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Post by GoldenKitten on Sept 26, 2012 16:04:24 GMT -4
Two men crouched low behind a high line of bushes surrounding the darkened meadhall. Even under the cover of darkness, and fully swathed in black clothing head-to-toe their ability to disappear completely into the ink was completely supernatural compared to an average man. Even during the evening hours when guards had actively patrolled the perimeter their presence had gone completely unnoticed. Now, with the Expedition of Remal Kingdom soldiers finally asleep for but a few night guards, it was time to proceed.
Nyle turned to his companion and spoke at little more than a whisper, “Move for the stables Coreth, be prepared. Normal men as they may be, their dispositions these past few days has proven they are an official Expedition. It’s best we prepare for the unexpected.”
With a silent nod Coreth turned and in a blink had melted out of Nyles view into the night beyond. He then turned his own vision to the structure before him, and after checking one last time that he was indeed alone, darted for the nearest wall. Where a normal man would have hug close to the wall Nyle instead ushered a quick whisper of syllables, and once he had reached the wall bounded into the air with inhuman acrobatic skill. In a single hop he had leapt quite a few meters and landed silently on the second floor patio that encircled the building, landing spread out and low to the ground.
There he stayed for several moments, not even breathing and remaining near as invisible as he had been the whole evening despite the sudden burst of movement. Once convinced he was truly alone, feeling nor seeing any nearby presence he rose to a half-stand before he darted quickly along the outstretch toward the backside of the hall.
As the structure stood upon the highest hill in the borough of Norand one was allowed an unobstructed view of the entire area from this perch. The village was near pitch-black as any forest, save for some private lanterns and several old-fashioned street lights, the touch of modern technology not having yet found its way this far out into Remal Kingdom lands.
That worked in their favor though; it made their target much easier to claim without modern magic sensors and the all-pervasiveness of steam driven turbine light on every crossroads. When they’d received word several days prior that an Artifact of Origin was being moved from an outlying depot to the interior of the Kingdoms lands they could scarcely believe it. Most such objects were long since locked away by the Kingdom in well-guarded metropolis, or under close study and watch by the Surveyanum. But after several days of watching the soldiers it was clear they carried something of great magical importance, how it went so long without being interred with greater security was no longer important. It would be the Magi’ again.
Arriving at an opened window that Nyle had been eyeing the entire time they’d been waiting, he peered inside. The mild sheen over his eyes belying the magic that allowed him to see quite clearly through the nightly gloom. It seemed his guess had been right, the large open room beneath him was mostly empty, and the only men present were two guards sitting near the dooryway. Certainly most of the soldiers they’d been following were asleep, or at least resting in the main hallway that had been made available to them by the Provincial Lord since their arrival earlier in the day.
Further surveillance of the room showed what must have been the prize. He’d seen it earlier as they had tracked the group, a large box with countless religious charms that superstitious folk believed were capable of containing “dang’rus magicks”. Even with the prize before him Nyle lowered himself down on to one of the wooden beams that held the ceilings weight and remained vigilant.
Such caution paid off, looking closely he located several small mechanical boxes around the room, their appearance much at odds with the rustic surroundings. A modern invention they had a small bit of Lurian metal inside, a natural element highly sensitive to magical energies. If shaved thin enough this metal constricted in the presence of magic, and so when rigged properly one could create these boxes which were in fact alarms that would go off if too much archaic energy was exerted near them. Still they were a newer creation of the Kingdom and were not without fault, they only worked when one utilized too much energy near them, more simple magic would not set them off.
Hopping silently to a lower beam Nyle brought his hands to his mouth and with a single syllable activated a minor magic, he then spoke, “Hey, I need some help here!”
But instead of coming from his mouth, or indeed anywhere near him the words instead ricocheted off a wall he could see through the doorway the men were sitting near, and then echoed off from further down the hallway beyond. He watched as the men gave each other looks, and then perhaps not thinking any threat would come from behind they both rose to go help what they assuredly assumed was a fellow soldier requesting some form of assistance. Even as they proceeded out the door Nyle knew he didn’t have much time, it was a short distraction at most, and one that would arouse suspicion once they found no source.
Lowering himself from the beam Nyle grasped an attached pillar, and with an arm on both sides slid quickly down to the ground below. As soon as he landed he made a near sprint for the box in the center of the room and came to a sliding crouch directly in front of it. A once-over told him all he needed to know, while the “charms” of the myth-laden populace would do nothing to stop him, the numerous locks would take far too long to remove subtly. Even in the twenty-seconds this had taken he could already hear footsteps growing louder, certainly the guards returning after the momentary reprieve.
Knowing he had moments before discovery anyway Nyle placed his fingers on two of the locks, his fingers starting to burn a bright red as he muttered under his breath. And then with a pop the locks exploded, and instantly all of the magic sensors around the room began ringing the loud bell within each. The footsteps in the hall turned into a run, and it wasn’t moments later that a roar of voices erupted from further behind them. Moving quickly and with the help of several more magical pops the locks fell to the floor and Nyle threw the large lid open.
An almost instinctual hunger took hold as he peered in, yet it was all too quickly quashed when he saw the contents. Even as anger and despair took hold of his spirit, his rational side took over as the footsteps finally arrived in the hall. Taking the contents and wrapping them in a sack on his waist he rose, and looked over his shoulder.
The two men from before stood balking at him in the doorway, both with swords drawn. Most men were afraid of Magi, and even these two trained soldiers took a moment to mentally prepare themselves for conflict. It was those split-seconds that Nyle exploited, with all pretense of secrecy gone he raised his hand up toward the window which he had entered and spoke the magic words aloud. A tendril of dark wispy energy shot out from his hand and wrapped around the nearest beam which he had stood prior. Even as the guards now moved to attack Nyle was pulled into the air, and with his enhanced reflexes he spun before landing on the beam, then leaping out the open window.
Once outside he let out a loud whistle like a bird-call, and was promptly answered by one in kind. Locating its source he ran to the mid-point of the building, looking down he could see his companion upon one of the soldier’s horses. Lowering himself over the edge of the building he began sliding down it, using mild magical energies to create friction and slow the fall to survivable levels though he still landed hard. As he was recovering from the shock to his legs he heard calls from the front of the structure, he looked up in time to see several of the soldiers with weapons and torches, one pointing in their direction. He watched as several pulled out more modern weapons, muskets, and leveled them in their direction.
“Nyle!”, Coreths voice echoed out and forced him to move even as shots echoed out.
He raced toward the horse and Coreths outstretched hand, the other man grasped him and and with superhuman strength lifted him up, Nyle spinning in the air and landing cleanly behind him on the horse. Coreth wasted no time and immediately the horse was speeding off away from the structure. With guards spilling out of the front of the structure Coreth forced the horse to catapult off the hillside, which while manageable was incredibly steep. As it bucked, slid, and whinnied both men were nearly thrown off numerous times.
But as they came to a stop after what seemed like ages the horse calmed, and while the Kingdom soldiers arrived at the edge of the hill and began blindly opening fire he once again forced the beast forward. As they placed distance between them, coupled with the darkness, it would only be by blind luck that anyone was hit at that point, and soon they had moved onto the dirt roads of the village.
The areas seclusion and lack of technology aided them once again. Even as civilians were roused by the ruckus, looking out their windows, they faced no further opposition as the guards lacked anyway to convey messages in such a backwater area. Moving at blazing speeds the stallion fled through the streets, and out the nearest exit, blissfully unaware of “taking sides”. And by the time the soldiers had moved into the town both Coreth, and Nyle were long away.
The Following Night
The nomadic Magi camp had currently taken residence in Norandis Woods, to the South of the lower Remal Kingdom proper. This had in part been as a staging ground for collecting multiple possible artifacts, if not necessarily Origins; the second reason was that the superstitions that still pervaded the Kingdoms populace also kept them out of the woods. Terrified of the supposed beasts, and dark magi that hid within; even most capable warriors of the Kingdom never embarked into its depths unless they had a clear target. This allowed the Magi, particularly the civilians, to live a virtually normal life with only the occasional movement from area-to-area on the seldom occasion the Kingdom had become a little to wise.
Such a fact was readily evident as they approached the camp as various sounds of activity carried out for some ways, and the camp was fully lit with portable steam-driven generators. After all the Magi way of life didn’t shun technological improvements, they simply saw a place for everything, plus producing light this way was far more simple than utilizing runes. Of course they hadn’t survived this long by being foolish, beyond being very deep in the forest, they also had magical alarm systems, and traps rigged throughout the surrounding land. Nothing could get within kilometers of the camp safely, or at least not without them knowing.
As the two men appeared from the woods along the only truly safe path in they were greeted by the guards there joyously. As few of them as were left it was always cause for joy when everyone sent out on a mission returned in whole. Even as they confirmed that they had succeeded the look on both their faces, now exposed, kept the group from prodding further. As for the horse, while such an animal could be beneficial it would have made them easier to track, and they had no excess food to maintain it, and so had long since sent it off.
Approaching the guards Nyle grimly asked, “Where is the Arch-Magi?”
One of the men replied, “He should be eating his meal with the others at this time, sir.”
Nyle nodded and they waved goodbye to the guards as they proceeded inside the camp. They passed a number of larger houses where many more guards would be sleeping through the night in the event they needed to immediately respond to the least defended way into the encampment. Most of the buildings in the clearing looked permanent even though they could be erected and pulled down in an instant, one of the benefits of magic. Stylistically they took on a traditional standard of Magi that had passed through the ages; many acute angles, and generally asymmetrical.
As they passed through the residential sector Coreth tapped him on his shoulder, “Do you mind?”, he motioned toward the area.
Nyle lifted his hazel eyes toward the area, it was still early in the night and he could see children still scampering about, trying to make the most of their remaining time before they were forced to bed. Coreth had a family unlike him, even though Nyle himself still did what he did for the sake of these people, but he understood why his fellow Magi would want to see them. Anytime they left, particularly into Remal territory there was always the pervading dread from friends, and family that they might not return.
Nyle nodded and gave the man the first smile he’d given in days, “Of course. This news hardly warrants a report…”, he tried not to let his negativity seep through too much.
So they shook hands, and then parted as Nyle continued toward a large central building that was the loudest in the area. It was used for a number of things, but right now it would be the nightly meeting and meal amongst the “Senior” Magi. Of course what constituted a Senior was garishly different from what it meant thirty-cycles prior, when it indicated the most educated men in existence. Many of whom had spent a lifetime studying, and who were often double, or even triple a normal human lifespan in age before they were even considered for such a title.
Yet at only thirty-two cycles old as Nyle stepped through the doorway into the loud racket of a hundred men, and women eating and drinking he found himself one of the eldest. That was what the Remal Kingdoms Great Purge had reduced them too, and he was all too acutely aware of this fact whenever he saw them collected like this. Just those thirty-years ago every one of those present, even himself would have been considered Middlings, and that would have been at absolute best, many not even making that.
It was why to make any sort of change they needed the Artifacts of Origin, great relics of power far beyond what any normal Magi was capable of alone. But of course, he was here to deliver bad news on that end, despite their success.
It hadn’t taken long for someone nearby to notice him and shout his name, this spread quickly and in an instant the hall had gone quiet. The first thing that was asked was, “Coreth!?” to which he assured them he was safe, there was a roar of applause as Nyle walked up to a large table where the Lord Seniors sat. One of the chairs next to the Arch-Magi himself was empty, that was where Nyle would have been seated on a normal evening, which he often thought pathetic as his skills shouldn’t have rendered him anything close to such a position.
If anything there was only one man who was deserving of where he was, Arch-Magi Abel Rhand was an ancient man, at least two-hundred cycles in age. Of course looking at his salt-and-pepper short hair, and aged but smooth features you wouldn’t have placed him a day over sixty. He was the only Magi of Origin, a wielder of an Artifact of Origin which had survived the war, at least that they knew of. Had it not been for him the way of the Magi likely wouldn’t have survived beyond the end of the war, but he had persevered. With the help of the other Lord Seniors he had pulled as many of them together as possible to form the community they had today, that was why the Lord Seniors had their positions really. They were leaders of the people, cornerstones of the society’s foundation; as though they were mostly the oldest and most powerful Magi their skills alone certainly would never have warranted such a position in any other Age.
While the bubbling excitement continued around the rest of the room the men at the head table seemed to pick up on Nyle’s own expression and remained stoic. He approached and opened the burlap sack at his hip, reaching in and placing its contents in front of the Arch-Magi.
A rounded sphere no larger than a piece of fruit, seemingly made of simple brown rock, though it was entirely unbreakable. Thousands of lines of minute runes were etched into it, far too small for human hands to have created; even the most skilled magical artificer would have trouble copying such small writing. Anyone with the slightest inclination to magic would have felt the great power it exuded, just waiting to be tapped. But by this point everyone in the room had picked up on the underwhelmed and depressed look the rest of the Lord Seniors were now mirroring off of Nyle.
Not understanding one of the men at one of the tables behind finally asked through the dripping silence, “W…what is it? What’s the problem? I can feel the power; it’s an Artifact of Origin right?”
Nyle grimaced, looking to Abel who had reached out and was studying its runes. Seeing that the man was already in study-mode he turned around and placed his hand on his hip. His long black hair pulled into a pony-tail, a five-o-clock shadow he tried to shave but always seemed to sneak up on him, along with his outfit made him look more like a disheveled professor than a knowledgeable leader.
“Yes. It is. It is the Eye of Eversight, an Origin of the Seer.”
Before he could even finish there were several bursts of excitement, they truly were children. The Way of the Seer always made young people excited it seemed, even those that were supposed to be experienced. It was understandable, who didn’t dream of seeing into the future, maybe even using that ability to change things? How difficult that actually was however often went unsaid, very few men through history could claim to be masters of the art, and certainly there were none among those left.
And this was where Nyle interrupted and the room went hushed again, “But, the Eye has been in the possession of Magi as long as we have recorded history. In those thousands of years only a single person was ever able to become its Magi of Origin. Dalelia of Riverdhein, it’s Court Magister until the war used it to make Riverdhein the financial success it remains to this day, prior to that not a single Magi ever grasped its workings, and Dalelia never had an apprentice to pass the knowledge to, and certainly never wrote its workings down. Hell, even she had it for over a hundred cycles before she even began to unlock its secrets”
He kicked his foot at the ground, “In other words we have no way to use it. Maybe someone a hundred-or-more cycles down the road could, but right now it’s…” he growled slightly and began walking toward the door he had come through, “-useless.”
Abel called out, perhaps trying to placate him though he cared not, “At least it is in our possession. Better than it being in theirs. And, you never know Nyle, you never know!”
Nyle shared a glance over his shoulder at the man, the room was now dead silent, any excitement his appearance might have caused long gone. He knew what Abel was doing, he had perhaps been to direct, all they had was hope so who was he to take that away. But after getting his hopes up, spending a week on the trail and in constant peril, his disappointment could not be overstated. Still he had no reason to argue, or make things drearier than they already were, and so he simply shrugged.
“Maybe” he stated in a low voice, before throwing the door open and leaving, he was not hungry nor did he have any desire to answer more questions.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Oct 1, 2012 23:29:03 GMT -4
14 Days Later
It was on the evening of the thirteenth day after they had returned with the Eye of Eversight that “Witch Hunters” were spotted making their way through the Eastern forest. Such men were the seekers and judges, and jury of the Surveyanum, the true fanatics of the Kingdom. The Surveyanum rose from the Kings own personal political party from when he was a prince The Surveyors, the names meaning obvious, and once his power was cemented it became a primarily military branch of the government. Though many members of the Kingdom merely fell into line for their own safety, the followers of this order had true hatred for Magi or “Witches”, and had been almost wholly responsible for spurring on the genocide of their people.
Though rare for them to come this deep into the forest, it was still not unheard of for a group of glory seekers hoping to make a name for themselves by killing some “Ruiners” to stumble upon them from time-to-time. Usually, just as it was this time, the Magi saw them coming from leagues away and would gather their best fighters, and then launch an overwhelming sneak attack. After this most intelligent men avoided that particular area for a while, and they were given some peace. Despite the overzealous religious (a religion in its own right at this point, at least) fervor of some of the group, it seemed that they were unwilling to commit to rooting them out of the deathtrap the Magi had made this forest. And both sides had remained content so long as neither side made too strong a move against the other.
It would seem, reclaiming an Origin was considered as such. After eliminating the Witch Hunters in the forest to no loss of their own the Magi assumed things would proceed as they always did. Instead, it was early the next morning when the scouts brought back word of countless soldiers working their way through the Eastern Forest, and not much later more word was brought that a near unfathomable number were making their way through the Northern pass.
Unimaginable as it was, a force of such size could only be a Purification. The Kingdom had not undertaken a Purification campaign in twelve cycles, that was when the last true city of Magi had been eliminated at the High Hold of Lumeon. Since then the remnant Magi had taken up guerilla tactics over outright warfare and in response the Kingdom had not risked large forces into uncharted land. It seemed that the threat they believed the Eye posed had changed that, and whether they had gotten careless and left signs, or through sheer luck it had not taken long for the Kingdom to be upon their doorstep.
That said, those remaining had not lived this long through lack of preparation. Even though the force they now faced was larger than anticipated they still had a plan for escape in the event of enemies penetrating their camp, along with several ways out. Within an hour of the sighting the children and any civilian Magi were already loaded and marching to the Southwest, alongside the majority of their warriors. They were certain this path was clear, and though old and decrepit they had one last true bastion hidden in the Mistmound Peaks that even if it could be found by the Purification Army, would prove highly impregnable as its position made it difficult to siege. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but with a Steam Engine sighted making its way through the Pass they had two or three hours to work with following the first sighting.
They would leave the structures, though losing their materials was lamentable their deconstruction and transport would take too long. This had worked out in the end as the Lord Seniors had decided they would work well for laying a trap for the incoming force. After all if they did not disturb their pursuers then the army would begin following their trail immediately since they had no time to perfectly cover themselves.
By this point it was within twenty-minutes of the arrival of the first forces. The structures had been stripped bare, nothing of value remained save for the structures themselves, and of the hundreds of Magi only a skeleton-crew of about thirty remained. Either because they might be needed in an emergency, or because they were the ones setting the trap.
Nyle had been aiding in the setting of this trap alone, having sent most of his direct subordinates including Coreth off to protect the civilians as they migrated to the North, when the first signs of trouble appeared.
A young Magi by the name of Neith came rushing out of the bush surrounding the camps location to the South, out of breath, a cut on his brow, and with no subtlety. One could make a joke about youths being thoughtless but this was a sign of trouble, Neith was one of the most promising new Nature Magi, and one of their best scouts, thus why he was still here. He would not be in such a state if something unexpected hadn’t happened; finally he managed to yell, “SANCTIFIERS! Th-” he took a deep breath before stating more calmly, “They have Sanctifiers. They will be out of the Pass in moments.”
The news came like a smack to the face, though it now made sense how the army was making such speed straight through the forest full of traps they’d erected. In the world of the radicals there were none of greater zealotry than the Sanctifiers, living martyrs who were born and raised to die. Cloaked in armor so heavy the wearer could hardly walk they had one job, waltz straight into the traps Magi might have left behind and clear the way for attack troops. That armor would protect them over-and-over, but eventually it was a Sanctifiers lot to die, it was said they had a great wall where every Sanctifiers death was recorded, alongside how many traps he or she had disarmed before their armor failed. Tragic as that might be it also meant that the constant explosions that had been echoing in the distance hadn’t been taking out dozens of soldiers as they were designed, but a handful of units that in the end were noncombatants. When the army arrived here they would be virtually unscathed.
This lead Nyle to a conclusion he voiced, “Then…all the more reason this trap needs to be set, and enacted perfectly.”
His eyes travelled to Abel who carving runes into the Earth, and the old man nodded back at him. Nyle thought his options over, and then spoke to Neith; “Lad, can we make it to the Pass before they make it through?”
Neith looked to his sides, shaking his hands a few times as if he really wasn’t sure, and certainly didn’t want to be put on the spot like this but finally answered, “Maybe, but only if we moved right now.”
That was all Nyle needed to hear as he put his hand on his blade and yelled out, “I need anyone whose willing and believes they can help me in keeping their forces back, if only for a moment, to follow me now. A few of you stay behind to protect Abel, which includes you Neith, you’ve done your part. Abel, when it’s done sound a horn and then move on without us, we’ll meet you on the road or at the Mistmound if need be. Now, LET’S GO!”
Nyle charged off alongside several other Magi who had instantly agreed. It took a moment but several others began to charge off after them as they disappeared into the forest. Meanwhile Abel continued his task in the open ground; drawing lines, infusing them with a magic filled device at his side, and then covering the signs before proceeding to a next plot of ground. It would only take him a few moments longer, but who knew if the few Magi following Nyle could provide even that against hundreds of attackers?
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wavve
Gutterspawn
Posts: 5
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Post by wavve on Oct 3, 2012 15:00:57 GMT -4
The group, consisting of a handfull of Magi, made their way through the forest on a hidden path. The vegetation was still damp from dew and raindrops and the moss on the ground mixed with mud as they threaded over it. Anyone with fancy shoes or pants would've had a bad time following the path in this pace. Among the Magi was Kiira, a young woman probably in her late teens or early twenties. She had already been around the Magi camp for well over a month at this point, but she still felt like a newcomer. Kiira was not the kind of person that easily trust others. This had been clear from the moment she joined the group of Magi. She didn't like taking orders and sure as hell was not going to let anyone know more about herself than necessary. Despite this she had volunteered to follow Nyle and the others in order to delay incoming forces. Kiira was very nervous about what would become of the following minutes. Sure, she'd been in many fights before and was more than used to her weapon, but she was not used to fight armies, or even groups of enemies. And if there was one thing she certainly was not used to, it was being part of a group fighting. She had always been a lone wolf, staying out of sight, putting a bolt in a lone target or a target that got separated from it's group. In addition to that she was used to running away from her foes rather than seeking conflict with them. She was a huntress, not a soldier. As they ran, Kiira suddenly burst into a quick sprint. She ran the fastest she could and ignored any calls from her allies. She had disappeared so quickly into the bushes that the only thing anyone saw of her was her long, almost white, blonde hair sweep in the wind before she was out of sight. She keept pushing forward at full pace to make sure none of the others were still following her. She knew where she was going, and she had made up a plan. But she also knew that each and every one of the others would disagree with her plan. They probably had a plan of their own, but Kiira had a plan, the other could say whatever they wanted, she didn't care, and she was certain that this would save them all. She finally reached her goal, a big oak that towered above the surrounding forest like a giant among dwarves. From its top she was certain she'd be able to locate the incoming forces. And as long as they didn't go through the roughest terrain, where they'd be to well covered by trees and bushes, she'd be able to get a few shots in. This was a risk of course, but Kiira deemed it a risk worth taking. After all, she had heard about the Sanctifiers. She had never seen one of them before, but if these were men armoured to the teeth, able to spring the Magi traps without harm, then they sure was what let the enemy move through the forest with such a pace. And she thought that if she could take out even one of the Sanctifiers with her crossbow, it'd be worth at least a few minutes of time for Abel and the rest to prepare whatever trap they had planned back in the camp. Kiira knew that she'd be a sitting duck up in that oak if she was not fast enough. But on the other hand these few minutes could be the difference between life and death, victory and defeat... She stopped and looked down on her shoes, she had just cleaned them and they were already dirtier than they'd ever been. She sighed lightly, she really wasn't the one to care about dirty shoes. But then again, she was the sort of person that often was a victim of irony, perhaps that was why this sort of got to her. She detached the big, if not giant, crossbow from her back and looked up into the branch work of the old oak, then looked over her shoulder quickly to make sure none was trailing her, after which she planned to climb the big tree...
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Post by Zhiel on Oct 3, 2012 21:27:22 GMT -4
-14 days prior- From a far off corner of the Magi encampment the sound of metal hitting metal could be heard, repeatedly and with an almost rhythmic pace. The sound came from a larger 'shack' with a cloth door preventing anyone from looking inside though passerbys shared looks with each others or a few words "Teena is at it again" being fairly common or "what crazy invention has she come up with this time?". At least that's what Teena herself assumed whenever she noticed a shadow move past the cloth door, she herself was too preoccupied to really hear anything outside, the sound of the metal hammer she was wielding in her right hand clanking against a large machine with multiple cogs and pistons sticking out of it. It was a prototype for an automated flintlock reloader, far too big in it's current state to be of practical use even in a defensive location but as far as Teena was concerned, the first step toward progress was making a working example to improve upon. After a quick pause to catch her breath Teena took hold of a lever on the side of the invention and pulled hard, causing all the moving parts of the device to spin and move as intended. "Excellent." She said to herself as she fingered a couple of the cogs to make sure they were still solidly attached after the test. It was still too early to celebrate of course, there was still a lot of work ahead of her to make even this early prototype work fully. Satisfied for the moment Teena hung the hammer up on the wall next to a bunch of other tools both mundane and weird, many of her own design, and then untied the belt that held the half-robe made of thick brown cloth tight around her body before hanging it up next to the tools. Once she had cleaned up inside her workshop she turned off the oil lamp that had provided her with light and walked outside. Finally outside it had already started turning dark and she could feel her stomach rumbling from all the hard work, feeling it was the perfect time for a meal she wiped the sweat from her brow and began to make her way toward the larger building near the encampments center, pulling her headband down as she did so, letting her hair fall down around her head as she usually did when not working. Entering the building she was met with the laughter and racket of the couple dozen men and women that had gotten here earlier than she had and though her presence didn't quite make the place go quiet it did cause a few people to turn their heads to look at her with mixed expressions. This was pretty understandable though, some could not get over her quirks and mannerisms, others seemed to dislike the way she "flaunted" her wealth. Of course most people either recognized her for her skills or at least for the monetary aid she provided the Magi through her family connections. Without really stopping to look around Teena walked straight to a currently empty table near one of the walls that was relatively close to the big one where Abel and the other 'Lord Seniors' would be sitting, most were already assembled but Abel himself and a few others were still missing. After getting her meal she sat silently while eating as her brain started thinking of other inventions she had yet to work on, and she sat like that for nearly an hour when a sudden cheer woke her from her daydreaming. Turning to look she noticed Nyle standing in the opening of the building with something in his hands, and after a bit of exhanging he walked straight up to Abel and laid out what turned out to be an Origin of the Seer, something that caught Teena's interest but for a different reason that most of the others. If it was considered a useless Origin, then perhaps there was a chance they'd let HER study it! Of course this was a faint dream, she's tried to make Abel lend her his Origin but knowing of her habit of taking things apart when studying them he was wise not to risk it with her. Still, they had now taken an Artifact of Origin from the Kingdom. Teena had a bad feeling in her gut about this... -Present- "I bloody knew this would happen, why does no one ever listen to me!?" Teena yelled as she kicked a huge bag full of scrap and other materials into the cart to make it fit better, before she proceeded to bind it and other objects in place on top of it. "I tell them we should relocate the camp, but nooo we're so perfectly safe here, there's no way the Kingdom can find us! Horsecrud!" she kept ranting to everyone and yet no one, the only person that was actually around who could reliably hear all of her ranting was an ordinary early twenties man that was waiting for her to finish loading the cart so he could start moving, and he looked pretty annoyed. It wasn't so much that Teena found running away at the last second a bloody chore, but that due to the suddenness of the attack she did not have enough time to disassemble her larger inventions and so had to leave everything but the non-critical parts. Well, at least she still had her large book filled with all her research and designs, it would just be a matter of re-building it all. Having finished packing all of her necessary things she sent the man away with the rest of the encampment as she went about helping set up runes for Abel to empower. Sure she had novice knowledge when it came to the art of Artificing, but it took far too long for her to empower even simple runes for it to be viable here, at least she could set them up so there would be less work for the old man... All the while muttering to herself about how idiotic all the seniors were. A short while later they were interrupted as one of the Scouts came back and reported the presence of Sanctifiers, just great... Of course, Nyle decided he'd play hero along with a few others including Kiira, the newest Magi to join their flock. Teena shook her head and was about to go back to sketching out runes on the ground when Abel spoke to her "You should go too Teena, I can handle things here.", Teena looked at the old Magi and then sighed, it wasn't that she didn't want to help but that she disliked actual confrontations, especially against an overwhelming foe... "Yes Arch-Magi" she simply responded as she darted off after the rest of the group, catching up fairly quickly despite her seemingly impractical footwear. Teena was dressed in her usual manner, a form of blue mini-cloak hung around her shoulders obscuring much of her chest and upper arms when she wasn't running as she was now, with a white cape with golden yellow fringes and details trailing behind her as she went, her split 'skirt' parting almost entirely from the speed she was running at and her white boots with similar golden yellow details as her cape was quickly getting dirty from the exhertion, however despite them looking far too fancy for this kind of activity they had been made with functionality in mind and so they did not slow her down at all, though cleaning them after all this was over would be a major pain in the ass... Almost right after she had caught up she noticed how Kiira started running faster than everyone else, taking a significant lead and no amount of yelling from the others seemed to make her reconsider. Teena gritted her teeth in frustration as she set off after the newcommer. Sure Nyle would be able to catch up to her fairly quickly, but he was necessary to lead the larger group and as Teena herself had no set function in a situation like this she figured she'd be the best candidate for making sure rash actions like Kiira's didn't get them all killed. Of course she knew Kiira was quite capable of fending for herself and was really good with that crossbow of hers, but she was still new to the whole Guerrilla Magi business, and so she wasn't about to take chances. "I'll make sure she doesn't get herself killed, you continue and we'll join up later!" Teena called out to Nyle and his group as she sped up a bit herself, though she wasn't able to keep the same pace as Kiira. It hadn't taken long for Teena to lose sight of the other girl, but with the general direction she was going in and the layout of the surrounding area there was only one place that would make sense for a sharpshooter such as Kiira to head to, the giant oak tree standing far above the rest of the forest. Panting heavily Teena finally got to the oak tree a few minutes later, however she could see no sign of Kiira right away, however as she looked up the tree she spotted something red disappearing up into the branches. Ok well she had a good plan but without telling anyone it was likely she'd get herself killed, the Kingdom had fought the Magi for a long time now after all, surely they had soldiers specializing in taking down snipers or enemies of a similar variety... For the time being Teena decided she'd hang around the oak in order to watch Kiira's back, it might seem uncharacteristic for her to care so much for another person, but oh she would not be happy with just a 'sorry' from the newcomer after this.
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Post by Darkoda on Oct 5, 2012 14:15:16 GMT -4
Within the Magi encampment an odd yet common sight could be seen a short distance from the tents and shacks. There were multiple mechanical devices surrounding a young man who was intently focusing on the closest device to him, some form of small clock. Chrono took deep breaths, following what he was taught; visualise the effect, picture exactly what is wanted and cast with conviction. Slowly, the clock’s second hand slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop. Still he wasn’t satisfied with what he did, it took too long to get results and the kind of concentration he needed made it impractical in most any situation he would need to use it. Still, at least he knew what to work on now.
“Still, I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get much more to practice on.” Common opinion was that if one needed something mechanical, Teena was the one to see. That said, he needed something fully functional, but his general goal was to make sure that it never worked again, or at least couldn’t be fixed within any small amount of time. It was all well and good when he toyed with small devices, but something larger would likely be a bit difficult; he highly doubted that she’d just let him break her massive creations.
He’d heard the news of Nyle’s safe return and the finding of the Origin of the Seer; with how quickly word spread around the camp, it was near impossible not to. While its usefulness may have been in question it didn’t change the fact that at least one of the Magi’s treasures was back in their hands where it belonged, though with something like this it was almost inevitable that some more Witch Hunters were going to pay them a visit again.
He had to suppress a shudder at that thought, those zealots brought up memories that he’d just as soon forget. It still baffled him how they could call anyone else monsters with how they behaved since they started their genocide crusade. Hopefully it would be as usual and the Hunters would get themselves slaughtered like the bugs they were.
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Of course so soon after relatively good news they had to have some horrible events. Witch Hunters were one thing but an entire Purification? Chrono helped others pack their belongings as everyone moved with a purpose, using the act to attempt to distract him from his steadily worsening thoughts. He’d never thought that he’d ever have to bear witness to a horror like that again, not since what happened at Lumeon. He still had nightmares about that; it was a miracle that he’d even survived that, and another that the few survivors had managed to meet with this group of remnants before they were found by any other zealots.
It didn’t help when news came of Sanctifiers being part of the group, though in hindsight he shouldn’t have been surprised. That didn’t mean he wanted anything to do with the mammoth walking suits of armour, shrugging off all manner or spells and runes while proceeding like the inevitability of death, but these were the people who took him in when he had no one else, the ones who effectively saved his life. He couldn’t do anything twelve cycles ago, but if they needed to slow them down…..
By the time that he’d made up his mind, Nyle and his group were already well ahead but Chrono took off anyway, not allowing himself to second guess his actual usefulness. His dark green clothes would at least help to blend into the trees and plants, his hand absently brushing against the hilt of one of the daggers he kept on him. He was not a head-on fighter, he was the kind of person who would sneak up behind a target and hopefully end things before they began. Good for guerrilla warfare, not so such in an open war. With that in mind he ran faster, short black hair getting caught in branches as he caught sight of the main group and who he was pretty sure was Teena breaking off from them. He wasn’t sure just what she was up to but letting someone run off alone didn’t seem like a wise idea to him.
With a sigh of resignation, he started to run even faster, chasing after her white cloak as it moved through the forest, too focused on getting in as much air as he could to even call out to her. By the time she’d finally come to a stop by that large oak tree he was panting of breath, dark skin flush with sweat. “W-what was…..that all about?” He could only get out one or two words at a time, but now that he was here and it was starting to sink in that they were a bit ahead of the main group and how bad it would be if the army showed up now, he really hoped that Teena had a plan in mind; he didn’t like improvising on the spot even if that had a bad tendency of happening with him.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Oct 7, 2012 15:22:26 GMT -4
Nyle wasn’t just charging off to his death, as soon as he’d seen who was coming he’d begun to make plans, but almost as quickly those plans were coming apart. He was one of the few Magi old enough to have practical battle experience, and one of the even fewer to have gone head-to-head with Kingdom forces. They would be strong, and they would be outnumbered, but moving intelligently and with purpose they could dance around their foe. Unfortunately it would seem that either due to inexperience, or far more likely incredible amounts of stupidity several of their members thought they had a better plan.
It was nothing new, especially nowadays with the Magi community being so fractured. Even before the Purification Wars Magi tended to have overconfidence in themselves, and think they were always the right one. Being able to do things well beyond what a normal person was capable, along with most Magi being well educated left them feeling superior to others. Even after all that had happened many still hadn’t dropped that outlook, Nyle understood this even if he thought it was the upmost foolishness.
He had not been particularly surprised when Kiira had rushed ahead. Her very brief time with them has proven her young, brash, and dumb as a sack of rocks when it came to thinking logically. So when he called out and told her to return, and she ignored, it wasn’t of particular concern. He didn’t like it when any Magi died, but he could not be responsible for ever individual in the camp, particularly when they insisted on being blockheaded imbeciles.
However, he was taken aback when the supposedly intelligent Teena went rushing off after her. By the time he’d taken notice she’d already put distance between them and darted off into the forest. Nyle almost openly balked, when he’d seen she was coming she’d become an intrinsic part of his plan, and then apparently the nitwit bug had happened along and started biting them all. He’d not even seen Chrono rush off after them he’d been so focused on her, but when he saw another Magi break after the three he spun around and caught them by the wrist and pulled them roughly up front.
Turning to look at those remaining behind him with a furious face, “If one more person goes rushing off in the direction of where the damn gulch empties out I will just kill you myself and save the Kingdom the time and manpower. Now follow me, we’re headed to the ledge around the opening to the Valley. If we can block the pass we can slow down their forces, then deal with anyone if some have made it through already.”
He watched until he was certain that nobody else were going to turn into complete and utter morons that nobody should ever have love for and then he began heading off toward his original destination. Which was nowhere close to a certain buffoon infested tree.
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Of course this little show had done nothing for their efficiency of getting there on time. While Nyle and the others headed for the ridge to the east of Idiot Oak (a name it would carry for thousands of years to come) some of the advance forces had already broken through into the forest beyond the valley. This forested stood between their army and the camp, and would likely act as a mustering area once they pushed through in force. For now that meant only a couple recon groups had moved into the surroundings.
Amongst them one group of five lightly armored soldiers were now coming into the area where the three dunderheaded simpletons, two of whom decided chasing a random girl instead of following the orders of the battle-literate leader was a good idea, were now stationed. Being recon they were not simply waltzing through the forest, and the trio would not have noticed them approach (especially since they apparently have the intelligence of a common snail combined).
The only warning that they were present was when the leader gave the order to charge, and a man with his sword drawn came charging out of the brush with a battle yell straight for Teena, followed shortly by the rest of his squad.
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wavve
Gutterspawn
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Post by wavve on Oct 7, 2012 18:28:46 GMT -4
Kiira was climbing as fast as she could, trying to reach the perfect branch almost at the top of the giant oak. It had a great clear view over the forest valley to the east. She knew this because she had been coming here a few times before. She'd been sneaking away on occasion. And she had done so because she felt she needed some time alone, or rather because she had a feeling that she was supposed needing time alone. Kiira who was so used being on her own had grown to like many of the Magi she had met at the camp. In fact, she had found herself cheerfully laughing at jokes in their company without being drunk to boot, which was something that scared the hell out of her, and that she carefully avoided thereafter. Now however, she was hardly laughing. And she didn't have a single thought of alcohol for that matter. What she was thinking of was how she had to reach that branch. But she had come only a handful metres up in the tree when she heard someone dashing around below her. She halted her climb and looked down while listening closely, trying to find out whoever had followed her here. It was Teena Hartgold, a woman that was nothing like any other person Kiira had ever met. The first time they met Kiira had decided that she didn't like Teena because of her wealthy heritage. This didn't stop her from respecting Teenas work as an inventor however, as it reminded Kiira much of the work her uncle was involved in back in the day. Kiira had even let Teena have a look at her extraordinary crossbow to fix some minor issues with the trigger mechanism, something that was not part of anything that could be labelled as ordinary. But when Teena had asked to take it apart in order to improve it she had crossed the line. There is only so much respect for someone's profession can do anyway. Soon after Teena had arrived at the oak, and before Kiira had been able to decide whether or not she was going to speak to Teena or not, Chrono arrived. Chrono was one of the people that, for reasons she really didn't know, Kiira had decided that she liked, or at least somewhat respected. Kiira was a bit confused with seeing Chrono there as he wasn't part of the group she herself ran with before she took of in another direction. “W-what was…..that all about?” Chrono had asked, clearly tired from running both long and fast. But before anyone could answer someone called out;“Charge! Vanquish the ruiners!”. The call was followed by the sound of a crossbow bolt flying through the air and the grunting groan of a Kingdom scout falling dead to the ground with Kiira's bolt deep in his chest. The five Recon Troops had appeared from the shadows beneath the trees without any warning, and they were already getting close to the Teena, Chrono and Kiira before anyone spotted them. But Kiira had been fast to react, and as always her accuracy served her well. Anyone who paid attention would've felt a gust of wind following the bolt as it was shot. But in such a situation it was nothing that directly came to anyone's mind. Gusts of wind aside, Kiiras position was compromised. Kiira's Crossbow was easy and quick to reload - for a crossbow of that size. But even with that in consideration there was no time, especially not in a place like this! So, as Teena and Chrono engaged two of the charging enemies, Kiira tried to make her way down the tree. She noticed that two of the Kingdom Scouts had slowed down and readied bows and arrows, not aiming at Teena or Chrono, but at her. A moment later she felt like as if time froze as one of their arrows hit and got stuck in the tree's trunk not more than a decimetre from her head. Another arrow was fired, and in a desperate attempt to dodge it, Kiira let go of anything she held on to and jumped – or more like fell. She crashed through branches and twigs before she landed flat to the ground with a slam...
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Post by kensei on Oct 10, 2012 4:33:16 GMT -4
(Rushed it and am rather tired. But like i said in the Cbox real life has been a hell of a bitch the last week or so and will continue to be so until well into next week at the very least. So i wanted to get you guys something while I could. Hopefully ill have another post up in a timely fashion, but don't stall out the entire thread waiting on me if you don't hear for me for some time after monday.)
Lefey Rivven Tregger the Third, that was the shortened version of his incredibly long name... A mouthful perhaps, well, actually there isn’t much arguing the way it crams into the mouth. It takes a while to say, and most people including El, Fey, Riv, or Treg, as he is sometimes known and referred to as, simply shorten his name because of it. However, it was a name that he in some odd way lived up to. As much as it was a mouthful to say, Lefey was a bit of a handful to deal with at times. He has always been the kind of guy to be there to help you even when you might not need it, or try and make you laugh when you really don’t feel like it.
Its because of that nature of his to go the extra mile and jot up a rather impressive list of “you owe me ones” that he had become part of the group of Magi that stayed behind to prepare the camp for onslaught of the purification army that was marching there way. It might have annoyed a few people the way he was still smiling, and laughing to himself about the different memories he had, had in the different areas of the camp. But by now, everyone who lived here knew there was no stopping it. He would keep on being the optimist.
He grunted as he picked up a heavy crate of weapons and put it onto a man’s wagon for him before patting him on the back and telling him to get on his way. He sighed as he looked around the camp, moving his hand through the pitch black mane he called his hair. He whipped the sweat from his exposed brow as he had pulled his hair back into a pony tail that reached down to his mid back.
He walked slowly over to Old man Able, his evergreen eyes peering over his shoulders as he watched him scribble into the ground. He had always been fascinated with ruin scribing, however it had become quite apparent that he showed absolutely no talent in the department despite the months he dedicated to trying to learn it. He unconsciously stroked his smooth, virtually hairless chin. As despite being in his earlier twenties, Rivven had yet to grow any real amounts of facial hair. Some wondered if that’s why he had chosen to grow his hair out longer then most women, but no one had ever really asked about it either.
Treg lacked a lot of the agency that the rest of the camp had been busy setting about all of there work in. Even despite the thread of imminent death he just didn’t feel threatened. Perhaps it was overconfidence in his own abilities, or simply the fact that he had only seen the smallest parts of the war before his parents fled with him to the Magi when he was but a small child, but all of it had yet to truly sink into him. But it was while he peered over the Arch-Magi’s shoulder that he was struck upside the head by his far stricter father.
“You are here not to watch but to help! Me and your mother are about to leave with the last of the evacuees! Now go make sure everyone is ready to go.. And son.. Be careful..” His father spoke with all the seriousness the situation called for. He was Jean-Vahre the Fourth, who not only was the one that cursed El with his incredibly long name and dozens of shorthand’s, but also one of the Lord Seniors, and was one of the most gifted Life Magi that the people currently had, it was for that reason alone that he simply could not stay behind as the youthful looking fifty year old had a hell of a fighting spirit in him.
Sighing as his father walked off Rivven straightened up the brown long coat he was wearing and set off to help those in the camp for the next twenty or so minutes until finally word had come from the scouts.
All of the remaining Magi had been fairly close together when Neith had bolted into the midst of them. A scowl crossed his expression as he heard the news. Though he had never been witnessed to sanctifiers before, he had heard stories of them, and the very thought of such suicidal and blind loyalty sickened him. As he prided himself on being a free thinker.
He sighed, as he dwelled on the idea of being so blind, that he only barely caught what Nyle had said. Shrugging his shoulders Rivven tapped the hilt of the long sword that he had on his hip before pulling off the cumbersome coat and tossing it to Neith. “Yolo. He said as pulled out the flute he kept in the satchel strapped on his lower back that housed a hand full of small supplies, moving out with Nyle and the rest of the group.
Though young he had always grown up in the Magi culture, and he had learned there way of fighting, he was a fairly skilled swordsman, and even knew how to control his own powers to a fair degree given his life long training for the most part. Maybe it was because of this that he knew to follow Nyle’s orders, even after one after another of the small band of comrades dashed away from the group.
He stopped in his tracks as Nyle turned towards the group, as perplexed as Rivven, and far more frustrated. Gulping slightly as he wasn’t use to seeing Nyle this chadded he nodded his head before taking a step towards where the army was coming from before looking over to Nyle with a sly smile. “We wanna slow them down right. Even if only a few seconds longer right?” He inhaled deeply as he focused the magic through his lungs, before opening his mouth as what could only be described as monstrous roar echoed throughout entire forest. As he continued it sounded as if whole trees where being ripped out of the ground and snapped in half, and with one more inhale, he finished with another roar that could only be described as equaling a elephant sized lion that was fighting for its life.
He started to breathe in and out slowly as he caught his breath. “That should give em something to think about as they walk into a Magi forest, covered in the magical traps, and mystical evils of our people..” Though it would do little to stop the true zealots such as the Sanctifiers, those with less heart for the cause would no doubt fear whatever it was that had made that sound. Some may stop, others may slow, but it would take minutes if not years of silence for the fear to completely vanish from the forest.
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Post by Zhiel on Oct 11, 2012 15:42:44 GMT -4
Teena was just about to scout the area when she heard the rustling of foliage and the sound of running feet approaching from behind her, and as she turned around to look she saw Chrono had followed her and now stood panting, asking her a question between his heavy breathing. Teena herself stood there with a face that hinted of shocked surprise and anger, an odd combination but in this kind of situation it was probably quite fitting. Teena took a deep breath and then sighed, and having calmed down considerably she addressed Chrono whom she must have missed being part of the group in her rush. "I followed the newcomer, Kiira I think, after she ran from the group. And I BELIEVE I told Neil I would handle this myself, so why are you here?!" There was always the chance he had been catching up to the group as well and missed her yelling to Nyle, whose name she always seemed to remember wrong, but she wasn't about to just let Chrono off the hook. She was an experienced (well, in her opinion) member of the Magi, if she had decided or been ordered to do something on her own it should be expected that she could handle it!
Not really intending to let him answer for himself Teena was about to continue her bitch crusade when she suddenly heard noise from behind her and then a loud battle-cry. With a sudden panic rising in her chest Teena whirled around to spot five, no wait it was four now, scouts enter the clearing around the large oak, two with swords drawn and charging at them and two others were pulling arrows out of their quivers though their attention seemed to be on the woman in the tree at the moment. Seeing she didn't have much of a window to act Teena chanted a few quick words as she pulled three oddly shaped double-blades from beneath her split 'skirt' and threw them in the direction of the man charging straight at her, though only a single one stayed true to the target but it had been a clumsy throw and he was able to deflect it with his sword, at which point it flew up in the air as he continued forward and raised his sword once again.
Teena took a few quick steps backwards and grabbed hold of the hilt of the long dagger hanging in a belt on the backside of her waist, pulling it out just in time to block the attack of the soldier who rather than pulling back pushed his advantage, he knew he was stronger than her and took advantage of it. However before he could bring her off balance Teena yelled another set of words "Domina Magnes Arcuo!" as she pulled her free hand back toward herself and the blade that had been falling toward the earth begun to spin once more as it suddenly flew straight at the exposed neck of the scout, piercing his spine and killing him instantly. Similarly the blades that had missed the original target had flown toward the Archers, though they had missed one had at least been distracted by them, but now they too came flying from the tall grass where they had landed. The Archers had caught on to the trick after seeing their friend get killed however and though one got a cut on his arm they both avoided fatal injuries.
It was at this time that Teena noticed that Kiira had fallen out of the tree and was laying at it's base nearly out of sight from her own position. Fearing the newcomer had been hit earlier she sheathed her dagger as she began to direct the flying daggers as they began to fly in sweeping arcs around the two Archers, trying to prevent them from taking aim with their bows more than actually killing them. Still concentrating on this task she left the third guy to Chrono to deal with, as she began to walk toward Kiira's position while still maintaining the distraction of the flying blades while she let the bloodied blade that had pierced the second soldier-to-go's neck floating lazily slightly in front of her. Having reached Kiira's position she could see right away that the girl was still alive and though she could have a broken arrow in her stomach or something there seemed to be no evidence of anything such yet so she remained hopeful. "Girl, if you're still alive I suggest you get up and help because we're not gonna last much longer once reinforcements show up!" Just as she said this an arrow whizzed past her ear taking a few strands of hair with it, however though it had scared Teena she was calm enough in mind to react to it and was able to send one of the blades to cut the bow just over the grip forcing the Scout to go for his sword instead while the other Archer tried to get more room by backing into the cover of some trees where the blades were given less room.
Observing the situation they found themselves in Teena's relatively keen mind was formulating a plan from the current situation. Assuming Nyle was as quick with his own task as she hoped this could work to their advantage.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Oct 12, 2012 1:02:40 GMT -4
Nyle bolted through the forest, aiming to reach one of several trails he knew would take them to the ridge overlooking the gulley. The forest had not simply been wired with magical traps, the area had been chosen for its geographical superiority as well, and Nyle knew the entire area around the camp like a map. They had long known that if a superior force was to come after them it would be from the rocky North. The Eastern Forest was easier to traverse, but it required several days of circling the high plateaus and jagged rocks that permeated the area, and moving such a large force around them would require more time and supplies than anyone would be willing to sacrifice.
No, if they were ever forced to endure a full attack their assaulter would strike right through the heart of the crags, and of course look for the easiest way to do so, that would be the valley. Knowing this the Magi Camp had been placed not far from it with the idea that if they needed to respond, like at the moment, they could do so quickly. They’d prepared the ridges around the valley long ago, and it was not simply rigged traps that were for protection. Many rocks had been chipped at, and broken apart, so that they could cause a landslide into the valley with a little application of force. It wouldn’t stop them for long, particularly if they had a Steam Engine as the intel suggested, but it would give Abel what time he needed.
As they reached a sheer cliff-face roughly a hundred meters from the valley opening and likely just outside of the army’s vision, Nyle heard sounds from further off in the forest. Not everyone would have recognized the sounds of a scuffle as the forests many ambient noises made them little more than a whisper, but they were there. Nyle rationalized that the army had already sent scouts into the forest as would be proper military doctrine, and they had run into the three that had broken off. He grimaced momentarily but they had chosen to not follow, right now the Magi that had remained in the camp were a militia, not civilians, and the mission would thus take priority in this case.
Nyle turned around and silently highlighted a trail up the cliff with his finger. To the lacking observer it probably appeared just as steep as any other part, but if they paid attention they’d notice that many small cuts into the rockside both natural and magi-made created a purchasable hold up its length. Nyle took point and began his ascent upwards; he was in naturally good shape and did not require magic for something so trivial as he moved from point-to-point, reaching the top in a half-minute. Some of his followers were shortly behind, others took their sweet time, either way Nyle hung low and suggested anyone who had made it up should do the same as he slowly edged to the side of the cliff.
What he saw there only reconfirmed the reports, though it was hard to fathom. Any trees in the valley had been felled to make way for the force now waiting there, and it stood a hundred men side-to-side, and as far back along the valley as could be seen before it took a turn a ways down. Nyle quickly made out the colors and banners of several local City-states, but what was concerning was when he saw the colors of Remal. There weren’t many of them but in front of every group of a hundred men or more stood an ornate warrior in the Remal colors of yellow, gold, and gray. They weren’t hard to make-out whereas most of the soldiers looked like the usual draft fodder, most clothed in only the roughest of armors; Remals own were in heavy metal, with ornate designs, and colors that practically glowed. It wasn’t unusual for men born-and-raised in Remal to be outsourced to surrounding armies as leaders, but to see so many was concerning.
Nyle saw no realistic way they could have formed this force since the day he took the Eye. Even during the height of the warring years it would have taken them much longer to pinpoint them, get a substantial force together, and march it to where it needed to be. He swore it was almost as if it had just been waiting to come for them, like their actions had been predicted and prepared for. He didn’t know how that was possible, as it would take an incredible amount or resources, but in the end he decided to strike it from his mind. However it had happened it was now the situation they faced, and thinking could come later, actions needed to come right now.
Reassessing he saw that a lance of junior-hands had been assembled directly below them. They were likely waiting for two things, the recon patrols to call back that the way was clear. The second was the many Surveyanum men clad in the orders golden colored robes, clearing the way before them of several mangled piles of copper colored metal; what had once been Sanctifiers, those that had stepped into one trap to many. This would take a minute or so more, giving Nyle the time he needed though speed was still of the essence.
Turning and getting close to the group who was now fully assembled behind him he was followed by Leith, and Millin two Destruction Magi. Then there was Rivven, and a few others who had various special manipulations; it was just barely enough, but they would manage.
Speaking almost without voice he explained, “Leith, Millin; you wait on this side for my signal,” he indicated the obviously dislodged rock face that stood near them, “At that point you blast away and stay clear.”
He pointed across the chasm to the other cliff-face, there a large number of rocks were laid along its length. A much larger boulder lay above them and it was clear that were it to roll down it would bring most of the smaller rocks with it.
“Rivven, I’ll be taking you over there. Use your magics to vibrate the air, or whatever else you might dream up. One way or another we’re going to push that large boulder over, that will cause the rest to fall. It won’t be a perfect blockage, but it will buy us time. Once you’ve accomplished your task head back into the forest, we’ll meet back at the exact center-point of the gorge a hundred meters out. And be careful I suspect a few recon troops have already moved into the surroundings brush.”
Having explained himself he looked up and asked, “Understood?”
Upon getting affirmatives he stood up slightly and began turning his view from the gorge, to Rivven, and then back to the gorge again. He’d purposefully not told Rivven HOW they were getting across because he doubted the boy would be too keen on it, hell Nyle himself wasn’t. He’d made some pretty mean jumps in his day, but never while carrying another person, and usually with less eyes to spot him. He was trying to do the math of the distance, plus his and Rivvens weight and of course the height and wind. Eventually he realized he could think about it all day, but in the end there was only one way to find out, plus it was their only option in the rapidly escalating scenario and too much time spent on calculations would render this method unusable.
So tossing caution to the wind he turned around and held his hand out to Rivven, “Get on my back.”
He figured the boy wouldn’t just acquiesce but he also wasn’t taking no for an answer, and at some point soon he’d forced him to get up piggy-back style. Nyle moved several meters from the drop and took deep breaths as he set his sights on the far side. Steadying his muscles he finally ushered the words and his body went rigid and powerful with the Magic of Nature. He hit a stride far faster than any normal human and was at the cliff-edge in an instant, planting his right leg hard into the ground and pushing off as to hurtle into the air. Once there one could only pray as it was all up to the momentum and trajectory with which he had launched now, no changes could be made mid-air.
Flying high above the troops below they passed in rapid succession, but that didn’t stop them from being spotted, as the sight of two men hurtling through the air was hardly subtle. There were many calls of “Witch!” and “ready archers!” but Nyle paid them no mind, he was focused on landing. They managed to clear the majority of the gap, but weren’t completely to the other side as Nyle landed hard on the incline upward just below the flatter top surface. As he hit the ground his momentum wanted to keep him going forward, but gravity wanted to pull him back, all the while his knees felt like he’d practically broken them with the weight of both men. Yet he had no time to complain as they began to fall backward, he forced his legs to find purchase in the ground and threw his upper body to the ground. Just in time to as several arrows from the forces below went sailing over them, just where their heads had been. Grabbing on to the rocks Nyle pulled them upward, some rocks giving out and rolling down under his pressure, others staying firm, until he finally pulled them up as more arrows joined in, along with more shouts of warning.
Rolling on to the top he released Rivven to the ground below, and for the moment the large boulder that was their target served as cover from fire. Nyle rolled to his feet and raised his fingers to his lips letting out a long, loud whistle to serve as his sign, and a moment later the bangs and pops of explosion magic could be heard from the other side. Only moments had passed and Rivven was still collecting himself on the ground but they had no time, Nyle yelled out, “Rivven! With me!”
Every muscle in his body told him not to, Nature magic was for slight increases in the bodies abilities, not what he had just done and he would feel it for days to come. But right now there was a lot more riding on them than sore muscles as Nyle once again conjured his magics to him and slammed into the boulder, which very slowly began to give. Eventually Rivven joined in and sped the process up, and a few seconds later the boulder went over, almost at the same time their group had released the cliff-face on the other side. A mighty torrent of rock slid down congesting the path, and crushing anyone unlucky enough to have still been there when it began.
As the scene cleared and Nyle caught his breath it was evident they’d managed to fully block the chasm. It could be cleared for traffic in short order, especially with machines, but it would buy them the minutes they needed. From below there were cries of pain, others calling for order, and so forth; and Nyle was about to tune it out until one voice called out that was clearly aimed at them.
“You’re only delaying your inevitable death Witch! You will burn in cleansing fire; your sins will be washed away!”
Nyle couldn’t see who spoke, but he suspected it was one of the Remal-caste or the Surveyanum. He considered not saying anything but then thought he might prod them into more effectively springing their trap, and so mustering a booming voice he yelled back out, “Actually, I thought I was delaying yours! Now if you’ll excuse me it seems a few pests made it into my garden, you’ll have my attention after them.”
A smug grin played across his face, whether he was simply getting into character, or there was some part of this he was enjoying, it was hard to say for an outsider. However he quickly dropped back to his natural state and turned his back to the valley behind and ran to the incline that lead back into the forest. Before he began sliding down it he turned his head to Rivven, “Good job, let’s go,” and then he was gone, sliding down the almost vertical surface back to the forest floor below.
Behind the same voice could be heard yelling, “Go ahead Ruiner! Do what you wish! Because no matter what you do the long arm of justice has come for you today! The Holy City of Remal and the Glorious Surveyanum has come calling! None shall escape, all shall be burned, this heretical taint upon our lands shall be lit ablaze with glory, and stricken from the history books forevermore.”
Nyle certainly hoped he was putting on a speech for his own peoples benefit at this point, because he definitely wasn’t listening.
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Post by Darkoda on Oct 27, 2012 14:06:43 GMT -4
Well now, he didn’t expect the reason for her charging off to be something like that. Chasing after Kiira to bring her back was one thing, but well he already knew that this situation was quite bad and that they’d likely all be in big trouble later on. Right now, it would be best to return to the camp and act as guards to make sure that he could complete his spell, though that would need Teena to calm down a bit first. He was going to just tune her out until she finally stopped but the advent of the scouts quickly changed his priorities.
He didn’t have much time to react with one of those scouts already on him, he’d hastily reached for his short swords, raising one up with a muttered spell to meet the sword of the soldier already on him. As soon as their blades clashed the man took advantage of Chrono’s bad footing, pushing and trying to shove him off-balance, but that only lasted a moment before he dropped his blade with a scream of pain, clutching his sword arm.
This wasn’t an opportunity Chrono was going to pass up – his other hand swung true, slashing open the man’s throat and bringing the fight to an end. Fortunately, during this time Teena had kept everyone else busy with her floating blades and had already headed off to check on Kiira after her fall. It looked like she was fine, but there were still two soldiers left and more were likely on their way.
Right now though, that other archer was looking to fire again. Chrono reached into his jacket and removed two of his ice knives, taking care to throw true for the only one who still had a working bow. While the scout had learned well enough from Teena to be wary of flying objects, his backing into the trees for shielding also made it harder for him to move. Granted, Chrono still didn’t get a proper hit with his knives, but one of them landed right by the archer’s foot, which was good enough for his purposes.
He pointed in the direction of his fallen weapon, muttering another series of words under his breath and in response, the area a few feet around the dagger became coated in a layer of ice, which also included the boot that the archer had on the ground. In this case, his experience with Teena came in useful; he immediately tried to get away from the dagger, likely envisioning an ice spear of some sorts skewering him, which made him an easier target for the next dagger, which embedded itself firmly in his shoulder.
Freezing the ground wouldn’t accomplish much more than making it harder to move around without slipping. Freezing the insides of someone’s body on the other hand was far more effective. Chrono highly doubted that the archer would ever regain use of that arm with the pale blue colour it was starting to turn, and from how he was clutching his side, Chrono reasoned that he’d gotten close enough to at least affect something important. He might not die, but he was effectively disabled now.
The remaining scout was now being far more wary, unwilling to come closer and now flicking his eyes between both Chrono and Teena. This was likely as good a chance as they would get to leave, to at least find a better spot to observe and try to hold back whoever got past Nyle’s trap – even if they died, they were supposed to provide as much time as possible for the others.
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wavve
Gutterspawn
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Post by wavve on Oct 28, 2012 13:33:42 GMT -4
Upon impact with the dirty ground below the big oak, Kiira suffered from a quick loss of consciousness and a terrible loss of breath. To her, everything appeared dark, and she couldn't breathe or move. She felt as if trapped underneath the ice of a roaring river. But in the darkness she could hear a voice, someone was calling her name. It was Teena. Suddenly Kiira felt the ice breaking above her, she was cast up from the cold darkness below into the open air above. Kiira's eyes flew wide open and she let out a gasp for air. The first sight that met her eyes was the face of, a seemingly calm, Teena that asked her if she was alive, and told her to get the hell up from the ground. In a clearly disoriented manner, yet impressively quickly, Kiira got back up on her feet. She had been lucky, aside from some bruises, nosebleed and an aching head she seemed to be unharmed despite the high fall. As she got up she had noticed her crossbow lying on the ground, she quickly put her right foot under it and nimbly kicked into the air, while her left hand, in a split second, had drawn a bolt from the quiver attached to her belt. The crossbow fell into her hands and the bolt entered the loading-mechanism on the bows underside. It all went perfectly smooth, just as always. The fact that Kiira had perfected this move mainly witnessed of two things; first, that she had great control of her body and coordination, and second, that she often got into situations like this, when she had to pick her crossbow up in a quick manner. As Kiira, with a expression on her face that truly said she had to strain herself, reloaded her crossbow by turning a small lever-like metal pin, Chrono had put a throwing knife in one of the scouts who fell onto the ground with his arm frozen solid. Thereafter the sole scout that now remained was about to turn is back on them and run, perhaps to get reinforcements. But he didn't get very far. In the moment he had turned around he saw something metallic flash in front of his eyes, after which he could feel a incredible pain, as something sharp had pierced his one eye, rendering him into a panicked state. It was one Teena's blades that had hit is eye after he'd forgotten about them in his attempt to escape. The scout that had now fallen to his knees due to the pain and panic, finally managed to get the blade out of his eye, upon which he throw it to his side. He looked up, half his face covered with blood that poured from his left eye socket. His face expressed pain, but was soon to express fear, more so than anything else. The man had realised he was in a situation where he was completely in the hands of the enemy. He didn't reach for his sword, all he did was begging for mercy. “I-I... I surrender!” he managed to say in a stuttering manner as he looked upon Kiira who had stepped up to him. A kick from Kiiras side sent the scout's sword flying out of his hands. Kneeling down in front of the man Kiira put the bayonet to the man's chest. “One word to stop me. Make me change mind with one word... Remal dog.” Kiira said with her, otherwise not so heavy, North-Eastern accent. “I'm not from Remal I'm-” said the scout, before he was interrupted by Kiiras bayonet pierced deep into his chest. His eyes met with Kiira's in the moment just before the last drop of life left the vessel that was his body. “One word, I said...” Kiira whispered to herself before releasing the bayonet from the man's chest. Kiira didn't realise what had just happened before it was already over. Killing had been a necessary part of surviving, that was not what was troubling her. It was rather how she'd carried it out. It was nothing like her to play this role of a cold-blooded executioner. Even her accent proved she wasn't herself at this point. No, she was acting like her uncle, she had replayed a memory in her mind, and acted just like her uncle had done several years ago. This had happened a few times before, and it scared the living hell out of her. Because she sure as hell didn't see herself as a cold-blooded killer, she didn't enjoy this, she hated herself each time it happened. Right now, she felt as if she was at war, not only with the Kingdom soldiers moving in on their position, but also with her own mind. However, Kiira wouldn't be allowed to dwell in memories and her mind for too long. Soon the three Magi could hear voices and footsteps coming closer to them. She tried to pull herself together and stood up. “Where to?!” Kiira said with a weak voice, tears in her eyes and a bleeding nose as she turned to Chrono and Teena. (Also, make sure to ask me if you want illustrations for your post,s because I'd love to do them And Rivven needs to be illustrated! Gimme a more detailed descripton via a pm! )
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Post by Zhiel on Nov 1, 2012 22:27:33 GMT -4
OOC: Bit rushed, but wanted to get it out before I had to go sleep. If anything is too hard to understand or just shit say so and I'll try and fix it.
Other than the surprise attack by the scouts this had been a pretty ideal battle for Teena's abilities. Her blades would not have been nearly as effective against someone with actual plate armour or even chainmail, but would instead require more precise angles of attack. To these lightly armoured and armed soldiers she was a major threat which was what let her keep them occupied until Chrono could deal with the last real threat. The man was lucky, he'd likely survive even if he'd probably lose the arm, still it was better than his life and speaking of life Teena noticed how Kiira had woken up by this point and had picked up her crossbow and while disoriented seemed ready to go.
However as she got distracted by Kiira she didn't have time to adjust the course of one of her blades when the final scout turned tail and fled straight up, running right into the path of one of them as it pierced his left eye. Teena furrowed her brows and muttered something about not intending that to happen, and before she knew it Kiira was standing over the man who was clearly out of the picture and executed him in cold blood. Teena was shocked to say the least, sure she didn't mind killing heck sometimes she got enjoyment out of killing the dogs of Remal, but it was always out of a case of necessity. Had she not had such strong mental discipline her blades would probably have gone flying in all manner of directions after that particular scene, but luckily that did not happen, instead she moved her hands and muttered a few words stopping their spinning and bringing them into her open palm where they fell down nice and quietly.
She was about to remark about how unnecessarily brutal Kiira had been when she heard the sound of movement deeper in the forest as Kiira turned to her and Chrono with tears in her eyes and asking where they should go... She got the feeling the tears wasn't because of the relatively minor injuries the odd girl had sustained... Either way this was no time for reminiscing or analyzing the situation and so she pointed her left hand back toward the forest the opposite way of the incoming soldiers as she pulled out her flintlock pistol with her right and aimed it down the trees, shooting the moment she caught sight of a scout who had been slightly ahead of the others. The shot rang out clear across most of the forest, it serving as both bait for the other scout parties and a signal for Nyle (Though she wasn't sure if he'd get the meaning behind it) all the while appearing like a simple attempt to kill the attackers, of which it seemed to accomplish as the man fell over with a painful gasp as the bullet pierced his chest.
Right after the sound of the shot had disappeared she yelled out, loud enough for the scouts that were breaking through the foliage now to hear. "GO! Return to the Encampment!" And as she did so she herself began to run at full sprint, hoping that the other two were smart enough to follow her, as it soon became obvious to them she was moving an entirely different direction. Her plan was quite simple really but sometimes simple was for the best, she'd draw the scouts attention to them and so keep them from harassing Abel and as such gather them together for an ambush once Nyle was finished with his own business. At least that's how she hoped it would work out. Worried that the scouts might run after them a little too fast for comfort she threw the blades out behind them, saying the same words once again to make them susceptible to her magnetism magic as she had them make passes through the group of scouts behind them ever time she looked over her shoulder, otherwise concentrating on running through the undergrowth. "Girl, if you can fire a few suppressive shots to keep them from closing in on us too fast. Chrono, before we pass by that stone formation send a signal, I don't care how!" she said out loud, but not really yelling this time, as she pointed at several large mossy rocks that were jutting out the side of a large hill further down the forest on their right.
If memory served the other end had a clearing with several higher points, ideal for an ambush.
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Post by GoldenKitten on Nov 2, 2012 14:40:43 GMT -4
As they’d entered the forest once more Nyle headed straight for where he’d told the others to meet them. The area wasn’t large enough to miss one another so as long as they went to roughly the same place they could find one-another, or at least he could find them. Predictably they seemed to be the first to arrive, having less people and a more gradient slide into the small triangular area greatly speeding them up. This being the case Nyle used his hand to “corral” Rivven to the side where he had them crouch low behind a tree, he was not fool enough to stand around waiting in the open, even a novice like Rivven could stay hidden if he was stationary in the thick forest.
This paid off as not a dozen seconds later he heard a set of footsteps rushing through the underbrush and fallen leaves. He signaled to Rivven to stay put and then fluidly snaked his upper body around the tree just enough to see what lay around it. Three soldiers in scouts’ armor were rushing to the Southeast, making an elongated circle pattern, or at least Nyle recognized this as a tracker though to most eyes they would just be running.
One yelled out, “Quickly! We need to get behind them!”
Nyle ascertained the meaning, it could only suggest that the three that had run off before were surviving, and that they had been or were still in combat. Unfortunately if they were fighting that meant they were drawing attention, and other soldiers like these were already planning to move on them. While Nyle had no pity for the situation they’d got themselves in, he’d also not leave them to their fate. At the end of the day all the Magi had was their loyalty to each other, something it appeared those three had to learn, but semantics were for another time.
As the soldiers rushed past, Nyle heard footsteps from the other direction, and he came to the conclusion that his followers from the adjacent cliff were about to appear. This lead to the obvious conclusion that they were going to run straight into the soldiers, and while the other group of six Magi outnumbered them two-to-one they could still lose someone in the surprise.
Cursing under his breath Nyle turned to Rivven, he had no time to give a detailed set of orders as they’d be moving past the tree they were behind in split-seconds. He held up three fingers to indicate the number of men, “I’ll go for the furthest away, you go for the closest. Move!”
He reached behind him and grasped the tree, pulling himself up rapidly and throwing himself around it. The three soldiers hadn’t heard them and he found himself staring squarely at their backs as they ran off. Nyle instinctively rushed after them; and even if they heard him it was far too late as he took several steps, drew his sword as he jumped into the air, and came crashing down on the furthest man. His blade plunged decisively into the man’s neck which was protected by little but thick cloth and the soldier went crumpling to the ground, instantly dead, before his fellows even had time to turn. Nyle looked up and saw that as he thought the other group of Magi lead by Leith had just appeared not a dozen meters away, and Leith himself had come to a sliding stop in surprise.
Nyle had no time to pry his first sword loose from the flesh before the central man turned on him and instead went to draw the sword on his back, though he knew he would not be able to make a killing blow in time, and so was no being put on the defensive. By this point the central soldier had turned on him, and had already had his sword ready. The good part about this was that having made the first sound he had turned to Nyle instead of Rivven, giving the junior member a better chance of dispatching the third soldier.
He was an experienced warrior and swordsmen but he was still at a disadvantage as he unsheathed his sword wildly, trying to prepare it even as the central soldier brought a blow down on him. His eyes caught the bare blink of an eye that was the deciding point between life and death, and finally their blades met. Having been standing and already had his blade ready the soldier had significantly more strength in his blow, but Nyle managed to ride it out, though only enough to keep the strike from connecting as he would not get a chance to counter-attack.
But it would be enough, as Nyle didn’t plan to strike. Instead as their blades ground against one-another until they broke off Nyle gathered strength in his legs and pushed backwards, throwing himself away in a disordered fashion. It would have been suicide in a normal fight as it was a seemingly amateurish move that would have left him prone and very vulnerable, but it bought the distance needed as he yelled out, “Leith! Now!”
He wasn’t the only experienced Magi and it showed, as there was barely a pause between his action and the popping explosion that followed. Whether he’d merely followed the flow, or had predicted what Nyle was going to do the Destruction Magi had immediately tossed a ball of force that hit the third soldier as soon as Nyle was clear. The man’s body bent sickeningly at his waist in an unnatural fashion as his eyes went wide with surprise, and then in an instant he was gone, being tossed across the forest like a spinning rag-doll in a way no human body could survive. He finally slammed into a tree several meters away with a loud thump that sealed his fate if it hadn’t been already, being powerful enough to shake the tree itself.
Nyle raised his eyes toward Rivven, but was pleased to see the boy had managed to dispatch the third soldier in his own way. Detecting that they were in the clear for the moment Nyle rose to his feet and spoke aloud, “Is everyone alright?”
As he received affirmatives the group began to gather around him but he held his hand up stopping them in their tracks. He lowered himself toward the ground and spoke magic words, as his hearing became even more enhanced than normal. He listened for the sounds of footsteps or fighting, as he expected if the three others were still alive, they would be on the move. Nyle knew they needed to hurry as they could easily be outnumbered if the three soldiers they’d just fought were only a single lance of the recon force.
Since he was listening for subtle sounds he was readily startled and half-deafened when the concussive boom of a pistol echoed out through the forest. He reeled back from the ground and cupped a hand over his left ear as it throbbed, at the same time trying to focus on its location. Whether it had been a signal or they’d simply been fighting it was still a sign that at least one of them, probably Teena, was alive. Even so it took him several moments to decipher its general direction, the sound had been so loud that it echoed back-and-forth all across the enclosed area, and even to a trained ear it made its precise origin difficult to track.
Regardless he was able to pick up the gist of it, and knowing that they’d be able to narrow it down as they drew closer he turned to his followers, “They may still be alive, we need to hurry.”
And with that he was off toward the group with the others close behind, any pretense of stealth gone as they charged toward their target.
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Post by Darkoda on Nov 5, 2012 19:45:11 GMT -4
Chrono had no comment on Kiira’s actions, partially because this wasn’t the time and mainly because he couldn’t blame her – after having a bunch of zealots trying to kill you repeatedly, hearing them try to beg for their lives when the shoe was on the other foot was quite frankly annoying. They could at least have some dignity, but someone who would participate in their actions couldn’t have very much of that to begin with.
Still, it clearly bothered Kiira quite a bit – again unsurprising, it was one thing to kill someone in the heat of a battle but another to do so in cold blood. This really wasn’t the time though, and Teena seemed to agree. He figured that she had a plan in mind when she ran off in a direction that decidedly wasn’t back to the Encampment – at least he hoped so, though he would have said something if she really went to lead those scouts right to their camp to begin with.
A signal though, that was far easier to drum up and if they were serving as decoys, might as well go all out with it. He took a glance back himself, noting the scouts that were gathering after them already as a plan came to mind to kill two birds with one stone.
“Don’t look up.” With that simple statement, Chrono began muttering a few different chants, an orb of ice forming in his hands. Taking one last glance behind him, he tossed the sphere upwards, the magical push sending it above the treetops with a noticeable humming sound behind it. He did hope that the others listened to his warning – the noise was made to draw attention, so that the scouts, likely wary of another attack after Teena’s constant blade swings would stare at it just in time to see the blinding flash it would emit when the light from the sun hit the mirror-like surface.
Hopefully, the flashes of light before the orb started to descend would suffice, but when that orb hit the ground, it was going to fire off icy needles much like a short ranged nail bomb – the partially frozen trees should help as a marker even if the scouts managed to avoid getting impaled. At least he hoped so, it was the best he had on short notice.
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