Kage slipped her shoes back on in what appeared to be a woman's bedroom where she'd landed.
The murmur of voices below confirmed her fears, there were several people in here, and most likely soldiers. She released the energy from the spell, and quickly did her best to rub out the ink while she replaced her shoes.
This room had a trapdoor, which she carefully lifted, and carefully peeked her head down. Below the ladder, the house opened up to a second story open loft that lay over half of the main floor.
"Invisible," she thought, writing another character on her skin, though the intent was not invisibility, but rather to make herself escape notice, a spell she figured would use less energy.
She slipped down the ladder and over to the balcony on the edge of the loft, seeing the full picture for the first time.
Artlem was held against the wall by two soldiers, looking disheveled. The man in black stood in front of him, posture of a man enjoying his victory
"What about the others you were traveling with? How many of the clans are on board with your little revolution?"
Artlem's expression as he met his gaze contained such rage Kage could almost feel it herself.
The man struck Artlem in the stomach hard enough for him to double over. He struggled against his captors, but the man grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up.
"Careful there. You may be able to fight back, but your friend over there doesn't have the same luck."
Kage's gaze shifted to the right side of the room, where Shole was held down by one soldier, sword to his throat. He stood so still, like he was physically unable to move a muscle.
Unable to resist.
The severity of Rhoringdall's contract with Tobryna sunk in for the first time. Shole was not even able to try and escape from the marked one holding him.
The leader chuckled, "no matter what, your head is coming back with us. But maybe we let your friend here off easy if you talk."
Kage was already moving with her fight or flight instinct, she didn't need to hear any more.
"Or maybe we start cutting him up, see if he's more cooperative?" She could hear as she jumped up the ladder and threw open the window.
She felt some mental exertion as she drew out the calligirphic they had agreed on to signal Halten on the gable, while still under her cloaking spell. A piece of the gable disintegrated into a puff of green smoke that rose up into the sky. The rest of the gable would be eaten up until it was gone, and since there was a high chance one of the soldiers would notice it, she could only hope Halten was watching like they'd agreed.
But she knew she couldn't wait that long.
She slid down the ladder once again. She couldn't see how many were under the loft. Could be one, or twenty, all she knew was that there were two holding Artlem, the leader in black, one with Shole, and four others by the door that connected the house to the other part of the building.
This would be so much easier if she could use her Mythsian magic, but that was something she could only access on Islestar or the Space between Worlds.
Then in hit her. She couldn't use it exactly, but if she could do something similar...
A door slammed open, somewhere under the loft.
"Sir, there's green smoke billowing up from the side of the building!"
Before he finished, Kage was already in motion. That distraction was what she'd been waiting for. She didn't allow herself to think, scrawling out a calligriphic with her charcoal on the floorboards. A tendril of shadow shot out over the balcony while Kage took off, jumping straight over the railing of the loft.
The shadow curled left, spearing one of the soldiers holding Artlem in the chest while Kage landed hard on one of the men with Shole, feeling the hot splash of blood as she drove her dagger through the space above his breastplate.
Her body stung as it made contact with his armor, but she knew if she didn't recover immediately she would be done for. Pain tugging at the back of her mind, she jumped at the other soldier who was now drawing his sword.
She dove past Shole, his eyes still widened in surprise. The soldier swung, but she was already too close for it to be of any concern, driving her knife upwards she stabbed straight through his jaw.
Her momentum made her fall backward with him, but as they hit the ground she jerked out the knife, sending a spray of blood with it.
She was breathing hard as she got her first look at the rest of the room, while she tried to stop her brain from processing the feeling of the red, warm, liquid covering her hand.
Artlem had taken the chance from her attack just as she had expected, and he now stood, bloodied stolen blade from one of the soldiers ready in his hands.
There was no time to process any more than that, her eyes flew over about fifteen other soldiers in the room, not counting the one who'd been threatening Artlem earlier and was now facing her.
She caught a glimpse of a calligiphic tattooed on the palm of his hand as he raised it in her direction.
A spark flickered, and Kage jumped backwards just in time as fire shot from his open palm. She recoiled from the heat of the blast and pivoted to get closer before he could fire again.
The wooden floor burned where the fire had passed, which was a temporary deterrent for the men on the other side.
He let loose another shorter burst of flame as Kage charged forward. She felt the sting of the hot air as this one barely missed her. His eyes widened as she closed the distance, making a final lunge at him with her knife.
He tried to turn, her knife connecting with his face as one more burst of flame exploded from his palms.
Kage screamed as the flame engulfed her left arm, eating up her sleeve in an instant.
In his desperation, the blast hadn't been as strong as the others, but a sharp pain shot through her arm with every little movement.
With no time to think, she scraped a calligriphic into the floor.
The boards shot up, catapulting him into a couple of the soldiers who had begun to approach now that the flame was dying.
A dull ache in her head began to throb as she released the energy. Her ears rang, and the room seemed to tilt for a second. She was using to much energy in such a short span of time.
Artlem was holding his own, unhinged expression on his face as he swung his sword with ruthless precision, but Kage knew he would be overrun if this kept up.
Shole was closer to the wall, doing his best to stay out of the way. They must all, or at least most of them, be marked if there was still nothing he could do.
But there was no time to worry about them, she was going to have to defend herself from the soldiers no longer hindered by the flames. Artlem pulled his sword from the body of the last of the men he'd been engaging, jumping over it to get away from the corner he was being backed into.
Next to Kage, he held his sword in both hands.
"Any other ideas?" He said, catching a glimpse of her now-bloody nose, "that don't involve Calligriphics?"
"The others should be coming," she breathed. "Somehow hold out until then?"
Artlem chuckled dryly, adjusting his grip.
Entire body tense, Kage shifted her weight, ready to move, eyes on the advancing men-
"Artlem!" Shole cried out.
Kage's head spun, to see that one of the soldiers Artlem had fought hadn't been dead! The sword in his bloodied hand shot out straight at Artlem. He didn't have time to move, but Shole was already there.
He couldn't do anything against the soldier, so he did the only thing he could. He crashed into Artlem, shoving him just out of the way as the blade connected, the thrust slicing through Shole's upper arm as he screamed in pain.
Artlem's face twisted, catching Shole as he stumbled.
Kage flung her knife, catching the soldier in the throat and sending him spiraling to the ground in a spray of blood.
But now, she had no weapon.
She slipped the charcoal out of her pocket, ready to use the last of her energy against the advancing opponents, when the barricaded door behind her exploded in a mix of fire and wood!
Halten swooped in through the embers, sending woodchips flying in every direction. Broadsword drawn, Bard was right behind him, sparks from his flame breath still trailing from his mouth.
Halten's steely wings swung like a guillotine, carving straight through the first soldier about to reach them. He landed in between Artlem, Shole, and Kage, separating them from the attackers.
Bard then charged in, swinging his giant sword with ruthless efficiency. His movements were fluid as he used his thick clock as a defense against any opening from his wide swings.
Sephria was the last to arrive, flying in after the flames had dissipated enough for her to not damage her wings. She flung out all four of her extendable spears, arms swinging like a tornado as she dove in from above, out of range of the swords below.
Shole was looking faint, Artlem doing his best to put pressure on his blood-soaked right arm. Kage ran over and yanked the knife from the soldier's throat and back to Shole.
"We have to stop the bleeding," she said, using her scarf to tie a tourniquet around the top of his arm. The cut had gone straight to the bone, and Shole's arm hung completely limp as she tied it off.
"I can't feel it," Shole mumbled.
"You're gonna be okay," Artlem said desperately.
"Let's get him out of here," Kage said, helping Artlem to put Shole's other arm over his shoulder and help him move.
The smell of smoke dissipated as they stepped out of the building.
"They must have left their horses in the barn. Kage, can you look after Shole?" Artlem said, pained note in his voice.
She nodded, and he ran off to the barn, throwing open one of the doors and disappearing inside. Shole's eyes flickered as Kage checked the bandages. Her hands trembled, but her tourniquet seemed to be doing its job.
The cut had gone so deep, the sight of blood and the bone beneath stuck in Kage's mind. Her own hands were caked in Shole's blood. It something she'd seen so much, the memory of the sticky crimson liquid all over her hands, and arms, and-
"Kage!"
Her head shot up, Artlem had emerged from the stable, leading a team of horses. Bard, Sephria, and finally Halten appeared from the building behind her.
"Help get him up with me," Artlem said, swinging into the saddle. Bard carefully lifted Shole, helping Artlem get him in front of him.
"Let's get the hell out of here," Artlem flicked his reigns and led the way from the town.
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