NationStates Jolt Archive

A man clad in black. An assassination. A note.

This betrayal will be your last, Zababa.

We know you sold out Tralen.

Run to the ones who you sold your comrade out to.

Run like the dog you are.

We'll be coming for you.

You and all the other dogs in your little ring of informants.

---
2AM, Vismar Dockside

Nakuma rose to the surface, her forehead only just poking out looking like the fictional crocodile. Her soaked navy blue bandanna camoflaged her against the dark of the water, and she watched as the guards walked past.

She did not have to wait long. Soon enough, the assassin they hired arrived at the docks, paid by someone to defect. Checking her crossbow, she waited, slowly moving it over the water's edge and concealing herself under the pier.

North Tower, Velim Family Palace, High District, Vismar

Athalus Velim sipped his wine gently; his sharp green eyes scanned the arcane tome before him with avid interest. Behind him a sputtering fire half-illuminated the room. The ArchDuke's silver robes shone softly, gently reflecting the dying embers.

The wizard leaned back from his desk and closed his book; sighing gently, he gazed thoughtfully over the dark library. Stacks of books and scrolls were scattered throughout the room, piled both on the bookshelves and the floor. The candle on Velim's desk sputtered in the cool breeze blowing in from the half open window; outside, a crow cawed.

Athalus sipped his wine slowly and sat up; his sharp green eyes drifted towards the window.

"Hello my friend," said the wizard in a rich, cultured voice- a voice that had advised Emporers and Kings. His words rang in the empty room, followed by silence.

A crow landed on the open windowsill.

"Athalus," replied a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and no where. It sounded, quite frankly, incredible... it had a haunting musical quality that could move anyone but a monster to tears.

Velim remained unmoved.

"Come in," answered Athalus- his rich voice sounded harsh and uncouth in comparison to his visitor's.

The crow hopped onto the library floor and, in a flurry of feathers, transformed into a man... or what looked like a man at first glance. The tall, gaunt figure standing in Athalus Velim's private library was horrible to behold- a black robed monster whose face was pale, twisted and scarred beyond humanity. His nose was a narrow slit, his ears bloody scabs, and his eyes were hidden behind a ragged, bloodsoaked blindfold... but his mouth, that was the feature which truly stood out. It was a lipless, cavernous hole with jagged teeth and a writhing, snakish tongue.

"We have work to do Athalus," said the monster in his musical, thrilling voice. the very air seemed to shudder with each syllable, "The Three Lanterns have surfaced in conflict with the Imperial Authorities again, now is the time to strike. The Master wishes it."

Velim's thin mouth curled in a smile; his long fingered hands clasped and nuclasped.

"I have arranged a trap for our abolitionist friends, everything is in place... all it requires is the Master's blessing..."

Inside the hidden corridors of the Imperial commander of Vismar house were a secret group of soldiers whom were trained to follow the commands of their superiors to the letter and without any second thoughts.

In the corridors there were a small group of men in a room of untold ages.

Speaking was a man in a black cape with a red center was a man who was saying,”You are the sworn protectors and enforcers of the Emperor's will to show this we now proclaim our fealty to him with these answers."

The men then answered," We serve the Empire, we serve the Emperor, we are his eyes, we are his ears, we are his hands, we are the instruments of his will."

"What is your mission?"

"To fufill the will of the Emperor and to protect his rule by any means nesscary."

"By what do you live by?"

"By our loyalty and duties to our Emperor do we live, by our actions do we do this."

"So that is why we shall go today to hunt the Three Laterns down who dare to oppose the rule of the Emperor and that seek to destablize the very foundations of the Empire by cowardly acts of steal and murder. That is why we must stop them at any cost, even if that be the end of our lives."

"We shall now go sir and be the means by which the Empire is preserved."

With that twenty of the Secret Hand of the Emperor entered Vismar and would begin to try and track the Three Laterns and find a way to attack it.

Though they had yet to notice it, the Key and Daggers were already outclassed. Nonetheless, they continued their campaign.

Crossbow bolts rang out across the city, as city guards were seemingly randomly assassinated with bolts loaded with concentrated poisons.

However, one key point was the assassin, who had been bought by a minor noble (now deceased), and was waiting at the docks for his contact to meet him.

Even with lesser Three Lanterns groups, one needed to attack the right way, or one would never find them.

---

Stenar Esdrecus stood at the docks, nervously. He had been promised a small fortune for his cooperation, but his contact was not showing.

He knew he had already earned the ire of the Three Lanterns. He wanted to get his money and run.

Stenar closed his hand around the dagger in his vest, and looked about in a frightened manner. Not only was he wanted by the Valgardians, but the Brotherhood wanted what he knew - and they could probably get that by killing him and raising his corpse.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He knew he had made a mistake, selling out. But it was too late. He would be happy to live through this.

North Tower, Velim Family Palace, High District, Vismar

Athalus Velim stood at his library's window, it gave him a commanding view of the city's docks and ships- many of which he owned. Below him Vismar slept uneasily- the wizard's keen ears picked out the occasional twang of a crossbow bolt... the Three Lanterns were hard at work.

"Tomorrow, my friends," he said softly to no one in particular, "Tomorrow..."

Outside, somewhere above the docks, a crow cawed loudly.

The Docks

Stenar...Stenar... sang a darkly thrilling voice. Esdrecus looked around nervously, unable to see who was calling him. He had a nervous suspicion that this was a voice only he could hear.

Come now my young friend, no need for fear... cooed the voice, and Stenar instantly felt at ease, Get off the docks, friend... you're much too valuable to be out in the open. You'll get your money, board the ship three boats down- the Serpent- and all will be well...

Stenar jumped at the immaterial voice. He was normally cool and suave, but knowing that you were hunted by three seperate parties - all of whom wished you dead - tended to quash such notions.

He walked carefully towards the serpent, deciding it was safer to keep to the shadows. Clearly the Three Lanterns - or someone else - had gotten to the one he had made his deal with.

Drawing his dagger, Stenar slinked to the Serpent.

"Come out, whoever you are!" he called to the ghostly voice.

---

Nakuma dropped beneath the surface again, and swam across to the Serpent, following Stenar.

Why has he come to this ship?

A crow landed on the deck a few feet from Stenar and eyed him curiously. Escrecus looked at the bird and frowned.

"Get out, shoo," he hissed. The crow simply cocked it's head and let loose a series of squawks.

Is he laughing at me? Stenar thought, suddenly- and irrationally- nervous of the bird. Esdrecus felt his control of his body slipping... he was becoming woozy...

The crow continued it's mocking song as the last of Stenar's conciousness disappeared- a new, more insidious force inhabited Esdrecus' body. Smiling thinly- and unsettlingly- Stenar opened the door to the captain's quarters a disappeared into the bowels of The Serpent.

The crow watched him go with beady, black eyes before taking off into the night.

(OOC: I'd like to keep control of Stenar, RP wise, please. I'd also prefer to have his consciousness intact, because he's pretty much my character and I'd like to keep him developing as a persona. I have no problem with you RPing out parts of him, but I really would rather you don't things as major as that without asking first.)

Stenar watched helplessly as he was ushered into the bowels of the ship. He had fallen into a trap - the Brotherhood had him now...

Even death would be better than this... he thought, as his body opened the door. He felt his consciousness being changed, and tried to fight it.

N-No! No! I will not be silenced! No! NO! he screamed, inside, as he battled against the magics trying to warp his mind. He abruptly slammed the door, and staggered backwards, clutching his head.

Whoever you are, you will not have my mind!

---

Nakuma watched as her prey walked onto the ship, and quickly swam across to the back of the boat, drawing her blade. Handling the topaz-pommeled dagger with nimble finesse, she cut off the rudder, completely severing it from the rest of the ship.

Climbing onto the docks, she took out a small flask of an alchemically mixed oil - alchemist's fire, if you will - and prepared to lob it onto the deck, before noticing that her mark was writhing in agony.

As she watched him struggle for a few seconds, he turned to her and looked at her, eyes wide open as if pleading.

"Help... me..." he said, softly, and suddenly doubled over in pain again.

---

Volanamio watched with surprise as his partner broke cover, and more so when she stopped, alchemist's fire in hand, watching something.

He watched as she turned to look in his direction, and did some hand signals. Enchantment? he silently motioned back, and she nodded.

Looking to Hodlin, the Red Lighter concealed a short distance away, he gestured that there was magic in play.

Brotherhood? was the reply.

Yes.

Plan's changed then. Do not terminate. Capture.

Nodding slightly, he turned back to his lizardfolk yellow-lighter partner.

Do not terminate - Brotherhood about.

Affirmative. Will observe and capture should opportunity present itself.

(I will post later, sorry for controlling Stenar I didn't realize he was important- I should've asked.)

The twenty Imperial Hands were moving about Vismar as they tried to hunt down the Three Laterns, but in the mean time they had killed a couple dozen slaves that had escaped on their own and stilll bore their slave seals and braces. After the slaves had refused under torture to tell who their owners were they were simply killed. Yet, as a sign towards other slaves the twenty Hands hung the corpses in a line with the simple word Death awaits all slaves who flee the whip. As well, there was put a warning telling none to remove the slaves without the governor's permission,

Despite the message the Hands felt that the runaway slave killing would be enough to drive a number of contacts of the Three Laterns in the open to attempt to take down the slaves' bodies. Then they would simply tortoure them and use a number of spells to simply cause the person(s) pain enough to let slip a little secret. If this succeded they would kill the person and then attempt to follow the lead.

Drevan Sketler sneered as he watched Esdrecus wrench free of the charm. The Mouth often tested acolytes by only partially controlling a subject's mind... then leaving the initiates to clean up the mess.

Rolling up the sleeves on his coarse, black robes, Sketler signalled to the two other acolytes hiding in the Serpent to ready themselves for a fight- if Stenar wouldn't come willingly, he'd be taken by force.

Esdrecus was blown backwards a weak fireball collided with his chest. Drevan, followed by his two fellow apprentences, emerged from the captian's quarters.

"If there are any Lighters here, kill them," hissed Sketler; walking over to Stenar's body.

((Badly written, sorry))

Jociel looked with disgust from a rooftop at the twelve corpses hung up on the poles, and unslung his gnomish calculus.

The latest victims of Valgardian oppression did not deserve to be strung up like that, but there was nothing to be done - it was a clear trap to try and release them.

Slinking down from the roof, he made his way through the back alleyways and avoided being seen, while he took up a position in a small residence, watching the governor's mansion. There he slung a flask of alchemist's fire into the calculus, slowly spinning up the sling.

From other vantage points several of his fellow members of the Chain-Breakers were also preparing their gnomish calculi.

In the street, a beggar boy they had paid stole the wallet of a noble, drawing away the city guards, and the moment they were all gone, they launched their highly flammable, magic resistant alchemical fire, mixed from oil, the salts of a fire elemental and the crushed shell of a fire beetle.

The projectiles crashed through windows, onto the roof and on the door, their highly flammable contents igniting rapidly and setting the mansion on fire with haste. Earlier forays had already sabotaged the slaves' shackles, and now all there was to do was for them to escape the flames - if not their bondage.

Their arson done, the Chain-Breakers left, discarding their calculi, before the situation could be brought under control and the hunt properly organised or any guards properly mobilised.

That was, of course, assuming that the guards had the safety of the ones they were guarding in mind more than arresting a group of arsonists.

---

Stenar was blown backwards by the fireball, and landed on the dock, badly injured but surviving.

Nakuma raised up from cover and lobbed the alchemist's fire in her hand onto the ship, and with her right hand she pointed the loaded crossbow at the one closest to her and fired. She didn't bother about hitting anywhere particularly lethal - the poison was highly concentrated and designed to take out even a Valgardian in seconds.

As she ducked back into cover, the other two quickly ran to the ship, Volanamio firing a lightning bolt at an apprentice while Hodlin drew his sword and prepared for a charge.

Athalus Velim watched from his high window as the governor's house burst into flame across the city; the ArchDuke's lips curled in a thin smile... this presented an interesting opportunity. Muttering quietly, Velim conjured a lightning bolt from the clouds above the Governor's Mansion. Soon brilliant blue flashes illuminated the night sky as electricity arched from the clouds onto the burning palace, ripping it to shreds. Later, the Imperial Authorities would blame the Three Lanterns for the magical attack... and in the mean time, the ArchDuke would work to get himself appointed governor of Vismar....

***

The necromancer vomitted a river of blood as Nakuma's bolt struck him the stomach. The apprentence stumbled backward, tripped over his own feet, and died before he hit the deck.

Sketler grinned as the ship burst into flames; his pale face was illuminated frighteningly by the fire. Producing a thin wand of bone, the dark wizard sent a string of curses and hexes at the swordsman charging through the flames. The other acolyte blocked Volanamio's lightning with a wave of his hand, before returning fire with bolts of his own.

Hodlin ducked and weaved through the cover provided by the smoke, more avoiding the aim of the necromancer than actually dodging the spells.

All the same, he was affected by several of the curses and charms, and was quickly forced back off the ship to dispel the effects of the necromancer's hexes and curses.

Volanamio ducked back behind the wood as the bolts of electricity came back his way, watching the brilliant blue arcs of his enemy's magic. Popping out differently from cover, he formed a lump of fire in his hand and lobbed it in the direction of his assailant, the orb of flame becoming larger and tumbling across the ship's deck, before detonating in a small explosion.

Using the distractions, Nakuma reloaded her crossbow and fired again, this time at Sketler, the one holding the bone wand.

Bump.