[IRP] Power Begets Power

[WyvernSlayer]

Cecily's pace quickened as the group moved toward the main hall.  Satsume - still a bit winded from his sprint earlier - was huffing to keep up.  "Not so fast!" he whispered.


But it was too late.  A guard had finally spotted her as they crossed the penultimate hallway.


"Stop! Where is your escort?!" came an approaching voice.  Cecily didn't even look in the direction of the question.


"The lady of the house needs no escort!" she retorted, and continued walking.

Satsume couldn't tell if this was a jab at himself, but quickly shelved that thought as they approached the source of the inquiry.  Cecily, meanwhile, continued on.


"She's here!" cried the guard as Satsume approached.  "Lady Cecilia is here!"

"Yes!" said Satsume, placing a hand on the guard's shoulder from behind while he brought the business end of his spear - collapsed - against the small of his back.  "And she was lying about an escort, by the way."

The hair on the guard's neck stood on end, and he gulped. "Y-you..."


Satsume motioned his allies ahead of him with a flick of his head.  "Now how about you take that sword off your belt and hand it over, nice and slow?" he said to his captive, giving him a short poke with the spearhead.  The guard winced.

"Okay, okay!  Easy..."  As the sounds of combat began to ring out from the main hall, Satsume's captive slowly reached down with one hand and began undoing the straps that connected the scabbard to his belt.  As the last one came undone, Satsume hastily snatched it away and slammed it over the guard's head - knocking him out.  Without looking back, he charged into the fray.

...just in time to be nearly blinded by a blast of magic!  "Whoa!" he yelled reflexively, shielding his face.  When his vision cleared, he saw Cecily standing before a fallen Lausian knight, with a tome in her hand.  Lightning buzzed and crackled at her fingertips.

"Seize them!" cried a voice from behind.  Before Satsume could fully piece together the situation, Shad and Orica engaged with some of the advancing knights.  Satsume raced forward, trying to reach Cecily before the enemy could surround her.  As she prepared to strike at another foe, he threw his stolen sword to the ground and snapped his weapon out to combat length and reached out to parry an incoming spearpoint as it approached the back of Cecily's neck.

Just in time, he thought.  Heaving a breath, he shuffled his feet into a protective stance, back-to-back with his sworn lady.

"Why do you need me when you throw lightning better than Ray?" he quipped over his shoulder.

"Hush."

"Right, right..." Satsume's head darted left and right, trying to pick out a tell from the approaching knights.  "Got any ideas?" he whispered.  Many wore face shields, so the eyes were a tough read.  Just then, he noticed a twitch from the arm of one of the lance-wielding foes.  That one, then, he decided.

"Break through.  Find Lucian," Cecily said simply.  Satsume muttered an acknowledgement.  And then, finally, the foe he had anticipated started to move in.

"Down!" Satsume cried.  As several lances came down to pin the two of them, he slid his hands down to the base of his weapon and swung it like a bat, up over his head.  His arms would probably have toppled Cecily over, had she not quickly reacted to his warning and crouched low, well underneath his sweeping riposte.  Several spearpoints and wooden shafts impacted on his weapon, as well as his forearms.  Satsume shoved upwards as he completed the spinning block, then quickly crouched low and made himself as small as his armor would let him.

Over his shoulder, he heard a hurried chant, and a blast of lightning hurtled over him like a shoulder cannon, slamming into the foe in front of him and knocking him backwards several feet, howling in pain.  Satsume bristled as the spell passed dangerously close to his ear, but he couldn't help cracking a grin at their success.

"Go!  Go!" he yelled, and burst out of his crouch, charging forward with his weapon out as they attempted to clear the encirclement.