The Last Mage

[Beowulf]

His axe sunk into the rocky head surprisingly easily, and several chunks chipped off. And with those chips, came a small explosion as the magical energy that was used to keep the golem together escaped. With the small explosion and the golem now crumbling, Buras was now falling through the air. He did not flip around, he did not try to land on his feet, he did not try to tuck and roll. Instead he just landed on his back, and had the wind and then some knocked out of him. He laid there motionless on the ground as he tried to catch his breath, but after a while he proved he was alive. With a long grunt of pain, he tried several times to get on his feet and failed. So he resigned himself to just lying on the ground.

"I'm going to guess," he started, "that since I'm neither dead nor a prisoner that you took care of the guards." He wouldn't ask for help to get up, but he certainly wouldn't turn it down either.

 

[Furasian]

Frazer returned a rather approving glance to the man that decided to take up the guard duty. His initiation was possibly the only thing that kept the Druid from shooting back a smart comment or two and for the meantime he would do as he was told. Once back in his human form the ambassador quickly hurried into the courtyard, ready to confront the slaves that the group was counting on to fight for their freedom.

He had heard the stories of inhumane conditions and brutal treatment, but nothing could have prepared him to see what he saw. To see all these people rounded up in the courtyard like livestock brought a subtle flame in him, one that brought rage and vindication on behalf of these people whom he didn't even know. Fortunately his work in the catacombs helped him hold his meal down when it came to dealing with the stench in the air. Now all he had to do was stirr up the bee hive. For him though the time to act would come sooner than he had expected for there were already slaves that had noticed him and looked over to him with confusion coming over them. He most certainly didn't look like a guard... What was he to them? He'd show them soon.

"People of all races and families! Gather around and lend me your ears." He exclaimed with great volume, waiting until he had the attention of the majority before he started his little speech.

"Long have you been trapped on these grounds.. Some of you might have been thieves or bandits.. Some of you might have been pastors or store owners, but all of you have something the order fears deep inside which is why you and your families have been trapped in these gods forsaken courtyards. Well I have fought my way here with my friends to give you an opportunity and to let you know that you have not been forgotten. Their plans to seal your dissenting opinions away from the people has failed, and now it is time for you to commit to your values! Whether you fight for king, God, or gold... The time to act is now! The gates are open and the weapons are available. Stand with your will to be free if you dare!"

 

[Shalashaska]

[fieldbox=Aeron Cross, red, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]

Looking around at the carnage strewn about the area, Aeron took a moment to breath. He let himself go again; he knew being around so many acolytes of The Dark God would have an effect on him, the corruption ever present, but he didn't think it'd be that bad. He'd need to be careful going forward - losing focus could be a dangerous thing. Though, the sound of the golem hitting the ground. Except, it wasn't the golem.

It was Buras.

Flinching at the realization that it was the dwarf that made that loud thump when body met ground, Aeron made his way over to Buras before extending a hand.

"Good job. I got the explosives set up and with the guards handled, all we have to do is wait for the sound of the main gate opening then we can detonate and try and meet up with the others."
[/fieldbox]

 

[AceSorcerer]

"Let them in."

The voice was almost like a rasp as the cloaked figure walked the ramparts of the walls. Osan hid his face, the grey-haired sorcerer standing an even six feet tall. Resting around his neck and wrists were various totems and charms, the man deriving more arcane power from superstition. After all, it was more than the Dark God that governed his ways. As such, when he heard there was an oracle at his doorstep, he hastily invited them in. He had his troops prepare the conference room, laying out an abundance of food and nice wines to ensure that they were well-fed. Otherwise, the sorcerer began to make his way over there, the direction of the room opposite of his office. For a moment, the sorcerer paused as he felt the brush of magic that wasn't bound to his god, although he later attributed that to the seer. Shaking his head, he took a seat at the head of the table, drinking some of the wine and greeting his guests before speaking up.

"Welcome, great seer, to my fortress. I trust the guards were kind to you?"

 

[AceSorcerer]

[fieldbox=Amelia Norwyn, blue, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]

Amelia wasn't exactly keen on choosing their direction, but if Brom insisted...

"Ve should go up." She said, twirling her spear absentmindedly. "Anyzing of note shall be on ze higher floors." Amelia knew how noble houses worked, and the person running the compound had to have quite the ego, so it wouldn't be too far fetched to expect him to follow the rules of nobility.

"Ve should be wary, neverzeless. While most guards vill patrol zese lower floors, ze higher ve ascend, ze more chance of a... 'magical' trap." She warned before she took the lead, going up the staircase carefully, her spear at the ready.
[/fieldbox]

Brynn immediately felt the chill in the air. Someone was in the arcane weapon's hold. She looked out into the hall in both directions to see who emerged. If it was that damned Osan, he was about to feel a blade buried to the hilt in that evil heart of his. But no...who was that? she wondered.

She watched as they chose to go UP the stairs. 'Why would they do that?' she wondered. She hesitated though and watched a guard motioning to another to follow them up the stairs. She gritted her teeth and silently followed. The two guards never heard her, but they both felt the blade as she plunged it from behind through both men as they were single filed and just emerging from the stairwell. The two feel to the ground and she looked at the others and put her fingers to her lips in the universal quiet sign and pointed to the left. The only thing worth finding up here was Osan and his office. If she had help, and seeing the icy gem on the staff of the woman brought a smile to her lips, she would steal that bastard blind, or more preferably see him dead.

She started toward his office, half hoping he was there. She wanted to exact her pound of flesh physically and in person, but she was wise enough to know his magic gave him a ridiculous advantage. so, for prudence sake and these others, she hoped he was not there. She knew how to weaken him, and if he was out of that office..he would be easy for someone else to kill very soon.

Soon enough, Brom and Amelia would enter the office. Upon doing so, the first thing that caught Brom's eye was a large, rectangular safe with no discernable openings. Otherwise, the room was adorned by bookshelves that filled the eastern and western walls. The southern wall bore two large windows on either side of the safe with a wide mahogany desk and chir before it while the door to enter and exit was northwards. Looking at Amelia, he spoke calmly.

"Close the door and start going through his records- we need to take anything that we can use. I'll get to work on this safe."

Brom knew how safes like this were opened- the temple where had been enslaved had a similar one wherein they kept various relics and sacred texts. The trick for these was to find a series of hidden knobs and buttons and press them in the correct order. This process could take some time, and it took the half-elf a dozen or so attempts in order to open it. The locker, appearing to be one giant block of granite, an slab ejecting from the front that Brom placed to aside, revealing an unusual looking sword. Reaching inside, it appeared to be a hand-and-a-half longsword that was vibrating somewhat until Brom's skin touched it. He, having no idea how to wield it, he weakly pointed it at the next person her heard come in, seeing a woman at the door. He spoke bluntly, aiming the blade to her throat as best he could.

"Who are you?"

 

[Beowulf]

"Good." He grunted as he was helped up onto his feet. "Now keep your ears open so we can hear the gates. I don't want to set the explosives off early because we heard a door creaking. But I don't want to set them off late because we weren't sure if it was the gate or not. Should be easy enough, though. Gates are just really big doors when you think about it. And doors tend to creak."

In his head he could already see it unfolding before him. The creaking of the gates, the explosion caused by their explosives, and him and Aeron running in to find the rest of their group and hopefully a slave rebellion to help back them up.

 

[PoetLore]

Alexis heard the gate open and had seen the wizard atop the wall beforehand. She didn't really like this. Going IN had NOT been part of the plan. Her hand lifted to rest in Hellena's arm. Her gaze never left the guards but her hand gave the seer's arm a gentle squeeze. "I do not like this," she said softly.

Hellena though kicked her horse a bit to get her to move forward and Alexis had no choice but to follow. She sat up straight and tall in her own saddle though, giving off an air of total and complete confidence. She did possess great confidence in her own skills, but this was a suicide mission now.

They were led across the compound and to a large meeting hall. She was impressed by the spread the wizard put out for them. Grudgingly so, but it was a spread. She stood behind Hellena with her hand on the hilt of her sword. It was not a threatening gesture, just a caution to everyone in the vicinity of the Oracle. She was prepared to defend her, and she wanted everyone to know it.

 

[PoetLore]

Hellena felt Alexis' Hnd one her arm and though she did not turn to her, she did smile. Her horse moved at her command and she followed the guard easily, though she did not need him to guide her. She knew where they were going. She alit gracefully off the horse and moved with purpose into the room that had been prepared.

Unlike Alexis, she look little notice of the food. She nodded her head as she looked at the wizard, "They have not mistreated us, Osan," she said as she took a seat as well. "I see you have not left the old ways entirely," she said as if she could see his adornments. She could feel them, but not physically see them. "I am Hellena, Oracle of the Ashen Legion, Elect of Lyra and Prothos." she snnounced, "I have a message." She folded her hands and smiled sweetly.

Waiting a few tension filled seconds before speaking, she then nodded as if she had been listening to that message at that very moment. "Prothos wishes you to know that today you will be visited for your sins upon His people." she was looking directly into his soul as she spoke. She could see the varying colors of the magic he drew around himself, including the blackness of the dark lord's power. "This day will the blood of many be required at your hand. Have you any response?" she asked, "Perhaps you will obtain mercy."

She made no attempt to soften the message or cloud its meaning. She was the message bearer, not the one to execute it or judge the recipient. She felt no panic or alarm, or even fear for her own physical safety. She merely gave the message as she received it. Now she waited for his response.

 

[PoetLore]

Brynn saw the blade and furrowed her brows, "Brynn Danoff," she announced as she went to the far wall, where nothing appeard, and slived her own sword through the wall and then pushed against the slice until the wall gave way. "If you plan to use that sword," she said with a huff, "I suggest you find someone to teach you how to weild it properly."

She reached into the hole she made and smiled, "YES!" she said and pulled out a large stone that was pulsing with an errie red glow. She put it on the floor and put the tip of her sword to the stone and then pushed straight down. The stone slpit in half and she grinned, "He will feel that..." she said, "You ARE here to kill Osan, I hope." she said. "This stone contains a large portion of his life force. Help me break it and it will weaken him considerably."

She looked at Brom then, "You can hold that sword, so you must have magic power," she said with a nod, " Maybe you can pulverize the stone with it. ...we won't have much time...he will have already felt the fist slice."

 

[Xam]

[fieldbox=Amasius, green, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]He was instantly on alert when the strange figure began speaking. He'd heard all of it before, Eloquent words to hide depraved plans. Amasius had developed a severe lack of faith in anyone that waltzed up to him and promised to solve his problems, that didn't happen. No one was that altruistic.

Looks like he'd been right, whatever was happening at the compound was looking to be trouble. He hated being right.[/fieldbox]

 

[Shalashaska]

[fieldbox=Aeron Cross, red, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]

Aeron gave Buras a thumbs up the instant he heard the sound of the main gate opening and he quickly lit the fuse before both backed away.

"That's a lot of black powder... We... Uh, we sure it won't kill us from this distance?" He inquired right before the powder exploded and he covered his face with his arm as a sizeable chunk of the wall was blown away. The force of the explosion left him staggering backwards, but by the time the smoke had cleared he had completely recovered. "Let's not waste any time." Aeron said as he rushed forward, beckoning Buras to follow him.

Yet, as soon as he crossed the threshold leading into the base, he skidded to a halt. Looking around, he felt a 'hum' in the air and his eyes narrowed - the sudden influx of magic in the air making his stomach churn. He knew what this was, and it wasn't good.

"They know we breached and Osan's Generals will be here soon. They travel through magical portals, meaning that their day travel doesn't matter. They'll be here in minutes, so we need to regroup with the others and figure things out from there."
[/fieldbox]

 

[Shalashaska]

[fieldbox=Amelia Norwyn, blue, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]

When they entered what Amelia could only assume to be Osan's study, she remained alert. Following Brom's orders, she immediately began rifling through the records. With eyes narrowed, she flipped through the books on Osan's desk, figuring the most important of information would be wherever he spent most of his time. The sound of the door opening caused one of her hands to go for her spear, though she didn't draw it.

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked over Brynn before casually returning to the books. Amelia was more than capable of determining Brynn wasn't a threat based solely upon her appearance and demeanor, so she decided it'd be best to return to the task at hand. While she listened to Brynn, she kept her gaze on the book, flipping through the log book before tossing it aside and retrieving another.

"I am not finding any'zing of note." Amelia stated, finally looking over her shoulder just in time to see Brynn stab the stone. "Yes, ve are here to kill Osan, and to free ze slaves. Mage, perhaps we should go confront Osan and zen return? If ve route ze enemy, ve could potentially take ze compound as our own."
[/fieldbox]

 

[Beowulf]

"Then let us be off to find them." Buras said, coming to a stop a short distance behind Aeron. "As much as I'd like to see how many of the enemies soldiers I can kill, I don't want to die needlessly." And with that, the dwarf ran off. Well, roll was more the right word. Heavy armor and short legs didn't make for the most graceful creature when it comes to running. But run he did. "I think the our best bet of finding them, is to get to where ever this Osan might be. And I'm thinking that would be in the castle."

 

[AceSorcerer]

Making their way to the front of the crowd were two elves, one male, one female. Both we clearly some of the older elves there, the elder one permitted to have a walking staff due to advanced age. The man had grey hair and walked with a slight hunch due to his vast experience, wrinkles adoring his face and amber glinting in his eyes. Were it not for his hair and wrinkles, it would be possible for him to pass for a man in middle-age. He wore blue and yellow clothes, the colors marking him as someone important. The woman was blond with brown eyes, wearing a sackcloth dress like many of the others did with a white apron on top of it. She spoke up, trying to stop as her matronly voice was audible.

"Celebror, you're too old for this! You need to rest."

"Liza, hush! I am over five hundred years old and I know not when I'll die. Until then it is my duty to lead us!"

The man spoke in a wizened voice, facing the crowd. It was obvious that he was well respect as when he approached, all murmuring stopped. He cleared his throat, slamming his staff against the stone as an echo was heard throughout the crowd.

"My fellow slaves! This man speaks with an unparalleled truth. This is our final chance before any of us are appointed sacrifices to a god we do not worship! This is our final chance before children are once more ripped from their mothers! I have been trapped here for three hundred years, and even then I have never seen an opportunity more viable! We can sing our freedom in the elvish tongue when this is all finished!

"Ar lasa mala revas!"

The crowd echoed in the same elvish, the old man turning and looking to the druid.

"I am Celebror, the hahren- the elder- of these people. Whatever we can do, it will be done. Maybe then Liza can find her son, Brom, and the rest of us find our own children."

​

@Furasian

 

[Brosephus]

A dwarf was making his way through the group of freedmen. Though he tried to move inconspicuously through the crowd, his short height and shrouded clothing distinguished him from the slaves chanting their freedom. He was nervous. That old man - Celebor - was hyping up the crowd. If they got a little too enthusiastic about freedom and whatnot, the slaves might turn on anyone who even looked High Command. So much for freedom - they might want to free his head from his body.

Basso had been looking for this Aeron and his crew for a while now. Luckily, he had gotten a lead from a Legion agent in a small town along the coast. Aeron had taken a ship and had headed toward the Silent City, requesting reinforcements. From there he had followed a breadcrumb trail that had lead him to this camp. He had been lucky to get these leads. Lucky the fighting was over by the time he got here. His luck would need to last just a little longer. Hopefully, this "Last Mage" and his pals weren't just spreading tall tales. If all else failed, he might find some compensation among the spoils the guards had left.

Maybe all this aggravation would finally pay off. Basso didn't want to come here, but there was no way that little trinket those High Command fanatics had taken from him was going to be used for anything constructive. Assuming he hadn't wasted his time, these Ashen Legion fellows might know what those lunatics were planning...

 

[Furasian]

Frazer's gaze went over the mixture of faces that were looking at him following his little call to arms. He wasn't surprised to see that its effects were little at first. Afterall he was dealing with a group of prisoners who had been subject to fear tactics all these days. Perhaps they saw him as a test for the guards to weed out the more risky slaves. Then two elves approached him, their approach alone immediately peaking his interest. To have them stand by his side however proved to be the inch he needed to win the crowd and the Druid couldn't help but give an expression of approval to the crowd as they got riled up by the elder's speech. It took the silence to make Frazer actually speak again.

"A honor, sir." The ambassador said as he dug through his satchel only to produce a rose that looked to be in-tact and as alive as ever. There was one crucial thing about that rose however and should one be attempting to catch a glimpse of the rose he was presenting to the pair they'd notice that not only was it healthy despite the satchel's harsh containment conditions... But it's pedals looked to have the color of the midnight sky; a dark rose. He handed it to the elder then continued to speak in a hushed tone so that only the three could hear.

"The weapons you seek at in the cooridor. We used the tunnels to make our way in and you will have no problem taking it out if you are willing to plow though the guard. Head for the grave yard... I believe my high elder would love to have more of his kin safe from the order's wrath... But I will need you to remain with me, miss Liza. I shall ensure your safety and see to it you are reunited with your son. That seems to be the reason why he made me risk my hide to do all of this." He concluded with a chuckle and the tip of his hat then looked over at the crowd, pausing for a minute before he tucked his dark rose away in his satchel and raised his voice once more.

"I've grown to believe that fate will fall upon us no matter what we do. I do believe that there is a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. Both you and I now know that fate... Do you wish to accept it and stay here or fight to reclaim your future? I now leave it up to you to decide."

 

[Xam]

[fieldbox=Amasius, green, solid, 10, Book Antiqua] Amasius winced as more of the diatribe reached his ears. Yup, this was definitely going to be a cluste-rfuck. He'd long stopped believing in the good will of his fellow person, be they human, elf or dwarf, but this gave him a chance. The other slaves were getting more and more riled, and the chaos they created would be a perfect cover.

Sneaking around the residents, he slowly approached the smithy, peaking out from behind a large stack of logs that were there to keep the forge going, he saw the blacksmith starting to look towards the growing crowd with concern, shifting forward silently, he palmed a freshly made dagger, hardly believing his luck. The blacksmith was never this absent-minded. Slinking ever closer, he slowly raised his hand, intending on sliding the knife through the smiths throat and delivering the depraved man a swift death, when he suddenly spun on his feet, his ham-like hand trying to flatten Amasius's head.

Scrambling in desperation, he blinding struck forward with the dagger, while stumbling backwards to avoid the hand. Falling on his behind, he risked a peak and an explosive breath left him when he saw the blacksmith dead on the ground with the dagger through his eye.

Getting up, he dusted himself off before taking account of what was around the smithy.

____________​

Roughly ten minutes later saw the slave leaving the smithy looking like a completely different man. He'd discarded the rags all slaves were given and had pulled on some pants, fastened them with a belt and slid into a dark green tunic, before throwing the compound leaders jacket on top. He had a buckler strapped to his right arm, the blacksmith had apparently just finished working on it, and the smiths own war-hammer fastened to his left side. It was rather bulky.

Lastly, he had some Gem in his jacket pocket. He had no idea what it was used for, but it looked big so perhaps he could sell it, since the Smith had only had a small pouch of gold on him.

He'd even eaten the mans untouched lunch out of spite, the last piece of toast was still hanging out his mouth, he'd been unable to finish it despite how ravenously hungry he'd felt.

Making his way to the perimeter, he chanced a glance and wasn't surprised when the guards were nowhere to be seen, the ruckus had made them gather no doubt. Picking up his hammer, he made a small hole in the fence that ran the perimeter, before taking a running leap at the gap and tumbling through and right into a man with black hair and a far too long sword.​

[/fieldbox]

 

[AceSorcerer]

Brom braced himself as he felt the first explosion shake the fortress. Cursing in Elvish beneath his breath, he raised the strange sword and, with as much might and control as an inexperienced novice could do, the halfling stuck with a great downward blow on the gemstone, a bright azure light enveloping it as all that remained of it was ash. Raising the blade, Brom examined it before shaking his had, sticking it in his sash for the time being as they needed to be on the move. His form tensed, his mind utterly racing as he eventually settled on a semblance of a plan that needed to work if they were going to get out of this infernal fortress alive.

"Aeron and Buras blew the first charge too early! They were supposed to wait until nightfall to set all the charges off across the compound at once... we'd better get moving and fast. Let's just hope they didn't use all of the black powder in one go... we'd better look for Frazer and Daemon. At this rate, Helena and Alexis might be in trouble as well. We'll need to split up. I'll go after the girls, you two go and get to the slaves and help expedite them out of the compound. Try to find the others along the way!"

Brom then drew his hood once more, dashing in search of the others.

---

"No, we will not leave. We will all stay and all fight. The Black Rose can wait. Brom is still one of my people. If he is free, we shall join him in the same freedom!"

Celebror then turned to the crowd, speaking up.

"Men, take your pickaxes and your hammers- those without arms shall take up mighty joint! We will swarm the guards and will escape to our freedom!

It was then slaves roared aloud, beginning to arm themselves and dispatch the guards that they outnumbered with clumsy efficiency.

---

"GRRRRRRAAAH!"

Osan's physical form melted before the oracle and the Templar, leaving a dark, abyssal form that resembled brimstone emanating with a glow akin to that of magma. His lower form became as if wisps as unrestrained magical energy overcame the room. It then became apparent that Osan was a Kor- a powerful dark spirit summoned by the Dark God and given an artificial corporeal body. That state of their false body was absolute with no need to eat, drink, or sleep so long as their anchor- in this case the gemstone Brom and Brynn destroyed- remained intact. In most cases, it didn't matter if an anchor was physically damaged so long as the magical connection wasn't cut. What remained of Osan in his new corporeal form was anything but human, looking the guards as his voice seemed to deepen, becoming like a dark echo as he pointed a knife-like finger at the women.

"Defilersss... keep them here until I return after I deal with thessse... pestsss..."

Osan then stormed out of the room, phasing through the walls.

​

 

[Brosephus]

The fighting wasn't as finished as Basso hoped. As far as he had come, dying in battle was a bit too far. Assuming the people he was looking for weren't about to be heroically and gloriously killed, he would return when the fighting had died down again. He could escape through the hole in the southern wall and keep tabs on the battle from a distance. There wasn't anything he could do for them now -

The crowd began to roar. He felt someone try to claw at his arm, another his cloak. His earlier fears has been realized. More hands. He fought for his life, flailing wildly, his yells drowned out as the crowd began to surge forward. He felt his hand meet someone's head. He lunged forward to get out to his assailants' grasp. He heard something tear, and nearly stumbled onto the ground. He pulled himself up(almost pulling someone down with him), fighting to stay upright, to fend off the crowd, to get away.

He became aware that fewer and fewer people were rushing past him. He had been near the back of the mass when the charge started. Part of his cloak was gone - taken by the slaves. Too busy with the guards at the front to pay attention to him.

He was near one of the towers. Drawing his bow, he took an arrow from his quiver - a heavy, dwarven arrow with a spool of rope near the front end - and shot it through one of the lower windows into the roof. The rope arrow unraveled. He grabbed hold and started to climb heavily. As he began to struggle upward, he felt someone grab at his legs. He kicked viciously and felt his foot connect with something. Bit by bit he made his way up.

He toppled through the window onto the floor. His chest heaved like a blast furnace. He groaned and picked himself up. Opening one of the doors, he stepped into a small, dimly lit hallway. No choice but to see where it went. He muttered under his breath, panting. "An' here I thought It was the Order who was tryin' ta kill me."

 

[Shalashaska]

[fieldbox=Aeron Cross, red, solid, 10, Book Antiqua]

Sprinting farther into the compound, Aeron was so busy looking for the rest of members of the party that he didn't notice when someone ran right into him. Stepping back from the collision, Aeron blinked casually as he looked down at Amasius before clicking his tongue. It was clear the kid wasn't a guard, based on his general appearance, and glancing over his shoulder he spotted more guards approaching from behind.

"Buras, you go on ahead and meet up with the others. I'll handle these chumps." Aeron said as he reached down, grabbing Amasius' collar before yanking him to his feet. "C'mon, kid, time to put that hammer to use. This'll be daijobu." The Legionnaire said as he quickly drew his sword and turned to face the group of guards that were attempting to surround them.

"Alright, kid, we'll mop these guys up quick then we have to get to the others before things get too out of hand." Aeron spoke casually, not really bothering with any formal introductions, instead choosing to rush the guards head-on, more than a decade of training becoming immediately evident as he began to cut through the forces of The High Command, though a few of the stragglers began to circle around the Legionnaire before redirecting their attention to Amasius. [/fieldbox]