Fantasy World of Gea: The Greatest Adventure [IC] [CLOSED]

[Elenion Aura]

He had already turned his back when the woman’s pleas reached his ears. The line of his shoulders straightened. The insolence of her chilled his blood. A harsh rebuke rose up in Calocis’ throat. He turned upon her, his face full of cold distaste. Take not such a familiar tone with me, shin’duag. Surface-dweller.

Though the words had not yet left his lips when the sight of her; her terror—plain as moonlight upon her face—could not dim the depth of conviction held in her stare. She spoke of Waterham. As though he had forgotten. As if he could forget the night that his life was once more given purpose, even if its nature eluded him still.

In her eyes shone the light of night-maiden herself. The light that had brought him to their company, like a moth to candle-flame, was as of yet undimmed. It glimmered like starlight reflected off the Elen Lanke, the Star-Touched Lake below the earth. It shone in her. It shone in the half-Cobold savage that now sat, whimpering, by the Druid’s side. It shone in the Druid, too. Even now…

Cal turned to her. The few times their eyes had met afore now, Cal had always felt her distaste. As she no doubt had felt his. And he would shed no tears at her passing… And yet…

"… Wun veldrin... Lu’o’lath k’lar…"

Here in this blessed night… In this dark place…

The words had left his lips without his leave. They were the words of kin, and kindred. They were sacred and powerful. Were his ancestors watching? Did they spit upon him, now? Name him apostate? Traitor? Surface-lover?

Perhaps. He held his hands over the Druid’s prone form as the darkness of the forest deepened around them. His eyes fluttered closed. One hand pulled back and clutched at the artifact around his neck. He was with his gods, now.

"… Harl l’earthin…"

Under the ground…

And so the Rite continued.

Beann joshuadim
Anne Boolean

 

[Terrier B]

Cassius
Quiet Anticipation | Cassius CS

Interacting with: Pandora ( Mook-LandStrider ), Ahanu ( BriiAngelic ), and Vaguely mentioning Odo & Bertilak ( Moritz & The Gunrunner )​

To be fully truthful, for once, this was not really what he had envisioned for this particular mission, nor this particular line of work in general honestly. Certainly not for himself anyway. And yet here he was all the same. His Vagabond-esque existence had finally given up it seemed, and had trotted him neatly into a meandering, and perhaps worse of all, legal profession. How awfully sensible. Mind you, ‘legal’ had far more certainty of getting debts paid. And occasionally ‘certainty’ was just what Cas needed. Speaking of, he wished this Pandora woman would hurry up and get on with making a decision for them all already.
She was currently holding the thing upside-down, perhaps hoping a change of perspective (literally) would also suddenly make the three roads before them magically align themselves more to her particular liking. Cassius himself had a rough idea of where exactly they were, possibly to the point of being useful even. But if he raised his voice and shared what he knew, who else was going to stand at the side of the group and look pretty?

He twirled a strand if hair between his fingers in a nonchalant sort of manner, humming a quiet little nothing of a tune under his breath as he did. Out of the corner of his eye, a figure on the horizon caught his attention. He turned his head slightly and noticed the approaching rider, Ahanu as well not too long after. He let her deal with trying to draw Pandora’s attention away from her new worst enemy the map. Before the rider even had time to catch his breath however even more company seemed keen on joining their newfound little gathering.

He observed the oncoming caravan with vague interest, his brows furrowing slightly with the faintest hint of curiosity as they momentarily settled themselves before them. Gods, what was this turning into exactly, the local carnival? Some of these people certainly looked clown-ish enough to him. Was that really what passed for a Uniform in Hamlan these days? The two most forefront ‘Buffoons’ eyed their little group with a dubious glare. He couldn’t help but smirk back at that. Twas good to know he still looked at least a little threatening from the off set.

And then the scream ripped through the tense atmosphere like a blade through flesh. He jumped slightly, head snapping immediately to the direction the cry had come from. The now somewhat sizeable gathering that had formed around these crossroads suddenly seemed a-buzz with quiet apprehension and worry. Without a word, he swiftly began to tie his hair back and away into a bun with one hand, and used the other to swivel his quiver forward to rest upon his hip.

The Clownies took off almost immediately, in a keenly heroic sort of fashion. Ahanu seemed equally eager, readying herself and her little creatures swiftly. Considering Pandora’s trouble with swift decision making with the map earlier, Cas watched Ahanu’s motioning, and for once luckily caught on to what she was getting at quickly, “ I can lead the rest of the team here on the ground. Or…”, the corners of his lips twinged upwards in a knowing sort of way, “Perhaps take a more, ’secretive’ approach, if you’d prefer?”

 

[Vexumin]

A miss. That's what Nora had accomplished against this massive foe. To be fair on her part, she was not used to fighting monstrosities like this. She was more used to human sized targets. However, now was far from the time to defend her failures. Instead, she would be right back up and on her feet, ready to attempt to deal some actual damage this time.

Her eyes flare a bit more as she takes a few leaping steps away from the spider, keeping an eye on its legs. She already saw Gsera get spiked by one of them, a grievous wound at that. To take the same manner of damage would be a pain... literally. Though it would certainly take her out of the fight. She had to remain in combat and fighting to the bitter end. This thing would die, so that saving the girl wasn't for nothing.

She whips her blades around her, eyes flicking from leg to leg until one was just still enough. Then she moves. Taking long strides and keeping her body close to the surface of the spiders carapace, she would try her best to scale the creature, making it closer to its more vital points. This foolish effort was almost made out of desperation, but Nora knew that trying to hack at the creatures legs was an even more foolish choice. Eventually its legs would be a skewer for all the folk it has slain already.

If Nora was able to make it to the top of the creature, she would make an effort to slice at whatever sections she could between the hardened plate-like armor of the spider. She was driven now, hoping that her attacks would not be in vain.

 

[The Prophet]

Mihret Vivar
Ritter von Sankt Friedwart
The Caravan​

Mihret wasn’t unused to sudden problems arising when in transit, often enough a group of boisterous bandits or kobolds would interrupt travel in hopes of ill gotten gain. What he hadn’t expected however, was a child to come running out of the treeline haggard and screaming a foreign language. “Ein kind?” He questioned no one in particular, pulling the reins on his horse to slow his pace to a slow trot before eventually stopping alltoghether. As his allies dismounted and tended to the child, Mihret hung back, watching the treeline carefully as his hands naturally found his blade in one hand and his helmet in the other. The threats apparently found within those would need to be dispatched, whether truly a spider altered by magic, or thieves hoping the caravan would take the bait. He did not know which one he preferred. Dark times indeed where he could not immediately trust a child.

“The monsters of these woods have gone unchecked. Nicht mehr.” Looking over to the two he knew the longest he donned his helm and continued quickly. “If you wish to fight I would not refuse, but the dangers are grand. Ich würde dir nichts vorwerfen, wenn du hier bleibst. It is not cowardly to defend rather than attack.” Simple and quick was all he afforded them; Should they choose to fight this beast, they must be prepared to ride at once. A second wasted is a life lost. A gauntleted hand came up to his face, and in a smooth movement his visor was lowered and reins pulled taut. The head of the caravan seemed to agree despite them not talking to one another; they were quick to take command, and call his men to him. Mihret gripped his reins tighter, nodding to Amani before surging forward with his horse to fall in step with the rest of the advance party as they charged. Hopefully their horses wouldn't turn skittish when faced with such danger. Hopefully they could fell this monster.

Hopefully the travelers would still be alive when they arrive.

 

[Roda the Red]

A successful hit, Syll watched with slight pride as his spell landed on the spider, hundreds of the thick hairs coating its face burning and turning into cinder, althought not much else as the flames faded shortly after. Everyone's attacks were taking effect on the titanic abomination, alone, none of them stood an iota of a chance, but together, progress was made. Death by a thousand papercuts you may say, as anticlimatic as that may sound.

But then, horror struck as the spider went on the offensive once again. The elf himself had to start maneuvering himself, in order to avoid getting hit by erratically moving giant legs, at one point a single swing nearly grazed his face, and it was enough to understand that any wrong move could be fatal. And such a conclusion would quickly reveal to be accurate, as it swiftly took the lives of two more soldiers. Syll's heart sunk once again as he contemplated the rampage, two more people that he had casually known so far had been anihilated in the blink of an eye. That would not be all, though, as Ziggy would get hurt as well, but fortunately he seemed to be okay for the most part. Then came one more shock, in the shape of Gsera, the friendly Tuatha that Syll had started to regard as a good friend, was brutally stabbed by the spider. Syll grew frustrated and nearly panicked once again as he saw the woman in agonizing, shrieking pain, although his worries went down ever so slightly as Kastalli rushed to her aid, Calocis joining not much later.

He wanted to go as well and do whatever he could to help his friend...But what could he do? He would just get in the way of the more capable folks, instead he turned to the monster once again, the wood of his weapon's handle creaked as he gripped it tightly with both hands. He rushed towards the spider, having now a bit more confidence in being able to read the creature's movement patterns, as he dodged to the left to avoid one more wild leg swipe, Syll charged the rune in his weapon as he aimed towards the second row, left leg of the spider. As a first, the axehead started to sparkle in electricity, as the second rune bestowed by the talented Yatuski guardian activated. Syll raised his weapon over his shoulder, and with a boisterous shout, he swung it with mighty brawn, which was quickly assisted by a lavender arcane explosion coming from the rear end of the axehead.

Syllannan used Runic Cleave (Thunderous)

 

[SilverFlight]

"It isn't a drug," Tate explained to Amani without judgement. "It won't diminish anything but the stress brought by fear."
When the girl began to sob, Tate rubbed her back gently. He remembered how his mother used to comfort him when he'd needed it, and did his best to emulate that.
"It'll be all right, now, just take deep breaths."

He almost didn't register what Olivier had said to him.
"Yes of course but--wait, what?" Tate stood in alarm as his friend rallied the fighters, and lead the charge off down the trail.
Olivier had galloped off...without him.
Tate just stood there, lips slightly parted, the utter disbelief etched upon his features.

The surprise turned to hurt, which turned quickly to anger. Tate clenched his fists.
"Are you serious?! We travel all that way side by side and suddenly you think it's perfectly fine to just leave me here!" He shouted at the empty road.
Tate was livid, but whether he was more angry at his friend, or at himself for just standing there, he couldn't say.
The young alchemist stormed to one of the wagons and began rooting through it for supplies. He was going to help the girl...but not because Olivier had told him to!
Fresh bandages and a healing salve in his hands he walked back to the girl and knelt down again, offering to clean and dress her wounds.
"I'm Tate by the way." He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice when addressing her. She had nothing to do with this.

Once that was done, and he was sure she was somewhat stable, he went to a golden mare that was being used as a pack horse and began lifting the bags from its back.
One of the wagon attendants noticed.
"His highness told you to stay!" The man protested, when it was clear Tate was going to take the horse.
"You stay. Olivier's not my bloody prince." Tate shot back, and continued his work, muttering under his breath all the while.

"How is he even going to start against a giant spider any way? With that floppy sword...what's he going to do? Challenge it to a duel?!"

The horse freed of its load and a makeshift rein made from the lead rope, Tate swung himself onto the animal's back.

He glanced down at the girl. "I know you've had a horrible experience. I can't imagine what you're feeling...but if you would like to come with me, I'll take you."
Tate offered his hand to the girl, to help her up onto horse's back, behind him.

"I need to go make sure my best friend doesn't die."

BriiAngelic Elenion Aura Taigakitt

 

[Taigakitt]

Chi'sa
"Szitakötő! - Dragonfly!"
Interacting: SilverFlight ​

Chi’sa felt a hand against her back, to the side of her back spines. She sniffled, looking down at the elixir that was offered to her.

She was weary, and her trust wasn’t grand, but they haven’t technically drawn weapons on her yet. Would they try to poison her?

When the hand left her back, she took a big breath.

She drank back the elixir with one gulp, gagging as her stomach wanted to refuse the foreign substance thanks to her tangled feelings.

She sat there, her waterlogged eyes watching the activity flurry around them after she had given the information.

Were they going to help… or were they going to flee? Her heart hung in her throat while she watched. It didn’t take long to notice that the group that broke off was going towards where she came from.

They were going to help.

A little bit of relief blossomed in her chest. Only a little.

When Tate came back, she noted the dressings in his hand, then looked at her leg, where the spider silk was in tatters.

She straightened her leg out, but also said, “Please be careful you don’t get burned.” She was referring to her own blood. She was aware enough from the times she'd been injured during practice or a performance that her blood tended to burn the normal-temperature people.

Due to the added stress, after he introduced himself as Tate, she nodded, forgetting to give her performer name, “I’m Chi’sa.”

Tate had then gotten up on a horse and offered a hand, to which she took.

“I’m afraid to go back, but I want to see my family get justice…”

She sat on the horse with ease, her tail re-settling itself around her waist so it didn’t get in Tate’s way.

Note: Italicized words are in Ællian.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

After the horrifying display by the spider against one of their own, the Company members renewed their efforts to fight against the beast. Spurred on by the grievous wounding of her friend, Sentry (1d10 = 8 | Success | 2 damage.) let out a relentless assault against the spider as her blade sang through the air with a deadly rhythm. Her strikes cut into the spider’s carapace on its side, splattering dark ichor both onto her blade and herself from the sheer force of the attacks. Waylond (1d10 = 8 | Success | 2 damage.) joined shortly thereafter in following Sentry’s lead as his own blade danced and struck the spider in similar fashion, spilling more of its ichor outwards from the new wounds.

(1d10 = 1 | Gsera heals 1 HP | Gsera HP = 5.) Gsera attempted to heal herself in the moment as best as she could in her state, only managing to recover some superficial damage to her form. The spider’s voice pounded in her head again, breaking her ability to focus but she also found her own ability to call upon the wilds for their aid to be lax. Having called on the roots to entwine one of the spider’s legs in such a great manner, it was such that her calls for aid were too quick to come after such a great request.

By request of Kastalli, Calocis would put his own abilities to work in healing the druid as he chanted to his patron god. (1d10 = 2 | Calocis heals 4 HP | Gsera HP = 9.) Dark whisps emerged from his hands and began to flow into Gsera’s wound, turning her veins black around the wound that spread outwards. As if by reaction, Gsera hand gripped onto Kastalli as she gritted her teeth and spit formed around her mouth from this intrusion. The pain was immense and was seen across how her body reaction, as if it was rejecting Calocis’ healing. While Kastalli’s attention, and others nearby as well, were focused on both Gsera’s bodily reaction and the black veins spreading from the spell, Calocis would notice something strange emerge from this. The druid’s eyes, for but a moment, turned away from their normal appearance and flashed like a reptile’s. Golden irises with black slits appeared and then quickly reverted back towards their normal appearance as the black veins dissipated and her wound closed a great amount.

Back at the spider, Nora was not dissuaded by her previous failure and darted about one of the spider’s legs before leaping off it. (1d10 + 2 = 11 | Critical Success! | 4 damage.) With grace, she practically soared through the air before landing atop the spider as it rattled and thrashed about from the attacks it received from Sentry and Waylond. Nora quickly found a small crack in the spider’s exterior that conjoined to pieces of its natural armor together and, with great accuracy, sliced and stabbed at it. Being a natural weak point, it gave way to her steel as not only ichor spilled out but for a moment, she could see the spider’s innards.

(1d10 = 7 | Success | 6 damage.) Gawain’s own gambit for his attack paid off as his powerful spell materialized and took form in between his palms. The beam that erupted towards the spider struck through and pierced through the spider as if it weren’t even there, cutting a hole through its body and left the other side to strike trees further behind it before dissipating in the air. Gawain felt the stress on his body, but was able to control it without damaging himself in any serious capacity. He heard Edgar’s voice cackle in his mind again in response: "I haven’t seen Lodruck’s Spear be used in quite a while, a rather impressive showing considering you didn’t hurt yourself using it."

(1d10 + 2 = 5 | Success | 4 damage.) Syll’s attack came afterwards to capitalize on this devastating blow done by Gawain, as he charged forward with his axe and swiped in a great arc with it from up high. Electric arcs crackled from the blade head while a small arcane burst assisted with his swing’s momentum, leading to his strike hitting hard onto the spider’s leg he had targeted. His axe cut through the chitin and deep into the flesh that awaited inside, spilling out the spider’s ichor and in fact left chunks of its meat hanging outside of its wound. The spider reacted accordingly by letting out another strong hiss in the air and wobbled back in pain.

(1d10 = 9 | Success | 5 damage.) Korzhev would then pull out another pouch with some powder inside and grabbed some into the palm of his hand before blowing it outwards towards the same wound that Syll had opened. It flowed through the air before settling on the spider’s wound, seemingly to no effect. That was, until the spider let out another pained hiss and those that observed could see the powder practically melt through the inside of the spider’s leg. Such was the damage that as the spider attempted to step with it, it snapped off from that joint!

(1d10 = 5 | Success | 4 damage.) Devereaux would draw and loose another arrow to continue the attack, and although he would not strike a perfect blow like he did with his previous arrow his aim would still ring true. His arrow would lodge itself into one of the spider’s many bigger wounds and cause yet another hiss to rumble through the air. (1d10 + 2 = 12 | Critical Success! | 12 damage.) Malthara in the meantime would command her fire construct to attack once more, this time going for where Waylond and Sentry had delivered their attacks. The servant of flame coalesced another blob from his arm and lobbed it over. The liquid fire seeped into the spider’s wounds and settled on its exterior, burning both its armor and its inside to devastating effect as the smell of burnt arachnid filled the air. The spider thundered another hiss as it stumbled back from such a gruesome attack.

(1d10 = 3 | Failure) With Gsera having been healed by Calocis for the most part, Ziggy returned his attention to the spider with a growl and charged with intent on helping. Unfortunately, his attacks weren’t able to pierce through the spider’s chitin as he bit onto one of undamaged legs and was easily rebuked by being shaken off by the spider. (1d10 + 2 = 6 | Success | 2 damage.) Kastalli would be better luck as she rang her bell again, causing its pitch to hit the spider once more. Its reverberation impacted the spiders senses in a painful manner that caused it stumble sideways for a moment. (1d10 + 2 = 4 | Success | 1 damage.) Alberto would finally strike with his own blade against the spider, intent on striking the beast head on. His blade his directly into the spider’s head but only did superficial damage overall as his edge slid and bounced off its chitin, leaving a big mark against its natural armor in its place.

Giant Wolf Spider's HP: 975/1200
Olivier's Troops and his companions arrive!
​

A small distance away from the fighting, though its sounds continued to fill the air, newcomers to the field of battle arrived on the scene. First to arrive was Olivier as he was accompanied by his knights, or so he thought as he quickly noticed that one of them had simply disappeared. The other looked on in awe at the spectacle as well as concern: "Putain de merde..." he muttered, "What IS that?" His gaze then settled on the people fighting for their lives as he quickly noticed the banners were also Eranoiran in origin, and came to the final conclusion: "It's the Expeditionary Company!" Though he received no response from Olivier as his attention then turned to the others who had traveled with him and now saw the scene themselves.

Mihret, having found large beasts of various kinds in the past, was no stranger to fighting against large odds. But the spider wreaking havoc on those that were near its form was much, MUCH larger than anything he had faced up to this point. Unlike Amani, who arrived close by with Hazel in tow, whose face adorned an expression of shock and fear, Mihret felt rather emboldened. If he could kill the beast, it would bring him both honor and prestige worthy of his blade. The rest of the Eranoiran soldiers arrived shortly thereafter to witness the events unfolding with varying degrees of shock and confusion.

"Merde!" one cried out in shock, "Quelle est cette chose!?"

"Cela impossible pour le araignée être si grand!" another yelled in disbelief, brandishing his spear with a shaky arm.

But unlike his subordinates the Sargent held fast in both gaze and morale as he gritted his teeth. He was not content to either leave the people there to their fate nor be left out of the fight himself. He turned to his men and snarled: "Get a hold of yourselves men! Ce grand bâtard ne vivra pas!" he spoke with a commanding voice, drawing his own blade from its scabbard. "Come on! The old Duke treated us well, and so we oughta treat his son with the respect he showed us! So fight! Fight for your lives, for your families! For Eranoire! FOR LYONESSE!"

The rest of the Eranoiran forces pointed their spears in unison, steeled by the inspiring words of their commander as they prepared for the attack. The Sargent then turned and swung his spear forward: "CHARGE!!!" With a rallying cry that filled the air, all the men charged forward onto the offensive against the spider with their weapons at the ready. A thunderous chorus of sabatons and boots shook the ground as they advanced at a rapid pace to intervene in the fight. This caught the attention of many in the Company as they quickly realized there was aid coming along. Alberto and Cecilia in particular witnessed this as the former let out a sigh of relief as he stepped away from the spider for a moment. "Did the Emperor send them...?" he pondered aloud, but Cecilia quickly recognized something else.

She saw not only the banner of House de Lyonesse carried with these soldiers, but also saw the figure of Olivier in the distance as he too prepared to join in on the fight. "That's... the son of the Duke of Lyonesse!" she yelled aloud, announcing it to Alberto to inform him of this new information. Back where the Eranoiran reinforcements had come from, Tate and Chi'sa both arrived to witness the spectacular charge coming from Olivier's forces and in turn watched the battle continue to unfold. (1d10+4 = 14 | Critical Success! | 24 damage.) The Eranoiran reinforcements arrived without delay onto the battlefield as they yelled and charged at the beast with great effect! Arriving at the beast's flank they scored strong hits with their weapons across the spider's many legs and its body, sending ichor flying out from the force of the impacts that landed on the ground and on their spears and armor as well.

Giant Wolf Spider's HP: 951/1200​

The Spider stumbled a few steps from this new and unexpected onslaught as if found itself now besieged by a new contingent of food. The beast hissed in the air once more as it thrashed its legs and forced a stop to the attack as the soldiers quickly disengaged and regrouped afterwards.

 

[Elenion Aura]

Olivier de Lyonesse

♔​

The Chevaliers of Lyonesse were well-trained and well-equipped. They had met many a foe in battle, silverin lances primed and banners streaming in the wind. And yet it did not escape his notice that they were one man short… No matter. They would meet this beast head on all the same.

Now that they’d come to it, Olivier could see the creature in all its monstrous glory. Though the pace of his heart quickened, the sight of it seemed only to steel his resolve. Arms and armor gleaming gold, he pressed his courser forward, towards the mighty beast. The first charge had been a mighty one, and Olivier’s heart swelled with pride for his countrymen, but the battle was not yet turned.

He knew that his blade would be little use from horseback, and lesser still against such a foe. Luck would have it that the son of the Duke spied the haft of a lance, as yet unbroken but without a wielder—likely one who’d gone up into the gullet of the creature—coming up quickly as he charged.

In one swift motion, Olivier sheathed his blade at his hip and, swooping down nearly out of his saddle, snatched the lance up out of the mire and folded it beneath the crook of his arm.

Wheeling until his gaze found one of the creature’s massive, many-jointed limbs. It seemed to be favoring this one, for it was thick as a tree trunk and seemed as of yet unmarred by the might of either blade or sorcery. Recalling Tate’s advice, Olivier identified the weak point: a knob of chitinous flesh from which the armored creature could bend and articulate its limb.

Without losing momentum, Olivier thrust the lance up toward the monster’s back leg joint and broke away, letting his courser carry them both past the beast, whether the lance had struck true or not. In another swift motion, Olivier dismounted the cantering steed and, turning, unsheathed his blade once more and took up a duelist’s stance. Sword arm raised, other arm pressed neatly into the small of his back. He stood straight and proud, and bade the spider to answer his challenge.

 

[SilverFlight]

The gold-coated palfrey sped down the worn road, trailing dust and kicking up sod as she galloped. Thanks to Olivier's instruction Tate rode well, keeping a tight rein and making sure Chi'sa was holding on behind him.
Tate was grateful for the thundering of the horse's hooves, it disguised his frantic heart. What on earth was he doing?! What could he possibly hope to achieve against the monster their new friend had described? But Olivier was there, fighting the creature, that gave him strength enough. Tate spurred the horse faster.

A great crash came from up ahead, the sound of small trees breaking and the angry and frightened cries of men. The palfrey whinnied and tried to slow, throwing back her head, eyes rolling. She had caught the scent of the spider and of blood and was on the verge of panic. Suddenly she slid to a halt and reared and by some miracle, Tate managed to hang on.
The horse would go no further however, being a riding horse, and not trained or tested for combat.
Tate dismounted and offered a hand to Chi'sa.

"Looks like we're walking from here." Tate unburdened the horse of his bag and when she was free of parcels and people he gave her rump a good whack to send her speeding back towards the wagons.

Tate nodded to the young girl and started at a run.
He could see the giant spider well before any of his companions became recognizable. The creature truly was monstrous. Tate refused to let himself think. He forced himself to keep running.

"I will be useful." He muttered out loud. "If I can slow it at least, it may give the fighters a better chance."
No sooner had the words passed his lips he was in the thick of battle. The air was sharp with the scent of blood, and whatever acrid odour came off the creature from the damage it had already taken. It's legs crashed down like eight great pillars, flattening whatever was beneath them.

"Right...You can do this Tate."

A flash of blue drew his attention. He watched Olivier's lance strike, as flawless as he'd always done in practice.
"That's the way! Good hit Olivier!" Tate crowed, punching the air. Hobbling the creature would give them the field, allowing the fighters to move around it faster than it could defend, but they were far from finished yet.

Tate had a plan. As the spider turned and struck, Tate could see the subtle folds of chitin drawn back on the thorax, and underneath, the soft, fleshy book lung. There. He had to hit that. The spider was back on the offensive however, and forced the attacking army of men to withdraw for a moment.
Tate dug around in his bag and drew three vials. Two red and one grey.
"Chi'sa," He said to his companion if she had followed him that far.
"I'm going to do something veeery dangerous. Stay back if you can." He shot her a quick half smile. "Olivier will look after you...if I don't come back."

With that, Tate the alchemist, the young man who had, until recently, barely left the confines of his own home, charged the spider.

He wasn't used to running, and his cheeks were flushed and rosy well before he reached the creature. A leg came crashing down above him, splitting branches and showering the ground with leaves. Tate dove out of the way as it shook the earth, nearly crushing one of the vials he carried. He rolled and got up. It was dark, and difficult to see, especially with the belly of the beast looming over him. Tate drew a breath, then threw the grey the vial onto a jutting rock. In another step he leapt, landing on it with both feet. As if it had suddenly turned to rubber, it catapulted him into the air, right at the base of the Spider's thorax. Tate drew back his arm and threw the last two vials, straight under the hard chitin scale and directly at the soft tissue of the lung.

Heroic deed performed, Tate realized he hadn't planned a landing, he overbalanced and pitched forward, coming back to the earth head first. Tate landed on his back in a close thicket. The saplings broke most of his fall and he was spared any devastating damage. Frantically Tate tried to struggle free, wanting to get away from the spider before it could collect itself.

Elenion Aura Taigakitt

((Open to anyone))

 

[Anne Boolean]

Ziggy​

When Cal's magic began to work, Ziggy couldn't help but jump back. The way her veins blackened, the pained expression... was this really helping? From what he knew though, there was no alternative. It would be best to trust the process and see it through. He returned to his position with his head on the woman's shoulder, hoping to provide some sort of comfort during this experience. Her mouth foamed and her body convulsed, but afterwards, her wound had greatly healed.

Thrilled with the results, Ziggy's attention went to Cal. The canine ended up jumping on him with his tail wagging and thanking him for his kindness with ample amounts of doggy kisses. It took him a moment, but he soon remember the dire situation they were in. He sheepishly climbed off of Cal, tail between his legs and ears down. Not long after though, his tail started wagging again as he perked up and gave the man one last thankful yip before returning to the fray.

His tactics were the same as before. Jump and bite. Once again, he aimed for a leg, hoping it was the same one he had worked on as before. That didn't seem to be the case though, or maybe he had aimed at the wrong spot. Either way, his attack this time wasn't nearly as effective, and he was quickly once again thrown off by the spider. Thankfully though, his landing this time around was a little softer.

This wasn't working. What could he do, though? If only his magic was more skilled. Moving leaves or setting fire to cloaks wouldn't help here. His attention turned when he heard shouts from some of his comrades. More people were coming. More people were risking their lives to take down this beast, using spears, swords, and... little bottles? People were giving it everything they got. Even if he couldn't do much on his own, maybe with everyone's combined efforts... It might not have been the smartest course of action, but Ziggy never claimed to be smart. Hell if he wasn't determined, though. The dog rushed in once again, aiming to strike the spider with its teeth. This time, he had the foresight to try and find a weakspot. Hopefully there would be one that was obvious enough.

Interactions: Cal ( Elenion Aura ), Giant Sp00d ( EdwardDewey98 )
Nearby: Kastalli ( Beann ), Gsera ( joshuadim )

 

[joshuadim]

In her current state Gsera found her abilities lacking in being able to heal herself as it her request went unheeded. and she gritted her teeth as another wave of pain washed out from her wound across her entire being. Her vision doubled from this and she gritted her teeth again, trying to vocalize but failing as her mouth dried up. However, out of the corner of her vision she witnessed Calocis approach and perform his incantation at the behest of Kastalli. In any other situation she would have protested but her mouth opened and a raspy gasp exited rather than words. She could not do much as the dokkalfar committed to the spell and called upon his patron for aid as black tendrils approached her wound...

As they entered, it was as if it were acid being poured in her veins and burned into her flesh. The pain was excruciating, even though her wound had begun to reduce in gravity, and was furthered by her body trembling and throttling in rejection of what was occurring. In that moment everything that was happening nearby was imperceptible as her world was reduced to her pain. It was hard to breath as black veins spread across from her wound until, after what seemed like an eternity, they receded and the tendrils disappeared entirely to leave Gsera with a mostly reduced wound.

The world remained spinning for a few moments before the ddraig was able to reorient herself on the ground and saw both Kastalli and Calocis by her sides. "...ow." she managed to get out with a raspy voice as she used one arm to try to sit herself up and another to clutch at where the spider had impaled her. Pain still throbbed from it as she winced and let out a pained gasp, but thanks to Calocis is was much less serious than it had been before. She looked at Kastalli, with a weak smile before turning her attention to Calocis and stared briefly. She didn't know what to say exactly, as she had been distrustful of him prior to because of his... godly affiliation. And even though his aid had hurt quite a bit, it was without a doubt that it had helped her recover from her wound. Did that not count for something?

"...t-thank you."

Beann Elenion Aura

 

[Breadman]

It flinched. The strikes landed on the spider's extremities and it flinched. This only served to embolden Sentry in her attacks against it. Waylond in turn would take a step back to notice the new arrivals. He had seen those tabards and coat of arms before. He had seen many tournament victories claimed by them and many more battlefields where it hung atop the winner's side of the table. Were they saved? Too early to tell. But now their battle was more than survival. It was a test of chivalry with the reward of glory and prestige. A guarantee that these men wouldn't turn and run. In the distance he could hear the triplets sing war songs forged in the fires of way. They played them as they urged the company on.

...
Chose not to surrender, they chose victory or defeat
Fallen brothers resting by their feet

Far from their land as they made their stand
A disregarded demand

It's surrender or die and the stakes are high
They live or they die, there's no time for goodbye

Weapon in hand, they made their stand
Still disregarding demand

They would never comply, they would rather die
Broke through the blockade, they were finally saved

Far from their land as they made their stand
A disregarded demand

It's surrender or die and the stakes are high
Live or die, who cal tell there's no goodbye

With weapon in hand, they made their stand
Still disregarding demand

They would never comply, they would rather die
They stood strong and the legend still lives on

Suffered heavy losses through the great wars they stood strong
But the memory of the fallen still lives on

Far from their land as they made their stand
A disregarded demand

It's surrender or die and the stakes are high
They live or they die, there's no time for goodbye

Weapon in hand, they made their stand
Still disregarding demand

They would never comply, they would rather die
Broke through the blockade, they were finally saved

The message was clear. Continue to fight on. Fight for the fallen and fight for the living. Waylod joined Sentry in their own attack on the spider.

 

[Dmaster]

If Gawain had functional lungs he would likely be panting with exertion, yet curiously his hands jittered and shook as if his nerves were shot. Even with the strange state of his own mortality, he could still feel some instances of pain and discomfort. The spell he had pushed into screaming reality had worked, breaking straight through whatever magical resistances the gigantic arachnid possessed.

"I haven’t seen Lodruck’s Spear be used in quite a while, a rather impressive showing considering you didn’t hurt yourself using it."

You should know by now that I am no amateur, Edgar. If I miscast a spell it won't be for lacking technique or spotty knowledge but your incessant mental chattering throwing me off, Gawain replied back to the compliment, his stance still wide as he drew his palms back inward. Lesser magical bolts and conjured electricity could easily bounce of the creature's hide, so he thought to create a spell more rooted in the physical plane. As he weaved his arms about with carefully practiced motions, the temperature rapidly dropped as chilling fog manifested about his palms and fingers.

A rallying cry far larger than he expected sounded from over his shoulder, forcing him to turn his gaze to meet what he soon discerned to be new arrivals. He did not recall the expedition having access to a rearguard of reinforcements... Seeing their charge stagger their unnatural foe had him stop his questioning and continuing his spellcasting, crossing his wrists while the fingers of his hands curled tightly. In a swift gesture, he manifested his magic by pointing his freezing index and middle fingers of one hand forward as a blue-white ray of energy shoots outward.

The ray of frost strikes along the ground before the spider, Gawain then drew his hand upward as an array of large ice spires rose from the ground. The undead wizard was hoping to gore the monster's vitals with the growing ice crystals!

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Amani al Kassam || Prince of Kassemid

• 
  
  
  
  Directly Interacting With:
  Mihret ( The Prophet ), Hazel (@Ari Number Two) Spider ( EdwardDewey98 )
  
  Indirectly Interacting With:
  THE REST OF YOU FUCKERS
  

  ~ Spider Battle ~
  ~ Midday || ~12:00pm ~
  
  Rage Beneath The Mountain || Amani's CS File
  
  Expecting a giant spider was different than actually finding one. The carnage surrounding the spider was more than enough to make it real. The blood was clearly visible even as they were far enough to not yet see bodies, not that he thought their distance would mean shit to the devil. He hadn’t seen a Maelanima this big before, and he didn’t like their chances with it.
  
  “For the love of- Of course, we wouldn’t get a single continent away with this group without danger. Hazel, get out your bow these things can shrug off magic like a common irritant. Our best bet is to create a good distraction for the men at arms to live long enough to wear it down and hope to not get eaten. MIHRET ITS A MAELANIMA, MAGIC WILL BE INEFFECTIVE.”
  
  With a snap of the reins, Amani directed their horse to begin a wide breadth going to circle the spider. The sound of the war songs got louder as their horse gained ground. He could see the blue-white energy of another mage go off and took care to keep track of the battlefield. It would do no good to be hindered by potential friendly fire.
  
  In the back of his mind, he ran through what could deal with spiders crossing off several potential solutions in his head as ineffective. He certainly didn’t want to risk fire in a forest. With the poor eyesight of the average spider attempting to smoke him out without getting closer may do more to hinder their allies than help if he didn’t time it right.
  
  As the horse drew closer it was clearer that it was less that it was bodies contributing to this carnage and closer to a slurry of human paste as if the spider had crushed them until they popped. He yanked the reigns of the horse bringing them further once more, not wanting to risk getting any closer.
  
  Instead, he began to gather mana letting it gather tension like a bow before throwing it forwards with a flick of his wrist in a quick jolt of electricity. Before even checking to see if it landed he grabbed the reign and flicked once more keeping Hazel and himself on the move with the horse.
  
  Battle Notes [TLDR]: Amani uses a magical attack and books it as he makes himself and Hazel a potential distraction knowing their magic is less effective
  
  

 

[The Prophet]

• Mihret Vivar || Knight of St. Friedwart

• 
  
  
  
  Directly Interacting With:
  Elenion Aura BriiAngelic
  
  Indirectly Interacting With:
  The Company
  

  ~ Spider Battle ~
  ~ Midday || ~12:00pm ~
  
  Kneel Before The Crown || Mihret's CS File
  
  
  Huge.
  
  Huge was the first thing Mihret thought upon cresting into the battlefield, followed quickly by looks between the spider and it's current prey. Mihret was not a gloryhound, but even he could recognize the aclaim to such a battle. This was a story in the making. First of all however, one has to ensure the safety of this caravan. Sheathing his longsword and hoisting his poleaxe with his free hand, Mihret's left hand let off wisps of cold air, seeping subtly in between the rivets and openings of the finely crafted plates. He had met few creatures that could whitstand extreme tempatures, and this spider would hardly be different. twisting his horse toward the group already engaged with it, he leaped from it's back and charged the creature whilst it was occupied with Oliver's lance. "Use my Horse to get away should you need it! for your injured! Your lives will not be lost here!" He shouted towards them without looking back, coming up the spider's flank with a quick fury.
  
  "-MIHRET ITS A MAELANIMA, MAGIC WILL BE INEFFECTIVE.”
  
  Damn.
  
  If Mihret was annoyed with that revelation, the only indication of it was a small "Verdammt." The tall knight did not let it faze him however; The bitter frost receeded and Mihret gripped his poleaxe with both hands. The spider was occupied; he needed to gauge it's defense with a quick prod, monsters are monsters and all had it's weaknesses. He raised his weapon, cleaving horizontally at one of it's legs. He doubted even he could loose a leg, but axes were always better at cleaving than you expected. Whatever the affect, Mihret dug in to the dirt with his heels and rolled out of the way. Oliver and the other combatants had their positions; it was important to space properly so that the monster had too choose. When it did, The others could strike easier and harder.
  
  Part of him hoped it turned it's sights on him, so it could see it's killer.
  
  Battle Notes [TLDR]: Mihret charges but learns of magic resistance, so he switches tactics and follows up Oliver's lance charge with the chop of a poleaxe before repositioning.
  
  

 

[EdwardDewey98]

(1d10 = 4 | Minor Success | 1 damage.) Olivier was the first to charge into the fray among his compatriots, soon joining his retinue in battle with lance in hand and charged at the beast besieging the expeditionary company. He aimed as precisely as he could on horseback, despite the rumbling from his horse’s gallops as well as the spider’s movements, and managed to strike a blow! Although it was not as decisive as he hoped it to be, as he hit the joint just as it bent with its chitin covering its weak point, it was enough to draw the spider’s ire as it nearly flicked the lordling off his mount with a violent thrash. (1d10 = 4 | Minor Success | 3 damage.) Fortunately for him, Mihret had followed shortly thereafter into the battle and managed to strike a more successful blow onto the same leg, his steel driving deeper into the chitin to the point where ichor sprayed out onto his blade and armor from the impact. This helped to drive attention away from both Olivier as its legs stomped down near Mihret, but it also drew attention away from Amani and Tate. The spider hissed again as it stabbed at Mihret, missing him instead for the ground as the spider’s attention was broken up across numerous fronts in the current fight. Dirt flew up from the impacts, spraying dark soil onto both Mihret and Olivier and even staining Olivier’s cape.

(1d10 = 6 | Success | 2 damage.) From a distance, Amani was able to focus on casting an offensive spell to aid in the fight and damage the spider further. And with Mihret now in danger, he hurried his spell as an arc of lightning coalesced and released in a bolt towards the beast shortly after. The lightning trailed in the air with haste before impacting onto the spider’s topside, leading sparks to fly off the beast as its chitin heated to melting at its surface. The spider let out another pained hiss from this attack, leading to additional thrashing of its legs as a defensive posture.

(1d10 = 7 | Success | 3 damage.) Tate in the meantime had a gambit to play with his potions, as he charged the spider in a matter of bravery he had never displayed before prior to his journey. His alchemy having made the rock a springboard, he found himself soaring into the air with all the momentum he would need to carry out his main attack. Two vials procured from his collection, he threw the alchemical liquids towards the beast with a wide shot that sought to hit one of the spider’s more exposed parts. Although it was, given the circumstances, an incredibly difficult feat it was to Tate’s delight and surprise as he witnessed his potions hit their intended target area and saw it go to work. The spider’s flesh began to melt from underneath its armor plating. He could only assume that he had greatly damaged a part of its lungs as its hisses became more erratic and broken in sound, yet even through all that the beast remained stand and, more worryingly, it was angered.

• Giant Wolf Spider HP: 942/1200 •​

The Company as a whole cheered as the Eranoiran troops and their valiant heroes attacked the spider, and many congratulated Tate, for his brave efforts seem to have staggered the spider for a moment, this renewed the hopes of the warriors, who were shocked after the spiders brutal attack against lady Sera. "I do not know who you folks are, but we are glad to have you here!" shouted Cecilia, who was taking shelter behind a wooden crate as she fiddled with a couple of magical scrolls. Gawain, having seen the success of his last spell, was ready to throw another, but then he heard Cassandra shout near to him, "Wait! WAIT! It's not s-stunned! it's not stunned!" she shouted from on top of a barrel. The company looked back at the spider as its glassy eyed gazed upon it's prey, Tate had caused great pain to it's lungs, but it was nowhere near enough damage to take down this giant creature, and with magic flowing through its veins, it did not follow the same biology of the common wolf spider.

"FOOD!"​

The weakened Sera covered her ears, gritting her teeth as she heard the inhuman voice in her head. But while only Sera could hear the creature's vocalization, the company could feel the ground vibrate beneath the spider as it hummed menacingly, its eyes fixated on it's nearest prey and with a hiss, the creature lunged forth a wicked attack against the company. (1d10 = 7 | Success | 4 damage | The company loses 4 fighters.) Whatever hopes of a quick triumph over the beast that Olivier and his company brought with them quickly banished as the spider wrapped its chelicerae around around Céleste, a mature warrioress and ex member the Black Butterfly mercenary company, a fearsome warrioress who tried to stab the creatures face as it tried to devour her, but alas, like the poor Ivette, Céleste was swallowed whole by the creature.

Alberto cursed loudly as the rest of the company shouted in surprise, fear and anger, the old knight knew that if they didn't organize the company, they will all die "CARAJO! STAY AWAY FROM THE CREATURES MOUTH! Warriors, get to flanking positions!" Alberto attempted to bring order by giving out orders, but then he watched in utter disbelief as the spiders claws descends on Claire, a heavily armored fighter who simply stood still when the spider attacked, she was crushed instantly, and all that was left was a pile of flesh and metal. "IT'S KILLING US!" shouted a warrior as he attempted to run away, only to be grabbed by the neck of his shirt by Pepin who pushed him back into the fight. "Tais toi! Combattez comme un homme!" shouted the veteran warrior, his irate gaze looking down upon the cowardly warrior, before he turned to look at Alberto "Monsieur Alberto! We will flank the beast! distract it with the main group!" Alberto nodded, before calling forth every member of the main group to his aid.

"See that gentlemen?!" shouted the Eranoiran sergeant while pointing at the crushed remains of Claire. "This is why we are here, to teach these mercenaries how real soldiers fight!" He then turned to Olivier, who was ready to attack the spider again after his successful attack. "My lord! We will flank the beasts other side!" After informing his liege of the upcoming strategy, the sergeant led the men-at-arms to the spiders right side while Pepin led several company warriors to its left side, however, as they tried to evade the creatures vicious attacks, two company fighters are killed, the rather unlikeable Maxime, who kept making disgraceful advances on various women of the company, and the old white haired veteran Marcel, whose experience in combat shined through during the raid on the ancient Swadi cairn.

But the spiders wicked attacks were not over just yet, it's reflective eyes looked down at the many combatants surrounding it, upon noticing that Alberto was calling forth every members of the "main group" to lead an attack on the spider, it launched a wicked attack using it's frontal legs on the elderly knight -- but Alberto fought creatures even bigger than this freak and he bravely raised his shield, stopping the creatures massive claws from stabbing him, but when the creature realized it couldn't pierce trough the shield, it started to apply pressure, to crush the knight beneath it's claw.

Near Alberto was Korzhev, noticed that his friend and fellow elder was struggling to push the creature away. With one swift leap, the frogman kicked Alberto away and bounced off before the creature could crush him as well. But the spider was set on attacking the elderly members of the company, and thus set its many eyes on the old Vodyanoy. The creature started to hum again, it's deep, cello-like hum made everyone nervous, even the generally aloof Korzhev stared at the creature with some worries forming in his mind, but then, with one swift swing of its wicked claws, it attacked. (1d10 - 2 (Natural Jumper) = 7 | Success | 4 damage to Korzhev.) (Khorzev HP: 5/9) Korzhev instinctively tried to jump away from the creatures attack, and he thought he was successful, as he leapt away and watched as the creatures claws destroyed a tree that was next to him, but when he landed, he felt a sharp pain down in his leg, when he looked down, he noticed a long wound that went from his thigh all the way down to his feet, exposing his pale flesh.

Berchar, who had been bravely fighting against the spider, upon noticing that Korzhev had been wounded, he shouted out to Calocis, who was still tending to Sera. "Hey, Darkie!" he said with obvious contempt in his voice. "Stop wasting your time with that dead weight and help grandpa frog, he can at least fight properly unlike that woodsman woman!" He shouted, or rather, ordered like he was Cal's superior, before charging and attacking the spider again, even saving another warrior from being crushed by the spider.

(1d10 = 9 | Success | 4 damage to Mihret.) (Mihret HP = 9/13) Mihret had up to this point been able to dodge the spider’s attacks by taking advantage of the creature’s disarray and pain in the moment. But his luck ran short when the spider changed tactics from stabbing to slamming; It brought one of its legs nearby and dragged it across the ground, kicking up large amount of dirt from the strength of its action. It drew a desolate pathway in the soil until it collided with Mihret on his side at full force, catching the knight off kilter as he let out a yelp. While his armor took most of the blow, with his breastplate crumpling on his right side from the impact, it still rattled his body thoroughly as he felt his ribs nearby break from the attack. The sheer power of the spider’s appendage also sent Mihret airborne for a few moments until he landed squarely on his back with an audible, metallic thump. His armor, again, took most of the impact, this time with the ground, but the kinetics rattled Mihret again as he felt his ears ring as a small amount of blood welled at the roof of his mouth. He had gotten his wish with the beast paying attention to him, being able to take the blow better than many other could have. He could still fight, but he’d be feeling the impact for at least days, if not weeks, after this beast was felled.

(1d10 = 10 | CRITICAL Success | 8 damage to Kastalli.) As the spider continued its rampage, wounding members of the Company and killing others, it swiped one of its legs towards where Gsera, Kastalli, and Calocis were currently. Gsera’s eyes widened as she saw the beast attack once again, incapable of moving fast enough to get out of the way herself. For a brief moment, she prepared for the worst yet again along with Calocis. Both dokkalfar and Kastalli had no time to move themselves as they could only see the coming attack from the corner of their vision. (Sentry uses Redirect! | Sentry HP = 7/9) But through sheer force of will, Sentry had rushed to their aid as she witnessed the coming assault towards the trio. Dirt kicked up from her steps from the amount of force she was putting behind them, her breathing steadied as she focused on where she needed to be to intercept the blow. Her rock armor still stood strong, even after taking the previous blow, but with such a grievous attack being committed it was likely that her defenses would break. In a moment not too late, she managed to position herself between the three and the spider’s leg and took the full brunt of the creature’s strike from its claw. Her rocky exterior cracked and broke apart entirely on her back as the claw tore through it before digging into part of her flesh with a deep gash being carved in a bloody canyon across her surface. She cried out but remained standing through sheer force of will as the spider’s claw withdrew, and her rock armor began to rescind itself. Had such a blow struck any of the three she had protected - the results would have been devastating compared to what she had to endure. But the worst had been averted for the time being, and instead Sentry remained ready and capable to continue the fight despite her new wound.

"YEAH! YOU ARE AWESOME SENTRY!" shouted Cassandra, who was hiding behind a barrel. While the little Hob kept cheering for her companions, Cecilia rushed to Gsera's side to help her friend back on her feet and with one gentle pull of Gsera's arm, she was back on her feet. "Don't give up, Sera! Our party needs all it's members, several people here need healing!" She, her eyes looking at Korzhev and the recently arrived Mihret, her attention then shifted to Cassandra, who emerged from the barrels to approach Sera and Cecilia "Cassandra, we need to find weak points!" She said while an Eranoiran soldier flew over her head, "Or else we are done for!" Cassandra nodded before pointing at Tate. "He had the right idea! The spider's lungs! HEY! Blonde boy! COME OVER HERE!" shouted the Hob scholar to bring Tate's attention to them.

While the combat continues and the main group readies it's retaliation, they are unaware of a strange flying creature flying over them. It's glowing eyes scout the battlefield carefully, and after a minute, it flies back towards it's mistress. (Thanks to Anahu's tracking skills and the abilities of her tamed beasts, she's able to shorten the trek through the woods, Pandora's group and the Uhland refugees will arrive in 2 turns instead of 3.)

Attacked: Korzhev ( FloweryMuffin ) Mihret ( The Prophet ) Sentry ( Breadman )
Interacted: Olivier ( Elenion Aura ) Tate ( SilverFlight ) Gsera ( joshuadim ) Calocis ( Elenion Aura )
Mentioned: Kastalli ( Beann )

 

[Elenion Aura]

Calocis Fellshade

⛧​

Calocis was unmoved by the chaos that surrounded him as he felt the darkness wax in power within him. Clawing hands of night grasped hungrily at the edges of his soul. But it wasn't enough. He wanted more. He needed more. His heart ached to be bathed in it, to shed flesh and be reborn as a fledgling shadow at the behest of the One, theLord under the earth, whose tendrils encircled the world.

More... More... His was the Lord of murder. Of blood and death and hallowed butchery. Blood was the key. Blood was the price. He would spill it all. His, and that of others. Until the world drowned in a sanguine sea and the faithful servant was rewarded unto the ending of time. Hail! Hail! Hail..!

In spite of his fervor—or perhaps because of it—Cal felt the power of the dark leaving his fingertips, slipping away like so many grains of sand. He strained, urging it to remain. Willing it to obey His will. And as if the gods wished to punish his hubris, Cal's connection to the dark was severed in one fell swoop.

Open hands became clenched fists as rage took him in spite of his better judgment. I am faithful, he hissed in hushed whispered spoken to the dark night of his Soul. I deserve... I ... The fire in his heart died as reality once more settled in. He stared at the wounds he had beseeched his god to heal. His mouth was a thinly pursed line. He cared not for this mangled sack of flesh and bone, despite the glowing halo of moonlight that lay upon her even now, visible, it seemed, only to Cal's eyes. Whether she lived or died here was—Cal's eyes widened in surprise. He found himself instinctively pulling away, using the sleeve of his robe as a shield. His lip curled in disgust. Though, the apparition faded as quickly as it had appeared, the sight of it—of those sallow, reptilian eyes—did not leave Cal's waking memory.

"You… Tagnik'zu—"

Before he could finish the word which in his tongue meant winged serpent or wyrm, Cal was forced to bat away the irksome hound-like creature, nearly toppling with the effort. He cursed and waved the beast away before sparing one last, venomous look at the—thing at his feet before whisking himself away.

"Hey, Darkie!"

Cal offered no reproach of the human's insolence. Man fears what he cannot comprehend. And man is wise to fear the dark. Cal embodied both. Still, should an unfortunate accident befall the man—whose face the dark elf took the time to study before approaching the wounded frog-creature—he doubted many would mourn him. And yet, though his path lay yet before him, Cal found that his feet refused to carry him one step further. Perhaps he had sensed it, felt its threat like an oncoming wall of night. From the corner of his eye he watched as the spider's massive leg came toward him, toward them all. With barely time to form the words of a prayer, the spider's attack connected. He felt the impact of it in his own body, eyes squeezing shut in anticipation. Though when he opened them again, he found that he was intact. It did not take much searching to understand why.

The barbarous savage had flung herself in front of the beast, out of some paganistic desire to meet death in battle. Cal could only hazard to guess. Still... In spite of himself, he couldn't help but feel... Strangely grateful. Not one to dwell, nor one to leave debts unanswered, the dark priest raised a dark hand to the creature of malice and shouted aloud, "Renor sjaal!"

A black shroud erupted from his fingertips and twisted through the air toward the creature's many-eyed face. So many eyes... Cal would take its sight, blinding the creature with a cloud of suffocating darkness to follow it doggedly across the battlefield until at last it was slain.

For Nyarlaexedum.

 

[SilverFlight]

Tatum Aurani-Fafner of Abertsleigh

Tate fought and thrashed and finally pulled free of the tangle of young trees that had broken his fall. He was bruised, but by some miracle his skin remained unbroken, even without his protective, fire-proof coat which he had given to Chi'sa before they departed for the battle.
Leaves adorning his gold hair, glasses askew, he stumbled into some clearer ground and broke into a run.
His attack had hit, but the creature didn't seem stunned at all, in fact, it seemed even more enraged than before.

The screams of men and women around him ripped through his concentration and made him stumble, but he picked himself up and kept running, all the while chastising himself out loud:
"Right Tate, you astounding idiot, that barely tickled the beast, what will you do next?"

Tate cast about the murky darkness for any sign of Olivier, but in the chaos he seemed to have lost sight of him.
"Please be well..." He muttered as he ran.

Just then he heard someone shouting in his direction. A Hob woman. She may have been diminutive, but her voice carried loudly over the sounds of battle and...was she shouting at him?

There didn't seem to be any other "blonde boys" near him, Olivier was out of sight, so, he obeyed the summons and jogged over to the crates where she had taken refuge.
"Tatum, I'm an alchemist, and at your service!" He breathed, trying his best to set his skewed spectacles right on his face.

"T-the lung is protected on three sides by a thick chitin plate, however it is exposed at the right angle, and it is very delicate. Reducing the function of those fleshy folds will effectively suffocate it, hopfully quickly, given its size...but my potions were made for opponents a fraction of this size...I can't do enough damage on my own."

Tate opened his bag and rummaged through it: "My lightweight potions can make one l-lighter, allowing them to jump higher, and take less damage on a fall, freeze and heat potion, s-self-explanatory, rebound potions can make almost any surface extremely force repellent. I...a-also have a few healing tonics left."

After the brief explanation Tate took a breath. He was shaking visibly, but his expression was set into one of pure determination. He wasn't going to leave the fight, not when others were so selflessly risking their lives.

"If you have a plan, j-just tell me what to do."

Interactions: Cassandra EdwardDewey98

Mentions: Olivier Elenion Aura , Chi-sa Taigakitt

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Amani al Kassam || Prince of Kassemid

• 
  
  
  
  Directly Interacting With:
  Mihret ( The Prophet ), Hazel (@Ari Number Two) Spider ( EdwardDewey98 )
  
  Indirectly Interacting With:
  THE REST OF YOU FUCKERS [Smokescreen adds +2 to ally rolls made after the use of Smokescreen]
  

  ~ Spider Battle ~
  ~ Midday || ~12:00pm ~
  
  Rage Beneath The Mountain || Amani's CS File
  
  That thing could hiss? He filed that away as more knowledge he didn’t wish he now had. Seeing it slurp an entire person up without hesitation or difficulty somehow made the entire experience worse. He guided their horse further not daring to get close while it was still charging at the group at large. The screams of a language unknown to him riddled the air as he could only rely on the gestures they put forth to judge which way the amalgamation of soldiers would move.
  
  With other mages and ranged combatants within the field as well it was its own juggling act just to make sure not to block an archer's view. He caught sight of the soldiers circling the beast for a tactical pincer move and shifted the horse’s trajectory so that they might move to support.
  
  He kept stock of very few people as the combat continued. He couldn’t afford to care for the group at large, lest he hesitate at a crucial moment, but he did well to follow the actions of Mihret and Oliver. He almost wished he hadn’t as he jerked the reigns of their horse seeing Mihret thrown through the air.
  
  “MIHRET!”
  
  He tensed until he saw the man was still alive. This beast needed to be put down, and more importantly, the group needed aid if they wished to pull off these maneuvers without losing men at every turn.
  
  “Hazel be cautious.”
  
  He started to charge every bit of magic he could draw upon into needles of cracking light. It was easier to draw upon such magic into a mist, but that would do this group no good to lose sight when spiders find their prey with motion and vibrations.
  
  With a loud boom, he hurled the needles out directing them high enough to be of no threat to the attacking force below while still helping to provide openings.
  
  Battle Notes [TLDR]: Amani provides aid [flavor] and then shapes his magic into a distraction and oppertunity [Skill: Smokescreen]
  
  

 

[joshuadim]

Gsera had been helped up onto her feet with the aid given by Cecilia, though she felt her knees still bend with weakness as she got used to being on two feet again in the moment. Fear still gripped at her stomach, especially after that near hit that the spider had launched at them, but fortunately for the trio there Sentry had intercepted it. But what was more concerning on her mind was the reaction from Calocis. Did she offend him in some way? She looked at the dokkalfar as he returned onto the offensive against the beast, launching an assault against the spider's vision to hinder its actions. But it was Berchar's words that struck like a dagger even more-so than Calocis' sudden change in mood and reaction, as he had essentially called her useless.

The druid gritted her teeth, both out of anger and sadness as she wanted to shoot back a response towards him, but decided in the moment that there were other more pressing matters at hand. She would save her choice words for later when the fighting was done and past. Instead, gripping at where her wound had been, she paced herself as quickly as she could over to where Korzhev was and knelt to look at this wound quickly before closing her eyes to concentrate. "Leighis..." she whispered, trying to mend his wound through her connection with the wilds. "Chréacht."

 

[joshuadim]

Although the beast was ferocious and unrelenting in its attacks, a discernible pattern emerged for many of the fighters at the front. As such, they began to anticipate whenever the beast would strike, and in turn they would practically leap out of the way to avoid a grisly fate. The longer the company fought the monster, the more they learned about it which began to reduce casualties. This in turn allowed Tate the space he needed to speak with Cassandra and Cecilia without being troubled by the spider himself.

"Tatum, I'm an alchemist, and at your service!"

Both ladies looked at the spider as it was being distracted by a group of company wizards, creating a barrier in the air that staved off the beast. This gave them the oppurtunity to introduce themselves to the alchemist. "I'm Cassandra Blackwell, writer and scholar!" said the Hob woman with a friendly smile on her ink-stained face. "Cécilia Delafousse, Mistress of the Eranoiran's Cartographers Guild." the other then spoke, giving Tate a courteous nod. His arrival was of some relief to her, but it was his next words that sparked a new flurry of thoughts between the two of them.

"T-the lung is protected on three sides by a thick chitin plate, however it is exposed at the right angle, and it is very delicate. Reducing the function of those fleshy folds will effectively suffocate it, hopefully quickly, given its size... but my potions were made for opponents a fraction of this size... I can't do enough damage on my own."

Cécilia's weary eyes lit up like bright candles upon these words. "May Gaia bless you, Zen-san!" she said before jumping quickly running to a nearby covered wagon and entering its rear. Cassandra looked at Tate before giving a shrug, unaware of what her companion was doing in there or what she was up to. Moments, later Cécilia emerged just before the spider kicked one of the horses, sending it flying across the area as it let out a terrified whinny before its body collided with the ground with a crack. The scholar stilled for a moment as if anticipating an attack, but quickly dashed over to Cassandra and Tatum again.

What they noticed however was that she had retrieved a collection of vials in a box, filled with a dark and ominous liquid inside of them. Zen had bought them back in Eran from the potion seller, the poison being named 'Night Extract' from its almost void-like appearance in color alone. "Powdered Garob, hydra venom, hourglass spider poison... it should work!" she muttered to herself before snapping her attention to Tatum and Cassandra.

"Nora can get the poison in with her blades, but you will need to instruct her how to bypass the chitin. I can apply the poison to her weapons." she said to Tatum, before turning her head to the Hob woman. "Get Nora here, we must be quick!"

Cassandra did not need more prompting as she darted off as quickly as her feet could take her to find Nora amongst the fighting. She squinted as her eyes scanned the area, the chaos of battle continuing to unfold with the spider kicking up more dirt and rock from its ground impacts, until she spotted her and waved. "NORA! OVER HERE! QUICKLY!" Cassandra yelled out, "WE HAVE A PLAN!"

Interacted: Tatum ( SilverFlight ), Nora ( Vexumin )

 

[Vexumin]

Nora grunts as she pries her blades from the shattered bits of carapace that she managed to slice into. A hit! She actually got a hit in on this behemoth. She almost let that distract her, but the suddenly jerking movements of the spider and the unsteady footing brought her back to the moment.

After a moment of trying to maintain her balance, she could hear her name being shouted for. She looks at the three as they were together. She could not quite remember their names. Then again, she's mostly been on her own thus far. She'll have to make more effort to learn names when-- IF she makes it away from here alive.

"WE HAVE A PLAN!"

Those words were more than enough to cause the hair on the back of her neck to rise. This battle has already brought massive losses. A way to end this quick was more than enough to get Nora's attention. She steps and leaps from the spiders back, As she falls, her blades are sheathed, and she lands on her hands and feet.

It is a short run before she is beside Cécilia, Cassandra and Tatum. She crouches beside them as she rubs at her hands, cleaning them of a bit of dirt. She looks up after a second.

"Right, what's this plan? Will it kill this thing?"

 

[joshuadim]

When Nora arrived, Cécilia grabbed one of the vials available and prepared to open it. "Your blade, present it." the scholar said as he began to uncork the vial. Upon presenting her steel, a loud pop was heard as it came loose. The vial released a faintly visible odor line that rose from it as Cécilia outstreched her arm as far as she could from her own face. "Hold your breath for a moment." she said before turning the vial just atop Nora's dagger. As the poison came into contact with her weapon, it caused a chemical hiss to fill the air between them as it coated the weapon, particularly on its sharp edges, until the vial was spent. Cécilia quickly tossed the vial away and observed the weapon for a moment before nodding. "I've put Night Extract on your blade. For it to work, you'll have to get through its chitin... Tatum here will have better knowledge on weak points." Cécilia then said, nodding her head to the newcomer alchemist on the scene.

Cassandra then spoke up, directing her words to Nora: "The beast's been slowing as is! You can use its movement against it to get close and hit it too." the Hob woman spoke, giving insight to the situation. "Hopefully that poison works..."

Noradriia's Buffs
Night Extract - A powerful poison has been applied to Nora's blade. Should her strike be true, the poison will work against the spider.
Blackwell Knowledge - By pointing out weaknesses in the spider's attacks, Nora has received a +2 buff to her next roll.
​

Interacting: Nora ( Vexumin ), Tatum ( SilverFlight )

 

[Elenion Aura]

Olivier de Lyonesse

♔​

Cursing his own failure, and offended that the beast had not seen fit to accept his challenge, Olivier could do naught but watch, his breath stolen, as Tate—Tate, you fool—launched an attack upon the demonic spider... One that seemed more effective than his own. After a brief space of silence, that lasted long enough for Tate's head to pop out from the net of brambles in which he'd landed, Olivier let out a whooping cheer of joy and pride. That was his friend, in whom his faith remained unflappable.

But there was little cause for celebration, yet. For the beast still stood, and lashed back out at their company. It struck Mihret, and once more in the span of mere moments, Oliver could only watch as the stoic knight flew through the air. Acting upon instinct, the lord Lyonesse sheathed his blade and hurried to where the Hamalan lay.

He knelt down and offered the knight his hand.

"Up, ser. Ze ground does not agree with you."

Olivier's ears perked up, hearing something about a plan. He craned his neck and spied Tate conspiring with some unfamiliar women. Discerning that whatever it was they were about to do would require that the beast's attention be diverted, Olivier stood and unsheathed his sabre before taking off at a run toward the spider's flank.

Noticing that the creature was distracted by a display of sparkling magic, he lunged, sliding along the rough ground beneath the underside of the spider's meaty carapace. He spun and slashed upward at one juncture before stabbing into another, all the while letting his momentum carry him across to the other side where he tumbled to his feet and wheeled around, anticipating a counter-attack, hoping to get its attention.

He retook his duelist's stance, hand behind his back, sabre pointed ahead, calling out his next mark.

En garde.