Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Coax

The two stare each other down as chilling winds whip around the building. Intensifying by the second. Achlys, attempting to get Cronn's assistance, crawls towards him. Leaving a trail of blood droplets behind as she goes. In an effort to distract himself from the desire to vomit, and wanting to preserve the life of Achlys, he pulls her by the hand, then steps in front of her; Maintaining the aim of his pistol's muzzle as he does so.

"Yuler, what have you done? Why? Why would you do this?"

"I had to. The Servant's Garb whispers to me... as it does for all who wear it. It's how the servants know what to say when Achlys speaks." Yuler flicks her sights onto the corpse for a brief moment. Then, closes her eyes, continuing to speak. "Devough forced it upon me before she died, holding it over my head until it could take effect. Once it did, she pulled the blanket from me and ran towards Belial. She knew he was waiting for me.... She sacrificed herself, just to get out from under Achlys' order. She entrusted me to bring down this corrupt tyrant." Yuler's bottom lip quivers as she looks over the dying Convener. Feeling nothing but rage and betrayal towards a woman she once looked up to.

"Nostrum Cronn, she spits lies at you!" Clutching at the base of Cronn's coat, Achlys speaks through chattering teeth. "This woman is sick with madness! Do not falter under these fallacious claims!"

"It's the truth!" Yuler exclaims, slamming her foot down with a step forward and unintentionally sending snow in all directions. She stops advancing only when Cronn raises his gun, tightening a finger around the trigger. "Cronn... you MUST believe me! Please!" Feeling as though she is getting nowhere, Yuler calms herself through slowed breathing and tries to reason with Cronn once more. "We can leave this place. We can find ourselves out there." She informs, waving a finger towards the clouded horizon. "We never have to look back."

Suddenly, the door bursts open once again and two additional Nostrum step out, shouting for Achlys before spotting the trio. Stunned by their sudden arrival, Yuler jerks her head back to see them. Then, returns to Cronn, who has Achlys shielding herself with his body. Studying the situation, the men charge at Yuler, who chooses not to attempt fleeing. Instead, she continues to peck at Cronn's trust.

"Take her away! To the dungeons!" Achlys demands, nearly collapsing as her arms become weak under her own weight.

"No! Cronn! Please! Please!" She begs, her feet flailing beneath her as each arm is restrained and pulled back towards The Keep until she is out of sight.

Cronn loosens his grip on the gun and lets the hand that holds it fall to his side. With them now being completely alone, he turns to Achlys, kneels down, and offers her a vial of his own. Achlys, with obvious gratitude, collects the vial in her hands and raises it slightly above her head, bowing to the man that has surely saved her from death before drinking the entirety of its contents. Cronn watches her do so, absorbing the knowledge that IF Yuler has told him the truth... then this moment is the greatest dishonor.

"Nostrum Cronn," she begins with a shiver, "you have done more for me than I could ever ask. More than I could ever expect, even in times that have yet to come. Still... we are not finished." Sliding across the ground, she slumps against a stone wall, mere feet away from Devough, who she mournfully looks over. A startled flinch passes through her as a triumphant roar spills from their battered hearth. "You must be the one to defeat Belial. No other Pureblood knows him as you do." Reaching towards her waist, Achlys pulls the buckle of her belt free and passes it to Cronn. "Take this. It's the least I can do, but I pray that it brings you whatever it is you may need in your upcoming battle."

Cronn looks down at the engraved crow, running his thumbs over the feathers and acknowledging the weight of the brass. He then stiffens his brow, shakes off instilled doubts, and clips the buckle to his own belt. Pulling his ax free, he extends the handle and bows at Achlys, who returns the gesture, before watching him return to The Keep; Just as another of Achlys' servants steps out to offer aid with the assistance of a nurse from the ward.

Creeping toward the great hall, he hears the voices of only a few Nostrum that continue to fight against the intrusion. Whether all others have fallen or fled, he does not yet know, but is certain it is an answer he will soon receive. Weeping, terrified servants, cooks, and keepers cower in the corners of the untouched kitchen. With most being too distraught to tend to small stovetop fires and the injured, only a few move about the area. Performing the duties of all. Choosing not to offer assistance or direction, Cronn pushes past them. The smell of fresh blood permeating the air. He hears the cries of a few as he goes on, but ignores their pleads for him to stop, to abandon the effort, and retreat. The words of Achlys ring true in his mind. He is the only one who knows Belial well enough to stop this massacre.

Leaving the kitchen, he hugs the nearest wall and peaks around it, getting as good a view as he can of the battle's current state. He finds there to be no more than seven Nostrum remaining, and many, many more littering the floors of the great hall. His eyes, in an attempt to protect his reestablished purpose, make the faces of the fallen unrecognizable. Stepping out, he keeps behind Belial, scavenging tools, vials, and ammunition as he goes. Watching one of the seven sore through the air- having been tossed aside by the Great Beast- Cronn slips behind a column. Now being in range of the beast, which slashes wildly at tables and benches in an attempt to bring down another Pureblood, Cronn bends down, collects a large hammer, and uses it to drive a stake into the column. Once he has made a big enough pocket, he plants an explosive within and ties the wick to a length of rope. Keeping in the blind spots, he continues to travel down the row of columns, hammering holes, and filling them with explosives. Once the last of them have been armed, he hears the pained shout of yet another Nostrum. With their blade clattering against mortar, screams sound out, but do not last. Belial's jaws latch onto the man's throat, beating him against nearby structures as Belial flings his ragdoll corpse around. Cronn, shifting about a column's base, spots the corpse sling against the bottom rail of a torn-down door at the great hall's entrance.

Acknowledging the silence that follows, excluding the grunts and sniffing of Belial, Cronn removes the pistol he had previously holstered during his plotting. Knowing that he is the only other living thing in the room, he closes his eyes, takes several calming breaths, refocuses, and steps into the heart of the hall. The beast continues to sniff at the air, moving towards the first of the columns that Cronn had gone behind. Then, raises itself up onto its hind legs and bends a hellishly long neck around it. Seeing nothing at either end of the columns from their backsides, Belial drops back onto all four legs, causing a soft quake that extends beyond where Cronn currently stands and glances down at the man himself from across the room. Cronn grits his teeth and Belial growls, fresh blood still oozing from his inner lips. Dropping the rope, which he had managed to drench in alcohol, Cronn rubs a strange, oily paper against the blade of his ax; Causing it to burst into flames. Rotating the sharpened silver until it lines up with Belial's sternum, he holds it out in front of himself, parallel to the ground.

"For Briar."