Episode 30 "In the Kingdom of Riches"

<Storyteller> The spectres rush madly towards you, their wild eyes mirroring a souless madness that seems to come from somewhere else. They scream in a thousand voices, and all of them sound like they could not come from that body.
* IronJohn has his pistol drawn
* Hans has his pistols drawn.
<Storyteller> The hooded spectre on the horse just watches...
* Remy draws his antique looking firearm as well
* William draws his broadsword
* William swings his sword, blazing with holy light, in a savage two-handed blow at one of the spectres
<Storyteller> William lops off the spectres arm
* Daniel sends the dark sword Nocturne in a vicious arc towards a spectre
<Storyteller> The spectre attempts to duck the mighty swing, but to no avail.
<Storyteller> The blade cuts deeply into the spectre
* IronJohn takes a shot at the one on the horse
<Storyteller> The shot hits the Spectre in the shoulder
<William> "The path of the righteous man beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyrany of evil men."
<Storyteller> The spectre is nearly knocked from his horse.
* Remy fires as accurately as he can at the charging spectre
<Storyteller> The shot hits the spectre in the shoulder
* Brianna pulls out her sword as a spectre rushes at her
<Brianna> The sword cuts him across his arm
<Storyteller> Hans fires at the spectre attacking William
<Storyteller> Hans shoots the spectre square in the back and it falls to the ground...dissapaiting.
* Hans has the other pistol ready, in case a second spectre attacks unexpectedly.
<Storyteller> The spectre swings his clawed fist at Brianna
<Storyteller> he strikes Brianna in the face, knocking her mask off
<Storyteller> You can now hear several footsteps all around
<Storyteller> The spectre on the horse begins to wave off the spectres
<Storyteller> The spectres halt as he speaks
* Remy recocks his gun
<Storyteller> The attacking spectres back slowly away towards him
<Remy> "I'm takin' as many of you down with me...yeah, you better run!"
<Storyteller> he waits till there are several spectres in front of him
<Storyteller> "I shall show you mercy, and not kill you this day. Pray that we do not meet again..."
* William turns toward the nearest spectre and slices horizontally, so the full blade catches it's midsection
<Storyteller> You do and it slices him in two
<William> "Funny thing about mercy, not everything deserves it."
<Storyteller> The spectre on the horse turns quickly and ride off into the night
<Storyteller> The other spectres follow
<William> "And I will strike down upon thee with great vengance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengance upon thee."
* Brianna shakes her head as she puts her mask on.
* IronJohn puts his gun away
* Daniel looks over at William, shrugs his shoulders and mutters "humans..."
<Remy> "Huh....wonder what that be about."
<Storyteller> Soon no spectre is in sight.
* Remy looks confused
* William kneels, blade pointed down, like a cross.
<Brianna> "I have no idea..."
* Hans keeps both pistols out, but is confused as to the departure of the spectres.
* Daniel wipes the spectre plasm off his blade and sheaths Nocturne
* William prays softly
* Brianna puts her gladius away
<Hans> "They had us totally outnumbered, why did they retreat?"
<William> After a few moments he stands again, wipes off his blade, and sheathes it.
<Daniel> "Because we're helping them in some way. Or, at least, someone is..."
<IronJohn> "Be alert for a trap lads and lass."
<Remy> "Ain't never heard of spectres retreatin' before."
* Remy holsters his pistol
<Remy> "An' I certainly didn't think 'mercy' was in their volcabulary."
* Brianna takes her mask off again and looks at it.
* Brianna shudders
<Brianna> "If I weren't wearing this," she holds it up, you can see a deep clawed mark in it
<Brianna> "Can we get out of here now?"
* Remy nods. "Yeah, lets get a move on, cher."
* William takes up the rear again, keeping an eye out
<Storyteller> You begin to wind your way towards Swar
* Hans follows in step with the others, keeping a sharp eye out for trouble.
* IronJohn walks at the back of the group
* Daniel follows the group, resting a hand on Nocturne
<Storyteller> You can see the gates of Swar now. It's blue, gold, and green towers rise into the night sky
<Storyteller> The guards at the gate move into place
<Storyteller> "Halt! Who goes there?"
* IronJohn waits
* Daniel stops
* IronJohn says to Remy "Its your lead Centurion."
<Storyteller> The guards look impatient...
<Remy> "I'm Remy LeClair, leader of the 82nd Cohort, an' these are my troops. We've come to ask for aid in the battle against the spectres..."
<Storyteller> "Eh? Hold on." the guard fetches someone to run into the domain. Twenty minutes later a short man with a beard walks up to the gates.
<Veruku-singh> "Ah yes hello?"
* Remy bows, then offers his hand, respectfully
<Veruku-singh> "Ahhh Mr. Remy Leclaire, do come in, all of you." he says arms wide
<Remy> "Greetin's. I'm Remy LeClair, of the 82nd Cohort."
<Storyteller> The guards open the gates and let you in
<Veruku-singh> "Ah I see you do not remember me, but I remember you."
* Daniel follows Remy's lead
* Hans follows the rest inside.
<Veruku-singh> "You delivered some cargo for me, yes?"
* William nods in recognition
* Remy suddenly remembers
* Veruku-singh puts his arm around Remy and leads him towards the tower
* IronJohn follows
<Remy> "Ah, good to see you again, my friend!"
<Veruku-singh> "Now what's this I hear about spectres?"
* Remy nods gravely...
<Remy> "They're infesting the city...it's a major invasion."
<Storyteller> He walks you through the streets, and you can see the richness of design in each mosiac. You can see the detail in the tower bulbs.
* Veruku-singh nods sadly
<Veruku-singh> "Yes, I have seen."
<Veruku-singh> "But what can I do for you, Remy?"
* Veruku-singh puts his hands on Remy's shoulders
<Veruku-singh> "For you anything..."
<Remy> "Aw, I appreciate the sentiment. Well, what we really need is some troops to fight. Any support you can give us would be greatly appreciated."
* Veruku-singh gets a look on his face
<Veruku-singh> "Ummm troops?"
<Remy> "Soldiers, warriors, you know."
<Veruku-singh> "Troops ah yes...."
<Veruku-singh> "Ummmm...."
<Veruku-singh> "I shall help you, but umm I cannot spare many soldiers."
* Remy nods
<Remy> "As I said, any support would be mostly appreciated by the Necropolis of New York, and myself, particularily."
<Veruku-singh> "I warn you, my troops are not what you would call soldiers, they are more like...bouncers."
<Veruku-singh> "I shall give you half my men."
<Remy> "Well, we need fightin' men, an' we'll take what we can get. Half your men is very generous."
* Veruku-singh claps his hand and several men seem to come out of the woodwork
<Storyteller> You can count fifty in all
* Veruku-singh shrugs
<Veruku-singh> "That is half my men."
* Remy nods. "That will do quite well. Thank you for your generosity, Veruku-singh."
* Veruku-singh smiles
<Veruku-singh> "Ahh any time my friends."
* Veruku-singh shows you out towards the gates
<Remy> "Well...hopefully, the situation will never arise again where we need 'em."
<Veruku-singh> "Good luck," he says as he watches you all leave
<Storyteller> You wait outside the gates
<Brianna> "Where do we go next?"
* Brianna looks to everyone
<William> "The Kingdom of Wire embassy?"
<Remy> "Which kingdoms are left?"
<Daniel> "At least this place had the sense to realize there was a crisis..."
<Remy> "Aww, hell boy. You just witnessed the old southern charm in action, 'sall." Remy winks
<Brianna> "There's The Kingdom of Ivory, and Amenti. I think going to the Kingdom of Wire is a bad idea."
<William> "Why? They won't help?"
<Hans> "Exspecially with my past."
* Brianna looks at Hans
<Daniel> "If I may propose an idea?"
* Brianna listens to Daniel
<Hans> "Going to the Kingdom of Wire would be a big mistake with me in your group."
<Daniel> "How about Remy take some people to the Kingdom of Wire, and Hans lead another group to the Kingdom of Ivory?"
<Remy> "Well, we need all the help we can get. Maybe you ought to stick behind while we go."
<Daniel> "That way we can kill two birds with one stone."
<Brianna> "Split up? In here?"
* Remy considers how much time we have
<Remy> "Nah, I don't like it."
<IronJohn> "They won't help up, its better to pass on the Kindom of Wire."
<Daniel> "It'll be a little more dangerous, I admit. But it will speed things up tremendously."
<Hans> "Daniel, we just thwarted one Spectre atttack, half of us could not stop another."
<Remy> "Too dangerous. If we run into another partol at half strength, we could completely jepordize the city."
<Daniel> "Then perhaps one person, sneaking around, could get through to them."
<Brianna> "I have an idea."
<Hans> "Let us just skip the Kingdom of Wire."
<Daniel> "I refuse to just give up on them. They deserve a chance to act nobly."
* Remy looks at Brianna
<Remy> "By all means, cher..."
<Brianna> "How about we have Hans stay out of sight, while we talk to them."
<IronJohn> "None of you were here when the Hiearchy turned their back on them durring something much worse than this....believe me they won't help us now."
* Brianna looks to IronJohn
<Brianna> "I hadn't thought of that."
<Daniel> "I volunteer to go alone to request their aid. If I must use the most distasteful of deceits, I will."
<Hans> "Besides, I don't like the idea of being out here alone. If the spectres attacked, I would definitely lose."
* Brianna looks to Remy to make a descision
<Daniel> "If I go alone, there's a better chance I won't be seen. And I have some skill in negotiations."
<Remy> "Appreciate the offer, kid, but I already lost one friend to darkness after he split up, and I ain't going to lose another."
<Brianna> "So where do we go? Ivory or Amenti?"
<Daniel> "As you wish."
<Brianna> "Remy?"
<Remy> "Well, look here. We're going to at least try at the Kingdom of Wire. You can hang back a bit when we near there, Hans. It's on the way, and it's worth a shot."
<Daniel> "I'll stay back with him."
<Brianna> "Alright, let's go."
<Storyteller> You begin to trek towards the Domain of Wire
<Storyteller> It takes you about an hour, but you finally reach it. As you draw closer you can see the barb wire gates
* IronJohn stays with Hans out of sight
* Hans waits as far away as he can from the Kingdom.
* Daniel stays back
<Storyteller> You can see a few men sitting near the gates, a small girl plays with her doll
<Storyteller> She watches you draw nearer
* Remy adjusts his suit a bit, and strides up confidently. "Greetings, folks."
<Storyteller> The men look at you and stand up slowly...disinterested
<Storyteller> The little girl gets up and walks over to Remy
<Storyteller> "Who are you?"
<Remy> "I reckon that you folks might have heard a bit of the commotion going around the city?"
* Remy watches the girl curiously
<Remy> "Name's Remy LeClair, little one. What's your name?"
<Guard> "Yes, we have heard."
<Storyteller> "My name is Lucy."
<Storyteller> says the little girl
<Guard> "It doesn't concern us, what do you want here?"
<William> "Will it not concern you when they come here?"
* Guard shakes his head
<Remy> "Well, we were in the neighbour hood, and we were wondering if you might want to help us fight 'em."
<William> "Why is that?"
<Storyteller> Another man walks out and towards the gates
<Joshua> "Then we'll move on, like we always do."
<William> "Will they let you?"
<Remy> "As far as I reckon, you folks have just as much hatred for the forces of darkness than we do."
<Joshua> "Lucy, come here."
* Remy smiles at lucy, and gives her a coin
<Daniel> {William: Compassion is dead, William, just like your God. There is only hate and pain left.}
<Storyteller> The little girl whispers in Remy's ear and walks over to Joshua
<Remy> "You keep this kid, buy yourself somethin' nice if you gotta move."
<William> (I have not been consumed by darkness, and neither has compassion.)
<Joshua> "Forces of Darkness? Take this somewhere else, legionnaire."
* Joshua begins to walk away
<Remy> "Well, yeah, I'm a legionaire, but I used to be a person, too, you know. Was never a very religious man, but evil still rubbed me wrong."
<Daniel> {William: There is no compassion anymore, William. Look around you. There is only despair and hatred. No one cares anymore. Why should you? It's not like there's a heaven.}
<William> "You say you will move on if the darkness comes here. What if they don't want to let you move on?"
<Remy> "You wanna run all your life, sir? You want Lucy to lose her home?"
<William> (I have not been consumed by darkness, and neither has compassion. When the darkness has been driven back my quest will be complete and the Lord shat grant unto me passage to Heaven.)
* Joshua lets go of Lucy's hand and runs over to a garbage can, you can feel him use Outrage as he lifts the garbage can and hurls it towards you. It passes through you harmlessly.
<Joshua> "I said take it somewhere else!"
<William> "We did not bring it."
* Joshua turns to the guards
<Joshua> "If they don't leave...shoot them."
<Storyteller> The men stand up and begin loading their crossbows
<William> "We worship the same God. Would he want you to turn your backs and allow darkness to rule?"
* Remy shrugs
<Joshua> "Where was your help when *we* needed it?! Where?!! How dare you ask us to help you."
<Daniel> {William: *hollow laughter* Fool! Your Lord is dead. Consigned to the ever-growing Oblivion. You show your ignorance by thinking you can drive the darkness back. Ignorant peasant! Your God couldn't drive the darkness back. The gates of Heaven are sealed and rotting, and you shall be trapped here until I decide to kill you.}
<Storyteller> The guards point their loaded weapons towards you all
<William> (If you could, you would have done so. Be silent dark one.)
<Remy> "Personally....I wasn't born yet. I see what you're saying and all, but your hatred is blinding you to the present and future. But hey, I'll leave."
* Remy turns to walk away
<Storyteller> They begin to fire
* William stands defiantly. "I say again, would the Lord want you to turn your back on the darkness?"
<Storyteller> The arrows miss you but not by much.
* William dodges but does not flee
* Remy walks away, but slow enough so that his back is an open target
* Brianna shakes her head as she walks away
<Remy> "William, retreat. An' that's an order, soldier!"
* Remy calls over his shoulder "Sorry to trouble you folk."
* William whispers, "Orders are for soldiers."
<Brianna> "Come on, William, they won't help us."
<Brianna> "After what happened, they won't help."
<Brianna> "Remy, where do we go from here?"
<Remy> "We go to Amenti."
* William shouts as he slowly backs away, slight sadness in his voice, "I will mention you in my prayers. I will ask that the lord protect you and your people, for you know not what you do."
<Storyteller> to be continued