Krummkreuz (part 1)
Mr Zoat
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16th September 2012
15:07 GMT -5
A shocked face looks up from where its owner is prostrate on the floor, his Superman-themed robes matching those worn by Wolf Krieger on the other side. There are other cultists.. around, but none of them appear to be participating in the ritual.
"Is something-?"
Killing the ritualist has a chance of keeping the portal open and I need it closed now. Sander constructs slash out, scouring the blood-daubed walls free of runic inscriptions as I fire a pulse of orange light at the open portal itself.
There's a… Smell of sulphur and a momentary sensation of pulling, pulling at my internal organs… And then it's gone, and the room is just a room.
"Heretic!"
The ritualist leaps to his feet, his youth making him look a little ridiculous even as his hands glow a sort of purple-red.
"Blasphemer! I will cast-."
A pithing needle construct hits him in the back of the neck, causing his body to jerk and the glow around his hands to fade. Wasn't completely sure that would work as magic is the province of the soul, but I assume that what he does has somatic elements.
Okay, got a bit more time. Ring?
Standing by.
Drain magic.
Orange light flashes in his eyes and flickers around his skin. There's no further source of demonic-
A hail of bullets rattle off my environmental shield, prompting me to erect construct shields around the two of us.
-power other than in this parallel, where it should be a little less freely available. I'm not seeing any runes or sacrificial areas that could be used to open up a portal to the local Hell, and from what Wolf was saying that would be contrary to their intent anyway.
Ring, any trouble digesting the demonic magic?
Energy conversion efficiency low. Process in progress.
I suppose that's the most I can ask for. The cultists attempt another volley, but give up when it clearly doesn't work. They then make way for another of their number carrying an oxyacetylene torch. Which won't work, but I'm mildly impressed by how rational a move it is.
Ring, can we fix his face?
Confirmed. Reconstruction in progress.
Good, and-. Really? Ugh, remove the brands as well.
Compliance.
The torch flares into life as I feel the last of the demonic magic drain from whoever this is. I take one of Wallace's healing potions out of subspace… Yes, looks to be in reasonable condition. I pour it down the boy's throat. That much demonic magic isn't good for a person, but I need to know if it's a survivable experience with moderate intervention. With the potion bottle empty I remove the pithing needle and let him collapse into a construct stretcher.
Nazi Earth. Who do I know here who's even remotely someone I want as my first point of contact? With Overman gone, none of the other Reichmen really struck me as reasonable people. But Angelika spent more of her time with her own team, and…
Well, she's not an objective judge of character, but she talked about them more and I'm confident that I could more easily convince them that I do actually know her. So her team are a better choice, and once I've talked them around I can get them to talk to the Reichsmen. I know what Baroness Reiter's favourite food is. What her favourite film is. About that time Otto Arnold started trying to come up with an actual catchphrase for himself.
I don't know their phone numbers or anything like that, but Axis Germania operate out of Wewelsburg so finding them will be pretty easy once I get out of here.
I extend orange filaments and send the oxyacetylene torch into subspace before shock crowning the cultists.
Okay, the local police are likely to be national socialists and know nothing about magic. There's very little chance that they'll accept what I say about mind control magic… Darn it. I'm going to have to imprison them here -wherever here is- and hope I can talk them into sparing the cultists.
"Sorry about this."
Now, chaining people to walls in certain positions can be quite dangerous due to how the human circulatory system works. But I can't risk them killing themselves while I'm away. Alright, manacles around the wrists, with short chains linking them to the bricks in the walls. The chains are long enough to let them sit or stand, but not long enough to reach another cultist. Then I rifle through their robes for anything that could be used as a weapon. Knives, pistols and a few assault rifles vanish into subspace. Ah, manacles for the legs as well, and I think we're done.
Exit is this way, and I'll take summoner boy with me. Scans don't show any other cultists on-site, and it didn't look like any of the other cultists were magic users.
Al… Right, looks like we're in a.. sub-cellar, and… Up the ladder, I'm into the main cellar. Large barrels of wine stand fermenting in rows all around me, the smell of wine permeating the air. There's light through barred windows high up on one wall, but otherwise the place is in the dark. Looks like that barrel is in position to be moved over the hatch. That would stand up to a casual inspection…
But there's no magic detection on this planet. There's nothing in particular to draw attention to here, so a quick search is probably all that they would have to deal with.
There are a pair of wooden doors over there, so I unlock them with a construct key and pull them open. Ah, good, a goods lift to the surface. I fly up the shaft with my cargo, emerging into the open air. Looks like a… Medium sized town in a fairly rural area.
Ring, where are we?
Western Russia.
Not in this universe.
It seems like mid-morning here. Not all that many people around, though I see a few spot me and stare for a few moments before returning to what they were doing. No real alarm. Curiosity. Curious.
Fear there, but-. The man with her points to the stretcher. Right, it's clearly medical, so I'm helping someone.
Ring, plot course to Wewelsburg.
Compliance.
I should probably call ahead a little, but right now I want to fly up out of sight of the ground. Kryptonian aerospace sensors were good, but even assuming that they've implemented a full network I can turn it aside. Once I'm high enough I accelerate, heading into Germany-proper. That could get me in trouble, but even if Germany is the most secure part of the world, they're still using Kryptonian technology. It's nothing I haven't seen bef-.
I'm knocked back as a yellow blur slams into me, environmental shield briefly flaring as I take a… Low to mid power super strength hit. The figure remains a blur, well below Flash speed but fast enough that I'm struggling to track them by eye.
"Baroness, I-."
"I don't care how much Overman likes you, you do not have permission to have that ring, much less fly here."
She's got the sense not to stop moving as I generate construct armour.
"Looks like you will be going back to Leatherwing. So sad. Your column was doing so well."
"This is going to be tiresome."
15:07 GMT -5
A shocked face looks up from where its owner is prostrate on the floor, his Superman-themed robes matching those worn by Wolf Krieger on the other side. There are other cultists.. around, but none of them appear to be participating in the ritual.
"Is something-?"
Killing the ritualist has a chance of keeping the portal open and I need it closed now. Sander constructs slash out, scouring the blood-daubed walls free of runic inscriptions as I fire a pulse of orange light at the open portal itself.
There's a… Smell of sulphur and a momentary sensation of pulling, pulling at my internal organs… And then it's gone, and the room is just a room.
"Heretic!"
The ritualist leaps to his feet, his youth making him look a little ridiculous even as his hands glow a sort of purple-red.
"Blasphemer! I will cast-."
A pithing needle construct hits him in the back of the neck, causing his body to jerk and the glow around his hands to fade. Wasn't completely sure that would work as magic is the province of the soul, but I assume that what he does has somatic elements.
Okay, got a bit more time. Ring?
Standing by.
Drain magic.
Orange light flashes in his eyes and flickers around his skin. There's no further source of demonic-
A hail of bullets rattle off my environmental shield, prompting me to erect construct shields around the two of us.
-power other than in this parallel, where it should be a little less freely available. I'm not seeing any runes or sacrificial areas that could be used to open up a portal to the local Hell, and from what Wolf was saying that would be contrary to their intent anyway.
Ring, any trouble digesting the demonic magic?
Energy conversion efficiency low. Process in progress.
I suppose that's the most I can ask for. The cultists attempt another volley, but give up when it clearly doesn't work. They then make way for another of their number carrying an oxyacetylene torch. Which won't work, but I'm mildly impressed by how rational a move it is.
Ring, can we fix his face?
Confirmed. Reconstruction in progress.
Good, and-. Really? Ugh, remove the brands as well.
Compliance.
The torch flares into life as I feel the last of the demonic magic drain from whoever this is. I take one of Wallace's healing potions out of subspace… Yes, looks to be in reasonable condition. I pour it down the boy's throat. That much demonic magic isn't good for a person, but I need to know if it's a survivable experience with moderate intervention. With the potion bottle empty I remove the pithing needle and let him collapse into a construct stretcher.
Nazi Earth. Who do I know here who's even remotely someone I want as my first point of contact? With Overman gone, none of the other Reichmen really struck me as reasonable people. But Angelika spent more of her time with her own team, and…
Well, she's not an objective judge of character, but she talked about them more and I'm confident that I could more easily convince them that I do actually know her. So her team are a better choice, and once I've talked them around I can get them to talk to the Reichsmen. I know what Baroness Reiter's favourite food is. What her favourite film is. About that time Otto Arnold started trying to come up with an actual catchphrase for himself.
I don't know their phone numbers or anything like that, but Axis Germania operate out of Wewelsburg so finding them will be pretty easy once I get out of here.
I extend orange filaments and send the oxyacetylene torch into subspace before shock crowning the cultists.
Okay, the local police are likely to be national socialists and know nothing about magic. There's very little chance that they'll accept what I say about mind control magic… Darn it. I'm going to have to imprison them here -wherever here is- and hope I can talk them into sparing the cultists.
"Sorry about this."
Now, chaining people to walls in certain positions can be quite dangerous due to how the human circulatory system works. But I can't risk them killing themselves while I'm away. Alright, manacles around the wrists, with short chains linking them to the bricks in the walls. The chains are long enough to let them sit or stand, but not long enough to reach another cultist. Then I rifle through their robes for anything that could be used as a weapon. Knives, pistols and a few assault rifles vanish into subspace. Ah, manacles for the legs as well, and I think we're done.
Exit is this way, and I'll take summoner boy with me. Scans don't show any other cultists on-site, and it didn't look like any of the other cultists were magic users.
Al… Right, looks like we're in a.. sub-cellar, and… Up the ladder, I'm into the main cellar. Large barrels of wine stand fermenting in rows all around me, the smell of wine permeating the air. There's light through barred windows high up on one wall, but otherwise the place is in the dark. Looks like that barrel is in position to be moved over the hatch. That would stand up to a casual inspection…
But there's no magic detection on this planet. There's nothing in particular to draw attention to here, so a quick search is probably all that they would have to deal with.
There are a pair of wooden doors over there, so I unlock them with a construct key and pull them open. Ah, good, a goods lift to the surface. I fly up the shaft with my cargo, emerging into the open air. Looks like a… Medium sized town in a fairly rural area.
Ring, where are we?
Western Russia.
Not in this universe.
It seems like mid-morning here. Not all that many people around, though I see a few spot me and stare for a few moments before returning to what they were doing. No real alarm. Curiosity. Curious.
Fear there, but-. The man with her points to the stretcher. Right, it's clearly medical, so I'm helping someone.
Ring, plot course to Wewelsburg.
Compliance.
I should probably call ahead a little, but right now I want to fly up out of sight of the ground. Kryptonian aerospace sensors were good, but even assuming that they've implemented a full network I can turn it aside. Once I'm high enough I accelerate, heading into Germany-proper. That could get me in trouble, but even if Germany is the most secure part of the world, they're still using Kryptonian technology. It's nothing I haven't seen bef-.
I'm knocked back as a yellow blur slams into me, environmental shield briefly flaring as I take a… Low to mid power super strength hit. The figure remains a blur, well below Flash speed but fast enough that I'm struggling to track them by eye.
"Baroness, I-."
"I don't care how much Overman likes you, you do not have permission to have that ring, much less fly here."
She's got the sense not to stop moving as I generate construct armour.
"Looks like you will be going back to Leatherwing. So sad. Your column was doing so well."
"This is going to be tiresome."
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