Bolin Thorinson's Story

Peering through the hatch of the cell door the guard had left unlatched in his rush to join his comrades blocking the other end of the corridor was a dwarf. The loud banging coming from sealed cell had aroused his curiosity especially as he had never in his 87 years in prison known the guards to tolerate a prisoner making so much noise in their cell normally they'd have burst in and beaten them into silence by now but when he thought about it he had never seen anyone leave that cell he hard heard the riping sound so often as what ever was in there would rip the prisoner they brought it through

As the dust cleared he could see a beautiful silver heard woman standing the the doorway of her cell/ he could barely hear her speak after the deafening crashing noise of her destroying the door. He watched in awe as she killed the first 3 guards with her bare hands before giving the others a chance to surrender and smiled to himself as the cowardly guard who liked to whip him when he was chained up dropped his sword and backed up the corridor. The fool didn't realize that the hatch to Bolin's cell was open till it was to late, Bolin reached out and grabbed him round the neck pulling him into a chock hold. "She promised to spare you but i told you before i'd kill you for torturing me." the guard struggled vainly as he slipped into unconsciousness before he released the guard he grabbed his keys from his belt dropping the guard he unlocked his cell and dragged him into his cell before searching him and locking the unconscious guard in the cell.

Stepping over to another equipment box and searching through it find sturdy boots black pants and open necked white shirt which he put on stepping up to the heap slain guards he selected a broad sword from the from among the carnage walking up to the woman he feel in step with her. Thanks for the distraction I've been looking to brak out ever since my cousin framed me for murder, by the way i'm Bolin.

As soon as Rafe heard the words 'stand back!' He quickly got away from the door as he heard a huge bang on the door, with the second bang bang the door came toppling down and in front of it stood a woman with a laced up leather vest, boots, three-quarter pants, a read cloak and clawed gauntlets. The woman introduced herself as Lela Kinsarion, and she was in here for 197 years. "Well, that certainly is surprising. In any case if I search hard enough I could possible...find my equipment just lying down on a table in front of my cell. Oh yeah, they wanted to torment me by having my equipment just out of arms reach." Rafe stated and gave a deep bow to the woman before walking over to the table and re-arming himself.

Putting on a plate helmet, chestplate, gauntlets, leggings and boots. He then picked up his sword and placed it in its scabbard that was attached to his waist, he then picked up a spear in one hand and great shield on the other. Now fully armed and armoured he noticed a dwarf with black pants and an open white shirt along with a broadsword. He soon introduced himself as Bolin who was framed for murder bu his cousin. "Greetings Bolin, my name is Sir Rafe. I am....was a dragonslayer and after trying to save a village from a dragon attack it turned out to be a legendary ancient dragon. No one believed it was the dragon and thought I burned down an entire village. Whatever the case, I am prepared to fight my way through any guards that may stop us! I may be used to fighting dragons but minor guards should be much more simple than an angry massive dragon!"

"Nice to meet you too, Lady Kinsarion and Sir Rafe. I've locked up here 87 for years, I don't think I'd have lasted as long as I have if i hadn't thought up imaginative ways of dealing with my cousin, we used to be close but after he framed me for his Dad's murder but having someone eat him never crossed my mind but I'd have to insist you let me slowly chop him up and let you see him begin eating you before i killed him." chuckled Bolin

"I've seen a few of the Guardians and them seem pretty formidable, id prefer we avoided them if possible and we can use the keys i took from the guard you spared to make at least part of our escape, though I must admit one of the Guardians has a Dwarven shield I'd like to liberate from him."

"Fallen angels!? They have fallen angels as guards? Well...They sound dangerous, but nothing like a little danger to get the blood pumping! I am fine with my equipment, they been with me ever since I crafted them myself. But hey...I am thankful my execution was public, I rather not be eaten by you...ahaha..." Rafe nervously chuckled. Well, looks like his fellow companions were rather interesting that's for sure.

(Sorry, I was a bit busy the last three days)

"Well anyways, nice to meet you. We need to find our way out now. And then once we are out, we should try to get to an old wizards tower as a kind of base of operations. The former owner shouldn't be alive anymore as he was already damn old when I got locked in here." Lela said.

Suddenly a figure dropped down in front of them. It was a female fallen angel with a greatsword. "Well you made it easier for me. Now I don't have to hunt you down." Lela said to the angel. "They say that if a maneater eats an angel, it could have positive effects such as extension of life span or additional power. Let's see if that is true."

"Foolish girl. What makes you think you can defeat me? I am an angel and..." The angel said but was distraught as Lela quickly moved to attack and attempted to tear the angels wings off. Lela then said: "If I can take down a five ton door, I should not have any problems killing an angel."

The angel screamed in pain. While Lela didn't manage to tear off the wings as the angel pulled away, the angels wings were damaged enough to not be usable anymore. Lela had at least broken the bones. "You bitch." The angel said and tried to hit Lela with her sword. The strikes were powerful enough to make walls crumble, yet Lela dodged them.

"Getting angry just makes you worse at combat. How about I relieve you of your pretty face and then your life." Lela said flashing her clawed gauntlets. Two more angels appeared, ready to engage the other two inmates.

Meanwhile Lela was still dodging the angels attacks and managed to leave several small cuts on the angel. Finally Lela saw an opening and landed a punch in the angels abdomen, launching her through a couple walls. "I will tell you, I am rather disappointed. I expected angels to compare to dragons in strength, yet you are maybe just a bit stronger than a normal human and more robust. I will make this as quick as possible because you are a waste of time." Lela said pissing the angel off even more who then lunged for an all out attack. When the angel was close enough, Lela smirked and with a single movement, she dodged the angels blade and tore her head off. The headless body slowed down in pace before coming to a stop and collapsing. Lela then crushed the head and began feasting on the angels body.

"Huh, I don't feel any different. Maybe it was just rumors." Lela said then taking the greatsword. She then waited for the others to finish off their opponents.

"That sounds like a good idea Lela, if he is still alive between the three of us we should be able to evict him, even if he is a wizard.

Bolin was moving down the corridor intending to flank the first Angel and help Lela clip his wings when the other angels appeared he managed to dodge the angel who charged him and swung his sword and managed to catch him in the shoulder causing him to drop his shield as he ran past, Scooping up the shield and dropping into a fighting stance. "Hey bird brain where you going I'm over here." The angel flew at him in a rage so Bolin rolled to the slide and as he came back to his feet he brought his sword down and managed to chop off part of the angels wings which sent him crashing into the wall he followed up a quickly as he could but the angel still managed to get to his feet before could reach him. the pair began raining blows down on each other Bolin was able to stop the blows with the shield. the angel took a wild swing which he deflected with his sword and seized the opening and slammed the shield into the angels face sending him staggering back, following up by chopping his sword across the angels sword arm breaking it and sending the sword flying from his now useless hand as a second blow from the shield sent him crumpling to the ground were Bolin kicked him hard in the ribs knocking the air out of him and turning him onto hand and knees, dropping the shield Bolin grabbed his sword with both hands and chopped down hard into the angel's neck cutting off off its head.

"I heard these things had supernatural healing powers so i thought id better not chance just running him through" Bolin cut off what remained of the angels wings and gathered them up along with the piece he had cut off earlier. " we may be able to use these later he stuffed them into a bag found lying in the corridor before grabbing his shield and joining Lela to wait on Rafe

Rafe gave a whistle as he watched Lela dispatch her angel with ease. "Woah, remind me never to get on your bad side." He spoke before raising his shield to defend against his angel assailant as he rushed to strike him with a spear. "Hey! What happened to waiting for your opponent to finish spe---" Rafe tried to say but was met with a flurry of spear strikes trying to dislodge his shield.

Knowing that continuing to talk would prove useless at this point, Rafe waiting just as the angel went in for another spear strike. As the angel did, Rafe slammed his shield right into the spear shoving it to the side, and with a opening Rafe thrust his spear right at the angel which landed right into his abdomen and unleashed a surge of lighting through his body and paralyzing him. Pulling his spear out sending blood pouring from the wound, he aimed right for the angels head and with one quick strike finished him off sending brain matter across the floor. "You weren't kidding, these guys are much weaker than a dragon. Hell, even comparing them to a dragons strength is an insult to a dragon. Whatever...The faster we got out of this dungeon the faster we can see the sun once again."

Rafe would soon rejoin his fellow jail breakers getting ready to move out with them. he was sure there would be some sort of captain waiting for them at the end of the jail, maybe it was some sort of powerful knight that could easily give them a run for their lives.

"Well we should have a clear shot to get outside unless they still have a draw bridge. The prison only has about eighty prisoners and twenty guards including three to five angels. We should be able to make it out before the remaining guards reach us." Lela said. She began walking towards the exit in a fast pace. Finally she got to the large gate and opened it.

"Well that's a downgrade in security. They have a large gate with a simple iron door in it and got a stone bridge instead of a draw bridge now. And I expected it to be stormy outside but it is just overcast with some gusts of wind. When they brought me here, it was a blizzard and knee deep snow." Lela stated. "We need to head down the mountain and across the valley to get to the wizards tower. Then we might need to think of disguises for in case we get near towns as they might have wanted posters up everywhere within three days whereas the only people from the prison who know my face are dead now, so they might use some severely outdated sketch of me from some book in the royal library or so."

Lela hurried across the bridge in hope the others were closely behind her.

Bolin hurried through the gate after Lela and followed her onto the bridge, he grabbed her arm pulling her back. " wait this bridge is Dwarf work and it is not as it seems" taking his sword he began taping the stones as he made is way forward when the sword passed into the the bridge the blade disappearing before their eyes. "As i suspected there are hidden traps in the bridge, Stay behind me and place your feet were i do.

Leading them across the bridge. You were lucky Lela to even know that much about our prison i was chained up in the back of a wagon with my head in a sack when i was delivered here by my cousin's men. How far do you think do you think it is to the wizards tower and are they likely to search for it as well. There is one guard alive who might know our faces, though hopefully he will not be found for a few days and so scared he wont remember accurately.

"Well, you are right about thinking of a disguise. However I am not the best when it comes to hiding in plain sight, being a knight killing dragons and all that. Pretty sure tons of people know about me." Rafe stated before he began to approach the bridge. He watched as Bolin stopped Lela and then tapping the bridge with his sword he saw that part of the bridge was just an illusion. Clever trick, dwarfs were always great craftsman.

Once Bolin began to safley lead them across the bridge, Rafe carefully followed behind. "Jeeze...First we encounter angels and now a bridge that is a partial illusion. What more could we ask for?"

"You guys definitely have some fighting ability. You didn't really have any issues defeating that bear. So now, let us as Bolin said head to the tower as soon as possible." Lela said. She then started to stride down the mountain. Once at the bottom, she went in the direction of the tower. They walked across fields, passed farms and ruins and crossed a river. Down the river the next settlement was visible as it was carved into a large rock. But the tower was more important. After a couple hours walk with no incident, they finally reached the tower. It was larger than expected and looked abandoned, however it might not have been more than a couple years back. The tower was easily taller than a palace or temple and worthy of a powerful wizard. The bottom floor was a bit overgrown.

Lela tore away the vines and opened the door. Wall mounted crystals automatically lit the place. It seemed each floor was a central room with two side rooms and a staircase. There also was a magical lift that seemed to be out of order. The rooms themselves were quite large though.

Lela climbed the stairs to search for a sign of the wizard. On the twelfth floor, Lela found a room illuminated by natural light coming through a stained glass window. In front of the window was a skeleton in a chair behind a desk. One of the skeletons hands was on the desk and a note under it. Lela took the note and read it out loud: "To Lela. I am aware that once you are free that you might come here for revenge for me turning you into what you are now and I regret that. As an apology, you will be the sole heir to my tower and whatever is in it. The books in the library should be enough for you and whichever allies you find to become skillful mages, if now powerful wizards. As security, you can summon golems or servants. Your options are without limit."

"Well I hadn't intended to come here for revenge. He was the person I wanted to forgive. But it is fortunate that he was expecting me even though I might be a couple years too late." Lela said.

When Bolin came in and asked if Lela was alright, Lela answered: "I am fine. It just seems I came too late to forgive the old wizard. However in an effort to make up for his wrongs, he left a note saying that I have ownership over the tower and that there is a library here that can give us plenty of information on magic use. I sort of know how to use magic and channel mana, however all I can do is this." She flicked in the air and a small short flame came from her fingertip. Then she moved her hands in a rainbow movement making sparkles.

"I just hope that is enough to start with." She said. "Let's go check out this library." And she went down to the 11th floor to a room with tall bookshelves. All books were in pristine condition. "Let us find the book that explains the shop feature. So we can get clothes and supplies." It didn't take long to find it. It was less a book and more a holographic catalog with instructions how to summon the shop portal or summon supplies.

"Well it says here, that summoning the shop portal requires minimal magic, however the supplies through it cost money. The alternative is to summon the supplies on the spot, which requires mana as they cannot just appear from nothing. Depending on the size and complexity of the item, it requires more mana. The convenience of the shop portal allows one however to accept missions and requests in an effort to earn money. Well that sounds like a way I can eventually practice. Why don't you guys pick something, I should have enough mana saved up for initial supplies for the three of us. I just hope I can manage to actually summon them." Lela said.

"I don't know if quick silver is considered as rare among the arcane guild and whether they use a different currency than the rest of the kingdom. It is better put to use for personal equipment." Lela said. "I will give it a try summoning some pork chops first." She followed the instructions in the book and focused on getting some pork chops. Instead what she summoned looked like a pig turned inside out.

"Oops. I seem to not have focused correctly." She then tried again, this time with success. She then proceeded with staple foods like rice, wheat and dried meats, including human meat which was surprising to her that they had even listed meals for maneaters. Then she summoned clean water and ale.

"I need to take a quick break. It needs quite a bit of my energy. Meanwhile, what kind of servants should I summon? We do not want to get ones that are too dumb. Possibilities could be gnomes, goblins, trolls, orcs, demons or golems. Whereas most of them are contracted, golems can be made or we can maybe play gods and simply create human servants. Well they might not all the way be humans but close enough. I'd favor demons as they are good allround servants. Otherwise I'd say gnomes to take care of cleaning and assistance and orcs for security." Lela said.

After her break, she summoned Rafe's white silk, then two sets of clothes for herself as well as basic plates. "I have decided that I will go with the death priestess disguise until I find a spell to change my hair and eye color for longer periods. I don't want my hair turning back to silver after a couple hours. By the way, the stuff summoned seem to be listed as minor need of mana. I wonder what then needs a lot of mana to summon then."

She flipped through the catalog and noticed that most of the high mana cost summonings were complex devices, rare materials and large stuff like buildings. "Well that explains a lot."

"Maybe we can eventually turn this place into a fortress or get some farmers to establish a community around the tower. If you guys weren't around or felt like getting rid of the royal family, I probably would have planned raising an army of orcs. But then again, it would be irresponsible and innocents would get caught in conflicts they arent associated with. Maybe in the next days, weeks or months, I can find an efficient way to get revenge on the people who kept me in prison. But anyways, I will get changed and meditate. If you need anything, come to the 12th floor." Lela said.

She then went upstairs and got changed in a side room. The death priestess outfit was an entirely black outfit made up of a black bodysuit, a long black dress with a high neck collar and a hooded cloak. She had a separate hood to cover her head and most of her face in case she had to go outside. But for the time being, she didn't need it leaving her face and hair revealed and the hood down. The outfit was made of a smooth and cozy material. She then dusted off a cushion and sat on it to meditate and try to extend her mana capacity and accelerate mana regeneration so she could eventually use combat magic or summon greater things.

Id say Orcs for security, Golems for any heavy lifting like bringing in that dragon, Golems are great for sealing or assaulting breaches in defences and the Gnomes sound perfect for the cleaning only thing i don't want you to hire is Goblins i'll kill every single one i see no matter were or what the situation" Bolin walked over to the Pork chops and lifted the platter along with a selection of root vegetables. I dont suppose either of you discovered the kitchen yet I'm going to make us some of stew would you like me to make you some with human meat Lela.

After finding the Kitchen in the basement of the tower Bolin prepared the the stew, leaving the stew to cook over a low stove in the kitchen Bolin went into one of the bathrooms and shaved off his hair leaving strip of hair down the center of his forehead and un plaited his beard before trimming it off with a razor he found in the cabinet when he had finished shaving he styled the strip of hair into a Mohawk he was just finishing off as he smelt the stew wafting through the air telling him it was done before he called the others. I know you suggested a feast Rafe but it'd be better to wait a few days until our bodies adjust to richer foods again

After finishing his stew and cleaning his bowl Bolin went off to examine the lift which he discovered the pullies which allowed the lift to be raised or lowered had rotted away along with the ropes he decided to wait till lela had finished recovering her mana before he would forge new metal pullies and ask her if she could summon the several hundred feet of rope.

"I am fine with whatever, usually I prefer a fellow knight by my side but I do not have such a luxury. Regardless...actual food! It's been so long! I thought I would have never seen meat again! Or the sun...but hey, here we are now. Free people on the run and getting ready to accomplish their own mission. Although does everyone really need to summon orcs? Heck, I don't remember any evil overlord or people plotting for revenge ever used things besides orcs...but I am not a master tactician so...I am just going to sew up my silk and shut up now..." Rafe spoke as he disappeared into a changing room to pass the time while Bolin prepared the stew.

To think that you can shop using magic, using both money and mana. And he was not going to think how they managed to include human meat. Soon Rafe went to work, sewing the white silk together into a clerical outfit. It was large, had a hood and was also decorated with religious symbols. He then took off his armour minus the arm guards and leggings, placed the silk robes on and made sure to comb his hair before putting on a golden cross around his neck.

Rafe soon exited the changing room, went to the fifth floor and decided to make one of the rooms his and placed his weapons and armour inside. Most of his armour had signs of a dragonslayer knight, and his weapons had the power of electricity wwhich was a dead giveaway to his identity. So he had to change his weapons, maybe a mace? Or perhaps he can use his fists, he learn a bit about monk training and knew how to channel some of his energy into his fists. He should at least get some sort of magical item that possesses a healing quality at least, if he wanted to pass as a warrior priest he had to make sure he could heal the sick and injured.

Once he decided to only use his fists and a healing item, he went down to the basement where Bolin had prepared some stew. But before he rushed at the chance to eat, he looked at a mirror and examined himself. He was deffinitly different, without his armour and weapons it would be hard to guess his identity.

After a while of meditating, Lela felt refreshed. By that time, the smell of stew had made it up to the twelfth floor. Lela then made her way down and found a bowl of stew with the human meat in it. "Well Bolin, this tastes delicious." Lela said after having tasted some of it. After finishing the stew, she then said: "Well I thought about the servants and maybe we should have orcs as basic guards, demons to keep the orcs in line and manage the duties of the servants and golems for lifting and eventually cleaning. Orcs however can't live off nothing, so we would need to provide them with food and eventually erect them a couple buildings near the tower. Demons don't need food or mana, but some optionally still eat. Golems only need mana. A golem can function up to two years after being fully charged. The only issue is orcs only serve whom they respect or fear, whereas demons require a blood contract and respectful treatment. I remember when we had a demon servant in the castle, she looked no older than 20 and could have been a sweet human girl if it wasn't for her horns. I would have preferred demons only as they have something elegant about them. But you guys deserve to be involved in the decision."

"Anyways, I will go with the death priestess outfit until people start caring less about it. If I stay hidden for long enough, they may think I might have escaped somewhere far away or died during my escape." Lela said. "But that lift, a pulley seems a bit outdated, they should have levitating ones or mechanical ones by now. But that might be too costly for the time being."