Sarabande - the ex-convict

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Sara’s childhood memory was rather fuzzy, though she could remember running around Ravenfell’s nameless port in a small band of orphaned street urchin, trying her hardest to survive by stealing. Living among robbers, vagrants, bandits and fugitives it was no surprise when she finally found a couple who wanted to “adopt” her, they turned out to be a pair of mischief themselves.

Orlen the matriarch and her husband Thamirin earned a living by smuggling wine and silk from Elven Island and counterfeiting gold coins. There were few other orphans adopted into the family and although they were treated more like indenture servants rather than sons and daughters, Sara tried to make the best out of her situation. Thamirin taught her how to counterfeit badge, medallion and coins while Orlen taught her to forged official documents.

Disaster stroke when three barrels of wine smuggled into an official chamber at Obsidian Stronghold turned out to be filled with gun powder instead of wine. The whole family was charged with treason and after her first brutal interrogation at the age of 17, Sara was sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labour.

10 years later, considering her age and good behaviour Sara was finally pardoned and deemed ready to live a normal life among the society. Less than three hours after being released, she tried to rob a random male patron.

Personality:

Ruthless and cunning, everyone outside of her friends’ circle is ultimately expendable or could be exploited for her own amusement. However, she is loyal to a fault to her friends. She takes life debt very seriously and whoever helped her in the past has earned her undying loyalty and devotion.

Realizing that growing up a street waif her fate could have been worse, she often goes an extra mile to please any authoritative figure in her life. Be it her foster parents or her mentor.

She makes friend quite easily and will never dream about betraying any of them. She will voluntarily cover any of her friends’ wrongdoings even if it gets her rear back into the jail.

Distinctive physical characteristic:

- She has only three fingers in her right hand. An interrogator had chopped her little and ring finger off.
- Iron shackles scarring around her right ankle.
- Crisscrossed scars all over her back from whips.
- Fading scars around her upper thighs.
- Defensive scars around both of her lower arms.

Burning the midnight oil

Sweat running down her scared back, her hands and legs shook from the sheer amount of exertion needed to do this menial work. The shovel hit another rock and her arms finally gave up. She fell to the hard and unforgiving ground of Forsaken Abbey with a loud cry of pain and frustration and it was a struggle to slow her laboured breathing down, she anxiously looked behind her back. The bats were there, just watching, as if waiting for her to kneel down and die.

She folded and hugged her legs together like a child, resting her sweaty chin on her knees.

Viya has told her to get at least seven hours of sleep a day and remembering how concerned she was when she gave her the advice, Sara felt a pang of guilt. She had lied to her, to someone who genuinely cared about her well being.

With an audible groan she pushed herself up and continued to dig, maybe she could get three hours of sleep tonight if she had done early. The coffin is supposed to be six feet under the ground, but she felt like she had been digging for miles.

Just a few minute later, finally a familiar sound she had been waiting for was heard. The thumping sound of a metallic shovel hitting a wooden casket. She let out a mirthless and breathless laugh, quickly relieving the upper side of the coffin from dirt and rocks.

She held her breath in, expecting a foul odor to assault her senses when she yanked the coffin open with her bare hands. There was a loud creaking sound and followed by a loud involuntary gasp. Old memories rushed into her mind and she very nearly pulled the embalmed corpse into a hug.

No! Her mind screamed. It cannot be him! And she almost yelled out in joy when she read the engraved name and age of the deceased in the tombstone.

The resemblance was really uncanny and for the first time since she started this extra activity, she was left dumbfounded and unsure of what to do next. Minutes passed as she stared at the bluish lips and the greyish skin, she regretted that fact that she could not see his eyes. Now she realized that this seemingly sleeping man was definitely not the same man from her past. This stranger looked very peaceful in his eternal sleep.

She swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in her throat, her last memory with “him” has not been very kind. They did not cover his face as they put the noose around his neck and lead him to stand over a drop door. A small part of her was thankful for that, because as always, he has almost instantly found her among the crowds. His eyes spoke to her and moments before the executor pulled the lever down, there were only two people in that field that noon, sharing a very mute and private conversation. It was an idyllic and tranquil moment, only broken by the loud boisterous voice of the prison warden.

“Let him be an example.” She muttered the words with shaking lips.

She knows what to do now. There will be no food for her pet today and tonight she will get enough sleep. It has been a ten long years and finally she allowed herself to weep for him, for her and for this cold embalmed stranger.

Her Maiden Voyage - Part I


Present

The very first thing Sara felt when she regained her awareness was a terrible itch caused by a blade of grass, sticking to her face and causing her a minor but hardly bearable discomfort. When she tried to get rid of the offending object though, she could barely move her hands.

Panic quickly crept in and she fought the urge to bolt away, trying to clear her mind and hazard guess her current situation. She was injured, badly. Pain spread around her body like a wild fire, she could not move any of her extremities and when she tried to crack an eye open, the sun light momentarily blinded her vision.

She let out a whimper and tried to curl up.

“Be still!” Somebody hissed at her, clearly it was a man's voice, it took her several moments to adjust her blurry vision.

She stared at an old man in a priest robe, glad to realize that at least she was safe. No enemy in sight and as she struggled to recollect her memory, the old man stood up. Leaving her barely functioning body to mend itself.

“There, all done.” He said with a pompous smile.

Sara tried to talk, but she could not move her jaw, so she shot him a dirty look instead.

He gave her a triumphant grin in reply and reached deep into her pocket, he took out her coins satchel and let it dangling inches over her face. “I will take this a payment, yes? Be happy, I usually charge more for my healing ability.”

The unscrupulous healer walked away minutes later, followed by mumbled sound of curses from the helpless warrior. He turned around and winked before summoning his mount, “that is why I did not fix your broken jaw, you silly girl.”

36 hours ago

“Splendid, all pieces set, now try to walk.” The cheerful squire took a step back, giving Sara enough space for her to move around. This was her very first time of wearing a complete set of plate armors and she was not sure if her mentor would approve of this, or to a potentially deadly journey she was going to take, all for the sake of pride.

It was an easy enough mission, catching few bandits around the twilight mine. She bagged few bandits on her own. They were no match of her rage and when she heard bones cracking under her axe, Sara knew that she had found her true calling. The team acknowledged her ability too, more so when she told them that it was her first mission. Among praises and pats on the back, there was a voice of challenge too, surprisingly coming from a meek and quiet scout.

“I know a greater warrior in my guild, he went to Forsaken Abbey on his very first mission.”

She should have ignored the remark and went back to the castle, enjoying her quiet evening and feeding off the bandit’s limbs to her beloved pet. Still high on adrenalin and feeling overly confident after her first success, she challenged the scout to assemble a new group. The warrior from his guild, the scout , a healer and herself. They were going to bring the infamous witch who resides in the pit of the Abbey down.

The other warrior was surprisingly quite a nice feller. He was much taller than Sara and far bulkier than her too. His head was clean shaven and though his face was hardened by his training, he had a very warm and welcoming smile. His wife and his sister in law trained as healers and they volunteered to come along with them.

The armour given to Sara by Luren was quite comfortable, but they argued that it would not offer her enough protection. Sparing few percentage of her earning, Sara rent another set of armour. Plates slowed her down considerably, but when the other warrior smashed his fist against her chestplate, she could barely feel a thing.

The bald warrior was almost instantly chosen to lead the group. It was fine for Sara, if there is one thing she hated most, it would be leading. She was quite good at following orders but not dishing them out.

“We set out in one hour, prepare foods and potions. I don’t know how long we will be down there…” he stared at the scout for a moment, “…and you, bring extra arrows!”

Sara knew then that she should hide the limbs she'd collected somewhere, maybe burying them until she'd back to the city. Since she had no shovel with her, she leaved the limb under Varanas' bridge. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she remembered Selm swimming at the exact same place.

She left another bag in the bank's vault, it contained her other armours and few other insignificant things, however there was something special inside too. A gift for someone she cherishes, even the thought of him taking care of her boar had made her felt bubbly.

One hour later as promised, they were already standing in front of the magic barrier. The warrior's wife explained to her its function, itkept the monsters inside, confining them inside the dungeon.

The bald warrior slapped her back encouragingly. “You have never been venturing inside a dungeon such as this, have you?”

Sara shook her head, gingerly touching the transparent blue barrier.

“My maiden voyage...and it should be hell of a ride.”

Her Maiden Voyage - Part II

Sara had seen enough ghosts in her lifetime. Violent killings was just a part of life in Ravenfell, though it was mostly low lives killing other even lower lives over some pety disputes. Ravenfell's inhabitants even had a famous saying to illustrate the condition perfectly. Here today, ghost tomorrow.

The ghost of the young man however, looked so sad and lost and Sara wondered if the man's family knows about his whereabouts.

“Poor boy...” one of the healers commented with some sympathy. “His soul is trapped behind this magic barrier, doomed for eternity to roam this accursed place.”

And what an accursed place that dungeon turned out to be. It reeked badly of decaying flesh and what the priests would call as dark magic. Sara almost pitied the healers, it must be hard for them as the followers of the light to be in a place where demonic aura surrounded and suffocated them. There was nothing she could do except for doing her own job splendidly. So far, so good. She had not met any fiend she could not defeat nor any obstacle she could not overcome.

It was not an easy trek and they almost lost twice in the confusing mazes.

Sara heard echoes all the time whenever she was forced to do hard labour in mountainous terrain of Dust Devil Canyon, however what they were facing down there was something different altogether. There were hypnotizing sounds and voices, seemingly coming from the cave wall around them. One misstep and they would fall into the depth of the abyss.

They had walking for quite a while when the bald warrior gave them a sign to stop and rest. While the group sat and ate, he took his axe and approached what appeared to be a curious looking rock. It has a purplish colour in few places, similar to what Sara had seen many times during her prisoner days.

“We can sell this,” the bald man talked to no one in particular. “I heard it is one of the elements needed to make magical instruments.”

He lifted his axe over his head and brought them down with a loud bang.

Sara undid her helmet and was stared numbly at him for a while. The other warrrior's mining technique was absolutely wrong. He simply hit the rock with as much strength as he could muster and although he managed to break it, the clumsy job destroyed many portions of the precious minerals too.

The muscles on her back twitched, almost reflexively preparing herself to receive ten painful lashes. The common punishment administered by the supervisors to prisoners who has made the same mistake.

She could not stop herself anymore, “step back”.

Before the bald warrior could react, she already smashed her axe to the left side of the rock. It was a rather weak strike, just enough to jar the connected minerals loose.

“These kind of rocks have different points of weaknesses, and different points of weakness needed different amount of strength to crack.” She told the rest of the group calmly. “Try to understand this, and your work will yield more result.”

Chorus of oohs and aahs followed shortly after from her stunned audiences.

“Have you ever think about making money out of this skill?” The quiet scout chirped in.

She stopped to think, he did have a point. Since she started to work as a maid in the castle, all of her basic needs were fulfilled. But surely extras coins will do her some good, especially to get her own armour sets someday.

“I...I can try...” She shrugged, “why not...” She continued to work while the rest of the group prodding her with mining related questions.

20 hours ago

The deeper they went inside the dungeon, the more dangerous enemies were waiting for them. They started to rest more frequently too, tending superficial wounds and sometimes mining the other minerals. Hours later they finally reached a massive door, guarded by an equally massive undead.

“People call him Grand duke.” The scout hushed in Sara's ear.

“Grand duke hnn?” Sara and their group leader exchanged glances for a while and finally he nodded. “Go ahead and get him, we will watch your back.”

The ground shook heavily as the mighty Grand duke charged, his eyes bore into hers, powerful arms swung hard with a promise to deliver pain. Sara answered his call, she readied her arms, eyes focused solely on the prey before her, her stocky legs dashed and with a blur of steel and flesh, she charged her foe.

That night, cheered by her peers, face illuminated by the purplish light, standing on the pentagram engraved stage of stone, Sara danced so beautifully.

Her Maiden Voyage - Part III

1 hour ago

The collective mood went sour hours ago even before they were standing in front of the Witch chamber, holding three gems that acted as the key to open the massive gate.

Both of the healers had haunting dark rings under their eyes, even though they could conjure water out of thin air, their lips were chapped, it even looked painful to utter a simple spell.

The scouts trigger fingers were bleeding, the skin peeled off though he insisted that he was just fine. She tried to peek at his quiver, there were not much left inside anymore, eventhough the scout already tried to salvage some of the used arrows.

Their leader grew increasingly impatient and frustrated at the condition of the group, he had made several wrong decisions and some of the battle tactics were just too chaotic. Sara realized now that they did not have enough plan on how to proceed with the witch.

She felt a real worry for the first time since they descended into this pit. Sara felt very uncomfortable too, thin shirt and breeches that she wore under her armours clung stubbornly onto her skin, her gold satchel rung quietly with each step she took.

“Maybe...maybe we should just trek back.” The leader's sister in law pipped up.
The bald warrior shook his head firmly in reply. “Out of question. If you want to get lost in the maze again, go ahead. We only have one portal stone and we are going to use it after we defeat the witch.”

He did not need to ask who's with him, since the stone was in his possession.

As the gate swung open, Sara prayed.

30 minutes ago

They were being slaughtered.

The witch summoned her followers from time to time, giving the scout more than enough trouble. As Sara heard his anguished scream, she knew that it was over for him. The healers struggled to provide support to her and their leader, knowing that they were their only ticket out of this hell, now that the Pandora’s box's already opened.

After the scout fell, things went downhill in record time. The witch teleported the leader's wife to another room, leaving the less capable healer to fend for herself against the witch's followers and to heal two warriors at the same time. Despite the loud sounds of battle, Sara could almost clearly hear the thumping sound as her severed head finally hit the battle ground.
Her half lidded eyes stared into Sara, beseeching, begging her to attach it back on.

Sara screamed.

Epilogue

Present

It took her a long while to passably move her fingers again, her arms were still too weak to be able to support herself but now she could at lest write a short message to ask for assistance. She did not know nor could remember how she went out of that dungeon alive. She had not seen any of her team mates too, she assumed that they were dead.

She decided to try to find out their fate later, for now, she needed help herself.
With disappointed frown she realized that it had been a while since she had seen the only person who knows about the location of her Varanas' hideout. Met...she was out of question then.

She doubted that Ishren would be strong enough to carry and support her all the way to the city. She chewed her lips in thoughts, Luren is probably still away in elven Island with Lily, Viya must certainly be busy taking care of Selm. That left...she gulped, Dan.

She mentally winced. Dan is certainly strong enough to support her, but she could not trust the elf enough to be around her in her vulnerable state.

Thinking about Ishren again, she remembered how the piglet almost instantly took a liking to the shy boy. A tiny smile rose to her face, when she remembered the gentle brute who helped them bringing Selm back into the castle.

That's it! He seemed to be unassuming and quiet enough to keep a secret about her hideout, maybe he will even feed her pet.

“Grrkh...” She tried to repeat his strange sounding name with her broken jaw, pleasantly surprised to find out that his name hurt her jaw the least and it even sounded passable too.

Half an hour latter, a messenger is sent to Apatia's castle, carrying a piece of paper and under strict order to deliver the distress flare to a bearded brutish looking man.

*Written in big ugly letters, as if the sender had difficulty to hold the quill down.*

Please be discrete. I need your help, badly. Ask the messenger for location.

Sara