Chapter 19: So it is a Boat.
Character Grishnake
"So it is a boat," Grishnake said as Haggard continued to explain his brand new hydro-transport system.
"No not a boat, well sort of like a boat but for lava," Haggard replied.
They were trying to get to a time rift that was allowing fire elementals and other various creatures from Avalar's past to find their way into it's present. The rift however happened to be across a lava flow in a cave that was to tight for Orthino, Chris or Ve to fly through, and tunneling under it might weaken the channel and drop lava down onto whoever was digging the tunnel. So Haggard's 'boat' idea was the next best thing.
"Ok fine how would we build it," Grishnake asked.
"No, not going to happen," Serana said, "I am not getting onto a boat that is going into a lava stream. Lets just freeze the lava on top and walk over."
"You just tried that and it didn't work," Orthino observed.
"Oh shut up," Serana snapped as she stormed off to go throw more ice into the lava flow.
"Right I'll need twelve adamantium bricks to be fashioned into a hull then anything you've got that can hold a chill to line the boat with," Haggard said, "Now the channel isn't long but we will need enough ice to keep us from being roasted like an egg in a pan. I can propel us with the Pyrolauncher, so the longest part of this build will be hammering out the hull."
"I'm a smith I can make the hull if you can spare the materials," Grishnake said, "Lyd, Serana, you two go find some soul gems I'm sure the crystals here can be fashioned into them, and those demons and orc-golems that are strewn all over still could use a good harvesting."
"Well it certainly beats standing around down here," Lydia replied as she got Serana and headed for the entrance.
"Chris, Ve, go see Malcolm get anything that has a frost or cold enchantment on it," Grish continued, "Orthino you and Red go hunt through your sleeping chamber see if anything in there could be helpful for keeping the cool in or the heat out."
"Right back to the creepy tomb," Red said, "Come on big guy give me a lift."
"Preston, Sweetwater, help Haggard get this boat design drawn out on some of this drafting paper," Grish added as he handed a roll of gridded paper to the three, "I'll keep watch for more elementals."
"I'm just glad that bullets work on those things," Preston remarked.
Grish nodded to them as he unstrapped his backpack and started pulling out his smithing equipment. One fifteen pound anvil, three kinds of hammers, tongs, pliers, bellows, an apple, two carrots and a salmon.
"Um, do I even want to know how or why you carry all that around," Sweets said as he looked over Grish's equipment.
"When your the head smith for a tribe of orcs for twenty years you learn to carry around the oddest things," Grish replied as he set to building a forge from the volcanic rocks around the lava flow. It took some work but by the time the others had returned he had a nice set up, all he was missing was a big roaring fire to work the metal with.
"Orthino mind giving an old orc a hand," Grish asked,
"You, Old? I doubt that, but I'll see what I can do," Orthino said as he bathed the forge in fire-breath then fine tuned the stream of heat to just the forge, "Ok all the fire you could want."
"Hey Spyro can do that trick too," Haggard said as he brought over the plans for the boat.
"Alright every one else keep back there are going to be a lot of sparks," Grish warned before he threw the first adamantium bars into Orthino's fire. He chose a good three pound hammer with a dual head, one flat one round. Throwing on his thick smithing gloves he grabbed the tongs, pulled one of the bars out and went to work. The cave rung with the rise and fall of the hammer, an old melody that Grish knew well, he missed smithing so went into this project with everything he had. First it was bars into large flat pieces then those pieces were slowly curved into the shape of a hull before he took another eight bars of adamantium and hammered out ribs to support the hull and hold the metal sheets together. Several rivets later and he was finished. As the metal cooled the blue came back out giving it a very ocean like feel.
"Ok Lydia, Serana you two got those soul gems filled," Grish asked.
"Right here," Lyd replied as she held out five large, glowing gems.
"Thanks," Grish muttered as he took the gems, "Now this will be experimental at best, I've no idea what effects trapping spirits in these gems has on them. Serana you got that portable enchanting table?"
"Yeah, I never leave the castle without it," Serana said as she pulled out and unrolled the slatted mat with the archaic symbols on it.
Grish took the mat and put in in the boat with the gems. He arranged the gems on the mat so their power would flow into the structure of the boat and then he assigned an attribute to each gem. On was fire resistance, one got carry weight, on got a silent effect, one received a chilling aura, and the last one would reduce the visibility of anyone traveling in the boat. The gems burned up and the boat flashed once before Grish felt the air around it grow colder, then it lifted off the ground with Grish in it.
"Whoa, that's new," Grish remarked as he looked over the side, "Still I think it is best this way, so the metal doesn't touch the lava, here someone throw me up a rope."
Grish anchored the boat to the ground with the rope and allowed Haggard, Serana and Lydia inside, before having Redford untie them from the anvil and Haggard jetted them across the lava.
"Ok so how do we stop or get down," Lydia asked.
"We don't were just looking at this rift then heading back," Grish replied, "Hags let off on the steam we are going to go through the portal. Oh crap."
With a flash they went through the rift, on the other side was Warfang, a much older or is it newer, Warfang. Surrounding it was a hoard of Elementals and commanding them was Malafor.
"Get us back through that Portal," Grish snapped as he drew Grond and loosed three bolts into the vanguard of the elemental army that was turning on them.
"What is this trickery," Malafor's voice boomed out.
"Get down," Lydia shouted as she and Serana dropped down below the edge of the boat.
A black beam streaked across the boat but didn't harm it as Malafor turned his attention to them.
"Whoa Malafor," Haggard said, "Its us what are you doing?"
The large dragon stopped his attack and looked them over. "How do you know of me," he asked.
"Uh we've been paling around the universes for thirty years," Haggard said, "How could you not remember that... oh you've not met us yet have you?"
Before Malafor could change his mind and fry them, Grish grabbed the Pyrolauncher and loosed it towards the dragon sending them back through the rift.
"There they are grab them," Ve said as Chris tackled the boat to the ground back on the other side of the lava.
"Thanks," Grish said as he helped the women out then gave Hags back his weapon. "We've got problems."
"Talk," Orthino said.
"Malafor, the pre-DC one, has an army of elementals on the other side of that rift and I think he means to send them through it since he can't get them into Warfang in his current time."
"See I'm telling you we should just collapse all these tunnels," Ve said.
"Who is this Malafor," Orthino asked, "You've mentioned him but why would he attack his own city. If he is a purple then the city should belong to him."
"Malafor almost destroyed, the world, dragon kind, freedom and magic," Chris said, "Now he works with K a friend of the two-legs here."
"Watch it spiky," Serana said.
"Leave it," Grish ordered, "Oh blood it, If only Jinx were here..."
"The Dragonborn has been missing for years," Lydia said, "She sure didn't end up here."
"Dragonborn," Orthino asked, "what is that?"
"A non-dragon that has the spirit of one in it," Grish said, "Last one we knew was a Khajiit named Jinxirattuholingtonbumin, we just called her Jinx though. Dang I miss that cat. She could show Malafor not to mess with us, can shout dragons right out of the sky."
"Well she's not here but if its a grounded Malafor you want," Preston said, "Then I think we can help, I got Flyn on the radio, him, Hadriel, Sparta and Alexandria are heading for here as we speak. They should appear just outside the walls on the east side."
"Well they better not mess up our stone work," Redford said, "Is the hippie bringing his chopper?"
"Oh yeah," Preston replied, "The big one."
"Show me," Grish said as they started for the exit, "Oh and bring the boat, I've got an idea for when our wayward friend shows up."
Character Fenix
"What do you mean 'something'," Fenix asked Ravalon as the demon made his report about Char, the city where Lurbruk was rebuilding.
"Well jusst that it iss a ssomething," the giant snake from of Ravalon replied.
"And could you stop with the sss," Throon asked.
"Right sorry," Ravalon replied, "but seriously some of those ash men were there one day and the next they all were gone."
"How can they all just be gone," Baird asked, "I mean its not like the wind blows them down so what did?"
"Nothing, there are not even piles of ash like when they get disturbed," Ravalon replied, "It like they just walked off."
"We'll deal with the missing bodies later," Dom said, "First we need to check out Johnson's work with the navy, he says its amazing."
"Right, lets go," Fenix said, "Ravalon get back to work, I'll go see about Char maybe I can pick up something with my abilities."
"Very well," the demon said as he slithered out of the gates of Mercy.
"And here things were just starting to settle down to," Anya remarked, "Oh well, shall we go see this navy?"
An hour later and they had left the dilapidated town and were in the now sprawling industrial heart of their revival process, Ivan, Riza, Griffen and Cortana's old bases.
"It's so shiny and new," Coal remarked, "Seems out of place in this desert."
"Ah there you are," Johnson said as he walked up behind them and placed a tentacle-arm around Fenix and Dom, "Your going to like this bit, follow me."
"Ok so it is a boat," Baird said as they looked at the 'navy.' It was a single aircraft carrier, which while impressive didn't count as a navy.
"Did you use all your resources on that," Throon asked, "I thought I left someone competent in charge."
"Don't judge to quickly," Johnson remarked, "listen."
Fenix heard an annoying thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, but nothing else, nothing of interest.
"It sounds like it has a loose cable or something," Fenix replied.
"That's no cable," Baird said, "It sounds like... something walking."
"Look behind you," Johnson said with a smile on his dark green face.
Fenix turned around to see five, fully armed, battle ships walking over the ridge on crab-like legs. They were followed by fifteen smaller destroyer class vessels then all of them walked into the ocean and folded up their legs while the city sized carrier walked out of the ocean on eight giant legs and parked itself a hundred feet above their heads.
"Now that is a boat," Coal said, "There wouldn't happen to be Thrashball field on it would there?"
"You bet there is," Johnson said, "I was planning of having you guys drive it back to Mercy to lighten up the mood, you could probably get the entire town in there if you wanted. Its got state of the art living quarters."
"Johnson," Fenix said, "Don't ever change. Ok lets take the city back to town. How do we get in?"
"With these," Johnson said as four heavy transports landed near by, "You can use them to get the townspeople into the ship, they are programmed to ferry to and from the ship and will follow it staying a hundred yards off on each compass direction."
"Nice," Fenix said as he led the team, including Throon now, to the transports. After he got more details out of Anya about how Throon saved her, even Fenix had at least gotten less cold towards the impromptu leader of the Locust.
"Alright everyone strap in and welcome to COG airlines. I am Baird and I'll be your captain today," Baird said over the radio.
"That's great now shut up and get us moving," Fenix replied with a slight grin.
After the five minute trip to the carrier and the ten minute walk to the bridge they were off. The carrier moved fast even on land and covered the distance to Mercy in half their original time. As they got close though Fenix felt something, at first he thought it was Ravalon again but he quickly realized that he felt an army of undead.
"Baird, Coal, get the guns on this thing fired up," Fenix yelled as he grabbed Dom, Anya and Throon and headed for the deck.
"We don't have any ground based weapons only AA," Baird radioed back, "But this ship is capable of producing aircraft, it's a walking aircraft plant."
"Then have it make gunships if it can," Fenix replied, "We've got undead attacking Mercy."
"So that's what this is about," Throon said, "I doubt they will get past Hoffman and Pestilence."
"Well from what I am picking up it feels like..." Fenix trailed off as they rose over the forest and got their first clear look at Mercy. There was an ocean of ash and cinder figures trying to burn down the gates.
"Oh," Anya breathed, "It must be the entire city of Char out there."
"So that's what Ravalon and Lurbruk were talking about," Dom said, "Blarg man, Char was home to over three million people, if there all those flaming ash men..."
"Then we're in deep blarg," Fenix finished. Then switching to a long range channel, "Johnson you there?"
"Fenix what do you need," Came the jovial reply.
"An army big enough to defend against three to five million undead and I need it by last week," Fenix said.
"Ok I'll drive the rest of the navy over there. You get started by producing planes out of the carrier," Johnson said, "I'll also bring along the few ground forces that the commanders left."
"That's perfect see you soon," Fenix said as he cut the channel, "Ok guys time to hold the gates until backup arrives."
A transport landed on the carrier and they boarded it, as it dropped them off in the town it's rail-guns auto-targeted some of the undead that were beating against the gate.
"Hey Baird set the transports to patrol around the city, their guns will target the undead," Fenix radioed.
"On it," Baird replied, "The factory is online now that we have stopped moving so more gunships and bombers coming up."
"Good," Fenix said before ending the call, "Just be careful with the bombers send them out away from the city wouldn't want to punch a hole for these creeps through our wall."
"Fenix," You've got good timing and even better entrances," Hoffman said as he rode up on the mutant rock-worm Pestilence.
"Yeah congratulate us later lets go kill us some undead," Fenix remarked as he jumped on Pestilence, followed by Anya then Throon and Dom.
"I've ordered the other Gears and Locust who can fight into sniper positions but with so many out there if the undead made a concerted effort they would get into the town," Hoffman said, "Can we start getting the civilians onto that walking city of yours?"
"Baird did you get that," Fenix asked.
"Yup calling in the transports now," Baird replied so all of them could hear him, "I've got them programmed to ferry to and from the ship in the church courtyard."
"I'll go coordinate the transport," Hoffman said as he slid off of their buggy ride, "I'll let you know when the civilians are gone then we can start getting the soldiers out."
"Right," Fenix replied as he tossed his lancer to Anya, his shotgun to Throon and his pistol to Dom, "Time to teach these guys not to mess with Delta."
"Glad to be a part of the team," Throon remarked as he pumped the shotgun so it was loaded.
They got to the gate and it opened just enough to let them out before shutting again. Spread out before them was a sea of burning, ash, hulls of what used to be people. Fenix didn't waste any more time sizing up the situation and started blasting the undead with a rain of platinum colored energy bolts that shredded any of the unliving in there way. The rat-tatata-ra-ta-rat of the lancer, boom of the shotgun, and the pop, pop, pop of both pistols being fired let Fenix know that the others had decided on the same course of action. Then a group of six gunships flew in close over head to provide support, courtesy of Baird and Coal, followed by six fighter bombers that headed out into the crowd of undead. Even with all that they may have killed a thousand out of millions, Fenix could tell this was going to be a long day.
Character Gandalf
"Ah here we go," Gandalf said as he blew the dust off an old scroll rack in the back rooms of the library of Gondor. The elderly man with sparkling wise eyes, bird-like nose white, shoulder length, hair, a white mustache and beard that were neatly trimmed and white robes, was holding a white staff from which a light illuminated the dim marble room that he and Qui-gon Jin, a younger looking man with brown hair, eyes, beard, and robes, were rummaging through.
"You found them," Qui-gon asked.
"I think so," Gandalf replied as he pulled out a scroll and opened it up, "Hmm... some more light." He tapped his staff on the floor twice and the gem at the top grew brighter allowing him to see the ancient elvish runes that were on the scroll. "Of course," Gandalf laughed, "Its in elvish."
"Well we know an Elf," Qui-gon replied, referring to Legolas.
"Indeed," Gandalf stated, "last I heard he and Gimli were scouting the northern Mirkwood, following up on tales of a dragon in the area. I believe we could pay them a visit, of course Aragorn and Arwen need to know we are taking this scroll."
"Then we should tell them and be on our way," Qui-gon said.
"Agreed," Gandalf replied as he exited the chamber and made his way up the winding staircase to the outside of the library into Minas Tirith proper, just outside the royal residence where his old friends lived. Arwen, the half-elven queen was already outside tending to the white tree that was making a comeback in the garden on the pinnacle of the city. She turned to them and a smile lit up her elegant face as she approached them.
"Mithrandir, Qui-gon Jin," She greeted, "Have you found what you seek?"
"Indeed," Gandalf replied as he showed her the scroll, "You don't happen to know this version of elven do you?"
"This is old writing indeed," Arwen said as her brow furrowed, "I can read it but it will be of no help to you, the scroll has a different message for each reader and I dare not read what it says the future holds for me. There may only be a few beings left in Middle Earth who could read that even if they wanted to never mind read its message for you. You would need to find some one terribly old and powerful to translate the writing on that scroll."
"Old and powerful like a dragon," Aragorn said as the aged but still handsome and formidable king approached with his and Arwen's son, Eldarion. "Your best bet will be to find that troublesome duo and the dragon they hunt, it out of all the beings left in Middle Earth has the best chance of being able to provide what you need."
"Your not coming," Qui-gon asked.
"Ah if you had set out ten years ago I might have but, even my blood grows old with time, and I've got a nation and a family to look after now," Aragorn replied with a smile that was both glad and sad, "No go on and when you find K and DC again give them my best wishes."
"We will at that," Gandalf said as he clasp his old friends' hands and let Eldarion play with his beard before collecting his thought's and Qui-gon's thoughts as they departed.
"I'll miss them," Qui-gon said as they made there way through the now thriving city, "After all they both were there to drive back Morgoth when we came to this world and found it enslaved to the darkness."
"Yes but so was most of DC," Gandalf replied, "Minus K, C, and their friends who were going to go start that college."
"True," Qui-gon replied as they continued through the paved stone streets, past merchants of all kinds of food, baubles, drinks, weaponry, and anything else one could find to sell.
"Not to mention the food here is undoubtedly better than what we will be eating on the road," Gandalf remarked, causing Qui-gon to laugh as they headed for the main gates. Outside Qui-gon retrieved his horse and Gandalf called for Shadowfax the king of horses and another old and trusted friend. The white stallion galloped out of the pains almost as if he had been waiting for this moment. Gandalf knew better, the stallion could appear where he wished as long as he was riderless and even with a rider there was no other ground bound creature that could keep up with him.
"Take us to Legolas," Gandalf said as he fed Shadowfax some grain from a satchel.
The horse neighed and tossed his mane in enthusiasm, as Gandalf climbed on. They spent the next twelve days on the roads before entering Mirkwood, and it took another five before they had found Legolas and Gimli in the northern tip of the dense, dark, forest camped at the foot of a mountain.
"Gandalf," Legolas, a tall blond haired elf prince, called in greeting, "Qui-gon you've arrived just in time for the slaying, assuming that the rumors about this dragon are to be true things could easily go the other way round however."
"Just what are the rumors," Qui-gon asked.
"Oh just the usual," Gimli the stocky, brown haired, dwarf lord replied, "A hundred feet tall, thousand feet long breaths lightening, is a gold and red color, etc, etc. Most likely someone saw a fire drake at night and its fire caused the illusion of lightening and the golden color."
"Don't we know some dimensional traveling lightening breathing dragons," Gandalf said.
"True but Storm never came here and Rayon is not gold, nor are any other dragons in DC," Qui-gon said, "Besides we want a Middle Earth dragon who can read this scroll for us."
"What scroll," Gimli said, "Your not planning to trap it are you?"
"We need this read," Gandalf said as he showed the two the scroll, "And a dragon is the most likely candidate to be able to read it."
"Oh great," Legolas said, "Now how are we supposed to trap a dragon?"
"You may not have to," a female voice called from somewhere near by, "Did I hear you say you knew a dragon named Storm who can use electricity?"
"Indeed you did," Gandalf replied, "how do you know her?"
"Because she is my daughter. I am Zora Soul-Mate to Terrador and mother of Storm," Zora, the mysterious voice, replied, "Now you're camped on my back so if you would kindly move I would greet you properly."
"On your back," Gimli almost choked on his beer, "You really must be a thousand feet long."
"No only about fifty," Zora's harsh but high voice replied, "You just picked a very bad spot to camp."
"Hah it seems we don't get the scroll read but we are given another method of getting back to K," Qui-gon said.
"Come on then lets not impress on the good graces of our dragon hostess here any longer," Gandalf said, "Hurry and move your things."
Character
Ezio
They had found Cain and both sides had swapped stories about how they ended up in the inn where they now were planning for a venture down into Kingsport, a city where a supposedly powerful angelic artifact had recently been stolen. The only problem was none of them, Cain included, could figure out what the artifact is. Now Ezio knew from experience that ancient and powerful artifacts whose size, shape, and function were unknown could be extremely dangerous and hard to find. The last time he had to assassinate a Pope to retrieve such an artifact and stop the templars from using it to control the world.
"Hey I've got a lead," Lilith said as she and Bethany entered the room, "A member of the thieves guild and occasional business partner of ours, Lyndon, just put up a, 'rare and antiquated scabbard for sale to the highest bidder.'"
"Well it certainly seems mundane enough," Leah replied from her chair by the fire place in the main common of her inn.
"Sometimes the mundane can be extraordinary," Cain said, "Can you contact this Lyndon and tell him we will take a look at this scabbard?"
"Short of going to Kingsport," Beth replied, "No. But since we are already planning to head down there we might as well be in time for the auction. It is going to be held in three weeks."
"My coin is no good here," Ezio said, "How would we buy this scabbard, I'll not impose on any of you to bid on it for me."
"Well you're an assassin," Leah said, "And it only takes a week to get to Kingsport from here. Take a contract I'm sure there is some crazy mage or renegade noble that the royal family would pay well to see removed."
"Two weeks to plan an assassination," Ezio contemplated, "I can do that."
"Good," Cain said, "Because there is something else going on here than just your quest to get home. There is a new evil afoot in the hells and I think you have a part to play in its undoing."
"Wouldn't be the first time I got wrapped up in a religious war," Ezio said, "When can we leave?"
"As soon as I get someone to watch the inn," Leah replied, "I'll go talk to Haedrig and Mira, I'm sure they could use the extra coin."
"What of yourself," Ezio asked, "Do you have gold to spare?"
"I may be young but I am no fool," Leah replied as she ducked under the counter, "I've been saving for the occasional freak event."
Ezio heard a click and the wall behind the bar slid open to reveal a room with several large chests in it and a sizable assortment of weapons and armor.
"Now that is impressive," Beth remarked, "There must be millions of gold's worth of weapons and armor in there alone, never mind what is in the chests."
"Good eye," Leah said as she entered the room and unlocked a chest, "I've spent about a million on the various articles in here, those that I didn't find in my travels, and there is another three or so stored in these chests." She pulled out two sacks of coin and then took a set of molded plate armor from the wall.
"Bethany you mind helping me with these straps," Leah asked as the muscular girl donned the heavy armor.
"Sure," Beth replied as she walked over to Leah and pulled the straps tight and tied them together.
"Thanks," Leah said, "Now Ezio go to the blacksmith's shop across the street and ask Haedrig to come over here."
Ezio nodded as he ducked out of the inn. The blacksmiths place was a large, stone building with a massive anvil and forge out front, alongside displays of weapons and armor forged by the smith. Haedrig, a strong man with short brown hair and beard, clad in a thick, leather apron and hammering on a hot piece of metal looked up as Ezio approached.
"Ah the new bloke in town," Haedrig greeted as he set the metal back into the forge, "I saw you returning with those twins, Leah and that old man."
"Yes Cain," Ezio said, "Leah sent me to get you she wants to see if your and your wife would take care of the inn while she is gone."
"Gone," Haedrig said, "Where to, Bramwell?"
"No Kingsport," Ezio replied, "For about three or four weeks."
"Ah business then," Haedrig said as he drew the metal back out of the forge and placed it on the anvil, "Aye tell the lass that Mira and I can look after the place for her." Haedrig went back to hammering which cut off any chance at further conversation so Ezio returned to the inn. Inside he saw the other four ready to go, Leah was the most striking of the assembled group. Clad in shining plate armor and with her massive crossbow slung over her shoulder the almost shy innkeeper had turned into a frightening warrior.
"Impressive isn't it," Lil said, "So what word from the blacksmith?"
"He agreed to watch the inn," Ezio said as he did a double take of Leah as she put a full plate helm on covering up all but her eyes and eerily reminiscent of the templars back home. Still she was the most stunning figure he had ever seen.
"Ah good," Leah said, "Then we can set off whenever you're ready uncle."
"As ready as I'll ever be," Cain replied as he picked up his staff, "Lets go so we can get the traveling over with."
On that note the five set out, Leah stopped by Haedrig's to leave him a set of keys and gave him a pouch of gold to use for restocking the inn in case the stores started to run low. Then they were on the road.
"Oh how I wish Carter or Xavier were here," Cain said, "Flying dragon back is much easier than walking."
"I still can't believe that this Dragon Company is real," Ezio said, "It seems so... improbable."
"So is jumping off a building and landing in a forest," Beth added.
Ezio chuckled at that. It was in such a manner, with occasional backwards comments and general good humor that the five made their way to Kingsport, half way there they caught up with a caravan driver named Warriv who offered them spots in his convoy if they would protect him and his goods from bandits. They agreed and the remainder of the trip went much smoother than the first two thirds. The time it took them being cut short by riding with the caravan. Thus they arrived only five days after their departure from Tristram and Ezio was able to scan the public boards for jobs in line with his talents. He found two and decided on the one to assassinate a mage that had been terrorizing the town with undead from a nearby swamp.
Leah agreed to go with him, since Cain wanted to go to the library and study up on this scabbard if he could and Beth and Lil needed to get in touch with the elusive Lyndon to see about buying the scabbard. So he found himself the next day in the swamp with Leah, the two of them on alert for the squishing shambling sound of zombies and skeletons and looking out for any magical traps that could kill them in a variety of different and interesting ways. Ezio stopped when he heard a squish... squish-squish... squish.
"Hey did you hear something," Leah asked.
"Yeah," Ezio replied, "Sounds like a wolf or something."
"There are no wolves in these parts, to warm for them," Leah replied her voice slightly echoing due to the helmet.
"Then what sounds like a four legged animal in these parts," Ezio asked.
"A two legged one whose legs are decaying," Leah replied, "We are close."
Ezio nodded as the two continued on, he had found Leah unique back at the inn and now he truly had formed a respect for the woman. Sloughing through waist deep marsh in full plate armor, with a crossbow that must weigh as much as the armor itself and not even breathing heavy. He found her an inspiring presence here in this harsh terrain. His contemplation was interrupted as his assassin honed senses kicked in to throw him out of the way of a thrown ax. He came up to the ring of metal on metal and saw the ax had stuck into Leah's armor and she had planted her crossbow into the ground and was firing off a rapid stream of bolts into some half preserved corpses that reeked of swamp.
"Ezio watch my back," Leah called as she pointed to another group of the risen cadavers that were making their way towards the duo. Ezio pick himself up, drenched in water and mud, and made to intercept the zombies. Another ax flew out of the sparse woods and he deflected it with his bracers before sending some throwing knives of his own into the zombies. The undead didn't even flinch as the knives made dull thuds and sunk into their flesh.
"Oh crap," Ezio thought as he engaged the undead. He used his sword since small wounds like those from his hidden blades and knife didn't seem to stop the marauding dead. He cut off an arm then the head of one zombie, which subsequently fell to the ground. He knocked aside the groping hands of the next zombie then cut off its legs and kicked it off is legs and into its comrades. Another metallic ring signaled that Leah had absorbed another ax strike. There were four more undead moving in on him and Ezio assumed a defensive position. The first undead dropped as he sliced it's knees and split its head open. Then he dodged under a swipe at his face and bifurcated another zombie on his way up, leaving two halves that spasmed once then were still. The two remaining zombies charged in and he dropped them both with a single sweeping blow across their necks, leaving them headless.
"Ok clear," Ezio called.
"Good," Leah said as she came up beside him bow once again slung across her back and the two axes that had stuck into her armor in her hands, "Now I want to find the person responsible for damaging a three hundred thousand piece of ah... armor."
"You're hurt," Ezio said, "Did the axes get through?"
"Yeah just give me a second to drink a healing potion," Leah said as she pulled a red bottle out of her belt and swallowed the contents. "Ah that's better, now lets go."
They followed the sounds of someone retreating deeper into the swamp, Ezio's white cloak was now completely ruined, stained brown by the mud of the swamp, but all his gear was still sharp and functional so he decided he could get another cloak back in town after collecting the bounty of ten thousand gold for this mage. Strange though that a mage would throw axes at them and not spells, he asked Leah about it and she just shrugged saying, "It is odd but the undead were definitely controlled by the mage so we must assume he has other spells he could resort to."
A few minutes later her words were proved true as a fire ball roared overhead and exploded into a tree a few feet behind them. Ezio and Leah both dodged behind trees and watched for the next attack. After a few seconds of nothing Ezio chanced a look around the tree. He saw a man in a ruined cloak with a scraggly stick in his hand and a unkempt graying beard and hair that ringed eyes that didn't really seem to focus on anything around the man. "Yeah definitely crazy," Ezio thought as he loaded one of his three remaining rounds into his concealed pistol, "Well at least this will be a merciful way to kill the poor man." He looked back around the tree to line up his shot but the man was not there.
"Leah," Ezio called, "Did you see him leave?"
"No," She replied, "He just disappeared. I've heard it said that extremely powerful mages can teleport themselves."
Ezio leaned back against the tree thinking about how he would kill someone who could teleport out of the way of his attacks when the man appeared right in front of him. Ezio just reacted, throwing a knife into the man's throat while simultaneously putting one of his blades into the deranged man's heart and gutting him with his sword. The man died with a gurgle and a whimper, leaving Ezio feeling sickened that he had reacted so violently, a quick thrust into the mage's skull would have been a much kinder and quicker death. But he was past the time for regrets and he took the wand from the mage as proof that the man was indeed dead.
"Wow," Leah breathed as she walked up beside him, "you really are an assassin aren't you, I've never seen anyone kill a mage before they were done with a teleport."
"Wait what," Ezio said, "He just appeared and I reacted."
"But you drew and threw that knife before the mage appeared in front of you," Leah explained, "He materialized around it. Then you finished him off before he could hit the ground, I've never seen such speed and precision."
"Well It's done now," Ezio said, "We should make camp for tonight its getting dark and I doubt the undead will be happy that their master is dead."
Leah nodded and they looked for a place to set up camp that wasn't going to involve them sleeping underwater. They were lucky enough to run across the old man's hut, which happened to be on the only piece of ground that was above the water line of the swamp.
"Well might as well use it I don't think anyone is going to be home," Leah said. Then catching Ezio expression whispered, "Oh sorry, bad joke."
Ezio just walked into the hut and started laying out the bed mats. He hadn't killed for a contract in five years, and he never wanted to have to kill anyone in the state that the crazy mage was in. He kept telling himself that the man was an obvious threat, that the undead he was summoning were a danger to the people in the city. It didn't help though and he knew Leah could tell, which made it worse.
"You study philosophy," Leah asked after they had settled down for the night.
"Some," Ezio replied.
"There is a saying," Leah continued, "Sometimes we take on the scars that other people wouldn't be able to so that the greater populace can remain innocent of the cruelty that this world would force on them all. Just thought you might want to hear that."
Ezio didn't reply but he rested better than he thought he would have that night. He still was up an hour before Leah. The woman hadn't even bothered to take off her armor before crashing for the night now Ezio was listening to the even clinking that her breathing caused the armor to make as he contemplated his next move. He had to get back to his family that was a sure thing, but if Cain was right and bigger things then even the templars' plans were threatening not only his home but many worlds and many many innocents... He had spent to much of his life trying to protect those without power from those with it to let some alien force undo all he had worked for.
Ezio snapped out of his soul-searching as the clinking of Leah's armor changed its frequency and the lady awoke. Sitting up she said, "Rough night?"
"Not as bad as usual," Ezio replied as he offered her an hand to help her up. She took it and pulled herself up off the bed roll. "Five years," Ezio said, "That's how long its been since I took a contract. Others find that it gets easier but I never did."
"Well that's good," Leah said, "Anyone who doesn't have second thoughts before killing another person might as well be a demon."
"I guess we should get back," Ezio said, "Beth and Lil will already have rumors about us by the time we reach the city."
"I'll bet," Leah replied, "Those two... Yeah I get the whole raped by demons as kids story but to just throw away modesty and appropriateness seems to only increase the damage that the demons did."
"Agreed," Ezio commented as he hefted their packs and the two headed back to Kingsport, "You know I wish we had brought a boat." Leah laughed at that as they dove back into the waist deep marsh.