Thabo's Story

Meanwhile...

A flash of light.

A crack of thunder.

A kaleidoscope of reds, yellows, and purples exploded in a remote corner of the bay. The air shimmered as a tear was cut in the fabric of reality. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the anomaly vanished. Twelve figures stood in its place, wetting their boots in the freshly melted snow.

Ten were clad in gleaming metal armor and carried varying swords, shields, and maces that glowed with radiant light. A rokin, off to the side, was dressed in azure robes and carried a silver staff. The one in the center wore a cloak, the color of dried blood, and had a hood pulled over his face.

“We seem to have missed our mark,” Thabo said. “There’s some sort of temporal interference, so we have three hours until our deadline. Remember our objectives: find the offworlders - alive - and if possible claim the head of the instigator. If things go desert-side up, we have been authorized to use the L’takasa Protocols.”

“Sir,” one of the armored aryites, Mafsha, spoke up. “Do you believe that will be necessary?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s move out. Magus, do you have a lock on our target?”

“Yes sir.” The robed rokin said, holding a glowing sphere in his talons. “In the mountains. There is a large spike in psionic energy there. Shall we make the jump?”

“Let’s inspect the area first, but have the mass teleport on a hair-trigger.”

Snow stood still in the air around the new arrivals, Iskjerne Bay haven fully fallen mercy to the harsh winds of Zephras- as well as the influences of the great serpent in the mountain. In the distance there was a subtle quake from not too deep in the Weargtooth Mountains.

Takao peered his head out of the great mead hall to survey the bodies, this was all very strange to him, and he pulled his coat closer to try and stave off the cold.

The khroniktans cautiously moved through the bay. They ignored the cold for the most part, the minor enchantments in their armor staving off the worst of it, and inspected the deserted village. Thabo moved like a ghost, his boots leaving nary a trace in the snow or dust. Mafsha, sword drawn, poked his head into a longhouse and grimaced at the bodies.

“No wounds,” Thabo observed. “Weapons still in their scabbard. I don’t see any signs of a struggle, either. Either something killed them all at once, and quickly, or this was some sort of mass ritual suicide. Magus, are you recording this?”

“Yes, sir.” The rokin wizard said, gesturing to the orb floating at his side. “I am also detecting some strange arcane readings. There’s some sort of temporal anomaly… like a time stop spell, but it’s suffused into the atmosphere. I will do what I can to protect us from it.”

The wizard tapped his staff on the ground, and the arcanium orb mounted on top glowed with faint eldritch energy. A pulse of magic emanated from it, forming a transparent white dome around the party that kept most of the strange magic at bay.

“Sir!” Mafsha shouted, pointing towards one of the larger structures. “I think I see a survivor! He doesn’t look like any of the natives.”

“Must be our target. Approach cautiously and stow your weapons. We don’t need to spook him.”

The party of aryites, plus one rokin, slowly approached Takao.

“Hello!” Thabo said, speaking into a translator. “My name is Inquisitor Thabo of the Khroniktan Alliance. We have been sent as an extraction team for you and your Taiyou associates. We mean you no harm. Are there any more survivors?”

Snow bounced off of the Khroniktans as they moved through the bay, little frozen droplets spinning out into the air as if gravity had stopped existing. Zephras didn't seem to touch them so much as they were able to grip the rest in the bay. This angered Zephras. The bay grew colder.

At first Takao shrank away from the imposing creatures, who were just as alien to him as the other inhabitants of this world. Strangely enough, they seemed to speak his language.

He stepped out of the mead hall and into the outside, pulling his jacket once again to try and stave off the cold.

"No." Takao answered simply, pointing to the bodies all around them. "Only two, Princess Yukiko, and Director Miyagi went to the mountains to try and find a way back through the gate, here I am the only survivor." Takao replied, taking a tentative step forward. So it seemed he was finally going home.

"Then we must hurry." Inquisitor Thabo gestured for Takao to follow him. "There are powerful forces at work in this place, and we are far from welcomed."

"Inquisitor..." The wizard interrupted, voice straining. "There is old magic at work here. The temporal energies are increasing, and I am not sure how long I can hold them at bay."

"Ready the teleport. Get as close as you can to the targets without getting us stuck in a rock wall. Sir... Please come close. We need to leave this place immediately. Rest assured that, by our honor, we will rescue your princess and the director."

The wizard's staff grew brightly, and several sigils and runes floated through the air.

Takao hurried quickly towards the others, stumbling over bodies, debris, and rocks embedded into the ground. He waited quietly for their next move, but he paid close attention to their words.

*edited for clarity*

Arcane energy built up, an electric hum buzzing in the air. The crystalline orb on top of the wizard's staff glowed with a brilliant light.

"Commencing leapfrog jump in three... two... one."

There was a flash of light, and one by one the party of khroniktans vanished with a small pop.

Inquisitor Thabo, followed by each member of his unit, materialized in a series of bright lights several yards away from Seno and Yukiko. The rokin wizard appeared last. He squawked and leaned heavy on his staff, the top of which wafted with steam.

"Take a breather, magus." Thabo instructed. "Take a mana potion if you need it."

Mafsha scanned the perimeter, hand resting on the hilt of his blade. The fur on his face bristled in the icy wind, and he squinted into the building snow storm. He saw nothing, however, besides his comrades and the Taiyou aliens.

Both Yukiko, and Seno stopped from their digging for a moment to see the strange lights materialize behind them. Seno quickly stood between the newcomers, and Yukiko, relaxing briefly as he saw Takao slowly emerge from behind Mafsha.

"Director, Takayama-Hime!" He called out, Yukiko now had stopped digging. "They're here to rescue us!" He called out, noticing that neither Seno, nor Yukiko managed to make any significant progress.

"We need to leave." Seno spoke up. "The longer we stay here, the more danger we're in."

Thabo waited for the translation spell to finish before he replied. “Agree. First, we must rescue your princess. There is a Taiyou fleet in high orbit ready to glass this entire region, killing us and untold other bystanders, and scarring the planet, because of your skirmish with the tribesmen. My people have a colony and a vested interest in this world, and so we are trying to end this incident without further bloodshed. Sandrunner, wake up our demolitions expert…”

“Yes, sir.” Mafsha nodded and pulled a large red crystal from a pouch on his belt.

He held it up to his mouth and whispered to it. The stone glowed with a fiery warmth, and Mafsha tossed it onto the snowbank. Steam billowed into the air as the snow melted and vaporized at the stone’s touch. An inferno bloomed like a crimson flower in the white haze, and it twisted and solidified into a vague humanoid shape.

Clawed hands and a serpentine tail sprouted from the blaze. A forked tongue flicked at the air while slitted reptilian eyes opened like the shutters of a furnace. The creature stood about shoulder-height with the Taiyou - its body sculpted from churning plasma. It turned to face Inquisitor Thabo and spoke in an alien language filled with clicking pops and rumbling growls.

“Time is of the essence, corporal. Clear a path into the caverns!”

The creature screeched and turned towards the spot the Taiyou were digging. It walked forward, pools of boiling water marking its path. Waves of intense heat wafted off the creature, providing an almost overwhelming reprieve from the frigid winds. It opened its mouth wide like a snake, and a fiery vortex sprung forth and started drilling into the snow. The air was filled with steam as the elemental worked.

At the mention of the Princess, Yukiko peered up from behind Seno. "Princess here." She said, waving to the aliens before them. "A fleet in High Orbit?" Yukiko asked, cantering her head. "They came pretty quick, yes we had a skirmish with the locals, and apparently they sent someone to Niihama, I don't know anything else about that." Yukiko added.

All three Taiyou watched in silence as the elemental worked it's magic. The warmth washed over them, it was indeed a welcome reprieve from the frigid winds.

"Before we depart, there was something the natives took from me." Yukiko explained. "A wooden crown, carved from a royal tree, and crystallized with it's sap, it radiates immense magical energy, and should be easy to find." The Princess said, pointing to the large, ornate ship that was hovering in the sky.

"It radiates the same energy as that ship." The Princess added. "It is a priceless artifact, and I'm afraid I must insist we remain until I have found it."

Inquisitor Thabo nodded. “Understood. Sandrunner, run back to the village and locate the artifact. Princess, are there any more of your people we need to be aware of before we initiate extraction?”

Mafsha saluted and spun on his heels. He leaped onto the snowbank, weight evenly distributed with his feline grace, and sprinted down the mountain pass.

Meanwhile, the elemental had nearly finished melting a hole through the snow and into the cave. The flames wafted from the terronian, causing the snow and ice around it to steam.

"We're it, as far as I know." Yukiko replied.

"We need to find Yukiko's crown, and then return to the fleet, Yukiko-Hime will be able to call off whatever strike they're preparing, at least until the Emperor recovers."

Yukiko grimaced.

"He's right, my brother, Emperor Shimizu has sworn to burn this entire continent, he's a man used to getting his way, and will stop at nothing to fulfill his aims."

“Then I suppose we should inform them of the situation.” Thabo grimaced. “... Before anyone does anything rash. Admiral Ironclaw won’t bend while he draws breath.”

Inquisitor Thabo held a device up to his mouth. It was a thin disc of crystal encircled by a band of silvery metal.

”Admiral, this is The Shadow.” He said in his native tongue into the communicator.

”What is your status, Inquisitor?”

“The VIPs have been recovered and the threat neutralized. We are in the process of recovering an artifact for the princess. I advise informing the Taiyou authorities of the development… lest we have balefire dropped on our heads.”

“Acknowledged. Good work, Inquisitor. Give the princess my regards.”

“Affirmative.”

Inquisitor Thabo replaced the communicator and turned to his Taiyou associates. “Crowned-Prince Tigris Ironclaw, High Admiral of the Khroniktan Alliance, sends his regards. He will inform the Taiyou admiral of our status.”

Mafsha ran up the hill with labored breaths. He slowed to a stop at the group and took a moment to catch his breath.

“Report, Sandrunner.” Inquisitor Thabo ordered.

“I’ve retrieved the relic.” Mafsha replied, pulling the crown out of his pack and showing it to the group.

Meanwhile, the terronian had just fell to its knees. The air was noticeably less warm than it had been before, and the elemental stopped the torrent of fire that drilled into the snowbank. A dark cave could be seen inside at the other end of the tunnel. Even as they watched, the melted walls of the cylindrical hole started to freeze solid.

Yukiko reached out to take the crown from Mafsha, and place it back on it's rightful place on her head. She interlaced her hair with the intricate wood of the crown.

"Very good." She turned to Seno, and Takao, nodding.

"We can leave now." She said, using her mind, and the crown to send a command to the Mizuho, a crackling green portal opening up in front of them.

"I will instruct the fleet to withdraw, until my brother can contact your leaders." Yukiko added, and she started towards the portal.

"Very well." Inquisitor Thabo nodded. "May Ha'Ari's flame guard you, and may His light illuminate your path."

Mafsha approached the exhausted terronian and handed the reptilian fire elemental the small red gem. The terronian grabbed it, exhaled, and collapsed into the object. It fell to the ground and radiated with a somber glow and warmth.

"We'll get you back home to rest, my friend." Mafsha said, pocketing the gem. "You have brought your clan honor for this sacrifice."

"Princess, one more thing." Thabo continued. "Though I am no diplomat or ambassador, I believe it would be prudent for our two peoples to open official dialogue with one another. I trust that future engagements will be under better circumstances."

Yukiko continued to make her way towards the portal, slowly walking as the frosty ground crunched under her footfalls. Takao, and Seno were the first ones to make their way over to the portal, the portal hissed and crackled as they walked through it. Yukiko stopped short of the portal as Thabo's words reached her ears.

"I will speak with my brother regarding this matter, and see if we can dispatch a diplomatic envoy. Unfortunately, I do not know how agreeable he will be considering these savages seriously injured him. But I will give him your message, and he will make the determination on whether or not to open dialogue."

The Princess paused a moment, considering her next words carefully.

"May fortune, favor us all." She said, before she stepped through the portal, which it promptly snapped shut with an audible pop behind them.