Recommended song, The Prodigy - The Day Is My Enemy
Captain Joseph, Commanding Officer of the Third Marine Battalion, sat facing several of the locally remaining prominent men of Orwell's Point. The local merchants and community leaders glared uneasily at their opposite counterparts made up of ex-slaves who glared back with equal resentment and malice.
"Thank you all for making your time out of your busy schedules to meet me here," Joseph politely greeted the people. "Now before we start, I-"
"Wait, my lord!" One of the merchants cut in before Joseph could finish speaking. "Why are we here with those... sla-, second rate citizens?"
"Second rate?" The ex-slaves contingent cried out indignantly. "What makes you so superior? Money?"
The merchant smirked and made a mock helpless gesture, "See, my lord, this uneducated sla... people... will only impair what plans you have, my lord!"
"What?" The ex-slaves where more riled up by the comments and the trap the merchant had forced them into. "You stinkin-"
"ENOUGH!" Joseph banged the table with his palm. "I called you here not to have you act like bickering housewife shopping in a damn market!"
Both sides immediately quiet down, while the locals hid grins behind their hands and smirked at the ex-slaves who fumed angrily, glaring fiercely back.
Joseph gave out a long sigh and addressed both parties. "I want both sides to stop all manner of aggression right now!"
Both parties silently shook their heads inside, knowing that there is no way it is possible of what Joseph was asking of them.
"We have cultists running amok in the city and that is just the least of our problems heading towards us!" Joseph simply said. "And I am not talking about the army the Empire is sending over to retake take this place, but this..."
He switched on the display on the wall behind him and the gathered people gasped in surprise at the images that were shown. "What is that amazing artifact?" Some of the merchants stared at the lifelike and vibrant images shown on the screen."
"Now if I can have your attention on the screen," Joseph carried on ignoring the amazed cries and questions. "This just happened several hours ago at a city not too far from here, about two five day weeks distance of travel away."
The locals and the ex-slaves watched as a giant snake rampaged over a city, seeing it snatch tiny figures with flailing hands with its massive mouth from the ground.
"How is that possible?" The gathered locals and ex-slaves mumbled in unbelieving tones among themselves.
"We recorded this calamity from the air with... magic..." Joseph explained. "You all have seen our flying machines, that was how we found out that, that city was attacked by such a creature."
"Now, it is highly possible, this creature will come to target us next," Joseph said. "When that happens, anyone still remaining behind these walls will end up very much like that city's inhabitants."
Both sides were shocked by the words of Joseph. "This the reason why I gathered all of you here to make plans on how to save as many people as possible should the situation comes to that point!"
"Look, I am not telling you all to bury your grievances in a day or two, I know its hard after so long of resentment between the two sides," Joseph added. "But I would like you all to set aside that for the good of your own people."
-----
Sin City
The gathering tribes and clans of Oerkins grew larger and larger as more and more Oerkins responded to the summons with all haste. The Great Serpent after feasting its fill had hidden among the rubble of the ruined city, awaiting the Sun to set before it moves out to hunt to sate its ever growing appetite.
The Oerkins were restless as they waited impatiently for more of their brethren to join them while the Shamans and Elders prepped spells and magic formations to defeat the Great Serpent.
The other merchants and slaves loitering around the outskirts had pulled back further and set up camp, most of the masterless slaves being forcefully assimilated into the folds of the merchants.
Others seeking freedom braved the endless plains and set off with barely any supplies and disappeared away from the sight of the city.
"We wait no longer!" The Elder Shaman declared to the rest of the Oerkin Elders. "It will be dark soon!"
"But our brethren have not all joined us!" One of the Elders replied. "Not enough warriors!"
"The Thing is strongest without the light!" The Shaman snapped. "We must act... NOW!"
The rest of the Oerkin Council looked at each and before nodded. "So be it! It will be a glorious day to die!"
The Elders and Chiefians left to prepare their warriors for war while the Shamans gathered together. "Eldest... our powers will be useless against that Thing!"
"We can't summon any warriors to our aid either," The Shamans said. "That Thing has eaten their souls! We can't call them back to fight for us!"
The Eldest Shaman shook wrinkled head and said. "We must call upon the aid of our forefathers!"
The rest of the Shamans looked at each other in surprise, "But Eldest! We can't defile their eternal rest!"
"Now is not the time for such customs!" The Eldest berated the rest. "Only with their strength, may we win!"
"I- it shall be done!" The rest of the Shamans bowed in submission to the Eldest. "We will head off to the ancestral graves immediately..."
"Do it fast, or we will not be here when you all return..."
-----
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGG!!!"
The charge into the ruined city started off with a war cry, as hundreds and hundreds of Oerkins roared out at once. They slowly picked up the pace as they neared the tall gates left wide open in the haste of the city inhabitants' race to safety.
They swarmed the wide rubble littered, cracked streets of the city, rushing towards the center of the city as the Great Serpent had nested in.
"KILLLLL!" The Oerkins cried out as they saw the creature stirring to life. It had taken shelter inside the ruined Palace, coiling itself under the broken roof protectively, as it did not like the sun rays touching its body.
The Serpent opened its golden eyes and saw a mass of delicious looking life force rushing forward to it. "Hmmm, dinner timeee? How naiseee for them to offeeer themselvesss to missh!"
A volley of hand cannons roared out and the ruined walls of the Palaces exploded from the heavy shots of the Oerkins. Those without firearms charged straight past the ruins columns and walls, navigating their way over the fallen masonry and bodies to close in with the Serpent which eyed them with eagerness.
Shots slammed against the body of the Serpent causing tiny puffs of black smoke to pop out. The Serpent narrowed its golden eyes as it felt stings from the hot burning bites on its body. It slithered out of its cover and avoided the golden red sun rays of the setting sun before happily throwing its self against the Oerkins who wielded a variety of weapons.
"DIE CURSED ONE! DIE!" The Clan Chief of the Wolfmasters with his muscles bugling swung down hard with his heavy double blade ax against the body of the Serpent. He barely felt any resistance as his ax went through the smoky glazed body of the god snake.
A puff of foul smelling oily black smoke oozed out following the passage of his swung ax. The Clan Chief took a step to brace himself from his surprise when the body of the god snake slammed against his chest, sending him and dozens of other warriors flying across the rubble sown ground.
He cursed as a sharp pain cut into his chest and coughed out blood. The Serpent barely even spared him a glance as it happily snapped away at the numerous Oerkins surrounding it, tossing its triangular hooded head back to swallow any unfortunate Oerkin it had caught with its jaws.
A greenish glow suddenly covered the Wolfmaster's Clan Chief and he felt the pain in his chest numbing before fading away. He pushed himself up and saw the Eldest Shaman with his eyes closed, holding out his crooked staff and healing the wounded around him.
"Much thanks, old one!" He grunted in gratitude before turning back to glare at the god snake. "Our weapons could not harm that Thing!"
"It is a lord of darkness!" The Shaman warned. "Light! We need light!"
The Clan Chief nodded and bellowed to the Oerkins nearby, "Fire! Burn everything!"
The Oerkins warriors started using flints to burn whatever flammable material they could find, and soon a several torches and fires lit up the surroundings, casting an orange glow while the sun sets below the horizon.
The Shaman lifted his staff high up and chanted. Motes of light appeared before condensing into a ball of light and the Shaman pushed the Illumination spell into the air, which brightened the area.
The Serpent suddenly paused in its feeding frenzy as it noticed a source of light behind its back. It turned and snarled angrily at the elder Shaman. "Puny low livesss! I ssshall regain my powersss! You will never stop mee!"
"Our forefathers have done so once," The Shaman stood proudly staring back against the angry snake. "You will fail once more!"
"Heeheeeheeehee..." The Serpent hissed. "With jussst a few of you?"
The Serpent's eye narrowed into slits, "That fateful day... Ish feed and feed... the tassteee... ohh... how deliciouss... You forefatherss tasted sooo good..."
The Shaman's expression did not change as he raised his staff up and pointed at the snake. "We, Oerkin will stop you!"
"COMEEEE!" The Serpent roared and struck down towards the Shaman faster than the eye could see. The Clan Chief of the Wolfmasters gasped and tried to throw himself before the Shaman but the god snake was faster as it snatched up the shaman into its jaws. It laughed in triumph before turning to face the angry Clan Chief. "Yoou be neext!"
The Serpent widened its jaws and was about to attack the Chief when it suddenly gave a jerk. "Whaat!?"
A bright glow could be seen within the belly of the Serpent. The Clan Chief gave a bark of laughter, "You bite off more than you can chew!"
He charged forward with scores of other warriors as the Serpent was distracted by the glowing light in its belly. "The light! It makes the shadow god solid! Kill it quickly!"
Spears, axes, swords and hand cannons hammered against the suddenly less shadowy body of the Serpent. Thwacks sounded from the body of the Serpent as the Oerkins' weapons connected against its body. It roared its anger and pain as it felt the pain of the Oerkins' attacks.
"DOWN!" The Wolfmaster Clan Chief suddenly roared and threw himself face down on the ground as the pissed off God whipped its body wildly, crushing and throwing bodies into the air. It shrieked loud enough to shattered the eardrums of the nearby Oerkins.
"CURSESSS!!!" It hissed as the glow in its body grew brighter with no signs of stopping. "ISH REMEMBER YOU! ISH SHALLL DESSTROYY ALL OF YOOU!"
"KILL!" The Oerkins roared out and charged against the madden Serpent. The cold weapons of the Oerkins dug into the black flesh of the Serpents, spewing foul smelling smoke and ichor all over the area while Oerkins were crashed underneath the squirming body of the Serpent or were bitten into pieces and swallowed.
Roars of hand cannons merged with the war cries of the Oerkins as they charged constantly against the Serpent which snarled back in equal ferocity.
-----
The group of Oerkin Shamans riding the swift wind wolves looked back to the distant city with sadness as they felt the Eldest's life force among them fade away. "We must hurry! We must bring the Ancient Horde or all is lost for our race!"
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WARGHHH~~!
Orwell's Point, Docks, Location of a cultist den,
Evelyn paused in her tracks and crouched down low as she followed the trail of magic that matched the other cultists' locations the soldiers had unrevealed. The smell of rotting wood and fish wafted up from the rows and rows of tied up river barges lashed together against the docks.
She nimbly climbed over the top of one of the barges and leopard crawled her way to the edge of the roof and peeked at the barge next to the one she was hiding on.
A flicker of candle flame could be seen through the warped timbers of the river barge and Evelyn smiled, knowing that she had tracked the target. She slowly rolled over and waved to the soldiers hidden at the edge of the docks who were waiting for her signal.
Seeing her wave, the soldiers advanced up, keeping low and moving as silently as they could with all that gear that they were carrying. Evelyn eyed the passable stealth movements of the soldiers with a wary eye under the glow of the twin moons in the night sky before turning back to keep watch on the cultists' hideout.
It had taken her two days to track and find the traces of demonic magic that the cultists were desperately trying to hide. A gentle breeze carried the scent of blood and death to her nostrils as she waited for the soldiers to surround the barge.
A soft rustle and a body crawled up next to her. She could smell the sweat and dirt from the soldier who was her guard and watcher. "In there?" The soldier asked as he pulled himself next to her prone form.
She nodded, her gesture barely seen under the moonlit night.
The soldier spoke something into that strange device of theirs that did not use magic. He seemed to nod and replied to whatever that was said before he turned to her and said, "Now, we sit tight and watch the show!"
Several dark figures emerged and advanced in a line towards the barge, their soft footsteps seemingly sounding loud to Evelyn's sensitive ears.
The team of soldiers silently climbed their way into the barge and gathered at the hatch that led into the barge's hold. Knowing that there would be magical traps and tripwires, the entry team pasted blocks of explosive against the hold, and hunkered down.
A flash of eye searing light blew up, causing a large white spot in Evelyn's sight. The blast wave hit her almost immediately and the loud roar deafened her even as the soldier next to her pressed her down with his arms over her head protectively.
A second later, several loud pops and flashes of light erupted within the hold followed by screams and panicked cries. Evelyn blinked and rubbed her eyes as her night vision was affected by the explosion.
She watched the troop of soldiers jumped into the gaping hole on the barge yelling. Other soldiers swarmed out from their hidden positions and surrounded the boat while another team climbed onboard.
Shortly later, several hooded figures with their arms restrained behind their backs were dragged out by soldiers one by one. Evelyn saw her old companion and ex party member, Liz being escorted by another soldier entered the barge as she was in charge of checking for any magical or arcane items or traps.
Another awhile a soldier emerged out and waved at the soldiers waiting outside who entered to deal with whatever that they have to inside the barge.
"Well, that was easy," The soldier next to her said. "Let's go back.
"Wait, I need to go into that barge..." Evelyn suddenly said to the surprised soldier.
"Why?" He asked curiously.
"I can sense and track the cultists easier," She replied. "It will be easier to do it with a location that wasn't destroyed like the others."
"I see," the soldier nodded, "Makes sense, alright let's go down then!"
They climbed down the roof of the barge before entering the hideout of the cultists. The other soldiers barely gave them an eye as they walked into the brightly magical lit interior of the barge's hold.
The scent of blood and death grew thicker as Evelyn entered the hold. Magic circles of unknown purposes were drawn all over the decks and even the bulkheads. The timber decks and bulkheads at many places were stained dark reddish black from god knows how many sacrificial rituals that were made here.
Thick yellowed candles stubs made out of the victims' fat were placed almost everywhere. Thankfully they all had been snuffed out, or Evelyn won't be able to endure the stench. An altar sat in the middle of a magic circle with skulls, idols and more candles laid on it.
Liz was hunched over at one of the magic circles, holding her nose as she tried to make sense of the usage of the circles. Evelyn ignored her and walked around the hold, making sure not to step on any of the circles.
She saw a large trail of dried blood leading out of the hold to one of the side hatches where a couple of soldiers shook their heads at the contents of the room before they closed the hatch.
Liz stood up from the circle where the altar was and said to the soldier next to her, "I am not sure what the purpose is for this magic circle... But it seems inert, it probably needs some form of catalyst for it to work, as long we don't provide the catalyst, it shouldn't activate at all."
The soldier nodded, "Any ideas what the catalyst would be? I don't want the Crime Scene Investigation team to accidentally activate it..."
Liz sighed and glared at the soldier, "Make a guess?"
"Erm... blood?" The soldier replied back.
"Good job!" Liz laughed sarcastically and patted him on his shoulder which she had to tiptoe to do it considering her height. "You're halfway to being a great mage!"
"Ha..." The soldier rolled his eyes before turning to another and telling him to send in the CSI team to document everything.
"Hey Eve!" Liz greeted Evelyn when she saw her looking over the items on the altar. "Nice work as usual!"
Evelyn smiled and gestured to the items on the table. "What are these?"
"Well, if I am to make a guess," Liz pointed to the gold idols on the table that looked like some kind of leaf with a wiggly worm underneath it. "It should be the representation of whatever evil or demon they are worshipping."
"That knife should be used for sacrifices while the skulls used to hold the blood?" Liz said. "You have to ask Magister Thorn if you want more details. I only know some from his explanations."
Evelyn nodded and she stared at the small palm sized gold idols sitting on the altar with deep fascination. She felt a strange tingling sensation on her scalp as she stared at the strange idol.
"Well, don't touch it," Liz said as one of the soldiers called for her to look at something. "We don't know what kind of pagan god or demon these idols represent, so its better be careful!"
Evelyn nodded and she straightened up before glancing around her surroundings. Seeing her handle gawking around the hold and not paying her any attention, while the rest of the soldiers were also not looking her way. She rapidly fitched one of the smaller idols and slipped it into her pockets in one smooth motion before she walked away to join Liz at looking at another magic circle.
A small smile grew on the corner of her lips as she felt the comforting warmth of the idol that was radiating out from her pockets before she rubbed the smile away and joined Liz.
"Soon... very soon..."
-----
Uncharted Forest
"There!" Drake cried out loudly next to Sergeant Sath's ear. Luckily Sath was wearing protective headgear and ear mufflers if not he would have flinched from Drake's excited yell.
For the past two days, they finally found the Orcs campsite. "Looks too quiet to me!" Sath said as he activated the zoom of the view screens. "Seems like they had run off already!"
"Damn!" Drake cursed. "Hold here, me and Slow will take a look at the site."
"Got it!" Sath ordered the driver to halt and Drake climbed out from the top hatch and joined Slow on the ground who was waiting for him next to his ASAG.
"Let's go recce on foot," Drake said and the two of them advanced into the abandoned Orc camp.
Fifteen minutes later, they found nothing of usefulness and the two Marines stood at the last tent which was the largest and the flaps of the tent still had a couple of bullet holes that Drake fired, days before.
They entered the tent warily but found it empty except for a small folding table with an amulet acting as a paperweight on the note underneath it.
Drake stopped Slow from approaching and he carefully checked the table for any tripwires before gently pulling the note out from underneath the strange gold amulet. He carefully unfolded the note and cursed.
<< When you have read this, I would have been long gone! You fuckers tried to kill me but failed! Don't worry, what doesn't kills me only makes me stronger! Your ex - Aaron >>
<<PS. Have fun with the gift I left you! =D >>
"What the fuck?" Drake reread the note again. "Gift?"
He looked down at the amulet with the strange worm like wigglies and frowned. "I am so not touching that..."
Slow bend over and gave a sniff of the amulet and growled, "Bad magic!"
"What the hell? Are you a dog now?" Drake pulled Slow back. "Better not touch it, it is probably a trap! Let's get the hell out of here!"
As he said that, the amulet seemed to glow and move. "Oh fuck..."
A hiss came from the worm that was actually a tiny snake which started to grow larger and larger by the second. "FUCK THIS! Get out!" Drake cried and he pushed Slow out of the tent.
The two Marines stumbled out to the open as a giant snake grew and ripped the tent pegs off the ground. Luckily for them, the tent snared the head of the snake, preventing it from seeing. It shook its mightly head left and right, trying to shook loose the tent, giving the duo precious time to get clear.
The campsite was situated at a small clearing within the forest, Drake pondered should they take cover in the trees when the snake finally managed to wrestle off the tent. "Hide among the tents!" He cried softly to Slow who nodded and the two ducked behind one of the empty Orc tents.
"What the fuck is that?" Drake hissed to Slow who returned a shrug. "Damn it!" He activated his comms, "Zero Two, do you copy? Did you see that thing?"
"I see it, what the fuck is that?"
"A fucking giant snake!" Drake growled into his comms, "And its gonna eat us if you don't do something about it!"
"Roger that, standby!"
Drake peeked over the side of the tent and saw the snake sniffing the air, before whipping its head and staring right at where Drake and Slow were hiding. "Oh, noes... fuck... it's coming!"
The snake snarled and darted forward while Drake and Slow split up into two different directions. The tent collapsed from the weight of the snake and it turned left and right, as it wondered who should it catch first.
In the end, it chose Drake and slithered after him. "Why the fuck... are... you chasing... me!"
"Go... chase... Slow!" Drake panted as he ran with all his might, trying to outrun the giant snake that was looming up behind him. "Mother... fucking... snake!"
Suddenly a continuous roar of a machine gun burst out from behind and a line of tracers hammered against the snake, making it cried out in anger as it whipped its head back to see who was hurting it.
Slow growled as he hefted his MG 1 and fired again at the pissed off snake.
"Come to daddy!"
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Snakes on my pla-! I meant snakes everywhere!
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