SMITEfire Tavern

All4, sir and raven jumped trough the portal to escape the forest's deadly flora. the three hit the bottem of a cave floor and stood up dusting them self's off, sir gave them a light with one of his sorceries. what the **** was that! raven shouted at the 2. sir awensered well it seems like a undiscovered plant type that use's projectile's to defend it's self saw us as a thread and it tried to kill us to defend it's self.

raven looked like he wanted to hang the mage but he calmed down after a deep breath. while those 2 were trying to come to terms with what just happend the them, all4 was looking for a way out. he found a bunch of stick's on the floor and lighted one up with sir's flame. all4 walked around the cave to find an exit or a place to set up a camp or atleast to check if the cave was safe.

all4 knew there was away these tree brances came into the cave so there must have been away out but he couldn't find it, there was no light coming trough any craveses. damm all4 thought to him self it must be night out side, we won't get out of here untill in the morning.

all4 went back to his companion's and told them to set up a camp and that they were gonna need to stay here untill the morning.

they got a campfire set up and set down by it roasting a bit of meat. sir said: we left the juggler behind. all4 laughed and said: oh he will find away to escape that Co7 *****. raven asked how he whas so sure of that? because he want's to kill me. he made that quiet obvious to say the least.

yeah i was wondering why? sir said. have you two met each other before? I have no idea. maybe. i get a lot of people after me who want to kill for some random reason that probebly involved either me killing one of their loved one's or pinning a murder on them or pinning a murder on one of their loved one's. if you two hadn't figured it out by now i am the greatest assassin alive. well my clan was the best assassin clan of the country and i am the last of their kind so maybe im not the best but i defently have a large bounty on my head for alive or dead.

and then all4 proceeded to tell his back story to the 2. about his clan, the training from birth, the pilgrimage, the attack of the counsil, maria, harkon and then his depression.

after losing maria i went into a seveer depression. i could never do anything right but being a damm cutthroat, i couldn't protect my loved one's from the Co7, i couldn't protect maria. i can only be an assassin. it took me 2 year's of going trough every single sin the god's forboot and a lot of alcahol but i got out of it, i trained and i killed Harkon and what was left of Maria. in those six years of training i took up a lot of contract's from a lot of people but never one that could benifit the Co7 and alway's one that would slow down there business. but i alway's did my research on my victim's to see what they did for the Co7, if they were corrupt or just evil. if they weren't corrupt or just evil i would deem them innocent and i would leave them alive and i would worn them of who would try to get them killed.

maybe i killed someone close to the juggler i don't know nor do i care. and he is not important right now. we need to find the editor's and each of us has a reason for it. now? what are your reason's mage and what are your's warrior.

the two did their story and i finally got their name's.

sir does your boot serpent friend know any way we can find the editor's?

"No, that's kind of the reason I was in town in the first place. I am trying to gather information on where they are."

"Why are you trying to find them anyway?" Raven asked

"I'm holding up my end of a deal. When my mother fell ill a... woman made a deal with me to help her get better if I found the Editors and gave them a message. And no, I can't tell you what it is." he finished when he saw All4 start to ask a question. When would it be daylight? It was only a couple of hours away when they left the tavern, but who knew how long time had passed in this realm while they were in the Nevernever. For all we knew a whole day had passed and the next night had just sta-

Sir felt something deeper in the cave, giving him a chill. He snapped his attention to the rear entrance to the little cave they were in. Something very very wrong was in this cave with them. "What is it?" Raven asked, hand on his sword.

"I think," Sir said very slowly, "We should go this way." He started walking the opposite direction of where he felt the disturbance.

A chorus of shrill cries echoed throughout the cave. "LUMIOS" Sir cried, sending it down that area of the shaft. It revealed creatures that just didn't look right. They screamed, swatting at the light as if it burned them, and one of them...

Put it out. Like a simple match. That was not good.

Run you fool! Nixaze reminded him.

"Move." It was not panicked, but it certainly conveyed the urgency of the situation (as if it needed it) and they ran.

It wasn't very long before one of the creatures caught up to them. It was a tiny one, but it had claws just as big as the others, and it had caught All4 by surprise. It jumped at his back and the impact knocked him over. The creature poised itself to rip All4s throat into 4 neatly spaced pieces. "Ventas!" Sir shouted, and wind slammed into the creature, knocking it off. "Thanks." All4 said quickly, and kept moving.

They ran through the cave, half-tripping on every rock and root in the place, and eventually made it into a cavern.

"We can't outrun them like this, one of us will trip and it will be over." Raven pointed out.

Sir nodded. "Fight it out here, what happens happens."

"What about that portal thing you did?" All4 asked.

"Right back into the forest with the killer plants? I think I prefer whatever these things are. Lumios" A sphere of light appeared in the air above the wizards head. It was bright enough to light up the entire cavern, which was pretty big. It did not reach the ceiling, which went up so far they could not see anything. They all turned and looked at the hole they had just come out of. It wasn't very long before the creatures burst out of it, and squealed in the light.

He didn't get a good look at them the first time. Now that they were adjusting to the light, he got a few seconds to analyze them. They were pitch-black, and most of them were fairly spindly.

One of them was very small. It couldn't be more than 4 feet tall standing straight up. It had a long and vicious looking set of claws, and a couple of antennae zig-zagging out of both sides of its head. As it had shown before, it was quick. Its movements were erratic and jerky, as if it were on a permanent adrenaline rush. It switched between quadrupedal and bipedal. It probably could have caught back up with us several times during our little run, but was scared of what would have happened if it had been caught out.

The other one was very big, probably just under 7 feet tall, and wide enough to match. It was triangle shaped, broad shoulders narrowing down to its hips, with nothing but muscle in between. It didn't have claws, it had big meaty hands that looked like the could bend steel. It had a mop of greasy black tentacles that looked like it meant to emulate hair. It was also not particularly quick, moving like a sumo wrestler.

The last one was... Average. It was somewhere between 5 and 6 feet tall, and very slim. It didn't have claws either, and its hands were rather small and human, even if they were a little bony. But it seemed to wear clothes, it had a leather shirt and made a *****ing sound when it moved, it sounded like ti wore chain mail. Unlike the others, it moved smoothly and... with purpose seemed to be the only way to describe it. This one was smart. And it was the one that had snuffed out his light spell earlier, so it knew at least some magic.

The creatures didn't reel in the light for very long. When they recovered the little one made a dash for All4, and the big one moved towards Raven. The other one just stared at Sir, as if waiting for him to make a move. They had each picked their targets, but that didn't mean we had to comply. The little one was darting around All4, teasing him with small cuts from the lightest slips against its claws. It was toying with them. Raven seemed able to hold his own against the big one, although it seemed more of a matter of avoiding its blows rather than deflecting them. Despite it's slow walking it was still fast enough to prevent him from going on the counter-offensive.

Sir began gathering power, his first target was the big one. Tagging the little one with magic would be difficult and probably a waste of time. The smart one obviously knew counter magic, so that made the big hulking one the best choice, Raven could help deal with-

Suddenly the smart one thrust his hands at Sir and shrilled something unintelligible. Sirs grasp on magic disappeared, and the fire spell he had been gathering simply faded into a slightly warmer cave. He didn't know how to react, nothing like this had ever happened before.

The small creature continued to tease All4. He was bleeding from dozens of small cuts but seemed more pissed than anything; every time the small creature darted in, cut him, and darted out before All4 could retaliate. But Raven had worse problems, he tripped. The creature landed on his leg HARD, you could hear the bone crunch all through the cave, and he screamed. Sir tried to gather more power, and...

Sir looked up dazed, the light he conjured fading. Whatever hex the creature had put on him was keeping him from even beginning to cast magic. He knew about this sort of magic, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it, except interrupt his concentration. Then he noticed something. There were stars in the ceiling. STARS! Stars that revealed the way out. 'Too bad...' he thought. For a brief moment they ceased to be. But that wasn't the case.

Someone was blocking them. About time he got here... Nixaze said.

A voice screamed, "Die!"

"Uh, sir?"

Marshal Goodman continued his task, but turned his gaze to the nervous-looking cadet. "Yes," he said in his baritone voice, "What is it?"

"Uh-uh-um, the D-director wanted to inform you that he had a mission--eep!"

The marshal tilted his head, narrowly avoiding a viscous swing of a cleaver. He retaliated with few quick jabs, and calmly replied, "Hmm. Tell him I will be there shortly."

One of the brutes he was currently beating made a run for it, scrambling to the steps of the tavern. The marshal, with a flick of his whip, casually lashed him with his whip and shocked the man into unconsciousness. The man fell, body thrashing with electricity.

He returned to glare at the three remaining criminals. "Gentlemen, I have no more time for this. I will be frank; if you continue to resist, I will be forced to rectify the situation."

The three thugs looked at each other, at their comrade who was still convulsing on the ground, then at the Marshal. They turned and ran for the door. Maybe they could make it.

They didn�t make it.

---

"So, Marshal, how was your vacation?" said a slender man in a black suit.

"Short," grunted Marshall Goodman, who was still wearing his armor. "What do you have for me?"

Director-General Hyde smirked. "Surely you've heard the news?"

The marshal shook his head. "I was...busy."

"Well, rumor has it that the lawmages has released a criminal to catch a criminal."

Goodman bolted to his feet. "What!" he exclaimed. "How-wha-but-argh, those idiots!"

The Director nodded. "And now you see the problem," he continued smoothly. "This is a ploy to undermine the Depelle's authority. If the convict in question is successful, it would establish a precedent."

Marshal Goodman understood what he meant. The Depelle remained in power as long as they retained their status as the sole military power in Kassa. If they were rendered obsolete, not only would all the factions begin creating their own private armies, but order in Kassa would disintegrate. "What do you want me to do?"

The Director unrolled a scroll on his desk, revealing a map. "We can't touch Mr. Criminal. He has been legally immune to our authority. So you have to stop him from completing his assignment." He met the Marshal's eyes. "Of course, this is off the record. Officially, you will be assigned to capture and detain Mr. Ignavus and his posse. Just...make sure Mr. Criminal doesn't get the chance."

Marshal Goodman nodded took the offered map. No criminal was going to escape their crimes on his watch.

He smiled. He had a mission.

Was it too much, All4 thought irritably, to ask for a break? First it had been that disastrous meeting in the tavern, and then running through that hellhole in the Nevernever, and now he was going to die by something that smelled like a rotting corpse, in this stinking cavern.

Raventhor had fallen first when the big one managed to hit him, and All4 heard his bones break and the man screamed. Then the small one lunged and he was too distracted to dodge, clipping him on the hip and sending him sprawling. And Sir was apparently talking to his left shoulder. Figured he was nuts.

All4 stood up and tried to get a grip on the situation. He was the only one in any kind of fighting condition, and their opponents were still alive. The small but quick one was in front, the big and ugly was-

The small one lunged again, but All4 knew this trick, and dropped flat. The brute behind him swung its arm like a club, and it slammed into the small one, sending it flying across the cavern until it smashed into the stone walls. Where's the leader?

All4, acting on pure instinct, rolled aside, dodging a hammer blow from the brute, and raised a claw in defense, deflecting a hurled knife from the leader.

He stood up, panting. The leader had drawn a short sword, and he and the brute were now advancing on him.

The next few seconds were a blur of motion. All4 ducked, dodged, and rolled for all he was worth, but between the brute's thick skin and the leader's stabbing blades, it was impossible to get a hit in. And he was tiring.

Inevitably, he got him. He grunted as the sword point caught him in the forearm, and then the brute, well, punched him.

No, punched isn't right, All4 thought as he collided painfully into a stalagmite. Smite sounds better. It smited me. Sounds like a good name for a game.

The leader advanced on him, and raised the sword for the finishing blow. The more cynical part of All4 welcomed the prospect of the afterlife, but the part of him that enjoyed living objected. It brought his claw up in a sudden move and grabbed the sword in mid-swing. All4 roared as he ripped the sword out of the leader's grip, and lunged, his other claw poised for his throat.

He was interrupted when the brute kicked him back into the stalagmite. It snarled and pressed. "Aaargh!"

His vision turned dark and red as a horrible pressure built on his chest. He struggled, but it was like trying to move a boulder. He swore he heard laughter mingling with his creaking bones. Just as when he was accepting his fate, he heard a metallic sound, one of the sword being drawn from a sheath.

Then there was a flash of light, so bright that it blinded him. Blinded everyone.

There was a wet shlik.

The force pressing on his chest ceased, and All4 blinked the light out of his eyes.

The head of the brute toppled and fell onto his lap, its expression still surprised. What the f-

There was a sound of clashing steel, and All4 looked up.

There was a new arrival, a broad figure in heavy armor, fighting the monsters. Where the hell did he come from?

The two remaining creatures retreated, eyeing the new threat warily. They chittered to each other. Then, in a coordinated movement, the smaller one leapt, claws extended, and the leader drew a knife and charged.

The figure blurred, and although All4 didn't seem him move, the smaller one was bisected neatly in mid-air, and fell to the ground, thrashing.

The stranger wordlessly stepped over the body and swung. The leader raised his sword to deflect the blow, but with no sound at all, the stranger's blade sliced through the leader's and lodged in his throat.

The creature gurgled and sank to the floor, twitching, before becoming still.

There was a brief silence.

"Well!" boomed the stranger. "I'm glad I made it in time! Looks like you needed some help!"

All4 tried to speak, but fell to a fit of coughing. One of his arms was numb, and breathing felt like inhaling acid. He felt for the pouch at his hip, and drew a tiny vial, which he uncorked and drank. He gasped as his wounds stitched themselves together. There was pain, but the good kind of pain that meant you were mending.

He managed to haul himself to his feet. "Who are you?" he asked hoarsely.

The stranger laughed. "I am the Speaker for Egypt! I speak for the Egyptian pantheon, to tell the truth of the gods. I am Talenhiem."