Charlemagne shakes his head and sighs. "Têtu comme une mule."
He turns to Ross. "What's the situation?"
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali - Bélah Rotisserie
Ross passes along what is being reported over the radio by the other blue clansmen:
"Both of the trucks have stopped, one just up the road and one beyond that. They're armed; we're seeing rifles at least. It- the driver and passenger are getting out the lead truck and heading this way."
"What do you want to do?"
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Traveler's Cafe
Maceo does not seem to acknowledge the explanation, for better or worse. Instead the door the sedan swings open. "Get in, please" he says, motioning to seats opposite his own.
Her preparations finally finished, Falla will watch as the remainder of her clansmen hustle their King in the opposite direction of the threat. A moment later they relay that they are at the prepared escape vehicle.
Falla sends them a quick text to remind them to check the vehicle for tampering or explosives before they get in.
Stowing her phone again, she picks up her pistol from the table and says to Charlemagne "Your highness, let's go meet with our guests. The did go to all the trouble of coming down here to die, so we should probably go and see who it is."
With that, she begins tactically making her way down the street, jogging from cover to cover and scanning for silohuettes in windows that have weapons, as well as rooftops.
"No, we should wa..." Charlemagne starts talking, but Falla is already on the move. He sighs and turns to Roland. "She is an impatient one, no?"
"Private, tell them not to engage those who head our way. They must, however, keep the others out. As for you, cover us from the rooftops in case they have someone there."
Charlemagne then joins Falla, but unlike her he doesn't use cover much, relying on the protection granted by his holy sword.
Nodding, Paul steps aside and waves for Santa Muerte to enter before following her in.
Muerte stares at Maceo solemnly as she enters the car and sits. "Why have you brought me here like this? I have not felt such anger or joy in a long while..." She says slowly, hinting at her displeasure to her current state.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali - Bélah Rotisserie
Private Ross nods, a mixture of eagerness and apprehension. He quickly scans the surrounding rooftops and, satisfied, rushes off.
Rounding the corner you see the black Section 9 SUV along with the two dirty pickup trucks of the strangers. Two men, apparently representatives off the strangers, are approaching you. One who you'd guess is the leader is wearing dark aviator shades and old fatigues. There's some kind of identifying patch on his arm.
The other man has an old Russian assault rifle held across his chest. He's following closely behind the first man and you can see that he is feigning disinterest while carefully analyzing you all.
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Traveler's Cafe
"Interesting. I would have thought you hadn't felt much of anything at all up until a couple of hours ago..."
"No matter. I shall be direct. I have summoned you to fight on my behalf, as I stated earlier. I'd like for this to a pleasant relationship while it exists, but I have the gnawing feeling that we do not have a proper understanding. You are a Servant. I am your Master. I will not tolerate anything to the contrary."
"Now, that said, I consider myself a gracious man. I've even allowed you Paul as a companion" he says this without so much as a glance towards Paul. "I'd suggest that keep this in mind going forward, as my graciousness has a very real limit. If you cease to be useful to me, you will be disposed of. Is that clear?"
"You were not invited to this meeting. Name yourselves at once!" Charlemagne points the sword at the man in shades.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
Falla recognizes the insignia of the Macina Liberation Front, a radical group of Malians that formed sometime in 2015. At one point they were absorbed into a larger rebel front, but it was broken up in late 2019 during a UN crackdown and they fell back on their old moniker.
The MLF has claimed responsibility for attacks throughout southern and central Mali. Typically, they target foreign entities such as French troops, UN Peacekeeper's but they've also moved against Malian government officials and even civilians.
Among terror groups, they're small-time. They're still ruthless killers hiding behind the veil of ideology and righteousness, and their access to cold war-era military hardware ensures that they can both talk the talk and walk the walk to some degree
As soon as Charlemagne raises his sword the man with the assault rifle raises it. Now both men are shouting in Arabic at you. The man with the sunglasses has drawn a large handgun and is waving it wildly as he shouts.
"Put that down!" they shout frantically "Put that down! Do you want to die, cowboy, huh!? You want to see America again!? Put that away or you die!" They continue shouting over one another with generally the same intent. They want very much for Charlemagne to put his weapon down.
The other men in the trucks are clearly spooked and are moving about in the cabin and truck bed, presumably arming themselves for imminent violence.
Must... resist... urge... to... snark... Maceo had been good to Paul, him and the rest of .v, and, hell, the man was going to be King one day. Wouldn't do to piss him off. Still...
Paul turned to look out the window, before he started tasting toes.
"So, this is what has become of the MLF? At one point you were a group that had a message worthy of respect, but now you've what, come here to kidnap us and hold us for ransom? Who among you speaks for your group? We would like to negotiate."
"Do you want to die?" calmly asks Charlemagne in return. "I am Charlemagne. I asked you your names. I expected some semblance of honour. It seems you do not have any. Put down your weapons and I promise you will not be killed, but only taken prisoners. Resist and you will face God's swift judgement."
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
Charlemagne doesn't back down, the strangers don't either. Falla's suggestion of "negotiations" is lost in the shouting of the two groups, each demanding that the other puts their respective weapons down. In the rear the other men exit their vehicles. You see a mixture of rifles and the occasional old-school RPG launcher among them. There's about a dozen bodies between the two pick-ups.
The whole situation is ready to explode into violence at any moment...
If you have to fight, attack first.
Targeting one of the guys with the RPGs, Falla will shoot him.
"Let God be your judge." Charlemagne slightly bows his head and touches his forehead with the pommel of his sword. "Private Ross, open fire!"
With that, King of Paladins takes on offensive stance, ready to charge at the opponents.
Charlemagne will rush to the man with the glasses to strike him with Joyeuse.
If he is attacked, Charlemagne will trust in his divine protection.
Muerte just smiles sweetly, seeming to take the admonishment in stride. "Of course my lovely child, anything for you." With a small glint in her eye she continues, "No matter what happens, I will always welcome you." She then sits back patiently and stares out the window.
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Sigil Manor
"I'm glad that we could come to an understanding" he says as he snaps his fingers. The car lurches forwards as the driver pulls away from the curb. Maceo continues to speak:
"I think we've all had enough excitement for the evening, it's time to head back to the Manor. We have a room prepared for you already, Berserker. One that I hope will be to your liking. You must both be well rested. Tomorrow you will be taking a short trip to Siberia to recover an...artifact for me and I imagine you'll want to be refreshed going into it."
The car pulls up to Sigil Manor. It's an old building, over 200 years from what you understand, but is well-maintained and constantly being upgraded to keep up with .Vs various technical requirements. It's 6 stories tall sitting on a couple of acres of property with about sixty rooms all together. All of House Sigil has rooms here and most use them as their primary residence. Paul's room is on the third floor on the eastern corner of the building.
You pass the gate and head up the driveway. The yard is well maintained by a professional staff that visits three times a week. Maceo opens the door and directs the two of you out before following. "Berserker, follow and I'll show you to the servant's quarters" he says.
A short walk up the stairs takes you to the huge dark wood doors that mark the manors entrance. Past that the entryway is classically elegant with high ceilings, low lighting, and deep crimson rugs and window dressings. Maceo points Muerte to a door just off the entryway. "These quarters will be your residence as long as you stay with us. I've tried to have it decorated according to your tastes, but if you are unsatisfied with something please let me know."
Muerte's room is decorated simply with deep, earth tones. A large bed is neatly made and waiting. There is a large wardrobe, dresser, and desk and mirror - all wood. The room is lit by two oil lamps and a handful of candles, though you spot an electric light you could use instead. Near the door their are some dried herbs hanging on the wall that fill the room with a deeply nostalgic smell. While taking all this in, you notice that the door itself is comprised entirely of heavy lead - likely as an attempt to contain a potentially wild servant.
"What do you think?" asks Maceo from the entrance of the room.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
Falla whips her heavy pistol out of its holster and levels it at the men in the back coming out of the trucks. She pulls the trigger before anyone else has a chance to react.
The militant ducks behind the trucks open door at the last second, barely saving himself from instant death from the heavy pistol. You hear him cry out in pain and can guess that you grazed him at the very least.
Charlemagne strides the the dusty African street, his holy sword held at the ready. The man with sunglasses yelps as the servant bears down on him and does his best to scramble out of the way...
The King of Paladins drives the tip of his blade straight through the malcontents torso, cleanly cutting through several ribs and effectively butterflying his one side. Blood spills out onto the dirt and he immediately begins coughing up blood uncontrollably, though is miraculously not instantly killed.
Now all hell breaks loose. The MLF forces return fire, a hail of assault rifle rounds tearing there way across the short space separating you. RPGs are added to the mix, mostly striking the ground or the sides of building. One manages to score a hit on the SUV, reducing it to a burning wreck immediately. Falla is forced to dive for some kind of cover in the face of the response. Just as she does Private Ross opens fire from one of the rooftops with his carbine, doing his best to the thin the MLF numbers. Meanwhile the escort turns his assault rifle on Charlemagne point-blank and pulls the trigger...
Falla feels white hot pain run across her back as a round grazes her before she can duck out of the way. Ducking past the return fire she makes it to the side of the street where there is at least some cover in the way of doorways and street posts.
Charlemagne turns on the escort confidently. After all, even with an assault rifle a normal human couldn't really hope to stand a chance against a servant. Screaming the escort unleashes a burst of gunfire, defiant of this fact. Shockingly, Charlemagne feels the slightest twinge of pain as the bullets deflect of his magical energy-fueled defenses. Something was not right here. Even with a modern assault rifle, there should be no chance that these men could even scuff the armor of a proper servant, let alone wound one...
Going on the offensive as she dashes to another car to use as cover, Falla draws her other pistol and pops up, putting withering fire into one of the men armed with a rocket launcher.
"Now that is interesting!"
Charlemagne dashes to the man who shot him, putting extra effort into his strikes. If he manages to defeat him in one hit, he will strike another attacker.
Charlemagne will try to block the bullets or the strikes with his sword.
Charlemagne will ignore the mortals trying to wound him.
Falla Renal and Charlemagne, King of Paladins
Falla scoots low across the ground to a set of cover and produces a second pistol from among the ones she had purchased the previous day. She swings both barrels around cover simultaneously and lays down fire against the MLF backup. She doesn't have an assault rifle of her own, not even close, but she more than makes up for it with careful shot placement.
The first shot punches right through the old pickup door and finishes the rebel she had wounded earlier. He slumps to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
Apparently there was something a little special about the old .44 Falla picked up at that shady dealer. Maybe there was a little something special about the bullet that ended up in the chamber, maybe this gun had had some kind of interesting history, or maybe it just synched up really nicely with her own aura. Whatever the case may be, her shot somehow managed to pass cleanly through the her target and continue on, striking a previously unseen propane tank in the bed of the one of the pickups. The canister explodes, engulfing all the nearby MLF members in an inferno. Most that can start to flee on foot down the street and any that may be thinking of holding out are quickly cut down thanks to another burst of supporting fire from private Ross.
The escort is spared the previous mentioned destruction and continues to focus his attention on Charlemagne, intent on emptying his entire clip into the servant if need be:
Charlemagne marches through the gunfire unaffected as bullets are actively thrown off their trajectory by his aura alone. Looming over the Escort who is still shouting and trying to bring the rifle to bear, Saber raises his sword...
And the escort interjects by desperately slamming the but of his rifle against the King of Paladin. An action that has absolutely no hope of doing anything to the servant, but the audacity of which shocks Charlemagne momentarily and causes him to lose focus for only a split second. That split second, though, is enough for the escort to avoid the deadly noble phantasm, extending his life by another few precious moments.
The majority of combatants in this area are either dead or dying. In only a few seconds a peaceful street has been reduced to a warzone, complete with a couple of burning vehicles. However, as the temp of your own battle dies down you catch the sounds of fighting coming from elswhere around you. Sporadic gunfire and people shouting nearby. The sounds seem to be coming from back towards the cafe.
"I'd throw down my weapon and surrender if I were you, before you make him mad." shouts Falla as she dead sprints back towards the Café.
"Fools! You should have surrendered. One more chance - drop your weapons now and you will be spared, despite your futile resistance."
, Charlemagne will see that they are handcuffed and leave the rest to Private Ross. Then he will follow Falla.
, Charlemagne will continue his assault.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
The escort takes a moment to consider the situation and, swearing, throws down his weapon and raises his hands in defeat. Charlemagne is able to handcuff him well enough but Private Ross is still on the roof and can't take the man into custody quite yet.
Rounding the corner Falla enters an all out warzone. The remaining blue and silver clansmen have armed themselves and are defending themselves against another wave of MLF. You'd guess the first group was just a distraction for this main force. The Doctor appears has taken cover with Roland and you spot a few wounded clansmen, but none dead thankfully.
Victor is shouting something to you but between the sporadic gunfire and the ringing in your ears, you can't make it out.
"It is wonderful, thank you for the thoughtfulness." She sweeps into the room and breathes deep. She didn't feel particularly tired, but the bed did look comfortable. " When do we leave for this task?" She asked suddenly.
"Don't try to run," Charlemagne warns the handcuffed man and hurries to Falla's side.
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Sigil Manor
"I'm happy to hear that" replies Maceo. "The train will be departing tomorrow morning. As for myself: I will be turning in for the evening, I suggest you do the same. If you find yourself in need of anything, Berserker, continue to rely on Paul."
Unless either of you have something you want to bring up with him, Maceo heads up stairs to his room.
Nodding at Maceo, Paul turned to Santa Muerte. "Right, sleeps a good idea. If y'need me, you can ca- you don't have a cell. Right. I suppose if you just yell loud enough, someone'll come get me. Anythin' y'need, before I turn in myself?"
Falla will again find cover and help her clansmen, specifically targeting the people with the most powerful weaponry.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
Falla explodes from around the corner, laying down a devastating field on the militants. With practiced skill she places each shot from her high caliber pistols so that they are causing the most damage possible.
The loud crack of rounds erupting from her pistols echoes through the dusty streets as Fallas aura flares momentarily. Her movements are almost too fast to follow as she rhythmically places kill shot after kill shot on the unprepared MLF fighters. The other clansmen see the window of opportunity and seize, rallying around her. Automatic weapon fire lances through the MLF mercilessly.
By the time Charlemagne makes it around the corner the attackers are all but routed, with only a few wounded doing their best to crawl away. Roland is already jogging towards him, shouting orders to the clansmen as he goes.
"It's not over" he says quickly "The Doctor has been tracking that surge in magical energy from earlier and according to him its nearly on top of us. We need to get everyone left in vehicles and moving."
As soon as the words leave his mouth you both feel a major shift in the environment. The air grows thick, almost oppressive, and you can practically taste the magical energy coalescing in the vicinity. Static causes the hair to rise on your arms and the back of your neck.
Down the street from where the second wave of MLF attackers was you hear a rumbling sound followed by a loud crack and an explosion. A few hundred feet away a transport truck rolls into the street, engulfed in flames...
"That is not good." says Falla as she moves to cover.
"Your Highness, Sir Roland, I do believe you are up. I will back you up as best I can, but don't wait for me if you see an opening."
"Private Ross, get everyone in the cars and be ready to move out."
Charlemagne looks at Roland and Falla. "It seems we will have to stay."
Rallying the remainder of her clansmen to her, Falla will send out scouts towards the vehicles that she set up. "Check them for explosives *before* getting into them and starting them. If you do get a vehicle running, Move away from here and then call in a position to rally to."
"Apologies my liege, but what did you want to tell me?" While it's clear she's listening to him, she's also scanning the area, looking for additional threats.
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
"What Roland said" says Victor "I've been tracking that
energy spike from earlier. In only a matter of minutes its grown in scope tremendously and its nearly on top of us right now."
Around you the Clansmen begin loading up in vehicles.
Private Ross meets Charlemagne in the street still holding his rifle.
"Sir, I've got one of the SUVs idling nearby if you want to retreat" he says "The Corporal is securing the other and will be departing immediately. He said he trusted your judgement in this situation."
Muerte stares hard as Maceo leaves. "No, I am in no need dear one." She says absentmindedly. She turns with a sudden smile and places a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Thank you for your help this evening." She says before allowing herself to fall on the bed. It was comfortable - if a little soft.
"We have work ahead of us it seems - let us rest for now yes?"
"Did he now?" snickers Charlemagne. "His true feelings aside, tell everyone to retreat. This is outside of ordinary man's abilities, Private."
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
Private Ross salutes and runs off. The rest of the remaining clansmen due the same. In short order the only ones remaining in the street are Falla, Charlemagne, Roland, and Victor.
Down the street, following the fiery truck, walks a single man. He is average looking - both his height and build are unremarkable. He's wearing a traditional Japanese kimono and has a daisho on which his right hand rests. Frankly, he looks like something straight out of an old samurai movie.
Victor tenses up and Roland carefully draws his sword.
Falla finds cover and draws a bead on him.
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Sigil Manor
Exhausted, you all turn in for the night.
In the morning Paul goes through his normal routine while Muerte, unaware of such things, is eventually found by another clansmen and brought to the large dining room where Maceo is waiting. He waits until Paul joins before he sets aside his breakfast and begins speaking.
"I hope you both slept well" he starts "Your train departs in an hour. You'll be heading north to Onega Bay. There's a monastery there, very old and somewhat famous. Solovetsky Monastery. My sources tell me there's a relic hidden away beneath the monastery. Unfortunately, there's a small order of monks who're guarding it. Despite their appearance, I'm told that some of them are quiet capable as mages and have likely set up all manner of defenses around the artifact. I've attempted to negotiate with them in hopes that they'd see reason, but alas, they remained fervent in their duties. While it is unfortunate, I see now that violence will be unavoidable. Hence why I called upon you, Berserker, and you as well, Paul. The two of you I trust will be able to find your way in and collect the artifact."
He finishes speaking and leans back in his chair, giving a moment for you both to absorb the information.
Charlemagne grips his sword firmly is his hands. "Stop right there and name yourself and your master!"
"Solovetsky... don't suppose they're the monks of the beatific WiFi signal, are they?" He grins, weakly, before breaking eye contact and burying himself in his phone. "Bit outside my comfort zone, but doesn't look too bad... ooh, it was a prison camp! Likely as not that'll be where they're hidin' the thing!"
He keeps searching, trying to find some old architectural diagrams or surveyor data from either the renovations, ideally, or the Soviet days, before an ideas crosses his mind and he blanches. "Will... will we be pretending to be tourists?"
Muerte nods her head, "Of course Maceo - we shall retrieve the relic quickly." She entertain Paul's notion a moment; "Is there truly a need for such subtlety? It would seem to me they refused the right to such niceties." She has a wicked gleam in her eye as she talks
July 8th, 2024 - Gao, Republic of Mali
The man stops in the street, maybe forty yards away. He scratches his chin but doesn't immediately respond to Charlemagnes demand. "Two sabers?" he says, sounding almost confused "I knew they had the one already..."
He stops speaking to himself and instead raises his voice to address you all.
"I am sorry, but I can not tell you that. By command of my master, I have come to destroy the Silver King, Lord Victor Alexander deGrey!"
Victor looks shocked and even Roland takes a step back. Such an open declaration would be beyond foolish - only a madman would think to try slaying a King in an open fight.
An aura starts to coalesce around the stranger. It is dark, murky, a shade that none of you have seen before. It is not so much a color, but an absence thereof. Electricity fills the air. The sensor on Fallas smartphone is going wild.
"It seems that the past has finally caught up to you, Lord Doctor."
July 10th, 2024 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Sigil Manor
"I think'd it be amusing" says Maceo "Playing the lovely couple, a romantic tour of the wonderful homeland. Of course, I'll leave the decision of how to actually go about things to you, Paul. If you feel the need to take a bride for the occasion then by all means!"
You quickly track down both a set of old blueprints for the monastery as well as a new surveyors document after the building became a historical monument. Nothing stands out on these documents, though you do note that the structure underwent significant alterations when it was used as a prison camp. Unfortunately records from the Soviet era are hard to come by digitally.
Something else catches your eye during the search. You notice that there's been a string of disappearances at the monastery, starting in the early 2000's when it was opened as a museum. Everything is considered "mysterious circumstances", very hush-hush. Most notably, in 2015 a crew filming a horror movie in the monastery went missing without a trace. From what you can tell reading the directors blog prior to the disappearance, they had managed to secure permission from the Russian government as well the UNESCO to film otherwise off-limits "historical" areas of the museum.
There's a small community of conspiracy theorists centered around the monastery as a result of the disappearances. It's all standard fare - government blacksites, alien abductions, demonic portals, that sort of thing. Still, the whole thing seems to convenient to be a coincidence.
"Do you have a death wish?" asks amused Charlemagne. "You think you have a chance against the Silver King?"
Nevertheless, he steps forward and in front of Victor. "And do you think I, no, we will let you close to the Silver King?"