Old storyline; locked

Hawke ducked, and as the Norn scolded him, he threw one knife while slashing with the other.

Bandon and Bossimich had left the fortress and was half way to the Mask's lair. Bandon had smuggled Tulak's strange artifact with him. Very little had happened on their journey. Bandits knew to stay away and wild animals were scared by the horses. "You are not going to stand a chance!" Bossimich yelled to Bandon. "Maybe not! But atleast he will feel pain!" They both laughed in a demonic fashion and rode on...

Optimarus took his hand away.
He was safe. They had been going to the Norn Mountains, Airien thought. And there was no way they would manage to lift the curse. Even the Flameseer had been unable to, and he was meant to be renowned for such things.
Optimarus looked down at Airien. What to do with her....Jail cell, he thought.
Or better yet, a cage. Yes, that would do.
He ordered his guards to bring a cage and put Airien in it, then went back and sat on his throne.

Heiwa dodged the slash and raised his sword to block the thrown dagger.
"My,you're sneaky."He said"And you look familiar too.Could you be Hawke,conmaster extraordinaire?You had quite a bounty on your head.Apparently the King of Corbep cleared it up.."He slashed twice at Hawke quickly,attempting to catch him off guard.

Hawke parried one with difficulty, while dodging the other.
"Well done. I didn't think a Norn could recognise me. And by your armour, I would say you are the Red Knight?" He said, quickly reclaiming his thrown knife.

Toro ran away, swearing, into the temple so the huge but slow norn won't crush him. Magic would be usless...so his katana would be his only weapon against.
He stood nearby Chibi and Hawke....battling....feeling a bit safer next to some of his kind.

They stopped the horses on a hill overlooking the coast. They turned to each other and Bandon said. "well, this is it, most probably my death. I will go after the Mask, you go after his troops, second in commands and stuff like that." Bandon said and Bossimich nodded. "We need a boat." They turned and saw a fishermen. They both ran down the hill and pulled the man of his craft. "Hey, what are you- Oi!" They threw him off and commandeered the small craft. "I am going to kill that thing. If I die, tell the others that I died and all that nonsense. When they arrived at the fortress they both disambarked. "Right, Bandon, I am going this way, you go that way." "Nah, Im going in through the front door." And then Bandon jumped over the rock and charged at the guards on duty...

Airien sat in the cage they had thrown her in, she huddled into the ar corner, the furthest from the throne. Her legs were pulled up to cover her body, and to decrease the area she was taking up. Her mind was devoid of defiance.

There was a commotion outside.
A messenger rushed in.
"Sir! we are being attacked!" He said hurriedly. Optimarus opened his eyes.
"How large a force?" He asked.
"Ah...two, my lord." Said the messenger.
"TWO? That is not an attack. Wipe them out." He said.
"Yes, sir." Said the messenger running away.
Optimarus looked at Airien.
"Well well, perhaps somebody has come to save you." He said.
"Too late."

Bandon and Bossimich had killed 15 guards and then Bandon took his allies spare weapon, a warhammer and he used it to smash the door down. "Right! I go this way, you go the other!" They split and ran. Bandon met resistance instantly and started a bloody fight. They managed to knock Bandon's Helmet off. When the guard saw his face, he screamed in horror and ran.
Bossimich, was sneaking around using stealth and traps to his advantage. He took one guards head clean off when he rushed off to fight Bandon. "You! Stop!" Bossimich turned to get a mace to the face. It smashed his helmet in but did not stop the warrior. He grabbed the guard by the throat and headbutted him 3 times, completly smashing his skull to pieces...

Airien looked at Optimarus, with a face full of fear. Fear of what he could and what he might do. Fear of what he could mean as well.

Optimarus wondered whether there was any point in keeping the girl. He had extracted her memory, and she wouldn't make a very effective spy.
Perhaps he should simply kill her.
He fingered a lock of her hair.
"What to do with you? Shall i take away all the suffering and pain? The world is a cruel place. I can stop the cruelty.." He said.

"Yes."Heiwa said"Known as Heiwa to some people.I fought in the great war,one of the only people brave enough in my village to do so..."He threw his sword at Hawke while sweeping with his foot at Hawke's leg.

Hawke managed to duck under the sword, but was tripped by the low kick. As he went down, he threw both knives at the now weaponless Norn.

Bandon was in the thick of it, most of the guards, he just dodged, trying to survive. He smashed a door down only to be meeted by many more enemies. He sighed and charged straight into them. He managed to crush 4 before a mace met up with his face, sending his lower jaw clean off. "Bandon howled in pain and pulled out the sphere, he activated it and 5 more Bandon's appeared. Amidst the confusion, Bandon slipped away.

Bossimich was having just as much luck, his helmet had been crushed into his face and his arm was completly cut to bits. Now he was just running ducking and hiding. He took more down with suprise before he got taken down and apprehended...

Airien looked up at Optimarus but saw only a golden mask. He was fingering her hair, that sent shivers down her spine. She tried to move away from him, as he hadn't said anything else.

OOC: He was fingering her hair,

Optimarus smiled at Airien's obvious fear and disgust.
"I think I have no more use for you. I shall feed you to my pet. It's been a while since he has eaten."
He unlocked the cage and dragged her out the throne room. He then began to descend even further into the earth. He stopped outside two huge double doors, madeof black marbles with runes dancing and moving through it.
He spoke to the guards. "Same as always. Nobody goes in, only I get out." He placed his palm on the door and began to chant.

Airien was now very afraid, she started to tug and struggle, trying to break free and run away. The guards were attempting to hide their grins when they looked at her. Airien tugged and struggled harder.

Optimarus continued to chant, and then gave her to one of the guards to hold her while she sturggled, so she did not distract Optimarus.
Now a small crack showed where the double doors met, and a terrible stench and boiling heat rolled through.

The guard held both of her arms so she hit backwards with her head suddenly, the back of the guards skull hit the stone wall and Airiens head broke his nose. He let go suddenly and she ran off, back up the stairs and into the throne room. She searched around desperately for an escape and saw a statue behind the throne she ran over to it and began to press upon certain points until it moved, thinking it was an escape passage she rushed in and the statue blocked the entrance once more, except, she was in a bedroom, with no escape...

Bandon, was growing enraged, killing more feircer and taking more punishment then ever. He was constantly butchering while screaming war cries out of his half mouth. He started raising the dead with his dark powers. His arm was growing weak, constantly get sliced at, it was hanging on by a thread. Bandon dropped under a hail of arrows, feigning death. Some guards walked close to him and stabbed him with their swords. Suddenly, Bandon jumped up, slicing them in clean half. He then ran.

Bossimich was being dragged to a place where the guards could dump his seemingly dead body. Finnaly they came to a sort of pit, filled with the butchered corpses. they threw him in and then ran off to find Bandon. Bossimich's eyes then flicked open...

Optimarus looked around with fury in his eyes. He stopped chanting, with the doors slightly ajar.
"If it gets out, you will spend an eternity in pain!" He said, then killed the guard who had let Airien escape. He ran with surprising speed in pursuit of Airien, but when he arrived in the throne room, she was nowhere to be found.
He stopped, and Listened.
He heard two heartbeats. His own, and another beating fast. Behind the wall.
He walked over to the statue and blasted it and the wall aside. He saw Airien, and called up dark bonds to bid her, immovable.

Airien struggled against the magical bonds, to no avail. The only thing her struggling resulted in was her falling on the rather ornate bed. She ceased struggling, realising, finally that it was pointless. In her finally defeated mind she noted that the bed was surpirsingly comfortable, expensive as well, it was large. Also in the room, was a large wardrobe, a basin, a table, some chairs and other things around that marked this room as one that belonged to someone important. Couple those with the bookcases full of old and expensive books and the fact it was behind the throne room she guessed that it belonged to Optimarus. In that respect he wasn't unlike many other nobels in what he had in his room. In other respects, he was very different.

Heiwa raised his arm,and the daggers hit it,sending a bolt of pain up him.Then he realised only one dagger had hit his arm,and looked to see that the second had hit him square in the stomach.
"This..."He said"Is what armour is for..."And then procceeded to collapse to the ground,where he was soon picked up and taken to the hospital wing.