"Women are not currency you can just exchange in a deal." -Princess Helénē, Page 2.
Kingdom of Renalta - Heart of Madness
Mikan looks between Abjaar and Cennick, noting everyone's objections to Abjaar, she frowns in thought. Shaking her head, she motions to Cennick.
"You come with me. Abjaar, your magic resistance may interfere with Zin's magic anyway... Besides, what stairs are you referring to, the ones inside the ancient building that we can't see?" She giggles as she tightens her cloak around herself, looking at Cennick eye to eye and resting a hand gently on his shoulder.
"Stay calm, we'll get through this." A soft, motherly smile crosses her face, before moving quickly and silently through the boggy waters of the swamp to the right of the entrance until the walls of the ancient ruins obscured them from view. Then, she dashes across to the wall of the compound, pressing herself up against the wall. Now closer to the compound, Cennick and Mikan would be able to clearly discern hundreds of mysterious drawings etched into the walls of the compound. Something which likely would have taken decades, if not over a hundred years to complete, and here it was: In plain view, without a hint of the civilization that made it nearby. Mikan shudders, and pulls out her daggers.
Edging along the wall of the ruins, she reaches a corner. Through the fog on their side they couldn't see the treeline which they had observed the ruins from. Mikan's grip tightens around the handles of her daggers as she takes a deep breath. She sheathes one of them, reaching into her cloak she pulls out a throwing knife. They were knee deep in the swamp's waters, which would slow them down a bit when they made their move. A moment later, and Mikan bolts around the corner, towards the entrance with the three figures. The three figures were quickly and clearly revealed to be regular people: All of which were in leather armour, and seemed ill equipped to be protecting the entrance of a lair. Mikan's throwing knife leaves her and and strikes the target closest to the entrance straight in the throat. As her hood falls back, revealing short green hair, a bolt whizzes between her and Cennick, punching a foot-sized hole into the temple instead of hitting its target: It was the shot from Manbreaker. A second shot followed, striking another guard in the chest and knocking him off his feet: That one was from Eric.
This left the last guard staring wide eyed as Mikan leaped at him and bowled him down, rolling through the water for a couple feet before Mikan rolls off of him to remain between him and the entrance of the ancient ruins. An entrance which, as a matter of fact, had no stairs. The man's eyes stared at the way that Mikan's dagger glinted with a hint of blood as he reached up and touched his face: His cheek was bleeding. He raises both of his hands in the air, remaining on his knees in the water that was slowly turning red from his two dead compatriots. Cennick didn't even need to do anything: Between the heavy fire support and the cowardice of the guards, the situation was fairly underwhelming for them. Too underwhelming. From what he had read of illusory magic, cross-referenced with James' history, he could have just as easily set up explosive dummies that looked like people. Yet, here were three, real people: No a hint of illusory magic in sight.
Mikan looks up at Cennick and smiles, the mixture of dirt and water caused her clothes to hug her skin as she takes a few deep breaths.
"See? Told you. Just stay calm! You can get all excited later." Mikan winks and giggles: Combat didn't appear to phase her at all, or even dampen her nature.
Eric blinks as he narrows his vision through the fog. The combat appeared to be over, though everyone was able to see Murderok slipped in the mud of the swamp when he fired. Patting Murderok's back, Eric chuckles as he starts loading another bolt.
"We all miss a shot sometimes. Now, let's go question ourselves a prisoner!" Quickly finishing reloading his crossbow, he starts heading out across the swamp towards Cennick and Mikan, at the entrance of the ancient ruins.
Imperium/Amazons - The Dream of Empire
The spirit shimmers for a moment, seeming to take in each request, one at a time. When Sonia spoke, it seemed to understand, and was about to respond before Minstrol spoke. It stares with abject confusion at the thief, unable to comprehend the Ebonics-choked speech pattern that likely translated poorly to her own tongue. Finally, the elf spoke, and the spirit nodded as it found a repeated request. The Imperial Soldier gently glides down to the floor, stepping lightly upon it: She had corporeal form. She also, notable, kept her distance from the goblin as she motioned for others to follow her, heading for one of the north-eastern tunnels. As they began moving out together, Veira noticed the dwarf in armour and frowned as she dispelled her search lights to send a cool breeze running across the dwarf. Rashan, on the other hand, merely shrugs as Sonia looks at her with annoyance, though a hint of a smirk could be spotted.
Proceeding deeper into the ancient ruins, Fahim remained silent as he left his hand against the wall, seeming to try to detect the trouble from earlier, though there was no indication that he felt anything through the walls. After a couple minutes of walking through the large hallway, they reach another chamber. It was about a thousand square feet in size, stretching several dozen feet up: Room enough for a giant, yet the hallway couldn't fit one. Once the group steps inside the chamber, a series of torches light up along the walls and leave the sight of a large, intimidating door standing before them. The torches were unable to light up the ceiling, which seemed pitched in an unnatural darkness. On the left side of the chamber were five pedestals, each a primitive looking stone switch underneath a word in the ancient Imperial tongue, from left to right: Fortitude, potentia, unitas, iustitia, pereseverntiam.
Veira looks back to the spirit with mild confusion.
"Could you read these for me? My eyes are not what they used to be..." The spirit nods.
"Bravery, power, unity, justice, perseverance. To pass into the following chamber, you must choose what trait is best valued in an Imperial soldier." Fahim looks up at the spirit with confusion.
"It is strange to give tests to those seeking mere documents." The spirit tilts its head with slight confusion once more, though unlike with Minstrol, it at least understood what Fahim said.
"You seek documents shown only to those promoted to high ranks of the Imperial Army's Officers. You must pass the same tests they do to see them. It is the only way to prevent Gault spies from desecrating them." Veira became horrendously confused, but before she could ask a question, Fahim motioned the group together closely to speak to them with a quiet voice.
"Gault was the name of Rheinfeld in ancient times: A land of barbarous people who refused to live under Imperial rule, who colonized the land south of the sea... I doubt the spirit will believe us if we try to tell it that the kingdom is gone, it seems bound to this place in such a way as to make that possibility incomprehensible."
"I await your decision." The spirit replies simply, almost impatiently.
Kingdom of Liveria - Ancestral Bonds
Princess Helénē looks at Kasim and smiles with appreciation before looking to Rayvon and nodding.
"We will proceed with your plan." Her eyes wander to Zoe momentarily, though Zoe didn't appear to notice as she set forth into the dark passageway. Gabriel took a deep breath and followed after Zoe, deciding that her stealth skills would be preferable to his complete lack of them in leading the way to an ambush.
Traveling down the dark path to the right left a chill running down Helénē's spine. Blood, new and old, had been smeared across the walls in various patterns, often overlapping each other. The path was uneven, and though she tripped once, both Kasim and Gabriel were there to stop her from falling to the floor. The room full of corpses had a scent so completely putrid that even Zoe seemed to be disgusted as she moved faster to simply pass the stench-filled room. Though there were a couple of large wolves ripping and tearing into putrid flesh, neither paid the Queen's Blades any mind, instead being preoccupied with finding meals not too festered with parasites to consume.
The treasury room got a temporary glance from Zoe before she dismissed it to move on. Though it did seem filled with valuables, they were the kind that were entirely useless to the Queen's Blades: Save for a rather well made blade, that sat precariously on the edge of a pile of gold, in its silver-decorated scabbard, deep inside the room. Gabriel blinked with surprise as he noticed it, and shook his head with dismay.
"It has a heavenly feel to it. They must have looted the corpse of an angel for it." Still, if any of the Queen's Blades went for it, they would end up separate from Zoe, Gabriel, and the princess.
Finally, they reached the entrance to the breeding chamber. Darkness kept the group safe so long as they didn't pass through the carved out, door-less entrance. It seemed they would even be able to talk to each other, quietly, to plan for what was ahead of them.
The breeding chamber is a large room, approximately four thousand square feet in size, and the ground was uneven, implying that it was present before the orcs ever mined their way into the chamber, much like the tunnel they were standing in. Through the center of the room were a series of stone slabs that made up what were likely impromptu beds and tables, most of which were blood stained. Two orcs were cleaning a recent stain off a slab, laughing to themselves about how the woman who had been kept there had been too small after all, and how satisfying the sound of her legs popping out of place was. The stone slabs, though quite solid, seemed like they could be tipped over by anyone--save Helénē--for cover. Gabriel could possibly even throw them as weapons.
Along the walls of the chamber were several women, who the orcs at least had the decency to leave in their clothing, though most of it was badly torn up. Some were left in nothing but cloth ribbons, seemingly stitched together by the orcs themselves. One of the orcs growls as he looks at a black woman, a low, guttural growl.
"We haven't even gotten t' slather that sow yet! Wait'fer a shaman to make her stop strugglin'... I like it when they struggle. Why they gotta wear clothes anyway? Why, I'd love a nice view while cleanin' the slabs--" Another orc, this one with a large, brown whip, snaps it and leaves a rather nasty looking gash in the back of the orc complaining.
"Shut it! You went n' fucked up a raid! You should be glad they even let you stay here, you blithering trog! Besides, you know why. You pathetic, grovelling, pig-fuckers would break em' all in a fit of horny rage! Can't trust you types unless they're clothed to keep your grubby hands to yerselves. That woman'd use it against you if she wasn't broken first. Them magic types'll fuck with your head!"
Closer examination of the black woman in question led to an unpleasant discovery by Rayvon and Gabriel: It was Andrea, a Queen's Blade, chained to the wall with nothing but a badly torn up, white cloth dress covering her frame. Truly, it seemed a miracle that her more particularly sensitive areas were even covered at all, as though a great hand from the sky had prevented them from being shown. Nonetheless, her snake whip was left on the slab closest to them, and seemed to notice Rayvon, hissing in a manner that could only imply a disgusting desire, or trust... Or both. Gabriel glances at Rayvon and sighs.
"I don't suppose we could save her last?" He was joking, and yet, somewhere deep inside, he wished he wasn't.
All in all, there were about sixty women chained to the walls, of which, about a quarter were obviously pregnant.
Inside the chamber there were eight orcs: Two cleaning the slab who had their axes beside them though no armour, two heavily armoured orcs with large spears and a pair of throwing axes each guarding an entrance at the opposite side of the room, the orc with the whip that was keeping the two cleaners in line, and three orcs examining the women around the room, who were armed with axes and shields though only light armour. They seemed to be admiring them, feeding them, and mending any wounds they were suffering from.
Between the stone slabs and the walls were several dozen feet of open space. Each of the orcs were between eight to ten feet tall. None of the women, save for Andrea, seemed capable of combat: Either because they looked fatigued, broken, wounded, or simply incapable by nature. The group did have the element of surprise on their side, though only the orcs cleaning the slab could feasible be charged into before the room would be alerted to their presence, meaning that their element of surprise was only of limited benefit.
Goblin Holds - Antiqua Scientiam
Between Daevon's healing, Aslo helping Nyla to move her, and Maeven's concern, Unamo seemed distant for a moment. It was a lot to process in such a short period of time. Fear was in her eyes: Real fear, mortal fear, the kind of fear that left normal people paralyzed. Yet, it didn't leave her paralyzed, as she noticed her wounds closing. Daevon's healing was quite effective, though it took a couple minutes to do its work. During which time Unamo merely closed her eyes and focused on keeping her heart rate down, as unlike other Amazons, she couldn't control her own blood. The sound of three more shots of artillery rang throughout the cavern, distant explosions hammering into the dead automatons in the north.
Nyla takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, looking to Unamo. Before she could make a request and continue issuing orders, the walls around them in the alley started to glow lightly whenever Maeven was near them. Though Nyla was surprised, Unamo merely smiled.
"Mechanist places... It shouldn't be that surprising it reacts to one of their bloodline..." The artillery stops as the bright light to the north ends. The spirit then appears before Unamo, emitting nothing more than a hollow shell of light as the little girl looks with concern. Unamo motions to the south east.
"Find our enemy, learn what they look like, come back to us... Do not be spotted, be careful." The girl nods, and immediately fades into the walls in the direction which Aslo stated.
Unamo slowly gets to her feet once more, though she had a limp and put most of her weight on her uninjured leg, she was no longer dealing with a life threatening injury. Though Daeven could completely heal the wound, it would drain him in such a way as to leave him vulnerable for a short time.
"Thank you... I should now endeavour twice as hard to find a way to ease your disease. For now, it is more than mere curiosity that drives me." She smiles, then looks to Maeven and pulls her in for a sudden kiss, pushing her against one of the alley's walls in sheer passion. Nyla looks away, either out of politeness or embarrassment, it was hard to say.
"I'll reward you too..." Her tone was far more flirtatious, though there was a flicker of genuine care. As she lets Maeven off the wall, a map appeared where her back once rested.
Nyla, passing by Unamo and Maeven without looking at either of them, stared at the map with interest. Running her fingers over the edges, she quickly deciphered its well detailed intricacies.
"Interesting... It seems we are north-east. Our enemy is south-east, based on Aslo's trajectory... There is a bright, important looking building to the west, apparently. I'm going to guess that is where all the important items are... Smart, to keep all of your important articles in a regular looking portion of a series of buildings. Everyone would go to the center of the city first. I'm going to guess that's what the demons did before searching south east." She glances back to her allies, this time finally briefly looking over Maeven and Unamo.
"Either we can investigate the west side of this city and try to get there before the demons do, or we can attempt to ambush our enemy and kill them, giving us all the time we need to resolve this place's mysteries in peace." She left the choice up to them to decide, though she looks at Aslo, seeming to trust his opinion more than the others from prior experience.
Kingdom of Tuleria - Unto the Breach
As Toorg leads the charge through the skirmish in the middle, he'd find that both Tulerians and Demons gave him a fairly wide berth, both afraid of being crushed underfoot of several hundred pounds of splintery death. One demon made the challenge however, and leaped for Toorg, only for Toorg to grab him with both hands and slam him repeatedly into the sand. As Filomena and Yuri pass him, both would overhear the sounds of snapping bones like twigs, and Filomena would have to wipe a little bit of blood off her cheek that squirted out from the remnants of what was once, perhaps, a living thing.
Meanwhile, Quar complies to Aeyr's request over Yuri's with a smile.
"Whatever you say, goes!" With that said, he slams his staff into the sand, and sends several tendrils out to attack the assassin, along with Arkos' sand attack. The sand reveals the assassin, and just as Aeyr's projectile and Quar's tendrils are about to reach her, the assassin disappears and reappears only a few feet from them. Though she drops her invisibility, no longer able to upkeep it, she licks her lips and speaks to them in a taunting manner, with a raspy tone.
"Three little piggies to spitroast for my sis', I'll have to leave the fish for her!" As Quar put himself between Aeyr and the assassin, he realized their imminent situation: Two mages, and a frail slinger, versus a highly agile assassin who was able to teleport out of harms way... No, wait, she would be dazed if she did it herself: Someone else...
...The vampire sorceress chuckles and as she snaps her fingers, two large, disturbing looking scorpions popped out of the sand immediately, between her and the pair of Queen's Blades. Both were about the size of large bears, and they immediately recognized that their tails
were the two projectiles thrown earlier: Leaving nothing but their pincers behind. However, those pincers likely had enough force to simply cut them in two if they attempted to pass the scorpions. The vampire sorceress starts charging another spell, keeping the scorpions between herself and her enemies.
The fighting between the buccaneers and the demons was fierce, but fairly straightforward, with the buccaneers taking advantage of their environment: Six demons perished where only one buccaneer did.
Otto was still in the middle of the skirmish, though seemed able to turn to help one of the two groups of Queen's Blades: He couldn't help both, however...
Being separated from the army, there was no telling what casualties were being inflicted on both sides as of yet.
