NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: Please sign up in the signup thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=8713032).]

Khrra had, like most old mercenaries, a good deal of experience, and right now her experience was telling her, now that she had gotten away from the target and gotten paid, that it was time to get the hell out of the country.

It was to this end that Khrra, carrying three hundred suns’ worth of fresh-minted Plains Federation rubles, and five more of the Roving Saws were crouching underneath a deserted boxcar in a long-abandoned railway station at three in the morning.

“Are you sure it’s going to come through here?” muttered Hazak, the alchemical gun on his back sparking ominously in the rain. “It was supposed to turn up two hours ago, Cog.”

“I’m sure.” answered Cog. “There was probably a treefall across the tracks or something. But it’s the perpetual train, after all. It should show up soon. Midget should be seeing it soon now.” He looked up into the rain, and then jumped back as something large and heavy crashed into the ground in front of him.

“Get ready,” rumbled Midget, folding his wings. “It’s coming. Light the flares, Rebecca.”

Rebecca uncapped a pair of flares and tossed them onto the tracks. Crude concoctions of the alchemist’s art, they flared blue and sputtered in the heavy rain, sending a silent message.

You have passengers. Slow down and pick us up.

The perpetual trains were aberrations on wheels among the merchantile bustle of the rails. They roamed in the gaps between more legitimate traffic, with no clear purpose save to keep moving.

They came in many varieties, they were bazaars, circuses, entire vagrant villages on wheels. They were built, they were stolen, and they appeared from places obscure. They ran on coal and clockwork, krystal and spells. They were run by thieves, merchants, idealists, mechanics, displaced royalty.

They shared an unwillingness to stop and a welcoming attitude towards passengers. You flagged them, you climbed aboard, and you got off when you wanted. No respectable citizen would travel aboard one.

Of course, the Roving Saws weren't exactly respectable. They existed in the grey area where the perpetual trains ran, and they had no qualms about hitching a ride, especially when half the police population of the eastern plains was wanting to talk to them about the death of a certain, rather significant man.

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

The train, painted in riotous colors that managed to cheer up the dismal greyness of the surrounding hills, thundered westward along the slick, rain-drenched tracks. Rain pattered on the roofs of the cars that had them and the floors of those that did not. It pattered onto the boilers of its three engines and flashed into steam.

Aboard the train, the Roving Saws were squeezed into one of the roofless cars, an open-topped hopper, sheltering from the rain under the meager cover of Midget's spread wings.

Hazak scowled as rain started to dry. He scoweld as rain began to drip on his weapons abd pulled some cloth over them to keep dry. And what a collection of guns he had! His newest toy was a large gatling gun strapped to his back. The ting was run by some kind of alchemy and could put a hundred shells in an object in a few seconds, but the incoming rain was just letting the marvel rust.

Two revolvers were nesteled in arm holsters. The left pistol was an oversized Derringer that packed an explosive suprise-incinderary rounds that would punch decent holes through bodies. The other was a reversed-barrel revolver, which was Hazak's favorite weapon.

Other weapons included smoke and incinderary bombs strapped to his belt, along with a machete at his side. His tail was fastened with a retratrable spike for skewering.

Hazak frowned at the continuing rain pouring from the skies.

"So, where do you think we'll end up this time?" He asked the qestion to no one in particular.

"Judging from the direction we're headed, probably Crater City," said Cog, peering over the edge of the hopper's walls. "But I'm not sure. Midget, you should know. You're the one who keeps us from getting lost."

"I can only see where we are from above ground. I doubt you'd like to lose your umbrella, and I'm not about to fly in this weather." Midget tilted his head as the boom of thunder heralded a fresh sheet of rain.

Khrra, the only one who wasn't huddling under whatever cover was available, turned her head at the sounds of discussion.

"We're getting off at Crater City, Hazak. Don't grumble. You'll be able to buy yourself some new toys with your cut of the coins."

Derik Mole stood hunched, wrapped in his grimy suit, slowly swaying with the motion of the train and feeling progressively worse. Removal from the ground di not sit well with his constitution. Soon a particular jolt of the train, crack of the plank he was standing upon, and wind from a passing vehicle brought Derick to his knees. He furrowed down against Midget's flank and one of Hazak's various guns, placing his ear to the floor.

The land flitting through the cracks was quavering, girating, and slipping oddly. This unsettled him, he felt his confidence ebbing away. It would be good to get back to solid ground, he murmured in response to Hazak's inquiry, pressing ever harder against the shaky boards.

Hazak lifted his eyebrow as Derik Mole slumped down onto his foot and mumbled. He looked back Khrra.

"Good, Crater City it is then. I just don't want my guns to become rusted peices of metal. And it just so happens that I need a major restock on ammo."

Hazak sighed and looked out of quickly movin car, squinting into the rain.

"I just hope we get there as soon as possible."

As the night wore on, the rain cleared up. The train rattled on under the light of a bluish moon, travelling northwest across the plains towards the thin forest separating it from the western forests. It reached them at the first glimmer of dawn.

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

As the train approached the forest, Khrra suddenly swung herself over the edge of the hopper and disappeared between it and the car before.

Midget blinked. "Where have you gone, Khrra? What are you doing?" he yelled over the rattle of the train's wheels.

"I'm on the coupling. Get ready to stop. We're taking a shortcut."

"Stop? Khrra, there aren't any stations anywhere near here. We can't stop-"

There was the sound of a sharp blade cutting rubber, followed by the hiss of air. Seconds later, the Saws were jolted into the wall of the hopper as the train's pneumatic brakes locked.

"Yes, we can. I've slashed the brake line. Don't worry, they can fix it, easy. But we'll be on our way."

The train grated to a stop just inside the edge of the forest. Khrra jumped off the coupling between cars and dashed into the woods.

"Get moving! We don't want them to find the line before we're out of range."

Wump.

"I forgot just how heavy these guns are," Groaned Hazak, picking himself off the ground and dusting himself off. He took a moment to inspect the train, then dashed off into the forest with the others.

"Khrra, why exactly are we jumping off our ride and running into a forest? How is this going to get us to Crater City any faster than riding?"

"That train is taking the long way to Crater City. We're taking the short way," said Khrra, leading the Saws up a small rise. "And besides, Mole seemed to be getting trainsick."

The group crested a small rise and was confronted with a rusty iron door.

"This is an abandoned tunnel. It was supposed to connect Savannah City to Crater City, but the company went broke halfway through. You don't see it on many maps anymore. I happen to know there's an old drilling vehicle still sitting in it here. We'll have a nice run down the tunnel to Crater City. It's straight as an arrow. Good Wyrm craftmanship. With no obstacles to drill through, the machine should get us there at least twice as fast as the train would have."

Khrra swung the door open, generating a protesting squeal and a shower of rust in the process. Inside the tunnel, it was pitch black.

"We'll need some light, Cog."

Cog nodded and pulled a flare from his belt. He lit it and tossed it into the darkness.

There was a splash, a fizzle, and more darkness.

"Damn." muttered Khrra under her breath. "It's flooded."

"Well, this is great. Not only are we going to have to travel through a flooded tunnel to a driller that is probably rusted to hell, but my guns will Still get wet! That driller had better be working, or I'm going to shoot something."

Hazak grimiced; he thought the train was a better option. Still, assuming that this driller was funtioning, it would be a bargin to get to Crater City in half the time. He wondered for a moment how Khrra knew about this particular tunnel, but thought better than to ask. Khrra seemed to know where everything was, no matter where the Roving Saws went.

Khrra frowned.

"Let's hope it's just rainwater, and that the driller is dry. Can you take a look, Cog?"

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

Cog leaned cautiously into the tunnel, holding a fresh flare in one hand.

"It's not as bad as I thought," he reported. "It's only about half full of water, and there's a door at the other end. Guess they didn't want rain getting into the tunnel, either."

"Is the door locked?" asked Khrra.

"You know I hate getting wet."

"You want to walk all the way to Crater City, Cog?"

Cog mumbled under his breath and slogged through the half-flooded tunnel, grimacing as his fur was instantly soaked. He'd take hours to dry out, he just knew it.

He half-waded, half-swam down the sloping tunnel, the water getting progressively higher as he went. By the time he reached the far door, the water was three-quarters of the way to the ceiling. He tried the door with his free hand.

It didn't budge.

Cog swore, then took a deep breath and dropped the flare, shoving the door with both hands as he was plunged into darkness. It grated slightly, but still didn't move. Cog swore again and punched it.

The door crashed open, and the water rushed out, carrying Cog with it. He landed with a bone-jarring thump in a puddle, totally soaked and not happy at all. It took him a moment to calm down enough to speak.

"All clear," he said, adding, "If this driller is a wreck you're going to regret it, Khrra."

"You've got that right," Muttered Hazak under his breath as he strode into the tunnel along with the rest of the group. Still, he was considerably more happy than before. He wacked Cog heavily on the back as he was trying to rise out of his puddle, sending him back down to the ground.

"Good Job, Cog. Now let's see if this Driller is alive and kicking."

"Gah!" Hazak sputtered as he stood up. "Where'd my pouch of flares go? I can't see a thing in here."

"I can." said Khrra. There was a snap of a spring-loaded switch, and the room was flooded with light. "And now you can too."

When Cog's eyes adjusted, the room turned out to be rather unimpressive. It was a rectangular room carved out of the earth, lined with sheet steel to keep the ceiling up. It was extremely damp, and the walls practically dripped with rust. The light was provided by an unshaped chunk of krystal wired to a knife switch on the wall.

It was what was in the room that was impressive. The driller was only a few feet shorter than the ceiling. It was capped with a massive circular blade at one end, which looked like something produced from the union of a buzz-saw and a steam turbine. The entire vehicle rolled on a set of six wheels almost as tall as it was.

Cog frowned. The machine was too impressive. It was nothing like the machines he'd seen in modern tunnels.

"How old is this thing, Khrra?"

"Well, drilling down here stopped about two hundred years ago."

"Two hundred years? The tires should have rotted off by now! This thing is an antique! How the hell do you expect it to work?"

"You haven't been around Wyrm engineers long enough, Cog. We build to last, and we put a lot of magic into our machines. It'll work."

Cog frowned. "I'll believe it when I see it. Where's the door?"

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

The door turned out to be on the back, fastened by an old-fashioned sliding bolt, which had long ago rusted closed. Cog had to cut through the bolt to get it open.

Inside, the vehicle wasn't too much better. Whatever padding had once been on the seats had long ago rusted away, leaving only the metal plates underneath.

The console, however, was rust-free and spotless.

"Doesn't mean anything," said Cog, as Khrra slipped onto the driver's couch. "The linkages could be rusted, the krystal batteries could be flat..."

Mole, by degrees, had revived by this time. His unease on the train had dissipated to a thin haziness, and his senses, now underground, relaxed. Mole had heard tell of this tunnel in the lore of the Mole tribe comlex where he grew up, but he'd never given much thought to the fact that it might exist. Wyrms and Mole Humans had never had much contact, but rather existed (in the past, and still) side by side, inhabiting parallel, but unconnected depths of the earth.

He stood up laughing.

"I wonder where we'll come out, and how many months it will take for my brother to forgive our abrupt visit" he said, secretly hoping they would emerge right into the Great Cavern of the Mole tribe, grinding the fine clay-pattened floor to dust, and sending his brother's the cheif's nest flying. He cut his fantasis of a dramatic entrance short.

The room they were in appealed to Mole's esthtic senses; though ancient and rusty, it was spacious, squared, and solid.

"Kharra, you Wyrms have forgotten more than many Moles have ever known about underground construction," he sighed.

Derik slipped ito the dimness of the console and began tinkering with knobs, to Cog's annoyance.

"unbelievable," he muttered. "Hazak, stop fawning over those guns, and get a load of this."

Derik uscrewed the driller's safely, wound the tiny spring, and took hold of the thruster with both hands. Krystal lights were twinkling, the scent of the room changed, its air vibrating.

"Are we ready Khrra?"

Hazak's jaw dropped as he watched Mole start the driller as if by magic. He grinned and raised his eyebrows.

"I guess your good for something after all, Mole! Great work."

Hazak holstered the pistol that he was checking and leapt up onto the side of the driller.

"Crater City, then! I wonder how much less time It'll take to get there now."

The driller hummed quietly as it came to life. Gauges came to life, needles flickering to report on the state of the driller, the tunnel ahead, and the rock surrounding them.

Khrra grinned. "Yes, I think we should be going. Stick to the tunnel and keep the blades off unless we run into problems. Is everyone inside?"

"Hazak, what do you think you're doing?" asked Midget, craning his head out the hatch. "You want to get scraped off onto the wall? Get in here."

"Everyone's inside," reported Cog, as Hazak climbed inside. "Let's get going."

"All right," replied Khrra. "Go for it, Derik."

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

The driller was old, but old does not mean much to Wyrms. With nothing to force its way through, it was far overpowered for a land vehicle.

It leaped forwards.

[OOC: Bumpage.]

Derik was holding the thrust with one hand. The rest of his attention was devoted to the tunnel they were rushing through. He caught a nest of moles in one corner of his vision, and saw streaks of lime through the granite walls. These dissapeared: they were going deeper.

"So why this rush to Crater City? I wouldn't have minded a few more days sitting on that hill, just recouperating while staring my cut from the last job" Mole said, then yawned.

The earth was asking him to take a nap in its heavy safety. He let his weak eyes close, but kept his other senses wakeful.

"I would rather go to Crater City then wander around without anything to do. Besides, It'll give me a chance to buy some new weapon. What's the point of having money if you're not planning on spending it?"

Hazak yawned and shifted uncomfertably; his guns were taking up quite a bit of space.

"I hope we get there soon. I think I'm starting to Cramp in here."

"We have at least two hours before we get there," said Khrra. "At least you're dry in here. As for the rush... we have a few people we need to contact, I have a few people I need to pay off, and I don't know about you, Derik, but I'd much rather rest in Crater City than on top of a hill somewhere. For one thing, people can see you easy on the surface. Down here... scrying isn't worth a damn. All the less chance they can catch us for the job we did."

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

One hour to Crater City

"Mole?" said Midget, uneasily. "Could you open your eyes? I know you can see well enough, but... I'd be more comfortable, OK?"

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

Twenty-two minutes to Crater City

The driller ground to a halt in front of the pile of rubble that completely blocked the tunnel.

"I should have expected this," muttered Khrra. "This tunnel is certainly old enough... This, my friends, happened during a blast. The very same blast that created the crater that Crater City is underneath. We'll have to bore the rest of the way."

Khrra reached forwards and flipped a few tin rocker switches. To be exact, the ones labeled BLD SHARPEN, BLD DRVCHAN, BLD ENGAGE, and BLD ROT 4.

The thaumaturgical motors kicked in with a whine, spinning the blade up to a frightening 420RPM. The entire cabin began to vibrate.

"Up and away, Derik."

The entire cabin lurched as the blade bit.

The lurch was not what Derik expected: it was as if the driller had suddenly and smoothly crossed a liquid intefrace between oil and treacle rather than hit into a jagged mass of rock. The vibrations abated. The cabin seemed to be gliding slowly, but fluidly after the drill through the ground, like an otter cutting water with its nose.

"What wouldn't I give for this magic," said Derik, pressing the the contro, "the ground is yeiding to this metal, Khrra."

Hazak groaned and buried his face in his hands as he listened to Mole. Always thinking everything is so new and amazing.

"Mole, That blade is probably spinning over four hundred RPM. What else would you expect it to do? You would probably have to be spinning quite a lot faster than this for your little body to run through rocks."

He paused a moment.

"Wait. Some type of saw weapon that rockets blades fast enough to cut through rock and tree! That's what I need..."

Hazak started to shift impatiantly; he wanted very badly to get to Crater City, and fast.

Khrra sighed.

"Hazak, sometimes you don't notice what's right under your nose..."

She swung her weapon off her back, jacked the foregrip, producing an alarming creaking noise, and shouted, "You guys in back! Duck!"

Khrra pulled the trigger. There was a snap. Something fast, silvery, and blurred shot through the driller and exited through the rear hatch, making a noise like an enraged buzzsaw and leaving a neat 1/8-inch slot in the hatch.

"Sawbow," she said. "You've probably never heard of it because it's an antique. Not really your style. This one is about ninety years old, and still as good as new. I understand you can get enhanced versions which are rather more spectacular.

"People don't use them much because the blade curves in mid-air, and it's a hell of a job to aim. Plus it has a really slow fire rate. Stick to alchemy, Hazak. You can get stuff more devastating that's easier to aim... although not as subtle. I'm the subtle one, remember?"

Khrra smiled.

"We should be getting to Crater City in a few minutes, if these instruments are still working. We're coming up on one of the outlying mining tunnels."

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

[OOC: Bumpage II.]

[OOC: Bumpage III.]

The driller was slowing, as if of its own accord. Derik hadn't changed his grip on the thrust, so he glanced back at Khrra, who was reclining lazily.
"What...?" he muttered.

They stopped. Earth was churning around the tiny room. Derrick felt suddenly clausterphobic.

"someone help me get this hatch open" he fumbled with some latches in his eagerness to get out of the drill, into his native tunnels. He hit his pale hand on a sharp switch, and tipped over sideways.

Cog sniggered as Derik fell out the suddenly open hatch.

"Very graceful, Derik."

Khrra clambered out of her seat and stretched like a cat.

"Right! Everyone out!"

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

As the Saws piled out of the driller, it became evident that the machine had emerged into the old tunnel, plowed into the opposite wall, and buried its nose in the remains of an abandoned ore hauler. The spell-hardened drill blade was embedded several inches into the hauler's wrought-iron side.

"Right," said Khrra, as the last Saw left through the hatch. "You're free to go. I'd suggest you look around the bazaar, grab something to eat, and so on. I'll meet you at the Red Sheep Inn in four hours. I've got people to meet."

She paused. "Oh, and the city is this way. Don't want you getting lost down here, do we? Follow me."

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

It wasn't long before they left the dark, damp mining tunnels and reached warmer caverns at the industrial edge of the city.

"I can figure it from here," said Cog, studying a sign on the wall which stated their location (+17.2/+6/-.3) in Crater City's cryptic coordinate system. "Just follow the lower numbers until you reach plus zero, plus zero, plus zero, right?"

Khrra nodded. "That's right. That's the bazaar."

Cog glanced at the sign again. "Thanks, Khrra. Khrra?"

Khrra had vanished.

OOC: TG Khrrck...

Derik grabbed one of Hazak's various spiny weapons and tugged at him.
"don't look so lost Hazak, we'll find our way"

He closed his eyes and started speeding along the tunnel

" My record is seven minutes eight seconds by smell only," he shouted "lets see how out of practice I am!"

**thirty-two minutes later**

"Well, at least we're here, right?" Drik panted to himself. (Hazak was a little way off) "Its not my fault that the apothecary moved to the other side of the web, it threw off the entire scent pattern..."

Derik picked up his staff and began to wander. He visited various stalls, and made a few purchases: a chunk of arrow root to much on, a pillow, some dried centipedes, two short knives with stone handles, and a new (and rather dapper) striped vest.

Hazak was in a grouchy mood. Derik had proved to be as inept a navigator as always, and this moisture was making his scales itch. At least he could buy something now, instead of mournfully listening to the clatter of spare money is his pouch. He wandered blissfully over to the Weapon stalls and started to browse. Many things caught his eye, but one gun in particular seemed like the right thing to buy.

A tri-barreled Auto-fed greneade launcher. A weapon that acted just like an aoutomatic shotgun, except the "Booms" were on a much larger scale. Hazak picked the gun up and twirled it around, testing it's weight; It was extraordinaraly light for such a high-calibur weapon. He brought the weapon over to the owner of the stall, a slimy-looking huminoid figure, and asked for the price. The store owner told him.

"WHAT?! That's at least TWICE the amount that this baby is worth!" Hazak snarled angrily and bared his teeth, then demanded that the price be slashed in half. Two large and very hairy men weilding nasty-looking axes started to creep up behind Hazak; bodyguards hired by the stall owner. The owner himself reached under the table he was situated behind for his pistol.

Hazak knew what was coming, of course. His tail whipped around, swiping both bodygaurds off their feet. The sharp tail blade hovered menecingly over the pair's heads, daring them to attack. Hazak kicked forward vicously, knocking over the table and trapping the slimy store owner beneath it. He pointed the Grenade Launcher at him.

"Care to rethink your price, friend?" Hazak growled and cocked the weapon.

"By jove, take the damn thing for free! Just don't kill me!"

"That's what I thought." Hazak stepped on the man's hand painfully and kicked his pistol away.

"Have a nice day."

Hazak admired his new weapon for a moment before hurrying over to Derik; he tapped his small companion on the shoulder.

"Be careful, Derik. We might be in danger." He looked back at the slimy merchant and his bodyguards, who were still struggling to get to their feet.

"Although I very much doubt we're in Too Much danger."

Click. Click.

"Damn right you're in trouble."

The voice chuckled as Hazak looked around for its source. "Up here, bud."

The owner of the voice was a stumpy-looking human wearing a stained uniform and a pair of rather exceptional ironclad boots. He was currently hovering about ten feet in the air, and his boots were glowing softly.

Oh, and he was holding a rather nasty-looking shotgun pointed at Hazak.

"Right. Colonel Sherman, bazaar police. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way, you either hand that gun back or pay the guy. I admit he was overcharging you, so pay him half what he was asking. And don't even think about trying anything. That's the hard way, and Sally here can blow your head off before you can draw any of that rather nasty-looking gear you've got on you. Besides, having gunfights in here is bad for buisness."

He patted his gun affectionately, not letting his aim waver an inch off target. "So, what'll it be?"

Derik turned away from companion, walking mournfully aound to his other side. He shook his head sagely, tucking his hand into his old cloak "Typical" was all he could think. The Colonel's gun was still pointing at Hazak's foehead, and his boots were glowing green now.

"Hazak," he hissed, "you are a fool. How many more times do you think I will save your scaly skin?" He looked into Hazak's shiftly eyes and blinked twice; smiles flashed across both their faces.

Derik's hammer was out of his robes and twirling faster than than a driller's blade. It happened fast: the earth and stone overhang fifty feet above the market alcove they were in collapsed and seemed to liquify, speeding down in a stream toward the unlucky weaponry stall. Derik caught the hammer from its rotation and jerkd it upward, as if weeding an errant root from his wall. The flow of rock whooshed into the the Colonel, downing him to the floor, and miring several neigboring stalls in drifts of rock, that regained rigidity in a flick of the hammer.

Colonel Sherman glanced up as the rock fell towards him. A bad move- the rock slammed into him, tossed him to the ground, and left him waist-deep in granite at a crazy angle to the rest of the floor.

Unfortunately, his gun was still free. He took a shot at Derik, missed, grabbed for another cartridge, realized his cartridge belt was bured under granite, then swore in at least three different languages. Then he squeezed a small amulet he had hanging around his neck.

[OOC: That was me. LONG LIVE PUPPET CONFUSION!]

"I must say, Derik, what you lack in height you make up for in power." Hazak grinned and examined the crater that used to be filled by solid rock above him. "You do have a flair for dramatics, though. Still, great aim."

Hazak shouldered his new grenade launcher and drew both his Derringer and Revolver, then came quite close to Colonel Sherman, who was still partially buried in stone; He kicked the officer's shotgun out of reach. Hazak then examined the amulet that hung off Sherman's neck and groaned.

"Derik," He said, turning to his companion. "I hope you got everything you needed, becuase We're going to have to leave somewhat quickly." The end of Hazak's sentance was followed by a loud buzz behind them; the sound of Sherman's reinforcements, who were undoubtedly called by the activations of the Colonel's amulet.

Hazak turned to face a good-sized amount of Bazzar Police wielding large weapons, using the same boots that Colonel Sherman had on. The group was soon forced to take cover as both a large explosive round and a few big pieces of lead came speeding towards them from Hazak's pistols. The big Wyrm holstered his small arms and took his the big toys; the torrent from Hazak's gatling gun made quite a blow to the body count and morale of the police.

Still, these cops were experianced. Hazak had to hurl both himself and Derik out of the way of speeding shotgun and machinegun shells that buried themselves quite close to the pair of Bazzar troublemakers. Hazak took a moments to cause even more chaos with his grenade launcher, which effectively scattered the remaining police.

"That won't be the last of the best of them, Derik. I think we ought to get going."

"That would have been a good idea. Pity you didn't do it earlier."

The fully armored combat mage behind them, visible only as a thin face in a scraggly beard and iron-plated leather robes, had snuck up on them in an altogether miraculous manner.

"Back there," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Yes, you were about to ask me. Yes, that's right, you're under arrest. Now- oh shi-"

The mage started to swear a full second before Cog, who had walked quietly and nonchalantly up behind him, clubbed him over the head with a crowbar.

"I hate having to do that," he muttered. "Right, let's get out of here. Kid was obviously prescient. Who knows what the senior mages could do to us. Follow me. And don't expect me to save you again. This is the fifth time, Hazak! Enough!"

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

It was almost thirty minutes before, by a long and curcuitous route, they reached the Red Sheep Inn.

Derik shiftily avoided the accusing eyes of his annoyed tails. Was it his fault that Groot lane had been done over in stone to resemble the express tunnel? Was it his fault that there were three other pubs with the word "sheep" in their names, and that they were all easier to get to? Was it his fault that his head throbbed from Hazak's shenanigens and he couldn't see straight, much less smell in detail? No, it was not. And half an hour isn't the end of the world.

Hazak pulled open the heavy sanstone door with his tail and they trooped inside. Kharra was nowhere in sight.

Lotus was a bit tired after her long flight. She landed in stealth mode and hid her aircraft in a large thicket of bushes and trees. Impossible to see.

Finally! she said as she exited and landed in a huge thicket of leaves.

"Ugh! I hate this!" She pulled out her compass and found she was dead on. Crater City was below her, and there was a small entrance not too far from where she landed.

"OK, time to go"

She was looking forward to the bazarre and possibly picking up some weapon of some sort, not to mention she was very hungry and thirsty. Lotus reached the "above to below" entrance and descended quickly. The first thing she saw was a bunch of dead policemen.

"Lovely... The first thing I see is a crime scene. Figures." She made her way around the bodies and the other policemen working the crime scene and headed to the ZigZag Pub. She just went to the first place she could find with something to drink. She entered the Pub... Sometimes she got stares, as fuchsia hair was very rare. This was one of those times. It's just hair for crying out loud.

Lotus made her way to the crowded bar and instantly got the bartender's attention. "What can I get for you?" He said with a curious look on his face.

"Two very large glasses of water and a pint of your best ale."

The individuals on the barstools next to her struck up a conversation with her.
"Hello there." One of the wyrms said. "You don't look to be from around here. Are you vacationing?"

Lotus didn't mind the questions but she had to get that water. The bartender arrived right at that moment with that precious liquid. "Thank you sir!" She paid for her drink and left a huge tip. Lotus was loaded... that happened with a lot of travel and thousands of years of experience.

She turned to the wyrm. "Yes, actually I am vacationing. I was told Crater City was a great place to eat and shop." She said while sipping her ale. She had already drank her water. "This ale is amazing!" Lotus said stunned. Now she had been a LOT of places but this was some good ale. She turned to the wyrm, "and they were right! This ale is amazing!"

She was in a good mood. Lotus yelled for the bartender, who again immediately ran over to her. "This is one of the best ales I've ever tasted!" She told him with a big smile."

He smiled back as if he had really wanted to impress her. "Thank you Miss. I appreciate it." He bowed his head.

"And I'm in a fantastic mood", Lotus told him. "Bartender, ale for everyone in the pub... on me... until I leave that is!" She grinned and toasted the bartender who was grinning like crazy.

Those who overheard this stood up and cheered her and when the servers began handing out free ale and explaining that the woman with the fuchsia hair was buying until she left, everyone stood up and cheered.

The bartender asked Lotus her name. "It's Lotus", she replied.

"Three cheers for Lotus!" the bartender yelled. And everyone toasted and cheered.

Lotus was enjoying herself. She tended to get a little wild sometimes, and was in a good mood, so what the hell? She decided to hang out there and party for a while. See what kind of beings hung around here.

Fun fun fun tonight! she thought to herself.

[OOC: Mind making sure Lotus is in the Red Sheep Inn? It's sort of hard to connect the two pubs when they're so far apart...]

[OOC: Mind making sure Lotus is in the Red Sheep Inn? It's sort of hard to connect the two pubs when they're so far apart...]

OOC: Why are they so far apart? Lotus was going to go to the Red Sheep next. I was thinking it would be down the street.

[OOC: That'll work...]

"I was wondering when you were going to turn up. Where were you?"

Khrra appeared, startlingly, alongside Hazak.

"These two were picking a fight in the bazaar," said Cog. "Then Derik got us lost on the way here."

Khrra glanced at Derik. "Well, no harm done. Come on over here." She led the trio over to a dark stone alcove in the back of the inn.

"I've found another job for us. This one should be relaxing- some town up in the North wants a team to exterminate some local critters. Apparently they've been nesting in a local mine and taking out the odd miner.
"The problem is getting there. Nobody else took the job because the place is way off the usual rail routes. It's at least three weeks from the nearest station.
"I've been scouting, though- there's a decent pilot around here. I've met him before, too- I should be able to get him to carry us cheap. We'll wait here until the others show up, then head off to meet him."

"Well, as much fun as this has been, I must take my leave. I hope you all enjoyed yourself! I know I did!" Lotus was a bit tipsy on her heeled boots...
"'Nite everyone!" She called out as she walked out the door.

Lotus walked down the street looking for another pub. 'The Red Sheep Inn'... "Sounds good to me!" she said aloud.

She opened the doors and got the usual stares at her hair. She walked up to the bar and asked for a couple of shots of Captain Morgan with a pint of ale chaser. She sat down on a bar stool. It was amazing that someone so heavily armed neither showed it or made clanking sounds when moving.

This place was quite crowded. Like sardines really. She was lucky to get a bar stool. She just happened to be behind someone who left.

So... What excitement does this place hold? Lotus wondered to herself.

As they were waiting in the pub for the others to arrive, Cog set himself up in a small corner. He had collected a few odd parts on the journey here, and he had got the final pieces in the bazaa for quite a low price. For a few minutes he was bent over his task, muttering the occasional swearword or hammering the thing unceremoniously. With a final twist of his screwdriver he sat up straight and smiled at his creations. They seemed to be two circular saws affixed to palm sized handles, with levers that rested comfortably in the hand. After looking around suspitiously to make sure noone was looking, he carefully placed one edge of one of the sawblades against the table, and pulled the lever. With a sharp whine of machinery the sawblade span round at a blurred speed and shot out of his hand, speeding through the wood and slicing the tabletop in two.
He stared wide eyed at the results for a second then noticed everyone was looking at him
"Erm...gotta work on th' power there. A wee bit too er...fast" He laughed nervously and went to pick up his invention
"I can pay fer that" He glanced back at the wrecked table and swallowed.

While Lotus looked around she spotted a familiar face... "Khrra!", she yelled and waved, but didn't think Khrra heard. She was with a group of people. She came up behind Khrra... "Hey there!!! Loooooong time!!!!" Lotus grinned. "Let's not try to figure out how long", she whispered to Khrra and chuckled.

"So I see you have a new... ahhh... crew. Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

As usual half the place was staring at her hair. She watched one of Khrra's guys split a table in half and chuckled to herself, until she couldn't hold it in anymore. Lotus had a few drinks, and started laughing out loud... It seemed a bit infections, as some others were chuckling as well.

"So, what's the word and everything else?" Lotus asked Khrra.

Hazak rasied his eyebrows and downed his ale as he watched Cog cut a table in half with one of his mechanical oddities. He was somewhat relived that he wasn't it Too much trouble from that Bazzar fight, and thankful that Cog had been around to save his scales again. Still, Hazak was really under the opinion that Cog needed a new hobby; someone was bound to be sliced in half by one of Cog's inventions sooner or later. For now, he decided to think about the upcoming job.

Hazak ordered another drink and began downing it as a newcomer donning bright fushia hair entered the inn. Normally, Hazak wouldn't have bothered taking an interest in her, but then she started calling for Khrra. Always interested in learning more about the leader of the Roving Saws, he decided to pay close attention to the upcoming conversations and this brightly-haired newcomer.

Khrra blinked and frowned at Lotus, taking no notice of the collapsing table nearby.

"Ahh, Lotus... Still not subtle, I see- not that you could be with that hair. It's been a long time, indeed."

She gave Lotus another long look, then continued.

"The word? The word is 'hexahedra'... don't ask me why, some fellow mumbled it to me today. I suspect he was mad. Anyway... What's happening is the usual. Wandering the world, taking jobs, seeing it all. Right now, the job is a little bit of creature control up North.
"In fact, that reminds me... I'm needing a pilot. Do you happen to still have that airship of yours? Up for a little adventure- not that creature control is an adventure, but it ought to be better than sitting around here waiting for something to happen."

"What's with the look? And you know I can't help the color of my hair." Lotus' jovial mood immediatly ended.

She noticed Khrra staring at her with a less than "happy to see you" look on her face.

Khrra asked if she had her airship.

"Yes, in fact I do. I picked up a nicer one than the one you had last seen."
Lotus was a bit pissed off. She hadn't seen her friend in forever and she was greeted like this?

Khrra asked if she might transport the Roving Saws to a job.

"I have a few questions first," Lotus stated. "What's in it for me, and how much? How many people do you want me to haul?" The next was most important to Lotus; "Why the cold greeting? We've been friends forever and this is how you greet me? To be honest, I'm insulted. You didn't even introduce me to your crew." She glared at Khrra. "What's your problem? I will transport you if my share of the take is large enough." She stated, visibly irritated.

"By the way, I would have transported all of you free, but since you seem to take offence to me, I'm going to charge all of you. You are not the Khrra I remember. You are no longer my friend, obviously."

Lotus was getting angrier by the minute. "Excuse me, I'm going to find a place to stay tonight. The strangers around here are friendlier than you are. Damn what happened to you?!" She shook her head disgustedly as well as hurt, and kept heading for the door.

"What's with the look? And you know I can't help the color of my hair." Lotus' jovial mood immediatly ended.

She noticed Khrra staring at her with a less than "happy to see you" look on her face.

Khrra asked if she had her airship.

"Yes, in fact I do. I picked up a nicer one than the one you had last seen."
Lotus was a bit pissed off. She hadn't seen her friend in forever and she was greeted like this?

Khrra asked if she might transport the Roving Saws to a job.

"I have a few questions first," Lotus stated. "What's in it for me, and how much? How many people do you want me to haul?" The next was most important to Lotus; "Why the cold greeting? We've been friends forever and this is how you greet me? To be honest, I'm insulted. You didn't even introduce me to your crew." She glared at Khrra. "What's your problem? I will transport you if my share of the take is large enough." She stated, visibly irritated.

"By the way, I would have transported all of you free, but since you seem to take offence to me, I'm going to charge all of you. You are not the Khrra I remember. You are no longer my friend, obviously."

Lotus was getting angrier by the minute. "Excuse me, I'm going to find a place to stay tonight. The strangers around here are friendlier than you are. Damn what happened to you?!" She shook her head disgustedly as well as hurt, and kept heading for the door.

"Weell hey now, slow down there. Rememmer we've been trudgin underground in god knows what contraptions tae get here" Cog got up and planted his hands on his hips
"While you've been here drinkin" He sampled a drink next to him to the annoyance of its owner
"Somthin best left described as 'vodka'. So ye'll excuse us if the capt'n is a little short wi' ye, a few hours of extreme claustrophobia can do that" He raised an eyebrow

"Weell hey now, slow down there. Rememmer we've been trudgin underground in god knows what contraptions tae get here" Cog got up and planted his hands on his hips
"While you've been here drinkin" He sampled a drink next to him to the annoyance of its owner
"Somthin best left described as 'vodka'. So ye'll excuse us if the capt'n is a little short wi' ye, a few hours of extreme claustrophobia can do that" He raised an eyebrow

"Are you talking to me?" Lotus asked the man who split the table in two.

"So, what you're saying is that it's OK to stare and say rude things to a friend of yours that you haven't seen in longer than you could know?

Let me tell you something... You've been claustrophobic? I've flown by myself in a semi-small craft from another GALAXY." She said indignantly. "Not for a couple hours, but for days! And I haven't been short with anyone have I? Do you know what space travel is like? Claustrophobic, lonely, and frightening. If something goes wrong out there, that's it." Damn.

"I've been over here drinking? You've been here longer than I have, so don't give me that." She stared him down.

"How would you feel if one of your best friends whom you haven't seen for a long time, greets you like you're a freak... stares at you and isn't friendly? Doesn't even answer your questions and initially ignores you. If anyone has the right to be short with anyone, it's me."

Lotus flipped her hair back and put her hands on her hips and stared at him looking for a decent answer.

"She hasn't even introduced any of you to me, she ignored me and then gave me a dirty look when she finally did acknowledge me!" Lotus was on a roll.

"So Mr. Table Cutter, that type of reception is uncalled for, not to mention hurtful. Since no one has introduced me to any of you, I guess you're Mr. Table Cutter." Lotus couldn't help but stifle a grin.

"You don't understand how long Khrra and I go back. And to get that reception is a bit shocking. Plus the first thing I see when I get to this city is a bunch of dead cops. If anyone has a right to be pissed or rude, it's me."

Lotus shook her head. "Since you're the only one who will speak with me in a civil manner, why don't I buy you a drink and we can sit down and you can explain things a little more in detail. I'd prefer not to get dirty looks from Khrra right now. I only ask that you leave that 'contraption thing' over here."

She looked at him with her black eyes. Venting a bit wass making her feel better. Lotus held out her hand. "I'm Lotus, nice to meet you."

"Are you talking to me?" Lotus asked the man who split the table in two.

"So, what you're saying is that it's OK to stare and say rude things to a friend of yours that you haven't seen in longer than you could know?

Let me tell you something... You've been claustrophobic? I've flown by myself in a semi-small craft from another GALAXY." She said indignantly. "Not for a couple hours, but for days! And I haven't been short with anyone have I? Do you know what space travel is like? Claustrophobic, lonely, and frightening. If something goes wrong out there, that's it." Damn.

"I've been over here drinking? You've been here longer than I have, so don't give me that." She stared him down.

"How would you feel if one of your best friends whom you haven't seen for a long time, greets you like you're a freak... stares at you and isn't friendly? Doesn't even answer your questions and initially ignores you. If anyone has the right to be short with anyone, it's me."

Lotus flipped her hair back and put her hands on her hips and stared at him looking for a decent answer.

"She hasn't even introduced any of you to me, she ignored me and then gave me a dirty look when she finally did acknowledge me!" Lotus was on a roll.

"So Mr. Table Cutter, that type of reception is uncalled for, not to mention hurtful. Since no one has introduced me to any of you, I guess you're Mr. Table Cutter." Lotus couldn't help but stifle a grin.

"You don't understand how long Khrra and I go back. And to get that reception is a bit shocking. Plus the first thing I see when I get to this city is a bunch of dead cops. If anyone has a right to be pissed or rude, it's me."

Lotus shook her head. "Since you're the only one who will speak with me in a civil manner, why don't I buy you a drink and we can sit down and you can explain things a little more in detail. I'd prefer not to get dirty looks from Khrra right now. I only ask that you leave that 'contraption thing' over here."

She looked at him with her black eyes. Venting a bit wass making her feel better. Lotus held out her hand. "I'm Lotus, nice to meet you."

Cog looked at her darkly. He was very touchy about his inventions.
"Cog. An in response tae yer question, I'd sooner ask her whats wrong than blow up like that." He also muttered somthing about what went wrong with his saw 'contraption'.
"I'll have pretty much anythin as long as it comes in a glass ye can see through."

Cog looked at her darkly. He was very touchy about his inventions.
"Cog. An in response tae yer question, I'd sooner ask her whats wrong than blow up like that." He also muttered somthing about what went wrong with his saw 'contraption'.
"I'll have pretty much anythin as long as it comes in a glass ye can see through."

"I did not blow up, Cog. I merely stated a fact. And she doesn't seem to be very receptive to me at the moment. You'll find I'm pretty easy going, so when something strange like the way Khrra treated me happens, I walk away to cool off, and I'm not going to bother her when she's obviously upset about something." Lotus replied.

"Why don't you grab that booth over there quick... I'll get us drinks." Lotus went to the bar and got a couple of bourbons and brought them back to the booth where Cog was sitting.

"Cog, could you tell me in more detail what's been going on and what this is all about? I'm not averse to helping out here, and of course I won't charge anyone to travel, should I go. I was just upset. However before we go anywhere, I have to get things straightened out with Khrra. So tell me what's been going on and what the plans are please."

[OOC]: you've got a double post.again.

: Derrik was sitting in his corner, taking note of the various spats taking place. They all seemed to be centred around this new Lotus charachter. he also wondered whether flight travel would appeal to his constitution any better than the train system; somehow, he doubted it.

"Looks like the Roving Saws are taking a swerve for the dramatic," he found himself thinking, crinkling his forehead in the newcomer's direction.
"I wonder how long [I]she'll stick around before getting offended into oblivion" he grunted to Hazak,then gulped at his beetroot cider. "And just for accuracy's sake, it was ME that snatched you out of your little situation in the market, not Cog, alright?"

Derik pulled out his little hammer and fiddled with it tenderly; the Red Sheep Inn's rough stone-hewed ceiling could use a bit of renovation, he found himself thinking. Starting from the far corner above the bar, he began to smooth and reshape the sparkly quartz rock with little strokes of the handle.
Bits of crystal floated downwards, landing gently in Lotus's (who had gone to get yet another drink from the bar) vivid hair, for a rather pretty effect.

"Sorry, Lotus. I'll admit I snapped a little. But our last job was hard on the nerves- we had a significant portion of the Savannah City police after us. And they're still looking for us. I've been trying to keep a low profile. It doesn't pay to be noticable when you've assassinated the Archmage of Ystria and every police force on the continent knows who you are. Having a couple of your teammates go and pick a fight with the police doesn't help either."

The bartender's head snapped up. "You hit the Archmage?" he said, an expression of shock on his face. Then he dived under the bar.

There was a general rush for the exit. The few customers left suddenly seemed to be carrying a lot more weapons, and Khrra's face suddenly took on a look of utter dismay.

"Oh, shit. Did I say that out loud? Duck, everyone!"

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

Pistol fire rattled off the stone tables and ceiling, making a mess of Derik's renovations.

Khrra returned fire from under a table. Three gunmen fell with neat slots through their spines. The rest beat a hasty retreat through the door.

Khrra reslung her weapon. "They've gone to get the police. And the police'll bring the heavy stuff for us. Let's get the hell out of here while we still can. Lotus, are you up to getting us out of here? Fast?"

...

Thread closed until I can explain a few things.

OOC: Well you know, that's damned lucky, and makes my job as designated assasin alot easier. I suggest that you delete your last post so that we can patch this RP up.

[OOC: All right, let's get this back up and running.]

"Its too late for that, Khhra"

Mole waved his hand to the corner of the bar, just below his now bullet-puckered renovations. A long skein of pink hair was visible beneath a rubble of broken glasswear and rock.

"She was the closest to the barman." he said slowly. "She wouldn't have had time to draw her weapons."

Derik walked over to the bar and gingerly lifted Lotus's figure out of its glittery blanket. He put his ear to her mouth, still moist with bourbon, then to her heart.

"Dead..." he whispered. "I'll make her a tomb that the police will have trouble removing. It looks like we need to switch to transportation plan B, and get the hell out of here. "

Derik laid the body on the floor, removed her outer cloak, and closed the eyes. With a single swing of the hammer, as though he was hitting a drum in the ceiling, a huge oblong arc of rock severed itself from the cave and landed firmly over Lotus, sealing itself into the the smooth floor. He leaned back on the crypt.

"Khrra? there is a plan B, right?"

Khrra looked regretfully at the tomb. Whether for her lost friend or for the lost means of escape, it was hard to say.

"There was a plan B... problem is, it rather relied on us not being chased by the police. Plus, Midget is still nowhere to be seen."

"No he's not. What happened? Looks like a war."

"There you are. No time to explain. We need to get out of here fast. And that means we need a pilot... and we're going to have to go through the police to get to him. I think I can hear them at the ends of the corridor. Let's get moving, people!"

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

Khrra stuck her head through the stone door, and immediately jerked it back as a salvo of rifle bullets rattled off the ground outside.

"Okay. Cog, I want you to slice this door off its hinges. Derik, do the best you can to seal off the guys and the tunnel on the left without exposing yourself to fire. As soon as Cog gets the door out of the frame Midget will shove it out into the corridor, on edge, as a barricade. Hazak and me will finish off the cops on the right from behind it.
"Got that? Okay, hit it!"

Khrra looked regretfully at the tomb. Whether for her lost friend or for the lost means of escape, it was hard to say.

"There was a plan B... problem is, it rather relied on us not being chased by the police. Plus, Midget is still nowhere to be seen."

"No he's not. What happened? Looks like a war."

"There you are. No time to explain. We need to get out of here fast. And that means we need a pilot... and we're going to have to go through the police to get to him. I think I can hear them at the ends of the corridor. Let's get moving, people!"

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

Khrra stuck her head through the stone door, and immediately jerked it back as a salvo of rifle bullets rattled off the ground outside.

"Okay. Cog, I want you to slice this door off its hinges. Derik, do the best you can to seal off the guys and the tunnel on the left without exposing yourself to fire. As soon as Cog gets the door out of the frame Midget will shove it out into the corridor, on edge, as a barricade. Hazak and me will finish off the cops on the right from behind it.
"Got that? Okay, hit it!"

Cog grinned with a slight glint in his eye as he picked up his new creations again, he pulled back the levers with his palm and drew back his hand, then plunged the blade deep into the soft metal of the hinge. The sawblade bit into it with a flash of sparks and slowly gave way to the buzzing rotation.
"Shouldnae take too long" The top hinge gave way and the door sagged a little, he then repeated the process on the bottom hinge. Eventually the second hinge gave way with a harsh snap of metal and the door leaned inwards
"Go!" He shouted as he supported the door

Peeking over the top edge of the downed door, Derik lifted his palms toward the chunky rough cieling of the left passage. Footsteps were clunking on it in rapid approach. He pushed his hands up and down rythmically, loosening the rock, but only dust and pebbles dislodged, drifting thickly down in a choking cloud.

"the rock is too hard" he panted, "Khrra, you'll have to run for it.."

Mole gave his palms one last great push, knowing in his mind that it was futile. One Mole against this quantity of hard-packed metamorphic sedimant was not just impractical, but dangerous. Then the tunnel came crashing down. As if in slow motion, Derik looked down at his hands, and collapsed from the exertion.

Hazak growled in satisfaction as he and Khrra jumped out of the bar, with Midget hefting the huge stone door with relative ease. A rain of bullets from several different types of weapons smashed into the door, almost pushing Midget to the ground. Still, they found the streath to keep on moving-the door turned out to be a very effective shield as they made their way across the ground, shooting down policeman after policeman. Hazak heard a huge crash as Mole collapsed the left tunnel into smithereens. Grinning, he looked to survey the damage...only to see Mole collapsed on the ground! Several policemen had somehow managed to avoid the tunnel collapse and were now forming a circle around Mole's figure, kicking and prodding with batons...Several other policemen who were stations in the right tunnel began moving to join their fellows on the left...

"Khrra. Keep Moving."

Hazak lost it.

Grunting from the exertion of lifting both his Minigun and new Grenade launcher, creating a scene from pure hell as he blasted apart over a dozen police officers. Brains and blood spurted out from huge wounds, nearly covering Mole in Gore. The heavy police armor was still no match for the hundreds of bullets and explosives Hazak was releasing. Hazak roared as a bullet hit him in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the grenade launcher. He continued firing his minigun until it clicked empty; he stowed it on his back and drew both his pistols, launching himself forward to get to Mole before any more police reached him. He was barely successful. As soon as he reached his Target's body, over half a dozen highly-armored troopers were there to meet him.

Hazak fired his pistols fiercely, but to little avail. The heavy police armor prevented most bullets from causing injury. Still, Hazak's bullets were quite high calibur; two policemen were felled and a third injured from his barrage of bullets. He roared forward, holstering both pistols, and impaled the injured cop through the chest with his tail spike; Hazak turned to his remaining opponents, who all fired their weapons. The cop's body turned out to make a pretty decent shield as it absorbed most bullets with it's armor. Hazak still screamed in pain as bullets hit his tail and ankel. The Wyrm slid the corpse off his tail, unhooked his Machete from his belt, and attacked.

Hazak moved like water through rocks as he smashed through the police. One was impaled by the tail spike as another caught the Machete in the face. Hazak delivered a rib-crushing kick to another cop, who flung his weapon-a shotgun-into the air. The large reptile dodged a few pistol bullet, caught the shotgun, and disposed of his last attacker...Hazak gasped as a sharp pain shot through-and out of-his lower chest. A last cop stood behind him with a satisfactory look on his face, his high-powered rifle still smoking. Hazak angrily flung his machete at the policeman, cleanly severing his head and burying itself in some stone.

Hazak grunted as he hoisted Mole up to his shoulder. He retrived his machete and managed to catch up to Khrra, who was still behind the large stone door, picking off the last of the police. He handed Mole's unconcious body to Cog.

"Khrra, I'd appreciate it if we got moving sometime soon. I'm not going to last much longer here..." Hazak grunted in pain as he montioned to his wounds.

"This way!"

Khrra lead the way down the now-cleared passage, up a short ramp, and around a corner. After that, the twists and turns became hard to distinguish.

After a few short minutes, Khrra suddenly halted at a bend in the corridor.

She gestured for silence, and whispered.

"I need a gun that I can use in here. I'm short on ammo as it is. Ssh."

She took careful aim at a blank wall, and fiddled with knobs on the side of her bow. She jacked the grip and pulled the trigger.

ssh-ping-ssh-thud-gurgle

Khrra darted around the corner and hefted a heavy rifle from the corpse of the policeman that had been lurking around the corner.

"Right. Hold on, Hazak. We're almost there, and then we can get you patched up."

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

It seemed only a few more moments before they found themselves standing before a old oak door. Khrra tapped it gently.

The door slammed open. Four pistols and one set of eyes leveled themselves at Khrra out of the darkness.

"Whozit?"

The swaying motion, reminiscent of the trains, somehow prompted Mole to come to in the vaguest possible manner as Hazak stopped abruptly. The sound of a closeby door popping open gave Derik another jolt.

Derik felt himself slipping a little on Hazak's blood-wet scales, as he felt, rather than saw four guns being levelled at Khrra. He painfully shifted his body, reaching into a fold of his robes and attempting to re-drape himself over his weakeneing friend. His legs would not obey him, but he steeled himself.

Derik lifted his head and shoulders up, and held his hammer straight out into the dark doorway.

"We are the Roving Saws, and you would be well-advised to put down your weapons if you desire to preserve the structuaral integrity of your cavern, and own healthy body."

He raised the hammer a little and turned it so it was pointing at the heavy stone doorframe. This was all a matter of form, however. Derik doubted that he could cause a speck of dust to come crashing down if his life depended on it. He felt drained. He continued nonetheless:

"You would do better to welcome us into the safelty of your dwelling. A rich reward will await you for your kindness, in good time."


[OOC]: w00t! 1000 posts!

"Eh? Saws ya say? I heard ya shot the Archmage. Damn good helpin' of guts it musta took. C'mon in. Sorry 'bout the greeting."

The pistols disappeared. Khrra made no move inside.

"Your name's Blink, right?"

"Yup. Were y'lookin for me in particular?"

"I believe we are. But that can wait. Let us in. Now. My comrade's bleeding all over the floor right here."

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

A few moments later, the room was illuminated with a single flickery yellow crystal, revealing a deteriorating one-room apartment that appeared to contain nothing more than a table, three stools, a bed, and a few bags.

Hazak lay in the corner, stripped of his gear. Khrra crouched next to him, pouring something green and sticky - and foul-smelling, like most potions - across the bullet hole that had punctured his chest.

The foul stuff seeped into the wound and clotted the bleeding near-instantly. It still hurt like hell, major organs still had holes in them, but at least Hazak wouldn't bleed to death.

[OOC: BZZT

Resurrecty!]

Derik coughed, slouching against a wall. He wasn't about to let his guard down with a oligo-limbed stranger, though Khrra ostensibly knew him. In Mole's experience, it was a safe bet not to trust most of the people Khrra knew, as a matter of course. He sniffed about the room, closing his eyes against distractions. The odour of gun-oil, petrol, and carrots was prominant. Mole detected the scent of brandy and another hint of dried coriander. He desperately wanted something to drink.

Whatever Khrra was planning, it had better be an improvement He thought, dolefully listening to Hazak's wheezing. Ever since Lotus's disasterous appearence, and the police's even more disasterous feistiness, Mole had lost a good proportion of his enthusiasm for this job. He even thought of a nip home with faint nostalgia, which showed just how unbalanced he was feeling.
Nonetheless, some interesting opportunities beakoned; namely, the prospect of coriander ale, some brandy, and perhaps a new friend.

"could I," Mole's voice sounded raspy, "could I trouble you, sir, for something to drink?"

Hazak suddenly jumped, seemingly becomeing aware of his surroundings. He thrashed about for a moment, putting a hand on his pistol; he stopped, then took a look around, still weezing painfully. He struggled to speak.

"I...Uh. Wh...Where are we? What happened? Sh..Shouldn't I be dead?"

He groaned in agony, then sat back down. He was in too much pain to talk.

"Owww...."

[OOC: I've let this rust for far too long. I will post tomorrow if it kills me. I apologize to you all]

"Don't worry, lad. You're in safe hands."

The voice chuckled. A pair of cool, gloved hands lifted Derik's head. Another poured a sip of warm brandy past his lips. It might have crossed his mind that this was rather too many hands for one person, but at least they were friendly.

"Just sit for a mite. Feel free to talk, but don't try to stand up. You're quite exhausted, I can tell."

******

Khrra turned at Blink's approach.

"Can you help?"

"Well, I can't say I've got the healin' touch, but I got m'self a considerable stock of potions. Here."

He proffered a flat brown-glass bottle, labeled with moldy paper and the legend "DOC BROWN'S MIRACLE ELIXIR." Khrra eyed it doubtfully.

Blink smiled. "I know, I know. Doesn't look good. I've used the stuff meself, though. It don't work fast, but it helps. Here."

Khrra took the bottle, gingerly. She uncorked it, sniffed it (a strong smell of raspberries), and gently poured a mouthful of the thick potion into Hazak's mouth.

(OCC:Damn. I had forgotten about this entirely.)

Hazak choked on the thick liquid for a moment, then relaxed his throat and let the potion seep down into his stomach. He groaned. That just seemed to hurt more. After a few minutes, an extraordinary pain shot through him, then subsided almost as quickly as it had come. Hazak looked down at his wounds, gasping. The various bloody holes that had been recently opened up in his body were sizzling with a sort of strange acid; in the place of the wounds were patches of new skin!

Hazak grunted then poked one of the new patches. Pain shot through him again; he wasn't fully healed, but at least his wounds were sealed shut. He looked at Blink.

"Thanks...I owe you one. Looks like that stuff really does work." He motioned to Khrra. "I'm still not in any shape to move very fast, much less blow anything up, but give me some time and I should be in good enough shape."

By this time, mole was settled in a slightly detached corner of the room, trying to get a handle on his thirst.

Some feeling had begun to return to his legs, and he fiddled with the hammer absently, testing his still-exhausted powers. Minute by minute, he was improving (as he neetened up the corners or the cavernous room).

"Well Kharra" he croaked, his mouth was dry, "unless there's a direct tunnel from here to the job, I admit that I fail to see how being cornered into this little dead-end room is going to help us any."

Khrra nodded. "I agree. We need to get out of here now."

Midget frowned. "To where?"

"Anywhere, at this point. Anywhere where the Crater City police aren't. Getting work is a plus."

"That's just about nowhere."

"Well, we can't stay here."

"I know somewhere you could go if you're in that much trouble."

Blink's voice had turned serious. Khrra and Midget ceased their arguing and turned to look at him.

Khrra spoke first.

"Where?"

"My hometown."

"Isn't that up Northeast somewhere? How'll you get us there with half the continent chasing us?"

Blink frowned. "I'm sure it can't possibly be that bad."

"Tell that to the Mage's Guild."

Blink's eyes widened. "You really did get the Archmage? By the gods, lady, you're even braver than I thought. Why'd you take that job?"

"I thought we left no evidence..."

"Well, seems y'were wrong. I can get you out of here, but it's gonna cost you, and you're going to have to lay low for a while afterwards. Got that?"

Khrra nodded. "Yeah. Tell me just how you're going to get us out of here?"

"Remember Sunset Harbor?"

"You still have that thing?"

Blink had begun to pack, all four arms stuffing bottles and bags into a worn knapsack.

"Yeah, I still got it. It's parked outside."

[OOC: At long last the plot restarts. Yeah, Blink's accent disappeared. I couldn't remember how to do it. :/]

There was a general stirring after the initial steps of Blink's preperations were watched in silence.

Mole felt relieved by the movement around - they had been quiet for too long, while their pursuers were still moving with furious velocity, no doubt. Mole himself gingerly shifted weight to his feet in a crouch position, found that they held, and hoisted himself up leaning against the wall.

"good thing we're laying low for a couple days," he growled "this little tiff has left us with something less than full power."
Nonetheless, Derik was able to move about the room, stretching his sore limbs, and he finally stooped and got himself a drink from the ladle floating in the clay water jar. He secured his hammer tightly in his belt, and brought a ladleful to Hazak.

"Up you get, old boy."

Hazak downed the water quickly and staggered to his feet, taking the time to attach his various weapons to his body. He had been downgraded from a quick-moving gun platform to a stationary one, but he still wanted all the firepower he could carry without collapsing. He gave Blink a look.

"What's this Sunset Harbor thing, now?"

"Long story. When I first met Khrra, about eight years back, she was robbin' the payroll from the Sunset Harbour shipyards. Problem was, one of her men had ratted on her, and her getaway ship got burned down to the waterline. She came bustin' into the pilots' lounge yellin' that she'd pay a handsome sum to anyone who'd get her outta there."

Blink shouldered his pack and looked at Derik and Hazak. "You look like you'll be able to walk. Let's get movin'."

As they headed out the door and continued down the corridor, Blink quietly continued his story. "Anyway. So I'd been eyeing this new airship they'd just finished - nice sporty thing, brand-new engine straight from Khr, double set of lift crystals, the works- but there's an armed guard on it twenty-four seven, and I ain't got a chance of taking 'em on by myself. Then Khrra busts in there, and I think - here's this lady, she's got more weapons than I've got arms, and she's got a good-lookin' crew behind her - I bet she could take those guards."

A left turn led them into another darkened passage, this one with set of access doors in the wall. Blink pulled a pair of wires from one of the pockets in his vest and set to work on the lock.

"So, t'make a long story short, I got 'em outta there and Khrra let me keep the ship in exchange. It's a bit old by today's standards, but I've kept her in shape and had a couple good mechanics that I know look over her and add a few things on, and there's nothing wrong with her that a new coat o' paint couldn't fix."

The lock snapped open. Blink leaned hard on the handle and the door opened, slowly, to reveal a cavernous, metal-lined shaft. High above in the distance, a circle of daylight glimmered.

Next to the narrow balcony on which they stood hung an old, rusty lift, mounted on tracks running up the chimney. There was a noticable updraft coming from the depths below, tinted with smells of sulfur and iron.

Blink slammed the door shut behind them.

"Right. This here is one of the shafts that pump the used air out. The ship's parked up at the top. That lift don't look like it can take all of ya, so we'll have to go up in groups." He beckoned to Derik and Hazak. "Wounded first. C'mon, we gotta make this quick."

Hazak half-stumbled into the lift, pulled out one of his pistols, and began reloading it. He wanted all his guns to be full of bullets in case he needed to use them anytime soon. Hazak peered over the lift into the darkness below, his sharp nose picking up a variety of different scents. He wondered how much time he and the rest of the Saws had before the Archmage's men burst in, guns blazing.

Hazak turned to Derik questionably.

"You think we'll be able to make it out of this one? It's not like we'll be able to talk ourselves out of the shooting of an Archmage."

Mole trooped onto the lift gingerly. It rattled. His weak eyes squinted up at the circle of brightness up at the top. Leaving his underground home wasn't so bad this time - he could almost feel himself leaving danger behind.

"Sure we'll get out of it. W've got a job to do. There's nothing worse than dawdling for getting caught. If you've got purpose, nobody looks at you twice."

Blink grinned.

"Atta boy. We'll make a merc out of you yet. See you on the surface!"

He leaned over into the lift and hauled on a lever. The lift lurched and began to ascend, picking up speed as it went. "Push it back the other way when you get to the top!" he yelled as it rocketed out of sight.

Midget jumped out into space and began spiralling upwards on the updraft. On the balcony below, Khrra and Blink kept a wary eye on the door.