The Rescuers

"The Rescuers" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Lila peered over from the top of the hill her and the strike team sat behind. The moon was high and full. With her was the Changling, and Deo as well as several others. They were here to bust Liam out of his captivity. Lila pulled out a spyglass and located 3 guards patrolling the perimeter, relatively spaced out from each other. She carefully crawled back to her group. "Alright, here's the plan. Deo and Changling you two will go take out three guards that are patrolling the perimeter. You'll both assume their forms. Deo you'll need to memorize the third so that you can disguise Liam on your way out. Nio's packet told us where his cell was so when you make you way there, Changling, make a key that fits the lock and Deo will disguise him. Do what you have to do but try to keep it quiet." She said. "We will be here as backup. If you aren't back in an hour and a half we're coming into get you. Does everyone understand?" She asked.
Aug 17, 2020
The Chief watched her niece as she gave her orders to Deoiridh and the Changling. Her council had tried to convince her to stay home, but she couldn’t stay home. She had Brandt to look after the village, and she would never send her kids on a dangerous mission like this. Besides, Liam was Vox’s son, and she knew Liam. He was in there because of this Rebellion. She needed to be there to help. However, she allowed Lila to lead the mission. 
She watched Deoiridh and Changling waiting for them to respond as she sat on Shadow’s back.
Aug 17, 2020
Deo nods and fades from view, perfectly blending into the environment. Meanwhile the Changling gives her a wink and shifts down into the shape of a field mouse before scurrying off. It doesn't take long to take the three out. Between the two of them it was quite easy to lure two if them away from the other. Then a well placed arrow to the throat and the men all laid dead in the grass and two of them made their way into the Jaw.
Aug 18, 2020
The hulking jawbone of the wolf of Ragnarok towered over them as they approached its south side, up to where the Jaw opened up into a huge V shape. They first passed several stretches of farmland, where there were several guards keeping watch over the crops. Deo and the Changeling could see that along with long stretches of typical late-winter foodstuffs, like beans and beets and grains, there were more expensive, harder-to-grow plants, used later for linens and fabrics to be dyed and traded for profit. The guards were sparse, but they looked at the disguised rebels oddly as they passed by, and then at each other, eyebrows raised. The moonlight darkened as they walked through the shadow of the first fang rising to their left. The crops started to be interspersed with more housing, a few blocks here and there of more residential areas, and of course, more Conclave. 
Eventually, one of the patrolmen mounted on dragonback moved in towards them, with a banner hanging from his pauldron to mark him as a squad leader. “What are you boys doin’ back here?” he called out across one of the fields. His Rumblehorn squinted and sniffed in their direction, making clouds of foggy hot air billow out from its infamous trackers’ nose. “Shift’s not up yet.”
Aug 18, 2020
Thinking quickly the Changling used the voice of the man she was disguised as, passing the speech patterns of the man Deo was disguised as to her. "The Jarl sent a runner. Something about a prisoner transfer?"
Aug 18, 2020
The guard squinted and leaned forward while putting an elbow on the horn of his saddle, his battered armor clinking. “And they sent y’all?”
Aug 18, 2020
They shrug. "I don't know what to tell ya'. I'm not one to question the Jarl though. Especially when he's in one of his moods."
Aug 18, 2020
It was clear the guard wasn’t, either, as he paused and scratched the back of his neck, still eyeing the two up and down. The Rumblehorn gave a low, humming warble, and he instinctively rubbed between its horns, finally sitting upright. 
“A’right...gonna initiate protocols just in case, but if it’s that important to him, he can shut ‘em down.” He turned in the saddle and dug through his bag, opening the door of the lantern swinging on an iron pole fixed to the back of the dragon’s harness. “Go on, get.”
Aug 18, 2020
The Changling starts to climb on and Deo follows suit. Meanwhile the Changling begins to brush up against his surface thoughts trying to see what these protocols were.
Aug 18, 2020
The lantern, which was strangely mostly dark and shuttered, flashed brightly as the mounted guard used a flint to spark light into it. He gripped the door of it and began to open and shut it with a few metallic snaps, in a rhythmic pattern. As the demon examined his mind, they saw that he was intently trying to mimic a memorized pattern, and a little deeper, they saw the attached message--letting the other Conclave members guarding the hideout to briefly detain and run a few tests on the guards he was about to bring in. The purpose of the tests, as the Changeling discovered, was to make sure neither of them were being controlled by mind mages or--
The man stiffened and turned around, looking at Deo and the demon as well as searching the surrounding farmland. “What the Hel,” he breathed, his heartbeat quickly accelerating and his muscles tightening. His lantern message changed--he was indicating that he himself had likely been mentally compromised. Then he kicked the Rumblehorn’s sides, and the dragon shook its head and took off, headed closer to the heart of the Jaw’s city. He was clutching the saddle horn, obviously shaky and sweaty despite the cold.
Aug 18, 2020
The Changling sighs as they communicate this to Deo. the red head comes up with an idea and makes the pair invisible while also creating exact doubles of themselves and slips off. The Changling changes into a small dragon, just large enough to hold her weight and glides down towards the entrance of the prison to keep so to a minimum. They land near by and change back to being guards. "How long." The demon asks. "Fer as long as he's in the air." She replied. They quickly make their way to the prison entrance, hoping to get in quickly.
Aug 18, 2020
Across the outskirts of the Jaw, one flickering lantern after another slowly began signaling their way back into the more dense part of the city.
The doors of the prison were quite wide but oddly stout, strapped with thick iron plates and giant knockers and huge studs, and four guards stood shoulder to shoulder across their breadth, much more alert and stern and better-armored than the patrols around the Jaw. They bristled at the approach of the two supposed guards. 
“What d’you think you’re doing back here?” one of them said gruffly. “Back to your barracks.”
Aug 18, 2020
The Changling holds up two hands. "Alright alright we're going." Their hands turn into sharp spikes and quickly shoot forward to pierce through their head and out the back. Deo nocked two arrows and loosed them on the remaining guards' throats going for quick silent kills.
Aug 18, 2020
The men and women reached up to grip their heads and throats in alarm but it was too late; they fell to the ground, their blood spurting and pooling across the flagstones as they moved to the door and the Changeling used their form to slip through the thin crack in the doors and unlatch it from the inside. In shock, one of the inner guards tried to stop them from opening, but was too slow, and the doors groaned open as another four guards readied their weapons inside, baring their teeth at the apparent traitors at their front door.
Aug 18, 2020
The had quickly turned from flat to four sharp spikes as they pierce each one of them again as they did outside. "We don't have time fer this." deo says, dragging two of the bodies in as the Changling grabs the other two and closes and latches the door behind them before continuing on.
Aug 23, 2020
As the two raced through the underground bowels of the Conclave’s prison, dispatching guards as they went, the trail of signal lanterns continued to make their way across the city, passing the patrolman that finally landed at one of the outermost bunkers, still trembling.
“Alright, what’s the problem now?” his superior demanded, marching forward up to the feet of the Rumblehorn, which huffed in her face. 
He jerked a thumb back behind him at the empty saddle. “Says they’re running for the Jarl...felt somethin’ off about it. And myself, too. Turnin’ myself in for a check-up.”
The captain squinted at him and then leaned over to look back at his saddle. “Seems your instincts were right, soldier. Nobody there.”
The guardsman paled, and he whipped around to confirm it for himself. And then the captain had to make a quick move to catch him as he fainted off the Rumblehorn’s back, swearing under her breath. “Either the night air’s making him lose it, or someone’s playing tricks on him,” she said to her small entourage, who nodded and gripped their weapons tighter. “We’ll wait for the warning bell, see if anything else suspicious happens after that. Be ready.”
A few deep gongs rang out over the night-shadowed buildings, and the few of the community that was still awake stiffened, but kept going about their duties, shifting their eyes back and forth between one another as they wondered what had been compromised to garner a warning. The heavy sound could be heard underground, as the insurgents continued towards where Nio had instructed them Liam was being held. They passed several more cells on the way, and several imprisoned half-breeds perked up and watched them pass by warily. 
Aug 23, 2020
Deo cast her gaze across the Half-breeds and her heart ached. She wanted to save every last one of them but they couldn't. They were here for 2, no more. "We'll be back teh save ye." She said to one as she passed. "Don't give up hope." The Changling quickly yanked her along. They were too close to blow it now.
Both Grey and Shadow jumped at the sound of loud rings. Grey could feel the vibrations under her feet as she stared at the structure in front of them. They were warning bells, which could only mean…
“DAMN IT!” Grey exclaimed as she mounted Shadow. “Lila, those are the warning bells! We have to get them!”
Aug 24, 2020
Lila held up her hand calmly. “No we don’t.” Her voice was even, her gaze firm. “We don’t know what those bells mean. If we rush in now we could ruin everything. We gave them their time limit, now we have to trust them to adapt and follow through.”
Aug 24, 2020
The Chief stared at her niece and then back at the structure in front of them. She was completely amazed at how calm Lila was, and pride swelled in her chest as her worry faded somewhat. She was still not wild about Deoiridh and Changling being in there with those warning bells, but Lila was right. They had time, and there was no telling what those bells meant. They had to remain calm.
“You’re right, Commander,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Let’s give them time.”
Aug 24, 2020
Deo and the Changeling burst through the last door separating them from Liam’s location and ended up in a short hallway with a few cells in the wall, all of them empty except for one–a silver half-breed dragon, tied up with chains and slumped hopeless against the wall. Despite Nio’s packet telling them that he was being held in this spot, there was no sign of him.
Aug 24, 2020
“Dammit!” Deo cursed as she saw the empty cells. “That bastard! We’ve been set up, ah knew we couldn’t trust ‘em.”
The Changling hums. “No I don’t think so. I would have know about it the moment they betrayed us. It’s more likely that he was moved suddenly and unexpectedly.”
“Either way we’re screwed.” The red head replied. “We ain’t a clue where he is.”
Aug 24, 2020
Nayro moved slightly at the voices and stared at them from his cell, slightly curious. “You’re not… guards. Are you here to rescue someone?” He asked them quietly.
He was certain he recognized them from somewhere, but he couldn’t be sure.
Aug 24, 2020
“What we’re here fer ye should just keep yer mouth shut.” She growled. She was angry. Liam had been taken because of her, and now her one chance to make it right had been torn away from her by pure, dumb luck.
The Changling cast their mind across the Half-breed’s and hummed. “Now that’s interesting.” They murmured. “I take it you’ve seen the young Half-breed, we’re looking for, Liam? If so, please be quick about it.
Aug 24, 2020
Haligan! Nayro perked up. “Liam? He was in the cell next to mine. We had a nice chat before the leader popped in and dragged him away. He was kind of nice. I hope you find him.”
He paused and thought over what Liam had told him. “Uh, he told me to find a demon and get out of here, if that means anything to you.”
Aug 24, 2020
Deo’s breath caught in her throat if this half-breed knew where Liam went then this wouldn’t have been a waste. “The door.”
The Changling quickly went to work on the lock and before long it popped open. “Which way?” The demon asks.
Aug 24, 2020
Nayro jerked his head towards the door he’d seen Liam dragged off to. “That way.” He blinked when he realized he was being freed, and for the first time in a while he looked a little perkier.
“I’m more than happy to help you find him, although I don’t know exactly where they’ve taken him. It sounded like they wanted information of some kind, so I’d guess one of those horrid torture rooms.” He informed them.
Aug 24, 2020
“Try teh keep up.” Deo says as she rushes in the direction Nayro indicated.
The Changling sighed. “Always on the move.” They muttered before following after her.
Aug 24, 2020
Nayro stood shakily and followed, struggling a little but refusing to slow down. The mere thought of freedom was the only thing giving him the strength to even move.
He had a chance, he wasn’t going to blow it.
Aug 25, 2020
The Changling took the lead as they raced down the hall, poking and prodding at the prisoner’s minds to see if they knew or had seen where the guards had taken their boy.
Aug 25, 2020
Bits and pieces filtered in from several days ago, slowly building a phantom narrative in the Changeling’s mind. A struggling Liam was pushed through the corridors, led by a striking older man with a huge fur cape and restrained by a thickset figure in heavy plate armor. They wove deeper into the heart of the Conclave’s hideout, but seemed to be moving closer to the surface rather than deeper below ground. The feed got spottier as there were less people who had caught sight of them, and it ended at a wide, circle-shaped hallway with five oddly tall doors along the inner ring. It was still and empty as the three of them filed inside.
Below the rescuers’ feet, the ground vibrated with a low noise from outside. Another set of piercingly deep gongs rang out across the Jaw–much more than a warning. The defenses above ground began to stir, an initial wave of dragons beginning to take off and patrol suspiciously. They had no eyes on the intruders yet.
The Changeling could sense four people somewhere beyond these doors, but all of them were mentally armored, surprisingly well, in fact. The demon could tell two of them were projecting their defenses onto the others.
Aug 25, 2020
“Oh I’ve got an idea.” Changling said with a grin. They took the images she saw of the man in the cape, the man they suspected of being the Jarl and assumed his form. “Follow my lead… Nayro you may want to stay back things are probably going to get messy.” With that the disguised rebels strode forward. “Also don’t look at me, this might be gross.” They go up to the door with the single person behind it and kneels down, pushing their fingers to the crack at the bottom. They make them flat and stretch them forward. Once they make it just past the door they move their eyes from their face, to their fingers and looks around.
Aug 25, 2020
There was an immediate shriek and an auburn orange paw slammed down on one of the eyes as though it were a horrid insect. Through their unharmed eye, they saw an old half-breed sitting on the floor and chained to the wall with her back arched to reach the demon’s fingers, with shaggy orange and black hair and haunted green eyes. She had a shedding tortoiseshell tail curled around her on the barren sandstone floor, and she was surrounded by curved walls that went straight up through the ground to the sky, locked by several grates. But the meager cover wasn’t enough to stop the heavy snowfalls from filtering through, as they saw she was frostbitten in several places, and her cheeks were red with both cold and sunburn. Her mind was still completely shielded, like an astral phalanx was closed over it.
She lifted her paw and her eyes widened, and she appeared to bite her tongue, but it was too late. On the opposite side of the hallway, the door banged open and two sets of footsteps began to close in on them. “What now?” someone grumbled furiously. She hurriedly shoved the fingers away, mouthing the word “go”.
Aug 25, 2020
The Changling quickly pulled their hand out and moved down the hall and pushed up against the wall and changed their appearance to blend into the wall and mentally urged Deo to do the same, which she did.
The Jarl and Redmond both appeared from either side of the hallway, encroaching on the door where they heard the prisoner screech, and after suspiciously inspecting the still-closed cell, they opened it, and the Jarl stepped inside while Redmond hovered ominously in the threshold, glaring inside the cell through the eyeholes of his helmet. Both their backs were to the invisible invaders.
“What’s all this, then?”
“What?” Treepelt said hoarsely, squinting up at Vidar. “Haven’t you heard of a bad dream?”
Vidar narrowed his eyes in return, bending at the waist to cast a shadow over her. “Both a convenient excuse and impeccable timing, feline. I feel like you’re not being entirely truthful with me.”
“You can wring whatever truth you want out of me,” she retorted, though she was trembling at the thought of what might come next. “Nothing happened.”
Sep 11, 2020
Deo and the Changling stood deathly still barely even breathing as they watched the exchange. Finally the Changling could wait no longer, they were running out of time. Their hands turned to spikes and shot forth piercing both men through the chest, Redmond through the heart specifically.
Sep 11, 2020
Blood immediately sprayed across the cell, making Tree flinch. Redmond lurched to protect Vidar by shoving him roughly, making the Changeling’s piercing attack miss the majority of his vitals while still easily stabbing through the meat of his abdomen. The larger guardsmen collapsed and fell limp on the floor, his armor clanging and rattling, and Vidar grabbed at his wounds as he slid down against the wall, leaving a large vertical smear across the wall while he did so. He immediately tried to scrabble to his feet to attack, but had to stop and cough up a splatter of crimson drops, his whole body shaking and slowly bleeding out. “What in Midgard…” he choked. His eyes landed on the Changeling, and they widened in shock.
Sep 11, 2020
The Changling quickly grabs the keys and unlocks Trees manacles before quickly securing them onto the Jarl. “Catch ya later your magnitude.” They say as they usher her down the hall to the door the two came from.
Sep 30, 2020
The mental barrier flickered and mostly disappeared to shreds that the Changeling could easily navigate, and Liam lurched upright in his own cell and rattled his handcuffs. “Mom!” he yelled hoarsely, his heart thundering like the paces of a Speed Stinger. 
Tree threw herself at the door, which the rescuers hurried to unlock, and when they had, she took the keys herself and rushed down to be at Liam’s side, pressing her lips to his grimy forehead while fumbling with his wrists. She was still fairly unstable on her feet after what she’d been through.
“Liam, Liam, I’m sorry, are you hurt?”
“No, but–” He coughed a few times. “My arms are gonna be dead for a while.” The manacles fell away but Liam’s forearms stayed limp and straight, and he needed help getting to his feet. “Doesn’t matter. We gotta go.”
Sep 30, 2020
“Yeah this is all very touching and shit but we gotta go.” The Changling says as they shift back to the guard they were disguised as before. “Deo make them look like the Jarl and that other guy.”
Deo cracks her knuckles and suddenly all four of them are disguised. “Let’s move.” She says as she starts heading for the exit.
Sep 30, 2020
When they left the hallway, Liam’s eyes immediately found the dragon half-breed joining their escape, and he looked incredibly relieved. “Oh, hey, you made it.”
Sep 30, 2020
Nayro, who’d been crammed into the corner trying not to be seen, was startled when a bunch of guards walked by, but when they didn’t immediately attack him he figured it must have been his rescuers. He smiled weakly and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks again for helping me out. I cannot wait to leave this place behind. A shame I can’t retrieve my things, but.. most of them can be replaced.” He moved to follow them.
Sep 30, 2020
“Yeah touching reunion and all but we gotta go!” The Changling hisses. “Deo.” In a moment Nayro looks like one of the guards they killed upstairs. “No more talking, we gotta move.”
Sep 30, 2020
They started to re-trace the blood trail Deo and the Changeling had left behind them, but Treepelt grabbed Deo’s arm and pulled her the other way. 
“There’s openings,” she rasped. “Something at the surface, in a perimeter around the Jaw. I’ve seen them come and go from this direction. There’s another way out. Who did you come with? You need to signal them.”
“Where’s Nala?” Liam demanded. He was reaching for her consciousness, but still couldn’t feel anything.
Sep 30, 2020
Deo nods. “Right we’ll head that way then.” Deo replies and starts heading that direction.
Meanwhile the Changling responds to Liam. “Sorry kid. I haven’t seen her since you got captured. Might wanna be careful name dropping her though.”
“Ah don’t think et’d be a good ahdea teh signal ‘em till we ‘ave teh.” Deo said. “Ah signal them they come rushin’ in and start fightin’. Ah’d rather not risk their lives 'less we 'ave teh.”
Sep 30, 2020
“They’ll have to come get us eventually, I think it’s an open field…”
Above ground, the bodies outside the compound were being found. The regular citizens quickly barricaded themselves inside while shadows of dragons’ wings made the moonlight wink and flutter, and the alarms continued to ring out. Nio hovered nervously in a dark, empty corner of the barracks, waiting to see if the insurgents were found out. They had a small, glowing globule of water floating above their glove, and each time they flicked their fingers, they heard a different voice , a different snatch of conversation. 
“–urdered, and nobody saw a thing? Get out ther–”
“–swear they were on my dragon and then they were gone, someone’s–”
“–Lila, those are the warning bells! We have to get–”
Nio curled their fingers in abruptly and the water froze in icy shards across their hand, like a heavy gauntlet. “Come on,” they whispered. 
A sharp mental bolt grabbed the edge of their awareness and they cringed. What? they answered.
They have a demon. Vidar’s thoughts were labored. Attend to me and hunt them down. Now.
Gritting their teeth, Nio dropped through a portal at their feet and stepped through a wall, tensing up as they saw Vidar struggling to stand with his hands bound in front of him. His cape was tied around his midriff and stained with dark blood. Redmond’s body was sprawled across the floor. The half-breed was gone. Nio flicked a hand, and Vidar’s side was coated in ice, sealing up his wound but not healing it. “You want me to hunt a demon for you?” Nio said bluntly. “Do you want me to live after this, or not?”
“It stole my prisoners.” Now that he wasn’t half-blinded by pain, Vidar’s eyes were burning and wild. Nio could tell that one of his famous rages was building up inside of him. “It saved those Thor-forsaken rebels–I want them back–and I want that idiot Haligan chief to pay for it.” He was practically shaking.
Nio gestured and created a portal in the wall of the cell. “One thing at a time. Get in the bunker and I’ll go looking for the demon,” they lied.
Vidar had a visible internal struggle, but Nio knew that he could tell he was badly injured. “Tasha is already there,” they said firmly. “Get.”
The Jarl huffed and stepped through, and Nio went right back to their earlier waiting place, sighing and continuing to wait out the rebels in case they failed.
Underground, the escapees burst into another tall room, but much wider and looking more like a supply cellar than a prison. There were a series of iron bars set into the sandstone walls, creating a ladder that went up into a thick trap door in the ceiling. They heard movement through the stone above, but not much.
“Fuck.” Liam stopped upon seeing their way out, his arms still numb at his sides. “Come on, this isn’t funny.”
Sep 30, 2020
The Changling grows a second pair of arms and picks up Liam and starts to climb the ladder. "No time to waste armless." They poked their eyes out between the boards and if it's safe they open up and climb up depositing him on the ground and putting the arms back.
Tree approached the ladder and then turned to Nayro, extending her paw. “Can you make it?” she asked him, noting how much more thin and battered he was.
The dragon nodded with a grateful smile. “Yes, thank you ma’am. I appreciate the help, though. I’ll be right behind.” He eyed the ladder a little nervously but still determined to get free.
Tree started to climb, and Liam curled up behind a crate at the top, listening intently to judge the movements of everyone in the tower. They were in the upper tiers, watching and waiting for a signal to either attack, move out or defend. He squinted at the huge, snowy field that stretched out beyond one of the thin slat windows of the tower.
“I’m not running that,” he whispered, as Tree crept out of the door behind him and joined him in hiding. 
“We might not have a choice.”
“There’s gotta be a dragon up at the top that we can steal.”
“Maybe.”
“A few dragons might not be a bad ideah.” Deo says. “By now they probably ‘ave the gates locked down.”
“I’ll go take a look.” The Changling said as they start reaching out, looking for a dragon to possess and bring down to them. Preferably one without a rider.
As the rebels’ reliable good fortune would have it, there was only one dragon at the top of the guards’ tower–but it was an incredibly large, feral-looking beast. Its body was bulbous and bristling with several dense spines across its back and around its fat tail, like a poor imitation of a Nadder. The armor it wore protected its rider from being impaled. Its triple jaws clacked slightly as its fellow dragons circled in the far distance like bats hunting insects. It was accompanied by three other guards, along with the rider on its back.
Tree turned back to Nayro after he had joined them. “Please don’t be offended,” she whispered, “but if you speak Dragonese, that would make this much easier.”
The Dragon nodded. “Alright, I can do that. What about the rider? How do you want me to go about this, exactly?” He whispered back uneasily. “Also, side note, I’ve never seen a dragon like this before, at least not up close.”
“We fuck ‘em up.” The Changling says as each of their fingers turn into spikes.
Tree found a rack with a few spare weapons on it, and picked up a spear and hefted it in her dirty paws. “We’ll try to cover you,” she said to Nayro, as Liam dipped his head once and clenched his jaw, concentrating enough to make his form ripple into shadow, making him difficult to see against the darkness of the tower. The two of them started up the spiral stairs, with Liam going much further ahead than his mother.
The Changling tries to coax it this way and maybe even toss it’s rider off in a best case scenario. At the very least they needed the dragon closer.
The Quaken vibrated its jaws and started a quick plow forward, urged on by its rider, but Tree and Liam were already engaging with the surrounding soldiers. Liam pushed one of them in front of the dragon’s path, and the man managed to stumble backwards out of the way, but moved too far, and he tumbled over the edge of the ramparts. This spooked and confused the dragon, which turned in a circle, swinging its huge tail and ramming another soldier to the ground. Tree hurled the head of the spear into the armor between his chest and shoulder, which didn’t wound him much, but it did shove him across the dragon’s back and cause him to hang upside-down on the dragon’s right flank, coming face-to-face with Deo. The dragon stomped and snorted in circles, upset by the chaos.
Deo quickly stabbed a man in the throat with an arrow as the Changling reached out and tried to calm the poor beast’s mind. “Shh shh shh shh shh. It’s ok, it’s ok, we’re friends everything is ok.” She urged everyone to get on quick.
Nayro moved closer, coming out of the shadows, and put a small silver hand on the quaken. “Hello there, friend. I was hoping you’d be able to help me and my new friends here leave this awful place. Any help you can offer would be simply amazing.” He very gently patted the dragon.
The Quaken’s belly rumbled and it fearfully pushed its nose into Nayro, nervous at the smell of fresh blood. “Leave, leave, leave,” it whined. “Want to leave.”
Behind them, the last guard crumpled to the ground with Liam’s elbow around his neck, and he gestured for Tree’s spear to finish him off. As she looked towards the horizon, to see what the state of the Jaw was, she inhaled sharply at the sight of a massive shadow rising across the moon, covering the land in stormy darkness. Liam paused as well, spotting the monstrous form easily in the night. A light rain began to fall around them, and they heard the whispery words of an ethereal being, echoing across the plains.
Release them…
“What the H…” He stopped before finishing. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to use the goddess’ name in vain. This was their chance. From the chaos that seemed to ensue across the ranks of airborne dragon riders, it was clear that everyone could see and hear her, too. They started to climb on the dragon, cutting down the guard’s dead body to make room.
Across the field, the outside party could more clearly see what effect Hel’s appearance was having on the Conclave. They were struggling to reorganize, clearly spooked by something they didn’t know how to confront. Kendra’s grip was tight and painful on the ridge of the saddle, and she mentally fought with herself to keep from urging Daybreak into the sky to make sure everyone got home safe. She knew Verdandi was struggling not to do the same thing with Fraener. Seeing Hel for the first time was honestly quite frightening, and she didn’t know whether it was a good sign or a bad sign.
Nayro spotted the massive figure and shrunk slightly. “I understand the feeling, my friend. Let us make some haste.” He climbed up onto the spiky dragon and motioned to the others.
“Get on, let’s get a move on before we get caught in this chaos. That lady looks quite upset.” He knew who it was, of course. But now wasn’t the time to explain all that.
He tried to ignore the glimmer of silver he could make out on the edge of his vision, far away in the darkness. He wondered if she was visible to anyone else and why she was here.
The Changling and Deo’s eyes widen at the sight they had never seen before, or had only seen in dreams and memories. “Hey Grandma.” She murmurs.
Deo shakes her head. “No time fer lollygaggin’ everyone on the bus.” She says as she climbs aboard the dragon.
Shadow watched as her sister paced back and forth in front of her. Grey always did that when she was nervous or upset, and she had every reason to be here. Deoiridh and Changling still hasn’t come out yet, and there was little they could do without causing more trouble. The Night Fury looked over and saw Lila standing with them waiting.
Suddenly, darkness was covered as the full moon appeared to be covered engulfing them in darkness, and…something appeared…or rather someone. The darkness formed into a large woman, and Shadow crooned in shock. She suddenly put herself in front of Grey stopping the Chief from pacing.
“Shadow, what are you—”
“Grey, look!” Shadow crooned turning her head to what she wanted Grey to see hoping she would understand.
“What the…?” Grey asked as she looked on in complete shock. “What’s Hel doing here?”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”
The Quaken landed beside the party with a hefty thud, its sides heaving from how quickly it had been spurred across the snowy plain. Luckily, no scouts had followed them, but that worry was quickly off the table as the whole group gazed upwards at Hel. Tree, who had answered Grey, was hugging Liam to her chest from behind, her lined face showing immense concern. The young half-breed had his paws over his ears, and even from a distance, it was clear he was violently shivering. His eyes stared wide and sightless at Deo’s back in what seemed to be almost a catatonic state. However, upon landing, he refocused on Grey, and was slow to react to Kendra and Verdandi dismounting and approaching them in varying amounts of teary relief.
“He’s talking about you,” Liam rasped, meeting Grey’s gaze. “About all of us. He’s…mad.”
“Tree?” Grey asked in complete shock. “What…what are you…” Liam spoke up again causing the Chief to completely shift her focus to Tree’s son, the very person they were attempting to rescue. “Who are you talking about Liam? Who’s mad?”
Oct 31, 2020
“The Jarl.” Deo says. “‘E’s talkin’ lotta hot shit.” Deo explains.
“I’m super disappointed I didn’t end him.” The Changling complains as they change form again, a short mouse half-breed taking their place. “Can I go back and finish the job?” They ask.
“Another time.” Lila says. “We got what we wanted. We should make ourselves scarce before they come looking for us.”
Oct 31, 2020
“Oh, g–” Heads turned to face Liam again as he covered his mouth, his body jerking slightly as he fought to keep himself from being sick. “He’s going to kill a half-breed,” he said weakly.
Tree held either side of his head and looked him in the eye. “Liam, you need to block him out,” she begged. “That has to be bait. We need to go.” Kendra was frozen in place on the ground beside the Quaken, watching the Jaw with a trembling lower lip.
Oct 31, 2020
Grey saw Kendra standing there frozen watching the Jarl and knew exactly how she felt. She hated the idea of leaving the poor half-breed at the hands of this Jarl, but maybe there was a chance to save her. The Chief walked over to her placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. 
“Kendra…we…go investigate,” Grey signed. It was halting, and very clear that Grey was still learning how to use sign language. “If we can’t do anything…we leave?”
Oct 31, 2020
“Grey,” Tree said sharply, “if you take my daughter anywhere near that place, I will end you myself. I mean it.”
Oct 31, 2020
“And besides you can’t go.” Lila said. “If you get caught all that we have done tonight will have been for nothing. We will be in the exact same position as we were hours ago, only worse because they will get exactly what they want… And I doubt they will let us escape so easily a second time.”
Oct 31, 2020
The Chief looked at her former comrade and her niece and then back at the halfbreed. Her fists shook as the memories ran through her head…back to when she was 16 years old…and Leif was struck down in front of her…by a High Central soldier, but she closed her eyes and shook her head realizing that Tree and Lila were right. Kendra would be in danger, and she would be put them both at risk going anywhere near there.
She sighed and turned back to Kendra. “Mom and Lila…right,” she signed. “We leave…and fight…another day…promise. High Central won’t…get away…with this.”
Oct 31, 2020
But–
In front of the group of anxious dragon riders, a sudden, familiar rip in space appeared, and a tall demon body smeared with ash, mud and rain tumbled to her knees, landing with both her fists in the snowy ground, and everyone gaped as Nalaagura got to her feet and looked behind her at the Jaw. Even at their distance, they could see and hear one of Fenrir’s massive fangs beginning to tilt towards the ground, heading for a destructive landing. Her burning presence swirled around them, missing after so many weeks out searching for the very people they had rescued. 
I believe our work is done for tonight, the Warden spoke, looking back at them with dangerously glowing eyes. 
Oct 31, 2020
Deo blinks a few times at the sudden appearance of the demon. She quickly makes the connection between her and the collapsing fang. “Aye. Let’s get a move on people.” Lila and Deo start heading back the way they came.
The Changling looked up at their cousin. “You gotta teach me how to do that someday.” The little half-breed looking demon said with a grin as her whiskers flick in excitement.
Nov 1, 2020
Nayro had been half checked out during all of this, gently patting the Quaken and encouraging their new friend. This was madness, and he would be glad to be soon done with it. He watched the demon pop in, but then noticed an eerily familiar silver dragon half blood approaching them.
What was she doing here? Why would she just pop in like this? And why on earth now, when literally like six other people were around? He tried to ignore her, but she waltzed right up into the group, paying them no mind, and held up a very familiar object.
“You dropped this.” She told him, placing the royal amulet in his hands, still completely ignoring the group. “Seems you got lucky that these people were willing to save you.”
Nayro just glared at her.
Nov 6, 2020
Swiftly drawing her sword from her side, the Warden spun her sword and let it level at the newcomer. Her full attention rested on her. If you have need to escape, she rumbled, we will assist. But if you have other intentions, I suggest you vacate the area. I am not one to be trifled with, nor those I protect.
Nov 6, 2020
The tiny silver dragon then smoothly handed Nayro a change of clothes, ignoring the Warden for the moment. “Here you go, young prince. You’re welcome.”
Nayro rolled his eyes and put them on, eyeing the demon behind them nervously. “Why are you here? I thought you’d stay home.” He asked.
“I have reasons.” She responded, then turned up to the Warden. “No need to be so threatening. I have no problem with the rest of you. I’m only here to help my little disaster.” She motioned to Nayro with a claw as he huffed, annoyed. “Got himself kidnapped and tortured. Refused help. He got lucky that fuzzy over there had pity on him.” She glanced at Liam. “So you can put the sword away, hun.”
Nov 6, 2020
“Who are you?” the Chief asked as she walked up to Nayro and the tiny silver dragon eying them both.
Nov 6, 2020
The little silver half breed eyed Grey for a moment, multicolored eyes lighting up. “Ooh, the famous Chief Grey… Interesting. Oh, You wouldn’t know of me at all. I usually stay on my island and haven’t been on this side of the ocean for absolutely centuries. Ah, but one must get out sometimes, I suppose. I have a boy to take care of.” She giggled softly, amused.
Nayro rolled his eyes. “Ugh, If I knew you’d be here, I would have stayed in the dungeon. You’re unbearable. Can you not rub things in my face for two minutes? What are you, my mom?” 
She turned to him, eyebrow raised. “Mind your tone, Nayro. Who brought you a change of clothes, despite your attitude? And we will talk more later.” She shook her head. “Well, pardon my rudeness.” The odd dragoness turned to Grey. “You needn’t worry about me that much. Besides, I don’t wanna mess about too much on her turf.” She gestured the massive figure of Hel in the distance. “I’ll just stay out of the way and make sure my prince is safe.”
Nov 8, 2020
See that you do. Nalaagura’s tone wasn’t furious or berating, but it was dangerous. A warning. As she spoke, Fenrir’s fang made landfall, and a rolling cloud of dust and debris started to billow across the plains. The demon used her sword to gesture skyward to the others, indicating that it was time to leave. Liam reluctantly disengaged from Verdandi squeezing his paw, and signed a shaky, brief farewell to Kendra as the young woman turned on her heel and stalked back to ride Daybreak. We must leave, now.
Nov 8, 2020
The Chief was about to get on Shadow when she looked back at the home of the Conclave. She knew the Jarl was still there possibly still threatening the half-breed, but everyone was right. They needed to leave. She glared at the Conclave’s base promising that they would be back, and with that, she mounted on Shadow signaling for the Night Fury to take off.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act II
Category:Lila Ericson
Category:The Changeling
Category:Deoiridh Tuathanach
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Liam Arnason
Category:Vidar Bloodletter
Category:Xui Nayro
Category:The Warden
Category:Shadow