Heirot

Rai was tired of waiting. She was bored, frightened, and tired. She just wanted to grow up so she could save her mother and get back to her father... Get all her parents back. She began walking towards the flap of the tent.

Noventia looked up from her task abruptly, sensing the little girl's movement. A muscle twitched on her face. "Little one," she said just loudly enough for Rai to hear. "You cannot exit the tent yet. Shea will find you if you do." It was a calm warning that held a lot of unpleasant promises.

Soran nodded silently at Blade's comment that they needed to move. The man who was walking toward them paused in front of the stack of kegs, as if picking which one he wanted to roll back into the tent. Soran didn't waste the time; he leaped over the pile and caught the man with a firm kick to the side of the head. He went down with a squeak of surprise before Soran bored down on him, his hand covering the soldier's mouth. The man fell still, staring at the elf in shock. "We're looking for a sorcerer, a woman with two hostages," Soran whispered coldly, his armblade pressing into the man's neck. It would be an easy task to slit his windpipe, and the others would never even hear him scream. They needed to get this information fast, though, before anyone else came outside and saw them.

The drunken soldier's mind was too fuzzy with the liquor he had drunken, but he looked with glazed eyes and a panicking heart at Soran and said, "I--I don't know. Are you going to...k-kill me?"

Blade thought it was best to stay hidden, the more involved the worse it'd get.

Soran rolled his eyes. He couldn't afford the time it would take to make any further use of the drunken dolt. He slit the man's throat in a movement so practiced that it was sort of frightening to watch, like he'd done it a thousand times without a second thought.

Sid also seemed unmoved, jumping out to help Soran move the body behind the pile of supplies where it wouldn't be noticed, like you'd move a sack of flour that was in the way.

Sid and Soran crouched next to Blade in a sort of huddle between the three of them. "This clown would have shown something if he knew at least a little about what's going on. My guess is it's not that tent. Which leaves that," Sid whispered, pointing out at the only other tent that was adjacent to their location. If Blade's powers had been correct, that was the only place it could be.

"Fine. I'll go in first," Soran said. When Sid looked ready to argue, the rogue gave him a sharp look that meant to stop talking. "If there's a trap, we can't all fall into it together. You wait here for my call."

Sid settled down, looking surprisingly serious and calm. He seemed to know exactly how to recognize whatever call system Soran was talking about. Soran just slid out from around the supply pile and a moment later he was sneaking silently around the tent, staying low to avoid casting too much shadow through the canvas.

Blade gulped watching his father easily slit the man's throat. He tried to still his churning stomach and nodded at Soran's proposal. It was smart, and yet so dangerous.

"Be careful, dad." Blade whispered under his breath. Gods know how he'd take it if he lost Soran as well.

Noventia was almost done the circle and spells when she sensed the rouge creeping around her tent. 'Damnit,' she thought. She couldn't afford this. There's no way she could battle against Shea now if this was discovered by anyone. Abandoning her stance inside the circle, Noventia glided towards where Soran was crouched and stopped just in front of him with knife poised.

"I should've killed you back at the palace!" she growled.

Soran froze as he ran nearly head-on with Noventia. He'd been wrong to assume she was inside the tent. He'd only seen her for a few moments back in Lowight, but there was no doubt of who it was. He paused and watched her, very still, like a leopard sizing up its prey. She had the upper hand over him in this position, but unless she was faking very well, her knife stance didn't seem particularly impressive. His first guess was that he'd have the advantage in a hand to hand conflict. Of course, their meeting at the castle had shown that knife skills were just the tip of the iceberg with this person.

Soran didn't even waste time speaking. If Noventia had time to make noise, the guards in the next tent would hear it. Blades poised, he sprang up at her, aiming for the throat.

Noventia jumped back, managing to block the blades with her dagger. She wasn't even going to pretend how to use a blade efficiently in battle. No, her mastery was magic and she would use it here. No time to waste. She quickly drew back her free arm to power an attack but a flash of silver darted, and Noventia yelped as blood trickled from her shoulder on the arm she was about to use for the spell. Blade charged forward from where he had thrown the silver knife, wielding a shinning silver ax, and he swiped it across her midsection. Noventia collapsed in a heap on the ground, presumably dead.

Blade's chest heaved, and not from his rush forward, he was terrified of what Noventia would have done to Soran. He watched her crumpled body very closely, knowing full well she was not dead.

Soran wasn't at all convinced that a human being could live through what had just happened to Noventia. He was more concerned about being spotted. "Good job. Get her in the tent," he whispered, grabbing the slain woman under the arms and moving to drag her into the tent.

"Dad! No wait!" Blade hissed, trying to stop his father from touching Noventia's body. But her hand grasped Soran's arm, digging her nails into the flesh of his upper arm and looking through her disheveled hair at him with cold, hauntingly evil eyes.

"You're family doesn't seem to have taught you much, rogue." she cackled. "I'll enjoy spilling your entrails before your daughter after I've completed the spell." She was readying another spell, but Blade's own dark magic was just as good at stopping her. The blob of dark magic, hidden atop his shoulder, sprang forward and enveloped the undead witch in its liquid blackness. But it could longer contain her for so long.

"We need to get Rai now and go!" Blade said, grabbing his father.

Soran didn't understand what was happening, but grabbing Rai was a very good idea at the moment. He had a straight shot for her in the corner of the tent. Bursting into a sprint, he ran to get the child while Blade held the sorceress off. Reaching the child's side, he gave her a reassuring look and scooped her up in his arms, turning to run back to the tent opening.

"Daddy!!!" Rai screamed in excitement, throwing her arms around her father. It felt so good to be in his arms. She felt safe again. She loved him so much. The excitement even made her forget what she had promised the sorceress. "I missed you daddy! I was scared!"

Noventia was ripping through the black mass that surrounded her like it was paper once she had gotten over the initial shock of it. 'Damn,' Blade cursed in his mind. How could he hope to defeat her? Even now he could barely hold her off in his state. Getting here had drained him. Molding his entire silver bracelet into a lance, Blade armed himself against, hoping to buy time for his father and Rai.

"Where the hell is Sid?" he growled under his breath, wondering if the soldier had actually betrayed them. But he couldn't ponder it now, Noventia had completely ripped through and was red eyed with rage.

"You're about to ruin everything!" she yelled, lunging at Blade full force. He grunted as his lance blocked her attack and took and step backwards.

Noventia was angry. The circle was ready but if they took the child now it would be completely ruined, and Shea would know everything. The circle was, in fact, just outside the opening of the tent. All she needed to do now was get Rai in the middle of it and utter the activation word and it would be done. If she couldn't do that... they were all dead. Well....maybe not her.

"We'll get you out of here," Soran breathed to Rai. It was so good to hear her voice. Holding the girl tightly, he ran toward the exit of the tent just as Sid came running inward. Sid skidded to a halt just outside the door, glancing down at the ground. There seemed to be some sort of etching in the sand. What was that about. He glanced up at Soran, who was approaching with Rai, and the confusion on Sid's face made Soran almost stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" the rogue demanded, recognizing Sid's body language as a warning.

"I don't know...something's not right," Sid said, seeming hesitant to set foot on the sand drawing. He knew as much about magic as Soran did, which was none, but he was more apt to trust gut instincts than the rogue was, and something felt out of place here.

Soran shook his head. They couldn't afford to hesitate, though Sid rarely grew this nervous for no reason. It was get out now or never. He gathered his speed and ran for the outside of the tent.

Out of the corner of her eye, as she grappled with Blade, Noventia saw the elf run towards the middle of the circle she had placed... with Rai in arms. She let out a surprised laughed which caught Blade off guard. Pushing Blade down to the ground with surprising strength, Noventia watched the elf carefully until he hit the right spot.

Blade grasped the situation all too suddenly. She was about to do something... something terrible. He got up as fast as he could to tackle her but was too late. At the top of her lungs, just as the rogue stepped into the middle with Rai, Noventia uttered the activation word just before Blade tackled her to the ground.

The circled whirred and glowed with black magic, immediately seizing both Rai and Soran in place.