Fantasy Well of Wishes | Main IC | [Closed]

[Jet]

​

Leone smirked as cracks branched across the ceiling, then he turned from the dragon as sandstones buried her alive. Their massive weight made short work of her diseased body, snapping her bones as Leone dragged Kiel from danger. "Your lucky day," he kneeled and roped Kiel's feet together, glancing up to the buried beast. "Not her's though," he grimaced as black blood seeped from the rubble pile. Then he turned and started down the tunnel.

"Guess we're not as cursed as I thought," he followed the others with a slow, strained walk. "Can you two... slow down!" He brushed his sweaty brow and looked back at the possessed man. "If I release you, will you chase us? That'd be easier than pulling your dead weight," he chuckled once before addressing Sigurd. "So the church boy said Kiel's one of them... who's them and what's going on in the city?" He continued his slow walk, an exasperated look on his face. "And can one of you help me drag this brainwashed bastard? I don't want to slow us down."

Taigakitt Anne Boolean BriiAngelic

 

[Arcanist]

Valentine
Mentions: Anne Boolean (Celestine), Taigakitt (Creature) | Interactions: Jet (Ayana), Pik (Lorrin) ​

Sneak…behind it? While the others distracted it?

Sure, it might have worked, seeing as they were the only two ranged fighters among them, but surely this thing was more intelligent than what they were giving it credit for? It may have been monstrous, and large, and rather imposing…but that wasn’t to say it couldn’t see through any kind of distraction they would provide for them.

“I don’t think we’re giving this thing enough credit—” Valentine started, though, found their voice being overruled by Ayana, who had already agreed on distracting the creature and was off in a flash. “H-hey, wait! You didn’t even--!” They groaned, rubbing their neck. They turned to see what Celestine had thought, but even she had seemingly wanted to go along with the plan.

They were joking, weren’t they?

Gods damn it.

Valentine followed Celestine, only because there was little else for him to go without the monster catching them in its line of sight. Though even with those creatures showing up, and attacking and latching onto any townsperson they could get their nifty claws on, Valentine still was in two minds about that plan.

While Celestine had been dealing with the creatures, Valentine, on the other hand, had been trying to think of other ways to go about this. Hadn’t the creature come through the church? Wouldn’t it have just attacked anyone on the way up? What was to say there were any survivors still in there, if not out here with them?

Perhaps facing that creature head-on was one of their few options. If they could get close enough to the creature, perhaps they could attack it from behind. Find a weak spot. If nothing else, Valentine could start with the legs.

A battle on both fronts should be difficult for the creature to try and fight, right?

 

[Taigakitt]

Boss Battle
Involved: Pik Jet Anne Boolean Arcanist ​

Shouts spilled out behind the massive demon, the clanging of steel against steel, or shells being broken, depending on victor. It might be strange, seeing those dressed in church garp fighting those also in church garb.

Maybe the soon-to-be-attackers would see one of those six-legged creepy crawlies, the Insidiators, possess someone similar to what happened to Kiel: entering through the mouth whole, then losing control of their own body. Gross, if anything.

Then, Ayana ran out, taunting them.

The arrows she shot stuck and landed upon their body with a wet sounding splat. Slowly, the arrows started to get drawn within.

Then, the beast started laughing along with her, which caused a gruesome white smile to tear at their face. The voice that came from the monster was of the Jester, Gambler, and Thief combined, similar in tone but overlapping, “Should the cause of Freya’s death be laughing at us who put her out of her misery?”

They swung one arm at Ayana, though they had missed. “We see no point in saving you two anymore. We have almost the whole town down below, feeding the power, being saved.”

The words about being stinky didn’t seem to bother the beast. They didn’t have a visible nose.

With a couple pounding footsteps, they approached the gates of the church, their body practically overtaking the whole entrance, almost looking like it could get stuck. Instead of their body getting injured from a piece of the gate jutting out, instead that piece of the gate snapped.

Celestine and Valentine had already gotten onto the church grounds prior to the monster blocking the gate. Though, as if the monster had eyes on the back of their head, the bottom set of arms swung around, looking to smack into the Syphid and Actor without looking.

“You try to be sneaky, but we have eyes everywhere,” they chortled, though they were in the process of looking for the little Forest Elf that had shot the arrows at them, not having any current luck.

 

[Anne Boolean]

Amalia Winters​

After having brought the mage's bags down alongside Aedzel, Amalia waited and watched as Roland scurried through the halls of the lodge, coming back each time with more and more goods. After the third trip it became apparent to the knight that the things he had found didn't exactly belong to anyone in their party. Soldiers abusing their power to "commandeer" the goods of citizens was all too common. Amalia herself had tried to make sure no one in her squad did such a thing, but she had no control over the other captains... even after retiring from the military she would have had some thoughts about such a thing, although with the state the town was in, the state they were in, it seemed like a necessary evil.

While her child was finding them supplies, it seemed Helena went off to find a cart and horses. As the little savanna elf started loading up the supplies, the armor-clad women went over and helped. After things were loaded up, it seemed Helena and Gwen had plans to rush back into the fray.

"That's highly inadvisable," she said, more so focusing on Gwen who looked to be worse for wear but also considering that Helena may leave a child without a mother. The women were confident in her ability though, or at least appeared to be so, and in the end Amalia couldn't do anything to stop them. She turned back to the others. "They're very brave and strong," she said, "but putting your faith in others and falling back to aid those who need it takes bravery and strength too." As much as she wanted to rush in to battle once again in order to ensure her companions' safety, she knew those who were here right now needed her as well.

She pulled on the reins of one of the horses tied to the cart. When trying to flee something, people often think speed is most important. In order to make sure none of their supplies are dropped or no one ends up in a worse state than they currently were, Amalia elected to walk alongside the horse and make a slow and steady escape from town.

Interactions: Gwen ( Sarahspn ), Helena, Roland ( BriiAngelic )
Mentions: Aedzel ( Colorless Spectrum )

---

Celestine Oceania​

The blond wasn't as keen on Lorrin's plan either it seemed, and found themselves put on the spot when Ayana started mouthing off to the monster. Hastiness wasn't so much a land dweller trait as it was an Ayana trait, Celestine realized. Thankfully though, Valentine didn't hesitate or protest, resulting in the syphid woman indeed having a partner for her part of the plan.

Despite being by her side, they weren't exactly fighting. Instead, their gaze seemed to be focused on the beast that was chasing the two archers. Did they not know how to use the sword they held? Had they frozen up because they had never been in combat before?

"The distraction isn't for us!" Celestine said, hoping to snap her companion out of whatever was holding them back. Sadly, it seemed like she was too invested in destroying the hellspawn, and she only noticed one of the monster's four arms coming towards her once it spoke. She was slapped to the ground and landed with a thud, yet made sure to keep a tight grip on her trident, not interested one bit in losing it again. As some of the skittering creatures approached, she tried her best to rise to her feet once more, though found it difficult with how fatigued her body felt. The pull of the earth was much stronger on land than under the sea, and she had already exerted herself quite a bit earlier today.

Interactions: Valentine ( Arcanist ), Monster ( Taigakitt )
Mentions: Lorrin ( Pik ), Ayana ( Jet )

 

[Pik]

Lorrin Yumi

Taigakitt Jet Anne Boolean Arcanist

"Thanks for the offer but your right about the high ground being best right now." Lorrin would then go and tie a rope around an arrow shooting it up to a different roof that's nearby Ayana's allowing for easy communication between the two as well as plenty of room to work without getting in the way of each other. Once on the roof, the creature began to speak and there was definitely something familiar about its voice. "Oh it's you again and you've gotten bigger I see what's wrong did our counter-attack hurt you so bad you felt the need to get big in order to do some actual damage, pathetic!" He goes on to knock a new arrow while it continued to talk "Saved? Saved from what the only thing needing saving from around here is you who is about to get the most embarrassing beat down of a lifetime, you overgrown smelly mess." The bow flashes its light ready for the shoot Lorrin draws back the arrow as far as it can go before letting it fly into the creature's body to likely no effect. Meanwhile said, the creature smacks Celestine and valentine away not allowing them into the church. So stealth isn't an option with it. But wouldn't having eyes everywhere make it more vulnerable to their attacks, so either it's lying or its eyes are just that good. Now thing he thinks about it maybe it is rather weak to light that could be why the town is in twilight, to begin with. "Everyone! we need to blind it spread out and search a means to create a lot of light this may be its weakness!"​

 

[Jet]

​

Ayana's stomach dropped when the monster slammed Celestine. "Please no..." she chewed her cheek and her mind nervously wandered, destabilizing the spell between her hands. Its sudden, unstable heat stung her palms, making her wince as she looked to Lorrin. "We need to draw his attention!" Ayana stood and stared down the monstrous blob. "You've no right to speak Freya's name," she extended her hands and shot a bolt of flame magic. It speared through the air like a falling meteor, stabbing the monster with a whooshing fire plume.

"So keep her name from your mouth, you're the only reason she's dead. You're the reason this town is suffering! You're a plague!" She shot a second flame spell and leaped to another rooftop, then another two after that, beckoning the demon to come along. "Cmon, let's get this over with!" She stopped on a tavern's rooftop and waved at Lorrin. He was distant, but still in shouting distance. "I'LL TRY TO BLIND HIM!" Ayana shot three arrows at the monster's narrow eyes, but the range was too great for accurate shots. Instead they harmlessly pierced his chest, accomplishing almost nothing.

"Arrows won't cut it," she swung her bow to her back and waved at Lorrin again. "I THINK YOUR IDEA IS BETTER!" She pressed her hands together and started a huge lumen spell, but her magic was slower than normal — a sure sign she was overworked. But even-so she soldiered on, forcing mana through her arms for the considerable light spell.

Pik Arcanist Taigakitt Anne Boolean

 

[Taigakitt]

Stone and Yo​

Yo tired much faster than Stone had, and having checked back to make sure being squished was less likely, Yo at least slowed down. Huffing, she put her hands on her knees, releasing the magic enhancement she had been using. “That… was the longest… I’ve had that on at once.”

Wiping her forehead, she fell back to help Leone with Kiel. Stone had released the rat so she could go where she pleased at this point, staying where he was, his ears on high alert, seemingly distracted.

“Sorry Leone. I can he-”

CRACK!

The dragoness’ voice was cut off at the loud sound of what sounded like stone being splintered.

Stone flinched, realizing too late what he had heard behind the walls, “Brace yourselves!”

With not a chance to truly explain what was about to happen, the crack opened up along the side and above them. Salt water poured into the tunnel, filling quickly, giving just about no one in this part of the tunnel a chance to escape it’s rapids.

A hissing sound was briefly heard near Kiel, and the strange demon that possessed the desert dweller was forced out and swiftly carried far ahead of them, screeching.

The ride was hectic.

Yo had been dragged under the water a couple times, but thankfully she was able to at least keep air in her lungs, even when she accidentally hit a wall on a rough turn.

Stone was quiet, focused, seemingly graceful despite the rapids, as if he was swimming in a river rather than getting washed downstream, deeper into what was catacombs turned into a tunneling cave system.

Then, ground could be felt underfoot as the water drained away somewhere, leaving the group soaking wet and in a metallic, rusty, cavern.

Yo tumbled forward, finally landing on her hands and knees, gasping and coughing out salt water from her lungs.

The Momerki had landed on his feet just fine as water dripped off his body, making him feel heavier than he was. At first, he wanted to shake, but the sight in front of him made him forget.

The cavern they stood in was large. There was a hole up near the ceiling. The walls were covered in metallic sheets, some parts rusted.

That wasn’t the kicker. What would be the stranger site was the god-damned rift in the middle of the room. Dark, purple and black, daunting, surrounded by metallic poles. A couple people were in the room, but they appeared to be unresponsive. If anyone researched the flooring, they’d be able to spot footprints leading directly into the rift. A lot of footprints.

After finishing her coughing fit, Yo struggled up, “I think that was worse than a boat.”

Stone immediately went to investigate, “This must be the cause of all the… issues plaguing the town.”

Mentions: Jet Anne Boolean ​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Kiel Shan​

As he was being dragged, Kiel squirmed and struggled in his bindings for a bit before eventually giving up and laying still. The clothes that he had bought just earlier that day were being stained by the dirt below him and were torn and tattered up by any stray pebbles which had a hint of sharpness. His dead, light blue eyes blinked when the man dragging him asked if he would chase them were they to untie him. Normally, his answer would have been no, but it seemed in this case that Leone actually wanted him to.

"Yes," he responded, giving a hollow smile. "I'll chase you and force you right to where you need to go! I'll be able to save you yet!" Sadly, letting him chase them wasn't the plan they were going with, as the dragon woman approached, assumedly to help carry the desert man.

He blinked at the slight cracking sound. His light blue eyes scanned the area, searching for its source. They then widened when suddenly water came flowing down upon the group. As Kiel was struck and the cavern around them filled up, he certainly must have opened his mouth to let out of a gasp. If the contact of the saline on his skin wasn't enough to scare the insidiator away, the water that made its way down his throat certainly would have been. With his new found freedom came a sense of relief, which was immediately followed by fear, panic, and concern as the man found himself submerged in the water. He did his best to reemerge by wiggling in his ties, all the while trying to ration the oxygen that he had in his lungs, but as he was carried by the current, Kiel knew that resurfacing would be a losing battle. His will had returned, only for him to be helpless to escape death. Fate was cruel. Fate seemed to have a few more tricks up its sleeve though, as not long after the water that was threatening his life had suddenly drained away.

Like the others, he lay on the ground cough up any of the liquid which might have been swallowed, before attempting to sit up in his binds to get a look at the area around him. He winced as a slight movement of his leg caused pain to shoot up through it. After, he found himself smiling. This injury, which had marked an end for his career as a dancer, now marked his freedom from the control of whatever monstrosity had made its way down his throat.

His joyous moment was cut short though when he saw what stood in front of him. His eyes widened. The water which had cleansed him had also taken them to where he planned to originally chase the group. Moments ago, his only desire was to push his companions into the rift before them, but now he wanted to do everything he could to keep them away.

"Do not go near that..." he said in a grim tone. "It's what they wanted... They wanted to bring more and more people to send them into the rift... they wanted me to gather up everyone I cared about and... feed them to it..." He gulped as the actions he had taken while under the demon's influence came to mind. Thankfully, he hadn't killed or severely injured anyone, but the way he attempted to harm his comrades caused immense guilt to flare up within him.

Interactions: Stone, Yo ( Taigakitt ), Leone ( Jet ), Sigurd ( BriiAngelic ), Nezumi ( Lost Echo )

 

[EldridSmith]

Liam nodded and picked up Pozou, hiding his mild disappointment as she turned to talk to Rose without giving her the option of being carried with Pozou. Perhaps human's didn't like being carried? He didn't know, though he liked being carried when he was a child so he thought that they would enjoy the offer as well. He would have to inquire about this another time, for now he silently followd the sisters as they moved to the surface. When they stopped and mentioned a monster Liam gently laid down Pozou with Lucian and the others, as he swore to protect Jane he would stay with her.

He silently followed the sisters into the shop before picking up two shields with pointed ends which would be useful for offense if he needed them. He would try and return them later if he got the chance, but right now that wasn't at the forefront of his mind as he picked up more weapon options for the others since the sisters were taking for everyone. He laid them down with the other weapons when Daisy asked what was going on. Liam shrugged as he didn't know. "I-I don't know, b-but we should head t-to the ship. E-Especially if the others n-need to make a break f-for it." He stated as he looked at the group, then at Jane especially. He slithered next to her with his twin shields in hand, his intent rather clear, he was going to stay beside her to protect her regardless of what the others chose, as he promised her he would, and even if he hadn't something inside him was compelling him to.
Jet Arcanist Sarahspn Mook-LandStrider Taigakitt Fred Colon

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Sigurd Stellan Rask || Human Schoolmaster Mage

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Leone ( Jet ) Stone & Yo ( Taigakitt ) Kiel ( Anne Boolean ) Nezumi ( Lost Echo ) Vaal ( The Regal Rper )
  

  ~ Rift Sight ~
  Slight Distress || Sigurd's CS File
  
  The collapse was anything but perfect. He didn’t know what it looked like from the otherside or if there was another side to be seen. Yet in the span of a short battle he’d lost both of his companions and every person he knew here. Hubyr must be alive on the other side. The mages were far too powerful, and had far too many guiding hands to have lost their lives. The shout Hubyr held was far too confident for if the ceiling was not withstanding on the opposite side.
  
  With a quick kneel to the ground he sent a pray to Luna that she might stay at their sides for at least as long as it would take for the beast that had aimed to cull the town to be brought down.
  
  As for the moment he looked at the addled child. He heard the scruffy looking man question him about Luka’s remarks as he struggled with the burden of restraining the child. He gave him a shrug unable to give him the answers he searched for. While he would have helped with the wrangling of the child he was far more concerned with the sound of a crack. Cave-ins always did make the earth move but...
  
  Instead of any proper reaction he found he only had enough time to raise his hand as the water burst forth. He couldn’t keep himself afloat with the armor and weapons he carried and while Skadi may have helped him plenty in understanding the earth the cruelty of the waters was always more known to his mother.
  
  It was fortunate the waters seemed to end faster than his breath broke. He spit out the water that had found its way up his nose and into his throat and thanked the earth before him that he’d been born an islander. Yet as he looked up he saw a dark purple void familiar in the way that one might react to something they’d seen in only drawings.
  
  “Yes… the cause…indeed”
  
  He heard the boy beginning to speak with a dramatically different tone than he had held before. It seemed as though he was a different person. As he righted himself and stood with a slosh from his clothing beneath the metal he began to speak again.
  
  “You should only ever throw the likes of criminals within an offering’s call… How many innocents have they fed to this? It’s mana must be twisted beyond belief.”
  

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Roland Marek || Savanna Elven Street Kid

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Kuma & Obsidian ( Lost Echo ) Aedzal ( Colorless Spectrum ) Amalia ( Anne Boolean )
  
  Mentions as Leaving:
  Gwen ( Sarahspn )
  

  ~ Route Through Town ~
  Heartwarming || Roland's CS File
  
  He looked on as Gwen left. He was torn, it was his job to help her but she was just as adamant that she needed to be there. Even she asked him to leave with the others, while typically he’d run after her he couldn’t move his feet. He didn’t want to return, he didn’t want his mother to have left either but he’d lost the chance to stay at her side. If he let Gwen leave… would she not be forced to stop to take care of her?
  
  Instead of a fruitless endeavor on the frontlines?
  
  Even so he couldn’t help but remember Helena’s words. A fool who refuses treatment has already made up their minds. You cannot make the horse drink He imagined no amount of convincing would work. Instead he took a deep breath and turned back to the cart. He managed a quick nod to Amalia as he climbed in not wanting to walk or to ride his horse at this point. He curled himself up pulling his knees to his chest as he buried his face away.
  
  In the slow moments of travel he allowed himself to feel again and the terror and sadness came back. He felt tears well up in his eyes. What if they were the only ones that would live? He had no proof that anyone else was still alive. For all he knew they all went back trying to save skeletons. Besides no amount of effort was going to bring Freya back.
  
  He was weak, sitting here crying about what ifs.
  
  No he had to have faith that they would return. He let out a breath as he wiped his eyes dry with the sleeves of his dress. He looked up to the others that were in just as foul spirits.
  
  “How far out of town should we go then? Do any of you know the road Mister Lucien was planning for us to take next?”
  
  He figured the best place to go would be their planned route. Yet he didn’t know much about the actual logistics of the trip. Instead he merely went as he was told. It flew over his head when they spoke strategy so instead he’d been climbing with his new boots. The feeling at the time was great but he regretted not paying attention a little more now that their numbers had dwindled down to five.
  
  

 

[Jet]

Written with Taigakitt Anne Boolean BriiAngelic

​

Luka scampered down the tunnel, barely escaping an avalanche of sandstone. "Well fuck me that was a close one.... is it dead?" He desperately panted and watched for movement."Oy dragon! You alive in there?" He kept watching for a long, tense moment before checking Luna's corpse. It was covered with large rocks and her blood soaked the ground, sending a furious wave through his core, making his right hand shake with rage. Then he slowly stood, snapped his narrow eyes to Hubyr and sucker-punched him with a strong hook.

Hubyr had been more keen to not get crushed by any leftover debris that he hadn’t seen the punch coming until he tasted iron in his mouth.

"You fuckin' tree monkey! It's your fault she's dead!" Luka punched again. His hand was heavy, laden with blind fury.

Tallis understood Luka’s anger, truly he did. All of his apprentices were like his own children. Yet he also understood Luna’s sadness and her choice. He went to break them up, there would be no use in wasting ones strength upon each other.

Hubyr side-stepped the second punch, aiming one of his own, still enhanced, at the knucklehead who couldn’t keep emotions in check, “Fuck off with the ‘tree monkey’ shit, Cloudjumper. This ain’t the time, and I don’t wanna stick around to find out if that beast still lives to bury us!”

Tallis was quick to move into the space between the two as he saw Hubyr aim another punch back. Yet as he did he didn’t have enough time to block the punch as he felt the blow cleanly hit his shoulder. Pain rocked him as he stumbled "ENOUGH. Both of you. Luka I understand your anger, but we need to keep moving. We will grieve when it is safe to. I would rather not lose you both. For now show me your composure. If you want to honor her best then you need to live for her. Wouldn’t you rather live to send word back to her family?”

Hubyr’s expression showed no remorse for the punch landing improperly. The was the centosian’s wish to get in the way of a fight. With a breath, the muscled elf released his enchantment. The lack of sound or movement from the rubble told him the beast was probably dead, and there was no reason to expend that much more energy. “Then let’s hussle before the earth decides to fight us next,” he said gruffly, pushing past the two as he went back the way they came.

Elizabeth had been fixated on the pile of rubble while the exchange was happening. Foul words in Luka’s voice hadn’t ever shaken her before, nor did they seem to have any effect on her now. She must have thought of Hubyr in the same caliber as the apprentice, as his retorts didn’t cause her to budge either. Instead, her eyes stayed focused on the fallen stone. Her brow was furrowed as she looked closely in order to find any sign of movement from the abyssal creature that had been crushed. Like the others, she absolutely did not want to see more of the beast, but the woman felt it would be better to know it still walked among them earlier rather than later.

Only when she heard Tallis’s stern voice did she turn around. Luckily for the two younger men, her gaze only fell on them after the other Master Mage had recovered from the punch.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Put the energy you both are brimming with to better use than bickering. Your focus could be what ends up saving someone from the same fate that befell the poor girl.” The elder looked over to the elven woman’s corpse once more, a look of sadness in her eyes, before turning to the path ahead. “We only have one way to go now. Since you were attempting to escape through these sewers, I don’t suppose you know where this leads?” Her gaze fell on the forest elf.

Said forest elf shouted back, not looking back as he kept moving, “Fuck should I know?! Move your old bones! I ain’t waiting for you all to catch up!”

Elizabeth scoffed at his response. “If it was not for our ‘old bones’ you would have found yourselves in that dragon’s stomach!” she said, although followed his instruction and started following.

Luka crossed his arms. "You best show them respect... and this ain't over short stuff, we've got business when we're done here!" He walked past Tallis with a worried glance, "Sorry bout your shoulder sir, didn't mean to rope ya in." He sighed and brushed dust from his hair, a deep frown on his face. "Guess it could be worse eh? His friend could be here too…" he chuckled once before heading down the tunnel, begrudgingly following Hubyr's lead.

Hubyr spared a grunt for the short insult. Not bothering to watch his pace, he maneuvered quickly through the catacomb tunnels back to where they came from, only now it seemed to be in worse shape than when the first shockwave hit. Stepping carefully away from the giant ass hole in the basement once he arrived back, he looked at the still-broken door.

Sounds reached his ears that seemed to come from within. Those sounds seemed to be more like shouts and fighting. Drawing his staff into his hands, he carefully approached the door and glanced back, his voice hushed, “I think the church has company.”

Not bothering to wait, he slipped through the shattered door and up the stairs. A couple strange creatures littered the top, their six legs twitching in the air. They didn’t appear to have eyes. The door at the top of the stairs was torn off its hinges, opening to the chaos that was ensuing within.

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Helena Lis || Human War Cleric

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Ayana ( Jet ) Valentine ( Arcanist ) Celestine ( Anne Boolean ) Lorrin ( Pik ) Boss Beast ( Taigakitt )
  
  Somewhere behind her:
  Gwen ( Sarahspn )
  

  ~ Approaching Church ~
  Acrophobia || Helena's CS File
  
  Her footsteps made plenty of noise as she ran. She’d never been fond of the heeled menaces that higher class women wore and with a long enough dress it never quite mattered. She was immensely grateful for it as she ran to the church on the tails of the others. She had with her an array of chemicals and her knife but she wasn’t expecting an easy time at all. She ducked behind a wall as she heard the shouts of the others. She managed to peer beyond to see them fighting a smoke-like beast in the shadows with all they had.
  
  “You try to be sneaky, but we have eyes everywhere,”
  
  She could feel a chill go up her spine as the voice seemed to echo. She was lucky enough that the darkness of night was so damn familiar to her. Still looking at it… she wasn’t going to be able to do much at all. She wouldn’t risk getting close to it and she had nothing with enough range....
  
  But she could prepare a distraction at the very least. Even if she didn’t think it would be of much use with what this one was acting like. Letting her own location be found out was no option, she’d sooner run than die, but she had plenty of chemicals that could be reactive in a pinch.
  
  She didn’t have time for it though if it was to be a proper distraction. She broke a few vials open and poured them on the ground, tearing off a few pieces of cloth from her dress and adding them into the pile. She gathered her things up and took as many steps as she could back before throwing a vial at the mixture and running full force to another point of cover.
  
  The mixture would set fire in a burst outwards but the delay in doing so would give her time to confuse this manner of beast… at least she hoped so.
  

 

[Taigakitt]

Monster
Involved: BriiAngelic Jet Pik Anne Boolean Arcanist Sarahspn ​

The monster didn’t bother with the sneaky sneaks after the first swing. The Syphid had gotten knocked to the ground; the Insidiators, which were the 6-legged creepy crawlies, could handle the rest. Or maybe those that were possessed within the church once they managed to overtake it. It seemed a disturbance from inside was drawing any of the Insidiators that were outside, back inside.

Lorrin was correct about the beast being the same as earlier: the Jester. Though, it wasn’t just them.

“Our other forms aren’t capable of fighting. This form is.” They went to swing an arm, an arrow that Lorrin let loose getting stuck.

The eyes the beast mentioned were not on the creature. There was a reason they seemed to know everything Kiel knew…

The first fire attack that Ayana shot pierced from their shoulder, slicing and burning down to the ground. The body the flames licked seemed to curl around the wounds, pulsing, shadow dripping to the ground, before reforming back to almost normal. The difference? That side of their body was a little smaller.

Being called plague seemed funny to them. They laughed, “Maybe we are! We have caused plagues in the past. No doubt we’ll cause more.”

Ayana’s inaccurate arrows plopped into their body, sticking where they struck.

As the beast took steps forward, trying to follow the loud-mouth Forest Elf, something stopped them in their tracks. A fire nearby. They didn’t know what caused it, but whatever it was was closer than the elf, so they changed directions.

They could not see Helena.

Decidedly not swinging out at the chemical fire, they searched for the possible cause.

"Come out, come out wherever you are, you little fucking firestarter."

 

[Sarahspn]

​

With a glance back, Gwendolyn frowned as she saw Ro’s face. Taking a deep breath, she lightly kicked the horse and tightened her grip on the reins. As the horse took off, she steadied her gaze on the church. Even if she was tired and the pain in her legs was slowly growing stronger, she was determined to assist in any way she could. She watched Freya fall to her death and would rather sacrifice herself than to watch another friend lose their life. As she grew closer to the church, she slowed her pace and guided the horse to the back of a building. Distant screams of battle could be heard and she dismounted. Looking down at her foot, she furrowed her brows. She could easily heal herself but didn’t want to risk using any energy or mana that could prove useful in another battle. “Wait here for me. If there’s danger please save yourself.” She whispered to the horse, running her hand down his neck.

Looking around the building, she caught sight of a large black mass being impaled by arrows, presumably Lorrin’s and his trigger-finger. Gwen silently moved closer, hiding behind another store. She took a look around the corner and spotted Helena hiding behind a wall, pouring vials of liquid on ground and ripping off pieces of her dress. Tilting her head, she watched as the cleric ran off and a burst of fire came from the puddle of which she presumed to be chemicals. The explosion took her by surprise and she quickly looked for the monster. It was walking towards the fire, it’s echo of voices sending a chill down Gwen’s spine. It’s voice and how light seemed to be swallowed by its body was similar to the demons from before and she bit her lip. A single one was difficult enough to take down and she couldn’t imagine what sort of battle she was walking into if this creature was their enemy.

She used this distraction to run as quickly as she could to the gates of the church. As she passed through the gates, she spotted Celestine and the stranger from the bone room. The syphid was on the ground with six legged creatures inching towards her and the mage reached for her knife. She had found the hilt and a second later, the knife was plunged into the head of the crawler nearest to Celestine. The creature fell to the ground, multiple limbs twitching as it died. Running to the girls side, she put a hand on her shoulder. “I can give you some energy but you must be wise with it.” Gwen whispered, keeping her head on a swivel as she watched the crawlers around her. Her hand glowed and she successfully transferred some of her energy into Celestine.

Once the spell was complete, Gwen helped her stand and turned to the crawlers. “What the hell are these things?” She muttered, asking no one in particular as she pulled out another knife. Scanning the surrounding area she saw Ayana and Lorrin on the rooftops nearby and let out a determined huff of air. She may not have much mana to cast spells but she would fight until she couldn’t stand. Taking a final glance back at the giant mass of shadows, a sly grin appeared on her face as she lunged towards the crawlers, knife in hand.

BriiAngelic Jet Anne Boolean Arcanist Pik Taigakitt

 

[Jet]

​

Leone was going to question Sigurd when a loud, rocky crunch stole his attention. "Guess I should've gone with Gwen..." He tensed as narrow cracks branched across the walls, before they burst with a wave of cold water. "We have to mo—" he said, but the wave interrupted him, sweeping him from his feet. He became flotsam on a strong current, twisting through the darkness as wall torches went out around him. But instead of panicking, he focused on survival and kicked until his legs burned, keeping his head above water.

"Yo! Stone! Kiel!" Leone shouted in vain. The roaring water drowned him out, and he felt movement through the rope in his hand. That meant Kiel was alive at least, but the boy couldn't swim with his legs bound. It was clear he'd drown unless something changed soon, and thankfully it did. The water's forward momentum suddenly went down, through an opening into a cavernous room, dumping the group with a series of wet thumps.

"True, I'll take cramped quarters and scurvy over that any day," Leone pushed to his feet and watched the others collect themselves, then approached Kiel as the young man spoke. "You were brainwashed, nothing you could do about it," Leone kneeled and sliced the ropes from Kiel's feet. "At least you rode a dragon, talk about a good bar story eh?" He smirked before examining the rift. "I guess this summoned her... but where're the demons? Usually there'd be hundreds pouring out, but the rift's quieter than a church."

Leone stepped beside Sigurd, "So how many locals are brainwashed?" Gwen's face flashed in his mind, worry twisted his gut. He imagined her against mindless hordes of people, before being captured and brainwashed... or even killed. "Is it the whole town?" Leone hoped it wasn't true, but deep down he already knew the truth.

Anne Boolean Taigakitt BriiAngelic

 

[Arcanist]

Valentine
Mentions: Taigakitt (Creature), Jet (Ayana), Pik (Lorrin), BriiAngelic (Helena) | Interactions: Anne Boolean (Celestine) ​

The scenes before them were horrific, the stuff only found in the deepest, darkest corners of one’s nightmare. Those crawlies living up to their name and crawling into people’s mouths, those of the church fighting one another…it was madness.

Valentine swung around to look at Celestine after she called out to them, no doubt because they found themselves staring at the situation for too long. Though, before they could even respond to her, the monster had claimed it could see all, and had slapped Celestine to the ground. She struggled to rise, even with the onslaught of creatures swarming around them. Valentine had quickly approached, helping Celestine onto her feet.

“You okay?” They asked, clear concern playing on their face. They turned though, donning their weapon and swiping at the creatures that were attempting to come towards them. Though, it seemed the Insidiators were returning inside the Church, whatever had been in there…

They paused though at the shout of Lorrin’s plan, to find light sources to blind the monster. Valentine turned to Celestine, “Do you know of any bright sources we may have to help blind that thing? Perhaps if we had some lamps from outside that are still lit that we can throw at it, or something!”

 

[Arcanist]

Pozou Artith
Mentions: EldridSmith (Liam), Fred Colon (Daisy) | Interactions: Mook-LandStrider (Amal), Jet (Lucien, Tammond, Kadar), Sarahspn (Jane)
(credit to @letoyga! for this commission!)​

Pozou would have advised to ignore Kadar’s coldness, but people seemed to start getting the picture of him rather quickly. The Quetzola spared a smile for Jane, looking down to his hand. “I can’t quite believe it myself…I just have to be careful not to hit or undo Amal’s good work, rawr xD” he said, turning to Amal with a grateful smile. It was because of her that he had some hope now of regaining the use of his hand.

Upon Lucien’s suggestion to hitch a ride with Liam, he did show some hesitance at first. Mainly because he imagined it could be a bumpy ride, and could hurt his hand if not careful…though, Liam seemed more than willing to help out in that regard. And anyway, if he could at least regain some of his strength before he was needed again, he’d at least be able to do some healing…one handed. Even if he was wilting in strength himself, he would do his damndest to make sure people don’t end up in the situation as him.

Pozou, rawr xD though finding the notion of being carried a little infantilising, he figured it was the easiest option they had, rather than having people try to haul them to the surface themselves. Once they reached the town and Pozou had been put down, he glanced around worriedly at the scene before them. The place was barren, devoid of life and light, completely unlike what the town was earlier when they had arrived...rawr xD

Pozou glanced in the direction Lucien had squinted in, seeing the looming, shadowy creature up ahead at the church. He frowned, clutching onto the bag by his side. He still had a duty to fulfil, even in his current state. He glanced to the others before speaking up.

“I know I’m in no great state…but perhaps I can be of some help to others if they’re injured, even if helping them just a little bit. rawr xD"

 

[Taigakitt]

Stone​

Stone heard Kiel’s warning. His whiskers pulled back as his hand went to his chin in thought as he kept a careful pace from the tear in space. His eyes cast a glance at the unconscious, soaking person nearby.

With a hum, he took a wide circle to see if it floated there, or if it was connected to something. From looking, it appeared to just float there. The armored man, Sigurd, was already questioning Kiel on how many were fed to the portal to hell.

He let them question the previously possessed man as he picked up a loose rock and tossed it in.

Gone.

He grabbed another rock, and tossed it where it landed just on its outskirts. It didn’t seem to get sucked in. The metal on the ground clanked and echoed softly from the rock meeting it.

Thinking about what Leone said about where the demons were, he frowned, “They probably aren’t pouring out because they have already done so. I theorize this has been open long enough that there might be only one every here and there.”

He narrowed his eyes, “And whatever it was possessing Kiel…” He didn’t get a good look to actually see what it had been, but an Insidiator was nearby, on the ground, sizzling from an unknown source, appearing dead.

“Kiel, are the ones doing the possessing invisible, or something like that?” he referenced the carcass of the demon nearby.

Mentions: Jet BriiAngelic Anne Boolean ​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Kiel Shan​

Kiel shook his head at the armored man's question. "Much too many..." he said softly. "And I don't believe they plan on stopping until the whole town has been marched in." Despite the forgiveness that he was offered as Leone approached to cut him free, he couldn't bring himself to look at his ally after how he had attacked him previously, brainwashed or not. Instead, his light-blue eyes stayed on the slightly damp stone next to him until he was no longer bound.

"They're inside the townspeople," he answered, "and at this point yes, I do believe they have everyone in the town." He couldn't begin to count how many people he had been connected with when he was part of the hivemind. It was much bigger than any of the tribes in the desert, including his own.

He only looked up when Stone pointed out the nearby demon. At the sight, his eyes widened as his initial encounter with one of them played out in his head. He felt the urge to instinctively jump back, only to cause him to let out a hiss as the movement exacerbated his injury. The pain brought him back to the present moment though, and he let out a sigh when he realized he was (relatively) safe. "Yes... that's exactly what they look like," he confirmed. "They quite literally jump down your throat.

"... although there are also... others..." His mind went back to the jailer outside the cell he had been with Daisy and Tammond. "They... they appear to be like us, as if they are of this world, but... you can tell there is something off."

His mind then went to his two former cellmates. Were they alright? Had they met the same fate as him? Or had the managed to escape? He remembered passing by other familiar faces as well while he was being taken away. There was Jane and Rose, the pirate sisters, and Pozou. What became of them? And what of his other friends?

"What will you all do now?" Kiel asked. Certainly they wouldn't be able to free the whole town from this demonic plague, right? And if they did, sadly, he was back to his injured state. They wouldn't be able to rely on him if they needed another able body. "Er... you must use saltwater," he added on. "That's their weakness. That's how I was freed. I think it wanted to leave as soon as I was touched by it, but I also ended up swallowing some. I think making people drink it will be the most reliable way."

Interactions: Stone, Yo ( Taigakitt ), Leone ( Jet ), Sigurd ( BriiAngelic )

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Tallis Sideris || Stone’s Throw Master Mage

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Hubyr, Church Stuff ( Taigakitt ) Luka ( Jet ) Elizabeth ( Anne Boolean ) Vaal ( The Regal Rper )
  

  ~ The Church ~
  Explination
  
  He’d heard worse comments before from thugs scarier than the likes of Hubyr. Still he didn’t much care for such a tone nor how he spoke to Elizabeth, but he figured that someone as brutish as Hubyr would never live to be an “old sack of bones” as he called them. He cracked a lopsided smile though as he saw Luka demand respect for them.
  
  “Don’t worry about it. Takes more than a little swing to move this old man. Though… all things considered it seemed the worse of the two wound up returning.”
  
  He would ruffle the boy’s hair if circumstances were different but he couldn’t cut through the feeling of wrongness in his gut try as he might. Instead, he walked forwards as he stealthily healed his shoulder with his magic. He didn’t need to fan the flames any further for the two, they seemed to do well enough on their own.
  
  Without missing a beat he crossed the hole the same as he did previously creating a bridge of ice below his feet. As they crossed the broken out door he had a moment of silent mourning at the carvings of past apprentices. If he were lucky he might be able to repeat the tradition in due time, but what was broken could never be mended exactly the same again.
  
  The sound of a struggle had him shift his pace from a slow stroll to a fierce jog. He knew it was an awful idea to leave the place unprotected. Somehow it seemed worth nothing that they had found the ones that broke out, for the trade off was his last line of defense being shattered.
  
  “What in the seven hells...”
  
  He spoke in a tone far too faint to be aimed to anyone, in a clear sign that he hadn’t even realized he’d spoken. He rushed in hugging the walls as he stayed as far as he could from the six legged creatures that had infestited his church like rats in the trenches. With a touch to the ground he send a pulse through the floor trying to alter the floor beneath them to trap them in solid marble.
  
  “Filthy fucking rats in my church huh…. EVERYONE GROUP UP! DO NOT GET NEAR THESE CREATURES GATHER EVERYONE ON THE UPPER BANISTERS.”
  
  He let his voice echo through the church as far as it could go with no intention of leaving not a single more to the wrath brought down upon them.
  
  

 

[Pik]

Lorrin Yumi

Anne Boolean Taigakitt Jet Arcanist BriiAngelic Sarahspn

"Our arrows seem to only annoy it at best we are going to need something a little more bright!" yelled back towards Ayana and watched as she started up a lumen spell it might do the trick but given how slow the spell was charged he doubt she could keep it up for long. As she shot the spell it would price thought the creature leaving a hole that would soon reform but this time it being noticeably smaller meaning fire could probably also weaken it. A moment later fire would start nearby that the creature took notice of and immediately chased after, now why would it be afraid of a little fire if it's as invincible as it says it is. And the one who started the fire seems to have gotten away now hidden from the creature probably for the best for now because they can now start fires elsewhere. But where does this leave Lorrin hmm maybe if I can get my hands on some flint and steel and a bit of cloth I could make form fire arrows. Looking around for a general store, he spots one-off nearby in the distance. "Ayana! Come with me I have a plan!" Climbing off of the roof and then making his way into the store Lorrin would quickly grab a tinder box as well as some cloth and began to wrap them around his arrows and lights one on fire as he then shots it towards the creature. "Hopefully this dose something to it."​

 

[Jet]

​

Lucien cracked his knuckles, "I'm not sure Daisy, what I gathered from the masked woman, is the cultists are kidnapping people, possibly sacrificing them to summon that... thing." He looked to the distant demon with a frown. "I try to avoid alarmism, but some of our comrades might've been sacrificed already. If not they're still captured, but if we take down the beast we'll have a better chance at saving them. For that alone I can't abandon the battle Liam." He bent down to grab a sword, "Better to have one and not need it I suppose," he paused and looked to Tammond. "What of you?"

Tammond glanced over with a "hmmm?" Then he looked down the street. "I'll get the Willowix ready, she's moored and anchored with her sails furled. It'll take me a tick but she'll be ready when you come with your tails tucked."

"Very good," Lucien checked his sword's balance, "This is exceptionally made, thankyou," he looked to the sisters with a thin smile.

Tammond grabbed another sword and nodded, "Good smithies in these parts, and I need extra hands to get my gal ready." He turned to Liam, "You fit for it?"

Kadar arched his brow, smirking as he leaned against a storefront. "Perhaps I can be of service... captain."

"I guess your hands are as good as any, even if you're a bastard. You can come too." Tammond gestured down the street, "But try to walk fast, I've noticed you stroll like the world's most uninterested man."

Kadar chuckled and walked with Tammond, disappearing around a corner. They worked through the city at a deliberate, careful pace as they watched for enemies, and after a few minutes they arrived at the docks. Meanwhile, Lucien headed towards the brewing battle with a calm expression, but he sharpened when shouts came from the monster's area. "Seems we're late to the party. Stay behind me Pozou, we'll need your expertise for the troubles to come." He increased his pace, scanning alleyways and rooftops for enemy drones.

Fred Colon Sarahspn Arcanist EldridSmith Mook-LandStrider

 

[Jet]

​

Luka grinned as the crawlers were trapped in stone, "Nice one sir!" He stomped them out before entering the main room, soaking his boots with blood. Then he looked up and watched the pandemonium, where twenty mages took on forty townsfolk in a rowdy melee.

"Well this is dodgy innit?" Luka looked over to Tallis "I like your idea sir," he faced the chaos and cast energy bolts, knocking over two possessed men. "Oy listen up lads! The masters are back! Make a path upstairs!" Luka lowered his shoulder and rushed a possessed woman, dropping her with a grunt. "Cmon! Push through ya cowards!"

The mages roared and pushed through the enemy mob, but the mob pushed back. They stopped the mages where they stood, then backed into an organized battle line. For several seconds there was silence aside from breathing; a violent aura hovered over the men. The possessed ones passed weapons around in mechanical fashion, and Luka barged to the inquisition's front line. "Tell this to ya demon boss ya twats!" He flashed a middle finger and kicked a dead crawler at the drones, drawing crass laughter from other men. But it suddenly stopped when the swarm lurched forward, swords raised with lethal intent.

Taigakitt BriiAngelic Anne Boolean

 

[Fred Colon]

Daisy nodded to Lucien as he said his piece. When he began walking away, towards the beast, she looked at the others,
"I'm going too. If anyone feels up to it, we could likely use the help. If not, I understand we do need people to prep our escape route." and then turned to follow Lucien, spear held in an over hand stance, ready to lash out and skewer anything that so much as moved in a way she didn't like. If she wanted to find the others and find Somber, as well, this was really the only option.

If anyone had fallen, it was her duty, too, to make sure they were interred properly according to their wishes and custom. She was worried there were more dead here than she could handle alone. It galled her to even consider she might have to leave bodies unburied, but the important thing was survival, now. She couldn't risk the living for the dead.

When she heard the screams she took a single, deep breath, and sent out her earth sense to see if she couldn't tell if there we enemies lying in ambush for them. She strode forwards, following Lucien towards the sounds of fighting.

"Back into the fray." Daisy said,

Jet Arcanist Sarahspn EldridSmith Mook-LandStrider