Fantasy Rifts [IC][Closed]

[Arnalia]

Lucina Lux​

At Terrence question, Lucina immediately responded. "Yes, me I just talked to two really good fellows and-" The priestess did not have the time to finish that the ears shattering scream made her recoil and cover her ears reflectively. As the air began to crack and iridescent red lines slashed through everything, Lucina eyes widened in shock, the owner bellowing scream to get out was the last clue she needed to snap her out of it and rush for the door.

Outside, Lucina froze as her gaze landed on the massive hole that broke through reality itself, extending it poisonous web to the whole town. A rift. A deafening scream made her turn her head. A man was being mauled by a hound like creature. Frantically looking through her mind one name come up gorehound. Violent, cruel and foul beast she believed she would only learn about in books. As one leaped at the brown haired man, she let out a gasp and felt magic tingle on her finger tips. Fortunately, the young man quickly took care of the monster, unfortunately, they were more of them.

At his plead to fight together, Lucina mumbled affirmatively and prepared her spells, putting herself near her comrades for protection and staying a little behind. She knew some self-defense but wasn't a fighter, as such she opted to support the group with her magic skills.







joshuadim
Breadman
Beann
Chaos Gallant
Oreo Cookie
Worthlessplebian

 

[Beann]

‘Ask if —’ she started to sign a follow-up question but before she could finish her thought, the atmosphere changed drastically. Her eyes grew wide as the rest of her muscles tensed up at the disturbing feeling that surrounded her. Aelestra stood in place like everyone else during the shift in the air, she could feel her throat begin to close and the fear set in. It was silent — overwhelmingly silent to the point of suffocation. Just as the tension arrived unexpectedly, so did the erratic sound as it washed over the silence, snapping everyone out of their still trance.

Aelestra didn’t need to wait for Jorah’s command, the moment her legs found the courage to carry her, she already bolted for the entrance. Once she was outside, she start to cough violently, gasping for air as she now realized she had been holding her breath from the start of this event. With her hands on her knees, she lifted her head up to see the source of the catastrophe. A rift. She had learned about them but never would have thought she’d experience one firsthand.

A scream ripped her attention away from the rift itself, her eyes finding a poor soul being mauled by a creature that did not belong here. She took a step forward, her first instinct was to run in and save him but as the beast turned to face the group, she already knew it was far too late. The beast then set its sights on them, charging without a thought at Arnas. She watched as the young man barely evaded the lunge, slicing at the beast in response.

There was no question whether or not she was with Arnas. The town was in trouble and the whole purpose of her travels was to help in any way she could. Heeding Fraskia’s words, Aelestra took a defensive stance behind Terrence, her hands balling into fists in preparation.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Edoardo Vargas Melcher​

An inexorable fulcrum switched as mounting pressure pressed on Edoardo's chest. It is clear that this is a magical operation of supernatural proportions and that the Inn was no longer an accommodating domicile. The others sensed it too, particularly Jorah who shouted along with the chamber of sounds for them to abandon the premises. His eyes locked onto the innkeeper as he sprinted towards the exit. The reptilian priest wished to follow but knew to remain last. Once everyone else was out, Edoardo made no hesitation to sprint with all the luster his legs could muster. His body crashed through the frame, splintering it. The commotion was not relegated to only the inn. Other buildings waned and crumbled under the might of spatial subversion.

Blood-curdling screams and terrorised eyes were all the crocodile saw on the outside. A rift. This perversion that Edoardo only heard about, is unfolding before him. He detests it. The Priest reached to his side, grabbing the short hilt of his half-curved sword. A calamity only brings calamity. Arnas asked if he was with, and Edoardo was indeed. But malevolent hounds soon sought their destruction. Indicated by their snarling, howling, and muscle-tense bodies. In response Edoardo's instincts superseded reason temporarily. He reared up on hind-legs, neck balloons before lurching forward and roaring with the might of his ancestors! A battle cry is issued.

 

[joshuadim]

Jorah took a few steps back, looking around at what was transpiring as the hounds prepared for their attack on the group. He wanted to stay and fight, but quickly came to his senses and nodded as he turned and ran. The group could buy enough time for him to gather as many people as he could and flee the town as its buildings continued to decay and collapse as the rift wreaked havoc on its surroundings. "WITH ME!" he yelled to anyone within earshot, "TO ME! MAKE HASTE! TAKE THE ROAD SOUTH TO BEXLEY!" He helped one man up from the ground as he scrambled on the ground after having tripped and fallen, before turning his gaze back to the group for a moment. Gods help you all. was all that went through his mind as he continued to gather the townsfolk and lead them out to safety.

Gorehound Pack
45 HP (Each Hound has 3 HP)
Pack Mentality: The Pack can attack up to 4 players per turn so long as it has more than 4 hounds alive.

​

One of the creatures howled, yet it was unlike how one would expect from a dog or a wolf. This was more gutteral and broken, as if out of tune with the world around, and more menacing than one might see from any earthly creature. This signalled the beginning of the attack as the pack began to rush forward towards the group, intent on lunging and striking with numbers to overwhelm them. Their teeth glinted red in the light given off by both the rift and the moon, and with the whole pack together it was a sea of needles in the night that was charging headfirst towards them. Arnas gripped his blade tightly and yelled aloud as he swung at one of the creatures that was charging at him.

Some of the others were charging towards Edoardo, Fraskia, and Vera as they circled around the group before lunging at their targets. Their teeth bared and their bodies being thrown at their quarry without a care for their own safety.

Breadman Beann Chaos Gallant Arnalia Oreo Cookie Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Edoardo Vargas Melcher​

Edoardo's jaw tightened, back lowered, and clawed fingerlings pointed outwards. A foot moved back, the other bent at the knee continually lowering him. Internal ears were enraptured by the loathsomely, outré holler of the demonic canid from the Rift. Pupils straitened, glaring blackly at the miserable foe. They began their fiendishly, fatally, faceless fight against them. Charging them, just like their animalistic form would suggest they attempt. The Priest with half-curved sword held their vexation for an unknowable reason. The Sobekoni Priest felt the spine-chilling sensation, as any man, women, or animal would feel. Except the Priest has had experience, he will not let the fear weigh down his hand. The beast/s closed the distance, their maws threatening to tear him apart. Neurons fired, muscles extending or flexing. The bowed leg shot downwards, propelling him a teeny space apart. Concurrently, his arm swung from high to low along the way utilising his shoulder to increase the power!

joshuadim

 

[Chaos Gallant]

Hearing Edoardo’s roar, Terrence let out his own, barreling forward with complete reckless abandon. His vision locked on to the nearest hound directly in front of him. Breaking into a full sprint, Terrence lifted his ax overhead, leaping into the air prepared to bring it down with full force at the hound he was moving towards.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

A cacophony of howls and roars signaled the beginning of battle, and the hounds charged forth. Vera lowered herself into a ready stance as one of the otherworldly beast rushed towards her, its horrible appearance becoming all more apparent as it closed the distance between them. The spikes that jutted from their backs. Their unnaturally eyeless visage. Their gaping maw. That would be her target. She held her ground, waiting until she could practically see down the creature's gullet, and then it lunged. And so did she. Vera thrust her sword forward, aiming to have the hound skewer itself on her blade.

 

[Arnalia]

Lucina Lux​

Seeing the others spring to action, Lucina looked around her. There were too many of them. If they didn't hurry and reduce their numbers, soon, they would all be overwhelmed. Thus she opted to shoot as many of them as she could, still a little behind the others for protection. Willing the magic energy to appear she sensed it course through her veins and materialize in her hands. Lucina aimed at a hound that was coming at one of her ally flank and shot a magic beam at it.


joshuadim

 

[joshuadim]

Battle of Ember - Turn 1

​

---

ENEMY ROLLS
Gorehound Pack Roll 1 = 4. Misses Arnas.
Gorehound Pack Roll 2 = 9. Fraskia takes 3 damage. Fraskia HP = 27.
Gorehound Pack Roll 3 = 1. Misses Edoardo.
Gorehound Pack Roll 4 = 10. Crit Roll 1d6 = 3. Vera takes (3+3) 6 damage. Vera HP = 24.


ALLY ROLLS
Arnas = 1. Miss.
Fraskia = 9. Fraskia deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 42.
Edoardo = 7. Edoardo deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 39.
Terrence = 2. Miss.
Vera = 1. Miss.
Aelestra = 10. Crit roll 1d6 = 3. Aelestra deals 6 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing two hounds. Gorehound Pack HP = 33.
Lucina = 8. Lucina deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 30.​

---

Several of the hounds charged at their quarry in full force while the others continued to swarm around in a circle around the group to keep them boxed in their kill zone. It was clear that while they were savage and brutal creatures, there was a level of coordination and intelligence to them that suggested they were more than just simple beasts. One of them dashed from side to side as it advanced towards Arnas, keeping him guessing as to where the attack would come from as he shifted his eyes back and forth. However, Arnas was able to dodge in time as the beast's teeth met his steel with a loud clang as he staggered off to the side while the beast's trajectory sent it sailing back towards its kin. Another near miss in a single night, which kept him on his toes as he twirled his blade once he regained steady footing.

Fraskia and Edoardo were next to be attacked as each had a hound charging towards them. Edoardo was lucky as his blade struck first before the creature had a chance to react, his blade collided with its head and sliced through it cleanly to reveal its insides as its lifeless body nearly collided with Edoardo before tumbling behind him. A clean kill and a clean cut that left the Sobekoni priest ready for the next attack. Fraskia in the meantime also felt her blade pierce the beast that charged at her as it lunged in the air, stabbing through its chest. Yet it did not immediately die as it howled and scratched wildly, its claws coming into contact with her side. Although her armor took most of the impact, she could still feel as though she had been punched really hard. The beast died shortly after, going limp with Fraskia's blade still inside it as its foul blood seeped down her steel and to the ground below.

Vera was the last to face a direct attack and did not fare as well as the others had, as she attempted to skewer the beast charging at her it suddenly shifted course to attack from below rather than from above like its unfortunate kin had. This shift in tactics was a success as Vera was suddenly sweeped from her feet and knocked to the ground with an audible thump as her own armor rattled from the impact. She was then met with a strong bite to her leg that managed to get in between her protective leg-guards and sink into her flesh, her crimson blood oozing around the beast's fangs as they gripped her muscles in a savage manner. She was quickly able to kick the beast off from her with a quick strike to its head, but her wound became worse as its teeth came out of her leg and allowed her blood to gush out onto the ground below.

Terrence and Aelestra worked side by side as they held their ground, with the latter guarding the flank of the former. Terrence and slashed at the closest one of the gorehounds with a powerful overhead strike, but found his axe contacting the dirt as the beast scampered out of the way from such a devastating blow. This charge however left him open to attack as two of the beasts decided to take advantage of the situation and barrel straight for him from two directions. He would not have to face any teeth or claws however as Aelestra lept in to save Terrence from such a situation by delivering a strong kick to one of the creatures. The force of the impact sent its trajectory straight into the other as they collided and their claws stabbed into one another, leading to mutual death for both.

Lucina was last to act as she sent out a flare of light towards one of the hounds circling the group to great effect as her attack landed. The smiting magic sliced into and burned through the flesh of the gorehound she had targeted, causing the beast to howl in pain as it tumbled down before going still. By this point, a third of the pack had been dealt with but these casualties were of no deterrence to the savagery on display. Another piercing howl filled the air as the beasts prepared for yet another round of attacks onto the group. Arnas stanced himself with his blade held to his side and prepared to slice at any beast that came near them.

 

[Breadman]

Fraskia grunted from the gorehound's hit, but she quickly put it down. A third of them were already dead as the others tore through them. Noticing that Vera took a serious hit, the knight shifted backwards, now ready to cover the flank left open to attack by more of the gorehounds. Observing their movement for a moment, she got an idea. She drew an earth rune in the air with her free hand and pointed her index and pinky fingers to the ground beneath the hounds.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

"Let. Go. You. Shit!" Vera snarled as kicked the hound away. The action caused burning pain to bloom in her leg, but she powered through the discomfort and sprung to her feet. More blood spilled from her wound once she stood, and the knightess shifted her weight to her uninjured side. With her sword pointing threateningly at the hound, Vera shuffled backwards towards the rest of group before lowering herself into a defensive stance, ready to slash at the hound when it approached her.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Edoardo Vargas Melcher​

The Priest secured first kill with an impeccably angled strike. The horrid beast's brain matter crumbled and spilled outwards while its insides became outsides. The hounds did not relent however and Edoardo knew this had only been the cusp of this battle. With a wrist twist, the half-curved sword pointed downward. Edoardo fell onto his four limbs, the sword hand knuckled against the dirt. He charged the foe with his maw snapping, itching to take a bite!

 

[Arnalia]

Lucina Lux​

The priestess watched as the gorehound flesh burned and tore apart as the monster let out a howl of pain—which pleased her greatly—one less of those abominations. As she hear and witnessed both of the Lady Knights get attacked and one of them bitten, Lucina came closer and positioned herself so she would guard one of their flank with a gap. Concentrating again she targeted another gorehound and shot a lighting ball at it.



joshuadim

 

[Chaos Gallant]

Terrence barely noticed he danger that had previously been charging towards him after missing his attack, only looking up to the hounds' flying away from him due to Aelestra. He gave a quick grunt and nod to her. Ripping his ax from the dirt, he let out another warcry in response to the hounds' howling. Readying his ax he ran towards Vera's side, prepared to strike the beast that had gored her.

 

[Beann]

Aelestra wasn’t one to actively seek out a fight, violence was a last resort and even then, she preferred using non-lethal techniques to disable her foes. Unfortunately, creatures like these could not be reasoned with, violence was the only option aside from fleeing. She watched Terrence swing his axe, unfortunately missing as the gorehound retreated. Just as Fraskia warned before, the creatures acted similar to wolves, taking advantage of the opening Terrence left them. Luckily for the merchant, she had remained vigilant and quickly acted to defend him. Planting her foot, she spun her body halfway, delivering a powerful kick to send it flying back into one of its own.

She snorted slightly at the gruesome collision but didn’t have much time to think much of it as Terrence was on the move again. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance. The point of watching each other’s flanks was so that neither of them would charge in recklessly. With a simple shake of her head, she bounded after him, finding herself grouping with the majority of the party. Aelestra took note of Vera’s injury, quickly looking around for the priestess she had met earlier. Lucina was her name if she remembered correctly. Luckily the priestess had positioned herself nearby, allowing Aelestra to wave her down. ‘You should heal her. Terrence and I will defend the two of you,’ she quickly signed before pointing to Vera’s leg.

---

Arnalia

 

[joshuadim]

Battle of Ember - Turn 2​

---

ENEMY ROLLS
Gorehound Pack Roll 1 = 8. Arnas takes 3 damage. Arnas HP = 27.
Gorehound Pack Roll 2 = 10. Crit roll 1d6 = 2. Terrence takes (3+2) 5 damage. Terrence HP = 25.
Gorehound Pack Roll 3 = 5. Misses Lucina.
Gorehound Pack Roll 4 = 9. Aelestra takes 3 damage. Aelestra HP = 27.


ALLY ROLLS
Arnas = 7. Arnas deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 27.
Fraskia = 2. Miss.
Vera = 6. Vera deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 24.
Edoardo = 10. Crit roll 1d6 = 3. Edoardo deals (3+3) 6 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing two hounds. Gorehound Pack HP = 18.
Lucina = 3. Miss.
Terrence = 7. Terrence deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing on hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 15.
Aelestra = 6. Aelestra deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 12.

FOUR HOUNDS REMAIN​

---

The Gorehound Pack wasted no time getting back onto the offensive as more of them leaped at the chance to draw blood. In this offensive, they targeted Arnas once again but also changed their targets towards those that had hit their numbers last time around, particularly with Terrence, Lucina and Aelestra. Arnas was once again assailed by one of the hounds as it rushed towards him and snapped at him with its jaws. He was knocked to the ground with an audible thud as he cried out in pain. A strong pain was felt throughout as he felt the beast's weight nearly crush him. Fortunately for him, his blade had pierced the creature as it had lunged towards him and it quickly died as a result. Likely, its heart had been pierced as a copious amount of foul blood oozed out of the blood and onto Arnas himself as he struggled to push the corpse off him.

Lucina in the meantime prepared a simple spell of a ball of holy lightning to be fired at another one of the hounds, after her previous success in dealing with one of the creatures. With a point of her finger, a small ball of energy formed at its tip and crackled slightly from its power. As one of the hounds was charging her, her attack was aimed towards dealing with it. Unfortunately, out of a slight miscalculation of trajectory, her attack would miss as it sailed by the beast just inches from its side. This did have an unintended consequence however as such a close call stopped the creature in its tracks and sent it scurrying back to the rest of the pack that was continuing to surround the group. As such, she herself was safe from attack for the moment.

For Vera, she would be able to get her revenge on the beast that had maimed her leg as she steadied herself and got ready for another attack. The beast, licking its teeth with a slithery tongue, charged once more at its target. However, this time Vera was ready as she swung her blade in a counterattack that caught the beast off guard and sliced open a large gash into its belly, spilling its guts onto the ground as it tumbled past Vera with its momentum before coming to a still. Its lifeless corpse gave off a rank smell from its innards, but that was not on the minds of everyone as the fighting continued.

Fraskia attempted to further even the odds into the group's favor as she employed one of the runes she was familiar with: an earth based rune that she drew with her free hand, leaving behind a visible trace in the air with a bit of a glow that called upon the ground beneath the beasts to turn against them. However, the creatures seemed to know something was wrong with their vicinity as they quickly shifted positions back and forth and moved quicker around the area to avoid being swallowed by the shifting dirt beneath them. While not successful in killing any of them, it did keep many of the beasts preoccupied.

Edoardo meanwhile, went and shifted tactics himself and joined the hounds on all fours with his own savagery. His eyes targeted the closest beast and as he charged his maw opened to take out a lethal bite from the beast. His teeth sank through its flesh and tore through muscle and sinew with ease, filling his mouth with putrid flavors of the creature's insides as it howled before quickly dying from being torn into. Such was the violence and success of the moment that Edoardo released his grasp on the dead beast and attacked another with his blade, slicing into it and quickly felling it into the ground, causing the other gorehounds nearby to shirk away momentarily from a primal fear.

Terrence in the meantime charged at another one of the beasts that was nearing Vera as she finished off her kill, his axe barreling towards the creature with an intense fury that the hound shrieked at as it lashed out in defense from such a violent approach. Terrence would be met with a swipe to his side from its talons, tearing off skin and digging into muscle and his ribs, as his axe connected to nearly decapite the creature in one fell swoop. Its body became limp unceremoniously as its claws released its grip from his side, allowing him to bleed from his new wounds.

Aelestra in the meantime followed Terrence to protect his flank, which allowed her to deal with another hound that was charging first at Terrence but then turned its attention to the monk as it found her to potentially be an easier target to hurt. However, it did not take into account her training as she was ready for a physical confrontation. As the beast lunged at her, it scratched her leg with a deep gash from its claws but was met with a fist to its neck that was strong enough to crush its trachea. The beast sputtered and gasped for air as it stumbled back from the blow, before collapsing as its body convulsed on the ground.

Only four beasts remained, the last survivors of the pack, as they charged together in a last ditch effort to hurt the group as much as they could. This was completely suicidal, but it seems that they had no regards for self-preservation of any kind. There was only a need to attack in their minds. Arnas scrambled to his feet and prepared for this final assault as he brought his blade to his side, ready to attack. "Come on you mutts!" Arnas spoke through gritted teeth, as his knuckles turned white again as he gripped his weapon's hilt.

 

[Breadman]

Fraskia cursed under her breath as the trap didn't do its work. Still, it scattered the hounds and made them easier to pick off. She gripped the sword's handle and prepared for another a decapitating strike against one of the remaining hounds.

 

[Arnalia]

Lucina Lux​

The priestess nodded to Aelestra and said. "Worry not, I will heal everyone after !" Lucina saw her attack miss by a few margin, but thanks to her allies the number of gorehound remaining was only four. Biting her lips she looked at her companions. Most had suffered injuries from small to a tad bigger, it was nowhere near fatal but still she didn't want to take any risks. Getting a little behind but closer to the Lady knight (Vera) Aelestra pointed too, Lucina prepared a healing spell and said. "Allow me to try." As she casted the spell on her, counting on her companions to deal with the hounds.


joshuadim

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Edoardo Vargas Melcher​

The crashing-thunder snap of Edoardo's jaws severed whatever manner of life the gore-hound had from its' corporeal moorings. Serrated snaggleteeth sawbladed the form of the infernal beast. Chunks of skin, muscle, and bone stained by the sanguinary fluid of life had sluiced the priest's mouth. His throat self-sealed to prevent the putrid, verminous gob from entering his stomach and poisoning him from his digestive system. Possessed by bestial instincts, the Priest reared himself on his hide legs. The crocodilian thrashed with the ferocity of the deadly deathroll in the water. Giblets and droplets of blood filtered through the miniature gaps in his maw, slapping the greenery of the grass and the filthy brown of the dirt with their crimson colour. The Priest spat the viscera with contemptible fury. The rainfall of red dirtied his vestments. Edoardo's optics barreled downwards to engorge themselves with the primal terror of the hounds. He found this delectable. A hound tried to scurry like a rat from him, but Edoardo cannoned towards it with preternatural speed. A bony claw snatched the gorehound by the head, its mandibles vainly snapped at Edoardo's fingers, before a swift cut bisected the creature. Its torso parted like a snail, briefly aloft by the gluey entrails before finally flopping.

Edoardo's jaw popped open with choler, his next target found. The grey-scaled Priest thumped across the field to one of the remaining four hounds. The slithering sword raised high above his head, poised and primed to deliver an overhead cut with all his might!

joshuadim

 

[Oreo Cookie]

A bitter laugh escaped Vera as her blade cleaved the hound's belly and sent the beast rolling lifelessly away. With her heart racing, the knightess was already searching for her next target when a soothing sensation spread through her injured leg. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed the priestess from earlier casting some healing spell on her. Vera only had time to nod her head in thanks before the last of the hounds charged, and she hunkered into her familiar stance again, eager to gut whichever hound attacked.

 

[joshuadim]

Battle of Ember - Turn 3​

---

ENEMY ROLLS
Gorehound Pack Roll 1 = 10. Crit roll 1d6 = 3. Arnas takes (3+3) 6 damage. Arnas HP = 21.
Gorehound Pack Roll 2 = 3. Misses Fraskia.
Gorehound Pack Roll 3 = 10. Crit roll 1d6 = 3. Edoardo takes (3+3) 6 damage. Edoardo HP = 24.
Gorehound Pack Roll 4 = 7. Lucina takes 3 damage. Lucina HP = 27.


ALLY ROLLS
Arnas = 6. Arnas deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 9.
Fraskia = 9. Fraskia deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 6.
Lucina uses minor healing on Vera. Vera restored 1d6 = 3 HP. Vera HP = 27.
Edoardo = 7. Edoardo deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 3.
Vera = 6. Vera deals 3 damage to Gorehound Pack, killing one hound. Gorehound Pack HP = 0.

ALL GOREHOUNDS HAVE BEEN SLAIN!​

---

The final, desperate assault of the beasts came and was met in kind with the ferocity of the town's impromptu defenders as steel clashed with teeth and bone. Arnas was first to fell another beast, but not before taking a strong bite to his leg in a similar manner to Vera, though this was deeper and far more rending as he had less protection for himself down there. He cried out in pain, dropping his sword from his hand as the beast forced him to the ground with his leg in its maw. Almost reflexively, the young mercenary drew a small dagger and began stabbing with a fury he had not felt before into the creatures head and did not stop until he felt the beast go limp and release him from its grasp. Foul blood sprayed onto his weapon hand and onto his body from the impacts as he continued stabbing until dropping his knife and struggled to move himself away from the beast's corpse.

The second of the remaining hounds lunged itself at Fraskia, eager to get some damage in onto the rune knight. However its fortunes would fall short as she simply sidestepped the beast and swung her blade downwards with all her strength. In a single motion, she cut through the beast's neck and relieved it of its head as its body collapsed shortly thereafter nearby after some tumbling. Edoardo also faced off against another hound and, like with Arnas, found himself victim to the creature's attack and vice versa as he felt its claws dig into and rip across his chest, creating large scars that oozed his own blood. Meanwhile however, his own blade swung true again though with less grace than before as it lodged itself into the beast's skull with an audible crack. The gorehound's body crumpled from such a blow, allowing Edoardo to retrieve his blade from it shortly after.

Lucina quickly moved to the defensive and called upon a minor blessing from her patron goddess, causing a small yellowish-white light to coagulate in her hands before sending it out towards Vera. For the latter, she could feel a soothing relaxation crawl up from where her wound was as the priestess' blessing did its work in recovering the bite she had received. This however drew the ire of the last remaining gorehound for the latter, as the beast quickly changed its targets to the priestess and lunged at her, knocking her down. Fortunately, Vera was quick to respond and stabbed the creature in its belly before kicking it off Lucina, leaving its guts to spill out onto the ground below. As a result, Lucina was spared of any harsher injuries aside from a few moderate scratches and gashes on her torso.

With the last of the creatures dead, a silence of peace filled the air which left the group free to lick their wounds and gather their surroundings once more. Arnas grabbed his sword from nearby, using it to steady himself as he brought himself to his feet, and winced in pain as his leg wound shot intense waves of pain outwards. He cursed under his breath before looking back at the Rift that was staring at them in the face before looking around. "...doesn't seem like there's any more." he commented aloud, "I don't see Jorah either, he must be well out of harm's way with the townsfolk."

He then pointed with his sword at the event unfolding before them, its webs continuing to break into the air and surroundings at a slow, but steady pace. The buildings it touched collapsed and shattered, while the land around it lived, aged, and died rapidly. "That's not good though." he then said with worry. Elsewhere, fires raged in Ember that would not be put out as there was no one left to combat them. Infernos screaming into the night sky and lighting the air around them to complement the red aura of the rift that had materialized here.

 

[Breadman]

"Bad doesn't begin to cover it." Fraskia said as she observed the destructive advance of the rift before them. "This thing needs to be controlled and sealed before it consumes everything around it and lets something worse in." She looked to the others, the priests in particular. "I don't suppose you know any magic or rituals of that nature?"

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Edoardo Vargas Melcher​

Vargas fought with the ferocity of a true Sobekoni, but even the best warriors were not impervious to damage. The last hound's horrid hook claws slashed across his chest. Drawing three crimson lines that seeped crimson liquid. The muscles in his jaw tightened with pain, as his crocodile eye slits relaxed from the battle frenzy. A clawed hand reached up to grasp the pain-pulsing wound, at first shy from the stinging pain before shouldering through.

As if anticipating the need to ask him, Edoardo spoke up about his qualifications. "No, we were never bade to learn sealing rituals. I do possesses knowledge in healing prayers, though if the wound be severe enough then even my faith will not be enough."

 

[Beann]

Aelestra remained calm throughout the encounter, primarily focusing on defending Terrence rather than charging in to attack. Her eyes were filled with determination to ward off any attacks from the merchant’s flank but she could not protect him completely as she heard the ripping of fabric. She glanced over her shoulder, getting a glimpse of Terrence’s wound. Before worry could set in, her attention whipped back around in time to defend herself against another beast, dealing a quick yet fatal blow. As she watched the gorehound in front of her stumble back before eventually collapsing, she finally then started to feel a tickling sensation in her leg. The sensation grew rapidly in intensity, it burned at the source. The monk did her best to ignore the pain for now as there were still a few beasts left.

The realization of his wound hadn’t struck Terrence yet, he brought down his weapon hard into the creature’s neck. Still latched onto Terrence, the beast had no time to react as the ax’s blade cleaved into it. The hellhound’s head hung desperately to its body, only held together by a small piece of flesh. He pulled the rest of the beast’s head off and pushed the body away from him, its claws leaving his newly acquired wound to bleed freely. He still couldn’t feel the pain quite yet as he looked onwards to the rest of the party as they quickly dispatched the remaining hounds. Terrence’s bloodlust slowly subsided while he looked around for a trace of his cart. He let out a gasp, spotting it seemingly intact where he left it by the inn. Letting out another gasp the throbbing pain now became apparent, looking down and running his hand up to see the damage. He pulled his coat and shirt off, tearing the latter into strips to bandage his now heavily bleeding cuts to stave off the flow.

Hearing the ripping of fabric once more, Aelestra turned her attention back to Terrence as she watched him attempt to stop the bleeding with strips of his shirt. She remained alert in a defensive stance until she watched the last of the gorehounds meet their demise. Now that the direct threat was dealt with, she could relax — only slightly though as the rift itself still posed a problem. Sadly, she didn’t know of any magic with the capabilities to seal a rift so she offered Fraskia a shake of her head.

‘If we can not seal it, then we should warn the nearby towns,’ she signed to Terrence for him to suggest to the rest of the group. Ember was rather fortunate to have a handful of adventurers and fighters alike this night but other towns may not be as lucky should the rift continue to grow.

Shifting her weight, she winced slightly as she remembered the claw marks she earned from one of the gorehounds. Aelestra quickly rummaged through her satchel, pulling out her waterskin as she poured a bit of water on the wound to clean it off. Before she would start dressing her leg, she offered the waterskin to Terrence, signing to him with one hand, ‘clean it.’

At her suggestion, Terrence called out to the group, “If we’ve nothing to stop it, we need to get word out to the towns nearby.” He then shook his head and raised a finger, “Just a moment.” He returned to bandaging his wounds as he walked toward his cart slowly. Terrence came up the side of it and reached under the canvas into a small box near the front, removing a decent sized pouch wrapped in a dark brown cloth. He returned to Aelestra and opened the pouch revealing the salt within. “It’ll keep it cleaner than water I presume, but who knows what kind of disease those things harbor.” He dried off the gashes on her leg. “It will certainly sting a fair bit though. Once we finish up here we should have our lizard priest take a look at it though,” he added, ignoring his own wound as he gently rubbed some of the salt onto her wound.

Aelestra raised her eyebrow as he declined her offering of water to clean his own wound and instead walked over to his cart, returning with a pouch of salt. She let out a loud huff in pain when he started to rub the salt into the gashes but remained still for the most part. ‘Thank you.’

 

[Oreo Cookie]

With the threat of the hounds dealt with, Vera's posture slackened as exhaustion started to seep into her bones. Her grip on her sword remained firm however, as she was unable to completely relax with the encroaching rift nearby. Simply seeing the distortion's effect on its surroundings caused the knightess to take an involuntary step back. "The merchant here has the right idea. Between the fires and that thing, this place is looking like a lost cause."