Mas Bagus

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

One of Aaron's goons rushed for the dead navy near the northeast tunnel to loot the spare gunpowder, while the sharpshooter drew a bead at her, preventing Jazdia to shot at the running soldier. Commendable teamwork, but either miscalculated or simply desperate, they forgot that it wasn't a one-way trip. And on his way back, the elf fired her explosive arrow.

That one soldier smashed onto the wall before bouncing back to the floor and lying unmoving. Aaron, who was ready to receive the gunpowder thrown backward and could be seen squirming in pain behind the undamaged railing.

It was almost like shooting fish in a shallow barrel.

"Well, I guess Time is up, Gentlemen!"

That enchanted arrow on the northwest tunnel exploded. Its structure had sustained partial damage from the previous explosion before and now it had reached its peak stress. The entrance collapsed, and the explosion coupled with falling debris overwhelmed the navy sharpshooter, rendering him unconscious with substantial head trauma. Aaron was now the last one standing, or moving?

Jazdia notched an arrow in her bow, and again, the radiant purple flame engulfed its crystalizing head. She risked a little bit more energy into her eyes and scan the walls, to ensure nobody would interrupt their last dance.

To her disappointment, however, Jazdia saw a lithe silhouette approaching from the now-collapsed tunnel. And as the unknown actor hover closer, The debris, small or large was shoved violently and pushed aside like dried leaves. The figure was getting clearer to see, showing a very young girl in her early teens. Jazdia already had her bow drawn and aimed at her, but, for a half second, the elf hesitated, and she doubted her own eyes.

It was a mistake.

A white flash of energy hurled from that breached tunnel, and in the last attempt to correct her error, Jazdia released her arrow. Almost instantly, an enormous crackling ball of white and purple fire exploded in front of her. The blow flung her body backward and crashed to the floor.

The world was spinning, all the noises were now replaced with an annoying ring in her head. Her chest contracted as she gasped for breath, and as she partially gathered her wit, the pain was so severe she unable to move her body. Perhaps the most grueling part of her injury was when Jazdia realized she suddenly had an extra finger.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Goodbye Mr. Henri, your service will never be forgotten...

After making a personal vow to tell Fred what the prince's loyal tutor had done in his (probably) last moment. Jazdia could see the dome strengthen, but then rapidly lose its integrity. The musketeers only realized it after Jazdia impaled one of them with an arrow, the rest, including Aaron scamper to the wooden railings next to them.

Before today, the last time Jazdia killed a soldier was twenty years ago, during the Tretagor crisis. Not the proudest milestone in her life, to be honest. To her, soldiers were the most pitiful profession a man could ever take. They didn't have the right to choose; a chain of commands bound them and the order was their sacred codex. They were disposable pawns, a perfect asset to discard to suit their commander's needs. And when their commander fell, they too fall with him.

So, let's give them a chance. Jazdia fired an enchanted arrow with a remote trigger at the wooden frame on the northwest entrance then shouted at the hunkering Aaron.

"Constable! What a sorry state you are in right now. I see that your shield is shrinking. That's a shame! Tell your boys if they retreat they will be spared! If they retreat with you they will be killed. And if they stay with you for too long, they will die. Do you see my arrows? It will explode in five minutes! Or when they violate the rules! As for you, Mr. Delving, God willing, I will not let you leave this tunnel unscathed! Time is running. Go and make your choices!"

One of the musketeers unneighbourly responded by blindly firing his musket. An arrow flew in retaliation, but it hit the side of his helmet and deflecting the arrow off of its course. Two of his friends took advantage by running for the exit. Probably under Delving's order.

Didn't matter. They didn't violate the rules.

"What a lousy shot! Never do that again if you value your life!"

***

A half kilometer away from that, in a cold chamber, a shackle shattered.

waking up from her pitiful slumber, a woman cried. Agony shot through her, agony such as she had never known, and it concentrated in a brand on her nape. At first, she thought her master was angry at her, punishing her for a mistake, and she was willing to accept.

But as the pain subsides, she found no sign of her master. The young woman shambled for the exit, moved by unexplainable anxiety, and it grew stronger when she opened the unlocked door. There was a faint trace of magic, one that didn't belong to anyone she knew. She shivered, a whisper came, and it brought faint ill news. She tried to shrug it off as the usual useless lure from the lingering spirit who haunted this place.

At first, she walked, and with every step taken the anxiety turned into fear, and the fear turned into sadness, from sadness, came anger. The memory of her master started to fade in her mind, the master that had taken her in and liberated her from the torment of her so-called parents. The master who raised her and gave her purpose in life. She feared she would lose his touch forever.

Terrified beyond reason, the young woman now hovered over the bloodied, broken corpse of her fellow servants. She stopped, yowling incoherently about where the master was and why his throne was empty, but nobody answered.

As she strode past the broken trapdoor, unexplainable emotion surged through her. For the first time in her life, she felt impatient. As another wave of pain pulsed from her nape, her back arched in agony, and another scream was torn from her, and she realized with a racking, raging sense of grief that her master might have met his demise.

The wall before her crumbled in an explosion, there, she rushed deeper. Tunnel after tunnel she knew so well, now all would be the victim of her unadulterated rage; crumbling and caving in in her wake. As she reached the place where her master's life force have once lingered, her eyes-- or rather, senses, were immediately fixed on the elven woman with a bow and wicked magic. Sensing the same magic from her and the residual life force of her master.

The hate grew inside her like a living, parasitic thing. With trembling hands, she gathered her magic. The pride and joy that her master would never spare his kind words to praise her talent.

"Talent, not disaster, not a terrible affront."

To think that she would never hear those words again hurt her more than anything, and in sheer malice, she unleashed her power toward those who have robbed the world from her.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Despite the wrinkles on his face becoming more apparent, Aaron remained unflinching. Sure his pride was bruised from the south and from the west. Coward, crooked, traitor. Some were warranted and some were not, he didn't care, he swallowed them all whole because this tactic was his own tactic, and he knew its strength and weakness.

His decision to hold the line seemed to pay off when he saw four of his men arrive from the northwest tunnel. That elf peeked from her cover to shoot at the regrouping soldier but his sergeant's shield deflected the arrow and thus allowed his part to safely enter the barrier.

Deep down, Aaron was relieved it wasn't an explosive one.

"So what now?" He shouted. "What now you dipshit! I will have you all buried! And you can hide or face your judgment! Go on and make my day! Useless piece of filth! Do your worst!"

"Oh, you bet I will! I even went so far as to make you a little present." Barked the inhuman tutor mockingly, still hanging on the edge of the floor. "SOME of us pay attention when we read things in the library, and got promoted to the royal court on MERIT, instead of who their daddy fucked. Oh, I am quite sure you paid a lot of money for that gaudy little pig-sticker you have, but I MADE my shell-- ALL. BY. MY. SELF. Now, I feel I must part company, Lord Dipshit. I have a tunnel to collapse."

Looking up, Aaron glanced at the red, spherical metal things hovering near the ceiling closer to the entrance, right above their head. How that thing could have gotten there and since when?

Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He had his barrier.

Still focused on the lingering danger, the navy shooter reloaded and aimed his weapon at Henri, but the Royal Tutor let go of his grip and splooshed back into the water with one hand still erected at the surface.

Aaron watched how that metal sphere glows brighter, but then, another unexpected thing came; a fletched shaft with a glowing tip flew from the south and hit the sphere.

Violent explosion shook that tunnel, shattering the wooden frame that supports the middle entrance and its surrounding masonry. Pieces of concrete and other debris started to fall from the collapsing ceiling, filling the passage until it was completely shut. But it wasn't all. A splash of warm and rancid mud befell them, the barrier might have eased up the temperature, but it was still crap, and he was full of it, now inside out and Aaron was wide awake when that humiliation occurred.

The constable coughed, swiping blood and a handful of black mud from his nose. The barrier remained undaunted however, in fact, it glowed even brighter... only for a few moments after. That instant strengthening had cost him a great deal of energy and imposed a heavy strain on his body.

When the barrier began to shrink, Aaron knew he was in deep trouble. A bit too late for that, really.

"Men! Retreat now!"

It was the sentence he never imagined he would say.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Aaoron counted that it had been ten minutes of grueling stalemate. Stalemate, the word itself felt exaggerated. Those imbeciles barely held their ground; they were helpless, desperately hiding behind the pillar like a cornered rat.

Even then, he thought about an alternative plan. Something his brother had taught him but he kept forgetting. But that day in the office had given him a valuable lesson, to always come prepared, and be introspective. And that had served him well today. That elven woman was no ordinary archer and the amount of destruction she could dish out in a single spell was staggering. But again, he had come prepared, this protection spell will not fail him. This was his signature, one that he had honed over the years. While his father always had a bias toward the old adage that the best defense is the good defense, his brother had told him everyone was born with different gifts, and he should just be himself and improve what he was good at.

In the middle of his self-admiring, the constable saw something was steaming in the murky water below. He stepped forward to peer at it and found that pesky tutor hanging for dear life on the rim not far from him and his men. He was holding a glowing metal sphere. Whatever it was, it revealed his figure rather clearly

"You! Sailor," he commanded, and the best shooter in the group responded. He lowered his musket, and Aaron only needed to point at the hanging nuisance below. "Put one between his eyes! The rest of you stay on your targets"

And he fired.

Henri's head jerked backward, indicating a bullet hitting its mark. Smiling, Aaron expected the tutor to slip down and lost in the filthy stream, but he was not dead yet. He glanced at them with one eye missing and full of vengeance.

"So, my brother was correct." He gripped his sword tightly and with his left hand, spread some of the light onto his breastplate. His heart raced, but not in fear. Anticipation! He was ready to pay back the humiliation he suffered that afternoon. "Come here if you dare, you renegade!"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Up above, Aaron Delving was completely unfazed by the spectacular show. "What a dork!"
Indeed, there were several unexpected things happened. He looked at the other side of the platform and glanced at Gerrald's mangled body with a certain amount of condolences. His father will not like it, but at least one potential witness was 'out of the picture' and that was what mattered.

Now, for the optional one; he needed to clear out the trashes.

His only regret was he didn't bring enough archers to keep them pinned. But his men had redistributed the musket and regrouped around him. Inside his barrier. Sadly the time was insufficient to salvage the spare gunpowder and bullets. But this would do for now. They just needed to dig in. His reinforcement will arrive soon.

"Steady! Don't shoot unless you have them in your sight."

Yes, Go ahead and try it! Once they ran for the tunnel, they would have nowhere to hide and no space to dodge.

Deep below, Henri the golem trudged to the other side of the canal, walking slowly toward the other end of the bridge where Delving and his men are making their stand. After a long and tedious journey of swimming in filth, he arrived at his destination. Using his telekinetic power he tried to snatch their metal weapons, but something negated that attempt. Not giving up, the golem launched his hook and had it swept along the edge of the canal, aiming to snare a foot.

Something repelled the metal thing and tossed it sideways, yet, it caused the hook to snag something that wasn't a human foot, rather, it was a metal pole that held the wooden railings near Aaron's company.

***

Jazdia retreated back to the pillar. Biting her lips as she realized that the only hope was through the south tunnel, but Aaron's men seemed to have marked it as the only place to spend their bullet.

"Miss Rosenving. Would you kindly move to that pillar?" She pointed at the middle pillar closer to the mouth of the south tunnel. "Go! While they are still reloading their weapon!"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Regulating her breath to be more steady, Jazdia tried her best to ignore the foul stench and stayed focused. The haze had been dispersed, but the darkness remained, and she started to feel a burning sensation in her eyes.

To prevent the situation of having to choose between ultravision or enchanted arrows, Jazdia blinked and downgraded her vision. The perfect see-through view was replaced by a more mana-efficient vision that could still show general terrain and people, but not through the walls. And once again, she jumped from that pillar, shooting an enchanted arrow at the wooden railings that protect Aaron and his men.

The arrow exploded, but it did not shatter the barrier. There was a faint light spreading in that area, and Aaron was standing there unmoving with a sword drawn. At the tip of the blade, a brilliant light manifested and then spreads into a protective dome made of light that grows slowly.

This kind of barrier was the worst. Every attack directed at it would strengthen and prolong the duration. And now those musketeers were retreating inside it. Where they could aim their shot without fearing retaliation.

Jazdia canceled the enchantment and shot her regular arrow toward the running musketeer. It hit the side of his torso, but the man kept going and reached the barrier. Who would have thought he brought the weapons of his fallen comrades with him?

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

" If I may be so bold as to suggest-- we should take some of these fools alive, so they can sing about their keeper to the inquisitor."

"If you can do that, be my guest..."

Despite saying that, the prospect was laughable at best, but she didn't fancy explaining that the alignment of these soldiers couldn't be determined by the action of their captain alone. Sure they might be crooked, but the best answer you can get from them would be a defense that they were just following orders, and they were here to exterminate bandits and traitors. And here right now we were the bandits and the traitors.

Jazdia peeked from her cover and saw them reloading. Taking a stance to aim her bow, she downed two musketeers before ducking back into her cover. At that time, suddenly there was a thick fog covering their side of the hall.

Two muzzle reports echoed, but their shots failed to find any target and punched the walls, ricocheting, and eventually landing in a loud clang. With her eyes, Jazdia saw a soldier on their side of the platform rolling on the floor, groaning in pain, the ricocheted bullet struck him. It seemed to the other two also had been dealt with by Chonan and Kaito.

"Heya boss. Quite deep up in shit creek we are today."

Indeed, but it surely couldn't get any worse than that, right?

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

”Jaz, based on the documents I found the Black Serpents Guild certainly had the items and intricate knowledge of the underground tunnel systems required for the assasination attempt. I think we got enough and should make our exit.”

"Very well!" Jazdia checked the findings, intrigued by the map, but felt the evidence was somewhat lacking. Scanning the room for one last time. She found a container buried in the wall, and there was a thread from it to Gerrald's desk, straight into one of the drawers.

Heating up her blade to an amethyst hue, Jazdia walked toward a painting that seemed out of the place (seriously who would have hung a painting of a green meadow in an underground bunker?) and toppled it aside, revealing a metal container with locking mechanism. With two quick slashes, the door fell, and there she found assortments of scrolls, a copy of that map, and a small book, a journal.

Quickly she skimmed the scrolls. Those were neatly written letters with the name of the sender omitted. Several of it was vague, but the newest ones discussed the catacombs escape tunnel and how his Jormungand had found and connected the tunnel with their own system. Another letter describing agents that need to be guided throughout the system. No dates were specified.

She glanced at the head-sacked Gerrald before securing that extra evidence into her leather bag. "Let's go."

Jazdia led the team with Kaito following from behind. Behind the Fox Youkai were Yvonne and Chonan, guarding their prisoner who kept mumbling something incoherent. He shook his head and wagged his ashen ponytail "It's itchy! Take it off or you will regret this!"

Deciding to not regret anything, the party moved in haste as planned, Jazdia told them they will take the left tunnel that leads to the catacombs. The opposition should be less crowded on that route.

They finally arrived at the canal-hall. But something was amiss. There were soldiers, some with navy uniforms storming from the right tunnel. There were twelve of them and the last one that emerged from that dark tunnel was a familiar face.

"Soldier, halt!"

Two soldiers who had crossed the bridge took their position close to the bridge, while two others flanked Jazdia. There were many scenarios playing in her mind right now and at some point. the elf's thoughts raced to Henri but did not make eye contact with that golem man.

"Mr. Delving... Why am I not surprised? I suppose Mr. Tutor informed you about our investigation and thus here you are, moved by goodwill and a sense of duty to give this humble troupe of investigators a helping hand?"

Standing menacingly with both hands on his waist, the Constable glanced at their Plus One with clear contempt. "It doesn't matter." he rasped, his voice causing the guild master to straighten up his posture in an unknown zeal. "I see that you have done a great service to the Crown and Rascade. But I will take it from here. Miss Jazdia, please hand over that man to us. We will take care of him."

"Oh, we can bring him together just fine, you know. Our boss is just a few dozen meters above. We can present our findings together. Don't you agree?"

"No, I don't think it can be arranged."

One of the flanking soldiers approached Jazdia, but the elf signaled him to not take any step closer. "Why not, Mr. Constables? What makes you think this man is so important you have to secure him right here and right now?"

Aaron Delving's frown was clearly visible even in this dimmed hall. "Back to you. Why are you insisting on making this difficult?! Goodness, I don't believe it! One seal and you think you are above me, who have served the king for years and did all of his biddings exceptionally! I am the Chief Constable, it is my job to present this... this traitor to the king himself. Not people with unknown qualities like you lots. Though, I admit your capability, so come! Hand over the man."

Jazdia sighed and then suppressed the urge to rub her nose. There was a foul stench permeated in the air, stinkier than the sewer water below, she activated her eyes. Some of Gerrald's men had been reassembled in many checkpoints, and some had already made their way inside the tunnel and joined forces with the remaining soldiers.

"Ah, so that's how it is." She mumbled. Oh well, look at how smug Gerrald was behind that burlap! so this encounter was planned.
"What are you saying? Time is up. Give him up or we will take him by force, your call."

With a ragged smile, Jazdia looked back and said: "You heard that."

Everyone looked at her in confusion, but the Samurai released him anyway. The flanking soldier grabbed Gerrald's shoulder and removed the sack, leering intensely at Jazdia as they passed. "See you later bitch!"

Waiting at the other side of the bridge was Delving, like a disappointed father fetching a troubled son. Jazdia kept her cool, while the rest of her team looks disgusted by the travesty displayed. Nobody knew what she was thinking, not even herself.

"I am immensely grateful for your cooperation." He said and it seemed to be the only word he said without any hint of exasperation. The constable raised his hand. At the right side of the tunnel, lined four members of the navy. He, as their commander smugly proclaimed. "But I can't let you leave."

The weapon that was perceived as a spear turned out to be a long musket, and they were starting to take their aim.

So did Jazdia.

At that moment there was a twang of bowstring: an arrow whistled in the air and pierced the guild master from the back. He gasped, reaching his chest where a glowing, crystalized steel made its exit and stuck out. As Gerrald collapsed, a voice rang! "Kill them all!"

Followed by a small tremor... but nobody knew where it came from. A skirmish had begun, and Jazdia quickly leaped toward the stone pillar to her left. Her eyes activated, and as she saw four more men rushing from the bridge, she blinked, and an explosion followed.

That small bridge collapsed, and their poor prisoner launched mid-air before landing with a thud at the edge of the south floor.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

@wierdw

Jazdia shrugged, then with her typical trained smile, she replied. "Distrustful? No... unless if you really have something to hide. But let's omit the tedium of scrutinizing the trustworthiness of all parties because we don't have all the time in the world right now, don't you agree?"

"This Guildmaster was responsible for the infiltration and the escape of the intruders. By providing an underground passage that leads to the catacomb, and to an extent, the memorial park where they almost had your Highness' neck. We believe there is more than just that, but that will depend on how good Fred's jailer is when it comes to extracting the information." There was a purple glint in Jazdia's blue eyes as she continued. "That is all I can afford to say."

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Jazdia wasn't so sure if she liked the man's tone. But she remained focused; the prize was already at hand, and it would be better to leave it relatively unspoiled.

"No, need. We are done here." the elf said flatly. Then with her instruction, Chonan sacked the man's head and tied his hand. Muffled noises and all manner of curses known to men seeped from the burlap fabric, and the man kept wriggling until Chonan hit him at the base of his neck.

Then they headed to the door.

"We will hand the man to Fred and we will see what his torturer has in store."