TS GL3 Pregame Week 1 Event: Death vs the Lion of Death and other stories


#1

Prologue: How the Lion tried to fix Earth and Failed

Mortis Leonin was prepared to take on the entirety of Refugian history but despite his best efforts he was no fool. He had consulted the master time traveler, General Tharr, and a few of his apprentices throughout time and all agreed upon a technique using a Da’uhnb’s temporal alteration gland as an emergency escape tool. Unfortunately it only returned him to the first point he started his travel from, and as a result Mortis had found the need for a base of operations.

The Old Vlad had sold him the location of a farmhouse that was listed as an IR spec ops safe house in IR databases and an EEF Special Forces Safe house for the EEF. When Mortis arrived he realized he had been sold some bad fish.

The farmhouse was dilapidated and barely a living space. The barn was a useable vehicle hiding spot but little more than a storage space for moldy straw which was quite a feat in the dry heat of the lands near the Tower of Resugent.

The year was 2219 AR, and the Goblin Lands was free, and Leonin was pissed off.
The Church of One was suffering. Its armies in shambles. The other colonies considered it a joke. But despite the disbelief of his fellow inquisitors, Mortis had already made things better.
Already his time shredding had helped the rise of General Angelus Vulfrym, a K’ias raised to believe that humans were the finest creatures in the universe. An alien brainwashed from birth and whose deepest dream and hope was freeing Earth from Iron Republic rule and restoring an authentic Earth Authority once more across the cosmos. And that creature had already brought the Church of One to distant colonies on far planet. Mortis felt his heart swell as he thought of General Vulfrym and his Lions of Earth.

Mortis wished he could write a history where the Lions of Earth were under his direct control, but he had to content himself with the knowledge that they took the best parts of humanity with them.
Instead he would shift the fate of the Church of One and its greatest leadership.
His first set of outings had been to Earth to reset the clock on the fall of the Earth authority. Mortis had learned his lesson on his first set of time traveling misadventures on Earth. What he learned was that preventing the rise of the Iron Republic had deeply troubling unintended consequences in the end of the Human race by either Quall N’drone or the Warmonger Cult.

It took great effort but Mortis forgave the Iron Republic leadership as a necessary evil, and turned his attention once more to Refuge.
Now he was ready to do something amazing. A single assassination that would change the course of Refuge’s history forever. He had already plotted it all out. Kill the K’iorn youth who would become the Terror of Dunesphere.

And it had been simple to implement. Use the stolen Time Shredder amulet to transport himself from 2219AR to the foundational years of the colony, over two thousand years earlier.


#2

Part 1: When the real terrorists come to town, it is nice to have some Authorities to turn to for help.

He arrived, and used his Inquisitorial credentials to gather a group of Paladins and ride out to the old Tarisi Manor lands. In the shadow of a dusty hillock was a small tent and when they surrounded it, the tent flap opened revealing and old man with a bald head, and a long flowing white beard. His brown robes were stained by road mud and spilled drink, and he hobbled forward on a wrapped cross-like walking staff.

Mortis recognized the old man, though he knew at this point in their shared history, the old man would not know him. He motioned for the paladins to keep back, and he approached with hands open.

“Saul the Wanderer, I know you,” Mortis whispered, “And I know you are caring for a sick K’iorn boy in that tent. What do you think these fine knights would do to that young man if they were to know he is there?”
Saul’s hands clenched under the brown robe, but Mortis was quicker and held the old man’s hand, “No need for those pistols. I know more than you currently do, for example that you are really the Pope that went into hiding after that awefull business with the public execution of the Alien ambassadors. But relax, relax IF I planned on outing you I would have already done so. I just seek to speak to the child.”

“Speak to him? But the heir of S’vana…I am going to help his father smuggle him out of here…back to his family,” said Saul.

“But they can’t heal him can they? They never could,” said Mortis his smile growing thin, as Saul’s eyes went wide, “So you took it on yourself to offer him to sup from the Blood Cup.”

“That’s why you came here,” snarled Saul pushing Mortis away, “You just want the immortality granted by the Blood Cup.”

Mortis yelled to his paladins as he backed away rapidly, “This is a heretic my knights who is hiding a fiendling and wishes to feed your families to it. Take him into custody so I might interrogate him back at the Cathedral.”
The knights dismounted, drew their swords and approached cautiously. They had seen enough heretics hurl fire and acid and lightning when cornered, so no demonic attack was unexpected.

Saul said in a firm voice, “Stand down Paladin Knights. One step forward and the wrath of god shall fall upon you. For I am Pope Paul Tarisi, and I command it.”

One of the paladins laughed saying, “Oy this blasphemer just has mush for brains don’t he.”
He hefted a throwing axe and hurled it towards Saul. The old man drew a pair of gleaming artificed pistols. He fired rapidly. However no bullets or projectiles sped towards his target. Instead it seemed an invisible wave passed through the air. When the wave struck the axe, the axe disappeared as if it was never there. The wave didn’t stop there, it kept flowing through the air and struck the closest Paladins. They fell back as sections of flesh, bone and spirit just disappeared from reality. Two fell to the ground mission a good chunk of their face, their shoulders and legs. Another was unfortunate enough to have his heart exposed to the air for a few moments before it too disappeared and the paladin fell backwards nearly instantly dead.

Mortis knew it wasn’t a fair fight, but he watched Saul gun down each Paladin in turn using those dreaded annihilation pistols. He waited until the former pope’s mind was firmly distracted, and then sent a pair of neural blasts out using the Leyas that laid the old man out cold.

Mortis barely noticed the old man had killed every single of the paladin knights he had tricked into following him out there. And when he noticed that fact he silently thanked the old man for saving him the work of doing so.
Mortis Leonin raised up a powerful military grade plasma cannon and pointed it at the tent. He knew all it would take would be for him to pull the trigger and history would be forever changed. Then a hand touched his shoulder and Leonin roared in pain as every nerve was alight with it. The cannon fired wildly off into the sky and was free from his grip. Leonin stumbled backwards seeing Sir Resugent, of all people, standing over him.
He tried to grab for the weapon, but from his own shadow he saw two different forms rising. From the shadow of his cloaks on a nearby rock, rose up Black Lorne Harlas his blade diving between the plates in Leonin’s armored boot.

Leonin felt a burning sensation rise up his handstring and he was falling. From the shadow cast by his now falling wide brimmed hat, rose Lalon of Auf Lal’al, his blade Eversharp passed cleanly through Leonin’s nanite forcefield and nearly severing the man’s left arm.

The remaining leg was struck with a well placed shot from a sniper’s rifle, and Leonin hit the ground hard. He fumbled with his remaining hand for his time shredder a grapple gun whipped out a clamp that stole it from him. He was so livid, he was full of immense burning rage.

Khalid Phoenixkiller quickly pocketed the amulet. And raised his flamethrower to put some death into this temporal war criminal. At his side was Heikeriki, who they had taken with them when they realized how quickly the local inquisitors would kill the Olgog maiden.

They all watched as Leonin crushed a small blue gland in his hand and there was an implosion sound and a flash of blue light and Leonin was gone.

There was another succession of flashes of blue light and a set of huge eight foot tall reptiloid aliens in battle armor carrying huge guns appeared.
They pointed their weapons at Khalid, Resugent, Hekericki, Black Lorne and Lalon. Another of the Da’uhnb stepped out holding Rhug’ab in one hand, and his sniper rifle in the other.
There was a flash of blue light and the allies found themselves in a distant future at a space station used by the TEA for booking temporal criminals. They were politely herded into a room, offered food and drink, and then asked a simple question by a big blue alien with a badge.

“Would they be willing to assist an investigation and capture of known temporal criminal Mortis Leonin?” and as the blue alien asked that question, they watched twenty holographic displays show Leonin’s continuing attempts to kill the heir of S’vana in various timelines.


#3

Part 2: A Broken Cup

It took Mortis weeks of healing artifacts and rehabilitation to come back from the last attack, and he wasn’t happy about it. He knew he had to strike at the kiorn child earlier. Maybe earlier in the same day before Saul the Wanderer arrived, Mortis mused.

He first took another jaunt to the battlefields of the K’ias Wars, removing a few choice Da’uhnb temporal glands at the time of the alien’s unfortunate deaths. Mortis took a bit of sick pleasure in these trips, feeling it further enhanced his devotion to his cause and human-centric worldview.
Then he returned to the barn and prepared for another trip. A flash of blue light, and he left the future behind and returned to that faithful day the Terror of Dunesphere supped from the blood cup.
This time he had his Paladins divert to meet Saul on the road and simply ask the old man philosophical and religious questions. As he approached the tent this time, he stealthily opened the tent flap and saw the kiorn child sleeping inside.

The disease had left the k’iorn’s normally gold skin a pallid color, and his pointed ears were nearly corpse white. But the red wine on his lips matched that of the wine in a brass chalice that was next to the child’s reed bed.

Mortis was enraged but he was ready. He raised a large silenced handgun and pointed it at the child’s head knowing the acid filled rounds would do the rest.

Then an axe neatly severed his arm, and the pistol was consumed in a cone of acidic slime. Leonin looked up to see a winged form towering over him. Daron’s Hob Tor Axe swung down again to strike, but Leonin’s good hand was ready with a chimera claw punch dagger. As he parried, the edge of the axe shattered and splinters of it arced across the room.
Some splashed into the blood cup and the ancient relic began to bubble and boil over. It seemed to be creating some monsterous form. Uhryu Tyrone grabbed the K’iorn out of the way of that horrific boiling blood cup. It seemed some dark power had been awakened inside the relic.
But in that moment of distraction Mortis Leonin was already past Daron’s guard and gone from the tent.
Leonin saw a mischevious boy with sunglasses and suddenly felt a little light headed. He swooned, and was struck at the same moment by small mekanoids that tried to hold his legs. Tumbling to the ground, Mortis could see the form of
John-12 walking towards him with a calming look.

Out of the shadows leapt a monstrous Olgog carrying an intimidating bone glaive. Scribe recognized him as the Kolgul Militia Raider Captain Kul’al. Kul’al spun the weapon around trying to decapitate Leonin, but the wiley inquisitor rolled with it.

Leonin once again destroyed a gland and escaped back to his start point.

John-12 examined the blue residue left by the gland and confirmed its Da’uhnb nature. He saw a young boy bound over to him. Within 2.25 seconds he recognized the creature as a bastard not a human, and 47.6 seconds he realized this particular bastard was Scribe, the leader of the colony of Deryyanheim and just as out of place in time as John-12 was.

Daron and Kul’al eyed each other suspiciously. Behind them Uhryu Tyrone held the boy, the young man who would grow into one of the most dangerous vampyrs on all of Refuge.
A figure in skintight power armor, studded with a pair of underarm plasma ejectors, carrying a massive scythe, with a skull mask, approached them slowly.

The being said, “I understand you were drawn here against your will. That child has an important purpose in the timeline keeping peace between the EEF and the Iron Republic. If you assist me in setting this timeline right, I will personally deliver you back where you were stolen from.
Or I can simply hire you on. I am hunting a specific temporal war criminal who brought you here.”

“Mortis Leonin,” offered Scribe.

“Yes that one,” said Death, “But before I leave here, I have to contain the menace your Hobtor Axe splinters just created in the crucible of Blood Cup.”


#4

Part 3: The Devil was in the Details

Another stint in rehabilitation for Mortis Leonin, and the painful memories stuck this time. Somehow unknown to him, the people he had left in the past had stopped whatever started happening when the Hobtor splinters made their way into the blood cup. Or so he hoped. Again he would go into the past but this time a few months sooner. During the Terror of Dunesphere’s first few months of carnage. Before the monster killed Pope Cristos Dugari’s beloved and drove him mad.

Mortis was ready for anything they would throw at him. On arrival in the past, he recruited three times as many paladins and put the city watch on extra guard. They surrounded the house of Paladin Magistrate Gram Goblinsbane, one of the first high profile victims of the Terror of Dunesphere.

When the magistrate’s cries of pain filled the night, Mortis Leonin demanded the Paladins rush the building. But as they were clearing rooms, Leonin was drawn towards a nearby alley. Thinking it the kiorn vampyr, Leonin fired a pair of holy bullets from his pistol. He was shocked when the form in the alley spread into a silvery cloud of nanites and then reformed. The Sanguine Lord extended a tendril of technomantic nanites that began ripping away at Leonin’s cellular structure.

Leonin detonated a technomantic weapon which shut down all the lights in a five block radius. It also bought him enough time as the Sanguine Lord spasmed backwards. Mortis Leonin activated his Time Shredder and teleported away to try again.

The Sanguine Lord reformed after the weapon and found itself surrounded by Church of One Paladins, and Red Bishops with Missile Launchers. The Sanguine Lord rose into the air turned into a clockwork angel and was about to speak when they fired in succession. It turned and fled, flying towards the distance sky,

Dr. Leonard Bones stood next to Bishop Kasanth Dannor and Red Bishop Jamie.

Kasanth said, “I really found this whole rogue inquisitor situation rather distasteful but what I just witnessed was just strange. When I learned that Mortis Leonin had raised the alert among the local guard, I took some personal interest. That’s why I found you and your interesting party. Now what do we have to do about this techno monstrosity in our skies?”


#5

Epilogue: Leonin wins eventually…?

Kolgol was livid, again in a damn Earther cell. What the hell?? It almost made him want to call Kalok down upon these arrogant Earthers. He had been hunting the Mortis Leonin. But he didn’t have a good way to hide when he found himself in the center of dunepshere and was quickly captured by the Inquisitors.
That’s what resulted with him being stuck here…here of all places. Across from him was an Olgog that reminded him of the infamous OtO. All his gear and weapons had been taken, much like his cellmate. They were both just green furs in a human prison.

Spear OtO was annoyed beyond belief. He never expected Leonin to alert the local guard and when he marched into the Magistrate’s office there was an inquisitor waiting. No amount of talking got him out of having to show his face, which caused an entire team of Red Bishops outside to turn their EMP Missile Launchers on him.
He instantly recognized Kolgol. OtO nearly laughed. Here were two of the most hated Olgog leaders of his own time, but here they were just animals to the Earthers.

First they would need to find a way to escape. After that…he only hoped the Old Vlad had some contingency plan for time travel.

Unfortunately for them, they heard on their second day of imprisonment that the Inquisition had captured and killed an important K’iorn terrorist and stored his cursed corpse deep inside the prison.

Rewards

Khalid Phoenixkiller, Resugent (Lord Grimaldus), Hekericki (Godart), Black Lorne, Lalon (Lalder) and Rhug’ab
(Rhug’na’ru) gains access to the Temporal Enforcement Agency (Booking Station 74) thread and special missions.
Scribe, John-12 (Unity Prime), Daron, and Kul’al (Kul Gul Rapi) gains access to the Alternate Refuge: The Terror of Dunesphere vs The Horror of Dunesphere thread and special missions.

The Red Bishop’s Retinue (Lord Grimaldus) and Sanguine Lord (Ryuk) gains access to the Stuck in a Timeline: The Devil Bishop of Dunesphere thread and special missions

Spear OtO (Olgog the Olgog) and Kolgol gains access to the Stuck in a Timeline: Mortis Leonin Kills Terror and special missions

All characters involved in this mission gain 1 New Skill Bonus. Choose 1 Skill at Lvl 2 specific to where you are.
For example, Spear OtO and Kolgol could learn Survival (Prison), Religion (Church of One) etc.

Request new skills in the New Skill Bonus Thread in the Leyas section, and can be used for Leyas skills as well ( like Leyas Theory, Leyas Mapping, Leyas Recognition).