#creaubont

[ziharku]

Log 34: Mamook Misadventure (continued)

Nearing the Jade Sepulcher now, I find something interesting. Not just the footprints left by the party we're searching for, but a larger set. Claw-like....Yagudo prints? Surely I'm mistaken, a Yagudo wouldn't be in the Urhgan area. "Two at the entrance, I'll strengthen the wards so we can sneak past." Just as Rozet finishes the wards, we hear something hit the ground and turn about in a panic, searching for whatever enemy's caught onto our presence. Seeing nothing we compose ourselves, then check the passage ahead again. The guards lie on the ground, and I catch a glimpse of blue as door slides shut. "Surely this can't be a coincidence."

"Aye, but that does make getting in simpler doesn't it?" Creaubont walks casually over, nudging the guards with his foot to check for signs of life.

"I suppose, but something really just doesn't feel right about the whole thing." Rozet adjusts her glasses as she examines the door. "Seems safe enough to go in though, so shall we?"

"May as well, I'm getting tired of this place." Roselan pulls the door open, and I wince as it squeals on its hinge.

Inside, I can see that the damage done by my fight with Raubahn has been more than repaired. Once, it was naught but a room with a vaulted ceiling. Now, a passage met the door, leading to a room with much more extravagance. We spy the two we've been tailing at the head of the passage peering in to the main room, hidden from those within for the time being. Sensing our presence as we approach, the hint of blue turns with scimitar drawn, an Immortal, a Hume. I lower my wards, showing that I too bear the uniform, and his stance relaxes. Creaubont, Roselan, and Rozet lower theirs as well, so as not to keep him on edge for worry. I'm certain that he could see their auras like I can. "So then, the Vizier's finally sent more of us after her? Don't worry, I'll keep her safe for the time, but I just can't convince her to come back until we get that back."

He motions to the main room, so we gather up to peer in. Inside, a meeting with....Gulool Ja Ja?!? The mighty two-headed king of Mamool sits at the helm of the room, one of his subordinates displaying a familar Automaton, one of the two that the court's puppetmaster usually parades about with. I look down at the young lady who stares in dismay, as well as the remaining Automaton as it trembles furiously at the rough way its captured companion is being handled.

How strange as well, a Yagudo IS in fact here in Urhgan, and he stands in the middle, below the lofty seating of the Mamool king and his advisors. Suddenly Gulool Ja Ja's heads begin to move about, sniffing the air. "Smoothskins! Out, you come. A place to hide, there is not!" As if she had been waiting to be discovered, the young puppetmaster jumps to her feet and runs into view, demanding the release of her Automaton. 

As the Mamool king stands, ready to brandish his weapons, one of his advisors calls out, "Autarch! To the lancelord, leave these intruders." Gulool Ja Ja growls at the call, and the offending council member recoils in fear, but then the growl softens. "Very well. In your lance arm, our trust we place. Gahaha but in time, send more soldiers, I will. Deprive them of all the fun, do not." With a grunt, he exits the chamber, the council in tow. The young puppetmaster calls out to her Automaton desperately hoping to activate it, but to no avail. A glimmer of light catches my eye, and from one of the room's lower passages a Mamool comes charging in atop a wivre! Just as it's about to strike the girl, her Immortal guard tackles her, knocking her out of the way, but taking a jab in the back as he does so.

"Rishfee!"

"I...I'm fine...."

"But your wound."

Roselan runs over, taking him by the collar, standing him up. "You forget, he's an Immortal! Now get out of here, alright?" She shoves the blond Immortal toward the passage we'd entered through. "Leave this part to us, just get her back to town!" Hesitant, he looks at the mounted Mamool, then nods, taking the puppetmaster by the arm and leading her to the exit. Nodding to her sister, "Rozet, you go too. I'm sure he could use a bit of white magic after that." Her face argues for a moment, then she looks over at the blood-soaked back of the Immortal and begrudgingly follows.

"Ruined the order of my kills, you have." An angry frown covers the Mamool's face as he stares at Roselan. Kicking his heels into his mount, he urges it forward, picking up speed at an alarming rate.

Calmly, Creaubont walks. Lance tip, nearly dragging the ground, gripped firmly in his hand, he steps out between the two. "I haven't...." he draws the tip to waist-height, "...gotten to..." his arms bend, taking the tip further and further away from his mark, winding back, "HIT ANYTHING YEEEET!!!!" The wivre, now within striking distance, nearly staggers at the noise of Creaubont's cry. A dark aura takes the tip of his lance, and he strikes the lower jaw, sending the head down, the tip of the horn, bringing the previous motion to a halt  the middle of the horn, splintering the edge, then a slight hop backward as he spins the lance for momentum and a final thrust, shattering the mighty wivre's horn, and penetrating the beast's skull as well. All momentum the wivre held in the charge dissipates as Creaubont's firm stance after the final blow holds against it, instead sending the Mamool rider flying from hit seat and into the wall 10 or so yalms behind Roselan.

Looking over at the crumpled heap of Mamool, I say, "So then Lt. Colonel, you satisfied now?"

Wrenching his lance free, he grins, beaming over at me. "Not nearly, Stefano!"

A flurry of aura fills my vision, as I feel the veritable army headed our way. "Well, I think you're going to get your wish and a whole lot more if we don't hurry up. Gulool Ja Ja wasn't lying when he said he'd send more troops." The warning came too late though, as Mamool after Mamool begins pouring into the room.

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"Don't worry, we're almost out." Rozet adjusts her glasses as she confirms their route on her map. "Here, we'll cut through this bit up ahead and try to get into the underground ruins. They won't chase us there." Rishfee nods in agreement, the pain of his wound clear on his face as he strains to walk. "Come on, just let me take a look at it, if you'll just remove your jubbah for a moment." 

He shrinks away from her reach at the mention, then his face shows regret for the action. "I just...I'm sorry, I really just can't take it off. If you'd just heal the surface for now, I'm sure it'll be fine." 

I'm sure that won't be enough, but why is he so adamant that his armor remain on him? With a sigh, Rozet gathers a bit of mana from the air, encasing her hand in white, gently pressing it to the wound. "All I can do is seal the wound, but we really ought to get you to a doctor soon."

A sound stirs behind her, and then a laugh. "So this is the Automaton to couple calamity?" Turning quickly, she sees an Elvaan, tall with dark hair, a Corsair judging by his attire. The puppetmaster lets out a wail.

"Return her at once! She's..she's my Ovjang!"

The Elvaan laughs again, "And here I thought arriving late to the strategy meeting would have caused some unpleasantness with my Mamool Ja hosts. Flit, take them." 

An Ahriman flutters into sight from behind the Corsair, "Aye, aye, Cap'n!" and with a blink of the eye, he warps the young lady and her Automaton away, as well as the Corsair and himself.

"No! No I've...I've failed..." Rishfee falls to his knees, glum in defeat.

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Blunt metal knuckles crack against a jawbone as Roselan sends yet another Mamool staggering back. I bet he won't be eating for a while with an injury like that, the voices leer. I can't help but agree, as the poor sod's likely broken it. A whirring sounds echoes through the air as Creaubont's lance jabs on one side and beats the other with the blunt end of his weapon. I, however, find myself covered in far too many for comfort to fight, opting to play at being an adamantoise. Covering myself in stoneskin and reinforcing it with the hydra's protection, various weapons bounce and break against my back as I stand firm. "Rose, Creau! I know you two are having a good time at this, but I can sense another batch headed this way. If we don't get out soon we won't get out."

Sighing, Creaubont tosses his lance into the air, reaching for a great sword one of the recently deceased was so kind to leave for him. With a heave, he swings it about cleaving the nearby enemies in two. Roselan, seeing the lance in the air, sends a quick kick into the gut of the enemy blocking her route to it, then using him as a means to propel herself higher. Reaching the lance mid-air, she falls to the ground, tip down, skewering a Mamool from shoulder to hip in the process. Wrenching it free, her grin gleams as she tears a hole through the ranks to reach me. As the attention averts from me, I quickly release the enchantment so that I can move, summoning the image of a Manticore. Inhaling, I infuse the air with mana, then exhale, breathing out fire, as I turn to scorch the ones that had been so quick to poke and prod me before. Taking the lance from his sister, Creaubont spares a second to glance over. "Hey Stephano, you're gonna have to teach me that one some time!"

Just  then a new unit enters from the hallway we mean to exit through. "We've not got time for this!" Lance in left hand, great sword in right, he impales the nearest foe on his lance and uses it as a shield, using the great sword to hack through the remainder of the enemies surrounding him. Letting out a warcry, he charges, hefting the lance (still bearing a body, mind you) over his shoulder, and launching it through 2 more that stand in the passage to block us. In an instant, he's there, taking the haft with both hands as he adds more and more bodies via the pointed end. We trample the few that wouldn't fit onto the end of his lance, and once successfully out of the sepulcher itself, I take a knife to the Mamools that managed to avoid taking a mortal wound from being skewered, the lucky few who'd only taken it in the shoulder. After a few minutes spent freeing his prized weapon from 'kabob' status, we hurry on to exit Mamook with haste, only to come across Rozet and Rishfee, just as Rishfee slumps to his knees. After a short inquiry we come to know of the kidnapping, and I curse as I slam a fist into the wall. So close to completion! More auras fill my vision, vastly more, all in a frenzy to reach us from the direction we'd come.

"Seventy...a hundred...no, more like two hundred!" My heart sinks, as I realize that we've been nearly surrounded. Only one path remains safe, but in our current state we cannot outrun the horde.

"Right then...someone has to stay behind. Please, once you're out you have to find lady Aphmau. Your Red Mage can surely pick up a trace from the magic used here, I beg you. Take the safe route, flee!"

I nod, "I too will stay. In your state, you can't hold them off long enough for a proper retreat by yourself."

"No Zi you can't!"

"It is my duty, as an Immortal. Our duty." I nod to Rishfee, as we turn to block the passage. "Now your only job is to find her, return her to safety. Go!"

"...come back alive, or I'll kill you myself!" Roselan calls out as the trio departs.

A cough from Rishfee sends blood splattering onto the ground. "Somehow I always thought I'd find a way to overcome this. To live a normal life despite our...disposition."

I can't help but quiver as the foot steps thunder closer and closer. "Me too, me too."

[ziharku]

Log 26: Something Old, Something New, Something BLU

My weakened state certainly didn't help, though I suppose I'm beginning to digress. Crutch beneath my arm as I drag myself from that wretched hunk of wood, I see a Hume (male) holding a sign with my name on it, morning sun glaring off the material. On seeing me, his face lights up, hurrying over to greet me. He's a medical officer employed to see to my swift recovery. Upon confirming that Salaheem's had nothing to do with the hiring process nor that any payments would be asked of me for his services, I've elected to receive him. Who hired him to aid me though, he won't say. Only "A red turban and white helm," though this makes little sense to me.

As we arrive back at headquarters, I'm met first by warm greetings, and the silent stares. Finally "Wow, Caj is back."

My new medic, as I'm told, happens to be a member of the mercenary group, gone missing for quite some time. He claims he was merely on an 'extended mission,' though a few angry mutters replaced 'mission' with 'break'. To show his enthusiasm for returning, a song is proposed. The proposal is quickly shut down by the majority, or rather, everyone but himself. I can't help but chuckle wondering just how bad a singer he is.

I go to the Corsair, whom I find at the table next to the Ninja (female, Mitran), our newest recruit from Jeuno. I inquire on the condition of the units after the fight in the Obliette, but he his answers are short, his attention on a sheet of paper between the two of them. Curious, I crane my head, though he turns it so that I cannot see, somewhat scowling. What could have brought this on? My mind goes to the fight, losing myself to the voices. Perhaps this has brought some sort of distrust. For all I know I may have had some sort of physical transformation as it occurred.  I hadn't had the chance to ask anyone while I was in San d'Oria as my return was hastened by the King, insisting I return here to rest. Perhaps it was he that hired this fellow, though him being Hume rather than Elvaan makes this doubt-able.

Taking the hint to leave him alone, I go for a leisurely stroll to the craftsman for armor repairs. For the most part it had held well during that last venture, but the gaping hole in my boot is far too noticeable to leave. He can't help but sigh as he takes a look at the bite marks, muttering in wonder about what could bite so cleanly through. Insisting on modifications, he begins to ask me things. Hopes. thoughts, journeys, all the like. I wove him tails of battles in the crystal war, the passing of my parents, the loss of my sister, my relocated companion. Hours passed as we spoke, and he quietly worked away, finally finishing in the evening. As I reach for my coin purse, he stops me, saying that the stories are all the payment needed for this. "The modifications I've put in are the very stories themselves. All that you've told me, embodied in your armor. Use it well."

Getting back to headquarters, I can't help but feel that I'm being watched. I make a few stops at stalls, some hurrying me along so that they can close before the sun fully sets, but I still can't shake the feeling of eyes on me. There are a few civilians in the area, but none seem to be the cause, most are even facing the opposite direction. To truly make sure I'm not followed back, I can only think of two places to my follower won't willingly go. The first is the Imperial Palace, though I doubt they'd let me in uninvited. And the other....

"Ah, Ziharku, I didn't think I'd see you in here. What can I do for you?" Abquhbah sats as I'm met inside Salaheem's. I can't tell him why I'm really here, or I might seem to be abusing their hospitality...yes I suppose I'd call it hospitality so long as Naja isn't the greeter. And speak of the Devil, she walks around the corner with an expression of flushed surprise, then a bit of a smirk.

"Well well, what have we here. Come to Salaheem's for anything in particular today Ziharrrku?" As I fumble with words, trying to find an excuse for my presence, a messenger enters with a note.

Abquhbah takes it, then hands it to me. "Well it seems you were expecting mail."

"Mail? At this time of day?" She snatches the envelope from my hands, opening it to take a look. Abquhbah seems startled at her brash behavior, but I just sit in wonder of who it would even be from. Taken aback, she nearly drops it. "An...invitation to the palace from the Emprrrress herself?!" She verifies the seal on both the invitation and the envelope, assuring me of the legitimacy. "Well then, you'd better make sure you don't scrrrrew this up. Salaheem's reputation will suffer if you can't make a good imprrression!" Almost shoving the paper into my hands she storms off toward her office. Abquhbah apologizes repeatedly, but I just tell him it doesn't bother me. I've gotten used to pushy people at this point.

Mental note, arranged meeting is a week from now.

Leaving, I can feel the presence from earlier is no longer there, and so I return home. On entering, I find dinner is just being finished, and so sit myself down toward the end of the table by the Dragoon. A hearty fellow, he can surely eat with the best of them. But never have I seen so zealous an eater as the Black Mage. Despite his small stature and moderate frame (as opposed to the usual over-chubbiness found in a Tarutaru without a melee occupation), that fellow can be found eating something at most any part of the day, and still emptying more plates at a meal than many of us.

At the opposite end of the table, I see the Corsair and the Ninja. The two chat merrily over their meal, and I suppose my face had a look of questioning on it, for an answer was produced by the Ranger. "Oh yeah, those two hit it off pretty well while you were gone." Taking another swig of his drink, he continues, "I knew it was gonna happen the day she walked in. Nobody believed me, but I called it!" Another swig to empty his bottle, then he rose from the table to retrieve another. Perhaps it was this then. I must have interrupted some of their time, planning a date maybe. I can't help be feel somewhat relieved that it was just my inability to read the mood as opposed to a new-found dislike for my presence.

My medic is sleeping in the leg space below my desk....I feel somewhat perturbed. I think I'll order a new desk tomorrow in town.