[ooc: sorry it took a bit longer then i expected to craft this one. blue is lysitra\'s work. but, hopefully the \"dance\" scene comes across well.
as i write it, might as well put the warning up graphic violence and death. ]
As Lyistra lies there, actually sleeping instead of comatose, now and again shifting, a commotion comes from outside. Emaarhe bursts in and nods, panting, her nostrils flared, her chest heaving from her exertion.
She writes \"They come.. on my tailtip.\" She nods out through the window where a small phalanx of guards, led by a Xacha male, come marching up to the door.
The leader waves his men back. \"I\'d rather do this peaceably. He says. he nods to you, quietly, \"I\'m Wilhelven. Is she all right?\"
\"she is ... sleeping now. a few days of rest and good food and she will be back to normal.\" steuben responds.
\"There\'s been quite a commotion, someone\'s accused her of magicking the murders.\" he shakes his head.
\"she\'s been here with ... fever for the past several days. it only just broke.\" both yliaki knowing it for the lie that it is. steuben offering it anyways, as a way out.
\"Be that as she may, I\'ve got fifty men, you\'ve got a prisoner, and I\'ve got a way to hide him. I need to take Lyistra in, mostly to protect her, partially for questioning, on the official end.\"
\"I\'ve got a pretty good idea of part of the people involved, I just need a few names. That way I can know what to write on a few eulogies.\"
He looks to Steuben. \"She\'s my friend.\" his eyes are quiet, honest and dark with anger at what\'s been done to her. \"I want to thank you for helping her too.\" he shakes his head, and offers a package. Inside, though hidden from others, perhaps, is a sheathed dagger,with platinum and gold inlay along the blade, and glyphs of protection. \"not much, but you may need it.\" he passes you a note as well reading that in the handle is a note of deputization, in a criminal matter. He shrugs, then nods, winks once.
steuben pulls the dagger slightly from its sheath. he runs his thumb along the exposed flat of the blade. he feels the high quality of the inlaid glyphs. his brow furrows slightly. he carries the solider\'s mistrust of magiked weapons. he resheaths the dagger. his hand disappears beneath his cloak, reappearing empty.
\"Sir? Will you stand aside in the name of the otarchy? We have come to take the accused, One Lyistra Mentana, to the Cells of Phaal-mor. She will then be questioned, to await trial for the murders of one Klyros, two Enkidukai, and four Xacha.\" he looks in quietly, nods to a bearer of a kind of litter. \"We have heard of her power in the Crystal Way, and of her weakness. It is for this we bear a litter of glyphs of warding and sealing.\"
steuben stands aside as the litter works its way up the stairs. wilheven motions the bears to place the litter on the floor and leave. the bearers do so. He nods, touches a glyph, and everything goes silent outside. \"Nothing will be heard in or out of this room. Nobody must know what\'s going on, or all of our lives are in danger. Your prisoner can be held in here safely, we\'ll carry her atop it. We\'ve had.. sensitive prisoners before. She should be safe. The Otarch of Hydlaa is interested in this case, he has had his own suspicions for a time.\" he nods, as the person is put away. \"Feel free to join us for a bit, we could use a good hand.\" he looks outside. \"Have a feeling if the opposition attempts anything it will be on the way back. I fear that they will be desperate if we can get her into the Cells. They\'re inviolate, inside and out, only authorized people can enter or leave.\" he nods to Emaarhe. \"She is allowed to come in and out with you, as you need. You have my full support, but be discreet, or I could be executed. \" he turns, and waves the others on.
before they leave steuben says. \"i only have one name. which may or may not help. lelackard\"
steuben and emaarhe walk near the middle of the column. steuben breifly glances up. movement out of the corner of his eye had caught his attention. he sees someone pull out of sight over the crest of the roof, in a different location from the movement.
he whisphers to emaarhe, \"don\'t look up. yliaki are gathering on the roof tops. it will come first from there. be ready. and becareful with those.\" he nods towards her paws. \"you don\'t want to reopen the wounds.\"
they walk for a short while longer. suddenly several fireballs rain down from the rooftops. some explode with the clusters of guards at the front and rear of the line. however, most explode on the street itself. of those, many land near the guards immediately surrounding the litter. the air is filled with smoke and flying cobble fragments.
to the right of the column, through the smoke come running several ylaki. they brandish a variety of weapons. the guards around the litter turn to face them. steuben turns as well. his cloak billows out, as it does he draws his sword. the sound of steel on leather has the note of a great beast moving for the attack, blood lust in its voice. his face a smile in form only.
two of the attackers head for steuben. one weilds pair of shorter swords, the other a longer heavier one. they both attack simultaneously. somehow they seem to not foul each other. but, they don\'t work together either. steuben blocks and doges the strikes. frequently he blocks two of the swords, and simply dodges the third.
at one point during the contest. a yliak approaches from behind. he had recently dispatched one of the guards. seemingly incidentally steuben disembowls him. never even having turned around and still is able to bring the sword back in time to block a the trio of blades.
shortly there after steuben finds a suitable opening. he brings his sword into chest of the one with the the single sword. steuben\'s sword stops halfway through and slides out. the swordsyliak releases his sword. steuben catches it by the handle before it falls. he brings it up in a smooth motion.
\"now. let me show you how it is done,\" he says. a note of evil glee in his voice.
steuben\'s now twin blades become a blur as he attacks. the four blades ring furiously. the now solo swordsyliak retreats under steuben\'s onslaught. one of steuben\'s opponent\'s blades shatters, hit by the claimed blade. steuben brings his blade through the other arm. it is severed midway between the wrist and elbow. steuben drives the claimed blade into the heart of his opponent. he sags to the ground dead.
he turns in time to see the litter being carried off by the attackers. some of the guards have given persuit. emaarhe is still engaged with her opponent. the smoke is just beginning to clear.
steuben begins to give chase. as he moves he sheathes his sword. he passes by emaarhe and her opponent. as he passes he simply reaches out and crushes the neck with the nearest hand. he falls forward barely missing emaarhe.
\"come,\" he says as he continues on.
emaarhe swallows at the display of brutal and almost casual strength and violence. she turns and follows. they are far enough back that they see the nets that are flung from the roof tops. the metal weights on the edges glint in the sunlight as the they rotate. the guards a caught to the yliak in the nets. the nets spinning faster as they settle, ensnaring anything caught within.
steuben looks up in time to see the nets coming for him and emaarhe. he pushes her against the wall of the street. she hits heavily and stumbles. he heads for the other side and bounces against the wall. the nets fall to the ground and slide. one of the nets slides under emaarhe\'s feet as she works to regain her balance. she rolls forward.
steuben continues forward. his cloak billows out behind him. the cloak and the look on him face make him appear like an avenging angel. it is made all the more terrible, because he is coming after you. he closes on the litter. he reaches behind his back as he runs. he pulls out the dagger that wilheven handed him. he throws it. it buries itself in the back of one of the litter bearers. he stumbles and trips the nearest bearers to him. the litter hits the ground and slides a bit.
the unwounded bearers look behind them. seeing steuben approaching they quickly scramble away. steuben runs up to the litter and the wounded bearer. he pulls the dagger out and resheathes it. the bearer manages to roll over. seeing steuben standing there manages to painfully scramble to the wall and half stand up. steuben follows. he grabs the ylkai while he is still hald standing. one hand arund the neck, he lift him of the ground. the back pressed against the wall. with his good am the yliak tries to break the grip.
\"hmm,\" steuben says. \"with that wound, it looks like you will live. that is my friend there. and i am not pleased with who is behind this.\" he looks to his right. \"you will either talk to the guards, or... you will talk to me.\" notes of evil pleasure creep into his voice. \"so, the first question is, who do you fear more? your employer? or me?\"
as if in answer a gurgle escapes steuben\'s grip on his throat. his eyes bulge as his tongue swells from his mouth and blackens. as if giving the final word of the repsonse a small glyph appears and bursts in to a brief flame. the body spasms once under steuben\'s grip.
\"impressive,\" he says. he gently lowers the corpse to the ground. \"may what you have taken in life, be returned in death,\" he says half prayer like.
emaarhe arrives first. \"another three. perhaps this one as well.\" he speaks towards the wall. exhaustion, weariness, and perhaps shame are in his voice. \"i don\'t enjoy it, you know. i hate it.\" he looks down at his blood covered hands. \"it\'s just... it\'s just that i am so good at it.\" he looks over at her. he smiles, this time a real one. \"i don\'t mean to burden you with my troubles. you carry enough of your own.\" the remaining guards arrive. \"come let\'s elp them get her to where she has to go.\"
