![The Earth Wakes [Amber's A-Rank Exam] Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
Unbelievable. That was the first word that came to Amber’s mind when one of her guild’s aces, a woman by the name of… Addison? Madelyn? No, Addilyn, that was it. A woman by the name of Addilyn approached her with a mission to travel to Errings Rising’s guild hall in Hostia and venture into some kind of catacomb complex beneath it to root out a group of mages who’d hid themselves during an invasion of some kind.
The request was unbelievable for two reasons. The first was that it seemed perfectly suited for her and her abilities, when she was sure Addilyn had never spoken to her before. Or met her, even. How could she possibly have known that Amber was most comfortable, and at her most powerful, underground? Finding these hidden mages and taking them down would be easy as chips for her. The second reason was the nature of the request. According to Addilyn, Amber was to kill any of the invaders that resisted and bring any that survived back to the guild so they could be beheaded, their heads displayed as a warning.
The sheer brutality of it was shocking to the lioness. She’d heard rumors about the Queen of Errings Rising, of course, but she’d never thought them to be true. Surely they’d been exaggerated, she’d thought. But here were orders from the Queen herself, or one of her advisors, to murder or kidnap mages and have their heads mounted on pikes.
And suddenly, Amber felt like she was trapped in her own personal nightmare. If there was one thing she knew in this world, it was following orders. She’d followed the orders of her commanding officers faithfully, and that led her into ruin. She could still remember the day it all went wrong for her.
In her memory, she stood on a low cliff overlooking a small village, the houses constructed in most part of wood and thatch. There was the rare stone house, one of them belonging quite clearly to the village’s headman, as it was around two or three times the size of the others, and placed near the edge of the village on a small rise so it could look over the whole village. This had once been a place of prosperity and happiness, but now it was a ghost town. Nothing moved in the village save for what the wind stirred. The streets were empty of people, the air devoid of the sounds of life. The village had been abandoned for some mysterious reason, and thus it had been slated for demolition. If it had been afflicted by a curse or disease of some kind, it had to be destroyed completely so that a new village could be rebuilt on the rubble, like a phoenix being born from the ashes.
It was Amber’s job to do the destruction, using her earth magic. Once she was done, other wizards would move in with magic of their own to cleanse the site of anything that might remain of whatever caused the village to be abandoned. Briefly, she wondered what it was. A magical disease that caused all afflicted to waste away? Beasts from the nearby mountains hunting the village people to extinction? Personally, she thought it was simply a lack of resources. Her senses told her that the mountains were riddled with mines and tunnels, and she could tell that they were stripped bare of almost everything valuable. It would take an earth mage like herself to pull out the rest, as spread-out as it was. When the mines ran dry, the people pulled up their roots and left, seeking livings elsewhere.
But it was not her job to speculate on why the village was empty. It was to tear it down in the way only she could. She knelt down and placed her hand on the ground, closing her eyes as she extended her senses into the earth below. Quickly, she located the nearby fault line that had likely spawned the mountains in the first place. As soon as her senses touched it, she nearly recoiled. The fault was absolutely loaded with stress, an earthquake in the making already. And it was a big one. Perfect for her purposes. With her geomancy, it was easy work to force the two sides of the fault against each other, the strain building and building in the asperities until it finally broke, the stress releasing in seismic waves. So fine was her control of the earth, she was able to focus and direct the earthquake, localizing it directly on the village. The earth trembled, then shook, then heaved. One by one, the houses collapsed in on themselves, starting with the wooden ones. The stone houses proved a little more difficult, owing to their stronger foundations and sturdier walls. But spikes of stone thrust into key places broke both of those advantages up, and the stone houses crumbled too.
Over the sheer noise of the quake, over the sensory feedback of the shaking and the focus required to direct the waves, she never heard the screams, or felt the people running in panic as their homes, their entire lives, suddenly began collapsing in on them.
It wasn’t until later that she learned that the village had been occupied after all. The reason for the apparent emptiness was a village-wide, mandatory break time, where every person napped or otherwise rested. When she’d gone to her commanders, asking them if they’d known people were living there, she got a contemptuous scoff and wave, the people who were supposed to be responsible for the wellbeing of the country’s citizens telling her the inhabitants of that village were thought to be associated with some dark guild or another, and it was a good thing they were dead. When she’d attempted to spread word of the corruption, they’d labeled her a terrorist, a rogue element solely responsible for the murder of dozens of people. With a single press release, filled with lies, they’d ruined her life. She’d had to disappear underground to avoid the bounty hunters after her head, even her former comrades sent to bring her in for execution, for a crime she did not commit.
When she’d finally surfaced, she’d joined Errings Rising in order to take her revenge, to tear down the corrupt institution that had murdered innocent people on speculation and made her the scapegoat to cover up their own atrocities. And now she was being ordered to kill again, only this time there was no secrecy, no attempt to hide what was being done. She was ordered to murder, or to be the instrument of murder. And she was faced with a crossroads. Would she obey her orders and be the instrument of the deaths of people she did not nor would ever know? Or would she disobey and escape, refusing to kill at the cost of her own life? For she had no doubts that if she disobeyed, the Queen would send every resource at her disposal after the one who had defied her, and Amber would suddenly become the hunted rather than the hunter. And she would be on the run not only from the law but from those outside the law as well. She would never again be able to have a life aboveground. At least, not as herself. Thanks to her reuniting with her long-lost sister, she’d learned some things about her heritage. As it turned out, she was the granddaughter of the King of Hell, which explained her affinity for earth magic. Her demonic blood also allowed her to do interesting things, such as change her appearance. If she fled, she could shapeshift, become someone else. But she would never again be able to use her magic, at the risk of being discovered. She would have to live a normal life. And she would lose her sister, again. The only true family she’d ever had, and Jen would likely be the one sent after her, or among those sent after her.
Amber felt a moment of vertigo, feeling herself tipping on either side of the knife’s edge of choice. Will she throw away her life after just beginning to rebuild it following a year on her own, underground, or will she take the lives of others? Either way, it seemed that at least one life would end.
Taking a deep breath to brace herself, Amber made the decision to continue forward, walking the razor’s edge. Nothing could be gained by making the choice now, in the heart of guild territory. If she was going to flee, it would be best to do so outside the walls anyway. So she would travel to Hostia, find the invaders, and gather more information. It was always better to make an informed choice. After all, what if these invaders deserved death? That would clear her conscience.
With that thought firmly in mind, Amber collected her gear and set out for the Hostia guild hall. It would be quicker to travel through the earth, so once she was outside the guild hall she created a tunnel and sealed it up behind her. She continued in that manner for hours, opening a path before her and closing it behind her, effectively traveling in a bubble of air through rock and dirt. She utilized her Time Arc to refresh the air every now and again, preventing it from growing stale. She had no need for light, compass or map, traveling by the sure sense of direction granted by her Geomancy, maneuvering by her enhanced senses of touch and hearing.
She didn’t need to travel this way, of course. According to the person who had given Amber the mark of Errings Rising, it was enchanted to teleport the bearer to either guild hall. But she’d always preferred to travel under her own power, and this way she would be able to come at the invaders from below rather than above. It was quite a ways from Mount Hakobe to Hostia and took her several hours, but she used the time to think and plan. The best way to approach this situation would be to scout first, using her powers to locate each target, then pick them off individually. She could take them down with minimal casualties, by leaping from the walls of the caverns or tunnels and catching them by surprise. If she did have to fight, she would have an easy time of it, surrounded by her element and equipped with her hammer and gauntlets, which allowed her to focus her magic more effectively. As she captured each target, she would bind them with chains of metal pulled from the earth and transport them to a cavern of her own making, where she would hold them for questioning. Surrounded by stone as they would be, she would be able to sense from their heartbeats whether or not they were lying. She would discover the truth and make her decision from there.
Upon arriving at her destination, underneath Hostia, Amber stopped to make camp for a few hours, allowing herself to rest and regain her strength. She ate a quick meal, took a brief nap, and did other various things to prepare herself, all in the stygian darkness of what she’d long ago dubbed the Under. It was peaceful in the Under. No loud noises, no people, no fighting. Total solitude, surrounded by stone on all sides, in an airless and lightless environment. Most would find it oppressive, terrifying or claustrophobic, but to Amber it felt like home.
When she was ready, she knelt and touched the earth, extending her senses through the stone beneath. It took some searching, but she located a small cavern where the invaders were holed up. It felt like there were maybe thirty people living in nooks and crannies cut into the rock, probably widened from existing cracks. There was a warren of tunnels laced through the earth, most of them being patrolled by armed guards. A much smaller cave, barely larger than the one Amber had made for herself, held one person, with two guards outside in a tunnel that connected to the larger cavern. Probably the leader of whatever group this was.
Amber paused for a moment, thinking. Her original plan, to ambush every person individually and capture them, had accounted for maybe ten people, fifteen at the most. Thirty was far too many for her to pick off one by one. So she revised her plan heading instead for the smaller cave. If she captured the leader, the others would likely surrender. And the leader would be able to give her better answers anyway.
The man known as Lang Kimmelt barely had time to react when the wall of his cave home suddenly turned to dust and Amber sprang out of it, pinning him to the floor and placing the head of her hammer against his throat, where one good push would collapse it. With a contemptuous wave of her hand, the earth mage caused the entrance to the tunnel, where the two guards were just now beginning to react, to close off, sealing the room.
“W-Who are you?” Lang asked of the strange lion woman, his voice weak and raspy from the pressure on his voice box. A strong odor began to fill the tiny cave, due to the sheer shock and fear he was experiencing.
“My name is Amber Stone.” she replied. “I’m a member of the guild Errings Rising, who you invaded.”
Lang had just begun to whimper in fear at the name of the guild when indignation cut him off. “Hold on just a moment, we did no such thing!” he said, strength returning to his voice. “Your guild of maniacs and anarchists invaded us! Stole our home right out from under us, and forced us to live in hiding!”
Amber actually rocked back at this stunning revelation. She could sense the man was telling her the truth, or at least what he thought was the truth. She thrust her hand through the wall of the cave, the stone obligingly giving way to her, and grabbed one of the guards by the throat, dragging him into the room and tossing him to the floor, where the stone turned soft for a moment, enveloping his limbs before returning to solid form again, trapping him completely.
“Is this true? Did Errings Rising invade your town?” she asked him brusquely. Terrified, the man could only nod rapidly. He, too, was telling the truth. Both of their hearts pounded in fear of what she would do to them, but both were steady, none of the tripping beats that were a sure sign of lying.
Amber rocked back again, her hammer leaving the throat of Lang. Just before he could lunge for his knife, the floor softened underneath him, trapping him just like his guard. The lioness’s mind whirled, and she had to brace herself with her hammer to avoid falling over. She thought back to Addilyn’s words, when the ace had told her these people had survived the invasion. Amber had simply assumed they had attempted to invade the guild, and managed to escape the aftermath.
“Why? Why did we invade you? What happened?” she found herself asking. The two men exchanged glances before Lang spoke up.
“We don’t know why you attacked us. We did nothing wrong.” he said confidently, with an edge of anger. But his heartbeat told a different story. Suddenly, Amber had straightened, her hammer back at Lang’s throat.
“You lie. Why did the guild invade?” she asked more forcefully. Lang gulped, fearful again, then proceeded to explain. Hostia had been ruled by a central government before Errings Rising had invaded, a government that had mistreated and oppressed it’s people, ruling with an iron fist. A government that Lang had belonged to, as a minor official. When the invasion had happened, some of Hostia’s police force had managed to evacuate him and some civilians belowground.
When Amber asked why the police had taken civilians, he got a contemptuous snort. “Hostages, obviously. Protection from the likes of you, who would hunt us down.” Lang said dismissively.
And for the lioness, that tipped the switch.
With a swipe from her hammer, Lang’s head rolled from his body. “These people deserve to live in freedom.” she declared to the corpse. “You had no right to treat them that way, or make their decisions for them.” Turning to the guard, who began screaming in fear, she kicked Lang’s head towards the wall. She would collect it later, as a prize for her Queen. “Where is your commander? The ranking officer of your police force.”
“M-Main c-cavern… His room is m-marked with a red ribbon…” he stammered. Another blow from her hammer caved his chest in, leaving him to choke on his own blood as she exited the cave. As she passed the remaining police officer, who was desperately trying to talk into a communications Lacrima, she grabbed his head and shoved it into the wall, literally. The stone enveloped him and stiffened, then crushed his head to paste. Amber caught the Lacrima as it fell from his lifeless fingers. It was filled with static, noise from being so far underground, but she could hear another voice on the end of it, asking what was going on.
“This is Amber Stone, of Errings Rising.” she replied, cutting the other voice off. “Tell your chief to stand down and bring his forces into the center of the main cavern. Leave the civilians alone, or you will all die a messy death.” she said, then crushed the Lacrima in her gauntleted fist.
As she headed for the main cavern, she could feel frantic movement within it, footsteps pounding on the stone, boots heading in from the tunnels. They were soon joined by more footsteps, these sounding unsteady. She sighed, knowing exactly what was happening.
Sure enough, as she entered the cavern, she was met by the site of ten armed guards, all with a weapon of some kind at the throat or temple of a terrified civilian. At the center of the group, a man with sergeant’s bars on his shoulders stood facing her, a pistol and a sword in his hands.
“Stand down, you lunatic.” he shouted at her. “Or we’ll kill these hostages.” With another sigh, Amber waved her free hand. Spikes of rock shot from the walls like bullets, impaling the officers in the eyes while leaving the hostages untouched. As the bodies of his officers dropped to the ground, the sergeant lifted his gun and began firing at her. The lioness slammed her hammer into the floor, raising a wall of solid stone to block the bullets. When his hammer clicked on an empty chamber, she hit the wall with her hammer, causing it to shatter into needle-like chunks that flew at the sergeant. He managed to deflect some of them with his sword, but two sank into his thighs, causing him to drop to his knees. Another blow from Amber’s hammer on the ground caused a stalagmite to erupt from below him, impaling him from between his legs all the way out his mouth.
Tossing her hair with a contemptuous snort, Amber planted her hammer on the ground and turned to one of the civilians, an elderly man with tufts of graying hair at his temples, the rest of his head completely bald. “Do you know the way out of here?” she asked. The man looked back at her defiantly, perhaps expecting her to demand something of him, but nodded. “Take your people and leave this place. Live in freedom, knowing it was Errings Rising who freed you.” she said.
When Amber returned to the guild hall at Mount Hakobe, she mounted the heads of the policemen upon spikes of earth herself, then delivered the heads of Lang and the police sergeant to Addilyn personally. “Mission accomplished.” she reported, then went to take a shower and wash the blood from her hair.
TWC: 3343
The request was unbelievable for two reasons. The first was that it seemed perfectly suited for her and her abilities, when she was sure Addilyn had never spoken to her before. Or met her, even. How could she possibly have known that Amber was most comfortable, and at her most powerful, underground? Finding these hidden mages and taking them down would be easy as chips for her. The second reason was the nature of the request. According to Addilyn, Amber was to kill any of the invaders that resisted and bring any that survived back to the guild so they could be beheaded, their heads displayed as a warning.
The sheer brutality of it was shocking to the lioness. She’d heard rumors about the Queen of Errings Rising, of course, but she’d never thought them to be true. Surely they’d been exaggerated, she’d thought. But here were orders from the Queen herself, or one of her advisors, to murder or kidnap mages and have their heads mounted on pikes.
And suddenly, Amber felt like she was trapped in her own personal nightmare. If there was one thing she knew in this world, it was following orders. She’d followed the orders of her commanding officers faithfully, and that led her into ruin. She could still remember the day it all went wrong for her.
In her memory, she stood on a low cliff overlooking a small village, the houses constructed in most part of wood and thatch. There was the rare stone house, one of them belonging quite clearly to the village’s headman, as it was around two or three times the size of the others, and placed near the edge of the village on a small rise so it could look over the whole village. This had once been a place of prosperity and happiness, but now it was a ghost town. Nothing moved in the village save for what the wind stirred. The streets were empty of people, the air devoid of the sounds of life. The village had been abandoned for some mysterious reason, and thus it had been slated for demolition. If it had been afflicted by a curse or disease of some kind, it had to be destroyed completely so that a new village could be rebuilt on the rubble, like a phoenix being born from the ashes.
It was Amber’s job to do the destruction, using her earth magic. Once she was done, other wizards would move in with magic of their own to cleanse the site of anything that might remain of whatever caused the village to be abandoned. Briefly, she wondered what it was. A magical disease that caused all afflicted to waste away? Beasts from the nearby mountains hunting the village people to extinction? Personally, she thought it was simply a lack of resources. Her senses told her that the mountains were riddled with mines and tunnels, and she could tell that they were stripped bare of almost everything valuable. It would take an earth mage like herself to pull out the rest, as spread-out as it was. When the mines ran dry, the people pulled up their roots and left, seeking livings elsewhere.
But it was not her job to speculate on why the village was empty. It was to tear it down in the way only she could. She knelt down and placed her hand on the ground, closing her eyes as she extended her senses into the earth below. Quickly, she located the nearby fault line that had likely spawned the mountains in the first place. As soon as her senses touched it, she nearly recoiled. The fault was absolutely loaded with stress, an earthquake in the making already. And it was a big one. Perfect for her purposes. With her geomancy, it was easy work to force the two sides of the fault against each other, the strain building and building in the asperities until it finally broke, the stress releasing in seismic waves. So fine was her control of the earth, she was able to focus and direct the earthquake, localizing it directly on the village. The earth trembled, then shook, then heaved. One by one, the houses collapsed in on themselves, starting with the wooden ones. The stone houses proved a little more difficult, owing to their stronger foundations and sturdier walls. But spikes of stone thrust into key places broke both of those advantages up, and the stone houses crumbled too.
Over the sheer noise of the quake, over the sensory feedback of the shaking and the focus required to direct the waves, she never heard the screams, or felt the people running in panic as their homes, their entire lives, suddenly began collapsing in on them.
It wasn’t until later that she learned that the village had been occupied after all. The reason for the apparent emptiness was a village-wide, mandatory break time, where every person napped or otherwise rested. When she’d gone to her commanders, asking them if they’d known people were living there, she got a contemptuous scoff and wave, the people who were supposed to be responsible for the wellbeing of the country’s citizens telling her the inhabitants of that village were thought to be associated with some dark guild or another, and it was a good thing they were dead. When she’d attempted to spread word of the corruption, they’d labeled her a terrorist, a rogue element solely responsible for the murder of dozens of people. With a single press release, filled with lies, they’d ruined her life. She’d had to disappear underground to avoid the bounty hunters after her head, even her former comrades sent to bring her in for execution, for a crime she did not commit.
When she’d finally surfaced, she’d joined Errings Rising in order to take her revenge, to tear down the corrupt institution that had murdered innocent people on speculation and made her the scapegoat to cover up their own atrocities. And now she was being ordered to kill again, only this time there was no secrecy, no attempt to hide what was being done. She was ordered to murder, or to be the instrument of murder. And she was faced with a crossroads. Would she obey her orders and be the instrument of the deaths of people she did not nor would ever know? Or would she disobey and escape, refusing to kill at the cost of her own life? For she had no doubts that if she disobeyed, the Queen would send every resource at her disposal after the one who had defied her, and Amber would suddenly become the hunted rather than the hunter. And she would be on the run not only from the law but from those outside the law as well. She would never again be able to have a life aboveground. At least, not as herself. Thanks to her reuniting with her long-lost sister, she’d learned some things about her heritage. As it turned out, she was the granddaughter of the King of Hell, which explained her affinity for earth magic. Her demonic blood also allowed her to do interesting things, such as change her appearance. If she fled, she could shapeshift, become someone else. But she would never again be able to use her magic, at the risk of being discovered. She would have to live a normal life. And she would lose her sister, again. The only true family she’d ever had, and Jen would likely be the one sent after her, or among those sent after her.
Amber felt a moment of vertigo, feeling herself tipping on either side of the knife’s edge of choice. Will she throw away her life after just beginning to rebuild it following a year on her own, underground, or will she take the lives of others? Either way, it seemed that at least one life would end.
Taking a deep breath to brace herself, Amber made the decision to continue forward, walking the razor’s edge. Nothing could be gained by making the choice now, in the heart of guild territory. If she was going to flee, it would be best to do so outside the walls anyway. So she would travel to Hostia, find the invaders, and gather more information. It was always better to make an informed choice. After all, what if these invaders deserved death? That would clear her conscience.
With that thought firmly in mind, Amber collected her gear and set out for the Hostia guild hall. It would be quicker to travel through the earth, so once she was outside the guild hall she created a tunnel and sealed it up behind her. She continued in that manner for hours, opening a path before her and closing it behind her, effectively traveling in a bubble of air through rock and dirt. She utilized her Time Arc to refresh the air every now and again, preventing it from growing stale. She had no need for light, compass or map, traveling by the sure sense of direction granted by her Geomancy, maneuvering by her enhanced senses of touch and hearing.
She didn’t need to travel this way, of course. According to the person who had given Amber the mark of Errings Rising, it was enchanted to teleport the bearer to either guild hall. But she’d always preferred to travel under her own power, and this way she would be able to come at the invaders from below rather than above. It was quite a ways from Mount Hakobe to Hostia and took her several hours, but she used the time to think and plan. The best way to approach this situation would be to scout first, using her powers to locate each target, then pick them off individually. She could take them down with minimal casualties, by leaping from the walls of the caverns or tunnels and catching them by surprise. If she did have to fight, she would have an easy time of it, surrounded by her element and equipped with her hammer and gauntlets, which allowed her to focus her magic more effectively. As she captured each target, she would bind them with chains of metal pulled from the earth and transport them to a cavern of her own making, where she would hold them for questioning. Surrounded by stone as they would be, she would be able to sense from their heartbeats whether or not they were lying. She would discover the truth and make her decision from there.
Upon arriving at her destination, underneath Hostia, Amber stopped to make camp for a few hours, allowing herself to rest and regain her strength. She ate a quick meal, took a brief nap, and did other various things to prepare herself, all in the stygian darkness of what she’d long ago dubbed the Under. It was peaceful in the Under. No loud noises, no people, no fighting. Total solitude, surrounded by stone on all sides, in an airless and lightless environment. Most would find it oppressive, terrifying or claustrophobic, but to Amber it felt like home.
When she was ready, she knelt and touched the earth, extending her senses through the stone beneath. It took some searching, but she located a small cavern where the invaders were holed up. It felt like there were maybe thirty people living in nooks and crannies cut into the rock, probably widened from existing cracks. There was a warren of tunnels laced through the earth, most of them being patrolled by armed guards. A much smaller cave, barely larger than the one Amber had made for herself, held one person, with two guards outside in a tunnel that connected to the larger cavern. Probably the leader of whatever group this was.
Amber paused for a moment, thinking. Her original plan, to ambush every person individually and capture them, had accounted for maybe ten people, fifteen at the most. Thirty was far too many for her to pick off one by one. So she revised her plan heading instead for the smaller cave. If she captured the leader, the others would likely surrender. And the leader would be able to give her better answers anyway.
The man known as Lang Kimmelt barely had time to react when the wall of his cave home suddenly turned to dust and Amber sprang out of it, pinning him to the floor and placing the head of her hammer against his throat, where one good push would collapse it. With a contemptuous wave of her hand, the earth mage caused the entrance to the tunnel, where the two guards were just now beginning to react, to close off, sealing the room.
“W-Who are you?” Lang asked of the strange lion woman, his voice weak and raspy from the pressure on his voice box. A strong odor began to fill the tiny cave, due to the sheer shock and fear he was experiencing.
“My name is Amber Stone.” she replied. “I’m a member of the guild Errings Rising, who you invaded.”
Lang had just begun to whimper in fear at the name of the guild when indignation cut him off. “Hold on just a moment, we did no such thing!” he said, strength returning to his voice. “Your guild of maniacs and anarchists invaded us! Stole our home right out from under us, and forced us to live in hiding!”
Amber actually rocked back at this stunning revelation. She could sense the man was telling her the truth, or at least what he thought was the truth. She thrust her hand through the wall of the cave, the stone obligingly giving way to her, and grabbed one of the guards by the throat, dragging him into the room and tossing him to the floor, where the stone turned soft for a moment, enveloping his limbs before returning to solid form again, trapping him completely.
“Is this true? Did Errings Rising invade your town?” she asked him brusquely. Terrified, the man could only nod rapidly. He, too, was telling the truth. Both of their hearts pounded in fear of what she would do to them, but both were steady, none of the tripping beats that were a sure sign of lying.
Amber rocked back again, her hammer leaving the throat of Lang. Just before he could lunge for his knife, the floor softened underneath him, trapping him just like his guard. The lioness’s mind whirled, and she had to brace herself with her hammer to avoid falling over. She thought back to Addilyn’s words, when the ace had told her these people had survived the invasion. Amber had simply assumed they had attempted to invade the guild, and managed to escape the aftermath.
“Why? Why did we invade you? What happened?” she found herself asking. The two men exchanged glances before Lang spoke up.
“We don’t know why you attacked us. We did nothing wrong.” he said confidently, with an edge of anger. But his heartbeat told a different story. Suddenly, Amber had straightened, her hammer back at Lang’s throat.
“You lie. Why did the guild invade?” she asked more forcefully. Lang gulped, fearful again, then proceeded to explain. Hostia had been ruled by a central government before Errings Rising had invaded, a government that had mistreated and oppressed it’s people, ruling with an iron fist. A government that Lang had belonged to, as a minor official. When the invasion had happened, some of Hostia’s police force had managed to evacuate him and some civilians belowground.
When Amber asked why the police had taken civilians, he got a contemptuous snort. “Hostages, obviously. Protection from the likes of you, who would hunt us down.” Lang said dismissively.
And for the lioness, that tipped the switch.
With a swipe from her hammer, Lang’s head rolled from his body. “These people deserve to live in freedom.” she declared to the corpse. “You had no right to treat them that way, or make their decisions for them.” Turning to the guard, who began screaming in fear, she kicked Lang’s head towards the wall. She would collect it later, as a prize for her Queen. “Where is your commander? The ranking officer of your police force.”
“M-Main c-cavern… His room is m-marked with a red ribbon…” he stammered. Another blow from her hammer caved his chest in, leaving him to choke on his own blood as she exited the cave. As she passed the remaining police officer, who was desperately trying to talk into a communications Lacrima, she grabbed his head and shoved it into the wall, literally. The stone enveloped him and stiffened, then crushed his head to paste. Amber caught the Lacrima as it fell from his lifeless fingers. It was filled with static, noise from being so far underground, but she could hear another voice on the end of it, asking what was going on.
“This is Amber Stone, of Errings Rising.” she replied, cutting the other voice off. “Tell your chief to stand down and bring his forces into the center of the main cavern. Leave the civilians alone, or you will all die a messy death.” she said, then crushed the Lacrima in her gauntleted fist.
As she headed for the main cavern, she could feel frantic movement within it, footsteps pounding on the stone, boots heading in from the tunnels. They were soon joined by more footsteps, these sounding unsteady. She sighed, knowing exactly what was happening.
Sure enough, as she entered the cavern, she was met by the site of ten armed guards, all with a weapon of some kind at the throat or temple of a terrified civilian. At the center of the group, a man with sergeant’s bars on his shoulders stood facing her, a pistol and a sword in his hands.
“Stand down, you lunatic.” he shouted at her. “Or we’ll kill these hostages.” With another sigh, Amber waved her free hand. Spikes of rock shot from the walls like bullets, impaling the officers in the eyes while leaving the hostages untouched. As the bodies of his officers dropped to the ground, the sergeant lifted his gun and began firing at her. The lioness slammed her hammer into the floor, raising a wall of solid stone to block the bullets. When his hammer clicked on an empty chamber, she hit the wall with her hammer, causing it to shatter into needle-like chunks that flew at the sergeant. He managed to deflect some of them with his sword, but two sank into his thighs, causing him to drop to his knees. Another blow from Amber’s hammer on the ground caused a stalagmite to erupt from below him, impaling him from between his legs all the way out his mouth.
Tossing her hair with a contemptuous snort, Amber planted her hammer on the ground and turned to one of the civilians, an elderly man with tufts of graying hair at his temples, the rest of his head completely bald. “Do you know the way out of here?” she asked. The man looked back at her defiantly, perhaps expecting her to demand something of him, but nodded. “Take your people and leave this place. Live in freedom, knowing it was Errings Rising who freed you.” she said.
When Amber returned to the guild hall at Mount Hakobe, she mounted the heads of the policemen upon spikes of earth herself, then delivered the heads of Lang and the police sergeant to Addilyn personally. “Mission accomplished.” she reported, then went to take a shower and wash the blood from her hair.
TWC: 3343
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