Prince Gyllen Ch. 16.2

"Okay, Signore Gyllen, this is going to require precise timing so listen closely." The silver haired boy said to the blond. "I will gently lift this donna vecchia's arm and when I give the signal, you very carefully slip out and Signorina Min will take care of the rest. Ready?" Gyllen nodded, affirming he understood. With that, Argento delicately curled his gloved fingers beneath the slumbering barbarian's notched appendage - one hand under the forearm, the other under her bicep - and slowly heaved it upwards from Gyllen's body, huffing as he struggled to raise the heavy, muscular limb without putting too much strength behind his efforts lest he overcompensate and rouse the chieftain! Lyngbakr proved to be a very sound sleeper however, even with her arm lifted a couple inches away from the prince's physique. The Caligan lad then made a quick nod with his head to signal for Gyllen to make his own move, which the blond wasted no time in doing, sliding his body through the arm suspended just millimetres above him, taking extra care not to even so much as risk brushing his body up against the barbarian.

Meanwhile, Min silently slid the cushion she had obtained underneath the barbarian's limb into the same space Gyllen was extracting himself from until he had eventually removed himself entirely from Lyngbakr's oppressive hold! Sitting up like a shot, never before had the prince felt so thankful for being able to perform an action so mundane, sighing to signal his relief as he looked back just in time to see Argento deftly whisk his digits away from the chiefess' limb, letting it rest on the pillow that had replaced the blond and leaving her in the blissful, ignorant sleep. The silver-haired lad let out a sigh of his own as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand before facing Gyllen and letting out a low chuckle and the satisfied smirk to go alongside it, which the prince could not resist but to mirror himself.

"We're not out a' the woods yet, lads." Min said, uncharacteristically being the one to bring the mood back down. "Let's move."

"W-wait!" Gyllen exclaimed before the goblinoid had a chance to begin slinking. "I'm not leaving here without my coat." The blond said, pointing towards the woman of same coloured hair sleeping off the side outfitted in said article of clothing.

"Yer jokin' right?" The redhead replied almost immediately. "Forget the stupid jacket! Ya can get a new one when we're outta here."

"But that one has certain...sentimental value. It was a gift from Mother, you see." The prince explained. "Well, that and it was custom fashioned from expensive, rare materials imported from the orient..."

"For the luvva...alright, fine!" Min conceded. "But let's be quick 'bout it. I don' wanna stick 'bout in this shithole any longer than I can help it."

The trio crawled over to the inmate Gyllen had come to know as Hai...or perhaps it was Rokke? He was not entirely sure but regardless of her name, she was sprawled flat on her back, snorting while she slept with Gyllen's blue blazer hanging loosely from her broad shoulders. Argento and Min positioned themselves by the fair-haired woman's outstretched arms - having greater practice in these sort of things, it only made sense for those two to undertake the tasks requiring the superior finesse - leaving Gyllen to personally pull the coat away from her person by its collar. Through this collaborative effort, a great deal of stress and several sharp tugs, the prince was at long last able to extricate and reclaim his lost possession without waking the prisoner, wondering if he even needed the assistance of the two others, seeing the extreme dormancy Hai/Rokke was displaying as of the moment.

"Well, that was easier than expected." Gyllen commented as he swished the azure coat back over his shoulders where it rightfully belonged. "You don't suppose we'd have time to find my boots too?"

"Don' push yer luck, matey." Min replied, unamused.

"Sì, let us leave this place before-" Argento's sentence was cut off mid-utter by a deep, feminine resonance dripping with a latent temper behind and above them where they were huddled and squatted.

"Before I find a pair of skulking rats making off with my possessions?" Simultaneously, Gyllen, Min and Argento flinched before they hesitantly turned their heads around to see none other than Lyngbakr towering over them, wide awake with a scowl of sublime outrage, one hand armed with her club resting on her shoulder, the other a trembling fist as it held fast onto the cushion used as an attempted decoy. It appeared the prince had taken just a moment's too long of a delay in retrieving his clothing...

"Leg it!" Min announced, breaking the two boys out of their daze as they all dove away in diverging directions just in time before the cudgel could come crashing down onto Argento's skull, instead striking the space on the floor he was occupying just aside the laying blonde woman's head with a terrific crash, loud enough to startle her and everybody else who still lazed in that room awake as it reverberated around its walls.

"Troll-Hewer's spawn is getting away, you sluggish fools! Arise and pursue them this instant!" Lyngbakr ordered her henchwomen in a raised voice as the trio made their escape out the chamber and into the maze of corridors that formed the basement floor. Doing as they were directed, the subordinates leapt from their bedrolls and darted after the fleeing three without question, the chiefess personally spearheading the chase with long, powerful strides in her determined sprint. The targets of their chase weaved left, right and many other angles in between as their three combined memories desperately worked together to retrace the steps they took in this labyrinth back to the first floor, narrowly avoiding the grasping hands of the berserk barbarians trailing only a few footfalls behind at every turn.

By nothing short of a miracle, the two humans and the goblin stumbled through the correct route back to the ground level, though without stopping to celebrate for even a second as the thirteen frenzied females continued to trail directly behind. Their mad egress was causing quite the commotion, stirring awake the entire hall, and then some, with the combination of ceaseless shouting and the heavy stomps of feet against stone flooring. From out the cells spilled throngs of sleepy-eyed inmates rapidly converging towards the centre of the vast atrium to seek out the source of such commotion before witnessing the golden locks wave in the wind from the head of the fleeing male outfitted in brilliant blue and unanimously began advancing towards the trio from both sides, no doubt in a frantic attempt to snatch the beautiful boy away during the bedlam for their own selfish, animalistic desires.

As they ran, Min and Argento respectively drew a dagger and a short sword from their sides in a try to ward their assailants away, Gyllen placing himself directly between the armed pair. However, the redheaded goblin and silver-haired human's brandished blades did little to deter the amassing mob as they continued to close in even when Min and Argento began taking swipes at any hands that dared outstretch in their direction, with the prince slapping away any stray paws lucky enough breach past the defence and contact his person, but the trio was quickly overwhelmed, struggling with all their might to constantly move through the amassing inmates, the progress in their getaway fast being bogged down to a crawl before eventually coming to a complete halt altogether.

"Ah, cripes! At this rate we're never gonna even get close to that window, never mind climb out it!" Min declared, her face pressed up against several stomachs of several thirsty females disorderly swarming as she attempted to shove back. Gyllen then cast a brief look in a random direction, only for his eyes to lay on what had to be the very same mode of escape Min had described: a window with just enough missing bars as to allow him to barely squeeze through. So near, yet so very far out of reach now.

"Wh-what do we do now?" Gyllen stuttered, fear evident in his voice.

"I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'!" Was Min's only reply. Just then, a voice could be heard screaming above the bedlam, and rapidly drawing nearer with every fleeting millisecond.

"Found youuu!" It screeched, instinctively turning the heads of Gyllen, Min, Argento and nearly everybody else within earshot to witness the image of a gargoyle woman divebombing from the rafters to the earth with reckless abandon, aiming for the general spot where Gyllen stood frozen in terror like a frog caught in the paralysing gaze of snake, his neck saved from the swoop of her talons at the very last second by Argento tackling the blond's shoulders and pulling him down to the deck, causing the winged, horned female to overshoot her intended target by a wide margin and come crashing down and through a sizeable wedge of the crowd, ploughing through tier after tier of encroaching prisoners, barrelling each one to the ground as her leathery body skidded across the floor at breakneck speed.

Everybody experienced a brief beat of dumbfoundedness, with all faces directed towards and assessing the incredible damage caused by the gargoyle's crash landing before their heads were raised in the same direction to the iron grate that served as the sole entrance and exit to the prison as it unexpectedly began to squeaking open. A new prisoner being interred at this hour? No, instead a score of guards - equipped with a full set of armour, blades and maces - poured forth from the opened gate to quell the spontaneous riot! Upon the sight of this, many prisoners scattered themselves wide and thin for a chance to escape the brutality they would otherwise face at the discretion of their gaolers. The barbarian leader was amongst the handful who did not shirk, instead wading her way against the retreating stampede with only mild impediment, her black-haired head clear above everyone else's amidst the pandemonium.

"Slight alteration, boys!" Min said, grabbing both lads by the hands and towed them along as she made a madcap beeline for the unlocked gate where the ironclad squadron was deploying. Argento was the first between the two males to realise the insane gambit that Min was concocting, while Gyllen remained in denial to what he believed the goblin was about to attempt right up until they neared the exit. A dozen or so guards had already entered the fray by this point, with only a couple - the very same pair who had shook down Gyllen the previous night in fact - remaining behind the door, beginning to temporarily close it once more until after the rebellion had been quelled by their colleagues. In partial thanks to some hinges in dire need of oiling, the door was unable to be shut in time before the goblin leapt from the floor mid-careen, feet first with legs outstretched to dropkick her entire weight through the partially open portal and into one of its sentries, while Argento rammed his shoulder directly into the other, both watchwomen being successfully knocked flat to the ground in unison as the intended result, with the fleeing trio not wasting a moment proceeding with their getaway.

While the guards writhed winded and dazed on the ground, Gyllen took the time to finally clank the grated door closed with a harsh squeal and fastened the bolt in place for good measure to ensure the three would not garner any unwanted tagalongs. The blond also cast one last glance through the bars into the prison in time to see Lyngbakr, a mere few feet away, personally fending off three outfitted officers at once as she desperately tried to tail the prince, though it was apparent even the chieftain with her wooden club could not prevail against metal weapons and armour, though the sea-reaver certainly was not succumbing without first putting up fight! With arms as mighty as tree trunks swinging at her opponents with strategic savagery in conjunction with fierce kicks made to their midsections by solid legs attempting to consecutively fell each watchwomen, the prince gained a fraction of insight into what decades worth of endless conflict had taught the warrior woman. In a bizarre way, Gyllen found the violent showcase to be almost...admirable in the sheer resolution it represented.

However, Gyllen shortly tore his eyes away from the barbarian's display to tend to the more pressing matters at hand, rejoining his companions on the other end of the room. while they were fiddling with on the front door, Gyllen peering over both their sets of shoulders to see what was causing such a delay.

"What's the matter?" Gyllen questioned Min frantically.

"The door's locked! And it looks one Hel of a lock too. Ain't gonna be so easy t' spring this one, but we ain't gonna get anywhere flapping our gums. 'Genty! Gimme a hand here and quick!" Immediately, Min brandished her lucky lockpicks while Argento also produced his own set of similar implements for such a thing, assisting the goblin to unsecure the tumblers. Meanwhile. Gyllen turned away from the other two's business, seeking any sort of distraction to alleviate his tension in even the slightest of ways until they could continue onwards, but was instead met only with an additive to his panic when he beheld the two guards now rising to their feet once recollecting their composure, glaring daggers directly towards the blond jailbird staring in return as they unsheathed a longsword each, slowly and silently making their way towards the trio to seize them before they could succeed unlatching the exit.

If what Gyllen underwent next was not an anxiety attack, it was very much the next closest thing. His mouth moving but not a peep escaped his voice box as he looked from the approaching sentinels to his companions still working on the lock, oblivious to authority figures' advance. Short on breath and even shorter on time, the prince darted his blue peepers all about the room, desperately seeking a mode of salvation with which to delay the pair of guardswomen for even a moment longer, his sight eventually falling upon a weapon rack just to his right, holding but a single spare blade in its frame. With no other immediate choice presented to him, Gyllen darted over to the wooden stand, gripped the surplus sabre by its hilt and whisked it free with a mellifluous ring before hurriedly stumbling into the gap directly between his allies and the security duo.

"Alright...remember the basics..." Gyllen murmured to himself as clicked his heels together, straightening his back and held the sword upright, the hilt level with his chest and the flat of the blade before his face, positioned perfectly between his eyes. The approaching wardens flashed confused glances towards the prince who suddenly now possessed a determined gaze of steel, and then towards each other before letting out slight laughs of amusement. To them, it almost looked as though previously meek figure was daring them to approach. Regardless of the meaning behind his stance, the blond was still dangerously armed and had to be appropriately dealt with. The first guard approached the lad, and raised her weapon high and brought it diagonally downwards towards his left shoulder with a mighty swing, intending to injure rather than kill, but instead of her edge meeting sinew, it instead only met with tempered metal of the blond's own blade with a clank!

With one arm now placed behind his back, his body turned to the side and his legs slightly bowed, Gyllen brought the flat of his sword up and against the guard's with lightning quick reflexes, redirecting his opponent's momentum so she would strike harmlessly onto the floor just to the right of his body rather than contest her strength with brute force. Without any wasted motion, the prince withdrew his sword back close to his chest before lunging forwards with his arm outstretched and point aimed towards her stomach quicker than she had time to comprehend. The sentry just barely manage to sidestep in time to avoid any damage done greater than a slight tear in her shirt, though she was unable to shake the uneasy feeling in the back of her mind that the escaping prisoner clad in blue had the expertise necessary to easily stick her where she stood if he truly wanted...

Naturally, Min and Argento turned their heads around to see what had caused that clang, only for the goblin to be absolutely gobsmacked by what she beheld: Gyllen, the very same boy who just last week experienced fright and difficulty sleeping by his lonesome after reading a fictional tale, was now fending off two professional gaurdswomen at once, and they were the ones put on the defence! Each clumsy swing made was parried with the most elegant technique Min's red eyes had seen applied to a brand, the prince rapidly circling the tip of his blade against his opponents' to throw off their aim and tempo while also constantly thrusting forwards between these to maintain pressure, emphasising precision and swiftness in place of raw power, with nimble footwork to compliment it.

As spectacular as this unpredicted demonstration of swordplay was however, Min knew better than to let even something like that distract her from the more crucial task at hand and returned to working on the uncooperative lock, praying Gyllen's aptitude would be enough to stall the guards until she and Argento made exodus possible, or at the very least that his rashness would not end with him accidentally getting himself killed!

The goblin's fears would prove to be misplaced however, as the prince's proficiency easily outclassed even the combined efforts of the two sentinels, practically dancing around them as none of their uncoordinated attacks so much as even skimmed the blond. Once an opening in one of the wardens' guard had finally presented itself, Gyllen seized advantage of it without hesitation, making a single precise stab towards the woman's sword hand, stopping his skewer just above her fingers to slip the tip of his sabre just below the cross guard of their sword, wresting the entire weapon from her hold with a firm flick of his wrist and flinging it far across the room, reaching the floor with a fulfilling clatter. The other sentry soon succumbed similarly, momentarily stunned by how utterly her colleague was disarmed, Gyllen slapped her wrist with the flat of his blade, forcing her grip to slacken just enough for the weapon to slip from her digits, which Gyllen promptly kicked far out of her reach once it hit the ground before she had the time to retrieve it, regretting his decision to do such with only the thin layer of his socks to protect his toes upon impacting the metal.

With both guards deprived of their arms, they raised their empty hands high in the air in the universal gesture for surrender. Still keeping his sword trained in their direction, Gyllen flicked the blade towards a corner of the room, which the powerless sentries understood even without words as they shuffled towards where the blond indicated, his blue eyes never once leaving them out of sight. As fortune would have it in that moment, a click of the keyhole and resounding 'yes!' from Min confirmed she and Argento had successfully unlocked the exit. The door was thrown open and Min immediately slipped out of it while Argento turned to call his golden-haired double standing as stalwart as a sculpture, his blade still turned on his foes.

"Signore Gyllen, let'sa go!" The white-haired youth called out just before he also disappeared through the coveted way out. Keeping the guards within his peripheral vision, Gyllen slowly sidled backwards on the balls of his feet until he came to the door, only turning away once he was through the archway and had slammed the portal shut, exhaling a sigh of relief over the fact he had somehow managed to succeed delaying the sentries, dropping the sword as he returned to his usual docile demeanour before chasing after Argento's fluttering mantle just as it vanished behind a corner to his left. When Gyllen made that same turn, he saw the boy in black clambering up the twelve-foot perimeter that barricaded the gaol using a rope affixed with a triple-pronged hook hitched to the apex of the fence which Min was waiting atop of.