forum Halfbloods Not Allowed Beyond This Point(Open!!)

Started January 07, 2019 by @Bandito

tune

"Go where?" was all Shace said.

“Not a clue. Away from here. Probably out of the city since those authorities got a nice look at me today.” Luke shoved his hands in his pockets with a casual shrug.

Shace took a deep breath. Smelled like rain. "Okay then." Why not? There was nothing good for her here. "Nearest ally I can think of is at least ten blocks away. And I need to get my money."

Luke grinned, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Then what’re you waiting for?”

"Nothing, I guess." Shace turned and started to climb up the side of a building, still hungry. "Money first."

Luke waited where he was, antsy to get going. He shifted his feet from side to side, wondering how his impulsive decision would pay off. Likely with us getting killed…

Shace ran across a few rooftops before she found her bag; she threw into the blanket with the swords and returned to Luke. "Let's go…"

“You had a packed bag?” Luke’s eyes widened in surprise, but he shrugged it off. “Out we go, I guess.” He eyed the street for danger before strutting out confidently.

Shace began to whistle nonchalantly. She wasn't the best, but the tune was clear enough that when they had walked for a while someone started to whistle back from a narrow side street. Shace glanced at Luke and turned down the street. "Our ride, sir."

Luke stared down the alleyway. “That’s so sketchy.” He looked at Shace. “If I wasn’t wanted by half the authorities in this city, I hope you know I wouldn’t be following you down here.”

"If you weren't wanted by half the authorities in this city, I wouldn't be taking you down here." Shace stood still as the whistling stopped. A withered old man approached from a corner. "Need a ride?"
Shace eyed him. "Wait, where's Oracie?"
The old man smiled widely, showing fangs. "Oracie passed away. He left everything in his will to me. Price is still two thousand." He stared at Luke. "Or five thousand, if you want to bring your pet."
Shace made a sign at him and the old man winced. "I mean, your friend. Sorry."
"We have four thousand, right?" Shace turned to Luke. "I have 2350 and a lot of fancy swords."

Luke’s eyes were fixed on the man’s fangs. He wasn’t quite thrilled about being called a pet either, but he had a feeling that this man was a halfblood and that elf ears probably fetched a good price on the black market. “We have enough.” He didn’t want to say how much he had aloud in case the man decided he’d be worth more dead. He fished out the needed amount of coins and handed them to Shace.

"Great." The old man beamed again, taking the money from Shace's hand. "Four thousand it is." Shace trailed him to the end of the street, where a small stable huddled. "'S nighttime too, so we probably won't be bothered." He opened a door to reveal a big cart, filled with food and other everyday items and drawn by a pair of griffins. "Where would you like to go?"

Luke remained silent, choosing the listen to his instincts and play dumb. He looked at Shace blankly, hoping she would get the idea.

Shace was quiet for a moment, then she told the man, "Fort Taurus."
"We'll be there by morning." He gestured for them to get in the back as he opened the doors at the other end of the building. A gust of cold air blew in.

Luke shivered. The elf had taken to always wearing lighter clothing, since it made it easier to run. He clambered into the back without complaint, rubbing his hands together to try and retain any warmth he had. This wasn’t how he pictured their adventure starting, but who was he to judge?

Shace followed, unbothered. The old man steered the cart around towards the doors and they headed out. It was beginning to snow and Shace began dumping objects on Luke for warmth. "We get to keep these, they're part of the cost."

“I’m sure as hell not complaining.” Luke mumbled gratefully, happy to be buried in a series of blankets and whatever else Shace threw on top of him to keep him warm. “You sure have this all figured out. I was just gonna wing it.” He added, yawning widely.

"Yeah, I totally have this figured out," Shace muttered. She pulled out a small knife and began to wave it around, making whooshing noises. "You know what we're gonna do once we get there?"

“To be honest my plan was to keep up the innocent pureblood elf act, pretend that I like plants and stuff. The whole gig. Then, you know, steal. But uh… now that you’re here? Not a clue.” Luke shrugged, wrapping the blankets around himself.

Shace snorted. "You know where Fort Taurus is? It's called a fort for a reason. We can't steal there." She crossed her arms. "We can make it so we don't have to steal."

“You might be able to do your whole blacksmith gig, but I don’t exactly have trade skills.” Luke held his hands out in front of himself to make the point, flexing his nimble fingers before tucking them back under the blanket.

"It doesn't matter," Shace sighed. Five hours. "You'll see when we get there." She promptly passed out.

Luke rolled his eyes, taking one of the blankets off himself and draping it over Shace. He shifted around, trying to get comfortable. After several long minutes, he succeeded and fell asleep as well

They were awoken by the old man. "We're a couple miles away from the main entrance," he whispered. "Stand up so they can see you." The cart was traveling slowly down a wide path in the forest. Shace sat up slowly and raised an eyebrow. A huge castle loomed above them, built in a medieval style, complete with stony brick walls and enormous spiked gates. It wasn't quite what she had been expecting, but if you looked closer you could see it was as secure as a modern-looking fortress, with steel shining through cracks in the bricks and shock wires stretched over the gate. A centaur was standing on a turret above the gate. He raised a hand wrapped in white cloth, and the cart driver raised his back, wrapped in red.

Luke, a total city rat, spent a few moments staring at the castle in awe. It was incredible. He didn’t even think castles still existed out of fairytales. He was a little wary of the cart driver, but if Shace trusted him, that was good enough for Luke. The elf stood up, blankets wrapped around him like a cloak.

The gate lifted quickly and the cart entered the fortress bailey. As soon as it stopped the old man started throwing things out of the cart. Shace jumped down and started to help him, obviously he wanted to leave as soon as possible. The centaur from the turret approached. "Intent?"
"Shelter," Shace said. "And a new life afterwards."
The centaur held out a hand. He looked to be about thirty and seemed important. "The name's Caben. You?"

Luke eyed the halfblood, suddenly feeling unsafe. He hid behind Shace, his ears lowering nervously. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to answer or if he should leave it to Shace. He probably looked ridiculous, wrapped up in blankets. “I’m Luke.” He looked up at the centaur, standing slightly behind Shace.