Dragons Beyond the Wall, Part 2

Posted on Mon Aug 10th, 2020 @ 10:29am by Miss Amborsae Lyrius & Miss Kashian Lyrius & Miss Lushian Lyrius & Sir Ryuan de Locke

Mission: Deep Winter, 2137 of the Endless Winter
Location: Main Courtyard, Lyrius Estate
Timeline: Late Morning, Aurember 1st, 2137

Lushan wore her own cloak even though Kashian decided to use one of Amborsae's.

"So, what else do we need?" Kashian asked thinking it over.

"Well, we will only be outside the wall for a few hours. We have sweet water and waybread, I doubt we will need more," Lushian replied softly.

"Do we have enough for all 3 of us?" Kashian asked doing her best to think it through.

"We have enough for 4," Lushian replied.

Kashian gave her sister a look. She hated when Lushian seemed to know something but wouldn't say.

Amborsae glanced at Kashian; she knew something was happening, but she didn't know what. She trusted Lushian, so she went along with them. "Let's go then," she said. "Which way?" she asked, looking at Lushian.

"To the side gate," Kashian said pulling the cloak that her adopted sister had brought for her. "We can see how snowed over it is!" She began to walk to the east, making for the small gate that had at one time been used for moving cattle.

Lushian glanced to Amborsae, but said nothing. A moment later she followed after her twin.

Amborsae shared the glance, and looked at Lushian, before following the girls. "Kashian, you know this could be dangerous, right?" Amborsae asked. She had brought her bow and arrow, hidden of course, just in case. She hated to use it except for hunting, but she wouldn't let anything happen to her sisters. She loved them completely.

"Dangerous? We're just going out to see some nomads. They could be flesh starved vagrants who will rape and murder us, but I fail to see how it's dangerous," Kashian said as she led the way beyond the courtyard and through the paths that led to the small cottages.

"I don't think they're going to be rapists," Lushian replied softly as she followed.

"Nomads can be dangerous. They could be from anywhere. I've seen more than I wish I had, and believe me, strangers can be deadly," Amborsae said softly. She rarely ever spoke of the past before she had been found by her sisters. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Oh no! Strangers! It's not like we haven't had those before," Kashian said giving her adopted sister a pointed look.

"Snow," Lushian said and pointed ahead of them at where the gate should have been, but instead it was covered in a wall of thick snow and ice.

"Well, this isn't exactly going to be a simple task," she said, rolling her eyes at Kashian. "What do you want me to do now? I could always fire several arrows to use to climb the ice."

"I like what you're thinking, but how do we climb down on the other side," Kashian replied rubbing her chin in thought.

"de Locke is going..." Lushian said simply. "We should ask him to take us."

"Why would he take us?" Amborsae asked, frowning.

"That's a terrible idea!" Kashian protested. "He won't let us do anything fun."

"He might if we asked," Lushian said ignoring her twin and looking to Amborsae.

Amborsae nodded. "Well, it couldn't hurt to ask, I guess," she said softly. "Alright, let's ask him and hope for the best. We can always sneak out another way if he doesn't help us," she said. She and Lushian could always understand one another without speaking; it was a bond that they had developed, one Amborsae loved.

Kashian frowned and folded her arms. "And if he says no, he will know we will try and sneak out and he'll stick on of his goons on us and we'll never make it out," she complained.

"The kitchens are making a soup for lunch," Lushian said as she walked up to the snow covered gate and looked at it in detail.

Amborsae frowned slightly. "You want us to try and bribe him or use the soup to melt the ice?" Amborsae asked.

"It's going to be salty... I don't want to eat it..." Lushian replied turning from the gate.

"That is the stupidest reason to run away," Kashian said folding her arms tighter. She wanted to sneak out, she did not want to be stuck with a babysitter if they were leaving the manor, and if they asked de Locke, they would be. "I don't want to ask de Locke to take us just because you don't want to eat soup."

"It's going to be too salty," Lushian said pouting, looking to Amborsae to back her up.

Amborsae nodded. "I don't want it either, then," she said. "We should ask de Locke, if Lushian says he might take us if we ask, then I trust her," she added.

"Salty..." Muttered Lushian as she reached out to grab onto the edge of Amborsae's cloak.

"Fine," Kashian huffed angrily. "But I'm not asking and unless you want Lushian to confuse the crap out of him, that leaves you. You want to go ask de Locke if we can go too?"

"Alright, I will," Amborsae said. "Let's go," she added. She looked at Lushian, and flashed her a smile.

Lushian said nothing and her face seemed to hide any readable emotion, as it torn between relief and concern.

"Fine, I bet he's in the guard house, if he's going he'll go before noon, so we should hurry," Kashian said in a bit of a huff. She knew better than to resist to much, but she wasn't happy about it.

Amborsae led the way to the guard house, with haste. She didn't want to disappoint either of her sisters, so she knew it was important. As the trio reached the guard house, Amborsae saw de Locke, and smiled sweetly at him. "Good morning," she greeted him.

Armor glinting in the mid morning sun, de Locke turned to look at the elf maidens as they drew close. "Lady Amborsae," he said with a slight bow of his head. His voice was deep and seemed to boom from somewhere inside his helmet. As always he was covered from head to toe in Beskar armor and wore the fur of a white beast around his shoulders. "And the Ladies Lushian and Kashian."

Kashian looked away, knowing full well how this was going to go.

Lushian looked at de Locke as if she could not really understand him, as if he was a complete mystery to her, yet had no fear in her gaze.

"Sir de Locke, we could use your help today. My lovely sister, Lady Lushian, has led us here because we need to go with you when you go to greet the nomads. I would not normally ask, but it is important that we do go. Please, take us with you this day. We shall not be any problem, but we must go, please," Amborsae said, fluttering her eyelids slightly, her tone pleading with him.

de Locke looked from Amborsae to Kashian and finally to Lushian. "Lady Lushian wishes to go?" he asked taking a step forward.

Lushian backed up nervously, but did not let go of Amborsae's cloak.

"If the Lady Lushian can give me a reason for wishing to go..." he said, his voice low, almost threatening.

"Salty... soup..." Lushian said, moving to keep Amborsae between her the the man in armor.

"Salty soup?" de Locke asked and looked to Amborsae. "Care to explain?"

"Can anyone ever explain? Sir de Locke, you know when Lady Lushian speaks, it is wise to listen. She follows her instincts, and I owe my life to those instincts. She is the reason I'm here, and if she says we need to go, then we need to go. Plus, she doesn't want to eat lunch, they're going to add too much salt to the soup," Amborsae replied.

"Then would it not make more sense to simply tell the kitchen to not add so much salt? I am travelling beyond the wall. The Lady Amalthea will not be pleased with my taking her children into the wild. I will not do it simply on the word of a girl who does not wish to eat soup," de Locke said flatly. As with all who lived in Lyrius he knew of Lushian's ability, but he also knew better then to blindly trust anyone. If Lushian was meant to use him, then she would know she needed more than that.

Lushian looked to Ambrosae with some desperation in her eyes, but she seemed unable to say anything more.

"All I know, Sir de Locke, is that we must go with you. I am pleading with you; Lushian can not say why we must go, but it is imperative that we do. In all probability, there is someone who is in need of our help; Lady Lushian told us to pack for four people, not three. Beyond that, I do not share her gifts. But we must go, please," Amborsae pleaded.

de Locke straightened up. "4?" he said with a laugh. "You are eager to see... aren't you?" He took it to mean that Lushian hoped to watch him eat and thus see him remove the helmet.

"The 4th isn't... for... you," Lushian said softly, keeping herself tucked behind Amborsae

"Interesting..." de Locke said thoughtfully. "Fine... I am curious enough to put up with this. I'll let you go with me... pending approval by your mother. If she approves, you may accompany me."

Amborsae looked at Lushian, a silent look between the two sisters. She hoped that their mother would allow it, but she was ready to plead with him not to ask for permission, if Lushian felt that permission wouldn't be given.

Kashian sighed and began to stomp away, back toward the manner.

de Locke gazed after her. "I will not stand against the will of your mother. If she wishes for you not to go, then I shall have no hand in you going," he said sternly.

Lushian looked to the sister who left and then back to her other sister, but she said nothing.

"Kashian!" Amborsae called out. "de Locke, you know how important Lushian's will is, and how much stock our mother puts in her instincts. She knows when we need to be somewhere, and mother will understand," Amborsae said firmly.

"If your mother listens, then I have every faith she will allow it," de Locke said with a note of finality. "I have spoken."

Lushian looked to her sister and hung her head silently.

Amborsae looked at her, and then at de Locke. "By the time we speak to mother and explain everything, someone could be dead. That is not something I could live with," Amborsae said firmly. "Please, we are wasting time."

"Miss Amborsae, I have spoken," de Locke said flatly. "I shall not change my mind."

Lushian tugged at Amborsae's cloak.

"Then the death of an innocent will be on you, Sir de Locke," Amborsae insisted, turning in a huff as she looked at Lushian. She knew she had to find a new way with Lushian out of the walls, somehow, but wasn't sure how. She looked at Lushian. "Any ideas?" she asked softly.

de Locke said nothing as he moved back to his post.

"We need to talk to mother," Lushian said softly. She let go of her sisters cloak and began to walk back to the manor.

Amborsae nodded, and followed Lushian closely. "We'll get out there, don't worry Lushian," she promised. She wanted to hug her sister, but she also knew how much Lushian hated to be touched. She smiled softly. "Even if we have to break out," she added.