The Newcago Court

[Elenion he/him]

"We must unite the people. All must be prepared for battle. W-w-w-w-ee--"

Rodel, who had been sitting up, suddenly fell backwards, eyes rolling back into his head. Elenion tried to catch him, but since he wasn't concentrating his arms just swished right through Rodel's torso. Elenion grabbed the blanket--which required focus to ensure that his hand could actually grab hold--and threw the blanket off of Rodel, exposing a bloody wound on Rodel's right side. Elenion gritted his teeth: he hated the sight of blood. He was used to it--he had to be--but it still made him hesitate. But it wasn't a time for hesitation.

Elenion closed his eyes and let his surroundings flow into him. He could sense Rodel's shallow breathing ripple through the bed and into the floor. He could hear the air currents that glided into and out of the room through the doorway. And he could feel, almost tangibly, Rodel's strength seeping away. Elenion reached out with his consciousness and touched the wound, willing the flesh on either side of the jagged cut to press together, staunching most of the blood flow from the wound. It was only a temporary fix, but it was the best he could do with what he had on hand.

And so, without saying a word to the still-unconscious Rodel, Elenion ran for a doctor.

@Captains Domon @Darkness Ascendant

 

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa forced herself to sit up, her back pained with agony

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Major Bayle of the Newcago Court had been tasked with the duty of interrogating the prisoner. He looked through the tools. Was it to be torture?

[Elenion he/him]

Elenion opened his eyes as his consciousness faded back into him. He did not remember falling asleep, but the sound of Rodel's steady breathing did make a man drowsy. Footsteps made Elenion look up, and the doctor strode into the room.

"Will he make it?" Elenion cut straight to the point.

"I can't tell. Whatever you did to that wound kept him from bleeding out, but there was something chemical in that wound. Is there any way that you could--"

"No," Elenion preferred to keep his abilities unspecified to add to his mystique, but he could make an exception for a doctor, "I'm a minor telekinetic, not a healer. I can bind a physical wound, but I can do nothing for poisons."

"Pity. There's nothing more we can do but wait for him to either fight the poison off or... succumb."

@Captains Domon  Next Rodel scene is yours.

 

******

Queen Elsa was sitting up in bed. A white bandage was still wrapped around her midsection, but she had improved much since the night of the attack. Little of that was due to Elenion: after his initial binding of the wound he had left the doctors to their work.

"Are you well, my queen?"

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Bayle picked up a popular weapon from The Walking Dead, a baseball bat covered with barbed wire. He placed it next to the assassin's face.

"Who are you?"

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

On 4/15/2017 at 1:08 PM, Elenion said:

 

******

Queen Elsa was sitting up in bed. A white bandage was still wrapped around her midsection, but she had improved much since the night of the attack. Little of that was due to Elenion: after his initial binding of the wound he had left the doctors to their work.

"Are you well, my queen?"

"Before this wound, yes. But I am improving. Where is the doctor?" Elsa asked as she put down her book

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Rodel was dreaming. He saw fire, ships, corpses. It horrified him. But in the midst of the chaos, he saw a figure.

Funny, he thought. I never thought he actually existed.

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Bayle felt terrible. He had never approved of torture, but he knew he would keep the Court safe by doing so. He picked up a lightsaber, igniting it. The assassin, bleeding in several places and missing three fingers, now looked intimidated in the red glow of the lightsaber. Bayle lowered the point between the man's legs, where he knew it would hurt.

"When are they coming?"

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa blinked and rubbed her eyes

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

@Captains Domon @Darkness Ascendant

 

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Rodel suddenly saw a unicorn prancing through the middle of the chaos, little schoolchildren skipping around.

What.....? he thought, until the unicorn ate his face. Rodel woke with a start. He was not in the infirmary.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa sighed and leaned back into her bed. "Ouccccchhhh...."

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

@CaptainDomon @Darkness Ascendant @Delightfully Smoak

[Elenion he/him]

Dr. Khlennium was not a young man, but the constant walks back and forth across the infirmary had given him a powerful gait, the kind that made most people want to stand out of your way instead of the other way around. Currently, his constant walks focused on two rooms in particular: that of the Queen and that of the new man, Rodel. His first destination of the day was the Queen's room, and his powerful stride ate the distance to it in no time at all.

He entered, dislodging an icicle from the doorframe but barely noticing. The Queen was awake, but bleary-eyed. She had obviously not slept through the night. Dr. Khlennium made his usual inspection of the wound, changing the bandages at the same time. The old bandage had a foul smell to it, but the amount of blood on it was actually less than would be expected. Queen Elsa was improving. Within the next couple of days he expected her to be out of bed.

"My Queen, I hope that you are well," he said, ending the statement like a question. There was no response; during the bandage changing the Queen had apparently fallen asleep. Dr. Khlennium suppressed a chuckle, and exited.

In the hallway the doctor passed by Elenion, who had fallen asleep on nothing but the cold floor. The two of them had talked many times in the last few days, on subjects ranging from the health of the Queen and Rodel to the possible causes of Elenion's insubstantiality. On the latter topic, they had come to a general consensus that there was no reason why Elenion's spirit should have lingered after his body perished, and how he even retained some control over the physical world. Elenion just was, and that was it.

Down the hallway from Elenion's slumbering form was Rodel's room. It was smaller than the Queen's, but still spacious enough for an empty bed... hold it. Where was Rodel?

"Rodel?"

No answer.

"Rodel?"

Where had that man gone? He had healed quickly, but Dr. Khlennium doubted that anyone could have lifted themselves out of bed under their own power, so soon after sustaining such a wound as Rodel had. Concerned, the doctor turned, and his powerful stride carried him out of the room.

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Bayle was done interrogating the prisoner. He had to tell the baron immediately.

@Darkness Ascendant

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

 

On 4/28/2017 at 2:25 PM, Elenion said:

Dr. Khlennium was not a young man, but the constant walks back and forth across the infirmary had given him a powerful gait, the kind that made most people want to stand out of your way instead of the other way around. Currently, his constant walks focused on two rooms in particular: that of the Queen and that of the new man, Rodel. His first destination of the day was the Queen's room, and his powerful stride ate the distance to it in no time at all.

He entered, dislodging an icicle from the doorframe but barely noticing. The Queen was awake, but bleary-eyed. She had obviously not slept through the night. Dr. Khlennium made his usual inspection of the wound, changing the bandages at the same time. The old bandage had a foul smell to it, but the amount of blood on it was actually less than would be expected. Queen Elsa was improving. Within the next couple of days he expected her to be out of bed.

"My Queen, I hope that you are well," he said, ending the statement like a question. There was no response; during the bandage changing the Queen had apparently fallen asleep. Dr. Khlennium suppressed a chuckle, and exited.

I

 

Queen Elsa fell into a deep slumber as the doctor changed the bandages. She would remember to thank him later and possibly rise his pay. 

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

@Elenion @Darkness Ascendant @Captains Domon

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

19 minutes ago, Queen Elsa Steelheart said:

@Elenion @Darkness Ascendant @Captains Domon

*sigh sorry Elsa

I'll try and get some massive rp post or something up when I have time.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

1 hour ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

*sigh sorry Elsa

I'll try and get some massive rp post or something up when I have time.

No problem 

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Rodel attempted to move. He could, but as he rose, he hit wood. He felt all around, then cried out in fear.

He was in a coffin.

[Elenion he/him]

Sorry about the wall-post, but it seems like everyone's waiting on me to do something.

 

 

It was morning, and Dr. Khlennium was making his rounds once again. He strode past the door to Rodel's room--still ajar from the wounded man's disappearance the previous day--and continued down the hall to the Queen's room. Today, the Queen was sitting up, and she smiled as Dr. Khlennium entered the room. The doctor performed the usual replacement of the bandage, but today he stopped, inspecting the wound.

"I believe the wound is closed enough for you to leave the bed, if you feel up to it."

Queen Elsa slowly swung her feet off of the side of the bed, and gingerly eased her weight onto her feat. She grimaced slightly as a line of pain shot up her lower back, but her feet held her weight. She took one step, then another, then a third.

@Queen Elsa Steelheart

 

*******

 

"Sir, Rodel is gone!"

The guard's voice cheated Elenion out of sleep for the second morning in a row, but the adrenaline rush that the words caused left Elenion feeling anything but drowsy.

"What do you mean, gone? He couldn't have left his bed in the state he was in!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Rodel is gone. Dr. Khlennium discovered it yesterday evening on his rounds, but it was generally assumed Rodel had left under his own power. This morning we discovered that his personal effects have not been retrieved.

"Do you know what this means, soldier?"

"Someone took Rodel out of his room, sir?"

"I'm afraid so. It would have had to be someone with knowledge of his location, and the ability to come and go from the infirmary corridors without detection. That means," Elenion paused, "we have a traitor in out midst."

The guard gulped. "Who, sir?"

"If I knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But our first priority is to find Rodel, if he is alive. Get down to the guard posts and muster as many free men as you can. Keep the standard guard up, but I want everyone you can spare. Sleeping, off-duty, whatever. Just get them."

The guard scuttled off. Elenion knelt, placing the palm of his right hand on the cold floor and closing his eyes, allowing his spiritual eyes to perceive the room around him. He became cautious of every crack in the stonework, feeling the walls more than seeing them. He could feel the slight vibrations in the floor from the guard's receding footsteps in the hallway. He concentrated more, expanding his vision. As it grew, he became conscious of more rooms, hallways, staircases. The larger he extended his sense, the less defined it became throughout. As he expanded his sense to almost the entire castle, even the rooms began to blend together. Then, he felt it: Rodel's leg. Although Elenion had not as much as seen it since he had helped staunch the bleeding, the leg still carried a tiny fraction of Elenion's power holding the skin together, and to Elenion's spiritual sight it shone as though it was a candle in a forest of shadows.

The arrival of a band of guards, about twenty in total, disrupted Elenion's sense with their vibrations, but Elenion had sensed enough. He was also pleased by how many men had gathered in just a short amount of time, but he didn't show it; the stress of the situation kept his expression grave and his tone neutral.

"Rodel is still in this castle, but many floors below us. It is highly likely that he has been abducted, aided by at least one of our own people. Form on me, draw your weapons, and prepare for anything. Come on!"

And with that, the entire column of guards, Elenion at the head, surged down the stairway.

*******

The raucous clacking of metal against stone awakened Darkness from his sleep. He rolled over in his bed, listening to what sounded like a herd of large metal animals stampede past his doorway. What could that be? But in a few seconds, the herd had passed. Maybe it was just a dream...?

@Darkness Ascendant Care to join us?

*******

As the small battalion descended into the very roots of the castle, Elenion began to be able to sense Rodel's leg without concentrating. It became a compass of sorts: at every stairwell or intersection, the men looked to him for guidance. More often than not, the choice was not a certain one, but little by little they inched closer to the source. After a certain point they slowed to a walk to minimize the noise they made, each man holding his weapon of choice in his hands to ensure its readiness and to prevent it from clacking against ground or armor.

Finally, after what felt like hours of walking but was probably more like a few minutes, they came to the deepest floor of the castle. Of course, it had to be the deepest floor. It also just had to be locked.

"This is it. I can feel Rodel inside, along with about ten other moving things. Men or beasts I cannot tell."

"Does it matter?" The guard who had told Elenion about Rodel's disappearance said, "Rodel was our guest, and it wouldn't be in good hospitality to lose him to a few demons."

Some of the men chuckled, but others stayed silent. Elenion was one of the latter. A change had come over him: his voice was not that of a jovial ex-soldier but that of a hardened veteran, "If that's decided, then hit it!"

Two guards from the front of the group threw themselves at the door. The combined weight of men, weapons, and armor was enough to rip the door open with a splintering sound.

From the inside of the room came a scream.

@Captains Domon

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

You think I'm storming sleeping? Leave a guy in a...coma alone!

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Rodel screamed. There was a claw reaching into the casket! He closed his eyes and concentrated. He had weapons installed somewhere, and a surprise too. It took willpower to activate them. He closed his eyes. The claw reached out and placed it over his heart. Rodel gritted his teeth, and............. Three claws of adamantium sprung out of each fist and sliced the demon hand. He felt his side wound begin to heal. He burst out of the casket and faced the demons. Meanwhile, the door broke open and a shocked @Elenion stood there.

******

Bayle entered Darkness' room. The storming man had eaten too much snowcones! Fortunately, he knew the proper remedy. Bayle pulled out a cattle prod and neared the form in the bed. @Darkness Ascendant

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Elsa took one step, then another, then a third.

"Would the wound remain closed for me to continue with duties?" Elsa asked, looking back at the doctor. Suddenly, a large wave of pain tore through her back, pushing her to the ground.

 

@Elenion    @Darkness Ascendant @Captains Domon

Edited May 12, 2017 by Queen Elsa Steelheart

[Modal Seoul he/him]

Bayle was very close to Darkness. The cattle prod hovered over the figure. He hesitated. 

He bit back laughter. This was gonna hurt. @Darkness Ascendant