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[Crimson Lego]

ooc: Citing the mass PM’s sent out by Lena/JR, I’m going to assume that it’s okay to start this quest. Feel free to join in at anytime!


Once a colony of the Lost Woods upon the continent of Norrendir, Baumstadt became independent in its own right after the Cataclysm wiped out its domain. Soon after news came of the Woods’ destruction, the inhabitants built a new country around their home: it was called Alpenland. Followed quickly by the rise of Rhonos, a former Ikana colony based on Norrendir, Alpenland quickly began expanding out and increasing its population. Many who visited or studied the country predicted it to be advancing at a fast pace and on the path to become a new world power in place of the Alliance or former Verdenien domains. Unlike the Woods, Alpenland now had an actual government body in place to coordinate orders within the country.

Unfortunately, it was not without problems or opponents. To the north of Alpenland, the majority of the surviving Forsaken Fortress pirates had gathered together to form the Amalthea Confederation, a rather informal group of islands that were not united in the sense of the word. Unfortunately, forming a united front was one of their priorities if the Confederation would be attacked in anyway; this was a large problem for Baumstadt’s government. To the south of the country, New Teyrnon and its country Rhonos Island had also begun to build up their military in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, as well form an independent government. Similarly to the Amalthea Islands, Rhonos’ cities were not truly united in a tight fashion.

Even further south of Norrendir and its newly established nations was the Komitaa continent, the central landmass of the world. On the western coast of Komitaa was Andiel, the last remnants of the Legends Alliance. Though it was a still a small colony in physical and militaristic terms, the Andielians possessed what was left of Emperor Khuffie’s supreme navy, allowing them to fight the seas much more easily. The government situation was also extremely stable within the country, considering that it followed about the same structure as it had on Verden. East of Andiel was both Vildmark and Virrat, two extremely advanced nations with technology way beyond what the other nations in the world had. At civil war with each other, Vildmark and Virrat signed peace treaties with Koridai and Calatia, respectively, hoping to gain something out of the alliance.

As he sat upon the railing of the Sacred Grove watching the coast of Norrendir come closer and closer, the dwarf inhaled another batch of smoke from his pipe, lowering it from his mouth after a moment. Blowing out the flame, he placed it back in his pocket and dismounted the railing, making his way towards the upper deck of the vessel. 15 minutes until we hit shore. Nearby, several of the crew members were manning the weapons they had, readying their own equipment in case of an ambush or battle, or enjoying the scene in their sight. More than a few of the sailors were below deck, trying to get a few hours sleep before the mission they had been assigned. They’re going to need it, grimaced the dwarf. This looks like it’s going to be a challenge.

Taking out his pipe and relighting it, General Leo Crimson breathed in the smoke, lowering the tube from his mouth a moment later. Finally guaranteed a week of peace after the battle against Lazu’s avatars, he learned from sources overseas that the former Lost Woods colony of Baumstadt was issuing a reward for those who would travel south and find out what happened to a group of soldiers on a mission, and to bring back what they had been sent out for. The offer was…enticing, thought Leo to himself. After realizing the men had been awaiting the delivery of confidential Alliance documents, the dwarf immediately put together a task force of Snakeheads, Huscarls, and other Calatian soldiers and headed south to a port. From there, they chartered a medium-sized vessel and sailed across the ocean; for the majority of the trip, they were in Koridaian territory, but Leo knew it was worth the risk. There’s got to be at least one scroll in there detailing weapons and other supplies we could use, he thought hopefully.
‘
As the ship slowed down and anchored in, Leo hefted up his own rifle and moved up to the plank being lowered down. Clambering onto the makeshift bridge, he walked past the Baumstadtian guards and made his way towards the main port; 15 Calatian soldiers followed him, with 8 remaining behind to man the ship. Not making eye contact with any of the city’s port guards, Leo shouldered his rifle and gazed upon what had once been a Woods colony, and was now an ever growing country known as Alpenland. So many things have changed in the past 2 years, he reflected. Truthfully, the dwarf knew he would give up almost anything to be back living in Alsvard peacefully as an average citizen of the Lost Woods. For now, he would have to deal with it on his own and/or with the help of those around him.

Soon reaching what appeared to be the main square of the village, Leo turned to address the Calatians. “I need 6 people to tag along,” he ordered. “The rest of you split up and meet here again in 2 hours.” The dwarf fell silent and waited for said six men to, hopefully, speak up and risk their lives.

[Sir Turtlelot]

A feeling of anxiousness began to build up in the young Calatian soldier, afterall this was his first mission. Hans had been in training along with a few of the others on the voyage. After the journeys through the Cursed Lands, and the loss of many Calatian soldiers, a new batch of Calatian soldiers completed their training, Hans was one of them. After the long voyage, the group of Calatians finally reached their destination.

Hans fell in with the rest of Calatians as they marched through the port and onward to the city. The scenery sure is a lot different from back home. Hans thought to himself as the group continued on their way. Hans kept one hand on his short sword incase of an ambush.

Eventually they came to halt at the town square, the general turned around and announced “I need 6 people to tag along,” he ordered. “The rest of you split up and meet here again in 2 hours.” As the dwarf waited for volunteers to speak up, Hans was the first to step foward. "I'll go with you." The young Calatian said in response.

* * *

"It should be around here somewhere." Nikola said to himself as he made his way through the dense forest. He had caught word of an expedition to find some missing Alliance documents, and a reward was in-store for whomever could find and return them. Though the reward would be nice, the contents of said documents had piqued his interest more. The original deliverers of the documents had went missing some time ago, and if Nikola's intuition was correct, then the documents may already be in the hands of Alliance soldiers, on their way back to Andiel.

Nikola had come to a small clearing in the forest, it was what he had been looking for. It was an old convoy passage through the forest. If Nikola was right, then the Alliance troops carrying the documents should eventually make their way through this passage.

Unsure of how much time he had, Nikola went straight to work setting up his trap for the incoming Alliance troops.



OoC: Hans is a Calatian NPC and can be used by anyone, I just wanted to go ahead and hopefully get things rolling for Leo.

[Dizzy]

“I need 6 people to tag along,” the General ordered.

His voice entered one ear and passed through the other; Dizzy's wandering attention violently snapped back to the commanding dwarf and, by impulse alone, her hand shot skyward.

It took several seconds for Diz to realize what she had done, but by the time it dawned on her, it was already too late to retract her offer.

She tried her best to hide the self-directed frustration, and she stood at parade rest and awaited orders.

Edited by Dizzy, 26 March 2011 - 03:52 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

Seeing a few soldiers stepping up immediately and with little hesitation, Leo nodded his approval. There we go. The loss of the many Snakeheads in the Cursed Lands and the vast number of new recruits made the general less confident about which soldiers were the most trustworthy and reliable. The man he was not familiar with, but Leo recognized the woman as Dizzy, one of the Calatians that had gone to the Cursed Lands and survived. He had yet to see either in action, but felt that the fact they had volunteered was good enough. Seeing their comrades do so, a couple of other Calatians stepped forward as well, but nervously.

Turning to the man, Leo asked, “What’s your name?”

“Hans, sir.”

“Last name?”

“No idea; I was adopted and my foster parents never gave me in.”

“Hans it is, then. Good to have you here.” Clapping the man on the shoulder, Leo gave a quick nod to Dizzy. “Glad to see you too, Ms. Dizzy.” Snapping his fingers, the dwarf led the volunteers towards the core of Baumstadt. “Anyone else wants to come is welcome to as well; the rest of you meet us back here in a couple hours after we meet with the mayor.”

Leaving the port quickly and as they were entering the urban areas, Leo noticed how quiet the group of soldiers were and tried to get them talking. “So, how come each of you guys decided to join this mission?” he asked out of curiosity.

-------------------------------------------

The mayor of Baumstadt gazed outside the window at the open sea off the coast of Alpenland. Somewhere across that sea, the Kingdom of Calatia was waging a war against the Empire of Koridai, a war that had not yet touched the continent of Norrendir.

A messenger came into the room quietly. As the mayor turned to him, the former said it.

“They’re here.”

[~Celesta~]

Celesta had stayed fairly silent for most of the journey. She was never one to attract attention to herself, it was what made her such a good listener at the Mead Hall. But when Leo spoke up to the group around her he understood his intentions and was willing to help him break the silence. "I've always loved travelling." She smiled sweetly to Leo, who seemed to appreciate a response to his question. "Though I suppose this time I am being a bit selfish. I used to live in the Lost Woods and part of me wanted to see it again and reminisce over what it was once like. So I guess the mission is more of an excuse for a chance to see how much has changed. But I promise you that I will be helpful to you as well." She nodded in affirmation.

[Sir Turtlelot]

As the group split up, Hans observed the group he was with. He had known of General Crimson for some time, considering that he was one of the higher up officials in the Calatian military. The young warrior had never actually met or seen the general, let alone fight along side him, but he had heard much about him. He always imagined him being taller. Celesta was another face he had recognized, since she was the one who ran the Mead Hall, a place where he and his friends visited often. He had spoken to her a few times while there, but that was about all. The other woman was known as Dizzy. Hans had never met her, but had seen her around the kingdom before. He did not recognize the others of their group.

As they made their way through town, a moderately sized fortress laid ahead of them. As the group came closer to the fortress, a drawbridge could be seen lowering, and on the other side stood a plump, lavishly dressed man. It appeared as if he was waiting for them to cross over to him. Hans looked over to the general to see what he had planned.

* * *

The trap was set, and now all that was left to do was wait. Nikola paused and intently listened to the quiet forest. He could hear a barely audible sound a great distance away. What it was he wasn't sure, though he anticipated that he was correct in his assumption. He walked over to a nearby tree and began to climb it, hoping to get a glimpse of the sound he heard, off in the distance.

[Crimson Lego]

Leo nodded in response to the one called Celesta’s words; he could sympathize with her feelings. “I know how you feel; there was a time where all I wanted to do when I turned 18 was explore all of Verden,” he explained. “In the end, I suppose it was one of the reasons I joined up with the Woods’ army. In any case, any type of help is appreciated.” In truth, the general felt much more comfortable having an additional former Woods citizen fighting alongside him; the dorm’s skills and other traits would have diminished in all them slightly after the past few years in Calatia, but it was reassuring nevertheless. In any case, Leo thought, Celesta would be able to provide with a few drinks on the journey if it was necessary. Always nice to have a bartender on-hand.

Within 20 minutes, the group had traveled from the ports and outskirts of Baumstadt to the busy industrial and merchant centre. People noticed the unusual clothing, walking pace, and above all, the blue banner they carried with them. Word of the Calatian-Koridaian war was well-known throughout both Norrendir and Komitaa. The soldiers of Alpenland and Calatia gripped their weapons threateningly when they made eye contact, but no further action. To Leo, it seemed as though the entire city was waiting for something terrible to happen whenever strangers from the continent of Verden visited their home. Taking a long look at the buildings and structures of the city, Leo could see several similarities with the ones from the Lost Woods; he had visited Baumstadt once sometime after the end of the Third Domain War when it was merely a settlement located in the depths of a forest. It looks like they’ve matured quite well on their own, he thought regrettably. Leo could tell that Norrendir held great potential for the Lost Woods before they were annihilated and could only dream of all the things that could have benefited them had it not been for the Cataclysm.

Reaching what appeared to a fortress in the center of Baumstadt, Leo could see the drawbridge already lowering itself; hitting the ground with a thump, an aristocrat-like man came over with a smile on his face.

“You must be the mercenaries from Verden,” he said cheerfully, holding his hand out. “I am His Excellency’s viceroy.”

Nodding, Leo shook it. “Correct. We are here to speak with your leader about the job he has offered for-”

“Yes, yes, we know why you are here,” interrupted the man. “Please follow me; he is just upstairs. Please follow me.” The Alpenlandian led the group of Vikings into the fortress, where they ascended the floors by way of spiral stairs. Two bodyguards escorted them to the top.

The messenger then bowed down and gestured at the large wooden door. “His Excellency awaits you, sir.”

“Thank you,” said Leo. As the bodyguards and the man left, he nodded to the others and pushed open the door. Inside, he found a large round room with a fireplace on his left and a large bed on the right. A wooden desk sat in the middle, where a well-built man in a double-breasted suit stood looking out the window. At the sound of the door closing, he turned around.

A smile immediately on the man’s face and Leo’s as well. “Well…Sergeant Crimson,” he said, walking towards the dwarf.

Leo couldn’t believe his eyes as he shook hands with His Excellency; instinctively, his body snapped to a much attention-like state. “Colonel Newton,” he said. “I did not know that you would be-”

“Here?” chuckled Newton. “Well, I was on a large ship with some survivors after Olimandias, and decided to risk my chances over here than the Taj-Nar. In any case, I am no longer your superior, General, so let’s forgo the formalities, eh?”

“Fine with me.”

“Very good. Tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” Taking a seat in one of the many chairs spaced out in front of the desk, Leo accepted the small cup and took a sip from it. It was refreshing. Setting it back down on the desk, he turned back towards the former colonel. “As you probably know, we’re here for the job you advertised about your missing soldiers down in Andiel.”

“Ah, yes,” replied Newton, now a serious expression on his face. “As you probably know, a small team of ours was sent to Salledo following some info we picked up a few days before. There was evidence of secret Alliance documents that could have proved very advantageous to our situation against others such as the Amalthea Confederation or even Andiel itself. Unfortunately, the last message we received from our men was that the contact didn’t show up and that they were going to sit it out for a few more days.” Taking a sip from his tea, Newton continued, “Naturally, we had to assume our men were in enemy hands, and a rescue operation was completely unacceptable; it would show the Andielian leaders that we were intentionally attempting to sabotage their government.”

“Weren’t you, though?” objected Hans.

“Yes, but that’s not the point,” said Newton impatiently. “The point is, if you’re going to send in a small group like that unofficially and they get caught, you can’t do anything about that up front. That’s why the world has mercenaries, like you guys.”

Leo decided to cut to the chase. “How much money are we talking about?”

His Excellency replied with a mere shrug, though it was plainly obvious that he was trying to avoid the topic. “We’ll discuss the incentives once you find out what happened to our men. Additionally, if you’re able to retrieve the same documents our team was trying to, there may be a large bonus available.” Reaching under his desk, Newton pulled out a small bag of gold and a large scroll. “Here’s a retainer fee, and a map indicating the route the soldiers were ordered to take. Hopefully, this’ll be able to help you more.”

“Fair enough,” said Leo just as casually; inside, he was satisfied by the terms laid out for the Calatians. This is a lot better than I thought it would be. “You happen to have a pen anywhere?”

As the deal was finally set in stone with both their signatures, followed by relief on both sides of the desk, the dwarf leaned back in his chair and glanced around at his companions. “You guys have any questions before we head for Salledo?”

[Sir Turtlelot]

Hans looked around at his comrades before speaking up. "Yes, are we the only ones you hired for the job, or is there anyone else we should be aware of?"

* * *

Nikola had made it to the top of the tree. He could still hear the very faint sound, but he could see nothing do to the other trees blocking his vision. He was beginning to grow somewhat impatient, but in the end he knew that it would pay off. He had heard that the Alpenlandians were willing to pay a good amount of gold for the return of the documents, though he had not spoken to any of their officials. Yet at the same time, he knew that the Andielians would also pay a hefty reward.

Though the reward was not what concerned him at the moment, it was the contents of the document that did.


OoC: Yeah, couldn't really think of much, just wanted to get the thread moving again.

[Crimson Lego]

At this, Newton fiddled around with his thumbs for a moment before answering Hans’ question. “Well, I did approach some Koridaian and Amalthean mercenaries yesterday, but we didn’t exactly leave with a full agreement in mind.”

“Then I can assume we’ll run into them sometime?” said Leo.

“Likely, yes. In that case, be on your guard at all times.”

“Will do.”

Nodding, the mayor looked at Celesta and Dizzy. “You two have anything in mind?”

ooc: If nobody else replies to this, Turtlelot, then feel free to send us on a ship heading to Andiel.

[Dizzy]

Nodding, the mayor looked at Celesta and Dizzy. “You two have anything in mind?”

She stood at full attention in this new environment, unwilling to relax; Dizzy's brow furrowed upon being addressed.

She needed a moment of thought but could not come up with any particular concerns. Rations were covered, the plans were laid out, and -of course- there are the chances of running into less than friendly company. It sounded like an average job to her... She hoped it was an average job this time around.












"No, sir."

[~Celesta~]

Celesta sipped on her tea, allowing Dizzy time to respond so that she could savor it a bit more. Once Dizzy was finished the attention in the room moved to her. "I think we've covered everything I can think of." She smiled. "Delightful tea by the way." She smiled. It wasn't often that she indulged in tea, being the bartender for a Mead Hall kept her drinking stiffer drinks. It was a nice change of pace for her and she wasn't going to allow their hospitality to go unnoticed.

[Crimson Lego]

Chuckling at Celesta’s response, Colonel Newton stood up as Leo did so as well. “Then, General, I wish you and your people good luck. May Diel speed you safely on and back your journey.”

------------------------------------------

The ship commandeered by the Calatians was medium-sized at best; it was not built for long battles with other naval vessels, but was trustworthy on the sea nevertheless. Thankfully, they had not run into anything that was dangerous at all; no Alliance, Koridaian or Amalthea vessels. After finishing a double check on the cannons, Leo gazed around the deck at his crew and task force. It was the best that he had had at his disposal for overseas jobs, but he was satisfied with them nevertheless. Celesta adds some nice entertainment and casualness to the trip as well, reflected Leo. It had been long since an actual bartender or restaurant operator other than himself had gone on a military mission; he hoped that with that it would be as stressful as previous ones. Looking up, he saw something that startled him and set his thoughts into motion almost right away. Shit.

Moving towards the nearest soldier, which just happened to be Hans, he stood on his tippy-toetoes and tapped him on the shoulder; Hans turned around quickly, most likely out of habit. “General, how can I help you?” he asked immediately.

“Do you see that little thing over there?” said Leo softly, pointing to the west. It appeared to be a ship of some sort, heading in the direction of the Calatians.

“Yes, sir.”

“See if you can get a scope on it and find an emblem, flag, anything. If they’re following us, I want to know specifically who ‘they’ are; use one of the rifles in the storage room.”

“Yes, sir.” With Hans moving off quickly, Leo pulled out his own rifle and leaned on the railing of the ship. Looking through the scope and adjusting it to zoom in, he was able to get more detail from the image. No identification at all. Leaving that task to Hans, the general began searching for other details, including the number of men that were on the ship. He counted at least 8 on deck, with possibly more below. This ship looks like it was sent out for more than just patrol.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Leo turned around to find Hans. “What did you find?” he demanded.

The fact of the Calatian soldier was pale. “It’s not very good, sir,” he stammered.

“Then tell me. Whose ship is it?”

ooc: I’ll let somebody else take it from here.

[Sir Turtlelot]

OoC: Damn school eating up all of my time. :\

"I don't think it's whomever owns the ship, that's our concern at the moment." Hans replied grimly.

Before Hans could answer the general's confused look, the boat was close enough to answer it. The stench of death filled the air. The 'crew' on the ship was nothing more than decomposing corpses that had been tied up like marionettes.

As ship began quickly closing in, it became apparent that with nobody on board to steer it, it was on a collision course with the Calatians.

"Sir, what should we do, I don't think we have enough time left to evade it." Hans said quickly and nervously. He was not fond of the idea of being stranded at sea.

* * *

After several hours of waiting, Nikola's patience paid off. He found what he was looking for.

A horse drawn carriage followed by several Andielian guards and a number of prisoners tied to the back of the wagon. Nikola watched carefully as the group walked directly into his trap. The horse's leg pulled the string that had been stretched across the path. Moments later, several small tin cans dropped from the trees, and began pouring out smoke as they hit the ground.

"What the hell!" one of the soldiers exclaimed. In the panic and confusion, Nikola made his move. He dashed through the smoke to the location of one of the guards. Slashing out with his estoc, he heard cry and a thud. The other guards now alert to ambush could be heard calling out orders to one another. Just as planned. With a few more moments of cover from the smoke, Nikola ran to one source of yelling and slashed. Another cry and thud.

The smoke finally cleared. The remaining guards saw their two slain comrades and Nikola with a blood stained sword. One guard drew his sword and charged Nikola, but before he could strike, Nikola lunged and stabbed his estoc right through the guard. The other remaining guard on the ground dashed as well, bringing his sword down on Nikola's shoulder. Nikola gritted his teeth in pain and anger, and grabbed his capacitor from the inside of his coat and hit the switch on the side with his thumb as he brought it up to the man's face. The man screamed in agony for a couple moments as electricity coursed through his face before falling onto the ground, smoke raising from his charred face.

The driver let out a battle cry as he leaped down from the carriage and charged Nikola. The inventor merely pulled a small handle from his belt and flipped a switch on the side, and a knife blade shot out, hitting the last Andielian in the throat.

Nikola walked past the last guard as collapsed onto the ground. Climbing up into the back of the carriage, he saw a rather large chest. Opening it up revealed piles of gold coins. Nikola began pushing them to side until he saw it. On the the bottom of the chest, beneath the gold, sat a small wooden box. Nikola smirked as he picked up the box and opened it. Just as he suspected. The alliance contracts.

From outside the carriage, Nikola could hear a thud and the whinny of the horse. Grabbing the parchment from out of the box, Nikola ran out of the carriage to see one of the first guards who had been taken down, apparently not out though. The horse galloped away down the path, leaving Nikola along side with the dead guards and the tie up prisoners. "Bloody hell" Nikola said aloud. Once that guard reached Andiel, it would only be a matter of time until search parties came looking for him.

"Looks like today's your lucky day boys." Nikola said to the prisoners. "Since he escaped, there's no reason in killing you." He said with a laugh.

With that, Nikola reclaimed his weapons and tucked the parchment into his coat, then took off into the forest.

[Crimson Lego]

ooc: Not sure this post is physically possible, but who cares, it’s LA.

Looking in shock for a few seconds at the sight of what was shown to him as the ship approached, Leo immediately pushed that aside and moved to a course of action. “Starboard, fire everything!” he screamed, moving quickly to the upper deck. “McKnight, move us the fuck out of the way right now!”

The sailor named McKnight immediately set a course to avoid a collision with the unmanned vessel, while the 3 cannons below deck on the starboard side fired as fast as possible to try and either stop the ship in its forward movement or sink it. Come on, thought Leo, gritting his teeth and firing his own rifle although he knew it would have little to no effect. I haven’t come this far in life just to be killed by a ship of dead people.



Fortunately, the cannons did the job, as the other ship slowed to a much slower rate; it scraped by the moving Calatian vessel, with its hull scraping by the back side of the latter, creating a rather large hole above the tide. However, that also brought the mystery ship to a complete halt, with the stench of the corpses reaching the noses of the Calatians rather suddenly. Breathing a sigh of relief while trying to ignore the horrendous smell, Leo moved to inspect the damage. “How long will it take to fix that?” he asked the nearest crew member.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” observed the Calatian as he leaned over the railing. “Plus, the water doesn’t seem to touch it; shouldn’t take more than 30-40 minutes.”

“Alright, get on it ASAP. I’m gonna head on this ship and see if there’s anything to salvage or anybody still alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jamming fresh rounds into the chamber of his rifle, Leo gripped it tightly and lowered a plank onto the deck of the unknown ship. “I need 5 guys with me on this,” he ordered. “Let’s get this whole thing stripped down and move on quickly.” Walking slowly across the plank, the dwarf leaped onto the deck with care to avoid the rotting bodies. This is the most disgusting mission I’ve ever been on, he thought. Taking care of his steps, he moved around cautiously and headed towards the door leading below deck.

[Sir Turtlelot]

Despite the horrendous smell, Hans once again volunteered.

As the group boarded the smaller vessel, everyone began to search the boat for anything valuable or worth their while. The corpses were fairly hard to ignore, even if you didn't look at the decomposing men, who were literally falling apart, you could smell them.

"Looks like they were Amaltheans." Hans said aloud to his fellow Calatians.

There was nothing of any real value on the ship, the food had spoiled and molded, the weapons and gunpowder had rusted and became soaked, and there was nothing of any real monetary value, not that Hans could find anyways. However, the young man did find something of interest. A piece of parchment, attached to the rotting corpse of the man bound to the wheel. Hans quickly snatched paper, and jumped back.

After quickly glimpsing through it, the young man's eyes widened.

"GENERAL! I THINK I FOUND SOMETHING!" Hans exclaimed. He didn't quite understand the letter, but it revealed more about who committed the atrocity that the group discovered.

At the bottom of the paper held the seal of Andiel.

[Crimson Lego]

Hurrying over to where Hans stood, cursing the rotting corpses that stood in his way, Leo took the scroll and read the text scripted upon it; he immediately knew why Hans had trouble understanding it. “They used a code for this,” muttered the dwarf.

“I’m sorry, sir?” said Hans.

“Because our messenger ships are now so vulnerable on the open sea,” explained Leo, “Most people, including Calatia, choose to send their messages using code words or sentences that only the receiver of said messages will know how to decrypt. In this case, Ionic neutrons very agitated destructive Eons Repell Super Ducks In Snowpeak Patches At The Calatian Hills Every Day would mean something completely different than what it seems to be.”

“Can you decode this then?” replied Hans in a tone of uncertainty.

“I have already have,” said Leo in a grim tone. “The message is obviously implying that the people that Colonel/Mayor Newton sent out from Baumstadt have either been killed or captured; therefore, he has failed.” Crumpling the paper up, he tossed to the floor. “However, it does not say that the secret documents have yet been captured and brought back to Andiel’s capital.”

“These bodies have been rotting for days, though,” pointed out of the soldiers who was plugging his nose and looking as though he would like to vomit.

“True,” admitted Leo. “However, Andiel is like any other continent and country; it must also have regions of natural life to balance out the ecosystems between civilization and the indigenous species. If I remember correctly, there are a number of large forests on its western coast, which we have just about reached,” he explained, pointing to the visible shore. “If we’re lucky, the troops carrying those documents should be slowed down by that terrain, and hopefully these other men Newton hired will delay them as well until we can catch up.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me, General,” responded one of the more enthusiastic Calatians. Before the ship hit the shore and the anchor was thrown off, he leapt out of the ship and waded his way towards the sandy ground and the nearby forest. Eager young men, thought Leo in exasperation as he did likewise. Once the rest of the soldiers had gathered around, he gave out the next order.

“I want everyone to watch out for any signs of civilized life or convoys that might be moving through this place; there’s a good chance they’re the ones carrying whatever documents are left.” Cocking his rifle, Leo gestured towards the heavy vegetarian bush.


“Let’s go.”

[Sir Turtlelot]

That Alliance bastard got me good. Nikola thought to himself as he quickly made his way through the forest pushing various bushes and shrubs out of his way. He could feel the blood running down his back and chest as he ran. The wound itself wasn't too terrible, it was just a major setback, especially since his time to escape was very limited. He knew if he could reach the port town before the Andielians found him, he'd be home free.

* * *

The group of Calatians started to make their way through the wooded terrain of the Andielian coast, all were vigilantly searching for something, any kind of clue that could help them find the prisoners and documents.

The forest was dense, filled with many thick tall trees. The sky was only somewhat visible through treeline, thus leaving parts of the forest dark, almost too dark to see in. Aside from the noises of various birds and bugs, the forest was also silent. In order to hear the faintest sound from far away, one had to focus intently. Clues in this forest were hard to come by, as most of it appeared untouched, and with so much to explore and search, it would take them far more time than they had to properly search.

The group had split up to cover more ground, but stayed close enough together to quickly move to anyone else in the group. As the group searched, luck happened to be on their side, or at least they were in the right place at the right time. The galloping of horse could be heard nearing. Hans turned back to the group and said aloud "It's coming from over there." Hans headed in the direction of the horse galloping and came to an opening just as the man on the horse was approaching. Hans grinned a victory smile, that was until the horse nearly trampled as the man madly rode by without so much as stopping or acknowledging their existence. For the brief moment Hans was leaping to the side for dear life, he caught a glimpse of the rider's face, it was filled with fear. After Hans hit the ground, he panted and then stood back, his close call with death shocking him a bit, he also didn't look forward to a possible lecture from the general about paying attention.

As the rest of the Calatians approached, Hans spoke to Leo before he could scold him "Sir, that man was terrified by something." he said, still panting slightly. "Should we follow him, or go to see what he was running from?"

* * *

Nikola had finally made it back to his make shift base, a small forest tent with his supplies. He quickly took off his coat and tossed it aside as he unbuttoned his vest and shirt. His wound was deep, but nothing permanent. Nikola cursed under his breath as he properly dressed the wound by wrapping a cloth around it to stop the bleeding. As he re-buttoned his shirt and vest, he quickly went around his small camp and began gathering his various papers and supplies. He had much practice with a speedy clean up, and by the time he had his coat on, all of his belongings were put away.

Luckily, not much blood had gotten on his coat, nothing too noticeable anyways, no need to look suspicious. With all of his belongings with him, not that he has much anyways, Nikola continued to make his way through the forest. It was only a matter of time until that guard reached the city.

[Crimson Lego]

Taking a moment to think over Hans’ proposal, Leo took a quick count of the men around him and made a decision. “We’ll do both, 15/15. Hans, you take half and find out whatever the guard was trying to get away from, and I’ll take the rest to follow the guard, hopefully back to Andiel’s capital. Move out.”

Moving swiftly through the underbrush with 15 of the Calatian soldiers, Leo followed the muddy tracks left behind by the man’s horse and wondered where they would lead him and whether it would bring them any closer to finding the secret documents so craved by the Alpenlandians. This whole thing had better be worth what we’re going through.

[Sir Turtlelot]

The general's decision shocked Hans, this was his first mission and he was already being assigned to take charge. Why him, he had shown no reason to be left in charge, if anything it should be someone looking after him, being a rookie and all. But whatever had caused the general to make his decision mattered little in comparison to making sure he didn't let him down. He had a responsibility now, and Hans intended to do his best to carry it out.

"Yes sir!" Hans said before the two groups went their separate ways. The general and his men headed north towards Sallado, while Hans and the rest of the Calatians headed south on the path.

The sun was beginning to set as the group of Calatians continued heading south, nothing to be seen other than the tracks of the horse that nearly trampled Hans earlier. Some of the Calatians were beginning to think they were on a wild goose chase, Hans knew if nothing came up soon then they may begin to become angry, and with Hans being the commanding officer, that did not sound all too well for him. Hans, however, was in luck.

Up ahead on the path was a carriage without a horse or driver and several corpses scattered around. The Andielians had been ambushed, a whole group of guards taken out, but by who or what? As the Calatians began to search the scene, some of the "corpses" began to groan and move about. One man jumped back in fear and yelled "ZOMBIES!" and was about to attack one of the bodies, but Hans tackled him to the ground.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Hans yelled at the man. "Look, they're not zombies, they're prisoners." Prisoners... Hans thought to himself as he stared at the moving bodies.

"It's Colonel Newton's men, quickly untie them!" Hans yelled to the other Calatians. After the men were untied and unbound Hans approached one of them. "Can you tell me what happened here?" The man looked up at him and replied. "It's not what, it's who." Hans was slightly baffled by this response. "Don't you mea, 'whom'?" he asked, still fairly confused. "I meant what I said, it was one man." Hans paused "You're telling me that one man did all of this?" he said gesturing back at the several dead Alliance guards. "It's exactly what I'm saying." the man replied firmly. Hans looked on in shock, if one man could ambush an Alliance convoy and kill all of the guards singlehandedly, he had to be very dangerous. "What did he do after disposing of the guards?" The man looked over at the carriage "He took the Alliance documents and took off into the forest." Hans' eyes widened. In order to complete their mission they would have to track down this man and possibly engage him, an idea Hans did not like one bit. "What did he look like?" Hans asked the man. "He was wearing all black, he had on a long coat. Long platinum blonde hair and stone gray eyes. Look out though, his coat is full of all kinds of weapons."

After taking some time to think Hans spoke to the group. "You six, escort these men back to the boats, if we can at least bring them back to Colonel Newton that will be one victory. You two, head back up the path as fast as you can to inform the general of what we've found and what has happened, you MUST reach him before he arrives in Sallado, I'm sure the Andielians will be furious once they've discovered what's happened here, the rest of you come with me, we're going to track down this man and retrieve the documents. Which way did he go?" Hans nearly demanded. One of the prisoners pointed out to the forest "He took off that way."

"Ok men, let's do this." Hans said as he and his group took off into the forest.

* * *

"Blast, it's already sunset and I still haven't reached the port town yet. That guard should be arriving at Sallado around now, if he already hasn't." Nikola said aloud to himself as he stopped for a moment to look at the sky.

"If I miss my voyage I'll have to wait until midday tomorrow, and by then Andiellians will be everywhere." he said as he continued to dash through the forest.

[Crimson Lego]

Moving swiftly but also cautiously through the forests of Andiel with 15 Calatian soldiers, Leo made sure to double check behind every bush and every tree to be certain that there weren’t any hidden Alliance soldiers or foreigners planning an ambush. Eventually, he began to relax and lowered his guard after being convinced of the fact that he was not being followed. That’s one thing that’s gone well on this whole trip. Giving the signal for his men to slow down and take a break, the dwarf could see concrete structure in the distance. “I think we’ve finally reached it,” he murmured.

Walking forward to check out Salledo for himself, Leo heard movement in the brush behind him and immediately spun around, only to find one of the Calatians from the other team standing with his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

“Kinsey,” said the dwarf in surprise, lowering his weapon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“The…new guy…told me to warn you…about…,” gasped Kinsey between breaths.

“Slow down and take your time,” ordered Leo. “I need you to tell me everything accurately and not miss any crucial facts.”

After a few more minutes, Kinsey rose to his feet and spoke out the rest of his message. “When you sent us out in the other direction, we came upon a bunch of people from Alpenland; it turns they were the original group that your Colonel Newton sent out originally. However, we also found a load of dead Alliance soldiers, and apparently they were all killed by a single man.”

“A single man?” replied Leo in a tone of disbelief. “Are you sure about that? It sounds rather unrealistic, even if this man was of great strength and power.”

“Not really, sir, but that’s what the Alpenlandians told us when we found them. They also said that this man would be heading towards Salledo; maybe he’s chasing after that guard we saw earlier as well.”

“Interesting.” Pacing around for a moment as he contemplated the newfound problem, Leo turned back to Kinsey. “Go back to the others in the clearing back there, and tell them to watch out for someone matching the description of the man you learned from the Alpenlandians.”

“Yes, sir.” With that, Kinsey moved quickly back in the direction Leo had pointed. Readying his own rifle, the dwarf moved to kneel down in the nearest bush and waited for any foreigner to show up.

[Sir Turtlelot]

OoC: Sorry for the delay again, life's been keeping me busy lately. Leo, if I start falling behind again, feel free to take control of the thread a little to keep it going.

"What do you mean, one man killed your platoon and stole the documents?!?" an Andielian commandere angrily screamed at the wounded guard. "I know the story sounds a tad far-fetched, sir, but honest to Diel it's the truth." "FAR-FETCHED?!? It's unfucking believable is what it is!"

The commander slumped at his desk, he knew whether or not what this soldier was saying is true or not, he was fully aware of the risks of not taking him seriously. After resting his forehead in the palm of his head he muttered his assistants. "You heard the man, start a search for this man, if the story is true then he's too much of a risk to ignore. Send 50 soldiers done the path immediately." "Yes sir!" the assistants replied.

* * *

That guard had to of made it to the city some time ago. Nikola thought to himself as he began to get the feeling that he was no longer alone. Nikola knew that Salledo was near, and so was the Alliance.

Nikola came to a sudden stop when he spotted someone in the distance. As he cautiously approached, it became aware that the 'someone' was actually a small group, around a dozen or so. After a few moments of observation, it was apparent that they were not of this land, or at least of any military group that Nikola had encountered in his time on this continent.

A distant noise caught Nikola's attention, and he turned back to the way he had come from. Footsteps and the rustling of brush. He had been followed. Nikola mentally cursed his current predicament. An unknown group of soldiers blocked his path to Salledo, and with a second group closing in on him, he did not of the option of sneaking around the first group. Nikola looked around and spotted a tree with low branches and a lot of leaves. He quickly tip toed his way to the tree without leaving any tracks to be followed, and silently climbed up the mid level branches.

* * *

Whoever this person was, he certainly was in a hurry. The tracks that Hans and his fellow Calatians followed were going well into the forest, their target had a destination. The question was what, and what did he want with the Alliance documents? Hans would have his answers soon enough.

Up ahead they spotted a clearing. As Hans and his group of Calatians bursted out into the clearing, it was to their surprise that they found General Crimson and his men, waiting for something.

"General?" Hans said with an obvious hint of confusion his voice, as the two groups of Calatians once again met.

* * *

So they are all apart of the same military. Nikola thought to himself, as the short general and blonde man conversed.

During their conversation, Nikola heard another faint sound in the distance, different from before, and approaching from the opposite directions. After a a minute or so of listening he recognized the sound. Soldiers marching. Andielian troops no doubt. A sinister smile came across Nikola's face, as he planned his escape route.

Nikola quickly and quietly climbed down from the tree, as the marching came closer and closer. Nikola stepped out, unnoticed onto the dirt road, a small distance behind the Calatians. Pulling a flintlock pistol from his jacket, he pulled back the hammer, gaining the attention of a few Calatians, then fired, gaining the rest of their attentions.

The bullet missed all of the Calatians, but hit an Andielian scout who had went ahead of the group. Nikola darted back into the brush and began sprinting through the forest once again. Hans, determined to not let the culprit get away dashed off into the brush as well.

* * *

Upon hearing the gunshot a short distance in front of them, the Andiellian forces moved quickly up the dirt path to find their scout dead and the group of Calatians. An Andiellian officer spotted a dwarf with a rifle in the Calatian group, with his rage building he screamed at the top of his lungs "ATTACK!!"

[Crimson Lego]

ooc: Understood. You can do the same with mine as well if summer school next month prevents me from posting much.

As Hans walked up to him with the rest of the Calatian soldiers, Leo was about to respond when a bullet rang out across the clearing. “What was that?” he cried out, just as Hans turned around and ran away in pursuit of what appeared to be the shooter. Glancing behind him to see an Andielian scout get shot by the single bullet, the dwarf immediately saw a band of soldiers emerging from the city of Salledo. Immediately, their leader bellowed out an attack order, and the soldiers moved out to attack the Calatians in the vicinity.

“Formation!” shouted Leo, turning to face the approaching enemies; firing several rounds in the direction of the latter, he moved back towards the group of Calatians. Immediately, they formed a tight circle facing outwards, ranged weapons in hand. On an unspoken cue, they fired directly at the Andielians, killing those stupid enough to charge blindly into the fray. Reloading his rifle, Leo positioned himself on top of a nearby tree to gain a better position to snipe the enemy soldiers and hopefully driving them back into Salledo.

“There goes our chance for infiltrating the city,” he murmured as he did so.

--------------------------------------------

Running hard after the stranger, whom was gaining distance with every passing second, Hans reached into his pocket and was surprised to find a revolver in there. How could I have forgotten about this? Aiming above the stranger’s head, the Calatian fired a shot; the close range of the bullet caused the man to stop in mid-stride and immediately raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Keeping the revolver up, Hans walked in front of the man and looked him over. “Who are you, and what is your business in Andiel?” he demanded.

[Sir Turtlelot]

Blast! Nikola thought to himself, as he watched the man circle in front of him. This was certainly going to delay him.

“Who are you, and what is your business in Andiel?” Hans demanded.

Nikola took a quick glimpse at Hans before replying. "You certainly don't appear to be an Andiellian, so what's it to you?" Hans made a small scowl, before asking again, this time with the revolver closer to Nikola's face. "Tell me what your busines..." Hans began to say before Nikola swiftly grabbed and twisted Hans' wrist, flipping him over, causing him to drop his revolver.

Hans immediately rose to his feet, drawing his short sword in the process. He took a swipe at Nikola, who jumped back and drew his estoc from it's sheath, pointing the thin blade at Hans' throat. Hans paused before grunting, then hitting Nikola's blade back. The two blades collided repeatedly, as the two warriors continued their fight. Nikola's faster sword and style began to take its toll on Hans, leaving scratches and cuts on his arms, legs, and torso. Nikola landed a cut on Hans' sword hand, causing him to drop his blade. Nikola smirked as he pointed his blade at Hans.

"You should have stayed at home, boy." Nikola said to Hans before driving his blade into Hans' abdomen. Hans fell to the ground as Nikola removed his sword, cleaned and sheathed the blade. "Now this time, stay put." Nikola said with laugh, then took off toward Salledo.

Hans crawled across the forest floor, hoping he could make it back the group before it was too late.

[Crimson Lego]

Walking through the streets of Salledo to a crowd of mockery and jeering with two guards flanking him, Leo ducked his head down to avoid being hit by a rotten fruit and thought: I wonder what Selena would think if she knew this was happening?

Merely 10 minutes after the battle between the Calatians and Andielians had started, a squad belonging to the latter charged from the forest to the outside, killing 5 Calatians and wounding nearly half that number. Forced onto his knees by the commander of the city’s defense, Leo was forced to lay down his rifle and turn over his weapons. While both the White Eye Kao, rifle, and other small accessories were taken immediately, the commander held the Noreshang rather gingerly as though it were infected with some sort of disease. The dark power might be affecting his mind somehow, though the dwarf with satisfaction. Maybe that would give him and his team some type of element of surprise if the time came when they could make their escape.

Soon enough, after a slight pause allowing the mob to throw more garbage and jeer even more, the prisoners were brought to an old looking building in a side alley of Salledo; roughly, the Calatians were thrown into the room, where several lit torches illuminated the face of the country’s leader.

The former councilor of Emperor Khuffie smiled at his new captives and said, “Well, this is new.”

“Not for us,” snarled Leo in response. “Surprised you didn’t choose to stay by your master’s side when he was getting destroyed by the Coalition. Coward.”

“Yes, well, Mr. Crimson, cowards do survive, so I suppose there’s an advantage to that.” Pacing around the room, the man hefted the Kao and gave it a few swings. “You know, I was there in Olimandias when you and that couple hundred survivors were trying to get out; this axe was probably one of the reasons you yourself made it. It will make an excellent addition to my Hall of Trophies”.

Watching the man with contempt, Leo asked, “What are you planning to do now?”

The councilor chuckled. “Under ordinary circumstances General, telling you would be a more foolish idea. However, considering we have the strongest navy in the world and your execution will be passed by the Council immediately once they realize who you are, it can’t hurt to satisfy your need for information before dying.” Avoiding the Noreshang just like the commander, the councilor continued to speak. “Once we extract all the info we need, our ships were move immediately against Alpenland, wipe it out, and then turn on the nations of southern Verden. We’ll blockade the trade routes between your nation, Koridai, Vildmark, and Virrat, ensuring unconditional surrender almost immediately.”

Leo could not believe what he was hearing. “We make our own food, you know…”

“Yes, you do,” said the councilor, who would not stop smiling. “However, our spies have been monitoring you talks with your newfound Allies down south. We know that the majority of your army corps is switching over to ballistic rifles as a means to fight. If we cut off that, how long do you think Calatia will last without advancing in technology?”

Remaining silent for a few moments as the councilor laughed mockingly, Leo finally raised his head, an expression of pure rage on his face. “When I get out of these cuffs, I will kill you myself,” he vowed. “It will be painful, and you will regret ever taking up prisoner.”

At that, the leader of Andiel merely laughed some more, and finally exited the room with his guards, leaving the Calatian prisoners in darkness and despair.

[Crimson Lego]

ooc: For the sake of finishing them ASAP, I’ll just move on with this post and break our men out of prison.

Pacing rapidly around the cell he and his team were trapped in, Leo’s anger began to fade away as he began searching for possible ways to escape. Unfortunately, the room they were trapped in seemed to be a hollow cube. I hate being taken prisoner, he thought with fury. Kicking several times against the metal door that was obviously being guarded on the other side, the dwarf threw his hands up in frustration and collapsed against the wall. “We’re never gonna get out of here,” he said into his hands.

With an odd look on his face, one of the soldiers walked over. “Sir, have you noticed something about this prison?” he said in a curious tone.

“Yeah. It’s a big, round, concrete box,” said Leo in a monotone voice. “The door’s locked, and there are no windows that we can smash open. In any case, Corporal, we can’t get out of here.”

“Sir, you always taught us to think big and, ironically, ‘outside the box’,” said the corporal patiently. Without a warning, he raised his voice and hollered, “Medic!”

Immediately, the door opened and two guards rushed in; almost as quickly, several Calatians threw themselves upon the Andielians, wrenching the weapons from their hands and in the case of one, killing him. The second surrendered almost immediately while Leo gaped in shock at the quick fight. “Whoa. That was…”

Getting to his feet with a broadsword in his hand, the Calatian tossed it to the dwarf. “What are your orders, sir?” he said with a smile on his face.

Smiling, Leo caught the weapon and gripped it tightly. “Make way for this ‘Hall of Trophies’ that the Councilor mentioned. We’re getting our stuff back and going home.”

“What about the documents, sir?”

“The documents are lost to us, Corporal,” replied Leo, checking the captive for any valuables or items of interest. “In a matter of hours, the whole city will have realized that we’ve escaped. If we can get out of Salledo by then, we should be able to rendezvous in the forest with Hans and find out who the mysterious man is.”



Easily finding the Hall of Trophies, Leo felt the comforting grip of the Kao and the uncomfortable one of the Noreshang in his hands. Oddly, however, he felt that their escape and break-in into the Hall was rather…convenient. As they passed through all the alleyways, with two of the Calatians dressed up in the attire of Andielian soldiers, they seemed to be uncared for if not fully ignored by the general population. Any actual soldiers they ran into merely smirked at the fact that over 20 Calatians were being led throughout Salledo as though on parade or showing of their humiliation. This seems rather cheesy, if not completely unrealistic. However, when they finally found their way to the Hall, the guards inside were doubtful of their intentions, and so Leo was forced to take drastic measures. Thankfully, their weapons had merely been dumped onto a pile in the middle of the room, and they were recovered without difficulty.

As the group of Calatians neared the palace where the councilor resided, Leo placed away his axes and readied his rifle instead. “You two,” he said, addressing the soldiers disguised as Andielians, “Go back outside and see if Hans is waiting for us; if so, wait in the forest for us. The rest of you, split into groups of 4 and move quickly to the entrances. I want this councilor as quick as possible in our hands, and the documents too if he has them.”

As the soldiers followed his orders, Leo licked his lips and checked the chamber of his gun a second time. “Alright boys, let’s move out, get that Alliance bastard, and go home with him dead or alive. We’ve done enough today anyways.”

[Sir Turtlelot]

Nikola had finally reached the city of Salledo, however his 'delays' had caused him to miss his ship, thus forcing him to have to stay in Salledo until the morning. As the inventor entered the city, he pulled his walking stick from his coat, an attempt to blend in with the commoners. It wasn't long before Nikola found an empty alleyway, so that he could examine the documents. He thoroughly examined and read over all of the documents, locking in their content.

Suddenly, he heard from behind him, "You there! What are you doing?" He had been standing in the alleyway longer than he thought, someone must have alerted the guards of a suspicious character lurking in the alleyway. Turning to see the guards behind him, they recognized him instantly. "It's him, hand over the documents, NOW!" the guard in front demanded. Nikola grabbed his capacitor, and flicked the switch. As a current of electricity surged between the two prongs, the inventor stuck the documents into the current, setting them ablaze. Nikola laughed as he tossed the flaming documents to guards, who proceeded to apprehend the madman without a fight, and took him away.




A guard was laying out Nikola's various weapons out on table. A thin bladed sword, a can with a hidden inner blade, two flintlock pistols, two assassin's pistols, at least half a dozen spring-loaded knives, and a double pronged, handheld capacitor. Nikola's coat, along with various belts and holsters lay on the far end of the table. Nikola himself was taken into the office of Andiel’s head councilor. He sat at the desk by himself, with a guard at the door. Their wait ended, once a familiar face entered the room.

"General Augustus, it's been too long." Andiel's councilor said with a small hint of glee in voice. He turned to the guard at the door. "Leave us." The guard saluted and swiftly left the room. The councilor sat across from Nikola at the desk. "So my informants tell me that you not only raided our caravan and stole our secret documents, but you also destroyed them before your capture. I’m not sure whether to hang you or to thank you." Nikola continued to stare on with an emotionless stare, as if nobody was really there. “I won’t know of its contents, but then again… neither will anybo…” Nikola cut off the councilor “Don’t you find it ironic?” The councilor paused with a confused look upon his face. “Find what ironic?” “That they made you the new leader of Andiel?” Nikola continued. The councilor scowled at the comment. “Please, enlighten me.” “Well it’s quite simple actually, you were one of his excellency’s head advisors. Your duty was to advise and guide the emperor.” The councilor’s expression changed back to its former confusion. “I don’t see where it is you are going with this.” Nikola smirked then replied “Well, I find it ironic that they made you councilor, when your wisdom obviously didn’t do the emperor any good.” The councilor became enraged by this comment, slamming his fist on the desk and exclaimed “How dare you mock me! And to think that I was going to offer you a chance of amnesty and a return to the empire!” “You call this an empire?!” Nikola exclaimed. “This is barely even a shadow of the former Alliance’s glory! You and the other cowardous survivors, pent up in this little colony. That is NOT what his excellency would have wanted!” Before the councilor could respond, a guard burst into the room. “Sir, I apologize for interrupting, but I have urgent news.” The councilor, still obviously angered by Nikola’s comments, replied to the guard “Well out with it then, this better had be important!” The guard stood at attention “Sir, the prisoners have escaped and are in the city.” The councilor banged his fist on the desk once again, “FIND THEM THIS INSTANT!” Nikola only smirked as the councilor rose from his desk “Don’t say a word, we’ll finish this later.” The councilor said to Nikola as he left the room. “Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t escape as well.”

[Crimson Lego]

From the exterior, the palace in Salledo was somewhat based on the one Khuffie had built so many years ago in Olimandias; unfortunately, Leo had been called upon to lead the Domain Coalition soldiers out of the city before he had had a chance to enter in. He had heard rumours that the inside was extremely complex and full of elite guards that protected the Emperor with a vengeance. I doubt anyone else has seen it from the inside either, the dwarf thought, gazing around at the 4 men around him. If he remembered correctly, only Steel, Jordan and a man with mechanical wings were planning to enter and kill Khuffie; the less important warriors were most likely given the task of guarding the entrance. No advantage, then. Leo was also the only one with a ballistics weapon; the group he was with used crossbows as ranged weapons.

Reaching the east entrance, Leo turned to his men and spoke softly. “Mitchell, you and me move in slowly; you two cover our six and lock up the door. Once we find the entrance hall of this place, split up and find some uniforms to dress up in; I’ll find the councilor myself.”

“You sure you don’t want one of us to come with you, sir?”

Leo shook his head. “I have a debt to settle, even if it has to be with one of Khuffie’s old advisers and not a general that was involved in the Battle of Olimandias itself. The rest of you are gonna stay out here, and we’ll rendezvous outside once my business is finished.”

The incursion was easier than expected; evidently, the survivors merely only wished for their new palace to be a monument to the old. The interior was somewhat ordinary, with large hallways and several stairways leading to the higher levels. Moving along to what appeared to be the entrance hall of the palace Leo gave his men a quick goodbye nod and made his way towards the nearest stairway. Gripping his rifle tightly, he passed through a hallway covered in red and pink. This must be the ceremonial section. Stopping for a moment, the dwarf reached for one of the pillows and stuck the barrel of his gun into it. This should silence it in some way.

A few minutes later, a cry came from behind Leo. “Oi! Who are you?” Without hesitation, the dwarf spun around and fired; the Andielian fell with a cry of agony, but managed to yell out, “Intruder!” At that, Leo began running, as guards all around him repeated the word and drew their weapons. So much for that. Now finding himself sprinting throughout the castle, the dwarf fired several shots into the ceiling hoping to scare off his pursuers; ejecting the empty clip, he soon realized he had just run out into the open courtyard.

Bracing himself for the inevitable attack Leo reloaded his weapon and made it to the other side; however, he felt a sharp spike of pain in his left shoulder as an arrow lodged itself in there. “Fuck!” he screamed, stumbling towards cover. Ripping it out, he was glad to see that the arrow was not poisoned and that his muscle had stopped it from penetrating too far. Trying to stave off unconsciousness, he fired a few shots at the archers atop the walls and continued to make his way through the palace, searching for the councilor’s private chambers.

---------------------------------------

“In-intruder in the palace,” gasped the Andielian guard as he clutched to the new holes in his throat that were leaking with blood. In response, Major Baley snapped the man’s neck to end his misery and kicked open the door to the armoury. Behind him, the rest of the Calatian expedition entered, with 5 of their men injured in the firefight that had spontaneously started and 2 dead. At least we’ve got all these, thought Baley, gazing at the mass amount of weapons that lay before him. Newly honed swords, freshly sharpened axes, and, best of all, a few semi-automatic rifles were all arranged neatly in holders.

Collecting a rifle for himself and distributing the other 4 to squad leaders, Baley turned to address the men. “At this point, fellas, General Crimson is probably searching for or has already killed that councilor,” he said. “Our orders were to wait outside, but since I’m now acting group leader, I’m ordering us to secure a perimeter around the palace and draw out any soldiers from inside so the General won’t have to fight his way out. It’s starting to get dark, so if we lure the soldiers outside, we should be able to pick them off without any problem. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” was the unanimous response.

“Alright then, let’s move out and make sure we don’t get spotted again this time. If we’re lucky, we’ll be a on a boat home to Snowpeak tonight.”

----------------------------------------

Staring at the door labeled as ‘Councilor Maybourne’s office,’ Leo made sure his rifle was good and looked again at the door. This is the end, he told himself; at long last, he would have revenge on those who were the second-most responsible for the destruction of the Lost Woods. Taking a deep breath, the dwarf kicked opens the door and ran inside.

At first, Leo was confused to see that what was probably the councilor’s chair was empty and that a stranger was sitting leisurely across the desk. Next, he realized that an Andielian soldier was bearing upon him with a massive halberd. Ducking from the first swing, the dwarf fired twice into the man’s chest, killing him instantly. Before the stranger could react, Leo turned his weapon on the former and put his finger on the trigger.

“Who are you, and where is the councilor?” he said coldly.

[Sir Turtlelot]

OoC: Leo, this is the second time our characters have met with yours pointing a gun at mine.

Nikola chuckled lowly, as the dwarf barged in and killed the guard. “Who are you, and where is the councilor?” Nikola only replied by slowly clapping his hands together. "Most impressive." he said as he stood and slowly walked around the desk, not even so much turning to look at the dwarf. Nikola finally looked at the dwarf, after he took a seat in the councilor's chair.

"I was wondering if you and your ragtag team of soldiers were going to attempt to break out of prison, and apparently I was right." Nikola said with a sly smirk on his face. "As for the councilor, he's doing what he does best, hiding. Give him enough time and he'll flee the city as well."

Nikola quickly studied the dwarf, it was obvious he was somewhat exhausted from all of his work tonight, but he still had enough energy to make killing him a waste of energy on Nikola's part. Perhaps he could come into some use.

"Obviously your other soldiers are somehow assisting you, nobody makes it this far on their own. My suggestion to you and your friends would be to leave while you still have your lives, it's only a matter of time until reinforcements come, and you're outnumbered and overwhelmed." Nikola began rummaging through the councilor's various desk drawers, looking for anything of interest. "However..." he paused for a moment "If you're so concerned in finding this councilor, I could be of some help to you... just do keep in mind that you and your soldiers are very likely to die on this mission, if you so choose to embark."

Footsteps could be heard in the hallway, followed by the voice of guards. "Time is of the essence, dwarf."

[Crimson Lego]

OOC: What can I say? Don’t let little kids play with guns.

Listening to the man’s proposal, Leo weighed his options and decided to go with the man; he did, after all, take out an entire company of Alliance soldiers in the middle of the forest. “Deal, but if you attempt to kill any of my people, I’ll do the same to you right away,” he warned. Turning to face the incoming guards, the dwarf moved back to cover behind the desk. As they came in, he fired several times, the bullets tearing through their bodies with ease; once the last of them fell, Leo reached for a knife and was about to toss to his new ally until he noticed the weapons on the table nearby. “I suppose you don’t need anything from these people,” he said. “Hurry and let’s go.”

Once the stranger had reequipped himself the two of them, man and dwarf, ran swiftly down one of the hallways, killing a few more Alliance soldiers on the way. Oddly enough, Leo noticed that the halls of the palace seemed rather empty; glancing out one of the nearby windows, he realized why. Good initiative, Baley, he thought with admiration. Feeling a twinge of pain in his left shoulder, the dwarf reminded himself that they were on a tight schedule; if the Andielians brought in reinforcements, the chances of the expedition getting back home, with or without the documents, was going to be very slim.

Relieved to see Mitchell and a few other Calatians rushing towards them, Leo ejected the empty cartridge from his gun and jammed in a new one. “Where to, buddy?” he asked. “You might as well tell me your name, if we’re going to be working together.”

[Sir Turtlelot]

The pair ran down the decorated halls of the Andielian capital, slaying the few guards they encountered. The dwarf followed Nikola throughout the halls, while Nikola continued to decipher where the secret entrance. The inventor noticed the dwarf peer out the window, so he took a quick look out as well. They’re luring soldiers away from the palace… clever, but it will only last for so long…

Nikola began to approach something… familiar looking. Several of the dwarf’s soldiers joined them as Nikola looked at the torch on the wall. “You might as well tell me your name, if we’re going to be working together.” he heard the question, but simply ignored it and pulled on the secret lever that was the torch.

The nearby wall slid open, revealing the secret entryway they needed. “This will lead to the councilor’s secret bunker, but be warned, those who enter have little chances of making it back out… alive. By opening this door, they should already know we are coming, troops will be after in us in no time.” With that he walked into the dark room and grabbed the torch from the wall. After grabbing the torch, Nikola continued down the dark staircase, only certain that more traps and secrets await them.