A feud between Banns (Honovi)

[Nethras Alvar]

Upon the waste Ferelden lowland known as the Bannorn, there has been many feuds between the Bann`s who rule the land and wars have often started because of minor things such as developments, wool and even an apple tree. Still the Bannorn possesses the largest number of freeholders in Ferelden, and as a people they represent a powerful force that no king or queen can ever cease to control completely. The Bannorn is known as a land for agriculture and it provides Ferelden with the necessary food and resources it need for the people to survive.

Close to Drakon`s river, upon the road that leads from Denerim to Lothering lies the village known as Strongvern. A village with a circled wooden wall and two gates, and if one wishes to walk further on the road the village is a must to enter. Within the wall of the village buildings have been laid down – and thus, streets and alleys formed – haphazardly, according to no common plan. At best, buildings are arranged according to their functions. Inns and taverns are found near the city`s gates; trade markets are surrounded by shops, warehouses, and guild houses; and in between them all, houses are packed practically together. Almost in the center of the village, upon a small hill lies the home to the current Bann, Bann Jorah and his family.

On this particular day the sun shined upon the land as the villagers seemed eager to gather at the market, and rumors swarmed around telling of a hanging that was going to happen soon. Three elves had been blamed for the death of Bann Jorah`s wife and child who had been found dead on the road not far from village. What a few men had discovered were an abandoned caravan wagon tipped over and a few dead bodies lying around. The attack had indicated that there had been elves involved, as the arrows showed significant sign of their presence. Not far from where the dead bodies had been found, the few men of Strongvern had found the elves and now as they had been taken to the village, they for sure believed they had caught those who had done it. Without a decent trial they now were about to be hanged, and Bann Jorah and his oldest son who was angered and sad by the news stood by to watch what was going to happen, believing the elves were not innocent.

Upon the gallows, next to three elves; Nethras, Yoana and Melas stood Ser Rylan, the captain of Strongvern as he read out load from a piece of paper. “After the brutal murder on Bann Jorah`s wife and child, as well others. In the name of King Alistair and the Maker we hereby sentence these Elves to the death by hanging!” As those words were said, the crowd that watched cried out in anger toward the Elves and started to throw things at them. Nethras who was dressed in rags was hit in the face by a tomato as he watched his friends standing next to him, what he felt was guilt for having brought Yoana and Melas with him. This was not what he had expected, the only reason why he and his friends had been on the fields when Bann Jorah`s wife and child was found murdered was only because they were heading north, in search for Nethras sister who had been taken by slavers.

By being on the wrong place at the wrong time they had been caught and now it seemed as if they were going to die, his friend Melas who trembled of fear tried to plead himself out of the situation, while Yoana remained silent as she awaited her fate. “We did not do this, you have caught the wrong killers, we were heading north in search of my sister! Why should we kill Bann Jorah`s wife and child, what do we have to gain on that! Look among yourself, maybe some of you Shem is the reason behind this!” Nethras shouted out in response to the people, just wanting to tell them what thought as he hoped they would listen, even he doubted it. Humans were cruel and they merely cared about Elves and their lives, certainly elves could have killed Bann Jorah`s wife and child, but none he knew would risk that. The Dalish clan he had come from was on the other side of the river, close to the Bracillian forest and they rather seemed to stay away from the Shemlen rather than wanting to kill them.

“Shut up you knife-ear, we know you did it.” Ser Rylan replied as he moved to stand in front of Nethras to look at him in the eyes, and as Nethras looked back into his eyes he could see hate boiling within the man. There was no pity to gain from the humans, no mercy. As Nethras again turned to look at his friends, he said nothing more, but met Yoana`s gaze and he could see she was about to cry, seeming as if she wanted to reach out to him. Then all of sudden Ser Rylan kicked the switch and the hatch below the feet’s of the elves opened, and the rope around their neck tightened as they quickly were about to fall down.

[Honovi]

There was something happening in Strongvern. As Honovi passed through the gate she could feel the tension radiating from the walls of the village, streets usually overrun by playing children and scolding mothers entirely barren. The smell of death permeated the air, charred flesh and oily smoke from a funeral pyre not long past. And a low murmur like angry bees drifting from the marketplace. A dangerous time to be in the village, but she had to pass through to reach Denerim and that rotting cesspit was her best source of work.

Ever cautious, Honovi unslung her bow and made her way quietly through town. As she neared the market the angry murmuring grew to a low roar as villagers shouted and cursed, several of them throwing rotten vegetables and even stones toward the middle of the marketplace. A bad sign. Closer, closer, the crowd parted for her in all her savage glory, dressed in pelts and feathers and claws as a red lion cub trotted at her feet and a great hawk flew low overhead. In her hand she held a great bow, using it to nudge people aside when she had to and silencing offended mutters by toying with the arrows at her hip.

As she grew closer the gallows appeared, looming tall above them so that the condemned cast long shadows over them all. Forbidding, and yet it drew Honovi ever forward until one of the elves shouted. He looked young, despite his white hair, and his face and neck bore vicious half-healed burns that extended into his collar. Honovi suppressed a shudder. She knew well how so coarse a fabric would feel on such a wound, and the weight of the noose could only make it the worse. "What proof is there that these men are guilty?" she asked her neighbour softly at the elf's declaration of innocence.

"Bloody knife ears were found not a mile from where the bodies were found, and there was arrows all over." Came the reply. Was that all?

"There must be more, many people carry arrows." Her eyes were trained on the elves, the guard snarling in their faces as he moved ever closer to the switch.

"They was Dalish arrows" the man said as the guard pulled a lever, the hatches beneath the elves' feet dropping open. The ropes pulled taught and Honovi let fly, her arrow finding a noose before it could kill. The burned elf, the one with white hair. She might save him, at least, if not his friends. She only hoped she wasn't wrong.

Leaping beneath the gallows she grabbed the elf around the waist, hauling him bodily to his feet as she ran. He might not thank her if his burns extended so far down his body, but at least he might yet live. A few brief words in Chasind had Makya harassing anyone who followed them, slowing their pursuit just enough that she could pull the elf into an alley for shelter, then work their way back through the village to find somewhere they could escape. The gates were already barred, she didn't even have to see to know as the shout went up, but there must be a way, some passage or low point in the wall or something.

"We must find a way to escape," she said, kneeling so that the elf could rest against her where they sat as she held a supporting arm around him.

[Nethras Alvar]

Just as the hatch opened below the feet’s of Nethras, he thought this was it; he and his friends were now going to die. Then all of sudden as he fell, the rope around his neck loosened just in the moment it was about to break his neck, a single arrow shot from an unknown stranger nearby cut the rope and he was free. Caught in mid-air, Nethras believed for a moment he had died, but once he realized he had been saved he was shocked to see his friends had suffered a different fate, but surprised to see a human was saving him. Heavily he coughed up after what had happened, and as he was hauled away by his savior, he could not keep his eyes from his friends who were dangling at the gallows. Why was he saved and not them, why did this stranger help him? He wondered as he was dragged away, protected from being killed.

Looking upon the woman who had just saved his life, he noticed she was a strong woman and different than those of Ferelden. She seemed like a foreigner, a barbarian of some sort, although he was not sure if that was the right way to describe her. Being led away from the crowd, while her animals the hawk and the red lion scared away the humans, they managed to hide in an alley where they could sit down and relax.

The burned wounds which Nethras had received three weeks ago still hurt as he moved, and especially as he went in only rags that made him shiver and hiss of pain by the wind that he felt. Biting his teeth together and trying to be silent, he sat down by the woman and looked at her with suspicious as well a curious look. Who was she? What did she want with him?...never in his life at Nethras ever been saved by a human, but now in a most dire situation someone had finally stepped up to do the right thing. In the distance he could hear the guards shouting as Ser Rylan ordered the guards to search every street and house in a sweep around the village, as well ordering the gates to shut and guards to stand by.

What Nethras felt in that moment was grief and guilt, his friends had died, all because he had brought them along to find his sister. Oh how he wished he had gone alone, it would have been the best. Also why did he choose to take that certain path north, when he could easily have taken another, this was not what he had wanted. It was as if bad luck followed him around and that everyone he met got hurt, as if he was cursed. Maybe he was, maybe was not, but he sure did not understand it.

Listening to the female Shemlen speak, Nethras was unsure if he should trust her and slowly he tried to move away from her as he grew more and more suspicious and in a whispering voice he asked. “Who are you? Why did you not let me die? Why let me go and not my friends?” A look of worriedness came over him, and he felt empty and alone. He had lost everyone he knew, his father and mother, sister and now his friends. He did not even know his sister still lived, maybe it was a lost cause and maybe his friends had died in vain.

[Honovi]

The elf didn't trust her. He was pulling away, questioning her as though she were an enemy. And why shouldn't he? Likely no human had ever done a kind thing for him in his life - such a sudden and complete change could only be suspicious. Well, only time could fix that. Honovi released him and extended her hand, palm up, for him to take or reject as he chose. "I am Honovi, and these are Kachina and Makya," she told him, indicating herself, the lion, and the hawk in turn. "I did not let you die because I believe you are innocent, and if I could have saved you all I would - you were simply the first I aimed for. Now come, we must escape or we will both die anyway."

Standing slowly, she put her hand on the wall and listened carefully for any sign of pursuit. Their pursuers were getting closer. They had to get away now or they'd be caught, but where could they go? Tilting her head with a frown she led the way deeper into the alley, hoping it wasn't a dead end and, even more fervently, that they didn't get lost. Walls, walls, walls... There were so many walls and they all looked the same and she rather expected they might get lost if she kept leading the way.

"Do you know your way through cities?" she asked the elf softly, not daring to send Makya up to find an escape lest he be seen. Again she extended her hand to him, her expression carefully neutral as she stepped back for him to take the lead. "Walls all look the same to me." When they were out of the city, then she could keep him safe. Not even the Dalish could best her in the wild places of Ferelden, though some of them might be a match. Until they were actually in the wilderness, however, her only use was combat and she refused to kill innocent villagers.

[Nethras Alvar]

With the back against the wall, Nethras watched the female Shemlen as she spoke and reached out her hand. He was both shocked and surprised to see that she had saved him, but even more so when she told him why. It was not the reason he had expected, but he wished she had saved his friends rather than him. It was his fault that he had allowed them to come along and now they were dead, yet he lived, all because Honovi had picked him out as the easiest one to help. Nethras began to feel ill, but remained calm as he thought whether to take her hand or leave it, yet he could not ignore but to look at her animals, her hawk and the red lion. Never in his life had he seen anyone tame such beasts, somehow she had done it and they seemed to be just as loyal like any Mabari, if not more.

Accepting her hand, Nethras stood up as he answered with a low voice; “I am Nethras…” Saying his name was his way of showing trust, yet he remained suspicious as he was not sure whether he should believe her or not. After years living with humans he knew how evil they could be toward his kin, although it seemed that this human was different. Watching intensely as the Shemlen placed her hand on the wall to listen he believed it was a strange thing to do, but knew it was a common practice among hunters, even the Dalish.

As more noise was heard in the distance and when Nethras noticed the reaction to the woman, they both knew the Shemlen were coming closer and to avoid being found they went further into the alley. Following Honovi around, Nethras quickly understood that she was not used to being in a village with walls around, and he was confirmed again and again when they hit several dead ends, even more so when she admitted she was not used to being in a crowded place. In reply to her words, he nodded as he said, “Yes I do, I was born a city elf. I can find a way out, but I cannot leave without my clothes and weapons.”

Just as he said those words, people ran past the ally not far from them and Nethras knew for sure guards would soon come close enough to find them if they did not move. In a whispering voice, he said as he looked at Honovi, standing cold as the wind gave a breeze up through his rags. “Last I saw they were hid in a chest in the city dungeon, if we go quickly we may be able to get there before the guards decide to secure the area.”

[Honovi]

When Nethras took her hand and introduced himself, Honovi offered the most reassuring smile she could manage and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He was still suspicious - everything in his bearing and demeanour screamed distrust - but he'd made the leap. She always felt a bit odd when people put that kind of faith in her, but for now it would make both of their lives easier. And, with luck, longer.

But the northmen were getting close and she was of precious little use trapped inside walls, and it was time for her to make a leap of her own. She extended her hand once more, asking Nethras to take the lead, and when he confirmed that he could get them out she could have kissed him. Her relief was short-lived, however, when he continued by saying he intended to get his things out of the dungeon. That sounded like a disaster just begging to happen, but had it been her bow locked away she knew she would fight whole armies to get it back and call it cheap.

"You have something important among your things I hope?" she asked, arching a brow. "Go then. Quickly."

Taking Nethras' hand in hers, she followed him through the twisting maze of the passages and alleys. They were a blur of walls to her, each one looking no different from the last, but Nethras seemed confident. Honovi only hoped he was really as sure as he seemed. If he wasn't, there would be an extra noose at the gallows today.

[Nethras Alvar]

Not answering Honovi`s question, Nethras simply nodded in return as he took her hand and started to lead her away from the place they stood. The guards who were searching the village in a sweep was approaching and if they did not move, then they would for sure soon be caught. Moving away from the dead end, Nethras guided Honovi toward another alley which led to an empty street. Looking around Nethras scouted if there was someone nearby before he took the chance of leaping across to the other side, once the coast was clear he ran with Honovi and ventured deeper into the village, toward the place where he and his friends had been imprisoned. Wherever they moved he made sure they stayed in the shadows and that they went around kneeling, not to be discovered by those who passed the streets and by the sight from those who searched upon the wooden walls.

Approaching the village dungeon, Nethras moved with Honovi to hide behind a few barrels not far away from its door. Outside they could see a guard standing watch and not far away another group of 4 guards stood discussing the situation between themselves, unlikely the dungeon itself were close to the Bann`s manor and upon its roof stood another guard who tried to scout from above. Turning to Honovi who sat beside him, he whispered. “Looks like this is going to be tough, my equipment is inside that dungeon, in a chest close to the iron cages, any ideas on how to distract the guard? I am sure there will be another guard within…” He said troubled and took another gaze over the barrels, as the guard outside the door stood right in front of them, not far across the street. Turning back to look at Honovi, Nethras noticed he still was holding her hand and as quick he realized he was he removed it, awaiting her answer, curious to see if she had any thoughts on how to get passed the guards.

[Honovi]

The guards were already waiting for them when Honovi knelt with Nethras behind some barrels. That was... unfortunate. Her expression was calm as she took in the guards waiting for them, heart in her throat. It would be difficult to get past them without violence, but she still refused to kill these men for simply doing their duty. There must be a way to simply get past them...

It didn't help the Nethras still seemed uncomfortable with her as an ally, pulling his hand from her grasp as soon as he realized they were still joined. Honovi smiled a bit sadly at that. His distrust, not of her but of humans in general, was completely justified and the knowledge pained her. No matter how kind she was to an elf, the knowledge that humans had an unspoken right to be cruel to them ran too deep to make trust come easily. But if she was kind enough for long enough, trust always came. For her, at least, if not the rest of her race.

He still had the remains of the noose around his neck, too, a constant reminder of human power and cruelty. Honovi didn't like it there. Moving slowly so as not to startle him she leaned close and lifted it over his head, carefully so as not to irritate his burns. They looked worse so close and the poor man looked half frozen in the coarse rags he'd been forced to wear to his own execution. She tilted her head to examine them as she set the noose on the ground beside them, touching a patch of unburnt skin on his cheek so gently her fingertips barely met his flesh. No one deserved this... Suddenly she felt very tired, and she pulled the red lion pelt she wore as a cloak from her shoulders to wrap it around him. "This will keep you warm until the guards leave."

Honovi had an idea. It was probably a bad idea, but it would get Nethras inside. With a final reassuring smile, she turned to her animals. A few brief commands in Chasind had Kachina trotting silently through the open door as the four guards outside spoke on unawares and Makya flew to the high, circling slowly above them all. "Stay safe," she said to Nethras, touching his cheek again briefly before disappearing back the way they came.

One of the very few good things about cities were all the handholds to be found in a building's walls. With all the crates and window ledges they were a great deal easier to climb than the sheer cliffs and giant trees from her home in the Wilds. All the help had Honovi pulling herself silently onto the roof in a matter of moments, and as she leaped on the guard from behind he was taken completely unawares. Her hand was tight around his mouth long before he could cry out, her free hand tight around her dagger as she raised it high before he could lift his arms to defend himself, and then she brought the hilt down hard on his head. She let him down gently, muttering a quick apology for knocking him unconscious as she bound and gagged him. It nagged at her conscience, but at least he was alive.

And with him out of the way Honovi was finally in position. Exchanging her dagger for her bow she fitted an arrow to the string and drew a deep breath - she would have only one chance at this. Hold your breath, aim, then loose. With an earsplitting shriek she let fly, the arrow flying between the guards posted as Makya screamed his answer dove at them. Kachina's growls added themselves to the din as she chased the guards inside into the daylight, and as Honovi fired shot after shot just behind them the fled. Makya swooped low over their heads, screaming, the sound and the sun on his beak startling enough that they didn't see his talons held tight to his body to keep from harming them. Kachina did the same, snarling and snapping at their heels, and between the three of them the guards were driven off.

Disdaining the climb back down, Honovi simply jumped from the roof and landed gracefully by the barrels where she and Nethras had hidden. The whole city would know where they were very shortly - they'd have to get his things quickly and be gone before more guards arrived.

[Nethras Alvar]

As Honovi reached to grab the noose around Nethras neck, he tried to withdraw slowly away from her but stopped when she caught the noose with her hands. Almost unwillingly he allowed her to remove it, and as she carefully took it off, he held his breath in hope that she would not touch his burned neck and chin which still pained him. His eyes followed her movements curiously, and as the wind swept through the village it gave him chills up through the rags he had on, it was cold, yet he found a slight comfort in the presence of the human woman. He began to feel a little uncomfortable, and especially so when she touched his unburned cheek barely.

Nethras wondered what she thought about him and he could see she was concerned, but he wanted no pity and he certainly did not want it from a human, even the human just had saved his life. In silence he sat still as she took off her red lion pelt and gave it to him, it was meant as a gesture to keep him warm and it felt nice, but before he could answer that he did not need it, which was a lie, she was already gone to distract the guards.

While she took care of the matter by climbing up, he remained by the barrels with the red lion pelt on his shoulders and thought about removing it as he did not like taking gifts from humans, but since it was so cold he decided to keep it on anyway, at least for a short moment. The burned wounds which he had received by those who captured his sister still nagged him, and as he sat there he thought about her and hoped that he soon could find and set her free. A lot of bad thoughts ran through his mind as it ventured on all horrible things his sister now probably had to endure in the hands of slavers, and they were not even a nice bunch of people, as he had witnessed them rape her in front of him while he had been held back. He had wanted to fight back, but their strength had restrained him.

As he sat there waiting, all alone, he could hear the screams of the guards who was chased away in the background, but instead of hearing their screams he heard the screams of his sister which got louder and louder. Then all of sudden he woke up from the deep thoughts as Honovi suddenly appeared in front of him again, who just had jumped down from the roof. He gave her a confused look, though understood quickly her work in distracting the guards was already over. He peeked over the barrels to see what had happened and he noticed there were no guards standing there anymore, which was good and which meant he now could finally go and get his things.

In return he gave Honovi a slight smile and stood up, handing her the red lion pelt back as he thought there soon would be no need for it. “Thank you.” He simply replied and without any further words he turned his attention to the dungeon door, looking carefully around before he moved silently over the street to reach it. As he grabbed the handle, he opened it slowly and took the opportunity to look inside before he stepped in. What he discovered by the desk near the prison cells was a man sleeping on a tilting chair, holding an empty bottle in his left hand. It was obvious the prison guard had been drinking, and luckily for Nethras he now only needed to sneak passed the man to get to the chest where his things were.

Opening the door fully he walked inside, but was not sure if Honovi wanted to follow or not. Still he remained to the shadows against the wall in the small narrow room that led to the larger room, he had to sneak to the chest even the guard was sleeping and as he moved he hoped the man would not wake up anytime soon. When Nethras came to the corner of the narrow room, he took a peek around it and noticed the guard was snoring as the chair he sat on leaned against the wall. Luckily the guard faced the cells in the upper end, and even if he did wake up in that current moment he would not be able to spot the intruders.

Then just as Nethras gaze turned toward the chest that stood on the left side not far away, he noticed another presence in the room. In one of the closest cells to the chest stood an old grim looking man almost invisible in the shadows, who was hairy and nasty looking. With wide eyes open he watched Nethras intensely, but said nothing as he in a slow move reached out his arm between the iron bars. Nethras was not sure what to believe, the man had kind of scared him, but for some reason the old man seemed friendly and it was as if he asked for help.

Map of the Dungeon
i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/gondor_2006/dungeon.jpg

[Honovi]

Nethras looked surprised and a bit confused when Honovi landed on the ground in front of him. Perhaps he was right - her plan for removing the guards in place would only draw even more very shortly - but there had been few enough other ways to remove them without killing the lot. No matter. They only needed a moment to retrieve Nethras's things and then they would be gone.

She nodded quietly as he thanked her for loaning her cloak and handed it back. It was good to see him smile, at least, and she inclined her head politely at his thanks. Whether he saw it she didn't know - he was already heading into the dungeon. Honovi waited only the short moment it took to collect her arrows and for Makya and Kachina to return to follow him inside, keeping well in the shadows. It was dim inside, hard to see and the wooden floor creaked with the barest hint of movement, but the guard was deep asleep and insensible to it all. Still, it was no risk to take.

Creeping up behind him Honovi drew her dagger once more, raising it high... higher... then down hard. The man's eyes fluttered open for the briefest of moments as the shock of her attack registered, then he was on the ground, unconscious. For the second time in as many minutes she murmured a quiet apology to a man she'd knocked senseless as she bound and gagged him. It didn't sit well, attacking men unawares when they were only doing their duty, but neither did letting potentially innocent men die. Evil choices, it seemed these days all she had were evil choices to make with no right answer for them. Very well. If one choice meant less death, that's the one she would take.

But now there was a second problem - the man in the cell. Honovi had no idea who he was or why he was there, only that he was imprisoned and looked to be asking for help. Her eyes narrowed. Perhaps the whole city was corrupt, but in her experience it was more likely they were simply prejudiced against elves. "Who are you? And why are you here?"

The man's attention snapped to her and he pressed his face to the bars, looking at her pleadingly. "I am only an old man... I was hungry you see, and I stole some bread, and now I'm here. Please girl, they haven't given me food or even water, and they haven't even sentenced me yet. Let me out, please."

That much Honovi could believe, but the punishment for theft from anyone but the king was punishable only by flogging. At the very least she could give him water, and something to drink. Edging closer, she questioned him more. "Why should I let you out? Theft is not punished so severely."

"I have been here two days, please! Please let me out, if they think I stole from the king I'll be killed and I only wanted some food." Honovi was close now, dagger sheathed and waterskin in hand, hoping she wasn't making a grave mistake. She didn't have a chance to answer him though, when something desperate and hungry flashed through his eyes and he grabbed her. "Here's a better reason," he said, holding Honovi roughly against the bars, "You let me out or I use the woman's blood to get myself out."

Honovi struggled against him but she was held firmly against the bars, the old man using every ounce of the leverage this lent him to keep her in place. Her expression deadly calm she ordered Makya and Kachina to stay away, unwilling to endanger them as she had so foolishly done to herself. "We will not help you," she told him, stressing each word to make herself understood through her accent thickened as it was by her agitation.

[Nethras Alvar]

As Nethras stood by the corner close to the sleeping guard he froze in silence, spotting the old man in the cell. Then just as he was about to turn and tell Honovi about it, she knocked the guard unconscious and spotted the prisoner for herself. It surprised Nethras that she did not just kill the guard when she had the chance, but at least knocking him out made him silent just the same. Turning the attention back at the old man, Nethras followed Honovi closer with slow and silent steps, curious to hear what the man wanted. Standing behind Honovi, he listened intensely, but once Honovi and the prisoner began to speak, Nethras went over to the chest nearby to find the things the humans had taken from him. Luckily it was not locked and inside it kept all that he had lost; his clothes and his weapons; even a letter which he held close to heart, from whom he would not express openly to any stranger.

It was good to see nothing was damaged and quickly Nethras took the chance to get dressed, meanwhile Honovi spoke with the prisoner and hesitantly she decided to give the old man something to drink. Then suddenly things changed, the man grabbed Honovi and threatened to kill her and just as Nethras discovered what was about to happen, he became speechless as he realized there was little he could do. The weapons he needed were in the chest and if he did not help the prisoner free, he would kill Honovi on the spot and use her blood for some purpose, most likely blood magic.

Hearing that Honovi refused to let the old man get what he wanted made Nethras unsure what to do, he could not just let him harm her, she had saved his life and now it was his chance to do the same. If he now moved to grab his weapons, the old man would slit her throat. There was only one option and it was to open the cell door. Nethras turned to look around and spotted the keys on the table, and from where he stood, he moved carefully over to pick them up even the prisoner grew impatient and began to raise his voice. Any louder and the guards outside would hear, Nethras just hoped they already hadn`t. Grabbing the keys, Nethras took the moments to look around for some sort of a weapon he could use, but he saw nothing.

Heading toward the cell door with the keys in hand, he turned his gaze to Honovi, almost saying sorry with just his looks and with that he hoped that she would not do anything reckless as he put the key into the keyhole, unlocking the cell. The old man was now free to go, and just as the door was unlocked, Nethras spotted a smirk on his face as he spoke. “Good boy, you did well. Now step back!” He commanded and the elf did as he said, taking two steps back as the prisoner walked over to the door with Honovi along the iron bars. Then he pushed Honovi hard forward, hoping she would fall on the table and hit her head as he took the chance to run out the door, but just as he went through the opening, Nethras found his way and grabbed the cell door with both his hands, slamming it right into the face of the old man, wishing it would cause a moment of distraction as he leaped to disarm him. With brute strength they quarreled over the knife, but unfortunately Nethras slipped his chance and without a warning he got stabbed in the side.

Gasping for air as it hit, Nethras fell to the floor holding his hands over the wound while the blood streamed out. The old man who just had stabbed him smiled of satisfaction and ran out, not even looking back as he vanished with knife still in hand.

[Honovi]

Honovi kept her eyes pinned on the man holding her, hating him as he pulled a knife from her belt. Trying to help him was a very stupid thing and not for the first time she cursed her soft heart. However little she might actually like people, she couldn't help taking care of them and this is what kindness brought. And then people wondered why she was so cold, she thought with a sneer.

But Nethras was moving behind her - she could hear the floorboards creaking. Maybe he was leaving, or looking for a weapon. Either way, it was good, because by the end of it either she or the old man would be dead. If she was very lucky, maybe they both would. The only problem was that she seemed to be wrong, as Nethras returned with a set of keys. No. No! He met her cold stare with a look of apology and unlocked the door, the old man praising him gleefully as he moved her along the bars to the door.

The man gave her a brutal shove as he leaped for the door, but she recovered her feet before she lost them, instead using the momentum to spin toward him with her bow already drawn.She had an arrow aimed for him but Nethras was in the way, wrestling with the man for the knife he'd taken from her. No no no get out of the way so I can kill him... Honovi clenched her jaw, waiting for her moment, but when it finally came it was in the form of Nethras' cry of pain. She had no choice but to let the old man go to tend Nethras' wound.

"That was a very foolish thing to do," she told him, though worry robbed her voice of its edge as she pressed her hands to the hold in his side to stop the blood. That was... a lot of blood. He'd risked his life to save hers and she touched his cheek again gently, inadvertently smearing it with blood. "Thank you." Her gratitude wouldn't stop him bleeding, however, and she pulled a poultice from her pack and bound it tight against the wound. No time to tend it properly yet, though - she could hear the guards approaching. "I am sorry Nethras, but we must go."

Pulling his arm around her shoulders and wrapping her arm around his waist, she pulled him to his feet and started moving, snatching his weapons from the chest on the way out. But the guards were close, so close that as they stepped out the door one of them reached out and grabbed Honovi's arm. That was it, they were caught, except Makya was trained for combat and he hurtled out the door behind them. The guard cried out and let go as Makya's talons bit deep into his flesh, and as another guard lunged at them Kachina leaped up and closed her jaws around his wrist. Fully grown she would be able to crush steel, but even a baby lion was more than capable of shattering bone.

"I am sorry," she said to Nethras again, slinging him over her shoulders the way she'd carry a deer as Makya and Kachina kept the guards at bay. She knew it hurt him, but they had to run and he was in no condition to do that, and even a small deer weighed a great deal more than him. Honovi could run with him, and she did.

The guards in their armour were little less encumbered than Honovi was carrying Nethras and his things, but without Makya and Kachina's aid they would have been caught a dozen times over by the time they managed to lose the guard. Sharp talons and a strong jaw seemed enough to keep common city guard at bay for at least a little while, and all the better. Honovi could still hear the guards behind them, however, and she knew they needed somewhere to hide. The question was where...

Honovi stopped briefly and looked around. There were doors everywhere, but any one of them could lead to someone who'd give them away. But wait, there was a woman poking her head out one of the doorways and waving at them. There was no time to question the help, Honovi just followed her inside. She hoped it wasn't a mistake, but they'd had little choice in the matter - Nethras was still bleeding, and Honovi was starting to tire.

Following the woman through the small building, Honovi's gaze flitted all about their surroundings, Nethras still slung across her shoulders. Tapestries depicting naked men and women in various stages of... intimacy and the various scantily clad women along with a few men, mostly comprised of youngish elves, were the features that stuck out. Honovi knew a brothel when she saw one, but she wasn't about to refuse the help.

"Put him here, ma'am," the woman said, leading him into a room and gesturing to the bed. "Nice and private, and the guards won't find you here."

Why they might find help in a brothel, Honovi didn't know, but she was grateful for it. She lay Nethras gently on the bed, and once she locked the door she tugged gently at his clothes. "I need to look at your wound," she explained, waiting for his permission to help him undress.

[Nethras Alvar]

Seeing the prisoner escape made Nethras feel guilty, a criminal was now lose thanks to him and because he had tried to stop the man he had gotten himself stabbed in the stomach. Laying on the floor bleeding, Nethras bite his teeth together to withstand the pain as he watched when Honovi came rushing over to his aid. She helped him hold the blood in and with a poultice she secured his wound, what she said next was true, he had been foolish and it all could have been avoided had he just let the prisoner go.

With worried eyes he looked at her and he was ashamed, she had already saved him from being hanged and now she was saving him again. It was not how he wanted it to be, but so it was. Feeling her gentle touch against his cheek made him feel weary and unsure, though he could not deny the fact that it was comforting to have someone like her so close. Then suddenly noise could be heard outside and without much warning the guards reappeared. Quickly Honovi lifted Nethras and before he knew it he was thrown over her shoulder such that she could move more easily. He hung over her shoulder like a dead animal and as she leaped out the door and through the guards, the pain increased.

Being able to only see what happened behind Honovi`s back, he warned when the guards got close and complained when the wound got worse. Luckily for a short moment they managed to find a safe area, but the time was running out and one could hear the guards approaching where they stood. Then with a bit of luck, Honovi spotted a woman not far away who eagerly seemed willing to hide them. Nethras could not see what happened, although he listened and as he hung on Honovi`s shoulder he was surprised to see that they all of sudden entered a brothel.

Nethras eye grew wide of shock as he spotted the naked individuals in the room, and the noise that came from certain places within made him feel improper. For a moment he forgot all the pain he had and was rather dazzled by the beauty in front of him, Nethras could not ignore but glance at the women who walked passed Honovi as he hung over her shoulder and once he was laid down, he was even more surprised when Honovi herself started undressing him.

It felt so strange and it made him uncomfortable, the sweat begun to pour down his face, but without being able to move he remained silent in the huge pile of pillow he laid on top. When Honovi spoke and said she needed to look at his wound, he simply smiled slightly in return and gave her a nod in answer. Thus the pain came rushing back, and it was worse than before. For some reason Nethras was beginning to grow tired and his sight was getting blurry, he wanted to close his eye and sleep…

[Honovi]

As soon as she had Nethras' permission, Honovi stripped him to his waist. Her quick patch on his wound in the dungeon had done precious little to stop, or even slow, the bleeding, and he was so weak he appeared to be swimming in and out of consciousness. That was bad. So bad that his smile wasn't in the least reassuring, and his body tensed in pain as she cleaned the wound. It would be better if the room had a fireplace to heat some water, but all she had to work with was a small washbasin and the supplies she had in her pack - in all, not nearly as much as she'd like.

No matter. She stitched the wound neatly closed and dressed it with a poultice, bandaging it tightly. The knife hadn't hit anything vital, thank whatever gods Nethras might believe in, and the bleeding should stop now, so he was in no immediate danger. He was, however, in dire need of fluids to replenish what he'd lost. Slipping an arm around his shoulders, Honovi lifted him carefully into a sitting position and cradled him against her chest. "You can sleep soon, Nethras, but you have to drink first." She kept her voice as soothing as she could manage, her accent hopefully not too alarming in his state, as she pulled the stopper from her waterskin and held it to his lips to drink.

Once he'd had his fill of water Honovi laid Nethras gently back on the pillows and, for the first time since she got him undressed, really looked at him. The burns she'd seen on his face and neck went down a great deal further than she'd guessed, stripes red and angry and only partly healed that covered his torso until they finally disappeared into his pants. Honovi's mouth tightened, and she rolled him very slightly onto his side - same thing, vicious burns all down his back, and once she'd settles him fully back on the bed she hooked her fingers into his pants. She was right, then. Honovi only pulled his pants a short way down but the burns extended down his pelvis and hips, and when she pulled up the leg of his pants there were burns there too.

Honovi didn't know who had tortured him like that or why, but it was wrong. She ghosted her fingertips along his skin beside the broad bands of charred flesh, down his chest and stomach only to go back up his arms again. There was no part of him that hadn't suffered, and she held his hand as she very carefully washed the blood from his cheek. "They will not do this to you again," she promised, looking him straight in the eyes. Criminal or not, Nethras had already endured more punishment than anyone had the right to inflict and she would see to it that it never happened again. Brushing his hair back from his face with the softest touch she could manage - admittedly not nearly as soft as she'd like - Honovi perched on the edge of the bed at his shoulder, an arrow nocked and ready as she kept watch.

[Nethras Alvar]

Lying in a pile of pillows upon a bed while being wounded gave little opportunity to see what Honovi did, but when she touched the wound the entire body grew tense. The pain rushed through Nethras, but by biting the teeth together he tried to show no sign of weakness when he suffered, even though sweat ran across his face and body, a thirst grew within his mouth and as his sight grew blurry. When Honovi was done cleaning and bandaging the wound, Nethras was assisted up so that he could drink. The taste of liquid water was great and as it ran down his throat, strength returned. Nethras drank until there was almost nothing left, keeping a gaze on Honovi while he felt grateful, feeling that he somehow had to repay her for everything she had done, in one way or another.

Once he finished drinking, Honovi laid him gently back on the pillows, but what she did next was something he had not expected, she came close and grew curious. Was he that good looking that made her expression and behavior change, or was it his muscular features that caught her attention if not something else? Carefully he was examined, rolled over and even peeked into the pants. The situation turned awkward, especially for him; however it did not take long before Nethras noticed why she did it. It was because of his scars, his wounds from the past, all which that been inflicted by thieves and slavers who had taken his beloved sister and left him in to die in the mud.

When Honovi came up close to his face, telling him that none would do it again while looking deep into his eyes, he returned with a look of shock and surprise, but doubted her words. Humans would always be humans, even though Honovi was different, as it seemed. Nethras believed nothing would change their ways from continuing their evil deeds. What one could do was to live with it, and try to survive, perhaps give a little payback when possible.

As she touched his face and hair he remained vigilant, shy and a bit afraid. It was something he was not used to, having a woman so close. She was a lot older than him for sure, although he could not deny that she was beautiful and that she was attracting to look at. Oh what was he thinking, an elf attracted to a human; no way, not possible, not him. The thoughts about it run through his head, denying it, even though when she moved to sit beside him he felt the urge to look at her. She was an interesting kind of person, so different from the humans in behavior yet had their ears. He wanted to ask her more questions, but slowly he grew tired and fell asleep.

As the sleep caught him, minutes went by and while he slept things would seem to grow worse in the real life. Bang! The door to the brothel slammed open and four individuals rushed in with all haste. The noise which increased, coming from women who jumped and fled out of fear caused Nethras to wake up, and as he looked around confused, he soon spotted who had come. Through a hole in the wall, Nethras noticed those were city guards. One of them an elderly man, probably around the age of 40th`s, who looked firm and serious with a scar across his face, he was the leader of the patrol. The second following him was a man bit younger, huge and strong, but dumb looking. The third was a female, one with her hair in a ponytail, tough and dutiful. The fourth guard was young man, a teenager most likely a new recruit, seeming afraid with the desire to leave.

“Tell us where they are hiding old woman! We know they are here!” The old guard demanded as he approached with a pointing finger to the female Brothel owner.

“If you are referring to my whores you are correct.” The woman answered with her arms folded.

“Don’t you try, we know that elf and human who escaped the hanging at the market place is here somewhere. Someone saw them entering here with you, now tell me, where are they?” He answered even more firmly, giving a nod to the guards which allowed them to begin the search of the brothel.

The big brute went passed the brothel owner, forward toward the room opposite of the main door, the female guard went to the left and the new recruit went to the right, toward Honovi and Nethras. What should they do? Nethras thought to himself as he noticed the guards begin their search, if they did not hide soon they would be discovered and possibly killed. Worryingly he looked at Honovi next to him, hoping she had a plan. In the background as he waited for her to do something, he heard the brothel owner respond to the guard who remained. “And because you heard someone tell you this you believe them? I wonder…What if the person who told you was a liar and this merely is a distraction for you and your guards hmm? Perhaps a good distraction to if you find comfort in our company?” She said with a smile and touched the man`s shoulder, flirting even he just had called her old.