[EVENT RP] The Reclamation of Tania

[Lavi]

It was far too soon for a soldier to be barging into the room: the fighting had barely begun when Cecily saw the door opening before her. She instinctively steeled herself in preparation whatever was coming through that door. She could hear her breath quicken in pace with her heart and the start of a sweat down her brow. But it all slowly returned to normal once she realized that the woman who opened the door was alone.

"Who are--" she began to ask, but was hushed by the woman.

Cecily gave the woman an odd look until she saw the fire tome that was produced and immediately understood what was going on. Perhaps the poor lighting of the room at night made it difficult for the woman to tell who she was, but Cecily was known as a noble to have researched magic in Etruria alongside Etruscan researchers prior to the war of annexation against Etruria. She was kept safe from the immediate backlash of the Church's anti-magic movement because of her noble birth, but the her being declared of illegitimate bloodline invalidated her position as the third-in-line to the Laus marquessate.

Before she was displaced and forced to flee to Bern with other refugees, Cecily was able to establish a pro-magic underground organization called the Eight Republics, intended to help shelter and coordinate the mass movement of mages and other magical practitioners eastward. However, the organization has been floundering without the steady income once provided by Cecily.

When the woman stepped back, Cecily realized that she was still bound. She gave the bonds a tug and the now-flimsy rope snapped. When she looked up again, the woman was gone. Cecily momentarily contemplated going after the mage, but decided against it. The situation is too chaotic to figure out a way to get that mage to one of the Eight Republic agents. But, her newfound freedom did not include an escape plan.

Now what?

The fighting had just began downstairs and it is too dark outside to tell what is going on. Anyone seen fleeing the scene could potentially be run down by Bernese or Lycian soldier. Cecily walked over to the door and slowly opened it. She can hear the battle raging downstairs, but it is impossible to tell who is winning. Using magic to influence the battle would be incredibly dangerous, not to mention that her own magic is not intended for direct combat.

Footsteps thumped on the roof: likely to be disembarking wyvern soldiers. Cecily felt trapped between the two opposing forces as she moved from the door to one corner of the room. The sudden sight of boots crunching down on her room's window sill nearly made her jump. She curled up into the fetal position as the soldier planted his feet on the wooden floor.

Upon noticing her presence, the soldier raised his spear at her but did not charge. Their eyes locked onto each other as the Bernese soldier crept towards the door with the pointy end aimed at Cecily. 

"The stairs are which way?" he asked Cecily.

Cecily pointed the direction for him.

"Thank you," the soldier opened the door and left her to join the fight.

With that encounter as the test run, it seemed like staying put was the most reasonable course of action for the moment.

Who the victor of the night's battle is did not matter to her: only that she would be spared from death or capture. Satsume was her best chance of neither occurring; after all, he should still be in the possession of a Lausian dagger, which she gave him as part of an oath of loyalty. Granted, he did not exactly enact his part of the oath, but she had little choice at the time and Satsume is at least honest with her.

Cecily curled up as tight as she could in the corner of her room as she heard more footsteps from other soldiers who entered the inn from the second story windows. She did not like feeling useless, but there is only so much that a person not-trained for combat can do right now. So, she simply waited for the battle to end.