Chapter 2: Delving into the Dungeon

The rescue camp was bathed in a golden light as the evening sun slowly moved closer to the horizon. Groups of knights were huddled around fires, casting hollow shadows against the ground. Rhendon looks sadly at Soul and says, "Our camp has been decimated by the monsters that attack at night. We need energy to power our turrets, but someone, or worse, something, has redirected it elsewhere. We need you to go down into this ancient generator and bring power back to the camp, before night time falls. We have been trying to hold the hordes at bay but, for so many consecutive nights without our defenses, we can't last another. So many recruits have gone missing, or worse."
"If I'm going to fight these monsters, I'm going to need better gear."

"Don't worry about that, we have just enough time to get some training in."

After a crash course in the basics of survival in the clockworks, time is running out. Soul-Schism grimly bids farewell to Rhendon and the relative safety of the camp for the cold metallic elevator. As he steps onto the central grate, railings spring from the floor and he feels a draining sensation. He looks at his left arm, and notices a small display. It shows five red zeroes and a blue bar with the number 100 inside of it. As he watches, the blue bar slowly drains slightly and the 100 is replaced with a 90. Shortly after, the elevator glows with the same blue the had shimmered across his body earlier. The elevator slowly descended into the dark, the only light coming from the glow of Soul's sword. After what seemed like an eternity, it slowed to a stop and the railings dropped back into the floor.

In front of Soul lay a maze of metal walls and locked doors. He walked to the edge of the floor and looked down. Strewn as far as he could see were miles of platforms and large gears, all in constant motion. There seemed to be no end to it. Shuddering at the thought of what must be down there, he drew his sword and, with as much courage as he could muster, stepped from the safety of the elevator, through a one way energy gate, and into the mess of the clockworks, not knowing what lie ahead.
He sees the remains of several bipedal mechanics, scrapped for parts and in different states of structural degradation. "Cannibalistic machines, how comforting." With the future of the camp in mind, he jogs into the depths of the machine designed to kill. The first few steps were uneventful until constructs began to emerge from the ground, shaking off the dust of several years of inactivity. He dives into battle, sword swinging, shield at the ready. Strafing around his targets, avoiding their attacks and delivering swift punishment. They quickly collapse into piles as useless as those near the entrance.

He proceeds deeper into the labyrinth of death, fighting of hordes of retrodes, battling deeper into the complex mess, searching for anything that might return power to the camp. Useless valves valves fall away at his touch, but buttons and switches alter his surroundings seemingly at random. One gate is switch operated, one by button, and one requires a key.

Soul-Schism enters a large room with a larger than normal button. There is a strange pod of metal sitting idly in the center of the room. He steps upon the button, and an electrical charge is sent up a wire and into a control panel. sparks fly and an angry face of fur appears over a ledge. "You dare tamper with the work of the great Schemer Razwog? You and other sky-fallers shall pay dearly for your meddling!" At this, robots of all sorts appear, and the idle pod begins to glow. Dodging both ranged and melee attacks, he slices through their ranks. Many robots succumb to his ferocity. With the minor foes dispatched, he focuses his attention on the battle pod in the middle of the room. He notices the pattern of its attacks and quickly exploits its weaknesses. After a thrust, his sword becomes stuck in the thick metal. Firmly lodged, Soul has no option but to leave it. He pulls out his bomb, charges it, and places it at the base of the pod. The bomb explodes, destroying the battle pod and sending the sword flying wildly through the air. The hilt strikes Razwog in the face, and then falls down to Soul. "This is not the last you will see of me!" the very disgruntled Gremlin shouts. "I will be back for you!" At this, Razwog disappears from view.

Soul-Schism finds his way to another elevator and ascends back to the camp. Night has fallen but no sounds of furious battle can be heard. He sees lights shining and a large fire burning. Several knights sit around this fire, batter and beaten, but not dead. There are turrets now, firing lasers at oncoming retrodes, holding them at bay and keeping the camp safe. "You did it Soul!" says Rhendon. "You have restored power to this camp. Everyone is extremely impressed with your audacity and battle skills. You must have been a great warrior in a past life!"
"Thanks Rhendon. I'm just glad I survived. There was a furry beast that called himself Razwog and was very upset when I diverted power back to the camp."

"Razwog you say? Are you sure?"
"Most definitely sure Rhendon, he threatened my life even."
"You are truly something special. Razwog is a very dangerous gremlin, the fact that you survived is astonishing."
"It seems that I've had quite good luck today."
"Well the night's not over, Spiral HQ wants to talk with you."
"Open a com-link so I can contact them."
"Already did, it's right over here."
Soul tells Agent Kora about his adventure into the clockworks and his battle with Razwog. Kora tells Soul, "We need to bring you to Haven, our new headquarters. It seems you are a very useful asset and we need as many knights like you as we can get. There is only one problem, Haven and your current location are divided by a large chasm. You'll have to go into the clockworks once again to get to haven. Are you certain you can handle that?"
"Kora, I am most definitely sure. And if Rhendon is coming with me, nothing can stand in our way."
"Roger that Soul, I'll be here to greet you on the other side." -end transmission.
"Rhendon, it looks like we are going on a little adventure."

----

Sorry if it was hard to read... That's just they way we do it. :/

Story by: Ssosme
written by: Soul-Schism