Chapter Forty-One: Trouble in Samarkand
Climbing to the crow's nest of the ship Tercero pulled out a spyglass and peeked through seeing Samarkand approaching in the distance, whistling to get the other's attention Tercero climbed down.
"Oi ey! We're almost there!" Tercero spoke handing the spyglass to Connor who approached the helm of the ship and peeked through the spyglass.
"Get ready to dock guys!" Connor yelled moving the spyglass across the country and narrowing his eyes to dark clouds forming near the middle of the country, "Seth look at this!"
Climbing up the stairs Seth took the spyglass and peeked through, "That's nowhere near Zahadar, it looks like it's over Asur-keh-la."
"The what now?" Voltage asked raising an eyebrow.
"The buried city," Mika spoke looking to the country in the distance, "it near the Great Trade Road, Asur-keh-la was once an important market city, trading goods with the nearby town of Sweetwater Trees."
"What happened to the city?" Jaya asked having returned earlier from her experiments.
"The great tragedy, the Black Storm," Mika explained.
"Black Storm?" Kyler repeated approaching Mika with the others to listen to the story.
"Old stories say the Black Storm drowned the city in a torrential downpour of sand, burying it and its inhabitants alive," Mika explained with narrowed eyes at the clouds.
"How awful!" Ash gasped looking to the storm cloud in the distance.
"Legends say it became a ghost city that gained a notorious infamy for being impassable, with any traveler heading out in that direction quickly being swallowed up by the living sands if they are lucky," Mika explained narrowing her eyes.
"If they're lucky?! What is worse than being buried alive?" Voltage asked in shock.
"Try being eviscerated then devoured by the hordes of Hollow Men that once called the site their home," Mika continued to explain.
"So, we going to hope the clouds aren't part of another Black Storm?" Seth asked looking back to the others.
"Knowing our luck, I highly doubt it," Roscoe sighed.
"Be very cautious, Samarkand much like Albion can be very dangerous, I suspect an old king has returned to unbury his kingdom," Gabriel spoke through their seals.
"Unbury? What do you mean Gabriel?" Connor asked.
"Do you recall the story I told of the Sin of Greed? The Acquisitor?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah, that he was some old Pharaoh who was so horrible his people revolted and had him executed," Seth filled in.
"Yes, but I did not tell you what happened after he was transformed by the Corrupter? After his execution night fell and so did the very first Black Storm, but back then it was called the Dark Pharaoh Curse, unable to escape the entire kingdom and its people were buried in the sand, where they were forgotten by history, Greed had placed a curse on any who dare to try and claim his land as their, and so Asur-keh-la meet the same fate," Gabriel told the heroes.
"So now the greedy bastard has returned, will he attack the Kingdom of Zahadar?" Connor asked.
"I wouldn't put it past him to try and conquer another kingdom," Gabriel replied.
Nodding Connor pointed to the country in the distance, "full speed ahead! If the Sin of Greed wants a fight, we will give it to him!"
"Ok, Gabriel where are we going? Where the Hero of Will?" Kyler asked.
"I have seen visions of a grand library, you will find the hero in Samarkand's most treasured piece of history," Gabriel spoke from the Sanctuary examining the Apprentice Card.
"Samarkand Grand Library huh? I've heard the tower has over twenty floors each filled with books from every corner of the world, could be a great opportunity to peek at the Alchemical section," Jaya spoke.
"Be on your guard, I am sensing another evil has made its way to Samarkand shores," Gabriel warned.
Arriving at the port town of Fairwinds Connor docked the ship where they could see much like LeDorada most of the trade between the other countries arrived at Fairwinds first.
"Oh wow!" Kyler spoke shielding his eyes from the sun to see many large warehouses and many forklifts carrying fresh cargo.
"I see Samarkand doing well for themselves," Voltage spoke helping to park their ship.
"But of course, Samarkand is famous for many things, rich history, exotic foods, weapons, spices, but the most popular product that Samarkand is very famous for is fireworks," Jaya explained seeing a crate of fireworks with many warnings on the package being loaded onto a cargo ship for LeDorada.
"Ah si! My country getting ready to celebrate some upcoming holidays, the fireworks of Samarkand are muy magnifico," Tercero chimed in pulling down his hood but keeping his facemask on.
"I'll check in the ship," Seth volunteered going off into the crowd of dock workers.
"Hmmm," Neo grunted studying the storm, "should we deal with that first? Or should we locate the Hero of Will first?"
"That's a tough one, we know the Hero here in this country, at the Grand Library, right? Dealing with the enemy could cause Tirich to get his hands on the Hero first," Connor spoke going into thought.
"Gabriel, do you read?" Ash asked into her seal waiting for a response.
"He's not responding, which means we were right, the Sin here and he comes back for his kingdom," Kyler spoke narrowing his eyes at the dark clouds in the distance.
"What do you want to do Connor?" Mika asked looking to Connor who gave it a thought.
"We seek out the Hero of Will first, we can't risk losing them to the enemy, then we will deal with Greed!" Connor spoke looking over to Seth who ran over.
"I took care of the ship! I also got us our transportation!" Seth smirked.
Leading the way Seth led them to a train station that leaves Fairwinds making a stop to every town along the Great Trade Road, riding past Asur-keh-la then stops at the entrance to the Kingdom of Zahadar before making a U-turn and going back the same way to return to where it started.
"Hopefully we can get to enjoy the train ride this time," Jaya spoke boarding the train with the others going down rows of seats till they reached an empty section.
"Why is this train so oddly shaped?" Roscoe asked lying near Connor's feet.
"Oh! I've seen one of these trains before, it's a bullet train! It can move at 200 miles per hour, we will reach the kingdom in no time," Seth spoke taking a window seat.
"Wow that's clever," Ash smiled taking a seat next to Neo, "do they have trains where you're from Neo?"
"Yes, we call them MagLev Trains, high-speed trains that travel along electrified and magnetized tracks that are elevated and run throughout cities and colonies," Neo explained.
"Elevated? That something I'd like to see," Kyler remarked glancing over to Mika who crossed her arms and stared out the window.
"Let's make this quick, I hate being in small spaces," Mika requested.
Hearing the intercom turn on they heard a recorded voice first speak in Arabic before switching to replay the same message in Japanese then finally spoke English for the heroes to understand.
"Welcome aboard the Samarkand Bullet Train! Please remain seated, and tuck any luggage under the seat in front of you. Unfortunately, we will not be making a stop in the town of Emberstone, we do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause! Please stand clear of the closing doors," the message spoke before the doors closed and the train began to move.
Having a sinking feeling Seth elbowed Connor before pulling out his phone and began to text Faraday, 'Faraday, we arrived in Samarkand could you look into the town of Emberstone, we think our enemies are on the move.'
Reading Seth's text Connor waited till Faraday replied with the message, 'I'll look into it, however, just from a quick search it seems the Samarkandi government is doing everything in their power to keep reports about the town from spreading, I'll hack and gather what I can contact me when you arrive at your next destination.'
"Think it Greed?" Connor asked seeing Seth do a map search of Samarkand.
"The town is not that close to where that storm is," Seth replied looking out the window to eye the dark clouds, "did Gabriel mean there are two threats?"
"Two?" Voltage replied having turned around and leaning on his seat to eavesdrop on them, "you think there two of them here already?"
"It's a theory but the storm we saw, that has Greed written all over it, but from what I've gathered from the news report the Samarkandi news is issuing a warning to stay clear, the storm arrived five days ago!" Seth spoke his eye widening at ready the date, "dammit! The bastard had time to plan his attack!"
"They, you mean," Ash spoke turning around, "Gabriel said another enemy arrived at the shores, when was Emberstone closed down?"
"Let's see," Seth spoke doing a quick search, "this morning it seems, but whatever happening no information is getting out."
"Could be a divide and conquer stagey?" Neo suggested from the seats across from them, "While this 'Greed' creature plans the major attack another enemy acts as the distraction."
"Then we must warn the Samarkand royal family," Jaya spoke, "they need to be warned before innocent lives are destroyed."
"Ok, this is what we shall do," Connor spoke getting the group eyes on him, "we shall divide and conquer as well, Tercero you and Mika are with me, we will go to the Grand Library to find the Hero of Will."
"You can count on us," Mika nodded.
"Voltage, Neo, Ash, I want you three to go to Emberstone, investigate what happened, and report back to us," Connor spoke.
"We will get to the bottom of this, you can leave Emberstone to us," Ash nodded.
"Kyler, Seth, Jaya, get to the palace, the Royal Family needs to be warned, Kyler you will be the proof of our journey, smash a pillar, lift the throne, prove you're a hero," Connor spoke seeing the tallest member of their group chuckle.
"Go all out huh? Guess I'll have to use some of my Crucible performance stunts," Kyler smirked.
"We should be arriving close to Emberstone, I don't think the bullet train gonna stop," Jaya spoke looking at the signs above the train roof and giving the estimated time for their arrival.
"Meaning we have to jump from another train," Neo sighed.
"Don't worry sir! At the speed of the train and the abundance of sand covering this country I doubt you will sustain any serious injuries," Merlin chimed in.
"You lot jumped from a train?! I knew you people were a little mad," Voltage chuckled.
"Hmmmm," Ash hummed looking around and spotted the emergency hatch in the back of the train roof, "let's move then!"
Running down the row Ash opened the hatch before removing her glasses to put them safely into her pocket before jumping up.
"Oh shit!" Ash grunted when the wind smacked her and almost sent her flying off the train but Neo caught her hand.
"I got you!" Neo spoke climbing up with Voltage climbing after.
Seeing people whispering and staring at the scene Kyler raised a brow, before yelling in a commanding voice "HEY! Mind your bloody business!"
Seeing the people quickly avert the eyes Connor approached the hatch looking out the windows to see the town approaching in the distance, "go now!"
Closing the hatch Voltage jumped along with Ash and Neo all hitting a hill of sand before each grunted and rolled down the hill.
"Oooof! Not one of my better landings," Ash grunted putting on her glasses to see the train quickly going down the rail and could see the town of Emberstone ahead of them built into an oasis.
"PPPFT!" Voltage spat having got sand in his mouth, "Yeah great idea! Jump off the bullet train into a pile of sand!"
Staying silent Neo hit a button on his helmet zooming into the town ahead noticing a lack of people in the streets, "I'm not picking up any movement."
"That not a good sign," Ash spoke walking with her group across the sands toward the town of Emberstone.
Getting closer Voltage was about to enter the town when he walked into an invisible wall almost knocking him over, "NGH! The hell?!"
Approaching Neo placed his hand forward touching a magic shield that shimmered showing it was a massive bubble over the entire town, "a field barrier of some sort?"
"No this is definitely magic," Ash corrected seeing the stones on her gauntlets seem to be reacting to the barrier, "hmmmm alright stand back boys."
"Ladies first," Voltage chuckled standing back with Neo watching Ash pull her knuckle dusters tightly around her hands the Lightning Augmentation creating sparks of electricity around her hands.
Taking a step back Ash got into a fighter's stance before taking a deep breath narrowing her eyes and throwing a fast and powerful thunder punch into the barrier creating bolts of electricity and magic to strike all around her before sending Ash flying back into the sand.
"Ash!" Neo yelled rushing over to see the girl grunt and shake her wrist making magic sparks shake off.
"You okay Ash?" Voltage asked looking over to the barrier and seeing that it had made a crack where she punched but the barrier healed the cracks.
"I'm good, but now I know for sure what kind of barrier this is," Ash spoke narrowing her eyes, "this was done by a very powerful Will User, and a barrier like this can only stay up if the caster in the area, so SHOW YOURSELF!"
Pulling out his Axe Voltage was ready for an attack looking around with Neo who drew his rifle readying to shoot the enemy, "where are they, Ash?"
"They're very close their scent is," Ash spoke sniffing before her eyes widen sensing something approaching from behind, "THERE!"
Spinning with a powerful roundhouse kick her boot was caught with little effort but a hooded figure who then used his free hand and snapped fingers creating magical seals under Ash, Neo, and Voltage's feet sending bolts of magic through their bodies.
"GAAAH!" Ash cried out trying to get free but was brought to her knees.
"NGH! You bastard!" Voltage grunted trying to keep standing but he too was brought to his knee.
"GRRR! This. Is. Nothing!" Neo grunted reaching out to the hooded figure but more bolts surged through his body knocking him over.
"SIR!" Merlin yelled turning red, "who are you?!"
"Hmmm," the hooded figure grunted studying the group then softly gasped upon seeing the Guild Seal on Ash's belt, "you girl, where did you get that?!"
"I earned it! I was chosen to aid the Hero of Westcliffe!" Ash growled bearing fangs her eyes almost becoming Balverine-like.
"Ash don't transform!" Neo warned trying to crawl out of the magic seal.
Seeing the Guild Seal on both Voltage and Neo as well the hooded figure snapped his fingers making the seals vanish.
"Ngh! Oh, you will regret that you son of a bitch!" Voltage growled picking up his axe ready to charge at the enemy.
Holding up a hand to halt Voltage's attack the hooded figure reached up to remove his hood revealing his face to the heroes.
Before them stood a tan older man of possibly a Muslim background, who appeared around his fifties with gray hair, but the most notable feature the man had was the detailed blue will markings that covered his face and his blue eyes.
"You don't look like you're in league with who attacked this village," the man spoke seeing Ash pant before growling and standing up.
"Yeah, no shit!" Ash yelled throwing a punch that he dodged with the aid of Slow Time.
"Stay your weapons, I wish to speak now," the man spoke catching Ash's hand when she swung again.
"Hmph!" Ash growled snatching her hand back, "You got five seconds before I knock your lights out!"
"I am Malik, royal court wizard of the Samarkand Royal Family, I was tasked by his majesty to investigate the nature of the murders that took place in this village, my barrier was in place to ensure I could conduct my investigation in peace and to prevent the culprit from sneaking up on me, I had assumed you were the guilty parties when I sensed magic strike my barrier, I apologies," Malik explained.
"You serve the Royal Family?" Voltage asked still suspicious of the man before them.
"Indeed, from what reports told a Will user was behind the murders," Malik explained opening his barrier and stepping in allowing the group into the town.
Upon entering the barrier Ash gasped covering her nose when a foul scent hit her nose, "Oh lord! What a foul stench!"
Looking around their eyes widened upon seeing trails of what appeared to be black ink or maybe tar all over the town appearing to have entered each home or chased whatever victim it was after.
However, the source of the smell was a mix of the tar and the rotting mummified-like bodies spread across the town.
"My god," Neo spoke seeing the bodies, with skin on their bones still but appeared to have been dried out in the sun.
"How long have they been dead? They look like they have been rotten for weeks?" Voltage asked seeing no life was spared, animals, men, women, and even children fell victim to the horrible attack.
"They all died today," Malik replied making their eyes widen.
"What?!" Ash gasped watching Merlin float over to one of the bodies.
"The darkest of magic is behind this, the pools of ink leaving streaks across the ground, sucking out the life of anything around it," Malik spoke looking towards dead plants, "this is the work of Soul Suckers."
