Round Robin: Rise of The Eclipse

Alex 43 · **Posted:** February 22nd, 2012, 12:12 am

"Leave it to me." Alex replied, "Where you guys go by earth, we'll go by sky. I'll use the volcanic ash clouds as cover, scope out an opening, and dive right in. Worst case scenario, I'll wind up pulling their eyes up to allow you guys safer passage in."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Michael nodded, accepting the plan.

They now had a plan of entrance, so now they needed to coordinate themselves. Despite their experience usually calling for a more direct approach, tactical incursion was still something the heroes had studied upon for a long period of their lives. If they could save a few lives this way, it was well worth it.

Jason clapped his hands twice, and a couple of guards entered the room, carrying a large roll of cloth between them. Despite its current illegibility, every one of them knew that this was a large, heavily detailed map of the mainland. It was written up as part of the founding of the star, and was the contribution of many minds and experiences, including those of the wizards tower, scholars from all around the three kingdoms, sailors such as Captain Wrean, and the majority of the heroes themselves.

The map was thrown across the table like a bed-sheet and stretched slightly. It sparkled slightly as a smear-less enchantment highlighted its presence. Even Nuli took his eyes off his sketchpad to gaze in wonder. So much detail; each piece of land labelled by name and landmark, color-coordinated to their actual prescence in the real world. Oceans were a paler shade of blue while lakes were more a fluid turquiose, desert land was highlighted in a bright shade of yellow, and the icelands of the north shone a strong white overtop the light brown cloth. Shaded sections highlighted hills, mountains, and plateaus, drawn to offer a somewhat three-dimensional feel to the layout. Even buildings were individually marked and labelled, taking definite shape and color into account, and some of them showed signs of constant updating. It must've taken many days of careful plotting and measurement to produce such a wonder, and even still it was not yet fully complete.

"By logical assumption, Dulcien's fortress should be around here." Jason said, circling a large area in the deepest part of the wilderness with his finger. It was somewhat to the right of the middle, just a stone's throw away from Kolodion's old arena. After Saradomin's fall, the arena's balance was thwarted (the Saradominist magi could no longer cast the strike, so the Zamorakians dominated the field) and the old battle mage had to seek a new land, either for retirement or to find some other God to sap power from. As such, it had been abandoned for many months.

“I dunno. Can we assume he's got powerful naval defences, then?” asked Alex, “Because we could otherwise provide a good distraction by bombarding their walls at a distance by sea while we enter from the other end.”

“Defences or not,” Skyrim replied, “He would anticipate any sea attacks as being a distraction and not fall for it.”

“I know.” Alex replied, “That's why they are going to attack AFTER we've entered. It will be seen as our primary attack, and we the heroes will be seen as the distraction.”

Adbot · **Posted:** February 22nd, 2012, 12:12 am

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** February 28th, 2012, 9:57 am

Momsrascal thought about the idea. "A ruse? That's actually rather clever." Momsrascal said. She had faith in this plan but there was always something in the back of her mind, reminding her that things are never easy and that darker times will always lie ahead.Things already seemed darker than before.

Meanwhile on the Shadow Isles, the shadows had calmed down realizing that they didn't even know why they were in such a panicked state.

"Why was I even freaking out? I don't even know what's going on!" Darkrascal chuckled. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." She said nonchalantly.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** March 16th, 2012, 8:59 pm

Oo, Skyrim? I think someone's been playing a bit too much of something...

"A naval distraction is a good idea. It may not distract him much but it will throw his armies into chaos. They do not expect to be attacked." Natalya said.

"That is mostly because Dulcien's fortress is not there, but here." Skyrate said, pointing to a spot much further to the North and East of the known wilderness. As his hand reached the area of the map, a dark shape rose from the map in the form of the island. A life-like, though miniature, model of the island. It was about as far from the wilderness as the Mage Arena is from Varrock. A long, narrow, but strangely sturdy looking bridge appeared connecting the island to the wilderness. The island was nearly the size of the wilderness volcano. The outer walls, two gates (north and south) and 29 inner partitions were quite distinguishable, though the latter was definitely missing some details. A Black demon figure stood near the outer wall for comparison: the wall was at least as thick as the demon was tall.

Everyone but Nuli stood up as the island and fortress formed. Nuli, instead, climbed to the top of his father's chair to get a better view. After studying the fortress for awhile he went back to his sketching. Only Natalya seemed unmoved by the form.

"The outer walls are impregnable. The two gates are comprised of three two foot thick gates. For this reason land troops outside of the outer wall would be a futile waste. The naval attack will be good, but our captains must pay close attention to these 8 stone bars."
At this 8 rock lines surfaced the face of the map, indicating underwater 'walls' of sorts designed to ground ships. They were only a few feet below water.

"The unnatural darkness surrounding the wilderness, which is magnified even more so around his fortress, makes these bars nearly undetectable. Any ship that runs into one of those bars will be slashed to pieces. As you can see, though, there are two small openings in these bars at the western and eastern sides, near the L-shaped outpost islands. If we can get a frigate in there we will be able to attack their ballistas. More over, though, this army will be afraid that we will land and will prepare for an invasion that won't happen. This will help to draw more enemies to the outer defense of the fortress, while leaving the inner partitions that much more susceptible."

"Until those ballistas are taken out our ships must either remain at a safe distance, or constantly be moving. The ballistas have dragonite tips, and will pierce our ships like a needle through cloth."

The heroes studied the fortress for a few minutes.

"Dulcien is in the center. I expect him to have elite guards, though I do not know their strength nor quantity. It is likely we'll have to face some of them while we fight him."

I wanted to make an actual 3D model, but I didn't have time(yea, I know it's been 18 days but you'd be surprised at how busy I am). I might still make a model when I can.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** April 16th, 2012, 5:19 pm

"I want an explanation, Zamorak..." Lawrence muttered. "I can't give you one." His god replied. "Zamorak, tell us!" he pleaded "It's none of your business!" Zamorak shouts. "Bull!" shouted Lawrence, "If this concerns you this much, we've got your back!"

"Not this time." says Zamorak, "I must handle this myself."
A look of concern showed on Lawrence's face. "I'm ending this summon." Zamorak told him.

"What!?" Lawrence shouted. Lime seemed shocked. "Woah, hey! Lord Z-Maj!" he cried, trying to get Zamorak to reconsider but he was gone, leaving his allies stuck and confused. Lawrence turned to Lime. "You have one minute to explain what's going on before I exile you!" Lawrence snapped. Lime wondered what to do. Zamorak did promise to safeguard him but he knew Lawrence wouldn't get off of his case. He decided to come up with a lie.

"On our planet, there was a creature. A monster." Lime said. "One that our God created purely for the purpose of giving us a proper challenge. A shape shifter; one that could grow to the size of your moon, or shrink to the size of a granule of sand. No matter how hard we tried, we simply couldn't kill it. It would simply shift its wounds away by transforming repeatedly. Nothing we did could even faze it. At the time, though, there were thousands, perhaps millions of us to face it and keep it at bay. Now though, there's only four. And what we saw… the "unknown one", as Ochre calls it... we weren't the only ones our God had saved. He saved his most precious creations. And that creature… is now here. Z-Ma- sorry, Zamorak and I saw it in action once. We watched it tear through Ormra elites as though they were infants."

"That thing is here!? Am I really supposed to believe that?" Lawrence asks.

"Believe what you want. It's what I'm saying. We're dealing with a threat that even your Lord had grown to fear over the ages." Lime replied.

"Pfft. Please, we've dealt with threats like that before. I have. Twice!" Darkrascal says smugly.

"Hah! fine, then!" Lime says, throwing his hands in the air, "If you guys deliver me its head, I will kiss your feet and let you call me Mehfrezhast!"

Behind them, they heard Ochre snicker.
"Darkrascal, don't be so smug! you know we've never done that alone... it was always with the help of our allies..." Lawrence muttered

Darkrascal shivered. "I know..." she said breaking out into nervous laughter.

"Hey wait... didn't our operatives say that the knights of the star were dealing with Dulcien?" Lawrence asked.

"uh... yeah... you really wanna try an alliance now? with the unknown here as we speak!?" She asked.

Lawrence actually seemed more calm than ever. "Hm that is a problem isn't it...? well uh anyone have any clue as to what to do about that?" Lawrence asked. Darkrascal had no answer to offer.

"Ahn y'all think dis Deuce-In gah gonna hawlp?" Amber asked, putting both claws on her hip.

"NO!" Darkrascal screamed. "He's our enemy. We get the help of the Elduvian kingdom, kill two birds with one stone..." she said with a devilish grin.
"Elduvian Kingdom?" Lime asked.

"The guys who sent us packing in the last war!" She explained a little too happily.
"Hey, you know what you're talking about." Lime said, "We're just along for the ride."

"I'll go to the Elduvian kingdom..." Lawrence offered.
"What, by yourself!? Are you crazy!?" Darkrascal shouted.
"I know it's risky and really stupid. no doubt they're still upset over the destruction I've caused, but still, they aren't a savage bunch. You just have to know how to talk to them." Lawrence reassured her. "It's best if I go alone for this. If I'm unarmed they won't feel threatened by me." Lawrence explained "I'll return soon." He said, putting on his cloak. He quickly moved to the shipyard and took a small submersible. Within hours Lawrence reached the island kingdom.

As Lawrence approached the gate, a guard looked over and stared at Lawrence in disbelief. At first he thought it was some sort of joke that Lawrence, defeated general of Zamorak's army in the War of Lore would be walking right up to the gates. The guard called out to him. "Ha ha, very funny. Buddy, you gotta realize I'm not fooling around here! I'm a sentry guard for the Tower of the Star! Seriously, I almost shot ya!"

"I am Lawrence of the Shadows. Please let me pass. My business here is urgent." Lawrence said. He put his hands up to show the guard he is completely unarmed. "I have business with the heroes. I've heard they're dealing with the threat known as Dulcien. Dulcien is our enemy as well. I have come to request an alliance." The guard stares for nearly half a minute, then slowly reaches over, grabs a long thin whistle, and without taking his eyes off his target, blows it. it emits a loud, clean tone. Alex jumps out the window and lands in front of Lawrence, pointing his spear at him.. The rest of the heroes run to the court room after him. "Oh, hello Alex... I'm sorry for the whole imprisonment ordeal..." Lawrence apologized. "May I come in without having my life threatened?" Lawrence asked as politely as he could.

"I actually want to thank you for that, because I got to see my good friend again because of that." Alex said, sidestepping cautiously closer, "As to your request, I think you would rather leave the gate between us."

"Listen..." He said not taking his hands down. "You want to defeat Dulcien don't you?" He asked. "You will not be able to defeat him alone. And honestly, Dulcien is our enemy as well. Things have gotten quite dire on our end, and they'll only get worse on yours if you do this alone. What I'm trying to say is, we need to form an alliance..." He explained.

"It's true that alliances are formed by a common enemy." Alex said, "What I'm worried about is what happens after."

"I plan to move back to my kingdom and live without anymore conflict with you hopefully..." Lawrence said. "You may arrest me if it would make you feel safer to question me. I am completely alone and there will be no repercussions if you do." He explained.

"He's always telling the truth because he has no choice, but I also sense he is being sincere. Should we trust him?" Momsrascal asked.

"Saradomin knows I would like to…" Alex mumbled, "But something doesn't feel right. However, it's not my Tower to say. If it was the SWC, I'd allow my enemies sanctuary provided they take that and nothing more."

Tenshi was being restrained by Michael as he looked like he wanted to rip Lawrence's head off. Momsrascal looked at Alex and shrugged. Tenshi was screaming awful things at Lawrence. Lawrence looked at Tenshi as he was screaming something about Saradomin.

"Calm yourself. Zamorak did not kill Saradomin. I can't tell you who did it because I don't know, but I know it wasn't Zamorak." Lawrence told Tenshi. Alex closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said nothing. Momsrascal seemed perplexed by what Lawrence said. She was used to having her enemies as allies. She sighed and agreed to letting Lawrence in. The other heroes also reluctantly agreed to let him in.

"So uh, where are you going to take me now...?" Lawrence asked.

"The meeting room, I think." Alex said, "We're not barbarians, are we?"

"No of course not." Lawrence said as he was lead to the meeting room. Lawrence sat down and relaxed. "If it's not pushing my luck could I have something to eat and drink? My journey here wasn't the most comfortable one..." He requested. He had no idea how stifling the control room of their submersibles could get. He made a mental note to himself that he would have to find a way to make them more comfortable. Momsrascal promptly served him a pastry and tea. "Oh, thank you. It smells delicious." Lawrence said as he proceeded to enjoy the tea and pastry.

"You know, I grew that tea on my island." Alex stated.

"Oh really?" Lawrence inquired.

"I don't want to be here either. I'd rather be home, tending to my garden. Usually after I return after a battle, I return home and find half my crops unharvestable... Not diseased, mind you. The salt in the sea helps prevent that, but because I'm not there to keep the water fresh." Alex explained.

Lawrence nodded. "Hmm what a shame. Perhaps after this war, I could send someone to tend to your crops?" He offered.

"Don't worry about it." Alex replied, "If I wanted a gardener, I would've gotten one myself."

"I'm sorry. I must be getting all of you side tracked. Please continue and feel free to get me caught up on what I missed." Lawrence said.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** April 30th, 2012, 6:54 pm

The rest of the meeting went by uneventfully, considering they had the leader of one of their opposing factions seated with them. Looks went around the table, and there arose several long, unnervingly awkward pauses. Fortunately, be it Alex with his patience, Momsrascal with her notion of responsibility, or even Nuli once tapping the table to pantomime Alex a question about a type of stone (to which Alex answered despite the nagging wonder as to why he asked such a random question), the conversation nevertheless continues without any choice words evolving into a brawl.

Deciding that there really was no downside explaining their plan against a common enemy to another, they gave Lawrence a quick summarized version provided that he agree to assist with the sea diversion with whatever naval forces he could spare. To their surprise, Lawrence said that he will instead get Darkrascal to lead those forces while he join the heroes in the assassination attempt. Alex had to give him some merit; having some shadows to back them up would indeed prove useful in the stealth department.

After discussing signals, backup plans, and timing, the meeting was over in a couple more hours. Rising one by one, the heroes (and Lawrence) marched out the door, barely sparing a few proper steps in the hall before dashing off to prepare for their respective tasks.

Alex followed the others towards the door, but a slight weight on his shoulder forced his feet to hold. He wrapped his arm around and gripped the little dragon by the shoulders, holding him upright in front of him.

"Nuli, I don't want you to come with us." Alex explained, "It will be much too dangerous for you."

Nuli's eyes widened, both in disappointment and surprise. Sure, he would let Nuli face off against the architects trying to exterminate the fairy race on his own, but he couldn't accompany Alex and the rest of all the heroes on a collaborative stealth attack?

"Listen," he whispered, "I don't know what we're up against, but there are forces out there that even I won't be able to protect you against. I fought against them, ran out of power, and nearly fell to them had I not been lucky. I can't take any more risks than I am right now."

Nuli gave Alex the innocent, wide-eyed expression he feared was coming.

"Come on, Nuli. I made a promise to Gia that I wouldn't involve you in such violent matters. You know I did."

Any and all expressed surprise gave way to pure disappointment, but even Nuli was forced to agree it was purely for his sake. Slowly and solemnly, he jumped off Alex's shoulder and sat obediently on the ground, maintained eye contact as Alex said his farewell, and continued to sit until the heroes were out the door and the hall was filled with complete silence.

Perhaps it was for the best, he thought. I am the last White Dragon, after all. To throw myself in the way of death's grip would be betraying everything Father fought for. Father wanted us to live peacefully as part of nature, balancing what was given and what was taken. We were no longer to be holy machines of battle. Sartranomin himself said so.

But at the same time, he had already lost one father to battle.

He did not want to lose another.

___________________________________________

Upon stepping through the great tower doors, Alex asked permission for a moment to himself. Having it granted, he then took a moment to kneel in the courtyard, produce a set of three pillars, and meditate.

“What's he doing?” Momsrascal asked aloud, but not loud enough for Alex to hear.

“He's praying to Saradomin.” Elise said.

“Despite Saradomin being gone?” Momsrascal said, as though Alex had gone crazy.

“He told me when we were in Falador.” Elise explained, “That he does it to restore his faith that one day, perhaps Saradomin may return.”

“Sometimes I wonder.”

Jason stepped forward, watching Alex carefully. Seeing the enogan warrior meditating like this was not strange at all. In fact, it was his alignment and devotion to his “father” that made such acts something done by instinct and desire rather than chore. Nevertheless, there had been something going on in Jason's mind ever since the event.

“What do you mean?” asked Elise. Was he suspecting Alex?

“He's a spirit, isn't he?” Jason asked, “A spirit created by Saradomin, who is the source of his power. Hence his spell-summoning capabilities.”

“But he's no longer relying on Saradomin.” Elise replied, “He's been using his own power the whole time.”

“Then where is he getting his power from?” Jason asked, “Yes, he found his new body, and in turn regained a lost power... or so he told us. But with Saradomin gone, what is this new source?”

And Momsrascal thought too. Did Saradomin really just pool in a huge chunk of his power into this body and leave it for him to simply find so long ago? And why? Could it have been that Saradomin knew he was about to meet his end?

Fortunately, Momsrascal had a way to thwart such confusing suspicion.

“He's one of our best allies.” she simply replied, “Does it matter?”

Elise was good with that conclusion, but Jason frowned. Yeah, he'd like to think that. But Alex has been behaving particularly odd lately. Escorting strange dark warriors, disappearing in the middle of battle, calling forth spirits like a necromancer, speaking with a strange air of seniority, and meditating at a time of gathering like this despite its obvious fruitlessness. Not only that, but he's a spirit of Saradomin. If Saradomin is gone, shouldn't it mean that he too should've vanished?

Alex was hiding something. A lot of somethings.

That was perhaps one of the only things that hadn't changed about him.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** May 14th, 2012, 12:45 pm

Let's get down to business...

They were going to have a few star knights on each ship just in case the ships docked or were boarded. Elduvian Naval men were decent combatants, but they were up against unknown enemies. 40 Frigates, 20 Galleons, and 10 Bombardier ships - 70 vessels in all - were to sail there. The Galleons and Bombardiers would remain a safe distance away from the island, though still close enough to allow the bombardier to shell it. This would help cover the Heroes infiltration, as most of the enemies would not expect the Heroes to fire upon their own men. The Frigates would be closer to the island, trying to avoid the large, hull splitting ballista shots while still getting close enough to take them out. Celestina would be on her Flagship Galleon, the Tesla Don Corda leading the assault. Her band of 75 Ice Warriors would be able to take out the ballistas faster than the ships if the ship could get close enough. The Galleons were primarily a show of force, though they each had a decent number of archers and mages aboard to guard the ships' from aerial attackers.

The Heroes would travel on Calytha's Galleon until they were within sight of the dark fortress. Then they would head to it before the ships. Timrak and Natalya would go first, with Skyrate leading Michael and Elise right behind them. Alex would fly Momsrascal, Jason, Karmadin, and Tenshi on himself high above the ocean and would swoop down under a cover from Natalya. They would only be able to get into the first ring of partitions. They would have to carefully make their way through the corridors of the remaining partitions to reach Dulcien. This would require delicate maneuvering and specific targets being taken out.

Lawrence would travel with the Heroes. For a reason known only to Skyrate, he said he would 'Get Lawrence there' but told him he would stay on the Galleon until Skyrate 'got him'. This made Lawrence uneasy, but he didn't object because Alex couldn't safely hold any more people and Lawrence had no other way of getting to the heroes inside the fortress.

Lawrence's ships would meet up with the Elduvian Fleet off the coast of Daemonheim. Lawrence didn't say how many nor what type of ships he would supply, but he said it would be a fair bit.

Two days after the meeting, the ships left the harbor. It would take nearly a week to get to Dulcien's island, but Skyrate said this was alright. It gave the Heroes more time to plan their attack. And for Skyrate to make sure everyone knew the importance of avoid Dulcien's weapon...

"Although Natalya and I are the only ones who should be in direct conflict with him, he may break off and come for any of you. You will not be playing this time and he will be using his sword, with the purpose of killing you without mercy. His weapon is one of a rare type called Vortex blades. Only an elect few Mahjarrat have them. When they slay any opponent they absorb the power of the slain into themselves and their wielder. He has slain many, so many that his blade can now only be resisted by a few materials, namely, that which it is made from, Dragonite. Any Runite, Crystal, Barrows, or any other powerful piece of Gielinor will be shattered instantly and will not stop his blade. Only one of you here may be able to resist the power of his blade, once."
At this he glanced quickly at Alex and then continued, "For this reason you MUST carry a dragonite weapon. A longsword would be best unless you prefer a different weapon. The armory aboard has some to choose from. Again, you should not have to fight him, for we will be, but he may go for one of you."

After this they went to the galley to eat.

Adbot · **Posted:** May 14th, 2012, 12:45 pm

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** May 27th, 2012, 9:42 pm

Lawrence didn't eat immediately. Instead he contacted Darkrascal via a comorb he brought with him and briefed her on their plan of action. "What!? Why do I have to lead the puny army while you get to have all the fun!? I can't swim!" She protested. "Don't talk back to me and just do it... Tell Kate to go with you so she can teleport you out if something goes horribly wrong..." He said. Darkrascal mumbled before reluctantly agreeing to comply. Lawrence told her goodbye and cut off communication with her.

Lawrence sighed. "I really hated everything I did during the war of lore..." He admitted.

"What!? It sure seemed like you had a grand time!" Tenshi snapped.

"As someone cursed by honesty, it's very difficult to pretend to support something you hate. I have to weave my words and choose my actions very carefully. I had to play the part of an introverted conquerer to avoid too much contact with those who would help me. Very few people knew how I really felt and they lied for me while I did my best to avoid anything that would force me to tell the truth. They are Darkrascal, Kate and one of them was Marie..." Lawrence said. Marie, his maid, had passed away when Dulcien destroyed the fortress.

Momsrascal seemed confused like everyone else, but was a lot calmer than Tenshi. "It still doesn't look good for you at all, Lawrence..." She stated. "What about that diary of yours we found, and if you hated it so much, why did you go through with it?" She asked.

"The diary was all Marie's doing. I told her events to write down and to twist my words as much as she possibly could to paint me as the villian, so if anyone ever found it, no one would be able to question me. To be honest, I never even looked at a single page of it." He said. "She wrote some embarrasing entries in it didn't she...?" He asked.

Tenshi seemed disappointed. "Aw, so none of that really happened?" Tenshi complained. Lawrence seemed a bit curious about what exactly was written in it but decided it was probably best if he didn't check.

"You never answered my second question." Momsrascal said.

"Ah, yes... I did that because of my intuition. I mean, why would Zamorak choose me when he has far stronger allies than me? I thought about it this way. Had I refused my position, Zamorak would have found someone far more destructive, someone you would have a much rougher time defeating... I knew Zamorak probably had conquering things on his mind but I could sense that it wasn't the only reason... I'm not sure what it could possibly be but he told me to kill as many people as I possibly could. Wilderhaven was more or less the limitations my conciousness imposed on that. I have a feeling Zamorak did something for the greator good somehow because he hasn't been punished by the other gods yet. Darkrascal and I would know in a heartbeat if he was banished." He explained.

"How do we know you're not lying now? If you say you're cursed to tell the truth then you would be telling the truth, but that would require us to trust you before we knew we could. You could easily be lying to us saying that because you think we would believe you're telling the truth." Jason stated.

"He's telling the truth... I met the witch who put that curse on him." Momsrascal said. Jason remained silent for a while. "I think I understand. Correct me if I'm wrong but you did it prevent a greater evil from taking the lead and you felt the only way you could do that was by being the lesser evil." Momsrascal said.

"Yes, exactly!" Lawrence said, confirming her thoughts. "To be honest, I'm not even sure the war of lore was all Zamorak's idea..." He muttered. "There was just something in the way that he issued the order to me. Zamorak couldn't have expanded the wilderness like he did on his own." He said.

At this Jason looked at Lawrence again, "We always thought he did it. But you say he didn't?" Jason asked.

"Well there are clearly some really big obsticals that would prevent that. The first being Zamorak doesn't have the staff of Armadyl and there are also the Edicts of Guthix to prevent such a thing." Lawrence explained. "What if someone or even Guthix himself had temporarily nullified them? After our forces fell, the wilderness quickly went back to the way it was." He said. "The motives of the gods aren't really crystal clear to me so I can't say for sure..."

"Suppose this was some plot by the gods for some reason. Even so, the atrocities you commited aren't going to be forgiven just like that." Momsrascal said. "I was well aware of that when I took on Zamorak's orders..." Lawrence said. Of course his main objective of this allience was to take care of Dulcien, but he also hoped he could somehow redeem himself through this. "I don't deserve your forgiveness after the pain I had caused you all. Especially not yours, but thank you for understanding..." He said looking at Momsrascal. After all, he had killed many of the white knights she was friends with and destroyed her old home.

"Perhaps with time I can forgive..." Momsrascal thought.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** June 13th, 2012, 5:26 pm

The majority of the heroes were making a time of the meal, chatting away and discussing strategies. The fight would soon be upon them, and it was absolutely vital they maintained a positive atmosphere, or else they would drown in their own peril before they could even fire a cannon.

Thinking about it, it has been a while since he was on a ship. Having met Gia, he would use his incredible swimming capabilities to get to the mainland, and since he was gone, he now had a form that could take to the skies, altogether eliminating the need for a boat.

Alex, however, kept to himself on the darker end. Nobody was seated next to the Enogan armoured spirit, and he seemed to prefer it that way. He would slowly pick at his food and sometimes trace shapes in the air in front of him. Occasionally he would even mutter to himself. Most of the time, he just stared into his cup and did nothing. Nobody approached because Alex would simply brighten up and dismiss any and all anxiety until the curious onlooker deemed it satisfactory enough to leave him alone, to which he was immediately enveloped in his darker atmosphere.

Finally, it was Momsrascal's turn. Having finished eating early and not daring herself to stick around the main table, in fear she would not be able to will herself off thirds, she approached Alex and crept into the dim atmosphere. At least with Alex, neither would have anything personal to say that would get them emotional.

“You've been incredibly quiet this whole time.” Momsrascal mused, approaching Alex, “Usually you have something witty to say on the verge of battle.”

“I've got a lot to think about.” Alex shrugged, not bothering to look at her, “Half of which I'm not supposed to actually be thinking about.”

“Like what-?” she asked, but was interrupted.

*SPLOP*

The water in Alex's cup suddenly took a leap and splashed all over the edge. Heads turned at the strange happening, but Alex simply shook his head and smiled.

“Sorry about that. I was practicing.” he apologized, reverting back to his more positive personality, “Liquids are much harder to manipulate with majiya than solids. I guess I could not do it while talking.”

Curious, Momsrascal peered into the cup. Alex returned to his focused state and she saw the remainder of the liquid take on a perfectly spherical shape within the cup, completely ignoring the natural boundaries of its container. It held for a few moments before Alex relaxed and the liquid took on its natural property of resembling the container's shape.

“I fought against Dulcien,” Alex continued, taking a gulp of his practice, “And I could only stall him while we got away. However, neither of us were at full power at the time. He was awaiting the ritual, and I came into the battle already spent. Therefore, I cannot use this last battle as a reliable reference for planning a strategy against him.”

“Why were you exhausted, anyways?” she asked, her ears tilting askew.

Yeah, that was the question. Alex took a moment to ponder over what details be actually could spare before answering.

“Hunt and I were attacked-” Alex said, but then snapped his fingers and sat up slightly, “THAT'S where I saw them once before. The thing that attacked us. It was one of those creatures. I'm pretty sure- ... that...”

Then be paused, and thought some more. But after a moment, he shook his head.

“... no, that isn't it. That's one instance, but I'm feeling that there's something... more...”

He plopped back on his chair.

“If I only knew what they were called...” he groaned.

“It was a tough fight?” she asked.

Was it a tough fight? She really had to ask that?

“It was like nothing I had ever been through.” Alex said, “We both gave it our all, fighting back with all out ability, and the whole time... the WHOLE time, it taunted! And laughed, and danced around us. It taunted us with 12 different languages, half of them in song, and the languages I did understand, it was complete gibberish. Something about wanting to cover the mountains in corn, “fly in from the west to sleep on station”, and something about a solar eclipse frightening the ants. Then it suddenly goes savage out of nowhere and attacked back with a power I had never seen before.”

During the demonstration, Alex had his arms extended and merged into a flat surface on the table, and puddle of enogan materialized into a trail-based scene in front of him. A small miniature version of himself with a rider facing off against a strange, twisting shape that flowed all around them, shifting in and out of existence when they got close and slashing at them with great spikes from nearly every literal direction. Metallic representations of flames covered the entire battlefield. It looked like the entire ocean was burning all around them.

“The strange thing was that it only went savage against Hunt.” Alex said, shifting the rider to directly take on the shapeless mass, which in turn morphed into the recognizable creature that fought him solidly, “It fought with him properly, trading attacks and giving it a full effort. When I subbed in, though, it suddenly went docile as though nothing ever happened and it proceeded to taunt us no matter how much I tried to attack it. I unleashed my most powerful spirit-summon against it, and it still didn't do anything but make it laugh. Technically, it never attempted a single blow against me.”

“Why didn't you just try to flee, then?”

“For one thing, I couldn't shake it. For another, Hunt was very keen on fighting this thing. He kept urging me on despite us obviously being completely overpowered. And even when Hunt finally decided we were wasting time and effort and we attempted a retreat, it would give chase. The only way we were able to get away was by having me fight it directly, but slowly back away and keep extending my distance until it was completely out of sight. Thankfully, it didn't follow when I finally turned tail and dashed for Falador.”

Momsrascal was indeed puzzled. Although this sounded only slightly similar to the chaos elemental, she only really had a glimpse of the creatures in question and knew they had absolutely nothing in common.

“I hope we don't encounter it during the mission.” she said.

“Join the club.” Alex replied, the top of his visor rising slightly.

It was then that Alex noticed that nearly everybody else was listening in. The galley had gone incredibly silent and all eyes were on him.

“Anyways, I'm using that experience as an example.” Alex continued, “When fighting a creature of unmatched power, I found the solution through strategy and observation. That's why I'm thinking right now of what I've learned about Dulcien so far, in combat and out, and seeing what sorts of measures I can take. Without Saradomin, I've only got a limited power, and therefore limited fighting time and techniques.”

“That's why we're all going.” Jason said, “To supplement each other and extend our fighting times to the maximum.”

“And again, it's difficult to do when the only experience I've had against him was of a more laid-back fight.” he repeated, “For all I know, he could summon vast hordes of corrupt spirits, or slice through reality itself, carving us each in half without touching us.”

“And it's not just getting in and taking him down.” Alex added, leaning forward and dropping his elbows on the hard wood table, “There's another thing we should think carefully about. Because we're attempting an assassination, taking down Dulcien would break what stealth aspect we have remaining, and we'd have the rest of his forces on us in moments. Mahjarrat are not feared as much as they are respected, and their faction will not stop hunting us for anything.”

Alex's eyes closed, and he once again focused on the cup. Turning it upside down, he let whatever water remained inside fall out, but rather than splash on the table like everybody expected, it simply hovered there in a large, perfectly round ball. With a waving motion, he scooped it back up with the cup without even touching it.

“Even if we manage success,” he said aloud as the cup floated on its own into his hand, “We'll also need some means of escape. Anybody here have a plan in case teleportation doesn't work?”

__________________________________________________

TOWER OF THE STAR
__________________________________________________

Nuli gazed out the multi-paned window. He was expecting a bit of prestigious respect, but this was simply overdoing it. He got an entire suite all to himself, including a gigantic bed and enough decor to make him question the intended wall color. The sun was setting, casting a rather eerie orange light across the horizon. The moon was coming close to cover, but not quite enough to create an eclipse.

It was a pity it was nothing more than an ornate cell that he had been staying in for a few days since the heroes left. Alex has instructed the guards to not let him leave even for the SWC, as he knew by experience Nuli would try to get back to him through some arbitrary reason. Usually he made one up. Usually.

The stars were bright tonight. Not the brightest he had ever seen, but still up there. Bright enough to actually be seen through the gradually dimming amber light. He loved looking at them. Just sitting there, gazing outside. So easily available, and yet so impossibly far away. What would it be like to fly among them one day? And they weren't static, either. Each one seemed to twinkle with their own life, unique and different than the others in their own way.

It was like having millions of White Dragon eyes looking back at him.

But tonight, he had little time for luxury. He had a job to do. Fulfill his own unquenchable curiosity in hopes he could aid the heroes in a way he knew how.

Research and experimentation.

He thought back to all he witnessed at the ritual. The one point in 500 years where such a maneuver was possible. The grounds. The fight. The death. The transfer of energy. The regeneration. That was just it. They fought, took the lives of one or more of themselves, and it restored them to full, if not greater strength.

How did it work? What made such a circumstance occur? What did the planets and the timing have to do with anything? And how did this ritual come around when the mahjarrat were never originally from this planet? This was his curiosity speaking, and he wouldn't ignore it.

His eyes diverted from the stars to his scribblings, coating the entire sheet of papyrus before him. The papyrus was one of many, all of which were strewn all around him in a clustered frenzy that only he knew the order of. Creating such a mess occupied most of his time in the Tower (the rest occupied by eating, as the licked-clean metal bowl on the door end-table had to show). The guards had looked at it, but neither of them had the means or knowhow to decipher his markings. Mainly because despite his efforts and his ability to understand his own writing, he wasn't for the life of him capable of making it easily readable for anyone else. Mostly because of his three-digit claws that held the charcoal between them, gripped with tension to prevent slippage and held at an awkward angle so he could see what he was writing. It worked, but only just; he had very little coordination to match his hasty diagram. Hence his constant usage of sign language rather than writing down and displaying what he wanted to say.

He was thinking. This had been his entire focus ever since the meeting. They were up against one of the most powerful foes imaginable. One with power that gave even Alex a good load of trouble. One that forced the Tower of the Star to resort to a rather dark method. One so dangerous that Alex was forcing Nuli to stay at the tower for his own protection, leaving him incapable of helping. Of course, what could Nuli do? He was merely a hunter with a passion for the stars.

But perhaps, if he could strip their enemy of even one source of its power… give the heroes an edge...

He sat still.

He meditated.

He thought.

All that he had seen in the stars coming back to him. Their patterns of the stars; the movement of the planets. He had gazed upon just as many colors in the sky as he gazed upon stars, and he could remember every one of them. He remembered the layout of the ritual site. A rough plane, covered in snow and rock, once alive and thriving. A large stone landmark in the centre where they all gathered around at one point. He could also remember Alex's words explaining the ritual. It happened once every 500 years during the alignment of the planets. All the mahjarrat gathered to a designated spot in the north to fight out their decision. Was it entirely their choice, or was it simply necessary? Did they enjoy the concept of sacrifice?

He suddenly opened his eyes when he realized there was no longer any sunlight in the room. The sun had set, and the sliver of a new moon had begun to take over. The stars were much more brilliantly illuminated.

And a bright white light was shining above him from behind.

His eyes widened in shock, casting the room in a dim white light. If he could sweat, it would be drenching. Slowly, afraid that a sudden movement would spell disaster for him, he turned his head around a full 180 degrees at the figure behind him. His gaze only locked for a moment before he dashed like a mouse under the bed.

What was it? It looked solid, but at the same time, had no mass. The figure stood nearly 10 feet tall, roughly humanoid with his arms and lower body ending off in a flame-like wisp of condensed black smoke. The only thing that appeared to really be there was the eyes, and even then the light looked ethereal. As though despite its illumination, there was just the same amount of detail as the darkness provided. It didn't seem right. It was as though the light wasn't supposed to be there.

And yet…

Forcing the fear from his mind took a moment, but he poked his head out from under the bed and looked up again. The dark, immobile shape was gazing down at him, its eyes bright, but not blinding. So familiar in stature, too. He almost wanted to speak out to it, to see if it would react. Keeping his wits about him, Nuli slowly, carefully, crawled out from under the bed and approached.

This was the same thing he saw at their chapel once before. And he wasn't just seeing things; it appeared to only exist in one spot. Was that really his father's ghost? He didn't know. It looked like his father very much, but there was still something off. Something he could not figure out.

Suddenly it moved, and Nuli flinched slightly. Slowly, it raised a heavy, muscular arm straight up towards the window towards the stars. The whipping mass of black smoke at the end formed into a barely distinguishable hand, gesturing into a directional point. It didn't speak, but Nuli heard something. Not from his ears, but in his mind.

"Go to him."

Even the voice was off; distorted and dark. It made Nuli uncomfortable. This wasn't his father! It couldn't be! It was awful! He wanted it to go away!

Stretching his wings out, he flapped them upwards at the dark figure, sending a quick gust. Something to blow away the outlines so he could see its more solid shape underneath. Hopefully blow away this disturbing darkness about it. Instead, the entire figure suddenly crumbled and exploded in a silent mass of cloud, as though Nuli just hit it with a wind surge spell. In less than a heartbeat, every last trace of it was gone. And Nuli was alone again, inside the dark, cold room, left with nothing but the thought and wonder of what he just witnessed.

And then, as though out of nowhere, something clicked in his mind. He was no longer afraid. Instead, he was enlightened by something. Stars… clouds…

Light…

...could that really be it?

He wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't thinking anymore. His claws moved on their own. New sheet of papyrus, spread out in front of him. Charcoal stick sharpened with the blade on the end of his tail. His eyes never left the sheet as the stick ran across at frantic speeds. He was not thinking of the details and the reasoning anymore; that was already thought of. Instead, he was merely thinking of where the carbon markings should go. That line goes here, this circle there. Had to be. This planet was bigger. This planet was red. Stars are here. The positioning at this angle. This one…

*Clink*

The charcoal rolled under the dresser beside him as he shone his everlasting glowing eyes over the papyrus, gripping the sheet between his fore-claws. It wasn't proven, but it was an idea. A idea for a schematic, for something that could make even the mahjarrat cringe if his hypothesis and research were correct.

He wasn't making up a reason this time.

He had to get this to Alex and the heroes.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** June 26th, 2012, 3:18 pm

Jason looked around and noticed Skyrate and Natalya had left the galley. He was hoping Skyrate could answer Alex's question. Reluctantly, he answered, "Without Dulcien his forces will not be as organized. They will be easier for us to attack and defend against. Skyrate also said the Gormons, Dulcien's most powerful minions, were bound to him and would be forced to return to their plane once he's defeated. That will not only reduce his armies strength but also lower their morale. I don't think destroying his armies afterwards will be as hard as finding and killing him. Even if they do attack the Kaileenian islands, Elduvian and The Tower are well protected as you've seen. It would take a much better strategist than the average, or even above average, demon to breach. As for escape afterwards, we're counting on teleportation back to this ship. If it doesn't work...then we'll have to fight our way out or try leaving the way we came in."

The table grew silent again as the heroes finished eating. They didn't have much of a choice in the fight to come. With Dulcien in command they didn't have the force of numbers to combat his army. It was either defeat him covertly...or die trying.

Momsrascal looked at Elise and noticed she hadn't eaten much of her food, "What's wrong, Elise?"
"I've been thinking about those underwater walls Skyrate showed us." Elis said, pushing some of her food around on her plate.
"What about them?" Momsrascal asked.
"Well what if Michael and I were able to raise them?"
"Raise them how?"
"Look," Elise said and pointed at her plate. She had made a drawing of sorts of the island and underwater walls with her food. She continued, "If we raise the underwater walls to be 50 feet above sea level, than the ballistas on land won't be able to fire at our ships until our ships are inside the walls, and close enough to return fire!"
Momsrascal and the rest of the heroes looked at the plate. It made sense. Use the walls against Dulcien. Since the ships had to sail around them anyways, they might as well be higher. That way they would be easier to sail around and provide cover until the ships were within range of the ballistas.

Momsrascal said, "Is that possible?"
"I think we could pull it off. It would require us to either stay behind with the ships or join the rest of you later on the inside." Michael said, grinning that one so young had thought of a strategy like that.

"I think it would be best for you both to remain with the ships." Timrak, who was still at the table, said, "Getting in after the attack could be very dangerous, even when going through the ground. Besides, Dulcien knows he can disable both of you. He will do that again, and permanently this time if he can. I think you would not only be safer outside but also most effective. None of the creatures outside will be able to hurt you if you're constantly going in and out of the ground."

"Won't we need them though, both of them?" Momsrascal asked.
"I think Timrak is right, it would be best for us to be on the outside. Alex and Skyrate alone would be a formidable infiltration force, but with Timrak, Natalya, Jason, Tenshi, Karmadin, and yourself, you will be able to overcome any enemy we have faced so far." Michael said.

It was true, 10 Heroes would be quite a large amount to try to get through a city hidden. Skyrate and Timrak were used to this sort of thing. Natalya, too, had remained hidden from all Mahjarrat for over 5,000 years. Alex's new found power would make it much easier for him to get in unnoticed. Karmadin, though only an elf, was skilled in stealth. Jason, Tenshi, Momsrascal, Michael, and Elise had neither the skill of stealth nor power like the others.

Meanwhile on deck...

Skyrate and Natalya stood on the forward deck looking towards where Dulcien's fortress island would appear in time.

"I do not know fully what power Dulcien will have now having touched the Stone of Jas. You must try to stay unnoticed from him while I fight him." Skyrate said.

Natalya nodded and then asked, "Where is your Lady? Last I saw you two were always together."

"Certain tasks require us to be apart for awhile. We cannot control what we are tasked to do. If there were others able to do what we must then they would. Like with you, there are certain things in this life that must be done. We can either run, or face them...regardless of sacrifices."

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** July 9th, 2012, 12:13 pm

Darkrascal had gathered the forces they could muster for the naval attack Lawrence told her to help with. Darkrascal had briefed them on their plan of attack. "If anything goes wrong, whether or not you come back alive depends on how well you can swim." She said.

Meanwhile Lawrence was patiently awaiting his part in this plan.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** July 13th, 2012, 7:50 am

I'm just gonna speed through Nuli's section a bit. What he does is going to affect the heroes in the very near future.

______________________________________________

TOWER OF THE STAR FLAGSHIP
______________________________________________

Alex retreated to his quarters and locked the door. Then he paused for a moment and decided to instead leave it unlocked. Having the door locked would suggest to anyone who tried to meet with him that he was doing something in private. From what had happened not too long ago, combined with the stressful impatience of the crew towards what looked to be their toughest mission yet, Alex simply couldn't afford any more suspicion on his part.

Leaving the door open slightly, Alex sat down and molded his legs into the three pillar setup. There was no way he would be able to drive himself to sleep if he didn't try something first. Fortunately, his “praying for the sake of it” excuse seemed to pass off to the majority of the heroes. He would have to simply talk under his breath.

But even if there was somebody listening, what he actually said wasn't offset from a prayer at all.

“Hey. You there?”

“It's been a while. I miss you.”

“If there's any way I can owe you, I would like to ask your help.”

“We're going to be taking out the Lord Mahjarrat of the fortress on the northeastern coast of the wilderness. You've seen it once, haven't you?”

“Yes, his level of power is rising to a dangerous level. So much so that the Zamorakians have formed an alliance with us.”

“Yes, I was assigned to do it. Wouldn't be here otherwise.”

“I fear it's a foe that we won't be able to take on alone, and if there's any way you can help...”

“Not me in particular. The distraction guys would need you more. I'll be on the inside.”

“I understand. My prayers be with you.”

“Take care. Can't wait to see you again.”

His prayer completed, he sunk the pillars back into his body and drifted off to sleep easily, knowing well that he has now got as reliable a backup plan as he could wish for. Just in case things should come to it.

______________________________________________

TOWER OF THE STAR
______________________________________________

Despite his size, he had to use his tail to fish out the charcoal from under the dresser for a few minutes before he was reunited with his drawing apparatus. Of course, Alex would've just moulded his arm and slid it under. He was envious of that. Who wouldn't be? But at the same time, his father and Lord Sartranomin gave him this body, and he would be nothing but disrespectful to the both of them if he wished anything else.

It was this body that had to get out of the tower. He had priorities now:

Head to the chapel.
Turn the schematic into an operable device.
Bring it to the designated location.

He tore a sheet from his notepad and began to write on it. Not symbols this time, but actual words. He slowed down and took his time, trying to make sure they were at least legible enough for the guards. It was a thank-you note for a delicious dinner, the care and consideration put into this marvellous room, and the time and effort they spent to provide for his needs.

It was also an apology for what he was about to do to their window.

Despite their best intentions, the guards did make a rather silly mistake. Yes, they locked the door, put themselves in rotational surveillance shifts, and stashed him on the top floor. Even the window was thickened to the point that even throwing the dresser at it would barely even crack it. And even if he succeeded, the guards would hear the noise, barge into the room, and ensnare him within a heartbeat.

But Nuli smiled as he stuck the charcoal stick into his mouth. Despite all their precautions, there was one small fact that they overlooked. That Nuli was a White Dragon.

And White Dragons, like any other dragon, had thick skulls.

______________________________________________

The guard fell out of his chair in shock. The loud crashing sound didn't exactly wake him up, but for a moment he wish it did, because he wouldn't have been so startled otherwise. Moving as though by instinct, the guard impressed himself by fluidly righting himself to his feet, jamming his key into the lock, and yanking the door open in less than four seconds.

The room was already fairly breezy as a light wind blew through a small shattered hole in the lower left corner of the window. The cracked edges were still red-hot from the amount of heat it was exposed to. Lying just below was a still smouldering stick of charcoal; the source of the heat, rolling around slightly in a small metal bowl to prevent burns to the end-table propped up against the window ledge.

And Nuli was nowhere to be seen.

Looking at the odd setup, the guard was immediately able to tell what had happened. He underestimated the resourcefulness of the little White Dragon. It used the charcoal to heat the window up to high temperatures by propping the bowl against the window to insulate the heat towards it. Then when it was at a softer state, it had no trouble ramming its way through in one go. And even he knew dragon scales protected from much more than simple swords.

There was no use searching. It was gone. Simply that. By the time they get their searchlights up, it would already be halfway across the ocean and well out of range. They had failed Alex's command.

At least the little one was thoughtful enough to write an apology and thank-you note.

______________________________________________

Nuli scraped the last of the solidifying glass from his forehead. Wings fully outstretched, he rocketed through the night air, using the favourable wind to his advantage. He was not at all afraid to go fast and low. Despite spending a considerable amount of time in his father's workshop, hidden even from Alex, he was still raised on the sea, and it was the sea that made him feel most at home. From frequent hunting trips to the mainland, he learned the many patterns of the wind and the different identifiable quadrants of the ocean around Gielinor.

He also learned navigational charts as a side project. Something he took a minor interest in for a couple of days. No big deal.

The faint glow of the chapel star shone ahead, and Nuli dove. Once again, rather than aim for the mainland, he aimed a good distance off the northern shoreline and plunged into the black seawater below. Eyes shining brightly in the murky depths, he had no trouble finding the small cavern he was used to using to get in from below.

Slimming himself by tucking his wings in, he shot right through, briefly highlighting the rocks on the way with his eyes as he pulled himself serpent-like through the cavern. He had to hurry! The longer he took, the more danger Alex was getting into-

*MMMPH!*

Nuli's eyes bulged with horror. His torso area was suddenly caught in the rocks, and even scarier was that it wasn't an immediate stop, but instead a gradual one. The tunnel was beginning to collapse from the many long beatings of the waves and his gripping and pulling on the walls finally yanked them loose. The rock wall was loosened, and it constricted around his wings, body, and one of his fore arms. He was stuck!

He wiggled, but they were not moving. They were too condensed and pressured by the surrounding rock, and rolling out of place didn't help at all. Forcing himself to remain calm to save on oxygen, he tried twirling his body. Find the weak point in the rocks and push them back in place.

It wasn't working. He also had to be careful not to let his waterproof bag tear, or else his schematic will get soaked and destroyed. He pushed at the rocks with his free foreclaw. He couldn't feel the other one at all. Did it break? He hoped not.

His lungs wanted air, and he still had a ways to go. He tried to slow himself down. Stay calm. Wasn't working. He was frantic; this had never happened before, and he didn't know how to react.

Had to stay calm. Access the situation. No! Had to keep moving. No, calmly figure out which way the rocks moved and how to push them back. No, just keep moving! He was slowly moving, wasn't he?

Before he knew it, he was lost to panic. And before he knew it, his oxygen was depleted. He felt intense fatigue, and the rocks crushing his body weren't helping. The rocks around him blurred. His lungs wanted oxygen. His mouth wanted to breathe. His will to not inhale was slowly diminishing. His one free claw was numb to the point he couldn't even move it.

Maybe if he slept, his lungs wouldn't try to...

No! Must stay awake! Must break free! Must... help... his... fath-... fathe-...

... can't do it. Just... can't...

...

*THIP*

He was slightly aroused by a sharp pain in his shoulder. Something was jabbing him. A small carnivorous fish or something? Oh, please go away, he thought; his eyes heavy and drooping. Just let me rest here. I'll figure it out later...

Later? No, what am I thinking about? I'm underwater! I can't do things later while underwater! I'm trapped! I have to get out!

That's when he suddenly realized; his mind was clear again! Everything began to clear up! He could see the rocks again properly. Access the situation. The rocks rolled over as he moved forward, so if he pushed backwards, they might loosen.

He pressed his claw on the solid rocky wall and pressed backwards. Sure enough, the rocks moved back into their respected spots and began to loosen around him. He felt the pressure around his torso ease, and his trapped claw prickled pins and needles.

Suddenly, the rocks he was pushing slipped backwards, and the whole wall around him began to crumble! Before he could react, however, he was suddenly yanked forward from the neck by a different force, breaking him free of the rocks before the tunnel could collapse around him. He wasn't even trying to move, and yet he saw the rock walls around him zooming past.

And then suddenly, a splash of cold, and he felt himself rolling around the floor in their underground cavern. He was out! He coughed out sea water. He breathed. Despite the thick humidity, it felt so good flowing into his body, as though he was breathing for the first time in years. His heart was pounding so hard he feared his stomach was going to explode. His arm was still prickling, but he could still move it, and he felt his sides had racked up a good bruising. Otherwise, he appeared to be fully intact, and once he was able to properly control his body again, he shook the water out of his wings.

Finally, his mind was back. What just happened? How did he get out? What pulled him? Was it Sartranomin? Nah, there would've been more light. Probably a fish trying to get through or something, or maybe it was a wave surging through the tunnel.

Hey, wait! The tunnel collapsed! Ah, that means he can't use it anymore! Darn!

... but it also meant that whatever helped him was still in the underground pool, provided it really wasn't a lucky wave. The least he could do was see what it was and give it thanks.

Unable to believe what he was doing, he crawled back to the pool and submerged his head once more. There, swimming around in his eye-light, was the little red squid-like creature Alex had conversed with before. It was looking slightly wrinkled, and at the end of one of its long tentacles, Nuli saw a barb slowly retract and a small tuft of red fluid squirt out.

He found himself rubbing the pain out of his shoulder. That barb was what the creature jabbed him with. And that was the substance that gave it its red color. Its blood? Did the creature inject its blood into Nuli to save him? Was that a good thing?

Nuli's mind sought refuge in a memory, when Alex introduced him to the very same creature. Its blood was a universal cure, he was told. Why inject it, though? Perhaps direct contact with the water did something to it.

So that was it. This creature was waiting once again waiting for Alex, using their pool as safe haven from predators. Upon realizing Nuli was stuck, it helped him out by keeping him alive and pulling him out of the tunnel as it collapsed. ... wait, the tunnel was collapsed! That meant this creature... it had a name. What was it's name again? Oh yeah, Koyl. Koyl was trapped now in their underground pool!

He had to do something!

But Alex... he had to help...

His mind began to bounce back and forth once again with panic. He had to help that creature. But he had to help Alex! The creature was right there, and therefore priority, but who knew how long it would take to clear the tunnel? Not to mention he couldn't communicate with it.

What did it eat? Would he be able to stock it with some food before he left? Alex never did tell him that. What could he do?

“Go to him.”

He froze. He heard the horrible voice echo in his mind. Was it really just his imagination? He stopped and listened carefully. Perhaps it would repeat itself, and he could confirm its existence.

But there was nothing. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. And with that, he was forced to accept that there was nothing he could do right now for Koyl.

All he could do now was hurry. He would have to ask Alex on that subject, or get him back to the SWC as soon as possible. He obviously knew all about these creatures if he was able to interact with them. Or perhaps a helpful memory will surface. Alex taking something odd down to the cellar once, or preparing something abnormal and vile-looking that came from the ocean. Or for all he knew, the creature would be able to squeeze its way out despite the rockslide. It didn't appear to have any notable bones save for the barbs in its tentacles.

Unable to do anything else but nod his thanks, Nuli dashed upstairs without looking back while opening his leather bag for the notebook; his priorities back on track:

Turn the schematic into an operable device.
Bring it to the designated location.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** August 8th, 2012, 11:22 am

Should've posted sooner.

Skyrate went up to the Helmsman and said, "Hold the ships here and lay anchor."

The Helmsman nodded in confirmation and had another sailor hail the other ships. Within about fifteen minutes the entire navy had halted.

The Heroes were on deck and Jason said to Lawrence, "Your ships are to meet us here, correct?"

"Yes," Lawrence replied, "Darkrascal should have the navy here by tonight."

Lawrence was right. Just as it became dusk a large mass was spotted towards the East. When it was within hailing distance the Heroes' ship hailed them and Darkrascal replied.

"Yep, that's her." Lawrence said.

The Darkrascal's navy approached and within an hour she was brought aboard the Hero's ship.

"Not exactly the person I dreamed about working with." Momsrascal said quietly to Michael.

"Ha, Momsrascal, my old Nemesis. We're allies for a time now, so we might as well do our best to keep civil. You know how much I would enjoy killing you(at this the soldiers on deck drew their arms but were lowered by Jason's command) but for now we must both sacrifice our whims. We have bigger fish to fry." Darkrascal said snidely.

"'Fish to fry'?" Momsrascal asked, "You don't even like seafood."

"Snakes to skin then! Whatever suits your fancy." Darkrascal replied.

Jason chuckled to himself a little and then spoke, "Tomorrow morning we will make our way to Dulcien's fortress while both Navies attack by sea. By the time the Navies reach his fortress we should be inside and well on our way to him. Michael and Elise will jump in the water when the Navies sight his fortress and will raise his water walls to be barriers against his ballistas until the ships can get close enough to fight them."

While speaking, Michael and Elise had been making a small model of the fortress and surrounding sea and water walls to show Darkrascal & her captains and Calytha & her captains.

"The main purpose of the Navies," Jason continued, "is to draw the attention of the inhabitants of Dulcien's fortress. Dulcien himself will be inside and won't bother with the navy. With any luck we'll be able to get in without him or anyone else knowing."

Skyrate the spoke, "Dulcien's fortress is not more than 5 hours by sea from here. We are just beyond the fortress's sight. We will leave early tomorrow morning, so be ready."

The sea captains continued discussing there own strategies. Calytha felt a little odd discussing strategies with Darkrascal, one who had been their primary enemy for years. Eventually the two began to get along. Skyrate and Natalya stood by the port railing alone and looked towards the distance. Timrak was talking with the other Heroes and giving some advice and warnings as to what to do or not to do in certain situations.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** August 8th, 2012, 10:05 pm

He was one of the first to awaken. The sky only boasted a hint of sunlight as he stood on the stern, looking over the edge. The day of action was upon them, and he was ready for it.

... well, almost ready.

Alex spent the better part of the sunless morning rolling around in the ship's coal supply while in his dragon form. In order to pass through the wilderness undetected, he figured that taking on the guise of a black dragon would be to his benefit, as the creatures were much more common-place than pale cyan dragons. In fact, it's been many years since a runite dragon had been seen around those parts. He wondered why they had been recalled.

He then checked himself over from his reflection in the ocean water and winced. He wasn't in disguise; he was a flat-out mess. It wasn't really all that good, but at a distance from within the dark ashen-filled clouds the wilderness had to offer, it should do.

“You ready?” asked Karmadin, who finally approached. He had been watching Alex and keeping his distance for a while before finally summoning up the courage to interact with him. Last time he interacted with a dragon, it involved slicing its underbelly open. Talking with one was still something he had little to no experience.

“Yeah.” Alex replied, stretching his wings out. He then turned to Karmadin, “The most I've ever carried in this form was two large crates of food supplies across the ocean. Took about 2 hours, and it was about the weight of a full-grown human. This time, I'm going to be carrying 4 people.”

“It won't be for long, though.” Karmadin replied.

“Provided we're not spotted and fired at.” Alex surmised, “I want to make a loop around and head in through the wilderness under cover of the ash clouds. I'll land on the south-western tower. Depending on their anti-air detection, I may have to go wide.”

Karmadin nodded in understanding. “Just don't kill yourself.”

Alex peered over the edge once more, made a face, and then returned to the coal stash. When he came out several minutes later, he was several shades darker.

“You got your dragonite weapon?” Karmadin asked, looking over his own sword during the wait.

“Right here.”

Alex held out his left wing and exposed a long adamantite-shafted weapon with a spiked dragonite head through the liquid-like metal-skinned bone. A spear. Befitting for Alex.

“Adamantite?” Karmadin asked.

“Lightweight.” Alex replied, re-concealing the weapon, “For speed rather than strength. After fighting him once, I'll need to use speed to counteract his attacks.”

“But why adamantite instead of dragonite?” Karmadin asked, “If he strikes the handle, it'll break!”

Alex simply smiled, “He won't get the chance.”

A sound behind them made the two turn. Alex's other passengers were standing ready, armor and weapons equipped.

“Y'all ready to fly?” Alex asked.

“I'm ready.” Jason nodded.

“Let's do this.” Tenshi followed up.

“Not too fast, please.” Momsrascal smiled, her dual swords sheathed.

“Flying's only got one speed, I'm afraid.” Alex shrugged.

“You know I'm joking.” she sneered.

As they boarded the best first-class he could provide, Alex smiled with relief. At least they weren't as nervous about this as he was.

Building the device took longer than anticipated. While his original schematic called for crafting lenses that were directly hewn into the wood, that would prevent the different calibrations he had in mind. Instead, he would have to encase them in wooden fittings and slide them back and forth to get the desired results. Not just that, but after some experimentation, he found that his design would only work if he implemented mirrors; something that didn't have an abundance of at the SWC. To make do, he had to polish a flat sheet of steel for several hours to get its reflectance to its absolute peak in order to make do.

Otherwise, it came together rather flawlessly. He found exactly the amount of wood and spare materials he needed. He had a good abundance of nails and springs to play around with, all of which were adequate, if not improvised size. Not once did he figure he had to go pick something up from the mainland; a task that would've taken a whole day on its own.
He didn't know if he had the correct shade of amber, but adjusting the secondary lens will cycle through several frequencies. He'll be able to test it at his next destination.

Nuli learned through experience that having a schematic really sped up the creative process. While he was good at picturing something in his mind, it was very easy to lose the measurements and dimensions to an overactive imagination. At least on paper, nothing changed unless it had good reason to.

With the parts crafted and ready, the device seemed to almost literally throw itself together. Glass was blown, mahogany was sliced, and dyes were mixed nearly simultaneously. A base was crafted in the shape of a smooth round bottom with a flat top to hold the components; a dual set of lenses. The farther lens was several times larger than the closer one, inverted to prism and spread a source of light out towards the larger one, which directed it to a central point. The source of light didn't exist on this device; Nuli would create that himself. Both lenses were held in place on the base by a set of sliders bound by a notched ruler, which allowed precise calibration on the fly. As a finishing touch, the lenses folded down into the base, which then gave way to a set of straps that Nuli wrapped around his forearms and tightened, spreading his wings out to avoid getting them caught inside the base.

By observation, it looked like Nuli simply crafted himself a buckler on his back. That's how he wanted it to look, though. From what he was about to do, if it worked, there were going to be witnesses, and a whole lot of them.

If it did work, he didn't want anyone to know what he just made.

At least he was able to spend his rest-breaks helping Koyl. After several different attempts (the creature kept on trying to resurrect any and all fish Nuli brought down at the expense of its own health, which forced Nuli to remove the fish and eat it himself to show what the intention really was), Nuli finally discovered that they enjoyed aquatic moss and lichen. An hour of scraping it from the sides of the rocks all around the SWC (took Nuli several extra minutes of summoning willpower after his last underwater experience) provided Koyl with, as Nuli was led to believe, sustenance enough to wait for Alex's return. When that happened, they could collaborate in fixing the tunnel or figuring out a way to transfer the creature back to the ocean.

One final step remained:
Bring it to the designated location.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** August 28th, 2012, 5:59 pm

Darkrascal watched as they were about to fly off, obviously sort of jealous they'd be going into the thick of the action. Darkrascal didn't even like boats. She had knots in her stomach knowing she'd like a stone if the ship she was on went down, but she tried not to show it.

Momsrascal was actually a lot more nervous than she was letting on too, but she wouldn't let that stop her. She gripped onto Alex almost for dear life as she prepared for takeoff.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** September 26th, 2012, 12:15 pm

Not going to say anything about not posting. I should've weeks ago.

As Alex jumped into the air and began flying north, Skyrate, Timrak, and Natalya faded off the deck. Michael, Elise(who was on his shoulders), Calytha, and Darkrascal watched as the Heroes flew off into the distance.

The ships had continued moving while the heroes assembled for their flight. The ships were about 2 hours from the fortress by now.

A few minutes after leaving the ships, Alex heard Skyrate's voice speak to him, "Fly high and keep this course for an hour and a half. That will give us 30 minutes to infiltrate before the Navies arrive. You will land near the inner ring. You will see us. When I draw my katanna you may land without being seen. You may want to be in humanoid form after landing as it will be easiest for us to maneuver that way. When we reach Dulcien's sanctum, assume whatever form and use whatever abilities you deem best. It is likely we will not be fighting just him."

Skyrate's voice in(or near, Alex couldn't figure out which exactly) his head was not as unsettling to Alex as it would have been for the other Heroes. After all the many things Alex had been through and knowing that there were many things he still did not know about Skyrate, he simply nodded calmly in his flight and continued.

Meanwhile back on the ships....

Michael, Elise, Celestina, Calytha, Dakrascal, and other other various Captains from each navy were on Calytha's flagship preparing their strategy.

"All frigates will be under the command of Admiral Darkrascal." Calytha said, "She will lead an attack with the frigates from the East. The galleons and ships-of-the-line will follow me attacking from the South. In this way they will be attacked from two directions."

Michael then stood up and began explaining his and Elise's portion of the strategy, "We will go into the ocean and raise the Fortress' underwater walls to be true, double-way walls. That is, we will raise them high enough to prevent Dulcien's ballistas from reaching our ships. When our two Navies are close enough, we will sunder the walls entirely, allowing all the ships to get up close."

Calytha then spoke again, "Continue to circle the island while firing your cannons. Do NOT try to land on the island. Believe me, there will be plenty enough of fighting aboard our own ships for those who prefer close combat. Mages can attack the Fortress and archers should keep an eye on the skies. Warriors must line the decks of the ship to repel attackers."

Then Darkrascal spoke up, "And remember, everyone," at this she looked at all the captains, though, to Calytha's surprise, mostly at Darkrascal's captains, "we are fighting as one today. The enemy is not the Elduvian Navy this time, it's the Fortress island. Understood? Anyone found backstabbing on either side will have to deal with ME!"

"That's right." Calytha said, "Now, any questions?"

Everyone was silent.

"Good, get to your ships and get to position." Darkrascal commanded.

All captains went to their respective dinghys and returned to their ships. Soon the Elduvian Frigates were moving to follow Darkrascal's flagship and Darkrascal's Galleons were moving to follow Calytha's flagship.