The Fall of Pride pt 2

Amy's and Osa's forces meet at the base of the palace gate just in time to see two men falling out the windows, screaming until the hit the ground and die. Looking up, they see Ekina poke her head out and wave to them be fore she disappears back inside. A moment later the gate begins to open and before them stands Adunbi and nine of his men fighting nearly two dozen palace guards. Three of Adunbi's warriors and almost a dozen guards lay dead on the ground. Amy and Osa command their forces, nearly four hundred men and women, to seize the court yard.

In less than a minute the battle is over, and Amy and Osa are stand next to Adunbi. Amy excitedly says, "We are doing great, we'll have this place under our control in no time."

Adunbi is a bit winded from having to fight such over whelming numbers for so long, "We do seem to be doing better than expected."

Osa is a bit more confused, "We haven't encountered a single Orangeman since we got here. I know there was a sizable number when I was here last, they were the ones who kept the servants or slaves or what ever in line. They can't have all just disappeared."

Adunbi says, "Then they must be waiting in an ambush some place inside."

Amy says, "Or maybe the Price has them with him and they are running out some secret back door, since you broke his scrying pool he can't magic his way out."

Joining them Ekina says, "If that's the case then they probably set traps to make it difficult to follow them, but the front halls are clear. Most likely to allow the guards to move about freely."

Osa says, "In either case we need to continue with caution. I don't trust these people. They are very arrogant and manipulative."

Amy and Osa tell their lieutenants to take their troops to sweep the building room by room, floor by floor, when possible take prisoners out to the courtyard. Adunbi orders his remaining men to follow him, both his sisters, and Amy as Osa lead the way in search of Prince Rindell.

*

It doesn't take long before Quivina's and Vulkarias' forces have secured the city wall and gates, and then join John's forces in taking control of the city. Several minutes after Adunbi, Osa, Ekina, and Amy have entered the palace, John, Vulkarias, and Quivina are enter in the court yard and receive a brief update on what happened with the four scorers from the lieutenant that was left in charge of the courtyard. When an old man with long gray hair and beard, in white robes, holing a walking stick walks threw the palace gate. Quivina informs John and Vulkarias that she help Osa in a fight against this old man, and that he is some sort of mystic. John and Vulkarias move to flank the seer while Quivina prepares her bow and takes aim.

The old seer stops and plaints his staff on the ground in front of himself then says, "It's not to late to stop this chaos. If the dark sorceress kills the prince, even worse will be loosed on the world. The one that will follow if he is slain will be dark and merciless. We must not allow the prince to die."

Vulkarias asks, "What are you saying old man? Why should we believe you?"

The old man tells them, "I am a seer of things past, present, and possible futures. I have seen dark and dismal times if the prince should die this day. It is not too late to save the world, but we must not allow the dark sorceress to slay the prince."

John says, "We don't know where they are at, they have been in the palace for some time, and none of us have ever been in there. We can't help you, even if we wanted too."

The old seer says, "They can guide you, they know the way. I have seen it in my visions." He points to the palace door as several guards are leading servants out. John, Quivian, and Vulkarias all look to see the five robed females with milky skin and snow white hair, being escorted to a holding area in the courtyard. The seer begins walking towards them, flanked by John and Vulkarias and followed by Quivina.

The seer indicates two of the five and says, "These two know the way."

John asks, "What are your names and what is your duty here?"

One of the girls speaks, "I am Noni and this is Shara. We are bathing attendants for special guests."

John tells them, "We need for one of you to guide us threw the palace. Our friend Osa is in there and we need to find her quickly."

Noni says, "We know Osa. She was kind to us. But I don't know where she may be."

John says, "She is looking for the prince. If you know where he is at, maybe we can meet her on the way there."

Shara says, "The prince does not like Osa. And she is powerful. They may try to harm each other."

The old seer says, "That is why we need you to take us to them so we can save them both."

Noni agrees, "I will take you to where the prince has hidden himself along with his special guard of Orangemen."

*

Adunbi, Osa, Ekina, and Amy along with nine of Adunbi's warriors make there way threw the back halls of the palace. Not having seen a palace guard in several minutes, just servants hiding or trying to flee to safety. Each using their magic sense to find some way to where the prince is hiding. They find themselves headed down into the under parts of the palace, past an underground well, past the wine seller, past stores of bread grain and dried foods, past the cells and cages of the prisoner dungeons, past an abandoned sorcerer's lair with a library and alchemical equipment, through the vaults that store an uncountable sum of gold and silver coins, and down a long and twisting path into an underground cavern.

They follow a hand carved path for several minutes before they see the light of flickering torches from an opening up a head. They sneak up to the edge of the opening and pear threw. What they see is around a hundred Orangemen and four Redmen, with a dozen of Yellowmen serving them. On the far end of the chamber the see a closed wooden door with the emblem of the royal family mounted over top it.

After they all have backed off a comfortable distance Adunbi says, "It will take hours for us to dig through this hard stone to get past this chamber. It will be quicker to fight our way through these monsters. We will lose the element of surprise, if that is a chamber. However, if it is an exit then we lose time by digging. I would rather fight through. Does anybody have another idea?"

Amy says, "What if we can put a bunch of them to sleep, and maybe blind a bunch more?"

Ekina agrees, "Yes, with the pollens and my air magic we can handicap them before we attack..."

Osa cuts in, "...and they won't even know its us."

Adunbi continues, "Good. After you do that I'll take my men in and get the attention of those that are not effected. Give us a good long count to a hundred, then join us. You three will be a surprise second wave."

Ekina and Amy out their pollen bags together, Ekina send the sleep pollen out first, the twenty closest to the opening get groggy and lay down to fall to sleep. The next pollen they use is blindness, causing twenty more Orangemen near the opening to the cavern to lose their sight and start to scream in panic.

Using that disturbance as their key, Adunbi and his men rush into the cavern, stabbing the sleeping and blind Orangemen in the throat as they pass. Forty down in just a few seconds, sixty more to go. As the orange men attempt to surround Adunbi and his warriors, Amy and Ekina use the dizziness pollen on another twenty Orangemen and the pain pollen on twenty more, removing them from the fight for short time. Adunbi and his warriors face twenty Orangemen and four Redmen. All the Yellowmen form a shield wall in front of the door.