(DF) Soul of the Assassin (Full Version)

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legend179 -> (DF) Soul of the Assassin (6/9/2011 20:55:18)

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Prologue
On Friday, May 13th, Sepulchure launched his final attack on Lore. It started with a simple invasion attempt. A week later, his dracolich crashed into the Guardian Tower of Falconreach, killing many brave men and women. He released a crazed dracoliche known only as the Beast of War, which he assigned to bring down the wall that protected the town, but a hero and his dragon stood up and defeated it. A few days after that, that same hero called his name, demanding a battle to end this feud, and Sepulchure won, but spared the hero. It was then that it was revealed that Akriloth had a son, a powerful fire dragon that Xan turned into a dracolich and killed Lady Celestia. And after a hard effort to stop them, the undead raptured on of the chains holding Popsprocket in place, and the city crashed in the mountain's below. The couragous men and women of Falconreach continued to fight Sepulchure's forces for a month, before the DoomKnight took it upon himself to attack. With a single, powerul spell, he blasted a crater in the center of Falconreach, destroying the weapons shop, the inn, the bank, the mayor's office, the health potion shop, and most of Ravenloss below. The hero rose again to battle him, but he never stood a chance. The DoomKnight killed the hero, the last bit of hope anyone in Falconreach had. But that wasn't enough for him. While he had Falconreach's attention with the fight, one of his spies within Oaklore had poisoned the roots of the Great Oak, causing the tree and castle to fall, destroying the entire city. Drakath managed to infilitrate the ranks of fighters at Aeris Battlespire, where he took control of the flying academy and crashed it into DragonsGrasp, nearly dying in the process but causing the flying city of the DragonLords to crash into the center of the Sandsea, where it became the central town for survivors. Xan managed to melt the glacier that Dragesvard was nestled in, drowning the entirety of the town. Noxus used the last bit of power in him to raise an army of undead that began to assault Amityvale. Xan used the Fire Orb to flood Lymcrest with lava, but the townspeople managed to save themselves. Sepulchure sent a small army to attack Willowshire, who had finally driven the Dravir off, and then easily dealt with the undead. No one on the mainland heard from Sho Nuff, and most believed it had been destroyed by Sepulchure...
That was nine years ago. The world of Lore has changed and adjusted. DragonsGrasp has evolved into a small metropolis. Lymcrest has become a safe-haven for travelers or soldiers from the undead. Amityvale continues to fight off the undead as the front line for the war. Willowshire has become the housing for soldiers, the central hub for the war effort. Most people have learned to live with the undead attackers, because they all have hope that the Five, the only DragonLords left, will protect the only thing that has kept Sepulchure from reaching total power: the orb of darkness. Follow Ethran the assassin as he works with the Order of the Great Oak and the Five to stop the DoomKnight from victory, and topple him off his thrown once and for all.



legend179 -> RE: (DF) Soul of the Assassin (6/11/2011 5:50:07)

Chapter One: The Lieutenant (Day 1)
Ethran held his breath as he made his way through the undead camp, hiding in the shadows behind the tents while the zombies and skeletons stood around, mindlessly. When he came to the tent closest to the look-out tower, he pulled his crossbow out and aimed at the guard. He squeezed the trigger, and a bolt shot out and hit the skeleton square in the forehead, cleanly knocking it's head off. He ran and climbed up the backside of the tower, and once at the top, looked out over the camp until his eyes rested on the large tent at the far end.
"That has to be where he is." he mumbled under his breath just before dropping back to the ground.
With a new bolt loaded, he silently jumped from shadow to shadow until the large tent was in his sight again. There were two zombies standing outside the door, each with a large axe in their hands. He turned to start the walk around the tent, but the moment his head turned, he met the face of another zombie.
"Ugh!" the zombie moaned as it reached out for Ethran, who quickly drew his dagger and stabbed it in the throat, walking around to sit it in the shadow of another tent while hiding from a skeleton that came to check on the noise. As soon as the skeleton left, he unsheathed two throwing knives and started towards the large tent.
The two zombies noticed him a fraction of a second too late, for both knives had embedded into their throats, destroying their larynx, or voice-box, and stopping them from making a noise. Ethran started forward, but saw a shadow moving towards the entrance of the tent.
* * * * *
"What was that?" Klatu asked Rayo, the lieutenant in charge of the camp.
"I'm not sure, sir." Rayo replied, signaling his main bodyguard to check it out.
The burly human started towards the door of the tent.
* * * * *
Ethran stood silently and waited for the exact moment the huge man walked out of the tent. He saw the man's hand push the flap open, and just as he poked his head out, Ethran full-on sprinted towards him. He drove his dagger into the man's neck, causing him to stumble back into the tent and fall onto the table that a small, older man sat at. The old man jumped up just before the table collapsed, backing up as Ethran ripped his dagger free and looked at him.
They said he was old, and weak with a scar on his left cheek, Ethran thought as he approached the man with the dagger in hand.
* * * * *
The lieutenant stood there, motionless, as the assassin approached him with dagger in hand. His eyes looked to Klatu, who raised his hand towards the assassin. His eyes glowed black for the short moment before an invisible blast of energy blasted the assassin to the other side of the room, causing Ethran to drop his dagger.
* * * * *
Ethran rolled back to his feet, drawing two throwing knives in his right hand as he came to face his attacker. The moment he realized who he was looking at, he nearly collapsed.
"Klatu..." he mumbled. The scene seemed to move in slow motion as the liuetenant he had been sent to kill grabbed his dagger off the ground and charged at him. Ethran's right hand grabbed the hand the lieutenant had the dagger in, and he brought his foot up and kicked the lieutenant in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards and fall on the body of his bodyguard.
"Let's get out of here." Klatu shouted as he brandished an unseen knife and slice a hole in the side of the tent and jumped through it. The lieutenant jumped to his feet and started to follow, but Ethran threw his dagger at him, slicing the back of his left calf, making him fall through the hole and hit the ground. Ethran ran and leaped through the hole, grabbing his dagger on the way, tackling the lieutenant as he tried to stand. He put his dagger to the old man's throat, but before he could draw blood, another blast of energy his him, throwing him off the lieutenant into the wooden wall that surrounded the camp.
* * * * *
"Get up." Klatu said, looking down at the liuetenant as he scrambled to his feet before handing the knife. "Here. End him."
He pointed to the assassin, who was leaned against the wall around the camp knocked out by the hit.
* * * * *
Ethran sat against the wall with the dagger in his hand, waiting for the lieutenant to get closer. With his eyes barely open, he watched as Klatu handed the lieutenant his knife and pointed at him. A moment passed, and the lieutenant started towards Ethran, looking scared that Ethran wasn't unconscious. The ten feet between them quickly dropped to seven, then five, and when the old man was no more than three feet away, Ethran hopped to his feet and stabbed the dagger into the side of his neck.
"The Five send their regards." he said as he sat pulled his weapon out, letting the corpse drop to the ground.
There was a small series of soft claps from just ahead of him.
"You continue to impress me assassin. But may I ask, what will killing this lowly man solve?"
He fought back the anger, the urge to stab the necromancer to death with his dagger, and looked up at him with a smile.
"Do you really think I came just to end him?" Ethran replied as a cannonball blasted the ground somewhere in the camp, causing the ground to shake. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a familiar voice shouting the command to charge to the troops that were going to be attacking the camp.
"An ambush? Very good plan. Now, I suppose you plan to take me into custody and question me, right?" Klatu asked.
"No, I plan to kill you." He replied, charging at the necromancer. As he brought the dagger up to stab him in the chest, Klatu's hand grabbed his wrist with impossible strength and pulled him forward, moving to the side as Ethran stumbled into a tent. He turned back and swung, but the necromancer was gone, vanished from the scene completely. He sheathed his dagger and walked back into the camp, where soldiers bearing the symbol of the Five were standing over the bodies and bones of many undead. As he approached the main gate, he saw Robina and Ash speaking to a group of soldiers. He approached the group, and Robina turned to him with a happy look on her face.
"How'd it go?" she asked.
"I got the lieutenant. But Klatu was there with him. I tried to fight him, but he got away."
"At least we captured this camp. One step closer to bringing Sepulchure's reign to an end." Ash said.
"Yeah, well I'm going to get some rest." Ethran said, heading towards a random tent and walking inside.



legend179 -> RE: (DF) Soul of the Assassin (6/11/2011 6:01:08)

Chapter Two: Grave News(Day 2)
"Ethran, you have done well in bringing the lieutenant to his death." Aeradon said to Ethran as they stood in the alley between two of the few remaining buildings in Ravenloss. The indigo shaded armor of the DragonLord looked black in the shadows, making it appear as if he weren't there. Ethran said nothing, he just stood and looked up into the sky that was visible from the massive hole in the ceiling of the cavern. "This accomplishment has brought us that much closer to victory. Sepulchure has begun to notice these attacks. We have dealt with nearly half of his fifty lieutenants, and if we can take this next one alive, we'll be able to take one of the six generals."
"I had one of his generals within my grasp. Klatu was in my reach." He replied, turning to face the leader of the Five.
"Klatu? He was killed by Ash nearly a year before the attack." Aeradon said in surprise.
"It appears Sepulchure has found a way to bring the undead back into their living selves."
"This is worse than I imagined. I must consult the others in DragonsGrasp." He said just before turning and walking out of the alley, walking ten feet before vanishing silently.
Ethran walked the opposite way out of the alley, passing by the large crater from the attack that had destroyed the town. He continued walking through the town, eventually to the Equilibrium Gate. As Ethran looked over the gate, he ran his fingers over one of the large cracks in the structure. The stone was ice cold to the touch. The assassin ran his fingers through his thick white hair, letting it fall freely to reach his shoulders. After an hour of walking through the ruins, he'd travel up into Falconreach and take the gryphon to the camp where Ash and Robina were.
"How are the soldiers?" Ethran asked as he approached Robina, who was looking over a map spread out on a table.
"They are fine. We lost one in the raid last night, may he rest peacefully, but fine for the most part."
"Where is Ash?"
"He should be around the camp somewhere. Check the mess hall."
Ethran nodded and left her tent, walking all the way to the opposite end of camp to the very long tent where a cook was serving all the soldiers lunch. Among the many men, he saw Ash sitting at a table in the back, talking to someone. He walked over and pulled a chair up to sit by them.
"Ethran, where have you been?" Ash asked before taking a spoonful of his soup.
"I had some business to take care of in Ravenloss. We need to talk." Ethran replied.
"Oh, of course. If you'll excuse us." He said to the soldier he had been sitting with. The two left the mess hall and walked through the camp. "What is it?"
"Klatu. You killed him when you were just a boy."
"Yes, I know. Then he became an undead servant to Noxus."
"But he wasn't undead when I fought him. He was alive."
"What? That can't be. That means-"
"Sepulchure has found a way to bring the undead back to life. I met with Aeradon earlier, and he has left to DragonsGrasp to tell the rest of the Five."
Ash said nothing in response, just looked out into the forest.
"We need to return to Falconreach and wait for word from the Five. If Sepulchure has found a way to bring the undead back, and we could possibly get our hands on the way how, we could bring back Warlic, and even the other DragonLords!"
"Let us find Robina and leave for town."
And so the two went to find Robina in her tent, and explained the situation to her. She left her most trusted captain in charge of the camp, and soon the three were off on the gryphon. An hour later, they landed on the hill by the remains of the Guardian Tower, putting the gryphon in it's stable and giving it plenty of food and water before heading down to the inn, which was recently repaired by Ash and Patch.
They went inside the inn and found Serenity, Aria, and Patch all sitting inside talking. The moment they entered, Aria ran and threw her arms around Ash's neck, embracing him tightly and nearly causing him to fall and make everyone laugh. The rest of the day went by quietly. They sat around the inn, ate dinner that Serenity prepared for them, and they all went off to bed just after sundown. Ethran lied down to sleep that night with a smile on his face, for that night was the most fun he had had in a long time. After only a couple of hours of sleep, he was awoken by a cold breeze rolling across his face, alerting him that his window had been open.
He shot up straight, feeling so stupid for not having a weapon within reach, but barely had a moment to think before the assassin's dagger sliced a gash in the side of his neck.



legend179 -> RE: (DF) Soul of the Assassin (6/12/2011 4:35:55)

Chapter Three: The Dark Assassin
"Valkar." Sepulchure said calmly as sat back in his throne, the Necrotic Blade of Doom resting easily against the side.
"Yes, master?" Valkar asked, appearing in thin air a few feet from the throne. The man had no armor, wore nothing more than a robe actually, but his face gave him away. He was a bit older, his hair was a bit longer, and he had grown facial hair. But there was no mistaking who he had been. The spiky black hair, the piercing green eyes. The DoomKnight's couldn't help but look at the deep scar that ran from his left cheek bone to the center of his chin, leaving a thin line in his goatee.
"Ethran Alamari." Sepulchure answered, snapping his fingers. In the space between them appeared a picture of a tall man wearing dark brown, leather armor, with tanned skin and long white hair that just touched his shoulders. "He killed one of my lieutenants. Actually, he has killed nineteen of my lieutenants. He is in Falconreach. You know what to do."
Valkar merely nodded and left the room. He walked through the halls of the castle that Sepulchure had created, remembering the day it had happened. The memory was recent, and distant, for he had witness the event twice. Once when he was younger, and once again when he had returned at an older age. He came to a small wooden door and pulled it open, crawling through to stand out on a five foot long ledge. At it's widest point, it just reached three inches, and the only thing below was the bottom of Coldfall Barrens, a drop of nearly one-thousand feet. Valkar walked to the end of the ledge, looking out over the massive canyon that the castle was nestled in, and walked off the edge.
He aimed up and closed his right hand, pressing the pressure plate in his glove, causing a grappling hook to shoot from the launcher attached to the bottom of his forearm. The hook caught on the ledge, and he made a sharp turn to the right, swinging to land on the front walkway that lead out of the canyon. Valkar left the barrens and started heading left to begin the yourney to Falconreach, passing by Lymcrest, a small path that lead somewhere into the mountains, then Verteroche Crossing, where the building all lie in rubble. He followed the path all the way down to the remains of the great wall that had protected Falconreach, but now did nothing more than show where the town was. The moonlight shined brightly, showing the entire city to Valkar as he walked through the town he hadn't seen in years. The only building that seemed to be inhabited was the inn, which he noticed had been rebuilt recently as he came close and peered in the windows.
He saw an old, bald man sitting on the floor and leaning against the door with a sword in his hands. There was a staircase on the other side of the room, but Valkar heard something from above, and when he looked up, he saw another window with a small light shining out of it. He scaled the side of the inn, taking care not to step on loose boards, until he came to the window, where Ethran lay in bed sleeping. Ethran was shaking hard, mumbling something while he was sweating hard. Valkar silently pushed the window up, but saw the error as soon as the breeze rolled through and the target jolted awake.
Valkar didn't think as he swung his dagger and attempted to slice at Ethran's neck, leaving a gash on the right side of his neck. The poison went to work the moment the steel broke his skin, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head, the skin around the wound to lose all pigmentation, and his veins to turn a sickly green color.
He sheathed the poisoned dagger and pulled out another one, this one unpoisoned, and brought his hands up to stab it into Ethran's neck.
* * * * *
A few minutes earlier...
Ash sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands as he went back to the memories of his fight with Klatu. His attention jumped to a nearly silent noise from nearby, and once he walked into the hallway, it sounded like it was coming from Ethran's room. He quietly walked down the hall and pushed the door open, nearly stunned when he saw the dark armored man holding a knife ready to kill Ethran, who had a gash in the side of his neck already. Ash didn't think.
"Ahh!" he shouted as he sprinted forward and tackled the attacker as he brought his dagger down, the force as they hit breaking through the wall and throwing them to the ground below.
They both rolled to their feet upon landing, facing each other from four feet away. Ash swung at the assassin, but a sharp pain in his ribs caused him to draw back. He looked down and saw that the knife that had nearly killed Ethran was embedded into his side by at least four inches. His hand wrapped around the handle and he gritted his teeth as he ripped it out, nearly falling over from the pain. Ash turned to the assassin, but saw that he was running through the center of town, heading towards the hill where the gryphon was. He started after him, sprinting as fast as he could and biting his lip to keep from shouting in pain.



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