King Thrallmor narrowed his eyes at Sulfrax after rem explained himself, clearly unsatisfied with the man's explanation. Sulfrax kissed his teeth angrily and stomped between Rem and Luke, staring up at the tall man to match his presence. Luke met Sulfrax's eyes and cocked his head back. "Can I help-"
"How
dare you set foot in this Castle!" Sulfrax shouted, pointing at Luke's chest with a threatening glance. "And with such
shameless disrespect!"
"Disrespect? Oi, Lauchlin, calm yourself-"
"
Don't." Sulfrax backed away and looked at Rem, then back at the king. "Thrallmor, this man is currently under my watch. You may trust that he is not a danger to you or your people. I will make sure of that
personally-" "Hey! How 'bout a little fuckin' courtesy
wizard boy!" Sulfrax didn't waste any time in stomping back towards Luke with his right hand raised, and covered in a thick layer of arcane energy that crackled outwards like electricity. The King watched his display fearfully, knowing full well that the men before him could potentially level the entire tower. It plagued him to known that his own magical abilities were non-existent.
"Watch your tongue you insidious little-"
"Enough!!" The King shouted, prompting his guard to strengthen their stances. Sulfrax slowly turned his face towards the king with his magic still at the ready. Luke tilted his head slightly and huffed a short laugh.
Try something Luke thought. Sulfrax reluctantly pulled his arm back and scoffed at Luke's arrogant smile. "I'm tryin' to be civil here, bud,"
"And civility will overcome your outbursts, sir Sulfrax!" Thrallmor assured adamantly. The king coughed into his fist as silence filled the room once again. "I will allow Rem to stay-"
"What is this about?" Sulfrax snapped, cutting the king off. Luke sighed and rubbed his temples. the King cleared his throat and glanced at Luke, waiting for his explanation. Luke exchanged this look, surprised that he'd been informally given the floor. A nervous shiver crept up his spine and he gulped hard on his own spit. Sulfrax turned to him again with angry eyes. "
Well?"
"Ah," Luke breathed. He scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I uh... Me and my er- Constituents... Have reason to believe that the CMAS is making some serious moves to not only take full control of Arcadia's government, but exterminate Divers altogether," Luke paused, but not because he was finished speaking. A series of chatters and gasps filled the chamber, but the King remained silent. "Eh! Quiet down!" Luke shouted, quelling the guard with ease. Sulfrax stared doubtfully at Luke despite his announcement, and then back to Rem.
"Luke has come here to ask aid of Hyznia's forces in the coming weeks. He plans to uproot Sydney and his fellow counsel-men from the CMAS head," The King interjected. Luke sighed contently, happy to know that he wouldn't have to explain anything else. Surely the king would take it from here.
"The CMAS? Planning to kill off
every known Diver? Forgive me if that sounds utterly
preposterous." Sulfrax spat. Luke grit his teeth and eyed the mage.
"It's fucking true, Sulfrax. Those assholes marched right into Diver's Paradise with two platoons of Mages while I was away. Hell, I think they have somebody on the inside of my guys as well! Me and Alvios-"
"Alvios and I," Sulfrax cut in with an inappropriate grammar lesson. Luke grunted.
"We were both guided away from the Paradise by Tinon right before the attack. Not only that, but- Uh.." Luke paused and shifted uncomfortably, "When I was uh... Out sabotaging the Scattered Shades survey group, they only had 12 members. Most of them looked like Rookies, and their vehicle was an out-dated Z-ATV prototype." Sulfrax's eyes widened slightly, mostly due to his annoyance that Luke had outright admitted to sabotaging his project. Then again, it wasn't under his command anymore. It wasn't really
his to defend. "Yea, and Yvette was leading the group herself. I think Sydney sent them out to die. They knew that Yvette was a spy for the Divers, and that I wouldn't pass up leading-"
"Yvette was a
spy?" Sulfrax cut in.
"Yeah. We kept in contact after I left Arcadia, even after she'd made a name for herself. That shiny new title didn't make Yvette to abandon her friends."
"Ironic that you'd speak of abandonment, Lucas."
"I'm not gettin' back into this shit-"
"Then don't prod at it so blatantly!" Sulfrax shouted, stomping the ground. Luke's eyebrows tensed up before he went on. The man breathed deeply and crossed his arms to conceal his chest's rapid thumping.
"I think that Sydney's aiming for a lot more than just wiping out me and my Divers. This shit's gotten hectic. I aint even sure who I can trust anymore. The only reason I came to Thrallmor is because of Hyznia's reputation outside of the Quadra powers. You guys respect Divers, hell, Hyznia is practically a Haven for Divers who don't know about the Paradise. Alvios thought so too." Sulfrax thought over what Luke had said carefully. Although he harbored a particular grudge against the self proclaimed
head Diver, made obvious through his demeanor, he was not fond of the idea that the CMAS was planning to wipe out Divers at large, especially after meeting one with an interesting pool of knowledge to share. It was akin to burning books, and that was a crime punishable by
death as far as Sulfrax was concerned. "I sent Alvios to check up on Yvette. We didn't end up killin' one another like that fancy scumbag wanted. If you don't believe me, I'm sure Yvette will be perfectly fuckin' willing to confirm everything I've said here," Luke said in a relatively calm manner. Sulfrax nodded. The King looked to Sulfrax and cleared his throat, preparing to speak.
"The reason I've called you here, Sulfrax, is because I believe that your ejection from the Scattered Shades project falls in line with what Luke has said here today. They needed somebody obedient to lead project S-S, like Joshua. Somebody who would not speak out against their travesties. In addition, my own spies within CMAS can confirm that they have already sent out a second Survey group, totaling 20 men and women who's abilities and experience far surpass the nameless peons that took part in 'Survey group Alpha's' voyage. Their moves are suspicious to no end, and if Luke is correct, then they will no doubt reach a point of uprooting all current governing forces, including myself and my guard. I'm not sure why any of this is happening, but if Sydney is truly behind it all, then that man cannot be allowed to continue his duty as the head of CMAS." King Thrallmor's words didn't seem to strike Sulfrax as deeply as they had struck his guard. The armored guardians, once a holy symbol of the kingdom's strength and individuality, seemed to crumble like expired sentinels. Sulfrax turned to the Kind and nodded again.
"I believe that your words, and his, ring true, Thrallmor." Sulfrax agreed.
"I've decided to ally our kingdom with the Divers, behind the back of Hyznia's CMAS branch."
"As you should."
"Will you stand with us?" Sulfrax didn't immediately respond to the king's inquiry, instead turning to Rem with a curious smile.
"Rem, will you accompany me to Illon? I've reason to believe our presence would be appreciated there," Sulfrax asked forcefully.
"That is not an answer!" The king shouted, demanding an alternative.
"I am not under any allegiance,
Thrallmor. But you would rest easy knowing that we share an enemy, yes? Take that, then. But know that I have other concerns to attend to. I will discover Illon's Allegiance for you in the meantime-"
"They do not have intention to ally with Hyznia!"
"Oh? Spying on
all of your sister nations, are you?" Sulfrax mocked. "Come, Rem." Luke rushed into Sulfrax's path with his arms still crossed. Sulfrax stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Sulfrax, we need you to stay here and discuss a plan of action-"
"I've other concerns to attend to," Sulfrax repeated, turning to face thrallmor again. The king eyed him irritably, but knew that there was not much he could rationally do to stop Sulfrax from wandering off on his own. "You would be wise to have your men retrieve the assassin that I left frozen at the foot of this Castle's hill. To the south," Sulfrax abruptly advised.
"Come, Rem!" Sulfrax awaited Rem's decision. Would he stay with the King? Or would he follow Sulfrax on his journey to Illon? Luke eyed Rem as well, waiting for the man to pick his path, but silently urging that he stay with the king's men.
Plains of Ire
The Wreckage of the Z-ATV As Jager sifted through the debris and crept towards the now jammed-open cockpit door, a voice called out to him from the back of the iron tomb. "Jager," It heaved, weakly. The voice was a familiar tone. Aged, but not burdened by elderly drawls. It was Dan's, and he was laying diagonally near the back of the ATV, impaled through his lower abdomen by a shard of metal that was torn from the ceiling. "Hey... Buddy..." He struggled between breaths to contact Jager, hoping that the man would notice his pleas for help. The Cockpit might have seemed tempting, but the pilot was most certainly dead. His head was facing Jager, covered with a thick protective helmet, and barely hanging from a strip of flesh as blood still welled from the man's neck. "C'mere..." Dan groaned, coughing twice before going silent again.
Xena Rock fields
Moving Between The Stones When Jenso hit the bottom of the giant plateau tipped rock, the two bounty hunters exchanged a happy glance. Midge laughed to herself and patted Dom's back. Dom chuckled and lowered her against the rock-face that hid them from the ATV, and by extension, Jenso, who was not making his way towards them. "Give me a few seconds," Dom said. Midge nodded and bit her tongue impatiently, not saying a word.
As Jenso approached the wrecked ATV, Onweer peeked out of the vehicle's side window at the sound of foot-steps, only to have her head completely blown to pieces by yet another stream of arcane energy, originating from the rock that Jenso had just come down from. Brian shrieked with Yvette at his side, but the commanding woman remained silent, not clutching a large weapon with two massive spheres attached to it above the base of the handle. Jenso was now hidden behind a larger rock that broke the line of sight between him on the hunters, but reaching the ATV like this would be difficult, to say the least.
"Where's that no-good Diver shit-head!" Midge yelled, wielding a new rifle that outclassed her old weapon completely. It was lined with several glowing ventricles that flooded with arcane energy as the weapon charged its next shot. The entire thing was over 4 feet long, but despite this, the injured hunter Midge was able to wield it with amazing accuracy, and no weapon sway. "COME ON OUT, FIRE-BOY!"
Dom sat patiently at Midge's side, humming a tune to himself. Go figure.
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