[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Zh6BM3C.png[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jfqzHu8.png[/img][/center] [center][hr][b]Interacting with:[/b] Self [@Dao Ma][@Force and Fury][@YummyYummy][@Jasbraq] [b]Opportunity:[/b] Eskand-aligned Players – Rescue Ulfhild.[hr] [b]Event:[/b] Fields of Fire [b]Location:[/b] Between Relouse and Chamonix | Wandering Mountain[/center] [indent] [color=gray]Between a Dragon and the Queen of Parrench was quite the predicament to be in. Ulfhild had many choices: Swallow her pride and accept the enemy’s help to slay the dragon, let them fight alone and travel on to fulfill the Black king’s original request, or save Sewyn. Little did she know that she would be the one who needed saving by the end of it. Betraying her King and Country for the fame of slaying a dragon was never a thought in her mind. Admittedly she longed for the hunt, but instead she knew she had to recover Sewyn when he came into view of The Nashorn and Ulfhild. She spoked to the barbaric mute in hopes that he would finally find his voice and form council on what Ulfhild planned. Instead, she was met with laughs and meaty fingers pointing where their fates would lead. The band of three made their way to the Army of Parrench that laid in wait to take the mighty warrior in Sewyn into their stockades. Sewyn looked worse for wear, even worse than he had looked at the end of the battle at the shore. Something awful must have happened between here and there. Whatever the case was, he was in no condition to fight aside from his bite that caused the dragon to recoil into the skies. How much time would that buy? Enough for her to get him and get out. It would have been foolish to make a dash and grab. Ulfhild could negotiate, personally that wasn’t her style, an art left more to a bipartisan party. Specifically, Hildr. She elected the Dragonslayer to begin talks with both sides. Ulfhild turned to The Nashorn and gave him a look only he would know. His arm raised and signaled something to a select few of Eskandr soldiers to retreat into the shield wall. Ulfhild as well was swallowed by the shield wall. It was now or never. In an instant she was off on horseback with a tight group of Eskandr’s hot on her heels in rigid formation. The prisoners. The one’s that tipped negotiations in their favor, parlaying for Sewyn’s freedom was an uphill crucible akin to fighting the dragon otherwise. Her little maneuver didn’t go unnoticed, the queen quickly dispatched two of her best men to impede any progress Ulfhild made. It was now down to a race to the top of the hill. Even with the small lead she had, the two managed to catch up. Their attempts to dismount and otherwise disrupt her mission, had almost succeeded, but she was resilient. Her own attempts to lose them from her trail were just as unsuccessful. She was almost to the mouth of the cave before she was thrown from her horse. An attack finally had stuck, a minor inconvenience that slowed her little. Once in the cave she surrounded herself in a loose formation that proved erratic to the two who would soon be inside. She trusted her loyal guard to slow their progression and boost her deceptive skills from her arcane prowess. Sweat clung to her skin, her thoughts clouded with nothing but what her next steps would be, there was no time for her to second guess or plan a backup. Every second counted. She was familiar with the duo’s proficiency. One was quick and agile the other a complete force that lacked the flair for anything else than raw power. Her skills in deception began to set the groundwork to slow the two. They arrived, taking no time to begin their onslaught. The next in line for the throne afflicted the Eskand force with a panic that only boosted the elusiveness of Ulfhild in the crowd. The agile one however flew above head and shoulders of the crowd and swooped down like an eagle in search of its pray. A barrier met his aerial descent and deflected him once more into the air. Once more he swooped down and found Ulfhild or an image of her. A trick of the eye, she was much further ahead now with another barrier coming down and crashing into Maerec. Ulfhild had bought herself enough time to gather the important prisoners and freed the rest to be used as meat shields. The air in the crevices of the exit gave way to its location to Ulfhild. With unhinged tenacity she opened the exit and slipped through with the prisoners. Not a Master of Kinetics, she was still able to cave in the exit quite a bit. This proved trivial to Lord Percival, exploding the rocks into dust. Ulfhild had already been on horseback and was making her way back to the trail of Sewyn. Maerec decided to fly while Percival once more attempted to take her horse out. Ulfhild defended and delivered a crushing blow that would stop the powerhouse from pursuing. Maerec, wasn’t so easy to snipe out of the sky. The two raced back, in-and-out of hits and misses until Ulfhild was thrown from her steed. Close-quarter-combat was the crux of her ability, but she would not go down without a fight. The slugfest quickly turned in favor of the five God heretic, edging further out of Ulfhild’s hands. No, no, no, it wasn’t supposed to end like this. She had been on the ropes the whole time and was winning out until now. Tears began to surface in the ducts of her eyes. She was so close, one more leg of the race and she would be the hero, the savior of Sewyn, and set fire to the fields of Parrench. A devastating blow crushed bones as it made contact. She had been here before, with the dear queen, she grit her teeth and spit a hot ball of blood aside. Her body yelled at her for straining every muscle in her body to persevere. She delivered a few glancing blows and minor injuries, but the strength of the royal army was too much for a greenling Æresvaktr. Another devastating blow led to a concussed Ulfhild, the vision of her brothers appeared shoulder to shoulder with Maerec, behind them Sister and Brother. She escaped death once, but twice seemed twice too many for the Visitor and the table that awaited her. Still, to the end she fought. Delivering a few more of her own blows that were either defended or unimpressive. One final blow took the life and the spirit out of the heroine. Her body crumpled to the ground knowing she had failed her King, Sewyn, and The Nashorn. Perhaps they would not come for her as they did for the others. Whatever her fate, darkness was the only definitive. [/color][/indent]