The Sacrifice - A medieval fantasy RP

[Frundette]

After leaving the girl alone, Urir cracked open the door of Dulirn's study, glancing around to make sure the wizard hadn't returned yet. The circle of candles from Dulirn's last sacrifice had all burnt themselves out, leaving only hardened puddles of wax stuck to the stone floor that Urir would be expected to clean up before the next time the wizard summoned the fire demon.

He moved toward the far wall, glancing back toward the door often to make sure Dulirn hadn't appeared there. An ornate table sat near the back of the room, cluttered with books, scrolls, ink wells, and pens. Urir lifted up a few loose sheets of parchment and found what he was looking for immediately. The ornate dagger had been sitting there for almost as long as Urir could remember. Perhaps it was magical or perhaps nothing more than a letter opener, but either way, Urir suspected it would do the job.

He slid it from underneath the papers, testing the edge with his gnarled finger, flinching slightly when it easily cut him.

​

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

After about 30 minutes of crying Marlo's tears dried up, she was still just as upset, possibly even more as she had time to think about it, but there were no more tears to come. She swallowed the lump rising up in the back of her throat and took several deep breaths before wiping her tears away. Get a grip!

She knew that crying wasn't going to solve anything, it wasn't going to help her get out. That depended on her ability to think clearly and get the job done, and she was determined to do it. But how? Her bow was still lying on the floor in Dulirn's dining room, she still had the arrows but it wasn't like she could throw them. The small hunting knife was still tucked in her belt but it wouldn't be enough to kill a full grown man. She was weaponless against a wizard who was going to kill her in less then five hours, her only hope was the Urir had some brilliant plan. Cause she sure didn't.

 

[Frundette]

Urir hurriedly tucked the long dagger into his belt underneath his oversized, shapeless gray shirt. Looking around nervously as if the wizard would appear any second, he pulled his shirt back down, trying to ensure it wasn't obvious that he was concealing the blade. And not a moment too soon, for Dulirn stepped into the room, almost silent as usual. Urir did his best not to appear guilty as he got to work scraping the hardened wax off the stone floor. The short man worked quickly, casting a sideways glance at the wizard every now and then, but Dulirn was absorbed in one of his spell books and never even seemed to notice Urir.

--

It was growing dark outside when Urir was able to return to Marlo' s room. He carried a tray with two loaves of bread and a glass of water. Under the loaves, the dagger lay hidden. He unlocked the door and shuffled inside, setting down the tray at the foot of the bed. If he noticed that she had been crying, he gave no indication.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Marlo looked up when the door clicked open, she was standing on the far end of the room, facing the wall. When Urir entered she turned around and met his eyes before he could look away. "How, Urir?" She whispered, so quietly that even though they were in the same room he would have to strain to hear her words.

 

[Frundette]

"When he wrestles with the fire demon, he is vulnerable," said Urir quietly. "He must concentrate." At least that was what it seemed to him and he hoped he was right. It was certainly possible the wizard had enough extra concentration power to cast a spell AND maintain control over the fire demon, but no sense letting Marlo see he had any doubts about the matter. "Kill him then."

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Marlo set her mouth in a hard line, doubts running like wildfire through her mind, even though Urir had sounded reasonably confident that it would work. First off, she had no weapon. Did he expect her to beat him to death with her hands? Hardly very likely. And secondly, what was the fire demon? What kind of power did it hold? Would it attempt to protect Dulirn if the wizard himself was too occupied to notice her himself? She exhaled deeply and blinked slowly, this entire idea, however insane it sounded, depended on her being in the right state of mind. Her life depended on it, and probably even Urir's if she failed to complete the task and Dulirn figured out his role in the assasination attempt.

With that thought, she looked at the short man with new eyes, suddenly realizing the risk he was taking, and the trust he was placing in her. If Dulirn had been telling the truth at their short dinner, in that Urir was a loyal companion, then he had either placed his trust in the wrong person or Urir was indeed breaking a tight bond that bound the pair together. One that probably favored Dulirn over Urir, at least from what she had observed.

"I need a weapon, something small but effective." She told him, surprised herself at how steady her voice was. At this point it was obvious that her bow would be useless with her hands in shackles, and it was too large to conceal on her body until the right moment.

 

[Frundette]

"Under the bread," he uttered very quietly. "Hide it." Already he was making his way toward the door, fearful that Dulirn would grow suspicious if Urir spent more than the required few moments in the room. His ancient, wrinkled hands shook just slightly at the thought of what he had just done when he closed and locked the door behind him.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

"Under the bread," he uttered very quietly. "Hide it." Already he was making his way toward the door, fearful that Dulirn would grow suspicious if Urir spent more than the required few moments in the room. His ancient, wrinkled hands shook just slightly at the thought of what he had just done when he closed and locked the door behind him.

Marlo waited until he had left and closed the door behind him before crossing the room to look under the bread. Her footsteps were slow and cautious, like she expected to find a huge spider or something under the loaf. It wasn't that she didn't trust Urir, and she still wasn't sure if she did or not, but she too didn't want to draw Dulirn's attention by stomping around like a mad-woman. Her hand closed around the bread and lifted it off the tray, revealing the knife hidden underneath. At first she could only stare in surprise, having expecting something old and battered, like Urir. Instead there lay a beautifully decorated weapon, as sharp as one of her arrows she concluded after cutting her finger accidently as Urir had done. Something told her that it didn't belong to Urir, unless he spent more on knives then clothes... which she thought highly unlikely. And if it wasn't his then it had to be Dulirn's, he was going to be killed (hopefully) by his own blade. She shuddered inwardly, imagining what it would feel like to be struck by one of her own arrows.

After holding the blade gingerly for a few seconds she tucked it into her boot, away from sight. The chains around her wrists jingled slightly as she reached down to her ankles and she winced when it brushed up against the irritated skin. Once the knife was hidden securely away from view she looked hungrily at the bread, stomach growling. It still crossed her mind that perhaps it might be poisoned, but she was too hungry to care. With both hands, as she couldn't seperate them, she grabbed the first loaf and bit into it hungrily.

 

[Frundette]

It was nearing midnight and Urir busied himself preparing Dulirn's study for the upcoming ordeal. He took extra care to scrape away all the old wax stuck to the floor, in each spot placing a fresh candle around the circle etched into the floor of the room.

His wrinkled hands shook slightly as he worked and he glanced sideways at the wizard who was muttering in a language Urir could not decipher as he read through an ancient tome. Urir tried to assure himself that Dulirn was too engrossed in his magic to notice anything amiss, but couldn't help feel a great unease at betraying the mad wizard, probably the only being in the world that Urir had once considered a friend.

But that friend no longer existed, his constant forays into dark magic slowly, but surely had corrupted the wizard completely.

"It is time..." Dulirn's words jolted Urir and he looked down to conceal the guilty expression that he was certain was written over his face. "Fetch her..."

--

The door to Marlo's room creaked open again and the small man stepped inside, "Come."

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Marlo's stomach twisted into a tight knot at the sound of his voice. The lump of half digested bread slowly rose in her throat and she swallowed quickly to force it back down. Her knees felt weak and shaky when she stood from the edge of the bed, the chains clinking together as they dangled from her wrists. Though she wanted to, Marlo refrained from even glancing for a second at Urir. She didn't want him to see the fear in her eyes, the shadow of doubt that haunted her thoughts.

Logically she knew that the knife should feel warm by now, but the weapon felt cold and foreign in her boot as she crossed the room towards the door. She stopped just short of Urir and, still looking away, whispered, "I'm ready."