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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Oct 8, 2010 17:52:59 GMT -5
The area had been very peaceful up to now. A cold wind blew, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Despite traveling new lands, Krystal Sharidan didn't seem the least bit nervous about it. No, she was feeling uneasy for a totally different reason.
Attached to the back of her waist was a sheathed saber. The handle black, and the sheath matched, only with red lining. The woman hoped that whatever was going to happen here, it wouldn't involve her having to use this.
But, she'd find a way to get rid of the weapon before returning home anyway, wether her dear sister liked it or not. Soon she came upon what seemed like the base to a large mountain. Strange, though, in that many rocks were so loosely piled.
With a simple claw of the hand, all the rocks tumbled aside, revealing the entrance to what seemed like a deep cave. Worth looking into. Needless to say this was not Krys's' usual style. But, she had to follow orders... most of the time.
Inside seemed like almost nothing of interest at first, but the deeper she went, she began hearing voices. Hmm, maybe she'd hit the jackpot. Rather than go bust some heads, she slowed herself a little, and focused on trying to listen in.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Oct 12, 2010 16:16:23 GMT -5
The voices soon drifted over to the girl spying on them. "... guess they found some car they couldn't break into," the first voice said.
"A car? Way out here?" came the reply of a deeper voice. "What the hell's a car doing near the forest?"
"Beats the hell out of me. No people in it, but the trunk's locked with magic."
"Magic, huh? That's weird. So they're bringing it here?"
"Yeah, they need Calhoun to open it up," the first voice explained. "But the boss wants him to keep to training the wenches, so he can't come out there and open it for them."
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Oct 12, 2010 17:16:41 GMT -5
Looks like they found my little surprise... the woman thought with a smirk. But anyway, judging by how the conversation was going, seems this place was definitely a base of some sort. Were they holding the prisoners she was looking for? Better keep moving to find out. Seeing as the way she was headed was blocked by those two having a chat, the armor-clad female turned back around and went another way. This one hopfully less crowded.
As she walked slow through the caverns, Krystal managed to luck out on dodging people for the most part. A couple close-calls, but nothing too much to worry about, seeing as whoever these people were, they were willing to dismiss strange noises as being made by Gophers. How odd. Eventually, a few of those held up here began heading directly toward her. Quickly, Krys ducked into another room and waited for them to pass.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Oct 23, 2010 18:58:54 GMT -5
Soon enough, the bandits in the mine passed on their way, leaving Krystal alone in the storage chamber. Voices drifted by as they moved, but were too indistinct to hear the actual conversation. Only a select few words could be heard by the Aube-born woman.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Oct 23, 2010 21:03:31 GMT -5
Bars
Magic
Boss
Jozin
So the people she was looking for were here! Maybe she was getting close to their cells? Either way, it seemed the deeper Krystal went the more people were around. Might be handy to have a disguise of some sort. Glancing around the room she was in, she soon spotted an interesting looking helmet. It covered the whole head, and was black with red lining not unlike the sheath of the sabre she was currently carrying.
Horribly clashed, but it'd have to do, seeing as it was the only outfit piece inside. The rest seemed like random junk. After picking it up and tucking it away, she slipped out of the room once it seemed the people from earlier had gone, and continued her journey. Now the only problem was trying to find the prison hold. Well, Krys had been known to get into things one way or another, so this shouldn't be any exception.
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Post by Steinerman on Oct 31, 2010 1:07:32 GMT -5
Three guards walked along the darkened tunnel that led to one of the many exits of the mine. Two of them flanked the prisoner while the third trailed along behind, his blade rifle held in a nonchalant position, it wasn't like their prisoner was particularly dangerous, especially with the blind-fold over his eyes.
And that wasn't even taking into account the torture he'd been subjected too in the last three days, oh no. It was a surprise the man was conscious, let alone still able to at least stumble forward in the gloom.
In truth, part of it was an act. Joe was a fully trained Valtheran soldier, with superb hand-to-hand skills to boot. And in prime form, he most likely could have given the three men a solid fight. But there wasn't any point in acting like that until he had too. So during the torture (which had indeed, been quite extreme, as near the end it had been more to simply cause him pain than to actually extract information), he had whimpered and cried, even given a few pieces of completely legitimate information on the Stamarian military, from which he was supposedly on leave.
But still, it wasn't all an act. The torture had not been pleasant, he'd resisted due to his training, and because he had too. Rescue was on the way, and Joe was determined to rescue Laramie if it was the last thing he did in life. He'd gotten her into this mess, and blast it...he'd get her out of it.
So he stumbled along, occasionally aided by one of the Guard's boots. They'd finally decided that it was almost worthless to torture him any more, and had told him quite gleefully that now he got to experience dying for the first, and most likely, last time.
He had hoped they'd leave the blindfold off, considering him a piece of deadweight, but no. One of them had the sense to slip it over his eyes. Sadly, the guard also had bound his arms, though they were in front of him, and the fittings weren't as tight as they could have been, offering some small measure of hope.
But first...the blindfold was a problem, time to get rid of it. He intentionally shuffled along in the dirt and rock until he felt something protruding from the ground, a particularly stubborn stone, most likely. But it would do. He brought his foot back, and then slammed it toe-first into the rock, causing him to stumble, with a bit of maneuvering, he was able to push the stumble sideways into one of his guards.
As hoped, the man grunted in annoyance and gave Joe a sharp shove, which propelled him straight into the cave wall opposite. It hurt, slamming his face into the rock, his nose spurted blood and he realized with annoyance that he may have dislocated it. But it allowed him to scape his face along the rock wall for a moment, mumbling something incoherent as he did so. Hopefully covering the fact that he'd just shifted the blindfold enough to give him a semi-decent view, while still appearing to be wearing the blindfold.
With a prod from the other flanking guard, he stumbled back into place. Ahead, he saw a sliver of daylight, it would be time to act soon enough.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jan 9, 2011 19:50:15 GMT -5
As the prisoner was escorted outside, the sudden change in lighting was overwhelming and took a moment or two for Joe's vision to clear and reveal the clearing in front of the mine facility, surrounded by the forest. At the edge of the forest, some men were pushing a car into the center of the clearing--someone had gutted the engine wires, preventing it from being hotwired, and someone had clearly used magic to meld the trunk shut to its frame.
The mage from before, Calhoun, was already marching out to meet with the other bandits at the car. His voice was unheard as he barked orders at them, commanding them to take the car to the center of the clearing and giving him room to work. Lifting his hands to the trunk, Calhoun weaved his magic, straightening out the metal that had been twisted together in a spiral. Nodding as he completed his work, the mage popped open the truck and peered inside.
What came into his vision was the sight of numerous vials and bottles filled with various different glowing fluids. They had all been wired up together to some sort of fuse--one that had apparently triggered upon the trunk opening. Needless to say, it was not what the mage was expecting.
He was no fool, though--he immediately bolted away from the car as the fuse swept down the line and into the potions. In those few moments, the car was quickly vaporized in a brilliant fireball, rocking the hideout, and the pressure wave quickly knocked everyone outside off of their feet.
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Post by Steinerman on Jan 9, 2011 22:54:10 GMT -5
Joe barely had time to register what happened. The mage had done something with a vehicle, and then there was an explosion that rocked the ground, sending out a shockwave that knocked everyone in the vicinity over.
The next thing he knew he was lying face-down on the ground, his nose felt like it was on fire and his blindfold had been fully removed in the blast. His ears rang with a tinny, painful sound that muffled everything else around him.
But his training kicked in, he raised his head and blinked several times, clearing his vision of dust particles (which were everywhere, it seemed, due to the explosion) and glanced around. His guards were groaning and regaining control of their bodies, shaking off the explosion quite rapidly. But they weren't looking at him yet, he still had time.
A weapon lay nearby, he faintly recalled a seeing a man sitting down before the blast, sharpening his blade, the weapon must have been blown away in the blast.
He rolled over to it and sliced his bonds with a quick, vicious movement that caused the blade to cut into his right wrist, though not deeply. He wasn't positive that it was a rescue, but it made some amount of sense. His training told him to get up and move, grab the blade on the run and keep moving until he was safely hidden in the trees.
But if this wasn't a rescue, if it was just some fool with a carbomb and to much time on his hands, then it wouldn't go well. So, Joe rolled back to his original position and lay there, letting out a pained groan for good measure. He was reasonably sure his guards hadn't seen him move or cut his bonds, and his hands were under him still, hiding the fact that they were free of restraint.
Again, though he hated it, Joe did nothing, biding his time. It if were a rescue, the rescuer would be putting in an appearance soon, and he'd move then.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Jan 9, 2011 23:04:25 GMT -5
Well that thing went off sooner than expected. No longer caring for stealth, Krystal made a mad dash down every which way she could. Much to her dismay(or perhaps luck) she ended up at the source instead. Well great. Luckily though, most of the bandits were on the ground, in great agony.
Good, she wouldn't have to do it herself. Adjusting her eyes a bit, she soon spotted a lone figure in the center of the room. He seemed different from the rest. Was that the guy?
Almost casually, she approached him. "Hey, are you Jozin?" she asked. He didn't seem restrained or anything. How suspicious.
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Post by Steinerman on Jan 10, 2011 5:27:43 GMT -5
Jozin rose from the ground, his movements so fast it almost seemed a blur. The fallen bandit's blade was in his hand. A solid piece of steel, he noted mentally as he brought it up into a defensive posture, his emerald eyes locked on the woman before him.
small, maybe his height or a little shorter, slender, with just about the oddest armor he'd ever seen. The majority of it was purple, barring the helmet...which, well...wasn't purple. Red and black seemed the main theme of the helmet, and of the blade the woman carried at her side.
But she definitely wasn't a bandit, and she knew his first name, so that was a hopeful sign. He lowered the blade to his side and took a few awkward steps towards her, his balance still a little out of whack from the blast.
Ever-aware that they most likely had only seconds before the bandits regained their wits, Joe's voice was clipped and hurried as he spoke.
"You're the rescue, I assume. Infiltrator Nim, at your service." He said with a half-smile and the barest semblance of a bow. Inwardly he groaned. Even at a time like this, his own body wouldn't let him forget courtesy.
"Little time to explain," He continued, nodding at the surrounding bandits on the ground. "My partner and an asset are somewhere in the tunnels, most likely in the lower prison cells. We need to get moving if we're going to get them out in time. I don't think our two blades are going to do much once they bring out the projectile-throwers."
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Jan 10, 2011 6:27:07 GMT -5
"Well let's go then!" It was almost as if she'd not even listened to most of what he said before she grabbed the man by the arm and doing what she could to drag him down back into the mine. "Say, any idea where their cells are anyway?" She wasn't one for being polite, obviously.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jan 17, 2011 21:00:12 GMT -5
It wasn't long before shouts rose up as the fallen bandits came to--they were disoriented and hurt, but far from dead and growing angry. It wasn't long before they spotted the strange woman escorting one of their prisoners away, and a shout rose up.
"Get them!" the mage's voice roared.
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Post by Steinerman on Jan 18, 2011 0:43:20 GMT -5
Joe growled in annoyance and surged forward, adrenaline starting to pump through him as he heard Calhoun's shout from behind. Instead of trying to break his grip with the woman, he attempted instead to reposition it, grasping her arm in much the same way that she had grasped his.
"That mage," he hissed through clenched teeth as he ran for the mine entrance, "Is a decently dangerous and surprisingly competent fellow, we need to move quickly."
Already his mind was fuzzily trying to recall exactly where the cells were. Even as he plotted out a course to reach them, he realized that Laramie and Zandara might not actually be there, he really wasn't sure where they'd been taken while Calhoun had tried to "break" them.
He quickly shut down that train of thought, he couldn't take time to worry about what the women had gone through, not yet, at any rate.
Save them first, then worry about them.
He shook his head violently and continued his break-neck pace, hoping to reach the mine entrance before one of the bandits happened to use something with a longer reach than a sword on them.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on Jan 18, 2011 15:16:30 GMT -5
The armored woman simply rolled her eyes behind herhelmet and sighed. This guy she was jogging with seemed way too tense for her tastes. Still, now guards from around the area were started to regain their conciousness and lifting their weapons. Turns out, some of them had crossbows.
Once the two were just inside the entrance to the mine, Krystal quickly let go of her, um, dude she was supposed to rescue, and turned towards the bandits giving chase. The ones with crossbows aimed and fired, but to no avail. With a quick lift of an arm, Krys called up the earth infront of her, and sealed off the entrance. Let's hope she didn't lose Joe doing this.
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Post by Steinerman on Jan 20, 2011 3:28:33 GMT -5
Joe stopped and stared incredulously as the woman sealed off the entrance to the tunnel.
"Well..." He mumbled. "That should buy us some time."
He turn slowly to face the now extremely dark tunnel, giving himself time to breath. He hadn't noticed much before, but now his ribs were painfully voicing their discomfort from the torture, he was fairly positive he'd at least cracked a few, maybe even broken them.
He let his sword arm fall to his side, the leather wrapping 'round the pommel was rough and scratchy, but easier to grip than the metal beneath. The weight of a blade in his hand felt good, comfortable.
A few precious seconds later, his breathing slowed slightly and the pain in his chest began to recede to a dull nuisance at the back of his mind, he started shuffling forward, down the tunnel.
"Cells were a little deeper than this, I figure we keep heading down, maybe find a better lit tunnel. Get to someplace I recognize and then go from there."
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