Act I - Therus-Wuith Quest - Caves and Dragons, something amiss? (Group 3)

[Andromeda]

This is for group 3 from Therus and Wuith:

Anomaly - Therus
Aerif - Therus
Haku - Wuith
Dante Fatima - Wuith - Crimson Leaves

I shall explain a few things to hopefully make sure they are as clear as I can make them with everything that has been happening recently. If you have questions still do not hesitate to ask.

First, I shall explain this first round (Act I). For all groups in this round there will be a single RPer eliminated from the group at the completion and judging of the quest. The remaining group members will continue to the next round (Act II). Act I and Act II are the preliminaries, when the preliminaries are finished the remaining members will be re-organized into two groups for the finals. I will explain the elimination of Act II when that arrive, right now it is simple and straight forward, a single member from each group is dropped once the quest is finished and judged. The eliminated members will be announced and the remaining proceed.

Next, the RP itself. Remember to follow all of the same rules as in the RP Forum they all apply here, of course. The quest itself, remember that this is a mini-RP, I do not expect it to be hundreds of posts. The quest is short and simple. All I expect will be 15 to 30 posts, so do not feel that you have post a ton. Be active and be concise.

Next, you are free to do whatever you want with what you are given. You should know the bounds of the world that I create, so use common sense and having fun. You make create whatever addition people, histories, locations you require. The quest is your RP, do with it as you wish. Do remember that you have a goal in mind and that the most important part of this is that you complete the quest. Remember success or fail is not the concern, completion. The boss fight outline in the quest is that an outline, you can expand on it as much as you wish. What I provide is the basics, you can add on as much as you use. One requirement is that you must confront the boss fight and deal with them in whatever fashion. This does not mean you need to kill them, whatever manner of victory you make is your decisions. And remember that victory in the boss fight does not always mean victory in the quest, they do not always go hand in hand.

The deadline set for the quest is marked out as a month currently. There will be a three week set of time. At that point, I will announce that there is a week remaining and that all quests need to be wrapped up. So that means ending whatever you have come to some conclusion. It is important the quest has an end.

One last thing, if it becomes problematic that a member is inactive and you are waiting on them to continue, proceed without them. Allow some time, but do not let them slow you down. Carry the character along with minimumal controling, so you do not step over the line. Progression is important.

Timeline:
March 5th One week warning
March 12th Deadline

Caves and Dragons, something amiss? - Group 3


Therus Weapons Company Briefing

Summary: The Kingdom of Wuith is having a Dragon problem and has requested the aid of Therus to aid them in slaying the beast.
Briefing: The Kingdom of Wuith has requested the aid of the Therus Weapons Company to slay a dragon that is creating havoc in the nearby towns. The dragon lives in a cave nearby to the towns surrounded by a dense forest. The cave is deep and vast, but the smell of brimstone should lead you to the dragon.
The Therus Research Team has requested something during the mission, so you have a secondary objective. Silencing the beast is important to the continued relationship with Wuith, but there is something else in the cave that is of importance to Therus. The cave is a strange source of magic, it could be the reason of the dragon, but the magic has become concentrated into the raw materials of the cave. Locate and extract enough samples for the research teams to examine. It will be important that the beast is dead, if the samples prove themselves to be useful it will mean less trouble in the future.
The forest is filled with monsters that are on edge from the high activity of the dragon so be careful while approaching the cave. The cave itself should be empty of monsters aside from the dragon, but always be on the look out for trouble.
Starting Location: Those from Wuith will meet the Therus agents in the town of Emerit, one of the towns near to the cave that has been troubled by the dragon’s attacks. Once the mission is complete return immediately to Therus to report.
Wuith Briefing:
Summary: The Eremt region is under attack from a rampaging dragon and the military has been unable to stop to thus far. Hunt down the dragon and kill it before it hurts anymore of the people.
Briefing: The military has reluctantly given into the demands of the court to request the aid of the Therus Weapons Company in this mission. The soldiers from Therus will arrive and aid you in the hunt for the dragon. The lair for the beast is in a cave nearby the town of Emerit. Around the cave is a forest dense with monsters that have become aggressive from the dragon’s activity. It is important that the dragon is stopped as it is creating an imbalance in nature and halting trade.
The lair of the dragon has a strong magic aura coming from it, which may give the dragon increased abilities. Do not hesitate to use the Therus soldiers for your cover while you go in for the killing blow. This is a matter of honor for the Wuith military do not fail and do not let those cowards from Therus steal the glory from you.
Starting Location: You are to meet the Therus soldiers in the town of Emerit and travel through the forest into the cave where the dragon lies. Return to the town of Emerit upon completion of the mission to inform the residents of its death.
Boss Fight:
Dragon: It seems to be just a normal dragon, not too many of them are seen these days in the land of Thuyin since the magic barrier went up. The dragon however is not to be underestimated as it is aggressive and will seek out its prey. It can breathe fire and with the magic amplification of the cave will only serve to increase its potential.
Dragon Breath – A standard breath attack.
Prism Fire – A charged up flame attack that had been enhanced by the magic of the cave.
Torrent – A breath attack spread across a wide area.
Wing Send – The wings beat quickly creating a gale force wind that will send opponents flying away from the area.

[Aerif]

‘Therus Weapons Company’, the logo upon the crisp uniform’s of the small number of soldiers that had been ordered to join up with two significant people within the company. One was Sen Iota, a middle-ranking researcher within the company who had great affiliation towards magical arts; the other was Isaac Direson, a well-heard-of technician and engineer who had the look that one possessed from working with Therus for a while. When Sen first met Isaac she could sense that he had seen war, and had probably been with Therus for more than 5 years. Not a feat easily accomplished in such a dangerous line of work faced by technicians and engineers alike, never mind a person who possessed the qualifications to meet the two sciences together!

Still, it was not refined or polite to stare at one’s colleague or to make judgement upon him. And Sen knew that by the end of this assignment he would not be the only one being judged. In fact, she would not find herself surprised if Isaac was making his own calculations about Sen at this very moment.

As they approached the town of Emerit, Sen found herself worrying about the various strategies she was going through in her head. The easiest and probably simplest strategy she could think of was one that would require assistance from another powerful mage, however, Wuith’s soldiers where not usually the one’s to devote themselves to one type of training and Sen definitely doubted that they could combine magical prowess to create a water spell large enough to cause the effect of a steam explosion, the reaction formed when an extremely heated object comes into contact with pure water and seeing as the dragon’s body temperature was probably near 1000’C, it wouldn’t take a lot of water to create a small explosion, though wouldn’t that cause the collapse of the cave? An explosion, she decided, was definitely not a good idea to have in such an enclosed space.

The town was not far off now and Sen was still worrying about her only strategy disappearing. It would be a theory that she could show off to the research team, however it was evident that water does not essentially have to defeat fire every time. She stopped walking when she passed a small discarded wooden sign that had been replaced with a larger one pointing the way to Emerit and the regions beyond. A few soldiers stopped with her, thinking that this was part of their mission and a part they had not yet been briefed on. But Sen told them to go ahead, there was nothing more distracting when experimenting than one who is not accustomed to seeing experiments finds the need to watch!

The Crystal Staff shone in the sun, temporally blinding Sen, making her think that perhaps next time the magical energies should be compressed into a much less reflecting element. The elemental crystal on top shone briefly red, the colour of fire, and a great heat was projected from the crystal, causing some of the surrounding soldiers to sweat. She touched the signpost with the crystal and watched as it rose in temperature, a sort of 27th sense which came from the direct castings of constant magic. She took the Staff back and did not continue to heat the signpost, it was slowly going back to the normal temperature but if left like that anyone touching the signpost for another one hour would probably find themselves with 3rd degree burns. Another sense of Sen’s (the 33rd to be exact) was telling her that her travel companions where getting a little weary of waiting around for her, so she decided to do the main part of her experiment quickly. She stepped back and motioned for those to close to the signpost to do the same as her elemental crystal changed from red to blue. She pointed the staff in the direction of the super heated sign post and released something from within herself, a small jet of water headed towards the sign post, and upon it’s collision brought a mini explosion that send heated splinters everywhere. Her theory was correct however her colleagues did not look very pleased about her experiment results.

The group continued towards Emerit, it wouldn’t be long before Sen would find herself in the midst of a battle with a dragon. Provided that she collected some of the magic source of the cave…

[Anomaly]

"Whoa! What was that!?"

The TWC Military, composed of the finest warriors money could buy, armed with the best weapons man could create. Most of this unit hadn't seen action in the last war, ten years ago. Isaac always felt a bit like an old man around his shop mates, but with these soldiers, still wet behind the ears, he felt positively ancient. Only in his thirties, he'd still out lived many a comrad, and this group of young'uns was the proof of it.

"That, my boy, is the power of magic. Mark it well, because the beast we hunt today is said to be choked with the stuff."

Sen Iota...though she hadn't been with the TWC very long, the board members had seen her value right away. Isaac was no idiot himself, and though many of his fellow soldiers looked down on her as a weakling, he knew real talent when he saw it. It might be raw and she might be weak in a fight, but someone of her skills is totally invaluable to the company, and thus invaluable to Isaac.

"Quit gocking you bunch of sissies. We've still got some ground to cover before we rendevouz with the Wuith military in Emerit, best we got a move on."

His armored grey duster moving gently in the breeze of his own pace, Isaac continues onward, pulling down a set of smoked glass goggles over his eyes to block out the sun. This wasn't going to be an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. Isaac had almost turned the assignment down out of hand to experiment with the new compound 'Sol Essence' and its possible uses in augmenting siege weapons. But then the Company had let slip the existance of a mineral that might well prove to be raw, condenced magic in its most basic form. They couldn't stop him from beign a part of the mission then and insisting on Sen Iota being included. If Therus could get ahold of such a mineral as this there was no end to the possibilites. Of course enchanted weapons already existed in the world, lord knew he'd designed a few in his time, but imagine a weapon composed of pure magic! Imagine an army of magically empowered men rather than one or two specialist units devoted to the magical craft. It would mean the end of an era and the start of a new age for mankind.

More than any of that, the thought occupied Isaac's mind, 'what would happen if I mixed some of this mineral with Sol Essence?' That was an experiment he was hoping he might get to try. After all...wouldn't it just make those Jurion grey beards green with envy if the Barrier they had failed to penetrate for two centuries was brought down not by their dusty old incantations but by gleaming technology forged by his own two hands? What if the stagnate swamps were rejuvinated in his time?

One of the other soldiers piped up then, interupting Isaac's train of thought. A new recruit, by the look of him, and a likely candidate for dragon bait. Because of this, Isaac did not lose his temper with the boy and cuss him out there and then.

"Captain Direson, why are we hiking to Emerit? Wouldn't it be easier to take one of the transports, or at least some mounts?"

Isaac Direson never broke his stride as he spoke.

"Well soldier, number one Emerit is not that far away. Number two, transports and mounts are more hinderance than good in the forest and completely useless in caves. Since we plan on going through both after we meet the Wuith boys, the company didn't think it would be cost effective to pay for transportsand mounts to be looked after in the twon while we're doing our job, and frankly I agree with them. Bloody waste of time and money when you have a pair of legs of your own."

At that the soldier fell silent, with an almost reproachful look to him.

"Don't worry though, we can rest up a bit while we talk with the Wuith boys. I'm sure they'll have plenty to say to us about how they have jurisdiction and we're only along for the ride, and blah-d-****ing-blah. Hah...might even have time for a bit of a drink." At that, the middle aged man winks. "I won't tell if you don't. If I were your age, I'm not sure I'd want to face down a dragon sober."

Another soldier spoke up at that, Baxter or some such was his name. It really must have been a short distance, or they wouldn't have had enough breath to chatter so much.

"Are we really expected to slay a dragon for Wuith? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know we have a policy of slight preference towards their kingdom, but aren't we supposed ot be neutral? I thought we were only dispatched for emergencies."

Isaac stopped and turned at that.

"You don't think a dragon is an emergency private? You don't think several tons of muscle and scales with claws, teeth, intellegence superior to your average mortal man, and superior magic to match is something to get anxious about? Hah, son, I wish I had your bravado. It might not be eating up Therus personnel, but who do you think will be left to deal with it after its eaten all the handy peasants?"

At this all of his men look shaken. Wrong thing to say there captain...

"Don't get me wrong though boys. This isn't my first dragon hunt and it won't be my last. Wuith might not have been able to handle this over grown lizard, but they didn't have the training and cutting edge technology the Therus Weapons Company has to offer! Just stay in formation, watch your brothers ass, and damn well watch your own too. Stay focused, and maybe you'll even get a few souveniers out of this."

Turning and marching steadily onward, Isaac makes it painfully clear that this is the end of the conversation.
--------------------

Emerit. It's not exactly a huge town by Wuith's standards, but still far larger than some of the towns you might find further north. It seems like a bright, friendly enough town, only there don't seem to be very many people out of doors these days. The reason being is pretty easy to see in the ruined, charred and blackened bones of houses and fields spread at intervals on either side of the road. Though there were still a few people hanging on, most of Emerits populatio nthat had not died in the dragons attacks had moved closer to the capital, at least for the time being until the beast could be dealt with.

If the matter wasn't resolved soon, Emerit would become just another ghost town, created by the harsh environmenet that everyone in Thuyin had to put up with since the erection of the Barrier and its poisonous magic. But this time, was it the Barrier that was to blame, or something else? This was the question on everyones mind as Captain Isaac Direson, Sen Iota, and his regiment of TWC soldiers in crisp military uniforms arrives in the towns square.

"Alright you men, take some time to refresh yourselves and prepare for the battle ahead. I want you all back here and ready to move out at O two hundred. If your late, you'll be left behind, and I don't have to tell you the companies policy on desertion in the line of duty. Sen, Baxter, your with me. The forces of Wuith should be stationed near the mayors residence. Lets hope there in a co-operative mood..."

The three TWC soldiers head for a low, official looking garrison not far from the town square as the rest of the soldiers scatter to collect supplies, fill their bellies, or catch a few moment of sleep as the case may be. No matter what army, soldiers will always be soldiers. Then again, as Isaac approaches the garrison, the sharp attention of the sentries of the Wuith army does remind Isaac of days filled with slightly more rigorous attention to discipline, duty, honor, and 'the natural order'. Frankly, he couldn't be happier those days were long behind him.

"Captain Isaac Direson, Therus Weapons Company Elite Division. This is Sen Iota, acting Sergeant, TWC researcher specializing in magical disturbance, and Private Baxter, my offical little gopher. Tell your captain we're here to help him with his dragon problem. I'm a little parched, so if he wants to talk to us, we'll be in the pub."

[Aerif]

"Why go to the bar when he can talk to me right now?"

The captain of the Wuith dispatch was a tall man, infact it was rather surprising that Sen hadn't noticed him as they approached the group of Wuith Soldiers and fighters. The first thing she noticed about the group was that nobody gave the aura of being a 'pure mage' and most where just warriors with simple spells that they had taken the liberty of naming with rather foolish names, 'Firaga' was definitley not a name for a tier 3 fire spell!

"Our orders where too meet the group from Therus here and traverse immediatly to the cave where the dragon is residing. And please note that we don't give a damn about you and our direct order was to make sure Wuith recieves the glory from the dragon-slaying,"

Sen thought she she had saw a twitch in Isaac's eyebrow at this and wasn't surprised. She had never known any millitary captain to be so, specific, too tell the truth so freely and to make sure that their temporary allies knew exactly what the conditions where.

"Well, if this is it shall we go?"

(OOC: A bit of a short post, sorry, but I'm getting eaten away at by the prospect of exams...)

[Anomaly]

While Isaac had intended his comments to the guards to raise their captains ire, it was traditional for Therus and Wuith forces to discuss business over a friendly drink before beginning any operations. The fact this captain didn't know that meant either he was a greenhorn or had never had contact with Therus personnel at all. Given his attitude, the later seemed more likely rather than the former. You didn't get that kind of self possessed pigheadedness in younger officers. They tended to try to be crafty, weasils that they were.

"I gave you my name, captain, and that of my subordinates. When you've got a civil tongue in your head, we can speak about our plans at the pub. Otherwise if you're in such an all fired hurry to secure the 'glory' of this little execution for your military, feel free to have a head start. As for my men, they haven't had the benefit of holding up in a half destroyed town for the past few weeks and need a bit of time to gather supplies."

Isaac Direson turns his back deliberately on the other captain and heads off to the Glistening Plum, one of the few pubs with a decent reputation for serving outsiders in this town.

"We'll be heading for the dragons lair at 0200. We have that much time to plan, and to mend this little impass. Otherwise, feel free to do whatever you want. Therus is here to help, not be ordered around. Sen, Baxter, double time."

He never gave the Wuith captain a chance to respond. If he wanted to talk then they could talk in neutral territory over a cool mug. Baxter jogs up beside his captain, and turns a worried face to Isaac.

"Cap are you sure that was the best idea? Isn't this an emergency?"

Already out of eye sight of the Wuith Garrison, Isaac turns a cold gaze on Baxter.

"Aye, and we don't need any of that military machismo getting us killed. This isn't war, this is just an extermination. This is a job. Therus is paying you to do a job, not to fight for some damn fool ideal of garnering 'glory'," he spat the word as if it meant garbage," for your country. That kind of thinking loses valuable resources, including peoples lives."

The last comment was a bit of an awekward statement, as if Isaac didn't expect people to equate valuable resources with peoples lives. Either way he kept on marching and pushed open the doors to the Glistening Plum. At midday in such rural districts, pubs are less like bars and more like a social gathering point for the community. Though perhaps not as crowded as they'd be later on when the young folk, men, and women came in from the fields, the older gentlemen playing cards in one corner and the old widows knitting in the other filled the room with a busy semi silence, shatter now and again by children playing at some imaginary game involving one kid being a 'monster' on the stairs that lead to the guest rooms.

All movement froze, and all eyes turned to the Therus military, including those of the young woman behind the bar. For a moment, Drieson silohetted against the sunlight, thought they were all going to scurry away. Then a smile broke out like sunshine on the girls face cleaing mugs behind the bar and she said, "Welcome back captain. Business or pleasure?"

This prompted a smile from Isaac.

"You know its always business with me Lily. Give me the usual, and don't be sneaking extra shots into it this time. I can tell."

Taking a seat at the bar, he motioned for the other two to join him. He was suprised none of the rest of his crew had found this place. Then again, they had probably gone to one of he bars or stores nearer to the towns square. Good sense that. The barmaid, a girl Direson had known since she was in ribbons, set a frosted mug of honey ale in front of him. A specialty of the region, it is one of the least alchoholic beverages Direson had ever inmbibed, but the flavor is enough to make anyone unawarey drunk off their ass before the third mug. Alchohol...a good tool when when trying to discover the disposition of someone you're doing business with. Baxter orders the same, though he still looks sullen and a bit confused.

"I just...cap I just think that we should keep an eye on them. It wouldn't look good if they reported we were unco-operative with them."

Isaac took a deep pull of his drink, planning on nursing the other half of his mug until two o'clock, before answering.

"It will look any better for us to report that they weren't co-operating with us? Lets just let them blaze a trail for us if thats what they want to do. We don't have any orders about 'glory'. So long as the job gets done the missions a success."

However, even as he says this, he turns his gaze to Sen Iota. He speaks slowly...as if hiding an idea behind words he has to give a few moments thought to apeice.

"Although...if there was a...curious party...like a researcher or something...that wanted to keep an eye on the Wuith detail...well I'd have no problem with that. Provided they didn't head into the dragons cave without first joining back up with the rest of us."

He looks over the top of his mug at the young sorceress as he takes another, smaller drink of his ale.

[Andromeda]

Sorry for the interruption, but I just wanted to remind you that there is only two weeks left. It seems a bit doubtful that the other two will be joining you. I would say do not wait for them and just simply post, and carry them all if they suddenly appear.

[Aerif]

"Although...if there was a...curious party...like a researcher or something...that wanted to keep an eye on the Wuith detail...well I'd have no problem with that. Provided they didn't head into the dragons cave without first joining back up with the rest of us."

Isaac’s words had been slow and suggested, in fact, Sen was a little surprised at the Captain allowing such thoughts to pass through his head. It was not an order, nor was it directly directed at Sen. But it would be all in the name of research of course…

“Perhaps… There might be such a curious party who may want to… I don’t know… Supervise the Wuith team? Heh, I may even take on the role myself,”

She talked in a joking manner but it was evident that the conversers both knew exactly the thought that was crossing her mind at the present time. Isaac gave signs of recognition and understanding and Sen took her leave.

“Hey, miss!”

Sen turned to find one of the Therus troops that had been deployed as part of the assisting group.

“Your supposed to be recuperating from the hike… What are you doing here?”

The Therus troop looked a little taken aback, in his eyes he thought he had been friendly but for some reason Sen was reacting a little coldly…

“I’m sorry Miss Iota, I just thought you looked like you needed some assistance…”

“No, forgive me… I didn’t mean to snap at you, I’m just a little… Nervous…”

“Hmm… Why are you so?”

“Well, unlike you, this is my first dispatch mission with Therus. Usually it’s just lab work for me…”

“Oh, well… It’s easy once you get the hang of it…”

“Yeah, sure… Bye…”

Sen turned to leave for the cave, but the troop interrupted:

“Hey, where are you off too?”

“Oh, I’m just doing a little research…”

“Mind if I tag along?”

Sen paused for thought, she couldn’t quite decide whether she wanted the company, she wasn’t used to concept of having accomplishes on her trips, unless it was in a big group. Though surely a friend would help along the way?

“I don’t mind at all, feel free to come!”

“Great! So, where are we going exactly?”

“We’re going to stop those Wuith big-heads from starting the mission without us!”

“Sounds… Fun…”

“Yeah, this is going to be a bundle of laughs…”

[Anomaly]

Time was moving on...the old gentlemen had just about finished their game, the children had long since gotten bored and run out into the sunshine, Baxter had begged leave to go answer a call of nature, and Isaac's mug was empty. The barmaid scooped up his mug, knowing there would be no call for another round. Fingers steepled in front of his face, it looked as though there was something on the old engineer's mind.

"So...how's your mother holding up?"

It's a question out of the blue, but from the barmaids reaction, it was a question she'd been answering a lot lately.

"She's...doing better. Moved in with our aunt near the capital. She...sent me a letter awhile back...first time we spoke since Pa died. Saying she wants me to sell the pub and make a fresh start of it with her in the capital..."

Isaac stares at her blankly, not really glaring, but clearly waiting for something. Lily smiles brightly...perhaps a little too brightly. The brittle smile spawned of a thousand sorrows.

"But you know...I just can't bring myself to sell the place. Even with that beast ravaging our town, everyone up and leaving...even with it killing our Pa. This pub was his dream...he worked hard to build it, and it always put food on the table. There are so many memories here...too many for my mother..."

"I know...but you have to worry about yourself Lil...worry about your own dreams...not your Pa's and not your Ma's." Isaac turns and looks at the slant of the sunlight out the door. It's almost time to form ranks...that fatheaded Wuith captain never showed his ugly mug. That probably meant they were well down the path now, probably in the thick of the forest, stirring up who knew what mess of trouble.

"Its easy for you to say Isaac...but even if I did shut this pub down like my mother wants, there's all these people that rely on this place. Not just for a drink and a bed to sleep in while they try to rebuild their homes, but as a calm eye in these stormy times. They've got enough dragging them down without having a place to go for a few moments of relief. If...if I go I'm afraid it might be all over for Emerit. Even if the military or oyur boys take care of that dragon, do you really think those that have left will come back here now?"

"Is that what you're afraid of or what you're hoping for Lily?" The Barmaid glares at him and her fists clench. Her jaws set just like her Pa's, oh no. "Now don't go getting offended. I know you love this place, but you're not a little girl anymore Lily. It was good of you to take over your fathers business, and I have to commend you wanting to keep things going through this rough patch. But you have to promise me, after we slay this dragon, you'll give some serious thought to finding someone else to run this place for you and your Ma, and you start living the life you want. You don't want to end up old like me before you know it!"

The last comment gets a smile.

"You talk about killing that horror as if its just a matter of course. Pa and the other town militia weren't so lucky. Do you really think you can put a stop to this nightmare?"

Isaac gets to his feet and plonks some money down on the counter, far more than his drink was actually worth.

"Every dream has to end sometime, even the bad ones. Thanks for the drink Lil."

With that he walks out of the Glistening Plum, never looking back, heading for the town sqaure and his men.
-----------------------

A few moments later private Baxter walks out of the pubs privey. He goes to take his seat at the bar and notices that the captains nowhere to be seen. The barmaid stands there, shivering, a wad of money clutched in her hand...and tears dripping on the freshly polished bar. He starts to ask her something, then looks out the front door at the slant of the sunlight.

Swearing, he dashes out of the doors, praying the captain doesn't count him as AWOL for losing track of time.

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

"Captain Direson sir! All accounted for but private Baxter, private Lewis, and Sen Iota sir!"

"At ease."

Sen had undoubtedly took his hint and gone on ahead. Baxter would likely be along shortly. There was no accounting for Lewis, but if he was AWOL there was nothing he could do about it now. Best thing to do at a time like this was to just press forward. Though he really didn't care who landed the finishing blow, it really would look bad if the Therus Company's unit was not even present when Wuith threw their soldiers at the beast again.

"Alright you horrible lot...on me, we're marching through the forest to this beasties cave. Keep your eyes open, as we'll probably be running into some rather scared animals if there are any still around. I don't need to tell you that even a deers deadly when mad with fear, so stay sharp people. We run into the Wuith boys, you'll keep your ranks until told otherwise. Don't fall behind or you'll be left behind."

"Yes Sir!"

"Right then, double time!"

Leaving a cloud of dust, the TWC Military march out to do battle. A few minutes later a straggling soldier, weezing and swearing pounds after their trail.

[Andromeda]

Ok, there is one week left in the round. It is pretty apparent that the others are not going to be posting. I do insist that you complete the quest and have a conclusion. With the people dropping out, the prilimaries will be brought to a close on this and go in the finals afterwards. The remaining people have all passed, so congradulations on making it into the Finals. I will be putting up a new grouping after the prilimaries end.

You have one week to end the quest and it is important that you do.

Anomaly and Aerif move on.

[Aerif]

“Wow… Who would have thought that a simple fire spell could destroy every monster that we ran into in that forest?”

“I think it may have had something to do with them being mainly of the Wood element…”

Traversing the forest had been a breeze for Sen and Private Lewis, far too many of the monsters had been brought down by a single ember of a fire spell; it was surprising that Sen hadn’t even needed the power of the crystal to assist her. She felt a little confused about her briefing and pulled out a slip of paper, the briefing papers:

The Therus Research Team has requested something during the mission, so you have a secondary objective. Silencing the beast is important to the continued relationship with Wuith, but there is something else in the cave that is of importance to Therus. The cave is a strange source of magic, it could be the reason of the dragon, but the magic has become concentrated into the raw materials of the cave. Locate and extract enough samples for the research teams to examine. It will be important that the beast is dead, if the samples prove themselves to be useful it will mean less trouble in the future.
The forest is filled with monsters that are on edge from the high activity of the dragon so be careful while approaching the cave. The cave itself should be empty of monsters aside from the dragon, but always be on the look out for trouble.

“What do you think of this?”

“Well… High activity doesn’t necessarily mean that they would be very strong…”

“Hmm… It looks like a misunderstanding on my part then”

“There weren’t any specifics”

“But still, it is rather foolish of me to expect the worse when it comes to fighting the enemy… Even if it is just a few Wood Nymphs”

They had arrived at the mouth of the cave now, there was a strange glow emitting from the entrance, a mixture between the colour red and the colour orange…

“Lewis!”

Sen watched as Private Lewis leapt to the side, seconds before an impossibly hot flame sped past them and into the forest which seemed to deflect the fire.

“What…? Is the forest somehow protected?”

The young sorceress touched the wood of the closest tree, it felt normal but it had somehow managed to deflect the dragon’s fire…

“Maybe it has a magical ward on it?” Lewis suggested

“Maybe…”

Sen took her staff and focussed, the crystal on top changed a fiery red and before Lewis knew what was happening an ember hit the tree, setting it alight.

“What the hell? I thought it deflected fire? Sen what’s up with this tree?”

The girl extinguished the tree with a flick of the staff.

“Perhaps…. Perhaps this dragon is not entirely associated with the fire element… Trees have a natural immunity to darkness, so perhaps our dragon friend has a darkness/fire element association. Which is bad news for us…”

“Why?”

“Well, aside from humans having an automatic weakness to dark and light it means that my theory will not be as effective, the vapour explosion can’t work as well if the darkness absorbs the water…”

“So what do you suggest instead? The power of your magic inside the cave will be amplified won’t it?”

“I…”

It was lucky that the body of a Wuith soldier made its way flying past them, there was obviously a problem here. Isaac had specified that the Wuith group did not enter the cave alone, but what had made them enter…

“Sen?”

Sen could feel a magnetic pull from the solidified magical element that was projecting the dragon’s power, it was so… Inviting. And Sen could not fight the urge to enter the cave.

“Sen! You said that Captain Direson had said not to enter the cave…”

“I can’t help it, Lewis, it’s like I’m being manipulated by a greater force”

“Ah…”

The two entered the cave, unwillingly, and proceeded to look around. The walls where almost decorated with a yellow crystal, it seemed to surround them, but it was not the source of the magical pull.

“This way I think…”

Sen took a path to the left and began to run down the natural corridor, there was an inviting green light coming from the corner, magical essence. It felt warm in Sen’s hand and made her feel extremely stronger in mind and intelligence.

“Oh…”

“Sen, look behind you…”

She did, the first thing she saw was a behemoth of a monster, though it was certainly not a behemoth type. There was a group of Wuith’s men fighting the creature with ineffective spells, Sen could tell that the men where no mages, they had swords on their back which mean that their magical power was probably at a minimum. One was thrown to the side by a black and red tail, another was burned by excruciating heat coming from the dragon’s mouth. The dragon itself would be an honour to paint, however it did not seem like it would stay in the one place for long.

It stood on hind legs and had short arms that had inch long claws upon them, the hands where being waved around, it had access to magic aside from it’s fantastic breath. The tail was long and the wings where huge, but not as large as the dragon itself, which was three times the height of the tallest man there. If there was going to be a fight, it would be a tough one…

[Anomaly]

"Ugh...Cap, we've got another carcass over here...flash fried, just like the others. That dragons been busy..."

The Therus unit hadn't been moving through the forest long before they came upon the first of the bodies. Some looked like they'd been hacked to peices. The standard weapons of the Wuith military being the sword, this was to be expected. It was the whole sale slaughter of forest creatures, monster and otherwise by flame that startled the men. The men of course took the work to be that of the beast they hunted, but what the men didn't note was the lack of carnage that the forest itself would be in if a fire drake let loose with its flame. These burns were too precise, too controlled, and too complete to have been inflicted by a breath weapon. No...this all had the signs of magic, which could only be bad news for Isaac and his boys.

They quickened pace, and before too long, the trail of bodies ended at what could only be the entrance to the dragons lair. The mens pace slowed and seeing this, Direson calls for a full halt. One of the lads goes to speak, but Isaac holds a finger to his lip, then a theatrical hand to his ear. From the cave mouth the sounds of a titanic struggle could be heard, just barely, echoing from those dark depths. As one man, the Therus unit unsheath their weapons.

"Hold up boys...I think I've got an idea..."

Walking towards the cave mouth, the old engineer fumbles in his duster and produces several small vials of dark grey powder. Though its hard to tell what he's doing, he seems to sprinkle several vials of the compound liberally around the entrance to the cave, paying particular attention to the rocks that make up the cave wall in particular. Walking back, its easy to see he still has a few full vials of the substance tucked away, but there's no time to ask him what his actions were all about.

"We're moving in. As you may have noticed, Sen and the others are no longer with us. I have reason to believe they, and the Wuith soldiers, are already inside and engaged with the monster. We will assist them, but when I give the order to retreat, take to your heels...pride and glory are for the dead. Do NOT stop at the cave entrance, keep going. We'll regroup in the forest...hopefully if this works our jobs will be done then."

Isaac reaches int othe recesses of his duster again, and draws out two swords. The 'Fakir' model blade, a weapon of Isaac's own design which has combined a sword breaker dagger with the raw power of the average bastard sword. With a killing edge designed to cleave easily through flesh, leather, and some light metals and the back edge and hilt designed to catch an enemies blade and either break the weapon or wrench it from the opponenets grasp in the attempt. the weapon is one of the more popular models among military police and sergents. Isaac's weapons are not those of an officer, but a working soldier who intends to dish out more than he takes.

"Move out!"

The soldiers enter the cave, moving swiftly and silently, trying to maintain the elemnt of suprise as long as possible. At the head of the charge is Isaac Direson himself. With every step he hopes to catch a glimps of Sen Iota, a particularly suspicious mineral, or failing that good fortune, the keeper of this lair. In the distance, he hears a scream.

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

The mutterings of a harsh reptilian tongue cease as the weaving of the dark leviathens spell comes to a close. On the heels of a triumphant hiss, the darkness of the cave is washed completely away by a swiftly growing glow. This hellish glare, so unlike the soft green glow of the walls, cause the air to grow hazy. Several Wuith soldiers nearest the dragon puff to ash without uttering so much as a scream. The less fortunate are those soldiers further away, who find themselves suddenly roasting alive in their armor as a massive prisim of heat and flame swells into life and washes over the gathered forces.

In that moment, complete chaos reigns. Through the smoke of smouldering bodies and the heat haze of its own spell, the black and crimson behemoth cast its gaze about as if taking pleasure at the scene of destruction. The beast saurian gaze looks deeper into the growing shadows left behind as the spell dispates...but the creature does not require light like human eyes. In the darkness it sees the Wuith soldiers who have survived...but mroe importantly its senses focus on a spell caster. A small, female spell caster, impossibley weak compared to its glorious might, but none the less a threat in a room full of annoyances.

Taloned appendages crushing burning bodies beneath the beasts wait, the dragon roars, and begins thundering towards Sen Iota.

[Andromeda]

I've extended the deadline quite a length longer than I was expecting. But since no one is posting and it is not finished yet. I will grant the next the person, regardless of order or double posting, permission to end the quest. It is important to have some resolutions for the next quests. So Anomaly or Aerif whoever gets here first can end anyway they wish. You two are naturally moving on, but I need an ending.

Post as soon as possible so the round can end. Finesse is not really required at this point since it is no longer being judged this round. What needs to be decided is what becomes of the dragon and if Therus is able to secure the samples they were looking for. Find what ending you wish.

[Anomaly]

Another harsh roar escapes the draconic beast as a small figure imbeds two swords to the hilt in its thick armored neck. Clinging to the side of the beast, Isaac Diresons voice is muffled by both his protective hood and his exertion, but the captain still has enough wind to make himself heard amidst the dragons roar of outrage.

"Sen! Get them ineral and get everyone out of here now!"

Saying this he lets go of one blade, and thus one handhold, long enough to toss an empty vial to the young mage. He quickly turns back to his work, trusting Sen to know what he meant. Rallied by the coming of re-enforcements, the Wuith soldiers join with the Therus team and begin to hack at the distracted behemoth. The beast roars, and arcs its neck to exhale a burst of shadow edged crimson flame. Just as the behemoth is about to bring the breath weapon to bare on his troops, Isaac twists both of his swords in the dragons throat and hauls down hard on them both with all his weight. It's enough to rip two bleeding gashes in the underside of the creatures throat, causing the flame to cut off and the creatures mouth and to give rise to the first roar of actual pain the creature has uttered in the battle thus far.

"Thats right you bastard...focus on me!"

In his periferal vision he could see Sen Iota puttign the stopper on some strange, green glowing rock she'd scoopedinto the vial. With any luck it would make it back to the Company. At this point...direson doubted the same for himself. The dragon archs its neck, throwing the captain hard against the cave wall. Direson tries to get to his feet, only to have the beasts breath weapon brought to bare on him. Drowned in a sea of flame, Isaac collapses into a smoldering heap. The beast gives a reptillian chuckle, and turns back to the assembled warriors. Many members of the Therus company look ready to flee, but some have a gleam in their eyes and a stance that says come what may, they would kill this beast or die like their captain.

As the beast turns to confront them, a blackened hand reaches up, seizes a single sword protruding from the beasts neck, and yanks hard, pulling to blade free. The monster howls as the blackened armored figure of Captain Direson stands at the ready. A small cheer rises from the men.

"Quickly, we have to save the captain!"

"There's no time!" Comes the voice of Sen Iota, "We have to get out now!"

"Thats right, run you bully morons! Retreat! Go now!"

Saying this Direson reaches into his crispy fried duster and pulls out a large vial of powder. He throws the glass tube at the beast, and as it smashes, the powder ignites in an expanding blossom of flame. Seering the beasts eyes, Isaac takes to his heels, running as fast as he can away from the beast. Many of the soldiers are stunned by this scene, but all quickly realize that if they don't run they'll be dealing with one very angry fire lizard. Even the proud Wuith army retreats, following the Therus companies lead.

A roar and a sudden flash of new heat from behind the soldiers doubles their already frantic pace as they reach the mouth of the cave. Day light offers about as much safety as the caverns glooms a pillar of fire engulfs the last few fleeing soldiers. Isaac and Sen Iota are the only soldiers who stand near the entrance, watching making sure the others make it out. Diresons confident features suddenly turn to panic as he watches the dark flames of the dragon sweep over the powder he had spread before and fail to ignite it. The beast looms close enough now that its burning, hate filled eyes are readily visible.

"Sen! We need fire, real fire, now! Aim for the cave!"

The young mage nods and lifts her staff. The crystal on the end of it washes crimson, and a ball of flame leaps to life. As it passes the threshhold of the cave, an explosion that dwarfs the previous one several times over shakes the forest. A cloud of dust and rock rises high into the air. The sounds of crumbling rock is accompanied by a dragons roar that is at first muffled...and then cut off with a suddeness that makes all present stare.

As the dust clears, its clear that the cave may never be opened again. It is also clear that the dragon, the beast that had plagued the countryside for so long, at long last is dead. Buried beneath a pile of rubble, blood, far more than could come from any human body, begins to seep through the stones, creating a crimson pond at the base of the crumbled stones.

Isaac Direson removes his goggles and hood, and smiles at Sen Iota.

"Well...that went well."