Two things immediately came to William's mind when he awoke. Firstly, that it was very dark. Secondly, that it was very hot. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the darkness, but it was futile. Where was he? Racking his brain, he tried to think of what had happened since he had met the group of robed figures in the forest, but it was useless - he didn't recall anything. He must have been unconscious this whole time. From somewhere nearby, he heard a commotion - shouting and the clang of weapons could faintly be heard. Seconds after the noise stopped, there was the loud grating of a heavy metal door opening, and the room he was in flooded with light. Blinking, he was able to make out the silhouette of a figure wearing a suit of heavy armor standing in the doorway of the room, which he now could see was a small, prison cell-like chamber. Judging by the rough texture of the stone upon which he was sitting, it had probably been directly carved into a natural system of caverns. The figure mumbled something and turned to leave. "W-wait!" stammered William, getting clumsily to his feet. The figure turned back to him as if to respond, but before he could say anything, a shout echoed from the hallway outside.
"I found the prisoner! Over here, quickly!" His mysterious savior reached for his sword, but before he could draw it, he was overwhelmed by a number of armed cultists. William, trying to act quickly despite his pounding head and sleepy mind, quickly said a prayer of protection. For just a few seconds, the blows of the cultists were deflected from the armored figure, giving him enough time to draw his own weapon and counter attack. There followed a brief struggle; though the figure apparently knew his way with a sword, he didn't appear to be by any means a master of the weapon. Despite this, with William backing him up, he was able to defeat his aggressors. After delivering one last kick to finish off one of the cultists who had been struck to the ground, he turned back towards the cell, and pulled off his helmet. With a jolt, William realized that he was, in fact, a she. He hadn't noticed before, due the armor covering her face and body. Though under better circumstances she might have been attractive, at the moment, she just looked worn out yet aggressive, like a lioness after being stuck in a hunter's trap for a day or two. Her long, blonde hair was plastered to her head, and the dark circles under her bright blue eyes stood out sharply against her pale skin.
"Maybe you're not as useless as you look," she said, looking him over, unsmiling. Turning to leave, she added, "Well? Are you coming or not?"