Dark Age Legends

[Xorlak]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse -

Vincent rolled his eyes as he followed the demon.  The darkness engulfed them quickly, and it was difficult to see one's hand before one's face as they descended into the depths.  He expected a more elaborate display than this...  It seemed more like they were retrieving some  minor trinket from the back than a rare and poorly understood tool of mass destruction.  He certainly would take better care of it than this.  In fact, he had the perfect containment chamber in mind back at the Factory of Dark Science.

[Drannic_Lord01]

//Doriana was trained in the holy arts before the Gaian federation Chapter. There being a 3-year break, I thought that would be enough time... If it's God-modding, I can make some adjustments... I don't wanna pull another Haraldur.

- Terian, Kainengrad Inner Workings -

"Shit!" Doriana said as she made a break for it behind Duilin and Valos; where the spearguns were shot almost every shot was a near miss and flew right past her, while the rest were clean misses... save one. One that hit her, just barely, right in the calf of her right leg.

"GAH!!! Damn it, they hit me!" She grabbed the spear that was impaled in her leg and ripped it out, a fair amount of blood leaking from her calf. She took the spear and launched it back at a Kandarin Speargunner, stabbing right through his weapon and anihilating it completely. It rendered him useless, but that was only one of many soldiers... Afterwards, she limped after Duilin and Valos, holding on by sheer power of will.

- Terian, Kainengrad East Gate (outside) -

"One more should do it... HYAA!!!" Jacobie impaled his katana into the earth again and small bits of rubble flew up around it. He was a fair 50 feet away from the gates and the walls. Slowly he dragged the sword towards the walls, speeding up faster and faster as he went. And finally, just before he readhed the wall, he leapt into the air and backflipped, slashing his katana upwards. Gargantuous sized boulders flew up as his final fissure move blasted through the gate and its walls, now nearly crumbling them to dust. It would be a plenty bit easier, although his attack may have seemed redundant.

"More lightning, guys, and fast! I see Vanguards... lots of Vanguards..." John and Marrick complied by throwing more bolts of lightning from the sky as it began to pour rain. Each drop was nearly 1.5 centimeters in diameter, which was quite a bit of rain per drop... but the Drannivolka were getting exhausted, and fast. They still made more accurate blasts of lightning, however, according to Jacobie's will. Each bolt that managed to stray from the buildings either hit a guard, or came fairly close to one as it discharged down to the earth. Some even discharged up and zapped a guard from the ground up to the air, but most just hit the buildings as they were the quicker access point for the lightning.

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse -

After a few moments of walking, Heric stopped at the end of the room. There was the sound of keys jangling and after a few seconds he opened another door.

He stepped into the next room. "Hold on a minute while I light up the room." He snapped his fingers summoning a small plume of flame in his hand and then lit the torch next to him. The torches were all connected, via a gas line. The demon turned a small crank and the rest of the torches began to light up, eventually making the room quite clear to see.

It was a tall circular room, with a metal staircase coiling up to the top. Along the walls were individual safes built in, made of thick black iron. In the middle of the room, was a large crank which one would have to push. This mechanized the staircase to rotate around the room, allowing one to reach the specific locker they wished to open. Also in the middle was a filing cabinet, which was left open. The cabinet was clearly labelled 'STORAGE RECORDS'.

"There's at least a couple hundred lockers in this room. One of them has the NGO stored in it. However I'm not sure which one. You'll have to look through the records. Unfortunately, I can't help you with that, seeing how I only recently arrived in Gaian and I'm not familiar with human scripture. I only recently learned how to speak your language actually."

The demon gave a slight smirk and smiled. "It was likely recently stored in here, and I think the newest records are kept in the top shelf, which would narrow it down. Although Nex has had a lot of items stored in here. I think the absolute newest ones are actually written in Thanatian, but the NGO's record is likely in Terianian."

--- ---

- Kainengrad, Streets -

"Whoa, looks like they got a lucky shot." Duilin said, looking at Doriana. "Are you okay?"

"How the hell did you manage to get hit?!" Valos snarled. "Just leave the witch behind Duilin, she'll only slow us down now."

"Shut up, Valos!" Duilin went over to the drow and helped her move. "We should probably find a place to hide, then maybe get a healing potion for her if she needs it."

"But we don't have time for this!" Valos roared. "Seriously, we have to get the hell moving. Nex doesn't know we specifically are here, if he knows we are here before we confront him, we'll loose our element of surprise and blow our chance at defeating him!"

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Terian, Kainengrad Inner Workings -

"I'll be right behind... ugh, what's the point, I need rest." Doriana then let herself slide down the wall of a building as she sat down on the wet ground, bleeding slowly from her wound in her calf muscle. She kept bandages in her pouch to her side, so she pulled a large one out and wrapped her lower leg up with it. She tied it off and tossed the ruined shin guard from her armor aside, letting her underarmor cover the wound.

"Damn guards... Well, hopefully that will do it for a while. Does anybody know a good healing spell or just so happen to have a scroll?"

- Terian, Kainengrad Outter Workings -

Jacobie brought his katana up to his front and took a stance backwards. Lucky for him he didn't have to protect the Drannivolka too much, for they were excellent at evading, and hopefully would be able to evade the attacks of the Kandarinians that were pissed about rain and lightning. Though perhapse they would be more afraid than pissed off at the moment. He smirked at that idea and held his katana at the ready... He definately had to say something that would set the Kandarin Fortress off like a match to a campfire... but what?

"Now that I'm finished with your wall... I think I'll go for you next... Heh heh heh..." He then pointed the tip of his katana at the fortress and it began to glow red with its enchantment. It was a beacon of light in all of the darkness that surrounded the fortress, with the exception of the lightning that lit the sky. He brought the katana back to his side and held out his arm, palm up, beckoning to the guards.

"Well then, let us dance, worms."

[D. Ein]

-=Kainengrad - Streets=-

The infiltrators' loud words alerted several guards running past - but those ones, apparently, did not know that they were dealing with invisible foes at the moment. So they just shrugged off, and continued running to wherever it was that they were assigned to. A couple of Vanguards lumbered past, their large helmets not allowing them to hear anything anyway.

-=Kainengrad - Rooftops=-

The intruders continued to surprise Apophis more and more. At this point, he stopped blaming the mage who originally put the invisibility spell on the group for being an amateur - instead, it seemed to him, none of the people there knew how to behave while stealthed. Not noticing water dripping from their wet clothes is one thing, but speaking - especially speaking that loud? The Stalker was beginning to sincerely doubt whether his abilities were really needed to capture this group. Regardless, he continued tracking them - if not for a practical purpose, then just for sport.

-=Kainengrad - East Gate ruins=-

The Lizardman was greeted by a semi-circle of about 60 Kainengrad spear gunners, and five Vanguards with their magic mortars fully deployed. All weapons aimed at Jacobie, and the troopers still felt unsure with themselves against this large a foe. The only ones who seemed completely unfazed by the sight of the humanoid reptile were the Vanguards and a chubby, short, commanding-looking chap standing behind the lines. Indeed, the apparent leader bore a Kandarinian Battle Suit with the unmistakable winged lightning of the First Regiment. As the dust from the walls cleared, he pronounced in a highly annoying, squeaky voice:

-"ALL RIGHT, 'WORMS!' You've heard the boss; dance for him! Better yet, make HIM dance! FIRE AT WILL!"

60 obsidian-tipped spears buzzed right at Jacobie, closely followed by five glowing cylinder-shaped projectiles fired out of the Vanguards' magic mortars, each a foot long.

[City defenses - 55, fully mobilized]

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Terian, Kainengrad Outter Workings -

At that very moment, the lizard backflipped over the speargunners' attack. 60 spears didn't quite phase him as much as the magic mortars did, however, as he just barely evaded the strike. He landed on his left leg and cartwheeled out of the way of the magical shots fired by to voracious Vanguard. He would have no problem with petty speargunners, but the Vanguard were another matter...

"Woah, shit!" He said after another near miss with a mortar shot. The lizard then gave a quick bow and smirked to the offenders. "Am I the only one keeping the stage? The crowd begs for something different... now... DANCE!!!"

With that, he held the tip of his katana out and fired a quick, small, but continuous beam of pure heat energy. It melted at least 20 speargunner's helmets so that the armor seeped into their eyes, burning them into oblivion. They would go mad with pain before they died...

Meanwhile, John and Merrick let up on the lightning, but it still poured water from the heavens. The two Drannivolkan elites jumped to either side of Jacobie from where they were (which was far back) and brandished two ornate longswords. They both, however, didn't use them, but instead combined forces and cast a gale wind spell that forced the armies back a slight bit. The rain also helped by leveling with the gale wind and pushed them back more. It would be one hell of a battle to win with wind and rain hitting your face and pushing you back. Their mission was only to delay however, not attack and hold possition.

[Xorlak]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse, Safe Room -

Vincent smacked his forehead. "So we have to look it up then..." he said through clenched teeth.  "Very well.  Thank you for your time..." he tried to say it politely, but his annoyance likely dripped through.

Mikail meanwhile stood in awe of the tall safes twisting around over head.  He craned his neck back and blinked.

Vincent opened the top shelf and began to rummage through the papers.  The odd mess of unintelligible symbols must have been the Thanatian language the demon spoke off.  Shuffling those off, he dug through to find something legible.

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse, Safe Room -

"Sorry I can't be anymore help." Dephiler replied. "I'll be here by the doorway if you need anything." The demon crossed his arms and leaned on the wall next to the door way. He closed his eyes, looking like the most relaxed and care-free person in the world.

--- ---

- Kainengrad, Streets -

"Sorry, I don't know any healing spells. Well I do, but I can't use them unless I change form." Duilin replied. "But it's complicated why I can't."

Valos rolled his eyes, and dug into his pockets and mumbled a few things. He took out a tiny vial and handed it to the drow. "Take ONE sip of this. Your wound will heal then we can go."

Duilin sighed, but then stopped moving for a second and then looked around. He then lowered his voice. "You know we should probably keep our voices down. I just noticed we, or rather Valos, have been shouting during a stealth mission."

Valos glared and clenched his teeth at his half brother but then shook it off. "Yeah, fine. Let's get moving now. We don't have much time." Valos whispered, but still kept his harsh angry tone.

[Drannic_Lord01]

- Terian, Kainengrad Inner Workings -

"Right," Doriana said quietly, "thanks..." She grabbed the vial and took a slight sip. It tasted rather disgusting, but nonetheless, she swallowed and her wound began to numb. Soon enough, it was healed to the point where she could put weight on it without too much pain. She handed the vial back to Valos. "Okay... where do we go from here?"

[D. Ein]

//Drannic - Kandarinian soldiers generally do not wear helmets, they prefer using standard-issue Kandarinian Protection Amulets (they do have facemasks, though). However, most of the guys fighting Jacobie are guards, and those can be wearing helmets - and Vanguards have vizored helmets, too.\

-=Kainengrad - East Gate ruins=-

While the commander from the First Regiment was squealing commands at the guards, most of the latter ran as soon as they saw their jittering comrades flail their arms at the molten metal running down their skin. The Vanguards grunted indifferently, and, obeying the commanding officer's orders, fired another volley at Jacobie. Rain didn't bother them that much - a full skin of 3-cm armour protected them from just about anything, and a slitted visor let very little water inside.

Meanwhile, Ein carefully peeked into the courtyard, previously filled with soldiers, and was moderately surprised to find only five Vanguards remaining. Looks like this Jacobie lizard can pull off a trick or two, after all. But those Vanguards...

They were definitely different than the last time. Even back then, they were quite a sight, but even more so now. Their armour, still pitch-black, became even thicker than it used to be. Their helmet stayed the same, mostly, except for the addition of a V-shaped, slitted vizor to protect their faces. They seemed to enjoy the addition - each had several markings on the visor (kills?). Ein shivered when he saw the warriors' claymores - swords that were easily taller than Ein himself, with vicious fang-shaped protrusions coming out of the blade. One hit by that, and they aren't even going to bother picking up your pieces.

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad, Streets -

"Let's just get to the command centre." Valos replied. He pointed at the large temple like building in the middle of the town. "Now let's go."

He then ran through the town towards the command centre and Duilin followed.

[Xorlak]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse, Safe Room -

Had the demon left them to rummage through the papers alone, Vincent would have considered taking more than just the NGO.  This was the main storehouse of the entire complex after all...  But the blasted demon was annoying enough to sit there and wait after essentially telling them to find it themselves.

Things would be different if Vincent were in charge.

Hmmm...

After a great deal of shuffling, Mikail cried out when he found the correct file documenting the location of the NGO.  A few turns of the crank shifted the movable stairs to the correct safe high above, and Vincent removed a metallic box shaped much like a briefcase.  With his apprentice following, Vincent walked towards the doorway carrying the box in his right hand, trench coat swaying and boots echoing down the corridor.

"We have what we've come for.  I bid you good day, sir."

[Dude Man]

- Kainengrad, Supply Storehouse, Safe Room -

Dephiler's eyes shifted at Vincent and he walked out of the room. He straightened himself off, from leaning against the wall.

Nex sent a telepathic message to him earlier saying that Vincent's motives for wanting the NGO may be questionable, despite him having authorization.

As he exited the room he turned the small wall crank, turning off the torches in the room, and he followed Vincent.

"Watch your step." He warned the captain as he followed him out. "It's dark in the next room, remember?"

[Drannic_Lord01]

//Thanks for the FYI. I'll be sure to check next time.

- Terian, Kainengrad Command Center -

"Right." Doriana followed the two over to the command center, her katar ready for battle at her side. She looked around, and then looked back at her self. "5 more minutes, guys. Then we'll be clear as day."

- Terian, Kainengrad East Gate (outside) -

Jacobie evaded the barrage from the Vanguard by making a barrel roll underneath the attack, then jumping swiftly away as it exploded behind him. He then leapt back to where he was before, now a smoldering miniature crater from the Vanguard attack. The lizardman smirked with intent.

"Is that the best you can do!?" As that was said, Jacobie made a great leap into the air, pointing his sword at the Vanguards and attempted the same move he pulled off on the guards, blasting a beam of pure heat at the Vanguards' thick helmets, melting the visor, seeping down and covering their visual from their helmet quite well.

[D. Ein]

//What kind of beam does that katana shoot? Can it melt 5 Vanguards' visors at once? I'm going to assume no for now, as there's a bit of distance between each one.\

-=Kainengrad - East Gate ruins=-

The afflicted Vanguard grunted, and tore off his softening face shield. Thankfully for him, the iron gauntlet on his hand protected him from the molten metal, and his face was too far from the visor to be affected. He gave the disappearing hunk of metal a quick glance, then threw it aside. Him, and the four other Vanguards left their mortars in place, unsheathing their man-sized claymores instead. They did not wait for the commanding officer's orders, preferring to charge at Jacobie all at once.