Kindred Spirits

//Chapter 12: ... and Your enemies closer.//

You awoke to blurred vision. Your head felt like it was going to split in two at any moment for any reason. Your arms and legs ached with a dull, stabbing pain. "Ugh... what..." You muttered, dazed and confused. Your memory was hazy at the moment, but you did recall the events that occurred immediately before you fell unconscious. You look around as your vision begins to clear, seemed that you had been captured by this little Insurrection. You began to mentally kick yourself, how could you have not seen it before? Maybe if you had found out earlier, you might've stopped something terrible.

You didn't have time to begin self loathing, after all across from you was your commander, Caramel Arrow. You had both gotten overwhelmed by the enemy, and were now facing something undesirable if you couldn't find a way out in time. "Awake already? Wonderful news. Lord Affogato will most definitely want to speak to you now." A traitorous watcher sneered as he peered into the cell. Knowing you and caramel arrow had only a few minutes to get out, you quickly assess the situation. You were awake, but it seems that Caramel Arrow had taken a much heavier blow as she was out cold. Both of you had been chained the wall by your hands, and it wasn't like you could just reach down to grab stuff. Time for a bit clever thinking on your part.

Quickly looking at the ground around you, find what looks to be a small metal pin. Likely dropped by whoever was setting this up on accident, it could be used as a makeshift lock-pick. You use your free legs to get it closer to you. Now, it was just a matter of getting it to your hands to unlock the shackles. With some rapid ingenuity, you remove one of your boots and grab the pin with your toes. With a quick flick, you grab it out of the air and swiftly free yourself from your imprisonment. Putting your boot back on, you move over to the still slumbering caramel arrow and free her as well. Hoisting her over your shoulders, you quickly unlock the cell door and begin to make your escape.

Just between the two of you, there was zero chance of actually defeating affogato with his legions of followers. Time to make an exit, gather allies, and hopefully come up with a plan. You spot other cells, lined with loyal watchers and laborers. You promise yourself that you'll do your best to come back for them. Anytime you heard footsteps, you immediately hid. Being spotted now, without a weapon, was practically suicide. From what you remember, confiscated weapons were kept in a storeroom next to a way out of here. Quickly sneaking your way through the halls of the worn down prison, you find a set of keys lying around. Even turned traitor, some of the watchers were lousy about keeping their keys secured. Grabbing them and quickly moving to where you remember the storeroom was, Caramel Arrow begins to awaken.

You set her down as you start sifting through the piles of weapons taken by the traitors. "Ugh... Y/N... What... Where are we?" She mumbled as she struggles to really move about. "We're in a bad situation. Affogato's taken the kingdom overnight, and we're pretty much the only ones who can fight back right now." You say as you find Caramel Arrow's bow blades and hand them to her. Quickly regaining composure, she resolutely declares "So, it's come to this. Lock away any who don't agree with you. He'll pay for this, all the traitors will." The sounds of guards hustling was heard nearby. Looks like your escape has been discovered. Quickly grabbing your katana once more, you and Caramel Arrow share a look before quickly making your exit as Affogato is glimpsed in the corner of your eye.

What happened next was a frenetic mad dash out of the citadel, into the snowy wilds. It didn't matter where you two went, as long as it was away from the apostles of Affogato's atrocious affairs. The arrows flying your way, all the screaming and shouting, the harsh winds of the mountains. Little wonder that few people ever decided to live in places away from areas like the citadel and confederations of villages. Eventually, you two begin to tire out once again only this time it seems that your pursuers lost track of you and spread out which only made it more difficult to find anyone as a blizzard rapidly set in. Steeling yourselves with utmost resolve, you wander to a nearby cave to hide out in.

While you had needed several minutes to catch your breath from all the running, Caramel Arrow seemed more or less fine from it. In fact, despite the grim mood given what had gone down, she looked to be in better shape than ever. It was uncanny, borderline unnatural. "I... ugh... who are we gonna turn to for help? A lot of loyal warriors have been captured and likely either executed or indoctrinated." You muse, quickly coming to terms with how truly arduous a task ahead of the two of you would be. "That... I can help you with. You're not the only one that errant betrayer stabbed in the back." A familiar voice piped up behind you. It was Taffy Belt cookie, the bandit leader from many moons ago. No more words need be spoken amongst you three. Despite a bitter rivalry as watcher and bandit, a common foe forced a truce among those who kill one another.