Snippet #2195942

Infiltrating Laowlee, The Magi

Magnus’ dark gaze met the invisible horizon of Laowlee with a scowl as he looked ahead. The moonlight rolling over his vacant cheeks, casting deep shadows and battering his exposed skin with cold wind. Soaring over the barren landscape, the red dragons of the Simulacrum guild made their approach in squads of giant ‘V’ formations. The enormous city of Laowlee was only just beginning to settle into view. An ominous black castle comprised entirely on crystalline onyx, it glimmered an exact replica of the starry night sky over featureless surfaces. They were just short of their designated landing zone, set several miles beyond the city walls in order to mask their presence. Flying directly in on dragons would have them immediately detected. From their position behind the hills, they’d follow the river until they reached the city’s sewerage systems.

Purple fire flashed ahead of him. That was Jolie, his second-in-command. The mage was signalling they should land. The other four squad leaders flashed flames of their own, an indication of acknowledgement before they reigned in their dragons and dived. The rest of the task force followed suit, wheeling behind in formation until they hit the ground in puffs of dust. Magnus felt his own body lurch forwards as momentum continued to carry him even though his dragon had stopped. The leathery flap of wings and low hisses where the only immediate sign the rest had landed safely.

Magnus grunted as his padded boots hit the ground with a soft thud. He was probably getting to old for this, he’d be fifty-three two seasons from now. Jolie stood beside him as the other squad leaders formed up, the stick of a man so lean, thin and wiry that his magi robes hung limply around his shoulders. “Sir?” Jolie prodded.

“We follow the brief,” Magnus began, his gruff voice almost steaming the air. “Squad three guards the dragons. The rest of you form up on me until we reach the sewerage entrance. We’re only here to verify the situation, don't commit to anything unnecessary. I don’t believe I need to warn you all of what happens if you don’t return within two hours. You get left behind, kapish?”

There would be no earth magic here, no easy escape if things got bad, onyx was well known for being immune to such manipulation. The other magi simply nodded, too professional to voice their discontent. They all knew what was at stake here.

---

“Ash,” Jolie sniffed, rubbing his finger over the smooth facade of the onyx structure before them. “It’s faded a bit, but the signs are still obvious. Look, there are stacks of rubble over there too.” Magnus' squad were investigating a deserted side street huddled between two double storey buildings, their dark figures hidden amidst rows of piled up rubbish. Barely any light reach the narrow pathway, only the briefest of twinkles from street lamps hanging at either end of the road.

Magnus’ command group had found their way to the surface, emerging out of a man hole which led to the sewers. Their sixth hole now. They’d used illusion magic to disguise themselves as the guards who occasionally patrolled the streets but made no contact with any other beings so far. But more perturbing was that they’d been greeted by the same scenery no matter which location they emerged from. The city was eerily quiet, too quiet almost.

Sighing, Magnus’ brow dipped into a frown at Jolie’s observations. So King Greyor’s reports had been partially correct, Laowlee had indeed been attacked. He was disappointed, not that he particularly cared for most of the feckless inbreeds of Laowlee, but the destruction of his future business was a major inconvenience. Regardless, that officially accounted for all three of the major cities now. The question remained, where were the survivors? If there were any, and what was this dreaded sensation he felt?

Ever since they’d entered the city, they’d all felt it. It was just a gut feeling really, that something dark was being emanated from the city. It gave him the feeling they should explore the city further, even if it meant discovering something far worse. “That’s all the confirmation Greyor should need. I don’t want to linger around here anymore than we have to, shall we leave sir?” Jolie asked agitatedly. “Besides, this place is suspicious. There were so few guards we could’ve almost snuck through the front gate.”

“Maybe they’ve become complacent after defeating the major cities?” Another mage suggested, a young man named Kyle.

Magnus nodded but inwardly wouldn’t hold the idea towards any candle. The whole world knew of the rebels by now. Any sane person would’ve placed more guards in anticipation of some retaliation. Holding his wrist up to his face, Magnus checked the time on his chronometer, a gear driven time keeping device. They had three-quarters of an hour left still.

“Sir! We need to leave now!”

Magnus swirled from the sudden intrusion, though he was hardly alarmed as he recognised the sharp voice of Royce Hampton, sergeant of fourth squad. The man appeared pensive as his head and shoulders took form beneath the man hole.

“By Reev sergeant, what are you doing down there? Where’s your squad?” Magnus blurted out, casting a worried expression down at the man.

Upon closer inspection, Royce’s face seemed to be drained of blood. Though the man was looking up at him, his gaze held a thrill of terror, as if something has scared him senseless. Magnus felt his own features growing serious. “It’s monstrous…those rebels...we’ve never seen anything like this before…” Royce stuttered suddenly, recalling whatever vision it was that haunted him, “Vats, vats, vats, nothings but red vats…So much death, so much blood…”

Abruptly, a yellow fireball scorched the skies above them then. “That’s not a good sign…” Jolie shuddered. The shrieking trajectory exploded like a brilliant firework, showering them in a brief flash of illumination and alerting each and every one of them instantly. It was the signal for ambush.

“Something’s gone awry. Lead Royce out of here sir, we’ll cover your escape.” Jolie grimaced

---

“What a bluster!” Magnus yelled a curse before urging his dragon on with a brisk whip of its reigns, “Faster Yvon! Faster!”

Of the sixteen men they’d arrived with, only seven had survived to escape frantically with him. Magnus could still hear the screams of the red dragons they’d left behind as the beasts felt the excruciating death of their bonds through their links. “Faster Yvon, we need to report this information!”