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Post by Ribitta on Jun 26, 2011 19:57:57 GMT -5
Grinning to himself, Khordus's nondescript figure slid easily through the crowds in central Teradia. The Emperor's placid features had cracked the moment Khordus had revealed himself for just that moment, and it amused the Korin Harbinger to no end. Aurinar's rage would be his undoing, however silent it was, and the Korin's victory in Teradia would be complete. The leaders of the city had fallen right into Khordus's hands long before Aurinar had visited them in person, and Khordus was beginning to feel disappointed with the Stamarian effort for Teradia; it had not been much of a challenge for the Korin operatives -- the Emperor hadn't even brought his own Guard! The Order of the Blade were strong enough warriors, but it was a pity that Khordus had no intention of allowing any Korin to duel any of them.
As he extended his gauntlet-covered hand toward an alley door, the lock could be heard clicking open from the inside. Without a word, he slipped into the tavern through the rear door and slid into one of the booths in the far corner. It had been designated as the meeting place for the Korin in the city, and the bartender had already been generously bribed for his patience with them. Many of the upstairs rooms already housed them, and plenty more littered the tables in the tavern inconspicuously. There was another group that was supposed to be returning soon, and Khordus would wait for them patiently. If they did not come, though, things would proceed anyway; he had a little havoc planned for the Stamarians before they could leave, and it would be all the sweeter with Aurinar chasing him around.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 27, 2011 16:20:03 GMT -5
She was doing her best to ignore the humidity and the heat of the jungle this far into Cher Plek during the summer season, and instead focused her attention on her objective. Lord DuValle's order had come sudden and left no room for mistake. Kalia knew that, as one of the very few commoners included in the main staff of the delegation, she needed to complete her objective or it'd be her head delivered on the platter.
The crowd in the streets of Teradia parted easily enough for Amatlan and her squad as they searched the streets. Sitting atop her mount, the woman could easily see the far end of the road, above all of Teradia's citizens. The gleaming plate mail of the Stamarian military was a sight to behold for the locals; something alien, intimidating, and exotic, even though she and her men could easily say the same about them. Each one whispered in their native tongue among one another as they passed.
I hope this works, she thought, as Amatlan sniffed the air. She had sent her scouts in commonplace clothing for the region to scout out through the crowds, while the remainder of her men would draw attention to themselves in a regular search. With luck, whatever Korin that the Harbinger had brought with him would get distracted, or take the chance to put down a group of Stamarians. Though they'd be more likely to lead them into a trap first.
Either's possible. The Korin aren't exactly subtle on their home turf, she thought sourly. She uttered a few commands to her closest subordinates, and they both hurried to carry them out. With any luck, an agent would be scurrying off to report to the Harbinger, and her scouts will trail them.
She hoped Commander Lightshield and the others were having better luck.
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Post by Ribitta on Jul 18, 2011 18:33:54 GMT -5
Khordus finished the slow count in his head and slid out of the chair wordlessly, slightly disappointed that he had fewer men that he would like, but nonetheless quite pleased with what would happen in a moment. The government had been won over by Khordus's words before Aurinar had had a chance, but the local people were still their own entity. The people of Teradia were, by nature, relatively composed. It had to have been something in their genetics, for they had not seen true outsiders in countless generations, and now they walked over all their city. It was not something the Harbinger for the Korin understood truly, but their neutral hospitality was about to come to an end. If Aurinar had had any plans of securing the faith of the people as he had done throughout the rest of the world, they would be no more in the following seconds.
The Stamarians were using scouts that would not be found, and thus their numbers were masked from the locals quite effectively. Nevertheless, official patrols were not particularly to spot due to their brilliantly maintained armor of the highest quality. It was not just the Stamarians that wore this armor, though. The Korin had retrieved several of their own sets in advance to this mission, and now for every other Stamarian patrol that walked the streets, four or five Korin were equally well dressed. Their targets had long since been tracked, and now bedlam would indeed erupt.
Dressed as a Stamarian commander, one of the leading Korin operatives led four men down an alley that would lead directly in front of Commander Kalia's own patrol. The streets were relatively wide in this area, and the people bustled through while giving the Stamarians as much room as possible. A tiny alarm chimed in the Korin's ear, and he nodded to the rest of his men who followed him out of the alley and into the main road. With a grin, he grabbed the nearest man who had walked too close, spitting into his face as he yelled, "I'll teach you to tamper with Stamarian business, you dog!" Immediately a knife was brought up, brutally eviscerating the man. As he fell to the ground, hands clutching his dying throat, the other Korin in the group leveled rifles and opened fire on the crowd. In moments screams began filling their ears, and as the citizens of Teradia fled from the grizzly murder, so also did the Korin, shedding their Stamarian garments as they retreated.
The tense neutrality of Teradia had just been broken, not just in front of Kalia's patrol, but in front of half a dozen other Stamarian patrols. Word would spread like wildfire that these men and women, soldiers dressed for war, were now a threat to anyone and everyone in the streets. These Korin men expected to be followed -- many did not even expect to live -- but now they had a city on their side.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jul 30, 2011 17:07:21 GMT -5
Kalia heard something crackle in her ear and she brought her hand up, listening to the transmission one of her scouts was sending her.
"Ma'am," said the tinny voice in her ear. "We've got a problem, we got friendlies opening fire on civilians; repeat, we have friendlies firing on civs."
"What? There shouldn't be any other patrols on this route!" she exclaimed, reining Amatlan back and causing the wyvern to grunt irritably. "All men, regroup!"
As the armored soldiers around her backed up to her, the panic was beginning to spread. Nervous, her men started readying their blade rifles for the first sign of trouble. "Steady," Kalia warned, her eyes searching.
"Ma'am, some of them are ditching their armor and fleeing! I think we've been had!" one of the scouts reported, frantic.
"Follow them! Take one of them alive if you can!" Kalia ordered over a holographic window. "Keep casualties to a minimum, men!" she ordered to the rest around her.
Growling, she urged Amatlan forward. With a cry, the beast surged through the screaming crowds, using wing and snout to shove people out of the way as it hunted for the Korin.
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Post by Steinerman on Jul 31, 2011 0:18:01 GMT -5
Vran Whister glanced on in mild shock as the Stamarian soldiers murdered several civilians in front of his eyes. He, along with his partner, Kevin Rivers, were members of the Sphinx, the intelligence arm of the Order of the Blade. They'd been sent out into the city dressed as commoners to hunt down Korin and tag them for later take-down by Knight-Commander Lightshield and her Templars.
Fortunately for Vran, Kevin's weathered hand grabbed hold of him and dragged him back into the doorway they'd just been exiting. "Keep quiet," the older man ordered harshly, his soft grey eyes locked on the Stamarian soldiers who were now fleeing the scene. "Those aren't our boys, they're Korin. And if you're not careful they'll mess up that pretty face you're so fond of using on the ladies."
Vran pushed his partner's hand away and huffed in annoyance at the "pretty boy" remark. It wasn't his fault he'd been blessed with a face that made most girls swoon, was it? He just put it to good use, wooing women for information. And it definitely wasn't his fault that Kevin was . . . well, plain as a board and half as good looking.
But Kevin was a good decade older than Vran, who was twenty-six. And Vran had quickly learned that the older, grizzled commando knew how to get the job done. So he bit down on his natural reaction to kill the false Stamarians and waited. "We need to tell the Grand Master." He said excitedly.
"First good thought you've had all day, pretty-boy." Kevin muttered. "But we don't have comms on us. No, one of us needs to go for help while the other follows one of those Korin buggers, we're going to need one alive."
Kevin wanted to gulp in fear, but knew it would only earn him a look of annoyance from his partner. He was fresh to the Sphinx, and had only earned this assignment due to his superb skill in hand-to-hand. But he'd never fought Korin before, not in a suddenly hostile city.
Down the street, a Stamarian Knight atop a Wyvern led a group of soldiers in pursuit of the imposters, but too slowly, the crowds were too thick. "We could reveal ourselves to them, lead them. We're faster than they are in their armor." Vran pointed out.
Kevin nodded sharply, "another good thought, you're on a roll, kid." He said, a small grin crossing his weathered features. "Right, you go and reveal yourself to that Knight, I'll chase one of them down and leave a trail for you to follow."
There was sudden silence. Vran felt like a complete idiot. "I don't have my quick-scan card on me." He said, referencing the card all Sphinx carried in case they needed to call on the aid of other Stamarian soldiers. The card was easily scanned by most common hand-held devices, and would bring up their correct credentials. Without it, the Sphinx were essentially ghosts, not in the system at all.
Kevin rolled his eyes, "Now you tell me." He said, shoving Vran out into the street and after the fleeing Korin. "Follow one of them, leave marks I can follow, I'll bring back-up as quick as I can." The older man growled before shouldering his way quickly towards the Knight atop the Wyvern.
Now Vran did gulp, but he did as he was told. Turning and dashing off swiftly through the seething, roiling crowds, locked on one of the fleeing Korin. Trusting that his partner would bring back-up swiftly.
Meanwhile, Kevin Rivers muttered foul curses about the young partner he'd been saddled with to train. It was likely that today the kid would die, Vran was too rash by far, and sure of his own invincibility. But Kevin could only try to bring help. So he bulled his way towards the Knight on the Wyvern.
His cool eyes quickly scanned the Knight's face, running it against the faces he'd memorized of the Knights among the Teradia forces.
Dragonheart, His memory quickly supplied. He knew simply barging towards the Knight was dangerous, especially with how he looked. A weathered, plain face dressed in the garb of the locals, the Stamarians were expecting a trap, and they might shoot him before he could explain who he was.
He shoved his way to within a few feet of the leading Stamarian soldier and shouted to be heard, "Lady Dragonheart!"
A passing elbow from a fleeing civilian smashed into his face, sending him reeling. He recovered quickly and shouted again, "Lady Dragonheart!" He hoped that by using her name, he could get her to stop long enough to allow him to pass her his quick-scan card.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jul 31, 2011 0:39:16 GMT -5
Swearing, Kalia knew that she couldn't move fast enough in this mess. Swinging her leg back over, she dismounted from Amatlan, confident he had seen and picked up the scent of their targets. "Fly, Amatlan! Cripple 'em!"
With a screeching roar, the war wyvern stretched out its wings and barreled on through the crowd, causing more screams to erupt. For a second, the Knight almost thought she heard someone calling her name.
"Wind 1 and 2! I'm sending Amatlan out to capture one!" she yelled over a holographic window, transferring her voice to some of her scouts. She quickly drew her own sword from its scabbard. "Follow the others!"
There it was again--this time she couldn't mistake the call of "Lady Dragonheart," instantly causing her to go on alert at the noble address. The speaker stumbled at the circle of armor-clad soldiers, and they quickly reacted--one of them sneered and grabbed the man by the upper arm, yanking him roughly inside the circle. Kalia's blade snapped up, laying across the man's throat.
"You know my name but you mark me as nobility," she said coldly, her green eyes hard. "You messed up if you were laying a trap. Identify yourself."
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Post by Steinerman on Jul 31, 2011 1:09:05 GMT -5
Kevin fought back the urge to snap the Stamarian soldier's wrist as the man grabbed hold of him and dragged him into the circle. And then a sword was at his throat and he was staring into the eyes of the woman he needed to speak to.
"It got your attention, didn't it?" He said with a polite grin, seemingly oblivious to the sword at his throat. With his eyes, he indicated his pocket where the outline of a thick card could be prominently seen. "I'm Kevin Rivers, from the Order of the Blade. Sent out on reconnaissance duty, Ma'am." He said in the practiced way of soldiers everywhere. "My partner is chasing down a Korin operative, and we need to get into contact with our organization to call in support, unless of course you'd make time out of your day to help a pair of lowly grunts like us?" He ended with a questioning smile.
"There's a card in my pocket that will affirm my identity, I assure you ma'am, I have no intention of doing you or yours harm."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jul 31, 2011 1:23:10 GMT -5
Kalia saw the Stamarian features in the man, which helped his words, but she knew that that wouldn't mean much these days. She nodded to the spearman holding the operative, and the soldier fished out the card and examined it.
"It checks out, ma'am," the man said, causing Kalia to nod to him. Kevin was released and she brought her blade back down.
"You two, aid Rivers on supporting his partner," she ordered. "The rest of you, follow Amatlan; he'll bring one of them down soon and I want him alive."
"Yes ma'am!" they exclaimed in unison, breaking off without salute to carry out her orders. Kalia meanwhile opened up a communication screen to their current lodgings, where the scant support staff were stationed at.
"This is Knight Dragonheart of squad 5," she said immediately, not breaking stride. "We have a situation, Korin operatives disguised as friendlies fired on civilians and are currently retreating. Operative Rivers of the Order is requesting backup immediately on my position, over."
"Roger that, Knight," came a female voice back through the screen. "Relaying orders now."
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Post by Steinerman on Jul 31, 2011 1:38:49 GMT -5
Kevin nodded, "My thanks, ma'am." He shouted before leading the two Stamarian troops on a frantic run, glancing hurriedly around for Vran's tell-tale marking system.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the city, a small group of white-clad soldiery entered, dusty and tired from their trip. Michael Saint glanced around, obviously in awe at the city around him. "Look at it, Uban. Just look at it, it's glorious."
Beside him, Sergeant Uban stared tiredly at the buildings. "Yes sir, sure is glorious." He muttered. "But chow would be even more glorious." He added quickly, realizing that Michael would most likely want to take a tour of the city if he could manage it.
Seconds later both their plans were interrupted by one of the lesser Hospitallers tapped Uban's shoulder and handed him a radio receiver.
Uban listened to it for a brief second and then shook his head in disbelief. "It would appear that we have arrived at a bad time, Knight-Commander, everyone's mobilizing. Korin have disguised themselves as Stamarian troopers and opened fire on civilians. Multiple units are moving to catch the rats, but it sounds messy right now, the city might be turning against us."
Immediately all thought of touring the magnificent city vanished from Michael's wistful expression. His eyes grew hard at the mention of the Korin. "Inform the Grand Master that we are at the edge of the city and will be heading for the nearest hotzone immediately. Split a detail off to meet her and make sure she stays safe, I'll not have the Grand Master harmed in a sneak attack by the dastardly Korin." He ordered, his voice tinged with steel.
Immediately a squad of Hospitallers broke off at a dead run, their weariness washed away in adrenaline. Michael and Uban donned helmets and started off at a jog for the nearest zone, where a pair of Sphinx operatives had requested assistance.
Michael hoped that Knight-Commander Lightshield was mobilizing the Templars quickly, if today went badly, they'd need the Templar's fighting prowess and skill in battle.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jul 31, 2011 1:49:52 GMT -5
A draconian scream ripped through the air, piercing the din of human cries as the bronze-scaled wyvern leaped through the air, wings stretched out fully in a menacing display. Amatlan landed talon-first on one of the fleeing Korin operatives, a dark-skinned man having trouble removing a bit of armor snagged on his clothing.
The wind was knocked out of him as the beast's full weight came down atop him, slamming him face-first into the street. The nails of the wyvern easily punched through the cloth and the skin, causing the man to shriek in pain.
But the wyvern wasn't done. The man felt as the beast relented, the weight vanishing, and his mind screamed at him to bolt, to escape. He wasn't even halfway up when he felt the creature's teeth clamp down on his shoulder, causing his bones to crunch between Amatlan's jaws and him to release a scream of agony as his was yanked off his feet and onto his back.
Only then did the wyvern let go, snarling menacingly at the man as the Stamarian soldiers rushed up with their blade rifles drawn. Kalia pushed through them, her own weapon in hand as she planted his foot in the middle of his blood-soaked chest.
"I'm not going to kill you," she said coldly, pointing her sword straight at his face. "You and I are going to have a little talk first."
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Post by Ribitta on Jul 31, 2011 17:28:07 GMT -5
The pinned Korin operative snarled at Kalia, spitting a mouthful of blood toward her face, "Like hell you are, bitch." Moving his tongue slightly, he grasped a small, flesh colored capsule between his teeth and clenched his jaws, spreading the deadly chemicals through his mouth and killing him nearly instantly.
As the rest of the operatives ran, they began to split off from each other as they each made for their own separate safe-places. The unsuspecting citizens had already been bribed, and now their allegiance to the Korin was all but assured. With every second that passed, they would be harder and harder to pin down. Not that it was of the greatest importance, though; the damage had already been done.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jul 31, 2011 17:50:55 GMT -5
Kalia cursed under her breath, shoving herself off of the corpse with a kick. "Search the body to see if he has anything that'll help us," she ordered as she sheathed her blade and mounted Amatlan. "We'll follow after the scouts as they report in."
We're losing control fast here, she thought irritably as she guided Amatlan around. The Korin were already prepared to frame us. They must've known we'd be on the search for them... do they have spies in the palace?
A discomforting thought. It'd be too dangerous to relay those thoughts to the command post; she'd have to relay it to the head of the reinforcements she'd ordered in. She knew the Order would have separate ways of communicating with their own.
"Ma'am, he has some sort of communication device," called one of her men, a man named Sorenson.
"Good, that'll help us locate their number among us," she said.
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Post by Steinerman on Jul 31, 2011 23:04:28 GMT -5
Vran Whister dodged and juked his way through the turbulent crowds, a stick of yellow chalk was clutched in his left hand as he ran, and every few feet he struck it haphazardly at the nearest solid surface he could find, a beacon left to lead his partner with back-up.
Up ahead his quarry ran swiftly, and three times Vran almost lost the man, but each time he'd surged ahead with a burst of speed and caught sight again.
Finally, coming to a relatively clear alley, Vran dashed ahead as fast as he could and tackled the Korin, dragging himself and the bigger man to the ground in a sprawling, tumbling pile of limbs. "Gotcha you son of a ---" He crowed triumphantly before getting a mouth full of elbow from the Korin, who had turned over and was fighting like a caged animal to get the lighter man off of him.
He brought a pair of solid punches to the Korin's stomach, but the man was in such a frenzy that he wasn't sure he could win the fight. And though Vran was many things, a quitter wasn't one of them. He persisted in his attack, trying to simply keep the man in place and hoping that Kevin would arrive quickly with back-up.
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Post by Ribitta on Aug 1, 2011 18:04:47 GMT -5
Up on the roofs, quite effectively hidden, Khordus watched as one of his men failed to escape alive. They had all known the risks in the mission, and they all knew it would be better to die than to be caught. Un-melding from his secretive position above, Khordus leapt from his current shadow to the one that blanketed the alley, the sun hidden from view between the two buildings it was situated in. With all the scuffle, he knew there would not be enough time to stop him.
Using only one of his axes, Khordus swung it swiftly into the Korin operative's head, deftly silencing him forever. As he swung, though, the Harbinger also used the momentum to support a sharp kick aimed to take the Stamarian man in the chest. It wouldn't be fatal if it struck, but there was still time left to dig Stamaria's grave in Teradia yet a little deeper.
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Post by Steinerman on Aug 1, 2011 19:11:36 GMT -5
All too fast for Vran to understand quite what was happening, an axe ended the fight by neatly biting into his opponent's head. And before he could quite comprehend why the struggle was over, a swift kick smashed into his stomach and sent him sprawling.
In an instant he was bouncing back up, staring furiously at the new attacker. "Bring it!" He taunted, spitting a glob of blood at his attacker. Even as he said the words, a thought passed through his head.
You just spat blood, it told him. Your ribs feel like they're on fire, meaning at least some of them are probably broken. He's got an axe and all you have is that knife up your sleeve, you can't win this fight.
He could almost hear his partner's voice, "Run boy," it told him. "You definitely can't win this fight."
But Vran had never faced an enemy he couldn't defeat, so with a deft move he withdrew the knife and lunged for his new attacker.
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