Post by Lone Dancer on Nov 29, 2022 8:17:53 GMT
Chapter 8
New Mission
“Alright then, Jade and Carlos. We got great news! From what we were able to glean from the briefcase’s contents, we have high suspicions about the placement of something rather valuable. A valuable something that we’re gonna extract.”
Hawthorne had them both in the training room, Melissa behind him, the brass titan having her arms crossed. He was currently debriefing them on the intended happenings.
“So we’re coming with you or something?” Jade asked, unsure.
“Yup, we’re gonna get you some proper heist experience. The mission is in a week, so we’re gonna practice specifically for it, and scout the area ahead of time. Teach you to how to get the lay of the land, and what to inspect for.”
Frankly, Carlos was rather hyped. A bigger mission, one to mend his mistakes with? And having the expertise of Hawthorne and Melissa to boot? Sign him up! Even Jade was looking enthused about the idea.
“Glad to see you both on board. However, I must inform you that the stakes are higher than before. Results like your first mission, would be less than acceptable. But I believe you are both capable for this task.”
Carlos felt a bit flattered by the essentially high praise from Hawthorne. Melissa uncrossed her arms, and made to speak herself.
“There will be employees. There will not be automaton to fight.”
A succinct message, but a sobering one nonetheless. Hawthorne smacked his forehead, the sound resounding throughout the room. Melissa recrossed her arms and resumed her stoic pose.
“Oh yah, that was a slight detail I forgot about. As Melissa stated, there will not be automaton or golems where our heist will take place. Unfortunately, humans will be. Meaning, we must be careful and way of any engagement, lest things go awry.”
“Seems a bit odd to forget about that.” Jade pointed out. Hawthorne waved her off.
“Consider it from my perspective, where humans being involved is the norm. I didn’t even consider the fact your first group was automaton. That is my bad.”
Jade stayed her tongue, but gave a slight nod in response instead. Hawthorne clapped his hands.
“Excellent, lets get you some proper gear, that you should hopefully not leave behind like a certain piece of fabric.” He gave them both a pointed stare, and Carlos had a slight flush. It wasn’t his fault. Jade on the other hand like nonplussed.
“Alright, lets get this show on the road, or however that saying goes.”
Hawthorne began motioning for them to begin moving, and to follow him. The short, permanently hooded man took the lead once more, with the others behind. Melissa’s heavy metal boots clanged as always under their stride.
This time, Hawthorne led them through another set of hallways within the underground part of the building, easily weaving through the branching paths. What was even more peculiar, at least to Carlos, was rather than the standard lack of other people, he could see others within these hallways.
Hawthorne was humming some merry tune, and if Carlos didn’t know better, he would’ve said the man had a skip in his step. The lights began to transition from the warm glow of the magical lanterns, to a more industrial bright white emitted from the ceiling.
Even the floor below smoothed out a metallic substance, the walls following suit. Whatever this place was, it was getting more interesting by the minute in just how different it was compared to the rest of the region.
He caught Jade looking around as well, also taking in the sights. Melissa seemed amused by their antics, giving a snort. Oddly enough, Carlos noted, was the way the brass giant’s footsteps were getting quieter as they progressed, almost to the point they sounded like normal footsteps.
Turning around to face them, Hawthorne continued walking, albeit backward. He spread his arms out. His grey eyes were crinkled up in a smile.
“I think you guys are gonna like this place. This is one of the main areas we keep all the cool and fun stuff.”
He gave a dramatic pause, letting the suspense build.
“Welcome, to the Vault!” He gave a little spin around, his arms still outstretched. Melissa snorted again. But the hooded man swiftly adopted a more serious tone.
“Let me explain the rules to you, and I’m going to keep them simple. Don’t touch anything, stay around where I am, and don’t bother other Guild members also in the vault. Simple enough?”
Both Jade and Carlos nodded and gave quick verbal acknowledgment.
“Great! Hope this can a fun first experience for you both, a little taste to see what it’s like as a proper member of the Guild.”
As they walked, Carlos definitely noticed the sense of defensive wards, and powerful ones at that. It was a prickling at the back of his neck, a sensation of being watched by something. Hawthorne noticed his reaction.
“Feeling those, aren’t ya? Pretty hefty stuff, but is necessary to keep certain things properly contained. It’s part of the reason I said don’t touch stuff. Unless you like being discombobulated, violently. In that case, be my guest.”
Other people were showing up in more frequency now, and he watched as people would walk from the direction they were heading in, often carrying something of some magical manner.
Carlos was seeing all sorts of weaponry, such as swords, daggers, spears, axes, clubs, shields, bows, and even a gun or two, plus many more that he could not name. Various armor pieces as well were worn, ranging from flowing robes, to leather suits, to hard plate armor with dragon scale reinforcement. Or at least, he thought it was dragon scale. It was the coolest sounding scale type he could think of.
The main unifying aspect of these items were the sense of power they radiated. It may have come in different flavors, from an icy mint, emitted by a shield that appeared to carved from glacial ice, to a blistering breeze caused by a spear made from a reddish mental.
And those were just two examples, and they weren’t even within the Vault yet. Some items definitely gave an aura of danger compared to others, making him wonder how all these scaled together. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Hawthorne speaking.
“I feel I should quickly clarify that it is Melissa and I that are obtaining some items from the Vault. You two don’t have the clearance, and I’m kinda stretching some bonds to let you here. So do me a favor, and don’t let me down. Later on, when you have properly proven yourselves, you’ll find yourself coming back here, and getting access for yourself.”
It was a slight letdown to hear those words, as admittedly, he was looking forward to the idea of wielding some grand magical artifact, like those shown in legends and novels. Like, who wouldn’t? Jade, too, seemed bummed out.
Finally, they were approaching a set of doors. To call them doors, however, felt like a slight misnomer as they were more appropriately thick slabs of heavy warded metal that would grudgingly retract open once someone was granted access.
There was a short line, of which the group slotted themselves into, with Hawthorne at the front, then Jade, Carlos, and ending with Melissa. He would watch as a person would flash some circular object at the gate attendant, another golem similar to the receptionist upstairs, though instead of silver and gold intertwining to make the body, they appeared to be made from the same thick and inscribed metal of the gates they guarded. Its shape was that of a rough humanoid, lacking fingers, arms ending with stubs instead, and a stretched-out neck with a featureless sphere for a head.
Upon more careful inspection, Carlos realized that the objects they were showing were full on proper Emblems. He’s never seen the highest denomination of Marks before, and even from afar, he could still spot the unique beauty of each one. Hawthorne sensed his gaze, however.
“It’s rather rude to stare at someone’s Emblem. I best suggest you keep you eyes elsewhere.”
Chastised, he looked at the walls instead. Still, it gave an idea of the scope the vault operated off of. Emblems were the hardest kind of Mark to make for any magical person and were used more for identification purposes, due to their unique characteristics adopting that of the creator, rather than as a currency like the lower denominations.
But he was getting ahead of himself. Nonetheless, he was excited to head into the Vault. People like him don’t get to witness such things often, so when they can, they savor it. He was distracted from his thoughts as he could hear someone tromp up behind them. He had to resist every urge to turn around to look at who it was.
He figured it was a man after a masculine voice muttered something about newbies being allowed near the Vault under their breath. He couldn’t catch the rest of the now trailing words, but he guessed they weren’t the most positive of statements regarding Jade and he.
Keeping his gaze straight, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Jade stiffened up in response. He figured she had been able to hear the statement in full, if her keener senses were anything to go by.
He decided it was best to just ignore the man, and not let it get to him. Even Hawthorne stated they had to push to let them come here in the first here. However that stance was harder to maintain when the man decided to just cut in line and insert themselves in front of them.
Carlos figured the man was a Mage, the traditionalist’s robes a dead giveaway, emblazoned with odd symbology that drew the eye. Painted across his fair skinned face was a smug smirk. There was something subtly unnatural about his appearance, and he was unable to put his thumb on it.
He acted surprised when Hawthorne spoke out, pressing a shushing finger against Hawthorne’s face, him now speaking.
“No no no, I think this is perfectly fair. You see, with me here, you only have to wait one more person, which is no big deal. But if I remained behind you, that’d be four people I’d have to wait, and that doesn’t seem fair, now does it.”
Carlos didn’t believe themselves to be a violent man. However, he’s never quite met a man with a such a punchable face and attitude. He also fit the Mage stereotype painfully well. Thankfully, Hawthorne did not care to put up with their bullshit.
“Tough luck, buddy, but you gotta wait in line like the rest of us, properly. Now get back before we make you.”
The haughty Mage guy bent down in front of Hawthorne, and spoke in the most irritating baby talk voice imaginable.
“Aw, is the tiny man mad?”
“Nah, not really. But she sure is.”
Hawthorne pointed back toward Melissa using his thumb. Before Carlos could blink, she was by the man, gauntlet on his shoulder. The man’s face turned ugly, quick.
“Unhand me you brute, before I make you regr-” Their snarl was swiftly turned into a yelp as Melissa complied, tossing him back and thus unhanding him. The man tumbled backward in a heap of limbs and angry shouted curses.
The scuffle drew attention, but people seemed to be amused at the man, rather than being angry at Melissa and Hawthorne. Carlos was in a slight daze, as it felt beyond reality. Checking over Jade, she had a look of dark satisfaction. Hawthorne turned to them both, hands pressed together.
“And that, is a Mage who has cycled their Ego through their mind far too often. Carlos, I hope you take this as a lesson. Watching you turn out like that would be a great disappointment.”
Carlos did a half nod, still a daze trying to get his thoughts in order. He was struggling to comprehend the events that just took place. Those people were real? He always thought the stories were exaggerations, or maybe because he was sheltered in the dorm, mainly interacting with those yet unaffected by Ego.
“Don’t worry Carlos, if you begin to be like that, I’ll help you get back on track with some attitude adjustment.” Jade grinned at him, popping her knuckles on each fist. He got the message, and had a chuckle.
But in the duration of all this, they moved forward in the line once more, the man was now at the back of line, behind even more people who just showed up. He seemed to be skulking. Carlos averted his gaze before the Mage looked up.
As he reoriented himself, they now appeared to be next in line, and he realized just how imposing the golem gatekeeper was, now up close. They positively towered over him, and even over Melissa by a large margin. He had no doubts, that if it wanted to, it could snap all of them in half.
Despite the minor sense of terror he felt gazing upon the golem, a closer look at the runes that inscribed its metal skin revealed a beautiful tapestry of shapes and patterns that flowed across its structure.
The person in front of them, a long, silver-haired woman who appeared to be a Warlock, if the spectral formed falcon sitting upon their shoulder was indication, was wrapping up their verification with the golem.
With a silent gesture from the golem, she was able to to head through the Vault doors which only opened to a crack large enough for her to slip through before closing shut behind her, but not before another person, an man of average height with golden eyes strolled out, a cube floating above their hands.
They paused at the sight of Hawthorne, before shaking their head and continuing with their exit. The cube warbled and flittered around them as they walked. Carlos brought his eyes back to the forefront, as they were beckoned closer by the gatekeeping golem.
As they got close, Carlos felt them pass by another threshold, and the area behind them fell utterly silent. He also realized that the golem had a steady pulsing thrumming sound originating from them, that he didn’t hear before.
Hawthorne walked closer, pulling out their Emblem. Earlier comment still fresh in mind, Carlos looked in another direction. But not before he caught a peek of what looked similar to the Arcane sigils Hawthorne would conjure. It stuck with his mind, reminding him yet again, he has not found a proper magic style for himself yet.
The golem rumbled something to Hawthorne’s garbled speech, which Carlos took to be another layer of enchantments this place had. Hawthorne waved to the trio behind him, and Carlos could feel the invisible eyes of the golem peer over him, judging him. Similar to its kin at the reception table.
Melissa moved their way to front, flashing their own Emblem to the golem, which appeared to please it. However, it was still looking at Carlos and Jade, seemingly waiting for something. It’s waiting reaction made him feel a bit tense, as he had no idea how to fulfill it’s inferred request.
He just didn’t know how to make an Emblem yet. He could only make the most basic level of Marks, Clouds, which he had a small stockpile of. He’s been unable to use them lately, as the Guild has covered the cost of things for him so far, but he was getting ahead of himself.
Carlos was grateful, as Hawthorne continued talking in garbled speech to golem, which drew its gaze off of them. Whatever he was saying, it must’ve been convincing as the golem was slowly nodding up and down, the metal that composed its body shifting as it did so.
Hawthorne clapped his hands together, seemingly pleased with himself. He gestured for them to follow him yet again.
Approaching the vault door, he watched in awe as it cracked open, and he got a glimpse of what was inside. Hawthorne guided them through, and as they passed into what was behind the vault, the doors shut behind them with a thud.