Day 14
Late Afternoon
Selena

<snip>

Both Galen and Selena felt the second pair of eyes, but by the time they 
felt them they were too involved in their match to stop.  What they didn't 
realize is that the eyes had been there before they were aware of it and 
they now sparkled with interest.  Imani smiled to herself as the two 
continued to spar.

<end snip>

Selena could feel Galen holding back still, and she smiled to herself. She was holding back herself, especially with the stranger so closely observing them. But she was rather impressed with Galen. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to take him in a fair fight... of course, she didn't fight fair.

Selena parried Galen's thrust away and took his momentary surprise to flip backwards and a distance away from Galen. The older soldier advanced quickly, as she hoped. She quickly reached behind her back and withdrew a tiny pair of metal ball attached by a length of thin cord.

Her shoulder muscles rippled as Selena reached back and heaved the bolo at Galen's feet. The ancient weapon rolled around the man's ankles and toppling him to the ground. He landed with a grunt and a thud.
Selena laughed, but covered her mouth and offered her hand to the older, prone man.

"Sorry, that was a dirty trick. But I couldn't think of a better way to get the drop on you." Galen took her hand and struggled to his feet. He gave her a wry expression as he brushed himself off, but then he remembered the stranger watching them.

The robed and hooded woman watched them for a few moments longer. Then she bowed her head and slowly walked away.

"What was that all about?" Selena whispered. She still held Galen's hand firmly clasped in her own. He looked down at their clasped hands then at her. She was older than many of the riders and the weight of many battles showed in her eyes.

She turned back to Galen as the robed woman disappeared and she blushed slightly. "Sorry," She pushed the long braid of hair on the side of her head behind her ear. "I've seen these robed characters about the warren all day, Galen. What's their story?"

"I have to admit, I'm not too sure." Galen rubbed his hand over the top of his head. "What do you say we find out?"

Selena smiled, running her hand across her forehead to wipe off some of the perspiration that had formed. "After you, please."

[Tag Ben]

Day 15 - Evening
Jeneve's room
Silk and Lace

Jeneve had sat down on the floor, the warm fuzziness making her feel more than a little drowsy. She began to play with her long, blond hair, running her fingers through it over and over.

"Geez, Lace. How much of that stuff did you use?" Silk whacked the back of her hand against her lover's rock solid shoulder.

"Too much." Lace said in her usually stoic way.

"No kidding," Silk shifted her cap. "Alright then. Pick her up. We have to be going."

[snip]

Cyrus burst in and time froze.  Jeneve was on the floor.  Antwin was a shadow on the floor.  Two bulky women stood, vague surprise on their faces.  When time started again, Cyrus was moving, for once not frozen, for once thinking quite clearly.

What he thought and what he screamed as he tackled the first woman was, "I am GOOD ENOUGH!"

[end snip]

Silk went crashing through one of Jeneve's chairs and sprawling across the floor. Cyrus' unexpected and adrenalized attack left Silk heaped over the remains of the broken furniture and she began to curse.

Cyrus wobbled a little, simply shocked by his own nerviness.

Lace reached out and grabbed the shaky youth by the front of his shirt. With one hand the stocky woman heaved Cyrus off of his feet and held him at arms length. He struggled to get free of her iron grip, but Lace merely smiled.

"Lucky shot." She said as Cyrus grunted while trying to get free.

"Lucky? He completely blindsided me! I'm so angry." Silk extricated herself from the fragments of furniture.

"Should I kill him?" Lace raised her free hand and drew it back to smash in Cyrus' lean face.

"No, bring him along. Maybe Ka'Laren can use him." Silk said slowly as she helped the warrenlady to her clumsy feet.

Lace merely shrugged. Instead of bashing in Cyrus' face with her fist, she wrapped her hand around the young messenger's throat. With a shake, she brought him in close and wrapped her bulging bicep around his neck, cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. After a moment, Cyrus blacked out.

"Wait!" Jeneve sleepily blurted out. "What's wrong with Cyrus?"

Silk let a slow easy smile creep across her face. "We're going on a journey, Jeneve. Cyrus is just taking a... nap."

"Yeah." Lace heaved Cyrus' unconscious form over shoulder. "Nap."

[Tag Ben or Carina - when they wake up, they'll be tied up and have bags on their heads so they won't be able to see where they are or who else is there]

***

(Slightly later)

[snip]

"These people are serious Dove.  I know you need the help and God knows I need to do something.  Come on Dove, you and me, on the same side.  Maybe I'll get lucky and get killed along the way."

[end snip]

Antwin crammed his hands into the pockets of his black leather coat. The lines between his past and his present were blurred all of a sudden. He was the Bard, Antwin. The singer of songs, the drinker of fine wines and the lover of many women... but most of that life was a lie. Rumours started by none other than the man who was once called the Dove.

Many years ago, Antwin was a pirate. Not just a pirate, the best pirate. He plundered many ships and had grown quite rich. He was ready to settle down with a woman he loved... a woman called Audrianna.

A woman called Silk.

The intense rage of his betrayal welled up inside him and then... it evaporated like a drop of water on a hot rock. He laughed.

"Well, Angel, if we are to use our old names again, then fine. I am the Dove once again, and let the Dragonlands rue the day."  The pirate moved to the doorway.

"Come on, then. We'll see what we can do about getting you killed." The assassin grinned wickedly and stood up. "First, I'll need my sword though."

The two men moved quickly through the quickly moving people and soldiers who filled the tunnels. Antwin threw open the door to his room and reached under the bed. He struggled for a moment and then with a tear, the package he reached for came loose.

He set the silk wrapped package on the bed and quickly loosened the gold rope securing it. His hand parted the silk gingerly and grasped what was beneath. Rather ceremoniously, he drew forth the wide, slightly curved blade of his falchion. Wrapped around the convex blade, about the gleaming jewels set in the hilt, was a gold chain.

He slipped the chain of his cruel sword and fastened it around his neck. Swinging on the chain was the gold silhouette of his namesake, its wings spread wide.

"Ahh, still very much the showman, eh Dove. I always enjoyed hunting you. You were most entertaining." Sabian said from the doorframe where he leaned.

"You know where they are going." It was more of a statement than a question. Sabian nodded in response, his sly grin creeping across his face.

"Then let's go." Antwin said grimly.

[Tag Ben]

Day 15 - Evening 
Over Norwall
K'tarr

Qualis zoomed over the heads of the lead rogue dragonriders, his tail whipping about striking the riders from their mounts. The men screamed as they spiralled to the ground, their dragons diving after them.

The big red laughed his draconic laugh, spitting fire into the wind with mirth.

<Careful brother!> K'tarr chided, as the red spiralled over another would be attacker.

<<Ha ha ha! This is almost fun, K'tarr! Who are these riders?>>

<Most of them seem to be young riders. Just joined.>

A bolt of flame flew over K'tarr's head and would have set him aflame if Qualis had not dipped.

<<And others are blood thirsty rogues, and more importantly they are the Dark Riders!>>

<What!?> K'tarr's eyes nearly shot of his head with amazement.

<<Look there!>> Qualis gestured to the north.

There, in the sky, moving towards them like a black cloud, were Nostragus and K'tarr's mad half brother, Ka'Laren. He could see the madman's evil grin from even this distance. His brother's face looked like an oddly grinning skull. Nostragus began to send a long spear of flame out towards Qualis.

Qualis didn't need to ask, both he and K'tarr desired the same ends. They turned to meet the challenge.

The two massive dragons beat their leathery wings madly against the air, building up speed, driving their riders hard against their saddles.

K'tarr reached down and slowly began to unfasten his restraints.

<<What are you doing?!>> Qualis screamed. K'tarr didn't respond. Instead he leapt off of the big red dragon's back.

The wind whistled past his ears and ripped at his eyes. He blinked away the tears, just in time to see the startled, black lined face of his brother. He collided into Ka'laren, ripping him free of his own harness and sending them both hurtling to the ground.

***

Selena moved the home guard quickly into position. She drew her sword and drew a line in the ground.

"Alright men. No one crosses this line. Or you all owe me twenty laps around the green." The men chuckled uneasily. They might not like her, yet, but they certainly respected her authority and her experience.

She'd get them through this. Alive and mostly whole.

She knew that her dreams of a home could be real, just as she knew she would have to defend her home one day.

She just didn't think it would have been so soon.

The evening sky made visibility low, but the torches they had lit helped some. Selena just hoped that they'd burn long enough. In the distance, she could hear the movement of men in armour.

"Steady, men." She said sternly. "Here they come."

One by one, the ground forces of Ka'Laren's Dark Riders emerged from the darkness and moved on the warren entryway.

***

The Angel led the Dove out of the warren and into the forest. The exit had been quite easy and that burned Antwin a little. Not so much that it was uneventful, but the fact that people like Sabian and Marssell could come and go so easily really got his ire up.

They weren't exactly to sure where the women had gone with their captives after they had left the warren. There had been other riders waiting outside of the secret passage. The prisoners were loaded onto the dragon's and then they took to the sky.

"Now what?" Antwin drew little marks in the fine, loose gravel with his sword. 

"Now we do what we do best. We find information."

"Hmm. The last time I saw Silk was years ago, and it was under much different circumstance." Antwin paused. "What do you know of her accomplice?"

"A particularly nasty piece of work named Lace. Silk and Lace. Quite amusing." Sabian bent down to examine the soil. "I know that she fought in gladiator pits, illegal fights, whatever she could do to improve her skills."

"Great. Can't wait to face her again." Antwin rubbed his jaw.

Sabian smiled. "Good. Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Yeah, and we're on foot."

[Tag Ben]

***

K'Tarr's hair flew out behind him, the rings clicking together madly. He drove his fist down into Ka'Laren's face, mashing his nose with the first blow, splitting his lip with his second. The blood that ran freely from the smaller man's wounds balled up and flew up towards K'tarr.

The crazed madman kicked his brother away and as they fell, he drew his wicked battle knife. It sliced the rushing wind with a squeal. The muscles on his arms building out in tight cords as he struggled to control the blade against the force of the wind.

K'tarr kicked out, his foot catching a stray wind current and sending him spinning out of control. Ka'Laren lunged at the hunter, gashing him along the thigh. K'tarr tried to scream out but the rushing air tore the sound from his lips.

K'tarr recuperated quickly, driving both fists into the other man's chest and belly, sending him flying backwards. Ka'Laren quickly held his arms up, slowing his movements in the wind. He put them before him and flew directly at K'tarr.

Using his brother's instincts against him, K'tarr used the uprising air to lift his feet with intense force, crashing into Ka'laren's jaw and knocking him out cold.

Ka'Laren's inert body plummeted quickly to the ground, and unfortunately so was K'tarr. The blue painted hunter turned around to stare up at the sky.

Qualis was diving with breakneck speed at his rider. The hunter drew his shoulder bag open and quickly drew out a coil of rope.

Nostragus dove behind Qualis, fearful he would not reach his rider in time.

K'tarr tied the rope around the end of one of his white plumed arrows.

Ka'Laren's blood formed little bubbles as he fell to the earth.

In one last effort, K'tarr notched his arrow and fired. The shaft flew threw the air, zipping just by Qualis shoulder.

<<You almost hit me, you idiot!>> Qualis shouted.

<GRAB... THE... ROPE!> K'Tarr mentally screamed as he frantically tied the rope about his waist.

Qualis took the rope in his talons and pulled up, snapping his riders descent to a halt and nearly snapping K'tarr in two. Gasping, K'tarr pulled himself up the rope and slid back into his saddle.

<<Don't ever do that again!>> Qualis reprimanded as he gained altitude.

Below, Nostragus struggled to catch Ka'Laren before he impacted. The black reached out one clawed talon and snagged the madman's boot. With a link of light and smoke, Nostragus disappeared.


Submitted by

WiL

for

Antwin
K'tarr
Ka'Laren
Selena


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