Re: Epic Clash Round 4 - The Unholy Fortress
08-23-2010, 06:49 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Pinary.
Spender's tunnel was winding, lonely, and dark, and without light as he was, he tread slowly--and more quietly than usual. It gave him time to think, and time to prioritize. He didn't use that time all that well; he wasn't a man prone to sulking, but if ever there was a time, this was it.
A glimmer of light that might have been illusion caught his eye. It was many times reflected; so instead of fleeing, he chased after it, as fast as he could while still being nearly silent. After a while, he realized he had hit a T-intersection, and the light continued to his right. The yells were indistinct, but easily trackable; he hugged the wall and chased after them. Only a few hundred feet later, he realized that the path split left, although the light came from straight ahead; he noted it and kept on the chase.
As he got to the point where he could almost see, he picked up the pace, one hand behind him on the .22 caliber handgun he had stashed in his waistband, one that had seemed for years to be a formality.
He paused before rounding a final curve; ahead, several miners were struggling up a rock wall that showed signs of having been scaled by someone with earth control, probably Thomas. They were well equipped for it, but it was kind of a sheer wall for people who didn't have magic; the lead climber was making good use of a mean pickaxe, and the others were tied with climbing gear to him.
The climber got to the top and was pulling the others up; when the second was pulled to the top, with the third almost there, Spender shot the leader in the kneecap. He had been leaning over the cliff; now he tumbled forward, over the cliff. The second, in a panic, tried to catch himself on the ledge, but he stepped on the third's hand, and they both tumbled down.
Spender didn't check who if any of them survived the fall. He backtracked to the left exit, and in a snarky mood, picked up a stone and carved, blindly, a message into the rock.
Bern was a corner or two ahead, catching his breath both physically and mentally. He might've missed the yell and fall, if not for the gunshot. When he turned to look, nobody was on the cliff face, and torchlight flickered from below.
He hurried back and peeked over the edge, then swapped out for Greg, who used the rock wall to carefully, but quickly, descend.
Wait a moment. Who else had a gun? Greg squinted at the pile of nearly-dead miners, but couldn't discern a gunshot. Michelle's dead; Spender could make one, but why? Glere could get one easily, but this isn't his style. Asteira... if she possessed someone? Would miners have guns?
Bern swapped back in, and eased cautiously back through the hallway. It seemed fruitless; there was no sound or obvious track, until he got to a branch in the corridor.
There, barely legible, was carved,
"I like to keep my enemies confused. Agent S"
Spoiler
Spender's tunnel was winding, lonely, and dark, and without light as he was, he tread slowly--and more quietly than usual. It gave him time to think, and time to prioritize. He didn't use that time all that well; he wasn't a man prone to sulking, but if ever there was a time, this was it.
A glimmer of light that might have been illusion caught his eye. It was many times reflected; so instead of fleeing, he chased after it, as fast as he could while still being nearly silent. After a while, he realized he had hit a T-intersection, and the light continued to his right. The yells were indistinct, but easily trackable; he hugged the wall and chased after them. Only a few hundred feet later, he realized that the path split left, although the light came from straight ahead; he noted it and kept on the chase.
As he got to the point where he could almost see, he picked up the pace, one hand behind him on the .22 caliber handgun he had stashed in his waistband, one that had seemed for years to be a formality.
He paused before rounding a final curve; ahead, several miners were struggling up a rock wall that showed signs of having been scaled by someone with earth control, probably Thomas. They were well equipped for it, but it was kind of a sheer wall for people who didn't have magic; the lead climber was making good use of a mean pickaxe, and the others were tied with climbing gear to him.
The climber got to the top and was pulling the others up; when the second was pulled to the top, with the third almost there, Spender shot the leader in the kneecap. He had been leaning over the cliff; now he tumbled forward, over the cliff. The second, in a panic, tried to catch himself on the ledge, but he stepped on the third's hand, and they both tumbled down.
Spender didn't check who if any of them survived the fall. He backtracked to the left exit, and in a snarky mood, picked up a stone and carved, blindly, a message into the rock.
Bern was a corner or two ahead, catching his breath both physically and mentally. He might've missed the yell and fall, if not for the gunshot. When he turned to look, nobody was on the cliff face, and torchlight flickered from below.
He hurried back and peeked over the edge, then swapped out for Greg, who used the rock wall to carefully, but quickly, descend.
Wait a moment. Who else had a gun? Greg squinted at the pile of nearly-dead miners, but couldn't discern a gunshot. Michelle's dead; Spender could make one, but why? Glere could get one easily, but this isn't his style. Asteira... if she possessed someone? Would miners have guns?
Bern swapped back in, and eased cautiously back through the hallway. It seemed fruitless; there was no sound or obvious track, until he got to a branch in the corridor.
There, barely legible, was carved,
"I like to keep my enemies confused. Agent S"