Graceling

[Cara]

"Oh, you're going no where!" a girl snarled, as she jumped in front of Elliot, throwing him back. Elliot was thrown into a tree with a yelp. As the Gracelings started to appear around them, they could see that they were greatly out numbered and out powered.
He looked around, as he saw Peter and Isaac being dragged before him. They were bound and gaged. Elliot stood up, growing, as he circled back. He looked around taking in an assessment.
There was six Gracelings. He recognized three of them, his eyes finally rest on Dedelean, who stood there, a cruel smile in her eyes. He also saw Mila, who stood to Dedelean's left, and Levia, who stood to Dedelean's right. Dedelean...
"Elliot," Dedelean said, her face softening. "We don't want to hurt you," she said. "And we don't want to hurt your friends..."
"You already have," Elliot spat, as he shifted back into his human form.
Dedelean gave a sad, heart-wrenching smile. "Oh, Elliot," she said, sounding just as she always did. "Please, coming willingly and join us. It is an offer of a lifetime! We will be together..." she said. Elliot hesitated, but he saw something dark flash behind her eyes, and took another step back. He saw Dedelean scowl. "Don't you want the power? We can bask in the protection and glory of the Master," she urged, an edge to her voice.
Elliot swallowed. He looked at Peter and Isaac who stared, helpless at him with pleading eyes. Peter gave a muffled shout, and Mila kicked him, shutting him up.
Elliot made to jumped forward at her, but suddenly Elliot felt his body lock up. He couldn't move! He started at Mila, incredulous. How could she do this!? "Enough of this," Mila snarled, locking eyes with Elliot. "We tried what you wanted, Dedelean..." she hissed. "It's obvious the boy won't come willingly. But where's the fun in that?" she said, tilting her head. "Sera, Joa. Tie, bound and drug him!" she snapped.
Just as Joa and Sera approached, Joa screamed, arching his back. As he fell, Elliot saw an arrow embedded in between his shoulder blades. Everything happened so fast. He felt his body unlock, released from whatever force was holding him. He tried to move, but his world swam. He must have gotten a small concussion from when Sera had thrown him against the tree. They were under attack?
He couldn't think. He heard someone calling, "Retreat!" Elliot stood, staggering. He had to... he had...tell... Kasta... he thought, as he fell to the ground unconscious. This last thing he saw was Shona leaning over him, calling his name.

Elliot snapped up, ready to fight. He gasped, as he took in everything around him. He felt... entirely fine. That healer man, Mech stood besides him. "You healed me," Elliot said.
"Yes," Mech said with a nod.
"My... my friends? Wait, what happened?"
Shona walked over, seeing that he was awake. "I attacked..." she said with a smile.
"You... what?"
"I made only a few of them see something that wasn't there. Levia shot Joa, thinking that he was someone else. And I made it seem like they were all being attacked, when really they were attacking each other, more or less. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it did. They all grabbed hands and apperated away... Lucky they did too; I couldn't hold up the illusion for very long..."
"Peter... Isaac..." Elliot said, standing.
"They took them with them," Shona said with a regretful smile. "They're gone."

[Galadas]

Elliot sighed deeply, he lost Dedelean, now he also lost Peter and Isaac. What did he have left? "We have to warn Kasta." He said after a while, his voice was hopeless. In no way he could see any good outcome. The Master had far more Gracelings than he could ever imagine. If he ever planned an attack on his life... he would most certainly fail to even get close. "She's in the village with Lorn." He felt good, physically, but mentally he was a mess. Ideas of giving up crossed his mind. Giving up meant that he had gotten all this way for nothing, he had to keep up, for Dedelean, for Peter, for Isaac.

[Cara]

The smith was large, with rolling muscles from the days of pounding away by the hearth. He stood before them, towering above Kasta.
"What y'er looking fer?" he asked, with a heavy voice.
"Weapons. I need a long rapier, and a broadsword," Kasta said.
"And what would a girlie like you want with such weapondrir?" he said with a mocking grin.
Kasta glared out from under her hood. "Sir, I think it best if you just give us what we asked for..." Kasta said, her voice cold.
The man laughed then. "Right... right..." Before he could respond, Kasta and thrown her hood back and attacked. She was in no mood for games. Startled, she easily over powered him, despite her size. She slammed her small dagger right by his head.
The man's eyes were wide. She heard him whisper a prayer. She gave him a cruel smile. Sometimes things required an iron fist. "Ready to help?" she asked. He nodded vigorously, staing warily before hurrying into the back part of his shop.

After that, Kasta and Lorn quickly made their way through the rest of the town, gathering supplies. Last was the horses. Kasta knew that they didn't have enough money for the horses hat they needed. They would have to steal...

[Akira]

"Where would they be? I can get to them quickly, and unseen." Shona said. "Mech will stay with you, here."
Elliot protested. "I should come with you, help you-"
"I'm sorry, but it is somewhat- difficult to hide people besides myself. If it takes while, people will see you, and with Graced eyes... Please, just tell me where they would be."
"At this point, they're almost done. They're probably getting horses." Elliot said, but Shona had vanished. " Are you still here?"
"Yes." a disembodied voice came from the air. " But no longer." Shona left. Elliot could see a slight disturbance in the pattern of the trees, and knew that was the path of the girl, Shona.

[Cara]

Kasta would prefer not to attrack attention. She leaned against the side of a store across from the stables, watching. There were at least fifty horses there. Some were better than others. And no doubt, the dealer would be selling them all for a ridiculous price.
She frowned thinking. Intimidation would work probably; she was a very recognizable face. But then again... they were supposed to be underground. It would be better if she wasn't recognized. Kasta swore in irritation. They need horses. There would be no other possible way to get to Druet on foot.
"Lorn, see that man over there?" Kasta asked. Lorn nodded. "See if you can distract him long enough for me to slip inside... We'll just have to see how it goes..." she said with a grimmace. She stole before, many times before. And not once had she ever been caught. But then again, she's never tried to steal anything as large as a horse, let alone more than one...

[Akira]

Shona weaved through the people walking throughout the town. The sounds were the same as she remembered from other places. The catching up of old friends, the casual meeting of two acquaintances. She was looking for Kasta and Lorn. Horses. A stable was a way forward, farther away from the main square than many of the smaller shops, but there were a few people in there. Some were definitely stablehands, but there was one person who looked like they might be a buyer...

[Cara]

The Master turned as a group of his Gracenlings appeared before him. "Ah, you were successful," he said with a smile, as he eyed the two people who were bound and gagged, with a burlap sack over their faces.
Dedelean bowed before him. "I'm sorry, Master. We have only somewhat succeeded..." she said. "We managed to take Isaac and Peter, but Elliot and the others... they got away."
"What?" the Master asked, furious. "And Kasta Sarce?" he demanded.
"She... wasn't there."
The Master leaned forward, taking Dedelean's face in his hands. As he touched her, he felt her thoughts flow into him. So Kasta wasn't there. She was in the city most likely. What he couldn't understand was the confused thoughts that happened during the attack, after they seemed to have Elliot surrounded. It must have been another Graceling! But who?
He left Dedelean go, and stood back. "I have a plan... Mila," he ordered.
"Yes, Master?" she said.
"You are to go with our new family," the Master said, looking at Isaac and Peter. "Sera, you are to take them there. I will instruct our new family what they should do..."

[Cara]

Elliot snapped to attention, as he heard something in the surrounding forest snap. He looked at Mech, who was dozing against a tree. Elliot stretched, getting to his feet. He must have nodded off... "Shona? Kasta? Is that you?" Elliot called. He heard Mech wake, and sit up. There was more movement coming to his left. Elliot prepared to shift, and he glanced at Mech, who had somewhere pulled a long sword and was standing now.
Elliot froze as Isaac and Peter stepped from the bushes. (ok, sorry, Galadas, you can take over again XP)

Kasta sighed. She needed horses! Might as well be blunt about things. She walked over to the horse seller.
"Hello, how may I help you?" he asked, eying Kasta and Lorn warily.
"We require four strong horses," she said, evenly.
"That will be be about 28 thousand pences..." the man said. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you even have close to that amount, miss?" he asked, with amusement in his voice. He probably saw Kasta's tattered traveling clothes, and her hooded face and saw that she wouldn't be able to pay.
Kasta let her hood fall back to expose her as a Graceling. One of the most recognizable Gracelings in all the kingdoms. She saw him blanch. "Ah!" Kasta said, as she flashed a Si dagger. "Speak, and those words will be your last," she hissed. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one could really see them, especially the dagger. She made sure that only this man could see it. She looked back at the terrified man.
Lorn stepped up, placing a hand on Kasta's shoulder. "What we are saying is that if you cooporate and give us what we want without hassle, we will leave you in peace," he said. "Are we clear?"
When the man didn't immediately respond, Kasta stepped forward, threatening, discretely pressing the dagger against his chest. "Answer, are we clear?" she asked.
The man nodded, swallowing. "Yes," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Kasta smiled, sweetly. "Excellent. Go with this man to get three horses, I will help myself," Kasta said. A part of her hated being so cruel, but it was necessary. When she had the time, she would find a way to pay this man. Now just wasn't the time...

[Akira]

Shona saw her then. Kasta. She held a knife to a man, and Lorn stepped up. The man went with him, while Kasta looked at other horses. Shona slipped inside of the stables, and slowly let go of her illusion. She was transparent, translucent, opaque. "Kasta?"
She spun around, her dagger in hand, pointing at Shona.

[Cara]

Kasta's eyes locked onto Shona. She had thought she had heard an approach, but she hadn't seen anything. "Oh, you..." she said, relaxing. "Just to note for future reference, you might not want to sneak up on me like that again," she said with a grin. "Why are you here? Is everything alright?"

[Akira]

"Surprisingly, no. The Master's slaves have a girl who can teleport, and one with manipulation, and the got Peter and Isaac. I'd say that's a bit of a problem." Shona said.
Kasta's grin blew off her face, replaced by a scowl. "We need to get back. Go back invisible, or whatever you do."
Shona vanished, stepping to the side of a wall, out of the way. " Lorn!" Katsa yelled. " Almost done?" She selected a tan horse with a dark mane and tail, and led it out of it's stable.

[Cara]

Kasta went over to the man who was standing shock-frozen. "Tack?" she asked.
"Yes, right here for that horse..." he said softly, pointing to a saddle and reigns. Kasta grabbed it and put it on her horse, before helping Lorn dress the other horses. "Lorn, we won't be needing one," Kasta whispered to him. "We have a situation..." she said, as she quietly told him about Shona.
Kasta jumped skillfully into the saddle. "Thank you for your services..." she said with a nod. Kasta bent down, into his face. "And say one word... I will know. I will come back and gut you like a fish..." she whispered fiercly. The man blanched. She smiled, sitting up. "Alright! Let's get out of here..." she said. She saw a flash in the air, as Shona hopped up onto the horse which was tied to Kasta's horse.
Lorn had a second horse tethered to his horse as well. Kasta and Lorn kicked their horses off as they quickly made their way through the city.

[Akira]

"Peter? Isaac?" Mech stood up, and the sword felt light and comfortable in his hand. Elliot was shifting, into a wolf. His green-brown eyes were dark, shadowed.
" We got away. The Master's Gracelings didn't take us to him, and Isaac's fire helped."
Elliot was still stiff, his position unchanged and still in the form of a wolf. " Really."
" Yes, actually we did,"Isaacr said, as a small, glowing globe of fire flashed in his hand.

[Cara]

"Come now!" Isaac said with a laugh. "What's all this? We best get moving! Those Gracelings have probably regrouped and are coming this way, hoping that we lead them back to you..."

Kasta galloped into the clearing, glad to be away from the confines of the city. She frowned as she saw Isaac and Peter standing there. "Isaac? Peter?" she asked, jumping down.
"Yea?" Peter asked.
"What in Serphina is going on?" Kasta said, uneasy.
"We got away. But we have to go. They'll probably right on our tails!"
Still weary, Kasta said, "I didn't bring enough horses..."
"Well you and Lorn can ride together. I can ride with Peter. Shona and Mech can ride. And Elliot can run... That's enough."
Kasta sighed. She couldn't tell what was going on. She should be glad that they made it back alright. She gave a half smile. "Alright then. Let's go on to Druet..."

[Akira]

She let away some of her invisibility. She was still transparent, but now she could be seen. " Kasta, don't get off your horse, and don't move. Every one, please stay calm." With that pronouncement, an arrow came crashing strait into Kasta's head. Her eyes rolled back, and she toppled from her horse. Shona's lips turned up, just barely, an almost grinn, glad that everything was going in the right direction. Glowing eyes peered out from hiding, all different colors.

Mech stepped towards Kasta's prostrate form, then stopped himself. He couldn't show himself to be friendly to anyone if the Master was here.