Chapter 5

After the guard runs off to sound the alarm, the fight commences for Arven and Merrick; four individuals appear from another room and start charging at them, dividing in half between the two intruders. Arven steps to the side, avoiding a forward lunge from the first attack, and he exploits his newly-acquired shield to block a downward swing. The crude material immensely diminishes the shield's durability, and Arven notices cracks materialize on the wood.

Arven witnesses Merrick barely dodging swords from his two assailants, knowing that Merrick lacks the fortitude to sustain himself for any serious fight, even though the four attackers are rookies. None of them he can discern has any openings to bring to his attention, so Merrick can eliminate them swiftly with the only offensive spell he knows. If only the attack had range, to begin with, Arven mentally utters to himself. He recognizes his companion is in a dire situation, observing Merrick surround himself in a lightning dome to block an attack. It greatly saps his friend's mana and energy, and the effect is already blatant to him.

Recalling the time at Camp Echo and with his elder sibling, Arven knocks one antagonist off-balance by swatting an oncoming sword swing, quickly responding with a stab to the heart. While the first corpse is in the middle of collapsing to the floor, he parries his second aggressor's slices twice, dispatching it by lacerating across its chest; the blood already staining the floor in crimson. Arven barrels into the third enemy, knocking it to the ground. The momentum allows him to pierce its throat with his sword, and it covers the fresh affliction in futility, spurting the sanguineous fluid from the mouth and wound during its final seconds of life. In addition, the energy from the charge transfer to the fourth attack, granting Merrick the opportunity to vanquish it by grabbing one of its legs and casting Shocking Grasp. The stench of burnt flesh permeates the air.

 Both Arven and Merrick are now standing in the room, breathing heavily, though Merrick is heaving harder than Arven despite only wasting two minutes at most during the skirmish. Arven wonders how long his shield would last, finding solace that he's currently wielding his sword he's familiar with. They can hear more enemies approaching to their dismay.

"Think you can handle round two, Merrick?"

Sweat pours down Merrick's face. "Maybe, Arven. That lightning barrier sapped my energy away, but I should be decent as long as I'm close enough to land physical contact and continue to shock people that way."

"Know any ranged attacks?" Please, for the love of the Strife Siblings, tell me you do, Merrick.

"That's one of the tricks I've learned since the last time we met. I have just enough juice to do it just once, but no more."

"Hold off on it till I give the word. Look alive. Here they come."

Consisting of six combatants, the reinforcement materializes, and four of them charge at Arven and Merrick while the other two stay back and prepare their crossbows. Round two is not as smooth as the previous round; at first, Arven and Merrick manage to hold their own against the horde, dodging several melees and ranged attacks and taking out one combatant, the tide quickly starts to turn against the duo. A nasty cut from the swing of a sword forces Merrick to hunch over and yell in agony. As a consequence of letting his guard down upon his friend cry out, Arven suffers a laceration, and a crossbow bolt lodges into his right side of the body; grunting in pain, Arven removes the bolt, and the guards begin to overwhelm them. 

The thought of doubt that he and Merrick will survive this burns in the back of his head due to the sheer amount of enemies to eliminate, and he knows that Merrick can't cast his highest spells to preserve his mana, and physical combat isn't his forte. One of the melee fighters knocks Merrick on his back and points his sword down in preparation to stab him. The two crossbowmen line up their sights for a perfect shot at Arven's and Merrick's vital organs and are about to fire when they hear a howl behind them; they turn around and witness a screaming, irate, bipedal wolf charge at them with a sword.

Kaera quickly dispatches the two crossbowmen; one of them manages to hit her with a crossbow bolt, but the injury doesn't daunt her much from her rage, and he perishes by her lacerating his gut, spilling part of the organs inside. The other melee fighters look over at the newcomer; Arven and Merrick seize this opportunity of distraction to land a surprise sword or Shocking Grasp attack to dispatch two people, leaving one assailant. The assailant starts to flee, but Kaera hurls a dagger, impacting the back of the skull, killing him. Arven and Merrick stare at the wolf, and Kaera stares back at them. Both are unsure if the other is a friend or foe. Upon viewing the Phantom Brotherhood uniform on Arven and Merrick, Kaera assumes her attack stance with her sword when another voice stops her in her tracks.

"Stop, Kaera! I know these people! They're not our enemies!"

The voice's assurance allows Kaera to ease her stance to an innocuous one and puts the sword away after wiping the sanguine fluid from the blade. Believing she is no longer a threat, Arven and Merrick ease their attack stance, too, and look behind the wolf and discern their convivial Half-Elf.

"Sylfinas!" Arven shouts. The fear of facing his father wanes in his mind.

"Arven!"

"Thank the gods you're alive." A realization of a makeshift bandage catches Arven's attention. "Where did the injury come from?" Father will be pissed.

Sylfinas stares at his wound from the projectile. "It was from a crossbow bolt. It'll heal. Don't worry about it. It appears you and Merrick received a fair share of afflictions also."

"You can have your reunion later and catch up then. Right now, we need to leave before more Phantom Brotherhood members show up," Kaera inserts herself into the conversation.

"What's the Phantom Brotherhood, and who's the wolf-person?" Merrick questions.

"I'm not a wolf, and the Phantom Brotherhood is the organization these people are a member of," Kaera answers, adding a question, "Can we leave now?"

"Wise course of action." Arven commands the group, "Let's leave everyone."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The four of them turn in the direction of the unknown voice and descry a female Drow wearing medium style armor standing in the center of the large group of Phantom Brotherhood members. Kaera and Sylfinas recognize five members as the ones from the cage room. The two Half-Orcs distinguish Sylfinas from the crowd. 

"How'd you leave from your cage?" One of them asks. Sylfinas answers by revealing the stolen keys, holding the set by the ring, jiggling them.

The Drow heaves a deep sigh. "I order both of you to my office to figure after we deal with the troublemakers. Your punishment will be severe."

"Sorry, boss," the two Half-Orcs apologize simultaneously.

"And who the hell are you to say we can't leave?" Arven demands.

"My apologies, I'm Elvlin, the one that dictates what is or isn't allowed here, and you four leaving is on the "Not allowed" list."

"I say otherwise."

Elvlin chuckles. "You have no idea how asthenic you are to back up those words. Look around. You only have four people in your group, you have less firepower than everyone on my side, and I notice that every one of you has an affliction in some capacity, breathing heavily. Even if all of you are in top condition, I can easily beat you with one hand behind my back." To prove her point, her silver irises turn red, and she forces Arven and Kaera to drop their weapons due to the sudden intense heat emitting from them; the weapons produce a loud *clang* sound as they impact the stone floor.

"Do it, Merrick," Arven whispers.

"Huh?" Merrick was not paying attention.

"Do it."

"Do what?"

"That new trick you discovered while I was away."

It dawns on Merrick, and he nods. "Here goes nothing." Focusing harder than during the fight, electricity engulfs Merrick's hands, and the tattoos on his arms light up blue. Lightning arcs from his hands towards Elvlin as he casts Witch Bolt; it travels toward Elvlin on track to hit before the trajectory suddenly changes course, and it nosedives to the floor, causing him to blink in abashment. "That's not supposed to happen."

"Cast it again," Arven urgently orders.

In a futile attempt, Merrick struggles to muster more of his mana before giving up. "I can't; I told you earlier that I have enough power to do that once. It won't be until after I rest to cast it again, and I suspect these people will give us permanent sleep."

"Any more otiose attempts you like to try or do you accept defeat?" Elvlin mockingly asks, relishing the power she has over them. Arven, Kaera, Merrick, and Sylfinas do nothing. "Splendid; you can now perish."

"You can keep us prisoner and sell us into slavery," Sylfinas offers. "You were planning with Kaera and me, so what's adding a couple extra going to hurt?"

Elvlin slowly chuckles in her dismissal of the idea. "We're beyond that, False Elf. All of you are not worth keeping alive and auctioning for profit." Glaring at Kaera, she points at her with her rapier. "Especially you." Kaera bares her teeth and growls as Elvlin. "You have cost the organization so much money that it's eating away at the profits made earlier, and you're making me appear inept at my job to my superiors."

An idea suddenly pops into Sylfinas's head. "I heard 'superiors,' right?"

Eyeing at the Half-Elf, Elvlin says, "Correct, mongrel. This is a small branch of the organization."

"I assume you want to be in a higher position of power?"

"I strive to move up the ranks and ultimately reach the top position."

"It is a lucky day then. There's an opportunity in store for you." Biting her lips, Elvlin ponders for a moment.

"What the hell are you doing, Sylfinas?" Arven murmurs.

"Diffusing the situation without more bloodshed, whether it be our blood or theirs. Trust me on this." Elvlin and her crew's eyes and ears prevent him from revealing his plan on using her appetite for power against her.

"Hey, Arven, what is your brother doing? Is he planning on..." Merrick can't finish his question due to Arven forcefully stomping on his foot, shutting him up as he holds in the urge to scream out in pain.

"Shut up and keep quiet. Let him do his stunt," Arven hisses.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Sylfinas," Kaera mumbles to the Half-Elf.

"All I need is your trust."

Lorna takes the bait. "Ok, you have my interest half-breed. What's your offer?"

"To start off, you said that your superiors believe that you are incompetent at your job, right?"

"Bit harsh, but yes."

"So your progress in moving up in the ranks is slowed if it hasn't already."

"I find my progress copacetic, actually."

"Is it? How long has it been since you've been promoted to lead this branch of the Phantom Brotherhood?"

"Thirty-four years ago."

"And how long is the gap between promotions in this organization on average?"

"Way less than thirty-four years. The longest period between promotions was twelve years, and that was for the position I'm in now."

"So the time till your next promotion is close to triple the time of your last promotion. It is my belief that your superiors are secretly halting your progress as word reaches them of how dissatisfactory your leadership skills are."

"You're wrong!" Everyone can perceive Elvin's visibly upset.

My intuition never ceases to amaze me; time to pursue this further. "Imagine that this incident right now reaches your bosses. It will, at some point. How would they react when they hear that the great Elvlin has such paltry leadership that this branch is careless enough to lead outsiders to the hideout's location and a couple of this branch's members unknowingly let two prisoners free? What if they hear a report of a handful of members dying from those two mishaps? They probably would never give you another promotion, demote you, or fire you. Either way, you can kiss that dream of yours goodbye."

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! I can't afford to lose this job. I'll be out on the streets again, and I'll never find work ever. Not after what the queen did to me."

"My offer is this; I can forge documents so news will spread of what a powerful and capable leader you are, allowing you to receive a promotion or two. In exchange, you'll free the four of us and not pursue us."

Elvlin's demeanor changes from hysterical to anger. "No, I have a much better idea. I'll still kill all four of you," she adds, looking at the two Half-Orcs, "and you two also by becoming Pumpkin's next meal. I can hear his stomach rumble, and you two can be the appetizer. Then I'll force myself up the ranks till I become the leader and execute everyone responsible for holding me back."

"Why are you forcing us to become Pumpkin's food?" One of the Half-Orcs asks with concern and fear,

"Considering you and your brother are responsible for almost letting our only prisoners escape and wasting precious money, you're imbeciles. At least you two will finally have an actual use for once". Snapping her fingers once, she gives a vivacious command to all the other Phantom Brotherhood members that aren't the Half-Orcs. "Tie all of them up and escort them to Pumpkin's room; it's feeding time!" Arven, Kaera, Merrick, Sylfinas, and the two Half-Orcs have their hands tied behind their back by the rope.

"Sorry, everyone," Sylfinas apologizes.

"Some plan you had there," Arven comments.

"I thought I had a perfect insight on Elvlin to know what to work with negotiating with her. I went overboard and triggered a hornet's nest."

Trying to lighten up the mood, Merrick chimes in. "Perhaps Pumpkin is actually a house cat, and he will claw us to death."

Sylfinas knows that he, Arven, Kaera, Merrick, and the Half-Orc twins won't encounter an ordinary house cat. "I presumed that was going to be our fate with or without my attempt at negotiating, but it was worth a shot. I doubt that Pumpkin is actually a cat." The Phantom Brotherhood members tie Arven, Kaera, Merrick, Sylfinas, and the two half-orc brothers and escort them to Pumpkin's room.

 

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