Enticing smells of bread and hot cooked meat filled the walls of the make shift hospital room. The wooden walls had huge pasty sheets of white paper mounted on them and the footsteps of many people could be heard through the doorway. Voih woke up very haphazardly fumbling around for his sword. His eyes and ribs were heavily wrapped in thick bandages. Voih's clothes were also gone, replaced by the same paper that coated the walls.
The young man's shuffling calmed a bit after he felt his stomach where the Demonized Lake Rivers had stabbed him. He felt the stitches and automatically knew that he was in the temporary medical facility on the outskirts of AB.
Voih reaches to take the bandages from around his eyes when he hears the door open suddenly. "I wouldn't remove that if I were you." A man in a white lab coat with glasses walked in. Smiling gleefully as his shoes squeaked on the wooden floor the tall and absurdly fat man began to speak some more..."The other Calculators from your headquarters have come to the conclusion that the team you were traveling with came into contact with a Demoni...Voih nods and tries to acknowledge the doctor with words but nothing comes out. "Further, in the conflict with the Demoni your team was killed and you suffered an almost mortal enemy from a runaway that was traveling with you. Is that correct?"
The doctor watched as Voih began to convulse violently. He continuously moaned and grunted many times failing to regain his voice with each jerk of his body. The wounded man ripped off the bandages around his eyes with his last grunt as the doctor just stared at him.
"When most people encounter Demoni, they have waking nightmares for a few days after that. Some cases have even been known to kill themselves among laying eyes on such evils in the world. Those are the most common cases. Then there are the rare cases of Demoni encounters cause sever psychological damage to the synapses in the brain.
As the doctor goes on with his speech Voih's hand's cover his eyes. The doctor's words trail off as the injured Calculator realizes his vision and voice is gone.
When Franker Moon and his troops reached East Lavi, the gates were open and there was no sign of conflict. Giant girders laced the perimeter of the huge city and the streets appeared to be made of metal as well. In the distance, towering smoke stacks pumped toxic fumes into the dusty sky.
Franker got out of his caravan and looked up for the cannons Crescinthia had warned him about. He grew angry realizing that she had lied about the town's defenses as he gave the signal for his men to enter. The first of wave of Franker's men rush the entrance and run down the center of the town looking for any signs of people. They give the all clear signal as the rest of the troops march inside Franker Moon is the last. He glances over his shoulder where the horses are gathered for a second and the enormous girder entrance locks him out and his men in.
The metallic ground the men were standing on murmured and vibrated like it was going to erupt. Out of the fifty men standing around inside the walls, thirty of them begin climb on nearby porches and others just perched themselves on trees.
The metal floor turned bright red shortly after and the twenty men not on higher ground began to hop up and down. The ground sizzled as the soldier's shoes melted to the flesh.
All of the men rushed onto a porch or tree upon discovering this.
Heads peeked out from behind the rooftops leering at the unaware Goth soldiers. After another moment the metallic street changed back to its normal color and one Goth soldier yelled at the rest of his men. "They are toying with us. Let's show the why we are the most dominant army in the world.
The men dropped everything on them that was just too heavy and climbed from whatever they were on onto the houses and buildings around them. Once they all reached the top heads that were leering were full figured Lavi now. The Lavi were fashioned with the same armor as the Goths and equipped with weaponry similar to the ones that were confiscated from the survivors from Central.
One by one the Goths were shot rolling off the rooftops back onto the street. The five men unlucky enough to take direct fire lay on the street screaming as the red menace returned scorching the skin and frying their skull to the pavement.
The scavenger snipers quickly leap from the rooftops and race down the street towards the church. A Goth soldier pulls out a crossbow and fires a direct shot into one of the Lavi men stopping him dead. The six or so men that were not hit fled into the church and bolted the door.
"They're trying to get us to play their little game. Let us see where this goes." The Goth men hop from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of the Lavi men.
Outside the gate, Franker paced back and forth occasionally banging against the forbidding metal door. The Lonely Goth General sat and listened as his men trailed the small group of Lavi attackers.
The General goes back to where the horses are tied up and looks off into a forest clearing south of the gate. He takes his horse and rides over towards the absurdly placed clearing. Franker's horse stops just inside the clearing. The uneasy beast flails and patters its hooves until Franker is forced to dismount.
The horse quickly retreats back towards the gates as Franker ventures deeper into the woods. The moss on the trees goes from green to deep mars black as General Moon continues on. Past the clearing in the creek, dozens of mutilated doves were piled up inside a crudely constructed circle composed of rocks, twigs and leaves.
Franker winced and turned to go back to the horses once he realized what he'd wandered into. Etched into the side of one of the black trees was a rudimentary image of Truth. The trees form grew darker now shadowing over the broad general. Franker ran as fast as he had ever run before...out of that forest and back towards East Lavi...whatever curious obsession lured him towards the creek had been replaced by an insurmountable fear.
By the time Franker ran back to the main gates, his men had already secured the church and crippled all those involved in the skirmish just a few minutes earlier. One of the huge doors on the gigantic metal door swung open and General Franker Moon walks inside.
Her escape planned was executed in absolute perfection. The two managed to slip out of the general's caravan and onto a hidden path that lead to a river. Crescinthia and Lorna ran down the river bank back towards Central Lavi. The river was the quickest and safest path because it wasn't intersected by any roads or on any maps either. The girl and woman were soaking wet and running back into a potential volatile situation.
The combination of the soaked clothing and the speed at which they were moving made them tire fast. The girl stopped first to catch her breath and then the mother. "It's not too much further. Luckily I got us off of their when I did." The women sat on a rock and rung out their clothes a little.
"Mommy you used it. You used your secret power." The mother and young girl just stared downstream. "I know baby. I know. But if you don't tell anyone about what mommy did, no one has to know. Got it? Crescinthia grabs Lorna by the hair and they both dive face first into the water. More of the General's troops head in the direction of East Lavi right above where the two were hiding.
Seconds later Crescinthia pulls her head out of the water. "We don't have much time. We have to get to Central and save the rest of the people there." The mother and daughter sloshed on in the rain.
When Lake Rivers awakened, he was bound to a chair with several looming figures standing over him. They all wore long swords sheathed over their left shoulder and dressed very similar to the other Calculators he has met. They all had an accusatory stare to them and all of their eyes were transfixed on Lake.
"Hi guys. Is this some kind of misunderstanding or what?" Lake looks up at the light and one of the men takes a full swing at his face. "What are doing traveling without your papers slave?" Lake spits crimson and just puts his head back down. "I was saving' your boy from been' offend by a demon." Another man stepped up and punched Lake Rivers hard in the ribs. ‘From what our sources tell us, you are the one who tried to kill Adder Voih!"
The men circled in on the beaten pink barbarian to inflict even more bodily harm on him. Lake closes his eyes and bites down hard as the men all raise their fists in the air. Just then, someone taps twice on the door. Voih on crutches wobbled in the room very slowly. His eyes were still bandaged and his physician led him towards the AB soldiers. Voih parted his lips and for the first time his encounter with the Green Wizard he spoke. "The man in front of you...is no slave. He is my friend and guest while here in AB. Is that understood?"
All of the AB soldiers backed up fearing the blind man's straining voice. Lake looked up and spat more crimson. "Voih you look like hell."
The young man's shuffling calmed a bit after he felt his stomach where the Demonized Lake Rivers had stabbed him. He felt the stitches and automatically knew that he was in the temporary medical facility on the outskirts of AB.
Voih reaches to take the bandages from around his eyes when he hears the door open suddenly. "I wouldn't remove that if I were you." A man in a white lab coat with glasses walked in. Smiling gleefully as his shoes squeaked on the wooden floor the tall and absurdly fat man began to speak some more..."The other Calculators from your headquarters have come to the conclusion that the team you were traveling with came into contact with a Demoni...Voih nods and tries to acknowledge the doctor with words but nothing comes out. "Further, in the conflict with the Demoni your team was killed and you suffered an almost mortal enemy from a runaway that was traveling with you. Is that correct?"
The doctor watched as Voih began to convulse violently. He continuously moaned and grunted many times failing to regain his voice with each jerk of his body. The wounded man ripped off the bandages around his eyes with his last grunt as the doctor just stared at him.
"When most people encounter Demoni, they have waking nightmares for a few days after that. Some cases have even been known to kill themselves among laying eyes on such evils in the world. Those are the most common cases. Then there are the rare cases of Demoni encounters cause sever psychological damage to the synapses in the brain.
As the doctor goes on with his speech Voih's hand's cover his eyes. The doctor's words trail off as the injured Calculator realizes his vision and voice is gone.
When Franker Moon and his troops reached East Lavi, the gates were open and there was no sign of conflict. Giant girders laced the perimeter of the huge city and the streets appeared to be made of metal as well. In the distance, towering smoke stacks pumped toxic fumes into the dusty sky.
Franker got out of his caravan and looked up for the cannons Crescinthia had warned him about. He grew angry realizing that she had lied about the town's defenses as he gave the signal for his men to enter. The first of wave of Franker's men rush the entrance and run down the center of the town looking for any signs of people. They give the all clear signal as the rest of the troops march inside Franker Moon is the last. He glances over his shoulder where the horses are gathered for a second and the enormous girder entrance locks him out and his men in.
The metallic ground the men were standing on murmured and vibrated like it was going to erupt. Out of the fifty men standing around inside the walls, thirty of them begin climb on nearby porches and others just perched themselves on trees.
The metal floor turned bright red shortly after and the twenty men not on higher ground began to hop up and down. The ground sizzled as the soldier's shoes melted to the flesh.
All of the men rushed onto a porch or tree upon discovering this.
Heads peeked out from behind the rooftops leering at the unaware Goth soldiers. After another moment the metallic street changed back to its normal color and one Goth soldier yelled at the rest of his men. "They are toying with us. Let's show the why we are the most dominant army in the world.
The men dropped everything on them that was just too heavy and climbed from whatever they were on onto the houses and buildings around them. Once they all reached the top heads that were leering were full figured Lavi now. The Lavi were fashioned with the same armor as the Goths and equipped with weaponry similar to the ones that were confiscated from the survivors from Central.
One by one the Goths were shot rolling off the rooftops back onto the street. The five men unlucky enough to take direct fire lay on the street screaming as the red menace returned scorching the skin and frying their skull to the pavement.
The scavenger snipers quickly leap from the rooftops and race down the street towards the church. A Goth soldier pulls out a crossbow and fires a direct shot into one of the Lavi men stopping him dead. The six or so men that were not hit fled into the church and bolted the door.
"They're trying to get us to play their little game. Let us see where this goes." The Goth men hop from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of the Lavi men.
Outside the gate, Franker paced back and forth occasionally banging against the forbidding metal door. The Lonely Goth General sat and listened as his men trailed the small group of Lavi attackers.
The General goes back to where the horses are tied up and looks off into a forest clearing south of the gate. He takes his horse and rides over towards the absurdly placed clearing. Franker's horse stops just inside the clearing. The uneasy beast flails and patters its hooves until Franker is forced to dismount.
The horse quickly retreats back towards the gates as Franker ventures deeper into the woods. The moss on the trees goes from green to deep mars black as General Moon continues on. Past the clearing in the creek, dozens of mutilated doves were piled up inside a crudely constructed circle composed of rocks, twigs and leaves.
Franker winced and turned to go back to the horses once he realized what he'd wandered into. Etched into the side of one of the black trees was a rudimentary image of Truth. The trees form grew darker now shadowing over the broad general. Franker ran as fast as he had ever run before...out of that forest and back towards East Lavi...whatever curious obsession lured him towards the creek had been replaced by an insurmountable fear.
By the time Franker ran back to the main gates, his men had already secured the church and crippled all those involved in the skirmish just a few minutes earlier. One of the huge doors on the gigantic metal door swung open and General Franker Moon walks inside.
Her escape planned was executed in absolute perfection. The two managed to slip out of the general's caravan and onto a hidden path that lead to a river. Crescinthia and Lorna ran down the river bank back towards Central Lavi. The river was the quickest and safest path because it wasn't intersected by any roads or on any maps either. The girl and woman were soaking wet and running back into a potential volatile situation.
The combination of the soaked clothing and the speed at which they were moving made them tire fast. The girl stopped first to catch her breath and then the mother. "It's not too much further. Luckily I got us off of their when I did." The women sat on a rock and rung out their clothes a little.
"Mommy you used it. You used your secret power." The mother and young girl just stared downstream. "I know baby. I know. But if you don't tell anyone about what mommy did, no one has to know. Got it? Crescinthia grabs Lorna by the hair and they both dive face first into the water. More of the General's troops head in the direction of East Lavi right above where the two were hiding.
Seconds later Crescinthia pulls her head out of the water. "We don't have much time. We have to get to Central and save the rest of the people there." The mother and daughter sloshed on in the rain.
When Lake Rivers awakened, he was bound to a chair with several looming figures standing over him. They all wore long swords sheathed over their left shoulder and dressed very similar to the other Calculators he has met. They all had an accusatory stare to them and all of their eyes were transfixed on Lake.
"Hi guys. Is this some kind of misunderstanding or what?" Lake looks up at the light and one of the men takes a full swing at his face. "What are doing traveling without your papers slave?" Lake spits crimson and just puts his head back down. "I was saving' your boy from been' offend by a demon." Another man stepped up and punched Lake Rivers hard in the ribs. ‘From what our sources tell us, you are the one who tried to kill Adder Voih!"
The men circled in on the beaten pink barbarian to inflict even more bodily harm on him. Lake closes his eyes and bites down hard as the men all raise their fists in the air. Just then, someone taps twice on the door. Voih on crutches wobbled in the room very slowly. His eyes were still bandaged and his physician led him towards the AB soldiers. Voih parted his lips and for the first time his encounter with the Green Wizard he spoke. "The man in front of you...is no slave. He is my friend and guest while here in AB. Is that understood?"
All of the AB soldiers backed up fearing the blind man's straining voice. Lake looked up and spat more crimson. "Voih you look like hell."