Roderick ran deeper into the twisting maze of the castle's back passages, his mind still reeling from the terrible visions he had received of the Royal Family's fate. He snarled and shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but it was no use; he knew the images would be imprinted on his memory for the rest of his life. Which, given the circumstances, mightn't be an overly long time.

The sound of his hurried footsteps bounced off the cold stone walls and mixed with the din of battle and the weak cries of the wounded until it was impossible to tell where any of it came from. He supposed it was a mixed blessing; he would be harder to track, but he wouldn't be able to tell if anyone was ahead of him until he was right on top of them. Absently he noted he was still holding the carved wooden bowl in one hand and quickly stowed it in its pouch, glad he'd reflexively kept hold of it in the confusion. It wasn't some powerful magical item; it was just useful, and one of the few reminders of his adopted father and mentor he had left.

Roderick entered the room that had served as the guard-post for the dungeon entrance and blanched at the sight of the armored door hanging from a single hinge, a gleeful howling rising from below . A contingent of soldiers had obviously been sent to secure the high-value prisoners being kept below the castle in order to stop any of the beleaguered defenders getting any ideas about revenge or hostages. Then he was past it, a burst of speed carrying him as far away as possible, He had no desire to be nearby when the soldiers returned upstairs with the freedom drunk prisoners - some of whom he'd helped capture in the first place.

As he ran on, there was a great clamor of crashing and splintering wood that echoed through the corridors, though he couldn't place where it came from. Suddenly an inhumanly tall and thin figure with golden hair stepped out from up ahead, holding a short sword in both hands. Roderick gave a short cry of alarm and jumped to one side, colliding with the wall as he awkwardly tried to avoid running full pelt onto the sword into the narrow corridor. Luckily the figure seemed to recognize him and lowered the sword as he approached. It didn't stop him from having one hand on his knives before her identity finally clicked.

 "Roderick?!" Lin'Lise said, "Can you get us out of here?".

"Yes m'lady". Roderick replied, adding the honorific automatically. Years of intensive etiquette lessons and life in the Royal Court had made the response instinctive. The vaelie-lorenvolk wasn't his favorite person in the Court, but right now he was happy to see someone not wearing enemy colors. His heart sank more at the blood on her hands and clothes, and he knew without saying what she'd been through. Seeing her also made him wonder which other members of the Court and staff might still be alive and present, though he had no idea how he'd find them without running into more enemy soldiers. "I was doubling back around to the east side - there's a hidden passage that can take us out of the castle proper" he explained, starting to head off in the same direction he'd been heading.

"We need to keep an eye out for anyone friendly still around" he said, building back up to his previous pace, although now trying to keep a better eye out, as he now knew there could still be allies in the castle, and considering he'd nearly got impaled.