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Thread: Myrmidon

  1. #11
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    A thick black plume of some rose high above Rodham. Bodies lay strewn across the cobbles of Market Square, backlit by the burning braziers smouldering throughout the wide thoroughfare. The troupe approached the edge of the stage slowly, emotions running high as they pieced together what had happened. To the east and west they could hear the last of the crowd exiting into the side streets, carolled by the city guard and in no particular frame of mind to stay behind.

    “Up there!” Duffy pointed above the royal box.

    Along the roof, three ghastly figures clung to the tiles and feasted on what they could only presume were bodies. Raking claws stole souls and gaping maws ripped open flesh. Movement in the royal box drew Wainwright’s eye.

    “Arden..." She could sense the cloying presence of undeath. She swore loudly.

    “No…no Arden. You idiot!” She leapt down onto the cobbles and bent both knees to break her fall. Before Wainwright could stop her, she was sprinting across the square to her brother.

    “Follow her Duffy.” Wainwright turned to Leopold. “How’s your aim tonight?”

    The merchant smirked and span the chamber of his pistol. He clicked back the hammer and pointed it to the nearest of his targets. He closed one eye to focus, and slowed his breathing.

    “It’ll piss them off boss.”

    “Oh,” Wainwright mimicked Leopold’s expression. “I’m counting on it.” He turned back to the night sky and readied himself. “Fire!”

    The gunshot echoed through the square and before the wraiths could take flight, a silver bullet exploded into its shoulder and sent sparks and cavalcades of lightning rattling along the tiles. It’s cold, calculating eyes turned to the stage and a deep, guttural cry heralded its ascent and descent down towards it’s attacker. The other wraiths followed, discarding their prey aside. They rolled down the rooftops and crashed to the cobbles below.

    “Again!” Wainwright unsheathed his longsword and pulled it back in a two-handed grip. “Fire godamnit!”

    Leopold let loose a salvo, each bullet narrowly missing the leader but catching the second in the chest. It spiralled, screamed and dropped to the cobbles. It reformed quickly, and found itself staring down a very angry seamstress.

    “Bastard!” she roared, spiralling as she advanced and cutting through the wraith’s neck with her rapier. It went straight through, a thin purple line forming where the silver blade touched its essence. She stopped ten feet away and span about.

    Duffy caught up with her, eyes glistening and daggers forming out of thin air. He too them and leapt, the wind in his step lifting him skyward like a leopard. He ploughed through the wraith, lashing out with his blades wildly. When he rolled to a stop, he rose beside Liza and gestured for her to flee.

    “Stop Arden, I’ve got this.”

    She stared at him. “You sure?”

    Duffy nodded. She did not need any further re-assurance and spat before she continued towards the royal box.

    “Hurricane’s strength, a whorl of power lifting me up, bring the heavens to my side and guide my aim.” Silver sparks crackled along the daggers as a breeze formed about them and summoned a miniature whirlwind about each. “Knock down my enemies and breathe life to my heart!” Swollen with magic, the bard charged and met the wraith as it leapt at him, talons raking, long, tendrils of its ethereal cloak whipping wildly behind it.

  2. #12
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    Arden bounded up to the guards at the entrance to the royal box and flashed a piece of paper in front of them. They hesitated.

    “Get out of my way, right now.”

    “But, but,” they mumbled. They stared at him for a few moments before they parted their halberds and the swordsman vanished into the corridor.

    Hot and humid, the wooden entrance to the royal box was dusty and dimly lit. It turned into a flight of stairs and he made short work of climbing them, hand running along the veneer rail to guide him in the twilight. He burst out onto the balcony, heart racing and eyes narrowed to make sense of the bedlam before him.

    “Lords preserve me…”

    Half the seats were empty, skeletal wingback chairs ornate and gluttonous. Half the congregation were still in their seats, heads knocked back and limbs hung loosely at their sides. As he approached, he started to see gaping wounds and lacerations on each one, some inches wide and still oozing blood. Delicate silks and well spun wool turned deep crimson and horrified, tortured looks frozen onto their faces told him they had met a painful, sudden end. He grits his teeth.

    “Your majesty?” He approached the throne.

    Both grander chairs were empty, unmarked and untouched by the feral spirits that ravaged the crowds. He shuddered as their cries grew in intensity in pursuit of the last remaining members of the audience as they tried desperately to push into the rear of each column streaming away from the square. Arden began to feel very uneasy. Not one person in the royal box had made it more than a few feet from their chair. Yet, some were not to be seen, as though they had been spared, or forewarned of what was to come.

    “Your majesty!”

    He stared at the far end of the box, veiled in roaring flames that barred the far entrance and left the only means of escape a narrow, cluttered and dangerous stairwell. The smell of smoke and fear filled his lungs.

    “Sunder the spirits of the dead and give them life,” he clenched his fists. “What dies, shall never die and be remembered. Come to the veil between one world and another.” He punched the air towards the nearest dead noble and the body jolted to life, clicking and shuddering as the tortured spirit that once inhabited it returned with a crack of thunder.

  3. #13
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    A thick black plume of some rose high above Rodham. Bodies lay strewn across the cobbles of Market Square, backlit by the burning braziers smouldering throughout the wide thoroughfare. The troupe approached the edge of the stage slowly, emotions running high as they pieced together what had happened. To the east and west they could hear the last of the crowd exiting into the side streets, carolled by the city guard and in no frame of mind to stay behind.

    “Up there!” Duffy pointed above the royal box.

    Along the roof, three ghastly figures clung to the tiles and feasted on what they could only presume were bodies. Raking claws stole souls and gaping maws ripped open flesh. Movement in the royal box drew Wainwright’s eye.

    “Arden’s up there.”

    Liza swore very loudly.

    “No…no Arden. You idiot!” She leapt down onto the cobbles and bent both knees to break her fall. Before Wainwright could stop her, she was sprinting across the square to her brother.

    “Follow her Duffy.” Wainwright turned to Leopold. “How’s your aim tonight?”

    The merchant smirked and span the chamber of his pistol. He clicked back the hammer and pointed it to the nearest of his targets. He closed one eye to focus, and slowed his breathing.

    “It’ll piss them off boss.”

    “Oh,” Wainwright mimicked Leopold’s expression. “I’m counting on it.” He turned back to the night sky and readied himself. “Fire!”

    The gunshot echoed through the square and before the wraiths could take flight, a silver bullet exploded into its shoulder and sent sparks and cavalcades of lightning rattling along the tiles. It’s cold, calculating eyes turned to the stage and a deep, guttural cry heralded its ascent and descent down towards it’s attacker. The other wraiths followed, discarding their prey aside. They rolled down the rooftops and crashed to the cobbles below.

    “Again!” Wainwright unsheathed his longsword and pulled it back in a two-handed grip. “Fire godamnit!”

    Leopold let loose a salvo, each bullet narrowly missing the leader but catching the second in the chest. It spiralled, screamed and dropped to the cobbles. It reformed quickly, and found itself staring down a very angry seamstress.

    “Bastard!” she roared, spiralling as she advanced and cutting through the wraith’s neck with her rapier. It went straight through, a thin purple line forming where the silver blade touched its essence. She stopped ten feet away and span about.

    Duffy caught up with her, eyes glistening and daggers forming out of thin air. He too them and leapt, the wind in his step lifting him skyward like a leopard. He ploughed through the wraith, lashing out with his blades wildly. When he rolled to a stop, he rose beside Liza and gestured for her to flee.

    “Stop Arden, I’ve got this.”

    She stared at him. “You sure?”

    Duffy nodded. She did not need any further re-assurance and spat before she continued towards the royal box.

    “Hurricane’s strength, a whorl of power lifting me up, bring the heavens to my side and guide my aim.” Silver sparks crackled along the daggers as a breeze formed about them and summoned a miniature whirlwind about each. “Knock down my enemies and breathe life to my heart!” Swollen with magic, the bard charged and met the wraith as it leapt at him, talons raking, long, tendrils of its ethereal cloak whipping wildly behind it.

  4. #14
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    Arden felt the spirit ensnared by his spell fight back, but bent it’s will with a forceful push of his mind. The corpse buckled and rose, as though suspended on rope and cantankerously stepped away from the chair. He traced symbols in the air to finalise the binding and then unsheathed the sword on his left hip. The curved, bloodied blade vibrated at the presence of the undead.

    “What happened?”

    A voice emerged from the corpse’s open mouth, but no movement produced it. It shuddered with every word.

    “The Grand Inquisitor summoned them. The Queen escorted her faithful through the west wing.”

    “Why?”

    “War.”

    A blast of fire shot out from the stairwell and engulfed the corpse in an inferno. Arden retreated, sword raised until he saw Liza appear from the gloom snarling at him.

    “What are you thinking?” She charged to the corpse and drove her rapier into the creature’s forehead. The purple light in its eyes faded and mist poured from its wounds, the spirit within returning to the afterlife. “You made an oath!”

    “Only they can tell us what happened, and now we have an answer.”

    “How do you know it’s not a trick?” She withdrew her blade and wiped it clean. The corpse fell in a heap and blood continued to ooze out in a puddle. Liza watched it in horror. “The Grand Inquisitor needs no more ammunition to use against us, Arden.”

    “They knew. They made this happen. The Queen wanted us to be here, an accident to weaken morale. This is grave for all of us.” Arden sheathed his sword and folded his arms across his chest.

    “Whatever happens we will deal with it, together, because that’s what Rodham does.” She jabbed her blade at him accursedly.

    “Have it your way.” His tone was barbed and sultry, but Liza brushed it aside. “Where are the others?”

    She pointed out to the square and left him to his thoughts. She caught her breath atop the stairs before descending to help her family.

  5. #15
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    Wainwright ducked as the wraith leapt at him, slashing upwards with his blade blindly. It shrieked, but continued towards Leopold who stood aghast and tried to fire point blank. The shot flew wide, and the full force of the wraith drive the merchant off his feet and back into a paper wall. It crashed backwards and he rolled into a dishevelled heap.

    “Run!”

    The leading man turned and bit his tongue. The wraith composed itself and floating slowly over Leopold. It descended, claws raking and tendrils of shadow flailing wildly.

    “By grace and virtue, water, come to my aid. Rain torrents upon this stage and wash away it’s sins!” Fists clenched, Wainwright punched the sky and a rumble shook the planks loose from their supports.

    The curtains on the right side of the stage blew open as wind rolled across the square. Water poured out of every nook and cranny, crashing through the pillars like a waterfall and washing over Leopold with crushing force. It clipped the wraith and dragged it under, washing it, and all the props out onto the right side of the stage in a calamitous mess. Debris clattered out onto the cobbles of the square, soaking Wainwright’s boots and mingling with the piss and ale and bodies.

    “Leopold!” He watched the subsiding waters nervously. “Leopold!”

    A top hat appeared from behind a nest of plans and brooms, and the merchant rose, soaked to the core with his pistol still in his hand. He looked at Wainwright with begrudging thanks, and trudged over to the front of the stage.

    “Did you have to go quite so far?” He spat water and took off his hat. He shook it and put it bac on his head eschew.

    “It was that or have your soul torn from your body.”

    “Well, yeah…” He glanced nervously over his shoulder. “Is it dead?”

    “I doubt it. But it’ll weaken it enough for us to make our escape.”

    Leopold looked back with a surprised expression. “Escape? It’s not like you to run from your fifteen minutes.” He emptied his clip and tossed the bullets aside. He reloaded it from his pouch, the shells kept dry by the proofed leather.

    “We helped give people chance to flee, and this isn’t a fight we can win.”

    To prove his point, two shrill cries filled the dark square behind them and when they turned they caught a glimpse of Duffy in a dervish war with the remaining wraiths. Flashes of light marked the clashing of swords against claws, and a distant melody pierced the tense silence.

    “He’s learnt how to show off from you, that lad.”

    Wainwright chuckled.

    “I’ll have words.” He approached the edge of the stage and leapt off. He bent his knees to brace against the fall and looked up to Leopold expectantly. “Let’s take his lead, shall we?”

    Leopold rolled his eyes and followed, his heavier frame jolting his back and shedding a litre of flood water onto the cobbles as he fell. He took to a slow jog behind Wainwright, who unsheathed his longsword as the use of his magic took a heavy toll on his concentration and his strength.

    “Can’t let you have all the fun scamp!”

    Duffy caught a glimpse of two shadows turning into friends and sighed, ducking and weaving around the wraiths trying to slit his throat. The wind on his heels gave him freedom to backflip and twirl and keep himself out of harm’s reach, but even his youthful exuberance began to waver.

    “Took your damned time.”

    The closer wraith reared up and approached the newcomers in a low arch, stopping Leopold and Wainwright in their tracks. Three bullets ploughed into its chest as the longsword in Wainwright’s hand burst into flames with a single command. The scent of lavender and pine filled the air and drowned out the cloying scent of death.

  6. #16
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    Arden watched the melee grow, weighing up his options as duty and family fought for his attentions. Though a part of the troupe, he served the royal family as an enforcer and spy, trying to keep the Olbanian military from infiltrating their city and tearing them apart from within. He felt betrayed and a failure at the same time. He dropped his hands to his sides and made his decision.

    “Forgive me, your majesty.”

    He vaulted the barrier and dropped into the dark.

  7. #17
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    Liza charged at the wraiths with the rage of the sun. Duffy saw the effects of her magic before he realised she was there, crackles of lightning and fire swarming around the wraith he danced around. As Leopold and Wainwright pushed one wraith back, the other began to dissipate beneath the onslaught of a woman scorned.

    “Flame’s brand burns bright, send the day into the night, crush the ancient and the wicked!” She skidded to a halt, arms waving in a pattern that controlled the prangs of flame and spiralling them around the creature. Each rotation sent the bolts piercing through its body, deep purple and effervescent sparks shot out with each wound.

    “Duffy get down!”

    Wainwright raced to push the bard out of harm’s way. Leopold’s final two bullets tore the wraith’s skull apart, but the creature, in its death throes, lurched at Duffy with its claws outstretched. Wainwright leapt and crashed into the youth’s shoulder and took both cadre of talons to the chest. As the wraith faded, the leading man’s life force was drained into the aether and a lifeless, pallid corpse crashed backwards and rolled over facedown.

    “No…” Liza whispered hoarsely. She shed the magic in her fingers and froze. The cold night air pricked her skin into goose bumps.

    “Wainwright!” Leopold appeared by his side and he hesitated. “Wainwright, can you hear me?” He leant slowly and patted his brother on the shoulder. The body was ice cold and frigid. “Oh…shit.”

    Liza and Duffy appeared on the opposite side and together, they rolled Wainwright onto his back. The moment they saw his face, blue lips and vacant eyes their worst fears came true. The trio fell onto their behinds and stared. Liza shed a tear first, and soon became hysterical. Duffy hugged her and tried to hold her back.

    “Wainwright!” She screamed.

    “Liza, I’m so sorry…he’s gone.” Leopold closed Wainwright’s eyes and rested his arms folded across his chest. “He did what he always does.”

    “Protect us, no matter the cost.” Duffy finished Leopold’s thoughts, and when Liza started to compose herself he let her go and inched away. “What should we do?”

    Liza stared blankly into empty space.

    “Liza. Liza, can you hear me?” The bard waved his hand in front of her face. “Liza!” He shouted.

    She turned to him and sighed. She wiped the tears from her eyes and as much of her make up as she could on the hem of her sleeve.

    “We take him home.” The emotion in her voice sent a shiver down Duffy’s spine. “We take him home, then we find whoever did this and cut out his heart.” Malice sparked on her tongue, passion and grief riling her heart and threatening to make her lose control. Duffy nodded sympathetically and made to pick him up. Leopold assisted.

    “Let us say the words.”

    They heaved and carried him, stretcher like between them. Leopold took the legs and Duffy the shoulders. Liza approached his side and rested both palms on Wainwright’s chest. Arden padded into view, his dull emotions showing no signs of life. He circled them and rested his hands atop Liza’s. They spoke in harmony and bound themselves with blood and the Tongues.

    “To home, through fold and failure, to sanctuary, through the deep between dark. To home, through fold and failure, to sanctuary, through hatred and heart.”

    With a flicker and a flash, the troupe disappeared and left the ruins of market square aflame, crushed, and as a stark reminder of the price of fear run rampant in the minds of those they had, until now, trusted and idolised.

  8. #18
    Member

    EXP: 31,366, Level: 7
    Level completed: 55%, EXP required for next Level: 3,634
    Level completed: 55%,
    EXP required for next Level: 3,634



    GP
    705

    Name
    Ruby Winchester
    Location
    Corone
    The Royal Palace
    The City of Rodham

    Queen Adele Rodham stood before her throne in the grand hall of the palace. In a delicate dress of white silk stitched with silver thread, she wore her hair shoulder length and unadorned. She held the crown of Rodham in her left hand, her right pressed against her bosoms as she listened to the armoured man at the foot of the throne.

    “Your majesty, you have done magnificently.”

    “I remain unconvinced Grand Inquisitor, you asked me to sacrifice so much and with no guarantee of success.” She cocked her head, encouraging her would be ally to try harder.

    The man bowed, his armour scraping as plates rubbed against chainmail. Hidden behind a bulwark of steel and a helmet shaped into a lion’s head there was little he could do beyond appear menacing. He pointed to the throne.

    “No-one now opposes your coronation. King Sam is dead, Lord Regent has betrayed you, and Hammertongue is of no concern to us now he has been dealt with.”

    “Such promises made without evidence, Inquisitor. My son has given no quarter to indicate he is truly the one helping the rebels, and until Gavel’s body is at my feet we cannot assume he is dead.” She had hoped, when the news broke, but after a decade of trying to eliminate Hammertongue and his silver laced words the Queen learnt to rely on evidence, not hearsay to guide her actions.

    “We agreed on simple terms.” He rose to the king’s throne and rested a hand on the sculpted arm. One was a whorl of scythes and the other a weave of wheat bushels. “I aid you to become the ruler of this city and rid you of your enemies.” He turned and made to sit. He relished the queen’s expression, a realisation that her dreams realised would cost her dearly. “In exchange for a seat and the fall of your kingdom’s heretics.”

    He sat and loosened the straps of his helmet. The Queen relented and joined him, nodding to give her consent for him to unveil himself as Rodham’s new king. He removed the helm and set it down on his lap, ruffling his greying hair lose to arrange it suitable to wear a crown. She set the golden band on his head and sighed.

    “The king is dead,” he said with a gruff, unrestrained pride.

    “Long live the king,” the queen continued. She crossed her legs and clapped, signalling for the grand doors into the hall to be opened, and the evening petitions to begin.

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