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Fable : Fall of the Guild	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Fable Views: 8222 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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The Banshee Of Gibbet Woods.
Fable : Fall of the Guild

Part IV - "Unrest Among The People"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: July 14, 2011

Timoteo awoke with a light groan, feeling himself to be sitting up. Of all the strange positions he had found himself sleeping in in the past, sitting up was the most unorthodox of them all. When he felt the shackles around his wrists and the bindings around his ankles, however, he realized that something was wrong. The sadistic chuckle that sounded out in response to his rousing was a dead giveaway of nearby danger. Timoteo's eyes snapped open, and his chin shot up, the young man looking out ahead of him. He was sitting on the ground, his legs outstretched. There were metal shackles around his wrists, his hands resting close together in his lap, the chains to the shackles going down around his thighs. The chains seemed to simply connect right to each shackle, so the chains must not have been connected to anything, simply wrapped around his thighs to prevent him from moving. Wrapped tight around his ankles was a length of rope, keeping him from moving anywhere.
A piece of the rope was reaching out, away from Timoteo, going right up to someone's hand. At the same time, another two lengths of rope reached into the man's hand. Without even looking at the man holding the ends of the rope, Timoteo glanced left and right. That's when he realized that he and his two companions were sitting with their backs to the same tree. Bianca sat to his left, bound up like Timoteo, himself. She wasn't in her cloak, though she still had her boots on. To his right, Darrah sat. She, similar to Bianca, wasn't in her armour. Timoteo wasn't in his own armour. Since the two had been caught unawares as they slept, they were totally helpless, no armour or weapons. It seemed like Darrah and Bianca were still asleep, Timoteo narrowing his eyes as he looked over to the one holding the ropes attached to the trio's ankles. It was obviously a bandit, grinning savagely as he knelt down near the ground, not all that far from Timoteo's feet.
"Skorm's teeth, man..." Timoteo barely heard a voice mutter. Timoteo raised an eyebrow, glancing towards the left of the kneeling man. There were easily around a dozen men, all standing nearby, most of them facing their captives. They were all dressed in a similar black garb, wearing black short-sleeved shirts with hoods to them, baggy black pants, and big black boots. Some of them had their hoods raised, others didn't. Some had a bright red cloth wrapped tight over their mouth and nose, disguising their identity. Some had black leather bracelets on a wrist or two. Their boots all had black plating over the toes and heel, protecting the most often used parts of the human foot. Timoteo recognized that they were all armed with obsidian weapons. Obsidian weapons were predominantly black in colour, and very often considered "evil", considering how the obsidian forging process appears to somehow corrupt, or at least partially ruin the appearance of, a weapon.
Obsidian weapons were tougher than steel weapons, like Timoteo's and Darrah's own, and had little trouble penetrating most armours. The man holding the ropes before Timoteo was armed with an obsidian katana, but most of the others were armed with obsidian cleavers. The katana in the man's hand was a little bit shorter than a longsword, and had a bit of a thicker blade, though it still retained the sharp and tapered point of a longsword, not adopting the flat bladed top of a cleaver. The crossguard was an oval of gold, the oval not being terribly huge, offering a minimal amount of protection for one's hands against an enemy's blade. The handle was only long enough for a single hand to wield the weapon, the golden pommel being shaped unusually. It was like an oval, though it had a strange point to it on one side, like a bird's beak. Other than that though, the pommel was perfectly smooth and round. The blade looked more worn than it should have.
Black, like all obsidian weapons, the blade was nicked at several points and covered in cracks all over. The blade almost appeared to be burnt, though it looked unnaturally sharp, and perhaps even more sleek than a regular blade. The blades of all the others looked similar, though instead of gold handles and pommels, they appeared to be made of some sort of crimson-hued metal. The gold on the man's blade, combined with him being the one holding the ropes connected to the bandits' prisoners, made Timoteo logically view him as the leader of the bandits. The leader was one of the few bandits that kept a red cloth over most of his face, hiding his features, and thus, his identity. Timoteo looked over to the man he had heard invoke Skorm's name. The man was standing in a small clump with another two men, all three of them eyeing Bianca wildly, a combination of awe and wanting on their faces. Timoteo's brow furrowed as he heard the bandits mutter to one another for a few seconds.
"What're you looking at?" The bandit holding the ropes said, Timoteo glancing over to him. He heard the other bandits mutter to one another when they heard the man holding the ropes speak, perhaps alerting one another that one of the prisoners had woken up. He still managed to hear a few mutters between the men looking at Bianca, though. "Look at that rack, man...No, seriously, look..." "I've seen it man, it's nice..." "Nice?...Man, Avo himself must've put her together." "Or Skorm, the nasty wench. The shit I'd do to her..." A few chuckles rose up among the men, the leader holding the ropes staring at Timoteo as he said "Boys, the little lucky bastard's alive. Mind wakin' the girls? I want them all awake when I talk." One of the men that had been staring at Bianca perked up, his eyes lighting up. "With pleasure!" He said, followed by a nasty chuckle. Timoteo stared daggers at the man as he approached the sleeping form of Bianca.
The man noticed this, giving Timoteo a dark look. "The fuck're you looking at, kid?" The man said, taking a quick step over to Timoteo, raising a foot, stomping down on Timoteo's stomach. Timoteo's eyes nearly rolled up in his head as the air was viciously and completely torn from his lungs, pain exploding through his stomach. He hung his head down and was unable to breathe for a few seconds, but when he finally sucked in air, he felt scores better. With air back in his lungs, the pain in his stomach became bearable, and he raised his head just in time to see the man kneel by Bianca's left side. "Don't touch her!..." Timoteo panted out. The man grinned at Timoteo, and the rest of the men in the group began to laugh. "Mmm?..." Darrah mumbled, beginning to wake. Timoteo felt like shouting out, though simply grit his teeth hatefully when he saw the man press his hands into Bianca's bosom, gripping her through her shirt.
"Avo, these're probably heavy. But man, they are soft. Smooth too, boys!" The man grabbing at Bianca said over his shoulder. Bianca's brow furrowed lightly as she came into wakefulness, slowly opening her eyes a crack. The man looked back to Bianca's face then, seeing her eyelids rise. "Oh, mornin', sweetness!" The bandit tauntingly said. "Nice pillows you got, here!" He added before beginning to laugh. Bianca opened her eyes fully, glancing downwards, beginning to struggle when she realized that she wasn't mistaken; the man was groping her. Fighting against her bonds proved fruitless, and she eventually spoke with anger in her voice. "Stop touching me!" She snapped out. The men began to roar with laughter. When Darrah looked over and saw what was happening, a worried look came over her for a moment before she began to stare out at the men ahead, hate in her eyes. "Leave her alone!" Timoteo practically shouted.
The bandits began to roar with even more laughter, a few of them mocking Timoteo, speaking in high-pitched tones as they said "Leave her alone, leave her alone!" Timoteo felt rage bubble up inside him, the young mage gritting his teeth. Bianca eventually did something that confused Timoteo. She stopped struggling. Staring at the man close to her with a wholly hateful expression, she stopped moving, and stayed silent. She slowly pushed her shackled hands down between her thighs, Bianca unable to make much space between her legs due to the binding around her ankles, though the space she could make, she slipped her hands down between. "Covering your pussy, girl? Won't do much good." The man said, giving Bianca's chest a particularly rough squeeze through her shirt, making Bianca wince for a moment in pain. The rest of the men kept laughing, one of them shouting out "She ain't coverin' herself, she's getting herself ready! She wants it, Jim!"
The other two men who had been ogling Bianca suddenly began to walk over, lecherous grins on their faces. "Hey, don't hog her! Let us have some, too!" One of the two men said excitedly. The rest of the men began to laugh so hard that some of them were falling to the ground in their mirth. The leader must've been grinning under his cloth covering, since his eyes were just slightly closed, creases at their corners, by his temples. "The boys love getting their dicks wet, you see." The leader calmly said when Timoteo glanced over to him. "They don't reflect the general spirit of my entire group, however. I'm not like them, and I'm rather proud of it." The leader said, still in a calm voice. "Let's get these hands out from between her legs!" One of the other men said. Timoteo couldn't even look towards Bianca, he couldn't bear to watch. He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, but Darrah's soft voice made him open his eyes. "Tim...It'll be okay..." She whispered.
He looked up to her eyes. Her face was worried, but her voice was steady. "It'll all be okay..." Timoteo grit his teeth hard for a moment before shouting so loud that it made the men by Bianca, as well as many of the others, freeze in place. "What do you want?!" He looked over to the leader not far from his feet, staring into his eyes. "You're all cowards!" "No, Tim!" Darrah hissed. Timoteo continued, ignoring her. "You tie us up when we're asleep, and then you start to..." Timoteo trailed off, panting slightly with anger. The three men who had been by Bianca stood up, their faces angry as they walked over to Timoteo. Bianca secretly let out a soft sigh of relief, but she looked over with worry towards Timoteo. "What? We rapin' your girlfriend, kid?" One of the men said. "Well, to be fair, we hadn't exactly raped her, yet." Another said. In a snide voice that twisted the sound of his words slightly, the third man told the second to shut up, though because of his tone of voice, his words sounded like "Shaddap".
The third man looked to Timoteo and continued, saying "Seems we've got a big damn hero on our hands." The leader raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly, saying "Literally. Seals were in their packs." Timoteo felt even more anger rise in him at the news that his pack had been searched through, breaching his privacy. "What? Real Heroes? From the Guild?" The second man by Timoteo said. The leader bandit nodded, giving the ropes attached to the three captives a tug. "The one and only Guild of Heroes." The leader confirmed. A silence fell over the bandits for a few moments before the main body of bandits began to laugh, still standing behind the leader.
The first man, by Timoteo, said "You know, kid...I envy you. Walking around with two bitches, being a Hero, fucking two Hero whores day after day after day...Mm!" The bandit shook his head, his face almost indignant. "It ain't right for one man to have so much feminine favour." The third said. "Imagine the blowjobs these bitches give!" One of the bandits shouted out. Bianca's brow furrowed, and her eyes fell to her thighs, to her hands kept between them. Darrah's brow deeply furrowed as well, her eyes dark, her lips curled into a hateful snarl. The second had a half-grin on his face as he said "Lookit the blonde one, there. She looks pissed. She's probably a beast in bed, heh heh." The first man of the trio walked over to her, kneeling beside her. Darrah struggled wildly, shouting "Leave me alone!" The men all began to roar with laughter again, aside from the leader, who just chuckled. The man kneeling by Darrah raised her shirt, revealing her stomach as well as her plain white bra.
Darrah's face grew furious, and she was about to shout when the man suddenly bashed his free hand against her face, covering her mouth. Stunned for a moment, she was silent as the man glanced along her body. The rest of the men fell silent, looking towards her, as well. "Eh. You're definitely not as curvy as the dark one." The man kneeling by her said. The leader raised his eyebrows, saying "But look at those abs. She's fit as a fiddle. Must be flexible, too." Timoteo didn't look at Darrah, refusing to, looking over to Bianca. Bianca looked over and met his eyes. Whispering in a barely audible voice, she said "I have a plan!" Timoteo nodded, relief washing over him, though he wasn't sure what any of them could do. With their hands down against their thighs, shackled down with their legs, he didn't see how either of them could hit the bandits with spells. Timoteo knew a few spells that could instantly slip him out of his bonds, though they would still keep him close to the bandits, and if he escaped with no armour only to appear in the middle of the bandit group, there's no telling how quickly they'd attack him and possibly kill him right before the eyes of his companions.
The man ran a few fingers over Darrah's stomach, Darrah staring at the man darkly. "Mm, yeah, she takes care of herself, I see." One of the men in the crowd said. "Doesn't have the slight chub the dark one has." Another said. Another spoke with surprise as he said "Chub? Man, are you blind? The dark one ain't chubby, she's just right. Got a healthy weight. If she was chubby, there'd be rolls. She ain't got rolls, man." Another of the men shuddered, as if with disgust. "Eurgh. Rolls." He muttered. Timoteo was about to speak when, a split-second later, a bandit stomped down on Timoteo's stomach once again. Timoteo hung his head down as he gasped in air once more. The man touching along Darrah's stomach said "I wish I could say I had a fetish for girls with toned bodies, but I don't. Abs are nice...Reminds me of my own...But on a girl, seeing such tone is just a- Argh!! Fuck!" The man cut himself off, tearing his hand away from Darrah, jumping up to his feet.
"Bitch bit me!" He said, looking at his hand, a line of blood running over the side of his hand and dripping to the grass below. The rest of the men chuckled. "She's got spunk!" One of them called out tauntingly. One of the two men by Timoteo turned their attention back to Bianca, kneeling beside her with a sadistic chuckle. The leader, his constantly calm voice beginning to grow unnerving to hear considering the situation, said "You asked what we want...Well, it's simple. I don't want anything, but..." The leader pointed the tip of his katana over his shoulder, to his men. "The men, they, uh..." The man chuckled lightly. "They want a woman's touch. For release, you understand." The men behind the leader began to laugh sadistically. The man who Darrah had bit turned and looked at her, his face full of rage. "I swear by Avo, I'm gonna pound that ass so hard, you'll turn inside-out." The man said darkly. Darrah suddenly smiled, saying "Not without a fight."
The man by Darrah chuckled, and was about to speak when the leader spoke again to Timoteo. "See, uh...We've been out and about for days now. Attacking traders and stealing their stuff. Killing the ones that resist. But we haven't had a good woman in our company for weeks...Let alone two." The man shrugged. "As for you?...Well, with two women here, we won't even have use for a bitch, so that cuts out that option. We'd offer to let you join, but, uh...You seem awfully attached to your girlfriends, so you'd probably cut our throats in the night. Fuck that." A few of the men chuckled, and the one by Bianca began to pull up her shirt. "Shit man, I don't think she's wearing a bra!" He said excitedly. One of the men in the crowd shouted out "What a slut! Fuck her tits!" More laughter rose up. Amid it all, the leader stayed calm, still speaking with Timoteo. "So...Seems the only option is to kill you. But, uh...We were planning to do that to all three of you, eventually. So, heh heh...What we'll do is...We'll put you in a gibbet, right?..."
The leader's composure faltered as he let out one of his few chuckles. "We'll put you in a gibbet...And then, when we've tired of your girls..." "Which I don't think will be possible, considering these tits." The man by Bianca said, Timoteo's face becoming twisted with emotion when he realized that the man must've exposed Bianca's bosom. The leader ignored the one that had spoken, saying "When we've tired of your girls, and you've been in the gibbet for days...We'll put your girls in the gibbets beside you, so you can all starve to death together! How's that?" The leader suddenly burst into insane laughter, and, eerily enough, the rest of the men finally stopped laughing. Staring hard at Timoteo and his two companions, their faces were cold and menacing. Suddenly, the man kneeling beside Bianca bolted up to his feet. Turning and facing the laughing leader, he surprised him by suddenly running him through on his blade.
The leader gasped, and so did Timoteo. The rest of the men seemed surprised. The man that had been by Bianca pulled his sword out of the leader's gut, letting him collapse down on the ground by Timoteo's feet, obviously dead. Timoteo looked over to Bianca. Her shirt was raised up on her bosom, just barely covering her nipples. It looked like it had been pulled high enough to reveal her entire chest, though when the bandit beside her had stood up, he had released her shirt and it had naturally fallen down far enough to cover her most private bits.
Bianca's face was cold with anger as she stared over, watching events unfold. Timoteo looked over as the man that had killed the leader suddenly attacked the man by Timoteo, spinning around and cutting the man's throat. "He's insane! Kill 'im!" One man shouted. Before anyone could do anything, though, the man had already smashed aside the sword of the man by Darrah, running him through on his blade, as well. Timoteo glanced to Bianca, seeing a green glow to be over her eyes. He grinned. He heard the remaining nine men rush for the one that had seemingly gone insane. As they reached him, to Timoteo's surprise, the man that had been killed by him suddenly began to rise. His face was blank, and his eyes were lacking light, cold and empty. Darrah watched as the man by her began to rise, too. The bandits easily enough dispatched the one that appeared to have gone insane, running him through on four blades simultaneously.
None of them were expecting to see the other two men rise up again however, and when the leader rose up behind them, some of them had panic on their faces. The three men picked up their weapons and suddenly began to attack their fellows, the bandits doing their best to defend themselves from the surrounding enemies. "You're dead!! How are you up?!" One of the bandits shouted in fear. Timoteo saw one of the bandits look over to Bianca. "Her! She's a mage!" He said, beginning to run for Bianca. Timoteo's eyes widened, and he moved his legs. Without the leader holding on to the rope, he was still able to move both of his legs, his limbs only bound together. He raised his legs and moved them to the side, tripping the man that ran for Bianca. The man collapsed over Bianca's legs, still holding his sword. Darrah, in rage over being unwillingly touched, began to exert herself against her shackles. Gritting her teeth with her eyes alight, Timoteo was surprised to suddenly hear a loud "cling" sound as Darrah broke through her shackles.
There were cuts on her wrists from the metal biting into her, but other than that, she appeared fine, and most of all, she was free. Bringing her hands down to her legs, she quickly unravelled the rope from around her ankles, jumping to her feet a moment later. She ran over to the bandit that had tripped over Bianca's legs, quickly kicking him down as he tried to rise up. Wrenching the sword from his grip, Darrah was panting as she slammed the tip of the blade down through the man's stomach, killing him. Instead of focusing on freeing her friends, she worked to kill her enemies, working with the seemingly-insane and dead men as they killed their former allies. With the enraged Darrah helping, short work was made of the confused and frightened bandits.
Moments after the men were all killed, the bodies of the once-slain men collapsed to the ground, seemingly dead once again. Darrah was panting still as she dropped the bandit's sword. None of the three said anything as Darrah fully pulled down her shirt before she stepped over to Timoteo, kneeling beside him. Grabbing his shackles, she held her breath, pulling them each apart as hard as she could. A moment later, they snapped in two, freeing his wrists. By slipping her fingers into each shackle as well as she could, she pulled them in such a way that she spared Timoteo the same cuts she herself had taken on her wrists. When Timoteo's hands were free, he quickly began to undo the rope around his ankles. Darrah freed Bianca's hands as well, breaking her shackles. Bianca pulled her shirt down before she went to work on her ankle bindings. When the two were totally free and had stood up, Timoteo grabbed Darrah in a quick hug.
She was mildly surprised, though in another sense she wasn't, considering the situation. She hugged him back, and a moment later, Timoteo hugged Bianca. Darrah noticed Bianca close her eyes during the embrace, hugging Timoteo quietly. When Timoteo released Bianca, he glanced at Darrah, asking "Are you two alright?" Darrah glanced off to the side, towards the corpses of the bandits. "Of course...I'm fine." Darrah said in a bit of a subdued tone. Timoteo looked to Bianca, and he saw her eyes to go down to his chest, unable to meet his. She was silent for a moment before she softly said "I'll be okay...Much worse things had been in store for us." Bianca sighed softly, and slowly came closer to Timoteo, hugging him again. Timoteo hugged her back, hatred cementing inside him towards the bandits, Timoteo also turning his hatred towards himself. He understood that there wasn't anything he could do to keep the bandits away from Darrah or Bianca, but that still didn't make things easier for him to accept.
Just sitting there, uselessly, while his two companions were touched by awful bandits? He couldn't accept it. Even if he had been bound, and his only spells for escape would've likely gotten him killed, he still felt guilt. As he and Bianca hugged, Darrah glanced around, spotting her armour as well as Timoteo's, their packs sitting by Bianca's cloak. Walking over quickly, she grabbed Timoteo's mace from his pack. Timoteo glanced over as Darrah walked towards the man that had pulled her shirt up, dead on the ground. Placing a foot against the man's chest, her face expressionless, she raised up Timoteo's mace. Timoteo looked away when Darrah shot the mace down, a wet meaty crunch sounding out as the mace partially crushed the man's face in a single hit. Darrah pulled the mace away from the man a few seconds later, Timoteo hearing her sigh to herself, walking over to their packs once more. Bianca slowly released Timoteo then, looking up slightly to his eyes.
"I kept my hands hidden as I used Turncoat on the first bandit...When the others died, I just reanimated them as my mindless thralls...But I had to use Turncoat slowly, otherwise the others would've seen the spell, and they might've attacked us." Timoteo nodded, discreetly giving Bianca a kiss on the forehead, murmuring "You got us out, Bianca...Thank you..." Bianca sighed softly through her nose, shaking her head for a moment before saying "I think some food will help me forget..." Timoteo smiled only slightly, saying "Okay. We've got a spare steak from last night." Looking over to Darrah, he saw her to be dressing in her armour. Her back turned to the two, Bianca raised her hands to his chest, resting her palms against his shirt. She gave him a kiss on his left cheek, and when he looked back to her, she gave him another kiss on his lips. He kissed her back, but when the two pulled away from one another, his face was downcast. "What's wrong?..." Bianca softly asked, comfortingly raising her hands to either side of his face.
Smoothing her fingers and palms along his cheeks, she kept her thumbs up near his eyes, over his temples. He looked back up to her eyes, yet was unwilling to speak the words on his mind, the fears that in a similar situation he'd prove useless once again, and might be unable to defend Darrah or Bianca from violation. She raised her eyebrows slightly, her face growing a bit worried. She seemed to read his mind as she murmured "We were all helpless, Tim...I didn't want Darrah to be touched any more than I wanted you to be hurt, but there was nothing I could do, either...Don't be hard on yourself..." Timoteo sighed softly, his eyes falling from her's. "...If you say so..." He eventually said, still unable to totally accept that he should take no guilt. Darrah, who had quickly dressed in half of her armour suit, walked over to the two. Holding Timoteo's chainmail shirt in one hand, she stuck her hand in between the two, holding Timoteo's armour between his chest and her's. "Here, Tim." Darrah said.
Timoteo rolled his eyes slightly, though he grabbed the armour, Bianca taking her hands from the sides of his face. He took a step back and quickly began to pull the armour on. Darrah walked back to her armour, and Bianca stepped over to her cloak, pulling it on. Pulling up her hood, she grabbed Timoteo's pack, walking over to him. When he had gotten his armour on, she held out his pack, offering it to him. He took it with a thanks, pulling it on. The two waited a minute for Darrah to get the rest of her armour on, Darrah shouldering her pack after. Looking to the slain bandits, she said "You know, obsidian weapons are worth a lot." Timoteo raised an eyebrow, looking back to the corpses lying around. Darrah glanced at Bianca, saying "You've got an obsidian dagger, you should know how expensive they are." Bianca raised her eyebrows slightly, invisible to Darrah due to the darkness of Bianca's hood. "I didn't buy my dagger. I wouldn't know."
Darrah shrugged, saying "Well, trust me, they're worth a lot. A lot more than steel weapons. And a dozen of them would bring in a lot more gold than we had last time." Timoteo shook his head. "No, Darrah...After walking all the way back from our first trip, I'm not in the mood to head back again. How about selling them after Lychfield?" Darrah looked sidelong at Timoteo, saying "Lychfield's still a while away, and the Gibbet Woods is right between Bowerstone and Lychfield. Whether we sell it now or later, we're going to have to walk for a bit, we can't teleport closer to the swords either way. If we just leave the stuff here, someone else might come by and take it." "Why don't you take one of the swords, Darrah?" Bianca said.
Darrah crossed her arms over her chest. Her face serious, she glanced along the corpses. "Because I like the range of a longsword. A cleaver doesn't have the same range, and is a bit heavier. Katanas are lighter, but don't have the same range. Even if the weapons are obsidian quality, I'd rather sell them." "Why don't we just hide them until we get back?" Timoteo said, raising an eyebrow. Darrah raised an eyebrow and looked over to him curiously. "Like, bury them? Dig them up again later?" She said. Timoteo shrugged. "Sure." He said. Darrah nodded slightly after a moment. "...Sure. It's a little unconventional, but it should work. Too bad we don't have shovels, but I guess a cleaver could work just as well in a pinch..."
Timoteo helped Darrah dig a proper hole, which easily took an hour and a half to do, and was more physically demanding given that the two were still in their armour. They had rested their packs down though, so they weren't a burden. Standing in the hole proved it to be deep enough to reach their waists, which Darrah seemed to think was acceptable. The hole was less than half a kilometer away from where the bandits had held the trio, but Darrah said it was unlikely anyone would find the hole, with it being so far from the path. Gathering the dozen weapons from the bandits, including the two cleavers Timoteo and Darrah had used to dig, they threw them all in the hole and proceeded to push their large pile of fresh dirt back over the weapons and into the hole. Flattening the pile of dirt with multiple steps down on top of it, Darrah put her hands on her hips when the two were finished. She and Timoteo were sweating slightly from their exertions, but Darrah wasn't satisfied.
"See how the dirt looks disturbed? It'll make it obvious that someone buried something." Darrah said, pointing a hand at the buried stash. Timoteo had to admit, she was right. The dirt was visibly darker than the rest around it, and showed in a sort of oval shape. "Just putting leaves or grass over it might make us forget where it is." Timoteo said. "I have an idea." Bianca said, finally breaking the silence she had held while watching the two. Walking over to a nearby tree, she reached up and broke off two branches. Quickly heading back to the corpses of the bandits, she came back to the waiting Timoteo and Darrah. Using some of the rope that had bound her legs, she tied her two sticks together, forming a primitive cross. Sticking it in the dirt on the far side of the oval, she took a step back, softly saying "There. If anybody finds this spot, they'll think it's just a grave. Nobody's going to want to dig up a fresh grave, rotting corpses tend to have a rather unpleasant odour."
Darrah smiled a little, and so did Timoteo. "Good idea." Darrah said. Bianca smiled a little, watching as Darrah and Timoteo lifted their packs once more, pulling them on. "I'll make sure to remember where the spot is. If we can find the bandit corpses after, which shouldn't be disturbed since they have no valuables, it'll be easy to find our stash." Darrah said. As the trio began to head through the trees, heading back to the path they had been following, Timoteo said "Think we'll reach Headsman's Hill before the day's done?" Darrah chuckled. "Not even if we ran. Only way we'd make it before the sun set is if we had a few horses, but we don't. By foot, it's going to take another two days, maybe two days and a half. Right after Headsman's Hill, though, is Lychfield." Darrah shook her head slightly, complaining, saying "Avo, why did Travis have to be buried on the other side of Albion?..." Timoteo chuckled, and Bianca just smiled.
The two had been walking for an hour when Darrah looked over to Timoteo and said "Hey, where'd you get those cuts? The bandits didn't do it, did they? They look older than that." Timoteo looked at Darrah curiously. Darrah raised an eyebrow at him, her eyes on the right side of his neck. He raised a hand, touching the right side of his neck. Unknown to them, Bianca began to blush under her hood. Timoteo felt several little nicks on the side of his neck, tiny little cuts that had already healed enough to be covered with scabs. He himself was confused for a few seconds, muttering "The hell?..." When realization came over him, his face went a little blank for a moment before a hint of red came into his cheeks, a smile on his lips. "What? What is it?" Darrah asked. Timoteo chuckled and looked forwards again, saying "Oh, it'll be fine. I remember what caused them, it wasn't the bandits. I think I did it to myself in my sleep, heh. You know, scratched myself."
Darrah's face was disbelieving, an eyebrow still raised. "You scratched yourself hard enough to tear skin and make scabs...While you were asleep?" She asked. Timoteo grinned a little, shrugging, saying "I guess." Darrah eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you blushing?" She asked. Timoteo chuckled again, though Bianca grew a touch worried, then. "Because, I think it was because of the dream I had last night. It was...Fairly heated." Timoteo said, bending the truth. His dream wasn't a lie, though it hadn't been the cause of his cuts. His cuts, as Bianca knew perfectly well, were caused by the lovebites she had given him during their passion, the day before. Biting him just hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, she had bitten him a few times, lapping up any blood that came from him. She knew she should've offered him some of her healing powder, but despite reacting to the light pain her lovebites gave him, he hadn't even asked about it afterwards, and so Bianca had simply put it out of her mind. Darrah's face twisted for just a second before she said "Ew, don't tell me about your wet dreams, Tim." Timoteo chuckled and said "Hey, you asked! You kept pushing!" Darrah rolled her eyes, saying "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
The two had walked for around two hours, chatting every now and then, minding their own business. As they were walking along, they suddenly seemed to walk through a wall of cold, at least, that's what it seemed like. One moment it was warm and just slightly breezy, the next, it was cold enough that the three of them could see the steam of their breath in front of them, the breeze having died entirely. Timoteo shivered slightly, his brow furrowing. "The hell? Why's it so cold, here?" He said. Darrah raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "We're still way too far from the north for it to be this cold. Even Lychfield isn't this cold. What's going on?..." Bianca glanced at the two of them, her face serious. "Draw your weapons. Get ready." Timoteo and Darrah looked at Bianca curiously. As if by magic, a massive ring of mist suddenly surrounded them. Timoteo and Darrah gasped, looking around. Bianca looked around too, though she didn't seem as surprised as they did.
In a big, enclosing circle, a mist so strong had risen that it was like a wall of white in every direction, totally trapping them. "Don't go into the mist." Bianca warned in a quick hiss. Timoteo narrowed his eyes. "I know of this. A creature makes it through magic...What was it, though?...I forget the name..." Darrah sighed. "Great. Something else that wants to cast spells at me." Bianca looked at Darrah, saying "This creature doesn't cast magic, it's power is..." Bianca shook her head slightly, saying "If it's magic, it's not a magic I've seen mages use. It's...Something else." Timoteo snapped his fingers, saying "Banshee! Banshees make mist!" Bianca nodded, saying "That's what Grizelda called them." As if in reaction to the human-given name for the creatures' species, a figure suddenly floated out from the mist, ahead of them. Looking over, the three saw what looked like a sort of red robe, floating along about two meters in the air.
The creature had no visible legs, the mist coming out from the bottom of the robe. There seemed to be at least a torso in the robe however, and due to feminine bulges over the chest, the creature appeared to have the breasts of a female human. The robe had short sleeves, pale humanoid arms hanging down by the sides of the robe, long claws at the end of each finger. The robe had a hood, which was currently pulled up and shadowed the creature's face with even more intensity than Bianca's own. In fact, it seemed to be unnatural, as the hood almost appeared to be empty within the darkness, though none of the three could be sure. The bottom of the robe was torn and ripped, ribbons of the fabric floating up by the torso of the robe from all directions. Strange black wisps of perhaps Will energy drifted around the creature's torso. Bianca raised her hands to her hood, pulling it back. "Whatever it says, ignore it." Bianca said. The creature suddenly let out a humanoid and feminine scream, it's arms coming out by it's sides, sticking out in the air.
The sides of it's hood shook with it's scream, and Timoteo felt the most unusual thing. A wave of depression came over him with the banshee's scream, making him feel so down that he actually came close to tears. Glancing over to Bianca and Darrah, he saw that their expressions had turned melancholy, as well. As it's scream came to an end, small white orbs of some sort suddenly shot out of the darkness of the creature's hood. They looked like wisps, little floating balls of bright light, though as they came down to the ground, they produced something even more infernal than undead. The four little balls hit the ground, and in their place, small creatures sprang from the ground. They were about the size of a human child, but their bodies were completely and utterly black, as well as rather translucent, bordering on true transparency. Their eyes burned like bright red coals, and in each hand, they held a sword. Sticking out by their heads were what looked like pigtails, and due to the shape of their legs, it almost looked like the creatures were wearing the dresses of little girls.
The banshee floated backwards for a moment, disappearing into the mist. "Kill her children!" Timoteo said, remembering something important from his studies at the Guild. According to his studies, banshees were only vulnerable after their "shadow children", as his book had called them, had been destroyed. As Timoteo was about to charge for the small shadows, which were slowly limping over towards them, the three suddenly heard a wholly ghastly and bone-chilling voice rasp out from the mist. Hearing the voice made Timoteo's blood run cold, and the words the voice spoke made him glance around the mist in panic. "Bianca...Do you think your father would be proud of what you've become?..." The voice seriously asked. In a very serious and cold tone, it added "You've become just like her...Like mother, like daughter..." Bianca let out a light breath, and when Timoteo glanced over, he saw tears to be swimming in her eyes.
A moment later, Bianca raised a hand, firing a fireball past Timoteo. Timoteo looked over just as the fireball hit one of the approaching shadows, knocking it back for a moment before it continued it's approach. Darrah began to run over with her sword, abandoning her pack to keep her light and fast in combat. She was just about to reach one of the children when, from the mist around them, the voice came again. "You think you're doing your family proud, Darrah...You think you're making your dear father proud with your Hero blood...But you're a sham...You're one step away from evil..." Darrah paused, her eyes going wide. Bianca's voice tight with emotions, she called out "Don't listen to it!" before firing a jolt of Lightning at another child, knocking it back for a moment. "You think you need to be tough to do justice to Jeremy's memory?...If he could see what you've become, he'd be rolling in his grave..." Darrah's eyes were suddenly filled with tears, and she shouted out "Shut up!!"
"Darrah watch out!" Timoteo called out, sprinting over. Casting his Physical Shield, he covered himself in a white barrier of protective magic. Swinging his mace down at one of the shadows, he made it twist through the air, crashing to the ground. He jumped back when another shadow swung it's swords at him, narrowly missing his legs. "Timoteo..." The voice whispered. First-hand, he felt the effects of the banshee's words. It was like icy-cold fingers had crept into his skull, dragging sharp and jagged nails along the inside of his bone. The banshee's words stuck into his ears like blades, hitting his chest with a burst of cold. "You abandoned your family, Timoteo...They hate you, they're part of the Anti-Hero League because of you...When people ask your brother if he has any family, he tells them his brother died as a child...You're a failure to them..." Tears rose in his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't help but think the banshee was right. Maybe she was telling the truth, and his family was part of the Anti-Hero League, specifically because of him?
Darrah swung her sword at a shadow, her blade swinging through it but only causing it to stumble backwards. Bianca's face became obviously angry as she braced her legs against the ground, spreading them slightly. Holding her hands out in front of herself, electricity suddenly began to arc between her fingers, and a moment later, a crackling ball of energy burst into life between the palms of her hands. Electricity ran down along her arms from within her cloak, blasting between her hands and slowly enlarging the orb of electricity. "You've wasted your life, Bianca...Your mother took a ship across the sea and was eaten by a kraken, your father's heart still in her hand...Your parents are gone...You're alone in this world, so very alone..." Tears ran down Bianca's cheeks for a few seconds before she shut her eyes, focusing on the electricity building between her hands. "Do you understand the pain you put Travis in, when you cast Drain Life on him?...It was like his nerves were popping with fire under his skin...And you just stood and watched as he slipped away...You're a monster..."
Bianca began to grit her teeth, more tears slipping from under her eyelids. The ball of energy between her hands continued to swell, and when it had become large enough to touch the sides of her hands, her legs visibly began to tremble every other second. Timoteo and Darrah stood beside one another, attacking the shadows whenever they could, dodging sword swipes. "You bring shame to your father's name, Darrah...You're weak...You're no Hero..." The banshee's chilling voice said, coming out and invisibly striking Darrah. Darrah stopped fighting, letting out a light sob, raising her eyebrows as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You caused Jeremy's death...You turned him away when he wanted a kiss...You turned him to the bullies without raising his confidence...If it weren't for you, he might still be alive...You failed him..." Darrah dropped her sword, raising her hands to the sides of her head, covering her ears. "Stop it!! Stop it!!" She cried out.
"Darrah, c'mon! Fight with me!" Timoteo said just before he felt thuds at his legs. Jumping back, he looked forwards again, swinging his mace into one of the shadow's face. He hit it hard enough to cause it to collapse, though a moment later, it was back up on it's dark feet. Darrah snapped out of her emotions, grabbing and picking up her sword once more. "Those bandits you killed...They had lives...Wives...Children...Even bandits have families and memories...And you ended it all, Timoteo...You destroyed more lives than you know..." The banshee, a second later, added "You have brought nothing but sorrow to everyone you've ever known...This world would be better off without you...Give yourself to my embrace, Hero..." Timoteo felt burning tears run down his face, and suddenly, thuds began to strike his Physical Shield like raindrops. Snapping out of his depression, he realized that the banshee's shadow children had all rushed up to him, swinging their swords at him.
He jumped back just as his Physical Shield fell, leaving him without protection. Glancing at Bianca, he was surprised. She had her hands raised up above her head, the young woman leaning back to look at her spell as it grew. Sitting above her hands was a rather large ball of electricity, perhaps a meter across in every direction. Forks of electricity shot out of it multiple times a second, arcing out in every direction. The blue electricity continued to ripple in Bianca's hands for a second before she suddenly threw her hands down, letting out a light cry as the energy left her. The quivering orb above her hands followed her palms, and when they pointed out in front of her, it shot out in a thick beam of Lightning. Striking one shadow child, it arced to the next, then chaining to the third. Hitting all four multiple times, they eventually faded, letting off feminine and childish wails as they did so. The banshee showed itself again the moment it's children had died, appearing from the mist.
Coming out of the mist, the banshee let off a groan, like it were tired. Hanging it's arms down limply, it's head hung down, and it drifted down near the ground. The parts of it's robe that had floated up near it's form fell, as well. Darrah shouted as she ran over, obviously furious at the enemy for it's words. She moved like a blur. Swinging her sword repeatedly at almost every conceivable angle, her blade passed through the banshee yet seemed to hurt it, as it would recoil every time Darrah hit it, as well as let off a hollow, feminine scream. Darrah hit at the banshee for a few seconds before, suddenly, it drifted back into the mist. Timoteo glanced around, his two companions doing the same. The banshee suddenly appeared on the other side of the ring of mist, letting off another scream. It's scream only seemed to further depress Timoteo, and made him feel almost like he should stop fighting, or attempt to run off through the mist.
This second scream, however, did something the first did not. As the banshee kept screaming, the ground began to shake lightly. Timoteo had charged the banshee for maybe five steps before an extreme pain exploded in his chest, causing him to shout out. A small cloud of blood burst from his chest, seeping through his chainmail, drifting through the air. As soon as the cloud of blood left him, the ground stopped rumbling. The blood zoomed into the banshee's hood, and it drifted back into the mist. Timoteo was panting, and he felt a hand over his chest. He didn't appear to be wounded, though pain was throbbing over his chest, all the same. As four more orbs of white light drifted out of the mist, Bianca raised her hands out wide in front of her. A large crack appeared in the earth, bright green light reaching upwards. Bianca's arms shook with drained Will as she summoned a creature Timoteo had never seen before, and was instantly intimidated by.
It sprang from the ground like a summoned Hollow Man, though it looked nothing like them. It was skeletal, though it's bones were thicker than a human’s. It's legs were sort of bent, similar to how a canine's looked. Standing in golden greaves and equally golden gauntlets, it was wearing a large breastplate made of gold. All were inscribed with the runes of another language, possibly ancient and forgotten. It's gauntlets had thick spikes over the back, and didn't cover the long-dead creature's large hands. Attached to the front and back of the breastplate, a pair of thick black cloths hung down between the creature's legs, perhaps to hide the creature's genitals from view while it was still alive. The pauldrons on it's shoulders were thick and quite large, but the helmet on it's head is what made it truly fearsome to behold. Expertly shaped, it looked exactly like the face of a canine, with a long nose and bared fangs. There weren't any eyeholes to the helmet, or even eyes inscribed into the helmet for imitation, curiously enough.
Sticking out by the sides of the helmet, there were large metallic attachments, as if to go over and protect ears much longer than a human's. Behind the creature, sticking out from under it's backside covering, there were the thin bones of a tail. In the creature's hands, it held a massive weapon as long as the creature was tall. The creature was holding what looked like two swords joined at the pommel, long and thick blades extending from either side of the weapon. The blades were coloured crimson, and were riddled with cracks, revealing the age of the weapon to be ancient. "Defend us!" Bianca ordered to the creature, as the crack beneath it closed. The creature slowly turned around and seemed to look at Bianca. A green glow came over Bianca's eyes for a moment as she, in a darker tone, commanded "Attack the shadows!" The summoned creature seemed to fall into compliance, then. It turned and faced the banshee's shadow children as they rose from the ground again, limping towards Darrah and Timoteo once again.
The summoned creature sprinted towards the shadow children with an alarming speed, deftly swinging it's weapon around in a circle in a showing of skill. When it reached the children, it unleashed a flurry of swings with it's weapon, red light shining out behind the weapon's blades as they cut through the air. It moved multiple times the speed of the children, slashing them each numerous times, causing them all to fade away within moments. The banshee let out another groan, appearing from the mist, behind Bianca. The creature Bianca had summoned ran towards her, letting off a growl, like a dog. Timoteo ran towards the banshee as well, and so did Darrah. When the creature had reached Bianca, it kicked off of the ground in a frontflip, jumping over her and skilfully landing on it's feet again. When the three reached the banshee, they swung at it like mad, it's screams echoing out in pain. A few seconds later, it had faded back into the mist.
From the far side of the mist-ring, four more white orbs came from the mist, shooting into the ground and raising the shadow children. "That Minion has you exhausted, Bianca...It drains you of Will more than anything you've known..." The banshee whispered from the mist. "Do you think yourself a great mage?...You don't have the Will for a Minion, and you know it...That creature will be the death of you if you lose control...You will lose control..." The banshee whispered. Bianca grit her teeth and pointed one hand at the summoned creature, pointing the other at the shadow children. "I won't lose control!" Bianca defiantly shouted. The creature she had raised, which the banshee had named a "Minion", ran around Bianca and sprinted for the shadow children. Timoteo and Darrah followed, but the banshee caused Darrah to pause with it's words. "Your family's home is under attack, Darrah...Benedict's bandits are launching a full siege against your family's estate, now that Heroes are distracted by the Anti-Hero League...Your father will be beheaded, and his titles and land taken from him...Your mother and older sister will be raped and slaughtered..."
The banshee let off a sound like a sob before it said "They will scream your name, they will cry for their Hero!...They will shed bitter tears when you don't come...But you don't want to help, do you?...If they all die, rightfully, the crown your father wears will fall to you..." Timoteo paused, glancing to Darrah. "Crown?" He curiously mumbled. His eyes widened, however, when he saw how Darrah reacted to the banshee's words. Collapsing to her knees, tears ran down her face, her bottom lip quivering. She simply sat there, not sobbing yet crying, all the same. The banshee's previous words ran through Timoteo's head, rooting him in place, making tears rise in his eyes, as well. When the banshee spoke again, she whispered to Timoteo. "Your Guild will fall...Your friends will die...Your family will turn against you...Weaver will die...Kiln will die...Darrah and Bianca...All dead..." The banshee wept for a moment before saying "You're useless, and always will be!...You can barely kill a bandit with a sword, how do you expect to help the Guild when the Anti-Hero League uses firearms?...Albion will turn away from you and Heroes...And you will fade from this world, and join my children in the Void..."
Speaking to them all then, the banshee said "I have seen where murderers like the three of you go...It is a dark, quiet place...Forsaken by the gods...All of the world hates your kind...Submit to my embrace, I can bring you peace from this land...I can bring you to the Void..." Timoteo almost dropped his mace in mental anguish when he heard the banshee groan again, Bianca's summoned creature having once again killed it's shadow children. Timoteo's eyes grew furious as he raced towards the banshee. Shouting in anger, he swung his mace right into the banshee's hood as hard as he could.
The banshee's back arched, and it reared up. It let loose a terrifying and ear-splitting scream, but it began to radiate light from every inch of it's body. The mist around them vanished, and the banshee continued to radiate light in startling amounts, holding it's arms out by it's sides. After a few seconds, it's scream ended. As soon as it's scream ended, the air around them warmed up again, and the natural breeze resumed. The banshee then began to break up like smoke, parts of it's body zooming away and disappearing into nothingness. Just before it totally disappeared, Timoteo heard a soft whisper come to him in the banshee's voice. "Thank youuuu..." The whisper continued on the air for a few seconds, like an echo, before it disappeared entirely like the banshee, itself. A moment later, the unnatural coldness in his chest faded, and Timoteo's emotions stopped being twisted around, no longer the plaything of the banshee's nightmarish powers.
Bianca let out an exhausted sigh, raising her eyebrows and closing her eyes in fatigue, suddenly collapsing to her hands and knees on the ground. She hung her head down, her long hair covering her face. "Bianca!" Timoteo called, about to rush over to her when Darrah screamed "Tim!!" Timoteo glanced over, seeing Bianca's summoned creature to suddenly be sprinting for him, raising it's weapon. It let off a bark like a canine, and Timoteo barely raised his Physical Shield again before the creature hit him with it's sword. In a single hit, it had done so much damage to his Physical Shield that it instantly fell again. Bianca raised her head, her eyes wide. She held out a hand, a green glow coming over her eyes for a second. "Release!" She called out frantically. The creature Bianca had summoned froze for a moment before suddenly breaking apart, it's bones collapsing to the ground amid it's armour and weapon. Bianca was gasping as she fell over on her side.
Her eyes were closed again, and her whole body was shaking. Timoteo's eyes widened in worry, though Darrah just looked at her with confusion. "Bianca?...You okay?" Darrah asked. Timoteo tore off his pack, pulling it open and reaching around inside. When his hand found a Will potion, he grabbed it, pulling it out. Running over to Bianca, he found her slowly beginning to reach a hand inside her cloak, reaching for a pocket. "Here! Drink!" Timoteo said with worry, pulling the cork out of the potion. Turning Bianca over onto her back, she weakly opened her mouth, her eyes still closed. Timoteo poured some of the Will potion into her mouth, and she quickly swallowed. With every mouthful of the potion, her strength seemed to return. When the potion had ran out, her eyes had just then opened. Bianca gave off a light groan as she sat up, keeping her groan in her throat, muffling it by not even parting her lips. "You alright?" He asked. She nodded silently, smiling at him a little. Her eyes were red from her crying, and she sighed wearily through her nose as he helped her stand.
"I've always hated banshees...They say all your fears, all your worries, all from the deepest part of your mind. They do it just to frighten and demoralize you." Bianca said, glancing between Timoteo and Darrah. "So...Anything they say isn't necessarily the truth." Darrah blinked a few times and let out a sigh. Her eyes grew watery for a moment before she sniffled, saying "That's a relief..." Timoteo took a few steps towards her, asking "You okay, Darrah?..." She nodded, sniffling again, blinking a few times to rid herself of her tears. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just...Not used to having someone, or something, speak to me about personal stuff like that." Timoteo had sympathetic eyes as he looked at Darrah, thinking about asking her of Jeremy or the mention of a crown the banshee had made. Since the banshee had said it just to hurt her, however, he decided to stay his tongue. Asking her about it could only hurt her more. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he asked "Do you two still want to go on, or take a break here?..."
Bianca nodded gently, saying "Of course I want to go on...Lychfield isn't going to come to us." Darrah suddenly chuckled lightly, looking up and over to Bianca, saying "She's got a point. Today's been a pretty shitty day, so far...But...It can't get any worse, right? Let's just keep walking." Timoteo nodded, saying "Okay...Let's go." As Darrah grabbed her pack and pulled it on again, the three began to walk along with one another, Timoteo between his two companions like he usually was. Rather quickly, Bianca slipped her hand into Timoteo's, stepping close to his side. Timoteo held her hand back and glanced over. Her eyes were weary, perhaps from the banshee's words, though Timoteo felt that if she desired comfort from holding his hand, he'd do it even if Darrah spotted them. Luckily, Darrah never did, as clueless to their secret hand-holding as she ever was.
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Fable : Fall of the Guild