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Story Hour
Bitterness Overcome: (Now A Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 2813889" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p><strong>Chapter Three: FINDING GRACE</strong></p><p></p><p>The next morning came quickly, although Semeion was already awake before the sun came up. He had requested to take the final watch so that he could begin to work on the arcane talents that he might need to draw upon for the next day. As the sun rose, Semeion concluded his mental exercises and looked one last time at his book of arcane writings. He smiled one last time as his fingers traced along one of the lines of the book before he snapped the book shut. Once his mind was set with the mysteries of the arcane he rose to wake Ischarus and Rhema. Druff still lay unconscious from the previous night.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: LightBlue">“I suppose we should wake him,”</span> Ischarus stated with a sneer once the party was up and ready to move.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Plum">“I don’t see why we need to wake him up,”</span> Semeion argued. <span style="color: Plum">“If we secure him to his horse he won’t be any trouble while unconscious. And when he wakes up…”</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: PaleGreen">“And when he wakes up,”</span> Rhema interjected, <span style="color: PaleGreen">“he’ll be more trouble than if we let him get it out of his system now. Besides, with our luck he’ll stay unconscious completely until we get within the realm of the red dragon. Then at the worst possible moment he’ll wake up and we’ll need to contend with him beside the Drakontai of his village.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus continued while offering a polite smile of peace toward Semeion. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Which then means that we’ll have to contend with him as well as explain our harsh treatment of him to the other villagers. No, we’ll wake him now and let him get his frustration out of his system while we are far away. Once we approach the village I’m sure Rhema can take care of him. She does have a way with people, after all.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion looked to Rhema and noted that she blushed slightly under Ischarus’ praise. He added, <span style="color: Plum">“Indeed, that she does.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus took his gloved hand and slapped Druff across the face. The Drakontos didn’t wake. Ischarus struck him once more, this time slightly harder. The Drakontos moaned a bit and slightly cracked his eyes open. As his eyes increased in opening Ischarus could tell that Druff was in no condition to even focus his eyesight.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus chastised the Drakontos warrior. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Wake up, fool. We’ve got a few miles to cover and its time you were reunited with your people. In fact, I think you might even be of some use to us before this day has reached its conclusion.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Drakontos spat into the air, obviously hoping to strike Ischarus where he stood. His spittle missed Ischarus wide by nearly a foot, betraying the fact that his mind was still scrambled enough that his eyesight had not returned to its full use. Druff could obvious see well enough to pick up on colors and shadow, but his hand-eye coordination was still not yet normal.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus laughed as Druff missed his mark. <span style="color: LightBlue">“You are still feeling the effects of my associate’s mind wrenching powers. If you are lucky, you’ll live long enough for your head to sort out what is wrong with your eyes. If not, I’m sure your dragon father won’t mind the taste of your flesh whether you can see or not.”</span> Ischarus winked at Semeion as he spoke, knowing that Druff could not see the gesture. Ischarus knew that Semeion was inexperienced at knowing when he was bluffing and when he was telling the truth. He wanted Semeion to know for certain this was a bluff and that he wasn’t actually planning on offering him up to the red dragon.</p><p></p><p>Druff sneered at Ischarus’ words and emitted a low growl. <span style="color: Red">“Set me free from these bindings. I’m no threat to you as I am. Free me so I can strike you down – or die trying.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus laughed at the boldness of the Drakontos. <span style="color: LightBlue">“That’ll be the day. Now get on your feet!”</span> Ischarus’ gloved hand reached down and grabbed a fistful of Druff’s hair. He tugged on the Drakontos’ hair and Druff grudgingly rose to his feet. After a few heated moments of discussion Druff was sitting atop of his horse and fastened to it to prevent escape. The rest of the party quickly followed suit and they headed back onto the beaten path where they had met Druff the night prior.</p><p></p><p>Once onto the road they made decent time away from the mountains on the border between Tongra and Quehalost. Druff’s vocal complaints made it increasingly clear that his vision was returning and he would be a significant hassle once they reached the village. When Ischarus felt that they were closing in on the village he nodded to Rhema. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Time to work your magic, girl. I don’t think that we dare get any closer to the village with Druff carrying on the way that he is.”</span></p><p></p><p>With some confidence in her riding abilities, Rhema spun Shauvry around so that she faced Druff as he rode his horse. Druff’s horse stopped at the maneuver and nearly reared back as Shauvry unexpectedly turned into its path.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Red">“Whoa, now, boy!”</span> Druff shouted trying to maintain control with both his knees and his voice. Control was difficult to acheive since his hands were not at his disposal. Once his horse had settled down he looked back to Rhema and shouted, <span style="color: Red">“You’ll be wise to stay away from me with your mind powers, witch! If I am ever freed from these bonds I’ll hunt you down and you’ll regret anything you plan on doing to me.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled and her eyes started to glaze over as if she were looking through Druff into the horizon. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“There is no real reason to fear us, Druff.”</span> Her words seemed normal to Semeion and Ischarus as they listened; but to Druff the words seemed to bounce around the woods and echo in his mind. <span style="color: PaleGreen">”We’re here to help your people, Druff. We know that the red dragon you serve is planning on feasting on those of your village while it mates with your sacrifice. We don’t want all those people to die without knowing the threat that looms above them. Help us free your people, Druff.”</span></p><p></p><p>Although her words took less than a minute to speak, it seemed to Druff that Rhema had been speaking to him for an hour. His mind struggled to wade through her words and make sense of how her soothing voice contradicted the rage he felt inside. Soon the flow of Rhema’s voice washed Druff free of his anger and he began to think more clearly again. Rhema’s words subsided and Druff smiled as he looked at Rhema. <span style="color: Red">”Come on, then. Free me from these bonds so that I can help you all free my people. They are in grave danger in the village. Grixanthrosilithiss has set aside his most loyal servants to help raise the young when they are born. Everyone else will die. They must be stopped!”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema spun Shauvry around make eye contact with Ischarus. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“He’s under my power now. We have one hour, Ischarus. I say we free him and make the most of it.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion’s eyes shot open with amazement. <span style="color: Plum">“What?”</span> He exclaimed in shock. <span style="color: Plum">“You plan to set him free?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus turned to Semeion. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Not only set him free, but I plan to let him lead us into his village. He knows the quickest way and his people will be more likely to listen to us if Druff leads us into his village.”</span> After completing his thought, Ischarus stood in his saddle slightly and guided Elistra to Druff’s side. He leaned in his saddle until he could reach Druff’s bindings and then he freed the Drakontos warrior. <span style="color: LightBlue">“There, Druff. You are free. Now ride hard to your village so that we can follow and make good time. But first, how many are there that your father plans to keep from his destruction as trainers of the next generation?”</span></p><p></p><p>Druff brought his hands around to grip his reigns as he turned to look towards Ischarus. <span style="color: Red">“Five, including myself: two male and three female. I’ll handle them; you all focus on the rest of the village!”</span></p><p></p><p>Druff charged off into the front of the party as Semeion gave Ischarus a blank stare of disbelief. His mouth hung slightly agape as he watched the proceedings. Rhema chuckled and urged Shauvry into following Druff’s horse. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Druff is what I like to call charmed by my personality, Semeion. I have influenced his mind into believing our cause is his cause. But my power over him will only last an hour. We must make great haste if we plan to get into his village, save the Provenience, and get away with enough distance between us and them to evade the pursuit – and probably the dragon.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema took off first, Shauvry accustomed to leading before Elistra and Thana. Shauvry was able to keep pace with Druff’s hustling horse. Elistra and Thana were also able to keep up, although Elistra was more taxed by the speedy charge down the forested path than the other horses. After a short ride Rhema, Semeion, and Ischarus could hear Druff calling forth in his own language.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus called to his friends, <span style="color: LightBlue">“It seems like Druff is calling the people together! Rhema, are you sure your control over him is intact?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema yelled back over her shoulder, <span style="color: PaleGreen">“I know that my power over him was effective, if that is what you are asking. I cannot tell Druff what to do, but I know that Druff now considers us friends and allies. I’ve no clue as to what his plan is from here.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion shook his head and chastised, <span style="color: Plum">“Do all your plans go this smoothly?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus grinned at Semeion’s comment and yelled back, <span style="color: LightBlue">“They do when we are on horseback! Normally, though, we don’t have this advantage!”</span> It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was enjoying this particular challenge.</p><p></p><p>The trio of horses emerged out of the forest into a circular clearing with a diameter of about one hundred yards. Primitive houses lined the outside ring of trees and a large flat stone with a diameter of about twenty feet rested atop five smaller pillars each about 4 feet tall. A young female of obviously the same lineage as Druff lay strapped to the center of the stone. Druff rode wildly around the central stone, calling for the tribal community to make its presence known.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Red">“Grixanthrosilithiss has deceived you all!”</span> Druff yelled. <span style="color: Red">“You all must flee or you will become food for our father dragon!”</span></p><p></p><p>No sooner did Druff raise the alarm to the people than two female warriors emerged from one of the outside buildings and ran towards the center of the circle. <span style="color: Red">“You fool!”</span> yelled the taller of the females. <span style="color: Red">“What do you hope to gain from this? Grixanthrosilithiss will not be pleased if the people are driven from their homes around the circle! It is forbidden to leave!”</span> Both women drew their weapons and Ischarus immediately realized his prior miscalculation. Druff was unarmed.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus yelled out for Elistra to ride hard forward and attempt to intercept the charge of the women as they came to attack the defenseless Druff. As he charged forward atop Elistra, Rhema and Semeion began to notice that some of the locals were beginning to gather outside of their buildings. They could tell from the reaction of the people that this was an uncommon sight. They seemed confused at Druff’s words.</p><p></p><p>Rhema turned to Semeion and addressed the young mage. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Give me Thana’s reigns and get onto that stone. We must save the Provenience before too many people have gathered. At the moment, I only see two of the women that Druff mentioned before. That leaves one man and one woman unaccounted for. The rest only pose a problem if their numbers grow too large that we cannot handle them.”</span></p><p></p><p>Without hesitation Semeion leapt onto the ground from atop Thana’s back and slid his horse’s reigns into Rhema’s grasp. He quickly charged to the stone and with a simple swing of his hips Semeion swung his legs up over the edge of the stone. In a second he was on his knees and then he stood up. He shuffled across the smooth stone’s slippery surface and drew one of his daggers. </p><p></p><p>The woman tied to the stone cried out in her native tongue, <span style="color: Red">“No! I am a gift to our father!”</span> She was clearly afraid for her life and the sacrifice being interrupted.</p><p></p><p>Semeion slashed down with his dagger. He easily severed one of the cords that strapped the Provenience to the stone. With a simple motion he drew the dagger upwards again and prepared to strike at another.</p><p></p><p>Semeion’s act enraged the woman who was to be sacrificed. <span style="color: Red">“No!”</span> The woman screamed again. Many of the onlookers had shifted their attention from Druff to Semeion’s work. Most of them began to shout in wide-eyed horror as Semeion cut the ropes of bondage. The Provenience yelled and struggled against Semeion. <span style="color: Red">“You cannot take me from my father! I am to be his gift! I am to be his honored queen!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion had enough of this crazed woman’s babblings as he cut another cord. <span style="color: Plum">“Listen, lady. I don’t know what you’ve heard but I know that if your dragon father gets a hold of you that you will bear children until you are swollen and of no more use to this dragon you prize. Then you will be consumed!”</span></p><p></p><p>While Semeion worked on the bondage of the Provenience, across the village Ischarus intercepted the blows designed for Druff. Elistra swung between Druff and his attackers and Ischarus deflected the attacks o the female Drakontai with his own sword. He turned to Druff and yelled, <span style="color: LightBlue">“Druff, you must warn these people of the impending doom and convince them to run and flee to safety. Tell them to not stay together when they flee. They will be more successful if they scatter. That will make it more difficult for your dragon father to find them all. And tell them to run to the mountains. They’ll listen to you.”</span></p><p></p><p>Druff steered his horse and it charged back around the circle as Ischarus handled a few more attacks from the women warriors. As Druff rode circles around the platform he yelled a stern warning to his people. <span style="color: Red">“Grixanthrosilithiss will not forgive your insolence. He has already made designs on your destruction. I and four others were chosen to remain; the rest of you will be sacrificed to our dragon father. You must flee with your lives before our father is aroused! You must flee through the mountains to be saved!”</span> </p><p></p><p>Druff made this appeal several times. A few of the villagers listened and grabbed onto their smaller children to drag them inside their homes. After a few moments of hurried packing these few villagers burst forth out of their homes and ran screaming through the village. The compulsion of Druff was strange enough, but most of the villagers were even more bothered by the emergence of the strangers bent on freeing the Provenience. It was an omen to all regarding the coming destruction at the hands of the dragon father.</p><p></p><p>Semeion thrust his dagger down onto the binding ropes once more and slashed the third rope. The rope snapped and recoiled across the stone surface. Only one rope remained. The Provenience screamed even harder, and now that both of her legs were free she pushed off with her feet and brought her legs around to meet up with the side of Semeion’s head. </p><p></p><p>As the woman’s feet connected with Semeion’s head, he sprawled forward across the large flat stone. His hands lost control of the dagger and it slid out of his reach from where he fell. Quickly he rose to his feet and scooped up his dagger. He was determined to make another attempt at freeing this young woman. </p><p></p><p>The Provenience realized that only one bond remained and kept her chained to the stone. Using her warped and brainwashed logic she swung herself into a standing position and put herself between Semeion and the rope. <span style="color: Red">“I am the Provenience,”</span> she demanded of Semeion, <span style="color: Red">“you must come no further. I am to be the bride of our dragon father and that is my honor!”</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Plum">“You will be his slave for procreation and bear his children until your body wears out!”</span> Semeion shouted in return. His anger was starting to get the better of him. After all, he was attempting to save this woman’s life.</p><p></p><p>The woman growled at Semeion and took up a defensive stance against Semeion’s assault. She managed to deflect Semeion’s next blow and get a single hand on the blade of the dagger. As she wrestled for control of the weapon she heard a soft voice speaking to her inside her mind.</p><p></p><p>It was Rhema’s voice she heard, although she did not know Rhema. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Provenience, forgive my intrusion into your mind. But you must listen to Semeion. The words he speaks are true. You body will be violated in gross acts of procreation until you are worn out and useless. There is no glory or honor in what you are asked to do.”</span></p><p></p><p>Slowly her eyes began to gloss over and her strength left the hand she had on Semeion’s dagger. Semeion freed the dagger from her grip and easily avoided her body to strike out at the last binding. Once she was free, the woman spun around several times as if struggling with her orientation. He body began to sink as her knees grew weak from dehydration and stress.</p><p></p><p>As Semeion stowed his dagger he noticed that the woman began to lose her balance. Semeion reached out and caught her before she could fall. He picked her up and with great effort brought her back to Rhema. He was grateful that Rhema had chosen to come out of the forest and close the gap in order to approach the stone. He could also tell that the Provenience was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration from being strapped to the stone for much of the morning.</p><p></p><p>The young mage looked with concern to Rhema. <span style="color: Plum">“That’s two you have control over if I am not mistaken, Rhema.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“That I am not worried about, Semeion. We need to separate Druff from his horse. We also need to separate Druff from the rest of the people who are fleeing. When he is freed of my control he will come to his senses. If there are any of the villagers who are near him when he is freed, they will most certainly be brought back for a feast for the red dragon’s behalf.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion laid the Provenience down onto the stone and looked at Druff as he continued to charge atop his horse through the village. More and more of the natives were taking his warnings seriously and they were beginning to flee in all directions. Semeion caught Druff’s eye and yelled as loud as he could muster. <span style="color: Plum">“Druff, you must bring your horse to me so that we can save the Provenience from the wrath of the dragon father. We will need your steed. You must go to Ischarus and draw your sword from his pack and help him against the women warriors of your people. Then we must all flee!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Rhema a questioning glance, wondering if that would make sense to the Drakontos warrior. Semeion’s words did seem to get through to Druff, and the Drakontos warrior turned his horse toward Semeion and charged through the mayhem of the fleeing villagers. Once he was at Semeion’s side he gave Semeion the reigns and leapt off the horse onto the stone. He hoisted the Provenience onto his horse and turned to Semeion. <span style="color: Red">“The horse’s name is Abijou, he’ll protect her.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Druff a casual smile as Druff turned towards Ischarus. The Drakontos warrior ran across the slippery stone surface with a confident motion that demonstrated his experience with the sacrificial stone. Upon reaching the other side, he approached Elistra and in a single motion drew his sword from where Ischarus had stowed it. He held it in a defensive manner and struck against the two women. </p><p></p><p>Ischarus turned to see from whom this assistance had come. Upon seeing Druff he spun Elistra around to face all three of the Drakontos warriors. Ischarus looked up to Semeion upon the stone and urged him to leave with a gesture of his sword. </p><p></p><p>Semeion leapt from the stone onto Thana’s back and reclaimed the reigns from Rhema. As he did, Rhema gave him advice and encouragement. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Take her and go now, Semeion. Your progress will be slowed on account of her inability to guide her own horse. She’s dehydrated and won’t do well. Get a head start; we’ll catch up to you when we can!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Rhema a look of argumentation as if to say that he would not leave her side. Rhema looked back to Ischarus and then to Semeion before he could speak. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Ischarus will not let anything happen to me. Now go, before it is too late!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion nodded and tugged on Abijou’s reigns. The horse followed Thana out of the clearing and back into the woods. As Semeion turned in his saddle once more, he saw Druff and Ischarus fighting side by side, paving the way to allow the villagers an opportunity to escape unhindered. </p><p></p><p>Rhema shouted words of encouragement in the draconic language. These were words that Ischarus had taught her to speak. The people did not seem to understand her desire to help them, but they were appreciative of the advice nonetheless. Semeion couldn’t help but marvel at the chaos of the scene. He also couldn’t help but marvel at the peace inside his own heart knowing that they had saved the Provenience. They had begun the destruction of a red dragon’s following. For the time being it felt good. He was sure this was not the last they would hear from the dragon, however. Perhaps this was the same fate that had eventually caught up with his master. At the thought of Master Sathwright his internal peace ended. There was still work do be done. He would make Master Sathwright proud.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color Free Speech Section]</p><p>Chapter Three: FINDING GRACE</p><p></p><p>The next morning came quickly, although Semeion was already awake before the sun came up. He had requested to take the final watch so that he could begin to work on the arcane talents that he might need to draw upon for the next day. As the sun rose, Semeion concluded his mental exercises and looked one last time at his book of arcane writings. He smiled one last time as his fingers traced along one of the lines of the book before he snapped the book shut. Once his mind was set with the mysteries of the arcane he rose to wake Ischarus and Rhema. Druff still lay unconscious from the previous night.</p><p></p><p>“I suppose we should wake him,” Ischarus stated with a sneer once the party was up and ready to move.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t see why we need to wake him up,” Semeion argued. “If we secure him to his horse he won’t be any trouble while unconscious. And when he wakes up…”</p><p></p><p>“And when he wakes up,” Rhema interjected, “he’ll be more trouble than if we let him get it out of his system now. Besides, with our luck he’ll stay unconscious completely until we get within the realm of the red dragon. Then at the worst possible moment he’ll wake up and we’ll need to contend with him beside the Drakontai of his village.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus continued while offering a polite smile of peace toward Semeion. “Which then means that we’ll have to contend with him as well as explain our harsh treatment of him to the other villagers. No, we’ll wake him now and let him get his frustration out of his system while we are far away. Once we approach the village I’m sure Rhema can take care of him. She does have a way with people, after all.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion looked to Rhema and noted that she blushed slightly under Ischarus’ praise. He added, “Indeed, that she does.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus took his gloved hand and slapped Druff across the face. The Drakontos didn’t wake. Ischarus struck him once more, this time slightly harder. The Drakontos moaned a bit and slightly cracked his eyes open. As his eyes increased in opening Ischarus could tell that Druff was in no condition to even focus his eyesight.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus chastised the Drakontos warrior. “Wake up, fool. We’ve got a few miles to cover and its time you were reunited with your people. In fact, I think you might even be of some use to us before this day has reached its conclusion.”</p><p></p><p>The Drakontos spat into the air, obviously hoping to strike Ischarus where he stood. His spittle missed Ischarus wide by nearly a foot, betraying the fact that his mind was still scrambled enough that his eyesight had not returned to its full use. Druff could obvious see well enough to pick up on colors and shadow, but his hand-eye coordination was still not yet normal.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus laughed as Druff missed his mark. “You are still feeling the effects of my associate’s mind wrenching powers. If you are lucky, you’ll live long enough for your head to sort out what is wrong with your eyes. If not, I’m sure your dragon father won’t mind the taste of your flesh whether you can see or not.” Ischarus winked at Semeion as he spoke, knowing that Druff could not see the gesture. Ischarus knew that Semeion was inexperienced at knowing when he was bluffing and when he was telling the truth. He wanted Semeion to know for certain this was a bluff and that he wasn’t actually planning on offering him up to the red dragon.</p><p></p><p>Druff sneered at Ischarus’ words and emitted a low growl. “Set me free from these bindings. I’m no threat to you as I am. Free me so I can strike you down – or die trying.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus laughed at the boldness of the Drakontos. “That’ll be the day. Now get on your feet!” Ischarus’ gloved hand reached down and grabbed a fistful of Druff’s hair. He tugged on the Drakontos’ hair and Druff grudgingly rose to his feet. After a few heated moments of discussion Druff was sitting atop of his horse and fastened to it to prevent escape. The rest of the party quickly followed suit and they headed back onto the beaten path where they had met Druff the night prior.</p><p></p><p>Once onto the road they made decent time away from the mountains on the border between Tongra and Quehalost. Druff’s vocal complaints made it increasingly clear that his vision was returning and he would be a significant hassle once they reached the village. When Ischarus felt that they were closing in on the village he nodded to Rhema. “Time to work your magic, girl. I don’t think that we dare get any closer to the village with Druff carrying on the way that he is.”</p><p></p><p>With some confidence in her riding abilities, Rhema spun Shauvry around so that she faced Druff as he rode his horse. Druff’s horse stopped at the maneuver and nearly reared back as Shauvry unexpectedly turned into its path.</p><p></p><p>“Whoa, now, boy!” Druff shouted trying to maintain control with both his knees and his voice. Control was difficult to acheive since his hands were not at his disposal. Once his horse had settled down he looked back to Rhema and shouted, “You’ll be wise to stay away from me with your mind powers, witch! If I am ever freed from these bonds I’ll hunt you down and you’ll regret anything you plan on doing to me.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled and her eyes started to glaze over as if she were looking through Druff into the horizon. “There is no real reason to fear us, Druff.” Her words seemed normal to Semeion and Ischarus as they listened; but to Druff the words seemed to bounce around the woods and echo in his mind. ”We’re here to help your people, Druff. We know that the red dragon you serve is planning on feasting on those of your village while it mates with your sacrifice. We don’t want all those people to die without knowing the threat that looms above them. Help us free your people, Druff.”</p><p></p><p>Although her words took less than a minute to speak, it seemed to Druff that Rhema had been speaking to him for an hour. His mind struggled to wade through her words and make sense of how her soothing voice contradicted the rage he felt inside. Soon the flow of Rhema’s voice washed Druff free of his anger and he began to think more clearly again. Rhema’s words subsided and Druff smiled as he looked at Rhema. ”Come on, then. Free me from these bonds so that I can help you all free my people. They are in grave danger in the village. Grixanthrosilithiss has set aside his most loyal servants to help raise the young when they are born. Everyone else will die. They must be stopped!”</p><p></p><p>Rhema spun Shauvry around make eye contact with Ischarus. “He’s under my power now. We have one hour, Ischarus. I say we free him and make the most of it.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion’s eyes shot open with amazement. “What?” He exclaimed in shock. “You plan to set him free?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus turned to Semeion. “Not only set him free, but I plan to let him lead us into his village. He knows the quickest way and his people will be more likely to listen to us if Druff leads us into his village.” After completing his thought, Ischarus stood in his saddle slightly and guided Elistra to Druff’s side. He leaned in his saddle until he could reach Druff’s bindings and then he freed the Drakontos warrior. “There, Druff. You are free. Now ride hard to your village so that we can follow and make good time. But first, how many are there that your father plans to keep from his destruction as trainers of the next generation?”</p><p></p><p>Druff brought his hands around to grip his reigns as he turned to look towards Ischarus. “Five, including myself: two male and three female. I’ll handle them; you all focus on the rest of the village!”</p><p></p><p>Druff charged off into the front of the party as Semeion gave Ischarus a blank stare of disbelief. His mouth hung slightly agape as he watched the proceedings. Rhema chuckled and urged Shauvry into following Druff’s horse. “Druff is what I like to call charmed by my personality, Semeion. I have influenced his mind into believing our cause is his cause. But my power over him will only last an hour. We must make great haste if we plan to get into his village, save the Provenience, and get away with enough distance between us and them to evade the pursuit – and probably the dragon.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema took off first, Shauvry accustomed to leading before Elistra and Thana. Shauvry was able to keep pace with Druff’s hustling horse. Elistra and Thana were also able to keep up, although Elistra was more taxed by the speedy charge down the forested path than the other horses. After a short ride Rhema, Semeion, and Ischarus could hear Druff calling forth in his own language.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus called to his friends, “It seems like Druff is calling the people together! Rhema, are you sure your control over him is intact?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema yelled back over her shoulder, “I know that my power over him was effective, if that is what you are asking. I cannot tell Druff what to do, but I know that Druff now considers us friends and allies. I’ve no clue as to what his plan is from here.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion shook his head and chastised, “Do all your plans go this smoothly?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus grinned at Semeion’s comment and yelled back, “They do when we are on horseback! Normally, though, we don’t have this advantage!” It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was enjoying this particular challenge.</p><p></p><p>The trio of horses emerged out of the forest into a circular clearing with a diameter of about one hundred yards. Primitive houses lined the outside ring of trees and a large flat stone with a diameter of about twenty feet rested atop five smaller pillars each about 4 feet tall. A young female of obviously the same lineage as Druff lay strapped to the center of the stone. Druff rode wildly around the central stone, calling for the tribal community to make its presence known.</p><p></p><p>“Grixanthrosilithiss has deceived you all!” Druff yelled. “You all must flee or you will become food for our father dragon!”</p><p></p><p>No sooner did Druff raise the alarm to the people than two female warriors emerged from one of the outside buildings and ran towards the center of the circle. “You fool!” yelled the taller of the females. “What do you hope to gain from this? Grixanthrosilithiss will not be pleased if the people are driven from their homes around the circle! It is forbidden to leave!” Both women drew their weapons and Ischarus immediately realized his prior miscalculation. Druff was unarmed.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus yelled out for Elistra to ride hard forward and attempt to intercept the charge of the women as they came to attack the defenseless Druff. As he charged forward atop Elistra, Rhema and Semeion began to notice that some of the locals were beginning to gather outside of their buildings. They could tell from the reaction of the people that this was an uncommon sight. They seemed confused at Druff’s words.</p><p></p><p>Rhema turned to Semeion and addressed the young mage. “Give me Thana’s reigns and get onto that stone. We must save the Provenience before too many people have gathered. At the moment, I only see two of the women that Druff mentioned before. That leaves one man and one woman unaccounted for. The rest only pose a problem if their numbers grow too large that we cannot handle them.”</p><p></p><p>Without hesitation Semeion leapt onto the ground from atop Thana’s back and slid his horse’s reigns into Rhema’s grasp. He quickly charged to the stone and with a simple swing of his hips Semeion swung his legs up over the edge of the stone. In a second he was on his knees and then he stood up. He shuffled across the smooth stone’s slippery surface and drew one of his daggers. </p><p></p><p>The woman tied to the stone cried out in her native tongue, “No! I am a gift to our father!” She was clearly afraid for her life and the sacrifice being interrupted.</p><p></p><p>Semeion slashed down with his dagger. He easily severed one of the cords that strapped the Provenience to the stone. With a simple motion he drew the dagger upwards again and prepared to strike at another.</p><p></p><p>Semeion’s act enraged the woman who was to be sacrificed. “No!” The woman screamed again. Many of the onlookers had shifted their attention from Druff to Semeion’s work. Most of them began to shout in wide-eyed horror as Semeion cut the ropes of bondage. The Provenience yelled and struggled against Semeion. “You cannot take me from my father! I am to be his gift! I am to be his honored queen!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion had enough of this crazed woman’s babblings as he cut another cord. “Listen, lady. I don’t know what you’ve heard but I know that if your dragon father gets a hold of you that you will bear children until you are swollen and of no more use to this dragon you prize. Then you will be consumed!”</p><p></p><p>While Semeion worked on the bondage of the Provenience, across the village Ischarus intercepted the blows designed for Druff. Elistra swung between Druff and his attackers and Ischarus deflected the attacks o the female Drakontai with his own sword. He turned to Druff and yelled, “Druff, you must warn these people of the impending doom and convince them to run and flee to safety. Tell them to not stay together when they flee. They will be more successful if they scatter. That will make it more difficult for your dragon father to find them all. And tell them to run to the mountains. They’ll listen to you.”</p><p></p><p>Druff steered his horse and it charged back around the circle as Ischarus handled a few more attacks from the women warriors. As Druff rode circles around the platform he yelled a stern warning to his people. “Grixanthrosilithiss will not forgive your insolence. He has already made designs on your destruction. I and four others were chosen to remain; the rest of you will be sacrificed to our dragon father. You must flee with your lives before our father is aroused! You must flee through the mountains to be saved!” </p><p></p><p>Druff made this appeal several times. A few of the villagers listened and grabbed onto their smaller children to drag them inside their homes. After a few moments of hurried packing these few villagers burst forth out of their homes and ran screaming through the village. The compulsion of Druff was strange enough, but most of the villagers were even more bothered by the emergence of the strangers bent on freeing the Provenience. It was an omen to all regarding the coming destruction at the hands of the dragon father.</p><p></p><p>Semeion thrust his dagger down onto the binding ropes once more and slashed the third rope. The rope snapped and recoiled across the stone surface. Only one rope remained. The Provenience screamed even harder, and now that both of her legs were free she pushed off with her feet and brought her legs around to meet up with the side of Semeion’s head. </p><p></p><p>As the woman’s feet connected with Semeion’s head, he sprawled forward across the large flat stone. His hands lost control of the dagger and it slid out of his reach from where he fell. Quickly he rose to his feet and scooped up his dagger. He was determined to make another attempt at freeing this young woman. </p><p></p><p>The Provenience realized that only one bond remained and kept her chained to the stone. Using her warped and brainwashed logic she swung herself into a standing position and put herself between Semeion and the rope. “I am the Provenience,” she demanded of Semeion, “you must come no further. I am to be the bride of our dragon father and that is my honor!”</p><p></p><p>“You will be his slave for procreation and bear his children until your body wears out!” Semeion shouted in return. His anger was starting to get the better of him. After all, he was attempting to save this woman’s life.</p><p></p><p>The woman growled at Semeion and took up a defensive stance against Semeion’s assault. She managed to deflect Semeion’s next blow and get a single hand on the blade of the dagger. As she wrestled for control of the weapon she heard a soft voice speaking to her inside her mind.</p><p></p><p>It was Rhema’s voice she heard, although she did not know Rhema. “Provenience, forgive my intrusion into your mind. But you must listen to Semeion. The words he speaks are true. You body will be violated in gross acts of procreation until you are worn out and useless. There is no glory or honor in what you are asked to do.”</p><p></p><p>Slowly her eyes began to gloss over and her strength left the hand she had on Semeion’s dagger. Semeion freed the dagger from her grip and easily avoided her body to strike out at the last binding. Once she was free, the woman spun around several times as if struggling with her orientation. He body began to sink as her knees grew weak from dehydration and stress.</p><p></p><p>As Semeion stowed his dagger he noticed that the woman began to lose her balance. Semeion reached out and caught her before she could fall. He picked her up and with great effort brought her back to Rhema. He was grateful that Rhema had chosen to come out of the forest and close the gap in order to approach the stone. He could also tell that the Provenience was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration from being strapped to the stone for much of the morning.</p><p></p><p>The young mage looked with concern to Rhema. “That’s two you have control over if I am not mistaken, Rhema.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema nodded. “That I am not worried about, Semeion. We need to separate Druff from his horse. We also need to separate Druff from the rest of the people who are fleeing. When he is freed of my control he will come to his senses. If there are any of the villagers who are near him when he is freed, they will most certainly be brought back for a feast for the red dragon’s behalf.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion laid the Provenience down onto the stone and looked at Druff as he continued to charge atop his horse through the village. More and more of the natives were taking his warnings seriously and they were beginning to flee in all directions. Semeion caught Druff’s eye and yelled as loud as he could muster. “Druff, you must bring your horse to me so that we can save the Provenience from the wrath of the dragon father. We will need your steed. You must go to Ischarus and draw your sword from his pack and help him against the women warriors of your people. Then we must all flee!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Rhema a questioning glance, wondering if that would make sense to the Drakontos warrior. Semeion’s words did seem to get through to Druff, and the Drakontos warrior turned his horse toward Semeion and charged through the mayhem of the fleeing villagers. Once he was at Semeion’s side he gave Semeion the reigns and leapt off the horse onto the stone. He hoisted the Provenience onto his horse and turned to Semeion. “The horse’s name is Abijou, he’ll protect her.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Druff a casual smile as Druff turned towards Ischarus. The Drakontos warrior ran across the slippery stone surface with a confident motion that demonstrated his experience with the sacrificial stone. Upon reaching the other side, he approached Elistra and in a single motion drew his sword from where Ischarus had stowed it. He held it in a defensive manner and struck against the two women. </p><p></p><p>Ischarus turned to see from whom this assistance had come. Upon seeing Druff he spun Elistra around to face all three of the Drakontos warriors. Ischarus looked up to Semeion upon the stone and urged him to leave with a gesture of his sword. </p><p></p><p>Semeion leapt from the stone onto Thana’s back and reclaimed the reigns from Rhema. As he did, Rhema gave him advice and encouragement. “Take her and go now, Semeion. Your progress will be slowed on account of her inability to guide her own horse. She’s dehydrated and won’t do well. Get a head start; we’ll catch up to you when we can!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion gave Rhema a look of argumentation as if to say that he would not leave her side. Rhema looked back to Ischarus and then to Semeion before he could speak. “Ischarus will not let anything happen to me. Now go, before it is too late!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion nodded and tugged on Abijou’s reigns. The horse followed Thana out of the clearing and back into the woods. As Semeion turned in his saddle once more, he saw Druff and Ischarus fighting side by side, paving the way to allow the villagers an opportunity to escape unhindered. </p><p></p><p>Rhema shouted words of encouragement in the draconic language. These were words that Ischarus had taught her to speak. The people did not seem to understand her desire to help them, but they were appreciative of the advice nonetheless. Semeion couldn’t help but marvel at the chaos of the scene. He also couldn’t help but marvel at the peace inside his own heart knowing that they had saved the Provenience. They had begun the destruction of a red dragon’s following. For the time being it felt good. He was sure this was not the last they would hear from the dragon, however. Perhaps this was the same fate that had eventually caught up with his master. At the thought of Master Sathwright his internal peace ended. There was still work do be done. He would make Master Sathwright proud.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 2813889, member: 35788"] [B]Chapter Three: FINDING GRACE[/B] The next morning came quickly, although Semeion was already awake before the sun came up. He had requested to take the final watch so that he could begin to work on the arcane talents that he might need to draw upon for the next day. As the sun rose, Semeion concluded his mental exercises and looked one last time at his book of arcane writings. He smiled one last time as his fingers traced along one of the lines of the book before he snapped the book shut. Once his mind was set with the mysteries of the arcane he rose to wake Ischarus and Rhema. Druff still lay unconscious from the previous night. [Color=LightBlue]“I suppose we should wake him,”[/Color] Ischarus stated with a sneer once the party was up and ready to move. [Color=Plum]“I don’t see why we need to wake him up,”[/Color] Semeion argued. [Color=Plum]“If we secure him to his horse he won’t be any trouble while unconscious. And when he wakes up…”[/Color] [Color=PaleGreen]“And when he wakes up,”[/Color] Rhema interjected, [Color=PaleGreen]“he’ll be more trouble than if we let him get it out of his system now. Besides, with our luck he’ll stay unconscious completely until we get within the realm of the red dragon. Then at the worst possible moment he’ll wake up and we’ll need to contend with him beside the Drakontai of his village.”[/Color] Ischarus continued while offering a polite smile of peace toward Semeion. [Color=LightBlue]“Which then means that we’ll have to contend with him as well as explain our harsh treatment of him to the other villagers. No, we’ll wake him now and let him get his frustration out of his system while we are far away. Once we approach the village I’m sure Rhema can take care of him. She does have a way with people, after all.”[/Color] Semeion looked to Rhema and noted that she blushed slightly under Ischarus’ praise. He added, [Color=Plum]“Indeed, that she does.”[/Color] Ischarus took his gloved hand and slapped Druff across the face. The Drakontos didn’t wake. Ischarus struck him once more, this time slightly harder. The Drakontos moaned a bit and slightly cracked his eyes open. As his eyes increased in opening Ischarus could tell that Druff was in no condition to even focus his eyesight. Ischarus chastised the Drakontos warrior. [Color=LightBlue]“Wake up, fool. We’ve got a few miles to cover and its time you were reunited with your people. In fact, I think you might even be of some use to us before this day has reached its conclusion.”[/Color] The Drakontos spat into the air, obviously hoping to strike Ischarus where he stood. His spittle missed Ischarus wide by nearly a foot, betraying the fact that his mind was still scrambled enough that his eyesight had not returned to its full use. Druff could obvious see well enough to pick up on colors and shadow, but his hand-eye coordination was still not yet normal. Ischarus laughed as Druff missed his mark. [Color=LightBlue]“You are still feeling the effects of my associate’s mind wrenching powers. If you are lucky, you’ll live long enough for your head to sort out what is wrong with your eyes. If not, I’m sure your dragon father won’t mind the taste of your flesh whether you can see or not.”[/Color] Ischarus winked at Semeion as he spoke, knowing that Druff could not see the gesture. Ischarus knew that Semeion was inexperienced at knowing when he was bluffing and when he was telling the truth. He wanted Semeion to know for certain this was a bluff and that he wasn’t actually planning on offering him up to the red dragon. Druff sneered at Ischarus’ words and emitted a low growl. [Color=Red]“Set me free from these bindings. I’m no threat to you as I am. Free me so I can strike you down – or die trying.”[/Color] Ischarus laughed at the boldness of the Drakontos. [Color=LightBlue]“That’ll be the day. Now get on your feet!”[/Color] Ischarus’ gloved hand reached down and grabbed a fistful of Druff’s hair. He tugged on the Drakontos’ hair and Druff grudgingly rose to his feet. After a few heated moments of discussion Druff was sitting atop of his horse and fastened to it to prevent escape. The rest of the party quickly followed suit and they headed back onto the beaten path where they had met Druff the night prior. Once onto the road they made decent time away from the mountains on the border between Tongra and Quehalost. Druff’s vocal complaints made it increasingly clear that his vision was returning and he would be a significant hassle once they reached the village. When Ischarus felt that they were closing in on the village he nodded to Rhema. [Color=LightBlue]“Time to work your magic, girl. I don’t think that we dare get any closer to the village with Druff carrying on the way that he is.”[/Color] With some confidence in her riding abilities, Rhema spun Shauvry around so that she faced Druff as he rode his horse. Druff’s horse stopped at the maneuver and nearly reared back as Shauvry unexpectedly turned into its path. [Color=Red]“Whoa, now, boy!”[/Color] Druff shouted trying to maintain control with both his knees and his voice. Control was difficult to acheive since his hands were not at his disposal. Once his horse had settled down he looked back to Rhema and shouted, [Color=Red]“You’ll be wise to stay away from me with your mind powers, witch! If I am ever freed from these bonds I’ll hunt you down and you’ll regret anything you plan on doing to me.”[/Color] Rhema smiled and her eyes started to glaze over as if she were looking through Druff into the horizon. [Color=PaleGreen]“There is no real reason to fear us, Druff.”[/Color] Her words seemed normal to Semeion and Ischarus as they listened; but to Druff the words seemed to bounce around the woods and echo in his mind. [Color=PaleGreen]”We’re here to help your people, Druff. We know that the red dragon you serve is planning on feasting on those of your village while it mates with your sacrifice. We don’t want all those people to die without knowing the threat that looms above them. Help us free your people, Druff.”[/Color] Although her words took less than a minute to speak, it seemed to Druff that Rhema had been speaking to him for an hour. His mind struggled to wade through her words and make sense of how her soothing voice contradicted the rage he felt inside. Soon the flow of Rhema’s voice washed Druff free of his anger and he began to think more clearly again. Rhema’s words subsided and Druff smiled as he looked at Rhema. [Color=Red]”Come on, then. Free me from these bonds so that I can help you all free my people. They are in grave danger in the village. Grixanthrosilithiss has set aside his most loyal servants to help raise the young when they are born. Everyone else will die. They must be stopped!”[/Color] Rhema spun Shauvry around make eye contact with Ischarus. [Color=PaleGreen]“He’s under my power now. We have one hour, Ischarus. I say we free him and make the most of it.”[/Color] Semeion’s eyes shot open with amazement. [Color=Plum]“What?”[/Color] He exclaimed in shock. [Color=Plum]“You plan to set him free?”[/Color] Ischarus turned to Semeion. [Color=LightBlue]“Not only set him free, but I plan to let him lead us into his village. He knows the quickest way and his people will be more likely to listen to us if Druff leads us into his village.”[/Color] After completing his thought, Ischarus stood in his saddle slightly and guided Elistra to Druff’s side. He leaned in his saddle until he could reach Druff’s bindings and then he freed the Drakontos warrior. [Color=LightBlue]“There, Druff. You are free. Now ride hard to your village so that we can follow and make good time. But first, how many are there that your father plans to keep from his destruction as trainers of the next generation?”[/Color] Druff brought his hands around to grip his reigns as he turned to look towards Ischarus. [Color=Red]“Five, including myself: two male and three female. I’ll handle them; you all focus on the rest of the village!”[/Color] Druff charged off into the front of the party as Semeion gave Ischarus a blank stare of disbelief. His mouth hung slightly agape as he watched the proceedings. Rhema chuckled and urged Shauvry into following Druff’s horse. [Color=PaleGreen]“Druff is what I like to call charmed by my personality, Semeion. I have influenced his mind into believing our cause is his cause. But my power over him will only last an hour. We must make great haste if we plan to get into his village, save the Provenience, and get away with enough distance between us and them to evade the pursuit – and probably the dragon.”[/Color] Rhema took off first, Shauvry accustomed to leading before Elistra and Thana. Shauvry was able to keep pace with Druff’s hustling horse. Elistra and Thana were also able to keep up, although Elistra was more taxed by the speedy charge down the forested path than the other horses. After a short ride Rhema, Semeion, and Ischarus could hear Druff calling forth in his own language. Ischarus called to his friends, [Color=LightBlue]“It seems like Druff is calling the people together! Rhema, are you sure your control over him is intact?”[/Color] Rhema yelled back over her shoulder, [Color=PaleGreen]“I know that my power over him was effective, if that is what you are asking. I cannot tell Druff what to do, but I know that Druff now considers us friends and allies. I’ve no clue as to what his plan is from here.”[/Color] Semeion shook his head and chastised, [Color=Plum]“Do all your plans go this smoothly?”[/Color] Ischarus grinned at Semeion’s comment and yelled back, [Color=LightBlue]“They do when we are on horseback! Normally, though, we don’t have this advantage!”[/Color] It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was enjoying this particular challenge. The trio of horses emerged out of the forest into a circular clearing with a diameter of about one hundred yards. Primitive houses lined the outside ring of trees and a large flat stone with a diameter of about twenty feet rested atop five smaller pillars each about 4 feet tall. A young female of obviously the same lineage as Druff lay strapped to the center of the stone. Druff rode wildly around the central stone, calling for the tribal community to make its presence known. [Color=Red]“Grixanthrosilithiss has deceived you all!”[/Color] Druff yelled. [Color=Red]“You all must flee or you will become food for our father dragon!”[/color] No sooner did Druff raise the alarm to the people than two female warriors emerged from one of the outside buildings and ran towards the center of the circle. [Color=Red]“You fool!”[/Color] yelled the taller of the females. [Color=Red]“What do you hope to gain from this? Grixanthrosilithiss will not be pleased if the people are driven from their homes around the circle! It is forbidden to leave!”[/Color] Both women drew their weapons and Ischarus immediately realized his prior miscalculation. Druff was unarmed. Ischarus yelled out for Elistra to ride hard forward and attempt to intercept the charge of the women as they came to attack the defenseless Druff. As he charged forward atop Elistra, Rhema and Semeion began to notice that some of the locals were beginning to gather outside of their buildings. They could tell from the reaction of the people that this was an uncommon sight. They seemed confused at Druff’s words. Rhema turned to Semeion and addressed the young mage. [Color=PaleGreen]“Give me Thana’s reigns and get onto that stone. We must save the Provenience before too many people have gathered. At the moment, I only see two of the women that Druff mentioned before. That leaves one man and one woman unaccounted for. The rest only pose a problem if their numbers grow too large that we cannot handle them.”[/Color] Without hesitation Semeion leapt onto the ground from atop Thana’s back and slid his horse’s reigns into Rhema’s grasp. He quickly charged to the stone and with a simple swing of his hips Semeion swung his legs up over the edge of the stone. In a second he was on his knees and then he stood up. He shuffled across the smooth stone’s slippery surface and drew one of his daggers. The woman tied to the stone cried out in her native tongue, [Color=Red]“No! I am a gift to our father!”[/Color] She was clearly afraid for her life and the sacrifice being interrupted. Semeion slashed down with his dagger. He easily severed one of the cords that strapped the Provenience to the stone. With a simple motion he drew the dagger upwards again and prepared to strike at another. Semeion’s act enraged the woman who was to be sacrificed. [Color=Red]“No!”[/Color] The woman screamed again. Many of the onlookers had shifted their attention from Druff to Semeion’s work. Most of them began to shout in wide-eyed horror as Semeion cut the ropes of bondage. The Provenience yelled and struggled against Semeion. [Color=Red]“You cannot take me from my father! I am to be his gift! I am to be his honored queen!”[/Color] Semeion had enough of this crazed woman’s babblings as he cut another cord. [Color=Plum]“Listen, lady. I don’t know what you’ve heard but I know that if your dragon father gets a hold of you that you will bear children until you are swollen and of no more use to this dragon you prize. Then you will be consumed!”[/Color] While Semeion worked on the bondage of the Provenience, across the village Ischarus intercepted the blows designed for Druff. Elistra swung between Druff and his attackers and Ischarus deflected the attacks o the female Drakontai with his own sword. He turned to Druff and yelled, [Color=LightBlue]“Druff, you must warn these people of the impending doom and convince them to run and flee to safety. Tell them to not stay together when they flee. They will be more successful if they scatter. That will make it more difficult for your dragon father to find them all. And tell them to run to the mountains. They’ll listen to you.”[/Color] Druff steered his horse and it charged back around the circle as Ischarus handled a few more attacks from the women warriors. As Druff rode circles around the platform he yelled a stern warning to his people. [Color=Red]“Grixanthrosilithiss will not forgive your insolence. He has already made designs on your destruction. I and four others were chosen to remain; the rest of you will be sacrificed to our dragon father. You must flee with your lives before our father is aroused! You must flee through the mountains to be saved!”[/Color] Druff made this appeal several times. A few of the villagers listened and grabbed onto their smaller children to drag them inside their homes. After a few moments of hurried packing these few villagers burst forth out of their homes and ran screaming through the village. The compulsion of Druff was strange enough, but most of the villagers were even more bothered by the emergence of the strangers bent on freeing the Provenience. It was an omen to all regarding the coming destruction at the hands of the dragon father. Semeion thrust his dagger down onto the binding ropes once more and slashed the third rope. The rope snapped and recoiled across the stone surface. Only one rope remained. The Provenience screamed even harder, and now that both of her legs were free she pushed off with her feet and brought her legs around to meet up with the side of Semeion’s head. As the woman’s feet connected with Semeion’s head, he sprawled forward across the large flat stone. His hands lost control of the dagger and it slid out of his reach from where he fell. Quickly he rose to his feet and scooped up his dagger. He was determined to make another attempt at freeing this young woman. The Provenience realized that only one bond remained and kept her chained to the stone. Using her warped and brainwashed logic she swung herself into a standing position and put herself between Semeion and the rope. [Color=Red]“I am the Provenience,”[/Color] she demanded of Semeion, [Color=Red]“you must come no further. I am to be the bride of our dragon father and that is my honor!”[/Color] [Color=Plum]“You will be his slave for procreation and bear his children until your body wears out!”[/Color] Semeion shouted in return. His anger was starting to get the better of him. After all, he was attempting to save this woman’s life. The woman growled at Semeion and took up a defensive stance against Semeion’s assault. She managed to deflect Semeion’s next blow and get a single hand on the blade of the dagger. As she wrestled for control of the weapon she heard a soft voice speaking to her inside her mind. It was Rhema’s voice she heard, although she did not know Rhema. [Color=PaleGreen]“Provenience, forgive my intrusion into your mind. But you must listen to Semeion. The words he speaks are true. You body will be violated in gross acts of procreation until you are worn out and useless. There is no glory or honor in what you are asked to do.”[/Color] Slowly her eyes began to gloss over and her strength left the hand she had on Semeion’s dagger. Semeion freed the dagger from her grip and easily avoided her body to strike out at the last binding. Once she was free, the woman spun around several times as if struggling with her orientation. He body began to sink as her knees grew weak from dehydration and stress. As Semeion stowed his dagger he noticed that the woman began to lose her balance. Semeion reached out and caught her before she could fall. He picked her up and with great effort brought her back to Rhema. He was grateful that Rhema had chosen to come out of the forest and close the gap in order to approach the stone. He could also tell that the Provenience was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration from being strapped to the stone for much of the morning. The young mage looked with concern to Rhema. [Color=Plum]“That’s two you have control over if I am not mistaken, Rhema.”[/Color] Rhema nodded. [Color=PaleGreen]“That I am not worried about, Semeion. We need to separate Druff from his horse. We also need to separate Druff from the rest of the people who are fleeing. When he is freed of my control he will come to his senses. If there are any of the villagers who are near him when he is freed, they will most certainly be brought back for a feast for the red dragon’s behalf.”[/Color] Semeion laid the Provenience down onto the stone and looked at Druff as he continued to charge atop his horse through the village. More and more of the natives were taking his warnings seriously and they were beginning to flee in all directions. Semeion caught Druff’s eye and yelled as loud as he could muster. [Color=Plum]“Druff, you must bring your horse to me so that we can save the Provenience from the wrath of the dragon father. We will need your steed. You must go to Ischarus and draw your sword from his pack and help him against the women warriors of your people. Then we must all flee!”[/Color] Semeion gave Rhema a questioning glance, wondering if that would make sense to the Drakontos warrior. Semeion’s words did seem to get through to Druff, and the Drakontos warrior turned his horse toward Semeion and charged through the mayhem of the fleeing villagers. Once he was at Semeion’s side he gave Semeion the reigns and leapt off the horse onto the stone. He hoisted the Provenience onto his horse and turned to Semeion. [Color=Red]“The horse’s name is Abijou, he’ll protect her.”[/Color] Semeion gave Druff a casual smile as Druff turned towards Ischarus. The Drakontos warrior ran across the slippery stone surface with a confident motion that demonstrated his experience with the sacrificial stone. Upon reaching the other side, he approached Elistra and in a single motion drew his sword from where Ischarus had stowed it. He held it in a defensive manner and struck against the two women. Ischarus turned to see from whom this assistance had come. Upon seeing Druff he spun Elistra around to face all three of the Drakontos warriors. Ischarus looked up to Semeion upon the stone and urged him to leave with a gesture of his sword. Semeion leapt from the stone onto Thana’s back and reclaimed the reigns from Rhema. As he did, Rhema gave him advice and encouragement. [Color=PaleGreen]“Take her and go now, Semeion. Your progress will be slowed on account of her inability to guide her own horse. She’s dehydrated and won’t do well. Get a head start; we’ll catch up to you when we can!”[/Color] Semeion gave Rhema a look of argumentation as if to say that he would not leave her side. Rhema looked back to Ischarus and then to Semeion before he could speak. [Color=PaleGreen]“Ischarus will not let anything happen to me. Now go, before it is too late!”[/Color] Semeion nodded and tugged on Abijou’s reigns. The horse followed Thana out of the clearing and back into the woods. As Semeion turned in his saddle once more, he saw Druff and Ischarus fighting side by side, paving the way to allow the villagers an opportunity to escape unhindered. Rhema shouted words of encouragement in the draconic language. These were words that Ischarus had taught her to speak. The people did not seem to understand her desire to help them, but they were appreciative of the advice nonetheless. Semeion couldn’t help but marvel at the chaos of the scene. He also couldn’t help but marvel at the peace inside his own heart knowing that they had saved the Provenience. They had begun the destruction of a red dragon’s following. For the time being it felt good. He was sure this was not the last they would hear from the dragon, however. Perhaps this was the same fate that had eventually caught up with his master. At the thought of Master Sathwright his internal peace ended. There was still work do be done. He would make Master Sathwright proud. [Sblock=Color Free Speech Section] Chapter Three: FINDING GRACE The next morning came quickly, although Semeion was already awake before the sun came up. He had requested to take the final watch so that he could begin to work on the arcane talents that he might need to draw upon for the next day. As the sun rose, Semeion concluded his mental exercises and looked one last time at his book of arcane writings. He smiled one last time as his fingers traced along one of the lines of the book before he snapped the book shut. Once his mind was set with the mysteries of the arcane he rose to wake Ischarus and Rhema. Druff still lay unconscious from the previous night. “I suppose we should wake him,” Ischarus stated with a sneer once the party was up and ready to move. “I don’t see why we need to wake him up,” Semeion argued. “If we secure him to his horse he won’t be any trouble while unconscious. And when he wakes up…” “And when he wakes up,” Rhema interjected, “he’ll be more trouble than if we let him get it out of his system now. Besides, with our luck he’ll stay unconscious completely until we get within the realm of the red dragon. Then at the worst possible moment he’ll wake up and we’ll need to contend with him beside the Drakontai of his village.” Ischarus continued while offering a polite smile of peace toward Semeion. “Which then means that we’ll have to contend with him as well as explain our harsh treatment of him to the other villagers. No, we’ll wake him now and let him get his frustration out of his system while we are far away. Once we approach the village I’m sure Rhema can take care of him. She does have a way with people, after all.” Semeion looked to Rhema and noted that she blushed slightly under Ischarus’ praise. He added, “Indeed, that she does.” Ischarus took his gloved hand and slapped Druff across the face. The Drakontos didn’t wake. Ischarus struck him once more, this time slightly harder. The Drakontos moaned a bit and slightly cracked his eyes open. As his eyes increased in opening Ischarus could tell that Druff was in no condition to even focus his eyesight. Ischarus chastised the Drakontos warrior. “Wake up, fool. We’ve got a few miles to cover and its time you were reunited with your people. In fact, I think you might even be of some use to us before this day has reached its conclusion.” The Drakontos spat into the air, obviously hoping to strike Ischarus where he stood. His spittle missed Ischarus wide by nearly a foot, betraying the fact that his mind was still scrambled enough that his eyesight had not returned to its full use. Druff could obvious see well enough to pick up on colors and shadow, but his hand-eye coordination was still not yet normal. Ischarus laughed as Druff missed his mark. “You are still feeling the effects of my associate’s mind wrenching powers. If you are lucky, you’ll live long enough for your head to sort out what is wrong with your eyes. If not, I’m sure your dragon father won’t mind the taste of your flesh whether you can see or not.” Ischarus winked at Semeion as he spoke, knowing that Druff could not see the gesture. Ischarus knew that Semeion was inexperienced at knowing when he was bluffing and when he was telling the truth. He wanted Semeion to know for certain this was a bluff and that he wasn’t actually planning on offering him up to the red dragon. Druff sneered at Ischarus’ words and emitted a low growl. “Set me free from these bindings. I’m no threat to you as I am. Free me so I can strike you down – or die trying.” Ischarus laughed at the boldness of the Drakontos. “That’ll be the day. Now get on your feet!” Ischarus’ gloved hand reached down and grabbed a fistful of Druff’s hair. He tugged on the Drakontos’ hair and Druff grudgingly rose to his feet. After a few heated moments of discussion Druff was sitting atop of his horse and fastened to it to prevent escape. The rest of the party quickly followed suit and they headed back onto the beaten path where they had met Druff the night prior. Once onto the road they made decent time away from the mountains on the border between Tongra and Quehalost. Druff’s vocal complaints made it increasingly clear that his vision was returning and he would be a significant hassle once they reached the village. When Ischarus felt that they were closing in on the village he nodded to Rhema. “Time to work your magic, girl. I don’t think that we dare get any closer to the village with Druff carrying on the way that he is.” With some confidence in her riding abilities, Rhema spun Shauvry around so that she faced Druff as he rode his horse. Druff’s horse stopped at the maneuver and nearly reared back as Shauvry unexpectedly turned into its path. “Whoa, now, boy!” Druff shouted trying to maintain control with both his knees and his voice. Control was difficult to acheive since his hands were not at his disposal. Once his horse had settled down he looked back to Rhema and shouted, “You’ll be wise to stay away from me with your mind powers, witch! If I am ever freed from these bonds I’ll hunt you down and you’ll regret anything you plan on doing to me.” Rhema smiled and her eyes started to glaze over as if she were looking through Druff into the horizon. “There is no real reason to fear us, Druff.” Her words seemed normal to Semeion and Ischarus as they listened; but to Druff the words seemed to bounce around the woods and echo in his mind. ”We’re here to help your people, Druff. We know that the red dragon you serve is planning on feasting on those of your village while it mates with your sacrifice. We don’t want all those people to die without knowing the threat that looms above them. Help us free your people, Druff.” Although her words took less than a minute to speak, it seemed to Druff that Rhema had been speaking to him for an hour. His mind struggled to wade through her words and make sense of how her soothing voice contradicted the rage he felt inside. Soon the flow of Rhema’s voice washed Druff free of his anger and he began to think more clearly again. Rhema’s words subsided and Druff smiled as he looked at Rhema. ”Come on, then. Free me from these bonds so that I can help you all free my people. They are in grave danger in the village. Grixanthrosilithiss has set aside his most loyal servants to help raise the young when they are born. Everyone else will die. They must be stopped!” Rhema spun Shauvry around make eye contact with Ischarus. “He’s under my power now. We have one hour, Ischarus. I say we free him and make the most of it.” Semeion’s eyes shot open with amazement. “What?” He exclaimed in shock. “You plan to set him free?” Ischarus turned to Semeion. “Not only set him free, but I plan to let him lead us into his village. He knows the quickest way and his people will be more likely to listen to us if Druff leads us into his village.” After completing his thought, Ischarus stood in his saddle slightly and guided Elistra to Druff’s side. He leaned in his saddle until he could reach Druff’s bindings and then he freed the Drakontos warrior. “There, Druff. You are free. Now ride hard to your village so that we can follow and make good time. But first, how many are there that your father plans to keep from his destruction as trainers of the next generation?” Druff brought his hands around to grip his reigns as he turned to look towards Ischarus. “Five, including myself: two male and three female. I’ll handle them; you all focus on the rest of the village!” Druff charged off into the front of the party as Semeion gave Ischarus a blank stare of disbelief. His mouth hung slightly agape as he watched the proceedings. Rhema chuckled and urged Shauvry into following Druff’s horse. “Druff is what I like to call charmed by my personality, Semeion. I have influenced his mind into believing our cause is his cause. But my power over him will only last an hour. We must make great haste if we plan to get into his village, save the Provenience, and get away with enough distance between us and them to evade the pursuit – and probably the dragon.” Rhema took off first, Shauvry accustomed to leading before Elistra and Thana. Shauvry was able to keep pace with Druff’s hustling horse. Elistra and Thana were also able to keep up, although Elistra was more taxed by the speedy charge down the forested path than the other horses. After a short ride Rhema, Semeion, and Ischarus could hear Druff calling forth in his own language. Ischarus called to his friends, “It seems like Druff is calling the people together! Rhema, are you sure your control over him is intact?” Rhema yelled back over her shoulder, “I know that my power over him was effective, if that is what you are asking. I cannot tell Druff what to do, but I know that Druff now considers us friends and allies. I’ve no clue as to what his plan is from here.” Semeion shook his head and chastised, “Do all your plans go this smoothly?” Ischarus grinned at Semeion’s comment and yelled back, “They do when we are on horseback! Normally, though, we don’t have this advantage!” It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was enjoying this particular challenge. The trio of horses emerged out of the forest into a circular clearing with a diameter of about one hundred yards. Primitive houses lined the outside ring of trees and a large flat stone with a diameter of about twenty feet rested atop five smaller pillars each about 4 feet tall. A young female of obviously the same lineage as Druff lay strapped to the center of the stone. Druff rode wildly around the central stone, calling for the tribal community to make its presence known. “Grixanthrosilithiss has deceived you all!” Druff yelled. “You all must flee or you will become food for our father dragon!” No sooner did Druff raise the alarm to the people than two female warriors emerged from one of the outside buildings and ran towards the center of the circle. “You fool!” yelled the taller of the females. “What do you hope to gain from this? Grixanthrosilithiss will not be pleased if the people are driven from their homes around the circle! It is forbidden to leave!” Both women drew their weapons and Ischarus immediately realized his prior miscalculation. Druff was unarmed. Ischarus yelled out for Elistra to ride hard forward and attempt to intercept the charge of the women as they came to attack the defenseless Druff. As he charged forward atop Elistra, Rhema and Semeion began to notice that some of the locals were beginning to gather outside of their buildings. They could tell from the reaction of the people that this was an uncommon sight. They seemed confused at Druff’s words. Rhema turned to Semeion and addressed the young mage. “Give me Thana’s reigns and get onto that stone. We must save the Provenience before too many people have gathered. At the moment, I only see two of the women that Druff mentioned before. That leaves one man and one woman unaccounted for. The rest only pose a problem if their numbers grow too large that we cannot handle them.” Without hesitation Semeion leapt onto the ground from atop Thana’s back and slid his horse’s reigns into Rhema’s grasp. He quickly charged to the stone and with a simple swing of his hips Semeion swung his legs up over the edge of the stone. In a second he was on his knees and then he stood up. He shuffled across the smooth stone’s slippery surface and drew one of his daggers. The woman tied to the stone cried out in her native tongue, “No! I am a gift to our father!” She was clearly afraid for her life and the sacrifice being interrupted. Semeion slashed down with his dagger. He easily severed one of the cords that strapped the Provenience to the stone. With a simple motion he drew the dagger upwards again and prepared to strike at another. Semeion’s act enraged the woman who was to be sacrificed. “No!” The woman screamed again. Many of the onlookers had shifted their attention from Druff to Semeion’s work. Most of them began to shout in wide-eyed horror as Semeion cut the ropes of bondage. The Provenience yelled and struggled against Semeion. “You cannot take me from my father! I am to be his gift! I am to be his honored queen!” Semeion had enough of this crazed woman’s babblings as he cut another cord. “Listen, lady. I don’t know what you’ve heard but I know that if your dragon father gets a hold of you that you will bear children until you are swollen and of no more use to this dragon you prize. Then you will be consumed!” While Semeion worked on the bondage of the Provenience, across the village Ischarus intercepted the blows designed for Druff. Elistra swung between Druff and his attackers and Ischarus deflected the attacks o the female Drakontai with his own sword. He turned to Druff and yelled, “Druff, you must warn these people of the impending doom and convince them to run and flee to safety. Tell them to not stay together when they flee. They will be more successful if they scatter. That will make it more difficult for your dragon father to find them all. And tell them to run to the mountains. They’ll listen to you.” Druff steered his horse and it charged back around the circle as Ischarus handled a few more attacks from the women warriors. As Druff rode circles around the platform he yelled a stern warning to his people. “Grixanthrosilithiss will not forgive your insolence. He has already made designs on your destruction. I and four others were chosen to remain; the rest of you will be sacrificed to our dragon father. You must flee with your lives before our father is aroused! You must flee through the mountains to be saved!” Druff made this appeal several times. A few of the villagers listened and grabbed onto their smaller children to drag them inside their homes. After a few moments of hurried packing these few villagers burst forth out of their homes and ran screaming through the village. The compulsion of Druff was strange enough, but most of the villagers were even more bothered by the emergence of the strangers bent on freeing the Provenience. It was an omen to all regarding the coming destruction at the hands of the dragon father. Semeion thrust his dagger down onto the binding ropes once more and slashed the third rope. The rope snapped and recoiled across the stone surface. Only one rope remained. The Provenience screamed even harder, and now that both of her legs were free she pushed off with her feet and brought her legs around to meet up with the side of Semeion’s head. As the woman’s feet connected with Semeion’s head, he sprawled forward across the large flat stone. His hands lost control of the dagger and it slid out of his reach from where he fell. Quickly he rose to his feet and scooped up his dagger. He was determined to make another attempt at freeing this young woman. The Provenience realized that only one bond remained and kept her chained to the stone. Using her warped and brainwashed logic she swung herself into a standing position and put herself between Semeion and the rope. “I am the Provenience,” she demanded of Semeion, “you must come no further. I am to be the bride of our dragon father and that is my honor!” “You will be his slave for procreation and bear his children until your body wears out!” Semeion shouted in return. His anger was starting to get the better of him. After all, he was attempting to save this woman’s life. The woman growled at Semeion and took up a defensive stance against Semeion’s assault. She managed to deflect Semeion’s next blow and get a single hand on the blade of the dagger. As she wrestled for control of the weapon she heard a soft voice speaking to her inside her mind. It was Rhema’s voice she heard, although she did not know Rhema. “Provenience, forgive my intrusion into your mind. But you must listen to Semeion. The words he speaks are true. You body will be violated in gross acts of procreation until you are worn out and useless. There is no glory or honor in what you are asked to do.” Slowly her eyes began to gloss over and her strength left the hand she had on Semeion’s dagger. Semeion freed the dagger from her grip and easily avoided her body to strike out at the last binding. Once she was free, the woman spun around several times as if struggling with her orientation. He body began to sink as her knees grew weak from dehydration and stress. As Semeion stowed his dagger he noticed that the woman began to lose her balance. Semeion reached out and caught her before she could fall. He picked her up and with great effort brought her back to Rhema. He was grateful that Rhema had chosen to come out of the forest and close the gap in order to approach the stone. He could also tell that the Provenience was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration from being strapped to the stone for much of the morning. The young mage looked with concern to Rhema. “That’s two you have control over if I am not mistaken, Rhema.” Rhema nodded. “That I am not worried about, Semeion. We need to separate Druff from his horse. We also need to separate Druff from the rest of the people who are fleeing. When he is freed of my control he will come to his senses. If there are any of the villagers who are near him when he is freed, they will most certainly be brought back for a feast for the red dragon’s behalf.” Semeion laid the Provenience down onto the stone and looked at Druff as he continued to charge atop his horse through the village. More and more of the natives were taking his warnings seriously and they were beginning to flee in all directions. Semeion caught Druff’s eye and yelled as loud as he could muster. “Druff, you must bring your horse to me so that we can save the Provenience from the wrath of the dragon father. We will need your steed. You must go to Ischarus and draw your sword from his pack and help him against the women warriors of your people. Then we must all flee!” Semeion gave Rhema a questioning glance, wondering if that would make sense to the Drakontos warrior. Semeion’s words did seem to get through to Druff, and the Drakontos warrior turned his horse toward Semeion and charged through the mayhem of the fleeing villagers. Once he was at Semeion’s side he gave Semeion the reigns and leapt off the horse onto the stone. He hoisted the Provenience onto his horse and turned to Semeion. “The horse’s name is Abijou, he’ll protect her.” Semeion gave Druff a casual smile as Druff turned towards Ischarus. The Drakontos warrior ran across the slippery stone surface with a confident motion that demonstrated his experience with the sacrificial stone. Upon reaching the other side, he approached Elistra and in a single motion drew his sword from where Ischarus had stowed it. He held it in a defensive manner and struck against the two women. Ischarus turned to see from whom this assistance had come. Upon seeing Druff he spun Elistra around to face all three of the Drakontos warriors. Ischarus looked up to Semeion upon the stone and urged him to leave with a gesture of his sword. Semeion leapt from the stone onto Thana’s back and reclaimed the reigns from Rhema. As he did, Rhema gave him advice and encouragement. “Take her and go now, Semeion. Your progress will be slowed on account of her inability to guide her own horse. She’s dehydrated and won’t do well. Get a head start; we’ll catch up to you when we can!” Semeion gave Rhema a look of argumentation as if to say that he would not leave her side. Rhema looked back to Ischarus and then to Semeion before he could speak. “Ischarus will not let anything happen to me. Now go, before it is too late!” Semeion nodded and tugged on Abijou’s reigns. The horse followed Thana out of the clearing and back into the woods. As Semeion turned in his saddle once more, he saw Druff and Ischarus fighting side by side, paving the way to allow the villagers an opportunity to escape unhindered. Rhema shouted words of encouragement in the draconic language. These were words that Ischarus had taught her to speak. The people did not seem to understand her desire to help them, but they were appreciative of the advice nonetheless. Semeion couldn’t help but marvel at the chaos of the scene. He also couldn’t help but marvel at the peace inside his own heart knowing that they had saved the Provenience. They had begun the destruction of a red dragon’s following. For the time being it felt good. He was sure this was not the last they would hear from the dragon, however. Perhaps this was the same fate that had eventually caught up with his master. At the thought of Master Sathwright his internal peace ended. There was still work do be done. He would make Master Sathwright proud. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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