Devils Own ( Steampunk and Mystic ) 4.9

4.9

The riders were dressed in colorful drabs that covered them from the head down with only the opening for the eyes. Their head piece was a wraparound cloth with a trailing end to the rear. There were six of them with the rifles and bandoliers slung across the chest riding the man height tall horses. The horses were covered in colorful drabs with the emblem of the crescent with the twin swords.

That was the emblem of the Crescent Warriors. They were the rival Guilds of the Devil’s Own.  

“Strangers are not allowed in these areas.” The leader of the riders stopped before the trio. “Leave now or  ...”

The dirigibles appeared at the horizon. The leader was warned by the rider who saw the ship.

“Leave or you will shot.” The riders rode off to escape from the ship. Kassius led the two ladies to hide at the nearest bushes. It was the covered by a far distance. He saw the dirigible opened fire on the fleeing riders. He recognized the dirigible; it was the same one that Lilith had taken.

The riders split up into pairs, but the dirigible was focus on the leader. It machine guns soon hit the accompanying rider with the leader, and then focused on the leader. The other riders had realized that their leader was in trouble and moved back to shoot at the dirigible. The later had moved to within a hundred feet above the ground, and was trailing the leader. The other riders were shooting at the dirigible, but then the other gunners on the dirigible were also laying fire on the riders.

Then the unexpected happened.

A line was thrown down and a figure abseil down by it, holding a twin sword. The figure loomed above the leader and swung the swords. At that last moment the leader dropped back on the back of the horse, and shot at the swopping figure with his rifle. The shot hit the figure above, and then dirigible moved on with it hanging. The leader then pulled at the horse reins, and moved in tangent to the dirigible path. The other riders joined their leader, but the danger was not over.

Three Scorpions appeared on the horizon, and was in pursuit. The Scorpions spread out and opened fire. It brought down two riders, while the rest of the riders split into individual routes. Two Scorpions went for the leader like the dirigible. The leader did a detour and rode towards Kassius.

“Shoot at the Scorpions when they passed us.” Kassius told the ladies, while they laid low into the ground. Kassius had his sword drawn out and held close to his chest. The leader jumped over their position and then the Scorpions came in close pursuit. The trio got up and leveled their rifles at the rear of the Scorpions. They took out the rear gunner but by then the drivers had driven some distance. One of the Scorpion turned back with the loader as the gunner on the platform. It came at the trio with the machine gun firing, and Derreen got hit on the left arm. That made Kassius got up and ran into the line of fire with his sword drawn. He jumped up and did a dual body somersault before he came slashing down with the sword.

The Sword of Mars came into contact on the Scorpion bonnet, and the slash cut into it. It also cut into the engine block and caused the Scorpion to spin out of control. By then Kassius had pulled out the sword and jumped off. He landed on his feet when the Scorpion crashed. He ran towards the Scorpion and pulled at the twin mounted machine guns. He got it off the holder and carried it with him. It was heavy on his hands with the extended ammo clip. He fired away at the approaching Scorpion which had given up on chasing the leader. The twin machine gun threw him back but he managed to hit the rear gunner of the second Scorpion. That deterred the fight from the remaining crews.  The Scorpions pulled away, while Kassius threw aside the guns.

“Are you okay?” Irina had approached him and was looking for wounds. Kassius shook his head and pushed himself up. He then saw the riders had returned.

The leader approached Kassius and then dismounted.

“My name is Jacque. I appreciate the assistance.”

“Kassius, Devil’s Own.” With his reply, he found the riders had leveled their rifles at him.

“Devil’s Own? You are far from home. More to that, you are not wanted here.” The leader told Kassius. “Or anywhere.”

The leader then motioned to the riders to lower their rifles.

“You saved my life. So that gives you a special invitation.” Jacque replied. “We will let the Elders decide on your fate.”

The village was like any, with its taverns and shops. There were the religious halls, schools, and then the Village Hall. Kassius and the ladies with their hands tied and trailed with the ropes attached to the horses. Jacque had dismounted and walked next to the Kassius. The walk down the main street held the attention of the onlookers of the villagers. They had stopped their work and stared at them. Kassius noticed a few of them had the crescent emblem on their tunic. The Crescent with the Swords was more of a protective Guild. They hired out their services to guard relics and places of importance to the mystical leaders. The Runes was one of the later. They have been in service for a very long time, and had dueled with the Guilds like Devil’s Own and Dark Princes.

“Go in.” Jacque showed them the doorway to the Village Hall. “The Elders awaits you.”

Inside the Village Hall was laid out like a praying hall with the rows of benches facing a raised platform with heavy drapes behind it. On the side of the hall, were the lighted oil stands, and the portraits of the past leaders. On the elevated platform, there were three figures in dark robes with pointed hats.

“Devil’s Own, my name is Senior Thaddeus.” The one who spoke stood in the middle and was tall despite his slumped back. His left arm was moving in mechanical movement then.

**********

 “Let me explain to you about the Runes.” Senior Thaddeus had invited the trio to a feast at the rear of the Village Hall. “The Runes may not be your site, but it was named for the writings on the pillars. They were engraved into the walls. Despite the weather and the passing of the centuries, the writings have never faded.”

“Your next question will be what’ in the writing?” Thaddeus continued on. “If there was anything, we do not know what it was. The Crescent and Swords was formed generations ago to be the Runes. We been doing it since then, and when our services are needed elsewhere, we deployed our best. We recruited from our own children that grew here.”

“We have been invaded before, and each time we were saved by the Runes. Some years back, King Richard tried to invade the Runes, but we fought back hard. We repel them for weeks, and eventually, he brought in more troopers. He overran our position and pushed us towards the Runes. At the last moment just when we thought we were going to lose it all, the Runes protected us. The troopers all fell in front of us; no wounds but just collapsed. There was a light or appeared to be, that enveloped the troopers. They fell where they stood, and even some shot their rifles but it was needless. They were dead soon after. We re-grouped and continued with our defenses but there were no troopers to shoot at. The ones who were not affected by the light retreated.” Since then, the troopers have not returned but patrol the boundary. Sometimes, we ride to the boundary and get into fights with them.”

“King Richard then tried to offer us peace and be an ally, but we declined. Since then, the troopers have not returned but patrol the boundary. Sometimes, we ride to the boundary and get into fights with them.”

“Senior Thaddeus, tell us about the gateway?” Irina pushed for the subject.

The elderly man glared at her. He was not amused to be interrupted. In turn he walked away from them towards the drapes. He pulled at it, and it revealed a large metal design with a string of angels weaved around it wings interlocking, and there were writings on it. Another of the seniors stood up and walked to Thaddeus.

“It is okay, Simon. They will know eventually. It was in the signs.” Thaddeus told the senior. He turned to Irina.

“Behold the Gateway of Angel.”