When Empires Crumble

[Quackerz]

"What I would have you do? Scout all three street's and public area's for anyone suspicious. Ask the people you know there if they've seen anyone suspicious. You'll be provided with a Falconian Crystal that will allow you to send the message to us telepathically, so that you won't have to let them out of your sights... But if you do find someone, do not be spotted following them or attempt to apprehend them, as these are far more deadly than an average assassin." Karina said in response to the young guard's question, as she reached the outside of the castle she stepped across the moat once again.

 

Turning her head to look up at the still starry sky, from this angle royal banners could be seen flying from all the towers on the castle, lit up by the moon.

 

 

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"Very well, then. But you did not answer the question, can you do it? And if so, could that knowledge be passed on?" Serkan asked, as this man seemed to be very much into.. "Alchemy", as he put it. He wasn't fazed about how Saren had simply snapped at him, if anything he seemed almost to have enjoyed it. That fiery passion that seemed to burn within him made him more confident that what he asked could be possible. For if they could imbue their shields with resistance to dragons breath... A twisted grin seemed to make it's way across his face as he thought of the possibilities of what they could do, if only they could nullify the dragon's mightiest weapon - fire.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Sean175

[Narath]

"Yes Ma'am!" Tennat replied excitedly.

Him getting to use a Falconian crystal? It was almost as if he was part of the Blue Falcons themselves! There was no other way to get them after all. The news put a slight spring in the excited guard's already quickly moving steps after the dragon he followed.

"Ma'am? Would it be alright if I let my father know about this?" He asked hopefully. "Our family has been serving in the military for generations, and I'm sure that he would be glad to know that I am doing something this important for the kingdom."

 

--------------

 

"Sadly, there is no material that men can carry that is resistant to something like that." Saren began to explain. "Remember, I create things that truly exist already. It has to me made of elements that exist in our universe. If I fought a dragon, I could get by with creating a wall of stone between me and the creature. It would work well, but not forever, as their breath will eventually melt even that. If you had men with the ability to use Alchemy, I could train them to do things like that eventually, but you'd have to rely on them to protect you and your other men.

"Can I ask why you are so interested though? You aren't going to do something foolish like taking the dragons on in a war or something are you?"

[Quackerz]

"Hmm... I suppose not, it will take a little bit to organize the others and inform them of the situation, while you already know... Very well then, when you are done come to the front gates of the Blue Falcons' fortress, but remember that time is of the essence." Karina responded, as she walked through the streets of Falandthal, watching all the passing civilians from the corner of her eyes, spotting no one out of the normal. She presumed that the young guard would know his way to their fortress, when it occurred to her she didn't even know his name yet. "What is your name, young one?" she asked politely. She turned her head a bit to look at the rooftops as she walked, knowing that assassin's often liked to go across the roofs rather than the streets for fear of being spotted, something that didn't work so well with dragons.

 

 

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"A shame, then." Serkan responded, having greatly hoped to find a way to protect his men from the fiery hell that dragon's let loose upon them, "Of course I'm not going to go to war with the Dragons. They have an endless land of their own that we can't even hope to reach, leaving us with no idea how many of them there may truly be. The reason I wanted such a thing, was in fact due to dragon's occasionally joining the organization's that oppose us, which become a great problem as soon as they show up on any battlefield." Serkan responded, with such an idea shot down - and a wall not being a feasible idea as the dragon could simply go over or around it, not to mention that it would prevent them from killing the dragon as well.

 

"Hmm... then I suppose I'll just have to settle for the usual riches and wealth. Which is always good." Serkan said with a bit of a grin as he pulled out a gold coin and looked at it a bit, "It is a long ride to Netheloc's capital and a dangerous one. But their own corruption should make the task a bit easier..." he continued, thinking on how much that would be worth. Netheloc was the most dangerous of the human realms, after all. But what else could be expected of the birthlands of Senglandia itself?

Edited July 12, 2014 by Sean175

[Quackerz]

((Bump))

[Narath]

((Sorry for the wait, my computer's internet gave up on me for a while.))

 

"I am Tennat, son of Jarrate, of the house of Sodun m'Lady." Tennat replied with a polite bow. "And I am honoured to have the privilege of working alongside the fames Falcons."

"If you would like me to get started soon, I can go whenever you wish. My sword is yours."

 

--------------

 

"Yes yes, but fighting dragons is none of my concern, nor do I ever wish it to be." Sarren said, waving a hand dismissively at the outlaw. "To be completely honest with you, I do not like having to bargain with you. If I could get what I want from anyone else, including these 'opposing organizations', I would do so. Now, can you help me or not? If it is the latter, let me know so I can leave."

The Alchemist was getting impatient now. Did this brute have anything besides riches on his mind?

[Quackerz]

((I know the feeling all to well. :/))

 

"Hm. Alright then, Tennat. It is alright for you to inform your father of this, as I've said before." Karina continued, "Or if you wish, you could come with me to the Fortress and inform him later, either choice is fine by me." Karina finished as she continued to walk through the streets of the city, getting closer the fortress of the Blue Falcons, few other buildings could be seen around it and it seemed to be more fortified than the King's Castle, the four fortress walls were all connected together by a large tower in each corner, the walls appeared to be a metallic grey while the towers were a bright white color, each tower had a large draconic statue atop of it, built onto a platform that stood twice as tall as the average human. There was obviously room around it on the towers as human's could be seen wandering atop the walls and towers in the armor of the Blue Falcons.

 

Though most of it was blocked by the walls a large building could be seen towering up from within the center of the fortress, far taller than even the towers looking to be very wide as well. Everything about it seemed to be gigantic compared to the human buildings and palaces, even the King's Castle. From atop the building within the fortress another tower stood high up into the sky, and on top of it stood not just another statue - but a very unique one. The statue was of a large dragon rearing up, with it's tail curving sharply to it's right with the tip being pointed up, but rather than the head of a dragon it had the head of a falcon with it's beak open as thought it was screeching, both of it's front legs up as though it were clawing at something. It's right wing being clearly dragonic while it's left wing was clearly feathered looking like a bird's.

 

The shone brightly between the statue's body and tail as though it fit perfectly between them with the tail wrapping up along it's side as if to hold it there. This appearance was likely an intended one, given how much work and detail had gone into making this gigantic statue. Walking every closer the gigantic gates could be seen, guarded by two humans in Falconian armor - with a large Black Dragon clearly visible on the other side.

 

The armor worn by the guards was quite different than that of the Royal Guards, the armor was a navy blue with an almost cyan reflection as the moonlight hit it, their shoulder plates appeared to fan out a few inches like feathered wings and the same went for their gauntlets, metal-like feathers carefully curved to bend in the direction of the arm almost like real feathers, their metal boots were relatively normal however, but their knee plates had metal feathers hanging from it on all sides. Their helmets were very unique, there was no plume and the head was shaped like that of a falcon's, minus the beak. The visor seemed to be longer than normal as it curved back all the way towards their ears on each side. The black handle's of their sword's could be seen sticking out from each of their shoulders, each obviously carrying two swords on their back in the typical crossed swords fashion, but view of the blades was obviously blocked by the guards themselves.

 

 

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"Hmm.. direct and to the point, I like that. Very much so. Very well then, I will do this task, the cost of the trip will be two bags of gold, while the risk to steal this shall cost three bags of rubies, along with whatever it might cost me to bribe my way in. To be paid after the task is complete, of course." Serkan responded, perhaps a low price for such a dangerous task. For anyone else, at least. But for Serkan it was far less dangerous, the White Eagles had already infiltrated the Kingdom of Netheloc greatly, leaving the only real danger to be any dragons he might encounter. "Do we have a deal?" he asked a couple moments later, almost eager to begin this task.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Sean175

[Narath]

Deciding that following Karina was the best option, Tennat followed her to the Blue Falcon fortress. The moment the monolith of a building came into view, Tennat became stunned by it's splendor. By the time they had reached the gates, the young man had come to a complete stop, his mouth fully agape at the spectacle before him. The armor of the guards managed to catch his eye, and he stood even more astonished. Did they have to buy that themselves? Each one had to have costed a small fortune on it's own!

 

---------------

 

"Transmuting those items will be a sinch." Saren replied, getting out of the chair and stretching. "Seriously, why people put such value on them, I'll never know."

The alchemist stuck his hand out towards Serkan to seal the deal.

"If you deliver on even finding the location of one, you'll have your money. If you do not wish to risk your men, or whatever, I can do the heavy lifting."

[Quackerz]

Karina looked down at the guards of the main gate, the loud sound of gears turning could now be heard as the multilayered gate began to open, the first part began to pull up and could be clearly seen rising through the wall, while the next two began to pull to the left and to the right respectively disappearing into the wall's beside them, the sound of gears seemed to stop as Karina took a step forward. The Guards remained idle as she passed, but the black dragon that was on the other side took a few steps forward. "Ah, Sister Karina. Welcome back to the fortress... What brings you here so late in the night?" the dragon asked curiously, his voice was both deep and loud, sounding far older than Karina.

 

"The King's orders, we must summon a meeting of our top officials - the ones that are currently within the city, at least." Karina responded, seeming to catch the interest of the Black Dragon. But not as much as the human she had brought with her, "Very well, then. But I am curious... Who is this human you have brought with you?" the dragon asked, "His name is Tennat, one of the guards from the King's Palace and has offered his help in our current situation" Karina responded, only making the black dragon ever more curious.

 

"Hmm. I'd ask more questions, but we do have other priorities at the moment. I shall arrange the meeting." the dragon said, turning to walk off. As Karina now fully entered the courtyard was mostly visible thanks to the bright moon, except for the side shaded by the main building. The main path appeared to be tiled in with a light blue tile that reflected moderately, while everything else was a grass lawn, with only a few other paths. Various Blue Falcon knights wandered around, some of their swords could be seen sheathed on their back in a silver sheath which curved somewhat, unlike the usual straight swords the the kingdom used. The handles were black and relatively odd, curving in at certain spots for the hands to better grip them, as though they were custom made.

 

The black dragon could be seen entering the main building, simply pushing the doors open with his great strength. Many windows could be seen across this building, as well as on the upper floors, but none on the towers. All the curtains were closed and no light seemed to be coming from any of them, the black dragon almost seemed to disappear into darkness as he entered the fortress. Karina turned her attention to the young knight Tennat, curious as to how he was reacting to being in the fortress, presuming he hadn't remained stunned and in the same place.

 

 

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"It is all in the eye of the beholder." Serkan said plainly as Saren wondered why such items were considered valuable, standing up Serkan accepted the handshake. "My men and I will ride at first light. I am sure we will both be quite pleased with the results." he continued with a bit of a grin. Perhaps he could settle a score or two while he was in the capital, the deal was continuing to look better and better in his eyes.

[Narath]

Tennat was in the middle of admiring the works of the fortress walls, when all of a sudden, a deep voice snapped him out of his revery. Turning his sight to where it resounded from, the young man was once again put into a stupor. Another dragon! Either he was getting extremely lucky, meeting two dragons in one day, or he was in something that is way over his head. He was so stunned by the majesty of the new dragon, that he barely noticed the mention of his name in time to perform a polite bow. When the dragons began to walk off again, he followed, but was continuously distracted by everything around him; spinning around to look in every direction at armor, weapons, tapestries, statues, architecture, and so forth. It didn't even clue into him that he was beginning to fall behind.

 

-------------------

 

"So, in the meantime, would I be able to talk with your draconian ally?" Sarren asked as the handshake was finished. "There are a few things that I'd like to ask that may help me in some research. For one thing, I'd love to find out what makes a dragon's scales so durable."

That, and there was not much else to do. He'd rather not sit around the camp and be bored by the uneducated men that occupied it. What he needed was someone that could actually hold a conversation with him. The Alchemist had heard that dragons were rather intelligent, so the one here may just fill that requirement.

[Narath]

((Bump))

[Quackerz]

((Sorry for taking so long to reply. :/ ))

 

Karina waited for the young human, not saying anything about the fact he had fallen behind. If anything she seemed to enjoy watching hi spin around to get a good luck at everything. What would his reaction be in the daytime when all the detail could be clearly seen, she wondered. But now was not particularly the time for her curiosity, later maybe, but not now. As she turned back to look at the main part of the fortress, the doors were still open and the torches were now lit, a few guards could be seen deeper inside the hallway holding torches to light the wall torches.

 

Entering the doors rather slowly as to give the human time to catch up, she wouldn't be able to go too fast here anyways. It would take another ten minutes before the guards would have all the torches lit, anyways. The floor was an eerie black tile that gave almost no reflection of light, while the walls were a dark grey stone that only moderately reflected the light that hit them. All moonlight from outside would seem to merely disappear as she went further in, a few doorways were on the side wall's, but few and far between. They were large enough for a dragon much like the entrance, but they also had a human-sized door at the bottom of the door itself.

 

Eventually she reached a large room that had more corridors and a long series of doorways along the left wall, those appeared to be sleeping quarters for the human members of the Blue Falcons. Two dragons could be seen wandering around in this gigantic room, many dark blue tapestries hung from the walls and ceiling, all bearing the Falconian insignia. On the right wall was another gigantic set of doors, this time they were steel and highly shiny, two guards stood on each side of the door while two stood directly in front of it. All of them were holding the same weapon, a gigantic halberd which was held slightly sideways with a hand under the blade and another hand held slightly back, the blade leaned towards the right shoulder on each of them the way it was held.

 

But there was more, the handle's of their regular swords could be seen on their back's, but each of them also had a large metal belt which a hatchet on each side of the waist and a series of large knives sheathed directly in front and directly behind each hatchet. The doors seemed to open inward and had a different insignia upon it, it was a half-dragon half-falcon emblem, exactly like the statue that stood atop the center tower. Except for the fact it appeared to be breathing flames onto another emblem, the emblem of the former Senglandian Empire. The Senglandian Emblem was much smaller but highly detailed, displaying the main wall and the first two towers of a castle with an open gate, crossed swords overlapping this and with a large crown above all of them, a crown that appeared to hold far more jewels than any of the current Noble's within the human lands.

 

It could be clearly seen where the doors would open, splitting between the Dragon-Falcon and the Senglandian Emblem, but the flames were still on the side of the door with the Senglandian Emblem. And this was proved as a few of the guards moved slightly to opposite sides and the doors began to quickly open, far quicker than the main gate, to allow in the two dragons that had been seen in the room, along with a few humans. Karina watched as they entered what she knew as the meeting room, then turned her attention behind her towards Tennat and asked "The meeting shall be ready soon." she said simply and plainly.

 

 

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"Ah, I am sure Melanija will be most intrigued by a human that wishes to question her mind for a change rather than her strength." Serkan said a bit amused as he remembered what had happened a few weeks ago, when one of his newer recruits accused her of merely being along for a free ride and contributing nothing to the White Eagles - he even went so far as to challenge her to combat. Short lived combat anyways, seeing as Melanija fried him before he could even move. "If she is willing to talk, I have no problems with you talking to her." he finally finished, now that he had finished amusing himself with a few memories of foolish rookies.

 

"It is time I prepare the men and horses for our journey." he said, with a slight nod then began to head for the way they had come in, tonight was a good night so far in his eyes, which in fact worried him a bit. Lenatian superstition often stated that one who accumulates too much good luck at once - will obtain just as much bad luck.

[MetalDragon]

The strong smell of brine filled the grotto's interior, the streams of water could be heard along with the noise of waves crashing near the entrance as the sea tried to pound its way into the Sea Wolves' hideout. Thin beams of sunlight lit up the cave, allowing for the marauders to see and do their jobs.

 

Sitting on a chair, dimly lit by a lamp on the table there, she wrote on her tattered diary to keep track of their supplies and loot on the ship. Angela kept an eye out at her seamen as they prepared her ship for its next voyage. Lassie's own personal ship, The Ravenous Sea Lion, was a fearsome war frigate stationed inside the cave, equipped with thirty cannons plus a few loose guns placed on the main deck. The ship's flag, made of simple black cloth with a white skull draw on it, could be seen on its mast, albeit it was lowered for now. The sea officer heartily laughed to herself, any time now one of her crew members would arrive with the report about a packed merchant ship's route. Once The Ravenous Sea Lion was ready to sail and the man came back with the report, she was sure they'd be in for a good haul. Meanwhile, Angela observed her crew load up the vessel with boxes filled with cannon balls, sacks containing food and most importantly, barrels filled to the top with some fine rum. If these men knew what was good for them, they weren't going to let any of these barrels slip off their hands into the ground or the water.

 

The female captain's attention was quickly drawn away from the sailors loading the ship up and to a man dressed in rather dirty clothes running towards her with a roll of paper. Angela grinned greedily, assuming that paper was a map that would show her the traders' route.

"Ma'am! I 'ave what ye wanted!"

"Ah, speak up then, me good lad!" Angela laughed.

"Nothin' that coin can't buy, them fools are easy to buy out! 'Ere be the route o' these wretches, Cap'n!"

 

The seaman handed over the roll of paper to his captain, who took it and straightened it, and just as she expected, it was a chart map that showed the merchant ship's planned route. The female officer carefully examined the projection and tried to sketch some plans which wouldn't be permanent, but rather an idea of how they'd tackle this trader vessel.

"Har! They be sailin' outta Falandthal and takin' a break at t'a pointy ears' land... then, they be headin' for those puny, lil' midgets!" Angela said, her covetous grin only getting wider and wider. "If it's to the midgets they be goin' fer, it certainly be somethin' they be takin' there. Their vessel must be full o' goodies and pieces o' eight! Aye, this shall be a worthy haul fer us all!"

 

Before her crew member could say anything else, the captain stood up from the chair, putting her diary into one of her coat's pockets .Fixing her tricorne hat, she glanced at her comrade. "Ye did a good job, me heartie. Board The Ravenous Sea Lion soon we finish preparin' her fer sailin'!" Angela said with a smile, giving a pat on the sailor's shoulder.

"Aye, aye!"

 

The man scurried off to the ship and the Sea Wolf authority headed up to the crew and began shouting, lifting the now rolled chart to show it to the seamen.

 

"Avast, me hearties! In me hands ye see a map with a route charted by a trader vessel. Little do these poor damned rascals know that it might just be their final voyage! Today we set sail and halt 'em right in their tracks, and tonight, we sing and count all their coin! Let's plunder all their booty, n' let the ferocious howl o' the Sea Wolves terrorize all the foolish landlubbers who think of our waters! Now smartly load our vessel up, ye sea dogs!"

And with that said, the Alpha Officer headed out to board her boat.

 

Angela's announcement was received with thunderous cheering and clapping, along with singing as the sailors began preparing the ship much faster than before, their eyes gleaming with greed upon thinking of all the treasure to be taken away from this merchant ship their captain spoke of. The sooner they could set sail, all the better.

 

((Hope this is okay for now.))

[Narath]

By the time They had reached the large steel doors, Tennat had fallen behind by a bit. The whole situation was a lot for him to take in. After all, he did come from a rather average family. It was only when Karina spoke that he realize how far behind he was. Panicking a little, he quickened his pace to a run in order to catch up to his draconic guide.

"Sorry m'lady." He apologized frantically. "This place is just... So..."

The guard paused for a moment, searching for the correct word.

"Awe-inspiring." He finally settled on.

 

--------------

 

"Thank you for your help, and I wish you luck and good speed." Saren said as he too stood up to leave.

Exiting the tent, the Alchemist began to walk through the camp, whistling a merry tune as he searched for the faction's dragon. Who would have thought it so hard to find something that large in a camp like this?

[Quackerz]

"Most would agree with that, yes." Karina responded, the meeting wasn't ready - quite yet - so she turned her attention to a guard that was in the room and asked, "Bring me a Falconian Crystal, please.". The guard turned his attention to Karina and nodded "At once, Karina." the guard responded then walked off, going up to the wall on the opposite side of the room where no doors were. Knocking on the wall with his knuckles slowly three times, quickly twice, then slowly four more times, the door could be seen opening inward, another guard was momentarily visible on the other side as he opened the door.

 

 

Quickly entering and coming back, the door closed behind him as the guard approached Karina and offered up a small crystal held with both his hands, to prevent dropping or similar. "Give it to the young knight with me - Tennat, thank you." she said, the guard turned and walked away from Karina towards Tennat and presented him with the small crystal - it seemed to almost absorb the light that was hitting it from the torches, a deep dark blue color. Shaped in the head of a falcon of course, It's eyes were a lighter color of blue.

 

 

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As Serkan headed across to the other side of the camp, he tapped a few of his subordinates on the shoulder as he passed them, causing them to turn and look at him as he continued to walk, merely raising his hand up to signal them to come with him, which they all did. Heading for the horse pen, a few of them broke off to grab more weapons in a large weapons tent next to the horse pen.

 

Melanija watched from over the tents as Serkan departed towards the horses, getting several men to follow him along the way. This could only mean they'd struck yet another deal, one that would allow her luxorious lifestyle to continue. From over one of the tents she noticed something else, the stranger that had entered the camp appeared too be searching for something. Could he perhaps, be a thief attempting to distract them with an offer of business, she thought?

 

Lowering her body towards the ground she moved slowly and quietly, snaking her head out from between two tents and turned it to look sharply at the alchemist from behind, "Looking for something?" she asked, breaking the silence of the night, her eyes closely fixed on him in the event her thoughts were true - for if they were, such an act would certainly not go unpunished, especially by Melanija.

 

[Narath]

Tennat accepted the crystal from the guard carefully, being as gentle and careful as one could. He gaped at the perfect lucid piece of stone he held before him in awe, memorizing it's limpid features as much he could.

"T-thank you m'lady!" Tennat said excitedly, giving the dragon a low bow. "Again, you honor me beyond imagine. Thank you!"

 

---------------

 

"Yes I am actually." Saren replied to the deep sounding female voice behind him before turning.

The Alchemist was actually mildly surprised to see that the voice had in fact, belonged to the very dragon he was looking for. Hopefully. He hadn't heard of any other dragon being in Serkan's company, and he did not have a contingency plan that prepared for more than one.

"Melanija I presume." He stated more than asked. "I'm glad that you have found me, as I was in fact looking for you. I've hired Serkan do do a little bit of searching for me, and in the mean time, was wishing that you would spare me a moment of your time."

Hopefully, the dragon would deem him "worthy" of her time. He had heard rumors of her, and from what he heard she was mostly just interested in riches. Just as much, if not more so than the one she partnered herself with. If she judged him just on his appearance, then he might be in trouble, as he wore only simple garb, and did not carry much on him since he could just transmute anything he needed given the correct resources.

[Quackerz]

Watching Tennat for a moment after he had taken the crystal as to ensure it wasn't dropped by accident, the guard turned and walked away. Karina seemed to let out a slight smile at his reaction, she had seen few humans as appreciative as he was. "You're welcome, Tennat." she finally responded, then turned her attention to the doorway the others had been going through. Beginning to approach it the guards looked up at her, then proceeded to move out of her way and the doors once again opened. As the doors opened a very large rug could be seen on the floor, a dark purple in color.

 

It had many things wirtten across it, in what seemed to be a extremely old and ancient script. Solid black patches had been very carefully sewn into the rug, depicting what appeared to be winged beasts flying over a range of mountains. The other end of the room however, far larger than even the King's throne room. The Guard's stood out of both Karina and Tennat's way, waiting for them to go in. To which Karina began to enter, multiple other dragons could be seen in there, including the black dragon that had greeted them. There were multiple chairs in there, occupied by human's in various clothing and armor's. All those in armor had their helmet's removed, several seats sat empty.

 

 

Among the dragons however, one stood out in particular. It was a Skywing Dragon, coiled up along the ground much like a snake. His body covered in many visible scars and his coloring seeming somewhat darker than normal, slowly he moved his head up to look at them as they entered. His eyes seemed like a piercing glare directly at Karina, he seemed strangely hostile for a Blue Falcon - he didn't seem to fit in even remotely, he glanced to the side away from Karina afterwards, then his eyes slowly closed as though he seemed to fall asleep. "Hmm...? Where is Genrir and Fianca?" Karina asked, taking note of the empty chairs. "In Netheloc, I'm afraid. A message arrived from the scouts we sent there requesting aid." the black dragon from before responded, a slight sigh from Karina.

 

"A shame. We could of used their tracking capabilities." Karina responded, looking around a bit again. "Seems were all here, then." she continued, finishing entering the room the doors began to close slowly, "Yes, what is so urgent that we must all be here so late at night?" one of the human's asked, the one sitting the closest to the black dragon.

 

 

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If Melanija had an eyebrow, it would of been raised at this point. The man did not look as though he had anything that Serkan could possibly of wanted - yet, they had struck a deal? Perhaps he was lying she thought for a moment, but if that were the case Serkan would of returned to his main tent and the goons would of escorted the man from their camp. She wondered perhaps if he simply intended to attack challenge her, as the others had done before him? Or perhaps just plain attack, as a few of the more foolish ones had done. But she dismissed this thought - if he had such intentions, she suspected the he would of been startled to see her - especially behind him, "Very well then, you have my attention." Melanija finally responded, watching him very carefully but not letting onto the fact she was suspicious of him.

[Narath]

Following Karina into the room, Tennat carefully placed the precious gem inside one of the leather pouches strapped to his belt. After he made sure the gift was secured carefully, he looked up to see a kaleidoscope of dragons and humans. The young man suddenly felt overwhelmed. All the humans seemed very high ranking, and had extremely expensive looking armor. And then there were the dragons, who were all so large... Who all dwarfed him... It made him feel like an ant. Not knowing what he was exactly supposed to do, or where he was supposed to go or anything, he stuck close to Karina's side as she made her way to her seat. Tennat was just starting to relax a bit, when he realized all the other humans in the room had their helmets taken off. Which he didn't. Blushing in embarrassment, the soldier quickly took off his helmet and placed it under his arm.

 

----------------------

 

"There's a few things that I'd maybe like to learn from you." Saren said. "I can make it worth your time. But maybe we should not discuss this here with all these people around."

Mostly because he didn't want people seeing him transmuting riches for the dragon if he had to. When people saw that, they never left him alone. Also, he didn't want any collateral damage in case Melanija wasn't happy when he asked for one or more of her scales. He'd heard that she was fairly vain.

[Narath]

((Bump))

[Quackerz]

As Karina took a step closer to the center of the room, she began to speak once again "The White Eagles are reported to have sent out Assassins to Falandthal, but not the usual kind. These ones have been given a task far more difficult than all before them, which would indicate their likely superiority to the others." she looked around a bit then continued, "The task they have been given is to assassinate the king himself.". Upon hearing this, almost everyone in the room snapped out of their somewhat sleepy state. "Are you quite certain?" The black dragon asked with great concern, Karina gave a slight nod in response.

 

 

The skywing lifted his head up slightly with a low hiss, not loud enough to be heard by those further from him. He then however returned to the way he was, almost as though it didn't concern him. Karina took note of his behavior, but said nothing. As Karina went to continue speaking, the Skywing suddenly spoke out "Tell me, Karina. Who is this guard you have brought with you...? Perhaps he is the assassin..." The Skywing inquired, he talked very slowly but also very firmly, carrying a great amount of intimidation in his voice that seemed to unnerve a few of the humans there, as well as another dragon. "Because if he were, I highly doubt if he would of offered his help. This guard goes by the name of Tennat. He was one of the many guards within the palace. The perfect position for any assassin to have struck." Karina responded, not giving the Skywing the pleasure of reacting to his intimidation attempt, something that seemed very strange for a Blue Falcon.

 

 

The Skywing lifted his head slightly and focused his eyes directly at Tennat, taking a long hard stare at him. His eyes almost seem to resemble that of a snake's eyes, rather than a Skywing's. The Skywing was greatly unusual, that was for certain. But he did not stare too long, his eyes turned away from Tennat to focus on Karina once again. "Now. Do you have anything else to add, or are you done for the moment, Advisor Xelgat?" Karina asked, receiving no response from the Xelgat, who simply pulled his head back into his coil and closed his eyes once again.

 

"What we need to do, is find people familiar with different part's of the city, enough to scour every last street, including the Castle. Few dragons are familiar with the city, so they will have no choice but to watch the city from above, or patrol the outskirts of the city to make sure no one unusual enters. Tennat here will help with the patrol of the Eastern areas, which is most helpful seeing as most of you are from the Southern Half of the City." Karina again continued, this time turning her attention to the humans there, "Unfortunately, as too many of you are from the South to be of use... I'm going to have to station most of you on the outskirts, to aid our dragonic brothers." She finally finished.

 

 

A few of the humans stood up, one of them stating "We will do everything within our power to stop this madness. The White Eagles will not succeed under the watch of the Blue Falcons." One of them said, Xelgat lifted his head slightly as he listened to the human. "And if they do... All you serve to lose is a Monarch." he suddenly said in a low tone, with a great deal of spite in his voice. This drew an angry glare from most in the room, including Karina. But rather than back down from all those now glaring at him, he seemed to chuckle slightly as though he was amused. His behavior was indeed far from normal. "Now, who here was from the North, again?" Karina asked, turning her attention away from Xelgat as her glare - and the glare of the others, only seemed to amuse him.

 

 

 

----------

 

 

"And what is wrong with speaking out in the open?" Melanija inquired with curiosity, not even remotely as quick to oblige to the request as Serkan had been. But that could just have been her distrust, getting her away from the sight of others could of been the perfect trap. It'd of been at least a little smarter of an idea then what the others had tried. Karina turned her head slightly to look at the sky, the sun was now rising in the West. Morning had arrived here, soon it would arrive in Falandthal's capital as well. Multiple men on horses suddenly came barreling down the center of the encampment, led by none other than Serkan. Quickly passing by the two as they headed for the main entrance of the camp, which was just a small stone gateway with two guards, having no gate or fence around it. The guards moved out of the way as Serkan and his fellow horsemen went through at a fast pace, having knocked up large amounts of sand into the air the entire way.

 

Melanija pulled her head back in disgust at the rising sand, watching for a moment as they made haste into the distance of the desert, headed towards the north. She returned her attention to alchemist Saren once again, perhaps she should of just agreed to go elsewhere; it would of saved her all the sand in the face. But it was too late now, it was already done. She lifted up her tail into the air, swinging it from side to side as she watched him, stopping it just before it could hit a tent on either side.

 

 

 

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Serkan finished brushing off his horse and his elite guardsmen were just finishing cleaning their horses hooves, he looked at his own horse once again and petted him softly on the neck. "That's a good boy." he said in the process, his horse was a majestic black color, perfectly back from head to tail. No little white spots or anything, without warning he leaped up and swung his right leg across his horse's back, landing perfectly on the back of his horse and grabbing the horse's mane slightly. He had no saddle and thus no stirrups, he had no spurs either. Turning his horse slightly to watch the others as they finished up with their horses, he grinned slightly as he saw the sun begin to peak up from over the horizon.

 

Riding over to a soldier on the ground who handed up a waterskin, a map and sheathed sword to Serkan, despite already having a sword. It was always good to have a second one when on horseback, he hooked the sheathe of the sword to his left hip and tied the waterskin off on it, he kept a hold of the map with his right hand and keeping a firm grip upon the horse's mane, he rode forward a bit and watched as the sunlight began to spread across the camp, Looking back to see his men now on their own horses, riding by and collecting an extra sword and waterskin from the ground soldier. "The daylight waits for no man. To Netheloc!" Serkan suddenly yelled out to them, tapping his horse's inner thigh with both his heels, his horse suddenly took off through the camp. The others quickly following, though unable to catch up on Serkan's head start.

 

Serkan barreled through the corridors of the camp until he hit the main walkway, blowing by Saren and Melanija in the process as he headed for the main gate, sand flying high up into the air as he rode. The others following behind him quickly as they attempted to catch up to his lead. Serkan watched as the two guards at the gateway moved aside, allowing him and his men to head off into the desert. As the sun continued to slowly rise, the cold air of the desert night was beginning to fade away. Soon the true heat of the desert sun would be beating down and the cold winds would turn to warm winds.

 

((Would it be easier to reply If I'd break stuff like this up over multiple posts? :S))

Edited August 9, 2014 by Sean175

[Narath]

Tennat listened to the proceedings carefully, trying to drink in every word, and at the same time, his surroundings. When this was over and he had an opportunity, his father would want to hear all about his special mission and visit to the great guild's hall. His mind was suddenly torn from such things however, when the coiled dragon he saw earlier spoke of him. And not in a good way either. The young guard shied back from the attention that was being drawn to him; as he was not used to the spotlight. He relaxed once more however, as Karina defended his honor in his stead. Another thing that he owed her. By the end of today, his family would throw a feast for her to show their thanks, and his. If the others here didn't decide to cast him from the ramparts that is.

 

----------------------------

 

"My talents tend to draw unwanted attention" Saren replied, grimacing at the thought. "Something I'd rather avoid is dealing with Serkan's oafs. One look at what I can do and they'd swarm me like flies. Horrid, disgusting flies. So, if you wouldn't mind, can we go somewhere so we won't have to deal with these rabble?"

[Quackerz]

Karina watched as multiple humans stood up in response to her question, "Enough for a decent search, at least." she said, watching as they again sat back down. Karina took a few steps forward to examine those in the room more closely. She then turned her attention far to the right at one of the guard's that was in the room, standing guard in front of the now closed doors. "Can you bring a city map?" she asked the guard, who nodded and turned to the door. Banging it with his fist two times, the loud clanging sound from the metal armor hitting the doors echoed loudly. As the guard stepped back the doors began to open just enough for a human, he quickly departed from the room with the doors remaining open behind him.

 

Karina turned her attention to those around her once again, "What about the Western half of the city?" she asked, with only a few standing up. Before Karina could comment however, footsteps were heard as the guard came back into the room holding a large scroll. Two more guards following him, bringing what looked to be a large board on a stand, setting it up to face all those in the room. With a few handpins the guard opened the scroll and pinned it the to board, displaying an old world style map - of the capital city. The only things noted were the King's Castle, the palaces of the rich and the Blue Falcons' Fortress. Lines split up the city between the center, the north, the east, the west and the south.

 

Karina turned her attention to young Tennat, "Tennat... Which parts of the eastern region are you familiar with?", she asked.

 

 

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"Very well then, this way." Melanija responded, turning and walking back behind the corridors between tents, until finally stopping at one. "This tent should be completely empty." she stated, going off to the side slightly and preparing to stick her head under the side, as she was far too big to even hope to fit in it. The rising sun was already beginning to get hotter, however. The shade between all the tents was almost gone and what little remained would soon be gone, Serkan's warriors were going around extinguishing the torches.

[Narath]

It took Tennat a moment to realize that Karina was actually addressing him, and then another few to stop stammering nervously.

"I-I am very familiar with the residential district. Even the alleys." Tennat said finally, pointing to said spot. "Much of the surrounding area as well. I um... explored a lot when I was little so I uh... know it better than my own home."

 

-------------------------------------------------

 

"So," Serkan began as they entered the tent. "Before I go and start transmuting anything, I was curious as to what it would take to convince you to part with... With some of your scales?"

[Quackerz]

((I'm sorry I keep taking so long to reply lately; just having so much else going on that I'm finding it hard to find time to post. :/))

 

"Very well then. Is anyone else here familiar with that spot...?" she asked, looking around the room. But no one stood up,much to her dismay. "Very well then, I'll just have to send someone from the Southern District to accompany you, Tennat." she finally continued, "Then I suppose everything is settled, unless there are any objections." Karina stated again, looking around at everyone in the room once more.

 

 

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"Well now, that is quite an interesting request from a human..." Melanija responded in a more intrigued tone as she heard the request, "I would have to say nothing less than a wagon of Diamonds and Sapphires..." she continued, then truly focused on Saren with her eyes. "But I would be very curious as to how you would be able to acquire such materials, by yourself at least." she finally finished. She wouldn't be as quick to bite as Serkan - who had taken Saren at his word. Melanija would only believe what she could see for herself.

 

 

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Serkan looked behind him to ensure his men were still following him, even if they were starting to fall behind. That wouldn't matter though, they'd been through this area many times before and could easily find their way, compared to a foreigner that would likely become lost in the endless sands of the desert. "Soon my friends, we will arrive at the border post. Prepare for combat!" he yelled out, the men responded by drawing their sheathed scimitar's and raising them up into the air as they rode. With a grin he also unsheathed his own sword, but did not hold it as high as the others. Instead he lowered it down to his side and to the side of his horse, as though he were attempting to hide it.

[Narath]

((That's fine.

Not really sure what to post with Tennat though.))

 

Saren sighed in response to the dragon before him.

"Why is that what everyone says?" He wondered aloud. "Does nobody even know what an Alchemist does?"

Clapping his hands, he then bent down to place them onto the ground, causing the sand around him began to spark and crackle with what looked like bolts of energy. Suddenly, a large portion of sand under the tent disappeared, leaving behind a small, but noticeable lump under a fine layer of the grainy substance. Saren strode down into the pit, and lifted it up, revealing a diamond about the size of a human eye. It was in the shape of an egg, and as clear as glass, absolutely no impurities visible. It was a diamond that any collector or man of wealth would pay through the nose to get, as it was as flawless as could be.

"It's pure diamond as well." Saren said. "With any that one would normally mine from the earth, there would always be a small percentage of some other mineral as well, but this is the real thing. I'll only make this as of now though. Sand is not a very suitable ingredient for something like this. As you see, my transmutation used up much of what was inside this tent. If I had something like coal though, something with a large amount of Carbon, I could make as many diamonds as you'd like. As for gold, it would be easier with metals like Iridium, Mercury, and maybe Tungsten. As for other gems, they would require a combination of materials. If I can have access to cheap materials like these, I can make something much more to your liking. Maybe even a flattering sculpture of yourself to show off to visitors in your home. I'm sure you'd be the center of everyone's jealousy with a item such as that."

Though he was telling the truth, Saren was just trying to appeal to her greedy side. He had heard that she loved items of luxury, so items of incredible luxury was what she would get. People would indeed be jealous of her, but he cared little for that. As long as he got the items he needed, he would attend her petty whims.

[Quackerz]

((Been so busy I kinda lost my place... Hopefully this is a decent reply. :S ))

 

"Very well then, as I see there are no objections, let us begin." Karina said taking a look around at everyone once again, before turning her attention to the black dragon that had met them at the gates. "You will be in charge of taking the dragons to the sky and surroundings of the city, Advisor Xelgat will go with you." she said, the dragon merely nodding in response. This caught Xelgat's attention, as he raised his head up again and began to uncoil.

 

Karina then began to divide the others up into multiple groups, giving them assignments in various regions of the North, South, West & Center regions, along with assigning a few dragons and humans together to patrol the Castle itself, as well as the Castle grounds.

 

"Very well then. All that is left is the Eastern regions..." Karina said and glanced through those that were left, "You two will accompany him, as will I." Karina stated with her eyes focused on two knights, which drew the ear of Xelgat. "Karina... Why would you go to the Eastern areas? You are hardly familiar with them.... Would you not serve a better purpose elsewhere?" he asked, in a somewhat less sinister tone of voice. "The fact the group to the East is far smaller than any of the other groups creates a significant disadvantage, especially if they run into multiple enemies. A situation that could be made far less disastrous with myself there." she responded to Xelgat, who seemed to be satisfied with her answer.

 

 

As the doors began to open, everyone began to leave except for the two that Karina had called to their aid, who were now wearing their helmet's. "Let us go at once, then." One of them said, turning to leave along with the other. Karina turned her attention to Tennat momentarily before proceeding to follow the two knights.

 

 

 

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Melanija watched in a bit of awe before finally responding, "Firstly... You never said you were an Alchemist. Perhaps to Serkan, but not to I. So I had every reason to question your capability to acquire such items..." she responded to his earlier statement, before continuing on "But now I am quite convinced..." she said looking at the diamond once again, "A statue... Hmm... But would people remember it's beauty, or mine?" she asked jokingly, even chuckling a bit afterwards. "As greedy as I might in fact be.... My previous price stands, I shall not change it." she finally finished, reaching back with her claws and breaking off a few scales, before bringing them forward to show to the Alchemist.

 

 

"There is a large coal mine just across the border in Falandthal. It shouldn't be much longer than an hour's walk, or even less on horseback. I don't think I've ever even seen them guard it." she said, pulling back the scales after having give him time to look at them. "Is all in order, then?" she asked, finally finished speaking as she waited for a response from the Alchemist.