Zool

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie's blue cloak whirled as she twirled with her parries, ducks and dodges, giving ground with every attack from the wraith and cultist. The speed and agility on display may have looked pretty, but her face was frozen in wide-eyed fear, he breathing erratic as she tried to follow the steel/ghost blades of her enemies. How long she could keep this up was unknown, but she was not optimistic.

After catching the cultist's overhand strike on her dagger, the ghost sword slashed her waist causing her to cry out and crumble under the weight of the cultist sword, which in turn slashed her dagger-arm as she was forced to retreat with her wounds. Back-pedalling frantically in pain, she watched her enemies chase her down. Her back hit the flat wood of a bookshelf's end, then she ducked just in time to avoid being beheaded.

The whole time she'd been holding her crossbow in one hand - the chamber empty - no time to reload. She just couldn't get away from her foes for long enough. And then things went from bad to worse. She spotted the bright flames of conjured fire in the corner of her eye, and looked to see yet another wizard about to point his wand her way. Suddenly the pain of her lacerations was the least of her worries, all but ignored as she sprinted for cover, baseball sliding under a table and flipping it to use the tabletop as a shield. The stream of fire hit the table and MacKensie could feel the heat from the other side, even seeing the flames dancing as the fire stream continued to blast against the table like water from a hose, spreading into a wall of flames that she could see above her.

He is going to smoke me out of hiding!

She had to do something.

And she did.

Without thinking, she ignited flames of her own. Source magic flowed through her arms, little flames dancing down her hands as she activated her Deadly Flurry. Then she got up and jumped over the table, through the wall of flames to take her enemies by surprise, a fist full of bolts in one hand, held over her crossbow.

Jai vous!

She fired off all the bolts like a machine gun. Before MacKensie had even landed, the cultist with the sword was hit a bunch of times, and her crossbow sights swept left to try and take some revenge on the fire mage too before her attack ended...

She landed and drew her dagger once more, ready to press any advantage she might have from her suicidal counter-attack, but she only saw the wraith, who had carefully avoided the fire and now moved towards her. And there was also...

"Wha-?" MacKensie dove to one side to avoid a pair of crackling black thunderbolts came zooming at her. Flowing into a roll to smoothly get back to her feet, she looked over her shoulder to see the two bolts hit the wall and explode. She had no idea where they'd come from, but tried to remain alert as she turned her attention back to the approaching wraith. Blood stained her torn tunic at the waist and on her sleeve, pain glowing beneath. But her determination glowed brighter.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

It had taken some grit to go through with the cut-throat assassination of the cultist: Putting the knife in the flesh of the neck, the blade had gone in and sliced across so easily - too easily. Weirdly, she found herself, in that moment, missing her mother more than ever. Perhaps it was because she didn't like what she'd become - someone who could kill with such mastery. But there wasn't much time to contemplate her new status and lot in life, for the piercing screech of a dying wraith erupted right next to her, threatening to burst her eardrum.

With a gasp, she looked to see the last of the flames disappear where the Counter-spelled wraith had once been. Then she took in the instantly chaotic panorama and rose up, drawing her crossbow. First she aimed at the wraith attacking Fenna near her, before remembering that her bolts would do nothing to these ethereal monsters. After that she hesitated a few seconds, then shot at one of the living enemies. The bolt, aimed down the aisle where Zell was, passed straight through the wraith and was on target to hit the fleeing cultist in the back of the head, but the woman managed to disappear around the corner just in time to avoid getting hit.

MacKensie didn't waste time lamenting her missed shot. She couldn't even if she wanted to, for as she aimed at the wizard cultist with the wand, Barracker's wraith came after her, forcing her to dodge away from it. With no method to counter the wraith, she was forced to stay on the defensive, evading attacks while repeatedly checking behind her to see where she was going. Carefully she navigated the furniture and ghosts while the wraith pursued her. It wasn't too difficult to avoid the ghost sword, but it was frustrating to be doing but being a distraction for a single wraith. She smoothly dove and rolled over a tabletop, back on her balls of her feet with some distance between herself and the wraith. Once again she sighted the woman who'd ran off down the aisle. She was back again, now with a sword, so MacKensie headed her way.

She started out, on the approach, by stopping the cultist dead in her tracks with a pre-emptive shot in the arm, then rushed in with her dagger and reeled off a twirling combination of strikes that the woman struggled to fend off. With just a few more seconds, MacKensie would have, no doubt, broke her opponents guard and finished her, but the pursuing wraith on the frenchwoman's tail had quickly caught up and joined the fight.

Now MacKensie was back on the defensive again, parries for the physical enemy and dodges for the ghostly one.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'll try to get something down tonight too xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Fenna's suggestion on how to deal with Hardul, made MacKensie feel much better about situation. Not only was it for the dwarf's own good that they hold him as something of a hostage, but MacKensie was confident that Adam would handle the matter with the utmost care. MacKensie bent over a little and squeezed Hardul's shoulder as she smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry. You'll be safe this way," she told him. "We'll come back for you, just as soon as we are done. I promise."

She watched Adam take Hardul away and do his work, creating a suitable camouflage around the restrained dwarf. When he returned, James informed them all of the intel he and Barracker had managed to extract from George, which coincided well with a stealth mission. "You know the formation," Second Chance's leader said, refreshing the memory of Zell's tactical briefing that first night, aswell as the modification James had made for this mission. She nodded and they were off.

But she did not make it more than half a dozen steps when she paused suddenly, the others leaving her behind as she wondered for a moment, then looked up at the tree where their prisoners were hanging. Her blue gaze washed over them all and she dared to ask...

"Steven?" her tone dripping with uncertainty.

One of them perked up and looked at her, a few moments of silence before finally answering. "What?" MacKensie couldn't supress a small smile. The old beekeeper who she'd questioned in Cherrad would get her son back in one piece. If they could only complete their mission. Thank the lord for small mercies. "You know me?"

MacKensie shook her head. "No. I do not," was all she said, then hurried away to catch up with her friends.

Fortunately, they would manage to get a good way into the temple without coming into contact with any cultists. The eerie atmosphere was very un-churchlike, but every bit expected of the lair of a dark cult. MacKensie, near the front of the pack, saw Barracker make a hand-gesture of respect to the painting of Hades, and she thought to herself that she would find time in the future to ask the Paladin about his diety. Not only would it be a chance to get know more about Barracker, but the world of Mytheria also.

When they found themselves sneaking through the library towards the sound of voices, MacKensie pulse was picking up pace. Zell drew up a quick plan with nothing more than a nod of the head and two points of the finger - that was all that was needed - and James gave the final command with a nod of his own. MacKensie was ready.

This moment was the first time she'd ever noticed that her footsteps made no noise. Without any effort to do so, she moved in complete silence. It must be a Ranger ability, she thought. It certainly made sneaking up to her target much easier. Dagger slowly drawn and held invertedly, she moved towards the giant of a man who was sat in the arrangement of sofas, crouching low and moving quickly to get right up to him, ducked behind the back of the sofa. She waited to attack in tandem with the others.

The man was big and broad-shouldered. There was no way she could risk a non-lethal grapple attempt, and so her attack attempt would be a swift movement that saw her dagger slit his throat.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'll try and make time to write a post tonight.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

To clarify this, I figured this will help the team be prepared in case the information turns out to be a trap.

@Zapdos

Yep, that's a good call Zapdos xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Hello!

I have faith in Barracker and James' interrogation technique, let's go with option 2 and the secret passage xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

@xenon

And to you too Xenon! xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

She couldn't find him, which was strange.

It was the dwarf that had caused MacKensie to believe George's story in the first place. Hardul looked terrified and was visibly shaking when he'd come out from behind that rock. Was he really that good of an actor, or was she just too trusting?

She continued to search the area east of the temple, each footfall light and silent, her head swivelling to scan left and then right. And then she caught movement in her peripheral and looked to see the dwarf hightailing it as fast as his little legs could carry him. She burst into a sprint, hurdled the rock he'd been hiding behind and gave chase. "Wait!"

He didn't listen. She closed the distance a little, then stopped and fired her grapplehook his way. It attached to his leg and she had to brace herself, her feet skidding forward a little from the man's bodyweight before she managed to halt him. He tripped and fell to the floor, shrieking more in fear than in pain, she reckoned. It was clear to see and hear that he was definitely still scared out of his mind.

She walked instead of running to catch up with him, her blue beam/wire reeling itself in as she approached him, grapplehook still attached to his leg. The reason she wasn't in hurry to get to the dwarf was because she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do or say when she was in front of him. She was on her own, at the moment, without the other party members who usually did most of the talking, and she felt neither smart nor confident at this time. So while Hardul might be feeling helpless and scared right now, lay there on his belly as she approached, she wasn't really feeling in control of the situation either.

Hardul scrambled to his feet and tried to run again, but MacKensie stopped and brace herself once more, yanking the blue beam/wire as he tried to run so that he tripped over again. Then she continued to close the distance. Finally she was in front him and her grapplehook disappeared back into her gauntlet. The magical device on her left forearm was truly amazing, it just worked so smoothly, as if it was connected to her very nervous-system.

"Hardul?" she started. She could hear in his breathing that he was shaking. It took him a second to look up at her. "My name is MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant. Are you hurt?"

He clearly didn't expect that, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. After a delayed reaction, he shook his head. She knelt to one knee and he adjusted from his prone position to sitting up on the floor. "I'm... I'm not one of them. Please believe me."

"I do," she nodded slowly, assuring herself just as much as she was assuring him.

It didn't take long for MacKensie to get Hardul's story. She gave the dwarf a comforting rub on the back as he got up and then they walked back to the rest of the party. When they arrived, MacKensie explained that Hardul wasn't a cult member and that he didn't have any inside information about the cult or the temple that could help them - only that he was being threatened and coerced into running errands for the secret agent inside Cherrad, his home village, which mostly consisted of passing messages from one cult member to another.

"The secret agent in Cherrad is a man called Feanor Moss," MacKensie told everyone. "Did any of you meet him?" She also vouched for Hardul, which was difficult seeing as she didn't want to look naive to her friends, but she said it confidently with her chin slightly raised and shoulders slightly squared. Difficult as it would be to be seen as naive, it would be far more difficult to be seen as weak-willed. She was her father's daughter, after all. "I believe him. His honest face and palpable fear is the reason why I was thrown off by George in the first place. I'm not sure what we should do with him, though. Feanor is down there in the village and is bound to press the poor man the moment Hardul gets back to the village. That could compromise our mission. But I wouldn't suggest taking him in the temple with us either."

Hopefully James would calculate the best decision or Fenna would have some wisdom to share, or perhaps one of the others would have a good idea, as they were all fully capable of coming up with one. Either way, she would leave the decision to another, and be ready to enter the temple as soon as everyone else was.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie chuckled at Zell's protest, slowly strutting with a cocky air as she met him halfway along the rooftop. She always enjoyed getting the upperhand on their bantering rivalry. A sigh of relief left her as they looked at the results of the battle below. The adrenaline subsided along with Undaya's blessing, her shoulders relaxing and heartbeat returning to resting rate.

"I didn't even get to kill anyone."

Her eyes widened with shock and MacKensie smacked Zell's arm, a disgusted expression on her face. "Do not say things like that, Zell. It would have been much better if we all could have gotten through that fight without having to kill anybody." She shook her head and looked away. "You would do well to remember that these people have been brainwashed. They are as much victims of this situation as the people down there," she nodded pointedly to the village that could be seen in the distance, then turned back to the swordsman, her eyebrows tilting from offended to almost-pleading. "Please... try to be more considerate of these things. We must be responsible with the power we wield."

She hoped he would heed the lecture, but did not hold her breath. She hooked her arm around him to prepare for their descent, firing her grapplehook at the rooftop's edge. When she felt his arm wrap around her waist, she faltered a moment, the heat of battle no longer masking her easily-flustered nature. And in her mind came visions from the dream she'd had last night. Her cheeks flushed red and she looked away, composing herself before, "Let's go," they stepped off the edge of the roof in tandem and descended safely to the ground.

It was back on the ground that she suddenly remembered the frightened face of the dwarf who'd first showed himself with George - Hardul was his name, she recalled. She did not see him take part in the battle and wondered if he was among the defeated. She walked right past the archers who'd broken their legs in the fall off the roof, searching for the dwarf. As she did so, she caught a look at the busted face of the man who was unlucky enough to get smashed by Barracker's shield. Her face creased in second-hand pain for the man. Unlucky, for sure, but at least he was alive.

Seeing that Adam was clamping down the survivors with tree roots and vines, and Barracker and James were dealing with George, the frenchwoman took a look around to make sure they hadn't missed Hardul the dwarf.