Raid on Shirostume (Savage Skull Only)

Standing on a naturally formed ridge, Viktor R. Albeit could easily look down on the town beneath him. Watching the various small figures going on their daily business. Unaware of the enigmatic threat that lurked just outside of the town borders. Not that Viktor could blame them for their ignorance, after all it was an early spring day, one that was filled with the warmth of a bright shining sun. And after being cooped up all winter, the ordinary people craved the outside strolls and livelihood more then anything.

He could see them all, the merchants with their stalls. Trying to sell their newest wares, the housewives strolling down the street. Eyeing every fresh good that would go in their home brewed stew. The young couples, sticking close to each other and off course the children. Running around, playing, pretending they were some of the famous mages in Fiore.

Normally Viktor wouldn't even bother with such trivial people, that lived in an even more trivial town. That had nothing to show for then the few fat cats and rich people that had found their home here. But just as the young couples felt the call of spring, so did Viktor. The urge to kill, it was crawling under his skin. It was the curse of his emblem, his mark, his guild Savage Skull. The darkest of guild, that after a long time started to get hungry again. It's darkness hasn't spread, in fact you could say it had grown smaller and smaller. Till the guild was practically nothing more then a whisper again. But earlier this week something had changed, the guild itself beckoned, it wanted more. It wanted to grow again.

So here he was, standing at the top of a hill. Waiting for the others, those who answered the call. Those who were tainted. As he thought that, one by one, black silhouettes appeared behind him. And Viktor, Viktor could only smile.

Stale air, as if kissed by death, and masked by a dark cologne filled the area near one of the approaching black silhouettes. The figure would be softly illuminated as he stepped closer to Viktor. A hushed sigh escaping his lips before a smile crept onto his face. "You have certainly a way with words" Raiza would reply to an unspoken sentence, as if he was replying to the message he had gotten to meet him here. His hand stretched out to block the rather bright sun before staring down onto the town.

"With spring blooms new roses, both of good and of bad. I suppose on this day, we show that Savage Skull has not died, but only had grown since the winter's passing." His words carried no emotion, no remorse as his gun sword was brought out, it held not enough range to strike from here normally, but rather it showed how ready he was to fight, kill, and destroy any of those in the city below. To him Shirotsume was nothing but already dead. Death's decedent was just one of the silhouettes that approached the ridge with ease. The earie sound of the garm lingered not far behind either, each member of high enough rank had the ability to command a dozen or more of the critters, and Raiza was no exception.

"Any plans of attack?" grinning after his words and hunching down in a more relaxed position. Today may be a bright and sunny day, but it was not going to be a 'great' day for anyone in that city that did not bare the savage mark.

Dubhlainn was informed of the attack beforehand and left for shirotsume before they did, there was one thing he had to do first to ensure that the attack goes accordingly to the desires of his guildmates. In the past Dubhlainn has always been dispatched for pre-mission purposes, someone who sets the stage before the actual play begins. So when the mission begins, regardless of success or failure, there’s always the pre-mission strategy that can bail his team out or corner the enemy should they try to escape.

Dubhlainn was a dangerous man to his enemies, those were the days which he joined the task force alongside his captain and comrades but now, he’s nothing but a mercenary who swore loyalty to Lord Harrigan till he finally gets what he desires but in his absence who would have wished for Dubhlainn to assist the guild in any way he can. Dubhlainn went to several places around shirostume to begin preparations; he also took the luxury in poisoning the local guards so that there would be no resistance.

When the day finally came for their attack, Dubhlainn wore his usual formals but only this time he’s wearing a cloth mask around him. He need not to say anything and as soon as he presents the chest to Viktor and the rest of the Savages, he opened it containing what seemed to be detonators, each labeled with a specific location in shirostume.

He believed that Viktor and the others would make use of these detonators for their own convenience; there were a total of 40 detonators in the chest and the best part about them is that they are non-traceable. There were a few more detonators than what is in this chest he presented; only Dubhlainn had the rest of them and would activate them in case of success or failure. The town was already rigged, should insect hide, they will be buried by the very shelter that conceals them from sight.

It wasn’t an easy task as he had to sneak past the local guards.
There were no words needed as they all understood what Dubhlainn could have said.

Make them count and have fun.

Slowly more and more silhouettes gathered behind and around Viktor, mages and thugs, the more degraded and insane then a normal person could ever imagine. They were the stuff of nightmares, the destruction everyone feared. Yet even among this group, there were a few that stood out from the rest of the human monsters.

The first was Raiza, a young mage but ever so deadly. He stepped forth from the shadows and the rest of the insanity bunch. And the light would show his pitched black eyes, with the crimson red pupil glimmering with anticipation.

Following him was a young woman, a gorgeous and alluring specimen with raven black hair. Yet her beauty didn't even match her lust to spill blood. She kept her distance at first, pacing back and forth. Holding in her excitement as much as possible. Until Raiza asked the very obvious question, to which Marceline almost immediately responded. Asking no more stating that she wanted to go first above every else.

Honestly there wasn't that much of a plan at all, Shirotsume was simple town. Mundane even. Sure it had a few rich people living here. But besides that there wasn't anything notable what so ever. No guild to protect it, nor did it attract any mages. Still that didn't mean there weren't any. There was always the small Rune Knight outpost that seemed to be found in every town nowadays.

'Fine' responded Viktor to Marceline 'But don't hold back.. these people even if mundane deserve nothing but your very best.'

As Marceline would probably dash off towards the town below them, the fourth face had appeared from within the crowd. A man who goes by the name of Dubhlainn, who brought with him a large wooden chest. With within in it a large amount of detonators, hinting towards the hidden bombs that were probably spread around town. Just waiting to be triggered.

'Save those for later' stated Viktor 'It would be a shame if our Savages couldn't have some fun on their own first, for now I have a different task for you mister Dubhlainn, and for you as well Raiza. Without a doubt there will be guards somewhere in this town. Rune Knights even, and probably some guild mage on a job or two. They need to be taken out as soon as possible, I don't want any hindrance and interference that could spoil your fun.'

It was something they'd better avoid at all cost, especially from the Rune Knights. They could easily call in reinforcements the moment they noticed that it wasn't a single girl attacking the town. But entire group of Savage mages. And that was something that Viktor wanted to avoid as much as possible.

'The rest of you, just wait for the signal to be given.'

At first Raiza could only let out a chuckle. No, not one of amusement, but of gratification. Take out the guild mages and rune knights? Sure! Those were going to be his first targets anyways. Civilians did not put up much of a fight ever, and besides the layers of Garm behind them, easily ranging roughly ten to twenty per mage present could easily wipe out any escapee.

"As you wish Viktor" His reply being obviously in sync with his body motions as he began to descend towards the town however he would leave a clone of himself with Viktor. Each step he took brought malice along with him, even his own pet was more than eager to take a bite of flesh out from some rune knight third string nobody. Also those detonators would come in handy later, too bad Raiza had no clue where any of the explosions would be, so that was why he had left them alone rather than to pick them up & get lucky or unlucky.

Raiza's first target was the security office building in town, the one that contained the communication lacrima to the central HQ. Cutting this out would put a damper on any possible reinforcements, easily captivating the initiative strike.

The assault was easy, Raiza had more than enough spell power to stride through town, cloaked in his savage cloth that suppressed the feeling of his magical power down to that of a sub-par half rate mage, easily able to fool others in thinking he was weaker. It allowed him to get close to the building and activate a spell to easily walk through the thick wall, ending up in a back  supply room. Though his target was on the floor above. Oh well, looks like this place would use some renovating anyways. The building itself was fairly square, taking out the main support beams and at least two corners would cause a bad Collapse of the building, and destruction of the communication lacrima they had as well.

For Raiza who was already in the building, this was simple. Activate his splash damage spell and his lag spike spell. This allowed his splash damage explosions to activate at a later time, and he had seven bullets to quickly shoot out. The task was mediocre to him as he unloaded two into the supply room,  impaling  the ceiling and the floor to create instability. Thankfully his bullets were silent, but the magical pressure may be felt soon so he did have to work fast. The door would remain closed as he walked through it, the bottom floor only had the receptionist working. A well placed round to the back of her head was all that was needed before  he used the remaining four rounds effectively by shooting one in each of the back corners near the supply closet, and then two directly above him near a support beam and the midst of the ceiling where he suspected other people were.

Judging from the chatting he heard in another room, his work here was done. The rune knight communication was about to be cut, and the moment he walked out of the building each bullet would explode, creating a quickly to fall over building, collapsing backwards, kiling the unsuspected few inside, and destroying the communication lacrima in the process.

Once the job dealing with communication was over, Raiza's clone would smile before speaking "Communications are down Viktor. Moving to search and destroy any rune knight or enemy guild mage"

Once the sentence was done, the clone next to Viktor would vanish, it's duration being cut as Raiza wanted to use it later for assault.

The order was given; it was clear what both he and Raiza had to do. Hindrance? Dubhlainn had his own fair share of experiences of being interfered with. This is the reason why Dubhlainn planted all these bombs some time ago. He stared right towards the direction of the barracks as the defenders were about to take their best arms. Some were still suffering from the poison they ingested and some didn’t take any of it, or probably preferred a different beverage other than coffee. It was a miracle how Dubhlainn was able to plant plastic explosives in the barracks but what’s done is done. The defenders were given no chance to arm themselves and as soon as some even touched their weapons, the entire barracks was already set on fire. A huge explosion shook the foundations and can be heard from where Dublainn and Viktor stand. It wasn’t a result of a detonator but was because of a motion sensitive device that would set off fire bombs.

Raiza had destroyed the communications tower but as soon as the components used to contact reinforcements from the outside moved due to the tremors that came from the result of Raiza destroying the pillars, the room would have exploded, not set on fire but the very aim for the bomb planted was to simply destroy communications.

“Huh” huffed Dubhlainn as Raiza left the communications building. Now all that’s left is the town hall, communications are down, the barracks and armory were set ablaze but what of the town hall? He was aware that there’s a secret bunker the Mayor and other politicians present would use, a latch that would lead them down to a fallout shelter. Thanks to a certain informant in Basilik Fang, Dubhlainn was able to take this opportunity to even….

…..set yet another motion sensitive bomb just by the hatch.

The Town Hall was already in rubble but only the eastern wing seems to have remained standing.

He could have sworn he also planted explosives there but someone must have disarmed it but that won’t matter anymore, the town was already in chaos. There was but only little resistance thanks to his pre-mission strategy. Citizens were attempting to exit the town through the forests but there was no fear for any of them to escape.

A citizen dropped down on the ground with a hole on its head. It seems that today Dubhlainn had brought along his division of armed men, who were also members of Savage Skull, primarily they were going to be used as a Task Force to eliminate and investigate Black Rose activity, and this was an opportunity to show their prowess. There were only four divisions outside of town at the ready who would shoot anyone who dares try to escape into the forests, down by the river, the trail that leads to the valley and the plains. Survivors of Shirotsume were left of to fend for themselves but such efforts were futile… Dubhlainn forged a perfect cage, and now they are all trapped with these hungry lions.

Prison wagons are being dispatched into the area by regular Savage Skull soldiers in order to collect and pick off citizens who’d dare run away and all that Dubhlainn had to do was stand there and watch as Shirotsume crumbles down to the ground.

Indeed…. Dubhlainn himself alone would have already been terrifying, military strategy and procedure that involves cutting all passages and preventing all kinds of escape, blowing up and destroying key buildings and he did not need to expend his magic. Though his efforts would have already satisfactory with Viktor’s order, he would be usually questioned why he does not partake and “let loose” himself into this slaughter fest.

And the answer they’d always be given was this

I am not a mage, I’m merely a soldier who possesses magic, abusing magic is for the mediocre, man must use the most humanly methods possible in order to achieve what many races could not.

But that was only one reason another reason was that his magic would have represented the term “Savage” on Savage Skull, Dubhlainn was ashamed of his magic and is afraid to use it above all else unless of course he hears the words of his master to which he swore loyalty to.

“By my orders… Dubhlainn I command you…” The most powerful words that would completely stir him into a complete Savage Beast if they so willed it.

As Viktor said, the complete destruction of the town would follow later, for now it’s necessary for the Savages to “feed”, a fellow member brought Dubhlainn a huge case containing his sniper rifle and 7 mags to boot. Dubhlainn activated his com signal with the four divisions, alerting them that he’s online.

“Alpha has secured the Mountain Trail”

“Bravo has secured the Forest”

“Charlie has set up by the plains”

“Delta, standing by at the river.”

“Understood, continue to eliminate anyone who exits the town, check your fire for friendlies…”

“Understood” responded the four teams as they continue kill targets with long ranged precision fire.

Dubhlainn of course had to show some effort despite how powerful the results were from preparatory procedures, his main targets were whatever is left of the townguard, some were already out on the field responding to different sectors and each squad was picked off one by one from an extremely long distance. For Dubhlainn… taking his time and shooting targets at his own pace relieves some of his stress. His hands were still bandaged but his efforts bore fruit.

Dubhlainn’s men had prepared a table and a chair for Viktor to sit should he require it or not.

Now his attention falls towards the east wing of the townhall, the only place that hasn’t collapsed yet. He zoomed in on his lens, scanning for any signs of life through the glass windows.

It was all going as planned, with only a few the town was already thrown into disarray. Buildings were set ablaze, while a single woman threw the town in utter despair. Even if the simple townsfolk didn't realize it yet. And if they did, they wouldn't have anywhere to escape, as Dubhlains men had already covered up every exit the town could possibly have. Meaning that every soul that tried to escape this hell on earth would instantly be mowed down, or worse, captured and brough back the Savage Skull. Which probably was a worse fate then death itself.

'She is truly a sight to behold isn't she' Viktor eventually said while sitting down on a chair that was prepared for him. 'Just pure lust for destruction, an unnerving greed to strike fear into the hears of her targets.'

Whom Viktor was talking to didn't matter, as it was merely a simple guard standing next to him. He just needed to express himself, as seeing his plans to sack this place was going rather well. And rather effective as well, as the Rune Knights were easily dispatched by the bombs carefully laid in the town a couple of days before the attack. And any means of communication was cut off before they even got a chance to call in for help.

Now that left them only with the few mages in the town that would dare to stand against them, and just to be safe it was time for the rest of the horde to join the fray. Well it was probably more for his own safety, as even Viktor could hold them at bay for so long. Especially when their thirst for blood was at a peak.

'Go' he said. And as he did, the remaining mages and thugs that still had stood behind then bellowed loudly. A terrifying roar as they descended down the hill. Running, dashing forwards by any means necessary. Now the real fun begins.

With most of the town, if not all having been utterly rendered useless. Buildings were no longer a thing that people could hide in. Explosions came from every which way. Communications were down, and any form of signaling the outside was hurt. In fact, as Raiza walked through the town set ablaze, his crimson eyes kept a shallow gaze on new targets. Soon his entire body shifted form. His lineage was activating, a 'reaper' form was set into motion. Skeletal like structure, and deep black robes before a pitch black body formed around him. His entire essence began to reek of death magic, yet all Raiza wanted to do...

Was play a game...

So that game would be played. Individuals he encountered were slaughtered as he made his way towards the edge of town, passing Marceline on the way. A casual gaze to her direction as he smiled. "Have fun" he spoke, before vanishing from his spot, ending back up the mountain with Viktor and Dub.

"My job's done. The others can have fun." He had said this just in time to  watch the final members reach the bottom. Raiza presumed, Viktor just sent them to go fight, but none the less, he knew with this many members, the town would be lucky to have even a single survivor. Then again, with prisoners being taken in, Raiza's pillar would have...ooooh so much fun. Deciding it was time though, Raiza looked to Victor "I'm leaving, my job is done", with that Raiza used another spell to blink away, leaving the scene behind him


[left the thread]