A Grand Design 26.

Winter. Oaklynn. Girdane.

They've waited over three weeks now. Which isn't that much of a problem, as the warehouses around the one they've been living in are all controlled by the regent of Oaklynn.
So the recently made waagen can roam about during the daytime in their human forms.
And at night, the adult waagen Grance roams around in his beast form.
They don't want for anything to kill and eat. As a steady supply of prisoners from the city jails are brought to them every evening.
And they get to kill and eat those prisoners. Predominantly human, though on occasion they've killed and eaten goblin prisoners. Who they've found taste absolutely disgusting.
And once they killed a dwarven prisoner. Whose iron rich blood and body was fought over by a number of the young waagen. Until Grance took what was left of body away, and ate it by himself. Enjoying the rich, savory flavour of the dwarf.
While they've been about the last couple of days. Both the young waagen during the daytime. And Grance in the night.
Have noticed that more of the regent's soldiers have moved into the area, with many of them moving into one of the nearby warehouses.
Which are all located to the north of the city's airdocks. Which itself, is located about a mile and half of the city proper.
And when Grance has spoken about this to the keeper Sarmac who is the person they have the most contact with.
The keeper informs the adult waagen, that the regent's men who have moved in recently, will be doing the same thing that they've been brought to the city of Oaklynn to do.
Then one afternoon, the first day that it's snowed in and around the capital city of the kingdom of Girdane.
Captain Kilmane and the wizard Haric along with the keeper Sarmac enter the warehouse to speak with Grance.
"Tonight then?" says Grance the waagen after captain Kilmane tells him "We'll do it tonight".
With all the young waagen watching them, they make their way over to a table near some of the shelves, as Sarmac lights a couple of lamps that are on it. The captain in the regent's army, unrolls a map that he's brought with him. It's a map of the palace of the king of Girdane.
As all four of them look at the map, the large waagen who stands almost seven foot tall, nods his bestial head as captain Kilmane quietly goes over the plan.
"Here" says the regent of Oaklynn's most trusted officer as he points to the third storey of the palace on the map.
"This hallway" adds captain Kilmane who continues with "Is in the royal quarters" he then explains what it looks like, and after he does, the captain adds "You'll come out right in there".
Grance nods again, then the waagen asks "Everyone?".
"Everyone in the royal quarters" says the captain in the regent's army, who then adds "Guards, palace staff, court officials, members of the royal family, the wife, the heirs" captain Kilmane follows that with "Everyone".
The large waagen, who rarely ever changes out of his beast form, nods again when the captain quietly tells him "If one of the youngsters happens to attack the king himself, make sure the job is done Grance" captain Kilmane continues with "We don't want any survivors in there".
The adult waagen grunts, then the captain in the regent of Oaklynn's army tells him "If any of the youngsters die in there, bring their bodies back" he follows that with "We want this to look like no one knows what the hell happened".
"I understand" says Grance, the keeper Sarmac gestures to where the young waagen are, and quietly says "We'll tell them when we explain the plan to them".
Then the wizard Haric tells the adult waagen "There's spellcasters amongst the palace officers, and though they can't harm you lot directly, they can still wound and kill you if they're smart about it".
"I know" says Grance who continues with "I've fought magic users before" the waagen then adds "And Sarmac and i have talked to the children about it, and told them what to expect".
The adult waagen, then looks at the captain in the army of regent Sammis, and asks him "When?".
"Halfway between nightfall and midnight" replies captain Kilmane, who takes a sand glass from out of an inner pocket of his cloak, and adds "You'll have a quarter of a glass to get it done" he continues on with "Make sure you've killed everyone by then, and you're ready to come back".
Grance nods, then he looks at the rumpled looking wizard in the ruby, red robes who he doesn't like, and says to him "Make sure you've got it there" the waagen follows that with "If not, I'll find someway to get out of there, and I'll hunt you down and kill you".
The overweight wizard sourly smiles as the towering waagen looms over him, with a look of disgust upon his snub like maw.
"You don't have to worry about Haric" says captain Kilmane, who then adds "I'll be here to make sure things go to plan".
Grance grunts, for he trusts the captain, and the keeper Sarmac, a hell of a lot more than he does the wizard. Who even Kilmane and Sarmac dislike, and only tolerate because they all work together in the army of lord Sammis, the regent of the city of Oaklynn.
The captain then says to the keeper "Gather all the youngsters" followed by "Time to fully explain the plan to them". For the young waagen know why they've been brought to the city of Waagen. They just don't know the plan in detail.
As Sarmac walks off and calls out to the young waagen to all gather together, the waagen Grance quietly asks the captain in the regent's army "What about your other plans?".
"Other plans?" asks Kilmane with a slightly confused look upon his face "All those soldiers you've brought into the warehouses over the last few days" says the adult waagen.
"Those plans" says the captain in the army of the regent of Oaklynn, who continues on with "Someone has to clean up things, and take over after what you lot will do in the palace" Kilmane follows that with "That's what they're for" then he silently adds, more or less.
Grance grunts as he figures that's what the soldiers in the regent's army who have recently arrived in the warehouses will be doing.
After he and the young waagen wipe out everyone in the royal quarters in the palace of the king. They'll move in and take control, as the plans that lord Sammis has been working on for a number of years, comes to fruition.
After they speak to the young waagen, and go over the details of the plans for tonight, they wait.
The waagen aren't fed as usual when dusk falls, and it continues to snow outside. They don't need to, as they'll get their fill later in the night.
They all wait about in the warehouse, with captain Kilmane reading missives, while the wizard Haric contemplates the map on the table.
Meanwhile both Sarmac the keeper, and Grance the waagen, speak to the children and youngsters one at time. Going over with them the plans for the night.
Then eventually towards the middle of the evening, the wizard Haric looks at captain Kilmane and nods.
The captain in the king's army, goes outside to check on conditions. And sees that it's still snowing, as it has done since just before midday today.
Then the captain comes back inside, and nods as everyone looks at him "Time to go" says captain Kilmane.
"Prepare to leave" says Grance the waagen to the children and youngsters who number thirty. The adult waagen repeats that in their own language.
And the children and youngsters change. The change isn't gradual or drawn out in anyway. It's fast, almost impossible to see. As one moment, there's youngsters and children standing there. The next moment, there's thirty more waagen standing in the center of the warehouse between the rows of shelves.
They've grown in their time here in Oaklynn, many of them well over six foot in height now. And weighing much more compared to when they turned up here at the end of winter.
Captain Kilmane nods to the wizard Haric, and the spellcaster says to Grance "I'll try an obscure it the best that i can" followed by "Hopefully that'll delay any spellcasters in the palace from sensing it for a bit".
Grance just grunts, then says to the overweight wizard in ruby red robes "Just do it already".
Then after captain Kilmane nods to go ahead, the wizard in the army of the regent of Oaklynn casts a rift spell.
It doesn't take long to form, as the otherside isn't all that faraway. Just a little bit south of here, in the city proper. To be exact, the palace of the king, which is located in the center of the city.
Once it's completely formed, Grance the waagen sees that you can't really see through it like you would normally do through a rift.
But that doesn't stop him from ducking down, and being the first one through the magical doorway.
He's followed by the thirty other waagen, who one by one, run through the rift. All going through to the palace of the king of Girdane. Into a long hallway in the royal quarters.
Once the last one is through, Haric the wizard counts to three, then he drops the spell. And he goes over to the nearby table where captain Kilmane has just put the sand glass.
And as the rumpled looking, portly wizard watches the sand fall, the captain looks at the keeper Sarmac and nods. The keeper hurries to the warehouse doors and opens them wide.
Meanwhile, in the center of the city of Oaklynn. In the palace of the king of Girdane. Within the royal quarters. There's a slaughter taking place this night.
Waagen are killing everyone they come across as they run through the royal quarters on the third floor of the palace.
Servants have their throats ripped out. Palace officials about to leave the royal quarters, have their heads torn off.
Guards who try to fight, are torn limb from limb as the waagen rampage through the third storey royal quarters in the king's palace.
A lean looking waagen with silver hair smashes through the closed door of a bedroom. And leaps upon a bed, where it mauls to death the crown prince who is the heir to the king. The prince, a boy of ten. Is killed by a young boy around the same age, who was a farmer's son in the duchy of Falosen until he was turned into a waagen during the autumn.
Two doors down, and in another bedroom. The two young princesses, and their nurse are ripped apart by two more waagen. Who rip heads off, legs and arms, ignoring the screams of the nurse to the two young girls.
Those screams abruptly end when a paw rips the throat out of the nurse, raking away half of her face at the same time.
Around the corner, and down another hallway, Grance the waagen runs through an energyball that comes hurtling down the hallway.
The adult waagen leaps forward, and lands upon the sorcerer, an officer in the palace guards, who just cast the energyball.
Grance bites the man's head off as he pins him to the floor. While a trio of younger waagens run by them. And two of them smash into two palace guards infront of a door. While the third waagen smashes into, and through the door.
While behind them all, at the other end of the hallway. The sorcerer's energyball has disappeared when he's died.
Grance gets up, and hurries forward, ducking down through the doorway. He bounds across one room, a sitting room. And enters a bedroom, where he finds a woman, who has been raked down the back. Is crawling across the floor.
It's the king's wife, or consort queen which is her official title. Grance slams his right front paw down onto the back of her head, shattering her skull apart.
Meanwhile near the bed, the young waagen who burst it's way into the king's private chambers. Is growling as the king attacks with his sword.
The king of Girdane, Jarnard the Second of his name has got in a few hits as he alternates between screaming in anger, and shouting out for guards.
Then king Jarnard the Second gets in a good hit. Slamming his sword into the side of the face and head of the young waagen, taking off it's maw.
As the young waagen drops, and the king of Girdane turns. Grance the waagen leaps, and slams into the king, smashing him into the wall.
The adult waagen gets his jaws down and around the top of the head of Jarnard the Second of his name, then he bites. Shattering the king's skull to pieces, killing him instantly.
Grance looks around, then he picks up the dead youngster, whose body has reverted back to human form, and slings him over his right shoulder.
The adult waagen exits the king's bed chambers, then then the king's private quarters. As he does, Grance howls, a signal for the waagen to hurry up and kill everyone, as they're about to leave.
The thirty young, recently turned waagen and the adult waagen kill every single person in the royal quarters on the third storey of the palace of the king of Girdane. Also killing those who enter the royal quarters to see what's going on.
In the process, three of the young waagen die, as Grance sees the other two bodies being carried by other waagen as he heads back to the long hallway where they're entered the palace through a rift.
And when he gets back to the hallway, he sees that the rift has reappeared, and that the young waagen have already started to go through it.
Grance waits so that all the youngsters go through before him, as he approaches the rift, a rift that he sees is obscured again, so that you can't really see what's on the otherside.
Then after the last youngster runs through it, Grance hurries forward carrying the dead waagen in it's human form over his right shoulder. He ducks down, and passes through the magical doorway.
And once he steps through the otherside, he steps into absolute mayhem. Waagen are on the floor of the warehouse, screaming and shouting in pain. Many have turned back to human form as they've been killed, each peppered with dozens of arrows and bolts.
Thinking quickly, Grance goes to step back through the rift, but it's disappeared behind him.
The adult waagen roars in anger, and leaps to one side where he sees soldiers in the army of the regent of Oaklynn. There must be a couple of hundred of them along parts of the walls of the warehouse. Most with crossbows or bows. And others with long spears.
As Grance leaps at them roaring, and he's hit by an arrow, then a crossbow bolt. He hears a heavy thunk, like a crossbow firing, followed by another.
He's knocked out of the air, and he hits the floor, with not one, but two heavy long spears through him, fired from a pair of ballista on the back of two wagons that have been brought into the warehouse.
The last thing Grance sees as he lies on the floor in the warehouse is soldiers walking towards him with spears. And as arrows and bolts thud into him, he sees those soldiers go to stab him where he lies dying.
After a few moments of silence, captain Kilmane calls out "Clear!". "Clear!" is repeated by squad leaders as they move forward and check on their handiwork.
After the last squad leader calls out clear, the captain in the army of the regent Oaklynn says to a subaltern "You know what to do".
"Yes captain" says the subaltern, who starts issuing orders. And the soldiers put away their weapons, and start carrying the dead bodies away. To put them in the wagons that are outside.
As they do, captain Kilmane followed by the keeper Sarmac and the wizard Haric cross the warehouse, going around the bodies of the children and youngsters who are yet to picked up and carried away.
The three of them stop at the only adult body, a naked human with two heavy long spears through him, as well as about twenty arrows and bolts in him.
Looking at Grance in his human form which they've never seen before, Haric the wizard quietly says "He looks fairly ordinary".
Captain Kilmane nods in agreement, then glances at Sarmac the keeper, who says "It was all worth it" as he was the one who was closest to all the waagen, and got to be friends with Grance.
"Yes" quietly says Kilmane, who then adds "It was all worth it" the captain in the army of the regent of Oaklynn briefly pauses, then he says "Because we now have a new king, and we serve in his army" . . . . . .