Ironsides Family/Armstrong/Escape from Sirion One
The Hero of Democracy was captured during a skirmish in Ashforth by Sirion forces, namely the Sirion Cavalry Defence commanded by Sir Alexander Acies Dux Ducis, Duke of Parm.
Prelude…
Konus sat across the wooden table from his young daughter and watched as she hazardously ate her meal. He smiled with pleasure; she was the joy of his life.
- “Darling Rauna, remember to be good for your Aunty Shea. Just because I won’t be home does not mean you are free to do as you please. Oh no, we both know full well Aunty Shea is more strict than I.”
- “I know Papa, I will behave. How long will you be working for?”
- “Three weeks my dear, three long weeks. It is just like before, you remember don’t you?”
- “Yes Papa. It was so boring without you. What happened to Uncle Karlof?”
- “He was sent to the front again. There is still a war going on against the Fontanese, and our brave armies are making significant attacks on the City of Ashforth.”
- “Where is that Papa?”
- “Oh, the city is far west from here. You know, I have never seen it myself. It was lost from us a very long time ago, before you were born in fact.”
- “Before I was born! Nothing existed before I was born. “
- “Why would you say that?”
- “Because I do not remember anything before I was born! How could it be if I do not remember?”
- “So youthful, you are my darling you know that?”
- “Of course Papa.”
- “Here comes Aunty Shea now. Look, see her walking there? That means it is time for me to leave for work.”
- “Don’t leave Papa, Shea is so boring! Last time all we did was knit! Knitting hurts my fingers.”
- “It will be fine, and maybe she will teach you a new skill? These are important things to learn. Things only a woman can teach you.”
- “Okay Papa, I will wait for you to return, and show you all the blankets we have knitted.”
- “I can’t wait.”
Escape from Sirion
First attempt,
Konus entered the tall overbearing dungeon casually. He waved to the gateman and kept walking past the execution grounds. He entered a side door and furthered into the holding cells. This is where he worked. He was a jail guard in the dungeons of Sirion.
The cells of Sirion City were well kept, clean and fairly easy on the prisoners. It may have been the attitude of the elves to not harass or cause too much suffering on their prisoners, although they felt at certain times punishment was warranted.
On his way in, he heard loud commotion and incomprehensible speech coming from the primary holding cell of this block. This cell was reserved for important “guests” to the prison, or was used when the cells were overcrowded. Lately, there was enough space for all prisoners, so Konus correctly assumed someone special was captured.
He entered the cell filled with his coworkers and found them in a frenzy of shouting and arguing. In the middle of them was a man with no pointer finger on his right hand tied to a wooden post. The man was calmly sitting back on the post staring intently at the wall. Some of the guards were taunting the man, others were arguing not to harass him for fear of retribution.
Konus recognized the missing finger from a story he once heard about a hero who lost it defending his homeland. He thought for a moment on who that could have been. Amidst the shouts and curses he heard the words “Hero of Democracy” and immediately connected the name to the story.
There before him was the famous Count Armstrong, Hero of Democracy. He was a legend on the East Continent known for his mighty deeds, powerful words and for his inspiring songs. That realization stunned Konus in his boots.
His first inclination was to help the hero, if at least to secure his name in the immortality of Armstrong’s song, but this desire was quickly drown out by the animosity of the guards. Never in his life did he encounter one of such renown. The Hero of Democracy, disheveled and helpless before a lowlife crowd of elvin guards. None had dared to physically humiliate or abuse the Hero of Democracy, but verbally they let loose. Most of them were doing the typical cross border jabs, saying how the Fontanese were dogs, inbred and lousy fighters. Some were disgracing Democracy with profanity and curses. Others were attacking Armstrong himself, questioning his heroism and strength, especially since he found himself caught in this dungeon. This went on for quite some time, and in the fervor of the rabble Konus found himself joining in.
All the while, Armstrong remained completely calm and docile. This disposition made the guards nervous, which led to them increasing their assault to break his spirit. They failed.
After quite a long time, they finally decided to inter him properly in a dungeon cell. They untied him from the post and attached a heavy log to his arms behind his back, tied around his chest and shoulders. Then the whole gathering paraded him around the dungeon floor celebrating their catch. Other prisoners were as amazed as the guards were to see the Hero of the Democracy in flesh; moreover, they were surprised to see him so degraded. The prisoners who were from enemy parts of East Island joined in the celebration, while those from friendly parts quietly sat grieving.
Once Armstrong was sealed in his cell the festivities were over, now it was time to discuss the serious business. A bit ahead of the cell holding our hero, the guards responsible for this floor were in council. “How are we going to divide up the watches? Two of us have to be on the door at all times.”
- “Yes, and we should have another man patrolling every half hour.”
- “Who will do it?”
- “Not me, I have a family to look after.”
- “And I have to tend to my parents farm, they need me.”
- “My horse is sick, I cannot do it.”
In this way, each guard revealed their fear of the Hero of Democracy. None had wanted the responsibility or the vicinity to our hero on fear of death. Konus decided that if he was to gain anything from his job as a prison guard, the experience of holding as brilliant a star as Armstrong was probably the best he was going to get. He thought of the story it would grant him to tell his sweet little girl. So he volunteered to be one of the twenty four hour watchmen. After two and a half hours of arguing and every chance game you can think of, the guards of this block finally made their set. Lord Armstrong was to be guarded by Konus and Higelion as the twenty four hour door guards, and Raymus as the half hour patrol.
The first night was without incident. Both Konus and Higelion acted by the book and tried very hard not to make any mistakes. It was obvious to any passer by that these two men were very nervous and uncomfortable. They stood completely straight for most of the time, and did not dare move from the spot they stood. Raymus walked by every half hour and made some kind of snarky comment such as, “Hey, how come the Hero of Democracy hasn’t torn you both to pieces yet,” or “The door is still sealed? That is odd. When is he going to burst through and eat your heads?” This put them both on edge. Konus felt the tension of guarding the Hero of Democracy tighten his chest. He was vexed by paranoia. He thought the worst was going to happen, and regretted volunteering for the job. He noticed Higelion fidget a lot and recognized the same pressure in him that he was feeling. The first night was the worst night, and it was all in their imagination.
The second night Konus tried to relieve some of the pressure, and began chatting with Higelion.
- “Hey Hijel, how was your hunting expedition in Winkamus?”
- “It was good, we caught a heard of elk running through our firing lines and bagged six of them. My son wasted a lot of arrows but eventually he caught one. He caught a big one!”
- “Haha, he is just like his father, wasting arrows!”
From inside the cell, they heard a gruff dry voice. At first they were not sure what was said so they ignored it, then, the person inside stirred and came closer to the door. Armstrong was speaking.
- “How old is your son.”
Shocked, Konus and Higelion looked at each other and whispered.
- “Should I answer him?” Higelion asked,
- “He is behind the iron door, I do not see why not.”
Higelion obliged.
- “My son is seventeen.”
Armstrong responded.
- “A good age, he is at the brink of his manhood.”
Konus then asked Armstrong a question,
- “Are you a father? If I may ask…”
- “No I am not.”
- “Higelion has two boys and a girl, and I have a young girl.”
- “You are both wealthy men. It is right for a man to have things to value; otherwise he will stray from the right path.”
- “You have no children, so what can you value?” Higelion remarked.
- “I value Democracy.”
- “Bah! What a backwards system. It completely ignores a true system based off the land, off of nature, which is feudalism by nobility. Democracy is ignoble!”
Konus looked at Higelion as if he said something offensive, Higelion looked back shocked, he was not trying to cross the line and anger our Hero he just slipped up.
- “I disagree.”
Konus thought it would be very bad for the two guards if they began to discuss Democracy with the Hero of Democracy, fearing that it might stir him up and cause him to break free.
- “Let’s leave that to the politicians shall we? We are both lowly guards and you are a Count. What do we know about anything?”
Konus tried to look through the small barred window in the door that sealed in Armstrong, but he could not see the Hero’s face and wondered where in the cell he could be sitting.
- “Where are you in there?” He asked.
No response.
Higelion looked at Konus with wide eyes, trembling.
- “Oh, oh. What’s this all about?”
- “Count, where are you. Answer at once!” Higelion demanded.
No response.
- “Count Armstrong, are you still in there? What are we going to do Konus? We were just speaking to him, how could he have escaped so fast?”
- “I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. We better find out, let’s wait for Raymus to come and then the three of us will check the cell.”
- “Okay, but what if he is outside running, it will be another eight minutes before Raymus comes. That could give him enough time to find a secure hiding place. We’ll never find him that way.”
- “You’re right, but it is smarter to wait for Raymus. If he escaped already, let him run. I don’t want to die.”
- “The Overseer will be the one to kill us if his prized prisoner escapes! We have to check now!”
- “What else would he expect? He has the Hero of Democracy in his cells, it is sure that he will escape.”
- “Let’s check now.”
- “No. Wait for Raymus.”
- “Grab the rod I am opening the cell door.”
- “No! Wait for Raymus!”
Higelion unsealed the door and swung it open. The cell was dark and seemingly empty. Higelion hesitated before entering. He slowly walked in and looked left, then, before he could look right he was grabbed on the throat and pulled further into the cell. Konus began to holler for Raymus to hurry. He heard a struggle inside the cell and raised the rod ready for attack.
Raymus ran as fast as he could towards the cell and was armed with a thick club.
- “Where’s Higelion?”
- “I don’t know.”
Suddenly the broken body of Higelion leaped out from the cell right into Konus and Raymus. They stumbled back and dropped the corpse to the ground. In that second Raymus noticed a blur shoot out from the cell down the hallway.
- “He is running!”
Raymus and Konus chased after him and were yelling and shouting to get the other guards attention.
Higelion gurgled in the dirt as he slowly suffocated. His throat was twisted shut and his shoulders crushed. He should have waited for Raymus.
Fenderur was sharing some cheese with his dog Burk when he heard the shouts from down the hallway. He quickly dropped the food and ran to ring the alarm bell. Burk began barking wildly down the hallway and frantically running in a circle.
Then, as Fenderur was ringing the bell he no longer heard the bark of Burk. He looked over and saw Armstrong silencing the dog by shutting its throat. He pulled out his sword and attacked.
Fenderur chopped down, while Armstrong knelt and caught his forearms, then leapt in and rammed his fist into Fenderur’s chest. The elf’s heart impacted and the limp body dropped to the ground, blood flowing out from his mouth and nose.
Too soon, a swath of guards rushed in from the other direction, just as Konus and Raymus entered the scene. Armstrong snatched up the sword and took the offensive.
The skirmish lasted fourteen minutes, and four of eleven guards were killed in that corridor alone before they subdued the wrath of Armstrong. All together, the tired and beaten up guards tied and dragged the Hero back into his cell and sealed it shut. Then they collected the dead and returned to the corridor to discuss what to do next. They needed to replace the twenty four hour spot Higelion left, and none were willing to take the chance. Raymus decided he would take Higelion’s spot, and the patrol position was thought to be an easier task. So the organization was returned to order and Konus and Raymus returned to guarding the cell of Armstrong Ironsides, Hero of Democracy.
That was the first escape attempt.
You manage to get out of your cell, but are spotted on your way out of the dungeon.Despite a heroic fight, the guards overwhelm you and put you back into your cell. The ruler and judge of this realm will surely be informed.
Released for bad behaviour
After a second escape attempt, the elves of Sirion decided that it was better to release the Hero of Democracy than allow him to annihilate the guards of the prison. So Judge Eryk Eyolf Serpentis, Count of Dolmbar, graciously released Count Armstrong.
Visit! While you rot in your cell, Erik Eyolf Serpentis, Judge of Sirion, Count of Dolmbar, visits you and says:
- "Sir Armstrong,I heard the news and I should say that you are causing many problems for my guards. It is not very easy to maintain an Hero arrested. In any way, I hope your permanence has been pleasant. All my prisoners are treated with justice and I hope you say that for your realm mates. Before the war we were allied a lot of times in the past, perhaps one day that is possible again. Good luck."
Set free! Erik Eyolf Serpentis, Judge of Sirion, Count of Dolmbar has come to your cell with good news - he is setting you free.
