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“You guys know the plan. We get in there, arrest the smugglers, return what they stole to their rightful owners and then go home. We’re not stopping and doing anything else. We’re not going to start chatting with these guys or invite them back for tea or whatever, they’re dangerous fucking people and I expect you to be smart about this and not act like goddamn idiots alright?”
“You have such little faith in us Geoff,” Jack muttered in reply to Geoff’s stern lecture. Geoff paused in the motion of readjusting the gauntlets around his wrists and glared at him with sleepy eyes. Jack shrugged sheepishly and went back to examining the sharp edge of his axe with a satisfied smirk on his face. Beside him, crouched down behind the rocks overlooking the entrance to a cave - located almost at sea level and blending in almost perfectly with the cliffs around it - below, Michael huffed and pulled his scarf down from where it was pulled up in protection around his mouth so he could be heard. His curls blew messily in the wind.
“Can we go now? I’m freezing my ass off here!” He yelled, his voice masked by the sounds of the rolling tide below, and he gestured towards the cave to get his point across. Gavin shuffled closer to Ryan, his arms held tightly around his torso as he shivered slightly, and the older man wrapped an arm around him to try and warm him up.
“I’ve gotta agree with Michael there,” he said, rubbing a hand against the bare skin on Gavin’s arm that wasn’t protected from the bitter sea air as the younger man quietly leant into the embrace. Geoff turned his unimpressed glare to the mage and Ryan shrugged. “We’re gonna be half-frozen before we even get down there.”
Geoff sighed, a slight edge of agitation in his tone even as a brief flash of apology crossed his face. “You guys knew we were coming here! Why didn’t you wear something warmer?”
“Not all of us wear armour,” Gavin groaned, sticking his hands under his armpits and practically pushing himself into Ryan’s side. “You told us we were going on a trip to the seaside! Not to this bloody place.”
“Guys,” Ray hissed, his voice just about audible. The youngest of their group was the only one standing, his head peeking over the rocks they were hiding behind as he stared intently down at the cave’s entrance and waved a hand in their direction to get them to quieten down. Instantly they were silent, the severity of their mission returning to the forefront of their mind’s and they watched with serious eyes as Ray watched something in the distance. “They’re leaving.”
Geoff scrambled to his feet to look at what Ray was seeing and, after a moment of tracking the movement of something with hard blue eyes, he motioned for the others to stand.
“Why are we moving now?” Michael asked, brushing the dirt off his shorts as he rose. “Don’t we want them there in the first place so we can catch them?!”
“We want to be in there to surprise them when they get back,” Geoff replied, moving towards the narrow path that led down the side of the cliffs. “They might have the home advantage, but we have the firepower.”
That was debatable; as Michael viciously rubbed his hands together to restore feeling in them and Gavin fumbled with his bow with numb fingers. Ryan gently stopped him and took the younger man’s colder hands in his.
“You can worry about that when we get down there,” Ryan said, leaning forward to mutter into Gavin’s ear. Gavin raised an eyebrow.
“Rrryyy, we’ve got to be on our guard out here. I can’t do that weaponless,” he whined, but didn’t try to remove his hands from Ryan’s grip. “Besides, we need to keep an eye out on anybody attacking from afar and be ready.”
Ryan and Gavin were the only two in the group who were properly suited to long-range attacks, and were used to being on their guard in situations like this where the other’s specialities didn’t apply. Ryan shook his head.
“I can shield us if I need to, just focus on getting yourself together so that you’re ready when we get down there.” He placed a light kiss onto Gavin’s lips and smirked, bumping his nose lightly again the other’s. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Gavin stood on the balls of his feet and returned the kiss, grinning at him as he pulled away. “I’m not worrying,” he tugged Ryan in the direction of the path, where the others had already started the slow descent. “C’mon.”
They cautiously made their way down the cliffside, the narrow path being the one thing standing between them and the icy waters below and Ryan felt himself paying more attention to the members of his team - some of whom were having trouble navigating their way down - than to his surroundings. His feet barely touched the ground as he trusted his own safety to his magic and he watched carefully, feeling Gavin’s grip on his hand tighten as the younger man reached out to steady Michael as he faltered. Jack, hearing Michael’s muttered curse, half-turned and reached out a hand to steady him from the other side but the other man shook him off with a groan. Ahead of them, Ray tripped forward into Geoff’s back and his hurried apology floated up to the back of the group.
Somehow they managed to make it down to the cave’s entrance, and they darted inside whilst fluidly readying their weapons. The sounds of swords being unsheathed and a bow being drawn were all hidden by the sounds of the sea waves as they stealthily advanced deeper in, through winding tunnels with cold rock walls.
The veritable labyrinth of tunnels eventually led out into a large cavern, with a high ceiling that dripped water down below, and the plateau that they stood on overlooked a large open space dotted with wooden barrels and packaged goods. In the corner the surface of a large pool reflected the meagre torch light, waves gently rocking as the water streamed out through a fissure in the rocks to the ocean outside.
Strangely, especially for something as basic as a smugglers hideout, large statues dotted the perimeter of the cavern. Taller than an average man and depicting a multitude of figures ranging from knights to almost grotesque-looking animals - all with nearly surreal features dulled with age - the statues stood resolutely as chains looped around their form and stretched out to the ceiling above.
“What the fuck is this?” Michael asked, his voice low and his sword ready as his eyes scanned the nearest statue; a large, blackrock goat that was frozen on its hind legs with it’s mouth open. Its eyes, although stone, looked crazed.
“Looks like someone went all out when decorating in here,” Ray chuckled nervously, shooting the stone goat a furtive look. “It’s…a little creepy.”
Ryan’s brow creased in concentration as he ran a finger over the stone, causing a light buzz - almost like a gentle shock of electricity - to jump up through his fingertips. He recoiled slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Gavin asked, stopping beside him to look up at the goat statue. He relaxed his stance, letting his bow point down towards the floor as he looked up, and looped his arm through Ryan’s. “Christ, someone’s got a scary imagination.”
“Geoff,” Ryan started, shaking his hand to alleviate the tingling feeling that resided there as he turned towards the leader of their group. Geoff raised an eyebrow. “We’ve just entered a Container.”
A momentary look of confusion crossed Geoff’s face before comprehension dawned. “Shit,” he cursed, running a hand through his hair as his eyes darted around the cavern. “How long do we have?”
“Minutes, they haven’t been gone long.”
“Woah, hold up. What’s a Container?” Michael asked, looking between the two with a guarded expression on his face.
“A form of magical protection,” Ryan explained, grimacing slightly at the basic explanation. Containers were used by mages to shield specific areas; using a mixture of magic, material and totems the strength imbued in the Container was strongly linked to the mage who cast the spell and required a measured degree of experience and power to be successful in any form. As they were linked to the mage’s magic, the caster had the ability to sense any disruptions and changes to the Container from afar and the statues, strategically lining the edges of the room, hummed with magic. Ryan resisted the urge to flinch when his senses detected the metallic trace of blood and he pooled his power downwards, alighting a glyph below him as his feet left the floor and he held out his staff. The orb glowed. “They already know we’re here.”
A number of things happened almost at once. Armed men suddenly appeared in their midst, whether through entrances that blended in with the cave walls or simply appearing by magic the group would never know, and the chains that looped around the statues seemed to take on a life of their own as they shot sharply towards the group.
Ryan threw up a shield and watched as dozens of chains scratched off the surface. Beside him, enclosed within the barrier due to their proximity to him as he put it up, Gavin and Ray let out startled yells and Ryan could see them both jump from his peripheral vision. In front of him Geoff ducked out of the way of the two chains that seemed intent on embedding themselves into his skull and in one long sweeping motion he swung his sword up and cut through them. The severed tendrils fell to the floor and the rest of the link went slack, hanging limply from the ceiling. Jack’s axe took care of the chains that had launched themselves at him and Michael, the bare skin of his right forearm an angry red colour, gripped his sword inexpertly in his left hand as he glowered at the leftover chain that had previously attacked him.
“Fuck! Don’t let it touch you!” Michael yelled through gritted teeth, transferring his sword back to his dominant hand and slicing it upwards at another attacker.
“Ryan!”
Ryan’s eyes scanned the cavern, focusing in on a tall cloaked figure standing by an entrance slightly above where they stood on the plateau. The figure held its arms outstretched and was slowly moving them in slow, deliberate motions and from where he stood Ryan could see something glowing from around the figure’s wrists. Each gesture the figure made seemed to spurn on the movement of more chains.
“I’m on it,” Ryan replied to Geoff’s yell, turning his head to address Gavin and Ray. “You guys ready?”
Ray readied his sword as Gavin drew his bow and the two young men nodded. Ryan focused his attention on the mage above and dropped his shield, the glyph below his feet flaring as the magic responded to his unspoken command and helped launch him up onto the same level. Ray and Gavin sprung into action to face the men that were beginning to charge at them; Gavin following Michael off the plateau and into the open space below and Ray springing forward to help Geoff and Jack.
Ryan’s feet touched down on the ledge above and he immediately ducked to the side to avoid an attack thrown his way by the other mage, countering it with a blast of lightning that emitted from the Redstone orb upon his staff.
The mage - slightly shorter than Ryan himself - swept his arms upwards sharply, a violent crashing from below as the chains still in motion changed targets, and Ryan responded with a similar gesture; breathing in deeply as the glyph under his feet pulsed in excitement. The rocks on the ledge morphed, blue flames licking out and rushing forward to surround the opponent as the dark mage pushed both of his hands downwards to extinguish them almost as they formed.
“Impressive.”
The other mage’s voice was low and gravelly and although a mask, just visible from underneath the dark hood of his cloak, hid his face from view Ryan could see his eyes - a dark, earthy brown - staring at him through the slits; a look of almost amused respect smouldering in them. Ryan’s grip around the handle of his staff tightened.
“Thanks,” he replied tersely, warily watching the other man fold his arms. Ryan could now clearly see the gauntlets that he wore, dark leather with a clear blue stone inset in the middle, and he quirked an eyebrow in his direction.
“I wasn’t kidding,” the man smirked, and Ryan’s brow furrowed at the accent he spoke with. “I haven’t met anyone recently who has managed to match me in a fight. That was pretty good.”
“You’re a bit out of place here,” Ryan stated, eyes narrowed. The other man shrugged, turning to look over at the fight going on below between the smugglers and The Hunters.
“They pay well,” he said simply before chuckling to himself. “Actually, the pay is pants but it gives me something to do.”
Ryan shook his head, a glyph appearing at his feet. “We’re gonna have to take you guys in.”
The man laughed. “Do what you want with this sorry lot, they’re no longer useful to me,” he spread his arms out, the stones on his gauntlets pulsing with light, and taunted. “Me however? I’m going to be a lot harder to pin down.”
It was amazing that the fight that followed stayed mainly away from the others, with the ceiling of the cavern being illuminated by the magic that was being thrown by the two warring mages. The darker mage waved his arms, stones glowing, to summon elemental strikes and direct the remaining chains in an attack against The Hunters and out of the corner of his eye Ryan could see his friends overpowering and rounding up the smugglers whilst fluidly dodging the attacks from above.
“They’re getting used to your little game!” Ryan crooned, rapidly spinning his staff as the light beneath his feet blazoned. The dark mage chuckled dryly and crossed his forearms in mid air, forming an X.
“Who says it’s a game?!” He retorted, slicing his arms downwards sharply. The blast that followed was quick, and Ryan barely had enough time to shoot a counterstrike. The two attacks collided violently, ricocheting off in all directions and Ryan felt himself being blasted off the ledge.
He heard crashes from around him as he hit the floor below, exhaling sharply at the impact, and he lay dazed for what seemed like an age before Jack’s face appeared in his line of sight.
“Ryan! What happened? Are you okay man?”
Ryan blinked, accepting Jack’s offered hand and allowing the bearded man to help him to his feet. Once standing his eyes immediately shot to the ledge that the dark mage was previously standing on only to see it devoid of any cloaked figure.
As Jack handed him his staff he scanned the rest of the cavern; noting that large chunks of the rocks had come free from the wall and that many of the statues that had lined the lined the perimeter had either been knocked out of place in some way - with many lying on their side - or had been reduced to dust. Ryan breathed in deeply and extended his senses, noting that the metallic scent of blood that he’d previously detected seemed to be getting weaker by the second. He sighed.
“I’m fine,” he replied, using his free hand to rub the small of his back with a grimace. “Did you see where the other guy went?”
Jack shook his head apologetically, looking up at the empty ledge as well. “Sorry, I was more worried about you than I was about him.”
“What the fuck happened?!” Geoff demanded, stomping over to them. “One moment we were beating the shit out of these guys and then the next there was a fucking earthquake? What the hell did you do?!”
“I was trying to stop him,” Ryan defended. “How was I suppose to know that we’d cause this?” He wisely decided to leave out the technical talk about opposite magical properties, knowing that Geoff hated the technical talk and that his boss was already riled up as it is. Geoff’s eye twitched.
“Is everyone okay?” He called out, sheathing his sword and putting a hand onto his hip.
“I’m real swell Geoff,” Michael mocked, tying the hands of the captured smugglers. All of whom looked rather despondent at losing their magical backup and didn’t seem keen to kick up much more of a fight. Ray, standing with his sword poised, shot a thumbs up in their direction.
“Smartass,” Geoff grumbled, spinning around to get a better look at the cavern. “Hey Gav, where are you?”
The silence that followed was almost deafening, and Ryan felt his blood run cold as he quickly turned to the spot where he’d last seen his boyfriend.
The space by the pool was eerily empty and Ryan noticed with sickening dread that Gavin’s bow lay abandoned by the side of the water, the statue that had been standing there previously was no longer there and that a taunt chain descended from the ceiling and disappeared into the rippling water below.
Ryan barely thought as he raced towards the pool, pulling his coat off as he threw his staff to a shocked-looking Ray. He ignored the shout that came from behind him, most likely a command to get him to stop and wait he didn’t know, he didn’t care. His only thought was Gavin.
He reached the edge of the pool and dived, smoothly piercing the water as he entered its depths. Immediately he was struck by the cold, the sheer force of it seeping into his very being and he almost gasped out without thinking as his body protested at the sudden change and the disorientation at the murkiness of his surroundings almost had him surfacing back into the light.
The pool was deeper than he originally thought, and a flash of green - barely visible amongst the greens of the seaweed and rusted metal that littered the bottom - caught his eye from down below, immediately spurning him onward. Gavin was moving, hunched over the bottom of his left leg and desperately clawing at the number of enchanted chains that were wrapped tightly around the limb, but his movements were rapidly becoming sluggish. Ryan’s alarm grew and he propelled himself towards Gavin.
Gavin barely reacted to his presence, asides from a brief flicker of something in unfocused eyes, and Ryan urgently tried to hook his fingers underneath the chains in an attempt to get them to give way. He looked up at Gavin, floating upwards to cup his face gently as the younger man’s eyes drooped and, to Ryan’s absolute horror, he exhaled the little remaining air in his lungs.
Ryan spun wildly, spotting the darkstone statue that the chains were attached to and he lurched over to it, grabbed onto it with both hands and tried to lift it up; hoping that if he could at least get it out of the water Gavin would have a chance. It refused to budge, almost as if it was mocking him, and he darted back over to Gavin, fumbling with the chains around his leg even as his own lungs started to burn.
Through the sound of his heartbeat throbbing in his ears he’d never heard anyone plunging into the water after him, but the wave of relief that flitted through him at seeing Geoff appear beside him was indescribable. The older man quickly assessed the situation and, with strength and speed that should’ve been nearly impossible underwater, he’d swung his sword and struck down sharply at the tendrils of chain that lay slack on the bed of the pool.
A metallic ping rang out as the chains severed and Ryan ripped them from their hold around Gavin’s leg before wrapping an arm around his waist, the younger man’s head lolling forward. Ryan, Geoff alongside him, then raced towards the surface.
The chilly cave air immediately assaulted him as his head broke the surface and he spluttered, cool air gleefully entering his starved lungs as he adjusted Gavin so that his head was no longer above water, limply resting on his shoulder, and kicked his legs to propel him towards the edge.
“Hey!”
Ryan spotted Michael crouched down by the side of the pool, his arms out and an uncharacteristically worried look on his face, as Ray and Jack looked on from where they were stood guard over the smugglers. Ryan swum over and quickly eased Gavin into Michael’s waiting arms, watching intently as Michael pulled him out of the water and lay him down on the ground.
He then watched numbly, his gaze transfixed on the scene before him, as Michael smacked Gavin’s cheeks. “Gavin!” He yelled, shooting a look that Ryan couldn’t see in Ray and Jack’s direction. Jack immediately started to move towards them.
“Ryan!” Ryan hadn’t noticed Geoff getting out of the pool, and jumped when the older man’s hand appeared in his line of sight. Ryan took his hand and gratefully accepted the help in getting out of the water, barely able to get his feet underneath him as he was pulled up and onto solid ground. Geoff barely paid him any attention, instead his gaze was focused on Michael. “Michael! Turn his head to the side!”
Michael did so and Geoff dove towards them both, ducking down and speaking hurriedly in low, hushed tones to Michael as he stared intently at Gavin’s face. Michael nodded, immediately staggering to his feet and sprinting towards the exit to the cave without a backwards glance.
“What can I do?” Ryan asked as he fell to his knees besides Gavin, his voice hoarse. Geoff didn’t answer as he lightly tapped Gavin’s cheek, the worried frown on his face growing deeper.
“Do you know how to try and save someone who’s drowned?” Geoff asked as he turned Gavin’s head back to the center; a dawning look of horror crossed Ryan’s face. Geoff snapped his head up to stare at him. “Well, do you?!”
“W-what? I-”
Geoff brushed off his hesitation without a word and focused back on Gavin, gently tilting his head back and pinching his nose. Before Ryan could comprehend what he was doing Geoff had leant down to press his mouth against Gavin’s and was breathing out a series of strong, measured breaths.
Gavin’s body jerked partway through the third try and he inhaled a large, desperate breath before coughing raspily. Geoff and Ryan gently rolled him onto his side as he spluttered up seawater, his eyes flying open in panic as his consciousness slowly returned to him.
When he’d finished coughing up water Ryan leant down and gently ran a hand through his sopping wet hair. “You’re okay,” he whispered, relief flooding through him as Gavin’s eyes flickered to his face, beside him Geoff sagged forward and ran a shaky hand through his hair. “You’re gonna be okay.”
“Did Michael go to get help?” Jack’s deep voice, surprisingly soft, asked as worried brown eyes looked over at them. Gavin groaned and shivered, his teeth chattering together.
“H-huh?”
“You’re okay Gav, I’ve got you,” Ryan muttered, kissing Gavin’s temple. He looked up to Geoff. “We’ve gotta get him out of here, he’ll freeze to death here.”
“You guys should probably go back to the town,” Jack suggested, gesturing towards the sopping wet clothes sported by the three of them. “You’ll all freeze if you stay here dressed like that.”
“I’ll fly ahead with Gavin,” Ryan stated, pulling the semi-conscious man into his arms as he got to his feet. “I can get him there quicker by myself.”
“Agreed,” Geoff replied, waving him off. “I’ll go back up the path and meet you back at the inn. Michael’s getting the guards so you and Ray should be fine until they get here.” Geoff directed his last statement towards Jack, who nodded in response.
“These guys aren’t going anywhere,” Jack reassured him, waving his axe threateningly towards the bound smugglers.
Immediately Ryan and Geoff hurried out of the cavern, through the dark and snaking labyrinth of tunnels to emerge out in the dim sunlight on the other side. Geoff patted Ryan reassuringly on the shoulder before darting towards the path and Ryan summoned his magic, feeling it burst out from beneath him in waves, to lift himself off the ground.
The flight was short and Ryan, Gavin shivering in his arms, soon touched down at the town gate where he then sprinted to the inn that they were staying at and darted into the alley next to it, using the back door to get straight up to the room he shared with Gavin. He then, shoving discarded clothing and a suitcase onto the floor with one hand, set the younger man onto the sofa that sat at the end of the bed. Gavin blinked up at him groggily, swaying slightly from where he sat, as Ryan threw some logs into the fireplace.
“Fire.” Ryan growled, splaying his hand out before him. Instantly flames sprung up, licking at the logs and instantly filling the room with a burst of heat. Ryan shut the window and pulled the heavy curtains closed before turning back to Gavin. He crouched before him, reaching up ruffle his hair slightly.
“Y’re all w’t,” Gavin slurred, his eyes slowly tracking Ryan’s movements.
“Of course I am silly,” Ryan replied with a small smile. “You are too.” Gavin shrugged slightly, tremors wracking through his body, and Ryan stood. “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.”
Gavin’s movements were sluggish, his hands fumbling with his scarf whilst Ryan pulled off his sodden boots, and Ryan quickly jumped up to help remove the article of clothing from around his neck as Gavin pulled his gloves off. The rest of his clothing was quickly discarded, quickly replaced by a warm pair of pyjamas and Ryan gently pulled him over to the bed, bundling him up under the warm covers, before he himself changed into some dry clothes.
He slipped into the bed, pulling the covers up over his shoulders and scooting over to envelope Gavin in a hug. The younger man, his face pale and still shivering, shifted into the embrace and Ryan slipped his hands underneath Gavin’s shirt; running calloused fingers up and down his lover’s bare back.
“You scared the shit out of me today.”
Gavin looked up at him, the chattering of his teeth less than before, and frowned. “I’m sorry,” he replied quietly, his voice weak. “It was so fast…I dunno what happened.”
Ryan kissed him tenderly, his hands pausing on Gavin’s back, and he rested his forehead against his, exhaling. “Just…don’t do it again.”
“I’ll try not to.”
When Geoff looked in on them later, Ryan’s staff in his hands, he found the two - their hair barely visible from underneath the blankets - fast asleep; warm and safe in each other’s embrace.