Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » ~Paying The Price~

Merry would step back as she was ushered behind Raven, sensing that one man was waving his baton and as well pulling Raven back so she wouldn't get hit either. Moonlight would rear up and neigh loudly and angrilly, flapping her powerful wings as she kicks Matthew to the dirt for moving like he was going to strike Merry even when she came in peace!! Merry would moved to stop Moonlight from doing anything further, panting and sniffling like she was about to cry as she got the powerful Pegasus to back down from her onslaught. Hugging the Pegasus now, "... ... If you villagers insist on your terms... Then I shall do as you demand..." she says compliantly, returning to the Earth horse as soon as she was sure the villagers were calmed, "My friend, please return to the camp. Look to the White stallion with the golden horn for guidance. Please stay close to him until my return." she says before motioning the horse toward the camp again, telling him to take the goods to Glitter, whom would surely make certain that only Lilim, Raven, and the other magical beings would make use of it.

She'd have a chat with Will later about his captive's behavior and ask that he make Pentre give the goods back to the villagers, as they seemed set on listening to those scum they feared rather than those that would treat them with kindness and as equals. For now, Merry would have a task of her own to see to. "Villagers... Mayor... I am honestly surprised that you would rather heed the words of tyrannous scum like him than the kind words of a humble Priestess that wishes to help you... But... I shall do as you have demanded and apologize to the one you see as a knight... Even though his current standing is to answer to we of the magical community... Please be expecting us within the hour. We will give back far more than you have given us... If for no other reason, then as our thanks for your generosity and kindness... Let's go, Moonlight..." she says as she starts to walk away, though reluctant to leave Raven in the villagers company.

The black Pegasus would walk passed Matthew and gives an aggressive snort, showering him in snot before moving passed him to join Merry on their way back to the camp. Moonlight was utterly disgusted now at the thought of her old life revolving around a human mercenary. Truly Merry had liberated her and changed her for the better. Moonlight truly owed Merry her life, but Merry asked so little of anyone and did so much for others, it literally churned her stomach to think that even less fortunate humans could be so cruel. But fear was the ruling factor these days, whether the thoughtful winged equine liked it or not.

Raven remained unamused at their words as they seemed to worship the king of Camelot, as well the fact they were even ready to offer up women had he asked for it. Though her eyes widened as they talked about the raid of Wellspring, and her grip on her dress tightened as she stared at the three of them in awe. She had thought herself the only survivor, so to see them again would have normally been a joy, but they seemed hostile towards her. To further hear that her ladyship was alive, it filled her with great joy, and she needed to get into the village to see her once more. She stares at the three of them, pushing some of her hair out of her face. Her voice was shaky as she stared at them with the same ocean blue eyes as they had seen before.

"Because....I was there..."

She says, taking a better look at them before realizing who they were.

"Thomas....Matthew....is that really you?? It's me...Raven...Raven Blackwing...adopted daughter of her ladyship...don't you remember me..? Or Crow...?"

She says wanting to hug them ever so badly, but given their hostility towards her, she wouldn't do such a thing. Instead she would be standing in front of them, gripping her arm tightly to try and stop herself from shaking. They had such hostility towards her, and she had once considered them her friends. She can't help herself from tearing up as she tries pleading with them.

"We used to play at the waterfall with one another as children...the first time you guys met Crow, it scared you so bad you fell over the edge and into the water. A water fight ensued, and the three of us came to her ladyships home soaking wet, sickly and sneezing by the fire wrapped in blankets as she brought us something warm to drink..."

She says, hoping the memory would jog their memories of who she was, and that then maybe they would be more kind and accepting of her and her group.

Merry couldn't help but overhear the exchange between Raven and the villagers. Childhood friends?... Well, that made Merry sigh in relief. At least Raven would be safe, or so she believed. Organna would be curiously examining the cart and goods, though finding the selection a bit lackluster. Disappointed as she was though, she'd pack everything back up and resolve to see the goods returned to the village and that the armored fiend that had stolen the goods from the good people that brought them would give his well wishes and assurance that the village would be spared. Organna had a bone to pick with Pentre when he woke up from his soul tazed coma, but until then, she'd make sure not a crumb was removed from the cart. Especially not by any of the humans, though she doubted Robin or Haldor would try a bout with Organna considering the much weaker Merry had seen the much stronger Lord Knight Pentre reduced to a sleeping mass of flesh.

Merry would heal him when the moment called for it, but she'd not do so until it was convenient for the group. Merry wanted him to suffer with his wounds for a while still. His earlier accusations about the magic users being to blame for the sorry state of Camelot had really got under her sensitive and delicate skin. She rather liked Pentre while he was quiet and still.

"It was awful, wasn't it??"

Raven says letting a big smile spread across her face as she pulls Thomas and Matthew in for a hug, staying like that for a long while as she held back tears of joy. She let go of them, wiping her eyes as she nodded to acknowledge Martha as she shook her hand, and knelt down to hug the boy and shake his hand, smiling warmly at him. She holds out her hand, and lets a flower bloom out of her palm before she takes it and hands it to the boy, tussling his hair before standing back up to look at the two of them. At the mention of her being burned at the stake, her face turned a bit sour as she looked sadly at the two of them.

"A lot of us were...Maywether...Christopher....even Jeffery and Sunny....they were all burned at the stake... but somehow they knew who I was, so they kept me in their dungeons and used me to fight for entertainment...I would have been burned if it weren't for my friend, Lilim."

She says before perking up at the mention of her ladyship. At first she was ecstatic to hear that she was alive, and to hear that Haldor wasn't lying, but then her face grew sad at the mention of her physical state. She would need to go see her immediately, but she shook her head at them, bending down to pick up her staff again now that there was no ill will towards one another.

"As far as that....man, goes...he had fractured my skull to the point it was splintered...I'm telling you that man has done more harm throughout his lifetime than he has good...If I hadn't been smart he would have killed me, and now we have the upper hand. He has to listen to what we say...Not my choice but his previous commander is accompanying us, so out of an act of loyalty he does what we say. He can't refuse if we tell him to give it back to you..."

She says, sighing for a long moment, looking between Martha, Thomas and Matthew. A look of seriousness spreads across their face, one that they would have seen all to often before. This look meant she was all business as they would have grown up to recognize.

"The prince is missing...He is in Mercia, and I'm on a mission to bring him home, or the king will have my head...I know that you don't have much, but even a place to rest and eat would be more than enough...Not to mention I need to see her ladyship...If she is as sickly as you say she is, then I must see her immediately, but my friends need to be given access to the city as well. My elf friend, Merry, the woman you saw earlier is more than likely eager to help tend the fields and make your crops bountiful. Please, provide us a place to stay this night even if only to eat and-"

The black mist would surround her once more, and when it disappeared Martha, Thomas and Matthew would be face to face with Crow. Martha may have never seen her before, but the other two surely had. Crow smiles and hugs the two of them, taking a step back and pushing the hair out of her face.

"And say our hello's and goodbyes to her ladyship. Though you need to apologize to the elf.... There was absolutely no reason for that...she was just trying to help you.."

Will heard Elesa'a voice and took a deep breath, wiping his eyes and calming himself down. He stepped out of the bush and smiled at her, walking over and picking her up so he was face to face with her, smiling. "Hey sweet heart. Sorry about scaring you earlier. Hopefully you can forgive me." He told her, brushing her hair out of her face and wiping her eyes.

After a few minutes of making silly faces to make her laugh, He carried her back to the camp where he noticed everyone was gone. He picked up his sword and carried Elesa, putting her on top of his shoulders following the tracks they made until they reached The edge of a town Will had never been to before, Pentre's sharp tongue going to work again. Before he could utter a response for Matthew, he gave him a slap on the back of the neck. "Shut up Pentre. It hasn't been long since you can speak and you're already back at it again. " Will told Pentre.

Audemar whispered quickly, "Say nothing even when spoken to." He saw the guards at the gates. They wouldn't be a problem for him, he had enough gold in his pocket for a king. One of the guards said,

"Halt, what brings you here?" Audemar hold out a small sack of gold coins,

"A kind man's business is his own, wouldn't you agree?" He waited for the men to respond. The other, scrawny, guard took the sack and shook it. Audemar observed the guard carefully as he counted the coins in the sack,

"What about that one?" The first guard pointed to Lwyncelyne. Audemar spoke calmly as he gave another sack of gold to the guard,

"This young girl is mine but she can't say a word." The scrawny guard asked with deep curiosity,


"Why can't she speak?" Audemar leaned in and said to the guards,

"She stole from a sorceress and the old hag stole her voice. It's truly a shame."

Audemar looked to Lwyncelyne, "Assault on a guard or robbing anyone won't make you a slave. We have to do something bigger than that, Lwyncelyne." Audemar held Lwyncelyne's shoulder and guided her to the castle grounds, "We have to fake a disaster." Audemar grinned to himself as a fog formed around his finger, "How about a plague?"

Audemar turned to Lwyncelyne, "Let's give them a show, cover your face. I'm sure you don't want to inhale anything." The sorcerer yelled to everyone, "I was sent by God!" This statement got everyone's attention and Audemar rose the earth and black translucent rats crawled out from the ground and screams erupted all around, "The Lord has given me power!" The fog rose, "I will rid this world of sin!"

Raven watched the altercation between the three of them, and she couldn't help but tear up at the thought that the woman who saved her, adopted her and raised her as her own was on her deathbed. Her ladyship had helped Raven discover who she was and what she was, and Her ladyship was to precious to Raven. She needed to see her immediately. Though she was grateful. She was grateful that she would be able to say her goodbyes if their words were true and she was truly about to perish. She nodded at Martha's words, following her to Wellspring and looking around. They truly were trying to rebuild everything, and it truly was in dire need of help. If permitted, she could use her magic to fix the town and make their crops plentiful, but if she knew anything about them, they may or may not be to pride to accept her help.

She follows Martha to her home, and watches as she goes to light the fireplace, and made sure to keep a good distance away from the small cot. She looked in the direction that would lead to her ladyship, and saw a separate room off down the small hallway. She took a deep breath and exhaled, shaking. She had never thought about the fact she that she would be separated from her ladyship, and the thought of it scared her. Especially during her time as a prisoner and a slave, being forced to fight in the arena's by the humans, or serve them when she wasn't fighting. During the raid, she had been separated from her ladyship, and all this time she had believed her to be dead. So to find out she was alive, only to find out she was dying, she could feel the lump rising in her throat. It took her several minutes to gather her nerves before slowly approaching the bedroom. She peeked her head in, looking to see her ladyship lying in bed. She cautiously walked in and bowed to her, standing in front of her bed.

"Your Ladyship...It's me..."

She said lifting her head up so Poppy could get a good look at her face, though she would remain bowed, for she was still royalty and deserved to be treated as such, even if Poppy was more like a mother than a queen to her.

Elesa held her hands close to her chest as he approached her, still a little skittish it appeared. She'd shiver a bit but let him scoop her up and cuddled into him a bit as he held her. She'd be grateful to him for giving attention to her hair and helping with her eyes, and at first she'd only be curious about his funny faces, until he did one that she couldn't fight against and she would smile and start to giggle. She'd hold onto Will as he carried her back to the camp and watched the events happening around them. The villagers bringing the cart of goods, Merry's outburst and attack on Pentre, which made her flinch with the sound of the electricity, and then Merry leaving with the cart only for the cart to be sent back and the horse pulling it to move up to Merry's Unicorn and for Organna to examine the goods and take up a guard position over it.

The child held no pity for the corrupted knight that now lay unconscious below her, clinging to Will like a daughter clinging to her father. She'd tense up again as Robin requested to speak with Will in private, clinging to Will even tighter as she thought he was about to sit her down.

---

Lilim would glare at Robin as he blatantly ignores her approach to him and flicks her tail annoyedly. She would laugh though as she watched the spectacle between Merry and Pentre. When Merry returned, seeming a bit offended, Lilim would head her way and console her, trying to learn what happened. When she explains everything, Lilim would hover up a bit and get to the center of the camp, "Listen up guys!! A nearby village has been made to send what few provisions they had among their numbers to us! Now I don't know about the rest of you, but that act of kindness would be much more appreciable if it had been done willingly instead of someone bullying the residents into doing it! Merry, heal the worm. Will, take lead of the cart and order him to return the goods when we arrive there. C'mon everyone, we're on the move as quick as we can. Everyone get ready." Lilim says before clapping her hands lightly.

After her little motivational speech, Lilim would approach Will and wait for Merry, "Hey... Feeling better now, Hun? Kinda hard to be upset when you got a bundle of joy like Elesa to brighten your spirits, isn't it?" she teases lightheartedly.

Merry would see Lilim coming close and quickly told her of the events that happened while she was away. She'd listen to Lilim's speech and would moan reluctantly to her assigned task. She'd see to it though, approaching Pentre and making easy work of healing him. She'd not heal him enough to wake him up though, saving that rousing action for Will and honestly hoping Will roused him as Pentre had earlier roused Robin and Haldor, with a swift kick to the gut. Merry didn't fancy being anywhere near Pentre when he woke up and honestly didn't want him knowing that she healed him again. She honestly wished they could have left Pentre asleep until they reached Mercia. No such luck though, as she returned to Glitter, Moonlight, Pixel, and Organna to finish tending to the cart and making sure the goods were secure.

The small party would make sure the cart was well tended to before making ready to travel, opting to wait on the rest to be ready before they set out. Merry would as well ask the Earth Horse to lead the way back to its home, seeing as the others had taken off ahead of them. She was unaware until that point that someone from the village had stayed behind to guide them back, though now the person that was left behind had the chance to see first hand that Pentre was currently answering to the magic users and not the other way around.

Raven was struggling to keep the smile on her face as Poppy was clearly Ill. The others were not lying when they said she was close to death, and she tried desperately to hold back the tears in her eyes as she straightened up from her bowing position and went to go sit next to Poppy, hugging her and holding both of her hands in her own.

"Yes, he gave me the staff..."

She says pushing the hair out of Poppy's face, as she had done so many times before for Raven when she was sick.

"I don't believe he has told me all....what should I know?? More importantly, is there anything I can get you or do for you? Anything at all? You just need to say the word and it's yours!"

She says trying to be optimistic, though anybody could sense that she was hurting on the inside. Though she wouldn't let that get through to Poppy, since that was the last thing she needed to deal with at the moment.