The cleric wasted no time investigating each of their bodies, starting with Nero he looked about his back, arms, and front side for any odd markings on shapes. Coming across scars on Nero's arms the cleric stopped briefly to attempt to discern their origin.

"What did this? How long ago was it sir?" backing away he began to clear the lens of his spy glass in preparation of pawing over Talaitha.
"A rabid dog attacked me when I was a boy." grunted Nero as he watched the old man shrug with indifference before heading onwards to the young gypsy girl.

Phasing over her body he found nothing out of the ordinary, though her jewels did catch his eye for some time. "They let you keep those! Oh my! you're quite a lucky girl!" the cleric's attempt to appear warm and friendly was all for naught as a near by guard chimed in with "And quite the looker!"

The whole situation was making Nero become extremely testy, being humiliated in this fashion was one thing but now the guards were openly acting crude and attempting to cause further shock and morale loss.

"Would you just get this damn thing along!" Nero commanded with a clearly impatient mumble.

"Of course, of course." turning away from Talaitha he began inspecting Lucia, whom was the only one of the group to seem genuinely afraid of the situation.
"Don't worry now dear I just need to take a small look!"
after a few moments of exploring her lower backside and legs for some unknown marking he ventured to her front side. Passively he placed his hands upon her arms and turned them outwards before backing away and heading towards his superior, the warden.

"They're all clear my lord, you can return them to the the holding cell." nodding in agreement the warden signaled for a group of four men to escort the prisoners. Nero instinctively reached down to dress himself but was pushed forward by a guard who seemed to be in a terrible hurry. "You can dress when you're down bellow!" pushing onwards the bare group was paraded down to the prison door where they waited for the door to unlock.

"It's a shame such a pretty lil' thing like you ended up here." one of the guards began to back away and slightly lean against Lucia in an attempt to taunt or perhaps genuinely flirt with her. "How about it, I could make it worth your while. You shouldn't strive to stay a maiden forever." he had lowered his voice to a whisper to avoid allowing the others to hear but the lead guard unlocking the door obviously caught wind of the gesture and scolded man with a stern look that drove the flirting guard back to his position. Following his reprimanding of his subordinate the head guard flung open the door and lit a torch, leading the group back to their cage. Carefully the man unlocked the cage and stepped aside to allow the prisoners through.
____


Squelching his laugh the shaded man emerged from his cot as he heard the sound of the guards unlocking the near door. "It's show time people, give 'em a good whats for aye? Remember if ya' mess it up they'll kill yins on the spot!"

Nadya shook her head in disgust, not over what the man was saying but rather over the fact that he felt the need to warn them of their situation. "You charge them first, try and knock whoever opens the door on his back. I'll go for the torches afterwards, just deal with getting the men to on the ground." Nadya whispered to Erratus quietly as the prison door creaked open. The guards made haste pushing the prisoners through the door to the cell, Nadya made sure to spot the keys in the lead guard hands and to take note of the two guards who were carrying torches. Preparing herself sternly the door of the cell dragged open...

Before Erratus had a chance to protest, the guards arrived with the other inmates. He hadn't had nearly as long as he would have liked to consider the situation, but in the end he supposed he would just have to tackle the guards as the man had proposed. Of course, this would be a pretty short escape attempt unless the absent parties decided to go along with it. As the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, the nomad faded into the shadows, preparing for a stealthy strike. His plan was to grab the door and hold it open, allowing the others to assault the guards, and he had positioned himself as close to the gate as possible while remaining completely obscured in shadow. However, at the sight of Nero, Lucia, and Talaitha in only their undergarments, it took all of his willpower not to burst out laughing and give away his position. As the cell door swung open, Erratus prepared to lunge.

Talaitha forced a smile as the cleric attempted to act friendly. If she had her jambiya with her she would have gutted him on the spot, even if it did betray her nature to act out in such a way.
"Don't take my apathy as permission to do whatever you please, scumbag," she muttered under her breath.

Once the situation resolved itself and they were sent back to their cages, Talaitha wondered what the man meant by 'all clear.' All clear of the infection or all clear as in the search was done and now it was time for them to be killed. Either way, she did not see a positive end following this. In addition, why had they only been chosen while Nadya and the older man were left below. Hopefully Nadya had thought of something while this went on. All hope she retained rested on her elder for she did not trust the younger two or either of the old men.
As the cage door opened, Talaitha noticed Nadya was up to something, and watched her with interest and a smidgen of hope that she could get them out of this bind.

Their inspections were quick, and once they had been declared clear, they were marched back to their prisons. Lucia did not make any response to any of the men's comments or their advances. It was a man's advance that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She simply gathered all her clothes and managed to at least drape her cloak over her shoulders to cover herself as she walked. Finally they reached the prison, she had hoped that strange man and the other two had devised a good means for escape in their absence. She would be ready.

"Sirs wait!" the voice called out from across the cell as the figure rushed for the bars of his cell. "Those prisoners, the ones left behind!" he started to speak as if he was short of breath and inevitably a guard approached his gate to see what was going on. "Gonye, what are you on about?"
"Th-they're going to attack you and then try and break out! I over heard their plan!"

Nadya was immediately filled with shock, the man had sold them out. There was no longer any time to wait for Erratus to make his move or to second guess. Nadya lunged forth and ripped the unlocked door from the guards hand and quickly opened it to try and catch the wards off foot. Nero who barely caught sight of Nadya running for the door dropped his clothing and used his weight to slam a soldier next to him viciously into the bars of a cell. Meanwhile Nadya had lunged at a one of the men carrying the torch and although unsuccessful in actually subduing the man she was able to put out his torch. The guard who had been near Gonye's cell mysteriously had his torch extinguished and before long it was pitch black in the prison and each of the prisoners had swarmed in and collectively brought down their captors. Fumbling about in the darkness Nero looked for a way to reignited a torch and after some time discovered a tinderbox in the satchel of one of the guards.

"Anyone hurt?" Nero felt like he was asking this alot these days, but was reminded by hs fumbling about that he might have something more important to worry about "Where are the keys? does anyone have them?" just then the torch sparked and the area around the group was lit.

Nadya sat upon the ground as her hands shook out of control, without any preparation time she was forced to use her hands and her cape to dis-ignite the torch which left both of her hands severely burned. Rising up from the ground she started up to begin yelling at the man named Gonye who had betrayed them but was met with the sight of a guard who had been choked to death against the bars of Gonye's cell. "Who the hell do you think you are!" she yelled after a moment of shock.

The guard's body violently fell to the ground as Gonye removed his arms from around his neck. For the first time the stranger was visible to the group, he appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties and he was dressed in some old gray military uniform that closely resemble a cavalry unit's.

"The boy there was going to throw the whole damn thing." Gonye responded pointing towards Erratus. "He was going to rely on the other's first action over his own, it's amateurs like him who put me in this damn mess and I was sure as hell not going to let an amateur keep me here any longer! Now find the keys and get me out of this cage." he commanded. His face still partially shadowed by the cell.

Nero quickly dressed himself and began to sort through the unconscious bodies for the keys.

The plan changed rather drastically as Gonye began shouting at the guards, warning them of the imminent ambush. Nadya managed to take them by surprise, successfully escaping the cell and extinguishing one of the guards' torches. Things quickly escalated into an all-out brawl between the inmates and the guards. It was rather clumsy and awkward, fighting in the near-complete darkness. Even so, it didn't take long for the group to subdue their captors.
While the others talked, Erratus slunk inconspicuously to a cell farther down the hall. With the keyring he had snagged in the midst of the fighting, he locked the cell door. With that out of the way, he removed the cell key from the ring and quietly pocketed it.
By then, Gonye had finished speaking, and Nero was fervently searching for the keys that were presently in the nomad's possession.
"I believe you are looking for these." Erratus spoke once he was prepared, holding the keyring where the others could clearly see it.
"But first, I believe Gonye owes us an explanation as to exactly how he plans to get us out of this place." He was fairly certain that his traveling companions would agree, but in case they didn't, he wanted to be certain that they weren't in any position to argue.
"Otherwise, these keys go into this locked cell." He gave a half-crazed grin to assure the others that he wasn't joking.

Talaitha pulled her gowns on as quickly as possible and immediately rushed toward Nadya while Nero and the older man scrambled for the keys to open the cages. The least she could do as a gypsy was to see if her elder was horribly injured.
"Nadya, are you alright?" she asked as she ran by her side. Thinking quickly, she tore a section of her sleeve and grabbed the woman's arms.
"The least I can do for you is wrap your hands to protect them," she continued, wrapping the cloth around Nadya's severely burnt palms. She did not take notice to the fact that crazed man and the older one were suddenly at each others throats until the old one threatened to toss the keys inside the cage. She twisted her head and spat in his direction.
"Don't even joke."

Before Lucia could do anything, a whirlwind of events took place. The elder gypsy attacked leading to a period of darkness and chaos as the guards were knocked unconscious and possibly even killed. All Lucia managed to do was slip on her dress and pull her cloak tightly around her body not wanting to get in the way. She was never one for hand to hand combat. Granted, she was surprised that the stranger was so quick to betray them, but Erratus did not seem ready to trust the man, and while she did not either, she found it incredibly ludicrous that he would threaten them with the keys to the cell. Did he not know that should they be found, it would most likely lead to their death?

"Um, yes, an explanation would be good" she spoke softly in an attempt to humour the man "Though perhaps we could do it while on the run? Time is not exactly on our side...though...do please be careful with those keys"

"I'm fine, thank you." Nadya nodded to Talaitha in assurance as she quickly turned to Erratus. "Listen to her!" she through her hand in the direction of Lucia and began to rant. "If they come for us now we're all dead, fine good we got out but we stand no chance at this point with out that man's help. Let him out, then let him explain!"

"Now now." Gonye spoke calmly, almost as if he was in control of the situation. "Ya' should listen to your friends lad, they seem to understand the situation much better than you. Besides, you act as if I really betrayed you. I simply wished to prompt the gypsy over there into action and get this fella' here-" placing his foot through the bars he nudged the strangled corpse of the guard. "close enough to my cell so that I could kill em' off. Had I just sat by and watched, your plan would have failed and you'd all be dead." with a smirk on his face he leaned into the light of Nero's torch. His face was now extremely clear. His eyes were a truly pale blue and his hair was long, brown and tied back into a ponytail. The features of his face were very 'defined' his jaw was square and deep wrinkles ran across his face and under his eyes, his time in prison most likely brought about this look of advanced aging.

"Let him out." Nero insisted as he approached the man very carefully. "We don't have time to waste.."

At this point, Erratus was becoming rather frustrated. His companions' illogical insistence that they trust this man with their lives was proving quite unyielding. Of course time wasn't on their side, but it seemed extremely suspect that Gonye had at no point felt the need to explain the most vital part of his plan. Once they let him out of his cell, he would feel no obligation to do so, either. Did its success really hinge that much on it being a surprise?
"It seems to me that if you actually cared that much, you could easily have explained it by now rather than trying to talk me down. Why so tight-lipped about the escape plan?" Erratus suddenly became very self-conscious. He felt four pairs of eyes trained on him, each commanding him to stand down. One thing was perfectly clear. Nobody gave a damn.
For a very brief moment, he contemplated locking himself in and leaving the others to be caught by the guards. An extremely foolish idea, but it was not without its appeals. In the end, he hung his head in submission. He replaced the keyring in his pocket, withdrawing the cell key and tossing it to Nero.
"All fools." He muttered under his breath.

Taking possession of the keys Nero hastily unlocked Gonye's cell. "Now then, that tinder box if you would lad." holding out his hand Nero placed the box into his grasp simply to appease his order. "Quickly now, take up the guardsmen's swords and prepare to fight when you start hearing a ruckus up above." heading for the main door he quietly opened it and prepared to take a step out. "Just promise me one thing" turning back towards the group he stared down Erratus specifically. "You will not come out of this room until either I come down here and tell you to, or you start to hear a commotion up above!" stepping out the door he vanished into the night air.

Nero leaned down and took grasp of a sword for himself. "Four swords, for four people" he thought, taking obvious note of the elder gypsy's condition. "Now we really have to wait..." Nero grumbled as he ventured to the prison door to peek through the small iron bars. For a moment Nero stared blankly into the stone stairway that lead to the court yard before he decided he would finally remove a deep burden of guilt he was feeling. Turning about he took a deep breath and began to address the group by name. "Lucia, Talaitha, Nadya, Khast... You're all in this situation because of me," he expected no forgiveness from those in the room but he felt he needed to air this before they all potentially rushed to their doom. "Had I not coerced Khast into entering the hall with me on that day you would have all been able to walk out of that room without having to struggle through this ordeal. If any of you still seek to blame someone when this is all said and done do not blame yourselves or one another. Had I just left things be, each of you would have gone on to do and see much better things."

Nadya felt almost sorry for Nero, he was blaming himself for something he had absolutely no control over but then again she was certain everyone else in the room was, in some shape or form, doing the same. It took her a moment to realize though, that Nero was simply trying to act as a conduit for their blame, he cared not for what he had to lose, but Lucia, Talaitha, even herself, they all lost their chance at something better. Lucia was working to promote her clothing, something she would most likely never get the chance to do again. Talaitha just wanted to speak to the Moonshire Covenant about her people and their past, but now? There was a great chance she wouldn't even be able to return to the west to even see one of her kind. And now, herself... She was most likely expelled from the Moonshire Covenant and with severe burns on her hands there was a grave possibility she wouldn't even be able to practice a useful trade anymore. At a time like this a person could die with a lot of regret and self-blame. Nero attempting to be the focus of all this blame, although foolish was admirable.

Nadya wanted to speak up to argue with the boy's conclusion, but she was unable to find the right words to contest his claim. She genuinely felt poorly for the boy, she had no reason to blame him. She didn't feel the need to blame anyone, not even herself at this point and time. She was just happy to be alive and possibly on the verge of escape.

Talaitha gripped a sword and held it in an awkward fashion. Swordplay was not her forte. She was comfortable with a knife, but these slabs of steel were far to large and unwieldy for her tastes, plus, you can't conceal a sword. She shook her head as Nero blamed himself for what happened, knowing it wasn't true. The boy believed he could make things better by taking the blame, but it would just hurt him if he felt that he was the sole reason for their imprisonment.

"As for me, I am responsible for my own actions, so allow me to shoulder my share of the blame. I promised myself to never trust a guild and never enter a guild hall again, but curiosity stuck and drew me in. I should have been in the next town over, looking for a place without strong guild ties to restart my business, but that didn't happen. I'll have to wait for a bit, but I'll return one day, because I can't let my forefather's knowledge go to waste."

Lucia looked at the sword and raised it awkwardly into the air. She was definitely in over her head with the weapon, and would probably do more harm than good if she began to swing it around wildly as she sometimes did with her staff. Except rather than accidentally bludgeoning her allies, she would instead accidentally sever something. Thus, she chose to leave the weapon on the ground, if push came to shove she had magic to draw on, since her bow was not here.

She agreed with Talaitha in Nero erring in laying the blame on himself, and shook her head in agreement.

"We all made our choice to enter the hall, that creature was going to escape whether you were there or not. If it wasn't then, it could've happened any day so long as Gaston and those others conducted the experiments. Now let us hope that Gonye is successful."

Erratus scoffed at the novel display as the others all passed the blame around as if it were a serving plate. Guilt was a concept entirely foreign to the nomad, and as a result the gesture just seemed nonsensical. Nero had even called him by his birth name. That was understandable, however, since that was all he had to go by. Rather than weigh in, the nomad simply procured one of the guard's swords. He also swiped one of their sidearms while he was at it, a small dagger. He swung his new weapons around a couple of times to get a feel for them.
"Whether he succeeds is not the quesiton." Erratus spoke up after Lucia had finished. "The question is what he succeeds at doing."
The traveler didn't like to think about it. The man had clearly been here for awhile. He would have had plenty of time to think of ways to escape, and the will was clearly there. Erratus wondered concernedly just what lengths Gonye would go to for his freedom.

"Glad that everyone sees it that way then." Nero's nervousness of their earlier situation was subsiding. Earlier he still believed the group as a whole still held a profound hate for one another but things seemed to have quickly changed over such a short period of time. Nero was glad to say the least, but his small victory was interrupted by the smell of smoke.

"Enemy raid! enemy raid! Sound the alarm!" bells began to ring out above, this was obviously their que to leave. Grabbing at the door handle Nero swung open the door and rushed upstairs to get an immedaite view of what was going on. It was terrible, Gonye had set fire to the fort and numerous men who appeared to be fighting for his freedom were scaling the walls and clashing with the guards.

"Swords? Oh ya' wanted to fight did ya?" Gonye approached the group from behind a small storage area he had taken for cover. "Throw those things away, they'll only weigh you down. We already collected up your weapons and have secured us an exit." Turning away he began to run madly. "Quickly now! the fire is spreading to our escape!" by now the fire had begun to rage terribly and the fort guard had already given up on battling the blaze and were now focusing all their attention on the raiders. Gonye had lead the group into a tower across the court yard and up a series of stair cases, before the group knew it they were on the fort's wall overlooking a dense forest on a overcast, windy night.

"The rope!" Gonye yelled over the sound of the fire now devouring the tower they had just exited from. "There's a rope on the wall! Use it to scale down the wall!" Nero wasted no time running to the rope which was pitched against the wall with a grappling hook. Taking it in his hands Nero simply slid down, making sure to stop himself along the way a few times to avoid burning his hand.

Though Nadya had injured her hands, with the help of the wrappings around them she was able to endure the pain and reach the bottom, following her Gonye slid down and came violently to the bottom of the wall miraculously landing on his feet with no problem.

"Not sure what belongs to who, just dig through the bags and look for your possessions." a group of three men approached the group from inside the brush of the forest and dumped out six bags of captured items, much of it didn't even seem to belong to the group. It was only after some time of digging did Nero uncover his sword and carrying bag, along with a few miscellaneous items that were taken out of his bag.

"When you're done diggin' follow those men, you'll need someplace to stay for the night. It's far too dangerous to wonder about the night in this area." Gonye once again took his leave from the group, he seemed in quite the hurry as he bounded through the same brush his men had arisen from.

"Odd man..." Nadya recovered a small dagger she'd had brought with her and a drinking flask before carefully stepping into the brush to follow the men who had begun on their way.