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SC ch 03

By: COShepard on Aug 23rd, 2012  |  syntax: None  |  size: 11.17 KB  |  hits: 41  |  expires: Never
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  1. Shepard Chronicles ch 03 The arcane soldier
  2. >You hover above a town, devoid of the people that once walked its roads. The stone breaks and wood rots and you see yourself walking amongst the ruins.
  3. >Your face marked as one in thought looking at the buildings that break as you pass.
  4. >suddenly to your right a skeleton shuffles out from a building but you don’t raise your weapon at it.
  5. >It walks with you whispering things into your ear but no noise can be heard
  6. >You respond but again no voice no sound only movement
  7. >Outside the town are more corpse walkers most freighting are those of dragons now just rotting flesh and bone looming over the others.
  8. >You meet with a creature robed in purple, he nods and lifts his hands and for the first time you are able to hear it.
  9. >Screaming
  10. >Cries of pain echo out from the town, buildings start to crumble and slowly the cries turn to moans.
  11. >Bodies now walk from the town, life drained from their eyes as they join you and the other corpses
  12. >Your face has no look of regret instead a smile as he shook the purple robed creature’s hand of walking off a companied by two heavily armoured men
  13. >and you fade from the town
  14.  
  15. >oh bugger
  16. >W: another one?
  17. >Yeah
  18. >L: party of the dead this time eh?
  19. >There’s only one undead creature that knows how to party and he’s a pirate. Anyway we’re conscious check the outer sensors.
  20. >W: arms active and ready
  21. >L: legs are good to go as well
  22. >Any injuries?
  23. >W: we’ve got a chest pain but that’s all
  24. >Lovely activating power stand by on the back-ups
  25. >L: Standing by
  26. >W: Ready
  27.  
  28. >You rise from bed multiple cracks come from your back, legs and feet as you begin movement
  29. > Oh that feels good
  30. >W: eyes adjusted to darkness sir
  31. >Then we’re going
  32. >Exiting the room you look down the hall, two doors on either side further down. One closed and the other opened.
  33. >Going through the open one lead you into the bathroom
  34. *ten minutes later*
  35.  
  36. >And down we go
  37. >Walking down the stairs, each step creaking as you went pass, you find yourself on the second floor.
  38. >Looking about you find what looks like the ‘living room’ and adjacent to it, the kitchen. A single light over the stove left on from the night before
  39. >Would that be the right thing to say?
  40. >L: If the night lasts forever then maybe, don’t know
  41. >Well whatever a light was left on
  42. >Looking out the kitchen window, numerous street lamps were lit showing activity from the men and women below
  43. >Setting up or shutting down stalls, moving containers and such jobs were down under the cover of artificial light
  44. >An eternal night huh? Interesting
  45. >”Good morning.”
  46. >You turn, spotting Star walk down the stairs
  47. “Morning…I think.”
  48. >”Don’t worry it is”
  49. >She moved to turn on the lights partly blinding you as you cover your eyes.
  50. >”Whoops! My bad.”
  51. “No worries” you say rubbing your eyes as your vision begins to focus again
  52. >”Hungry?”
  53. “Not really but I’ll have some anyway.”
  54. >She smirked as she went by you; you got out of her way and sat on her couch
  55. >Returning a few minutes later she came out with toast for the both of you
  56. >”We’ll be making a small detour before heading to the Wardens. Do you mind?”
  57. >You simply shake your head
  58. >L: It’s a trap!
  59. >W: It’s most likely a trap.
  60. >traps are fun. We’re going.
  61.  
  62. >After twenty minutes you both exited from Star’s house wandering down the street
  63. >”You’ll want to explore the city when we’re done at the Wardens okay?”
  64. “I’ll get lost you know that right?”
  65. >”Don’t worry I’ll find ya.”
  66. “Nope I’m pretty sure I’m doomed.”
  67. >She chuckled as she led you to what looked like a joke shop
  68. >leading you into the interior looked like a gilded cage, the stars on the outside and a small square room where you stood
  69. >”Okay now run around this room three times then talk to me.”
  70. “Uh why?”
  71. >”Now Robert!”
  72. ”Yeah ok alright I’m going”
  73. >You start to jog about the room
  74.  
  75. >Theories?
  76. >W: checking your fitness
  77. >L: Making you tender to cook you in a stew later
  78. >W: seeing if you’re an athlete
  79. >L: she wants your body
  80. >W: that’s what I was gonna go with next
  81. >L: If you want my body
  82. >W: And you think I’m sexy
  83. >Come on baby let me know
  84. >L: If you really want me
  85. >W: Just reach out and touch me
  86. >Come on baby tell me so
  87. >…
  88. >Damn it guys that’s gonna be on my head now
  89.  
  90. >As you walk back up to her you feel a rise in your body
  91. “OK now what?”
  92. >”Hold your arm out”
  93. >You do so and you feel the rise again, as you uncurl your hand a current of water erupts from your hand spraying out on the ground
  94. “Holy crap!”
  95. >L: Generating water?
  96. >W: Only crap we got magic here
  97. >L: Over water? Lame.
  98. >”Water huh? Interesting”
  99. >You look at Star in confusion, before William and Leon could stop you; you pick up Star and start yelling at her
  100. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?”
  101. >Star only smiled and her head started to glow
  102. >L: hey is that horn?
  103. >W: You’d think we would have noticed that.
  104. >Unfortunately for you, before you can react you’re flung at the golden fence pinned against by an unseen force
  105. >Bugger
  106. >W: balls
  107. >L: shit
  108. >”Are you three listening?”
  109. >Three?
  110. “Three? What are you talking about, I only see us.”
  111. >”Robert don’t play dumb with me”
  112. >Her horn brightened again this time putting you on the opposite wall
  113. >Except you saw yourself on the other wall with flared red hair
  114. >Another flinging left you seeing another you with matted blue hair
  115. “Leon? William? How the hell?”
  116. >William felt himself ensuring he was real as Leon started to punch the air
  117. W: “Interesting”
  118. L: “This is cool”
  119. >Star cleared her throat causing all three of you to look at her
  120. >”Those bodies only exist in this room.”
  121. >Leon’s face sunk but yours and William’s facial expression stayed neutral
  122. W: “You have my attention”
  123. L: “Mine as well”
  124. >You gave a simple nod
  125. >”You heard that you are my first recruit due to a very special reason, I only recruit those with magical powers.”
  126. W: “Technically we’re humans, humanity cannot use magic”
  127. >”If that we’re true then how did Robert shoot water from his hand?”
  128. W: “Well um easy you uh”
  129. L: “She’s a witch; she’ll turn us into newts!”
  130. “Shut up Leon and let her talk”
  131. >”Thank you, but in truth not all worlds agree with what you say, some humans due have magic while others don’t. The difference is what’s in the blood.”
  132. “Blood?”
  133. >”Yes, your blood is what gave you the ability to use magic. I sensed it and reached out to you and you agreed to it”
  134. W: “If Robert has magic, then by extension so do we yes?”
  135. >”That is correct, just do what Robert did”
  136. >William and Leon looked at each other before extending their hands but nothing came out
  137. “Dudes aren’t you missing a step?”
  138. W: “What?”
  139. “Get running”
  140. W: “Damn it”
  141. L: “Come Will it’s good for ya” he yelled running pass him
  142. >Three laps and an arm extension later
  143. >Leon jetted fire from his arm while William shot an icicle
  144. >”Your magic and William’s are similar but Leon’s is opposite. How strange.”
  145. “Not really”
  146. >”Now I’m going to get the leader of the Wardens, you three practise in here till I come back”
  147. >As she left you turned to your counterparts
  148. “Well?”
  149. W: “She’s hiding something that’s for sure but I’m not sure what.
  150. L: “Why bring us out if we can’t leave this room?”
  151. W: “Perhaps for later.”
  152. “Later?”
  153. W: “She’s planning something; you could see it in her eyes.”
  154. L: “So the important question is ‘do we trust her?’”
  155. “… She stopped me from throwing my life away that earns points with me.”
  156. W: “She taught us magic for unknown purposes”
  157. L: “We’ll watch and wait.”
  158. W: “Judgement is unknown.”
  159. “All we can do is go with it for now.”
  160. W: “True unfortunately”
  161. L: “And if her plan spells doom for us?”
  162. “Only one thing to do.”
  163. W: “Death”
  164. L: “It’s inevitable anyway”
  165. “We are the judges.”
  166. W: “The jury”
  167. L: “And executioners”
  168. RWL: “So let it be”
  169. >You, Leon and William raised your fists together unleashing your magic upwards covering the walls in water, fire and ice
  170. “And now we wait.”
  171.  
  172. (Starshine’s POV)
  173.  
  174. >You’ve done it
  175. >you managed to get lost in a city you thought you knew
  176. >Robert is going to get lost
  177. >Those two with him, they don’t seem to trust me. Can’t blame them I did pull them out of his head
  178. >William seemed to be the sense of Robert’s mind, if Will doesn’t trust me Robert most likely won’t either.
  179. >But then what’s Leon?
  180. >He seems out of place, a man not meant to be there
  181. >As long as they don’t leave that room, it should be fine
  182. >Ah here it is
  183. >Before you lay the Warden’s den, a place where the Wardens recruited from and shipped people out from.
  184. >Walking in you see a familiar human, black beard well groomed as always
  185. “Duncan we meet again”
  186. >The man looked up a fatherly smile marking his face.
  187. >”Starshine an honour what brings a Traveler to our doors?”
  188. “I have a new member for you guys”
  189. >”We may need more bodies, but till I see him or her I’ll have to turn you down.”
  190. “Then follow Duncan, I’ll show you him.”
  191.  
  192. >You both walk out leading back to the mage’s chamber
  193. >”Who is this man?” Duncan asks while walking
  194. “He’s a broken man, but a warrior who was in charge of the black ops of his world, according to Alain anyway.”
  195. >”Broken how exactly?”
  196. “He has three minds, two who don’t seem to like me all that much.”
  197. >”Can you blame them, they are just as much strangers to you as you are to them.”
  198. >you sigh in response continuing to walk back.
  199.  
  200. > Arriving back to the chamber you find the door a jar
  201. >Figurativily speaking of course
  202. >Walking in you find Robert sitting on the floor meditating
  203. “Where’s Leon and William?”
  204. >”Gone”
  205. >Gone?
  206. “What do you mean gone?”
  207. >Robert doesn’t open his eyes as he points towards the door, “Gone just like me.”
  208. >You were about to question what he meant when he disenagrated turning to a puddle of water.
  209. >”Interesting” Duncan said while stroking his beard
  210. >Walking outside you see Robert sitting on a bench across from the chamber, levitating a sphere of water.
  211. >”Magic isn’t so hard if you concentrate on what you want from it.” Robert said molding the water to show a replica of his own head.
  212. >”Concentration and focus are the keys to magic as all mages know. But you are also a soldier as well correct?”
  213. >Robert gets up, dropping the sphere and walks to Duncan holding out his hand, “Aye, you must be the Warden leader. I’m new to magic but I’ll wield it as any weapon, with power and precision.”
  214. >Duncan grips his hand, “We need able bodies like yourself, but we have rules in our order, one is no guns.”
  215. >Robert smiles, “That’s fair, using a gun isn’t as fun anyway.”
  216. >tossing his gun at you, he throws an arm over his sholder, “Now tell me about this job.”
  217. >As those two walked off you couldn’t help feeling you were being watched still…well nothing to worry about hopefully.
  218.  
  219. >You are William and you’re watching Robert and Starshine leaving the area.
  220. >”You ready?” Leon asked from the shadows
  221. “Yeah let’s see what this capital is like.”