Wednesday 14/09/61, Location: 39.65724, 113.75046, Time 12:15
"Right, listen up assholes. Got some intel for you. Most of it is magik mumbo jumbo, but there's a couple of solid clues in here, too." Hunter paused, wondering if he was going to get any grief – but apparently the 'mumbo jumbo' people realised he was baiting them and just waited patiently. "Alright – first mountain was Zhurong Peak, and under the control of Yat-Gwan, of course. But according to rumours on Shadowland, she's under the protection of Lung, or works with him in some way. No surprises there. But the mountain is also aligned with the element of fire and aspects of combat, whatever that means. It doesn't say bitchiness in there, but I think we can take that as a given… oh and someone says it's 'yin', whatever that means."
Tads pressed her lips together until they were thin, resisting the urge to say anything. Hunter was clearly having one of HIS moods and was looking to wind her up, but she was determined not to take the bait. The big ork was dependable in a firefight, and had surprising depths at times – but his sense of humour and love of practical jokes were exasperating at times.
"Ok, second mountain we went to was Hua Shan. That's aligned with metal and manipulation apparently. There's some notes on here that say that the Red Lantern Triad have control over the tourism industry on the mountain and run some protection rackets there, and that ultimately they owe their allegiance to Ryumyo. This one is also Yin."
"We didn't run into any issues on the mountain, but we weren't exactly discreet in the tea-house, so we could have ruffled some feathers there. We didn't hang around long though…" Aswon commented. "Hopefully that won't come back to bite us."
"We did work for Ryumyo though, didn't we? We had a meeting with him… assuming of course that those two old men playing in the park were actually Lung and Ryumyo."
"Yes, we think we met them… but I think we were more viewed as useful servants or pawns, in their game, Kai. Not as business partners. Would be wise to keep that in mind."
"Hmmm, fair, I suppose. Even if we don't like it. Ok – what's next, Hunter?"
"Mountain three, where we're headed at the moment is Xuanwu, and aligned with Water and Illusion. Also says this one is Yang, not Yin. And I found a bunch of stuff from some people who did a run against a corporate target on one of the mountain slopes, something called 'Natural Life Bio-Research', owned by the 'Mountain Development' corporation. So I did some digging on that, and guess who a majority shareholder is rumoured to be? Ryumyo…"
"Oh. Well that could be interesting. Hopefully we won't be near their facility, or for long enough to trigger anything." Kai thought for a moment. "Is that all of them?"
"No, there's two more. The fourth sacred mountain is T'ai Shan, aligned to Wood and Detection, and that's also Yang. Again, not confirmed – but there are a number of rumours saying that this is a reported lair location for Lung. Hopefully that won't be an issue with our passenger to vouch for us. And the last one is Song Shan – and that's aligned to Earth and Healing, and is a balance between Ying and Yang. Couldn't find any corporate or dragon interests in the time I had to search, and didn't spot any rumours about organised crime or stuff like that."
"Marius – is our target dead ahead?"
"It is, Tads."
"Oh. Great. I'm seeing a disturbance on the astral. Straight ahead of us, just on the horizon right now. Big. Really, really big."
"The location we are heading for is just coming into view now. We are at flight level one, so range is approximately one one two point eight kilometres. The peaks are just in visual range now."
"Yeah, that's what I figured. Ok – so everyone knows, there is a huge astral disturbance up ahead. It's… I dunno, maybe covering about two thirds of the view at the moment. I don't know how big that is."
"I would estimate a hundred and forty kilometres in diameter, based on the refractive index of the lens you are looking through. Roughly." Marius answered after a quick mental calculation.
"And it looks like we're heading right into the middle of that. So we're not going to be able to avoid it."
"What effects are we going to see?"
"I don't know, Aswon. Not from this range. But I can feel the power of it from here… it's very, very strong. I get the feeling that our spirits aren't going to like that, or want to go in there. So be prepared not to have the protection of your personal guardians, and we may lose the concealment on the aircraft. And…" she paused, and the team waited, the seconds stretching out longer and longer in the uncomfortable silence. "…the mana there… no, there ISN'T mana there. It's like a giant eddy… there's nothing to call on. I can see it a little clearer now. Listen carefully – I won't be much good up there. I won't be able to cast spells to deal with problems, there isn't enough mana to pull on. I don't know where it is, but it's just…missing. And I won't be able to protect you from things up there either."
"Well, we've been in mana fluctuations before, or areas of horrible pollution where your magic has been affected. We'll cope. Don't worry, Tads, I know you like to protect us and look after us – but we have to do that to you, too. We'll be careful, and stick together, and keep an eye out for each other." He tried to sound supportive and reassuring, knowing that she couldn't see him while her attention was glued to the viewing prisms.
"I think it's to do with the mountain's alignment. If this is the first mountain that is Yang, and we've come from two that are Yin… we're carrying the sort of opposite charge. If we come across a creature or enemy mage up there, they're likely to be able to use the power that's there, rather than have it act as a barrier."
"Well, we're just going to have to be careful." Aswon reiterated.
"More than that, Aswon. We need to have agreement. We need to make sure that we understand each other. That we're not carrying baggage of the past, old arguments that are festering in the darkness of our minds. We should talk to each other and resolve our issues."
There was another pause at the unusual turn of speech, and the team exchanged glances with each other. This wasn't something they'd been expecting, and Shimazu suddenly focussed his attention on Yat-Gwan and then gestured towards Tads, then the front of the cabin, and the mountain that lay ahead of them. Yat-Gwan gave a little shrug and a nod, before sighing a little. Shimazu extended his senses into the astral and looked over at Tads, carefully reading her aura. He didn't try to break through her mask, but concentrated instead on just her surface emotions, picking up the conflict and worry that rippled through her aura as she considered options and seemed to prevaricate between options.
"Tads – we're all here, and we'll look after each other. And if we need to talk, we can talk. Get things sorted out between us. We'll do whatever it takes to keep each other safe, ok?" He looked around the cabin at the others, and made a gesture with his hands, encouraging them to agree with him verbally and reassure their shaman. He wasn't sure what she was going through, but the doubt and uncertainty was building in her, and that was a dangerous combination for someone on edge.
"But we do need to talk."
"To who?" Aswon asked.
"To each other."
"Right. Ok. Or… er… what? What happens if we don't?"
"We need to get things out into the open. Air our grievances and disagreements."
"Is this the mountain talking to you? Or a feeling?" Shimazu interjected.
"It's… it's like the other two mountains. A feeling. But it's what I know. We need to do this… it's the right thing to do."
"What would you say your feelings where from the other two mountains?"
"Being a bitch and wanting to buy bigger guns!" Hunter sniggered. "Neither of which I have an issue with by the way…"
"Well, if that's how you want to describe it, Hunter, that's up to you. But it's not how I'd have characterised either one. But we need to discuss things like that, and how it makes us feel. We need to resolve our differences, not bury them in the past."
"Sounds like touchy feely bollocks to me."
"Well, let's see what we can do." Kai added quickly, before Tads could respond to Hunter – he couldn't see either of them budging from their positions, and that was going to be more arguing than he wanted to hear! "Does the mountain give us a timeframe on this. Maybe we can discuss this in the future?"
"Well, it needs to be sooner, rather than later."
"Right, so if we schedule in some performance reviews and one-to-one meetings, sometime next week, does that work for you, Tads?" That concept stopped everyone dead in their thoughts, and caused various smirks or snorts of amusement – apart from Tads who seemed to be taking it seriously.
"Is the mountain trying to manipulate us? Gaslight us into infighting?" Shimazu queried.
"No, not at all. Just the opposite. We NEED to get along, that's important. But we can't do that while we're holding on to suppressed anger and old wounds. We need to deal with this. And I don't think you're taking this seriously – which I also need to say."
"Is this what the mountain wants from us? Us specifically, do you think? Or does it want this from everyone that visits?" Aswon's question seemed to throw Tads for a loop, and she studied the mountain carefully through the viewing goggles, trying to work out the answer. As she did she realised it was getting very close now, close enough that she had to switch the prisms left and right to try and see the whole thing.
"Yat-Gwan – what does your mountain want from us?" Shimazu asked directly, grabbing his sword and releasing the seat-belt as he felt the nose of the Broadsword pitch up and the increasing sound of the jets as Marius bought them into a hover over his selected landing spot.
"Oh, this is NOT my mountain. So much, not my mountain. I know what the mountain wants of me – but I can't speak to what it wants from her." She gestured with a hand towards the shaman, still flicking through the prisms as she tried to evaluate the weird magical aura of the mountain.
"She's already said as much. This is Tads and her baggage, nothing to do with owt else. Tads needs to sort her shit out." Hunter appeared in the doorway at the front of the cabin, checking over his assault rifle. "Touchdown in five seconds, we're landing on a meadow, no hostiles in sight."
Tads pulled off the goggles from her face, and then blinked as the larger spirit that normally concealed the aircraft slunk inside through the ward, taking refuge inside the magical barrier. It descended slowly into the corner of the cabin, hiding under one of the luxurious chairs, curled up into small ball and faced the corner, refusing to make eye contact with her.
"Well, that answers that question. We're visible on the astral and easily spotted. The spirit's refusing to conceal us while we're up here." Tads stared at it for a moment, wondering if she should order it back to its job – and what would happen if it refused.
"Indeed. We are not welcome on this mountain, and should move quickly." Yat-Gwan stood and gathered her robes around her, then signalled for Spook and Li to follow her. "We should find the site for the ritual and begin at once." Aswon nodded to her and crossed the cabin with a couple of large strides, opening the door and lowering the steps to allow him to exit the plane. Tads, Kai and Shimazu followed, while Hunter remained at the doorway.
"I'm gonna get the cannon, in case you need cover." He grinned, and then slid the assault rifle round onto his back, letting the friction strap hold it in place, then started to prepare the massive Panther assault cannon for use.
"There – that spinney of trees. That will do. Quickly now." Yat-Gwan led them towards a stand of trees, a mix of hemlocks, firs and pines, about a hundred metres from their landing site. Crossing the upland meadows, she left a clear trail through the long grass, though she walked around the patches of lilac blossoms that grew in dense clusters.
They crossed the ground at a brisk walk, entering the spinney and discovered that it had a small clearing in the centre around a rocky outcropping. Yat-Gwan lifted Li up and sat him on a rock, then gestured for Spook to come stand next to him, and began her ritual.
"So. We have heard of Li the baby. Now, tell me – tell me about Li the child. Tell me about his growing pains, and the decisions he made. Of the issues he faced, of learning morality, that his decisions matter. Tell me of the innocence of youth fading, and the shattering of child-like illusions…" Spook seemed to understand what she needed, and started to describe some of the events of his childhood – times when he'd needed to be punished, or had learnt a painful lesson in some way.
Aswon closed in, and also asked some questions, and from the context Tads, Kai and Shimazu started to suspect a little about how he'd met Spook – there were questions about having to pack up his clothes and choose a single favourite toy, about fleeing from a building in the night, being quiet, avoiding patrols and aggressive patrols, escaping into the countryside. They didn't know why Aswon had helped Spook, but at some point in his past he'd clearly been instrumental in their rescue.
"Achtung! I have a sensor ping, bearing two-six-eight, range… undetermined, low dopler. Picking up high-frequency harmonics, from beyond your position – around the 2.7kHz range."
"Quiet!" Aswon spoke, then held up a hand, turning his head slowly from left to right. Everyone else in the clearing stood still, watching as he tried to listen, moving his head from side to side. "I hear it. too – sounds like an electric-drive vehicle."
"Concur. Be advised signal is closing on your position, estimate ten kilometres per hour, range less than one kilometre. It is on the far side of the trees, I think it is climbing up the far side of the mountain slope. We have no visibility, no line of sight."
"We'll go check it out." Aswon hefted his spear, and saw Shimazu nod and move forward, heading for the side of the clearing and heading towards the treeline, while Tads moved to the left – leaving Aswon to take the right flank. Behind them Kai quietly murmured that he'd stay back and keep an eye on the ritual, and Yat-Gwan resumed her questioning of Li and Spook.
"Sensors are aligned – picking up a few more details now. Sounds like a four or six-wheel drive vehicle, so potentially a security or military patrol. Unable to give a firm size estimate, but there are multiple drive wheels and motors for sure. Wait one…" Shimazu, Tads and Aswon pushed through the trees carefully, moving from bush to bush for cover as they traversed the vegetation, waiting for Marius to clarify the situation. "Now picking up four additional signals. The vehicle slowed for a moment, and I have two pairs of biological signals, one on each side of the main contact."
"Security patrol then - slowing to offload troops, I guess." Aswon sighed. "We need to distract them, slow them down, or bribe them – or keep them away until the ritual is over." A quick check of his commlink and the time and his sigh deepened. "We're going to have our work cut out for us – we've got twenty minutes or more, I estimate, based on how things have gone so far.
"Marius – maybe it's time to prepare one of the drones?"
"I can do, Kai – it will take several minutes though, to assemble and prepare." Marius hit the release catches on his safety harness and clambered out of the pilot's seat, heading to his bunk. Pulling open the tiny locker at the end of the bed he grabbed out his armour jacket and started to pull it on – it was too bulky to fly in comfortably, but he suspected that things were going to go south very quickly from here. While he was checking his armour, he called out to the pilot system, giving orders to seal the back ramp and ensure the aircraft was mostly secure – just in case this wasn't the only force coming up the mountain. A small smile crossed his face as he heard the slightly belligerent tones of the Broadsword's knowbot acknowledge his commands – and the distinctive whine of the autocannon turrets as they cycled and loaded a round, and traversed back and forth, ensuring the running gear was working fine.
Aswon, Shimazu and Tads crept through the trees and vegetation, sticking to cover as much as possible. Reaching the edge of the stand of trees, Aswon paused by a large fallen tree, using the bulk of the wood for cover and concealment. He'd moved into position silently, and was pretty sure he was under good concealment and cover – yet despite that one of the four troopers accompanying the large armoured personnel carrier that was rolling across the meadow towards them turned his head to stare directly at him – raising his assault rifle to track on his location.
"I'm spotted. Suspect their APC has a decent sensor suite and they've got a battletac system. These guys are not hicks…"
"Hello! Sorry to be here on the mountain. I'm not sure if it's a problem, but if we're trespassing, we're very, VERY sorry." Tads called out as she stepped out from behind her own tree – yet there was no sign of surprise or alarm from the troopers. It seemed that Aswon's assessment was most likely correct, and they already had them locked up and identified. "Our transport has developed a mechanical issue, and we're just trying to get it fixed. Hopefully we'll be able to leave in about twenty or thirty minutes, and we'll make sure we don't take anything with us – or leave anything behind, for that matter." She paused for a moment, and looked at the barrel of the assault rifle that was unerringly pointed at her. "Erm… and please be careful with the gun. We really don't want any trouble or issues!"
"This is restricted corporate property! You must leave this area immediately, or face the consequences!" They could tell which one of the troopers was speaking, from the sound coming out of the speakers mounted on the helmet – but other than the English having a distinct Chinese accent, there was very little to go on. Male, and perhaps fairly young, but beyond that was a mystery.
"Oh – I'm so sorry!" Tads held her hand out before her, her other hand holding her staff as if it was a walking stick, as she concentrated her efforts on looking as harmless as possible. "We'll leave as soon as we can, we certainly don't mean to cause you any inconvenience!"
"Team, assume our comms are being monitored. They're using good tech." Aswon warned the rest subvocally, while externally he pulled the spear upright, and mirrored Tads, using it more like a walking stick than a weapon. It didn't disguise the large blade at the top of course, but he made sure it wasn't pointing at any of the troopers, and he tried to give a closed mouth smile as he nodded along with Tads.
"Yes, our apologies. We only need a few minutes, and we can then leave. Our pilot is trying to fix the mechanical issue, and as soon as we are able to leave, we will do so. Immediately." Shimazu added. He had turned ever so slightly, moving the scabbard around to his rear and he, too, made a calming gesture with his hand that wasn't resting on the pommel of his sword, trying to add emphasis to his words. He swapped to subvocal, "You might want to come up here, they're not immediately hostile, and we might be able to negotiate?" He got a double click from Kai, and then returned his full attention to the troopers standing before them.
"We should probably mention that we have some children with us – they are back in the trees." Aswon didn't think that he was giving anything away here, as he was pretty convinced the APC had them all locked up on its sensors. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but if you work for a corporation, that means you have a PR and marketing department. They probably won't thank you if it turns out that some children were hurt trying to get off a mountain after there was trouble with their aircraft… honestly, we'll be gone just as soon as we can – we want to keep the kids safe as much as you probably would!" He wasn't sure if they would have any empathy for this approach, but it was worth a try… his heart slowed as he clamped down on his emotions though as all four guns raised, two pointing at Shimazu and one each at himself and Tads in response to some unheard command.
"This is your final warning. You must leave immediately!" The same armoured figure as before 'spoke' the message.
"How? Our helicopter is broken. If we leave, that means we have to walk… and we'd have to leave our equipment behind, making a mess of your mountain. Is that what you want?"
"Yes! Leave, at once!" There was an edge to the voice now, some anger present.
"I think we are perhaps not understanding things correctly. Please – be calm, just one moment. Our translator is just coming!" Shimazu waved towards the woods, and thankfully Kai stepped out when he heard this, walking calmly forward with both hands raised. One of the two troopers aiming at Shimazu switched his focus to Kai, adding further credence to the idea that they had some advanced kind of tactical systems built into their APC and armour – there was no hesitation or confusion as to which one of the two was going to move to cover the new target.
Kai walked forward, slowly and with his hands raised still. His pace was deliberate and measured, and he moved to stand one pace before Shimazu, shuffling a little on the last step so the left of his body covered the right of Shimazu's – and concealing the sword arm just a little more. He gave a small bow then, before speaking in cultured Mandarin.
"My deepest apologies to you all, for our intrusion on your land. I understand that this area is owned by your corporation, and we are all very sorry for our presence here. As my colleague has stated though, we are unable to leave at this time – much as we would like to, we CANNOT. But as soon as we are able to, we will, at speed. We don't mean to cause any inconvenience, and we are not challenging your authority or right to secure this land. This is a beautiful place, and we do not want to take anything from it – or leave anything behind. That includes our vehicle, which would pollute and detract from the pristine nature of the mountain."
Shimazu had his attention split, watching Kai with one eye, and the troopers ahead of him with the other. But his attention flicked over to Kai suddenly and his eyes went slightly wide as he saw a ripple in Kai's aura. He wasn't sure what he was doing – it wasn't quite the same as when he could tell another adept was using his powers, or Tads was casting or carrying a spell, this was something different… almost like a heat haze or mirage.
"We will leave as soon as we are able to. We mean you no harm. But you must give us some time to depart. Just a few minutes, we will leave, and you will have done your duty." Kai's speech was slow, measured and sonorous.
"We will give you a few minutes to depart. We will do our duty." The voice that came out of the speakers sounded calmer, less angry than before, and was accompanied by all four troopers lowering their weapons to point at the floor. Shimazu and Aswon also saw a very slight shift in their posture as their body language relaxed slightly, too. Their attention was diverted, however, when they saw the APC rocking slightly on its suspension, followed by the sound of the rear door being thrown open and the noise of something heavy landing on the ground to the rear.
"Uh-oh." Aswon tightened the grip on his spear and started to casually move forward and towards Shimazu. He paused as the troll stomped around the side of the APC, the sunlight glinting off his armour. While the other four troopers were all wearing full body armour too, it conformed to the shape of a normal body. Toughened ceramic / metal hybrid plates were fastened to a flexible ballistic weave undermesh, providing a tough but flexible suit that provided far better protection than even the toughest of street-armour. Paired with that was their fully sealed helmet system, no doubt stuffed full of technology that linked them to the systems in the APC and provided huge amounts of tactical information and real-time communications.
The troll, however, was wearing a suit of far heavier and more impressive looking armour. Built around the same design principles, it was clearly thicker and heavier, featuring substantial reinforcement over most of the chest area, with angled plates and sculpted joints designed to deflect shots or trap close in attacks. The troll was big – bigger than Shimazu or Hunter by a clear margin, and still substantially taller than Aswon, and made an imposing site as he stomped forwards. Despite the size though, he moved fluidly and easily, crossing the rough terrain easily and with surety. Rather than the high-tech assault rifles the other troopers carried, his only firearm seemed to be the very heavy pistol holstered in the attachment on his right thigh. In his hands however he seemed to carry a vicious billhook and a length of chain, while the other hand gripped more chain and a spiked ball.
"GET OFF THE MOUNTAIN!" The volume level of the troll's speakers was higher than the other troopers, and the voice boomed out, guttural and betraying the large tusks in the corner of the mouth that often shaped a troll or an ork's speech patterns. "I don't know what trick you've pulled on them, but it won't work on ME!" He strode forward, and with a flick of the wrists set the spiked ball spinning, gradually feeding more chain out through his hand until it was whirling in a metre-long arc through the air – and revealing that it was all part of the same weapon.
"Kusarigama." Shimazu warned them, his eyes narrowing as he watched how the troll was swinging the weapon about. "Well trained."
"Is this a good time to mention that we've worked for Ryumyo?" Aswon called out, aiming his question at Kai but making sure it was pitched loud enough for everyone to hear. "Doesn't he owe us a favour?"
"I think so. But it would probably take too long to call him and quickly resolve this. But if you need a hostage to guarantee our behaviour while my pilot is fixing the aircraft, I'm ok with that." To Shimazu's horror, Kai took another step forward, closing in on the advancing troll.
"I'm in position in the clearing, watching the VIPs," Hunter announced, "and I've told them to hurry it up!"
"Surely we shouldn't be fighting here!" Tads called out, stepping in a little, too, "Isn't this one of the sacred mountains of China! We shouldn't be spilling blood here, and disrespecting the land!" Regardless of her cry, the troll moved forward, though now his footsteps were less like stomps and more like the kind of move they saw Shimazu pull – a wide stance that guaranteed stability and safety, ready to strike.
"Stop! Face me – not the translator! Shimazu took two quick steps forward, bounding past Kai and drawing his sword with a flourish. The troll adjusted his angle slightly, and his head bowed as he accepted the challenge. Seeing the movement, Kai quickly backpeddled, clearing space around Shimazu to give him room to fight. He wasn't sure why the troopers had agreed suddenly, but it was obvious their officer was made of sterner stuff and wasn't going to be so easily swayed.
The troll stepped again, closing once more, now with more careful measured steps. Ten metres, nine… eight – advancing slowly but consistently, a huge armoured juggernaut closing towards Shimazu who stood stock still, centering his attention and efforts on the brute advancing towards him. Shimazu took a deep breath, then focussed his attention, drawing mana though his body, focussing on the major muscle groups. A shudder ran through him as his body reacted, chemicals and hormones going into overdrive as his muscles rippled. He felt a huge surge of power run through him – though he knew he was going to pay for it later…
Kai had been watching – carefully. He saw the little shudder, and knew from experience that Shimazu was ready to attack. He didn't know how he was going to do it – but he recognised the tension in his body.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" he bellowed, throwing as much command and resolve as he could into his voice. The command short-circuited the minds of the troops, and all four of them released their holds on their assault rifles, letting them fall on their slings down to waist level. The officer though seemed to have a much more resilient mind and he ignored the order.
"KI-AI!" The noise was more a grunt of effort rather than a shout, but Shimazu focussed his power down and through the sword, sending a rippling blade of energy shooting forth and driving across the intermediate space, slamming into the troll across the chest. The armour glowed red, molten energy dripping from the slash-mark that appeared there as the blow hit – but the massive plating held firm, and the troll barely rocked on his feet as he absorbed the blow. Shimazu caught the flash of power as his strike hit, recognising it immediately as being the same as one of his own. The troll was a physical adept, and was able to channel his inner energy to make a defensive barrier or shield, a mystical armour that absorbed the energy of incoming attacks. Between that and the sturdy armour, he had absorbed and negated the powerful blow, not even receiving a scratch.
A wave of doubt crashed through Shimazu's mind. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He knew he was good with the blade. It was a part of him now, attuned to his very essence. He was a master with it, and he knew tricks now that only a few years ago he would never have dreamt of. Perhaps it was because he had been so successful for so long, he'd not had to face an opponent that was a serious challenge. But he'd just thrown his most powerful and devastating attack at this foe, and it hadn't even made him break step.
Along with years of training in physical combat though, came years of mental dedication and preparedness. While his conscious mind was having a bit of a panic and wondering what to do, the rest of his mind focussed, checking his feet position, the grip on the sword, looking at their relative positions and reporting in on the feel of his body, positions of his allies and foes and got ready to fight, planning moves, counter-moves, attacks and defences. Eyes focussed on the blank helmet of the troll, staring at where his eyes would be, he took in the rapidly spinning ball, the vicious hooked weapon and the length of remaining chain, working out just how, where and when the weapon would come at him.
Aswon saw the blow hit and the damage to the armour – along with the lack of apparent damage to the actual target and made a quick judgement call. The other troopers were all still standing there, weapons hanging loose – so he could ignore them for a second or two. He wasn't too sure on the protocol here – Shimazu had clearly called out the troll and challenged him, but hadn't explicitly said it was an honour duel or a one-on-one fight. If it was, he'd could feel guilty later for what he was about to do…
Stepping forward he shoved off strongly on one leg, jumping through the air and pulled the spear in tight to his chest for a moment before thrusting it out in both hands, bringing it down to point at the troll's legs. He wasn't intending to hit him – the armour looked too thick and with the distance involved only his long limbs and the spear's reach would let him hit at all – he probably couldn't penetrate the armour if Shimazu's blow hadn't. But what he could do was slide the spear tip in-between the troll's legs and try to trip him up. Even if it only distracted him for a moment, it might then give Shimazu the opening he needed to find a weak spot, opening or vulnerable place to strike.
As he thrust downwards, he felt a moment of jubilation, that quickly turned into alarm and panic – as a wrist flicked over, and the arc of motion for the heavy spiked ball twisted through the air. The chain flew up one side of the spear and wrapped over the shaft, flicking around and around in ever shortening circles before binding up momentarily, the spikes on the ball meshing into the chain and holding steady. With an audible grunt, his opponent heaved, and Aswon felt himself being propelled further up into the air as the troll yanked, flinging him up into a large arc. Fortunately he had a solid grip on the spear so his weapon wasn't stolen from him – unfortunately that meant he was propelled up higher and higher as if he was a pole-vaulter. His combat senses firing off, time slowed down as he flipped through the sky, and looked at the ground on the far side of the troll, wondering if he was going to land on a lush patch of grass and flowers, or one of the random outcroppings of sharp rock.
Images flickered through his brain of previous encounters in the various locations throughout the world. Cannon goats. Venomous snakes. Scorpions. Giant tentacle monsters. His eyes flicked towards the rocks again, and a thought crossed his mind. This was going to suck… If only he had mastery of magic like Tads did – a quick mental thought and he'd float through the air, protected by a levitate spell. He wondered if she'd be able to react in time… then gave a cry of surprise as the spear trembled in his hand and stopped abruptly, almost wrenching it out of his hands. He hung from the spear, gravity doing its best to claim his body, and found himself dangling in mid-air, hands shoulder width apart on the spear shaft, legs swinging about three metres above the ground.
"Tads!"
"That's not me!"
Shimazu saw the lanky tribesman strike and get flung through the air, and he dashed into motion himself. He didn't have time to see what Aswon was going to do, or land on…
Quick as a flash, his hand dropped off the sword, dropping to the holstered pistol and then snatched it out of its holster, raising it to point at the troll. He'd have liked to have had a moment to steady himself and aim for something like the neck joint, or somewhere else the armour was particularly thin – but then he'd lose the element of surprise. Instead he snatched at the trigger, just having to accept that the super-heavy revolver was aimed roughly at the centre of mass. Just like Aswon, his combat senses had kicked in, making time seem to flow past slowly, and he saw the flash and small burst of flame erupt out of the end of the barrel, while the round rumbled through the air.
What he wasn't prepared for was for the troll to extend a hand out towards him – and as the round impacted on the armoured glove for him to see the flash of astral energy as it hit the mystical armour. The armour that would stop a physical blow from a sword, or a club or a punch to the face… but which was useless against bullets. Except, it seemed, not in this case. He felt his eyebrows rising and his mouth falling open in surprise as the bullet flattened on impact, spreading into a ragged disk, then spinning off into the air. Behind it the armour plate was cracked, and he saw a few drops of blood seeping out – but he'd been expecting to see a hole drilled neatly through the flesh and out the other side.
He flung the pistol towards the troll's face, then followed up with a two-handed strike, trying to cut through a shoulder and damage one arm, but his sword scraped over the armour, deflected by one of the strange angles built into the plates. He struck again, then dodged back as the troll swung, as they exchanged a furious rally of blows back and forth – but the troll seemed to be pushing the pace now and Shimazu backed up under the furious series of assaults. Between the long gangly arms and the superior length of the kusurigama, he found himself forced back on the defensive, trying to block or parry the swings from the sharp sickle blade or the vicious weighted spiked ball. A sudden double swing from the blade and ball caught him unawares, and he gave a gasp as the razor edge blade slid across his chest, cutting through the armour jacket and flesh with equal ease, opening up a thirty-centimetre gash that sent a wave of fire through his nervous system.
"STOP! You'll pollute the spirit of the mountain with your bloodshed!" Tads screamed, pointing at the flow of blood that spurted from the open wound, trickling down his clothes and staining the grassy meadow a deep crimson. "Just think about what you're doing! There is no NEED for this." Strangely her words seemed to reach the troll, for he stopped, then took a single step back, changing angle slightly so he could see Tads and Shimazu at the same time. His wrist still circled, keeping the spiked ball spinning, but it was in slow, lazy and gentle circles, keeping the momentum going rather than the high speed and vicious twirls from a few seconds before.
Shimazu took a step back too, opening the distance and lowered the tip of his sword – then used his other arm to clench across his chest and try to staunch the wound. Blood soaked into the length of his forearm, his clothing soaking up the blood and changing colour in an instant as he applied what pressure he could.
"I told you. Get off our mountain. Or you will all suffer this fate." He gestured at the bloody bodyguard with his sickle. Behind him, Aswon frowned and looked at his spear as he hung in midair.
'Down,' he thought, not expecting it to be that simple, but he braced as the spear did in fact descend at a fair speed, plonking him on the ground. He bent at the knees, absorbing the impact as he hit the soft grass, then recovered his poise and adjusted the grip on his spear – wondering if the troll realised he had an opponent directly behind him…
"But we made a deal. We arranged for ten minutes." Kai stepped up by the side of Shimazu, reaching over to grab his arm and help him press it into his chest, trying to slow the flow of blood as much as possible.
"Oh, I heard your 'negotiations'. I don't know what you're doing, but it might affect their weak minds – but not mine!"
"But they DID agree to it. And you have broken their word – the word that they gave to me. You have stained their honour by breaking their word!" Kai suppressed his expression as he saw the last comment hit home. It was subtle, and it was difficult to spot, especially when his natural body was concealed by the armour – but there was a tiny adjustment in the body language. People thought that it was the Japanese that went big into 'honour' – but it wasn't just them, it was something that many cultures embraced, all across Asia and the world. Given that he'd managed to get one over on Shimazu in a fight, he also guessed he'd put some serious time in at the dojo or whatever he called it, and probably bought into the 'way of the warrior' in a big way. Now that Kai had found that chink, he was going to exploit it. "Perhaps we should both take a moment to meditate on the situation, and calm our minds – so neither of us says something in anger or haste. And then we can resolve the situation – without impinging upon anything said with sincerity and honour, on either side."
The troll spun around and gestured at the troopers, who scrabbled to recover their weapons – presumably in response to some command over their own subvocal or internal communications. He turned back towards Kai and raised a hand, extending out a finger and pointing at Kai's chest.
"You have ten minutes. Ten minutes to leave the mountain, or we will resume our…negotiations." He flicked his wrist, and the spiked ball accelerated through the air, making a sudden whistling noise.
"Very wise. I will let my pilot know that he must accelerate his efforts. Thank you for your wisdom and compassion – those are indeed most honourable traits to display." Kai gave a little bow and looked at the troll as he straightened up, radiating sincerity, then lifted his commlink up to his face as if he was transmitting over it. "The leader of the corporate security team has graciously allowed us ten minutes to try and resolve our mechanical issues." He spoke slowly and clearly, enunciating carefully as he stretched out the sentence. "We had some initial misunderstandings, but hopefully they are all resolved now, and we can finish this matter amicably. Though I have no idea of the identity of this person, he speaks with authority, and I have the sense that he's an honourable warrior." Kai continued to waffle on, praising the warrior that stood before him and reiterating in several different ways just what a good guy he was. Eventually he got to the point of the long rambling diatribe and finished up with "so he says that we have ten minutes, from now." He made a point of hitting the button on his link, starting a timer running – and ignoring the two minutes it had taken him to reach this point.
There was a twitch in the troll's body language, as if he was taking a deep breath and trying to tamp down his temper – before he pivoted on the spot, giving a little start as he saw Aswon standing to his rear, before he stalked away, no doubt seething with rage at being played for extra time, but feeling unable to do anything about it based on the conversation. Instead he stalked over towards the troopers and stood before them, massive hands on his hips, staring at them. To the team, there was nothing heard, but clearly a conversation was going on over their own frequency.
"I think someone is getting a bit of a chewing out." Aswon said quietly as he walked back towards Kai and Shimazu – actually speaking rather than transmitting. He took a step forward and caught Shimazu by the shoulders as the bodyguard suddenly slumped, the efforts of his combat boost catching up with him. Eyes defocussed, he swayed from side to side, while Aswon moved around to support him, waving Tads in to come and help. "Easy there… you need to have a sit down for a couple of minutes…" A quick look at his bloodshot eyes and trembling lips made him reassess. "Make that a couple of hours."
They waited, Aswon and Shimazu subtly supporting Shimazu while Kai stood slightly in front of them, giving a generic smile and occasionally checking the timer on his commlink. When it eventually reached ten minutes, the troll and the four troopers were already taking their first step towards them.
"I know, I know – our time is up. We're heading back to our vehicle now – I think the pilot is still hard at work resolving the issue." He raised the commlink to the side of his face, as if broadcasting the message too. "But we made a deal, so the deal stands. Come on, everyone. Mind your step there, Shimazu." He made a shooing gesture to the other three. "They might have to be a little careful, that's a nasty wound he has there. One for which, much as I dislike the reason for it being there, I do have to commend you on in terms of your fighting prowess. It was a masterful display of skill…"
Kai kept up a running commentary of how the battle had seemed from his point of view, describing the swooshing of the weapons with great gusto, while Shimazu slowly walked back towards the woods – only half-faking the amount of pain and distress he was in. None the less, as they were followed into the woods and reached the clearing, they had just enough time to see that it was empty, other than just enough of Hunter disappearing around the trees on the far side, giving them a thumbs up.
Slowly they made their way across the clearing, then through the trees on the other side – and by the time they made it out again to the mountain-top meadow, they could see Yat-Gwan, Spook, Li and Hunter climbing aboard the aircraft – which was already starting to power up.
"Ahh – it looks like our pilot has fixed the issue, and is preparing to lift-off. We shall leave, immediately." Kai gave them a smile, and a bow, letting the others keep walking. The officer and his troopers stopped at the trees as they caught sight of the Broadsword – or at least the shimmering mirage effect where it landed, while the photo-voltaic paint displayed the image of the space on the other side. It wasn't quite perfect, especially not with the jets building up power – there was no way the sensors were keeping up with the distortions and heat-haze in the air. But it was clear that 'something' was there, and yet also vaguely discernible that the something had two large turrets tracked round and pointing their way. Kai guessed that while the strange magical defences the troll officer had might be good against even a hand-cannon like Shimazu's, he had to have doubts about twenty-millimetre autocannon rounds!
He gave them a tight-lipped smile, another quick bow, and then turned to walk after the others, hoping to hell that his read on their behaviour would be correct – as well as their desire for self-preservation. But nothing happened as he climbed back aboard, and he didn't look back as the stairs lifted up and the door sealed – instead focussing on Shimazu who was laid out on the floor while Aswon grabbed the medkit.
"Let's get that looked at…" While Marius lifted them in the air, turning to the south-east in response to Yat-Gwan's request and some new co-ordinates for Hunter, he set to work on cleaning and assessing the wound, patching up the shocked and stunned Shimazu. It took him five minutes of careful work to irrigate and clean the wound, then staple the wound shut. When he was done he looked up at Tads. "How are you feeling now?"
"I still think we should talk things through… but we're also far enough from the mountain that I think I can help. It feels… more normal now." She placed her hands over Shimazu's wound, and golden light filled the cabin as she channelled mana into him, regenerating the damage caused during the fight – much to the amazement and delight of Li.
Physically healed, though still drained from the effort of boosting his muscles so hard, they helped Shimazu into his seat and gave him a drink, making him as comfortable as they could, while Marius flew on, heading towards T'ai Shan.