The Tales of Agganoth



SINDRI HERMOD

Sindri's throat had been dry since they had left the warehouse, warhammer tightly clasped in his hand. He'd fought before, certainly, but this was the first time he'd set out with the intention of getting involved in one. He could feel the subtle tremor in his fingers as they crouched in waiting. It was so much easier when the fights happened to you...none of this thinking about the fact that in a few minutes several people would likely be dead. He glanced left and right to the others. They all seemed unmoved by the tension, leaving Sindri feeling ever more out of place. He had to calm down. He took several deep breaths. These Untamed were just bandits right? He'd dealt with plenty of bandits. It would all be fine.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly. The woman on the cart stole away into the shadows, seconds before an arrow struck the cart. The six guards were immediately on alert, scanning the area. If the three women were to successfully get to the princess, they would need a distraction. So Sindri leapt around the corner, warhammer in hand, and rushed at the nearest one with an overheard swing. Most bandits were either knocked out cold by the hit, or suitably stunned from the effort of blocking it, that it was enough to settle minor conflicts instantly.

It came as a shock to Sindri as his opponent deftly sidestepped the swing, pulling out a flail which he swung into the back of Sindri's leg. His knee buckled under the impact, driving him down. As he attempted to rise back up to his feet, the flail was whipped around viciously back into his gut, causing him to collapse over onto all fours, the wind knocked from him. He just managed to lift his head to see the smug smirk of the Untamed as he swung the flail high, ready to swing down in a fatal blow.

So this is how it ends, then. An insignificant end to an insignificant life, drifting from place to place because there was nowhere he could stay. Even after everything he was still worthless. As he closed his eyes, he felt a flash of guilt. People needed him to not be worthless. People needed him to fight on so that they could save the world. It was almost laughable, but that was the sheer absurdity of the world he had found himself in these past two days. He needed to survive.

THUD.

The Untamed gawped in surprise as the head of the flail bounced off from the top of Sindri's skull. As he stepped back a couple of paces in shock, Sindri surged forwards, skin once again darkened to near black as his momentum carried him into the Untamed's chest. Though he could move freely, it seemed like he hit with more weight than he normally did as the Untamed fell over flat on the ground. Sindri placed a foot heavily on his chest, raising the warhammer high. "Sorry, but it's you or us...and it's too important to the world that we succeed." He brought the warhammer down with a sickening finality.
 
One Step Closer to Freedom
@Greenie, @Reina, & @Kat

Being within the walls of Westhollow again made every muscle in Alana tense. Though she wasn’t close enough to where the untamed actually were, she knew they were around and it was unsettling for her. The air had a thickness to it and still smelled of burnt flesh. Alana kept her composure however. She had shown enough weakness to perfect strangers. And if these nightmares were going to stop, she needed to complete her mission. They needed to get the princess back to safety.

From where Alana, Rayela and Shireen hid they could see the action while being far enough away not to be caught up in it. It was for the best. Alana and Rayela wouldn’t be able to defend themselves and she was thankful they had Shireen in case anything went awry. Alana wished she could control her magic. They could use the covering of the shadows now to free the princess but Alana had used them in a situation of high adrenaline and fear of her own life. She didn’t know how to trigger the magic when she wasn’t experiencing such emotions. Plus the consequences were painful and repulsive. If only Rayela and Shireen had magic of their own…

“Shouldn’t be long now,” Alana whispered as she watched the cart with the princess begin to pull away. “But how are we going to get a scared princess to trust us?”

Shireen shook her head- she didn’t know the answer to that question, but whether the princess would trust them or not didn’t matter at the moment. At least, she didn’t think so. They had to take her back by hook or by crook. Of course, that was easy to believe, leave alone say out loud, if the princess wasn’t a living, breathing person with her own thoughts and emotions.

“Whatever we do, gotta make sure we catch up t’her first. She’s runnin’ an’ soon’ll be out of our grasp.” And then what? All the effort from the others would be in vain. “I ain’ waitin’. C’mon, we’ll just have t’wing it.” With that, Shireen slunk forward in the shadows, trying to keep herself hidden as she followed after the princess, or at least where they had seen the princess disappear.

There wasn’t much time to catch up to the princess and get out. Rayela’s eyebrows knitted together in concentration as she followed Shireen adamantly. She wasn’t quite sure how they’d reach the girl and although Shireen had experience with a sword, who knew what the woman taking the princess was capable of. If push came to shove, Rayela would have no idea how to take the woman down. She didn’t have any clue how to use a sword or even a dagger. Hopefully, things weren’t as difficult as they seemed.

Alana ran behind Shireen and Rayela. The princess was scared and quite fast. “Shireen,” Alana called up ahead. “Shireen. Don’t you think chasing her will make her even more scared?” she asked through her pants and shallow breaths. “Maybe we should….maybe we should try to cut her off and beat her to where she’s headed. And not have….not have three women chasing behind her,” she said as she attempted to catch her breath.

Shireen and Rayela slowed down to a stop, letting out a breath. Alana had a point, but did they even know where the princess was headed? What if they lost her completely, or worse, the Untamed caught her yet again?

Cussing under her breath, she pondered for a good few seconds before coming up with an idea. “That thing y’did earlier, with the darkness… d’you think maybe you can use it in a way that she won’ be able t’see? Might keep her in place so we can catch up? ‘Less you have an idea where she’s headed? ‘Cause I got no clue.”

“The shadows hurt her. Has Alana even had time to recuperate from earlier?” Rayela questioned, concern in her tone.

“I… don’t know.” The last thing Shireen wanted was for Alana to get hurt even more than she already was. But then… “Well… d’you have any other ideas?”

“No,” Rayela sighed. “I haven’t got anything worth using, not even a special ability. Alana?” She glanced over at her dear savior. “What are you thinking?”

Alana hated the idea of using her magic. The consequences of their use was painful and she had only just recovered and begun to look like herself again. “If I must but if we can avoid it….I’d rather not look like a monster and be stricken with pain.” It was selfish of her but no one else had to deal with the pain it would inflict. She had already saved her entire group. It seemed she was the only one putting herself on the line. Perhaps it was another’s turn.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more,” Rayela murmured and turned to Shireen. “Do you have another idea worth a shot? I’m afraid I’m not sure what else there could be. We don’t want to scare her, we want to get to where she’s going before she does… All I can think of is that, someone goes ahead and tries to make it there, maybe as some sort of distraction.”

Rayela hummed, “The others follow behind and we have the princess and captor surrounded… somehow? Forgive me, I’ve not always been inclined to think so much in regards to rescue missions. This is something else that I simply feel incapable of handling properly.”

Shireen let out a breath before looking to Rayela and Alana. “Alright, how ‘bout I follow after her, stickin’ to the shadows? Maybe I can try an’ route her back y’alls way. Because like this, we’re just gonna end up wastin’ time an’ losin’ her. How’s tha’ sound to you both?”

Alana looked over at Rayela then back over to Shireen and nodded her head. “Sounds like a plan. I agree. Rayela and I will wait here and make sure the princess doesn’t go passed us.”

“Alrigh’, see you both in a bit then.” She gave the smallest of nods before hurrying in the same direction as before, keeping to the shadows. She couldn’t see well in the dark, obviously, but she guessed the same was for the princess. Sneaking wasn’t exactly what she was proficient at- swordplay was more of her fortee, but it seemed for the time being she would have to trust in her own skills.

“Good luck,” Rayela murmured.