Chapter 3-19 - The Order of the Shield
The Order of the Shield encampment lay nestled in the foothills a couple of hours’ travel north of the city. A sprawling cluster of squat stone buildings, enclosed by a tall barrier of smooth cylindrical crystal spikes. Morth led Ryoko, Letho and Aetilius through the hills around the back of the camp. A flat plain surrounded the fence, making a hidden approach difficult. As the little team crept through the generous cover of the foothills to reconnoitre the encampment; they noticed four figures tied to crystal stakes on either side of the main road gatehouse. Morth edged closer to get a better view, then dropped down, swearing quietly,
"I guess the rescue mission is off the cards" he growled. The figures were clearly dead. Each corpse had been scalped, a deep red cavity visible inside their skulls where their brains should rest.
Drawing back into the darkness, the group made their way around to the side of the camp. Letho, struck with inspiration, scanned the camp with a generalised locator magic he had been taught during his time in the Rahkenian Silver Wolves. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, rather he was searching for dead spots in the flow of mythal. If these Karo Gems were natural guards against scrying, then any divination magic should be damped or blocked around them,
“Bingo” he grinned, “The Karo Gems are in that building”
He pointed to a long metal shed on the western side of the encampment, right beside the outer fence. A watchtower in the fence loomed protectively over the entrance, which was located directly behind the main staging at the main gate. Ryoko looked pensive, then her face broke in to a slow smile as an idea occurred to her,
“I’ve got an idea. Letho, hold on”
Ryoko’s flesh began to twist and warp, flowing in dull glowing amber eddies into a new form. Her body seemed to compress, shrinking down until she stood merely a foot off the ground. Her nose and jaw elongated with a grinding sound, and grey and black fur burst through her scales. Her tail deflated, turning into a wiry grey rope; then bushy grey and black banded fur swept up its length. A moment later, a racoon sat on the ground in front of Letho. The racoon seemed to smile, and gave Letho a humorous salute, before grabbing his hand. The world rushed past Letho’s like a melting oil painting; as Ryoko used her Blink Dog Totem to teleport them both inside the compound.
They appeared in the shadows directly behind the storage shed. Letho stumbled, overcome by dizziness for a moment, but regained control before he stumbled into the light. Ryoko took his hand and pulled him into the narrow alley between the warehouse and the neighbouring building. Carefully they picked their way over discarded crates and other debris, towards the corner of the building. A sudden crunch of gravel and two Verani soldiers walked past the entrance to the alley, a mere arms length in front of Letho. He pressed himself flat against the wall of the warehouse, closing his eyes and catching his breath. The gloom of the alley coiled around him like a cloak. The two guards, deep in conversation and bathed in the argent glow of their hand lanterns, walked past; oblivious to the half-elf pressed against a wall within breathing distance.
As the guards passed, Ryoko looked Letho in the eye then; through a series of intense, military style hand gestures performed by little furry paws, ordered him to wait where he was while she checked the area. She then scampered out of the alley, along the edge of the staging area behind the main gate. She snuffled about in the scrub grass, trying to look nonchalant, as she scanned the area; all the while desperately hoping that racoons were, in fact, native on this side of the Issati Peaks just like they were back in Quan. She was surprised to see little movement behind the gate. Barring the patrol which had just passed, and was now walking up the side of the warehouse; and a couple of guards in the watchtower which overlooked this edge of the compound, the area appeared largely deserted. Emboldened by the apparent lack of observers, she went off book. Letho was shocked when the racoon darted past the alley. She managed to slip her paws into the crack of the door, and pull it open.
The door swung open with a light groan of protest. She froze, afraid this would alert one of the patrols, but no-one responded. She then hopped down and darted over to Letho, tugging on his greaves insistently. Together they slipped along the front of the warehouse, to the open door. Just as they were about to reach it, they heard the crunch of gravel just around the corner; and the gleaming silver light of the patrol’s lantern spilled around the edge of the building like a pool of mercury. They leapt in the door, and Letho grabbed the handle and gently pulled it closed. The door swung closed mercifully silently, not a moment too soon. They both held their breath as they heard the guards pass by just outside the door, arguing loudly between themselves.
Once the patrol had passed, Letho let out a shaky breath and Ryoko scampered up to sit on his shoulder. The warehouse was filled with tall stone racks, running from floor to ceiling. Each rack was filled with an assortment of boxes, crates, bags and miscellaneous pieces of equipment; all organised and labelled. This was obviously a point of pride for some unfortunate quartermaster. The racks formed a labyrinthine series of corridors, meandering through the warehouse in a convoluted pattern. Letho could still sense the area of negative space in the mythal that he presumed was the Karo Gems.
He followed that sensation along the winding path, all the way to the back corner of the warehouse. There they found a number of rough cut, dull purple gemstones sitting on the middle shelf of one of the racks. These must be the Karo Gems. They looked underwhelming, but Letho was confident that this was the source of the mythal void. Before Letho picked up any of the gems, Ryoko leapt from his shoulder and disappeared along the top of the racks. Letho was perplexed, swearing quietly under his breath at her. A moment later she returned with armfuls of fresh fruit. She dropped to the ground and began to tear the fruit into chunks, scattering it around the floor. In her mind, this would make it look as though a raccoon had become trapped in the warehouse, offering a plausible explanation in case their theft of the gems might trigger some sort of hidden alarm. As a finishing touch, she hunkered down amidst the fruit chunks and left a fresh pile of racoon scat sitting on the floor. Letho stared aghast at what he’d just witnessed, recoiling unconsciously as Ryoko leapt back on his shoulder, looking pleased with herself. Letho shook his head, trying to banish the image from his memory, grabbed three of the gems and stuffed them in his pocket.
They both held their breath for a moment, waiting for the sound of a siren or alarm. Nothing happened. Ryoko looked oddly deflated. Letho shrugged, and made his way back to the warehouse door. They listened intently, but no sound carried in from outside. Steeling himself, Letho pushed the door open a crack and peered out. Darkness greeted him. No sign of any of the patrols. They slipped back outside and closed the door. Ryoko looked over towards the foothills, squinting through the darkness, and picked her landing spot far beyond the light of the watchtowers. She gripped Letho’s hair firmly, and again the world seemed to dissolve like a watercolour as Ryoko teleported them back outside of the compound. Letho let out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding and grinned excitedly at the racoon. Ryoko solemnly held out a paw, beckoning for a high five.
Next: Chapter 3-20 - The Order of the Pen
Previous: Chapter 3-18 - The Resistance
"I guess the rescue mission is off the cards" he growled. The figures were clearly dead. Each corpse had been scalped, a deep red cavity visible inside their skulls where their brains should rest.
Drawing back into the darkness, the group made their way around to the side of the camp. Letho, struck with inspiration, scanned the camp with a generalised locator magic he had been taught during his time in the Rahkenian Silver Wolves. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, rather he was searching for dead spots in the flow of mythal. If these Karo Gems were natural guards against scrying, then any divination magic should be damped or blocked around them,
“Bingo” he grinned, “The Karo Gems are in that building”
He pointed to a long metal shed on the western side of the encampment, right beside the outer fence. A watchtower in the fence loomed protectively over the entrance, which was located directly behind the main staging at the main gate. Ryoko looked pensive, then her face broke in to a slow smile as an idea occurred to her,
“I’ve got an idea. Letho, hold on”
Ryoko’s flesh began to twist and warp, flowing in dull glowing amber eddies into a new form. Her body seemed to compress, shrinking down until she stood merely a foot off the ground. Her nose and jaw elongated with a grinding sound, and grey and black fur burst through her scales. Her tail deflated, turning into a wiry grey rope; then bushy grey and black banded fur swept up its length. A moment later, a racoon sat on the ground in front of Letho. The racoon seemed to smile, and gave Letho a humorous salute, before grabbing his hand. The world rushed past Letho’s like a melting oil painting; as Ryoko used her Blink Dog Totem to teleport them both inside the compound.
They appeared in the shadows directly behind the storage shed. Letho stumbled, overcome by dizziness for a moment, but regained control before he stumbled into the light. Ryoko took his hand and pulled him into the narrow alley between the warehouse and the neighbouring building. Carefully they picked their way over discarded crates and other debris, towards the corner of the building. A sudden crunch of gravel and two Verani soldiers walked past the entrance to the alley, a mere arms length in front of Letho. He pressed himself flat against the wall of the warehouse, closing his eyes and catching his breath. The gloom of the alley coiled around him like a cloak. The two guards, deep in conversation and bathed in the argent glow of their hand lanterns, walked past; oblivious to the half-elf pressed against a wall within breathing distance.
As the guards passed, Ryoko looked Letho in the eye then; through a series of intense, military style hand gestures performed by little furry paws, ordered him to wait where he was while she checked the area. She then scampered out of the alley, along the edge of the staging area behind the main gate. She snuffled about in the scrub grass, trying to look nonchalant, as she scanned the area; all the while desperately hoping that racoons were, in fact, native on this side of the Issati Peaks just like they were back in Quan. She was surprised to see little movement behind the gate. Barring the patrol which had just passed, and was now walking up the side of the warehouse; and a couple of guards in the watchtower which overlooked this edge of the compound, the area appeared largely deserted. Emboldened by the apparent lack of observers, she went off book. Letho was shocked when the racoon darted past the alley. She managed to slip her paws into the crack of the door, and pull it open.
The door swung open with a light groan of protest. She froze, afraid this would alert one of the patrols, but no-one responded. She then hopped down and darted over to Letho, tugging on his greaves insistently. Together they slipped along the front of the warehouse, to the open door. Just as they were about to reach it, they heard the crunch of gravel just around the corner; and the gleaming silver light of the patrol’s lantern spilled around the edge of the building like a pool of mercury. They leapt in the door, and Letho grabbed the handle and gently pulled it closed. The door swung closed mercifully silently, not a moment too soon. They both held their breath as they heard the guards pass by just outside the door, arguing loudly between themselves.
Once the patrol had passed, Letho let out a shaky breath and Ryoko scampered up to sit on his shoulder. The warehouse was filled with tall stone racks, running from floor to ceiling. Each rack was filled with an assortment of boxes, crates, bags and miscellaneous pieces of equipment; all organised and labelled. This was obviously a point of pride for some unfortunate quartermaster. The racks formed a labyrinthine series of corridors, meandering through the warehouse in a convoluted pattern. Letho could still sense the area of negative space in the mythal that he presumed was the Karo Gems.
He followed that sensation along the winding path, all the way to the back corner of the warehouse. There they found a number of rough cut, dull purple gemstones sitting on the middle shelf of one of the racks. These must be the Karo Gems. They looked underwhelming, but Letho was confident that this was the source of the mythal void. Before Letho picked up any of the gems, Ryoko leapt from his shoulder and disappeared along the top of the racks. Letho was perplexed, swearing quietly under his breath at her. A moment later she returned with armfuls of fresh fruit. She dropped to the ground and began to tear the fruit into chunks, scattering it around the floor. In her mind, this would make it look as though a raccoon had become trapped in the warehouse, offering a plausible explanation in case their theft of the gems might trigger some sort of hidden alarm. As a finishing touch, she hunkered down amidst the fruit chunks and left a fresh pile of racoon scat sitting on the floor. Letho stared aghast at what he’d just witnessed, recoiling unconsciously as Ryoko leapt back on his shoulder, looking pleased with herself. Letho shook his head, trying to banish the image from his memory, grabbed three of the gems and stuffed them in his pocket.
They both held their breath for a moment, waiting for the sound of a siren or alarm. Nothing happened. Ryoko looked oddly deflated. Letho shrugged, and made his way back to the warehouse door. They listened intently, but no sound carried in from outside. Steeling himself, Letho pushed the door open a crack and peered out. Darkness greeted him. No sign of any of the patrols. They slipped back outside and closed the door. Ryoko looked over towards the foothills, squinting through the darkness, and picked her landing spot far beyond the light of the watchtowers. She gripped Letho’s hair firmly, and again the world seemed to dissolve like a watercolour as Ryoko teleported them back outside of the compound. Letho let out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding and grinned excitedly at the racoon. Ryoko solemnly held out a paw, beckoning for a high five.
Next: Chapter 3-20 - The Order of the Pen
Previous: Chapter 3-18 - The Resistance
Comments