Toombsy! The Charlie Brown of villianhood has returnethed! Yeah!
That is to say I am willing to give my hesitent approval of this decision. ;)
"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Short Update, just to show I'm still here... :)
Chapter 67
“Lissen, you idiot, I don’t know this guy, so let it go!” Thoombsy said forcefully to the other man.
Cranson backed off, his leader’s aggressive tone letting him know he would brook no more discussion on the subject.
Thoombsy turned to James again, his sword in his hand, approaching it menacingly towards the MACO leader’s throat.
“Now, my big friend, I got two archers in the trees above your head, and there are ten of us here on the ground.
I strongly suggest you cooperate, give us all your belongings, and we might let you live.” Thoombsy said to the big MACO leader.
James took his time answering, staring down each and every one of the thugs standing in front of him, the intensity of it unnerving them, even their leader.
The big man smiled, and looked Thoombsy straight in the eyes.
“You should never threaten to kill someone who knows how to fight,” He told the man, “Because a warrior who knows his doom is about to come might be tempted to act.
In fact,” He added with a crooked smile, “He might do something like…”
James stepped to his left, closer to Thoombsy, while pivoting to his right as he was setting his left foot down.
As his body was moving, his left hand shot out and grabbed the thugs leader’s right hand, his sword hand, and had pulled it out wide, following his circular motion, Thoombsy’s right elbow coming to rest on James’s left one.
Completing the move, James had pushed out with his elbow, locking Thoombsy’s arm straight out, and then bending the elbow the wrong way, forcing the man’s hand open so that he could grab the freed sword with his right hand, before his right elbow went up at the back of the man’s head in a loud cracking impact.
Thoombsy was out cold before the pain from his broken elbow even registered.
As he fell to the ground, James finished his pivot to stand facing the four thugs who had gotten out of the bush with their leader, sword in hand, with a few more starting to get out of their hiding place.
“…This!” He said, finishing his sentence.
The four thugs’ mouths were agape, neither believing what they had witnessed.
“Is this the usual way of doing things, killing your victims once you’ve robbed them?” He asked them, his face a grim mask of steely resolve, ignoring the three other men who slowly took position behind him.
They were all nervous, James could see, some clearly showing their fear of him, shooting fleeting looks at their downed leader, his unconscious form lying on the ground where he’d fallen.
Cranson, as if bolstered by the number of his companions, dared answer, even striking up the courage to look James in the eyes as he did.
“Yeah, we do, jess’ like we’re gonna do with you.” He said as he looked to his friends for encouragement.
James exhaled a slow, long breath, as if disappointed by the answer.
“Wrong answer kid!” He told Cranson, and then the man knew his doom.
James exploded into action, faster than any of them could follow.
The archers, having gotten a bead on him during the conversation, let fly as soon as he had moved, or they tried to.
James’s extraordinary reflexes and enhanced speed had him out of their aim as their arrows left their bows, the projectiles thudding harmlessly in the ground where the big MACO leader had been.
He went in close to the thugs in front of him, closer than he normally would, knowing that his great speed made him a tough target, and that the archers would hesitate in shooting at him while he was in melee with their comrades, hoping none of them were as good a shot as Hicks.
He went between Cranson and another thug, his left arm going down to grab the sword wrist of his opponent, crushing it in a vice grip, causing Cranson to groan in pain.
His right hand, wielding the sword, went over and then down to his right, severing the right-sided thug’s sword arm at the elbow.
Still gripping Cranson’s wrist, he pivoted to his left, snapping a pivoting kick up in a thug’s face with a steel-toed foot, forcing the man’s head sideways with a dislocated jaw.
As he set his right foot down, he twisted his torso to his left and threw his sword at one of the archers.
While the weapon would have been too heavy and unbalanced for any normal man, in James’s hand, it was a simply a large knife, one he had thrown with all his might up at his target.
The blade was slightly deflected off target by some tree branches, but the blade impacted its target despite its uneven flight.
While the sword did not strike a serious blow, the attacked destabilized the archer sufficiently that he lost his balance and fell to the ground, striking many branches in his descent.
The man was unconscious as he landed.
The fourth attacker closest to James, thinking the big unarmed man at his mercy, lifted his sword high to swing at his head.
James was inside his attack arc before the man’s sword had even reached the apex of his swing, grabbing the sword arm and pulling up, finishing his move in a throw that saw his opponent fly through the air at his remaining companions.
Two of the three remaining thugs had successfully sidestepped out of the way of the human missile and advanced on James.
The attacked in unison, showing the MACO leader these two were experienced fighters, used to working together against a single target.
The left one attacked low in a sweeping arc towards James’s leg while the other attacked high at his torso.
As James’s left leg rose over the incoming sword, he leaned back as his right hand rose up, using the top of his gauntlet to impact the flat of the sweeping blade, deflecting it high over his head.
Twisting his already raised leg, he snapped off a whipping kick at his left attacker’s face, and as he set his kicking foot down, he pivoted his torso while leaning back again, outside of the returning sword’s back sweep.
He stepped in after the sword, grabbing the thug’s sword arm with his right hand while punching inside the man’s bicep with his left with enough force the shatter bone.
A right punch to the thug’s sternum sent him down for the count.
Rustling leaves overhead warned him of imminent danger, and so he sidestepped out of the way, his eyes picking up movement in his peripheral vision.
He reached out a hand to deflect an incoming attack, feeling the faintest of contact against his armored hand and seeing what looked like a swiftly moving twig pass less than a hair’s breadth away from his face, striking a tree behind him with a soft crack.
He quickly looked at what it was, and when he saw it, when he understood what had just happened, he froze in complete shock for barely a heartbeat.
But then, remembering there was one enemy still capable of attacking, he turned around in a defensive position and looked straight at the man, trying to look as menacing as possible.
The man was frozen in place, still in position after his last attack, shock, surprise, and utter disbelief in his face.
His mouth was moving as if he was speaking yet no sound seemed to come out.
James concentrated on the man, using his enhanced hearing, and finally heard the words the man kept repeating again, and again, and again.
“An armored Monk! That’s not possible!”
James knew, looking at the man, that the thug was in shock and that he was no longer a threat, and so, still staring at him, he came out of his fighting stance, turned around, and left, his mind reeling at the fact he had deflected an arrow.
He had been advancing rapidly for almost ten minutes through a thickening forest, his mind still trying to cope with what he had done, still unable to believe his reflexes were this good, when he burst in a clearing.
And realized he wasn’t alone.
He had burst in the middle of an Orc party that was marching rapidly towards what James believed was the ferry.
The Orcs hadn’t heard him come, as he was advancing stealthily, but neither had he heard them, so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had not concentrated on his surroundings.
It was a small group, less than a dozen Orcs, and no Ogre.
The closest creature, seeing an unarmed human knight in front of it, let its instincts guide it and attacked without hesitation.
It stepped towards James and simply tried to skewer him in a fast attack with its spear.
James advanced at the Orc while pivoting to his left, his right hand closing over the spear’s shaft, pinning it against his hip while he continued his pivot.
As he was doing this, he delivered a left backhand at the creature’s face that lifted it off his feet.
James finished his pivot as he stabbed the Orc in the throat with its own weapon.
All of it had happened so fast most of the Orcs had just continued running, while those that stopped were too surprised to act.
He retracted the weapon just as fast as he had attacked, and broke the shaft in two, leaving him with two shorter weapons he started wielding like escrima sticks.
He went straight at the closest Orcs, his left stick batting away an incoming sword thrust while his right stick, the one with the spear head, poked at one creature’s throat.
A spear thrust was deflected by a quick circular kick from his left leg, and at the end of the move James twisted his body to deliver a massive side kick to the Orc’s torso which propelled it at least two meters back to land hard, a dent in the form of a large foot imprinted in its chestplate.
The creature impacted one of its brethren, its chest compressed by its dented plate, and both crumbled in a heap of broken bones as a result from the impact.
His enhanced hearing picked up a noise at his back, and as he turned he saw an Orc advancing on him, shield in defensive position in front, its great wicked sword coming down on his left forearm.
James swung his arm down and out, and brought it back up in a circle to crash down on the creature’s own arm, hitting it exactly as it had tried to hit him, shattering its arm, and following this move with a powerful straight kick that launched the creature at a tree trunk behind it to impact with spine shattering force.
The creature fell down unmoving, its back bent at a strange angle.
In less than three seconds, James had killed or disabled four Orcs before most of them had even acted.
Of the remaining eight Orcs, only three opted to stay and fight him, the other five turning around to flee, unwilling to face such an opponent.
One of the remaining Orcs, James realized by the way he stood impassibly, was most likely the party’s leader.
That one was used to facing powerful opponents, and was not one to show fear.
He could be dangerous, James thought.
He quickly looked around to ensure no one was coming at his back, that no reinforcements were coming, and then set himself into a defensive position.
He looked at the Orcs, and invited them to come to him.
They did, fanning out so he could not defend himself without difficulty.
The Orc leader took the center position, expertly wielding two swords with barbed blades in a warding circle, while the other two Orcs, one with a two-handed sword and the other with a spear, slowly advanced on James.
He knew his current weapons would not last past the initial assault as they were too feeble, but he didn’t have better ones available close to his position.
The Orc leader suddenly leapt forward, attacking from two different angles James could not defend from using his wooden weapons, and so he went to his right, only to be greeted by the spear wielding Orc trying to impale him.
He continued moving to his right, but pivoted his body while bending his torso, his left arm bringing his stick up to deflect the spear high, his right hand stabbing at the Orc’s groin.
While James knew the wound would not be immediately fatal, he also knew it would take the Orc out of the fight.
Then there were two.
The Orc leader turned towards him and thrust its right sword at James while its left came down in a circular arc.
James jumped over the Orc leader, using both spear halves to deflect the high blow, snapping them in half in the process.
He landed, empty handed, at the leader’s back, facing the Greatsword wielding Orc.
It started a circular swing, intended to cleave James in half, while taking a step back, thinking it would prevent its human opponent from closing inside its weapon’s reach, a wise maneuver which would have worked against most humans, but not against James.
He quickly stepped inside the creature’s range and grabbed its arms, stopping the attack instantly, to the Orc’s surprise.
He then twisted back towards the Orc leader while heaving on his captured opponent, throwing it at the leader who had just pivoted to face James while removing the Greatsword from the creature’s hands.
The Orc Leader sidestepped out of the flying Orc’s way as James pivoted clockwise while performing a side sweep with the Greatsword.
The Orc, a very good fighter, executed the perfect parry against James’s attack.
Unfortunately for the creature, it had performed the move half a second too late, as it realized with a shocked expression as its body fell to the ground, bisected by James’s attack.
Chapter 67
“Lissen, you idiot, I don’t know this guy, so let it go!” Thoombsy said forcefully to the other man.
Cranson backed off, his leader’s aggressive tone letting him know he would brook no more discussion on the subject.
Thoombsy turned to James again, his sword in his hand, approaching it menacingly towards the MACO leader’s throat.
“Now, my big friend, I got two archers in the trees above your head, and there are ten of us here on the ground.
I strongly suggest you cooperate, give us all your belongings, and we might let you live.” Thoombsy said to the big MACO leader.
James took his time answering, staring down each and every one of the thugs standing in front of him, the intensity of it unnerving them, even their leader.
The big man smiled, and looked Thoombsy straight in the eyes.
“You should never threaten to kill someone who knows how to fight,” He told the man, “Because a warrior who knows his doom is about to come might be tempted to act.
In fact,” He added with a crooked smile, “He might do something like…”
James stepped to his left, closer to Thoombsy, while pivoting to his right as he was setting his left foot down.
As his body was moving, his left hand shot out and grabbed the thugs leader’s right hand, his sword hand, and had pulled it out wide, following his circular motion, Thoombsy’s right elbow coming to rest on James’s left one.
Completing the move, James had pushed out with his elbow, locking Thoombsy’s arm straight out, and then bending the elbow the wrong way, forcing the man’s hand open so that he could grab the freed sword with his right hand, before his right elbow went up at the back of the man’s head in a loud cracking impact.
Thoombsy was out cold before the pain from his broken elbow even registered.
As he fell to the ground, James finished his pivot to stand facing the four thugs who had gotten out of the bush with their leader, sword in hand, with a few more starting to get out of their hiding place.
“…This!” He said, finishing his sentence.
The four thugs’ mouths were agape, neither believing what they had witnessed.
“Is this the usual way of doing things, killing your victims once you’ve robbed them?” He asked them, his face a grim mask of steely resolve, ignoring the three other men who slowly took position behind him.
They were all nervous, James could see, some clearly showing their fear of him, shooting fleeting looks at their downed leader, his unconscious form lying on the ground where he’d fallen.
Cranson, as if bolstered by the number of his companions, dared answer, even striking up the courage to look James in the eyes as he did.
“Yeah, we do, jess’ like we’re gonna do with you.” He said as he looked to his friends for encouragement.
James exhaled a slow, long breath, as if disappointed by the answer.
“Wrong answer kid!” He told Cranson, and then the man knew his doom.
James exploded into action, faster than any of them could follow.
The archers, having gotten a bead on him during the conversation, let fly as soon as he had moved, or they tried to.
James’s extraordinary reflexes and enhanced speed had him out of their aim as their arrows left their bows, the projectiles thudding harmlessly in the ground where the big MACO leader had been.
He went in close to the thugs in front of him, closer than he normally would, knowing that his great speed made him a tough target, and that the archers would hesitate in shooting at him while he was in melee with their comrades, hoping none of them were as good a shot as Hicks.
He went between Cranson and another thug, his left arm going down to grab the sword wrist of his opponent, crushing it in a vice grip, causing Cranson to groan in pain.
His right hand, wielding the sword, went over and then down to his right, severing the right-sided thug’s sword arm at the elbow.
Still gripping Cranson’s wrist, he pivoted to his left, snapping a pivoting kick up in a thug’s face with a steel-toed foot, forcing the man’s head sideways with a dislocated jaw.
As he set his right foot down, he twisted his torso to his left and threw his sword at one of the archers.
While the weapon would have been too heavy and unbalanced for any normal man, in James’s hand, it was a simply a large knife, one he had thrown with all his might up at his target.
The blade was slightly deflected off target by some tree branches, but the blade impacted its target despite its uneven flight.
While the sword did not strike a serious blow, the attacked destabilized the archer sufficiently that he lost his balance and fell to the ground, striking many branches in his descent.
The man was unconscious as he landed.
The fourth attacker closest to James, thinking the big unarmed man at his mercy, lifted his sword high to swing at his head.
James was inside his attack arc before the man’s sword had even reached the apex of his swing, grabbing the sword arm and pulling up, finishing his move in a throw that saw his opponent fly through the air at his remaining companions.
Two of the three remaining thugs had successfully sidestepped out of the way of the human missile and advanced on James.
The attacked in unison, showing the MACO leader these two were experienced fighters, used to working together against a single target.
The left one attacked low in a sweeping arc towards James’s leg while the other attacked high at his torso.
As James’s left leg rose over the incoming sword, he leaned back as his right hand rose up, using the top of his gauntlet to impact the flat of the sweeping blade, deflecting it high over his head.
Twisting his already raised leg, he snapped off a whipping kick at his left attacker’s face, and as he set his kicking foot down, he pivoted his torso while leaning back again, outside of the returning sword’s back sweep.
He stepped in after the sword, grabbing the thug’s sword arm with his right hand while punching inside the man’s bicep with his left with enough force the shatter bone.
A right punch to the thug’s sternum sent him down for the count.
Rustling leaves overhead warned him of imminent danger, and so he sidestepped out of the way, his eyes picking up movement in his peripheral vision.
He reached out a hand to deflect an incoming attack, feeling the faintest of contact against his armored hand and seeing what looked like a swiftly moving twig pass less than a hair’s breadth away from his face, striking a tree behind him with a soft crack.
He quickly looked at what it was, and when he saw it, when he understood what had just happened, he froze in complete shock for barely a heartbeat.
But then, remembering there was one enemy still capable of attacking, he turned around in a defensive position and looked straight at the man, trying to look as menacing as possible.
The man was frozen in place, still in position after his last attack, shock, surprise, and utter disbelief in his face.
His mouth was moving as if he was speaking yet no sound seemed to come out.
James concentrated on the man, using his enhanced hearing, and finally heard the words the man kept repeating again, and again, and again.
“An armored Monk! That’s not possible!”
James knew, looking at the man, that the thug was in shock and that he was no longer a threat, and so, still staring at him, he came out of his fighting stance, turned around, and left, his mind reeling at the fact he had deflected an arrow.
He had been advancing rapidly for almost ten minutes through a thickening forest, his mind still trying to cope with what he had done, still unable to believe his reflexes were this good, when he burst in a clearing.
And realized he wasn’t alone.
He had burst in the middle of an Orc party that was marching rapidly towards what James believed was the ferry.
The Orcs hadn’t heard him come, as he was advancing stealthily, but neither had he heard them, so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had not concentrated on his surroundings.
It was a small group, less than a dozen Orcs, and no Ogre.
The closest creature, seeing an unarmed human knight in front of it, let its instincts guide it and attacked without hesitation.
It stepped towards James and simply tried to skewer him in a fast attack with its spear.
James advanced at the Orc while pivoting to his left, his right hand closing over the spear’s shaft, pinning it against his hip while he continued his pivot.
As he was doing this, he delivered a left backhand at the creature’s face that lifted it off his feet.
James finished his pivot as he stabbed the Orc in the throat with its own weapon.
All of it had happened so fast most of the Orcs had just continued running, while those that stopped were too surprised to act.
He retracted the weapon just as fast as he had attacked, and broke the shaft in two, leaving him with two shorter weapons he started wielding like escrima sticks.
He went straight at the closest Orcs, his left stick batting away an incoming sword thrust while his right stick, the one with the spear head, poked at one creature’s throat.
A spear thrust was deflected by a quick circular kick from his left leg, and at the end of the move James twisted his body to deliver a massive side kick to the Orc’s torso which propelled it at least two meters back to land hard, a dent in the form of a large foot imprinted in its chestplate.
The creature impacted one of its brethren, its chest compressed by its dented plate, and both crumbled in a heap of broken bones as a result from the impact.
His enhanced hearing picked up a noise at his back, and as he turned he saw an Orc advancing on him, shield in defensive position in front, its great wicked sword coming down on his left forearm.
James swung his arm down and out, and brought it back up in a circle to crash down on the creature’s own arm, hitting it exactly as it had tried to hit him, shattering its arm, and following this move with a powerful straight kick that launched the creature at a tree trunk behind it to impact with spine shattering force.
The creature fell down unmoving, its back bent at a strange angle.
In less than three seconds, James had killed or disabled four Orcs before most of them had even acted.
Of the remaining eight Orcs, only three opted to stay and fight him, the other five turning around to flee, unwilling to face such an opponent.
One of the remaining Orcs, James realized by the way he stood impassibly, was most likely the party’s leader.
That one was used to facing powerful opponents, and was not one to show fear.
He could be dangerous, James thought.
He quickly looked around to ensure no one was coming at his back, that no reinforcements were coming, and then set himself into a defensive position.
He looked at the Orcs, and invited them to come to him.
They did, fanning out so he could not defend himself without difficulty.
The Orc leader took the center position, expertly wielding two swords with barbed blades in a warding circle, while the other two Orcs, one with a two-handed sword and the other with a spear, slowly advanced on James.
He knew his current weapons would not last past the initial assault as they were too feeble, but he didn’t have better ones available close to his position.
The Orc leader suddenly leapt forward, attacking from two different angles James could not defend from using his wooden weapons, and so he went to his right, only to be greeted by the spear wielding Orc trying to impale him.
He continued moving to his right, but pivoted his body while bending his torso, his left arm bringing his stick up to deflect the spear high, his right hand stabbing at the Orc’s groin.
While James knew the wound would not be immediately fatal, he also knew it would take the Orc out of the fight.
Then there were two.
The Orc leader turned towards him and thrust its right sword at James while its left came down in a circular arc.
James jumped over the Orc leader, using both spear halves to deflect the high blow, snapping them in half in the process.
He landed, empty handed, at the leader’s back, facing the Greatsword wielding Orc.
It started a circular swing, intended to cleave James in half, while taking a step back, thinking it would prevent its human opponent from closing inside its weapon’s reach, a wise maneuver which would have worked against most humans, but not against James.
He quickly stepped inside the creature’s range and grabbed its arms, stopping the attack instantly, to the Orc’s surprise.
He then twisted back towards the Orc leader while heaving on his captured opponent, throwing it at the leader who had just pivoted to face James while removing the Greatsword from the creature’s hands.
The Orc Leader sidestepped out of the flying Orc’s way as James pivoted clockwise while performing a side sweep with the Greatsword.
The Orc, a very good fighter, executed the perfect parry against James’s attack.
Unfortunately for the creature, it had performed the move half a second too late, as it realized with a shocked expression as its body fell to the ground, bisected by James’s attack.
Last edited by Praeothmin on Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Good to have you back!:)
So...is James leveling up or is the constant exercise of saving universe after universe just showing great results?
So...is James leveling up or is the constant exercise of saving universe after universe just showing great results?
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Thanks... :)sonofccn wrote:Good to have you back!:)
Actually, it's just an action Ibased of of real life...So...is James leveling up or is the constant exercise of saving universe after universe just showing great results?
Mythbusters, using an honest to God Ninja (Ninjutsu practitioner) were able to prove that a man could cut a flying arrow in half at forty paces...
A normal, if highly trained, man...
And so James, equally highly trained, but with reflexes juiced up to the max because of the Bioware, should also be able to do it, with less troubles...
Except he had never tried it before...
Plus we aren't talking about modern bows, but medieval ones, where arrows fly slower...
So, I figured I'd just make James realize his potential ever more... :)
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Yeah...IIRC didn't he block an arrow with a sword and disarm Adam before he could reload? Respect the Ninja or aleast use something with rapid fire. :)Praeothmin wrote:Actually, it's just an action Ibased of of real life...
Mythbusters, using an honest to God Ninja (Ninjutsu practitioner) were able to prove that a man could cut a flying arrow in half at forty paces...
True he just seemed so surprised by it and he wasn't even trying. But as I'm sure has already been said respect the James!Praeothmin wrote:And so James, equally highly trained, but with reflexes juiced up to the max because of the Bioware, should also be able to do it, with less troubles...
Except he had never tried it before...
Also again its good to have your back on the story. Hope you keep it coming.
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Thanks, I am trying, but my free timeis usually at my job (I work in customer service, they don't call, I don't have anything to do), but lately I haven't had to much free time (customers keep calling, darn it :) !)...sonofccn wrote:Also again its good to have your back on the story. Hope you keep it coming.
I should be able to get a new chapter out soon though...
Now, if Breetai's RL would just give him a break too so he can come back and continue his story... :)
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Well take the time you need, I don't want to sound like I'm rushing you or anything, but yeah!Praeothmin wrote:I should be able to get a new chapter out soon though...
Amen to that. While obviously RL takes priority I do hope he doesn't forget about Tides*( Don't you forget about me-Simple Minds)Praeothmin wrote:Now, if Breetai's RL would just give him a break too so he can come back and continue his story... :)
*Yeah not the most imaginative but meh :)
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Chapter 68
After James retrieved the Orc leader’s swords, thinking they would better fit his fighting style than the Greatsword he had used to kill it, he left the area in pursuit of the other fleeing Orcs, hoping to catch them before they regrouped with a greater number of their warriors.
His great speed allowed him to catch up to the fleeing creatures, and he dispatched them quickly, ensuring they would not be able to warn anyone of his presence.
He kept running through the woods for some time, trying to rejoin his colleagues and friends as fast as possible, but this time his senses were on full alert, as he did not want to find himself bursting out of the woods into a unit of Orc warriors.
He feared for his team, even though he knew they were competent, and that their new allies, the Companions of the Hall, were equally powerful and competent, yet as their leader and friend, he couldn’t stop himself from worrying.
After some time, he came to the forest’s edge and slowed down.
As he approached it, he could see the plains beyond and the mountain range across them, and a puzzling trembling of the ground had him slow down even more and advance very cautiously to the very edge of the woods.
He hid behind a bush and examined the terrain beyond the forest.
And the hope he had held of seeing his team soon sank deep.
An entire column of Orcs, thousands of them at first glance, were marching towards the Ferry, accompanied by at least a hundred Ogres, and a dozen blue-skinned Giants.
No matter where he looked, left or right, he could not see the column’s edge.
To his right, towards where the Orcs were marching, he could see small banners being held high, banners with a triangle pointing down, and three bones coming out of the flat sides of the triangle.
He wasn’t sure, but believed he saw a letter “v” painted in black within the triangle, and many small arrows coming from the main banner’s icon.
He knew then Obould Many-Arrows was leading this force, and understood why it was so big.
As he was pondering what to do, he heard cries emanating from the front of the column, and saw it gradually stop, its military precision cementing James’s impression this group was led by their King.
From what he had heard of Obould, the Orc had imparted discipline to an unruly group of creatures, and would accept nothing less than total adoption of his rules, else the guilty party would soon join the clan’s enemies in death.
From the observed movements of the column, it became clear the group was making camp for the night, which made James realize it was indeed very late in the day, the sun way past its apex in the sky.
His growling stomach also reminded him he hadn’t eaten in a while, and with his enhanced metabolism, maintaining steady nourishment was primordial.
And so, knowing he’d have to wait until nightfall in order to sneak through the campsite and get to the mountains, hoping to find a way to get to his friends faster, he left, and went back in the forest, looking for anything edible.
He found small fruits, some roots, and even small eggs, which he ate uncooked, since any fire would most certainly be detected by the Orc sentries that were bound to be patrolling the Orc camp’s surrounding edge.
He hid himself well while eating, and after his frugal, yet filling meal, he went back towards the Orc army intent on finding a way through their camp.
He decided to wait until darkness before he attempted to cross the Orc camp to reach the woods at the base of the mountain range.
He had thought at first to go around the Orcs towards the front of the army in order to make up some lost time, but then decided against it, as the front of the army was located away from the forest, next to the river, meaning James would have to cover a lot of open ground making his way towards his team, leaving him vulnerable to archers if they ever spotted him.
And while he had successfully deflected an arrow recently, he certainly did not want to test his reflexes against dozens of them.
James didn’t know if the Orcs in this reality had as good a night vision as the ones in his, but he preferred to assume they did so he wouldn’t underestimate them and make a costly mistake.
There was also an added danger in his crossing of the dangerous creatures’ camp.
James was still wearing his plate armor, and while its weight was well distributed, is still made more noise than the standard mission garments he was used to.
He would have to be careful in timing his movements with the inevitable noises from such a large campsite, hoping it would effectively cover what little noise his armor would make.
So he bid his time hidden in the woods, waiting for the right moment for him to cross the Orc army’s campsite to get to the mountain range, observing and analyzing the camp’s movements and guard routines, planning his route carefully, far from the most populated areas of the camp.
The sun had dipped over the horizon for some time when he decided it was time to move.
He cursed silently as he left the protection of the woods though, for not a cloud was in the sky, the scintillating stars and almost full moon lighting up the night sky and taking away much of the needed shadows for James’s crossing.
He knew then it would be a long, arduous task.
He set out slowly, going from cover to cover, sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, at times almost running standing up, at others reduced to crawling under wagons and behind tents.
After a few hours of nerve-wracking close calls, he was across the campsite and in the woods at the base of the mountain range that would, he hoped, take him quickly to his friends.
Without wasting time, he went deep in the woods and started his ascension of the mountain in front of him.
The terrain quickly became harder to navigate, the slow climbing hills making way to steep walls.
James’s enhanced strength and reflexes helped him navigate the treacherous climb easily enough, although it was far too time-consuming for his taste.
The sun was coming up over the eastern side of the mountains when James finally found what looked like a practical path down the other side of the range, leading roughly towards the Dwarven ferry crossing the Surbrin river.
The MACO leader was happy he had slept the night before, allowing his sleep regulator to compensate for his active night, else he knew he would be too tired to continue.
Still, he was feeling the effects of his night’s exertion, and so allowed himself a few minutes of rest, time he used to eat the last of his foraged rations, before continuing his trek in the mountain, following the path he hoped would lead to his teammates.
He moved fast, though cautiously, thinking the mountains would hide him from the army below, but always weary of encountering Orc patrols navigating around the main forces to ferret out any possible enemies.
He was surprised, after moving down the path for what he estimated to be a couple of hours, at having encountered no Orcs or Ogres, and even more surprised at having encountered no wild beasts to challenge him in their hunts.
The reason for his unchallenged progression soon made itself known.
As he approached a bend to the right in the path, his enhanced hearing picked up some small scraping sounds coming from around it.
The sounds brought images of objects being slowly dragged along the ground, which intrigued him.
He listened carefully, trying to ascertain whether he’d been spotted or not, but when the noise continued, with no indication of anyone preparing to come running at him, he cautiously crept forward, using the scraping to cover up his own armor’s noises.
He came to the bend, and quickly peered around it, only to gape in surprise and wonder at what he saw.
The noise was created by the scraping of large boulders being surreptitiously brought closer to them by a pair of giant, blue-skinned humanoids.
These humanoids were kneeling behind a human-sized wall of boulders, and once in a while they shot a quick look over their cover to the chasm below them.
The path, at that point, widened out to a wide ledge, comfortably seating the two creatures, before continuing for a few meters to become once more a winding down path, one James was certain would connect with the chasm below.
Their backs were to James, but they looked a lot like the one he had seen accompanying the Orcs on the other side of the Surbrin, the one who’d caught him with a similar sized boulder.
It was clear by their actions that they were planning an ambush, though for whom, James didn’t know.
Though going back through the conversations he had had with the refugees two nights earlier, he was certain these were also Orc allies.
Though James was certainly not going to attack without being certain, for such creatures, if they could be convinced to work with the Dwarves and good aligned forces would be powerful allies.
If he could get behind one of the boulders making the wall, he thought, he would be able to peer down and discover who these Giants were waiting for, and then decide to either attack to assist depending on the targets.
As he was about to move towards one of the boulders nearest him, he looked up and saw that other giants lying in wait for the unknown enemy, at least a dozen of them.
They were hiding behind boulders located on a lower ledge, no more than half their height above the chasm’s floor, holding giant-sized weapons in hand, making it clear they would be the main attack force for this ambush, closing in to melee as soon as the Giants above had launched their attacks.
The strategy was sound, the big human saw.
Once death started raining on the ambushed forces, confusion would reign, and the Giants wielding melee weapons would be able to rush the disorganized forces and devastate them.
He knew he had to be more careful, and so he went down on all four, and advanced slowly, with only his hands and the tip of his feet touching the ground, moving the same way he had when ascending the mountain, only this time he was moving horizontally.
He made it successfully to the boulder he intended to hide behind, and slowly went into a crouching position in order to hide from both the Giants on his ledge, and the ones below in the chasm.
Moving slowly, he carefully leaned out from behind his cover, and peered down.
He saw that the Giants hidden on the ledge opposite him were also directly above the path that wound through the chasm.
As he observed the Giants, he noticed movement at the opposite end of the chasm, coming from the direction James was travelling in.
A lone, cloaked figure quickly made its way up the path, its stealthy movements identifying it as a scout of some sort.
It was slim and short, moving with sureness of movement James had rarely seen in humanoids.
It seemed oblivious to its surroundings, apparently unaware of the Giants hidden all-around, which surprised James, making him think the scout, if it was indeed a scout, wasn’t very good.
But then it stopped, looked up, and sent intricate hand signals to the Giants on his ledge.
The scout then veered of the path he was travelling, and stepped on a hidden one that led up to the ledge where the two boulder throwing Giants were.
He’s one of theirs, then, James thought.
He saw the scout emerge at the other side of the ledge he was hiding on, and approach the Giants completely unafraid.
James was puzzled at this, for he could clearly see, now that the scout was closer, that he was much shorter and lighter than James, and he was certain the Giants could crush him anytime they wished.
But then the scout took off his cloak’s hood, and James gasped in surprise.
It was a Dark Elf, though not Drizzt.
James remembered that Dark Elves were evil creatures, or so he had been told, and that Drizzt was an exception.
He had also been told they were powerful for their size, and could fell foes who had thought themselves more powerful.
He knew then why the scout didn’t fear the Giants, as the Dark Elf was a creature reputedly as dangerous, if not more so, than the boulder hurlers.
James continued to observe the hidden group, still wondering what he should do, when the noise of numerous marching boots was heard.
It was a noise he recognized immediately, for he had heard the same noise when the caravan he’d defended had been approached by Bruenor’s Dwarven troops.
And indeed, as the Giants readied themselves, the first of the warriors came into view, proud Dwarves encased in magnificent armor, marching at a steady pace, their posture showing they were ready for battle.
James figured this was a force send to clear the mountains of any Orc forces trying to get around the main Dwarven forces.
But they were walking in a trap, and would surely perish if he did nothing.
And so, as they were about to come within range of the boulder hurling Giants, James stood up from behind his cover, and yelled.
“It’s a trap!” He shouted, and all heads turned towards him, including the Giants’.
He immediately moved out from his hiding place, and found himself face to face with two angry Giants, and two Dark Elves, the second one appearing out of nowhere.
“Now, little human, you will die!” One of the Giants told James.
“There aren’t enough of you.” He replied while taking one of his pilfered swords out, although he wasn’t feeling half as confident as he sounded.
After James retrieved the Orc leader’s swords, thinking they would better fit his fighting style than the Greatsword he had used to kill it, he left the area in pursuit of the other fleeing Orcs, hoping to catch them before they regrouped with a greater number of their warriors.
His great speed allowed him to catch up to the fleeing creatures, and he dispatched them quickly, ensuring they would not be able to warn anyone of his presence.
He kept running through the woods for some time, trying to rejoin his colleagues and friends as fast as possible, but this time his senses were on full alert, as he did not want to find himself bursting out of the woods into a unit of Orc warriors.
He feared for his team, even though he knew they were competent, and that their new allies, the Companions of the Hall, were equally powerful and competent, yet as their leader and friend, he couldn’t stop himself from worrying.
After some time, he came to the forest’s edge and slowed down.
As he approached it, he could see the plains beyond and the mountain range across them, and a puzzling trembling of the ground had him slow down even more and advance very cautiously to the very edge of the woods.
He hid behind a bush and examined the terrain beyond the forest.
And the hope he had held of seeing his team soon sank deep.
An entire column of Orcs, thousands of them at first glance, were marching towards the Ferry, accompanied by at least a hundred Ogres, and a dozen blue-skinned Giants.
No matter where he looked, left or right, he could not see the column’s edge.
To his right, towards where the Orcs were marching, he could see small banners being held high, banners with a triangle pointing down, and three bones coming out of the flat sides of the triangle.
He wasn’t sure, but believed he saw a letter “v” painted in black within the triangle, and many small arrows coming from the main banner’s icon.
He knew then Obould Many-Arrows was leading this force, and understood why it was so big.
As he was pondering what to do, he heard cries emanating from the front of the column, and saw it gradually stop, its military precision cementing James’s impression this group was led by their King.
From what he had heard of Obould, the Orc had imparted discipline to an unruly group of creatures, and would accept nothing less than total adoption of his rules, else the guilty party would soon join the clan’s enemies in death.
From the observed movements of the column, it became clear the group was making camp for the night, which made James realize it was indeed very late in the day, the sun way past its apex in the sky.
His growling stomach also reminded him he hadn’t eaten in a while, and with his enhanced metabolism, maintaining steady nourishment was primordial.
And so, knowing he’d have to wait until nightfall in order to sneak through the campsite and get to the mountains, hoping to find a way to get to his friends faster, he left, and went back in the forest, looking for anything edible.
He found small fruits, some roots, and even small eggs, which he ate uncooked, since any fire would most certainly be detected by the Orc sentries that were bound to be patrolling the Orc camp’s surrounding edge.
He hid himself well while eating, and after his frugal, yet filling meal, he went back towards the Orc army intent on finding a way through their camp.
He decided to wait until darkness before he attempted to cross the Orc camp to reach the woods at the base of the mountain range.
He had thought at first to go around the Orcs towards the front of the army in order to make up some lost time, but then decided against it, as the front of the army was located away from the forest, next to the river, meaning James would have to cover a lot of open ground making his way towards his team, leaving him vulnerable to archers if they ever spotted him.
And while he had successfully deflected an arrow recently, he certainly did not want to test his reflexes against dozens of them.
James didn’t know if the Orcs in this reality had as good a night vision as the ones in his, but he preferred to assume they did so he wouldn’t underestimate them and make a costly mistake.
There was also an added danger in his crossing of the dangerous creatures’ camp.
James was still wearing his plate armor, and while its weight was well distributed, is still made more noise than the standard mission garments he was used to.
He would have to be careful in timing his movements with the inevitable noises from such a large campsite, hoping it would effectively cover what little noise his armor would make.
So he bid his time hidden in the woods, waiting for the right moment for him to cross the Orc army’s campsite to get to the mountain range, observing and analyzing the camp’s movements and guard routines, planning his route carefully, far from the most populated areas of the camp.
The sun had dipped over the horizon for some time when he decided it was time to move.
He cursed silently as he left the protection of the woods though, for not a cloud was in the sky, the scintillating stars and almost full moon lighting up the night sky and taking away much of the needed shadows for James’s crossing.
He knew then it would be a long, arduous task.
He set out slowly, going from cover to cover, sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, at times almost running standing up, at others reduced to crawling under wagons and behind tents.
After a few hours of nerve-wracking close calls, he was across the campsite and in the woods at the base of the mountain range that would, he hoped, take him quickly to his friends.
Without wasting time, he went deep in the woods and started his ascension of the mountain in front of him.
The terrain quickly became harder to navigate, the slow climbing hills making way to steep walls.
James’s enhanced strength and reflexes helped him navigate the treacherous climb easily enough, although it was far too time-consuming for his taste.
The sun was coming up over the eastern side of the mountains when James finally found what looked like a practical path down the other side of the range, leading roughly towards the Dwarven ferry crossing the Surbrin river.
The MACO leader was happy he had slept the night before, allowing his sleep regulator to compensate for his active night, else he knew he would be too tired to continue.
Still, he was feeling the effects of his night’s exertion, and so allowed himself a few minutes of rest, time he used to eat the last of his foraged rations, before continuing his trek in the mountain, following the path he hoped would lead to his teammates.
He moved fast, though cautiously, thinking the mountains would hide him from the army below, but always weary of encountering Orc patrols navigating around the main forces to ferret out any possible enemies.
He was surprised, after moving down the path for what he estimated to be a couple of hours, at having encountered no Orcs or Ogres, and even more surprised at having encountered no wild beasts to challenge him in their hunts.
The reason for his unchallenged progression soon made itself known.
As he approached a bend to the right in the path, his enhanced hearing picked up some small scraping sounds coming from around it.
The sounds brought images of objects being slowly dragged along the ground, which intrigued him.
He listened carefully, trying to ascertain whether he’d been spotted or not, but when the noise continued, with no indication of anyone preparing to come running at him, he cautiously crept forward, using the scraping to cover up his own armor’s noises.
He came to the bend, and quickly peered around it, only to gape in surprise and wonder at what he saw.
The noise was created by the scraping of large boulders being surreptitiously brought closer to them by a pair of giant, blue-skinned humanoids.
These humanoids were kneeling behind a human-sized wall of boulders, and once in a while they shot a quick look over their cover to the chasm below them.
The path, at that point, widened out to a wide ledge, comfortably seating the two creatures, before continuing for a few meters to become once more a winding down path, one James was certain would connect with the chasm below.
Their backs were to James, but they looked a lot like the one he had seen accompanying the Orcs on the other side of the Surbrin, the one who’d caught him with a similar sized boulder.
It was clear by their actions that they were planning an ambush, though for whom, James didn’t know.
Though going back through the conversations he had had with the refugees two nights earlier, he was certain these were also Orc allies.
Though James was certainly not going to attack without being certain, for such creatures, if they could be convinced to work with the Dwarves and good aligned forces would be powerful allies.
If he could get behind one of the boulders making the wall, he thought, he would be able to peer down and discover who these Giants were waiting for, and then decide to either attack to assist depending on the targets.
As he was about to move towards one of the boulders nearest him, he looked up and saw that other giants lying in wait for the unknown enemy, at least a dozen of them.
They were hiding behind boulders located on a lower ledge, no more than half their height above the chasm’s floor, holding giant-sized weapons in hand, making it clear they would be the main attack force for this ambush, closing in to melee as soon as the Giants above had launched their attacks.
The strategy was sound, the big human saw.
Once death started raining on the ambushed forces, confusion would reign, and the Giants wielding melee weapons would be able to rush the disorganized forces and devastate them.
He knew he had to be more careful, and so he went down on all four, and advanced slowly, with only his hands and the tip of his feet touching the ground, moving the same way he had when ascending the mountain, only this time he was moving horizontally.
He made it successfully to the boulder he intended to hide behind, and slowly went into a crouching position in order to hide from both the Giants on his ledge, and the ones below in the chasm.
Moving slowly, he carefully leaned out from behind his cover, and peered down.
He saw that the Giants hidden on the ledge opposite him were also directly above the path that wound through the chasm.
As he observed the Giants, he noticed movement at the opposite end of the chasm, coming from the direction James was travelling in.
A lone, cloaked figure quickly made its way up the path, its stealthy movements identifying it as a scout of some sort.
It was slim and short, moving with sureness of movement James had rarely seen in humanoids.
It seemed oblivious to its surroundings, apparently unaware of the Giants hidden all-around, which surprised James, making him think the scout, if it was indeed a scout, wasn’t very good.
But then it stopped, looked up, and sent intricate hand signals to the Giants on his ledge.
The scout then veered of the path he was travelling, and stepped on a hidden one that led up to the ledge where the two boulder throwing Giants were.
He’s one of theirs, then, James thought.
He saw the scout emerge at the other side of the ledge he was hiding on, and approach the Giants completely unafraid.
James was puzzled at this, for he could clearly see, now that the scout was closer, that he was much shorter and lighter than James, and he was certain the Giants could crush him anytime they wished.
But then the scout took off his cloak’s hood, and James gasped in surprise.
It was a Dark Elf, though not Drizzt.
James remembered that Dark Elves were evil creatures, or so he had been told, and that Drizzt was an exception.
He had also been told they were powerful for their size, and could fell foes who had thought themselves more powerful.
He knew then why the scout didn’t fear the Giants, as the Dark Elf was a creature reputedly as dangerous, if not more so, than the boulder hurlers.
James continued to observe the hidden group, still wondering what he should do, when the noise of numerous marching boots was heard.
It was a noise he recognized immediately, for he had heard the same noise when the caravan he’d defended had been approached by Bruenor’s Dwarven troops.
And indeed, as the Giants readied themselves, the first of the warriors came into view, proud Dwarves encased in magnificent armor, marching at a steady pace, their posture showing they were ready for battle.
James figured this was a force send to clear the mountains of any Orc forces trying to get around the main Dwarven forces.
But they were walking in a trap, and would surely perish if he did nothing.
And so, as they were about to come within range of the boulder hurling Giants, James stood up from behind his cover, and yelled.
“It’s a trap!” He shouted, and all heads turned towards him, including the Giants’.
He immediately moved out from his hiding place, and found himself face to face with two angry Giants, and two Dark Elves, the second one appearing out of nowhere.
“Now, little human, you will die!” One of the Giants told James.
“There aren’t enough of you.” He replied while taking one of his pilfered swords out, although he wasn’t feeling half as confident as he sounded.
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
One will never go indebt betting on the non-human’s hate and ill will towards the human or the near human derivative as I found to my detriment.- Commodore Krevin ;)
While I enjoyed your update I hope you won't mind a small whine on my part that you stopped at the best part...Okay whine over. Can't wait for the next installment where James puts those stupid elves in their place plus the Giants.
While I enjoyed your update I hope you won't mind a small whine on my part that you stopped at the best part...Okay whine over. Can't wait for the next installment where James puts those stupid elves in their place plus the Giants.
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
I was pressed for time, and thus could not write an elaborate fight like this confrontation deserved...
Although, just for you, here's the abridged version:
"He kicketh their asses and continueth on his way!" :)
Although, just for you, here's the abridged version:
"He kicketh their asses and continueth on his way!" :)
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Here's the slightly longer version... :)
Chapter 69
He moved towards the Drow, wanting to take them out of the fight first, believing they were the more dangerous foes, just as he heard the cry for a charge being made by the Dwarves below.
As he advanced, he saw the second Drow Elf, a female with strange disparate eyes, move her fingers while chanting under her breath.
Knowing what it meant, that the Drow woman was casting a spell, he threw his sword at her hoping to kill her before she completed her casting.
Her male companion, the scout James had first seen, with reflexes honed in battle, reacted quickly and batted at the sword with his own weapons, deflecting it sufficiently to prevent it from hitting the Drow female.
But that action had cost him, as immediately after throwing his sword, James had bolted towards the Drow warrior, reaching him just as he was about to set himself in a defensive posture.
The big MACO leader kicked the warrior hard, his momentum adding power to his already strong legs, and so the Dark Elf was propelled at his female companion to impact her just as she was about to finish her spell.
The Drow warrior let out a cry filled with pain, and James knew he had one less enemy to worry about, at least for the moment.
The Drow female, however, while under her companion’s body, appeared more angry than hurt, letting James know she most likely had magical protections in place against physical impacts.
Still, she was busy extricating herself from the warrior’s body, and so the MACO leader turned his attention to the Giants.
Just in time to sidestep a hurled boulder which crashed to the ground and exploded from the impact, raining rock shards everywhere.
James took out his second sword and ran straight at the closest Giant, the one who had thrown the boulder, and went through its legs, slashing hard behind its right knee as he went by, eliciting a howl of pain from it.
His Orc sword wasn’t as sharp as his Starfleet manufactured one, and so even with his augmented strength the blow didn’t penetrate very far, the Giant’s thick hide offering some resistance to the weapon, thus James knew the Giant wasn’t out of the fight as he had hoped.
Still, it bit deep enough that the Giant would not be able to bring its full might to the battle, tilting the advantage of the battle towards James a bit more.
As it fell to one knee, the big human continued on towards the second Giant which swung its oversized Battleaxe sideways at James in an attempt to cut him in half.
Surprise appeared on the behemoth’s face as the armored human jumped over the its weapon and used its hand as a spring board from where it propelled itself up to the Giant’s head, swinging its small weapon at the creature’s throat.
This time, though, James’s sword bit deep, the Giant’s throat offering less resistance, and he knew by the gushing blood coming out he’d hit an artery.
He bounced against the Giant’s shoulder as it lifted its free hand to stem the blood flow, landing on the ground in a roll to reposition himself nearer the magic user, fully aware the fight was over for the Giant he’d just attacked.
As his attention was back on the magic user, he saw her finish intricate gestures and point at him just as he was about to reach her.
He felt his body slowly becoming frozen in place, his senses going away as if a shroud was being pulled over his head, his limbs became heavy, too heavy for him to move them, every movement demanding an ever growing effort on his part.
He was two steps away from the Elf when his body refused to obey him, the Dark Elf’s face suddenly smiling arrogantly at him.
She slowly got up, preparing to cast another spell, but as she was beginning another series of intricate movements, as she was starting her chanting, her eyes widened, and she faltered, if only barely.
Her face took on a mask of incredulity, as had the face of the other Drow Elf, for James’s hand had moved, his body clearly not totally immobilized.
He knew they could not believe it by the way they looked at him, the magic user still pausing in her casting as she looked at the human warrior, as his body became ever more active.
It was requiring every ounce of the MACO leader’s willpower, but he was slowly beating back the magic that was holding him in place, using concentration techniques Managuy had shown him and made him practice over the years in order to beat back mind controlling magic.
The Dark Elf finally snapped out of it, and resumed her chanting, feverishly going through the motions in order to complete her spellcasting before the big human could regain his mobility.
As the pitch of her voice was gaining in strength, as blue energy sparked around her fingers, James threw his second sword at her with all his might.
While her protection held, James seeing his sword doing no damage, the impact still affected the magic user, breaking her concentration at the culmination of her spell as a look of horror appeared on her face.
In a display of sparkling blue energy, the spell discharged on the caster, the force of the explosion throwing both adversaries in opposite directions.
While the Elf impacted the rocky wall of the ledge, once again without apparent damage, James impacted the ground hard, his armor and augmented body unaffected, the MACO leader using his momentum to send his body in a backwards roll.
The Elf saw her enemy, the one she had thought out of the fight, get back up from the miscast spell unscathed, and now back to full speed.
Her only satisfaction was seeing him unarmed, thinking the man much less dangerous without a weapon.
James heard a clicking sound to his right, a quick peak in that direction showing the downed Drow cocking a small crossbow and firing it at him.
While the size of the bolts did not worry James at first glance, being certain his armor and enhanced skin were thick enough to offer more than adequate protection, he experience meant he did not dare underestimate the attack’s effectiveness.
Instinctively knowing the bolt would not be coming in extremely fast compared to the bolts fired by Hicks and Hudson, he used his enhanced reflexes to modify an earlier move.
Letting his instincts lead his body, his right hand flew up to intercept the small missile while his body was pivoting to the left, offering the attacker a smaller target.
Thinking he had missed, the Dark Elf warrior produced a second crossbow and fired again, James using his reflexes to pivot to the right this time, using his left hand in his deflection attempt.
He stood there for only a second, lifting both hands to display the intercepted missiles he had deftly caught in their flight towards him.
“Llolth’s blood!” Swore the Dark Elf, a mask of fear replacing its normally stoic expression.
As James was about to run at the Drow warrior, a loud whooshing noise at his back had him plunge forward in a roll, his body barely evading the gigantic axe head of the first Giant’s weapon as it passed a few centimetres above him.
He got to his feet in a run and went behind the Giant’s weapon, when the creature stopped its motion and reversed its swing back at James.
The big MACO changed direction in mid-stride, going instead at the Giant’s weapon wielding arm.
Having no useful weapon in hand, he figured he would use the small bolts to distract and enrage the Giant while he would recover a weapon.
As the axe handle was about to hit him at hip level, James sprang in the air in a horizontal twist, using one of the pilfered bolts to stab the Giant’s arm.
The bolt did not penetrate deeply, as he had suspected, but it stung the creature, he saw as it howled more in surprise than pain.
Before it could attack again, James threw himself in a roll between its legs, stabbing with his second bolt at the creature’s groin, knowing this time, the attack would hurt.
And hurt it did, for the Giant howled in pain and jumped up on its feet, oblivious to its damaged leg, and even after it nearly fell over due to its weak knee, it still remained upright, only now it looked down upon James with unbridled fury in its eyes.
The powerful human did not wait for the Giant to make its move before running full tilt for the nearest weapon he saw, one of the Drow warrior’s fallen twin swords.
He grabbed it and set himself in a fighting stance, preparing for the Giant’s next attack.
It was moving towards him when some kind of internal warmth washed over James, and he suddenly felt appalled at the idea of attacking the Giant, thinking he could never hurt such a friend.
He looked at the approaching creature and smiled, dropping his weapon, just as it lifted its own, ready to strike.
This movement registered as unusual to James, since friends did not threaten friends, and this thought brought furrows to the MACO leader’s face, as his mind raced with the thought of being threatened by his friend.
Discordant thoughts began to appear, recent memories that had just been buried in his subconscious mind resurfaced, and he understood why the Giant would want to kill him.
They weren’t friends, they never had been, and as the last of these strange thoughts left his mind, he remembered the Drow magic user, still alive, still able, and remembered how dangerous she was.
As the Giant heaved with all its might, bringing its axe up and over its head straight down at James, the big human sprung into action, his face a mask of determination.
He scooped up his discarded weapon as he sprinted forward, and sidestepped at the last instant to the Giant’s left, out of its weapon’s path.
As the axe head embedded itself halfway in the hard ground, so powerful was the swing, the MACO leader swung his Drow weapon at the creature’s left forearm with all his might.
The Underdark forged weapon, much sharper than the Orc sword previously used by James, of a much higher quality, propelled by the augmented muscles of the MACO leader, sliced through the Giant’s forearm with ease, almost severing it completely in a guttural cry of pain.
James kept running past the suffering creature, slicing at its belly as he went by, opening a gash almost a meter wide.
He stopped at the Giant’s back, and sliced its heel open, causing it to fall back.
As it landed, he was at its head and slashed at its throat, the Drow weapon cutting through completely, severing head from body.
He heard chanting at his back, so he pivoted and threw his new weapon at the Drow mage as he started sprinting towards her.
Her last words came out as a gurgle, bloody spittle coming out of her mouth, as James realized the magical protection she was under apparently did not extend to weapons from her own kind.
The magic user looked down to see a Drow sword hilt protruding from her body, and she fell face first to the ground as life left her form.
James wasn’t done, though, for he still heard fighting from the chasm floor, and knew the Dwarves were in trouble, for even without the boulder throwers or the Drow Elves, the Giants’ forces were formidable.
He passed by the Drow warrior to grab his second sword, knocking him out with a punch as he went by.
He thought of grabbing the Elf’s small crossbow as well as his bolt supply, and while unsure if it was going to be of help, his experience in the field told him to never discard any weapon unless already proven worthless.
He ran to the edge of the chasm and looked down at the battle raging on.
The Dwarves were winning, it seemed, but they had lost many warriors in the fight.
Bodies, Giant-sized and much smaller, littered the chasm floor, blood running freely down natural gullies.
What caught the human warrior’s attention was the female Giant, garbed in a richly decorated armor and wore a silver wolf fur cloak and boots with a brown leather dress.
She was beautiful, even by human standards, but more importantly to James, it fought well, and the way the other Giants were placed around her, it was clear she was important to them.
James understood how important when one Giant called out to her.
“Dame Gerti, you must retreat, we must get you out of here, else all is lost.” It said with a resonating voice.
“Our ledge forces have been beaten, it seems, even though your ally promised you they were powerful.”
“Lead the way then, I will certainly not die for the likes of Obould, the Gods curse his smelly hide!” The female giant, Gerti, answered.
James knew then the importance of that creature, and knew that if she could be captured, or vanquished, then Obould’s hold on his army could waver.
But looking at the fierceness she displayed in combat, he knew immediately capture was not an option with the equipment he had at his disposal.
He knew then death was the only course of action, for he could not let her escape and raise greater forces to rain death and destruction among the innocent farmers and villagers this war was already taking its toll on.
He considered jumping in on her, but reconsidered his strategy immediately seeing as how she was surrounded by other Giants that protected her, and seeing any Dwarf that made it through being inexorably killed by her protectors.
He knew if the Dwarves got through her bodyguards, she was a dead Giant.
He looked around, hoping to find some way of attacking, but then, after looking a the way the Giants moved, he realized that all he had to do was to provide a distraction to the Giants for the Dwarves to , like the Giants had intended to do to them.
He grabbed the pilfered crossbow and fired a dozen bolts at the Giants between Gerti and the Dwarves, aiming at their faces and necks, knowing that any other body part would barely register the bolts, to them the impacts being felt as mosquito bites.
But mosquito bites in the face or on the neck, he knew, could be very distracting.
His actions did have the hoped-for effects, for the Giants’ defence suddenly became less focused, less organized, and the Dwarves succeeded in defeating a couple of them, increasing their chances of getting through to the Giant leader.
He had fired over half his quiver, nearly fifteen bolts, when Gerti decided it was safer for her to make a run for it without her escort, as they were now all tangled up with the Dwarven forces.
And so James, knowing the Dwarves would be able to defeat the Giants, shifted his aim to Gerti.
He fired half a dozen bolts at her head and neck area, running alongside the ledge’s ridge, keeping up with the female giant, when her steps faltered, as if she’d been dealt a powerful blow.
He quickly looked around, trying to find out what had hit her so, but failed to find her assailant.
He turned back to her, aiming once more his pitiful weapon at her, when she went down to one knee.
He could see her clawing at her neck, and pluck bolt after bolt out of it, each attempt more feeble than the previous one, and then she fell, face first on the ground, her last words coming out as a curse.
“Damn Drow!”
At first, as she lay there dead, he thought she had simply cursed their lack of assistance in this battle, but then, observing her closely, his augmented eyes noticed something.
From each of the bolt marks on her neck extended some kind of bluish circle, as if caused by the bolts themselves.
He understood what it meant, and careful observation of the other Giants, the ones he’d hit with the bolts, confirmed what he thought.
They were fighting more sluggishly now, as if energy was slowly being drained from them, which he realized it was, understanding it was their life energy.
The crossbow bolts were poisoned.
He smelled the bolt’s quiver, and a faint, acrid smell came up his nostrils.
He knew his enhanced endocrine system was capable of handling most drugs and poison, but he knew that even his augmented system paled compared to one of a Giant.
The same amount of toxins that could paralyze him would most likely barely slow the Giants down.
And so to see most of them barely remaining on their feet after a couple of bolts had hit, he knew with certainty how lucky he had been of blocking the Drow’s attack.
The bolts would have killed him.
He was more than ever happy for his incredible reflexes, and for the Bioware they were borne from.
The fight was over, he saw, and the Dwarves had won a costly victory.
He lifted his hands in the air, and went down to meet them, ready to answer all the questions they would surely have for him.
Chapter 69
He moved towards the Drow, wanting to take them out of the fight first, believing they were the more dangerous foes, just as he heard the cry for a charge being made by the Dwarves below.
As he advanced, he saw the second Drow Elf, a female with strange disparate eyes, move her fingers while chanting under her breath.
Knowing what it meant, that the Drow woman was casting a spell, he threw his sword at her hoping to kill her before she completed her casting.
Her male companion, the scout James had first seen, with reflexes honed in battle, reacted quickly and batted at the sword with his own weapons, deflecting it sufficiently to prevent it from hitting the Drow female.
But that action had cost him, as immediately after throwing his sword, James had bolted towards the Drow warrior, reaching him just as he was about to set himself in a defensive posture.
The big MACO leader kicked the warrior hard, his momentum adding power to his already strong legs, and so the Dark Elf was propelled at his female companion to impact her just as she was about to finish her spell.
The Drow warrior let out a cry filled with pain, and James knew he had one less enemy to worry about, at least for the moment.
The Drow female, however, while under her companion’s body, appeared more angry than hurt, letting James know she most likely had magical protections in place against physical impacts.
Still, she was busy extricating herself from the warrior’s body, and so the MACO leader turned his attention to the Giants.
Just in time to sidestep a hurled boulder which crashed to the ground and exploded from the impact, raining rock shards everywhere.
James took out his second sword and ran straight at the closest Giant, the one who had thrown the boulder, and went through its legs, slashing hard behind its right knee as he went by, eliciting a howl of pain from it.
His Orc sword wasn’t as sharp as his Starfleet manufactured one, and so even with his augmented strength the blow didn’t penetrate very far, the Giant’s thick hide offering some resistance to the weapon, thus James knew the Giant wasn’t out of the fight as he had hoped.
Still, it bit deep enough that the Giant would not be able to bring its full might to the battle, tilting the advantage of the battle towards James a bit more.
As it fell to one knee, the big human continued on towards the second Giant which swung its oversized Battleaxe sideways at James in an attempt to cut him in half.
Surprise appeared on the behemoth’s face as the armored human jumped over the its weapon and used its hand as a spring board from where it propelled itself up to the Giant’s head, swinging its small weapon at the creature’s throat.
This time, though, James’s sword bit deep, the Giant’s throat offering less resistance, and he knew by the gushing blood coming out he’d hit an artery.
He bounced against the Giant’s shoulder as it lifted its free hand to stem the blood flow, landing on the ground in a roll to reposition himself nearer the magic user, fully aware the fight was over for the Giant he’d just attacked.
As his attention was back on the magic user, he saw her finish intricate gestures and point at him just as he was about to reach her.
He felt his body slowly becoming frozen in place, his senses going away as if a shroud was being pulled over his head, his limbs became heavy, too heavy for him to move them, every movement demanding an ever growing effort on his part.
He was two steps away from the Elf when his body refused to obey him, the Dark Elf’s face suddenly smiling arrogantly at him.
She slowly got up, preparing to cast another spell, but as she was beginning another series of intricate movements, as she was starting her chanting, her eyes widened, and she faltered, if only barely.
Her face took on a mask of incredulity, as had the face of the other Drow Elf, for James’s hand had moved, his body clearly not totally immobilized.
He knew they could not believe it by the way they looked at him, the magic user still pausing in her casting as she looked at the human warrior, as his body became ever more active.
It was requiring every ounce of the MACO leader’s willpower, but he was slowly beating back the magic that was holding him in place, using concentration techniques Managuy had shown him and made him practice over the years in order to beat back mind controlling magic.
The Dark Elf finally snapped out of it, and resumed her chanting, feverishly going through the motions in order to complete her spellcasting before the big human could regain his mobility.
As the pitch of her voice was gaining in strength, as blue energy sparked around her fingers, James threw his second sword at her with all his might.
While her protection held, James seeing his sword doing no damage, the impact still affected the magic user, breaking her concentration at the culmination of her spell as a look of horror appeared on her face.
In a display of sparkling blue energy, the spell discharged on the caster, the force of the explosion throwing both adversaries in opposite directions.
While the Elf impacted the rocky wall of the ledge, once again without apparent damage, James impacted the ground hard, his armor and augmented body unaffected, the MACO leader using his momentum to send his body in a backwards roll.
The Elf saw her enemy, the one she had thought out of the fight, get back up from the miscast spell unscathed, and now back to full speed.
Her only satisfaction was seeing him unarmed, thinking the man much less dangerous without a weapon.
James heard a clicking sound to his right, a quick peak in that direction showing the downed Drow cocking a small crossbow and firing it at him.
While the size of the bolts did not worry James at first glance, being certain his armor and enhanced skin were thick enough to offer more than adequate protection, he experience meant he did not dare underestimate the attack’s effectiveness.
Instinctively knowing the bolt would not be coming in extremely fast compared to the bolts fired by Hicks and Hudson, he used his enhanced reflexes to modify an earlier move.
Letting his instincts lead his body, his right hand flew up to intercept the small missile while his body was pivoting to the left, offering the attacker a smaller target.
Thinking he had missed, the Dark Elf warrior produced a second crossbow and fired again, James using his reflexes to pivot to the right this time, using his left hand in his deflection attempt.
He stood there for only a second, lifting both hands to display the intercepted missiles he had deftly caught in their flight towards him.
“Llolth’s blood!” Swore the Dark Elf, a mask of fear replacing its normally stoic expression.
As James was about to run at the Drow warrior, a loud whooshing noise at his back had him plunge forward in a roll, his body barely evading the gigantic axe head of the first Giant’s weapon as it passed a few centimetres above him.
He got to his feet in a run and went behind the Giant’s weapon, when the creature stopped its motion and reversed its swing back at James.
The big MACO changed direction in mid-stride, going instead at the Giant’s weapon wielding arm.
Having no useful weapon in hand, he figured he would use the small bolts to distract and enrage the Giant while he would recover a weapon.
As the axe handle was about to hit him at hip level, James sprang in the air in a horizontal twist, using one of the pilfered bolts to stab the Giant’s arm.
The bolt did not penetrate deeply, as he had suspected, but it stung the creature, he saw as it howled more in surprise than pain.
Before it could attack again, James threw himself in a roll between its legs, stabbing with his second bolt at the creature’s groin, knowing this time, the attack would hurt.
And hurt it did, for the Giant howled in pain and jumped up on its feet, oblivious to its damaged leg, and even after it nearly fell over due to its weak knee, it still remained upright, only now it looked down upon James with unbridled fury in its eyes.
The powerful human did not wait for the Giant to make its move before running full tilt for the nearest weapon he saw, one of the Drow warrior’s fallen twin swords.
He grabbed it and set himself in a fighting stance, preparing for the Giant’s next attack.
It was moving towards him when some kind of internal warmth washed over James, and he suddenly felt appalled at the idea of attacking the Giant, thinking he could never hurt such a friend.
He looked at the approaching creature and smiled, dropping his weapon, just as it lifted its own, ready to strike.
This movement registered as unusual to James, since friends did not threaten friends, and this thought brought furrows to the MACO leader’s face, as his mind raced with the thought of being threatened by his friend.
Discordant thoughts began to appear, recent memories that had just been buried in his subconscious mind resurfaced, and he understood why the Giant would want to kill him.
They weren’t friends, they never had been, and as the last of these strange thoughts left his mind, he remembered the Drow magic user, still alive, still able, and remembered how dangerous she was.
As the Giant heaved with all its might, bringing its axe up and over its head straight down at James, the big human sprung into action, his face a mask of determination.
He scooped up his discarded weapon as he sprinted forward, and sidestepped at the last instant to the Giant’s left, out of its weapon’s path.
As the axe head embedded itself halfway in the hard ground, so powerful was the swing, the MACO leader swung his Drow weapon at the creature’s left forearm with all his might.
The Underdark forged weapon, much sharper than the Orc sword previously used by James, of a much higher quality, propelled by the augmented muscles of the MACO leader, sliced through the Giant’s forearm with ease, almost severing it completely in a guttural cry of pain.
James kept running past the suffering creature, slicing at its belly as he went by, opening a gash almost a meter wide.
He stopped at the Giant’s back, and sliced its heel open, causing it to fall back.
As it landed, he was at its head and slashed at its throat, the Drow weapon cutting through completely, severing head from body.
He heard chanting at his back, so he pivoted and threw his new weapon at the Drow mage as he started sprinting towards her.
Her last words came out as a gurgle, bloody spittle coming out of her mouth, as James realized the magical protection she was under apparently did not extend to weapons from her own kind.
The magic user looked down to see a Drow sword hilt protruding from her body, and she fell face first to the ground as life left her form.
James wasn’t done, though, for he still heard fighting from the chasm floor, and knew the Dwarves were in trouble, for even without the boulder throwers or the Drow Elves, the Giants’ forces were formidable.
He passed by the Drow warrior to grab his second sword, knocking him out with a punch as he went by.
He thought of grabbing the Elf’s small crossbow as well as his bolt supply, and while unsure if it was going to be of help, his experience in the field told him to never discard any weapon unless already proven worthless.
He ran to the edge of the chasm and looked down at the battle raging on.
The Dwarves were winning, it seemed, but they had lost many warriors in the fight.
Bodies, Giant-sized and much smaller, littered the chasm floor, blood running freely down natural gullies.
What caught the human warrior’s attention was the female Giant, garbed in a richly decorated armor and wore a silver wolf fur cloak and boots with a brown leather dress.
She was beautiful, even by human standards, but more importantly to James, it fought well, and the way the other Giants were placed around her, it was clear she was important to them.
James understood how important when one Giant called out to her.
“Dame Gerti, you must retreat, we must get you out of here, else all is lost.” It said with a resonating voice.
“Our ledge forces have been beaten, it seems, even though your ally promised you they were powerful.”
“Lead the way then, I will certainly not die for the likes of Obould, the Gods curse his smelly hide!” The female giant, Gerti, answered.
James knew then the importance of that creature, and knew that if she could be captured, or vanquished, then Obould’s hold on his army could waver.
But looking at the fierceness she displayed in combat, he knew immediately capture was not an option with the equipment he had at his disposal.
He knew then death was the only course of action, for he could not let her escape and raise greater forces to rain death and destruction among the innocent farmers and villagers this war was already taking its toll on.
He considered jumping in on her, but reconsidered his strategy immediately seeing as how she was surrounded by other Giants that protected her, and seeing any Dwarf that made it through being inexorably killed by her protectors.
He knew if the Dwarves got through her bodyguards, she was a dead Giant.
He looked around, hoping to find some way of attacking, but then, after looking a the way the Giants moved, he realized that all he had to do was to provide a distraction to the Giants for the Dwarves to , like the Giants had intended to do to them.
He grabbed the pilfered crossbow and fired a dozen bolts at the Giants between Gerti and the Dwarves, aiming at their faces and necks, knowing that any other body part would barely register the bolts, to them the impacts being felt as mosquito bites.
But mosquito bites in the face or on the neck, he knew, could be very distracting.
His actions did have the hoped-for effects, for the Giants’ defence suddenly became less focused, less organized, and the Dwarves succeeded in defeating a couple of them, increasing their chances of getting through to the Giant leader.
He had fired over half his quiver, nearly fifteen bolts, when Gerti decided it was safer for her to make a run for it without her escort, as they were now all tangled up with the Dwarven forces.
And so James, knowing the Dwarves would be able to defeat the Giants, shifted his aim to Gerti.
He fired half a dozen bolts at her head and neck area, running alongside the ledge’s ridge, keeping up with the female giant, when her steps faltered, as if she’d been dealt a powerful blow.
He quickly looked around, trying to find out what had hit her so, but failed to find her assailant.
He turned back to her, aiming once more his pitiful weapon at her, when she went down to one knee.
He could see her clawing at her neck, and pluck bolt after bolt out of it, each attempt more feeble than the previous one, and then she fell, face first on the ground, her last words coming out as a curse.
“Damn Drow!”
At first, as she lay there dead, he thought she had simply cursed their lack of assistance in this battle, but then, observing her closely, his augmented eyes noticed something.
From each of the bolt marks on her neck extended some kind of bluish circle, as if caused by the bolts themselves.
He understood what it meant, and careful observation of the other Giants, the ones he’d hit with the bolts, confirmed what he thought.
They were fighting more sluggishly now, as if energy was slowly being drained from them, which he realized it was, understanding it was their life energy.
The crossbow bolts were poisoned.
He smelled the bolt’s quiver, and a faint, acrid smell came up his nostrils.
He knew his enhanced endocrine system was capable of handling most drugs and poison, but he knew that even his augmented system paled compared to one of a Giant.
The same amount of toxins that could paralyze him would most likely barely slow the Giants down.
And so to see most of them barely remaining on their feet after a couple of bolts had hit, he knew with certainty how lucky he had been of blocking the Drow’s attack.
The bolts would have killed him.
He was more than ever happy for his incredible reflexes, and for the Bioware they were borne from.
The fight was over, he saw, and the Dwarves had won a costly victory.
He lifted his hands in the air, and went down to meet them, ready to answer all the questions they would surely have for him.
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Thou must respect the James!
A nice actiony update with a priceless sorceress, I guess you would call her that, learning just how far out of her league James, hero of the multi-verse, is. Arrow catching was impressive as well.
A nice actiony update with a priceless sorceress, I guess you would call her that, learning just how far out of her league James, hero of the multi-verse, is. Arrow catching was impressive as well.
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Coming back from a 2 week vacation in Barcelona and the south of France... :)
Should be able to post an update soon... :)
Breetai, where the hell are you?
Should be able to post an update soon... :)
Breetai, where the hell are you?
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sonofccn
- Starship Captain
- Posts: 1657
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:23 pm
- Location: Sol system, Earth,USA
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Congrats! And Welcome back!Praeothmin wrote:Coming back from a 2 week vacation in Barcelona and the south of France... :)
Good because Arrows still needs to learn why James is to be respected.Praeothmin wrote:Should be able to post an update soon... :)
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Praeothmin
- Jedi Master
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:24 pm
- Location: Quebec City
Re: "The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everythi
Respect just might be doled out on both sides... :)sonofccn wrote:Good because Arrows still needs to learn why James is to be respected.