Ag and Whistle gently eased Ave onto his feet. "How you doing? Anything hurt?" Whistle asked.
"Everything." Ave groaned.
"I imagine dying has the effect on a person." Ag said hoping to lighten the mood. Though Ave's demeanor did not change. "...Let's just get you sat down until you're feeling better."
"I do not need to be coddled, not from the likes of you." Ave replied with a hiss.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, and get you seated and checked out."
Just then Julia, Zackaria, and Prince Hawthorne burst through the doors to the training field. "Where is it? Where is the beast?" The prince asked valiantly; ready for a fight. Whistle began answering.
"Well, the thing is --"
"It ran away." Ag interrupted with a straight-faced lie. "It slipped past us over the south wall."
"Then we need to track it down." The prince said. "You heroes can manage that, right?"
"Sure we can!" Whistle affirmed before giving a very serious look to Ag. "But at the moment... everyone is a bit to hurt or exhausted to go tracking it down. We need to lick our wounds, especially Ave here. He can barely stand."
Almost on cue Ave fell out of their arms onto the ground. Julia and Hawthorne quickly picked him back up. "Everyone that is hurt, go with Julia and Prince Hawthorne." Zackaria called out. He put a hand up on Ag's shoulder. "You should go as well, but first, you have a visitor. They were at the gate when we started evacuating. Something about a Paladin's Favor?"
Ag immediately remembered the blacksmith, but he was quickly confused on his use of the word 'They'. "I'll see to it now."
While the six took their leave, the rest of the team picked up what they could. Dian offered a hand to a resting Reggie who was sat on the dirt with his legs crossed.
"Need a hand?" She asked. Reggie opened his eyes and let out a pained laugh. "What's so funny?"
"YOU offering a hand to ME? Thought your elf blood made you too proud to help a lowly human such as me." He replied cocky and snide.
Dian scoffed. "You know, I had a newfound respect for you after the fight, but I think you just kicked it back down to zero."
Reggie turned his head in a brief disdain, more for himself than her. "Sorry." He took her hand and stood before swearing out in pain. "Fuck!"
"What's wrong?"
"Sprained ankle." He winced.
"Come on, I got you." Dian offered him support once again as they walked off the field while Bounty was carried by Yoona right behind them.
"I told you I don't need help! I can walk!" He yelled trying to escape her grasp.
"No! Bounty got hurt so Yoona help!"
"I said I'm fine! And you smell bad!"
"Yoona smells like warrior, and Bounty doesn't smell good either!"
While those two struggled, Mordeki gently picked up Lily, while Vanity begrudgingly princess carried Gala off the field. Gala made a very obvious fake sigh looking up to Vanity.
She made no response until Gala made another sigh. "What, Gala?" Vanity said already exhausted for this interaction.
"Oh it's nothing. I just thought my knight in shining armor would give me a kiss after they swooped me off my feet." Gala said trying to sound like she was some entitled damsel in distress, but the playful smile on her beak said otherwise.
"We just had to fight for our lives, and you're seriously making jokes right now?"
"Yep! Now..." Gala placed a hand on Vanity's breast plate, (Not that kind of breast plate, get you mind out of the gutter.) and put on her damsel voice again. "Oh Mister Knight, now that you saved me, what do you plan on doing with me?"
Vanity was about to snap, but decided to instead play Gala at her own game. She put as much bravado in her voice as she could muster. "I'm taking you to finish your arranged marriage, Miss Princess!"
"My what now?" Gala's voices turned normal and nervous.
"Your arranged marriage remember? With Lord Baldock Slough! The fief owner with the big pig farm!"
Gala thought the best she could to recover ground. "But Mister Knight, I wish to marry you instead!"
"Can't princess; I'm the King's most loyal knight, and I would never betray his trust."
"But --"
"I also took an oath of celibacy."
Gala sat in Vanity's arms and pouted. "...I don't like this game anymore."
XXXXX
While everyone else got checked out with Julia, Ag made his way towards the front gate. Though he was normally quite calm and collected, this was the rare instance Ag was nervous. A Paladin's Favor was a sacred thing to him and his allies to the Order of Flame. More valuable than a kingdom's worth in gold and silver. Though in the hands of a random blacksmith... Anything asked of him would have to be done.
No matter the consequences.
Many of the guards and servants were gathered at the front; waiting for the all clear to reenter the palace. Two individuals stood out from them all. Klaus, the large male orc, and a human woman draped in a blanket. She looked dazed and was mumbling nonsense.
Ag walked forward offering a hand to shake, but before it could be reciprocated, the orc blacksmith gently pushed the woman in his way. "She'sh yours." He muttered almost threateningly.
"Excuse me?" Ag replied with a sudden shot of confusion.
"Yor Pal'dins favhor. Take 'er off muh ands."
Ag was taken aback, not from suddenly being responsible for this strange woman, but this favor was rather miniscule compared to all the things that could be asked of him. He took a moment to inspect her.
She was mumbling incoherently, what little mindfulness she had on the way here had disappeared; replaced by blank stare and barely any resistance in her body. Every step she took was wobbly, and when she wasn't moving her legs, her body swayed from side to side as if she was dancing in slow motion to an unknown tune.
"What's wrong with her?" Ag asked, concern and duty in his voice.
"Duh'no. Fhound 'er outback mu'mlin nons'nse."
"This really all you want? Giving me some stray girl?"
"Look, I can't care fur 'er. An I don' whant shome lowlife get'in' 'er."
Ag's preconceptions were taking hit after hit. He dealt with civilized orcs before, they weren't uncommon in his land. However, they always stuck to themselves and cared little for the safety of other races. To see Klaus have a heart surprised him.
"Thank you for bringing her to me then. I'll see to helping her immediately." Ag saw Klaus huff through a slight smirk before he gave a lazy saluting wave as he took his leave.
Ag put a hand on the mysterious girl's shoulder. She flinched slightly at his grasp, but made no effort at any other response. "Hello, do you have a name? Something I can refer to you as?" He asked her directly.
No response.
"Okay... If I hold your hand will you follow me?" He asked taking her small fragile hand in his. With the slightest pull her legs took to a slothful action moving her towards him. "Let's get you somewhere to rest."
He gently walked her back into the palace to his room; making sure she didn't trip or stumble with her uneasy footing. She continued muttering through the journey, and Ag was able to pick out a few words. King, Traitor, and Massacre. The words concerned Ag. Not because they were close to each other in her speech, and fact they were very far apart, but because they were in the language of dragon kind.
He finally got her sat on the bed and the mumbling stopped, and so did Ag as he held his breath waiting to see what changes. She slowly turned her head towards him, tears streaming down her face like quiet waterfalls. "Please..." She whispers. "Help me..."
"How?" Ag asked matching her tone.
She looked as if she was going to say something more, but then her expression dulled and she faced forward again, the mad muttering returning; occupying her voice and thoughts.
Ag made a disgruntled sigh. He knelt down on one knee to continue observing the woman and her speech. He heard the words again and again, like she was repeating a single phrase on repeat.
A knock on the door. "Come in." Ag ordered. The door creaked open and Whistle poked his head in. "Hey, I... Am I interrupting something?"
"Pay her no mind. What do you need?" Ag asked without sparing a glance in the cat's direction.
"I wanted to speak to you about something, something serious." Whistle said as he closed the door and leaned against one of the corner posts of Ag's bed.
Ag looked at him and stood to his feet. "I'm listening."
Whistle stammered for a second as he suddenly realized how large and intimidating Ag is. And how... vibrant his eyes wear... his smooth yet jagged scales... Out of his armor he looks so... He grabbed his bearing and put aside his sudden gay lust and spoke.
"You... Uhh, lied to Zackaria back there. You know, about Ave."
"That I did." Ag replied with zero remorse.
"Why? You know Ave is dangerous. He should know."
"No." He replied stern and defiant. "I made a promised to myself and the Flame that I would make sure all of us make our way home. Ave included."
"What does that have to do with Zackaria?" Whistle asked with ever growing confusion.
"Zackaria is not as he seems. He plays the role of the cooky, somewhat-inept, old courtmage rather well, but he has a long history of bloodshed. If he knew Ave was the creature we fought... I fear we would be missing a member of our team right now."
Whistle took a moment to process. In that time his ears perked up towards the woman's mumbles, but he refocused to the conversation.
"How do you know all this?"
"Because I listen and observe. Every rumor is based in truth, and every truth comes to light with the right perspective. His flame burns brighter than a dragon's." Ag finished his serious speech with a smirk. "We forget that he summoned all of us by himself in a ritual meant for an army of mages to perform. He is no simple man."
Whistle thought for another few moments. "I guess you're right, but one of us need to be watching Ave. Make sure he doesn't --" His ears caught the girls muttering again. He stopped speaking and moved closer to better hear her.
"Doesn't what?... Didn't I say not to mind her?"
"Shush!" Whistle hushed holding a finger up to Ag. Both waited for her to repeat. "That's what I thought."
"What?" Ag asked.
"I thought I was hearing things, but she's actually saying some words in the old cat-tongue. It's a language that went extinct where I come from, but I can recognize a word she uses. 'Throne.' Know what it could mean?"
"Not quite, but I don't have a good feeling about it."
Both looked at the girl as her mumbled repeated another time. Ag knelt down again to get a deeper look at her, and a look into the flame of her soul. Barely a pure white flicker.
"I'm beginning to think she was meant to come to us."