A portal of blue energy flickered open above the ground. A blur of movement flew from the opening onto the stone floor. The body of a Chaos Legion soldier slid backward into a splintered bookshelf, cracking it in two. A second figure leaped through the gateway. Landing on the ground with a flourish, Oshuur turned towards the portal as a flurry of bolts and magic flew through it directly at her. She rolled out of the way and twisted her hands to form a spell. Two more soldiers stepped through the rift into the cluttered room. One wielded a crossbow while the other held a crooked staff in their hands
Oshuur released the magical energy that had built up at her fingertips. A ball of blue light shot from her fingers directly into the soldier with the crossbow. The soldier slumped to the ground, but not before managing to get one shot off before their body fell.
The bolt bounced off Oshuur harmlessly as a shield of energy appeared around her. “Lucky shot.”
The remaining soldier prepared a magical spell of their own. Raising their staff to the sky, motes of magic gathered around it. Oshuur grabbed the stone necklace around her neck, and the tattoos along her arms began to glow.
This is going to be close, she thought.
Magic surged inside of her and released at the same time the enemy's spell did. A detonation erupted between the two spellcasters, forcing them back into opposite walls.
Oshuur collided with a wooden support beam and hit the ground hard. Her spell held true. It protected her from the impact of the enemy mage and cushioned the force of the blow. She heard her opponent slam into the far wall. Their bones snapped upon impact. She looked at their limp body; their staff lay cracked in two.
Oshuur stood and inspected the room she was in. She knew it well. The old beams, wooden walls, and splintered floors. She could smell the faintest trace of burning incense that used to waft through the cabin. She imagined the many Riftwatcher warriors bustling to and fro, and refugees huddling together in the hull.
Now, as she walked the interior of the grounded airship, everything was in disarray. Hammocks hung off their supports, broken bookshelves lay discarded with torn books covering the floor, and dried blood stained the walls. It had been one of the many airships the Riftwatchers called home: The Crimson Morn. This was all that remained of it after being shot down in battle.
It had been many years, too long to recall, since she had last been aboard this vessel. Her studies in Runemancy had led her back here for the purpose of recovering an heirloom she knew to be on the ship. It was an old family tome. She'd remembered seeing symbols and imagery matching her tattoos and necklace in that old tome. It must hold answers to her family, and perhaps more importantly, how to defeat the Chaos Legion the Riftwatchers have been chasing for centuries.
Oshuur made her way to the main cabin. Shoving the door off its hinges, she pushed through to find the room mostly untouched, apart from the damage it sustained during its crash. A skeleton lay slumped in a large seat behind an impressive oak desk. Papers, tomes, and various furniture lined the room. Gears, cogs, and timepieces hung on walls and lay on the floor. As she entered the room, the Runemancy gear all began to tick and click at once, their dials turning in place.
Oshuur’s eyes widened and she yelled, “Atuat, you better get in here!”
Blue light from the new portal danced on the wood walls around her. Stepping through it was another figure. He stood just under five feet tall and carried a harpoon. His clothes were heavy and lined with thick fur. A full beard covered his dwarven face. “I thought you said all the traps were clear. Corsec’s scales, Oshuur. That’s gonna be a mighty explosion.”
“You think? Work on shutting them down while I search for the artifact.”
Atuat began studying the ticking equipment whilst Oshuur went to work searching the room.
The heirloom was so close, she could feel her connection with it. She grasped her stone necklace, the one worn by her ancestors, and focused on her dragon mana. The necklace hummed with magic as she traced the room. She felt it lead her to the oak desk. As she reached for a drawer, an explosion echoed from outside, and the entire airship shook. The two fell over furniture and hit the wall. The ship slowly teetered.
Looking out a circular window, Atuat said, “It seems the whole ship is rigged to blow. More of these Runemancy explosives are attached to the exterior. Not to mention the cliff the Morn rests on. Fine place to wreck an airship this stunning. Let’s pick up the pace!”
Righting themselves, they rushed back to work. Smaller explosions on the outside tossed the cabin around. The desk slid to one wall, nearly pinning Atuat as he disarmed an explosive. Oshuur tried to turn the desk around to get back to the drawer but it was no use. The tilting ship forced it against the wall. “Atuat, how much time do we have?”
“You think I’m keeping track?”
“Forget the charges, help me with this desk!”
Groaning, Atuat turned the desk just slightly to allow Oshuur enough room to sift through the drawer. Her necklace hummed with arcane energy as the drawer opened. Spotting a leather tome, she grabbed it. An explosion rocked the ship, flinging one side of the desk through the splintering wooden wall. The drawer in the desk had closed on Oshuur’s arm, pulling her through the new hole in the ship, as well. Her feet dangled high above the cliff with her arm trapped in the closed drawer.
Atuat tried to force the desk free, but it was caught. The charges inside emitted a whining noise. Then each erupted.
The desk, Atuat, and Oshuur exploded from the side of the airship. While both of the Riftwatcher’s mana protected them from the worst of the blast, they would be less protected against the sharp rocks and water hundreds of feet below them
Freeing the tome from the drawer Oshuur turned her body into a dive and raced for Atuat. Colliding with the dwarf, she grasped her necklace with her free hand and cast a spell through her connection with dragon mana. A portal appeared beneath them. “This will be unpleasant, but it’s better than the rocks.”
Passing through the portal, both crashed down onto a wooden surface. Spinning to her feet, Oshuur twisted her hands in a symbolic gesture, closing the portal
.
.
.
“That’s the story that lead us here.” Leaning one hand on the open tome recovered in the wreckage of the Crimson Morn, Oshuur took in the room and the people around her. There was the small party of adventurers that opened the way for their team: Bera, River, Delya, and Fiafia of Praetoria. Also there, from Oshuur’s team, were Atuat and Azura. She had sent a fellow Riftwatcher, Florre, on an immediate assignment with the ranger Riklauniman.
“This book makes mention of many things, including this temple in the desert, which one of our ancestors constructed to return here in case the Obelisk Shield ever malfunctioned. It is that Obelisk Shield which we seek. It was once a powerful tool in keeping this world safe from outside invaders. We must restore it to power so that the Chaos Legion can no longer continue to enter Praetoria and Uul will be cut off.”
“That’s well and good, but we don’t know what this Obelisk Shield is, let alone where to find it,” the dwarf Bera said. Oshuur noted her missing arm, a wound from a battle within the temple.
“This world was once home to my people,” Oshuur said as she placed her hands behind her back. “It holds many secrets not known to outsiders; secrets my ancestors left behind in this tome. There’s a few I am still figuring out. It wasn’t until setting foot on Praetoria that the information began to make sense to me. Especially, once I saw the map you carry with you, Delya.”
Shuffling papers around, Oshuur brought up the map of Praetoria and an ancient slip of paper from her tome. Overlapping the two, she pressed them together to reveal eight marks with the initials O.S. next to them. They were placed at various points on the map.
“These are our next targets. The Obelisk Shield nodes. Eight arcane machinations that when powered, create a powerful shield that shuts down any portals and rifts. I’m delegating all of you to get this done. It’s a lot of ground to cover but with my team, yours, and the people of Praetoria, we can see this through.”
Oshuur stood tall, thinking of her next words carefully. The blood of dragons ran through her veins. She wasn’t afraid of anything…but these people? They had risked so much just to bring the Riftwatchers here, could she really ask them to take on even more?
“I know you’ve all done a lot already, but there is still more to do. War is here. We’ve been chasing war for as long as we can remember, but now we’ve caught up to it. This is our home. All of us. The Chaos Legion hasn’t succeeded yet, not while we remain standing and fighting. We’re finally ahead of them, for once. Let’s get started and end this for good.
Collect special Limited NFTs related to this story at https://www.splintertalk.io/nfts/
Credits:
Story: Ashley Roepel & Scott Roepel
Editor: Sean Ryan
Narrative Lead: Joey Shimerdla
Character Art (cover): Candycal
Illustrations: HPL Game Design Corporation
Graphic Design: Tamer "Defolt" Oukour
Voice Acting: David Dahdah
Ending credits song: AfterSound
Music: Isaria
Post Production: INFLUX Pictures
Creative Director: Nate Aguila
