Lyra
"You know if you didn't catch them by surprise then you wouldn't have won." Sucram snarks walking towards the group
Both Alice and Eldes shoot him a glare, their eyes dark with restrained fury, Lyra could see the murderous intent in their stares, if Sucram weren't so useful right now, he'd be dead ten times over by now.
"Keep talking like that and I'll happily rip out your sly tongue"
Alice responded with a cold fury, her knuckles turning white as she clenched the corpse's neck in an iron grip. Sucram, realising his mistake, opened his mouth to speak, but Alice's hand closed violently around the corpse's neck, a sickening crunch echoing throughout the space.
The display of raw strength and silent rage sent a panicked chill down Sucram's spine, and he stumbled back, eyes wide, struggling to keep his composure as he continued his awkward retreat.
"Now that we've killed another 4 guards, more will most likely come here to check on their whereabouts, I think our next course of action should be to loot what we can from the bodies and get out of this cell."
"Two of those guards came to check on their buddy"
Lyra gestured toward the corpses that Marcelline had dispatched, then knelt beside them, collecting their short bows and gathering as many arrows as she could. Lyra turned to the group.
"Take what you can and let's move, now that four of them are dead more will come running to check on them."
The rest of them began to scramble through the corpse looking for anything of use. Alice doesn't take anything, from what Lrya observed it made sense she loved getting up close and personal anyways. The equipment for Eldes was far too small for him so he also didn't take anything.
Though Marcellin and Sucram were quick to take their scalemail for theirs, a few moments later they told the group about their findings regarding the outside.
Sucram had only seen a short outdoor corridor to another closed off area, presumably how they were taken into their cells. Marcelline on the other hand, her side was much more promising.
===
Peeking outside, Lyra felt a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach. They had only two exits from the courtyard, each presenting its own choice.
To her left, a passage led deeper into the prison's halls, promising uncertainty. To the right stood a guard tower. The stakes were high, and every instinct urged her to weigh their options carefully, knowing that the wrong choice could seal their fate.
Once the torchlight atop the walls vanished from sight, they silently made their way toward the guard tower, pressing themselves against the cold stone to hide their figures
Every sound seemed loud in the stillness, their hearts pounding as they moved cautiously, eyes scanning for any signs of danger.
"You sure you want to take the guard tower?"
Eldes stopped moving, looking at the group.
"You got any better ideas?"
Alice leaned to the side, eyeing at the dragon born with a hint of unspoken distaste. For a moment their gazes lock, each trying to gauge the other's thoughts.
Knowing them, Lyra assumed they were searching for the perfect insult, each waiting for the other to break the silence with a retort that would cease the unease hanging between the two.
Lyra stepped in attempting to diffuse the tension.
"Keep moving, I think we'd rather take that than walk around where most of them would be."
She speaks, silencing their thoughts of argument. Alice scoffs in reluctant agreement.
Together they quietly ascend the tower's wooden stairs, their movements cautious and deliberate.
At the end they spot two guards lazily talking and watching the walls. Marcelline and Sucram quietly move to dispatch the both of them, but as their metres away from them the wood creaks loudly underneath Eldes' heavy foot.
They both turn around and yell for help, as they draw their weapons
"COME ON THEN"
Alice pushes through the group to engage with the two, her veins popping out as her muscles slightly enlarge her eyes becoming ferrell, as three guards rush in from the left side and two from the right.
"Damnit… Someone take the left!"
Lyra pulls two arrows from her quiver. She knocks one, aiming low at the first guard's shin. Drawing the bowstring back as far as possible, she holds her breath for a heartbeat before releasing.
The arrow whistles through the air, striking the guard's shin but failing to penetrate. He stumbles, and in that brief opening, Lyra swiftly draws her next arrow, releasing it with deadly precision. This time, driving straight through his forehead
To her left, Sucram ducks under a swift slash, narrowly avoiding its arc. Just as he steadies himself to counterattack, the guard drops his plated shoulder, ramming it into Sucram's chest and sending him against the wall.
Sucram shifts to the right just in time, but the sword still plunges into his abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs. The guard presses the blade deeper, twisting it as he grins. Lyra draws her bow and takes aim, but before she can release, Ivor charges forward and drives his blade into the guard's exposed armpit.
Lyra swings back to the left, her enemies are close now, too close. She releases another arrow, piercing the chain mail embedding it in the man's stomach. Yet he pushes forward, stumbling through the tower entrance.
Lyra tosses the bow to the ground, drawing her sword in one swift motion. But before she can act, Alice lets out a fierce whoop, driving her foot into the man's side and sending him stumbling toward the stairs. She follows up with a solid punch to his chest, toppling him down the steps.
Spotting the next guard inside, Lyra dives for her bow, nocking another arrow before sending it into their exposed neck. The man chokes on the iron and blood stumbling briefly before falling off the wall to meet his end.
Marcelline strides over to Lyra, tossing her a longbow. Behind her lies a corpse, blood pooling from beneath their armour.
"You've got decent aim, this should make it easier for you."
"These fools couldn't even break through my scales!!"
Laughing heartily Eldes enters the tower, his arms scratched with shallow sword marks.
"Te curo."
Blue light emits from Ivor's hands quickly disappearing as Sucram's wound remains bleeding profusely.
"I felt the magic just disappear! They've got something fucking blocking the use of any magic here!"
Ivor shouts at them, then rushes to the fallen guard he just killed, quickly and haphazardly stripping away pieces of armour. Using his sword, he cuts a long strip from the guard's garment, wrapping it firmly around Sucram's chest to stop the bleeding.
===
Alice
If Alice noticed anything, it was how laughably incompetent these guards were. Their armour, though old, was well-maintained, but there was no uniformity among them.
Each guard wore a mismatched assortment of plate, chain, and scale mail, they seemed more suited for scavengers than soldiers.
Though outliers existed. These ones were not so incompetent, having some skill to fight unarmoured prisoners, though not enough to fend off a group of them.
Suddenly a loud horn blared from the left, the flicking of faint orange light accompanied by shadows of what seemed to more than just five people.
"Someone pick up Sucram or leave him here I don't care!"
Lyra barked at the group, glancing at each of them. Without hesitation, Marceline kicked it into high gear and raced ahead. But Alice couldn't bear to leave Sucram behind, abandoning him would be no different from abandoning her cause entirely.
"Ivor! Alice! Go ahead, I'll carry the skinny elf."
Eldes' strong voice rang out with conviction as he lifted Sucram effortlessly. The rest of the group began to run, their hearts pounding as they raced against time.
Soon, they caught up with Marcelline, standing at the edge, staring down at the daunting drop that led out of the prison.
"There's no escaping that way, only a fight awaits us there…"
Marcelline responses to Alice's yell point at the door barricaded by a few crates.
"The only way is down, it's more than 15 metre drop."
Alice glanced at the others, she could still feel her blood raging within her, then she could take the drop without too much damage. Though she couldn't say the same for the others, maybe Eldes even while carrying Sucram.
"Then there is no other option!"
Still carrying Sucram, the fool leaped from the wall, vanishing into the snowy night. A few seconds later, a heavy thud echoed through the air, followed by Sucram's scream slicing through the darkness.
Next, Ivor took a few steps back, retracing his path, before sprinting toward Alice. He quickly turned and leaped away from the wall. Then, green light surrounded him, the selfish bastard transformed into a bat, flapping his wings and soaring down to the rest.
===
Lyra
'Fuck, fuck! I can't survive that! The dragonborn didn't! How will I?'
Panic surged through her, a rush of adrenaline quickened her heart beat, a cold sweat dripping from her face.
'I don't plan to join my family in hell just yet, not without finding my mentor'
To her left, Lyra caught sight of the flickering light drawing nearer, its glow illuminating night. The voices of the men grew louder, threats and taunts sending shivers down her spine.
She hesitated, contemplating the option of slipping back into the prison, but dread settled in her gut. Going back was no longer an opinion, it was a death trap, teeming with guards who would not hesitate to finish what they had started.
Lyra knew that turning back would lead to certain doom, and the thought of being cornered by their relentless pursuit filled her and forced her to make a singular choice.
Just as she was about to make her choice Alice put her hands on Lyras shoulder
"Either you die here or you die trying to escape and I think I know what we'd both prefer."
with a huge grin on Alice's face she grabs Lyra by the back of her shirt, leaping into the air, pulling lyra with her as they both fall down
As the wind blew past her, a strange resignation settled in her though it wasn't welcome, this time her life was truly in the hands of fate.