Heavy hoof-beats thundered in the earth, every impact mocking the man. Echoes of failure rang out in every beat, grating on his ears.
It wasn't supposed to go like this!.. Things were supposed to be easy. Moving under cover of nightfall seemed wise. For his efforts, however, he met with failure. Not only were they expected- they had been ambushed. Several villages gathered together, waiting to strike in the darkness before dawn. Worse, the adventurers he heard about waited. Including her. One of Nazin's former playthings. A favourite, at that... Despite her icy stare, he felt confident he could break her. But she wasn't alone. No matter- her little friends would either submit or die.
Except they did neither.
They held him off, wore down his personal retinue. He couldn't break through... But she came for him. Victory was back in his grasp- he would break her, be it in body or spirit... Until he found himself six-on-one. Odds stacked heavily against him. Faced with a choice, death or retreat... reluctantly he retreated when opportunity presented itself. On-looking soldiers were shocked to witness this display; a couple ranked directly beneath him noted this- storing the information for later. In the ensuing aftermath, this would be used to undermine the man. Weakness was not to be tolerated, under any circumstance- and yet there he was, cravenly fleeing.
Nazin hated retreat, of any kind- it reeked of failure. Her words rang in his mind, etching deep into his soul: 'Tell Leviticus I WILL find him, and I WILL end him. And I'll end you too!'
Getting back to Highdell would take a few hours. Nazin suspected they would not be far behind. Even in the face of such unexpected retreat, there was always a back-up plan. Time was the enemy- he had no idea how many days it would take for a force to advance on Highdell. Not to mention, his wounds needed healing. Leviticus would be most displeased, but Nazin hoped he could talk his way into living- since he knew punishment was inevitable...
~
Immediately after Nazin's retreat, Sera went to take some shots- but the battle raging around them forced them to re-think their plan. The ranger simply couldn’t get a clear shot. Can't get a shot off... Much as I hate it… Damn it all.
"Damn it. That bastard's getting away." Jordan shook his head- a hand covering the still-open wound on his side. Blood trickled out over his hand.
"We should go after him." Sheathing his broadsword, Silver turned to start following. Violet grabbed his arm- panting, looking really worse for wear.
"After. Right now... We need... To heal. Fall back... somewhere safe."
Reluctant, Silver sighed with a nod. The six of them skirted the battle, falling into a familiar cellar... Violet and Jordan tumbled in, dropping near the bottom of the stairs. Asriel, Silver and Thorin staggered in after- leaving Sera to seal the doors. Everyone except the ranger looked worse for wear to some extent. Blood was wiped off, weapons inspected, plans made, armour adjusted. Typical things one did when they had a few minutes to themselves. Asriel touched up Jordan's side, then turned to Violet as Jordan began creating infusions. She sat alone, curled within herself- ignoring the blood and charred flesh. He thought about everything: Violet’s reckless insistence at drawing attention, fighting the leader at the Standing Stones.
Pointed silence- her way of trying to protect. Quiet anger when Zenric mentioned Nazin and Leviticus. Fear flickering in the hin's eyes when Thorin turned cold. Refusing to look at them, shame washing over the hin. Tears dripping onto the ground, shattering of emotional ice. Broken voice, racked with pain... ’None of you are supposed to be here. I didn’t want to bring anyone innocent into this… I don't want any of you hurt, killed or worse… because you followed me here…’
You wanted to spare us your suffering. Asriel crouched down in front of her, studying her silently. I wish you hadn't. Whatever else he may have thought or felt, Asriel could respect Violet's decision. But it also hurt; it would have been better, to openly decide them to decide. Violet's silence made sense, but still stung- just a little bit.
"...Asriel?" The softness of the Hin's voice interrupted his thinking.
Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. "Apologies... I came to heal your wounds. May I?"
Immediately, Violet nodded quietly. She moved her arms out of the way and uncurled her legs, giving him a better look. Char marks and deep wounds looked awful- but were not beyond his capabilities to heal. Soon enough the wounds reverted, Asriel careful to wipe off the blood. He took note of her subdued demeanour- this was not the Violet he knew and came to like. His Violet was feisty, sarcastic, animated, passionate. Maddeningly mysterious and secretive. Many wonderful things... but submissive- fearful- this… it wasn’t her. That moment she broke, ashamed of her own feelings... Nazin and Leviticus had a lot to answer for.
"You did well." Asriel's healing hurt for a short moment, but quickly soothed her sore skin. Violet merely nodded, silent thanks. "Likely this will be cast aside. Though we know not each other well... I've warmed to you a little bit."
More silence- the Hin refusing to lift her glance from the floor. Asriel spoke on, careful to keep his voice low. "Something broke in you. At the Stones. Is that why you won't look at me? Or speak? Do you... Feel shame?"
"…Yes." Violet's voice cracked, whispering. "All of you could lose your lives, or worse. Leviticus and Nazin, they- I can't even begin to describe the horrors. Every injury, every death- I should have come alone. Even if that meant-"
Before she could finish, one of Asriel's fingers gently pressed against Violet's lips. Looking up in shock, his hard stare looked back- causing her to wince, shrinking away. Asriel shook his head. "Never again… I promised. There is no shame in sadness, or fear. It is… a lot, to take on. That is why we came with you." Here he brushed away a tear that slid down her face. Ever since they met, Violet and Asriel stood at odds. One could search the entire Known World, and be hard-pressed to find two more different people. Where she was a dark, icy, maddening enigma, he was a charming, vivid, forthright individual. Violet tended to be fiery; Asriel held near-constant tranquility. She was hard to like fairly often, whereas he was rather easy to get along with. Yet in these last few days... The two bonded in ways nobody- not even they- expected.
Jordan leaned over, whispering to Sera in a rare moment of tact. "Good to see someone's getting through that ice finally." Sera nodded.
"Think we should say something to them?" Thorin's glance slid over to the two beside him, also having been observing.
Sera shook her head, quietly scribbling on their board. "Violet's finally opening up; this is good. Might have an easier time facing Nazin and Leviticus if she feels confident in us- and herself."
Before anyone else could say anything, however, Silver getting to his feet and sheathing his broadsword startled everyone. "Right, now that everyone's fixed up- let's go hunt Nazin down."
"Aye, we should get on that. With luck we won't lose too much time, maybe a few hours. How's everyone else?" The immediate shift in thinking broke their moment, but the others pretended not to notice.
"Sera and I are ready to head out. Asriel, how's Violet looking?"
"Better. Charred skin is tricky to heal. But we're good." Getting up, Violet flushed dark- he let the moment pass. Better to let them think it just took time. "Coming?"
"Yeah, I'm coming. Let's go- it's gonna take us a few hours to get to Highdell."
~
Pouring back into early-morning sunshine, the six went to pursue Nazin- but found themselves blocked by more slavers. Fighting their way out proved to be easy- but by the time they cleared the tower, Nazin was far in the distance.
"Damn it all... We won't be able to catch up to him now." Silver growled in annoyance.
"There's only one road to Highdell, Silver. Even if he did, we'll find him- and we'll deal with him. We'll deal with all of them." Thorin fell in time beside him- but had difficulty keeping up. Their height differences were dramatic. Especially since they were all jogging to try and make up for lost time.
"That doesn't mean I can't be annoyed about it."
"Aye. You can. Just trying to point out the other side is all."
Falling into silence once more, the six briskly strode on through the sunshine down the road. It would take a few hours to get to Highdell- and from there, the assault on Highdell Keep. They had a long day ahead of them yet.
Chapter 15- The Broken Gaol