The Lead Crown: Ch 1a, Flintlocked and Loaded (pt 5)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 1-5, Flintlocked and Loaded
Due to the jail rapidly filling with smoke, there was little time to delay. Kesst followed Sanmer out of the cell and helped usher the rest of the group through the bars. "That everyone?" questioned the white-furred fox.
"Not everyone, no." Tobias countered, shuffling through the drawers of the desk situated next to where he'd been standing.
"Right." acknowledged the fox, "Our gear..." he moved over to join the prong horn, "But it's in the chest here... not the desk."
"He's looking for the keys." Nicholas responded, going quickly to the cell holding Grange and his men, "We gotta get everyone out."
"By everyone..." the fox paused, glancing at the sailor.
"EVERYONE." the human acknowledged, and he began tugging at the door.
"I won't leave Enarork here." Tobias stated.
In response, Kesst watched as Sanmer rolled his eyes, "Go watch the door." the rogue suggested to the dragon. The fox made his way to the tribal bear's cell and knelt down, fiddling with the lock using a small metal pin and what looked like a nail. "Well?" Sanmer questioned, and Kesst realized he'd been staring.
The dragon obliged the request, moving to the prison's single door, which had taken a decent amount of damage from whatever the blast had been outside. Large gaps had appeared between the wooden boards and the metal reinforcements on the portal appeared to be all that was still holding it together. With the numerous cracks that had developed between the damaged wood it was very easy for the dragon to keep an eye out while remaining inside.
Behind him, Kesst could hear the sounds of the many individuals laboring to breathe. Now and again someone would start with a coughing fit, which led to another, then another; before long everyone seemed to be doing their fair share, and the dragon knew it was only going to get worse.
The smoke did nothing to him. Kesst he wasn't bothered in the least, but he realized that was only because he possessed the Breath. If anyone else knew-- the dragon started coughing for good measure, imitating the laborious breaths of his fellows.
"Come on... come on...." Nicholas, at the far end of the prison, was still trying to force the bars open. While any normal attempt at such a feat was nigh impossible, the damage done to the prison by the combination of blast and fire actually resulted in the sailor making a little progress. That, and the help from the enormous elephant on the other side of the bars. Together they managed to loosen one... but it was a far cry from freedom.
"The keys must be here somewhere." Tobias spoke up, frantically going through the desk, "I saw one of the guards place--"
"Mercenaries." Sanmer interrupted him, speaking around several thin metal wires he had sticking out from the end of his muzzle. He pulled one free and added it to the lock, continuing to fidget with the mechanism.
"You were the ONLY person the guards actually searched..." the antelope ventured, "How could they have possibly missed a set of lock picks."
"They found my primary kit..." Sanmer confirmed, "But I always hide a few extra on my person for cases just like this."
"From where I was standin' it looked like they were pretty damn full-on checkin' everywhere." Grange added from across the room.
"ALMOST everywhere." the fox acknowledged, reaching a paw down the front of his pants before pulling another nail-sized pick from beneath, "Funny story... most guys have a problem checking every last 'sleeve'."
"Good god, man..." Tobias announced, aghast, "You mean to say you stuck them down your shea--"
Nicholas interrupted the antelope's exclamation with a particularly hearty cough, and lowered his head, gasping for breath as the smoke began to pool along the ceiling. "It's..." he rasped, "getting bad..." he took a step back, coughing again as the alley cat within the cell collapsed, succumbing to the smoke.
Enarork, still seated in a relaxed manner on the floor, spoke quietly, his eyes still closed. It was the strange language of the tribesmen and Kesst did not understand what he was saying, but Tobias certainly seemed to register whatever it was. The scholar replied back something in a very energetic manner, shaking his head.
"He wants us to leave him and save ourselves?" Sanmer asked in an optimistic tone.
"He was thanking us for our help." Tobias responded.
"Yes." the bear responded, opening his eyes to look at the fox, "Thank you."
"Sure." Sanmer acknowledged, "Kinda fun change a pace... usually I'm breaking OUT of a cell... not into one."
Kesst glanced from the interior of the prison back to the outside, watching the people running around the street. Now and again, the dragon saw a guard, but not a single one of them appeared to have any interest in approaching the prison-- most were trying to herd people down the boulevard and keep things as orderly as possible.
As far as the dragon could tell it appeared that they were failing at the last part... badly. He pulled back from the door, turning away from it as he saw a motorized carriage careen uncontrolled toward a group of people, and clenched his teeth when he heard the resulting impact. Kesst forced his imagination to avoid thoughts on the scene and focused on the goings on the goings-on within the jail.
Nicholas' renewed coughing caught the dragon's attention once more as the sailor lowered his head, almost retching as his body tried to clear itself of the smoke. He saw the human's eyes watering, and the sailor was sweating profusely, laboring even to remain on his feet. "Nicholas..." Kesst called, "You--" but he was interrupted by the sound of Tobias' coughing... which was even worse. A few seconds later, the prong horn collapsed.
"They are falling to the smoke." Enarork's deep voice was more narrative than concerned, "They cannot remain, or they risk joining the spirits."
"I..." Tobias rasped, clawing at one of the desk's legs, trying to stand, "... we need to... help him."
"The smoke's getting worse." Kesst explained, glancing out of door through the cracks, and suddenly wishing he hadn't; there was just so much blood. He returned his attention to the smoke-filled prison and made a judgment call, "I'll help them." he called to Nicholas, moving toward the cell holding Grange and his gang.
"Not..." Nicholas spoke before his coughing cut him short. He rasped, "Not a good idea." he managed to wheeze.
"Yes! Yes, a good idea!" Grange announced, grabbing the unconscious alley cat and dragging him closer to the cage's door.
"Help Tobias." Sanmer shouted at the human, "If you're gonna try and help then do it quick, Kesst." the fox suggested.
The sailor, still coughing, stumbled across the smoke filled room and grabbed hold of the fallen scholar, who was still wheezing, tears, mucus, saliva, and phlegm coating the front of his robe; Kesst couldn't bear to look at him as they passed one another. "It's alright... it's alright..." the dragon announced as Nicholas glanced at him, "I'll help them... just get Tobias out of the smoke."
The dragon waited for just a moment as the two left the building. Tobias shouldered his way through the crumpled door, knocking it outward and off its damaged hinges. After that, Kesst looked back to the cell where Grange had his muzzle covered with the front of his shirt, and Suros was still trying to force the bars apart.
"Careful," warned the fox, a faint wheeze to his voice, "...lotsa smoke." Sanmer paused in his picking of the lock long enough to grab a rag off of the desk where Tobias had been searching. He popped the top on a water skin and doused the cloth, and then wrapped it around his muzzle, "Make it quick!" he added, voice muffled by the wet fabric. With nothing more to be said, Sanmer returned to his work on the cell door.
Kesst carefully approached the metal bars separating him from the rat's crew. When they had been out on the street they seemed like an unstoppable force waiting to obliterate him... a tide that would wash him away-- suddenly, as he stood before the trapped rat and his cronies, that impression had changed.
Barely standing and hanging onto the bars for support was a wiry rat with thinned fur and numerous sores. Beside him, still straining against the bars was a large bull elephant who, despite his size, appeared thin for his kind, and had a half of a splintered tusk remaining out of his original two. The alley cat laying unmoving on the ground was in just as sad a shape, and the mongrel-- Kesst stopped when he saw the brownish-furred arm poking out from beneath a pile of burning rubble that had fallen from the ceiling.
"Got it!" Sanmer's announcement, though muffled was still quite audible. The bear finally stood, his breath surprisingly steady, though the hint of a wheeze made Kesst that the tribal man was no more immune to the effects of the smoke than anyone else... he just did a better job at keeping himself from breathing in too much. "Let's go." the fox announced to the bear.
"Come on... come on..." the tone of a plea was obvious in Grange's voice, and he was on his knees, holding the bars for support. He coughed and spat, his eyes, nose, and mouth leaking constantly as he labored for breath, "...come on..." he wheezed.
"Gonna... see..." Suros announced, looking around through tear-filled eyes before he located the cat, laying prone on the floor, "oh...there ya are..." and he knelt down to pick up the unmoving feline. As soon as the two had their attention elsewhere, Kesst took that moment to act. With one quick puff of The Breath, a thin, perfect stream of blue flame seared the lock to a red hot glow. Kesst took a step back, and kicked it with all his might, shattering it into several pieces and forcing the cell open.
"Uhng..." Grange slowly got to his feet, pulling himself up using his grip on the bars, "...you an'... ya kickin'..."
The dragon stepped aside, giving the rat a wide berth but, for all of Kesst's concern, Grange didn't try anything. Suros came out next, blinking his watery eyes as he lumbered off after the rat, the unconscious alley cat slung over his shoulder. Only once everyone else was out did Kesst turn around. He expected the prison to be empty... but saw that Sanmer was still present... as was the bear. Kesst wondered for a moment if either had seem him use The Breath, but he suddenly had other concerns as the roof began to collapse.
"Go!" Enarork growled, taking a step forward so that the majority of his bulk was over Sanmer. The bear raised a large arm, deflecting a burning beam as it fell onto the two of them. The impact was accentuated by a grunt, but the tribal merchant seemed to have no trouble forcing the fiery wood aside. He clenched his paw twice and rotated his wrist with a wince... but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. "Go." the bear repeated, motioning toward the door. Kesst did NOT have to be told twice.
It took several minutes before the dragon's heartbeat finally began to slow, but, in the scheme of things, that was a relatively small issue. Once the group was several blocks from the prison they stopped to take stock of the injuries. Nicholas was still coughing, though he seemed none-the-worse for wear, but Tobias was only able to move with the sailor's assistance... he looked sick, and was still wheezing, as if his breath just wouldn't catch up with him.
Sanmer had a few singed bits of fur and added to the chorus of coughs every now and again, but he seemed to be the least affected out of everyone... most likely due to his use of a face covering. Kesst continued to add some theatrical coughs and throat-clearing but he was quick to refuse help, citing that others in the party needed it more than he. It was fortunate that Nicholas was doting on Tobias as the sailor pointed out more than once that Kesst had spent most of his time on the far side of the lock up and, therefore, furthest from the fire.
In some way it made Kesst feel bad that he hadn't done more; he had been immune to the smoke and the flames, and yet he wasn't able to risk explaining why that was... dragons were no more immune to those things than anyone else... except for those who had The Breath. To have helped any more would have risked his secret... but to have helped so little-- it still didn't feel right and it didn't sit well with him.
His guilt grew when it came time to check on Grange and his compatriots: Grange and Surous were mostly alive but the mongrel had died when the section of the ceiling collapsed in their cell, and the alley cat had succumbed to the smoke... that left only Grange and Surous... neither of whom appeared to be in all that great a condition. The rest of the party must have realized that too, as the topic of discussion quickly switched from everyone's health to what would become of the remaining brigands.