The train arrived the next evening in eastern Sadeas. Val and Alexa found a hotel to stay the night and inquired about how they might get to the far west boarder. Hesitant to explain their true purposes, Val hedged a small lie.“We hear there is some amazing rock climbing along the Stormwall mountains there.”“Ah, there is. Its getting a bit late in the season for that. We could get snow any time now and the mountains already have snow higher up. There is a town near where you are referring to. It is not huge but it is part of the main trade route from Vintas and the Rift. You should be able to find a guide there that will point you to the local climbing spots.”“What is the best way to get there?”“Best way would be on a carriage but its 250 km, so it might take upwards of a week. Beautiful scenery though. If you are wanting fast, there is a shuttle bus service now from one end of Sadeas to the other. It’s a passage vehicle with room for around twenty. It will take about five hours t
“That or the scath that created that vortex killed everyone off.” Valkyrie replied somberly.There didn’t seem to be scath around but they had been in the previous town. Maybe they were massing somewhere nearby.“Its dark, and this trunk is heavy. Lets go to the inn and then we can see about getting a different pack, maybe some hiking packs and ship the rest of this back to Durres.” Alexa suggested.They made their way to the inn and lugged the trunk up the steps of the one building in town that had any light sources. As they pushed the door up, an innkeeper came around the counter to greet them.“Ah, I didn’t expect anyone this evening. You from Vintas?” the innkeeper asked, then his eyes went wide, “You two ok? You look like you were run over by a herd of horses!”“Accident on the way here. Got caught in a tornado. As for where we are from, Durres,” Valkyrie replied.“Impressive you made it this far. Come on in. lets get you taken care of. KATE!” The innkeep called to a teen age gir
A gunshot range out as the men got within shouting distance, the horse on the right going down hard in a heap. Its rider lept free and started running towards them.“Fuck that was impressive.” Val said as she swung down off her horse and drew her rune blade. “Possessor Scath. I see four.”The approaching man on horse back looked hard at them but nodded as they stepped aside and let him ride on. His companion rushed up to them on foot.“For Suria, will you help me hold them off? Carlson must get through and warn the watch commander!”“We will! We came to warn the commander too!” Alexa declared.Another gunshot sounded and Val spun to see the rider named Carlson slump off his horse and crash to the ground.“FUCK! For Suria!” The other man said as he drew his own rune blade and took position near Valkyrie.The four possessed mercenaries crashed into them with a ferocity Val had only seen in her worst thrasher fights. Thankfully with a skilled hunter and Alexa by her side, the three on fo
“What? No! raise the alarm! The scath will be here any time!” Val yelled. “We saw no scath! You were standing there, and now the Commander has been shot! Healers! To the commanders! Guards, take these two to the brig until we can arrange transport back to Suria for trial.” Al Lune ordered. Val was seized by two large men and she watched as Alexa was also grabbed, “No! Lune! At Least sent out scouts! Go find the bodies of Carlson and his buddy!” “Yes, Yes. We will need the bodies of the other men these two have killed. Go send someone to collect the evidence of their treason against Suria.” “Bloody fuckin hell you are dense. Sound general quarters! There is a huge army of scath heading this way!” Val screamed as she was hauled into the fortress. While she might be able to fight one or two, where would she escape to? By now, scath would be blocking the mountain passage, and the only other way to go is through the fort to Suria! The soldiers around her looked worried and glanced over
Cade turned to follow his centurion and Alexa up the stairs when he suddenly froze. It was just him and Valkyrie in the room. Well, Al-Lune snored his way through a log on the cot but otherwise they were alone.“You said Alexa was now Spark blessed… you called her Shadow slayer, or hunter… How? Who did you kill to take an elite spark from? Val, if you did kill those hunters and stole their spark,” he paused, trying to collect his thoughts, “I will kill you myself if you put her in danger like that. A stolen spark with a death sentence and she will be hunted the rest of her day’s till the council sees justice. Theft of a spark is one crime they will not tolerate at any level.”“How big is the bounty?” Val asked casually.“The bounty is sizable but Val, there is a whole order of hunter sparks that see it as a religious duty to hunt such traitors. The official sanction is all they need to pursue their in
Valkyrie knew very little of the politics of Suria. She had dealt with the soldiers at fort Lorilis and her position as a Spark blessed as well as a student of Morgessa had given her some level of privilege or notoriety but she had never been in the chain of command, answering only to Morgessa and Desmond as mentors.Now, she had chosen to be bold and play on the myths and legends as she knew them. The Elite spark were renowned and the power of ones spark dictated a lot about a persons position in Surian society.However, She was not part of that hierarchy, at least not in the past few hundred years.Repeating what she had said before, she replied “I am General Valkyrie, Avatar of Azrael, First Spark of the Ori. You WILL arm your men and assemble the knights of this fortress. You have fifteen minutes to address the garrison and prepare for battle.”“Or what? Valkyrie General of the Ori? Girl, you are invoking the gods and your blasphemy
[System analysis complete.][Triskele defense system.][ Down-loading defense matric][ Defensive system available]The schematics began to flood Valkyrie’s mind and she began to grasp what was to happen.A commanding elite spark was to station themselves here on the tower. Warrior Sparks would take up position on the twelve pedestals below. Then average silverblood warriors could position themselves in teams of three around each knight.The Triskele was a hive mind and created a quad squad, one primary warrior with three swords. The central warriors spark would then take command of the entire unit, moving them in such tandem that it was beyond human understanding.They would no longer be individual soldiers and would have no will of their own. In that state, every fiber of being would belong to the quad. No self interest would exist or sense of self preservation. It would simply exist fulfil one directive, defend the fort as a
Fire erupted across the field as two spectra ingus sent balls of flaming death at a company of one hundred rune blade warriors. They were not part of a quad, but had the courage to charge the enemy as a team. The fireballs exploded in their midst, vaporizing five to eight men near the center and badly injuring those around them. Val pointed to the spectra scath and ordered a team of crossbowmen to fire. A hail of fifty deadly bolts shot out across the field. The fire scath threw up a wall of heat that deflected many of the bolts as their feathers melted off and their flight path went crazy. Thankfully, several still managed to find their target and the two fire scath were reduced to streamers of dark ichor. {Losses?} [50 silverbloods dead, 75 wounded. 375 still fighting fit.] came the robotic reply. Shit. This was just getting started and they were already down over 1/5th of their force. While the men were fighting admirably, each taking many scath with them before they died,