//Due to the time I've missed, I'll assume that Onwan and Scylax are already at their target.\
- Southern Dark Continent town under siege -
The large wooden gates practically burst open as Onwan smashed his fist on them, letting him and Scylax pass through. The town, although showing signs of recent warfare, was relatively peaceful. It seemed that Kandarin has already taken this town, except for a medium-sized fortress in the middle. It was protected by high walls, which, despite all the Kandarinian attempts, still stood.
-"Oy," Onwan called a nearby soldier over. "We have prisoners here. Captain Goethe wanted them."
-"...right, those two. Load em up into that cart over there. How long are they out for?"
-"About half an hour left. Make sure, though, that you get them to captain Goethe first - they are not ordinary prisoners. A normal prison will not hold them."
-"Right." The soldier made a half-hearted attempt at a salute. "Sorry, sir. I've got to get going."
The troop instructed the cart's driver for directions, and got in the back together with Puco and Sienna.
---
-"OK, thanks. This is far enough."
The cart stopped, letting the Kandarinian soldier out with the two prisoners over his back. Before him stood an imposing black building, which looked more like a brick of charcoal than anything else. The fifth Regiment's insignia was painted just above the door arch. The building alone seemed to be warding people away from itself - there were no idle soldiers to be seen anywhere around it.
-"Screw it," the Kandarinian said to himself. "Facing a captain? That likes a house such as that? I'll let someone else handle this."
He hesitantly walked inside, seeing several other Kandarinians in a lobby-like area. One of them, a rather burly native-looking individual, looked up.
-"Whut?", he mumbled.
-"Umm..." The soldier with the prisoners didn't exactly feel easy inside. "Two prisoners... um... can you manage?"
-"Whuteva. Givem'."
Glad to be rid of the troublesome captives, the troop rushed out of the grim building. At that point, one of the other Kandarinians noticed the burly soldier taking Sienna and Puco over to a row of cells.
-"Wait up, Gornar. Those are the prisoners that captain Goethe mentioned. Here, put those thingies on them."
"Those thingies" were two amulets, much like the standard Kandarinian protection ones - but with a black gem instead of a red one, and much less opulent-looking borders. Gornar placed one on Puco's left arm, and another on Sienna's right. The teeth on the corners of the triangular shapes dug into the soft skin, embedding themselves on their targets.
-"The soulstones in those will be eating up much of their Ki, so they shouldn't be able to use magic while the amulets are on them. Unfortunately, the amulets will eventually fall off... Damn. Useful things, they are. You can lock 'em up now, Gornar."
-"Ugh. Whutev'."
The burly man put the girls behind a large cage, slamming it shut.
//They can wake up at this point. Feel free to control the NPCs, just don't do anything ridiculous - the amulets are there for a reason =P\
--- --- ---
- North-Eastern Kandarinian coast -
Eris looked at the imposing objects flying in the sky, now directly above the land itself. Well, while their flight over water could've been seen as a neutral passage, this was trespassing. Eh, what the hell. She hasn't had much fun lately anyway, what with all the damned paperwork coming with the title of a captain. Might as well...
She felt her protection amulet, and popped the gem out with a single movement. Her gem was purple, and began to glow a little once she removed it from the rest of the amulet. Its glow seemed to stretch out in a thin aura, pointing toward her. Eris threw the stone some distance away, rolling it under a leaf. She eyed one of the ships right over her, and squinted a little. Suddenly, a black cloud of smoke consumed her, and in a purple flare, she vanished...
//Up to you where she appears, Mikado - somewhere in the ship\
--- --- ---
- Mournbury -
-"When is he finally going to get here....?" Joseph moaned. "Pan Czernn is really taking his time."
The other Necrolyte sitting on the bench next to him - Ekaterina - said nothing. She was quietly polishing her nails with what seemed to be a chunk of Lizard Man's skin.
-"Come oooon, pani... You never talk!"
-"Just not to you. Now please, be quiet and wait for pan Czernn. Silence sounds better than your voice."
Joseph could only sigh.
--- --- ---
- Northern Kandarinian town, Citadel -
"At last, the idiots finished casting their spell... Honestly. Who takes this long to perform an action this short? Oh well. Using my ties to the Augment I sent with Kerig, I made it reappear in this world. Unfortunately, the Augment can't talk... the result might be a little funny."
---
Suddenly, with a loud, audible "rrrip", the Augment appeared in front of Kerig. It used its metallic finger to scratch some letters into one of its plates. The finished word read: "Yes."
--- --- ---
- South-Eastern Kandarinian coast -
-"Well, gentlemen," Ein started, "It's a very good thing that we retreated when we did. Why don't you look up to the battlefield?"
The scene was quite desperate, at that: A large beetle-like creature was dominating the field, killing multiple soldiers with single blows. (33) Its most significant feature was probably a prominent crest of spines on its back, which, one by one, was being retracted into the carapace.
-"See what it's doing? If it will suck up all of its spikes, your entire legion is as good as dead. So I suggest moving before a scene of desperate escape turns into a scene of a bloody massacre. At this point, folks, I have no ideas how to defeat it. 13 Necrofreaks together with 13 puppets is a bit much for me, as I've never had to face more than two at a time. Then again, we do have a fine crew here... so long as bird doesn't screw it up. Any suggestions?"
//Good god, Xorlak, I feel your pain with juggling several storylines...\
