Chapter 21: The Game Begins
The tides are moving quickly, and if I don’t move with them, I might not get what I need. The emperor has a plan, and like a pawn on a board, or a player on stage, so too shall I see what role I must play.
The Game Beings
~~~~~
(Five Minutes after the Senate)
Perspective: Artyom
The gryphon known as Quintus had been leading us down multiple corridors, turning corners every little bit. It made me wonder just where we were exactly and how big this palace was since I had never seen the outside of it. Though that was hardly my fault, what with me being more of a victim of circumstance. At least I gained my freedom in the end instead of finding my death at the claws of some cat-bird nature remix.
Unfortunately I had to tail right behind Shining the entire time due the invisibility thing still being active, as Quintus put it, ‘for my own protection.’ I silently scoffed at that remark, if anything this was for their protection. Sure I didn’t have my weapons on hand at the time, but all I needed was a knife, and they would not stand a chance. The Reich and the Red Line found out how deadly I was with a knife.
It seemed that we had finally entered the last hallway since Quintus was slowing down as he approached a door that looked just like every other door in this palace. By that I meant they were all made of wood and carved with certain emblems that probably had some sort of cultural significance that was lost on me.
“Right, you can take off that necklace now, human,” Quintus said as he turned to Shining and presumably me.
I reached up to feel the necklace around my neck, and yes I couldn’t see it. Despite what a lot of fiction writers liked to think, I found out that invisibility made you completely invisible to everyone; that included myself. I didn’t pay it much thought after the initial shock, mainly due to there being more pressing issues, but it was a very … out of body experience to see right through my own hand among other things.
I was getting off track though, so I pulled the necklace over my head and eventually letting it hang in my hand. The moment it had slipped over my head, the ‘magic’ dissipated and I was now looking at the necklace being held in my once again visible hand. It was a nice feeling to be able to actually see myself, though at the same time I missed the feeling of being able to sneak anywhere and not have to worry about being spotted. In retrospect, though, it was amazing that not a single being that we encountered had noticed my footsteps.
I looked at Quintus who had his claw outstretched, as if expecting something. It took me a second before I realized he was silently asking for the amulet. I was almost tempted not to hand it over to him, since it would such an invaluable tool to use in the field. Of course that would have been a stupid move on my part, and most likely end with me being killed or something close to that.
“Good, now I would like you both to remember that Emperor Galba is likely in no mood for funny business,” Quintus said, glancing at me first before proceeding to Shining.
“Yeah, and that is most likely because he killed a gryphon in cold blood, but we’ll try to behave,” Shining stated bitterly, drawing my gaze at him. For a fleeting moment I was actually proud of his sarcasm.
“It is a rare occurrence I must admit, but not something that hasn’t happened before, Prince Armor. I’m not sure how well you know gryphon law, but lying to the Emperor is a crime that is punished at his discretion, and sometimes it goes as far as the death penalty. I’m sure that Galba could tell you more, but that is at your own risk,” Quintus said before moving right up to the door. With a smooth pull, the right side of the dual door opened up, letting us gaze upon what was inside.
Simply put, Galba was standing over top of table that seemed to have what looked like a map on it, though I wasn’t completely sure because the room wasn’t exactly well lit. Aside from the possibility of a map, there also seemed to be a few small stacks of papers along with a necklace of some sort. Something was going on, and it was becoming slowly obvious that not only were we going to play a part in it, but it probably had something to do with the Red Line.
“Guards, out of the room. Quintus you may stay,” Galba quick said, without looking up. The guards quickly complied with his order, pushing past us, while Quintus slowly walked into the room. Shining followed his lead and I followed Shining, before closing the door behind me because I reasoned that if he was asking his guards to leave him, then he wouldn’t want anyone to overhear what was going to be said and that with that conjecture he was going to say something if one of us didn’t.
Quintus and Shining had already gotten next to the table, gazing upon the contents, so I figured that I should do so as well. Of course when I got to the table, my suspicion of what was on it was confirmed. There was a map of what I assumed was the Gryphon Empire, though it was like I could read the weird chicken scratch that they had for writing. Alongside the map was indeed a stack of papers that held the same type of writing, and finally the necklace that I had seen.
“Now, let us begin,” Galba said first, finally looking up at us. “You don’t have to say a word to let me know that what happened in the Senate was more than a little shocking for you. You ponies have hardly had to deal with death outside of natural causes, so I’m actually surprised you didn’t up-chuck, Prince Armor.”
“I might not have seen as much ‘death’ as you, Galba, but that doesn’t make me soft,” Shining bitterly replied to Galba’s jab.
“Ha! And what about you, Artyom? You’re face is tough to read,” he said, turning all the attention on me.
“Caused more death than you seen,” I said emotionlessly. While that statement couldn’t be verified, I was indeed the reason behind a lot of lost lives. It at times plagued my consciousness more than anything else, but over time I had began to push it to the back of my mind.
“Oh? Well perhaps you can recount some of these tales of fighting when we don’t have more pressing matters,” Galba said, his voice going from a curious tone to one of dead seriousness. “Now first off, let us review what is currently known, Quintus.”
“Currently occupying the town of Usaaly, is a group of humans who are called the Red Line. They have unknown numbers and their weapons far exceed anything we can match. They have been holding the town for the past week yet have made no intentions to actually do anything with it. We have a containing regiment in place but no hostile contact has been initiated since the original take over.” Quintus said, standing at attention and speaking as though he was reading from a sheet. “There are also numerous civilians being held hostage in an unknown location, roughly half of the town is the recent estimate. That includes casualties, and missing.”
“Casualties?” I asked, my brow arching as I asked the question.
“Bodies of murdered, mutilated, and scorched civilians have been reported by the local containing army,” Galba answered for me, not a single emotion coming to his face.
I didn’t respond and neither did Shining to that statement, but I knew that there was something he was not telling us. It hardly made sense that the regiment was able to report civilian casualties in the town yet have not made contact with the Red Line since the initial invasion. Of course there was also the chance that I was just overlooking the given facts, or that Quintus had simply neglected to give us all the information regarding contact.
“Why are you telling us this, Galba? In fact, why are you informing Artyom and I specifically? Do you think we are going to participate in the removal of this ‘Red Line’?” Shining said, voice cold and bitter. It was actually amazing that he had such a tone of voice for this long.
At this response, Galba and Quintus shared a knowing look that also had a small glance towards me. I’m pretty sure that Galba had figured out that I knew what was going on and he most likely shared the little bit of information with Quintus. Honestly I was surprised that Shining hadn’t picked up on it yet, which means he was either as stupid as I was starting to think, or he was in denial.
“I’m truly shocked, Prince Armor,” Galba started, “that you haven-”
“Do you really think I am that dense to not figure out your plan, Galba? I’m simply amazed that you think I will willingly risk my life and Artyom’s, who I might add is under my protection, for something that the Gryphon Empire should be able to handle by themselves!” Shining roared while slamming his hooves on the table.
“Simply put, outside of using your friend as a bargaining tool, we can also give access to wherever you desire to go and supply you with whatever you require with regards to the reason you are here. Don’t believe us to be naive in knowing you didn’t come here for a vacation. We might not know the specific reason, however, nevertheless we are aware that there is a purpose,” Galba said calmly, yet with a sharp snap at the end.
“Deal,” I said quickly, cutting off whatever Shining was going to say as well as bringing a shocked looked to his face.
“Come again?” Galba said, a smirk splaying across his beak.
“Short of frontal attack, we will help to get help,” I said simply.
“Artyom! What are you doing?!” Shining barked.
“Shut it. My life and fate hangs here, so is my choice to make,” I replied back to him.
At first he looked to make a rebuttal to my statement but whatever he was going to say died in his throat and he seemed to stifle any further objection. Instead he backed down from his position on the table to a more restrained and demure looking seat on the floor. To this, Galba actually looked to have gained a victory or something over the Prince.
“Ahem,” Quintus said, attempting to get the meeting back on track.
“Heh, right,” Galba muttered before coughing into his claw. “The task I require of you, Artyom is to infiltrate the city through whatever means necessary. Once you have successfully infiltrated the city, there are two main objectives. The most important is to sabotage their means to fight back, whether that be via weapon destruction or assassination, we do not care. The second objective is more optional than anything but still of importance. We need you to locate where the Red Line are keeping the people of Usaaly hostage.”
“Sounds simple,” I said.
“Quite,” Quintus said. “From there you are requested to exit the city in preparation for the assault.”
“What assault?“ Shining said, his entire body perking up at that single word.
“That is not something you are privy to, Prince Armor,” Galba said. “Now that we have come to an understanding, and so quickly I might add, Quintus and I have more pressing issues. Your mission will begin tomorrow, with departure time being at four in the afternoon. From there you will meet up at the fiftieth regiment’s camp and proceed into Usaaly with a select couple of soldiers. Quintus will retrieve you tomorrow and bring you to your stuff.”
With that said Galba walked to the door, pulled one side open and walked out. Quintus was at least nice enough to give Shining and curt nod before exiting behind Galba, closing the door behind him. That left Shining and I alone in the room, total silence reigning as we just stared at the contents that were left in the room. Hell, Galba didn’t even explain the importance of the necklace.
“Are you really willing to do this, Artyom?” Shining asked, not even looking at me.
“Да,” I replied.
“There is the distinct possibility that your little journey could end tomorrow and yet you are still sure that you want to do this?”
“Да.”
“Buuuuuck,” Shining said, dragging a hoof down his face. “Right, if we are going to do this, we need a plan. We can’t just wing this and expect to come out alive, especially if they have weapons like yours.”
I simply nodded my head, knowing full well that he was looking at me. I think he was expecting me to break out some unbelievably strategic plan but in reality, I had been winging things for nearly my entire life. It wasn’t like I couldn’t form a plan, I just knew that all plans followed a certain quote.
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy,” I said to no one specific, but with Shining being the only one in the room with me, it came off as being directed at him.
“What?” he asked, his ears perking up at something that actually sounded like a well spoken English sentence.
“Shortened quote by Moltke The Elder,” I answered simply. Prior to my last adventure in the Metro, I had taken up reading with regards to war philosophies. With my life revolving around fighting, I tried to keep my personal time separate from my on-duty hours, but I guess in the end they started to bleed together.
“So does this mean we aren’t coming up with a plan?” he asked, eyebrow raising in suspicion.
“No. We are,” I said, leaning over the map on the table, “just don’t rely on plan.”
“Right.”
I studied the map carefully, noting that there was not much in terms of a terrain advantage, so the best bet we would have would be to hit an open spot in the patrols, or create one ourselves. From there, we had a couple of options, though each one posed a serious threat.
The first option would be to move straight to the factory, thus putting us in, most likely, the heart of the Red Line’s forces. The positive would be that we could easily disrupt and distract their forces with a nice explosion in that factory. Of course that was based on the assumption we could find something to blow up. The downsides, aside from a possible mass of Red Line soldiers, would be that the explosions would make it tougher to escape and we would have to coordinate with the gryphons which wasn’t likely going to happen.
Now the second option was to do a specific house selection and clear process, that aimed to search certain buildings that were suspicious. Whether that was from extra guards, or something else. This method would be tedious and more focused on finding those civilians but would also probably be the easiest to perform with regards to less risks. The only obvious risk was being spotted by patrols.
Finally the last option was a house by house search, which was already crossed off the list. Despite my oxygen supply being limited in ways, yet at the same time I could get it refilled from my companion, the biggest issue was time. Most likely the gryphons would have an agenda already in motion and we would be forced to operate within those specific regulations.
Damn, this whole task required way too much luck to make it reasonable. Of course Shining wouldn’t buy into any plan that was along the lines of ‘wing it’ so I had to make myself rather convincing in order for him to agree to anything.
“We circle around side of town, here,” I said pointing to the eastern side of the town. “Looks like hilly section so can use for cover. Must find gap in any patrol, if no patrol is there than we move quick to houses.”
Shining simply nodded his head.
“We need tall house for scout,” I said, as I stroked my chin.
“This building here, on the same side of the city Galba’s intel says that loud bangs were coming from there when they tried probing the town earlier. It is a vantage point and can see nearly the entire city, save for the few buildings on the other side of the factory,” Shining said as he leafed through a few pages of intel.
“Good, we get there and work from there,” I said.
“That’s it?”
“For now,” I replied as I rubbed my eyes. It was probably nearing nine at night, but I couldn’t exactly tell what with the lack of windows. It wasn’t particularly late but I had been feeling tired ever since I got here. Nothing that a little adrenaline couldn’t stop but it was odd that this feeling of tiredness was more apparent here than back home.
I threw the thought of my tiredness to the back of my head, I would be able to go to sleep soon enough, just as soon as we left the room. Though, that was also dependant on if Shining was satisfied enough to not question what I was doing. I would hate for him to think that I just winged most of my plans back home … nah, I wouldn’t care if he knew about that. I’ll just wait till after the raid to tell him.
“Fine, that is a good enough start ... I guess,” he mumbled, rolling up the intel in his magic. I decided not to question him on whether or not we could actually take any of the intel, just because it was easier to believe the answer was yes.
We proceeded to walk over to the doors and since I was first, I had the honour of holding the door open for the Prince. I almost snickered at that thought, instead stifling it just for good measure. Shining walked out the door after adding a small nod in thanks to me. I followed suit, shutting the doors behind me all the while noticing that Shining was waiting in the hallway, as were two guards.
“Follow us to your room,” one of the gryphons said, not exactly indicating whose room we were going to but I had a faint idea of what was in store for us.
So we walked in silence.
Followed by more silence.
Topped off with just a hint of silence.
I think at some point I was trying to make a little marching song out of the sounds of our boots hitting; I never said I didn’t like the silence. Luckily the best part about the silent walk was that not once did we have to come across a flight of stairs. Perhaps my views of the gryphons and stairs were more unfounded then I originally thought. I mean, they all had wings so why would they even need stairs? Couldn’t they just fly from ledge to ledge? Though in retrospect that would hamper non-gryphon relations and visits so I guess stairs were just a necessary thing among all cultures.
Yep, it was to a point that I was beginning to think that stairs were a cultural aspect of ponies. It was funnier to think of it that way.
“Here is your room, Prince and guest. We will be outside until shift change. If you need to go somewhere you need one of us to come along with you,” said the one gryphon guard who had more black styled feathers. The other one was more of a light brown mixed with flecks of gold.
“Thank you,” Shining said simply before pushing open the doors. I simply followed suit, not giving a single piece of eye contact to the guards.
As I stepped through the door, I noticed something about this room that I should have noticed about the other rooms. They were all made of stone. Yes, they were all made of stone and I had no clue why for you see, I had not seen anything of the Gryphon Empire aside from some hallways, a massive court like area, and a few cells.
Though it wasn’t like the room wasn’t made to look all stylized for a royal visit. There were paintings hung on the walls of random places or random gryphons and ponies. A few pieces of well made furniture compliment the paintings by being meticulously cared for and polished so that the little pieces of decorations could shine alongside in a way that it would catch someone’s eye. The stone was furnished to look as though it had just been waxed and cared for by a whole crew that had done it their entire lives. Yes, the room was something to behold.
And yet there was only one bed.
I didn’t see Shining’s face but I could tell the direction he was looking in, and that was towards the bed. No doubt he was thinking the same thing as I was, there was no way in hell we would be sharing a bed. I wouldn’t care if the world was at stake or if our lives hung in the balance and the only way to save us was to sleep together.
“I will take couch,” I said before moving to my new sleeping arrangements.
“Really?” Shining said, finally turning to look at me. I think he was in disbelief that I would actually sacrifice myself to the single, rather small looking couch that was sitting across from the foot of the bed. It was rather stylish in that the structure looked like a golden-esque wood that only complimented a red cushion that look extremely soft. No doubt I would have a nice and stiff back in the morning from sleeping on that.
“Да,” I said as I flopped down on the couch, revelling in the softness of it initially. It was truly the softest thing I had ever felt and I was a little tempted to cut a swath out of the couch just so I could keep it on hand for future reference. Of course if I did that it would be right before we left.
“I’m a little surprised …” Shining said, trailing off as though to imply that I wasn’t generous. Well, honestly I wouldn’t have minded taking the bed but I figured that I couldn’t let myself get too soft with all the luxuries I was getting thrown at me. Of course this couch wasn’t exactly the best way to re-toughen myself, damn was it ever comfortable.
I just lazily waved my hand before rolling onto my side, facing away from the bed. I closed my eyes but for the briefest of moments before opening them again, trying to force myself to stay awake a little longer. That wave of sleepiness that had crept through me earlier was finally starting to take hold as I laid on the remarkably soft couch.
My eyes fluttered slowly closed, the embrace of sleep slowly creeping over me.
In what felt like an instant, my eyes shot open, my body still facing the back of the couch so my initial sight was just a red couch. For a brief moment a foreign concept came to mind. Perhaps I had just had a beautiful sleep and I was waking up from it? I instantly denied such a thing, putting it off as perhaps the most insane thing I had ever thought of. When I awoke from a sleep it would always be a bit groggy at first, I never snapped awake. So that left only one thing, I was dreaming.
I confirmed this when I felt something nudge my shoulder, undoubtedly it was a certain person’s hand that was trying to get me up so that we could talk. Well you know what? I just didn’t feel in the mood to talk to Khan, what with the events of the previous day. SO I figured if I tried to sleep longer he would just go away.
I was wrong. No, he kept on nudging me without a word, probably to irritate me.
“Отвали, Хан,” I said wearily, “дай мне поспать.”
“Wake up,” came a hazy voice in English followed by another nudge.
“Soak your head, Khan,” I said once more, replying in English this time.
“See, I would let you sleep but we have to get up and get going, or we are going to miss out on breakfast,” the ‘person’ nudging me said.
Wait .. what?
I slowly turned myself over until I could finally see who was nudging me, and lo and behold it was a white pony that had a smug grin on his muzzle. For a brief moment I wanted to hurt him for waking me from my sleep, but at the same time I could now see all the lights were on and he was most likely speaking the truth.
I should have known I wasn’t dreaming when I heard English and instantly switched languages. In both visions, Khan and I had spoken Russian and not a single line went by where I would accidentally start in English. It was my head after all and in my head we spoke Russian. Yet, I digress, for there were more important things to focus on.
“Where’s breakfast?” I mumbled, still debating on whether or not I should go right back to sleep.
“Well since the sight of a human freely wandering the palace halls would most likely cause mass panic among those that know what a human looks like … we are having breakfast delivered here,” Shining said as he rolled his hoof.
“Right, wake me when here,” I mumbled before turning to face the couch once more.
“No can do, Artyom,” Shining said, and I could almost hear the smug grin on his face, “for you see … .”
Knock Knock
Oh, that was smooth.
“Fuck you,” I grumbled as I rolled back over. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, that was a pretty smooth thing that he had just pulled. Also I wasn’t exactly mad that he brought me breakfast, for there was a good chance that the meat eating gryphons would have some sort of meat to compliment such a meal.
He didn’t reply to my statement, instead going over to the gryphon guards who were carrying two steaming plates that were covered by a metal top. Whatever was under there was fresh, and hopefully Shining wouldn’t screw me over and get me something that was absolutely fucking hilarious.
So using his magic, Shining took the plates from the guards who simply bowed before exiting the door and closing it behind them. He proceeded to move back towards the couch, while pulling a table over as well as the sole chair from the desk that also resided in the room. One thing I had to admit, after seeing that display, was that magic made a pers … a pony, one hell of a multitasker. I couldn’t even imagine all the time they probably saved by utilizing magic in their everyday life. Imagine what the Metro could benefit from such things?
Now, despite my pondering of such things, and a plate of food in front of me, I still hadn’t forgotten what the Princesses did, or at least what I thought they did. I couldn’t exactly prove that they were affecting me mentally but at the same time I knew that some of those answers were not the first thing that would have come to mind. So, even with my temporary fascination with the possibilities of magic, I made sure to remember that it could also do things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Such a double edged sword, it would be beyond tempting to find a way for anyone to use it.
But that wasn’t important now, what was important was the fact that the breakfast plate in front of me was holding two very delicious items.
Bacon.
Bacon and sausage.
Well, those were two of the items, what with toast and pancakes being the other two. It didn’t surprise me that eggs were not there, since that would be rather disturbing to see from a culture that was half bird.
Long story short, I devoured my meal with gusto while Shining stared and picked at his food. Now, I don’t think he was staring at the meat, but more at the fact I acted like I hadn’t had a meal in days, despite having been fed rather well on the ship.
Either way, when it was all over, I was lying back on the couch feeling quite pleased with myself, while Shining chuckled and put everything back.
“So, who is Khan?”
The moment he said that, I realized that I had told Khan to fuck off despite it actually being Shining. That left me in a dilemma of whether or not to take the time to explain the enigma that was that man. Of course that would hardly be of issue, except for the fact that it just might tie into my dreams if he pursued the right course.
So I was torn. On one hand, I needed to strengthen whatever bond Shining and I had so that our future endeavours wouldn’t run into issues of fraying our partnership. On the other hand, he had more often than not, fucked me over in some way shape or form. Though … so had Pavel.
So had Pavel.
“A friend from the Metro,” I said, sighing slowly as I tried to recall a way to describe Khan. “Taught me many things … saved my life. Look back, he was my best friend in Metro, even if I did not believe him.”
“He seemed like a good friend then,” Shining said, having taken up a seat on the edge of the bed across from me.
“Да,” I mumbled briefly, not wanting to say much more.
“What happened to him?”
“Don’t know, since I died at D6. I think he lived, though not sure.”
“Right ... sorry,” Shining said, rubbing the back of his neck after apparently remembering that I died and came here. I didn’t blame him, really. A couple of times I had woken up and instantly thought that everything had been a bad dream. We all forgot stuff time to time.
“Do not worry,” I said dismissively. I had more or less reconciled with the fact I was most likely dead back home.
It went silent after that, neither of us talking though my reason was probably not the same as his. I just didn’t like talking all the much, be it in Russian or broken English, I instead prefered the silence. Shining was most likely trying to find a way to bypass his little mistake, and move onto a different topic. At least, that was what his face looked like it was portraying.
Umm … we should probably get ready to leave,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck before standing and moving about the room. I watched him for a few minutes, seeing what he was gathering, and honestly it didn’t look like much. In fact it looked like it was more focused on him organizing what was already here instead of gathering up his stuff.
“I assume gear is not here?” I asked, just loud enough to gain his attention.
“No, the gryphons are … a cautious race, and tend to keep that stuff separate from the bedrooms,” he replied, still organizing the various items that were strewn around the room. He was the only one with actual luggage but it seemed to be rather minimal; at least I assumed it was.
“Can we go to gear then?”
“Yeah,” he said, stepping back from the sorting he had done before letting loose a small burst of magic. I reacted instinctively, reaching at the spot on the side of my leg that would normally hold my holster. Of course I grabbed nothing but air, but instantly realized that I didn't need to worry in the first place, as the magic was not aimed at me.
“That should do it,” he said with a small smirk before turning to look at me. “Security spells.”
“Ahh,” I said simply. “Warn me when I have weapon.”
He nodded before proceeding to walk to the doors, to which I followed close behind, lest I be forgotten by him. Immediately after opening the doors with his magic, and stepping outside, he looked to his right. A simple head nod to the guard he was looking at was all it took for them to understand each other, apparently. The guard made a motion with his claw for them to follow before walking down the halls.
At first I was a little worried since I had no necklace to keep others from seeing me, but Shining apparently picked up on that.
“The halls were ordered clear this morning, as Galba has been a little cautious after yesterday. Don’t worry about anyone spotting you other than us,” he said, which surprisingly calmed me a little. Maybe I just didn’t like to be feared for something that I couldn’t control.
His statement did rouse a thought, and something I had more or less been neglecting. In the Metro it was tough to keep track of time without a watch, which was no problem for me. Though, since I had arrived on this planet, I had neglected my watch more than I normally would. So I gave it a quick glance to find out that it was later than I thought it would be, in fact breakfast seemed to be more like lunch now. Twelve thirty; I must have had one really good sleep.
It was a surprisingly short walk, to which I was thankful, that brought us to what I was going to guess was the room where all my gear was currently being held. Luckily I was correct in my assumption, as I was also leaning towards this being a trap for us.
The guards merely opened the door for us, before taking up positions on the outside of the door like they always seemed to do. I took a moment to look around the room, which honestly was much closer to a storeroom that had enough room for both of us and a few tables. My gear was laid out on the right side of the room while I assumed that the table on the left side held what Shining would need. I didn’t care much what he wore as long as he could survive.
My gear on the other hand, that was very important to me. It had been out of my reach twice now, and at least the Princesses had the decency to ensure none of it was harmed. I didn’t know if the gryphons would hold the same regard for my stuff.
Thus, I began the meticulous inspection of everything before I even thought of putting it in it’s place.
Each section of my body armour and suit went under scrutiny before I decide to finally don it. This was the same for each of my weapons, magazines, silencers, and so on. Honestly, by the time I had finally assembled all of my gear, Shining had been sitting on the floor while looking of the map that he had been given. I was going to ask where he stowed the but decided it was better not to worry myself about the little things.
More importantly, I was a little ticked that the trigger on my Kalash seemed a little looser than when I had last inspected it on the ship. Now this could be due to any number of reasons but one explanation kept moving it’s way to the forefront of my mind. The gryphons had been examining my weapons. Now, while it was the most likely explanation, since it took longer than a day or two to loosen the trigger, I didn’t start fretting over the possibilities of them reverse engineering it. They would have needed a lot more time to make it work right.
Besides, they didn’t dismantle a single round. Each slug, fmj, and cartridge was intact, and the only way they could have reloaded one was to use crimpers on the metal housing to keep the round snug in the cartridge. That was another reason I took so long, I inspected each round to make sure that this didn’t happen, especially once I found out my Kalash had a loose trigger.
I had quickly looked to Shining, who wasn’t paying attention to me, after entertaining the thought that the gryphons were trying to copy my weapon. It would have been interesting to bring such an idea forward but I also realized that there was a chance I was wrong. A false accusation could go a long way … in the wrong direction mind you. Instead I just kept quiet.
So when I did finally finish, much to Shining’s delight, we simply walked to the door and got the guard to lead us onward. I think the guard might have been more than a little scared, since his legs seemed to be shaking; perhaps it was something Shining said and not the six foot one human armed to the teeth.
During the walk I actually looked Shining over to see what he had gotten, and honestly I was a little surprised. When we assaulted the tunnels he had worn this purple armour that seemed to be used more for formality than function. Now though … now he was wearing a nearly black armour that definitely was designed to be in combat. He didn’t have his helm on his head yet, as it was attached to some little hook or something beside him, but he could possibly look fierce for being a talking pony.
One thing I had to stifle a laugh at was the sword he had sheathed on his right side. It probably wasn’t a bad sword, in fact he probably had some sort of enchanted sword. No, what made me laugh was that he actually thought he might be able to use that against someone. That thing would be useless shortly but I didn’t want to spoil his fun in thinking it was going to kill someone.
Perhaps I could find him a nice Kalash to use.
“Where next?” was all I said.
“Well, it seems the only place to go now is to Usaaly,” he said with a bit of apprehension in his voice. Nervousness was something I would expect out of anyone going someone they didn’t want to.
Hell, I didn’t want to.
“Ладно, let us go.”
He nodded his head before looking over to the gryphon guard that had been with us as we moved through the halls. The guard gave a quick nod in response before making us take an abrupt left turn in order to follow him. I could only assume that we weren’t going to be heading out into the city in order to catch a ride. No doubt they would have some sort of secret escape route planned, or even just a way out in case of a threat in the castle.
Perhaps something on the other side of the mountain unless the mountain was in the middle of the city… then the only ways would be down or up. Perhaps underground tunnels that lead out of the city? They could fly but that would be easy to counter if the attacker actually had any sense. So that truly left going underground as the only option.
Not that I minded; in fact I was somewhat looking forward to it. There was a sense of peace when I was in the crystal caverns, a nice reminder of where I grew up. Of course I hadn’t actually been able to look out a window since arriving in the Gryphon Empire so for all I knew we were already under the city’s level.
After a couple of more sharp and quick turns, we arrived at another set of large doors, though these were far from the normal large doors that I had seen so far. The others had been ornate in ways, decorated in ways to make them stand out but these doors … they served a militaristic purpose.
It wasn’t tough to tell the doors apart, no gold or jewels adorning them, instead there was a metal that looked closer to iron, or perhaps titanium. I really couldn’t tell but it was obvious that whatever was behind those doors, they needed to protect or perhaps keep out of the palace.
A pair of guards were stationed on either side, each looking much more armoured than any guard that I had seen patrolling the hall. Beside the guard on the left hand side of the door was a smaller and singular version of the massive dual doors. Our escort simply nodded at the large dual doors, to which a curt salute was given in return by the gryphon closest to the smaller door.
A guard post embedded in the linings of the walls, smart and easy to seal off. These gryphons were much smarter when it came to tactics in designing places that needed to be protected.
A few seconds after the guard disappeared, the massive doors let loose a loud creaking sound before singing inwards at an incredibly slower rate. Well it made sense since the doors were probably three times my height at least, and more than seven meters apart. At least that was what I was estimating it to be.
When the doors had opened enough for me to see through, I was able to finally figure out how we were going to get to the town … and I wanted no part of it.
“No.”
“No?” Shining asked, the guard also turning to look at me.
“No flying,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Wait, how did you-”
“When being hauled away. I have good sense of surrounding,” I said, not moving my eyes from one of the many carriages that were placed in the room. The moment I saw an enclosed carriage being suited up with flyers as well as being inspected, I knew what the plan was. No matter how much Shining underestimated my reasoning capabilities, I could easily piece two and two together.
“Now, now, Artyom, I can assure you that those flyers are the best we have. Besides, it is the quickest way to reach Usaaly,” Quintus spoke from behind us. Of course he would sneak up on us at just the right time. A small tingle went down my spine, the only reaction I gave nowadays to being surprised in non-hostile areas. A lot of training went into that, and I was proud of it.
“Listen, Artyom, I know your hang-ups but if we are going to get on our mission we need to do this,” Shining said in a slightly dismissive voice. Of course he had no qualms about travelling that way, he probably had years of experience in being flown around.
I merely grumbled as I moved to the carriage, and not so subtly named Qunitus and Scowly as many things as I could think of in my native language. Nothing pleasant either, with most of them revolving around swears as the base name.
If I was going to fly in this physics breaking vehicle, I was going to get it over with a quickly as possible. So instead of waiting for instructions to be given I just marched my way inside of the, smaller than needed, carriage. Yeah, much smaller than what required me to be comfortable. There were seats on either side of the widened aisle but those were more fitted for those under five foot. So instead of trying to squeeze myself, with a hunched back, onto the seats I just decided to plop myself down at the end of the aisle. It took our ancestors years to figure out how to make heavier than air flight possible, and these beings just attached a veritable cart to themselves and would fly. No doubt there was more to it than that but I honestly did not care enough to inquire. I just wanted this to be over with so I could feel the ground beneath my feet again.
Shining hoped on board slightly after, followed by Quintus which surprised me since I assumed he would be staying in the castle. He was the right hand of the Emperor I assumed, so to see him come with us meant that there was more going on than expected. No one else followed him on as a gate was shut over the opening immediately afterwards, covering most of the only exit.
“Quintus, I didn’t realize you were coming along,” Shining said with a bit of surprise.
“The Emperor has deemed me your … handler, let’s say. I won’t be coming with you on your mission but it will make it a lot easier at the Legion camp to see you being led by a face of authority. Not all gryphons are as accepting as I am,” the bird said with a sly smirk. Honestly, this gryphon was probably holding more up his proverbial sleeve than he let on to. This whole government was probably built on lies and secrets for all I knew.
I merely pulled my gas mask from the hook on my side before slipping it over my face. We were going to be flying outside, and that meant plants and the like. So of course I wanted to breathe but apparently not everyone on board the carriage knew that.
“What is he doing? Is that a gas mask?” Quintus asked, though there was no way I would indulge him. I wasn’t here to buddy up to any gryphon, so I let Shining explain while I just closed my eyes.
“Yeah. He wears it because the air is … toxic per say. Plants apparently do something to the air that they can’t breath,” Shining explained, and by the curious humming that Quintus gave off, I knew he was thinking of something devious.
“Can’t breath the air … .”
“Don’t even think about it, Quintus. We might not like each other much but I’m here to keep him alive no matter who tries to take his life,” came the quick reply. How noble of the white pony.
“Don’t worry, Prince Armor, no harm will come of Artyom but that does make me wonder how the soldiers wander about the streets constantly. Surely they must run out of air,” Quintus pondered.
“They probably refill the cartridges using the same spells all factories do. I feel sorry for the poor chum that is forced to do that,” Shining said with a sad sigh.
“Indeed, but if that is true, then these soldiers are not as simple minded as we have previously thought.”
Now, I had a pretty decent idea why that was the case. No offence to the average Red Line soldier but there was most likely some sort of mastermind behind their operation and only one fit the bill of being psychotic enough to harm civilians. If he was there, I would make sure he was finally dead.
A loud whistle came shortly after my thought, snapping my eyes open briefly before the sudden momentum of the carriage moving pulled me back. Apparently these flier could pull some weight, since it felt akin to the starting up of the tram. After the initial jerk though, things became surprisingly smooth and I was able to lay my head back in peace.
As I closed my eyes, I realised three things. One; I wouldn’t be able to sleep since I needed to change my gas mask's filter every fifteen minutes. Two; they never told me how long the flight would be. Finally, three; I would actually have to rely on Shining more than I wanted to. He would literally be my life-line in this mission until we found ourselves in some sort of sealed shelter.
What a perfect, fucking, night this would be.
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Не проблема. Просто кричать ли вы нуждаетесь меня снова.
Why?! Why do I check Fimficiton just before going to bed?!!!!
Oh well, good by sleep. Hello update.
So it is the Red line. Wonder who the mastermind is?
Artyom is back! BLOOD SHALL BE SPILLED!
"Swap gas masks?" Don't you mean filters?
interested to see Shinings reaction to Arytoms inevitable rampage.
Good chapter. Hope to see another one soon.
5773423
Why thank you! And to think, you wanted to get spoilers ahead of time by pre-reading it
5878156
The old, Luna uses an alternate form of fear magic to force Artyom into minor submission... :P
“Caused more death than you seen,”
I know, you´ve based this on the games and not on the book, but I still find it really ironic, as Arytom, in the book, killed only one human (a nazi) and barely any mutants, compared to the games, where he goes on a freaking rampage
6603858 I actually like the books more than the games.
GUYS A METRO GAME IS COMING OUT
METRO EXODUS!
8227704
Sooo excited!! It looks so good!
Though it won't be canon to this story, nor will the events of Metro 2035