The Watchers of Night (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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daybreakacademy2020-07-20 01:39 pm
thewatchers) wrote in daybreakacademy2020-07-20 01:39 pm
[Open] The Orichalcum Fortress
The Orichalcum Fortress
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The Tower of Adamant has changed significantly from the last time it had Academy visitors. The top half of the tower is wreathed in black fire, casting eerie light like a daemonic mockery of a lighthouse. The bottom levels - as well as the grounds around them - are infested with thriving, thorny plants. The sound of howling and barking bounces around the cliffs that defend the Tower.
A base camp has been established to tend to what few survivors the advance teams could extract before things had become too aggressive to risk further searching without injury, mostly shell shocked students and one or two teachers. From what limited information they’ve managed to acquire, there are two forces concentrated in the Tower itself - a fae controlling the grounds, and a daemon sequestered in the upper levels. A multi-pronged assault is, as far as the various teams assembled can see, the only way to split the two’s defenses enough to get everyone inside for their various tasks. This work is far from easy; voracious, giant plants will snap and spit burning acid at those tackling the lower levels, while packs of snarling hellhounds await those who breach the upper levels. But even fae plants are susceptible to enough force and magic, ,and though these hellhounds are both fierce and well trained, they’re monsters that can still be subdued.
One thing is for certain, however; those responsible are ready, waiting, and eager for blood. Combat is all but inevitable.
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It might be a risk for several reasons, and Valvatorez will probably want to have a Talk with one or both of them later, but it very quickly becomes apparent what Desi is doing when the azure of Gunvolt's lightning both becomes even more-intense and shifts hues to somewhere in between indigo and violet.
Usually, she backs him up in ways that make things easier for him.
This time she's backing him up directly.]
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[It sure does seem to be hurting Sparky, though- the undead hound howls in absolute rage, the sound almost an attack all by itself as it reverberates through the room hard enough to rattle the windows. The magical chains appear to be holding better than the physical ones, but the beast's furious thrashing it still a danger, threatening to crush anyone unwary or unlucky.]
[Rex may need to be careful about keeping that barrier up, below, as chunks of the floor are already caving in under the careless blows of massive paws.]
[Safe in the belly of the beast, Bellona hisses.]
As though I'd allow you any victory? [She gestures with one hand, making a strange and unpleasant sigil.] Wither, wither, wither.
[The hellish heat around the hound spikes even further, the whole room becoming uncomfortably sweltering, the air around the beast itself catching fire outright.]
[This fight will be a harsh one, but not a long one.]
[One way or another.]
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We need to finish this quickly!
[... Now or never. V snaps his fingers, and all the color seems to drain from his hair as some dark... goo seems to coalesce on the ground... before rising as a large figure.
It's Nightmare time.
And it's greeting Sparky with a laser blast.]
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[ Rex is keeping the floor up, it didn't need an extra chunky fella on it! He's very glad no one is down here with him, because his burst of Bulgarian profanity is extremely inelegant. His teeth chatter with effort and the once flat barrier is bending at the points where Nightmare and Sparky stand, meaning that the floor is as well and giving them both a sensation like walking on mud. But it holds, if only barely.
He can hold it for only a little longer
one more round of comments worth so set up your cool move for when the floor collapses, which is coincidentally about the same amount of time it will take him to finish up his necromancy purging sanctified field. ]no subject
Though it may not necessarily be intentional (it may not have been intentional on Griffon's part either, but it most certainly was on Gunvolt's), the extra light generated by Nightmare's laser does result in more shadows here and there, giving the girl a bit more to work with, adding additional chains to reinforce the hold she has on the giant hellhound.]
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[The anti-necromancy field kicks in. The laser hits Sparky full-on. And the floor finally collapses.]
[With one last furious, grief-stricken howl, the dire hound vanishes between the effects of the field and the power of Nightmare's blast. It could have survived either, but both together is simply too much, and the construct comes apart in a whirl of leather and thread before it simply disappears entirely.]
[Not that you don't have bigger things to worry about.]
[With a titanic crash, the floor caves in, taking a few large chunks of wall with it. Try to find a landing spot that's safe, because it's a long drop and you don't want to be under any of the debris.]
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V, however, whistles to Griffon, who grabs onto him in mid-air and flies V to a safe landing spot.]
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He knew Desi would think of something similar, and the light of his Flashfield through the dust and darkness should give her plenty to work with to help break her own fall.]
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Given a moment to realize what's happening now, she jumps into the air herself, kicking off with enough force to launch herself up to roughly the same height as Gunvolt, at which point a small number of scattered shadows lash out from each direction to grab and hold her there for a moment. Upon identifying what looks like a safe and stable spot, she lowers herself down, and then glances back up to see if either Rex or V need any help. She quickly notes that V has things handled on his end, so she focuses her attention more on Rex.]
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Unfortunately, quite a bit of it is coming to him anyway. A great chunk falls directly towards him and lands on the raised palm of his gauntlet, since that was the pose he was already in to cast the barrier. He fully expects to be crushed, except Blue Moon decides he's been a good boy and activates an ability he didn't know it had and makes that slab completely weightless. ]
...Huh.
[ Being Rex, he pretty much immediately swings it like a baseball bat at their daemonic adversary, hopefully before she hits the ground so it looks cooler. And the thing is, it's only weightless to him. It's not hard to get it up to over a hundred miles an hour. ]
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[As for Bellona, or the remains of her dearest Sparky, neither of them seem to be found anywhere.]
[The good news is, a few more welcome faces do seem to be in evidence: the little hound leaps down the rubble nimbly to land safely on the floor, the janitor and remaining cadet clinging to the daemon dog's back with the unconscious cadet held between the two of them. The janitor picks up the student as they dismount, while the other cadet ignores the rest of the room entire in favor of petting the hound's ears and telling them that they are a very good dog.]
[Judging by the hellhound's expression, it is entirely possible it has never been told this before, ever. It seems to be having a minor religious experience.]
[Sadly, the moment is cut short. A crackle of static proves that somehow, despite all the collateral damage, the PA system still works here. At the sound of the voice on the other end, the cadet immediately straightens up into a perfect military posture, complete with salute, as though by pure reflex.]
This is the Adamant General. All intruders, state your name and affiliation immediately.
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[She's getting a bad feeling.]
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Of course, that PA announcement snapped his attention too, but he still wasn't ready to drop his guard.]
...Gunvolt. Also Daybreak Academy.
[He watched the state of things cautiously, not holstering his weapon yet.]
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I'm an Archaeopteryx, a bird-like dinosaur that is transitional between non-avian feathered dinosaurs and modern birds that was active in the Jurassic period.
[ Rex says it off handily as he delicately puts his huge piece of rubble down, and first looks over the team, then the adamant hostages and finally the hounds with a scanning spell. He’s still a medic, yah know. ]
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V, Daybreak Academy.
[... He's got a bad feeling about this.]
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C-cadet Winters, sir! Fourth branch, th-third division. Cadet Adraska is also here, but they're unconscious...
[The janitor continues to say absolutely nothing.]
We can see you both on the camera feed, cadet. [The voice on the intercom sounds more mildly annoyed than anything else.] You will both be evaluated on your thoroughly inadequate performance later.
[Despite clearly attempting to keep a professional attitude, Cadet Winters flinches.]
Daybreak Academy holds no authority here, but under the current circumstances we'll allow you to operate under the command of a ranking officer. As the highest Adamant staff still remaining are all currently in this room- [Whichever one they're broadcasting from, presumably, since they don't appear to be anywhere near here.] I hereby order you to dispose of the remaining hostiles and await further instructions. Your sloppiness on the matter shows Daybreak's clear lack of discipline.
[For a second, it's unclear what he means... and then you hear a sharp intake of breath as Cadet Winters gasps, breaking their perfect military posture to grab on to the little hound, looking terrified.]
Sir, please- [The general interrupts them without a second thought.] You're in enough trouble as it is, cadet. Don't make repeat myself. Take those damn hellhounds and kill them.
Try not to stain the carpet, you've already made enough of a mess.
[There's at least six or seven of the hellhounds still alive, not counting the runt, who is picking up on their friend's obvious distress and pressing their fuzzy head against Winters so hard they're only barely keeping their balance. None of the surviving hounds are even remotely conscious.]
[Looks like whether they ever wake up again is up to you.]
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To say I couldn’t care less about your orders would be inaccurate, because I’ve actively assessed your insignificance and made the conscious decision to ignore whatever insipid verbal equivalent of paresthesia you’ve wasted precious moments of my life with.
[ Rex doesn’t recognise any authority beyond his own decisions but if someone asks nicely sometimes he listens to them. He’s also already in a bad mood.
He’s also already shoving a devil dog in his cape with the other unconscious ones he’s snagged.
And because he’s Rex, and he’s done scanning his teammates, he’s scanning the PA system with those funky dog ears on his helmet, to trace their location, in case he feels like going over there and beating on the entire room with his belt. He’s not wearing a belt, but he could make one by the time he gets there. ]
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Hell, that camera feed should make it plainly obvious that things were going to be 'sloppy' no matter what anyone did.]
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[Rex will find that not only is his attempt at scanning the PA system to trace the message unsuccessful, he gets absolutely no data from it at all save the general sense of someone going, in a metaphysical way, "no, fuck you" at him for even having the audacity to try.]
[Apparently whoever handles the Tower of Adamant's wards is significantly more competent than their command staff.]
[...Actually, the Tower of Adamant is known throughout pretty much the entire supernatural community for being, among other things, extremely skilled with warding magic. Which makes this entire situation all the more troubling.]
[Bellona and Mellona were nasty enemies and vicious fighters, but neither of them should have been able to just break in. How did they manage to get through to the Tower in the first place? It's an alarming thing to leave as a loose end...]
Cadet, shoot him.
Wh-! [Cadet Winters makes an alarmed sound at a pitch high enough that several of the unconscious hellhounds twitch reflexively in their sleep and finally completely abandons their attempt at military discipline to attempt to simultaneously hide behind the little hound and still shield it with their own body. It's not working very well, but there's something admirable about the attempt.]
[The janitor steps up.]
[He gives Cadet Winters a calm, reassuring pat on the shoulder, then continues past them and makes direct eye contact with the camera.]
[And flips it off.]
[Holds the position for a long moment.]
[And turns around to face the Daybreak group, pulling something out of his pocket, and holding it out to them.]
[It's a keycard.]
What do you MEAN he has access to-?! [From the PA, there's a sudden burst of static and slightly fainter voices talking all at once, as though the people behind the microphone have leaned back to have a furious argument.]
[The keycard is labeled EMERGENCY BUNKER 0: AUTHORIZED STAFF ONLY all others will be shot.]
[Any halfway-competent military organization has a backup site, in case everything goes to Hell and they need to duck down until the artillery fire stops.]
[But the people high-ranked enough to know about those sites don't usually like to mop the floors themselves.]
[Presumably, Bellona knew enough to know there was a bunker- she just didn't know how to get in. She certainly didn't know that this man had the key on him, otherwise she wouldn't have been using him as a chew toy. Not if he had something to bargain with.]
[The various officers on the PA are getting creative, sounding flustered as their yell orders and threats too contradictory to follow even if one wanted to.]
[The janitor is smiling.]
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This is a pathetic display for a General, and any command staff worth their salt.
[He said it loudly enough to make sure the staff heard it, too.]
That hellhound that's with Cadet Winters was a brave, stalwart fighter that saved the lives of students and staff here. If it were a human, it'd be called a hero, performing an act of valor like that. He'd be given a medal.
And you're more concerned about the carpet, then I think that says a lot about you, and why I'm not going to obey an order to murder an innocent.
Cadet Winters, that hound, and that janitor there have shown a lot more moral and actual courage than any of you have, wherever you're hiding. Not to mention the sheer negligence you all must have been party to to even let the daemons get this far. If anything, this whole debacle is on you, and your priorities about performance appraisals and the fucking carpet says a lot about your command, or lack thereof.
Superior officers are responsible for taking care of their subordinates. That's the cornerstone of discipline. Sir.
[Gunvolt's not sure what the janitor has in mind, but if a few more asses need to be kicked, he might not say no to the idea.]
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He lets out his actual laugh. His deep voice, reverberating in the mask makes it even more sinister than usual. ]
Huh...huhuhhahaha-BUWAHHAHAHA!*
[ He sounds a lot fucking worse than the actual daemon they just messed with. It's spine-tinglingly terrifying. He even raises his arms halfway and leans backwards as he does it.
It's just how he laughs.
With his mirthful outburst done, Rex extends a hand as his gigantic sword flies to his palm once more, this time to rest on his shoulder. ]
Please, lead the way. Incidentally, if you can get us into whatever archive or vault they keep their most valuable secrets and artefacts in, I'd very much appreciate that too.
*this
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He agrees with Gunvolt, but he's not going to actually say anything out loud. He simply walks over to the janitor, Griffon following behind him.]
Gotta say, SOME people around here are way more competent than the management!
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[Rex's laughter seems to unnerve the little hellhound, who fluffs up like a cat that just saw a vacuum cleaner. Cadet Winters seems to be having the human equivalent of the exact same reaction. They're clinging on to each other like something out of an episode of Scooby-Doo.]
[The janitor just nods, shrugging in a way that seems to indicate 'yeah, fair enough'.]
Cadet Winters, you are also fired. In the sense that you will be facing a firing squad. Additional firing squads may also be arranged as needed. Some of you may have to share, we're not made of money.
[There's a pause while they sort out what to do with the still-unconscious Cadet Adraska, but once they're carefully secured to the little hound's back, with Cadet Winters walking beside to keep an eye on them, the group is ready to set out.]
[The janitor opens a side door and motions for the group to follow him.]
Do you think this is some sort of game? No one is impressed!
[If they do, they'll find that he's leading them deeper into the base of the Tower, through a series of twisting, carefully-obscured side passages. If the battered weapon turrets are any indication, they would normally be much better-defended, but being able to remote-activate a barrage of magic doesn't seem to do much when the intended weapon has already been mangled to the point of nonfunctionality by giant claw marks and fast-growing vines.]
This is- are you even listening to me? God, what is Daybreak even teaching you people.
[The PA system, regrettably, appears to still be functioning.]
Do they actually let you out dressed like that? On purpose?
[Eventually, they'll come to a very heavy door, still untouched despite the best efforts of a large number of dead hellhounds and plant monsters strewn around it.]
[There's a sound from behind the door, as though someone just cocked a shotgun.]
Do NOT open that door.
[The janitor promptly swipes the keycard and unlocks the door.]
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That and the additional commentary that follows gets a simple response, spoken just loud enough to be heard over the system:] Vaffanculo.
[When the group reaches the door and the janitor unlocks it, she places herself in front of the group and takes hold of a few shadows here and there, ready to act if she needs to.]
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