The Tainted Land

"State your business here" replied steve "or I will strike you down with the power of the raging stream beside us."

Suddenly the rivers water sped up to a great pace as steve exerted energy towards the stream, now more like a raging rapid.

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Cyber Apollo...

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Khiron stopped suddenly. Something didnt feel right. He'd had the feeling before and knew it well. Someone else was observing him or steve. It clearly wasn't steve who was watching, as he was facing the other way. Khiron slowed his breathing and listened hard. He caught the sound of someone else breathing slowly somewhere to the left of steve, as if they were watching...

Khiron smiled and drew his broadsword. The sheath was padded, so it made no noise as it was drawn. Khiron began to take slow steps, in time with steve's, so as to be not alert the watcher. He held his breath as he drew near to the location of the watcher.

There was someone there? Why hadn't Narichor sensed their mind. Narichor focused. There! There was someone... no, something, an abomination. Tainted and abyssal, warped and deformed - and yet somehow human. This situation was not just suspicious - it was absurd. What were all these strange beings doing in this place, all at the same time? Narichor was about to warn Khiron when Khiron sent a thought to him.

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About 20 yards behind Ret, and conceeled behind a tree, Khiron thought a message to Narichor.

"I'm not sure about jack, I've followed him for nearly a week, and he appears to have similar goals to me, but there's someone else here heading towards steve. Im not sure of his motivations, but there is the sense of abyssal magic about him."

Khiron peered out behind the tree. The man was walking towards steve, not attempting to conceal himself, as he passed the lake Khiron caught a glimpse of his face reflected in the water. For perhaps half a second, the eyes in it were looking directly at him.

In the shade of the trees behind him perhaps the man hadnt seen him, or had mistaken him for a tree. It was certainly possible, and he didnt appear to have seen him, he was still walking along at the same pace. Khiron looked again. The man was walking the same way as he had been a few seconds ago. But why was there a feeling that he had overlooked something...

Khiron stayed away from the clearing's edge, reluctant to leave the shady foliage. He drew one of his small knives from his pack, and waited to see what the man would do.

Good. Khiron knew the danger. The abomination seemed to be at least somewhat human. Perhaps Hell was not interfering here. Still, he needed to make contingencies. Throughout the village, as he had ordered, villagers were equipped with spears, crossbows and other weapons. All safely under his control.

Perhaps this new visitor might turn out to be an oppurtunity. If not... the threat would be dealt with. And perhaps something could be salvaged of his plans if the situation did become uncontrollable.

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	Ret decided to send out a pulse (like energy eccolocation gained from another creature, depending on how your trained you may sense it or be able to hide from it). Trees, small animals, fish, man in front, Sentient being behind not following. Ret to steve: Hey there do you know of a place I could stay nearby? Still concealing the dagger in his long sleeves.

Narichor's trained senses felt the magic wabe pass through the air. What? Energy magic? What was a creature so clearly linked to the Abyss doing wielding energy magic? What forces were at work here?

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	"State your business here" replied steve "or I will strike you down with the power of the raging stream beside us." Suddenly the rivers water sped up to a great pace as steve exerted energy towards the stream, now more like a raging rapid.

What? Was the man insane? How dare he demand answers from the other, while he was just as much a trepasser here? And such blatant use of psionics... does he wish to bring the forces of the Dark Lord down upon us, or simply have these others kill him for threatening to kill them? This had to be dealt with. Personally.

Calling four of the townsfolk to his side (two armed with crossbows; the others with spears), Narichor strode out of the building and towards the river where the impromptu meeting was taking place, his cloak billowing behind him. As came nearby, he called out to the men gathered there.

"I am Lord Narichor, lord of this estate. What is the meaning of you weilding arms here? Explain yourselves!"
Narichor focused on Steve. "Cease this at once, you madman! You will not threaten others with your powers within this village!" Narichor's two crossbowmen raised their weapons. "If you dare strike out with that water, my men will put bolts through your head before you can move it a single metre."

Khiron whispered into his hand, "Pretend you don't know me and that you think I'm just an angry nobleman."

With his powers, looked into the surface thoughts of the others. If they wanted to attack, they would fail before they even acted.

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Still feeling the reverberations from his pulse he felt steve's energy being used quickly to keep the stream going so fast but the ones coming back from this robed man were delayed as if someone stoped them and checked them quickly.
Ret: You there, I already stated my buisness and I wouldn't keep pouring my energy into that river its a huge waste. And I'm glad the one in charge is here, do you have an inn in the town?
He slips his dagger back into the holster on his belt and started walking towards the group of townsfolk and Narchior (I don't know your Narchior).

"I am sorry for my agressive behaviour" replied Steve as Ret walketd towards Narichor "but you startled me."

Steve stopped exerting force upon the river and it slowed back down to the stream that it had been before.

Looking at Narichor Steve was nervous, he could tell the man had power of wealth but the villagers around him also showed he had authoritative power.

Steve also approached Narichor and asked "Who am I talking to, sir."

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Cyber Apollo...

Narichor raised a hand and the villagers lowered their weapons and backed off.

Good, thought Narichor. Trouble had been averted - for now at least.

Narichor answered Steve first. He decided to be truthful, as these people seemed to have nothing to do with the Dark Lord, and if they did, then he already knew Narichor was here.
"I am Lord Davon Narichor, master of this estate and Lord-Adept of the Ydramek Academy. And if this startled you, you'll certainly be startled a lot more. The Dark Lord has an outpost only a few dozen miles from here. Who are you, and what brings you to this part of the world?"

Nairchor then addressed Ret. "We don't have an inn here." Narichor paused and stepped forward, and his voice became more harsh. "But I must ask - what does a being like yourself, overflowing with abyssal power, want with an inn?"

Khiron whispered into his hand, "You can speak the truth now that situation has been resolved. But be on your guard around the abyssal one."

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Ret grimaced at the casual reference to the abyssal energies in him but quickly hid his emotions behind an emotionless face. He set up a mental block now that he knew why the reverberation was modified. This man was more than a simple nobleman and the one he had seen in the reflection must be something special too.
Ret: So the charm didn't cover up the foul energies?
Ret pulled out a figure molded from silver and threw it to Steve.
Ret: You can have this if you want, it's probably worth something. (now talking to Narichor) A wanderer could end up anywhere if he has bad directions but pulling up some stupid excuse like that wouldn't go over well would it? To tell the truth I have some business at that outpost and I think resting up before heading out there would be a good idea.
Fearing a possible outburst from the civilians Ret sent a small flare of energy up through a root into a tree to distract them while he pulled down the collar of his cloak and a small mouth appeared which let out a heavenly note. A field of serenity should keep trouble at a good distance...

Narichor saw the rush of thoughts and emotions in Ret's mind before he put the barrier up, and suddenly realised that this man was no true creature of the Abyss. Great Icarun, he thought, what has been done to him? He decided not to push into Ret's mind. Some things were best left unseen.

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	Ret: So the charm didn't cover up the foul energies?

"You'd need something much stronger than that to hide the powers within you," Narichor said as he felt the magic from the figure.

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	A wanderer could end up anywhere if he has bad directions but pulling up some stupid excuse like that wouldn't go over well would it? To tell the truth I have some business at that outpost and I think resting up before heading out there would be a good idea.

"Business, is it?" Narichor's eyes narrowed. "What is it that you plan? And who are you?"

If this 'Ret', if Narichor had read his mind correctly, was a foe of the Dark Lord, he could be a useful ally.

	Quote:
	Fearing a possible outburst from the civilians Ret sent a small flare of energy up through a root into a tree to distract them while he pulled down the collar of his cloak and a small mouth appeared which let out a heavenly note. A field of serenity should keep trouble at a good distance...

Narichor felt the field of serenity, and instinctively blocked the intrusion from his mind. That is bizarre, he thought. Abyssal energies and waves of serenity didn't usually come together.

The villagers appeared to be unaffected by Ret's antics.

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Surprised by the innefectivness of his field of serenity he accidentally let down the barrier for a second but quickly put it back up.
I already told you, I'm Ret. And as for my business at the outpost lets just say I might not come back alive.
A drop of blood fell from his sleeve and then another one.

Narichor saw the blood coming down the man's arm. That looks like the symptoms of possession, Narichor thought. But his mind was not possessed, and there was clearly something stranger at work. The man must have had Abyssal energy directly infused into him, but he survived. That should be impossible. His form should have destroyed itself almost instantly. Perhaps these other powers the man had helped him survive. This man really was an oddity.

But one thing was clear. This man could not survive long without taking on a form. The human body could not survive that kind of pressure for long. Then it suddenly struck Narichor - he had seen those powers before - and not within humans. This man was stealing the powers of others. That was how he survived. But that could only be a temporary measure at best, thought Narichor. He will not survive long. And he intends to take some of those who did this to him - as the Dark Lord and his minions were the only beings in five hundred miles that could cause such an abomination - with him.

All this passed in a moment's thought. Demonology was not his speciality, but he had enough knowledge of it to discern that this was the most likely of several options. The fact that Narichor could read minds, and the man's mental defences had slipped, also helped quite a bit.

"The destruction of one outpost would not constitute a thousandth of the vengeance you deserve, Ret," Narichor said to him. Narichor might not be a man of many morals, but this abomination was so clearly wrong that even he wanted to see justice. "Perhaps you and I can come to an... arrangement that would benefit the both of us. I have no liking of the Dark Lord, and his interests conflict with mine rather violently. And you deserve terrible vengeance upon him for what he has done to you. If you will aid me, I will see that you will have true justice. I might even be able to slow the deteriation of your form. What do you say?"

That's close enough to the truth, thought Narichor. I should contact the Academy. Perhaps the demonologists can see if this process can be reversed... or copied.

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Thank you for those obviously well meant intentions but that outpost has something in it that is worth more to me than vengence. If I can I will return and take up your offer. Seeing as I wouldn't be able to hide my thoughts very long I might as well tell you whats in there. Apparently they caught a pheonix and the same biomancers who did this (sweeps his hand infront of himself) seem to have concocted some resurrection serum. It has mixed results but I think its worth checking if it can cure me. If they get the results of those expiriments to the the Dark Lord things could turn really bad really fast.
As Ret was talking he took of his cloak and started bandaging his arm. It has small appendages and fragments of bone coming out of the surface. he ripped out the bones and took a swig of heavy liquor. Then he started cutting off the small appendedges with a knife and then bandaged up his arm.

"Thank you for your generous offer" said steve to ret "but I travel very lightly and cannot accept."
Steve threw the silver gift to one of the villagers saying "put this to good use citizen."

Steve then turned back to ret "I will go with you, I was going to the fort myself and if the two of us went together we would have a much higher chance of survival, Will you accept my company?" asked Steve

_________________
Cyber Apollo...

He can tell I read minds, thought Narichor. Oh well. It is to be expected. And he knows the truth about the outpost. This man is formidable.

Events are moving faster than I had anticipated, thought Narichor. If his biomancers have managed to resurrect people, and had managed to catch a phoenix, the Dark Lord almost certainly had the Liber already. That would make things more difficult.

I must see this potion of theirs, thought Narichor. If it actually works... the consequences would be unfathomable. This oppurtunity could not be missed.

"A phoenix, truly? That I would like to see. Would you mind if I accompanied you on your mission? The outpost's defences are formidable, and I have certain talents that could be useful in any infiltration or attack."

Narichor's plans would have to be moved forward. He touched the amulet around his neck and sent a telepathic message. "This is Narichor. I am leaving the village soon. Bring Hederich in when I'm gone. Ready the troops."

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

"If we are all to risk our lives we should come up with a plan of attack" Steve suggested to the others.

"I have seen the fort and this very river runs through the middle meaning my powers will be at maximum power, although there are bars over the gate letting the water in I have a hidden talent that will allow me to enter unseen or heard"

Steve walked over to the stream and chanted a small phrase. The next moment Steve dissapeared into a pool of water and merged with the stream becoming undistinguishable from the running river.

A moment later and Steve returned to his human form saying "I can also morph myself into water too."

_________________
Cyber Apollo...

"Your talents are hardly 'hidden', Steve, given the extent to which you flaunt them," Narichor remarked, remembering the man's earlier threats.

"While you may seen the outpost once from a distance, I have lived here for the better part of a year, and I have observed the coming and going of people from the outpost. They have recently increased the guard dramatically recently, and the presence a phoenix there would explain that. They have a guard of around 600 soldiers. The walls are ten feet thick and twenty feet fall. I have counted 33 mages and psions of varying types there, not including the Dark Lord's personal biomancers. The main gate has a pair of chimarae guarding it, and they have a wyvern patrolling the skies, in addition to a squad of war trolls and a night wraith. They have at least nine layered protective enchantments. The river running through it is infested with razorfish. I suspect the defences would be stronger were it not for the fact that suspicion would be drawn to the place. Any plan to take the place could not have room for error. I would bear that in mind when making any plans."

Narichor paused. He would see what the others planned just to see what they were capable of.

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Wyverns? 600 guards, razor fish??? That seems hardly like an outpost, I hardly think its conspicuous... I was going to just wing it but I think a plan might not be a bad idea...

"So, what would you suggest we do Narichor?"

"Your towns men alone are not enough to defeat the enemy at this great fortress and any attempt would result in instant death for the ill-equipped and ill-prepared, how do you suggest we defeat the enemy at hand?"

"All I know is that must strike fast or many lives will be lost within the walls of the fortress, all innocent lives."

_________________
Cyber Apollo...

Concealed by the foliage, and having witnessed the conversation, Khiron realised the two intended no harm. He sheathed his broadsword, and returned the knife to its place on his arm. Removing the hood from his cloak, he moved slowly to avoid startling them, and walked calmly towards the group.

"Greetings to you. It has been a long time since I have seen so many psions and mages all in the same place, apart from in the dark lord's encampments. The one you are currently refering to is a little out of our league." he said to them. He turned to Narichor. "I'm terribly sorry, but I couldnt help but overhear that you can read minds, if you examine mine, you will find I bear you no malice. My name is Khrion by the way," he said, offering his hand to them.

Before Ret could respond about their near meeting earlier on, or examine him too much, Khiron smoothly changed the subject.
"As for the encampment I get the feeling we could march up to the gates with the largest army this side of the ocean, with no affect at all. The presence of those mages and psions you mentioned tilt the scales sizably in there favour. Like you said earlier, we will need a plan of attack"

"'Outpost' is a relative term when speaking of the fortresses of the Dark Lord. We should be thankful that the Dark Lord wishes these experiments to remain secret, as assaulting the Dark Tower or the Black Citadel would be much more difficult than this outpost."

Narichor turned to Khiron.

"Khiron. I can see clearly that you bear no mal-" Narichor stopped as he examined Khiron's mind. Khiron apparently did not wish to make their old firendship known, but Narichor had examined his mind nevertheless. When had Khiron gained magical abilities? And more importantly, how had he gained them? Perhaps this mission could be even more fruitful than he had hoped. "-ice. What are you doing here?"

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

Ok so even with another person this is ridiculous... How are we supposed to break in, with a regular outpost I would say just wait until the caravan going to the Dark Lord left and we would hijack that but I would think they will be teleporting.

"The defences of the outpost are formidable, but it is possible that an attack could succeed. In any case, the presence of a phoenix, the Dark Lord's biomancers and their project means that an attack is vital. It is unlikely an oppurtunity like this will rise again. We do not know when they will leave, so we must attack soon, and cannot wait for reinforcements."

"We have three goals in an attack on the fortress. One, we must destroy the ressurection serum, as that could cause untold damage were it to be completed. Two, we must free the phoenix, so that it cannot be used for any dark purpose. Three, we must kill the imperial biomancers, so they cannot continue their works."

Mentally, Narichor added part four of his plan: capture the Liber. With the Dark Lord's minions dead, and the Liber in his hands, his mission would be complete. His main mission anyway. These people could be useful in the future.

"Given these objectives, the most appropriate stragety would be a lightning raid on the inner sanctum to do what we must do and then leave. Using my powers, I should be able to infiltrate the base and knock out the magical defences. The rest of you could then enter the base, Steve using his talent, and then converge on the inner sanctum, dealing with any resistance we encounter. Using separate vectors of attack should minimise our opponents ability to mass their forces. The attack should also be performed in daylight, so that the night wraith is powerless and the wyvern will be out on patrol. If you have any other ideas, I would be happy to hear them."

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++

@ 2 posts ago

Khiron noticed a slight widening of Narichor's eyes as his mind was examined. Khiron guessed the meaning: Narichor knew.

@ now

"Despite the usual advantages of a night attack, I agree with Narichor. For once it seems like we will be able to accomplish infiltrating the fortress in broad daylight. However, not midday. It would be wiser to attack some time after dawn, after the wyvern has left, but before the sun is too high in the sky to produce convenient shadows.
The only other real issue is finding some sort of accurate layout of the fort. We could assume it has been layed out in the standard military format, but the biomancers are not part of a standard military, So there could be various additional structures on the inside, and possibly a way to summon reinforcements, such as signal fires.
As we don't have the manpower to assualt the regular legions, I would advise hit and run tactics, in and out as fast as possible, before the garrison realises we've been there. I get the feeling that when we kill the biomancers, we'll have the garrison hot on our heels, not to mention the various mages and psions. If there's another set of reinforcements in our escape path, we may as well start to write our obituaries.

Narrichor, would it be possible for you to read the minds of the guards or biomancers without creating unwanted attention?
If not, maybe steve could find us a route in and out"

"I can infiltrate the base using my powers. Once inside, I can knock out the magical defences, and we can then commence the attack. I should also be able to block any magical communications once the defences are down, but it woul be best to work as quickly as possible in case reinforces are called upon. The laboratories and sanctums of the biomancers will almost certainly be at the centre of the compound, so once inside, we should head for there. Around two hours after dawn should be the optimum time for attack: the night will be over, the wyvern will have left and the guards will be changing their shifts. I will enter the base a quarter of an hour beforehand to eliminate the magical defences. The rest of you can then attack at my signal. Given the limited time available, an attack tomorrow morning would be our best option."

_________________
With great power comes great oppurtunity to abuse said power.
I'm not evil... merely morally grey.
+++KNOWLEDGE IS POWER+++