The Dark Alleys (GM fetch/Approved by the GDs)

[Argo Vindaine]

First Brightening of Melora, in the Season of Spring, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum, the Second Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Argo had spent the evening filling out special paperwork and sending it off to the Governor of Carmelya. Argo had many witnesses to him still being alive including the headmaster of the Dracon Academy and The Regeant and His wife, Milo and Nell. All of this had been sent to the governor, Aerienne, and to The Regeant to validate his latest letter.

It was a will that gave The Urthwerks to The Province of Carmelya. All profits of The Urthwerks would be used to pay the taxes owed by each citizen and allow all further revenue would be usable by the Province to do as they saw fit. But first and foremost, The Province was required to construct a statue in the middle of Archadoon of Self Proclaimed Archduke Felix Arkdün in respect to him giving up his lands in order to rebuild Archadoon. It also required the Province to investigate Aurelia Arkdün for the murder of Felix and himself considering he would need to be dead in order for this will to be carried out.

If The Province failed to comply with the statue within one month, then the Urthwerks would be given to the government with only one condition; that Archadoon be converted back to it's rightful name, Arkdün. If the Government could not comply within one month to his request, then the Urthwerks would be destroyed and the land auctioned all proceeds spread equally amongst all orphanages across the Empire. These requests were small considering that when Argo ran The Urthwerks, it was good for over a million crowns an era when run efficiently and the right contracts made.

After paying the courrier and seeing the man leave the front gates, Argo made his way down side alleys back towards the Dracon Academy. It was where he was staying to hide from Aurelia and her would be assassins. His payment for them allowing a non dracon to stay there had been his teachings of the blacksmithing arts to all dracons interested and creation of high quality items such as grandmaster made armors and weapons to all those in charge at the Academy. Argo always enjoyed the roaring flames of the forge to forget all that was going on around him.

It was a dark spring evening, and Argo was feeling uneasy about the night. As if he had developed some innate sixth sense out of know where. He used his Cyribus Axe like a walking staff and was ready for any confrontation that might be set before him. There was no way one single assassin would take him down; his Arkdun pride would not allow it. He was a true warrior like his ancestors before him from Felix all the way to Aeric The White Knight. His mixed giant and Baijani blood stirred deep within him flexing his inhuman muscles. His strength rivaled true giants due to his eras upon eras of conditioning due to the work at the forges.

Passing from building to building, Argo mentally prepared. It was the wrong night to chose to leave, and he was in for a fight. Winner take all.

[fetch]

A man of power and wealth has many enemies some stand before him with smiles on their lips and promises of their best intentions others lurk in the shadows sharpening blades and waiting for the moment of weakness to strike a back stabbing blow.

Yet there is a third enemy the most deadly of all, the enemy that one knows, the avowed enemy the naked enemy, the enemy within the bosom of the family Aurelia Lord Protector of Archadoon after her infamous deal with the emperor. A woman, who through the lust for power sacrificed her own cousin to the delights of poison and then held the half giant hostage for her own reasons.

Aurelia was not going to reveal her motives the game was complicated and she moved pieces around the board to her advantage in some long thought out strategy. The word was out, money had been paid, men hired through intermediaries and untraceable letter drops .Assassins were on the streets and their target the half giant, Argo’s life was counted in candlemarks and he knew it. No matter what was done in secret the owner of the Urthwerks still had allies and friends who watched his back and slipped him snippets of information.

A web of spies danced around Argonox his movements were noted the Inn, the Dracon Academy, times were noted, patterns deduced all for one final end. The white king must die and the black queen orchestrated her troops to that final end.

Shadows hid the huge man as he hugged the buildings moving with care from dark place to dark place the Cyribus Axe, his true masterpiece clutched firmly in a work scarred fist. Ready to be turned into a whirlwind of flesh blood and bone should the hired thugs dare to strike at him. Argonox was alive as he had never been alert for every nuance of sound and smell, alive for the next second as if it were his last.

The scream shattered the quiet of the dark streets, the scream of a child in pain and terror in front of him. Another and another rending the darkening air with the atmosphere of terror a scream that no one could ignore.

A trap or something else?

[Argo Vindaine]

Argo was expecting trouble, this much could be certain simply by looking at his demeanor. His thoughts were from an attack of family, an assassination attempt that would leave one soul survivor or the entire House of Arkdün. If the female survived, then a potential was there for another survivor; but if the male survived, then the house would die. The half giant and half baijani blood of Aeric stirred with family pride and defeat. He could only hope that Aurelia did have a child that would grow up to restore what Aurelia had destroyed. Argo had no alliances, no friends, and no family to turn to. He had compassion in an academy of Dracons and nothing else. They agreed to provide him shelter but nothing more. Argo was alone.

The screams that had echoed the streets had come unexpected to him. He had assumed any terror after him would come from silence and the shadows. Instantaneously the half breed flipped his cyribus axe upward a half turn allowing the shaft to rest in his other hand, both hands now shoulder width apart in full combat position. His training did not rival most but he was elite with his weapon and ready to strike.

His instincts had him react before fully listening to the sounds. It broke his heart to think that the scream came from a child. Would Aurelia stoop to such a low in order to draw him out into the open? He had no idea, but it worked none the less. There was no way one single child would fall on his behalf or that of a witch of a cousin. The pain in his ears rivaled the pain in his heart as more screams could be heard. As fast a half giant could run, Argo was in pursuit of the screams. He could only hope to stop the cries before it was too late.

[fetch]

It was huge, it was unfamiliar and it had a child backed up against a wall. Street lighting might not be of the best in Archadoon but Argo would have no difficulty in seeing the dark reptilian creature.

It was something out of a nightmare and as Argo approached it from the rear he would make out a long leathery tail with raised scales running down its length. It stood on four legs the rear legs being longer than the front so its six foot spine sloped towards the head. Ridges of bone and scale ran down either side of the spine and the body was equally scaled. The feet were flippered and bore three talons on each foot. The creatures head was obscured from Argo but in the dim light he thought he saw tentacles stretching out towards the child.

What this creature was he would only have a swift moment to conjecture, where it came from was a mystery. All he would know for certain was that he had only moments to act to save the terrified child. The axe was a terrible weapon, the wielder as strong as any but would it be enough?

[Argo Vindaine]

By The Aetherians! Argo whispered to himself as he caught a view of this lizard like reptilian beast. Clawed, feet, spiked spine, tentacles?!? There was not one fairy tale he could remember that might make him aware of what this was. The fact that it was not a trap set by Aurelia did not relieve his initial fears of fending off this thing. The life of a child was at stake, and he knew he needed to act fast.

What he hoped he had was an element of surprise. Reptilians used their tongues for smelling much like the forty foot snake that he'd fought in the cave cliffs off of Archadoon areas ago when a lamia cult had been discovered and stopped. He'd been knocked out by that creature and a good friend of his had died. He did not even know how the snake died. When he'd come to after being knocked out, he was in his bed. But some elements of that battle remained in his mind forever. A reptile had nearly killed him once; would he be so lucky again?

His reactionary goal was immobility. He wanted to avoid the tail at all costs knowing that it would be like a battering ram upon impact. He looked at which side of the body the tail was pointing to and went in that direction. This would keep the tail from achieving full speed when it swiped at him. He then would try and come down with a might chop of his cyribus axe upon the curved bend in the back leg of the creature hoping it was like a knee cap and praying he'd have the strength to penetrate the reptilian hide and crush bone. The child had only moments to live, and he was seeking a strong distraction that would make him the target. By Aslan he hoped the kid would run away and live.

[fetch]

Quick decisions deserve success and Argo did not hesitate to act. The great axe swung towards its target and with a strength born out of eras of hard work in the forge the masterpiece proved it was more than just a thing of raw beauty. It crashed into its target severing armoured skin and sending gouts of hot dark blood into the air covering the half giant in gore .

What ever this thing was it was tough but being strong and vicious did not help it when one of its four legs was partly severed. However instinct kicks in and as Argo surmised in his planning the tail delivered a vicious swipe not as bad as if he had been standing on the far side but enough to knock him off his feet and send him sprawling in the gutter.

The creature did not attack it hauled its carcase away dragging its hind left leg leaving the child alone sobbing with fear and relief. Argo was bruised from his meeting with the hard surface of the street but other than that uninjured.

The child wiped its face and looked up at the huge man before him ……“Thanks mister you saved me life I reckons ….” there was a round of applause behind Argo and four older people were standing behind him cheering .

One of them stepped forward and looked at him , that critter mate …I saw something like that once before when I was on a ship fishing in Libertas Bay. My captain put on full sail and flogged that old boat back to land as if Jorels devils were chasing us. ’e said it were Kraken spawn!

In the near distance more screams echoed through the cold streets and a clash of arms shouts yells and cries rang out. The spawn was meeting the good citizens of Archadoon.