[center][b]~ Inside the walls of the Forgotten Ruins ~[/b][/center]

Those who had entered through the main cardinal gates and chosen the main streets in hopes of an easy trek to the center of the ancient, ruined  city, would soon find themselves sorely disappointed.  Row upon row of coallapsed archways, pillars and columns littered the main avenues, with debris from crumbling stone buildings and pot holes as big and deep as large buckets blanketing the paths. Those who chose to make their way though the narrow alleyways and backstreets would fair no better though, with ruined walls and piles of brick and stone making impromptu dead-ends and sudden blockages overly prevalent.

Those who fancied themselves clever and intended to use the city's old sewers and subtarranean aqueducts would be halted by the fact that most of these underground passageways had simply caved in, or were blocked by pools of deep, dank, stagnant and gods-know-how-deep water that had accumulated over centuries of rain, hail and snow. Finally, those who with the capacity to scale walls and roofs would be in for a precarious ordeal, as the rain-battered buildings' rooves were about as sturdy and solid as gravel held together by wood glue. Not to mention the walls and edges of the buildings had been worn down by weather over the centuries, making the stone slanted, slick and crumbly.

Needless to say, there were no easy or direct paths, no clear line straight to their goal. To get to the center of the city would require one to navigate a maze of rubble and hindrances. The complete lack of any other creatures besides the adventurers and mercenaries who had come didn't exactly improve the mood of those climbing about in the stony mess. Grumpy, tense and harsh words and eyes were thrown about like a swarm of bees. Each trying to make their own way and be the first to take a certain route, only to bump inot another team or person. It was easy to see that the whole ordeal was chipping away at the patience and moods of everyone gathered, some more than others.

One group, led by a shaggy-looking man in his mid-twenties, yelled at the noblewoman who was trying to ride her horse through the ruins.

"Are ya daft, girl`? Think ya can fit that old sack-o'-bones mare through these ruins when [i]we[/i] can barely squeeze through ourselves!? Get that lice-laiden cretin outta here and make space for the rest of us! Have some common courtesy!"

Meanwhile, a large pack of different people had formed along the path where the foreign girl and tiny were-creature were going, completely blocking the path ahead on the main road. A lot of shoving, elbowing, pushing and cursing was going on, and it seemed very unlikely that the pair would be getting through here anyime soon.

The ranger who had squeezed through the crack in one of the outer walls, followed by the paladin who had partially [i]destroyed[/i] said wall, would find themselves navigating narrow, dark alleys, where the more unsavory and less morally upright adventurers who had come to the ruins were now skulking about. Many of them, icey eyed or wicked grinned, cast hungry glances at either of these two who passed them by, dark thoughts and vicious plans no doubt swirling in their dastardly minds.

The girl who had used magic to propel herself over the outer walls and then ahead, would be forced to come to abrupt halt - or rather, she was [i]made[/i] to come to an abrupt halt. Someone, somewhere, had aparently paid heed to her little stunt and slight advantage in mobility, and had as such cast some for of dispelling magic upon her, instantly causing her burst of speed to wither way like a charred leaf turning to ash.

Any others, like the young boy who was formerly a bandit, or the uppity summoner who held all around him in disdain, would be lost in the masses or proverbial traffic-jams of other travellers, trying to get ahead. It was all a rather sordid mess, and all the voices and noise just kept getting louder and louder, angrier and angrier... Until finally, at a certain cross-section within the old ruins, something happened.

[i]At the South-West Crossroads, Forggoten Ruins:[/i]

Two groups had stopped, now facing one another and staring each other down. One group, to the south, looked like a mismatched blanket of patchwork make, with a large variety of men and women of different height, race, class and gear. To the west, stood a more uniform and organized group. These were clad in suits of light plate or scale armor, with red and yellow tabards draped over their torsos. Some held spears, other sword and shields, and some in the far back had both bows and crossbows. Their helmets varied slightly, though most wore what looked like the typical bucket-helms of knights, with a 'T'-shaped slit to allow them to see and speak unhindered.

One of these more well-dressed individuals, with a plume of red feathers atop his helm, stepped forward into the crossroads. From his belt, he withdrew a scroll of parchment, which he unfurled and held up infront of himself with oen arm, facing it so the southern group could all see the scribbles and wax seal that had been pressed upon it.

"[b]BY ORDER OF HIS MOST ESTEEMED EXCELLENCY, EMPEROR THANAMAN VAL DHURAYN, THESE LANDS ARE HENCEFORTH THE DOMINION OF THE GALANON EMPIRE, AND AS SUCH THE TERRITORY OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY![/b]" The shouted in a loud, commanding voice, with a hint of arrogant superiority and tinge of condescending bite. "You are all unlawfuly trespassing on territory that belongs to the glorious Empire! Turn around and leave at once, less you be branded as criminals and enemies of the state!" The man added, in a slightly less loud, but still fairly pompous, tone.

At this delcaration, one of the many men on the southern part of the crossroads stepped forward. A tough-looking fellow in perhaps his mid or early forties, receding brown hairline, thick mutton-chops and a goatee. He wore a set of studded leather armor with a single pauldron, for whatever reason. He also had a very large two-handed axe slung across his back, held in place by a leather strap that went daigonally across his torso. He had a cocky grin on his face as she approached the officer of the Imperial army.

"That right?" He asked, making a sudden long, dragged-out snorting noise, before letting a glob of snot-mized spit fly from his mouth and land at the feet of the feather-helmed soldier. "Well, you listen up, Bucket-head. We ain't citizens of your precious Empire, and we ain't obliged to follow none of your Emperor's orders." He sneered. "These lands ain't been claimed, and they ain't ever been held - so why don't you lot go marching your stick-up-the-arse selves back to your own borders, aye?"

"Uncouth swine!" The commanding officer replied, lowering the parchment and stepping forward. "You dare speak to an Imperial Officer like that? Don't you know who I am? I'm Virtos di Marakanth, Captain of the 72nd Imperial Battlion and Royal Knight of his Imperial Majesty's court!"

"That right? Well, see... The thing is, Mr. Captain..."

[i]Shlink! Whoosh! Crunch![/i]

"... I don't really give a rat's ass about any of that." The goatee-sporting man said.

And, much to everyone elses astonishment, the scene before them was rather bizarre. There stood the Imperial Commander, with an axe blade now embedded in his chest. He staggered backwards, let out a gurgled cough that sent globs of blood flying infront of him, before he buckled under the weight of his own body and armor, falling over sideways onto the ground. With spasmic, irregular convulsions, he let out more gargled hacks and coughs. After a brief moment of time-frozen stupification, the ball of time and realization once again began to roll. Two of the front-most Imperial soldiers rushed to their fallen leader's side, shouting his name as they knelt down to give what aid they could.

The second in command of the Imperial forces, a woman with blue feathers, though less numerous than those of her red-feathered superior, raised one arm to the sky and then pointed at the southerners, drawing her blade with the other hand.

"They've attacked the Commander! Archers, slay these barbarians!" She howled with a rage-filled voice.

The sneering adventurer who had been so brazen moments earlier, now looked in shock and horror, as a sudden volley of numerous arrows fell from the above, striking not only himself, but several of those who had been closest to him as well. With a bellowing, unceremonious cry he fell backwards, arrows lodged in his chest and shoulder, falling to the ruined cobblestone street with a wet thump, his axe skidding across the street in the opposite direction. Though as he, and several others who had done nothing fell, a pair of sorcerers in the south suddenly took action. Together they chanted a spell and each unleashed a fiery ball of considerable flame, that surged forward.

With a loud, echoing boom, the fireballs struck the front lines of the Imperial forces, but the mages had misjudged the potency of their spells, and so even members of their own pack were caught in the blast, charred and incinerated to blackened, smoldering corpses that went flying like ragdolls from the force of the blast. And so, the pandemonium began.

Imperial soldiers and mercenaries from Galanon engaged any and all foreigners, while the groups, teams and even individuals from Palagria and elsewhere began to fight against both the Empire, and themselves.  Spells, bolts, swords and what else have you soon sung their songs of death throughout the street. The chaos spread like wildfire and even those who tried to retreat or make their way out of the city were either ambushed or unwillingly caught up in the mess, forced to either defend themselves or be mercilessly struck down.

[i]Meanwhile, just to the south of the Forgotten Ruins...[/i]

"It seems a battle has broken out."
"So it does."
"Should we intervene?"
"And risk engaging the Empire and perhaps other nations' forces as well? I think not, Corporal."
"Then why are we here, Captain?"
"Simple, to make sure none of these [i]raiders[/i] and [i]bandits[/i] bring trouble back into Palagria."
"Bandits...? But sir, aren't these all mercenaries and adventurers hired by the state to investigate the ruins on the kingdom's behalf?"
"The moment those fools drew blood from another nation, they seized to be adventurers, son."

A small force of Palagrian soldiers were stationed on one of the hills just south of the Forgotten Ruins, a force consisting mostly of light cavalry and marksmen. They stoically and calmly held their position, watching the ruined city from a fair distance. Their white and blue banners sluggishly billowing in the soft breeze. Their commander, a tan-skinned man with black hair and a scar across his cheek, surveyed the situation with cold, indifferent eyes. His aide, a younger man barely in his twneties, with shoulder-length blonde hair, looked on with a more concerned expression.

"Sir, what about the merchants? It looks like they're packing up their wares and preparing to leave."
"You mean the [i]smugglers[/i], boy."
"Excuse me?"
"Honest merchants don't sell their goods to raider and bandit-scum." The captain said, cold as stone. "If any of those criminals try to cross back into palagrai, we have orders to dispatch them."
"But, sir!"
"Listen kid." The older man turned to his subordinate and placed a gauntlet-clad hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sometimes, to protect the kingdom, we have to do things like this. We can't afford provoking Galanon, or the other nations, over something we don't even know has any worth. For all we know, that thing that fell could be a piece of useless monster-dung, or a stone that shattered into dust. You think we should risk going to war over that, just because some iditos couldn't keep their swords in their scabbards?"
"N-No, of course not... But, can't we just-"
"-Let them slip by and say we didn't see them? Emperor Dhurayn isn't the kinda guy who lets [i]insults[/i] and [i]injustices[/i] slide, boy. Unless we [i]show[/i] the Empire that we don't have any affiliation with these sods, he'll take it as an admission of guilt."
"But the EMpire isn't even-"
"-Isn't even here?, you say? Look over there then." The old warrior pointed.

The younger squinted, putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. As he peered off into the distance, he could slowly make something out. Eventually, his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell agape.

"Those are... Imperial banners!?"
"Unlike our dear king, Dhurayn ain't afraid to parade around his military. Why should he? It's one of the largest on the continent." The elderly man said, spitting as he did so. "He can afford to send a detachment or two to investigate something like this. And if we did the same, we'd weaken our borders and be accused of provocation." The captain sighed.

The young officer looked at his commander, then back towards the Imperial troops far tot he north-west, then finally back at the ruins and the small carts slowly making their way southwards.

"So, Captain..." The boy asked, swallowing something and steeling his gaze and grip. "What're your orders?"
"... Listen up, men." The captain turned to look at his soldiers. "As of now, we're to prevent any smugglers, bandits, raiders or other criminals from escaping back into Palagria's borders to seek shelter. Anyone who tries to head south from that pile of rubble is an enemy!" The man half-shouted. "Cavalry! Chase down any stragglers or other mounted scum coming our way! Archers! Put down any groups or bunches of morons trying to run back this way!"

The soldiers merely looked at each other, shrugged, and then got into position. The archers stepped forward, raised their bows, and loosed their arrows. Within moments, the screams of the retreating merchants could be barely heard across the grassy fields, as they were beset by volley upon volley of raining arrows. Those that abandoned their carts and wagons, trying to escape to either the east or west, found themselves soon chased down by the swift light cavalry, and cut down in their flgiht.

Truly, the entire situation could only be described as hellish.