Welcome to Gaia! ::

BAstien pulled the lever and the rickety elevator began to squeak up the mine shaft. he turned to Ean. "You still got that thing?" He asked, wanting to make sure. It would sure suck to have come this far, only to lose on of the most precious artifacts the world over.

"The MEchanism." He replied simply. The clues all pointed to this being what the Emperor was after. The alienation against the beastmen could wipe out the only people who could effectively use it, uniting the other nations under their guidance would keep any others from attempting to take it from them. The sudden quest for power, and the map plotting out the locations of various artifacts. Piecing them together took a bit of prior knowledge, but the elf was surprised they hadn't met more resistance from others that had solved the puzzle. Because we were one of the few to have all the pieces with us He thought darkly. The elevator shifted suddenly again, nearly throwing him off balance. THey were near the top. But as they approached, Bastien thought he could hear the sounds of marching feet.

"AEtherblade, cut!" He shouted, the blue sword roaring to life and cutting off the tip of the steel weapon. He snarled at the soldier holding it, who jabbered something about the beastman turning him bestial in a fearful voice before the elf's arcane weapon tore his guts out. "Protect the artifact, I'll clear you a path, that must make its safe way out of here!" He shouted at Ean before rushing out of the shaft, there had only been one soldier in the opening plaza, but outside, the sight of an entire regiment greeted his eyes.

They didn't The elf thought to himself. There was no time for words, though. THey hadn't knownw the two to be here, the two had just gotten there first. Why the Empire had sent an entire regiment, was beyond him ,but that didn't quite matter now. He rushed the battered front line and shoved his blade into one man's throat. He pulled the blade out in an arc that cut into the collarbone of the next man. Someone took a swing at him And he dodged close to the man who was impaled with his blade. BAstien concentrated and the sword flared, slicing through the man like a hot knife through butter. He brought the glowing blade to meet the offender's weapon, slicing through iron, then leather, then flesh, then bone, all with equal ease. Blood spurted from heavy wounds from the dead around him. He hoped Ean would use the distraction to get out of here.

Bastien grinned. It had been a long time since his last good battle. And one still hadn't come along. Humans were so slow and unskilled in the weaponry they carried. Bastien busied himself parrying them and giving thrusts which he didn't plan on carrying through on. The soldiers pressed their 'advantage'. When they got close enough the elf's grin turned savage. "Aetherblade, stretch!" He shouted. The blue energy lengthened into the gut of he soldier in front of him. The other soldiers rushed him. "Aetherblade fade!" The blade turned transparent and Bastien twirled in a circle. The ghostly sword passed through the armor of the warriors, but blood started gushing through the gaps near where the arcane weapon sliced. The aetherblade was in its deadliest mode now- aether mode. The weapon would pass through anything living, passing into the realm of its namesake to slice only living flesh. As one, the corpses fell, giving halfhearted swings of their polearms, as if not yet realizing they were dead. The elf grinned like a wolf, being where the fourth rank of the regiment should be by now and simply did a flip over the last line. Once past them, he began to run after Ean. Despite the mage's great training in magic, he had his limits. And he was nearly at them now. He would push himself over the edge if he had to, but better to save that for a ace in the hole.

Bastien quickly caught up to Ean. Ean had his beastman speed, but elves were also known for their agility. When he caught sight of Ean again, his eyes widened. "s**t!" He cursed, and increased his speed. He finally caught up and saw Ean was not holding the artifact. He began subtly glancing around. The officer might not know that they had the thing. His blade was held at the ready for when the man struck. Where was that damned thing?

Bastien's eyes widened as he spotted the artifact, but at the same time, the officer picked it up. Bastien roared and rushed the man, swinging the aetherblade in a feint at the man's chest and then swinging at the man's inner thigh.