Return of the Emblem Chapter Seven: Reunion

[Mercakete]

"Heheheharrr, aye, good plan, too. I use it, too, ye know. Good job," Gytha cheerfully replied as she remained near Synthia to subtley be defending her.

Gytha defends Synthia again.

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

Things were going very well. More and more coffins were breaking and falling and there was little their controler could do about it, it seemed. We'll be out of here soon. Norbert thought, his confidance bolstering as he surveyed the battlefield. He'd return from his pass at the coffin he'd busted the rune for and was having Rizen wander around the wagon somewhat. Raquel seemed to be inside. So, she was safe. That was good. trotting back between the enemies and the wagon, among their own forces, Norbert looked around the battlefield for whatever help he could give. At the moment, things seemed to be alright. He figured that wouldn't last, though. Chaos was probably building even as he stratagized.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Disturbance

Raquel could hear all sorts of things outside, none of it made much sense, though. She looked around the wagon in a daze before noticing that the emblem was right with her. Its light had faded, again. Within moments she felt completely fine and stood up facing the exit. "What's going on out there?" As she left the wagon, she saw the party battling with flying coffins. Despite how insane that was, she knew she wasn't dreaming. That was her firm belief for but a moment, as the edges of the barrier trapping the group began to shift erratically, unleashing violent bursts of electrical energy along the inner walls and obscuring everything beyond behind a pitch black veil. "What was that ...?"

Burke looked up when the shifts began happening and then quietly commented on it. "... clock's tickiiiiing~"

From outside the fortress, things were looking much differently. Hayato would occasionally glance back at the fortress to see the entire structure becoming transparent at brief intervals! "What the .... Sardis, what's going on?!"

"I told you this might not work in our favor. Worry about it later or you'll get yourself killed." he shot back, not giving any of his opponents the opening they desired.

ENEMY PHASE

As the violent assault on her coffins continued, Naomi began to choke up. "S-stop it ... stooop!" she yelled.

"Oh for fuck's sake ... NAOMI! Don't just stand around crying like a little girl who's dogs just got kicked! Push them back, already!" Burke yelled from the rooftop. "I want to watch a real fight, not a girl getting picked on."

Coffin Selection: Naomi rolls 6

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3291585/

Coffin of Spears Selected.

Naomi wiped her tears and nodded resolutely. "... ODIN!!!" she screamed. The Coffin of Spears immediately flew high up into the sky like a glider going into a loop, a swooping attack was imminent! Coming in at tremendous speed, the Coffin of Spears slammed into and sent Sammy sailing! It quickly pulled up again and flew back to Naomi's side. "No more of this ... you're hurting my friends and you're going to pay for it!" she threatened before a small sniff and a hand wipe came.

The Coffin of Spears attacks Sammy! Rolls 1,2,2

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292274/

CRITICAL HIT!

Coffin of Spears Ability Activates!

Automatic KO

Coffin of Spears hp 15/15

Sammy hp 0/15

The Coffin of Spears' ability is revealed!

http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=29093&view=findpost&p=1782103

"Now that's the kind of overkill I like to see! More of that shit, please, thank you." Burke cheered from his perch.

"Around me!" Naomi instructed. The coffins all flew in to surround her with the faces all converging in on her. She was effectively out of sight. A moment later, they all rotated to swiftly face out north, south, east, and west. Their doors were closed, and as they flew back into the air, it was clear that Naomi was no longer on the ground. She must have been in one of the coffins ...

All of them save for the Spear Coffin made a slow ascent into the air before beginning three separate striking attacks on the group!

The Sword Coffin attacks Valter! Rolls 5,1,1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292314/

CRITICAL HIT!

-20 hp

KO!

Coffin of Swords hp 15/15

Valter hp 0/12

The Coffin of Axes attacks Veronika! rolls 1,1,5

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292321/

MISS!

Coffin of Axes hp 12/12

Veronika hp 15/15

The Coffin of Arrows attacks Synthia! Gytha defends! Rolls 6,6,4

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292337/

HIT!

-12 hp

Double! Rolls 1,1,1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292338/

LETHAL HIT!

-21 hp

KO!

Coffin of Arrows hp 15/15

Gytha hp 0/21

Synthia hp 12/12

Light (In the Abyss) 0/15

Darkness (In the Abyss) 0/15

Force (In the Abyss) 0/15

Arrows (Idle) 15/15

Swords (Idle) 15/15

Spears (Idle) 15/15

Axes (Idle) 12/15

Staves (In the Abyss) 0/12

Amon 15/15

Gytha 0/21

Synthia 8/12

---

John 24/24

Chelsea 12/12

Bert 15/15

---

Shadrak 15/15

Gabbie 18/18

Robin 12/12

---

Ranyin 15/15

Veronika 15/15

Sammy 0/15

---

Valter 0/12

Nadya 18/18

Mireille 15/15

---

Blake 12/12

Nanahm 18/18

Sirocco 12/12

---

Aneda 15/15

Tipheret 24/24

Sophia 12/12

---

Zel 21/21

PLAYER PHASE

Edited December 8, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

True to its picture on the cover, the arrows coffin shot at Synthia. Gytha had been keeping an eye out for such an attack, though, and managed to shove the mage out of the way in time. She moved herself, too, recieving a hard, grazing wack, but nothing serious. "Ye a'right, Synthia?" Gytha asked as the coffin moved away. She didn't notice it possition its self above her, though, until it fell from the air and landed on top of her with a resounding thud. Gytha was knocked unconcious, lying face-down, but was still alive when the coffin floated away.

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

The armored man apparently thought things were going too well for Raquel's group and so encouraged the girl to give them a sound thrashing. And they did just that. "Never attack a little girl's dolls" was probably the moral to the story. At least when the dolls could kill you. Blast it... We were doing so well! This is a tough fight... Not sure I can do much to help, either... The walls began acting strangely, catching Norbert's attention. What? What's happening? Then, he saw Raquel. "What're you doing out here?!" he directed Rozen to gallop over to the pink-haired merchant, entirely serious in air and expression. "Get back in the wagon. You can't defend yourself and none of us know exactly what's going on. It's dangerous out here."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Um, maybe you should stay inside the wagon. You're probably still sick from not having the emblem," he said to Raquel, following her outside the wagon. What the heck are they fighting anyway? This is why I don't want to be warrior I think. he said, raising an eyebrow at the coffins.

For Narnia Ursium

The glowing from the fortress distracted Selene for a second, as it was disappearing from sight at random intervals. Weyland's group must have run into a trap...I'll have to end this battle quickly to rescue them. "All units engage!" she commanded. A barrage of javelins, magic, and arrows rained upon the Organization members, while Selene herself dived for Sardis. A wyvern moved to intercept her, but a quick maneuver by Gorgotha allowed her to drive her lance through the beast's torso, killing it quickly. It was not the first wyvern she had fought and she doubted it would be the last. With the creature out of the way and its rider in free fall, Selene continued her unerring flight path, Wingslayer pointed outward.

Erica lowered her head a little when she saw what was happening with the fortress. Norbert's in there...ugh gotta focus on the battle for now she thought to herself, joining her fellow cavaliers in the charge at the enemy.

[the_whistler]

Boot Action:

Nanahm danced a light jig as another coffin was downed. "That crazy pegasus rider needs to let out his anger more often on these guys," he crowed loudly, looking up. The fighter warily held up his weapon as a shield as the metal tomb solidified itself into its former shape. You can't bring steel back to life! Bracing himself, the Nahm slammed into the ground, unconscious.

"Who in Raguni's name is Lex?!? I'm gonna hurt him or her, wherever it is," he spoke incoherently, eyes slightly glassed over. Nanahm groaned as another staff wielder further mended his physical state. Exempting that bastard of a bump on his head, Nan could almost claim he had seen worse times. Spotting the wyvern rider touch down nearby, the fighter sighed and readied his axe. If healers risked their lives to help me and need protecting, I guess I need to pay 'em back.

Breaking into a run, Nanahm slammed his axe into another coffin, the one representing dark having been cracked in two again. The symbol refused to budge, and the fighter grunted as the coffin whipped back with an attack that held a striking resemblance to his own style.

Nanahm hits Coffin of Axes. -1 dmg. Link

Axes hits Nanahm. -15 dmg.

Coffin of Axes: 11/15 HP

Nanahm: 3/18 HP

[roymbrog]

Valter thought he was doing pretty well. That is, until a coffin smashed into him from the side. That was basically it. He was propelled a few feet along the ground before landing as an unconscious heap in the dirt. His glasses broke too.

-----

Wait, Gytha used what plan too? Synthia didn’t understand. It didn’t really seem like the best time to ask either, with a battle going on and all. She had returned to determining if there was anyone who needed healing when Gytha pushed her from behind. The mage stumbled a few steps before turning to see and ask what had happened, only to see the Coffin of Arrows come crashing down on Gytha.

“Gytha!” she shouted, hurried over, and rolled her over. The mariner was still breathing, but unconscious. Worried about internal injures, Synthia set to try and heal whatever she could.

[Phoenix]

Battle Continues

When the Coffin of Arrows went after Synthia, Gytha fought to defend her, but Amon had to help too. The coffin's first attack struck Gytha but she seemed alright. Amon had to dive to the ground to avoid the coffin as it passed by on his arrival. By the time he got up, Gytha was the one in the dirt and all he could do was take a pitiful swing at the coffin as it lifted away. His attack couldn't have even feasibly reached the large steel box. "Gytha!" She wasn't dead ... "Hooooooogh." he breathed a deep sigh of relief as he fell to his knees.

Amon waited to see what the coffin would do next, and fortunately now that Gytha was down, it made no attempt at a follow up. They didn't seem to be out explicitly to kill them, so he focused on making sure Gytha's efforts weren't in vain. Synthia could have been turned into a smear on the wall by that attack, and he wanted to make damn certain it didn't end up happening anyway. As she ran over, he nervously uttered the words "S-stay behind me ..." Just as well, she was already tending to Gytha.

Amon defends Synthia!

Meanwhile, Raquel, while feeling better, was still completely confused by the happenings within the fortress. "The wagon ..." she looked back to the wagon she'd exited from and gawked. "Is that the Dauntless? I think that's what Weyland called it ..." Bert and Connor seemed to have a choice on their hands. Explain the situation to her to try to convey urgency to her, or chuck her in the back and try not risk drawing Burke's attention with an explanation.

Gabbie's defense of Robin continues!

Battle Starts

The Ursian forces quickly began their attack, not unexpected to Sardis. It also didn't surprise him that he was first up on the enemy commander's menu. "Just my fortune as of late." he said before taking some defensive steps back in preparation for her attack. To his surprise, one of his own men got between him and Selene!

"Sardis, ru-" the man was cut off as Selene's attack struck him. Sardis leaped back, his jump almost clearing his comrades. He landed near Colin who had somehow let some Ursian's break rather far into their defensive line. The groups were beginning to mixed together rapidly.

"Colin! What are you-"

"Fighting, what's it look like?" he replied cheerfully.

"It's a bulge ... we have to get out of this or we'll have massive casualties."

"Hate to interrupt your thoughts, but there's a pegasus chick heading this way. She here for you?" Colin asked. Sardis looked back toward the thicker fighting to see if Selene was indeed after him still ...

Note: This is a battlepost.

[Rothene]

The victorious feeling of seeing two coffins destroyed by his team was short lived as Ranyin saw the one with spear symbols ram into his comrade. I should have stayed closer to Sammy!

Rushing to the side of his fallen comrade, Ranyin tried to check for signs of life...

***

The blast of dark energy that struck her was painful, but Mireille knew it would have been worse had she not the barrier added to her shield. As the coffin prepared to fire another shot at her, Mireille was relieved to see Valter finishing it off quickly with a final shot. Staggering slightly due to the pain inflicted on her by the Dark coffin, Mireille was grateful when a healer came forward to tend to her wounds. As she opened her mouth to thank the spellcaster...

+3 for successful defend to team Mireille/Valter/Nadya

...a coffin swept past her in her moment of distraction and rammed into Valter, sending him spiraling too far from the group. Knowing that to rush to his side would leave Nadya unprotected, Mireille shifted her position to protect the healer instead. She had failed Valter, but she would at least try her best not to let another in her charge fall.

Mireille defends Nadya!

[Mercakete]

"Yes, it is, now get back into the wagon where it's safe! You too, Connor!" Norbert hastily replied, frusterated at the whole not listening and lack of self-preserving logic. His eyes flicked over to the battlefield again. Everyone was scrambling to keep from dying or their friends from dying in one way or another. "You're keeping me from the battle! If we don't win this, we're all dead or captured! Now get back in there! We're risking enough without you getting yourself captured again!"

With that, Norbert reared Rizen around to face the battle again, wholely intent on helping in the efforts...but then he remembered what happened the last time the entire group was preoccupied with fighting the organization. "..." He twisted in the saddle to look back to Connor and Raquel, focussed and solemn. "Get in the wagon." His tone wasn't as frantic and frusterated as it was a moment ago. It was more grave now. If nothing else, he'd make sure the noncombattants were somewhere they could lie low before riding out again. He was considering guarding the wagon its self, too, though. And another thought occurred to him. If she's recovering, then that probably means... A certain quote echoed in Norbert's memory: "The one you really ought to be scurrying off with is the one who has the emblem" Raquel was again the priority.

[Psych]

((In a hurry, no time for flavor))

Link

Sirocco hit! 6 damage dealt! Axe Coffin 5/11

Link

Axe Coffin Miss! Sirocco 12/12

[Snowy_One]

The battle seemed to be going well, well... the battle was not going as awful as Robin had thought it would. However, as the coffins started to falter, their leader seemed to vanish away inside of one. "<Damn it!>" hissed Robin. She had held her bow at the ready, the arrow knocked as she tried to target the woman-leader with a potent shot, seeking a swift end. Only now the woman was gone! She hissed as she looked down to her quiver which she had unslung and placed next to her for easier arrow access. She reached inside, her hand searching for stimulants... Stimulants she had bought out of fear of the ever-growing gap in the power between herself and others. While others gained impressive weapons or potent magic, she wielded arrows made of what was basically glass. She only had her skill to rely on, and she was determined to not fall behind!

She quickly took one of the stims as Gabbie defended her. She needed to do something to these coffins and their wielder, and simple arrows were not going to do much on their own! She had to strike Naomi when she got the chance, and she needed to make that shot!

[Robin uses a stim!]

[Acacia Sgt]

The axe fighter went to attack another of the coffins. It didn't seemed to have been very effective. On the other hand, he got quite a beating in return. Sophia headed over. Again? She thought. I guess it can't be helped.

[Activating Class Skill, Sophia heals Nanahm. Nanahm's HP: 18/18. Aneda, Tipheret, and Sophia +2 points. Sophia's current total: 73.]

-----

Those coffins were now showing their true potential it seemed. <Now this isn't starting to look good.> John thought, taking to the air again. The pillar of light that surrounded the place was also to be wary of, especially now that it was acting up. <I guess there's no point right now, the coffins are a much more direct trouble.> Looking over, he saw Nanahm and the newcomer go after one of the coffins.

<It quite shows magic is much more effective against these.> He noted. <Well, time to act.> While Nanahm was healed of his wounds, Sirocco was in no shape to survive if hit. It was quite clear who needed help the most.

[Activating Class Skill. John defends Sirocco.]

[Snike]

For some reason, it didn't register that 'advancing' required entering into the wagon, so Blake almost missed the ride into battle. He scrambled into the wagon at the last second, though, so he had some time to brace for combat.

The group rolled into the fortress and rapidly rolled out, to a sole girl? This quickly turned out to not be the case, as 8 coffins fell from the sky. What was going on here? There was no time to ponder such questions, as the coffin-girl casted a spell, and light shone high up in the sky. As one wise man once said, it's a trap! The swordsman directed his attention to the limits of the room while the others fought, but to no avail. There was no escape from this magical prison.

As Blake turned around, someone flew a few feet after getting slammed into by a coffin. This was getting serious. Maybe it was time to act. His sword probably couldn't cut the coffins right now, but what would happen after a couple of stimulants? And so, here's to their demise, he thought, as he popped open his bottle of stimulant and took a swig.

Blake uses a stimulant!

Edited December 8, 2011 by Snike

[Phoenix]

Chaos

The next fluctuation in the barrier came, but Burke didn't look up this time. More interesting, less predictable things were happening below, not above. Raquel caught it as well. "But what about the others?! I know we're useless on the battlefield but we can at least help treat some of them ... like we usually do." Speaking of which, where was Krystal? Raquel couldn't help but wonder but for now she and Connor could at least try to help ... that is if Bert wasn't going to insist on herding them into the wagon.

ENEMY PHASE

"... Odin ..." Naomi quietly spoke from the safety of one of the coffins. The Coffin of Spears suddenly stopped in mid air as if frozen, and then its symbol began to shine brightly just before it began a rapid ascent.

Coffin Selection: Naomi rolls 6

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3292492/

Coffin of Spears Selected.

The Coffin of Spears attacks Sirocco! John defends! Rolls 4,1,6

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293194/

HIT!

The Coffin of Spears' ability activates!

Automatic Damage!

The Coffin of Spears hp 15/15

Sirocco hp 12/12

John hp 1/24

The Coffin of Spears picked up tremendous speed as it came barrel rolling down toward Sirocco. That wasn't the target struck by the attack, however ... "Wham!" Burke called out, swinging his fist in time with the Spear Coffins' violent impact. "Now I will give him this ... it takes guts to stand between THAT ... and its target, hahahahahahaaaaah! Hmm?" He paused for a moment. "Morning ..." he uttered too quietly to be heard from where he was."

"What is it ... a girl? Thank you so much ... I'll be careful." Naomi replied to 'something' from within her coffin. "Okay ... it's time." she said to herself. The Coffin of Swords held still and upright just inches above the ground as its door opened and Naomi emerged. With her staff in hand, she reached out and healed the Coffin of Axes.

Naomi heals the Coffin of Axes! +10 hp

"Everyone! Around me!" she called out as she scanned the battlefield. She was looking for someone. "... there she is." she muttered quietly. The archer woman who hadn't wasted any time in singling her out for a shot.

"Ya know ... I kinda liked her better in the box. Didn't have to listen to her crying and such. This should be interesting, regardless ..." Burke commented.

Naomi (Erratic) 12/12

Light (In the Abyss) 0/15

Darkness (In the Abyss) 0/15

Force (In the Abyss) 0/15

Arrows (Defending Naomi) 15/15

Swords (Defending Naomi) 15/15

Spears (Idle) 15/15

Axes (Defending Naomi) 15/15

Staves (In the Abyss) 0/12

Amon 15/15

Gytha 0/21

Synthia 8/12

---

John 1/24

Chelsea 12/12

Bert 15/15

---

Shadrak 15/15

Gabbie 18/18

Robin 12/12

---

Ranyin 15/15

Veronika 15/15

Sammy 0/15

---

Valter 0/12

Nadya 18/18

Mireille 15/15

---

Blake 12/12

Nanahm 18/18

Sirocco 12/12

---

Aneda 15/15

Tipheret 24/24

Sophia 12/12

---

Zel 21/21

PLAYER PHASE

Edited December 8, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Raquel, we're here to protect you. Don't make our jobs harder. It's you they're after, especially since you're feeling better. You probably don't even remember being up on that 20ft-tall pole you were tied to the top of when we got here. They baited us, we brought a particular addiction you have and if you go out there, we'll all probably be killed. Not all the enemies are out there fighting us as we're not doing so well with what we already have to deal with. Get. In. The. Wagon," Norbert answered. This was her last chance to listen to him, he figured.

[Rothene]

Seeing the group poised to strike at the defended but fragile spellcasting foe, Mireille pointed her lance at the coffin with the sword symbols and released a wispy cloud of lightning at her target, meaning to try to get it out of the way. The shot missed by a long shot, but the coffin was forced to shift its position in doing so, a victory of sorts to the displeased knight.

Range!

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293406/ , 2,4,5

2+4-10 = Miss

4+3-10 = *tink*

Mireille 15/15

Sword Coffin 15/15

***

Observing what Mireille did at the same time, Ranyin pooled his magic to blast the coffin with axe symbols, hoping the large wall of wind would be wide enough to catch it and push it away if not destroy it. Do the mage's bewilderment, the coffin seemed to have merely side step the attack at the last moment somehow...and Ranyin swore he heard laughter coming from it.

Range! +4Mag, -4Luk

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293420/ , 4,6,1

4+5-10 = Miss

6+7+4-6 = 11(what could've been )

Ranyin 15/15

Axe Coffin 15/15

[Phoenix]

Warfare

"She's foinally back out in the open ..." Gabbie noted. She looked back to see Robin still preparing to shoot at 'something' and quickly made a decision. "Robin, I'm leavin' you here for a minute. If she goes into one of those things again we'll have to foight tooth and nail to reach her, again. She's obviously controlling them so we need to focus on her. If you get a shot, take it." she instructed before running off toward the others.

"We need to get those coffins out of the way so we can actually attack her ..." she told herself one last time. "Hey! Listen, the sooner we take her down, the faster we can get the hell out of here! Get those coffins out of the way! Don't worry about beating'em down just MOVE THEM!" she yelled to everyone close enough to hear.

"Hmmm?" Burke listened from the roof. He held out a finger and counted up the four coffins, then he began counting up party members ...

Meanwhile Raquel looked at the state of things one last time. She was frozen for a second by Gabbie's request, but she couldn't even help with that ... at least not without subjecting herself to a fierce thrashing or endangering Bert or whoever else would go all out to defend her. This felt terrible ... like usual. "Alright, Bert ..."

"Amon! Need ya help! Swords now! Just keep it occupied! I'm goin' after the arrow coffin!"

"What are we doing?!" Amon asked as the two ran toward the floating coffin.

"Just knock it out of the way and do whatever damage ya can."

Burke finally finished counting up the party ... "... dammit, Gabriellaaaaa ..." he muttered before standing up. He was now standing at the edge of the roof overlooking the battle.

Gabbie attacks the Coffin of Arrows! Rolls 2,3,4

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293423/

MISS!

The Coffin of Arrows rolls 1,2,1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293424/

AUTOHIT!

-7 hp!

The Coffin of Arrows hp 15/15

Gabbie hp 11/18

Amon attacks the Coffin of Swords! Rolls 3,3,3

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293436/

LETHAL HIT!

Tink!

The Coffin of Swords rolls 6,4,3

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293441/

HIT!

-13 hp

Coffin of Swords hp 15/15

Amon hp 2/15

Gabbie's attack was avoided and countered, but the coffin was no longer in a position to defend Naomi from the looks of things. Amon met with similar results, but his attack actually hit, and he deeply regretted it, as his knife snapped and the blade went flying away in the wake of the attack. He was so dumbfounded by this, he was completely unprepared for the Sword Coffin's counter and was knocked to the ground hard! "Urgh ... what a bad outcome to that maneuver ..."

[Snowy_One]

Robin could feel the stim coursing trough her veins as the world about her seemed to slow down to a crawl. It was as if time had slowed just for the sake of her firing her arrows, and she damned well knew her target! She wasn't sure if Naomi was singling her own, worried, or if she had even noticed her, and in her heightened state, she didn't care. As the girl entered her vision once again, Robin lined up her shot, aiming for the girls shoulder, hoping to cut into flesh and disable the arm, if not outright drop her from sheer pain... and she let her arrow fly!

The arrow whistled forth, sliding between the cracks between the coffins as it streaked towards the woman, obsidian edge glinting in the light as it shot towards Naomi's shoulder!

Robin assaults Naomi! Attack: 6, 3, 4! Robin deals 8 damage to Naomi! No counters!

[Psych]

Sirocco worried about the man who had taken the hit for her. He had been knocked clear on his back, and he looked wounded. But the others weren't letting up their assaults, and one had managed to strike a direct hit. Sirocco aimed another spell at the coffin with the axe symbol, hoping to damage it, since the young girl had seemingly healed pure steel.

Link

Sirocco hit! 4 Damage dealt! Axe Coffin 11/15

Link

Axe Coffin Miss! Sirocco 12/12

[Mercakete]

"Glad you're listening. If you really want to help out in battle, learn to fight or heal or something. Until then, we need you to stay where it's safe. Makes our jobs of protecting you easier. You're doing the best you can, so don't feel bad about it either. I'm not good at cheering people up so don't make me try," Norbert replied with a light half-threat at the end, "By the way, I'm not letting what got us into this mess happen again, so I'm guarding the wagon. The others can handle themselves and if they can't, I'll just have to be the last line of defense between them and you noncombattants, alright?" At this point, Norbert directed Rizen to turn around and stand by the wagon's main entrence in the back. Once Raquel and Connor were in it, he'd just position himself and Rizen at that door and wait for whatever happened next.

[the_whistler]

Bounds:

"Thank you again for healing me," Nahm said to the cleric, smiling faintly as he picked himself up. One for two here, third time's the trick. "For Raguni!" The fighter bellowed at the top of his lungs, cleaving a furrow into the dirt where the coffin had sat. "What?!" He exclaimed, twitching as a flurry of arrows embedded themselves in his exposed back.

Nahm misses Arrows Coffin. -0 dmg. Link

Coffin of Arrows hits Nanahm. -11 dmg.

Coffin of Arrows: 15/15 HP

Nanahm: 7/18 HP

Edited December 9, 2011 by the_whistler

[-Cynthia-]

Fight to the finish!

Nadya scanned around the battlefield for injured people and noticed Amon got slammed by a coffin. "Those things are better at hittin' than most people...I don't like this," she commented half to herself, as she healed him once Luca trotted over. Amon 2/15-->14/15 +2 points Miri, Valter, Nadya

Edited December 9, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Snike]

There was no time for the second stimulant, as the group tactics changed. The other fighters drew the coffins away from the controller girl, who was left unprotected. Perfect. Blake charged forth, blade upright, at her.

[spoiler=Roll]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3293490/

Valiant Stance activates! - 2 HP + 1 STR, +1 SKL.

Stimulated! +2 MT, +2 Hit!

1,2,5

(7+1) - 5 = 8-5 = 3 = Hit!

(7+2) - 4 = 9-4 = 5 Points of damage! Naomi is defeated!

Naomi 0/12

Blake 10/12

Team Blake Nahms Oracles gains 10 points!

Total + 15

The swordsman's blade hit true, and he brought the girl down to her knees with just one blow.

Edited December 9, 2011 by Snike

[Phoenix]

VICTORY

Average: 30

New Average Total: 407

The Field Comes Crashing Down

"He got her ..." Gabbie remarked, spotting Blake deliver a blow that forced the girl down. She could already see red hitting the ground. The coffins wouldn't have a choice but to back off, now. "Hey watch out!" she called out to him as the remaining coffins abandoned their attackers and flew back toward the two. Rather than being attacked, the four coffins forced their way in between Blake and Naomi forming a wall that bent in somewhat around the girl.

"I ... I can't believe you all attacked at once like that ... I ...."

Suddenly, the column of light surrounding the fortress began to flicker. A few seconds later, and it was gone. The ground began to shake immediately. "There goes the barrier ... it matters little now, though." He held up his hand and a streak of lightning dashed right over his head. Out of the ether a weapon emerged. It was a large mechanical scythe with not one, but two bladed heads. It fell into his hand and then he leaped from the building. He hit the ground nearly embedding his feet into the dirt. The heavy armor clad man then with his weapon over his shoulder began a slow threatening walk toward the group members closest to Naomi.

As he came toward them, everything began to change. The tremors were getting worse by the second, and bursts of lightning were beginning to come up from the glowing areas of the circle. Various areas took on a deep red tint while others went blue or purple. The intervals between a black backdrop and the plains of Ursium were beginning to shorten until a shift was happening every second or two. With each shift, a loud rumble sounded that rocked across the entire fortress. Burke didn't react to any of it. His focus was on the party. "Congratulations ... I'm fucking pissed."

[-Cynthia-]

Prepare for Trouble

"Well...it was nice meetin' y'all, I'm gonna go now," Nadya said quickly to the group, looking for a place to run...anywhere to run. The constantly shifting fortress made it impossible to find any sort of exit.

Veronika held her sword in front of her, eyes fixed on Burke, waiting for him to make a move. I've got a bad feeling about this...

Outside

The Org members seemed to be stuck in the mass of calvary, as the two groups began to hold a bloody brawl, both sides taking heavy losses.

The magic user moved backwards, causing Selene to have to reposition herself before diving again. This gave an opening for a wyvern rider to attack her, whom she quickly dodged and decapitated. "Cowardice is ever the weapon of criminals it seems," she said loudly from atop her steed, prepared to charge Sardis again. He'll run out of cannon fodder eventually... she thought to herself.