ravenDivinity

When the Flames Die

"I hope so." Gareth began wandering down the halls of the castle, trying to find some open office. He shivered while he thought about Jezin's helmet being his remains and the empty palace lacking any presence. Harker could barely keep his eyes open and moved lethargically through the building, for he could think about none other than sleep. If he could just rest, he could clear his mind for a new day and get the terrifying images out of his head, at least for a while. Because of all that happened time seemed to pass slowly for Gareth, feeling like a few minutes were many hours and whole days were entire months. The agonizingly sluggish pace of things killed him on the inside and allowed all of the anguish to fester. This night in particular exuded an aura of eternal torment.

When the Flames Die

Gareth sighed. "I suppose we find some authority." Most of the guard, however, had mobilized to other parts of the city to perform various tasks, and the Order seemed their last option. The regent was in the dungeon, the palace guard was gone, and the Order was still in the castle. Harker exited the room, and he peeked his head about the corridor, left and right to gamble on which path to take around the palace to find someone who could lend them a room, even though it didn't particularly matter. Moonlight and torches and candles lit the area dim, and the half-elf admitted to himself that things felt a little eerie.

When the Flames Die

Gareth knelt by Sophia, and he put an arm around her. "Please, my lady." He exchanged a worn glance with Eva. "Sophia, we must find other lodgings." He turned an eye to the bloody display, and Sophia and Eva were obviously and unfortunately correct about the deaths of the other servants. No bodies, only blood, as with Jezin, probably. He cursed fate for what was happening, for bringing all of these people to their ends. "Please, dear gods, raise our dead to the heavens." Harker blessed the people who passed with his wishes for their wellness in the afterlife, there on his knees, before he brought himself to stand. They had to move on and find somewhere else to sleep; the group couldn't sleep with the stench of death in the air. It seemed though that nowhere was safe.

When the Flames Die

Gareth looked up at Sophia. "I'm ready." Rising from his seat, he vowed to Sir Tyler with a bow of respect. "I will see through to her safety." Harker really wanted to sleep in his own bed, but he supposed that since Sir Tyler was taking off for the night he'd keep watch and stay in Sophia's quarters. He highly doubted he'd want to stay in his room anyway; it looked really ugly by then with the blood on the door and the floor and the broken glass everywhere, and it was probably going to be the subject of some cleanup. However, the chance of actual rest was slim in comparison to the looming desire to stay awake with eyes wide open detailing the room.

When the Flames Die

"Ahm, well, life is valuable, Sir Tyler. The Gods demand that innocent lives are protected." Gareth professed. He was loyal to faith, friendship, and family, and he saw it right to put others before himself. Still, he felt Eva deserved some sort of credit for helping, alas he digressed because it would jeopardize her secrets. How much time did they have until that thing returned? No, they had to protect Sophia to the very end. She needed maximum protection at all times now, now that she was being stalked after by a vicious monster. It had to die somehow, though, for it couldn't live forever.

When the Flames Die

Gareth heard a door come ajar posthaste, and he darted his gaze to the door reflexively. He looked gaunt at the description that Tyler divulged to them, but he recollected that, indeed, what Sir Tyler described was exactly what they encountered. It was not human, it killed everything in its way. But it was different: what they saw had some sort of tactic. It was not incompetent like a beast. Harker, upon thinking about the creature they saw more, decided with equal resolve as Sophia, that they would see through to its death. He would not let any deaths come their way, no one in their group was to die, for their assailants they sooner sought to kill than to become prey for. He locked his eyes on Sophia. "We will eliminate that wretched thing." With their voices twisted with such bloodthirsty resolution, they themselves seemed like murderous beasts, but the half-elf knew they were justified in ending the life of something that ended generations of lives.

When the Flames Die

Gareth sat himself in a chair next to Sophia, and he reclined on it, the muscles in his back and in his leg aching from all of the swift maneuvering they did while trying to escape. He found them acting more like outlaws than anything else, and suddenly he didn't feel so safe being a squire. The deformed appearance of the man who assaulted them haunted Gareth, and it wasn't easily shaken from memory taking in account how much fear it struck in those who saw it. He was almost certain Sophia couldn't forget that whatever it was from her head either. When she snuck a glance at him, his trained eyes caught it and blinked slowly at her to acknowledge what little her eyes could tell him. Understandably he'd be caught up in whatever power struggle was going on at that point in time, but being a neutral party, being a boy who didn't cared about having any of the power in the world, he couldn't put himself on a side. Harker hated what happened to him that pushed him into his current position, yet he couldn't undo what had already been done. Then it was just a matter of trying to live while prioritizing the safety of others and going along with the flow of things.

When the Flames Die

Gareth frowned. "Why arrest Mister Canti? He holds no ill will for the king." He doubted they had any good reason to take Wallace into custody other than some made-up excuse by Thomas, who was anything but completely logical. Harker then wondered where on earth the king could've gone during all the chaos. Who'd be in charge in Canti's absence? And for that matter, Gareth thought about the whereabouts of the Order beyond arresting the regent. The half-elf had a headache thinking about all of the details at such a late hour, no matter how critical they were. Even if he wanted to go back to his quarters, it wouldn't be safe for him with the window cracked open as it was, and he'd have to share a room with someone until they repaired it. They wouldn't let him retire to his quarters when the castle was short on guards.

When the Flames Die

Gareth stood behind the women as they recollected the recent string of events to the guard. "I'm a squire for the Order of the Thistle, and we were ambushed in my quarters." He frowned. "We ran as fast as we could." His voice was morose and low, and he looked at the ground with his last sentence. The hall was still and silent, and it was untidy as ever, this being immediately apparent as Harker entered behind Eva and Sophia. Quietly he gave the princess a gentle pat and a rub on the back to reassure her that she would be alright, even though he himself was uncertain of that.

When the Flames Die

"Yes, let's go inside." Gareth followed the two, and he returned its bow to its original position on his back. With his hand, he wiped some blood and sweat off his face, and he sighed deeply. Desperately he hoped things would've calmed a little bit more by then, after much of the chaos seemed gone, or at least, tucked under the rug. Harker fixed his clothes again, as if their cleanliness could distract from his distraught face, covered in a few thin scratches made by glass and a thin, now-drying layer of sweat. The third hand in all of the troubles had made its move, and it didn't appear as much would happen going into the rest of the night, beyond the typical feud between the palace guard, the regency, and the Order knights.