Job: Caravan Raids - Silvaetus

An odd man with odd contraptions approached the city of Hargeon with an even odder contraption hovering behind him. Just an hour ago had he accepted a job – a rather sketchy one at that. By no means was this a legal mission, but it mattered little to Silvaetus. As far as he was concerned the law was beneath him and the guards who enforced it were nothing but a nuisance. He did not meet the person who requested the job, but rather a liaison, an intermediate body that simply had to acknowledge who took the job and hand over the money. Not many words, just simple gestures.

Standing in front of the city walls he studied the roads the merchants took. One caravan every thirty minutes or so and a short ten minute gap in between each caravan when there was no one on the road…except for a few gate guards. Before making his preparations he had to first disable them. For that he could not cause a large commotion, but rather had to do so in what he defined as subtlety. Thus he turned around and headed straight for a hill. Crouching down he identified the number of targets: four.

Four guards means four shots. Silvaetus waited until the latest caravan had passed for the 10 minute interference. Quickly he locked on to the guard’s heat signatures and released four shots from his positron cannon. In rapid succession each guard fell from its post, one falling from the city wall only to smash into the unforgiving earth. The marksman approched the site once more, examining each body: dead with a gaping hole in their chests. 7 minutes 6 seconds until the next caravan. With haste Silvaetus dragged each body into a nearby ditch s not to alarm the next caravan beforehand. Now came the fun part. He had to figure out a way to stop the caravan – without damaging its goods to severely – and still fend off its guards. The terrain around the road was rough, too rough for fully loaded caravans to travel over. There were no other junction in the vicinity and his drone had made sure that there were no other city guards nearby. With only to access points this road was perfect for a box-trap. If the city council were any wiser they would have stationed more guards…but these circumstances were more than just favorable as well.

4 minutes 44 seconds. Thinking back to the last few caravans Silvaetus remembered exactly how long each one was. They varied between in length, but most consisted of eight carts with roughly two meters distance between each one.  Considering each caravan to be about six meters long that would mean the entire convoy is 62 meters long…which meant he had to set two detonation points about 60 meters apart. One short command in his mind and a belt of five explosive devices materialized in his left hand. Two were buried shallowly under the ground no four meters from the gate. Another two were placed exactly 58 meters away from it, also buried shallowly under the earth. The last explosive device Silvaetus saved for an emergency – the shrapnel each bomb releases could become tactically important during a fight. 1 minute 8 seconds left. ‘Time for the final piece to victory’ Silvaetus thought to himself and waved his hand at the landscape. Immediately five magic circles appeared around the area from which five turrets materialized: two to the left of the  track, two to the right of the track and a single one hidden in the bushes exactly 3 meters away from the front explosive. He himself would come from behind. 34 seconds.

All conditions have been met. In only a few mere seconds, the next caravan would exit the city through this path. He looked at the countdown in his transplanted eye and counted the seconds until it was time. The mage was anxious to burst into action, to lay waste to the enemies’ forces and decimate any hope of escape. Yes…to Silvaetus this was not simply a mission any more. It was a work of art. 13 seconds. Several more battle simulations ran through his mind, planning ahead for any more contingencies. But no matter what the attack had to be swift for if he dragged it out too long the city guards would be alerted and that would be the end of it. Failure was not an option, not against simple minded folk like these. His strategy was impeccable, that he was sure of. The circumstances optimal, the victims unknowing.

Three…two…one…nothing. A mistake perhaps? A miscalculation of some sort? Or did they know he was coming? Silvaetus mind thought up numerous possibilities of what might have happened. Ultimately he decided to wait. Panic is what destroys a cunning plan. And with his all too well known patience he lied in wait and listened for the sound of crackling hooves and creaking wheels.

Patiently lying in wait, the mage checked his armaments once more. Everything was working perfectly. He checked on his drone as well to be sure he had functioning backup. “No anomalies detected. Weapon system status: green. Shield system status: green. Propulsion systems: green. Energy levels: 97%.” All clear on that front as well. Another three minutes had passed since the timer ran out. Any normal person would have started to check the road again or went inside the walls, but not the mad scientist of Fiore. There was no room for error. An engagement inside the city walls was impossible for someone with his low stamina. The only choice was to wait and see.
Laughter could be heard from afar. His mind filtered through the sounds, identifying each separate voice with the powerful processor in his brain: 16 different voices meant at least 16 targets. As the voices drew closer Silvaetus could hear it. He could hear the slow creak of the wagon’s wheels, the rumble of boxes as the wagon hit pothole after pothole. Just a little more and he would be able to see them. A few more moments and the plan would finally fall into place…just as he predicted.

As the caravans passed by the mage, the smell was almost unbearable. All the men that were part of the convoy smelled of liquor, tobacco and what seemed to be pickled cucumbers and herring. It was so bad in fact that Silvaetus, a man that would work for hours on a decaying human body for his experiments, actually activated his air filtration system. On the other hand this wasn’t research during which he cared not for his surroundings. This was battle, this was simple warfare, guerrilla tactics.

30 meters and closing. Not much longer before Silvaetus could detonate the charges and begin his assault. Meanwhile a cool summer breeze swept the land scape. The soothing rustling of trees and bushes, the alluring scent of flowers…these things did not interest him now nor would they have at any other time. These simplistic natural occurrences were insignificant for his brilliant mind. 10 meters left. Now the entire caravan was in sight and he could clearly see the number of people. 18 targets in total. The last two were asleep on one of the wagons, completely oblivious of what was about to occur. 9 of the merchant caravan’s escort were at the back and front of the line – in imminent range of the incoming explosion.

The member 'Silvaetus' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Loud explosions sounded from the city walls. Dirt, rocks wood and bits and pieces of people were scattered over the road…the front and back caravans lay on the path pieces and aflame. Charred bodies lay in the midst of the destroyed transports. The street was littered with severed arms, legs and other body parts that once belonged to merchants and their hired guards. Three were still alive, having “only” been hit by the bombs’ shrapnel. But these survivors were done for too, their injuries too severe for them to survive. Agonized screams and pleas for help echoed through the vacant road. One man that had lost his eyes and legs dragged himself towards the gates in search of refuge, a trail of blood lay in his wake. Silvaetus deactivated his filter. He wanted to absorb the scent of the battle, the smell of charred flesh, blood and bodily fluids of the dead – it was almost absolute ecstasy for him. “Drone Report: nine targets remaining. One merchant, two mage and six guards. Commencing suppressing fire from all locations.” Immediately after this message appeared in the mage’s eye the rattle of his turrets could be heard as they sprayed a hail of bullets toward the remaining enemies.

The time had come for Silvaetus to reveal himself. The pinnacle of the battle was at hand, the deciding moments. The mage walked out of his hiding spot behind a thick brush. He strode with pride and determination towards the panicked members of the caravan still in disarray. They were smart or at least smarter than anticipated. One of the mages had set up a small wall of earth around them to protect the group from the hail of lead. The turrets were doing their part, holding the enemy at bay, restricting their movement. A roar from his shoulder cannon caught the small group’s attention. They looked in horror as the high explosive shell travelled through the air towards their tiny sanctuary. Only one of few things could happen now: either they would storm at him from the improvised bunker or they would make a run for freedom.
Two explosions from the right startled Silvaetus, causing him to take cover behind one of the remaining caravans. Three more followed and the clatter of the machine guns stopped completely. A glance over the wagon revealed a rather surprising scene. His turrets were destroyed and a man with a fire ball in his hand stood in the center.

„You coward!“ one mage screamed „Attacking us like this…so many dead…Have you no concern for human life? I know your kind and they are indispicable!” No, of course not. Of what concern were the fates of others to oneself if they served you no purpose? Besides, this was war. A conflict between two factions for reasons only understandable by the respective sides. At this point it would have been possible to negotiate their surrender. But there was no room for either humanity or mercy in Silvaetus artificial heart. Letting them go would give the authorities a chance to find him…and that was not acceptable.

A group of four mercenaries charged at the guild less mage’s location, shouting unnecessary battle cries as they did so. Pathetic…doing that only alerts your opponent to your attack. These people weren’t smart, they just had instinct and some luck. Now they believed that they had the upper hand because they knew Silvaetus’s location? Because they outnumbered him? Stifling a laugh he unleashed his defense against close ranged enemies. His attackers slowed their charge before coming to a halt, coughing severely. “You assume you know me from that single attack and yet you prove that to be false. You just let your men run to their horrid deaths, so now watch as they die in agony!”

The hired soldiers twitched and gurgled das the lay on the ground, dying of the intense radiation. One of them even managed to stand up and continued his assault in a pathetically sluggish manner. His determination was admirable, but for naught. Soon he sizzled under the immense heat as he limped closer, boiling in his own skin before finally falling short of his goal. In mere moments the gurgling and twitching stopped. Some of the victims had vomited blood or were bleeding from numerous lesions on their bodies.
The mage stood up, filled with confidence, preparing to deal the final blow. And as he came out of cover a red hot flare flew towards him at high speed. Silvaetus was flung backwards off his feet, a stinging pain in his chest. He could barely breathe but still attempted to stand only to find his arms and legs had been restrained by rock. “Not so tough now are ya’ punk?” a voice said cockily “Gilligan, lets finish him. He’s caused enough trouble as is. If we hand him over to the knights there’s no tellin’ what he’ll do!” Now they were quarreling about what to do with Silvaetus. ‘How did a disorganized bunch like them ever get the jump on me?!’ he thought ‘No matter. Time to end this while they’re distracted.’

There is a reason why mage like SIlvaetus were rather formidable. You just couldn’t let your guard down…even for a second. And if you do like these sorry saps, you will most likely end up dead. The merchant’s magi had been bickering for almost a full five minutes now, arguing about what to do with the mage. The other two mercenaries had edged back even further, still afraid of what happened to their companions. In the meantime Silvaetus ordered his drone into position, taking aim at the fire mage. The word ‘Activating Tachion Acceleration’ appeared in his eye. And so the mage jumped through time and space to his previous location behind the Caravan. His injury gone and restraints released he could act.

“Hey, where’d he g-“ the fire mage was cut short as a ray of energy burst through his chest. The drone retreated to recharge, but what it had done was enough. Silvaetus swung out from behind the wagon once again, weapons at the read. The earth mage attempted to put up a rock wall. An attempt to no avail. The positron cannon released its burst, demolecularising his head. Blood sprayed over the remaining two mercenaries as it gushed out from the stump of the exposed neck. They were shaking so hard in fear that they could barely move. Instinct grabbing hold of them they charge at the mage only to have their chests filled with a nice wad of lead. Now it was down to the mere merchant who clung onto a small pocket knife like it was his lifeline.

“P-please, s-s-sir…“ the merchant stammered “Spare me. Please! Take what you want and just leave me be!” But his please for mercy fell upon deaf ears. Mercy was never an option even for this merchant. He was well into his sixties and looked more frail than most. His eyes were a dulled light blue now filled with despair. A truly pitiful sight for those who could feel the emotion. Silvaetus icy gaze fell upon the poor man, condemned to death. The last thing this man would see is the oversized barrel attached to the mage’s right arm.

Amidst the dead, the mage began to scour the wreckage. Even with this much cargo comparatively little of it was left unscathed. Sivlaetus loaded the till usable boxes onto one of the last remaining wagons. With the horses dead he instead attached the reigns to his drone, having it pull the supplies to the location.

Far in the distance the city’s alarms sounded. By now Silvatus was far away and approaching a cave – the drop point. As he dismounted the wagon a cloaked figure appeared out of the dark, damp hole. The figure inspected the cargo without a word – discretion, something Silvaetus appreciated as it was rare. In silence the figure handed him a small case and simply said “Leave now…Your reward is inside.”