Post by Tug on Aug 4, 2019 1:20:00 GMT -5
It was a tedious task, given that they had to be careful not to drop the statue lest it shatter, but eventually the two made their way back to the cart. The man in the robes presented the statue before Adriana.
"This was the source of the disturbance, mistress, there's no question about it" he explained.
Adriana looked it over, and tried to see if there was anything remarkable about it. "If only a Spirit-Type Colorman was available; he'd be able to sense if a soul was present and resolve the issue quickly. I have a feeling this is no ordinary statue" Adriana observed.
"If I may... I have strong suspicion that this may be a petrification. My gut feeling is that this man found a... particular kind of artifact that rejects certain wielders of the craft. The magic residue is consistent with a type of magic used by my ancestors... no question, this man had a corrupted heart and tried to touch a prism fragment" the man in dark gray clothes observed.
"Can his petrification be undone?" Gilford asked.
"Undoing petrification is a very complex and, if I may say, nearly a lost art... but perhaps you may have a solution?" the robed man asked Adriana
Adriana nodded. "I know a way... but I don't think you'll like it much..."
Meanwhile, on another part of the island, another group of people were talking.
"Man, I wish we didn't have to deal with Man In Black all the time." Man In Infrared whined. "When Woman In Orange is giving the orders, we actually get stuff done."
"Man In Black isn't so bad." Man In Amber Apricot pointed out. "He let me learn Honey Magic despite it being illegal."
"Yes, but he actively makes our lives harder by focusing only on destroying the other faction. We could actually accomplish something real and substantial if we didn't have that albatross around our necks." Man In Infrared argued.
"Like what?" Man In Amber Apricot challenged.
"I'm glad you asked..."
Soon, the two colormen were standing in front of a small shed in the woods.
"What's in here?" Man In Amber Apricot asked.
"Oh, just something I've been working on in my spare time... it's a summoning device."
"A what now?" Man In Amber Apricot was intrigued.
Man In Amber Apricot grinned. "A summoning device. It summons a powerful creature from another dimension and binds its will to the person who sumoney it. I created it from those old texts we found and it works okay... mostly."
"Mostly?"
Man In Infrared's smile faded slightly. "Well, see... I had a little trouble with the "controlled by the summoner" bit... but don't worry, I'm pretty sure I killed the sonic vampire raptor."
"Pretty sure? Not certain?" Man In Amber Apricot looked a little apprehensive.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure it's fine... anyway, I need your help. I've tried every elemental power source I could find, but none of them seem to work. With your honey magic and some time, we could make this machine actually work, and then I'll use my army of creatures to rule the colorfolk!"
"You mean "we", right?" Man In Amber Apricot asked.
"Yes, yes... of course." And so, both plotting their double-cross, the two conspirators entered the lab...
Back at the cart, Adrianna was preparing a spell, "now, if I get this right... we should be able to restore this man" she said as she thought about which spell would be best for this particular de-petrification
"I got it! Gilford, would you be a dear and grab the third bottle from the right in that cabinet over there?" asked Adriana
"Sure Mistress, but will this liquid do?" wondered Gilford
"It's the venom from the snake of a Gorgon, one of the few things that can depetrify someone turned to stone. It's dangerous, but do this fellow's missing hand I can't use the cheaper alternative basilisk venom because it will most likely kill him once it reaches his wound..." answered Adriana
"Hey, it's not our fault we couldn't retrieve the missing hand, it was pebbles and dust when we found it..." remarked the man in grey colored clothes
"It wouldn't matter, none of us are stone magicians so I couldn't repair it even if we had the pieces and I've used up what I've do know on that 'pet project' you retrieved for me from Blackwell..." replied Adriana as she began to pour the venomous liquid on the stone statue...
The steaming yellow liquid began to eat away at the stone covering, revealing the pale skin to the world once more. As it got the missing limb, bits of the stone remained to stop the bleeding, while the venom stained the area around the wound yellow...
"What exactly is happening then?" asked the man in grey colored clothes
"The venom is eating away at the stone, and if he was conscious would be screaming in agony right now... It's being soaked into his pores and being fed throughout his body by his bloodstream, combining with his blood cells to keep his wound from killing him. His body most likely will develop high poison resistance after this..." answered Adriana
As the last bit of stone fell from Gerard's legs, his knees gave way as he fell onto the floor of the cart...
"Quickly! Get him to the couch!"
.....
Gerard woke up in a strange place with new individuals surrounding him. As he looked where his shard was once held, all he saw now was a stone covered limp of a wrist...
"Where am I? Who are you? Where's the shard!" yelled Gerard s he sprung to his feet and stared down the strangers and s his remaining hand reached for his holster, he realized his gun was missing...
"I figured you would go for this immediately, so I pocketed off you when we dropped you on that couch..." said a smiling man as he spun the revolver and pointed it at Gerard
"Put that away you idiot! yelled a woman as she smacked her gun toting associate, who proceeded to put it away with an ow in response, "I'm Adriana and my associates discovered you after detecting you in an area that we sensed pure magic flowed from, we were wondering if you could tell us how you ended up in this state..."
"Well Miss Adriana, I was looking for a certain 'artifact' when those multi-colored bastards got in my way and placed a curse on me turning me to stone... With the power you used to save me and the power I sens from your associates, I imagine you could help me in retrieving the 'artifact' that was stolen from me..." answered Gerard as the lies oozed through his teeth
"Yes, we would be willing to aid you... Though actually, my associate here was able to retrieve a strange piece of crystal that was found n the rubble near your destroyed hand..." mentioned Adriana
"You found the Prism shard? Then give it to me now you fools! OR else I'll destroy with my very own hands, I mean hand!" shouted Gerard as he pointed his hand out in an attacking motion
"Gilford, to arms!" yelled the man in grey colored clothes as he reached for his hammer and the armored fellow drew his sword and put up his shield to protect Adriana...
"As we thought, you're nothing but a monster who wants to abuse the power of this shards... Our discussion is done and I never want you in my presence ever again..." scowled Adriana in disappointment for the foolish Gerard
"And how will you throw me from this place?" mocked Gerard
"Mark! It's your turn!" yelled Adriana
"Yes Mistress!" replied a new voice from outside the window next to Gerard as a gold powder blew into his face and he was thrown into a field on the outskirts of Blackwell...
"Damn that woman! Well, if I can't get that shard, I might as well go for the people who have more... It's convenient I ended up here..." laughed Gerard as he headed for the nearby Goddess of drinks...
.....
"And that sir is the latest model of Magitek Appendage series by Flickerbee Enterprises, with the green accents being way to measure the amount of magic being inserted into the device from your body. There are even form change capabilities!" said the vendor as a hooded Gerard tried on the appendage
"Perfect, I'll take it..." replied Gerard
"Certainly, that will be..." was all the vendor could say as a sack of coins was placed on the vendor's stand
"Keep the change..." spoke Gerard as he headed towards a 'certain place'
"Oh, alright, pleasure doing business with you si... Oh he's gone..."
.....
The hooded Gerard soon approached a pun with a sign above the door called the "Greedy American". As he was about to walk in a tall tanned figure covered in scars blocked his path...
"What's your business stranger?" asked the bouncer
"I have a job offer to give..." answered Gerard
"Alright then, talk to the bartender then, oh yeah, welcome to the Magic Slayer Association..." chuckled the Bouncer as they opened the door to a dimly lit pub filled with rough looking individuals wearing various outfits, with a commotion going on in the back...
"That's my win! Another round gentlemen?"
Gerard ignored the commotion and headed up to the Barkeep, a woman who was currently cleaning the counter...
"Hey there stranger, and what can I trouble you with?" asked the woman
"I'm here to hire a group to retrieve something for me..." replied Gerard
"Retrieval isn't that unfamiliar to these bounty hunting folks, most are former thieves and robbers anyway... So, what's your reward then?" asked the Bartender
"All I have left is this much..." responded Gerard as he placed a medium sized sack on the counter
"Hmm... This amount you could get a team of F-Ranked Slayers, but capability wise it's only enough to afford one D-Ranked Slayer..." sighed the Barkeep
"DAMN IT! If I'm going to recover those shards from those blasted Colorfolk I need highly skilled individuals!" growled Gerard as he knocked over a few mugs of beer in rage as the bouncer turned and looked at the bartender for confirmation to throw him ou
"Hold on Shear... Sir, if you wait right here, I'll discuss this matter with the Association Director..." spoke the Barkeep as Gerard apologized, and she went up the main stairs into a large office...
"Yes Lien, what is it?" asked the shadowed director from his desk
"Well Sir, we got a job offer that's lower than normal, but the targets this time I think can make up the compensation..." replied Lien
"Oh? I guess it's the Colorfolk then huh, we did place a high bounty on them after all... So you want my permission to combine the jobs then?" wondered the Director
"Yes, with the amount it should be enough to attract 'that' group..." added Lien
"Ah yes, 'them', it makes sense, I want those colored fools to pay off their debt, but none of the A or S-Ranked Slayers are interested in the job, but I now I have an excuse to get those idiots to do it..." chuckled the Director
"Good, i'll get right to setting up the job flyer, plus, I think Vanil is 'winning a card game downstairs..." replied Lien
"Perfect, then 'offer' them this new gig..." answered the Director as Lien left his office
After a few minutes, the Barkeep came back with a flyer of all the details and showed it to Gerard
"With a bounty currently placed on your targets by the Association, we're willing to combine the rewards and offer your bounty for a higher rank, and we have a team right in mind... Ghost Puncher, go get Vanil for me, will you, I got a job for him, straight from the B-Rank board..." said the Barkeep
"Right away Ma'am..." said a biker looking fellow in leather as he placed down his bottle and headed off to the back of the pub, near the gambling tables...
"That's it Vanil, I've had it with your cheating!" shouted a mage as he began to speak a spell, only to be met with the muzzle of a revolver in his face
"Let's see which is faster, my bullet or your words..." chuckled Vanil as the opposing mage huffed angrily and left the table
"Hey Vanil, Lien's got a job for you at the bar" said Ghost Puncher as he tapped Vanil on the shoulder
"Well boys, it was fun playing with you, but I'll be taking my winnings and leaving!" laughed Vanil as his opponents all growled in annoyance, one even flipped the card table when Vanil left...
"Suckers..." chuckled Vanil as he slid his full house back up his sleeve
.....
"This here is Vanil, he's the leader of the B-Ranked Slayer group, the 'Helado Gang', their highest rank official group and currently the only one on premises... Will they suffice for you sir?" asked Lien
"Yes, if they come at the recommendation of the Association, then I trust them..." answered Gerard as he pulled his collar in worry from the stares he received from Shear at the door...
"And you Vanil, will this amount work with you?"
"Certainly, the gang's been wantin' a tougher job, especially with the money involved..." answered Vanil, who Lien could swear she saw dollar signs in his eye sockets for a second...
"Alright, I'll let you two work out the details, but the Association has gone through the trouble of providing the intel of their base of operations, so use it wisely..." added Lien
"Certainly Ma'am, alright Helado Gang, SADDLE UP!"
.....
Today was rather hectic in this magic city. At various grocery stores around the Magic Underground, people were frantically running for the produce section; with the dissolution of the Almrania Brotherhood, this meant no more Almrania corn.. and as one of the highest regarded products of any magic faction, mages from all over wanted to ensure they got one last ear of the stuff before it was gone forever.
Their legacy would not be forgotten though, as the four remaining members, just before retiring, willed their library’s contents and remaining seeds to the Academy of Magic. Some representative were at the former factions’s base, gathering the various articles.
“Even if it was only one thing they were known for, at least their legacy will not be forgotten” one noted before packing up sacks of seeds and bundles of manuscripts to be taken to the academy for preservation and research purposes.
Similarly, people were flocking to liquor stores to get their share of Falgria wine before it was too late; when news spread about how they had to sell most of their vineyards and production would decline, it was basically “now or never” to stock up.
Whether they were of the six major factions, a minor faction or faction-less, everyone wanted their share
One mage couldn’t help but observe “if only people saw value in the work that these factions did... then maybe people could see the worth in joining factions and being a part of something” he thought.
But alas, the latest generations of mages enjoyed the freedom of not being tied down to factions... and it was something this mage accepted with a sigh before moving on.
......
But the "latest generation of mages" was just as upset about this loss too... although they blamed a very different target. After all, it was the Akademie der Magier that bought the Falgrian land and intended to bulldoze it to build a new research building... and in seedy magic dive bars the world over, young mages were meeting to fight back.
This was even happening on New Furness. In the Goddess Of Drinks, a handful of mages were meeting for the first time.
"I used to be a member of the Guild of Damoni, but honestly, they care more about gathering power than actually making life better for us magic users."
"I know how you feel, Silent Night. That's exactly why I left the Academy," replied a large, pale man known as The Duplicator.
"And don't get me started on the Icetouched! For a supposed guild of healers, they sure do love making people suffer!" Added a third figure. "I mean, my name is The Cushion, not The Pincushion!"
"It's just the worst!" A freckled, greenhaired figure known as Kniitwiit set down their mint tea and sighed. "If only there was another faction we could join... somewhere where our talents would actually be appreciated."
"Perhaps I can help." A ruggedly handsome man with a tanned face and a honeyed voice slid up to the four mages. "The name's Denim. Eddie Denim. And I just might know where you and I can find some likeminded folks..."
“Could you tell us more about this faction is question?” Silent Night asked
“Wait... this isn’t a pyramid scheme, is it?” The cushion asked
“What does your faction stand for?” The Duplicator asked.
“I’m glad you asked” Denim said as he pulled out some papers
“I’m not sighing up for a pyramid scheme!” The cushion snapped
......
At the Academy, the head staff found themselves in an awkward position as letters were now coming in, insisting on reconsidering their decision to build a new campus on the Falgrian land that had been bought.
“It leaves me to believe... we should at the very least.... postpone any development we had intended on. Knowledge comes in many forms and perhaps we need to consider the worth of these factions. But we can’t force any mage to join a faction any more than we can force a non-magic caster to choose a college major” the headmaster declared
“Yea but let’s face it... who wants to spend their magic career making wine... or growing corn?” A deputy headmaster pointed out.
“I don’t deny that, but still...” the headmaster said, but couldn’t find the words to continue the thought.
"We must be pragmatic." Headmaster Luncrett decided. "We still have all of their formulas preserved in our archives, but if we are to train the next generation of mages, our current campus is simply too small. It is a small price to pay for the continued strengthening of our faction. In the meantime, I will call in a favor with Madame Frostovich over at the Icetouched, and get them to include farmland for volunteers to create more corn and wine in their section of the next expansion of the magic underground."
"Why don't we put it on our own land?" advisor Erodelmbud asked.
Advisor Rookulus rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? No one's going to be willing to volunteer. They may act disappointed when the people who make it stop, but no one has the time or their energy to spend weeks of their lives making that wine or whatever. Besides, it's not like the Icetouched ever do anything of value with their land anyway."
“I will meet in the middle” Headmaster Luncrett decided. “We don’t want to destroy the academy’s reputation so we will form a pilot program of sorts. A “classical faction outreach” program if you will. Sort of like semesters abroad at non-magic colleges. We will offer a simple trade off: a semester at the falgria land, not just to learn about them and their wine; but the importance of factions like these as a whole in the tradition of magic. In exchange, those who participate in the program, we shall slash their tuition by 33 percent. One semester should be more than enough time to ensure our decision to build a new campus is well founded” he concluded.
“I’ll go make the necessary arrangements” an advisor nodded before the meeting adjourned.
......
Meanwhile, at the dive bars where the young mages were meeting, the fallout from the dissolution of the Almrania Brotherhood was becoming even more apparent.
“Discontinued?! The hell, man? Darfman’s is the best whiskey in the magic world!” One patron fumed at the bartender
“What do you expect? Almrania corn is the primary ingredient! No more corn, no more whiskey, plain and simple. Enjoy it while you can cause we only got 8 more bottles of the stuff” the bartender informed before pouring a glass and handing it over.
First the best wine, now the best whiskey?! Now the youth were really frustrated.
......
Throughout the Greedy American, various individuals were moving around. One giant man grabbed his shotgun off the table as he finished throwing the mook off the balcony who jut tried to pick a fight with him. A woman was calmly walking towards her leader as she quietly pocketed three unsuspecting slayers without them noticing, showing a glowing grin for all to see. A man finished throwing his dart as he grabbed his rifle, hitting the bullseye, with many darts either on the floor or destroyed from all his throws. A woman threatened a man with a knife cutting motion at her throw, stopping the man from his hearty laugh, leading him to gulp in anxiousness. The final man was currently sleeping shotgun on a covered horse drawn cart in the back alleyway as the two horses neighed him awake, forcing him to drop his bottle of Darfmans and rush inside to meet the others.
The six hired slayers soon met their contractor in a private room the Association provided for their meeting.
"As you can see Mr. Gerard, our Helado Gang is a skilled outfit with various capable skills to each member..." spoke Vanil as his five gangmembers stood behind him intimidatingly...
"And what sort of magic do you all possess?" asked Gerard
"Oh, not a single one of us has a speck of magic in our bones..." replied Vanil nonchalantly...
"WHAT!?!?!" shouted Gerard
"Hold your horses partner, I was gettin' to that. We may not be able to cast magic but our weapons certainly do..." replied Vanil as showcased one of his revolvers and popped the chamber, removing a bullet, "Now with the exception of one of our numbers, all our weapons are nonmagical, but the bullets, now that's where the magic comes in. Though weaker than a normal bullet they more than make up for it with their capabilities. Normally bullets are impossible to enchant and a waste of energy to do so on a chaotic battlefield, so that why the magic community hasn't adopted them yet, but due to secret knowledge I happened to come across, I was able to create a magical primer that causes the bullet to turn into a magical element..."
"And what elements are those?" questioned Gerard
"Well there's fire, ice, earth, air, light, darkness, and strangely... honey..." replied Vanil, pretty seriously
"Honey? Why not a water bullet?" asked a confused Gerard
"Water? Have you even used a gun? The bullet turns into the element in the chamber, and if there was a water bullet, it would douse the primer, rendering the ignition moot, and it would also wet the powder, giving you one shot at most..." answered Vanil dumbfounded
"Alright fine... So are you... Um... 'Y'all' confident enough that you can steal me the shards successfully?" posed Gerard
"Mister, there hasn't been a single target I haven't been able to successfully rob..." chuckled one of the woman as she showcased one of Gerard's Magitek fingers, to his chagrin...
"That's enough C.C., but you heard the lil lady, we guarantee contractor satisfaction..." smiled Vanil as he handed Gerard back his finger
"Alright then, I'll wait here for you to bring me the shards, once you bring me them and whatever else the Association wants for their 'bounty collection', I'll pay you for your services..." replied Gerard as he reattached his finger
"Sounds good, let's head out!" ordered Vanil as the six gun gang left the pub...
"What a bunch of weirdos..."
.....
"Boss that man was definitely a greenhorn in hirin' slayers ain't he..." said the crackshot from earlier
"You're right Rhum, he sure was a city-slicker though..." laughed the former sleeping guard
"Doesn't matter B.T., pay is good this time and we're running out of booze money... Oh yeah, and rent's due soon, so we got to pay on time or else the association won't let us store Mone and Moni this month..." replied Vanil as he pet his two best, and only, horses...
"Well we could make the payments if you didn't gamble away most of our earnings..." mocked the threatenin' woman from before
"Yeah, for an 'extraordinary gambler', you sure do get caught cheatin' a lot..." added the thief who had stolen Gerard's finger
"Come on Coco, you know most of those suckers are sore losers anyway... Any you C.C., don't give me that crap when you get caught stealin' as much as I get caught cheatin'..." pleaded Vanil
"No I don't, I just stole a bunch of loot right before that meetin'..." huffed C.C.
"Uh huh, and where is it?" inquired Vanil
"Crap..."
"Hey Boss, should we bring the ammo for 'that'?" asked the giant man carrying the shotgun as he indicated a covered section of the wagon
"Probably for the best Rhodes, I heard these 'Rainbow Folk' are tough mages to deal with, and 'that' thing can shred through magical barriers and mages better than any golem could..." laughed Vanil
"And where exactly are we going to find them?" wondered B.T.
"Well Scotch, the Association provided us their base of operations' location... Which seems to be located in... Kabnekah Swamp..." answered Vanil
"Kabnekah Swamp? There's nothing out there except the ruins of that old town, Marwood I think it was called..." added Coco
"Then that must be where they've hidden their base. Mone, Moni, giddy up!" yelled Vanil as whipped the reins, with Rhodes at his side ridding shotgun, and the other four, Coco, C.C., Rhum, and B.T. Scotch, ridding in the back
"Alright you Rainbow bastards, we're coming for you! Hiyah!"
"Hey, who smashed my last bottle of Darfmans?"
"Shut it Rhum!"
.....
At the swamp base, Man In Amber Apricot was looking for something.
"Can I help you?" Woman In Yellow asked.
"Yes, do we have any myth crystals?"
"No, I'm afraid we're fresh out... you'll have to find some at the Goddess Of Drinks."
"I see... that's frustrating."
Man In Amber Apricot left the old hotel, irritated. He stepped out into the swamp and was immediately hit by the smell. The town of Marwood had once been a very successful mining town, and this had once been a normal forest. No one knew exactly what happened, but one day everyone fled the town, and since then it had lain abandoned as the swamp popped up seemingly overnight. Luckily for the Black Faction, they had found a safe way in and out of Marwood, but the old hotel was still the only building most of them used... except for Man In Infrared.
Man In Apricot found his Infrared friend working on the summoning device in a shed behind one of the houses. While the house had partially sunk into the swamp, the shed was on stable ground, and well hidden even from the other colorfolk.
"Bad news. One of us needs to run into town to get those mythcrystals."
"Well, why don't you do it?" Man In Infrared crawled out from under the machine. "I'm working here!"
"Fine, fine... how much longer?"
"Once we have the mythcrystals and the Flowers Of Niwdlab, it'll just be a couple days until the device is ready. Then everyone will see just how mighty we truly are..."
After dealing with their "guest", Adriana was lamenting the current state of affairs...
"It seems the magical community is in a state of transitions, especially with the recent news from the Academy, and now seems extremely volatile... These... Shards seem like a catalyst that will lead towards unprecedented matters... I don't even need my crystal ball to see that..." spoke Adriana to her a few gathered associates
"So my Lady, what should we do then?" asked the armored Gilford
"I fear we must take as many as we can off the 'playing field' sort of speak, so I think we should go after a group we know has a large amount of them..." replied the woman
"Alright then we'll head to Klofroloc Industries and take them, I think I can come up with a plan to deal with them, though it might require a bunch of manpower..." added the man in grey clothes
"Then Ruth and Bask will suffice for my protection... You take the others with you to 'make off' with their shards we're get the proper methods ready to be rid of them..." responded Adriana as she agreed with the proposal
"Alright, let me gather everyone... Hey Mark! Gather evryone for me, will ya?" yelled the man in grey color clothes out the cart's window
"Sure thing!" replied a cheerful voice belonging to grey haired young man in blue as he blew on a whistle around his neck and gold dust flowed out and into the ether...
A man sleeping under a tree covered in empty bottles and carved runes dispersed into a cloud of gold dust...
A woman on the side of a mountain flicking the embers of a spell off her fingertips as she too dispersed into a cloud of the golden dust...
A man sitting in a wheat field carrying a daisho set chewing on stalk of grass is similarly whisked away...
A beautiful woman caring for two sheep disappears alongside her 'flock', with only bits of gold dust remaining in the air...
The four gathered soon appeared before the group who were now standing outside of the cart...
"Ah, Erun, Lauren, Shiju, and Vasilisa! Mark found you easily I see?" asked Adriana
"I hope it's important since my head is killing me..." grumbled a now awake Erun as the beautiful woman hit him upside the head to his chagrin...
"It is actually, these two will be leading you on a task I need done immediately..." answered Adriana as she indicated to her two "knights"...
"If it's for you Mistress, who was there when no one else was, then we'll do it no problem..." replied Lauren
"Da"
"Hai"
"Yeah fine"
"Perfect, before I forget, since I can't go with you, I have something that will be able to act in my stead..." added Adriana as she removed a blueish-clear orb and inserted it into the finally finished carved stone statue, embedding and covering the orb with magic, as the statue's eyes began to glow...
"Wowzer..." gaped Mark
"It's no Masteri craftsmanship, but the quality of the core and magic directly flowing from me into him should make up the difference, meet the newest resident of the cart..." smiled Adriana
"I named him Volun!" grinned Ruth as she indicated the stone golem, with Adriana looking defeated on the issue
"Yes, he should be enough to make up with Bask and I staying behind..." added Adriana
"Alright then, we good to depart then?" asked Mark
"Da... But, Miss Ruth, please watch Ari and Chrys for me, I worry for their safety and them being her puts me at ease..." added Vasilisa
"Sure!" replied Ruth as gave Vasilisa a thumbs up, with the beauty replying with a smile of her own...
"That should be everything then, ALL BOARD!" yelled Mark as he blew his whistle and the assorted group departed for the lair of the (Good) Colorfolk...
.....
Meanwhile, at the lair of the Blue Faction of colorfolk, Woman In White was training Man In Blue in the sparring room.
"It's unlikely, but if the Black Faction ever finds its way into our base, they'll be after the shards. To fight back against them, you may need to use one of the shards against them."
"What am I supposed to do with this, throw it at them?" Man In Blue asked as he held the small, jagged crystal in his hand.
"Well, in addition to passively making you more powerful, when you channel your magic through it, you can unlock higher levels of power. Try it!"
Man In Blue clutched the prism shard and tried to shoot a lightning bolt at one of the dummies. This was one of the few attack spells colorfolk were capable of using in their weakened state, and he just figured the shard would make it hotter or something.
Instead, there was a rumble as a bolt of lightning crashed through the ceiling, setting the mannequin on fire and heating the room. Man In Blue collapsed from the effort.
Woman In White ran to make sure he was okay, and then ran to the hole, looking up through it. This part of the base was about twenty feet below an apartment parking lot, and she could tell that the lightning had bored a hole about three feet in diameter from the parking lot to the mannequin.
"Well, that sure is a security breach... we'd better fix that before someone finds it and gains access to our base..."
"Uh... should we be concerned about this? If normal people see that it could draw unwanted attention" Man In Blue reasoned.
"Don't worry, I figured something like this would happen one day" she assured. "We mages do have ways of covering our tracks" she explained.
Man In Blue thought it over, then realized what she was referring to. "Oh, do we have a perception charm that can apply to our base as a whole?" He asked.
"Yes, but for something this size it requires, I guess you could call it an "amplifier/stabilizer" to ensure the protective magic doesn't turn on us; you wouldn't want to not be able to find our own base, right?" Woman In White asked.
"So why don't we have it on all the time then?" Man In Blue asked.
"The design is prone to overheating and the longest we can leave it on is three days before it loses stability; we have a guy working on it but he's not able to come as often as we like" Woman In White explained.
Walking over to a specific part of the base, Woman In White showed him a device that was kept hidden in a closet.
"I thought morality filters were ridiculous?" Man In Blue said in confusion.
"Exactly, this isn't based on morality whatsoever. It's based on perception; any outsiders of the base will be subconsciously influenced to turn away and head away from the base. We're trying to fine-tune it to work specifically on those who approach our base with "aggressive intent" especially, but since no one outside our faction besides some friendly mages knows about this, it hasn't been a priority." Woman In White explained.
"So in other words... at this point we can only use it in times of emergency, and not for long periods of time" Man In Blue explained.
"Exactly, like now" Woman In White said as she went to activate it... but it wouldn't go to full strength.
"Damn it. Hey, Jeffery!" She called to Man In White.
"Yes?" he called back.
"Get Man In Bole down here, tell him it's an emergency concerning one of his contraptions" she explained.
"Man In Bole?" Man In Blue asked, confused.
"Technical mage; specializes in magic-infused technology. Some of his devices are weird and oddly specific, others are useful. And then sometimes he builds overly complicated devices that comically explode but that's not important right now" Woman In White explained.
So for the time being, the device's field wasn't strong enough to distort all perception. But it was strong enough that non-magic folk simply moved on when they passed the hole, and as for the group from the caravan.
...
"Are you sure this is right?" One asked.
"Yea, gotta be around here somewhere" said another.
A third looked outside, and despite looking right at a hole in the parking lot, only said to the rest, "no... I don't see anything significant" before they moved on and continued their search
The man who smelled of booze and magical runes, Erun, hit the person who had dropped them off and said, "Mark you were supposed to get us INSIDE their base!"
"Sorry, there seems to be some interference on their end, the Gold Dust is having trouble materializing. Man I haven't had this much trouble since the last time my supply ran low. Don't worry, if I just put a little more gusto in the whistle blow, we should be inside. Ahem, All Aboard!" replied Mark as the group dissipated into a cloud of gold dust that flowed through the recently created hole...
As the group emerged back into a corporal form, the man in gray clothes rallied his allies...
"Alright, we don't know our way around here but I can jury-rig a way to track the largest group of shards within this place with my hammer as the conduit. So, to keep the major players off of what we're doing, we'll split into two teams. Gilford, Lauren, Shiju, and our new friend Volun here will be the distraction team. With your capabilities their magic won't be able to stop you for a at least long enough until we get what we can here for. Erun, Mark, Vasilisa, and I will go Shard hunting with Erun taking care of their protective measures, Vasilisa tying up pursuers of us, Mark for the quick escape, and my hammer to find the damn things. If things start to go south, we'll do the usual strategy, alright?"
"Yes my liege, we'll carry out our tasks with haste!" replied Gilford as he readied his weapons.
"Alright, let's go!"
.....
Shortly after, the Woman in Blue was alerted of a disturbance within the base...
"Man in White, what's the situation?" asked the woman as she ran to rendezvous with her allies
"Three strange individuals and a golem are rampaging in the courtyard, yelling about challenging the strongest fighters among us. Currently 12 Colorfolk have been defeated by their 'strange' abilities..." replied Man in White through the telepathy spell they were discussing this with
"Alright, I'll gather who I can along the way and we'll try to put a stop to their efforts, anything else happening of note?" questioned Woman in Blue
"I've detected 3 other strange magical presences within the base, but I can't confirm what they are due to interference, I'm trying to send someone to look into what they could be..."
"Do that, for now, I'll be handling our 'uninvited guests' to the premises..."
.....
In the courtyard, the four intruders were putting in some work. Everything the Colorfolk threw at them was not having the outcomes they expected...
"You think that suit of armor is useful, well try a lightning spell!" yelled a Colorman as he hurled a beam of lightning at the armored knight Gilford, who even withdrew his shield to take the full brunt of the spell, with seemingly no affect to his person...
"Sorry but lightning doesn't affect me in the slightest... Hiyah!" replied Gilford as he ran up to the Colorman, and with an eerie green glow embedded in his blade, slashed the Colorman unconscious with one good swipe across the chest...
"If lightning doesn't work, try fire!" yelled the Colorwoman as she threw a fireball at the knight
"I got this!" spoke the man who could only be described as a samurai withdrew his longsword and cut the fireball right down the middle, sending the blast to the sides of the intruders
"Good job Shiju, now let's show them a real explosion..." smirked Lauren as she uttered a spell in a language the Colorfolk couldn't understand and a massive fireball burst from the ground under them, sending many of them ether flying or into unconsciousness...
Volun was picking up Colorfolk and crushing them with the force behind his body mass. Using the now uneven terrain, the Golem was able to cause havoc as debris and rubble went flying everywhere with each of his attacks...
"These guys are some troublesome magic users! Everyone! Hold out until reinforcements arrive!" shouted Man in Purple as a flaming longsword cut him across the chest...
... Prompting him to strike back with Tier two water magic; an explosion of steam scalded the intruder in the arms, face and chest and while it did not stop him outright, even he couldn't resist the pain that came with this attack.
"Even you can't overcome fire's inherent weakness to water" Man In Purple said, clutching his chest from the blow.
The intruders were leaving their mark on the present Colorfolk of course, but they had clearly not heard of one of the dangers of fighting the legendary "Sworn Defenders of Ordos"
You see, the Colorfolk valued knowledge and learning as key to understanding the world around them. When problems were encountered, they were never "shoved under the rug" so to say... they took them head on and tried to resolve them.
This made them very formidable foes indeed; there would always be that rough patch at the beginning, as with every new and unfamiliar adversary, but the Colorfolk remained observant of the situation at hand. Victory was won through observation, analysis and tactical effectiveness, not brute force and strength. Even the highest tiers of spells, which on the surface appeared to be nothing but brute force, were executed in tactically effective matters. Combined with the Prism's ability to create very adaptive magic that "almost seemed to transcend the elements themselves" there was a reason that Ordos never fell to invading forces for so many centuries.
Even with the Prism shattered and no access to the regular artifacts though, one thing remained constant for the current generation of Colorfolk... the lesson handed down from generation to generation for when battle came. Observe and analyze your enemies, and their movements will reveal their weaknesses.
And in Volun's case, he was about to learn a very important lesson about attacking the Colorfolk... never use the same tactics against them twice.
Volun's rampage continued to throw stone everywhere, but at last... the reinforcements had arrived.
"You sure this will work? I don't think the testing was adequate" Man In White whispered.
"Trust me; after the first incident I gave this one top priority, been working on it since the attack all those weeks ago.
"If this doesn't work, i hope you have a plan B" Man In White finished as he proceeded to take another position. Man In Bole aimed the device, and, taking advantage of the fact that golems had very little going on upstairs.
"Hey, Stoneface! I have a present for you!" Man In Bole shouted.
Volun's rampaging suddenly stopped as he contemplated the offer... though no longer able to speak, there was enough going on upstairs that he could recognize that being "given a present" sounded like a good thing, and proceeded to look for it.
"All yours" Man In Bole said as he fired the device. A glowing ball flew right at Volun and hit him right in the chest. He was confused until the ball exploded and transformed into a giant card of sorts. It was just like the ones the Colorfolk had used to defeat him the first time, only larger.
It wasn't long before the glow of magic around his body that gave him life suddenly disappeared, and he became little more than inert stone once again. Fortunately, thanks to the caravan crew this time he didn't crumble and disintegrate.
Lauren looked on in shock, "But how is this possible?!" she declared.
"You sent a golem against the faction that literally wiped them out, destroyed The Order of Masteri and wrote the book on how to destroy golems... what did you expect?" Man In Gold shouted in reply as Shiju went in for a strike, only for Man In Gold to throw an insta-spell rock that resulted in a blinding flash, saving him at the last possible second.
Shiju was quick to recover though, and although now facing Man In Gold as well as a couple of other Colormen. "Three against one? That doesn't sound fair... to you" Shiju declared as he seemed to prepare a very devastating attack aimed right at them.
"Perhaps... so maybe you should face a worthy foe if you find us weak" Man In Gold declared as the three of them raised their insta-spells and threw them at the ground just in front of Shiju
Shiju found himself coughing for a bit until things finally cleared up, when he found that he was looking at a rather looking familiar... himself. "You honestly think this paltry fake stands a shred of a chance against me?" He said, unimpressed.
"I think you will find that he is more than a shadow or illusion" Man In Gold declared.
Shiju went in for the attack against fake Shiju... and fake Shiju did the same. Sword strike after sword strike failed to hit... his copy perfectly anticipating his every move. So he went for the jugular... literally. Setting up for a mighty strike, he aimed for the fake's neck and went in for a decapitation. But he found himself forced to stop when he suddenly lost his nerve a little. There, in front of him, the fake Shiju was doing the exact same strike, and now here the two of them were, in a standoff, with both having swords at each other's necks. Deciding to test something, Shiju moved his sword back and forth a bit, the fake doing the exact same thing. He moved it up and down... the fake did the same thing. He made a couple different faces, the shadow doing the same thing. So Shiju proceeded to speak.
"Look, we don't need to... be quiet and listen!" He said. Now he was shocked... the fake said exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Even he had to admit it was a bit creepy. "This isn't just an illusion... this is something more" Shiju said, with fake Shiju matching his words perfectly.
"Finally figured it out, did you? This isn't just some shadow clone or illusion, my friend... this IS you. Don't bother trying to reason with it, because it is, for all intents and purposes, you" Man In Gold said.
"You're bluffing" Shiju said, before looking at his doppelganger and both exchanging cold looks for copying one another.
In the distance, Gilford saw what was happening and decided to lend a hand. "Fear not Shiju, I shall deal with this imposter for you!" he said as he charged in with his blade and proceeded to strike the back of fake Shiju. The fake cried out in pain... as did the real Shiju.
"Shiju, are you all right? Who struck you while I was dealing with this imposter?" Gilford asked.
"I don't know... no one is behind me... Shiju said, turning around as the fake did the same. Gilford looked at the back of fake Shiju, then ran around to real Shiju's back and was shocked.
"Shiju... you have the same exact mark I made on the fake!" Gilford declared.
"Wait, but then that means..." Shiju said, finally putting everything together.
"How observant... whatever damage the fake takes, you take. Likewise whatever damage you take, the fake takes. In short, the only way to defeat yourself... is to defeat yourself!" Man In Gold revealed.
Literally everyone in earshot stopped what they were doing... totally confused by what the heck he meant by that.
"Terribly sorry Shiju, hope you won't feel this one tomorrow..." said Gilford as he raised his sword
"What?" questioned the two Shijus as a sword came down on the back on his neck, knocking the original out, and the mirrored one as well, who disappeared once the real one lost consciousness...
"What? You took out you're own comrade?" said a shocked Man in Gold as Gilford threw his samurai companion over his shoulder
"He'll berate me later but he'll understand after he knows what we're doing next... Lauren! Newcomer! Get back with me! We're performing THAT maneuver!" shouted Gilford as he jumped away from the Colorfolk
"That move? But Shiju's unconscious and the Golem's down!" replied Lauren as the Golem remained inert...
"Hmph... Then it should be fine with the two of us, I'll cover our missing bases and the Golem's body should be sturdy enough to handle this next attack. I need a smokescreen for a minute though so I'm relying on you Lauren!" answered Gilford
"Fine... I hope this works!" responded Lauren as she uttered the unrecognizable tongue and launched an explosion at charging Colorfolk, creating a huge explosion that shook up a massive dust cloud. When it settled, the Samurai was gone from the Knight's shoulder and fire now blazed from his gauntlets...
"What did they do to their comrade?" asked a shocked Man in Bole
"Nothing you lot should worry about! Now, it's time for our combination attack!" shouted Gilford as he dropped his tower shield in front of Lauren and covered her with his armored body. Now within this metal cocoon, she cast the largest explosive fireball spell the Colorfolk had seen yet, with additional fire being pumped into it from Gilford's whole armored body. Soon it was larger than the main building of the Colorfolk's base and was dangling above their heads...
"Retreat!" shouted Man in Purple as some other Colorfolk began to follow suit
"Don't retreat! Stop i..." was all Man in Gold could get out as giant Fireball dropped right onto their heads...
.....
"Ow!"
A few minutes had past and Shiju was slapped awake, falling out from inside Gilford's chest...
"I hope you enjoyed your beauty sleep noble warrior, but it's not done yet..." said Gilford as he reapplied his chest plate
"I see you used some of my magic for the combo attack... Man that really did a number on their forces, all the fighters they first dispatched out here have been taken out..." spoke Shiju as he withdrew his blade
"Yeah but the Newcomer's out of commission, I'm low on magic, Gilford's slightly melted, and you're current;y the fighter in the best shape which isn't saying much..." grumbled Lauren
"Let's just hope my Liege is doing better then us... Perk up you two, more fighters are coming, I sense their strength emanating from their souls..." ordered Gilford as he resumed holding his sword and shield at the ready...
It was a good thing that the Blue faction had been recruiting other Colorfolk over the past few weeks following the Golem attack, otherwise just the core 12 would have not been enough to hold back these invaders. Having witnessed it from the safety of the base (having retreated with several others), Man In White was nervous... but not for the reason one would expect.
"Oh dear... if Majica Supremus gets word of what's going on here, there will be hell to pay for ALL of us" he said in a nervous sweat before going further into the base to regroup with others.
......
Inside the base, Mark, Erun, Vasilisa and the man in gray clothes were trying to find the shards, but just couldn't figure out where the fragments were.
"I just don't get it... ever since we entered I feel like something is messing with our perception" Mark stated as he looked around.
"If I had to guess it was probably a charm on the building; something like this isn't the result of a mage casting a spell actively" Erun reasoned.
Does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Vasilisa asked.
"I don't know... but I wouldn't rule it out" the man in gray clothes replied. Just then, the group came to a fork in the hallway. Reasoning that more ground could be covered, Mark and the gray clothed man went down one hallway while Vasilisa and Erun went down the other.
"I can't help but feel like we are being watched" Vasilisa insisted.
"Oh, can it! Probably just some booze talking in my experience" Erun declared.
"I haven't had a drop! Besides, if you don't believe me, than maybe you should", then there was a noise. "What was that?" She asked.
"It sounds like... someone cast a spell" Erun observed. The last thing they saw was a sort of "sheet of magic" head towards them, strike their bodies... and then, both fell towards the floor.
......
The two finally woke up, but things were... awkward, to say the least.
"Erun... is that you?" Vasilisa asked, confused.
"Yes, who else would it be?" Erun pointed out.
"But then... who are they?" Vasilisa asked. To their shock, lying on the floor... were their bodies.
"Woah... How much DID I drink last night?" Erun said in confusion.
"I don't think this was caused by alcohol... are we dead?" Vasilisa asked.
"Not so much dead as astral projecting... though to be fair even that is a bit misleading. Just know you are having an out of body experience right now" a voice said.
"Who is that?" Vasilisa said, as both began looking around.
From out of the shadows stepped Man In Silver. "Be glad I didn't attempt to destroy your souls outright; I am willing to tell you how to return to your bodies though" he pointed out. The two went into combat stances, but Man In Silver didn't even flinch, "Don't even bother; in this form you two are powerless; why do you think there is no such thing as magic-using ghosts?" Man In Silver pointed out.
"Oh yea, that's a good point" Vasilisa realized.
"Wait a minute, then what about possessions and poltergeists?" Erun pointed out.
"Not so much magic as innate ability; possession is when a spirit temporarily inhabits a body that isn't its own and poltergeists are when decaying spirits, unstable due to remaining in the mortal plain for too long, begin "lashing out" if you will. It's a very fine difference but very important- essentially those are the natural abilities of a ghost the same way fish have the natural ability to swim, and birds to fly" he said.
"So what's preventing us from just possessing you?" Vasilisa asked.
"You're still alive and your souls are still bonded to your living bodies; you can't possess anyone because you're still alive; I just loosened your bonds is all" Man In Silver explained. "But none of that is important right now... All I want to know is why your group here is attacking a faction that has done nothing to wrong you" Man In Silver said.
"And if we don't answer?" Erun asked
"Then I don't tell you how to return to your bodies" Man In Silver stated.
"Yeah well I rather give up whiskey than hear it!" growled the floating Erun
"Fine then, since you two are out of commission I better deal with the other intruder..." replied Silver as he began to walk away when a magical shock ran all throughout his body, knocking out the feeling in himself and causing him to fall to the floor completely paralyzed...
With only his eyes still being able to move, he noticed the man moving his joints as he got off the floor, and saw a strange symbol glowing on his chest...
"You Colorfolk think you're the only ones who prepare countermeasures to everything, but Runecraft Magic is the greatest among support magics. It took a minute for my Nullification Runes in my clothes to kick in, but I blame it on the sewing work if nothing else..." spoke Erun as he wrote a Nullification Rune with his finger over Vasilisa's body, returning her to her corporal body...
"Дурак! I'll trash your liquor stash if you ever say that again..." warned Vasilisa
"Alright, but not even a Paralyzing Rune will stop Spirit Boy over here, he'll probably leave his body to go report our location to his allies. Let's go meet back up with Vince since he has the conduit to find the damn things..." replied Erun as the two compatriots left the motionless Silver in the hallway to find their comrades...
Indeed, Silver had astral-projected out of his body to go spread the word to the others in the base... and warn to be careful of the "one with runes."
With the group of four now reunited, they followed Vince down the hallways that, the further they went, the more maze-like everything seemed.
"I don't get it, what's going on?!" Vasilisa declared.
"It seems the longer we stay here the more our perception of the place is affected... Mark, be ready to get us out of here as soon as we get the shard" the gray clothed man explained.
Finally, the group came to a door, with writing on it.
"Seems to be a riddle; we'll have to answer it to open it" Erun concluded
"They must be hiding the shard behind here, my conduit is having a very strong reaction to this door" the gray-clothed man explained.
"Hmmm... I am hard as steel, yet light as cork. I can be small or large. I can be natural, or made by man. I am both white as snow an clear as water... what am I?" Mark read.
"A ship?" Vasilisa suggested
"How would a ship be natural?" Mark pointed out
"Metal door?" Erun suggested
"Also not natural" Mark explained
"...it's ice" the gray clothed man stated. And then, the door opened, and the four went into the room... which wasn't all that big. "This doesn't make any sense... there should be a shard here" he continued
"Hey, does anyone else feel cold?" Vasilisa said.
"Yea, I feel it to" Mark said. Then he looked shocked and panicked. "OH N-" Was all he managed to say before there was a flash, and the four of them were frozen in a solid block of ice.
Seconds later, the frozen man in gray clothes began to shake violently as the ice coating him shattered in pieces onto the floor...
"Of course an ice trap right before the prize, it's like fate loves messing with me... Huh... Better free those guys or else I'll never hear the end of it..." spoke the man to himself as he tapped his friends once each and the ice shattered around them as well
"Damn if I hadn't used my emergency Nullification Rune before that trap would have done nothing..." grumbled Erun
"It doesn't matter now, I see a locked door up ahead, Erun, get a rune ready. Vasilisa, stop anyone coming this way. Mark, get ready to blow that whistle." ordered the man in gray clothes
"And what will you do Boss?" asked Mark
"Grab the shards of course..." answered the man as they all got into position. Erun disabled the magic seal and the heavy door opened. Vasilisa watched the hallway as the man in gray clothes approached the podium containing the shards. As he reached out to grab them...
.....
The Woman in Blue and her top lieutenants had been running to the vault room after Silver had given them the report on the intruders, figuring out their aim...
"We have to stop them before they make off with what I can assume is their only possible target, or else they wouldn't have left a distraction team for us to deal with..." said Woman in Blue
"But wouldn't the shards stop themselves from being stolen?" asked Woman in Gold
"You would think, but those shards can be finnicky thing with who picks them up, and I don't like how this infiltration has been going for our enemies, it's almost like..." was all Melody could say as they approached the Vault Room
Woman in Gold ran inside to see what was inside...
"Jane what do you see?"
"Nothing."
"Don't be daft, what's in there?"
"I'm not kidding! There's nothing in here, the room's empty! Well, except for the elemental trap remains and some strange dust..."
"Sound the alarms! Someone's made off with our Prism Shards! All of them!"
The base suddenly went on lockdown... every door and window sealed shut, and strips of unusually-colored metal began glowing in the walls and sealed exits.
Because of their disoriented perception, Mark was having trouble teleporting out of the base, he kept ending up in random points of the base rather than outside as planned.
"Get us out of here already!" the man in the gray clothes said.
"I can't! My teleportation isn't working anymore!" He said as he tried blowing his whistle again, only to stop short at the walls.
"Why can't we get out of here?" Erun asked.
The man in the gray clothes looked at the walls and saw the strips of metal, "damn it!" he screamed. "The walls are coated with radmiuum; teleportation is impossible now!" he fumed.
"What's the plan B?"
"Then we'll need to force our way out; stand back, I'm making a new exit" Vince declared
......
A while later, the assembled Colorfolk were beginning to rebuild the base. Frustrations were running rampant among the faction.
"How could this have even happened, the Perception Filter should have made it impossible for them to even function normally inside our base!" Man In Gold pointed out.
"They shouldn't have even been able to pick up the shards, let alone steal them! The malevolent act of stealing artifacts from their rightful owners should have caused them to violently reject them!" Woman In Silver declared
"It doesn't make any sense- spirit magic is impossible to defend against; it should have taken hours for them to recover from an attack like that" Man In Silver pointed out
"I told you we should have spent more time researching vallerium! Would have saved us so much trouble we just hit each of them with a good sized brick of it" Woman In White fumed
"If the spirit was here he would have punished those thieves the same way he punished Sir Adrian!" Man In Amaranth Purple stated
"Look! We're not going to get anywhere bickering over ifs and maybes. I've already put in a call to Kendarboo; the good news is he's got promising leads on two shards and once the information is finalized we can send teams to recover them; its just going to take a while. In the mean time- Man In Silver, is there anything you can do?"
"We may be in a weakened state, but we are not powerless; we are just dependent on the natural magic around us more as opposed to the shards acting as a conduit to make harnessing magic more efficient. And our Insta-spells are independent of the shards so we still have those" he pointed out.
"But more importantly?" Woman In Blue began.
"I can sense their souls when in range of them; but my range is limited because of this. I don't know how long it will take to find them... but they will be held accountable for taking that which does not belong to them" Man In silver finished.
"Where do we even start?" Man In Blue asked.
Meanwhile, Man In Black was delighted by this news.
"How many shards did they lose? One? Two? All of them? Great!"
Woman In Orange rolls her eyes. "Don't you think those thieves will go after us next?"
Man In Black laughed. "Not if we steal them first! I happen to know where these people are based, and as we speak the Red Warriors are preparing to strike..."
As the Evil Colorfolk began making preparations to leave their base, two hidden women watched from the treeline, just out of reach of the crumbling hotel's detection spells...
"Whew Boy, something causin' that lot to stir..." whistled C.C. quietly
"Whatever it is, let's hope it gets them out of the base and with less guards around them prisms..." replied Coco with a scowl
"What're you sad about, I thought killin' was your favorite thing in the world?" poked C.C.
"It is when it doesn't get in the way of my private life..." retorted Coco
"What? You got a date tonight or somethin'?" halfheartedly asked C.C.
Coco didn't respond...
"Oh damn! You do! Who's the lucky feller?!" laughed C.C. now more interested in her companion's love-life than their actual job...
"No one you'd know, so just drop it..." growled Coco
"Shoot, I bet you're lying! Just tell me!" yelled C.C. as some the branch the duo on began to shake, with Coco covering her partner's mouth in frustration...
"Who's there?!"
Just then the sound of a bird whistle came out alongside a noise that sounded like a woodpecker hitting a tree...
"It's probably just some obnoxious birds having a territory dispute, come on Yellow, we got to hurry or else Black will have our heads..."
"Alright, it's probably not a big deal anyway..."
Back up in the tree, C.C. now had a gigantic swelling on the side of her head as Coco removed her hands from mouth...
"That was a close one, who knew that empty noggin of yours would ever come in handy..." smirked Coco
"That was rude C! I'll tell the Boss on you!" pouted C.C. as she rubbed the throbbing area on her head...
"Whatever, just go tell the Boss what we've seen and I'll give the usual signal when it's time to move, alright?" spoke Coco
"Fine, but when this is over, I will find out who your taking out on that date, mark my words C!" said C.C. quietly as she slid down the tree to rendezvous with the rest of the Gang to give her report...
And so, a good deal of the Black faction left their hotel base to go back up the Red Warriors, leaving the Black faction wide open to these new intruders.
"This will be so easy... alert the others, now" Coco ordered.
......
(The day following the attack on The Blue Faction headquarters)
At the caravan, the assault by the red warriors did not go so well. The Men In Red, Crimson, Scarlet, Brick, Cardinal, Ruby and Rose were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious and utterly defeated.
"... and you call yourselves warriors" Shiju sighed in disinterest as he sheathed his sword and proceeded back towards the caravan. Though in perspective part of him wished he had somewhere else to go... ever since the shards had been stolen they seemed to be... "lashing out" at the Caravan crew in ways not even Adriana herself could understand.
......
"What do you mean almost all of you are having difficulty figuring out these shards? For that matter, why are you even doing this in the first place?" Adriana asked in confusion.
"To your second point- we thought we could use these shards to help Hikos since he already has one. As to the first point... I'm not sure... once we started toying around with them they started acting all funny. Except for Hikos here, whenever we try to handle them they just super-heat and we're forced to drop them. I don't know why they're only doing this now, but that's just the tip of the iceberg" Mark explained.
Adriana looked over in shock to see the fates befalling the members of her crew. "My lady... is this even possible?" Gilford asked nervously... which was uncharacteristic of him. To everyone's shock, Gilford's armor was melting as if it was made of candle wax. It was slow, and only small parts were melting at this particular moment... but everyone had a pretty good idea of what would happen if this kept up.
"What about you Erun? Have your runes unlocked any of the shards secrets?" Adriana asked, realizing that she probably should have given all of them explicit instructions to not do anything with the shards, no matter what.
"Not even" Erun began... he was nursing wounds to his arms, which were severely burned. "Every time I tried to apply runes to these shards the runes either burned out or exploded on me. And on the last go when I tried to increase their power it only backfired on me... I don't know what kind of magic is contained within these things, but I've tried just about every healing spell and potion we have and nothing is treating these burns" Erun explained.
"What about Vasilisa? Was she able to do anything?" Adriana asked.
"Well she tried seeing if she could harness the power of these shards, but..." Hikos began, then pointed to a hole in the ceiling
.......
"Help me!!! How is this even possible?!?!" Vasilisa said; her lower clothing (pants/skirt?) had transformed into rockets, beyond her control, and she was just flying around in a giant figure 8 of sorts about a mile or so above the caravan
.......
"I see... oh, I'm sorry to change topics, but has Volun been reconstructed yet?" Adriana asked.
"Progress has been slowed by... unforeseen circumstances" Mark explained, who then indicated Ruth. Ruth was holding the golem core, which while intact, now had many cracks in it, indicating the damage it had taken.
"Hmmm... I think I may be able to repair it, I just need to find the book I'm thinking of to do so. What about you Mark, any luck with the shards?" Adriana asked.
"No... when I tried to wield its power, this thing manifested on my arm" He said, indicating some sort of shackle that seemed to be stuck tightly to his left wrist. "And every time one of us tries to remove it we get a jolt of lightning magic" Mark explained. "But the thing is... I tried teleporting out of it, but every time I try to teleport it glows and prevents me from doing so" Mark explained.
"I did hear tales of an alloy that prevents teleportation when worn as a shackle or stuck in a room of the alloy... most interesting indeed" Adriana explained. "Wait, what happened to Lauren then?" Adriana asked, concerned.
"Well the shards just super-heated in my hands... but otherwise I got off relatively easy" she said... indicating the massive goat horns now growing out of the sides of her head... she had to lie down in order to not strain her neck and back.
Adriana was now concerned about her comrades. Then she looked at Hikos. "What about you?" She asked.
"For the most part I'm not really having issues. But everyone else seems to indicate otherwise" he shrugged.
"I don't understand" Adriana asked.
"Well every time he's picked up a shard... he enters this trance and speaks the same message. But after the message ends he just goes about business as normal" Gilford explained.
"Let me hear it" Adriana ordered.
Hikos shrugged and picked up the shard. As if on cue, his eyes rolled backwards and a voice began speaking that was not Hikos' voice:
"You damned fools! How DARE you steal these sacred shards! These are not treasures meant to be taken and sold or exploited! These shards are source of great power, ONLY available to the good-hearted, humble individuals whose desire is to protect their home from the forces of evil! You have stolen these shards from their rightful owners and thus have proven UNWORTHY of the power within! Return these shards to their owners at once, OR YOUR SUFFERING SHALL ONLY WORSEN!!!"
Hikos' eyes went back to normal, and he continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "Did this prove anything?" He asked.
"This was not mind control or possession... it was something else all together. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's almost as if something was using Hikos here as a conduit to send a message. Who and why though I cannot say" Adriana concluded.
"There's still one thing I don't understand... why aren't you and Ruth affected by all this?" Mark asked.
"I can only presume it is because we did not take part in the raid itself" Adriana concluded.
"That settles it then... these shards are too dangerous to exist" Shiju said as he drew his sword. "I must destroy them" he declared.
"Shiju, wait!" Adriana began, but it was too late... Shiju's sword made contact with a shard and there was a blinding flash. When everything was clear again everyone looked in shock... Shiju's sword, hands and forearms had been petrified. Shiju screamed in agony
"Ruth! Get the gorgon venom!" Adriana said in shock as her apprentice ran to get the bottle. A while later, Ruth came back, but there was a horrified look on her face.
"I'm sorry Adriana..." Ruth said, turning the bottle upside down, indicating it was empty. With a pang, Adriana remembered that they had used their supply to unpetrify Gerard but they never had the chance to restock.
"Shiju, remain calm, I promise I will figure this out" Adriana said before going to the part of the caravan where she kept her books.
......
(2 days after the attack)
At the headquarters of the Blue faction, Woman In Blue came into the foyer of the base, which thankfully had been repaired in a timely fashion with outside help due to some favors owed to the faction. "I've reported this incident to Majika Supremus... this more or less constitutes an illegal declaration of war since their recklessness endangered non-magic innocents, but as usual they can't do anything until an investigation is completed, which can take weeks" Woman In Blue groaned.
"Ugh, why couldn't they have witnessed it first hand! Would have saved us so much trouble!" Man In Gold groaned.
"Probably would be to deus ex machina, eh?" Man In Blue stated.
"What did you say?" Woman In Blue asked, confused.
"Sorry; recently I've been feeling like I'm becoming more... aware of things. I'm trying to rein it in, but some things I'm noticing are causing weird things to happen" Man In Blue said.
"Like what?" Woman In Blue asked.
"It's making me think about things I wouldn't normally think about like... what's the point to all of this anyway? Why are we willing to go to such lengths to get these shards in the first place? Is there a point or reason? Why not just let these shards stay hidden or let the other parties have them?" Man In Blue asked.
Woman In Blue and Man In Gold each exchanged a look before leading Daniel to an area where the assembled high members of he faction could answer the question.
"It's very simple Daniel" Man In Gold explained. "It's because... we are the rightful owners of the Prism shards" he continued.
"But who says that is so? We can't just claim ownership over something because we want to... we aren't Christopher Columbus" Man In Blue explained.
"No, but it is the Will of the Spirit" Man In Silver explained.
"Will of the Spirit?" Man In Blue asked.
"When the Prism was intact its power was guarded by a Spirit within to ensure it would not be misused. After the shattering the Spirit lost its stability and was forced to go into a hibernation of sorts. But before it did, it conveyed one last message" Man In Gold explained, before telling the story
......
The assembled remaining good Colorfolk dedicated to the faction assembled around the last prism shard. It was primarily the Blue, Gold, Silver and White lines, but there were also some secondary lines that also remained noble, they just were not as openly dedicated.
"My remaining sworn defenders... if you are seeing this, then it means my job is almost complete" the Spirit's message began. "While only a handful of your kin have turned outright evil, many others have become apathetic and abandoned their duties. In this state I cannot protect the power effectively anymore, so I have been forced to do the unthinkable... I have scattered the other shards to ensure they never become found... until the time is right. I have also provided them with natural defensive mechanisms, but even these alone cannot fully protect the shards from those who will misuse their power. Reassembling the Prism would have solved our problems... but for reasons I do not understand, I have been unable to reform the Prism to its whole state. My time is almost up, so I part with this message- so long as this group remains noble, I will the ownership of the shards to you, the faction who remains dedicated as defenders of your homeland. As long as you and your bloodlines remain noble and committed to the mission at hand... the right of ownership to these shards is yours"
And with that, the message ended, and the shard lost some of its glow... this shard would become the only shard the Blue faction would have for a long, long time
......
"That is why we are committed to finding the shards Daniel... it is our responsibility as the owners of the shards to retrieve them and ensure their power never falls into the wrong hands" Woman In White explained.
"I... I understand. When do we move out?" Man In Blue asked, now determined to do the right thing.
"Kendarboo just dropped off the information, we are making plans as we speak" Man In White assured.
"There's still one thing I don't understand... why isn't the Black faction using the same "Colorfolk exclusive" tools and stuff we use?" Man In Blue asked
......
(Back to "present" with Black faction reinforcements coming up on caravan)
"look, just hear me out. If we dedicate even some time to..." Man In Off White began
"For the last time, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT INSTA-SPELLS OR THE ALLOYS! MY ONLY CONCERN IS THE SHARDS!" Man In Black boomed.
"Ok, ok, sheesh. One track mind, much?" Man In Off White grumbled as he went back into formation.
Meanwhile, in the top room of the tower at the center of the Magic Underground, three robed representatives of Majykka Supremus addressed representatives from the other factions.
"I am Isaac Fard of Magika Supremus Enforcement Division. You of course know my companions, Icarus Shid, also from ED, and Camin My, Professor, Archeology-Naturology-Technology-Spiritology. We have troubling news regarding recent developments from the island of New Furness."
"The Guild has been monitoring that location for some time, but we are interested to hear your report." The Optometrist said.
"I'm sorry, what? New Furness is a United States land, and thus under the purview of the Order Of Gerade!" Bellowed a large bearded man, Butch Eagleton.
"Do not worry, sir, I'm sure the GOD had a good reason for their actions," said Headmaster Luncrett, in a tone that conveyed a subtle threat.
"Why is no one concerned about Mister Fard here violating US territory?" asked Chancellor Ramir of the Spirit Speakers.
"Because at least Magykka Supremus tries to do good, despite their questionable methods." Declared a pale blue figure, Sergei Meerov from the Icetouched.
"If we could continue," intoned Fard, "we have evidence that at least five independent mage guilds are operating on the island of New Furness, engaged in a protracted war over powerful artifacts of alien origin."
"Oh, is that all?" The Optometrist asked. "Or are you going to tell them the good bit?"
"None of this is "good", Mister Devonshire." Fard said, his usually emotionless voice still managing to portray contempt.
"God, lighten up, would you? You Majika Supremus higher-ups are always so robotic. Even the ice zombies have some frigging personality!"
"That's racist!" Shouted another pale blue figure, Vitoria Revinev.
"If we could finish!" Fard snapped. "While three of the factions are of no real concern- a small band of street performers living in a wagon, a band of medieval larpers, and a wacky doomsday cult in a tower- the remaining two are cause for concern. We believe based on our Intel that two splinter factions of the original Magykka-based Colorfolk are engaged in a war of attrition. They have already released a golem on a major civilian center."
"Criminy!" Luncrett exclaimed. "The Colorfolk of yore created all of the mighty alloys we employed in the construction of the Underground. Viktrium, Trafnium... oh lordy, Vallerium..."
"Vallerium is incredibly dangerous even in small qualities." Meerov chimed in. "I've known fellow healers loose all magic and even be killed from prolonged exposure. You Warm Ones are less vulnerable, but unless we want another Panama incident, we should intervene..."
"Why does everyone bring up Panama every time..." muttered Ramir's companion, Chancellor Sanch.
"Your faction set of a Vallerium-laced explosive! The entire Panama Canal still nullifies all magic in a 20 mile radius!" Shouted Eagleton.
"Be that as it may, we should not be hasty." Fard said. "My here has been in contact with one of the colorfolk factions recently, and we plan to extend diplomatic invitations to both within the month. But we will be closely monitoring the island and doing whatever we can to hide this foolish little faction war from the non-magic populace."
"Um... in the interest of full disclosure..." The Optometrist squirmed in his seat.
"Oh christ, what did you do, Fark?" Roared Eagleton.
"Hypothetically, if I knew the Helado Gang was going to attack one of the colorfolk bases in..." The Optometrist checked his watch "...seven minutes, what would you say?"
Every eye in the room glared at the Optometrist.
**********
In the time since the attack on the Colorfolk's lair, Woman In Orange had organized a pretty impressive defense surrounding the entire ruined town of Marwell. Man In Black had grudgingly gone along with the plan once Woman In Orange suggested that once they caught the intruders, they could claim the Blue Faction shards for themselves. While it was a bit of a rush job, and they didn't have time to produce any colorfolk alloys, a small pile of instaspells had been produced and a magic shield surrounded the hotel, as well as a variety of clever non-magic and magic traps. Now, though, the Black Faction got into position and waited. Except, of course, for Man In Infrared and Man In Amber Apricot, who were almost done with their device, but enough about them. The Helado Gang was about to strike, but what they thought would be an easy assignment was about to turn into a train wreck for them...
"Alright, here's the plan: Coco, C.C. and I will sneak into their base to find these 'Shards' or whatever. We'll take something off the two on the Bounty if we come across but as long as we get the shards we should be fine... Rhodes, you take Rhum and Scotch and be the distraction, we're going to need you to cause enough of a distraction that they don't see us slip in and out with them goodies in tow..." ordered Vanil
"Right Boss, Scotch take the reins, Rhum, you're in the back with me, I'll need your ungodly aim... But wait Boss, the wagon ain't covered, how are you and the girls gonna get up close without bein' noticed?" asked Rhodes
"Don't worry... I have a plan..." lamented Vanil as Coco and C.C. sighed in realizing his train of thought...
.....
Man in Yellow and Man in Orange were standing at the front door of the Hotel Marwood as they could of sworn the sound of stampeding hooves...
"Hey... Is it just me, or do you hear hor..." was all Man in Yellow could get out as rushing broncos came brigading right out of the bush straight toward them...
"Howdy fellas" said the driver as he stopped the cart. As the two Colormen began casting their spells, a giant man in the back of the horse drawn cart(?) pulled off a covered sheet and revealed a god damn Gatling Gun...
"Die you Son Bitch!" he shouted as hundreds of rounds of pure gunpowder and steel came flying at them, tearing the magical barrier around the hotel to shreds in an instant. The strange thing about the bullets were the magical flaming qualities that emanated of them, causing Man in Orange to catch fire. Before Man in Yellow could respond, a man hidden behind the giant man shot a bullet from his rifle than encased the Colorman in a block of honey...
"My turn..." said the Driver as he removed two similar looking bundles of candles(?) from within his jacket and threw right at the unguarded door. After only a few seconds the inflamed Man in Orange and the hindered realized those weren't bundles of candles, but dynamite! Strangely, only one exploded, destroying the front door entirely, and the other created a large cloud of smoke that normal eyes could hardly pierce through. Three figures dropped from under the cart, and the final one knocked on the side of the wood in a sort of a signal...
"That's it boys, ride on!" shouted Rhodes as Scotch regrabbed the reins, yelled, "Hiyah!", and the trio ran back towards the forest...
Vanil, C.C., and Coco slipped into through the obnoxious smoke and barely standing remains of front door into the Colorfolk's base... It even seemed to be catching fire... This was going better than Vanil thought it would...
.....
From within Woman in Orange's surveillance room, she thought, 'This is going better than she ever thought!'
.....
Man in Infrared and Man in Amber Apricot heard the sounds of explosions and honey casting and thought simultaneously, 'You know, this might be a good time to strike!'
.....
Vanil, C.C, and Coco stepped into the lobby of the Hotel Marwood. Unconsciously, C.C. began humming a song she remembered from a movie about puppets, but Coco poked her and she shut up.
The hotel lobby appeared abandoned. A check-in desk sat opposite a pair of elevators. A fancy staircase led up to a part of the second floor, although the red carpeting and gold leaf railings had long ago been pulled up to pay for various magic trinkets. Behind the fancy staircase were two hallways leading to a pool and a dining room.
"Well, this ain't so bad... I figured they'd put up more resistance than that... now, we just gotta find the shards..."
"You mean like this?"
The trio turned to see Woman In Orange, holding one of the shards, standing at the top of the stairs.
"Shoot her!" Vanil yelled.
CC and Coco drew their guns, but suddenly Woman In Orange shouted something.
"What the... I can't see!"
"Me either!"
Vanil had seen something like this coming and had avoided the worst of the Blinden Vron spell, but his vision was still spinning. He loaded some lightning bullets into one of his revolvers and shot three times in Woman In Orange's direction. Bolts of lightning singed the wall behind her.
"That's a nice trick, pal. Now check out mine." Woman In Orange threw the shard in the air. Vanil resisted the urge to grab it, which was a good call, as the illusion faded out in midair, revealing a very angry porcupine.
"Alright, missy, you've got some nice tricks up your sleeve, but howsabout you fight fair?"
"You'll have to catch me first!" And Woman In Orange ran down the hall to room 206.
C.C. and Coco, now unblinded, followed her. Or at least, C.C. did. Coco, sensing a trick, turned to Vanil at the top of the stairs.
"It's a distraction. Smart money says the goods are on the top floor. Oldest trick in the book."
"You may be right. Let's let C.C. do her thing though... best to let them think we're not onto them."
As Vanil and Coco searched for a way other than the elevators to get to the top floor (they correctly guessed that they were booby trapped), C.C. charged into room 206 to find eight colorwomen pointing their hands at her.
"Aw, f-"
But then they delivered a beatdown using all eight elements, and suddenly C.C. hurt too much to talk.
*******
Meanwhile, Man In Infrared activated the device.
"Now, we don't know what creature this thing will summon, but we should have total control over it."
"I'm hoping for a honey dragon." Man In Amber Apricot said.
"Come on, those don't exist. I'd be happy with just a griffin."
"Oh please, there are dragons for every other element, so why not..."
Suddenly, the machine shuddered, and a spectral red mist emerged from the machine and began to coalesce.
"Finally..."
What appeared, however, was not anything close to what they wanted. It was fifty feet tall, roughly humanoid, with legs as thick as tree trunks, and a single, terrifying eye.
"Is that... a cyclops?"
"No! That thing's way too powerful for our plan!"
The cyclops grabbed the shed that the device had been in, completely ripping it from the ground, and threw it as far as it could.
"Oh no..."
In room 418, meanwhile, Man In Black, Man In Green, Man In Off-White, and Man In Ghost-White were waiting, as the drawer where the seven shards were hidden glowed slightly.
Suddenly, Man In Green looked out the window. "Sir! There's a... some sort of giant!"
"My god! That's no giant! That's a cyclops!" Man In Off-White yelled. "We need to destroy it before it reaches the hotel!"
"Don't you dare leave your posts!" Man In Black yelled, but it was too late. The other three had leapt out the window to fight the cyclops.
"Bah... I'm still powerful enough to defend these shards on my own..." Man In Black laughed.
As if on cue, the door opened and Coco charged in. "Vanil! I found-"
But before she could say any more, Man In Black called upon the deepest, evilest impulses of his corrupted soul. A wave of horrific black gunk shot out of his eyes, completely encasing Coco. She struggled to move, her entire body growing heavy from the corrupting influence. Her life force was literally flowing out of her, making the anchor tattoo on Man In Black's cheek glow a brilliant blue as he seemed to visibly become more powerful.
"Bring everything you've got!" He bellowed animalistically.
"Well partner, if your reputation proceeds you, I'll bring everything and more!" laughed Vanil as he ran into the room, fired off six shots, then ducked behind an overturned cabinet, avoiding black gunk shot at him along the way...
"You'll get these shards over my dead body!" shouted Man in Black as he shot black gunk at the peaking Vanil, who got a bit stuck to his pants leg...
"That's good for me, since the Guild wanted that too!" smugly replied a panting Vanil as he shook off the gunk from his leg, hopped over the cabinet, and began firing twelve shots at the Man in Black...
"Fool!" yelled Man in Black as he dodged almost every bullet, but the ones he didn't he shook off with relative ease. Coalescing the gunk around his arm into a dark black appendage... With the force of his will and might, the gunk shot off of his arm and grabbed Vanil around the throat, now dangling the cowboy off of the floor...
"Any last words Cowboy?" laughed Man in Black with a devilish grin on his face...
"You... Should... Really watch.. Your surroundings... More carefully... GO DOUGH!" yelled a gasping Vanil
"Huh?" questioned Man in Black as he turned to see a tiny clay golem finish stuffing the six shards into a tiny bag and jump out the window into the battle below... What Man in Black didn't notice when he hit Vanil was, that it wasn't just gunk he was shaking out of his pants...
Man in Black threw the cowboy across the room as he leaped for the window, only to be smashed into the ground along with the wall by a swinging arm of the rampaging Cyclops...
"Don't focus on the monster damn it! That thing has the shards! STOP THAT GOLEM!" screamed Man in Black as the other Colorfolk did as their leader commanded...
A panting and injured Vanil got up and brushed the gunk off Coco as quickly as possible, she was fine, but incredibly sucked of energy...
"Did we get 'em?" asked Coco, tiredly
"Yeah, and we're getting out of here, so let's find C.C. But first..." replied Vanil as he got to exposed wall and whistled with his fingers as loudly as possible, this was the recovery signal for the distraction group...
As if on cue, a wildly running horse drawn wagon came rolling out of the forest...
"Hot damn! What is that monstrosity?" asked Rhum
"Doesn't matter what in tarnation it is, just shoot damn it!" replied Rhodes as he hit the thing with a round from his shotgun
.....
Back inside the hotel, the Colorwomen had tied up C.C. and we wondering what to do with her...
"I hope we can take her to the basement, that's where all the 'fun' equipment's kept..." smirked Woman in Off-White
Just then a knock on the door came...
"Room Service!"
"We didn't order any room service... Hey wait a min..." was all that was said the door was kicked in as three objects came flying into the room. The first was a similar smoke bomb as was used earlier and filled up the room entirely. The other two objects were tomahawks, one flew spinning through the air and cut C.C.'s binds, and kept flying by taking on the form of a bird that emitted lightning, taking out Woman in Off-White. The other landed just short of Woman in Orange, and before she could laugh, a giant green horned spirit emerged from the weapon and began destroying the room, with the smoke around them, it was hard to fight the intangible monster...
Vanil and Coco came bursting into the room, grabbed their rambunctious thief, and dragged her out the way they came in...
"What's going on? Did you get the shards?" asked C.C. as the other two kept up their sprint...
"Doesn't matter right now, we're heading for the roof!" said Vanil as they could hear shouts of 'After them!' and crashing noises from behind
"Why the roo... Oh no..."
.....
Outside, the Cyclops was now trying to hit both the furiously moving wagon and mages attacking it. Rhum was dangling off the side looking for what they could assume was Vanil's 'secret weapon'...
"You see the little guy?" asked Scotch as he dodged another of the giant's fist...
"Not yet... There!" yelled Rhum as he watched the little thief dodge black gunk being hurled his way and the Cyclops' thundering steps...
"STOP IT!" yelled Man in Black as his subordinates were too busy dodging the rampaging monster...
Using the butt of his rifle, Rhum dangled the weapon right above the golem as the wagon rolled on by. Dough hopped up and grabbed the 'giant', to him anyway, gun and held on fir his life. Rhum used all his force once he saw the little guy holding on to swing back into the wagon and landed on his back right next to the little clay golem...
"Got 'em!" smiled Rhum as he gave the golem a thumbs up and proceeded to stand back up, readying his gun for the coming onslaught...
"We're not out of the woods yet, get ready boys..." spoke Rhodes as he sensed the pure anger oozing off of the Man in Black
"Hey! I see the Boss! his group's... On the roof? Oh no..." said Scotch...
Up on the roof, Vanil was approaching the edge as Coco and C.C. blocked the roof door with whatever they could find as they heard the sound of thunderous steps from the stairwell below...
"Rhodes! It's time to do the Downfall Maneuver!" shouted Vanil from the rooftop
"You heard the man fellas! Rhum, ready your aim! Scotch, don't stop charging, no matter!" ordered Rhodes as he reloaded the Gatling Gun, ready to crank
"Alright you two, when you hear the Gatling gun, jump!" said Vanil who began as the two women groaned and let go of the door and began to sprint after their boss...
Rhum first shot off a round of rifle into the creature's eye, encasing it in a block of honey, blinding it for the time being. Rhodes then unleashed an entire clip of the Gatling gun's ammo right into the Cyclops' legs, knocking it forward and landing in sort of an incline position. Scotch reined the horses on a furious charge up the fallen giant's legs leaping across his back... Vanil, Coco, and C.C. meanwhile, jumped from the edge of the Hotel's roof towards the monster, landing roughly where the cart would be. The three managed to just grab the vehicle and pull themselves aboard just as the horses landed on the Cyclops' neck and used his bobbing head as a way back down safely to the ground... Dough during all this held onto the sturdiest thing in the wagon, Rhodes' leg... As the blur of maneuver completed itself, the rampaging running guns heading right back towards the forest, disappearing into the ensnaring thicket...
Man in Black had tried to hit the speeding horses with his black gunk to no avail, mostly due to no expecting the sheer madness of the move that had transpired before him...
"Ignore the beast... All of you... AFTER THEM!!!!!" screamed the furious leader as black gunk shot from throughout his body in a furious, explosion-like manner...
Man In Black stopped lashing out for a moment, when he saw the flames slowly but steadily growing around the hotel. "Amend that- those with lower amounts of magic try and put out the fire- the REST of you go after them!" He said as the larger of the groups began chasing the cowboy themed gang.
"Let's do what we can to save the base" One said as the others nodded.
Man In Yellow came frantically running up to the group, holding a crate of a staple starch. "Don't worry guys, even if the base burns down I was able to save the corn" Man In Yellow said, panting.
"Phew, thank Goodness they didn't steal the Almrania corn also" one of the Colorwomen sighed in relief.
"Wait, did you get the Falgria wine stash also?" One of the Colormen asked.
"Uh..." Man In Yellow began, sweating nervously.
Man In Black, who was getting ready to chase the cowboys, exploded again, "HOW COULD YOU FORGET ABOUT THE ONE THING I NEED JUST AS MUCH AS THE SHARDS?!" He boomed.
"Don't you have cowboys to chase?" Man In Yellow said to change the subject
"F---!!!" Man In Black boomed as he took off in the same direction as the group that left earlier.
The Black faction then proceeded to try and bring some order to what had just happened.
The thundering hooves of Mone and Moni pounded on the soggy terrain of Kabnekah Swamp as the Helado Gang raced out of Colorfolk Territory...
"We're finally out of Marwood" sighed C.C. happily
"We're not home free yet, we still have to get back to the guild with them in pursuit... Rhum, take up shotgun next to Scotch, and Rhodes, be ready with the Gatlin' Gun for any more surprises... But I think we pulled the wool over their eyes this time..." said Vanil as he rested Dough on his shoulder with the bag of shards at his feet...
"I think we might be home free!" said Rhum as his associated looked at him in anger and Scotch hitting him upside the head...
"Damn it Rhum!"
"Why did you have to go and say that!"
"What?"
"Now you're just askin' trouble to come and find us!"
.....
"Back at Klofkroc Industries, Man in White came rushing to find Woman in Blue...
"Melody! We found the shards! They're rapidly heading towards the western towns!"
"Ready a team to pursuit! We can't let shame befall the good name of the Spirit any longer!"
.....
Back at the Caravan...
"That's strange, six more shards have appeared, and they're... On the move?" spoke Adriana as she looked at her crystal ball...
"There's no time to lose then! Mark, Vas, and Lauren, come with me, Gilford, Erun, and Shiju protect the Mistress and the remaining shards while we're gone..." said Hikos
"And how will you catch them my liege?" asked Gilford
"Easy, with our ever loyal hound, Bask!" shouted Hikos as he whistled and the lazy dog shot up and leaped onto the hammer wielder, licking his face excitedly...
"Good Luck!" wished Ruth
As Hikos got up, he spoke to the now energetic dog and said, "Alright bud we have to catch up to some people, so we really need your other form, alright?"
"Arf!" barked Bask in response as average sized dog began to suddenly grow huge until he was slightly bigger than the cart itself, towering over even the armored Gilford...
"Alright, everyone hop on up!" said Hikos as the loyal canine crouched foward to allow the passengers aboard...
"Da, but I still think his other form is cuter..." lamented Vasilisa as she followed suit
"Don't listen to her, you adorable hound..." coddled Lauren as Bask wagged his tail in approval of the praise
"Alright Mark, your turn!" yelled Hikos
"Certainly!" replied Mark as he blew his whistle and gold dust flew out of it, forming a portal Bask and his riders ran on right through...
Unfortunately for the Helado Gang, Kabnekah Swamp wasn't just chosen because of the remote location. The evil color folk also liked it because there was only one safe path between the outside of the swamp and the hotel. And the Helados were not on that path.
"Oh balls, the horses are stuck!" Rhum yelled. "This mud is to soft!"
"The cart is sinking!"
"Now I've got you!" Man In Black yelled. "Give up the shards now while you still can!"
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Bask and his passengers lept through the portal. It was a tight squeeze with all the low-hanging trees, so he shifted to small dog form and his passengers stood in the thick mud.
"No one's getting those shards on my watch!" Mark yelled.
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Woman In Gold and 20 other Blue Faction Colorfolk emerged, covered in mud and sweat.
"No one but us is worthy of the prism- hey, aren't you the ones who stole our shards?" She asked, pointing at Hikos.
"What of it?" Hikos sneered.
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Fard and Shid from Majika Supremus, as well as a pair of Order Of Gerade, materialized.
"You're ALL under arrest for possession of powerful magic artifacts without a license, golemancy, summoning a cyclops, endangering the secrecy of magic, and probably more!"
"What the... are you insane? I'M the one who reported the theft of the shards, and THEIR illegal actions, remember? They are OUR property!" Woman In Blue stated, indicating her faction.
"What the hell is the Order of Gerade doing here anyway? Majika Supremus is the only faction with the power to make arrests!" Man In Gold pointed out.
"Shut it, you! I desire the shards so I can get the full power once and for all!" Man In Black boomed.
"Oh, go to hell, you lost the Spirit's blessing the moment you let your heart become corrupted" Man In Silver stated.
"My blood makes me worthy enough!" Woman In Orange protested.
"No, if the prism was whole you would be petrified on the spot. It's power is only for the humble good, or have you become so power hungry you have forgotten that!" Woman In White declared.
"Everyone SHUT UP! As I said, by order of Majika Supremus you are all being taken in for questioning..." Fard said
"We are fully willing to cooperate, Paladin. But I assure you this is a mistake, and if you contact Paladin Ricketts, the one I have been reporting these incidents to, we can clear all this up" Woman In Blue explained.
"Be that as it may, we need to be sure your involvement was not malicious" Shid pointed out.
"I don't want to fight Majika Supremus if I don't have to, but if it means getting the shards I will do what I must" Hikos said as he raised his hammer.
Fard and Shid cast magic towards Hikos, who trapped him in a cage of fire magic small enough that he couldn't move his arms properly to cast spells.
"Of course the magic they use is the element ice is weak against" Hikos deadpanned.
"Anyone else?" Fard asked.
It was a tense stand off for several minutes, until at last...
"GET THE DAMN SHARDS!" Man In Black boomed as his faction sprang into action.
"Secure the shards, but ensure the safety of Majika Supremus Paladins and Gerade mages" Woman In Blue ordered.
"I already know what to do" Man In White said as he and half a dozen others got into a formation
"Hold position!" C.C. shouted as they realized they were surrounded.
"Alright, that's it!" Fard yelled. "Apprehend everyone except the Blue Faction... actually, apprehend them too, just in case. They still risked the veil being breached-"
But before Fard could say anything else, a blast of dark energy from Man In Black sent him flying into the branches of a tree.
The good and evil colorfolk charged at each other, in a flurry of elemental spells. The Helado Gang and Caravan Crew decided it was best to just stay out of their way, but Man In Black seemed to have a supernatural ability to track where the shards were, and followed Vanil closely.
Meanwhile, the hotel Marwood was all but destroyed. The Cyclops had torn the building down, and the few Black Faction members left inside had scattered. Man In Amber Apricot grabbed the one shard the faction had left and ran in a random direction with Man In Infrared.
"What have we done? WHAT HAVE WE DONE?" Man In Infrared yelled.
"Look at it like this... we now have more shards than all other colorfolk combined! We are unstoppable!"
"That's ridiculous!"
The cyclops tried to chase them down, but its weight drove it deep into the mud, and it was stuck. Which didn't stop it from ripping up every tree it could reach and throwing them. All over New Furness, people swore they saw trees flying through the air.
Vanil didn't notice what was going on until, while fleeing the battlefield with the shards, he ran right into where the cyclops had sunk into the mud. Man In Black suddenly tackled him from behind, pushing both of them into full view of the cyclops.
"Now I've got you, you dirty little..."
"Look out!" Vanil yelled as a massive hand descended towards them...
The hand swung with great force, Sending Man In Black flying one way... and the shards in another direction all together. Vanil was flung into some trees and knocked out cold, but thanks to plot necessity was not dead.
......
In the battle, Bask had been hit with a couple Insta-spells and suddenly went limp as he relaxed and it was almost as if he was enjoying a very pleasurable experience.
"What was that?" Man In Blue asked, confused.
"Hit him with a blast of extract of dog urine; specifically, from a female dog in heat; shuts down these male dogs every time" Man In White explained before turning his attention to other targets.
Woman In Orange had just blown away one of the Blue faction's members, when she was hit with an insta-spell rock. Coughing for a bit after the dust had settled she was now angry.
"Now then, where are you..." She began.
"Hey! Come on now, you know this wrong, so just join them" said a voice. Woman In Orange looked to her left and saw... herself. Indeed, her body now had two identical heads of herself. But instead of shock and confusion... Woman In Orange began talking to the head as if it was normal.
"MY destiny is to fight for the black faction! I don't want to be a softie like you" The center head stated.
"Oh, screw this fight, I want to live my own life!" a third voice said. Both heads looked over to the third head on her right.
"Magic is what we know, and we are going to get our power back!" The center head stated.
"This power belongs to its rightful owners, we should do the right thing" the left head said
"Why fight when we can follow our passions? Right now I want to sing my heart out!" The right head said.
"NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR YOU SING!" The left and center heads stated angrily.
"We finally agree on something" the center head said as the left head nodded.
"I'm secretly very lonely on the inside; why didn't mommy ever hug me?" the right head said
"I don't want to talk about feelings I want to crush my enemies!" the center head thundered As she raised her fists.
"But those are our allies, not our enemies. We must assure the safe return of the shards" the left head said as her fists suddenly lowered.
"We work for the Black faction!" the center head snapped
"But the Blue faction is our true calling" the left head said.
"Can't we go for pizza or something? Fighting is so not my thing right now, I am STARVING!" the right head said
"Ugh, fine. But we're getting Mexican; we had pizza yesterday" The center head declared
"Screw Mexican, how about some good Chinese?" The left head asked.
"I said no! We are getting pizza" The right head said.
"Mexican or else!" The center head boomed. And thus, the three heads were now arguing over food and paying no attention to the battle at all.
Man In Yellow and Man In Red were looking at this sight with a mixture of bizarre fascination and cringing discomfort. "I... I'm not sure I want to know" Man In Red said.
"Do we want to know though?" Man In Yellow asked. But both were hit with Instaspells that resulted in pink clouds forming around their heads, and upon inhaling said clouds, both of them fell asleep.
"EVERYONE STOP FIGHTING!" shouted Man in Gold
Everyone preceded to pause for a moment, except Man in Green who had Man in Purple in a headlock and preceded to punch him once more on the noggin before pausing as well...
"Ow!"
"Does anybody know where the shards went?" asked Man in Gold
As if on cue, the bag containing the shards flew across the sky with glistening light of one leak out as it fell across the horizon...
"Well I guess that answers that..." lamented Man in Gold
"That's it... We're outta here!" yelled Rhum as he threw a stick of dynamite that blew up enough force to knock the cart out of the mud and send it hurdling down the pathway out of the swamp...
"So what's the plan now that the Boss' up and vanished?" asked Scotch as he lashed the reins, speeding along their getaway
"We'll see if we can find these damn shards, and if not, we'll call it a day and meet back up with the Boss somewhere..." ordered Rhodes as the remaining members of the Helado Gang thundered off towards the horizon
The remaining factions began to regain their bearings after that mini-explosion. The spell encasing Hikos was dropped so he seized his chance...
"Mark! I'll grab Bask so get us out of here!" yelled Hikos as the five members of the Caravan Crew disappeared into a golden ether...
"Well now what?" asked the Center Woman in Orange Head
"You know, I think I'm actually in the mood for Korean..."
"SHUT IT!"
"SHUT IT!"
Woman In Orange snapped out of it and ran, grabbing the shard bag and sprinting away.
But the damage was done. Sure, the Black Faction hadn't lost any shards, technically, but their base was destroyed and their people were scattered. And sure, the Blue Faction hadn't lost any infrastructure, but the caravan crew had all of their shards. The balance of power was forever shifted.
A few days later, Fard and Shid met with Woman In Blue and Man In Blue.
"We have been unable to locate the Black Faction, Helado Gang, or "caravan crew"," Fard explained, "but at least we know who leads the Helado Gang, and they at least can be easily found. And thankfully, we finally managed to get rid of that cyclops."
"Well, the sooner you find the caravan crew, the better. I don't know why they want our shards, but they cannot be allowed to have them." Woman In Blue said.
"In the meantime, your faction is being audited. Representatives from the six factions of the Magic Underground will be at your base in three weeks time to ensure that you are breaking no laws. Consider yourself warned, Blue Faction; there are rules to be obeyed if you wish to practice magic, and no amount of "pure heart" can save you from the law."
Man In Blue suddenly felt very nervous.
*********
The Black Faction was much worse off. They met in an abandoned shipyard that night. It was rainy and unpleasant.
"Well, our old base is destroyed, now what?" Woman In Orange asked.
"Simple. We destroy the Blue Faction and then track down the remaining 18 shards." Man In Black said.
"I have a better idea, actually..." A voice said.
"Well well well, Woman In Green! Are those stacked boots I see? Stylish. But I refuse to listen to any plan that does not result in us gaining shards."
"Oh don't worry, if my calculations are correct, we will... the only problem is, we'll need to get passports..."
********
As for the Helado Gang, well, their bosses didn't take failure well.
The six members, and Dough sitting on the bandaged Vanil's shoulder, sat at the conference table with Lien looking them down with the request in front of them. Most of them had their heads down in shame...
"You couldn't complete Mr. Galvermore's request so he left in a huff, so you won't be paid his portion of the bounty..." spoke Lien firmly
The Helado Gang sat their dreading the next words to follow...
"Officially, we can't approve of the commotion you caused in Marwood, but... Off the record, the Director was pleased with what he saw you do, especially since that 'Man in Black' fellow is as strong as our S-Ranked Slayers... With the damage you did to their base and reputation in the Underground, he's willing to pay the other half of the bounty..."
The Helado Gang cheered at the outcome, with Scotch even throwing up his hat in excitement...
"But don't celebrate just yet, since you all got caught by the Majika Supremus, he's suspending you from Guild Activities for three weeks, so no job requests for that time... It was the best he could do without you all being left in 'their' hands, so he promises to 'monitor' you all from now on, even though that's always been the case... Anyway, the amount should 'just' cover your rent, so remember, when you do a job like this, try not to get caught, okay?" finished Lien as she burned the bounty request with a flame spell, picked up her paperwork, and headed back towards the bar...
"Well, that was a wild ride... Drinks on me?" asked Vanil
"They better..." replied Coco as the six slayers and their golem went to go drown their sorrows in cheap booze and robbing their guild associates...
.....
A couple streets away from the Greedy American Pub, Gerard was furiously lamenting the failure of the Guild as he tried shooting out spells with his new Magitek Hand...
"Grr... If you wanted a job done properly, you should just do it yourself, or better yet, find some like minded associates or something..." growled Gerard to himself...
"Excuse me sir, you look like you're in the need of aid..." said a woman as she approached the hardly approachable man on the side of the street
"And who might you be?" uncaringly asked Gerard
"I'm the Vixen, and I think I know where you can find such 'associates'..." replied the Vixen
Curious now, Gerard asked, "Really, and where might that be?"
The Vixen smiled in response...
.....
Kniitwiit, Silent Night, The Duplicator, and The Cushion got out of their car and stared at the stone gate before them.
“Is this really the place that Denim guy wanted us to go?” Silent Night asked. “No one lives on this part of the island.”
The northeastern corner of New Furness has never been a very popular place to live. While the west, more populated side of the island is shielded from the full brunt of the Atlantic by facing the other way, the eastern side has no such luck. The Northeastern bit, however, has it worst of all, because the high cliffs above the water and dense pine forest made building a town difficult. Other than some loggers and a single patch of buildings about five miles back, this entire chunk of the island was no-mans land. The weather wasn’t much better. It frequently rained, and the high cliffsides coupled with strange ocean winds led to powerful storms forming over this section of the island for days at a time. One such storm was clearly brewing now.
In other words, it was the perfect place for an evil lair.
The four followed a small dirt trail in the grass, which sloped gently downward. After about half a mile, however, the path seemed to stop, running directly into a vertical cliff face with no clear way through.
“This must be where the secret door is.” The Duplicator decided.
“I’ve got the honey.” Kniitwiit pulled out a small bear-shaped plastic container and squeezed some onto the rock, arranging the honey into the shape of an ancient rune, the Old Magykkan rune for “horn”.
There was a scraping sound and part of the rockface faded away, leaving a small tunnel in the rock wide enough for the group to walk single file. The Cushion took the lead, with Silent Night and Kniitwiit following and The Duplicator taking up the rear.
“Wow…” breathed The Cushion as he emerged on the other side of the tunnel.
Wow was right. The group had emerged on a narrow ledge on the edge of a cliff. The sides of the cliff descended some 60 yards below them to the sea below, angrily crashing against the rocks, and above them another sixty yards as well. But the really awe-inspiring thing was the odd shape of these cliffs. They formed a perfect semicircle with roughly a 500 foot radius, and rising out of the water in the middle of this semicircle was a massive stone tower. Diablo Tower.
The only path between the ledge and the tower was a narrow stone bridge, and as the group started towards the tower, two men appeared in the tower doorway, wearing bronze-lined black suits.
“Stop right there! I am Doctor Laser, and this is The General! And unless you surrender, we will be forced to obliterate you!”
“Doc, your lasers aren’t actually…” The General muttered in a surprisingly squeaky voice considering his burly stature. The General sounded like he had inhaled the world’s entire supply of helium (don’t actually do this, there is a helium shortage in the world and it’s needed for medical equipment). Kniitwiit tried and failed to suppress a laugh.
“Um… we were told that we could join the “Vile Evil Confederacy” here?” Silent Night volunteered.
“Oh? Who sent you?” Doctor Laser asked, unconsciously twirling his mustache.
“He called himself Eddie Denim?”
“Ah, say no more! We’ve been expecting you! Come, the Cardinals are waiting!”
The inside of the stone tower was surprisingly more pleasant than the group had expected. The stone walls of the tower kept out the wind, and there was a roaring fire in the center of the large entry hall. The best part, of course, was the elevator at the far end of the room.
“Alright, Cardinal Meeting room, 47th floor…” muttered Doctor Laser to them as he ushered them into the elevator and sprinted back to his post.
The Cardinal Meeting room was a massive room, with a massive curved desk taking up half of it. 11 spots were set, but only nine of those seats were occupied. The bronze throne in the center, as well as the chair to the left of it, were empty. However, the other nine spots were occupied by a very eclectic bunch.
On the far left, a pale woman in black robes accepted a drink from a waiter that the group realized, with a shock, was clearly an animated corpse. Next to her, a sullen black-robed man fiddled with a small red object. On his other side, two slight-looking men were poring over some maps, deep in thought. The seat to the right of the empty bronze throne was taken by an intense red-robed man that somehow physically hurt to look at. Next to him, a bespectacled woman pored over a book, and the gaudily dressed woman on her other side tried desperately to amuse the horrific grey, winged creature next to her, who was more interested in a small blue gem it was holding. Finally, on the far end, a large yellow-robed man sat sullenly, as if disinterested in the whole affair.
As the four nervously approached the bench, a green robed figure suddenly materialized before them, and spoke in a booming voice.
“My fellow cardinals, I trust I am not late?”
“Ah, Elvene! Wonderful! We weren’t expecting you to show up for such a mundane meeting.” The bespectacled woman said cheerfully.
“I note I still do not have a desk. No matter. I shall hover.” Elvene floated in place in the center of the room.
The red-robed man cleared his throat, and all discussion was silenced.
“Now then, we are gathered today to potentially induct four new members into the noble order of the Vile Evil Confederacy. I am Bloodlust, second-in-command of this noble institution, and we are the 12 Cardinals Of VEC.”
“Where are the other two?” The Duplicator asked. He wasn’t the brightest, but he could count to 12.
“Ah…” Bloodlust sighed. “Our true leader, the Bronze Mage, and his apprentice, Silvestron, are busy with other matters. He sends his regards, though. And Silvestron sends this carrot cake.” Bloodlust procured a box and handed it to Elvene, who carried it over to The Cushion.
“Uh… this is a trumpet.”
“Well… Percy hasn’t quite got the hang of advanced magic like that yet…”
“Or any magic…” muttered the yellow-robed man.
“Can it, Honeybadger!” Snapped the gaudy woman. “Now, you there, with the green sweater. State your name and powers.”
Kniitwiit stepped forward nervously, pulling out their knitting needles. “My name is Kniitwiit… that’s four I’s… and I can make pretty much anything you can think of out of yarn, simply by knitting it.”
The gaudy woman raised an eyebrow. “Niche, but I like it. Why don’t you knit us a carrot cake, then?”
“Well, I can’t knit food, miss, uh…”
“Bloodsphere. Vivian Bloodsphere. And why not?”
“Well, yarn isn’t edible. But I can knit a trumpet! Here, watch!” Kniitwiit pulled out a ball of red yarn, and after a couple minutes of furious knitting, managed to play a passable rendition of taps.
“It’d sound better if I still played regularly…” they muttered, embarrassed.
“That’s not half bad…” one of the slight men commented. “Yarn emitting tones comparable to that of a brass instrument… hmmm… I like this one.”
“Shocking, Chessmaster likes the new recruit.” Honeybadger muttered. “Don’t have any powers of your own, so you latch onto all the weirdos.”
“Horned One’s sake, shut up!” Vivian snapped.
“Anyway, who’s next?” Bloodlust shouted, in a voice that made everyone’s blood run cold.
The Cushion stepped forward.
“They call me the cushion, and my powers are, well… I’m impervious to all physical damage.”
“Oh? Priori, could you test that?” Bloodlust said, addressing the black-clad woman on the far end.
“Eet would be my pleasure.” Priori said in a thick Russian accent. From behind the desk, two skeletons unfolded themselves and charged at The Cushion, punching and kicking him, but the Cushion didn’t even flinch.
“It’s not just this. I can fall from great heights, be stretched out, and never so much as get a cut, or feel a thing.” The Cushion said.
“Impressive…” The other slight man muttered.
“Oh, can it, Mindreader! He’s not so tough! What if I froze him in place with my honey magic, huh?”
“Honeybadger, if you speak out of turn again, I will not hesitate to make this a council of eleven!” Bloodlust growled. “Next applicant!”
The Duplicator stepped forward. Or rather, someone exactly resembling The Duplicator stepped forward, while The Duplicator stayed in place.
“They call me “The Duplicator” because I can, well, duplicate myself.”
“There’s got to be a catch.” The bespectacled woman said.
“Well, kinda… um, whatever-your-name-is.”
“My name is Orator… anyway, what’s the catch?”
“Well, these clones, these duplicates, they aren’t exactly very self-sufficient. They don’t quite have my staggering intellect or problem-solving skills.”
“And here I thought we had a suitable supplement to my AIAC…” Vivian muttered.
The demonic creature next to Vivian stirred. “I may have a solution.” It said in a voice that wasn’t quite sinister, and certainly didn’t have the same blood-curling effect Bloodlust’s did, but still filled the new recruits with dread in a more subtle, hard to pin down way.
“Oh? Xex, are you hoping to take this one on as a personal apprentice?” Mindreader asked.
“Not at all. I simply wish to attempt something, and this one’s powers seem useful to that end.”
“I see no reason why not.” Orator said. “I’ve always felt you needed to connect with us humans more anyway.”
“And I’ve always felt that you mortal fleshbags are inferior, but you don’t hear me saying such things, do you?”
“Excuse me.” Said the sullen figure, and the only one who hasn’t been named yet. “There’s still one more applicant.”
Silent Night swallowed and stepped forward, nervously. “Hi… I’m Silent Night. My powers aren’t as flashy or anything, but… I’m very stealthy. Supernaturally so. I can merge with shadows, climb walls silently, all sorts of things. It’s some sort of shadow magic, I think. I don’t fully understand it, but…”
“Say no more.” The sullen figure stood. “I want this one as my apprentice.”
“This is a pleasant surprise.” Bloodlust noted. “You’re the last person I’d expect to ask for an apprentice… even Xex is more personable than you.”
“Yes, well, whatever. I think I can help her unlock the full extent of her powers. Permission to begin immediately?”
“I would allow it, I have other things to do.” Elvene intoned.
“Very well, council adjourned.” Orator announced.
Silent Night approached the sullen figure. “Who are you? Why do you want me as an apprentice? Why aren’t the other’s someone’s apprentice?”
The sullen figure sighed. “In our organization, “apprentice” doesn’t mean that much. It just means you and I will be working closely together to unlock your powers. Not everyone needs more training, and the other three all have skillsets that are, let’s say, a bit niche.”
“Okay, but who are you?”
“I am known by many names. But among friends… I am the Blood Alchemist.”
There was something about the Blood Alchemist, an intensity that even Bloodlust and Xex, the most terrifying people at the table, couldn’t match. And so as she followed him to the elevator, she was equal parts excited… and scared out of her mind.
Back at the Blue Faction headquarters, Man In Blue was introduced to a very important figure by WomanIn Blue
“Daniel, this is Paladin Ricketts; he’s the Majika Supremus mage directly responsible for maintaining the peace in this island- specifically, he is the Paladin in charge of ensuring the safety of magic users and, when necessary, prevents their identities from being compromised in the non-magic world. I’ve had to have more than one discussion with him over the various... incidents, but for the most part they have been understanding about the situation at hand; because most of our acts were in defense or in reaction to far greater danger, the fights we’ve been involved in were justified acts of defense. However, there are some things he wants clarified, so he wanted to talk to you” woman in blue explained.
“I understand” Man In Blue stated. Ricketts then got straight to business
“I’ll get right to the point... Daniel, are you aware that at present, the world of magic is kept hidden from the non-magic world?”
“Yes; I can understand the reasoning though; world isn’t ready for our return” Man In Blue replied
“Good, so about the class at the university... I suppose it’s only fair to tell you that we have been investigating reports attached to this class for a while now” Ricketts said
Man in Blue gulped at that revelation. “But sir, I was raised non-magic by my father. He told me tales and stories as a kid, but these are considered mythology in the non-magic world; arguably magic mythology is just as interesting as Greek and Roman mythology” Daniel pointed out.
“And you’ve been framing this course as such, a “history of the mythology of magic” course?”
“Correct. I did a couple “tricks” to keep the students entertained but the next day I revealed that I “faked” them; did them to keep their interest of course” Daniel stared
“Well you did nothing major from what we can tell so that is fine. What we aren’t so sure on is if this presents a risk to the magic world’s security” Ricketts explained
“You have nothing to worry about; not teaching the class after this semester anyway. I talked to the dean and he said while the students enjoyed the class, the low turnout makes it not worth it; so instead I’ll be teaching classes on the history of the mythology of the mythical monsters; stuff that will actually draw a good turn out” he explained
“I see; but what about the students in your current class?” Ricketts said
“Got it covered” Daniel assured.
......
On the last day of lecture, Daniel revealed there would be no final; the three tests taken that semester, everyone did well enough that a final was not necessary. Instead, he left them with parting words.
“So... we know that none of this is real. But then what was the point of all these stories and tales? Why do they exist? I suppose when boiled down to its elements it’s all a most remarkable allegory. “Magic” is a metaphor for one’s inner strength, and these stories are tales about how to unlock one’s inner strength. We as humans are extraordinary creatures. Sure, we can’t throw fireballs or fly, but that’s not the point. The stories and fables involving magic are about unlocking great power, yes... but it’s not what you think. Yes, you may never learn how to shoot ice crystals, but you can find the courage to do something amazing, like climb a mountain. You may never shoot a lightning bolt, but you can find the strength to stand up to and face what you are afraid of. Flying, snakes, small spaces... or lightning, perhaps? Look for the strength within, and you can overcome anything. Sure, you can never throw a fireball, but you can find the strength to help others in need when they are in danger. Maybe you’ll never control water, but you can find the strength to go forth and when in a dangerous situation yourself, you can pull yourself together and come out all right.
In conclusion, stories about magic aren’t just tales of good vs evil or individuals harnessing great power... they tell us about one of the most important life lessons of all: if we put in the effort to unleash our inner strength, then there is little we can not do. And I hope that you take that lesson to heart as you leave my classroom and move on during your journey in life”
His little class gave a standing ovation for his parting words, which he acknowledged before he himself left the classroom
“I hope he teaches other classes; I think we could learn a lot from him” David said as the others nodded in agreement
......
“And so in conclusion... his class was presented as a mythology course, everything he presented was common knowledge of said mythology in the non-magic world and he exposed no secrets of any faction. Safe to say this fellow is no threat”
“All right; close this case then; we’ll put the resources elsewhere”
......
Woman In Orange was being confronted by some members of her faction. “By the way... how did you get the shards when they went flying over the horizon anyway?” Man In Red asked
”Well you see I... eh...uh...huh? I think I AHHHHHH!!!!” She started screaming as she suddenly started falling down a hole that appeared out of absolutely no where
”Wh... what happened?” Man In Cardinal asked
”I’ve heard legends but never thought they were true. It seems that Woman In Orange has fallen into... a plot hole!
"Are you even sure those are the shards?" crossly asked Man in Green
"I'm sure look!" replied Woman in Orange as she opened the bag, only for black smoke and soot to explode out and covered her face, as well as destroy the bag...
"I can't believe you grabbed a fake!" yelled Woman in Yellow angrily, "Now we have just as many as those goodie two shoes, NONE!"
"How was I supposed to know it was one! I was too focused on getting the shards and getting out of there without dealing with those Supremus bastards..." barked back Woman in Orange as a piece of the destroyed bag floating down and flipped over, revealinga logo of an "S" with a hammer and a prism forming an x behind it...
Man in Black simply just picked up the piece of fabric and said, "Grr... Patience everyone... This may be a 'minor' setback, but we'll follow Woman in Green's lead and once we're back here, we'll use our full might to take back those shards and more, alright?" During that word of phrase, black slug oozed out of Man in Black's pore, seemingly ready to explode outwards at the simplest drop of a hat...
"We'll get those passports done right away sir!" shakily replied Man in Off-White as he and Man in Ghost White rapidly ran out of the Warehouse the Evil Colorfolk we hiding in to meet with Woman in Green's arranged contact...
.....
On the outskirts of Marwood, the Men in Infrared and Amber Apricot were at a loss in what to do...
"Our plan failed spectacularly and all we got was one singular shard out of it, but at the price of probably everyone on this island wanting our heads on a silver platter!" freaked out Man in Amber Apricot
"Don't worry, I have a plan!" replied Man in Infrared
"Yeah, what is it?" asked Man in Amber Apricot
"If we build another summoning device, maybe it would summon a creature that could give us a really useful plan for out situation!" answered Man in Infrared as Amber Apricot slapped him across the face with a hand slathered in hardened honey...
"Ow!"
"I can't even explain how many levels of stupid that plan was!"
"It seems you fellas are in a bit of trouble due to your sudden, 'void in leadership.'.." said a mysterious voice from above
"Who... Who are you..." stuttered Man in Amber Apricot with a honey spell at the ready
"I'm Vincent Hikos, but you fine gents might be more familiar with my family title, the Man in Steel..." replied the voice as a figure jumped down from the tree and stood tall before the duo...
"Alright, 'Man in Steel', and why should we listen to you then?" asked Man in Infrared, doubting his story...
"Because, I currently have the highest amount of Prism Shards out of all the factions currently..." replied the Colorman as he revealed a bag from behind and opened it for a moment to show the duo a dozen or so sparkling prism shards inside...
"Ok, we're listening... But why should you be the boss then?" remarked Man in Amber Apricot
"Well, I currently have a couple of years experience leading a ragtag band of warriors and magic users who respect me, and I'm now in the market for some reliable hench... I mean goo... 'sidekicks', and seeing as you have massive target on your back, as well as a prism shard, my associates and I could provide you with the proper protection..." answered the Man in Steel
"Alright, even if it's true, are you sure you could protect us?" doubted Man in Infrared...
"Well..." was all the Man in Steel could get out as a fireball came flying at the Colormen duo's heads. Before it impacted, an ice wall rapidly shot up and too the brunt of the attack, turning the surrounding air into steam...
"Does that answer your question?" said Man in Steel as created ice walls to surround the duo from the ensuing fireball discharges
"You make a sound argument" quickly nodded Man in Amber Apricot
"Yeah, ah, do you want to shake on it 'boss'?" worryingly added Man in Infrared
"It's fine, I'll fight off this pursuer, just wit for me back at home base!" ordered Man in Steel
"And where exactly is that?" asked Man in Amber Apricot
"Just watch..." replied the Man in Steel as he pulled out a vial from within his grey coat and dumped it into his palm, emptying out gold dust from inside. He stuck put the gold covered palm and blew on the dust, which flew out into the ether to create a gold colored portal that seemed to exit near some sort of cart, "Go quickly, before it closes! I'll catch up to you later after I deal with these guys!"
"Thanks Boss!"
"We owe our lives to you!"
And with that, the two 'Evil' Colormen disappeared into a golden portal that closed shut behind them...
"Suckers..."
We done Steel?" asked Lauren, who exited from the treeline with Mark right behind her...
"Yeah, and with that, that makes 14 shards in our possession. Adriana originally wanted to scatter the shards across the realms, but I think I can do one better..." replied Steel
"Yeah, and what would that be?" wondered Mark
"Something the Colorfolk won't be expecting... Come on, I'll tell you over at the Goddess of Drinks, we have to be gone long enough for those idiots to think we're having an actual battle..." laughed the Man in Steel
"Alright, but sometimes I worry about those 'big plans' of yours..." replied Lauren as Mark began to whistle and the trio disappeared into the ether of the night...
"This was the source of the disturbance, mistress, there's no question about it" he explained.
Adriana looked it over, and tried to see if there was anything remarkable about it. "If only a Spirit-Type Colorman was available; he'd be able to sense if a soul was present and resolve the issue quickly. I have a feeling this is no ordinary statue" Adriana observed.
"If I may... I have strong suspicion that this may be a petrification. My gut feeling is that this man found a... particular kind of artifact that rejects certain wielders of the craft. The magic residue is consistent with a type of magic used by my ancestors... no question, this man had a corrupted heart and tried to touch a prism fragment" the man in dark gray clothes observed.
"Can his petrification be undone?" Gilford asked.
"Undoing petrification is a very complex and, if I may say, nearly a lost art... but perhaps you may have a solution?" the robed man asked Adriana
Adriana nodded. "I know a way... but I don't think you'll like it much..."
Meanwhile, on another part of the island, another group of people were talking.
"Man, I wish we didn't have to deal with Man In Black all the time." Man In Infrared whined. "When Woman In Orange is giving the orders, we actually get stuff done."
"Man In Black isn't so bad." Man In Amber Apricot pointed out. "He let me learn Honey Magic despite it being illegal."
"Yes, but he actively makes our lives harder by focusing only on destroying the other faction. We could actually accomplish something real and substantial if we didn't have that albatross around our necks." Man In Infrared argued.
"Like what?" Man In Amber Apricot challenged.
"I'm glad you asked..."
Soon, the two colormen were standing in front of a small shed in the woods.
"What's in here?" Man In Amber Apricot asked.
"Oh, just something I've been working on in my spare time... it's a summoning device."
"A what now?" Man In Amber Apricot was intrigued.
Man In Amber Apricot grinned. "A summoning device. It summons a powerful creature from another dimension and binds its will to the person who sumoney it. I created it from those old texts we found and it works okay... mostly."
"Mostly?"
Man In Infrared's smile faded slightly. "Well, see... I had a little trouble with the "controlled by the summoner" bit... but don't worry, I'm pretty sure I killed the sonic vampire raptor."
"Pretty sure? Not certain?" Man In Amber Apricot looked a little apprehensive.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure it's fine... anyway, I need your help. I've tried every elemental power source I could find, but none of them seem to work. With your honey magic and some time, we could make this machine actually work, and then I'll use my army of creatures to rule the colorfolk!"
"You mean "we", right?" Man In Amber Apricot asked.
"Yes, yes... of course." And so, both plotting their double-cross, the two conspirators entered the lab...
Back at the cart, Adrianna was preparing a spell, "now, if I get this right... we should be able to restore this man" she said as she thought about which spell would be best for this particular de-petrification
"I got it! Gilford, would you be a dear and grab the third bottle from the right in that cabinet over there?" asked Adriana
"Sure Mistress, but will this liquid do?" wondered Gilford
"It's the venom from the snake of a Gorgon, one of the few things that can depetrify someone turned to stone. It's dangerous, but do this fellow's missing hand I can't use the cheaper alternative basilisk venom because it will most likely kill him once it reaches his wound..." answered Adriana
"Hey, it's not our fault we couldn't retrieve the missing hand, it was pebbles and dust when we found it..." remarked the man in grey colored clothes
"It wouldn't matter, none of us are stone magicians so I couldn't repair it even if we had the pieces and I've used up what I've do know on that 'pet project' you retrieved for me from Blackwell..." replied Adriana as she began to pour the venomous liquid on the stone statue...
The steaming yellow liquid began to eat away at the stone covering, revealing the pale skin to the world once more. As it got the missing limb, bits of the stone remained to stop the bleeding, while the venom stained the area around the wound yellow...
"What exactly is happening then?" asked the man in grey colored clothes
"The venom is eating away at the stone, and if he was conscious would be screaming in agony right now... It's being soaked into his pores and being fed throughout his body by his bloodstream, combining with his blood cells to keep his wound from killing him. His body most likely will develop high poison resistance after this..." answered Adriana
As the last bit of stone fell from Gerard's legs, his knees gave way as he fell onto the floor of the cart...
"Quickly! Get him to the couch!"
.....
Gerard woke up in a strange place with new individuals surrounding him. As he looked where his shard was once held, all he saw now was a stone covered limp of a wrist...
"Where am I? Who are you? Where's the shard!" yelled Gerard s he sprung to his feet and stared down the strangers and s his remaining hand reached for his holster, he realized his gun was missing...
"I figured you would go for this immediately, so I pocketed off you when we dropped you on that couch..." said a smiling man as he spun the revolver and pointed it at Gerard
"Put that away you idiot! yelled a woman as she smacked her gun toting associate, who proceeded to put it away with an ow in response, "I'm Adriana and my associates discovered you after detecting you in an area that we sensed pure magic flowed from, we were wondering if you could tell us how you ended up in this state..."
"Well Miss Adriana, I was looking for a certain 'artifact' when those multi-colored bastards got in my way and placed a curse on me turning me to stone... With the power you used to save me and the power I sens from your associates, I imagine you could help me in retrieving the 'artifact' that was stolen from me..." answered Gerard as the lies oozed through his teeth
"Yes, we would be willing to aid you... Though actually, my associate here was able to retrieve a strange piece of crystal that was found n the rubble near your destroyed hand..." mentioned Adriana
"You found the Prism shard? Then give it to me now you fools! OR else I'll destroy with my very own hands, I mean hand!" shouted Gerard as he pointed his hand out in an attacking motion
"Gilford, to arms!" yelled the man in grey colored clothes as he reached for his hammer and the armored fellow drew his sword and put up his shield to protect Adriana...
"As we thought, you're nothing but a monster who wants to abuse the power of this shards... Our discussion is done and I never want you in my presence ever again..." scowled Adriana in disappointment for the foolish Gerard
"And how will you throw me from this place?" mocked Gerard
"Mark! It's your turn!" yelled Adriana
"Yes Mistress!" replied a new voice from outside the window next to Gerard as a gold powder blew into his face and he was thrown into a field on the outskirts of Blackwell...
"Damn that woman! Well, if I can't get that shard, I might as well go for the people who have more... It's convenient I ended up here..." laughed Gerard as he headed for the nearby Goddess of drinks...
.....
"And that sir is the latest model of Magitek Appendage series by Flickerbee Enterprises, with the green accents being way to measure the amount of magic being inserted into the device from your body. There are even form change capabilities!" said the vendor as a hooded Gerard tried on the appendage
"Perfect, I'll take it..." replied Gerard
"Certainly, that will be..." was all the vendor could say as a sack of coins was placed on the vendor's stand
"Keep the change..." spoke Gerard as he headed towards a 'certain place'
"Oh, alright, pleasure doing business with you si... Oh he's gone..."
.....
The hooded Gerard soon approached a pun with a sign above the door called the "Greedy American". As he was about to walk in a tall tanned figure covered in scars blocked his path...
"What's your business stranger?" asked the bouncer
"I have a job offer to give..." answered Gerard
"Alright then, talk to the bartender then, oh yeah, welcome to the Magic Slayer Association..." chuckled the Bouncer as they opened the door to a dimly lit pub filled with rough looking individuals wearing various outfits, with a commotion going on in the back...
"That's my win! Another round gentlemen?"
Gerard ignored the commotion and headed up to the Barkeep, a woman who was currently cleaning the counter...
"Hey there stranger, and what can I trouble you with?" asked the woman
"I'm here to hire a group to retrieve something for me..." replied Gerard
"Retrieval isn't that unfamiliar to these bounty hunting folks, most are former thieves and robbers anyway... So, what's your reward then?" asked the Bartender
"All I have left is this much..." responded Gerard as he placed a medium sized sack on the counter
"Hmm... This amount you could get a team of F-Ranked Slayers, but capability wise it's only enough to afford one D-Ranked Slayer..." sighed the Barkeep
"DAMN IT! If I'm going to recover those shards from those blasted Colorfolk I need highly skilled individuals!" growled Gerard as he knocked over a few mugs of beer in rage as the bouncer turned and looked at the bartender for confirmation to throw him ou
"Hold on Shear... Sir, if you wait right here, I'll discuss this matter with the Association Director..." spoke the Barkeep as Gerard apologized, and she went up the main stairs into a large office...
"Yes Lien, what is it?" asked the shadowed director from his desk
"Well Sir, we got a job offer that's lower than normal, but the targets this time I think can make up the compensation..." replied Lien
"Oh? I guess it's the Colorfolk then huh, we did place a high bounty on them after all... So you want my permission to combine the jobs then?" wondered the Director
"Yes, with the amount it should be enough to attract 'that' group..." added Lien
"Ah yes, 'them', it makes sense, I want those colored fools to pay off their debt, but none of the A or S-Ranked Slayers are interested in the job, but I now I have an excuse to get those idiots to do it..." chuckled the Director
"Good, i'll get right to setting up the job flyer, plus, I think Vanil is 'winning a card game downstairs..." replied Lien
"Perfect, then 'offer' them this new gig..." answered the Director as Lien left his office
After a few minutes, the Barkeep came back with a flyer of all the details and showed it to Gerard
"With a bounty currently placed on your targets by the Association, we're willing to combine the rewards and offer your bounty for a higher rank, and we have a team right in mind... Ghost Puncher, go get Vanil for me, will you, I got a job for him, straight from the B-Rank board..." said the Barkeep
"Right away Ma'am..." said a biker looking fellow in leather as he placed down his bottle and headed off to the back of the pub, near the gambling tables...
"That's it Vanil, I've had it with your cheating!" shouted a mage as he began to speak a spell, only to be met with the muzzle of a revolver in his face
"Let's see which is faster, my bullet or your words..." chuckled Vanil as the opposing mage huffed angrily and left the table
"Hey Vanil, Lien's got a job for you at the bar" said Ghost Puncher as he tapped Vanil on the shoulder
"Well boys, it was fun playing with you, but I'll be taking my winnings and leaving!" laughed Vanil as his opponents all growled in annoyance, one even flipped the card table when Vanil left...
"Suckers..." chuckled Vanil as he slid his full house back up his sleeve
.....
"This here is Vanil, he's the leader of the B-Ranked Slayer group, the 'Helado Gang', their highest rank official group and currently the only one on premises... Will they suffice for you sir?" asked Lien
"Yes, if they come at the recommendation of the Association, then I trust them..." answered Gerard as he pulled his collar in worry from the stares he received from Shear at the door...
"And you Vanil, will this amount work with you?"
"Certainly, the gang's been wantin' a tougher job, especially with the money involved..." answered Vanil, who Lien could swear she saw dollar signs in his eye sockets for a second...
"Alright, I'll let you two work out the details, but the Association has gone through the trouble of providing the intel of their base of operations, so use it wisely..." added Lien
"Certainly Ma'am, alright Helado Gang, SADDLE UP!"
.....
Today was rather hectic in this magic city. At various grocery stores around the Magic Underground, people were frantically running for the produce section; with the dissolution of the Almrania Brotherhood, this meant no more Almrania corn.. and as one of the highest regarded products of any magic faction, mages from all over wanted to ensure they got one last ear of the stuff before it was gone forever.
Their legacy would not be forgotten though, as the four remaining members, just before retiring, willed their library’s contents and remaining seeds to the Academy of Magic. Some representative were at the former factions’s base, gathering the various articles.
“Even if it was only one thing they were known for, at least their legacy will not be forgotten” one noted before packing up sacks of seeds and bundles of manuscripts to be taken to the academy for preservation and research purposes.
Similarly, people were flocking to liquor stores to get their share of Falgria wine before it was too late; when news spread about how they had to sell most of their vineyards and production would decline, it was basically “now or never” to stock up.
Whether they were of the six major factions, a minor faction or faction-less, everyone wanted their share
One mage couldn’t help but observe “if only people saw value in the work that these factions did... then maybe people could see the worth in joining factions and being a part of something” he thought.
But alas, the latest generations of mages enjoyed the freedom of not being tied down to factions... and it was something this mage accepted with a sigh before moving on.
......
But the "latest generation of mages" was just as upset about this loss too... although they blamed a very different target. After all, it was the Akademie der Magier that bought the Falgrian land and intended to bulldoze it to build a new research building... and in seedy magic dive bars the world over, young mages were meeting to fight back.
This was even happening on New Furness. In the Goddess Of Drinks, a handful of mages were meeting for the first time.
"I used to be a member of the Guild of Damoni, but honestly, they care more about gathering power than actually making life better for us magic users."
"I know how you feel, Silent Night. That's exactly why I left the Academy," replied a large, pale man known as The Duplicator.
"And don't get me started on the Icetouched! For a supposed guild of healers, they sure do love making people suffer!" Added a third figure. "I mean, my name is The Cushion, not The Pincushion!"
"It's just the worst!" A freckled, greenhaired figure known as Kniitwiit set down their mint tea and sighed. "If only there was another faction we could join... somewhere where our talents would actually be appreciated."
"Perhaps I can help." A ruggedly handsome man with a tanned face and a honeyed voice slid up to the four mages. "The name's Denim. Eddie Denim. And I just might know where you and I can find some likeminded folks..."
“Could you tell us more about this faction is question?” Silent Night asked
“Wait... this isn’t a pyramid scheme, is it?” The cushion asked
“What does your faction stand for?” The Duplicator asked.
“I’m glad you asked” Denim said as he pulled out some papers
“I’m not sighing up for a pyramid scheme!” The cushion snapped
......
At the Academy, the head staff found themselves in an awkward position as letters were now coming in, insisting on reconsidering their decision to build a new campus on the Falgrian land that had been bought.
“It leaves me to believe... we should at the very least.... postpone any development we had intended on. Knowledge comes in many forms and perhaps we need to consider the worth of these factions. But we can’t force any mage to join a faction any more than we can force a non-magic caster to choose a college major” the headmaster declared
“Yea but let’s face it... who wants to spend their magic career making wine... or growing corn?” A deputy headmaster pointed out.
“I don’t deny that, but still...” the headmaster said, but couldn’t find the words to continue the thought.
"We must be pragmatic." Headmaster Luncrett decided. "We still have all of their formulas preserved in our archives, but if we are to train the next generation of mages, our current campus is simply too small. It is a small price to pay for the continued strengthening of our faction. In the meantime, I will call in a favor with Madame Frostovich over at the Icetouched, and get them to include farmland for volunteers to create more corn and wine in their section of the next expansion of the magic underground."
"Why don't we put it on our own land?" advisor Erodelmbud asked.
Advisor Rookulus rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? No one's going to be willing to volunteer. They may act disappointed when the people who make it stop, but no one has the time or their energy to spend weeks of their lives making that wine or whatever. Besides, it's not like the Icetouched ever do anything of value with their land anyway."
“I will meet in the middle” Headmaster Luncrett decided. “We don’t want to destroy the academy’s reputation so we will form a pilot program of sorts. A “classical faction outreach” program if you will. Sort of like semesters abroad at non-magic colleges. We will offer a simple trade off: a semester at the falgria land, not just to learn about them and their wine; but the importance of factions like these as a whole in the tradition of magic. In exchange, those who participate in the program, we shall slash their tuition by 33 percent. One semester should be more than enough time to ensure our decision to build a new campus is well founded” he concluded.
“I’ll go make the necessary arrangements” an advisor nodded before the meeting adjourned.
......
Meanwhile, at the dive bars where the young mages were meeting, the fallout from the dissolution of the Almrania Brotherhood was becoming even more apparent.
“Discontinued?! The hell, man? Darfman’s is the best whiskey in the magic world!” One patron fumed at the bartender
“What do you expect? Almrania corn is the primary ingredient! No more corn, no more whiskey, plain and simple. Enjoy it while you can cause we only got 8 more bottles of the stuff” the bartender informed before pouring a glass and handing it over.
First the best wine, now the best whiskey?! Now the youth were really frustrated.
......
Throughout the Greedy American, various individuals were moving around. One giant man grabbed his shotgun off the table as he finished throwing the mook off the balcony who jut tried to pick a fight with him. A woman was calmly walking towards her leader as she quietly pocketed three unsuspecting slayers without them noticing, showing a glowing grin for all to see. A man finished throwing his dart as he grabbed his rifle, hitting the bullseye, with many darts either on the floor or destroyed from all his throws. A woman threatened a man with a knife cutting motion at her throw, stopping the man from his hearty laugh, leading him to gulp in anxiousness. The final man was currently sleeping shotgun on a covered horse drawn cart in the back alleyway as the two horses neighed him awake, forcing him to drop his bottle of Darfmans and rush inside to meet the others.
The six hired slayers soon met their contractor in a private room the Association provided for their meeting.
"As you can see Mr. Gerard, our Helado Gang is a skilled outfit with various capable skills to each member..." spoke Vanil as his five gangmembers stood behind him intimidatingly...
"And what sort of magic do you all possess?" asked Gerard
"Oh, not a single one of us has a speck of magic in our bones..." replied Vanil nonchalantly...
"WHAT!?!?!" shouted Gerard
"Hold your horses partner, I was gettin' to that. We may not be able to cast magic but our weapons certainly do..." replied Vanil as showcased one of his revolvers and popped the chamber, removing a bullet, "Now with the exception of one of our numbers, all our weapons are nonmagical, but the bullets, now that's where the magic comes in. Though weaker than a normal bullet they more than make up for it with their capabilities. Normally bullets are impossible to enchant and a waste of energy to do so on a chaotic battlefield, so that why the magic community hasn't adopted them yet, but due to secret knowledge I happened to come across, I was able to create a magical primer that causes the bullet to turn into a magical element..."
"And what elements are those?" questioned Gerard
"Well there's fire, ice, earth, air, light, darkness, and strangely... honey..." replied Vanil, pretty seriously
"Honey? Why not a water bullet?" asked a confused Gerard
"Water? Have you even used a gun? The bullet turns into the element in the chamber, and if there was a water bullet, it would douse the primer, rendering the ignition moot, and it would also wet the powder, giving you one shot at most..." answered Vanil dumbfounded
"Alright fine... So are you... Um... 'Y'all' confident enough that you can steal me the shards successfully?" posed Gerard
"Mister, there hasn't been a single target I haven't been able to successfully rob..." chuckled one of the woman as she showcased one of Gerard's Magitek fingers, to his chagrin...
"That's enough C.C., but you heard the lil lady, we guarantee contractor satisfaction..." smiled Vanil as he handed Gerard back his finger
"Alright then, I'll wait here for you to bring me the shards, once you bring me them and whatever else the Association wants for their 'bounty collection', I'll pay you for your services..." replied Gerard as he reattached his finger
"Sounds good, let's head out!" ordered Vanil as the six gun gang left the pub...
"What a bunch of weirdos..."
.....
"Boss that man was definitely a greenhorn in hirin' slayers ain't he..." said the crackshot from earlier
"You're right Rhum, he sure was a city-slicker though..." laughed the former sleeping guard
"Doesn't matter B.T., pay is good this time and we're running out of booze money... Oh yeah, and rent's due soon, so we got to pay on time or else the association won't let us store Mone and Moni this month..." replied Vanil as he pet his two best, and only, horses...
"Well we could make the payments if you didn't gamble away most of our earnings..." mocked the threatenin' woman from before
"Yeah, for an 'extraordinary gambler', you sure do get caught cheatin' a lot..." added the thief who had stolen Gerard's finger
"Come on Coco, you know most of those suckers are sore losers anyway... Any you C.C., don't give me that crap when you get caught stealin' as much as I get caught cheatin'..." pleaded Vanil
"No I don't, I just stole a bunch of loot right before that meetin'..." huffed C.C.
"Uh huh, and where is it?" inquired Vanil
"Crap..."
"Hey Boss, should we bring the ammo for 'that'?" asked the giant man carrying the shotgun as he indicated a covered section of the wagon
"Probably for the best Rhodes, I heard these 'Rainbow Folk' are tough mages to deal with, and 'that' thing can shred through magical barriers and mages better than any golem could..." laughed Vanil
"And where exactly are we going to find them?" wondered B.T.
"Well Scotch, the Association provided us their base of operations' location... Which seems to be located in... Kabnekah Swamp..." answered Vanil
"Kabnekah Swamp? There's nothing out there except the ruins of that old town, Marwood I think it was called..." added Coco
"Then that must be where they've hidden their base. Mone, Moni, giddy up!" yelled Vanil as whipped the reins, with Rhodes at his side ridding shotgun, and the other four, Coco, C.C., Rhum, and B.T. Scotch, ridding in the back
"Alright you Rainbow bastards, we're coming for you! Hiyah!"
"Hey, who smashed my last bottle of Darfmans?"
"Shut it Rhum!"
.....
At the swamp base, Man In Amber Apricot was looking for something.
"Can I help you?" Woman In Yellow asked.
"Yes, do we have any myth crystals?"
"No, I'm afraid we're fresh out... you'll have to find some at the Goddess Of Drinks."
"I see... that's frustrating."
Man In Amber Apricot left the old hotel, irritated. He stepped out into the swamp and was immediately hit by the smell. The town of Marwood had once been a very successful mining town, and this had once been a normal forest. No one knew exactly what happened, but one day everyone fled the town, and since then it had lain abandoned as the swamp popped up seemingly overnight. Luckily for the Black Faction, they had found a safe way in and out of Marwood, but the old hotel was still the only building most of them used... except for Man In Infrared.
Man In Apricot found his Infrared friend working on the summoning device in a shed behind one of the houses. While the house had partially sunk into the swamp, the shed was on stable ground, and well hidden even from the other colorfolk.
"Bad news. One of us needs to run into town to get those mythcrystals."
"Well, why don't you do it?" Man In Infrared crawled out from under the machine. "I'm working here!"
"Fine, fine... how much longer?"
"Once we have the mythcrystals and the Flowers Of Niwdlab, it'll just be a couple days until the device is ready. Then everyone will see just how mighty we truly are..."
After dealing with their "guest", Adriana was lamenting the current state of affairs...
"It seems the magical community is in a state of transitions, especially with the recent news from the Academy, and now seems extremely volatile... These... Shards seem like a catalyst that will lead towards unprecedented matters... I don't even need my crystal ball to see that..." spoke Adriana to her a few gathered associates
"So my Lady, what should we do then?" asked the armored Gilford
"I fear we must take as many as we can off the 'playing field' sort of speak, so I think we should go after a group we know has a large amount of them..." replied the woman
"Alright then we'll head to Klofroloc Industries and take them, I think I can come up with a plan to deal with them, though it might require a bunch of manpower..." added the man in grey clothes
"Then Ruth and Bask will suffice for my protection... You take the others with you to 'make off' with their shards we're get the proper methods ready to be rid of them..." responded Adriana as she agreed with the proposal
"Alright, let me gather everyone... Hey Mark! Gather evryone for me, will ya?" yelled the man in grey color clothes out the cart's window
"Sure thing!" replied a cheerful voice belonging to grey haired young man in blue as he blew on a whistle around his neck and gold dust flowed out and into the ether...
A man sleeping under a tree covered in empty bottles and carved runes dispersed into a cloud of gold dust...
A woman on the side of a mountain flicking the embers of a spell off her fingertips as she too dispersed into a cloud of the golden dust...
A man sitting in a wheat field carrying a daisho set chewing on stalk of grass is similarly whisked away...
A beautiful woman caring for two sheep disappears alongside her 'flock', with only bits of gold dust remaining in the air...
The four gathered soon appeared before the group who were now standing outside of the cart...
"Ah, Erun, Lauren, Shiju, and Vasilisa! Mark found you easily I see?" asked Adriana
"I hope it's important since my head is killing me..." grumbled a now awake Erun as the beautiful woman hit him upside the head to his chagrin...
"It is actually, these two will be leading you on a task I need done immediately..." answered Adriana as she indicated to her two "knights"...
"If it's for you Mistress, who was there when no one else was, then we'll do it no problem..." replied Lauren
"Da"
"Hai"
"Yeah fine"
"Perfect, before I forget, since I can't go with you, I have something that will be able to act in my stead..." added Adriana as she removed a blueish-clear orb and inserted it into the finally finished carved stone statue, embedding and covering the orb with magic, as the statue's eyes began to glow...
"Wowzer..." gaped Mark
"It's no Masteri craftsmanship, but the quality of the core and magic directly flowing from me into him should make up the difference, meet the newest resident of the cart..." smiled Adriana
"I named him Volun!" grinned Ruth as she indicated the stone golem, with Adriana looking defeated on the issue
"Yes, he should be enough to make up with Bask and I staying behind..." added Adriana
"Alright then, we good to depart then?" asked Mark
"Da... But, Miss Ruth, please watch Ari and Chrys for me, I worry for their safety and them being her puts me at ease..." added Vasilisa
"Sure!" replied Ruth as gave Vasilisa a thumbs up, with the beauty replying with a smile of her own...
"That should be everything then, ALL BOARD!" yelled Mark as he blew his whistle and the assorted group departed for the lair of the (Good) Colorfolk...
.....
Meanwhile, at the lair of the Blue Faction of colorfolk, Woman In White was training Man In Blue in the sparring room.
"It's unlikely, but if the Black Faction ever finds its way into our base, they'll be after the shards. To fight back against them, you may need to use one of the shards against them."
"What am I supposed to do with this, throw it at them?" Man In Blue asked as he held the small, jagged crystal in his hand.
"Well, in addition to passively making you more powerful, when you channel your magic through it, you can unlock higher levels of power. Try it!"
Man In Blue clutched the prism shard and tried to shoot a lightning bolt at one of the dummies. This was one of the few attack spells colorfolk were capable of using in their weakened state, and he just figured the shard would make it hotter or something.
Instead, there was a rumble as a bolt of lightning crashed through the ceiling, setting the mannequin on fire and heating the room. Man In Blue collapsed from the effort.
Woman In White ran to make sure he was okay, and then ran to the hole, looking up through it. This part of the base was about twenty feet below an apartment parking lot, and she could tell that the lightning had bored a hole about three feet in diameter from the parking lot to the mannequin.
"Well, that sure is a security breach... we'd better fix that before someone finds it and gains access to our base..."
"Uh... should we be concerned about this? If normal people see that it could draw unwanted attention" Man In Blue reasoned.
"Don't worry, I figured something like this would happen one day" she assured. "We mages do have ways of covering our tracks" she explained.
Man In Blue thought it over, then realized what she was referring to. "Oh, do we have a perception charm that can apply to our base as a whole?" He asked.
"Yes, but for something this size it requires, I guess you could call it an "amplifier/stabilizer" to ensure the protective magic doesn't turn on us; you wouldn't want to not be able to find our own base, right?" Woman In White asked.
"So why don't we have it on all the time then?" Man In Blue asked.
"The design is prone to overheating and the longest we can leave it on is three days before it loses stability; we have a guy working on it but he's not able to come as often as we like" Woman In White explained.
Walking over to a specific part of the base, Woman In White showed him a device that was kept hidden in a closet.
"I thought morality filters were ridiculous?" Man In Blue said in confusion.
"Exactly, this isn't based on morality whatsoever. It's based on perception; any outsiders of the base will be subconsciously influenced to turn away and head away from the base. We're trying to fine-tune it to work specifically on those who approach our base with "aggressive intent" especially, but since no one outside our faction besides some friendly mages knows about this, it hasn't been a priority." Woman In White explained.
"So in other words... at this point we can only use it in times of emergency, and not for long periods of time" Man In Blue explained.
"Exactly, like now" Woman In White said as she went to activate it... but it wouldn't go to full strength.
"Damn it. Hey, Jeffery!" She called to Man In White.
"Yes?" he called back.
"Get Man In Bole down here, tell him it's an emergency concerning one of his contraptions" she explained.
"Man In Bole?" Man In Blue asked, confused.
"Technical mage; specializes in magic-infused technology. Some of his devices are weird and oddly specific, others are useful. And then sometimes he builds overly complicated devices that comically explode but that's not important right now" Woman In White explained.
So for the time being, the device's field wasn't strong enough to distort all perception. But it was strong enough that non-magic folk simply moved on when they passed the hole, and as for the group from the caravan.
...
"Are you sure this is right?" One asked.
"Yea, gotta be around here somewhere" said another.
A third looked outside, and despite looking right at a hole in the parking lot, only said to the rest, "no... I don't see anything significant" before they moved on and continued their search
The man who smelled of booze and magical runes, Erun, hit the person who had dropped them off and said, "Mark you were supposed to get us INSIDE their base!"
"Sorry, there seems to be some interference on their end, the Gold Dust is having trouble materializing. Man I haven't had this much trouble since the last time my supply ran low. Don't worry, if I just put a little more gusto in the whistle blow, we should be inside. Ahem, All Aboard!" replied Mark as the group dissipated into a cloud of gold dust that flowed through the recently created hole...
As the group emerged back into a corporal form, the man in gray clothes rallied his allies...
"Alright, we don't know our way around here but I can jury-rig a way to track the largest group of shards within this place with my hammer as the conduit. So, to keep the major players off of what we're doing, we'll split into two teams. Gilford, Lauren, Shiju, and our new friend Volun here will be the distraction team. With your capabilities their magic won't be able to stop you for a at least long enough until we get what we can here for. Erun, Mark, Vasilisa, and I will go Shard hunting with Erun taking care of their protective measures, Vasilisa tying up pursuers of us, Mark for the quick escape, and my hammer to find the damn things. If things start to go south, we'll do the usual strategy, alright?"
"Yes my liege, we'll carry out our tasks with haste!" replied Gilford as he readied his weapons.
"Alright, let's go!"
.....
Shortly after, the Woman in Blue was alerted of a disturbance within the base...
"Man in White, what's the situation?" asked the woman as she ran to rendezvous with her allies
"Three strange individuals and a golem are rampaging in the courtyard, yelling about challenging the strongest fighters among us. Currently 12 Colorfolk have been defeated by their 'strange' abilities..." replied Man in White through the telepathy spell they were discussing this with
"Alright, I'll gather who I can along the way and we'll try to put a stop to their efforts, anything else happening of note?" questioned Woman in Blue
"I've detected 3 other strange magical presences within the base, but I can't confirm what they are due to interference, I'm trying to send someone to look into what they could be..."
"Do that, for now, I'll be handling our 'uninvited guests' to the premises..."
.....
In the courtyard, the four intruders were putting in some work. Everything the Colorfolk threw at them was not having the outcomes they expected...
"You think that suit of armor is useful, well try a lightning spell!" yelled a Colorman as he hurled a beam of lightning at the armored knight Gilford, who even withdrew his shield to take the full brunt of the spell, with seemingly no affect to his person...
"Sorry but lightning doesn't affect me in the slightest... Hiyah!" replied Gilford as he ran up to the Colorman, and with an eerie green glow embedded in his blade, slashed the Colorman unconscious with one good swipe across the chest...
"If lightning doesn't work, try fire!" yelled the Colorwoman as she threw a fireball at the knight
"I got this!" spoke the man who could only be described as a samurai withdrew his longsword and cut the fireball right down the middle, sending the blast to the sides of the intruders
"Good job Shiju, now let's show them a real explosion..." smirked Lauren as she uttered a spell in a language the Colorfolk couldn't understand and a massive fireball burst from the ground under them, sending many of them ether flying or into unconsciousness...
Volun was picking up Colorfolk and crushing them with the force behind his body mass. Using the now uneven terrain, the Golem was able to cause havoc as debris and rubble went flying everywhere with each of his attacks...
"These guys are some troublesome magic users! Everyone! Hold out until reinforcements arrive!" shouted Man in Purple as a flaming longsword cut him across the chest...
... Prompting him to strike back with Tier two water magic; an explosion of steam scalded the intruder in the arms, face and chest and while it did not stop him outright, even he couldn't resist the pain that came with this attack.
"Even you can't overcome fire's inherent weakness to water" Man In Purple said, clutching his chest from the blow.
The intruders were leaving their mark on the present Colorfolk of course, but they had clearly not heard of one of the dangers of fighting the legendary "Sworn Defenders of Ordos"
You see, the Colorfolk valued knowledge and learning as key to understanding the world around them. When problems were encountered, they were never "shoved under the rug" so to say... they took them head on and tried to resolve them.
This made them very formidable foes indeed; there would always be that rough patch at the beginning, as with every new and unfamiliar adversary, but the Colorfolk remained observant of the situation at hand. Victory was won through observation, analysis and tactical effectiveness, not brute force and strength. Even the highest tiers of spells, which on the surface appeared to be nothing but brute force, were executed in tactically effective matters. Combined with the Prism's ability to create very adaptive magic that "almost seemed to transcend the elements themselves" there was a reason that Ordos never fell to invading forces for so many centuries.
Even with the Prism shattered and no access to the regular artifacts though, one thing remained constant for the current generation of Colorfolk... the lesson handed down from generation to generation for when battle came. Observe and analyze your enemies, and their movements will reveal their weaknesses.
And in Volun's case, he was about to learn a very important lesson about attacking the Colorfolk... never use the same tactics against them twice.
Volun's rampage continued to throw stone everywhere, but at last... the reinforcements had arrived.
"You sure this will work? I don't think the testing was adequate" Man In White whispered.
"Trust me; after the first incident I gave this one top priority, been working on it since the attack all those weeks ago.
"If this doesn't work, i hope you have a plan B" Man In White finished as he proceeded to take another position. Man In Bole aimed the device, and, taking advantage of the fact that golems had very little going on upstairs.
"Hey, Stoneface! I have a present for you!" Man In Bole shouted.
Volun's rampaging suddenly stopped as he contemplated the offer... though no longer able to speak, there was enough going on upstairs that he could recognize that being "given a present" sounded like a good thing, and proceeded to look for it.
"All yours" Man In Bole said as he fired the device. A glowing ball flew right at Volun and hit him right in the chest. He was confused until the ball exploded and transformed into a giant card of sorts. It was just like the ones the Colorfolk had used to defeat him the first time, only larger.
It wasn't long before the glow of magic around his body that gave him life suddenly disappeared, and he became little more than inert stone once again. Fortunately, thanks to the caravan crew this time he didn't crumble and disintegrate.
Lauren looked on in shock, "But how is this possible?!" she declared.
"You sent a golem against the faction that literally wiped them out, destroyed The Order of Masteri and wrote the book on how to destroy golems... what did you expect?" Man In Gold shouted in reply as Shiju went in for a strike, only for Man In Gold to throw an insta-spell rock that resulted in a blinding flash, saving him at the last possible second.
Shiju was quick to recover though, and although now facing Man In Gold as well as a couple of other Colormen. "Three against one? That doesn't sound fair... to you" Shiju declared as he seemed to prepare a very devastating attack aimed right at them.
"Perhaps... so maybe you should face a worthy foe if you find us weak" Man In Gold declared as the three of them raised their insta-spells and threw them at the ground just in front of Shiju
Shiju found himself coughing for a bit until things finally cleared up, when he found that he was looking at a rather looking familiar... himself. "You honestly think this paltry fake stands a shred of a chance against me?" He said, unimpressed.
"I think you will find that he is more than a shadow or illusion" Man In Gold declared.
Shiju went in for the attack against fake Shiju... and fake Shiju did the same. Sword strike after sword strike failed to hit... his copy perfectly anticipating his every move. So he went for the jugular... literally. Setting up for a mighty strike, he aimed for the fake's neck and went in for a decapitation. But he found himself forced to stop when he suddenly lost his nerve a little. There, in front of him, the fake Shiju was doing the exact same strike, and now here the two of them were, in a standoff, with both having swords at each other's necks. Deciding to test something, Shiju moved his sword back and forth a bit, the fake doing the exact same thing. He moved it up and down... the fake did the same thing. He made a couple different faces, the shadow doing the same thing. So Shiju proceeded to speak.
"Look, we don't need to... be quiet and listen!" He said. Now he was shocked... the fake said exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Even he had to admit it was a bit creepy. "This isn't just an illusion... this is something more" Shiju said, with fake Shiju matching his words perfectly.
"Finally figured it out, did you? This isn't just some shadow clone or illusion, my friend... this IS you. Don't bother trying to reason with it, because it is, for all intents and purposes, you" Man In Gold said.
"You're bluffing" Shiju said, before looking at his doppelganger and both exchanging cold looks for copying one another.
In the distance, Gilford saw what was happening and decided to lend a hand. "Fear not Shiju, I shall deal with this imposter for you!" he said as he charged in with his blade and proceeded to strike the back of fake Shiju. The fake cried out in pain... as did the real Shiju.
"Shiju, are you all right? Who struck you while I was dealing with this imposter?" Gilford asked.
"I don't know... no one is behind me... Shiju said, turning around as the fake did the same. Gilford looked at the back of fake Shiju, then ran around to real Shiju's back and was shocked.
"Shiju... you have the same exact mark I made on the fake!" Gilford declared.
"Wait, but then that means..." Shiju said, finally putting everything together.
"How observant... whatever damage the fake takes, you take. Likewise whatever damage you take, the fake takes. In short, the only way to defeat yourself... is to defeat yourself!" Man In Gold revealed.
Literally everyone in earshot stopped what they were doing... totally confused by what the heck he meant by that.
"Terribly sorry Shiju, hope you won't feel this one tomorrow..." said Gilford as he raised his sword
"What?" questioned the two Shijus as a sword came down on the back on his neck, knocking the original out, and the mirrored one as well, who disappeared once the real one lost consciousness...
"What? You took out you're own comrade?" said a shocked Man in Gold as Gilford threw his samurai companion over his shoulder
"He'll berate me later but he'll understand after he knows what we're doing next... Lauren! Newcomer! Get back with me! We're performing THAT maneuver!" shouted Gilford as he jumped away from the Colorfolk
"That move? But Shiju's unconscious and the Golem's down!" replied Lauren as the Golem remained inert...
"Hmph... Then it should be fine with the two of us, I'll cover our missing bases and the Golem's body should be sturdy enough to handle this next attack. I need a smokescreen for a minute though so I'm relying on you Lauren!" answered Gilford
"Fine... I hope this works!" responded Lauren as she uttered the unrecognizable tongue and launched an explosion at charging Colorfolk, creating a huge explosion that shook up a massive dust cloud. When it settled, the Samurai was gone from the Knight's shoulder and fire now blazed from his gauntlets...
"What did they do to their comrade?" asked a shocked Man in Bole
"Nothing you lot should worry about! Now, it's time for our combination attack!" shouted Gilford as he dropped his tower shield in front of Lauren and covered her with his armored body. Now within this metal cocoon, she cast the largest explosive fireball spell the Colorfolk had seen yet, with additional fire being pumped into it from Gilford's whole armored body. Soon it was larger than the main building of the Colorfolk's base and was dangling above their heads...
"Retreat!" shouted Man in Purple as some other Colorfolk began to follow suit
"Don't retreat! Stop i..." was all Man in Gold could get out as giant Fireball dropped right onto their heads...
.....
"Ow!"
A few minutes had past and Shiju was slapped awake, falling out from inside Gilford's chest...
"I hope you enjoyed your beauty sleep noble warrior, but it's not done yet..." said Gilford as he reapplied his chest plate
"I see you used some of my magic for the combo attack... Man that really did a number on their forces, all the fighters they first dispatched out here have been taken out..." spoke Shiju as he withdrew his blade
"Yeah but the Newcomer's out of commission, I'm low on magic, Gilford's slightly melted, and you're current;y the fighter in the best shape which isn't saying much..." grumbled Lauren
"Let's just hope my Liege is doing better then us... Perk up you two, more fighters are coming, I sense their strength emanating from their souls..." ordered Gilford as he resumed holding his sword and shield at the ready...
It was a good thing that the Blue faction had been recruiting other Colorfolk over the past few weeks following the Golem attack, otherwise just the core 12 would have not been enough to hold back these invaders. Having witnessed it from the safety of the base (having retreated with several others), Man In White was nervous... but not for the reason one would expect.
"Oh dear... if Majica Supremus gets word of what's going on here, there will be hell to pay for ALL of us" he said in a nervous sweat before going further into the base to regroup with others.
......
Inside the base, Mark, Erun, Vasilisa and the man in gray clothes were trying to find the shards, but just couldn't figure out where the fragments were.
"I just don't get it... ever since we entered I feel like something is messing with our perception" Mark stated as he looked around.
"If I had to guess it was probably a charm on the building; something like this isn't the result of a mage casting a spell actively" Erun reasoned.
Does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Vasilisa asked.
"I don't know... but I wouldn't rule it out" the man in gray clothes replied. Just then, the group came to a fork in the hallway. Reasoning that more ground could be covered, Mark and the gray clothed man went down one hallway while Vasilisa and Erun went down the other.
"I can't help but feel like we are being watched" Vasilisa insisted.
"Oh, can it! Probably just some booze talking in my experience" Erun declared.
"I haven't had a drop! Besides, if you don't believe me, than maybe you should", then there was a noise. "What was that?" She asked.
"It sounds like... someone cast a spell" Erun observed. The last thing they saw was a sort of "sheet of magic" head towards them, strike their bodies... and then, both fell towards the floor.
......
The two finally woke up, but things were... awkward, to say the least.
"Erun... is that you?" Vasilisa asked, confused.
"Yes, who else would it be?" Erun pointed out.
"But then... who are they?" Vasilisa asked. To their shock, lying on the floor... were their bodies.
"Woah... How much DID I drink last night?" Erun said in confusion.
"I don't think this was caused by alcohol... are we dead?" Vasilisa asked.
"Not so much dead as astral projecting... though to be fair even that is a bit misleading. Just know you are having an out of body experience right now" a voice said.
"Who is that?" Vasilisa said, as both began looking around.
From out of the shadows stepped Man In Silver. "Be glad I didn't attempt to destroy your souls outright; I am willing to tell you how to return to your bodies though" he pointed out. The two went into combat stances, but Man In Silver didn't even flinch, "Don't even bother; in this form you two are powerless; why do you think there is no such thing as magic-using ghosts?" Man In Silver pointed out.
"Oh yea, that's a good point" Vasilisa realized.
"Wait a minute, then what about possessions and poltergeists?" Erun pointed out.
"Not so much magic as innate ability; possession is when a spirit temporarily inhabits a body that isn't its own and poltergeists are when decaying spirits, unstable due to remaining in the mortal plain for too long, begin "lashing out" if you will. It's a very fine difference but very important- essentially those are the natural abilities of a ghost the same way fish have the natural ability to swim, and birds to fly" he said.
"So what's preventing us from just possessing you?" Vasilisa asked.
"You're still alive and your souls are still bonded to your living bodies; you can't possess anyone because you're still alive; I just loosened your bonds is all" Man In Silver explained. "But none of that is important right now... All I want to know is why your group here is attacking a faction that has done nothing to wrong you" Man In Silver said.
"And if we don't answer?" Erun asked
"Then I don't tell you how to return to your bodies" Man In Silver stated.
"Yeah well I rather give up whiskey than hear it!" growled the floating Erun
"Fine then, since you two are out of commission I better deal with the other intruder..." replied Silver as he began to walk away when a magical shock ran all throughout his body, knocking out the feeling in himself and causing him to fall to the floor completely paralyzed...
With only his eyes still being able to move, he noticed the man moving his joints as he got off the floor, and saw a strange symbol glowing on his chest...
"You Colorfolk think you're the only ones who prepare countermeasures to everything, but Runecraft Magic is the greatest among support magics. It took a minute for my Nullification Runes in my clothes to kick in, but I blame it on the sewing work if nothing else..." spoke Erun as he wrote a Nullification Rune with his finger over Vasilisa's body, returning her to her corporal body...
"Дурак! I'll trash your liquor stash if you ever say that again..." warned Vasilisa
"Alright, but not even a Paralyzing Rune will stop Spirit Boy over here, he'll probably leave his body to go report our location to his allies. Let's go meet back up with Vince since he has the conduit to find the damn things..." replied Erun as the two compatriots left the motionless Silver in the hallway to find their comrades...
Indeed, Silver had astral-projected out of his body to go spread the word to the others in the base... and warn to be careful of the "one with runes."
With the group of four now reunited, they followed Vince down the hallways that, the further they went, the more maze-like everything seemed.
"I don't get it, what's going on?!" Vasilisa declared.
"It seems the longer we stay here the more our perception of the place is affected... Mark, be ready to get us out of here as soon as we get the shard" the gray clothed man explained.
Finally, the group came to a door, with writing on it.
"Seems to be a riddle; we'll have to answer it to open it" Erun concluded
"They must be hiding the shard behind here, my conduit is having a very strong reaction to this door" the gray-clothed man explained.
"Hmmm... I am hard as steel, yet light as cork. I can be small or large. I can be natural, or made by man. I am both white as snow an clear as water... what am I?" Mark read.
"A ship?" Vasilisa suggested
"How would a ship be natural?" Mark pointed out
"Metal door?" Erun suggested
"Also not natural" Mark explained
"...it's ice" the gray clothed man stated. And then, the door opened, and the four went into the room... which wasn't all that big. "This doesn't make any sense... there should be a shard here" he continued
"Hey, does anyone else feel cold?" Vasilisa said.
"Yea, I feel it to" Mark said. Then he looked shocked and panicked. "OH N-" Was all he managed to say before there was a flash, and the four of them were frozen in a solid block of ice.
Seconds later, the frozen man in gray clothes began to shake violently as the ice coating him shattered in pieces onto the floor...
"Of course an ice trap right before the prize, it's like fate loves messing with me... Huh... Better free those guys or else I'll never hear the end of it..." spoke the man to himself as he tapped his friends once each and the ice shattered around them as well
"Damn if I hadn't used my emergency Nullification Rune before that trap would have done nothing..." grumbled Erun
"It doesn't matter now, I see a locked door up ahead, Erun, get a rune ready. Vasilisa, stop anyone coming this way. Mark, get ready to blow that whistle." ordered the man in gray clothes
"And what will you do Boss?" asked Mark
"Grab the shards of course..." answered the man as they all got into position. Erun disabled the magic seal and the heavy door opened. Vasilisa watched the hallway as the man in gray clothes approached the podium containing the shards. As he reached out to grab them...
.....
The Woman in Blue and her top lieutenants had been running to the vault room after Silver had given them the report on the intruders, figuring out their aim...
"We have to stop them before they make off with what I can assume is their only possible target, or else they wouldn't have left a distraction team for us to deal with..." said Woman in Blue
"But wouldn't the shards stop themselves from being stolen?" asked Woman in Gold
"You would think, but those shards can be finnicky thing with who picks them up, and I don't like how this infiltration has been going for our enemies, it's almost like..." was all Melody could say as they approached the Vault Room
Woman in Gold ran inside to see what was inside...
"Jane what do you see?"
"Nothing."
"Don't be daft, what's in there?"
"I'm not kidding! There's nothing in here, the room's empty! Well, except for the elemental trap remains and some strange dust..."
"Sound the alarms! Someone's made off with our Prism Shards! All of them!"
The base suddenly went on lockdown... every door and window sealed shut, and strips of unusually-colored metal began glowing in the walls and sealed exits.
Because of their disoriented perception, Mark was having trouble teleporting out of the base, he kept ending up in random points of the base rather than outside as planned.
"Get us out of here already!" the man in the gray clothes said.
"I can't! My teleportation isn't working anymore!" He said as he tried blowing his whistle again, only to stop short at the walls.
"Why can't we get out of here?" Erun asked.
The man in the gray clothes looked at the walls and saw the strips of metal, "damn it!" he screamed. "The walls are coated with radmiuum; teleportation is impossible now!" he fumed.
"What's the plan B?"
"Then we'll need to force our way out; stand back, I'm making a new exit" Vince declared
......
A while later, the assembled Colorfolk were beginning to rebuild the base. Frustrations were running rampant among the faction.
"How could this have even happened, the Perception Filter should have made it impossible for them to even function normally inside our base!" Man In Gold pointed out.
"They shouldn't have even been able to pick up the shards, let alone steal them! The malevolent act of stealing artifacts from their rightful owners should have caused them to violently reject them!" Woman In Silver declared
"It doesn't make any sense- spirit magic is impossible to defend against; it should have taken hours for them to recover from an attack like that" Man In Silver pointed out
"I told you we should have spent more time researching vallerium! Would have saved us so much trouble we just hit each of them with a good sized brick of it" Woman In White fumed
"If the spirit was here he would have punished those thieves the same way he punished Sir Adrian!" Man In Amaranth Purple stated
"Look! We're not going to get anywhere bickering over ifs and maybes. I've already put in a call to Kendarboo; the good news is he's got promising leads on two shards and once the information is finalized we can send teams to recover them; its just going to take a while. In the mean time- Man In Silver, is there anything you can do?"
"We may be in a weakened state, but we are not powerless; we are just dependent on the natural magic around us more as opposed to the shards acting as a conduit to make harnessing magic more efficient. And our Insta-spells are independent of the shards so we still have those" he pointed out.
"But more importantly?" Woman In Blue began.
"I can sense their souls when in range of them; but my range is limited because of this. I don't know how long it will take to find them... but they will be held accountable for taking that which does not belong to them" Man In silver finished.
"Where do we even start?" Man In Blue asked.
Meanwhile, Man In Black was delighted by this news.
"How many shards did they lose? One? Two? All of them? Great!"
Woman In Orange rolls her eyes. "Don't you think those thieves will go after us next?"
Man In Black laughed. "Not if we steal them first! I happen to know where these people are based, and as we speak the Red Warriors are preparing to strike..."
As the Evil Colorfolk began making preparations to leave their base, two hidden women watched from the treeline, just out of reach of the crumbling hotel's detection spells...
"Whew Boy, something causin' that lot to stir..." whistled C.C. quietly
"Whatever it is, let's hope it gets them out of the base and with less guards around them prisms..." replied Coco with a scowl
"What're you sad about, I thought killin' was your favorite thing in the world?" poked C.C.
"It is when it doesn't get in the way of my private life..." retorted Coco
"What? You got a date tonight or somethin'?" halfheartedly asked C.C.
Coco didn't respond...
"Oh damn! You do! Who's the lucky feller?!" laughed C.C. now more interested in her companion's love-life than their actual job...
"No one you'd know, so just drop it..." growled Coco
"Shoot, I bet you're lying! Just tell me!" yelled C.C. as some the branch the duo on began to shake, with Coco covering her partner's mouth in frustration...
"Who's there?!"
Just then the sound of a bird whistle came out alongside a noise that sounded like a woodpecker hitting a tree...
"It's probably just some obnoxious birds having a territory dispute, come on Yellow, we got to hurry or else Black will have our heads..."
"Alright, it's probably not a big deal anyway..."
Back up in the tree, C.C. now had a gigantic swelling on the side of her head as Coco removed her hands from mouth...
"That was a close one, who knew that empty noggin of yours would ever come in handy..." smirked Coco
"That was rude C! I'll tell the Boss on you!" pouted C.C. as she rubbed the throbbing area on her head...
"Whatever, just go tell the Boss what we've seen and I'll give the usual signal when it's time to move, alright?" spoke Coco
"Fine, but when this is over, I will find out who your taking out on that date, mark my words C!" said C.C. quietly as she slid down the tree to rendezvous with the rest of the Gang to give her report...
And so, a good deal of the Black faction left their hotel base to go back up the Red Warriors, leaving the Black faction wide open to these new intruders.
"This will be so easy... alert the others, now" Coco ordered.
......
(The day following the attack on The Blue Faction headquarters)
At the caravan, the assault by the red warriors did not go so well. The Men In Red, Crimson, Scarlet, Brick, Cardinal, Ruby and Rose were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious and utterly defeated.
"... and you call yourselves warriors" Shiju sighed in disinterest as he sheathed his sword and proceeded back towards the caravan. Though in perspective part of him wished he had somewhere else to go... ever since the shards had been stolen they seemed to be... "lashing out" at the Caravan crew in ways not even Adriana herself could understand.
......
"What do you mean almost all of you are having difficulty figuring out these shards? For that matter, why are you even doing this in the first place?" Adriana asked in confusion.
"To your second point- we thought we could use these shards to help Hikos since he already has one. As to the first point... I'm not sure... once we started toying around with them they started acting all funny. Except for Hikos here, whenever we try to handle them they just super-heat and we're forced to drop them. I don't know why they're only doing this now, but that's just the tip of the iceberg" Mark explained.
Adriana looked over in shock to see the fates befalling the members of her crew. "My lady... is this even possible?" Gilford asked nervously... which was uncharacteristic of him. To everyone's shock, Gilford's armor was melting as if it was made of candle wax. It was slow, and only small parts were melting at this particular moment... but everyone had a pretty good idea of what would happen if this kept up.
"What about you Erun? Have your runes unlocked any of the shards secrets?" Adriana asked, realizing that she probably should have given all of them explicit instructions to not do anything with the shards, no matter what.
"Not even" Erun began... he was nursing wounds to his arms, which were severely burned. "Every time I tried to apply runes to these shards the runes either burned out or exploded on me. And on the last go when I tried to increase their power it only backfired on me... I don't know what kind of magic is contained within these things, but I've tried just about every healing spell and potion we have and nothing is treating these burns" Erun explained.
"What about Vasilisa? Was she able to do anything?" Adriana asked.
"Well she tried seeing if she could harness the power of these shards, but..." Hikos began, then pointed to a hole in the ceiling
.......
"Help me!!! How is this even possible?!?!" Vasilisa said; her lower clothing (pants/skirt?) had transformed into rockets, beyond her control, and she was just flying around in a giant figure 8 of sorts about a mile or so above the caravan
.......
"I see... oh, I'm sorry to change topics, but has Volun been reconstructed yet?" Adriana asked.
"Progress has been slowed by... unforeseen circumstances" Mark explained, who then indicated Ruth. Ruth was holding the golem core, which while intact, now had many cracks in it, indicating the damage it had taken.
"Hmmm... I think I may be able to repair it, I just need to find the book I'm thinking of to do so. What about you Mark, any luck with the shards?" Adriana asked.
"No... when I tried to wield its power, this thing manifested on my arm" He said, indicating some sort of shackle that seemed to be stuck tightly to his left wrist. "And every time one of us tries to remove it we get a jolt of lightning magic" Mark explained. "But the thing is... I tried teleporting out of it, but every time I try to teleport it glows and prevents me from doing so" Mark explained.
"I did hear tales of an alloy that prevents teleportation when worn as a shackle or stuck in a room of the alloy... most interesting indeed" Adriana explained. "Wait, what happened to Lauren then?" Adriana asked, concerned.
"Well the shards just super-heated in my hands... but otherwise I got off relatively easy" she said... indicating the massive goat horns now growing out of the sides of her head... she had to lie down in order to not strain her neck and back.
Adriana was now concerned about her comrades. Then she looked at Hikos. "What about you?" She asked.
"For the most part I'm not really having issues. But everyone else seems to indicate otherwise" he shrugged.
"I don't understand" Adriana asked.
"Well every time he's picked up a shard... he enters this trance and speaks the same message. But after the message ends he just goes about business as normal" Gilford explained.
"Let me hear it" Adriana ordered.
Hikos shrugged and picked up the shard. As if on cue, his eyes rolled backwards and a voice began speaking that was not Hikos' voice:
"You damned fools! How DARE you steal these sacred shards! These are not treasures meant to be taken and sold or exploited! These shards are source of great power, ONLY available to the good-hearted, humble individuals whose desire is to protect their home from the forces of evil! You have stolen these shards from their rightful owners and thus have proven UNWORTHY of the power within! Return these shards to their owners at once, OR YOUR SUFFERING SHALL ONLY WORSEN!!!"
Hikos' eyes went back to normal, and he continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "Did this prove anything?" He asked.
"This was not mind control or possession... it was something else all together. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's almost as if something was using Hikos here as a conduit to send a message. Who and why though I cannot say" Adriana concluded.
"There's still one thing I don't understand... why aren't you and Ruth affected by all this?" Mark asked.
"I can only presume it is because we did not take part in the raid itself" Adriana concluded.
"That settles it then... these shards are too dangerous to exist" Shiju said as he drew his sword. "I must destroy them" he declared.
"Shiju, wait!" Adriana began, but it was too late... Shiju's sword made contact with a shard and there was a blinding flash. When everything was clear again everyone looked in shock... Shiju's sword, hands and forearms had been petrified. Shiju screamed in agony
"Ruth! Get the gorgon venom!" Adriana said in shock as her apprentice ran to get the bottle. A while later, Ruth came back, but there was a horrified look on her face.
"I'm sorry Adriana..." Ruth said, turning the bottle upside down, indicating it was empty. With a pang, Adriana remembered that they had used their supply to unpetrify Gerard but they never had the chance to restock.
"Shiju, remain calm, I promise I will figure this out" Adriana said before going to the part of the caravan where she kept her books.
......
(2 days after the attack)
At the headquarters of the Blue faction, Woman In Blue came into the foyer of the base, which thankfully had been repaired in a timely fashion with outside help due to some favors owed to the faction. "I've reported this incident to Majika Supremus... this more or less constitutes an illegal declaration of war since their recklessness endangered non-magic innocents, but as usual they can't do anything until an investigation is completed, which can take weeks" Woman In Blue groaned.
"Ugh, why couldn't they have witnessed it first hand! Would have saved us so much trouble!" Man In Gold groaned.
"Probably would be to deus ex machina, eh?" Man In Blue stated.
"What did you say?" Woman In Blue asked, confused.
"Sorry; recently I've been feeling like I'm becoming more... aware of things. I'm trying to rein it in, but some things I'm noticing are causing weird things to happen" Man In Blue said.
"Like what?" Woman In Blue asked.
"It's making me think about things I wouldn't normally think about like... what's the point to all of this anyway? Why are we willing to go to such lengths to get these shards in the first place? Is there a point or reason? Why not just let these shards stay hidden or let the other parties have them?" Man In Blue asked.
Woman In Blue and Man In Gold each exchanged a look before leading Daniel to an area where the assembled high members of he faction could answer the question.
"It's very simple Daniel" Man In Gold explained. "It's because... we are the rightful owners of the Prism shards" he continued.
"But who says that is so? We can't just claim ownership over something because we want to... we aren't Christopher Columbus" Man In Blue explained.
"No, but it is the Will of the Spirit" Man In Silver explained.
"Will of the Spirit?" Man In Blue asked.
"When the Prism was intact its power was guarded by a Spirit within to ensure it would not be misused. After the shattering the Spirit lost its stability and was forced to go into a hibernation of sorts. But before it did, it conveyed one last message" Man In Gold explained, before telling the story
......
The assembled remaining good Colorfolk dedicated to the faction assembled around the last prism shard. It was primarily the Blue, Gold, Silver and White lines, but there were also some secondary lines that also remained noble, they just were not as openly dedicated.
"My remaining sworn defenders... if you are seeing this, then it means my job is almost complete" the Spirit's message began. "While only a handful of your kin have turned outright evil, many others have become apathetic and abandoned their duties. In this state I cannot protect the power effectively anymore, so I have been forced to do the unthinkable... I have scattered the other shards to ensure they never become found... until the time is right. I have also provided them with natural defensive mechanisms, but even these alone cannot fully protect the shards from those who will misuse their power. Reassembling the Prism would have solved our problems... but for reasons I do not understand, I have been unable to reform the Prism to its whole state. My time is almost up, so I part with this message- so long as this group remains noble, I will the ownership of the shards to you, the faction who remains dedicated as defenders of your homeland. As long as you and your bloodlines remain noble and committed to the mission at hand... the right of ownership to these shards is yours"
And with that, the message ended, and the shard lost some of its glow... this shard would become the only shard the Blue faction would have for a long, long time
......
"That is why we are committed to finding the shards Daniel... it is our responsibility as the owners of the shards to retrieve them and ensure their power never falls into the wrong hands" Woman In White explained.
"I... I understand. When do we move out?" Man In Blue asked, now determined to do the right thing.
"Kendarboo just dropped off the information, we are making plans as we speak" Man In White assured.
"There's still one thing I don't understand... why isn't the Black faction using the same "Colorfolk exclusive" tools and stuff we use?" Man In Blue asked
......
(Back to "present" with Black faction reinforcements coming up on caravan)
"look, just hear me out. If we dedicate even some time to..." Man In Off White began
"For the last time, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT INSTA-SPELLS OR THE ALLOYS! MY ONLY CONCERN IS THE SHARDS!" Man In Black boomed.
"Ok, ok, sheesh. One track mind, much?" Man In Off White grumbled as he went back into formation.
Meanwhile, in the top room of the tower at the center of the Magic Underground, three robed representatives of Majykka Supremus addressed representatives from the other factions.
"I am Isaac Fard of Magika Supremus Enforcement Division. You of course know my companions, Icarus Shid, also from ED, and Camin My, Professor, Archeology-Naturology-Technology-Spiritology. We have troubling news regarding recent developments from the island of New Furness."
"The Guild has been monitoring that location for some time, but we are interested to hear your report." The Optometrist said.
"I'm sorry, what? New Furness is a United States land, and thus under the purview of the Order Of Gerade!" Bellowed a large bearded man, Butch Eagleton.
"Do not worry, sir, I'm sure the GOD had a good reason for their actions," said Headmaster Luncrett, in a tone that conveyed a subtle threat.
"Why is no one concerned about Mister Fard here violating US territory?" asked Chancellor Ramir of the Spirit Speakers.
"Because at least Magykka Supremus tries to do good, despite their questionable methods." Declared a pale blue figure, Sergei Meerov from the Icetouched.
"If we could continue," intoned Fard, "we have evidence that at least five independent mage guilds are operating on the island of New Furness, engaged in a protracted war over powerful artifacts of alien origin."
"Oh, is that all?" The Optometrist asked. "Or are you going to tell them the good bit?"
"None of this is "good", Mister Devonshire." Fard said, his usually emotionless voice still managing to portray contempt.
"God, lighten up, would you? You Majika Supremus higher-ups are always so robotic. Even the ice zombies have some frigging personality!"
"That's racist!" Shouted another pale blue figure, Vitoria Revinev.
"If we could finish!" Fard snapped. "While three of the factions are of no real concern- a small band of street performers living in a wagon, a band of medieval larpers, and a wacky doomsday cult in a tower- the remaining two are cause for concern. We believe based on our Intel that two splinter factions of the original Magykka-based Colorfolk are engaged in a war of attrition. They have already released a golem on a major civilian center."
"Criminy!" Luncrett exclaimed. "The Colorfolk of yore created all of the mighty alloys we employed in the construction of the Underground. Viktrium, Trafnium... oh lordy, Vallerium..."
"Vallerium is incredibly dangerous even in small qualities." Meerov chimed in. "I've known fellow healers loose all magic and even be killed from prolonged exposure. You Warm Ones are less vulnerable, but unless we want another Panama incident, we should intervene..."
"Why does everyone bring up Panama every time..." muttered Ramir's companion, Chancellor Sanch.
"Your faction set of a Vallerium-laced explosive! The entire Panama Canal still nullifies all magic in a 20 mile radius!" Shouted Eagleton.
"Be that as it may, we should not be hasty." Fard said. "My here has been in contact with one of the colorfolk factions recently, and we plan to extend diplomatic invitations to both within the month. But we will be closely monitoring the island and doing whatever we can to hide this foolish little faction war from the non-magic populace."
"Um... in the interest of full disclosure..." The Optometrist squirmed in his seat.
"Oh christ, what did you do, Fark?" Roared Eagleton.
"Hypothetically, if I knew the Helado Gang was going to attack one of the colorfolk bases in..." The Optometrist checked his watch "...seven minutes, what would you say?"
Every eye in the room glared at the Optometrist.
**********
In the time since the attack on the Colorfolk's lair, Woman In Orange had organized a pretty impressive defense surrounding the entire ruined town of Marwell. Man In Black had grudgingly gone along with the plan once Woman In Orange suggested that once they caught the intruders, they could claim the Blue Faction shards for themselves. While it was a bit of a rush job, and they didn't have time to produce any colorfolk alloys, a small pile of instaspells had been produced and a magic shield surrounded the hotel, as well as a variety of clever non-magic and magic traps. Now, though, the Black Faction got into position and waited. Except, of course, for Man In Infrared and Man In Amber Apricot, who were almost done with their device, but enough about them. The Helado Gang was about to strike, but what they thought would be an easy assignment was about to turn into a train wreck for them...
"Alright, here's the plan: Coco, C.C. and I will sneak into their base to find these 'Shards' or whatever. We'll take something off the two on the Bounty if we come across but as long as we get the shards we should be fine... Rhodes, you take Rhum and Scotch and be the distraction, we're going to need you to cause enough of a distraction that they don't see us slip in and out with them goodies in tow..." ordered Vanil
"Right Boss, Scotch take the reins, Rhum, you're in the back with me, I'll need your ungodly aim... But wait Boss, the wagon ain't covered, how are you and the girls gonna get up close without bein' noticed?" asked Rhodes
"Don't worry... I have a plan..." lamented Vanil as Coco and C.C. sighed in realizing his train of thought...
.....
Man in Yellow and Man in Orange were standing at the front door of the Hotel Marwood as they could of sworn the sound of stampeding hooves...
"Hey... Is it just me, or do you hear hor..." was all Man in Yellow could get out as rushing broncos came brigading right out of the bush straight toward them...
"Howdy fellas" said the driver as he stopped the cart. As the two Colormen began casting their spells, a giant man in the back of the horse drawn cart(?) pulled off a covered sheet and revealed a god damn Gatling Gun...
"Die you Son Bitch!" he shouted as hundreds of rounds of pure gunpowder and steel came flying at them, tearing the magical barrier around the hotel to shreds in an instant. The strange thing about the bullets were the magical flaming qualities that emanated of them, causing Man in Orange to catch fire. Before Man in Yellow could respond, a man hidden behind the giant man shot a bullet from his rifle than encased the Colorman in a block of honey...
"My turn..." said the Driver as he removed two similar looking bundles of candles(?) from within his jacket and threw right at the unguarded door. After only a few seconds the inflamed Man in Orange and the hindered realized those weren't bundles of candles, but dynamite! Strangely, only one exploded, destroying the front door entirely, and the other created a large cloud of smoke that normal eyes could hardly pierce through. Three figures dropped from under the cart, and the final one knocked on the side of the wood in a sort of a signal...
"That's it boys, ride on!" shouted Rhodes as Scotch regrabbed the reins, yelled, "Hiyah!", and the trio ran back towards the forest...
Vanil, C.C., and Coco slipped into through the obnoxious smoke and barely standing remains of front door into the Colorfolk's base... It even seemed to be catching fire... This was going better than Vanil thought it would...
.....
From within Woman in Orange's surveillance room, she thought, 'This is going better than she ever thought!'
.....
Man in Infrared and Man in Amber Apricot heard the sounds of explosions and honey casting and thought simultaneously, 'You know, this might be a good time to strike!'
.....
Vanil, C.C, and Coco stepped into the lobby of the Hotel Marwood. Unconsciously, C.C. began humming a song she remembered from a movie about puppets, but Coco poked her and she shut up.
The hotel lobby appeared abandoned. A check-in desk sat opposite a pair of elevators. A fancy staircase led up to a part of the second floor, although the red carpeting and gold leaf railings had long ago been pulled up to pay for various magic trinkets. Behind the fancy staircase were two hallways leading to a pool and a dining room.
"Well, this ain't so bad... I figured they'd put up more resistance than that... now, we just gotta find the shards..."
"You mean like this?"
The trio turned to see Woman In Orange, holding one of the shards, standing at the top of the stairs.
"Shoot her!" Vanil yelled.
CC and Coco drew their guns, but suddenly Woman In Orange shouted something.
"What the... I can't see!"
"Me either!"
Vanil had seen something like this coming and had avoided the worst of the Blinden Vron spell, but his vision was still spinning. He loaded some lightning bullets into one of his revolvers and shot three times in Woman In Orange's direction. Bolts of lightning singed the wall behind her.
"That's a nice trick, pal. Now check out mine." Woman In Orange threw the shard in the air. Vanil resisted the urge to grab it, which was a good call, as the illusion faded out in midair, revealing a very angry porcupine.
"Alright, missy, you've got some nice tricks up your sleeve, but howsabout you fight fair?"
"You'll have to catch me first!" And Woman In Orange ran down the hall to room 206.
C.C. and Coco, now unblinded, followed her. Or at least, C.C. did. Coco, sensing a trick, turned to Vanil at the top of the stairs.
"It's a distraction. Smart money says the goods are on the top floor. Oldest trick in the book."
"You may be right. Let's let C.C. do her thing though... best to let them think we're not onto them."
As Vanil and Coco searched for a way other than the elevators to get to the top floor (they correctly guessed that they were booby trapped), C.C. charged into room 206 to find eight colorwomen pointing their hands at her.
"Aw, f-"
But then they delivered a beatdown using all eight elements, and suddenly C.C. hurt too much to talk.
*******
Meanwhile, Man In Infrared activated the device.
"Now, we don't know what creature this thing will summon, but we should have total control over it."
"I'm hoping for a honey dragon." Man In Amber Apricot said.
"Come on, those don't exist. I'd be happy with just a griffin."
"Oh please, there are dragons for every other element, so why not..."
Suddenly, the machine shuddered, and a spectral red mist emerged from the machine and began to coalesce.
"Finally..."
What appeared, however, was not anything close to what they wanted. It was fifty feet tall, roughly humanoid, with legs as thick as tree trunks, and a single, terrifying eye.
"Is that... a cyclops?"
"No! That thing's way too powerful for our plan!"
The cyclops grabbed the shed that the device had been in, completely ripping it from the ground, and threw it as far as it could.
"Oh no..."
In room 418, meanwhile, Man In Black, Man In Green, Man In Off-White, and Man In Ghost-White were waiting, as the drawer where the seven shards were hidden glowed slightly.
Suddenly, Man In Green looked out the window. "Sir! There's a... some sort of giant!"
"My god! That's no giant! That's a cyclops!" Man In Off-White yelled. "We need to destroy it before it reaches the hotel!"
"Don't you dare leave your posts!" Man In Black yelled, but it was too late. The other three had leapt out the window to fight the cyclops.
"Bah... I'm still powerful enough to defend these shards on my own..." Man In Black laughed.
As if on cue, the door opened and Coco charged in. "Vanil! I found-"
But before she could say any more, Man In Black called upon the deepest, evilest impulses of his corrupted soul. A wave of horrific black gunk shot out of his eyes, completely encasing Coco. She struggled to move, her entire body growing heavy from the corrupting influence. Her life force was literally flowing out of her, making the anchor tattoo on Man In Black's cheek glow a brilliant blue as he seemed to visibly become more powerful.
"Bring everything you've got!" He bellowed animalistically.
"Well partner, if your reputation proceeds you, I'll bring everything and more!" laughed Vanil as he ran into the room, fired off six shots, then ducked behind an overturned cabinet, avoiding black gunk shot at him along the way...
"You'll get these shards over my dead body!" shouted Man in Black as he shot black gunk at the peaking Vanil, who got a bit stuck to his pants leg...
"That's good for me, since the Guild wanted that too!" smugly replied a panting Vanil as he shook off the gunk from his leg, hopped over the cabinet, and began firing twelve shots at the Man in Black...
"Fool!" yelled Man in Black as he dodged almost every bullet, but the ones he didn't he shook off with relative ease. Coalescing the gunk around his arm into a dark black appendage... With the force of his will and might, the gunk shot off of his arm and grabbed Vanil around the throat, now dangling the cowboy off of the floor...
"Any last words Cowboy?" laughed Man in Black with a devilish grin on his face...
"You... Should... Really watch.. Your surroundings... More carefully... GO DOUGH!" yelled a gasping Vanil
"Huh?" questioned Man in Black as he turned to see a tiny clay golem finish stuffing the six shards into a tiny bag and jump out the window into the battle below... What Man in Black didn't notice when he hit Vanil was, that it wasn't just gunk he was shaking out of his pants...
Man in Black threw the cowboy across the room as he leaped for the window, only to be smashed into the ground along with the wall by a swinging arm of the rampaging Cyclops...
"Don't focus on the monster damn it! That thing has the shards! STOP THAT GOLEM!" screamed Man in Black as the other Colorfolk did as their leader commanded...
A panting and injured Vanil got up and brushed the gunk off Coco as quickly as possible, she was fine, but incredibly sucked of energy...
"Did we get 'em?" asked Coco, tiredly
"Yeah, and we're getting out of here, so let's find C.C. But first..." replied Vanil as he got to exposed wall and whistled with his fingers as loudly as possible, this was the recovery signal for the distraction group...
As if on cue, a wildly running horse drawn wagon came rolling out of the forest...
"Hot damn! What is that monstrosity?" asked Rhum
"Doesn't matter what in tarnation it is, just shoot damn it!" replied Rhodes as he hit the thing with a round from his shotgun
.....
Back inside the hotel, the Colorwomen had tied up C.C. and we wondering what to do with her...
"I hope we can take her to the basement, that's where all the 'fun' equipment's kept..." smirked Woman in Off-White
Just then a knock on the door came...
"Room Service!"
"We didn't order any room service... Hey wait a min..." was all that was said the door was kicked in as three objects came flying into the room. The first was a similar smoke bomb as was used earlier and filled up the room entirely. The other two objects were tomahawks, one flew spinning through the air and cut C.C.'s binds, and kept flying by taking on the form of a bird that emitted lightning, taking out Woman in Off-White. The other landed just short of Woman in Orange, and before she could laugh, a giant green horned spirit emerged from the weapon and began destroying the room, with the smoke around them, it was hard to fight the intangible monster...
Vanil and Coco came bursting into the room, grabbed their rambunctious thief, and dragged her out the way they came in...
"What's going on? Did you get the shards?" asked C.C. as the other two kept up their sprint...
"Doesn't matter right now, we're heading for the roof!" said Vanil as they could hear shouts of 'After them!' and crashing noises from behind
"Why the roo... Oh no..."
.....
Outside, the Cyclops was now trying to hit both the furiously moving wagon and mages attacking it. Rhum was dangling off the side looking for what they could assume was Vanil's 'secret weapon'...
"You see the little guy?" asked Scotch as he dodged another of the giant's fist...
"Not yet... There!" yelled Rhum as he watched the little thief dodge black gunk being hurled his way and the Cyclops' thundering steps...
"STOP IT!" yelled Man in Black as his subordinates were too busy dodging the rampaging monster...
Using the butt of his rifle, Rhum dangled the weapon right above the golem as the wagon rolled on by. Dough hopped up and grabbed the 'giant', to him anyway, gun and held on fir his life. Rhum used all his force once he saw the little guy holding on to swing back into the wagon and landed on his back right next to the little clay golem...
"Got 'em!" smiled Rhum as he gave the golem a thumbs up and proceeded to stand back up, readying his gun for the coming onslaught...
"We're not out of the woods yet, get ready boys..." spoke Rhodes as he sensed the pure anger oozing off of the Man in Black
"Hey! I see the Boss! his group's... On the roof? Oh no..." said Scotch...
Up on the roof, Vanil was approaching the edge as Coco and C.C. blocked the roof door with whatever they could find as they heard the sound of thunderous steps from the stairwell below...
"Rhodes! It's time to do the Downfall Maneuver!" shouted Vanil from the rooftop
"You heard the man fellas! Rhum, ready your aim! Scotch, don't stop charging, no matter!" ordered Rhodes as he reloaded the Gatling Gun, ready to crank
"Alright you two, when you hear the Gatling gun, jump!" said Vanil who began as the two women groaned and let go of the door and began to sprint after their boss...
Rhum first shot off a round of rifle into the creature's eye, encasing it in a block of honey, blinding it for the time being. Rhodes then unleashed an entire clip of the Gatling gun's ammo right into the Cyclops' legs, knocking it forward and landing in sort of an incline position. Scotch reined the horses on a furious charge up the fallen giant's legs leaping across his back... Vanil, Coco, and C.C. meanwhile, jumped from the edge of the Hotel's roof towards the monster, landing roughly where the cart would be. The three managed to just grab the vehicle and pull themselves aboard just as the horses landed on the Cyclops' neck and used his bobbing head as a way back down safely to the ground... Dough during all this held onto the sturdiest thing in the wagon, Rhodes' leg... As the blur of maneuver completed itself, the rampaging running guns heading right back towards the forest, disappearing into the ensnaring thicket...
Man in Black had tried to hit the speeding horses with his black gunk to no avail, mostly due to no expecting the sheer madness of the move that had transpired before him...
"Ignore the beast... All of you... AFTER THEM!!!!!" screamed the furious leader as black gunk shot from throughout his body in a furious, explosion-like manner...
Man In Black stopped lashing out for a moment, when he saw the flames slowly but steadily growing around the hotel. "Amend that- those with lower amounts of magic try and put out the fire- the REST of you go after them!" He said as the larger of the groups began chasing the cowboy themed gang.
"Let's do what we can to save the base" One said as the others nodded.
Man In Yellow came frantically running up to the group, holding a crate of a staple starch. "Don't worry guys, even if the base burns down I was able to save the corn" Man In Yellow said, panting.
"Phew, thank Goodness they didn't steal the Almrania corn also" one of the Colorwomen sighed in relief.
"Wait, did you get the Falgria wine stash also?" One of the Colormen asked.
"Uh..." Man In Yellow began, sweating nervously.
Man In Black, who was getting ready to chase the cowboys, exploded again, "HOW COULD YOU FORGET ABOUT THE ONE THING I NEED JUST AS MUCH AS THE SHARDS?!" He boomed.
"Don't you have cowboys to chase?" Man In Yellow said to change the subject
"F---!!!" Man In Black boomed as he took off in the same direction as the group that left earlier.
The Black faction then proceeded to try and bring some order to what had just happened.
The thundering hooves of Mone and Moni pounded on the soggy terrain of Kabnekah Swamp as the Helado Gang raced out of Colorfolk Territory...
"We're finally out of Marwood" sighed C.C. happily
"We're not home free yet, we still have to get back to the guild with them in pursuit... Rhum, take up shotgun next to Scotch, and Rhodes, be ready with the Gatlin' Gun for any more surprises... But I think we pulled the wool over their eyes this time..." said Vanil as he rested Dough on his shoulder with the bag of shards at his feet...
"I think we might be home free!" said Rhum as his associated looked at him in anger and Scotch hitting him upside the head...
"Damn it Rhum!"
"Why did you have to go and say that!"
"What?"
"Now you're just askin' trouble to come and find us!"
.....
"Back at Klofkroc Industries, Man in White came rushing to find Woman in Blue...
"Melody! We found the shards! They're rapidly heading towards the western towns!"
"Ready a team to pursuit! We can't let shame befall the good name of the Spirit any longer!"
.....
Back at the Caravan...
"That's strange, six more shards have appeared, and they're... On the move?" spoke Adriana as she looked at her crystal ball...
"There's no time to lose then! Mark, Vas, and Lauren, come with me, Gilford, Erun, and Shiju protect the Mistress and the remaining shards while we're gone..." said Hikos
"And how will you catch them my liege?" asked Gilford
"Easy, with our ever loyal hound, Bask!" shouted Hikos as he whistled and the lazy dog shot up and leaped onto the hammer wielder, licking his face excitedly...
"Good Luck!" wished Ruth
As Hikos got up, he spoke to the now energetic dog and said, "Alright bud we have to catch up to some people, so we really need your other form, alright?"
"Arf!" barked Bask in response as average sized dog began to suddenly grow huge until he was slightly bigger than the cart itself, towering over even the armored Gilford...
"Alright, everyone hop on up!" said Hikos as the loyal canine crouched foward to allow the passengers aboard...
"Da, but I still think his other form is cuter..." lamented Vasilisa as she followed suit
"Don't listen to her, you adorable hound..." coddled Lauren as Bask wagged his tail in approval of the praise
"Alright Mark, your turn!" yelled Hikos
"Certainly!" replied Mark as he blew his whistle and gold dust flew out of it, forming a portal Bask and his riders ran on right through...
Unfortunately for the Helado Gang, Kabnekah Swamp wasn't just chosen because of the remote location. The evil color folk also liked it because there was only one safe path between the outside of the swamp and the hotel. And the Helados were not on that path.
"Oh balls, the horses are stuck!" Rhum yelled. "This mud is to soft!"
"The cart is sinking!"
"Now I've got you!" Man In Black yelled. "Give up the shards now while you still can!"
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Bask and his passengers lept through the portal. It was a tight squeeze with all the low-hanging trees, so he shifted to small dog form and his passengers stood in the thick mud.
"No one's getting those shards on my watch!" Mark yelled.
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Woman In Gold and 20 other Blue Faction Colorfolk emerged, covered in mud and sweat.
"No one but us is worthy of the prism- hey, aren't you the ones who stole our shards?" She asked, pointing at Hikos.
"What of it?" Hikos sneered.
"Halt!" A voice yelled.
Fard and Shid from Majika Supremus, as well as a pair of Order Of Gerade, materialized.
"You're ALL under arrest for possession of powerful magic artifacts without a license, golemancy, summoning a cyclops, endangering the secrecy of magic, and probably more!"
"What the... are you insane? I'M the one who reported the theft of the shards, and THEIR illegal actions, remember? They are OUR property!" Woman In Blue stated, indicating her faction.
"What the hell is the Order of Gerade doing here anyway? Majika Supremus is the only faction with the power to make arrests!" Man In Gold pointed out.
"Shut it, you! I desire the shards so I can get the full power once and for all!" Man In Black boomed.
"Oh, go to hell, you lost the Spirit's blessing the moment you let your heart become corrupted" Man In Silver stated.
"My blood makes me worthy enough!" Woman In Orange protested.
"No, if the prism was whole you would be petrified on the spot. It's power is only for the humble good, or have you become so power hungry you have forgotten that!" Woman In White declared.
"Everyone SHUT UP! As I said, by order of Majika Supremus you are all being taken in for questioning..." Fard said
"We are fully willing to cooperate, Paladin. But I assure you this is a mistake, and if you contact Paladin Ricketts, the one I have been reporting these incidents to, we can clear all this up" Woman In Blue explained.
"Be that as it may, we need to be sure your involvement was not malicious" Shid pointed out.
"I don't want to fight Majika Supremus if I don't have to, but if it means getting the shards I will do what I must" Hikos said as he raised his hammer.
Fard and Shid cast magic towards Hikos, who trapped him in a cage of fire magic small enough that he couldn't move his arms properly to cast spells.
"Of course the magic they use is the element ice is weak against" Hikos deadpanned.
"Anyone else?" Fard asked.
It was a tense stand off for several minutes, until at last...
"GET THE DAMN SHARDS!" Man In Black boomed as his faction sprang into action.
"Secure the shards, but ensure the safety of Majika Supremus Paladins and Gerade mages" Woman In Blue ordered.
"I already know what to do" Man In White said as he and half a dozen others got into a formation
"Hold position!" C.C. shouted as they realized they were surrounded.
"Alright, that's it!" Fard yelled. "Apprehend everyone except the Blue Faction... actually, apprehend them too, just in case. They still risked the veil being breached-"
But before Fard could say anything else, a blast of dark energy from Man In Black sent him flying into the branches of a tree.
The good and evil colorfolk charged at each other, in a flurry of elemental spells. The Helado Gang and Caravan Crew decided it was best to just stay out of their way, but Man In Black seemed to have a supernatural ability to track where the shards were, and followed Vanil closely.
Meanwhile, the hotel Marwood was all but destroyed. The Cyclops had torn the building down, and the few Black Faction members left inside had scattered. Man In Amber Apricot grabbed the one shard the faction had left and ran in a random direction with Man In Infrared.
"What have we done? WHAT HAVE WE DONE?" Man In Infrared yelled.
"Look at it like this... we now have more shards than all other colorfolk combined! We are unstoppable!"
"That's ridiculous!"
The cyclops tried to chase them down, but its weight drove it deep into the mud, and it was stuck. Which didn't stop it from ripping up every tree it could reach and throwing them. All over New Furness, people swore they saw trees flying through the air.
Vanil didn't notice what was going on until, while fleeing the battlefield with the shards, he ran right into where the cyclops had sunk into the mud. Man In Black suddenly tackled him from behind, pushing both of them into full view of the cyclops.
"Now I've got you, you dirty little..."
"Look out!" Vanil yelled as a massive hand descended towards them...
The hand swung with great force, Sending Man In Black flying one way... and the shards in another direction all together. Vanil was flung into some trees and knocked out cold, but thanks to plot necessity was not dead.
......
In the battle, Bask had been hit with a couple Insta-spells and suddenly went limp as he relaxed and it was almost as if he was enjoying a very pleasurable experience.
"What was that?" Man In Blue asked, confused.
"Hit him with a blast of extract of dog urine; specifically, from a female dog in heat; shuts down these male dogs every time" Man In White explained before turning his attention to other targets.
Woman In Orange had just blown away one of the Blue faction's members, when she was hit with an insta-spell rock. Coughing for a bit after the dust had settled she was now angry.
"Now then, where are you..." She began.
"Hey! Come on now, you know this wrong, so just join them" said a voice. Woman In Orange looked to her left and saw... herself. Indeed, her body now had two identical heads of herself. But instead of shock and confusion... Woman In Orange began talking to the head as if it was normal.
"MY destiny is to fight for the black faction! I don't want to be a softie like you" The center head stated.
"Oh, screw this fight, I want to live my own life!" a third voice said. Both heads looked over to the third head on her right.
"Magic is what we know, and we are going to get our power back!" The center head stated.
"This power belongs to its rightful owners, we should do the right thing" the left head said
"Why fight when we can follow our passions? Right now I want to sing my heart out!" The right head said.
"NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR YOU SING!" The left and center heads stated angrily.
"We finally agree on something" the center head said as the left head nodded.
"I'm secretly very lonely on the inside; why didn't mommy ever hug me?" the right head said
"I don't want to talk about feelings I want to crush my enemies!" the center head thundered As she raised her fists.
"But those are our allies, not our enemies. We must assure the safe return of the shards" the left head said as her fists suddenly lowered.
"We work for the Black faction!" the center head snapped
"But the Blue faction is our true calling" the left head said.
"Can't we go for pizza or something? Fighting is so not my thing right now, I am STARVING!" the right head said
"Ugh, fine. But we're getting Mexican; we had pizza yesterday" The center head declared
"Screw Mexican, how about some good Chinese?" The left head asked.
"I said no! We are getting pizza" The right head said.
"Mexican or else!" The center head boomed. And thus, the three heads were now arguing over food and paying no attention to the battle at all.
Man In Yellow and Man In Red were looking at this sight with a mixture of bizarre fascination and cringing discomfort. "I... I'm not sure I want to know" Man In Red said.
"Do we want to know though?" Man In Yellow asked. But both were hit with Instaspells that resulted in pink clouds forming around their heads, and upon inhaling said clouds, both of them fell asleep.
"EVERYONE STOP FIGHTING!" shouted Man in Gold
Everyone preceded to pause for a moment, except Man in Green who had Man in Purple in a headlock and preceded to punch him once more on the noggin before pausing as well...
"Ow!"
"Does anybody know where the shards went?" asked Man in Gold
As if on cue, the bag containing the shards flew across the sky with glistening light of one leak out as it fell across the horizon...
"Well I guess that answers that..." lamented Man in Gold
"That's it... We're outta here!" yelled Rhum as he threw a stick of dynamite that blew up enough force to knock the cart out of the mud and send it hurdling down the pathway out of the swamp...
"So what's the plan now that the Boss' up and vanished?" asked Scotch as he lashed the reins, speeding along their getaway
"We'll see if we can find these damn shards, and if not, we'll call it a day and meet back up with the Boss somewhere..." ordered Rhodes as the remaining members of the Helado Gang thundered off towards the horizon
The remaining factions began to regain their bearings after that mini-explosion. The spell encasing Hikos was dropped so he seized his chance...
"Mark! I'll grab Bask so get us out of here!" yelled Hikos as the five members of the Caravan Crew disappeared into a golden ether...
"Well now what?" asked the Center Woman in Orange Head
"You know, I think I'm actually in the mood for Korean..."
"SHUT IT!"
"SHUT IT!"
Woman In Orange snapped out of it and ran, grabbing the shard bag and sprinting away.
But the damage was done. Sure, the Black Faction hadn't lost any shards, technically, but their base was destroyed and their people were scattered. And sure, the Blue Faction hadn't lost any infrastructure, but the caravan crew had all of their shards. The balance of power was forever shifted.
A few days later, Fard and Shid met with Woman In Blue and Man In Blue.
"We have been unable to locate the Black Faction, Helado Gang, or "caravan crew"," Fard explained, "but at least we know who leads the Helado Gang, and they at least can be easily found. And thankfully, we finally managed to get rid of that cyclops."
"Well, the sooner you find the caravan crew, the better. I don't know why they want our shards, but they cannot be allowed to have them." Woman In Blue said.
"In the meantime, your faction is being audited. Representatives from the six factions of the Magic Underground will be at your base in three weeks time to ensure that you are breaking no laws. Consider yourself warned, Blue Faction; there are rules to be obeyed if you wish to practice magic, and no amount of "pure heart" can save you from the law."
Man In Blue suddenly felt very nervous.
*********
The Black Faction was much worse off. They met in an abandoned shipyard that night. It was rainy and unpleasant.
"Well, our old base is destroyed, now what?" Woman In Orange asked.
"Simple. We destroy the Blue Faction and then track down the remaining 18 shards." Man In Black said.
"I have a better idea, actually..." A voice said.
"Well well well, Woman In Green! Are those stacked boots I see? Stylish. But I refuse to listen to any plan that does not result in us gaining shards."
"Oh don't worry, if my calculations are correct, we will... the only problem is, we'll need to get passports..."
********
As for the Helado Gang, well, their bosses didn't take failure well.
The six members, and Dough sitting on the bandaged Vanil's shoulder, sat at the conference table with Lien looking them down with the request in front of them. Most of them had their heads down in shame...
"You couldn't complete Mr. Galvermore's request so he left in a huff, so you won't be paid his portion of the bounty..." spoke Lien firmly
The Helado Gang sat their dreading the next words to follow...
"Officially, we can't approve of the commotion you caused in Marwood, but... Off the record, the Director was pleased with what he saw you do, especially since that 'Man in Black' fellow is as strong as our S-Ranked Slayers... With the damage you did to their base and reputation in the Underground, he's willing to pay the other half of the bounty..."
The Helado Gang cheered at the outcome, with Scotch even throwing up his hat in excitement...
"But don't celebrate just yet, since you all got caught by the Majika Supremus, he's suspending you from Guild Activities for three weeks, so no job requests for that time... It was the best he could do without you all being left in 'their' hands, so he promises to 'monitor' you all from now on, even though that's always been the case... Anyway, the amount should 'just' cover your rent, so remember, when you do a job like this, try not to get caught, okay?" finished Lien as she burned the bounty request with a flame spell, picked up her paperwork, and headed back towards the bar...
"Well, that was a wild ride... Drinks on me?" asked Vanil
"They better..." replied Coco as the six slayers and their golem went to go drown their sorrows in cheap booze and robbing their guild associates...
.....
A couple streets away from the Greedy American Pub, Gerard was furiously lamenting the failure of the Guild as he tried shooting out spells with his new Magitek Hand...
"Grr... If you wanted a job done properly, you should just do it yourself, or better yet, find some like minded associates or something..." growled Gerard to himself...
"Excuse me sir, you look like you're in the need of aid..." said a woman as she approached the hardly approachable man on the side of the street
"And who might you be?" uncaringly asked Gerard
"I'm the Vixen, and I think I know where you can find such 'associates'..." replied the Vixen
Curious now, Gerard asked, "Really, and where might that be?"
The Vixen smiled in response...
.....
Kniitwiit, Silent Night, The Duplicator, and The Cushion got out of their car and stared at the stone gate before them.
“Is this really the place that Denim guy wanted us to go?” Silent Night asked. “No one lives on this part of the island.”
The northeastern corner of New Furness has never been a very popular place to live. While the west, more populated side of the island is shielded from the full brunt of the Atlantic by facing the other way, the eastern side has no such luck. The Northeastern bit, however, has it worst of all, because the high cliffs above the water and dense pine forest made building a town difficult. Other than some loggers and a single patch of buildings about five miles back, this entire chunk of the island was no-mans land. The weather wasn’t much better. It frequently rained, and the high cliffsides coupled with strange ocean winds led to powerful storms forming over this section of the island for days at a time. One such storm was clearly brewing now.
In other words, it was the perfect place for an evil lair.
The four followed a small dirt trail in the grass, which sloped gently downward. After about half a mile, however, the path seemed to stop, running directly into a vertical cliff face with no clear way through.
“This must be where the secret door is.” The Duplicator decided.
“I’ve got the honey.” Kniitwiit pulled out a small bear-shaped plastic container and squeezed some onto the rock, arranging the honey into the shape of an ancient rune, the Old Magykkan rune for “horn”.
There was a scraping sound and part of the rockface faded away, leaving a small tunnel in the rock wide enough for the group to walk single file. The Cushion took the lead, with Silent Night and Kniitwiit following and The Duplicator taking up the rear.
“Wow…” breathed The Cushion as he emerged on the other side of the tunnel.
Wow was right. The group had emerged on a narrow ledge on the edge of a cliff. The sides of the cliff descended some 60 yards below them to the sea below, angrily crashing against the rocks, and above them another sixty yards as well. But the really awe-inspiring thing was the odd shape of these cliffs. They formed a perfect semicircle with roughly a 500 foot radius, and rising out of the water in the middle of this semicircle was a massive stone tower. Diablo Tower.
The only path between the ledge and the tower was a narrow stone bridge, and as the group started towards the tower, two men appeared in the tower doorway, wearing bronze-lined black suits.
“Stop right there! I am Doctor Laser, and this is The General! And unless you surrender, we will be forced to obliterate you!”
“Doc, your lasers aren’t actually…” The General muttered in a surprisingly squeaky voice considering his burly stature. The General sounded like he had inhaled the world’s entire supply of helium (don’t actually do this, there is a helium shortage in the world and it’s needed for medical equipment). Kniitwiit tried and failed to suppress a laugh.
“Um… we were told that we could join the “Vile Evil Confederacy” here?” Silent Night volunteered.
“Oh? Who sent you?” Doctor Laser asked, unconsciously twirling his mustache.
“He called himself Eddie Denim?”
“Ah, say no more! We’ve been expecting you! Come, the Cardinals are waiting!”
The inside of the stone tower was surprisingly more pleasant than the group had expected. The stone walls of the tower kept out the wind, and there was a roaring fire in the center of the large entry hall. The best part, of course, was the elevator at the far end of the room.
“Alright, Cardinal Meeting room, 47th floor…” muttered Doctor Laser to them as he ushered them into the elevator and sprinted back to his post.
The Cardinal Meeting room was a massive room, with a massive curved desk taking up half of it. 11 spots were set, but only nine of those seats were occupied. The bronze throne in the center, as well as the chair to the left of it, were empty. However, the other nine spots were occupied by a very eclectic bunch.
On the far left, a pale woman in black robes accepted a drink from a waiter that the group realized, with a shock, was clearly an animated corpse. Next to her, a sullen black-robed man fiddled with a small red object. On his other side, two slight-looking men were poring over some maps, deep in thought. The seat to the right of the empty bronze throne was taken by an intense red-robed man that somehow physically hurt to look at. Next to him, a bespectacled woman pored over a book, and the gaudily dressed woman on her other side tried desperately to amuse the horrific grey, winged creature next to her, who was more interested in a small blue gem it was holding. Finally, on the far end, a large yellow-robed man sat sullenly, as if disinterested in the whole affair.
As the four nervously approached the bench, a green robed figure suddenly materialized before them, and spoke in a booming voice.
“My fellow cardinals, I trust I am not late?”
“Ah, Elvene! Wonderful! We weren’t expecting you to show up for such a mundane meeting.” The bespectacled woman said cheerfully.
“I note I still do not have a desk. No matter. I shall hover.” Elvene floated in place in the center of the room.
The red-robed man cleared his throat, and all discussion was silenced.
“Now then, we are gathered today to potentially induct four new members into the noble order of the Vile Evil Confederacy. I am Bloodlust, second-in-command of this noble institution, and we are the 12 Cardinals Of VEC.”
“Where are the other two?” The Duplicator asked. He wasn’t the brightest, but he could count to 12.
“Ah…” Bloodlust sighed. “Our true leader, the Bronze Mage, and his apprentice, Silvestron, are busy with other matters. He sends his regards, though. And Silvestron sends this carrot cake.” Bloodlust procured a box and handed it to Elvene, who carried it over to The Cushion.
“Uh… this is a trumpet.”
“Well… Percy hasn’t quite got the hang of advanced magic like that yet…”
“Or any magic…” muttered the yellow-robed man.
“Can it, Honeybadger!” Snapped the gaudy woman. “Now, you there, with the green sweater. State your name and powers.”
Kniitwiit stepped forward nervously, pulling out their knitting needles. “My name is Kniitwiit… that’s four I’s… and I can make pretty much anything you can think of out of yarn, simply by knitting it.”
The gaudy woman raised an eyebrow. “Niche, but I like it. Why don’t you knit us a carrot cake, then?”
“Well, I can’t knit food, miss, uh…”
“Bloodsphere. Vivian Bloodsphere. And why not?”
“Well, yarn isn’t edible. But I can knit a trumpet! Here, watch!” Kniitwiit pulled out a ball of red yarn, and after a couple minutes of furious knitting, managed to play a passable rendition of taps.
“It’d sound better if I still played regularly…” they muttered, embarrassed.
“That’s not half bad…” one of the slight men commented. “Yarn emitting tones comparable to that of a brass instrument… hmmm… I like this one.”
“Shocking, Chessmaster likes the new recruit.” Honeybadger muttered. “Don’t have any powers of your own, so you latch onto all the weirdos.”
“Horned One’s sake, shut up!” Vivian snapped.
“Anyway, who’s next?” Bloodlust shouted, in a voice that made everyone’s blood run cold.
The Cushion stepped forward.
“They call me the cushion, and my powers are, well… I’m impervious to all physical damage.”
“Oh? Priori, could you test that?” Bloodlust said, addressing the black-clad woman on the far end.
“Eet would be my pleasure.” Priori said in a thick Russian accent. From behind the desk, two skeletons unfolded themselves and charged at The Cushion, punching and kicking him, but the Cushion didn’t even flinch.
“It’s not just this. I can fall from great heights, be stretched out, and never so much as get a cut, or feel a thing.” The Cushion said.
“Impressive…” The other slight man muttered.
“Oh, can it, Mindreader! He’s not so tough! What if I froze him in place with my honey magic, huh?”
“Honeybadger, if you speak out of turn again, I will not hesitate to make this a council of eleven!” Bloodlust growled. “Next applicant!”
The Duplicator stepped forward. Or rather, someone exactly resembling The Duplicator stepped forward, while The Duplicator stayed in place.
“They call me “The Duplicator” because I can, well, duplicate myself.”
“There’s got to be a catch.” The bespectacled woman said.
“Well, kinda… um, whatever-your-name-is.”
“My name is Orator… anyway, what’s the catch?”
“Well, these clones, these duplicates, they aren’t exactly very self-sufficient. They don’t quite have my staggering intellect or problem-solving skills.”
“And here I thought we had a suitable supplement to my AIAC…” Vivian muttered.
The demonic creature next to Vivian stirred. “I may have a solution.” It said in a voice that wasn’t quite sinister, and certainly didn’t have the same blood-curling effect Bloodlust’s did, but still filled the new recruits with dread in a more subtle, hard to pin down way.
“Oh? Xex, are you hoping to take this one on as a personal apprentice?” Mindreader asked.
“Not at all. I simply wish to attempt something, and this one’s powers seem useful to that end.”
“I see no reason why not.” Orator said. “I’ve always felt you needed to connect with us humans more anyway.”
“And I’ve always felt that you mortal fleshbags are inferior, but you don’t hear me saying such things, do you?”
“Excuse me.” Said the sullen figure, and the only one who hasn’t been named yet. “There’s still one more applicant.”
Silent Night swallowed and stepped forward, nervously. “Hi… I’m Silent Night. My powers aren’t as flashy or anything, but… I’m very stealthy. Supernaturally so. I can merge with shadows, climb walls silently, all sorts of things. It’s some sort of shadow magic, I think. I don’t fully understand it, but…”
“Say no more.” The sullen figure stood. “I want this one as my apprentice.”
“This is a pleasant surprise.” Bloodlust noted. “You’re the last person I’d expect to ask for an apprentice… even Xex is more personable than you.”
“Yes, well, whatever. I think I can help her unlock the full extent of her powers. Permission to begin immediately?”
“I would allow it, I have other things to do.” Elvene intoned.
“Very well, council adjourned.” Orator announced.
Silent Night approached the sullen figure. “Who are you? Why do you want me as an apprentice? Why aren’t the other’s someone’s apprentice?”
The sullen figure sighed. “In our organization, “apprentice” doesn’t mean that much. It just means you and I will be working closely together to unlock your powers. Not everyone needs more training, and the other three all have skillsets that are, let’s say, a bit niche.”
“Okay, but who are you?”
“I am known by many names. But among friends… I am the Blood Alchemist.”
There was something about the Blood Alchemist, an intensity that even Bloodlust and Xex, the most terrifying people at the table, couldn’t match. And so as she followed him to the elevator, she was equal parts excited… and scared out of her mind.
Back at the Blue Faction headquarters, Man In Blue was introduced to a very important figure by WomanIn Blue
“Daniel, this is Paladin Ricketts; he’s the Majika Supremus mage directly responsible for maintaining the peace in this island- specifically, he is the Paladin in charge of ensuring the safety of magic users and, when necessary, prevents their identities from being compromised in the non-magic world. I’ve had to have more than one discussion with him over the various... incidents, but for the most part they have been understanding about the situation at hand; because most of our acts were in defense or in reaction to far greater danger, the fights we’ve been involved in were justified acts of defense. However, there are some things he wants clarified, so he wanted to talk to you” woman in blue explained.
“I understand” Man In Blue stated. Ricketts then got straight to business
“I’ll get right to the point... Daniel, are you aware that at present, the world of magic is kept hidden from the non-magic world?”
“Yes; I can understand the reasoning though; world isn’t ready for our return” Man In Blue replied
“Good, so about the class at the university... I suppose it’s only fair to tell you that we have been investigating reports attached to this class for a while now” Ricketts said
Man in Blue gulped at that revelation. “But sir, I was raised non-magic by my father. He told me tales and stories as a kid, but these are considered mythology in the non-magic world; arguably magic mythology is just as interesting as Greek and Roman mythology” Daniel pointed out.
“And you’ve been framing this course as such, a “history of the mythology of magic” course?”
“Correct. I did a couple “tricks” to keep the students entertained but the next day I revealed that I “faked” them; did them to keep their interest of course” Daniel stared
“Well you did nothing major from what we can tell so that is fine. What we aren’t so sure on is if this presents a risk to the magic world’s security” Ricketts explained
“You have nothing to worry about; not teaching the class after this semester anyway. I talked to the dean and he said while the students enjoyed the class, the low turnout makes it not worth it; so instead I’ll be teaching classes on the history of the mythology of the mythical monsters; stuff that will actually draw a good turn out” he explained
“I see; but what about the students in your current class?” Ricketts said
“Got it covered” Daniel assured.
......
On the last day of lecture, Daniel revealed there would be no final; the three tests taken that semester, everyone did well enough that a final was not necessary. Instead, he left them with parting words.
“So... we know that none of this is real. But then what was the point of all these stories and tales? Why do they exist? I suppose when boiled down to its elements it’s all a most remarkable allegory. “Magic” is a metaphor for one’s inner strength, and these stories are tales about how to unlock one’s inner strength. We as humans are extraordinary creatures. Sure, we can’t throw fireballs or fly, but that’s not the point. The stories and fables involving magic are about unlocking great power, yes... but it’s not what you think. Yes, you may never learn how to shoot ice crystals, but you can find the courage to do something amazing, like climb a mountain. You may never shoot a lightning bolt, but you can find the strength to stand up to and face what you are afraid of. Flying, snakes, small spaces... or lightning, perhaps? Look for the strength within, and you can overcome anything. Sure, you can never throw a fireball, but you can find the strength to help others in need when they are in danger. Maybe you’ll never control water, but you can find the strength to go forth and when in a dangerous situation yourself, you can pull yourself together and come out all right.
In conclusion, stories about magic aren’t just tales of good vs evil or individuals harnessing great power... they tell us about one of the most important life lessons of all: if we put in the effort to unleash our inner strength, then there is little we can not do. And I hope that you take that lesson to heart as you leave my classroom and move on during your journey in life”
His little class gave a standing ovation for his parting words, which he acknowledged before he himself left the classroom
“I hope he teaches other classes; I think we could learn a lot from him” David said as the others nodded in agreement
......
“And so in conclusion... his class was presented as a mythology course, everything he presented was common knowledge of said mythology in the non-magic world and he exposed no secrets of any faction. Safe to say this fellow is no threat”
“All right; close this case then; we’ll put the resources elsewhere”
......
Woman In Orange was being confronted by some members of her faction. “By the way... how did you get the shards when they went flying over the horizon anyway?” Man In Red asked
”Well you see I... eh...uh...huh? I think I AHHHHHH!!!!” She started screaming as she suddenly started falling down a hole that appeared out of absolutely no where
”Wh... what happened?” Man In Cardinal asked
”I’ve heard legends but never thought they were true. It seems that Woman In Orange has fallen into... a plot hole!
"Are you even sure those are the shards?" crossly asked Man in Green
"I'm sure look!" replied Woman in Orange as she opened the bag, only for black smoke and soot to explode out and covered her face, as well as destroy the bag...
"I can't believe you grabbed a fake!" yelled Woman in Yellow angrily, "Now we have just as many as those goodie two shoes, NONE!"
"How was I supposed to know it was one! I was too focused on getting the shards and getting out of there without dealing with those Supremus bastards..." barked back Woman in Orange as a piece of the destroyed bag floating down and flipped over, revealinga logo of an "S" with a hammer and a prism forming an x behind it...
Man in Black simply just picked up the piece of fabric and said, "Grr... Patience everyone... This may be a 'minor' setback, but we'll follow Woman in Green's lead and once we're back here, we'll use our full might to take back those shards and more, alright?" During that word of phrase, black slug oozed out of Man in Black's pore, seemingly ready to explode outwards at the simplest drop of a hat...
"We'll get those passports done right away sir!" shakily replied Man in Off-White as he and Man in Ghost White rapidly ran out of the Warehouse the Evil Colorfolk we hiding in to meet with Woman in Green's arranged contact...
.....
On the outskirts of Marwood, the Men in Infrared and Amber Apricot were at a loss in what to do...
"Our plan failed spectacularly and all we got was one singular shard out of it, but at the price of probably everyone on this island wanting our heads on a silver platter!" freaked out Man in Amber Apricot
"Don't worry, I have a plan!" replied Man in Infrared
"Yeah, what is it?" asked Man in Amber Apricot
"If we build another summoning device, maybe it would summon a creature that could give us a really useful plan for out situation!" answered Man in Infrared as Amber Apricot slapped him across the face with a hand slathered in hardened honey...
"Ow!"
"I can't even explain how many levels of stupid that plan was!"
"It seems you fellas are in a bit of trouble due to your sudden, 'void in leadership.'.." said a mysterious voice from above
"Who... Who are you..." stuttered Man in Amber Apricot with a honey spell at the ready
"I'm Vincent Hikos, but you fine gents might be more familiar with my family title, the Man in Steel..." replied the voice as a figure jumped down from the tree and stood tall before the duo...
"Alright, 'Man in Steel', and why should we listen to you then?" asked Man in Infrared, doubting his story...
"Because, I currently have the highest amount of Prism Shards out of all the factions currently..." replied the Colorman as he revealed a bag from behind and opened it for a moment to show the duo a dozen or so sparkling prism shards inside...
"Ok, we're listening... But why should you be the boss then?" remarked Man in Amber Apricot
"Well, I currently have a couple of years experience leading a ragtag band of warriors and magic users who respect me, and I'm now in the market for some reliable hench... I mean goo... 'sidekicks', and seeing as you have massive target on your back, as well as a prism shard, my associates and I could provide you with the proper protection..." answered the Man in Steel
"Alright, even if it's true, are you sure you could protect us?" doubted Man in Infrared...
"Well..." was all the Man in Steel could get out as a fireball came flying at the Colormen duo's heads. Before it impacted, an ice wall rapidly shot up and too the brunt of the attack, turning the surrounding air into steam...
"Does that answer your question?" said Man in Steel as created ice walls to surround the duo from the ensuing fireball discharges
"You make a sound argument" quickly nodded Man in Amber Apricot
"Yeah, ah, do you want to shake on it 'boss'?" worryingly added Man in Infrared
"It's fine, I'll fight off this pursuer, just wit for me back at home base!" ordered Man in Steel
"And where exactly is that?" asked Man in Amber Apricot
"Just watch..." replied the Man in Steel as he pulled out a vial from within his grey coat and dumped it into his palm, emptying out gold dust from inside. He stuck put the gold covered palm and blew on the dust, which flew out into the ether to create a gold colored portal that seemed to exit near some sort of cart, "Go quickly, before it closes! I'll catch up to you later after I deal with these guys!"
"Thanks Boss!"
"We owe our lives to you!"
And with that, the two 'Evil' Colormen disappeared into a golden portal that closed shut behind them...
"Suckers..."
We done Steel?" asked Lauren, who exited from the treeline with Mark right behind her...
"Yeah, and with that, that makes 14 shards in our possession. Adriana originally wanted to scatter the shards across the realms, but I think I can do one better..." replied Steel
"Yeah, and what would that be?" wondered Mark
"Something the Colorfolk won't be expecting... Come on, I'll tell you over at the Goddess of Drinks, we have to be gone long enough for those idiots to think we're having an actual battle..." laughed the Man in Steel
"Alright, but sometimes I worry about those 'big plans' of yours..." replied Lauren as Mark began to whistle and the trio disappeared into the ether of the night...
.....
End of ARC 3
End of ARC 3