Rolen and Arowyn sat in the lobby bar of EDEN, trying not to shake with fear and excitement. They had arrived unannounced, and once again the little flightless bird creature had escorted them here to await the arrival of the terrifying woman. They were served drinks by an attractive blonde man in a pristine white dress shirt and black suspenders. He smiled under his meticulous mustache as he presented the exotic blue cocktails in fluted glasses.
Arowyn sighed as she unconsciously appraised them. More relic grade enhancement and recovery items.
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Azure Dragon’s Blood Cocktail:
-Epic Consumable
-Restores (25) Soul Energy
-Fortify Soul Energy (25) Points
-Resist Cold (-100) Degrees
-20% Alcohol
-Duration: (1) Hour
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Rolen simply stared at the glass dumbfounded as she listed the effects. He could have used this drink before the long walk here in the frigid snow. His toes were still numb. With a defeated shrug he raised the glass to his chapped lips. Bubbles tickled his nose, and the perfectly balanced sweet and sour drink made all the discomfort from the cold walk vanish in an instant. He and Arowyn both sighed audibly as they returned their glasses to the polished bar.
“Greetings Green Knights.” A familiar voice suddenly sounded from a small high-top table just behind them.
They turned as one to see the woman known as Tabula seated on one of the stools with her long legs crossed elegantly, revealing an alarming amount of flawless skin beneath her black skirt. A cocktail materialized in her hand and she took a sip before setting it down and pushing her glasses up with her index finger.
“Welcome back.” She spoke again before the twins could speak up. “Are you here to discuss the terms of the kingdom’s surrender? Do be aware that our master is away and my negotiating authority is limited.”
“No.” Arowyn replied, not sure how to compose herself before the intimidating being. “We came to warn you and come clean about some things.” She finally decided to throw out her much rehearsed speech in favor of honesty though she couldn’t be sure exactly why. “My brother and I lost our parents when we were four. After two years of barely surviving on the streets of the outer ring, we were taken in by an orphanage. The people there were kind and fed us, but just a month later we were taken by an official because we couldn’t be appraised. We ended up in a secret program that aimed to create elite assassins, forced to train day in and day out while being subjected to experiments that killed most of the other subjects. After a year ‘Practical Training’ began. We were forced to kill every single day. At first it was rats and other small animals... Then it was other children.” Arowyn’s eyes began to well as she remembered the dark days. Rolen took the pause to step in.
“We have killed too many to count, and our lives are rotten and wretched things.” He summed up. “Your Master’s Appraisal did something to us, and allowed us to remember all of the things that were buried during our childhood. We despise the kingdom. We have knowledge that can help you bring them down, and wish to join your side.
“Interesting” Tabula coolly replied. The lenses of her glasses suddenly began to glow, and blue binary code scrolled across the darkened glass. “I have added you to the probationary white list. You may obtain a room key from the front desk and access the basic first floor facilities. If you prove useful, I will have you inducted as F Rank Adventurers in the guild. You can start by submitting a detailed report on the kingdom to Deputy Governor Raj.”
“Wait, what?” The twins blurted together. “That easily?”
“I detected no deception in your speech, and if you decide to betray us, I can extinguish and dispose of you more conveniently while you’re within my influence.” She replied.
“Can’t argue with that.” Rolen mumbled.
Tabula began to stand but paused. Information played across her glasses once more.
“It seems your former allies are attacking us.” She didn’t seem at all surprised or upset as she said this.
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“What!?” Arowyn exclaimed. “They weren’t supposed to come here until after Grandring fell. We had nothing to do with this, you have to believe us.”
“Be at ease.” Tabula replied, and the ghost of an amused smile touched her lips. “We instigated this, but it is a bit ahead of schedule. There is no cause for concern as long as the evacuation of Ariel’s Gate was completed on time.”
“It may be the Red Knight attacking.” Rolen said. “He’s extremely dangerous and difficult to fight. We have information and magic items commissioned by the kingdom. We actually told them that we were going to use them on you to get them.”
“I appreciate the gesture, and the irony.” Tabula replied. “I have obtained some detailed information on the Red Knight from Raj already. However we have a little time before they cross Rain’s perimeter, so please elaborate.”
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“We only pulled around a hundred by the looks of it.” Asha the Hellcat said in disappointment from her perch atop Scimitar Ridge near Ariel’s Gate, where the group had paused their flight from the knights to allow their pursuers to catch up. “Shouldn’t we just wipe them out? It’s not like we need lord Rain’s assistance for this lot.”
“Lady Tabula may want to keep them prisoner as leverage.” Another Hellcat named Torra spoke up. She was the tallest of the group with a light physique compared to the rest.
“We’ll lead them back as planned.” Leza asserted. She was the alpha of this group and all debate ceased. “We’ll execute our mission perfectly. The cambions can’t get ahead of us.” The entire group nodded in determination. The rivalry with the group led by Leifa was friendly but certainly intense.
The group jumped away from the cliff then, landing easily on the stone two hundred feet below.
They continued to guide the knights in a wide arc around Ariel’s Gate but suddenly they changed course, riding hard for the city.
“Ugh.” Leza grumbled. “They’re looking for hostages before even trying.”
“Cowards.” Asha spat.
The Hellcats changed course to intercept, but the knights were suddenly moving much faster than before. Did they know they were being baited while concealing their abilities?
At this rate the knights would beat them to the city. Luckily, it should be fully evacuated by now. That said, even a single damaged building was unacceptable to Leza’s pride.
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Meanwhile, half a mile away and closing fast on Ariel’s Gate, The Red Knight was now possessing the body of the leader of this platoon. It was lacking in skills, but the man had enough raw strength to attain A Rank. With a few select skills he could easily qualify for S Rank. With The Red Knight’s arsenal of skills, he was a force to be reckoned with.
The skill Double Time had accelerated the speed of the entire group, and The Red Knight aimed to draw the enemies to him rather than allow himself to be led into more dangerous territory. He would hold Ariel’s Gate hostage and probably destroy it after harvesting the enemy’s skills.
The gates loomed ahead, and The Red Knight noticed that they were already open and no guards were posted. Of course they would have evacuated.
No matter. The city itself had plenty of value.
“Close the gates behind us.” The Red Knight used his borrowed mouth to order. “Protocol Nine.” He issued one of the commands drilled deeply into his elite soldiers.
They complied with lightning speed. Proximity to the Red Knight’s various auras was inflating their stats to superhuman levels. A few of them would probably die when the effects ended. The sudden loss of Endurance often led to total organ failure. It was a moot point, those that couldn’t handle the stat loss would likely not survive the coming battle anyways.
“The divination mage has detected a large number of small lifeforms below the ground and a human is among them.” A knight relayed. The front of his helmet was flipped up, revealing a man in his fifties with a bristling gray mustache and dark eyes.
“That would be the slime tender, Jaik.” An intelligence officer added from the side. He wore lighter armor and a full leather mask which muffled his voice. “He’s one of the best slimers on the continent. Losing him would all but cripple Filam’s sanitation infrastructure.”
“You three seize him, and destroy the slimes.” The Red Knight ordered a trio of less experienced knights. They would be better off away from the main fight. “Pyromancer Cole, place full strength blast runes on as many important buildings as you can, beginning with the adventurer’s guild and public houses. The rest of you prepare every personal enhancement ability and protective artifact you have. The beasts will be upon us in moments. I shall mark one, and your mission will be to weaken that one enough so that I may possess it.”
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From a rooftop a hundred meters away from the gathered knights, the team of newly inducted A Rank adventurers from Crown City watched and listened. They had returned to Ariel’s Gate after finishing the evacuation in hopes of finding some action to boost their standing within their new guild. This, however was more action than they had hoped to find.
“Will your concealing spell be enough for their divination mages?” The clean cut man named Norris asked their mage. He wore his beautiful half plate armor and scale mail, all of which was crafted by the best smith in the region and heavily enchanted. He regretted the doubting words the instant they left his lips. The look she cast his way was scalding.
“Yes.” The single word carried several paragraphs worth of derision. The mage was arguably the most accomplished of the group, on the very cusp of S rank. Her name was Delia and her dark haired beauty was complimented by her soft form fitting black robe with gold trim.
“Do we rush ‘em?” The bear of a warrior named Rust asked bluntly. “Bet we could take at least fifty down with us.” There wasn’t a scrap of insincerity or boasting in his voice. His “armor” was nothing more than the cured hides and scales of the many beasts he had slain, topped with the lion skull of a chimera which he wore as a helm. His smell was extraordinarily bad, but his sheer power and ferocity against any foe was peerless.
“We’re not all so keen on dying.” The tall and heavily scarred monk named Luna replied. She wore more bare skin and scars than clothing, though no one ever complained about that. Her body was truly a work of art. That along with her thick mane of hair that shone the color of lavender was the inspiration for many a bard's song.
“We hold and wait for an opportunity.” Norris interjected. “They are clearly preparing a defense for something coming from beyond that gate. Once they engage, we can surprise them from the rear.”
“Some are breaking off.” Luna pointed out, as three knights broke away and began to hustle in the direction of the city center. “And another.” She said, noticing a much stronger looking knight also depart on his own in the direction of the guild building.
“Alright, change of plans.” Norris grinned as he spoke. “We take care of those four before they cause any trouble. Delia, have you appraised them?”
“Of course. Those three are barely B rank. That one... is strong. He is a rune specialist and geared to the gills. Luna and I are the best match against him.”
“Understood.” Norris answered. “Rust, you and I will take those three and regroup at the old guild hall when we’re finished. Got it?”
Rust simply grunted and hefted his enormous notched axe.
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