RP:Jailbreak

Part of the Rise of Larket Arc

Summary: Hureig breaks Kelovath out of jail. Kelovath makes a moral decision and agrees to actually leave the jail cell.

Holding Cell

It was a warm Larket day, but the Frost Giant's heart was cold. He had learned from Thane Josleen that her mate and his little human friend had been detained! He had been moved beyond all measure of reasoning to free his paladin friend, and that had him barreling through the streets with his voice raised but his fists raised higher. There had been yelling, there had been cursing, and there had been disturbing the peace...and there had been guards dispatched to take control of the situation. But who could stand in the way of a Frost Giant on the warpath? A contingent of guards, it would seem, for the behemoth of a male was brought into custody with his wrists shackled behind his back. Two things saved him from ultimate slaughter; Thane Josleen's message that Hureig was not to be harmed was received in time, and the sugar high he was in had subsided. He was more docile and compliant when he was shoved into the cell that forced him to hunch, and he nearly thanked the guard when his wrists were freed from the bindings. But in the end he remained silent, seething, and cold.

Kelovath sat quietly at the desk within his cell when louder than normal footsteps could be heard. They weren’t rushed, so no panic sat in on the paladin. He was writing on a piece of paper, but it wasn’t anything important. Notes. Ideas of what to do whenever he was finally released. Adjusting slightly, the man turned when the door was opened and his eyes grew wide whenever he saw Hureig. First thought was to rush to the bars and say something, but the giant seemed odd. Distant. The paladin waited for the merchant to be placed in the cell before standing from his desk and making his way to the bars of the cell. When the door shut and the guards left, probably to work on the paperwork, Kelovath spoke. “Hey. Hureig? What happened?”

Hureig waited for the guards to leave before he emptied his angry mood in a tirade of insults; their mothers were less than loyal to their husbands, that all humans seemed to share a lineage with goats, and he would burn the city to the ground after he shoveled his way through all of the buildings on the back of a war mammoth for imprisoning his 'little human!' It took a moment for him to realize where he was, so lost in his fury was he, and how it was the paladin who spoke to him from across the bars. "Oh! Friend Kelovath!" His friendly demeanor returned, his anger beaten into submission by his usual good humored nature. "Your grandmother wasn't a goat. I have no doubt about that. As for what happened...well...I am here to break you out of your unlawful imprisonment. I just thought it would be from the other side of these bars." he let out his usual, boisterous laugh as he reached for his cell's door. "But, I suppose we'll have to improvise."

Kelovath is an adult. He’s heard a lot of unfriendly insults being tossed around. And everything that spilled from the mouth of Hureig he’d heard before. Mostly from his time spent in Frostmaw, as far as the goat thing. Still, the paladin couldn’t stop himself from laughing a bit. “You came to break me out?” The act of kindness warmed his heart. A smile, which the giant would be unable to see came across Kelovath’s features. “Well, I mean, right now I’m just waiting on bail. I’m being kept here, but the system of law is a slow process, my friend. I’ll be let out until a trial can be dated.” He wondered if saying that the attempt of breaking him out of jail was pointless, hurt the giant, so he followed with, “I can’t believe you tried to rescue me. Thank you, Hureig.”

Hureig was only half talking to Kelovath. Most of his mind was set to the iron bars of his cell door. He tugged on a pair of them; he squinted an eye. He tugged on a separate pair; his concentration had him looking up at the ceiling and his tongue slipping past his lips. The third pair, tugged from the base to the ceiling, gave a tiny squeal and a few specks of ground stone falling onto his head. "Yes, yes. All of what you said, little human. We'll be out of here soon." His sword had been taken from him, as well as his coin purse. But they had let him wear his necklace, the only piece of jewelry the Giant wore. Perhaps it was because they could not see what harm a gold, silver, and copper coin could do. The copper coin was seized, and with a mighty tug that broke the chain, was freed from its chain confinement. "If you Larketians were as smart as you believe yourselves to be, you would have taken my Coins," He mumbled under his breath, so pleased was he with the carnage that was about to take place. "You see these Coins, little human? When I hold the silver, my swordsmanship improves. When I hold the gold, I become wild. When I hold the copper, though..." He held it in his hand, but before any effect could be felt, he tossed it into his mouth. It was a hard swallow that had sweating profusely, or perhaps it was the coin's enchantment.

Kelovath heard the noise coming from the bars of the cell and was suddenly very worried about what was going to happen next. The giant meant well, of course, but a jail break…”Hureig! I can’t leave!” The man leaned forward more, trying to see what the giant was actually doing over there. Hard to see, unfortunately, so there was little else Kelo could physically do. Surely the guards heard the paladin yell, but would they really come back? Right now, it didn’t appear so. A giant that had rampaged through the streets would require a lot of follow-up and paper-work. “This isn’t going to look good…” He said, softer this time. How this would affect things going forward would not be positive, but maybe this needed to happen? Was Larket a lost cause based on the damage already done by Macon? Surely not, but the man had to look at all possibilities.

Hureig doubled over, his arms holding his abdomen. It would seem that a copper coin was not too friendly to a person's gut. He groaned, but that groan ended in a soft, rumbling laugh. It would be hard to see at first even if Kelovath's line of sight was clear, the slight bit of extra mass that beveled his jerkin's sleeves and collar and the length of his pants legs. But the mass continued to build, his muscles continuing to grow larger, and by the time his arms left his abdomen and his shoulders rose as far as the low ceiling would allow, the copper coin's magic would be visible; his arms and legs had doubled in size, and his neck had disappeared completely. "I have found you humans to be a practical lot. Why build for a giant when all you will see are humans?" He wrapped his hands around the bars that gave just a little, and his muscled flexed as he found his grip. "And that would be fine if there were no giants in the lands. But when you come across one and try to imprison him, you find...your cells...cannot...hold...HIM!" Each word was a heave, and each pause was a breath. But each tug upward put stress on the holes that held the top end of the iron. Each pull had the hinge lifting higher off the hinge. Each failed attempt made the giant even more mad, and with his final word the cell door lifted high enough to fall off its hinges. He tossed the door against the opposite wall. Iron shrieked, he had yelled, and there was an even louder, more ominous thud. He himself waited for arms to snap and necks to break as he stood at the door to his cell.

Kelovath saw very little, but the magic could be felt. Stepping away from the cell, he decided it’d be best to get away from any possible debris. Good call after hearing all the noises coming from Hureig’s prison. He retreated to his uncomfortable bed, expecting a large amount of guards to be making their way into the room. The metal thud was enough to alert the guards that something was going on. The paladin stayed back as a few guardsmen poured into the room. There were about 5 of them, from what Kelovath could see. Two of which were here moments before. They had taken the now much larger giant into his cell. He knew that neither of them supported the paladin’s freedom, so if the giant were about to go berserk, at least those two will be taking the first blow, as they were in front. The fear on their features was clear, as they both realized how much larger the merchant had become in such a short time. Eventually, one stepped forward and demanded that the giant keep his “Ugly-ass” in the cell. Bad choice of words. Even Kelovath shook his head after hearing it.

Hureig was a kind hearted being moved to battle and bloodshed only when it was the final resort. Even with blood sweetened by muscle growth that went to his head and pulled him into a willingness to kill, he could see the fear in their faces. He need not kill them all, nor perhaps kill any of them. All it would take would be one example, and the prime target had just called his posterior ugly. The behemoth did not stay in the cell; he lumbered out of it, though he stayed respectable distance from him. "Keys," He commanded as he looked not at the speaker-cum-leader, but at the most afraid of the guards. When his attention returned to the speaker, it came with a fast fist to the man's jaw. It was a strike that would break stone, much less a little human's puny jaw! The fist opened, his hand now held out with his palm up. "NOW!"

Kelovath watched as the guard took the punch to the jaw. And immediately sent a couple feet backwards and shortly after to the floor. He didn’t move and it was difficult to say if the man was even breathing. The blood that flooded over his face and definitely broken jaw (probably a fractured skull as well), made it impossible to tell if he was alive. If he was, then he’d have a hell of a story to tell, if talking would be possible later on during his recovery. The main jailer, fatter than the rest of the guards, appeared, but did not step forward. The keys were tossed forward, missed the giants large and open hand, and the man was gone. Like a fat fart in the wind. The rest of the guards remained there, still frozen in fear. Seeing that the keys were actually given up, Kelovath moved away from his bed in shock and locked his gaze on the massive giant. “Hureig…” The name was spoken with sadness. The giant had risked so much, but a decision had not been made by Kelovath. To escape from jail or stay until the proper order of things was completed. The look on his face could easily be confused with fear, although the man was simply deep in thought.

Hureig kept his eyes on the guards as he bent to pick up the keys. "I would suggest you all pick up your friend and take him to a healer." Little of his tone suggested a suggestion, his voice all but promising they had only one chance to leave before they, too, would need someone to haul them out to a healer. "As you said before, little human," Hureig said as he tested each key in the cell's lock until the right one clicked. "You are free until the trial, but the law is slow. Consider this a little pat on Law's rump to get it going." The second cell door was held open by the same hands that had demolished the first.

Kelovath sighed and Hureig opened the door. Freedom was right there. All he had to do was walk through the threshold and head back to the house. His home that he shared with Josleen. His eyes watched Hureig and admired how simple the giant saw things. The law was slow, but it still needed to be followed. Things needed to work a certain way so that they worked correctly. Slow or not, there’s a way of doing things. It didn’t seem Hureig agreed with those things. But, with what Macon said before, about people dying because Kelovath came back to Larket…Maybe it was time to go. The people have turned on him. Macon is set on destroying whatever it takes for Larket’s strength. And a threat was made on Josleen. Both hands lifted and rubbed on his face, head shaking some until finally…”I’ll need my gear, Hureig.” A decision was made. It was time to go.

Hureig was unsure were the gear was stored, but he knew a gaggle of geese who would. He turned from the door to the guards who still stood all jittery with fear. "You heard the little human. Gear. NOW!" He threw his hand towards the door, which no doubt caused a few of the guards to jump with what had just transpired. "We will get you to your mate, fortify your home, and make it your base of operations."

Kelovath offered a small smile to the giant and stepped out of the cell. The guards came back with a trunk and dropped it near the giant. One guard stuck around and saluted the paladin. “Sir. I’m with you.” Hearing a different voice, Kelo lifted his gaze from his armor and noticed that the guard was familiar. He was here during Josleen’s initial visit. Someone trustworthy. “You’re with Hureig.” The smile turned into a grin as the guard shifted his gaze to the massive merchant and nodded. “Got it.” Kelovath reached into the truck, grabbed his armor and dressed. The prisoner clothing was removed, reveling the brutal scars all over the man’s back, chest, and up and down both arms, as well as his legs. They weren’t fresh by any means, but right now, the paladin wasn’t concerned with it. They were a part of him, mostly accepted. His gold armor now equipped (no weapon), a quick nod was given to the giant. “Let’s go.”

Hureig didn't bash the head of the guard who spoke only because Kelovath knew him, and when the paladin was set and he hoisted his fist into the air and gave a whopping, loud war holler. "And I'm with the trunk!" He said before he hoisted the trunk into his arms. It seemed it, too, would be making the grand escape. He knew his position within this march; he was the supply train, what with the trunk and all. He waited for Kelovath to move before falling in behind the loyal guard.