Thinslayer

The End of the World on an X

The wood of the staircase scraped at her elbows. The fire in the roof rained down ashes on her face. Yet she crawled on. All she had to look forward to was the next seam in the floor. If she could just get to the next seam, she'd be okay. She could get out of this hell-hole. The next seam would arrive, and then there would be another seam to reach.

Rose almost prayed for a swift death.

Then, a voice rang out over the roaring fire: "Hello? Anyone here? Come upstairs! There's a safe way out!"

Rose opened her mouth to respond, and a hoarse breath came out, followed by a string of coughs. There was no way he heard that. Please, don't leave me behind! Just stay a little bit longer. I'll get there.

Solomon might have heard the coughing.

The End of the World on an X

"Stay alive. I have questions for you," Solomon said.
The woman nodded. "Understood. I wish you all the best." She took off at a sprint for the fleeing Fellmorans.

Shortly after Princess Amalthea hit the ground, Solomon came running up to her. "AMALTHEA!" He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. The princess wrapped her arms around him. All his blood, sweat, and grime smelled like perfume to her - it was a sign he'd fought for her and lived to tell the tale. She gripped the cloth on his back and wept into his shirt.

Solomon put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her face. "Is anyone else inside?" he asked. Amalthea stared back at him. Should I tell him?
No. She deserves to die. Besides, if he rescues her, she might fall in love with him.

"No, there- there's no one else," she stammered. She scratched the back of her neck. "No one alive, I mean."

The End of the World on an X

The woman picked up the staff and handed it to Solomon. For a moment, though, she did not let go of it. "I have chosen you to bear the Mark," she said, her voice strong and clear. "Make it count. I am going after the Fellmorans. The princess is still trapped in the inn. What will you do?"

She let go of the staff.
__________

Amalthea awoke to a roaring heat. She picked herself up off the floor and covered her mouth as she looked around. Tables, chairs, and dining implements lay strewn about the room, or what was left of it. Flames licked the wooden mugs and plates, and the roof glowed bright orange. The wooden floor lined up great walls of flame. And the doorway was blocked by a fallen, burning timber.

The princess dropped to her knees.

This is it. This is the end. It's all my fault. If I'd just had the courage to help, we'd be alive and happy. She clutched at her chest and grimaced as tears trailed down her cheeks and evaporated in the simmering heat.

"The window," someone rasped. The princess whipped around to see her killer, the red-headed girl, prostrate on the floor with a large splinter through her leg.
"The window?" Amalthea repeated.
"Yes, are you daft? The one-" The girl coughed. "-the one I came in through. Your room. Escape there."

The princess stared at her slack-jawed for a moment. "Okay. Sure." She ran upstairs, burst into her room, and sobbed at the sight of her window untouched by fire. "Thank the gods!" She climbed out, hung on the ledge, and dropped out.

Rose sat up and glanced around. None of her men were present. That meant the army must have rescued them before setting fire to the inn.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and crawled for the stairs herself.

The End of the World on an X

I should probably explain that scene a little.

In this universe, resurrection is no easy task. It takes about 7-8 seconds for a person's spirit to fully separate once bodily integrity is lost. If the spirit fully separates, their soul disperses, and the death is permanent. So if a healer can restore bodily integrity and drag your spirit back into your body within 7-8 seconds, you can be resurrected. Thus, it was super-imporant to have him resurrected in a timely manner.

I also had to give Solomon the Mark of the Hero. The Mark prevents memory loss and muscle atrophy, allowing for all improvements to be permanent. It's also a universal symbol that he has been chosen to save humanity from evil, so everyone from kings to commoners will recognize it.

Since I happen to have a character able to offer all of the above, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use her.

Also, yes, Commander Rose Fairmont is a healer too, albeit a rogue.

The End of the World on an X

Rose Fairmont ripped out the dagger.

"It is done."

She turned around to find Price coming down the stairs lugging the princess over his shoulder. Her expression darkened. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
Price smirked. "Habeus corpus, y'know? Gotta have a body to show her ladyship, or she won't believe us."
"That wasn't the plan. I need the bodies to stay put if I'm to resurrect them later."
"Actually, it was the plan." He dropped open a signed order. "I'm to bring the princess's body to her ladyship for-"

Rose put up her hand. "Wait. I hear something."
Thin, labored breaths.
Her jaw dropped.

The princess was still alive.

Rose dropped the dagger and seized the princess out of Price's arms. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..." she repeated as she ripped open the dress and planted her palms on the girl's belly. The other rangers stepped back, shock lining all their faces.
"What the-?"
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Commander!"
"Are you ill?"

Rose gritted her teeth. "Shut up." The white light of magic formed in her hands as healing energies poured into the poor princess's body.

Suddenly, an explosion shattered the inn doors. The rangers readied their weapons. A woman in the signature gray cloak and hood of the Healers stood in the entryway. The men barely had time to react as powerful kicks sent them flying across the room. The last thing Rose saw was a trail of silver hair before a punch knocked her unconscious.

The gray-clad woman picked Solomon up and raced out of the inn. She'd barely taken cover behind a stone wall when Fellmoran cavalry rode in. The woman folded her hands and shut her eyes.

"Come back to us, Solomon Trent."
__________

Solomon sneezed.

And awoke to find the whole town on fire.

"You're awake," said a voice beside him.

His right hand burned with a fresh tattoo of a diamond star.

The End of the World on an X

Fairmont leaped from the railing and plunged the dagger into Solomon's back. She pulled out the blade, flipped him on his back, and put her hand on his throat, dagger raised for the final plunge.

Then she looked into his eyes.

A tossing sea of dazed determination stared back at her.

Solomon would see eyes of purest emerald, bright windows into a soul not yet fully corrupted by the murders they committed. Her red hair draped around his face as she leaned closer to him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "When I have the power to raise you up, I'll come back for you, I promise." Then she pushed the dagger into his heart and twisted it.

"Forgive me."

The End of the World on an X

The ale mug struck the ranger squarely in the face. He yelped and collapsed on a barstool. Another ranger stood a little ways off, one foot back, his hand on the hilt of his blade. He lunged forward and sliced from the sheath.

Hearing the screams, the Princess cowered in the bed, clutching Solomon's staff. He doesn't have a weapon! He'll be killed! Should I go down there and give it to him? No, it's too unsafe. If they see me, they'll kill me. But they'll be sure to kill us both if Solomon doesn't have his weapon! I'm going down there. And where is that draft coming from? She clawed at the hairs getting in her eye and turned to locate the source of the draft.

There in the window knelt a black-robed girl with vibrant red hair. Amalthea didn't even have time to shriek as the ranger forced a damp cloth over her mouth and shoved a dagger in her heart. "My apologies, your highness," the ranger muttered as she gently let the princess to the floor. "Your boyfriend's next. You should have helped him when you had the chance - you could have turned the tide."

Fairmont raced through the hall and down the stairs to find her men struggling for dominance against a wounded courier. She flipped the dagger in her hand and sighed. Here lies yet another future I must destroy with my own hand. Lady Grey, this had better be worth it. With that, she perched on the railing and aimed her leap.

The End of the World on an X

Oh! Speaking of micromanagement, I'm thinking you and I should establish a god-moding rule for efficiency's sake: Any unnamed or otherwise non-notable NPC is up for grabs and may be freely god-moded unless otherwise noted. Named characters may not be god-moded for any reason (except, of course, when otherwise noted). The rule will apply to us both.

Will this work? Combat will play a substantial role in this RP (if I have my way), and I think this should help streamline it.

The End of the World on an X

Btw, got a couple of plot points I need to go over with you. I need to set up a vitally important motivation for later, and to do so, I need Solomon to take some hits and to eventually succumb to the attacking rangers. Shortly after, he'll be killed (or close to it), albeit temporarily. Is that okay?

Also, since their attacks aren't particularly powerful or complicated, I think it would be efficient for you to handle the combat with them. As long as they aren't killed and don't come off too incompetent, I see no need to micromanage the three attackers.

The End of the World on an X

Price raised his sword just in time. Fat lot of good it did him, though, when a chair-sized club came barreling at him. It connected with his left arm and batted the man over the counter. Three other rangers descended upon Solomon; one yelled out a battlecry and launched an overhead cut with a claymore.

The short ranger was nowhere to be seen.