Fantasy Cursed Island

[Darkling0096]

"And you believe I will allow you and your abomination through my territory unmolested?"

"I had always heard that phoenixes were wise, benevolent creatures," Joanen sounded confused, "With extroardinary knowledge accumulated over many lives."

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia glanced back at Shuffle before looking at the phoenix. "She's not bad though."

Niudisa glanced over. "And this one lives in a cave. I feel like it's an exception."

 

[Darkling0096]

"Your flesh golem is a poor approximation of life," the phoenix chirped, "But it is not the abomination I speak of."

"I heard that you feathery asshole!", Urodor barked from his cage.

"Shut up, Urodor."

Joanne looked very confused now. She'd never dealt with a phoenix that was cruel before. "Perhaps we can arrange a trade?"

"And what would a bunch of mortals have that I would want?", the phoenix demanded, "And what do they think I have that they want?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Emil spoke again. "We only seek passage through the area."

Niudisa glanced to the side. "But phoenix feathers would be useful as well. We can't exactly pluck Fia."

 

[Darkling0096]

The phoenix looked amused, ruffling it's wings a bit. "I have lived in this cavern for a millenia, not one who wished to claim my feathers has done so successfully."

"We've got treasure, some magic items, and food, what do you want?", Jerry asked.

"I want you and your half breed to turn around and leave my home."

"Well that's not happening anytime soon," Jerry put her hands on her hips as she said that, "We gotta get through so we can get out of these caverns, so either you need to let us pass or we can fight. I think I've got room for a phoenix hatchling in my cage." The phoenix dropped eyebrows and spread his wings, fire building undeneath his plumage as he prepared to attack.

 

[Fangs9090]

Fia likewise spread her wings, though she knew she was outmatched in her current state. The others drew their respective weapons as it became clear they were in for a fight. Shuffle's salamander marks turned blue as she jumped forward to defend her friend, starting the fight with a blast of ice breath.

 

[Darkling0096]

"Light him up!", Jerry barked. Arrows, spells, ice, and fire flew. This phoenix proved much more powerful than Fia had been almost the entire time. Shuffle's ice melted and vaporized in the fireball of this ancient phoenix. Blasts of hot air from his flapping wings pushed the fighters back before they could hit it. Arrows burnt to ash mid-flight, their heads liquified. Spells seemed to have much less of an affect than they would otherwise. Old, and hardy.

 

[Fangs9090]

Shuffle and Fia stepped back before they both took flight. Corona raised her spear, the runes filling in for a spell. She pointed the spear at the phoenix and a fireball shot out. She stifled a sigh before moving around to the side. Emil began playing music on his lute. The effects weren't immediately noticeable, but clouds soon began gathering near the cavern ceiling. Asta had already jumped out of his sling, ready to fight but too small to do so.

Erina stayed back to defend Lyak and Raine. Well, Lyak, anyway. Raine was missing again. If there was one thing she could do, it was hide.

 

[Darkling0096]

"Crescere!", Glad to have Asta in the fight at full size, Jerry threw the chimera at the phoenix as he grew, before launching more magic arrows at the phoenix. THe phoenix didn't even flinch as Corona's fireball reached it, giving a huge flap of its wings and sending an even larger one at the centuar. Lacking the rings that made the rest of the party fireproof, Corona was on her own for protection from it.

 

[Fangs9090]

Asta roared as he was thrown into the fight, kicking off the ground once to leap at the phoenix with his horns while it was attacking Corona. Corona raised her shield against the fireball. As the attack connected, the shield flashed and sent the fireball back at the phoenix, twice as big and twice as fast. Corona herself was unscathed.

 

[Darkling0096]

The phoenix could not react fast enough. The massive fireball did as little to the phoenix as it would for Fia to walk hot coals, but Asta charging horns first pierced through his wing feathers and held him as the chimera kept moving. "In the water, in the water!", Jerry called as she rushed to intercept.

 

[Fangs9090]

Asta continued his charge, still pushing full force as he headed for the water. Shuffle, Fia, and Corona followed along to the sides, waiting for their opening.

As Emil continued playing, the gathering clouds finally reached their limit and began pouring rain.

 

[Darkling0096]

Slashing with his talons and bashing with his wings to try and break loose from Asta's horns, the phoenix, chimera, and those charging after went straight into the steaming hot-pools. The water was very warm, definitely a shock from the relatively cool air outside the hot water.

 

[Fangs9090]

Asta lost some momentum to the water, but he continued trying regardless, attempting to push the phoenix down under the water now. Shuffle jumped right into the water to get another angle on the fight, but she always expected water to be cold, so the warmth of it stunned her for a moment, not to mention the burn of purity. Corona stopped at the edge of the pool, not being much of a swimmer herself.

 

[Darkling0096]

Under the water, beign attacked by everyone that followed in, the phoenix's fire could only do so much. Quickly, it burned out and fell limp on Asta's horns.

And then it exploded with enough force to rupture that terrace of the spring, sending Asta and Shuffle flying, soon followed by Jerry as she had just dove in when the phoenix died.

 

[Fangs9090]

Asta rolled as he flew back from the spring, trying to get back to his feet quickly. Niudisa called out as she fluttered above. "Don't forget, this thing's a phoenix! Death just means another rebirth."

 

[Darkling0096]

"But when a phoenix dies, it is reborn as a-" Another explosion sounded as the phoenix rose from it's ashes again, somehow not a hatchling, yet also not as ancient as it had once been. It appeared as a young adult in the prime of its youth.

"Fools!", the phoenix cawed, building an enormous fireball around itself. "You will all die here!" The fireball started changing colors as the temperature manipulated the coloration. Turning from red to golden yellow, to green, blue, purple, and then white, hotter than any fire the party had seen so far before it flung the fireball at Asta. This degree of superheating seemed to be just beyond what the enchantment could handle, as this fire actually burned.

 

[Fangs9090]

Asta lowered his head as he took the hit, digging his claws into the ground. Flames singed his fur even after the fireball had dispersed, but he stayed standing and replied with a defiant roar.

Shuffle stayed back from the fireball before cloaking herself in ice and taking flight again. At the very least, she could heighten her resistance. She circled around to the side before charging.

Meanwhile, Raine finally found a good vantage from one of the trees. She drew one of her spears and, hoping for another lucky hit, hurled it towards the phoenix.

 

[Darkling0096]

The phoenix, having already experienced this group's trick of coming at it from the side, anticicpated Shuffle comign at it from the side. He tucked his wings and falcon-bombed down out of the air, going straight for Asta only to be knocked off-course by Raine's spear. He hadn't expected a kobold to appear, he hadn't even seen where the spear had come from until it took out one of his wings. He screeched defiantly as other party members moved in. If they could kill it, they could probably keep doing so until it was hatchling size and even Fia could overpower it.

"You could have just let us pass, asshole," Jerry sneered as she loaded another magic arrow.

"Go to the Hells," the phoenix snapped back, trying to muster the strength to get airborn again despite the broken wing. Like all predatory birds, in the air a phoenix was a killing machine, but on the ground it was highly vulnerable.

 

[Fangs9090]

Man, that was a good feeling. Raine opted to find another vantage point before the tree she was in ended up on fire, so down she went to vanish again.

Corona watched as the phoenix fell and began running to intercept. There was just enough time for some banter before she arrived, thrusting her spear down at the bird as she came in at full gallop.

 

[Darkling0096]

The phoenix tried to hop out o the way, but its legs were proportionately small compared to its body. The phoenix couldn't possibly outrun a charging centuar on foot. It exploded in another fireball with much more force than Fia's rebirth. Without the springs of life water aiding in the phoenix's fire of life in its rebirth, it did not successfully be reborn as an adult like before. Instead appearing as a small, much more dully colored phoenix hatchling.

 

[Fangs9090]

Corona continued on a ways, faltering from the blast behind her, took a bit to turn and look back.

Asta growled as crouched to charge again. "We can keep going until you give in. You're only getting weaker every time."

 

[Darkling0096]

"I have all of eternity, chimera," the hatchling squeaked. The phoenix's voice was much less impressive when it was knee-high even to Fia.

"And we've got all day," Adran shrugged, "Either way, I think we can outlast your patience on the matter." He looked around for the fairy, "You wanted some phoenix feathers, right?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa looked over from where she had an armful. "He dropped a lot from that first hit. But yeah, some properly plucked feathers would be better." She tucked away what she had before fluttering up again, summoning a magic hand.

 

[Darkling0096]

The phoenix squeaked again as the hand appeared, trying and failing to fly away with baby feathers and then trying to run, only to be scooped up by Jerry holding him upside down by his tiny talons. "Grab what you can, we can do this forever." Jerry wasn't quite sure what Niudisa needed the feathers for, but this bird had been being a dick to Fia and Shuffle, and an asshole in general to the party. "Nice shot with the spear, Raine!", she called, not knowing where Raine was. "Good job with the jousting," she commented at Corona next.