[IC] Cho Sun-Jin vs. Kolskegg.

[DJAtomika]

The forest was cold. And quiet, too quiet.

Cho and his team were scouring this neck of the woods for a target. Just a few hours ago a power surge was reported in the area by the ParaCom satellites that orbited the Earth, something that stood out in an area completely abandoned by civilisation as a whole, and he could see why. No one could live here, at least, not while the woods were so...strange.

This area was under ParaCom watch, yes, and that meant 24/7 surveillance and round-the-clock patrols by helicopters carrying scanners and whatnot and all this complicated stuff that he didn't really bother himself with understanding. He was just a gun sent out to deal with stuff, and this was stuff he had to deal with. Being team leader, this was his responsibility. The men and women under him today were all veterans of at least one paranormal conflict, and all were seasoned soldiers with at least a tour's worth of time under their belts. Each and every person under him today had their purpose; McKinzie was their comms tech, responsible for keeping long range telecommunications open between them and base. Powers was their support specialist, a heavy gunner with a remote sentry folded and stowed in his backpack. Earle and Yemen were their frontmen, a man-and-woman team that took their jobs seriously, packing heat and armoured to match. Puck made for their medical coverage, not as heavily armed as the rest but she had enough to keep their whole team afloat. Cho, though the leader, was near the front but not at it; after all, he was the designated marksman, not the point man. And he was the one carrying the sensor.

Strapped to his wrist was a little palm-sized device, a scanner. It searched the immediate vicinity for any power surges, unexplained tremors or anything out of the ordinary. Today, the little gadget was searching for the source of their earlier reported surge, and thus far it was doing a good job of leading them in what they took to be the right direction. Ahead, the trees broke into a clearing that was dominated by ruins, old and covered in moss and vines. Earle, their large point man, stepped up to one of the moss-covered walls and rapped it with a knuckle.

"Stone. Must be real old to still be standing here."

The rest of the team fanned out into the ruins, unsure of what they'd find, but the mood was positive overall; nothing could come out of a simple power surge, right? Well, nothing warranting an entire platoon of soldiers anyway, right? Cho took the high ground, clambering atop a fallen wall to survey the area while the rest of his team spread out around him. He could see the whole ruin plus the edges of the clearing from his vantage point, and though his wrist GPS said the power surge came from this area, he had yet to spot the what. He relayed this down to his team.

"Well I can't see anything up here. You guys spot anything?"

A chorus of negatives came from his headset. He could see them from up here, obviously. Puck was hanging back, not really moving forward as she stopped to make a check of her field bag, presumably for some supplies she thought were missing. Earle and Yemen were up front, just a few feet apart from each other as they branched out into the ruins. Powers was just next to him, clambering up onto a neighbouring stone structure to set up his sentry, while McKinzie set up a portable communications relay nearby. That left him on watch. He swept the area slowly with his sniper rifle's scope; he'd gone with a lower intensity maginification scope today, for more close quarters combat. Mounted on the diagonal side rails was a red dot sight for super close encounters, a modification he'd made before the deployment.

Well, he thought to himself, nothing else to do but wait and watch. He decided to echo this sentiment to the team.

"Stay sharp, guys. It might possibly be nothing, but be prepared for anything. We are ParaCom, we expect the unexpected."

Through his headset he heard Yemen chuckle.

"Damn Cho, and here I thought you couldn't get any cheesier."

"Oh can it, Yem. You are just like that too. Don't you remember Siem Reap?"

A theatrical sigh.

"Don't remind me, Earle. We needed a pick-me-up, right?"

"Can the chatter you two. We're looking for a potential threat here, this no time for reminiscing."

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg ran. He ran as fast as he could, the dark forms just ahead of him, dipping behind the thick, hoary trees. The ax in his hand, light and well balanced, was of some comfort. The large shield, the chain mail shirt and the long sword on his hip gave him a sense of purpose. Again the figure he was chasing appeared, a darker shadow amongst the darkness of the forest.

Kolskegg didn’t wait; in one fluid motion his right hand tossed the ax forward in a mighty hurl. Leaping atop a mossy log, the Viking’s hand hovered near the sword hilt. The figure had stopped, turning and catching the ax in mid-flight. Glowing yellow eyes peered from the gloom at him, a sinister chuckle echoed through the woods.

The shadow stepped forward, until it was as tall, as the Viking who was atop a thick log. The features of the creature were sharp, angular and fearsome. The yellow eyes hypnotic in the blue-gray face, as the creature reached its full height of nearly twenty-feet tall.

“You are a fool Kolskegg. You are like all your kind, you cannot see the greater picture, only what is in front of you.”

“No Utgard-Loki, I am well aware of where I am.” Kolskegg nodded towards the forest, “These are Odin’s Wode, and you have something that you stole from the Frigga. I have come to reclaim it and return it to her.”

The giant growled, the metallic teeth glinted evilly as he glanced down at the ax he had caught. “You are a fool. You dare meddle in the affairs of Gods?”

Kolskegg reached for the bag on his belt, as he did so a soft red-orange glow emanated from it. “I dare.”

Before he could remove the rune stones, Utgard-Loki snarled, swinging the ax in a downward motion, as he did so he uttered a spell. Realizing this Kolskegg leaped for the giant hoping to interrupt him.

It was too late. The ax struck the ground beneath him, as it did so a swirl of brilliant light rose from the gash the giant had made. A sudden and intense pressure enveloped the Viking, a wave of heat rose from the upturned ground. Looking up into the malignant eyes of the giant, Kolskegg swore, “I shall find you. There is not a place in the nine-realms where you can hide. I shall gain my vengeance against you Jotun.”

###

Kolskegg landed with a heavy thud amongst a group of baboons, which promptly scattered in a squealing frenzy. Rising to his feet, the Viking surveyed the area. He stood in a forest, with large boulders around him. In the short distance he spotted ruins of some sort. What they were exactly were obscured by the trees. Glancing at the baboons that had pulled back to the trees, their chittering continuing as large males padded forward baring fangs. A crooked smile crossed the rugged face of the Viking.

“Little ones, attacking me might not be the best thing to do.” Kolskegg murmured as he stepped around a boulder and onto a small game trail. Looking at the sky he frowned He had encountered the giant at night and yet it was day here. Utgard-Loki had sent him to one of the realms, the question remained, which one. More importantly how would he return?

Before he took a step forward something caused him to lower his gaze, slowly. A form, it looked human, but it was dressed in an odd fashion. It was looking through a bag of some sort. He was not alone. Of course not, that would have required some mercy from the Jotun. Speaking softly, Kolskegg prayed to the Gods.

"Great Aesir, Mighty Vanir,
Gods of eternal power,
Fulfill my greatest needs, O glorious ones.
Teach me the magic I need.
Give me a glimpse of your deep wisdom..
Mighty Aesir, the immortals of Asgard.
Ancient Vanir, protectors of Yggdrasil
You who are the shape shifters, the slayers, the independent ones.
Give me the strength in magic I need."

When he finished the creature had stopped also, she, why did he think it was female? She looked around a moment until their eyes met. As the woman stood up, he ran to his left amongst the boulders and trees. Whatever it was, he was sure she wasn’t alone.

Running he stayed among the trees, keeping them between he and the woman, and the ruins. A surge of power flowed from the bag at his belt, a warmth washed over him. He would face what creatures that lived in this realm, kill them if need be. Then he would find his way back to finish what he started with the Jotun.

[DJAtomika]

"Huh?"

Puck looked up from her pack as she zipped it back up. Something had just streaked through the bush around her. Something had met her eyes. It had even looked...human.

"Someone there?

She hefted her pack onto her back and wheeled around. Nothing but brush, bushes and trees. Still, she steeled her grip on her shotgun. They were here in search of something, and another human being in a forest like this was...something.

"Something up, Puck?"

Unmoving from his position atop the pile of stones, Cho turned his head slightly to glance at her. His stance was loose and easy, on one knee with his rifle resting gently on the other. Hands clamped onto the grip and the length of the rifle. The woman turned around and looked up at him.

"N-nothing, Cho. Just...I thought I saw something."

The Korean nodded and held a hand to his ear.

"Heard that, Earle? Yem? To your three o'clock, check out the forest there."

A pair of affirmations echoed in his earpiece as he gave them a thumbs up from across the ruins. To his left, Powers hopped down from the stone he'd been perched on and the automated turret whirred and buzzed into life. The machine was a tripod-mounted automatic machine gun with a biometric sensor within its computing block. The block, which was a small grey rectangle mounted to the left side of the housing, sought out a target based on what was coded within its database. It excluded anything it identified as non-hostile wildlife, like it did with the monkeys that scampered out of the brush and across the ruins. Once the sensor detected something foreign and identified it as hostile, the computer and camera tracked the target while its gun unleashed molten lead in the hostile's general direction. Not very accurate, but good for suppression.

McKinzie still stayed near his right, fiddling with...something Cho didn't understand on a tablet. Between them, there sat an antenna that extended some ways upward. It obviously provided them with communications, but what other functions it had...he was unsure of.

"Aw yeah, deffo got somethin' here. Pickin' it up on my motion sensor. S'heading to our left and around us, I think."

Earle and Yemen moved towards the left of the ruins, where their unknown visitor was supposedly skulking around. Perhaps they'd find something, or perhaps the visitor was already somewhere else.

[Skallagrim]

Hurtling a boulder and landing in a soft wash, Kolskegg dropped low. In a sure and practiced motion his right hand dug into the magical bag on his belt, and came out with three glowing runes. Tossing them in the air, the orange-red runes sizzled then burned out as their magical energies were released into nature.

Glancing over the lip of the small wash, the Viking spotted movement amongst the brush. Drawing Alyward from its sheath, Kolskegg grinned wolfishly. Whatever man or beast resided in these wodes, they would for certes not be expecting a Viking Gothi to be hunting them.

Already the temperature was beginning to drop, slowly at first but it would increase until the fury of Ymir’s hoary realms would sluice through the nine worlds and center on the one who summoned them. Adjusting his grip, Koskegg ran low along the wash in the direction of the soldiers named Earle and Yem.

Behind him soft frost coated the wash, and the plants surrounding it. The closest figure, the one called Earle had stopped when he saw the Viking emerge from the wash, closing the few yards between them in a matter of a second or so. His weapon at the ready he lifted his rifle and fired a burst at the Viking, striking him square in the chest.

Kolskegg felt the hammering blows from the rifle in the chest, dropping him to a knee as the bullets made contact with the chain shirt. Such power from such a small black stick, clearly these were not men as he kin them. No these were sorcerers, perhaps from Svartalfheim.

As the man approached he was speaking to the air. His magic rod still pointed at the Viking. Grinning, Kolskegg stood up, charging the man who was shouting at him in a language that he didn’t understand. It didn’t matter. In one fluid motion, the blued sword known as the lathe of heaven had cleaved the man clean through. The slice came up and caught Earle in the left hip, ripping upward and exiting through the man’s right shoulder close to the neck. Again the fire rod spat, but the magic hit the shield, some of the magic riddle the man’s body as he died in a horrible spasm of muscle contractions.

Hearing a shout and running, Kolskegg wheeled and darted back into the wash, running back the way he came. Everywhere around him frost was settling and the temperature was now below freezing. The hunt was afoot. Kolskegg knew the black wizards and their fire rods would come, but he would be hunting them as well.

[DJAtomika]

"Hey, there he is."

Earle drew up his rifle as the man emerged from the brush, coated in snow as it fell from the very air around him. He looked...medieval-ish, the way he was dressed and the way he had a wicked looking, gleaming blue sword in his hand. The evil-looking grin that covered his face suggested that this man was not here to make friends. Earle thought this rather quickly as he leveled his rifle at the man. Yemen took place just slightly behind him, her rifle also leveled at the man.

"Hey! You there! Friend or foe?"

That shout drew the attention of everyone else; Powers brought his light machine gun to bear at the unknown male, while Cho drew his scope and fixed it on the man's face. McKinzie shrank back slightly; her SMG wasn't good at this range and she was only a communications specialist, not a fighter. Puck advanced forward as well, shotgun pointed in the general direction of the perceived hostile. The automated sentry swiveled on its tripod to face the new contact. All of a sudden it was a standoff and the stranger was apparently outnumbered.

Earle slowly advanced closer, rifle still up.

"Friend or foe, pal? Friend or foe!"

No answer. The man was determined to stay silent. Cho held a hand to his ear.

"HQ, this is Wolf Leader, we have encountered an unknown contact, possibly friendly, possibly hostile. Assessing situation now."

Earle was getting edgy from the silence. He was like that, sadly, and his nerves made his hands shake slightly. They also made him clench involuntarily, and his rifle barked as it fired a burst straight at the stranger. The three rounds pinged against the mail he wore and knocked him to a knee, but when the man stood up again with his grin still up and no injuries whatsoever, that was when Earle really freaked.

"Dude, he's a foe man, he's a foe!"

That was when the warrior charged. Earle leveled his rifle and fired another burst, clumsily and panicky, it missed by a mile as the mysterious warrior closed the distance in a heartbeat.

"Shit shoot him shoot him shoo-"

He was instantly cut off by a blade chewing into his side and slicing clean through him diagonally upward. Like a hot knife through butter. His two halves, along with the junker that used to be a rifle, fell to the stones and grass while the warrior leapt back into the brush, sending up a flurry of snow and frost as he disappeared again.

"Shit he got Earle! Earle's down! Earle's down!"

Yemen backpedalled, spraying her immediate front with fire, emptying her whole magazine into the forest ahead of her while the rest of the team rallied to her aid. Puck reacted first, going not for her but for the fallen soldier, but she quickly determined that Earle was dead; the sword had cleaved straight through his heart. If the blood loss hadn't killed him, the trauma would have.

Cho went pale. How fast had that been? Just a few seconds was all that warrior had needed to brutally kill one of their own. That sword had sliced through flesh, bone and ballistic ceramic plating like it was paper. How were they to stand up to this? Well, it wasn't all hopeless. He'd seen the effect Earle's bullets had. If not the injury factor, the warrior could not stand firm against modern firepower. He had orders to give, and he had to give them fast.

"Yemen, fall back to defensive! Powers, high ground, give us some suppression zones! McKinzie, Puck, you two hang back, keep your weapons hot and stay close to each other!"

Once done he touched a hand to his ear again.

"HQ this is Wolf Leader, contact is hostile, repeat, contact is hostile, code black. We already have a man down."

And with that done, he returned his attention to the battlefield. Where the warrior had entered and exited, there was a full field of frost that had appeared from nowhere, it seemed. He had an idea.

"Powers, set your turret to scan thermals as well. Give us a feed."

"Roger."

In all of their heads-up displays, the team received a small feed of the turret's viewpoint, in an array of colours that made up the thermal camera within its housing. They scanned for the hostile, hopefully he would show up again.

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg stopped after a hundred yards. The snow was falling steadily now, there was no sense in continuing the run. They would not have a hard time finding him. Rubbing his chest, the Viking felt the armor where the bullets had struck him. They hadn’t pierced it but his chest hurt immensely. Verily it seemed as if a Jotun had hit him with a club. With a cursory glance he laid Alyward against a pillar before he snaked his hand under his shirt, feeling where the bullets struck. He felt the welts.

Whatever those sticks were they possessed a powerful magic. Retrieving his sword, Kolskegg watched the snow swirl around him. Surly in such an area as this, the snow would give him away. No matter he had things to do. He had drawn first blood; he had killed one of the sorcerers. There were others, he had to figure out how many.

Patting the bag he felt the magic within, he was prepared, he would call forth the next set of runes soon enough, but for now he would allow Ymir’s icy grasp keep him company. Rising again he stared at the ruins. They would provide him height; perhaps allow him to see his enemies. Narrowing his eyes the Gothi recalled what had happened. He had killed a man, for he was sure it was a man. It was not tall enough to be an Alfar, nor stout enough to be a dwarf or troll. No it must be a man.

Men were crafty, sneaky fighters. Kolskegg was a man and if he judged the ruins to be advantageous, so would other men. No. He would keep away from the ruins for now. He would use the woods and rocks to his advantage. With a wave of his hand a drift of snow piled up along the wash, creating a barrier nearly six-feet tall.

Like the bitter cold stalked men and killed them, so would Kolskegg stalk these men. Climbing from the wash he made his way towards a ruined cottage a hundred yards or so away. The billowing, blustery winds that heralded the snow and frost lashed against the ruins, piling snow against the sides and filling the interior where it snaked it’s way in.

Stepping inside, the Viking peered cautiously around a corner. As he did a nasty sound filled the air as the heavy, metallic roars of the turret ripping the air. Bullets slaming into the wall, forcing Kolskegg to duck behind it, slowly backing away in a low crouching walk as large holes appeared where the impacts of the large caliber weapon punched through it.

“Odin’s beard, their magic is indeed powerful.” He murmured as he edged out the way he had come in. It was clear that these wizards controlled the very insects of this world as the angry buzzing and thwaps of bullets raced past him or punched the walls.

Hefting his shield up, he ran across the open area towards a copse of trees and large boulders. His right side protected by the large shield, which was up to help cover his head. Keeping as low as possible in case they had an archer amongst them, he kept an eye on the skies for the dreaded rain of arrows. These were certes powerful wizards capable of controlling insects and projecting the strength of the Jotun themselves.

Around him the swirl of snow continued, a line of tracers following him like a red laser, kicking up the dirt behind him. Powerful blows from the invisible fists crashed against the shield, causing the Viking to stagger a bit, his arm, nay his body shook at each impact. They came fast and furious, a stream of hammering blows that caused his teeth to rattle, but he never lost his footing reaching the pillars.

[DJAtomika]

"He's gone."

"He's using the ice to hide from the thermal. Smart guy."

Their enemy had gone to ground. Shortly after killing Earle, he'd leapt back into the foliage and vanished, the ice and snow that fell from the sky masking his temperature signature. That left the team stumped as to his location.

Cho shifted slightly on his perch overlooking most of the battlefield. His sights were not trained anywhere in particular, but he kept his eyes open.

Suddenly Powers' turret whirred into life and roared, spitting hot lead towards the skeleton of a cottage, where their mysterious assailant had hid himself behind a bank of conjured snow. The warrior was now making a run for it, his shield somehow protecting him from the heavyweight rounds the turret was throwing at him. The warrior disappeared again into a field with an array of stone pillars. Another disadvantage for them.

Cho trained his sniper rifle at the field of pillars.

"Yemen, move up. Powers, keep to her six, provide suppressing fire. McKinzie, move up with Yemen, cover her six too."

"S-sir?"

"You heard me, Kinzie. Now move."

With a suppressed grumble the comms man moved forward and supplanted Earle's place just behind Yemen, and together the two advanced slowly forward towards the pillars. Powers kept behind them, getting a good position on a small mound of rocks nearby. Cho kept himself on his own perch, rifle trained at the gaps between the pillars, patiently waiting for his target to show himself.

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg inhaling deeply, reached into his magic bag, drawing three runes out and tossing the angry red-orange items into the snowy air. In a matter of seconds they were gone in an angry burst of energy.

He would have little time before the spells offset one another. Pushing away from the pillar he ran deeper into the woods, keeping low and trusting to the still swirling snow to keep him hidden. Once reaching a thick white ash, he knelt down, swinging around to see if he was being followed. Touching the tree he felt a momentary shock run through his body. Leaning back he looked at the tree again.

“Askr Yggdrasils?” Again touching the tree and again he felt a tingling running through his form. “It is you. Stay well guardian tree and I shall return once I have dealt with mine foes.”

Above him in the great tree a caw reached out, followed by another and another. Looking up he spotted a murder of crows. A smile crossed his lips, it would not be long before more of the birds appeared. Glancing back at the cottage he spied the icy wrath of Ymir slowly fading.

Rising he leaned his forehead against the tree and whispered a quick prayer of thanks before darting off on his encircling run around the ruined town. Above him black birds took flight, trailing along through the trees behind him, their caws filling the air. Huddling close to an oak he caught his breath, starling some baboons and a deer into action.

As he prepared to take a step a dulled gleam caught his eye. Crouching low he stared at a wicked thing. It was ugly and held one arm, upon three thin metal legs. What was that? Was it a creature of this land or something belonging to the sorcerers? Then he saw movement to his left heading towards the pillars. Squinting he spotted the movement again. A sorcerer moving slowly towards the fields he had been in. Looking he spotted another one further ahead, perhaps a few yards. They moved slowly, cautiously, their fire rods swiing slowly as they looked forward and to the sides.

Looking again at the ugly, spindly beast, he confirmed it was some sort of conjuration. It had the same black, mystical shape that the smaller fire sticks held. How could he get past the beast? As he watched, a buck and doe entered walking slowly, without a care. The beast didn’t even look.

It ignored the animals.

The tree above him was slowly filling with black birds. Perhaps once the spell was completed he could move with their aid. Gripping Alyward tightly he inhaled deeply. As he did so his chest hurt, the welts from the fire sticks were a reminder that the magic of these sorcerers, was as deadly as any he had faced before.

[DJAtomika]

"Track him. He has to be hurting from those bullets."

Cho scanned the area where the warrior had been. The ice and snow were melting away, which meant whatever spell the man had cast was wearing off. Instead, he now noticed the increased amount of crows that were spontaneously appearing in the area. They cawed incessantly, and it annoyed him. The noise was affecting his attention. But he surmised something: the warrior must be casting another spell, this time with crows as the base. He took this into consideration and relayed his next set of orders.

"Powers, Yemen, Kinzie, he's to your nine o'clock. See the crows?"

"Yep. Moving."

The dark-skinned woman took the lead, rifle at the ready as she slowly advanced towards the area that was slowly amassing an incredible amount of crows. Powers took control of his turret and directed it to point towards that same area, all unaware of the warrior's position amongst the bushes and trees.

Cho steadied his rifle and went through what he'd seen in the past few minutes: An armed warrior of possible European origin had just cleaved through a member of his team like a hot knife through butter, withstood bullets to chainmail, could conjure ice and snow and move faster than an eye could track. No doubt he was hostile, but the question was: was this their anomaly? Or was this someone else attracted to the same thing they were hunting?

Whatever the case, this man needed to be put down, else he kill anyone else.

[Skallagrim]

The hunters turned, they were moving towards him now. A grim countenance settled on the Viking, these people were becoming a hindrance to what Kolskegg needed to do. Standing with the tree shielding his body from the wicked little creature, he focused on the woman headed towards him. Behind her another followed suit, they carried those nasty fire rods.

“Come children of Huginn and Muninn, lend me your protection. Shield my movements to mine foes.” The Viking murmured as he waited a moment longer. Once the swarthy woman was beneath the outer most of the black birds, he moved. The swirling chaotic motions of the birds descended around both he and the woman, obscuring them from even the keenest eye in a flurry of large, winging bodies. Nearly 10,000 of the cawing black birds spun and wheeled around them. The flurry and speed creating a veritable cyclone of darkness centered on Kolskegg.

The woman paused, confused as the birds surrounded her. It was clear this was not something she was used to. Kolskegg moved with determination as the black birds darted between him and the woman, extending their circle until both women were now surrounded in the maelstrom.

Shield before him, he moved low and fast until he rose before the women like a spectre. She fired, emptying her magazine into his shield which pinged and ricocheted bullets in all directions, some hitting the women herself. Firing and backpedaling she tried to get away, but with an inhuman roar and a dash, the larger man plunged Alyward through her midsection, bisecting her spine as it exploded through her back.

Kicking her off his blade he spotted the other woman amidst the dark mass of birds. She had come upon them, she was speaking rapidly, her voice rising. Her eyes were wide in fear as she raised her weapon and fired, and fried again, with anger evident she was moving forward to meet him. The end of her fire rod blossomed as impact after impact hammer his shield. Some managed to hit him in the chest again, stopping his movement as the impacts caused him pain. So far the armor held but how much of this could it take?

They were a scant few feet apart when the woman reloaded her weapon, and at that moment the shield came up in a wicked motion, striking her in the throat, crushing her windpipe. Dropping her firearm, she reached instinctively for her throat. As she did so a wicked kick to her knee, breaking it, followed by a vicious slash that removed her head from her body.

The heavy metallic ripsaw of the turret filled the air, dropping hundreds of the black birds in great swaths. Dozens of bullets hammered the shield, forcing Kolskegg to his knees, huddling behind the shield. Each of the bullets striking the shield was jarring him, hammering his shoulder and arm with their punishing impacts.

Touching his bag he muttered a curse and drew forth the next set of runes, tossing them into the air. Rising he tried to move only to be knocked down again by the blows. Muttering prayers to the All-Father he made his peace, hoping that the Valkyrie would see him and honor him. Bullets ripped past him, smashing the dirt. Around him hundreds of black birds fell, their blood and bodies covering him.

Forcing himself up, he roared, putting his weight behind the shield rising to his feet. He had to kill that beast, it was too much. Around him the birds continued to fall as they swarmed into the path of the bullets, obscuring the Viking, giving their lives to protect his.

[DJAtomika]

"Yeah I got him. He's right here. Can see his leg."

Yemen advanced forward slightly towards the treeline, her rifle trained at the tree the warrior was hiding behind.

"Yo dude I gotcha dead to rights you better come out now or else you gon die!"

She waited. Behind her, Kinzie moved forward, her SMG also trained at the same tree. Behind them, Powers stood guard, his machine gun seated on its bipod as he sat down on a stone and braced the gun against his shoulder. His sentry whirred into position, its scanner tracking the crows, unable to understand their significance but definitely not identifying them as friendly.

Cho adjusted the grip on his rifle. The warrior was in hiding, mostly from their turret. The thing spat lead faster than the warrior could move, and that was the advantage they had, an advantage he hoped they could keep. And that meant keeping it and its operator alive was second priority.

"Powers, fall back slightly, get within range of your turret. If need be I'll need you to move it somewhere else."

The bigger man glanced back at his leader.

"No sweat boss. This thing can swivel three-sixty degrees around. Tracks things faster than you can blink. We got this covered -"

"Shit!"

"Yemen!"

A whole cloud of crows had suddenly burst to life around the soldier, completely masking her from the rest of the team. Kinzie, in a state of panic, emptied her magazine into the seething black mass, Powers and his turret following suit soon after. Clumps and flurries of birds fell dead but countless more took their place, faster than they could be killed.

Inside the whirlwind, Yemen engaged the warrior. She didn't even see him until he was nearly in her face. Her rifle cracked and spat, pinging against his armour and shield. The ricochets whizzed everywhere, some even impacting into her chest plate, embedding themselves into the ballistic ceramic.

"Shit shit shit shit shit! He's coming right at me need backup now -"

Her cry for help was cut off by his sword sliding straight into her gut and out the other side. As the crows dissipated, the warrior kicked her off his blade and charged forward, giving Kinzie no time to react at all. She'd gone forward to try and assist her comrade only to find herself confronted by the swordsman from hell.

"Hijo de puta! Die!"

Her gun roared as it spat more metal death at their adversary, but to no avail. His shield, though made of metal and wood, absorbed or deflected every single round she fired, and when she ran empty, that's when he struck. In a blur of motion she was struck to her knees and swiftly decapitated.

"Kinzie!"

"Shit!"

Powers' turret swung round, unleashing a storm of bullets at the warrior and his murder of crows. Powers himself joined the offensive, bringing his machine gun to bear and spraying hot death at the warrior. The combined barrage brought him to his knees and to a halt; as invincible as he was, physics was still a cold, hard bitch.

Cho lined up his rifle's sights and pulled the trigger. His sniper spat a round at a much faster speed than the turret or the machine gun, and that round would travel towards the warrior's shield, hopefully striking it to keep him off balance.

---

Yemen coughed and tried to sit up. She was in shock. Her lower half was completely numb and immovable, and she knew why: the sword had cut clean through her lumbar spine and the lower section of her spinal cord, instantly severing her ability to control her legs. Plus she was bleeding profusely from the wound. She had only minutes to live.

"By God I will make him pay."

With all her strength she turned herself around and crawled, painstakingly, towards the slowly advancing warrior. Every time he got knocked back or stumbled was ground and time she gained. And when she got real close, she was barely hanging on. A hand delved to her vest and pulled a small, spherical object off of it. With her fading energy, she twisted and pulled the pin and weakly lobbed it at the warrior. No doubt it would explode in a few seconds. With no idea where it had landed, she slumped.

"Suck on this, you bastard..."

Her final act done, her last breath spiralled out into the cold air and she collapsed, dead, her last act of defiance soon to unleash its own brand of hell upon the swordsman.

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg felt the first subtle shifts of the earth. Hel was coming; she would be clawing at the earth in an attempt to escape her realm. The Viking knew the minute she arrived beneath him the battle would change as it must when the Goddess decided to intervene. Shrugging his shield up he stepped forward, ready to slay the metal beast when suddenly something impacted the shield with so much force he believed that Thor himself had struck him with Mjolnir.

That impact struck him in the chest, knocking him down. The Cheytac’s specific built round had struck the shield. The supersonic bullet nearly expelling all of its kinetic energy in penetrating the shield had little left when it crashed into the mail armor. Even so, the bullet hit with enough force to take the breath from Kolskegg’s lungs and knock him down.

It was when he hit that the runic spell erupted around him with full force. A 6.5 scale earthquake, centered on the Viking and radiating out in a radius of 150 feet shifted the earth. The grenade, having been tossed with waning energies, slipped into a fissure, falling into the dark earth before detonating harmlessly.

The turret and its operator would be shaken and disrupted from firing effectively any further. The ruins, those with old timbers and crumbled walls would begin to accelerate in one direction before a sudden snap and shift caused them to accelerate in the other. The stresses on these old physical structures would be too much to bear. They would fall.

The ground beneath Kolskegg slipped and shifted and dropped him down a full two feet below where he had fallen. Touching his chest he felt broken links. These wizards were indeed powerful. Holding his shield before his face to protect him from detritus he marveled the perfect hole in his shield.

“All-Father who ever these warriors are. Grant them your mercy and bring them to Valhalla where I may drink with them until the end of days.”

Slowly, painfully sitting up, the shield before him the Viking began standing gingerly as he watched the havoc that Hel wrought on the battlefield.

“You are a magnificent bitch Hel. I am your humble servant.” He said as he clambered from the hole and began running towards the turret. Every step he took was on flat ground; while the shaking and roiling of the land increased the closer he approached his prey. The turret toppled under the influences of the earthquake as the ground rippled and a fissure erupted beneath it.

The one known as Powers was visibly trying to maintain his balance, his weapon struggling to line up a shot on the oncoming warrior. The ground beneath him shifted violently with the right foot suddenly thrust upward as the ground rose. When it stopped he was eye to eye with the Viking who narrowed his eyes a moment before saying something. The only word that rung with any sort familiarity was Valhalla. Then the blued sword was a flash and it was over, the blade had entered just above the chest armor at the base of Power’s throat and emerged through the shoulder blades as easy as a hot knife through butter.

The buildings that comprised the ruined village were now hazards to any that remained among them as they tumbled and fell. The violent shaking ripping apart the foundations and the wooden supports cracked under the intense and sudden shifting of the earth.

Kolskegg eyed the ruins, there was one more. There was the leader of this band. For none of the weapons thus far had penetrated the shield save one. A weapon of such power belongs to a hero, and that hero was who the Viking searched for now. The true fight was at hand, the heroes of their respective realms would now face off.

[DJAtomika]

As Powers fell, Cho stood amidst the crumbling ruins. All around him was an earthquake, a roaring sea of chaos, of shifting stones and yawning abysses that yearned for him to enter. The warrior ahead of him had just slaughtered his entire team. He racked the slide of his sniper rifle, the brass casing ejected from its body to clatter noisily down onto the stone. He, the lone observer, the team leader, now just a lone man against a monster. A monster with a sharp sword and magic to rival even the best technology he had. But the fight was far from over. It was on now, mano a mano.

The Korean man stood his ground, regaining his balance slightly even as the world around him shook and tore itself apart. With rifle in his hands he leveled it at the warrior and squeezed the trigger. Another high velocity round tore out of his rifle and sped straight towards his adversary, hopefully hitting its mark a second or two later. He didn't even give it a second thought; his right hand automatically racked back the straight bolt of the rifle, ejecting another spent brass casing while he shifted position, hopping off of his perch to scamper away, retreating further into the ruins and away from his target. With his quick thinking he realised that the closer he got to that strange warrior, the worse the shaking got as well. All that magic of his seemed to center around him, so that's what he'd avoid. Distance, precision and stopping power were his trump cards here, against the warrior's superhuman speed and strength. As he ran, he reported back to his superiors, while his free hand shot to his vest, freeing several small, globe-shaped objects that pulsed with a blue glow as they fell to the stone and dirt. Proximity mines, small in size with a kick the strength of your average fragmentation grenade. Each little sphere, once armed, would lay motionless until it detected movement within a two foot radius around it. Once that trigger is hit, the sphere explodes much like a grenade would. No doubt the glowing blue circles would leave a fairly easy trail, but Cho doubted that the warrior understood modern technology that well.

"HQ this is Wolf Leader, my entire team is down, repeat my whole team is down. Situation is code black, I say again, situation is code black, requesting immediate backup."

"Negative Wolf Leader, you are to maintain on target to complete the mission."

"Shit."

So this is what it felt like to be expendable, he thought. But then again, that's what we were anyway.

Expendable.

---

Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, including their adversary, Puck hid behind an array of stone, further away from the conflict. She too had watched as her whole team had been slaughtered like pigs, but unlike their fearless leader, she was overcome by it. So she fled, the lone medic away from a horror show. Her weapon was cast away, and she fled. Ran for the hills.

Much later, much much later, after the whole conflict ended, she was picked up by a lone ParaCom scout transport and brought back to their mountain base for a debrief. Shortly after she was assigned to a new team, whereupon she served for a much longer term before being unceremoniously ended by a centaur chieftain.

---

"HQ, one last favour. I need you to help me identify the origins of the hostile."

"One moment. Hostile is confirmed as being a Viking warrior, male. Magic user of a powerful degree, exercise extreme caution in engaging the subject."

"Alright. Now could you upload a database of his language to my translator? I want to understand this asshole."

"One moment. Data transfer complete. Your auto-translator should now have a complete database of ancient Norse."

"Roger. Thank you HQ. Going dark. Wolf Leader out."

Right, time to deal with this prick.

"Hey! Asswipe! Over here!"

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg spotted his adversary, a smaller man than he imagined, but the fire stick he had was long. Much longer than the others, it was something worthy of a warrior indeed. As the Viking took a step forward, the smaller man pointed it towards him. Kolskegg realizing that another such blow from that staff might kill him, darted off to his right as the weapon fired. The bullet banged against the shield askance, ricocheting away with an angry whine. The blow toppled the Viking, who vanished amid the ongoing chaos of the earthquake in a debris field.

Rising from his fall, he spotted the man running away, all the while dropping blue objects. Moving slowly and with caution, Kolskegg began following the man when an explosion erupted, kicking debris into the air. The inherent problem with a proximity charge that required movement to activate , while a powerful earthquake were in effect, was that there was more than enough debris of sufficient size falling to activate the mines.

In quick succession as Kolskegg followed Cho, the earthquake detonated the mines that the man had dropped. Clearly Hel was enjoying herself in this realm. As Kolskegg followed the man, the destruction was absolute, the ruins succumbing to the magic of the Northman. Clambering along a crumbled walkway he heard the man speak.

"Hey! Asswipe! Over here!"

Pausing Kolskegg pondered that. The man had called him an asswipe. The Viking began laughing; his booming baritone filled the air. “Dwarf you have a good sense of humor. Verily I wish to share mead with you in Valhalla one day.”

As he stood watching the man, the Viking tapped his bag, feeling the warmth of the magic. Soon, very soon he would summon another rune and the battle would become a decidedly intimate affair. Hopping off the debris wall, he began jogging slowly at an oblique angle in relation to man. His shield and sword held ready.

[DJAtomika]

Cho stood from his hiding spot. The Viking had called him short! The nerve! Warily he advanced forward, properly taking in the detail of his adversary.

It was clear this warrior wasn't here for anything else. He was here to fight. He and his team were merely a distraction from some otherworldly goal. But now here he was, alone. Armed to the teeth. Up against a supernatural Viking swordsman that was better armed than he. But this wouldn't end any other way except with the death of either one of them. He had to fight.

"Mead, eh? I prefer beer, personally."

He watched as the Viking jogged around him in a slow circle. Obviously he was taking him in, sizing up his opponent. So far he'd only been slaughtering his team, poor men and women all, but now that this was a one on one, things took on a whole new dimension.

It felt like boot camp, almost. The way he would be left alone to suffer sometimes. Especially the winter trainings up in the mountains.

He gripped his rifle tighter and wheeled around slowly, following the other warrior's motion around him.

This was a battle of wits now, not brute force. He had the advantage of technology, but the warrior had speed and strength and magic behind him.

"What's your name, then? Can't have a fight without knowing the other's name."

[Skallagrim]

“Bjór?” Kolskegg paused a moment in his movements. “You prefer Bjór?” Shrugging he continued his jog, quickly slipping a hand into the pouch, pulling the glowing runes stones from it.

"What's your name, then? Can't have a fight without knowing the other's name."

The rich baritone erupted again as the Viking stopped, facing the smaller man with the rifle, each wary of the other.

“I am Kolskegg Hrolleifs’son. I am a shield Gothi for the great hall of Hrothgar, son of Odin. And you warrior, what do they call you in this realm.”

As he spoke, the three runes slipped from his fingers, falling to the ground where they touched briefly before swirling away as so much ash. The land would buckle and roil for a bit longer before the temper tantrum of Hel subsided.

The battle now required the Viking to close the gap, get close to the man and take away the advantage of his fire staff. Because of its size and judging by how the others used theirs, the length would be a hindrance while the sword and shield would provide a decided advantage in close.

Pointing to the bullet hole in his shield, Kolskegg laughingly said, “Here. It was here that I knew you lay waiting to see how your thanes did. To see if I was worthy to face you.” Finishing, the Viking dropped off a small rise as the earthquake began subsiding. Grinning Kolskegg slapped his shield twice with his sword, then began a slow jog, lazily winding his way towards Cho.

[DJAtomika]

"My name is Cho Sun-Jin. Wolf Leader. I work for ParaCom."

Cho took the wireless headset off his ear and stowed it in a pocket.

"But just call me Cho."

He saw the thingies that the Viking dropped from the pouch strapped to his belt. Those were the source of his magic, he reckoned. If he could just destroy that pouch...but first he'd have to neutralise that nasty sword. The shield wasn't any concern; he knew it from noticing the hole in it. Kolskegg pointed it out and he nodded.

"My...thanes? I guess you meant my team. But they're all dead now. Thanks to you."

As Kolskegg advanced towards him he mimicked those movements, but backwards and in the opposite direction, so that they were effectively circling each other. His hands steadied themselves on his rifle. He knew his bullets were more effective at range, but that's where he had to stay: at range.

"So, who moves first, hmm?"

[Skallagrim]

Cho Sun-Jin? Truly an odd name, but then these sorcerers were unlike other men he had encountered. It seemed that the man while able to understand and even speak with Kolskegg he appeared to have difficulties with some words.

This Cho backed away as Kolskegg advanced, mimicking his movements the entire time. Clever, clever it was a good way to keep his distance. Presumably to keep the fire stick in place since the man didn’t have a sword or axe.

The earthquakes subsided with a few lingering tremors then nothing save an eerie silence settling on the island. The rune of Sleipnir gripped the Northman. He felt the surge of energy through his body. A smile graced his lips a moment as he hopped behind a collapsed building. Stopping a moment he hefted his shield before him.

Adjusting the grip on the shield he banged it twice then began running zig-zagging, avoiding and hopping over the crumbled detritus that littered the ground. Body low as he ran moved to close the ground between them. Each step his speed increased, he was moving quite fast in a dead run now. Kolskegg was a fluid and graceful form, slipping and dodging betwixt drooping walls and shattered pillars. Before him a crumbled pile of wall lay, hunching shoulders he ran straight at the debris when he suddenly whipped to his right leaving the pile between the two men.

A still pond, roughly 20 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep lay before him. Without stopping the Viking hit the water and ran across it as if it were solid ground. He was aiming for a ruined watch tower, all the while trying it flank Cho the wizard and his fire stick, his eyes always finding the man, keeping him in sight the entire while. The distance was shrinking, even through this spiraling run inward, the distance inexorably closed.

[DJAtomika]

He was fast.

Really fast.

Cho had trouble keeping up with Kolskegg as the warrior wheeled and ran in circles around him. He kept his own pace, slowly jogging in the opposite direction to the Viking's run. Obviously the latter was closing in on him, which was bad; his rifle wasn't as effective up close as it was from a distance. His scope was useless here as well.

Hmm.

Cho was sure the warrior had agility as well as speed in this new stage of his, it corresponded to what he'd seen so far. Still, it was worth a try.

He back slung his sniper rifle and lifted his Vector from his chest. The SMG wasn't as powerful as his rifle but what it lacked in force it made up for in sheer speed. He took aim at a spot ahead of him, waited for the warrior to approach, and just before he passed him, Cho pulled the trigger. The gun spat a salvo of death towards the Viking, Cho's eye for marksmanship helping him to lead the fast-moving warrior so his shots would connect. Hopefully.

[Skallagrim]

Kolskegg was moving at a good clip now, leaping and hurling the debris from Hel’s fury. The tower he was headed for loomed large when suddenly he felt a jackhammer pummeled his shield throwing him off his pace. Stumbling he tripped, falling forward and on to his face, taking several rounds to his back which really hurt. Scrambling up he hurried to get to the tower which offered him some protection.

Whatever the wizard had used was potent. While not as strong as his last attacks, it certainly was painful. These little bees that had hit him caused a multitude of welts and ugly bruises on his body. Feeling wetness on his back Kolskegg reached back only to reveal crimson on his fingers. The wizard had drawn blood.

Narrowing eyes and knitted brow, Kolskegg would have to be wary. The wizard Cho was not without power. The tower was solidly built, although the wooden stairs inside had shaken loose during the earthquake the remainder of the structure was standing. He was going to have to close with the wizard.

Jumping into the air and focusing Kolskegg hovered there. Peering at another tower close to where the wizard had been, the Viking ran along the air, about four feet off the ground. Shield protecting his body as he ran in a hunched manner. He was in a flat out sprint now, closing the distance to the next tower in a matter of seconds keeping an eye on the wizard. Whipping around the tower he charged the wizard Cho, dropping onto the ground while accelerating. The shield covering his body, sword held low, the sun glinting off the blade. It was time to bring the fight close in; it was time to see if the wizard was adept at melee combat. He would reach Cho in a matter of seconds. His prey would not be able to flee as Kolskegg was sure he was faster than the wizard.