Luncheon and other things. (O)

[Sakuya the White]

The foreign priestess moved forward, just fast enough to give the sense of urgency that they actually had. Nighttime only had so many hours in it, and this mission could easily go much longer than they planned, if they didn't do it right.

Or something happened.

"Now, we scout," she said simply, approaching one of the unconscious goblins. With a wave of her hand, the body of the small, nasty thing rolled over, face up. It drooled in an unsightly manner. Her mind connected to his more fully, taking advantage of his lack of defenses to peruse the parts of his memory devoted to area.

She stole his knowledge of the area, laying out an internal map within her mindscape.

"They already know the area better than we can learn ourselves, in the time we have. Take advantage of your opponent's knowledge. I am in his memories. Look at him yourself. What can you learn?"

The dark green skinned creature would have blended well in the forest darkness. His clothes were a dirty, grass-stained brown, like natural camouflage. His ears, eyes and nose were all disproprotionately larger than most humanoid creatures, and even some beastfolk.

Thick, dextrous fingers had almost claw-like nails, brown with dirt as if recently digging around in the earth. On his left side, there was a bag filled with odd and ends. A few vials of different colored liquid were right next to a large number of roots and tubors.

On his right hip, a belt and holster held a bronze crossbow-like object, with various tubes and gears partially visible. Small bolts arranged in a circle would have functioned like a revolver's clip.

[Blaze]

Blaze followed the lady and looked around to see what he could. Last thing he wanted was to be caught unaware by persons unknown. It was nerve whacking just being in a place like this... where all his nerves were on edge. It was a completely different feeling then what he was normally use to in a laboratory setting. It felt too much like that event in his youth.

Yet he mentally stood fast and told his nerves to calm down. There was a mission to do tonight and practically no time to waste. He was needed, for what though, he didn't know. He'd just let it play itself out, and see where it'd take him. Hopefully to a new job somewhere and a steady income.

He mentally snorted... and pigs will suddenly fly. Which wasn't all in the realm of the impossible mind you. A subtle gene splice and a magical helping hand, it could be done. Now if only it would be that easy in...

He was taken out of his thoughts when she started speaking to him. While he didn't hear a few words he got the jest of it. Mentally cursing himself for getting lost in thought that he didn't pay attention to what was going on. That was his main problem actually. He got caught up in one or more thoughts, and thus didn't pay enough attention to everything else. Current situation as evident.

He focused his thoughts and began to do as she requested. Learn what he could learn from the goblins knowledge. Deductive work was in part installed in every inventor. It's simply part of they're curiosity of finding new stuff or figuring out how things worked.

He thought about what the goblins knowledge of the area was telling him. It was interesting to say the least. It was a handy trick being able to probe surface areas of the mind. It wasn't something he would want to do on a regular basis. The mind to him should be a private sanctuary where one could feel safe. He made an exception this time for lives could be on the line. Thus the information was more important then one's privacy. He quickly made a mental note to remind himself of his current convictions of the mind and privacy.

He quickly refocused and looked through the knowledge of the area. A person was hiding in an area of the forest. Goblin from the looks of it. Though an it was the most unusual goblin he ever heard of. In which case this whole situation was hiding something more meaningful. In any event the goblin's knowledge of the area wasn't giving up it's secrets in that regard. Blaze thought about it, and came to the conclusion that the goblin could've gone through a magical surgery to induce certain changes. Expensive from his understanding but some places had medical coverage just for that purpose.

The other thing that he was acquiring, was that this person was a mage of some kind. The person was possibly a magic user. Most likely either an earth based mage, or the more dreaded Necromancer. The mere thought of a necromancer made his skin crawl. The dead should remain dead and at peace as far as he was concerned.

The last thing that he knew was that the person was armed with some sort of firing device that he couldn't quite make out. Definitely mechanical, but the details were to vague for him to make out exact detailing. What the tubes and gears did was anyone's guess at the moment. But what was clear was that the person was armed and ready. Possibly waiting in ambush for something or someone.

He looked over at the fey lady for his report. He took a deep mental breath and exhaled. It was more for dramatic effect then anything. It was a some what long report for him.

"I'm getting that this person could be an unusual goblin. Possible magical surgery to change physical appearance. Definitely a mage of some sort. Earth mage or necromancer judging from what the person has around him or her. Not really surprising considering the location of the cavern. Definitely armed and waiting for something or someone. I can't tell with any clarity what that weapon is however. To many things hidden for me to say with any definitive answer. Definitely a projectile weapon, and that's probably all I can say with any amount of good faith. I'd need time and a closer look at the weapon to make a better judgment of the weaponry. But that still means that the goblins may or may not look exactly like goblins. That means someone is providing medical coverage for them to change their physical appearance." he mentally said.

He'd prefer studying the weapon and vials under more controlled conditions in a lab somewhere. But in a pinch he could definitely study them here and on the go. His training as an inventor did include studying in more hostile conditions. However training and actual hostile situations were two completely different creatures all together. For schools rarely if ever put their students into hostile environments and pulled them out should a situation prove hostile. It'd be bad for the school's reputation mind you, should a student come to harm. It was still required that schools teach them how to handle themselves in such hostile situations.

"One thing that concerns me is that, there seems to be something at work here. As I recall this cavern held nothing important. Nor as I recall, goblins never gathered in large numbers in or around it. But my understanding of history and geology is lacking in that regard." He stated and relaxed a bit.

"All in all I can deduct that the situation is possibly dire and needs to be dealt with swiftly. However the rest of the group needs to know about these possible deducted facts. Probably something big is happening either tonight or very soon. Whatever it is, it's probably not good for everyone else. I for one don't want to witness it first hand." he said finishing up his entire report.

Blaze mentally shuddered... this was definitely more adventure then he bargained for. And from his understanding, it was far from over. Right now he was in bed and not outside not knowing if there was an ambush around the corner.

[Sakuya the White]

Sakuya listened intently, once more eager to learn from his thought processes. Wrong answers and missed assessments were just as telling as the conclusions that she shared herself.

"Something is indeed amiss," Sakuya stated, trying to maintain a comforting tone. "That is why I am here. Stay close to me, and I shall endeavor to keep you safe."

She gestured at the downed goblin again, glad for the excuse of an object lesson.

"You are using your head, and your magic. That is good. But take note of what you can tell, just from looking at him. There are many creatures on this planet - and many breeds, of both the darkness and the light. Goblins come in many forms - some more dangerous than others."

"Dark green skin and hands for digging - things that make him suited for this environment. Large sensory organs give him an advantage over any mortal in his territory. He dresses to be unseen, gathering earthen plants in the night. Such a scout could have quickly detected the main force's approach - of which they had several more."

"Monstrous goblins, setting up scouts, expecting trouble to come to them rather than digging in and only coming out to attack passersby - they are doing something to incite aggression, and they know it."

Her hand gestured to the unusual projectile weapon, with all its gears and tubes.

"Advanced steam based technology - some goblins have a knack for thinking mechanically - but it should not be found in the hands of such a wild goblin. Nothing else about him suggests any technological dealing. He was likely given it. Someone /armed/ him with this weapon."

Then she stood up, and touched her hand to her temple - an unnecessary gesture more for Blaze's benefit than for any real need on her part.

"I am relaying this information to the others now. It is likely we will encounter increased resistance inside. Our 'scare tactic' will likely not work. If you desire to leave, inventor, than you should probably do so now before we wade into violence."

[Blaze]

Blaze mentally sighed as she explained about the goblin. Biology wasn't he strong suit... in fact he never took biology in college. He had a hard enough time in high school biology, and he was glad to pass that with a C. He was happy about her assessment about him though. He was glad about that though. Mind and magic were more of his thing considering his profession as an inventor.

His head ached about what she said about the goblins... but he muddled through it. He was more interested in the weapon then the goblin. He took a good look at the weapon and all of the details that it had. He picked it up and turned it around taking in all the things while listening to Sakuya. He wasn't going to take it... even if it belonged to an enemy he wasn't a thief. His morals were already screaming at him for even picking it up. His inventor side however was winning for the time being.

He put it down and looked up at Sakuya and nodded. He wasn't going to leave now, there was a puzzle in front of him. He loved puzzles as the next inventor. Besides there was bound to be more technology in the caverns that he would be required for. No he'd continue, he could protect himself to an extent.

"No... I'll come with. Besides if you and your group run into more technology, you may need me. I can try and figure out at least the region that it was made in. Possibly even the company that manufactured it. Right now violence is second to my curiosity. With me... Curiosity always wins out over survival. Enough of that... shall we move on before anything else happens here?" He replied.

While he waited for the answer his mind started working on the Advanced and unusual Projectile Weapon. He used his knowledge of regional preferences and company numbers to see if it matched any that he could remember off the top of his head. He could easily do it if he had his laptop and a connection to a network. All manufactured weapon had to have numbers and what not for identification. Problem with this one was there was to many conflicting identification markings. He'd figure it out but it'd take time... and he knew time was against them.

[Sakuya the White]

The ancient fey nodded slowly, paying only half attention to his words and the veracity behind them. Her thoughts were reaching elsewhere, focused on rapid communication between the police captain and the other mages. Then her face sterned itself as she clearly was getting responses she didn't enjoy hearing.

A very irked harumph followed.

"Well. That's not helpful," she said aloud, then motioned for Blaze to follow - moving fast. She strode quickly and purposefully along while feet kept quiet touch to the ground, grass blades bending before she reached them. Twigs bent beneath her weight, but refused to make any noise by breaking. The world knew she meant to be quiet, and it acted to make her means reality.

"The police captain has changed 'our orders'," she told Blaze, a slight hint of mockery breaking up what had always been the polite speech of before. "He doesn't want to risk anyone getting injured. He's telling them to shoot every goblin in the cave."

She stopped running to face the scientist, concern lighting up with her words. "He intends to massacre them!"

[Blaze]

Blaze thought about it and realized what she exactly meant by mechanically minded goblin race. He hated to admit it but there would be no way that he'd be able to find out anything about this weaponry other then how it functioned and any weaknesses and strengths it had. It was a rather ingenious piece of work, but nothing he couldn't do better.


Blaze snapped out of it when she motioned for him to follow her. He kept up with her trying to stay quiet, but he wasn't trained for this type of thing. He was designed as it were to be indoors and moving fast while doing stuff. Something that being quiet had nothing to do with because it wasn't a dangerous environment that required it. His curiosity was peaked because it seemed that something had changed. He was already trying to piece together at least one puzzle maybe two of them. He didn't want a third puzzle coming into play.


What she told him was nothing short of serious to the point of facing him directly to tell him. He realized the situation that was now facing them. It was nothing short of madness... the police captain wasn't solving the issue. He was possibly walking into a situation that was leading up to a war. This was not good... not good at all. He got that feeling of trying to figure out a bomb and to have the bomb bay doors open up on him.


"But he can't do that... it'd lead to war and that. We need to stop them from going through with it. There's a puzzle here that needs figuring out... because there's something here that doesn't seem to be adding up. I'd stake my reputation on that this deals with some sort of technology or is related to it." he said mirroring the seriousness of her tone of voice.


He needed time to figure out what it was that was at the heart of it. It was technology he was sure of it. What technology though was worth all this though? Only two things came to him at the moment. Illegal and/or powerful technology. Those two were the only ones that made sense at the moment.


"What can we do?" He asked trying to figure out how to save the goblins, solve the puzzle, and do it all without disobeying direct orders from the police captain.

[Sakuya the White]

The Ancient Fey masquerading as just another adventurer threw all guises aside, reaching under her sleeve and removing a slip of enchanted paper from around her wrist. The suppressor gone, she promptly whirled the mystic staff in front of her. Buried magic rose up like a torrent of fire - white fire with the tint of pink light to it, wreathing around her body and the staff, a single star in the dark forest. The air filled thick with the weight of magic, and around her feet, flowers rapidly grew and bloomed.

The world suddenly warped around them, teleporting directly to the mouth of the cave - there was no time to lose running. Immediately, she slammed the bottom of her staff to the ground, and the mystic glow dispersed from her body. It raced along the ground in direct paths, targeting the nearest circle of trees. The fire didn't consume. The trees absorbed it, and then for a moment there was nothing.

The ground cracked, as roots suddenly extricated themselves from the earth en masse. The crowd of leaves above roared as they shook without wind, massive branches moving with all the dexterity of giant limbs, preparing for battle.

The trees will delay them, she telepathically said to Blaze, striding imperiously into the cave. The flowers followed after her, more of them blooming behind her every step.

We must subdue the goblin force before the "authorities" make it inside. The gnome has agreed to run interference above.

A group of goblins, sent to investigate the clamor above, rounded the first corner of the cave. A shout in their language was promptly met with more of the same guns seen before, firing a rapid hailstorm of arrows in their direction. The white-pink fire flared up around her again. Arrows suddenly halted in air, then fell.

[Blaze]

Blaze watched as she pulled out some sort of paper out from around her wrist. He knew it was enchanted, just from looking at it. She whirled her staff, and he felt the magic flaring up like a wild fire. It was slightly terrifying and yet mystical sight to behold. He wondered what magic was being unleased here.

He didn't have long to wonder as the world warped around him and suddenly they were at the mouth of the cave. He staggered slightly, as he absolutely hated the sensation of teleporting someplace. He always lost his equilibrium afterwards. He really didn't see what she did, but he definitely saw the effect.

The trees came to life like something out of a bad scifi-horror film. He for one was greatful for not being on the receiving end of those trees. He felt also timidly underpowered here. Like he didn't put enough time into his own magicks. He wondered if he put too much faith in science and technology. Then his logical side kicked in and shook that notion out of his thought processes.

"Understood." He mentally replied.

He hoped that the gnome would be okay. He didn't want him to get into trouble for this. He just had to figure out this puzzle and find out what was really going on here. He often found through massive amounts of failures, that there were sometimes more then one solution to a problem. He hoped that the same analogy held true here, that there was an alternative to this mess.

He followed her into the cavern and hoped for the best. Fate it decided was slightly against them as a group of goblins showed up ahead of them. Shouting something that he simply couldn't translate. They fired arrows from the guns and they just stopped and fell down to the ground harmlessly. The guns appariently didn't enchant the arrows with the ability to pierce magical defenses. That was a good thing at least, as now they could defend themselves with magical barriers.

He put his right foot out in front of himself and closed his eyes thoughtfully. He sent out a small lightning bolt from his foot following the ground to the goblin group. It wasn't strong enough to kill but it was enough to stun. He kept focused on that task... blocking out all of the distractions that could foil his concentration. Just like his siblings taught him, so long ago.

[Sakuya the White]

Sakuya watched as lightning raced along the ground to the pack - and so did the goblins. They tried to get out of the way, but most just weren't fast enough. One dived off to the right and was in mid air as the goblins who failed to move fast enough were electrified. The ancient fey was fast, too, though. A segment of the ceiling broke free at her direction, a square block that flew straight down onto the diving goblin. It didn't crush him - just slammed the air out of him as it pinned him to the ground. Blaze's magic took care of the rest, and sent him to sleep, too.

The block threw itself aside after he was unconscious, at Sakuya's magical nudging.

Self Control. Preservation of life. Good so far she thought to herself, thinking it best to save any comments till after they were out of danger.

She ran ahead, practically tip toeing over the downed bodies of the goblins. Briefly she noted that there were at least two species among them - with implications of joint forces earning her only a brief pause. There was little time to figure out things now. Her connection to the trees above told her the military forces were closing in. With a wave of her staff, the guns shattered, and plant roots grew to wrap the goblins up wherever they laid.

Then she was off again, running and expecting Blaze to follow through the cave's path. She couldn't tell if the stonework had been changed on purpose to create choke points, or if the cave had been born that way. The twisting paths were unlit - the goblins didn't need them to be - but the radiance of her being shown the way.

Against her will, she remembered things past, and how very similar Amaterasu must have felt, delving in such a cave. A pang of longing for foreign lands sought to weigh down her steps, but she refused to let them.

"Inventor," she called him, "The scout's memories indicate they have complicated pressure traps fifty feet ahead. He did not know how they worked - just where they are. Are you able to disarm such things? The officers following us - I do not want them to fall victim."

The cave path opened wider, and it became clear why the goblins had chosen this place. Like a great mouth, stone fangs stretched from ceiling to floor and floor to ceiling, casting innumerable shadows from her light. A barrier of some alloy blocked the end of the openingThe tiniest of slits in the walls were made to look like shifting rock, and she would have hardly have noticed them if not for the pair of minds she sensed on the other sides. Her mind lashed out at the pair out of sight, and they fell in mid run, but not before triggering something else.

Deeper in the cave, an echoing siren wailed out.

"And Inventor," she added, holding her staff in both hands defensively. "They are aware."

[Blaze]

Blaze was pleased that his spell casting went off without a hitch. It meant that just for that one moment his magic obeyed him correctly. It slightly worried him that they were moving out of the way. Though missing one out of all of them was not a bad thing. His taser lazer would just have to take jumping goblin into account next time. He was pleased that Sakuya took care of that goblin though. He was in no way looking forward to a fight.

He followed her and took note also of the different goblins amongst them. Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Right now though it was still not painting a pretty picture. He had a feeling and a rather nasty one that either someone or a group of someone's was manipulating this situation. The implications was directing him towards the thought of another massive war. Right now he just needed to know who'd directly would profit from such a thing.

He continued to follow Sakuya and noted things of interest about the cave. He was particularuly looking for any hidden tech in the cave walls, floors, and ceiling. He was trained to an extent to find hidden tech. He also knew from experience that one could simply not find everything from first glance when rushed.

He turned his head to look at Sakuya when she called for him. She explained what she wanted of him. It would be easy of course to disarm them. One of his more advanced classes covered such things during a college class technology learning field test. It would take less then a minute for each one but he could do it.

"Yes... I can do it in 60 seconds or less for each one. It's suprisingly simple to disarm something actually then it usually is putting it together. Just point them out and I'll go to work on them." He said confidently in his abilities.

He followed and didn't pay to much time trying to figure out the layout of the new tunnel. The only thing that made him pay attention was the siren echoing out. This was not a good sign if something was tripped. If it alerted every goblin in the area... they were in deep trouble. He was confident in his magic at the moment... but he wasn't sure that he'd be able to deal with swarms of goblins.

He held back a wise remark about the fact that they were aware. A sign of how scared he was at the moment. A more comfortable Blaze would have just made the comment and dealt with the whiplash from it.

"Then we must work faster then them." He said as he got out his tools.

He began disabling any and all traps that Sakuya pointed out to him. He focused his mind and got his Tech mojo working overtime. He did note that whoever built the traps did an incredible job of it. But he was still the technological wonderboy, as he preferred to call himself.

[Sakuya the White]

Sakuya had experience splitting her attention - and there, in the caves, she was still splitting it in many ways.

Her attention upon the jackal was now, and had always been, one of interest. She watched as he moved under her guidance, targeting the traps. Her eyes gauged how he handled the pressure and rapid pace given to them - and she noticed, gladly, that he was handling them much quicker than a minute to each. She didn't think they would have that much time to spend.

The rest of her focus was set upon the oncoming armies - the both of them, approaching from opposite sides of the cave. For better or worse, her connections above communicated that the trees were still holding off the small army of Greenwich officers. The arrogant knight had chopped his way through and was traveling more warily through the caves.

She reached towards the opening they had come through, and her magic arced out into and beyond. Luminous motes caused roots to grow from the caves and interlace all around, forming gate after gate to slow the cougar down. But on the other side, the goblins had sent up their advance forces.

Sakuya was already lashing out with her magic before they had even taken up positions at the arrow slits. Her staff slamming upon the ground, a psychic shockwave flew from her person, passed through the walls and smashed the goblins against the next wall.

She lashed out several more times, keeping the goblins at bay while Blaze finished his work, and only after he was done did she thrust her staff towards the door that barred their way. Vines shot forward around the door, digging into the cracks and then yanking it clear out of the wall it was attached to.

At a distance, in front of a great light, two sets of goblins stood in file and had their steampunk bolt guns readied. The quiet twang of release couldn't be heard, but the arrow-like weapons streaked towards them all the same.

[Blaze]

Blaze worked as hard as he could and as fast as he could. He had learned from his classes and natural experience that it didn't take much to disable something. In fact one didn't need to know much about technology to damage it enough to make it not work or as well. He was just frustrated with the sheer number of traps that the goblins had laid out.

He was aware that Sakuya was dealing with multiple things at once... and that he could in theory help out. He just didn't trust his lightning magic at the moment. It required to much concentration and he needed that for the traps. On the other hand it'd be easier to work on traps if they weren't under threat of goblin fire. It was a conundrum that he in his college years would have loved to have figured out on paper how to solve properly.

Once he was done he watched as she forced the door open in a way that seemed more violent then what was required. Logic asserted that it wasn't time to be nice about things and that time was running short. He saw the goblins and the weapons... it was a terrifying sight seeing the weapons being fired at them.

Blaze didn't have time to think or react properly... he went on gut instinct that he trusted and hoped was correct. He raised his hand and sent a large ball of lightning at goblins to stop the projectiles and hopefully stun the goblins in the process. If he had more time he could've utilized a shielding spell that he prepped earlier... but that would've taken time to look for and activate.

He hoped that they could get to where he could put enough pieces of the puzzle together. Right now he felt like he only had several pieces that didn't want to fit together. Nothing right now wanted to make sense in this area. He felt rushed because of the people behind them and the goblins ahead of them. It was absolutely frustrating to him not to have all the answers and have all these questions.

[Sakuya the White]

Sakuya watched the armament unloaded - and she was watching as the beastfolk unloaded a great blast of magic back at them. Electromagnetism caught the metallic bolts in mid air and threw them aside - points embedded in the walls while the rest of the illuminated sphere crashed into the rank and file.

The center mass of the squad was thrown backwards, thunder magic coursing over their skin and armor as they hit the ground in an unconscious heap. The goblins at the sides were thrown more to the sides, overwhelmed by the sheer speed of the lightning spell. They were no quicker about getting up.

Sakuya watched - to gauge Blaze's strike. His instincts were good. But then she stopped watching, because she was able to see beyond the great light, and see - for her own eyes - what the scout's memories had shown her.

"Oh dear."

It wasn't a town, though the numerous torch and mage lights glowing in the excavated cavern shined down on a great number of building structures. The first rank was only the start - "easily" defeated if they were. More goblin squads - of at least five different races, she saw - were taking positions around the buildings, weapons at the ready. Several goblin witchdoctors and wizards showed up on her radar, in spaces just out of sight.

It wasn't a town.

It was a fort. It was a staging ground, set for a grand battle, or heaven forbid, a war. The light of forges further in, the carving of miners looking for iron - she could see them all. The scout's memories had prepared her. Soldiers with their weapons, she expected. She was ready for them. Her exclamation wasn't about them at all.

Far past the first buildings, standing atop the parapets of a great keep, she saw it: a black cloak, fully covering its wearer like flawless shadow, writhed as if it was living thing. No features were discernible - his face was masked by the bleached white skull of a dragon, two horns extending from the back of his head.

"Blaze Duggal Vinal … I do believe we may be in the shit."

[Blaze]

Blaze was pleased that his magic hadn't failed him yet. Electricity was a fickle magic to work with at best. It was intriguing him that he was able to manipulate it on an instinctual level. It was something to study later... perhaps there was something to be had in it. He filed it away under his mental to-do list and focused on the here and now.

He looked at what Sakuya was looking at and his face fell. He started drawing the same conclusions as she was. The place just screamed war. The pieces were starting to take shape... but the most important piece remained hidden from his sight. The only questions left unanswered. Why? Why go through this amount of trouble?

He looked at the one person who stood out in the goblin crowd. He got the shivers just looking at him. That person looked like something out of a horror story. Blaze didn't like where this was possibly going. His mind was leading him down a dark conclusion to a possible why this was happening. He sincerely hoped he was wrong... but he just really hoped that he was drawing the wrong conclusions. If he was right... some sort of powerful necromancy was at work.

"If we are in the shit... get out the shovels and let's start digging our way out." He replied bacak without looking at her.

He got out his written magic stuff from his pockets. He didn't quite trust his lightning magic in an extended battle. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. For good or evil... he was ready for whatever was going to happen.

[Sakuya the White]

The shadow disappeared from its perch on the keep. Sakuya darted closer to Blaze, her staff held defensively in front of her. The magic light about her stayed intense, eager to mount a ward as soon as the cloaked being attacked. "Careful!" she said to her companion, quick and loud and noticably concerned - such a break from her theretofore measured restraint.

"Really, little Saky. You're acting like you've seen a ghost."

She twisted sharply left, to face the source of that sickly sweet voice and its mocking calmness. The writhing cloak and its dragon skull head stood against the wall, the long sleeves crossed over his chest. The white bone was incapable of expressing emotion, but she couldn't shake the terrible feeling there was a grin in the darkness behind that mask.

The elf refused to let up her guard in the shadows of that cave. The noise of more goblins armed for war came echoing down the chokepoint of a hall.

"You've been awfully quiet the last few years," she stated, showing a slight strain in her breathing.

The skull cocked slightly to one side. One sleeve toyed at the air in front of him, like he was counting the beats of a song.

"Not for lack of boredom, I assure you," the voice let drawl playfully from his lips. The empty void of the skull's sockets turned toward the canine behind her. "I see you still enjoy your prospects, but must you try to thwart me so much?"

The cloaked figure drew a step closer, black edges of cloth dancing along the ground like hungry snakes.

"I only want his soul."

Another step was taken.

"... That's not much, right, Saky?"

[Blaze]

Blaze stared at the exchange between the two. He was confused by it as he wasn't sure what was exactly going on. He got the impression that they had met before somewhere. It served to inspire his curiosity even further. It also annoyed him slightly that he was being left out of the loop. It also irked him that they walked into a situation without proper backup... well backup that was not readily available. All because his need for more information... his scientific weakness.

He took a few steps back when he heard something about the wanting of souls. There'd be no way that anyone would be acquiring his soul easily. He reached for his written spells for the one spell that he wanted. He hoped it would buy time to deal with fully with this person. If only he could find it amongst the many post-it notes that he wrote them on. That was the problem with having so many written spells on his person.

"You will not take my soul... not today or any day." He stated flatly.

He took a more defensive stance incase he had to abandon his search of his protection spell. For the first time he was hoping that the other knights and that would hurry up and get to them now. For now the situation was possibly more dire then anyone originally imagined. For the first time in a long time he was officially scared to his very core. He did not like it one bit. It made him feel like a trapped animal.

[Sakuya the White]

"Really? … What about for a quarter?" the skull-headed shadow stated in unexpectedly blase. Suddenly the black sleeves of his cloak began searching all over the darkness wrapped around his body - if he even had a body underneath - patting down where pockets might have been. "I'm sure I have a quarter somewhere. Little kids love quarters."

"Mortis, enough!" Sakuya said in her most authoritative voice. Still her face was marked by exertion as the mental battle continued between the two magical juggernauts. "Leave him alone and fight me!"

Inside the great, writhing cloak, a hand snagged upon something, and the shadow exclaimed in excitement, "Aha!" Sakuya's body jerked back a step, ready to deflect whatever weapon the ominous shadow beast was drawing from the void-like folds of his robes.

Something yellow flashed into existence from the end of his sleeves, held up like a knife.

"Look, everyone! A candy bar!" the shadow jubilantly shouted, taking several more steps forward as he offered the object to the jackal. "One candy bar, now for the low, low price of your soul! Extra peanuty flavor, I named this one Bob, in limited supply!! Going once! Going twice!!"

The pathway behind them - once blocked by all of the Sakuya's barriers - was rent apart as a knightly figure charged in screaming with a greatsword, its magic blade illuminated by mystic runes. Sakuya's eyes snapped wide in clear terror as she saw the knight approach.

"Gone," a chilling freeze filled out the shadow's tone.

"No!!" the ancient fey screamed, the cougar's charge slowing as if some invisible force was suddenly weighing down his body with each second. Strength diminishing, vanishing, the weighty sword hit tip-first into the ground, and he had to lean on it like a crutch. His violent expression paled, then froze entirely in emotionless impassiveness. She wasn't in time, wasn't fast enough, to ward the cougar from the same overwhelming force aimed at the jackal, too.

From the shadowy figure's sleeve, the yellow-wrapped candy bar suddenly shot forward like a bullet, aimed at piercing through the jackal while attention was on the knight instead.

"You're out of practice, little Saky," said the one she called Mortis. Slowly the knight's joints began to move again, though his head hung low. "But if you really want a fight, here, let me help, ol' girl."

The cougar charged forward again, this time directly at the jackal, completely unspeaking as he slashed at him again and again with that oversized sword. The knight's empty eyes were devoid of anything even remotely resembling of life.

[Blaze]

Blaze struggled to find the specific written spells he needed for this situation. He listened to to Mortis as he was talking. It seemed the shadow thing had a few screws loose somewhere. Not that he cared, he just wanted to keep his soul in tact for another day. He cursed several times mentally as he saw him pull something out of his sleeves. It was just a candy bar but any mage worth their skill in salt knew that nothing was as it seemed.

He smiled as he found the spell he was looking for... the protection spell of light. He was momentarily distracted when the pathway burst open. It was the cougar knight... for the first time he was relieved to have at least some form of backup even if it was him. His hope quickly ran dry as Mortis turned and pointed the candy bar thing at the knight. The knight changed in a way that Blaze didn't like. It seemed like some sort of mind control or bodily possession. He just hoped it didn't mean that the knight was dead. He wouldn't wish that kind of thing on anyone.

What happened next was a blurr to him at the time. All he remembered was the candy bar being thrown at him. He fell backwards to dodge the object while dropping his written spells on the ground. It was foolish he knew that, but he wasn't use to this kind of thing.

Before he could try and pick up his spells the knight was on him slashing that weapon of his. He more then once felt that blade on his skin... flesh wounds he hoped. He in turn unleased a massive amount of lightning bolts in the surrounding area to force the knight away from him though not to cause permanent harm.

"Release him this instant or I'll do worse to you Mortis. Trust me on that. My magic is nothing to triffle with." He said as cofidently as he could. Though he didn't feel as confident as he was portraying.

[Sakuya the White]

A sudden barrage of lightning bolts spread from the horned jackal, smashing against the knight and Mortis both. The warrior's enchanted armor diminished its effect - a shock that didn't seem as painful as it might have been, if his expressionless features meant anything. That lightning magic still stunned him a good moment, and more bolts only added to the effect, while Mortis …

The shadowed figure just giggled. Sleeves protectively covered his torso as a few select lightning bolts zapped against his cloak form.

"Oohohhaha stop, stop, that tickles, that tickles," the dark one played. A simple sleeved hand swipe bounced a final lightning bolt away. The white skull turned to look at where it hit the cave wall. "Oh look, a trifle. I trifled. Triiiiiiifle. Trifle. Ever wonder why they spell the F L E, when it's more like Full?"

The knight's sword swung down low, slashing and smashing through the ground in one blow, launching a barrage of rocks at the inventor - trying to catch him off guard. Then he charged at him again, ready to strike once more.

"The modern tongue is so very strange and polluted," Mortis said offhandedly. "But you agree, don't you, Little Saky? You've seen your share of the timey passings."

"Mortis, if you want me, just fight me," the elf yelled his name, gripping her staff tight, eyes glancing back and forth between the knight and the shadow. She wanted to jump in between them, to protect the young inventor - but she could barely even let her attention slip that much. The great psychic battle kept up its invisible war.

The cloaked figure merely swayed side to side, almost like he was dancing in place.

"Oh please. Of course, I don't want you. You're boring. But you best keep your focus here anyway, Little Saky," Mortis outright teased her. "Or better yet - don't?"

A hand lifted up from one sleeve, wreathed in shadow and tipped with claws. There was the barest spark of golden-black light, and the whole cavern roof above them shattered all at once. Cracks like spiderwebs spread all down the hallway, to where goblins were still preparing. Pebbles fell halfway down.

They levitated in midair, before they could hit the floor. The cloaked one cocked his head left. "Let's have a war, Saky. Maybe just a little one?"

The cavern roof exploded upwards, flinging boulders in every direction at ground level. Trees and officers alike were caught off guard by the earthen detonation, and Mortis slowly began to levitate upwards. Goblins let loose a chorus of warcries as they ran, using the new opening as a ramp.

"You know. For old times' sake," he called.

[Blaze]

Blaze was pleased that he at least stunned the knight momentarilly. Mortis didn't seem to be affected by it. In fact he seemed tickled by it, and that was worrying. It meant that he was either stronger then expected or was resistent to lightning. Either one meant that his magic was useless against him. To add to it, he didn't seem worried about his threat. His bet was that Mortis was stronger then he was. He snorted a bit at the thought. Goliath was bigger and yet David still won. It would just take more effort on his part... if he survived long enough to try.

He took a step back and dodged the rocks that the knight sent his way. He wasn't concerned about any damage anything like those could do to him. With good reason actually, any armor designed to absorb the blunt of explosions couldn't help but be useful against other damage. He put his hand forward to blast the knight with a stronger bolt of lightning. Again with the hope to stun him long enough for him to focus on the other person.

He knew that ignoring Motis was possibly a mistake, but he couldn't afford his attention being split at the moment. The knight was a more pressing issue if you pardoned the pun of the situation. He didn't want to risk getting his written spells yet with the knight being unstunned. Granted he could have gotten them while he had been stunned momentarilly. Hindsight was 20/20 actually as it was in everything in life.

He looked up at the cavern roof as it exploded upwards... distracting him from what he was doing. His heart sank so low that you'd need a backhoe to dig it out again. Even more when he heard the goblins coming towards the group. He needed to do something and fast. But he couldn't take on the knight and an entire army without draining his entire magical energy reserves.

He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them up with determination. He trusted that his armor could protect him from the knight for a moment or two. That's all he needed to do what he needed to do.

"The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." He said starting the prayer and finishing it in his head.

He raised his other hand and unleased a flood of electrical energy at the goblin army hoping to stun or slow them down. He prayed it was enough.

[Sakuya the White]

The knight went down again - once more moving too slow to really dodge it, and seemingly relying on his mystic enchantments for defense. Some electricity scattered off, but the strength of the bolt crashed into him. Magical force threw him onto his back, and his body gave a small jerk from continued sparks. But he was still moving, and he'd get up again soon.

Sakuya stepped in front of Blaze again as the inventor began … doing something she really hoped would help. The psychic battle between them raged on an astral planescape - an army of trees, constructs of her mind, clashing against the dragons from his. Probing. Deflecting. Feinting and Countering. It was a telepathic fight of which neither had entertained in so very long.

Her focus was split. She was still trying to defend Blaze's mind. The shadow had no such disadvantage. The attack pressed on, sweat dripping down her brow as she tried to keep up her defense - like a hammer striking at her head, over and over.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…"

Sakuya turned for just a split second, and a small parchment flew from her sleeve. It wrapped around Blaze's outstretched arm, and symbols glowed like a white star from upon it.

A lightning storm flew from the inventor's grasp, empowered and empowered again. It crashed into the front of the goblin horde, and spread like a deadly chain - blasting through one, into another, and another - taking advantage of the iron weapons and armor they wore to amplify conductivity all the same.

The front half of the horde crumpled down in that split second. The second half near froze as they watched their numbers bisected with a single great blast.

"Ahhh!" the elf woman, ancient of days, broke down onto one knee.

The living shadow of a monster writhed with malice incarnate.

[Blaze]

Blaze looked around smiling softly that his spells worked to an extent with help from Sakuya. He was beginning to feel the start of mental and physical exhaustion form doing so much in so little time. He was pleased that the goblin horde stopped once half their troops went down. The knight was going to be a problem... but not an immediate one.

His focus turned to the cloaked figure... the one who should be his focus now. The problem now was that he didn't have much strength left to magically deal with him. Not that he would've stood much of a chance to begin with. He was too mentally tired to go into a telepathic battle with him. He'd probably lose on that front anyhow with how strong this being was.

He closed his eyes from frustration and the need to try and focus before exhaustion started to overtake all rational thoughts. He reached and grabbed a random post-it note spell he dropped earlier. He hoped it was a good spell for what he was going to use it for. He didn't have the time to look through all the scattered written spells.

"I may not have much to utilize against you... but i can keep you distracted long enough." He said to Mortis.

'Please let it do something good' he silently begged whatever higher being was listening. He crumbled the spell and throw the note at Motis before collapsing to the floor in a semi seated position from exhaustion.

[Sakuya the White]

The shadow creature swayed slowly side to side, almost imperceptibly, like a dancing snake preparing to bite his victims dead.

"You know…" his voice started - only to be interrupted by a sudden burst of magical fire from Blaze's note. Once more empowered by Sakuya's charm, the small spell grew and multiplied, with fire coalescing into a dozen yellow-red spheres, a smile uniquely engraved across the front. The spheres rocketed towards the goblin army, with several on one edge headed towards the insidious shadow himself.

Explosions rocked the army, fire bursts still smiling away, sending more of the goblins flying back, injured and scorched. The horde quickly decided they'd rather not fight in that direction, and scrambled back away from the three.

Mortis was not so affected. Shadows swirled into existence in front of him, grabbing around the fireballs in a sphere of night and quelling their destruction into nothingness. Yet in that moment, his own shadows seemed to … lighten.

Danger did not radiate so strongly.

"You know, that actually wasn't half bad," the voice resonated from within the white dragon skull. And then the voice gave a very muted, singular laugh. "I think I actually liked that. Maybe I won't take that pretty little soul, just yet."

Braced against her staff, the elf pushed herself back up to standing. A bit more sweat beaded along her temples. But somewhere in her diminished reserves, she found strength of her own to smile.

"There won't be much of that today, Mortis. I should thank you for removing the roof. Now there's nothing in the way of me doing this." The elf tapped at something right behind her ear, and let out a shout, "Omega 5, Immediate Reinforcements!!"

Seconds counted slowly by.

Even with the absolute blackness of the skull's eyes, one could hardly not feel like he was blinking.

His skull turned side to side, waiting.

"Oh no. An invisible league of lilliputians, here to destroy me," Mortis near sang in falsetto. "Whatever shall I do?! Whatever?? Whatever!! … Nice bluff, but I think you can -"

Green light cracked open the very air, and a massive armored shape appeared, with cape of royal blue and hair of golden blonde. His very limbs were titanic, a giant among men, ready to shield the others with his body. The condescending cougar was a pale imitation of this knightly paladin.

A second light of silver preceded the appearance of another figure, like carved white crystal only loosely designed to look like a man. A woman appeared alongside him, her more form fitting black armor covered from boots to helmet in a technological latticework, glowing neon teal. Both of them wore a blue scarf, and all of them, the knight's cape included, had the symbol of a dragon stitched in silver somewhere on the blue fabric.

"It's called a radio, Mortis," Sakuya dared to tease. "You haven't been out of the game that long, have you?"

The shadows deepened once more.

From under the giant's cape, a green spark of light flew closer towards Blaze. "Don't you worry now, lad! The Dragon Knights are here to help."

[Blaze]

Blaze smiled at Mortis's compliment and took it as a sign of pride. His distraction seemed to have the effect he wanted it to have. He wanted to do more but his body was fatiguing far more then he wanted it to. Spirit was willing but the flesh was weak... or something along those lines. After today he should focus on training his body in case this happened again. His mind countered that he was a bloody scientist/inventor that he had no need to be on the front lines of battle.

"I'm glad you enjoyed that little display." He weakly countered. "I doubt you could've taken it without a fight. Maybe if I was alone you could have easily."

He knew it wasn't much of a threat... Mortis was to powerful for him to take on in a one on one combat. He didn't pay much attention to the Sakuya's conversation with Mortis. He was now trying to keep his body from shutting down into unconsciousness. It was a losing battle but he didn't want to completely collapse just yet. Though he doubted he could've been of any use in his current condition.

He did manage to see a small spark of light near him. It was adorable to be honest. He managed a small smile at it's statement. The Dragon Knights were there at last. Everything was going to be alright.

"Good... safe then." He said as he finally slipped into unconsciousness.

[Sakuya the White]

The small green light took hold of Blaze's lab coat before he could hit the ground, and the pair of them vanished from the battlefield just as quickly as the others arrived.

The white dragon skull tilted to one side like a dog's head.

"Well, isn't this refreshing," the voice of Mortis teased as playfully as it could. "Teruko…"

The woman armored in black clenched her hands into fists at her sides, and magic formed neon teal discs around her hands that spun like buzz saws.

"Methylandros…"

The man of crystal's eyes glowed with an angry purple smoke.

"And the Eckhardt boy. Alphonse, was it? Why, I haven't seen you since -"

The armored figure flew forward like a rocket, both hands forward. The shadow slipped away just in time, and shadow lashed the warrior's back, half helping, half throwing. Alphonse crashed into the rock wall behind - cratering and shattering it, while a wave of ice spread out along the surface from the impact zone.

Daggers forged from darkness in the air were half-heartedly flung at the hole in the wall behind him, but the woman interjected herself. Her own weapons slashed apart the shadow weapons with startling ease.

"Hey now," Mortis complained, "I wasn't finish -" Teruko was on him in a neon flash, swinging the magic saws in a rapid dance of motion, forcing the shadow to move and dodge like a wisp of smoke himself.

Sakuya shot a telepathic message to the fourth member directly, saying, Meth, take over psychic! People are dying outside!

Agreed! Methylandros stayed where he was, but his body was alight with that purple glow. His mind pressed in on the shadowy figure, fighting and caging the telepathic jabs and lashes - blocking off attempts at his allies' minds as well as his own. Sakuya stayed only a moment longer, and then she was off and running out of the cave - a healer en route to end the topside battle.

"I wasn't -!" Mortis' voice growled louder as he tried to keep Teruko back - quick and aggressive, she fought. Shadows spiked and lashed in her direction, but the teal saws shaved right through each one as she cartwheeled and spun with flawless acrobatic grace.

"I wasn't -!!" From out of the rock, Alphonse burst forth in a shower of stone. The armored fists punched and swung at the shadowy creature, sending storms of wind and frost with each and every motion of his great arms. Shadows swirled to block and engulf them, even as the darkness deepened around the cloaked figure by the second.

"I wasn't finished!!!" Rocks unearthed themselves in a hurricane, in a twister, spiraling around Mortis like a wall of blades. Alphonse's armor protected him from the brunt, but several massive stones crashed into him hard enough to stun and shove him away.

Teruko, the faster, darted backwards to safety, but wasted no moment. She threw the teal buzzsaws in a rapid flurry of her whip-like arms, forming more as fast as she threw them. Rock and magic crashed in the smallest of explosions, but the cave wall and floor left no absence of stone to add to his defense.

Mortis himself stood straighter, stood prouder, as if he was taking a very deep breath. "There now, was that so hard?”

Alphonse jumped halfway back towards the earthen cyclone, and thrust both fists forward - firing another massive wintry blast at the base this time. Ice and frost fought to gain a foothold, but rock shredded it too fast.

Mortis let out a loud, melodramatic sigh.

"Guys, please. If you keep acting like that, we'll be at this all day …"

Shadows rose and engulfed the rocky debris, and threw themselves like black meteors in all directions. The forest quaked as the battle raged on ...


…


A small little creature poked at Blaze’s canine nose - the pixie, bathed in a slow green hue of magical light, looking inquisitive.

“Hey. Hey there. You up?” His finger poked the sleeping hybrid just a bit more. “Sleepyhead? Sleeeeeeeepyhead???”

The muted electrical lights shone from overhead around the medical ward, immaculately clean and white. The thin beds were comfortably padded, with railings just high enough to prevent someone from accidentally rolling to either side. Around the ward, the universal symbol for healing was emblazoned on the walls, along with a second symbol of silver dragon on blue heraldry.

There were few others in the large room, besides the canine himself and the pixie in his face. A nurse stood with a tablet in her hands at one end of the ward, comparing notes with a desktop computer. There was another man in a bed just beside Blaze, a strongly-built blonde man, hairy and woodsy in appearance, but his injuries took away from an otherwise imposing figure.

Bandages were wrapped around his right upper arm, his shoulder, and across part of his bare chest. His left forearm was completely encased in a white cast. Simple covers came almost up to his chest, to protect his modesty, and covering any other injuries he might have gained in the battle. There was a slight hue of white magic radiating from the bed below, working to heal him even in the absence of a doctor.

Every so often, his sleeping features showed a pained grimace.

[Blaze]

First thing Blaze recalled upon coming out of his unconsciousness was someone small poking at his nose. He could feel his nose twitch ever so often in response to the poking. He then heard him actually talking to him as he started waking up more. Thats when he couldn't recall where he was and panicked a bit. He opened his eyes quickly and sat up just as fast.

"I'm up... i'm up... quit poking me!" He said as he regretted sitting up that quickly. The room looked as though it was spinning and it made him nauseous just looking at it.

He closed his eyes to try and get his bearings sorted out so he would stop feeling sick. He took a few deep breathes to help out and try and sort himself out before he made himself feel and look more foolish. He remembered the cave... big fight... passing out when the others came to help out. Just from what he felt when he woke up he was clearly not in a cave anymore. Logical deduction was that he was in a medical room somewhere.

"Where am I? and who are you?" He said opening an eyelid slightly as if testing something.

[Alphonse]

The pixie pulled back a few inches, giving Blaze a little more breathing room. Interest muted - but only slightly - as he took in the sight of the roused canine.

“Finally. It was getting so dull here. Prince Charming is gonna be out for who knows how long,” the small fey complained, disregarding the fact that Blaze had also been asleep. His feet touched down on the left bed railing, and he tried to make a game of walking it on tiptoes like a high wire act. Arms stayed out to his sides, to balance, and wings helped along with a slight flap every so often

“Here’s simple. You’re in the third medic ward of the Dragon Keep,” he said without actually looking at Blaze. “... That’s the big base of the Dragon Knights, just in case you’re not on the up-and-up. It’s in the Columbian Mountain range, to be more specific. I brought you in after the big fight. Used to be others, but only you and the big guy were banged up enough to still be here now. And me?”

Done with his pretend challenge, the pixie did several backflips along the railing edge, before he jumped off and cut several circles through the air - his green light trailing just a bit behind him.

“My name is Wick, First Class Dragon Squire to Knight General Alphonse Eckhardt! That’s uh, Prince Charming over there,” he thumbed in the direction of the sleeping warrior. “I specialize in rescue and retrieval. He’s the big guns though.”

[Blaze]

Blaze smiled softly as he watched and listened to the Pixie. He looked and sounded cute but probably was dangerous as well. He knew he should probably not tell the pixie about that... but the temptation was rising to see his reaction. He was amused at the little guy's antics of balancing on the railing.

He was happy that the room stopped spinning and that he didn't feel nausated anymore. He didn't feel comfortable trying to stand up yet, so he just sat where he was. He pulled his knees up towards his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He felt much better then he was in the cave. He wondered when his companion was going to show up. He was sure he had been notified by someone.

"So the Dragon Knights base huh? I'ver heard of it and its location... never really visited. Of course it's designed that way. How are the others doing? More specifically how is that Cougar knight guy?" He said with a concerned frown and serious face.

As much as he was concerned and that he couldn't help but smile slightly at backflips and circles the pixie did while flying. To be able to fly and have such adorable carefree attitude. Though he'd probably go nutz if he behaved as such... like straightjacket nutz.

"Pleasure to meet you Wick. My name's Blaze Duggal Vinal... the hazardous inventor and maker of things that accidently go boom." He said introducing himself before looking at Alphonse. "Cute guy... as cute as you are adorable." He muttered to himself and then blushed as he realized what he just said.

[Alphonse]

If the puny little thing had heard the last line, about cuteness abounding, he gave no hint.

"Mr. Angry-face?" Wick replied, a child's look of disgust on his features. "I think the big wigs did a bunch of stuff, to his brain and things, and he couldn't get away fast enough. I think I liked him better brainless and drooling. Not all -"

The pixie raised his hands up into pretend claws, and started walking like a zombie along the bed rail. "Rawr. Raaaaawr. Imma eat you cause you're ugly. And stuff."

Then he stuck out his tongue, and blew a raspberry at thin air. "Good riddance. Barely managed a thank you. You know. For making him NOT A VILLAIN'S MIND SLAVE??"

Another raspberry sent tiny flecks of pixie spit at empty air, which landed somewhere on the floor.

Suddenly, the pixie flew right up into the air, grasping his butt as if stung. "CRIMINY!"

Across the room, the nurse was glaring all manner of violent promises, an unsheathed wand pointed directly at the pixie's wounded dignity.

"... I'll sanitize that."

[Blaze]

Blaze looked at Wick as he talked about the guy. He was happy that he sounded that he was doing good now. He was worried that the damage would be not be able to be undone. As much as he didn't like that knight he still didn't deserve what happened to him. He made a note to go talk to him to see how he was doing.

"Villain's mind slave? thats the best you can call him?" He said with a smirk at the pixie's antics.

He shakes his head trying to hold back laughter as the pixie was hit by something from the nurse. He knew he shouldn't laugh but it was hard not to but it wouldn't look on him either if he laughed. He got up and went to the nurse while stretching.

"how am I? can I head out now?" He asked softly. "And does anyone of my family or friends know that I'm here?"