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Phile Mortimer

"Is there a thing more important then love?

0 · 410 views · located in The Tunnels

a character in “Rift”, as played by Castella

Description

Phile H. Mortimer
Image























Role
The Cleric

Age
18

Nationality
Akharian

Gender
Female



Personality
Phile would be damned (excuse the language) if her proclivity to healing magic define her. Driven, aware, and capable are how members of the clergy choose to describe her, dozens of the senior staff shaking their heads in admiration and amusement as as Phile's slight figure bobs through the gardens. True, she is wholy dedicated to her studies, the singularity of natural phenomenon and healing magic draws Phile with inescapable pull, but she refuses to display characteristics found in her sister mages; indeed Phile's capacity in healing goes beyond that of the physical world. Quiet, exacting, and gentle, Phile has become privy to many secrets and taboos of the community around her, soothing emotional burdens and quenching the ire of many with cool words.

To say she knows enough secrets to bring the surrounding village to it's knees would be understatement. When asked however Phile only winks, a playful smile crossing her face and says, "Doctor-patient confidentiality." In fact, Phile often acts like a secretive 6-year old who wants to play a game rather then a 18-year old priestess.

Many aspects of Phile's personality have yet to see the light of day. A hopeless romantic Phile hides a library of romance novels under her bed and while none has piqued her interest, she may admit to playing matchmaker once and a while. More concerning however is her passions. So carefully concealed, controlled, confined, extraneous circumstances may drive Phile from the world of careful reasoning and into darker arts. And while every moment of her being is dedicated to the care of others, something dark, evil troubles Phile to her very core.


Pros
Phile often jokes that the only reason people take notice of her at all is her talent in healing magic, and while many would say that is exactly the case, she takes it in stride. Even so, Phile has become extremely well versed with the medicinal qualities of local and exotic flora and fauna, knowledge which Phile often refers back to in practice. The combined use of magic and non-magical healing heartens those more skeptical of magic and has earned her respect. Socially, Phile is the epitome of grace, carrying herself easily through conversation and putting others at ease; a combination of good memory, empathy, and the ability to accurately read body language.

Cons
It seems to be contrary to popular belief but Phile is often hesitant when using high-level healing magic and this hesitating carries through all aspects of Phile. Phile is easily plagued by doubts, her decisions suffering from it. One would say she is physical incapable of making spontaneous decisions and while this is viewed as virtue by many, in a busy clinic that isn't always the case.

Committing to a patient is easy enough; committing to a relationship is another story.

Despite all the time spent in the garden, Phile is hardly an outdoors type nor the courageous type when face-to-face with monsters. The slowest runner, shortest jumper, weakest member, and loudest screamer the only thing that makes up for the pitiful state her body is in is her dexterity and stamina (for walking).


Appearance
Phile is a slim 5"6 with few curves and little muscle definition to speak of. Generally Phile is a rather plain woman, the shock of white hair sets her apart from everyone else; an accident when she was young she says, an unfortunate display of overexcited youth and magic. The tips of her hair curl up, the very ends brushing the nape of her neck and frame her gentle brow.

While working Phile wears the robes appropriate for her office; a flowing white thing with little decoration. Off duty however, Phile has no qualms in showing her preference to fashion. She wears modest tops and bottoms of linen and cotton, her favored piece being a cotton riding skirt. Her traveling gear sits at the bottom of her closet, having been used little.


History
The peaceful fields of Ley were but a story's image created by a fantastical youth; to young to remember fully Phile dreamt of her hometown as she studied the healing arts, plucked at a young age from home. She remembers the cobbled way up to her home, the one with the newly thatched roof, broths of the elm swaying in the wind like a sky of green and brown. The family hound she remembers, a massive beast of brown a white usually so tame, so genial turned vicious with the passing of a cloaked figure. There was a massive amount a movement, dizzying to a child, a loud sound, the dog dead, and the bloodied figure of her mother carried into the house.

Under the thatched roof, Phile wasn't allowed near her mother until all was quiet; she snuck in. As her mother had done for her when she fell and struck her knee, Phile knelt down and kissed to owie, exactly what followed, Phile isn't sure anymore. There was shouts and smiles, hugs, kisses, celebration and surprise but it all ended with a journey to a distant garden. With a solemn farewell, a little Phile wonders what she had done to deserve such punishment.

Phile spent the next 13 years under the tutorage of some of the greatest healers in the realm, excelling in traditional studies and some of her own personal research. The events of her childhood are understood but the pain of being separated from her family has irrecoverably damage that tie. As Phile returns to Ley to serve as the priestess she looks forward to the future.


Island by Yuna
You're an island
I'm just a little boat
I'm heading somewhere
I don't even know
Hope you don't mind me stopping by your shore
Come with me and you'll never be alone

Open up your heart to me
We'll explore the seven seas
Sail away and find your dreams
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
To breath

You will lead the way
I'll be battle storm
We can let the waves tell us where to go
We can always do anything you want
We will try to capture the natural love

Open up your heart to me
We'll explore the seven seas
Sail away and find your dreams
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
To breath

We watch the blue sky
Before the sunrise
And tide is getting high
I'm here by your side

We watch the blue sky
Before the sunrise
And tide is getting high
I'm here by your side

Open up your heart to me
We'll explore the seven seas
Sail away and find your dreams
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
And if you drown I'll help keep your head up
To breath


Other
Knowledge to fix the human body also allows the knowledge of how to harm it. (warning)

Personal Use: [color=#778959]

So begins...

Phile Mortimer's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer Character Portrait: Melissa Bellhouse
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Never had the abbey seem so small to Phile. The wound on Flynn's shoulder had closed up cleanly enough but dozens more poured into the abbey hurt or traumatized. She supposed theses were the lucky. Sounds of the battle, no, massacre, beyond the abbey walls held no reservation in sharing the horrors that were occurring; in her mind's-eye she saw torn children and gutted parents to match the screams.

A shiver went through her body. Phile was sure she was trembling.

"Elisia," Phile reached down to the young red-head's hand and clasped it within her non-bloodied hand. As she helped Flynn through the stone hallways in his dazed stupor, Phile had beckoned Elisia, or whoever she truly was, to follow. The way had been busy, to say the least, the perfect situation for a young girl to get jostled and bruised. Or, Phile wondered briefly, this was just an excuse to take a breather. She chided herself silently for being so selfish.

"I do not require an explanation at this time of who you are or why you are here. Just know that I believe you to be an innocent young woman and that, as Mr. Ichabod or whoever trusted that, I am here for you, and will keep you from harm." She finished her hurried examination of Elisia. Just as she turned to begin healing the most gravely injured, the voice of the young Silverwood farmboy cut through the chaos.

All attention was turned to the prospective escape route. Several of the more able-bodied men jumped in first, lanterns in hand to scout out the tunnel. A shaky ladder decent later, with Elisia by her side, she too stood in the damp earthen tunnel. There was no time to contemplate the stability of the natural structure nor why such structure existed or, more importantly, why it was unknown to Phile until this very moment. Such was politics, and politics had little to do with the struggles of lowering a man crippled by the edge of a blade.

He will not survive to see tomorrow.

Phile shouted more instructions to the half-dozen hands that struggled bring the bloodied body down to their new haven, something along the lines of "His head, support his head more!" slapping down the magical equivalent of a band-aid down on the most serious gashes but she couldn't focus. Around the edge of the tunnel entrance stood the villagers of Ley, their figures silhouetted against the morning light. But a handful, some injured, some scatthed, but more injured to come to scramble down this ladder holding their life together with nary a thing but will.

So many were injured and Phile had but a limited amount of time and energy that she could devote per patient. She could not save them all, but she could choose which ones did.

It was if she as Sol himself with the ability to give or take life; godlike. The thought was like a rift into darkness, the most feared monster to have plagued the minds of all healers. But it wasn't disabling. Men, women, and children alike moved down the ladder in a frenzied stream and were ushered along the passage to make way for more. Phile left the entrance slowly, stopping often to treat the wounded all the while keeping Elisia pressed tightly to her side lest the girl disappear.

She dished out healing touches and mana patches like candy, a casted-spell and runic-chant for the needy, and for the most unfortunate, a pain-numbing pinch and silent prayer. The Silverwood family passed after long and it was one of few moments were Phile could, with confidence, reassure the family for continued life. Other families she could only offer condolences.

It wasn't something Phile was used to.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Iridian Valka Character Portrait: Cadbury Roverfield Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer Character Portrait: Melissa Bellhouse
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#, as written by Eskay
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Sir Valka had made the right call- though his distaste for the last resort was visibly hard for him to swallow, he must have known deep down that a villages' worth is not in the land it occupies or the buildings it sports, but rather with its inhabitants. Flynn aimed to provide aegis to them primarily, cutting any other losses out while they still had the opportunity.

As the guardsman fled to round up additional villagers, Flynn noticed that he had left his lance behind. Quickly glancing between the Garian sword he pilfered and his ally's weapon, he immediately traded, preferring the lance's reach and weight. Clasping the lance in one hand and his stolen crossbow and another, he quickly dashed towards the main road to execute his plan.

He arrived briskly at the main cobblestone path- a lone force amidst impeding invaders and retreating villagers. He positioned himself next to a burning abode, as he would need the flames to kindle his vial of oil. He placed Iridians lance and his shield at his feet- the heaviness of his arsenal was beginning to take its toll on Flynn's focus, and he would need an ample supply of it to perform this task.

Igniting an arrow, he took a moment to size up his position. The invasion force had begun to move noticeably faster, though this was probably adrenaline and not so much a tactical decision. They had entered the heart of the village and began pillaging as much as they could.

There was thankfully enough debris strewn about that would cause a fire to spread quite nicely- a move that these invaders had probably intended to be a boon to themselves. Taking aim, Flynn aimed to the right and let loose a flaming arrow, striking the heart of what had once been a humble shop. Lighting another arrow, he fired at a building nearly adjacent to it, and another at a building directly to his right. The flames would soon engulf both their targets and the surrounding wreckage, rendering the entire left side (from the invaders perspective) un-breachable.

Someone in the ranks must have caught on, as the soldiers began to break rank and look for the source of the fire. Fearing he had little time before they caught on to his actions, he quickly lit three arrows and aimed for similarly placed structures on his left. The wreckage was even worse on this side, so he wouldn't have to stick around long to confirm the kindling.

Quickly glancing to make sure that no villager was within eyeshot, he emptied the rest of his oil around the area he was standing, dropping a burning tinder into the puddle to impede the invaders from pursuing him along the main road. He fired a few potshots into the approaching army before throwing away the crossbow. Retrieving his shield and lance, he quickly made way for the abbey, eager to help the remaining villagers escape.
~~~~~

Cadbury had accompanied the two ladies up to the entrance of the abbey, stopping to help fortify the main doors. Though his duty was to protect the princess, he reasoned that the only danger posed to her resided on this side of the abbey- naturally, he would stand guard and help usher as many villagers into the building as he could before re-joining the princess and the priestess.

He had helped to usher one last wave of villagers before seeing Sir Valka bringing up the rear. He hurriedly dashed to meet him.

"Sir Guardsman, I have ushered as many villagers as I could," Cadbury began, "However, the Garian scum are approaching rather rapidly, so I suggest-"

His words were interrupted by the rapid razing of several buildings along the village. His face became pale with horror- that is, until the visage of Flynn came into his sights.

"The fire's been set," Flynn informed Iridian, nodding to the old merchant, "If you've finished your business, then I suggest that we take our leave as well..."

The setting changes from Ley to The Tunnels

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kai Silverwood Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Iridian Valka Character Portrait: Cadbury Roverfield Character Portrait: Jacia Zash Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer
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#, as written by Flexar
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Upon descending into the tunnel for the second time, Kai was greeted by a swarm of panicked villagers, some hurrying off down the tunnels, some pleading for Phile to save their loved ones, and some milling around the entrance, waiting for friends and family who would never turn up. Cole was hanging around near the entrance, lighting and handing out torches, of which he had a reasonable supply. Kai took one and thanked the guardsman before hurrying back over to his family.

Fortunately, Phile had been able to remove the bullet and close the wound. Alice still appeared to be in considerable pain, but could at least walk again. Kai and his family all thanked Phile rather vocally before giving her space to move onto her next patient. Kai's family began to hurry down the tunnel, but Kai did not join them. Realising this, they stopped and turned around.
"Kai, what are you doing?" Mr Silverwood snapped, "Hurry up, lad!"
"Da, there's something I need to do. Kai replied, "Just go, I'll catch up with you soon enough."
Kai's father said nothing, but complied with his son's request and lead his wife and daughter further into the tunnels. Kai, however, climbed back up the ladder and into the abbey.

Rushing in was another wave of villagers, accompanied by Iridian, Flynn, Jacia and Ichabod.
"Is anyone else coming?" Kai asked a villager he had stopped.
"N-no, we're the last group." the disgruntled woman answered, "There are still people back there, but they refuse to move."
"Well then, I suppose that can't be helped." Kai responded and sent the woman on her way.
He waited until the entire group had gone into the tunnel, then muttered "Sol, please forgive me..." under his breath. Once he had done so, he held his torch down the carpet he had moved from over the tunnel's entrance. The carpet was soon ablaze, and the flames spread quickly to a nearby cabinet, and continued to spread from there. He hardly felt good about burning out the abbey, but it would prevent the soldiers from pursuing them into the tunnel. Not wanting to be part of the blaze himself, Kai swiftly retreated back into the tunnel.

The tunnel's entrance wasn't quite so lively anymore. The only other people there now were Iridian, Flynn, Jacia, Ichabod, Phile and Elisia, who was cowering beside the priestess; everyone who had been together at the abbey's entrance earlier in the morning. Cole had left, but there were still a couple of damp, unlit torches kicking about on the floor. Things had seemed strange and chaotic then, but that was nothing in comparison to the invasion. Kai's emotions were churning with a mixture of fear, rage and grief, which were made no better by the cold, damp environment. Part of Kai wanted to wake up; perhaps this was only a nightmare; Gar would never invade, would they? Gar and Akhar had been allies for time immemorial, why start a war now? However, Kai knew that this was no dream, Gar really had razed Ley, and he was a refugee now. He had no idea what he was to do after he left the tunnels, he didn't want to end up settling down in Gar's next target, but neither did he want to end up wandering around aimlessly.
"So..." Kai began, "What now?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kai Silverwood Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Iridian Valka Character Portrait: Cadbury Roverfield Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer Character Portrait: Jacia "Z" Zash
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#, as written by Centi85
Help barricade the abbey…

Interesting proposition, but not one Jacia would’ve come up with herself. That’s not to say she couldn’t, of course, but rather wouldn’t want to. As thrilling as the act sounded, Jacia found that more potential could be derived from following an alternate tangent, particularly one that allowed her to be amongst the chaos and colorful explosions which were underway outside, as well as observe the riftspawn.

Ironically enough, although the less than intriguing diagnoses conducted by the Priestess seemed to reveal that the riftspawn wouldn’t turn into a Pyro whose sole intent was to destroy the insignificant place of Ley, upon the arrival of Kai and news of an attack, he did just that. Albeit the action was done in order to stall the enemy soldiers which seemed to have appeared as randomly as the riftspawn himself, and it was done without the transformation from human to grotesque-fire-spitting-tentacle-monster, but irony was irony despite the circumstances. In addition, Jacia also noted the sudden change in behavior. Not the kind of change that accommodates a grotesque-fire-spitting-tentacle-monster of course, but one that was sufficiently different from the wide-eyed, amnesiac which had fallen from the rift this morning. Like some strange sleeper-cell, the riftspawn, formerly dubbed Flynn until she could find a more suitable title, adopted an entirely new persona, one of a well-learned field-commander and tactician. Jacia made careful note of this in her book, then watched intently as the riftspawn worked alongside Iridian to herd the villagers into the sanctuary that was the Abbey, and then the tunnel beyond.

“So,” the newly healed Kai began, once everyone who was sane and sufficiently smart enough to flee to the relative safety of underground was present and accounted for, “what now?”

What now indeed, Jacia pondered. So far the day had started rather hopefully, with the idea of investigating a newly opened rift and then capturing and testing the subject which was vomited from it. Unfortunately though, it seemed that Flynn was nothing special. Certainly his name wasn’t anything original, nor did it give any recognition to Jacia, who, being the first scholar to arrive on the scene and thus officially discover him, should be included in it. Following that let-down was a less than exciting trip to the Abbey, and then a rather chaotic disturbance which seemed to convert Flynn into a totally new person and result in the destruction of the little town of Ley. Accumulatively, the entire debacle was a lot less eventful than Jacia had hoped.

Of course, of single enjoyment she got, besides the astounding achievement of going down the ladder upside-down, was then being able to play with one of the extra torches which were left behind. Everyone else had their own mainstream ways of igniting a torch, but Jacia had magic and the creative imagination to do with it what others couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Of course such acts of genius were often overlooked by many in exchange for what said acts caused to combust, but Jacia knew that one day her experiments would merit the attention they deserved.

Returning to the group a moment later with her hair even more explosively out-of-place, she offered an overly proud smile as she brandished her torch which was glowing green, rather than yellow, as well as emitting sparks. Looking between the little congregation, and seeing as no one as of yet had anything to offer, Jacia decided that her two cents were worth more than theirs anyway.

“Perhaps,” she started loudly, before realizing again that she was speaking far above a normal octave, “we should first discover where this tunnel leads.” It was fairly obvious, but no one had stated it, and thus Jacia was obliged to do so. Standing around with the enemy a mere feet over their heads, with only a fire, no matter how pretty it was, to serve as a boundary wasn’t the place to be discussing the next plan of action. Jacia’s only wish was that whatever they decided to do next, that she’d be able to further inspect Flynn.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kai Silverwood Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Iridian Valka Character Portrait: Cadbury Roverfield Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer Character Portrait: Jacia "Z" Zash
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Surprisingly enough, the first person to respond to Kai's question had been Jacia. Well, Iridian didn't think that the fact the mage had spoken was surprising, but rather that she had kept too quiet around them for the entirety of the battle. Then again, she was a scholar, and he did not know very many a things about those who chose the knowledge of books over the honor of serving their country. Their two different paths of life seldom collided. Perhaps, the Holy Way had witnessed the closest cooperation of mages and soldiers in recent history, in select squadrons that had reinforced their ranks with spellcasters, though the ratio of soliders-to-mages had probably never come closer than 20 to 1. Any citizen could pick up an axe (though certainly not excel at it from one day to the next) but rare few were those with the... whatever it was mages possessed. Plus, as far as Irid could gather, proper magics required years of study, especially in battle. Sending a thunderbolt upon your own platoon in the midst of battle couldn't be good news. (He wondered if perhaps that's why Jacia hadn't decided to partake in the Battle of Ley.)

The thought of war, however, brought a shiver down Irid's back. Gar had attacked Akhar, a past ally, without provocation. At least, none that they'd received word about. Ley wasn't a hub for rumors so few messenger pigeons or talkative merchants ever came their way. Citizens of Akhar had been killed in cold blood by Garian military, a town had been lost. If their ruler so wished it, it could lead to war. If his reagents deemed it so, Irid would march proudly, with the Akharian shield emblazoned on his uniform. After all, it was his job to protect the people of the realm.

But what would the dragons do if it ever came to that? That sent shivers down his spine again. He'd never seen Thorak, but he'd heard stories...

The soldier realized he was taking things too far in his mind. The villagers needed him now. He and his siblings-in-arms would keep them safe. A road would have its dangers, particularly for refugees, but they'd be the shepherds to the unfortunate band of sheep.

Speaking of... Iridian hadn't seen a single person who shared his uniform in the tunnels. Well, only Sir Cole, his girth making him easy to spot even in the dark. He reasoned he'd joined the villagers in the tunnels at the very end, so he'd likely missed the other guards that had gone on ahead of the group. Plus, when he'd run alongside Flynn to the market, they'd likely missed a few people who'd made it to the abbey. The guard tried to shake off the feeling that was crawling upon him like a legsy spider. He wasn't entirely successful.

"I agree with Mage Zash. It won't do to make detailed plans that may crumble down when we discover where we're headed. " Iridian say, trying to sound as confident as he didn't feel. Walking through the tunnels wasn't exactly an easy feat. It was humid, with several patches in the roof dripping what was probably water from the stream that ran near Ley. Consequently, though the floor was flat enough, it was muddy, and made the trek that much harder for the villagers who still suffered some kind of wound. A few of the taller villagers had to stoop.

"Unless of course we have any idea where we're headed. Priestess, do you have any knowledge of these tunnels? Or, do you, Mage Zash?" He hoped so. The former resided over the entrance to the tunnels, and the latter... well, surely this wasn't the only temple with an entrance leading underground. Maybe all of Sol's temples shared a similar trait. Forcibly, he shut down his wishful thinking. Were that to be true, it would help them know where they went, but it also made it all the more likely for Gar to know about the tunnels. Suddenly, he wished it wasn't so.

Waiting for an answer, Irid's eyes briefly met Flynn's gaze. And the weapon in his hand. The soldier's own lance. A moment of hesitation flashed in his mind. The stranger from the Rift was armed, and judging by his tactical knowledge, dispatching them in such close quarters when they were so tired could be an easy enough feat. Iridian balled his fists.

Then he relaxed them. As much as he might suspect anything to come from a Rift, Flynn had proven himself a valuable ally. Why help them in the battle if he aimed for their demise? His plan had saved several villagers' lives. He offered a quick smile to the foreigner. He would let him have the lance.

(But only for now, Iridian would offer to swap his sword for the lance. He had better training with the latter.)

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kai Silverwood Character Portrait: Flynn Rowe Character Portrait: Iridian Valka Character Portrait: Cadbury Roverfield Character Portrait: Phile Mortimer Character Portrait: Jacia "Z" Zash
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#, as written by Flexar
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In the brief silence that followed Kai's question, Jacia decided to ignite one of the torches that Cole had left, but not by any conventional means. A spell soon had the torch burning with a green flame and spitting sparks in all directions. Kai considered the safety of lighting the torch in such a fashion questionable, but he knew better than to argue with Jacia.
“Perhaps we should first discover where this tunnel leads.”
Kai wanted to point out that he didn't mean it quite so immediately, but Iridian spoke first, telling the group that plans for later may be rendered useless. Kai agreed with him, but he still didn't want to leave the tunnels with no idea of what to do.
"Well then, sounds like we ought to get going." Kai stated.
With that, Kai raised his torch and began walking down into the tunnels.

The walk was hardly pleasant, water continually dripped from the ceiling onto Kai's head, and he almost slipped over multiple times. At least he didn't have to fear for his life down here; the discomfort in the tunnels was nothing compared to the terror on the surface. Still, that didn't make the experience any more enjoyable, just slightly more bearable.

To make matters worse, the group soon arrived at a fork in the road.
"Well, isn't this just great." Kai grumbled.
He held out his torch down each tunnel to see if he could see anything that might suggest which way to go. The path to the right yielded no results, but the tunnel on the left had something much worse. The butt of a musket swung from the shadows, and its wielder soon followed, along with others of his kind. More Garian soldiers. Kai quickly raised his torch in defense, which proved not be be such a great idea. The torch lit the gunpowder inside the musket, firing its round into the cave's ceiling. The round exploded upon impact, causing stones, bricks and flaming debris to fall down, creating a wall. Looked like they were still beneath the abbey. Fortunately, one soldier had been crushed beneath a state of Sol, but not so fortunately, four of Kai's companions were on the other side of the wall. He didn't have time to look at who was with him and who was on the other side of the wall before he was slammed against the wall with the barrel of the musket being pressed horizontally into his throat. Struggling for breath, he reached for the dagger he had taken earlier and plunged it into the soldier's stomach. He recoiled and released the musket, giving Kai the chance to drive the dagger into his neck. The man fell to the floor with a sickening thud and Kai felt his stomach heave; he had just killed someone. He was inhaling loud, exasperated breaths and struggling to stand while he attempted to come to terms with what he had just done. He took some consolation in the fact that it was a kill-or-be-killed situation, but the fact of the matter was that he had killed a man. However, he knew in order to survive he may well have to kill again, so he raised his axe and waited for the next strike to be made.