Part 63: Mission 63: Tomb Raiding

The PARE detachment we had sent to explore the grave had finished their survey. They were able to determine, by reading the site's psychic resonance, that it was none other than the grave of Bauran, who had forged the very Darkswords we now sought. The crew were able to contact Bauran's spirit, with one of the PARE officers temporarily serving as his vessel so that he could communicate on the material plane. Bauran was sympathetic to our cause, and he revealed to us the location of the Himalayan Darksword.



Unfortunately, it wasn't so simple as sending an expedition to retrieve it. Anyone and anything that approached within a certain distance of the sword's mountain altar were stopped by an invisible wall that was impenetrable by any means. This had been placed after the war against the Titans, a safeguard against those who would use the sword's incredible power for evil. Luckily, this also prevented the Forces of Darkness from reaching it.

There was, however, a way to dispel the shield. Bauran gave us the locations of two caves hidden deep in the mountains, each of which housed one of two artifacts. Paired together, these artifacts acted as a key that could be used in a ritual to remove the barrier. Even though we had a good chance of retrieving these artifacts before the Forces of Darkness ever learned of their existence, we would have to fight for them: they were guarded by forces of demons since millennia ago, and those demons answered only to the gods who had bound them to service.



With the sudden appearance of the Black Angels, researching them had become a top priority; fortunately, study of the enemy's forces was going much more quickly now that we had access to the archives of Karedan-Ka. The Black Angels were the personal servants of one of the gods of the Forces of Darkness, organized into a social order distinct from the enemy's normal society and military. Their appearance on the battlefield represented a personal intervention by our foe's dark gods. Perhaps they had been driven to action by the Forces of Darkness' deteriorating strategic situation.



Our knowledge of the Conjurers was much more limited. The Karedan-Ka did inform us, at least, that it was only after we first used archotral weapons against the enemy that the birds started carrying their own archotral bombs.



The Elf Masters were originally ordinary Dark Elves until hey had learned how to gain incredible magical abilities by ritually sacrificing their fellow elves. Believing themselves to have become a superior breed, they left Dark Elf society millennia ago to form a cult centered around the practice. They now culled ordinary elves without remorse, using the deaths to fuel the ascension of new inductees to the Elf Master cult. They could see at great distances with perfect clarity and snipe with deadly accuracy. They could generate arrows of pure magical energy at will, bolts that could rip through tank armor as well as an MBT's cannon.



It was time to make our move. We couldn't afford to take chances with this. We would send in our main force to each key fragment in turn, eliminating all resistance and taking our prizes only when we could assure their safe retrieval.

Mission 63: Tomb Raiding

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Mobile Infantry)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Mobile Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Mobile Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Mobile Infantry)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Mobile Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Mobile Infantry)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Mobile Infantry)
Emil Västerström (Trollhunters, Mobile Infantry)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, Destructor)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Destructor)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Destructor)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, Destructor)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, Destructor)
Basil (Paladin, Destructor)
Reginald P. Linux (Doom Squad, Leopard 2A5)
Grandalt Noddington (Tea Battalion, Leopard 2A5)
Hulk Hogan (The Hulkamaniacs, Leopard 2A5)
Aethereon Darkfyre (The Mary Sues, UDES)
Stephen Smith (The Counts of Monty Python, UDES)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, MLRS)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, MLRS)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, MLRS)
Pusher Bot (The Space Robots, MLRS)
Uzgob (Deff Skwadron, MLRS)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, M106)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Roland)
Sigrún Raske (Skysmasher Brigade, Roland)
Roger Murtaugh (Less Than Lethal, Roland)
Bob & Doug McKenzie (Royal Canadian Red-greens, Mi-24)
Amerlia Earhart (Time Warp, Mi-24)
Vlasta Devínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)
Charles C Thuluu (Strange Aeons, Universal 2R)





Vlasta Devínská: Enemy contact. Intel was right, I don't see the Forces of Darkness' insignia anywhere.



Uzgob: All that matters is dey's between us and the key.





Amelia Earhart: That was simple enough. What's next?




Charles C Thuluu: Hostiles camping the hill. Nothing worse than a couple demons, though.



Roger Murtaugh: A demon can still kill you on a lucky shot. Better hit 'em with everything we have.




Anil E. Hilated: Here comes the counterattack.




Aethereon Darkfyre: It seems that, for today, we are spared the darkness of Hell. We must never forget how easily Mr. Mays' fate may befall any of us though.



Uzgob: I'd rather make it 'arder for 'at to happen, myself.




Griff: Easy peasy. Now we just kill those last-



Griff: Wait, did those things just multiply? I swear there were only about half as many a moment ago.
Vlasta Devínská: It's not just you. Damn things split like bacteria.




Stephen Smith: Imagine how dangerous that would be if those things were actually a threat.



Charles C Thuluu: Now that the hill's clear, it'll be a good place to scan from.



Charles C Thuluu: Contact! Knights and golems across a chasm. Probably more past my radar range.



Charles C Thuluu: There's a banner off to the left, too. One I don't recognize. I'm guessing that's where their main force is.



Vlasta Devínská: Oh hey, where'd you guys come from?



Uzgob: Isn' much of an ambush, izzit?




Vlasta Devínská: It sure isn't. Anyway, nothing worth mentioning to the east.
Griff: If the banner and all the enemy forces are to the west, then that's where our prize has to be.



Michel du Boulogne: Indeed. Crowd's thinned out, let's move in on the bridge.





Stephen Smith: Still don't see much. Couple more Death Knights ahead, but there's a hill in the distance, too.
Mael Radec: We'll deal with that in the usual way. UDES first, creep forward, paste anything that shows its face.



Gregor: The first we meet are the first to fall!



Stephen Smith: Mammoth fire!



Erik Spanner: Oh, a Fortress of Terror.
Amelia Earhart: You seem pretty unfazed. Weren't these things supposed to be huge and, well, terrifying?
Erik Spanner: The shock kind of wears off by the 20th time.



Sigrún Raske: Wait, aren't these guys supposed to be ancient guardians sealed away millennia ago? Where the hell did they get the Forces of Darkness' hot-off-the-line hardware?



Hulk Hogan: IT DOESN'T MATTER, BROTHER! IT'S ALL SCRAP ONCE THE HULK'S DONE WITH IT!



Bob McKenzie: Can't quite reach the angels, eh!



Stephen Smith: That's too bad, 'cause they can reach us!




Grandalt Noddington: Don't worry, Stephen. I have a feeling they won't be bothering you anymore.




Hulk Hogan: WATCH OUT, BROTHERS, THE SKY'S STILL BURNING!



Doug McKenzie: We'll get that taken care of for ya, eh.



Habitually Red: They really are harmless by themselves.



Gordon Frohman: Damnit, they aren't by themselves!



Amelia Earhart: Aaaah, this is the second deadliest sky I've ever flown!
Solrick Skaft: Only the second?
Amelia Earhart: How do you think I wound up in this year?



Joe Moore: There they are!



Basil: And there they go.



Emil Västerström: That's rather less concerning.



Solaus: There we go. Better do a sweep and see if there's any more demons around.



Charles C Thuluu: Just a few stragglers, it looks like. Mopup time!



T. Hinman: No, it is not time for mopping up yet!



Bob McKenzie: There we go. The rest of 'em can't fly or throw things at us, so we should be fine, eh.



Amelia Earhart: I found a cave! I'll bet the artifact is in here! Just a bit further, guys!



Solrick Skaft: That's the last one.
Mael Radec: Excellent. Let's send a squad in to confirm that the key fragment's still there. The recovery team can take care of the rest.




Once its guardians were dead, we were able to recover the artifact without incident. Our retrieval team also found frescoes and scrolls within the cave, which they photographed before extraction. While we still didn't understand the nature of the ritual needed to use the keys to neutralize the barrier, these would hopefully allow us to piece it together. In the meantime, we would prepare for our assault on the other artifact site.