[IRP] The Dead One Calls

[Swift_Assassin]

With Shad's stomach finally settled, he heard the sounds of someone approaching from behind. He thought to grab the axe and swing it backwards, but his hand fumbled with the handle of the axe. Before he could secure a grip, Paige came to his rescue, slaying the brigand approaching him. He looked her over, barely registering that she was pointing at someone. 'Go?' Go where? Was she covering his advance? But where was he advancing too? He looked back towards the castle where an answer revealed itself.

A middle-aged man, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a perpetual look of disinterest, came through the main door. He was adorned with smalt blue armor, the same color that Marcus wore, that Brutus wore, that all of Shad's men here wore. He lacked a pauldron on his right shoulder and had a grey scarf around his neck. This man was Rollo, one of the senior knights who swore loyalty, not to Shad, but to his father Daren. He had been one of Daren's confidants and even tried to protect Shad's mother during the attack upon their keep. Like most of Daren's men, he traveled around Etruria until Shad returned to his homeland. He was one of the last people Shad expected to turn traitor.

"I know I said I'm not going to interfere with what you do, but stop the ruckus right now!" He yelled, before noticing a full-blown battle taking place in the courtyard. He took a step back at the site of the wyvern. "Shit." He looked around and saw Shad on his knees staring at him. They locked eyes and Rollo's eyes began to narrow. Shad's eye widened though. One of his father's men, someone who returned to their service when Shad returned, had betrayed him. He let the brigands take the castle. He must have told them about Maria and Lowell, potential hostages.

"I've got that one," Shad said to Paige as he got to his feet. He started charging Rollo before anyone could stop him. He was so blinded by rage, he left the schiavona pinning the dead brigand to the ground. "You bashtard!"

Rollo bit his lip, knowing he didn't have a weapon on him. "Let him pass. I'll take care of him." He retreated back into the castle waiting for Shad to get to him. A couple of brigands in Shad's path thought of stopping him, but moved aside. In Shad's current state, he couldn't do much against them anyway. Shad entered the doorway to find no one. He looked around then heard a slam behind him. Rollo had closed the door behind them, leaving the two of them in the main hall of the castle. "Welcome to Castle Burg, milord. Quite the reception, don't you think?"

Shad just stood there, not even acknowledging Rollo as he paced around him. He was busy taking in what saw. Tattered banners bearing his heraldry, a roaring fire in the center of the hall, a burgundy carpet lining the floor, presumably a left-over from the previous owners. His family cared little for decor you stand on, so they probably never bothered to change it. Empty bottles and food scraps littered the floor, probably due to the urgency of the the attack. He noticed one thing that was left untouched, a portrait on the wall near the staircase. If he was in the right state of mind, he'd remember posing for it, with his parents, as it was being painted. It was half a year before things went bad, when Daren became head of the family. Perhaps Rollo told them not to touch it. Perhaps so they could identify who was going to be paying the ransom.
 
"If you want to know whose fault this is, well. Fault lies with that precocious bitch of your little 'pack'. She wasn't here when Marcus arrived. She snuck out into town, like Hyperions are prone to do. Marcus raised hell and wanted to set an example. So those curs offered me up on a platter. He never liked me anyway, even though I was his superior back before you were an only child." He paused, stopping in his tracks. The contempt in Rollo's voice towards Marcus was palpable. Shad could just about hear the seething when his name was mentioned, even as the ringing in his ears continued. Light footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and Shad recognized who it came from. A girl, younger than himself with white hair and some fresh wounds, as well a few old facial scars, clad in black clothes. This was one of Cass' people, one she sent to shadow Maria. Grey, Shad recalled. He wasn't sure if this was her real name or just a designation by Cass.

"This one was with her all the time anyway. Why scare the people with an armed guard? Well. I don't take betrayal well. And look what happened. I help those scoundrels mop up the curs, put the staff and your family in chains...and I got to cut Marcus in half. He thought he could trust me, that I had took his actions to heart and tried to apologize with my own actions. Led him straight to Maria's cell and cut him in half. Best. Moment. Of. My. Life." As Rollo monologued, Shad just stared forward, seemingly absorbed into it. Rollo stopped at looked back at the spy, Grey. She had cuffs around her legs and hands, but was forced to act like a maid to the brigands. He noticed she was carrying something. "What are you doing?"

Shad looked her way and she walked up to him. "Arm." Shad was bewildered by it. "Arm." Shad heard what he thought he heard and shook his head. She wanted him to raise his left arm, but he couldn't. She lifted it slightly and began putting it through something. She lifted something up to his shoulder and tapped the other one. "Arm." Shad put his arm back and she slipped it through something as well. She pull it up to his shoulder and fixed the collar. She then stood in front of him and tried to fix his hair a certain way. "Not enough hair. Will have to do." He was too out of it to notice, but she had just dressed him in one of Daren's spare coats. It was a bit tattered and was actually heavier what he was used too. It possessed a chain-mail inner-weave and was actually hard for him to wear it and stay standing with how he was doing.

"You're trying to make him look like his father? What, is his memory meant to guilt me to surrender? I've given up hope of his forgiveness when I struck down his intended son-in-law." Rollo laughed a bit as she approached him. She knelt down and presented something to Rollo. His weapon, a spear. "You're a weird one aren't you." As Rollo took the spear from her, he backhanded her in the face. What he didn't notice, was her grabbing the prison keys from his waist.

She got back to her feet and walked back towards Shad, stopping next to Shad where she was sure Rollo couldn't hear her. "Inner pocket on the left." She muttered as she walked out the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" he yelled. He grasped at his waist any noticed the cell keys were missing. He gritted his teeth in realization. She was going to free the captives, free Maria. "Don't you dare! If you let her out, I'll-"

"No."

Rollo stopped looking past Shad and back to him. "What did you say, pup?! You finally acknowledge me speaking to you and that's all you have to say?!" He took a fighting stance, ready for Shad's response. He knew Shad was reckless and impulsive. He didn't want to kill him, due in small part to loyalty to his father. But he wanted to make him suffer for choosing Marcus over any of the others. If it wasn't for Marcus, none of this would have happened. Besides, Lycia would probably pay a pretty penny for Shad and Maria. And Rollo could rationalize it as a safer option to the siblings than dying in battle to the Lycians. "What's wrong with you?! I killed that bastard Marcus. I've indirectly caused days of suffering to your sister. You were the one to break your left hand right? Where is that same reckless rage that caused that? The recklessness that drags in everyone around with you with little regard to your own safety? Why aren't you doing anything?!"

Shad just continued to stand there, his expression back to how it was when Rollo was speaking. He grabbed for the schiavona and found it missing. He reached just a bit more and found the sacaen sword that belonged to Leon. He drew it and just stood there, barely moving, unable to see out of his left eye, stuck shut with congealed blood. The ringing in his ears had been off and on since his head was bashed around. He started walking towards the staircase, not even looking at Rollo as he did so. Rollo kept in his stance, pivoting his stance to keep Shad in his view. Shad limped his way in front of the painting of him with his parents. He looked at his father in the painting. He stared at the painting, effectively disturbing Rollo in how detached from this situation he was acting. "What I wouldn't give to have a painting with the four of ush." He fell to a knee. "Mari's a pieshe of work, you two would have loved her. But unfortunately this bashtards shpilled shome paint on her. I'm going to make them pay for the d-damage and then I'm going to clean her up." He began laughing madly as he rose to his feet and looked back at Rollo. "I've got a terrific idea, Rollo. You're gonna love it."

Rollo was somewhat relieved Shad stopped talking to a painting, but was still cautious about what Shad meant by terrific idea. While it may have seemed to Shad to be a running gag between the members of his family, Shad's spur of the moment ideas never settled well with any of his men. "What are you talking about, pup? What idea are you-"

"Die."