Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (150/?)

The Nexus. South-Eastern Quadrant of the North Rythian Forests. Local Time: 1910 Hours.

Emma

My body tensed, and so did Thalmin’s, as the blink blink blinking of the lost drone’s antenna was eventually hidden from view by the slow and purposeful twisting of the dragon’s flighted form.

Its focus, its attention, its entire gaze landed just beyond the killbox it created; over the ridge, past the shrubs, and through the foliage, before falling squarely on us.

Something which shouldn’t have been possible.

[ACTIVE CAMO: ONLINE]

There — hanging high above the forest — it loomed ominously, its wingbeats kicking up the fine detritus of both trees and former adventurers alike, swirling death into a cyclone that blanketed the whole forest in a thin layer of black and grey ash.

We didn’t dare move. Not especially as the ash started to accumulate atop of the active camo tarp.

But this was precisely why we were running a two-layer system, with the tarp covering us beneath Thalmin’s dome of invisibility.

Yet in spite of this improvised union of magic and technology, the dragon’s gaze remained unflinching, its eyes scanning, roaming, and eventually locking on our untouched patch of forested overgrowth. 

I turned to Thalmin, gesturing at the invisible magic dome, calling silently for reassurance if only to assess our next move.

The prince’s expressions however… proved to be anything but assuring.

Ice ran through my veins following a sharp motion of Thalmin’s hands, a Havenbrockian gesture that meant only one thing — position compromised.

Following which, we both understood what needed to be done.

We had to move to Plan C.

With a practiced motion, I reached for the railgun, while Thalmin carefully gripped the hilt of emberstride. Fear, uncertainty, and an overwhelming sense of dread smothered us whole… as the rehearsed motions of plans forged behind safe walls stood defiantly against the reality of a situation no amount of drilling could ever prepare you for.

However, no sooner did we make these moves were we saved by the cavalry; as the two drake riders — momentarily missing from the action — returned.

This time… they each unfurled something akin to oversized needles; tapered javelins with a circular pommel that had some sort of silk threaded through its eye. 

I barely had time to register exactly what the weapon was before they struck.

Each of the four spears fired simultaneously, aiming not to pierce the dragon’s flesh but instead… to loop around it.

It didn’t take long for me to realize exactly what was going on, and the horrible outcome that was to follow.

Thalmin clearly sensed this too, as he motioned for a massive change of plans

Fall back.

We began crawling backwards into the underbrush, making swift work towards our two mounts primed for an immediate exfil of the AO.

Throughout all this, I kept one eye open on the live feed from the skies, as I watched in expectant horror following the successful ‘binding’ and ropework of the two very overconfident drake riders. Each loop and every pass further tightening the magical restraints on a beast orders of magnitude larger than their mounts.

For a second I thought I must’ve been missing something.

Perhaps there was some physics-defying magical logic that just didn’t come naturally to the earthrealmer mind.

The drake riders were just so clearly confident in this plan that there had to be something to it.

Surely they didn’t think some magical rope could bind and secure a dragon right?

…

It turned out they did.

Or perhaps just massively overestimated their enchantments. 

Because no sooner had they attempted to pull at the dragon, tugging it to follow their flight path, were they both suddenly tugged in the opposite direction.

The dragon wasted no time in simply making short work of their ropes, completely snapping each and every careful weave with the slightest motion and flex, whilst making sure to chomp hard on the thickest parts of the ropes leading to the drake rider’s leads. At which point, the tables were turned.

From there, it began twisting. Thrashing its head and twisting its body, forcing the pair of drake riders to become unwitting participants in a death spin that went faster and faster until suddenly… they were released.

It wasn’t clear if the drake riders had managed to undo their leads. Or whether the dragon itself had just let go.

Whatever the case was, it was clear my hunch had been right from the start.

Or perhaps, their enchantments just weren’t strong enough to tackle a creature of this magnitude.

What was clear however was that the dragon’s… bloodlust seemed to have been sated. Because as soon as that encounter was over, it seemed to promptly lose all interest in tracking us down. 

Instead, it began a mad dash out of the killzone, prompting me to immediately turn towards the EVI.

“EVI, send Survey Drone 03—”

[Mission Already in Progress.]

“Right.” I acknowledged with a sigh, turning to Thalmin as he regarded me with an expression of relief.

“I’m glad we touched on Havenbrockian hand signals beforehand… otherwise, we may not have been as fortunate.”

“While I still think the railgun could take it… I’d be lying if I said I’d rather not chance it, at least not when it’s in full blown rage mode.” 

“A wise decision.” Thalmin concurred.

“Regardless, we now have a clear lead, and with a drone tracking it down, we should be able to locate its hideout soon enough.”

“And then, what, Emma? You’ve seen what it’s capable of.” He warned.

“We shoot it.” I declared bluntly. “From a distance, of course, because if there’s one thing this baby’s good for, it's its range.” I paused, tapping the railgun compartment firmly. “I’ll probably be able to take out a crystal from at least two klicks away. At which point, we can just lay low while it freaks out, and then return to snatch our ill-gotten goods when it flies off.”

The plan was foolproof.

It had to be… it was Plan B after all.

However, as it was often the case in the Nexus… things weren’t always that easy; as the EVI would be quick to remind me.

[Secondary Objective: Confirm Status of SUR-DRONE03… COMPLETE!]

[Priority Reminder! Denial of Asset to Unauthorized Parties Protocols (DAUP-P) in Effect!] 

[New Secondary Objective: Asset Recovery and/or Termination of SUR-DRONE03!]

I felt the rug pulled right out under my feet. 

What had been a sure-fire plan, a clear-cut path, and a carefully charted path… had just become the unwitting first act to an unnecessary twist.

“Damnit.” I let out reflexively, flinching nervously at a reprisal from Aunty Ran that never came. 

“What is it, Emma?”

“There’s been… a bit of an unexpected development.” I began with a sigh.

Thalmin, either out of exhaustion or adventuring fatigue, placed his snout in between both of his hands, forming a triangle with which to poke it through.

“It’s never ever simple when it comes to you or earthrealm now is it?” He questioned rhetorically under an exasperated breath. “Go on then. What is it now?”

“Wellll… I’m not sure if you noticed this during the fight, but there was a flashing red light on the dragon’s back.” 

Thalmin responded by narrowing his eyes at my lenses, leveling them through what I was now reading as a lupinor facepalm. “I can’t say I noticed, not with the radiance of a raging inferno reflecting off of its crystals.”

“Yeah, well, here—” I grabbed my tablet, pointing at the recorded footage. “If we zoom in there, we’ll see that one of my survey drones is wedged in between its crystals.”

The prince took a moment to consider this, and in a scant few seconds, he let out another bemoaned breath. “From the warehouse incident no doubt.”

“Yeah. It probably flew into it on its way out. So, good news! I’ve now confirmed that GUN assets have not fallen into the wrong hands!”

“Bad news… is that you’re going to need to retrieve it, aren’t you?” Thalmin muttered out darkly.

“Yeahhh… that’s… more or less part of the deal now.” I offered with a nervous chuckle.

“And there’s no other way? No other option besides retrieval?” 

“Wellll… there’s destructive asset denial, which is exactly what it says on the tin.” I offered.

“And will you be able to do so from a distance…?” Thalmin questioned intently.

“We have one shot for the crystal, and another for the drone. Maybe, just maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.” 

“And if not?”

“Then we’ll just have to find some other way to either destroy or retrieve it.”

The prince nodded firmly, smiling, before standing up to place both hands on my shoulders.

“You know there’s a saying in Havenbrockrealm. Being a good soldier is hard, but being comrades with a good soldier is hell. I’m starting to see what my men mean by that…”

“I’m sorry Thalmin, you don’t have to—”

I stopped as Thalmin squeezed my shoulders, leveling his eyes with a determined gaze. “But there’s another saying… Better the fires of honor than the shade of shame. So let’s get this done, shall we?” 

“Yeah, let’s.” I acknowledged with a determined smile of my own.

=====

The Nexus. North-Western edge of the North Rythian Forests. Local Time: 1940 Hours.

Captain Ignalius Av-Lisinius

Fire. Flame. Food. And Spectacle.

These were the elements that truly made these sojourns… tolerable.

No. 

More than that.

These were the elements which drew me further into these expeditions into nothingness.

Because far from the light of civilization, away from the hornets’ nests, anthills, and dens of slithering serpents… was darkness.

True darkness.

Not a dark masquerading as the light as was the case with all nobles, nor a darkness as was the affliction of the tainted, no.

Instead, this was a darkness defined by its truest definition — the absence of all light.

For in this space of commoners and chosen ones, there existed no light — not even a single spark nor flicker — which could match my own.

As in this dark, devoid of structure with a mingling of true lowborns, it was my and my flame alone that lit the encroaching dark.

And like moths to a flame or the ravenous masses to food, my pack flocked to me, gathering and huddling around the warmth of the hearth at the center of camp.

Here, at the center of their world, I had their full and undivided attention. Their eyes ogling, locked, and entranced by magics far beyond their capabilities.

Because here… surrounded by darkness, was a fire that danced at the beck and call of my will; an inferno that raged which none other present could match.

A fire which took the form of a bardic tale of my brief but glorious life.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

“There once was a Captain bright and bold who took no quarter and shunned all gold… his hand was cold with no mercy sold… just ask those Rontalis filth.”

“HUAH!”

“Let all ye who dare, be well aware of who lurks fair, let all ye who dare try crossing paths with—”

CRASH!

My bard stopped mid-stanza, and so did the entire company as we instinctively moved to arms.

However, before any could fire or react, a series of coughs alerted us to exactly who had just landed.

“C-captain! Captain! T-the dragon! It returns!” One of the drake riders spoke, practically crawling out of the treeline with his legs twisted and his hips shattered.

A brief scry told the entire story… as I saw his drake battered and broken almost beyond all recognition. 

My eyes narrowed as I walked towards him, lowering myself to a crouch, before cocking my head in annoyance. “I’m assuming those enchanted silkbinds didn’t work?”

“N-no my Captain. The dragon immediately ripped them to shreds—”

“Typical.” I seethed, standing up and walking away from the man. “Oh dear cousin… equipping me and my men with sub-par enchantments? Oh you sure are testing my resolve…” I couldn’t help but to let out a frustrated chuckle, pinching the bridge of my nose, before allowing a grin to settle itself firmly on my visage.

“Lieutenant Hofar!” I called out, alerting the Shatorealmer, as they promptly shot down from the treeline with a kneel and a bow.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Scout ahead and track the dragon. We’ll mobilize and be right behind you.” I commanded.

“Yes, Captain! Er, do you happen to have the latest whereabouts, sir?” 

I sighed, craning my head down towards the bruised and battered drake rider. “Ask him. And then get him patched up afterwards.”

“And what of the drake, Captain?” Hofar asked, only to elicit a dismissive chuckle from me.

“If it’s recoverable for this operation, then heal it. If not? Let it die. That’s one more headache for the Sky Warden to deal with.” I grinned.

Equip me with sub-par equipment will you? Don’t forget… I have two of your drakes on loan, dear cousin…

=====

The Nexus. Near the Geographic Center of the North Rythian Forests. Local Time: 2000 Hours.

Emma

It was dark.

Really dark.

But thankfully, that was a concern humanity had left behind well into the 20th century… or was it the 21st? 

Whatever the case was, NVGs and a whole host of complementary sensor systems had already existed well before my time. And a thousand years since then? Well… 

“—let’s just say night no longer concerns us, Thalmin.” I spoke proudly.

“Erm… I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that, Emma.” Thalmin responded awkwardly, pulling the proverbial wind from my sails. “I was just asking if you could see well enough at night, considering your lack of any shadow-sight; inherent or magical.” 

“Oh, well… let’s just say that yeah.” I paused, bringing up the tablet for the tired and frazzled Thalmin to see. “Yeah, we do.” I grinned, as the prince’s eyes perked up at the composited image combining LIDAR, RADAR, infrared, and plain-old optoelectrical enhancements to create an image of a world not too dissimilar to how it was during daytime.

“Okay.” Thalmin began, as we stopped mid stride on both of our mounts. “This is genuinely impressive.” He spoke firmly, taken somewhat aback. “Shadow-sight is quite akin to this, but as you can imagine, that’s a privilege reserved for mages the items they enchant." The prince paused, leveling his eyes with a tired look. “Am I correct in assuming that this isn’t the case in earthrealm? That once again, such an artifice is standard fare for your regular forces?”

“Correct!” I beamed out. “Though to be fair, they’re not even mil-spec. You can find just as good contemporaries in the civilian market, as well as the open source file pools.” 

This revelation, or rather, the subsequent pair of expounding articles prompted Thalmin’s gaze to narrow, his brows furrowing in confusion. “So this tool is available for non-uniformed commoners as well? Just how trivial is this tool to earthrealm? Moreover, what do you mean by ‘open source file pools’?”

“Oh, right, I don’t think I’ve ever discussed the distinction between the universal transaction units,  requisition units, and outright direct-source consumer goods now have I?”

Thalmin’s only response was a blank stare, one which I took as an urging to continue.

“Right, so, do you remember the printer floor back at my apartment during our first sight seer trip—”

[ALERT! MAP UPDATED! POI SIGHTED!]

“Frick. Alright, we’ll chat later, the drone’s spotted the dragon’s lair.” I announced promptly, as I once again pulled out the tablet for Thalmin to see. On it, we observed the dragon from high above the treeline, the camera’s optical zoom getting close up shots which were almost cinematic in their delivery.

However, little did I know that the cinematic quality of the footage would only intensify from here.

Because from our vantage point… it looked as if the dragon was literally just perching atop of a hill’s outcropping, with no cave entrance in sight.

There were signs of what was probably going to be an open cave… in about a few million years time, give or take erosion and seismic patterns.

But right now, all we saw was just a rocky outcropping atop of an elevated forested hill.

That was… until the dragon charged at said wall, before abruptly blinking out of existence with a series of purple sparkles.

…

I couldn’t manage anything out.

In fact, I went completely silent and only responded to Thalmin’s urgings.

“We have it. The dragon’s probably held up in that cave, Emma.” He pointed at the rocky outcropping.

“What cave?!” I shot back abruptly. “The thing just… disappeared! Are you telling me it—”

I paused, before realizing that I was just hit by the same thing Thalmmin had just experienced seconds ago.

Fundamental Systemic Incongruency.

“Are you telling me that amethyst dragons can fricking teleport? And that this rocky outcropping here… is just a sealed-off entrance to some subterranean cave system?”

“That’s exactly what I’m implying, Emma.” Thalmin nodded bluntly. “That’s more or less why they’re so notorious to track down. Since their crystals are naturally occurring shards of impart, this grants them a certain affinity for limited teleportation. Which is precisely how they make even the most inaccessible terrain into suitable nesting sites. But from what I’ve heard? Their teleportation abilities are quite limited, measured in meters rather than kilometers or anything truly significant.”

“But significant enough that they can just phase through solid rock for a good hideout spot.” I sighed out. “No wonder the drones never detected it or a potential cave opening. There simply was none.”

Thalmin nodded in agreement, as we both squinted at what seemed to be left of the sparkly display on the forest floor.

It was at that moment that my heart stopped, and Thalmin quickly urged for me to zoom in.

There… sitting just at the front of the cave entrance, were shards of amethyst. Far larger than what the dragon had left in its wake following its departure from Elaseer, but still too small to really make heads or tails of, at least from this vantage point.

“Does it always do that?” I questioned Thalmin. 

“What?”

“You know… self-destruct shards of crystals with every teleport?”

“You’re better off asking Thacea about this. I only know dragons as far as tactics and strategies to counter them are concerned. Dragon… biology or what have you, is not necessarily my forte.” 

“Right, okay. Fair enough.” I shrugged, as I continued maneuvering the drone into a more favorable position for analysis. 

It took a few good minutes, Thalmin’s eyes locked onto my drone ops skills all the while, until finally… through the grass and weeds — we found it. 

My heart stopped, as my eyes widened into dinner plates.

“Wait.” I managed out under a shocked gasp. “There it is, Thalmin.” I began slapping the lupinor’s shoulder, grabbing hold of him in sheer excitement. “THERE IT IS!” I reiterated, pointing at a sizable chunk of amethyst hidden well beneath a set of pebbles and dense overgrowth. “WE FOUND IT!” I shouted once more, the EVI making certain to keep the volume down just out of precaution.

The prince didn’t move for a moment, his eyes merely trained onto the stray piece of crystal, before finally, he joined in on my excitement.

Although in a far, far more reserved manner. 

As Thalmin merely breathed out the loudest, most expressive breath of relief I’d ever seen him take, even going so far as to prop himself against Aquastride as he did so. “Thank the ancestors, thank the spirits, thank everything for this blessing…” He muttered out, garnering a watery whinny from the beast.

“Right then! This has gone from a fire and collect mission to a simple high-priority resource retrieval mission!” I beamed. 

“And whilst there’s still the matter of your drone to deal with, this should become far easier, now that all we have to do is to destroy it from afar.” 

“Correct! Now then… let’s go get that crystal.” I grinned widely. 

[SUR-DRONE03B Battery Low!]

“Right. Recall SUR-DRONE03B once we get within five klicks of the cave. We’ll have it charging on the V4c soon enough.” 

[Acknowledged] 

=====

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Local Time: 2000 Hours

Ilphius

Ca-clunk!

The door slammed… but not entirely shut.

Whether by a stroke of genius, or by peering at the world through the mind of an earthrealmer and their mana-weak deficiencies, Kamil had managed to do the unthinkable.

He’d worked around the use of magic, to prevent the door from completely closing behind the avinor and vunerian… by simply wedging a foot right before it could fully close.

Because as it turned out, attempting to break down a dormitory’s door — by physical or magical means — proved practically fruitless.

It was, by all means, a boon for all — confirming once and for all the integrity of our privacy and security… which was something entirely not conducive to our operations at present.

However, Kamil’s quick thinking now granted us a unique opportunity, a way into this den of sin by means of simply… following the pair in. 

And so, after quickly assessing the state of the man’s foot, we slowly made our way in.

Carefully, with spells of silence and obscurance to mask ourselves as much as we possibly could, we crept silently up through the entryway.

It was there, halfway between the living room and the two bedrooms on either side of us, that we had to make a decision.

The dastardly pair were both entertaining themselves in the common living room, which meant we had to pick one of the rooms.

This was a coin toss, either one could be the earthrealmer’s.

But I had to make a decision. I had to make a call whilst we still had the element of time and surprise.

So, entrusting my faith, I turned to the only door that was left slightly ajar.

The left door.

And upon a squeeze and a push, I was immediately met with an indescribable sight. 

A scene so ghastly, and practically indescribable, that it caused my stomach to lurch and my manafields to waver. 

Because inside, where the bedroom’s sitting area should’ve been… was an alien tumor. A grey and blue mass of tubes, boxes, and tarps that violently nipped, rippled, and ripped at the local manastreams.

I turned to Kamil… which was a fruitless venture given his invisibility, but I could only imagine the look on his face.

This… truly was the den of evil.

Which meant we had to get a closer look.

=====

The Nexus. Near the Geographic Center of the North Rythian Forests. Local Time: 2015 Hours.

Emma

“Come on…” I mumbled under a hushed breath, tearing up grass, rocks, weeds and even giant pillbugs alike — though I made sure to gently move the latter — in order to find exactly what I was looking for. “COME ON!” 

However, even in spite of the rummaging, and despite the drone’s reassurances that this was the spot where we’d spotted the crystal… it was nowhere to be seen.

This prompted me to bring up the tablet once more, as I looked through the past 10 minutes of footage prior to SURDRONE03B’s retrieval.

What we uncovered… was something neither of us could’ve expected.

We watched as the crystal remained static for the first five minutes. However, just before the drone was recalled, something happened.

The thing started to sink.

It was barely noticeable, just a few millimeters into the pebbly dirt.

But the fact it’d moved at all made it clear what’d happened. Which prompted me to turn to Thalmin for answers.

“Thalmin? Can crystals just… sink into the earth? Is that common? Or is this possibly a trap? Or is something else going on here?”

The prince paused for a moment, pondering, leaning against Aquastride before a lightbulb moment came over him.

“It was an offering.” He uttered out darkly.

“What?”

“It was the dragon’s offering, its means of repaying the forest for transgressions incurred, and the forest accepted.” He clarified, as I was immediately reminded of the adventuring party’s altar of offerings upon arrival. “That’s more than likely why it dropped a whole crystal rather than just sparks of amethyst as we saw in Elaseer. This wasn’t a natural consequence of its teleportation. This was intentional.”

“Great.” I uttered out frustratingly. “Just. Great.”

“I… had no clue dragons would even need to do this. But it’s probably for the best that we didn’t retrieve the offering, Emma.” Thalmin warned. “Because if we had? We’d garner the ire of both a dragon, and an entire forest.” 

“Back to square one then, I suppose.” I shrugged. “Right then, back to Plan B. We pull out to at least 3 klicks, have a drone monitor the cave entrance, and then—”

[ALERT! MULTIPLE CONTACTS DETECTED!]

“Emma, we have company.” Thalmin uttered out, just about the same time the EVI did, as the suit’s sensors eventually brought up ten, twenty, then fifty individual contacts and counting. 

“They’re coming in from all directions.” I noted, Thalmin nodding in acknowledgement as we both hopped back on our respective mounts.

However, before we even made headway down and off of the outcropping, a Shatorealmer landed in front of us, blocking our path as another figure emerged from the skies on what appeared to be a winged unicorn.

“Ah! Unannounced interlopers!” The elf announced loudly, his voice straining cheerfully against the heavy flapping of the alicorn’s wings. “I would say it’s a pleasure, but whether or not I can say that at all is entirely up to you.” 

His tone lilted with courtesy in a polite but sing-song manner, before finally landing into something between a flat and dry curtness. “So then… shall I call you friend?” He paused, before the corners of his mouth pulled into a tired yet earnest smile. “Or foe?”