The evening before hand had been a blur of conversation with Ellie and Romany, and then subsequently a haze of far too many drinks bought by others fascinated by his tales of adventure. Still, he managed to find his way back to the Vanguard by night's end without much incident, though thankfully the ship would depart the next day so he couldn't be around to hear of what he may or may not have done.
~~~
Lucian and Romany, because a man as big as himself always deserved top billing; there the two stood back to back in the crumbling sky temple. The alter behind them was missing its keystone, the relic the adventures sought, which also happened to be keeping the steam engines holding the small structure in the air operational. Around them rest the remains of at least a dozen clockwork guardians, sent into a frenzy at the defilement of their determined place of protection. At least, it wasn't cannibals, not this runaround anyways — hopefully there would be a next.
Their fortunes looked grim, but this wasn't the first time the pair had faced such dangers, though it did put the bar at a record high mark. Lucian bashed in the geared skull of another automaton with sturdy, empowered gauntlets, whilst Romany caught an engineer between the eyes with her holdout pistol. How many of these things were there? Either way the two needed an out, and as if reading his mind, the more scholarly of them exclaimed about a air skiff dock towards where they had initially parachuted in.
The gorilla of a mechanic lead the way with brutal blows and long steps to pave their way through hallways that gave way to the endless blue of the outdoors with every step. "Hurry!" Lucian hollered over the crash of stone and metal against one another. The two made it to the launch site, Lucian quickly pushing Romany ahead of him into the empty room to handle the preparations while he held back the oncoming mob. His muscles ached from the constant movement and the sprawling fights, but surely the pain would be worth it to make it out of here alive.
As the hum of the hanger bays opening resonated a scream echoed across the space of the room along with a gunshot, then an explosion. One of the mechanical guards had been hiding in wait off in the shadows and charged Romany while she worked, detonating when it got close enough. Throwing a much smaller man into the crowd of encroaching nuts and bolts, the Frenchman dashed to where his partner had been felled. A mess she had become, her side charred by the blast and left in a pile of her own blood, but she still had a pulse if only faintly.
The control panel however was a smoldering mess, and Lucian knew that without it functioning he couldn't get the doors open further which were grinding against its own gears. Further complications were the enemies pouring into the now less unoccupied hanger. Clutching an unconscious Romany in his arms, Lucian was backed to the edge where the skiff would remain attached to the soon to be decrepit temple.
Here they came...
~~~
"AHEM! Lucian!"
That shrill call a one monsieur Marquis had long since grown accustomed to gave cause for heavy lids to part to view the sunlight enveloped room, a stark difference from the rather gloomy fate he and the lovely Romany had just faced in what appeared to be but a nightmare.
Only when he had her all to himself did she ever use his first name. Perhaps he liked it better that way, who was to say? Anything was better that what he'd just dreamt about, especially to one as superstitious as Lucian. Wiping the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hands he let out a bear like yawn before struggling to his feet from the covers. Surprisingly the normally tough to wake mechanic moved from the bed with an unusual swiftness. Dressed in but tight thermal bottoms that went down to his knees, he staggered over to the luggage containing his own attire, anything to get his mind off of prior thoughts. That and the mention of a free meal might be the best way to get the man to "hop to it," so to speak.
"Just need a second." Clearly he was not all there yet as words were grumbled in what was probably a hungover groan, but as he slipped on a proper pair of trousers and threw a dark shirt over his head he was getting there. Romany was on the money with how her partner felt, Lucian would not want to miss seeing this ship set in motion. "How much longer do you think we got?"
~~~
Lucian and Romany, because a man as big as himself always deserved top billing; there the two stood back to back in the crumbling sky temple. The alter behind them was missing its keystone, the relic the adventures sought, which also happened to be keeping the steam engines holding the small structure in the air operational. Around them rest the remains of at least a dozen clockwork guardians, sent into a frenzy at the defilement of their determined place of protection. At least, it wasn't cannibals, not this runaround anyways — hopefully there would be a next.
Their fortunes looked grim, but this wasn't the first time the pair had faced such dangers, though it did put the bar at a record high mark. Lucian bashed in the geared skull of another automaton with sturdy, empowered gauntlets, whilst Romany caught an engineer between the eyes with her holdout pistol. How many of these things were there? Either way the two needed an out, and as if reading his mind, the more scholarly of them exclaimed about a air skiff dock towards where they had initially parachuted in.
The gorilla of a mechanic lead the way with brutal blows and long steps to pave their way through hallways that gave way to the endless blue of the outdoors with every step. "Hurry!" Lucian hollered over the crash of stone and metal against one another. The two made it to the launch site, Lucian quickly pushing Romany ahead of him into the empty room to handle the preparations while he held back the oncoming mob. His muscles ached from the constant movement and the sprawling fights, but surely the pain would be worth it to make it out of here alive.
As the hum of the hanger bays opening resonated a scream echoed across the space of the room along with a gunshot, then an explosion. One of the mechanical guards had been hiding in wait off in the shadows and charged Romany while she worked, detonating when it got close enough. Throwing a much smaller man into the crowd of encroaching nuts and bolts, the Frenchman dashed to where his partner had been felled. A mess she had become, her side charred by the blast and left in a pile of her own blood, but she still had a pulse if only faintly.
The control panel however was a smoldering mess, and Lucian knew that without it functioning he couldn't get the doors open further which were grinding against its own gears. Further complications were the enemies pouring into the now less unoccupied hanger. Clutching an unconscious Romany in his arms, Lucian was backed to the edge where the skiff would remain attached to the soon to be decrepit temple.
Here they came...
~~~
"AHEM! Lucian!"
That shrill call a one monsieur Marquis had long since grown accustomed to gave cause for heavy lids to part to view the sunlight enveloped room, a stark difference from the rather gloomy fate he and the lovely Romany had just faced in what appeared to be but a nightmare.
Only when he had her all to himself did she ever use his first name. Perhaps he liked it better that way, who was to say? Anything was better that what he'd just dreamt about, especially to one as superstitious as Lucian. Wiping the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hands he let out a bear like yawn before struggling to his feet from the covers. Surprisingly the normally tough to wake mechanic moved from the bed with an unusual swiftness. Dressed in but tight thermal bottoms that went down to his knees, he staggered over to the luggage containing his own attire, anything to get his mind off of prior thoughts. That and the mention of a free meal might be the best way to get the man to "hop to it," so to speak.
"Just need a second." Clearly he was not all there yet as words were grumbled in what was probably a hungover groan, but as he slipped on a proper pair of trousers and threw a dark shirt over his head he was getting there. Romany was on the money with how her partner felt, Lucian would not want to miss seeing this ship set in motion. "How much longer do you think we got?"
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