Michel mutters a curse under his breath and dumps Gül on the ground. He hisses after them, "What the- what is the matter with you? No don't follow her! Argh! Lucius, help me stop them!" He'd tear his hair out if he had enough of it.
He follows them. If he can get close enough he will try to subdue Octavia with a grapple.
After Gül's unconscious form flops on the ground, Berk quickly hisses in Michel's direction as he follows Octavia.
Michel and Lucius manage to catch Abel and he stops running. "Octavia! Stop!"
She suddenly trips with something and falls to the floor. "Ah! Something bi... Agh!" She starts to be dragged down the stairs by an unseen force, and she quickly dissapears in the darkness, before you can do anything. The last things you see of her are her hands, desperately trying to grab one of the steps to stop, but you can hear her scream and struggle for a few second longer. Then, everything is quiet.
|
"Retreat!" Lucius snaps, suiting actions to words as he does so. "There is nothing we can do here! Michel, get Gul/ Ognos, Abel - run!" Lucius paces back up the stairs last, clutching his crucifix in one hand and murmuring under his breath.
"Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I shall fear no evil, for your rod and staff shall comfort me." The energy that coalesces around his hands is unpleasant to look at, somehow dark even in the darkness of the tunnel.
Ognos will start legging it!
Lucius waits for his companions to be away and feels the crucifix getting warm, but nothing else happens, so he retreats with Ognos.
"No!" Abel struggles and tries to run after Octavia, but soon understands there is nothing he can do by himself. He follows you upstairs, blessing himself, and you can see his cheeks are wet of tears, and reflex the light of the torch in the ground, which, in the few seconds of rushing, seems like an unreachable goal, before you get there and stand among the rope and the bodies.
Michel adheres Gül to his back using some rope and his backpack straps before attempting to climb the rope.
And he makes good headway with making it 40ft. Up in several seconds!
Berk, seeing his master carried up, climbs after Michel and Gül.
You quickly climb up, and everything seems more safe, but Misimba is still down there. You see Duma is staring at his master, dangerously close to the border.
Suddenly, the halfling's arm moves. Not much, is barely perceptible, but the lion seems to realize and jumps off carelessly, landing in four with a surprising agility. He starts walking to Misimba, but falls to a side. Duma growls and tries to stand up, but you see a wound on his side, just opening without reason. He bites the air, and more wounds appear on his flesh. The blood of the noble beast slips down the stairs.
Abel is looking terrified at the carnage, eyes wide open, without saying anything.
The monk agrees with Lucius and they head to the cave entrance. He tries to console Abel once they make it to the safety of daylight.
You get to the entrance of the cave quickly. Abel sits down and covers his head, ignoring you. You can hear crickets chirping, but there are other sounds. Gunshots and galloping. They fill the air, you hear them all around. In Otlukbeli, this night is a different night.
Ognos just stares toward the Otlukbeli.
Not knowing if the cave or the town would have been worse at that moment.
Ognos just shrugs and follows Lucius.
Abel follows you, looking back to the cave several times. After walking for a few minutes, you start hearing voices, loudly talking in a language you do not understand. There are several people, and they are close.
"Who is that?" asks Abel, looking in all directions.
"Over there."
Ognos raises his hands as a sign of surrender and turns slowly toward the Dwarves to the left.
"I see." says one of the dwarves in Italian. "As-salāmu ʿalaykum!" The group of five men appears from your left, their arquebuses lowered.
"Look." A young dwarf, with a white turban, points at Gül. "Is she hurt?" Another of the men, probably the leader, scratches his bearded chin. "What side are you on?"
"Side?" Michel asked tiredly.
"This woman needs help and there are dark elves in a cave nearby. I don't know what they're planning, but they aren't friendly at all. If you help, I'm sure we would all be willing to help you deal with the dark elves when the time comes."
"Dark... elves?" The leader frowns incredulously. "I meant... Do you serve the Sultan of Constantinople or the Aq Qoyunlu?"
"Bu... but." stutters the yound dwarf at his side. "What are dark elves?"
"Yes. That too." adds the other.
"We we asked to rescue a child from a witch."
"We were attacked by elves with jet skin and silver hair."
"They are both aggressive and cruel and came up from below us."
"They also seemed surprised to see us too."
"That is... weird. But we can't take care of them right now. We will go into the caves once the battle is over." Most of the dwarves don't seem to be paying much attention to your story, but the young one seems puzzled.
"Now, answer." Asks the leader.
"We are on neither side of the battle."
"Since we are hurt, we cannot help nor hinder any battle."
"Well..." The man thinks for a second. "You are free to go. If you need to, Cenk will escort you." he says pointing at the youngest dwarf. He looks at the leader, and then nods nervously.
"We are grateful, of course" says Ognos with a bow to the leader.
Then addressing Cenk: "We would be thankful if you could show us how to get to a safe place for our friends recover."
"Um... where should I take you? The... Padishah's camp?" Your escort moves his head between you and the head of the group, scratching his neck.
"No, Cenk! They have nothing to do there!" he says, with an exasperated face. "We will leave you now. Your destiny and hers" he points at Gül with the head, "depends on you."
"As-salāmu ʿalaykum." The rest of the dwarves bids farewell at the same time, and start to walk away, leaving you alone with Cenk.
Michel adjusts his hold on Gül to keep her from slipping and huffs irritably. "Cenk, was it?" his cadence is a little stilted, partially from exhaustion and partially from being unfamiliar with the local naming conventions.
"I think we'll be okay. There was a caravanserai we stopped by earlier. If you'd like to come with us, please do, but I think we're fine. I do not know this 'Padishah' of which you speak, would you care to illuminate me brother?"
Cenk laughs nervously.
"No... The village is not safe. The battle is happening there. It is like... jahannam." The sole thought of going there seems to frighten him. "Uzun Hassan is a cruel man. He wants to take our lands to please the Venetians and build his evil empire here... But the Aq Qoyunlu doesn't have this." He shows you his gun, smiling proudly.
"The Padishah is our brave leader, the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet. And he strives to protect these lands." Abel, who has not being participating in the conversation, suddenly turns his head at Cenk after hearing this, staring at the young dwarf with his bloodshot eyes.
"Then lead us there! he shouts angrily, grabbing the soldier by the neck. "I'll tell him from what he should protect this lands!"
The dwarf looks at you, not knowing what to do.
I... They told me not to. What if you are enemies? Planning to kill him... or something." Abel pushes the soldier back. "Do it! This is not some small affair. There are evil creatures living underneath us, your Sultan must know now." The man stares directly at the nervous dwarf, that tries to stutter an answer.
"Abel, I think we can go later. Right now we must make sure Gül is safe. Maybe going somewhere in the outskirts?" suggest Michel, carefully placing the woman in the floor and approaching Cenk.
"How about this, Cenk …"
"Take us somewhere safer than the battlefront."
"Then return to your camp and tell your superiors about us"
"Say we have discovered an evil underground that threatens everyone and everything above ground."
"We will wait to tell your officers what we know."
"We cannot go anywhere in our current state."
"We're scarcely able to walk upright. We certainly can't run anywhere."
"That should be agreeable. You don't betray your sultan."
"And we get to recover from our unexpected and deadly discovery."
"That sounds... good." Cenk's voice sounds high pitched. "If only..." He looks at Abel.
"Alright." The man goes back to you and sits on the floor, while the Ottoman soldier smiles shyly and moves his turban, that has almost fallen of his head, back in place.
"There are some places in Otlukbeli that are not too close to the battle. A christian church, I think. Do you... um... want to go there?"
"I have no objections."
"A church would be best I think. I could live with other accommodations, but as men of God, I believe we would be most welcome there. Ognos would too, on account of being in our company."
He motions Cenk, "Lead the way."
"Alright." Cenk starts walking without saying anything else. He does not take the same route you used to reach the cave, but seems to know where he is going. Apart from the occasional gunshots, nothing special happens during your walk.
When about half an hour has passed, the trees abruptly end. A hundred or so feet ahead, a church stands, tall like a giant compared to the two small shacks at its side. The stone building is cross-shaped, with a red dome and a bell tower in the left side. While not too big, it still looks majestic. When you get in front of the gates, the holy place is between you and the sun, already rising in the horizon.
"Halt!" Two dwarfs, with gun's like Cenk's, stand guard at both sides of the entrance. They look exactly the same, tall (for their race), and with black hair and eyes. Looking closer reveals they are twins. "Who are those?" One of them points to you. Cenk looks at the two guards for a second or two, as if he had not understood what they asked, but then answers.
"Um...Don't worry. They are not against us... The woman needs to rest." The dwarves nod and open the doors immediately, one looking like a reflection of the other, and letting you pass.
You find yourself in a small room, poorly lit by two candlestands at both sides. There is a carpet in the middle, originally red but now almost brown by the dirt, that leads to another couplle of doors, painted with images of different saints. There is a space between the top of the doors and the wall, but you can not see clearly whatever is beyond.
"Is there a place she can lie down?" Michel asks.
You hear steps at the other side of the door, and then a hoarse voice. "Hello? Do you need anything?"
"Good evening." says Lucius. "A friend of us is hurt and we need a place to stay before the battle ends. We thought a house of the Lord would give us hospitality."
"Then I'm glad to help. Just a second." There are footsteps again, and a few seconds pass. Then the voice speaks again, sounding more distant. "Come inside, it's not locked."
Michel approaches with Gül on his back and looks at all the dusty furnishings.
"Hopefully it's cleaner in there than it is out here." He whispers to his compatriots.
He'll allow Lucius to open the door for him, and follow in towards this mysterious voice.
"Many thanks for your help, Cenk. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you."
"It certainly has been a trying time!"
"I'm just doing my duty." says Cenk smiling. "Right now I'm going to tell the Sultan about those 'dark elves'. And hopefully... I'll see you again."
"Thank you, good dwarf." answers Lucius. "I believe you will. Goodbye!" The soldier bids farewell to all of you and leaves. Lucius then opens the door in front and you go inside.
You are in a larger place now. There are high-armed chairs at both sides, along the icon-covered walls. You can also see a couple of stands, holding books, in front of the chairs. The dome ceiling is painted with an image of Christ, and a circular chandelier hangs from it. The red carpet continues to another set of doors about thirty feet ahead of you. A dwarf dressed in a black habit runs to you, and gasps when he sees Gül, oddly surprised.
"Quick!" he says, pointing to the doors from which he came from. "We must take her to the sactuary now!" He helps you held her and starts taking you to the back of the church.
Ognos will help Carry Gül to other room as best he can.
"Sanctuary? Isn't there an infirmary or something? "
"No. Not really." says the priest. "But I have a brewing there that will help... her."
You quickly get to the gates you could see before. There are three, separated by walls with icons: Mary, holding the child; Christ himself; and two saints you don't recognize.
You enter the sanctuary through the middle gate. The place has a square altar, a chair, and a small table with a chalice on it. A cross hangs of the back wall, with another icon of Christ. The dwarf helps putting Gül on the ground, opens a drawer of the table and takes a bottle. "Here." He gives it to Lucius. "Sleep here as long as you want, the battle hasn't ended so there won't be much to do tomorrow. I'll be outside." He says all of this quickly, almost incomprehesibly, and then sprints out of the door.
Strangely, the two saints are ones that Michel recognizes from his time studying in the monastery. He makes the cross as he approaches the image of Christ then places Gül on the floor gingerly.
"Huh, that was weird. He's coming back right? I can deal with cuts and bruises, but I'm pretty ill-equipped to deal with this sort of thing." Michel says uncomfortably when the dwarf leaves. "Unless said brewing will be enough to revive her..."