Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 22: The Hunt

[Dark Sage]

Meanwhile, running away, Dimitri was caught by the gunky mess that was Pary. Drawing his sword, he sliced at the neck of the zombie, but Pary pulled his guts out, before his head came off.

Gasping and falling off the horse, Dimitri felt his life draining away. Last time he saw him, Alf got breathed on by a dragon. It was no use, he wouldn't be able to complete his mission.

Another lich stepped on his neck, killing the man instantly.

[riariadne]

OOC: Catchup post whee.

Chase's initial terror when he saw the dragon again did not last, as he was almost immediately slammed into by a tendril of darkness, knocking him off Ava, and all around him things began to look red. "Wh-what... urgh, is this really all I'm capable of, even now...? How... pathetic..."

--

Chase blinked, everything still red, as he tried to elevate himself from the ground. "D-did we win?" he managed to stutter, wiping the blood from his eyes. "That was embarrassing... I should be better than that," he murmured. The resolve meant nothing to him then, though, as he was bleeding rather badly. Rolling his eyes a bit, he weakly called for help.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Luka Megurine

[Phoenix]

Still Alive

Iso tried and failed to shrug as Beau pointed out the obvious. Iso personally accredited Proxima for his constant survivals. Perhaps his near death experiences of the past were Proxima's doing as well, and only now were the effects happening to a noticeable extent. Either way he was thankful, though still slightly wary of the tome. Apparently he needed to be bound to it just for his five senses to function normally, and possibly just to live. That wasn't the best situation to be in which made him thankful he could dismiss the book into what seemed to be nothing if only to hide it from plain sight.

Once Kelas got up and the two of them began trying to treat Amari, Iso carefully stood up making sure not to strain himself and stood by for a moment. He stood back watching but also looked around at the area. They would need to leave very soon.

Meanwhile As Chase woke up, Lev could be seen standing over him with his arms crossed.

Lev: Try harder next time. We need to get out of here so It's time to get up.

The wyvern lord offered his hand to the downed bow knight.

[riariadne]

"It's not my fault Helenos is strong," Chase whined. "There's not much I could've done about it." Sighing, he took Lev's hand and pulled himself up with some difficulty, and got onto a whinnying Ava, ignoring his wounds for the present time. Brushing himself off, he was disappointed to find his cape in a basically unsalvageable condition. This happens every time, dammit. Maybe I should get rid of it. Then what would I use to sleep on, though? Surely not that excuse I use now... ugh. This is not going well.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Luka Megurine

[Mercakete]

True to his word, Amari was Beau's next patient. Her injurry wasn't as complex as most of the ones he'd been treating when he was helping this group, so it didn't take long for the horse's leg to be mended. There was nothing to be said, so Beau walked to the next person who looked like he could use his help: an archer he did not recognize. "Hold still," he commented, ignoring the wyvern lord as he applied his staff to the somewhat taller man's injurries.

[Snike]

Salvage

"So be it, if you can cut me down," Jace simply said in return, before moving away from the princess. He supposed the death of a few Wielders would be quite unfortunate, and the anger of others would not be a good outcome either. With that thought in mind, the Brute began to line up the unconscious fighters against a nearby house, starting with the two he was transferring earlier. A few minutes later, those two, the Sword wielder, General Jackson, and a knife-wielding mercenary were all propped up against the wall, in order from least to most severely injured. Upon further inspection, it seemed that the girl that poor bloke was stealing from was on the verge of death.

"Haven't seen a wound that serious in a while...," he remarked, before raising his voice a bit. "Would a healer other than the Princess come over here? I have a critically injured woman, and I can tell that an elixir won't do."

[Inactive Account]

"Thanks," Kelas told Beau tiredly, giving the boy a pat on the shoulder as he moved off. "You're a great help." She hugged Amari around the neck for a moment, then backed up. "Why are either of us standing up?" she asked Isotov, right before her knees buckled and she sat down hard. "Oh, blast, the scars are showing, too, aren't they," she observed dizzily.

Amari stretched her leg experimentally. Kelas had got the stick-boy, and it was better. This was why she protected Kelas, she thought: Kelas could fix anything except herself.

Tanair circled around the city. Most of the flames were dying, though the buildings would not be salvageable. That was not her concern. She glanced back to the humans she'd bailed out: still there, healing their wounded. They would need to move soon; she wanted to restore the land here, but she couldn't work as well with creatures to disturb her. She headed back. She couldn't heal, but she could remove Helenos' taint, and perhaps help the healers in another way as well. Landing, she took humanoid form again, kneeling down to put a hand on one of the knife-wielders' shoulders. The man's wounds did not heal, but the poison left by Helenos' guards dissipated. She straightened up and headed to the middle of the group. "Who heals here?" she called. "I will lend you some help, so that you can get moving faster."

"When'd she get here?" Kelas asked. "Is she what happened to Helenos?"

[Phoenix]

Isotov

Iso shrugged while smiling in response to Kelas' question. When she sat down he quickly followed. He supposed they weren't going to be able to move the wounded very far until they were healed. Not being a healer he could only wait around. When she pointed out the scars, Iso immediately removed his jacket again and offered it to her. At least there was something he could do for the moment.

Iso: Best I can do ... we really need new clothes.

When Tanair returned Iso simply watched. He wasn't quite sure what happened to Helenos after he was downed. He may have been conscious at the time, but he certainly hadn't been paying attention to that particular detail.

Iso: I don't know for sure.

[Inactive Account]

"Ha yeah, if we could stay in civilization long enough to get them," Kelas muttered, donning the coat again, ignoring the twinge of returning awkwardness. "Thanks..."

She watched Tanair walk among the group, noticing the thin trail of grass that marked the woman's path. "Did we even work out what she is?" she asked quietly.

OOC: Meeeeeeerc IRC misses youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[Phoenix]

What Is She?

Iso looked at Tanair and took note of the transformation.

Iso: Helenos does that too. Dragon?

He then spotted the grass growing as she moved about.

Iso: ... e-earth dragon?

[Inactive Account]

"I guess that'd explain it. I thought... but no, they wouldn't..." Kelas shook herself awake again; it seemed like bits of her kept passing out. "Eh, she isn't going to kill us... guess I can rest for a bit..." Her eyelids started to drop shut again.

----------------------------

She could wait for the healers to respond, at least, but she was not sure if the healers could remove the taint. Tanair reached out to the fallen pegasus knight, removing Helenos' infection from her wounds.

[Mercakete]

When he had finished healing the archer, Beau wasn't sure what to do. There were two people calling for healers and Beau was apprehensive about both of them. One was a powerful man for some repute and the other was apparently a dragon. (This is all too fantastic... How can this all be occuring in such a sequence?) Wary and unsure, Beau ignored the dragon and instead began tending to the patients the brute had lined up for healing. He immediately noticed that they were indeed not haphazardly set against the wall but rather in an easy-to-follow order. Though he was impressed and appreciative, he kept his head down and his signat as hidden as he could. One of the things he definately did not want was to be recognized. If that happened, his father might hear of it, after all. Even if the caucion was truly unwarrented, in Beau's mind it was entirely necessary.

[-Cynthia-]

Tristan flew Bellerophon over towards the bulk of the group. Charlotte saw that Beau was with Jace and the majority of the injured, a situation she would rather avoid. She healed Alex and decided that Beau and Tessa could probably handle the rest.

"Yes, an earth dragon. Dragons being able to take human form is not an altogether uncommon ability, so for both of them to have the ability to do so is unsurpising. Of more interest to us is her ability to detect corruption of the land, Helenos tends to spoil lands she comes across, which means that this earth dragon can help track her. We are in no shape to fight her right now, but later with the aid of this creature we may be able to take the fight to her." Morgan said to the group.

[the_whistler]

The General:

Conrad blinked in astonishment as the monk flew through the air and was eaten by the rot dragon before being spit back up. Seeing the man turned zombie stagger towards him, the general drove Thunderbolt to the left, aiming to deal with Helenos first. "You have remained here for far too long already, destroying this town with your taint. No more!" he commanded before the dragon slammed into the side of his armor with her paw.

Thunderbolt's hooves skidded frantically against the dirt, but the warhorse was unable to keep his rider from being thrown a distance from the saddle. Pulled back to earth, gravity and the force behind Helenos's blow slammed the general into unconsciousness.

Lifting his head stiffly, the Dusk Knight awoke to see a boy who looked to be barely older than a child standing over him. Conrad grunted, removing the rest of his armor so that the apparent healer could take a better look at his wounds. Held up by that lich for far too long, and downed before I could even attack Helenos. Looking past the boy, General Jackson could see Levski standing near his wyvern, seemingly unhurt. "He was able to shield the party without aid, at least," he spoke, frowning before he turned back towards the lad.

"Boy, are you not related to the Bellmire family?" catching a glimpse of his signet. "What brings you out here to Septimus, and accompanying our party no less?" he questioned.

Heinz:

Just beyond the waves of pain and murkiness surrounding him, the mercenary could faintly feel a light touch, easing away at the sharp edge that had been sapping away at his strength. He shifted slightly, still unable to force open his eyes. There was something hard behind him, keeping him from slumping down to the ground entirely. After awhile his chest suddenly loosened, and Heinz tried to take a deeper breath, involuntarily wincing as his ribs protested against being strained further.

Edit: Reworded a bit.

Edited December 30, 2010 by the_whistler

[Mercakete]

That was perhaps the last thing Beau had wanted to hear. Glancing from his work to his patient's crest, he noticed that the man had good reason to recognize him: he was a general from Elyisima and would, of course, know the various signs and crests of the noble families. However, all hope was not lost. The general had guesed only that he was a relation to the Bellmire family. That meant he didn't know about the Bellmires' way of crafting their signets; either that or he hadn't noticed the materials that had been used in the making of his ring. His particular ring -- with a band of gold and a perfectly rounded amethyst -- meant that he was specifically the heir to Bellmire Estate. A slightly more ellaborate ring rested upon his father's finger, signalling his position as Duke Bellmire. Ones of less value were for more distant relations, such as the one Beau had given to Arrin.

His reply consisted of a nod and an offhanded, "I was travelling. There isn't much more of a reason than that. I found this assembly initially two days ago and they were injurred, so I helpped them. We met again later the same day. Since we were both travelling in the same direction, I decided to journey with them for a time." He couldn't quite say the full reason without fully giving away his relation to Duke Bellmire, so he simply tried to distract himself with his work, hoping that this general was of that rank through connections alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dapple gray gelding didn't know what to do. His rider had muttered something about rest and sat down, leaning against his leg and he hadn't gotten up since. True, Lantos felt much better; the nervous feeling he had from before was gone. However, now he was unsure because his rider was obviously not doing well. The horse swiveled his ears about, listening for any signs of danger. Now that his rider was down, he didn't have that protection.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Mercakete

[the_whistler]

"You're a bit young to be traveling by yourself," he pointed out. "While I thank you for your help, this party is certainly not the safest for you to be accompanying." Then again, it had seemed as if the group was becoming quite the traveling menagerie- Conrad was certain he had seen a boy even younger than the one currently standing before him running around with the horses. He's acting rather focused on his work, looking away like that.

"What is your name, lad?" he inquired directly. "I am General Conrad Jackson, of the Elyisimian Army," extending a hand.

[Dark Sage]

Having decided to sleep in a bit more, Sadie woke up to still find herself all alone in the road, the sun a little higher in the sky. She stood up and stretched, yawning widely. Wondering if she missed the others going past, she decided to go investigate at Altenau. Maybe they were there fighting the zombies with the monk?

Walking at a brisk pace, she caught a glimpse of a horse near a person. Lots of travelers by the road it seemed. Curiosity got the better of her and she hurried towards the horse to get a better glimpse of the person by it.

Upon further inspection, it was the monk she met with before.

Running towards him, she stopped as soon as she was in eyesight and raised her hand in greeting.

"Huff. Hello there! Puff. Huff."

[Snike]

Fools Rush

"No offense, but, that is a little daft," Jace remarked, upon hearing the dark tome wielder announce her intention to have the Brigade track Helenos using the earth dragon. "If that scaly corpse realizes that she's being followed, and she will, then you're just walking right into another trap. This time, you were lucky because first off, a servant of the Lord intervened, as you can see by the fire. Then, when you all were about to be wiped out, I distracted Helenos, and Miss Dragon over here scared her off. Even at full, I doubt you could take her on, not at this strength level, and most certainly not when you don't know the terrain. Knowing the layout can be the difference between victory and defeat, especially with even strength.

"That lone monk was pretty lucky, too. He walked right in, and managed to get out before he was killed. Looks like he didn't join up with you, either...," the Brute said, remembering him and the girl. "... Regardless, abandon the pursuit. It's only going to get yourselves killed, right now."

[Mercakete]

The rules of etiquette suddenly had a strong presence in Beau's mind. (Why did he have to introduce himself with his full rank and title? Why couldn't he be like everyone else I've spoken with and been casual about introductions? An Elyisian general... Well, I have no choice at this point...) Straightening himself, taking on his usual, dignified presence and shifting his eyes to their usual, superior gaze, Beau looked the general directly in the eye and introduced himself, ignoring the hand, "I am Beau Adalgiso Bellmire, heir to Bellmire Estate and the son of Duke Bellmire. It is good to make your acquaintance, General Jackson."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The horse looked over at the girl coming towards him. He'd seen her before. Maybe she knew what to do. Waiting for her to give him some sort of clue as to what to do with his fallen human, the horse simple watched her. Raemond, meanwhile, was unconcious, slumpped against his gelding's forelegs. He was paler than before and under his tunic the bandages he'd wrapped himself with were getting redder. Though the two, ripped punture wounds weren't exactly long, they were each deep and it was obvious that he had torn the arrows that had been there out himself. However, they could not be seen under his bandages, cloak and tunic.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Mercakete

[Inactive Account]

"Don't assume I'm working with you, human," Tanair said, ignoring all the others for the moment. "I go where I need to, it's got nothing to do with others."

[-Cynthia-]

"Tracking Helenos allows us to go on the offensive. Otherwise she'll simply attack us when we are at our weakest. As for the strength, that is why I am attempting to get the aid of this earth dragon here. If Helenos had less time to prepare, we would have less servants of hers to dispatch and thus a greater chance of victory. Simply wiating for her to attack again hardly seems like a solution to me." Morgan said to Jace.

"And why praytell, does your quarrel with Helenos have nothing to do with us?" Morgan asked Tanair. "Our group does not have the power to defeat her alone and I would presume neither do you or you already would have done so. You would not be allied with our other enemies, so we have a similar goal with no conflicting ones. Based on what you have done here you are already willing to work with us, coordinating our efforts more is mutually beneficial."

[Inactive Account]

"Mortals tend to want a pet dragon," Tanair answered simply. "I go where I will. If I see you fighting my sister, I will aid you," she stated, wandering over to clear the taint from another of the fallen, this one an axe wielder. "It seems my fight is only part of your fight, though. I do not think I will follow."

--------------------------------------------

Tobe edged out from under the warhorse that had hid him during the battle. "I think we c'n come out now," he told the other boy who'd showed up earlier. The monsters were gone, the fires were gone, and people weren't fighting anymore. "Them dragons isn't as easy to slay as th' tales says, is they?" he muttered, scurrying forward to check on the horses. Most concerning was Amari, who'd fallen and was limping, but by the time Tobe got there, one of the healers had seen to her and she was walking again, albeit gingerly. He saw that Kelas had just passed out against Isotov's shoulder (gross, he thought, and sniggered slightly); well, she probably wouldn't mind if he checked on Amari, right? He strayed away from the warhorses-- he'd started to think of them as his, almost-- and headed for Amari. "Can you watch these'n's for me for a mo'?" he asked the other boy.

[the_whistler]

Son of Duke Bellmire? Ah, trying to keep his lineage hidden. "As it is my pleasure to make yours," the general responded in kind to the young heir. He's just as arrogant as any other noble, even at this age. "You might want to take off that signet, if you don't want people to recognize you," he pointed out. The boy didn't seem to have any of the servants or assistants surrounding him that would be fitting of his title as well.

".... Did you choose to sneak off by yourself?" Conrad asked, somewhat humored by the healer's recklessness. "You're in the middle of a civil war here boy, traveling with a group that attracts more trouble than cheese would mice."

Hearing an unfamiliar voice nearby, General Jackson glanced up. He stood up, waiting impatiently for Beau to finish so he could walk over.

[-Cynthia-]

"Is the Lord of Azure Flame not your enemy as well? Demons destroy the land as well as as human civilizations; it is only natural that you would be opposed to him as well. And I would not want a pet dragon, they eat far too much and tend to be rather cantankerous." Morgan replied to Tanair.

[Snowy_One]

"I will be forthcoming with you about this Ixion. You need to stop this pursuit of control over the weapon. Now." said Mana. To have a dream, even a minor one such as the standard flights of fantasy, was a feat impossible for a spirit to attain. While Mana's own human nature had given her such flights of fantasy, they could only come about when such huge motions of mana threads caused the nature to unwravel for a bit in her rest. Even then, it wasn't perfect in its activation, but she was sure something had caused it. This was the biggest thing happening here, and if it could already cause such a disturbance, than something was up. They had to be farther along than she had previously thought.

"Last night, I had a dream. I know you don't understand what it means to me, and I'm not so naieve as to ask you to trust me on this matter. Damian's training must stop now and he must be returned."

---

Lying at the base of the tree, Kaileen had, quite gleefully, slept away most of the morning. Unaware of the status of her missing child, she had remained enthralled in the grasp of sleep for several hours longer than she should have. Throughout her mind, a dream about a sword, a cup, a hill, and a lion slowly played through her mind. Yet, at last, the gentle caress of the sun crept through her eyes. With a mighty yawn, she stretched out her arms and slowly sat upright.

"Henry." she said calmly, assuming the boy to have gotten up to use the restroom. "It's time for us to get goi-*yawn*iiing. Henry? Where are you?" she went quiet, listening for the boys reply. When none came, a look of dread came over her face. "Henry?! HENRY?! WHERE ARE YOU HENRY?!" she screamed out, bolting upright and grabbing her staff. Looking about, she could spot no sign of the boy. "Calm down. Calm down." she said to herself. "He probably knew where we were and went on ahead. Right? He's smarter than to defy me again.. Right? Oh Goddess I hope he went to the town! If he didn't..." she gave a heavy gulp as she pushed the thought of losing the boy forever from her mind. Pulling her robes up so as not to trip over them, she took off in a flatout run towards the town, hoping he was there.

---

"Uggg..." A heavy throb of pain shot through Esphyr's head as the mercenary girl came about. The last thing she could recall was fighting some lich. She had thrust her sword into the being's body expecting it to fall swiftly for some reason that she could not recall in hindsight. Instead, the blade had not harmed the being noticeably, and instead, she had gotten a nasty counter attack upon her head in return for her assault. Propping herself upright, she tried to look about, to grasp what had happened. Had they won? Or was this hell? As she started to look about, taking stock of her surroundings, she spotted a tall man whom she recognized from the many tales. Jace.

"Great. Hell. I died."

---

"Mommy told my Helenos is a special dragon." replied Jr. as he pulled himself out from under the horse along with the other boy. "Somehow she died, but didn't die. I dunno, I'm not a priest like my mother." he said as he started to dust off his clothes. He wasn't normally one for personal hygene, but after lying in dirt that zombie and things made of mushroom roots had been crawling on, he felt in need of a bath.

"Sure. Just don't be too long. She may have been healed, but she looks like those men who fall out of the bed even after mommy's healed their broken legs. My name is Henry by the way. Henry Jr." he said before he drew a bit closer to Amari. Not enough to try and catch her should she fall (he would be crushed anyways) but close enough to at least be at her side if something went wrong.