[IRP] The Mage General's Last Stand

[Toogee]

Upon hearing Damian’s voice, Paige paused just as she approached the end of the stairwell. Hearing the word ‘heretic’ shouted out, the scholar suspected she was dealing with either the Empire or the Church.  She did not have friendly experiences with either party, but she also was not equipped to put up much of a fight. Paige thought it best to put her sword back into its scabbard. To her surprise, the stairs were still visible, but not because of the light brand. She looked upward to see a blue flame, a wisp, floating above her head. Whatever spell the mage general had conjured, the magic was awakening upon the Imperial approach.

“I-I’m coming down,” Paige shouted back to Damian. “And I’m not a soldier, just a scholar.”

A blue wisp also appeared over Damian’s head, lighting the area around him. Though no one else was present, whispers echoed through the empty halls. They sounded close, yet distant. There was no detectable accent among them; only an otherworldly echo of a human past.

"A soldier so young..."
"That girl has no business wielding a sword..."
"Did they bring the war with them?"
"Has our lord given order?"

Paige finally came into view, looking around to see the source of the voices, yet none were visible. She was quite shaken at the turn of events, but attempted to maintain some composure so as not to startle the knight before her. With her empty hands in front of her, she nervously addressed Damian.

“I swear this isn’t me-”

Paige was interrupted with the loud crash of metal on stone, startled at the sound. The iron gate that hung above the keep’s entrance had come crashing down, separating them from Damian’s unit. The ropes that held the gate up lay useless upon the stone floor, cut cleanly.