The Over-Father

[Groddil]

OOC:

Timeskip? Aaron is on his way already and the Over-Followers have gotten about halfway through the dig?

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: I'm so bad about just leaving RPs entirely, tell you guys what, if everyone is still interested we'll continue.

@Jukka the Sling   @Sagetip and of course @Groddil

[Hickory]

OOC: I'm up for it. Groddil is gaining a a reputation for not letting RPs die. Next he'll be reviving the Ghostbusters one *nudge nudge wink wink*

[Jukka the Sling]

OOC:  I'd love to finish this!

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: Okay cool, we'll get things going again.

So if ya'll would, just go over the characters again real quick, maybe read back a few posts. Basically what's going on right now Jade and his followers are underneath Summerdell palace digging out a cave to collapse it, while Aaron is heading that way to spy on the Over-Followers. Meanwhile Morgen is sneaking into Summerdell to kidnap Glimmer and take her to safety before sun high. While the Crew camp out.

I think we'll start towards morning with events going as Groddil suggested.

[Jukka the Sling]

OOC:  Okay, someone's gotta get this show on the road.  @LT Sandpaw @Groddil @Sagetip
BIC:

Silent as a shadow, Morgen slipped into a dark room.  It was around midnight, and just about everyone in Summerdell was sound asleep.  A few lanterns lit most of the hallways, but this room was pitch black. His heart hammered in his chest, but he felt strangely alert.

Glimmer was asleep in here - he knew that much.  When he'd finally reached the palace earlier that day, he had walked right in a side door in his guard uniform, seeing no other option.  His heart had been in his throat the whole time.  A female otter with a blue tunic had glanced briefly at him, but nothing had happened.  He'd quickly slipped away, and, after slinking around for some time, found Glimmer.  He'd shadowed her until night fell and she went to bed.

And now, Morgen was about to rescue her and bring her back to the fold.  She would appreciate the Over-Followers once they enlightened her.

He'd thought about the best way to accomplish this for some time.  His empty clothes sack in paw, he crept in, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.  Actually, it wasn't quite as dark as he'd expected; moonlight shone faintly through the dark curtains over the window.  Still, he had to stare hard to see with any clarity.  There was the cot, right by the door, with a sleeping form in it.  He took a deep breath and raised the sack.  In a quick movement, he grabbed the ottermaid's head and jerked the sack over her.  She struggled feebly, screaming, but he cut her off by jamming the coarse fabric against her mouth.

Over-Father above, Morgen hoped no one had heard her.

Then a head popped up on the other side of the room, outlined against the window.  "Glimmer?!" a young voice asked, and another ottermaid darted over to Morgen.

Wait.  Glimmer shared a room?  With a curse, he rounded on the other ottermaid, slamming her to the stone floor with a well-timed blow.  Grabbing Glimmer tighter, he hefted her over his shoulder and ran.

Fear coursed through him like liquid fire, urging him onward.  Surely Glimmer's roommate would sound the alarm.  He'd be caught, and he'd die along with the other Summerdell otters when the Over-Father rained vengeance upon them.  Gasping, barely able to hold on to the kicking Glimmer, Morgen made it to an outside door and burst out into the night.  He didn't stop there.  Sure he was being pursued, he kept running for the forest, remembering just in time to circumvent the sailors' camp and avoid the fireglow.  Finally he reached the woods and, after a good several minutes, he crashed to a halt, feeling as though he were about to pass out.
--------------------
Serene shot awake.  She was always a light sleeper, but for a moment, she wondered what had awoken her.  Her thoughts flitted to Aaron, who had left on his spy mission earlier that night.  She hoped he'd make it through unharmed.  Her eyelids grew heavy, and she was on the verge of sleep when she heard it again.  Was that a scream?  She leaped to her footpaws and dashed down the hallway.

Nearby, the door to the room of Glimmer and Arowyn, two young servants, hung open.  That wasn't normal.  Serene ran in and almost tripped over a body.  She gasped.  It was Arowyn, lying on her back.

"Aro!" Serene exclaimed.  "What happened?  Where's Glimmer?"  There was no response.  She picked her up and carried her out to the lit hallway, fear clutching at her heart.  Blood oozed from a wound on the back of Arowyn's head, matting her headfur.  She still had a pulse, but her eyes were closed.  Serene was no doctor, but she knew the otter was seriously injured.  What had happened?

Her sleepy brain suddenly snapped into gear.  Oh no.  Oh no.  It was all so clear.  Glimmer had been taken by the Over-Followers.  Arowyn had just been collateral damage.  Serene knew this as certainly as she knew that Arowyn was bleeding out all over her lap.

"Help!" she yelled.  "Kidnapping!  Blood!  It's an emergency!"

[Groddil]

Adamo was roused by the struggles, as his room was close to Glimmer and Arowyn's, and by the time Serene called for help, he rushed to the other room, blade in hand.
"What in Hellgates? Who did this?"

[LT Sandpaw]

Down in the mines the sound of picks, cracking through stone could be heard ringing throughout the caves. The digging had gone well, and already mounds of destroyed limestone were stacked against the walls. Jade walked without fear through the crumbling structure, splashing through the small puddles of water and around stalactites. Occasionally he would order some otters out, and fresh ones from outside to replace them.

He suddenly stopped, clapping his paws together with a sharp crack, bringing all activity in the cave's gloomy interior to a halt. "The Over-Father has spoken to me," He said a ringing note in his voice. "Those to which it has been foretold now shudder in their sleep, and those who scoffed shall now be woken with the sound of the Over-Father's wrath. Let this day remain in your hearts and minds forevermore, the Over-Father shall have that which is his. Everybeast out." Jade turned, his crystal blue eyes picking out Alana from amongst the workers as they shouldered their pickaxes and shovels, shambling for the entrance tunnel.

"Alana I have a task for you. Remain with me, here."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Serene and Adamo's shouts alerted Breeia and her guards, who rushed down from the throne room. The warrior queen skidded around the corner closely followed by two other otters who struggled to keep up with her.

"Your highness you should be more careful," One of the guards called just as the came upon Serene.

Breeia had been unable to sleep, mostly due to her concern for Aaron's wellbeing. She had taken to wandering the Palace's halls, fretting and worrying. And it would seem, for good reason.

"What happened?" Breeia asked kneeling beside Serene, feeling helpless. She gently brushed the back of the young servant's head turning to one of the guards. "Fetch a healer." She ordered before turning to look at Adamo. "Did you see what happened?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Struggling feebly Glimmer gave a good account of herself from within the sack. She had been shocked awake, and even now the panic induced adrenaline pumped through her veins. Aiding power to he kicked and squirming. She had no idea where she was, or even what was happening.
Several times the young ottermaid attempted to cry out, only to get a mouthful of sack whenever she tried.

[Groddil]

"At last. It has been too long since the Over-Father's wrath fell upon the foolish."
Alana smiled wickedly beneath her mask.

<\O/>

Adamo shook his head.
"No, my queen. I heard a struggle, but by the time I got here..."
He motioned to one of the guards.
"Come with me. We need to secure this place before anybody else gets killed."
He nodded to the other guard.
"Keep the Rhulain safe. Whoever did this could still be here."

[Jukka the Sling]

"It's Jade and the Over-Followers.  I'm sure of it," Serene said.  "I heard a scream and Arowyn was just on the floor in her room and Glimmer was gone!"  She didn't know Arowyn that well, but the ottermaid was around Glimmer's age and nice enough.

A couple of healers came running at this point, and Serene got up and backed away as they ministered to Arowyn.  Then she turned and hurried to her room.  The assailant could be anywhere, and as the Otterguard Captain, she needed to be ready.  In a matter of moments, she was dressed and directing guards to different areas of the palace.
----------------------
Morgen got up again, his legs weak.  He had to make it to the Over-Followers' camp before he was caught or Glimmer managed to get away from him.  She persisted in screaming and kicking, and he tried to cover her mouth.  When that didn't work, he swatted her none-too-gently on the head.  "Shut up, or we'll both die!" he hissed, which was mostly true.  He began running, staggering through the undergrowth.

[Hickory]

The pirate's camp woke slowly to the sounds of the otterguards. Cadby stared sleepily at the rustling in the forest before stranding up and heading towards the dormitories. He walked into the hallway and up the stairs. "Uhnnnn.... whuz goin' on?" he grunted to everybody, but no one in particular.

[Jukka the Sling]

Serene, who was telling a couple of guards to go watch a certain hallway, turned to Cadby.  "A young ottermaid is missing, and her roommate is hurt.  I think it's the Over-Followers' doing."  With that, she hurried away to search the area.

[LT Sandpaw]

"You speak truth, but be wary in your joy." Jade cautioned, hefting a pickaxe. He ran a paw down the spike, inspecting its quality while speaking in his lulling voice. "I, and you should take no joy in ending the lives of the Over-Father's chosen. However he has predestined these non-believers to suffer his wrath, so that others may be saved."

Deciding that the pickaxe was suitable for their purpose Jade waited until the last of the Over-Followers had evacuated the cave before presenting it to Alana. "How great is your trust in the Over-Father young sister? Shall you be my loyal right paw, Acolyte perhaps?" Jade ran his paw along the cave wall, picking the spot with the utmost care. Tapping it he drew away ever so slightly nodding to the female otter. He couldn't see the emotion on her face, but he could see her eyes in the dim glow of the lantern. And the eyes were enough
"Strike true young sister, strike true if you trust in the Over-Father to save you this day!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are we sure?" Breeia asked as she followed Serene about the Palace and the grounds. "That it was the Over-Followers I mean? We have no true proof, perhaps in was somebeast else like..." Breeia considered for a moment, looking back at the crewbeasts camp. She lowered her voice, unwilling to believe that any otter would be capable of something so grievous as kidnapping. "Maybe them, they are led by a fox."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Morgen's threat was enough to silence the young otter, though she still wept bitterly, curled up in the sack as she was. At length Glimmer gathered her courage enough to ask a shaky. "Who... Who are you?"

[Groddil]

Alana took the pickaxe.
"I do. I trust in the Father's wisdom to save me on this day."
She struck.

<\O/>

Adamo, who had been checking the exits for the invader, shook his head.
"Pardon, my Queen, but it wouldn't have been them. They're harmless, otherwise I wouldn't have made it here. Not all vermin are evil monsters, and not all woodlanders are knights in shining armor. I've met my fair share of complete monsters, and there were a lot of woodlanders among them. These religious fanatics? I wouldn't be surprised in the slig- What in Hellgates was that?"

[Jukka the Sling]

Serene, Adamo, and the Queen were just outside the palace by this point.  The Otterguard Captain was opening her mouth to reply when the ground began trembling.
----------------
Morgen wasn't too sure how to respond.  "I'm an Over-Follower," he finally huffed, out of breath.  "You'll understand all once you accept the Over-Father."  He was pretty sure they were close to the Over-Followers' camp by now; moonlight glanced through the trees, just barely lighting the way.