Unseen Chains[Plot/Sloth]

Ever since Reim abolished slavery, Heliohapt had become the world's primary market for human trafficking. If any fanalis were captured as slaves, they would likely be brought to the desert city where there was never a shortage of buyers. So one could imagine just how many rumors and whispers of where to find groups of the crimson haired clan for sale. One such rumor would grace Dynatos' ears one evening at a local inn. A pair of young merchants hoping to break into the slave market were discussing incoming caravan's of "goods" for sale. The two were discussing the idea of investing half and half on buying a strong young female that they could breed for more "red haired beasts" to be sold later.

Dynatos was given an opportunity to deal with those merchant's as he saw fit later that night when the two wandered down an alley. As some point they had let slip that the caravan bringing the fanalis slaves was set to arrive five days later taking a northern route from Reim. Fast forward almost a week later and the setting was in the desert not too far away from Heliohapt's capital but certainly far enough that the city could not yet be seen. No palace guards or pharaoh soldiers would be patrolling on this worn winding path through the Heliohaptan dunes.

A caravan hauling cages covered in sheets could be seen ambling down the desert road. There were 5 wagons total and each one carried a large cage capable of holding at least a dozen people. The sheets made it impossible to tell if the captured slaves within were really fanalis or not, but the feet were visible would seem to belong to some children as well as adults. It was clearly quite the profitable haul as a fat man being carried by slaves on a shaded platform happily gobbled away at a tray of dates. He seemed quite pleased with himself now that they were almost to Heliohapt where he could sell off all these maggots and make a killing in transportation fees. After all, the deserts were not safe and fraught with danger. Carrying slaves by land like this meant raising prices was only natural.

To reflect the dangerous nature of the journey, guards were surrounding the entire caravan. Some were on horseback, but most were on foot. For the most part, the entourage of warriors seemed like a fairly average bunch. They lacked any sort of impressive equipment and wore the simple robes of Heliohaptan culture instead of armor. However, there was one warrior traveling as a bodyguard whom stood out as an exception.


She was clearly of Helihaptan blood with her dark skin and pure white hair, but unlike many of the women in their culture her breasts were not on display. While her outfit was certainly revealing in the form of skin exposing tightly clad leather, it was being modestly covered by a large cloak. Yet this was not what made her stand out. No, the cause of that rested on the massive sword she was carrying as a companion to a more Reim-like traditional straight sword. The larger blade at small of her back has a slight curve to it and almost looked to be for show, it's scale being comparable to Dynatos' own sword.

If he was going to assault this caravan and free the slaves, then that woman was probably going to be the biggest obstacle. Assuming of course that the blade wasn't just for show. After all, two grown human men would have trouble swinging such a thing around...

[Dynatos is free to approach this caravan in any manner he sees fit as he had 5 days to prepare. Hiring help and setting traps are allowed.]

The slave bearing procession came to a halt shortly after the beast made its move, however things would not go entirely as Dynatos has planned. Yes, the lead caravan had been stopped in its tracks, but only because the cowardly drive screamed in terror at the sight of Ares only to tug the reins to instigate a halt before scrambling off the seat to hide beneath the wagon itself. It was a fair response considering that he could have just been torn to pieces by the fangs and claws of an unknown monster. Luckily enough for the man, the entire caravan had been surrounded by guards. Hardy men who lived to fight and fought for a living. They had been expecting an ambush as it was their job to do so. The whistle that sounded only served to confirm that the predicted threat had indeed come.

As Ares pounced into action, so too did the three guards who were closest to the targeted driver. Two spears rose into the flight path of the airborne beast creating a sharp obstacle blocking itse path. Unless Ares had a means of changing his trajectory or removing the puncture ready weapons from in front of him, the tiger would suffer two counts of D-tier damage. One in his right shoulder and the other at his breast. The third of the guards circled around Ares starting the process of getting behind the creature in order to flank it once it landed.

"Ambush!

The shout of warning was not neccesary as some men from the second wagon were already hurrying towards the front to help surround and subdue Ares. If nothing was done, he would be encircled by 12 guards in seconds. The rest of the guards shifted their numbers forward a bit so each of the other wagons were guarded by a roughly equal number of men leaving 7 men to a cart remaining aside from the 12 that would soon be at the front. One guard among the rest didn't bother moving at all however. The woman. She had placed a hand on her Reiman longsword, but she didn't bother going to help with the beast despite protests from the rich caravan leader who was seated in the third wagon.

"What are you doing!? I didn't hire you to stand around! Go kill that thing before it gobbles up all the cargo!"

The fat merchant waved and pointed his hands showing just how flustered he was, but a stone cold glare from the woman silenced him. The snow haired warrior then continued to ignore Ares and the guards who attempted to subdue him. He focus entirely on protecting the third wagon and nothing else.

The sudden arrival and declaration of Dynatos put a pause on the merchant's yapping and drew his beady eyed attention. "Huh!? Are you mad? Look at how many men I've hired!" The fat big of a man spread out his arms causing the hanging fat to wobble and dance as if to show off his arrogant excitement. "Hooohohohoho! I'm going to enjoy watching them tear you and your mutt to pieces!" With a point of his finger, the chubby ball of human slime ordered the rest of the men to the rear of the caravan forward. Most could not see the gestures, but those who could relayed the order and in seconds, all 30 guards were approaching Dynatos and Ares with a battle charge.

Well, most of the guards made for a daring charge. Two of them had been burned to a crisp by the battle hound's fiery breath. The other 10 nearby had watched the men burn, heard their screams. They had seen the massive sword fly out of the air into the sands and block off their approach before a man clearly of fanalis descent appeared before them. This had broken their spirits slightly making them so cautious in their approach that the other men from behind would actually engage Dynatos and Ares first. There was one other who opted out of the mad rush as well. The woman. She stood at the third wagon alongside the merchant unmoving. She didn't even seem interested in the fight going on up ahead and was looking side to side, behind herself, and just about everywhere BUT the location of the brawl between Dynatos and the guards.

"What are you doing!?"

The merchant was very unpleased with the woman's inaction and slammed his fist on the seat. Then he remembered that look the girl had given him and cleared his throat before changing his tone. "Ahem...Umm...Ms. Bodyguard~ Pleeeeeease help take care of these attackers? I paid you well didn't I...do you want more? I'll pay double, just....just handle things out here, okay?" He rubbed his hands together and made the best fake smile that he could. However, all charisma failed him. This woman would not move for her employer, nor would she move for the man attacking the caravan. He goal was with the third wagon apparently and she would not abandon its side for anything.

The red haired warrior and his flame breathing canine were untouchable avatars of destruction when compared to the simple caravan guards facing them. Like fodder, human men were blown away and burned alive, the lot of them were screaming in vain attempts to cry out for help. But there was no assistance or reinforcements among their numbers that could hope to tip the scales of the battle even slightly in their favor. Those that had not been obliterated in the wake of Dynatos and Ares' violent assault had witnessed those who were. Spirits broken, the guards turned tail and ran, knowing full well that they had no chance against the wild and primal power of such a warrior.

W-Where do you think you're going, you fools!?"

The fat caravan leader's jowls wiggled as he jerked his gaze side to side glaring spite into the backs of the fleeing men who retreated past his wagon towards the desert path they had come from. Each head that fled or bled out on the desert sands was a sour reminder to the man of several precious metal coins spent on hiring them in the first place. Perhaps they were mere coppers and silvers worth, but altogether it was a hefty price to have paid for security that did him no good in the end. His face boiled red even as a cold gripping fear came over him. It was no secret what happened to the survivors of a caravan raid. He would become a slave, just like the merchandise he was transporting. The very thought shook the greedy swine to his chubby core.

Amidst the chaos, the snow haired woman remained calm and collected. Dynatos' impressive display of might hadn't left much of an impression on her from the looks of it. Seeing the woman's courage, the merchant took to pleading for her help, even more pathetically than he had done so before. "Pleeeease! Save me! I'm begging you!" Unsightly tears flowed down the man's face as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head deeply. The woman took in a deep breath through the nose before letting it out as a sigh. "I'm not doing this for you or your money." She said in a condescending tone as the straight sword at her waist was drawn to see the light of day. "Oooh!" Joy sprung on the merchant's tear filled face

Sunlight glistened off the well polished sword as the woman stepped forward casually, stopping a few meters away from Dynatos. "I've got nothing against what you're trying to do here, but..." A pair of golden eyes flashed a sharp gaze at the fanalis fighter as the mysterious female warrior took a two handed stance. "...I have something I must protect. I can't allow you to have your way." The determination of this woman burned brightly in her eyes, like a great flame that showed she would not yield easily.

One of the guards that had been fleeing from before looked back to see that the woman had drawn her sword and confidence returned to his cowardly face. "Samira is going to fight!" The words reached the others ears and they all stopped running to turn and see for themselves. Mild cheers of optimistic vigor began to bubble up from the surviving dozen men and they slowly began to make their way back towards the caravan. None of these men would dare to interfere with Samira's fight, but neither would they risk missing the sight of it.

There was a subtle twitch in Samira's expression when Dynatos declared that he acted in favor of his entire race. The line had clearly made some kind of impact on the white haired beauty. However, the statement would not shake her resolve to stand in his way. "Nothing as grand or noble as that..." Samira admitted with a soft smile and sad eyes that seemed to be staring at some distance scene. "...I'm just acting selfishly." Whatever emotional strings Dynatos' words had uncovered were quickly hidden behind a firm gaze that held Samira's resolve to not back down from this fight.

"I would give you one last chance to turn around and leave this caravan be. But I'd be wasting my breath, wouldn't I?"

By this point, the men that had fled were already back, albeit keeping their distance from the two fighters. None among them thought themselves brave or strong enough to stand against the fanalis and his fire breathing hound. The only reason they had come back at all is because this woman had decided to draw her sword. As the crowd gathered, Samira took in a breath as deep as the ocean and paused as hot winds blew past. A swirl of sand danced between them and then suddenly, the dark skinned Heliohaptan woman created an explosion of golden grains as her foot kicked off the ground. In an instant, she closed the distance between them and brandished her longsword with frightening speed.

Steel flashed from Samira's form like some kind of unnatural serpent with several heads as her sword and arms appeared to multiply. A flurry of countless light but swift strikes rained forward unto Dynatos as speeds that surpassed normal human limitations. Even the fanalis would find it hard to get an opening to counter attack if he allowed this torrent of blows to establish a flow of blocking and dodging from the man. This display of inhuman speed and power elicited cheers from the guards watching, their fist pumping into the air in excitement. Meanwhile, the large bellied merchant cried out praises in Samira's name with tears streaming down his blubbery cheeks.

((It was noted that this woman's speed exceeds human levels. Even as a fanalis, Dynatos will be hard pressed to follow her. As you neglected to account for this in your post, Dynatos will suffer a few D-tier hits due to the surprise of this incredibly fast attacker suddenly passing through his sand screen unexpectedly.))

As the fight began on an explosive note, Athena's watchful view from above would be able to spot suspicious movements on the other side of nearby dunes. Three dozen men mounted on horseback were dashing towards the caravan, clearly on a collision course. The beast companion would be able to spot these approaching figures just as Samira met the sand wave Dynatos had created with a stomp. The sand was blown aside with a single slash of her sword, the force generating enough air pressure to render the tactic useless. The crater too did nothing to slow Samira as her feet were never going to touch the ground from her swift approach in the first place. Ares would also need to stay his flame lest he hit his own master for Samira was upon the man before the beast could even open its mouth.

The barrage of thrusts rained over Dynatos with Samira pursuing him to keep the distance closed if he retreated, amazingly being able to keep up with the fanalis stride for stride. There was clearly something unnatural about this white haired swordswoman. Despite the fanalis man's best efforts, a few of Samira's stabs would find flesh albeit lightly. A handful of small and barely bleeding cuts were placed on the man's body in the blink of an eye and more threatened to come. Now was not the time for the two to be fighting however. The third force of horsemen got within archery range and many of them drew short bows. Samira had no way to know of this, but Athena would. What the beast did with that information would decide the fates of not just the two fighters, but also all the guards nearby and perhaps even some of the slaves being transported.

Right in the middle of the heated battle, the horsemen loosed a volley of arrows on a high arc that even Athen would need to dodge to avoid injury. The mysterious group of bandits then charged over the dune that hid them and began to approach for close quarters combat. Would Dynatos risk injury to help these people? Or flee and leave them to a slaughter?

The downpour of arrows was terribly effective at serving its purpose. The unsuspecting caravan guards were unprepared and undefended. Samira realized something was wrong when Dynatos suddenly turned his attention away from the fight, but she was caught off guard by the volley as well and received two arrows. One to her leg and another to her opposite arm. Samira's cry of pain was joined a myriad of other agonized shouts as a large portion of the caravan men suffered similar wounds or worse. Dynatos' reactions would manage to save himself from harm, however Ares made the situation somewhat worse and Athena made no attempts to evade the volley. The flames burned some arrows to ash, but merely turned others into fiery projectiles that landed on the closest cage covered by cloth. As for Athena, she took an arrow directly to the torso with enough force to send her flying into the ground just a few feet away from Dynatos.

The fairy would live, but her injury was severe enough to knock her unconscious meaning she would be unable to heal herself. Alas, the now burning cage full of slaves was also an issue that needed to be tended to. The human cargo which had been hopeful and silent up till now were panicking and screaming as the inferno formed around them. Dynatos and Ares would have to decide which of them would handle which of these dilemma's swiftly.

Meanwhile, surprisingly more than half the guards were lucky enough to weather the storm of projectiles unscathed. Feeling much less fearful of men on horseback than they were of the fanalis and his beast companion, they charged the incoming horsemen and a bloody melee began. Samira was unable to join the battle due to her wounds, but seeing how the entire situation had become hopeless for the caravan, she turned her attention elsewhere. As the fight went on, Samira grit her teeth through the pain from the arrow in her thigh and began limping her way towards the caravan master's wagon. The chubby man was dying, an arrow through his throat causing blood to gurgle out along with weak whimpers. He could do nothing but reach out for Samira in vain as the life juice left him.

In all the commotion, few other than Dynatos would be able to notice Samira's actions as she pulled the cloth off of the cage, a task made easy by the fact that this one wasn't on fire. The white haired woman broke the lock with the hilt of her sword and moved aside as a flood of slaves-to-be poured out until a young boy with white hair jumped into her arms. Samira would drop her sword to hold him in her good arm and looked towards Dynatos. Their eyes would meet for a second before Samira turned and began limping away from the caravan abandoning the guards and the rest of the slaves to their fate. She was not able to do anything to save them as she was anyways. The attempt to flee was a desperate one...in her condition, she wouldn't be able to get far...

Even a brief evaluation of the situation should have brought that painful realization to Dynatos as well. None of the slaves there were Fanalis, the rumor had been false. Athena was injured. The enemies were too great in number. Staying to fight would be a lost cause.

Samira wasn't keen on accepting the intent behind Ares' nudges for a lack of understanding. But the message became clear once Dynatos caught up and offered to help. The white haired beauty paused for a second to look towards the caravan. Some of the horsemen were breaking off and charging right for them. Without a single moment more of hesitation, Samira pulled the clinging child off of her and placed him on Ares' back. "Thank you...Get him to safety, even if it kills you!" Samira would give Dynatos a glare that said she was going to come back from the grave to kill him if he allowed harm to befall the boy. With that said and done, Samira turned and drew the massive sword at her back. The muscles of her leg flexed and grew to unnatural size causing blood to spurt from her wound like a fountain for a brief second.

An explosion of force and sand sent the woman flying towards the horsemen like a loosed arrow. Two silver arcs of light were drawn through the air simultaneously and though none could see Samira's blade move, evidence of its cuts were clear. Horses and men alike suddenly split at vital points, their bodies severing and falling apart like puppets whose strings were cut.  Following the attack, Samira could be seen on the other side of the gore and violence of man and beast falling apart. She collapsed in the sands, dropping the giant sword as if she could now suddenly feel its weight. Thankfully, she had killed eight horsemen with her actions and the rest still had their hands full with the caravan guards. If Dynatos was going to escape with the wounded woman and the now crying little boy, now was the time to leave the scene.

"Hey wait, what are you doing!?"
Samira protested against the Fanalis man as he picked her up, though with the little strength the woman had left in her it did little good. She fell silent, finally allowing the idea of being carried away. She could only hope that the damage she had done to the enemy had bought her little brother and that beast enough time to get away... If this Fanalis man was fast enough, then perhaps they could make it away from them without having to suffer further injury...

---

It seemed they had made it out of there without much more fuss, thankfully. Samira had guided Dynatos as best she could towards her own home, a small safe haven where they could hide her brother until all of this died down. It was probably best to keep Dynatos hidden as well, in the event anyone came looking for her in regards to the now missing cargo.

As Dynatos approached the house, she managed to wiggle out of his grasp and walk up to the door. She gave it a light knock with her knuckles, before she moved to step inside. Immediately, there were a few loud shouts as 4 of her brothers and sisters came running up to them.

"SAMIRA!"
They all shouted in unison, glad to see their sister safely returned, and with their brother in tow! The siblings were quick into action, helping the young boy off the wolf and guiding him inside where they would take turns taking care of him. Samira on the other hand, limped her way over to her small room, gathering a box of medical supplies as she went so that she could remove the arrows and treat her own wounds.

"Thank you, for helping me save him. My name is Samira... Sorry but I don't really have a way to repay you for helping us..."
She would say before hissing as she attempted to remove the arrow from her leg.

A low sigh of relief escaped Samira's lips as the small fairy creature came over to heal her wounds... it was much more effective than wrapping them all up and waiting it out... At least now the woman didn't have to wait as long before her next mission to save yet another of her little siblings. Speaking of siblings, she could hear them all chatting away in a separate room, all glad to be reunited with their brother and ensuring that he was well taken care of while their sister recovered.

"Dynatos hunh? Well... I should at least offer you a place to stay tonight"
She said in amuch kinder tone than she had back when the two had fought one another. It was obvious that even with the healing, Samira was still exhausted, and a good rest would do her some good. She couldn't say that requestion Dynatos to stay was a pure act of kindness... if anything were to happen that night or the next morning, she would be glad to have him at her side to deter any undesirables if it came around to it.

She pushed herself up to her feet and moved to put on a pot of tea before moving to address the children still running around excitedly. She gave them quick instructions to get cleaned up and head off to bed, returning only once she was sure the children were doing as they were told.

If Dynatos accepted to stay, she would set out a sleeping mat for him and apologize for the lack of room required to bring in his beast... if he chose to leave however, she wouldn't try to keep him. She was sure he had much more important things to do anyways, he did speak of a sister...

---

[OOC: Dynatos has the option to leave and continue his search or stay the night. ]

As the night went on Samira would settle her family into bed and ensure that Dynatos and the others had everything they needed. It was the least she could do for his help after-all. The night would go on to be uneventful, everyone soundly asleep in their beds, the kids sleeping away contently and even Samira, while still worried, slept quite well knowing yet another of her siblings had been freed.

However, as the night began to turn into day, it didn't remain this way for long. In the distance, the sound of boots could faintly be heard passing through the street. The air itself seemed to not make a single sound, letting these footfalls be heard. Everything was a perfect silence except for that. That was, until a sudden loud knock came at the door, startling Samira out of her bed.

The woman would quickly roll over and grab her sword in a very quick movement as she braced herself, staring at the door to her bedroom with a sigh as she realized no one was barging in. While she seemed to sleep well, apparently she had been quite on edge that whole night. Sheathing her sword once more, Samira then walked out of her room and headed to the front door. One hand was kept near to her sword even as she pushed the door open.

A tall man in official guard armor was the first thing that greeted her. He wasn't much bigger than Samira herself was, but was still a rather imposing figure with his sword at his side and chains in hand.

"Mrs Samira, we're here to collect our fee for the merchandise stolen away from a caravan last night."
The man began speaking, to which Samira would raise an eyebrow and place her hand on her hip as she looked this man in the eyes.

"Merchandise? I don't know what you're talking about. That job last night went south and I was lucky enough to escape with my own life after getting shot. I wouldn't have had time to steal any merchandise, let alone make sure it survived the desert long enough to get free."
Samira explained to the man seriously, her stance shifting as she instead crossed her arms defiantly.

"Tsh, if you were shot, where are your wounds? Don't lie. Pay up, or else I'm going to have to take you as compensation~"
The man's face would turn into a sneer as he jingled the chains in his hands, taking a step towards Samira and reaching into the door to grab at her and try to pull her out into the street.

Samira had expected him however and quickly backed up away from him, drawing one sword only to have it torn out of her hand by the chains the guard was wielding.

"You could always give us the merchandise back too, the boss isn't picky."
He said, and as if on cue there was a scream from the children's room, the child calling out to Samira as you could hear an uproar from the other children in that room.

"Let my sister go! No! Get off me! Samira!"
There were a multitude of cried coming from the children's room and a very obvious commotion as the children attempted to fight the men that had come in through their window. by the time Dynatos managed to arrive, one of Samira's sisters had already been taken outside while the other children where still attempting to fight off their attackers.

Each of the men in there had their faces covered up to their noses so that none could truly distinguish their faces. All that could be seen where their eyes, and each of them looked extremely menacing. It was clear that they wouldn't be very easy to take down, even while in such a tight quarter. In fact, they had managed to move themselves enough that the children would be between themselves and Dynatos as he entered.

"It's that red haired guy! Please save my sister!"
The little boy that had been a slave only yesterday pleaded out, big pudgy tears in his eyes as he attempted to pull himself away from the man only now trying to shove him through the open window.

As for Samira, well her heart was racing a thousand miles a minute! There was no way for her to weild her large sword from within the house, and with this thug blocking her only exit, well it proved to be quite the problem... Even if she killed him, then wouldn't it just cause more trouble for her and her family? Damn it... what was she going to do now?

Thankfully, Ares came darting out from the side ally and launched herself at the man blocking her path, giving him no choice but to either hold his ground and defend, or move. Sadly, he stood his ground, turning the chains he was holding on the large beast now instead of Samira, aiming to hit Samira in the face with it's shackles while bringing his armored arms up to block himself from injury.

Had Ares been working alone, this might have proved to be a problem, however Samira ran forward and body slammed the brute simultaneously, aiming to push him off balance and out of her way.

It seemed that her plan worked as her body slam threw the man off balance, pushing him back just enough that Samira could squeeze outside, shutting the door behind her so that no one could enter from that way.

"Fool... Fighting me is only going to make your debt even larger!"
The man growled as he drew his sowrd with his free hand, pointing that towards Samira in defense as Area had him flanked, keeping the chains ready to strike at the beast again (Unless she was firmly clamped down on his armor).

((Due to unfortunate delays on behalf of staff, this thread is granted immunity from the traditional country limitation rules. Sloth may travel out of Heliohapt and still continue to post in this thread once the presiding staff member is available to post for it again.))