Mongrel

[Inactive Account]

Please keep comments on this story in the feedback thread.

If you want a character to appear in this story, it's not too late- see the recruitment thread in FFtF.

Enjoy!

Prologue

The room was dank and musty; the darkness and the stale air stifled the few miserable occupants. Straw scattered across the stone floor rattled whenever somebody shuffled around, but nobody moved much. From time to time one of the children wailed, but there was little comfort anyone could give them. The footsteps of their captors on the floor above was the only reassurance they had that there was anything outside that place at all.

None of them knew how long they had been there. There was no reference, no sunrise or sunset, no clock chimes. Every so often a slat in the ceiling would open and some stale food would be tossed down, but there did not seem to be any regular interval to such an occurence.

Then the trapdoor in the ceiling opened again. One prisoner made a bid for freedom, but the dim light streaming from above blinded his eyes that had become accustomed to darkness. He missed the opening, wings cracking painfully against the ceiling, and fell to the floor. The others just watched. They knew that the door's opening meant that there would be more prisoners soon.

Sure enough, two limp figures were thrown through the opening, landing on a pile of straw as the door slammed above them. One of the children began to cry, but was shushed by one of the prisoners, a girl who had taken to looking after the two youngest prisoners.

"Are these two even alive?" asked the man who had tried to escape.

Pricking his ears toward the new arrivals, another man answered the question. "Ssh... yeah, I can hear them breathing," he told the room at large. "They certainly don't look dead."

"Where are they?" asked a woman.

"Over here," the second man told her. Of the group, he was the only one with eyes that could even prick at the darkness of the place. "They're just kids, it looks like...beorc too. Wait no, this kid's got a Brand. I don't know if the girl's Branded or not."

"Are they injured?" asked the girl holding the children.

"They don't appear to be. Wait... the boy's waking up."

The new boy sat up, clapping a hand to his forehead. "Dad? Mom?"

"Unghh..." The girl was also stirring. She rolled over and folded neatly into a defensive crouch. Her eyes appeared as dim points of light. "Where am I? Who are you people?" she demanded. She looked around. "Sub-humans!" she hissed.

"Please don't insult us," said the cat laguz man as everyone else muttered angrily. "We're all stuck here, so we may as well get along."

"Where are we? Who are you? I can't see you!" said the new boy, panicking.

"Calm down," the woman told them. "We're in a prison somewhere. None of us knows exactly where, nor why. I can't tell you that everything will be all right, but nothing's going to happen immediately, so you don't need to panic."

The girl holding the children was first to offer a name. "I'm Amy," she told the newcomers. "These are Lilia and Lukas. What are your names?"

"Chase," stammered the boy.

"I'm Emily," the new girl muttered. "And you three?"

"Alma," the woman replied.

"Ranulf."

"Janaff."

"Right then," said Emily, "So what do we do now?"

Edited January 3, 2009 by Kiryn

[Mufasa]

l

“Hah!” Said the snarky cat laguz. “Sit here and wait. What do you expect us to do?”

Emily scowls at the laguz and mutters under her breath. “Sub-human scum..” She turns and walks into a corner, accidentally hitting the wall as she goes, causing Janaff to snicker. No one else says anything, not wanting to fuel her anger any further.

Chase breaks the silence. “How long have you guys been here?”

“Ranulf and I have been here the longest.” Amy said, still cuddling the two children in her arms. “We don’t really remember how long we’ve been here, but for a week or two at the very least.”

“We were captured in broad daylight as well.” Ranulf added. “So these guys probably aren’t too scared of being found.”

“So...there’s no help coming?” Chase slid down the wall, losing what little hope he had.

“Psht. I wouldn’t worry about that. For one, you’re looking at the right hand man to King Tibarn of Pheonicis right here. Not to mention Gallia’s King Skrimir’s aide Ranulf, and the sister of King Kurthnaga, Almehda.” Janaff providing their new cell-mates accurate descriptions of the people in the room.

“Not to mention the children of the former King Naesala of Kilvas.” Amy added. “Actually, I’m starting to feel a little inadequate.”

Chase stared wide eyed at the group in front of them. “You aren’t alone Amy....” Shocked by the fact that he’s in the presence of such high standing people, he regains some hope of rescue. “Any clue why we were kidnaped?”

“Well,” Ranulf explained. “We thought that because of our unique standing in positions of power for our respective countries, these people want some kind of compensation for our lives. And I assumed that Amy just happened to be with me at the wrong time.”

“I see...” Chase responded.

“Of course that theory went out the window when you two came down that hole.” Ranulf pointed at Chase and Emily respectively. “Unless you guys are hiding something.”

Chase stammered “Er, Um, I’m not sir! I don’t know about her though...”

“Considering her attitude, I doubt she has anything to do with any sub-human races.” The hawk gave her a spiteful look.

“Pah.” It was all she said to them.

Ranulf got up, his eyes adjusted to the dark lighting, he was able to walk over to Emily without making the same blunder she did. He sat down next to her, causing her to shirk away. This only caused him to move closer.

“What do you want?” She snarled.

“Listen, the others aren’t as sharp as me, but I can tell.” His voice low, he tried to comfort the girl.

“Tell what?”

“It’s okay. No one here is gonna hate you for being branded.”

Emily was shocked at his perception, but she tried to bluff. “What do you know about me?”

“Deny it all you want. But at the very least, you gotta accept that we’re all in this together, so we may as well get along.” He gets up and walks over to his original place.

“...That-” She’s interrupted by the door above them opening again.

“Hey!” Janaff attempts to fly out of the hole, but only manages to catch the new member of their group as the door closes. “Dammit!” He flies down and lays the girl on the ground.

Ranulf walks over to Janaff and the new girl. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah.” The girl sits up.

“What’s your name?”

“Fox.”

Edited January 7, 2009 by Lyle Dayek

[Inactive Account]

II

"Where are we?" Fox asked the group. "Wait, no. None of you know, do you. Anyone have any idea why we're here?"

"Well, we thought it was a ransom attempt at first," Janaff said, reiterating what Ranulf had told Chase and Emily. "But it seems like that theory's out- Ranulf, Almedha, the kids, and I might draw a ransom, but not Amy or the new kids. Would you? Are you from a rich family or something?"

"Hardly," Fox replied. "I think they might be some remnant of Daein's or something- did you notice how none of us are beorc? I can't see any of you, but I sense four laguz in here, three Brandeds besides me, and one something-or-other that's completely different. "

"What are you talking about?" Chase interrupted. "I'm a beorc."

"It's okay, kid, I know you're Branded," Fox told him. "So how's this place work?"

Almedha spoke up wearily. "They throw us food every so often," she said, "and it's definitely been at least a week for all of us except you and the other two they threw in before you. They've never mentioned what they plan on doing with us."

"And there's no chance of escape, huh?" Emily cut in, "Or have you just not tried?"

"There are precisely two people in here, out of nine, that have any means of fighting," Ranulf informed her, "and it's hard for Janaff and I to transform when we've been getting so little food. It would be a waste for us to try. We'd probably get killed."

"Actually, I count three," Fox observed. "The guys who chucked me in here were not so bright. They took the sword in my hand, but not the one attached to my belt. I've also got a fire tome and a healstaff. All we need now is a plan."

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to pull one out of your hat now?" Emily muttered. She was already taking a dislike to Fox, though she didn't know why.

"No, but we might sit down and try to come up with one," Fox told her. "After all, from all accounts it seems like we've got all the time in the world..."

[Mufasa]

lll

"Well, let's figure out what we have to work with." Ranulf shifted into a cross-legged sitting position, his tail whipping back and forth as he spoke. "We have our new friend's tome, Janaff and my strength, and it looks like you can do some fighting in a pinch Mr. Chase."

"Uh. Y-yeah. I'm an archer." Chase replied.

"Think you can use a sword or spear if nothing else is available?" Inquired Janaff. "After we steal some off the guards, I mean."

"M-maybe..." Chase looked dubious. "I'll try."

"I can use a spear."

"Finally managed to contribute something other than hate to the conversation eh Miss Emily?" Ranulf folded his arms. "Maybe you're more keen on us sub-humans than you let on."

"Hardly. You're needed if I'm to get out of here, and that's it. If we ever meet again after this, you're fresh game."

Ranulf placed a hand on Janaff's shoulder to keep him from hurting Emily. "It's not like I won't fight back either."

"Can we please get back to making a plan? None of this matters if we don't actually make it outside." Irritated by the conversation between the two, Fox tried to change the subject.

"Indeed. In total, there's 5 of us who can fight. Amy, Almehda and the kids will have to stay back. If we get our hands on a bow, and conditions work out well for us, we should have Fox and Chase in the back, covering me and Emily in the front, while Janaff runs interference for both."

"There might be other cells around too. So we might be able to get more people to help us." Janaff added.

"This is all fine and dandy, but how exactly do we get out?" Ever the pessimist, Emily still had a valid point.

"There are two entrances here." Janaff explained, scowling at Emily. "The one where we all came in from, and then another where they drop our food."

"They give us food here?" Fox began. "That means they must want us alive for something."

"They give us food, but it's barely enough to keep us alive. Still, it's the door that is most appealing. Well, hole in the ceiling, whatever." Ranulf scratched his ears as he talked. "We could probably fit through if they weren't guarding it. There's a ladder in the corner."

"Yeah, it's not exactly the best way to escape if you're unarmed." Janaff added. "But with that Fire tome, we can flood that little corridor with flames as the guy comes in with the food."

"And the other door will be opened by the other guards, so they can see what went wrong." Fox jumped in. "Which I'll be more than happy to give them a demonstration."

"After that, we'll have to play it by ear, and pillage their bodies for weapons." Ranulf's tail finally stopped whipping around.

"So when will they come in with food?" Emily crossed her arms, ashamed of herself for having a conversation with such vile creatures.

"It's been a while now. Should be soon." Almehda finally said something. Causing Ranulf and Janaff to raise an eyebrow.

"Indeed." Said the cat. "All we have to do now is wait."

The group sat in silence for sometime, occasionally one of the children would ask something, followed by reassurances by Amy and Ranulf. Chase sat next to Emily. This didn't please her, but considering her alternatives, he was probably the least troublesome.

"You alright?" He inquired

"What? You think I need your help?" Emily sneered. "Just make sure not to screw anything up when we get out of here."

"You don't have to be so harsh. We should try to get along."

"Oh shove it. This isn't some sort of group therapy thing. We're in a prison cell. And I'll thank you not to say anything more."

He complied with her wishes and kept his mouth shut. He had hoped to get her to get along with the rest of the group, but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

Off in the distance, they heard footsteps approaching the trapdoor.

Ranulf perked his ears. "Fox. You better get ready."

Fox nodded. The footsteps got closer. Fox opened her tome and started to chant. The trapdoor opened.

[Inactive Account]

Everyone waited, tense, for the next move. The only sounds were Fox's murmuring and the hum of the magic beginning to fill the air. Suddenly something fell through the trapdoor, landing almost silently. The shadow resolved itself into a human form.

"Hold your fire," the newcomer hissed. Fox started in recognition and stopped her spell. The shadowy figure stepped aside and another fell through the trapdoor, landing with a quiet "oof." The trapdoor closed after him, completing the darkness again.

"Could you please try to be quieter, Lyle," the first shadow muttered. "Fox? Is that you over there?"

"Yeah," Fox replied. "What are you doing here, Fireman?"

"We're rescuing you," Lyle interrupted, as though it ought to be obvious. "Where are you, anyway?" He moved in the direction of Fox's voice, bumping Emily in the process.

"Hey, watch it!" Emily snapped.

"How many people are here?" Fireman asked before Lyle could reply.

Ranulf spoke up. "Nine, not counting you two. Who are you two? You're the first beorc we've seen here, actually."

"They're my friends," Fox explained. "We were on our way to a mission, walking through the woods, when we were attacked. But where's Kiryn, guys? Did they capture her too?"

"Tell you later," Lyle replied, with some significance that only Fox understood.

"Well, this significantly changes our escape plan," Ranulf commented. "Now that you've joined us, maybe you'll enlighten us as to where we are?"

"The building's in the middle of a forest on the border of Begnion and Daein," Fireman explained. "It appears abandoned from the outside, but the inside is full of guards. There's an armory, some living spaces for the guards, and this is the third dungeon we've found. The other two were empty. We haven't been through the other wing of the building, but from the looks of it, that's more of a command area. None of the guards recognized us, but they let us move around freely for some reason. The only ones who challenged us were guarding the trapdoors to the dungeons. We... dealt with them."

"Doesn't seem very smart that you just jumped in with us," Emily remarked. "Now you're stuck here too. So useful."

"How do you think we got out of the other two dungeons?" Lyle replied. "We can get everyone out of here now."

"What was your original plan, after you got out of the dungeon?" Fireman asked.

"We were going to fight through until we found the nearest escape route," Ranulf explained. "It was going to be me, Janaff, and Fox doing most of the fighting. Chase and Emily were going to join in as soon as we found weapons for them. Meanwhile, Almedha and Amy and the kids were going to wait for us to clear the path."

"We can still stick with that plan," Fox mused. "But now Fireman can arm Chase and Emily quickly, and we'll be able to spare someone to make sure everyone else can get out safe. Then we might even be able to fight our way to the command area- see what's going on here."

"Sounds good."

"Okay."

"When do we start?"

"We can go now," said Fireman's voice, but it was not in coming from in front of Fox any more. From the ceiling, Fireman asked, "Ready?"

[Mufasa]

“What the-” Chase started “How did he get up there?!”

“He tends to do that,” Replied Lyle. “Now come on, let’s get out of here.”

The group moved forward, Lyle at the head, flanked by Ranulf and Fox. Behind them, Emily and Chase followed, then Almehda and Amy, each carrying one of the Kilvan children, leaving Janaff at the rear to protect from attacks. Fireman was already out of sight. The group walked out of the prison area and found themselves in a hallway. The hallway had much better lighting than the cell, and those who had been in the cell for a prolonged period of time had some difficulty adjusting. Janaff seemed to have the most trouble, his blessing temporarily becoming his curse.

“Alright,” Began Lyle in a whisper. “Me and Fireman already checked down that way-”

“Fireman and I,” Fox corrected, receiving a scowl from Lyle.

“The two of us already checked down that way. So we’re gonna head this way. Fox, you go to the back of the group.”

“Are you really that mad at me for correcting your grammar?” She glared at him.

Lyle returned her glare. “No, I just think that if we get attacked from behind, Janaff will need more help. And you’re able to cover a wider area than I would.”

“Well, if I’m in front, I can cover a wider area there, why don’t you get to the back?”

“Because me and-” He corrected himself. “Fireman and I know the way out of here.”

“Will you two stop your squabbling already!? I’d like to get out of here today!” Fed up with their argument, Emily burst out with what some of the others were thinking.

Fox and Lyle felt somewhat ashamed of themselves, as Fox moved to the back, and Lyle continued to guide them. Ranulf snickered to himself at some internal joke. The rest of the trip was silent.

Emily opened her mouth again. “Why are we even going this way? If we know the way out, why don’t we just get out?”

“Because there may be others in a similar situation. I don’t exactly want to come back in here,” Lyle responded in a irritated tone. He was picking up the same feeling the others had toward her. “Here.” He found the handle to another door and opened it, leading to another door, similar to the format of the cell the others had been in. He opened the second door and without warning, a cat laguz jumped on him. Lyle unsheathed one of his swords, using his free arm to knock the Feral one to the ground, and pierced the cat’s heart.

“You okay?” Chase asked, concerned that their apparently most able fighter had been injured.

“Yeah. It only scratched me.”

“These bastards.” Ranulf’s face full of disgust. “Are they trying to do what that bastard Izuka did?”

“I don’t think so. It’s the first Feral one we’ve come in contact here. It might just be some left over. We can’t be sure though.” Lyle tried to calm Ranulf. “In any case, let’s just get our asses out of here.” He glanced at Almehda and Amy, still holding the children. “Oh. Sorry.”

They continued their walk. Emily complained again, this time about Fireman taking too long, and how he was likely to just abandon them. She was silenced by Fox, who used several choice words to keep Emily silent for good. Ranulf made a comment to Lyle about how fearsome Fox was, to which Lyle merely responded with a grunt.

“Hold up.” Lyle placed a hand in front of the group, and all stopped behind him.

“What’s wrong?” Chase inquired.

“Someone’s coming.”

“That Fireman guy?” Emily spoke again, her voice quiet from the lecture she received from Fox.

"Three sets of heavy boots," Ranulf muttered. "It's not him."

Two soldiers appeared at the end of the hallway. “Hey! You!” One of them shouted, as they started running toward the group. A third soldier appeared from around the corner.

“Damn.” Ranulf cracked his knuckles. "I'm not even ready to transform."

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Lyle reassured Ranulf. He ran toward the soldiers. As the first one swung his spear at Lyle, Lyle parried the blow, and slashed the soldier’s chest. Lyle turned his attention to the next soldier even as the first fell to the ground. Lyle slashed the neck of the second one, a silent scream on his face. The third soldier attempted to hit Lyle from behind, but Fox, moving to the front of the group, blasted him with magic before he even got close.

“Ahhh!” The third soldier managed to yell before he died.

Lyle took his blade out of the soldier, and let the limp body fall. He bent over and picked up two of the spears from the fallen soldiers. “Heads up!” He tossed the two spears to Chase and Emily. Emily tested the weight of the weapon and made a sour face, and Chase shot Lyle a dubious look.

“Better than nothing. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it. Now come on.” Lyle led the group to the end of the hallway, approaching the corner where the soldiers came from. He held up his hand again, halting the group. He spun around the corner and held a blade to the neck of the person waiting there. The tip of a Baselard immediately pointed at Lyle’s own neck. “Oh. Hey, Fireman.”

“Yo.” Fireman lowered his knife from Lyle’s neck, and Lyle took his sword away from Fireman’s.

“Any luck?”

“Yep. I got some stuff for ya.”

[Inactive Account]

Without further preamble Fireman tossed a bow to Chase and a steel lance to Emily. Each ex-prisoner was given a vulnerary and some traveler's bread, chosen to restore energy as quickly as possible. Finally, Fireman produced a few pieces of candy with a flourish, presenting them to the wide-eyed laguz children. He held up a ring of keys.

"Now, who's staying and fighting, and who's getting the hell outta here?"

"I'm no use in a fight," Almedha said, "so I'm leaving."

"I'm getting the kids out of here," Amy stated. "Then I'll come back and help. I can use staves, you know."

"All right," Fireman said. "Come on. I know the way out. Be very quiet. I'll be back in a few minutes, guys."

He vanished around the corner, Almedha and Amy running after, each carrying a child.

"All right, let's go," Fox declared.

The group set off down the hall, weapons readied for the inevitable next ambush.

---

As Fireman led Amy and Almedha through the building, it seemed like he was rarely ever in front of them. He was always circling, keeping alert for any possible attack. Several times he halted them, motioning for silence, and slipped around a corner and back again. When they continued, there was always a pair of feet or a hand poking harmlessly out of the shadows. Nobody asked about them.

"Get as far away as you can, now," Fireman advised as he led the pair out an unguarded door. They were obviously startled by the verdant foliage; the base just didn't seem like the sort of place to be in the middle of a flourishing forest. As Fireman turned to re-enter the building he heard footsteps behind him. "Go, get out of here," he instructed the follower.

"I'm coming back, I told you. You guys are gonna need a healer," Amy insisted.

"Fox is our healer."

"She'll be fighting."

"Fine, just... be very quiet."

The two snuck back into the building, retracing their path to follow the rest of their group.

---

"Hang on, guys, I hear something," Ranulf whispered to the group. All looked wary; Chase looked unashamedly terrified. "Guards. A whole bunch of 'em. And... something else, which I can't identify. Get ready to fight."

Sure enough, a large group of guards came around the corner the group had been about to turn. Seeing the escaped prisoners, the guards shouted an alarm and attacked.

Ranulf and Janaff transformed, becoming whirling blurs that ricocheted between guards. Lyle's blades felled several, and Emily's lance took down a few. Chase and Fox made themselves useful, burning and feathering the rest of the guards. As the escaped captives stopped to catch their breath, though, a larger group of guards replaced the ones who had sounded the alarm. The group fell to fighting again, but it quickly became apparent that they were going to lose.

Then the window shattered, and two shapes flew threw, one black and cawing furiously, one white, shrilling a furious yet beautiful song.

The black blur shredded through half the screaming guards. It paused in midair, shrinking and resolving into a winged human form, and its caws changed to an enraged shout:

"WHERE THE HELL ARE OUR KIDS???"

[Mufasa]

“What the hell?!” Emily, who had been closest to the window, jumped back in order to avoid the raining glass that fell from the broken window. She didn’t receive an answer as an indiscernible black figure tore through the opposing soldiers. The Heron Princess Leanne landed with grace, next to Emily, as she continued her chants.

Chase gaped. “Er...thanks?” he managed after a moment. After all the guards were dispatched, the raven king dropped to the ground. He walked over to Ranulf and grabbed him by his throat.

“Where are our children, cat?” Naesala scowled.

“Ack. I’m not sure right now- ACK!” Naesala tightened his grip on Ranulf. Leanne said something in the ancient language, which Naesala acknowledged and dropped Ranulf to the ground.

“What do you mean?” Naesala inquired, calmed somewhat by Leanne’s words, whatever they had been.

“They’re fine.” Fox began. “They’re with Almedha. We already got them out of here.”

“And why are you still here then?” Naesala folded his arms.

“We have a debt to pay to our captors. After all, they were such good hosts, we wanted to repay them,” replied Janaff. “Also, if King Tibarn knew you brought Leanne with you, you’d never see the sunlight again.”

“You think I'd drag her along for this? I couldn't keep her from coming.”

“Hmph.” Janaff glared at Naesala, still bearing some anger towards him from the attack on Pheonicis during the laguz war. “Well, did you bring anyone else here? Or is it just the two of you?”

“It’s just us. We don’t need an army to do what we need to do. We can do it fine on our own. Now if you’ll excuse us.” With that, Naesala jumped out the window to find his children.

“Thank you for getting them out of here.” Leanne bowed and went after Naesala.

“Hm. You know, I’d better go with them.” Janaff walked over to the window. “I’ll be back though. And I’m sure King Tibarn will bring down the wrath of the Hawk army on this place.”

“Good luck pal.” Ranulf saluted. “Wait, take Amy with you.”

“What!? But I want to help!” Amy protested.

“Listen, Amy, I know you do. But it’s way too dangerous. Not only for you. That entire fight I kept an eye on you and it wound up giving me a few extra scratches. Listen, when Janaff comes back, he’ll bring you with him. Who knows? He might need you at some point too. We already have Fox.” Ranulf placed a comforting hand on Amy.

“Okay...” Amy replied, her head hanging. She walked over to Janaff, who picked her up. “Just...be safe!”

“We will.” With that, Janaff and Amy took off after the others. “Well, now that we got that out of the way, let’s get back to finding this dastard.”

“Don’t forget that there may be others trapped here,” Lyle added.

“Should we split up, maybe?” Fox suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Chase said nervously.

“Actually, that’s not half bad. How do you suggest we split up?” Lyle inquired, much to Chase’s dismay.

“Hm.” Fox thought for a minute. “Well, Fireman should be part of the rescue team, since he can pick locks. Ideally, he could go alone, however, if there are a lot of captives, he’ll need help protecting them. I think you should be the one to go with him, Lyle. Since you have a nack for finding people.”

“Well, that sounds like a solid plan, but most of you were kept in confinement. Are you sure you’re all up to it?” Lyle asked.

Fox scowled at Lyle. “I was in there for about twenty minutes you dullard. Those two were in there for maybe an hour. Ranulf was in there for a few days, but looking at him now, he seems fine, doesn’t he?”

“Fine, fine. Excuse me for worrying about you. You okay with that plan, Fireman?”

“So long as I get paid.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lyle sighed, feeling like he had a hole in his pocket.

“Hey! Who are you to go about making all the decisions!?” Emily protested.

“Well, you obviously don’t want to go rescue the captives. And you probably want revenge, so what are you complaining about?” Fox’s irritation toward Lyle's worrying was immediately replaced with irritation toward Emily's attitude.

“That’s not the point! Who are you to be making all the decisions?!”

“I am Fox, leader of the Serenes Forest Mercenaries. Does that answer your question?”

“She’s the leader? Since when?” Lyle whispered to Fireman.

“Apparently... actually, I think she's been leader for quite a while,” Fireman whispered back.

"Is that so? Huh." Lyle replied.

“So, if there are no more objections, let’s get moving.”

“Hey, Fox.” Lyle said, just before the troop was about to split.

“What?”

“Good luck.”

“...You too.”

Edited February 14, 2009 by Lyle Dayek

[Inactive Account]

Okay fix'd, whoo.

Edited February 14, 2009 by _____

[Mufasa]

eep.

Fixd. Delete comment.

[Inactive Account]

"Quiet, now," Ranulf hissed as the party neared another corner in the hallway.

"Is someone there?" Fox asked, opening her tome.

Ranulf held up a hand for a moment, ears twitching, then replied. "No."

They resumed walking. Emily's lance was ready in her hands; Chase had an arrow ready on his bowstring. Fox and Ranulf took them around several more corners and met a dead end.

"Are you serious?" Emily hissed.

"This makes no sense," Chase stated unneccessarily. "Why build a hallway leading nowhere?"

"Because it does lead somewhere," Ranulf informed him. "There's a concealed door behind one of these walls. I can hear people on the other side of...that one." He pointed to the wall on the right.

Fox ran a hand over the wooden paneling carefully, making several passes. "There doesn't seem to be a trick panel," she observed. "Well, I can get us in, but we'll be fighting as soon as I do."

"Fine by me," Emily proclaimed, spinning her lance in her hands.

"It was bound to happen," Ranulf agreed. He stretched and transformed. Emily recoiled from the great blue cat that now crouched next to her, waiting.

"Do we really--" Chase began a futile argument as Fox lifted her tome and incinerated the false wall. As the smoke cleared, Emily and Ranulf dashed into the room.

---

"This one ought to be a dungeon, too," Fireman muttered as he picked another lock. Lyle waited impatiently, fidgeting with the hilts of his swords. "Empty," Fireman announced after a minute. "I get the feeling that there aren't any more prisoners here yet."

"What about the others who were with us on our patrol? They should be here," Lyle pointed out.

"Well, the new guys probably got away. Chaz is a beorc, after all, and Noremac and Oguma don't have easily visible Brands. Which leaves Kiryn..."

"...who we probably won't find," Lyle mused. "Somebody changed planes earlier, and I'd bet it was her, escaping."

"How much?"

"Hm?"

"How much would you bet that she got away?"

"Er... ten thousand gold," Lyle decided.

"I'll remember that. Now, then. It would seem there are no more prisoners to free. Let's rejoin the others."

"Finally."

---

Fox and a reluctant Chase followed Emily and Ranulf into the hidden room. Ranulf flew at the single guard while Emily raced to the room's other occupant, a coughing, shocked sage. She grabbed the sage and shoved him up against a wall, holding the blade of her lance to his throat. Ranulf sat on the guard's chest, pinning him.

"Who are you people?" the sage quavered. He was small and ratty, and looked as though he had not eaten, slept, nor washed in the past few days. "Oh, you're some of the sacrifices, aren't you? But the sub-humans were supposed to be well-guarded..." His voice dropped and he mumbled unintelligibly to himself. Emily quickly grew annoyed.

"Shut up," she snapped, shaking the sage's shoulder.

"We'll be asking the questions," Fox informed the sage, tossing the tome into her satchel and drawing her sword. "First, what is this place? Who are you, and who do you work for?"

"This is the base of the Purification League," the sage began proudly, starting into what must have been a recruitment speech under other circumstances. "Our goal is to save the human race by purifying it of all sub-humans, by which I mean any mutt with any amount of nonhuman blood. We--"

"So let me get this straight," Ranulf said, transforming back into his humanoid form. "You're kidnapping laguz and Branded. Then you're keeping them in the dark. And apparently, killing them later. Now let's do some math: there were eight of us down there. And you think that you can kill all the laguz and Branded out there like this?"

"Obviously not," the sage scoffed. "We have developed a magical procedure that can exterminate an entire breed through the sacrifice of several individuals of that breed. With a few samples of each breed, we can quickly purify humanity."

Chase gave an incredulous cry. Fox's jaw was clenched; Ranulf had gone white. Emily shook with rage, and the edge of her lance blade slipped against the sage's throat, drawing a few drops of blood.

"Where are your leaders?" Ranulf hissed.

"Through that door there," the sage offered, "but there's no use in going to them. You won't persuade them against our ideals. Also, they'll be displeased at your treatment of me... though I am but a researcher, they do not take kindly to abuse of their own..."

"Who said anything about persuading?" Fox growled, hand clenching on her sword hilt. "Thanks for your help. Emily, knock him out."

"Are you sure I can't kill him?" Emily said with regret, and cracked the sage on the head with the butt of her lance. He fell to the floor, somehow looking haughty even in unconsciousness. The guard had already fainted; Ranulf stepped off him with distaste.

"If we lose, one of us had better get word of these people to Skrimir, Nailah, and Kurthnaga," he warned. "If what that driveling fool said is true, all laguz and Branded are in great danger."

"Right," agreed Fox, "Let's go in."

---

"I hope they haven't got themselves into too much trouble," Lyle panted as he and Fireman ran down the hall.

"They won't have," Fireman assured him. "Fox is a capable leader, and so is Ranulf. Oi, this way-- I smell smoke. Fox must have burned something."

They sped around the corner into the winding hall that the group had passed through earlier.

[Mufasa]

A door in the secret room led the group to another short hallway. At the end of the hallway were a set of double doors. "Looks like this is it. Everyone ready?" Ranulf placed his hand on the doorknob. He counted on his fingers to three, indicating to the others when he would open the doors. He flung the doors open revealing a room containing eight individuals. Six of them sat at the table, each in various different outfits. One stood at the far head of the table, casting a glow of dominance over the others, and the final person stood in a corner, watching the door with one eye. The other covered by an eyepatch.

"Hello, there," said the man standing on the far side of the room. "It seems we have a bit of an escape here, don't we?"

"My lord-!" One of the subjects at the table began, but was immediately hushed by his superior.

"We're here to put a stop to whatever you're planning, you dastards." Fox snapped.

The leader turned his attention to her. "Now, now. I don't need to know why you're here. I can tell by your stance that you're looking for a fight." He addressed one of his subjects. "Senator Daddim, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to test the abilities and loyalties of your your new bodyguard?"

"Tch," Ranulf spat. "Figures that there'd be a senator from Begnion on the side of a group of people who want to kill all the laguz and branded."

"Erm. Yes, of course, my liege. Amir! Take care of these intruders!" The man in the corner of the room stepped forward. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the man, Amir, was not only missing his left eye, but also his left arm. The sleeve of his black swordmaster tunic dangled in the air. He unsheathed his weapon. It was like a sword, but with no edge, and no tip. A sheet of metal attached to a hilt.

"At your ready." Amir walked up to the group, and pointed his sword at them. His stance indicated that he was well trained, and despite his handicap, was still confident in his ability.

"I'll take the brunt of his attack. Fox, Chase, you attack him from a distance. Let Chase do more of the attacks for now, Fox-- we'll need your spells later. And Emily, you'll do most of the damage. Attack him while his attention is on me. Got it?" Ranulf transformed and leaped at Amir.

Amir swung his weapon at the attacking laguz. Ranulf grabbed onto the weapon using his front paws, then flung himself onto the top of the blade, and slashed at Amir's faceAmir backed his head away from the blow and swung his weapon toward the other side of the room, sending Ranulf hurtling off it. Before Amir had time to rest, he spun around to parry a blow from Emily's lance.

"Urgh!" Emily stumbled backwards from the force behind the parry. Amir took advantage of the opening and swung at Emily's chest. The blunt metal did not cut her, but the force behind it knocked the wind out of her and she fell against the wall. Before Amir could continue his assault, Fox sent a burst of fire in his direction.

Amir jumped to avoid the blast, which instead hit the round table behind him. Those who were sitting at the table jumped up in surprise. The man standing at the opposite end simply watched the continuation of the battle. Ranulf returned to the fray and attacked Amir. Amir blocked the cat's attack with his sword, and the two became locked in a flurry of blows, each getting few hits in, but none proving to be fatal or altering the battle.

"Damn." Fox cursed. If I use my spell now, it'll put Ranulf at risk, she thought. She glanced over at Chase, who stood shaking at the sight of the battle taking place. He's too much of a chicken-shit to do anything on his own. She didn't even bother looking to Emily. "Chase!"

"Wha?!" Startled, he looked to Fox.

"You have to try and shoot Amir. If I use my spell, I might hit Ranulf."

"O-okay." He grabbed an arrow and notched it in his bow. He watched as Amir swung at Ranulf and Ranulf dodged. Then, as Amir swung upward, his body turned, his back facing Fox and Chase. Chase loosed his arrow.

"Urgh!" The arrow caught Amir by surprise as it embedded itself in his back. Before he could react, Ranulf jumped and clawed him in the face with one of his hind legs.

"He got him!" Fox cheered.

Ranulf snarled and leaped at Amir. Ignoring his pain, Amir reacted just in time. He returned Ranulf's kick with one of his own, right underneath the cat's jaw. The force behind the kick sent Ranulf into the opposite wall, knocking the cat unconscious.

"Shit." Fox stood ready as Amir turned his attention to them. Chase stood still, paralyzed with fear. Fox took the initiative and started to chant a spell. With quick speed Amir punched her in the stomach with the hilt of his weapon. Fox coughed up some blood as she fell to the ground.

"Nothing personal" was all Amir said as he sheathed his weapon and turned his attention to Chase. Chase blinked, and as he opened his eyes again, Amir's fist met his face.

"Ooof!" Chase hit the wall behind him as Amir landed another punch on Chase. Then he grabbed Chase by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. As he let go, Chase slid down the wall until he hit the floor, his nose bloody. Amir unsheathed his sword and rested the edge on Chase's head. As if to take aim.

"Sorry." Amir said, not sounding very apologetic. He raised his weapon high, and Chase watched in horror as his life seemed to be at its end. Amir swung down. The sound of metal clashing filled the room once more.

"Oh-ho." Said the enemy leader.

"You know, this is the second time I've saved your ass today Fox. I better get some sort of extra pay for this."

"Shut the hell up, Lyle," Fox coughed.