly being crushed fell into a concealed piled of gold pressing against the base of the rocks. The echoing clink of the coins caught Brimscythe's attention as he snapped his head toward it's source and taking a deep breathy sniff of the air, pinpointed Scanlan's hiding place instantly.
Thudding around the base of the rocky spire, the dragon tilted his head over the uneven terrain spotting the Bard's sprawled out form atop one of his many mounds of flooded gold. Again, he charged another shot as Scanlan watched, fear stretched across his face as lightning bubbled from Brimscythe's thorax. "Pike? Pike?" he cried out, instantly shooting to his feet and running in a random, uncoordinated direction, "Pike? Pike?! Pike?!" he screeched as the beam of death scourged the rock close behind him as he fled.
The ground beneath him shattered and exploded as it knocked the Gnome off balance forcing him to the floor once more. Another blast sailed right toward him as the Bard simply shut his eyes and unleashed an echoing screech, believing those to be his last moments. In the nick of time, Pike having recovered from her minor wounds and leapt in front of Scanlan, her Shield of Faith raised, poised and ready to withstand the brunt of the explosion.
Her sheer will allowed her defensive spell to remain just strong enough as the attack exploded against it, giving enough time for Scanlan to clamber to his feet and keep running. Although just as he was, Pike's shield cracked under the weight of Brimscythe's mighty breath attack and after another second shattered entirely, the aftermath of the attack hit them head on and launched them toward a peppered formation of rocks and gold alike. Both singed, battle damaged Gnomes watched near helplessly as the gold around them slowly began to melt under the sheer heat of the dragons attacks.
Once more, Brimscythe took to the air hovering above those he deemed inferior to his own kind, lording their imminent defeat over them like a crazed monarch, unaware of Keyleth untangling the twisting cocoon and freeing herself along with both Ragnvaldr and Percy. "Look out!" she warned, gripping the nobleman by his collar and yanking him away as the Oldegårdian bolted after them. The trio barely avoiding the blast that struck the exact spot they stood mere moments before.
Crouching behind a small grovel of rocks, the three hid themselves as Percy shot to his feet and fired a few rounds at the dragon above while Ragnvaldr could do little but stay by a clearly petrified Keyleth holding his axe protectively close in a feign attempt to grant her some much needed morale. "Vax! Did Gilmore give you any insight on how to kill this thing?" he called out to both twins perched on the ridge like formation close by. "OR DID YOU TWO FLIRT THE WHOLE TIME?!" he screeched loudly as Vax narrowed his eyes and Vex quirked an eyebrow at the normally composed human.
"Shit. Right, right. Uh, uh, dragons are vain, arrogant, egotistical..." he listed as Brimscythe emerged from the darkness behind them, snapping his jaws in a failed attempt to crush them both. But before he could, both managed to swoop down the formations incline and join the others.
Groaning at her brothers aloofness involving Gilmore, Vex spoke up. "I know that already. I studied them, remember?" she reminded as the dragon perched himself above once again, this time overlooking the still downed form of Grog, intent of finishing the Goliath off for good. Yet just a Brimscythe positioned himself Grog stumbled to his feet, great axe in hand, shook his head to rid himself of a petty ringing and charged directly at the blue dragon using his momentum to push himself off an angled rock and into the air raising his axe above his head only to smash it into the ground as their enemy took off once more.
"Doesn't matter. We can't do shit if it's in the air." Pike informed having just watched their strongest member miss his one chance to kill the dragon once and for all.
Having done their best to regroup, Vox Machina hid behind what cover hadn't been eviscerated, yet as Vax watched the terrifying beast charge another blast directly at them, he noticed something very familiar amongst the glowing veins along the dragons throat. "Where the twin rivers meet." he uttered spotting the same forked symbol, depicted in the tome, finally remembering the information Gilmore had kindly lent them. "The neck. You see that? We have to get it on the ground! Vex, do you hear me?!" He called out to his sister who as well hid herself behind the closest rock.
"Yes! This way. I've got a plan." she commanded as the pair broke from their concealment as soon as Brimscythe blasted another cluster of rocks. It was obvious to Vox Machina the dragon was simply scorching everything insight, having grown impatient with the battles drawn out nature. That or he was enraged he was struggling to kill a group of so call 'insects' as he oh so confidently named them.
Clambering along the thinned natural pathways of the rocks, using both of their equal agilities to navigate the otherwise uneven ground. Not even a minute passed by until the twins along with the rest of the party finally reunited. "Aw, another one?" Scanlan squeaked as the dragon bashed against the ground crushing the rock and stone beneath the almost blackened claws.
"Shut up!" she ordered turning on her heels and breaking for a small well protected hole not far from them as Brimscythe simply reeled his head back an unleashed an even more concentrated burst of energy, barely missing Ragnvaldr and Keyleth. "Look, okay, for once you were right. Maybe we don't fight as one. Maybe we do what we do best." Vex informed as more blasts scarred and tore at the landscape around them.
"What?! We have no best." Keyleth squealed as she joined the others ahead in the small rock laden crater. Last to arrive was Grog whom managed to slide beneath a falling stone pillar that blocked their makeshift safe heaven from sight.
clambering into the small hovel amongst the rocky maze, Scanlan shot the regretful Ranger a baffled look. "So, what do you want us to do? Run out and yell, 'Hey, dragon man, we don't know what the fuck we're doing'?" the Bard argued waving his hands sarcastically only for a sly, thin lipped grin to stretch across Vex's painted lips. Catching on instantly, Scanlan returned the gesture with a mischievous smile of his own, dropping both hands by his side. For once, the Gnome and Half-Elf were on the same page.
As the pair spoke of their soon to be executed plan Ragnvaldr caught wind of unsteady, heaving panic stricken breaths of the Druid next to him. The young woman sat pressed against the stone at her back with her knees pressed tightly to her chest, huddling between both Percy and Ragnvaldr trying desperately to contain her shattered nerves, unbeknownst to her the second tallest of their group kept an eye on her with a faintly sympathetic look.
Understanding the fear that had ensnared her mind, Ragnvaldr tore his attention from the scheming Bard and Ranger for the briefest of moments. "Try counting to four then inhale deeply. Once you do, count again then exhale. That little trick's not let me down yet." he advised, pressing a soft, rather comforting hand to her shoulder. Releasing Keyleth, he turned his attention quickly back to the matter at hand as the party laid out their rather smart, if not suicidal plan.
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Brimscythe landed once more on the flattened plain of the open chamber, unleashing a bellowing laugh as he twisted his reptilian skull left to right searching for the hidden crew of mercenaries. "Ha! You think you can hide in my lair?" he growled, chortling to himself as he scoured the cave for its would be invaders. The unmissable noise of footsteps caught his attention as the bellowing smoke cleared to reveal the entirety of Vox Machina perched in the open, nearly eye level, stage like cluster of rocks at the chambers centre.
"Hey, taint smear!" Grog bellowed, charging forward a few feet, great axe in hand and nearly knocking the white haired gunslinger to the ground, much to the human's dismay as he lost his perfectly aimed shot at the dragons colossal head.
Having enough of the Goliath's bone headedness Percy scowled as he gripped his gloved fists tightly, shaking with poorly hidden anger. "You're in my way again you, ape!" he snapped as the enraged Barbarian gripped both hands on the long handle of his axe even tighter than normal.
"What'd you call me?" Grog growled turning on his heel and glaring menacingly down at the much shorter, skinnier humanoid. The man in question simply had enough as he raised his precious Pepperbox and cocked the mechanism backward with loud click, chambering a single explosive round and aimed directly at the hulking Goliath's skull. "Maybe I'll squash you, too." he threatened traipsing closer to the more than ready Noble.
From behind both grovelling men, armed with his dual daggers Vax was next to cut in as he loosened his lowered fighting stance and glared carelessly at the two. "Oh, as if either of you could kill anything. A preening, peacoated peacock and a witless goon." The Rogue insulted, loosing his stance all together as his attention fell from the towering, battle ready dragon, much to the beast in questions confusion as he reeled back ever so slightly in astonishment.
"You watch yourself, peasant." Percy snapped venomously, turning his attention toward the jeering sneak-thief now finding himself hopelessly flanked on either side by the Half-Elf and Goliath alike.
Next to join in the entirely inappropriate argument, Vex pushed herself between both Percy and Grog taking aim with her bow toward Brimscythe, "If the three of you will shut up already and let me kill this inflated windbag..." she boasted as Pike and Keyleth as always stayed far from the rest of their comrade's arguments. Meanwhile, Ragnvaldr and Scanlan remained suspiciously silent, surprisingly neither of the two used the lapse in concentration to insult one another.
Growing tired of listening to the motley crews pointless bickering, the dragon launched himself from his perch and landed right in front of the Mercenaries with an earth destroying thud. "Kill me? I am the iron storm. You are nothing but insects!" he roared as the veins in his throat glowed a vicious blue, unleashing a final blast of lethal lightning toward the now stupidly exposed party. Much to his satisfaction, he watched as the electricity shot through their bodies as each of the members of Vox Machina unleashed horrific cries of pain as the surface of the plateau exploded in a cloud of ash and smoke alike.
A deathly silence fell upon the chamber as Brimscythe, satisfied with his enemies demise reeled his head back and unleashed a loud, echoing laugh. "Pathetic!" he announced, only for his closed eyes to widen and his taunting to cease as the smoke cleared as quickly as it arrived, revealing the party standing seemingly unfazed amongst the rubble and remains of what once was their perch. "What!" he bellowed watching in astonishment as the whole party vanished in a very familiar puff of purple, illusionary smoke. "Impossible!" he howled, darting his slitted eyes all over, scanning the scorched and smouldering chamber for any sign of Vox Machina.
Suddenly a loud, self aggrandising cough caught the blue dragons attention as his gaze locked upon both Scanlan and Vex crouched in the overhanging shadow of one of the remaining pointed rocks. "Gotcha." the Gnome clicked with a cocky smirk, dissipating the magical essence swirling between his fingers.
"Now!" Vex yelled from beside the crafty Bard as Keyleth emerged from her hiding place, having managed to calm her frayed nerves with her tribal friends wise words.
Charging as fast as her legs could carry her down the slanted, craggy slope the Druid muttered a few words of encouragement to none but herself. "Oh, come on. Come on, come on, come one. You got this." she uttered stumbling over herself as she slid to a stop, widely swiping her now glowing staff toward the silent Brimscythe as a mass of elongated roots burst from the ground in front of her, stretching out toward the dragons massive, scaled body.
Percy was next to charge into the fray panting heavily as he bolted, near inhumanly fast across the outstretched plain toward one of the many loosened boulders. With loaded Pepperbox in hand he used the rubble to push himself a foot into the air, firing off three rounds into a large hanging, stake like formation above, cracking it at its base and forcing it to fall heavily to the ground below piercing right through one of Brimscythe's outstretched wings as Keyleth's vines locked themselves around the others joint and wretched his towering form to the ground, pinning the beast in place.
Brimscythe writhed viciously against his restraints, managing to push upward and balance himself on one of his front claws, only for Ragnvaldr to swoop right beneath the squirming beast and, with a single heavy swing of his angled axe cut the meaty tendon the back of the stabilising claw. With a roaring yelp of pain and spraying crimson blood, Brimscythe fell to the ground completely immobile yet still struggling against his inevitable fate as the Oldegårdian leapt out of the way of its vicious struggle.
In one final act of desperation the dragon unleashed one last powerful beam of lightning detonating a large section of the chambers solid roof, forcing humongous pieces of rubble to careen down upon Vax who, armed with nothing but his blades charged head long at the panicking beast. Barely managing to avoid the endless falling debris, Vax weaved his way around pieces of boulder as they smashed to the ground mere inches from armour clad form.
Pushing himself farther and father forward, he managed to avoid an uncomfortably close rock as he rolled out of the way but kept moving, not allowing the minor setback to deter his momentum. That was until a towering, round boulder fell from the heavens only to be shattered to pintsized pieces by a giant, near see-through hand above. The Rogue stumbled over his own two feet almost falling to the ground, only for the illusionary appendage to scoop him up in it's closed fist.
"Scanlan's Hand!"
The Bard sang as he mimicked his illusion and launched Vax with everything her had toward Brimscythe. Using his newfound speed, Vax clambered across sections of falling debris as he himself pushed free of the uneven of ground, drawing his blades as he fell toward the downed monster. Sailing straight over the dragons head, Vax dug one blade into the back of Brimscythe's neck cutting straight through the scales and into the flesh beneath, adjusting himself to slide down and right across where the twin rivers met, opening the armoured folds of the dragons thorax to reveal the mess of bloodied, shredded veins.
Emerging from cover in one last bid to bring the dragon down, Vex took aim with a single arrow as Pike gripped her talisman tightly in here gauntlet fist mere feet behind the Half-Elf. "Light him up, Vex." the Cleric ordered shutting her eyes and using her holy magic to enchant Vex's last remaining arrow. Releasing a single soft breath the woman unleashed the enchanted arrow watching as it sailed right toward the exposed and bleeding wound upon their foes neck. Soaring through the cold air of the cavernous chamber the singular arrow struck it's target in a hail of blood and electricity as Brimscythe screeched in pain, finally freeing his injured self from his restraints.
Collapsing onto the ground, smashing it beneath him the blue dragon managed to stumble upright onto his unsteady claws once more. "I will sunder your bones!" he threatened viciously as sparks of unstable lightning flowed right across his blood soaked form, and with no other option left outright charged the exposed Mercenaries, ignoring the searing pain of the wound upon the back of his angled leg as it tore and sputtered as he moved faster and faster, worsening with ever step.
"Look who's nice and low." Vex announced as she took a place smugly beside a particularly eager, ashen skinned Barbarian who stared down the enraged, charging monster closing in on them.
Sneering, Grog gritted his almost fang like teeth tightly in a wide, lopsided grin as he arched his towering form forwards gripping his axe in both hands with everything he could muster as veins began blustering from beneath his completely hairless, muscled skin. "I would like to..." he growled stamping both feet and smashing both into the solid rock effortlessly, "RAGE!!!" He thundered as his pupils rolled to the back of his head and his towering form throbbed as he rushed forward incomprehensibly fast, wielding his mighty axe one handed as he met Brimscythe head on, without a single care for his own wellbeing.
Finally, the Barbarian launched his enraged form forward with two singular bonding steps while Brimscythe kept pushing with his imbued lightning sparking all around, the Goliath raised his axe behind his head sailing through the air and just as the beast was about to ensnare him in it's jaws, Grog brought the sharpened edge of his axe down upon the desperate dragons blood covered skull slicing right between it's eyes, pinning it to the ground and ensnaring the whole cavern in a cloud of stray lightning and bellowing smoke.
Eventually, as the cavern was once again engulfed in blessed silence the party stared on in astonishment as the clouds of smoke peeled away to reveal Grog hunched over Brimscythe's unmoving corpse. The dragons head head been sliced in twain, reduced to nothing but a bloodied pulp. "Uh. Is he dead?" the Barbarian groaned as he turned his blood drenched, giblet covered form to his comrades, one eye closed due to the blood smeared across his face.
Keyleth's scathed body relaxed in an instant as a joyous smile stretched across her face, "We did that." she chuckled, loosening her grip on her precious staff. "We did that, right?" she questioned in disbelief turning to both Scanlan and Percy who nodded toward the young Druid.
"It seems being a bunch of arseholes has its merits." the Gunslinger laughed as he holstered his Pepperbox once more with an elated sigh of relief. Then, a realisation dawned on him, they were missing one member of their little troop. "Where's Ragnvaldr?" he inquired being met with mere shrugs and a gaggle of rather worried looks. He sighed to himself, nodding lightly, seeing no other way to go about it. "Right. There's only one thing for it... Ragnvaldr!" he shouted cupping his hands against his mouth as Vox Machina's yelling filled the silent, absolutely decimated cavern.
Keyleth along with Pike, Percy and Vax broke from the group as they began searching for the currently missing Oldegårdian. "Ragnvaldr!" the Druid's worrisome voice echoed, being met with no answer as the group moved further from Brimscythe's unmoving corpse.
Meanwhile, knowing that, more than likely the red-haired human would be fine. Possibly... Scanlan watched as Grog reached for one of Brimscythe's jutting, blood covered teeth snapping it off at it's base with a heaved grunt. "Souvenir?" Scanlan wondered as the blood covered Goliath looked down at him.
"Proof we killed the scaly turd." he laughed heartily, holding the sharpened, razor like tooth in his massive palm.
The Bard perused his lips, rather impressed by the incredibly strong Goliath's consideration. A little surprised no one else thought to do so. "Huh. You know, you're a lot smarter than we give you credit for, Grog." he complimented bracing both hands against his hips casually.
"Yep, I'm a genius." he boasted, pulling open the hem of his furred trousers and dropping the tooth safely inside, until they returned to the Palace and the Sovereign back in Emon. "You find that other guy yet?" he called out to the rest of his scouring companions as Scanlan left to help Vex loot whatever remained of the melting gold. The Gnome was in no rush to look, and the Goliath merely was copying what his friend was doing, seemingly unaware of the Oldegårdian's possible fate.
Luckily, Keyleth finally spotted a medium sized piece of rubble shift and scrape until it was pushed away with some force, forcing small speckles of ash to spat from the ground as it landed. Not even a moment passed by as a head of long, almost crimson hair came into view amongst the grey rocks and debris. "There he is." she cheered, running toward the seemingly fine man as the others trailed behind her. As soon as she closed the distance, the awkward, yet oddly sweet Druid latched both arms around his neck, "You're okay." she uttered pressing her head of strawberry hair to his chest.
A few uncomfortable moments passed as Ragnvaldr tensed at the rather sudden show of affection, unaware of Vex whom popped straight up from behind a boulder, breaking from her looting spree to fold one arm over the other, seemingly glaring at himself and the slightly younger Druid. Awkwardly, the man slowly patted Keyleth's back with one hand as he glanced over the top of her head toward Percy who simply shrugged with an equally confused expression.
Not budging the Druid squeezed a little tighter as the man grunted painfully, "Um, Keyleth? You can let go now..." he uttered as her shut eyes quickly snapped open as she backed a foot away.
"Sorry. Sorry. We just thought that--- Ya know." she uttered locking both hands along with her staff behind her back, tearing her emerald gaze from Ragnvaldr's own. "So... You okay? Anything broken or---" she uttered, painfully trying to make the situation less strange, yet failing miserably to do so.
Ragnvaldr's lips stretched into an almost ghostly smile as he looked upon the plucky Druid. Rather simply he reached his hand out between her antlered Druidic Circlet and tussled her hair lightly. "No, and I'm glad to see you too, Keyleth." he chuckled lightly as the woman shook her head playfully.
"As much as I adore reunions, can we go now please. That damn corpse is already starting to stink." Vex dismissed as she wheeled around on her heels and marched toward whence they came. However, just as the party went to join her, the ground beneath them shook violently nearly knocking each from their feet as clumps of rock dropped from above. Instantly, the tiny sections were replaced by large boulders that crashed to the ground shattering themselves as well as crushing all that lay beneath.
"Oh, fuck this day." Vax groaned as he searched for a route of escape through the devastated cavern, all while Vex and Scanlan collected what they could as quickly as possible.
Pike darted her gaze between everyone of her silent companions, "Exit strategy?" she called out, receiving no answer but taking notice of how Keyleth no longer seemed as fearful as she would have given the circumstances, while standing beside Ragnvaldr.
"Run!" Vex exclaimed bolting past everyone with a sack full of gold slung over her shoulder. Wasting not another moment the others followed suit, clambering up the steepened incline back toward the portal they had entered through in the passage above. Weaving through the cascading rocks and winding tunnel the party made it to their destination as Vex and Grog with Pike clamped onto his back for dear life passed through first, while Percy, Keyleth, Ragnvaldr and Vax awaited the little loot goblin that was Scanlan.
Trudging toward them as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, the Gnome hauled a small crate filled to the brim with gold, jewels and potions alike. "Wait! The-the loot!" he grunted tripping over as small stone and barrel rolling across the ground, sliding to a stop on his back as the Troll Member landed with a splat right on his face. Strangely, instead of trying to grab the gold that lay scattered all around, the Bard snatched the phallic item as well as a single scroll just as Keyleth summoned a single vine, directing it to whip up Scanlan and toss him carelessly back through the portal to safety.
Ragnvaldr and Keyleth both filtered through the portal, leaving only Vax as he stopped for the briefest of moments, reaching into his pouch and pulling out the very same blood stained silver coin he had given to the boy. "We got him, kid." he uttered twisting ever so slightly and flicking it with two fingers onto the ground below, leaving behind the guilt that came with such an item.
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Once again, Vox Machina found themselves dragged to the Council's chambers. Sovereign Uriel, along with his many accompanying dignitaries looked down upon them from their raised platform, "Vox Machina, for your selfless heroism, I proclaim you all protectors of the realm." he began passing the now clean dragons tooth off to Lady Kima as she stepped away with a rather proud smirk upon her face, while Allura stood with a sheathed, ruby encrusted ceremonial sword clutched in both hands. "And honorary members of the Council of Tal'Dorei." Uriel said, unsheathing the blade and raising it to the air as the party gasped in shock. All but Ragnvaldr however, whose sullen mood upon being summoned had returned.
"I know. I can hardly believe it myself." he chuckled as himself and the other Council men and woman broke into polite laughter of their own.
Percy being the only noble of the group sighed with relief, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "Oh, how I've missed respectability." he uttered with sheer relief, however, his companions shared no such sentiments as Vex stepped in front of him.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's all fine and good, but where is the... ah." she interrupted only to be silenced as one of the Palace guards placed the gold encrusted chest onto the floor in front of them, all while the Council watched on, with pleasant looks upon their faces. Looks that made the rooms lonely Oldegårdian feel like raising his axe. Stepping forth, himself, Vax, Scanlan and Vex leered over the treasure chest as the Ranger wriggled her fingers eagerly, slowly unlatching the box and creaking it open.
However, their rather eager faces dropped instantly when they were met with the containers contents, more specifically Ragnvaldr. "Uh... Keys? Parchment? Where's our reward?" Scanlan frowned as he reached for the golden circulate holding three ornate keys and grasped the document in his other hand.
"You're holding it." Uriel announced with a neutral look on his face, "The deed to your new keep here in Emon. We need our protectors close at hand to, you know, protect." he revealed hopefully as the party shared rather pleased, though baffled expressions. Apart from Scanlan and Ragnvaldr, whom both glared directly at the Sovereign, frustrated at the severe lack of gold and jewels.
"Uh-huh. Uh, hypothetically, if we sold it, how much do you think that..." Scanlan shrugged carelessly, speaking on behalf of himself and his rival alike, only to trail off as Uriel raised a single warning eyebrow while both Allura and Kima shot the Gnome poignant looks, essentially telling him to shut up and enjoy their so called reward. "Okay." he uttered folding into himself at the Council's overbearing stares as he and Ragnvaldr groaned slightly in annoyance.
Silently, and with with a curious look Vex gently slipped the parchment from Scanlan's loose grasp as she unwound the binding string holding it together. Unrolling the paper Vax leaned over her shoulder as he too read as well. "Sister, we have a home." he uttered quietly as the Ranger turned to her brother with a warm smile, one which he too shared.
Ragnvaldr felt his heart lurch at such mentions of home. Whether he excepted it or not, his family were gone and his clan a shadow of their former selves, his home for the past two decades had been the road, travelling the continent hunting those who ever so willing tore everything from him at the behest of the very people he supposedly served now. Although, before he had the chance to do something that would endanger his companions Keyleth excitedly slid in front of the twins, an ecstatic smile stretched across her face. "Wait till I tell my father. Oh, the Ashari will never believe this." she jumped happily, weaving her way between the twins and wrapping her arms lovingly around them both.
"I bet... I'm ruining a moment right now, aren't I?" she questioned, releasing them both from her gentle grasp as Vax smiled warmly while Vex, as usual scowled at the Druid. "Yep, I'm just gonna go over here now." she pointed to the empty space beside Ragnvaldr as she awkwardly scooted away.
The Sovereign raised a single hand, silencing them as he spoke once more. "As protectors, you must understand that the threat is far from over. With the evidence Fince has gathered, we suspect Krieg may have been part of a larger plot." he warned gravely as the party all shared worrisome looks while Ragnvaldr simply braced his axe on his shoulder, debating with himself whether or not to grab Moonless and simply leave. "As such, I have arranged an important banquet to discuss the security of our realm. It'll be quiet delightful really. We have a wonderful cook." he encouraged the reluctant, battle weary group.
"We trust you will all attend. In fact, several dignitaries should be on their way as we speak." Lady Allura began, still with a clear hint of polite nobleness in her tone. "Councilman Fince will also be in attendance as well. He wishes to thank you personally for your actions today." she addressed, turning her attention to the Oldegårdian who straightened himself ever so slightly as their eyes met.
Shaking his head lightly, Ragnvaldr scoffed. "I know were his residence is. I'll take my leave and go see him there." he offered, wishing more than anything not to have to attend a dinner with such a group of people.
"I'm afraid that would be impossible. The attempt on his life has, startled him. He wishes to be left alone." The Sovereign himself addressed as the red-head gritted his teeth ever so slightly, angered.
"Fine... If you insist. I'll wait." he hesitantly agreed, completely unaware that some members of the party were glad he agreed to stay a little while longer. At least he could spend the night somewhere relatively safe, and have an extravagant meal before leaving once and for all.
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Meanwhile, along the road leading through the forest on the outskirts of Emon itself an ornately decorated purple and black carriage, driven by two horses jugged along the cobblestones as a sickly, rather frail young house boy held the strong animals leather reigns, ushering them through the eerily quiet evening. The young man gasped as one of the workhorses neighed lightly as both came to a sudden halt when met with the log purposefully laid across the road, making it impossible to pass for any wagon or cart alike. "L-Lady Briarwood, there's something blocking the road." he stuttered fearfully, turning his head toward the thin, meshed screen behind him.
"Can you go around it, Desmond?" a soothing, yet equally unnerving voice answered as the door to the carriage opened with a soft squeak as a pair of purely black boots touched against the cobbles.
"Allow me, my love." the lord of the house insisted as he closed the door behind him, revealing his immaculately styled, slicked jet black hair, with a few strands of peppered grey hairs dotted here and there. His deathly pale skin appeared almost sickly in the evening sun as he stood to his full, towering height. Even with the finely made suit he wore, it was clear the man was a soldier of some kind, judging from his muscular build that was barely hidden beneath his garb.
Silently, the noble approached the blockade, fully aware of the presence of those who set the pathetic ambush as leaves rustled and a group of raggedy, poorly equipped brigands made themselves known as they each surrounded him, one even drew a curved, sickle like blade and held it to Desmond's throat, making the young servant shiver with fear. "Well, ain't this a lucky night. Looks like royalty to me. What do you say, gang?" he questioned as his two foolish comrades prepared themselves for a fine taking.
"Oh, he's a fancy one. We want everything you and the missus got unless you wanna be gutted like a fish." the human woman threatened, gripping a pair of short swords in both hands, glaring almost hungrily at the Nobleman before her.
The Noble didn't move an inch as his eyebrows furrowed with frustration at the peasants interference with his affairs. "What, are you deaf or something? Empty your pockets." the one eyed man demanded only to watch haplessly as the Noble shot forth at break neck speed, digging his claw like nails right into the mans stomach, watching with now, pulsing bloodshot eyes gleefully as blood shot from the victims mouth. Another slight push and the inhuman Nobles hand pierced right through the man's chest, killing him instantly.
Shoving the lifeless corpse off him, splatters of blood covered his fellow gang members as they watched on in abject horror. "The fuck!" the woman squealed as the Noble simply trotted over to the log and gripped his hands onto it's wooden surface, hauling it over his shoulder and wielding it like an oversized club. With what seemed to be not even half his strength the man simply swung the thickened lock at the elder of their pathetic troop, dissolving him into nothing but a mess of limbs and pulp as the two survivors froze on the spot at such a sight.
Blood splattered along the carriage's front window as the sinisterly graceful, dark haired Noble Lady simply sipped at a small cup of tea as she remained inside, uncaring of the violence mere feet away. Meanwhile, a thick cloud of dark smoke bubbled behind the brigand holding Desmond at blade point. Unaware, another male, dressed in what appeared to be a far simpler noble's garb, than his patron had appeared from the void
Like a ghost in the night the white haired, Elven male reached into his furred coat and drew a small yet serrated dagger, locking his rather athletic arm around the larger humans throat, keeping him firmly in place as he slit the man's throat wide open, pushing him to the ground and seemingly basking in the suffering before him. Without even a word, the elder Elf vanished in another cloud then reappeared right in front of the petrified woman, watching gleefully as she stood frozen with fear. Not speaking a word, the ghostly Elf gripped the woman by the throat and drove his dagger into her gut over and over again.
His strikes were not wild, nor demented, but surgical in their precision as he seemingly stabbed just the right places, enough for the Brigand to live just that little bit longer. Soon he grew bored unleashing a lazy sigh. "Thank you, Aymon." The black haired noble nodded as the Elf simply nodded.
"I live to serve, Lord Briarwood." he purred ever so slightly, bowing in an overexaggerated manner, as if her were playing a part in some disturbing rendition of a stage performance. Turning on his heel, Aymon simply shooed Desmond aside and scooted onto the bench alongside the tormented young man, merely taking the reigns and awaiting his patron to re-enter the carriage.
Watching with a self-satisfied smile, the Elf sat silent as the man vanished back inside, slamming the hatch behind him. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble, Sylas." the woman affectionally stated, placing the cup down upon the silver sauce in her other hand.
"Delilah, my dear, it was nothing." Lord Sylas Briarwood replied as he took a cloth from within his coat and wiped the still fresh blood from his exposed hand as both shared a pleasantly distressing smile, while outside Aymon cracked the reigns, urging the horses forward toward the gleaming capital of their illustrious nation of Tal'Dorei. The very same nation he had served so faithfully, for so long.