Sejarl's Stronghold

Garret sat in his office, working on paperwork and making sure everything checked out. He had already finished all the requests for final approvals on usage of funds, having denied some and approved of others, when he began sifting through the regional reports. There were certainly failures in the completion of a few of the orders given, however that was to be expected. Garret did not believe that there was a person in this world where everything always went good, or as expected, for them. If there were such a person, he would have to do his best to obtain that talent for the good of the empire.

There was one case he was anxious to get to. It was in the third pile, reserved for viewing last, as it would require his full attention in order to come to a decision on what to do with it. That pile rarely has good news in it. And by rarely, I mean never. When it came time to review the notes of it, he rested his face in his palm. The case was a mission that had been given to him, but due to the sudden nature of his arrest, it arrived at the safe-house a day after he had been placed in prison. With him missing from Remano's cell, and Azix's unexplained disappearance until he had gotten re-trained by one of the wandering agents, codename 'The Instructor', there weren't enough people around to pick the case up and it had to be put on the back-burner. It was a blunder all around, and one that somebody had placed on his desk to make sure he was aware. Acius, likely.

OOC:

281/1500 Word count

He thought on it for a moment before turning to the butler. "Fredrick, I need you to summon for me the following individuals: Martinus, Tacitus, Marinus and Iulius. Tell them to bring everything they have that's relevant to the topic 'Sejarl Kolan', and that we have a strategy meeting to perform."

Fredrick was a butler Garret was familiar with. He was a competent man, who mainly took care of the grounds as a groundskeeper, but also occasionally filled in for the breaks of Garret's normal communications messenger. He seemed to be a bit old, but he was always reserved in quiet repose. Originally, he was posted as the butler that took care of one of the safe-houses in Remano. If Garret recalled correctly, however, there were some circumstances with not having skilled hands to handle the work with the grounds-keeping of the villa and he had been transferred there. The man simply bowed, saying one word "Understood." before making his way off to do as Garret requested.

After some time passed, the people he had summoned began trickling in. First was Marinus Nerva, their 'Troubleshooter.' After him came Equipment Manager Martinus Gallus. These two brought nothing with them, except perhaps Martinus who may have had his seal with him for approval of equipment use. Tacitus Sextus came in next; he was the assistant project manager, and likely the busiest of any of those that would gather today. With him he brought in several rolled up selections of canvas papers. Iulius Valentinus, the information analyst, was the last to arrive. He had several manilla envelops, which he passed to each person at the table. The reason it had taken him so long, likely, was having his team of copyists create the copies for the group.


OOC: 295+281 = 576/1500

"Gentlemen, please take a moment to read over the notes that we've got on Sejarl Kolan. When finished, place the folder on the table." They all took a look through the folder, familiarizing themselves with the details of the case itself. Garret, too, looked through the folder to see if there was anything in there that may be of use that he had not already read. Finding there wasn't, and being satisfied that he was as up-to-date as he could be on the matter, Garret put the folder down on the desk. The rest seemed to be ready as well, and Garret motioned towards Tacitus. "Tacitus, if you could, a map please."

Tacitus nodded to Garret and began to unfurl the map. He placed it at the center of the table. Looking to the men who were now standing around the table to get a good look at the map, Tacitus began speaking. "Iulius, I know you've got some more on this than what was in those folders. Lets hear it."

Iulius walked over besides Tacitus and spoke to the group while placing tacks on the map. "This is where the original mission was supposed to be handled..." Green tack. "This was the course he would have been taking, from Remano to his stronghold..." Blue tack. "While we didn't quite have the manpower to spare for an elimination at the time, we did have enough for information gathering. We managed to find his stronghold not long after we found out the original operative and the Remano staff in general would be unable to execute the mission orders."

Iulius had purposely left Garret's name out of the explanation, though that did not matter, as it was written in as part of the mission notes that everyone had received. He placed a red tack at a point on the map, north of Remano and a bit southwest of where he had been imprisoned. At least they wouldn't have to actually climb any mountains. "We have analyzed the intake of goods to the stronghold and estimate anywhere between 40 to 50 inhabitants, with approximately half of them likely being combatants. This was determined through the knowledge that, a few months prior to this, a famous mercenary group was hired by an unknown man. This mercenary group is led by a Fanalis that goes by the name 'G. Garlan'. The details of this group can be found in the folders I will now pass around."

Iulius passed each of them a folder of the man in question, and continued briefing them. "Now, if you note, they have a steady intake of goods through a single point of access which is guarded by at least four guards, presumably Garlan Mercenaries. We've checked for other access points, but no actual doors were detected. Wall scaling would require a 25 meter grapple hook, but there are no holds on the top of the wall for the hook to clasp onto. Suggestions, Tacitus?"

OOC:

492+576 = 1068/1500

Garret held his chin between his thumb and slightly jutted fore-finger, clasping the rest of his hand as he considered the discussion. "It would take a few weeks, but we could have the operative who takes care of this disguise themselves as one of the individuals delivering the goods. Perhaps legitimately get work through that group by causing one of their normal..."

Garret interrupted Tacitus at this point. "While that method has a high chance of success, I'm going to suggest a counter-proposal. We don't have the resources to spend working on multiple long-term missions, so I want to get this out of my hair sooner rather than later. It is an important mission, but it needs to be done quickly." Garret paused, looking at each of them before continuing. "As you know, Marinus Nerva here is our Troubleshooter. It should come at no surprise that I'm choosing him to undertake this mission. However, it may come as a surprise that he is not doing it alone. I'll be going along." That generated some glances his way, and an arced eyebrow from Marinus. "I can breach this wall from any side. The real problem will be removing the enemies, locating Sejarl and subsequently eliminating him." Garret locked his eyes onto Iulius. "Did you happen to backtrack who built the stronghold? Were you able to get a layout of the building?"


OOC:

230+1068 = 1298/1500 Word Count

Iulius coughed and brought out a map of his own. "Since we're at this stage of the planning, might as well bring it out right now." He placed the map upon the table, and the group looked at it. The stronghold was fairly straight forward, with various rooms and hallways that all lead to an area that looked to be an inner sanctum. It was at this point that Garret looked to Tacitus.

"Tacitus, if you were G. Garlan, how would you set up patrols and checkpoints throughout the stronghold?" Garret's true purpose for asking the man to come along was in order to pick his brain for this part of the mission. Tacitus began explaining where he felt it would be best to place soldiers for defensive positions, including the type of patrols he would have kept. While they wouldn't be exactly the same as what G. Garlan likely had planned out, they were no doubt similar. It was at this point that Garret began explaining his risky plan. "I'll handle getting us behind the walls. I won't need any special equipment for that." He nodded to Martinus, letting the man know he hadn't forgotten him. "Once we're in, we split up. I'm going to want Marinus to stealthily approach through the halls and find Sejarl, and kill him. I don't believe I have to say this, but no sloppy work. Kill the guards, kill Sejarl, but no innocents. They're free to leave." Garret looked to Marinus, who simply nodded agreement to his statement.


OOC:

255+1298 = 1553/1500

"Now, as for what I will be doing, I'll be distracting their primary forces in the courtyard here." One of those assembled coughed in surprise, but Garret couldn't quite tell who. "Hopefully I will be able to draw out G. Garlan himself, thus making your job that much easier." Garret nodded to Marinus, who smiled. "Now that it's come this far, I also want to confiscate his material goods, namely any gold and other funds he has, for our future operations." It was at this point that Martinus whistled. "Exactly. I'm going to need a team and a few wagons sent there to arrive in the morning. Also, send Lu Feng, Tseng Qiang, Zheng Longwei and Xin Qiaolian with those wagons and call it practical training." That got him another look, as he was using recruits in a mission.

Garret simply smiled. "Everyone has a first job, and at this point it shouldn't be as difficult as the one Marinus and I will be taking beforehand." He had made his choices based on temperament and skill. The individuals he had picked out were vicious, except for Lu Feng, whom he picked in order to keep Tseng Qiang from going overboard. The man was the stopper on rash decisions. At least normally, that is. "Well then, let's begin."

OOC:

217+1553 = 1770/1500 Word Count

Garret and Zheng Jing Zhou, code name Marinus Nerva, found themselves 50 meters outside of the stronghold. They were both geared out in dark clothing that kept them difficult to see at night. The moon was out high tonight, and the silver light lit the impressive stronghold. Upon the battlements, if the flat top surfaces could even be called that, were patrolling guards. Each guard carried with him a torch, making him an unmistakable target but also providing visual confirmation of their presence to the others around the compound.

Garret whispered to Marinus. "Pretty clever. Once we take one out, the execution of our mission will become time-sensitive. Luckily there's two of us, and I'll be providing a distraction." When he looked over to Marinus, he found the man staring back at him.

"Why did you kill Li Cao?" Garret's heart leaped into his throat. He heavily suspected that the man knew, but now it was confirmed. At some point in time, Marinus had managed to move his blade next to his neck. The blade itself did not even shine a light through the movement, otherwise Garret would have seen it. It must have been coated with a substance that removed the reflective properties of the steel. "Proof of his treachery wasn't found until after you were imprisoned."

OOC:

217+1770 = 1987/1500 Word Count

He wasn't too worried, however, as his Borg would protect him. At least, so long as the man didn't have some strange means of overpowering the Borg and still dealing lethal damage. He calmly considered the man before him as they both were lying down in the grass. The threat of a conflict, however, was certainly real. Even if his Borg protected against the first attack, it would be favorable for the man to remove one of Garret's advantages. If he doesn't like my answer, worst case scenario would be that he would start a fight here and now in an attempt to 'purge' me. The man is a hunter of traitors, and likely skillful in the detection of lies... Garret decided to tell him of what occurred. "At the time, all I knew was that he was intentionally sabotaging missions and acting in a way that was counterproductive to our country."

Marinus put his blade back in its sheath, and Garret sighed in relief. Looking at Marinus' face in a searching manner, Garret asked the man a question. "Would you have started a fight right here?" The sense of urgency Garret had for completing this mission was certainly great. They couldn't afford to take a long time in finishing off their opponents. The ground before them became cloaked in shadow as a cloud passed overhead, blocking out the moonlight. Garret began slowly moving forward, making his way closer to the stronghold.


OOC:

244+1987 = 2231/1500 Word Count

Marinus crawled alongside Garret. "Not sure." The Troubleshooter smiled a thin smile, imparting upon Garret the sense of a dangerous aura. He was intentionally making himself hard to read. While technically the Troubleshooter reported directly to the Spymaster, Garret wondered if the man was also a safety precaution to ensure the Spymaster's compliance. The implications were certainly there.

Garret grunted. They had finally reached the base of the building, and the two leaned against it. "Are you ready? I'll drop you off up top, once the two sentries pass each other. You'll take the right hand route silently until you reach the stairs going down. I'll take the left hand route noisily, and enter the courtyard directly from the top. I should bring in a majority of the soldiers to my side of things, and you should be able to take care of things in the inner sanctum of the stronghold." At least, that's the plan...

Marinus smiled. "Sure, but lets make things a bit more interesting with an Emperor's Game bet. The one who kills Sejarl first wins." The Emperor Game, while childish, was well known throughout Kou, and a lot of children played it. When somebody drew the 'Emperor stick', they could make 1 command that could not be disobeyed.

Narrowing his eyes, Garret looked at Marinus. "Fine, but nothing related to work." Marinus chuckled and nodded in agreement. It was at this point that Garret brought out his wand, and preparing himself for the assault that would soon take place. Closing his eyes, he began to gather his magoi...


OOC:

263+2231 = 2494/1500 Word Count

Garret began gathering the water about the area until he had gathered enough to create a fifteen meter long and five meter wide stream with the use of his Controlling the Currents spell. The water itself had not been formed in that shape, and simply sat on the ground beneath their feet. The two were kneeling when the patrolling guards passed overhead, and Garret had the water move upward, bringing them both to the top on a rising water current that kept them above the water itself. From there, Marinus jumped off and immediately headed towards the guard on the right. His footsteps were unheard. Garret paid closer attention to his target, allowing the other man to do his job as he would. He reversed the speed of the inner 2 meter diameter of the water cylinder he had made while simultaneously casting Water Gills in order to breath while in that very same water. The water itself was still not above the wall level, but as soon as Garret found himself six meters down the water he stopped the movement from carrying him further.

Marinus likely already took out the first guard, which meant it was time for Garret to begin his work as well. Casting Pressure Crusher, Garret moved the water, and him alongside it, up and over the wall. The water covered every inch of the battlements, not allowing an individual the opportunity to get out of the way without jumping off, and began tracking down the walk-way at a rate of 20 m/s. The first guard was met almost immediately, and the pain and damage from Garret's spell left the man unconscious and near death as he passed over the man. Garret rounded the corner of one of the sides, and the next individual he ran into saw him coming. Fear in his eyes, the man turned and screamed. "INTRUDER! INTRUDER!" He attempted to run as hard as he could, but the man was no match for the speed of Garret's spell as he, too, was swallowed within the crushing grasp of Garret's spellcraft. The next three attempted to take Garret head-on, however they had neither the strength nor skill to do so. Five down on my side...

As the top battlements had been cleared, Garret's spell took him down into the courtyard, where he landed gently. He then sent the water down into the ground itself without releasing his hold on the magic, as a trap for later. There seemed to be shouting coming from within the stronghold, and some doors opened up to Garret's left. About 30 meters out, a group of twelve soldiers rushed out into a formation, ready to fight. A red haired man stepped out as well, and time almost froze for Garret as he recalled his fight with Manius, a Fanalis who had just started out in the Reim's Fanalis Corps. Recalling the man's speed and strength, Garret didn't hesitate to blast off his strongest spell towards the group right off the bat. Icy Explosion gathered the water from the air and shot it towards the group of soldiers.

The red haired man, however, saw it coming and ordered a retreat. The explosion, only a second afterwards, caught all of the soldiers but the Fanalis himself, who had seen it in time to run back inside. Garret frowned. The soldiers were garbage against him, but the Fanalis could prove to be a difficult opponent. Garret took a deep breath, sweat beginning to run down his forehead. He had certainly run through a few techniques already, and was quite warmed up for a fight. He took a few steps towards the doors, making sure to move the water beneath his feet as he did so. When he approached the door and was within 20 meters of it, Garlan moved at a ridiculous speed and began closing the distance between Garret and himself. The man had a simple looking blade that looked like it had seen a lot of use and was more than fit for its job. Garret braced himself for impact as he saw the Fanalis charge up for a grand blow. The Guard's Heavy Blow was met by Garret's River Styx Style: Fish Swims Upstream, as Garret moved his right hand in a crescent motion and slapped the blade aside while simultaneously side stepping and moving around and behind the Guard by 5 meters. As he did so, he called forth two commands to the Rukh; Ice Mirror Maze and Ice Phase. The water that had been dutifully laid out across the ground rose up into the form of a predetermined maze; it was a dead-end maze that Garret had made way back, before he was imprisoned. The maze was meant to be a battleground. Its creation, with the readily available water around them, was quick and efficient.

Garret calmly turned around. The maze of ice was an impressive structure that took many hours of pre-work to envision in order to make it so quickly. He recalled Savron's handiwork with knots, and believed himself to be as equally familiar with his line of work as Savron was with his own. Though there was a mirror of ice between himself and the Fanalis, Garret did not believe that to be enough space. He faded back through a few ice walls, and began traveling inside the ice mirrors. His reflections were ever changing, and Garret began to speak, his voice echoing. "You will die here, Garlan. You took up a bad contract." It wasn't something he was used to doing, but he felt that a little bit of distraction would be perfect when using this particular technique. His image clearly reflected off of many of the mirrors, making it difficult to know which one was real. Normally, the same would have been the case for Garret. The magician, however, was the one that had created this maze. He knew it much more intimately than the Fanalis ever could, and was able to follow markers that were located within the ice mirrors in order to find his way about.

A thud and a cursing sound was heard, and Garret frowned. The man must have attacked one of the magically created mirrors with his fist and hurt himself against it. "Damn you, madoushi! Show yourself you coward! Fight me!" The man was clearly upset, which made this a perfect time for Garret to move in for the kill. Garret covered the distance and, using River Styx Style: Raging Current, and came flying out from one of the Ice Mirrors with a roundhouse kick to the man's side from behind. Unfortunately, during the movement, Garret tripped up and made a noise as he approached the Fanalis, giving Garlan enough time to turn. He blocked Garret's kick with a Basic Parry from his left arm as he turned, and brought down his Guard's Trained Strike with his sword hand. Garret had just enough time to use a palm strike from his River Styx Style: Raging Currenton the man's sword hand, pushing the blade to the side as Garret set his foot down. Garret didn't have time to worry about the mistake if he planned to win this fight, and immediately coated his right arm with an intense amount of magoi. River Styx Style: Ikken Hissatsu: Deep Sea Harpoon was being used, and Garret thrust his hand forward. The strength and danger of the technique was immediately apparent to the Fanalis, as he use everything he could in order to prevent it from connecting. His sword immediately made its move in order to deflect Garret's attack. Even with the Fanalis Advanced Parry, however, it was not enough to completely stop Garret's technique. Garret's hand lodged itself into Garlan's chest.

The man stumbled backwards, heavily wounded. Garret believed he had pierced the man's lungs, which was soon apparent as Garlan began coughing up blood.

OOC:
1335+2494 = 3829/1500 Word Count
50/300 Magoi/Stamina

Abilities Used:

Garret walked towards the Garlan. Though Garret was sweating heavily, and breathing heavily, he did not let go of his Ice Phase technique. Nor did the Magoi from his River Styx Style: Ikken Hissatsu: Deep Sea Harpoon leave either. His adrenaline was pumping heavily, and a dull thudding was felt within his head and body. It reminded Garret of the beat of a heart. As he walked forward, Garlan's image was replaced with Manius'. Garret felt a little light headed, and shook it off. He paused, standing before the wounded Fanalis, who seemed to look up at Garret in confusion.

The Fanalis, with a last desperate shove of strength, attacked Garret with his blade, using his Guard's Heavy Blow. The attack bounced off of Garret's Borg, and the man raised his hand up as Garret's own strike simultaneously moved forward. Garret had traded that blow from the Fanalis in order to get his own strike in, once again using River Styx Style: Ikken Hissatsu: Deep Sea Harpoon. As the attack shredded through the man's hand and went straight for its intended target, Garret began to cough up blood. Strange... When was I hit? The technique went straight through Garlan's heart, and Garret removed the hand and stumbled forward, towards a mirror from the Ice Mirror Maze. He saw his face looking back at him, and noted something strange, from a third person perspective. There was a stream of blood running from his eyes, ears and nose. The adrenaline died down, and fatigue kicked in. Garret collapsed where he stood, coughing up blood once again. His breath was labored, and he wondered what, exactly, it was that had caused this. As he moved his right arm a large amount of pain coursed throughout his body and he shouted out. At least, he tried to shout out.

Again, he coughed up blood. There is danger to this technique, it seems. A large strain on the body. Garret wanted to pass out and fall asleep, but he wasn't sure how bad the damage was, and whether or not he would die while asleep. Since he was coughing up blood, he considered the possibility that blood had somehow gotten into his lungs, and that he was bleeding on the inside. Poisons could do that. Heh. Magoi manipulation. It's like a poison that temporarily grants strength, but then comes back and ruins your body if you take it in large dosages. He closed his eyes, briefly, wanting to nod off into sleep.

But that would not be. A strange cry for help came from behind him. It was the sound of somebody terrified for their life. Garret grunted and stood up. His job was not yet finished. With his Ice Phase the only thing still sustained, Garret stumbled forward through his creation and walked towards the sound. There was a beating on the ice, and Garret could see small fat fists pounding on it in an attempt to break through. "Garlan! Help me! They're inside, you incompetent buffoon! They're after my life! Hurry!"

Garret brought out his Prismatic Dagger in his right hand even as he held his wand in his left. A trail of his blood was left within the ice and, when he came out of the Ice Mirror Maze, it was directly where the man was pounding on. Garret's Borg came up, bouncing the fat man's fists off of it. "Huh..?" The man was confused, and looked up to the Magician who was looking down on him with bleeding eyes that seemed dead to the world. Terrified, the man attempted to back pedal, but instead simply fell to the ground. "No... No, no no no no! I'll give you anything you want! Just spare me, please! Please don't kill me! Money? Safety? I can give it all. I'll hire better mercenaries!"

Garret advanced the few steps it took to catch up to the crawling man. It was obvious that this was Sejarl. Raising his knife, he brought it down towards the man's back, aiming for where his heart would be. Garret stumbled, and instead cut the man's side. The man screamed and rolled over to the side, his hands moving to cover the wound that was bleeding. When the man looked at his hands and saw his own blood, he paled and fainted. Garret crawled over to the unconscious man and began stabbing him. His shaking hands missed the heart twice more before he was successful.

Marinus Nerva came from the building at that time and approached Garret. The man was pristine, as if he had come across absolutely no trouble. Garret smiled, coughing blood up once again. "I... Win." He said weakly, falling to the ground. "Punishment... Watch my back, I'm tired." Garret was having difficulty keeping himself awake, and had to force those words out.

Marinus knelt next to Garret, observing his wounds. "Save your request for something not related to work." He murmured, reminding Garret of the condition he had set. The man continued to whisper to him. "We need you, boss. Remember, you are shouldering the responsibility of our future." He paused before adding his final words to Garret. "Now rest. I think you'll do just fine."

Garret wasn't sure whether Marinus meant that he would heal fine, or that he would perform his duties fine, but the words he uttered worked like magic as darkness covered his vision...


OOC:

909+3829 = 4738/1500 word count
20/300 Magoi/Stamina

Abilities used: