It was a lucky thing they were prepared, for as soon as they rounded the corner and took off at a sprint up the steep earthen slope, they heard voices in the tunnel ahead and knew they would have to fight hard to survive. Lawrence shouted over his shoulder for the other three to stay alert, then drew out his broadsword and plowed ahead, gritting his teeth.
Centime, very grateful to his saviors and more than ready to prove himself, cocked the antique pistol and leveled it at the first of the six patrol guards, all with their backs turned and weapons at their sides. The purple-moonstone-bullet blasted the point-guard in the shoulder and sent him flying back; his comrades all leapt to attention and readied their weapons, but Domingo and Lawrence were more than ready for them. The treasure hunter sprang left, the mercenary right, and they were both a whirl of furious blades; Domingo brought both kukris to bear and slashed in an X formation, dropping one of the guards on the left flank like a stone, and Lawrence shouldered his broadsword like a baseball bat and swung, arm muscles rippling. Ilchymis bid Cupil forward to attack for him; on his finger, the Warrior's Heart gem was glowing a fierce red.
But the guards were ready for them now. The one in the back muttered the trigger phrase to a spell - Ilchymis recognized it and began casting quickly, racing him - but the guard finished first and shouted the command word "Quika!". The six guards glowed an eerie blue for a moment, and then moved with magically-heightened speed; Ilchymis's spell failed, Centime's next shot sailed out harmlessly wide, and Domingo missed with both knives. Only Lawrence had a successful attack hit, and it was only a glancing blow. The other soldiers closed in, preparing to unleash their full strength -
But Ilchymis had had enough. Narrowing his eyes he again started casting, syllables shaking with rage, and cried out "CRYSTALEN!" The others could only stand and watch in awe as the mage's mighty spell conjured scores of deadly-sharp, icy spears, and at a command from the conjurer they sped down from the ceiling and skewered all six of their assailants. Their way upstairs was clear; Ilchymis dusted his robes and re-adjusted his half-moon glasses.
"You have a mighty friend," said Centime shortly, and they ran on.
Their next run-in was with a large machine called a Digger, and they would have snuck around it were it not filling up the entire corridor with its bulk. Unsure of what it would do, Lawrence hung back and let Domingo and Centime take up the front of their little band; the treasure hunter unleashed a crossbow bolt, the engineer a single silver bullet, and they knew they were in for the long haul when both attacks bounced almost completely harmlessly off the sturdy metal construct.
Abandoning all pretense, Lawrence shouldered past his two smaller comrades and whisked out his broadsword; behind him, Ilchymis set to muttering a spell quickly beneath his breath. The mercenary dealt a mighty blow, but the Digger's metal plating turned it as well with minimal damage; Ilchymis finished his spell with the invocation word "Noxi!", and a cloud of noxious green gas surrounded the machinelike creature, seeping poison into its circuits and joints. The Digger pumped out some manner of thick, billowing gas, and while the four sputtered and stumbled, it did not seem to have any permanent effects.
Centime fired again, but the shot flew harmlessly wide and lodged in the cavern wall; Domingo drew out his kukris again and leapt forward, slashing with all his strength and hewing off a mechanical arm, but this did not slow their adversary for even a moment. Yet the poison seemed to have slowed it down, at least internally, and wasting no time Ilchymis mirrored his previous spell to further weaken the monster. Enraged, the Digger struck at the only man close enough - Lawrence, who was just hefting his broadsword for another swing when its only remaining mechanical appendage uppercut him and sent him flying across the hallway, where he crumpled against the opposite wall and lay very still. Ilchymis fled the battle to help him, leaving Domingo very alone with Centime.
Domingo invoked the powers of his Gem of Fluidity; the stone glittered a hot pink upon his thumb and he leapt in, dodging around the Digger's heavy-handed attacks with inhuman grace and speed, forcing Centime to hold his shot for fear of it whizzing astray and striking the treasure hunter. Ilchymis worked hard to revive Lawrence, and Domingo skirted around behind and let loose with both kukris, laying the creature low but not destroying it. An enraged Cupil answered Domingo's cry for help and disappeared from Ilchymis's finger, twining into a rope and catching the Digger's arm fast so it couldn't attack.
The frantically-casting mage at last managed to revive a rather pale Lawrence; Domingo struck again with a resounding battle cry, and the Digger collapsed in a twisted metal heap.
Centime re-holstered his pistol with a sheepish grin. "I apologize... I'm a bit rusty. It's been quite awhile since I've had to use this thing."
Domingo good-naturedly clapped the engineer on the shoulder and flashed him a thumbs-up. "No worries. We're all still okay." Over his shoulder he added, "Right, Scarface?"
They turned to see Lawrence clenching a sacres crystal in his fist and leaning heavily against the earthen wall of the corridor, wearing a very disapproving frown. "Shut your mouth, Big-shot; that hit would have killed someone like you."
"Ironically enough, I killed it!" laughed the treasure hunter, and belting the kukris back in place he led the intrepid crew on, Ilchymis supporting Lawrence at the rear of the group.
Presently they came to a door that was much larger than any of the others they had seen, and Centime stepped closer to study it. "This door is locked electronically; we'll need a security clearance passcode to proceed. I am under the impression that we can escape through here - or else we shall have to continue our way up, and exit the way you came in."
"I'll bet there are guards swarming all over the place up there," said Lawrence with a snarl, but he was interrupted by the sound of the door clinking open and Centime standing beside it, looking victorious. "I thought you said - ?"
"Yes, you would need a security clearance passcode to enter - if you did not have me."
DizzyVV: Sankyuu!
Meowzychan: XD, it's going to be awhile. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Derek Barona: Actually, Lawrence reacted that way because you requested it! I had no clue what was going to happen otherwise, to be honest. And yeah - Lawrence is going to be one of two guys who meets Gilder during that momentary split - the other two will be meeting a pair of OC's of mine, of whom I am rather foolishly proud.