Creed of the Blades

[mainehorse]

"Oh many times, but not all of them are from my old friends out there." Cassius says. Many of them were from her time as a soldier. Like the one cutting through the right side of her face. Although the new one on her cheek would no doubt leave a scar too. As would the deep gash on her right shoulder. That one would need stitches no doubt. But she would need to get her hands on a needle and some thread first. If she wasn't executed for crimes she didn't even commit. The king just wanted her dead because he knew that she opposed him.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon nodded absent mindedly still observing her quietly. Yes, he’d guessed as much. Some people just always found ways to slip out of their problems, it seemed. However, she had said that she knew some of the people here. “So, you had friends here?”he quired, once again shaking some of his hair out of his face, yet still not breaking eye contact. “Did one of them rat you out or what?”

[mainehorse]

"I thought so... but apparently not. Real friends wouldn't have done what they did. They betrayed me... and now because of them I'm in a cell awaiting what will likely be a painfully slow demise. What joy." Cassius says dryly. They had betrayed her trust. And now she was here. She was hurting, pretty badly too. Though she wouldn't complain about the pain. It was no where near some of the other injuries she had suffered in the line of duties.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon shifted his eyes towards the ground and nodded. “Well, I guess I’m sorry for that.”, he said. To be completely honest with himself he wasn’t quite sure just what to make of this stranger, but he felt that she would not harm him, so he stepped closer and rested his right hand on one of the bars. He was a worker here and was by no means supposed to condone anything she did, yet inhumane he was not and there was no law that said you had to be. “Your cut looks bad.”, he noticed. “ I need to call in soon with one of my higher in ranks, but if you’d like I could find you some darning material.”

[mainehorse]

"You're not the one who needs to be sorry." Cassius says. She follows his gaze over to the deep gash on her shoulder. "If you could, I would appreciate that" she says. Stitching herself up without anything for the pain was going to hurt, a lot. But it was better than bleeding to death she supposed. Although maybe that would be preferable to execution. Eventually she'd just fall asleep after she lost enough blood.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon nodded and turned beginning his ascent up those hated stairs again. He knew that at least one of the maids usually had a needle and thread on her, so he ran up to the kitchen, where he saw Mortje, one of the maids who was on dish duty. He walked up to her an inquired after the needed articles. Mortje, and older woman, eyed him suspiciously. “Watcha need it for?”, she asked with a drawl. Farjon smiled slightly, he had already planned out what to say. “I need to stick together something.” The woman kept her eyebrows raised but handed over the needle and thread, and Farjon unduly made his way down again. On his way down he thought of something. The rogue had said that some of these people had been her friends previously, so that must mean she had trained with them. If so, maybe, just maybe, she could tell him how exactly to prove himself. As he reached the damp and dark dungeons again he walked back to the cell and handed the needle and thread through the bars. “May I ask how you got them to take you into training?”, he asked politely, looking about to see if the others were still sleeping.

( this is my last post for today, goodnight

[mainehorse]

"Thank you," Cassius says, carefully taking the needle and thread. She wasn't looking forward to having to stitch herself up, but it was either that or bleed out slowly. She quirks an eyebrow slightly at his next question. "How about a piece of advice instead? Don't join the royal guard, there are other ways make a life for yourself. You join the guard and you'll be working with people who are only out for themselves. Instead, look for the order of shadows in the city. They're a guild of some of the most loyal people you'll ever meet. They'll help train you if that's what you want. Just tell them that I sent you, they owe me a favor" she says flatly. She had saved some of their younger members from a group of brigands a few years ago and their leader had stated that if she ever needed their help in return, that she could call upon them. She was stuck in here now, so she might as well call that favor in for him since it wouldn't do her any good now.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon thought over the offer. On the one side, her idea would teach him to learn to fight and such, but in the end what really mattered was whose respect he was out to gain. If he was going to go for the kingdoms approval, the correct approach was to not take her advice, and try again to go into training. However, if he wouldn’t care for whose respect he was out, he could very well listen to what she said. However, that would probably brand him as an outlaw as well, and although he saw some faults with it, Farjon still wanted to remain loyal to his kingdom. Still, she had made him a generous offer, a favor, one might say, and part of him began thinking that maybe she wasn’t quite the person that belonged here. Although she was not all too kind looking, she was by no means a rude or evil person, in fact, it seemed she had, more or less, a moral center. After thinking a while, Farjon answered, “Well, I’m not so sure if I can take up your offer. The people here at court know me, and I come around and ask for a training position every few weeks or so. Secondly, taking up your offer wouldn’t exactly put me on legal side of things now would it?”

[mainehorse]

"Strictly legal, probably not. But just? I suppose that depends on who you ask. Doesn't it? The choice lies with you ultimately. Seek them out, or don't. My days are numbered either way." Cassius replies, gritting her teeth slightly as she began to suture the wound on her shoulder closed. It certainly wasn't a pleasant process. But given her choices were either that or slowly bleed out from what shouldn't be a lethal would with proper treatment? Well it wasn't a hard choice to make. Though at this point she had to wonder if it was worth it. She didn't want to give the corrupt king and her former allies, friends even the satisfaction of an execution. She had seen the posters. Treason? Really? All because she had seen the corruption and chosen to not serve such corruption any longer? And then her so called friends came after her, forcing her to fight for her life. Which only added more charges to her name. But now it seemed like it was all for naught.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon nodded thoughtfully. “You definitely have a point there.”, he retorted. “A very valid one, I’m sure.” After a short seconds span he added,”May I ask what you are in here for? I mean, some of these people in here are really rough candidates, Jakon back there is in for murder and theft, that guy over there who tried to end me there is here for horse thievery, and Luid back there, the one with the black smudges all over him is in for arson. He burnt down a good part of a neighborhood. And the others, well, you get my point. Most of them get off easy and are back in a few weeks later at most, and the others get killed. You are different though, so far you are the only one who doesn’t seem intent on wringing my neck, yet it seems so far you are the most wanted person in here. Do you mind explaining?” Farjon bit his tongue after that. Once again his tongue had slipped up.

[mainehorse]

"You really want to know?" Cassius asks, quirking an eyebrow slightly. It was a bold question to ask. Had she been anyone else, such a question might have provoked anger. But she had no desire to harm him nor any other innocent. Her mismatched eyes studied him pensively for a moment before she speaks again. "I suppose I've got nothing better to do at the moment" she says flatly. "All of this is because I chose to no longer serve a corrupt king. I used to be a soldier in the guard, as you've no doubt surmised by now. But what you don't know is that in time I became his right hand blade. But in my time serving in that position... I saw what your king truly is. He's not the benevolent ruler he pretends to be when facing the public eye. And I suppose because he knew that I know his true colors, he wasn't willing to let me leave the position peacefully. Accused me of treason. Sent an armed battalion after me, many of those people my old friends. And long story short, he added murder to the list of crimes I'm now accused of because I was forced to fight for my life. I however prefer to call it self-defense" she says.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon’s eyebrows threatened to raise during this story, though he managed well to neutralize his face and keep his surprised hidden. The king, corrupt and evil? Had he uttered such words in his closed off and sanctioned childhood, his mother would have washed out his mouth with soap and water. Still, he appreciated that she was open. That was something rare nowadays. However, he still wasn’t quite convinced that she was completely right about their government. It is impossible for a persons national beliefs to change within the blink of an eye, especially when they are showed something they do not wish to see, which was exactly what happened to Farjon now. Still, there was no reason for her to tell this story if it weren’t at least partially true. He hadn’t met her until about half an hour ago, yet Farjon was convinced that she was absolutely not the person who seeked out the pity of others by telling untruths, a quality which Farjon’s honest heart resented greatly. However, the more he gave this situation thought, the more he realized that this rogue, this person, was not guilty of the crimes of which she was arrested for. He removed his hand from the bar and and put it in his pocket thoughtfully, watching her stitch up her wound, which looked very painful. “Your trials tomorrow.”, he noticed. “I overheard some talk.”

[mainehorse]

"Not like it matters anyway. But I suppose at least I won't be in this cell long that way before it's over." Cassius says, pausing to use her teeth to break through the thred once she had finished stitching her wound shut. She barely reacted to the pain, though it hurt something awful without anything for the pain. She already knew what the outcome of her trial would be. She most likely wouldn't even be allowed to speak on her own behalf. And even if she was, nobody would listen to the wanted rogue. She would be sentenced to execution and it would be over.

[Chloriosus]

Farjon watched her break off the thread. “You can keep needle and thread, by the way.”, he said, knowing that if he returned it to Mortje she would ask him a lot of questions, as was her tradition. “I know this sounds very ironic, but I do wish you good luck with the trial tomorrow.”, he said openly. “ I can’t really help you with it, though, since I am a nobody here and there is no way anybody would listen to me, especially if circumstances stand as you say they are. However, I think I would have to-“, his sentence was broken off by the sound of harsh footsteps coming down the stone stairs. “That’s the dungeon “keeper”.” Farjon said in a hushed tone. “As you can see, I have overspent my time here.”, he turned to face the stairs, and a brawny man with a blazing red beard showed up in the stairway. “We been through this before lad!”, he thundered in a broad highlanddish accent. “It is absolutely forbidden to consort with criminals, especially the likes o her!” He motioned towards the nearest cell. “Hand over the keys lad, Dilly said you got ‘em.” Farjon kept his mouth shut and handed over the keys, then began on his way up the starirs. The dungeon guard sat down in a rather small for him chair and observed the prisoners with hate and disdain in his eyes.

[mainehorse]

"I strongly doubt any amount of luck will help me now. I'm living on borrowed time. But I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless." Cassius says pausing. "I see... well then for your own sake you'd best get out of here before you wind up in trouble. Take care" she says, taking a seat on the stone 'bed in the corner of her cell. She was exhausted truth be told, holding her own for that long against eight guards and losing a fair bot of blood had taken a lot out of her. Though she doubted she'd sleep tonight. It was a sobering thought, realizing how little life one might have left. She wasn't scared per se, not for herself. But she knew that news of her execution would cause a few people pain. And that she did feel bad about.