Slavegear - Part 3

Kaylee Brown wrote:"..in the middle.." Harlequin quietly said: "..but there is no middle tunnel. Only right and left" she looked at you:
"I'm sorry. I don't know. There are no blueprints for this place.."


Drasko continued to scream in your earpiece:
"-Innocent people died Marek! You can't justify that! Wars are meant to be fought between soldiers! Civilians have nothing to do with it!"

"-and in a perfect world, it would be so" Marek quietly sighed: "But you're describing a fantasy Drasko. There world is not black and white... you have a kind heart, better than mine... you remind me of Johan in that way"

"-Don't compare me to Johan!" Drasko snapped: "I'm nothing like him! Johan is a naive, idiot child! He thinks if everyone hugs and start singing together, we can achieve world peace. I'm not stupid! I know you have to apply direct force to get anything in life, but that force needs to be applied against trained professionals. Criminals, thieves, monsters! Not innocent bystanders!"

"-you're still young Drasko.. you don't know the malice a mans heart can hold.... you're more like Johan than you know.."


Kaylee slowly became grim, as the conversation in the earpiece went on.

Harlequin faintly cursed: "We have to find them quickly. If they finish their conversation and split up again, we may loose Marek"

"The middle..." Lord Wyvern ponders for a moment, before examining the corner connecting the two corridors for any secret doors.

She frowned "I bet that one tunnel ends up going in the right direction" Moon said quietly.

Twilight listened to the conversation, taking in the points raised. She argues in herself what value they and how many grains of salt had to be applied to it. But she was getting greedy, her fingers twitching a bit unhinged. Something was not entirely correct up there...

"I guess that to the right is the gathering the guys back there spoke of. Which means that right is definitely where we find Marek in the long run. But we want him quickly, so... I propose we go left. That way we won't run into many civilians."

Rain looks to twilight, "...and what do you base that conclusion off of?" she raises a brow and tilts her head. She walks tward the tunnles and looks up, opening her wings she feels along the celing of the cave.

"Not much. " She admits bluntly.

"But I do base it on the sounds from that side. If there's a gathering, there are some that would come early, and have a chat with others there. The collective sound of those conversations would be the sound we hear from there. There's probably much more people there then we hear talking."

She puts a finger over her chin. "Well, if many of the inhabitants, if not all of them, are gathered there, there's less chance we run into them if we go left. And while I don't know the layout, I guess there's a way to reach Marek from that side. And the less we meet on the way, the more energy we have for the confrontation."

At the last words, she cracks her neck.

The ceiling is very rough, a lot of sharp edges, but nothing that stood out in particular.

As Wyvern examined the middle space between the two corridors, one of the rocks clicked under his fingertips and a key panel slid out of the wall. It looks like a password keypad, with 10 numbers on it.


"..there must a hidden door here!" Kaylee said, coming closer: "But we need a password to get through.."

"Forget the password" Harlequin called: "We just need to pry it open. Or dismantle the keypad and make it short circuit. That may unlock the door"



Drasko suddenly shrieked so loud in your earpiece, that Kaylee visibly flinched:

"-you caused the Slavegear incident to save our country!? THIS IS FUCKED UP!!!"

"-you're right. It is. Its horrifying" Marek grimly replied: "But do you think the other countries would act any differently in our position? They want our Tilerium, Drasko. That's why they keep coming back here. And we are always caught in the middle, like a bone stuck in their throat.
Do you think the other countries would hesitate to do the same to us, if it meant finally getting their hands on Tilerium? Artemis is already one step away from legally occupying our country"

"-what the hell are you saying!?" Drasko barked in your ear.

Marek sighed: "-...what if I told you, that there are elements in the Union Council, that already made plans to mass murder our people. My actions horrify me, but I was left with no choice. This is a game between monsters, I simply outplayed them. I was a few steps ahead.
They started this game, and I'll finish it"


"-...you're insane" Drasko quietly exhaled: "...you're delusional..."

"-I wish I was" Marek grimly replied"





Kaylee became visibly twitchy, as she looked at the door: "Damn, I think they're about to split up, we have to get in there, fast!"


Harlequin looked around: "..we may not have enough time... what should we do? Try to breach the hidden door, or head right, straight to the public gathering?"





"-...I can't do this anymore" Drasko bitterly said: "I'm leaving the Vampire Unit"

"-I understand. Its fine. You've done enough. Take the time to rest, away from all this. I will free our people, I promise" Marek quietly said. After a moment, he added: "...one last thing, before you go. We'll be kicking Artemis out of Nyx tonight. I may need your help. Can I count on your support?"

"-sure.." Drasko quietly threw: "After that, I'm done"

"-thank you for you help" Marek replied.

"-whatever" Drasko audibly turned on his heels

Kaylee Brown wrote:The ceiling is very rough, a lot of sharp edges, but nothing that stood out in particular.

As Wyvern examined the middle space between the two corridors, one of the rocks clicked under his fingertips and a key panel slid out of the wall. It looks like a password keypad, with 10 numbers on it.


"..there must a hidden door here!" Kaylee said, coming closer: "But we need a password to get through.."

"Forget the password" Harlequin called: "We just need to pry it open. Or dismantle the keypad and make it short circuit. That may unlock the door"



Drasko suddenly shrieked so loud in your earpiece, that Kaylee visibly flinched:

"-you caused the Slavegear incident to save our country!? THIS IS FUCKED UP!!!"

"-you're right. It is. Its horrifying" Marek grimly replied: "But do you think the other countries would act any differently in our position? They want our Tilerium, Drasko. That's why they keep coming back here. And we are always caught in the middle, like a bone stuck in their throat.
Do you think the other countries would hesitate to do the same to us, if it meant finally getting their hands on Tilerium? Artemis is already one step away from legally occupying our country"

"-what the hell are you saying!?" Drasko barked in your ear.

Marek sighed: "-...what if I told you, that there are elements in the Union Council, that already made plans to mass murder our people. My actions horrify me, but I was left with no choice. This is a game between monsters, I simply outplayed them. I was a few steps ahead.
They started this game, and I'll finish it"


"-...you're insane" Drasko quietly exhaled: "...you're delusional..."

"-I wish I was" Marek grimly replied"





Kaylee became visibly twitchy, as she looked at the door: "Damn, I think they're about to split up, we have to get in there, fast!"


Harlequin looked around: "..we may not have enough time... what should we do? Try to breach the hidden door, or head right, straight to the public gathering?"





"-...I can't do this anymore" Drasko bitterly said: "I'm leaving the Vampire Unit"

"-I understand. Its fine. You've done enough. Take the time to rest, away from all this. I will free our people, I promise" Marek quietly said. After a moment, he added: "...one last thing, before you go. We'll be kicking Artemis out of Nyx tonight. I may need your help. Can I count on your support?"

"-sure.." Drasko quietly threw: "After that, I'm done"

"-thank you for you help" Marek replied.

"-whatever" Drasko audibly turned on his heels

"If Drasko's leaving, he might exit via this hidden door" Lord Wyvern points out "In which case we just have to stop it from closing after he passes..."

"I can use my sword to jam it if it opens. Or I could try and smash it with magic." She looked to Kaylee "Your call."

"Try to jam it open with your sword" Kaylee nodded: "Hopefully it won't make too much noise, we don't want them to know we're coming"


In your earpiece, you hear Drasko loudly walking through a rough patch of ground.


"Damn" Kaylee cursed: "He's on the move.. maybe he really will exit through this door. But will Marek be exiting through here as well? There might be other exits from the room they are in."

"Just wait and see" she mumbled, drawing her sword and waiting by the panel.

Part of the wall suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden passageway, and Drasko, standing in the doorway.

He was alone. The hidden corridor behind him was very long and poorly lit. You can't make out anything in there.


Drasko's eyes were unfocused and it took him a moment to notice you.
He looked at you with an empty, colorless expression and made no reaction once he recognized you. It seems as if he either wasn't surprised or just didn't care.



From the right tunnel, you suddenly heard a booming voice, amplifying by a megaphone:

"BROTHERS AND SISTERS! FOR THREE HUNDRED YEARS HAVE WE LIVED UNDER OCCUPATION AND SLAVERY!!!"

The voice was unmistakably Marek's.

She immediately shoved her sword next to the door to stop it closing. Moon looked to the right tunnel "He's down the right tunnel. Let's go." She mumbled.

Drasko raised his eyebrow at the sword, but didn't do anything.


Kaylee sprinted through the right tunnel, as fast as her legs carried her.

Harlequin remained beside Rain, waiting for her.



As you run through the tunnel, a small archway came into view in the distance. The booming voice, ringing from it, became louder:


"THEY HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM US!

OUR FREEDOM! OUR DIGNITY!
OUR CULTURE, OUR LANGUAGE, EVEN OUR LAST NAMES WERE FORBIDDEN!
FORCED TO BE BRANDED BY AN INSULTING NAME, LIKE 'THE BLOODSUCKERS!'

THE UNION CLAIMED TO LIBERATE US, BUT IN TRUTH, WE ARE STILL IN CHAINS!

AS WE SPEAK, THE ARTEMIS FORCES ARE PREPARING TO LEGALLY OCCUPY OUR COUNTRY ONCE MORE!

BUT THEY WILL FAIL!!!"

She forgot about Drasko and sprinted after Kaylee, gripping her sword tightly. Her legs carried her a bit faster than Kaylee as she caught up to her.

"Marek..." The name came out of her mouth like she had found a prey to hunt.

She makes her way through the right tunnel, holding her hands together.

You near the archway, as the booming voice echoes towards you:


"TAKE HOPE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!! FOR TONIGHT, THE VAMPIRE UNIT WILL BRING YOU SALVATION!

COME DAWN, ALL ARTEMIS FORCES WILL WITHDRAW FROM NYX, AND OUR COUNTRY WILL FINALLY BE OURS!!! WE WILL BE FINALLY FREE!!!"



You sprint through the archway and suddenly run into a massive crowd of people. The ponies  around you, slightly flinch back in confusion.

As you look around, it seems you ran into the middle of a cave, completely packed with people. Its hard to tell how many, but there's at least a few hundred here.


Some 200 meters away, you notice Marek, standing on a stage and talking into a microphone. Two masked batponies in leather armor are standing on each of his sides.
And a sea of people between you and him.

Marek locks eyes with you and releases a small smirk:


"The Liberation Day is coming..." he quietly said into the microphone and darted behind the stage.

Moon growled and darted off to try and catch him, pushing the ponies in front of her away as she ran, making sure not to hurt anyone.

Twilight flashes a grin when their eyes meet.

"Marek, your day will have to wait. Because, it's Twilight now."

(Tarmikos)
Tarmikos slowly sat up wincing with the pain. His vision going white for a brief moment as a wave of vertigo washed over him. He didn't say anything not wanting to break the silence, simply letting the crackling of the fire monolog in the darkness.

"MOON TAKE THE LEFT!" she screeches and jumps aboves everone, her wings open and she has an arrow drawn, she flys to the stage sticking the masked pony on her side in the foot with an arrow not looking to disable him but keep him in place and distracted. She quickly knocks another arrow and slides to a stop on her side, she quickly gets on the radio, "one of you need to get to the door thats where he might be headed... He might think he's safe there..." she moves up checking every direction with her bow.

(Radiance)
"Copy that" Radiance responds through is own radio. He opens his wings launching back down the tunnel in a matter of seconds and towards the side passage. Almost overshooting the doorway Radiance jammed his feet into the ground sliding across it, then reached out with a hand to grip the door using the momentum to swinging himself into the tunnel and to continue down the passage on foot.

An old feeling of genuine excitement flowed through Radiance. The feeling of sprinting after a criminal through an unknown area was something he had missed.

Kaylee Brown wrote:Drasko raised his eyebrow at the sword, but didn't do anything.


Kaylee sprinted through the right tunnel, as fast as her legs carried her.

Harlequin remained beside Rain, waiting for her.



As you run through the tunnel, a small archway came into view in the distance. The booming voice, ringing from it, became louder:


"THEY HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM US!

OUR FREEDOM! OUR DIGNITY!
OUR CULTURE, OUR LANGUAGE, EVEN OUR LAST NAMES WERE FORBIDDEN!
FORCED TO BE BRANDED BY AN INSULTING NAME, LIKE 'THE BLOODSUCKERS!'

THE UNION CLAIMED TO LIBERATE US, BUT IN TRUTH, WE ARE STILL IN CHAINS!

AS WE SPEAK, THE ARTEMIS FORCES ARE PREPARING TO LEGALLY OCCUPY OUR COUNTRY ONCE MORE!

BUT THEY WILL FAIL!!!"

Lord Wyvern starts to run after the others, but quickly runs out of breath. "You guys need to stop making these tunnels so long..." he says to Drasko.

Kaylee Brown wrote:You near the archway, as the booming voice echoes towards you:


"TAKE HOPE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!! FOR TONIGHT, THE VAMPIRE UNIT WILL BRING YOU SALVATION!

COME DAWN, ALL ARTEMIS FORCES WILL WITHDRAW FROM NYX, AND OUR COUNTRY WILL FINALLY BE OURS!!! WE WILL BE FINALLY FREE!!!"



You sprint through the archway and suddenly run into a massive crowd of people. The ponies  around you, slightly flinch back in confusion.

As you look around, it seems you ran into the middle of a cave, completely packed with people. Its hard to tell how many, but there's at least a few hundred here.


Some 200 meters away, you notice Marek, standing on a stage and talking into a microphone. Two masked batponies in leather armor are standing on each of his sides.
And a sea of people between you and him.

Marek locks eyes with you and releases a small smirk:


"The Liberation Day is coming..." he quietly said into the microphone and darted behind the stage.

Lord Wyvern hears the end of Marek's speech, and the commotion caused by his colleagues, and addresses Drasko "What does he mean by that? What's he planning?"

// Hey guys, sorry for the long delay, the hospital work has been really killing me these past few days >.<
Thankfully the weekend is just around the corner





(Wyvern, Radiance)


The hidden tunnel proved to be extremely narrow, with a low ceiling. It seems there's only enough space for one person to walk, in one direction.
Drasko was still standing inside it and looking around with an expression of apathy.

After hearing Wyvern's question, Drasko slightly shrugged and smiled:

"We're going to kick Artemis out of Nyx of course"


When Radiance suddenly appeared at the tunnel entrance and ran inside, Drasko ended up unintentionally blocking the tunnel, unable to move out of the way in the narrow space.

Still showing a look of apathy, Drasko slightly hunched over, as Radiance ran toward him:


"Woah, where's the fire guys?" Drasko released a small smile.











(Rain, Moon, Twilight)


As Rain lands on the stage, you get a glance of the backstage area.

A long corridor can be seen, leading away from the stage and splitting into three different doors. One of the doors is slightly swinging on its hinges, being moved by momentum.

You can't seem to spot Marek in your field of vision.



As Moon tried to make her way to the stage, the crowd became rowdy. The ponies weren't violent, but they were definitely yelling and frowning at you.
The crowd before Moon, came closer together, committed to not let her through:

"Go away!" they started to shout.
"This is our home!"
"Leave Marek alone!!!"

The crowd began blocking the way to the stage, disapprovingly frowning at you.


A fruit, vaguely resembling a tomato, suddenly flew into the back of Rains head. It didn't hurt, but it definitely staggered a little bit.



One of Marek's bodyguards jumped into the crowd of people and tried to disappear among them.

The second guard, crouched down on the stage and broke off the arrow that pinned his foot to the stage. He briefly screamed some sort of profanity and reached for a pocket in his vest.














(Tarmikos)


Eva and Elisabeth didn't seem to have noticed your awakening yet.
They continued to stare at the fire for a moment, before Elisabeth quietly said:

"..we may have an angle on the ones who killed your people, Eva. I think the same faction has been stirring trouble in Nyx for the past twenty four hours.
They've been lashing out against both Artemis and Nyx civilians, stirring both sides. I believe their goal is to provoke Artemis into military action.

If this pattern holds, I may have a lead on their next target..

An Artemis diplomat will be arriving in Nyx, in the next few hours, as a last effort to calm things down between Artemis and the batponies.


If someone assassinates him on Nyx's soil, Artemis will have no choice but to retaliate. They will have legal permission to occupy Nyx.


I believe this diplomat is the next target. If we can get to him, maybe we can prevent this mess from happening... and find the people who tried to kill you..."


Eva sat in silence for a moment, before quietly nodding: "...okay"


They both looked around, shivering under the cold weather and noticed you:


"Oh.. you're up" Elisabeth called: "Took quite a beating... you holding up okay? There's only so much I can do in the field.." she looked at your bandages.

Moons horn lit up brightly and created small little bolts of energy that formed around her. They weren't harmful, but would easily be scary at least. She continued to try and push herself forward.