Sunset Bound
#7 of Hunter Hunted
Sunset Bound
Jimmy jumped from the window and landed below with the princess on his shoulder "Bloody heavy for a princess if you ask me" he grunted.
Jimmy looked out to where the sentinel army of armour were standing and noticed something bad "They are gone" he said to himself "That's either really good or really bad"
Jimmy heard a large splintering sound from the study "Should have cut the head off" he groaned and began to run.
Jimmy ran up to the wall and used the tree to haul himself over and into the street.
Jimmy thumped into the streets and began running towards the palace as if hell itself was behind him and for all he knew it probably was. An unearthly roar ripped through the streets from the direction of the Mage-Lord's house and Jimmy decided that hell was in fact on his heels.
He zigzagged through the streets trying not to stay on the same path for too long, he knew without knowing just how dangerous the Lord-Mage now was. More powerful than the Alhations themselves.
Jimmy saw the gauntlet coming up ahead, still no suits of armour, that really bothered him but then maybe they were just illusions. Jimmy heard clanking up ahead. They weren't illusions and now a few hundred of them blocked his way to the palace.
Jimmy ducked behind a wall to think taking care not to hit the princess against a wall, he could hear the bolts of the auto crossbows raining down upon the metal men, he also knew that if they weren't all gone in a very short time then they would be very dead due to a pissed off resurrected Lord-Mage.
"Shit" he swore "Just how am I supposed to get past them?"
Another roar shook the sky and the suits of armour began to shake and tremble, odd lights flickered across their skins as they began to glow. The glow suddenly went out and the armoured suits collapsed as one into the street.
"This is very bad" Jimmy said to himself.
Jimmy broke cover and belted down the street running like a demon out of hell, as he passed beneath the gauntlet the troopers ran down after him. Maybe it was the run or maybe the look in his eyes but mostly it was the really bad sounds coming from where he came from.
The troopers quickly caught up with Jimmy "Getting a little slow there?" Tyan shouted to him.
"Not my fault, this princess weighs way too much for her own good" Jimmy gasped.
"Don't let her hear you say that or worse her father her you say that" Tyan joked.
"And you expect me to make such a base mistake?" Jimmy asked with mock incredulity.
"Yes I do" Tyan quipped.
"Well thank you for your confidence" Jimmy replied and forged on ahead.
Jimmy sighed in relief as he saw the temple "Any signs of what happened behind us?" he asked.
"What did happen?" Tyan asked in return.
"Ah, stabbed the Mage-Lord through his throat and into his head. Grabbed the princess and ran, as I left I started hearing really bad sounds like something was tearing the place apart. Then the armour things collapsed as I came towards you guys so I would assume that he used all that power in them to do something to himself, so it probably is really bad" Jimmy said quickly.
A massive boom ripped the sky "Well whatever it is, it is happening now" Tyan said turning around to see where the sound came from.
Jimmy wheeled around as did the other soldiers, his shoulder slumped. A massive rift had appeared where the Mage-Lord's mansion used to be. It frosted over and snapped shut suddenly and vanished.
"What the hell just happened?" Jimmy said quietly then shouted "Back to the palace now!"
The soldiers turned as one and started running again, anxious to reach the palace before something worse could come out to get them. Jimmy rounded the final corner puffing hard with the princess still on his shoulders "I swear she keeps getting heavier" he groaned.
Tyan took a look at her face "Jimmy you said she looked exactly like the princess, right?"
"Yeah I did" Jimmy huffed.
"You are carrying a suit of armour!" Tyan shouted.
"What?!" Jimmy roared dropping his load, it clanged heavily when it dropped "Shit! Gods damn it all!"
"Then where is she?" Tyan asked.
"I'll be damned if I know-"Jimmy said stopping as a light appeared from the armour.
"I am sorry for the illusion Jim but I needed the princess and I will admit I did not fully expect you to defeat me. If you feel brave or foolish enough try visiting the keep of Droldemas, my allies will be waiting" said an image of the Mage-Lord.
Jimmy sat down on the street a sense of total defeat crashing down on him, not only had he failed to kill the Mage-Lord he let the bastard get away with the King's daughter.
"We can't go back to the castle without her" Jimmy said firmly "Oi you two" he shouted to some soldiers "Get the Sergeant to meet us by the docks tell him that we need lots of weapons and maps of Droldemas"
The soldiers bolted off down the street evidently glad to be further away from the Mage-Lord's mansion, Jimmy soon lost sight of them.
Jimmy moaned and pushed himself upright "Let's head for docks. I guess we are shipping out"
"Well I was tired of this already" Tyan said "Let's go risk our lives in another country"
"Wouldn't have it any other way" Jimmy replied.
Jimmy, Tyan and the battle weary soldiers began jogging towards the docks "We can't them with us" Jimmy said urgently
"I know" Tyan replied then bellowed "Alright you lot back to the barracks"
The soldiers reluctantly turned back and headed in the vicinity of the barracks.
"I really hope that the King doesn't find out about the failure until we are long gone or there might be unpleasant consequences" Jimmy said worriedly
"Too right but then they should follow orders" Tyan murmured.
"Would you?" Jimmy asked.
"No" she replied.
They both ran faster.
The Sergeant was waiting at the docks with forty soldiers in black fatigues behind him "It went south?"
"No, he went east" Tyan mocked.
The Sergeant gritted his teeth "Is she going to be doing that the whole time Jimmy?"
"Most probably Sarge" Jimmy replied checking out the new recruits.
"We got gear?" Tyan asked looking at the ship.
"Tons. New and improved, we will have enough time when we are at sea" the Sergeant said gruffly "Since the princess isn't with you I gather you wish to leave without royal blessing"
"Definitely" Jimmy said and bolted aboard the ship.
Tyan started laughing and the Sergeant suppressed a grin. The soldiers started to murmur but the Sergeant spun round and roared at them to get on board the ship.
The soldiers marched on board evidently already they had learned not to cross the Sergeant "So Sir what is the news on the weaponry?" Tyan asked.
"Unbelievable gear, absolutely astounding" the Sergeant said simply.
Tyan looked impressed, the Sergeant had barely praised last time's weaponry and he wasn't generous at all with it. "So we are well armed" Tyan said happily "Maybe it will turn out better this time"
The Sergeant merely raised an eyebrow "You right it'll be worse" Tyan amended.
"Can we leave before something really bad happens?" Jimmy yelled out from the ship "We are still tempting fate"
The Sergeant nodded his head "Paranoid as Jimmy is, he is probably right"
"True" Tyan said and walked up the gangplank with the Sergeant after her.
"So we are off to the Kingdom of Droldemas, are we?" the Sergeant asked Jimmy.
"Unfortunately so, that bastard never had the princess in the manor. It was just a trick to lure me out to fight him" Jimmy groaned "We will be going to into absolute hell this time, they know we are coming and the Mage-Lord will be helping the enemy as well"
"Well this is our new company and I here that the invaders are recruiting a lot of mercenaries over there so we should blend in just fine" said a white cloaked figure emerging from the hold.
"Just who the hell are you?" Jimmy and Tyan demanded together.
"You short-lived ones are so impatient" the figure replied pulling back his hood exposing a series of mystical tattoos.
"By the gods, it is an eldar" Tyan said in a hushed tone.
"Sarge, why do we have an eldar with us? Surely a mancer even one of such skill could only endanger the company" Jimmy said concernedly.
"This one demanded to come aboard and I didn't feel particularly inclined to try and stop him, he says that his kind have figured out a way to stop the portals from opening but we need something that the Mage-Lord has" the Sergeant said grimacing as he did so.
"Don't tell me. Just don't, when we get there I can start worrying" Jimmy said firmly holding up his hands to forestall anything the Sergeant might say "Just get us there then tell us"
The Sergeant sighed then bellowed "Cast us off you dogs and get us out to sea"
The sailors began scuttling around getting the ship out from the docks and out to sea, Jimmy walked up to Tyan who was standing by the bow of the ship "So it seems we sail off into the sunset again my love" Jimmy spoke softly kissing her neck.
"Only for a time, Jimmy" she reassured him "Only for a time"
Smiling Wolf
Well my dear readers that was it. That is the final instalment of the Hunter Hunted series. Jimmy and Tyan sail off to save the day again and only time will tell if their next tale shall grace my keyboard.