ok, since no one's responding im forced to double post. here's chapter 1:
Chapter 1: Lairdyn
“How much longer must we wait, Jupiter?”
“Be patient, Mars. We have to make sure he’s here, otherwise we could end up
overturning an innocent town.”
“I agree. We should wait a bit longer.”
“Oh stop brownnosing, Venus, you’re not impressing anyone!”
This argument emanated from within a dark cave on the outskirts of the Lairdyn desert.
The beating suns and underground volcanoes practically boiled the sand from all angles,
and strong winds stirred lethal sandstorms. Colossal creatures roamed the wasteland,
frightening the earth itself, making it quake and tremble. Some beasts sported round,
sharpened horns, while others had thick fur and razor-like fangs. The real killers, however,
were the monsters too small to see, which could burrow deep into the skin.
Jupiter peered through a hole in the rock beside the cave wall. Out of the corner of his
eye, he noticed two tall men in trench coats and top hats, lazily strolling about the blazing
wilderness.
“There,” he breathed, “there’s our guys.”
Mars jumped up off the ground in excitement. “Yes, finally! That’s the green light, the
thumbs up! We can go now, right?”
“Not yet, but soon. Let’s wait until dusk.”
“Good.” said Venus. “I shall prepare our equipment.”
“Ugh, fine,” sighed Mars. “But I’m hungry. I’ll go get us a snack”. He grabbed his utility belt
from Venus, latching it onto his waist. He stretched his arms, did a few jumping jacks, and
exited the hideout.
He hid in the shadows, as to not attract the attention of the two men in the distance, and
began to seek his prey. After a while, he spotted a beast the size of a small building, with
fangs overlapping it’s bottom teeth, and drool running down it’s chin. “Perfect,” he muttered.
He reached down and unlatched the fastener on the right side of his belt. He felt around
and retrieved a large menacing blade. It appeared to be made of bone, and was
sharpened to it’s maximum. Its pearly exterior glinted in the sunlight.
He raised it high into the air, where the creature could see it. “Oi, beastie, come ‘ere,” he
taunted, swinging the blade left and right. It caught the monster’s attention, and it came
charging towards him.
“That’s right, come to papa,” he breathed as the beast neared him. At the last second,
Mars jumped high into the sky, landing on the fiend’s titanic back. It reared up and kicked
the air, trying to knock him off, but Mars grabbed hold of it’s swirled ram-like horns and rode
it like a rodeo bull. He waited a few minutes until it tired out, and then he took hold of his
sword once more. He lifted it high, then plunged it deep into the monster’s shoulder. It yelled
in pain and began to kick again. Mars started running the length of it’s back, dragging the
blade with him and cutting the beast open as he did. By the time he reached the rear end
and jumped off, the beast was already dead, sliced right down the middle. Mars whistled a
happy tune, as he grabbed the thing’s leg and dragged it back to his den.
“It’s about time,” Jupiter chided upon Mars’ return. “You were gone for almost two hours!
Venus and I were about to leave without you.”
“Hey, don’t you be mad at me, I got us dinner!” He grinned, gesturing toward the giant
cadaver. “That’ll last us a week!”
“That’s all fine and good, but we may not be around in a week’s time. Remember what
Rhea said. We are the best of all the assassins in the militia, but we still might not be able to
overpower this guy. He is the Lord of Fire, after all.”
“Well thank you, Jupiter, you give us all so much hope,” remarked Mars sarcastically. “But
I’m still hungry.”
“No time.” Venus spoke this, and pointed to the entrance of the cave. “We have visitors.”
The two shady men had found the trio. Mars looked up from his newly concocted dinner
plate and stared them right in the eyes. He smiled.
“Woo boy, I’ve been waitin’ a long time for this! I’m fully gonna enjoy myself.” He leaned
up, snatching two small throwing knives from the back of his belt in the process. He turned
and flicked them, sending them darting towards the men.
Without a word, the taller one reached out and grabbed the knives in midair. He looked
up, snickered, then vanished.
Mars looked around cautiously. He spun around and caught the man behind him, about
to stab him with his own weapons. He parried with his bone blade, catching the man off
guard.
“Venus!” Jupiter shouted. “Is my weapon ready?”
“Yes.”
She pulled out a humongous sword, much longer and wider than Mars’. She threw it to
Jupiter, who caught and wielded it with ease.
“Ok,” he said to the other man, who had been watching Mars fight his ally with obvious
amusement. “I guess you’re my enemy.”
This man chuckled as well, reaching into his back pocket. He raised his hand and
revealed a small metal ring. He put it on, and instantly his entire arm transformed. It grew
silver scales, and became much thicker and beefier. He pounded the ground, and it shook.
Jupiter sighed in disappointment. “Aww man, I was hoping to get a little training in. Well,
Venus, looks like this guy wants a fistfight. You better give him what he wants.”
“As you wish.”
Venus jumped up and dashed, quick as lighting, over to the man. She cocked her arm
and punched him smack dab in the face, sending him flying backwards. When he hit the
back of the wall, he twitched for a moment, then stopped moving.
Jupiter looked over to see Mars holding the first man in a death grip. He twisted his arms
back, grabbed his knives from him, and stabbed the man in the back with them. He pulled
out the blades, let the man drop to the floor, and proceeded to lick his knives clean of the
blood. He shivered in delight, then re-hooked them in their original place.
“Mars, you have to stop doing that, it’s creeping me out,” Jupiter said, shuddering. Venus
watched the whole thing, eyes unwavering, not affected in the least.
“Sorry mate, it’s kinda my thing,” he laughed, heading towards the mouth of the cavern.
“So, can we go now?”
“Well, I guess we have no choice anymore. Let’s move out.”
Venus grabbed all the leftover equipment and exited the grotto. Mars was next, dragging
behind him the enormous carcass of the beast he had slain. He was cutting off small pieces
with his knife and eating them raw, ferociously ripping off the layers of fur as he did. Jupiter
followed close behind. When he reached the outdoor moonlight, he turned and slammed
the rocky exterior of the hideout with a mighty blow of his sword. The entire structure
collapsed with a loud crash, and all the creatures nearby ran in fear. Jupiter didn’t want to
leave behind any evidence whatsoever.
As the trio marched forward, Mars began to notice a change in the weather. The clouds
were no longer lolling about slowly, and were now racing past one another, as if in some
epic race to the moon.
“Hey guys, you see th-”
“Yes.” Venus interrupted.
“Mm-hmm.” Jupiter knew what it was, but wanted to keep the truth away from the others
for as long as possible. The change in the cloud patterns was their mark’s doing; it wasn’t just
some coincidence. He must have sensed the loss of his peons, and was now angry.
“We must hurry,” he stated simply.
They reached the gates of Teriin, only to find a locked gate. The foundation around the
city was moldy and decrepit, with entire sides of buildings missing. The rubble around the rim
of the outer walls piled high enough to make a city in itself. The entire site was gargantuan,
though. The largest city in the known world, run by one of the most notorious villains ever.
And the people of Teriin were unaware.
“Wow,” Mars said unenthusiastically. “Well…let’s go-”
“Wait.”
Jupiter made out a small figure standing near the entrance, apparently guarding it. It was
wearing a green jumpsuit and a top hat, very similar to the other men.
“We’ll sneak around from the other side,” said Jupiter, starting to head in a different
direction.
“What? No, I’m going directly there, I’m tired of waiting,” Mars rebutted, and ran straight
for the little man in the top hat, dropping the giant mound of animal flesh.
“Hey! Mars, what are you doing? Our cover is already blown, but this’ll tell them exactly
where we are!” he whispered, and chased after him. Venus was indifferent, and followed
Mars and Jupiter, picking up the corpse and dragging it once again.
As Mars approached the man, he started to yell.
“Oi, little guy, let us in!”
The dwarf stood there, not budging at the larger man’s request.
“Hey, I said move!” He began to wedge his way past, and the man jumped up and
smacked him hard on the cheek, with such force it almost knocked him out.
“No one enters here,” he replied, folding his hands and returning to his post.
Mars angrily wiped his face, and stared back, ready to pounce. Jupiter and Venus arrived,
and saw what had happened to Mars.
“Hold on, I got this one,” Jupiter told Mars, sitting him back down. He unsheathed his
blade, and it’s many curves and indents were revealed in the moonlight. The hilt was
covered in a thick blue fur, attained from his very first hunt, and the handle was wrapped
with a worn bandage. The weapon was dissected into many different pieces lengthwise,
and had a line running down the middle that split it in half. It contained power unimaginable
to his foes.
He laughed, and began to charge the dwarf. Jupiter lunged forward with a stab, and the
man jumped. He landed on the sword, ran its length down to the handle, and performed a
back flip, kicking Jupiter powerfully in the process. He landed, once again, in his original spot.
“No one enters here,” the man repeated.
“Fine then,” Jupiter whispered, and raised his weapon, pointing it towards the heavens.
“Acht ink ramun khalin shumii railuj orghtu ra!”
The many segments of the blade separated, and shot outwards towards the dwarf, in a
tough snake-like structure. Each piece was connected to the next by strong electrical
currents. There was no way for him to defend, and he was overcome by the brute force of it.
The little man lied there dead, with small static burn marks all over his body, sizzling. The
three bounty hunters continued, into the heart of the City of Flames, Teriin.
