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[AlanL]

Thanks, and good  

I was worried that it was becoming less interesting because there wasn't as much conflict.
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The train accelerated away, chugging along at an increasing rate away from Steelflame. Kazo noticed a doorway back. He was starting to feel curious about the passengers and their safeguarding of their own luggage, as well as how the passengers treat one another regarding it. Kazo passed through the doorway, and noticed near the rear of this car, two humans sleeping on opposite sides. One human was a rather muscular looking male, a bag full of various belongings at his side. The other was a much smaller male, wearing glasses, carrying a backpack that was mostly empty.

This presented an interesting opportunity to test how tolerant and how territorial passengers can be in transit! Kazo walked to the larger human, carefully removed the bag of items from his grasp, then placed it in the possession of the smaller human. Kazo then hid behind the seat, and clapped above the larger human, watching from the small space behind the seat.

The large human awoke, noticed his bag missing, then looked around, "Hmm? Hey! WHAT THE..?!" The human stood, then walked over to the smaller human, his shoulders raised and his fists clenched, a snarl and scowl on his face. The smaller human awoke to see the larger humans fist drawn back. The smaller human cought the swing of the larger human, using the momentum of the swing to pull himself up and throw the larger human down. The smaller human pressed his knee down on a sensitive spot of the back of the larger humans knee, wrenching the larger humans arm back in a manner it was not supposed to go.

The larger human yelled in pain and struggled helplessly as the smaller human pinned the other arm down with his knee, wrapping his arm around the larger humans neck. The larger human struggled and pounded his fist on the floor as several joints were forced back, weak points being forced down. The smaller human throttled the larger one until the larger one went unconscious. The smaller human then got up, and brushed himself off, standing hands behind his back, "Hmmh..."

The smaller human then adjusted his glasses, and picked the bag of the larger human's items up, walking away with it, "Splendid!" Kazo snickered. It seemed that passengers in transit were as territorial and tolerant, if not more territorial and less tolerant, than those at a destination. Likely it was the stress that such gradual travel in confining machines produced. Though it also seemed that each individual likely had a means of coping with a potentially hostile environment.

Kazo then noticed that immediately after the smaller human walked away, several other passengers applauded. Either they were applauding a good fight or simply cheering for the underdog. Likely the latter, indicating that, in a way, there was an odd sense of morality among the travelers. Kazo continued on exploring the various cars. He found that most of the passenger cars were identical, although what might've once been a heating system was removed. A heater was seldom needed in the badlands anyway. There were also cargo cars, although most of the cargo was foodstuff and simple metals or metal components.

Eventually, Kazo noticed the human passengers falling asleep while the kobolds entertained one another in various ways. Kazo sat in the seat in front of Tok, looking out toward the dark horizon, slowly rolling by. Where was Yeln? Kazo looked around, then stood, walking toward the front of the car. Yeln walked in through the front door, a bit of dust visible on his fur. Kazo smiled, and picked Yeln up, walking back to his seat, and sitting down, Yeln sitting on his lap.

Yeln began pawing at Kazo. Kazo snickered, and did the same to Yeln. Yeln caught hold of Kazos hand, and nibbled on one of his fingers. They kept entertaining one another for quite a while. Eventually Yeln decided to take a nap in Kazos lap. Kazo looked outwards as the train continued on through the night. Tok also did so, but eventually got into a conversation with a few other kobolds over, of all things, dwarven ale.

Eventually, the sun began to rise. As the sun slowly edged its way over the horizon, Endlesslabors visibly drawing nearer and nearer, the sound of a wagon approaching was heard. Kazo noticed that the occupants of the wagon wore thick clothing that blended in with the desert environment, one wielding a long crossbow, two manning a large, drum-fed automatic crossbow mounted in the bed of the wagon, one the driver, the remaining two remaining near the side. Kazo smiled. This was definitely a way to break the monotony, and it might have an interesting result as well.

The wagon approached the train. The two idlers in the wagon transfered onto the car of the train Kazo was in. The wagon then drew away. The crossbowman wielding the long crossbow took careful aim, and fired. The bolt flew at high speed, piercing through the window of the car. It continued, just barely grazing Tok's head, and continuing on, flying through a glass on a table between two kobolds, shattering it, and eventually lodging itself in the opposite wall of the car.

The passengers of the train hushed, then as the automatic crossbow began firing, everybody except Kazo crouched close to the ground, shouting at one another, several among them drawing weapons. The train began to speed up, though it had to slow down again as it neared a curve in the track.

The firing stopped. A kobold armed in military gear dropped opened the top hatch of the car, dropping down from it, "NOBODY MOVE!" This kobold then moved down the rows, crossbow held out, checking the identity of those he passed by. Tok lay prone on the ground, holding his crossbow, concealed by the seats above him. Tok snarled as he heard the footsteps approach. As the kobold passed by Toks position, Tok took aim, and fired at close range, the bolt piercing into the back of the kobolds chest, becoming firmly lodged. The kobold yelled, reached behind himself with one hand, collapsed to a seat, then despite the shock from the mortal wound, fired at the figure beneath the opposite seat. Tok yelled as the bolt sunk into his arm. Tok growled, climbed out, ripped the bolt out, then stood to a standard crouch.

The armed passengers also assumed a crouch, moving towards the wall of the car. They fired at the wagon as Tok made his way back to the hatch. The sharp-shooter on the wagon dropped her crossbow, and took up a tower shield, shielding the automatic crossbow and its crew from incoming bolts at the price of making it more difficult for them to fire.

Tok ratcheted back his crossbow as he moved, loading another bolt in, his modified mechanisms making the process quicker and more effective. Tok took advantage of the crossbowmen's difficulties, making his way up the ladder and poking his head out the hatch. With an immediate reflex he jerked down as a bolt flew across, striking the open hatch cover and ricocheting upwards. Yeln dropped down and hid under the seat. Kazo moved toward the hatch as well. Tok climbed up to the roof of the car, laying prone. Kazo leapt up through the hatch, and landed on the roof. Smoke from the engine was blowing across the roof. A human crossbowman peeked up from behind one side of the car, firing quickly at Tok, Tok returning fire at the same time.

Tok's bolt grazed the roof of the car, missing its target. The other bolt grazed Tok's back and pierced his leg, though it didn't stick in. Tok yelled, then grunted loudly. Kazo moved toward the crossbowman on the side of the car. A few moments later, the crossbowman took aim again, and fired at Kazo. The bolt struck, and glanced away producing virtually no damage, perhaps a barely noticeable scratch. Kazo noticed it was only some kinds of bolts that could do any damage, and even the glowing bolts from the future generally glanced away. Likely the ones that could dent him or even scratch him noticeably were the armor piercing variety.

Kazo smiled, and leapt up. The crossbowman below looked up in horror as Kazo came straight down on him. Kazo gashed the crossbowman with his claws, digging in and tearing the crossbowman away. The crossbowman and a bit of blood fell away, Kazo hanging on to the side. Kazo flipped himself back onto the roof of the car, and looked back. The crossbowman fell, hit the ground, bounced upwards, then smacked right into a cactus at high speed. Kazo winced in shared pain for a moment, then snickered about it.

The wagon seemed to have drawn nearer. Bolts flew up at Kazo as the automatic crossbow fired across the roof. Kazo crouched, and was readying to cast an explosive orb at the wagon, when he saw Tok preparing something of his own. Kazo stopped, and watched curiously as Tok took out three red sticks, much like the ones he had seen the miner use, bound them together, tied the fuses together, took out a matchbox, lit a match, then lit the fuses. He stood, as much as he could with the bolts whizzing by, looked down at the wagon, and chucked the bundle forward of the wagon, crouching down and covering his ears afterward. Kazo watched eagerly as the bundle hit the ground, bounced off toward the wagon, then finally reached the underside of the wagon.

With a thundering explosion, the bundle went off under the wagon, knocking all 3 inhabitants clean out of it, throwing the shield and the automatic crossbow, and blasting a decent portion of the wagon to bits, wood flying up into the air and a section of the axle, including a whole wheel, blown clean off. Some of the wood landed on the train. The remnants of the wagon smashed and rolled their way to a stop. The horses were freed from their restraints, and the former occupants of the wagon fell with their own blood, having been pierced by shrapnel. They landed, leaving a trail of dust.

Tok sighed and grunted, checking his wounds. Kazo made his way over to Tok, and spoke, "So would you like help?" Tok replied, "If you can sew this stuff up here, go for it!" Kazo then reached down, and focused his energies to heal both bolt wounds. Tok coughed, then spoke, "Dang! That's like magic! If we get a few of you around, docs would be outta business!" Kazo snickered, "I think you're probably right!"

They both climbed back down the hatch. The other passengers were still by the window, visibly shooken by what had taken place, the damage from bolts flying through visible around the car. Tok spoke, "Looks like I'll be keepin' an eye out in the future. Well thanks! It was fun... kinda." Kazo smiled, "It WAS fun!" This situation had brought another point to light though. It had been evident already that for those on the wrong side of a powerful military, their lifespan was short. It seemed this trend still continued. Luckily for Kazo, his lifespan wasn't a subject for concern.
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(insert random concern)

Actually, my main concern is that I'm being too monotone. I've become more so over time, and it might be getting to be too much.

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

First post:
"this is a cacti Beyond Quality award.
It menaces whit spikes like cacti do.
It is encrusted in kobold blood."

This is a bit Wild West style, but whit airships, an magical admantine dinosaur ninja robot, and kobolds.  

[AlanL]

Thank you.  

And yeah, it was meant to be a bit wild west style, but not overly so.
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Many of the passengers immediately began discussing among themselves what had happened. Tok sat down and rubbed where the bolt wound used to be. Kazo sat by him, and Yeln immediately climbed out from under the seat ahead, and leapt up into Kazos lap, seeming to hug him. Kazo returned the hug, smiling. Yeln spoke, "Mewwew!" Kazo replied, "I think they won't bother us anymore!" Tok spoke, "Why'd they send one after me though? What kinda base can't defend itself?" Kazo snickered, "Sounds like an unusual situation. I can't wait to know the details of it!" Tok hesitated a moment, then laughed, "I bet we'll get them with their pants down! I'm gonna remember this day!" Kazo smiled. Kazo was interested in seeing the outcome of Tok's quest as well as discovering the secrets present within that base.

The sun rose completely, and the lands around began to warm up. The train slowed, and eventually, with a screech pulled into a station adjacent a mountain, a few smokestacks rising up from the town within. The tracks continued into the mountain, but the entrance to the tunnel had a sign stuck right in the middle of the tracks, "Under Construction". The train let out a hiss, and the crewman, visibly still as shaken up as the passengers, opened the door. The passengers left the train, Tok, Yeln and Kazo exiting last.

Tok began walking toward a path that led into the desert, a pair of empty cargo-hauler automobiles driving toward the mountain. Kazo spoke, "So I guess we'll be riding in back?" Tok replied, "No, we walk. They always check those trucks, defenses or not, and it's broad daylight anyway! We get close, catch some shut-eye, then when night falls we go in."

Kazo picked up Yeln as they continued across the desert toward a small group of buildings in the distance. Yeln mewed quietly, licking his lips. Kazo spoke, "Do you have spare provisions? A small bit of food?" Tok replied, "Yeah, hold on." Tok then retrieved a piece of meat from a can and handed it over to Kazo. Kazo then proceeded to feed it to Yeln. Kazo spoke, "Thanks! You aren't very territorial over food, I see." Tok replied, "I found some extras back on the train. Plus, now that's one less thing I have to carry!" Kazo smiled, "That's always true!"

When Yeln finished, he climbed over Kazos shoulder, climbing into his backpack. Kazo snickered as he felt Yeln playing around in his backpack. Eventually, after quite a while of walking, between the base and Endlesslabors, they came across a double hill, what was once a small farm in the valley, the path going around one hill. They didn't want to put themselves in direct sight by going on to the road, so the best choice was through the valley.

They approached the valley, and noticed two humans sitting one at each side of the entrance. Tok remarked, "Maybe a couple o' hillbillies? Think they'll let us through?" Kazo smiled, "Let's find out!" Kazo approached. One of the two humans stood, "F*** OFF KOBOLD! We don' like your type here." The other spoke, "S*** eating f***! BEAT IT!" They both sat, and watched Tok and Kazo. Likely these two weren't very observant, having been out here for a while.

Kazo thought about this, and thought of a way to test how observant they actually were. Kazo walked up the opposite hill, climbing the slope, though not enough to pass them entirely. Tok followed. They crouched in a position behind one human that had sight of the other over the shoulder of the first. The human they were behind was talking to the other, adjusting his crossbow. Kazo picked up a rock, and aimed carefully at the nearby human. He threw it, striking the human in the arm, the impact causing the crossbow to fire.

The bolt fragmented at the end of the crossbow, some of it striking the stump the other human was sitting on, quite near the other humans crotch. He yelled, "WHAT THE...?!" The other human grunted, got up, and aimed his crossbow at the first, a scowl on his face. He fired, the first human diving out of the way of the fragmented bolt. The first human ran as the other gave chase. They ran out from the valley, trading shots at eachother. There was one instance where the first human dived under the second, running at him, the second loading his crossbow. The second human fired as the first skidded by. The shot missed, resulting in the first human getting up while the second had shot himself in the foot. The first human then attempted to fire, but his crossbow jammed due to being loaded improperly.

Tok snickered, and Kazo laughed. They made their way through the now unguarded passageway. Kazo looked back, and finally saw the first human win, knocking the second out with the butt of his crossbow, at the same time accidentally firing a shot with which he grazed himself. Tok commented, "I bet their parents were related..." Kazo remembered, people in such isolated areas weren't like this all the time, in fact it used to be quite a rarity for them to act in this manner... but judging by Tok's remarks, perhaps it had become more prevalent with time.

Kazo walked toward a small stream behind the house, Yeln looking over his shoulder. Tok followed, chuckling, "You're fun to have along! Won't say no to seein' idiots get rid of themselves." Kazo snickered, "I'm a benefit to society!" Tok laughed, replying half-jokingly, "You're a hazard." Kazo smiled, "That too, but I'm selective about that!" Tok spoke, "Hah, makes you more fun to be around!"
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Hmm. Something sticks out regarding the last paragraph, but I don't think I can spot it exactly.

[Armok]

Beyond Quality.

The odd thing was you didn't mention the house earlier, maybe?

First post:
"This is an microline Beyond Quality award.
It mences whit spikes of lead.
On the item is an image of a kobold in magnetite, the kobold is smiling."
(kinda generic award, but...)

[AlanL]

I'm late to start here... certain issues going on on the side, someone deciding to make a bogus account in my name (not here).

Anyway, thanks. And actually, I doubt that was it but now that you mention it, the house didn't come into view before these updates.
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Kazo reached the river. Yeln immediately hopped down, and began to drink from it. After he was done, he walked back to Kazo, rubbing against both of Kazos legs in a figure 8, "Mew?" Kazo snickered, and picked Yeln up, Yeln once again climbing into Kazos backpack. They continued on, out the other end of the valley, toward the base. As time went on, it was beginning to get rather hot. Yeln peeked his head out from Kazos backpack as they moved.

Tok spoke, "Why'd you bring the kitten?" Kazo smiled, "He wanted to!" They continued on still, eventually approaching the base. It was actually lightly guarded it seemed. There were a few concrete buildings enclosed in the base with tall, barbed wire fences, a building resembling a hangar serving as a gate. This much less resembled a base, and much more resembled a newly established outpost. There were no guard towers, and only two guards on patrol. Tok yawned, "Looks like a good spot over there." Tok walked to a nook between a rock and a tree hidden from sight of the guards, and sat, laying against the rock, under the shade of the tree.

Tok commented, "It'll be too hot today I bet." Kazo looked back down the path, and noticed the two trucks approaching rapidly, one quite ahead of the other. Kazo spoke, "I think we should see what they're going to do!" Tok replied, getting up, "That's not a half bad idea!" They waited for the guards to both round the corner away from the hangar-like gate, then snuck up by it. The vehicles approached very rapidly indeed, their engines spinning near their maximum...

Inside the vehicle ahead, the driver yelled back to the vehicle behind, "You lose, slowpoke!" The driver of the vehicle behind replied with a vulgar gesture. The driver of the vehicle ahead then laughed.

Both vehicles slowed. One of the vehicles approached the closed gates, and stopped. The gates began to open. Kazo and Tok snuck up to the vehicle, hiding between the gate and its cargo container. When the gate had opened enough, they quickly moved through and snuck aside as the vehicle entered. The inside of the hangar looked just like that, the inside of a hangar. There were a few crates on the sides, and a walkway placed above the second entrance. There was a kobold in military outfit manning a large, mounted automatic crossbow on the walkway, constructed with peculiar design. The crossbow was actually several bows mounted on a rotating drum. The drum would spin, and the bows would fire one after the other, scooping up a new bolt and being drawn back as it cycled again. It resulted in a machine with an extreme fire rate, but also a rather expensive looking drive system due to the immense forces required.

Kazo analyzed this, and found it surprising when the rest of the perimeter was barbed wire fence. Then, he realized, there was probably several crossbowmen with various equipment on the rooves. The fence was merely there to slow down uninvited guests enough to reliably hit them. Tok and Kazo hid in the shadows for a moment. Then, as the only other guard in the room moved to check the rear of the vehicle, Tok snuck along the side of the room, silently ascending some steps, approaching the mounted crossbow. The guard manning it sat, his goggles red, staring down at the vehicle.

Kazo set his backpack down in the shadows, away from any potential crossfire. The guard checking the rear of the vehicle exited, noticed Kazo as Kazo moved towards him, and quickly drew his crossbow, "Stop right there!" The guard manning the mounted crossbow turned to face Kazo. Kazo smiled, and continued walking. The guard fired at Kazo, the bolt striking Kazo in the head, then glancing away. The guard seemed surprised by this. At the same time, the vehicle began to exit the hangar.

Kazo ran after the guard, but was struck by a barrage of bolts as the mounted crossbow fired, nearly tripping him up. Kazo turned his head away and held his hand out, trying to move after the guard. Luckily these bolts weren't armor piercing, and as such glanced away. Tok snuck up to the mounted crossbow, his crossbow held out, and just as the guard manning the crossbow noticed Tok, Tok fired, striking the guard in the head. The guard died swiftly and without a sound. Tok then booted the body out of the way, and took control of the crossbow.

Kazo ran up to the guard, and leapt on him, knocking him over. The guard bashed Kazo in the head with his crossbow, but the shot glanced away. The guard attempted to swing again, but Kazo cought the crossbow in his mouth, tore it away, then threw it aside. The guard attempted to roll and free himself, and successfully tilted Kazo over, but as Kazo lost his balance, he bit into the guards neck, his teeth sinking into the front and back. The guard yelled with a yell that only intensified as Kazo released current through his mouth, shaking the guard around by the neck until finally he tore a chunk free. Kazo then spat the chunk in the guards face. Kazo got up, stomped the guard in the chest, then walked away. Kazo hid in the shadows, watching as the guard struggled to get back to his crossbow, losing consciousness to blood loss before he could reach it.

The second vehicle rolled in, and stopped. The driver noticed the oddity that both doors were open. The driver then noticed the motionless, bloody guard with the trail of blood behind him. Then he looked up, to see Tok laughing, pointing the mounted crossbow right down at him. Tok fired. Several bolts flew through the windshield, breaking it, a bolt landing in the drivers chest, one in the neck, and two in the head. Tok then shifted his fire down, firing into the engines of the truck. A stream of smoke began to come out, then a stream of darker smoke, followed by the engine grinding and ceasing.

Tok then stopped firing, got up, then walked down the stairs, snickering. Yeln commented, "Meeweew!" Kazo smiled, put on the backpack, then continued toward the inner entrance, following Tok. All three passed through, entering this 'base'.
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Hmm, I decided not to trouble people with random concerns tonight  :p

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

Not as slow this time.
Would a rotating barrel be good crossbows, really?

First post.
"This is a generic Beyond Quality award.
It mences whit spikes of praise.
It is encrusted whit worship."

[AlanL]

Thanks  

The way it was mounted it wouldn't be very accurate, but that isn't the point, the point's to spray bolts all over in the enemy's general direction. It was basically supposed to be a gatling gun equivalent.
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Kazo looked around. Luckily the guards hadn't seen their actions. Inside the base was several concrete buildings, a hangar-like building near the center next to what appeared to be a large concrete testing ground. All the rest of the ground was hot dirt. In fact, it was quite hot already, hardly noticeable was a slight bit of light distortion due to convection near the ground.

Kazo followed Tok quite closely. They hid in an alcove of a nearby building, hiding away from the guards. Kazo and Tok both knew where the hatch was... now was a question of getting to it. There was shouting from the hangar. It seems the guards had discovered what had happened... Tok held his crossbow up, pointing it out the alcove, and began to move towards the front of the alcove. There were the sounds of running footsteps. One of the guards ran past the alcove, the other slid to a stop, having spotted Tok. The guard yelled and turned to raise his crossbow, but Tok already had his raised, and simply fired. The bolt struck the yelling guard in the mouth, and continued through, piercing the back of the guards head and coming out the other end. Blood shot out of the back of the guards head, and as the guard stumbled, spilled out of the front. The guard fell over backwards, dying without a sound.

Kazo followed Tok as Tok exited the alcove, headed toward where the other guard went. Suddenly, Tok stopped. Tok gestured for Kazo to stand still, looking up towards the rooftop just above. A moment passed, then Tok took out a stick of explosives, lit it, and tossed it up. It landed on the rooftop. A moment later, it went off with a thundering explosion, the flame seen above, its light all around. There was a loud screaming. A mangled, blown open guard and a mounted automatic crossbow, previously hidden, were catapulted from the roof. They fell to the ground with a satisfying crunch and clank. Tok snickered.

His amusement was quickly crushed at the sight of an armored vehicle moving from behind a building. The vehicle, unlike the others Kazo saw, had crossbows and cannons mounted, all forward facing. The vehicle turned to face Tok. Tok spoke, "WHAT THE HELL?" Kazo smiled, waving his tail about at the thought of an unusual challenge, one he hadn't been confronted with before. Tok darted behind the building. Kazo leapt up to the roof of the adjacent building, noticing the hole in the roof and the broken crossbow mount.

The vehicle approached. Tok reloaded his crossbow, and attempted to fire into the vehicles small window, missing, the bolt glancing away. Kazo was about to ready an explosive orb when he spotted Tok readying his last two sticks of explosives in a much more advantageous position. The armored vehicle approached. Tok peeked out, and tossed a lit stick, quickly darting back behind the building. Several bolts struck the wall, popping and banging as they exploded. With another loud explosion, the stick of explosives going off at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was lightly damaged, but the otherwise bolt-proof glass shielding the port in front was broken.

The vehicle still approached. Tok cought sight of it, and as it turned to face him, he darted out to the side, away from its line of fire and toward it. Soon it was facing him close enough. He darted the other way, two bolts just barely grazing his back, and luckily not going off. He leapt at the vehicle as he reached it, then rolled away to avoid being crushed under it as it turned. He then got up, lighting the next stick of explosive, and tossed it in through the broken window, darting away afterwards. The vehicle stopped, the hatch slamming open, the guard driving it scrambling out and leaping away. Before the guard landed, the stick went off, causing the fuel and ammunitions of the vehicle to all go off simultaneously. An immense explosion resulted, causing the cannons on the top of the vehicle to be blown clear off, tossed upwards. The cannons flipped over and landed on their top, flame and smoke rising up from the charred, destroyed armored vehicle.

The guard grunted, and took out her crossbow, aiming the double-bow at Tok. It seemed to have an odd design including pistons and several cylinders mounted near its stock. Tok crouched behind the corner of a building, reloading his crossbow. He peeked out to fire, but immediately pulled back as the guard fired. Two explosive bolts struck the corner of the building, blowing small chunks from the concrete. The bow then hissed loudly, gas seen escaping from the pistons, the bow automatically loading bolts from within. The guard then fired immediately again. Kazo lowered himself down from the rooftop, sliding down to ground level off of a ridge above a door, and watched this, placing the backpack, Yeln inside, on the ground. It seemed that though there were mounted automatic crossbows, there were no true handheld ones, only improvisations that aren't actually as good. Perhaps the needed technology wasn't made small and light enough at this time?

As the guard attempted to reload the overly complex crossbow, Tok ran out towards her. She darted away toward the corner of the building. Just before she could escape behind the building, Tok fired, striking her in the side. She gasped, and dove behind the corner, grunting loudly. Kazo ran up, leapt up, and landed on her gut, digging the claws of his feet deep into her guts, and tearing her guts open. She yelled, and swatted him across the head with the side of her crossbow. Kazo channeled his mana to form an explosive orb in one hand, using the other to hold the crossbow away. She gasped, and yelled. Kazo stuffed the explosive orb in her mouth, and a moment later, her skull fragmented, blood, brain and brain fluid scattered everywhere, her eyes shooting out from their sockets, blood shooting out of her mouth.

Tok stood for a moment, watching, "... I... don't know what the hell that was!" Kazo smiled, "Magic!" Tok replied, "Yeah, now let's get down there before any more show up!" Kazo snickered, "Sure!" Kazo leapt off of the body, blood trailing down from his claws, and landed back on the ground, running back towards his backpack, his tail waving high behind him. Kazo slid to a stop near his backpack, put it on, and continued to the hatch, meeting Tok as he got there. Yeln, who had watched it all, commented, "Mew! Myewwe!" Kazo replied, "I do that for your safety!" Tok tried to open the hatch, but found it was locked. Kazo walked up to it, reached down, and placed his claw in the keyhole of the lock. Likely the lock was also sealed from the inside, and as such couldn't be picked open, but it wouldn't matter much. Kazo focused his mana, creating a channel between the top of his claw and the center of the lock, pressing his hand against the metal of the hatch. Kazo Forced energy through the metal, a shower of sparks shooting up from the keyhole. Kazo pulled away, some of the lock inside glowing with heat. He then forced the lock open, the metal within bending much easier, and opened the hatch. Below was a ladder going down to a concrete tunnel. Kazo went in, Yeln in his backpack, Tok following, closing the hatch above himself.
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I get the feeling I'm being too low detail, and perhaps too predictable. Though this helps with speed, I don't want to miss something important. Maybe I really should start these earlier.

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

(just so peaple don't get worried...   )

[AlanL]

Thank you    
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Kazo reached the bottom, and continued down the narrow concrete tunnel, Tok behind him. There was only 3 guards to be faced outside... no military base worth the name would have so few guards. Where were the rest? As Kazo made his way down the tunnel, he found a few doors, occasionally one having a window in it. Meanwhile, Tok ratcheted and reloaded his crossbow. They slowly and quietly made their way through the corridors, Kazo looking in windows whenever he could, but never long enough to get noticed. Kazo noticed that one room had several guards in it, as well as several other military employees, dressed in chemical-proof coats rather than the typical attire. They were discussing something, the scientist within holding up a crossbow that was oddly constructed, one bow driving the other, steel arches over the bow near the end.

They came to an intersection. There was the trampling of boots... Kazo and Tok quickly scrambled over to the other side, and crouched, hiding close against the wall, behind a pipe. Tok held his breath as several guards, likely 10 of them, marched down the corridor. When they had passed, Tok breathed a sigh of relief. Kazo realized why the defense had been sparse outside... the guards, soldiers, were waiting within, hiding near whatever they defended. The true resistance lay just before... and now they waited, intent on trapping Tok and Kazo within these thin corridors. Rather than stand in the open, subjecting themselves to explosives and fire, they stuck to their defense, and some hid away, waiting for the right moment to strike, unobserved, silent.

Kazo grinned, waving his tail, but keeping it from rising up too high. He was familiar with the game of cat and mouse, but seldom had he ever been the mouse! Tok noticed Kazos waving tail, quite large and quite unlike the tailless physiology of kobolds. He did a double take, then looked ahead, not commenting on it. Kazo walked up to another window, and noticed what appeared to be an attempt at a more portable particle beam cannon... although unfortunately for the military, and visibly present in the room, the enormous power supply needed for the weapon made it critically inefficient for most purposes. Kazo thought, analyzing the device, perhaps in later eras it could be vehicle mounted... it could already be vehicle mounted, but a large portion of the entire vehicle would have to be dedicated to energy production for it to be effective and have a decent rate of fire.

As they continued, a soldier was seen exiting a room ahead. The soldier turned, and upon spotting Tok, immediately jumped back and fired his crossbow. PANG! Kazo felt the bolt strike his head, knocking his head back. Tok gasped slightly, then growled loudly, firing at the soldier. The soldier leapt to the side, the bolt hitting him in the gut, rather than the chest. This soldier had a layer of armor that partially stopped the bolt. Tok ran up to the soldier before he could get up, crossbow raised. Tok brought it down on the bolt, using the butt as a hammer to drive the bolt deep into the soldiers gut. The soldier yelled as Tok then used the bolt to tear the wound and pry the soldiers guts out. Tok kicked the soldier, then turned, looking down at the ground where he expected his hit friend to lay.

He was surprised to see Kazo still standing. He was doubly surprised to see Kazos blue, reptilian face, a bit of a scratch on it, the steel bolt, laying on the ground, visibly dented quite a bit more. Kazo smiled. Tok hesitated a moment, completely still, then laughed. Kazo set down his backpack, drew his spear, then entered the room, the door still open. He spotted a scientist hiding in a corner at the back, a very large crossbow, several bows and mechanisms behind the bolts, gears and chains on the sides, a large crank, all steel. There were multiple bows and mechanisms internally all dedicated to storing energy behind a single projectile... likely many of the mechanisms were there to allow the person using it to reload it without machine help. Likely also much of it was made of steel because it had to be to support the forces involved. On the side was written, in rather elegant writing, "Big F*cking Crossbow -- Mk.5". Kazo felt there was some larger significance to the name, but he couldn't quite identify it. Despite this, the name alone was very descriptive. Indeed it WAS a big crossbow!

Kazo snickered, and walked toward it. As he did so, another bolt struck him in the side of the head. This one merely glanced away without even a scratch. Kazo turned, and saw a soldier darting out from behind a pipe, running across the room toward the crossbow, dumping her conventional one aside. Kazo leapt across the room, and landed between the soldier and the crossbow. Kazo channeled his mana through his spear, focusing it to the tip. As Kazo formed an orb full of the spears energy at the very tip, the soldier skidded to a halt. Kazo swung the spear, catapulting the orb at high speed toward the soldier, and bringing the spear into a throwing position. The soldier dove out of the way, the orb missing her and continuing back, absorbed by the wall with a buzzing noise. Kazo threw the spear as the soldier belly flopped to the ground, the spear striking her in the neck. She gagged, struggled, then fell motionless.

Kazo noticed the scientist attempting to sneak out of the room. Kazo also felt curious as to the effectiveness of the crossbow that that scientist had likely worked to create. Kazo generally never liked bows or crossbows, but his curiosity made an exception. He took up the rather heavy and large crossbow, aiming it at the scientist, snickering. The scientist attempted to dart away. Kazo fired. The crossbows bow moved as it fired, letting loose loose all of its stored energy and much of the mechanisms into the single projectile which fragmented into a cone of debris at the end of the bow. The heavy recoil caused the crossbow to pop up in Kazos hands a bit. The cone of shrapnel flew with immense speed, striking the scientist with a loud FHWAP! The scientist had held his hand out just beforehand... his hand was shredded down, his chest shooting out a plume of blood as sharp fragments tore in. The scientist gagged, and fell immediately to the floor, motionless.

Kazo noticed Tok snickering. Kazo smiled, and walked back, retrieving his backpack, and noticing it was quite lighter. Yeln was now standing next to Tok. Kazo took the backpack back, placed several rounds of ammunition for the new crossbow into it, wore the crossbow behind his back, then wore his backpack over it. He wouldn't make much use of it but it might come in handy somewhere. Kazo retrieved his spear, shut it off, and put it away as well. He left the room, and continued down the corridor alongside Tok, Yeln following close behind.

They noticed the corridor ending up ahead, leading into a cylindrical room with two stories and several doors out, several crates in a few stacks in the middle. Either it was a foyer or a test chamber... perhaps both. As they approached, Kazo noticed a small bit of metal sticking up from the floor at the end of the corridor. They slowed. Tok reached down and realized... he was all out of explosives. Kazo smiled, and ran towards the end of the corridor, forming an orb of explosive energy in his hand. As he ran up to the end, the metal turned out to be the tip of a crossbow, held by a soldier crouched under the exit. The soldier sprang up and fired. The bolt glanced off of Kazos chest. Kazo threw the orb at the soldier. The soldier was struck in the chest, his chest being blown a bit open, a chunk of gore shooting out. The soldier fell to the ground, yelling, gasping, and with his last dying breath, let out a yell that faded away until it could hardly be heard at the end.

Kazo twisted around and snickered at Tok and Yeln who were rapidly approaching. A loud alarm went off. They quickly entered the cylindrical room. The lights began to flash red. There was a whirring and a clanking. Kazo looked around, and picked a corridor, but before he could reach it, it had been sealed, a thick steel door shutting itself and locking itself from the inside only. In fact... all ground level exits had been sealed. Kazo could easily leap up to the second level, but he didn't want to leave Tok and Yeln behind. The footsteps of numerous boots could be heard approaching. Tok and Yeln hid behind the crates, Tok breathing deeply, trying to remain calm. Kazo smiled. A new scenario with new factors... he felt quite eager to see it's outcome.
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I get the feeling some of the numbers here might not line up, but I guess it still works. Hmm, I think rather than specific concerns, one of the things that always is a thought is something being wrong without my even noticing.

[ March 11, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

Big F*cking Crossbow... Mk.5, Fale had one... Mk.3?

"This is a Big F*cking Beyond Quality award.
It is made from steel.
It menaces whit spikes of torque and power.
It is encrusted in gears.
On the item is an image of a kobold and corruption, the kobold is shooting the corruption."

[AlanL]

Heh, thanks

Actually, Fale had the 1000, which I believe is Mk.1. Remember, this is 800 years ahead. I'm assuming the BFC is not a common weapon at all (close or at one of a kind status), and rarely has a new version. Spread evenly, it would mean 1 version up every 200 years.
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Several soldiers, about 10, entered the second level, and crouched behind pillars around the walkway. Kazo heard a staticy, mechanical voice from on top, not directed at him, but at one of the troops... a radio. Kazo spotted the antenna. Likely the radio transceiver was rather cumbersome, as it was set down on the ground. The soldiers shouted to eachother to ready, and move. Kazo stepped to the side. Four soldiers emerged, fired at Kazo, and immediately crouched back. One bolt missed, bouncing off the floor. One struck Kazo in the gut, another in the head, the third in the arm, all three glancing away.

Kazo thought, they would be quite vulnerable to the explosives Tok had used in their position. Likely they knew he was out, in fact the armored vehicle earlier may have been a successful attempt to make him use up his explosives. He snickered, and drew his spear, running and leaping onto the second level, two bolts whizzing under him. Meanwhile, Yeln ascended the crates with agility, up toward the second level. Kazo charged the spear with a surge of his own energy, stabbing the radio operator in the head, killing her instantly.

Kazo turned around and ran toward another soldier emerging from behind the pillar, and as soon as he did so, the soldier fired. A bolt flew into his eye, becoming lodged in the rear of it. For once Kazo felt quite a sharp pain. Kazo only sped up, growling. He leapt at the soldier, snatching him before he could move away, sinking his claws into the soldiers back and his teeth into the back of the soldiers neck. The soldier yelled, which only intensified as Kazo tore and shook the soldier around, stabbing the soldier in the back with the charged spear at the same time.

Kazo noticed a second soldier running towards him... Yeln was chasing this soldier. As the soldier moved to crouch behind a bin, Yeln leapt forward, biting down between the soldiers legs. The soldier let out a loud scream, slipped, and fell from the second story, slamming to the ground below. Yeln let go in time to remain on the second. Before the soldier could get up, Tok fired, the bolt striking the soldier right between the eyes.

Kazo ripped a chunk out of the neck, and spat it out on to the back of the soldiers head, getting up, and standing on the soldiers back. Kazo yanked the bolt out and dropped it, noticing his vision was quite blurry in one eye, but was slowly returning to normal. The soldiers shouted to eachother, and began to move from behind the pillars. One threw a small cylindrical canister down into the crates, and two dropped down from the second level to the first, crouching down and shielding their eyes and ears. The rest moved behind short cover, aiming at Kazo. Kazo had no concern for his own safety, rather, he was quite concerned for the safety of Yeln.

Kazo ran toward Yeln. POW! The room was filled with a deafening bang and a blinding flash as the canister went off. Kazo continued, despite his vision being a bit saturated for a moment. He picked up Yeln, and held Yeln close to his chest, bending over as he ran toward a partially covered, shadowy area of the room. A couple of bolts glanced off his back, and although he tried to jump to the side, he was hit in the face with the butt of a soldiers crossbow. Kazo ducked down and kept running. More troops began storming into the room.

Below, Tok, who had also shielded himself, fired at one of the two on the ground, striking the surprised soldier in the gut. The other soldier rushed in. Several canisters were thrown down to the first level, bolts flying down as Tok hopped over a crate and hid behind the next stack. A bolt struck Tok in the arm, but he still continued, loading his crossbow. POPOPOPOPOPOP! There was a loud hissing, and the level below was flooded with smoke. Kazo reached the shadows, and crouched down in the shadows, placing Yeln behind himself, shielding Yeln.

The troops aimed at Kazo, but held their fire, more readying their crossbows. It seemed they weren't sure what to think of this seemingly invincible opponent. Many fired into the smoke. There was a loud yell, which intensified. A soldier toward the rear threw a large, spherical object. It arced through the air, pierced through the smoke below, and landed with a clang. BOOM! Bits and pieces of wood were thrown up as crates were demolished, a black plume visible in the smoke after the fiery explosion.

The soldiers closed in on Kazo. Kazo realized... that was probably the end of Tok. He was now alone, and it seemed running was less of an option... Kazo drew his spear, and charged an orb of electrical energy on the end of it, crouched down. He held the spear up as the soldiers approached. They approached with caution, their weapons aimed, but it seemed combat was inevitable... Yeln would have to make it through alive, at any cost! Kazo spoke softly, "For Yeln kitty!" Yeln commented, "MEEW!" A brief moment passed. "Cease fire. CEASE FIRE! ALL OF YOU, NOW!"

All the soldiers stopped suddenly, startled by this command. A kobold, wearing an armor thicker and made of a different material than most other troops, a thick steel helmet painted a dull camouflage brown, greenish-brown goggles, and a rather complicated looking crossbow appearing to have two bows and two triggers, all of very high quality, leapt down from the second story to the first, running into the now dissipating smoke.

He stopped above Tok, and quickly crouched down. Tok lay, his legs and lower body mangled and his guts spilling out, two bolts sticking out of his gut and one out of his arm, his fur soaked in a pool of his own blood. The room was filled with silence. Tok could only gasp, his life dwindling away. Tok had often speculated what Milspec had looked like, but had never actually seen him. In fact, as he saw this kobolds appearance, he felt his heart would only stop sooner. The kobold, looking down at Tok, took his goggles and helmet off, and crouched down lower, his breath shaking, his mouth open slightly. Tok barely managed so speak, "Ven.... bro?" Ven sniffed, a tear dropping down onto Toks bloodied chest. Ven hugged Tok, barely breathing. Tok slowly attempted to hug his brother, one last time, and succeeded. A moment later, Tok fell limp, his last breath slowly flowing out of his mouth. Ven slowly let Tok's body down, his eyes shut, sniffling.

A moment later, Ven opened his eyes, and looked up at the soldiers above, who silently looked back, "All of you. SCRAM! NOW!" They obediently left the room. Kazo remained in the shadows. Indeed, Kobolds do form strong family bonds. This seemed to have less meaning to him though... looking at Tok's ruined body, he could remember Arkus being torn apart, as if it had happened the day before.

Ven stood, and took out his crossbow, holding in his hands. He snarled and shut his eyes, another tear running down his face. He gripped the crossbow as if he were either going to break it in two or throw it clear across the room. Then, he loosened his grip, and assumed a calmer expression, taking in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. He opened his eyes, and before the tear could fall to the ground, he wiped it away. He sniffed, took up his helmet and goggles, and wore them again, putting his crossbow away.

Ven climbed the crates, and made his way back to the second level. Ven walked toward the back of the room. As he passed Kazo, he spoke, "Servant... of Rostus?" He continued, not even turning to look at Kazo, and entered a door. The alarms ceased, and the doors opened.

Ven continued back, through the hall, looking straight ahead. He continued down into the compound, entering a room through a door not unlike any other. Within, sitting behind a desk, reviewing documents within a folder, was a lower-ranking general, commander of this base and much of western operations. He spoke, "Milspec? So that pesky idiot is gone?" The general looked up at Milspec, Ven, to see Ven holding out his crossbow, bringing it down to line up with his forehead. Ven's face was virtually expressionless. Ven pulled the trigger. The crossbow fired, the twang of the bow silenced by specially made stops. The armor piercing bolt pierced through the generals head, sticking out the back. The general fell over onto the table a moment later, dying without a sound, blood leaking out from his head. A few drops of blood had flown onto Ven as well as his face. Ven stood there for a moment, his expression unchanged, still holding out the crossbow.

Ven then put his crossbow away, and carefully wiped the droplets of blood off of himself. He searched the table, and found a folder marked "Security Priority 1". He picked up this folder, and silently slipped it under his armor in a manner that one could hardly tell any difference. He then walked out of the room. He passed several soldiers who didn't notice anything wrong at all. As he passed by Kazo again, he quickly spoke under his breath, "We were trying to stop him from building the bomb." Ven walked away, towards another door as if he had spoken to nobody.

Kazo picked up Yeln, Yeln immediately climbing into the space left in the backpack. Kazo noticed he was holding a folder he had somehow been given. He followed Ven, hiding behind pipes, boxes, in the shadows whenever other troops passed by. Eventually they reached the hatch. Ven exited, and left the hatch open as if he had expected Kazo to follow him out all along. They continued toward the hangar exit. Ven took out his crossbow again, reloading it. As he passed a building, a soldier that had just emerged spoke, "So you finally got rid of the bas-" Ven held his crossbow out to the side, and without even turning his head or slowing at all, fired, striking the soldier in the head.

They continued forward, through the hangar, and out the exit. They both continued walking towards Endlesslabors, leaving the base behind. Ven stopped, sniffled, took in a deep breath, looked up to the sky, and closed his eyes, letting the wind run through his fur. For a moment, Kazo felt like doing the same. Still, Kazo felt he shouldn't allow such things to get to him. Kazo moved quickly. It was likely the last he would see of Ven as well. Though he had only known Tok for less than a day even, he still felt he would miss him. Kazo remembered Tok, and for a moment, remembered Arkus, Fale, Blitukus... He decided he should not dwell on it, and should rather try to cheer himself up. There was always one thing that always cheered him up, the seldom times he needed it. Kazo took out the folder, and noticed the security label. He smiled, and raised his tail, waving it in the air.

I just LOVE secrets!

He opened the folder. Within he found details of the properties of fissile materials and various theories on obtaining energy from them as well as achieving critical mass. At its heart, it was the theory and plans to build a bomb, a quite odd bomb indeed, not just any bomb. He knew Rostus was a cutthroat businessmen... but not it seemed there could potentially be much more happening than a simple attempt at gaining profit.
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I know I'm probably not using enough thought comments, but none seemed to come naturally. Perhaps I need to plan ahead for it to work. In fact, that seems pretty likely.

[ March 11, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Impending Doom]

TOK! NOOOOO!!  

Edit: FIRST POST!!

[ March 11, 2008: Message edited by: Impending Doom ]

[AlanL]

Thanks  

The general explanation I have for the use of crossbows is that gunpowder weaponry came too late. High-torque and high-accuracy crossbows were compared against unreliable and inaccurate firearms. Not only that, but 'twang' is less of an announcement than 'BANG'. I'm hoping it's not a bogus take on it, the honest, to the point answer is I thought modern warfare with crossbows was an interesting concept.

And yes, I ended up unsure for a moment if kobolds have a tiny tail or no tail at all. I'll go back and fix that.

[ March 11, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!

If it is true that the goal of storytelling is to invoke emotion, then this update was Beyond Beyond Quality, truly!

Poor Tok, that was one of the saddest things I have heard...  

oh, and for those confused kobolds have NO tails, as stated in AKQ1 because DF kobolds don't have a tail body part.

[AlanL]

Thank you, truly  

Actually, I have to admit, I invoked emotion in myself when I wrote it.

Sorry about the following being short, due to some situations catching me by surprise, I got a late start here.
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Yeln peeked out of Kazos backpack, looking at the open folder as Kazo made his way back to Endlesslabors. He found that time passed quickly as he analyzed and made sense of what the contents of the folder. The general theory behind it all was described. It was quite clever all in all, a demonstration of the capabilities of technology to perform miracles... it was rather unfortunate Rostus intended to turn a miracle into a calamity. Kazo continued, finding in back a map of a few sites around the west continents, notably including Steelflame, with each site having a specific point marked. Were these targets? Kazo realized, if so, Nefarious had been fooled into selling the very pitchblende that would be used to annihilate her.

This brought up a question Kazo was itching to know the answer to: Why? Rostus would turn no profit from destroying these towns. Then again, perhaps whatever Rostus had in mind ended with more profit than any one person could hope to ever spend... Despite this, another possibility was that these marked points weren't targets at all, and bore some other significance. Kazo shut the folder, and carried it with. Yeln mewed. Kazo smiled at Yeln, and pet him. Yeln rubbed against Kazos hand, and then rubbed against Kazos head, purring, pressing against his neck. Yeln then rested on the back of Kazos shoulder, looking forward, purring. Kazo licked the side of Yeln's head. Yeln tilted his head to one side, then licked Kazos nose. Kazo smiled, and snickered.

As Kazo looked ahead and noticed the folder again, he thought about what he would do about this. He wasn't intent on aiding anyone in building such a thing. He had done many questionable things in his pursuit of knowledge and progress, but he always worked towards improving peoples lives. Such indiscriminate, unnecessary destruction of masses of life was nothing but an embarrassment to the science of technology. Still, Kazo needed fuel. A simple but effective course of action had shown itself. Kazo decided he would accept the new fuel, then while Rostus wasn't looking, critically sabotage his plans to build this weapon. Then, before Rostus had noticed, Kazo would leave, free to adventure wherever he wished.

Kazo thought about it all for a bit more, and found himself nearing Endlesslabors. For some reason, the same train was still there. Kazo noticed his eye, although it still produced an image, had never really refocused properly. Likely the bolt knocked part of it, perhaps one of the crystals, slightly out of alignment. Kazo approached the train, leapt up, landing between two cars, and leapt again, landing on the platform on the other side. Kazo saw the wooden ticket booth, and walked up to it, a dwarf inside, reading a book.

Kazo spoke, "Why hello!" Kazo noted the cost of the tickets, 10 monies, and set his backpack down, Yeln remaining on his shoulder. Kazo drew out enough to pay for it. The dwarf looked at Kazo, "Lucky bastard!" Kazo snickered, "Yes I am, usually!" The dwarf took the money, took out a ticket, filled it out, and handed it to Kazo. Kazo accepted, "Thanks!" The dwarf sat back. Kazo then picked up his backpack again, Kazo stepping back into it, then walked toward the front of the train.

On one end, he saw a guard, hammer drawn, arguing and shouting with another dwarf who was sitting on a bench, his hands handcuffed behind his back. The dwarf on the bench, wearing white clothing and the membership signs for various stonecrafter's guilds, shouted obscenities, "... ****ER DID THAT TO ME ******* GOBLET!" Kazo noticed some of the linkages and latches around the engine were recently repaired, likely having been a little less recently broken. Then, Kazo noticed a stone goblet by the track.

It was a beautifully sculpted piece, made from obsidian. It was detailed with images of demons, detailed down to the finest bit, images that blended into one another seamlessly over rolling clouds, below it, beneath a rim of obsidian, images of an adamantine vein with an intricately detailed image of a fortress that almost seemed to move as it was viewed from different angles. The images of demons were designed with ruby-filled eyes, carved in to give the impression their eyes followed you. Every detail was considered, and it was a goblet fit for the highest nobility... it was all of these things. What Kazo now saw was several pieces of broken obsidian laying by the train tracks.

Kazo noticed the dwarf on the bench working his way out of the handcuffs. A moment later, that dwarf stood and punched the guard, letting out a furious yell. Before the guard could assess the situation fully, let alone complete a swing of his hammer, his hammer was grasped by the furious dwarf and wrenched away, thrown into the air. The guard punched the dwarf, and the dwarf continued on anyway. The furious dwarf hit hard and fast, the guard fighting back, both yelling and throwing swings at one another. Kazo snickered as he watched.

Dwarven anger management... I love chaos! I wonder who'll stop him this time!

Eventually, the guard was knocked unconscious. The furious dwarf yelled and began ripping the guard's armor and clothes off, throwing them in random directions. A bit of chest plate armor flew onto another bench, striking a dwarf sitting there in the face, that dwarf yelling in pain and yelling profanity, his nose bleeding. On the other side of the platform, a dwarf set his mug of ale down on the table next to him. A flying gauntlet punched the mug, knocking it clean off the table, spilling ale all over. A flying boot struck Kazo in the chest. Kazo stepped back, and snickered again. Kazo watched as even shirt and socks were made into projectiles.

When the enraged dwarf had in essence half-stripped the guard, armor and clothing scattered about, he began running toward the ticket booth. The clerk in the booth saw the dwarf running at him, and ceased sorting the ticket stacks, "Ah f*** here we go again!" The clerk hopped out of the booth and ran away. The enraged dwarf stopped at the booth, busted through its front, and used his considerable strength to uproot supports, prying them out and smashing up the rest of the booth with them. Soon, the booth was reduced to planks in a mess on the ground, the carefully organized tickets and notes now littering the platform.

The clerk shouted, "Why the hell'd ya do it again ya dumb s***?!" The dwarf, furious enough, balled up his fists and raised his shoulders, looking the clerk in the eyes. The dwarf yelled furiously and chased the clerk, the clerk running down the platform. Kazo watched them leave, then walked up to the entrance to the front car of the train, handing his tickets to the crewman assigned to the door. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to see who would stop that dwarf. Likely the dwarf would simply calm down before being stopped. Kazo took a seat, and set his backpack in his lap, Yeln sticking his head out the top of it. This was one of the very few times a dwarfs angry outburst has actually been convenient for someone. Thanks to this, causing the delay of the train, Kazo would be arriving back at Steelflame much sooner. Still, this meant it was all the sooner he would have to figure out how to stop Rostus' plans.
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Hoping I didn't go too far with the dwarves... I guess there's a few different ways of looking at it.

On the bright side, I guess it ended up being not that short after all.

[ March 12, 2008: Message edited by: AlanL ]