[b]14.[/b]

The cell door swung open. Jade Fist turned around to behold Sicini standing before him once again with a lantern in her hand, probably to replace the one on the nighstand that had burned out hours ago. "We're here." She said with a cheerful but somewhat mocking tone, like she knew how annoyed the elf was with the situation. He didn't realize it before, but she was rather tall. Moreso than him, even. Probably by a few inches.

"Now what, then?" The elf asked quietly.

Sicini chuckled. "I'll have Mortis pick you up now, and then we'll head up and begin walking. He'll keep you concealed until we reach the University. We wouldn't want to attract any attention on our way there. Bounty hunters, nobles looking for revenge, slum thugs, you understand."

"Who's Mortis?" Jade Fist asked.

"My companion." She replied, smiling. She turned her head past the door's frame and called out, "Mortis! Here, sweetie. Come and pick up the elf."

Just then, Jade Fist heard the pounding of footsteps emanate through the hall. He tensed up a bit as Sicini stepped aside. Replacing her were the skeletal remains of... several, people. Mashed together by the same black sludge that enveloped his wrists. It was enormous, unable to fit through the door. It bellowed softly, spitting a few clumps of sludge at the wooden floor ahead of the elf. It reared back and raised its arm, and shot it forward, grabbing the elf's face and pulling him, quite literally, into its body. After a moment of the elf struggling to break free, he was gone, sealed inside the monster's grotesque form.

"Very good." Sicini said, walking past her companion. "Now, let's move."

...

The gates creaked open as the hulking mass of flesh and bones slowly pushed them forward, trudging into the courtyard, Sicini following closely behind. "Thank you, Mortis." She said, passing by her companion and eyeing the two figures already situated within the courtyard. A human and another elf. "Oh? Are we early? Or late?" She announced, indifferent to their reactions to the gigantic abomination standing next to her.

Summer turned upon hearing a new voice and the color drained from her face almost instantly. She felt a scream build up in her throat, but she managed to fight away the urge. Instead she focused her gaze on what she assumed was a female following behind the creature she had called Mortis. 

Ostel quickly came forward and planted himself between Summer and the shambling beastly creature, "That's far enough you two. Who are you?" he said in a strong tone. 

"There is no way either of you are a Sage, so how did you get in here?" Summer demanded, acting braver than she really was. 

"It's alright." Sicini replied, "I'm an associate of the Headmaster's. I'm simply here to conclude my services." She gazed at the little elf girl with her glaring yellow eyes and smiled. "The Sage of Wind, I assume? It's my pleasure, really." She paused for a moment, staring at Summer inquisitively. "Hmm... Elf, and... shifter? Interesting combination. I'm sure you'll perform well."

Summer made a face and crossed her arms, she wasn't sure how she should react to what this, thing, was saying. "I'm an Elf and nothing more, if I was a shifter it would have shown by now. I'm just... different is all," she responded, she was an elf and that was that. If she had been anything but then she wouldn't have been able to be forced into a Slave role, it would have been illegal... wouldn't it?

Sicini chuckled. "Oh, I understand now." She replied, "But you can't hide these things from someone who knows how to pluck the strings of a soul. You'll come to understand yourself... in time." She sighed and continued, "Pardon me, I've forgotten my manners." She extended her arm for a handshake and said, "Sicini del Mortha the third."

Summer flinched when Sicini extended her hand, but when no blow came, she hesitantly placed her hand in Sicini's. "I'm Summer, I don't have a last name," she murmured softly, she felt uncomfortable as Sicini's hand was cold and clammy, "I'm sorry... but I'm not really good with interaction."

"It's fine, dear." Sicini replied, "I was very antisocial myself during the first few centuries of my life. I practiced my manners with the dead. They're very, very good listeners." She turned to her companion and said, "Isn't that right, Mortis?" The monstrosity simply bellowed in compliance, spitting out a few more clumps of sludge. And just then, it began to gag a bit. Sicini simply watched as an armored hand burst from Mortis' belly. The creature simply stood idle while the rest of the arm forced its way out, with the jade-armored body following suit. The figure fell from the creature's gut to the ground below, covered in sludge, coughing.

Coughing at the smell more than anything else Ostel spat out, "Gods be good, what in blazes is that? Did that ... thing just throw up a set of armor?"

"Oh, my apologies." Sicini said to the armored figure sprawled on the ground below. "I forgot that you were probably suffocating in there."

Upon seeing someone fall from the monster's stomach, Summer ran over to him to see if he was ok. She didn't speak as she looked over what she assumed was a man and made sure he wasn't injured. "Are you ok?" she asked as she looked at the rips in his clothes from what she assumed was whatever type of acid was in the monster, "I don't really know much First Aid but if you can tell me where you are hurt I may be able to help."

The figure looked up at the elf, peering at her through his mask. "I'm fine..." He muttered, panting, picking himself up. "I'm fine, I'm fine..." He turned to Sicini and said, "Don't... don't you ever try that again, do you understand me?" Sicini simply smiled with her arms behind her back. "You're sturdy. You'll get over it." She turned to Summer and the human and said, "I hope you recognize this man from any wanted posters you may have seen recently?"

Ostel then became very quiet and merely came to stand beside Summer, only his gaze became hard as the name of his family.

"I can't read," Summer states with a shrug, "I was a slave... we weren't allowed to learn anything past talking and anything that may help us complete our tasks. Even still, if he is here then it must not matter if he was considered a criminal or not... because he is a Sage... he must be destined for a higher purpose than the one he decided to give himself before coming here... am I right?"

"Indeed you are." Sicini replied, "But to be truthful, he's a little too stubborn to accept his fate. Aren't you..." She said turning to the masked man, "Jade Fist?"

Upon mention of the name Jade Fist, Ostel chuckled a little as the elf stood over him by a head if not more, "So you are Jade Fist? I figured you'd be taller." he said with a smirk as he grasped his warhammer.

Jade Fist looked down at the human Ostel. His mask hid it well, but he was angrier than all hell could allow. He turned to Sicini and said, "You told me you weren't bringing me to anyone who had it out for me?" The woman simply smiled and replied, "I can't help if the Sage of Light is a child of the Grimward Family. That's your ordeal to surmount."

"Grimward..." Jade Fist said, turning back to Ostel. He looked between him and Summer, before putting two and two together. "Who are you?" He asked the man, keeping his stance.

For a moment the tension between the two held the group in silence, until Ostel sighed and rested the butt end of the Dawnbringer into the ground. He allowed a geniune smile to come over his face as he bowed his head in respect, "I am Ostel, bastard of the Grimwards." After he brought his head back up he then exlplained, "I have heard of you from the bands of elven refugess that survive in Lucerna's northern forests. The posters from my kin do not do you justice it seems, they did make you look short honestly." He said with a friendly hint to his voice.

Jade Fist simply glared at Ostel, and then turned away for a moment. He stepped onto the section of the courtyard that bore the visage of the earth, stamped his foot, and forced two pillars of rock to jut from the ground. He turned back to Ostel and said, "Sit."

A sad gaze feel over Ostel's face but he merely nodded, "Well I figured this was coming. I am not looking for a fight." He said placing his warhammer, sword, axe, and his bow and arrows down beside him before sitting himself down on one of the pillars.

Jade Fist seated himself on the opposite pillar and looked Ostel straight in his eyes. "As of right now, we're on equal ground." He said, "I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them with utmost truth. If you lie to me, I'll know. If you stand up, I'll put you back down. Do you understand?"

The human merely nodded and whistled a sharply, as soon his companion arrived. At first the red eyed wolf growled at Jade Fist but with a shake of his head, Snow came to lay down beside his master. Summer watched as everything happened before her and she remained quiet through it all. Had she really just offered to help someone who was about to harm the one person who had freed her and wanted to help her learn magic? Merlin let out a sharp screech and flapped his wings in irritation as Summer stepped forward, her body shaking slightly.

"I won't let you lay a hand on him," Summer said, "He has helped me escape a life I did not want to live. You have no right to treat him in such a way and I will not just stand here and let you do so." She said as she stood beside Ostel, a small band of twirling gusts building up around the Sage of Wind and her pet hawk.

It was then that Ostel turned and said kindly, "Thank you Summer, but he must ask his questions. I knew this was coming that day I found out I was to be the Sage of Light. How can I stand beside the Sapiens Terrae then if we cannot come to terms. It will be fine ... I promise." he said with a smile.

Summer let out a soft sigh before nodding her head and stepping down. She wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't about to move away much further than a couple feet away.

Jade Fist stared intently at Ostel, and then made a slight notion towards Summer. "Her." He stated, "Is she your slave?"

Taking a deep breath, Ostel answered, "Not anymore." Summer then gave Ostel a stunned look, which when he saw Ostel turned to meet her shocked look and said with regret sounding in his voice,"I should of told you when we got to these shores, but so much has happened." He then turned back to Jade Fist, "She was my slave, but only so I could save her life."

Jade Fist nodded, but kept his gaze. "You're one of Grimward's." He said, "Your family has caused me trouble in the past. Many in Lucerna, possibly some of them, would see my head on a pike. Tell me right now, are they involved in this?"

With a shrug Ostel replied, "As far as I know no one in my family knows you are here. My father called me about a week ago to appear before our family's council. I was then told that I was chosen to be the Sage of Light. Before that I convinved my father to spare Summer, and he revelead to me in secret that she was to be the Sage of Wind. So here we are. That's about it." he said with a impassive look. 

"You call her Summer..." Jade Fist said, turning his head towards the Sage of Wind. "What's your real name?"

She looks at Jade Fist and eyes him for a good while before deciding to answer his question, "Hey you, Elf Girl, Slave, Worthless Pile of Meat, and my personal favorite 'Waste of Space'."

Ostel closed his eyes and nodded to every single one, as if he was hearing them.

Jade Fist looked back at Ostel and said, "Your family's reputation among slaves is less than stellar. I can see that. You tell me, what do you think of elves being made into slaves? I don't want to judge you by your family, I want to judge you by [i]you[/i]. So let's hear it."

Ostel planted his chin into his closed fists and sighed, "I think anyone who claims to [i]own[/i] any living thing is someone I would rather not be around. That's the short of it, and many in my own family have given me hell for it. But I stand by that, and before Summer, I never had one. And I never wanted one." He finished as if he was repeateing an age old arguement with someone who was not there. 

Jade Fist nodded. "Alright..." He said, "I know what you think, now. What you think of Summer. What you think of slaves. But I want to know what you think of me." He leaned in closer, almost to the point where Ostel could see the elf's eyes behind his mask. "What if I told you my entire life, for longer than a century, I've been working to completely eradicate all forms of slavery? Does that sound like a noble cause to you? Because what if I then tell you I plan on making many, many strikes against the nobility of Lucerna? Breaking down the system? How do you feel about that?"

The human watched the armored figure intently as he spoke, and almost thought of comparing the rising tone to a roaring thunderstorm. Or possibly a cat ... no, [i]"Laughing right now, possibly NOT the best idea you have had."[/i] Instead Ostel took a moment to process all that Jade Fist was saying. 

He then sighed and nodded, "I would do the same were my people in chains. Defeating a foe is one thing, which we did in the wars long before now. However, slavery is a sickness that should be gotten rid of, and frankly I cannot belive I am saying this, but I am glad to here someone speaking my own thoughts." he then shoke his head and chuckled, "Just surprised it's coming from an outlaw is all. Guess that means they were right that a bastard should not be trusted."

"That's how you feel?" Jade Fist replied, "Because I'm not going to lie to you, Ostel. I don't care whether or not we're Sages, I'm going to revolutionize how Lucerna works. Even if it means another revolt. If everything could work out peacefully, I'd be much more content. But I know many humans, not you, not a good deal of others, who won't let such a thing happen without their judgement." He inched closer and said a little more quietly, "For all you know, there could be a man under this mask. Not an elf. I hope one day everyone, not just humans... will understand what that means." He leaned back and said, "Do you?"

The bastard crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as he gazed at the armored figure, debating on how he shoudl respond. But with a shrug of his shoulders Ostel answered finally, "I understand, at least I think I do. You stand as a symbol of freedom, someone that was needed because of what my race has allowed to become accepted." With that Ostel then straighten himself and said,"Break the bonds, crack some sense into the nobility, even liberating your race all sounds like the thoughts I have romanticized for the last few years." 

"But ... I hope you will understand one thing Jade Fist." His voice deepened and his gaze became hard, though he knew little of it would effect the outlaw. He just wanted to convey his attentions as clear as he could make it, "If it comes to a violent revolt, I will stand against you. There are a few people worth saving, and should it come to it, worth dying to protect. But it will not be out of defense of slavery, but because of the ones I care about. If we get them out of Lucerna first though, you can wreck all the hell and justice you want and I'll do naught but applaud your efforts."

Jade Fist folded his hands together. "Samorost..." He muttered, "I respect that."

The elf stood up and thrust his hands downward, eliminating the stone pillars. He caught Ostel's hand before he fell on his ass, pulling him up on his feet. He simply stared at him for a bit, and then at Summer, and then back to him. "Normally..." He said, "I would insist on protecting an elf, slave or not, myself. But... she trusts you more than she'll ever trust me." He extended his jade-armored hand and said, "I look forward to fulfilling our destinies together. And perhaps beyond that, if you would allow, when we're done."

It was a small laugh that escaped Ostel as he griped the gauntlet of the Jade Fist, "The biggest changes in history have often begun with the smallest of drops. Here's hoping we make one hell of a splash elf." he said shaking the hand of his new comrade. Ostel then turned to Summer, "What do you say lass? Feel like shaking the world a bit?" he said with his spare hand beckoning her toward them.

Summer looked between the two men before her, she trusted Ostel well enough to know he would not ask the impossible of her, but she wasn't entirely sure about the Jade Fist. "You have a point Jade Fist, I do trust Ostel more than I trust you, but I also know what his real name is," she said softly, "I can't trust someone who does not trust me with their name. I will, however, agree to help you and Ostel to free our people." She placed her hand in Ostel's after stepping forward and stared right at the Jade Fist.

Taking Summer's hand into his and placing it into the collective handshake of the three Sages the bastard of the Grimwards then said in a solemn voice, "We three Sages of Light, Earth, and Wind do hereby swear to all the gods who bare witness. If it can be done by our power, we will end the night to come, and to free the elven slaves of Lucerna. This I, Ostel Von Grimward swear to all the gods, or forever may they damn me." He then looked to his newfound companions, and with a rare feeling of pride he then asked, "Do you swear?"

"Very well." Jade Fist said, "I swear."

Summer nodded her head, "As do I."

In the midst of all the pride and cheer, Sicini approached the three Sages and said, "Perhaps you should wait for the latter half of your destined hextuple before making any oaths? What good is a ceremony that has to be performed twice?" She scanned the courtyard and said, "You're still short... fire, water, and darkness. After that, the real challenge will begin."

With that the trio of Sages unlocked there hands and looked to Sicini with a bit of uneasiness, but then Ostel asked, "Are we supposed to wait here till all of the others arrive? Or can we go inside? We have been traveling for quite a while, and some of us are a bit hungry." he said as his stomach growled which made him laugh again, "Heh, good timing."
 
"Do as you wish. It's no foul towards me." Sicini replied, "But if you need any questions answered, come find me." With that, she turned towards Mortis and left the scene with the monster in tow, leaving the three Sages alone within the courtyard.