Rhiannon nodded her head in strong agreement.
"Absolutely! I need to contact... a few people. Let them know how we're doing y'know? After that we could visit that new Italian place down the road, the one with the chef who has a really fake accent." She stood up, feeling tired from the day's events; a small afternoon nap wouldn't go amiss either it would seem.
"Right, let's call a taxi and head off then. I feel like taking the normal route home even if it's a bit slower than the Empowered one."
Jinxer Member
The British One
- Last Seen: 2 yrs ago
- Old Guild Username: Jinxer
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- Jinxer 12 yrs ago
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11 yrs ago
Currently living inside Life is Strange.
11 yrs ago
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack.
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I be back now and ready to go!
Sorry, I will be getting back to you in the next couple of days - wedding planning stuffs etc.
There, responded to Hallerna and Vigi. It's early so it may be a bit lackluster but I think I captured Harald's... 'character' enough >.<
Harald met the fierce woman's gaze with scornful amusement as she launched into her attack. He stayed silent as Hallerna raged against him, accusing him, quite truthfully, of lying about the child and then naming him as such. His lips curled up in a cruel smile; he had no concern what the people of Trelleborg thought of him. He had the men and the ruthlessness to gain power without the support of the weaker factions and he knew it.
"And who are you to name me, woman?" He growled, laughing at the idea of a mere woman daring to diminish his authority and power. "Where are your symbols of status, whom do you lead and what authority do you have in accusing me?" He paused for a moment before leaning in towards her. "None." He whispered then turned away, laughing.
"Who of you would risk one of those monsters getting among our people? Who of you would not throw the suspect back into the flames?" He demanded, calling out to those around them. No matter how repugnant his actions had been he knew fear of the Draugr, especially to those who had barely escaped them inside the Healing House. "All it takes is one of those creatures to destroy us here. One Draugr bites one of you." Here he jabbed his finger at the nearest person. "And then you're one of them. Then there are two Draugr. They would spread faster than a disease and kill every one of us. Who of you would risk that fate for a just an orphaned child?!" Silence met his words and he turned around, grinning at Hallerna; fear was the purest of emotions and he knew full well how to use it.
However Vigi not began an assault. Harald scowled; the seidrmadr had more authority and respect than the woman even though he had all but destroyed it.
"I ask you again, who would risk the lives of every single man, woman and child in this fort for the sake of one orphaned child? No one!" Harald glared as Vigi attacked him, accusing him of cowardice. "Hah, this spindly man who chose to honour the gods like the Christian women rather than fight like any other man accuses me of cowardice!"
Then he realised the mistake he had made; he cursed his getting carried away with the burning of the Healing House as Vigi spoke of sacrifices to the gods. Harald stayed silent, his mind racing as he saw he was losing the crowd. Fear of the Draugr was one thing; fear of the gods another.
"You speak of madness as if you are familiar with it, seidrmadr. Has the whispering of the gods driven your mind insane, your feeble mind unable to comprehend their words? Look around us and tell me that you are worth of serving the gods, of sacrificing to them! You are charged with keeping their favour and no one here would agree that you have achieved that!" He swung his arms around, gesturing the the fort and then to his men.
"Almost all of my men have survived the Draugr, more have died from the murderous Christians and their Ragnar allies than have fallen to those beasts. Is it not clear who the gods favour most in this fort? They protect my men because they see I am able to defend the people of this fort from the Draugr and have abandoned your inane pleas and cries for help - the gods have abandoned you, seidrmadr! Who else should sacrifice to the gods other than the one they have clearly shown their favour to? Hel will rejoice at the return of those souls who escaped her domain and further shower us with gifts and aid - why should we listen to a madman talk about the gods? You have no power any longer, seidrmadr." Harald grinned, staring Vigi down with his eyes, black as night. He was bordering on dangerous ground with declaring himself as the gods' favourite but who could doubt the evidence so far? He turned, beginning to walk away.
"Come, let us leave the mad woman and her false seidrmadr to their crowing."
"And who are you to name me, woman?" He growled, laughing at the idea of a mere woman daring to diminish his authority and power. "Where are your symbols of status, whom do you lead and what authority do you have in accusing me?" He paused for a moment before leaning in towards her. "None." He whispered then turned away, laughing.
"Who of you would risk one of those monsters getting among our people? Who of you would not throw the suspect back into the flames?" He demanded, calling out to those around them. No matter how repugnant his actions had been he knew fear of the Draugr, especially to those who had barely escaped them inside the Healing House. "All it takes is one of those creatures to destroy us here. One Draugr bites one of you." Here he jabbed his finger at the nearest person. "And then you're one of them. Then there are two Draugr. They would spread faster than a disease and kill every one of us. Who of you would risk that fate for a just an orphaned child?!" Silence met his words and he turned around, grinning at Hallerna; fear was the purest of emotions and he knew full well how to use it.
However Vigi not began an assault. Harald scowled; the seidrmadr had more authority and respect than the woman even though he had all but destroyed it.
"I ask you again, who would risk the lives of every single man, woman and child in this fort for the sake of one orphaned child? No one!" Harald glared as Vigi attacked him, accusing him of cowardice. "Hah, this spindly man who chose to honour the gods like the Christian women rather than fight like any other man accuses me of cowardice!"
Then he realised the mistake he had made; he cursed his getting carried away with the burning of the Healing House as Vigi spoke of sacrifices to the gods. Harald stayed silent, his mind racing as he saw he was losing the crowd. Fear of the Draugr was one thing; fear of the gods another.
"You speak of madness as if you are familiar with it, seidrmadr. Has the whispering of the gods driven your mind insane, your feeble mind unable to comprehend their words? Look around us and tell me that you are worth of serving the gods, of sacrificing to them! You are charged with keeping their favour and no one here would agree that you have achieved that!" He swung his arms around, gesturing the the fort and then to his men.
"Almost all of my men have survived the Draugr, more have died from the murderous Christians and their Ragnar allies than have fallen to those beasts. Is it not clear who the gods favour most in this fort? They protect my men because they see I am able to defend the people of this fort from the Draugr and have abandoned your inane pleas and cries for help - the gods have abandoned you, seidrmadr! Who else should sacrifice to the gods other than the one they have clearly shown their favour to? Hel will rejoice at the return of those souls who escaped her domain and further shower us with gifts and aid - why should we listen to a madman talk about the gods? You have no power any longer, seidrmadr." Harald grinned, staring Vigi down with his eyes, black as night. He was bordering on dangerous ground with declaring himself as the gods' favourite but who could doubt the evidence so far? He turned, beginning to walk away.
"Come, let us leave the mad woman and her false seidrmadr to their crowing."
"That's right, Julia. Before the Civil War when I, Mr Gomez and Miss Wils- I mean Mrs Gomez and my wife were being hunted that machine was used against us. Research into the Empowered formerly funded by the military had come up with the Interceptor as an extension of the drug they had made; both switch off or at least limit an Empowered's abilities by stopping the release of unique chemicals in our brains. It effectively makes us human."
There was a silence and then the young President sighed.
"If they've brought it back either some scientists from the original project bear a grudge against us or I wasn't as thorough as I thought in destroying any records pertaining to the device. Either way it's a disastrous setback and could result in another civil war, or even a world wide conflict. Good work you two, have some down time for the rest of the day and I'll get back to you with your next assignment."
The communication channel was hung up on the other end leaving the two girls to contemplate Julius' words.
"Well I guess we've got the rest of the day off. Do we rest or make the most of it?" Rhiannon asked cheerily, stretching; her wounds had already healed up and she felt rejuvenated now that the matter was out of their hands. For now, at least.
There was a silence and then the young President sighed.
"If they've brought it back either some scientists from the original project bear a grudge against us or I wasn't as thorough as I thought in destroying any records pertaining to the device. Either way it's a disastrous setback and could result in another civil war, or even a world wide conflict. Good work you two, have some down time for the rest of the day and I'll get back to you with your next assignment."
The communication channel was hung up on the other end leaving the two girls to contemplate Julius' words.
"Well I guess we've got the rest of the day off. Do we rest or make the most of it?" Rhiannon asked cheerily, stretching; her wounds had already healed up and she felt rejuvenated now that the matter was out of their hands. For now, at least.
Pretty bad. Skull fracture and definitely brain trauma. It's not fatal (immediately so, anyway) but he'll be out of it for quite a good time.
"Dying's never pleasant anyway, whether it's final or temporary." Rhiannon agreed. Sirens sounded from the camp but there was no longer the sound of confusion; order had been regained. The two girls set off at a quick pace towards the Observers HQ where those tasked with keeping the rebels and the dangerous within the areas assigned as no-man's land maintained their watch. As they got closer cameras became visible as well as the occasional glint of a sniper rifle's scope or the quickly disappearing shadow of an operative, vanishing out of sight.
"We must be nearly there." As they reached an area where reinforced barricades with purpose-made loopholes carved into the metal structures blockaded the street someone yelled out an order to halt. They were IDed by various scanners, some simply DNA scanners, facial recognition software and metal detectors, while more still checked their brainwaves for Empowered identity.
"You may pass." A small, concealed door opened in the wall allowing the two girls through. Armed men and women were everywhere on the other side, calm and cool despite the fact they had probably seen a dozen attacks off that morning alone already. They were asked to make a quick report, which they did, before being shown to a comm station where they could contact Julius; almost all mobile technology was blocked off by jammers with few exceptions here.
"We'll let Julius know they have Gracia and the strike teams will return it to you, I'm sure." Rhiannon said, sitting down as they were patched through to their former headmaster.
"I hear those Humanity-First thugs have managed to reinvent the Empowerment Interceptor. You better fill me in." Julius began, getting straight to the heart of the matter. Rhiannon nodded to Julia; for the first part of their small adventure she had been playing dead so her contribution would be limited there.
"We must be nearly there." As they reached an area where reinforced barricades with purpose-made loopholes carved into the metal structures blockaded the street someone yelled out an order to halt. They were IDed by various scanners, some simply DNA scanners, facial recognition software and metal detectors, while more still checked their brainwaves for Empowered identity.
"You may pass." A small, concealed door opened in the wall allowing the two girls through. Armed men and women were everywhere on the other side, calm and cool despite the fact they had probably seen a dozen attacks off that morning alone already. They were asked to make a quick report, which they did, before being shown to a comm station where they could contact Julius; almost all mobile technology was blocked off by jammers with few exceptions here.
"We'll let Julius know they have Gracia and the strike teams will return it to you, I'm sure." Rhiannon said, sitting down as they were patched through to their former headmaster.
"I hear those Humanity-First thugs have managed to reinvent the Empowerment Interceptor. You better fill me in." Julius began, getting straight to the heart of the matter. Rhiannon nodded to Julia; for the first part of their small adventure she had been playing dead so her contribution would be limited there.
"A bit too much!" Rhiannon yelled back as Julia led them both out of the military complex. Soldiers were closing in around them, she could sense it. Confusion was overriden by order as officers arrived to take control. Rhiannon pushed herself so that she was running level with Julia and wrapped an arm around the other girl's waist.
"Hold on!" She shouted over the chatter of gunfire, concentrating air underneath her feet before exploding it out behind her like a one blast rocket. The two hurtled three storeys high over the camp and into the streets surrounding it, less occupied by the soldiers. Then they shot down to the ground, bouncing along until eventually rolling to a stop. Out of habit Rhiannon rose slowly grunting although there was no pain and rubbing her back.
"I'll get used to that one day." She got her bearings, using the taller buildings on the skyline to identify where they were before pointing towards a more densely populated area. "The security HQ is that way, we better be off quickly before their search teams come and find us."
"Hold on!" She shouted over the chatter of gunfire, concentrating air underneath her feet before exploding it out behind her like a one blast rocket. The two hurtled three storeys high over the camp and into the streets surrounding it, less occupied by the soldiers. Then they shot down to the ground, bouncing along until eventually rolling to a stop. Out of habit Rhiannon rose slowly grunting although there was no pain and rubbing her back.
"I'll get used to that one day." She got her bearings, using the taller buildings on the skyline to identify where they were before pointing towards a more densely populated area. "The security HQ is that way, we better be off quickly before their search teams come and find us."
Henry road with Elaeria ahead of even the vanguard of their column, both having woken up long before anyone but the servants had begun to stir and well before the Sun's first light touched the still smoking ruins of Unity Town. His arm was no longer in a sling but he rested it on the pommel of his saddle to give it the rest it needed; being well and fit would raise the morale of those few who still had the courage to fight if required but in practice he knew it would be some weeks before he could wield a sword or shield properly with the arm. Inside his head a constant dull ache made itself known, throbbing just behind his forehead.
"There's a river there, we can water the horses and stock up on water." Elaeria drew him out of his reverie, pointing to one of the wide and deep rivers that ran through Elianst's landscape. Henry nodded his head, pointing to a cleft between two hills through which the road they followed ran.
"There's another river just beyond those hills and another every two or three leagues; from here there's no need to stock up on water supplies except perhaps for the horses and a small supply for the wounded. We'll reach the border city just after noon. I imagine we'll shed the wounded and the less willing there; if we press on quickly we could get the Queen back to Eleshir just about when the sun sets. We need to be cautious but there's no sense staying on the road longer than required." Henry grunted as a stab of pain shot up his side but he quashed the pain, shifting in the saddle to take some weight off it. Mercifully, Elaeria pointedly pretended not to notice.
"A good plan. I will make one alteration though." She called over one of her nearby men, Henry noticed that two dozen men, fit and armed, rode with the Princess and all had the toughened, wind burnt skin of a Frithsian; clearly some form of honour guard had accompanied her to the Academy. Briefly Henry wondered whether she had expected trouble and then remembered who Elaeria was: she would always be prepared for trouble whether she was expecting it or not.
"Go back along the column and tell Sir Glen Major he is to take over command and keep the column moving. Have the Queen and her guard join us here with whoever is prepared to move quickly straight towards Eleshir. Is there a more direct route to the capital if we stray from the roads?" Here she turned back to Henry who nodded, pointing again to the river before them.
"There's a less well known path on this side of the bridge that will lead us more or less directly to the capital, I know the roads well enough from the war. If we look armed then bandits are less likely to bother us but I do wonder whether it's not best to wait until we're properly within inner-Elianst." Elaeria shrugged, showing she had thought the same but had stuck with her original plan and nodded to her man.
"Oh, and here. The carriage with medical supplies had something I thought you might need, seeing as I won't be getting rid of you if Louise is with me." She held out a small leather pouch which, when Henry opened it, let out an aroma he was acutely aware of. He sealed the bag and nodded to her, showing his understanding. Such herbs were rare to find but had the ability to mute one's pain and operate their body as per normal while under its effects as long as the taking of the herbs was not prolonged; what made them so rare was the fact they had little to no side or after effects.
"We'll wait by the bridge for anyone to join us. We depart in two hours."
"There's a river there, we can water the horses and stock up on water." Elaeria drew him out of his reverie, pointing to one of the wide and deep rivers that ran through Elianst's landscape. Henry nodded his head, pointing to a cleft between two hills through which the road they followed ran.
"There's another river just beyond those hills and another every two or three leagues; from here there's no need to stock up on water supplies except perhaps for the horses and a small supply for the wounded. We'll reach the border city just after noon. I imagine we'll shed the wounded and the less willing there; if we press on quickly we could get the Queen back to Eleshir just about when the sun sets. We need to be cautious but there's no sense staying on the road longer than required." Henry grunted as a stab of pain shot up his side but he quashed the pain, shifting in the saddle to take some weight off it. Mercifully, Elaeria pointedly pretended not to notice.
"A good plan. I will make one alteration though." She called over one of her nearby men, Henry noticed that two dozen men, fit and armed, rode with the Princess and all had the toughened, wind burnt skin of a Frithsian; clearly some form of honour guard had accompanied her to the Academy. Briefly Henry wondered whether she had expected trouble and then remembered who Elaeria was: she would always be prepared for trouble whether she was expecting it or not.
"Go back along the column and tell Sir Glen Major he is to take over command and keep the column moving. Have the Queen and her guard join us here with whoever is prepared to move quickly straight towards Eleshir. Is there a more direct route to the capital if we stray from the roads?" Here she turned back to Henry who nodded, pointing again to the river before them.
"There's a less well known path on this side of the bridge that will lead us more or less directly to the capital, I know the roads well enough from the war. If we look armed then bandits are less likely to bother us but I do wonder whether it's not best to wait until we're properly within inner-Elianst." Elaeria shrugged, showing she had thought the same but had stuck with her original plan and nodded to her man.
"Oh, and here. The carriage with medical supplies had something I thought you might need, seeing as I won't be getting rid of you if Louise is with me." She held out a small leather pouch which, when Henry opened it, let out an aroma he was acutely aware of. He sealed the bag and nodded to her, showing his understanding. Such herbs were rare to find but had the ability to mute one's pain and operate their body as per normal while under its effects as long as the taking of the herbs was not prolonged; what made them so rare was the fact they had little to no side or after effects.
"We'll wait by the bridge for anyone to join us. We depart in two hours."
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