Across downtown Las Vegas, a hub for business, containing hotels, high rises, historical buildings, residential and retail, folks poured out of buildings, looking to get out into an open space as quickly as possible, doing their best in the chaos to keep themselves safe. For most it worked, though a few were less fortunate, sustaining major injuries through sheer bad luck.
The famed Las Vegas strip, nearly seven kilometres long, didn't fare nearly as well. Closer to the epicentre, the ground had simply erupted in places, causing massive sinkholes to appear out of nowhere, buckling the spokes on the High Roller Ferris Wheel, reducing the Rialto bridge at the Venetian to dust, and the gondolas that rode the liquid beneath it to nothing more than children's toys. Terrifying high pitched screams accompanied the ear splitting crash to the ground of the humungous Ferris wheel, all its riders dying on impact. Further along, the fabulous Wynn resort came crashing down into its own vivid blue swimming pool, sending up a mushroom cloud of dust, debris and death.
The Bellagio coped little better, its ground floor giving way under the stress, the rest of its massive superstructure rolling into the vast eight acre lake that, up until that point, had hosted the regular choreographed water feature that tourists so loved. Death and destruction accompanied terror and fear on the rollercoaster ride of their lives.
Dizzying red and yellow hanging lanterns in the Palazzo fractured, their remnants hurtling towards the ground, some injuring frightened tourists trying to exit the building, but other than that and some superficial damage, the resort remained unharmed.
What only moments before had been one of the wonders of North America, now very much resembled a scene from a third world war zone. Devastation had rocked the desert like never before, bringing about the kind of death toll only seen in movies. It was horrific, apocalyptic, and not the kind of thing anyone should ever be caught up in. But for the naga agents across the world, some bound by magic, others giving everything for the safe return of their king, it was just another cog in the machine, and something to be immensely proud of.
39
Deese Guys And Their Disguise
Off in the distance thick, black smoke spiralled into the air from the sporadic raging fires that littered the bleak and desolate landscape that was a far cry from the busy, bustling metropolis that it had been only a matter of days ago. Masked in the darkness provided by the outreach building on the outskirts of Fleet Street, Steel explained his thoughts about what he'd seen, and about the plan that had been slowly developing in his mind as he'd snuck back from his reconnoitre.
"While dragons and nagas loitered with impunity throughout the complex, it would appear that two beings obviously disguised as humans seem to command the respect of all the others. I couldn't tell what they were exactly, but at one point while I was camouflaged they came within mere metres of me, allowing me a detailed look at their faces, and letting me hear their voices, albeit at a whisper."
Gee Tee, Jar Man, DomCon and a few of the other dragons listened as Steel continued.
"Whilst I could only follow them so far, due to the high concentration of guards, it was quite clear that these two commanded not only respect, but a certain amount of fear from every being around them. They also seemed intent on regularly patrolling the outer perimeter of their captured camp."
"So what was it you had in mind?" asked the master mantra maker, intrigued to hear what the laminium ball player had planned.
"Just before we hit them with the full force of everything we have, I thought we could go in, neutralise these two beings, get Jar Man and DomCon here to take their places, and then with me as their prisoner, stroll right into the building, making a big show of me... their prize."
"Hmmm... not bad, not bad at all. Did you get a clear and detailed look at their faces? This will only work if our two friends here can mimic them right down to the very last detail."
"I did," replied Steel confidently. "From almost as close as you are to me now. I can show them everything they need to know for their human disguises. The big question is... will the two of you do it?"
Jar Man glanced over at his much smaller friend, an unseen message sent with just a look. DomCon nodded eagerly in response to his friend's enquiry.
"We're in," announced the strawberry blonde dragon. "It's about time those scum sucking cockwombles were taught a lesson. Share their details with us."
Gee Tee and the other dragons shuffled back out of the way, leaving Steel, Jar Man and DomCon sitting together. Leaning forward, the courageous laminium ball captain craned his neck out into the space between them. The other two did the same, and with their foreheads almost touching, closing his eyes, Steel racked his eidetic memory for the images of his enemies. On finding them, he opened his mind and shared them with his two allies. Jar Man and DomCon absorbed every detail, right down to the creases in the forehead of one and the slight, almost imperceptible, stutter of the other. Knowledge shared and a plan in the making, the three sat back, letting the others rejoin them.
It was then that the mischievous shopkeeper added an extra special ingredient to the ever developing plan.
"There's a little something that might help you out in a pinch, laminium ball boy," quipped the master mantra maker.
"And what's that?" replied Steel, deciding to play along.
"This one's for you and you only. And it's powerful... beyond belief. If used in conjunction with all your will, it most certainly will have the desired effect." Locking away his magic so that he was able to pass on the words of the mantra without unleashing it to devastating effect, Gee Tee passed on his wise words of wisdom.
"VENTOSUS FUROR!" he ventured, only to Steel.
"Never heard of it," stated the laminium ball captain.
"I wouldn't have expected you to," scoffed the shopkeeper. "It's old, positively ancient in fact, and has only come to light quite recently. I've kept it to myself... but no longer. I realise now that the magic and knowledge I possess should be out in the open, shared for all of us to use. It's something I've not done in the past. I've squirrelled things away, kept them secret, to myself. I now know that to be wrong. But this piece of magic is especially powerful and should be not be used in anger or as a last resort. It needs to be thought out before it's let loose."
"What does it do?" enquired Steel, as the others listened eagerly.
"It will cast a powerful explosive wave that will run riot."
"Something we've all done at some point," ventured Jar Man sarcastically.
"Of course," declared Gee Tee. "But not quite on this scale. The concussive wave will shred anything in its path. What makes this one special though, is that you can set the arc of the wave before it's unleashed. If, when you set it off, you picture a full 360° arc, then that's the course the magic will follow, destroying everything in its path. For us today, that would be catastrophic because it would destroy the crystal node, something we can't afford to do. But if you know where the node is, you can purposefully leave a gap in the circle of the wave, making sure none of the magic is released in that direction. It just needs to be pictured in your head before you set off the mantra."