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Post by Razgat on Apr 1, 2015 15:52:11 GMT -5
Deyanira shivered and grabbed her shoulders. "How about a fire? It's freezing up here, and I'm not exactly dressed for this. I'm wearing rags with teeth on them. Not really insulated."
She looked around to try and get an idea of where they were. "I can get wood! I'm good at that."
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Post by Mizagium on Apr 3, 2015 14:36:47 GMT -5
Valendis grimaced as Kazan introduced himself to the locals. He had been constructing a similar greeting, but had intended on leaving out the ‘from another dimension’ bit and substituting ‘magical accident’ because that seemed like it should cover any bases. Now, however, the proverbial cat was out of the bag.
The three Euryion caravaners exchanged a puzzled look. “Serpentes,” one said cautiously. “You know, the Euryion continent?”
Valendis broke in before Kazan could say something else. “And which way is Tintalla from here?”
This time, they fixed three incredulous stares on him. “Couple thousand miles that way,” the one said, indicating a general direction to the west. “Across the ocean.” He scratched his scaly chin for a moment before adding. “Might as well point you towards Replitea. Closest thing we’ve got to a capital. We’ve just come from it. Take this road” he kicked his heel on the worn dirt path “back the way we came and you’ll see in a few days. You should be able to find another caravan or at least directions to take you where you need to go.”
Valendis blinked in surprise. “Ah…thank you, sir. That was…really helpful.”
But the older Euryion shook his head. “Nah. We just don’t want any trouble from off-worlders, if that’s really what you are. We got enough trouble from native madness.” With that odd send-off, he beckoned to his companions and they resumed their south-east trek.
“…I guess we’re going to Replitea,” Valendis offered to Kazan and…Hecate, whom he hadn’t noticed until then.
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Ishta and Samre, two Methuselah diplomats to the Human continent, waited anxiously in what passed for their shared office. News of Tintalla’s obliteration had reached them not a quarter of an hour ago, delivered by a beleaguered office errand boy, who promptly ran away from them as fast as he could. Whether from fear of the Methuselah, or from their reaction to the news, neither was particularly interested in at the moment.
Ishta paced the narrow length of the office, while Samre stared out the one, curtainless window into the Human city of Bridgewater. It was a bustling urban sprawl, one of, if not the largest human city-state. Farsail might have been a close rival, being the center of overseas trade; but Bridgwater played host to the largest junction of trade routes that crisscrossed the continent, was the most culturally diverse city (for humans, anyway) and thus was a natural choice to send Methuselah diplomats after the Undead Crisis, to form real political ties between humans and Methuselah, historic enemies.
The door opened softly, and Phel Gagrian, their human liaison, slipped in. “My apologies,” he said at once, “for the delay.” As far as humans went, Phel was one of the better ones. He never harbored any ill will towards the Methuselah and Euryion, and genuinely desired a cooperation between the races. “But you must understand, the Senate is…confused, to put it lightly.”
Samre saw the irritated twitch on Ishta’s face. Samre was Ishta’s elder by over two centuries and was considered unusually clam by Methuselah standards. Ishta, on the other hand, possessed his people’s trademark rashness. They liked to say humans were emotionally fickle creatures, but Samre knew the truth.
“Confused,” Ishta repeated.
Phel swallowed hard and addressed Samre instead, recognizing the other’s levelheadedness. “Yes. It’s becoming something of a circus in there. I’ve never seen the Senators behave like…well. Anyway. The news hasn’t been spread through the city yet. As far as we know, only the Bridgewater and Farsail Senates are aware of…” he let it hang, unwilling to say. “But they…”
Smare frowned. “They what, Phel?”
Phel inhaled and started again. “The Senators have asked me to ask you…what it is you intend to do.”
“Do?” Ishta very nearly shouted the word. “I don’t know why I’m surprised they would ask such an asinine question.”
“Ishta…” Samre warned gently.
“What are we going to do? We’re going home, of course! Our capital is gone! The center of our civilization has been wiped from the face of Serioc, and they ask us what we’ll do?”
“Ishta…”
Phel stiffened. “I was afraid you might say that. Unfortunately, gentlemen, all travel to the Methuselah continent is being halted immediately. It is likely that travel to the Euryion continent will be as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bridgewater gates were closed before nightfall. This is…unprecedented.”
“Unacceptable,” Ishta decalred at once. “Samre and I must return home. We need to be with our people.”
Phel held out his hands gently, possibly also to fend off a possible advance by Ishta, although Samre knew his partner was stronger than that. “We understand that this is a difficult situation but – “
“No. You do not understand. You Humans have no center like the Methsuselah do. You are Humans, yes, but you are also Bridgewaterfolk, Farsailers, Berwyk-upon-Plokers, Xenian, Northfacers…you are humans, yes, but you are loyal to your cities, not your people. Not us. Not the Methuselah. We are one people. Tintalla…the Blood King…these are what hold us together. They were our culture, our racial heart, our collective soul. And now we have lost that, Phel. Our people are frightened, scattered, lost. This has never happened in recorded memory. Blood Kings have been deposed, assassinated, and whatnot, but Tintalla has never been lost. Tintalla never fell to invaders. And now that is gone. Our Blood King is gone. The Royal Blood family is gone. Our people survive, yes, but we are lost.” The initial anger faded and was replaced with something like sorrow. “So do not tell us you understand because you do not.”
Ishta looked like he had more to say, but turned away and leaned against the far wall with his face in his hands. So, Phel addressed Samre again. “What’s going to happen?”
Samre grimaced. “I don’t know. Normally – if such a situation could ever be called normal – the next in line would become the Blood King or Blood Queen. There is a clear line of succession, but…we were not expecting an attack. As far as we know, the entire Family was in Tintalla.”
“Which means they’re all gone.”
“Yes. So there’s no one keeping us together.” Samre glanced back out at Bridgwater. “We’ll hold together for a little while. But sorrow…despair…panic will take over, once it becomes clear that the Blood Family is gone. Any city could be targeted; they’ll figure that out soon.”
“I will…I will try to convince the Senators to let you go home. I cannot guarantee anything, but I will try to make them understand.”
“And if you cannot?”
“If I cannot…then we will search for a new solution.” With nothing else to add, Phel disappeared again, leaving Samre to cross to Ishta and place a hand on the other’s shoulder.
“We will get through this, my friend.”
“We have no choice.”
“No, we do not.”
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Post by Damien on Apr 7, 2015 21:14:21 GMT -5
"Excellent!" exclaimed Sorin. "It seems we're all prepared to go. Okay, you two, get close here. There we go!" Once the three were standing with their sides touching, Sorin spoke the dark words of power, "Vokun filok!"
The group's shadows stretched outwards in the direction of the Ceberus desert, putting them in front of a wall to a building...as it explodes outwards, sending blue-flaming debris showering everywhere. Out of the new "door" run several humans of varying age, and an enormous red drake.
"Well, this should be interesting," said Sorin.
"Indeed!" replied Vynalion. "It seems even the drake is running from something. I say we follow and get away from here!!!" With that, he began running after the group not even knowing who they were. Sorin followed, pulling Lenore along until her feet got moving.
-----
"Juliet?" said Izaak. Once it dawned on him what was meant, he reddened even more. "Hey!"
Before he could continue, Eleazar had already begun creating an undead minion for them to use as transport. Once his ritual was complete, Izaak stared at him and said, "don't you think a giant undead pterodactyl is probably a bad idea? I mean, didn't this world have issues with undead and a lich of some sort? I'm sure we can figure something else out rather than have the entirety of this continent either running in fear of us or putting us in their sights to bring out of the sky..."
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Post by Sariel of Tevet on Jun 4, 2015 18:32:07 GMT -5
Alex cracked her neck and took a look around the room. She pulled her bottom lip in under her teeth and let out a whistle.
"I shouldn't have to ask who that was directed at, get your ass up here before I cut it off and carry it here myself."
The man who she had previously been tormenting jumped up at the ready, knocking his glass of water over, and ran to the front of the building next to Alex. She curled her index finger towards herself and directed him to stoop down a bit. He did, and she began to pat his head patronizingly.
"Good boy, now stay until I say otherwise. Now now now...who else...Ursine? I can always respect a fellow assassin without depth perception."
I large beastman, whose right eye had been gouged out years ago, stood and stretched his back muscles and causing his head to almost reach the ceiling. He took his place next to Alex and she stared up at him in what passes as awe for her.
"You aren't exactly the stealthiest cretan in this joint, but your survival skills are somewhat legendary. Too bad the same couldn't be said for your right eye, eh? Well...who is last pick for our little dodgeball team..."
She began to pace between the tables slowly, eyeing each patron with her usual contempt. She placed a hand over her eyes and tilted her head up towards the ceiling. Alex began to walk with her index finger out, pointing at those seated in front of her as she passed by.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe....." She grabbed the shoulder of the person seated in front of her and opened her eyes. It was a kid, about 15. Alex sucked her teeth and grabbed him by the back of his neck, dragging him to the front of the room and throwing him at the base of the portal.
"Fine, you won my game, but don't get us killed out there, child. Hmm. You DO have a name, yes?"
"Haymitch..."
"Seriously?"
"Yes..."
"We will see if that sticks, scout. Yes, scout. You're small, I'll teach you to be bait...I mean our lookout. Until you learn the ropes. IF you make it that far. Well, what are you freaks waiting on? We have a Celestial to knock down a few pegs."
Alex jumped through the portal as the rest followed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ok, scout, time to do your job. See that caravan down there? I want you to go down there and ask for directions, signal us with how many there are, and then we will ambush them for information. Got it? Ursine will cover you."
Haymitch nodded, and Ursine attempted to wink encouragingly to the kid, but did so with his right eye muscles out of habit still and they began to walk off towards the caravan.
"Hey, boss, can't we just ambush them anyway? They are just noma-"
Without hesitation, Alex pulled a blade from her waistband and slit the poor tormented fool's throat wide open, and rolled him down the hill where he landed on the road in front of the caravan, gasping on his own blood. She stood and dusted herself off, and called for Haymitch and Ursine."
"Well, change of plans, I suppose. Good thing I brought three of you instead of just two."
The caravan stopped and cleared out immediately to check on the dying ex crew member. Now that they were out in the open, the attack began. Alex was running full tilt down the hill, and created a line of wards to run across right above the nomads. She had drawn blood before even touching the ground as the first victim fell to the roadside. Ursine smashed straight through the caravan itself with brute force, and sending it flying into the hillside and crushing another of the reptilian traders. There was one left, too scared to pick a direction to run in.
"Well, scout, you gonna do it or not?" She handed Haymitch an extra blade from her boot and he just stared at it. His eyes met with the last remaining caravanner's, and he froze.
"Oh to hell with this."
Alex took his hand and clasped it around the blade and used her other hand to pin down the prey. She guided his hand and made him cut out their tongue, and then stood back as proud as she could be.
"Well there you go, scout. That is a clean cut too. Hang on to that knife, you will need to get good with it. That's what you use to get someone to talk. Well..." Ursine shook his head at her and began to check the bodies around them for maps or loot. "...maybe we should have left the tongue. But maybe he can still point, aye? So how bout it. See anyone unusual around here asking for directions? Two guys and a girl, and not us. "
He pointed off in the direction of Hecate and the rest, and nodded as best as he could.
"Good, that wasn't so hard...was it? Now let's see...what to...do." She held up a hand and placed a ward tightly around the traveler, tight enough to ironically constrict his body until his scaly chest ceased heaving.
"I guess we are hoofin it guys. Let's go."
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Jun 4, 2015 20:54:58 GMT -5
Arrick swore and ducked to the right, dodging the thrust of a Red Hellan spear. They'd successfully escaped the inner sanctum of the castle, and made it outside of the fortress itself. Unfortunately there were plenty of enemies waiting for the group of intrepid adventurers outside. "Not good." Arrick muttered as he fired off a chain lightning spell, stopping three nearby hellans in their tracks. "We're getting surrounded again." And without the close quarters of the fortress to cover their escape, they couldn't just make a run for it. 'Where are those two?!' Arrick thought furiously. "They're here. Solomon provided the answer to Arrick's thought. The Seeker perked up, hearing that and then blinked as a beam of bright red light lanced over the sand dunes and struck the hellan forces. Amidst the cries of pain and confusion, similar attacks began to rain down. "Mei sure knows how to make an entrance." Arrick muttered, cleaving through another hellan with his arcane halberd. Then he picked up a faint sound and looked up. Something was coming down towards them. It looked like a...spear? "Oh shit!" Arrick realized what was happening and turned, raising a hand towards Kugo, Marien and the Professor. "Brace yourselves!" With that warning Arrick conjured a thick shield over the group. Then the spear struck the ground and the world exploded. Arrick couldn't see for a moment as a wave of pure magical force blinded him and washed over every nearby hellan. Arrick gritted his teeth and held the barrier. 'Damn that Cormac! He's going to kill us along with all the hellans!' Though he said that, a moment later the attack ended and the group was fine (from Arrick's cursory glance at them). He dropped the shield and looked around, then gave a low whistle. The sandy courtyard was now little more than a glassy crater. There were no signs of any living hellans. At the epicenter of the crater, a large spear rose up out of the ground from where it had struck. It was a wicked-looking weapon, made from blackened metal with red runes etched into nearly every open surface. Arrick didn't look at it too closely. It always made his skin crawl. "An' for mah next trick, I'll pull a rabbit outta mah hat!" A boisterous (and rather heavily accented) voice drew Arrick's attention to the man standing atop the nearby sand dune, arms folded smugly. He was a tall man, garbed in fur-lined plate armor. He looked young (though most Seekers did), jet black hair slicked back messily, and sporting a small goatee on his chin. He had a wide grin on his face. "You damn near killed us too, you great idiot." Arrick called out, sighing heavily. "Now aint tha' just a fine thanks for saving your life." The other Seeker sniffed haughtily. "We are, of course, grateful for your timely arrival.' Solomon spoke up. Arrick never really figured out how Celestials could communicate mentally between Seekers when they were nearby. It was sort of a thing that they did. "Apologies for Cormac's enthusiasm, Seeker Arrick." came a sudden voice in Arrick's head. The Seeker dipped his head in greeting. 'Cainte' Arrick acknowledged the Celestial. "Cormac leaves complicated things like aiming up to me." A new, female voice said as another figure made its way to the group. Mei was a small woman, with very prominent Xiolinese features, though her light brown hair denoted mixed parentage. She looked less like a warrior and more like an Ossen sky pirate, garbed in form-fitting leathers and utility jacket, a black scarf covering the bottom half of her face. A large, Vaerian sniper rifle was slung over her shoulder. She grinned at Arrick. "Long time, Sorien." "Greetings" Came the terse greeting from her Celestial partner Callidus. "Still, looks like ya got yourself in a heap of trouble this time, Arrick." the other Seeker, Cormac, looked over Arrick's shoulder and blinked. "Is tha' a dragon?" ][ "Fire is a good idea." Nathaniel agreed with Deyanira, and promptly set about making one. Luckily there was wood aplenty around them and there had not been any rain recently. Within minutes the hunter had a small fire going. "Well, that's step one. I suppose we should try and find some civilization." Nathaniel began tearing into a small ration bar, sinking to the ground and beginning to feel the stress of the day sinking in. Man, things sure had gone to hell really quick. Nathaniel glanced around for a moment, then sighed. "Hey Deyanira," he said after a moment. "I don't suppose you know any spells that could hel-" The sudden sound of a footsteps crunching through the forest halted his words. Nathaniel spun around in the direction of the noise, his hand already on his pistol. A man appeared from the woods. He was garbed in heavy clothing and a hood that hid his face. "Oh my, what's this now?" the man's voice was deep and gravely. It set Nathaniel on edge. "Don't get too many visitors around here." "We're passing through the area." Nathaniel replied. "Heh. To where? Gotta go pretty far out of the way of any civilization to wind up in these mountains, son." was the stranger's amused retort. Nathaniel grimaced. Great. So they were in the middle of absolutely nowhere. "Ah, where are my manners?" The strange man seemed to realize he hadn't introduced himself. "I make my home nearby. Name's Tarvitz." he extended a hand. Nathaniel eyed him suspiciously. Tarvitz made no attempt at lowering his hood. Something about this guy rubbed Nathaniel the wrong way. Still, if Tarvitz knew which way civilization was, then they couldnt be picky. "Nathaniel." the mage hunter shook Tarvitz's hand. ][ Faust grimaced at Suri's sudden clinginess, but put it out of his mind for a moment, instead considering her question. Truthfully, he was worried. Very worried. There was no telling where everyone had been sent. Hell, there was no telling where he and Suri were at the moment. there was also the possibility that they were the only ones to survive. Doubtful, but it was still a possibility. One that Faust didn't like one bit. Still, he didn't tell Suri that. "I'm not all that familiar with magic. I can't say what happened to the others but..." he trailed off, glancing around. "If they are somewhere in this city, then they will be looking for an obvious gathering place. So we should start there." As he said this, Faust spotted just what he was looking for: a brightly decorated sign that said 'The Watering Hole'. Ah, good. A tavern. He started walking again, tugging Suri along with him as he went. The tavern was packed with patrons, and many of them gave Faust and Suri odd looks as they walked in. Faust ignored them and headed for the bar. THe barkeeper, a rather short, porty fellow blinked at them. "Welcome to the finest drinking establishment in Bridgewater!" he greeted. "What can I get you two er..." the man looked them over. "...travelers?" "Whatever food I can get with this." Faust drew a handful of coins from his pocket. Vaerian bills would be utterly useless here. Faust had learned in his career that it was often necessary to carry a more universal currency. So he made sure to always have several bags of Ossen coins on hand. Faust didn't know the currency here in Bridgewater, but Ossen was a country of privateers and pirates, both of which loved their gold. Judging from the satisfied look in the barkeep's eyes, gold was acceptable. "Two dinners, comin' up. Find a seat anywhere." "I suppose we can wait here." Faust told Suri as the two found a table. "If no one shows up by tomorrow then..." he trailed off. Frankly, the idea of leaving civilized territory to search unfamiliar wilderness was an unappealing one. ][ Kasser laid on his back, staring up at the trees. They were waiting. Roluo's scout still wasn't back yet. Kasser yawned. Ah well. At least he was getting a chance to relax for a moment. ... Now if only he could think of something to saw to make this wait any less awkward. ... What did necromancers talk about anyway? Dead stuff? "Soooooo..." ][ Al shuddered as memories continued to flow through his mind. He hadn't been aware of the magic that Magnus had placed over him before. But now, as more and more knowledge came to him, he could feel its hold on him. Locking down his powers. And he could feel it withering away as the seal on his mind broke. There was a sudden sense of vertigo and Al blinked. He wasn't in the ruins of Vvarden anymore. Rather, he was standing in what looked like the ruins of an old fortress. Snow and ice covered almost everything, as far as the eye could see. Al stood up slowly, glancing around. It was utterly silent here. He had been distantly aware that Dorian had been teleported along with him, but there was no sign of the man now. "What..." "Oh, now this is interesting." Al gave a start. He spun around to find a man standing before him. He looked painfully familiar for some reason. The man was watching him carefully. "Who are you?" Al asked. It was odd that the man before him seemed completely unaffected by the cold, but then again it didn't seem to be bothering Al, either. "That the first of my knights doesn't even recognize me, such sorrowful times these are." The man sighed, somewhat dramatically. "For shame, Aldryan." Al blinked. This man...knew his name? Hell, no one really called Al by his full name, not since..... Since... Al staggered at the sudden pressure in his head. "Seems to be some mental blockage there." The man offered his opinion, though didn't move from his spot. "But its been worn down enough to reconnect your mind with this remnant." "R-remnant?" Al asked. "The remnant of my power within you." The man motioned down to himself. "This is your mind, you see." "It is? But...wait, who are you?" Al asked, utterly confused. "It doesn't really matter who I am. Not anymore. What matters is who you are." The man cocked his head to the side. "Do you remember yet?" The scenery around them changed suddenly. Now they were standing on a mountainside. There were other figures there now, but they were nondescript and silent as they moved around Al. The scene shifted again and suddenly they were in a palace. The figures around him became less hazy. Al looked down at his feet and blinked. He was standing in a pool of blood. He stumbled back with a yelp, tripping over his feet. "This is where you died." The figure with him spoke. The scene changed yet again and they were back at the snowy fortress. But this time It wasn't a ruin. Foul creatures roamed through it. Undead of every kind. A large, armored man stood before Aldryan. Faintly he could hear words being spoken. "This is where you were reborn." The scene changed again, and now Aldryan stood amongst fire and death. It was Vvarden, but not as Al recognized it. It was Vvarden in the midst of its final battle. Soldiers died in droves as undead swarmed over them. The city was burning. Aldryan didn't feel horror at the sight. In fact, he felt satisfaction. "This is your legacy." The figure was beside him now. The pressure in Aldryan's head was nearly unbearable now. He gritted his teeth and sank to his knees. The figure beside him looked on unsympathetically. "It's time to wake up, and continue your work Death Knight." The pressure in Aldryan's head vanished. Aldryan was suddenly back in Vvarden. The real Vvarden. He lay collapsed in the dirt, in the remnants of destruction that he had caused. Oh yes, he remembered now. Aldryan stood, a snarl on his lips as old familiar hatred coursed through him. His eyes once again glowed blue with the light of undeath, his skin deathly pale, no longer concealed by Magnus' illusions. Aldryan looked around, growling. He spotted Dorian standing nearby and leaped at the man with a battle cry. ][ Hecate froze in place, suddenly. At first the Celestial wasn't quite sure what she was sensing. Everything about this wolrd was strange and it confused her senses somewhat. After a second though, the familiarity of the power fluctuation nearby dawned on her. "We have a problem." She said to her two companions. "I sense something." She pointed down the road towards where the caravan had only minutes before disappeared. "It's Celestial magic, I'm sure of it." Which was a problem. A Big problem. If there was a malicious Celestial here... No, what Hecate sensed was too faint for a Celestial's presence. Underlings, then. "So our enemy has started being proactive, have they?" Hecate murmured to herself. It would have been too much to hope that the Celestials were simply biding their time in Mundus Magica. She didn't wait for Valendis or Kazan, and began walking back down the road in the direction of the caravan. It couldn't have gotten very far. With a huff of annoyance Hecate started flying. There was no conscious effort to it. Four white wings suddenly appeared from Hecate's back, carrying her into the air. Hecate fought the urge to grin at the exhilaration of it. In Mundus Magica she had been forced to hide her existence, which sadly left her grounded. And the dimensional gap where she had existed for millenia before that had never been as...tangible as true reality. Soon enough, she spotted the caravan. Or rather, what was left of it. The traders were all dead, and she noted three figures leaving the carnage and heading in their direction. "Only three?" Hecate mused. "I think we are being underestimated." That actually stung her pride a little bit. Wordlessly Hecate spread wide her arms and a swarm of glowing balls of light appeared arround her. With a quick motion they turned into a storm of arcane fire, cannoning towards the attackers. |
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Post by Razgat on Jun 5, 2015 0:52:54 GMT -5
Deyanira shuffled behind Nathaniel slightly. She had no armor, she was freezing, and she never did find the kitchen on that ship, so she was pretty hungry. She was completely vulnerable.
Not completely
She eyed the knife at her thigh. She always had that option, but they told her she couldn't do that.
There's only Nathaniel here...And that stranger. What could they possibly do?
She slipped her hand down behind her, just in case. "I...I'm D-Deyanira."
Damn it, it was impossible to sound intimidating when you were cold.
You could show them.
"No...No, not now." she thought to herself, trying not to shiver.
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Post by Mizagium on Jun 7, 2015 0:50:16 GMT -5
“A dragon?” The Professor spun around immediately, knocking several Red Hellens over with his tail. “Not just any dragon, my good man, but a bona fide Fire Drake from Elborn!” He extended a scaly, oversized hand. “And I’ll do you one better: the only Red Drake to have been mind-swapped with an Arcian scholar. Professor Penrose T. Fezziqigg, at your service.” He grinned a big, toothy dragon grin.
“I don’t think this is the time, Fezzi!” Marion (with her two charges following closely behind) formed up with Arrick. “Oh good. The cavalry. I hope. So are we making our daring escape or is this going to become a ‘heroic last stand’ situation because, I gotta tell you guys, I’m much of the ‘sneak out through the sewers’ kind of hero.”
Kugo chose that moment to send the super-charged Wendyl flying across their field of view. The Xiolinese man swaggered on over, looking rather pleased with himself. “Don’t be that way, Marion. We’ve got them on the ropes. See?” Just as he said, many of the Red Hellens had broken ranks and were fleeing into the desert beyond the boundaries of the compound. “They won’t be any trouble for us, eh?”
“I don’t know.” Marion frowned and sized up Mei and Cormac. “Somehow I don’t think these two came just to route a Hellen rebellion.”
Throughout all of this, Red hadn’t moved, only watched with increasing indignation as everything fell apart around her. Her loyal servants were running away. Her castle was being destroyed, her kingdom torn apart. And these…these people had just appeared there, as if it were nothing. As if all her hard work hadn’t meant a damn thing.
It’s time to leave, the voice from beyond whispered to her. Even the greatest of queens knows when to make a retreat.
The words tasted of reason. Red knew that fleeing was probably the best course of action, and she did know that she wasn’t going to win this fight now. But she couldn’t bring herself to run. Another voice spoke to her, this one louder and more urgent. Curor. The cursed blood-magic sword spoke to its new master, hungry for killing, for blood. And it wasn’t just one voice, not after so many centuries, so many masters. All the previous holders of Cruor existed within, churning and writhing in the confined space that denied them a proper afterlife. They were angry spirits, now, vengeful entities that desired only that others suffer as they did now.
But even more than the myriad voices pulling her this way or that, she simply felt insulted by these intruders on a deeply personal level. She wasn’t about to pack up and leave after they’d stomped all over everything she’d worked for. No, that would be…embarrassing. Yes. Embarrassing. Of course, she wasn’t quite aware of these thoughts, nor would she have been able to articulate them. So instead, she responded the only way she knew how.
“NO!” She screamed. “NO NO NO NO NO!” She stomped her feet. She threw her arms down. It was incredibly undignified, not to mention far beneath her age. “This is so unfair! I did this all by myself – you can’t just take this all away from!”
Marion made a face and looked at Arrick and the other Seekers. “Uh…what, uh…I don’t know. Who knows how to handle kids?”
“Shut up!” She pointed Cruor at the group. “SHUT UP ALL OF YOU! I hate adults! You always think I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m young! Well! Look! I did this! I’m a queen! I have enough power to make Seekers afraid – Tiamat said so!” By this point Tiamat was screaming into her head, but she wasn’t being heeded. “So everyone just leave! Me! ALONE!”
A wave of magical energy burst out from her, slamming into those assembled. It wasn’t particularly powerful, mostly misdirected anger and frustration, but there was some force behind it. And anyone with any knowledge of Cruor knew there was plenty to be wary of.
Of everyone there, it was Kugo who picked up on possibly the most important piece of information. “…Who…is Tiamat?”
-
Valendis blinked and suddenly Hecate was gone. Not that he had been especially aware of her presence before, but her certainly noticed her absence.
“What – “ then the orbs of arcane fire appeared down the road. “Damn it.” He motioned for Kazand and ran off down towards their erstwhile companion. He prepared several incantation strings, different summons he could call depending on the situation. They rested in his mind, primed but un-uttered.
“What’s going on? We’re under attack?” No one seemed to be attacking anyone – only Hecate and the unknown. He grimaced at the caravan – nice folk – and turned to scanning the treeline, where Hecate’s arcane fire had lit up the foliage. “I don’t see anything!”
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Post by Damien on Jun 22, 2015 12:11:32 GMT -5
Vynalion and Sorin (and Lenore) continued to follow the group of people and the drake...right into more Hellans. One of the group cast a lightning spell at one of the Hellans, and it arced to two others, killing them instantly. A beam of red light shot from over the dunes, taking out more of the horned creatures. Reinforcements perhaps? Vynalion thought to himself. He heard the halberd-wielding man curse and yell for the group to brace themselves, and he could see him preparing what looked like a warding spell. He dove in closer, rolling a bit in the sand. "Sorin! Lenore!" screamed Vynalion.
Sorin, being weighed down by Lenore, knew that they wouldn't make it in time...at least, not both of them would. He stopped, dug into the sand, and whirled Lenore in front of him. "Feim!" he said, and the single syllable reverberated a bit in the air. Lenore disappeared in a puff of shadow and reappeared beside Vynalion. He began to cast another spell. "Vokun fi-" and the world exploded around him.
When Vynalion was finally able to look again, he didn't see Sorin, but he had heard the shadow mage casting his voyage into shadow spell, so he figured that Sorin would reappear again when he had recuperated his strength from casting.
Vynalion got up and helped Lenore to her feet. The people they'd found was exchanging pleasantries with each other, and it seemed they all knew each other. The drake, however, spoke, which caught the cleric by surprise. Not long after, Vynalion noticed Red, Valendis' sister, standing there holding Cruor, and she began to yell, much like one would expect a child to yell during a tantrum.
“NO!” She screamed. “NO NO NO NO NO!” She stomped her feet. She threw her arms down. It was incredibly undignified, not to mention far beneath her age. “This is so unfair! I did this all by myself – you can’t just take this all away from me!”
Vynalion didn't hear whatever the BeastHellan woman said to the others in the group, but obviously, Red did...
“Shut up!” She pointed Cruor at the group. “SHUT UP ALL OF YOU! I hate adults! You always think I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m young! Well! Look! I did this! I’m a queen! I have enough power to make Seekers afraid – Tiamat said so! So everyone just leave! Me! ALONE!” With that last, fury-laced word, a wave of pure energy exploded outwards from Red, crashing into the group and causing a few people to stagger a bit.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Vynalion, checking everyone over to be sure no one was injured. Apparently, the only person there that seemed to pick up on the most important thing that Red had said was the shirtless Xiolinese man whose hair seemed to be in a perpetual state of up. He looked straight her.
“…Who…is Tiamat?”
-----
All of a sudden, Al's appearance changed. He was somehow more pale that he was previously, and he was now glowing, a pale, unearthly blue.
"Looks like Magnus' illusions are gone now," Dorian whispered to himself. However, Al heard him, and the Methusela turned around and leaped at him, intending to kill...
Dorian cursed under his breath, and cast three different spells in rapid succession. First, he created an illusory image of himself that was superimposed over his body. Then he cast a spell of invisibility on himself, leaving just the image visible. Finally, he used what equated to a spacial magic cantrip to teleport himself from where he was, landing himself behind a rock and very much out of Al's sight. Well isn't this great? he thought to himself. What the hell am I supposed to do now? He waited quietly, barely daring to breathe...
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Post by Monika on Jul 4, 2015 18:34:13 GMT -5
"I'm glad we got to team up with her!" Kazan grinned as he followed after Valendis, eager to see what battle they were about to get into next. "Never a dull moment with you guys around!" Sparks of electricity flew from around his fingertips as he readied his elemental magic for whatever lied ahead. "So...who are we shooting at?" he asked.
Lenore had only been semi-cognizant of everything that had just happened. One moment she was packing her bags at the library, and then there were some shadows and explosions and she was running alongside a dragon. She vaguely remembered Sorin dragging her around and probably saving her life - she'd have to thank him for that later - but all her senses were confused and muddled...That is, until she saw Vidalia. Red, as Valendis had called her. Now Lenore's mind was as clear as day. And she was angry - rightfully so. Before them stood the girl who had murdered her entire family and for what? The sake of a magic sword? Whatever motives Red had didn't make any sense to Lenore, and that just angered her even more.
I knew we'd end up crossing paths again, she thought, but I didn't think it would be this soon. She glared up at the girl, ready to attack at a moment's notice, when she heard Kugo speak up.
...Who...is Tiamat? he asked.
"Tiamat," Lenore repeated. This wasn't the first time she'd heard that name. Their previous encounter with Vidalia resurfaced in her mind. The memory was vivid, as if it had just taken place that day, and Lenore thought back to the very beginning of their battle.
"You're not the bigger person anymore, Valley. Let me show you what I've learned!"
Magical energy pulsed from the girl's body. Lenore recognized it immediately as summoning magic, though with a darker, malevolent twist. Whatever came at the end of Vidalia's incantation was going to be something that no book or scroll had recorded. That no human in modern or ancient history had ever faced. Lenore braced herself, and prepared for the worst.
"Incola Mundas Spiritus, custodite mandata mea et responde mihi dicere: venerunt ad me: Lost Tier, Korath the Blood Crazed!"
And then there was darkness. Pitch black darkness. But it only lasted a second before it gave way to streaks of red lightning and a swirling nexus of magical energy - a summoning portal that led to a world beyond that of Mundus Spiritus. From that portal descended an impossibly muscular beast with three red eyes and crimson veins.
"Like him? Tiamat taught that to me--oops, you weren't supposed to hear that."
Lenore's mind quickly snapped back to the present, and she muttered to herself, "That's where I've heard that name before." Then she turned toward Kugo, and though she didn't speak directly to Vidalia, she spoke loudly enough for her to hear. "Tiamat. If I had to guess, I'd say it's some sort of ethereal teacher of hers. And a pretty ineffective one at that!" An uncharacteristic trace of arrogance worked its way into her tone as she continued. "Taught her how to summon a monster from a forgotten realm, and she couldn't even use it to kill a single Arkarris and a few kids barely out of their teenage years!" She paused briefly before adding, "Oh, but maybe it's not the teacher's fault, then. Maybe it's just the student..."
Lenore had no idea where all this smugness was coming from - her parents had been very strict about the importance of manners for a senator's daughter. But all she knew now was that she wanted to irritate Vidalia. To provoke her. To make her feel even a tenth of the pain she had subjected Valendis to.
Keep crying, little girl. This tantrum of yours doesn't come close to what you put him through...
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Post by Sariel of Tevet on Jul 10, 2015 3:18:47 GMT -5
Eleazar laughed at Izaak's worries.
"Well Wawandarduwas One and I had such wonderful luck! There we were.......fleeing the military that I may or may not have just half slaughtered and broken into their base for some runes. Our new knight friend was with us, we were flying over the ocean, things were great! Then a sneeze happened we crashed into a large tower, something about a dead fish, and then I became an apprentice! Oh I wonder how Jin is doing in the past. "
He patted his newest pet on the neck and reared him back like a horse.
"Wawandarduwas Two will be just as lucky, you will see. I may even find a new master. Maybe you can too!"
Eleazar grabbed Izaak by his shirt and brought him up onto Wawandarduwas Two and they took off into the sky. From up in the air they could see that they were surrounded by jungle for miles and miles around. Only treetops, save for the occasional animal rustling about from branch to branch, could be seen. After flying for a while, Eleazar spotted a trail of smoke off in the distance and began to fly towards it. They came upon the beginnings of a clearing and Wawandarduwas Two darted towards the ground landed a bit too abruptly, taking out a small stone building.
"See? What did I tell you. Pure luck, Izaak."
An entire tribe of Euryion swarmed the area to see what the commotion was about. The group was now entirely surrounded by some understandably disgruntled natives, who were a mix of bright green and yellow Viperions carrying large pikes and spears. One Viperion pushed through the crowd and began to shout something in their native tongue. The others began to ooh and aah and talk amongst themselves. The largest of them all, adorned with a feathered headdress and gems scattered along his scales, walked forward and stopped right in front of Wawandarduwas Two, Eleazar, and Izaak.
"Ok...maybe pure bad luck..."
Obviously the leader of the tribe, the man standing before them now pointed to the remains of the building that had just been accidentally crushed. Eleazar hopped down from his pet and started to rub the back of his neck.
"Yeah...yeah uh sorry about that...I didn't see it when we-"
Eleazar stopped and observed the the rubble across from them. A large mosaic was still standing towards the back, and there was an uncanny resemblance to their group. A large winged creature seemed to be descending down to the Viperion people and it carried two passengers. Rays of light shown from behind all three figures, and the tribe in the drawings were bowing down to them. When he turned to address the leader, the entire tribe had begun to bow. He shrugged and turned to Izaak.
"Well this just got interesting. How's my luck now?
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The vulture thrall finally made its way back, carrying a shiny button, and dropped it in front of Roluo before crumbling to ash.
"Well, good enough for me, Kasser. That way it is. "
After some measure of indeterminable time, the duo made it to the edge of the forest where a large military outpost sat. Roluo found a nearby crate where some fatigues were lain. He picked up a set and tossed it to Kasser.
"Time to explore I guess."
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"...then what?"
Suri picked up a napkin and began to start tearing small pieces off of it nervously.
"Then we just wander around and hope we can find them? What if they are just doing the same thing and we are all heading around in circles? There has to be an easier way to track them down. You've worked with Magnus before, right? If he can spread us out like this maybe he could find us all again. Where would we find him?"
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Arcane fire came hurling at Haymitch, Ursine, and Alex. Ursine grabbed Haymitch by his head and threw him to the ground and fell down next to him. Alex dropped down to her knees and activated a slanted ward to strong enough to divert the blast above themselves.
"Well boys, I guess they found us instead. Time to let your balls drop, scout. I expect nothing but the best from you. Ursine, what are we looking at?"
Ursine pulled out a looking glass and pointed it in the direction of the blast, where he found Hecate, Kazan, and Valendis.
"The celestial is up in the air, and two more are a ways behind her."
Alex pulled her blades out and began to walk towards Hecate.
"I guess you two can have fun with the underlings, keep this kid relatively safe. Don't be afraid to let him bleed a bit, he's got to learn somehow. "
She darted off towards Hecate and stuck to the shadows. When she was a reasonable distance away, Alex summoned an illusion of herself. It created a series of steps with what seemed to be wards and became level with Hecate and began its attack.
"Maybe I can draw her down here somehow, I'm not exactly a fan of heights. Shadows for now. There is no way I will be able to trick a celestial for too long. I'm good but..this is another level."
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Ursine and Haymitch were now within some indeterminate distance from Kazan and Valendis and the two stopped to created a plan.
"So..uh...you've done this before, right Ursine?"
Haymitch found himself staring at Ursine's eyepatch. Ursine didn't like it when people stared at his eyepatch. He simply grunted, picked up Haymitch, and began to spin in circles. After a few spins he threw Haymitch directly at Valendis. He sped through the air, blade drawn, and struck at Valendis when he was in range.
Ursine pulled a large rifle from the sling across his back and began to fire at Kazan as he ran across the battlefield towards him.
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Jul 15, 2015 23:02:45 GMT -5
Nathaniel glanced over at his companion and sighed. He hadn't given it much thought before but Deyanira's clothes did very little for the cold weather. "how the hell did she survive in Nostia" he silently wondered as he shrugged out of his greatcoat. He wordlessly tossed the garment over to his technical subordinate. Tarvitz nodded approvingly. "Well met, both of ya." The man glanced around. "Seeing as you don't have any place to go, allow me to offer my hospitality. I got a cabin about ten minutes that way." Tarvitzpointed over his shoulder. "It aint much, but it will keep the cold out." Nathaniel was instantly suspicious of the offer but, the more he thought about it, the more he figured they had little choice. They were lost in the wild and if this man could point them towards civilization and offer a place to rest for a moment, Nathaniel couldn't really refuse. Besides, both he and Deyanira knew how to look after themselves if this guy tried anything. Nathaniel glanced over at Deyanira. She was still shivering. "That sounds good to me." he said. "Lead on." Tarvitz nodded and motioned for them to follow. Ten minutes of walking through the wilds found the trio standing before a modest log cabin. It definitely looked warm inside, Nathaniel noted. "I was just out checking some of the critter traps before supper." Tarvitz explained as they stepped inside. It was a small place, with an inviting fire going in the nearby fireplace. A small, almost disturbingly clean kitchen stood in one corner and a bed in the other. A rather large, impressively locked chest sat at the foot of the bed. Nathaniel's eyes were drawn to the large sword hanging over the fireplace. He frowned at it. It looked....odd somehow. "Give me a minute and I can get some stew going." Tarvitz said, striding over the kitchen. ][ Faust didn't feel the need to point out that no, he had never actually worked with Commander Magnus before and was as in the dark as Suri was. The girl looked like a nervous wreck enough as it was. Instead he jut sighed. He said, "We need to figure out where we are in relation to er, what was it called? Tintalla? From there trace our path back to Magnus' school and hopefully where our airships are stationed." It could end up being a very long walk. Faust was fairly certain that it would take weeks on foot. Still, there was always the hope that captains Lucien and Corvin were looking for them. "Either way we can't panic." ][ "What is this, a military outpost?" Kasser wondered aloud. It looked abandoned. Actually, it looked ransacked. Kasser frowned and looked closer. There were a few scattered bones here and there, as well as aaa few broken weapons lying in the ground. "I guess this place got wiped out when this supposed undead invasion happened." ][ Again, Hecate felt that they were being underestimated. She tiltd her head to the side as her opponent's attacks sped by. It was fairly impressive, the use of ward magic, but something was off about...ah. Of course. "Won't even fight me face to face hm?" Hecate mused out loud. "Well at least you have some sense." Still, Hecate wanted to deal with this quickly. Time for another magical carpet bombing. More orbs of light appeared around ehr and began to descend, exploding as they hit the ground. ][ "Well this place isn't too bad." Magnus sighed, stretching out in his seat. By pure luck he'd stumbled upon the small town of Torbran and been able to find lodging. He was also able to confirm that he was still in methusela territory. Luckily the inn he was currently staying served food for human traders that passed through every so often. "Still. I wonder how the others are doing." Magnus wasn't too worried about his comrades. Well, most of them. Those necromancers could cause a bit of a stir again... Luckily, Magnus now had a general idea of where he was, and he could begin making his way back to Altinor. He sipped his drink and began paying more attention to the tavern around him. It was rather packed full of patrons tonight, understandably. The Blood King was dead, a whole city of people wiped out by some sort of fantastical weapon. No one knew where the Hellfire Clan would strike next. Magnus frowned. It could just be coincidence that this was happening now but... To Magnus it had been a little over a century since he'd set foot on Serioc. But here it had been only around a year. And for the Mage of the Beginning to have gone to Tintalla just before this all happened, it was making Magnus question his old master's game. "Never a straight answer. Dammit Willard." They would have to deal with the Hellfire Clan. Magnus could already tell. The Mage had been interested in them, and that meant that this terrorist group was their only lead. Scattering the party had been a major setback. They would need to make up for lost time somehow. 'Maybe I can find out more about this Hellfire Clan while everyone gathers.' he mused. It was worth a shot. But where to start....ah! It was simple really. This clan of racists clearly hated the methusela, and they would definitely have spies and hidden cells within the country. "Haven't gone terrorist hunting in a while." Magnus grinned darkly. ][[ Aldryan wasn't thinking very clearly at the moment. Mostly he was just angry. Very very angry. He had been controlled. His mind had been broken and his memories locked away from him. All of what he was. "Magnus." the words came out as a growl, his ghastly glowing eyes narrowing. Aldryan's hand twitched. His sword. Where was his sword? Long gone now, no doubt. He would need another weapon. Aldryan inhaled, looking around. Vvarden. His first victory as commander of the undead legions. Now that he looked at it, the place was still very much covered in signs of war. Which meant that there would be weapons a plenty scattered around. But first... "Dorian." That's right, someone was still here with him. One of the living. Aldryan walked a few paces and then spotted a broken halberd stuck in the ground. The shaft had broken off, leaving something more akin to an axe than a polearm behind, but it would serve well enough as a killing instrument. Aldryan took it and then grinned. He could feel more of his old powers returning with each moment. "You can't hide forever you know." He said to the air. No doubt Dorian could hear him. "I'll find you eventually. Maybe with the help of a few friends." Yes, he could remember how to do this now. His necromancy wasn't anything nearly as powerful as the Lich King's had been but, Aldryan extended a hand and a pulse of green light emanated from it. The bodies of Vvarden's citizens had long decomposed, but their skeletons remained. Several forms jerkily rose to their feet, moaning as the undead minions shambled around. ][[ All three Seekers were staring intently at Red now. "Tiamat." Arrick said. "Surely not." "It was never accounted for after the Dark Seeker Incident." Mei replied. "I can sense Tiamat. Barely. The old serpent hides itself well." Solomon spoke up. That was disconcerting, but not their most immediate concern. Arrick's eyes drifted down to Cruror. This Red Queen was clearly unstable. And unstable blood mages were always a nightmare to deal with. "Arrick, whats tha plan?" Cormac asked, clutching his spear. The hellans were beginning to regroup now. Cormac and Mei's arrival had given them time to escape, but that time was quickly running out. "We're leaving." Arrick declared. "We aren't too far from the Vaerian border and there are more Seekers there waiting for us." "Then let's get the hell out of here." Mei replied. "Right. Professor, can you-" Arrick turned then paused. He blinked. There were more people there than there had been before. 'Wha-no whatever. We're leaving. Run!" Arrick motioned northward. "Get moving. We'll cover you." |
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Post by Damien on Jul 21, 2015 14:40:25 GMT -5
Izaak saw the mosaic. He saw what was pictured. He could only imagine...
Yep, the Viperions thought the two mages were gods...or something.
"No!" Izaak said. "Nope! We're not doing this! Nope, nope, nope, nope..." He grabbed the necromancer and began to drag him away, but the Viperion people were so tightly packed on the ground, prostrating themselves before the mages, that leaving the area was impossible. Izaak sighed. "You got us into this. You'd better get us out of it..."
-----
Aldryan's attack hit the illusion of Dorian, causing it to shatter like glass.
Dorian, still veiled with his invisibility spell, saw the area around him bathed in green light moments later. That can't be good, he thought. He found his observation to be correct when the bones of the Vvarden dead began to rise around him. DEFINITELY not good. Thinking quickly, he stood up and cast one of his favorite spells: mirror images. As soon as his "clones" appeared, he let the invisibility drop, hopefully making himself appear to be a clone as well. He then used a minor illusion to make is sound as though his voice came from all the clones as he spoke, careful not to betray his actual location.
"Al," he said, "calm down. You're not thinking clearly. I want to help you find the people responsible for this. If you kill me, I can't do that." As he spoke, he and his clones began to back away from Aldryan, circling around hopefully allowing Dorian to find an escape route. His clones looked around as if making sure they weren't going to bump into any of the undead, keeping up the charade. Got to get out of here, the illusionist thought.
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Post by Mizagium on Jul 21, 2015 19:59:55 GMT -5
Vidalia Gae'om, Red Queen of the Rebel Hellens was not about to let these assholes leave her camp alive. She had worked too hard at locating Cruor and convincing the Hellens to follow her, a human, for everything to come apart like this. That thought was in there somewhere, but it was being rapidly buried by layers petulance and childish indignation. Right then, she wasn't consciously thinking about all of that. She was mad because she wasn't getting her way. Later she would say otherwise - and if asked at the moment, she would probably evade the question, bleary-eyed. But there was no denying that right then, the only thing motivating her was that these people had offended her personally.
"You don't get to - !" She raised Cruor to do...something, she wasn't sure what; Cruor had so far responded to her emotions and unleashed power as it saw fit. But someone caught her arm. She twisted away, furious and red-faced, only to see her guardian spirit, Inanis. "What - " Her voice was high and choked off, dangerously close to cracking. She, herself, was dangerously close to cracking, as well.
"Let them go. Can't you see they're afraid of you?"
"But they - "
"The Hellens need you. They will still follow you. Sometimes a queen must make a tactical retreat, and your enemy is giving you that chance. Do not waste it, please."
Her cheeks puffed out. She wanted to argue with him. To scream at him for daring to tell her what to do...but his words rang with truth. And, though she was loathe to admit it, she wasn't sure if she could win another fight, even the enemy in retreat. The Red Hellens were in retreat, but not defeated. She was still a queen.
"Fine," she said curtly, and turned away from the Seekers. "Take me away."
The spirit swordsman bent down, scooped her up, and disappeared. Most of the remaining Hellens were scattering away from the encampment in all directions, out into the desert.
-
Kugo frowned at the sudden retreat and called to Arrick, "I don't think that will be necessary, sir. Looks like she fled."
Marion snorted. "Her and everyone else." The Professor had been in the process of gathering as many people up as possible, but gently set them back down. "Kugo, you mind doing a lap and make sure we're alone?"
"Sure." And he was up and away, spiraling outward from their position. It was only a brief flight before he landed again.
"They're all gone. I don't even see anyone out in the dunes. They've all vanished. What's going on?"
"That's a good question." Marion turned an accusing glare on Arrick. He seemed like the man with answers. "Do you know who that crazy girl was? Or why she had probably the most dangerous weapon ever created? Or why Hellens were obeying her? Because, and I'm sorry if I'm on the verge of screaming right now, we don't know what the fuck is going on. We ended up here by accident, got captured, and now I'm probably not getting paid and I almost got those two" she waved a hand at Telan and Jolie "killed on a stupid adventure that they didn't sign up for and oh, I think I need to sit down."
Marion didn't sit down exactly. More like, she dropped first to her knees, than a sitting position...and then laying flat on her back. From that position, she pointed at Arrick. "But take your time. Really. I just...oh boy." With her other hand, she massaged her temples. It had been a long, long couple days.
-
Haymitch's flying sword strike caught Valendis in the arm and knocked him off balance. "That's whop we're shooting at!" He called to Kazan, only to see someone was shooting at Kazan. With warm blood oozing down his arm he uttered the mid level incantation to summon Ramses, the Stone Grinder. Ramses appeared as little more than a jeweled skull floating above the ground. "Catch him," Valendis ordered and pointed at Haymitch.
Ramses' eyes twinkled and the ground shook. The area where Haymitch stood shook the most until the rocks and dirt came loose and jagged stone teeth erupted out, grasping at the man, trying to draw him down into the earth.
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Post by Monika on Aug 1, 2015 11:51:50 GMT -5
"Hmph." Lenore sniffed, more than a little upset that Vidalia had gotten away. This is good for us, she mentally assured herself. The results of a longer battle might not have favored us. But still... With a long sigh, Lenore sat down next to Marion (albeit a bit more gracefully) and motioned toward Arrick. "I'd like to know a little bit more, too," she said. "I'll be ready for the next time she shows up." The air around the group grew noticeably warmer...
"Wow, it's been a while since I was shot at by an actual gun!" Kazan grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Mere seconds before the rounds would have reached him, Kazan flexed his fingers forward and the bullets stopped in midair, hovered there for an instant, and then fell lifelessly to the ground. "Magnetism, man. It's craaaazy stuff." He followed up with a few bolts of electricity, aimed directly at Ursine's chest. "Pew pew pew pew! Boy do I miss using lightning magic!"
Deep down in his head, Kazan heard a voice whispering something about the superiority of hellfire.
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Post by Sariel of Tevet on Aug 18, 2015 16:32:23 GMT -5
Suri slunk down in her chair, held her head down on the table and let out a magnificent and whiny groan.
"So basically we are just wandering then? Do you realize how much wandering you do in Nostia? I hate wandering. I'm not going to panic, but I might go crazy if that's the plan. Can't we just...float around the mage circles here until we find someone who knows about all that stuff? Hell I would even settle for finding a meat wagon headed to Tintalla and stowing away in the back. "
She arched her back and mimed a large roar with her fists furiously up in the air. "I hate wandering. "
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Roluo dropped the fatigues he picked up and frowned. If everyone was dead then there really is no need for them to sneak about this military base.
"So what..just...look for a survivor? See if we can find a way back to the others? Maybe there is some kind of vehicles still up and running."
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"Get us out of this?"
Eleazar leaned down and plucked a grape off of a tray that was presented to him by a possibly attractive Viperion, he wasn't really sure what their standards are and it is probably best to just leave it there.
"No real reason to get out of this. I mean, look at it this way. The others are no doubt looking for each other..right? Well if everyone just looks for each other everyone will go in circles. At least one group needs to stay put right? To be found and then we can team up and find everyone else. Just enjoy the vacation, Juliet. Just wouldn't wear your heart on your sleeves around these parts, they may take it for a sacrifice. "
Eleazar put his back towards the crowd, spread him arms wide apart, and fell backwards into their possession and was carried away. A smaller group grabbed Izaak as well and brought him in the same direction.
After a long while they reached a staggeringly large building whose insides were lined with columns shaped like scrolls. Clearly, they had been brought to the library and not a giant banquet hall as anticipated. The crowd set Izaak and Eleazar down at a long table while a decrepit looking Viperion came around the corner and rolled out a few crude paintings.
"Oh great, more pictures. I guess it WOULD help to know why they thing we are so special. "
The paintings were a more complete version of the Mosaic. Two figures descend on a large winged creature, and then in the next panel they are met by prostrating Viperions. The third panel shows a monumental serpent devouring a Viperion, who seems to be the first in a long line that is being sacrificed to the serpent. The final panel shows the two figures from before defeating the serpent in combat.
"This?" Eleazar pointed to the final panel. "Is us?" He then directed his finger towards himself and Izaak. The Viperions who were still in the library all began to erupt joyously and the librarian beckoned them to follow.
"Some vacation."
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Haymitch stumbled and tried to keep his balance as the ground began to shake and he was caught by a large set of stone teeth that came up out of the ground. They began to pull him under and he jammed his knife into the ground to keep himself up.
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Ursine used the tip of his rifle to catch the brunt of the electricity. The blast still knocked him backwards and he turned to see Haymitch getting bested as well.
"HEY KID. DON'T LET THEM CATCH YOU WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN. YOU CAN DO THIS."
Ursine stood up and charged at Kazan with his fists.
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"My pants?! Why is Ursine talking about pants in a time like this?!"
Haymitch looked down and noticed the teeth that had a grip on his trousers. He used his free hand to undo his belt and slide out of his pants to avoid being pulled under. He pulled his blade from the ground and aimed it right at one of Ramses' jeweled eyes.
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Post by Razgat on Sept 17, 2015 23:13:26 GMT -5
"Nathaniel..." Deyanira tugged on his sleeve as she whispered to him. "We can't stay here. This feels....wrong. I don't think...I don't think he's a good person."
This feels right! Stay. Learn. Feel it.
"I really don't want to stay."
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Post by Myrdraxxis on May 18, 2016 1:19:55 GMT -5
"Well Im not a mage, so I won't be doing much magic-circle hopping." Faust pointed out, quirking his eyebrow. "And I think it unlikely that there would be many people traveling across country to a ruined city..." he trailed off. Seeing the look on Suri's face he realized that he wasn't helping. The man fought back a groan. When he signed up for this job the last thing he had been expecting was to be consoling teenage girls. "But I suppose we could ask around about anyone heading in that direction." He admitted. "This tavern should have plenty of travelers in it. Surely some of them are headed in Tintalla's direction-" "'Scuse me sir." A voice cut in. Faust glanced over at the broad man now standing by their table. "Couldn't help but overhear." The man grinned sheepishly. "You folks mentioned you were heading for methusela country? I gotta-" he paused. "Oh where are my manners? Name's Belhem. I'm a caravan merchant by trade." The man introduced. "Malik." Faust respond smoothly, giving a false name. "And what if we are?" "Well now, my business is taking me to a methusela township in the region. Its still a good walk from Torbren to Tintalla, but if ya got coin then I'd be willing to let ya tag along." ][ Nathaniel glanced over at Deyanira, frowning. What had her spooked? Still, he reached subtly for hius sidearm. He was inclined to listen to the bloodmage/necromancer when she mentioned weird shit going on. His own instincts were starting to scream at him now too. He took a few steps forward to try and get eyes back on Tarvitz. The man was in the kitchen, moving awkwardly around trying to throw some food together. He was clumsy at it, Nathaniel observed. As if the man wasn't good at cooking. Which was absurd for a man living alone in the wilderness. Then Nathaniel noticed how the kitch was clean. Too clean. Unused. "Go for the door." He muttered to Deyanira, and then took a step forward, drawing his pistol. "Need some help in there?" he called out. "Hmm? Nah, don't worry about it. Wouldn't be proper manners to have my guests making their own food." Tarvitz called back casually. "You look rather like you need it though. Not a big fan of cooking?" Tarvitz stopped, his hands hovering over the pot. The man heaved a large sigh, a motion that actually looked forced. "Ah, damn. Guess I'm not too good at this anymore." The odd man turned and looked at Nathaniel, eying the weapon trained on him. "I suppose I could have handled this a little better." Tarvitz muttered. "What are you?" Nathaniel demanded. Tarvitz stared at the youth for a long moment then reached -stopped for a moment as Nathaniel's hand twitched at the motion- then slowly continued. He tugged his hood back and Nathaniel sucked in a breath. Tarvitz had unnaturally pale skin, his hair grayed out and withered. Several long scars criss-crossed the man's face, but it was the man's eyes that dew nathaniel's gaze. Two glowing, ethereal motes of blue light glared back at Nathaniel, burning with cold, intensity. "I'm Tarvitz." The man reintroduced. "Hermit, woodsman, and former Death Knight in the Lich King's legion." ][ Aldryan paced slowly, eying the clones of Dorian with contempt. "The living are worthless. What possible help could you give me?" he growled. He paused, then changed directions, eyeing the air for a moment. The illusionist was a slippery one, as most of his kind were. But he had spent the last year among magic users, many illusionists among them. Their favorite tactic was misdirection and escape under guise of deception. before, such a tactic would have had him scratching his head. But now Aldryan had awakened. He was in tune with the dead around him. And he could sense the living. Aldryan closed the distance quickly and shot out a hand, grasping at the empty air. His hand clutched the air....and clsed around Dorian's neck. "Found you." ][ Arrick inhaled and let out a long breath. He ran a hand through his hair, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Cormac and Mei exchanged a glance. "I have no idea who that girl was." Arrick said after a moment. "Or why she possesses Cruor." he continued. "An old friend named Cole asked me to look into the weirdness happening here in Cerberus so I came here and found an army of blood-crazed Hellans." He shrugged helplessly. "And a crazy kid with Tiamat whispering in her ear." Mei added. "Bloody wonderful." Cormact muttered. "Shoulda known that old snake would show its head. Wasn't Tiamat one of Apophis's lieutenants back in the old days?" "Correct."[/b] Solomon agreed. "But whether that is the case now is unknown. Most of the...dissenters were scattered after the Dark Seeker incident." "Which is..uh," Arrick paused. "Do any of you actually know what Seekers are?" He asked the group. "Cause this is gonna be a weird conversation otherwise." |
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Post by Damien on Jun 4, 2016 22:42:57 GMT -5
Dorian gagged, gasping for breath, his throat blocked. Is this how I'm going to die? he thought. He tried to use his magic to create a sonic blast, but he couldn't get any air in or out. There has to be something. He clawed at Aldryan's hand clutching his neck, his lungs burning with the need for more air. That's it! he thought. Burning!
Darkness closed in on the edges of his vision as he began to black out. With the last bit of mental strength he could muster, he invaded Aldryan's mind and engaged pain receptors all throughout his body, giving the sensation of burning. He completed the ruse with the illusion of flames engulfing the death knight. Aldryan howled in agony, releasing his grip on Dorian and sending the bard to the ground. Dorian gasped for breath, fighting to refill his lungs with air and keep the spell active.
After getting enough oxygen in his system to prevent blacking out, he collapsed the space around him and created a pocket of space far away from the undead being. He continued this blinking spell until he was far enough away from Aldryan that he could no longer see the methusela. Once finished, he began using illusory message spells to communicate to each person in the away party, starting with Izaak and Magnus. All he had to do was visualize each person in his mind as he spoke the message, and the magic would find each one of them, causing them to hear the message in their head in his voice.
Al has gone crazy. He was under the influence of some kind of illusion, maybe a mind glamour, but the illusion has broken, and he's attacking me. I need help, otherwise I might not make it out of this alive.
All he could do was pray to whatever gods would listen that his message would bring at least one other person to aid him.
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"This is NOT a freaking vacation you idiotic necromancer!" Izaak yelled. "I swear to the gods I'll-" Izaak was stopped short by...Dorian's voice? "Do you hear that?" he asked. Dorian's voice rang in Izaak's head, the message spell working perfectly. "Eleazar, Al is trying to kill Dorian. Something about Al being affected with an illusion, a mind glamour of some kind. We have to get out of here and help him. NOW!"
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Post by Sariel of Tevet on Jun 9, 2016 14:01:57 GMT -5
"And I'm Sur..." She cut herself off, realizing Faust gave a false name and thought it would be a good thing for herself to do as well. "...iously happy to meet you Mr. Belhem! I'm...uh...Wahnita Jones! Small town girl, big time journalist! If there's a scoop, then I'll uh..scoop it! Like a spoon.
Did...did I just go too far?
"So uh...guess we should get out of here now Fa......Malik?"
Her head began to feel like it was bursting, and a strange voice filled her ears. Something about Dorian being in trouble with Al. Suri gave Faust a worried glance and held her gaze in hopes to see that he had heard it too.
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Eleazar heard the voices as well.
"Yes, we ought to get going, fair Romeo. But it seems as though the Capulet's have other plans. "
He pointed a large stone door that was opening at the back of the great hall, releasing the giant serpent from the tablet. It devoured a couple of unlucky bystanders and then set its sights on Eleazar and Izaak.
"So uh...any ideas?"
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Roluo heard Dorian's voice in his head.
"Kasser, I assume you heard that as well? We really need to get going. "
He ran over to a nearby blimp that seemed to be functional.
"Do you know how to fly this?"
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Post by Damien on Jun 13, 2016 20:48:16 GMT -5
"Dammit! We don't have time for this!" Izaak growled, staring down at the floor. The thought of Dorian in trouble sent a surge of protective feelings through him, feelings he had never felt for anyone before, at least not to this degree. The emotions surged forth as immense magical power, almost to the point of no control.
The serpent turned its eyes to Izaak, having heard him speak, and let out a menacing hiss. Izaak lifted his gaze, his eyes aglow with elemental fury. Screaming with rage, he took command of the natural elements around him, assaulting the serpent in an attempt to kill it immediately.
Dorian needs us..., he thought. He needs...me.
He turned his hands, cupping them as if to lift, and caused enormous spikes to shoot up, impaling the serpent in many places, but mostly immobilizing him. The serpent roared in agony. Next, he raised his hands above his head and began moving them in circular motions, causing icicles to appear above the beast. He threw his hands downwards, causing the jagged ice to strike the serpent from above. Then, he drew in a long, deep breath and released it, sending a jet of flames towards the creature. The serpent's scales began to melt in places, immolating the flesh beneath, and the ice from his previous spell quickly melted, though there were still some solid pieces protruding from the beast. Finally, he raised his hands above him again, calling the forces of air and lightning to him. Bolts of electricity leaped from the sky to his outstretched arms, which he then swung at the creature. The energy arced through the air, catching onto some of the still existing ice from before, which acted as lightning rods for his final attack. The energy coursed through the serpent, frying its flesh.
The beast finally stopped emitting its tortured bellow, dead before it could take any more lives.
His energy all but spent, Izaak fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Between breaths, he spoke to Eleazar, fear and worry in his voice. "We have to go...now."
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