Black Glass [FQ]

It was the Fifteenth of Ashfall, only fitting that the people started calling the period after the eruption of Lorinus the Ashfall. The air was thick with soot as it rained down from the lifeless grey skies overhead. The entire island of Lorinus was blanketed in a dark ominous hue yet glowed brightly due to the numerous lava vents opening up everywhere. Needless to say it the only people stupid enough to venture to these shores were idiots and savages, but mostly idiots.

A single shipped anchored as closely as it could sat in the distance, only barley visible to the landing party who cast their gaze down from the cliffs overlooking the shore. Jets of lava spewed out cascading down into the sea causing an almost toxic miasma to billow upward choking all who dared to come here. Hayate brought his hand up to his mouth clutching his scarf trying to block out as much shit as possible, as did the others who came with him to hopefully capitalize on the rare resources popping up here.

Their orders were to meet the first team that was sent to the Barron Cliffs and give them some reprieve. By taking over the protection of the obsidian mines that their shady contact had started up. Hayate had no idea who all he had accompanying him, but from the looks of things there were warriors and workers alike. He counted about twenty of them including himself and the burly leader. A number of his party, at least half, were all carrying large picks and weighted down with as much sacks they could hold. And the others all seemed like they were prepared for the worst that the cataclysm could throw their way, armed to the teeth. Hayate was part of the latter hired to act as a protector for his crew and ensure the safe return of any excavated obsidian.

“Sir,” the last Amatsukami spoke up as he pushed to the front of the party addressing the senior operative. A large man dressed in a number of layers and clad in iron headed the expedition; he was the boss as far as the shinobi was concerned. “How much farther can we go like this? We’ve been at this for hours, the men need some rest!"

“It isn't much father now, we’re looking for the base camp, dug out of one of those large caverns on the south side of the island. There should be a flagpole marking the encampment, once we see that then we can all take a break and breathe easy.” The large man said as he continued to push through the thick soot filled cloud in front of him. "Just keep an eye our for a red pick."

It wasn’t long after he said it that the banner of the Markson Company came into view, a black pick against a red flag, and a collective sigh of relaxation overtook the party consisting of nearly twenty men strong. Hayate particular felt at easy, he was no stranger to adversity but even this place made him feel like he was about to call it a quits. That was no small feat considering the depths of darkness he had ventured to before, but there was something different about this place. The air felt heavy as if there was some unnatural force pressing down on everyone’s shoulders and thick like a vail hiding away its secrets.

“There it is, not much father now!” Their large guide yelled back to the other.

“Weren’t there supposed to be others stationed out here?” one voice said, only to be echoed by another showing their concern. The fact that they had been told they were to be relieving others currently stationed here left the party with a sense of confusion.

“Don’t worry, they all must be hiding it out inside the tunnels.” Hayate said as the crew placed their first steps onto the Markson Company Obsidian Mine and their first steps into what could only be describes as a labyrinth of Black Glass.

Try fifteen metres to the left of you, the voice in the back of her head murmured. There might be more hope there.

Slowly, she nodded as she moved, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Her claws pressing into the soft, ash-ridden ground she moved those steps that he had advised, eyes scanning over the landscape before her. The same black ground, angled and bare trees and abandoned, sorrowful roofs stretched before her. A grey sky, soaked in the shadows of the billowing smoke from the super-volcano, dressed in the sins of the many before them. In the horizon it itself could be seen; a severely decapitated mountain with naught but his pride to bear him and the slow threat of lava still yet to be released.

When the metres were up, she twisted to stare ahead again. Shifting from foot to foot she angled her beaked head, trying to catch a view of what apparently he had seen. Her line of vision was between two rows of houses, leading in a direct line to the volcano on the horizon, and meeting the vast, hard rocky wave of the strange black substance that had leaked from the crater. The locals said it had flowed like a river, yet was not molten or consequential, like magma was, and had cooled rapidly to reveal this crude rocky formation. Since then, the townsfolk had left, leaving these houses all intact, and fled into the temporary settlements that had sprung up around the rock. They called it 'obsidian,' born from the dark colour that it had, and linking it to the one who had realised its potential in the first few hours. Strong and black, people said it was mine-able, and in the last month that it had existed a strange euphoria had built in the minds of the money-maker guilds, despite the fact that the sky was still burning.

Yet that was not why Stare was here. Indeed, she had met with the settlers. When her and Vitruvion had arrived that morning, his arms tightly curled around her still thin and frigid form, they had meant to come to a place of peace, at the edge of a natural disaster which they could watch and know exactly when it might erupt. Then, their plans, whatever they might be, could be sorted there and then - the ultimate idea had been it was safer to be closer to the volcano, not further away where you could not directly see what was going on. Survivable was entirely probable for both of them, being harmed was nowhere on the agenda. But Vitruvion had made the decision that - after the pain of the last two weeks - being here, on the edge of hell, was better than anywhere where he might have to wait for news of the apocalypse rather than see it directly happening. The man, who really was a god, had a strange way of thinking, and now, with all that she had survived, Stare did not question his decision.

Instead she walked a path under the rain of ash, seeking what he swore he had seen when they had first arrived.

A slit in the obsidian, leading to a moonlight sky, yet in the ground itself. It sounded impossible, yet the two of them had seen the horrors of hell and returned.

Tilting her beak, she shook her head. Still cannot see anything, Vitruvion.

Hmm, he grunted. Are you sure?

She nodded, slowly, tugging her cloak around her. Her thin, though still strong body held its own beneath it. Yeah, I am going to head back, she said. And she began to turn -

When she saw it. A ship, somewhere in the distance, thronging with people. She stared, her black eyes widening in her feathered head. Others are here.

The ash and sooth raining down from the blackened heavens flooded what appeared to be the entrance of the mining site a few meters from the flag whipping in the violent wind. Hayate and the others all gathered at the mouth of the cavern entrance trying desperately to shield themselves from the elements by leaning against the blackened rocks on either side. The stones were weird to say the least and upon an auxiliary glance appeared to be a very reflective glasslike material, possibly something unseen by the rest of the world. Or at least something not commonly found among the common riff raff that Hayate had the pleasure of doing business with.

After a moment the brute of a man he had been following and a hand full of others started to use the tools they brought along to clear them some kind of path. The pile of ash was nearly up to the young shinobi’s waist and steadily rising, meaning not a soul had come nor gone in some time. Hayate presumed that the others had come to the same conclusion or something close, because nobody was talking. It could have been that they were all exhausted after making the hours long hike up the Cliffside to the encampment or a sense of dread slowly seeping into the minds of his part but regardless the silence made Hayate uneasy.

“Sir…” he finally spoke up once again addressing the leader of the expedition, whom he finally learned was named Hue Stringer. “Hue, what does this mean?”

“It means that our men are down there, for better or worse, and we are here to relieve them. For all we know this build up could be a regular problem they’ve been having to clean up.” Stringer seemed confident, or at least wasn’t as uneasy as the young Shinobi.

It wasn’t long before Stringer and the others removed enough of the ash to allow Hayate and a few of the other smaller guys to weasel their way into the vast network of caves dug out of this strange jet black rock. And upon entering, though dimly lit by the sparsely scattered torches hung by the prior crew, Hayate could see and hear a lot better than dealing with the ashfall outside. Finally he removed the scarf he had been using to filter out the debris and take a deep breath of hot but clean air.

He alongside two other mercenaries looked back and forth between each other and the darkness that consumed the end of the long mine shaft they were now in. Other than the tormenting winds whipping though the mouth of the cave they couldn’t hear anything other their own hearts beating in their chest. For a moment the last Amatsukami found himself stricken with a sense of dread knowing the trek out and back to the ship would beat them up as much as their hike here did, there was no easy way out of this.

“Its dark down there, shouldn’t we be seeing someone by now?” one of the others asked as he bravely started to walk farther into the mine. Hayate followed closely behind knowing that if anything were to happen he would have to step up and take the lead to make sure the others would be safe. The shinobi did always have a strong sense of morality and wouldn’t let anyone die on his watch, not like what happened to his clan.

“Just watch out for any slick spots, I’ve nearly busted my ass twice already.”

"Don't-!"

A hand slammed over her feathered shoulder.

"Don't ... Go down there."

Looking back she saw the light-hued hair, white like snow, with the vivid blue eyes framed in a face of perfect, pale peach. His lips were two thin lines, curved together as he perused the long, dark tunnel ahead of them.

"Don't," he repeated as he drew her back to him.

Stare allowed the step to take place. She felt the weight of his tall form press against her back. Looking back to the mine shaft she clacked her tongue against the inside of her beak, lightly adjusting her eyes to be able to see further into the gloom.

She saw more tunnel, curving deep into the side of the hill and into the landscape of stoney night. It was where she had seen the men from the ship go to, where they had built their tunnel in the pursuit of fortune. Perhaps they had found it, with this strange new substance, or perhaps there were other things that waited besides. Stars, caught in the material, like she had seen in the cut by the village. Bugs, frozen beneath the ash. Villages, strangled to death by this swathe of dark rock they called obsidian.

"It was where they went," she grunted, raising a clawed hand and pointing down into the depths. She knew that he could see into the dark as well. The long, dusty path into the earth, with wooden struts to hold up the ceiling. If it needed it.

"Indeed, but it does not mean it is where we should go," Vitruvion said slowly.

Again, she glanced back at him. This time, however, she saw that he was deliberating, considering. Personally, for her, she saw no harm in beginning down a mine. Especially with him. Though she had been back and forth from death and been through a thousand hells recently, it had not dulled her spirits. Instead, it had made her more determined to face what the world had to give, even if they were away from all they had known, preparing to start life anew.

Away from everyone and everything else.

"You brought us here, my lord - Vitruvion," she pulled away from him enough to turn and stare at him. "Brought us here to begin again. And we came to the source so that you can know the dangers directly. Well, here is a potential one," she nodded her beak at the tunnel. "A way even to make money. That is what you are good at, is it not?"

His brow raised. "I am good at many things my dear, making money is one of them."

"Okay, so ..."

She smiled with her eyes.

He narrowed his, as he glared at her. For a moment he was silent, and she could tell from his expression that he was considering it. Thus, she remained silent, agitation coming into her, the need to just know what was down there irritating her.

"Fine," he grunted and set a hand on her shoulder again. This time he moved her, pushing her lightly out of the way as he took the first stride down the tunnel.

"But I am going first."

Darkness ensued for the second week as clouds of ash blacked out the sky. Gavner smirked as he looked across the darkened landscape. Now that the sun was no longer a limitation, the clan had access to unlimited power, as their reach was unchecked.

A blur streaked across the corone landscape, before a tall, dark haired humanoid figure appeared before the creature of the night. His left eye socket was darkened, and a large scar ran across his jugular.

“Good eve, Commander,” Gavner said, taking a knee as he saluted his superior by drawing the middle finger of his open hand down his forehead and to his lips.

“Rise, General,” The commander said. The younger vampire looked upon the superior officer skeptically, as he had clearly flitted from the outlands across the ocean, and yet he had not even broken a sweat. If he had to guess, this vampire was over 700 years in age.

“Time to our kind is irrelevant, but is critical to you at this point,” the commander stated. “I have been ordered to charge a force with the commision of search and rescue for one of our rival clans.”

“Since when does Annoterish deal with diplomacy, Commander?” Gavner asked. “Warmongering is all we know.”

“Silence.” The commander said. “The price of omnipotence is tradition. You are to search the attempted settlement in the dwarven ruins of Lornius. Scour for survivors, but the only head you are to rescue is the War Prince of this clan. Am I clear?”

“Do I have a name?” Gavner asked.

“Names are above your level of knowledge at this point,” He replied. “You will identify him by the clan’s brand on his neck.”

Gavner nodded in understanding.

“General,” the commander said. “Failure is not an option. Am I clear?”

“Transparently.”



Dry, hot ash crunched underfoot upon setting foot ashore on the newly forsaken island. An anchored ship loomed to the east and pieces of dark, solidified volcanic aftermath plagued the waves as they crashed upon the ash laden sands. As the nightwalker made his way inland, he began to notice fissures in the surrounding earth where craters and tunnels had formed and been filled in with ash and volcanic fallout. Searching for signs of vampric settlement would be nearly impossible, what with all indications of life either destroyed or covered up; however, it seemed that there were already inhabitants here searching for something in the aftermath.

Upon approaching the area of recent settlement, it seemed as if the encampment was an excavation site. Looking into the darkness, Gavner could see deep into the tunnel, leading into the interior of the land, that was unearthed.

“Perhaps this could be the entrance to the ruins,” Gavner wondered to himself as he started down into the underbelly of the world.

As the shinobi and his compatriots edged ever farther in the blanketing darkness ahead he felt himself slip into a state of near panic as the hairs on his neck began to stand on end. In the faint distance he could see a dim light casting an ominous glow fifty feet or so away. The faint torch light reflected off every surface like mirrors cascading its light into a big opening in the wall. Hayate and the others in his party took every precaution as they inched their way closer to the room that was now clearly visible in the right. There was a distinct stench tinging his nose hairs as Hayate proceeded forward.

Without a word Hayate put his hand in the air issuing a silent order for the others to stand back and take cover as the shinobi took up position at the threshold of the new passageway. With his back to the wall he cautiously leaned his head around the corner and peered inside. And to his dismay instantly got sick over his discover, holding back his vomit as he tried to process what he saw. Inside was a large vast cavern painted in red and filled with the bodies of the former platoon.

"What could have done this?" he found himself thinking as he waved the others to approach.

“Looks like we’ve found who were looking for.” Hayate said under his breath as the others got a firsthand look at the gruesome remains of half a dozen or so slaughters and mangled corpses.

“By the Thaynes…” Alesia, the wood elf in his party, said as she collapsed to her knees and began weeping. There was a long pause as Hayate tried to assess the situation. But suddenly and almost without warning the rocks beneath his feet began to quake and rumble. Something large was underneath him, something very large indeed.

“On your feet!” he yelled ordering Alesia to compose herself.

“Somethings coming!” the third member of the trio yelled as he drew his short sword from his hip and taking a defensive posture. The others quickly followed suit and formed a triangle with their back to one another.

“Whatever’s coming must be responsible for this, be on your guard. Flee if you must but do not fall victim to the same fate as the others.”

“I didn’t come all the way out here to this hell hole to be slaughtered immediately!”

“Dying wasn’t on my list of things to do today either, don’t worry as long as your with me you’ll be safe.” Hayate said trying one final time to boost his companion’s moral as the floor of the cavern though faintly visible began to splinter and crack on the other side of the vast room.

Suddenly the rumbling came to a total stop and the trio released a collective sigh, until the fractured floor exploded upward and a gigantic beast emerged. Hayate immediately leapt into action launching his grappling hook up towards the ceiling and taking the high ground while the others tried to come to terms with what they were seeing. A massive lizard of sorts covered in plates of what looks like the same black material that this entire place was made of. It had jagged protrusions of razor sharp rock covering its body and a mouth that could easily swallow a horse whole.

Though they must have been fifty or so feet from the others still trying to carve out a path through the soot of the ensuing storm outside Hayate was sure that they all felt this monster as it erupted from its home beneath the earth. He prayed that they don’t come, but knew that he would have to do everything in his power to protect them when they inevitable do. The beast passed for a moment before it noticed them on the far side of the room and began to charge.

Gigantic. Terrible. Dangerous.

A god of an underworld, of an unforgotten realm, a lizard of dragon proportions with skin as sable as the shimmering rock the miners had been cutting from the stone. It sped from a tunnel as swift as an arrow, flying with its deep red mouth open, tongue flailing. Breathing a heat that could only be described as volcanic the wyrm-like creature ran aimlessly, though seeming towards them. At around ten feet in length it seemed more monster in being, and thus it was that Vitruvion drew in a breath before drawing his long, thin golden dagger. The creature had four legs, and they carried it fast towards them.

There were seconds to make a decision.

Swirling in a flourish of his coat Vitruvion Elssmith twisted and placed his arm directly around the waist of his beloved kenku. Then, with not so much as a warning he hoisted her under his arm and began to run, his own feet pounding on the onyx-like rock beneath them, that glistened in the flickering firelight. Though it was one monster it posed a threat, and thus the god trapped in human form fled, his face set, his jaw tight. There was nobody but her to call him a coward now, and he knew she would always understand.

She had to.

Stare let out a light gasp as she was man-handled and sized about the waist. Like some errant package she was bundled beneath his arm. She felt the temptation to bang on his arm as he went for the closest exit - the angled path that possibly led back to the entrance - and ask to be placed down, but she knew the situation. It was dire. And deadly. Instead she reached up and clutched onto his shoulder, her wings becoming tangled in his limbs. She let out a mild caw as she tried to climb into a sturdier position, and all the while he ran.

As the creature chased them. It let out a furious roar as its myriad silvery eyes seemed to see them, and it gave chase. Stare looked over Vitruvion's shoulder to see it there, and she clutched on for dear life as he accelerated. Lengthening his strides the god said nothing as he carried her through the stony tunnel, only grunting as he became unsure as to their true location. His facial features twitched, he hissed, and he skidded around a corner just in time to see -

Another lizard bursting from the floor itself. Right into a group of what looked like explorers - or miners who were trapped within a vast chamber. He gritted his teeth and turned quickly around.

His heart thumped wildly as he saw their monster skid around the corner, then jeer and start straight for them, fire and hunger in its jaws.

"Damn," he muttered, as he pushed Stare up onto his shoulder. There she scrambled, and sat, clutching around his shoulder and head for support.

"Damn," he repeated. "We might be stuck."