[color=00aeef][center][h1]Chres Sansus[/h1][/center][/color] Interaction with [@Elevation], [@13Org], [@SonOfJet], [@HokumPocus] [hr] With the pillow he grabbed off the bed, Chres took a deep breath before dashing out of the room and into the blazing hallway. Smoke covered the top of the hall. Chres was sure to crouch in order to avoid breathing in the smoke as best as he could. He held the pillow up to his nose and mouth to further avoid inhaling smoke. He knew he didn't have much time to dally. The heat construct he had woven had about an hour's worth of stored body heat in it. It would last for approximately ten minutes... well maybe more like eight minutes now. That gave him enough time to get the candles... He hoped... It was hot. Very hot. Fortunately, for Chres, he was a Tempraisionist. The heat was his friend. The stairs he had woven made plenty of room for him to store away more heat for later. Under normal circumstances, recovering the heat he lost would take an hour. Playing with the body's temperature was a dangerous thing. Changing one's body heat in either direction just a smidge could be the difference between hypothermia and hyperthermia. A Tempraisionist's greatest enemy is the former of the two. That in mind, when a Tempraisionist needs to store away body heat, it is important to only store away only a little bit of body heat while keeping the rest for oneself in order to... well... not die. The blazing heat from the fire, however, presented Chres with an interesting opportunity. He could store away a larger amount of body heat by using the surrounding heat the help keep his body functional. Heat will rush towards colder objects, and Chres was about to make himself very cold. Chres began storing away a dangerous amount of body heat. His body began shivering instantly. Chres had never done this before, so he didn't realize just how much of a shock it was going to be to his body. Fortunately the instant relief from the surrounding heat prevented Chres from collapsing to his feet. Shaking off the initial shock, Chres made his way into the room Hark had stayed in. Weaving between the flames, Chres made his way over to where the three Crystal Jade Candles were left. Their surface glittering in the fire's light. Chres grabbed each of them and placed them in his traveling sack before moving on to DB's room. The flames were really bad in this room. Chres was only able to get two of the Crystal Jade Candles before he heard a loud crack. Chres looked up. The ceiling above doorway had just sunken slightly. He glanced back to last remaining candle in the room. It was only a few feet away. There was another loud crack follow by a groan. With difficulty Chres tore his eyes away from the last candle and made a dash towards the exit. Another crack. He was at the door, almost out! The ceiling collapsed in on itself. Chres dove to the ground and out the door as a cloud of debris enveloped him. Chres hit the floor. There was a sharp pain in his left foot. Something heavy was on it. Chres couldn't see how bad it was from the cloud of debris. He coughed loudly while swatting away the particles with his right hand. Chres tugged on his foot. Nothing. He tugged it again. It still didn't move. The cloud of debris began to disperse. Chres was able to get a better view of what he was dealing with. A big chuck of ceiling had collapsed on his foot. Chres tried lifting it. He could lift it a tiny bit, but it wasn't enough to get his foot out from underneath. He was stuck. Chres sighed. Well, this wouldn't be the most pleasant of deaths, but he supposed it would be decently humiliating enough. He stupidly ran back into a burning building for magic candles and died in the process. He knew his death would be excruciatingly painful, but he deserved it to be painful. He deserved it for his crimes. For the first time in a long time, Chres felt at peace. Closing his eyes, he relaxed his body and waited for the flames to engulf him. [color=00aeef][i]Are we are happy with ourself, then? Happy to finally have the chance to die?[/i][/color] A part of him said in the back of his mind. [color=00aeef]"Yes."[/color] Chres said absently. [color=00aeef]"I'm tired... Tired of the constant reminders. Tired of the self-hatred and self-disgust... I'm tired of not sleeping every night. I'm tired of the nightmares which plague both my dreams and waking thoughts... but most of all..."[/color] Chres opened is eyes, a deep pang in his heart. [color=00aeef]"I'm tired of being alone... without her..."[/color] Chres absently began to finger the simplistic wedding band he still wore on his left ring finger. [color=00aeef][i]Well then, I suppose that's it. It ends here then.[/i] [/color] [color=00aeef]"Yes."[/color] Chres said softly, amidst the ash and blazing black flames. [color=00aeef]"Yes, it ends here indeed."[/color] [color=00aeef][i]What of the others?[/i][/color] The other part of his mind said. [color=00aeef][i]Are we happy with how we left things with them?[/i][/color] Chres parsed his lips saying nothing in response. He could feel the heat of the nearby flames licking at him. Creeping closer to him. [color=00aeef][i]We left them there on the rooftops, Chres.[/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"They will find their own way down."[/color] Chres said. He could feel his mood beginning to sour. [color=00aeef]"They don't need me to help them with that."[/color] [color=00aeef][i]Perhaps they will... Perhaps they will even be lucky enough to escape the Cult's notice while doing so.[/i][/color] Chres could feel a touch a dread begin to seep in. He had been close to death a few months back before his inner thoughts began walking down the same path as they were now. He knew where this road led. [color=00aeef][i]Or... perhaps they won't...[/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"Don't..."[/color] Chres begged softly. [color=00aeef][i]Perhaps they will be stuck on the rooftops left for the Cult to find them...[/i][/color] The end was so close... [color=00aeef]"Please don't..."[/color] [color=00aeef][i]We're leaving them there to their fate.[/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"Please... Please, just stop..."[/color] Why now? Why couldn't his conscience just let it go? [color=00aeef][i]We came up with the plan-[/i] [/color] [color=00aeef]"Stop!"[/color] [color=00aeef][i]We initiated it-[/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"Please!"[/color] [color=00aeef][i]And now they are depending on us to follow through and finish it![/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"Why?! Why can't I just let it be?"[/color] [color=00aeef][i]Why? You know why! Because you're better this! We are better than this! It's okay for us to end our life, but we should do it without putting everybody else's life in danger too![/i][/color] [color=00aeef]"God Damn it!"[/color] Chres yelled as he slammed his fist to the ground. Tears of frustration streaming down his face. [color=00aeef]"God fucking damn it! To hell with the five senses! To hell with them all!"[/color] Chres closed his eyes and took a second to calm his breathing. When his breathing slowed he opened his eyes, wiped away the tears with his arm, and stared at his trapped foot with a look of determination. He knew what to do. Chres called forth some of the heat he had stored away and Shaped it into a long lever which he wedged in between the floor boards and the broken bit of ceiling which sandwiched his foot. Then, with all his might, he pressed down on the lever and lifted the debris high enough to pull his foot out from underneath. As soon as he slipped it free, he called the remaining heat, from the lever Heat construct, back into him and stored it away for later use. Ignoring the pain in his foot, Chres got to his feet and half ran, half limped his way back to Almos's room. Even though this was the room where they had climbed out the window, Chres had left the candles in this room for him to pick up on his way back out. This way he could spend more time getting the candles in the rooms closer to the worst of the flames. Chres grabbed the three candles in Almos's room and then carefully began climbing out the window and up the steps. The heat construct he had formed was running on fumes. He could see it unraveling before his eyes. He ran/limped his way up the steps as fast as he could, watching as the glow to the construct began to fade. At that point, he knew he didn't have time make it up the last few steps. So he jumped, grabbed hold of the roof's ledge and scrambled his way to the top. Chres rolled on his back breathing heavily. [color=00aeef]"I got eight of them."[/color] He said in-between breaths. [color=00aeef]"Eleven, including the ones from my room."[/color] Chres glanced down. The cult still hadn't noticed them. Good. Getting to his feet, Chres limped his way over to the opposite edge of the building. All the while ignoring the pain in his foot. He would tend to it latter. For now he need to focus on escaping. Placing his hand down on edge of the roof, he called forth stored body heat and Weaved the flows together to form a paper-thin plane bridging the gap between buildings. He made sure not to use as much heat for this one. It wouldn't last nearly as long as the stairs. [color=00aeef]"Quickly now."[/color] Chres said to the group. [color=00aeef]"This one won't last as long as the other one."[/color] The innkeeper and his family were the first ones to cross.