(Open) Quick to their ends

[heavenstorn]

WHO: Cedrik Reede, open to all
WHERE: The Hinterlands, the Gallows, etc.
WHEN: Throughout November
WHAT: Monthly catch-all, including the ‘Inhuman Courtesy’ event.
WARNINGS: Gallows adjacent Bad Stuff probably, will edit as needed.

Starmetal, Hinterlands Request (Open)

[ Serene is still the more beautiful landscape by far, but it doesn’t take long for Cedrik to see the Hinterlands’ appeal. Even less for him to decide he likes it more. The Restless in the city spoke of it as some dangerous, wild place where those on the brink of madness dwell. But Cedrik finds it peaceful, especially compared to the hazards of the Shadowlands.

It reminds him of home, far more than Serene ever could.

Climbing up one more ridge Cedrik stops, pointing towards the horizon and speaking to his partner on this particular venture. ]

Looks like that goat herder steered us true. See the smoke? There’s our crater.

[ They’ve already been searching for hours and even now that their destination is in sight, it’s still a good distance away. Cedrik’s in good shape…hopefully his partner is too? The viera gives them an encouraging smile. ]

Come, we’re nearly there!


Jailbreak, the Gallows (for Felix)

[ What little order the guards of the Gallows held onto has shattered. Prisoners are breaking out, friends of said prisoners have broken in, and chaos is holding strong throughout the halls.

Cedrik likes to think he contributed a respectable amount to the madness.

Currently he stalks the halls, greatsword on his back, blood wiped from the blade in haste to keep moving. The guards it came from will probably live. He's already helped at least one friend escape but he's not done, searching the cells for anyone else who looks like they don't belong, friend or not. Which is a pretty broad category to Cedrik at this point.

And yet when he spots a familiar blue head of hair among the cells and stops for a better look... ]

Felix?

[ ...he already feels so tired. ]

Comments

[boarwitness]

Fine. [salve, salve. he saw that before. back he goes to the bag, searching briefly until he finds what he's looking for.] Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Not that we know what he did to end up down here in the first place.

[he hands the prisoner the little bottle, unscrewing it first, then puts his hands on his hips, addressing him.]

So don't make us regret this.

[heavenstorn]

[ Cedrik's answer is immediate, even if Felix was speaking to the prisoner. ]

Whatever he did, it was nothing that would deserve torture.

[ The prisoner, probably wisely, isn't volunteering any information about why he was jailed. Quietly, gratefully, he takes the salve and starts applying it to his wounds. From the face he makes it must be just as painful as the injuries themselves.

He looks up at Felix. ]

"...then why help me at all? I already know what your friend thinks--" [ He nods in Cedrik's direction. ] "--but as you say, I'm a stranger to you. You have no idea why I'm here...so why?"

[boarwitness]

[there's a beat, and felix makes an exasperated, yet somehow aggrieved sound.]

Don't think too hard about it. I just got caught up keeping my idiot guide alive long enough to properly escape this place. If you want to thank people, thank him. [he huffs, and starts to walk away.] I was imprisoned for nothing, so maybe you were, too. But it doesn't matter anymore—you're free. So, get going.

[and with that, he gestures at cedrik.]

Are we done here?

[not like he was dragged into this?]

[heavenstorn]

[ Such a noise! Cedrik can't help the smile behind Felix's back as he goes out of his way to appear uninterested in the prisoner's fate. There's an attempt at looking somber when Felix looks his way again...but it's not much of one. There's a faint, knowing grin lingering as he pushes off from the wall, ready to head out once more. ]

Nearly so. [ He looks over Felix's shoulder at the prisoner who is getting back on his feet. ] You are welcome to come with us, of course. The exit isn't far.

[ The prisoner's head is bowed and he shakes it. One hand is pressed over the spear wound; the salve's stopped the bleeding but it still looks painful. ]

"I'll make my own way...but thank you, both of you." [ He chuckles as he looks up at the pair...but there's something strange in it. Briefly his fingers press over the injury and he lets out a hiss. ] "You know what they say. If it stings...then it must be working.

"Until we meet again."

[ The prisoner bows and in an instant, white smoke billows up from the ground, coiling around him and covering him from view. When it dissipates--he's gone.

Cedrik's smile vanishes with him. ]

...if he could do that the entire damned time...

[ He's more annoyed than anything. ]

[boarwitness]

[hey??????

felix frowns as immediately as cedrik does.]

What a waste of time. I agree—if he could do that, why not from the beginning? Ridiculous.

[are they seeing eye to eye? nah, must just be a trick of the dungeon.]

I'm beyond ready to be done with this place.

[heavenstorn]

Either something prevented him or...we were being tested. It had best be the former.

[ Cedrik's eyes narrow as annoyance shifts into actual suspicion. But he clicks his tongue and shakes his head rather than dwell. Felix has the right idea, it's time to go. ]

Agreed. I've had my fill of it as well...come.

[ The tunnel will lead them back to the surface at last and from there Cedrik will feel confident enough that Felix won't get himself killed somehow to leave him be. ]