The Find 52.

Autumn.

The giant hole in the ground. More often than not, called the pit. Within which is the ancient city of Dalphene. More commonly called The City of Ruins.
Darmos the wizard walks out of the rift last, and he hurries to catch up to those of the company who have already come through.
The wizard, who briefly contemplates closing the rift behind him. Keeps the spell up, and the rift open.
As an easy means of escape for him and the others, just incase something goes wrong as they go after those responsible for bringing down another of the company's warships, as well as another of the wyverns.
Darmos, who is essentially the second in command of Jorkamin's company.
Has wards up around himself, as he knows they're entering a rather dangerous situation.
It's the only thing that saves his life. When away to their right, the sound of one magetube firing, quickly followed by a second. So fast, that it's almost instantaneous. Can be heard.
The sixty or so of the company who came through the rift, scatter as a magetube shot comes tearing across the ground towards those in the front as they head south.
Darmos who starts running, frowns and looks away to the right, and wonders where the other magetube shot is.
He spots it, and is taken by surprise as it's really not coming towards them.
He realises it's going behind them. And when the wizard figures out to where. He's too late to drop his spell.
As the near fourteen foot wide ball of pure magical energy, that's a dark angry looking red in colour.
Slams into his wide open rift spell with fairly obvious results. It explodes, an explosion that's by far the largest in the City of Ruins in years.
As a tear in reality, such as a gateway, portal or in this instance, a rift. Doesn't mix well with pure magical energy.
The resulting explosion lights up the night here in this part of the ancient city of Dalphene.
It also lights up the night in another location. The otherside of the magical doorway. About a mile and three quarters away to the northeast.
Down here, towards the neutral zone of the pit. The explosion blasts a crater in the ground.
And Darmos the wizard is flung forward in the explosion. Going a good thirty feet through the air. Before he hits the ground with a thud.
While around him debris goes flying in all directions, including parts of the bodies of a fair few of the company who came through the rift with him.
The red robbed wizard's wards are shredded to bits when he hits the ground.
Though they've kept him alive, as he lies there on the ground groaning in pain.
While debris from the blast starts to rain back down upon this area of the pit.
Meanwhile, to the northeast. Over a mile and a half away from where that side of the rift is.
The otherside of the rift explodes at the exact same time. Causing even more devastation.
The wizard Darmos created his rift to one side of the ruins that some of the company are using.
Fortunately for Jorkamin the mercenary captain, the rift is located on the otherside of the ruin from where he is on the square, blocky tower affixed to it.
Unfortunately for Jorkamin, the explosion and resulting blast is so powerful.
That the ruins is totally devastated and goes up in the blast, killing most of those still sleeping in the ruins this cold, autumn night in the pit.
And the ancient tower that the mercenary captain is up on top of, is basically knocked down.
Jorkamin hardly gets out a scream as the tower he's on falls down in the blast.
As debris goes flying in the night sky by the powerful explosion of the rift, basically imploding, then exploding.
As one end of it, in this case the other end. Is hit by a fourteen foot wide ball of pure magical energy, shot from a magetube.
Jorkamin yells out in pain as his fall comes to a sudden stop. And he finds one of his legs is trapped beneath some rubble from the destroyed tower.
The mercenary captain who in his daze, is wondering what just happened. Coughs as the air is thick with sand and dust.
Then as debris from the blast starts to fall back towards the ground. An injured Jorkamin calls out for help.
Blinking in surprise at what just happened, Dorc da Orc says "Fuck me, look at that".
The large ork who was rather pleased the shot he fired from one of the magetubes.
Hit the front of the group of mercenaries, plowing through them as they hurried south.
Didn't expect that massive explosion from the magetube shot from the large, magical weapon that lord Farque is using.
Nor was he expecting the equally as devastating explosion away to the northeast, over a mile and a half away.
With a chuckle, the ork warleader says "They fucked". Then with a nod of his head to the northeast, he adds "Them cunts too".
With another nod in that direction, the ork weaponsmith asks "What the fuck was that?".
"The otherside of the rift" replies lord Farque, who continues with "That tends to happen when a rift is hit full on with pure magical energy" followed by "That's why spellcasters, and those going through them have to be careful using them".
Dorc da Orc or Dorkindle which is his given name, grunts as he can see that now.
As debris falls down, some of it even around the two of them, as they stand in a culvert just over fifty yards from where the rift was.
As small bits of rock, along with dirt rain down from the night sky, the undead warlord says to the ork general in his armies "Come on cunt, let's go" followed by "There's someone we have to get".
The big, burly ork grunts, then climbs up out of the culvert, following the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, who has already jumped up out of it.
Then the two of them, the large undead human, and the even larger ork.
Pick up the magetubes, and head off. As the debris from the massive explosion, that's left a crater nearly fifty yards, or one hundred and fifty wide.
Continues to rain down around them, the lord of the death realm indicates with a hand gesture, which way to go.
The ork warleader just grunts as they're heading towards those they've just attacked.
"Shoot of a shot from that magetube" quietly says lord Farque, who is also known by the name of Draugadrottin to the people of his lands.
"Fucken where?" asks Dorkindle, who even with his superb night vision, not to mention ork thermal version.
Is finding it difficult to see through the falling debris that the two of them are walking through.
"There" says the undead warlord, who points to where he wants the large ork to shoot.
The weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks briefly stops as he pulls the magetube up, and holding it to one side by his right hip.
Just before the large ork goes to shoot, the deathlord of Farque takes hold of his left arm, and turns him a bit to one side. "Now" orders the lord of the death realm.
The ork general yanks up on the firing lever of the magetube, sending a nine foot wide ball of pure magical energy.
Hurtling just a couple feet above the ground, heading south through the falling debris.
As he lies upon the ground, with his face being pelted by falling debris. Darmos the wizard calls out for help, it's more of a groan than anything. As his absolutely hurting after being flung forward through the air due to the explosion that totally destroyed his rift, that brought him and some of the company here.
The injured wizard, who hopes that Jorkamin is still alive. As he knows the otherside of the rift spell, would of suffered a similar explosion to what happened here as the rift was destroyed by the magetube shot.
Darmos just hopes the mercenary captain was still on the tower when that explosion occurred away to the northeast.
For if he was inside the ancient ruin it was affixed to, there's a good chance that Jorkamin would of been killed.
The injured wizard who can hear others approaching, grimaces as he hears a magetube, firing off another shot.
Darmos who is doing his best to hold his power within himself, continues to grimace.
As he's pretty certain that latest magetube shot is more or less coming in this direction.
The spellcaster who isn't just physically hurt, but mentally hurt too. Due to his rift spell coming to an abrupt end.
Calls out for help again, and is rewarded with a "Wizard, is that you?" followed by "Darmos where are you?".
The second in command of the company lifts his head up, to try and see who spoke.
But it's nighttime, and the air is thick with dust and dirt from falling debris thanks to the large explosion.
And he can't see who spoke, so Darmos the wizard suppresses a groan, then calls out as best he can "This way!".
"Over there!" says the voice that spoke, which the practitioner of magic vaguely recognises.
Then Darmos hears another voice shout "Watch out!" followed by a third that yells "Run!".
The wizard flinches, then grimaces as he hears the broiling, hissing sound of a magetube shot approaching.
He lifts up his head again and wonders if it's going to come straight at him.
Through the murkiness of the falling dirt and debris, Darmos spots the red glow of the magetube shot heading this way.
He flinches as he thinks it's coming right at him, but he breathes a sigh of relief when he realises it's going to pass him by.
And though it misses him by about thirty feet, the wizard in the red coloured robes feels the heat coming off the magetube shot as it goes by.
The second in command of the company calls out for help again, this time hearing no answer much to his disgust.
Jorkamin calls out for help again after coughing from the dust in the air. It's so dark around him, that the mercenary captain doesn't know the damage that was done to the tower, and the ancient ruin it was affixed to.
He's about to call out again, when he hears "Captain!" followed by "Is that you?".
"Yes!" calls out Jorkamin the mercenary captain, who follows that with "Here!".
"We're coming captain!" calls out one of the company, followed by "Hold on!".
"Thank fuck for that" mutters the mercenary captain, who then grimaces in pain as he attempts to move his trapped leg.
Jorkamin lays his head back down, and waits to be rescued. He doesn't have to wait long. As he soons hear movement, and out of the darkness sees flames from a burning torch, followed by a second.
Soon there's three of the company digging him out of the debris, a large chunk of which has pinned his left leg.
The mercenary captain groans in pain as he's pulled out from the chunk of masonry that's pinned his leg.
"Thanks" gasps Jorkamin, who is picked up and carried away from the remains of the fallen tower.
"Take me into the old building next door" adds the mercenary captain.
There's a moment's pause, then one of the mercenaries carrying him says "It's gone captain" followed by "We were in the other building down the way, and rushed up here when we heard the explosion".
Jorkamin is put down on the ground, and from the torch light, he recognises the men who have pulled him out of the rubble of the destroyed tower.
"Gone you say?" asks the mercenary captain, the merc who spoke replies with "Yes captain" followed by "Some of the others are looking for any other survivors" he then adds "Haven't found that many yet".
Jorkamin grimaces, and not from the pain from his broken leg. But because even with the sixty or so of the company Darmos the wizard took with him.
There was more than a quarter, almost a third of the company, who are here to north of the neutral zone of the City of Ruins.
Who were spending the night, in and around the ancient building that's been so thoroughly destroyed.
"Fuck" mutters Jorkamin the mercenary captain as he lays there in pain from his broken leg.
"Fuck" mutters Darmos the wizard as he lays there on the ground in pain, having just called out for help again, but hearing no response.
The practitioner of magic is just about to call out for help again, when he hears movement. Someone approaching, by the sounds of it, more than one person.
"This way!" calls out Darmos who has heard in the distance, others in the company calling out for help.
The wizard lifts up his head, and looks in the direction he's heard someone approaching.
Darmos blinks in surprise, as through the murkiness of the dust and dirt in the air, walks a pair of large figures through the darkness.
Impossibly tall, especially one of them, who is maybe a foot taller than the other.
The wizard is wondering what he's looking at, when he realises that one of the large figures, who must only be a few inches short of seven foot, is encased from head to toe, in a full suit of dark, heavy plate armour.
While the other, even larger than the first, is a massive green figure, that at first Darmos thinks is a troll, but deep down he knows it's not a troll, but something else. What exactly, he's not too sure.
Then the wizard blinks in surprise again, as he realises that they both carrying magetubes on their shoulders with ease, something that should be impossible.
They stop before the prone wizard, and look down at him, then the first one.
The tall, heavily armoured figure, a human if Darmos isn't mistaken, says "Bring him".
The other one, the large green figure, who is easily seven and a half foot tall, and must weigh well over seven hundred and fifty pounds in weight.
Grins a wicked looking grin that shows his sharp canine like teeth, then he says "Get some".
Darmos groans in pain as he's grabbed and picked up off the ground with ease.
Then before the wizard can try to do anything, he falls into unconsciousness from the pain that wracks his body . . . . . .