Shattered Crown: The Bomb

## Page 1

SVT13 - Now I become Death, Destroyer of Worlds - Outside the blast zone, Fairhaven

A Falcon's Reach soldier, part of the team sent to investigate attack on the dam looked over the edge at a patch of water that looked like it was boiling.

Unknown to him, a steel box sat on the bottom of the reservoir glowing white from the heat of its contents. The rods were jumbled in a pile now, having melted the brackets holding them apart, and were nearing super combine. The box finally melted into slag, and a small explosion of steam burst from the surface of the otherwise peaceful water.

Then it went off. Part of the dam ceased to exist, destroyed down to the molecular level. The rest of the structure shattered, chunks of concrete thrown skyward or caught up in the rush of water. The soldiers fared little better. The luckiest were standing so close to the blast that they died before even seeing the flash, a few further off saw the light but their minds could not comprehend the sight before they turned to ash. Every plant within two miles burst into flames, and every human or animal was incinerated.

Following the heat was the shock wave, which cracked cliff faces, collapsed tunnels, and flattened buildings up to five miles away. Windows were blown out in Hydris, and people in Braile could feel the ground shake. A huge pillar of smoke, dust, and debris clawed toward the sky, muscling past clouds before it was caught by the jet stream and was pushed toward the ocean.

Alexi raised his binoculars to his eyes and grinned. "Target destroyed. Holy shit, that worked better than I could have imagined." He said. The water that had been trapped behind the dam began rushing down stream, carrying hunks of concrete the size of houses with it.

The river had several smaller dams along its length, and these were either broken apart by the onrushing debris or washed away by the flood. Everytime a dam broke more water and debris joined the mass, tearing through the countryside.

The river banks burst and the wall of water began spreading out. From their observation point the three commandos could see the muddy flood spread across the flatter terrain outside of Snowview like a blood stain spreading from a wound.

Dimitry Popov - Fallout Commando - Main group, Outside Snowview.

Dimitry's blood went cold when the bomb detonated. The flash itself was reflected off of the clouds overhead, which gave him some warning. The high pitched whine of the radiation alarm in his helmet switched on and back off as the energy pulse blew by.

Tabaraamon shrieked in agony and parts of him seemed to disintegrate, like they were eaten away by acid. He quickly dematerialized, vanishing in a cloud of waste magic.

Even though they were at least fifteen miles from the explosion the blast of heat was like opening an oven. Then the shockwave struck, with the sound of a dozen freight trains and the force of a kick to the gut it sent many of the rebels sprawling in pain, and at least one to puke.

"No... No... No... That's not possible..." Dimitry whispered as the mushroom cloud rose into the sky. He had seen a super combine detonation before, but that had been a crippled sandship's reactor blowing up. This... This was intentional. It was the only thing that made sense.

"We need to get further away from that explosion. No time to go into the details, but the dust is going to be... Radioactive." Several rebels looked at him in confusion.

"Toxic. Really toxic." He explained.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Perhaps Silas hadn't quite understood the gravity of the situation.

A funny thing to say, considering how dead serious he was a hundred percent of the time, always sulking in his corner. Out of everyone in the group, he might have even been one of the few who truly thought of the tragedies that had come out of this war.

He could still see them sometimes, you know, the bodies that decorated the road to Mirfield. He could feel the puddles of blood soaking the soles of his feet, their glassy eyes watching as he ran. No matter how much he tried to forget, no matter how many times he told himself he didn't care, thoughts of them and all the things he tried to hide lingered like specters at the back of his mind.

"Please settle down, Mister Grisha," Silas had said before it happened, clutching the canteen closer to his chest. "Mister Sato's right. I can't help you if you're agitated like this."

The light from the blast had come first, hitting the side of his face in a blinding, white flash. He had brought the canteen up to his head on instinct, shielding himself from the eerie sight. When it was over, he dared to crack open an eye and peek over the flask. A fiery pillar of smoke and dust had risen over the town's skyline. It had come right from the direction they came, from Snowview.

Before he had a chance to even ponder what it was, a tremor was at his feet. Then sound. Roaring, like a giant wave thundering across the seas. He squeezed his eyes shut as a gust of wind blew around them, hot enough to make his skin quiver uncomfortably. After a while, only the cloud remained, hanging almost tranquilly in the distance.

Silas didn't know what happened, not yet, but every fiber of his being screamed at him to run.

And he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to. But dread had filled the pits of his stomach, weighing him down like a ball chained to his feet. It had numbed him to the bone, creeping over his mind in an icy chill. With dread, nausea threatened to spill from his throat.

This was it. He was going to die here. This was more than an uprising. The rebels, the soldiers—all of them were seriously intent on reaching a point they could never return from, and Silas would finally meet his end at the hands of these fools. "God help us," he said, although it was a little more than a whisper.

  Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven

Erick's eyebrows furrowed, and he flashed Celaena a lopsided smile. "You worry too much! Nobody's gonna hurt me. I wouldn't be much of a bodyguard if I couldn't even look after myself, would I?" He gave her arm a light nudge. "As for getting ditched, I'm sure that's the last thing on their minds. These people pick up oddballs like us wherever they go, it's like some kind of weird curse with them. If you can manage to trust me, you should trust them too. Now," he said through a sigh, "let's get Klaus back on his feet, shall we?"

Just as he found the group again, barely a quick sprint away, a flash of white light shocked him into freezing where he stood. Squinting through the spots in his eyes, he turned toward the light's source, and was met with a sight unlike anything he ever imagined he might see outside the Wastes - or a nightmare. Like a gigantic storm cloud, a billowing wall of smoke had risen over the highest building in sight. Erick's mouth hung open, silent, as the wave of hot air and grit flew past him, and then a tremor that nearly knocked him off his weakened balance. Eyes wide, Erick looked to Celaena and managed to blurt out, "That looks really bad. We need to get back to the others! Go!" As they neared the group, Erick managed to gather his thoughts into something a bit more eloquent. "Ryouki! What the hell was that?"

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven

Alice answered Anya's reply with a solemn nod, her eyes lowered. "It must have been... At least you're both here now. You two have always made a good team." Alice jumped a little as Klaus let go of her wrist, and almost seemed to have forgotten what he had been doing. She smiled absently at his thanks and clasped a hand over her arm, returning her attention to the conversation at hand - until the explosion.

It was unbelievable. Normally, Alice prided herself on never being one to fall prey to panic, but this... What was she supposed to do with this? After a moment taken to gather herself, Alice offered what little sense she could make of the situation. "Do you..." She huffed out a long breath of air, not realizing she had been holding it. "Do you think it's about time we were on our way, Mr. Barton?" With Erick and Celaena practically within arm's reach and Klaus more or less stabilized, Alice was ready to go - far, far away, and as quickly as possible.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Main Group, Outside Snowview, Fairhaven

The force of the blast knocked the air from Evelyn's lungs, nearly bringing her to her knees, and several of the rebels around her were sent reeling from the shock. The sight of the mushroom cloud sent a wave of dread through her veins, and despite her efforts to remain grounded, she immediately began to fear the worst. An explosion of that size could mean lots of things, none of them good.

Dimitry's explanation brought her back to the present, and she rushed to rethink their course. "Alright," she muttered, eyes darting. "Fine." She headed for an adjoining street, motioning for everyone to follow. "This way! There's no time to waste staring!" As she passed through the group, she momentarily slowed to look Dimitry in the eyes. "Will we be able to get away from it?"

Celaena- Assassin

She darts off with Erick her heart pounding in her ears. She stick close by Ericks side her eyes darting around. For once, she look terrified. She felt terrified.

Jack- Blacksmith

Jack quickly makes his way to Celaena and takes a hold of her hand and she squeezes his hand slightly in thanks.

Tula Nikos - Main Group at Snowview, Fairhaven

She held tighter to Dimitry's hand as soon as she caught glimpse of a blinding light and heard a rumble dull the rest of her hearing for a moment. Moments later, another man was at her side, and she had seen Enrico come up to try and pull her out, or so she thought.

The Italian looked sternly on at Dimitry. "What do I do? Where do I take my kids and the rest of the rebels away from this explosion?"

--

Ryouki Sato - Civillian - Crash Site at Sunrest, Fairhaven

He drew back from Klaus as soon as he saw and heard the explosion in his peripheral, and his instincts told him to bolt away, right then and there. Erick had come back seconds later and Ryouki took his boyfriend by the hand. "What was what? That mushroom cloud? Baby, you're not dense." He then got the strength to command the group. "We need to get back to the others and get out as quickly as we can."

"But what about Klaus?" Anya's voice warbled with apprehension to speaking out.

"I'll help carry him if I have to, but I think Boraci said he'd cover it?" He didn't give the other man a chance to reply. "I'll do it. I'll take him on my back. I'm fast."

"Ryouki, stop." Klaus reached out, but then set his hand down on his own knee. "Stop talking, and let's just get the hell out of here."

Ryouki's eyes narrowed at the weakened Body Thief, but then he put his back half-mask back over his mouth. "Let's get the hell out of here then." He echoed softly, still glaring at Klaus.

 Dimitry Popov - Just got Chernobyled - Main group, Snowview Fairhaven.

"Maybe. Depending on the wind, and what kind of material was thrown into the air. But we should try to get another ten miles between us and that cloud before night time." He replied slowly to Evelyn.

Dimitey turned to Enrico and sighed "When the dust starts coming down use whatever you can to filter your breath. If you have gas masks the will help the most, but bandannas or shirts pulled up over your face will provide some protection. Other than that... Just keep moving."

it pulled his mask from around his neck and handed it to Tula. "Use it. I've been exposed to this stuff before. Another dose won't make it any worse."

His mind raced, what had the target been? A super combine bomb wasn't a tactical weapon, it was designed to rip the hearts out of kraken, level entire neighborhoods. There wasn't any city in that direction. So what had they been aiming for?

He thought back to the first super combine he had witnessed. The blackened husk of a sandship very much like the one he had grown up in suddenly vanish in a storm of light, sand turning into glass, it has seemed like the sun had come down from the sky. This explosion had been smaller, the sandship had a lot more fuel, but it was still unimaginable in size.

He had a half empty bottle of expired anti-radiation pills somewhere in his backpack and would get those once they took a break. Give them to people he knew and trusted, there weren't many. Matthew Barton - Shocked and Awed - Supply Group, Surest, Fairhaven.

Matthew turned to Ryouki. "I agree fully. But we can't link up with the others. First that means heading towards that... Whatever the fuck it is. Second, we don't know where the main group is in the city and will waste valuable time trying to find them. And finally, we cant abandon the mission we were given. It's even more important now." His voice shaked as he spoke, despite how hard he tried to push the panic and terror down it get bubbling back up.

His ears were still ringing so he shouted with all the force he could muster. "We need to keep moving. Head for the railroad tracks, and be quick."

What could have done such a thing? It could only be the Grail. Only they would toy with something of that power. Unless it was an angry god, smiting those who displeased him. He wasn't religous, but it seems a possibility.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Silas's hands fell to his sides as he continued to stare at the ominous cloud. He stood motionless, as if any sense of urgency had been siphoned away in an instant. "It's pointless," he said. "Windmere isn't safe. Nowhere is safe." His voice rang hollow to his own ears. He could barely comprehend what he was even saying himself.

Did any of it matter anymore? No longer could he keep deluding himself with some childish fantasy that everything was going to be alright. That's all he'd been doing, anyway. Denying the truth at every corner, even when it was right in front of his nose. Some scientist he was. It was about time he really gave up and accepted the inevitable.

The truth was, he was always—always fighting.

He just wanted it to stop.

He would be so much happier if everything

                                                                              just

                                                                                            stopped.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Tula Nikos - Main Group at Snowview, Fairhaven

Enrico nodded, and let go of her hand to sling on his gas mask and then dart back to the Voce group to bark out translated orders. The brief image Tula caught of the children all putting on gas masks was, frankly, terrifying.

Tula turned to her other side, and saw Usami and his siblings doing the same. They pulled up their small half-masks and Usami and Tsukiko donned goggles that they had been holding onto. Taiyo had been left to shield her eyes herself. Dimitry broke her out of her daze as she was handed a mask and she promptly donned it herself. "Dimitry, you still need to be careful." Tula stayed at his side, concerned for the safety of both of them at this point.

 Illyushin Mosin - Polkovnik (Colonel) of the 13th Guards Division - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Mosin was worried as he watched the explosion in the distance, listening as it rumbled like a storm. Even as a wave of heat passed them by, he only felt cold underneath the thick layers of his coat. Mosin looked down from the mushroom-shaped cloud and focused on the strange object moving along the horizon. He backed away as the realization of what it was hit him. "It is a flood!" he exclaimed. "We need to get to high ground. A building, a tree, anything!"

## Page 2

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven

Erick nodded in agreement with Klaus, struggling to soften his iron grip around Ryouki's hand; the sooner they got moving, the better. When Barton suggested the railroad tracks, that was enough to settle Erick's nerves significantly. For now, having a solid destination to run for was good enough for him. Hearing Silas speak up, however, he faltered for a moment, and his gaze snagged on the man's hopeless, faraway stare.

Alice, on the other hand, only seemed spurred on by the remark. "We'll see about that." Her tone of voice grew slightly stern, hopefully enough to bring the man back down to earth. "Silas, listen. Follow Barton, and I'll follow you; you won't get left behind, I promise you."

Hearing Mosin shouting something about a flood, Erick and Alice turned their attention toward the cloud again, and both immediately saw the wall of mud, water, and debris barreling toward them. Checking one last time that Celaena, Klaus, and Anya were prepared to go, Erick readied himself to bolt for the railroad tracks.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Main Group, Outside Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor ran without taking another glance at the mushroom cloud; the less she dwelt on what might come next, the better. She had seen the Shadowed One disappear, obviously in a great deal of pain; with Dimitry still here, she doubted he would stay gone for good, but the sight of it was caught in a loop in her mind's eye. The fact that the wave from this explosion had been enough to hurt him was terrifying - another thing she tried not to dwell on. If they moved quickly, she reminded herself, they would have a chance.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Main Group, Outside Snowview, Fairhaven

Dimitry's explanation cemented the graveness of their situation in Evelyn's mind. She could only imagine how horrible the aftermath would have been if they had been closer to the blast. With the panic of the group beginning to settle, Evelyn had a moment to look over the group to make sure everyone was heading in the right direction. Finding Asbel practically shambling after the group, already falling behind, she grabbed him by the arm and urged him forward. Before long, their paces matched, and she caught a glance at his face - his eyes were wide, his gaunt face so tensed with fear that his scars seemed twice as deep. Even if she had attempted to calm him, he probably wouldn't have heard a word she said, so she simply guided him along.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Main group, Leaving Snowview.

Dimitry nodded. "I'll do what I can to stay safe. My other gear should help protect me from the dust, once it starts coming down."

He did his best to smile reassuringly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, which were haunted by the memories of the other mushroom clouds he had witnessed, the thousands of dead. So many of them his fault.

He looked up at the sky. He knew who had done this. No one in their right mind would do such a thing, those stupid sons of bitches, of course they would do it. Already had. Why not do it again? Wouldn't add that much length to the list of their sins.

The cloud still hung there, almost motionless, a monument to the madness of the world.

"It's time to go." He said half under his breath, and began half running out of the city, doing his best to conserve his energy, there wouldn't be much time to rest.

As he moved he tried to wrap his mind around the why. What target would be so important to whoever set it off that they would use it? As far as he knew there was an extremely limited number of those bombs... So what could have been so important?

Matthew Barton - Scared for his life - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven.

Barton stepped towards Silas and hearing the man's words felt a shock roll across his body. If am educated man thought it was all over... It meant a hell of a lot more than his own uneducated opinion on the situation.

Silas seemed frozen, and as Mosin shouted something about a flood Matthew cracked his knuckles before back handing Mr Reid. "Pull yourself together! We are going to need your medical expertise before this is all over!" He yelled, hoping volume would disguise the pure terror that gripped him.

The railroad embankment might give them some protection against the flood, at least slowing it down. He loosened the straps on his shotgun, whatever happened he wouldn't drown. Anything but that.

Jessica Stuart - No! No! No! - Hydris Fairhaven.

Jessica sat in her office in shock, the broken glass from her windows scattered across her floor like autumn leaves.

What did it mean?

She had tried to get in radio contact with the government in Agnorak, but something was wrong with the radio, operator said the airborne fallout was probably causing some kind of interference.

At least the riots had stopped, those that hadn't run home in terror still stood in the square, looking at the towering cloud.

She leaned forward, elbows against the desk and started crying into her hands, sobs rattling her body. She couldn't comprehend...

It just wasn't...

Who would..

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Ms. Beckett's words had barely registered in Silas's mind. Follow them? To where? Another hellhole disguised as a false eden?

Then Mr. Barton was in front of him. Silas looked at him with vacant eyes before his hand cracked straight across his face. He reeled back, his cheek burning as an angry red welt grew across his skin. He hit him. He had actually hit him.

His jaw locked tight as Mr. Barton proceeded to shout at him with an almost feverish ferocity. He reached out, the canteen falling to the ground, and his hands were wrapped around Mr. Barton's collar.

"Do you really think a bunch of herbs are going to save us from this?" he said. "No. It's already over." He stared into the man's face and upon realizing how close he was, pushed him away. Despite how useless he felt, he had enough sense to keep his distance. It was a habit he would never break.

Boraci - Sunrest, Fairhaven

My knees quaked slightly, in time with the vibrations coming from the nearby town. My ears squealed with a high-pitched whine, almost deafening. Not long after, small rocks on the ground started to jump, and I knew water was coming.

"I got Klaus," I announced, to anyone interested. "Come on," I said to the injured Body Snatcher. We would head to the railroad tracks, just like everyone said. Hopefully that would deter the massive wall of water. Right.

The air smelled... dank, somehow. The whine in my ears went to the background, giving me a bit of a headache. I shook my head, trying to clear it. As we passed Mr. Reid, I used my free hand to give him a pat on the shoulder. "Might as well try before it's over."

```
 Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Main Group, Outside Snowview, Fairhaven

```

The knights who had come so close to ripping them all to shreds were probably pissing their pants right about then. Still, as much as the past few hours had tested her faith in this improvised army, she couldn't bring herself to regret the decisions that led her to them. These people were probably doomed, but they were somehow more likable than their king - and though it would have been so much easier to sell her research to the crown, if she lived long enough to have the chance, she would rather give it to these people. To her surprise, looking back, she had no regrets - none concerning the revolution, anyway.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Oh, for the love of- - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven

Alice visibly flinched as Barton smacked Silas in the face, and felt a knot begin to form in her stomach. She raised her hands, hoping to calm the two of them down before things escalated - which is exactly what they did. Her own frustration began to surface as Silas grabbed hold of Barton, and she was sorely tempted to knock the man unconscious and carry him to the tracks herself, but he would almost certainly die once the water hit them if she did.

From beside her, she heard Boraci say that he and Klaus were ready, and thankfully, he had some sensible words to offer as he passed by. Her voice beginning to shake, she tried to get Silas moving as well. "There's still a chance, Silas - and the longer we stand here, the slimmer it gets. Please, come with us."

Matthew Barton - angry and afraid - Sunrest, Fairhaven.

Matthew shrugged. "Then wait here. The water will get you soon enough. Save you the trouble of self-pitying yourself to death."

He turned and began running towards the railroad embankment with the others. It was his best bet. He doubted any building could withstand such a huge wave.

The panic was running through him now, he didn't vrealky understand what Reid was so worked up about, it was a freakishly large explosion, but b y no means the end of the world.

Of course, it would probably result in his death, the wave looked like it would swallow them whole.

SVT-13 - We did this to you - Overlooking the outwash, Fairhaven.

"Damage assessment?" Alexi asked.

"Pretty much total destruction." Rankin replied, looking through his rifle scope at the remains of the Falcon's Reach airship base that had been the target of their strike.

"What do you mean?" Alexi continued.

"I mean there is nothing there, hell, the ground is just bare stone, all the dirt got washed away. Don't see any sign of anyone alive down there. They may have still been in the in the lethal radius of the pulse."

"Interesting. What about downstream?"

"It started spreading out, so the damage isn't as bad, but it still leveled every structure in its path. Getting close to Snowview. Hadn't expected it to be that bad. Really thought more water would have evaporated during the blast."

"Nothing we can do." Alexi sighed as he looked across the devastation they wrought.

Dimitry Popov - Running man - In front of the flood, Fairhaven

Dimitry felt something rumble under his feet and instantly went alert. It felt like there were sand worms moving below them. But that was impossible. It was far too wet out here for those things, and they wouldn't come this far from their nesting grounds. It was something else.

Behind him he heard screaming, and turned to see what was going on.

His mind could not comprehend what was coming at him. There was a airship barreling towards them, seemingly gliding across the ground.

He turned all the way around and faced a solid wall of water, the ruined remains of a Falcon's Reach airship carried by the wave. Other debris were being carried as well, trees, bodies, the shattered remains of buildings.

He began sprinting away from it, but there was no way he could out run it for long.

Illyushin Mosin - Polkovnik (Colonel) of the 13th Guards Division - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Mosin looked between the group and the flood, becoming more impatient with each passing second. When he could take no more, Mosin charged at Silas, grabbed him by his arm and leg, and ducked his head under his armpit, hoisting him over his shoulder in one swoop. He felt even lighter than his thin frame suggested. "I am sorry, Silas, but I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would keep my teammates alive. No one is dying today." Without another second to waste, Mosin raced towards the tracks. "Let us hurry," he yelled when he passed Barton.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Silas hadn't had a moment to brace himself when Mr. Mosin sprinted towards him. Before he could even realize what he was doing, he was already over the Rojyan man's shoulder.

"The fuck?" he cried. "What the hell are you talking about? Let go of me, you stupid piece of—" Before he could finish another one of his charming expletives, the handkerchief slipped from his head, and he immediately clamped his hands over his mouth. He watched in horror as they moved farther and farther away from where it fell. This could not be happening. This couldn't be happening. He had to get a new one. He would rip off the rest of his shirt if he had to.

He awkwardly tried to crane his head upwards to watch the rushing waters coming ever closer. They wouldn't make it. Even if, by some cosmic miracle that they did, what comes next? He couldn't go back to Windmere. He knew now, without a doubt, the rebellion wouldn't stop until every town, every city, was destroyed. Rojya was done for, and he hesitated to think of what might be happening in the other kingdoms.

"You should have left me back there."

It was quiet. Pathetic even. He had surprised himself when he said it, but he knew he had meant every word. It would have been better that way, for everyone.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Supply Group, Sunrest, Fairhaven

Following the rest of the group, Alice ran for the railroad tracks, secretly thankful for Mosin's quick thinking. Silas would probably be furious - by the looks of it, he already was - but they could deal with that later. With or without his help, if he couldn't pull himself together, they would find a way to get through this.

The wave behind them grew louder with each passing second, and despite her first instinct to assure herself that she had survived worse, she was beginning to doubt it.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Trouble

The sight of the wave froze Danor's eyes open, and for what felt like ages, she couldn't look away. Though she knew it all fit together then, that the whole bizarre ordeal suddenly made perfect sense, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Finally, she turned around and began to run - but there was nowhere to go.

Just ahead, she spotted Leif and Kristen's cart; with Tabaraamon gone, two rebels had taken over, and one of them immediately fled at the sight of the approaching flood. The other scrambled to move forward, too panicked to make any real progress - so Danor paused behind them, very near to a blind panic herself, and pushed. It didn't matter how slowly they moved, she thought - not as close and as high as that wave already was, and as tired as she already felt after those damn knights found them.

## Page 3

Dimitry Popov - Can't swim - The flood, Fairhaven.

Dimitry knew he couldn't outrun the water. He couldn't swim either.

So there was only really one thing to do. The ruined zeppelin was still largely intact, most of it still out of the water. If he could get to that it would be fine.

He sighed and drew his knife, and slashed the straps holding his back pack on. The weight would pull him under, couldn't have that. The bag had several small runes attached to it, so hopefully Tabaraamon would be able to recover it later on.

Dimitry turned to face the wall of water, took a deep breath in and braced for impact. The force of the impact flung him backwards, the water engulfing him in seconds.

It was worse than when the Bakawanu tried to bury him alive, then he had been imobile. He tumbled through the water, eyes clenched shut. He was still too heavy, the other equipment holding him down. Unfortunately he couldn't get it off.

His mouth opened and water rushed in, freezing cold, trying to shove itself down his throat. He hit the bottom and tried to push himself up. He broke the surface just long enough to gasp in some air before he went under again.

He grabbed for a peice of wood and managed to pull himself up, the ruined zeppelin floated nearby, an island of fabric and metal. He began trying to kick the peice of wood towards the airship, but the current was too powerful.

He grabbed for his backpack, but remembered it was gone. That wouldn't work. A body floated past, charred beyond recognition, must have been too close to the bomb. Broken peices of Falcon's Reach military equipment followed the corpse. He didn't have time to dwell on that. Bigger problems now.

He could see an uprooted tree ahead, and began trying to kick the peice or woos over to it. The current helped him a little, and he was able to climb on it. He unclasped his rifle's sling from its front attachment point and extended it as far as it would go. He had maybe eight feet of reach including the length of the rifle, so it would be close.

He flung his weapon like a harpoon, imbedding the bayonet in the fabric. He pulled, the rifle catching some part of the internal structure. Then the tree rolled, sending him back into the icy water.

He grabbed for the sling and was able to get a good grip, looping it around his wrist. He began pulling himself up, the sling digging deep into the skin. He broke the surface and began climbing up the side of the strike airship.

Leif Ragnar - Drinks all the milk - The flood, Fairhaven

Leif knew the sound of an oncoming wave, no matter what surface the water was on. He couldn't go out like this.

Breathe in, breathe out. Start pulling his legs up towards his chest. Leif was strong, not the agile strength of Erick, or the thin, hard strength of Dimitry. He had rowed longships for hours day in, day out, he had built up enough muscle to effortlessly swing a hammer that weighed more than Kristen. The plaster cast didn't really provide much of a challenge.

Once the plaster around his legs broke he started raising his arms the cast disintegrating. Once free he sat up and rolled out of the wagon.

"Run. I'll deal with her." He shouted to Danor over the sound of the wave.

Illyushin Mosin - Polkovnik (Colonel) of the 13th Guards Division - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Mosin lightly shook his head. "I would not dishonor the memories of my comrades like that. How is Shashka?" Mosin hadn't broken a sweat since he started running, his eyes focused squarely on the target. It helped that he was used to carrying heavy baggages and wounded men across dangerous areas, but a small part of him wondered how much longer they could keep ahead of the flood. Mosin had to steel himself for the worst.

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Underwater, Fairhaven

Evelyn had him by the arm, dragging him along, never taking her eyes off the wave. He considered shouting at her, demanding that she run ahead without him - he wanted to - but he knew she wouldn't. He knew it would be her problem if he got hurt, her problem if he died. No one could persuade her to think of it any other way. When the sound of the water completely filled his ears and he felt the ground tremble under his feet, he squeezed his eyes shut, not knowing what to expect but guiltily thanking his lucky stars that Evelyn was there with him.

The water struck his back like a solid block of ice, pitching him forward - and just like that, Evelyn's hand had left his arm. He spun so quickly and with such force that he could hardly find the ground below him, and the shock of the frigid water nearly forced him to breathe in a lungful of it. He reached forward, maybe upward, for a piece of debris that might hold him up - anything that might lead him to open air, broken hand or not.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Underwater, Fairhaven

Danor dug her boots into the ground, braced against the cart by her shoulder, as the roar of the approaching wave sent dread creeping down her throat like poison. Between the sound of the wave and that of her own thoughts, Danor couldn't hear Leif breaking free of his cast, but she saw him roll onto his feet from the cart - at least, she thought she did. How in the world...? She opened her mouth to speak, finding herself speechless with disbelief, and nearly smiled. Before she could gather her thoughts, Leif had instructed her to run ahead.

Danor's face crumpled into a scowl as she grudgingly considered it. Well, she thought, what help could I possibly be aside from pushing this cart, which he obviously has no use for? She could stand there and ponder it until the wave hit them, but quickly decided against it. She answered Leif with a sober nod. "Good luck," she shouted back, and ran for her life.

She weaved through the crowd, clutching her bag close to her chest, until she came to an infuriating realization. The bag would be saturated by the end of this - along with her notes - and it would only weigh her down. Poor Kristen would probably have to start over again as well. Danor had her research memorized, though, in a general sense. It was more of a sentimental issue than anything.

"Shit," she hissed under her breath, slipping the bag's strap from her shoulder and letting it drop to the ground - just before her feet tangled with another rebel's as he brushed past her. Danor fell to the ground mid-step, nearly knocking herself senseless, and shielded the back of her head with both arms as people continued to run past her. All she could do was wait for the water, and it arrived sooner than expected. She shuddered against the cold and searched with hands and feet for the ground, hoping to push herself to the surface. The fear was unreal, as was the current, but she was determined to find a way out.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Magnificent. Simply stunning. Another fool who liked to play heroics. Silas thought he'd gotten rid of one in Snowview but apparently, there was no shortage of them. To think these were the people he was going to plunge into oblivion with.

He drew his brows together in confusion when Mr. Mosin asked about a certain someone's—or rather, something's well-being. "Shashka? What Shashka? What does it even matter any..." His eyes fell to the scabbard that was swaying against the Rojyan man's side, and it suddenly clicked. "The sword?" he choked. "The fucking sword?" He dragged his free hand over his face and groaned, soft enough it was almost inaudible, "You really are an idiot."

Silas looked again at the monstrous wave with a renewed feeling of acceptance. He was giving up. He had already given up understanding. He had already given up hoping. As he reflected on what had kept him going in the first place, he could only chalk it up to instinct, pure and simple.

It was liberating in its own twisted way. Who cared that the culmination of everything he had ever done was... well, nothing? Finally, he would find peace.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Airship wreckage, Fairhaven.

Dimitry clawed his way up the side of the ruined airship, his fingers stiff from the icy water. Then he slipped, panic burned through him, he couldn't go back into the water, no way he had enough strength left to survive.

He desperately tried to get a grip on the heavy fabric, but couldn't, his fingers couldn't find a good hold. A thought wormed it's way through the haze of panic and terror. He drew his knife and plunged it into the fabric, the blade cut through it, but it slowed him down, he rode down the side of zeppelin, a huge tear following him down.

Then it caught on a peice of the internal structure and he came to a sudden stop, he couldn't hold on for long too much weight from the water that soaked his equipment. He reached out with his other hand and caught some loose canvas and began pulling himself up, into the cavernous interior. Fortunately all the gas had vented from the bag, and it was just being held up by the frame, so he didn't breath in helium or hydrogen, instead of oxygen.

He fell another few feet and hit the bottom of the small air cell, designed to prevent a total loss of gas if there was a single rip in the shell's integrity. He lay on the canvas panting. He needed to find a way to help the others, but for now he could catch his breath.

Leif Ragnar - Almost naked bodyguard - The flood, Fairhaven

Leif grabbed Kristen from the wagon and turned to face the water. He sucked in a lung full and dove into it instead of letting it hit him. Once the front of the wave had passed them by he calmly kicked towards the surface, Kristen still clamped under his arm. It was much colder than he expected, then realized he was in nothing but his loin cloth.

Hopefully he would be able to find something that would fit soon enough, didn't want to reinforce the stereotype that Vallakians were nothing more than barbarians. He broke the surface, sucked in more air and lifted Kristen so her head would be above the water. He wasn't at full strength, and was cramping up badly, the change from nearly a week of being immobilized to swimming for his life was taking its toll. He hadn't even gotten a chance to stretch.

He would have to find some place he could put Kristen, but he couldn't see anything close enough.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

After rounding one more corner, at last, the railroad tracks were just within sight. Unfortunately, not all of the nearest citizens had had the same idea of the best escape route. Faces dotted second-story windows here and there, fearful and confused, like ghostly omens looming overhead. Others, lucky enough to find their feet on solid ground, ran in countless different directions, even cutting through Alice's group if it crossed their path. She could only imagine where they might be going.

A harsh, grating noise sent Alice on high alert again as what could only be described as a chunk of building, now a jagged wreck of battered wood and nails, flew forward on a cushion of water until it snagged precariously on another structure. Alice watched it closely, staring over her shoulder until the thing was almost directly behind her - and just as she feared, it spun loose in the blink of an eye and was suddenly leading the charge again, heading straight for them.

Danor Arkaitz - Really, really cold - The Flood, Fairhaven

Danor didn't have to panic for long before she had a fair idea of what exactly she was dealing with, and her brain snatched the reins again. Her first concern, off the top of her freezing cold head, was being thrown against something - debris, a lamppost, heaven forbid something sharp got in her way. She decided, before anything else, to figure out where she was. It was difficult enough to keep her head high enough above the cold, filthy water for air, much less a peek at her surroundings, but she eventually managed to regain her bearings. She couldn't see any nearby obstacles, though just about anything could be hiding under the water - best not to think about that for now. If she could just slow herself down, find something to grab...

Illyushin Mosin - Polkovnik (Colonel) of the 13th Guards Division - Sunrest, Fairhaven

"It would be wise not to look down on Shashka, my friend," Mosin said, his voice even. "She has saved me more times than I can count." If there was one thing he would not let the flood take, it would be Shashka. If Mosin just kept a sharp eye on his sword, he couldn't lose her.

Mosin noticed Alice looking at something over her shoulder, and he made a quick glance to see what it was. It looked like they had something else to worry about besides water. "Hold on," Mosin said. His grip on Silas tightened and Mosin pushed himself to run faster, slightly out of the path of the debris. Regrettably, it also meant they would be away from the railroad tracks, even if it was by a small margin.

He dived for the ground at the last possible second, narrowly managing to avoid getting hit by the flying chunk of building, but Mosin was offset by the extra weight put by Silas. He landed poorly into the dirt, and it took too long for him to recover. The flood was almost upon them. "Sukin syn," Mosin cursed. "I have... to get up..."

Boraci - Sunrest, Fairhaven

I led Klaus along, and it quickly turned into a pull. He wasn't in the right shape for this, what with all the bleeding. I didn't want to strain him and make the injury worse, but it looked unavoidable now.

"Klaus, we have to go faster. Are you up for that?" Not really much of a choice, though. The smashed buildings were hurtling toward us at a remarkable speed. I began to feel the ground sink a bit with preemptive moisture. I adjusted the rifle on my back, contemplating whether the water would take it away from me. With my luck, probably.

We began stepping in puddles, the water and debris uncomfortably close. I looked around at the others; most were well on their way to the tracks. Hopefully they'd all survive this. In that moment, I remembered something: I didn't know how to swim.

 Celaena- Assassin

Her heart pounding as she hears the sound of water right behind them. She holds onto Jack hand and picks up her speed staying close to Erick. She keeps telling herself that she not going to lose them, she won't lose them. Celaena Moonlight was scared once again in her life. Just like when the fire burned who she was, she was scared. She will not lose them.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed one - Pocket dimension.

Tabaraamon twisted in a world of pain. The light had been bad enough, his essence responded to intense light like humans responded to fire.

But the other energy... Dimitry faintly emitted it, most sandships did as well. He knew what it was, Alranium. The metal that let the sandships work, but poisoned everything near it.

Whatever poison was within Alranium was burning him like acid, it was why the Grail ember bullets could blow ghosts apart, they were Alranium. He knew a great deal about the metal, as it was one of his few weaknesses. It was only found within the depths of the wastes, deep underground, or within mountains, the pre-fall Grail had mined it, hoarded it. And the modern Grail would rip ruined cities apart just to find some.

He screamed into the void that surrounded him. The place he went when he evaporated. Pure darkness in every direction, nothing solid. It let him heal, let him rest.

Then suddenly the void screamed back.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Forest outside of Sunrest, Fairhaven.

Matthew ran, he ran like he never ran before. He lost his hat, no time to try and recover it. He vaulted over the railroad embankment and kept running, nothing to do but run.

He reached a forested area and was clotheslined by a low hanging branch. He picked himself up and kept going. Tripped on a root, kept running deeper into the forest. No regard for the others, everyone for themselves. SVT-13 - Wasting time until I can think of something more interesting for them to do - Fairhaven

Jefferson sighed as he looked through his binoculars. "Guards checkpoint ahead, their holding that bridge. Going to have to go through them, cycles won't work in the mud."

"I'll get the rifle." Rankin replied.

"No... That's not going to work, they're reinforced by a few... I don't know what that uniform is. You're better with this than me." Jefferson said, passing the binoculars to Rankin.

"Shit... Shit... Okay. Let me think... Dark blue... Red piping... Shit. Yeah it's a few royal grenadiers. And what looks like a radio set." Rankin growled.

"I'll get the flare projector." Alexi grunted and began loading a heavy flare into the long tube.

"Not at this range. They'll have plenty of time to get behind cover as slow as that thing is. We'll have to get in close and keep them from getting to the radio." Alexi said.

"Well thank the gods our bikes carry an armory worth of heavy weapons." Jefferson replied.

## Page 4

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

The rolling wall of debris and slush behind him barely resembled water anymore. Erick knew how to swim, he even knew the sea well enough, but this... This was something entirely different. There was no "swimming" through that water - not with all the rubbish it had picked up on its rampage through Fairhaven. He could practically feel the mist against the back of his neck, but didn't dare turn to see how far ahead of the wave he was. He was a fast runner, but that could only buy him so much time, and the tracks still seemed miles away.

Finally, he reached the embankment and leaped across, stumbling only for a moment as he hurried across the tracks - and then stopped. Fear of another kind overrode even his instinct to flee; he had to look. He had to be sure they were all there... But they weren't. Mosin and Silas had fallen behind, and Alice had gone back for them.

He saw her mouth moving and knew she must have been yelling for Silas to stand up, to move away from Mosin so as not to pin him down. She reached for Mosin's arm with both hands in the hopes of dragging him upright - and only then did she see how close the wave had come. Any second, Erick thought. He could only stand behind the tracks and watch.

??? - Still Trying to Be Stealthy - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Whatever happened to these rebels, whichever path they decided to take, the masked stranger had no choice but to follow. To his relief, it seemed they had a solid plan in mind; the real challenge would be to follow them unseen without ending up dead himself, and what a challenge it was. It was difficult enough to find another safe route toward the tracks, and although their situation would almost certainly distract the group from his presence, he couldn't help but stand out if he did nothing but linger and stare. If it came down to it, though, he supposed there were worse things than being discovered, drowning being highest among them. Luciole could hardly blame him, given the circumstances.

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - The Flood, Fairhaven

The second Asbel was thrown into the frigid water, he lost all hope of planning things out or staying levelheaded. Nothing had ever stolen his composure as quickly as this. In the span of an instant, he had gone from fearful to feeling as if he were as good as dead - as if nothing in the world could help him.

With his eyes tightly shut, Asbel couldn't initially tell what had caught him, but it was an instant relief to stop spinning and bobbing through the water. Whatever it was had slammed into his back and held him in place against the current, but he was already beginning to slip away from it as the water pulled him downward. With his unbroken hand, he reached out and felt the flat, wooden side of a building mere seconds before the water threw a broken tree against the structure, smashing it to pieces.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Sunrest, Fairhaven

The flood came sweeping across the terrain, a foul angry froth foaming at its head. Silas tumbled over Mr. Mosin’s shoulders and onto his back as he fell, finally managing to slip from his grasp. Vaguely, he could hear someone shouting at him yet he couldn’t pick out the words. He stared unperturbed at the face of the wave and closed his eyes as it rushed over them at last, allowing the cold and murky surface to envelop him without a fight.

Dealing with the weight of the water, slamming into his body and pulling him deep into its depths, had been the hardest part, despite how docile he’d been. As he drifted further and further down, little bubbles of air escaped his lips, and he was forced to take a breath. The pain spread like fire in his lungs.

Then it stopped. He was perplexed by how perfectly tranquil it all was after a while. When the wave had been mere inches away, for instance, his ears were assaulted by a deafening cacophony, but all he could hear now were the muffled sounds of the current, see darkness closing in on all sides. He could accept this. He could enjoy it.

He felt like, like he was floating! High over the clouds, free from all his troubles. Then… his head was above the water... and through no volition of his own, he was… gasping for air? No, no, no! What was he doing? He was supposed to be drowning. Besides, this wasn't something he could change his mind about and back out of. He would be killed by the flood either way. Struggling would only make this much harder than it should. He was tired of fighting, wasn't he? This needed to be the end.

The possibility that he might actually make it out alive hit him, and he was terrified. He couldn't, wouldn't allow himself to live though the wake of the disaster. A much worse fate awaited him.

Celaena- Assassin

It seem like things went into slow motion when the water hits her back, she felt Jack's hand slipping out of hers. Everytime she got her head out of the water it only seem to pull her back down. She frantically calls out for Erick and Jack but couldn't even hear her own voice over the roar of the water. She can't loose them. She lost them. Again. Her vision goes black when some sort of rubble in the water hits her on the head.

Jack- Blacksmith

Has soon as Celaena hand left her he desperately tried to find it. Diving under and swim in the direction he thought is where she is. He can't find her. He should have been stronger. He should have hold onto her closer.

```
 Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

```

The sight of Silas disappearing beneath the raging water stopped Alice from taking another step, and fear tore its way to the forefront of her thoughts - past compassion, past chivalry, past reason. Before the wave finally reached her, she managed to shield her head with both arms and widen her stance in the hopes of bracing herself, but the water struck her with a force unlike anything she could have predicted.

Even the bitter cold and the ceaseless pull of the current fell from her mind as fear tightened its grip around her throat. She was powerless to help herself, let alone Lucas or anyone else. By the time she made it through this, it might already be too late to save anyone. If she made it through this, that is - and what if she didn't? What if she never saw home again?

With this thought lingering in the back of her mind like a sinister shadow, it was all Alice could do to search for the surface, but the current fought against every attempt she made to steady herself. Already, her lungs ached for air. How could she be losing already?

She should have ended this ridiculous scheme when she had the chance.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Erick watched in horror, too shocked to move as his friends and allies were dragged beneath the water. If he ended up caught in that current, there would be nothing he could do to help them. Somehow, even if there was only the slightest chance, he had to find a way. The only people in sight were Boraci and Klaus, so Erick hurried toward them; he crossed the tracks to the slope beside them and held out his hand, shouting over the water. "Just a bit farther!" He didn't know if they would make it or if Klaus could even make it across the embankment in his condition - the water was practically pushing them along - but there had to be a chance.

Boraci aka Frederick Dermon - Transient - Sunrest, Fairhaven

We were at a good clip, if hobbling like a couple of old ladies was considered a good clip. Erick called to us, but I couldn't hear what he said. We finally reached the bottom of the embankment, and we were a couple feet up when the water hit us. Cold and unforgiving, it ripped Klaus from around my neck.

"No!" I shouted, but had to keep most of my strength gripping onto anything I could find. I watched Klaus go under, and my stomach sank. Pulling myself up the rest of the way, I took in a shuddering breath beside Erick. I couldn't spot Klaus in the debris, but I saw a head bobbing above the water. "Is that Mr. Reid?"

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Airship wreckage, Fairhaven.

Dimitry began cutting through the fabric inside the airship. If he was lucky he would be able to reach one of the maintenance catwalks that ran inside the massive vessels. From there he might be able to reach the top and get a good idea of what was going on.

The flood seemed to be slowing down, but the airship might have gotten caught on something. He cut through the air sack and looked out across the cavernous interior of the airship very few of the air sack were still intact, and hung like tattered flags.

Fortunately he was very close to one of the internal catwalks and had no problem jumping across to it. He looked down, and could see several large rips in the fabric below him, water pouring inside. Fortunately the airship was upright, so he could use the ladders without any problem. He began climbing, it was a military airship, so it would probably have a turret to defend against Rocs on the spine.

Leif Ragnar - Just keep swimming - The flood zone, Fairhaven.

Leif powered through the water dragging Kristen behind. He needed to find somewhere to stop and rest. He hadn't been eating well for a while, and was tiring quickly.

Kristen wasn't in very good shape, probably sucked in a lot of water, but that couldn't be helped. Not yet at least.

The water wasn't too cold, not like Vallak, but it was filthy, all the mud and debris swirled into a opaque stew. Back home the water was so clear he could see the bottom of even the deepest lakes. It made him really uncomfortable to be swimming through water he couldn't see through.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Erick paced the edge of the embankment beside Boraci, practically holding his breath as he scanned the churning water for any sign of their lost teammates. When Boraci spoke up, having spotted someone at the water's surface, Erick was quick to follow his line of sight in search of them.

"Yeah..." He nodded, his eyes fixed ahead so as not to lose sight of Silas. "Yeah, I think that's him." Wracking his brain, he resumed pacing the edge of the hill even as water began to pour over the brim of the embankment and nearly knocked him off his feet. He doubted they could afford to stand still for long. He followed Silas's position in the water as well as he could manage, but he had no idea what to expect; if the water simply carried him toward them, maybe they could grab him, but between the debris and the erratic currents, he could only imagine where the man would end up.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - The Flood, Outside Snowview, Fairhaven

Given how fast the water was moving - and what had just happened to Asbel - Danor soon realized that stopping herself on a building or tree would be a bit more dangerous than she had originally thought. Getting anywhere in that ridiculous current was difficult, but after a few missed tries, she managed to catch a piece of the building the tree had smashed. It kept her relatively steady in the water, at least, enough so that she could see clearly ahead of her. No sign of the Shade host, unfortunately.

Carefully, Danor attempted to survey the area around her for signs of the others, but was forced to stop when the water threatened to steal what little balance she had. Startled and extremely discouraged by how few familiar faces she saw above the water's surface, she held onto the floating wreckage a little tighter and returned her focus to the path ahead.

Klaus Grisha - Former Guard to Czarina Andreyevich - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Growing faint, slipping beneath the waves suddenly sobered the Kyuuketsuki. As water entered his eyes, they opened, astonished, and he struggled through the powerful waves to the surface to find his friends. He swam forward to grab onto Erick once the smaller man was in view. "Wh...Where's Anya? What happened? What's going on?!" He panted, weakened now by the blood loss and the powerful waters they were in.

 Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Sunrest, Fairhaven

Shocked to see Klaus at the water's surface, Erick waded through the rushing water as quickly as he could to meet him at the edge of the embankment, reaching for his arm to pull him onto higher ground. He seemed more than a little shaken, not to mention horrified to discover that most of their group had vanished. "Klaus, don't worry. Anya's gonna be okay, we'll find her." The water continued to rise, and it was all Erick could do to stand still without being pushed off his feet, but he held his ground and tried to keep a strong hold on Klaus's arm. He looked to Boraci, struggling more and more to stay calm as the water continued to climb. "Can you still see Silas out there?"