Bloodline

Desperation - part 31

Nobody moves as they all wait for someone to slip up, Damian, Zircon and the assassin looking at the others carefully, watching their every move just as they do the same. With some quick thinking, Zircon throws smoke onto the floor, it building up into a wall just as he grabs the assassin and Damian and begins to run. The other assassins begin to give chase, jumping through the smokey wall and splitting into groups to follow them. They run into the forest, trying to move in multiple different directions but the assassins move swiftly through the branches and obstacles, getting closer. "What do we do!? They're catching up to us!" Damian shouts to the others as they split up, Zircon yelling out, "Just keep running, make a last stand if you have to!"

They continue to run, Zircon eventually breaking off from the others line of sight before suddenly coming across a cliff conveniently next to a waterfall. The assassins spend no time trying to taunt him as they send flurry after flurry of attacks, Zircon barely dodging some while trying to block others. One of the two assassins that followed him kicks him down, and he looks up at them as they stand over him. "You fool, it was a valiant effort you had trying to fight our army that day, now you made things easier for us." "You're not the first to tell me that, in fact, they say it was so much out of character for me, it was such a surprise." They look at him say that, a very thin ball of smoke building in his hands. "You know, they say that I'm a completely different person now, especially in my ways of killing your people and soldiers now." "We saw that when we got the reports for our other fort nearby yours before you built those walls, cut a man's head off with his own weapon they told us." They grabs Zircons cloak, holding a knife to his throat. "You'll pay for what you did to-" The assassin manages to get out before starting to cough uncontrollably. The other looks at them for a moment, when they start coughing too.

"You know, I've been told that smoking really harms your lungs, introducing toxic metals into your body, though I cant do that with my powers, I'll just have to choke you from the inside. My plan went accordingly as soon as all of you went through that wall of smoke I brought up, your sisters should be suffering the same fate." Zircon gets up as the two assassins fall onto their knees, still coughing. "I said before that smoking introduces metal into your lungs, but this will have to suffice." He says, stabbing the two in their chests as he leaves them for dead. He exits the forest and lights a torch, Damian coming through the tree line as well as the assassin after some time.

"They just started coughing uncontrollably, and we didnt know what caused it." Damian says as they move towards the allied fort. "Well, actually if you recall, they jumped through my smoke wall, and due to that, they inhaled some smoke and I was able to cut off their oxygen slowly, giving you guys the opportunity to fight back." They look at Zircon in surprise and a slight bit of fear, him shrugging. "If you would rather fight against them two on one, you shouldve told me, but I'm sure that even with my skills I wouldn't have lasted very long." "Well, we're glad you did anyways, my sisters would've gone to any length to kill us all, but there should be even more at the castle." The assassin says, Damian and Zircon looking at them. "Is there anything we could call you? If you would like us to come up with a name for you we'd try to come up with something, but I think its finally time we get to know you by some name." Damian asks, Zircon looking at him as the assassin stares into the sky. "I guess, call me Rose, I've always loved the dark scarlet color of a rose, and seeing a white rose is also special too." Zircon and Damian look at each other for a second, then back to Rose. "Rose it is then, but are you going to stick with the enemy? They sent your sisters to kill you and us, wouldn't now be the time to defect?"

She reaches for her knife, looking at herself through the reflection, and removes her hood from the cloak. They look at her, seeing the shine from the stars off her green eyes, and watching the light reflecting off her brown hair. "You know, maybe it is time to defect, the crimes the king has committed cannot go unnoticed. And it would be fun fighting with you rather than against you, Zircon was it?" "Yes, and if that's a challenge, then I'd take you up on it, if only in the next battle." His eyes shine a somewhat darkish grey as he holds a ball of smoke, Damian walking back towards the camp. "Alright then, we'll have to skip the formalities since this is really not the time for a formal recruiting, but we'll get you outfitted to our army in no time, meanwhile I suggest you stick with Zircon while we're in the camp, he should get you brought up on everything you'd like to know." They look at each other for a second, and start walking towards camp, soldiers looking at the three when they arrive.

Some hold their weapons at the ready, and it takes time for Damian and Zircon to calm them of suspicion with Rose. Zircon informs her of many of the events after their first encounter as well as the events leading to before they reach the army. She gets assigned a tent near Zircon, and once she sets it up, she stays in it for the rest of the night, everyone else following suite in their own tents.