Azra - Public Roads - Story Event
The long, barren road out of Armistice had not been the most exciting path thus far. As two wooden carts pulled by small horses rolled on, the two groups within had taken to conversation. A day and a half passed by in the blink of an eye before the talking began, but it seemed like the party was nowhere closer to anything at all. Infinite tree line stretched into the vastness of the horizon on both sides and the same unkempt fields of green grass and random vegetation also seemed to stretch on. The mountains in the distance held their ground and provided no clue as to just how far away any sort of civilization was. It was beginning to seem like progress had stalled almost as quickly as it had begun and that no fruit would come from this expedition. It was beginning to seem like the entire point of the trip was a waste. It was beginning to seem like... Like things had been set up this way. Despite not knowing where the destination actually was, sharp minds were beginning to come to a somewhat far-fetched conclusion--that the ICC had, possibly, sent the group on a wild goose chase.
Marcus was the first to let these thoughts develop weight in his mind. There was little reasoning to explain such a proposition, but the resulting situation could not be denied. Even if it had only been two and a half days, they should have passed by at least small villages and other merchants by now. Not a single soul was anywhere to be seen to the rear or the front however. This was even a public road. Marcus looked around and slumped down a bit. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember everything that had led up to this moment. He had been imprisoned for the last two years right before he had suddenly earned clemency from the government under one condition being that he go on this trip with this particular traveling party. Though it was not much to go on, he immediately found the one thing that struck him as odd--the traveling party. Even if the ICC truly believed in the notion that magical immunity could be gained, why would they use volunteer warriors instead of their highly trained army? Even assuming they did not want to waste the lives of the royal knights, why would they take any willing person and give them government backing? There were all kinds of scum in the world and to think that the ICC would vet not a single one of them was preposterous at best.
Before Marcus could truly form the conclusion he was quickly reaching, a sudden impact sent both carts careening into the air. What followed was darkness. Infinite darkness.
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Unknown Location - Story Event
It was the smell of fire and ash that brought the former knight back into the conscious world. His eyes slowly opened and immediately shut when introduced to the clouds of smoke hanging in the air. Blinking furiously, Marcus pulled himself from the cracked ground and coughed and wheezed a bit before trying to discern the world around him--or lack thereof. The only thing he could see was endless smoke, fog, and the brown, cracked earth beneath his feet spreading out in every direction. He almost shouted to see about the lives of the others, but thought better of it. His instincts kicked in and he quickly decided to play it safe just in case a potential enemy was around. There was no way to tell how much time had passed or what time of day it even was, but--maybe just as strangely--Marcus realized his weapons were slung over his back just as he would normally have them on foot. With that peace of mind, he pulled up his face mask and hood and drew his blade. He had known that this journey would end in death anyway, but he did not intend to go down without a fight. His first order of business was determining who else, if anyone, was still among the living. That would not take long at all.
The entire party lay scattered on the broken earth. None of them looked injured in the least and all of them also seemed to be equipped with their own weapons. Marcus raised an eyebrow at his own relief towards people he had just met, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the heavy smoke and fog ahead. The footsteps echoed as if one was walking on wood flooring, but looking down once more confirmed that it should have been cracked earth under foot. Sheathing his blade, Marcus instead brandished his longbow and drew two uniquely designed arrows until his drawing hand reached his cheek. The footsteps echoed louder until figures began forming silhouettes in the fog. Marcus slowed his breathing and focused only straight ahead. He was already accepting his fate in his mind as
three figures finally emerged and stopped just in front of the strewn party, though it seemed like everyone else had awoken just as they entered.
"Are these... What we were promised?" The lead figure questioned in a deep, bassy voice, never turning his gaze away from Marcus and the group.
"I believe so, brother. They shouldn't have appeared here otherwise," A lighter, yet still male voice answered.
"The possibility still remains that they are the
others. It is not insurmountable to reach this realm," A feminine voice chimed in. The lead figure stood deathly still as blank white eyes looked over the group briefly.
"She is right, brother. One can still enter this realm through alternative means. We must perform the test."
"But brother, if they are indeed the ones we seek, the test could result in their death," The figure on the right took a step forward. The figure on the left sighed.
"Let's not bicker about this," She began "Our eldest is correct. We must perform the test as tome mandates. Allow
me to test them eldest brother,"
The lead figure did not move, but nodded his head. "Then we shall take our leave. Come, brother," The lead figure and the figure on the right slowly disappeared in a wispy smoke that melded with the thick clouds hanging in the atmosphere. It was clear that there was magic at play here. The remaining figure, the female, stepped forward to where the leader stopped and raised an armored arm and hand. With a snap of her fingers, human silhouettes began to materialize until a group of human bandits appeared. They were dressed in leathers and cloth and brandished rusted swords and clubs. They had no faces--only skin resided where eyes, lips, and a nose should be--and no hair on their heads to differentiate them from one another. The figure sighed.
"It seems like my magic is waning much quicker than I thought it would. What an embarrassment. Should you feeble humans survive this ordeal, a great reward awaits you," She said casually. With that, she too disappeared into wispy smoke that melded with thick clouds hanging in the atmosphere. The faceless bandits grunted and moaned in an attempt to speak, but failed miserably. They turned towards one another examining each other as if to see if each one of them had been created in the same way. Once the confusion cleared, they faced the group in menacing stances, but only waited instead of charging forward. It seemed that they would not attack unless provoked, at least that's how Marcus surmised the situation.
He had long since put his bow and arrows away with the arrival of the mysterious figures. He only did nothing in their presence because he was not sure whether to believe in the reality of the situation or declare that he was already dead and this was the entrance to hell. As the smell of fire and ash continued to fill his nostrils however, he knew whatever was happening was real enough to probably end in his death. A death he knew was coming since the guards first showed him the order of clemency in his cell. Once again brandishing his blade, Marcus tried to suppress the fear he felt from looking upon faceless enemies that had literally been created in thin air in front of him. If he was going to die no matter the case, he was not going to go down without a fight.
And something in the core of his being told him this was going to be one hell of a fight.
