Noyar stood upright straight, leaving Pitt’s unconscious body at the side where it wouldn’t get people’s notice outright.

“Get ready, we’ll move in a moment,” saying that to the guards inside, she crept away. There should be about half a dozen or more who she needed to put down, but she was not sure how many of that number were inside the cottage. Well, she would find out soon.

“We’re under attack,” she shouted in that gruff voice, weapon ready in her hand. “Everyone, get ready. We’re under attack.”

“Hey, Doug,” a voice came from just the face of the cottage, “what nonsense you’re spouting?”

“It's true,” she said, running towards him in desperate nature. There was one guard standing against the wooden wall. “Where’s the other? We need to be ready, Pitt, he’s . . .”

“Pitt?” the guard asked, voice a bit alert now. “What happened to him?”

“Come with me.”

The rogue warder was still considering whether he should leave his post, but Noyar gave him no chance to ponder anymore. Just as she came two strides away from him, she thrust her sword at him. The warder was bewildered, and with his back against the wall, he couldn’t even dodge. The cold blade touched his neck, drawing a little amount of blood. A little more could turn the little into a lot.

“What’s the meaning of this?” The warder shouted as if trying to alert his other companions.

“What does it look?” Noyar’s eyes glowed as she found the warder drawing the power. “One wrong move and your head is on the ground.”

The warders eye widened in horror and the flow slowed down, though didn’t rest.

“Don’t resist. It won’t go well for you.” Noyar came closer, her blade still clang to his neck, while she drew her weaker arm towards his forehead.

She drew in quite some quantity of power, proceeding to assault the warder’s brain with it to make him unconscious, however, before she could do so, her danger sense rang out, as she spun, lurching her sword into a swing.

A burly man sneaked behind her. While she was busy on the one before her, another one of their companions, crept behind her, trying to make a sneak attack. He was a head shorter than Pitt, coming at her with a sledgehammer, aiming for her head. Noyar couldn’t see clearly in the dark, however, her dominion let her see the colourful flow of energy within the silhouette. Her swing connected, and the sword clanged against the opponent’s arm.

The hammer fell on the ground with two arms—cut below the elbows. Blood sprayed on the air, making the air pungent, as the burly man screamed. Within the moment of spar, Noyar hadn’t held back, as the danger to her was too imminent.

Blood smeared on her face, hands and upper body as she pulled a full-slash drawing in the force of the water. She utilised the Wavecutter of the Windstance, as the blades of the water wave flung away the burly man. He collided against the wall, shaking the cottage, finally giving some sign that they were under attack.

Noyar spun towards the other one, who almost dealt a vicious blow to her back, but she beats him to it with the residual force of Wavecutter, barely enough to make his stance waver.

She sighed, knowing she didn’t have chance to do it without bloodshed. She aimed for his right arm to make a feint and gutted her blade into his stomach. The rogue warder got low, coughing out. She made a last lurch of foot against his head, finally making him unconscious, except that now blood flowing from his stomach.

Noyar let out a breath and crept away. She rarely has an opportunity to get what she wanted without violence these days.

Now she didn’t have to scream 'we were under attack' to get their attention. Still, she didn't come across rogue warders that easily. Were they all outside?

As she crept, Noyar finally came across some disturbance. Not with her sight, but with the power of Dominion. She saw a very reserved flow of energy moving, dragging something. And it seemed she drew that person’s attention, just as he drew hers.

Noyar grunted, pulling another full-slash, this time not forceful, and sharp like the other, but more like a cannon of water, trying to fling away the warder.

Her attack was aimed straight at him and with only five strides away, she rarely missed chances like this, however, what happened next startled her. Her opponent, give up on the body, and lurched above the wave of water, turning his body into a sharp twist. He flew, growing over the waves of attack to come at her.

Noyar blocked the sword, however, the sheer force and momentum of her opponent came with something she hadn’t anticipated. She fell on her back to the cold ground while the man on top of her.

Her mind chilled, and she lurched her foot to attack.

The man on top of her grunted. “Noyar, I assumed,” he said.

Noyar blinked. Though she didn’t see his face in the dark, the voice seemed familiar, and how he manoeuvred his body. That reminded her of one person. “Al’born?” she asked, sighing in relief inwardly. “You know, I don’t really like your way of showing affection. Mind getting off me.”

The knight did, giving her a chiding look. “How many of them you put down?”

“Three.”

“I got two on the way here.”

Noyar stood up, giving a look to the body a few strides away. “I’ll go after the hostages. Deal with the rest.”

Without waiting for Jon’s approval on the command, she crept towards the way she came from.

The door was still closed as she left it before, which was kind of weird. Shouldn’t the two guards get out with the hostages in time?

“Are you guys ready?” Noyar asked, working her dominions to penetrate the wooden door. It was a difficult task as any kind of substance, especially solid, makes it harder, but she did find a few signs of life. “Get ready, we’ll leave.”

Wiping the blood from her face, she turned to open the door, the dominion of the seer, active. And it turned out her decision to keep the dominion open was right, as on a sudden a body lurched at her the moment she opened the door, a sword penetrating her chest.

Noyar withdrew a step instinctively, but there was no pain, nor was there any sword sticking out of her chest. However, she did find one coming to stick the sword into her chest. In a blink, that sword would penetrate her chest, if she does nothing.

Noyar knew just what to do. She turned her body sideways and rammed her sword, filing away the other party’s weapon, when something sharp shot at her again. She only saw a bit of a red bar of light. It was almost got into her chest too, but she moved away.

Noyar blinked again the next moment. There were no red bars of light, or anything flying towards her. Something weird was going on, she thought, and then she saw the other guard shooting a projectile with red bars of light. It went straight to the path she saw first, and as she already strayed away from its path, it missed.

The guard who shot that projectile at her had utter despair on his face. Noyar didn’t have any idea what she did, but she was sure it had something to do with her dominion. However, as her mind was considering that, her body was already at work.

Noyar flew to the opponent that was close to her, and lurched a heavy foot against his chest, manoeuvring her body in mid-air, she shot a wave of water cannon at the other one.

Getting back on her knees, she looked around the room full of hostages, and sighed in relief. There were still a dozen of them, though barely a few of them were awake with everything going on. Seeing her do what she did, they started shouting.

“Help, please. I don’t feel so good,” a younger male groaned, eyes wavering at her.

“They did something to us. Please help. I’m dying.”

“Ahh, please, Oh Ishar, I’m coming to you,” another one said, and he seemed to have a seizure.

The bit of relief she felt was washed away by the sound of despair from the hostages.

“What’s wrong?” she crept toward the one that seemed to be having a seizure. The moment she checked, she found more than a couple of things wrong with him. “Oh, Manas protect them!”

Jon Al’born II came in the next moment, his face which was in the mask of fatigue and worry, darkened seeing the scene. “What’s wrong?” he asked, coming into the room. He found the warder against the wall, awoke, and watching the scene. “What did you do to them? Tell me.”

Noyar, however, moved from one hostage to another, checking their pulses and flow of energy. “They all are afflicted,” she said, slumping down to the next hostage. “Horrible, this is so wrong!”

She prayed, head bowing to the ground, not knowing how to solve the crisis. “Oh Ishar, help them, give them strength. Manas preserve them.”

Jon was now shaking the guard by the collar, gritting his teeth. “Why?” he screamed. He hadn’t checked like Noyar did, but the seizure of one almost on the verge of collapse, to Noyar’s prayer in utter despair, told him it was already out of their hand. He still couldn’t accept it. “Tell me how to fix it. Tell me, you bastard, Godforsaken fools.”

“They . . . they will . . . live,” said the guard through his shaking.

_____

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