~ The Council of the Knights of Rinder: [Archive] [Home] [Previous Turn] [Next Turn] ~

Emma opens her eyes at the sound of the door opening. "Crayne! You did it!" In her enthusiasm, the priestess kisses the mage on the cheek, then catches herself and becomes embarrassed. "I...I knew there would be a way...," she finally says, turning her eyes toward the doorway.

"Flames!" she suddenly cries out, "To mask Rayton's escape!" The priestess edges into the corridor, close enough to feel the heat of the fire. Her eyes search for any way past the conflagration, but the master thief appears to be too clever. "There's no easy way past it!" she tells the others, "Does anyone have any water?"

Naeron leans against the wall, suddenly feeling the pain of his wounds. He is frustrated by the fire. He watches Hannibal's rage and Crayne's confusion. As he watches Crayne run off searching for something, he turns to Emma. "Have you no blessing from Anhur to alleviate these flames?" He shoves away the thoughts of pain, chasing after Crayne to help.

"I have nothing to remove the flames, although Anhur does provide a protection against them," Emma answers, "But alas, I did not prepare for such as this when we faced the challenges in the council room. It would take too long for me to offer up such a prayer now...and Rayton would be long gone by the time I finished." The priestess looks back at the fire, worried that they only managed to bypass the first obstacle to be turned away by this one.

Storm doesn't hesitate too long around the dead thief in the hallway, as he doesn't know that things have mostly calmed down in the room. He rushes in around the corner (again avoiding the caltrops), swords at the ready. A quick glance around the room lets him know that the battle is finished, but he grows confused as he rushes up to the rest of the party, breathing heavily from the rush and the excitement. "I's taken care of the bastard who be crawlin' away....what in the blazes (OOC: No pun intended! :D) be goin' on here?" He listens to the response intently, soaking in every comment and using whatever intellect and bit of experience he can muster to process it.

"It's Rayton!" Emma explains, "He's escaped down this passage, and left this bonfire to guard his escape and slow us down."

Crayne quickly goes back into the chamber and grabs a few shields that are strewn across the floor. He then throws one down at the beginning of the fire. He waits a few moments and steps on it if he thinks its safe. He then lays another one down a couple of feet further away and then a third. The shields seem to be holding their positions on the slick floor amidst the flames, providing an extremely narrow and perilous route through.

However, Hannibal is becoming impatient. Rayton was quickly escaping and it seemed as if the others were not acting quick enough. Add to that the fact that the whole thing had been Emma's fault in the first place. Had she not meddled and got in the way Rayton would be lying dead in a pool of his own blood, this Hannibal knew.

For a moment longer Hannibal's rage continues as he watches Crayne try to stand on the shields to cross the fire. "What the hell is he doing?" the thief cries to himself, his anger growing even more. Then a realization hit him...he was losing it. Suddenly he felt very guilty of blaming Emma, knowing that all this was spurned by his recent meeting with Bernigan.

Not wanting to wait any longer and risk Rayton getting away, he quickly takes a few steps away from the wall of fire and grabbed the shield Crayne was carrying back. "Thanks Mage, you'll get it back." Before allowing anyone to talk him out of it, he makes a mad dash for the wall of fire, covering his face and head with his cloak as he does. As he reaches the fire, he dives forwards, landing as much of his body on the shield as the shield hits the floor.

Crayne looks at Hannibal in disbelief as he takes the shield. He stands there looking astonished for a small moment. His anger is calmly kept under control, although the magic missile spell does cross his mind. It is then that he thinks - 'Oh well I suppose they'll enjoy the fire. I just hope that the substance on the floor isn't a magical potion of some sort or that the fire isn't concealing a trap.' He waits for the ignorant to cross the fire first and then looks to Emma and Naeron. With the flames beginning to go down now Crayne continues with his original plan. He is slightly annoyed that Hannibal's stunt managed to knock two of his well placed shields out of their places, though.

"Hannibal!" Emma cries out, worried for the young thief. "Surely he'll be set afire!" she says to the others, moving forward as if she could do something to help him. Behind her, she senses everyone else looking after Hannibal's departure into the flames as well.

Storm's head whips around the room in the brief time that the group thinks of what to do, and he takes an extra second to peer down the hallway. Before anyone else can move or speak (another assumption here), he spears the sword in his right hand into the ground at his feet and fumbles with a little flask on his belt. He takes it out and opens the top, holding it steady for a brief second. "Arr, that bastard! Thinkin' he's gettin' past the Six with a simple fire! By the Nine Hells he ain't!! Out the way!!" He yells forcefully, backing up a step but lining up across the entrance from the secret passageway. He then takes a second to empty the flask --filled with his rationed water -- over his body, making sure to keep as much of it on him as he can and also making sure to use it mostly on the flammable parts of his person, namely his clothes.

Once soaked as best he can, he tosses the flask to the ground beside him and picks up his sword. "I be seein' ya with Rayton at me feet," he says in a low, but ghastly determined voice. He takes one very brief look down the hallway, then suddenly erupts into motion with a gutteral snarl. He sprints as fast as his small but muscular legs can carry him right at the flames. As he crosses into them, he holds his hands up in front of him, swords leading the way, in such a manner that his arms are crossed over his face. He ducks his head and charges through the flames, ignoring any pain and just getting through them as fast he can.

"Oh no, Storm! Not you, too!" Emma says, but she's powerless to stop the dwarf, watching helplessly as he too leaps into the flames.

Naeron starts in surprise as the drenched dwarf rushes by into the flames! "Take him ALIVE!" He clenches his fist at his frustration that the people who keep getting near Rayton are the one's most likely to kill him before it's time.

Crayne nods in agreement with Naeron and mutters, "I just hope Rayton doesn't have any nasty surprises on the other side of that fire!"

"Traps?" Emma asks, her eyes widening. She hadn't thought of that, but it made sense that a master thief such as Rayton would probably have more traps waiting for the unwary. Hopefully, Storm and Hannibal would be prepared for them. "Be careful!" she shouts across the flames to them.

In the meantime, she looks back to Crayne and nods her head at his original plan. Laying shields onto the ground might help the rest of them bridge the dangerous fire. She just wishes that Storm and Hannibal would have been patient enough to wait for everyone. Those two could be just a little too reckless, and, as the Scrolls of Anhur were fond of pointing out, 'Haste and reckless abandon are a warrior's worst enemy.'

Before setting out across the fire, Emma resheathes her broadsword and retrieves her flail from the other room. Seeing Cy, Canter, and the two Knights of Rinder, she motions toward the captured men. "Sir Knights? Please keep those thieves in custody. We'll set off after Rayton. Cy? Canter? Let's go!"

Cy and Canter look to Emma and nod quickly. Sir Judd and Sir Klare also acknowledge the priestess, then return their attention to the six prisoners.

Coming back into the hallway, Emma looks to Naeron and Crayne. "Let's go make sure our partners aren't in over their heads, shall we?" she says with determination in her eyes. Then she looks at Sir Nair, also standing in the corridor. "Coming with us?" she asks the knight, presuming that he won't allow Rinder's Six to simply go after Rayton alone. Regardless, she spins the chains of her flail one time to muster her courage, pulls her own flask of water from among her equipment, then lifts her shield before her and charges across the 'bridge'.

"But of course..." Nair says, his voice trailing off in utter disbelief at the bravery before him. Or was it unbelievable stupidity? In any case, it was his duty to see this mission to its end. "After you, Cyveiliog," he says, motioning to the bridge. "I was never one for these stunts," Cy grumbles as he steps up to the bridge. The flames are beginning to die down now and the trip across is not nearly as dangerous. Still, it was hardly a walk in the park.

Naeron and Canter then cross, and Sir Nair takes up the rear position. As they arrive on the other side of the dying blaze, Canter looks to Crayne and Emma. "Ok," he pauses to catch his breath. "Any idea where the two thieves ran off to?"

"There's only one way from here," Emma says, hefting her weapon and breaking into a jog down the long, dark corridor. Canter raises his eyebrows and shrugs his shoulders, casting one last look into the room behind them and kicking aside the empty flask Rayton left behind.

Storm is running at full speed, and is soon just behind Hannibal. "You seen him?" the dwarf asks, breathing hard.

"No," Hannibal responds, huffing and puffing, "but there's only one way he could have gone..."

"This here tunnel," Storm replies, "it be slopin' up."

"That's not good..." Hannibal responds, concentrating on keeping up a good pace so as not to fall too far behind the master thief. 'If Rayton escapes to the street, not only will Lady Hannah's deal with the Baron General go unproven, but Rinder's Six was in for some kind of royal punishment as well!' Hannibal thinks to himself, biting his lip and pressing on.

A few minutes pass. The tunnel is long, dark, and straight as an arrow. But it definitely slopes upward, gently. Even Hannibal can tell that, now. Just then he hears something. He stops short, and Storm nearly runs right over him from behind.

"You hear that?" Hannibal whispers, catching his breath.

"Yeah," Storm replies, "breathin!"

They carefully proceed forward, where the tunnel appears to come to an end. There, just at the end of the corridor, a small chamber opens up on the right. And there on the other side of the chamber, about six to eight feet away, is the base of a ladder.

"Curses!" Hannibal says.

"Ugh." The sounds is heard again.

Storm brushes past Hannibal and peers up the ladder. With a quick motion he moves back, pulling Hannibal with him. He drags the thief into the tunnel.

"What are you doing? Why are we going back?!" Hannibal demands.

"Shh!" Storm replies. "He be up there!"

"I know he's--"

"But he be stopped! He be at the top and can't push the stone."

"How can you?"

Storm smiles a toothy smile and gently tapps his temples. "Me eyes." Hannibal nods. "I got a plan."

"Why Storm," Hannibal says with a small smile, "that's a first!"

But Storm pays no attention. He is back in the small chamber at the base of the ladder. And he is stringing up his new bow. He can hear Rayton at the top of the ladder, struggling to push the slate at the top of the ladder aside. But in his weakened state, the master thief is just unable to push the stone up and aside.

Storm then steps directly beneath the ladder, aiming up into the darkness. Just then Rayton makes some progress with the slate, and a small sliver of moonlight sneaks into the shaft. Storm squints, letting his eyes adjust.

"Now, Storm!" Hannibal strains.

Storm fires the first arrow, directly up. He can hear it as it strikes the underside of the slate, and then scrapes the sides of the shaft as it falls back down the floor. It lands at Storm's feet and cracks in two. Unfazed, Storm fires a second shot.

This one connects. "Oof!" Rayton says with the impact of the arrow in the back of his thigh. Storm doesn't let up. He fires a third shot. This one hits Rayton's arm. And that is all it takes.

"Woah...woah...woa!" Rayton screams as he falls backwards, losing blood and losing his grip on the ladder.

"Storm, get out of the way!" Hannibal yells at the top of his lungs grabbing the dwarf and yanking him away from the base of the ladder.

"Oh ya!" Storm says, chuckling and stepping away.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Rayton's scream is blood-curdling, and growing louder as he falls from the top of the ladder to the hard earthen floor below.

"What is that?!" Naeron asks as they jog down the long, dark corridor.

"I think it's someone screaming," Canter replies, "but I'm not sure."

Cy then replies, "It can't be Storm."

"And I don't think it's Hannibal," Emma says, "which must mean--oh no!" She breaks into a full sprint, followed by the others.

They arrive at the scene just seconds after Rayton hit the floor. Canter lights a torch and they can survey the damage. Storm stands proudly over his victim.

"Storm what have you done?" Emma upbraids furiously. She kneels at Rayton's side, lifting the man's head.

Hannibal is sickened by the sudden kind treatment of Rayton. Wasn't this man planning the assassination of the Council of the Knights of Rinder? And now she is yelling at them for bringing him down--literally! A disturbing paradox.

Emma places a hand on Rayton's chest, which is covered in blood, dirt and sweat, to see if he is still breathing. Just barely. One of Storm's arrows is sticking out of his left leg, clear through from one side to the other. His right arm is clearly broken, and an ivory-colored piece of bone protrudes from a wound there.

"Rayton! Rayton can you hear me?" Emma demands.

"I...uh..." he whispers, fading in and out of consciousness.

"Great," Crayne says, his anger and annoyance sounding in his voice. "All that effort and now he's going to die here at our feet."

"Fitting," Cy pronounces, "but for once, not what we really want."

"Priestess Emmalya," Sir Nair asks, "is there nothing you can do?"

"Sir Nair," Emma responds, looking up to the knight from her position at Rayton's side. "I can call upon Anhur to heal some of this man's wounds before he dies here, but at the expense of any significant healing power I might be able to bestow upon you, your comrades, or any of my friends here."

Nair folds his arms, looking at Emma. She exhales loudly, then continues. "Still, it is important that we take Rayton alive. And it doesn't appear as if any member of our party is on the verge of death..." Inwardly, she is torn. Torn by the disturbing paradox that in order to save Rinder's Six, the Council, and indeed, perhaps the entire Kingdom, she has been called up to save the life of the very man who played such a large role in that evil plan. In some ways it pained her to have to do this. But in others she knew that this was the right thing.

"I can't watch," Hannibal says, leaving the room and walking into the hallway to wait.

Cy lowers his head and glances to his shield, the paint of which is further chipped, revealing the original standard it once wore. He looks to Emma, whose eyes are set on him as if to ask for some kind of approval. Taking a big gulp, he nods.

With that, she gets to work. Calling upon the power of Anhur, she places her hands on Rayton's chest again. The words are chanted and her hands begin to glow slightly and grow warm, their restorative power at work. Soon she can feel Rayton breathing deeper, and his head starts to stir. His eyes open again and he looks up to see Sir Nair.

Suddenly he is squirming, trying desperately to get away. But Nair won't have it. He kneels at Rayton's side as Emma does her best to hold him down. "You won't be getting away this time," Nair says. Then, with a closed fist, he punches the thief hard across the face.

"What?!" Emma shouts, enraged. "You touch him again and--"

"Lady Emmalya," Sir Nair says, rising from Rayton's side. "Thank you for your service. I'm going to return to the prisoners. Naeron, will you see to it the thief is bound and brought along?"

Emma is steaming. He had asked her to save Rayton, and then he went at punched him, knocking the thief out again. As if he had absolutely no respect at all for the effort it required to heal him, or for the power of Anhur himself!

Naeron offers a hand to Emma, helping her rise from the floor. "Here," he says, "I know. Soon this will all be over."

"I should hope so," Emma spits back, not really meaning to yell at Naeron, but still fuming from Sir Nair's behavior.

"Emma, you head back, we'll take Rayton. He should be out for a while and won't cause us any trouble," Canter says, stepping aside so she can leave. She does, and then Cy picks up Rayton's unconscious body, slinging the thief over his shoulder.

"Careful!" Crayne says as Rayton's head is smacked against the wall of the chamber.

"Ooops," Cy says unapologetically.

"Served him right, anyhow..." Crayne responds with a smile, heading out of the chamber and back to the other room.

The trip back to the surface is uneventful. Emma doesn't speak to Sir Nair, for fear that if she did she would offend him. Not that that would be such a bad thing, she thinks in her current state of mind, but it is never a good idea to offend a knight. Certainly not a Knight of Rinder. As they emerge from the labyrinth and onto the street, Canter stretches his arms over his head and breathes deeply. Then he places his hands on Emma's shoulders, massaging them a little in an effort to calm her down. She smiles lightly. It's been a long night. Some rest would do everyone good.

And that is exactly what they do. At Sir Judd's suggestion, they head for Duke Elgar's castle, where the prisoners would be kept, including Rayton. There everyone is given rooms and soon everyone is sound asleep...at last.

In the morning, Rinder's Six gathers in one of the antechambers near their rooms, a little groggy from the previous night's activities. And very sore. But there is a sense of satisfaction in knowing that they did what needed to be done. Now they had to tie up some loose ends.

Following a light breakfast, the Council of the Knights of Rinder, their aides and entourages, Rinder's Six, Rayton, Duke Elgar, Lady Hannah, and Lady Katherine all gather at the Great Forum in the Round Room. It is a bright and sunny day, and the blue cloudless sky fills the room's distinctive skylights, only one of which now has its famous glass panels.

There is a sense of anticipation in the room, as if great decisions will be made today. The case against Lady Hannah of the Great House of Seden was on the docket, and the lives of Rinder's Six, perhaps Lady Hannah, and possibly all of Rinder's peoples were hanging in the balance. Also, today the Council needed to decide, if it could, on a recommendation to the Dukes and Duchesses as to who should assume the throne of Rinder. Indeed, decisions of great importance.

Sir Samuel assumes his position at the round table in the center of the room. "This meeting of the Council of the Knights of Rinder, as first convened eight generations ago by King Franklin I of the Great House of Merriam and King of the Kingdom of Rinder, and ordained thereby, will come to order," he repeats, just like the morning before. How much had happened since those words were last spoken.

"In accordance with the traditional Rite of Allegiance to the Throne of Rinder in the name of Sovereignty and Justice, I call upon the gods for their blessing and lay down my sword so as to convene this council in cooperation." He once again lays his sword upon the table, the sun's rays reflecting off of it's polished blade brightly.

Samuel then turns to Sir Judd. "Sir Judd, have you a report from last night's operations?"

"I do, Sir Samuel," Sir Judd responds, rising from his seat as Samuel assumes his. "Lords and Ladies, Knights of the Council: Last evening myself, accompanied by Sir Klare of the Duchy of Welten and Sir Nair of the Duchy of Adela, as well as Rinder's Six, entered the labyrinth of tunnels and chambers recently discovered to exist beneath the streets of this very city. Whereupon we discovered a meeting of a band of thieves, presumably operating out of this labyrinth as a secret lair. Addressing this band of thieves was the man this Council has known as Rayton but has yet to lay eyes upon. Today, I present to the Council of the Knights of Rinder Rayton." Judd extends his arm as the doors are opened and Rayton is led in, bruised, chained, and accompanied by Sir Klare and Sir Nair.

"With the apprehension and arrest of Rayton, as well as six of his accomplices found in the lair --the rest were slain in the battle-- this Council can conclude its inquiry into the charges made against Lady Hannah of the Great House of Seden by Rinder's Six. In that effort, I cede the floor to Rinder's Six to question Rayton and conclude their case."

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