Sfein and Airedell : At The Duke's Pleasure (Samheen 20th)

[wyrdgirluk]

The broken toothed man at the cell window nodded, then turned to mutter something to someone behind him. As Airedell moved swiftly down the corridor, more faces appeared at other cell windows, inciting more cries to released. Sfein obediently remained in the cell, next to the unconcious guard, but Dorian chose to follow Airedell down the corridor, stopping at each cell window to tell the occpuants to remain quiet.

Airedell moved her ear to the slight opening of the door - it was all quiet. In the faint distance, she could hear the occasional low voice, but that was it. It seemed that they had the floor to themselves... at least for the time being...

[Guest]

Sfein stared from the unlucky guard to the truncheon in his hand. One guy, with a club, entering a cell with three unchained people, alone?
He would say that if you trusted on a stick as primary weapon, you depended on sheer force. And he, Sfein was clearly bigger than this man.
Was there another layer of security in this prison then? There must be.

But perhaps more important, was this what Airedell had intended? There was no way back now.
“Stop thinking as a civilized weenie” he muttered to himself. “They started. They used magic.”
Angry he stared at the window. Had he really damaged the thing? What was he thinking?
“That if I open myself up to this dark power I can do anything.”
Even remove iron bars from a stone window.

[Guest]

The cloaked elf went into the next room to look around. It was unlikely there was anything they could use but she needed to think. Could they really pull this off? Probably not, she and Sfein knew nothing of the environment so they would be completely reliant on Dorian. That was something she was unwilling to do. Even if they were lucky enough to get ahold of two more cloaks it would still be unconvincing to have them just wondering around. If they got caught they would be guilty of something then. As of yet, she and sfein were still innocent.

The other choice was to stay.

[wyrdgirluk]

"We've got two options," Dorian said lightly, surveying the imploring faces at the cell doors. "We can let them out, and try and fight our way out. This is a prison, don't forget, and even though we were lucky with one guard, we may not be so fortunate with the rest. There will be more of them, and they'll be better armed. And we'll have to find the keys to the gates. On the other hand..." He turned and nodded to Sfein; "Your muscular friend appears to have loosened the bars to the window. We can get out, and up on to the roof. The prisoners are kept at the top of the Duke's tower, not the dungeons - fewer options for them to escape that way."

There were more calls from the others to be set free, and someone starting banging a tin mug against the bars; it would be sure to bring more guards. "Best make your mind up," Dorian whispered. "Personally, I'd favour discretion..."

[Guest]

"What do we do when we are on the roof?" she said.

There were more calls from the others to be set free, and someone starting banging a tin mug against the bars; it would be sure to bring more guards. "Best make your mind up," Dorian whispered. "Personally, I'd favour discretion..."

"Alright, fine." she nodded. Airedell went over to Sfein and touched his arm. "Can you take those bars out?"

[Guest]

'You can do it'
said a voice in his head.
It was not the time to wonder if he was becoming crazy. It was time to become angry. No.. time to totally submit to his anger.
"Unleash the beast" he muttered to himself.
He stared again at the bars that blocked his way out, his breathing becoming deeper.
"break it"
Grabbing the bars the muscles in his shoulders started to swell when he began to pull
"break it! And kill!"
The veins in his neck began to throb when a deep rage began to get hold of the Trothgarder. Grunting he pulled harder.
Somewhere he registered the taste of blood in his mouth.

[wyrdgirluk]

"The roof of the prison section is nearly flat," Dorian remarked airily. "As little expense as possible was spared to construct it. I'm informed that it leaks like a sieve in the winter. You could see the surface from the street, if you can be bothered to look." They walked past the other prisoners and back into their own cell, acutely aware of the commotion arising around them. "I think we can expect the other guards to arrive shortly," Dorian remarked cheerfully. He looked at Sfein; "Is your muscular friend... capable, do you think?"

At the window, Sfein seized the bars and heaved with all of his considerable might. The bars themselves were sturdy, and did not bend; the mortar holding them was poor though, and damp, and suddenly Sfein reeled backwards in a cloud of brick and dust, clutching the bars and a section of brickwork from around the window. Dorian clapped his hands; "Oh, well done!"

A large gap remained, certainly large enough for a man (even a man the size of Sfein) to squeeze through. Beyond it, they could see a dull grey Dort sky, heavy with rain; cool moist air breathed on their faces. Dorian peered out of the gap; "There is a gutter above us," he remarked, peering upwards. "If we reach up, we can use it to climb onto the roof. That's assuming it will bear our weight, of course." He looked at the others; "Are either of you going first, or shall I...?"

[Guest]

"We need a ... diversion" the Trothgarder grunted, his chest still heaving from the heavy excercise his body had just gone through.
"Give the keys to those other prisoners. We were innocent, so they might be as well."
He heard his own voice talking, it sounded as if far away. As if he somehow had lost ownership.
"And then, lets get out of here."

[wyrdgirluk]

"I agree with you completely, my muscular friend," Dorian grinned. "Even if our companions in woe are not innocent, they will at very least provide a diversion for our escape. Now - who wants to go up on the roof first? Shall I?"

[Guest]

"Go ahead. I'll be right back then." She took the keys and went out into the hall. She chose the cell with the grey man who had been so quick to notice their escape. Her white hands fiddled with the keys in the door hoping it would open the wooden restraint.

[wyrdgirluk]

Dorian nodded, peered out of the gaping hole that Sfien had created, and then reached out and upwards. He gradually eased himself out, so that for a moment all they could see were his legs dangling precariously in the air - then they vanished upwards. "Easy as falling off a log," they heard him call down. "Come on up - the view is wonderful!"

Airedell fumbled with the keys, trying to find out which one open the door. Just as she found the right one, and as the lock turned, the sound of footsteps punding up stairs reached her ears. The absense of the gaoler they had knocked unconcious had obviously been noted, and now his companions were coming to look for him.

The man in the cells swung the door open, then squickly snatched the keys from Airedell. "Many thanks," he said commented with a lopsided smile, and then tossed the keys to another occupant of the same cell. "Let the others out," he said roughly, "and make it quick. They're sending guards up. We'll need every man who can make a fight of it." He looked at Airedell and Sfein; "Every woman as well. You with us, or not...?"

[Guest]

Airedell saying 'go ahead' was for the Trothgarder almost equal to a command given by a leading female.
So he stuck his head and upper body out of the gap in the wall, and quickly pulled himself up when he heard the man that was just freed by Airedell stating that he needed men to fight.

'Fight'
The dark urge to kill something was still boiling somewhere deep inside and the challenge stirred something

'you're with us?'
"They started it" he thought about the men of the Count

Anger flared up, but nevertheless he pulled himself on to the roof.
'Go ahead' she had sad.

But she had not forbidden to go down from the roof and to attack those bastards in their back...

[wyrdgirluk]

Sfein managed to squeeze his considerable bulk through the gap and, groping slightly, he found the iron guttering. Using his vast muscles, the Trothgardian hauled himself onto the roof; as he clambered up, the guttering gave way and lurched way from the rest of the building at a precarious angle. Dorian grabbed him and hauled him safely onto the tiled roof; it was overcast, with a faint Dort drizzle in the air, making the surface slippery.

"Your friend is going to find it difficult to make her way up here," Dorian remarked, looking around. He pointed to his right. "There - see the slope on the roof? We can go up that, along the ridge tiles, and then jump the gap between the jail and to the next house. Easy as falling off a log." He considered this last statement; "Maybe not as easy as falling off this roof, though."

[Guest]

The old man had grabbed the keys from Airedell before she had quit made the decision to give them up herself. She was still wondering if she, Sfein and Dorian might need them later. "I'm no fighter but you better get as far as you can before they corner us in here. They're almost all out. Hurry." she said.

Back in the cell she side stepped the rubble and leaned out the hole to see how she could get on the roof. Nothing looked safe in her mind so she shouted to the guys above her. "Hey, catch the end of the cloak and pull me up. Ok?" She took off the long cloak and tried to make the end reach the top of the roof.

[wyrdgirluk]

Back in the corridor, the remainder of the cell doors were being hastily opened, and the occupants of the cells emerging - a rabble of dirty, grimy malcontents, beggars, thieves and worse. As they poured into the corridor, the first of the warders reached the top of the stairs; he took one look, shouted a warning, and then rushed at the would-be escapees, beating at them frantically with a heavy baton. Other warders quickly joined them, and soon the corridor was a place of noise and violence and blood.

Airedell backed into the cell, and squeezed her upper torso through the hole in the wall. The guttering hung precariously away from the building, meaning that she could not climb on to the roof that way. Desperately, she took off her cloak, and tried to use it as a makeshift rope for Dorian or Sfein to catch hold of. It was no good; the cloak flapped uselessly in the air. The only way she would be able to get up on to the roof would be for one of the men up there to scramble down, lean out and pull her up - unless she was able to go up through the roof, somehow...

[Guest]

When Sfein heard his friend ask for help he moved down to the edge of the roof. He noticed the cloak flapping in the wind.
"Ain't no good" he muttered.
But considering the distance of the window, she should be able to grab his arm if he would lay down on this position. Considering how small she was (at least from his perception) he could easily get her up the roof. As long as he did not slide down of coarse.
Not that he hesitated one single moment, in the heat of things happening his barbarian blood would not allow time for thinking.
So he immediately lie down, parallel to the ledge.
"Pin my position" was his single statement to Dorian.
"The tiles" he thought.
If he could remove a tile or two, he could use his right arm, which was on the roof side, to get a real tight grip.
Without thinking he tried to remove some of the tiles. If he would get some tiles loose, he would have to push them inwards into the roof, thus avoiding that they would fall down and bring even more attention to the roof.
"You have to grab my arm" he shouted not too loud to airedell while lowering his left arm just a moment later.

[wyrdgirluk]

"Good grief," Dorian muttered, and grabbed Sfein's left leg with one hang, whilst using the other to clutch at the ridge tiles that lined the roof. Sfein's movements scattered a few loose tiles, and they spun down to the street below, shattering on the cobble stones. Startled passerbys looked up, and soon a small rowd had gathered, pointing and shouting. Some of them threw stones at the would-be escapees, and the missles clattered dangerously close to Sfein and Airedell's head.

Now all Airedel had to do was grab Sfein's offered arm... if she dared to...

[Guest]

Airedell cast the cloak aside and reached for Sfien's wrist with her right hand. When flesh touched flesh her fingers curled around his wrist. "I'm coming out" she warned. Her grip tightened, she took a breath and slipped out of the defeated wall.

[wyrdgirluk]

At the touch of Airedell's hand, Sfein gripped her fragile wrist in a vice like grip; despite herself, she could not help but emit a small involuntary shriek of fear as she swung out from the jail, her legs dangling precariously. The drop was hideous; if Sfein lost his grip, she would fall and die on the stones below.

The crowd in the street grew; other missiles, like bottles, were thrown at them. One shattered on the wall next to her, showeing her with splinters.

In the jail, a riot ensued; warders and freed prisoners fought savagely for control of the prison. The head of a grey clad warden appeared though the gap; seeing Airedell dangling, he grabbed hold of one foot, and tried to pull her back inside...

[Guest]

Since he had his left hand locked in the roof, the Trothgarder was capable of using all his strength to lift Airedell which he without hesitation did.

One part of his brain noticed the actions of the people below.
if they acted like this to escaping prisoners, then the Count was not that much hated as Dorian had wanted him to believe.

The more basic reaction of his barbarian brain was dominant. Anger at the challenge, and the lust to start crushing some brains down there. For now this anger simply added to the lift his limbs performed on Airedell.

[wyrdgirluk]

Sfein heaved with all of his considerable might; even with his precarious grip on the roof, the force from his muscles was astonishing, and Airedell felt herself being drawn slowly further upwards.

In the cell, the warden gripping one of her ankles found himself being pulled slowly through the gap; giving a shout of alarm, he braced himself against the wall and pulled back, hanging on for grim life.

Airedell felt herself being stretched in two directions; Sfein's grip of her wrist was like a vice, and the warden's tugging on her ankle made her limbs feel as if they were being slowly torn apart. Something, somewhere, had to give...

[Guest]

She shock her hindered foot to get it away from the warden. Up and down, backward and forward, right and left, she tried anything that might cause him to loosen his grip.

[wyrdgirluk]

Airedell's frantic kicking had the desired effect; her free foot caught the warder's fingers, and with a yelp of pain he let go.

Sfein was still pulling upwards, and the sudden release of Airedell caused him to fall bckwards unexpectedly, swinging her on to the roof beside him. They scrabbled for a hold on the loose tiles, and for a brief, stomach churning moment it semed they would topple forward and plunge to the street below; then they felt a grip on their arms, and Dorian heaved them back onto the roof.

Below them, they could hear the sound of a pitched battle between warders and freed prisoners; in the street, the crowd grew steadily larger, and more missiles were flung up at them. Dorian pointed to his right; "This way; up to the roof ridge, and along to the gap between buildings." He turned, and scrambled up and away from them...

[Guest]

For a whisker Sfein registered with some jealousy the sound of the fighting below him. There he could have released his dark urge to crash a skull against the walls.
"Let's go!" were the only words he said while starting to move after Dorian, as if he, Sfein so'Waelkyrige, and not the female at his side was in command.

[wyrdgirluk]

Dorian made his way precariously to the ridge of the roof, disloging a few more tiles on the way. Once at the summit, he balanced precariously to the end of the roof. There was a gap between the jail and the next building, maybe the length of a tall man lying down.

"That's our way out," he commented. "The jail stands alone, but once we're on to those roofs, we can make our way down." He grinned at them; "Who's going first...?"