A slight orange glow was starting to show to the east across the badlands. Shay crept back inside the cave and began gently rocked Sĕigo’s shoulder. “The sun will be up soon, It's time to rise. How are you feeling?” Shay asked Sĕigo with a hopeful look in his eyes. Sĕigo rose and offered Shay an incredibly rare smile, there and then gone in a flash. “I am well. Are there any children left alive? I need to test my powers.” Out of the 18 kids he had captured, The Eater Of Souls had sacrificed only 15. Leaving 3 as a treat for Shay. Shay, ecstatic, had drained one immediately and was holding the other two in reserve. If he paced himself they would last a few days, perhaps even a week or so. The problem with kids was the weak constitution, lacking a strong will to survive. Shay nodded reluctantly and ushered Sĕigo to the small offshoot cave he had been using as a larder. He rolled the massive stone out of the way revealing two kids sitting with backs against the cave, arms wrapped around skinned knees. Sobbing, both kids tried in vain to scooch into the cave walls themselves, as they flinched away in terror. Unfortunately, it truly didn't matter. Sĕigo walked into the cave, placed a hand on each child's head and closed his eyes. Shay watched as the Lich appeared to take in a deep breath, each of the kids withered completely and collapsed dead. The bodies looked like they had been completely drained of all blood, muscle and moisture. All within the blink of an eye. Sĕigo turned to face Shay and Shay did a total double take. Sĕigo, who normally looked like a living walking mummy or dried out to the consistency of beef jerky, was now whole again. He looked completely normal, old, but normal. “Ahhh, MUCH better.” said Sĕigo as he slapped Shay on the shoulder. Shay was amazed and couldn’t wait to see what else the Lich could do.
When we landed in Arizona there was as planned, the contingent from Manus Patris waiting for us at the private air strip. We unloaded into 5 Jeep Wranglers with flat black paint jobs and larger off road tires. Once all the extra gear was stowed we were on our way to the coordinates Lilith had given us. It was a really pretty drive, beautiful area, too bad about the unholy abominations we were heading into battle with. I was still a bit nervous about this entire situation. Between what happened with The Dark Pope and all the craziness that has happened already with this case I admit I’m a bit shaken. Hopefully this would be relatively straightforward. Kill the Lich, stake and decapitate the vamp, then somehow kill The Eater Of Souls. Hopefully just shooting it with the rail gun would solve that issue but after hundreds of years battening evil, there’s still the chance of something going completely sideways. Angiola and I were sitting in the back of one of the Jeeps, quietly holding hands. Her head was resting on my shoulder. We were on conference call over the speakers with the rest of the team. Team one would consist of myself and Simon. Team two would be Thomas and Philip. Team three would be Reginald and Angiola. Although she had now been blessed into the order, She was the team's sharpshooter. Plus she was trained on the new rail gun. The Eater Of Souls was also apparently capable of draining even members of The Order, so I was glad she would hopefully be out of range of Its powers. “Stupid question here but, is there any reason we can’t just blow the cave up and call it a day? I know we unpacked a UAV, I'm sure we could rig something up with enough C4 to make it happen.” Asked a man from another Jeep. “I'll take this one,” I said into the conference call. “Unfortunately we can't. As much as we would love to just collapse the entire cave system, we need a positive kill on The Eater Of Souls. We don't even know if it can be harmed by conventional weapons. This thing has apparently been around since the earth was formed so there's just too many unknowns. The Lich and the Vamp would die that way, either from the explosion or cave in but we are dealing with something completely new here for the big baddie.” It was a good idea, and had been brought up in planning. As well as poison and freezing it. We didn't know anything about its physiology so traditional poison was out. The Eater Of Souls was probably around for the last ice age too, so freezing was out. Hopefully the railgun would penetrate the hide and that would be all that's needed. However we honestly didn't know. We continued to go over the plan in detail and discuss the many ways things could go wrong as we headed into the desert. Manus Patris was going to do what they could to help, but we hoped to keep them out of harm's way as much as possible. The call wrapped up and ended in prayer. Simon always prayed before going into battle, as did all the other team leaders. I do too, just normally internally unless fighting on a team. We were still about another 30 to 45 minute drive from where we would split up and break into teams. It was nice we didn't have a huge area to cover but we were all heading directly into a fatal funnel.
Shay was in awe of what he had just witnessed. Sĕigo now appeared to look completely normal. His skin no longer dried out ragged on his skeletal frame. “Come with me Shay, the master has a gift for you as well. You were able to bring back much of my strength and proved yourself as valuable to us.” Shay followed the lich as they entered the area of the cave where their God dwelled. Once there Sĕigo waved Shay forward as The Eater Of Souls lumbered up to him. The massive beast spoke directly into Shay’s mind, blood began to drip from his nose as his God's words slammed into his skull. “You did good. Unlike that whore you are loyal to me, just as you said. We are so close to our goal, the enemy is near. This will aid you in the battle to come” As the psychic assault pounded his brain Shay watched as his God raised its front leg and stabbed a single claw deep into his forehead. The pain was unlike anything Shay had felt! This was so much worse than the fire from the sun or holy water or blessed silver, this was world shattering torment. The remaining markings from his dead master, The Dark Pope hissed and sloughed off his chest altogether. Then in an instant the pain was gone and the surge of power that struck him almost knocked him out of his own body. It was like the ecstasy experienced when he drained a child or the thrill of a hunt at night, when he could smell the terror thick in the air from his prey. All that and more condensed and magnified a thousand fold and more, radiating through his body. More and more, rippling through him over and over until he thought his body would burst. Then The Eater Of Souls removed his claw and the wound was healed just as quickly, like the claw didn't enter his body, but his spirit only. The air around him crackled and hummed with energy, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He could feel and sense sooo much now it was almost overwhelming. He paused, cocking his head to the side and sniffed a few times, something caught his attention. Something familiar caught his nose but… “Yes you smell The Order approaching. The scent is likely Tobias”. The eater of souls said to him. There wasn’t any pain this time. It was like a normal conversation but he could just read the thoughts right out of its head, and he knew it was a two way street. Instantaneously both Shay and The Eater Of Souls shared every thought and sensation that entered their minds.
After the convoy parked, the teams regrouped and headed their separate ways. The Jeep Reginald was driving peeled off from the convoy and headed to the short mesa facing the cave entrance. Once parked Reginald and Angiola began to unload everything and set up the overwatch. Reginald opened his laptop and tossed drone after drone into the sky. These were his “swarmer” drones and with the added strength the cross imbued him with, he was able to launch them by hand, even though these were normally far too large to launch this way. Once his dozen swarmer's were up he set them to circle and readied Fat man and Little boy for launch. Angiola was free climbing the mesa and was about three quarters up to the top already. He paused long enough to watch as she scaled the remainder of the climb, just as gracefully as she did everything else in life. He was so incredibly proud of the woman she had become. He raised her to be a proper English lady, not an easy task in modern times at all. Now she had a wonderful husband and would have a life both within The Order and as a wife. He was wrong about Tobias, when he turned down advances from an Enchantress multiple times he could clearly see he had him wrong. Tobias was just a good man who wanted love but refused to set aside his duty to The Order to pursue it. He quickly launched both fat man and little boy before grabbing the multiple duffle bags at his feet. “I’ve tossed down a rope, if you can tie off the first load I'll haul it up and get the equipment set up here”. Angiola called down to him. He attached a carabiner to the first 2 bags he carried over containing the computer gear, battery packs and ammo for the rail gun. He walked back to the Jeep and retrieved the case containing the rail gun as well as the last duffel bag containing the rest of the gear. They should be all set up and ready to go in the next 10 minutes.
Simon, Thomas, Philip and myself all drove in a single file heading to the caves entrance. We each had three Manus Patris members riding with us. Reginald and Angiola pulled away and should be in position to provide overwatch. We weren’t sure how we would get The Eater Of Souls out of his cave but we hoped once we got the Vamp the hubris of such a powerful creature would drive him out of its lair. We were approaching the mouth of the cave off vector, at about a 45 degree angle. “Strike team this is Overwatch, be advised. There is a large presence outside of the cave. Repeat, large opposing force gathered at the cave mouth”. Reginald said over the coms. Large force, how is that even possible? We should be looking at three targets at most, and the Vamp can’t be out because the sun rose 30 minutes ago! Simon came over the coms and asked what we were surely all thinking, “Can you get an estimate of numbers and what the opposing force is made of?” There was a brief pause as Reginald was likely already counting, his drone assets close enough or already on target. “Unknown, at least two to three hundred strong. Most but not all are human. No heat signatures on most of them, but they appear to be almost skeletal, some have bits of meat or scraps of cloth still on them but not much. It’s rather odd, one moment I’m seeing only bones then a full body then back to bones. The non-human combatants appear to be some sort of smaller saurian creatures?” Saurian? As in dinosaurs??? Well… “Did he say that we're headed to scrap with some bloody Dino’s mate?” Asked the man in the passenger's seat of the Jeep I was driving. He was an absolute beast of a man. An Auzzie, former SASR, 6 foot 7 and built like a powerlifter. He was our demo expert and despite his looks as a hardcore brawler, which he certainly was, he had a degree in chemistry as well. So he really knew his trade and then some. I looked around at the befuddled faces in the Jeep around me and reached to key the radio. Before I could, another team came over the coms and asked “Please repeat and clarify last transmission. Sounds like you said Saurian, as in dinosaurs? If so, what size are we talking about? Are we about to go to war with a couple T-Rex's or something?” I could picture the man talking, he was riding in Philips convoy but I couldn't remember his name at the moment. I'm horrible with names, but he was a short Texian and former Army Ranger if I remembered correctly. “Yes, as in Dinosaurs. Species unknown, I have Angiola running screen shots through a computer recognition program now. Bipedal, under 10 feet tall, powerful jaws and hind legs. Something in the raptor family I would assume, however we are getting conflicting results on the search. There are roughly 3 to 5 of them. There are also 2 of what looks like a quadruped with a few horns on its face. As well as a few hundred human or humanoid forms.” Reginald replied, clearing up the last message but surely confusing everyone else… The Aussie in the seat next to me smiled a huge grin and pumped his fist before turning in his seat to yell excitedly. “Bloody Dino's mate! We're gonna tussle with some actual bloody dino's, Woo hoo!” I couldn't help but smile and shake my head. At least the Manus Patris teams were pumped up for this mission.
The Eater Of Souls lumbered back towards his redoubt in the back of the cave. Shay was slightly confused for a fraction of a second before realizing that he knew *exactly* what his God was planning. The Eater Of Souls made it to his larder, a vast and deep protrusion absolutely filled with the bodies of all of its victims, souls still tethered to whatever remained. There was a faint glow emanating off the beast for a moment before the glow spread and coated the bodies. Slowly muscle and skin became visible in a wavering pulse, there one moment and gone the next. Slowly, his new army began to rise. Shay knew his God had also called upon the Baba Yaga, a summons even a creature as powerful as them couldn’t ignore. They wouldn’t dare turn down a summon from the beast that stood before him. The Order had been drawn out to this place thinking they would only have to fight a weakened Lich and a Vamp that wouldn’t be able to fight due to the sun being out. They were in for a rude surprise. Shay was ecstatic, he wanted nothing more than to charge right out there and rip Tobias from the vehicle he could hear speeding towards their location. Soon enough they would take out this contingent from The Order. That would surely lead the remainder straight to their doorstep to be dispatched just as easily. With the contacts he had from years of planning with The Dark Pope, any creature not killed the last time The Order was involved would love to come out of hiding. With the elders out of the way the rest of The Order would all fall, and the creatures of the damned would finally come out of the shadows and reign supreme. Shay followed as his new God and their army walked out the cave mouth, and for the first time in centuries, he stepped boldly into the sunshine. The sensation of the sun on his face for the first time in over 350 years was unlike anything he remembered. He looked over to Sĕigo and smiled a fang filled smile, his teeth shining brightly in the sun. Behind Sĕigo, he saw a familiar cabin walking on huge chicken legs, awkwardly strut over and land gracefully near the cave mouth.
Reginald had his swarmer's deployed near the area of operation, and Fat man was quickly approaching the area along with Little boy. He wanted to get a closer look at things using the far better camera on Fat man. When it was finally close enough to zoom in and get a better look at things, he was absolutely shocked. The resolution on the swarmer's were not that great having to zoom in so far to get a good look at things but stay out of sight, with luck they would look like nothing more than a pack of buzzards circling off to the horizon. Fat man on the other hand, had been built for long range spying on creatures with much better senses than most humans. He was able to get a clear view of the opposing force as well as make out, yes those were certainly dinosaurs… There was also a small cabin that hadn't been in any of the satellite photos… “Overwatch to all teams, be advised. The Baba Yaga is here as well. It also appears that”… He paused as the laptop running the drone beeped and highlighted one of the faces in the crowd. “Our vampire is somehow standing out in broad daylight, next to what I’m assuming is The Eater Of Souls, based on the description from the vision Tobias had”. He hated giving such dismal news but he knew that he would support the team best by running his drones and giving wind calls for Angiola. Sniper overwatch could really be a blessing, and with this new Rail gun Thomas had designed… Angiola had an exceedingly high chance of taking out The Eater Of Souls by herself.
I heard Reginald's report over the coms, A Vamp in broad daylight and The Baba Yaga… Lets not forget the freaking Dinosaurs that they apparently summoned. Well, this day just gets better by the moment. My mind was racing, the implications for this mission were getting worse by the moment. Not to mention The Eater Of Souls could actually bind our souls to our bodies and likely kill us. Left there to rot forever as he fed off of our suffering. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that and once we defeated it, from what the warrior I spoke with in my vision said, all the victims would be released as well. Still, the thought of having my soul stolen somehow really had my brain spinning. At least Angiola was sniper support and Reginald was able to get us the info before we rolled up to this mess. Carter, the large Australian riding shotgun said “A vamp in daylight and the Baba Yaga, not to mention Dinos…” before going off on a profanity laced rant in his thick Australian brogue. I honestly couldn't tell if he was still excited about this or not, then he rolled down his window and hung his upper body out the Jeep while banging his hand on the hard top roof. “LETS GOOOOO!! BATTLE WITH BLOODY DINOS AND A BABA YAGA, WOOOO HOOOOO!!!” He bellowed at the top of his lunges. Well, at least he was excited! The two men in the back seat were grinning ear to ear, used to the exuberance of their colleague and his antics. “Oi, this ell be one for the record books lads! I'm tellin ya what!” Carter said as he finally took his seat once again. “Are you in range to engage the enemy force with your swarmer's? If so, try for headshots on the skeletal foe. We have no clue what manner of magics the creature used to animate them. We will be in position in 5 mikes, coming in hot.” Simon asked over the coms. Hopefully the drones would be in range and they would be able to take out some of the opposition. “Swarmer's programmed to engage as soon as they are in range, ETA 3 mikes. Fat man and Little boy will be on target in 7 and 9 mike’s respectively. I'll do what I can to clear you a path, I'll mag dump and detonate if needed. Make sure you are clear of the blast radius if you see them dive into the hoard.” We were down to the wire now. We would drive up, park the Jeeps in a crescent around the cave of the mouth and bail out of the vehicles so we could engage from cover. Not that we were expecting to be fired at, but we still didn't know what we didn't know, so better safe than sorry. We watched as the Swarmer's flew in low, approaching the same area we were speeding towards. They were coming in from our 10 O’clock and began to engage targets and bleed brass like the vicious birds of prey they were. Each Swarmer flew in low and fired 10 to 20 shots at random targets before pulling up steeply at a 90 degree angle before leveling out and going into a random dive pattern to attack again. “Limited success noted, even with head shots. No effect on primary targets. I’m going to have the Swarmer's empty mags and detonate at ground level. ETA 45 seconds to detonation. I’ll keep Fat Man and Little Boy on standby and engage with the mini-guns once over the target area.” Reginald called in over the coms before his swarm circled and dove back into the fray, hammering the crowd with .308 before detonating just before hitting the ground. Normally 6 to 8 lbs of C4 detonating would be much more impressive but with each explosion being only ½ to ¾ a pound each there wasn’t too bad of a concussion. The silver wire seemed to do much more damage and there were hellacious streaks from the hoard.