Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[ReformBlade]

"Tch..." Aneda voiced her displeasure with things around her, not of her allies but of the demons and the situation itself. Really, it was a dumb place to be and she'd rather at this very moment be at a bar getting a whee bit drunk and maybe getting her groove on (giggity). Still, reality was somewhat hard to ignore as she took up a defensive watch by Lumi, admiring the girls' handiwork. "Nice." she flatly said to Lumi before becoming the silent guardian.

(Aneda defends Calumeina)

[roymbrog]

Synthia had stayed out of the thick of the fighting, back closer to the manor. Aside from her fear of getting eviscerated by the beasts in the front, she wouldn’t be doing much good healing if she was being actively attacked. So she reasoned that her staying in the backlines was better for her, as well as for everyone else. With the fog and darkness the visibility wasn’t stellar, but she could see a few people had been injured already. Just as she took a step to go help, however, her attention was drawn by Gytha yelling nearby. The mage ran to help but by the time she made it there the mariner had already kicked the cat off Sinbad and another healer, that odd man from earlier, had at least stabilized him.

That was when Sinbad pushed himself up and shot his attacker, something Synthia was surprised he managed to do in his state. While the cowboy cursed about something or other, she knelt down to heal the rest of his wounds. “Gytha, can you cover me?” she asked the mariner, who was still nearby. This was not the safest position to be in on a battlefield.

Overcast, shifts 4 skill to mag, for a total of 13 mag

Synthia heals Sinbad!

Recover staff, same CT

13*2 = +26 HP

Sinbad’s HP: 24/24

Synthia’s HP: 15/15

+2points GSS

[Mercakete]

After she and Sinbad were at a safer distance and Alex had come over to them, Gytha stopped and, unsure if she should fully set the gunman down or not, kept him propped up while Alex healed him...and then told him to fight. For a moment, the mariner thought Alex still had something wrong with his head, but what if danger really was close by? Sure enough the tiger had followed them. To her surprise, however, Sinbad sat up and shot it, sending it recoiling before plopping back down, this time onto the ground, as Gytha had backed off. Synthia then began healing him further and asked her to keep them safe. Gytha nodded, then walked between the two and the demons, readying her sword and keeping her attention focused for any that tried to get at Synthia or Sinbad.

Gytha defends Synthia!

[-Cynthia-]

The magic user seemed to get up again after getting claws, which was unamusing to the hellcat. It decided to bat around one of the ones who killed a bear instead.

(2,4,2)= Autohit! 10-1 9 damage! Amon 12/21

(4,6,5)= Miss!

The bear decided to take this opportunity to bite into one of the enemy magic users causing trouble.

(5,6,5)= Autohit! 13-5= 8 damage! Hoshi 10/18 and is poisoned

One of the winged garudas, managing to make her way to the front of battle without being prematurely stabbed, shocked, shot, or otherwise killed, decided to aim sharp blades of wind at the tiger killer, the one who shot her sister, and their pegasus friend.

(5,1,5)= Autohit! Aneda takes 7-4= 3 damage, Lumi takes 7-6= 1 damage, Pete takes 7-0= 7 damage

(6,4,3)= Hit! Pete takes 11-0= 11 damage! Lumi takes 11-6= 5 damage!

Aneda 15/18

Lumi 8/18

Pete 3/21

One of the dire wolves decided to jump on the loud metal shooting man, ripping him with his claws.

(3,5,2)= Hit! 12-1= 11 damage! Sinbad 13/24

(1,4,4)= Critical Hit! 11-1= 10x2= 20 damage! Sinbad 0/24

The remaining dire wolf decided to take down the pegasus rider with the bashing sticks.

(3,6,5)= Hit! 13-5= 8 damage! Norbert 7/18

(5,4,6)= Hit! 11-5= 6 damage! Norbert 1/18

Jam is plagued but still down.

Mushirah takes 5 damage due to poison Mushirah 14/24

Faatina takes 4 damage due to poison Faatina 8/18

Hoshi takes 4 damage due to poison Hoshi 6/18

Bereskarn (Erratic) 0/39
Tiger A (Aggressive- Claw) 0/27
Great Bear A (Aggressive)0/30
--
Garuda A (Aggressive) 0/18
Dire Wolf A (Aggressive) 0/15
Hellcat A (Aggressive-Claw) 18/18
--
Hellcat B (Aggressive-Claw) 0/18
Hellbear A (Aggressive-Bite) 24/24
Hellbear B (Aggressive-Bite) 0/24
--
Garuda B (Aggressive- Whirlwind) 18/18
Dire Wolf B (Aggressive-Claws) 15/15
Dire Wolf C (Aggressive-Claws) 15/15
--
Garuda C (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18
Hellbear C (Passive-Aggressive) 24/24
Hellbear D (Passive-Aggressive) 24/24

--

Garuda D (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Tiger B (Passive- Aggressive) 27/27

Dire Wolf D (Passive-Aggressive) 15/15

--

Great Bear B (Passive-Aggressive) 30/30

Hellcat C (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Hellcat D (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Begin Player Phase 3!

Edited January 4, 2014 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Southern Front

Just as Shadrak was about to pass out from the pain and shock, he felt some of the pain disappear ... not much, but he felt pathetic just lying there after Nadya had risked letting someone else die to save him. Besides, he knew full well that if he just stayed on the ground like that, sooner or later, there would be another demon on his back, and he wasn't likely to survive another attack like that. He struggled to get up, nearly collapsing under his own weight as trickles of blood ran down his cheeks and nose. His despair was giving way to rage as he made it back onto his feet. He couldn't think straight anymore, not after what had just happened to him and Mushirah. Sorrow and regret could come later; for now, Shadrak just wanted to murder anything that looked at them funny, and he would strain himself to do it if that's what it took.

Amon was surprised that Bert was offering to give him a lift, not because it was a relatively short trip back to the rest of the group, but because he hadnt' taken Bert for that type of person. This wasn't the best time to be learning new things about people, though, as the demons quickly proved when they charged at the two of them. Amon noticed them, but not before the first rushed past him and attacked Bert and Rizen. "Urgh!"

Amon's first instinct was to rush over and help, but it might have been the end of him if he hadn't stopped himself and turned around to face his own opponent. The hellcat swung at him with its claws hoping to tear into him but the first strike missed by a hair. As Amon stumbled back, he struggled to get his footing and the demon leaped at him, pinning him on the ground. He was able to hold off one paw with his left hand, but his other was desperately searching for the knife he'd dropped during the fall and the demon used the opportunity to slash at his chest, tearing his coat up at the front of shoulder.

This isn't good. I'm not trained for this kind of savage fighting. This guy weighs way more than I do ... Growing even more desperate, Amon looked to his right to see exactly where his knife had gotten to. He almost smiled when he found it within reach of his hand. He quickly grabbed it and used his hand to block the hellcat's other paw. It still had its teeth and finally managed to pin his left hand by the wrist, but with one of its paws off of the ground again, Amon had a chance to slip free and took it. His wrist guard was torn in several places from the forceful escape, but it was a small price to pay not to get attacked again.

Next, it was time for a gamble; Bert wasn't doing so well in his struggle and he wanted to return the favor from earlier, but with this demon trying to take him down too, he would have to multitask. Amon turned around and began rushing toward Bert while the demon chased him. If someone doesn't take these things out, I will. I'm not letting it end for us like this, Amon thought bitterly as he readied his blade.

The Conference Room

Things had remained much the same. Gabbie sat near the center of the 'stage' Weyland used to present his weapons, keeping an eye on everyone in the estate and updating Steinn occasionally. Steinn meanwhile, ran countless scenarios in his head making sure to cover as many bases as he could. In the end, though, with this attack starting while they were off at the dance and with Valdimarr getting through his traps faster than anticipated, he would require excessive force to even have a chance at winning this, and that meant the roof might be coming down again soon. He would have preferred an epic struggle if Valdimarr weren't significantly stronger than him ....

"Dammit, Bert, get your act together," Gabbie muttered while sitting there.

"Can you actually see the battle?" Steinn asked out of curiosity. Not being able to make heads or tails of her sensory information had him more curious than ever.

"No, only how it's affecting their spirits. I've been doing this for so long though, I could probably guess exactly what's happening to them. A head injury is pretty easy to distinguish from a stab wound for instance," Gabbie explained. Then she remembered that she should probably note something important for the Fallen prince. "I can't sense the demons, though; they don't have spirits, so it's like only seeing half of the battle." Steinn nodded at that and then went back to thinking. Gabbie then spoke up again a few seconds later. "He's almost here. You might want to get ready ... just about everyone he's run over is dead now ..."

"Right. Remember the plan for when he arrives," Steinn told Gabbie and Annelise. It was nothing to feel bad about, not knowing the actual plan; Siv certainly didn't and she was quite literally central to it. For those who also don't know the plan, it was simple, at least now that everything had been set up. When Valdimarr showed up, he would most likely waste precious seconds interacting with Siv or Steinn, then, the latter would remotely trigger the biggest trap in the entire estate, giving Valdimarr the shock of his life. Steinn would then lunge forward and stun him before he could warp away, blast a few holes through him with his Death Strike technique, and then Weyland would strut on in from a different entrance and cremate him on the spot while Steinn gave a stirring eulogy. The only thing that could completely mess this up was Valdimarr shrugging off the initial trap and getting to a safe distance. If the trap failed to incapacitate him long enough, Steinn might have to beat him in fair fight ... which wasn't really fair at all.

<Some unexpected things have been happening lately. I should make certain that if nothing else, that seal detonates before he can remove it from Siv. If she can still be saved, then we'll see to that after the deed is done, but holding back now would be suicide.>

Halls of Destruction

<"STEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIN!!!"> Valdimarr continued to yell and endure any magical traps while warping around the physical ones and brutally beating down any guards that got in his way.

<"Sheesh is that whole section of the wall covered in blades? Hmm, Steinn's had plenty of time to prepare, yeah ... I'm just glad he was actually stupid enough to let me get back here and tell everyone about the lay of this place,"> Runa replied in amusement after sizing up one the traps. <"Speaking of which, I think my stop is coming up, Tarren. There are two dead zones and one of them's got to be the princess. I'm willing to bet it's the one that's not right by Steinn.">

<"We're splitting up here?"> one of the minions asked.

<"As much as I like watching the man work, I'm not going to have much fun cleaning up after him. Would one of you like to keep me company and meet the princess on top of that?"> she asked, flirting with the three males.

[ReformBlade]

Even with her wound closed up, Mushirah was still in a state of shock and the burning sensation she was experiencing didn't make it any easier to cope with. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried desperately to calm herself down, but that just wasn't going to happen. Every time she thought the pain had subsided even slightly, it seemed to come back with a vengeance, eventually finding her time and energy best spent just trying to wait it all out. It wasn't her best plan, in fact it was probably one of her worst but she didn't know what else to do.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Shadrak was on his feet, but the rest of the demons just seemed to keep coming. Nadya trotted Luca over to an unfamiliar dark magic user who seemed quite good at blasting things- she figured the more they could blast out of the way, the better odds they had of getting out of this alive.

Nadya heals Hoshi for 13 Hoshi 6/18-->18/18 +2 Nadya, Mushirah, Shadrak

Skari

<"Hmm yes, really must adjust thickness of hide around spines in future, significant vulnerability. Surprised humans smart enough to exploit this. Curious on effects of venom on human physiology, would like to question humans on sensory perceptions but afraid they would be uncooperative,"> he muttered to himself, flipping to another page to write notes on.

Sigrid

Rescuing the princess would be a significant accomplishment- but if I assist Valdimarr directly somehow that would be even more impressive... <"We will go on ahead in case Lord Valdimarr requires any assistance. Haldor, with me,"> she commanded the hulking Clan Tarren warrior she brought with her. Not that she suspected any treachery from Runa or any of the others, but it never hurt to keep a subordinate at hand. She fired several fatal arrows into the various humans Valdimarr had pushed aside. It wasn't particularly enjoyable, as they were rather easy prey, but killing them would prevent them from being nuisances later.

[scorri]

Ugh, that last hit wasn't normal. This is going to be a struggle... As one of the healers took care of her wounds, Hoshi straightened up and pointed at one of the bird like demons. A giant dark sphere slammed into the beast, completely severing the head from the body in a manner of a few seconds.

[spoiler=combat]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353397/

10+2-12=0, hit!

18+2+2-3=19 damage

dead Garuda B!

[Mercakete]

As alert as he'd been, Norbert hadn't seen the large wolf coming until it was too late. His attention had been on Amon, waiting to see if he'd accept his offer so they could get back into friendlier territory. The first thing that hit him when the wolf emerged from the fog was surprise, mixed with a bit of annoyance and dread. The second was the wolf.

"Ooauf!" The rider was knocked out of the saddle and twisted his left knee a little with the odd angle of the attack. The wind was knocked out of him as he was slammed to the ground without time to prepare, too, and Rizen panicked a little with the great, dusky creature that had just flown over her back diagonally, whinnying and shuffling about, unsure of which way to turn. She also didn't know where exactly her rider had disappeared to in the fog and the darkness. She could feel that he wasn't in the addle anymore, though, and so her courage quickly began to pale.

Norbert, meanwhile, was pinned on his back. It was hard to try to regain his breath with a demonic canine snarling at him and trying to dig through him with sharp claws. His chest was fairly well-protected, though, so it was the thing's weight that was doing the most damage. We're too far out... he thought both frustrated and worried at his situation. I should've waited a little longer before rushing out here! Where's Amon? "Get off!" he growled, throwing a punch at the wolf's head.

The dog whined a little, and recoiled, taking the pressure off of Bert's chest long enough for him to begin to properly catch his breath, but its snarling and barking redoubled as it seemed to notice a better place to attack. This time, it slashed at his throat, but the rider saw it coming and raised an arm to block the attack. The claws cut deep and tore long, red stripes into Norbert's upper arm. It stung, but that was all the attention Norbert paid to it. I have to get it off. Again, he rammed his fist into the dog's head, but this time it caught it with its teeth and flailed its paws again, cutting into his previously undamaged arm this time. I can't keep this up -- I'll be shredded! He didn't have the strength to kick the dog off at the moment, either.

Suddenly, the wolf stopped with a whimper and a whine while suddenly being lifted right off of him and tossed far away. Rizen had found him and gored his attacker, then threw her head back to throw the canine. Still, by now, Norbert was very tired and realized just how badly he was bleeding. That could've gone better... I can't waste time here, though. So, the rider forced himself back to his feet and rested a hand on his pegasus' shoulder for support, belting the corresponding mace. It's hard to focus.

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

The trouble was Gytha was standing a little too far to the left and so when the wolf rushed by and attacked Sinbad again, she wouldn't quite reach it in time to block it, but Synthia was okay, at least. Once more, Gytha forced the demon off of Sinbad, but this time it took batting the thing back with her sword a couple times and physically shoving the thing away. It only turned to try to attack again one more time before receiving Gytha's boot to its face. Then, it seemed to figure it'd prefer a bit of distance before attacking something again.

"Synthia, can ye stabilize 'im again?" she asked the healer who'd just been healing the man.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Mercakete

[Ether]

"Aye, Axel. Time to get on the frontlines, eh?" Arietta chimed, as the battle began. Several blows had been exchanged already and it seemed about time to get involved.

"I'll cover ya, let's waste 'em, aye?"

Arietta defends Axel

[Snike]

"I suppose so," Axel agreed, as he aimed for a particularly vicious looking wolf. His spear struck true, but the wolf refused to go down without a fight.With two swipes of its' claws, it injured Arietta a bit, but her axe finished the job.

"You're injured. Fall back," the lancer ordered his coworker.

[spoiler=Roll]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353632/

4,4,3 = hit!

14-5 = 9 points of damage! Dire wolf B 6/15

5,5,6 = hit!

12-7 = 5 points of damage!

3,3,1 = hit!

10-7 = 3 points of damage! Arietta 19/27

4,2,1 = hit!

12-5 = 7 points of damage! Dire Wolf B is defeated!

Team AAI gains 8 points.

Axel 18/18

Arietta 19/27

Dire Wolf B 0/15

Edited January 5, 2014 by Snike

[Ether]

"A couple scratches like this, it's nothing." Arietta shot back, after eviscerating the wolf's skull with her mace, sending shards of bone and brain matter about.

"Besides, I'm a bodyguard. It ain't good for my rap sheet to have a VIP be the one protectin' me."

[Balcerzak]

Apparently unlike regular animals, these ones were drawn to loud noises, and his current compromised position made any real attempt to defend or repel utterly futile. Taking into account that he'd just been healed, being unable to draw his sword swiftly, or even if he had, to wield it forcefully from a prone or near prone position to fend off the dire wolf, simply made the situation an even more bitter tonic to swallow. While Sinbad's last ditch effort of throwing his pistol at the demon, clocking it solidly in the jaw, prevented the monster from tearing out his throat with a bite, it still managed to rake him severely with its claws before Gytha could arrive and drive it off. As his consciousness faded, he murmured, "Dunny... No, not yet."

Edited January 5, 2014 by Balcerzak

[Phoenix]

Darkness

Of course the hellcat would back off and chase after another, easier victim. Of course, Shadrak fumed silently as he began walking after the disgusting animal. He swayed with all the dizziness and unsteady footing of a drunkard but followed the hellcat to it's next victim, who would have been Amon, but he saw the Sancturan runner spin around and kick the beast in the face before making his way toward Bert. Shadrak saw his chance, but Amon saw him and decided to take full advantage of the situation.

"SHADRAK!!! Bert needs help!"

"I'm already helping," Shadrak viciously shot back as he confronted the hellcat again. It wasn't sure whether to go after him just yet or not. His aura had gone back to normal, but that stung like hell the last time. If it was going to attack him again, it was going to wait until Shadrak was distracted. Shadrak wasn't distracted though and lunged at the beast, hoping to choke the thing to death by jamming his healing staff down its throat.

"Shadrak, Bert needs your help! Leave that thing to me, alright?!"

"Piss off, Amon! I'm gonna kill this bastard no matter what!" With that, Shadrak tried to start his melee attack, but the hellcat swiped at him and knocked the thing right out of his hand before leaping back, almost mockingly. "Truthdammit!"

The staff landed between him and Amon, and the latter knew he had no clue how to use it. "I'll make sure you get to kill this one, okay? Just heal Bert, first ... you couldn't help John or Sophia, but you can help him."

Shadrak flinched when Amon said that. He was furious that Amon had brought that up, but at the same time, he began to see just how utterly scrambled his priorities were right now. If anyone else died because he was too busy trying to get revenge on a single demon, what kind of person would he be. "A-alright ..." Without waiting for the hellcat to do anything else, he turned his back to it and ran, switching places with Amon as they ran past each other. He picked up his staff and rushed over to Bert in Amon's place and yelled, "Hang on, okay?! Urgh ... just hang on." Unfortunately, with his blind rage subsiding, he was beginning to feel all sorts of pain again, and the pain he'd been ignoring was getting a whole lot worse.

Shadrak heals Norbert! +9 hp
Shadrak, Nadya, and Mushirah receive 2 points

Dimness

<"Well, have fun, Tarren,"> Runa bid a temporary farewell. She took the remaining two fallen with her to go track down the princess' cell. Unsurprisingly, they found some resistance along the way, but they were easy enough with all three of them ganging up on them. Runa loosed a surprisingly tangible dark spell on them that pinned them to the ground, almost like a hunting net, and then the fallen warriors proceeded to stab their victims to death with their short blades.

It wasn't long before they came to a small staircase that seemed rather out of place. None of them were interested in the staircase itself, though. It was the only path leading to that oddity Runa mentioned earlier, that 'dead zone'. <'Here it is, guys, let's be careful heading down there. Lord Valdimarr isn't here to reveal any traps for us so we've got to use our heads."> One of the fallen just imagined losing his own head to a bladed trap and got laughed at for it. <"Use it or lose it, I guess, hahahahahah,">

[roymbrog]

OoC: FLAVOR TOMORROW

I'm tired.

Synthia heals Tina!

+13 hp

Tina's HP: 18/18

Synthia's HP: 15/15

+2 points GSS

[Ether]

"You look to be making pretty quick work of those things, for how shaky you were earlier. Relax a little, I'll cover your back." Faatina noted to Hoshi, just as the healing light encompassed her weary form.

Faatina Defends Hoshi

[Mercakete]

We need to get back, but can I climb into the saddle? Norbert wondered as he tried to refocus his thoughts, standing at Rizen's shoulder, blinking and occasionally shaking his head to try to clear it. The pain from his wounds weren't what was bothering him at the moment: it was the numbness in his head. He'd landed hard before, but that combined with... Oh, right, I'm bleeding, aren't I? Urgh... Can't stay here... Oh, yeah, Amon. Where is he? Norbert looked around through the fog and the darkness. Some distance away (it was hard to tell how much) he saw the man he was looking for, but his vision was a bit blurry, causing him to squint. Can't leave him behind. He's saved me twice now. He'd heard shouting, but he hadn't been paying attention to what was being said.

Then, confused, he saw Amon rush away and someone else rushing towards him. For a second, he wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him. ...Urgh. How hard did I hit my head? Who's...? Oh, wait. That's Shadrak. "What're you doing here?" he slurred a little. His answer came in the form of his head clearing up and the gouges on his arms shallowing. His vision cleared up, too, and he wasn't dazed anymore. By the time Shadrak pulled away his staff, he was mostly well again, though the claw marks remained, and again the rider was steady on his feet (not that he planned on staying there.) Well enough to again, Norbert climbed back into Rizen's saddle, then told Shadrak, "Thanks. You shouldn't be this far out, though. Head back where you can get some cover."

That said, he rode over to where Amon now was. "Hey, what happened with you? We should get back to the others and don't stall this time!" He didn't have the time nor did he know how to really phrase the questions he had, so the one he'd asked sort of covered all of them: What happened while I was down? Where did Shadrak come from? Did you have anything to do with that? etc.

Norbert defends Amon!

[Phoenix]

Tough Work

"I'll head back after I destroy that thing," Shadrak angrily muttered as Bert rode off. Shadrak tried to stay on his feet, but he felt like his upper body was covered in knives, each being pressed tightly against his body. I just need to hang on a little longer ....

Amon meanwhile prepared to kick the hellcat in the face again, but it turned and fled into the fog just before Bert showed up. Amon began to wonder if they had scared the thing off with their numbers. Amon frowned noticeably when Bert asked him for an update his situation and then immediately followed up with a request not to stall. He could answer on the way back, he figured, and accepted Bert's help onto Rizen.

It was time to head back over and pick up Shadrak, though Amon doubted they would be able to stay airborne with three people aboard. If necessary, he'd head back on foot to save time; he was used to running, so it was safer than sending Shadrak back on foot in that condition.

While Amon thought about how to deal with getting all three of them back safely, another bear appeared and came charging at them as fast as it could. Great ... Oh not again! Bert hurry up and get us airborne! Bert seemed to have the same idea and they were off the ground before the bear ever reached them, but that didn't stop it from leaping up and using its hind legs for support. It was now tall enough to smack one or both of them right off of Rizen's back if it acted now, but it was only fast enough to swing at them after they were out of reach. Still, fortune was staring blankly at them that day and Amon's coat was still snagged by the bear's claws. He had little choice but to fall off, but in the split second it took him to realize what was happening, he decided to literally roll with it. Rolling back off of Rizen's back saved him the embarrassment and danger of falling to the ground in front of the demonic bear and allowed him to land relatively safely on its back. He quickly slammed his blade into the Bear's head, piercing its right eye and giving himself an anchoring point for all of the thrashing about he was about to endure.

In the meantime, Bert circled back around and smacked the bear's head so hard, Amon almost fell off as a result; the shock from the blow traveled up Amon's arm, letting him know the bear was in some of the worst pain of its life right now, with or without the knife. Amon secured himself and quickly yanked the knife back out and then stabbed the demon in the back of the neck, trying to finish it in one go, but with so much thick fur and tough skin, he couldn't quite reach his target, and the bear began thrashing around even more now. Just die already, urgh!

The bear wasn't going to let up, so neither could they. Bert tried one more time to knock all the teeth out of its mouth and Amon stabbed it in the back of the neck one last time. When he felt the whole bear go limp, he had a feeling he'd reached his target this time. Spine severed ... that always did seem to do the trick, no matter who or what they were facing. He prepared for the big flop and somersaulted off of the Bear's back as it sprawled out, dead on its stomach. He ended up sitting in front of the corpse in amazement for a moment. "Whew ... it's finally down."

Amon attacks Hellbear A! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353914/

Hit! -6 hp

Hellbear A counters! Bert intercepts! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353916/

HIT! -4 hp

Bert counters! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353917/

Hit! -5 hp

Amon doubles! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353926/

HIT! -5 hp

Bert doubles! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353927/

Hit! -6 hp

Amon triples! Rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353929/

HIT! -10 hp KO!

Norbert/Amon +8 points (5 for the kill and 3 for the defend)

Edited January 5, 2014 by Phoenix

[Eail]

"Gah, just.. Hang on Jam, I'm gonna get you out of here if I have to cut through all of Hell to do it" Charging at one of the hellbeasts, Al gave it a deep gash along it's side, and the demon repaid the favor right back.

[spoiler=Combat]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353943/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353944/

Al Health 5/12

Direwolf C 7/15

+1 point for team We aint got shit for points

[-Cynthia-]

The dark magic user it had clawed before was back and up and was staring him down- the hellcat took the opportunity to pounce after it was distracted by the other humans and brought out some glowing stick thing.

(1,4,1)= Autohit! 10-1= 9 damage!

(6,2,3)= Hit! 8-1= 7 damage! Shadrak 0/21

The wolf did not particularly enjoy being stabbed and so tried to claw the swordsman attacking him to no avail.

(3,4,6)= Miss!

(3,1,2)= Miss!

A garuda flew forward and tried to hit the bear slayers with wind, with one of them unfortunately moving out of the way.

(2,5,6)= Hit on Bert. 11-3= 8 damage! Miracle activated Bert 1/18

(6,3,1)= Hit on Bert 9-3= 6 damage Bert 0/18

One of the bears attempted to get to the dark magic user, but was intercepted by a lance woman and bit her.

(2,5,1)= Hit! 5 damage and poison reapplied Faatina 13/18

The other bear bit into the pesky lanceman.

(4,1,5)= Hit! 8-4= 4 damage Axel 14/18

Dire Wolf C regen 3

Jam is plagued but still down...somebody check her vitals?

Mushirah -5 from poison Mushirah 9/24

Faatina -4 from poison Faatina 9/18

Hoshi -4 from poison Hoshi 14/18

Axel -4 from poison Axel 10/18

Bereskarn (Erratic) 0/39
Tiger A (Aggressive- Claw) 0/27
Great Bear A (Aggressive)0/30
--
Garuda A (Aggressive) 0/18
Dire Wolf A (Aggressive) 0/15
Hellcat A (Aggressive-Claw) 18/18
--
Hellcat B (Aggressive-Claw) 0/18
Hellbear A (Aggressive-Bite) 0/24
Hellbear B (Aggressive-Bite) 0/24
--
Garuda B (Aggressive- Whirlwind) 0/18
Dire Wolf B (Aggressive-Claws) 0/15
Dire Wolf C (Aggressive-Claws) 10/15
--
Garuda C (Aggressive-Whirlwind) 18/18
Hellbear C (Aggressive-Bite) 24/24
Hellbear D (Aggressive-Bite) 24/24

--

Garuda D (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Tiger B (Passive- Aggressive) 27/27

Dire Wolf D (Passive-Aggressive) 15/15

--

Great Bear B (Passive-Aggressive) 30/30

Hellcat C (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Hellcat D (Passive-Aggressive) 18/18

Begin Player Phase 4!

[scorri]

Gesturing at yet another one of the birdlike demons, Hoshi sighed in relief as life force came rushing back into her. That poison was certainly unpleasant. Thankfully her spell had done the trick, and the demon fell to the ground drained off its life force.

[spoiler=combat]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4353968/

10+3-12=1, hit!

18+2+6-3=23 damage

Garuda C: 0/18

Hoshi: 18/18

Hoshi/Tina: +5

[Mercakete]

Amon complied with his offer to get onto Rizen's back quickly this time. That was good -- hopefully they could make it back to safer territory without running into anything too dangerous now. As they took off, however, a loud, viscious roar demanded the pegasus rider's attention. Barreling towards them was another of the ferocious bears. As confident as he was in their ability to take it on themselves, he didn't want to get trapped this far away from their allies again and they all bolted into the air. He was hoping to avoid a confrontation with it altogether, but Amon was ripped off of Rizen's back. Oh no! "Amon!"

Immediately, he steered Rizen to circle back and readied a mace. Amon had apparently landed on the beast its self and was stabbing at it while it tried to get the pest off and into range of its attacks. Not if I have anything to say about it! With an unspoken command, Rizen dove down at the bear and Norbert swung his mace right into the bear's teeth with the pass. Then, they circled around again and repeated the process. The pegasus and rider turned back to face the bear once more, but as they turned, they heard the bear's low, long, loud, rumbling moan as it fell forward and Amon rolled unharmed off its back. Norbert heaved a sigh of relief and even smiled some, but before he could guide Rizen back down to pick him up again, the wind shifted. More specifically, Norbert and Rizen were suddenly trapped inside a whirling vortex of wind. This was no ordinary whirlwind, though -- that he knew right away. There hadn't been anything to cause it, so it must have been magic.

Norbert didn't see his attacker. In truth, the birdlike demon had snuck up on him before casting the spell and both he and his pegasus were feeling the effects of it. The first cut caught him off guard, but more soon followed. It felt like dozens of knives were whirling about him. Norbert raised his arms up to try and cover his face as he gritted his teeth at the pain of the cuts that seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. His armor was scratched and nicked where it protected him, his upper legs were cut open in a few places, too. When one slashed into some of the claw marks, reopening where Shadrak had healed, his reflexes betrayed him and Norbert grabbed a hold of his upper arms. One of the wind blades cut from his cheek diagonally up over the bridge of his nose and through his eyebrow, but it stopped at his forehead guard, which got a nick in it following the blade's path. His left ear also got nicked. The worst cut was a gash he got in the side of his neck, though.

Rizen didn't escape unscathed either, and received many cuts up her legs and over her armor. The worst was the damage to her wings, though, especially where they connected to her body. Her feathers were tattered, too, and she was forced to try to land even before the attack began to subside. They'd landed even as Norbert was registering that the attack was done and Rizen just set her wings on the ground, not even bothering to fold them, hanging her head and softly braying in pain. Both rider and mount's wounds had already begun bleeding, but the bits of blood that had escaped had been swirled around in the whirlwind, so they were both a tad messier than if that hadn't been the case. Now, though, the wounds began to drip and pour, depending on their depth. For Norbert, the deepest wounds were the ones that reopened and overlapped with the dog's claw marks, one in his right leg and the gash in his neck, which he'd made a point to cover as quickly as he could. Rizen's wing joints were more or less raw and her front right leg was pouring blood.

Amon was over by the two in fairly short order. He sounded pretty focused on what needed doing. "Let's fall back; we can't keep pushing just by ourselves and Shadrak needs cover!"

"I told him to head back," Norbert groaned. He usually didn't show it when he was hurt, but he was too damaged not to. He got Rizen to start walking back towards friendlier lines, and though she was glad to, she wouldn't go any faster than a walk. "And I've been saying that... But hey, I never told you before: thanks for helping me with that first bear. And Amon...you're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Amon assured him. He knew it might have been a rough ride for Bert in his state, but kind of wished they could pick up the pace. There was no telling where that hellcat had gotten off to.

"You sure?" In spite of his question, he wasn't about to push the topic. "Just to warn you, I don't know if I'll be awake by the time we get back. I'm losing a lot of blood... Stupid magic got my neck, too -- I can't fight like this. Riz should be okay, though."

"Yeah I'll be fine ... find Nadya, I'll grab Shadrak if he's still limping along and we'll get you two patched up," Amon insisted as he began to instinctively pick up his own pace. He was jogging before long.

He wanted to offer to help, just in case Shadrak needed it -- if the shaman was in bad shape and Amon was having to carry him, it'd be hard for the Rexian to protect the both of them. All the same, there was no arguing with Amon quickly slipping through the fog and the darkness. "Heh. Have it your way." he mumbled as he steadily rode his pegasus back to friendlier territory to follow Amon's instructions. He wasn't about to push Rizen unless he had to, but he was still a little nervous about traveling the distance without being able to properly defend himself.

[Phoenix]

The Receiving End

Shadrak was too distracted by his injuries to watch his back, and the same hellcat from before ambushed him, leaping onto his back, forcing him to the ground and tearing at his already shredded backside. "Gaahaaarrrgh! Nooo-ararrrrgh! Daaammit, uuuuuurgh-" I have to get it off of me! Nooow!

As Shadrak began pushing against the ground so he could get to his feet again, the hellcat changed tactics and bit down on his neck. He Shadrak was in so much pain and shock, and had lost so much blood by that point, that he instantly blacked out with his eyes wide open. With no one else around, the hellcat decided to consume his catch while he still had the chance, but it was wrong, there was someone still around, Amon.

And a pegasus with a half dead rider.

The hellcat let go of Shadrak and prepared to defend itself but Amon kept on running and by the time the demon realized what he was doing, it was too late. It tried to swipe at him as he closed in, but Amon leaped right off the ground and kicked the hellcat in the face with both feet this time, sending it tumbling a few meters backward. Amon almost landed on top of Shadrak but managed not to make the situation any worse by doing so. Looking at his fallen ally, he wasn't sure how things could get much worse. He didn't even realize Shadrak was still alive at first; his neck was drenched in blood, and the red indentations were clear signs that the hellcat had been into one of the most fragile areas of the body.

"No ... no we can't lose even more people now ... Shadrak, wake up, dammit! Don't die like this!"

"Kagh! Argh-hrg-" Shadrak gasped for air as he came too and quickly grabbed his neck with both hands, trying to keep the bleeding in check. He wasn't sure what was worse, knowing he only had moments to live and had achieved almost nothing for it, or realizing he could have saved himself if he had just used his nosferatu technique on the hellcat while it was still on him. Growing desperate, he almost overlooked a third option. The grass ... every living thing has life force in it ... and I can take it from the plants if I have to ... and I HAVE to ...

It wasn't long before Amon saw the grass beginning to twist and curl as Shadrak's energy reaved the ground around him. Meanwhile the druid was writhing in pain on the ground and practically choking himself to keep the bleeding in under control. Amon rushed over to help. "Shadrak! Shadrak, just hang on!" Huh? What's this feeling?

Wait ... Amon? He's right there ... I can see him! But ... no, that's not going to help unless ... ... unless. No, I can't ... I can't do that! Shadrak's eyes shot open wide again as he felt himself slipping out of consciousness again. He was certain that if he passed out again, it would be the last time. He was growing more and more desperate by the second, because while the grass surrounding him did have life force inherent within it, that wasn't nearly enough to save him. Dammit ... I'm sorry, Amon, but you're my only hope. Just ... just ... don't go!

"Hrg ... urrrrhrrrgh ... what now? Were those claws poisoned or something?!" Amon's body cringed as his own life force began to leave him. He wasn't sure what was happening at first, but before long he was able to feel some of the dark energy passing through him. That was what was causing him this pain ... and the only person close enough to be causing it was Shadrak. "What are you doing?! Urg- ..." Is this the only way? Amon wasn't going to argue with what Shadrak was doing if he was that close to death, but he felt a bit of betrayal all the same. What was worse, Shadrak didn't seem to be letting up. Amon was beginning to wonder how much longer this was supposed to last when the pain began to intensify. He was beginning to feel like Shadrak was trying to recover fully, even at his expense, but if that was the case, he had to get to a safe distance, and soon, but when? If he pulled away too soon, Shadrak would probably be dead soon, but if he waited too long, he would be the one they buried tomorrow.

"Shhhadrak .... Sssstooop it!"

I have to be sure ... I have to be sure ... just endure it, Amon, please! I can't die like this, not here! Once Amon was on his knees, curling up in pain, Shadrak began to wonder why his spell didn't seem to be working on his end, yet. Was even Amon's life force not enough? I'm sorry, but I ... I have to ... make sure. Shadrak focused his entire spell on Amon, leaving the withering grass alone.

"No ... arrrrRRRRGH!!!" Amon fell over onto his side, drained of all of his life force, remaining barely conscious, and panting heavily. Amon was in a pain induced haze, but from his place on the grass, he could see that Shadrak was still alive. He was barely alive, but he was still alive.

The bleeding's ... stopped, I think. Crap ... Amon! "A-Amon! Are you a-alright?" Shadrak called over while pulling himself to a sitting position. Amon was clearly alive, but lying on his side as if he was the one who'd lost too much blood. Urgh ... this is my fault ... but I'd be dead right this second if I hadn't. What else was I supposed to do? Lord Truth, please tell me I did the right thing. Please ....

The Wait Is Over

"... wha ... wh- ... what the hell just happened ...?" Gabbie blurted out. She wasn't completely certain, but she could have sworn Shadrak just attacked Amon.

"What's wrong?" Steinn inquired, suspecting Valdimarr had just pulled some incredible stunt that even she couldn't make sense of.

"Our own people are attacking each other now, appar-oh shit, he's here!" Gabbie leaped to her feet a split second before Valdimarr warped into the conference room. His clothing was singed quite noticeably, he had a few bruises, and he was sweating profusely, but the smile on his face made the superficial signs of injury and fatigue seem meaningless.

<"Sorry I didn't knock, but I figured you'd lock the door and fly away,"> Valdimarr mocked his brother the second he appeared. The door had been locked already but no one actually believed that would stop anyone from getting into the room if they really wanted to.

<"Nonsense, brother; I'd have invited you in and offered you a drink,"> Steinn countered while quickly glancing at various devices on the walls. Each one he looked at activated and their sigils began to shine. Once Valdimarr noticed, he prepared to warp, but something caught his attention.

<"L-Lord Valdimarr ... It's really you,"> said an overly excited Siv, who was at the center of what Valdimarr was now assuming to be one big deathtrap. Was Steinn trying to make him choose between ignoring Siv and sacrificing her to this trap or sacrificing his magic to try and save her? The fact that she was tied down to a chair facing the entrance wasn't helping matters.

Valdimarr was confident, though. He would kill Steinn in a split second and then rescue Siv if that's what the situation demanded. Acting before the trap was fully activated, he warped straight in Steinn's direction, hoping to stop the whole process prematurely. <"I don't think so,"> Valdimarr shouted as he appeared inches from Steinn. Steinn countered by using his strongest barrier, which he immediately ejected from himself as Valdimarr appeared. The swift barrier expansion pushed Valdimarr away from the stage and back toward Siv. In a stroke of luck, he ended up landing far too close to her and all of the power he had on the surface, even his barrier, was drained in an instant, and the runes all activated, sending faint purple streaks across the room.

<"How could you be so foolish?"> Steinn asked rhetorically as Valdimarr lunged at him again. As soon as he left the range of Siv's magic seal, however, he found himself unable to move freely anymore. Thin magical beams were were circulating all over the room and only the stage, and the center, where the magic seal was, were free from the rune network's influence. Trying to force his way through them wasn't working; they were almost solid to the touch. Phase one was complete, though Steinn had to admit that he would have needed Annelise's help then and there if Valdimarr had flanked him. The rune network's activation process was much slower than he intended, but he had to wait until Valdimarr was already in the room, or he would have sensed the ruse ahead of time and warped to the stage on entry, forcing a direct confrontation too early on.

<"You think you've won?">

<"Not yet,"> Steinn admitted.

<"Just thirty seconds and you'll be dead at my feet, Steinn,"> Valdimarr assured him. His face became serious and calm after that, which piqued Steinn's interest. It wasn't like Valdimarr to calm down completely in the middle of a battle. <"Your brothers fought as hard as they could, but here you are relying on trinkets and ... humans. I know full well that this is your style, and you'll do whatever it takes to win, but do you really want to die trying to hide behind all of this? Some random girl, a human, an army of imbeciles, and some magical traps? Is that what you want your legacy to be? Will you actually put that shame on Devlinos you worthless piece of garbage?! Huh?! Answer me, you filthy ... COWARD!"> By the end of that, Valdimarr was enraged and ready for battle again.

<"Valdimarr, I care more about the survival of our race than I do about my own personal honor. It means nothing if all my work ends with us being destroyed. Why bloodthirsty warriors like you value a legacy no one will be around to care about more than your ability to create one in the first place is beyond me. I don't want to understand people who view life the way you do. I simply want our people to obey me. Those who won't will die and the rest will be swayed in due time. Our people should not have to die over this flawed ideology and I will become the most reviled emperor in our nation's entire history if that is what it takes to protect them from this lunacy. I'm going to kill you, kill your most loyal supporters, take your place as sovereign, and shut down this invasion before it ever starts. I promise you that, brother ...">

[Snike]

"Heh, and I need to show Weyland I don't need a bodyguard," Axel said, right before a bear charged at him and bit his arm. The bite didn't hurt too much, but the wound was turning purple and he could feel the poison, sapping at his life. Just a bit more, and....

Meanwhile, Pete had recovered, for the most part, from the violent wind blades and spotted a bear attacking a blonde-haired woman. That wouldn't do. The man shakily fired two arrows at the beast, injuring it severely, but the fiend would not fall. Damn, his hand must've been shaking!

[spoiler=Roll]

]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4354266/

6,5,2 = hit! 15-4 = 11 points of damage!

5,3,2 = hit! 13-4 = 9 points of damage!

Team APC gains 1 point!

Hellbear C 4/24

Peter 3/21

Edited January 6, 2014 by Snike

[Eail]

The bite on his arm hurt like a bitch, but at least the wolf hadn't gotten Al on his sword arm. After those last two attacks he'd dodged and kicked the beast away, it seemed to be trying to find an easier target to pounce on....and at present there probably wasn't a better target than Jamilla. Edging his way back towards her with his sword in front of him to ward off any other surprise attacks. Reaching the fallen dancer, he noticed how that wound on her arm was looking particularly nasty.... "Come on Jam, up and at em" Al muttered as he lifted the girl onto his shoulders in a fireman carry. "Out of the way, I've got a wounded non-com!" He shouted, heading for the backlines.

Setting the girl down out of the way near the wall where she would probably be safe, Alphonse wanted to stay with her to make sure Jamilla would be safe, but he was needed in the fight. Rage building up inside as he thought about what these things had done, they'd hurt Jam and killed so many innocents. Zeroing in on a target just as it did the same to him, Alphonse was at the bear in a flash, he'd learned his lesson from dealing with these things. Hammering down the trigger of his weapon, the top portion of the bear's skull and part of it's spine were sent flying as he cut clean through.

[spoiler= Combat]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4354434/

This thing is dead as hell yo

+5 points for Jam Al Alex

Edited January 5, 2014 by Eail