URL Lost

[Thaelasan]

Finn placed both hands on Alicia's shoulders and smiled.

"Let's go have a bit of fun, right?" he said, then headed into the backroom.

 

---

 

Soon, a caravan was loaded with roughly five barrels of TNT and three of gunpowder, then covered in a cloth of low quality so as to appear to be less valuable than it was.

This Finn tied to a horse that he would ride while Alicia rode beside him - of course. Archon would ride in the rear, to ensure the cargo was protected from the front and back. Also...

"Archon, do me a favor." Finn said, holding out a cloth to him. "Cover your face. I know you changed your appearance again in this game VERY recently, but I'm sure there are people with your new picture plastered everywhere. If they see it's Archon, they'll KNOW something is up. I know it's inconvenient, but I'll do it too. They know I normally ride with you as well."

"What about me?" Alicia asked from her horse where she was resting nearby.

"You should be fine, dearest." Finn assured, getting his own disguise on around his face and clothes. "You normally don't ride with us to pvp events, so I'm certain they shouldn't recognize you."

"If you say so." she shrugged, turning back forward and adjusting her position in the saddle so she was a bit more comfortable.

He saddled his own steed, the one leading the caravan, and turned back to Archon.

"Keep in mind, once we go... things may get a little crazy." he said, smiling.

[Polar]

((Thaelasan, are you still accepting characters?))

Edited May 30, 2015 by polaristar

[KuroKishi]

Archer softly sighed as he stared at the caravan and its covered contents. Who would fall for this? Bandits were more than likely to go in for even something covered by a cheap cloth... let alone explosives of such a magnitude. Still, there was not much else they could do, so for what it was worth, he would call it 'good enough'.

Turning his gaze toward Ethan as he turned to him, he looked at his hand and at the cloth in it. His eyes moved to lock with Ethan's, giving him a 'you've got to be kidding me' expression for a moment before he let out a soft sigh and took the item from his hand. Silently, he removed the clean and intricate crimson bandana that was wrapped around his head, then tucked it into one of his spare pockets before replacing it with the dull gray rag.

"...I wonder if one face bandana will make it hard for people to recognize me. I still have pretty trademark armor and weapon, you know," Archon muttered, using his left hand to knock on the shoulderpiece on his right one, which rang out with a semi-metallic clang, then also patted the weapon in the holster on his hip. For a few seconds, he sat with crossed arms, attempting to figure out what to do... but soon sighed and decided it didn't matter - their idea was to sneak in, plan a distraction and use it to sneakily do their buisness.

At Finn's last words, he gave only a soft nod in response. Then, unceremoniously, he walked to the back of the caravan and promplty pulled himself upward. Flipping around to take a seat on the edge, he knocked on the door to let the two know he was prepared.

 

[Thaelasan]

(( Yes I'm still accepting! ))

 

Finn nodded at the sound of the knocking. Of course, Archon was right - his customized armor and pistol were pretty well known, but as long as they kept their distance, they should arouse little to no suspicion. He quickly snapped the reins, and they were off at a decent pace.

 

---

 

The distance was long, and arduous. Though it was virtual, the sun was brutal, but they had decided to enact this plan around the sunset, so midway through the night offered some comfort.

Finn was taking a very hidden route, preferring off the road travel to normal means of movement. Whatever risks they didn't have to take, they wouldn't. It wasn't worth losing the gunpowder and their plan.

Soon, however, the caravan came to halt outside of a large, imposing mountain formation rimmed by other, smaller cliffs. Once it did, Finn moved it a bit more so that they were using the mountain as cover.

"The mine was meant to excavate the mountain, but they realized it would cave in if they continued, due to its size, so they ended the development.. but left the tunnel near here." Finn said, releasing the reins. He then proceeded to drop from the front of the caravan and help Alicia down from it as well.

He patted the side of it almost lovingly.

"I'll carry the gunpowder. Archon, you and Alicia-"

"I'll carry it."

Finn turned to Alicia, confused.

"I know you want to carry it because you're kind, but you know you're better at pvp than I am. I don't like that sort of thing." Alicia admitted, sighing. "I'll carry it, you two take them down. Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure?" Finn said, as he pulled one of the TNT barrels out of its rope bonds and handed it to her.

She hefted it over one shoulder, nodding.

"You men have fun. I can handle this, at least. But you owe me, of course." she said slyly, placing a finger to his face. "As always."

"Whatever you desire." Finn smiled, touching her hand. He then turned back to Archon, pulling the pistol from his own holster.

"Alright then, follow me." he said, heading over to a stone nearby.

Out of all the rocks in the desert, this one looked the same as all the rest, yet had some sort of strange symbol etched in it. It looked like a circle with a Hunter symbol carved in the center, yet crudely done.

"Not my work, I assure you." he said quickly, patting the symbol. "I'll need some help moving it, but the entrance is underneath."

[KuroKishi]

Travelling, no matter the method used, was something Arc did not enjoy. Cars were often slow as hell, planes were too crowded and costed a fortune as private jets were now regarded as antiques, and ships were a no-go for him as he had gotten seasickness every single time he had been on a boat, let alone a collosal vessel.

It was why he mostly enjoyed teleportation. With how widespread most instant transport modules were, one could jury rig an item transporter to instead work on live organisms - if, of course, one had the know-how.

Teleportation, whilst being the newest way to travel, was the safest according to its risk-to-travel time ratios. There were some mishaps, sure, but there was a higher chance to DIE whilst travelling with a standard method of transport than teleportation would ever have.

Cost-wise, it was also cheaper, easier to repair (once again, if one had the know-how) and less prone to malfunctions.

So, with all that said, it was really not suprising that Archon felt bored out of his mind. Yes, the heat was killing him and there were a few other travelers that they had met during their movement... but there was nothing happening, and it was boring him way too much.

After swapping to a second canteen that he had kept in another one of his pockets and downing it over the course of a few dozen swigs, the caravan finally came to a halt, making Archon leap off the rear and land on the ground with a relieved sigh.

"Ah, the feeling of standing on your own legs... kinda missed that." Arc muttered as he looked into the distance to make sure nobody had followed them, then turned back to the cart and the cargo they had been carrying with them. He was under the impression that he and Ethan would take care of carrying the equipment, but was suprised at Athena's interesting, yet well-thought response. It was probably not easy for her to admit, but the two men were better with guns, so it was, in a sense, best for the entire group if she handled carrying and left shooting to the guys.

Giving Finnegan a quick nod as he gestured for him to follow, Archon walked off after him and soon reached the designated entrance. It was hidden by a rock that was marked with a crude Hunter's symbol on the side - one he vaguely recognized.

"It's usually used to symbolize hidden caches, tunnels and areas of interest, I believe. Was widespread in the beta, anyways." He spoke, his semi-robotic voice relaying his real one strangely accurately, even if with an added echo.

Silently, Arc gave Ethan a soft nod, then walked to the stone's side. He placed his palms onto the rock and prepared his muscles, giving them a flex or two to try and prepare them for their work soon afterward. At Ethan's mark, he'd shove in tantem, which would hopefully move the rock out of the way without any trouble.

[Thaelasan]

Finn grasped with a mighty heave, placing both hands under the rock and shoving with a good amount of force. But it didn't take much - especially with Archon's help and a high strength status - for the rock to fly off its bearings and land nearby with a thud.

He wiped his hands free of dust, then peered down into the opening.

Though the sun was going down, one could barely see the outline of a ladder, visible through shafts of light, leading into the darkness. The sounds of stone moving lightly and dust scattering echoed down the depths.

"Don't worry. I brought a lantern." Finn assured, grabbing the device from his belt and turning it on. The light flickered for a moment before becoming strong enough to see down the shaft's length, which seemed ominous.

"I'll head down first, and I'll call up quietly if it's clear. If you hear shooting, hide the gunpowder and get the hell out of the way as quietly as possible. They may just think it's me." Finn instructed, placing one foot on the highest rung of the ladder. "There's another lantern in the caravan if you want it."

"I'll grab it if you don't." Alicia said to Archon, shouldering the barrels a bit more comfortably. She had one under both arms now.

"What. Hey, he didn't say it had to be one at a time, and I don't want to waste time carrying less than I can." she said simply, adjusting them again. "Just make sure they don't shoot me or we'll have a nice explosion on our hands."

She grinned pleasantly.

 

-----

 

Finn entered the tunnel, anxious. He hadn't heard anything upon the first step, but he couldn't be sure. What if they had found the tunnel, or his source had sold it out? He couldn't take chances. He dimmed the lantern a bit by closing the shutters slightly. But the light still seemed too damn bright.

A few rocks and stones were scattered around the tunnel's breadth. He also spotted a few gleaming pieces of metal that - thankfully - turned out to be pickaxes rather than guns, though a bit rusted and forgotten. He grabbed one and tied it on to his back, just in case. He hadn't considered a melee weapon, but down in this tunnel...

When he finally reached the end of it, where the hidden door would lead into the base of Stonecold, he breathed a small sigh of relief. He checked the wall to make sure he could open the door.

Satisfied, he turned back around and headed back down the tunnel before he tripped over a pickaxe, landing hard on the stone. Cursing, he thanked the stars that at least the lantern was unscathed, but now his left hand and arm hurt from how he had landed. Well, it couldn't be helped. At least it wasn't his gun arm.

He reached the ladder and looked upward, giving a soft whistle.

 

----

 

"That'll be him. Go ahead." Alicia said, standing back up from where she had sat down on a nearby rock. "Or are you afraid of the dark?"

[KuroKishi]

With not too many efforts from both Ethan and Arc, the rock that covered the entryway to the underground sections flipped to the side, then came to a stop with a loud thud, the symbol drawn onto its surface now skewed at an angle. A cloud of dust burst forth, temporarily making Archon step backward and block his eyes. The rag around his mouth and nose managed to conceal the features that would be irritated if exposed to the sand, but his eyes did not have the same luck and were left slightly affected. He let out a soft groan as he stopped for a moment and then suddenly let out a burst of air from the eye socket itself, launching the dust out of his eyes and making it trail down his face and clothing.

With a sigh, Archon patted his hands together and then brushed away the remaining sand off his body and clothing. Once he was done, he turned to have a look at the features once hidden behind the concealing rock.

Within the narrow space that had been either carved or naturally formed into the large mound was a black abyss that gave away a low drift of cold, stale air. Coming out of it was a single ladder, which seemed sturdy enough, even after the time it had probably spent here.

Turning toward Ethan, Arc listened to his instructions and gave a soft nod. It was, after all, to first send forth a scout and then try to actually do something this risky with no knowledge if the tunnels were booby trapped or patrolled.

Making way for the man to walk in, Archon watched Finnegan make his way into the darkness and took his place on the wall next to the entrance. Time slowly drifted by as he waited for an answer from within. He silently stared out at the horizon and watched the distance, waiting for anything to get over that ridge but, thankfully, not finding anything. After some time, his gaze turned to Alicia, who was busy with mostly the same and was sitting on a nearby rock, the two barrels of explosive resting temporarily at her side. He silently watched her and wondered why the woman had grown to hate him like this - had he really done enough to deserve it, or was she playing out being hurt a bit too much?

His thoughts came to a stop as a soft but recognizable whistle came from the hole. Everything, from the tone to the length, told him that it was Ethan signalizing for him to come down. He gave himself a soft nod and pushed himself off the wall, then turned toward the ladder itself. For a moment, however, he stopped and turned his head to look at Alicia.

"Psh - I was born in darkness, molded by it..." He recited a few words that came off from the top of his head, then let out a soft chuckle, which, though robotic, held a strangely warmer tone than usual. He let out a soft sigh as he turned around and stepped onto the ladder, then turned his entire body to be able to climb down its length, but stopped short before his head disappeared in the dark entrance.

"Oh, and, for all it's worth... I'm sorry for the harsh words I said earlier." Arc spoke as he shortly made 'eye' contact with her, the electronic effect strangely vacant in his temporary voice, and then hastily descended down the ladder. The light inside was dim, and it reeked of stale air, but he managed to make his way to the bottom without any complaints.

Landing next to Ethan with a soft thud, he turned toward the dark tunnels and let out a soft yawn.

"So, I assume you didn't come into contact with any of the bandits..?" Archon asked Finnegan as he drew out a makeshift torch and lit it with a lighter from his hip, which engulfed the once dimly-lit tunnels with light. Of course, this was only because the lantern was covered, but he liked the feeling of fire and its way of ligthing the room.

Once it was done, he promptly unlatched the gun at his holster and took it into his hand, then placed his index finger near the trigger but not exactly at it - he was randomly twitchy at times, so if something happened, he could misfire and screw things up badly for the trio. For now, he'd stick to a safe mode of his own.

"Let's go find us some weakpoints and equipment." He gave Ethan a soft nod and headed into the tunnel, stopping to look at times to check random cracks along the walls and the archways of the tunnels in order to find places where the explosive would cause the most damage.

[Thaelasan]

Alicia headed down the ladder after Archon, after dropping the barrels down to Finnegan so that it was ensured they were safe. She jumped from the few bottom rungs and scooped the barrels back up, grinning.

"So, how far do we have to go before the big explosion?" she asked, hefting the barrels a bit.

"Through the door, and over the wall. We'll place one at the bottom of the foundation, and then we'll pass one over the fortifications so it can be placed inside. Once we start them, we'll have to defend them until they're about to explode. Then, we need to run like hell." Finn instructed, making sure all of his pistols were loaded. Heaven knew he didn't want to run out there without being able to shoot at all.

"Well, first, we have to open this door. Follow me." Finn said, heading down the hallway towards the gateway.

 

---

 

As he reached it, he placed his hand on the wall, smiling.

"Now, Archon, you may think this is a dead end... but that's the point. Now watch closely." he whispered, moving his hand slightly. A small notch on the side of the wall, barely visible, was his target. He put his hand in it, and felt around a bit.

After a loud, but dull, click, the door began to slide of its own accord to the left, leaving an opening. Dust, and the sound of long-unused but well-kept wheels were all that accompanied the movement.

Finally, the door stopped moving, a large gap now visible as a threshold to the outside of the tunnel.

"I found the mechanism that opens it a while back, and used some of my own oil to fix it for this moment. It's actually pretty well made. I don't know who constructed it but it certainly wasn't the miners who built this tunnel." he shrugged. "But it works well enough."

He stepped through the doorway, appearing on the other side, where the fortress awaited.

Coldstone Fortress - or Cold Fort, as it was sometimes called - wasn't a small fortress. It was large and intimidating, forged of salvaged metal and relics collected by the bandits in events. Watchtowers decorated the peaks of it, and the outer wall was solid. However, there appeared to be cracks in the foundation - cracks which looked oddly human sized....

That is, after Finn showed off the cracks by peeling away a piece of flimsy sheet metal that moments earlier had looked as part of the wall.

"An old trick. I've spent a few weeks cutting a hole in this for people to get through when the bandits were away, then placing this on it to hide it. This is the moment of truth, Archon. I think you should be the first one to head in while Alicia and I set up the first bomb."

With that, he patted Archon on the back as he headed below the foundation with Alicia to set up the bomb, leaving the metal plate hanging from the hole.

 

[Clown_of_God]

Blanc sighed, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder as she sat on the beast that she had been tasked with finding. It actually hadn't been terribly difficult, aside from the actual riding out and locating its exact location, tracking its design code in the system had been pretty simple. After finding the coding for the standard buffalo, Blanc adjusted it to match the description for the rare breed and skimmed through the system for a match. Once she located a match, she then continued to find locations on the map that matched the data she had gathered on the data.

There had actually been several locations with similar data, but there was only one unique code that didn't quite match up. Blanc figured that had to be the buffalo the man was looking for. Now, she had to determine how to get it back to the man without being blatantly obvious she cracked the system. Of course, the man hadn't been specific of what it was he wanted from the beast. Surely, bringing him the pelt and some meat from it would suffice, rather than trying to drag the entire thing to him.

So, that's what she did.

After skinning the beast, careful to make sure the pelt came out clean, she proceeded to cut off portions of its meat and finished by severing the head to use as a mount. Once she had it all stowed away and secured to her horse, Blanc proceeded to return to the peak she had met the man on and once more scaled its surface, throwing the bag containing the pelt and the meat on the ground, but kept the head hanging on her shoulder as to not dirty it.

"I've completed the task for you. I wish you had been specific in the details of how you wanted the beast brought to you, but I figured these would be the most treasured items for a hunter. A pelt, to craft some form of clothing with, meat to eat, and the head to mount as your trophy. If there is nothing else you require of me, I shall return to whence I came and not bother you. Of course, I still expect my form of compensation considering I was the one looking for the beast in your stead."

[MaskedDeath]

Username: MaskedDeath

Character Name: Ruby Rochelle

Matric Name/Code: 6ROC78

Matric Nickname: Elysium

Character Gender: Female

Character Age: 25

Matric age: 12

Character Appearance: Long sleek black hair, attractive, smooth skin, piercing silver eyes; will wear dark shadow and liner to make them bold, often wears exotic jewels, red, brown and black dresses with lace front/back, parasol and lace tights.

Matric Appearance: http://www.chickensmoothie.com/pet/17142297&bg=d1ff78.jpg - Just the dog.

Character Personality: Seductive if need be, Free-spirited, creative, thoughtful, funny, curious, very trusting if she gets to know you well. Also sneaky, trickster and cheater to get herself out of trouble.

Matric Personality: Serious, fighter, daring, brave, strong.

Character's Job/Grade: Ruby works with an organization called Fire Storm, sort of like the FBI.

Character History: Ruby grew up surrounded by industry, big business, crime and corruption. She spent some time in a correctional facility and learned her job skills there. Her fellow inmates taught her that the world is mean, that soft gold lining making it seem so nice is actually fake and will peel at any evil thing that happens. When she was released, FS recognized her skill and immediately hired her, she became their best and most hired agent.

Character's Connector: Bluetooth Spiro

Other: I don't know how I could be any more descriptive.

Is this okay?

[Clown_of_God]

((Ugh... once again I'm resigning my resignation... and I'm also bumping this up so a certain someone can actually respond. ))

[Thaelasan]

(( That sheet will do fine. I'll be posting tomorrow, so stay tuned. ))

[KuroKishi]

(( *cough* Sheesh, there's a ton of dust here... let's see what we can do about this thing, then... ))

 

Archer slowly followed Ethan down the corridors of stone, his torch illuminating the dark depths of the cave with a natural orange glow. Their journey through the secret tunnel, set deep within the rock and made with the sole purpose of quietly approaching the bandit base, had made him slightly nervous. Thankfully, they were the only ones within the caverns, as he reassured himself once they had reached the other end of the underground system.

His nervousness made way for a feeling of confusion as the wall in the distance slowly faded in with the approaching light. Their destination was, at first glance, a dead end with a majority of holes lined along all walls. As he walked into the circular chamber, he wondered if this room held some other secret - after all, the entrance was hidden behind a rock, so the exit could be just as cryptic... right?

Sure enough, his suspicions were cleared once Ethan turned to him with his hand planted on a flat part of the wall and a small smile on his face. With a few words, he turned around and promptly shoved his hand into one of the holes - a decision Archer could only deem dangerous, as he felt that the holes along the wall could only house a colony of critters. It came as a suprise, however, when he seemingly pressed something and caused a tiny click to echo out from the hole. Then, seconds later, the once perfect wall split and revealed a crack that slowly flooded the tunnel with natural light. The slab of rock slid toward the left and into a smooth slot that had seemingly been made for it. The only thing left in the wall's place after the mechanism ceased its operation was the threshhold - a small gap on the floor, filled with rails and gears painted in a black color and set deep enough to not be easily noticed.

"... Impressive." Archon muttered as he gazed at the tiny gears that emerged from the rails, then lifted his gaze upward and took a step over the gap and into the outside world. In front of him, just a few dozen meters away, was one of the many walls that circled the infamous Cold Fort.

The trio approached the solid walls of salvaged metals that, whilst simplistic in looks, were as solid as bulletproof city walls - at least, that was what Archer thought before Ethan stepped up to the wall and pulled back one of the sheets to reveal a oval hole within the wall. The other side was still covered by the metallic sheet, but it was obvious from here just how flimsy it was. In a sense, this was just one of the many breaches that had been 'patched up' by the repair crews.

"This is... quite the suprise." Archon admitted as he gazed at Finnegan, then back at the hidden entrance. He once again turned back toward Finn as he told him to go in first whilst the two prepared the first bomb. Arc only gave a nod in response as the man walked off, leaving the opened panel and the other side.

First, to make sure he wouldn't immediately be spotted, Archon scouted. After isolating himself enough from the small amounts of sound the creaking metal sheets and the couple's work made, he planted his ear on the inner surface and listened. He could hear a conversation clearly happening on the other side, but too much of it was muffled for him to understand any of it. His breath faded down as he heard footsteps actively from inside, both walking away and past the metal wall. Soon, they faded away enough for him to have a peek.

Peeling away the inner sheet's upper edge with the tips of his fingers, he gazed out at the watchtowers and the guards that were scouring the city with their ever-vigilant gaze. One of the towers - probably the western one, if he could properly think through the design and where he was according to the times he had scouted it from above - was just a few clicks away from him, behind two low buildings and an assortment of crate equipment. The watchman atop it was currently looking away, which meant this was his chance to emerge.

After a quick final check of the entrance's surroundings, he decided to act. Immediately, he pushed the sheet inward and slipped through the small crack that had been made, then quickly dashed to one of the crate stacks and hid behind it. The metallic echo that had been created as a result of his quick movement caught the attention of the watchman above him - he could see it through the mirror he had slightly leaned out from the edge of the crate and into the shadows made by the tower.

His heart was restless as he stood deathly still, wondering if the man above had caught wind of something suspicious. However, relief soon washed over him when he clearly read 'Must've been the wind' from the observer's lips before he promptly turned around and continued his own thing.

"... That... was close..." Archon muttered to himself as he put the signalling mirror back into his pouch and gathered his breath. He knew that these walls often made such sounds and that he could mask the risk that way, but such chances were weak when one dragged in an unpredictable element such as a human - after all, such a variable could act randomly and choose to check the sounds. As unbelieveable as it was, however, everything happened according to plan.

Once he fully calmed himself down, Arc peeked out from around the bottom crate's edge and stared into the city. There were only a few actually patrolling the streets because of the daily event, but that did not meant their approach to the rest of the foundations would be easy. Rising up fully and hiding behind the stacked crates, he drew his pistol and sprinted out. With a quick dash, he weaved through the stockpile and moved along the shadows. At times, he quickly came to a stop behind a pile, only to flip a box to create better cover and then move on. Finally, after a few moments, he found himself behind the building at the distance. From this spot, down the makeshift path through the crates, one could directly see the panel, so he knew that the duo would spot him immediately once they emerged on the other side. For now, he'd wait for them here, as the alleyways that lead deeper into the city were just around the far corner... and there was no reason for him to continue without them just yet.

[Thaelasan]

The cliffs cracked and rumbled ominously as the shaking began. At first, the sound seemed like it hadn't happened - but then it was obvious that it had.

An explosion, which rattled the sides of the make-shift city, as pounds of rock and dust emptied into the basin of the quarry. Every bandit within the city looked at the sky, as it seemed the world was ending. A few of them screamed as loudly as they could as they began to be crushed by the fallen rock.

 

----

 

Moments before, Finn and Alicia were standing over a pile of barrels that they had moved in the time it had taken Archon to get where he was. Rows of the TNT and gunpowder they had brought, placed in niches where the ground looked unstable. Under the fortifications, in cracks, around other explosive devices.

Now, the last step was to fire one, single shot into the barrels which lay in the center of the city. Finn carved a small hole into the side of the city, estimating their location, and then put his gun barrel through.

"Now, we watch the fireworks." he said, as Alice began to run off, knowing what was about to follow.

There was a sound of thunder, and then fire began to rise.

 

----

 

 

Pounds of explosives went off almost in unison, loud and unforgiving. Now piles and slabs of rock were falling from the mountain edges surrounding the Quarry. One of the watchtowers toppled, its inhabitant yelling in surprise as he was crushed under tons of ore. Then the rest of them began to fall over like dominoes, the ramps and walls of the city crumbling in on themselves. Any bandit walking the arena of the fort was doomed to die, either by the dust that was unloaded upon him, or the explosion itself. And that was only the beginning.

Finn rushed into the plate, motioning to Archon that it was time. He had lit the rest of the TNT, set to explode when they escaped. He held up his hands - three fingers and none.

30 minutes until final detonation. By then, they needed to be out of there.

He and Alice began to run through the rubble, heading to the fabled "treasure room" area of the now-ruined fort while shooting any bandits who had somehow managed to lift their guns in a vain attempt to stop the assault.

The raid on Stonecold Quarry had begun.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Thaelasan

[MaskedDeath]

((Where do I start? Is it random? Sorry if this was already answered, I didn't see it anywhere.))

[KuroKishi]

Archon huffed slightly through his crimson bandana as he leaned onto the wall closely and waited for something to occur. He seemed tense, and for reasons unknown, as their entry was stealthy. Why did he still have a strange feeling in his gut that something was about to go wrong any second?

It was too quiet.

Distant words and the wind above were the only things he could hear, and there was no sight of the duo that had been busy with the explosives, so he was left to wonder just where they really were.

Were they caught? Was his little charade noticed by the guards?

No, there was nothing to tell him he had been spotted, and the guard, as far as he could see him from his position, was still atop the tall watchtower.

Another sigh came from the man as he mentally shrugged and decided to draw his pistol and give it a quick look.

Just as the red metal of his gun came into his vision, however, a lone shot rang out, and his tense form quickly seized up and stopped breathing.

Not even a moment after the strange gunshot, a blast echoed out from far away within the center of the city. Even from here, he could hear the watchmen turning their rifles toward the scene and other bandits rushing to the scene. It seemed isolated, until something hit him.

Quite literally, too, as a well-sized pebble from above collided with his hat. Thankfully, it absorbed the shock well enough for him to only feel a faint blow. Intrigued, he turned his head upward.

His eyes widened at the sight of what was happening over him. The entire quarry was currently being showered from all sides by the equivalent of a major rock slide - so major, in fact, that one could mistake it for a meteor shower without the flaming trail.

Cover was useless now because danger was approaching from all around.

He had to stay on his toes.

A smirk spread along Archon's lips as he stepped out of his cover and looked toward the plate of metal to spot the duo emerging on his own side. He noted the important things that he was shown and watched the two start running with crossed arms.

"You never cease to amaze me with your plans, Ethan..." The man muttered as he dropped its stature and launched toward the other two with the revolver clutched tightly in his right hand. Immediately, he took his spot a bit behind them and slowed to a quick walk, then raised the weapon and grasped it with both hands before outstretching his arms.

The Mark of Death, unlike most high-level weapons, lacked a scope or improved iron sights. Most had scopes that had multiple measurements for distance and, through some very rare ore, could also be outfitted with a wind-measuring attachment. Others, though only with iron sights, had intricate circular designs and grooves or notches to reveal distances. Their benefit was that they did not limit the eye to a viewpoint in the distance and allowed the user to maintain a good field of view in case anything came from the sides.

His revolver? It had a standard iron sight consisting of a single piece of metal at the end of the barrel and two ridges just before the gun's hammer.

Basic as it could get, really, but he did not need fancy aiming gimicks with a beast capable of the stopping power of a high-end legendary shotgun that was fired as quickly as he could hit the trigger and fan the gun.

To his trained eyes, this was child's play.

A trio of bandits that had appeared out of nowhere spread fire toward the advancing group in an attempt to stop them. In response, Archon raised his revolver up and aimed, then shot rapidly. He looked down as he continued running and loaded a new clip into the chambers before giving the chamber a spin. He didn't even bother looking as they ran past the three, now sprawled onto the ground and in an incapacitated state.

"Stick to the buildings until the rubble stops fall-!" Arc yelled as he gained onto the three, then narrowly dodged to his left and bumped slightly into Ethan whilst dodging a boulder that was going to crash where he once stood. Giving the other man an apologetic nod, he looked back forward and raised his weapon to fire off another salvo at two attackers and rapidly reload. So far, they had only reached the beginning of the city's residential section. There was still quite a way to the treasury.

[Thaelasan]

Finn stumbled, almost falling over as Archon swung into him. The stone and rock was still tumbling now, but it had almost quit being so tumultuous. Even as he thought about it, he realized that the rocks were beginning to quiet down.

Soon, the bandits would respawn. Soon, they would actually be able to put up a defense. Soon, this plan would all be for nothing. Why were the rocks stopping? Had he not...

He turned and looked upward to see that one of the gigantic stones of the mountain was teetering precariously on its foundations, but refused to give. If it were to fall...

"AIM FOR THAT STONE! Hurry!" Finn fired his full magazine into the gigantic monolith, sending rocks and dust everywhere. With another push....

He could see below that it would crush the gates to the Quarry and perhaps even destroy one of the major respawn points - the forge. If it did that, they'd be home free. But they needed another push, and Archon's pistol and his weren't enough. He looked down at his bags and realized what he needed to do. He had gunpowder on him. But he needed more....

The bodies!

As they ran, he reached down quickly, tearing a satchel off the body of a fallen bandit consumed by the rubble. Thankfully, his hunch had been right. The new player had been carrying gunpowder on him in large amounts, like most amateur players did. He grasped one of his own carrying bags and tied the two together as quickly as possible, narrowly avoiding another shot that whizzed past his head and almost hit Alice.

He hurled the combined bags at the rock, then took aim.

Not yet.

Not yet.

NOW!

He fired, the bullet soaring from the barrel into the two bags which were flying into the side of the mountain.

There was a roar. And then a pause.

Then, there was chaos.

A loud, shattering sound, like the shout of an ancient titan marked the movement of the large stone formation. The boulder rolled down the cliff side, bringing with it even more rubble and dust. Finn smiled, and then his face quickly fell.

He had misjudged its weight and speed. It would destroy more than just the forge and the gate.

It would destroy their only path further into the city, effectively halting their progress.

"GO! GO! GO!" Finn yelled over the noise as he pushed past two more bandits and kicked a third to the ground. But a bullet slammed into his shoulder, almost knocking him backward. He continued forward, but knew that sooner or later his luck would run out here. He had no time to reload.

Alice fired past him, taking down three more targets before he heard her curse. She was out of ammo too.

He switched to his reserve weapon - a shotgun, which only had two shots, one for each barrel. In these close quarters, maybe it could save his life. Alice switched to her carbine, sighing.

"You always take me to the nicest places, Ethan!" she yelled, using his real name for once.

"It's because otherwise you'd be bored!" he yelled back, grinning.

 

-----

 

"What do ya mean they made it inside, you worthless varmint?!" the Westerner frowned, furious. "What's all that damn noise?!"

"They brought the Quarry down on us, sir!" one of the bandits replied, frantic. "It's chaos out there! We have to stay inside!"

"Damnit! Find another way outside! And stop being so damn afraid!" the Westerner smacked the man on the side of his head as he walked past him, irritated.

No one would get in here while he had anything to say about it.

[KuroKishi]

Archon continued to move forward and shoot every so often to stop the forces that were advancing against them. He shot off yet another salvo and downed two more players, then reloaded his weapon and continued to move.

It did not even dawn on to him that something was wrong with the rocks. For all he knew, this was already very risky, and the quicker it ended, the sooner they could get to work safely.

Hearing Ethan yell out to aim at a stone all of a sudden, Arc fought with his confusion and turned toward the man. He spotted the direction he was looking at and gradually traced it until his eyes came upon what he truly meant as a stone. He lifted his gun up, but could only stand silently and stare at it with suprise as Finnegan shot off bullets into its surface.

"...Are you sure we should shoot that thing?" He muttered with full confidence that something wrong would go, but immediately regretted trying to question him right now as a bullet dug itself into his left hand. Letting out a soft hiss as the pain was translated to his senses in real life, he turned and quickly shot two rounds to kill both shooters that could have been the ones to wound him.

Only now did he come to a grinding halt as Ethan wandered off to look for something. He lifted his left arm in front of his eyes and slightly frowned when he saw the wound that had been formed. Thankfully, it was only damaged in a way that still allowed him to use it, albeit with great difficulty.

He coughed as the dust in the air bothered him, then dropped his arm to his side and turned to try and find someone to shoot at.

What he did not expect, however, was a blast coming from upward toward his left.

Arc moved his eyes toward the spot as a new, loud sound of tearing stone filled the quarry. He watched with worry evident on his features as the rock Ethan had been speaking about was now free and was currently rolling down the cliff side and into the fort.

He took only a second to trace its trajectory into the city, then another two to figure out how devastating it could be. By five, he was already running forward.

"God dammit, that was too much!" Archon yelled as he ran beside Finn, but took the moment to shoot the ones he had collided with before continuing at his side. A shot from the right flew through the air and dug itself into his shoulder, making him lose his balance, but Arc grunted as he forced himself to momentarily slow down just enough to catch him and tug him forward so he wouldn't fall.

They were now in the middle of the central courtyard, just moments away from the place where the first explosion had launched all this chaos had happened.

In front of them was a tough path that he did not really know how to circumvent. How were they to go around the boulder that would most likely crash into their way? They could go around, but they'd lose too much time.

Seconds later, he had an idea. Risky, but what wasn't risky in the middle of the enemy's territory?

"Let's climb up - we can bypass the sections that the boulder will damage by running along the rooftops!" Archon offered as he dashed forward, firing a shot into a bandit hiding behind cover, then approached a nearby wall. Quickly, he leaped on a stack of crates and used it to scale upward until, soon, he found his way to the top of the building. Instead of helping the two to climb up, however, he turned and fired off volleys into the ones that were following them from earlier.

[Thaelasan]

Finn heard Archon's words, but frowned. If they ran along the rooftops, they'd be more exposed... One good sniper, and they'd be done..

He'd have to bet on Archon's skill for this. He obeyed, one hand still on his bleeding shoulder, the other helping Alice to get up to where Archon was gesturing.

The plan was going to work, if all went well. The roofs were shaking, but they weren't shattering like the rest of the fortifications. Archon was right. They were far more stable, and provided cover from the dust.

And the bandits were thinking the same thing - those who still survived anyway. They were trying to push off each other and get their own foothold on the rooftops, bringing their weapons with them.

Now Finn and Alice were on the roof of one of the nearby buildings, the boulder almost to its destination. They began to race, moving quickly while avoiding the gunfire of other bandits and pushing them off.

Another bullet buried itself in Finn's leg. He fell over, almost rolling off the roof.

Alice ran to him, grabbing his hand as he dangled off the side. Quickly, the two got back to their feet, but now Finn was hobbling, running at half the speed he had before.

"Dammit!" he swore, pushing himself forward. The pain was intense, no matter how virtual it was. He continued on, leaning on Alice for support. She shot two more of them after wasting a few shots, then she sighed, helping Finn as he ran.

"Should I carry you?" Alice asked, concerned.

"No. Don't worry about it. I can handle it. Just keep going!" Finn commanded, pushing onward.

 

-----

 

The boulder crashed behind them as the pair narrowly avoided its collision. They heard the screams of several more bandits being consumed by the rubble. Ethan felt bad for them, but there was nothing to be done. Soon, their reward would be in sight.

But what really concerned him was that they had yet to meet the fabled Stonecold Simms, the NPC who defended the treasury of the Quarry fiercely. He wondered if they could even beat him...

 

------

 

Meanwhile, Blanc would find that she had a suitable spot on a cliff's edge, overlooking the Quarry through a pair of mountains. It would certainly be ideal for providing oversight on the group, who were running through the fort.....

[KuroKishi]

Archon continued to fire at the ones that had been following them as the couple got onto the roof and ran past him. Numerous shell casings littered the floor around him as he loaded another clip into his revolver and gazed out toward the rest of the bandits still approaching. Time was ticking, and he knew the boulder was getting closer and closer with every passing moment, so he began to turn around in order to rejoin the duo.

He was confused, however, when a hand tightened itself around his right ankle and stopped him from advancing. He quickly turned his head around and instinctively tugged forward with his leg. It was one of the bandits - a young lass, based on what was visible under his hat and glasses.

"If I'm dying... then I'm taking you with me!" The boy spoke with a confident grin as he watched the dark persona and held him in place. Arc confusedly turned his head at an angle and pondered if this was really a player or an NPC - there were not many people that played a hardcore mode and deleted their character on the first death. However, a moment later of staring at the boy semi-seriously, he shook his head and let out a soft sigh.

The grinning young man grasped his ankle with another hand as he scaled to a higher position and turned his gaze upward after making sure he had a good foothold. However, he was suprised when he noticed just what was in front of him - the end of a gun's barrel.

"Sorry, but you're forgetting who has the gun here." Arc muttered as he pulled back the weapon's hammer with his thumb, then shut his eyes and hit the trigger. The shot echoed out and was followed by the quick loss of the boy's grip on his ankle. Only after he heard the body slump backward and fall out of his sight did he reopen his eyes and turn back forward. He silently inserted the revolver into its holster, then drew a small satchel from the back of his belt and threw it over the edge. It fell onto the crates and next to the dead bandit with seemingly no effect...

Until a few seconds later, once Archon was a good distance away and halfway to the duo in fronto f him, when it exploded rather suddenly. The wall at the edge, as well as the crates and the body were all obliterated and damaged to such a point that no one could use that way to get himself to the rooftops. The gore system of the game immediately took over after detecting an explosion near a corpse and automatically recollected the remains which, in the end, only left a young boy shot in the head and covered in black powder lying on the damaged remains.

Moments after the explosion, Archon reached the duo as it continued moving along the rooftops and slowed down for a second. He could feel his lungs burning and an ache growing in his head, but once the wound in Finn's shoulder came into his sight, he immediately chinned up. He had to take the lead in his lieu and make sure they got through this in one piece.

Quickly, Archon gathered his breath and shook his head to clear the storm within it. Then, ignoring the pain and fatigue both spreading through his body, he pushed onward and drew his pistol. They had opponents in front of them, and with both of them currently busy trying to even cross, he was the only one that could take care of them.

A shot that whistled just by his face made the man snap out of his thoughts. His wide eyes, filled with suprise, turned worried as he heard it collide moments later with someone. The movement behind him and the scream all told him who it really had hit - Ethan, once again.

In response, Arc raised the Mark of Death and shot at the other bandits. He only took a second to evaluate where he'd need to shoot, then fired and changed his target. Once his clip was out, he rapidly dropped the old one and loaded in a new set of bullets, then repeated the first part. After three sets of chambers cleared, he reloaded the gun and sheated it. Over ten of the bandits dropped in front of them as he regained his composure, turned quickly to spot the duo behind him and, after making sure they were still moving, quickly dashed forward. The wind rushed around him as he ran along the rooftops. He threw a random look at the boulder that was now halfway through the city, but immediately focused on it once he saw just how close it really was.

Coming to a grinding halt by digging his feet into the stone and sand surface of the roof, Arc watched the boulder as it moved toward them. His worry became even more intense once he made sure that, at the pace they were going at, the duo behind him would not make it past the collision spot he was currently standing at.

Panic made him act as he began to scour the distance in an attempt to find something to block or temporarily slow the large hunk of rock, but nothing he saw seemed capable of that.

He became increasingly worried and was about to run to try and help the two move quicker when he noticed something peculiar about the fallen southern tower.

It had apparently fallen through a building - well, more of its first floor only - and was now mostly embedded into the side of the large wooden house. Said large house had walls that were as thin as paper... but, a pile of paper COULD just slow down the boulder enough for the trio to make their way safely to the other side.

Immediately, Arc drew two more packs from the back of his belt and narrowed his eyes. The distance was huge, and there was no way he could get it the exact way he wanted to, but he'd risk it because there was no way he would let this three-man raid turn into a one-man one - there was no way he could face Stonecold Simms by himself, especially with all he had heard about the man.

He gathered his breath, then arched backward and threw the first pack. It flew through the air and into the distance, then hit the side of the second floor... and exploded on impact. The shock was enough to make the semi-frozen dynamite inside explode and eliminate the wall that was facing him. The structure groaned as rubble fell and revealed the innards of the hanging room, but it did not collapse on the tower.

"Come on... come on..." Archon muttered, then stood still, gathered his breath and prepared to throw the second pack in his hand. This was the last pack in his inventory, so he had to play it safe.

Instead of aiming at the roof to make sure everything came down, he instead threw it with an attempt to hit the inside of the room he now uncovered. The satchel sailed through the air and filled Archon with worry. It entered the room... but exploded before it even came in contact with the wall on the opposite side.

The building groaned as most of its second floor collapsed on top of the tower and covered it in rubble. He had been aiming to do more than this, but it was all that he could do for now - he could only hope it would be enough.

Seconds after the rubble settled, the boulder crashed through the blockade, making Arc immediately move to avoid it. He did not know where Finn and Alice were, but he could only hope they had made their way through. He sprinted down the rooftop as the boulder approached, his legs straining themselves to an unbelieveable level to get him out of the way... until he found himself on the other side of the collision, came to a stop rather suddenly and turned around to see how it crashed into the roofs and then through them, leaving only a stone-littered tunnel through the conjoined roofs and a huge trail of ruined and crushed earth along the quarry floor. The screams that came afterwards did not even phase him, because he was worried enough about the duo he had been escorting. His heart was pounding rapidly and he was barely breathing, but he was still fine.

"God, that was close..." Arc gasped as he attempted to regain his breath, then turned around still semi-hunched and sighed in relief once he spotted Alice and Finn on the other side of the urban chasm. The wave of bandits that had been chasing and attacking them was now diminished because of everyone that was rushing to help the survivors of the huge boulder. Rocks still fell rapidly around them, but at least the most dangerous object was out of the way.

"...We need to move." Archon muttered after he rose and approached the two, then gave Ethan a quick pat on his good shoulder and walked off. A few robotic coughs came from the man as he cleared the dust from under his bandana and cleared his clothing with his hands. Once he was done, he drew his revolver and rushed to the end of the rooftop.

There was eerie silence after Arc leaped off the edge and landed on the sandy quarry floor and immediately rose to scan his surroundings. He was even more worried when he saw nothing around them. Silently, he turned around and looked upward.

"The coast is clear!" Archer yelled out, uncertainly clear in his voice, as he turned back forward and held the revolver at his side. There was something definitely wrong here - the small square he was sure was full minutes ago was now almost all but abandoned and the bandits had given up their chase too quickly for it to make sense as a retreat...

 

[MaskedDeath]

((I'm back. I guess I'll start now.))

 

Ruby Rochelle opened the door leading to the roof of the police station. The sun's glare coming off of her dark shades. Elysium obediently followed, his pixelated, glowing image flickering lightly. Ruby took something out of the pocket of her leather jacket; a Spiro. Sort of like an iPad but much more advanced. She tapped a few buttons on it then put it back. Suddenly, ring...ringg Ruby answered, "Hello?...Yea, sure...Ok...No, That's not likely. ...Don't count on it." She put the phone away and ran to the edge of the roof, climbing down the ladder on the wall. Elysium ran down the station stairs to the door and followed her through the alleyway. Flattening herself against the wall, Ruby signaled to Elysium to stay back. She looked around the corner and bolted across the street...

 

((Gotta go, to be continued.))