Erica Olafson Rise of the Dark One Vol 10 Chapter 15 Ice Demons
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What the two women called a Sky wagon was a strange contraption with a big propeller on top. It somehow looked to me as if someone designed a flying machine with an insect as inspiration. While there were no insects on Nilfeheim, I remembered my Union school lessons. I also recalled our instructor at Camp Idyllic, Lt. Aurelius. In one of his xeno tech classed, he showed us a similar contraption and he called it a helicopter.
Beliga, motioned to the machine that whipped up quite a gale as it landed on the water. “Come quick, sister. The Knights of Avondur will soon know that three of their creations will not return, and investigate. When they do, they come en masse.”
While I had many questions, I decided to follow them. I didn’t have all that many options and I decided to trust them.
The noise level inside the machine was bearable but not low enough to carry any meaningful conversation. Neither Beliga nor Umati had joined, but I could see them outside keeping up with the flying machine,
The thing was piloted by a man, but thankfully he was busy piloting the fly machine. The only other passenger was an older woman who smiled at me and then offered me a colorful blanked, which I thankfully used to cover myself.
The flight lasted about ten minutes. First, we had followed the river upstream. The landscape did not change much, but then the purplish tree vegetation thinned out and made way to tended fields. Something that reminded me of Jarsumat as well.
The alien sun mostly obscured by gray clouds was about to settle behind a not so distant mountain range.
There was a settlement, a small town or village ahead of us, but the machine swung to the right and gained altitude as it followed the upward slope of a mountain. Moments later it landed on a narrow ledge and was immediately pushed inside by a group of men and women.
The racket of the motor died down and the old woman said. “Sister of Earth, we can get out now. We are all eager to hear how you ended up here on Avondur. There aren’t any others of you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I am not certain. Others wanted to come here, but I don’t know if they made it. The last thing I remember was a hotel terrace on N’Ger and then I woke at the point of that ice cage.”
A young woman with an arrogant, quite hostile demeanor stepped before me just as I climbed out. “I think you are a spy of the Avondur-Knights. That cave is forbidden to anyone. It is a passage they say, to the realm of the Judge. No one has ever emerged from there.”
“I don’t give a hoot what you think, Ma’am. I am here by invitation. I can leave.”
“You can not leave, you know where our hideout is, I warned them to bring you here.”
I was about as annoyed as can be. “Listen good, girl. I am cold, hungry and quite angry. I do not know where I am, but I assume I am many million light-years from my home, my ship. I am in this situation because of a dirty rotten brother of mine. If you don’t want me here, fine. By Thor’s mighty hammer don’t you dare stand in my way.”
She blinked with her pointed skin trust upward. “I am a warrior acolyte and the daughter of Kaliha, you are naked and must obey.”
The two-winged women that I encountered first had landed and came close.
Beliga said, “She needs our help, and she defeated an Ice Demon on her own. Go back to Kaliha and remember your place.”
I said. “Whatever outfit you run here, I don’t think I belong here. Thanks for the ride and the rescue. I find a way home. Have a nice day.”
The young woman drew a sword. “I only take instructions from my teacher. Kalhia express...”
She could not say more, I had stepped into her reach, whacked her wrist holding the sword with considerable force. She dropped the sword and like a first-rate, amateur tried to reach for it.
That left her wide open for an Aikido throw wich sent her to the rocky ground. I took the sword. “Bad idea, introducing swords to a fight with a Neo Viking.”
Beliga spread her arms. “Sister, don’t judge us by that. She is an unruly hot head. You are welcome here, please let us find you something to wear and food. We then will gather so you can tell us who you are and we will tell you about us.”
“You sure have a weird way of showing hospitality, I’d say, but okay.”
Meeze noticed a second flash of light behind him. Something went through that Nexus Point he had just used, but there was nothing visible.
He knew of several technologies that could cloak or render an individual invisible. He drew his small TKU, a gift from Circuit and dialed it to max. “Show yourself, Meeze is not stoopiz!”
Out of thin air, a gray empty suit appeared. “I am Tyron, don’t be alarmed.”
“Meeze hops through a trans spatial gate to someplace I never been. Then something invisible comes after. You are a little biz stoopiz, Meeze is very alarmed.”
“I saw you sneak out, right after Captain Olafson. I know we are in a world of trouble for doing that, but I too am very concerned about the Captain.”
Meeze was no longer angry at the Seenian Suit. “Meeze not cares about the troubles, Meeze wanz the Captinz back.”
“I do as well. I was there when she disappeared. She left me behind and all her things. Where did her body go? I have been closer to her than anyone, I know that man that supposed to be Eric Olafson, is not the same as Erica. I am just a machine, but I simply know.”
“Meeze knows too, he feelz not the same.”
“Where are we going Mr.Meeze?”
“We goes after that Captinz and ask him.”
Tyron scooped up Meeze and said. “We can move faster this way and I can extend my cloaking abilities around you as well.”
Morning dawned over the city of Sandakaar. The Tomradi troops had settled down where they stood. The old Estrella compound, still engulfed in that purplish force field, armed and armored troops of the First Emperor standing at the ready behind the ramparts.
Crimsor and the vast hordes of Demon creatures also settled down but milling around restless and eager to tear in all these living things of this plane.
None of the usual market activity, none of the locals had come out to set up their stalls and conduct their daily business, Right here at the eastern entrance to Sandakaar, the city appeared like a ghost town. Everyone was hiding, knowing that something utterly profound was about to happen.
Sata himself, Balkurs the servant of Baal and Crimsor had approached Lumis together; they waited. Lumis was nervous as can be. “The Dark One, he has arrived has he not?”
Sata, really looked like many believed a Demon Lord should look, with bright red skin. Piercing, flame engulfed horns from his forehead flame yellow eyes and emitting a feelable scorching heat. “Yes he is here, I sensed his arrival in the early hours of this day.”
“Then where is he? And where is the WEAPON?”
The Demon lord answered. “He is not yet complete, one believes he is searching for that last token.”
Crimsor pointed his gauntlet fist towards the mountains. “The WEAPON has just arrived!”
Sata cackled evilly. “All is not lost, Lumis. You control the WEAPON and the Dark One can be slain.”
Lord Lumis liked the sound of that. “Then let us secure that WEAPON.”
Stahl and his group had traversed to Avondur.
Luci Fera, the demon daughter said to Stahl. “This is Avondur. It is here the first spark of this Universe has been ignited. It is here where all psionic energy emerges and it is here where thousands of rifts connect to other realities.”
Luci just finished her sentence, when an invisible force blew much of the cave walls aside as if they were made of insubstantial dust. Three humanoids hovered a few feet above the ground.
The one in the middle wore a gleaming armor of silver that shone in brilliant light. The left one wore a red armor, while the right one had the appearance of the Devil himself.
Lord Lumis instantly recognized Alice to be the WEAPON. He thundered. “Minuscule humans hand her over.”
Admiral Stahl never to be intimidated or too surprised by anything had his battle suits shield activated. “Guys find cover. These clowns are serious.”
Alycia reverted to her true form, a seven meters tall winged demon. “Lumis, you stand against me, the first of the Coven.”
“I am the daughter of Lucifer. Come then Sata and match thy power with mine.”
“I killed one of your kind before and I will do so again.” Har-Hi proclaimed.
Shea drew her sword, just as Egill did.
The three Narth stood close together and instead of speaking, a visible beam of pure psionic energies hammered into Lumis, and pushed the Lord of light with force away, while Stahl fired his main suit weapon. The QNP blast burned right through Sata’s chest. “Don’t mind if this minuscule human roasts your ass, demon.”
Crimsor realized that this group was far from minuscule.
Sata was not killed, but shaken; just like Lumis who just emerged from a pile of rubble. His shiny armor damaged once again.
Sata recognized Luci, and knew he was in for a fight. Why did she stand against him? Wasn’t her father one of the entities that had to face the wrath of the Dark One, if that Dark God could not be stopped?
While he summoned his army of demons, he yelled. “Luci Fera, why are you on their side?”
She answered with a firey blast! “ Because my heritage does not define me, not even once, as I found acceptance with them.”
Lumis did not want to waste time and energy on this fight, he was so close. He had underestimated them, Crimsor also called for fighters and the battle raged.
These ten individuals posed a bigger challenge then he anticipated. Crimsor called the young woman that was the WEAPON, she fought with telekinetics on an unprecedented level. She smashed house-sized boulders like titanic hammers on the advancing hordes. “Crimsor call her and let us leave.”
Crimsor yelled in an ancient language and it did make the young woman stop. She staggered forward and Sata engulfed her in the reddish light of a netherworld portal.
Alice disappeared before her friends could react, as they all were engaged in combat.
“I got her!” Sata yelled.
The three entities fled, while their summoned hordes covered their retreat,
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The older woman I had met in the flying machine turned out to be some sort of community leader. While there were about twenty people gathered, both men and women. I had a clear notion that it was the women that dominated this group.
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Our ship had settled down on its landing gear and Shaka powered down the Arti Gravs. Har-Hi pointed at a large number of tanks and artillery pieces that had been assembled around the vast empty plane, that was designated to us as a place to land. “I don’t think those are all for military honors. I think they are still quite nervous about us.” Narth agreed with my XO. “To describe the entire planet’s population, the terms anxiety and fear would be on top of my choices.” Mehdi occupying a...
From the open door, Dusty stepped into the room.”I am containing the Dai.” The living dust cloud flowed like a sand storm around me and engulfed both Dai. The Dustcloud said.”Captain, they are riding on electromagnetic waves. They infiltrated us as we set the shields transparent for radio waves.” Both Dai looked like living statues. Now Orthbeer passed through the deck plating. I could not hear what he was trying to say, then he came closer and closer and his greenish hand passed into my...
The Dragon stood in his cargo bay and his eyes glowed as his pirates dumped loads of Iridium and other highly valuable goods only to return to get more. He cursed himself for not remembering the right planet. He was so sure he had been here before and now he could not remember any details. He was so certain the suit told him these coordinates. Of course, he had not kept any files on the coordinates but his suit knew where it was and now it was silent and did not respond to anything. All there...
Hans due to his size and strength was often seen as a bruiser with tremendous strength but little else. This was not the case since he was with the Olafson gang. He was asked about his opinion about other things. The woman across him was about as opposite as a being could be to a Saturnian, she was a Delicate. While Brana was certainly not a member of the original gang, she like the rest became like family. She had just stepped into his security office and without any hesitation floated...
A muscular being covered with a brown shroud came running our way. It had a nonhuman snout sticking out from under his hood. What was exposed of him was covered with a short gray fur. In his right, he held an elegant looking weapon. It appeared to be an energy beamer of sort, he had fired it twice into the direction he was coming from. Now he turned and with it his weapon and he aimed at me. Lucky for me I was close, unfortunate for him, I had already drawn the Dai blade. I moved fast into...
About ten armed Trontigmakader entered the tavern, led by an insectoid in a flashy bright blue and white armor of some kind. “The four Masters declared martial law until we can determine who released the Cleanser beasts from their hold. This place has been identified as a meeting place of the Discrepant Element. You are all considered potential collaborators, perhaps even supplying weapons to these criminals. You are...” A high pitched humming voice screamed from somewhere else. “The Four...
Har-Hi had left over two hours ago with the first twenty and reported the city was orderly. The crew members with him had a good time and the locals were used to visitors and merchants from other places. He also reported that there was a market and Circuit excited. I warned him not to buy any more eggs. Even though I had to admit Fenris had turned out to be liked by the crew and more or less fit right in. Two of the minis were out near the Red Dragon watching I suspected the Red Dragon...
Har-Hi was led to a Wisdom keeper, who was without question an old Dai. The revelation that there was a Dai was quite a surprise for Har-Hi. He had not expected that, but since he had become a Union officer and traveled with Erica, he had met and seen the unthinkable. Living dust clouds, planet surface covering creatures and a planet-bound, desert scavenging Dai. He had met Dai that were born in captivity and knew a Dai tribe leader was engaged in selling Dai Than as slaves. Meeting a Dai...
The Dai Nest so I learned a week later, was a huge space station in an otherwise empty star system. It was deep in Union space. The star had been named Dai-Core. The station was made of several Gigamon stations, interconnected with girder-like structures that acted as docks and mooring arms for Dai ships and the humongous Dai Mothers. The system and the station were busy. From my visually unaided vista, a simple viewport I counted eleven Dai Mothers, I was sure there were many more outside...
Prelude Part 4: Volund 4999, OTT The crumbling walls of Olafson Burg were no longer on his mind. Volund was now the steward of Ragnarsson Rock. Erik Gustav had kept his word and had given him the stewardship and rule of all that was Ragnarsson on this world. There were tanneries in the extensive basements, several Nubhir farms on the permanent ice of the southern polar region, and large Fangsnapper herds. Best of all, there were five modern and well-kept fishing boats and three hunting...
Mr.Flensburger was now gone for a week and we had a new teacher. Mr. Walters was his name and he was much different to the jovial and gentle Mr. Flensburger. He was stern and had a no nonsense approach. This Monday morning, right by the main doors I saw Yngve Lofdahl waiting for me. He had a busted; bleeding lip and his left eye was swelling. Like me he was wearing a fur vest over a linen tunic that reached halfway to the knees, linen breeches and boots. Usually he always looked like he wore...
TheOther was injured. The wounds he received from the relentless attacks of these smaller Y’All versions were too deep and too severe for his incredible healing abilities to cope with. He regretted the fact that he opted to forego the AutoDoc adjustment, Cateria recommended for months now. The original factory-issued unit, requested a species update because this amazing piece of Union technology was deploying medical nanites and his own bodies defense mechanisms fought the nanites and...
This situation reminded me of my first visit to Sin 4. I did not know where I was, brought here against my will. Abducted, stripped of everything I owned. I was once again bare feet, had several blisters and burn wounds. My hair was a mess, at least In didn’t have to go pee. Darn it thinking about it, made realize I actually did. I was still running across that landing field, not knowing where I was going, but I knew I still stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only pin skinned human. The...