To the Roots [Complete]

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

A few moments into the fight, Orup stuck his head around the corner and wished he hadn't. Sending Rua in against two strong men may have been a poor choice. The man was skilled, but even with the element of surprise, two on one were simply not favorable odds. As the wounded one grasped Rua from behind, Orup began backing up, ready to leave at a moment's notice if his bodyguard lost the fight. At the fight's grimmest, Orup turned away and began to hurriedly flee in the opposite direction only to have that Sense in him dwindle for a moment; could the boy actually have gotten out of that deadlock?

His nerves settled in that unusual way it always did when danger abated. The danger was gone, and Rua had succeeded. Releasing a long, drawn-out breath, the alchemist turned the corner once more to the carnage. The mess made Orup's stomach groan, but he was more interested in fighting off that cold, numbing feeling that approached every time he was surrounded by death. Something in him cried out that enough was enough; there was no reason for him to live after he had seen so many others fall away. He shut the voice up as quickly as possible.

"Good work, boy. Hopefully we didn't draw in every other thug in the caves, though, with that noise. I hope we're getting close; the size of these roots are reaching the point where anything much larger will be more than I could reasonably examine. A find to be sure, but I'd hate to come all this way only to call for more help. Search the bodies and we'll keep going."

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Rua sat up and took a moment to breathe, then got to work. He retrieved his knife and wiped both weapons off using one of the corpses' clothing, and searched the scant pockets for anything valuable. Most of it was junk--useless trinkets, stale food. But, like the first man he'd killed today, he too had one of those glowing triangles on him. Rua gave Mepple a cursory viewing of the Piece of Power before pocketing it--they'd do him more good than the alchemist anyway.

The second thug's belongings proved more worthwhile. He also carried a Piece of Power, and Rua began to worry. "That's three men so far that have these Pieces on them," he said. "And I doubt they need them to kill a normal person. We're going to be in trouble if we encounter someone else with one if I can't stop them from using it, sir."

Just as he was about to stand up, his search done, something faded and white caught his eye. Kneeling down again, the mercenary plucked the object out of the man's vest, finding it to be an enveloped letter. He examined it for a moment, seeing no name written on it. "Sir? You might want to take a look at this," he said, handing it to Mepple.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Excitement flared through his numbness, and Orup Mepple hastily snatched the document out of Rua's hands. Research perhaps? Maybe a hint as to what he could expect? Perhaps it would tell him about the plant or some mystery that had been unlocked through it. The possibilities became more and more extravagant as he fumbled with the letter, finally opening it and beginning to read. His excitement quickly receded at the contents of the letter. The letter seemed like something to be written to a child or some other thick-headed individual. It contained a reminder to raise the "signal" before approach the "main gate", though, which didn't seem important to Orup. It also listed a number of locations for men throughout the caves, but it looked as if someone had gone back and crossed out almost three quarters of them. Only a handful of men remained, it seemed. For some reason, though, most of the names crossed out were all people who had been stationed inside the place, though Orup still had no idea what it would look like.

Not the information he had been looking for, but it might be helpful all the same. "By my count, six men are still in the tunnels between us and wherever we're going, assuming the first three were all on this list too. Three of them are patrolling, two are stationed together, and the sixth one's directly beyond the entrance to this place. Letter also mentioned something about a signal, but it doesn't say what it is. Probably not important. Here, take a look." After all, it had only mentioned that they didn't want anymore accidents because people forgot. Probably some sort of game they had been playing.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Rua cocked his head to the side as Mepple first read, then started explaining the letter's contents to him, painting a picture of what was ahead in his mind. That there were a number of names crossed off on it was somewhat alarming, it did let him figure out what else was in store--no more of his employer getting sucker-punched in darkened corners. Still, six remaining targets could prove troublesome. He accepted the letter when Mepple returned it to him, quickly scanning over the contents.

When he got to the mention of the "signal," he slowed and read it, then re-read it to make sure. Frowning, he looked up at his employer. "No, we're going to take it careful from here on out. One of these goons got cut down because he failed to give this signal. Let's see if we can try and find out what it is," he said.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Orup gave him a questioning look, finally responding in exasperation, "Fine, fine. If we're bound to run into more men before we get there then I'm sure we'll be able to figure this signal out if it's important. Let's just get on with it?" Was that, perhaps, a trace of ambition? No, of course not. He'd long since gotten over anything like that. Ambition was something for children who didn't understand how little effect they would make in the world. A foolish child dreaming. He just wanted to get this done and go home, that was all. Death upset his stomach, no matter how callous he had become to it.

With a sigh and a deep breath, the alchemist forced down any excitement or impatience. They were close, that much was certain. None of it made sense right now, but he hoped desperately it might all come together in the end. Desperation--he really was losing hold of himself. Another deep breath and he spoke again, "Right. Well, boy, I'm following you."

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Rua fought down a stab of irritation at his employer's exasperation at his own caution--what was this man paying him for if he wouldn't heed Rua's advice on protection? He did his best to make sure the annoyance didn't show as the alchemist turned away, finally acquiescing to his authority. He lit the lantern tied to his hip before taking his sword in hand, and he strode forward down the tunnel, his cape making a slight flapping noise with the movement.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Orup did his best to focus as they walked, keeping his mind on the present instead of all the fantastical possibilities that roamed his head. The roots kept getting bigger, and they had long-since connected to one of the larger stems. Tendrils shot out of it in every direction, running down tunnels or simply plowing through walls, and the alchemist could only shake his head in amazement. Never had he seen anything like of it, and he was pretty sure no one else had either. No, focus on the present.

Conversation with his bodyguard, as unappealing as it always was, would be out of the question from here on out. They traveled quietly enough, but raising voices could be dangerous for them. There was simply no telling how far your voice would carry in these tunnels. Six men left outside of this base. Two were stationed along the way, three were patrolling, and one was also fixedly stationed much closer to the base, apparently; probably just a relay scout of sorts. If Rua was right, though, they would have to figure out this "Signal" or whatever nonsense it happened to be. He appreciated the man doing his job, but the alchemist was simply not convinced. If they could capture one of the men, though, then perhaps.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Another tunnel, another fight.

It was only divine providence that prevented them from getting jumped by one of the patrolling men this deep into the caverns. No lanterns had been hung in the walls this far in, no torches to give light. The ever-expanding roots and vines that laced through the walls may have contributed to it. As it stood, though, Rua cursed that he had thought that these criminals would still rely on sources of light--many of them would've grown accustomed to the darkness, or had come across alternative ways to see in the depths.

He wasn't even sure what made him spot the man rushing down the tunnel on silent footsteps. Was it a kicked piece of gravel? A far off glint of light on the long knife he carried? All he knew now was the blade flashing at his neck, barely missing anything vital. Rua backed away from the knife, slapping the man's arm aside with his own. The narrow corridors made for poor swordsmanship--with little other option left to him, Rua lunged at the man as he was bringing his weapon back around, swinging his left fist and catching the man hard in the side of the face. The man shrieked in pain as the sound of his gauntleted hand striking flesh echoed through the chamber. As he stumbled back, Rua went on a vicious offensive, stomping the heel of his boot down hard on the thug's foot, pinning him as he struck again, slamming the pommel of his sword into the man's nose and getting a satisfying crunch as it broke.

The man collapsed, moaning in pain as he dropped his weapon and clutching his ruined nose. Rua quickly snatched the weapon up off the ground, bringing his own sword up to point at the man's face. The thug glared hatefully at the mercenary through eyes glistening with tears brought about by pain.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

As Rua charged in suddenly once more, Orup shrank back into the shadows, ready to flee again in the case of failure by his bodyguard. The fight was quite one-sided, though, thankfully, and Rua had the man down in no time. He was alone, so unless he had been avoiding his task, this man must have been one of the ones on patrol. He wasn't dead yet, though, so perhaps they could get the information out of him that Rua seemed to think was important. Giving a nod to his bodyguard, the alchemist prompted him with a simple, "Well? See what he knows."

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Rua nodded in response to Mepple's order, not taking his eyes off the downed thug. He leveled his weapon, making sure the man was staring right at it. "I want to know two things," he started, his voice hard. "I want to know why you and your... friends... are this far in our caves. And I want to know what the signal is to get into your hideout."

The thug's response was somewhat muffled by his broken nose and the hands covering it, trying to stem the bloodflow. "The hell should I tell someone like you?" he grunted, now staring at the blade's minute movements as it hovered point-first in front of his face.

"Look at this way. Militia aren't exactly nice to thugs and dumb muscle like you, but you already know that, don't you?" remarked the mercenary to the downed brigand. "But even then, they're pretty set in their ways. They have their limits. But we're a long ways off from the occupied caverns, and I'm not part of the militia. I can do whatever the hell I want and my employer certainly won't stop me from doing it. Three of your friends can attest to that. So what do you say?"

"Screw you, man," was the reply. He made an excellent effort to spit on Rua, but the attempt fell short thanks to his injuries. "Do your worst."

Rua's action was quite quick at the bluff. With a blur, Rua spun his sword around and slammed down through the man's arm, shoving it off his face and pinning it to the stone floor. Blood shot up from the wound, coating the weapon's length as it tore through the muscles and bones, crippling the man instantly in a most painful manner. Without the offending hand in the way, his scream was exceptionally loud.

"You want to try that again?" said the mercenary as he yanked his weapon up from the wound, causing the man to shriek again as he clutched it and rolled in pain. "Because you've got one more arm I can do that too."

"The hell's wrong with you!?"

Rua lifted an eyebrow somewhat; his scar pulling at his face with the movement as his bloodstained weapon began to move.

"Alright! Din's tits, alright, I'll talk! Just don't freakin' stab me again!"

"The signal. Now," Rua demanded. "And don't tell me there isn't one; we've already got written proof of it."

"Signal... it's... eurgh... it's a sand wall the... the alchemist set up," he explained in pained breaths, clutching his ruined arm still. "Ya gotta draw a picture on it. It's a... it's a picture of two swords. Crossed together."

"Hilts up or down?" His own weapon came up to accentuate his point.

"Up! They point up!" the man remarked quickly, not wishing a repeat of earlier. Rua lowered his weapon back down a bit, enough to calm the man but not enough to make him think he was done.

"So what's going on down here?" Rua asked again.

"I don't know. Just... that thing in there's been killing some of my friends. Stupid of us to try and think we'd hit the jackpot when we found it. C'mon, man, that's all I know, I swear!"

Rua contemplated his words for a moment, and the thug waited with baited breath, knowing the mercenary may very well be his executioner. Finally, Rua came to a decision. "Give me whatever valuables you have on you. You probably have one of those Pieces of Power too."

Shakily, the thug got up onto his feet using his good arm, and handed the Piece of Power to him, allowing him to pocket it. "You've got twenty seconds to get out of my sight."

Eyes widening at the threat, the man took off, shoving his way past Mepple and limping down the hall to escape. Five seconds past when Rua suddenly spoke again.

"Twenty."

The dagger he'd taken from the thug spun in his hand as he lifted it up and chucked it. It whirled blade over pommel as it cut through the air, planting firmly in the middle of the thug's back.

"Augh!"

The man's body fell down to the floor with a muffled crash. He reached out to drag himself forward with his one good arm, but quickly stilled. By then, Rua was already wiping blade clean of blood using the end of his cape.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Orup nearly stopped Rua from letting the man go; he would be a liability after all in these tunnels. Even if he was unhappy with how things had been going, there was no telling who he might run off and talk to. He was shocked, though, when Rua faked the thug out and killed him from behind; what kind of sick sense of humor did the man have? Not worth mentioning, though. The alchemist merely frowned and said, "I don't know if that was necessary, boy." No need for his bodyguard to know he had been just as bloodthirsty a moment ago. Sighing, though, Orup wiped a streak of blood that had splashed onto his face in the brief confrontation. Time to worry about more pressing matters.

With a shrug, he changed subjects, "Well, that was useful enough, anyway. I suppose you were right. He said something about another alchemist though, didn't he? Someone must have beat me to it and hired all these men to cover the operations. I doubt he'll be too happy to meet us when we finally arrive there, if we make it in one piece." Overcoming one more death, his mind was beginning to gain traction again, and the questions resurfaced. Another alchemist, how long had he been there? What did it have to do with all these objects Rua kept finding on different men? How big was this plant, anyway? Part of him wanted to grimace, but another part wanted to leap with excitement. He pushed the emotion down as far as possible; he was too old for this.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

"The crossed off names must be the people the plant's killed already," Rua surmised as he checked the oil level in his lantern. Satisfied that there was plenty to use, he started back down the tunnel with Mepple following. "We should probably try and find this alchemist's notes. He might know something we can use if things go south with this plant."

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

They didn't have to walk particularly far before a stench filled Orup's nostrils. He had seen enough death in his life time, but only a few times did he stumble upon it. As they turned the corner, the smell hit him full on. He had smelled plenty of putrid concoctions over the years from different alchemical mixes, but decaying flesh was something different entirely. His stomach would hold from the smell, but the sight threatened to overthrow his breakfast. Two men--he was pretty sure they had been men anyway--pinned to the floor with the now thickly-present roots covering their entire bodies. They would've been dead for four days or so by the looks of it, but what was disturbing was it looked like the vines hadn't just grown over their corpses. No, these men had been killed by this plant. Two splintered chairs lay overturned nearby, also crushed by the roots. "Farore's breath, boy, they were trapped before they could even get three feet from where they had been sitting. These must have been the two stationed together." He shuddered at the thought.

The floor was getting hard to walk on now without stepping on one root or another; the tightness of the tunnels must have really cramped the growth of this thing. He hoped that was the case, anyway, and that it wasn't just truly massive. The roots themselves had been a little more active as they had gotten nearer, but Orup had never expected to see anything like this. Swallowing, the lack of confidence in his voice was evident, "Well, we know it's carnivorous now. Best not to stay in this area too long." Two more patrolling and one more man stationed. With these two dead though, who was to say the others were not as well?

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Rua's mouth tightened into a frown as the stench hit his nose, causing his face to scrunch up and his ears twitch. The grip on his weapon tightened as he lead Mepple into the chamber and came face-to-face with the grisly scene. Unlike most, scenes like this were nothing new to him--he'd come across enough moblin campsites to steel himself for sights like this.

"Looks me like it's trying to spread out from this place," he remarked, kneeling down next to one of the bodies. Using his sword, he cut away some of the vines covering the bodies, searching them for anything valuable, picking up another Piece of Power from each. He looked at them, then at the bodies once more as he pocketed them. "You sure you don't want this thing dead? I don't like the idea of this spreading to the occupied tunnels."

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Orup grimaced uncomfortably. Even if he did want this plant dead, and he was beginning to, he also had begun to wonder if he could kill it at all. Judging by the size of these roots the plant could only be monstrously large; the old alchemist had no experience dealing with carnivorous plants, really, especially on this scale. "If that alchemist has managed to stay alive for this long with this thing then we can too. Judging that all these men who were still alive seemed half-witted, I'm sure we'll be fine." He spoke with as much conviction as he could muster, but that wasn't a whole lot; he just wanted to get to the bottom of this now.

Another five minutes walk past the chamber went by quickly with no incidents to speak of; perhaps those other two men patrolling were dead or gone, but there showed no sign of them, and Orup knew they were nearly there. They had seen several other main roots in the tunnel now, all of them going in different directions. Their source would be almost there... Orup's Sense stopped him dead in his tracks. Something stationary up ahead, not far at all, was waiting, and the alchemist got the nasty feeling he knew they were there too. He gave a hasty nod to Rua; he wouldn't need the element of surprise against a single man of these likes, Orup was sure.

Located well behind his bodyguard, Orup followed Rua around the gradual bend, leading into a slightly more open cave with a high ceiling. A lamp dangled on a wooden support above a single man's head, and a chair much too small for him was already out of the way. It was the improper proportions that caught Orup's eye: the man was enormous. Standing at nearly seven feet, the man must have weighed as much as Orup did in sheer muscle. Before anyone could move, though, the man's voice boomed through the cave. Despite his relaxed posture, the voice resounded with a ferocity, "I am not like the trash you have fought before. I will bury you here." The hulk of a man raised an open hand, a Piece of Power clear in it, and quickly crushed it in his grip, a light shining about him. In one deft movement, the man reached into the shadows, a long, nine-foot glaive appearing in his hand. Orup blinked in surprise at the weapon, but in that instant the man was already one the move, covering the distance of the cave and sending a horizontal strike toward Rua at a huge range.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Rua's eyes widened in shock as the brute they walked in on sprung into action, lunging at them with a speed and dexterity that his gigantic form didn't suggest. The glaive came sweeping in, forcing him to duck under the blow--the brute deftly twisted the weapon around and swung again. The wooden haft thudded hard against Rua's sword, causing the weapon to shudder in the mercenary's hands.

Rua felt his arms beginning to shake as he struggled against the man's enhanced strength, forcing him to step back to brace. Knowing he couldn't last in a battle of attrition, he disengaged, shoving his weapon forward and up and attacking.

The brute's thick arms and the open chamber quickly showed Rua that his enemy was far more adept than most would believe--powerful muscles, enhanced with the magic of the Piece he had crushed allowed him to spin his glaive about and deflect almost every strike the mercenary threw at him, using the openings to thrust the serrated edge of the spear, resulting in narrow misses and glancing hits against his arms and waist. Another opening came as the thug slapped away Rua's attack. Biting off a curse, Rua pivoted around the attack, sweeping his weapon around and catching the glaive's spearhead against the edge of his sword and threw his weight into forcing the brute back, snarling in a wordless rage.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

From the shadows, well situated behind Rua now, Orup watched with apprehension as his bodyguard attempted to the duel the man. Any thought of flight against this foe was already out of the question with two people patrolling behind them and this man's long legs. If there were reason to flee, Orup would never make it. As the fight unfolded, though, the alchemist's heart began to sink. The man was simply too large and too strong for Rua to handle.

As they clashed weapons once more, the large man with the glaive shifted his weight as Rua tried to push back against him. Moving alongside Rua's pressing sword, the man twisted the end of his glaive around, spinning it in his hands and arcing the butt of the weapon from the other side, sending it directly toward the side of Rua's head with remarkable speed. At the same moment, though, the man also shifted his legs, sending a sharp kick to the side of Rua's knee. Orup grimaced; the man might not be able to get the blade of his weapon to anything vital, but he certainly had the strength to incapacitate his hapless bodyguard with a blunt strike.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Rua cried out as pain exploded through the side of his face, making the scarring on the right side of his face feel like they were going to burst open again. He felt something warm and sticky flowing down the side of his head as he staggered from the blow, his vision swimming as he narrowly avoided the kick at his leg.

With the coppery, metallic taste of blood slipping into his mouth, Rua's eyes narrowed in fury--there was no way in hell he was going to go down to some beefy punk in the back ends of a lousy cave. As the glaive swept in for a second attack, Rua ducked under the slash, shaking the dizziness from his vision and spinning his blade about and sweeping it around in a backhanded arc. Even with the brute's surprising agility, his steel tasted blood as it cut through the man's jerkin and across the chest. Rua darted back and deflected the retaliating blow, growling as the parry caused his blade to shudder in his hands again. The glaive speared forward and he pivoted around it, swinging--only for the back end of the weapon to smash him hard in the chest, sending him skidding back.

Rua grunted as he regained his footing, bringing his blade up, and leaped. He put all of his weight, all of his power into the jump slash, bringing his sword careening down at the thug's face. The glaive shot up, taking the blow squarely in the center, but even with the Piece of Power coursing through him, the brute's weapon wasn't able to withstand the attack, and snapped right in half. Surprised, he stumbled back as the weapon continued its descent, leaving him with a shallow cut down his center for his troubles.

The mercenary shot back up from his kneel and brought his weapon to bear, but only just in time to see the furious expression on his opponent's face, and the massive fist careening for his face. The blow felt like it unhinged his jaw, sending him hurtling back, sword skittering away into the tunnel behind him.

"Don't get cocky, bastard!" the brute snarled, rushing after Rua and snapping his leg up in a kick that knocked Rua up off his feet. He brought his hands up to defend against the incoming flurry of blows, but the brute's fist slipped past his defenses and smashed hard into his gut. Rua staggered away from the attack, wind knocked out of him as he clutched at his gut. This was going south. Real south.

The thug was laughing. "Now that's impressive. Not many people can stay standing after taking a hit like that."

Glaring under his bangs, Rua spat the blood out of his mouth and lunged, driving his right fist forward at the man's jaw. His attack struck true, knocking the man's face upwards.

But he was suddenly laughing again, even as his face began to bruise.

You're kidding me, Rua thought, the color draining from his face.

The brute's right hook nearly smashed him aside, tearing another wound on his face opposite from the last. He didn't get far as a knee crashed into his gut. Just as he was doubling over from the hit, the left hand shot up in a vicious uppercut. Thrice more he struck, his knee nearly breaking his ribs, a fist splitting open the old scar underneath his eye, and a vicious right kick that sent him hurtling face-first into the ground.

Rua groaned in pain, his body protesting even as he tried to force himself back to his feet. "Don't think you've beaten me, you son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath, spitting more blood into the dirt. "I'll stand back up no matter how many times I get hit."

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Orup watched with fear now as the fight continued to unfold. Rua gave the man quite a run for his money, the alchemist had to give him that, but things were not looking good. It would be a pity if his bodyguard didn't survive this trip to be sure, but ultimately the death of Rua meant the imprisonment or execution of Orup as well. Perhaps there was something he could do... The men battled on top of a carnivorous plant, after all. Paying attention now, the alchemist split his focus between the fight and the roots. For all the stepping on them they were doing, it wasn't a complete surprise the plant was beginning to stir.

As Rua was knocked to the ground, though, Orup realized he was out of time. Tendrils of the plant's roots were beginning to creep around the enemy thug, but it wouldn't be fast enough to help Rua. Grabbing his belt knife, the alchemist plunged it into the largest possible root he could find at his feet. So close to the plant as they were, the effect was instant, and the plant reacted violently. Long, spiny roots latched themselves into the victorious man's legs, quickly scaling up to his waist and constricting around him. With a shriek of pain, the huge man immediately dropped his hands to try and pry the roots away. Orup had no idea if a man of that strength could break free, but it certainly had him distracted for the time being.

Re: To the Roots [Closed]

Now that he was this close to the dirt, Rua could see what was suddenly wrong with the place. How long had the ground been writhing beneath their feet? He hadn't noticed it while the brute had been kicking the shit out of him.

His eyes snapped up as he saw vines slowly beginning to encircle his own limbs. He hardly noticed his employer stabbing at one of the larger ones with an expression that could only be described as panic. He jumped slightly as his enemy suddenly screamed, and his head snapped around to look as the plant began wrapping its tendrils around his assailant. Seeing what it was doing to him was more than enough incentive for Rua to forget his pain and get the hell up off the ground. Rising to his feet and stumbling once, Rua threw himself forward back into the tunnel towards his employer, away from the vines and their new victim.

"The hell is it...?" he muttered, looking around for his sword. He certainly didn't want those things coming after him without it in hand!