Chapter 10: Visitors
Kane's 'Lair':
Kane had spent the previous day familiarizing himself with the former guild base's layout. Though to be honest, he'd actually been searching for the Guild Weapon, familiarity with the base itself is simply a side-effect of his search.
The three CLONE's he summoned did a decent job of 'cleaning' up the place, though there were still a few large piles of daemon corpses he had yet to deal with.
The only reason he hadn't done so yet was two-fold; First was searching for the Guild Weapon, and Two, he had an overwhelming urge to tinker and experiment with the guild's crafting room...
*Now lets see...i'll need; 12 Adamantium Stones, 3 Cyclonic Core's, 5 Grand Epitome's of World's End, 1 Husk of the Devourer, and 4 Potions of La Muerte Diablos...*-Kane recited in his head.
"But are all the ingredients here even?"-Kane said aloud in frustration as he moved from one haphazard pile of materials to another.
(1 hour later)
"Bah! Screw it!"-Kane said finally giving up on his idea en' leau' of getting some fresh air.
Leaving the crating room, Kane instantly regretted it. He'd forgotten the stench and piles of rotting corpses in the hell-scape outside the room.
As he walked by one particular pile however...
"Mmmmm, mm, mmmmmm!"
"What the? Is something alive in there?!"-Kane exclaimed, stopping in front of the pile that he heard muffled sounds emmanating from.
"MMMMmmmmmmmm!"
"Mmmmm, mmmmmmmm, mmm, mmmm, mmmmmmmm!"
"Huh, I guess something is alive in there...I wonder what kind of daemon survived, let's take a look see!"-Kane said as he used his incredible strength to swing his sword at the pile, scattering the corpses across the ground.
"Aghhh!"
"Cough, cough"
"Thank the gods!"
"Ehm, excuse me, but who the hell are you?"-Kane said, affronted that someone, a human no less, was in here.
The man quickly spun around, dropped to his knees with his head hitting the ground: "I'm sorry my lord! Please spare me!"-The man said.
"What's your name and what are you doing here?"-Kane said, irritated with this recent development of having a groveling man begging for his life all of a sudden.
"I-i g-go by the name of Stranger!"
"I was sent here with the others to investigate this place, but then you showed up and killed everyone but myself using water!"-Stranger said, terrified.
"Wha? I did no such...oh, wait a minute. That must have been the CLONE i made to clean this place up before i entered. You see, after i killed all the daemons down here i ended up leaving and so i knew that it must be rather nasty down here with all the rotting corpses and all."-Kane explained to the miserable man.
The man looked confused as he looked up at Kane.
"Ah, i'll just show you"-Kane said before equipping Suizahni.
"CLONE"
A water-based clone of Kane suddenly appeared, causing the man's eye's to widen in shock and mouth to hang open.
"Go guard the entrance to this place on the surface."-Kane ordered, and it rushed off to fulfill it's task.
"See?"-Kane asked the astonished looking man as he watched Kane's clone run away at near-inhuman speeds towards the exit.
"Now"-Kane said, getting the man to focus attention back on him.
"Who sent you here and why?"-Kane asked.
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Roble, Capital, Palace:
"You may speak, Captain Mala"-the King said from his throne.
"Yes, as i stated in my report, the demi-humans have retreated into the hills beyond the Wall."
"And where is the one responsible for bringing this all about? Hmmmm?"-The King inquired.
"He...went to a former noble's estate and has taken up residence there...at least that's what he told me anyway."-Captain Mala informed.
"I see...do you know the location of this estate by chance?"-the King asked.
"I believe i do, the general area at least..."-Mala admitted.
"Very well, if you would, i'd like to reward sir Kane by giving him the deed to the lands surrounding him and a substantial amount of gold for his contribution towards saving our Holy Kingdom of Roble"-the King announced.
"Could you send someone else sire? Perhaps a man?"-Mala asked carefully.
"Hmmmm?"-the king had a momentarily confused look on his face.
"Oh!"-the king seems to have an epiphany of some sort before he started to chuckle for a bit.
"No, you shall go since he will know who you are. No exceptions Captain. Take who and what you'll need for your trip. I'll have Commander Darious fill in for you while your away."-the King declared to the unhappy Captain.
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Near Kane's 'Lair':
Captain Tom of the Slane Theocracy was nervous.
Instead of going straight back to his homeland, he instead was going to Kane's place of residence...
"Sir, is this wise? We had order's to-"
"I know, i know, now be quiet!"-Tom said, his nerves visibly on edge.
Behind him are the surviving members of his Scripture, also looking nervous, as their heads glanced one way then another.
"Company halt!"-Tom ordered as they crested the hill.
Tom gazed down at the disorderly nobleman's...former nobleman's estate, looking for...well, anything of note really.
He could just make out a figure, standing still, outside the main entrance in front of what must be a door...
*A sentry?*-Tom thought, surprised.
"You there! Go down there and ask for Gaidon Kane. Ask if whe would be allowed to stop and rest here for tonight, also ask if he'd be willing to speak with me."-Tom ordered a member at random.
"Yes...sir"-the disgruntled man said, resigned.
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Inside Kane's 'lair':
"I see..."-Kane said, as the man known as Stranger finished telling him everything that he knew.
"My lord, please allow me to serve you!"-Stranger said, clearly worshiping him as a god or something.
"Very well, clean this entire place, i permit you to use magic as long as you don't damage any objects or the structure itself. Place any and all objects...over there"-Kane points to a location on the area floor, somewhat close to the Crafting-Room door.
"Yes sir! At once my lord!"-Stranger went off to do his 'bidding'...
(Kane chuckles)
*Having a maid would be better than a manservent, but i guess i can't complain too much with that guy's devotion*-Kane thought.
*My CLONE just suffered damage?!*-Kane thought, turning to head to up to ground-level.
"I'll be back soon"-Kane said to his newly acquired 'servant'.
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The soldier couldn't believe his eyes! He'd asked this watery version of Gaidon Kane to relay a message to it's master or creator or whatever it was to the real Kane and it had simply stabbed itself!
"What the hell...?"-the soldier said in disbelief of the thing's actions'.
He heard a door slam(?) and rapidly approaching footsteps coming towards him from the doorway the watery being was guarding, come ever closer.
(Gulp)
He remembered seeing what this 'man' could do and was terrified, but an order was an order...
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Reaching the surface, Kane spotted a soldier, very nearly looking like he was about to piss himself.
*What's a Scripture member from the Slane Theocracy doing here?*-Kane thought.
"What's your business here?"-Kane demanded from the scared man trembling before him.
"C-Captain Tom would like to know if we could rest here before continuing on to our homeland."-the man said, obviously nervous.
Kane raised an eyebrow at this...
*Quite the detour they made if that was all*
"What's the real reason your here?"-Kane said, growing edgy, it was very much like politics...he hated politics.
"I-I don't know sir Kane, you'll h-have to ask him"-the man said as he turned and headed towards a nearby hill...
Kane looked in the direction the man was heading and sure enough, it looked like their entire Scripture was up there.
*Great, i have company*-Kane thought
*Think of the bright side Kane, you'll have plenty of people to talk to*-Azriel said a bit playfully.
*Kill 'em' all, there nothing but an irritating nuisance anyways*-Drezrath suggested.
*Badly hidden ulterior motives...*-Vogue stated in that eery, almost machine-like tone.
Sighing, Kane ran and jumped towards the group.
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*What is taking so long? And why did that clone of Kane's attack itself?*-Tom was wondering as he watched his subordinate talk to it.
After a time, he noticed his subordinate back away...to Kane rising from the underground doorway.
(It's like a cellar door at a farmhouse, to help better picture it)
He observed them talk for a bit before his man started heading back towards them. He only took about a dozen strides however, before Kane began running towards him with amazing speed and then jumped above and towards them!
*What did that fool say!*-Tom cursed in his head as he assumed the worst.
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Landing in front of Tom, Kane got straight to the point; "Why are you really here?"-Kane asked, noticing the man's hand was around one of the blades that he'd made before the assualt on the Wall.
*Ah, that's probably it, he wants to learn how i made that*- he supposed.
"We-we w-would like to rest here for the night. Also, i would like to talk with you..."-Captain Tom said, able to hear the nervous shuffling of his men behind him...
"Ya? About what exactly?"-Kane said, clearly getting annoyed by the man's 'beating around the bush' way of speaking.
"Everything..."-Tom said.
Kane raised an eyebrow, -"Oh really?"
"Yes, for starters, where are you from? How did you make this magic infused sword? And would you please consider meeting with my superiors?"-Tom asked, getting the top three questions he wanted to ask out in the open.
"Your first question: I don't want to talk about it. The second question: mmmmm, it's my Talent i guess. Third question: Why should i? Seems like a long journey to me and for nothing gained from it either..."-Kane finished answering his questions.
*Oh, how can i convince him to come with...*-Tom thought desperately for an encouraging excuse.
"Is there anything i or my nation could offer you in return for your...um...cooperation?"-Tom said, not really sure what to say.
Kane looked back at his new home...
"Well...i could use some help with keeping this place tidy. Like some...groundskeepers? Some pretty maids would be nice too...but alas, i don't have an income to pay them".-Kane finished saying with a heavy sigh.
"There's so much cleanup work to be done below that what you all see here is but an ant-sized mess compared to the mountain's worth below..."-Kane said.
"Hmmm, perhaps we could help you with your trouble's then?"-Tom said, grasping at any chance he could.
*So, wealth and women may indeed work on him...*-Tom thought.
"You'll give me a steady income and direct me to where i can find reliable servants and/or maids for...?"-Kane asked, skeptical of such an offer, doubtful this man could even make good on it.
"Well, i really can't say for sure...but as a guess i'd say for your knowledge and help with fighting the non-humans of the world."-Tom said.
*Human superiority complex eh?*-Kane thought to himself.
*I may have to do something in regards to the Slane Theocracy anyway, might as well do so now before i get too settled in.*
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see what can be arranged...we'll leave at first light. Oh! Also, no one is to try going below ground, i've set traps and created guards to protect the place."-Kane said, finishing off with a warning.
"Fine by me, i'll make sure to let my men know."-Tom said, getting a nod from Kane.
A/N:
Okay, so i know this chapter is a bit short. But, hey, Kane is going to Slane Theocracy to meet the Cardinals!
-Also, i've finished the outline for this book, so there's only a few chapters left before i re-post/continue book 2 depending on how big i make the next few chapters...honestly, i just want to continue the next saga :)
-I'm continuing ZeroSenpai's Gate:Thus the 10 arrived there(-Continuum) so that's demanding more time away, so everyone's going to have to get used to some strange and somewhat long waits between updates!