Chapter 16 Can We Get A Recount On That?
Character Doug
Kitchen, clear, hall 1102, clear, pods 1100-1199, clear, Doug was scanning the interior of his flagship 'The Pestilence' as he was sleeping, or whatever was the closest thing to sleeping for a Gravemind. As his resting conciseness drifted through the vastness of his growth he could sweep the areas for any unusual activity. Flight deck 1000, clear, machine shop 990, clear, hall 1101, anomaly, pods 1000- 1099, clear... Doug snapped back into full awareness as the anomaly alarm caught up to him.
He brought up the video display for hall 1101, inside the hall was a man. The subject was sleeping, like he was unaware of where he was or the danger that put him in. The black man, who appeared to be in his mid forties and had a short buzz cut and glasses, was more importantly not part of the ships crew or DC. "Where did you come from little one," Doug mumbled to himself.
"Where did what come from," Adam asked as the robot man walked onto the bridge, "And how far are we from Haven?"
"Haven and the planet it is on are still about four hours away," Doug replied, "Here is something interesting for you though, see about this stowaway."
Doug showed Adam the video feed and Adam blinked in surprise.
"That can't be here on the ship," Adam stated, "That man is Arie Van Bruggen a world class hacker. He 'helped' me out a few times back before I started rolling with K."
"Well the camera is viewing hall 1101," Doug replied, "You know your way around why don't you go see him and find out how he got here."
Adam was already heading for the door as Doug finished speaking. "K get to the bridge we may have a problem," Doug though as Adam left through the doors.
"C and I will be right there," K replied.
Doug moved one of his spoors in along side Adam as he headed towards Van Bruggen. "I decided to come along and see what was happening for myself," Doug explained to Adam's inquiring look, "Besides if he wakes up and moves we can follow him with the cameras from the bridge."
"Just don't eat him," Adam replied with a grin, "He may be helpful."
K and C entered the bridge, Doug waved them over to the monitor where he explained who the man was and that he and Adam were going to greet their new arrival.
"We never even went to Adam's time," C commented, "So there is no way that that man can be who Jensen thinks he is."
"Possibly," K replied, "Adam is rarely wrong about such things, and now after Ivan's father, Brackman, transferred Adam's mind into a digital version... I really hope Adam is mistaken."
"Van Bruggen," Adam said as he and Doug approached the still sleeping man, "Wake up you lazy..."
"Wha... who? Hold on I didn't hack your account I swear on my wife's grave," Van Bruggen stammered as he jolted awake, "Wait Jensen? What are you doing... we aren't in the Caribbean are we?"
"No your not," Adam replied, "Now stop playing dumb and tell me how you got on this ship."
"Look I don't know nothing about no ship... and what the hell is that thing," Van Bruggen asked as he pointed at Doug.
"I am Doug," Doug replied, "Flood Gravemind and captain of this interstellar fleet collectively know as The Pestilence. Now how did you get on board my ship?"
"Look I don't know, Last thing I remember is I was on my beach chair ready to take a nap and then here you are, and interstellar? Are we on a spaceship?"
"World class hacker huh," K said, "He sure is slow on the upload, hahaha. However he definitely is the man Adam thought he was and that is bad news. Doug bring them back here then get DC to meet us in Hangar 3600, its the only one big enough for all of us."
"Come on K want's to see him on the bridge," Doug said to Adam, "I think he has some bad news."
"Wait your not going to kill me are you," Arie said as he pulled a heavily modified revolver from its hidden holster, "Cause I might have other ideas."
"Hey you kept my revolver," Adam said, "Don't worry, If K has bad news its generally on a universal level, he doesn't bother with individual crisis to often."
"Well do you mind telling me how I got here," Arie asked as he put the revolver back in its holster.
"Tell him I will answer that," K said to Doug who relayed the message to Van Bruggen.
"Oh I'm sure that is going to make him feel better," C said sarcastically.
"Who is this K dude," Van Bruggen asked as he followed Doug and Adam back towards the bridge.
"Probably the only one who can tell you how you got here then get you back home," Adam replied.
While Adam filled Arie in on the details Doug found the other DC members and relayed the message to gather in Hangar 3600. Cortana was already there of course, she was maintaining the ACU's while Griffen, Ivan, and Riza were in the dinning hall getting some food. The others would make their way in before K finished questioning Arie and headed there himself. Doug diverted his spoor form to another site and returned his attention to the bridge as Adam and Van Bruggen walked in.
"So Adam, Hes a friend of yours," C asked as they walked in.
"Something like that," Adam replied as he stepped over to one of the chairs and sat down.
K walked up to the obviously nervous Van Bruggen, "Let me guess, you were one the beach one minute and the next your here." K said.
"Its true," Arie replied, "Happened just like you said."
"Crap..." K sighed, "Well I hate to tell you this but your stuck with us for a while. A time rift got you and you were lucky enough to end up here instead of a few feet outside the ship. Due to the unstable nature of the rifts we can not take you back just yet, that could turn the rift into a tunnel and then its bye bye Earth."
Van Bruggen looked at K for a minute then looked over to Adam and asked, "Is he serious?"
"Yes," Adam replied.
"Your serious," Arie asked K.
"Yes," K confirmed.
"Ah come on man, and I had just hooked up with a fine girl too," Arie complained, "And next your going to tell me that my credits are no good here."
"Don't worry," Doug said, "Your money is good and I'm sure you can find yourself a girl here, many of them are single anyways."
"Don't encourage him," Adam warned, "Next he will be hacking into your radio frequencies."
"Already did that," Arie replied, "You know you should tighten up security around here."
"World class hacker indeed," C stated, "Perhaps he can be useful after all."
Doug looked at K and asked, "Do you think?"
"There is a fine line between luck and intervention," K replied, "Let him see the data."
Adam perked up at that asking, "What data?"
"We've been trying to determine when and where the next demon attack will hit," C explained, "And with roughly how many demons. We have been using a computer matrix software to calculate the probabilities of demons on each of the planets that a DC member is from."
"Excluding the planets we have already been," Doug continued as the monitor began displaying the information, "We have decided that the city of Haven is the next most likely target. We just use the city's name because the planet has a good four or five names and that can get bothersome."
"This, this is, Oh God." Arie stated.
"What," K asked, "Never seen a demon before?"
"What oh no, but according to this data there will be about a half million demons on the planet, most of them are projected to be in or near a large forest several hundred miles north west of Haven and about a hundred thousand in the city itself," Van Bruggen explained.
"How many," Doug asked in disbelief.
"Five hundred thousand," Arie replied, "At least. Adam What did I get into this time?"
"Something legitimate at least," Adam replied, "But very dangerous. You guys knew there would be that many demons right?"
"No we had it estimated at a tenth of that number," Doug replied, "K go explain things to the others, I'll get Cortana and Ivan in here to double check these figures."
"You don't need to double check them," Arie said pointing at the monitor, "The numbers are there."
"Adam, take Arie with you," Doug added as K, C, and Adam started to leave.
"Right come on," Adam said as he grabbed Van Bruggen's arm and pulled the man out the door.
Character Hawk/Fisher
Hawk and Fisher were sleeping when Doug's call to rally in hangar 3600 went out. Now Hawk was hopping down the hall after Fisher while trying to get his other boot on.
"Could you wait up for a minute," Hawk asked.
Looking back and seeing his predicament Fisher stopped and chuckled at him, which made him scowl. "You wouldn't have such trouble if you tried unbuckling it first," Fisher said.
Hawk looked at her then back down to his boot, it was still buckled. "Blarg I must be getting old and forgetful," Hawk commented as he undid his shoe buckles and finally got his bot on. "Thanks for pointing that out, could have been embarrassing," Hawk added.
"Embarrassed, you," Fisher said, "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Good point," Hawk replied as they resumed their walk towards the hangar.
"Hawk, Fisher," It was CT and Rodger, "Whats the emergency?"
"Like always not a blarg clue," Fisher replied flippantly, "K is never very clear when it comes to his plans."
"What did we arrive at the wrong planet," Rodger asked, "I hate it when that happens."
"But Doug's never had us arrive at... oh," Hawk said, "Must have been back when you rolled with the resistance."
"Bingo," Rodger replied as they turned into one of the main hallways and ran into Carter, Cloak and Four.
"Oh hey Rodger, How's it going," Cloak asked, "Cony good to see you too."
"Cloak always a pleasure," Rodger replied, "Vince, Carl, Carter, ready for another adventure?"
"I just hope it doesn't end up with us getting eaten," Carl said, "Its bad for my health."
"Ha, that's true," Fisher replied as she and Hawk opened the doors to the hanger, "And here we are."
Cortana and Ivan both walked out past them with brief waves before heading for the bridge, rather quickly too.
"Well that can't be good," Vince said, "Never seen those two move that fast. Well except when they are fighting."
"Hey over here," Sarge called out to them as they entered the hanger.
They walked over to the pelican where Sarge and the red team were, "Sarge," Hawk greeted, "You guys the only ones here?"
"For now," Simmons said, "Everyone else is on their way and Cortana and Ivan just left to go look at some data, but I've hacked into the system, with Church's help and we can see everything that is on the bridge's monitors. Come look at this."
"So its a big number what does that mean," Hawk said as he looked at the geographical overlay of the planet they were approaching, "Wait I know those cities, there is Haven, and that's the Forest Kingdom.
"And your castle," Fisher said.
"My brother's castle, thank God for that," Hawk corrected, "And there is the Darkwood... Fisher, look at the wood its bigger than even when...
"It's almost right at the castle gates," Fisher replied, "Then that number."
"Means there are five-hundred thousand or so demons in or near the wood," K finished as he, C, Adam and a scrawny man came in behind them. "I was going to wait and tell everyone at once but you've already figured it out."
"Nice hacking job," The little man said, "Very clean."
"Thanks," Church said as he floated into view from around the side of the pelican, "I'll take all the credit."
"Who are you," Carter asked, "last I checked we were in space not at a dock."
"This is Arie Van Bruggen," Adam said, "An old 'friend' of mine."
"Hey come on man, I helped you out on a few occasions," Arie said, "Granted Maybe not entirely through legal means but still..."
"Look on the bright side," Adam replied, "Your not dead and you might even find some one who really likes you."
"Hey do you really think so," Arie said, "That purple chick we passed..."
"Cortana is taken," John said as he, Main and Washington walked over.
"Really by who," Arie asked.
"Him," Hawk said with a smirk while pointing to John.
"Oh right," Arie replied, "Sorry. But she is a looker."
"K there you are," AuRel said as he, Irene, RuGaard, Nilrasha, Darsii, Wistala, AuRon, Natasha, Zara and Zar entered the room. Arie fainted at the sight of both undead and live dragons. Adam bent down to wake him up and K walked over to the group.
"Arie wake up," Adam hissed. When that didn't work he looked at the others for ideas.
"I'll get him up," Fisher said. She drew her sword and smacked the flat of the blade across Arie's hand.
"Gahh!" Arie cried attracting the dragons' attention but only for a second as K was explaining to the growing crowd of DC members about the planet's situation and their new visitor. "What was that?"
"My sword hitting your hand," Fisher replied, "Next time don't faint."
"But those are, I mean real, live..." Arie stammered.
"So a massive parasite hive-mind named Doug piloting a ship in outer space with me and various extremely dangerous individuals doesn't bother you but an undead dragon sends you to Z-vill," Adam commented, "Your a strange little man, Van Bruggen."
"So what are we going to do," Thorn rumbled from the larger gathering of DC, "That's our home down there, I'm not going to just pass it by because there are a lot of demons."
"What was that," Hawk asked as he and Fisher walked into the middle of the growing crowd, "That's our home too, and RuGaard's empire is still there we can't just leave all those people and dragons to be overwhelmed by the demons."
"No one said anything about leaving," K replied, "No what we need first is a verification of the numbers that our new arrival came up with and the best way to do that is to send down a scouting party of six to ten people who can communicate back to the ship."
"We're in," Fisher said, "And that's not up for debate."
"I'm going," DarSii added, "I know the land better than most anyone else so it makes sense for scouting."
"Thorn and I will go," Murtagh stated.
"That leaves one open slot," RuGaard observed, "Who will be the communicator?"
"I will," Adam said as he clanked over to them, "Van Bruggen has my info-link frequency so we can contact each other. He can act as the relay to the rest of of you."
"What the new guy," Krista said, "He seems kinda shady."
"That's cause he is," Fisher remarked, causing Hawk to choke back a laugh.
"Shady or not It's not like I have much of a choice," Arie said, "Jensen here will probably blow my head off if I screw this up."
"Close enough," Adam confirmed, "So when do we arrive?"
"In thirty minutes," Doug said, "You'd best hurry and get ready to leave, we will be entering atmosphere soon."
"We'll need a pelican unless we can all fit onto two dragon backs," Hawk said, "Adam can you drive one of those?"
"In twenty years you never learned how," Fisher asked, "Come on I'm driving."
"I'll ride down on Thorn," Murtagh said, "See you on the ground, oh where are we landing?"
"Haven," RuGaard said, "That's where we left from so that's where we will return to."
With that the group split up, Hawk and Fisher headed back to their room to gather up their stuff while the others went to prepare for either the scouting party of the full blown assault that most likely would result from the amount of demons that were supposed to be on planet. Hawk grabbed his ax and cloak, Fisher grabbed their coin purse and then they headed for the pelican bay. The Pelican bay, hangar 3000, was on the other side of the ship from their room, they were still the second and third ones in, Adam having just walked straight from Hangar 3600 across to 3000.
"Is it just us then," Hawk asked as they got into the ship.
"Yeah," Adam replied, "DarSii is heading out from hangar 3600 with Murtagh an Thorn.
"And here we thought we had beaten them over here," Fisher remarked as she fired up the jets, "Ok hold onto something, we are going to be getting pulled through hyper-space alongside the Pestilence."
Hawk grabbed onto the seat next to him and the railing that was above him as the pelican lurched out into the slipstream of space that they were passing through. The idea was that as soon as they reached the planet Fisher, Hawk and Adam could sail right on down to Haven without using as much fuel to get up to speed, and beat the other three too.
"Emerging in five," Adam said, "And we're away."
Fisher aimed the craft towards the west side of the planet, they had arrived at evening in the city of Haven.
"Well this should make for quite the show," Hawk said, "Assuming that anyone is alive to see it."
"As scumbaggy as Haven's people were," Fisher said, "I do hope there is some life down there other than demons."
"How did you two end up being guards there anyway," Adam asked, "I thought you said something about a brother with a castle are you royalty?"
"Were," Fisher said, "But being a princess is so dull and restrictive, and so many nobles just need a good punch in the face..."
"Yeah lets just say we didn't get along," Hawk said, "So I let my brother have the castle and I got Fisher instead."
"Sounds like you got the better deal," Adam remarked.
"Oh I did," Fisher said, "Get ready for a jolt we are going to be hitting the atmosphere in just a." The pelican jerked, rattled, and vibrated cutting Fisher off, and causing her to bite her tongue. "Ow," she exclaimed as she got the ship back on course.
"Bit your tongue," Hawk asked.
"Oh shut up," Fisher replied, "Hey look behind us its Thorn, Murtagh and DarSii, They seem to be trying to catch up."
"Oh dear," Hawk muttered as he took a seat and buckled in, "Adam I'd lock down if I were you."
"She's competitive I know," Adam replied as he magnetized his feet and hands to the sides and floor of the pelican, "This should be fun."
Hawk's heart jumped into his mouth then fell into his stomach as Fisher put the pelican into a steep dive then pulled up sharply and speed low across the ground towards the city. She then spun the pelican around to stop it with the back door facing one of the gates into Haven.
"Thank you for riding with Haven air you may now disembark," Fisher said as she opened the back doors and then walked back into the passenger section where Adam and Hawk were.
"Don't do that again," Hawk said as he unclenched his hands from the safety belts in the seats next to him. Two thuds outside signaled that Thorn, Murtagh and DarSii had landed next to them.
Hawk exited the plane with Adam and Fisher close behind him. Thorn and Murtagh were searching around for demons, DarSii was extracting his foot from a sinkhole he had landed in. With a crack rocky chunks flew up from the ground as the dragon pulled his claw free.
"Huh," Fisher commented, "More caves under Haven...great."
"Speaking of Haven," Hawk said, "Someone should have seen us land."
"Someone did," replied a voice from behind them, "Tho I do have to ask where you two have been to get such interesting new friends and equipment."
Turning around Hawk recognized a familiar face, Lord Hightower, who looked every bit of what his name implied. With sharp features and pronounced muscles, garbed in leather and chained plate mail, Lord Hightower looked every bit as regal as he sounded.
"Lord Hightower," Hawk greeted, "It's a long story, what about you how is the god squad working out?"
"Quite well actually," Hightower replied, "Between us and SWAT we've been able to keep the demons from the north out so far but they are growing in numbers and strength, even the Beings are starting to take an active hand in the defense of their home."
"That sounds bad," Murtagh said, "What are the Beings?"
"Demi-gods, false-gods, mini-gods, who cares," Fisher replied, "All anyone knows is they have great power."
"They might think that until they meet us," Hawk said, "Hightower, can you get us all inside the city without to much fuss?"
"Hmm... the two most well know guards, a metal man, a prince, and two dragons," Hightower mused, "Yes I think I can do that."
"Prince," Murtagh said, "How could you know that?"
"Its in your bearing," Hightower said as he turned to lead them to the gate, "You were obviously raised as a noble."
A few minutes later and they were inside the city, or at least under it. Hightower had taken them through the gate and immediately down into the underground warrens that supported Haven. These warrens had become so frequented that there was even a bar set up in one of the larger rooms, which they were now sitting in.
"You know I could get used to this warm dampness," DarSii said, "Its refreshing and relaxing."
"Well I don't know about the environment but this beer is certainly helping," Hawk commented.
"It won't be in the morning," Murtagh said.
"No that will only be if he has another five or so," Fisher replied.
"Quiet all of you I'm relaying to DC what the situation is here," Adam said.
"Ok so," Hightower started, "Fill me in."
"Right," Hawk said, "Well you were here when the dragon's were making that treaty with us right?"
"I was, though I was not involved in the treaty itself," Hightower replied.
"Well it was K and Dragon Company that ended up recruiting the dragon empire's leaders," Hawk continued, "It was also them who found that huge robot under the mountains and who held off the demonic and Seraphic invaders the last time these guys showed up. So when given the chance we joined up with them. There is about another hundred or so members of the actual DC and then there is the crews on the ships, Doug's flood faction and the armies that Griffen and the other ACUs can create on the spot that makes us exceptionally effective."
"Wow all that in six months," Hightower asked.
"No for us its been closer to twenty five years," Fisher said.
"Twenty five years," Hightower exclaimed, "You look exactly like you did six months ago!"
"Yeah well apparently living around twenty Leviathans is good for the health," Thorn remarked.
"Guys listen up," Adam interrupted, "K is getting DC together on one ship that he plans to land next to Haven so we need to make sure the area he is going to land it in is clear come on."
"And I only got to have one beer," Hawk muttered as he got up to follow Adam, Fisher downed the last of hers before following suit.
Character Ezio
Where am I was the first thing the Italian assassin thought when he landed in a pile of leaves and was surrounded by trees instead of the hay and buildings he was diving into and off of just a moment ago. More to the point where were the templars that were trying to kill him? He turned around to take in the landscape but nothing, no sign of anyone else out here with him, just the forest. He quickly checked to see if he had all of his gear before finding north and then heading west, he hoped to prolong the day thus giving him more time to encounter other people and find out where he was and how he got wherever it was that he ended up.
After what felt like six hours he finally picked up voices, but not in any language he recognized. He followed the voices and saw through the foliage the owners of the mysterious language, but they were certainly not human. There were four of them, all seemed to be were-goats and the creatures were carrying large brutish axes, maces, and poleaxes. Ezio had no idea where he was or what sort of creatures lived in this place but he could tell that these goat men were not natural or good. It didn't take him long to decide to kill the four creatures, after all he thought if they are were-goats then their brains, hearts, livers, arteries and other kill spots should be the same.
He loaded one of the four rounds he had left into his hidden gun and took aim. The shot rang out and one goat dropped the other three however immediately turned towards him, not something Ezio was expecting. The goats charged him with bleats and swings from their weapons. Ezio found the clumsy attacks easy to block and dodge and another goat was dead after the three had charged him, a knife wound through his heart and liver. The remaining two wailed and charged him again, but their vengeance was not to be as his hidden blades found both goats' neck arteries dropping the creatures in seconds.
"What sort of devil span are you," he asked the dead creatures.
"Kazra," a female voice replied from behind the kneeling assassin, "you had the good fortune of finishing off the hunting party that we've been culling for weeks now. Otherwise there would have been another twenty angry goat boys breathing down you neck, not a pleasant position to be in."
"That you have been culling? Since when do women fight demons," Ezio asked as he got up and turned around to see a tall woman in leather and plate armor. Her eyes glowed yellow under the crimson hood she wore that hid most of her face her toned arms with a drawn bow aimed at him drew most of his attention, well the bow did anyways.
"Since they killed my family and left my sister and me to die after having violated us and slashed us until we almost died," the woman hissed at him she lowered the bow as she sighed, "Sorry, I should know that most men think we females need to be protected and all but I just get so sick of it sometimes. My name is Bethany, I should be thanking you for finishing off these demons but I had really hoped to kill them myself."
"Um, right I'm Ezio," Ezio replied, "Well your welcome, um do you know how I can get back to Forli?"
"I've never heard of Forli," Bethany replied, "What country is it in?"
"Italy," Ezio replied fearing that he might be farther away from home than he could travel on his current rations.
"Still nothing," Bethany said, "Look it will be dark here soon, why don't you come back to our camp maybe my sister can help you she is better acquainted with countries than I am."
Ezio at first wanted to decline, but after looking up at the sun which was already casting long, dark shadows through the forest he inclined his head for her to lead on. Bethany returned the nod then headed south, the direction she had come from. Ezio followed and as he did he noticed a few features about his strange companion, she seemed to shrink in size as they moved, he could have sworn that she was taller than he was back at the Kazra camp but now he saw that she could not have been more than five foot four or five, compared to his five ten and a half. She also seemed to seamlessly meld into the shadows as she passed through them like she had been taught by a master assassin how to sneak. He also couldn't deny the stark beauty that she radiated, not a sexual beauty but a ferocity, a nobility, a natural earthy strength that seeped from her as she moved, it was like watching a hawk soar through the clouds but she did it with the darkness.
They arrived at the came without much talk, it was a simple set up, two tents and a fire with some birds roasting on a spit. It seemed to be unattended but at Bethany's call another woman stuck here head out from one of the tents.
"Bethany," the woman called back, "How did the hunt go and who is that with you he's got some strange armor."
"What's so strange about it," Ezio asked.
"Well its white, if you want to stand out to the demons then ok but for stealth use black or red," the other woman replied.
"Ezio this is Lilith my sister," Bethany said, "Lilith, Ezio. He actually took care of the Kazra for me, I got to watch the whole thing, it was very impressive. I still haven't figured out how you killed that first one though, it looked like a spell but I saw nothing but the dead Kazra and heard the bamp sound that it made."
"That's my secret weapon," Ezio replied not yet wanting to give away all his secrets to these two.
"Fine be that way," Bethany said as she went to stir the birds over the fire, "Lilith have you ever heard of Italy or Forli?"
"No, what are they lost cities" Lilith asked from inside her tent.
"Forli is my home," Ezio replied, "It's located in Italy, do either of you even know where that is?"
"Unless its a local term for it I know of no city called Forli in Sanctuary," Lilith said, "I'm sorry but it sounds like you've gone and gotten a right bit lost."
"Lost doesn't even describe it," Ezio said, "I've never heard of this Sanctuary your talking about."
The sisters looked at each other, then back at him. Lilith walked out of her tent for the first time and really looked him over. Lilith was tall, she must have been almost seven feet tall, with long, straight, black hair that was held out of her eyes with a gold tiara that had rubies inlaid in it. She wore a red robe that had a slight V around the neck and white trim that ran around the edges of the garment. Her eyes were a sparkling green and seemed to be as deep as the ocean. Her angular face gave her a regal look with her remarkable eyes, trim nose, hair covered ears and pursed lips. He looked over at Bethany and saw that she too had almost the exact same facial features as Lilith, except for the glowing eyes bit, that was a little disconcerting.
"You've never heard of Sanctuary," Lilith asked redundantly, "That's strange since your living in it. Sanctuary is this world." She waved her hand across the horizon to expound on her point.
"This world is called Sanctuary," Ezio said as a cold feeling started to build in his gut, "Not Earth?"
"No," Bethany replied as Lilith rolled her eyes like he had grown claws or something, "We've never heard of Earth. What is it?"
"It's where I am from," Ezio sighed, "And from the sound of things and what I've seen so far it sounds like home is very far away from here."
The sisters looked at each other again. Twins he thought, they must be twins. Bethany motioned for him to take a seat next to her at the fire. "Your home," she asked as he sat, "How long have you lived there?"
"Most all my life," Ezio replied, "I'd occasionally go out for jobs and such but I maintained a modest standard without having to take to many contracts."
"Your what about thirty five or six," Lilith asked, "So you must have lived in this Forli for fifteen or more years correct?"
"Close enough," Ezio replied.
"Then this must not be easy for you to have lost it all," Lilith added, "We were only fourteen when the demons destroyed ours."
"I... I'm sorry," Ezio said, "That's why you hunt them I heard."
"Well Beth hunts them, she's the demon hunter after all," Lilith said, "I do not have the taint within me so I can not be attuned to the demon's like she can be."
"So that explains the glowing eyes," Ezio said, "and how the shadows seem to swallow you as you move through them."
"Indeed," Bethany replied, "Lilith though is the one with the gift of magic, show him something, Lil."
Lilith had removed the birds from the fire and was wielding a knife to cut them up as Bethany asked for the demonstration. Lilith rolled her eyes again then tossed the knife into the air swiped her hand over the birds while muttering something incomprehensible, causing glowing blades to slice the birds into pieces then caught the tossed knife and set it back down.
"How was that," She asked.
"Interesting," Ezio responded, "Did the knife play a roll in the cutting or was that just to add to the show?"
"That was just for show," Lilith said as she passed out pieces of the birds, "no the summoned blades did all the cutting. You'll not find a bone splintered just neatly cut."
"Might I ask what this bird is," Ezio said, "It wouldn't be chicken by any chance?"
"Well of course it's chicken," Bethany said with a laugh, "What did you expect?"
"So on a completely different world there is chicken," Ezio remarked as he bit into the leg, "Hmm... Not bad."
"That's one of my basic spells," Lil added, "There are many more skills I can call upon if need be."
"So your mostly ranged then," Ezio asked in surprise, "Both of you?"
"Well yes," Beth responded, "It has it weak points sure but nothing we haven't learned how to deal with. Although you seem more accustom to close range melee fighting."
"Indeed," Ezio said, "My line of work is more suited for close ranged encounters with the occasional distance kill."
"What exactly is your line of work," Beth asked, "You have some pretty impressive equipment for a typical sell-sword."
"You mean my gun and hidden blades," Ezio extrapolated, "True, not something a typical mercenary would carry. I deal in more discrete assignments, stealth is usually my preferred rout."
"Your an assassin," Lil remarked, "I've heard of your kind, well what is the closest equivalent to what you sound like for Sanctuary."
"Assassination is what I do," Ezio confirmed, "Does the profession pay well here?"
"I wouldn't know," Lil said, "But we could. As my sister pointed out we are missing a critical element of combat given our skills, you sound like you could fill that void perfectly."
"Well I would hate to see you two ladies getting hurt or killed because I didn't accept," Ezio started, "But I would still like to know how much is 'well'?"
"A third of what we find in our travels, and a third of the bounty on our marks," Beth clarified, "The bounties run anywhere from a thousand gold to ten thousand gold for extremely troublesome demons. Not bad eh?"
"That's not bad," Ezio agreed, "Well you charmed me into it, just let me tell the king that I'll have to cancel tea tomorrow."
That remark brought a laugh to the ladies' faces, and the laughter brought the attention of more demons. These weren't the goat men they were small, maybe three feet at most and red, but there were more of them about sixteen. These small impish creature had twin horns on their heads, red coals for eyes, slits for noses, a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, and carried nasty swords, axes, and shields. Lightning arced through three of the creatures dropping them and causing the others to back off for a few seconds.
"Fallen," Lilith hissed, "I hate these guys."
"I take it the lightning was you," Ezio said as he circled the fire waiting for the fallen to rush back in. Lil just shot a smirk his way in answer. The Fallen rushed back in this time with shouts of rage and fear. Ezio jumped on two of them sending his hidden blades into their brains. He rode their bodies down to the ground and rolled up between two more which he stabbed through their ugly, snarling faces. "Why aren't they running," he asked as three more fell to Beth's arrows.
"There must be an overlord near by," Beth said, "If so we will probably see him soon."
As if on cue a much bigger fallen with a huge ax smashed his way into the clearing where they had the camp set up. Ezio sneered at the big demon before burying a throwing knife in its chest where the heart should be. Instead of dying however, the demon roared and charged him with a vicious swing of its ax. Ezio dodged around the blow and drew his sword, he was obviously going to need something a little deeper than a knife to kill this creature. A fallen that jumped at him from his left was disintegrated in mid leap by another of Lil's spells, which was good because Ezio had to focus on the monster in front of him. He scanned the overlord for any weaknesses but only saw one, its neck which was a good four feet above his head.
As the massive ax came down at him Ezio got an idea. He dodged towards an old thick tree, leading the demon over towards it. The ax came across at him, he jumped and the thump of the ax getting stuck in the trunk was almost musical. Ezio landed on the weapon and dashed up the demon's arm, drawing his sword across its neck and face as he ran right off its back. He turned around to see the demon collapse to the ground, then he was knocked to the ground by one of the smaller fallen which promptly got a bolt between its eyes and fell on top of him. Ezio pushed the dead demon off and got to his feet.
"Well, that was close," Ezio commented.
"Yeah, Nice touch with the tree," Lil added, "We need to get out of this forest."
"Tristram is near here," Beth said, "Should we go there, I hear it has been relatively quite there since Diablo was defeated."
"Diablo," Ezio asked, "Who is that?"
"He is, or rather was, the prime evil of terror," Lil answered, "However since his defeat at the hands of the Champions he and his brothers have disappeared."
"So the demon leaders are gone," Ezio said, "Then why are the demons still here?"
"That's what we want to find out," Lil said, "I thought I heard that Deckard Cain has been seen near the new town. He was with the Champions maybe he has some information on the matter."
"Sister, Cain has been presumed dead for twenty five years," Beth said, "After he helped in the primes' defeat he just vanished."
"What do you think happened to him," Ezio asked as he stirred the fire that they had once again settled down around.
"Some say he was killed by demons in retaliation for their masters' deaths, some say he remained in the Pandemonium fortress at the gates of hell to watch for more demons, others say that Tyreal himself took Cain away from this world and that he has been presumed dead because he was out helping the Arch-Angle fight back the demonic forces. I happen to believe the latter, considering that rumors of his return started almost twenty years ago, only five after he disappeared."
"Demons and angles are common here then," Ezio assumed.
"Demons yes, angles... sadly since Tyreal destroyed the world stone thirty years ago angles have stopped visiting Sanctuary," Beth said.
"Ok that leaves me with more questions than answers but, it sounds like this Cain is the best bet I have of getting back. If he knows an angle then that may be my only path back home," Ezio said, "How far to Tristram?"
"If we leave at first light we should arrive by the afternoon," Beth said.
"Ah good," Ezio said, "Only one problem left then, I have only been up for three hours. On my world it is morning."
"Ha, well I guess you can take first watch then, wake one of us when the moon is a third of the way across the sky," Beth said as she headed for her tent, "And this way you don't have to share a tent with one of us."
"That could be awkward," Ezio agreed as he got up to patrol the camp, Lil laughed as she too retired to her tent.
"Wake me fist Beth took the late watch last night," Lil said as she disappeared into her tent.
With that Ezio settled into a patrol Around the camp, between the tents, stoke the fire, around the camp again. When the moon was a third of the way up, he felt as if it was early afternoon so he guessed about six hours had gone by so he went over to wake Lilith.
"Lilith," Ezio said from the tent entrance. No response. "Lilith," He hissed into the tent, still nothing. He debated for a few minutes about whether to let the woman sleep, but he also decided that if he was going to be traveling most of tomorrow he needed some rest. With a sigh he ducked inside the tent. "Lili-" He stopped mid sentence and ducked back out with a blush coloring his face. Lilith apparently liked to sleep clothing free. Ezio slapped himself for not thinking, if dainty Italian nobility slept in only very light gowns what did he think these hardened, fighting, twins would sleep in their armor. After a moment of contemplation he realized that he actually did expect to find Lil in her robes and asleep on a cot of some sort not naked and sleeping on a mat with her staff in hand.
Looking around he spotted a lose pebble near the fire. He picked it up and judged the distance to Lil's tent and the staff inside it. With a few adjustments to his aim to make up for where he remembered the staff being and to compensate for the tent flap he threw the rock, a thunk followed by a 'what in the hells?' told him his aim had been true. He walked over towards Lil's tent deciding to act innocent and play the part of just going over to wake her up.
"Lilith," he hissed from the tent flap again, "You up?"
"You know damn well I'm up," came the sharp reply a moment before Lil, sill naked, burst out of her tent with a fist ready to hit him. Her more lady like parts hit him first however, since she wasn't expecting him to be as close to the tent as he was and the two were knocked to the ground, with Lil on top. Ezio was mortified and Lilith was mad, but Bethany had also been awoken by the disturbance they were making and her voice cut off the beating that Ezio feared he was about to receive at the hands of this wizard.
"Ugh, sis, if you want to romp with the dashing, strong, assassin do it your tent," Beth said as she looked out from her tent then went back inside.
Ezio was trying his darnedest to keep his eyes on Lil's face and so picked up on the smile that the woman couldn't help from crossing her face. Mentally Ezio breathed a sigh of relief as Lilith got up and dusted herself off. "Next time," She said, "Just tap me."
"Well I didn't want to..., with you naked and all...," Ezio said.
"An honorable assassin," Lil remarked as she ducked back into her tent, "Well you see how well that plan of yours with the rock worked. I guess I should have warned you, I didn't really think about you being a man."
"And I didn't think about how a lady who has been fighting all her life would react to what must have sounded like an attack," Ezio conceded, "You aren't bothered that I saw... you?"
"Modesty was something that was taken from both of us when the demons rapped us," Lil said as she came back out from her tent, this time with her robes on, much to Ezio's relief. "Still its strange to think that someone who murders people in their beds would care much for modesty."
"I do not murder people in their beds," Ezio said, "I am an assassin because my enemies the templars, forced me out of my home, killed my father and brothers, assaulted my mother and sister, and are still trying to kill me. I take them down fair and square just to make my point."
"Ah I see," Lil replied, "... Why don't you stay up through my watch so I can answer some of the questions you must have."
Ezio thought about it for a moment, but decided that the situation couldn't get any more awkward and agreed. He spent the next six hours and the following trip to Tristram learning about Sanctuary, its inhabitants, magic, and anything else that he was interested in. By the time they arrived at the gate he had a good idea of what he had gotten into by arriving in this Sanctuary. The militia at the gate nodded as the three passed into the town, heading for the inn.
"Inn's always a good place to pick up rumors," Ezio remarked.
"Another similarity," Beth added, "First chicken, now inns."
Ezio chuckled as they entered the inn. It was a homey establishment, several oak tables lined the way to the bar, a fire was smoldering in the fireplace, the walls were a black maple and the stone floor was warm to walk on. A young woman with orange hair was behind the bar, the innkeeper obviously.
"I'll go arrange for rooms," Beth said, "You two love birds are getting your own."
Lil and Ezio both rolled their eyes, Bethany had been joking about their encounter last night all day. Ezio still felt embarrassed by the event, Lilith found it somewhat amusing, but Bethany found the thought of them together hilarious and had used every opportunity to enjoy his discomfort with the situation.
"Hey you two come here," Beth called from the bar, "Drawing their and the other five patron's attention.
"For one who stalks the shadows she isn't very discreet," Ezio said as they joined her at the bar.
"You three are going to go to the old ruins to look for Deckard Cain," The fiery haired barkeep asked. Ezio noticed her facial features immediately due to his years of training in such things. She had a young but strong face, the result of years of a hard life that preceded her current job. She wore a red tunic and brown pants. He noticed also that her hair was actually brown but the fire light glistened off of it and made it look orange. Here eyes were also brown.
"If that is where you think he is," Lilith said, "then yes."
"Well I can give you free room and board," the barkeeper said, "But the condition is you take me with you."
"What why," Ezio asked.
"Whats with the guy in white," she replied, "I'm Leah, Deckard Cain may be the only family I have left. If there is a chance he is in those ruins or even the old cathedral I'm going to take it."
"Then why haven't you," Beth asked.
"Because while the town here seems quite, the old ruins have been invaded by monsters, undead, demons, and who knows what else. The cathedral is even worse and while I may be good with a bow, I'll need back up to get through those ruins," Leah said.
"I didn't know that there was trouble in these parts," Lilith said surprised, "Well if true then we will help you clear it, right sis?"
"Sure thing," Beth agreed.
"Why not," Ezio added just to make sure he wasn't left out.
"Oh sorry," Z Lil said, "I'm so used to just having Beth around."
"Z," Ezio asked.
"Well its easier to say than Ee-Ze-O," Lilith clarified.
Ezio sighed but nodded his acceptance of the nickname, "Just don't use it too much."
"Sure thing Z," Beth teased.
"You three aren't married are you," Leah asked.
"What no," Ezio hastily replied, "I'm new to Sanctuary and these two are twins."
"New to... Never mind," Leah said, "Let me get you rooms for tonight and in the morning we can head to the ruins."
"Don't you want to go now," Beth asked.
"Of course I do," Leah said, "But those monsters get stronger in the dark... I... I wouldn't be able to help Cain if I died to those things."
"Well we too get stronger in the dark," Beth replied as she threw her hood on to show Leah her glowing eyes, "With the four of us the demons will be the hunted tonight."
"You, you're a hunter aren't you," Leah concluded, "and a wizard? What then are you, I am not familiar with any order that wears white cloaks."
"I'm... my own order," Ezio replied, "My skills are quite useful."
Leah looked at them for a second before ducking down under the bar and pulling out a massive crossbow that was mounted on a tripod and two quivers of bolts. "Well then lets not waste any time my uncle needs not spend another night in the ruins."
"You use that thing," Beth gawked, "Its as big as you are, it that's an amazing weapon."
"You don't think I made enough money to open this inn by sitting around in town did you," Leah replied with a smile. "Cullen the hold the bar down, don't let your guards drink to much you know how they get."
"Sure thing Leah," one of the patrons, a man in a blue uniform with a sharp hawk like face replied as he got up and walked behind the bar, "Usual discount for everyone then?"
"Twice," Leah replied, "and if I return with Cain I'll make the original discount permanent."
That was greeted with a "Hooah" by the patrons as Leah led the three out of her inn. As they left the town the guards at the gate gave small salutes to Leah as she passed. "Helped train most them," Leah said to the unasked question. As they continued on down the path Ezio saw nothing unusual, just a few empty farmhouses, the residences most likely back in town enjoying the discount that Leah gave them. As they neared the church grave yard however things got creepy. There was a low lying mist that veiled the area even on this warm, summer, night. Add to that the smell of corpses and the squishing sounds that came from the mist and Ezio began to see why Leah wanted them to go with her.
"Ok I hear the undead," Beth said as she knocked an arrow, "This fog is making it hard to spot them though."
"Hey Ezio," Leah said as she planted her tripod in the ground and mounted the crossbow on it then loaded the quivers into the sides, "Why don't you go in there and bring the zombies out to us."
"What if I get bit," Ezio asked, "Is it a one bit and done type deal?"
"No you have to be dead to become a zombie," Lil said, "So if you get bit then die you'll be all 'brains.'"
"Oh that's much better," Ezio said as he drew his sword and started forward into the mist. It didn't take long before the shuffling of feet started heading his direction. Through the mist he made out the shapes of people, or what used to be people before whatever foul curse brought them back to prey on their friends and family. As he turned to bring the creatures back towards the ambush a beam of white light cut through the fog and incinerated the monsters. The beam came from a large diamond that was on the head of a staff which an elderly looking man, about sixty or so, was holding.
The man wore a dark gray cloak with a gray and gold shirt and gray trousers. His eyes were deep and old with the wisdom of a life time held in their pools of deep brown. His large protruding nose, crinkled mouth, white hair, mustache and beard spoke of the many travels this man had seen.
"What are you doing out here," The old man rasped, "The creatures make it dangerous for those without the power or skill to fend them off."
"We're looking for someone," Ezio started then it dawned on him, "Wait your not Deckard Cain are you?"
"Why yes my boy," Cain replied, "But how did you know of me I have only just gotten back from... well never mind that. There must be some reason you've come to me."
"Uncle," Leah exclaimed as she ran past Ezio to embrace the elder man.
"Why my dear Leah," Cain said, "What happened to you girl, last I saw you were but a little girl."
"Its a long story," Leah replied, "Come on lets get back to the inn where we can talk, Lilith and Bethany are waiting back at the road."
"Cain I have to ask," Ezio said as they started walking, "Do you know of a way to contact Tyreal?"
"The Arch-Angle of Justice," Cain said, "It would depend on why you need him."
"To get home," Ezio said, "I'm not from..."
"Not from Sanctuary," Cain finished with a smile, "Yes I could tell be your clothing, Earth is it not."
"How did," Ezio stammered, "Do you know a way for me to get back?"
"I know of one who can take you back but whether he will come back by or not will depend on you," Cain said, "If you were teleported here then Kalathanon and his Dragon Company will soon follow you. He has the resources to take you back home."