First reach - Citadel

Mary and Aiden walked hand in hand down the Citadel hallway. They had grown closer these last few days, and it made Aiden’s heart soar. “I’ve known Drexx my entire life, why would he lie?” he truly wondered what her thoughts were on the matter. They were all extended family, Drexx was their cousin twice removed. Most nobility had lineage that stretched back to the fall. Mary sighed and gave him a look that made him blush, he hated feeling foolish in front of her. “It wouldn’t be our cousin that I don’t trust, but his father is a conniving man who I wouldn’t trust with my dowry.” Aiden pondered, the letter he had sent, had been to Drexx, but the response came from the royal carrier pigeon, theoretically his father or any advisors could have sent it. This possible conspiracy didn’t even necessarily go to Drexx or his Father. The concern would be that if one of his advisors had been turned, how many others could be on the take? “The dragon you sent Jack after, do you know what it is?” Aiden shook his head at her question. “Only father knows what they were working on out there, he might have told your father, but he certainly hasn’t told me.” He looked out a window and he could see past the wall to the barrens. “Whatever it is, it's dangerous, and if anyone can get it back to us, Jack can>”

The Abyss

The crunch of gravel under their feet sounded like gunshots, it wasn’t that it was loud, it was that this place was so quiet. Too quiet. It made Jack nervous, this place was a tomb, and he hoped it wouldn’t be theirs. The place was mostly rubble, clearly there had been some sort of city here before the bomb. The base of large towers dotted the edge of the irradiated river, along the far barrier, and their destination. As they picked their way along what once might have been a street. It was hard to tell from the weird plant growth and scattered stones that made up most of the place. The rax-X they had swallowed should buy them some time to make it through here, without radiation poisoning, but that didn’t mean this area wasn’t dangerous. Human kind hadn’t been through here in half a millenia, if anything was still alive here, it wouldn’t be friendly. “I don’t like this place” cro muttered, breaking the almost perfect silence. Sug looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like anything here, maybe this will be the easiest leg of the journey!” he said with a smile. Jack groaned inwardly. There was a howl from their nine. “Shit” Cro muttered, giving Sug an annoyed glance. Sug seemed to blush with chagrin. “Double time” Jack commanded. They picked up the pace now to a light jog, being less careful with their steps and the noise they would make. Another howl to their eight. “Double shit” Cro muttered again. Rook's face went pale when the howl sounded again, closer this time. “Move” Jack commanded and the team started running. It wasn’t a sprint, the ground was uneven and cluttered, but something was clearly on their trail now. Maybe the creatures were small and weak, maybe there was no need to flee, and maybe the sky was green today. Jack saw a flash of movement on his left and dived into a roll. The creature flashed by him in an instant, but he got a good look. “What the hell was that?” Shouted Rook. Jack wasn’t sure. The thing had thick grey fur, the head and shoulders of a wolf, large black leathery wings, and sharp spiky antlers. Whatever the hell it was, it wasn’t friendly. “Can they fly?” Cro asked “Cause if they can fly we’re in deep shit.” Another howl from their seven, and Jack knew they were being herded. “Keep moving, we can’t stop, weapons free” Jack pulled his Katars from their sheathes. He could see flashes of fur, moving in and out of the ruble to their left. Behind him there was yelp of pain, as one of the creatures had leaped at Sug, only flat edge of his Buster to its snout. “Up top!” shouted Xyla as she released her first arrow. From the rubble tops to their right, three of the creatures had leapt down and were stealthily gliding toward them. Damn, misdirection indicated a higher level of intelligence than Jack wanted to think about. As Xyla’s arrow sank into one of the gliding creatures' flanks. There was a yelp of pain, then it lowered its wings and dived right at her. A crack of fire and the creature's head was turned into paste. The gunshot seemed to put everything on pause for a moment, the smoke rising from the barrel of Cro’s Axe. Then there was a deafening roar not far to their three. The creatures they had been fighting tucking tail and disappearing. “Damn, this isn’t gonna be good”, even the ever happy Sug looked concerned. The ground literally shook with the pounding of whatever had heard the shot. “Run” Screamed Jack, as they all started to hightail it toward their destination. Unfortunately the dynamics of the direction they were heading the trajectory of the creature, things didn’t look good. There was an explosion of rocks as the largest creature any of them had ever seen burst through a low cement wall. It stood twenty feet tall, with mottled gray skin. It looked like a hairless ape, with its long arms dragging on the ground ending in massive claws. The weird face with two large teeth coming up from its lower jaw and big batlike ears and no eyes being the most defining features. “Is that a fucking Troll?” Yelled Sug. Xyla started firing arrows, but it was clear they weren't even penetrating its skin. “Bullets free” shouted Jack as he dodged to the side. A giant clawed hand gouging the ground he had been standing in. Rook was the first one to take a shot, no one wanting to get within range of those giant swinging claws. The bullet rang loudly and the monster gave an angry roar. “I don’t think I even hurt it, maybe pissed it off” Rook shouted. The monster stomped toward where Rook had been, fortunately he had already moved. Sug’s Buster rang with the large caliber boom, the skin broke this time, but the creature didn’t seem overly injured. “Nothing hurts this thing, what do we do?” shouted Sug. Cro responds “The noise, it doesn’t have eyes, its tracking by sound” In their mad scramble Xyla tripped over the rubble on the ground, the sound of scattering rocks echoing loudly. The monster swung his great claws toward her scrambling form. Cro dove in pushing her out of the way. The claws opening up his back down to his thighs. Cro screamed in pain. Jack sprints up a wall of rubble and does a backflip landing on the creature's neck and stabs his Katar into the creature's ears and pulls the triggers again and again. The creature stumbles and falls to its knees. Jack sheaths his Katars and leaps from the creatures back landing with a knee and hand on the pavement. The troll collapses forward onto the ground with one last moan of pain. The team already stood around Cro’s prone form. Jack ran to his friend who’s head was in Xyla’s lap, tears in her eyes. Jack gets to his friend and clasps his hand on his chest. “You’re gonna be fine Cro, tis but a scratch” Cro chuckled, the blood pooling beneath his body. “I couldn’t have asked for a better journey my friend” Xyla, let out a small sob. “Why did you save me” She asked. Cro looked at Jack, then to her. “Because you make him human, keep him safe” Then his eyes glazed over, and his breathing stopped. “I’ll see you in Valhalla my friend” Jack’s voice cracked, and for a moment, his sadness broke through his stoicism. Jack grabbed his dog tags, Axe and stood. “We have to move, the noise and blood will bring more predators.” Sug looked at him, his normal cheery demeanor solemn and blue. “We just leave him?” He asked, almost hurt. A howl sounded in the distance. “We have no choice, we have no time, let's move” Sug gave a shout and pushed over a low brick wall on top of Cro’s body before turning and walking away. A very somber four soldiers, left their teamate in an unmarked rocky grave. They had a duty, and Jack was damn sure gonna fill it.

“There” He pointed to an unmarked tunnel entrance. The black hole opened up like a gaping maw in front of them. Rubble strewn down the ramped pathway that led into the tunnel, the howls of the creatures still in the distance. “It should take us into the secret palace escape tunnel” Sug side eyed him a bit “should?” Jack shrugged, overlooking the slight insubordination. They were all stressed after the death of Cro. “i’ve seen the plans, but no one has been this way in centuries'' Sug looked a little lost. He stared into the darkness like he was looking into future doom. “We’ve come too far now, there’s no going back regardless” He started walking forward into the darkness. “Torches'' commanded Jack as they all pulled out their lights, switched them on and clipped them to their strap harness. With one last look behind him, Jack bade his friend godspeed on his journey, he knew before long they all might be joining him.