Rip and Tear

"Rip and Tear" is a BOTGD 2 thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
Nala and Stonegit arrive at the Jaw of Fenrir, the hideout of the Conclave. Stonegit approaches the Jarl, Vidar, with full intent to fight him and his men for what he did to Liam, if only as a balancing act of justice in an unjust world. However, Vidar was expecting Stonegit bringing the Warden and predicted his intentions, and as the two brawl, a high-tech antimagic field is activated beneath them, suppressing Nala to nothing but a voice and ridding Stonegit of the magic he was using to keep himself alive while fighting. However, he continues to struggle, despite being at a disadvantage. Vidar orders Stonegit to hand over Nala and leave, and the bodyguard instead changes his status quo, beginning to kill the Conclave soldiers around him to get to the field that is keeping Nala suppressed. With the help of Nala convincing a young soldier to turn off the field, and the unexpected arrival of Yun, Milae’s only other existing timeline counterpart, they are successful in shutting it down, but it comes a second too late as one of Vidar’s attendants murders Nala’s temporary vessel, nearly destroying her in her weakened state. Nala escapes into the empty body of a massive construct, unknowingly triggering a series of terrible events in which she is forced to contract with Vidar in order to inhabit the body, giving up her control to stay alive. 
==Full Text==
Stonegit Elmiss: The wind and rain swept across the Central entourage that had gathered outside of the market and residential side of the Jaw. The air howled with the storm as a lone figure walked towards them.
If they land something serious…arrows…weapons…debilitating…fatal. Grant me enough to keep going. I won’t last if I use everything right away…
A grim smile tugged at the corner of his lips. You were always so good about humoring me with stuff like this. Don’t worry though, I won’t break either myself, or your trust this time…
Stonegit came to a stop as he starred the group down, and pulled back his rain coat to reveal his face. He gave the group of Central authorities a skeptical and assessing glance, his form falling under Hel’s shadow. They then shifted to look at the massive bone towers and structures behind them. “I’m here for Vidar…is he among you? Or am I going to have to stretch before this?”
@demon-in-the-dungeon 
The Warden/The Conclave: A tall woman with a thick black braid over her shoulder, wearing similar gear to Stonegit to keep the rain off her back, stepped forward out of the group to stand before Stonegit. She had thick armor from neck to toe, the signature fur-and-leather of the Conclave, studded with steel and strapped with a sword and two dagger holsters at her hip. The others were just as heavily armed and armored, some already holding their weapons in a semi-ready stance. “He is further down the road, at the main guardhouse,” Tasha said stiffly, eyeing him up and down. “You are to surrender any weapons you have on your person and submit to a search before you can speak with him. No foul play or surprises. We know who you are.” Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides to keep them from shaking. 
Nala was already roiling with both nerves, readiness and wrath in Stonegit’s mind, taking in the lay of the land as discreetly as she could while sharply watching the welcoming party before them. She was very wary of giving herself away too soon. But she left the interaction, and any further engagements, in Stonegit’s hands. 
Stonegit Elmiss: “Well I did sign the note.” Stonegit called over the howling wind, and spread open his cloak to show he didn’t have any weapons. He then turned his pockets inside out and turned in a circle. 
His hands lowered. “I can roll up my clothes or pat my own limbs down if you like. There’s nothing to find. If that’s not good enough, I understand. But we can’t touch unless we’re willing to get serious about it, that’s my only condition.” As he said this he used a finger to roll up both sleeves, and there was a clear double meaning to the action. 
The Warden/The Conclave: Tasha rolled her tongue against the inside of her cheek, looking him up and down as he spoke. The guards behind her clenched their weapons tighter. The tension in the air was thick. 
“Speak your intentions, and you may proceed,” she ordered, resting a hand on the hilt of her sword. “What have we to discuss with you? The Wilderwest throne has long since denounced us, and we them. There is little to compromise over. Besides, you…of all people…” Her nose twisted up in an expression that made Nala accidentally overload Stonegit’s vision with shades of furious red. “…are hardly King Egil’s best negotiator.” 
From the protection of the housing behind the Conclave’s entourage, there was a scurry of movement. A helmeted guardsman was ushering several people out of one of the houses and back down the wide street, further into the Jaw. They glanced at the meeting happening at the mouth of the city and sped up their pace, gathering several packs and other various belongings in their arms as they fled. It was a contrast to how quiet and empty the rest of the outer residential area seemed to be.
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit never once took his eyes away from Tasha’s as rain ran down his face in small streams. 
“I’m here to do something that no one was able to do for me when I was young. And I am not…King Egil’s…negotiator…”
He took a few careful steps back, as if to permit them some space, and then he barred his teeth with clear ferver. “I am the bodyguard of King Gareth Haddock II! Oh Hear His Name and Tremble! Ugh! Ugh!” Stonegit stuck his chest once with a closed fist, and then pointed a finger. “And today, I intend too see Vigar dare to put his fist against a standing man!” 
The Warden/The Conclave: Tasha narrowed her eyes, her fingers still trailing over her sword belt. “You wish to try the Jarl in combat?”
Stonegit Elmiss: The rest of Stonegit’s fingers carefully opened. “I’m walking in there to fight him yes. “I understand if you can’t permit that. In which case we can either fight wet.” He motioned to Tasha. “…Or bone dry…” His hand drifted over to motioned at her sword.
Stonegit sniffed once as he shrugged off his cloak, and rubbed the tattoo on the back of his neck. “Choice is yours.” 
central-is-growing
Tasha paused a little too long, her eyes moving as though she were looking at someone neither Stonegit or the Warden could see. Then she re-focused, and the sword that she had slid partway out of its sheath locked back into place with a click. “We will…escort you,” she said, still formal and rigid. She stepped aside while looking at Stonegit, indicating that they would let him walk ahead and guide him from behind. “Cause no trouble on the way, and we will do the same.” 
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit’s watched her sword arm carefully, and then gave a short nod of appreciation. Giving an almost casual glance at the others in the area, he carefully walked ahead to go meet the Jarl. 
The Warden/The Conclave: The soggy ground slopped beneath everyone’s boots as they trudged their way down the Jaw’s main road, towards a large but low wooden building with several tiers in the distance. Once again, the two visitors, human and demon alike, noted that there were no civilians in the area, only armored, scowling Conclave fighters, who watched them pass warily. 
On the terraces of the guardhouse, there were several archers, and their bows were strung and nocked but not drawn. As they approached, one of the women near the roof strode across the balcony to a man-sized, covered stone beacon facing the rest of the Jaw, and busied herself with lighting it. 
Stonegit neared the front doors, and the guards standing on either side reached over nearly simultaneously and pulled on the heavy iron door rings, yanking the entrance wide open for the entourage to filter inside. It was an extremely odd-looking guardhouse–more of a mix of refinery and meeting hall than any kind of barracks that were more common in most large cities. The entrance room was as tall as the building itself, with the inside of the roof barely visible several stories overhead, and ringing the walls were several more of the terraces connecting to the ones outside. Hanging overhead on the right and left sides of the room were two massive iron pulleys, with thick spools of chain larger than a man’s arm hanging tight all the way down to the floor. They were rotating slowly, apparently powered by something unseen, and the floor had sectioned holes in it where the chains fed into, both up and down, at a methodical pace. The only clue to their holdings was a heat wafting up from underground, and the smell of smoldering coal and something sharp and coppery. It created a steady, metallic cacophony that, paired with the pouring rain outside, might have been something akin to pleasant white noise in a less hostile environment. In the center of the tall, rectangular room, it seemed as though a wheel-shaped stone had been sunken over halfway into the floor, leaving the top of its curve exposed. There were several strange slots, lines, and inlaid iron fastenings and translucent stones that had little meaning to the pair, and though it seemed like this wheel could also rotate underground like the pulleys did, it was still and silent. Nala set about diagramming it with her consciousness, keeping as invisible as possible.
“Ah, dear Stonegit!”
From the second level, Vidar Bloodletter stepped forward from the shadow of one of the adjacent rooms, his arms spread wide in welcome. He had a charming grin and looked the least bit bothered by the storm, which couldn’t be said for the guards who were grumpily stepping inside to continue to watch over the proceedings from their high position, bows dripping and armor shining with rainwater. “I’ve been so anxious to see you, my friend,” Vidar continued, striding forward to stand proudly at the top of the stairs. Nala’s concentration broke briefly upon his arrival, and Stonegit’s vision vibrated again as he looked up at the Jarl posed over his head. “Your message had us absolutely rife with anticipation. I trust the journey went well?” 
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit stood still as he watched the man’s entrance. The memories that he had shared with Liam were fresh on his mind, as were his own. This man, in many ways he had been like those Valhallan guards. Different actions. Same spirit. 
This man had not been anxious to see him, he did not care if his journey had gone well, and he was decidedly not Stonegit’s friend. None of them were. And the only reason they were all on their feet was because the guards out front had unexpectedly allowed him entrance. 
The bodyguard gave a soft shake of his head. The area dead silent as he and the Jarl met gazes. The look had a simple, quiet, message.  ‘No games…’  He then extended a hand palm up towards Vidar, and then cut the fingers back to motion the man towards him. 
The Warden/The Conclave: Vidar leaned an arm on the banister and tilted his head to the side, pouting his bottom lip in disappointment. “Nothing to say?” he prodded. “You said you wanted to negotiate.” There was a gleam in his eye that revealed he knew exactly what Stonegit’s intentions were, despite his banter, and that he found great enjoyment in refusing to indulge in the bodyguard’s straightforwardness. “Surely you would at least want to let me know what exactly we conflict over. Perhaps we can chat about it. I’m a very forgiving man.” As he spoke, two soldiers from the entourage left Stonegit’s side and approached the stone wheel, one standing on either side with their polearms pointed to the ceiling, watching Stonegit closely. “Brutish violence is no way to handle this.” 
Stonegit Elmiss: “No…” Stonegit said, and began to walk forward. He had a job back home to do, the closest thing to retirement he’d ever give himself to enjoy. If the Jarl himself wouldn’t be straightforward, then Stonegit would have to be straightforward for the both of them. 
“Brutish violence was no way to handle everything up to this point…”
They have armor…my hands are bare…
“The only reason I’m here in the first place…”
I need just enough to dent it…what is that? Five percent of what you got Nala? Two? Either way… His hand closed as his pace quickened to a steady, and set walk, just the barest touch of unnatural warm emanating from his arms. I hate to say it, but it looks like that’s where I’ll have to start!
Stonegit’s chin rose. “Is because you’ve exhausted everything but this!” 
The Warden/The Conclave: Vidar’s eyes darted down to Stonegit’s fists and back up to his face.
“Show me.” 
It wasn’t playful or lined with honey-sweetness any more. It was dead serious. A challenge. All the while, the dark smile never left his face.
I don’t care where we start. Nala’s patience shattered. This ends when he bows to us. She flushed her energy through Stonegit and combined their essence, something they hadn’t done together in several months. The veins in his wrists heated and glowed, along with the contract that had once bound them together. Adrenaline surged through both of them, and Stonegit and Nala broke into a full sprint, heading for the stairs.
In front of them was the sunken wheel, and the guards standing by. They lurched forward, polearms dropping into a defensive position, but the bodyguard had already reached his only barrier and grabbed the top of it with a hand, swinging his legs over. A swell of air pulled in towards him, along with an acidic smell billowing upwards around him, and as soon as his feet hit the floor, the room flashed scarlet and amber and gold. A huge radial of fire and smoke bloomed out from the soles of his boots and the two armed soldiers were thrown back, barely catching themselves with their feet skidding across the stone floor. The rotating chains jangled slightly as the force, small as it was, rocked through the room. A wave of heat followed shortly after.
The Conclave wasted no time in moving in. The watchful archers immediately drew and released. Nala’s energy flooded through space and emerged as a dome of fire that combusted with an ear-ringing pop, turning the arrows to ash. Stonegit caught the fastest guard with a kick to the inner leg while grabbing his shoulders, and then heftily thumped them in the sternum, sending them back and down at an alarming speed. Their helmet cracked against the ground, and they writhed in pain as their fellow guards followed up. The Warden had begun to turn her attention aside to focus viciously on Vidar, but she was immediately drawn back into protecting Stonegit, aiding each of his next strikes with the crackle and blast of igniting gas. She knew he was not aiming to kill, and it quickly began to frustrate her, ensuring none of the explosions were big enough to maim. Their fighting style coalesced into Nala helping to channel several close-range booms, like small, extremely painful and bright firecrackers, and Stonegit following through with his devastating strength, breaking arms, tossing more limp bodies into more active ones, dealing punishing blows to kidneys, stomachs and lungs alike. 
They continued to engage Stonegit, through he was quickly burning through the soldiers that were able to stand on their feet. Vidar was slowly pacing to his left, away from the stairs but still overlooking the banister, like a hungry jackal waiting for the lions to grow bored of feeding. His eyes caught the brightness of each explosion, and the fur on his cape ruffled in several small shockwaves. He hardly flinched.
The tall woman that had greeted Stonegit was now ready to cut him off at the foot of the staircase. Her longsword drawn, she immediately put her strength into powering up for an overhand swing. The demon and the vessel’s sight aligned and slowed, and as Stonegit put his wrists up, throwing caution to the wind for Nala to catch, she focused their energy and the air thickened and snapped in front of his arms. Tasha’s blade met a shockwave blasting outward from about chest height, and it yanked her arm backwards as it carried her sword back and away from her, as well as temporarily downing the other guards behind Stonegit with the collateral damage. The weapon clattered several feet away and she rolled to her feet, fists clenched, but disengaged for the moment. Dust floated down from the railings and the ceiling, and the chains rattled again, louder this time. They began to rotate faster.
The unsuccessful archers were dropping down from the balcony, but while some of them engaged, some of them were going for two of the side doors in the back of the room and disappearing. Once again, Nala tried to track them but the fear of disturbing her connection with Stonegit kept her in check. The fights were shorter range with harder weapons to deflect, and the bodyguard soon found himself with a small collection of shallow, bleeding cuts. Someone got a little too brave in lunging with a long knife, letting Stonegit snatch the sides of their face and smash their head down towards his kneecap, brutalizing their nose and cheekbone but letting them stagger back and fall to the ground. Outside and across the Jaw, a very faint gong could be heard, an unknown repeated signal.
Fed up with the fight, Nala momentarily repelled the remaining soldiers and dragged Stonegit’s attention to Vidar, who had his fingers clawed and his weight leaned into the balcony railing, shoulders hunched, eyes wild as he watched. “I know you’re there, Warden!” he called down, still grinning savagely, teeth bared like a dragon’s. “Oh, I knew exactly where he would tuck you away, like a hidden knife with which he means to threaten me, to make me cower.”
Her thoughts pounded a crimson tattoo behind Stonegit’s skull–Beat him. Beat him. Beat him. Ruin him. Scathe him. End him.
“Honestly, you’re a pathetic example of power,” he continued, watching Stonegit’s movements sharply. “A soft demon neutered of any real threat or bite, hitched to an inhibited clog of an old man. It’s adorable.” He spat the word down at them. The guards were getting back to their feet, growling and enraged at the ease with which Stonegit was still standing. The bodyguard’s ears were filling with a high-pitched ring. The pain leftover from Liam’s mind was vivid and consuming.
End him. End him. End him. End him.
“We would treat her as a queen, to bring about a new world order, and you keep her as a bootlicking lackey!”
END HIM END HIM END HIM END HIM END HIM END HIM 
Stonegit Elmiss: “A pathetic example of power huh?” Stonegit sighed as he brushed a smear of blood from a cut lip. “Then I guess this is going to hurt your pride more than anything else…” 
The bodyguard surged forward into a cluster of men that served as a barrier between him and Vidar. An arm was caught, and the elbow snapped backwards a moment later. Armor dented inward and shattered ribs and Stonegit’s fists came around in brief, but devastating combos. One of the men turned to run but Stonegit caught them in the back of the hair, and then punched them soundly in the side of the neck with a crack. He threw aside the victim, knowing the man probably wouldn’t be able to turn his head for weeks. 
It’s okay Woodchuck…It’s okay that we aren’t killing them…we NEED to not kill them…because today…today we hurt, and frighten, and shame all of Central, and we need them alive to know what that feels like!
More cracking bones, more blood, and vomit, and piss. Stonegit’s strength combined with Nala’s agility, bolstered with the power they shared, saw them dismantle the Central company. With a growled of determination, Stonegit flew up the length of the room and his hand found the long braid of Tasha. His leg swept hers upward, and then he yanked down on the braid with enough force to slam her into the ground. For a moment things slowed to a crawl as Stonegit’s hauled back an arm. And then with a yell he brought it down, and blood filled her vision as his fist crushed her nose practically flat against her face. 
In an instant he had sprung back up, and surged towards Vidar with the newly made opening. Hit him…. His hand tightened as the knuckles canted forward. He needs to understand! Images of Liam being struck, his bones being broken. How that felt! 
With a sharp exhale, Stonegit slammed his fist into Vidar’s center. 
The Warden/The Conclave: Forty. Thirty-nine.
It was like the Jarl simply refused by force of will to let Stonegit land a hit. Stepping back, he rammed his forearm up into Stonegit’s, misdirecting the punch and immediately seizing the bodyguard’s outstretched elbow with the opposite hand, throwing him into the wall. On contact, Stonegit’s almost-blow had created a harsh snap of ash and sparks between them, and he scrambled to his feet and went for another, piledriving into Vidar in order to attempt to bruise him against the railing and column behind him. The Jarl ground his feet against the floor and the two strained against each other for a still moment. 
Thirty-two. Thirty-one.
Flash of stars. Vidar had brought his elbow up and cracked it across Stonegit’s face. It was just enough stun for him to follow through with a powerful jab, but while Stonegit was in pain, Nala took over and jerked him backwards, letting his heavy glove sail by. She was still struggling against her blood rage; Stonegit could see how much imagined gore was filling her mind’s eye. Stonegit recovered and grabbed Vidar’s shoulder from under and behind with lightning speed, the heady smell of gas filling the air again. He forced the taller man up against the balcony again with a crash, and dug a hand into the back of his head, pushing it forward while ratcheting his arm up against his back, hard. His forearms began to heat and crackle, and the sparks traced tiny blooms and flourishes in the air around them. Nala’s voice was a soundless background roar in Stonegit’s mind.
Twenty-five. Twenty-four.
Vidar hissed through his teeth at the heat and then laughed heartily, pushing his hand against the railing to combat Stonegit’s enhanced strength. The remaining guards were cautiously approaching from both sides of the balcony ring, weapons outstretched. “You’re so goddamn weak,” he said, in a low enough voice that only the three of them could hear. “You haven’t killed a single man down there. Don’t think I’m fooled by you, or her fancy tricks. You’re a gutless coward.”
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit gritted his teeth ever tighter as he tried to hold the Jarl in place. But his grip faltered. The man was powerful, and the bloodlust from Nala mixed poorly with his intentions. The memory of spilling Tal’s brains over his arm rippled behind his eyes.
I cant lose control! I’ll kill someone!
White. White and stars as Vigar broke from his grip and put a powerful blow across his head. Stonegit staggered and reverted to warding off attacks. Stonegit was plenty used to fighting larger foes. Blunt had been an excellent training partner for that. There was just one problem.
Blunt sucks at fighting! This guy doesn’t!
Another reeling hit, and Stonegit’s mouth opened, wet with pink tinged saliva. He put an arm around his gut, and then yelped as Vigar’s fist caught him around the back of his rib cage. With a hiss he brought up his hands, but the second elbow Vigar threw powered through it, and knocked him to the ground.
Hunched over, Stonegit’s fingers dug into the floor. He spat once on the ground, and then met the Jarl’s eyes, and his practically untouched body, as blood streamed from a cut on his forehead. “I’m just a bodyguard. I don’t kill things that aren’t a threat.”
The Warden/The Conclave: Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.
But he’s right there!! Nala screamed.
“You don’t, do you?” Vidar’s grin was ghastly. “That must be why Haddock’s head is rotting away from his body. But no matter.”
Nala couldn’t take it; she drove Stonegit forward, intent on tearing the Jarl limb from limb. The storm outside strengthened with a crack of thunder.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
“We can easily change that.”
The massive chains jolted to a stop.
A lengthy bass note began shaking the ground, a sound deep and strong enough to briefly have the Warden relive her memories of Fenrir plowing up through the earth. But this was far different. A slowly-descending, massive vibration, and it shook the earth they stood on, but not in the way earthquakes did. It was a consistent, jittering rumble.
For all the shockwaves that had ripped through the guardhouse, another one rolled upwards through the floor–quite literally, there was a visible border of strange, ghostly energy that spiraled upwards in a quick wave. It shot upwards through the building, and they could all see it extend upwards and outwards towards the sky and out for several miles, like a rapidly expanding bubble.
It was like a torch being extinguished. The small, powerful pops of sparks and smoke around Stonegit’s arms died into nothing but wisps. The extra burning vigor and adrenaline that had been feeding him through the whole fight drained away. There was an alarmed scramble in his mind, as Nala’s control was washed out like a loose stain in a clean rag, quickly torn from him like it had never existed. She collapsed inward, and then…null. He tripped to his knees as his limbs briefly went slack without her overtaking his mind. The faintest of whispery sounds echoed in the back of his mind, like Nala was yelling at him from across a mead hall.
Dark-eyes? I can’t…I can’t see! I can’t…!
With the tone of her words, Stonegit should’ve been able to feel her wild pulses of rage still, maybe even the fear that now pervaded her tone. But there was nothing but a suppressed voice. She was still within him, but barely. The rain poured rapidly against the ground outside, but as the bubble expanded, the sound slowly fell away and quieted, as the rain fell far outside its boundaries instead of within them. The air shimmered with an eerie radiance, like they were all underwater.
What’s happening!? STONEGIT!?
“There we go.” Vidar straightened to his full height. He adjusted his leather gambeson, running his blood-flecked hand through his hair to get it out of his face. He was breathing heavily. “That’s much better, isn’t it. Now…we can keep brawling like animals…or…we can talk.” 
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit’s breath was short as he suddenly felt alone, suddenly was in quiet dark, suddenly alone with someone that he might not be able to beat. He wanted to ramble. Stammer on about how he used to kill anyone he could get away with. How it was not his failure that caused Haddock’s fall. That the rebellions compassion was not weakness. 
But he quelled the boy inside of him, and let the words die in his throat. If Vigar spoke the truth it was the truth. And if he spoke lies, then no rational was worth putting up to dismantle it. Not now. Not when actions could and would speak for themselves. 
He closed his eyes. And knew that this was going to hurt. For a moment he feared that he had left his charges just to die. But he shoved the thought back. Even if Nala couldn’t help him win this fight, she’d at least find some way to get him out alive. 
With a stiff breath Stonegit hoisted himself to his fight and planted his stance to meet Vigar’s eyes. “Like animals, please.” He said, with a dry movement of his eyebrows, well aware of his own battered form. “I’m afraid I don’t speak your language.” 
The Warden/The Conclave: Vidar huffed, tugging the ends of his gloves up higher towards his elbows, rotating each wrist experimentally as he did so. He glanced up, undoing the wolf head clasp on his shoulder and letting his thick fur cape fall over the balcony’s edge to the floor below. “I was afraid you’d say that. Once one rubs shoulders with the beast fuckers long enough, they start to act like them.” He rolled his shoulders forward, and began striding towards Stonegit, muscles tense and ready. 
They once more locked into each other like rutting stags. Vidar chopped his forearm towards’ Stonegit’s solar plexus, and he was barely stopped in time by his opponent’s blocking forearms. He instead cuffed the bodyguard around the back of the head, making his ears ring again, and he drove his entire weight and height down into the man, attempting to force him prone to the floor. Stonegit ducked and rolled the charge across his shoulders, almost grounding Vidar himself. The guards actually backed up while staying at the ready with spears pointed at the brawl. They knew what would happen if they interfered with the Jarl playing with his food. 
Stonegit, can you hear me? What’s going on? What’s wrong!?
Vidar swept upwards and managed to clip Stonegit under the chin, slamming him back into the wall and forcing his broad forearm up into the man’s neck while pinning his left arm up as well, next to his head. He kicked out one of Stonegit’s legs far to the side, to keep him from taking any kind of ready stance. He had his fist ground into the underside of Stonegit’s wrist, and while the bodyguard wasn’t as stringy and easily-accessible as Liam was, he was still determined to drive his iron-studded knuckles into the astral pressure point he knew existed within bundles of nerves and tissue. 
“You’re making this harder than it has to be,” Vidar breathed down into his face.  He tilted his head to the side, considering him. “My men and I won’t stop if you don’t. I suggest you back down and hear me out, before things get…gruesome.” 
Stonegit Elmiss: Nala…
Stonegit’s mind went to the vacating town, the huddled forms, the oddly empty area. 
You have to leave me here…I can deal with him. But I think he’s going to hurt people to get us to back off. You have to stop that. Stop that, so that this fight can go on! Please Nala! Please hear me!
“What?” Stonegit growled against his forearm and the searing pain of his pinched nerves. “You’re telling me you can’t multitask?” Stonegit’s chin tucked down to then slid across Vidar’s arm as he let his body go loose, and move along the wall. The Jarl took note that Stonegit wasn’t only stronger and faster than he looked, but also oddly jelly like when it came to squirming out of  pin-downs. With the precious moment he bought, Stonegit rotated his hips around to strike Vidar once in the back, once in the ribs, and then around towards his head.
Unfortunately, that last strike only clipped his opponent as the Jarl blocked, and then Stonegit staggered back as a shoulder was rammed into his chest. Stonegit swallowed thickly as he attempted to maintain himself despite all the punishment. “If you have time to jeer while fighting, you have time to explain.”
The Warden/The Conclave: What!? I don’t understand, dark-eyes, I can’t act, I can’t see, something’s wrong! Nala sounded as though she were in tears. Her world was entirely dark void. There was no input, no vision, no sensation besides hearing Stonegit’s words. She was bound. What is he doing!?
“You are on borrowed time, Elmiss.” The margin by which the two of them had to fight was inching closed as the rest of the Conclave bristled closer. “You think I give a rat’s ass about you? You’re nothing to me.” Palm-up, he jabbed a finger at Stonegit’s head. “You’re merely a delivery boy for what actually matters here. If we have to beat you senseless and raw for you to understand that and get what we want, we will.” His hand relaxed and he started another slow advance. “Or…you walk back down those stairs to the reliquary…and we’ll do this painlessly.” 
Vidar went in to grab Stonegit by the front of his tunic, and as the bodyguard went to shove him off and away, their forearms clashed. Vidar yanked Stonegit’s hand between them, so that it was within both of their fields of vision. The old, circular scar on his skin no longer glowed. 
“I want her.”
Stonegit Elmiss: There was a rush of visions. A violent assault of memories. Too much. Too much to possibly risk. Stonegit’s hand came up on instinct, and grabbed the Jarl’s throat. The attack wasn’t dangerous so much as it was a warning. The look he gave Vidar has no completely different from how he carried himself before. 
“You have a choice!” He snarled, very nearly cutting off the man’s last spoken word before he could finish. “We can just fight, over something you’ve already done! You can accept that. Or I can kill you for something you’re trying to do!”
His hand curled around to grip his arm back, and pulled himself closer, and yanked Vidar down so their foreheads connected. Already his eyes flickered wildly to see something anything that could help him release the Warden. “I promise you. You torment her and I won’t let you live past the next hour!” 
The Warden/The Conclave: “I am not…fucking…stupid enough,” Vidar spat in his face, “to not have every man in here run you through if you continue to antagonize me. You have a choice.” He threw him across the wall, towards the stairs leading back down to the stone wheel in the ground. “You have one chance to give her up of your own free will. I will let you walk out of here on your own two feet, alive, no further injuries. Or we will make you wish you had never been born, in order to extract her from your broken body. Any further struggles…and I’m certain she will never survive your death in a suppression state.” Again, he bared his teeth, looking feral. “A highly volatile experiment, to be sure. But I would sooner kill her than let her out of my hands again.” The soldiers looked between each other in some surprise at his words, but they held firm. “You filthy rebels are the ones tormenting her. She would be worshipped in our ranks.”
What does he want!? she cried out, still distant and echoing. 
Stonegit Elmiss: You…
The thought was cold as Stonegit pulled himself, yet again, to his feet. He looked at the wheel, the chains. 
This thing is containing you and he’s going to try and extract you from me…
The waters of the lake…the enemies held at bay…the name recovered…the gods fought…Stonegit kept his gaze locked on the Jarl as he whipped the man’s spit from his cheek. The image of Haddock filled his mind, and in the next thought…we wasn’t sure who he was talking to…The Warden, or his King.
I’m sorry…but I can’t pretend that spending my days with those kids…my kids…was anything short of my own selfish idea of retirement. I’m the bodyguard. And I will serve here and in Helheim if I must…
His focuses shifted fully to Nala again. I’ll do what I can, try to find a way out…Because I’m not giving you up!
Stonegit closed his eyes. “Okay…” He said to the Jarl. “You win…I’ll stop fighting you…”
And just like that…Stonegit…stopped…”fighting.” 
…
The leveled spear was knocked upwards faster than the guard holding it could react, and Stonegit stepped inside, and punched him straight in his throat. With an arching sweep, the newly acquired spear sailed around and smashed across the head of the guard opposite of him. There was a surge of movement, as the soldiers reacted, but the tip of the spear, in oddly finite movement compared to his more brutish style, sank neatly into their necks, and torsos. 
With a twist, Stonegit sent a spray of blood in the Jarl’s direction as he ripped the blade from a slashed neck. The bodyguard then bolted away towards the wheel, willing, and searching for anything that he could see to send Nala’s way. 
We just have to turn this suppression off! Preferably before they manage to kill me!
The game had changed. It would be all agility, dodging, and counter attacks from here on out. 
The Warden/The Conclave: Nala tried desperately to imagine the layout of the room before everything had gone dark. Downstairs! The back of the room, the doors!
They tore away from the reliquary and rammed a shoulder into it, making it shake. The Conclave moved in. Vidar’s enraged roar rattled the room.
“GET HIM!!”
***
Miles outside, at the border of the pulsing orb of darkly shining energy which bubbled most of the Jaw, a single figure stood with a heavy rain-soaked cloak, shivering heavily–not only because of the cold, and because he was dressed in less-than-ideal clothes for the weather and snow, but because his heart was beating rapidly against the inside of his throat, and he had the side of his tattooed hand clamped tightly between his teeth, turning his dark skin more pale with the force of his anxiety-ridden bite. Shaking violently, as though stricken with palsy, he reached his other arm out to the barrier and waved a hand through it. Underneath his long sleeves, a fuzzy green glow extended upwards to his wrist, but not any further beyond the boundary of the forcefield.
“God…” He pulled his hood down tightly over his forehead and shut his eyes, which were misting his glasses with nervous tears. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…okay, I can do this…oh god…”
He slid a foot back into the snow, leaving a footprint with a very oddly-shaped track from his shoe, took a gasping breath, and then sprinted forward, scattering white pulses in his wake as the field swirled around him.
***
The door broke with another shove, and it both burst open in a shower of splinters and fell over, slamming into two Conclave soldiers that were standing behind it. Stonegit thundered down a short hallway before emerging into a vertical sandstone chute lined with stairs. The double chains that had been previously moving were hanging still in the open air leading straight down. He skipped two, three, four stairs at a time, rushing down, and eventually the wall to his right opened up and nearly sent him falling off the steps as the chute opened into a massive, elliptical room, containing some of the more bizarre sights that the bodyguard had seen in his long years.
There was a massive, hunched construct towering over most of the area, roughly directly under where the main hall had been above their heads. It resembled a hulking being of tangled metallic, marble and obsidian limbs, though it was in something resembling an extreme fetal position, and no more distinction could be made about its shape. However, it was larger than most dragons, even larger than Emily, the alpha half-breed. Across from it, there was a sunken pit in the ground lined with huge blocks of stone, and a huge orbital contraption with many rotating hoops of metal spun and whirred at alarming speeds in its depths. The suppressing aura was strongest around this device. The chains led to either side of a complex mechanism surrounding the orb, and there were differently-dressed Conclave members and soldiers alike. There were notably several Deadly Nadders in saddles and harnesses throughout the room, and upon seeing Stonegit, the group hollered and tugged on the dragons’ leads. They screeched and hopped to each of the massive chains in the floor, opening their jaws and starting to spray the links with their molten-hot shower of sparks. The links began to slowly heat red. They would soon break if not stopped. Nala was doing her best to extract bits and pieces of her surroundings from Stonegit’s inner dialogue, and it was slow and broken, but it was the best she had to work with.
Stonegit Elmiss: Don’t let those chains break! Stop the Naddars! Stop the chains! Save my friend!
The spear came around once to clang on the ground as Stonegit rushed the group. 
Don’t worry Woodchuck! You weren’t the only friend I brought today!
Stonegit sucked in a breath of air, and then gave a sharp whistle. From his side, Snag made herself visible and lunched past him with a hiss, to sink her venom soaked fangs into one of the Naddars necks. 
Even without Nala I still have my magic, I don’t use it for much, but I can use it- His arm hauled back the spear as gas formed around his wrist and palm. for…this! The small explosion Stonegit was expecting…didn’t quite fire off. Apparently this suppression wasn’t just for demons. Uh oh… The spear, which would have been propelled clear through the Naddars head, merely sank into the side of it’s head. A fatal strike nevertheless.
Stonegit leapt over the fallen Naddar, and grabbed at the spear, but on account of his awkward angle, he missed it, and ended up snatching one of it’s tail spikes on the way by instead. He practically crashed into a small cluster of the conclave members. His leg jutted out to give short kick to the front man’s crotch, and then threw the spike over the man’s head as he bent over. It sunk into the forehead of the soldier behind him. He slipped around the man, and kicked his leg out from under him. Finally, he yanked the dagger from the second man’s head, rammed it into the thirds ribcage before ripping up the length of his side, striking him down with a bone crunching punch, and then pivoting to slam his foot down on the tripped conclave members neck. 
His arm then whipped around to yank the thrown spear free, and his made his way towards the next Naddar. All the while he channeled his mind, thoughts, and vision to Nala, in any hope at all that she could help him. 
The Warden/The Conclave: The chamber echoed with dragon screams as Stonegit managed to propel both handlers and dragons away from the chains. Nala was slowly, slowly building up an image of the many interfaces that stood between them and somehow deactivating the artifact so that they could run like Hel out of that awful place. It felt like looking at another language to her, especially without being able to dissect it as she normally could. They were running out of time before more soldiers filtered in from down below.
Dark-eyes, dispatch someone and leave them alive, as best you can. I need to inspect their mind. You’re going to have to trust me.
Stonegit Elmiss: My trust in you is the reason I believe we can get out of this alive!
Stonegit’s mind raced as he fought past his adversaries. He’d have to keep moving, keep positioning himself to avoid prolonged combat, maybe even be forced into a hiding place. With the chains integrity preserved, Snag took up a position between Stonegit and the entrance to the under area, to serve as an early warning system for him. Meanwhile, the bodyguard parried down an attack from one of the Conclave members, and swiftly hit him with an uppercut, and then a powerful blow to the stomach. He stepped past the man and grabbed him by the collar to haul him around a corner. 
Read this one! Quick! 
Even as the words rang clear, there were still other stray thoughts that scattered throughout his mind.
We aren’t done…!
Not yet!
He doesn’t get away with this! He doesn’t get away for what he did to Liam! 
No matter how this goes, he’s going to have to face a fight!
The Warden/The Conclave: The Warden let off a very dirty Daemon oath as she struggled against the suppression field. It was like she was trapped in a jar. The sound of armor echoing off stone walls came from both staircases on either side.
Transfer our contract to him, and then protect me!
Stonegit Elmiss: Never thought I’d ever have to do this…again.
Stonegit thought the words remorsefully, but pressed the back of his palm into the member’s hand to transfer the seal. The image of the Jarl flashed in his mind as he held Stonegit’s own hand to his face, with that wild gleam in his eye and smile. 
You won’t have her…not ever… 
He straightened. It’s done… “Nala…” He said. 
The Warden/The Conclave: The demon quickly unraveled as far as she could given her limited capacities and began quickly speaking to the member of the Conclave, who was choking up blood and staring wildly into Stonegit’s eyes as he stood over him. He was incredibly young…and terrified.
Shut down the field, Nala ordered.
What the–who the Hel are you!? he cried out, his bowels moving as he clutched his abdomen. What did he do to me!?
Listen here, she snarled, channeling an intimidation and a hatred long unused. You are either going to tell me exactly how to turn that thing off, or do it yourself, because if you don’t, I swear to you, however the Jarl would punish you would be merciful compared to what this man would enact upon you. But if you do, we will protect you with our lives, we will heal you and help you escape. You can be free.
She could feel some hesitation. Broken images and thoughts cracked and flickered through both of their minds. He was afraid of getting any closer to Stonegit, so instead of moving to any of the consoles himself, he curled his limbs inward and sank to the floor of the alcove that Stonegit had shoved him into, staring at the ground with wide, blank eyes. His pupils constricted into telltale slits, letting Stonegit know it was working. I’ll tell you, he said shakily, trying not to burp up more blood. I’ll tell you, don’t hurt me–
As he started to go into logistics, the first line of new guards hit the ground and sprinted over to Stonegit, who was alerted by Snag. The bodyguard saw the silhouette of the Jarl himself descending the stairs from the back, with broadsword drawn, face dark in the bad lighting but eyes aflame with rage.
Stonegit Elmiss: With a yell that hadn’t been heard since the days the Rebellion was set upon by it’s own dragons, Stonegit whirled the spear over his head and slammed it down onto the ground as he turned away from the captured member. He jutted out the spear towards the approaching men and Snag wound herself around his ankle. He set his eyes on anyone within the group that would serve as a weak link in the chain. Naturally, this meant not looking at Vidar. But that was okay…
Stonegit didn’t want him running at all…
“Rip…and tear…” He said to them in a guttural voice, and there was a moments hesitation in the approaching footsteps, as the blood at soaked his arms and the area around him became more immediately apparent. The scrape of metal came to their ears as Stonegit slowly began to walk towards them. “Consider who you approach. I am Stonegit Elmiss…I’ve crawled from Helheim…threw down Alpha’s with my bare hands! Threw pikes into the eyes of gods and tore the spines from Kings! I’m the enemy, of a demon more ancient than this one, THAT I PREVALED OVER!” 
The spear hit the ground again as Stonegit’s lopsided gaze bore into the front men of the approaching group. Whether than ran or not was of no consequence. The integrity of their moral was what he was after. “RIP AND TEAR! I WILL RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!”
The Warden/The Conclave: The crack of the spear against the stone made everyone lurch back and hold out their weapons in a circle resembling a pack of wolves, snarling and waiting to pounce, but holding for an unknown signal. The Jarl paced forward, his entire body as tense as a wire as he took in the scene–the unbroken chains, the bodies strewn across the bloodstained floor, and Stonegit himself, lungs heaving as he approached. Vidar looked far less composed and jaunty–now, he was in the holds of rage himself. His face was twisted with new lines of stress and violence, and his eyes belonged to another man entirely. He lined the hilt of his sword up near his hip and leveled the blade in a ready stance at the man who was so sorely beginning to vex him.
“You pissant leech,” he rumbled. “I’m through with you. I’m going to cut your heart out, and watch that demon die in your eyes–”
He stopped, squinting. He and Stonegit stared each other down for another heartbeat. Then his gaze shifted under Stonegit’s arm, to the half-visible body shivering on the ground behind the bodyguard.
Vidar looked daggers back at Stonegit. Then he hurled his sword around in a full swing, knocking the spear out of the way, and rushing towards the downed soldier harboring Nala.
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit would not have been able to recover the spears position in time to stop the Jarl. So instead he let it fly from his hand, and leapt upon the man to wrestle him to the ground. 
Remember what you learned! 
Stonegit’s mind raced with memories of men holding him down, feeling stuck, helpless. They mixed with images of Blunt, anxiously pinning him to a mat, and Stonegit, tears in his eyes, running the techniques that would help free himself. Getting up. Hugging the man he loved. And then getting back down to run the drill again. 
Stonegit’s legs hooked into the Jarl’s, as his other arm came around to catch his sword arm. He shifted around to keep Vidar between him and the others, and Snag scrambled up onto the ceiling, and began to spit potshots of acid at the other soldiers to ward them away. 
The bodyguard hissed with the strain of holding such a powerful man down, and dug his sweat soaked forehead to the side of Vidar’s. “Forget it!” He growled. “You’ll never have her, dead, or alive.” 
The Warden/The Conclave: There was a thrash of movement underneath him, and then Stonegit’s ears rang as Vidar unleashed a wordless roar, which abruptly cut off in volume as Stonegit felt teeth find painful purchase in his neck and attempt to rend flesh. The guards were trying to shoot Snag down from the ceiling, but her camouflage aided her well in dodging.
The surprise attack let Vidar roll Stonegit to the side and knee him in the inner thigh for good measure. Breathing heavily, blood smearing the side of his mouth and staining his beard, he pushed himself to his feet and kicked his sword back into his hand, stalking towards the shivering boy on the ground. “You beautiful beast,” he hissed. “You’ve been enough trouble for a lifetime. I can’t wait til you’re mine.” 
Nala pulled together every mental faculty she could muster to understand what the soldier had explained to her. Can you get up? she ordered.
I dunno… His vision was woozy, and she was filled with a sudden fear she had little familiarity with–the fear of the unknown. 
Try.
The soldier came to, and upon seeing Vidar standing above him, sword in hand, he gasped and screamed shortly, scrambling back up against the wall.
CRACK.
There was a deafening sound from across the chamber. The sharp smell of something akin to Jari’s powder filled the air, and one moment Vidar was ready to murder the Conclave under him, and the very next, he was staggering backwards, holding a hand to his collarbone and shoulder, where everyone could see there was a deep puncture wound that was starting to well up with blood. He whipped his head around to search the room, gritting his teeth with new pain.
Yun, soaking wet and still shaking, stood almost in the center of the room near the antimagic field device, brandishing something in both hands that looked like Dixie’s Zippleback gas revolver, only far more sleek and dark. Thanks, Jin. He lowered it to point at the ground, pulled the lever back to cock it, and found Stonegit’s eyes in the midst of the fight and the acidic steam rising around them. He was unsure if he could get another clean shot off. “Mess him up!!” he yelled to Stonegit, his voice cracking and echoing across the room.
The soldier used the distraction to roll forward and make it behind cover towards the device, coughing and heaving himself up on the dashboard and trying to follow Nala’s urgings as best as he could. Vidar was not far behind.
Stonegit Elmiss: There was a quick lapse in the Jarl’s surging adrenaline as Stonegit’s tore after him, and then swiftly let his foot swing up to strike Vidar in between the legs from behind. The strange newcomer and Snag had the guards. Nala had the device. And he had Vidar.
Stonegit closed his hands around his shoulders and yanked him back. “Look at me!” He hissed, as he brought the man around to face him. His arm jerked off to the side as he separated Vidar from his sword, and threw the weapon aside. In a move that was as much as a surprise as it was an insult, Stonegit’s hand came around to harshly smack the Jarl across the face like a petulant child. He then shoved him back so they both had some distance. “Look at me and listen you infantile piss ant!” 
He breathed a steady breath, as he gingerly touched the gash in his neck, and then his hands curled into fists once more. “You want me out of your way? Then you better step up, kid.”  
The Warden/The Conclave: Enraged had long been an understatement for Vidar at this point. It worked; he charged forward like a bull and rammed his shoulders into Stonegit, slamming them both into the stone wall behind them. As they grappled, Yun sprinted up to be in the same cover as the soldier, who was shaking violently as he went through the protocols to re-start the movement of the chains beside them and take down the field. But there was blood across their hands from scrambling across the ground, and they were slipping over the controls too many times. The time jumper peeked over the short stone wall separating him from the fight, and something caught his eye. A woman with a black braid and an extremely bloodied, destroyed face flanking the fight, approaching the soldier from the side. Yun quickly moved so that the body harboring Nala wasn’t in his line of fire, and lifted the gun again, lining up the sights and watching Tasha draw a heavy dagger from her side. 
The soldier pulled down on a large lever as Yun pulled the trigger. He missed, by a wide berth. Stone shards shattered behind Tasha’s head as her arm whipped forward and the blade flashed end over end as it traveled towards them.
The young Conclave man jerked forward and gasped, mouth gaping over the controls as their body froze. Yun made a noise, probably a loud one, but he couldn’t hear it over the pounding of rushing blood in his head. The man’s grip slackened on the lever and he slid to the ground, his lungs spasming for air around the knife buried to the hilt in his back. Yun did not miss his third shot. Tasha skidded to the ground; if not dead, then primed to bleed out in only a minute.
Stonegit Elmiss: The exchange of blows between Stonegit and Vidar were sharp and brutal. Stonegit was too battered to ward off most of his attacks, while the Jarl was too enraged to guard himself properly. His back hit the stone and he let his air leave him as Vidar’s fists slammed into his sides and at his head. He regained the breath, as it had not been forced from his body, and set his arms up to intercept a wild swing. As the block set it, Stonegit shifted in his stance to strike Vidar across the jaw, flinch as he felt knuckles knock against his head, and then turn in again to jam his opponent in the ribs, right in the gap where the front and back of his armor connected. And then everything spun once again into a blurry haze of blow after blow sent between the two of them. 
Spitting the blood that leaked from his mouth, Stonegit called loudly over to his new found ally. “Stop the machine!” His hands and arms tangled with Vidar’s again as he attempted to restrain the Jarl. He felt his teeth cut into his lips as Vidar landed a sharp blow to his mouth. Stonegit gritted his teeth. “I’ll stop you…” His nearly whispered to the man, even as his limbs shook. “I’m going to stop you…” 
The Warden/The Conclave: “I hope you do,” Vidar snarled, getting a grip on the side of Stonegit’s head and shoving it back to throw him to the ground, only to clash once more as the bodyguard refused to go down. “It will have to kill you!”
Yun crashed to his knees by the soldier and grabbed either side of his head, looking him in the eyes. “Nala,” he said in a wobbly voice, “Nala, are you there?”
The movement of his chest was sporadic; his face was draining of color. He managed to twitch a hand upwards–the one burned with the contract–and curl all his fingers in but one. Yun followed the pointer finger past his shoulder and behind him, looking up at the menacing construct that loomed over the pair. Near what he assumed to be its feet, there was some kind of oddly blank panel, about the size of…a man’s hand. Yun quickly looked back to confirm. The soldier uncurled his hand in a flat shape and let his breath out in a wheeze, barely nodding. They were out of time.
Yun stood and seized the soldier under the arms, dragging him in increments across the floor towards the construct. His eyes were blurred with tears born of absolute, stark fear, but he still managed to pull the body up towards the shallow podium and help the dying man lift his arm up and slowly press the bloody palm of his hand to the panel. His glasses flashed as the contract burned, smoldered, and recreated itself onto the shining metal surface, like it had been inscribed by an immature artisan. The body went slack in his arms, and their breath leaked out of their lungs in a thin stream.
Chest heaving, Yun looked down at the corpse, and then up at Stonegit and Vidar and the guards and Snag, who were still tearing each other apart. The young man tilted his chin up, nearly falling over to look at the head of the statuesque being leaning over him. Nothing happened. His cheeks were wet, and he couldn’t remember when or how.
“Nala?”
Vidar shoved Stonegit away for a moment and searched for his wayward soldier again, finding him and Yun taking shelter beneath the intricately made construct. His breath exploded out of his throat and he looked awed, and then giddy.
“Tyr’s mangled hand…she actually did it.”
Stonegit Elmiss: There was heavy footstep that regained the Jarl’s attention, and his arm swung around to bash Stonegit, who just barely managed to put an arm up to block it. The hit caused him to stagger, but with a yell he thrust his hand forward to grab onto the man’s chest armor. 
It was then that Vidar saw the wave of gas…even without Nala, Stonegit was pushing his magic to the limit. 
The burst of fire erupted from Stonegit’s hand, tearing the armor away as his arm was burned. The Jarl responded by resuming his attack, but this time with his exposed center, the story began to change. His strikes against Stonegit began to do less, and less, as if the man had become numb. While Stonegit’s hits began to hurt, and jar not only his body, but his sense of ease. 
Slowly, but steadily, Vidar started to realizes the fight was turning, and Stonegit’s presence and will warred against his. The bodyguard caught his arm in his, and brought his dominant fist around to send a rapid series of bone crunching strikes traveling from Vidar’s lower ribs, and ending with his throat.
And then there it was.
The same feeling Liam had, as if somehow Stonegit had forced it into his mind and heart. The feeling of wanting to leave. To escape. To have the pain stop. Only realizing that it wasn’t going to happen.
As if somehow sensing this as well, Stonegit roared as he shoved into him with a ferocity that rivaled King Haddock’s himself. “Jarl Vidar!” He yelled, as the gas that he had also built up around his other arm wavered as his fist swung around. 
“You!”
“Are!”
The fist connected just above Vidar’s jaw. 
“WEAAAK!” 
The vision in Vidar’s eye blurred as every blood vessel in it burst, and his feet were awkwardly lifted from the ground as his head was forced in the opposite direction. The entirely of his face rippled from the impact as he felt his jaw dislocate, some back teeth come loose, and his cheekbone crack neatly in half.
And then, as if time had nearly stopped in that moment, the edges of his hair curled, and blackened, as another explosion tore from Stonegit’s arm in motion with the punch, and sent the Jarl flying past his men.
It was only after his body hit the ground, that Stonegit’s broken, and burnt arm lowered to his side.    
The Warden/The Conclave: The guards came to a complete standstill, watching the Jarl stir faintly, smoke curling off of his armor. They whirled around, holding their weapons, but they were cautious, extremely so.
Yun shot to his feet, eyes wide. “Wait–how–?” he whispered.
Then he looked down at his hands, and curled them into fists. His tattoos slowly lit up from his elbows to his fingers, and he looked up at Stonegit in disbelief.
The earth groaned, and the chains began to move. The wildly rotating bronze rings surrounding the orb spun down and stopped completely. The draining, pale aura that had filled the air since the artifact had been activated began to fade. His hands shot up to his mouth in shock.
“Hún gerði það!!”
Stonegit Elmiss: “NALA!” Stonegit yelled as he staggered over to the strange newcomer and even stranger device. He crashed to his knees next to him, and gazed wide eyed at the fallen conclave member. All at once a clearer memory of Vidar’s words came to him.
What was it again?! That if I, or who she possessed, was killed under this devices influence, that she’d die too?! 
Stonegit’s eyes were wide, and teeth clamp tightly together. The very idea of walking away, abandoning her to that man, it had overshadowed everything. Including the realization that if he died, as a mortal, he would have taken the ancient demon, and symbol of the Rebellion’s protection, with him. Granted, Stonegit was almost certain that Nala would have wanted to fight no matter the risk. But even then, his gut twisted as he desperately reached out for her essence.
My magic was back at that last second! So that means she stopped it right?!
His hand grabbed the conclave members to reclaim his sigil, not that it worked that way, unless there was a demon and willing host on the other side that is. “Nala…” He said as his fingers squeezed the man’s tightly, as if searching.  “Nala please….” 
The Warden/The Conclave: Blood slowly dripped down from the handprint on the panel above their heads, staining the man’s pale, dead face. Yun grabbed Stonegit’s arm, tucking his fingers in the crook of his elbow, as he watched the remaining guards cluster around Vidar, two of them bending down to assist him. There were hardly any more coming down from upstairs, though–why was that?
A boom made the ground shiver slightly, the sound of cannon fire. The rebels must have been occupying them well enough.
“What are we gonna do?” Yun said hoarsely. 
The sound of retching made them both turn. Vidar viciously shoved away a glowing hand and used one of the fallen spears to lurch to his feet, leaning his weight on it and baring his bloody teeth. The hasty ministrations of one of his attendants had only partially reconstructed his lower face–his cheekbone and left eye were still mangled, bruised and weeping, creating a scarlet waterfall down his face and the side of his neck into his charred, half-shredded tunic. He was the very picture of deranged, barely holding back a fury that was threatening to tear him apart at the seams. The massive construct brooded hollowly and silently over the scene, limbs glistening in the firelight of the alcoves.
“That…was all you had to do,” the Jarl rasped, standing up straighter and making his way around the powered-down artifact so he could glare directly across the chamber at them. “Could’ve handed me the fucking she-devil…and both of us could’ve walked away.” He fumbled for one of his long, heavy gauntlets, seizing the leather middle finger and twisting it away and off his right arm with some difficulty caused by their fight. Underneath, his hand was scuffed, pale and swollen from the sweat building up and soaking back into his skin without room to breathe. It made the markings around his wrist stand out even further–precisely-carved rings of complex runes either burned or carved into his own skin. “Now…I’m not letting you go anywhere.” He clenched his fist, the tendons in his arm flexing and making the contracts ripple, and started to stalk towards them, using the spear as a support.
Yun stumbled back in sheer terror, still gripping Stonegit’s arm while partially taking cover behind him. He could leave at any second–he should leave–but he couldn’t just abandon the bodyguard. 
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit glanced at Yun, and saw his terror. Whatever it was that the Jarl had on his arm, it had made someone who, apparently, had tumbled through time very afraid. He took that into serious consideration.
And then there was Nala…she wasn’t responding. He didn’t even know if she was alive. His contract still wasn’t back. He couldn’t feel her presence. Stonegit knew he couldn’t abandon her. But he also couldn’t throw his life away over someone who had passed on. 
He didn’t know what to do…
Nala…I’m going to try and give you a little more time…please…I won’t be able to forgive myself if I caused you to be lost over my foolhardiness. No matter how much it may have mattered…
No…I have to give you all of my time…because I won’t make it out of this alive without you! His teeth gritted together as he pushed himself to his feet. But that’s okay…because if I didn’t think you could do it I never would have come here!
His burnt and swollen fingers curled back together and he lifted them up in both preparedness and challenge. “I could say the same Vidar…you’re not going anywhere until you apologize for what you did to Liam…” He managed a crooked smile, and hid the tremor in his gut at the sight of the markings on the Jarl’s arms. “I’ll admit though…you were a tough opponent…by the time you had armor, and weapons, and a trap, and a platoon of soldiers at your disposal. But who counting? Oh yeah…” Stonegit circled a hand around at all the dead bodies before jerking a thumb at his chest, then he pointed a Vidar, and made a ‘zero count’ gesture.
The Warden/The Conclave: “Don’t get any cockier than you already are,” he snarled, his throat clicking oddly as a few fragments of cartilage moved in and out of place. “You don’t even know what you’re about to watch unleash upon this wretched land…”
While they spoke, Yun kept a hold of Stonegit, but he stretched out his foot, steadily trying to scoop his fallen gun under the sole of his shoe and slide it towards himself without being seen. Heart thundering, he inched it towards himself, keeping his eyes on Vidar.
“You truly have a narrow mind if you believe that ratty feline is anywhere near as important as you think he is. Even yourself, who brought me my new prize…” The Jarl continued to storm closer, roughly slamming the butt of the spear harder than necessary against the stone floor. The two of them noticed that it was strangely damp, with a few trickles of water starting to creep down the walls and around their feet. “Your skulls are stepping stones to me. You, your false lineage of Haddocks, your soft Haligan chief, the dirty hare you call Commander…there is only one who can–”
Everyone’s ears rang as a deafening crack echoed through the chamber, but it was only audible for a second over a grating metallic screech, and a long, shining, unrecognizable limb of the construct to their right moved so fast that it wasn’t even visible before it was suddenly in front of Vidar, with an odd smoking and blackened skid mark across the surface. It had no ordinary joints, or digits, or anything resembling an organic being. Yun slowly lowered his weapon in shock. There was no way anything could move that fast.
The entire construct rippled, clicked, and shifted, and more groaning and prying metal echoed across the chamber. The underbelly suddenly expanded and began to twist away from what looked like a massive, elaborate hollow ribcage. But it wasn’t the belly–it was a long, segmented neck curled back under the body, and soon, a head taller than a man emerged, and swung out to look Stonegit directly in the face. The entire room flooded with blazing scarlet light from two narrow slits in a beaklike, horned face. The filigree swirls of bronze inlaid into pitch black obsidian and white marble were almost mesmerizing in their intricacy and beauty; it seemed like something the bloodthirsty, brutish Conclave would never be able to produce. The construct contorted several more of its limbs in a sinuous manner as it emerged further from its resting position to hunch over Stonegit and Yun, with three more massive insect or blade-like feet snapping out to support itself against the ground. One of them impaled the dead soldier below it and flung it away. The noise it made was unfathomably alien. But the color that lit up every wall and bored into their eyes was unmistakable.
Stonegit Elmiss: Stonegit felt the color drain from his face. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the realization that the Warden was alive. Or because she was now in this unfamiliar, and therefore uncertain form. He couldn’t tell if she was in control of herself. Or if Vidar somehow held the reins to this thing. His chest hitched a few times as he starred, wide eyed into the constructs features.
His arms shook as he rapidly came to realize that whether it was Vidar or Nala under control, there would be no outrunning this thing. Everything today had been a gamble, and a dare fated to chance. The only stable part of his plan, for both the small victory he would have settled with, and his own survival, had been dependent on Nala. And that fact remained still, whether a twisted and inverted version of it or not.  
And so Stonegit’s hands uncurled, repositioned, and slowly reached out to touch the face of the form in front of him. “Woodchuck…?” He whispered, effectively ignore Vidar.