The Sentinels: Sleeping Giants

Deleted User - 819397

Ah. So Stiorra was indeed Isolla. That complicated things. Drake sighed as Ben promised not to get mad at him only to get fairly heated in his questioning. Still, it should be easy enough to de-escalate this situation, as after all, he'd be telling the truth. "All Matheld's letter said was that she thought Stiorra might be Isolla. This was not a guarantee, and regardless she wanted us here. I decided not to tell you because I didn't want to get your hopes up. From your own account you've never forgiven yourself for letting her slip away, I didn't think it would be kind to tell you she was here only to find out that Matheld's hunch was wrong. No one knew for sure...hell, I still didn't know until you just told me. So yes, I didn't tell you that Matheld had a hunch. But it wouldn't have changed anything we've done if you'd have known. Instead, I saved you weeks of worry and uncertainty, and had she not been Isolla you would have continued on not knowing or feeling miserable about the fact the hunch was wrong." Drake shrugged. "In my own experience, being saved from questionable knowledge like that is in and of itself valuable. Now then, if that's all, if you'll excuse me..." The alchemist moved off, heading towards Lilith's tent, uncertain if he'd be welcome but wanting to see if she wanted the company all the same.
 

DeletedUser31931

Ben clenched his fist as Mark began his explanation. Apparently, Matheld hadn't been certain about whether Stiorra was Isolla or not and this was Mark's basis for not telling Ben, having decided he didn't want to get Ben's hopes up. Ben could understand the mercenary's intentions behind his actions, but he had a hard time feeling like he was willing to let it go. He wanted to know, dammit, he deserved to know. When had Mark decided for himself that it was up to him to make those decisions? The fist unclenched and Ben let out a long sigh. He stood to one side and motioned for Mark to make his way over to Lilith. Once the merc was gone into the girl's tent, Ben went into his own tent and activated the muting spell before letting the toll of the curse run through him. It was getting worse. That much, he was sure of. He needed to get to Isolla as soon as possible, for his own sake at the very least. He had no doubt that the Princess knew what she was doing, she had, after all, managed to get this place up and running and she'd always been very competent. Still, she was now his Queen and as her servant, her Sentinel, Ben intended to make good upon the oath he had sworn to the now defunct throne of Talamh Bui.
 

DeletedUser28032

Lilith's Tent
Upon entering the tent in which he'd spent the previous night with the mercenary woman, Drake would unsurprisingly find Lilith lying on her bedding though what was surprising was the young red headed girl currently lying within her arms.

Although it was clear that something was going on between the pair of them it was clear to Drake that whatever it was it wasn't sexual in nature as both women were fully clothed with Lilith simply stroking the younger woman's long red hair as she softly sang to her with the girl in question practically asleep...or at least she had been before he'd entered.

Both women would give a start upon realising that they were no longer alone; with the younger girl obviously panicking at the sight of him only to be soothed by Lilith's softly spoken words "Its ok you can trust him, he's a friend...though it's probably for the best if you leave" the young girl nodding her head in agreement as she got up and headed for the tents flap, only to be stopped by Lilith before she could exit "You...You will come and see me again, right?" the mercenary woman asked, biting her lower lip in obvious concern that the girl wouldn't, with the young girl considering the matter for several moments before nodding her head "Sure Suzie...I'll see you again" she said in heavily accented common before leaving the tent and disappearing into the night.

With her friend gone, Lilith gave Drake a deeply embarrassed look as she spoke to him in an awkward whisper "I have a weakness for young red heads...they...they remind me of my baby sister" she said, hesitating slightly before hurriedly adding "please don't tell anyone" in a tone of voice that was as close to pleading as she was ever going to get.

Shifting position so that Drake could sit down beside her if he so desired Drake would be able to get a good view of the purple bruising covering the mercenary woman's throat, which judging by the way she struggled to breath and speak was still very painful "if you were looking to celebrate, I'm not really in the mood, somebody I considered to be a friend tried to snuff me...yeah I know, Me, not in the mood...go on, laugh, I know what everybody says about me, some of it is even true" she bitterly spoke; a flash of defiance within those emerald green eyes just daring him to mock her as she continued to rant "...If a man sleeps around he's a hero, a ladies man, but not me, no I'm trash!...sorry I...I shouldn't have snapped at you" the girl quietly apologised as her defiance was once again replaced by her previous look of self pity "...I guess I still miss being married"

Ben's Tent
He couldn't be sure how long he had lain within the darkness; the pain of his curse making the tracking of time next to impossible. All he knew for sure was that at some point he awoke to find a shadowy figure sitting at the end of his bedding "Hello Ben...I think we need to have a little talk don't you?" it'd take the mercenary a few moments to place the figures voice as being that of Ames; the man’s feature completely hidden by a hood and the surrounding darkness "Judging from your little...incident...today, I take it that you and the Lady Stiorra know one another, now I don't really care as to the nature of your relationship with her, but what I do care about is whether you’re going to do something stupid?" the hooded bodyguard quietly intoned; waiting until Ben had made some form of a reply before continuing to speak in the same cold, emotionless voice "As I recall there was talk of you and your friends acting as bodyguards for the Lady Stiorra, If that is indeed the case then I may have need of you, for I fear that the Lady Stiorra's life is in mortal peril and despite my talents, I am but one man"
 

Deleted User - 819397

Upon entering Lilith's tent, Drake was stopped by the sight of the mercenary woman cradling a younger girl in her arms. His arrival broke up the scene pretty quick, which he felt somewhat bad about, but his companion seemed more worried that he'd spread the word about what he'd just seen. "Even if I had a reason to tell people I wouldn't...not about to say anything, promise." He joined her on the bed as she shifted over, sitting down with a grateful sigh. She proceeded to explain she wasn't in the mood for any "celebration" in a bitter tone, that she knew people would laugh about it, and more or less being upset until she dropped the nugget of information that she'd been married at one point. Shifting so that he could put an arm around her, the alchemist lifted his other hand, a very faint, golden nimbus flowing around it. "I used to be a priest, you know...before all this. Healing is something I can still do, so long as I don't try to bring someone back from the brink of death and I don't need to fight for a while after. Let's get you breathing right again." He moved his hand up and down her throat, never touching the inflamed skin, working on accelerating the healing process. As he worked, he continued in the same, calm voice. "I never understood why people thought being with another in an intimate way was so bad. Sure it was one of the Commandments, but even as a priest I wondered why one would want to restrict the ability to bring new life to the world. Once I left the order to become a Sentinel, I saw more of the culture behind it. The very act is an act of bonding, of positive emotion. I never partook myself, more out of uncertainty how to go about it than anything, but I never begrudged others for wanting to grow closer with someone." Mark chuckled, shaking his head, his hand lowering as the nebula winked out. "Of course, I'm not even close to a priest now, so I suppose I lost the right to say what I think as one...but I'm hardly going to change my views. You do what feels right for you, and don't let others tell you otherwise." He looked over her throat with a critical eye. "How does that feel now, by the way? Been a while since I did that kind of more delicate work..."
 

DeletedUser31931

The next while was excruciatingly painful. Ben lay there, silently writhing in agony before the fit passed and he drifted into semi peaceful slumber. When he opened his eyes, there was a figure at the end of his bed. Figuring that if they wanted him dead he would already be so, he calmly propped himself upright as he made out that the figure was Ames. He wasn’t sure how much he trusted the man, to be honest, as he still knew next to nothing about the mercenary apart from the fact that his name or his insignia bought him a lot of credit. As Ames spoke to him of Isolla, Ben cancelled the silencing rune that was etched into his skin, allowing the sound of his breathing to become audible again. “I’m not planning on doing anything stupid towards her Ames, don’t you worry. As a matter of fact, I’m sworn to protect her life at all costs. I wasn’t joking when I said I was a Sentinel. Not one of these new fanatics though. A proper Sentinel.” As Ames explained that Isolla’s life was in mortal peril Ben nodded, trying to keep his concern that the threat was large enough that Ames couldn’t handle it alone under wraps. “I’ll help in any way I can. Like I said, I’m sworn to her. Drake is too, even though he might not admit it. Still, he’s currently shacked up with Lilith, so depending on how immediate the threat is, we might do ourselves a favour to not interrupt him until the morning. Still, if you’ve come to see me, I presume you’ve got more than just groundless suspicion. So, what’s happening to Isolla?”
 

Apelatia

Well-Known Member
What happened next was a bit bizarre to say the least. Instead of hearing Selune's voice, Illrea instead found himself being embraced tightly by Marie. The woman swore to see that Kaella complied with his wishes, before letting him go with the promise that she wouldn't forget his actions. Illrea smiled after her retreating figure, glad that even having just begun, he had already won a potentially important ally for himself. Breathing a sigh of relief, the young man gazed contentedly at Selune as she approached him. As she talked, he remained silent, his eyes focused on her fascinating features. When she attempted to kiss him and realised that this would not be possible, Illrea laughed softly, gently placing his arms around her waist to lift her up. Once their eyes were level, the young man spoke gently. "I wouldn't wish you to be any different. I would fight for you any day..." Illrea found himself unable to say anything further as he returned the passionate show of affection from his girlfriend. The feel of her fingers lacing through his hair and of her lips brushing his was enough to cause him to set aside any worries for the moment. They remained in that position for a time, enjoying each other's company, before Selune finally broke off the contact.

As she spoke to him, Illrea continued to look at her lovingly, accepting the inevitability of her words, but at the same time wanting more. After a short pause to consider what he wanted to do, he responded with a mischievous look in his eyes. "I think a little time to ourselves can't hurt? Who knows what time we will have together from now on?" He paused again, unsure whether he had said exactly what he had intended to, and briefly scanned their surroundings. Eventually, he returned his gaze to her, his mind made up. Life at present was too perfect to miss such an opportunity...
 

DeletedUser28032

Lilith's Tent
"I wish everyone was as open minded as you are concerning my...um...habits" Lilith quietly spoke; gasping as the golden light surrounding Drakes fingertips made contact with her bruised flesh causing her to momentarily pause her line of conversation whilst she got used to the sensation "…Its just that...when I don't have anyone I struggle to control myself, Guido used some big fancy word to describe me once, though I can't for the life of me remember what it was...I think it started with an N" the redhead eventually finished as the soothing coolness spread throughout her throat causing the pain to rapidly numb away to practically nothing.

Finishing his work, Lilith would offer the former priest a grateful smile in response to his question concerning his handiwork "Thank you Drake that feels a lot better now…feel free to relax if you want to, I mean I've already proven that I'm ok with your looks" she said; tentatively probing her throat with her fingertips and wincing slightly when she found that there were still one or two tender spots, not that she was going to complain seen as he'd gone out of his way to help her when he really didn't have to.

Stripping out of her clothes so that she wore nothing but a pair of briefs, Lilith would pull a small ivory comb from out of her pack and begin brushing her hair with the tiny bells in her hair tinkling softly as she did so with her seemingly uncaring of the fact that Drake sitting right next to her as she undressed and made herself ready for bed.

Once her shoulder length red hair had been neatly combed Lilith would then slip beneath the blankets and make herself comfortable before speaking to the alchemist with that same friendly smile on her face "You can join me if you like, This isn't an invitation for anything more, and you can sleep wherever you like but...well...I thought it'd be nice to have somebody to talk to for a while, not to mention the fact that we'd both be a lot warmer...I may even answer some of those questions you’ve no doubt got whirling around your head" and if he didn’t then there were a couple that she wouldn’t mind asking of him. It’d be nice to get to know a guy for a change rather than just sleeping with him but then again Drake wasn’t like any of the others of that much she was certain.

Ben's Tent
Upon hearing that Drake was shacked up with Lilith, Ames couldn't help but feel a little surprised, he hadn't gotten the guy pegged as being a masochist but then again maybe the stories about how Lilith mistreated her partners were over exaggerated and Drake had simply found himself a pretty, if heavily scarred young woman to spend his spare time with, in which case good for him! "No, there's no need to rush...there's still time" Ames quickly responded in his quiet voice before Ben got it into his head that Isolla was in immediate danger and rushed off to do something heroically stupid, despite what he’d said to the contrary.

When asked about the manner of the danger she was in, Ames took a moment to collect and arrange his thoughts into some kind of an order. Most of his information was second or even third hand with more than a little speculation on his part as to what was happening within the Lamadean court, though he’d been in this line of work long enough to know when he was onto something that required his intervention “when the Lady Stiorra first came here she was an impoverished young noble girl with neither a family nor a kingdom to protect her, the Sea Lords of Lamadon took her in with promises of sanctuary and an army to retake her kingdom all the while hoping to use her to further their own aims without actually making good of their promises” It didn’t take much in the way of imagination to see how using Isolla as puppet ruler would benefit the island kingdom not to mention the lord that managed to take her as his wife “however as you have already seen for yourself the Lady Stiorra has amassed an army far larger than the Sea Lords have anticipated and even worse she is not the meek little princess they had thought her to be, the only leverage they have over her is the fleet in their possession which they are they are dangling before her like a carrot…however I fear that she does not take that carrot along with whatever strings they have attached to it they will cut their losses and have her quietly killed if only to rid themselves of the army that threatens to drain the islands of all of its food and resources” no doubt there would be trouble if Isolla was to suddenly die no matter how her death was dressed but without their patron many of the mercenaries would simply disappear leaving only the most diehard of fanatics to fight what would ultimately prove a futile war against the Sea Lords “…the Lady Stiorra is currently a guest within one of the palaces on the main island and is under the constant protection of a contingent of palace guards, Now Skorj would love to hack his way through to her but the loss of men not to mention the fact that it would ultimately endanger her life means he is unable to do so which is where you come in…I want you and your friends to break into the palace kidnap the Lady Stiorra”

The Beach
“Then best my gallant knight whisk me away then” Selune giggled delightedly as her boyfriend opted to spend a little quality time with her instead of heading straight back to the caves where the others were waiting for him.

Boyfriend… She still wasn’t used to that word… the fact that she actually had somebody that loved and cared for her for who she was just felt so strange, nice, but strange after being alone for so long “You…you’ll be gentle with me won’t you?” she suddenly asked in a frightened whisper and hating herself for asking Of course he will! He loves me, Illrea would never do anything to hurt me, how many times must he prove it!? And yet she still needed to ask, to have that assurance from him and the moment the words left his lips confirming as such Selune would blush in embarrassment before kissing him again as all of her fears and anxieties disappeared as he carried her away.

Wrapped in Illrea’s cloak a look of supreme concentration covered the pretty hybrid girls face as she carefully braided a lock of her dark hair into Illrea’s blue. Braiding a lock of your hair into your boyfriends had been a tradition amongst the girls back home in Pentref, she’d never had chance to do it before and even if there had been somebody during her time with the Sidhe they would never have understood the significance of the gesture and what it meant to have your girls hair braided within your own.

With her handiwork finished Selune would let the tiny braid drop so that it hung by Illrea’s right ear with a delighted giggle “There…now you’re stuck with me” she joked before giving him a kiss on the cheek followed by an anxious look on her face “Thank you for putting up with me…most men wouldn’t be as understanding as you were” she whispered to him; tightening her hold upon him to show him just how much it meant to her.

It had quickly become apparent that her request him to be gentle with her was nothing to do with how he physically treated her but more to do with her abused psyche. Twice the girl had gone from being amorous and eager to show him what new delights and pleasures she could teach him, to being lost and terrified for no apparent reason or at least none that Illrea could divine, requiring him to gently coax his lover back to the here and now.

With the steely grey clouds now overhead Selune would look up at the looming weather before giving a disappointed sigh “Now we really do need to return to the others…though I’m glad we got to spend a little time together even if did…um…freak out a little” she wasn’t proud of the way her mind would suddenly turn on her but sadly it would appear that like the coming rains it was an unfortunate and unavoidable fact of life.
 

DeletedUser31931

As Ames informed Ben that Isolla was in no immediate threat, Ben breathed a silent sigh of relief. Letting the man gather his thoughts, Ben listened as Ames laid out the threat against Isolla, the whole affair sounding like a thoroughly stereotypical case of backroom politics in which Isolla found herself stuck in a losing game. Ames had recognised this and clearly had discussed it with Skorj, but the two had, quite rightly, come to the decision that a full frontal assault would ultimately put Isolla’s life in danger and come at too high a cost of men. Not to mention that it would be tantamount to an open declaration of war. No, for this a…. subtler touch would be required. And then Ames made his request. Ben burst out laughing, a short sharp bark. He couldn’t help himself, given the context of his relationship with the Queen. “You have my sword. And I promise not to shoot her through the hand this time either. Then again, her teleportation magic could come in quite useful. Still, three is a few too few for a kidnapping party.” Realising what he’d just said was owed an explanation, he swung his legs over the side. “Not that it’ll make much difference to you emotionally but Arcturus attempted to kill Lilith today. Drake, what with him being shacked up with Lilith and all, intervened and in the ensuing fight killed Arcturus in self-defence. Guido and I stumbled upon the aftermath and he left in anger, we’ve not seen him since. Anyway, that’s beside the point when it comes to the theory of the thing. I’m in favour of the idea, you’re just going to need some more people than us three to carry out. If you’ve got any ideas on who then tell me now but if not, come back tomorrow and we can discuss things properly then. Drake and Lilith included.” His part said, Ben stretched his arms out and fixed the other man with his gaze, waiting for a response.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Mark couldn't help but smile as Lilith thanked him for being so understanding, explaining she had a hard time controlling her urges a lot. "Nymphomaniac, I believe the term is..." he murmured in response to her failed attempt at remembering how Guido defined her. "Someone who has a hard time controlling their desires for passion...it does not, however, make them any less of a person, or any less of a good person at that. People who don't see beyond that aren't worth your time...not in this day and age, where we're all living under a yoke." His voice went bitter for a moment, but he recovered without any further fuss. He tensed a little as she told him he could 'relax', knowing full well what that meant, but with a sigh complied, shoulders slumping as he released the energy he'd been holding all day. "Feels like unclenching a muscle that's been held for a battle..." he muttered, more to himself than anything, his voice clear despite the lack of movement from his mouth. He sat in quiet contentment as the mercenary woman got ready for bed, watching her sometimes but otherwise just trying to clear his own thoughts. It was with a grateful nod that he accepted her offer to spend the night with her, not caring that she wasn't in the mood for anything more...after all, it wasn't like his own thoughts were in that direction, not after the day they'd had. Instead, it seemed that he was allowed to ask her questions, which...with such an open-ended offer, he was led to understand meant that almost anything would be fair game. After getting himself snug under the blanket, he considered for a moment before speaking up. "Anything you're willing to tell me about your life...before or after you came a mercenary...I'd be interested in hearing. Don't know a whole lot about you in general, outside of what you and others have said already, which isn't a whole lot." He figured he'd be asked the same thing, or at the very least something similar, after she was done...but he was ok with that. At some point, even the hardest held secrets had to come out, and if there was someone who wouldn't judge him, he hoped it would be the woman he was sharing a bed with.
 

Apelatia

Well-Known Member
The time that the couple spent alone together was full of happy emotions. Aside from Selune's hesitant question before they had begun, the experience was utterly wonderful.There were some odd moments now and again when she would drift away from him, falling into the darkened pit of her past experiences, but on the whole Illrea thoroughly enjoyed spending the time with his girlfriend. Why had he been so nervous about the whole thing? There really had been no reason to be, and yet something had held him back. Reflecting now though, Illrea could only find security and love as he looked into Selune's mystical eyes whilst she braided a hair from each of their heads together. Listening as she thanked him for putting up with her, Illrea responded by gently rubbing her back, before adding cheekily, "If putting up with you is what I've been doing, then it's one of the best trials I've ever had to go through." From the look in the young warrior's eyes, Selune would be able to tell that he meant what he had said.

Noticing the darkened clouds looming overhead just as Selune herself did, Illrea also let out a resigned sign. "I guess it is meant to be this way. Good times can't last forever, and that's why we need to make the most of every opportunity we have." Allowing his girlfriend to get up first, Illrea picked up his bow and proceeded to take Selune's hand. "Time to go back to reality, I suppose." With that said, the pair started the trek back across the beach to rejoin the Sentinels.

Upon their return to the caves, Illrea immediately set out in search of Logain, with whom he wished to speak as soon as possible. If anyone could assist him in finding the best and most stable path to take on the road ahead, the seasoned warrior could. He had suggested to Selune that she accompany him to important discussions for the foreseeable future. Not only would it help her grasp a full understanding of the current state of matters, but it would also build up her presently diminished confidence and enable her to give her own opinion on matters of importance when the time came. His girlfriend had agreed, and they had set off. Logain would be their first stop. After that, Illrea planned to visit Elijah and Ymira to check on progress before making the dreaded trip to see Kaella. He hoped that Marie would be on hand to coax the deposed Warden over to his side. That would make things somewhat easier for sure. Lastly, he hoped to be able to speak to the Sentinels as a whole. This last excursion was particularly daunting, as Illrea was not entirely confident in his oratory abilities, especially in front of such a large group of people. However, that was later. For now, he would need to form a leadership circle. As far as he was concerned, the important people to have on board were Logain, Marie, Kaella and Selune, with Elijah being a potential candidate once he was recovered. He needed people whom he could trust to not only carry out tasks properly, but also people who would provide him with sound advice. Maybe it was wishful thinking to expect everything to fit perfectly into place, but it was possible. He would try as hard as he could to secure a good outcome for them all.

After some searching, they discovered Logain. Illrea immediately addressed the elder respectfully. "Thank you for your support on the beach, Logain. It is an honour for me to have your blessing in this position." Illrea paused, waiting to hear any forthcoming response, before continuing. "I've sought you out to ask for your advice. I find myself as Warden of the Sentinels, and as much as I am eager and willing to take on the inevitable challenge, I know precious little about current affairs both within the Sentinels and in the world beyond these caves. I was hoping that you could fill me in on what my new role will entail, and also give me some insight into the order. That is, if you have time, of course." Illrea finished his short speech with a smile, signalling that he had finished. Now would hopefully be the time to learn and gain understanding.
 

DeletedUser28032

Ben's Tent
Choosing to ignore the man's strange comment concerning shooting the person he was sworn to protect through the hand, Ames gave a single nod of his head in response "I would have to speak with Skorj, he has a better understanding of which mercenaries have loyalties to something other than gold" the bodyguard spoke in a low voice, agreeing that they would indeed require more than three people to achieve their aim "...I shall return in the morning and see if we can't devise some kind of a plan between us, but for now I must leave you, I have been away from the Lady Stiorra's side too long already, so until tomorrow, goodnight" the man quietly finished before ducking out of the tent and disappearing into the night allowing Ben to return to his much needed sleep.

Lilith's Tent
With Drake not only managing to divine the name of her condition from her rather vague description but also describe it's symptoms, Lilith would pause midway through the act of brushing her hair to listen as he proceeded to say that it not only didn't bother him, but that she was still a good person in his eyes with the mercenary girl giving a short chuckle in response "most guys think it's wonderful when they first find out, a girl who never tires of sex, though after about a week of me continually waking them up during the night and hitting on them in public they quickly decide I'm not worth the hassle...as will you in time" she finished with a brief look of sadness flickering within her emerald green eyes as she continued to make her preparations for bed.

Snuggled beneath the collection of blankets and furs that made up her bedding, Lilith would wait until Drake had joined her before extinguishing the solitary stub of candle she owned; plunging the pair of them into darkness as she began to answer his question in a low voice "Not much to say really...my mother died of fever whilst I was young and my father was killed defending Rithe Halla, leaving me and my baby sister to live in our uncle's tavern, in which I spent my days waiting tables and turning tricks for a little extra coin until..." Lilith’s voice suddenly cut out dead and even in the dark of night Drake could sense that she was struggling with something painful; a secret she longed to share with him but couldn’t bring herself to unlock the door that had been barricaded closed for so many years with the secret eventually defeating her like it had done every other time she’d approached that door within her mind "...I just left ok...anyway I ran away with husband number one who promptly got himself killed over a game of dice leaving me miles from home and with a giant debt to pay off, so I went back to scrubbing clothes and whoring, and don't you dare look at me like that! Like I'm some poor little lost lamb driven to a life of sin through desperation, or because I was lead astray by wicked men, No! They were my choices and I made them so don't you dare judge or pity me!" she snapped at him, though for the life of her she didn’t really know why.


Silence would follow her outburst as Lilith tried to compose herself; wondering whether she should leave the rest of her tale unsaid and simply go to sleep, then again, Drake was the only person other than Guido to take and interest in her outside of the bedroom and so she quietly continued "Anyway…It was after a few years of following one army or another that I would meet Drago; oh Drake I wish you could have met him, he was so beautiful, intelligent and he had a wicked sense of humour, he was also the only man I've ever met who was able to keep up with me…and he taught me to fight...its been two years since he died but I still miss him, everyday I think about him and it still hurts when I realise that he's gone...but anyway the pair of us then joined a mercenary company of which myself, Guido and Drago's sister are the only survivors...now as much as I'd love to learn a little more about you we really ought to get some sleep, we've had a long day and I'll most likely want to have sex with you come the morning so..." Drake would feel a pair of lips gently kissing his scarred cheek, followed by Lilith shifting to a more comfortable position and slowly drifting off to sleep.

The Morning
True to her word, Drake would be awoken early the following morning by an amorous Lilith looking for him to satisfy her needs, with the girl seemingly oblivious to the various scars and deformities he as she sought to make him succumb to her desires with ever increasing fervour.

What was more surprising however was finding Guido sat outside by the campfire waiting for them “Guido…you came back” Lilith would say in a shocked voice upon seeing him sitting there; the look on her face saying that she was more than a little happy to see him.

Looking up from where he’d been tending to the kettle currently bubbling over the fire he’d built he would offer a kindly smile to the young redhead as he spoke up in reply “of course I did, I promised Drago that I’d look after you and I can’t very well do that passed out on the floor of a tavern now can I?” though judging by the rumpled state of his clothes and his bloodshot eyes he had indeed spent a portion of the previous night doing just that.


Leaving Drake’s side to eagerly throw her arms around Guido; the mercenary would offer her an almost fatherly smile as he hugged her back, though he couldn’t have been more than a year or two older than she was as he spoke to her in a mischievous tone “So Drake huh? Plaything or husband number three?” he asked prompting Lilith to pull away from him and glare “Guido! That’s awful! I’ve only been with him for two nights…though he does seem to actually give a crap about me…” she confessed with the briefest of blushes appearing on her cheeks before turning the conversation to a somewhat less enjoyable topic “Are you ok? After Arcturus…I…I didn’t think you’d be coming back or at least not without attacking Drake first” Lilith quietly asked, clearly concerned that Guido may still turn on Drake and try and avenge his mad friends death, instead the Mercenary gave a weary sigh and a shrug “my friend was killed by somebody I considered to be a friend trying to defend another friend from the first, there isn’t a positive outcome to that scenario…and besides we both know that Arcturus was never the same after his brother’s death, I just wish I’d realised how badly his mind had cracked” he said clearly struggling with his friends death but accepting it for what it was; promising himself that he would take good care of the one friend he had left.

The Cave
The young couple had barely finished dressing when the heavens opened up, causing them to dash the short distance to the cave’s entrance whilst sheltering beneath Illrea’s cloak.

Slightly damp and with Selune still giggling in delight as she clung to him the pair had scarcely set foot inside when they were approached by a trio of Sentinels that promptly dropped to one knee to offer their allegiance to the new Warden.

Twice more this would happen before they were able to locate Logain seated beside a fire; the large, blonde haired Sentinel giving a single nod of his head in greeting before silently inviting them both to join him with a hand gesture “The state of the world is that mankind is trapped between two powerful nations; The Sidhe and the Kavori, and mankind is either unwilling or incapable of fighting back in any meaningful way” Logain quietly explained how they had tried enlisting the help of the various lords to form an army to fight back against the Sidhe only to find them far more interested in squabbling between themselves or worse were actively collaborating with the enemy. In part it was this frustration over humanities desire for self destruction that drove Kaella to increasingly brutal tactics in the vain hope that she could make them follow her through fear alone “…if we could get but a few to join us then the rest would quickly follow, but nobody wanted to be the first and risk becoming a target for the more ruthless nobles, not to mention the Sidhe …you’d have to ask Kaella about the Sentinel’s history too I’m afraid as she’s the only one to have served with the original group” it was at this point that Marie would approach the trio dragging a young dark haired woman behind her like a naughty child being brought before an elder for punishment.

Meekly standing before Illrea in a plain wool dress with her long dark hair brushed so that it fell across her shoulders it would take Illrea several moments to realise that the attractive brunette was in fact the former Warden; Kaella.

It was clear that Kaella had been crying heavily and by the way she was wringing her hands and struggling to meet his eye she was just as nervous about their meeting as he was, if not more so “Kaella has something to say to you, to both of you, Don’t you Kaella?” Marie spoke in a stern voice that caused the girl to flinch before then hurriedly beginning to make a series of hand gestures that were promptly cut short by the blonde “They don’t understand sign, you’ll have to whisper to them like a child…though you wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t ruined your voice again!” she snapped, once again causing Kaella to flinch in a manner that was most unlike her and no doubt a direct result of whatever Marie had done to make her tow the line.

After a few moments of hesitation Kaella would cautiously approach Illrea in order to stand on tiptoes to whisper directly into his ear, though even with this measure he still found he had to concentrate in order to hear her faint raspy voice “I…I wish to pledge m-my allegiance to….to the Warden…please” she whispered in a shaky voice before hurriedly dropping to one knee with a pleading look in her eye as she awaited his answer.
 

DeletedUser31931

Ames agreed with Ben’s assessment of the situation, deciding that he would speak with Skorj to ascertain which mercenaries would be most useful to the cause. Ben figured that it was simpler to let Ames do it, especially given the man’s high rank within the army already. He’d stick to figuring out an initial idea of how they were going to jailbreak Isolla. With that, Ames decided that he had spent too long away from Isolla, and departed, leaving Ben to reactivate the spell and return to sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, Ben felt more refreshed than he had in a long while. The combination of having slept on a bed that wasn’t a hardwood bunk on a rocking ship, plus the excitement of knowing that Isolla was still alive and that she had seen him helped ease Ben into what felt like it could be a good day. As he exited the tent, his suspicions were confirmed that today might just turn out alright, as Guido sat at the campfire, talking to Lillith and Mark, who had already risen. Ben caught the tail end of their conversation and, from it, discerned that Guido apparently held no ill will towards Mark over the death of Arcturus. That was good, after all, Ben needed as many as he could get to help him rescue Isolla and he knew Guido was a skilled fighter from yesterday’s events, even if a pitched battle was a rather different affair to the sort of raid that Ben would be leading. To that end, he figured he ought to draw Mark to one side and get him onside before asking Guido and Lillith onto what could well be essentially a suicide mission.

Deciding, however, that now was not perhaps the best moment to interrupt with talk of a mission which could get them all killed, Ben contented himself to stretching his arms as he stared at the trio, waiting to see what Mark’s response was to whatever had just been said. Ben, after all, had all the time in the world until Ames got back to him with a list of mercenaries to bump up their team. Once he got Ben that, it was a case of getting to the drawing board, figuring out what skills the team had, and making maximum use of those skills to ensure that the successful kidnap rescue of Princess Queen Isolla occurred. Life had handed Ben a chance to finally fulfil his purpose and enact a truly successful mission as a Sentinel, a true Sentinel. He wasn’t going to waste it.
 

Apelatia

Well-Known Member
Seating himself opposite the experienced warrior so that he could look the man directly as he spoke, Illrea lent his ear as Logain explained the predicament that the Sentinels and mankind as a whole found themselves in. From what was said, it appeared that all attempts made at forming an alliance to resist the infectious spread of the Sidhe by Kaella had failed for various reasons. The failure had been down to a combination of selfish and fearful nobles, all of whom had their individual reasons for declining the invitation to form an alliance. Now, it was his task to find a way to form this seemingly impossible alliance and bring an end to the Sidhe's cruel rule. Such a daunting task was too much to comprehend at the moment, but perhaps in time the way forward would become clear. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask Logain, but he resisted the immediate temptation to let all of them spill forth. They could wait. Instead, Illrea thought about what else he would like to learn right now about the new Sentinels that might help him gain their immediate trust.

However, before he could question Logain further, Marie appeared, dragging behind her a black-haired figure in a manner akin to a child caught stealing food. When she stopped, Illrea's eyes opened wide for a split second as he realised that the figure was actually Kaella. She had clearly been crying, causing him to wonder exactly what Marie had said or done to keep her in check. He looked on awkwardly as Kaella nervously started making hand signals in his direction, before being abruptly cut off by Marie. A moment later, Kaella was next to him whispering in his ear, before dropping to her knee and pledging her allegiance to him. The young man stared first at Kaella in surprise, before looking up at Marie curiously. Realising that he was supposed to respond, Illrea looked back towards Kaella. "You must possess a lot of humility to be able to say what you just did." He paused then, searching for the right words, before continuing in a slightly hesitant voice. "I'll accept your pledge on two conditions, Kaella. The first being that you apologise honestly to Selune for the way you have mistreated her." He glanced at his girlfriend here for her approval, then looked back towards Kaella. "Secondly, you'll agree to work cooperatively with me to achieve our goal until the day comes when we succeed." Having said what he wanted to, Illrea now waited for Kaella's response. He was unused to making demands of people, so he wasn't certain whether he had appeared convincing to the former Warden. Either way, he had said it. If Kaella didn't go along with it, then he'd be forced to somewhat backtrack on his promise to Marie, and that wasn't something he particularly wanted to do.
 

DeletedUser28032

The Sentinels
Kneeling before him, Kaella silently listened as Illrea stated his terms for accepting her fealty with the girl's tear filled eyes briefly flickering over to look at Marie before nodding her head in acceptance.

Getting to her feet she would then swiftly move over towards Selune before the hybrid girl even had chance to respond to Illrea's glance and took hold of the diminutive brunette so as to whisper into her ear just as she had with Illrea, causing Selune to go rigid with fear.

Thankfully however, such was Kaella's desire to deliver her apology that she failed to notice the delicately pointed ears that Selune possessed as she frantically whispered to her.

After several minutes of this Kaella would take a step back and offer the girl a pleading look as she wrung her hands together making it clear to all present that there was more at stake here than a simple apology "I...I accept your apology Kaella I would like for us to all be friends...or at least not enemies" Selune responded, changing her answer to something a little more achievable at the last minute. It would be nice if the four of them could all be friends but somehow Selune just didn't think that would be happening anytime soon, especially after what she'd just learnt.

With the apology now out of the way Kaella would then proceed to sign something to Marie with an anguished look on her face "Kaella says she agrees to your terms" Marie translated before giving Kaella a stern look "...now get to bed, I'll deal with you later" she instructed, prompting the silently crying brunette to flee after giving the older girl an agonised look.

It was only after Kaella had disappeared from sight that Marie would drop the act she'd been using. Her previously stern, authoritarian demeanour replaced by one of abject misery "She was raised in a convent you know? Absolutely terrified of nuns...or any woman with a stern voice for that matter" she confessed in a quiet, guilt laden voice to the young couple as she proceeded explain how she had managed to bring the former Warden to heel "I screamed at her Illrea...I've never done that to her before...I screamed, and I shouted and I threatened to leave her, and I managed to do what the Sidhe and Kavori couldn't...I broke her Illrea I...oh gods what have I done?" She spoke; her voice drifting away to a whisper as tears slowly began to roll down her cheeks. Cuffing them away she'd then drop to one knee before him "I pledge my fealty to the Warden...please Illrea...never ask me to do that to her again, I...I need to be with her now" she simply stated before getting up and chasing after her distraught girlfriend in the hope of saving her relationship before it was too late.

Moving to stand beside him, Selune would lace her fingers in with Illrea’s; squeezing his hand in a comforting manner as she spoke to him “perhaps we should go and see Elijah and leave them to it?” she suggested, knowing that any questions her boyfriend might have for the couple would currently fall on deaf ears no matter how important they were “it’s not your fault Illrea, you weren’t to know that would happen…I’m sure they’ll be able to patch things up between themselves” she continued, hoping that what she said would truly happen.
 
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