The Hidden Threat. ((Closed))

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((We're doing a variant of this mission right here; 4) Using the caches of Aleraran muskets and weapons and priestly leadership, join in one of the rural peasant revolts--storm the local manor and kill all royalist forces and members the noble family. Attempt to consolidate rule.))

((Closed to Wizo and potentially MetalDrago and Dino))

((Permission to bunny approved by Wizo))


Prologue

Alberdyne Cormyr traveled North to Salvar with a companion after hearing that the Civil War in Corone affected Salvar's economy now. Currently in their own state of Civil War and on the brink of self destruction, the kingdom lay on the verge of being wiped out forever. The Church of Ethereal Sway declared war against the house of Rahaxea. Emissaries from Salvar were sent all over the world with various caravans meant to locate help from the various corners of Althanas. In Corone, they were able to recruit a young Otano named Wizo and the last son of Cormyr, a boy named Alberdyne.

The trip from Radasanth to Knife's Edge in Salvar lasted many days of travel, but they made it without incident. Once in Salvar, Dyne was able to notice the extent of disarray that the country was in. This made the youth sad as he saw the various battles taking place. The youths (Wizo and Dyne) were hired in by a third party benefactor masquerading as a faction of the Church of Ethereal Sway. This group of people worked with the local districts trying to keep the peace as best as possible.

But now the task had grown nigh impossible as the streets were filled with battle after battle. Neighbors turned on neighbors and entire households were obliterated by the phantom menace currently guiding the hearts and minds of the savages in Salvar. Another force manipulated the war behind the scenes. Currently, the youth rested in an Inn that was still standing while fighting took place between the various factions. Separatists and loyalists to the crown engaged one another. Also, the Cathedral's warriors engaged the loyalists in the sewer, it was total chaos. The third party benefactor saw an opportunity to gain tremendous profit from the war.

That third party benefactor was a man named Alchion Rendexen. A third cousin of the King, the nobleman faced disgrace from the King's favor after a certain incident took place. Now the country lay in shambles. There were those that worked with their greed to manipulate the system as it stood. But the verdict was in, Salvar would fall. Whilst people died on the streets fighting their own countrymen, Dyne Corona had a drink with Alchion Rendexen, and three other men. His partner included. Their hides were positioned on a nearby table. Dyne stole a glance to his fellow mercenary, Wizo. The Otano had impressed the youth with his bravery. The two had developed a warrior's bond. Dyne was surprised that he felt so eager to get underway with the mission at hand.

"So you got us out here in the middle of your war to do WHAT exactly? Run that by me one more time?" Corona asked. Several pitchers of drinks decorated the single table that stood in the center of the three men. Alchion was a patient man, but it was clear that was wearing thin whilst the blood of his countrymen was shed and spilled. "Mr. Corona. I was told that you were man of many talents and great skills. At such a young age you've risen to a position of incredible influence as one of the Patriarchs of the House of Sora so it is my understand that you are not a stupid man." This was like a slap to the face. Dyne physically winced as if struck by the man. "What you're asking is that my friend and I walk into the middle of a war we didn't start and act as Peace Keepers in this war? Are you absolutely out of your mind?"

"No Mr. Corona. I am not insane. But you're wasting my time at this rate. Will you accept the job or not?" The man asked.

Corona's hand was shaking. The young man had risen quickly through the House of Sora and obtained a position of influence. They were asking him to fight for a country that was not his own. Defend a set of ideals that were not his own. In his heart of hearts, he stood for the concepts of freedom and justice and considered himself a free man of Corone. With his hand shaking form a mix of fear, along with something else, the youth took his goblet in his hand and took a sip of the strange juice. It was some sort of bittersweet fruit that was native to Salvar. They picked it during the Harvest season.

Dyne wasn't sure he liked the taste. He missed the Berry Berry Fruit Juice native to his precious Underwood. Am I a hypocrite? Here these people need help and now I'm suddenly afraid because their laws are different than my own. Now my philosophies are beginning to make my life miserable. I wish I were back home. Dyne looked up at Alchion. "All right but we're going to have to ask for some major rewards here. My group is need of manpower, resources, a base to operate from. What I want is--"

"We can give you that Mr. Corona. You want a fiefdom. If you do a good job we can give you all the wealth you want. But my people need help right now or there won't be a Salvar left to defend. What about your friend here, what does he want?" Alchion suddenly focused the conversation to Wizo's person. Dyne turned to look at his friend for a moment. Except for a single waitress, the Inn was completely empty, abandoned. The men had found a perfect place to hide.

[Wizo]

At the time, doing some work sounded rather well for Wizo. His house needed some renovations, and it was apparent that all he had left was money for food and medicine. He needed money, but with this job on this offer on the table….. He was unsure if this entire job was worth it. Then again, it was a pretty good amount of gold, enough for him to build 4 houses if he wanted to. Civil wars are famous for back stabbers however, with this MUCH gold going around from a shady third party of the war, it gave Wizo many reasons to say no to this job. “The pay seems nice. Don’t get me wrong. I wish I could get jobs like these all the time. However, this entire job is pretty much suicide. I rather not collect while I’m a corpse you know.”

“And that is exactly why we are offering you THAT much gold, Wizo. It’s not some simple escort job.” Replied Rendexen.

“Alright, run this by me again. You want us to go into this heavenly guarded mansion and kill nobles? Strangely this sounds all too familiar.” Wizo replied with a little emotion in that question. Revolts and civil wars did not help a country grow if there was a cause. This one has no cause, just a bunch of fat cats in a power struggle. Recalling in his homeland, how an actual rebellion lead to its destruction, he shivered praying that the gods of these lands were a lot kinder then his. “Killing a noble is a high offence. But if you pull it off and our side wins, you will be free of all crimes. It will be a glorious new era for the people. ” Rendexen said as he lifted his fist into the air. “Heh, really? This isn’t the first time I done this before, Rendexen. I had a larger amount of men then what you are giving me and that failed! It burnt an entire kingdom to the ground! How is this crap your selling us any different?!?!” Wizo got a little loud with that last one. But Rendexen did not change his appearance at all, neither did his men.

“Do you want this job or not? I keep asking you two, and all you’re doing is going into dead end moral roads that I rather not tread this day. ”

Wizo just took a sip of his beer and nodded. “I likely know where this is going, but might as well get paid for it anyway. You bought yourself a sword.” Rendexen looked at the boy with great wonder. He has never heard of such a large civil war, or of a kingdom to go down in that way either. Wizo would not seem to be so passionate in a lie, so it puzzled him. That mystery would have to wait. The raid had to go well, and many sellswords were wary of the job and it seemed he was really relying on a bunch of kids to get the job done.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

((Anybody else whose going to join this quest can just join okay? I'm trying to keep up a certain speed thank you. Note: House of Sora members may join in on this thing))


Dyne felt the weight of the building suddenly upon his shoulders. It was an old building after all, rich with Salvar's history. Dyne saw that the wood was ancinet and well worn, probably picked from the forested region towards the southern areas of Salvar. The boy admittedly knew very little about Salvar's topography and geography, but this was a chance to learn. I only wish it didn't have to be under such grievous circumstances. He imagined Seti and Rajani lecturing him about the nature of violent politics. The nature of war. I wonder if my Father would approve of this? As he observed the various nuances of the building they were in, the boy thought about the Phantom of his Father.

Oft in his thoughts, his Father seemed to materialize in his thoughts once more. He closed his eyes as he thought about the specter. The weight of the decision hung in the air. Surprised at hearing his friend's reply, the boy didn't want to give in so easily. He wanted more than they could offer him, a peaceful solution. In an idealists' world they could all face trial. He remembered Seti telling him that once. When Radasanth faced her greatest crisis in recent memory.

Understanding that politics often required military action the boy decided to take firm action. He didn't have to kill anyone. His eyes came across a painting that depicted an early period of Salvar's history and show-cased the start of St. Denebriel's cathedral. Seeing an image of St. Denebriel made the youth smile a bit. He wondered just what type of beauty that the Forgotten One must've been in life.

Dyne swallowed his pride. He rubbed the two pendants hidden beneath his fancy shirt. He wore all Vlince these days. His clothing was light brownn representing his desire to appear as a commoner. He kept his hands folded across atop the table before them. He looked at Alchion with a stern expression on his face. "Understand something. This is not about the money or about what you're offering. This is about my personal upbringing as a man of the people. What you are suggesting will cost many innocent lives as this pointless war has already cost. Make no mistake, I will serve in this battle but I have my own role to play." Dyne said. "I have one more request."

"Anything." Alchion said, eager to get the military excursion underway. The Aristocracy had completely betrayed Salvar. Dyne knew this with his quick wits and fast learning ability. He felt sorry for the poor, who always suffered and that's who he was here to defend. The innocent. "I need a decent sword and weapons."

"Done."

************************************************** ***********

Dyne Corona prepared himself as their equipment was gathered. They were both given a musket from the personal stashes of the contacts through Alerar. The gun had thirty rounds. Dyne put his weapon in a holster alongside his hips and checked the Delyn sword he'd acquired. It wasn't masterwork quality, but the quality was effective for the job at hand. He would have to make himself a fine sword when the time came. Dyne placed the scabbard with the weapon in it at his side. He unsheathed the weapon once, and took a few practice swings. The sword felt good in his hand, like a long lost friend. He knew he would need more than his melee batons.

"Are you two ready to go?" Alchion asked, he was impatient.

"I am ready, what about you Wizo?"

[Wizo]

The Sword of Ku was a strange sword. Being a gift from the Otano god of war, it has special magic effects to the user. However, it will only show this power if the one holding it proves itself in battle. Wizo still could not use any of its powers. He wondered how strong he needs to be before it showed him even a taste of what it could do. He sighed as he prepared himself for this assault, he could use those powers right now.

Wizo looked at Dyne and replied to him “Let us look at the army we must lead. I wish to know the faces that will die for this folly.” While heartless words, Wizo wish he could show the emotions of concern that Dyne has. In every sense, Wizo respected Dyne in his skills as a warrior and a human. He was one of the few humans he considered ‘human’. The battles just coming here knew he could trust this man with his life, as a friend and a brother.

“Dyne, I know this entire mission is hard on you. Try to put your emotions aside on this one. I know, for you, it’s hard. But we cannot allow such things to hinder us. ” Wizo pulled his straw hat from his pack and pulled it over his head. A shadow covered his eyes, as if to hide the emotions he cannot hide himself.

“The only thing we can do is move forward. Looking at the trail behind us only makes us forget the branches in front of us.”

As he looked around, he nodded to his contractor that he was ready. Rendexen nodded and showed him the door which held the peasant-army ready for the assault. “Each of these men is ready to give their lives for this revolution. I entrust these souls to you two.” Rendexen left, leaving the door opened, going back inside to take care of other business. Wizo looked down and saw a vast array of men and women. He did not see a single pair of eyes of a half-hearted. It was clear that they were ready like any army commissioned by a king. “The ranks seem good this night. Any ideas how we should lead Dyne?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

In an idealists' world, they could all be put on trial. But this was not an idealist world. Sometimes situations required military solutions, the House of Sora was firmly behind this philosophy. Dyne listened as his friend saw fit to lecture him. They doubt me cause I'm so young. Is it really that hard to see the experience in my eyes? Did my Father have to deal with these same issues? Preparing himself for combat, the young nobleman looked upon his companion and nodded. He readied the scabbard upon his person. The single holster for the musket rested alongside his hips and his cloak proudly wielded the House of Sora insignia.

Dyne Corona had developed a profound respect for Wizo. He looked upon Wizo with a smile on his face and nodded for a moment. He could imagine how Seti would react to such a situation. He imagined the man's words of philosophy and his unique outlook on life. I could only pray to the Goddess that I would be as skilled as Patriarch as Seti has proven himself to be. Seti is my friend, I have to make him proud. Sometimes, The House of Sora has to deal with things in a military setting. "Right then, let's get going."

Dyne walked outside and saw the pairs of eyes looking upon Wizo and himself for comfort, leadership, anything. Hundreds of them, all ready to give their lives up for the cause of the revolution. Dyne felt out of place in a foreign land leading foreign commoners to their death. Yet he understood that his Father once lead similar revolutions with the people in many areas of the globe. His Father understood that the place of a nobleman was protection of the common people. Dyne sighed but gathered his wits. He knew he had to guide his people to success or die trying. He was a commoner, just like they were. He wore his thick hides atop his aristocrat's clothing, an outfit made of complete Vlince. He wanted to look like a Lord for this mission so as to better represent his position in the House of Sora.

Dyne stole a glance at Wizo and then began his speech. "I was just asked how best it would be to guide my fellow man." He began. Then pointed to a fellow in his mid-thirties with brown hair and matching brown eyes. "You Sir! Are you prepared to fight for Salvar to the death?" The man nodded and raised his weapon to the sky, a cheaply made sword of steel showing off Salvarn craftsmanship. As a black-smith himself, Dyne was able to spot the unique craft of the Salvarn smiths. He smiled when he saw that, it wasn't a masterwork sword by any means, but it wasn't a shabby blade either. "To the DEATH Sir Cormyr!" By now, the entire crowd knew his name. His employer had already spread the name quickly through the crowd like wild fire. They knew Wizo's name as well. At least I don't have to fight alone. "And the House of Sora BACKS YOU to the death!" Dyne yelled back to the cheer of many in the crowd. But his words weren't reaching many of the gathered throng. He knew he needed better words so the philosopher started to think. "Freedom is the right of all on Althanas. Our enemies are usurping their power to take away our rights. That is why we fight, for the freedoms of ALL Salvarns and all of Althanas! Today! Brothers and sisters, we march a glorious march!" Tears were flowing down his eyes as he let his emotions get the better of him.

He marveled at the age of some of the common folk's army. Some were rather old and others rather young. This was definitely a serious situation but Dyne would lead them to the best of his capabilities. Finally, the entire crowd was riled up when they saw the man's tears. Dyne continued to talk to them. "Today, we fight together. We bleed together and die together. This is where we will make our stand. This is where we will face our enemy! We will fight, THEY WILL DIE!" All at once the Salvarn crowd cried out to the gods that they worshiped. Some were followers of the Rune Lord. Their magics would come in handy. "My Lord you have my Runes!" One of the women cried out to Dyne. "My Lord you have my Bow!" Another member of the make-shift army cried. "My Lord you have my axe!" Cried another man wielded a steel hatched. The odds seemed so impossible. Thankfully they had to storm only one enemy of the state. "Our target is a coward who hides in his tiny abode. We will storm his edifice and take him by surprise! Our enemy will know the justice of Salvar!" Dyne cried. And suddenly he found himself invigorated, he truly believed that they could win the night ahead...

Couldn't they?

[Wizo]

Revolution, freedom for the people, rights for all. Wizo heard these cries before, from his land, from his people. This entire thing was a déjÃ* vu for him. The people wanted rights, so they fought for it. But the error of that thinking drove them to destroying nearly everything. Wizo prayed to Pele that this revolution would not share same fate as Otana. Looking at the crowd, he could tell that their spirits for this movement were deep; they were willing to die to the fullest.

As Wizo gazed down at the small army he is supposed to lead, he was interrupted by one of the local militia. “Excuse me Sir Wizo; we are ready to go by your leave. Have you thought of a plan yet?” The man was actually one of the local leaders, John Song water. He was a capable leader but his reputation was not famous enough lead this entire army, only a portion of it. Wizo knew who he was as he read the bios for all the lieutenants that were under him. “We just got here Mr. Song water, but I believe that a plan can be made with all the Lieutenants and a map of our battle.” John nodded and called all the leaders to a table nearby, maps were already placed down there so the meeting began quickly.

“Hmm... From what I see, this house is small. From what I am told the owners of this fine villa have fortified to the likes of a castle. So we all know full frontal assault is out of the picture.” Wizo said pointing his index finger on the map. Godi Nesera, another lieutenant, replied “Yes, we all agree on that. A few of us think that taking the sewers would be best.” Wizo looked at him “The sewers?” Godi nodded “Yes the sewers. The house dumps its waste in a basement cellar that is connected to it. I believe that we should send our forces there. ” Wizo shook his head at the idea “The sewers are too small to send an entire army into. It is also a gamble; they possibly have traps for this. I say a small team of our finest men, including myself, should go in and take care of the assassination. The larger force will be a distraction/backup should we fail this.” The Lieutenants all nodded in agreement.

Wizo looked at everyone and said “Alright, I will speak to Mr. Corona about this. For now, each of you selects two of your finest men. We will not make this plan official unless we all agree to it. ” The lieutenants all nodded together, and returned to their groups. Wizo adjusted his straw hat and went over to Corona and began to explain to him the plan. “I have not made it official yet, but that’s the best thing I can come up with. What do you think?” He stared at Corona with a patient look on his face.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne was listening to the exchange between the lieutenants. Wizo and Dyne were forced to become national heroes in Salvar's current state of neglect and turmoil. With separatists and revolutionaries up in arms all over the country, this job was going to be quite difficult. Knowing that there was fighting going on in the streets troubled the revolutionary greatly. He folded his arms across his chest and thought deeply about the situation at hand.

What would Father have done? Dyne felt his memories acting up and he remembered the teachings of his Father. It seemed that every time he was going to make an important decision, he oft thought about his Father's teachings and the kind Butler, Reeves. Closing his eyes for a moment, the man allowed his memories to consume him ever so briefly. To others it would just seem that Dyne Corona spaced out for that duration of his flash backs.




Alberdyne. Alberdyne. Why did you do that just now? Why would you do such a thing? Give the Merchant his money.

But he's trying to swindle me! It didn't cost so much the last time we shopped here. It's robbery Father! I shouldn't have to pay so much more just because I have the money to do so.

How many times have I taught you about responsibility? It is the job of an Aristocrat to lead the people during their times of need. Helping the economy forward is a job of the nobles. We are thankful that we have so much and must use our good fortunes to help others. Not abuse our power.

But what happens when someone abuses their power and influence upon us!? It doesn't matter if it's one gold piece. Tomorrow it could be one hundred if we allow these hooligans to get the better of us!

Ouch! Father, why did you hit me like that?

How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling the poor hooligans and other names like that. I thought I raised you better than that! If you want the respect of your people you have to earn their respect, not abuse it. And so what he gives us different treatment. Think about every noble that abuses their power. The ends justify the means. We're here to perform a specific duty for the people. Remember that. Pay the man his gold and understand why I've struck you on this day.

All right Father. You win this argument today.

I'm right.



Dyne's own words came back to haunt him. He heard his Father's lectures oft these days and it was almost as if his Father was guiding every decision he made. That's how Dyne would tell you it was. If you asked me now, how I was back then, I would say I was a chicken-shit snot nosed punk. I sure have come a long way. Now I'm a Patriarch in the House of Sora and I'm leading a bunch of Salvarns against their enemy. What will happen next? I don't know. But if you asked me, I'm still just that scared green brat that was attacked by his mother.

Now he was thinking about guiding a force to their enemy. Wizo was right, a head-on assault was out of the question. "Wizo. I'll lead the sewer force. I want you to lead the assault on the house. That's the only thing I see different. We both need to take responsibility for these men and women. Every casualty that happens on this night will be our fault. If we can instruct the men to capture these people alive, we can defend democracy and freedom." Old habits die hard. Even in other lands, I'm trying to defend democracy. Seti is right, I'm nothing but an idealistic fool.

"Wizo. Instruct the men not to harm anyone. No women, no children. If there are any, they are to be set free immediately. I will personally punish any man that violates this law of our militia. We do this thing, we do it my way, understand Wizo? I wish you the best of luck leading the forward attack my friend. They can't wish to their gods for a better leader than you." He was stressed out and he knew it. However, he needed to get it together for the rest of the sakes of the people gathered. Checking his equipment, he made sure everything was in order.

He had 20 shots with his musket.

"Wizo, I approve of this mission. We should get started right away."

[Wizo]

Leading an army was a new thing for Wizo. He has always been one to go at it alone or work in small group. To control such a mass amount of people, it was a scary yet new thing for him. Ever since he has come to these lands outside Otana, he has done many new things. Fighting off clowns, working with the living dead, discovering things about Althanas itself. He sighed reviewing his plan for the attack, none of it made sense to him.

“Okay gentlemen, now I assume that you sent your best for Corona for his part of the invasion?” Wizo was leaning back on a chair reviewing his charts and reports about his army. The Lieutenants were all in front of Wizo, sitting down with him on the same meeting table he was leaning against. “Yes, they should be with him now sir. But, what about our plan for attack? I doubt we need that much for such a small house, despite the fortifications.” John replied to Wizo in a questionable tone. Wizo put down his papers and looked him. “This invasion must go as smoothly as possible. Yes, it does look easy. I do not doubt the data would tell us otherwise, But I rather abe over prepared for battle then under.” John replied “Yes, you do have a point there. So do you have a plan at all?”

Wizo nodded “The villa has only two entrances, one from the North, the other is to the west where supply wagons go.” Picking up a few replicas, he places them down on the map of their conquest. “These three boxes will be Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie.” He placed them in the North entrance “Delta and Echo will be the ones taking up the western entrance. We know it’s less guarded, but drawing too much attention to it will make it a failure. We need to show them that this is some unorganized riot, that it’s just a bunch of pissed off commoners who can’t organize an invasion for shit. These Nobles are snobbish, they will really that their walls will keep them safe and there paid swords will handle it. However, I want this to be minimal.” Godi rose from his chair and spoke “And where would you be? Are you going to sit back and watch us?!” Wizo smiled “Far from it, I will be going with the Delta and Echo unit and ensure we get in. As for your next question, I am leaving Songwater in charge of the main forces.” Godi looked at Song water and got furious “Song water!?!? That spineless moron in charge of the main attack force? This is just going to show that we are being lead by some snot nose brat. ”

Wizo got angry by listening to Godi and slammed his hand on the table hard. All the drinks that were sitting on the table spilled over the table. Wizo did not stop; he was too pissed off to stop. He started to call flames from his hands and lit the entire the table on fire thanks it being drenched with alcohol. “IT’S YOUR STPUID SPINLESS OBJECTIONS THAT I DECIDED TO NOT PUT YOU IN CHARGE. QUESTION ME AGAIN GODI AND I SWEAR TO THE HIGH ONES I TO USE YOUR SKULL AS OUR WAR BANNER! GET PREPRATIONS READY, WE MOVE OUT IN AN HOUR!!” Wizo got up and began to walk away to cool down. He went outside to the balcony to view his camp in work. Corona better pull through on his ends. I feel like I go a bad hand on this one.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Sneaking into the sewers was the easy part. There was an old duct near to the gathering area of the small, impromptu army. Dyne's squad was a group of eight soldiers. Including himself, there were nine all together. Moving the sewer lid was a tremendous chore, but the revolutionary was able to muscle the chore out with some help from a few other men. Looking at his companions, the young leader kept his face completely calm. Though deep down, he was terrified at the situation.

Beneath the sewer lid, a cloud of vapor from the lower junction area swirled upward into the night air. The cloud smelled horridly. Dyne spotted the ladder that would be there way into the sewer in the first place. Coughing several times, the apprentice sucked up his powerful lungs and prepared himself for the journey at hand. He grabbed at the ladder. Climbing down was a cautious affair that required some degree of skill and navigation in a poorly lit area.

Once he reached the bottom of the silver ladder, the swordsman drew his weapons. "All clear!" He called for his companions. They went down the ladder one by one. Inside the sewer now, they were within a large chamber that had running water. The smell in the sewer was terrible and Dyne saw the source of the earlier cloud. It was a broken pipe that was probably part of the main sewage system. The state of disrepair of this area in the sewer made Dyne shake his head in disgust.

There was a canal of sewage pouring fluids into the ocean. Dyne sighed at that knowing that they were polluting the planet. Dyne saw all kinds of trash and garbage floating in the refuse of water and was grateful that they had a solid platform to walk upon. Some bridges connected various areas together at this or that interval. After a few minutes passed by, his companions were all in the sewer with him.

"By the Gods that stinks." Said one of his soldiers.

"Cut the chatter, we're underground now. There could be Castle guards patrolling the area, we have to be careful."

And so, the squad began their journey through the sewer.

[Wizo]

Silently saying farewell to his compatriot, Wizo put his focused on his own mission. The two corps has already been separated to their respected positions. Being with the smaller corp., Wizo knew that the other would not move unless he gave the signals, which were several balls of fire hitting the dark mansion. He looked at his men and saw each of them silently asking him to proceed, ready to attack this house of thieves and whores. Wizo nodded and began to summon fire magic into his palms. Wizo proceeded to launch a session of them at the house’s roof top. The guards in the front were startled by the fireworks and were just dumbstruck at hearing shouts of an army of peasants attacking the front gate.

A few excited eyes looked at Wizo, they still did not move. Wizo may have signaled the main attacked force, but not them. They wanted to move, their legs were shaking in anticipation. Wizo raised his hand in the air and waved it in the direction of the mansion. Move. They moved silently, yet swiftly, to the various statues and bushes that littered the small area between the aux gate and the cargo bay door. A few guards were still standing guard, as if they were not aware of the attack. After an assassin snuck near them and stabbed them, it became apparent that they were both sleeping. This side was an open wound for them.

“Move with caution, we do not know what lies here.” Wizo told his men as they began to scatter about in the storage area. It was filled with food stuff, wine, water, clothing and drugs. He was not surprised that the nobles did such dealing with these either, but that was another reason to kill them. The section leaders of both Echo and Delta came back to Wizo. “Nothing to report, area is sanitized.” He nodded at this. This seemed too easy for him; a large room like this would have been easy to hold guards. Looking around a little harder, he noticed something unusual. The crates of wine were loosely built. That did not make any sense since that would be broken in transit, unless. He heard a slight sound of movement from the crate. “Everyone prepare yourself! Enemy in the cargo!” His men quickly prepared for battle , quickly stepping away from the crates. As soon as Wizo alerted his men, several crates began to slowly move. Within seconds several groups of soldiers broke out of the crates and began to position themselves to fight. But it was too late as his men were ready and began to kill the half ready prepared guards before they could even unsheathe.

This move was curious for Wizo. How on earth did the nobles know of them invading? Someone in the ranks must have been a spy. That has to be the only way. As much as Wizo wanted to ponder he needed to deal with these sellswords first.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The entire time, Dyne had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was the toxic smell of the sewage around him, or something far worse than that. Signaling with hand gestures to his units, they moved on ahead of him as he continued to walk, keeping up an even pace. They were sneaking about in the sewers attempting to evade detection. He'd given explicit orders to Wizo and his companions not to kill anyone, but by now he doubted that they would follow those orders. In an idealists world, they could all face trial. I know that Seti. That's why I'm trying to uphold those very ideals.

Moving like ghosts in the night, thoughts in the wind, Dyne and his group of soldiers stealthily infiltrated the the sewer area underneath the Lord's Mansion.

The funny thing was the Dyne didn't even know the name of his enemy. He never thought to ask for such details. In the end, such a matter would not make much difference. People in Salvar were completely corrupt and spit in the face of democracy. Dyne shook his head as he thought of that. All around him people were dying. His squadron of soldiers were prepared to die for the banner of his contractor. Am I right? Should I have involved the House of Sora? These people specifically called me forward. They sought the love of the House of Sora. What was it Seti said? They would know us through our love. But our enemies would know us through something else.

Walking through the sewer, Dyne felt a tremendous sense of something strange up ahead. The scar on his forehead burned with agony. Touching it for a moment, one of his soldiers cautiously walked up to his leader.

"What's wrong Sir? Everything all right?"

"I sense something strange up ahead. But it doesn't feel like a threat."

"All right. I'll send a scout up ahead then."

"No need. We'll continue going. I trust what my gut says."

"Very well Sir."

They kept on walking. By now, they'd covered several yards into the sewer system from their entry point. That's when Dyne Corona found it. Cleverly hidden within the walls of the sewer, someone built an adjacent chamber long ago. Markings of a long, lost culture he did not know decorated the chamber door. Dyne felt the strong smell of some sort of incense flowing in this wind, even the sewage in this area was completely devoid of impurities. Sensing a tremendous power flowing from the mysterious shrine, Dyne frowned as he observed the symbols. He'd never seen anything like them before. If we survive long enough, I'll have to bring Wizo to this spot. Dyne felt a tremendous pull towards the alter but had no idea how to open the chamber's single door. Deciding to leave it alone for now, the psionic made it a point to go back to it later if he lived that long. Wishing he had fellow House of Sora members with him, Dyne continued the journey through the sewer. They would have to enter the property unnoticed.

Finally finding the appropriate sewer junction, Dyne was grateful that the battles in the sewer were happening elsewhere. Castle Rahaxea was several miles in the opposite direction he was heading. He could only imagine the seriousness of the battles going on there. Climbing up the ladder, Dyne signaled to his men that he would be the first to sneak into the property. He removed the sewer lid as he reached the top of the ladder, pushing with the vast might he had at his disposal. It was night. It was cold. His thick hides helped him keep at least remotely warm enough to concentrate on the mission at hand.

Dyne climbed onto the property. Nearby, he heard the sounds of Wizo's men fighting. Thaynespeed Wizo, Thaynespeed. Seeing the building ahead, Dyne saw his way in. "Clear!" He shouted down into the sewer. There was enough noise around that he wouldn't be heard by anyone influential. Or so he hoped. Within moments, Dyne's squad was upon the lawn of the property and they were ready to infiltrate the other side of the building. By now, both of the Wizo's men were engaged with the guards. The fire on top of the dark mansion was starting to spread and Dyne could sense a general feeling of panic from the mansion. Did we catch them completely off guard?

Dyne kicked the oak door in with a swift side kick, crushing the hinges of the door. He made his way into the building. The time for diplomacy is over, we must take military action now.

[Wizo]

The battle was not as fierce as it could have been. With the alert being called out, many of the sellswords and guards had little time to react from their spots, making it easy pickings for Wizo’s men. The skilled fighters, that managed to be quick of their feet, were the only ones left. Wizo was fighting two of the hired guards himself. One had a double edge sword as his only weapon; the other had a light rapier in his disposal. Wizo clutched his own sword and began to engage his foes.


The first attack came from the one with the double edge sword. It was two handed weapon, so his attack was slow, yet powerful. Wizo dodge it, as the man did not seem to have skill or strength to handle a weapon of that size. Wizo sliced down on the guards right hand, cutting it clean off. The large sword fell to the floor with clank as it was followed by the owner’s hand. Pulling back on his sword, Wizo trusted his sword into the guard’s neck, exposing the tip to the other side. As he pulled it out with just as much force, he could hear the attempts of life coming from his mouth.

The second foe quickly dove into the affairs of the first, quickly thrusting his light rapier about at Wizo. Knowing he could not win with such a quick weapon, Wizo quickly sheathed his sword and pulled out his dagger. It was fast enough to block the attacks of his opponent, but not long enough for an assault. Wizo quickly summoned a fire ball in his left hand. After he managed to block his attack, he quickly fired his spell at the undefended opponent. The swordsman got blown back from the spell and was now on the ground. Wizo dashed forward to him and made sure to give him and additional fireball in his head. “Done” he said, as he looked around to see the battle.

Although he thought it would last longer, the battle ended quickly. A few men were captured and bounded up together. Wizo instructed his men to disarm, gag and blind them for now. Wizo’s team soon entered into the main house. Spreading out and entering various rooms on the first floor, his men managed to pull out many unarmed maids and butlers from the room. “If they are unarmed ensure they are one room. We will not kill non combatants.” He may agree with Corona’s pacifist ideas, but he will try to respect them to a minimum.

With the first floor secured, Wizo now went for the second. Wizo made sure that a few of his men stand guard the prisoners while the rest was to split. The first party was to asset the main attack force by hitting the front gate, sandwiching the houses defense. The second was to go with Wizo to the second floor, making up for about 1/3 of the surviving men of his troop.
As they split up, Wizo noticed a new wave of guards coming from the second staircase. These men were different, as they seemed to be dressed in more custom made attire and armor. Elite Guards. What was unusual with these elites was the lack of weapons. Not a single one had a sword or bow in their hand. Soon, with smile on each of the guard’s faces, they drew out varied colored orbs. They place the orbs in various parts of the body: arms, torso, and some in the head itself. Within seconds, they summoned various armor and weapons out of thin air. “Otano orbs? Here?!?” Wizo shouted. He drew his blade, knowing of the dangers that will come from such relics.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Meanwhile--

Alberdyne Cormyr lead his small assault team in the exact opposite direction that Wizo's force was heading. Their small army now had their tactical plans set up and were implementing them with lethal precision. Dyne was really hoping they could avoid casualties but he knew the truth. This is a military operation, casualties will be unavoidable. Dyne hated that fact but it was a way of life. With military operations, tactics and strategem only went so far and then it was up to the skill and training of a unit to succeed at all costs.

Leading his men carefully, Dyne trusted his instincts to guide him. His training as a Corone Ranger helped him to succeed where others would fail. He was following his gut instincts. Leading by example was a lot trickier than it seemed but it got the job done. Dyne learned effective leaderships as he adapted to the situation at hand. Guiding his men with simple hand commands and other types of orders, they obeyed where he took them.

So far, they met with little resistance as the fortress was expecting only a frontal assault presumably. Their main forces were geared at providing opposition for the front gate assault. Dyne understood the logic. They assumed an enemy would only infiltrate from the front.

With all the activities in the sewer, they figured it would be too dangerous for an enemy to come from beneath. That's where Dyne took advantage of the distraction. Already on the second floor, they found an isolated staircase and made their way up. Any non-hostiles were spared as they sneaked about the large mansion that resembled a fortress. Suddenly, a group of soldiers burst into the hallway from one of the closed rooms.

Dyne never even sensed any sort of threat in that direction. Usually having great survival instincts, Dyne became worried that he hadn't sensed the threat at all. They will know us by our love. Seti once said that and the thoughts haunted his memory. "Alberdyne Cormyr, you are under arrest under Salvarn laws of trespassing and treason!" Impossible! They know my name!

"You're not going to take me without a fight!"

"We were certain you'd say that. That's why we secured an insurance plan!"

Suddenly, one of my men in the group drew one of his weapons on Dyne Corona and placed the tip of his blade at his neck. Dyne blinked several times and saw his soldiers, in turn, draw their own weapons and aim them at the betrayer. It was a man named Jacks Stevens. He was taller than Dyne and well built, a native of Salvar. His powerful cheekbones and forehead reminded Dyne of the many mountains along Salvar's countryside. Dyne had been a fool to trust these men. This is Salvar, damn. There is only loyalty by what you can buy!

"Alchion sends his regards. I wouldn't move any further if I were you welps, my sword might slip and I might kill your precious revolutionary!"

"Back down."

"Smart move Cormyr. I see you're a smart guy after all."

One of the men in the suits pulled out a powerful looking hemp rope. They tossed the rope in Dyne's general direction.

"Bind our prisoner. This little operation of yours has come to an end. There will be no House of Sora to come rescue you this time Dyne Corona. The Syndicate has finally caught up with you."

"Tch." Dyne said and allowed himself to be binded. "Let my men go."

"I'm afraid we can't do that." Damn!

[Wizo]

Wizo counted the number of his opponents, there were four of them. That number had to be ironic, since each of them had one of the four main elementals. The elite farthest to the right had Fire Armor over his arms; they also had blades and spikes making it an offensive weapon as well. The one next to him had a scythe made out of the water elemental. In the middle right, was a man with an earth elemental hammer. The one to the end had duel sword and shield made of compressed, visible air. In short, a well armed group of guards, ready to defend their master and wallets.

The one with the earth hammer, named No.3 by his peers, started the battle by leaping in the air and slamming to the ground with Wizo’s men in the middle. Wizo had to take him out first, if he had any hope of using his men left to fend off these guards. Wizo sighed for a moment to calm himself down and then leapt far into the air to the back of No.3. No.3 was too shocked make any counter attack; he just kept swinging his hammer widely hitting anything that got in its way. This had to stop; Wizo gently grabbed No.3’s head and quickly slit his throat with his sword. Soon the beseserked guard fell on the floor bleeding, with his eyes opened. As Wizo got up from his kill, he noticed a yellow orb coming out of No.3 right hand.

It was simple for Wizo, as he was told about Otano orbs at an early age. To make it simple, they were a magical battery and more. It held a great amount of power for the user and could do various skills like giving the host that ability to cast spells, magical based weapons and armor, or just used as an emergency energy supply. Though they were a fantastic item in battle, they also had their faults. Wizo had to hope these guards did not know this fault. He thought about this as he picked up the yellow colored orb.

No.4, the one who was carrying the water scythe, began his turn on the young Otano. His green seemed to match his grey hair as he streaked down to Wizo and began to assault him with a horizontal slash. Wizo blocked it with his sword, or as much as he could block it. The impact of a highly pressurized weapon would have shattered any weapon, but the Sword of Ku was made by the gods. A sword of that caliber could not be destroyed that easily. Stunned by Wizo’s weapon, No.4 attacked, half afraid, at Wizo. His moves were easy to predict due to his lack of focus. Wizo gave no thought as he took his dagger out and stabbed him through the heart. Wizo took no pity on the man, and as he could see No.4 take his last breath, he quickly took the blue orb that feel from his throat.

No.2 and No.1 were not pleased to say the least. They both looked at each other and nodded silently. They were done fighting one on one with the Otano, deciding to go out in full force. No.1, with his sword and shield, came from the right. No.2 came from the left with his fire armor claws. Wizo saw the attack and quickly drew the yellow orb into his chest. He firmly concentrated, holding the idea of a turtle into his mind. A large rock shell appeared and wrapped around Wizo in the form of a barrier. He was sure of a plan to befall both of his enemies.

The elites did not stop to look at the shield. They quickly began to tear the shell down as best as they could. Even with their valiant efforts, only bits and pebbles fell from the shell, nothing seemed to break it. This went on for nearly 10 mins. Wizo’s men still stood there frozen in fear at the sight, never seeing such a battle before. Soon, the elites power began to wane and their glow seemed to dim. Their weapons fading, it was clear that they used the orb too much for offensive reasons. They tried even harder to maintain their connection, pushing the orbs power beyond what they were supposed to. They soon felt the orb’s retaliation, as they soon lost all of their energy from the orbs preservation instinct. With no energy to rely on, the orb needed energy from the only available thing. The host itself.

The sound of clanks and thumps ended. Wizo halted his energy consumption, which as dangerously low as well, allowed the orb to fall to the ground. “Guess you guys aren’t that smart. Humans can always be relied on being greedy. Especially with power.” Wizo looked at his men with a little bit of anger. They said nothing, still wonder of the magic that they just saw. “Spread out and find all out what is the status of Corona’s team. They should have already gone ahead of us. ”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The situation looked bleak. Preferring a chance to keep his men alive, events quickly went downhill. The chair felt uncomfortable underneath him and was made out of simple oak. A rope was tied tightly around his body to keep him bound. It restricted all movement. The chair was nailed to the ground as if used for interrogation. Dyne regained consciousness as he observed the dimly lit room, a single candle upon a large metal table served as the only source of light. The shadows danced about the room in a flickering sort of fashion, moving with the single flame bouncing about the wick. Dyne felt people moving about in the darkness and gathered that a large number of Syndicate agents were looking directly at him. He heard voices whispering in the dark and felt a throbbing pain all over his person. Apparently, they'd been striking him to the point where he was rendered unconscious. The rusty taste of fresh blood flowed in his mouth. One of his eyes didn't open all the way and he felt a huge bruise developing along the side of his head. It was the same place where he'd gotten a serious welt from Anila so many ages ago.

Dyne thought about his battle against the sensei Sakurazuka Anila. He wondered what she might think if she knew that the Patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm got himself captured by Syndicate Agents up in Salvar. Of all places. I can't believe I'm encountering Syndicate people way up here, they must have a grudge. Dyne thought to himself as one of the men detached themselves from the shadows, it was a familiar person...the face of Ottocar himself looked upon Dyne with great disdain.

"So this is the traitor huh? I hear that bastard Kastor Troy even convinced this one to become a Corone Ranger. Sad. The lordling held such promise as a potentially skilled Agent."

"Ottocar. Always a pleasure to meet someone like you." There was acid in Dyne's voice. This drew the reaction of laughter from Ottocar. "I can't say the pleasure is all mine this time Alberdyne Cormyr. Your daddy wanted you to join the Syndicate and now you've shamed your family further by joining those meddling scum, the Corone Rangers. I wonder how Step would react to such a betrayal."

"Step's activities mean very little to me." Dyne said in response. "I don't care what you do to me, just let those men go. They are just fellow Salvarns."

"Fellow Salvarns huh? You hear that guys, he thinks he's a Salvarn now. Boy, I think you've taken a few too many hits to that thick skull of yours. Give me that wooden plank over there."

Someone handed Ottocar a thick oak plank. "Do you know what I'm going to do with this Dyne?" The apprentice nodded as he stared at Ottocar. "Do your worst. We'll make it up later. And Ottocar, don't fuck up."

**************************

"Shit the bastard's tough."

"What are they planning, and what is the information that the Corone Rangers got on the Syndicate?" Ottocar left several hours ago. Dyne was left to the abuse of Ottocar's men as they attempted to break the psionic. Dyne was bleeding freely now. They'd tried everything. Two by fours, bats, chains, whips, knives, and even ropes made of hemp. Dyne let himself laugh as he thought about the punishment that the Syndicate Agents would get for not breaking Dyne. "You're better off in the Syndicate, why did you sell us out Dyne?" Dyne shook his aching neck. "Wrong question. I'm going to be there when they cut you to pieces." The agent was a Coronian man with sharp cheekbones. His nostrils flared and his dark brown eyes were observing Dyne carefully. There was an anger in them. He was striking at Dyne's abdomen with a pair of brass knuckles. "Just give it up Dyne or we'll be forced to get really nasty on you." Dyne shook his head as he coughed up blood. "Don't worry about it. I can take it you bastard. Give me your best shot." Dyne taunted back. This had gone on for several hours. Dyne wondered where Wizo and his crew were and hoped that they were okay...

...He hoped they got away.

[Wizo]

It has been two hours since the raid in the mansion. Though Wizo’s plan was successful, his men could not find their target. It was awkward, yet at the same time it made sense. The surprise attack in the cargo room, the planning of the elite guards in order to buy them time. It was all too easy; someone in the ranks was working for them. He knew it had to be someone high in the ranks, maybe his lieutenants.

So if it was one of his lieutenants, who would it be? The plan was too random for any carrier to relay. It only went down in a few hours after the plan. So this person had to relay this with magic or some messenger bird for such a counterstrike to take place. Still, he knew little of those below him, he could not assume which had magic or had connections with the enemy. The only thing he knew was that every man in his troop was not part of this back stab. The elite guards were supposed to cleanup what the first wave failed to finish.

He was happy, that they did not expect Wizo’s knowledge of the orbs or of his skill. A fatal mistake on their end. Sitting around in one of the nearby rooms, he looked over the orbs one more time. Only one seemed to have any power left, the second one was barley glowing; the others were completely shut down. Those two orbs will not be used for a while till they are fully charged from the energy around this place. Wizo put them back in his pouch, knowing that relics of his people should never be held by the people of Althanas.

A few more hours passed since the search in the mansion turned empty. His scouts came back reporting nothing. Not a single person could be seen in the mansion. None of the nobles, soldiers or Corona’s, & men were found. On the plus side, there were no bodies. “This assault went south, I knew it would. But I know Corona is still alive. A man of his stature is better alive then dead.” A few of his men listened to him and nodded. “Sir Wizo, we have looked everywhere in the mansion. We even checked for hidden compartments and rooms. Nothing is out of the ordinary.” Was the reply from one of the militia men.

The mansion is clean. Wizo knew that there were no houses within 7 miles of this mansion. Nobles love their privacy of course. The only thing he could think of was down. “Corona and his men must be below the surface. No other way for the nobles and their men to flee. I want a few parties to go in the sewer. Also, I want know what amount of men are alive from the frontal assault. We are going in big for this one.” The soldier nodded and moved out into the front door, widening his eyes at the scene.

The scout, named Seraza, was in a bit of a shock. His comrades were all safe; in fact a good portion of his men came out alive. What did surprise him were the vast amounts of captives, around a good 20 men bound and tied together. He walked outside to great his comrades, waving to the man who seemed to be in charge, Jona. “Where are the lieutenants? Did they make it?” Seraza asked. Jona shook his head “No, the fight was harsh and they sacrifice themselves so we could live.” Seraza nodded and replied “Well we were lucky to have hired Sir Wizo. We had few casualties on our end; however we believe this entire assault to be a setup by the nobles. ” Jona was not surprised by the news “I figured as much, that bastard Godi betrayed us and tried to wipe us out. Isn’t that right Godi?” He kicked a man in the ring of captives with a hard swing. “Go to hell you filthy peasants.” Was the only thing that he murmured as Godi turned away from Jona. Seraza looked at him and replied “I am sure Sir Wizo will be happy to ‘talk’ to Godi. I will inform him immediately. ”

Fifteen minutes passed since Seraza came back and reported to Wizo. Godi’s bunch where thrown in with the other sellswords that were still alive. But Godi, he had a special room. Wizo was, of course, going to meet every accommodation that could be meet and ensure that he would not drown from the 2 minute dunking seasons. “Pull him up.” Wizo said. Two of Wizo’s men lifted Godi from his shoulders. Godi was tied to chair. He could not move his arms and legs, he was perfectly bound. Godi breathed hard as his soaked face emerged from the large bucket of water. He looked at Wizo with a face full of fear and anger. He wanted to get out, but at the same time knew how hopeless it was at the moment. “Godi, I could drown you till the sun rises and don’t get me wrong, I will enjoy it too. However my friend and ally Corona is nowhere to be seen. Of course your clients are gone, though I doubt they were here in the first place. ” Godi looked at him and said “Just get to the point, I rather be drinking water then listen to you talk. You brown piece of shit.”

Wizo looked at him with a strange smile. It was unusual for Wizo to smile to men, and that was only to men he respected. The next thing Godi felt was a blow from Wizo. He nearly lost conciseness with that hit. His mouth started to bleed and a few of his teeth came out. The teeth plopped into water, slightly diluting it with blood. “Put his hands on the table. I am done playing with him.” The soldiers nodded and shoved him to a nearby square table. Godi looked around the table, noticing a large toothed knife deep in the wood. “I will be straight with you Godi; I want to know where my friend is. So I will ask you a question. If you don’t answer right, I cut off a finger. If I run out of fingers, I am sure we can find something else to cut. ”

Godi looked at him with somewhat fear. He did not know that this sort of torture would happen. “Wizo, you can’t be serious. I mean why you would do this to anyone? ” Wizo smirked for a moment and replied “One, you killed off my men, two, this is my job and three I enjoy torturing scum bags that don’t deserve to live. I only care for my comrade’s lives. If I have to leave you with several wounds for the answers.” He walked over to him with his knife in his hand, pulling up to his neck. “Then I will enjoy it just as much.”

Fear overwhelmed Godi. His eyes opened wide as his body was pressed to the table and a knife pushing into neck. “ALRIGHT! I’LL TALK!!” His survival instincts kicked in time. A man of coin would not endure such trials of pain, and Godi was one such man. Wizo pulled the knife from his throat and told his men let him go. “Talk, I wasted enough time with this little interrogation.” Godi nodded and began to mutter loudly “Corona is very important to the nobles. His life is worth a few gold from what I hear. These guys don’t want money from him. They need information. Your guess is as good as mine as to what that is. ” Wizo nodded and asked “And where is he being held Godi?” Godi looked at the floor and replied “Below us, in hidden room where the nobles use for such events. I know the way, if you want me to take you to…”

“How much Godi?” Wizo interrupted him, looking at him with intense eyes. “Knowing you, you would still sell us out for coin. So I will counter offer your boss. Saves me the trouble and you can walk out of this entire thing with a nice purse.” Godi was surprise, but the choice was clear. “500 gold. If that is a suitable price.” Wizo nodded, he threw a purse at him with gold. Godi did not even count them; it was heavy to hold much more then he asked. “We move out in 5 minutes. Get cleaned up so we can ensure we look proper for our host.” Godi nodded, quickly looked around as his legs were untied and a set of new clothes were set before him. “A man of gold who knows his kind.” Godi said to himself as he began to change for his new client.

The pathways for the sewers were like a labyrinth. Wizo was glad in paying the gold to Godi; he would be lost for days before finding their location. Along with Godi and Wizo was a round of 20 men from Wizo’s troop for an escort. He still did not trust John’s or any other of the former Lieutenants men for the moment. He could only leave his life with the men he fought and protected. Even so he still had his dagger within his left hand, just in case. “How much longer Godi? This place reeks of rotten mutton and cheap perfume.” Godi nodded “We are almost there. Their lair is near tunnel that connects to the local river.” Wizo nodded “That will do. You may leave if you want Godi.” Godi began to walk pass Wizo in the direction from where they came.

“There is one thing Godi. Is there something I should know about this place?” Godi shook his head “I never really was inside.” Wizo smirked and tossed him a bag of two hundred gold. “Well now that you mention it. I do recall some of his guards have some weird spheres with them. Seemed to give them special powers. I saw about 7 of them in total. I keep an eye out for them if I were you.” Wizo nodded “Thank you Godi, you have been great help. Men! The first person who kills this traitor may claim his bags of gold. ” Godi looked around in shock, as various men looked at him with gold in their eyes. An easy seven hundred gold just ready to be stabbed. “You tricked me! You bastard, you tricked me!” Godi screamed before a pike went into his back. “Of course, I told you I don’t have time to torture you. Gold is a lot easier then torture; you just need enough of it. ”Wizo pointed t o the pikeman, indicating him for spoils and acknowledge as he finished off his prey.

“Alright, I want all of our men to converge here and rush in. I want to get our men out of here safe, so keep an eye out for familiar heads, unless you enjoy your allies to be kissing the ground.” Wizo said as he commanded to his troop. It was not an option to go spec ops. There was only one entrance and that meant a rush for them. “Sir Wizo, the other brigades are coming in and will arrive soon.” Seraza said as he just got back from running. Wizo looked at him and said “Then they will enjoy the surprise of our reinforcements when the time comes.” Wizo looked at his band of men and nodded to him. They nodded to him back as Wizo waved his hands, begging the assault.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Blood dripped freely from the mouth of Alberdyne Cormyr. Yes. This was rapidly turning into a mission that he regretted being a part of. With on members of the House of Sora to back him up, Dyne found himself completely alone in a strange land where sell swords were commonplace thing. They'd been betrayed. That thought sat in Dyne's stomach and made him ill to think about. Then again, nobles were efficient like that. The rusty taste of blood in his mouth reminded him of eating rusty nails. Several teeth were loose but only a few had actually come out. They'd knocked him around and beat him nearly to the point of death.

Dyne made out very few details in the chamber he was in. The stone materials matched the same stone he saw traveling through the sewers which made the psionic guess that he was somewhere underground. Dyne had difficulty breathing because of the blood that flowed from his broken nose. This wasn't the most severe beating he'd ever had, but it was high up there.

The apprentice decided that he wasn't having a good time. He would make sure to pay back the traitors for making him go through this round of torturing in the name of the Syndicate. Ottocar was outside of the chamber, he'd hit Dyne until his knuckles were bleeding and he could put forth no more effort because the skinny man's muscles were burning with their own sort of pain.

Grinning to himself, Dyne spit blood out of his mouth and let his tongue slide across a broken lip. He felt like how a rag doll might feel. Several Syndicate Agents wearing black suits eyed Dyne Corona quite carefully, studying him from the darkness of the chamber. Dyne could hear them talking amongst themselves.

"He hasn't said anything yet."

"The boss is getting angry with us, but what can we do? We need him alive in order to collect the bounty on his head."

"He was with that bastard Shu the other time, anybody was there for that battle?"

"No. I heard it was a massacre. It's a shame that he betrayed us, the boy has potential for wreaking havoc. His Father wanted him on board for the Syndicate."

"I don't think that was it at all. Silence, here comes Ottocar."

"Well well well Dyne. You're still with us."

Dyne looked up through a hazy gaze and saw that Ottocar entered the room once again. He was holding one of Dyne's own melee batons. The thing was already bloodied from Dyne's injuries. Ottocar rubbed the baton casually with both of his hands. He stared at him with beady eyes and a toothy grin. "Well Mr. Cormyr you're still a lord ling's brat if you ask me. Only having his way because of what dear ol' daddy says. Even after the grave. You fellas wanna know something? I heard his own Momma done killed his Father. Must've been a sight to see!" Laughter at Corona's expense. Yeah keep laughing you bastard. I'll make sure that I'll get even with you later on.

He felt anger at the fact that they knew that information about him. What could they possibly want from him? "You're worth a pretty gold to us Corona, but there is another matter. You have information about the Corone Rangers that we need. What do they know about us? What are their operations currently? Speak! Your friend, Troy, will not come to save you now!" And suddenly there was a commotion outside. An Agent ran into the room and interrupted Ottocar as he was about to strike Dyne once more.

"Sir! We have a problem."

"Damn you Agent, I told you not to interrupt the interrogation process. But now that you have, speak before I kill you."

"Sir Godi has betrayed us to that bastard Wizo's forces. We found his corpse outside just a while ago. What's more is that our headquarters has been infiltrated by his force. We are engaging them as we speak!"

"You incompetent foools! Send every available man to engage Wizo's forces. We may have to leave Corona behind. Prepare our escape route should the need for retreat arise."

"Retreat sir?"

"Do not underestimate that bastard Otano. He knows the secrets of the Orbs, I thought I made myself perfectly clear before when I told you that Wizo was sighted with Corona."

"Should we use what few orbs we've managed to obtain?"

"Use them all!" Ottocar screamed and then looked at Corona. "You've won the day Corona but your mission will remain incomplete..." Ottocar took his leave and prepared to beat a hasty retreat. He addressed his men one more time before he left. "Make sure my exit is ready. I will head out immediately, buy me time for my escape. Engage Wizo as long as you can."

And Dyne felt a sense of hope.

[Wizo]

The silent halls of the enemies head quarters where orchestrated with steel and cries of death. Wizo was in the front line, mowing down the first to come in contact with his troop. His sword was so drenched with blood, his sword began to glow slightly. This did not improve the swords power, only to show it’s enjoyment in battle. It was made from the god of war himself. Wizo did not stop to look at the small tint of glow, he kept on fighting the guards.

“Spread out! I want this place to have our colors waved highly by sunrise!!” was the order from Wizo. His men let out a battle cry as they fought even harder through the ranks of sell swords and guards. Wizo smiled as he could see this contract coming to a close. He may not get paid for it, but killing people who enjoy the profit off the weak was enough for him. He enjoyed killing greedy, selfish bastards a little TOO much. I want whoever was responsible for this little betrayal dead! I don’t care who it is. I will cut off his tongue and slowly pierce his body so I can see a waterfall of blood! Wizo got angry once more, and let loose a fire pall in the face of one of his opponents. This scared a few off as they saw their ally’s charred face fall to the ground.

“Keep an eye out for their elite guards! I will send them to the pit myself!!” Wizo screamed again. This order did not help however. As the ranks of his men got scarcer thanks to three of the seven guards Godi told him about. “Only three of you? I was hoping that I kill your whole lucky set.” Wizo said in a smirk.

The tallest guard began to put his brown orb into his left hand, but Wizo did not give him that much time. He jumped toward the elite from above and sliced off his hand. He could not stand the pain and dropped the orb from his left and to attend the wound where his left was once located. Wizo landed and picked up the brown orb with quickness and placed in his left shoulder. It was a spell orb, giving Wizo the power of the earth itself.

The data from the orb quickly went into Wizo’s brain. In a flash, his knowledge of earthen magic was like second nature. He summoned forth three large bolts of earth made from a mix of iron, copper and clay. He aimed the bolts to his foes and launched it towards them, point blank. The bolt hit one of the guards in the heart, another in the forehead, and the last one went through mans lower abdomen. While the last one did not die immediate, he could not move and was slowly dying due to bloodless from both the wound of his hand and intestine.

Wizo bent down to quickly look at his kills. He had three of the seven orbs that these nobles took from his people. Including the earth orb he obtained, he also retrieved a defensive water orb and a fire booster orb. Both of these will help him to get the other ones and save his comrade.

Wizo looked around the battle scene. He was currently in the mess hall and he could see various bodies over the tables. Some of them were his men, but a lot of the enemies. Wizo still searched for his foes, but nothing seemed to show any magic or skilled fighters. He kept on breaking through several of the guards just to continue look for them. As Wizo ran through the hallway, a blast came behind him and four men with different elemental swords, one from each of the four elements, came out of the debris. “So you decided to show. I was wondering where the rest of you were.” Wizo said to the men. The one in the middle holing a fire sword looked at him and replied “You’re a moron Wizo. I don’t care how much you know about these orbs. Any fool can see you’re outnumbered and out armed. We have more power then you have!”

“If that is what you believe before you die, so be it. But know this; I will enjoy taking those orbs from your screaming, lukewarm hands. ” Wizo said with a large, greedy smile. None of the men seem to understand what he was up to. It did not matter in a few minutes; one side was going to be in a one large, body bag.

Wizo pulled out his water and fire orb he just obtained. Putting each of them in his arms he took a moment for the information to process into his head. With little time to respond to, two of the guards rushed Wizo with their swords before he could absorb his powers. It did not take that long for him to understand the orbs, but he could not react enough from the attacks. All he could do was try to dodge them, which seemed unlikely. The first one came from one with the earth sword in his hand; he used a horizontal attack for Wizo’s head. Wizo managed to dodge it, but he could not avoid the second one. The one with the water blade swept vertically and hit Wizo in his left art, cutting a portion of his flesh and muscles in one sweep. He was bleeding badly but he could treat it later. In his mind he pushed the pain out and tried to put forth a water shield.

A high pressure of water appeared in front of Wizo. The water swirled around him in a dome shape, protecting him from harm. The elite with the fire sword grunted, as he let loose his weapon upon the shield. That did not turn well as his sword was swollen. Wizo did not move however. He remained still, not only to focus the shield but to slow his heart rate down so he would not lose that much blood. The other three did not hesitate either and began to bang on Wizo’s water shield. Wizo did not do anything; he did not say a word.

The young Otano still kneeled silently as his shield was losing its power. He did not move an inch, he patiently. He looked at his opponents for a moment, but he still did not move. “What’s the matter Wizo? Is that all you can do is hide in a bubble?” Shouted one of the elites “No” Wizo replied. Wizo focused hard, on the fire orb inside his right arm. He did not want control, he want power for this spell. He them to burn! His eyes glowing red, Wizo let loose a small explosion of fire magic from his body. It did not go out that far in terms of the head quarters. The walls seemed to buffer the shock of the damage.

As the smoked cleared, Wizo looked around his area to check for damage. The Fire booster orb had greatly affected his control on his magic. He was not used to such amount of force so he had to produce a raw, unstable spell that dissipated after a few feet. This did not halt him from his original goal, to kill his foes. As the clouds he saw his enemies on the ground, burnt but still visibly human. He did not give a prayer out to them as he immediately went on the ground searching for his people’s heirlooms. It took him a couple of minutes but he managed to find all four of them.

Wizo looked at his pouch and saw the eleven colored orbs in his pouch. He needed to get these back to his homeland the next time the messenger arrived to his house. The house which he needed repairs for. Wizo gave a thought as he glanced a bit in his pack to look at the bag of gold he had acquired. Not as large as he was promised, but he was sure that the nobles wouldn’t mind a few pieces disappearing after a good ransack.

The battle was coming to close as he saw the HQ become quitter and fewer clangs of steel. He saw a few of his men tending the wounded and securing their captives. “We found him!! Sir Coronas is here! ” shouted one of the local militia men. Wizo ran over to him and began to grab his and asked him “Where? Where is he!?!” He pointed to his right to a hallways and Wizo nodded and ran toward the hallway. He could tell where Corona was, a large group of his men were clamored in one spot. He quickly got threw them and found Corona, battered and beaten. “Oh man, did they make you look pretty. You must have had something to get you this hard. Anyway, how are you feeling brother?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Guards fought through the Syndicate Agents and finally found Corona's position within the sub basement. All Dyne could do was wait for his rescue to come and get him. Blood flowed from his face and dripped upon his well soaked clothing. Dyne would have to get them changed at some point. The room around him felt like an oppressive prison.

When things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, the doors latched open and a part of him expected to see Ottocar once more. Unknown to them all, Ottocar had escaped using a tertiary escape route. He'd left his Agents out to dry for the man had no sense of honour at all. Who should emerge into the room?

"Wizo...! Thank Philemon you're here."

Dyne managed to say as blood burst out of his mouth. "T-they got me good w-Wizo. It was a man named Ottocar. T-they had information on me. Apparently the Syndicate has put a hit out on me." Dyne managed to speak, his voice coming out low and weak. Dyne felt tired and exhausted from the beating he'd just taken. Wizo appeared as dual Wizo's to his worn, exhausted eyes. Dyne's head rolled from side to side as he struggled to move. The muscles in his neck straining painfully from the effort he was placing into the movement. "My stuff s-should be outside Wizo. Get these ropes off. Don't forget to find out missing men. Ottocar said that they were hidden someplace nearby. There was no reason for him to lie."

"Don't worry my brother. I told them nothing." Dyne said knowing that they would ask him what information was shared. Dyne managed to take his interrogation well. This was the first true test of his warrior's spirit. Bloody tears streaked down his face as he thought about all the casualties of the day...so many dead in this pointless revolution. Dyne wanted to be free of his prison and he needed medical attention, badly. He kept looking at Wizo casually. "I need a vacation..."

Dyne finally said and tried to laugh but his jaws hurt too much.

[Wizo]

Wizo looked at his battered ally. He could tell the abuse he went through. “I trust in your words dear brother.” He said to him. “Get this man medical attention, now!!” A few of Wizo’s men began to untie him and a few medics on scene soon came to their aid.

Wizo was tired. It was a long night and all he wanted to do was sleep. His thought of sleep was not let alone. The bag full of orbs began to glitter, reminding him of his job. “Humans wielding my people’s weapons. How did such things even get here? They should have never been able to open the magic locks.” Wizo pondered this but his mind grew tired from battle. His eyes were getting heavier and he soon drifted off to sleep.

An hour or so later, Wizo awoke from the shaking of one of his men. “Sir Wizo, We located Corona’s men. They were tied up around a huge tree near the mansion.” Wizo could hardly understand the man, his mind was no fully awake and the little sleep he received was not enough for him. He wanted to sleep more. “Is that all soldier? I know it is good news that we found your comrades, but it has been a long night. I am sure everyone would like to sleep this off. ” Wizo said as he tried to go back to his sleep.

“I wish we could sir, but some of their men said something about a hidden room near the sewers. They believe it could hold something important.” The soldier said this as he tried to shake him back out of his sleep. “Wait, a room in the sewers? What was inside it?” Wizo asked his mind began to wake up faster than before. “It was locked, but none of our lock smiths are able to open it. It’s as if magic is holding the thing together.” Said the soldier. Wizo looked at him and immediately rose. “Alright then, I will take a look. Send me one of the men to direct me. Other than that, no escorts, no guards. I want this night to be quiet. The men deserve their rest. Also inform of Corona where I am. “
“As you Wish” The soldier replied.

Twenty minutes later, with no stimulants added, Wizo was ready to for his trip to the mysterious room. “Let’s make this quick. We are only doing this so a full account of everything the nobles obtained to be accounted for. ” The guide nodded to him, he was tired from the ordeal and wanted to sleep as well. They both knew this was not something they wanted to do, but had to be done.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Alive with activity, the room seemed to become a breathing organism. Able to feel the action within the room, Dyne Corona sat on another uncomfortable chair. He wasn’t one to complain, however as he thought about the ordeal he’d just undergone. Attended to by several skilled medics, Dyne was glad that such a dedicated group of people served alongside him. Dyne didn’t consider himself the leader of the outfit, he considered himself a brother and a fellow blade. He knew that he’d passed the test of loyalty by not giving into the horrible torture he’d undergone. None of the men broke.

Dyne thought about how pissed off the Syndicate Agents must’ve gotten when they knew they couldn’t break such loyal warriors to the House of Sora. Dyne knew that they all earned their place and even attempted to recruit Wizo, but the Otano warrior belonged to a sect calling itself the Red Hand. Medics assessed Dyne’s degree of injuries noticing that he had bruises and lacerations all over his well chiseled body. A normal man would’ve broken underneath the stress that Dyne Corona clearly underwent not too long ago. The scent of various types of alms and other agents of healing wafted up Dyne’s nostrils with an acrid odor accompanying them.

The medics used crude devices and practices that reflected the level of medicinal knowledge as it existed in Althanas during that current age. Sticky patches and pads were placed upon Dyne’s head in order to clean up and provide more support to injuries that were steadily healing on their own. Blood soaked Dyne’s hair and was all over his clothing. Pads that got well soiled were removed and quickly replaced with fresh pads. The medics that knew the old healing arts of magic were busy casting spells to assist the archaic practices. Steel needles and thread were sterilized then used to stitch up openings in Dyne’s flesh. A serious bruise that developed alongside the right side of Dyne’s temples needed intense attention.

That particular injury was bleeding steadily upon Dyne’s face. The warrior had a broken nose, lips, and other serious facial injuries that all required treatment. Dyne winced with agony with each pressurized touch with the pads that were pressed upon his person. Pain felt like a lightning bolt that pulsed across his vessel, every part of him hurt. Even his hair. Scars and bruises were all over his body and it was a miracle that not a single bone was broken, there was no fear of internal bleeding. So far. With blood shot eyes, the warrior stared at the room afore him. He was seeing doubles and triples. His eyes playing strange tricks on him. Flashes of light blurred across his peripheral vision and he could’ve sworn he saw phantoms moving about in the room. He wasn’t sure however, and he decided to let those subtle visions go.

When one of the medics attempted to touch the scar on his forehead, Dyne found the strength to move his hand and make an attempt to intercept the movement. A moment later, Dyne was hanging onto the man’s wrist. “No. Leave that alone. No healing arts upon that particular scar. I want that to remain as is.� Dyne said calmly and released the man’s wrist. A moment prior he was holding onto it with his full strength. Dyne could’ve easily crushed the man’s wrist if he wanted to. But the man was an ally simply trying to do his job. “But we can heal it and further aide in its progression towards a recovery.� The man attempted to plead with the stubborn Dyne. “Naye. That is not necessary my friend. I have other, more serious injuries that need more attention than that one. Leave that one be. As well as the other scars that were prior to this incident. I don’t want any of them touched.� And he remembered his friend Shu Abishi. He suddenly wished that the Alchemist were there with him. He could certainly use his advice right then.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Wizo’s person in one of the corners of the room. Many patients were being treated in the archaic hospital. The single large room was set up as a hospital room due to the space that it could lend to the medics. Some men died during the healing process. Others were screaming in pain as the various needles and tools were used upon them. Those with untreatable injuries were made comfortable so they could pass into the next world with ease. As the medics worked on Alberdyne Cormyr, a man from his outfit walked over to him.

“Wizo wanted me to tell you that he was going to inspect the room in the sewer. He’s taking a small contingent of men with him. He wanted to let you know of his current whereabouts should you need him.�

Dyne listened and responded. “Very well. There is naught I can do right now anyway. Tell him that I wish him the best of luck. Make sure that you fetch my equipment from the place that it was kept in, someplace nearby the torture chamber.�

“We’ve already recovered your equipment Sir Cormyr.�

“Thank you. Tell Wizo I shall accompany as soon as I am able to.�

“Yes sir.�

“I know the exact location of the chamber they seek. They will need my knowledge to travel through the sewer without getting themselves lost.�

“Understood.�

And so that’s how it went

[Wizo]

Wizo and his men were already in the tunnels when he heard the messanger return. “Sir Wizo, Sir Wizo!” The messangar came running down the tunnels so loudly that the rats began to scatter from the noise. “What is it?” Wizo coldy replied to the soldier. “Sir Corona wishes to come with you and said he will be with you shortly.” Wizo nodded as he began to walk to a dry spot and try to get a smoke out.

“Alright men, We wait for Corona to come. Guess this will be a celebrated victory.” Wizo yelled to his troop. He was not too giddy in going to the mysterious room either way. He wanted closure.
The nearly toxic fumes of the sewers began to waft up to his nose. He calmy got out his pipe and began to light it. The smoke from his pipe began to wrap around his nose as he calmly waited for his aly to come. As he waited , he began to think of the foes he slaughtered in battle.

Several of the nobles men had Otano Orbs. How they even got to the surface was a mystery upon itself. All of the relics of Wizo’s people were hidden in shrines encased by deep magic that most Otanos did not know how to open. So the question how they found and acquired the relics was a mystery. Maybe the room will provide some answers.

Wizo let out a puff of smoke as he closed is eyes. He was still tired from today, and the the nijara weed was making him too relaxed for his own good. He was sleepy again and he could barley keep his eyes open. As he began to drift into a drug induced sleep , he began to hear foot steps approaching.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

An arm was bandaged up. Patches were placed all over his body with sticky alms and solvents. Dyne limped when he walked, and a medic accompanied him attempting to continue to work the healing arts on him. Dyne refused to partake of any sedatives in the process opting to feel the pain naturally as it was. He didn't want anything to mask the feelings. Walking through the sewer again was something that he'd not wanted to do willingly. However, the necessity arose when Sir Wizo made it clear he intended to venture forth into the sewers once more. Dyne hadn't liked that.

After leaving the Syndicate's headquarters within the mansion and entering the sewer once more, Dyne took a moment to familiarize himself with the surroundings. The walls all looked the same with their cobblestone material and primitive pipes moved sewage hanging alongside the top most corners of the walls. The sewer arched heavily upward. It was a round tunnel set up to connect to many intersecting passageways. Garbage floated in the waters of the tunnel that waist deep. Dyne could see human refuse floating in the waters and did not want to think where they ended up.

The sewer walls were all rounded in nature. Lighting was possible by glow orbs set up eons ago when the sewer was first established. Dyne followed the messenger. Wizo's company lurked a few feet away from the headquarters of the Syndicate, now captured by Alberdyne and Wizo.

Propety of the House of Sora. Dyne intended to keep the estate for himself as a spoil of war. The nobles would have nothing to reclaim when they returned to the property, it was sieged. Catching up to Wizo was a simple chore that didn't require much thought. He looked upon his companion and smelled the familiar smoke flowing up his nostrils, he admitted that at this point it tasted fairly pleasant. Considering his situation, he wasn't in his right state of mind. "Wizo we gotta head across a few passageways. The alternate entrance to the fortress was that way."

Dyne pointed towards the East. He started to head into that general direction, limping the whole time.

[Wizo]

Looking up at his battered ally, Wizo took his pipe and flipped the bowl to the ground. He then shoke it so that the ashes from the bowl would fall into the sewer waters. “You should have stayed in bed. Your just making your just making it worst for yourself. ” Wizo said to Corona. “But you do know the way to this room, so I guess it can’t be helped.” Wizo looked at his men and signaled to him that their break was officaly over. None of them seemed to mind as they began to begin to pack up.

Wizo observed his men for a few moments and then turned to Corona. “Not sure if you got to fight before your capture. But I was wondering if you seen any of these before.” He pulled out a fire orb that was partially recharged and put it out to Corona. “I found a few of these among the elite guards. These are orbs from my country and I must recover them for the sake of all Althanas. They cannot entrusted to the people of this land. They are far too advance and powerful . Hell, I barley use them to prevent their knowledge from the public.” He looked around for a moment and continued “I don’t know how, but it seems that the secret is starting to come out about these little things. I cannot allow that to happen. That’s why I am asking you, have you ever seen something like this? ”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Walking was a chore. Naye. Walking was a serious pilgrimage unto itself. The apprentice had a rough time walking on his own requiring the balancing support of the medic accompanying him. Dyne walked with great difficulty but managed to make it to his companion's side. Observing the mysteriously glowing objects, Dyne sensed something strange from them. A brilliant surge of elemental energies, similar to the energies he felt around his friend Shu Abishi, a powerful alchemist who quickly became a celebrated ally.

Dyne was thankful for all the friends he was making lately, it would make the House of Sora grow strong with alliances. Political and militarily based alliances were crucial to the geo-political world that Dyne suddenly found himself in. His past with the Syndicate constantly put the apprentice in danger. The past would keep coming back to haunt him until he found a way to come to peace with his past. All matters had a viable solution that didn't require violence, Dyne was certain of that philosophy. It was the most logical path and solution that he was brought up with for nearly his entire life. The Monks taught him how to defend himself in a rigorous education system. Had he let them down?

Dyne observed the mysterious orbs that his friend presented him with. Each one seemed to have a particular glow associated with the elements. He felt the past creeping up his spine. Immediately, Dyne remembered a book he once read about the elemental forces on Althanas. Seeing the vast mental library in his brain, Dyne worked past the pain he felt. The book moved itself out of the shelf in his mind's eye and he stared through its pages recalling what he knew about the elemental forces. He'd heard of Magi capable of harnessing the power of the elements in many mysterious means, but he'd never seen objects like these. Turning the pages, he quickly read the book ahead in a matter of minutes and then returned his attention back to the glowing orbs in Wizo's grasp.

The smell of the sewer wafted up Dyne's nostrils making it difficult to concentrate. His nose hairs stung with the pain of the terrible odors flowing from the decrepit waters moving nearby to his position. Dyne turned to gaze at the water for a moment observing human refuse floating on along the surface. Mysterious creatures living off the sewage seemed to be feeding off the sewage. Dyne could only see shadows moving in the water. He turned his gaze away from the horrendous sight to acknowledge his friend's inquiry.

"I've never seen such objects. However, I've heard that skilled enough Magi can condense the power of the elements into stones like those. Though I've never actually seen any myself. They belong to your people? I'm sorry to see that they've been plundered. We must work quickly then to secure the relics of your people."

With that, Dyne started off again. He knew the exact pathway to the room he saw because of his photographic memory. Following the path in his mind, Wizo's men began to follow Dyne quickly. After all, the Patriarch of Lodge Bladestorm was also a leader of this outfit of bandits. After a trek that lasted about ten minutes and proved completely uneventful, Dyne found himself staring at the same exact door that he found during his earlier venture into the sewer. He turned his attention to Wizo and hoped that the other had followed him.

"We're here." Dyne said casually. "This is the place." They were staring at a door that could not open.

[Wizo]

Wizo looked at the plain decorated door in front of him. The look of it did not show any sort of signature of any kind. His confusion on the origin made him more curious about it. “Interesting. I see no locks or knobs. So how…..” Before he could finish his question, he felt a light radiate from his sword of ku and shark dagger. Both of them were weapons from his people, the Otano, and posses key magick within them. Wizo pulled out his Sword Ku and looked at it for a moment. “Why do you glow? What is behind here for you to sing like this?” As if to react to Wizo’s question, the sword blinked with power and glowed in different shades of white and blue. As the swords enchantment was at its peak, it shot out a beam to the door, slowly opening it.

The sword thus performed its task, went back to sleep. Its glow dimmed with a mutter in its song “I wait till you prove your worth.” Wizo nodded, watching the true extent of the sword in action. “I have a ways to be worthy of such power. But I will earn it; I will gain favor of the sword one day.” He said out loud. Wizo sighed and began to look at the opened chamber. It was not a very large room, but enough to fill around 20-30 people. It was decorated with various totems and statues of residential god.”Ku? Ku’s… temple is not supposed be on this land! What is this place?”

izo entered the room and looked around to see what seemed to be a well decorated room filled with ancient Otano relics. They were nicely decorated to look like a temple or shrine. Several wooden statues formed two circles inside the room. They showed several major and lesser gods of Otano origin with craftsman ship. At the center of the two circles was an emerald cut statue of Ku, the Otano god of war. Wizo now knew why his sword reacted; it was the apparent setup of this place that made it look and feel like a temple. He looked closely and saw boxes near the top left corner of the room. Wizo opened a few and boxes to find old Otano relics and runes.

The nobles seemed to be selling relics and magic runes of his people for sale. He could tell by orders of the relics to various places all over Althanas. He took the papers into his bag. To defile a temple was one thing, but to pass them off like this. Wizo grew a great hatred of these nobles and wished to kill every one of them for such dishonor to his people. Looking deeper in the room, Wizo saw other items like com crystals, 4-d puzzle boxed and other small things. Among the center of the ripple he noticed a well decorated chest. It was around the size of a shoe box and seemed to show engravings from the Icro region of Otana. With little time to respect the craftsmanship, he steadily opened the box and saw a few brightly colored orbs. They shined beautifully as they brimmed with energy.

“They horded a few for themselves. I guess in this case, greed is good.” Wizo said as he picked up an earthen orb. Its deep engravings gave it a circuit like art all over the orb. “Armor” He said, as if he could understand what the intricate lines and dots meant. He places the orb back to its resting place inside the chest. He looked back at his allies looking outside and sighed. Too much stuff, he could not carry all this junk nor could he trust his allies. This only left him with one option. “This room must be destroyed. It can’t allow such things to exist here.” He said out loud to Corona and his men.

He stepped back and looked into the chest that he carried out with him. It was the only thing he could carry and thankfully the only thing that needed to be carried. He saw four orbs in the box, the earth armor, water amplifier, fire booster, and wine arrangement orb. He took three of the orbs, leaving the earth armor alone in the box. He put two of the three orbs in his hand in his pouch, steadily clasping the fire orb to his right palm. The orb steadily went into hand and the power of fire filled Wizo even more than before.

He told everyone to back up as he stretched out his right hand fully out to the room. His mind focused, concentrating the inferno inside himself. A small spark came, and then a ball of fire began to grow. It grew larger and larger till it was the size of a three cannon balls. He then released his focus, flying the projectile in the room. The room exploded with a large bang, smoke filled the sewers causing a few of the militia to cough.

As the dust cleared, the room was in rubble; everything was either broken or burnt from the spell. Wizo sighed, looking at how he prevented any more relics going to use. He then spied into his bag and looked at his collection of orbs from this journey. It was a beautiful sight to behold to him. Several different colors shined and dimmed, as if the orbs were talking to one another. Wizo then looked at Corona and sighed. “That’s it for me. I don’t care much about the payment of this job anymore. I have more pressing matters to handle with this load of orbs.” He looked at the chest for a moment and placed it down near Corona. “I should not be giving this to outsiders, but we have been through a lot. I trust you Corona, as a noble and as a man that you can keep this safe. It is an armor orb; you will know how to use it once you absorb it. I will say this, just as I told my enemies before. The orbs have so much energy before they stop working. They recharge over time but if you push its power, it can drain your life or even kill you. ”


Wizo gently patted Corona on the shoulder and began to leave saying “I will be taking a few bags of gold with me. There should be enough money in the manor to miss a few. ” He raised his right hand saying to him “Well you know how to contact me, friend.”

As he began to get out of the sewers, Wizo noticed that first light began to come from the sun. He stood their glaring that the sight of a new day. Taking a large breath, he walked towards the manor tired and beaten from his night. No one said anything to him; they just let him walk by as he headed to the second floor and took a room with a large fluffy bead. Immediately he fell in the bed, fully clothed, and began to dream.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Dyne took the earth orb in his hand and allowed the archaic object to placed within his body. The mystical substance flowed within Dyne's vessel and became as glowing energy. It fused with his body, sending a codex of information flowing through him. Dyne was overwhelmed by a brilliant glow of brown light, a muddy sort of halo that represented the energies of the earth according to Otano lore. Dyne suddenly developed an awareness and knowledge of the Otano's and understood the mystery of the lad named Wizo even more. The energies within the orb coalesced quickly around the warrior and worked to eat away his wounds. A moment later, the Otano orb completely healed the apprentice. Dyne was left alone with the destruction of Ku's temple; Dyne suddenly felt deep regret for Wizo's actions. Being a philosopher himself; he would've liked to learn more about the Otano. The small snippets of information he'd obtained from Wizo at that moment served to increase his desire for knowledge. The powers of the earth armor burned within his molecular make up.

Dyne wanted to release the powerful energies from within. However, the words of Wizo burned in his mind like a warning. The power flowed so easily within the heart and mind of the apprentice. He wanted to discover the secrets of his newly acquired armor. He would wait for another day to release the energies of the orb. Dyne stood up to his full height and looked about his companions. "Well then there's nothing else here. Let's go back into the house and loot the place." Dyne's men nodded at that. "Bring me any important legal documents you discover, I wish to examine them with personal scrutiny." The nearest of Dyne's men nodded at the orders. The medic looked at Dyne. "Sir, if you won't be needing me anymore; I have other wounded to attend to."

"Very well. Go do your job. Make sure that any prisoners are kept in good condition. We are going to interrogate each and everyone of them and find out what the hell the Syndicate was up to here."

"Understood Sir." The medic nodded politely and began to make his way back towards the mansion. Dyne and his men followed in return. The apprentice looked at his recently acquired flintlock musket. The weapon would be a powerful addition to his rapidly glowing arsenal. He'd sacrificed a lot for his men; and in the end their original mission was abandoned.

Despite that; the matters of betrayal would have to be dealt with. Dyne learned that Wizo ordered the death of the commanding officers who sold them out in the first place. Several were involved in the betrayal; commanding officers and those who weren't ranking officers. Dyne found himself back in the mansion. He started trying to assess the level of damage and the number of casualties of the day. Wizo and his men fought hard to take the estate. "I hereby claim this estate in the name of he House of Sora." The Patriarch said. He turned his attention to a nearby soldier who had some knowledge of sowing. "You there sir. I want you to make a House of Sora symbol and place it upon the flagpoles of this estate. You can take your time with the project but I would prefer it if it were done today."

"Yessir." The man said and went right to work building the House of Sora banner. "All of you have earned your place in the House of Sora. I hereby declare you members of the Lodge Bladestorm." Dyne declared. The men nodded casually and seemed to be in high spirits at joining the organization known as the House of Sora. Dyne felt exhausted; it was a long day's work and his own ordeal with Ottocar and the Syndicate was fresh on his mind. He would allow his men to take care of the household whilst he got some hard earned rest.

****

The chamber had been outfitted with an impressive interrogation set up. Men were dunked into pools of water until their face turned blue. Dyne stood there and watched the events going on with a grim expression on his face; the mansion was fully explored by now. All of the pertinent gold and other sell able items were ransacked and put to good use to line the pockets of Wizo and Dyne's militia. The Syndicate agents that were captured provided Dyne's interrogators with valuable information about Syndicate operations.

And Dyne found himself deeply intrigued by the words of one of the commanding officers they'd captured alive. Dyne held his musket in his hand in case any of the agents attempted any sort of escape. His bullets were resting on a nearby table. He was eager to use his newly acquired weapon after all. His eyes were narrowed as one of his fellows reported the information that they were getting from the Syndicate agents. Dyne was reading some documents that the noblemen left behind. His eyes carefully scanned the words scribbled upon the parchment. He didn't like what he was reading at all.

"Sir. It's just as you assumed earlier. These men from the Syndicate were attempting to sack the crown and usurp power from the people. There's more going on here than we previously thought."

"It is as I feared." Dyne said. "I would like it if these men could face trial but I know that is impossible. Kill them all. Leave no trace of them behind. We will use this estate as a base of operation and negotiate with the King of Salvar for good standing with the government." Dyne said. "That will come later though. Right now we must find that traitor Alchion and make sure that he sees justice."

"Yessir." The man nodded and went back to interrogating a nearby Syndicate agent. "Victory is ours." Dyne grinned to himself.

The End.

****Spoils Request****

001-Delyn Masterwork broadsword. Matching masterwork scabbard.

002-Flintlock musket made out of liviol and steel parts. Masterwork quality.
Thirty rounds included.

003-Salvarn Estate for Dyne and Lordship in Salvar. Dyne can use the estate as a base of operation for the House of Sora in Salvar.

004-Otano Earth orb. It can conjure up an armor made out of earthen energies five times a day. Currently the armor conjured up is of masterwork quality in Otano design and equivalent to a full suit of Steel Armor. It can be unsummoned at will. The opposite element of earth is air and air attacks do double damage against the earth armor. The Otano armor can sustain up to three hits of air damage against it. The armor appears as a black carapace like armor around Dyne and does not restrict his movement. Eventually; it will grow in power as Dyne levels up. It is a great gift given to Dyne from Wizo and his people; the Otano.

[Wizo]

Wizo awoke from his long sleep with sudden jolt from his body. He was wide awake and had not need or urges to go back to bed. He looked around the room to remember where he was at. He saw extravagant paintings and decorations all over the room. The color of the room, from the carpet to the ceiling, was a deep crimson red. Everything in the room was red and Wizo was more displeased then happy, the entire feeling of red around him in the mourning was not comforting. It was not his house, so he had little right to complain. After all, he did ransack it last night.

Wizo opened the door and found to see two bags of gold. Not much compared to the payment he was promised, but a good sum none the less. Wizo sighed to himself as he passed threw the hallway and outside the manor. He saw numerous men go out and about threw the he manor working hard to recover the damage that was caused during the raid. Wizo looked up at the manor and saw the banner of The House of Sora. He smiled for a second as he walked off to his cabin many miles away.

The precious orbs that he collected were still in his possession. While tempted, he could not use them. They were far too important back home than here. The first thing he must do is return them to Otana as soon as he returns to his cabin.

After a week of travel, Wizo finally opened the door to his house .The sturdy cabin was a relaxing to Wizo as he began to unpack from his journey. “Pele should be here soon. I guess I should just wait. ” Wizo said to himself. The usual meeting with the Goddess of Fire was not a simple one. Something always went bad with her, be it her flirting or the horrible news of going somewhere across the ocean. As he began to unpack the orbs, he saw a flash of fire appear out of the air. In the middle a woman in a long, strapless red dress appeared. Her hair glowed like embers and her entire persona showed an eternal fire they did not seem to die out. “Pele good to see you.” Wizo began

“It has been some time since our last chat my little Warrior. I believe you have a package for me?”
“Yes, I put them on the table. I did not expect you to come so soon. I will prepare a bag for...”
“No worry my little warrior.” With that, she summoned the orbs to her. They glowed and orbited her with ease, obeying her command. “These are in still good condition. That comes nothing short of Ku himself. To the point, I will return these to Otana. Though… I will ignore the one inside you Wizo. We are friends after all.” She gave out a wink as she disappeared from the cabin and teleported back to Otana, leaving Wizo alone in the room.

Wizo thought for a moment and forgotten that he did not remove the fire booster orb from himself. He mentally pushed it out as he looked that the tiny engravings all over the orb. He got something out of it. This was good; all that work still tired him. He was sure that fire goddess will not be calling for a while. He thought of this as he laid his head on his own bed and began to drift to sleep. A long, gentle sleep he did not have for a long time.

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Spoils Request:
Explanation on Otano Orbs: Since this is the first time Otano orbs have made it through an entire quest. I will explain about what they are and how they work. Orbs are basic add one weapons to warriors and spell casters. They all prolonged fights go longer and help increase spells. The basic three types of orbs are Defense, Weapon and Spell. (These will be explained later.) Each orb rest on one of the four elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Air), though there has been occurrences where evil energies make their own element. They are usually around the size of slammer marble ball, with engravings surrounding the entire orb. These engravings are not only enchantments but circuits and data to the user. Its semi intelligence knows when its energy runs low and thus stops before a complete drain is mustered. If a user pushes the orb to zero energy, the orb will go under emergency drain procedures.

Ordinarily, the orb slowly absorbs elemental energy from the surround environment slowly. It will usually take around a day or so for it fully charge up. When the charge is around 5% or less, the orb will stop sending magic to the host and go on standby. One can ignore this fail safe feature and push for the last of the orbs magic. Should that happen, the orb will absorb any and all forms of energy to regain its power. This will include the host and depending how depleted of energy the host its, death can occur.
Orbs work by inserting in various parts of the body. While most of part of the body is suitable, certain parts of the body. This can give the orb an easier time channeling energy. For example fire orbs work well when place near the heart, Wind orbs are effective in the forearm or elbow.

Defense Orbs are just as they sound. They are defensive capable orbs that will take damage instead of the host. While all elements have defense orbs, Earth is more focused on defense. This gives earth a wider variety in the means of defense type armor and shield weapons.

Weapons will vary from element to element. Usually they focus mainly in air and fire elements. Each element does focus on specific school of fighting. Example would be air with rapiers and bows, earth with maces and war hammers, fire with swords and halberds and water with whips and hand claws. The schools do mix, though these orbs are rare. Weapon orbs have a set time they can stay out, they will lose more time if they cause or take damage. While possible to summon up the last of the energy from these orbs, they are not usually done as it requires a moderate amount to summon the weapon. Meaning if a weapon orb is at 5% it will not come back to life even if you push it.

Spell orbs are possibly the most complicated to build and program in the means of orb engraving. They require a vast amount of knowledge to be built into the orb for the host to control it and it also must have the standard limiters like the other orbs. However they may provide the most useful when it comes to battle. As they possess a faster summon then the other two classes of orbs and can be controlled to have weaker spells or one large spell altogether. Spells can vary in effects from healing, support, and offensive schools of magic. In addition, due to the large amount of data going into the brain, spell orbs are limited to 2 per host. Any more orbs will cause stress to the brain and cause it to black out.

Note: While orbs are usually associated with the four elements, a few experimental orbs were made with dark elements (shadow), pure elements (light), and heaven elements (neutral). These are harder to find but much more powerful then the classic 4 schools. It is also rumored that these special orbs can have more than one type of attack or spell.

Otano orb of Fire Boosting:
A spell orb that allows the user to wield fire magic. If the user already knows the school of fire, he/she gains more power for his fire spells. A max of 8 shots X 2 of the normal power to a 2 x 8 normal spell power can be used per battle. Recharging can take around 15 hours normal magic absorption but can be cut short if the user contributes his own power to the orb. The orb also can fire one more additional shot under min fire mode. If the host pushes the orb that far, he will activate the limiter and will be drained of most of his energy to restore the orb.

Blessing of Ku:
The emerald statue of Ku has blessed the sword of Ku, allowing him to manipulate spells upon the sword. The sword will not activate this ability until Wizo gets to level one. The sword will maintain the spell for duration, boosting its attack and adding elemental damage. It cannot absorb enemy’s spells or take in other manipulations from other people besides Wizo.

[Call me J]

Well guys, this thread was interesting, you both did a good job with it, though unfortunately I feel that you could have been much stronger in terms of having the thread relate to the FQ and that a really good premise didn’t really go anywhere. I found myself really wishing that you would have had a big battle with the syndicate, which didn’t happen at all.

Total Score- 56.5

• STORY ~ 17/30

Continuity (7) ~ Alberdyne really did a great job in his first two posts, both setting up a story and telling me what recent events had shaped his character. This really helped the story. Unfortunately Wizo seemed to mainly react without explaining much about his character’s motivations or history and that hurt this score a bit.

Setting (4) ~ The first post brought in the civil war well, but for the most part, setting was ignored in this thread. Setting is a great way of adding color to threads, and you should both use it more.

Pacing (6) ~ This thread was far too front loaded in terms of the action. Try to put most of the exposition at the beginning.

• CHARACTER ~ 16.5/30

Dialogue (6) ~ Keep in mind that dialogue is unlike prose in that when you’re writing dialogue, things like grammar and tone are not as important as verisimilitude.

Action (4) ~ My big problem with this was just the utter lack of strategy for a thread with so much violence. The creativity and the uniqueness goes a long way to help a violent thread remain interesting. Here, some very unique characters had some very generic battle scenes. That is unfortunate.

Persona (6.5) ~ I felt that Wizo came off as a bit generic in this thread at times, I found out a bunch of details about him over the course of the thread, but I didn’t really find out who he was.

• WRITING STYLE ~ 17/30

Mechanics (5) ~ Wizo, watch issues with your tenses. There were also quite a few moments from both of you where you made simple mistakes that should have been avoided.

Technique (5) ~ Both of you, at times, had issues with using words that really weren’t the most appropriate given the setting. While I know what a word like data means, that word makes me think more about sci fi than a word like information would have. That’s just one example, there were a few others. In the future, be mindful of this.

Clarity (7) ~ There were a few points which were a bit rambling, especially during action scenes. This is quite unfortunate, because the action scenes are the worst points to ramble at. Keep in mind that you don’t always have to describe everything. It is okay to leave things up to the reader’s imagination sometimes, especially when it damages the flow of the story by causing confusion.

• Wild Card (6) ~ Good thread guys, It was nice to see a thread from Wizo, a member that I remember from a long time ago but unfortunately hasn’t been very active.

EXP and GP
Alberdyne_Cormyr receives 3327 EXP and 475 GP
Wizo receives 1322 EXP and 475 GP

Spoils
Dyne gets the flintlock rifle, the estate and the Otano Earth orb.
Wizo gets his spoils.

[Witchblade]

EXP and GP Added!

Alberdyne Cormyr hits level 3!