Unusual Encounters

Hmph! Go get cultured she said! If you can kill tow birds with one stone, go do it she said! This is more trouble than it's worth! The young blond bit harshly into the Karack meat. All around him were soldiers. Dead ones. With a certain emblem. That of the Dying Suns. He hadn't looted their bodies yet of any financial resources yet, but that was certainly on the agenda. He had travelled pretty far from Edia, ordered by his de facto mother and superior officer to go "get cultured." He didn't know much of the outside world. Or at least outside of Edia. He did pass through a...questionable city by the name of Karem. He didn't think such a place existed until he'd seen it. Though he was able to kill a bird there already, his job wasn't done. He was going to loop around the edges of the Kingdom of Mandolin and head back south to Edia.

The longer haired man didn't have a speck of blood on him, though his black scythe laying next to him, the blade still dripping with blood, was a different story. He wore almost noble clothes, mostly white in color with black boots and gold and black trim. Though he did carry a dark, Navy blue sword on his back. He wasn't expecting to have to defend himself out here. Though he did find an encampment nearby. Not too close where he was, but further than he would have expected a patrol. He didn't even know these people! So why did they attack him? Well whatever. He did notice something out of the corner of his eye. "Oh just come out of there. Were these guys your friends? They attacked me first and without so much as even asking questions..." His eyes narrowed at the area he saw them in. Or at least one of them. His slitted eyes were difficult to see right off hand, as the iris around the pupil was darker than the rest of it. The five foot ten man looked younger than he actually was, though not by a lot, being twenty-three years old, but still looking like a teenager.

Soldiers with the dying sun emblem hid in the bushes. They had been scouting ahead for while the rest of the camp rested and were on their way back, but had arrived to a massacre. A single man stood in the camp, but surely there were more in the area. They shared some wispers, a plan to attack and kill the man when his guard dropped, before his friends returned. However he had noticed them, and within a moment the men who had been hiding in the bushes rushed forward to attack the man. However they didn't make it half way across the clearing before an arrow shot out of the bushes to their left and hit one man in the head. The other watched his friend fall and turned to meet the new threat, in the form of a 5'5" redhead who had dashed from the trees, bow in hand, and planted a black leather boot in his chest. The second Dying Sun's soldier was sent flying onto his back. The girl lept on to him, punched him in the face with the hand holding the bow to stun him and ripped open his throat with her free hand.

As he lay dying on the floor she knocked another arrow and smiled at him. "When you stalk your prey, you really should check for other predators." She said as his life gurgled out of him. Vala stood up, and looked at the man with the scythe. "Impressive murdering skills. I watched some of the fight. Is there a reason you dislike the Dying Suns?" If not, perhaps he just liked to murder at random. His choice of victims was atleast pleasing, aslong as he didn't turn that impressively oversized weapon on her. She warily moved towards him. Vala wore all black and had pale skin. She was often mistaken for a human, but a closer look often revealed that she was a heanta. Usually seening her claws in action was a dead give away, since she lacked the horns most heanta were graced with. "I am hoping the enemy of my enemy will at the very least not attack me."

Rex's eyes narrowed even more and grabbed his scythe, ready for another pointless fight. Only for it to be interrupted by someone else. A shorter woman, though still taller than his childhood friend. Armed with a bow and some gauntlets. He watched her pick them apart, one literally with a clawed hand. Something did not seem quite right with her. She'd apparently saw some of his previous fight. She moved towards him warily, but did not seem like she wanted a fight. At least, not with him. Pressing a button on his oversized weapon, it shrunk to a much more manageable size. Hopefully an action that clearly said that he did not intend to get violent with her. "To be honest, I'm surprised a Heanta is out this far. Let alone not actually wanting to fight me. As educating as that would be. I haven't even heard of these Dying Suns until today. And had no reason to dislike them. Until they attacked me for no reason whatsoever. At least they died under the sun." He made a wave motion to help herself to some of the food he'd cooked. Some of it wasn't completely cooked. Something he heard Heanta were ok with.

"What about you? I would have hoped earning the ire of a Heanta, no matter how weak, would be a mistake most would not even risk of making. Even us Asentari know better than that." And he didn't like Heanta at all due to their transgressions against his people. But he also wasn't going to pick a fight with one either.

Vala removed the arrow she had knocked and slipped it into her quiver. "Oh good your reasonable. As interesting as going against that scythe would be I've had my fill of fighting today. These dying suns have camps scattered all around here." She said. They had hit one earlier, and Fayla was tracking another at the moment. "Mmm. I wouldn't say i'm a normal heanta." She said as she walked towards him. He would understand if Fayla graced them with her presence. He offered her food and she pointed at one of the dead men. "Its fine I'll just eat one of them." She said with a straight face before smiling. "Thats a joke. I tend to avoid eating humans. Especially the males. Actually I'm good though. I ate recently." She said. Heanta with demon matrixes could go without food for a few weeks, and she tried to eat only when she needed to to avoid becoming overly greedy. And despite the fact that they had avoided hostilities so far, she wasn't going to accept food from a stranger when she hadn't seen him clearly as he prepared it.

Vala looked around the camp and back at the man. Who had refered to himself as an Asantari. "Ah. Clever to avoid making enemies with heanta. The dying suns didn't get the memo mind you." And apparently they had no qualms making more. They must be out here harrassing travellers. They weren't far from the road, and had apparently attacked the asentari though she had missed the initial opening moments of the fight and what could have possibly sparked it. She was inclinded to believe him though. "A few years back they tried to kidnap a friend." It was her, but mentioning she was someone worth kidnapping seemed like a bad idea.  "They also killed some of my other Friends. I've been sent to find out why, and who sent them." Though she had suspicions as to who that was.  

"So what brings an asentari so far north? You know, Karem and Karcanak aren't exactly tourist spots. Unless you like all the perks that come with a slaver utopia. Not judging, heanta can't exactly take the moral high ground when it comes to slavery." He was also the second Asentari she'd met in the last few days this far north, though she was not going to mention that particular detail either.

Rex made a face when she said she'd just eat one of them. Only to go back on it a bit, saying it was a joke. It was a bad one...since it was sort of well known that Heanta can and will eat humans. And Eldari. Though her comment did make him rise an eyebrow. "I'd argue that's just common sense, not wanting to make enemies. Although, you'd probably be hard pressed to find one of us that actually likes your kind. After all, your kind did attack us. But do go on." Then she went into the why.

Though it was odd...hearing all about how evil Heanta are, and they can have friends? Who knew. Maybe they were more...civilized? Humanized? Than what they gave them credit for? He'd have to look into that more...he really should have retained more information that they had.

Then he was asked about why he was so far north. "Karem was fascinating. I was told to go out and 'get cultured.' So I was doing just that." He shrugged. If it was his choice, he'd have killed certain people there. But alas, he was only to learn more about the world. Not interfere with it too much. "That said, I didn't realize I was that far north to be close enough for a Heantan agent to be here. Either way, I'd gladly give some assistance on dealing with these Dying Suns. Some punishment for attacking me without provocation. I did spot an encampment somewhat nearby...this seemed a little far from it for a patrol, though. Just give me a little bit of time to change clothes...I was not expecting to have to defend myself here..."

He was wearing his good clothes, and he'd rather not get them bloody or cut up. Taking a large, draw string bag, and his scythe, he moved into the bushes to change. He was in there maybe five minutes before stepping out to show him wearing mostly black and darker clothes. His sword was still on his back, and he was carrying his scythe.

"I was assuming that camp was theirs, at least. Care to join me?" It was evening, but not exactly dusk. Once it was night, Rex would be able to blend in pretty well with the darker lighting. He led the way...

Vala nodded. "We did. Soon as you guys said 'Hi we're here', heanta did what they do best. I'd appologize for that, but there's no point. But just so you know, we're not all like that." She said. Vala wasn't proud of some of her peoples customs, but war was in their blood. She knew that, heanta couldn't help it. Even she loved a good fight.

"Fascinating? Thats an interesting word to use when describing Karem. But I suppose its not everyday you see so much crime and debauchery in one place." Worse than Av'eden even. The heanta capital was many things, but crime was incredibly rare there. Its hard to rob someone when they're more likely to try gut you than comply. "Get cultured? So did you visit Edaria? Or are you saving that for the return trip?" She was surprised by the news that Edaria was run by an asentari. Possibly the first to leave her homeland, long before most of the world knew of their existance. She'd always wondered about the place where everyone was accepted. She wondered if they really included heanta, or if that was just rumors. Not that heanta weren't allowed in other cities. But they were usually treated with a great deal of wariness and suspicion, Karen and Karcanak excluded of course.

"Your actually not far enough north for that. Which is probably for the best." Vala said to him as she checked the string of her bow. That last shot had felt a bit weak. Perhaps she needed to change to a new one. "Most heanta would attack you for the sheer thrill of fighting something new." And in many cases, eating something new. "I'm not going to decline a chance to see you fight more. Go change." She said. She removed the string from her bow and fished out a fresh one from her small pack, sitting in the grass while she waited for him to change. When he was done she gave an appreciative nod to the color scheme. "Yes. Before we go, we should go meet my friend. She was scouting what I assume is the camp you mentioned. Don't be alarmed when you meet her. She's a bit of a handful but she's good." Vala said as she stood up. She bagan walking into the woods, towards the road where they had planned to meet back up before hitting the two camps.

Vala was proving to be...not what he'd expected from a Heanta. Though she seemed surprise at his choice of words about Karem. Then asked about his place of birth. He knew of the city, but Edia was further south. Would it be wise to say something? Rex thought a little bit about that. He didn't think so. If anything, it might make her wonder. "Actually, further south. Edia itself. From the Floating Islands that is Upper Edia. That's all I think I can say. But I do plan on stopping by on my way back down." He gave her a measured, sideways glance. Just to see her reaction.

He nodded, and changed course to follow her. When he realized...they hadn't introduced each other. "Ah...where are my manners...I'm Rex von Broven. You are?" If he was going to watch someone's back, or allow someone to watch his, it would be nice to know the person's name. Although, it would be curious to see who this other person was. Was she another heanta? He'd have to be doubly wary if that was the case...

Vala nodded as he explained about his hometown, without going into to much detail. That was understandable, given the history. She was careful about what she gave away too. "I'm smart enough to steer clear of Edia. I would love to see the floating Islands though. But I'd also like to see the golden city, and thats unlikely to ever happen unless I'm taken captive by some angry eldari." Who knew enough about her to not kill her on the spot.

She continued walking and stopped only when he introduced himself.  "Oh right of course. I forget about that sometimes. I'm usually to busy defending myself to talk names at this point. So this is kind of refreshing actually." Vala turned to him and considered how much to share. Things could turn ugly if he understood who she was. But he hadn't attacked her for being a heanta, and maybe it was unlikely to change because of her name.

"I am Valatrix of the Hornless Clan. Please, call me Vala though. " She said with a smile and began walking again. It wasn't long before they reached the road and she stopped to wait for Fayla. Who should be on her way back by now.

Deep in the forest, Faylandrea Shor leaped nimbly from tree to tree. Fayla and Vala had been following a trail for a few weeks now, and they had finally struck pay-dirt. They had found the locations of two Dying Suns camps in the Khudan Forest, a thick forest in the Free Lands, north of Karem. Fayla was on her way to meet Vala on the Karem Road, having scouted out one of the camps. It was a bog-standard mercenary camp, though there were far more patrol units than normal for a camp of that size. She had been careful not to alert any patrols that she saw, as they had both worked very hard to get the breakthrough they needed to hopefully track down the war chief Thassa, and put an end to her.

Fayla reached the meeting point, a small stone monument signalling the halfway point on the road through the forest, and surveyed the area. No sign of Vala yet. She reached into her travel pack and pulled out an apple she had "borrowed" from a watch-post on the way out of Karem. She began to crunch noisily on it, until she somehow heard movement in the foliage up the road. Fayla took cover behind a tree and waited for whoever or whatever it was to appear.

Vala emerged from the ditch nearby, accompanied by a young, white-haired man in black clothing. The Heanta reached the stone marker and stopped to wait. Fayla emerged from behind her tree, and began munching on the apple again as she approached them. "I was beginning to think you got lost." Fayla playfully punched Vala on the arm. "I thought I might have to beat up all the bad guys all on my lonesome." Fayla turned to the Asentari, her green eyes appraising the man fully. "Who's your friend here?"

She shared her name. Vala of the Hornless Clan? Why did that sound familiar? Oh well, he'd dwell on that later. When he saw someone coming from the trees, he uncollapsed his scythe, ready for a fight. Only for her to talk to Vala like they were old friends. At that, he collapsed it again, seeing her playfully punching the Heanta in the arm. He looked at her more closely, and sputtered. Then he looked at Vala right in the eyes. "Even back in Edia we've heard how much Eldari and Heanta hate each other. You truly are not a normal Heanta...perhaps one day you will see the Floating Islands." He looked again at the fruit eating Eldari. "Rex von Broven. A new enemy of these Dying Suns...as of less than an hour ago. Pleasure."

Hopefully the three of them will at least get along enough to finish the job. "Heard you've done some scouting. What can you share?"

~

A five foot nine blood red man approached the main tent. The guards stood at attention, but let him in nonetheless. "Seemed we had a traveler that knew how to handle himself. It's about time we got some actual prey...these petty jobs were getting tiresome. This person took down a couple of our patrols. Probably wasn't alone either, considering one had been taken out by arrows and what appeared to be claws. Everyone else was missing limbs. A majority of them, their heads. Your orders? Can I please deploy my Crimson Guard?" The man's amber eyes were slitted, and practically glowing. Aside from that and the longer than typical canine teeth from his grin, you couldn't tell he was an Asentari. A newcomer to the Dying Suns, but one that quickly rose in the ranks. And now commanded their better fighters.

Vala noticed Fayla as soon as she appeared from behind the stone, apple in hand. "Oh please you'd love to have them all to yourself." She said in response. Fayla asked about Rex, who was of course surprised to see an eldari and heanta getting on.  "Well I can't take all the credit. Fayla's not exactly a normal Eldari, considering the majority of eldari that i have met were trying to kill me." She said to him. And then responded to Fayla. "I met him at the other camp, after he slaughtered the majority of them. Since we didn't try to kill each other, we figured why not work together to deal with the other group. There was no sign of the one armed commander." Though thinking about it, there was allot of limbs missing from the bodies.

Vala guessed that the other camp was larger. The one armed commander their informant spoke of the other day wasn't likely to travel unprotected, if he was actually out here. She waited to see what Fayla had found out, and then they could put together a plan of action.


Thalbjorn kept his focus far away as the asentari before him spoke of the situation. A patrol camp wiped out, cut to ribbons and clawed up. "That is to common an occuranse as of late to be an isolated incident. You speak of prey, but I must warn you, asentari that we may be the pray. Our leader has made enemies with some dangerous foes, and its likely they're about to attack us, so you would do well to not treat this as a game." He considered his options before standing up. "However this might be an oppertunity for both of us. Deploy your crimson guard, tell the rest of the men to prepare for an attack. and find our best scouts. Tell them that once we identify these foes, they are to head to Yoniva Town to report to Thassa. She needs to know who hunts her."

Fayla swallowed a mouthful of apple and stuck her tongue out at Vala. The young Asentari expressed surprised at the two girls' friendship, and stowed his weapon away. Vala explained that they were both rather unique cases within their peoples. Trained eyes could detect the unique heritage of the two, Vala's lack of horns and Fayla's green eyes. But to those not familiar with Heanta and Eldari physiology, the signs were more difficult to see. Fayla chuckled at Rex's shocked expression. "Yeah, and all of the Heanta I've met have attempted to have me for dinner. Except this one of course." Rex introduced himself, and Vala explained to Fayla how they met. Fayla nodded and extended a hand to Rex. "Nice to meet you, Rex. I'm Fayla. Fayla Shor." Rex then asked about any Fayla's recon mission, and she nodded and began her debrief.

"Oh yeah, about that... I found him Vala. Thalbjorn. I was able to get close enough to the camp to scope out rough numbers, and they're pretty big. It's weird that there's a camp that big out here, but it's here. Thalbjorn commands the camp and it's really heavily defended. Four man patrols leave the camp every 10 mins or so, meaning there's always at least three patrols around the base. I was almost detected on the way out but I managed to evade the patrols." Fayla finished munching on her apple and tossed the remains away. She drew her bow and checked her ammunition.

"As well as the patrols, the camp is protected by a palisade wall, and watchtowers every 50 yds. Here..." Fayla used the end of her bow and sketched a very rough outline of the camp. "...is roughly what's there. What do you think?"

Rex shook the offered hand, accepting of the answer. It would be good in his report back to include that these two were exceptions and not the rule. Another surname that sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. He was able to get the name of the commander, and an idea on the patrols. They took down one small camp. But the main one had a wooden wall with watchtowers around it, much like the one he'd spotted earlier. "So the camp I saw earlier was it. Six watchtowers total sound about right? I didn't keep a good look, just saw it and went in another direction. Any other significant officers? Anyone new to you two, since it seems you have history with them? Or anyone else that seemed particularly dangerous?" He wanted an idea of what he was going to walk in with them on.

"The way I see it, they're going to be on high alert already. Nighttime would be ideal to strike, keep the numbers low and kill as many of them as possible without bodies being noticed. Not as much resistance when they do find out they're under assault. I'm pretty good at sneaking around, though this would be the largest camp I'd snuck into if it sounds good with the two of you. That's at least my opinion...your thoughts?" He didn't have much experience...mostly small bandit groups and thugs. This could go pretty smoothly or very badly.

~

The red headed youngin barked out a laugh. "I didn't make it this far nor climbed the ranks this quickly by being weak or stupid. Still, nice to know you care about me. I'll find out who they are. I'll use our magic flares, so have someone keep an eye on the sky. Approximate location and the number of them will be shown." Kronos walked over to where the map was and studied it. "The camp was here...so if I was them, and had someone do some scouting and assassinating, I'd plan and meet them somewhere...in here..." He tapped the two locations. The Khudan Forest. That was going to be a challenge. "Let's see if I'm as good as I think am. Hopefully, we'll be seeing each other soon enough." With that, he left and gathered their best scouts and his Crimson Guard.

After telling them of the situation, he told them his plan and his formation. It was a recon in force. He didn't grab all of his Guard, but he did grab just under half of them, around eighteen plus ten dedicated scouts. Just before leaving, he made sure all the watchtowers were manned fully, and told them to be on high alert, any more patrols were to go out with double the number. So hopefully one or two would be able to escape...assuming they faced only one opponent.

Still...it takes two of his guard to stall him for a while. And they were used to sparring with him at this point. Against others that were at his level...well, now's a good a test as ever.

Vala nodded. "Well, I for one would like to march in and kick the biggest fighter they have in the face... But if the camp is this big, low profile is probably best. We could do with a distraction. I dont suppose your the fire breathing kind of asentari?" She asked, then explained her own idea. "If we set a fire on one side of the camp we could draw most of the forces away from Thalbjorn. We'd only need a few minutes to beat the information we need out of him. Or better still grab him and drag him out of there during the choas. Worse case scenario two of us engage to give the other more time to escape with Thalbjorn."

Vala let them consider the plan. However, as they spoke, something in the air felt quite not right. Where there had been the chirping of birds and other animals, there was only silence. Something was wrong. Vala caught Fayla's eye and raised a finger to her ear, telling her freind to listen. Hopefully Rex would catch on too, he'd certainly noticed the men sneaking up on him eariler in the day. Vala pulled her bow free and quickly strung it, then knocked an arrow, shifting her footing into a defensive stance.

Fayla nodded at Rex's own assessment. His description of the camp matched the one she had scouted herself. She adjusted the fastenings on her leather forearm guards as she spoke.  "Yeah, that's about right. We know about Thalbjorn. He's a higher-up of the Dying Suns. We're hoping to find out where an even higher-higher-up is hiding. Thassa. We owe her some beat-down. That's the job." She looked up at Rex again and studied the young man's stern gaze. "We need him alive to make this worthwhile. Thalbjorn is the strongest lead we have. If he dies before telling us where Thassa is, we'll be back to square one."

Rex made a suggestion about how to proceed. It wasn't a bad plan, and if Rex was as good at stealth as he said, that would be a bonus. Vala then gave her thoughts, expressing her desire to simply punch her way through, but she acquiesced, suggesting a diversion. Fayla nodded. "I wanna do that too, but I agree. As much as I hate to say it, we need to plan this." She shook her head. "Still feels weird saying that. Anyway, we probably can't draw him out, so like Vala said, we should focus on drawing his forces away. I was thinking..." Fayla stopped talking when Vala gestured to her ear and began stringing her bow. The Eldari heard what Vala wanted her to hear. Silence. She nocked an arrow of her own and looked around alertly.

Rex listened. So they were after their leader, not necessarily anyone else. The other plan was good if all they were after was the bigwig. But didn't notice anyone else. Before he could give out his input, he saw the gestures. Silence. But that wasn't the kind a typical human caused. Standing up and turning round to scan the forests, he extended his scythe. Then his eyes widened at the sound of a voice, causing him to switch his scythe to his left arm and draw his navy blue sword with his right.

"Well, well, well, to think I'd see you again way out here. I see you still love your oversized scythes, Rexie." From the forest, a five foot nine, blazing red haired young man about the same age as Rex stepped out, wearing a variant of the Dying Suns uniform. His amber eyes practically glowed and were slitted. Since he was sideways, his large oval shield blocked most of the view. But Rex knew the man had a blood red cutlass in his other hand. "Plus, how appropriate you joined Valatrix of the Hornless Clan and Faylandrea Shor...they have mighty big shoes to fill, and Thalbjorn and Thassa have told me all about them. Have you told them that you're the adoptive son of our hero? It is rather fitting you meet them...they're descendants of their respective races' heroes. Did you know that?" He tilted his head, almost mocking him while being condescending.

"That's not important. What brought you to these scumbags? These people seem far below the likes of you, traitor." Rex was every bit as condescending as his other counterpart.

Kronos turned to face him to show him his full profile. And shrugged. "It's a job, for now. Plus they're an interesting bunch. Besides, I'm a little anxious to see how my Crimson Guard handle the girls. They're no slouches...but then again, it could just be they've gotten more used to sparring with me and know what I'm capable of. This would make a good test." from woods came four soldiers, with customized weapons, but not as well equipped as Kronos, Rex, Fayla, and Vala. But still better equipped than the others in the Dying Suns.

Rex stared him down for a full minute without anyone making a move. Without taking his venomous gaze off of Kronos, he spoke to the girls. "I've got a bone to pick with this guy. Either way, this makes things a lot more complicated. Leave him to me..."

With that, he lunged with the scythe. Only for his rival to bat it away with his shield and move to Rex's left. The blond darted to the right, changing the scythe blade's directing and went with another swing. Kronos blocked it with his shield and scraped it against the pole-arm, getting close. Rex spun, meeting sword with sword, but not a single one of them gaining an inch...both seeming evenly matched.

Fayla caught on to what was happening quickly. A few seconds later, another Redhead stepped out of the woods and started to talk with Rex. Vala glanced at Fayla as the newcomer began rattling off information like it was going out of fashion. Rex didn't seem to care about anything he said concerning them, and while she found the sliver of info the newcomer dropped about Rex interesting, it wasn't something she would look into at the moment. The two had a back and forth, and then a few more guys stepped out of the woods. Rex said he had business to settle with the Traitor.

"Oh come on, I thought we were freinds Rexie. Why dont you leave him to me. You've already faught him before." And they started fighting. The four soldiers began advancing forward, blocking her and Fayla from getting in the way. Vala ignored them and turned to Fayla as she released the tension on her bow and returned the arrow to her bow hand. "Well, this is boring. I guess we're just sidelined." She said to Fayla. The soldiers shuffled closer, and drew weapons. "Want to play Rock parchment Knife while we-"

"HEY!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Turn and fight us, Heanta." the command was met with a glance to the side and completely ignored. "While we wait?" Vala asked. The irate soldier took a moment to process, and then suddenly charged at her, sword scything through the air towards her neck. Vala bent backwards under the attack and spun around, planing the back of her fist across the soldiers helmetted head. His head snapped aside and he spun away, staggering to a stop a few feet back. To her surprise, he didn't fall flat on his face, and eventually shrugged it off as his comrades moved to support and protect him.

"Oh fine if you want to die that badly who am I to deny you." She said with a feral grin. The soldiers fanned out around her and Fayla. Vala moved to protect Fayla's back. "Does this remind you of anything Fayla?" She asked as they circled. The soldiers charged as one, swords scything for both girls. Vala shot an arrow at the one to her left, distracting her, and ducked past the other one's attack. She lay into his side with two wicked punches, and kicked him away before spinning to dodge the womans next attack. Meanwhile, the other two men continued to assail Fayla with a veriety of slashes and thrusts.

Fayla turned and trained her bow on the red-haired person that emerged from the trees, and listened as he and Rex exchanged words. They clearly knew each other, but more interestingly the newcomer knew who she and Vala were also. Fayla sighed as Rex informed them that they were not a part of this fight. "Well, just as long as you win. I didn't come here to stand and watch you get your hide handed to you."

Four more soldiers came into view and advanced slowly towards them. Fayla grinned as she took aim at one with her bow. "That's more like it. Though you might wanna get more guys. You know. Make it a fair fight." Vala suggested a game of rock-parchment-knife while they wait, although she was interrupted somewhat by one of the goons rudely yelling at her. "Yeah, sounds good. Winner gets to go in and get Thalbjorn."

Vala dodged a sword swing from the nearest brute and clocked him across the head. He spun backwards but remained on his feet. Fayla loosed her arrow and it flew into the man's shoulder, staggering him. He recovered and snapped the arrow as his comrades began to circle the two girls. Fayla stowed her bow away and drew her sword as she and Vala took up a battle stance back-to-back. Vala remarked on the familiarity of the situation. Fayla chuckled. "You mean like, every fight ever?"

The soldiers attacked simultaneously. Vala fired an arrow at one and nailed another one with body punches. Fayla ducked an attempt to decapitate her from a third, and swept the man's legs out from underneath him with her blade. The fourth was a female, and she barked curses at her as she swung a nasty looking mace at Fayla. The Eldari side stepped a body blow and vaulted over an attempted sweep. She landed on the woman's mace, pinning it to the floor momentarily. She then ran up the woman's arm and leaped from her shoulders and landed feet-first on the man she had floored already as he tried to stand up, driving the wind out of him. She turned as the woman let out a howl of rage and charged Fayla, attempting to bring her mace down on the Eldari. However, Fayla back-flipped away, leaving her Second Chance dummy in her place.

The woman's mace drove straight down through the dummy and into her comrade's skull as he attempted to get up again. is head hit the ground with a thud and he didn't move again, a deep dent in his helmet. The woman ripped off her helmet and glared at Fayla with unbridled rage. "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!! YOU WORTHLESS RUNT!!" Fayla simply shrugged.
"Hey, I'm not worthless. I can cook meals and cut people. That's gotta be worth something!" The woman just growled, deciding her next move.

In a whirl of blades, the two did notice the sudden loss of one of the Crimson Guard. "Not a good showing already. And what are you looking at!" Rex charged with scythe and sword. Kronos deflected the scythe, only to be locked in by both weapons. He deflected them and aimed a roundhouse kick to the head. Rex ducked under it and moved past his rival and spun to face him again. In a clash, both netted a hit, Rex getting cut on the shoulder and Kronos on the side. With all weapons involved being made of divinium, they'd go through an Asentari's dragon skin with ease.

"You idiot! Cool it or she'll kill you!" Kronos turned just in time deflect another scythe swing and a sword strike. The young man stomp kicked Rex, making him stumble back just enough for him to detach a couple of smoke bombs. He kicked the first right in Rex's face, and kicked the other towards Fayla. With a small pop, black smoke covered all the combatants as a coded whistle was done by Kronos.

Rex yelled his warning at Vala just before the smoke obscured his vision, seeing Kronos aim his shield at her back. "Vala behind you! Darts! And watch it, he can still see through this smoke!" Five darts was fired at the Heanta's back as her two opponents backed off and positioned themselves so that the darts would miss should she dodge them.

Still, Kronos darted towards Fayla, swinging a sword at her head in the middle of the inky black smoke. Then he backed off. When it cleared, the three remaining soldiers were already on their way out as Kronos's throat burned golden.

Rex's burned cyan as he rushed between the girls and his opponent. The resulting clash of fire and lightning made a clear line in the sand. Rex only realized his mistake then. When the show was over, Kronos's sword was in his scabbard, his right arm extended outward, glowing gold. "Sorry about the poor showing. But we really should get going. I'm sure I'll see the three of you soon enough." Rex couldn't get a warning off when Kronos used his flash bang, causing an extremely bright flash that would blurry their vision long enough for him to get away, and a loud enough boom to disorient them too.

When Rex got his wits back together, Kronos was long gone. But a gut feeling told him something wasn't right. He looked up to see three sunbursts. Magic Flares, all around him. "We need to leave, now!" He yelled at the girls, just in case they were still deaf from the boom. And pointed up. Hoping they'd get his reason. This got turned into a bad situation...

~

Kronos grabbed a hold of the girl's throat, choking her. "I've done a similar maneuver on you and a partner before. And I told you when you almost killed him then to swing horizontal, you dumb bitch. I thought I hammered into you guys much better teamwork than that! I should kill you for getting your squad-mate killed!" He tossed her to the ground. He was furious. "I don't give second chances lightly. You all know that. So take advantage of it, Mira. Get a grip on your anger. Or the enemy will kill you with it. Let's go." He mounted his horse and ran off with the rest in tow. Their scouts were already on their way to Yoniva Town to tell Thassa about who hunts them. Along with light details of Rex.

When he got back to camp, he dismounted and headed straight to Thalbjorn. "So, what should I expect from Valatrix of the Hornless and Faylandrea Shor in terms of abilities and magic powers? I know what to expect from an old rival from way back in Edia. Rex is good at sneaking around and assassinating bitches, but equally good in a stand up fight. He likes his scythes and his one handed long-sword. A lightning asentari, he has a weak lightning attack similar to my Explosion, and an ability similar to my Flash Bang. But more Flash and no Bang. Otherwise, illusions and hallucinogens don't work once, and he bleeds a lot and regenerates blood quickly."

The red head went to a desk and started writing details on Rex on a messenger's parchment. They had messenger pigeons and ravens for this reason. Then he started to think about what they might do. "It's clear they're gonna be after you. The question is how are they gonna go about it?"

Vala dodged another wild swing and moved in closer to her attacker, making it difficult for the other two swing at her without risking hitting his freind. She used her proximity to stop the other opponant's attacks and lay into him with her palms and elbows. She circled and kicked him into his friend, just as Fayla pulled off her mirage dodge, and her opponant, who got way to into things, crushed her comrades skull in his helmet like a watermelon. Both of Vala's opponants became distracted by this, and she went for the throat as her foes backs were to her. The fates were on their side at that moment though, as their boss shouted a warning and they remembered who they had their back to.

It appeared what ever rivalry the two asentari had was less important to the redhead than his soldiers. He abondoned the fight and threw in a couple of smokebombs to confuse the situation. Rex shouted a warning to Vala about darts, and she activated her Drakna's shield, pushing back the smoke in a bubble around her. The darts bounced off the shield and shot back in Kronos' general direction, and then he disappeared in the smoke.

She dropped the shield as the smoke began to disipate, when Kronos opened his mouth to probably breath something fun at her and Fayla. Vala dashed infront of her freind, but Rex was one step ahead of them and countered the breath of fire with his own attack. Then there was a bright flash that she instinctively blocked with her arm, and a deafening boom. When the light cleared off, the cowardly asentari was fleeing with his soldiers. Vala turned to check on Fayla, as Rex pointed out the flares. She shrugged. "We need to disappear. And go straight for the camp. They know we're coming but they wont expect us to go straight at them." She said.

***

Thalbjorn wasn't surprised to see Kronos back in one piece, but he brought problematic news with him. Apparently the two brats who'd been hounding the dying suns had found more backup. "From most reports, they tend towards close combat. Thassa watched them cut and claw their way through a rake of her men back when this all started, and they've only gotten deadlier. Most of what we know is from examining the mess they leave behind. They're fast, deadly, and the heanta can crack bones and crush armor as easily as twigs if you dont watch her. The eldari could probably put an arrow through your eye at 200 yards. And from the aftermath of most battles, our men didn't even know they were there until they started dropping." He didn't have much more. It was hard to know, when they rarely left survivors.

"They want Thassa. They must know I know where she is, and they will come for me. So, why dont we let them." He said. "If we see them coming we can control the fight. Let them sneak by, do what they need to, and let them come straight for me. Then we can spring an ambush, and hopefully put an end to this mess. If we do, the Warlord will be a very happy heanta."

Fayla was about to brace herself for a counter-attack from the enraged woman in front of her, when Kronos shouted at her to get a hold of herself. Then the battle changed when the red-haired Heanta set off smoke bombs in the area, one in Rex's face and another under Fayla's feet. The Eldari's vision was obscured almost immediately, and she frantically looked around at the silhouettes moving around in the smoke around her. Rex yelled to Vala about darts, and a shape suddenly loomed towards her from the same direction. Fayla's foot hit off a tree root, and the new strategy came to her at once. Focusing on the tree and its connection to the world, Fayla Wild Stepped up into the tree canopy, avoiding a slash from Kronos in the process. Then there was a flash of fire and a crackle of electricity as two attacks collided in the smoke below. A bright flash went off next, accompanied by a loud bang that deafened Fayla for a few moments.

When her vision and hearing returned, she looked down to see Vala and Rex standing alone. Kronos and his men had vanished. Rex pointed out the large bright orbs above them, and knew that they were in trouble. Vala suggested moving at the camp. Fayla agreed. "Yeah, that's probably the best option. They'll know we're coming, so we need to hit them before they're ready." Fayla lithely dropped down beside Vala and checked her bracers and her ammunition. "Shall we?"

Rex fumed at the suggestion. "Oh sure. Let's get caught between a camp and a recon in force. That's a great way to get killed. Kronos, that red headed Asentari, already made sure everything was in tip top shape and bolstered before he left. That's how he is. Getting flanked is a good way to get killed. Either way, we're likely falling into his hands, whether he meant it or not, but retreating and coming up with a more solid plan of action is the less likely way we all get killed. Kronos is extraordinarily good at managing and commanding an army, it's why he was sent to the general army instead of our elite forces like myself after graduation. We need to be more cautious now that he's a part of them." He pleaded with them. With any luck, they'd listen and at least grudgingly agree to back off a bit and plan.

Upon reaching a new area with no pursuers in sight, he spoke again, assuming they did listen. "Ok...Kronos has an enchantment on his cutlass. A fire whip that reacts distinctly at certain metals and of course it burns. His shield is a hotbed of unique physical traits beyond being large and made of divinium. Granted, not the whole thing, but most of it. He varies what he hides in it. Aside from his dragon's breath, the only offensive magic you have to worry about is his explosion, but that has a limited range of roughly a foot.

He'll expect stealth. And at night, his heat vision will spot us long before we reach the walls. Inflicting chaos like in the first suggestion is probably best. The trick is how we go about doing it. Don't suppose you two know of any alpha predators in the area?" It was a riskier plan...but in Rex's eyes, what choice did they have?

~

Kronos grimaced at what little details he had. "The Shor girl will be problematic...I'm not good with that long of range. The Heanta girl sounds fun, though. Faylandrea can also leave an illusion or clone in her wake while she dodges. That's how she got Mira to accidentally kill Vern. I would expect some other clone or illusion shenanigan from her.

I don't mind the plan. That'd be easy with how we're set up and manned, especially after the rest of the recon force comes back. And at night, my vision ability makes me better to spot them. How much should we resist before springing the trap? Or how obvious should we make it? My worry is what new tricks Rex has in his new scythe...before, he had an extra short sword in it, I wouldn't count on it being the same here. But if they're desperate for a lead..." The young man shrugged as he inventoried his shield. He didn't use that much. But he'd need to reconfigure it to a more...offensive approach.

"Well Kronos hasn't met us yet. You think we can't handle it Rex? We've been fighting these assholes for years, never mind everything we've endured before that. My mother wouldn't run from this. My grandfather would go right through them like a meat cleaver." But she wasn't her grandfather. And Rex might not be as experienced as either of them. He wanted to get involved in this fight, but risking him by rushing the camp was hardly fair on him. "Damn. Your right, Rexie. Fayla lets listen to Rex for now." She suggested. Fayla would probably agree.

When they were away from there at the very least, Rex began to explain Kronos' powers. "I noticed the darts. Cheap tricks won't help him." She said. She wasn't to concerned about him. But it was good to know about his powers. When Rex was done talking he proposed another plan. She looked at Falya and grinned maniacly. "Fayla, you remember that thing we faught the last time we came this way? Big, four legs, angry as fuck?" Oh, this was going to be allot more fun than attacking the camp head on.

***

"One other thing. They've been working together for years. They'll fight one on one if challenged, but if either gets in trouble the other one wont hesitate to get involved. Keeping them both would be ideal, but I doubt they'll accept a formal challenge at the moment." He said. Thalbjorn stood up and started to strap on his armor. He kept talking while he did. "We can leave them until their right on top of me and spring the trap. This Rex must know as much about you as you do him, so he's going to expect your heat vision. Anyway we can make them think your no longer here? Make it as convincing as possible even if we leave me exposed for a while. I can still fight, dont worry about that."

Fayla stroked her chin in response to Rex's protest. "Well, he would have planned for something, but he wouldn't have known exactly what he was dealing with until now." The Eldari stowed her bow and sword away as she continued. "In any case, any advantage we would've had is probably gone now. Alright, let's go then." She ran into the forest with the others.

The trio reached a point where they were relatively out of danger, and stopped to discuss a new plan. Rex explained about Kronos' abilities, namely his shield and his heat-vision. She listened to Rex's lecture, which he concluded by proposing a new plan. Fayla matched Vala's sinister grin. "Just like it was yesterday. Maybe because it was yesterday. In any case, it's perfect. The trick is to get him to smash the camp rather than us..." She stroked her chin in thought.

Rex grinned a little bit. Good. "Who's fastest? Or who can tame an animal quick? They'll be taking the largest risk...but that's the only lure I can think of. I would hope they would aim for the predator instead of whoever's doing it...and that would just make it attack them. Plus I doubt everyone would follow his orders to not bother it. Kind of hard not to panic and attack in anyways...what's this alpha predator again?" He was curious. He was, after all, not familiar with the area. The Crag Drake was the alpha predator he was most familiar with...but that was way south.

~

Kronos nodded. "That's right. Luckily, with where we're set up, I'd spot them long before they make it to the walls, and there's nothing he can do to minimize their signatures. Only thing would be if they moved right so I see just one of them instead of all three.

I can go out on patrol again with three or four people. If they see movement or responses to their coming up, they'd know I'm here. If not, they're likely gonna guess I went out on patrol with a more significant force. I'll stay close enough to reinforce in short order." Standing up, he was about to leave before saying some parting words. "With all due respect, sir, but don't do something stupid like get yourself captured or killed before I get back." He doubted the older man would react to the light teasing. Kronos respected the man. There was no doubts of that.

He went to his tent and redid his shield's kit. He loaded up serrated darts instead of the plain ones. He did away with his other smoke bombs. And did a few other alchemic bombs instead. The fire one for sure...hell, he just packed all four. Grappling hook could stay. Mirage dust would be fine too. Though that was in small vials. But he only had two vials of those, and another two of acid that would burn. He was set.

The red head grabbed Mira again and four others. And off they went on horseback...