[IC] Chasing The Phoenix

[Spekkun]

The freezing air burned Rahne's throat with each gasp of air as she ran, fighting her way through the crowd of screaming citizens, fleeing in the opposite direction she was heading. The cold burned her lungs, and her diaphragm shuddered, but she fought back every urge to cough. She needed whatever oxygen she could get, and she needed to move fast. Her hand clenched the hilt of sword, to the point her knuckles were white and the air stung her skin and the fibers beneath. "Go!" She wheezed as she yelled, her hand pointing behind her. "Go! Follow the sentinels! Get out of the town! Go!" They likely didn't hear her, but she didn't think of that, nor did she care. They were going in the right direction. All she had to do was bring up the rear, and keep them safe, however many she could.

"Keep running!" She called out to the people in the back of the crowd. "Bolt, bolt! Get yer' asses outta-" She almost didn't see it. A shard of ice the size of a dagger flying towards her, right for her face. It was a good thing she wasn't thinking. Nearly by pure reflex, she raised her sword, smashing the dagger of ice as her steel came into contact with it. The shards of ice from the shatter that made contact with her froze the skin on her arm almost instantly, burning to the touch and made her hiss in pain, but she did not stop moving, nor did she slow down.

A mage of Brila, about thirty feet from her location, scowled. He was on his own, but it normally only took one. A mage was a rare find, and one capable of using Ever Frost was even rarer. The magic was special, one that required a contract. It could freeze its target instantly, trapping whatever was unfortunate enough to be caught in a state between life and death, unware of everything around you, but keeping you awake. There was less than two-hundred of them in the city, but that was all they needed to start, if not finish.

The mage threw another dagger of ice at Rahne, but Rahne performed the same feat a second time, causing the mage to scowl. This time, he would need something bigger. But before he could prepare such an attack, the woman did something he did not expect. She threw her sword at him. At first he wasn't worried; the odds of the blade landing right, not to mention the time it would take to hit him, he should be fine. But the blade was moving much faster than he thought. It caught him by surprise, but it was too late. The hilt of the blade hit him in the eye, forcing him to cry out in pain as he abandoned his attack, gasping the now bleeding organ.

Rahne took this opportunity to redouble her efforts, putting all her energy into her legs. She ran faster than before, for just a bit, but it was enough for her to close the gap. She leaped forward, fist raised and arm pulling back, and, once she was close enough, sent her fist flying into the mage's face, knocking him to the ground. With no hesitation, she grabbed her sword, and buried its blade into his chest, taking his life quickly, and then she fell to her knees, exhausted.

She propped herself up with her sword, gasping desperately for air. She just needed a few moments, and then she could be on the move again, but sadly she didn't have that. She could hear the footsteps approach her, and they weren't running. She looked up in time to see another mage with enough frost looking from his hands to obscure his legs from the knees down. "You did good, lass, but this is it for ya."

No more words were spoken. With a swing of his arm, a ball of frost, nearly as big as a medium-sized shield came right for Rahne. Again, on instinct, she tried to pull her sword free, but it was stuck in the body beneath her, and she tried to dive to the side, but her legs wouldn't listen to her. She was stuck, and it looked like it might be over for her.

[ScribldNonsense]

Ambrosius had always been capable of escaping from jail, he had just made the decision not to. The cell was cramped and small and not nearly as hygienic as he preferred, but he'd be darned if it wasn't somewhat cozy. The guards made for some decent conversation and he could tell a story or two and they would laugh their asses off. They were enthralled with the tales of his escapades, and it made him feel appreciated, validated even. If he had wanted to escape, he could get out of his cell, sure. But then the guards would be forced to come after him and that could get messy. He didn't like that. As far as he was concerned, the guards were his friends.

But even that was not the true reason Ambrosius stayed in his cell, or at least it was only part of it. The woman who had captured him had also captured his attention. She didn't come through often, as she was a soldier first, not a guard, not military police, but she did make occasional visits to the guards, who were likely her friends or seniors in some sense. He could always smell her before he saw her, and usually he could hear her before he caught her scent. She was loud, foul mouthed, and, in his opinion, a little dim. But that was what intrigued, and infuriated, him. How did he get caught by someone so...dumb? So stupid? She was a muscle-headed warrior, and he was a clever and cunning thief. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

He'd tried to talk to the red-headed soldier a few times, but often their conversations would end up with him insulting her, and either she wouldn't get it, which would piss him off, or she would get pissed off and unfurl a hurricane of obscenities that offended not only his ears, but Ambrosius the third, second and first's as well. Then she would ignore him for the rest of her visit, and to be honest, he would do the same. In any case, he always tried to talk to her, to get to know her, and it almost always failed, usually thanks to either one of them, in whole or part.

Still, the days were peaceful and entertaining, though he knew a trial was looming, and it would likely end up in his execution. He was laying on his bed, contemplating what to do when the screams began. At first, he thought he might be hearing a murder. Then he knew that wasn't quite it. He was hearing mass murder. What was a single scream became tens of screams, then hundreds. Then, the temperature dropped. He went from being quite warm to shaking in seconds. It had to be magic, he knew this instantly. Something was going on out there, and it did not sound good.

"Guards!" Ambrosius cried out as he jumped to his feet, but there was no need for him to call for his captors. One of them, a young guard by the name of Asmond, was already at the cell door, keys shaking as he struggled to unlock it. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"Orders, Ambrose. We gotta let free all the non-violent offenders..." Asmond's voice was shaky, a far cry from his usual confident tone. Even his body language was seeping with fear. "W-we're under attack. Mages of Brila...they're killing everyone." As he finished his weak explanation, he finally finished unlocking the door.

"Brila?!" Ambrose never liked Brila. The land was cold, and so were its people. They were rude, crass, and violent, with nasty tempers and a strongest will survive mentality. The only reasons most kingdoms tolerated them was because they were indeed formidable, but also because they had settled the raiding Skjöldung tribes, by genocide of course. "Mages too? That explains the cold...lets get out of here, eh?"

Ambrosius grabbed Asmond's hand as he exited his cell, pulling the young man along with him. "Don't be alarmed. I liked all of ya, so I'm going to do my best to keep you alive." He could tell his words had an immediate effect. He could feel Asmond's hand close tightly around his own, and the young man's pace increased.

The two exited the jail, and were greeted by the sight of blood, ice, and snow. Immediately, Asmond puked, and Ambrosius frowned. The bodies of men, women, and even children lay scattered along the roads. He could see the crowd of people not too far from him running, fleeing from just a few people. The mages, obviously. The frost and ice exuding from their bodies as they attacked the civilians made it obvious, despite their casual dressings. They probably snuck into the city by way of disguise. He could tell this was organized. They weren't just killing indiscriminately. No, they were herding the people.

"Bolt! Bolt!" Once again, he heard her before he saw her. The red-headed muscle girl was running with a speed that made him raise his eyebrows in shock. Even more to his surprise, he saw her avoid an attack that she couldn't have seen coming before hand. He had no idea why he was surprised anymore; she was a monster, obviously. "She's good." He muttered, watching her kill the mage. "Look Asmond, it's our monster friend," He turned to the guard, grinning, "Let's go-"

"She's gonna die!" The young man screeched.

Ambrose turned around, a scowl encroaching on his previous grin as he saw a mage approach her. Of course, she was tired. He'd been so impressed with her display of skill that he didn't realize she might have had no energy left. For all he knew, she came running from the other side of town. He let go of Asmond's hand and bolted forward, hoping to stop the mage's attack. But he wasn't going to make it in time. Instead, thinking on his feet, he grabbed the shield of a fallen guard, and hurled it with all his might, hoping it would make it in time.

And for the most part, it did. The shield took the brunt of the ice magic, becoming encased in ice as it was sent flying a distance from the red-head and the mage. Unfortunately, some of the frost did hit the girl in her side.

"I'm coming!" Ambrosius called out as he continued running towards the two, sparks crackling and dancing between and around his finger tips. He thrust his hand forward, casting a bolt of lightning at the mage. The light was blinding, but the speed of the energy was insurmountable. It hit the mage with such force that he was sent flying. The smell of scorched cotton and flesh his Ambrosius's nose instantly, causing him to wrinkle his nose, but even that couldn't stop the smirk on his face.

"Well, looks like you owe me one, muscle girl." He spoke as he approached her. "I just saved your life."

[Spekkun]

"What..." Rahne was surprised by the timely intervention, so much so that she forgot about the pain in her torso. She didn't reply for a few moments, her eyes lingering on the smoldering mage's body. That was close, too close. She had been running so hard, and for so long, that she didn't have the energy to respond. She was barely able to kill the first one. "Thank ye, I woulda-"

Her speech was stopped in its tracks the moment her eyes laid upon her rescuer. "Oi...you..." Whatever gratitude she was about to exhibit disappeared. "What's a bastard like ye doin' out in the streets? Ye' takin' advantage of all'a this to break free?" She couldn't really blame him, the Brilans would likely execute everyone, prisoners included. "Ye' best not be lookin' ta' loot anything! IF ye' do, I'm gonna be comin' after ya myself, once these c**ts are taken care off." She tried to pull her sword free from the body of the mage, and managed to do so, but not without struggle.

"If ye' know what's good for ya, you'd get yer' scabby arse outta here now."

[ScribldNonsense]

"Hey, this bastard here just saved your life," Ambrosius returned her attitude in kind, a mocking smirk on his face, "Those c***s, as you put it, almost killed you just now, did they not? If I hadn't stepped in, you'd be either frozen or dead, so how about a little gratitude, huh?" It wasn't like he needed it, and for the most part, he was just poking fun at her. It was funny, he was used to seeing her riled up, but usually it was at him and his antics. He liked to poke fun at her, teasing her for her rather...lacking intelligence, or grabbing at her for fun, just to get a reaction. But seeing how frustrated and angry she was right now was different.

If looks could kill, the hardened glare she wore on her face this moment would be more than enough to massacre the invading Brila forces. Her anger this time, was very genuine, and very directed, and he was glad it wasn't at him. Not that he was scared or anything. "Y'know what, forget the gratitude. I just didn't want to see you die yet, is all. I wasn't going to stay in that prison, and when Asmond here let me out, he was so scared I knew I had to escort him out, keep him safe, you know? He's like a scarred little kitten!" He held a hand to his chest, a mock look of concern on his face. "He's so new, and so young."

"It's true," Asmond nodded his head very quickly, his eyes skittering back and forth as he looked for any other mages, "So can we keep doing that? Can we leave now? I don't wanna die."

"See? You can hear it in his voice." Ambrosius tried not to laugh at how scared the lad was, and immediately felt bad for wanting to. He was terrified! It wasn't funny! But what was funny was how this frightened rabbit decided to become a city guard, let alone actually made it. Didn't you have to have a certain amount of guts for that anymore, or had that changed? "I'm just doing my part. Now lets get out of here. I guess I can save you too."

He extended a hand to Rahne, his all-to-common smirk plain to see. His hope was, they could get out of here alive, and with Rahne, it would be easier for the three of them to escape. Not to mention she looked exhausted and half dead. If they left her, she'd die, and he wasn't quite ready for her to die, yet. She was far too entertaining for that.

[Spekkun]

Rahne glared at his hand, silent except for her heavy breathing, which had begun to calm down as Ambrosius spoke. No longer was she gasping and wheezing for air, and the burning in her lungs had dulled to a light irritation. She took her time before answering the Taboxi, and not because she was unsure, but because she was angry, and she didn't want to be, at least not towards him. He did nothing wrong, it was the entire f***ing situation that had pissed her off. The dead civilians, the snow and ice, the chilling air. All of it was making her angry enough that her skin was fighting off the cold with ease.

But it would do her no good to be angry with her savior, however frustrating he was, and Asmond, the rookie. They weren't responsible, and were victims as well, in a way. "Okay," Rahne spoke as she finally took Ambrosius's hand, clasping his wrist as she stood up, with his assistance. "I'll ignore yer' smart ass, but I ain't comin' with ye." She could see the shock on both of their faces when she spoke, especially Asmond's.

"I took an oath to protect this city and I damn well am intendin' to see it through! Even if it kills me!" She yanked her sword free of the mage's body, using her foot to push the body down as she pulled her weapon out. The blood had already become cold and frosted, refusing to run down her blade like it should have. "I can't leave all these people here, all the rest of my men...ye two are just civillians, so it wouldn't be right of me to keep ye here. Ah'll help you two leave and that's it. I'm staying here to fight." She was firm in her words, and her eyes were steeled.

It didn't matter if she died, it only mattered if she tried.

And she intended to.

[ScribldNonsense]

Ambriosus was stunned, not just by the conviction in her words but the determined glint in her eye. It was frightening, and almost infuriating. She wasn't going to save anyone, not by herself, and he wasn't going to help her. He didn't want to, nor would he be able to. She was resigning herself to a death based purely on honor and a sense of obligation to some oath she took, and it was...admirable. Infuriating, but admirable.

"Wow. Inspiring. Absolutely moronic, but inspiring!" He clapped his hands slowly, giving her the most condescending look her could.

And then he sighed. He knew he couldn't change her mind, so he wouldn't try. "If you want to die, fine. Your funeral."

"Take us to the exit, and then you can go." He rubbed the nape of his neck, a rather annoyed expression on his face. "Go and die for whatever stupid reason, but get us out of here." He didn't have time to try and talk sense into her. If she wanted to die a dumbass, so be it. But he and the newbie were going to get out of here. "Don't worry, when we get out of this death trap, we'll make sure to tell other kingdoms, so they know where to find your body." He mocked her, but he meant it. This was the type of thing others needed a warning about, lest it happen to them as well.

Asmond nodded his head in agreement. "M-my uncle...he's in servitude to a duke. He's got the connections to get the message out fast. Nothin' but a few day's ride from here."

"Perfect!" Ambrosius slapped the man on his bag, losing his attitude. "Finally, something smart was said, from someone other than myself!" He performed a mock bow in Rahne's direction, his hand on his chest and the other extended outwards. "Lead the way, lady-thing."